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Shawn Brummund: Hello everyone,
and welcome to another edition
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of the "Sabbath School
Study Hour" right here in the
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Granite Bay Hilltop
Seventh Day Adventist Church.
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We're located in the metro
area of Sacramento, California.
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It's always good to be able to
have all of you who are joining
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us on live right now across the
country and around the world, as
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well as, of course, many
of our friends that are taking
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advantage of this and join
us, as you are watching from
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different parts of the planet.
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We also are always happy to be
able to have those who are with
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us locally in our Granite Bay
Seventh Day Adventist family.
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And, of course, we
also are very welcoming
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to those who are visiting.
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And one of the blessings of
having the Granite Bay Church
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here associated with Amazing
Facts media and ministry, and so
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on, is that we always have a
number of people that sometimes
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travel great distances to come
and be with us physically here
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in person on a Sabbath morning.
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So, special welcome to you, as
well, as we come to study this
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week's quarterly lesson,
as we continue to make our way
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through the book of Deuteronomy,
and we continue to make
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our way through lesson
number 10 here today, which is
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"Remember and Do Not Forget,"
"Remember and Do Not Forget."
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We're looking at
lesson number 10.
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If you have your
quarterlies, make sure that you
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go ahead and grab
those, open it up.
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And, of course, the
most important textbook that
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we have for our
lesson, as we do every week,
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which is the Holy Bible itself.
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And so, please go
ahead and do that.
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And before we open with prayer,
before we worship in song,
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I want to also invite
you to take advantage of the
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special gift offer that
we have available today.
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Now, this is a very helpful
booklet that I have read in the
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past, very well done, written
by Doug Batchelor, as well as
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Pastor Steve Wohlberg, and it's
entitled "Spiritual Israel."
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What does the New Testament
speak on in concern to Israel?
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What is the Israel of
the New Testament era,
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and are you involved?
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We want to be able to
make this--get this straight,
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especially with a lot of
different popular theories
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that are going around
today in regards to the
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prophecies of the
future, Israel's involvement.
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And again what is
Israel in God's eyes?
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And so, go ahead and
take advantage of that.
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You just dial 1-866-788-3966.
That's 1-866-788-3966.
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You want to ask
for free offer #174.
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Now, this is available
in person--or physically we
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can mail that out to you,
if you're in the United States,
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Canada, and US territories.
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If you want to get a digital
copy of that, you can also go
00:03:06.08\00:03:08.98
ahead and text a special code
to a certain number, and that
00:03:09.02\00:03:13.89
particular text code is SH062.
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That's SH062, and you
want to dial that to 40544.
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Before we begin our
study, let's open with prayer.
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Father in heaven, we want to
pray that Your Holy Spirit will
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be with us, even as You have
promised us that when we come to
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You and by faith and ask by
faith, that You would give us
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Your Holy Spirit to be our
teacher, to guide us into all
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truth, and to be able to
understand and discern and
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rightly divide Your Word.
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We want to pray, God, that
You will fulfill that promise,
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and we claim it by
faith even right now.
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We want to pray, God in heaven,
that You will help us to see and
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understand what you know is
most important for us to see and
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understand from Your
Word today, each and every one
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of us individually,
as well as a group.
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In Jesus' name
we pray, God, amen.
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I invite you to open your Bibles
to Genesis, the 9th chapter, as
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we look at the first Bible
passage of this week's lesson
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study, "Remember
and Do Not Forget."
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"Remember" is the key theme.
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"Do not forget" is another
way of saying "Remember."
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And "remember" is another
way of saying "Do not forget."
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And so, it's basically
saying the same thing in
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two different ways, is it not?
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And so "Remember," or "Do Not
Forget," that is the main theme.
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And the first remember
that we're looking at here
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goes way back to a very
unique time in history, and
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we're going to
pick it up with verse 8.
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So, we're looking at Genesis
chapter 9, and we're going to
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start with verse 8 and
read through to verse 17.
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Okay, so we're at
Genesis chapter 9 and verse 8.
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In verse 8 it says, "Then God
spoke to Noah and to his sons
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with him, saying, 'And as
for Me, behold, I establish My
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covenant with you, and with your
descendants after you; and with
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every living creature that is
with you, the birds, the cattle,
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every beast of the earth with
you; of all that go out of the
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ark every beast of the earth.
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And thus I establish My covenant
with you, never again shall all
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flesh be cut off by the waters
of the flood; never again shall
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there be a flood
to destroy the earth.'
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And God said, 'This is the sign
of the covenant which I make
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between Me and you and every
living creature that is with
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you, for perpetual
generations: I set My rainbow in
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the cloud, and it
shall be for the sign of the
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covenant between
Me and the earth.
