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Shawn Brummund: Hello, and
welcome to another edition of
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the "Sabbath School Study Hour."
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It is so good to be able to
have you join us here as we come
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together over the next hour.
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We open the Word of God, and
we continue to study a new book
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that we just started
studying in the Word,
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which is entitled
the book of Deuteronomy,
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which is written by none other
than one of the most famous
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prophets, Moses
himself, so if you joined
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us last week, welcome back.
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For those of you who are joining
us for the very first time,
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it's nice to be able to
have you join in with us.
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We know that, if
you do stay with us,
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that you will be blessed, that
your knowledge of the Word will
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increase, and that your
faith can increase as well.
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So a special welcome
to all our online members,
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to those who are watching on
the various networks as well as
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online, and of course, we
always are thankful for our
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local church family here in the
Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh-day
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Adventist Church in the
greater area of Sacramento,
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California, and again,
it is always nice to be able
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to join our family with the
international family that also
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is with us together.
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We're studying
our new quarterly,
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which is "Present Truth in
Deuteronomy," and if you haven't
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gotten a copy of this yet, make
sure that you ask your local
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church for a copy of this even
if you're not a church member.
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Very rare to find a Seventh-day
Adventist Church locally that
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doesn't have a couple extra
copies of these that they have
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ordered just
with you in mind that,
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if you're interested in studying
and getting to know this book
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called
Deuteronomy, that much better,
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this is your opportunity
to be able to get one.
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Just go ahead and visit
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your local
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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You could also get an electronic
version of that as well if you
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just do a search on
the Amazing Facts website,
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which is AmazingFacts.org, so go
ahead and take advantage of that
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if you'd like your digital copy.
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Also, I want to make sure that
you know about our free gift
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offer, which is "Riches of
Grace" written by Pastor Joe
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Crews, and if you would like a
copy of this particular booklet
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and learn more about
the riches of God's grace--
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what does that mean?
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What is God's grace, and why
is it so valuable to us as human
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beings and believers?
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And so you can go ahead and
dial the number 866-788-3966,
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and go ahead and ask
for free Offer Number 152.
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That'll make it that
much easier for the agents
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that will be
answering those lines.
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So that's
available in North America
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and the U.S. territories.
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We're happy to be
able to bring that to you.
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And if you'd like a digital
download of that on your phone,
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you can go ahead and text the
code "SH056," and you want to be
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able to text that
to the number 40544.
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And again, that's available if
you are in the United States or
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its different territories.
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And again, as you
can see on the screen,
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there is also a website there
that you can get a free digital
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download on the
Amazing Facts website.
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So we want to make
these resources as available
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to you as much as possible that
you can continue to grow even
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outside of watching the
"Sabbath School Study Hour."
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I want to invite you to pray.
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Father in heaven, we want to
thank You for this opportunity
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to be able to come together,
to be able to open Your Bible.
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We thank You for the privilege
of knowing that You can give us
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Your Holy Spirit when we ask.
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We want to pray that Your
Holy Spirit will be upon us,
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that You will speak to each and
every one of us that's in the
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Granite Bay Hilltop Church, as
well as those who are joining us
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online and on
the various networks.
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I want to pray, God, that You
will fulfill Your purposes in us
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as Your Word comes to our
hearts as well as to our minds.
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Help us to embrace the truth, to
run with it, and to be blessed.
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And so we want to pray
it in Jesus's name, amen.
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Luccas Rodor: Happy Sabbath.
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It's so good to see
you all, to be at church.
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It is so good
to open God's Word.
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I am super excited
for our lesson today.
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I believe Pastor Doug said
last Sabbath that the book of
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Deuteronomy is his favorite
book in the Old Testament,
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and it's definitely up there
in one of my favorites also.
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There's so much
to learn, you know?
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In the book of Deuteronomy,
there's so much for you to
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understand, so much
to--so many details.
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I really like the
details of the biblical text.
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So I'm just so excited for
the whole lesson and excited to
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share this morning with
you here that are present,
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also those that
are watching from home.
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May God be with you and bless
you as we open up the Word this
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morning and study
from this week's lesson.
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The title of this
week's lesson is "Moses's--"
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or "Moses' History Lesson."
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And I like history.
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As a kid, growing
up, one of the subjects
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that I liked the
most was history.
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Problem with that was that
I was born here in the U.S.,
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and my father is a pastor, and
so we moved around quite a bit.
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In our case though, we moved--
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we moved around in the
states for a little bit,
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then moved up to
Canada for a while,
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and so the school
system kind of changes,
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you know, from when you move
from one country to the other,
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but it was still pretty
similar once we got there,
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because I was
still speaking English.
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So at least I have
the language going for me.
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And then we moved to Brazil,
and things just got a whole much
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worse because there,
the whole system changes,
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and they kind of change
their emphasis a little bit.
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It was really interesting.
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But I've always loved history,
learning about world history,
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Bible history,
the national history
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of the country where you're at.
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It's always been
fascinating to me.
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And so here, just learning
about the different steps
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and the different things
that the children of Israel
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were going through,
especially here in this lesson,
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"Moses' History
Lesson," it was quite--
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I enjoyed it a lot this week,
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just going through
the different aspects.
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Now, I think that one of
the most important things
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as we dive into this lesson
is to understand about--and one
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of those important things
that we have to understand
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about the Bible is that all of
it revolves around one crucial,
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one central
person, which is--who?
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Jesus Christ.
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Without Jesus, taking
Him out of the picture,
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everything else
stops making sense,
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and that's why you'll
have books and encyclopedias
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and commentaries today
from different religions,
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different denominations,
but when you find that the focus
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is not on Jesus,
well something's missing.
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Something's wrong.
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It's like you don't
have the central structure,
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the crux of the topic.
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And so, really,
Jesus is the lens.
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He's the filter by which
you understand the entire Bible
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and the book of Deuteronomy.
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And so I find that that's
just one of the main things
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that we have to focus on here.
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The lesson tells us this.
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It says--this is in
"Sabbath Afternoon's" lesson.
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It says, "For He--"
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speaking about Jesus--"He
is the one who created us.
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He is the one who
sustains us and redeems us."
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And in a looser
sense of those words,
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Deuteronomy reveals how
the Lord continued to create,
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sustain, and redeem
His people at this crucial
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time in salvation history.
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And so here what we see is that,
as the children of Israel end
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that 40-year exodus--all
of us are going through
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an exodus in life, friends.
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All of us are
going through an exodus.
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Life on this
planet is an exodus,
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and as the children of
Israel, they ended their exodus
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through the desert, right?
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After those 40 years, Moses
needed to remind them exactly
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of this, of this reality
that everything that they had,
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that everything that they were,
that everything that they hoped
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to be came from
God and God alone.
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It didn't come
from their strength,
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it didn't come from their might,
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it didn't come
from their numbers.
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It came from God.
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And this was a lesson that
was drilled into them throughout
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their time in the desert.
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I mean, think about it: They had
a cloud by day to protect them
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from the sun.
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They had a cloud of fire
by night to give them warmth.
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Their food came from--Who?
Their food from came from God.
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Their clothes were maintained.
Their shoes were maintained.
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They were
entirely maintained by God.
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And you'll see that
they still had a hard time
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understanding this
after 40 years, and, you know,
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they still had a hard time.
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One of the most
exciting times, in my opinion,
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in biblical narrative, is
the end of these 40 years,
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as this generation of
people who had only known God
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as their main provider--
they had only known God.
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They knew no other reality,
and now they enter Canaan.
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They crossed the
Jordan in this miraculous way.
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There were some of
them that, you know,
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most of them, that had
been born in the desert.
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Actually, we only have two of
them that actually went through
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the whole exodus
from Egypt, the plagues,
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and all that
stuff, that enter Canaan.
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Everyone else, they had
only heard about these things,
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and now they see the Jordan
opening up in the same way.
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So that's not
really the topic here,
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but I just find it exciting
that you have this generation
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of people, and now Moses that
will himself not enter Canaan,
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he starts speaking to them.
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And that's what Deuteronomy is.
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Deuteronomy is that instruction,
that final instruction coming
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from the parent,
coming from Moses,
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telling them what to remember
and what not to get involved in.
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Friends, this is a principle
that must stay in our minds
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today during our exodus also.
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If we keep in mind how
far the Lord has brought us,
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what he's done for us, how
he has provided and sustained
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us--and I'm sure that
everyone that is here right now,
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everyone that is
watching at home,
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you know this: There are moments
in your life that you can only
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describe as miraculous,
moments where you can only say,
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"It was God."
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There's no other explanation.
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There's no other
way. It had to be God.
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And that confidence of
what God has done in the past,
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well, that's a
motivating force for the future.
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Ellen White, in the book
"Life Sketches," she says,
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"In reviewing our past history,
having traveled over every step
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of advance to
our present standing,
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I am filled with
astonishment and with confidence
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in Christ as leader.
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We have nothing to
fear for the future,
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except as we shall forget
the way the Lord has led us,
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and His teaching
in our past history."
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So this is what we truly need
to remember here in this lesson.
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Now, you might notice
that, throughout the lesson,
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I'll be rushing a
little bit because I do want
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to get to Thursday's lesson.
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Thursday's lesson
is one of the biggest,
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hardest questions--or doubts,
to understand one of the biggest
00:10:49.08\00:10:54.05
questionings in
biblical narrative,
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and I do want to get
to that topic of Thursday.
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So we might rush a
few of the other days,
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but I'm going to try
to get through all of it.
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On Sunday, you have a topic
of "The Ministry of Moses."
00:11:03.89\00:11:06.96
Now, it's very difficult
for you to disassociate
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the influence of
Moses from the Bible.
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He is everywhere.
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You see this man
everywhere in Scripture, right?
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That's how important Moses was.
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After all, he's at the
very foundation and core
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of our understanding
of the biblical logic.
00:11:21.38\00:11:23.95
How do we understand--
look, every religion,
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friends, has three
crucial motives, all right?
00:11:26.48\00:11:30.25
Has three crucial underlaying,
foundational cornerstones,
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every religion.
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Otherwise, it's
not really a religion.
00:11:37.96\00:11:40.50
You'll find some religions
that emphasize a little bit more
00:11:40.53\00:11:43.13
or a little bit less,
depending on, you know,
00:11:43.16\00:11:45.13
on where they're coming from,
but every religion has three
00:11:45.17\00:11:48.10
cornerstones, which is
origin, the origin of the world,
00:11:48.14\00:11:51.84
the cosmos vision, right?
