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Shawn Brummund:
Hello, and welcome to another
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edition of the
"Sabbath School Study Hour."
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We're just so glad that
you have joined us here today.
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For those of you who are
joining us live, good morning.
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It's nice to be able to have you
join us from around the country
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as well as around the world.
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Welcome to the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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right here in the Greater
Sacramento area of California.
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It is our privilege to be able
to come together and continue to
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study as we have been for the
last couple of months now in the
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book of Deuteronomy.
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Today, we're looking at lesson
number nine, issues of the
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heart, and so we're going to
get right into the heart of the
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issues and of this very
important topic as, of course,
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God is interested in our
hearts more than anything else.
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We have a special guest.
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We'll be talking about that just
a little bit later, but before
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we invite our singers out to be
able to lead us out in worship
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and in song, I want to invite
all of you to take advantage of
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a special gift offer that
we have for you during this
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particular
program, which is entitled
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"Is It Possible to
Live Without Sinning?"
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written by Pastor Joe Crews.
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Now, you can get a copy of this
if you live in North America or
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in the U.S. territories.
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All you have to do is
dial 1-866-788-3966, and ask
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for free offer number 187.
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Again, that's 1-866-Study-More.
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So take advantage of
that, and we'll be happy to send
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that out to you.
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If you have a phone, which
almost all of us do nowadays,
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and you'd like to get a digital
copy of that, that also is
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available for you, and you
can go ahead and text the code
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"SH040," and you want
to dial that to 40544.
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So go ahead and text that code,
and we'll be happy to send you a
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free digital
copy of that as well.
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We have a very
special guest with us.
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For many of us that are local
here and have been attending the
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"Panorama of Prophecy" seminar,
you have been blessed, night by
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night, as Pastor John Lomacang
has been blessing us in song,
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and so we have been just so
tremendously blessed in that
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way, but he is going to be
joining us and be our teacher
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here today as well.
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And John and I first
met, boy, about 24 years ago.
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I was interning in college.
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We met at a pastor's retreat
meeting right here in Northern
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California, and he was pastoring
for Northern California
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Conference at the time and had
actually pastored here in this
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conference for 18 years, and so
he's very well acquainted with
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this part of the country
and in this part of the state.
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He has lots of good heritage,
lots of good friends, and so on.
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He's now pastoring in Illinois
Conference part time, and then
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he also is on the
staff with 3ABN, Three Angels
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Network Broadcasting.
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And so many of us are familiar
with Pastor John and his
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ministry, have been blessed
tremendously through many of the
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programming that he's
been involved in at 3ABN.
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We're blessed to be able to
have him here today as well.
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So before we invite him
out, let's ask the Lord to be
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with us in prayer.
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Father in heaven, we are
thankful to be able to come
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together to be
able to worship You.
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We thank You for Your Word.
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We thank You that we have this
freedom and opportunity even
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right now to be able to freely
open Your Word and to be able to
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study this deep and instrumental
book that You have given to us
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in the very beginning, books
of the Bible from Your first
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biblical author
and prophet Moses.
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And, Lord, we want to pray that,
as we open up the Word and as we
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look at this important topic
concerning our hearts, that You
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will speak to us.
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We pray for Your Holy Spirit
to be our Teacher, to guide us
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into all truth.
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We pray a special anointing upon
our teacher here as well, Pastor
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John, and, Lord, we thank
You for answering our prayers
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even right now, amen.
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John Lomacang:
Good morning, everyone.
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And those of you that are
joining us, whatever the medium
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may be, we thank you
also for coming this morning.
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And we are on lesson
number nine, and it is entitled
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"Turn Their Hearts."
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And so if you have your
lessons with you today, you can
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follow us along.
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It's a very interesting lesson
because it addresses the issues
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that are so pertinent
in the Christian life.
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And so when I began to study
this lesson, I began to realize
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that, before we can be qualified
followers of Jesus, something
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has to take place.
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So I know that prayer was
just offered, but I'd like to go
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ahead and have
prayer anyway as we open
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the Word of God together.
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Loving Father in heaven, thank
You that You are the author and
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finisher of our faith as we now
examine our hearts to see where
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we stand in the journey of
Christian character development.
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Speak to us, we pray,
in Christ's name, amen.
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Now, our memory text--and
you could read this with me.
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It'll be on the screen.
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It is from Deuteronomy chapter
4, verse 29, and I'd like us to
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read that together.
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Are we ready? Here we go.
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"But from there you will seek
the Lord your God, and you will
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find him if you seek Him with--"
how much of your heart?--
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"all your heart and
with all your soul."
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As we study this lesson, we'll
find out the central theme of
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following Jesus is
conversion--not only conversion,
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but it is a change in direction.
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Now, as a pastor, I've
discovered that, so often,
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people join our church because
they agree with our doctrinal
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position, you know, when we talk
about the Sabbath, we talk about
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the state of the dead, we teach
the 2,300 days, we go through
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the line of prophecy, and people
are convinced that the Word of
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God is clear, and that's true.
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The Word of God is clear, but so
often, when people get baptized,
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they get baptized into
an intellectual change.
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They change the way they think,
but then something comes along
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that reminds them that changing
the way we think and changing
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the way we live
are not the same thing.
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Changing the way we think
is saying that we are becoming
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intellectual Christians, but the
Christian journey doesn't end
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with a change in
the way we think.
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It continues as the Lord
changes us in the way we live.
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If you look at the journey
of the Israelites, you'll also
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find, if you look up that word,
"repent" or "repentance," you'll
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find the Bible states that word
about 68 times, which means the
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Lord intended in the Old
Testament times as well as New
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Testament times for the
Israelites of old to repent and
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for those who became followers
of Jesus to repent because think
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about it: If all you do is
say, "I want to join your church
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because your church checks all
the boxes," then, as one person
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once says, "You go into the
baptismal pool a dry sinner, and
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you come up a wet sinner."
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But Christ, He desires to change
us not just the way we think,
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but He also wants to
change the way we live.
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In your Bible, if you turn
to Ezekiel 18, it's one of the
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chapters where the Israelites
had a continual battle with
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Jesus--not with
Jesus but with the Father.
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And they were arguing
that His way was not fair.
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But notice what he said
in Ezekiel 18, in verse 30.
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He said to the Israelites,
"Therefore I will judge you, O
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house of Israel, every
one according to His ways,
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says the Lord God."
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And then hear the words--and
He notices--we'll notice that He
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connects two words together.
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He says, "Repent, and turn from
all your transgressions so that
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inequity will not be your ruin."
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I want you to notice the
two words, "repent" and "turn."
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What are those two words?
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"Repent" and "turn."
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So "repentance" is not just a
change in the way we think but
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in the change of the
direction of our lives.
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The Lord was saying to the
Israelites, "Repent of your
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sins, and turn, go in
a different direction."
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Also, you find that, when John
the Baptist introduced Jesus in
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Matthew chapter 3, in verse 2,
one of the first things he said
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before the baptism of Jesus, he
said, "Repent, for the kingdom
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of heaven is at hand."
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If there's any reason why the
people of God should repent, it
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is that we should repent in
preparation for the kingdom of
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God, meaning, the Lord saves us
as we are, but He's not going to
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be taking us into
heaven the way we were.
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He wants to change us.
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As God brought the children of
Israel out of Egypt the way they
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were, but He did not
take them to Canaan the way
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they used to be.
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So between our deliverance and
our entrance into the Promised
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Land, there's a changing.
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There's a repentance,
and there is a turning.
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And John the Baptist made it
very clear, as Jesus was about
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to begin His ministry, he said,
"Repent, for the kingdom of
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heaven is at hand."
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You also find Jesus rebuking
the religious leaders in Matthew
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chapter 12, in verse 41.
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Look there with me.
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Matthew 12, in verse 41, one of
the most resistant prophets the
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Bible talks about is the prophet
Jonah, and when Jonah was given
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direction to go to preach to
Nineveh, we know he ran in the
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opposite direction, but when
God finally, through a series of
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what I call miracles, Jonah is
the only prophet that knows what
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it's like to arrive
at an evangelistic series
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in the belly of a fish.
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But when he got there, God got
his attention, and the city of
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Nineveh repented,
120,000 people repented.
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But when it came to the Jewish
leaders in the days of Christ,
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notice the words that
Jesus repeated to them.
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Matthew 12, in verse 41, He
said, "The men of Nineveh will
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rise up in the judgment with
this generation, and condemn it,
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because they repented at the
preaching of Jonah, and, indeed,
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a greater than Jonah is here."
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Jonah, in his reluctant spirit,
God worked through him to
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convert the city of Nineveh.
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Can you imagine if that happened
in Sacramento if, with one
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sermon, the entire city repents?
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God was able to bring a wicked,
recalcitrant city to repentance
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through the preaching of Jonah.
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And then you find one more
example before we dive deeply
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into the lesson.
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You find the apostle Paul, in
1 Corinthians--in 2 Corinthians
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chapter 13, verse
5, look at these words.
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The apostle Paul connects
repentance to something even
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deeper, and the reason why this
passage is clear--let's read it
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together.
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You can look at it as I read it.
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Paul the apostle
says, "Examine yourself."
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What are the two words?
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"Examine yourself as to
whether you are in the faith."