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And it shall be when I bring
a cloud over the earth, that the
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rainbow shall be seen in the
cloud, and I will remember My
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covenant, which I made between
Me and you and every living
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creature of all flesh; the
waters shall never again become
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a flood to destroy all flesh.'"
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Do you see a theme
there, a repetition?
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"'The rainbow shall be in the
cloud; and I will look on it to
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remember the everlasting
covenant between God and every
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living creature of all
flesh that's on the earth.'
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And God said to Noah, 'This
is the sign of the covenant,
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which I have
established between Me and all
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flesh that is on the earth.'"
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And so, here we have a very
intriguing conversation that God
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is having with His prophet,
with His patriarch, Noah.
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We find here that God
is establishing a very
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important and needful covenant.
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And the central
sign of that covenant is
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a rainbow, is it not?
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All right, now we're very
much accustomed to a rainbow.
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We've seen rainbows, and they've
been in our planet, and we've
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seen them through our lifetime,
since birth, and we've seen them
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for hundreds and
hundreds of years now.
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It's like this conversation took
place about 2500 years ago, so
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25 plus 2000 AD, we're
talking about 4500 years ago
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that this
conversation took place.
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So, a rainbow is old
hat for us, is it not?
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And it's a rainbow--old
hat for the last generation,
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and 300 years, 500 years,
6000-- I mean 600 years ago, it
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was still even old hat
back then, but it wasn't old hat
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during Noah's time,
during his generation.
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And so, as it turns out, the
Bible points out, and God makes
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it very clear that he wants us
to understand that the rainbow
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is more than just a beautiful,
coincidental occurrence
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that takes place in nature.
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God makes it very clear, and he
goes out of his way, through his
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Scriptures, and through
his Bible to make sure that we
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understand that the rainbow
is more than just a special
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refraction of light.
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As it separated, and as
it makes its way through
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those different water
droplets that occur and are
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floating in the air when there
are rain clouds, when it is
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rainy and when it
is raining outside.
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God wants us to know that he had
a plan, and all those laws of
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nature that we've kind of
unpacked and discovered, and can
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explain to a large degree,
did not come by coincidence,
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but it was divinely,
intelligently designed by
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a loving God for our benefit.
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Now, we still
benefit from it, do we not?
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Okay, we see the beauty of it.
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It reminds us of a God behind
it, especially if you read the
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Bible record as we're looking
and reviewing here this morning
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and such, and so we understand
that there is a hand of an
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intelligent Almighty,
loving Creator behind it.
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It certainly is beautiful
to look upon on a cloudy,
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rainy day, which is
usually a little bit more glum
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and more depressing and
maybe even for some of us
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sometimes discouraging
if we're having a hard
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time, but there's that rainbow.
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It's like God's
smile to mankind.
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But the rainbow in this record,
in this conversation that we're
00:09:02.77\00:09:05.84
reading is not intended to
be understood as some kind of
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legend from the past.
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You know, sometimes we think
because we can scientifically
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explain some of the different
ways in which God uses these
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laws of nature that He Himself
formed and designed, that
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therefore this is
just, you know, a fable,
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a legend, but that's not true.
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It's not coincidence.
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It's not just nature
that happened to create this
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beautiful phenomenon but
rather it was something very
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new for the first
generations that occurred.
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Noah and his family, when they
first saw the rainbow it was
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like, "Wow, that's amazing.
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I've never heard of a rainbow.
I've never seen a rainbow.
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I've never
experienced a rainbow.
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What is all that about?"
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And God tells us what it's all
about, and he told that first
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generation what that
rainbow was all about.
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We have to remember, though,
let's look at the context of the
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flood itself or at least the
post flood, you know, when the
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ark of Noah and his family
finally settled down on Mount
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Ararat, on solid ground after
being in the ship for about a
00:10:02.10\00:10:06.33
year's time, you know, they
put their feet on solid ground
00:10:06.37\00:10:10.54
for the first time,
which I'm sure they were very
00:10:10.57\00:10:12.61
grateful to be able to do so.
00:10:12.64\00:10:15.04
But think of the
contrast that took place.
00:10:15.08\00:10:18.25
You know, just envision,
remember that the planet
00:10:18.28\00:10:20.78
before the flood
was a global paradise.
00:10:20.82\00:10:24.72
You didn't have to say,
oh, boy, I'd do anything
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to live in San Diego.
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If I could afford it, I'd
love to live there, all right?
00:10:27.46\00:10:29.62
What I would do to be able
to have a beautiful home on the
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oceanside in Hawaii, or
in Fiji, or in the Bahamas,
00:10:32.33\00:10:37.13
or Florida, or some
of these other paradises
00:10:37.17\00:10:39.63
that we think of on our planet.