00:11:51.87\00:11:53.17
How they see
everything-- right?--the origin,
00:11:53.21\00:11:57.98
or the Creation
theology; the purpose,
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what are they doing
here, what are they here for;
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and the destination.
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Where are they going?
What's the endgame, right?
00:12:04.82\00:12:07.59
So you'll find that
in Buddhism and Hinduism,
00:12:07.62\00:12:09.42
you'll find that in
philosophical religions or such
00:12:09.46\00:12:14.73
as evolution, you'll find them
trying to explain or are trying
00:12:14.76\00:12:18.07
to describe their
understanding of origin,
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purpose, and destination.
00:12:21.24\00:12:23.84
In Christianity,
you find that, also,
00:12:23.87\00:12:25.87
when we find all three already
presented in the first book of
00:12:25.91\00:12:30.08
the Bible, in the
first 11 chapters,
00:12:30.11\00:12:32.11
really, you'll see the whole--
these foundational cornerstones,
00:12:32.15\00:12:36.28
and the rest of the
Bible kind of builds on that.
00:12:36.32\00:12:37.75
But who wrote this?
Where do we get this from?
00:12:37.79\00:12:40.32
From Moses.
00:12:40.36\00:12:41.76
Moses is intertwined into
the very fabric of the Bible.
00:12:41.79\00:12:46.16
All that comes from
the human instrument Moses.
00:12:46.19\00:12:48.56
And even though
Moses is--he is the author,
00:12:48.60\00:12:52.07
he's the human author here
of these six books of the Bible,
00:12:52.10\00:12:55.67
Genesis through Deuteronomy,
and then the book of Job,
00:12:55.70\00:12:57.97
we can forget that he
was also so much more.
00:12:58.01\00:13:00.58
Moses wasn't only an author.
00:13:00.61\00:13:02.21
Actually, he became
an author, I believe,
00:13:02.24\00:13:04.08
later on in his life.
00:13:04.11\00:13:06.35
He wasn't an author only, but he
was very--he was an exceptional
00:13:06.38\00:13:10.82
leader, and we
find that in Scripture.
00:13:10.85\00:13:13.02
Perhaps one of the best glimpses
of this reality that we find
00:13:13.05\00:13:16.39
is in Exodus chapter
32, verse 29 through 32.
00:13:16.42\00:13:19.33
Look at what it says.
Exodus, 29 through 32.
00:13:19.36\00:13:25.83
It says, "Then Moses said,
'Consecrate yourselves today--"
00:13:25.87\00:13:29.84
this is in the context of
the golden-calf situation,
00:13:29.87\00:13:32.87
all that thing that happened.
00:13:32.91\00:13:34.91
We're going to talk a
little bit more about it,
00:13:34.94\00:13:36.31
but it says, "Then Moses said,
'Consecrate yourselves today
00:13:36.34\00:13:39.51
to the Lord, that He may bestow
on you a blessing this day,
00:13:39.55\00:13:43.79
for every man has opposed
his son and his brother.'
00:13:43.82\00:13:46.65
Now it came to pass on the
next day that Moses said to the
00:13:46.69\00:13:48.86
people, 'You have
committed a great sin.
00:13:48.89\00:13:50.86
So now I will go up to the Lord.
00:13:50.89\00:13:52.66
Perhaps I can make
atonement for your sin.'
00:13:52.69\00:13:54.76
Then Moses returned
to the Lord and said,
00:13:54.83\00:13:56.30
'Oh, these people
have committed a great sin,
00:13:56.33\00:13:58.53
and have made for
themselves a god of gold.
00:13:58.57\00:14:00.67
Yet now, if You will
forgive their sin--but if not,
00:14:00.70\00:14:05.24
I pray, blot me out of Your
book which You have written.'"
00:14:05.27\00:14:08.54
Friends, this text
is so rich with details.
00:14:08.58\00:14:10.78
There's so much going on here
that we could have an entire
00:14:10.81\00:14:13.42
week just talking
about these few verses.
00:14:13.45\00:14:15.62
We really could.
00:14:15.65\00:14:16.95
But we just don't
have that time right now.
00:14:16.99\00:14:19.15
The context, as I said before,
is the golden-calf incident.
00:14:19.19\00:14:22.06
The children of
Israel had left Egypt.
00:14:22.09\00:14:24.46
The Lord had delivered
them through a mighty hand,
00:14:24.49\00:14:27.20
the ten plagues, we see
the opening of the Red Sea,
00:14:27.23\00:14:30.07
and then, at this
moment, only three months later,
00:14:30.10\00:14:34.64
three months later, three
months after seeing the plagues,
00:14:34.67\00:14:38.67
three months after
seeing the Red Sea open,
00:14:38.71\00:14:40.78
three months after--you know,
00:14:40.81\00:14:42.11
they were already
having their manna.
00:14:42.14\00:14:44.65
After three months-- that's it--
00:14:44.68\00:14:46.68
they fall into
this horrible moment,
00:14:46.72\00:14:49.48
this horrible, terrible sin.
00:14:49.52\00:14:51.39
And we're going to
talk a little bit more about
00:14:51.42\00:14:54.32
what they
actually did, on Thursday.
00:14:54.36\00:14:57.16
But at this
moment, God comes to Moses.
00:14:57.19\00:14:59.33
He appears to
Moses, and He says,
00:14:59.36\00:15:00.73
"I'm going to destroy
them, and I'm going to make you
00:15:00.76\00:15:03.30
into a big, a
huge, an entire nation."
00:15:03.33\00:15:06.37
And so one of the questions
that emerges from this is "Why?
00:15:06.40\00:15:11.17
Why is God acting this way?
Why is He reacting this way?"
00:15:11.21\00:15:13.74
I mean, no
doubt, sin is horrible,
00:15:13.78\00:15:15.94
sin is terrible, and they
have just committed a grave sin,
00:15:15.98\00:15:18.55
but didn't God
already know about it?
00:15:18.58\00:15:21.38
Isn't God omniscient?
00:15:21.42\00:15:23.52
Why does He react this way?
00:15:23.55\00:15:24.92
It seems, in a very
superficial reading of the text,
00:15:24.95\00:15:29.69
it seems as though
God is this, you know,
00:15:29.72\00:15:31.96
childlike, temper-tantrumist
being that just gets angry,
00:15:31.99\00:15:36.36
loses his temper,
and it's up to Moses to,
00:15:36.40\00:15:38.63
kind of, hold the
reins on this all-powerful,
00:15:38.67\00:15:41.34
tiny little child, crying out
and kicking around in a temper
00:15:41.37\00:15:44.21
tantrum, "I'm
going to destroy them.
00:15:44.24\00:15:45.54
I'm going to kill them."
00:15:45.57\00:15:47.28
And the question that emerges
is "Is that really who God is?
00:15:47.31\00:15:51.55
And it's up to Moses, the
human, fallible figure to,
00:15:51.58\00:15:54.65
kind of, rein him in?"
00:15:54.68\00:15:56.28
After everything
that happened in Egypt,
00:15:56.32\00:15:57.79
all of the plagues,
everything that God had done,
00:15:57.82\00:16:00.32
all of the powerful
wonders that God did,
00:16:00.36\00:16:02.62
is this how it
should end, to then,
00:16:02.66\00:16:04.86
here at this moment, just
wipe them out in Kadesh Barnea?
00:16:04.89\00:16:10.07
Friends, something
that we need to understand--
00:16:10.10\00:16:12.17
and this is very important.
00:16:12.20\00:16:13.50
If you don't understand
this in the biblical text,
00:16:13.54\00:16:15.57
you're going to
miss out on a lot.
00:16:15.60\00:16:17.37
One thing that you
need to understand is God
00:16:17.41\00:16:21.01
is not that volatile.
00:16:21.04\00:16:24.61
God's wrath in
Scripture is not an explosion
00:16:24.65\00:16:28.82
of passionate emotion.
00:16:28.85\00:16:33.36
It's not.
00:16:33.39\00:16:35.22
And we might be tempted to think
it that way by reading the text,
00:16:35.26\00:16:39.36
but God's wrath in Scripture
is not an explosion of emotion,
00:16:39.39\00:16:43.77
a passionate
explosion of emotion.
00:16:43.80\00:16:45.30
He's not losing His temper.
00:16:45.33\00:16:49.24
It is the result
of His holy character.
00:16:49.27\00:16:52.17
That is God's
wrath in the Bible.
00:16:52.21\00:16:53.98
It's a result of
His holy character.
00:16:54.01\00:16:56.14
Now, this will get a
little bit technical,
00:16:56.18\00:16:58.41
but I really want
you to understand this.
00:16:58.45\00:17:00.48
God's wrath in the
Bible is not "affectus."
00:17:00.52\00:17:04.12
It's "effectus."
These are two Latin words.
00:17:04.15\00:17:06.65
And "affectus*" means
that it is not affected
00:17:06.69\00:17:09.72
by passion or by emotion.
00:17:09.76\00:17:11.99
"Affectus," it denotes passion.
00:17:12.03\00:17:14.30
"Effectus*" denotes the effect.
00:17:14.36\00:17:17.60
There is a technical effect.
00:17:17.63\00:17:19.17
God's passion or
God's emotion in Scripture,
00:17:19.20\00:17:22.14
it's not effected by
this explosion of wrath.
00:17:22.17\00:17:25.31
It is an effect of
His holy character.
00:17:25.34\00:17:27.34
It's an effect of His
attribute of holiness.
00:17:27.38\00:17:32.55
It's an effect of who He is.
00:17:32.58\00:17:34.25
It's a result of who He is.
00:17:34.28\00:17:36.28
God's wrath, again, is
not affectus, or passionate.
00:17:36.32\00:17:39.55
It's effectus.
00:17:39.59\00:17:40.89
It's a result of
His holy character.
00:17:40.92\00:17:43.32
God's wrath is holy because
it is entirely exempt from sin.
00:17:43.36\00:17:47.96
So why does God say the things
that He says to Moses, then?
00:17:48.00\00:17:50.47
Why does God explode,
or apparently explode,
00:17:50.50\00:17:53.54
saying, "I'm
going to destroy them.
00:17:53.57\00:17:55.40
These people are
stiff-necked people."
00:17:55.44\00:17:57.14
Why does God react this way?
00:17:57.17\00:17:58.91
You know why?
00:17:58.94\00:18:00.38
It's for Moses's benefit.