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Then he says, once
again, "Test yourself."
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Notice where the focus is.
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The focus is not on testing the
other church members, but the
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focus is on examining
yourself, testing yourself.
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And then he says, "Do you
not know yourselves that Jesus
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Christ is in you?--unless
indeed you are disqualified."
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Why is that so
vitally important?
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Paul, the apostle, was
the Pharisee of Pharisees.
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He was a keeper of the law.
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He boasted about that.
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He understood his religious
requirements, but he did not
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have a connection to Christ.
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And so in his Damascus Road
experience, when God shut his
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eyes to give him a better
vision, he realized, when his
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eyes were opened again,
that he had to examine himself.
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And as you know, if Paul the
apostle lived in our day, many
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of us might have a
difficult time having him
00:12:38.92\00:12:41.22
as a church member.
00:12:41.26\00:12:42.72
Can you imagine Paul saying,
"I want to become a member
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of your church"?
00:12:44.99\00:12:46.59
And then they read his name, and
somebody says, "Wait a minute.
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Is that the guy
that used to be Saul?
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Is that the one that consented
to the persecution of maybe
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hundreds of Christians?"
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We would have a difficult time.
00:12:59.51\00:13:01.01
But here's the
reason I mention that.
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When someone repents and they
change the direction of their
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lives consciously, then God
makes it His responsibility to
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change the way they live.
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And God had so changed the
apostle Paul's life, that he was
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safe to be in the ministry.
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Can somebody
say, "Amen," to that?
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So the Lord not only encourages
us to change our direction, but
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when we change our
direction, then He makes Himself
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responsible for the
change in our lives.
00:13:30.14\00:13:33.84
And notice the two changes: When
you're being taught, there's an
00:13:33.88\00:13:36.44
intellectual change, but if we
forget that there needs to be a
00:13:36.48\00:13:39.55
spiritual change, we may
be intellectual giants, but we
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might be spiritual
pygmies, small in our walk,
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small in our faith.
00:13:48.99\00:13:50.63
I want to give you a story.
00:13:50.66\00:13:52.63
October 31, 2000, Singapore
Airlines Flight 006 was taking
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off at Chiang Kai-shek
Airport in Taipei, Taiwan.
00:13:59.13\00:14:03.91
They had 159 passengers
aboard, and all three pilots
00:14:03.94\00:14:08.41
flying a 747-400.
00:14:08.44\00:14:11.05
My wife and I know what that is.
00:14:11.08\00:14:12.88
We've been on
them quite a few times.
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It's a long-hauler.
00:14:14.68\00:14:16.52
It's the flight, the type of
plane that is needed to cross
00:14:16.55\00:14:18.99
the Atlantic or
the Pacific Ocean.
00:14:19.02\00:14:21.82
And a typhoon was on the way,
and it was already raining hard
00:14:21.86\00:14:26.03
at the airport.
00:14:26.06\00:14:27.60
And all three pilots were
directed by the control tower to
00:14:27.66\00:14:31.87
taxi to Runway 005-left.
00:14:31.90\00:14:37.44
Well, they taxied, and at that
time, Chiang Kai-shek Airport
00:14:37.47\00:14:40.64
did not have ground radar.
00:14:40.68\00:14:42.54
In other words, they could
not tell from the control tower
00:14:42.58\00:14:45.15
whether or not they
were on the right runway.
00:14:45.18\00:14:48.02
But when they got to the runway,
they radioed the tower and said,
00:14:48.05\00:14:50.99
"Okay, we're on Runway 05-left.
00:14:51.02\00:14:53.49
We'd like to be
cleared for takeoff.
00:14:53.52\00:14:57.49
The pilots were determined
to leave before the typhoon hit.
00:14:57.53\00:15:01.60
They wanted to get out
of the area before the storm
00:15:01.63\00:15:05.30
intensified, so they were given
clearance to take off on Runway
00:15:05.33\00:15:09.14
05-left, and as they begin to
throttle up--and as I read the
00:15:09.17\00:15:14.11
story, as they passed 80 knots,
one of the pilots shouted these
00:15:14.14\00:15:19.21
two words: "Something there."
00:15:19.25\00:15:23.12
And before they can say another
word, on the voice recorder in
00:15:23.15\00:15:25.99
the plane, that was the last two
words mentioned by the pilots as
00:15:26.02\00:15:29.46
they piled into construction
equipment that was left
00:15:29.49\00:15:34.20
on the runway.
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.16
Bulldozer, concrete roller,
various kinds of debris, metal
00:15:36.20\00:15:42.27
rods to reinforce the runways,
concrete pylons were all left on
00:15:42.30\00:15:46.74
the runway, and they didn't
see it before they hit it.
00:15:46.78\00:15:52.08
The good news is, out of the 159
passengers, the majority of them
00:15:52.11\00:15:56.08
survived, but what a tragedy.
00:15:56.12\00:16:00.12
When they went to examine
the site, they realized, as the
00:16:00.16\00:16:07.13
investigators were looking
at the wreckage, they realized
00:16:07.20\00:16:11.50
that, if the pilots had only
looked at their instruments,
00:16:11.53\00:16:15.14
they would've realized
they were not on 05-left.
00:16:15.17\00:16:19.94
They were on 05-right.
00:16:19.97\00:16:22.11
They were on the wrong
runway, and it was too late
00:16:22.14\00:16:25.55
to turn around.
00:16:25.58\00:16:27.32
They said, "If they had only
looked at their instruments--"
00:16:27.35\00:16:29.95
and what's amazing to me is it
didn't matter where the people
00:16:29.98\00:16:32.69
sat on the plane, whether they
were first class or coach or all
00:16:32.72\00:16:36.06
the way back in coach, it
didn't matter where they were.
00:16:36.09\00:16:40.50
It was too late to turn around.
00:16:40.53\00:16:42.36
You see, the tragedy of living
the Christian life, going in the
00:16:42.40\00:16:46.17
wrong direction without
examining the Word of God to let
00:16:46.20\00:16:51.37
us know that we are
moving in the wrong direction,
00:16:51.41\00:16:54.18
it could be very tragic.
00:16:54.21\00:16:56.01
Flight 006 met its fate by
going down the wrong runway.
00:16:56.04\00:17:02.78
And it did not matter if
the people were in first class
00:17:02.82\00:17:06.19
or in coach.
00:17:06.22\00:17:07.76
They met the very same fate.
00:17:07.79\00:17:09.79
My wife and I travel with
American Airlines, and, you
00:17:09.82\00:17:13.29
know, being in first class
sometimes could make you think
00:17:13.33\00:17:15.70
differently
about people in coach.
00:17:15.73\00:17:17.53
Anybody know what
I'm talking about?
00:17:17.57\00:17:19.33
You know, if you get an
upgrade--sometimes we get an
00:17:19.37\00:17:21.14
upgrade on American Airlines.
00:17:21.17\00:17:23.41
We've flown probably about two
million miles, and sometimes,
00:17:23.44\00:17:26.91
when we go to the airport,
they say, "We put you on
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.34
the upgrade list."
00:17:28.38\00:17:29.74
And it's encouraging to get
an upgrade, especially when you
00:17:29.78\00:17:33.21
have a long flight,
and you get a real meal.
00:17:33.25\00:17:36.02
While the people in
coach are eating peanuts,
00:17:36.05\00:17:38.52
you have a full meal.
00:17:38.55\00:17:39.89
Anybody know what
I'm talking about?
00:17:39.92\00:17:41.52
And so, periodically, we would
get an upgrade, and it does do
00:17:41.56\00:17:45.76
something to you while you're
sitting in first class, and you
00:17:45.79\00:17:48.40
see the other citizens walking
by you, and you're saying thank
00:17:48.43\00:17:51.73
God, I'm in first class.
00:17:51.77\00:17:54.44
And sometimes when we don't make
first class, and we're, like,
00:17:54.47\00:17:57.64
maybe row eight or nine, and we
can hear the knives and forks,
00:17:57.67\00:18:01.08
you know, clinking as people
are eating, and then the flight
00:18:01.11\00:18:04.31
attendant comes to us and say,
"Would you like one pack or two
00:18:04.35\00:18:07.12
packs of peanuts?"
00:18:07.15\00:18:09.25
And we realized, "Man, I
wish I was in first class."
00:18:09.28\00:18:12.05
Well, on this particular flight,
my wife and I got on board.
00:18:12.09\00:18:15.99
We were on the upgrade list, and
when we got on board, I didn't
00:18:16.02\00:18:19.53
realize it, and neither did she.
00:18:19.56\00:18:21.46
When we got on board, they
said--I looked at my ticket.
00:18:21.50\00:18:24.43
It was row 03 window.
00:18:24.47\00:18:26.67
That's first class.
00:18:26.70\00:18:29.24
And my wife was in row six or
row nine, and she was in coach.
00:18:29.27\00:18:35.94
And I asked the
flight attendant.
00:18:35.98\00:18:37.61
I said, "Well,
can I change my seat?"
00:18:37.65\00:18:39.01
She said, "Well,
sorry, the flight is full."
00:18:39.05\00:18:42.42
My wife was in coach.
00:18:42.45\00:18:44.32
I was in first class.