00:10:39.67\00:10:41.27
The whole planet was Hawaii.
00:10:41.30\00:10:43.47
The whole planet
was a gorgeous paradise.
00:10:43.51\00:10:47.68
And so, we have to remember that
for Noah and his family and then
00:10:47.71\00:10:51.05
for the stories and the
conversations that the next
00:10:51.08\00:10:53.35
generations would hear, as the
children were growing up in the
00:10:53.38\00:10:55.95
homes, and so on, was this
massive loss that the planet
00:10:55.98\00:11:01.46
had experienced, that
mankind had experienced.
00:11:01.49\00:11:04.56
Because when Noah and his
family came down out of the
00:11:04.59\00:11:06.86
ship, and they started
to be able to walk on solid
00:11:06.90\00:11:10.07
ground again, paradise was lost.
00:11:10.10\00:11:13.97
You know, it was just a giant
global moonscape after that.
00:11:14.00\00:11:19.47
Some of us here in this part
of the country, you know, we've
00:11:19.51\00:11:24.15
become more and more--because
we've always been accustomed to
00:11:24.18\00:11:27.75
forest fires here in California.
00:11:27.78\00:11:30.19
But lately, you know,
we're breaking records.
00:11:30.22\00:11:34.52
You know, we're losing more
acreages and more buildings and
00:11:34.56\00:11:37.73
more lives than ever in the
history of California, and this
00:11:37.76\00:11:40.56
is another subject and I believe
one of the signs of the times.
00:11:40.60\00:11:44.77
But just up the road
here--you don't have to go
00:11:44.80\00:11:47.04
very far north to Paradise.
00:11:47.07\00:11:48.90
Just a few years ago, two or
three years ago, I think it was,
00:11:48.94\00:11:51.27
and we lost more lives and more
buildings and more destruction
00:11:51.31\00:11:53.84
than ever in California history.
00:11:53.88\00:11:57.41
My wife and I went up in
there and visited, I don't know,
00:11:57.45\00:11:59.55
about six months ago, and
we'd never been to Paradise or
00:11:59.58\00:12:02.22
Chico, and
so--we're newer to California.
00:12:02.25\00:12:04.09
We said, "Let's
just take a day trip.
00:12:04.12\00:12:05.42
We'll go up and visit,
take a look at the church.
00:12:05.45\00:12:08.36
Well, the church is no longer in
existence, just the foundation,
00:12:08.39\00:12:10.89
but there ADRA and so on
is doing a--making a factory.
00:12:10.93\00:12:17.53
There's a factory
where the church used to be,
00:12:17.57\00:12:18.90
where they're actually
reproducing and just producing
00:12:18.93\00:12:21.40
hundreds of storage sheds
for residents that are still
00:12:21.44\00:12:24.41
healing and restoring
their lives emotionally,
00:12:24.44\00:12:27.44
psychologically,
physically, monetarily.
00:12:27.48\00:12:32.41
You know, so the town that
was rightly called Paradise
00:12:32.45\00:12:37.62
was reduced to a moonscape.
00:12:37.65\00:12:41.29
And even though there's a
number of houses that have been
00:12:41.32\00:12:43.53
rebuilt--and certainly they look
nicer than the houses that were
00:12:43.56\00:12:46.03
burned, at least, you know, the
post-fire house look, it's going
00:12:46.06\00:12:53.10
to take decades, you
know, to rebuild that town.
00:12:53.13\00:12:56.94
And not only that, but it's
going to take a couple hundred
00:12:56.97\00:13:00.71
years to be able to even
start to reproduce the look of
00:13:00.74\00:13:05.18
what it was before the fire.
00:13:05.21\00:13:07.95
And so, we have some examples of
that on a smaller scale, but we
00:13:07.98\00:13:11.35
have to take Paradise and
its experience and expand it
00:13:11.39\00:13:14.52
globally around
the entire planet.
00:13:14.56\00:13:17.56
Very challenging
times in history, you know.
00:13:17.59\00:13:22.96
So, those first
generations didn't have it easy.
00:13:23.00\00:13:25.70
I think we're
fortunate that we're not in
00:13:25.73\00:13:28.27
those first generations.
00:13:28.30\00:13:30.64
So, it would take decades for
the earth to be able to start to
00:13:30.67\00:13:35.38
heal and to regrow the beauty
that was once around it, and we
00:13:35.41\00:13:42.12
never recaptured it completely,
not even close, and we never
00:13:42.15\00:13:44.52
will until God makes
the planet new again.