00:18:00.41\00:18:02.41
Do you remember in
the beginning of the story
00:18:02.44\00:18:04.78
when God calls Moses?
00:18:04.81\00:18:06.51
How does Moses
react? Is he excited to go?
00:18:06.55\00:18:09.85
Does Moses want to go? Does he?
00:18:09.88\00:18:13.79
No, Moses does not--he
absolutely doesn't want to go.
00:18:13.82\00:18:21.10
Moses comes up with
some very good excuses.
00:18:21.13\00:18:23.70
Moses was very
good at making excuses.
00:18:23.73\00:18:26.94
He comes up with
some very good excuses,
00:18:26.97\00:18:29.07
justifying why he shouldn't go,
and we're going to talk a little
00:18:29.10\00:18:31.34
bit more about that later.
00:18:31.37\00:18:32.77
But here, in this
moment, we find Moses,
00:18:32.81\00:18:35.11
the same one that
was reluctant to go,
00:18:35.14\00:18:37.11
the one that did not
want to go, we find Moses,
00:18:37.15\00:18:39.71
the one who had come up with all
the excuses not to become the
00:18:39.75\00:18:43.05
great leader that he became
to this multitude of millions of
00:18:43.08\00:18:45.62
people, here we find
him doing exactly what,
00:18:45.65\00:18:48.96
if you had told him
that he would be doing this,
00:18:48.99\00:18:50.46
months before, he
would've called you nuts, crazy.
00:18:50.49\00:18:53.60
"Me? Interceding for them?
00:18:53.63\00:18:58.47
I'm out of it.
Don't count me in."
00:18:58.50\00:19:01.40
But here, Moses, he is
acknowledging how much he cares
00:19:01.44\00:19:04.61
for these people, how much
he is invested in their future.
00:19:04.64\00:19:09.28
And so God, through His dealing
with Moses in this situation
00:19:09.31\00:19:12.71
here of the golden calf, God
is teaching Moses that he cares,
00:19:12.75\00:19:17.05
that he loves, that he
is invested in these people.
00:19:17.09\00:19:19.59
Moses realizes, "Ha, I do care.
00:19:19.62\00:19:24.13
I care so much that,
Lord, if you don't forgive them,
00:19:24.16\00:19:26.33
then take my
name out of the book."
00:19:26.36\00:19:28.10
That's a lot of love, isn't it?
00:19:28.13\00:19:30.90
For how many people--for
who would you be capable
00:19:30.93\00:19:32.80
of saying that to?
00:19:32.83\00:19:35.80
Moses, friends,
is a type for Jesus.
00:19:35.84\00:19:37.37
We find a very clear
representation right here,
00:19:37.41\00:19:40.48
an example of what
"substitution" means.
00:19:40.51\00:19:44.48
In "Patriarchs and
Prophets," page 330,
00:19:44.51\00:19:47.45
it says, "While
Moses was on the mount,
00:19:47.48\00:19:49.32
God presented to him, not
only the tables of the law,
00:19:49.35\00:19:52.72
but also the plan of salvation.
00:19:52.75\00:19:54.59
He saw that the sacrifice
of Christ was pre-figured
00:19:54.62\00:19:57.03
by all the types and
symbols of the Jewish age,
00:19:57.06\00:19:59.76
and it was the heavenly
light streaming from Calvary,
00:19:59.79\00:20:02.40
no less than the
glory of the law of God,
00:20:02.43\00:20:04.80
that shed such a
radiance upon the face of Moses.
00:20:04.83\00:20:07.60
The divine illumination
symbolized the glory of the
00:20:07.64\00:20:11.34
dispensation of which
Moses was the visible mediator,
00:20:11.37\00:20:14.18
a representative of
the one true intercessor."
00:20:14.21\00:20:16.78
And so in this
situation, in the story,
00:20:16.81\00:20:19.65
we see that
Moses, he prefigures,
00:20:19.68\00:20:21.95
he's a type for Christ.
00:20:21.98\00:20:26.15
Now, the people didn't
need Moses to substitute them.
00:20:26.19\00:20:30.09
As Moses offered, he said,
00:20:30.13\00:20:31.43
"Look, Lord, just take my name
out if you can't forgive them."
00:20:31.46\00:20:34.40
The people needed Jesus.
00:20:34.46\00:20:36.20
They needed the future
Messiah, the Holy One of Israel
00:20:36.23\00:20:39.37
that would redeem
them from their sin.
00:20:39.40\00:20:42.17
But one thing that I want you
to understand is that God is not
00:20:42.20\00:20:44.44
this passionate,
petty, emotional,
00:20:44.47\00:20:47.11
childlike, temper-tantrumist
being that is just kicking and
00:20:47.14\00:20:51.25
exploding with wrath.
00:20:51.28\00:20:53.31
God doesn't lose His
temper that way, friends.
00:20:53.35\00:20:54.82
God doesn't experience emotion
00:20:54.85\00:20:56.28
as we humans do or
as we expect Him to.
00:20:56.32\00:20:59.12
God is way beyond us.
00:20:59.15\00:21:01.22
He way surpasses us.
00:21:01.26\00:21:04.69
Monday's lesson, "Fulfilled
Prophecy," one of the great
00:21:04.73\00:21:07.60
biblical lessons, one of the
great biblical topics that we
00:21:07.60\00:21:09.80
find in Scripture, in the Bible,
and that is exemplified through
00:21:09.83\00:21:13.97
the story of Moses, here
in the book of Deuteronomy,
00:21:14.00\00:21:16.24
is that Jehovah
is a God of prophecy.
00:21:16.27\00:21:19.87
He is a God that,
while He is outside of time,
00:21:19.91\00:21:22.38
in the sense in
which He created time,
00:21:22.41\00:21:24.81
He also includes
Himself in time in the sense
00:21:24.85\00:21:27.02
where He interacts
with creatures of time.
00:21:27.05\00:21:29.45
And so Jehovah, Yahweh,
here in this book of prophecy,
00:21:29.48\00:21:33.22
He reveals prophecy.
00:21:33.25\00:21:34.99
He reveals what is
going to happen in the future.
00:21:35.02\00:21:37.46
One of the best examples
of this is in Amos chapter 3,
00:21:37.49\00:21:41.20
verse 7, where we read, "Surely
the Lord God does nothing,
00:21:41.23\00:21:44.23
unless He reveals His secret
to His servants the prophets."
00:21:44.27\00:21:47.10
Friends, our God
is a Teacher-God.
00:21:47.14\00:21:50.04
Among the attributes
of God, He is omnipotent.
00:21:50.07\00:21:52.74
He is omniscient.
He is all-powerful.
00:21:52.77\00:21:55.08
Among these great qualities
and attributes of God is one
00:21:55.11\00:21:59.91
of His great attributes
which is He is transparent.
00:21:59.95\00:22:03.15
He is a Teacher-God.
00:22:03.18\00:22:04.49
He wants us to
understand His process.
00:22:04.52\00:22:06.45
Couldn't God have gone like this
and created the world and the
00:22:06.49\00:22:08.62
cosmos and the universe?
00:22:08.66\00:22:10.39
Couldn't He have
just snapped His fingers,
00:22:10.43\00:22:11.73
and everything was ready,
everything was already made and
00:22:11.76\00:22:14.60
planned and in place?
00:22:14.63\00:22:16.53
Of course, He
could, but He didn't.
00:22:16.56\00:22:20.87
He went through a process.
00:22:20.90\00:22:23.17
He created the light.
00:22:23.20\00:22:26.91
Before, in some time
of the universal history,
00:22:26.94\00:22:29.71
He had created the
waters that were there already,
00:22:29.74\00:22:33.31
and then He creates light,
00:22:33.35\00:22:34.85
and then He divides
the day and the night.
00:22:34.88\00:22:37.19
And then He creates atmosphere,
and He divides the waters,
00:22:37.22\00:22:40.32
and then He creates the
dry land and the vegetation,
00:22:40.36\00:22:43.36
and He creates--do you see
that each step of the week of
00:22:43.39\00:22:46.23
Creation had to have
happened the way it was?
00:22:46.26\00:22:48.40
God is a Teacher-God.
00:22:48.43\00:22:49.73
He wants us to
understand His process.
00:22:49.76\00:22:52.60
Prophecy is God allowing
us to understand His process.
00:22:52.63\00:22:56.50
He is telling us
before it happens so,
00:22:56.54\00:22:58.84
when it happens, we might
understand that He hasn't lost
00:22:58.87\00:23:02.04
control, that He is doing
exactly what He had planned
00:23:02.08\00:23:06.55
in spite of the curveballs
00:23:06.58\00:23:08.65
and despite of the
detours that happen.
00:23:08.68\00:23:12.79
God is always in control.
00:23:12.82\00:23:15.36
The example provided here
in the lesson is the example
00:23:15.39\00:23:17.76
of the 40 years that they would
spend in the desert, right?
00:23:17.79\00:23:21.33
Numbers chapter 14:34,
says, "According to the number
00:23:21.36\00:23:24.47
of the days in which
you spied out the land,
00:23:24.50\00:23:26.57
40 days, for each day you
shall bear your guilt one year,
00:23:26.60\00:23:31.31
namely 40 years, and you
shall know My rejection."
00:23:31.34\00:23:34.81
This is one of the texts
that we use to understand that,
00:23:34.84\00:23:37.41
in prophecy, one
day equals one year.
00:23:37.45\00:23:40.45
This is one of those texts.
00:23:40.48\00:23:41.98
And so, here, we see God
using prophecy to explain
00:23:42.02\00:23:46.52
what is going to happen and
what the people could expect.
00:23:46.55\00:23:49.19
Guys, friends, God
has not left us alone.
00:23:49.22\00:23:53.43
God has not abandoned us to be
wandering about without an idea,
00:23:53.46\00:23:57.60
without an inkling of an idea of
what's happening in our world.
00:23:57.63\00:24:00.97
God has not abandoned us.
00:24:01.00\00:24:02.94
The lesson here is telling
us, it's affirming to us that,
00:24:02.97\00:24:06.37
when God says that
something's going to happen,
00:24:06.41\00:24:08.74
you can take it to the
bank it's going to happen.
00:24:08.78\00:24:11.78
Of course, there's the reality
of conditional and unconditional
00:24:11.81\00:24:14.55
sins--prophecy, sorry--
00:24:14.58\00:24:16.62
conditional and
unconditional prophecies.
00:24:16.65\00:24:18.89
For example, Jonah going to
Nineveh and telling them that
00:24:18.92\00:24:21.42
they will be destroyed if
they don't turn from their evil
00:24:21.46\00:24:23.43
ways--conditional
or unconditional?