00:18:44.35\00:18:46.72
And I was trying to figure out
how to make the change, but the
00:18:46.76\00:18:53.83
flight attendant
said, "All seats are full."
00:18:53.86\00:18:56.36
So I was texting my wife.
00:18:56.40\00:18:57.70
I said, "Honey,
who's sitting next to you?"
00:18:57.73\00:19:00.77
And at that time, no one was,
but then, eventually, a young
00:19:00.80\00:19:03.97
lady came and sat on
the aisle seat 009 C.
00:19:04.01\00:19:08.11
And she said, "But the
seat is empty between us."
00:19:08.14\00:19:11.85
And I said, "Well who's on 9 C?
00:19:11.88\00:19:13.42
She said, "It's a young
girl who's in the military.
00:19:13.45\00:19:15.98
She has on fatigues."
00:19:16.02\00:19:18.05
And so I waited till the flight
was fully--everybody was on
00:19:18.09\00:19:21.39
board, and the flight
attendant announced that
00:19:21.42\00:19:23.59
the flight is full.
00:19:23.63\00:19:25.86
And I asked the flight
attendant, I said, "Now, could I
00:19:25.89\00:19:29.50
change my seat
with someone else?"
00:19:29.53\00:19:32.30
She said, "If you ask them
and they agree, then you could
00:19:32.33\00:19:34.17
change your seat."
00:19:34.20\00:19:35.50
And I had a plan.
00:19:35.54\00:19:37.14
So I got up from row three in
first class, walked back to row
00:19:37.17\00:19:42.84
nine, and with everyone
seat-belted in, people looked at
00:19:42.88\00:19:46.78
me like, "What is he doing?"
00:19:46.82\00:19:50.32
And I walked over to this
young lady that had her military
00:19:50.35\00:19:53.12
fatigues, and she had her
earplugs in her ear, and I
00:19:53.15\00:19:57.53
tapped her on the shoulder,
and she took it out and said,
00:19:57.56\00:19:59.79
"Excuse me?"
00:19:59.83\00:20:01.56
and kind of had a very
like, "Why are you tapping me
00:20:01.60\00:20:05.50
on my shoulder?" look.
00:20:05.53\00:20:08.14
And I said to her, "I want
to thank you for your service to
00:20:08.17\00:20:11.27
our country, and to show
my appreciation, I'd like
00:20:11.31\00:20:14.58
to give you first class."
00:20:14.61\00:20:17.75
She said, "Seriously?"
00:20:17.78\00:20:20.85
I said, "Seriously."
00:20:20.88\00:20:22.52
And, you know, it was a
wonderful moment because you
00:20:22.55\00:20:24.42
know how women do it?
00:20:24.45\00:20:25.95
All the ladies around said, "Aw,
how nice of him," and I became
00:20:25.99\00:20:30.96
a hero at that moment.
00:20:30.99\00:20:32.69
But what they didn't know--that
I would rather be in coach with
00:20:32.73\00:20:35.33
my wife than in
first class without her.
00:20:35.36\00:20:38.00
Come on, husbands, say, "Amen."
00:20:38.03\00:20:40.50
So I was able to accomplish both
things, but I want to tell you,
00:20:40.54\00:20:44.01
as the flight was taking off
and I heard the forks and knives
00:20:44.04\00:20:47.78
clinking, heh, my wife said,
"Are you still happy that you
00:20:47.81\00:20:50.68
didn't sit in first class?"
00:20:50.71\00:20:52.85
I said, "I'm more happy to be
with you in coach than without
00:20:52.88\00:20:56.79
you in first class."
00:20:56.82\00:20:59.29
You know, the Lord wants us to
be first-class Christians, but I
00:20:59.32\00:21:02.52
want to make some comparisons
this morning that I found in the
00:21:02.56\00:21:06.13
Bible about what was left on the
runway--the concrete barriers,
00:21:06.16\00:21:10.33
the obstacles--this doomed
flight, and I've seen a parallel
00:21:10.37\00:21:15.64
between what happened to
Singapore Airline and what often
00:21:15.67\00:21:19.01
happens in our lives because, so
many times, we are intending to
00:21:19.04\00:21:24.01
go in the right direction.
00:21:24.05\00:21:26.82
And I don't believe that there
are Christians that don't want
00:21:26.85\00:21:28.72
to go in the right direction,
but I believe, in many ways, we
00:21:28.75\00:21:31.95
intend to go in the right
direction, but we confront
00:21:31.99\00:21:35.32
the obstacles in our lives.
00:21:35.36\00:21:37.43
And look at how
I brought this out.
00:21:37.46\00:21:39.16
One of the first obstacles--and
the reason why I call this a
00:21:39.19\00:21:42.06
"concrete barrier" is because
that's the very first thing that
00:21:42.10\00:21:45.37
Singapore Airline hit, a
series of concrete barriers.
00:21:45.40\00:21:50.17
The greatest concrete barrier
to repentance is--what, friends?
00:21:50.21\00:21:54.64
Sin.
00:21:54.68\00:21:56.01
Notice what's in the
middle of the word "sin"-- "I."
00:21:56.04\00:21:59.65
In the middle of
the word "sin" is "I."
00:21:59.68\00:22:02.35
Or in the middle of the
word "sin" is the letter "I."
00:22:02.38\00:22:05.39
It's the central focus.
00:22:05.42\00:22:07.19
If we can focus on ourselves,
who is the central focus of the
00:22:07.22\00:22:12.29
word "sin," "I," then,
God can get our attention.
00:22:12.33\00:22:16.53
And notice the passage that goes
with this particular focus of
00:22:16.56\00:22:22.77
the concrete barriers.
00:22:22.80\00:22:24.31
How did we get into sin?
00:22:24.34\00:22:26.84
The Bible says in Romans 5,
in verse 12, "Therefore, just as
00:22:26.88\00:22:29.84
through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin,
00:22:29.88\00:22:35.52
and thus death
spread to--" how many of us?
00:22:35.55\00:22:38.75
"All men, because all sinned--"
what it's, in essence, saying is
00:22:38.79\00:22:42.26
"Why is
repentance so necessary?"
00:22:42.29\00:22:44.39
It's because of the sin of Adam.
00:22:44.43\00:22:46.76
As Pastor Doug was asking during
the week, "How many of you were
00:22:46.80\00:22:50.17
on the ark?"
00:22:50.20\00:22:51.53
or "How many of you
have Noah as your family?"
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.67
or "How many of you
are children of Adam?"
00:22:53.70\00:22:55.50
Every one of us is a child of
Adam, but I want to be a child
00:22:55.54\00:23:01.28
of the last Adam because, when
you read 1 Corinthians chapter
00:23:01.31\00:23:05.28
15, it talks about two
Adams, the natural Adam and the
00:23:05.31\00:23:09.35
spiritual Adam.
00:23:09.38\00:23:11.19
A number of years
ago, I did a sermon called
00:23:11.22\00:23:13.29
"The Adams Family."
00:23:13.32\00:23:14.79
And the question that I posed
was "Which Adam is your father?"
00:23:14.82\00:23:19.06
But because Adam is the natural
father of every one of us, we
00:23:19.09\00:23:23.57
all inherited his DNA.
00:23:23.60\00:23:28.44
That DNA is the
concrete block. It is sin.
00:23:28.47\00:23:31.94
So whether a baby is beautiful
when it's born or whether its
00:23:31.97\00:23:34.91
face is wrinkled or whether it's
born into a wealthy family or a
00:23:34.94\00:23:38.91
poor family or a family on
Section 8, no matter what the
00:23:38.95\00:23:43.39
station of birth, every one
of us inherit the nature of our
00:23:43.42\00:23:47.36
father Adam, which is why the
lesson is so vitally important.
00:23:47.39\00:23:51.03
If you turn to lesson number
nine, you'll see there very
00:23:51.06\00:23:53.76
clearly--lesson number nine,
there's a statement that I want
00:23:53.80\00:23:56.16
to read to you very quickly.
00:23:56.20\00:23:57.83
It says in the introduction, "A
simple fact of life follows us
00:23:57.87\00:24:02.44
all: We are sinful."
00:24:02.47\00:24:04.84
Let's say that
together. "We are--" what?
00:24:04.87\00:24:07.84
"We are sinful."
00:24:07.88\00:24:09.28
That is our spiritual DNA.
00:24:09.31\00:24:10.81
Have you seen what Christians
have been doing lately,
00:24:10.85\00:24:13.78
linking to Jesus?
00:24:13.82\00:24:15.92
Especially in this environment
that we've been living in
00:24:15.95\00:24:17.59
politically, so many things have
been happening in the political
00:24:17.62\00:24:21.26
world, and the sad reality is
they have been displayed in the
00:24:21.29\00:24:26.26
lives of people claiming
to be connected to Christ.
00:24:26.29\00:24:30.10
There ought to be an
external difference in the way a
00:24:30.13\00:24:34.20
Christian lives, not just
the way that he or she thinks.
00:24:34.24\00:24:38.94
There ought to be a
different way of living in
00:24:38.97\00:24:41.04
a Christian's life.
00:24:41.08\00:24:44.28
So it's not enough to say,
"I'm a Christian," but if your
00:24:44.31\00:24:48.05
Christianity is not working for
you, how do we expect it to work
00:24:48.08\00:24:51.89
for someone who
doesn't know Christ?