00:13:44.55\00:13:48.52
Not only that, but the concept
of rain, sky, coming down from
00:13:48.56\00:13:53.73
the sky, you
know, these rain clouds.
00:13:53.76\00:13:55.56
This was a new concept.
00:13:55.60\00:13:57.00
We have to remember that the
Genesis record tells us in the
00:13:57.03\00:13:59.70
first chapters that indeed, you
know, there was no such thing as
00:13:59.73\00:14:02.57
rain before the flood.
00:14:02.60\00:14:04.41
Rain didn't exist.
00:14:04.44\00:14:05.84
The rainbow is not the only new
concept and new law of nature
00:14:05.87\00:14:09.54
that God introduced into
the ecosystem and climate of our
00:14:09.58\00:14:12.08
planet, but rain was, as
well, because after the flood
00:14:12.11\00:14:16.82
receded and the waters receded
off the dry land and started
00:14:16.85\00:14:20.82
to expose the plains
and the mountains and so on,
00:14:20.86\00:14:23.69
and valleys that were formed.
00:14:23.73\00:14:25.13
Because not only did rain come
down and destroy all the planet,
00:14:25.16\00:14:28.30
but Genesis record tells us
in the first chapters that God
00:14:28.33\00:14:31.93
originally used to water
all and irrigate all plant
00:14:31.97\00:14:35.00
life from tables, massive
tables of water that were
00:14:35.04\00:14:38.51
under the earth's surface.
00:14:38.54\00:14:41.71
And so, that water actually fed
the roots that, of course, the
00:14:41.74\00:14:45.18
plants grew down to
be able to drink from.
00:14:45.21\00:14:48.52
And so, those water tables burst
up through the planet surface,
00:14:48.55\00:14:54.76
and at the same time that water
was pouring down from the sky,
00:14:54.79\00:15:00.96
and so it wasn't just 40 days
of rain, but it was 40 days of
00:15:01.00\00:15:03.80
these massive irrigation
tables that were breaking
00:15:03.83\00:15:08.00
up through the earth's surface.
00:15:08.04\00:15:09.47
And, of course, the crust of the
earth was moving and developing
00:15:09.50\00:15:12.21
new continents and
such, and mountain ranges,
00:15:12.24\00:15:15.88
and grand canyons and such.
00:15:15.91\00:15:17.65
And then when the water receded
into the basins now that had
00:15:17.68\00:15:21.75
been developed by this
completely distorted and changed
00:15:21.78\00:15:25.62
surface of the planet, the
oceans developed, and the water
00:15:25.65\00:15:30.43
now receded into these
huge basins that developed
00:15:30.46\00:15:34.00
what we now call the oceans.
00:15:34.03\00:15:36.53
Seventy percent of the earth's
planet now was covered with
00:15:36.56\00:15:39.07
uninhabitable saltwater
that we can't even drink, we
00:15:39.10\00:15:44.67
can't even use as
life-giving water anymore.
00:15:44.71\00:15:48.31
And so, the planet
was completely different.
00:15:48.34\00:15:50.98
The ecosystem was
completely different.
00:15:51.01\00:15:53.05
Now these massive bodies of
water called oceans began to
00:15:53.08\00:15:57.79
produce massive amounts of
evaporation that the planet had
00:15:57.82\00:16:01.26
never experienced before either,
and it began to develop these
00:16:01.29\00:16:04.86
massive cloud formations
that the earth had never seen.
00:16:04.89\00:16:08.46
And as those clouds started to
move off the ocean and onto the
00:16:08.50\00:16:11.87
dry land, as we see it even
coming off of our western coast
00:16:11.90\00:16:15.24
here of the Pacific Ocean and
such, it would hit the different
00:16:15.27\00:16:19.04
elevations and develop big
enough and heavy enough that it
00:16:19.07\00:16:22.98
would either fall or hit the
mountain ranges and be forced up
00:16:23.01\00:16:26.58
far enough that it
just can't go any further.
00:16:26.61\00:16:29.15
And gravity overtakes it, and
the water falls down and waters
00:16:29.18\00:16:32.09
the plants that God knew
that would need watering in a
00:16:32.12\00:16:34.76
different way than it got
its water before the flood.
00:16:34.79\00:16:40.76
And so, there was a lot of
newness, but none of it outside
00:16:40.80\00:16:44.60
the flood was
really all that positive.
00:16:44.63\00:16:47.50
I mean, outside of the rainbow
part of it, outside of the
00:16:47.54\00:16:50.91
rainbow there wasn't
really anything else that
00:16:50.94\00:16:52.81
positive in all of that newness.
00:16:52.84\00:16:55.34
It was a lot more messy.