00:24:23.46\00:24:28.33
Conditional.
00:24:28.36\00:24:29.66
They turned
from their evil ways,
00:24:29.70\00:24:31.10
and they were forgiven.
00:24:31.13\00:24:32.50
They weren't destroyed.
00:24:32.53\00:24:33.84
The Second Coming of Jesus,
conditional or unconditional?
00:24:33.87\00:24:37.27
Unconditional. Jesus will come.
00:24:37.31\00:24:40.08
Want you or don't
want you, rain or shine,
00:24:40.11\00:24:43.41
Jesus will come. Unconditional.
00:24:43.45\00:24:47.18
But the lesson
is teaching us that,
00:24:47.22\00:24:48.58
when God said or says
that something will happen,
00:24:48.62\00:24:51.62
it will happen.
00:24:51.65\00:24:53.22
And we see multiple
applications of this truth
00:24:53.25\00:24:55.62
throughout the Scripture.
00:24:55.66\00:24:56.96
We find, you know, texts that
are very central to our identity
00:24:56.99\00:25:01.66
as Seventh-day Adventists.
00:25:01.70\00:25:03.00
We find Daniel
chapter 8, the 2,300 years.
00:25:03.03\00:25:06.30
Daniel chapter 9, the 70 weeks.
00:25:06.33\00:25:08.17
We find in the New Testament the
prophecies of Revelation chapter
00:25:08.20\00:25:11.27
10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.
00:25:11.31\00:25:13.91
Chapter 10, that describes
the whole situation happening
00:25:13.94\00:25:17.18
with the Millerite movement.
00:25:17.21\00:25:18.51
Everything that happens
tied to Daniel chapter 8,
00:25:18.55\00:25:20.88
verse 14, and Daniel
chapter 9, verse 24 and 25,
00:25:20.92\00:25:23.62
you see that
revelation is in God's character
00:25:23.65\00:25:26.65
because He's
telling us what will happen.
00:25:26.69\00:25:28.59
These are great examples
throughout the Bible of God
00:25:28.62\00:25:30.99
revealing that
He is a Teacher-God,
00:25:31.03\00:25:33.26
that He is in control, that
things might seem out of place,
00:25:33.29\00:25:36.60
but He knows
exactly what is happening,
00:25:36.63\00:25:38.37
and He's never
caught by surprise.
00:25:38.40\00:25:40.50
Our God is never
taken by surprise.
00:25:40.54\00:25:44.47
His hands never tremble.
00:25:44.51\00:25:48.61
One important thing
to remember, friends,
00:25:48.64\00:25:50.01
is that prophecy is not given
00:25:50.05\00:25:51.71
with the intent of
keeping us guessing.
00:25:51.75\00:25:54.28
That's not what God is doing.
00:25:54.32\00:25:55.62
Unfortunately, there are many
people that don't understand
00:25:55.65\00:25:57.92
this truth, that don't
understand this reality,
00:25:57.95\00:26:00.52
and they go about as though with
tinfoil hats on their head and
00:26:00.56\00:26:04.43
crystal balls in their hands,
coming up with all sorts of
00:26:04.46\00:26:07.30
weird calculations and mental
gymnastics to prove that Jesus
00:26:07.30\00:26:11.80
will come back in a certain
day or in a certain year,
00:26:11.83\00:26:13.80
in a certain period and
that certain things will happen,
00:26:13.84\00:26:16.10
and they want to say
that "This is this plague,
00:26:16.14\00:26:18.04
this is that plague," things
that have not happened yet,
00:26:18.07\00:26:20.81
things that we don't know
exactly how they will pan out.
00:26:20.84\00:26:23.65
Jesus Himself told us,
"Don't come up with dates.
00:26:23.68\00:26:29.48
Don't come up with dates."
00:26:29.52\00:26:30.82
He couldn't
have made it clearer,
00:26:30.85\00:26:32.89
and, yet there is a large
quantity of us that insist on
00:26:32.92\00:26:36.89
trying to be some kind of new
news: "Jesus will come back in
00:26:36.93\00:26:41.23
this year and that year because
this calculation says this."
00:26:41.26\00:26:43.97
That's not the
purpose of prophecy.
00:26:44.00\00:26:46.77
That just makes us weird.
00:26:46.80\00:26:49.54
The purpose of prophecy
is not to make us weird.
00:26:49.57\00:26:51.81
The purpose of prophecy has been
revealed in John chapter 14,
00:26:51.84\00:26:54.84
verse 29, where Jesus says,
"I tell you these things before
00:26:54.88\00:26:58.95
they happen,
before they come to pass,
00:26:58.98\00:27:01.95
so that, when they come
to pass, you may--" what?
00:27:01.98\00:27:04.82
"Believe."
00:27:04.85\00:27:06.29
The purpose of prophecy is to
construct and edify our faith.
00:27:06.32\00:27:10.89
That's the purpose of prophecy.
00:27:10.93\00:27:12.46
It's for us to see, "Well, God
said this was going to happen,
00:27:12.49\00:27:14.66
and now it just happened.
00:27:14.73\00:27:16.00
God is still in control.
00:27:16.03\00:27:17.33
God still knows."
That's the purpose of prophecy.
00:27:17.37\00:27:21.77
It's not for us
to keep on guessing.
00:27:21.80\00:27:24.77
You know why?
00:27:24.81\00:27:26.11
Because, when you
spend time on those things--
00:27:26.14\00:27:28.34
oh, I'm not saying that
you shouldn't study prophecy.
00:27:28.38\00:27:30.11
Of course, you should.
00:27:30.15\00:27:31.45
We should be vivid students
of prophecy but for the right
00:27:31.48\00:27:34.85
reason because, when we
do it for the wrong reason,
00:27:34.88\00:27:37.35
then we lose all focus
on the rest of the gospel.
00:27:37.39\00:27:40.12
Friends, the gospel
is not only the gospel,
00:27:40.16\00:27:41.86
according to Revelation
or according to Daniel.
00:27:41.89\00:27:44.56
The entire gospel is necessary.
00:27:44.59\00:27:48.06
So understand that the purpose
of prophecy is to edify our
00:27:48.10\00:27:51.43
faith, and that's why this is
a church that is so centered on
00:27:51.47\00:27:54.47
prophecy because we believe
that the more we understand the
00:27:54.50\00:27:57.27
events that are happening
in the world around us,
00:27:57.31\00:27:59.07
the more we understand that God
is in control and that we are
00:27:59.11\00:28:02.44
good when we are by God's side.
00:28:02.48\00:28:05.55
That's what's happening
so that you may believe God
00:28:05.58\00:28:10.35
is in control.
00:28:10.39\00:28:11.69
Tuesday's lesson, "A
Thousand Times More Numerous,"
00:28:11.72\00:28:15.09
on Tuesday's lesson Moses,
he evaluates the fruitfulness
00:28:15.12\00:28:18.59
of the children
of Israel, right?
00:28:18.63\00:28:21.06
The people, as they
were exiting--I just made--
00:28:21.10\00:28:23.87
I think I made that word up,
but they were exiting through
00:28:23.90\00:28:26.60
the desert those 40 years,
and Moses, he takes his time
00:28:26.63\00:28:29.34
to evaluate how much God
has blessed them, how much God
00:28:29.37\00:28:32.14
has been by their side,
leading them and guiding them
00:28:32.17\00:28:34.78
and conducting them.
00:28:34.81\00:28:36.11
And what I find
interesting is that,
00:28:36.14\00:28:37.45
in his perception of how
the people had fared during
00:28:37.48\00:28:41.28
their time in the desert,
he never attributes to himself
00:28:41.32\00:28:44.99
any quality of his leaders
or his capacity as a leader.
00:28:45.02\00:28:51.16
He never attributes to
himself, "Well, I did this.
00:28:51.19\00:28:52.89
I'm a good leader.
00:28:52.93\00:28:54.20
I led them through all of--"
00:28:54.23\00:28:55.53
you don't see
that in Moses, do you?
00:28:55.56\00:28:57.47
Well, you see here, as an
authentic spiritual leader,
00:28:57.50\00:29:01.87
he recognized
that the true power
00:29:01.90\00:29:04.07
that was by the
people's side was--who?
00:29:04.11\00:29:07.11
Jehovah, Yahweh,
the Lord God Almighty.
00:29:07.14\00:29:11.25
Once again, Moses, he
admits his fallibility,
00:29:11.28\00:29:14.68
his incapacity that, by himself,
00:29:14.72\00:29:16.99
he could guide
this great multitude.
00:29:17.02\00:29:18.79
What does he say here
in Deuteronomy chapter 1,
00:29:18.82\00:29:20.52
verse 9 through 11?
00:29:20.56\00:29:21.96
He says, "And I spoke to
you at that time, saying,
00:29:21.99\00:29:24.06
"I alone am not capable.
00:29:24.09\00:29:27.00
I alone am not
capable to bear you.
00:29:27.03\00:29:29.50
The Lord your God
has multiplied you,
00:29:29.53\00:29:31.80
and here you are today, as the
stars of heaven in multitude.
00:29:31.83\00:29:35.97
May the Lord God of your fathers
make you a thousand times more
00:29:36.00\00:29:39.14
numerous than you are, and bless
you as He has promised you."
00:29:39.17\00:29:42.98
And so, in his
reminiscing of the events,
00:29:43.01\00:29:45.38
Moses seems to pull
back from the center stage
00:29:45.41\00:29:48.05
to cast all light on
God: "God has done this.
00:29:48.08\00:29:50.95
The Lord has done this."
00:29:50.99\00:29:52.29
Friends, this is true integrity,
and this is what experts
00:29:52.32\00:29:55.89
in leadership consider to be the
first and most important virtue
00:29:55.92\00:30:00.13
of leaders: integrity.
00:30:00.16\00:30:03.20
Deplorably some leaders
are like that small rooster.
00:30:03.23\00:30:07.10
Have you ever heard the story of
the rooster that would puff up
00:30:07.14\00:30:08.87
his chest and go up to
the fence every morning?
00:30:08.90\00:30:11.54
And it'd started
crowing as the sun came up,
00:30:11.57\00:30:15.21
believing that it was
by his noise that the sun,
00:30:15.24\00:30:18.15
the star, was coming up.
00:30:18.18\00:30:20.28
Some leaders are like that.