00:24:51.92\00:24:54.16
So the greatest advertisement
for who Christ is, is when a
00:24:54.19\00:24:58.19
person looks at
a Christian's life.
00:24:58.23\00:25:01.40
But until we come to the
realization that we are, in
00:25:01.43\00:25:03.63
fact, sinful by nature, then we
may postpone our need for change
00:25:03.67\00:25:08.77
by saying, "Well
look at my family status.
00:25:08.80\00:25:11.31
Look at the schools, I went to.
00:25:11.34\00:25:13.34
Look at my background.
00:25:13.38\00:25:14.91
Look at my
educational accomplishments."
00:25:14.94\00:25:16.71
No matter what we have, each
one of us need to be confronting
00:25:16.75\00:25:19.75
our condition.
00:25:19.78\00:25:21.45
Not only that, we look at, first
of all, the concrete barrier.
00:25:21.48\00:25:24.65
Then the next one
is the doomed flight.
00:25:24.69\00:25:27.79
What dooms us?
The doomed flight.
00:25:27.82\00:25:30.09
What dooms us?
00:25:30.13\00:25:31.56
What are the
two big words there?
00:25:31.59\00:25:33.06
What? Adam's nature.
00:25:33.09\00:25:35.40
That means, every one of
us, when we are born, we are
00:25:35.43\00:25:39.77
given--and listen to this
carefully--we are all given a
00:25:39.80\00:25:43.41
ticket to board Adam's flight,
and we are onboard with Adam
00:25:43.44\00:25:49.41
throughout our lives
until the turn comes.
00:25:49.44\00:25:53.08
Until repentance and conversion
takes place in our lives, every
00:25:53.11\00:25:56.28
one of us is on a doomed flight,
and here's the reason why the
00:25:56.32\00:25:59.69
flight is doomed.
00:25:59.72\00:26:01.26
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians
15:22--it's a short verse.
00:26:01.29\00:26:04.13
Can we see it together?
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.16
"For as in Adam--" how many?
00:26:06.19\00:26:07.96
"All die."
00:26:08.00\00:26:12.17
So Adam has defaulted every
one of us to a death sentence.
00:26:12.20\00:26:17.54
But Jesus, if we accept Him, has
defaulted us to a life sentence.
00:26:17.57\00:26:23.88
The rest of the passage says,
"Even so in Christ shall all be
00:26:23.91\00:26:26.65
made alive."
00:26:26.68\00:26:28.15
So we have the concrete
barriers, we have the doomed
00:26:28.18\00:26:30.62
flight, and then
we have the obstacles.
00:26:30.65\00:26:32.65
Look at the obstacles.
00:26:32.69\00:26:33.99
The third one I bring out
is--what are the obstacles?
00:26:34.02\00:26:37.39
Sinful choices.
00:26:37.43\00:26:39.13
Notice this: Sin, which is
the result of Adam's nature,
00:26:39.16\00:26:44.13
defaults us to
make sinful choices.
00:26:44.17\00:26:48.20
And by the way, if you read
Romans 6:16, depending on which
00:26:48.24\00:26:51.27
way you yield, whether you yield
to righteousness or whether you
00:26:51.31\00:26:55.94
yield to sin, in both cases, we
lose control of the things that
00:26:55.98\00:27:00.75
we do next.
00:27:00.78\00:27:02.15
Romans 6:16 says, "Do you
not know that to whom you yield
00:27:02.18\00:27:05.02
yourselves as servants to obey,
you are that one slave whom you
00:27:05.05\00:27:09.09
obey, whether of sin leading to
death, or obedience leading to
00:27:09.12\00:27:14.13
righteousness?"
00:27:14.20\00:27:15.70
So depending on where you make
that choice, you are defaulted
00:27:15.73\00:27:21.20
to be under the control of the
blessings of Christ shaping your
00:27:21.24\00:27:24.27
life or the condemnation
of Satan forming your life.
00:27:24.31\00:27:28.71
But either way, we are defaulted
by Adam's nature to making
00:27:28.74\00:27:32.98
sinful choices, which is the
reason why we need to turn and
00:27:33.01\00:27:37.35
give our lives to Jesus.
00:27:37.39\00:27:39.75
Let's go to the next one.
00:27:39.79\00:27:41.42
I'm taking all these
from the lesson of Flight 006.
00:27:41.46\00:27:45.23
The Bible says, Isaiah 53, "All
we like sheep have--" done what?
00:27:45.26\00:27:49.90
"Gone astray."
00:27:49.93\00:27:51.53
Notice this: "We have turned,
every one, to his own way."
00:27:51.57\00:27:56.74
Flight 006 turned in the wrong
direction, turned on the wrong
00:27:56.77\00:28:01.34
runway, and the investigators
said they discovered that the
00:28:01.38\00:28:05.51
reason for this flight ending up
on the wrong runway is all three
00:28:05.55\00:28:11.32
pilots trust their judgment
and not their instruments.
00:28:11.35\00:28:16.29
They said, "If they had only
looked down at their heads-up
00:28:16.32\00:28:18.66
display, it would've indicated
they were on the wrong runway,
00:28:18.69\00:28:22.96
but they trusted
their judgments."
00:28:23.00\00:28:25.03
Have you ever trusted
your judgment, and it went bad?
00:28:25.07\00:28:32.14
Have you done it more than once?
00:28:32.17\00:28:35.01
Oftentimes, we do that.
00:28:35.04\00:28:36.98
That's why my wife and I have
built into our lives what we
00:28:37.01\00:28:39.71
call a "fail-safe."
00:28:39.75\00:28:41.35
One of the worst times to try to
trust your judgment is when you
00:28:41.38\00:28:45.29
go to a store, and the
salesperson is well trained to
00:28:45.32\00:28:48.69
convince you to buy what
you really don't need, right?
00:28:48.72\00:28:52.49
We were at Best Buy one day, and
we looked at this television,
00:28:52.53\00:28:57.60
and I don't know why it is
that every time you ask the
00:28:57.63\00:29:01.44
salesperson, to purchase
something, how is it that most
00:29:01.47\00:29:04.11
of the time you're on
the last day of the sale?
00:29:04.14\00:29:07.08
Have you noticed that?
00:29:07.11\00:29:08.71
They will say,
"Today is the last day.
00:29:08.74\00:29:10.95
If you come back tomorrow,
today is the last day."
00:29:10.98\00:29:13.35
So my wife and I have
"failed-proof" ourselves or
00:29:13.38\00:29:16.18
found a way to, kind of,
you know, introduce into the
00:29:16.22\00:29:18.85
scenario something that they're
not trained to do or not trained
00:29:18.89\00:29:21.82
to answer.
00:29:21.86\00:29:23.36
So they say, "Well, you know,
we could wrap it up right away.
00:29:23.39\00:29:25.09
We could get it ready for you.
00:29:25.13\00:29:26.59
You could take it home
today. It's the last day.
00:29:26.63\00:29:28.33
I don't want you
to miss the sale."
00:29:28.36\00:29:30.27
Look, my wife and I always do
this: "Well, you know, we always
00:29:30.30\00:29:33.10
like to pray about it first."
00:29:33.13\00:29:35.64
They have not been trained to
handle people that want to pray
00:29:35.67\00:29:38.84
about their purchases.
00:29:38.87\00:29:41.01
And I always like
to look at their face.
00:29:41.04\00:29:42.51
They say...
00:29:42.54\00:29:46.25
They don't know what to
do. They don't know what to do.
00:29:46.28\00:29:49.92
So they-- And we say, "If the
Lord wants it for us, it'll be
00:29:49.95\00:29:53.46
here when we come back."
00:29:53.49\00:29:55.62
And they say, "Well, thank you
so much for coming in today."
00:29:55.66\00:29:59.56
You've got to plan how to
address the concrete barriers
00:29:59.59\00:30:03.70
in your life.
00:30:03.73\00:30:05.23
You've got to plan how
to address the obstacles
00:30:05.27\00:30:07.77
in your life.
00:30:07.80\00:30:09.30
When you plan how to address
the obstacles in your life, the
00:30:09.34\00:30:12.27
obstacles in your life do
not find ways of mastering you.
00:30:12.31\00:30:17.21
But let's look
at something else.
00:30:17.25\00:30:18.91
Let's look at the bulldozer,
the bulldozers in our lives.
00:30:18.95\00:30:22.82
The bulldozer is the spiritual
progress that some of us fail to
00:30:22.85\00:30:26.25
make because there's
a bulldozer in our way.
00:30:26.29\00:30:29.52
My text for the
bulldozer is Jeremiah 13:23.
00:30:29.56\00:30:32.59
Look at this one.
00:30:32.63\00:30:34.00
This is the bulldozer text.
00:30:34.03\00:30:35.76
"Can the Ethiopian change
his skin--" what's the answer?
00:30:35.80\00:30:40.97
Can the
European change his skin?
00:30:41.00\00:30:44.24
Can the African change his skin?
00:30:44.27\00:30:47.84
Can anyone change his skin?
00:30:47.88\00:30:49.71
No-- "or the leopard its spots?"