00:16:55.38\00:16:57.48
Now we have to buy rain jackets,
and umbrellas, and all kinds of
00:16:57.51\00:17:02.22
other kinds of inventions that
we have to develop and so on.
00:17:02.25\00:17:06.52
And so, the planet
experienced a major downgrade
00:17:06.55\00:17:09.32
permanently after the flood.
00:17:09.36\00:17:12.19
Well, you can imagine the first
generations, you know, that not
00:17:12.23\00:17:15.20
only saw the continuous evidence
of this massive, massive,
00:17:15.23\00:17:19.63
largest natural catastrophe and
disaster that this planet had
00:17:19.67\00:17:23.24
ever experienced before that
point, and ever has experienced
00:17:23.27\00:17:27.08
since that point, and ever will
experience until Jesus Himself
00:17:27.11\00:17:31.81
comes in
judgment and deliverance.
00:17:31.85\00:17:34.38
At that point, He does tell us
that every mountain and island
00:17:34.42\00:17:36.75
will be moved out of its place.
00:17:36.79\00:17:38.49
There will be a reproduction
on a global scale of that
00:17:38.52\00:17:41.89
which we see in the flood.
00:17:41.92\00:17:43.53
But the flood is, by far,
the largest natural disaster
00:17:43.56\00:17:47.30
in all of human history.
00:17:47.30\00:17:51.43
And so, we could
imagine the natural anxiety, the
00:17:51.47\00:17:54.77
apprehension that would come
when the clouds would come off
00:17:54.80\00:17:58.04
of the ocean and start to float
over the dry land, and then
00:17:58.07\00:18:03.01
began to drop that rain,
it would bring back immediate
00:18:03.04\00:18:05.85
memories for Noah's and first
family that actually experienced
00:18:05.88\00:18:11.05
it and witnessed it.
00:18:11.09\00:18:12.85
And then, of course, for
the following generations of
00:18:12.89\00:18:15.32
children and grandchildren and
great grandchildren that would
00:18:15.36\00:18:17.83
sit at the knee of Noah and of
Mrs. Noah and hear these stories
00:18:17.86\00:18:22.16
firsthand and hear Noah's
family, you know, talk about
00:18:22.20\00:18:25.73
those times, and there would
be a natural apprehension, some
00:18:25.77\00:18:30.57
emotional negative challenges
that would take place.
00:18:30.61\00:18:33.88
Is it going to happen again?
00:18:33.91\00:18:36.38
And so God, in His loving, kind,
and typical merciful way, looked
00:18:36.41\00:18:42.48
down upon us with our vulnerable
and fragile emotions and so on
00:18:42.52\00:18:48.29
and He formed a rainbow.
00:18:48.32\00:18:50.53
And He said, "Not only am
I going to develop this new
00:18:50.56\00:18:52.29
ecosystem that will make sure
that the lands are watered, and
00:18:52.33\00:18:56.40
the plant life is watered in a
way that will meet in a new way,
00:18:56.43\00:18:59.57
but I'm going to make sure that
the water particles is going to
00:18:59.60\00:19:02.64
be able to refract the
light in such a special way--
00:19:02.67\00:19:05.31
only when it rains.
00:19:05.34\00:19:07.11
The rainbow will only
come at the exact time in which
00:19:07.14\00:19:09.74
we require it, in which
we would benefit from it
00:19:09.78\00:19:12.58
and which we would need it.
00:19:12.61\00:19:14.52
So, those first generations
would have this reminder that
00:19:14.55\00:19:17.45
God had made a covenant.
00:19:17.49\00:19:20.06
He had made a promise that He
will never destroy all life and
00:19:20.09\00:19:23.96
distort the planet and destroy
all the earth's surface in the
00:19:23.99\00:19:27.03
way that He did that
one time during the flood.
00:19:27.03\00:19:31.33
And so, we learned a number
of different, important truths
00:19:31.37\00:19:33.54
there concerning the
character of God, concerning the
00:19:33.57\00:19:35.87
rainbow, concerning the
needs that were there those
00:19:35.90\00:19:42.78
first
generations after the flood.
00:19:42.81\00:19:47.72
I was just recently at a
place that a lot of locals
00:19:47.75\00:19:51.32
have told our family,
since we moved here, that we
00:19:51.35\00:19:53.32
really need to go and visit.
00:19:53.36\00:19:54.66
It's called Angel Island.
Anybody been to Angel Island?
00:19:54.69\00:19:57.96
Beautiful place.
00:19:57.99\00:19:59.33
If you haven't been there, it's
more than I expected, and you
00:19:59.36\00:20:01.50
can take a little ferry
there from Marin County.
00:20:01.53\00:20:04.30
And I forget what the name of
the town was that we--Sausalito?