00:30:20.32\00:30:24.32
What we see here is Moses
declaring God's graciousness
00:30:24.35\00:30:27.59
and acknowledging that the hero
00:30:27.62\00:30:29.16
of the story
has always been God.
00:30:29.19\00:30:33.83
However, leading
such a great multitude,
00:30:33.86\00:30:36.53
it did take a
heavy toll on Moses.
00:30:36.56\00:30:39.90
Here we have a biblical example,
00:30:39.93\00:30:41.67
and this is why
this is good, all right?
00:30:41.70\00:30:43.71
Here we have a biblical example
of what burnout syndrome is.
00:30:43.74\00:30:48.48
Moses, with all those people,
he couldn't do it on his own.
00:30:48.51\00:30:51.75
He said it himself, "And I spoke
to you at that time saying,
00:30:51.78\00:30:54.22
'I alone am not capable
of bearing all of you.'"
00:30:54.25\00:30:57.89
Chapter 1, verse 12, "How can
I alone bear your problems and
00:30:57.92\00:31:01.39
your burdens and
your complaints?"
00:31:01.42\00:31:02.89
And so in order
to share the burden,
00:31:02.92\00:31:04.96
Moses and the children of
Israel, they get organized.
00:31:04.99\00:31:08.46
They divide up leadership.
00:31:08.50\00:31:10.10
And here we see
the biblical precedent
00:31:10.13\00:31:12.80
for an organized structure.
00:31:12.83\00:31:15.70
Look at what the lesson
says in Tuesday's lesson:
00:31:15.74\00:31:17.64
"Thus, even when the Lord was so
powerfully present among them,
00:31:17.67\00:31:22.88
there was need for
organization, for structure,
00:31:22.91\00:31:25.58
for a system of accountability.
00:31:25.61\00:31:27.48
Israel was a qahal, which
was an organized assembly,
00:31:27.52\00:31:31.29
a precursor to the
New Testament ekklesia,
00:31:31.32\00:31:33.72
or ekklesia, the
Greek for 'church.'"
00:31:33.76\00:31:35.66
And it goes on to
say, "The church today,
00:31:35.69\00:31:37.36
as the qahal back then, needs
to be a unified body with people
00:31:37.39\00:31:42.26
fulfilling various roles
according to their gifts."
00:31:42.30\00:31:45.37
Now, friends, I've
heard, in multiple places,
00:31:45.40\00:31:48.24
people speak down and accuse and
then talk badly of an organized
00:31:48.27\00:31:53.04
church, the
organization of the church:
00:31:53.07\00:31:55.14
"The church
doesn't need organization.
00:31:55.18\00:31:56.85
It doesn't need to be organized
in any kind of structure.
00:31:56.88\00:31:59.28
God will lead. God will guide."
00:31:59.31\00:32:02.15
Yes, God will
lead, and God will guide,
00:32:02.18\00:32:03.49
but He set the precedent.
00:32:03.52\00:32:06.19
In the Bible, you see, both
in the Old Testament and in the
00:32:06.22\00:32:08.69
New, you find an
organized structure.
00:32:08.72\00:32:11.06
You find an organized
people, an organized church.
00:32:11.09\00:32:15.90
God found that important
because dividing up the roles of
00:32:15.93\00:32:19.20
leadership into the different
qualities and different talents
00:32:19.23\00:32:21.94
that people have, well,
then you share the load.
00:32:21.97\00:32:24.97
How else could we
have, for example,
00:32:25.01\00:32:26.68
the educational system that
00:32:26.71\00:32:28.01
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church has?
00:32:28.04\00:32:30.01
Worldwide, we are the second
largest private educational
00:32:30.05\00:32:33.75
system on the planet.
00:32:33.78\00:32:36.25
You know who we lose to?
00:32:36.28\00:32:37.59
Catholic Church because they've
been around for 2,000 years.
00:32:37.62\00:32:41.19
We've been
around for, what, 180?
00:32:41.22\00:32:43.66
Second, why?
00:32:43.69\00:32:45.29
Because we feel
that, first of all,
00:32:45.33\00:32:47.23
education is important, and
it is a great way to preach the
00:32:47.30\00:32:50.27
gospel and, secondly, because
we're an organized church.
00:32:50.30\00:32:54.00
Because we are organized and we
have these levels of structure,
00:32:54.04\00:32:56.27
we find that,
throughout the world,
00:32:56.30\00:32:57.61
wherever you go, you
will find an educational group
00:32:57.64\00:33:01.48
for children to learn and
to be educated in the ways
00:33:01.51\00:33:04.68
of the Bible, the
ways of Scripture.
00:33:04.71\00:33:06.08
How else without
this organization?
00:33:06.11\00:33:08.18
What about the
missionary force that we have,
00:33:08.22\00:33:10.39
sending missionaries
out all over the world?
00:33:10.42\00:33:12.69
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
is the church with the greatest
00:33:12.72\00:33:15.36
presence anywhere, even in
countries where we can't have
00:33:15.39\00:33:20.20
people officially--North
Korea, that 10/40 Window,
00:33:20.23\00:33:25.93
in Arabia, in the Middle
East, there are Seventh-day
00:33:25.97\00:33:29.74
Adventists preaching the gospel.
00:33:29.77\00:33:31.54
One way or another,
the message of the gospel,
00:33:31.57\00:33:33.94
the three angels'
message is being preached.
00:33:33.98\00:33:36.28
How else without this
organization that God Himself
00:33:36.31\00:33:40.02
set the
precedent in the Scripture?
00:33:40.05\00:33:41.45
What about our
media ministries? How?
00:33:41.48\00:33:44.72
How can we have
such a united message,
00:33:44.75\00:33:46.82
a united front,
without being organized?
00:33:46.86\00:33:50.39
Ministries such as Amazing
Facts International that sends
00:33:50.43\00:33:55.33
out the gospel around the world.
00:33:55.36\00:33:58.07
Hope Channel, 3ABN,
channels that preach the--
00:33:58.10\00:34:02.04
how else without organization?
00:34:02.07\00:34:05.31
Health ministries, clinics,
hospitals all over the world--
00:34:05.34\00:34:08.84
so you see that there
is a need for organization.
00:34:08.88\00:34:12.18
We need to be organized.
00:34:12.21\00:34:13.92
Wednesday's
lesson, "Kadesh Barnea."
00:34:13.95\00:34:16.72
Wednesday's lesson is kind
of a hybrid between Wednesday
00:34:16.75\00:34:18.82
and Sunday, so it touches
up on part of what we talked
00:34:18.85\00:34:21.92
about on Sunday's lesson.
00:34:21.96\00:34:24.53
It overviews the events that
transpired in Kadesh Barnea,
00:34:24.56\00:34:27.23
regarding the
people's rebellion against God.
00:34:27.23\00:34:29.46
And since we talked
about this on Sunday,
00:34:29.50\00:34:32.63
I don't want to
get too deep into it,
00:34:32.67\00:34:34.04
but, you know, perhaps just as
important as understanding what
00:34:34.07\00:34:39.97
Moses intended to do for
the people or what he told God
00:34:40.01\00:34:43.11
that he would do for the people,
"Take my name out of the book,"
00:34:43.14\00:34:46.08
just as important as that
is the nature of the argument
00:34:46.11\00:34:48.78
that he used to dissuade God
00:34:48.82\00:34:50.45
from destroying
the rebellious nation.
00:34:50.49\00:34:53.56
He says here, "Lord, it won't
go well for You if You do this.
00:34:53.59\00:34:57.36
It's not going to be
good. It won't look good.
00:34:57.39\00:34:59.79
Think about what the Egyptians
will say and everyone else will
00:34:59.83\00:35:02.63
say about You," and you can
see that in Numbers chapter 14,
00:35:02.66\00:35:04.67
verse 16, where
Moses says, "Because--"
00:35:04.70\00:35:07.30
and here he is saying what
the other peoples would say
00:35:07.34\00:35:08.77
if God really destroyed
the children of Israel.
00:35:08.80\00:35:11.14
He says, "Because the Lord was
not able to bring these people
00:35:11.17\00:35:13.78
to the land which
He swore to give them,
00:35:13.81\00:35:17.05
therefore, He killed
them in the wilderness."
00:35:17.08\00:35:18.71
That won't be good
for Your reputation, Lord.
00:35:18.75\00:35:21.18
Now, Moses was a specialist
00:35:21.22\00:35:22.52
in this type of
argumentation, right?
00:35:22.55\00:35:25.85
Remember that he
tried to dissuade Jehovah
00:35:25.89\00:35:27.59
with his arguments before
in that "impossible mission
00:35:27.62\00:35:30.69
of leading out the
children of Israel."
00:35:30.73\00:35:32.33
"Those people won't
believe that You sent me,
00:35:32.36\00:35:33.66
Lord, I'm heavy of
tongue. I can't speak very well.
00:35:33.70\00:35:36.73
Come on, Lord, send
someone else--don't send me--
00:35:36.77\00:35:39.23
someone a bit
younger, a bit more energetic,
00:35:39.27\00:35:41.44
a bit more capable.
00:35:41.47\00:35:42.77
He'll be more hip than me.
00:35:42.80\00:35:46.17
It will be better for
Your PR, for Your public image.
00:35:46.21\00:35:49.21
What kind of choice am I?
00:35:49.24\00:35:51.88
I'm just an 80-year-old
man. Smells like sheep.
00:35:51.91\00:35:55.65
I've been out in
the desert way too long.
00:35:55.68\00:35:58.69
Lord, this is a crazy idea."
00:35:58.72\00:35:59.95
And curiously, Moses seems to
be the realistic of the story,
00:36:00.06\00:36:04.79
and he always
seems to be the one
00:36:04.83\00:36:08.03
with the big, impossible dreams.
00:36:08.06\00:36:09.56
But we know that
God chose the right man.
00:36:09.60\00:36:12.30
God chose the right man.
00:36:12.33\00:36:14.57
Well, isn't it extraordinary
how audacious Moses
00:36:14.60\00:36:19.07
is in his words and how
patient God is in hearing him
00:36:19.11\00:36:21.48
and listening to him?
00:36:21.51\00:36:22.84
Again, all of this,
friends, for Moses's benefit.
00:36:22.88\00:36:25.88
God didn't need to be
told these things, God knew.
00:36:25.91\00:36:28.98
It was all for Moses's benefit.
00:36:29.02\00:36:33.05
As a Father who patiently
listens to His small child and
00:36:33.09\00:36:35.99
descends to his level of
understanding to relate to him,
00:36:36.02\00:36:38.73
to be with him,
to connect to him,
00:36:38.76\00:36:43.77
that is our God.