00:30:49.74\00:30:52.35
Look at this part: "Then
may you also do good who are--"
00:30:52.38\00:30:56.35
what's the next word?
00:30:56.38\00:30:57.79
"Accustomed to do evil."
00:30:57.82\00:31:00.96
In our natural trend of life, if
you wake up in the morning--and
00:31:00.99\00:31:03.86
I've had this even as a pastor.
00:31:03.89\00:31:06.39
Confession is good for the soul.
00:31:06.43\00:31:07.96
You know the rest of the story.
00:31:08.00\00:31:09.96
I've had this so often, and one
of the reasons why my wife and I
00:31:10.00\00:31:12.90
are glad for this little break
is because we live in a vortex
00:31:12.93\00:31:17.47
of activity--going, going,
going, going, going, studying my
00:31:17.51\00:31:21.21
lesson for Sabbath school,
studying my Bible for Sabbath
00:31:21.24\00:31:25.81
School panel.
00:31:25.85\00:31:27.68
You know, we tape all of our
Sabbath School lesson studies
00:31:27.72\00:31:30.49
that you watch on 3AB, and we do
them, like, four days in a row,
00:31:30.52\00:31:33.25
13 lessons, studying my Bible
to get my Wednesday night prayer
00:31:33.29\00:31:37.29
meeting ready, studying my
Bible for my sermon on Sabbath
00:31:37.33\00:31:40.63
morning, studying my Bible
for my Sabbath School lesson,
00:31:40.66\00:31:43.60
studying my Bible for
an evangelistic effort.
00:31:43.63\00:31:46.74
I get so busy studying my Bible
to feed everybody else, that
00:31:46.77\00:31:50.24
sometimes I'll forget to study
my Bible to feed myself, and
00:31:50.27\00:31:55.64
then, in the vortex of activity,
we realize, "Wait a minute, the
00:31:55.68\00:32:00.55
old ways begin to creep back."
00:32:00.58\00:32:06.12
We were driving to Texas,
driving through Texas on our way
00:32:06.15\00:32:09.22
to California, and this is when
we were coming to start ministry
00:32:09.26\00:32:13.73
in 1987.
00:32:13.76\00:32:15.63
I was coming out to
start ministry with Pastor Doug
00:32:15.66\00:32:17.40
Batchelor, as a singing
evangelist and one of his Bible
00:32:17.43\00:32:20.40
workers, and I remember very
well we tried our best to make
00:32:20.44\00:32:23.67
it through Texas, but we didn't
realize that, when you enter the
00:32:23.71\00:32:26.91
state of Texas, coming from the
east, the very first sign you
00:32:26.94\00:32:29.28
see is "880 miles."
00:32:29.31\00:32:33.62
That means that's how long
you're going to be in Texas if
00:32:33.65\00:32:35.45
you're on Highway 10.
00:32:35.48\00:32:37.62
So we decided to
stop halfway in Texas.
00:32:37.65\00:32:40.76
We pulled over at a motel there
in the desert and decided to
00:32:40.79\00:32:45.53
sleep because there's no
way we were driving 880 miles
00:32:45.56\00:32:48.43
in one stretch.
00:32:48.46\00:32:50.77
We got up the next morning with
our trailer connected to our
00:32:50.80\00:32:52.97
4Runner and decided back, you
know, get back on the freeway
00:32:53.00\00:32:56.60
and continue our journey.
00:32:56.64\00:32:58.87
And my wife said to me, "That
looks like the gas station we
00:32:58.91\00:33:04.08
saw yesterday."
00:33:04.11\00:33:07.15
I said, "Honey, Texas is
big enough for two gas stations
00:33:07.18\00:33:10.79
like that."
00:33:10.82\00:33:12.89
Kept on driving.
00:33:12.92\00:33:15.66
She said, "But that looks like
the rest area we saw yesterday."
00:33:15.69\00:33:20.03
I said, "Honey, do you
realize how big Texas is?
00:33:20.06\00:33:23.50
Surely, they must have at least
two rest areas that look alike.
00:33:23.53\00:33:26.43
That has to be, you
know, just another rest area."
00:33:26.47\00:33:30.24
We kept driving, then we saw
this tall, green Sunoco dinosaur
00:33:30.27\00:33:36.61
at the gas station, and my wife
said, "So are you telling me
00:33:36.64\00:33:40.35
that Texas has two
green Sunoco dinosaurs?"
00:33:40.38\00:33:44.25
And I looked down at the side of
the highway realizing instead of
00:33:44.29\00:33:47.09
going 10 West, I
was driving 10 East.
00:33:47.12\00:33:50.23
For 45 minutes, I was
driving in the wrong direction.
00:33:50.26\00:33:53.86
Now, guys, you know how damaging
that is to our ego when our
00:33:53.90\00:33:58.07
wives have to tell us we're
going in the wrong direction
00:33:58.10\00:34:01.87
because, when we admit it,
it doesn't end right there.
00:34:01.90\00:34:05.57
Have you noticed that?
00:34:05.61\00:34:07.24
It's like you get off of the
exit a lot smaller than you used
00:34:07.28\00:34:09.94
to be, and you turn around
as you try to reach up to the
00:34:09.98\00:34:13.45
steering wheel because your
wife's look makes you shrink
00:34:13.48\00:34:15.68
behind the wheel, and you begin
to go in the right direction.
00:34:15.72\00:34:19.69
What is that?
00:34:19.72\00:34:21.32
When you repent and you begin to
turn, sometimes it's humbling,
00:34:21.36\00:34:27.30
but when we look at ourselves
the way that God sees us, it's
00:34:27.36\00:34:31.70
better to humble ourselves,
repent, and go in the right
00:34:31.73\00:34:35.54
direction than to be filled with
pride and waste our time going
00:34:35.57\00:34:39.71
in all the
wrong direction, amen.
00:34:39.74\00:34:42.81
It was very humbling.
00:34:42.84\00:34:44.45
You know, I drove 45
minutes in the wrong direction.
00:34:44.48\00:34:47.68
I heard about it for three
hours in the right direction.
00:34:47.72\00:34:54.22
Ladies have a great
gift, don't they, husbands?
00:34:54.26\00:34:56.26
Amen.
00:34:56.29\00:34:57.79
There's another part to that.
00:34:57.83\00:34:59.29
Let's look at the
excavators on the runway.
00:34:59.33\00:35:00.96
The excavators.
00:35:01.00\00:35:02.53
The excavators are the
instruments that dig holes in
00:35:02.56\00:35:06.74
the concrete, and there were
holes these excavators dug in
00:35:06.77\00:35:10.77
the concrete on Runway 05-right,
that, if the plane was going on
00:35:10.81\00:35:16.78
the right runway, it
would not have encountered these
00:35:16.81\00:35:20.02
excavating machines or the large
potholes left in Runway 5-right.
00:35:20.05\00:35:26.25
Look at my analogy of the skewed
decisions that these holes in
00:35:26.29\00:35:29.79
our lives lead us to make.
00:35:29.82\00:35:32.39
The Bible says in Proverbs 14,
in verse 12, when our lives are
00:35:32.43\00:35:36.13
not converted, when we don't
turn, the Bible says, "There is
00:35:36.16\00:35:40.04
a way that seems right to a
man, but its end is--" what?
00:35:40.07\00:35:44.77
"The way of death."
00:35:44.81\00:35:48.28
So when we look at the
bulldozers, the concrete pylons,
00:35:48.31\00:35:51.95
when we look at all the defect
conditions of our lives, only
00:35:51.98\00:35:56.38
then can we appreciate what the
Bible writer said that there is
00:35:56.42\00:36:00.62
a need for conversion and
the change in our direction.
00:36:00.66\00:36:03.69
But sometimes, as we go on--and
I say this to those of us who
00:36:03.73\00:36:08.36
know the way, because,
the apostle Paul, much of the
00:36:08.40\00:36:12.03
challenges he had was not with
non-Christians, but many of the
00:36:12.07\00:36:17.27
challenges Paul had
was with Christians.
00:36:17.31\00:36:19.97
What Paul wrote to the Romans,
to the Philippians, to the
00:36:20.01\00:36:22.81
Thessalonians, the writings
of the apostle Paul were
00:36:22.84\00:36:26.85
to the church.
00:36:26.88\00:36:28.38
And if you look at the church,
he was saying to the church,
00:36:28.42\00:36:30.79
"Examine yourselves."
00:36:30.82\00:36:32.62
And the Bible makes it
very clear that our skewed
00:36:32.65\00:36:34.12
directions, the things that
happen in our lives are often
00:36:34.16\00:36:37.93
that which default us
in the wrong direction.
00:36:37.96\00:36:41.73
But I want to begin to wind
this down with a very important
00:36:41.76\00:36:44.57
point, and I want
you to listen to this.
00:36:44.60\00:36:47.17
You know, sometimes we join the
church, and we say, "Praise the
00:36:47.20\00:36:50.97
Lord, I made a decision to be
born again," and I've had people
00:36:51.01\00:36:55.04
that have been baptized.
00:36:55.08\00:36:56.81
Even as Pastor Doug had said,
when he got baptized, he ended
00:36:56.85\00:36:59.71
up in jail that evening.
00:36:59.75\00:37:02.92
I always smile about
that. I know his story so well.