00:20:04.33\00:20:13.38
Okay, so Sausalito was
the little town there in Marin
00:20:13.41\00:20:15.71
County and just on the other
side of the Golden Gate Bridge,
00:20:15.74\00:20:18.28
and it was like a
ten-minute ferry ride.
00:20:18.31\00:20:21.02
And you get on this
national park island,
00:20:21.05\00:20:23.28
just a small island, I
think you can bike around it.
00:20:23.32\00:20:25.45
It's two or three miles
around the whole peripheral.
00:20:25.49\00:20:27.79
But there's a small mountain
range in the middle of it and
00:20:27.82\00:20:29.96
such, and so we just
had a great, great time,
00:20:29.99\00:20:32.36
my wife and I, and my
daughter--oldest daughter's
00:20:32.39\00:20:35.90
boyfriend, Alistair.
00:20:35.93\00:20:38.17
You know, we just spent
the afternoon there one Sunday
00:20:38.20\00:20:39.50
afternoon, and seeing it for the
first time, going hiking, and
00:20:39.53\00:20:42.30
had a little
picnic on the beach there.
00:20:42.34\00:20:44.71
But one of the bonuses
that we didn't plan was that
00:20:44.74\00:20:47.21
the air show was taking
place that day, and we didn't
00:20:47.24\00:20:49.41
know that, but what a bonus.
00:20:49.44\00:20:51.15
So, we went up and we hiked one
of the summits there, where we
00:20:51.18\00:20:53.72
could have a nice lookout and
timed it when the Blue Angels
00:20:53.75\00:20:57.45
were going to come by and do
all their air tricks and so on.
00:20:57.49\00:21:00.86
So, we got this million-dollar
view, you know, and such.
00:21:00.89\00:21:05.93
It wasn't close to the
shoreline, though, because the
00:21:05.96\00:21:08.40
shore of downtown San Francisco
on Pier 39 and so on, that's
00:21:08.43\00:21:11.63
where I'm sure there was
tens of thousands of people,
00:21:11.67\00:21:14.47
way more than Angel Island.
00:21:14.50\00:21:15.94
That's where they were a little
bit closer, but there's this
00:21:15.97\00:21:18.94
large passenger plane, and I
don't know what the novelty was
00:21:18.97\00:21:22.48
of a large 747 or whatever it
was coming through, but anyway
00:21:22.51\00:21:27.58
it kind of came by and
did a low, you know--he was
00:21:27.62\00:21:30.75
able to do some maneuvers
that he would never be able
00:21:30.79\00:21:33.19
to do otherwise, the pilots.
00:21:33.22\00:21:34.52
And so, they came by.
00:21:34.56\00:21:35.92
And then as they came by along
the shoreline, you know, and
00:21:35.96\00:21:38.56
gave a nice view to all the
different, the largest crowds
00:21:38.59\00:21:41.80
there in San
Francisco, they came to downtown
00:21:41.83\00:21:44.47
where all the high rises are.
00:21:44.50\00:21:46.33
And as that large plane
kind of veered, it kind of
00:21:46.37\00:21:49.67
slowly made its way over
and just barely missed, you
00:21:49.70\00:21:53.11
know, the high rises there.
00:21:53.14\00:21:58.08
And I'm not an American. I
was born and raised in Canada.
00:21:58.11\00:22:01.05
I've been here for
four years, and having
00:22:01.08\00:22:02.95
a good time, and loving it.
00:22:02.98\00:22:05.82
But, you know, even as neighbors
of America, watching my
00:22:05.85\00:22:09.16
television, you know, and 9/11
when those Towers, you know,
00:22:09.19\00:22:13.93
just watching those large
passenger planes come over and
00:22:13.96\00:22:16.73
then they didn't just do a close
fly by like they did in San
00:22:16.77\00:22:20.67
Francisco, but they went
right into those Twin Towers.
00:22:20.70\00:22:24.91
And I have to confess that
even though I wasn't there in
00:22:24.94\00:22:27.28
New York--I've never even
visited New York City, yet--
00:22:27.31\00:22:31.15
I felt a little uncomfortable.
00:22:31.18\00:22:34.65
You know, there wasn't
large anxiety, but there
00:22:34.68\00:22:36.28
was some real anxiety there.
00:22:36.32\00:22:37.99
I said, you know, I just don't
know if that was the best idea
00:22:38.02\00:22:40.19
for them to do that, you know,
with our history and so on.
00:22:40.22\00:22:43.06
If I'm feeling uncomfortable, I
can imagine people that are from
00:22:43.09\00:22:45.39
New York State or New York
City that maybe are visiting.
00:22:45.43\00:22:47.50
I don't know.