00:36:43.80\00:36:45.23
And so I find that a
very important lesson
00:36:45.27\00:36:47.20
from Wednesday's lesson.
00:36:47.24\00:36:49.60
Now, Thursday, and this
is where I wanted to get,
00:36:49.64\00:36:51.24
and I have a little
less time than I intended.
00:36:51.27\00:36:53.61
This is one of the hardest
subjects of the entire Bible.
00:36:53.64\00:36:56.88
Deuteronomy
chapter 2, verse 33 and 34,
00:36:56.91\00:36:59.21
is an example, "And the
Lord our God delivered him,"
00:36:59.25\00:37:02.48
the Amorites, "over to
us, so we defeated him,
00:37:02.52\00:37:05.49
his sons, and all his people.
00:37:05.52\00:37:06.99
We took all his
cities at that time,
00:37:07.02\00:37:08.92
and we utterly
destroyed the men,
00:37:08.96\00:37:11.19
women, and little
ones of every city.
00:37:11.23\00:37:13.16
We left nothing remaining."
00:37:13.19\00:37:15.36
Now, what's going on
here? Why is God doing this?
00:37:15.40\00:37:17.40
This sounds like genocide.
Is that the God of the Bible?
00:37:17.43\00:37:23.24
How do we
understand this reality?
00:37:23.27\00:37:25.97
Well, first of all, friends,
we need to understand the
00:37:26.01\00:37:27.68
difference between polytheism
and monotheism, all right?
00:37:27.71\00:37:30.58
Now, it seems very
obvious, doesn't it?
00:37:30.61\00:37:32.75
What's the difference between
polytheism and monotheism,
00:37:32.78\00:37:34.78
or paganism and monotheism?
00:37:34.82\00:37:36.75
What's the difference?
That's what it seems, right?
00:37:36.79\00:37:39.85
That's what anyone would
say. It's the number of gods.
00:37:39.89\00:37:43.36
In one, you have many.
In the other, you have one.
00:37:43.39\00:37:45.39
Friends, that is not entirely
true because the primary
00:37:45.43\00:37:49.16
difference, the primordial
difference between monotheism
00:37:49.20\00:37:52.43
and polytheism is not really
about the quantity of gods
00:37:52.47\00:37:55.50
but the quality
of the gods involved.
00:37:55.54\00:37:59.87
Let me explain
polytheism a little bit for you.
00:37:59.91\00:38:03.01
In polytheism,
humans found themselves--
00:38:03.04\00:38:05.25
in the beginning
of the world, right?
00:38:05.28\00:38:06.58
And this is after the flood.
00:38:06.61\00:38:07.92
This is after they had forgotten
all about the God of heaven.
00:38:07.95\00:38:10.32
They find themselves alone
in this universe at the mercy
00:38:10.35\00:38:12.99
of the elements, the
mercy of this powerful world,
00:38:13.02\00:38:16.32
rainstorms, tornadoes,
hurricanes, earthquakes,
00:38:16.36\00:38:20.30
floods, unrelenting
heat coming from the sun,
00:38:20.33\00:38:22.76
destroying their
fields and their crops--
00:38:22.80\00:38:25.20
earthquakes,
all of these things.
00:38:25.23\00:38:27.04
Nature is powerful, but
it's so very unpredictable.
00:38:27.07\00:38:30.74
And so, logically
these humans seeking
00:38:30.77\00:38:33.14
to create a truce
between themselves and the world
00:38:33.17\00:38:35.64
around them, they need to find
out some way to be a little bit
00:38:35.68\00:38:41.02
in control, to be able
to do something to escape
00:38:41.05\00:38:43.99
from these forces of nature.
00:38:44.02\00:38:45.62
Now, today, with the
technology that we have,
00:38:45.65\00:38:47.86
we understand what's happening
with rain and earthquakes
00:38:47.89\00:38:49.99
and thunderstorms,
but they didn't have that.
00:38:50.03\00:38:51.63
What could they do?
00:38:51.66\00:38:52.96
How could they possibly find
a truce between these powerful
00:38:52.99\00:38:55.56
forces of nature?
00:38:55.60\00:38:57.90
Now, in these pagan religions,
there was no Creator God,
00:38:57.93\00:39:01.27
one great God.
00:39:01.30\00:39:02.60
On the contrary, there was
a very large range of powerful
00:39:02.64\00:39:06.31
entities that they knew as gods.
00:39:06.34\00:39:10.11
And these entities
were usually capricious,
00:39:10.15\00:39:12.38
indifferent, and
very much fallible.
00:39:12.41\00:39:15.42
They didn't really
care much for humans,
00:39:15.45\00:39:17.52
but sometimes,
when they got bored,
00:39:17.55\00:39:19.32
they found amusement
torturing, tormenting the humans
00:39:19.35\00:39:23.29
in the world down below.
00:39:23.32\00:39:25.09
But humans could
try to buy, at least,
00:39:25.13\00:39:27.73
their allegiance
and, at most, their help.
00:39:27.76\00:39:32.90
You see, while
they were powerful,
00:39:32.93\00:39:34.70
while the sun god, the
rain God, the wind god,
00:39:34.74\00:39:37.37
the earth god,
while they were powerful--
00:39:37.41\00:39:41.71
all of them were powerful--
they were not all-powerful.
00:39:41.74\00:39:44.81
Do you
understand what I'm saying?
00:39:44.85\00:39:46.15
They couldn't do everything.
00:39:46.18\00:39:47.58
They didn't control everything.
00:39:47.62\00:39:49.02
The power of the
sun was very strong,
00:39:49.05\00:39:50.65
indeed, but it didn't
have any sway over the rain.
00:39:50.69\00:39:54.42
Actually, the rain god
was the sun god's enemy.
00:39:54.46\00:39:57.99
And so that's how the
humans would interpret
00:39:58.03\00:40:00.43
the ebb and flow of nature.
00:40:00.46\00:40:01.86
If it's raining today, the
rain god is winning the battle.
00:40:01.90\00:40:04.73
If there's
unrelenting heat, well,
00:40:04.77\00:40:06.30
the sun god was
winning the battle.
00:40:06.33\00:40:07.64
Those were the
battles of these strong gods.
00:40:07.67\00:40:11.31
They're fighting, and the one
that's winning is the one that
00:40:11.34\00:40:13.94
we're seeing--the wind,
the earthquakes, the tornadoes.
00:40:13.98\00:40:16.68
That's how we know.
00:40:16.71\00:40:18.01
That's how they gauged
which were the powerful gods.
00:40:18.05\00:40:21.22
The gods were fighting amongst
themselves for supremacy.
00:40:21.25\00:40:24.42
What this means, ultimately,
is that every god has their own
00:40:24.45\00:40:27.99
area of power,
but at the same time,
00:40:28.02\00:40:30.09
every God has
their own weakness.
00:40:30.13\00:40:33.40
These pagan gods had
needs that could be exploited,
00:40:33.43\00:40:38.80
and so in order to survive,
the pagan nations had to do
00:40:38.83\00:40:41.94
basically two
things: First of all,
00:40:41.97\00:40:43.27
they had to choose their god.
00:40:43.30\00:40:44.87
And so, if they were living in
a very hot place in the desert,
00:40:44.91\00:40:47.54
they would choose the sun god.
00:40:47.58\00:40:49.78
If they were living on
the coastal regions as the
00:40:49.81\00:40:52.58
Philistines, for
example, they would choose
00:40:52.61\00:40:54.28
a god such as
Dagon, the fish god.
00:40:54.32\00:40:57.59
If they were living in the
jungles or in the forest or in
00:40:57.62\00:40:59.65
the mountains--everything was
conditioned to where they lived
00:40:59.69\00:41:02.72
because they
needed the protection,
00:41:02.76\00:41:04.96
and they needed the fertility
coming from these gods.
00:41:04.99\00:41:07.13
Do you understand?
00:41:07.13\00:41:08.43
Everything
revolved around fertility.
00:41:08.46\00:41:09.86
The
multiplication of their food,
00:41:09.90\00:41:11.53
the
multiplication of their animals,
00:41:11.57\00:41:12.97
of their livestock, everything
revolved around fertility when
00:41:13.00\00:41:16.24
it came to these gods.
00:41:16.27\00:41:18.01
And so, once
they chose their god,
00:41:18.04\00:41:20.08
next, they would need to do
their best to appease that God.
00:41:20.11\00:41:23.04
Like I said before, since these
gods were not all-powerful,
00:41:23.08\00:41:26.55
they had
vulnerabilities and needs.
00:41:26.58\00:41:28.88
And if they had needs,
they could be bribed or,
00:41:28.92\00:41:31.25
better, bartered with.
00:41:31.29\00:41:33.72
And the train of thought was
"If I give this god something
00:41:33.76\00:41:36.52
valuable, then maybe he will
care a little bit more about
00:41:36.56\00:41:40.10
having fish in my river or
of protecting my crops and my
00:41:40.13\00:41:43.20
fields from the
merciless sun god.
00:41:43.23\00:41:46.53
Everything, again,
had to do with fertility,
00:41:46.57\00:41:48.97
procreation, survival, and
this is where the rationale for
00:41:49.00\00:41:51.81
sacrifice comes into
play because the more painful,
00:41:51.84\00:41:54.81
the more explicit,
the more sensationalistic,
00:41:54.84\00:41:57.28
dramatic, and
outrageous the sacrifice,
00:41:57.31\00:42:00.65
the more the god
would see that the people
00:42:00.68\00:42:02.85
were serious in serving it.
00:42:02.88\00:42:04.69
And so the more
outrageous, the better.
00:42:04.72\00:42:09.26
And what better way to catch the
attention of a temperamental,
00:42:09.29\00:42:12.13
indifferent being, some bored
egomaniac entity, or deity, than
00:42:12.16\00:42:18.03
through some
kind of dramatic act,
00:42:18.07\00:42:19.97
say, such as ritualistic
and ceremonial harlotry
00:42:20.00\00:42:25.47
or child sacrifice?
00:42:25.51\00:42:30.25
And that's where the atrocities
were committed in these nations,
00:42:30.28\00:42:34.08
horrible, vile acts
of violence, bloodlust,
00:42:34.12\00:42:37.62
chilling cruelty, something
totally different from the logic
00:42:37.65\00:42:40.82
involved in monotheism.