00:37:02.95\00:37:05.69
You know, sometimes
I give my testimony.
00:37:05.72\00:37:07.46
He gives my testimony better
than I, and I think I give his
00:37:07.49\00:37:09.82
testimony better than he does.
00:37:09.86\00:37:12.09
But the details of his life
are amazing--no pun intended.
00:37:12.13\00:37:16.16
And the details of my life are
incredible, being abandoned by
00:37:16.20\00:37:18.83
my mother at three months
old, in the home of an Adventist
00:37:18.87\00:37:22.04
babysitter so God can shape
me into the man I am today.
00:37:22.07\00:37:25.64
Somebody, say, "Amen."
00:37:25.67\00:37:27.84
But what I've noticed, as I was
growing up in the world, growing
00:37:27.88\00:37:30.95
up in the church, going to
church every Sabbath, sitting in
00:37:30.98\00:37:34.82
the building, I was in the
building physically, but I was
00:37:34.85\00:37:37.72
not in Christ.
00:37:37.75\00:37:40.12
And at 16 years old,
I had another encounter.
00:37:40.16\00:37:43.22
I met my wife-to-be, who was my
girlfriend at the time, who's my
00:37:43.26\00:37:47.86
wife now, who is still
my girlfriend, and she was
00:37:47.86\00:37:52.53
determined that she was not
going to marry someone who's
00:37:52.57\00:37:56.00
going in the wrong direction.
00:37:56.04\00:38:01.08
But at 16 years old, she could
not invite a boyfriend over
00:38:01.11\00:38:04.58
because she had five
brothers--wait, let me
00:38:04.61\00:38:07.52
restate that.
00:38:07.55\00:38:08.92
She had five Jamaican brothers.
00:38:08.95\00:38:11.32
Jamaican brothers are brothers
on steroids, and being the
00:38:11.35\00:38:14.29
youngest of eight children,
being the youngest girl, they
00:38:14.32\00:38:17.26
really zeroed in on
protecting their sister.
00:38:17.29\00:38:20.06
Believe me, I experienced it.
00:38:20.10\00:38:23.16
But she was determined
to get my life to go in
00:38:23.20\00:38:25.63
the right direction.
00:38:25.67\00:38:26.97
So one Friday evening, when
I was partying, gambling, pool
00:38:27.00\00:38:29.90
hustling, living for the
clubs, living for the world, she
00:38:29.94\00:38:33.48
invited me to her
home one Friday evening for
00:38:33.51\00:38:35.34
family worship.
00:38:35.38\00:38:37.28
And that evening, she introduced
me to the book, "The Great
00:38:37.31\00:38:38.91
Controversy," and the very first
chapter she introduced me to was
00:38:38.95\00:38:42.62
"The Time of Trouble."
00:38:42.65\00:38:44.22
I'm going to tell you one.
00:38:44.25\00:38:45.55
If you want to help somebody
turn around, read "The Time of
00:38:45.59\00:38:48.79
Trouble" to a sinner.
00:38:48.82\00:38:51.83
It scared the sin out of me, and
I fell to my knees, and in the
00:38:51.86\00:38:56.30
next chapter we read was the
promises of Christ's return, and
00:38:56.33\00:38:59.60
that evening, I was preparing,
after that family worship,
00:38:59.63\00:39:02.74
to go party.
00:39:02.77\00:39:04.37
After I read that, I
gave my life to the Lord.
00:39:04.41\00:39:07.14
That Friday, I went to work with
a pool stick and a boom box as I
00:39:07.18\00:39:10.38
worked at Bank of America.
00:39:10.41\00:39:12.18
That Monday morning, I
went to work again with a Bible
00:39:12.21\00:39:15.88
and "The Great Controversy."
00:39:15.92\00:39:18.29
Come on, say, "Amen," somebody.
00:39:18.32\00:39:20.29
And I got my first Bible study
on Monday morning without any
00:39:20.32\00:39:22.86
help of any Bible schools.
00:39:22.89\00:39:25.09
When the Lord turns your
life around, it is amazing
00:39:25.13\00:39:27.76
what God can do.
00:39:27.83\00:39:29.50
But why do I share
that story with you?
00:39:29.53\00:39:31.27
So many people--and I want
to make a point: Externally,
00:39:31.30\00:39:34.97
I wasn't any different.
00:39:35.00\00:39:36.84
I still had my records at home.
00:39:36.87\00:39:39.17
I still had my two
turntables that I partied with.
00:39:39.21\00:39:43.11
I still had all the albums
lined up on my wall in my room.
00:39:43.14\00:39:46.88
There was no external changes
in my life yet, but I knew that
00:39:46.92\00:39:54.56
Jesus had given me a
chance to turn my life in
00:39:54.59\00:39:58.76
the right direction.
00:39:58.79\00:40:01.63
Listen carefully: So many people
join the church, and we don't
00:40:01.66\00:40:06.97
see their external changes, and
sometimes they feel that, since
00:40:07.00\00:40:12.31
they have not yet gotten the
victory over the challenges of
00:40:12.34\00:40:15.84
their lives, that they
are not yet accepted by God.
00:40:15.88\00:40:19.81
But a few months ago, as I was
reading the book "Evangelism," I
00:40:19.85\00:40:24.15
found a quotation that has
thrilled my heart to simply say
00:40:24.19\00:40:28.12
this: When someone gives his
or her life to the Lord and they
00:40:28.16\00:40:33.23
make a decision to turn, they
may follow some of the things
00:40:33.26\00:40:37.03
that they had been
driving past before, which is
00:40:37.07\00:40:40.27
what I've learned.
00:40:40.30\00:40:41.90
When I made that turn on Highway
10, I noticed that I saw, going
00:40:41.94\00:40:46.47
in the wrong direction, I saw a
gas station, I saw a rest area,
00:40:46.51\00:40:50.48
I saw a dinosaur, what I'd
seen before, and I learned the
00:40:50.51\00:40:54.22
lesson, when the things of your
past begin to show up again,
00:40:54.25\00:40:57.72
that's an indication you're
going in the wrong direction,
00:40:57.75\00:41:03.93
but when you're going in the
right direction, sometimes it
00:41:03.96\00:41:06.49
takes time to get the things of
your life out, yet what I don't
00:41:06.53\00:41:11.07
want you to miss is that the
Lord accepts you the moment that
00:41:11.10\00:41:14.17
you make the turn.
00:41:14.20\00:41:16.10
Look at this quotation.
00:41:16.14\00:41:17.77
It's pretty lengthy, but I think
I'd like to wind up with this.
00:41:17.81\00:41:21.18
"Evangelism," page 286, in
paragraph 1, servant of the Lord
00:41:21.21\00:41:25.31
says, "I have been shown
that many have confused ideas in
00:41:25.35\00:41:29.38
regard to conversion.
00:41:29.42\00:41:32.05
They have often heard the
words repeated from the pulpit,
00:41:32.09\00:41:35.49
'You must be born again.'
00:41:35.52\00:41:37.99
'You must have a new heart.'
00:41:38.03\00:41:40.80
These expressions
have perplexed them.
00:41:40.83\00:41:44.10
They could not comprehend
the plan of salvation.
00:41:44.13\00:41:46.60
Many have stumbled to
ruin because of the erroneous
00:41:46.63\00:41:49.94
doctrines taught by some
ministers concerning the change
00:41:49.97\00:41:54.68
that takes place at conversion.
00:41:54.71\00:41:58.35
Some have lived in sadness for
years, waiting for some marked
00:41:58.38\00:42:02.48
evidence that they
were accepted by God."
00:42:02.52\00:42:06.62
That's powerful.
00:42:06.65\00:42:08.26
"They have separated themselves
in a large measure from the
00:42:08.29\00:42:11.29
world, and find pleasure in
associating with the people of
00:42:11.33\00:42:15.86
God, yet they dare not profess
Christ, because they fear it
00:42:15.90\00:42:21.84
would be presumption to say
that they are children of God.
00:42:21.87\00:42:26.27
They are waiting for that
peculiar change that they have
00:42:26.31\00:42:31.95
been led to believe is
connected with conversion."
00:42:31.98\00:42:34.98
Are you gathering that?
00:42:35.02\00:42:36.85
In other words, they've
been told that, "When you are
00:42:36.89\00:42:38.49
converted, the change happens."
00:42:38.52\00:42:39.75
Well, listen to this: "After
a time some of these do receive
00:42:39.79\00:42:44.66
evidence of their acceptance
with God, and are then led to
00:42:44.69\00:42:48.96
identify
themselves with His people.
00:42:49.00\00:42:52.47
And they date their
conversion from this time.
00:42:52.50\00:42:57.14
But I have been
shown--" this is beautiful.
00:42:57.17\00:42:59.94
"But I have been shown that they
were adopted into the family of
00:43:00.04\00:43:04.48
God before that time.
00:43:04.51\00:43:08.52
God accepted them when they
became weary of sin, and having
00:43:08.55\00:43:13.89
lost their desire for
worldly pleasures, resolved
00:43:13.92\00:43:18.09
to seek God earnestly.