00:22:47.50\00:22:49.56
But anyway, just, if I felt a
little anxiety--I didn't have to
00:22:49.60\00:22:53.97
go see a therapist or anything
after, you know, nothing of that
00:22:54.00\00:22:56.44
nature, but it's, you know,
it's still, it was a little bit
00:22:56.47\00:23:00.84
uncomfortable seeing that scene.
00:23:00.88\00:23:02.91
So, you can imagine those first
rain clouds, you know, for years
00:23:02.94\00:23:05.95
after the flood, and you would
have a little bit of discomfort
00:23:05.98\00:23:08.38
with that and thinking, you
know, we just came out of the
00:23:08.42\00:23:11.35
largest--I mean, it just makes
every natural disaster that
00:23:11.39\00:23:14.26
we've had combined look like
child's play compared to the
00:23:14.29\00:23:18.59
flood that took place back then.
00:23:18.63\00:23:23.16
And so, God gave
that rainbow to remember.
00:23:23.20\00:23:25.37
This week, we're going to be
looking at the great value of
00:23:25.40\00:23:28.10
remembering God's promises,
His past actions, as well as the
00:23:28.14\00:23:32.27
warnings that He also gives
to us, as He gave that covenant
00:23:32.31\00:23:37.28
with Israel, through the times
of Moses, and so we continue to
00:23:37.31\00:23:43.15
study that covenant.
00:23:43.18\00:23:44.82
The context of Deuteronomy, once
again, just in a quick review,
00:23:44.85\00:23:48.92
we have to remember that the
Israelites are standing at the
00:23:48.96\00:23:51.09
promise, the border
of the Promised Land.
00:23:51.13\00:23:53.33
They're on the east
side of the Jordan River.
00:23:53.36\00:23:55.36
They can probably see the city
and the walls of Jericho across
00:23:55.40\00:23:58.87
the river in the Promised Land.
00:23:58.90\00:24:01.64
They'd been there for a while
now, for a number of days or
00:24:01.67\00:24:04.97
weeks, and Moses now is led by
God to be able to give a series
00:24:05.01\00:24:09.88
of speeches before the children
of Israel--before Moses goes up
00:24:09.91\00:24:13.45
on top of Mount Pisgah and meets
his end and is buried by the
00:24:13.48\00:24:18.02
Lord, we find that he is
called to be able to give these
00:24:18.05\00:24:21.16
speeches, and the Israelites
were then to enter into the
00:24:21.19\00:24:23.73
Promised Land, finally, after
40 long years after leaving the
00:24:23.76\00:24:29.80
slavery and captivity
that they had been in, in
00:24:29.83\00:24:33.64
the nation of Egypt before that.
00:24:33.67\00:24:37.21
Now, because the Bible tells
us that God had, at one point,
00:24:37.24\00:24:40.84
because of the rebelliousness
and the hardness of the hearts
00:24:40.88\00:24:44.51
of the first generation of
Israelites that were delivered
00:24:44.55\00:24:47.22
out of Egypt, God finally said,
okay, listen, enough is enough.
00:24:47.25\00:24:50.15
Any man or woman that is
20 years old or older will not
00:24:50.19\00:24:54.79
enter into the Promised Land.
00:24:54.82\00:24:56.62
You're going to wander through
the wilderness for the next 40
00:24:56.66\00:24:59.36
years until everybody that's
20 or older is going to die.
00:24:59.39\00:25:03.30
And after you have met your end,
then the next generation, those
00:25:03.33\00:25:07.14
who were under 20 years of age
when God made this declaration,
00:25:07.17\00:25:11.31
will be able to
have the opportunity to
00:25:11.34\00:25:12.91
enter the Promised Land.
00:25:12.94\00:25:14.34
Now, that brings up some very
unique statistics that I never
00:25:14.38\00:25:17.35
thought of before I started
studying for this week's lesson,
00:25:17.38\00:25:20.38
and that is the fact that not
one Israelite was older than 60
00:25:20.42\00:25:25.05
years of age when they
entered into the Promised Land.
00:25:25.09\00:25:28.72
When they crossed the Jordan
River, there was no one older
00:25:28.76\00:25:30.83
than 60 years old; why?
00:25:30.86\00:25:32.53
Because everybody that was 20
or older, 40 years previous, God
00:25:32.56\00:25:35.90
said would die before
they entered the Promised Land.
00:25:35.93\00:25:38.27
Now, they're just about
to enter the Promised Land.
00:25:38.30\00:25:39.97
They do enter the Promised Land
at the end of that 40th year,
00:25:40.00\00:25:42.50
and therefore we know for
certain that everybody that was
00:25:42.54\00:25:44.97
20 years or older 40
years previous had died.