00:42:40.86\00:42:42.16
You see, when it
comes to the One God,
00:42:42.19\00:42:44.03
to one supernatural
entity, Master of the universe,
00:42:44.06\00:42:46.76
Creator of the cosmos, who
brought everything into being,
00:42:46.80\00:42:51.13
how do you barter with Him?
00:42:51.17\00:42:54.24
What needs does He have?
00:42:54.27\00:42:55.57
What do you have
that you could offer Him?
00:42:55.60\00:42:58.17
Does He need
anything that you could offer?
00:42:58.21\00:43:01.08
What do you give to
someone that has everything?
00:43:01.11\00:43:03.61
And so that's why monotheism
was so strange to these peoples.
00:43:03.65\00:43:07.85
They couldn't understand it, not
only because of the fact that it
00:43:07.88\00:43:11.09
was only one God versus so many,
00:43:11.12\00:43:13.29
but because the
quality of this God.
00:43:13.32\00:43:15.06
What could you do to bribe Him?
00:43:15.09\00:43:17.69
How do you barter with this God?
00:43:17.73\00:43:20.20
And so the logic of monotheism
must be something entirely
00:43:20.23\00:43:22.80
different, mustn't it?
00:43:22.83\00:43:25.77
Unfortunately, we absolutely
don't have time to go into that,
00:43:25.80\00:43:28.77
but here we understand
precisely who these people were,
00:43:28.80\00:43:31.41
who these other nations were.
00:43:31.44\00:43:34.34
These were nations
that practiced bestiality,
00:43:34.38\00:43:36.48
necrophilia, pederasty
and pedophilia as rituals for
00:43:36.51\00:43:42.22
worship, incestuous
relations, human sacrifices,
00:43:42.25\00:43:46.59
child sacrifices,
right, and the list goes on.
00:43:46.62\00:43:50.96
God had given these
people centuries to turn back,
00:43:50.99\00:43:54.50
to change their ways.
00:43:54.56\00:43:56.00
Genesis 15:16, "But in the 14th
generation they shall return
00:43:56.03\00:43:59.60
here, for the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet complete."
00:43:59.63\00:44:02.60
God is giving
them time to change.
00:44:02.64\00:44:04.54
God is giving them
a chance to change,
00:44:04.57\00:44:08.18
but they ignored
these calls of grace,
00:44:08.21\00:44:09.74
and they descended into
their own self-created hell.
00:44:09.78\00:44:15.65
Their hearts had
petrified, fossilized.
00:44:15.68\00:44:18.12
Despite all the opportunities
God gave them to change,
00:44:18.15\00:44:20.66
nothing else
could be done for them.
00:44:20.69\00:44:23.73
And so God's
order to execute them,
00:44:23.76\00:44:25.89
to exterminate them,
friends, was an act of mercy.
00:44:25.93\00:44:30.70
It wasn't an act of
wrath. It wasn't affectus.
00:44:30.73\00:44:34.47
It was effectus. Effectus.
00:44:34.50\00:44:36.50
It was not done
out of wrath or anger.
00:44:36.54\00:44:38.27
It was done out of mercy because
children did not go by un-raped
00:44:38.31\00:44:42.88
in those nations.
00:44:42.91\00:44:44.98
They grew, learning that that's
how you bartered with gods.
00:44:45.01\00:44:48.85
Many were sacrificed and killed.
00:44:48.88\00:44:52.22
Imagine going into a church
and seeing the scene of an orgy.
00:44:52.25\00:44:55.26
That's what they had.
00:44:55.29\00:44:56.89
And so until we
get to that point,
00:44:56.93\00:44:58.49
our world is not worse
than it was back then yet.
00:44:58.53\00:45:03.83
And so God, out of mercy,
He decided to use Israel as an
00:45:03.87\00:45:09.40
instrument to provide mercy and
an end to these people that had
00:45:09.44\00:45:15.84
only misery in their life.
00:45:15.88\00:45:19.05
Of course, it's
difficult to understand this.
00:45:19.08\00:45:20.62
It's very difficult.
00:45:20.65\00:45:21.95
But here we see
the foreshadowing
00:45:21.98\00:45:23.79
of what is going to happen
in the very end, when God,
00:45:23.82\00:45:27.29
a holy God,
destroys sin and sinners,
00:45:27.32\00:45:31.39
providing final rest to
those that did not choose life.
00:45:31.43\00:45:37.23
You can't choose
life-- you can't choose death
00:45:37.27\00:45:40.04
and continue living, friend.
00:45:40.07\00:45:41.37
It doesn't work that way.
00:45:41.40\00:45:42.70
When you disconnect
yourself, that's what happens.
00:45:42.74\00:45:45.57
Our time is over.
00:45:45.61\00:45:46.91
I hope that you--I
had more here about this.
00:45:46.94\00:45:49.94
Unfortunately, we
weren't able to get through it.
00:45:49.98\00:45:52.61
My prayer is that God will
lead you in answers and finding
00:45:52.65\00:45:55.38
answers for these subjects.
00:45:55.42\00:45:56.99
There's so much to understand
through studying the lesson,
00:45:57.02\00:45:59.49
so that's why I urge
you to study your lesson.
00:45:59.52\00:46:01.56
Study it.
00:46:01.59\00:46:02.89
You will have a lot of answers
to some of these difficult
00:46:02.92\00:46:04.49
questions, or at least
you'll find where to look
00:46:04.53\00:46:06.83
for the answers.
00:46:06.86\00:46:08.06
May God bless you, and I'd like
to finish with a word of prayer.
00:46:08.10\00:46:10.43
Dear Father, thank
You so much for Your love.
00:46:10.47\00:46:11.90
Thank You for
guiding and leading us
00:46:11.93\00:46:13.44
and giving us a good morning.
00:46:13.47\00:46:14.77
Please help us understand these
realities that the lesson puts
00:46:14.80\00:46:17.61
in front of us, Lord.
00:46:17.64\00:46:18.94
Help us have patience with
our own lack of understanding,
00:46:18.97\00:46:21.51
and let us seek truth, Lord, and
seek understanding as You have
00:46:21.54\00:46:25.35
promised to provide it for us.
00:46:25.38\00:46:27.32
Give us a good
Sabbath, a good day ahead of us.
00:46:27.35\00:46:29.25
I asked in Jesus's name, amen.
00:46:29.28\00:46:31.42
May God bless you.
00:46:31.45\00:46:32.75
Have a happy rest
of the Sabbath Day.
00:46:32.79\00:46:34.79
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Facts Changed Lives."
00:47:15.83\00:47:18.77
¤¤¤
00:47:18.80\00:47:26.71
Justin: Growing up,
as a kid, my mother was,
00:47:26.74\00:47:29.84
like, on drugs and alcohol,
lots of fighting in the home.
00:47:29.88\00:47:34.92
My mom would be abused
mentally, verbally, physically.
00:47:34.95\00:47:39.92
Went from California to Oregon,
spent some time in Oregon,
00:47:39.95\00:47:44.19
and it was just the same cycle
of drugs, alcohol, violence.
00:47:44.23\00:47:49.16
My mom's boyfriend
would go to jail at times.
00:47:49.20\00:47:52.63
She would wait
until he would, you know,
00:47:52.67\00:47:54.94
get out of jail, and
it was back to square one.
00:47:54.97\00:47:57.71
The drugs and alcohol escalated
to a lot harder drugs--
00:47:57.74\00:48:02.54
crystal meth, cocaine,
and lots and lots of alcohol,
00:48:02.58\00:48:07.75
so I started using the
alcohol too, as a medication.
00:48:07.78\00:48:12.75
It was like it took the
misery and the fear that I had.
00:48:12.79\00:48:16.02
I wanted to
drown all that misery.
00:48:16.06\00:48:18.86
Times, I would
just grab, you know,
00:48:18.89\00:48:21.96
a bottle of beer and go out into
the desert and just drink until
00:48:22.00\00:48:26.40
sometimes I'd just pass out in
the desert somewhere and wake up
00:48:26.43\00:48:29.87
the next morning and, you know,
and I just couldn't find rest.
00:48:29.90\00:48:34.68
My step-dad had
gotten me a motorcycle,
00:48:34.71\00:48:37.91
and so I started
riding motorcycles.
00:48:37.95\00:48:40.12
I'd drink a lot of
beer, get on the motorcycle,
00:48:40.15\00:48:43.02
ride into the
desert, do donuts and just,
00:48:43.05\00:48:46.19
you know, just ride
on private property.
00:48:46.22\00:48:49.29
People would chase me
off, and I was just causing--
00:48:49.32\00:48:52.66
stirring up dust and
rocks and just causing chaos.
00:48:52.69\00:48:56.83
And the adrenaline rush
that I had was so exciting,
00:48:56.87\00:49:01.50
and the feeling of it was
so intense that I loved it,
00:49:01.54\00:49:05.91
and I forgot
about all my problems,
00:49:05.94\00:49:09.24
you know, at the moment, and
I thought that material things
00:49:09.28\00:49:11.91
would make me feel so good.
00:49:11.95\00:49:15.62
And so I started
working, started making money,
00:49:15.65\00:49:18.49
had a responsibility,
but as time went by,
00:49:18.52\00:49:23.79
I had more money,
so I would, you know,
00:49:23.83\00:49:26.83
use my money that I made
to buy drugs and alcohol.
00:49:26.86\00:49:31.87
I got pulled over
drinking and driving.
00:49:31.90\00:49:34.70
I ended up going to
jail for a couple days.
00:49:34.74\00:49:38.34
I lost my job because I
missed work for a few days.
00:49:38.37\00:49:43.24
Lost my girlfriend.
00:49:43.28\00:49:44.58
Lost all the money that I
had. So once again, I was empty.
00:49:44.61\00:49:50.25
No money, no drugs, no alcohol,
00:49:50.29\00:49:52.69
and that was a
turning point in my life.
00:49:52.72\00:49:54.99
At this time, I was
living with my grandfather,
00:49:55.02\00:49:57.86
and as I was flipping through
the channels on the satellite
00:49:57.89\00:50:01.70
system, I found "Amazing Facts."
00:50:01.73\00:50:04.50
Pastor Doug
Batchelor was telling his--
00:50:04.53\00:50:07.60
sharing his testimony about
how he was living in a cave,
00:50:07.64\00:50:11.91
and he struggled the same
struggles of alcohol and drugs.