00:43:18.13\00:43:22.16
But, failing to understand
the simplicity of the plan of
00:43:22.20\00:43:25.10
salvation, they lost many
privileges and blessings which
00:43:25.13\00:43:30.34
they might have claimed had they
only believed--" and here's the
00:43:30.37\00:43:34.58
end-- "when they first turned to
God, that He had accepted them."
00:43:34.61\00:43:41.65
Somebody ought to say, "Amen."
00:43:41.68\00:43:43.65
You know what in
essence is being said?
00:43:43.69\00:43:45.15
So many people say,
"I haven't--" this is
00:43:45.19\00:43:47.92
revolutionary.
00:43:47.96\00:43:49.39
Are you ready for it?
00:43:49.42\00:43:50.83
This is revolutionary
because sometimes somebody gets
00:43:50.86\00:43:53.36
baptized, and a week later, some
Adventists are saying, "Are you
00:43:53.40\00:43:56.80
still eating cheese?"
00:43:56.83\00:44:00.67
There was a guy at our church
once that brought pork and beans
00:44:00.70\00:44:02.87
to a potluck, and everybody ate
it first, and they said, "What's
00:44:02.90\00:44:04.87
the secret ingredient?"
00:44:04.91\00:44:06.34
And he said, "pork and
beans," and nobody knew it.
00:44:06.37\00:44:09.54
When he found out it was
incorrect, then he changed
00:44:09.58\00:44:10.88
his life.
00:44:10.91\00:44:12.21
Here's the point I want to make:
When God convicts a person by
00:44:12.25\00:44:15.62
the Holy Spirit and that person
turns his life over to God,
00:44:15.65\00:44:21.72
Jesus makes Himself responsible
for the changes in that person's
00:44:21.76\00:44:25.53
life, being confident of
this very thing that "He who has
00:44:25.56\00:44:30.27
begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of
00:44:30.30\00:44:34.37
Jesus Christ."
00:44:34.40\00:44:35.74
Can somebody say, "Amen"?
00:44:35.77\00:44:37.57
So the lesson, "Turn
Their Hearts," is what the Lord
00:44:37.61\00:44:43.88
wants to do.
00:44:43.91\00:44:45.21
That's why we're offering
you this special offer, "Is It
00:44:45.25\00:44:48.12
Possible to Live
Without Sinning?"
00:44:48.15\00:44:50.32
You can text the number--
00:44:50.35\00:44:52.72
the letter
"SH040," to 40544, and
00:44:52.75\00:44:57.36
you can have a
free copy of this.
00:44:57.39\00:44:58.99
May God bless you
00:44:59.03\00:45:00.73
as you turn your
life over to Christ and
00:45:00.76\00:45:03.00
make Him responsible for
the changes in your life.
00:45:03.03\00:45:06.37
Happy Sabbath. Let us pray.
00:45:06.40\00:45:07.77
Father in heaven, thank
You for the power of change.
00:45:07.80\00:45:11.04
Thank You for the work that You
promised to do in us as we turn
00:45:11.07\00:45:14.54
our hearts and put
our lives in Your hand.
00:45:14.58\00:45:17.68
May You be glorified by
the changes that You have made.
00:45:17.71\00:45:20.75
In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
00:45:20.78\00:45:24.09
male announcer: Don't forget
to request today's life-changing
00:45:26.45\00:45:28.39
free resource.
00:45:28.42\00:45:29.89
Not only can you receive this
free gift in the mail, you can
00:45:29.92\00:45:32.46
download a digital copy
straight to your computer
00:45:32.49\00:45:34.46
or mobile device.
00:45:34.46\00:45:36.00
To get your digital copy of
today's free gift, simply text
00:45:36.03\00:45:39.03
the key word on your screen to
40544, or visit the web address
00:45:39.07\00:45:43.64
shown on your screen, and
be sure to select the "digital
00:45:43.67\00:45:46.78
download" option
on the request page.
00:45:46.81\00:45:49.28
It's now easier than ever
for you to study God's Word with
00:45:49.31\00:45:52.51
Amazing Facts wherever and
whenever you want and, most
00:45:52.55\00:45:55.92
important, to
share it with others.
00:45:55.95\00:45:58.65
announcer: "Amazing
Facts Changed Lives."
00:46:03.89\00:46:07.23
male: My greatest wish
is that my children will
00:46:12.93\00:46:16.91
see me the way I
see my own father.
00:46:16.94\00:46:23.45
He's a very devoted man,
and that kind of framed my
00:46:23.48\00:46:27.62
childhood, going forward
from there, where I was always
00:46:27.65\00:46:31.72
involved in church work, and I
had a very rich experience with
00:46:31.75\00:46:36.73
the Lord at a young age,
all the way up through college.
00:46:36.76\00:46:41.93
Then after I got married, I got
in a company called Comcast, and
00:46:41.96\00:46:47.67
I spent the past roughly eight
and a half years, nine years at
00:46:47.70\00:46:51.67
Comcast, and I was actually
watching television with my son,
00:46:51.71\00:46:57.61
and a Comcast commercial
came on the air, and he said,
00:46:57.65\00:47:02.35
"Oh, Daddy, that's Comcast.
00:47:02.38\00:47:04.99
That's where you work, Daddy."
00:47:05.02\00:47:08.22
And most fathers would be proud
of something like that, but it
00:47:08.26\00:47:11.56
really struck me that, you know,
my son's getting older, and he
00:47:11.59\00:47:16.20
does not see me as
a servant of the Lord.
00:47:16.23\00:47:18.67
He sees me as a
servant of my company.
00:47:18.70\00:47:22.20
And I knew that I would have
to make some changes because I
00:47:22.24\00:47:26.81
wanted him to know
me as a man of God.
00:47:26.84\00:47:31.95
I never thought I would be a
preacher or anything like that,
00:47:31.98\00:47:35.22
but I knew that there was room
in the work for me and for my
00:47:35.25\00:47:41.42
talents, and I wanted my son
to see me operating in the work.
00:47:41.46\00:47:48.23
That's when I knew that my
time there was coming to an end.
00:47:49.53\00:47:53.70
I was sitting in my office
one day, and I was kneeling in
00:47:53.74\00:47:57.14
prayer, and I said, "God, you
know, show me what You want me
00:47:57.17\00:47:59.71
to do because it seems like
a big move here, and everyone's
00:47:59.74\00:48:09.32
thinking I'm crazy, and I don't
know exactly how, you know,
00:48:09.35\00:48:16.52
things are going to go
if they don't go well."
00:48:16.56\00:48:20.86
It's a crazy thought when
you're thinking about God.
00:48:20.90\00:48:24.43
And I lifted my head up in
prayer, and there were, just,
00:48:24.47\00:48:29.50
like, a flock of maybe 300 birds
that were just flying, and they
00:48:29.54\00:48:36.81
were swooping down over the
water, and they would fly back
00:48:36.85\00:48:40.25
up, and then they would chase
each other around, and, you
00:48:40.28\00:48:44.29
know, I was just looking at the
pattern of the giant flock, and
00:48:44.32\00:48:48.66
the promise of the Lord came to
me where He says that, you know,
00:48:48.69\00:48:52.79
He takes care of the sparrows,
and you don't see them worrying
00:48:52.83\00:48:57.40
about how they are going to be
taken care of from day to day.
00:48:57.43\00:49:01.84
You know, they don't, you
know, wring their hands with
00:49:01.87\00:49:04.74
wondering, you know, "Will there
be any worms to eat tomorrow?"
00:49:04.77\00:49:08.78
And that promise really stood
out to me and He said, "How much
00:49:08.81\00:49:13.78
more do I love you?"
00:49:13.82\00:49:15.52
You know, "I'm not going to send
you on a mission to do My work
00:49:15.55\00:49:20.06
and leave you high
and dry because you claim
00:49:20.09\00:49:23.12
to be My child.
00:49:23.16\00:49:24.59
You claim to be My son,
and everyone knows that."
00:49:24.63\00:49:29.63
That assurance allows me to
know that whatever happens here,
00:49:29.66\00:49:34.10
whatever happens after here,
we're sons of God, and there are
00:49:34.14\00:49:41.04
certain things that
we shouldn't worry about.
00:49:41.08\00:49:44.01
From the day we arrived at
AFCOE, it's been obvious that
00:49:44.05\00:49:49.75
God has blessed the Amazing
Facts Ministry, the AFCOE
00:49:49.78\00:49:53.69
program, and I will be using my
AFCOE experience no matter where
00:49:53.72\00:49:59.79
I go to reach people because the
personal touch of face-to-face
00:49:59.83\00:50:05.83
evangelism, speaking and sharing
the Word of God out of your own
00:50:05.87\00:50:10.57
mouth, there's no replacement
for that, and Amazing Facts has
00:50:10.61\00:50:15.38
been very instrumental in
helping me find the area of the
00:50:15.41\00:50:22.02
work of God and showing me
how large and how broad it is.
00:50:22.05\00:50:27.62
It's been a tremendous blessing
to be in a place where we're
00:50:27.66\00:50:31.83
around people seeking to do
God's will and listening for His
00:50:31.86\00:50:36.00
voice in their life, and that's
very, very important today.
00:50:36.03\00:50:40.47
announcer:
Together, we have spread
00:50:48.18\00:50:49.84
the Gospel much
farther than ever before.
00:50:49.88\00:50:53.28
Thank you for your support.