00:50:11.94\00:50:16.31
And I continue to read the
book, "The Richest Caveman,"
00:50:16.34\00:50:19.91
and it really impacted my life
and really related to the things
00:50:19.95\00:50:23.65
he was struggling
with and all the events
00:50:23.69\00:50:26.89
that took place in his life.
00:50:26.92\00:50:28.49
And when I
started reading the Bible,
00:50:28.52\00:50:30.29
Philippians 4:13, says, "I
can do all things through Christ
00:50:30.33\00:50:33.33
who strengthens me."
00:50:33.36\00:50:34.63
And I recognized
that I had no strength,
00:50:34.66\00:50:37.20
I was weak, and I was
wretched, and I needed help.
00:50:37.23\00:50:41.57
So I just asked
the Lord, I said,
00:50:41.60\00:50:43.14
"Just help me, Lord," and
the Holy Spirit convicted me,
00:50:43.17\00:50:47.54
and I decided to be baptized and
to give my life to Jesus Christ.
00:50:47.58\00:50:54.08
A few years after the Lord took
the temptation of drinking and
00:50:54.12\00:50:58.39
doing drugs, He gave me a
beautiful wife I met at church.
00:50:58.42\00:51:02.79
Now I have a beautiful
baby boy, two-year-old baby boy.
00:51:02.82\00:51:06.36
Just exciting to see,
you know, what God is doing
00:51:06.39\00:51:10.20
for my life and my family.
00:51:10.23\00:51:13.17
I met with some friends
from my local church that I was
00:51:13.20\00:51:17.14
attending, and they had told
me about Amazing Facts Center
00:51:17.17\00:51:21.94
of Evangelism training seminar.
00:51:21.98\00:51:24.61
The AFCOE to Go program really
inspired me and motivated me
00:51:24.65\00:51:29.65
to tell young people about,
you know the same struggles
00:51:29.68\00:51:34.39
that I was struggling with to
help these kids give their life
00:51:34.42\00:51:37.86
to Jesus Christ,
and there's nothing,
00:51:37.89\00:51:40.13
else that you could ask for.
00:51:40.16\00:51:41.43
I'm Justin, and God
used you to change my life.
00:51:41.46\00:51:45.80
announcer: "Amazing
Facts Changed Lives."
00:51:59.78\00:52:02.68
¤¤¤
00:52:02.72\00:52:08.52
Ruben: You know, we
grew up in a neighborhood up
00:52:08.56\00:52:10.66
in the Midwest that was
a pretty bad neighborhood,
00:52:10.69\00:52:13.43
and when I became a
teenager, I started using drugs.
00:52:13.46\00:52:17.70
I was on--I started
using meth when I was,
00:52:17.73\00:52:19.73
like, I think, 16,
15, something like that.
00:52:19.77\00:52:22.97
I was having some
problems in my life.
00:52:23.00\00:52:24.41
I really didn't
know how to deal with.
00:52:24.44\00:52:28.51
The only thing I
really knew was violence.
00:52:28.54\00:52:31.71
So this night here, I was going
to inflict violence on myself.
00:52:31.75\00:52:35.45
I was really high
and really depressed,
00:52:35.48\00:52:38.35
so I took--you know,
I had this .40 caliber.
00:52:38.39\00:52:40.72
So I remember I
put one in the chamber,
00:52:40.76\00:52:42.22
and I stuck it to the
side of my head like this.
00:52:42.26\00:52:47.66
And that gun had a
hair trigger, you know.
00:52:47.66\00:52:51.00
I remember I was tapping
it because a part of me said,
00:52:51.03\00:52:54.84
"No, I don't want to do this,"
but there was something very
00:52:54.87\00:52:58.74
evil present
there, saying, "Do it."
00:52:58.77\00:53:01.08
I just said to myself, I
said, "God, if You're real,
00:53:01.11\00:53:07.42
show Yourself to me."
00:53:07.45\00:53:09.55
My mother took me to
church when I was a little kid,
00:53:09.58\00:53:13.42
and we used to sing "Jesus Loves
Me," and I remembered that song.
00:53:13.46\00:53:17.83
It started playing in
my mind, and I almost had,
00:53:17.86\00:53:21.40
like, a vision of
me as a little kid.
00:53:21.43\00:53:26.80
You know, and in Sabbath school,
we used to bang those sticks
00:53:26.84\00:53:31.97
together and
sing, "Jesus Loves Me."
00:53:32.01\00:53:37.21
And I heard that in my
mind. So I said, "Wow."
00:53:37.25\00:53:46.09
So I just, kind of,
like, put the gun down,
00:53:46.12\00:53:47.89
and I kind of fell
on my bedside there,
00:53:47.92\00:53:49.82
and I said, "Lord."
00:53:49.86\00:53:53.03
I just basically, just,
prayed this crazy prayer.
00:53:53.06\00:53:55.40
I says--you know,
I told Him everything
00:53:55.43\00:53:57.03
that was wrong with me.
00:53:57.07\00:53:58.60
And I remember, one
day, I was driving around.
00:53:58.63\00:54:00.27
I kind of felt lost,
and I drove by this church,
00:54:00.30\00:54:03.81
and I seen Tom out there.
00:54:03.84\00:54:05.17
Tom was just out there
watering the flowers, you know.
00:54:05.21\00:54:09.14
Tom: So I caught a vision
out of the side of my eye,
00:54:09.18\00:54:12.61
this big, husky
guy with tattoos,
00:54:12.65\00:54:15.92
walking up and saying, "Hello,"
00:54:15.95\00:54:18.89
and so I asked
him if I can help him.
00:54:18.92\00:54:23.36
He told me that he drives
by the church on occasion,
00:54:23.39\00:54:28.20
and every time he goes by, he's
thinking if he should stop in.
00:54:28.23\00:54:32.53
Ruben: After he
showed me around the church,
00:54:32.57\00:54:36.81
you know, I was like, "Okay,
man, it's nice meeting you,"
00:54:36.84\00:54:39.94
and this and that.
00:54:39.97\00:54:41.28
So I jumped in my car,
and I started heading down
00:54:41.31\00:54:44.01
the driveway, and
the next thing you know,
00:54:44.05\00:54:47.72
in, like, my peripheral
vision, I see him coming around
00:54:47.75\00:54:50.05
the corner like Jerry
Rice running a football.
00:54:50.09\00:54:54.49
No, not that
fast, but, you know,
00:54:54.52\00:54:56.79
he was taking off
after me, and he says,
00:54:56.83\00:54:59.83
"Hey, hey, hey,
hold on, hold on."
00:54:59.86\00:55:02.33
Tom: I asked if he would
like to have some Bible studies,
00:55:02.36\00:55:04.40
and he said, "Yeah."
00:55:04.43\00:55:06.00
Ruben: He would
come by the house,
00:55:06.03\00:55:07.34
and we'd all start--we'd start
hiding the beer cans and trying
00:55:07.37\00:55:11.41
to air out the weed smell, and
there was a presence that came
00:55:11.44\00:55:14.61
with Tom that was comforting.
00:55:14.64\00:55:18.51
You know what I mean?
00:55:18.55\00:55:20.02
Even though I wasn't taking
the Bible studies as serious
00:55:20.05\00:55:22.65
as I should have, looking back,
there was just a presence about
00:55:22.68\00:55:27.32
him being there in the
house that was comforting.
00:55:27.36\00:55:31.16
I told Tom, I
said, "Tom, you know,
00:55:31.19\00:55:32.66
you can't win everybody."
00:55:32.69\00:55:34.30
Tom: I looked
at him, and I knew.
00:55:34.30\00:55:35.60
I said to him,
"Ruben, I never get anybody."
00:55:35.63\00:55:40.94
I says, "The Holy Spirit will do
that," and I kind of in my heart
00:55:40.97\00:55:47.04
knew that the Holy Spirit
was going to work on Ruben.
00:55:47.08\00:55:49.74
Ruben: So then, Tom kind of
left the picture for a while,
00:55:49.78\00:55:53.65
and then I think, one
day, at my mother's house,
00:55:53.68\00:55:55.68
they were watching "The
Final Events of Bible Prophecy."
00:55:55.72\00:55:58.65
So I watched that, and I
remember the scene where they
00:55:58.69\00:56:05.63
had the hellfire and stuff.
00:56:05.66\00:56:08.46
You know,
they're outside the city,
00:56:08.50\00:56:10.47
and it showed the hellfire
coming down and burning people
00:56:10.50\00:56:14.87
and stuff, and I
remember saying to myself,
00:56:14.90\00:56:19.27
"That's where I
would be right there."
00:56:19.31\00:56:21.98
After the hellfire scene,
I saw the saints in the city,
00:56:22.01\00:56:28.02
in the New Jerusalem, and
Jesus recreating the earth.
00:56:28.05\00:56:32.82
And I said, "I want
that to be me and my family."
00:56:32.85\00:56:40.16
There was something about
the way Doug preached and things
00:56:40.20\00:56:42.63
that I felt that touched
me because he's kind of like
00:56:42.66\00:56:47.60
myself, you know?
00:56:47.64\00:56:48.94
He's--he didn't grow
up like that, you know?
00:56:48.97\00:56:52.51
He done drugs and things,
so I kind of found these common
00:56:52.54\00:56:56.68
grounds that I had with
him, and I liked how he just,
00:56:56.71\00:57:00.08
kind of, like, kept it
real with his preaching.
00:57:00.12\00:57:01.85
And then Pastor
Rodley came to the church,
00:57:01.88\00:57:06.89
and I got to know him
very well, and we started
00:57:06.92\00:57:10.53
doing some finishing studies.
00:57:10.56\00:57:12.23
He wanted to make sure I
understand what I was doing
00:57:12.26\00:57:15.50
and things and baptized
me, my wife, my brother.
00:57:15.53\00:57:20.47
No matter what you've
done, where you come from,
00:57:20.50\00:57:24.94
where you've been, no matter how
bad of a sinner you think you
00:57:24.97\00:57:27.94
are, the Lord Jesus loves
you no matter what you've done.
00:57:27.98\00:57:34.38
Doug Batchelor: Friends,
it's because of God's blessing
00:57:34.42\00:57:37.02
and your support,
thousands of others,
00:57:37.05\00:57:38.92
just like Ruben, have
found Jesus and eternal life.
00:57:38.95\00:57:43.86
¤¤¤
00:57:43.89\00:57:53.84
¤¤¤
00:57:53.87\00:57:57.51
¤¤¤
00:57:57.54\00:58:00.84
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00:58:00.88\00:58:10.85
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00:58:10.89\00:58:20.86
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