00:50:53.31\00:50:56.22
announcer: "Amazing
Facts Changed Lives."
00:51:00.52\00:51:04.56
female: By the time I
got to high school, abuse
00:51:10.07\00:51:13.17
was just a way of life for me.
00:51:13.20\00:51:14.97
I just thought that that was the
way it was and that many people
00:51:15.00\00:51:17.57
were going through that, and
I found out that a lot of the
00:51:17.61\00:51:20.68
girls were not going through the
abuse that I was going through.
00:51:20.71\00:51:25.21
I started acting out and playing
up and misbehaving in school.
00:51:25.25\00:51:31.59
I felt, when I spoke to Mom,
she was too busy worrying about
00:51:32.19\00:51:36.49
where Dad was,
what Dad was doing.
00:51:36.52\00:51:38.69
When I spoke to the
older siblings, they couldn't
00:51:38.73\00:51:40.10
be bothered.
00:51:40.13\00:51:41.43
I had stupid questions.
00:51:41.46\00:51:43.57
I seem to feel very lonely all
the time, and I just forgot at
00:51:43.60\00:51:48.04
that point where God was
and felt that I didn't need Him
00:51:48.07\00:51:53.84
because, anyway, when I did need
Him, He was never around for me.
00:51:53.88\00:51:57.58
I was living a very, very busy
life working till 2, 3 o'clock
00:51:59.21\00:52:05.29
in the morning and then drinking
alcohol till 5 o'clock so that I
00:52:05.32\00:52:08.82
could get to sleep for a few
hours, wake up and then get back
00:52:08.86\00:52:11.89
to work at 8 o'clock at night.
00:52:11.93\00:52:14.30
So my life continued and
spiraled until I decided I
00:52:14.36\00:52:17.33
needed to do something
different, so I packed my bags
00:52:17.37\00:52:20.64
and spent 11 months crossing
Africa from Zimbabwe, all the
00:52:20.67\00:52:24.21
way through to Switzerland.
00:52:24.24\00:52:26.44
Met a lady in a missionary who
spoke to me about God and gave
00:52:26.47\00:52:29.74
me a Bible, and that was when
I started thinking again that
00:52:29.78\00:52:34.22
"God, maybe You led me on this
trip," and that was the start of
00:52:34.25\00:52:40.26
me really rethinking,
"What am I doing with my life?"
00:52:40.29\00:52:45.59
I'd made a decision that "God,
this time, I'm never going to
00:52:45.63\00:52:48.33
let You go.
00:52:48.36\00:52:50.07
I know You've never let me go.
00:52:50.10\00:52:51.83
It was always me who let go."
00:52:51.87\00:52:55.04
My return to Jesus was the
most amazing feeling that I'd
00:52:55.07\00:52:59.57
ever experienced.
00:52:59.61\00:53:01.84
I felt as if this time I'd
made a connection with God.
00:53:01.88\00:53:06.78
announcer:
Together, we have spread
00:53:18.59\00:53:20.00
the Gospel much
farther than ever before.
00:53:20.03\00:53:23.60
Thank you for your support.
00:53:23.63\00:53:27.34
announcer: "Amazing
Facts Changed Lives."
00:53:34.21\00:53:38.51
male: I've had to say
that I had a wonderful
00:53:43.45\00:53:45.02
childhood, growing up.
00:53:45.05\00:53:46.99
I went to a private school
up until the seventh grade,
00:53:47.02\00:53:49.62
till junior high.
00:53:49.66\00:53:51.26
I believe it was at that point
in junior high that my life
00:53:51.29\00:53:55.06
began to change.
00:53:55.10\00:53:57.13
Going from a Christian education
into a public school was
00:53:57.17\00:54:00.20
a big difference.
00:54:00.24\00:54:02.37
There was a lot of secular
influence, a peer pressure, and,
00:54:02.40\00:54:07.44
for me, it was the music.
00:54:07.48\00:54:09.71
I started listening
to heavy metal music.
00:54:09.74\00:54:11.71
Every concert they would
come to town, I was there.
00:54:11.75\00:54:14.15
That had a
profound effect on me.
00:54:14.18\00:54:16.69
I started using marijuana
probably at the age of 14.
00:54:16.72\00:54:22.46
I started drinking, using a
lot of cocaine, and that led to
00:54:22.49\00:54:25.69
methamphetamine, and that
completely changed my life.
00:54:25.73\00:54:30.23
I dropped out of high school my
sophomore year and went to work.
00:54:30.27\00:54:35.67
I would get off of work,
and we'd go into the bar until
00:54:35.70\00:54:38.41
2 o'clock in the morning, and
I'd get back up at 5, and I'd go
00:54:38.44\00:54:41.08
back at it again,
six, seven days a week.
00:54:41.11\00:54:45.15
At the age of 20, I lost
my dad to a heart attack.
00:54:48.42\00:54:52.39
I didn't know how to handle the
loss, so I tried to mask my pain
00:54:52.42\00:54:56.76
with alcohol and drugs.
00:54:56.79\00:54:58.79
I got three DUIs in one year.
00:54:58.83\00:55:00.96
I was arrested.
00:55:01.00\00:55:02.73
They gave me a year in the
county jail, and the moment I
00:55:02.76\00:55:06.50
got out, I went back to doing
the same thing, hanging with the
00:55:06.53\00:55:09.57
same people, the same crowd.
00:55:09.60\00:55:12.44
I was involved in a hit-and-run
motorcycle accident, and I was
00:55:12.47\00:55:15.18
charged with a felony DUI.
00:55:15.21\00:55:17.51
Even though, at the time of the
accident, I was not under the
00:55:17.55\00:55:19.55
influence, I still had
methamphetamine in my system.
00:55:19.58\00:55:23.18
At my sentencing date, I left
the courtroom, and I didn't come
00:55:23.22\00:55:27.02
back, and that left me with a
felony warrant, and I had fallen
00:55:27.06\00:55:31.96
asleep at a park, and I woke
up to a park ranger knocking
00:55:31.99\00:55:36.50
on my window.
00:55:36.53\00:55:38.60
I knew I was wanted, and I knew
that I was not going to just
00:55:38.63\00:55:41.94
turn myself in.
00:55:41.97\00:55:44.37
I turned to him, and I had made
the comment, "Not today," and I
00:55:44.41\00:55:47.41
took off, and I led five
different agencies on about a
00:55:47.44\00:55:51.58
35-minute chase, and I realized
at that point that I wasn't
00:55:51.61\00:55:55.38
going to get away and that this
was going to end up either me
00:55:55.42\00:55:58.05
killing somebody or myself,
and so I made the decision
00:55:58.09\00:56:02.69
to pull over.
00:56:02.72\00:56:04.33
At that point,
everything that I had, I lost.
00:56:04.36\00:56:07.96
I was sentence to two years in
state prison, and it was there
00:56:08.00\00:56:13.80
that God got ahold of
me, and it was through
00:56:13.84\00:56:17.34
Amazing Facts Ministries.
00:56:17.37\00:56:20.08
I remember listening on my
radio to Pastor Doug Batchelor.
00:56:20.11\00:56:24.25
I wanted to get
to know the Bible.
00:56:24.28\00:56:25.75
I wanted to know God.
00:56:25.78\00:56:27.65
And so my Aunt Marilyn sent me
the Amazing Facts study guides,
00:56:27.68\00:56:33.79
and it was there that my
relationship with Christ began.
00:56:33.82\00:56:40.73
I had called home, and I knew
my mother wasn't doing well,
00:56:40.76\00:56:45.33
but I didn't
realize that she had cancer.
00:56:45.37\00:56:49.57
She had about a 30% chance of
making it through her surgery.
00:56:49.60\00:56:56.34
She had told the doctors that
she was not going to have chemo
00:56:56.38\00:56:59.01
and she was not going to have
radiation that, if her God was
00:56:59.05\00:57:01.38
going to save her,
then he would save her.
00:57:01.42\00:57:04.52
I remember hanging up the phone
to what I thought was my last
00:57:04.55\00:57:08.16
conversation with my mom.
00:57:08.19\00:57:11.93
I turned around.
00:57:11.96\00:57:13.93
I got down on my knees, and I
prayed to God, and I said, "God,
00:57:13.96\00:57:17.57
if You're there,
please save my mother.
00:57:17.60\00:57:21.24
Wherever You lead me in life,
whatever You want me to do,
00:57:21.27\00:57:24.87
I am Yours."
00:57:24.91\00:57:26.34
And I had a feeling of such
peace that I knew that my mother
00:57:26.37\00:57:31.41
was going to be okay and that
my life was going to change.
00:57:31.45\00:57:36.52
There are no words that I can
adequately express to Amazing
00:57:37.09\00:57:40.09
Facts and to Pastor Doug to say
thank you to all those people
00:57:40.12\00:57:43.83
who support the ministry.
00:57:43.86\00:57:45.66
I am a product of your support.
00:57:45.69\00:57:48.43
My life is changed because of
this ministry, and I thank you
00:57:48.46\00:57:54.24
from the bottom of my heart.
00:57:54.27\00:57:56.77
¤¤¤
00:57:58.34\00:58:04.15
¤¤¤
00:58:09.68\00:58:19.69