00:25:45.01\00:25:49.58
So, there's no retirees in
the entire population of Israel.
00:25:49.61\00:25:53.75
Now, that's kind of fascinating.
00:25:53.78\00:25:56.38
Only those who are 40 years
or older had even been in Egypt.
00:25:56.42\00:26:01.69
So, when they're about to enter
and when they do cross into the
00:26:01.72\00:26:03.83
Promised Land, and when
those who were listening to the
00:26:03.86\00:26:06.66
speeches of Moses,
those who are 40 and older had
00:26:06.70\00:26:11.10
never even seen
the land of Egypt.
00:26:11.13\00:26:14.44
They were born in the
wilderness, and they were born
00:26:14.47\00:26:17.47
after they had escaped
from the nation of Egypt.
00:26:17.51\00:26:21.58
Even those who were 35
to 40 years old when they
00:26:21.61\00:26:24.68
entered into the Promised
Land were too young really to
00:26:24.71\00:26:26.82
have any memories of Egypt.
00:26:26.85\00:26:29.92
They were born in Egypt, the
one, or two, or three, or four,
00:26:29.95\00:26:32.22
or five years before they left
Egypt, but typically when we're
00:26:32.25\00:26:34.76
up to five years old, even
during dramatic experiences, we
00:26:34.79\00:26:39.19
typically don't have a
permanent memory of that.
00:26:39.23\00:26:42.06
Now, maybe the five-year-olds
probably going to see
00:26:42.10\00:26:44.27
some of these different
things, maybe there was
00:26:44.30\00:26:46.13
a couple that could remember.
00:26:46.17\00:26:48.07
But for the most part, those
who were 35 and younger have no
00:26:48.10\00:26:53.31
recollection or
experience with Egypt at all.
00:26:53.34\00:26:56.71
So, it's a much different
generation, a much different
00:26:56.75\00:26:58.48
experience for the population
that is about to enter
00:26:58.51\00:27:01.68
into the Promised Land.
00:27:01.72\00:27:03.39
Not only that, but these are
fascinating and interesting with
00:27:03.42\00:27:05.82
some of these age statistics,
but it seems to be another
00:27:05.85\00:27:09.19
testimony of the blessing
or the curses that our choices
00:27:09.22\00:27:13.40
can bring us in this life.
00:27:13.43\00:27:17.93
You know, and, of course,
that's one of the themes in
00:27:17.97\00:27:19.43
the last part of Deuteronomy.
00:27:19.47\00:27:20.77
"I have set before you
a blessing and a curse."
00:27:20.80\00:27:24.94
Now, he had said that before
the first generation, as well.
00:27:24.97\00:27:28.14
Now, sadly, most of that first
generation that came out of
00:27:28.18\00:27:32.01
Egypt had chosen the curse.
00:27:32.05\00:27:34.22
And because of that, none of
them lived past 60 years of age.
00:27:34.25\00:27:39.72
Now, 60 is not very old.
00:27:39.75\00:27:41.09
Now, you may say,
"Well, in the old days they
00:27:41.12\00:27:42.42
didn't live as
long," yes, they did.
00:27:42.46\00:27:44.43
Now, it's true that if
you go back about 100 years,
00:27:44.46\00:27:46.43
they didn't live as long, or
200 years, because sanitation
00:27:46.46\00:27:48.83
and medicine
advancements in healthcare and
00:27:48.86\00:27:51.83
so on that extend our lives.
00:27:51.87\00:27:53.23
But if you look at the bigger
picture, and you go back to
00:27:53.27\00:27:55.50
Moses's day 3500 years
ago, living to 100 was standard.
00:27:55.54\00:28:00.54
Living past 100
was normal, you know.
00:28:00.58\00:28:03.14
Moses lived to 120, and the
Bible says that he still had
00:28:03.18\00:28:06.11
clarity of mind and eyesight.
00:28:06.15\00:28:08.28
His hair was just
starting to go gray.
00:28:08.32\00:28:11.22
So, we know that living
past 100 was not unusual
00:28:11.25\00:28:14.76
back in those days.
00:28:14.79\00:28:17.29
But sadly, because that
generation had chosen the curse,
00:28:17.33\00:28:19.89
none of them made it past 60.
00:28:19.93\00:28:22.26
Now, it doesn't give us the
details on how and why and so
00:28:22.30\00:28:24.53
on--disease, accidents, you
know, plagues and so on I'm sure
00:28:24.57\00:28:28.77
was part of the picture,
and we see some of those details
00:28:28.80\00:28:31.37
sometimes as God's judgment
plague sometimes came upon them.
00:28:31.41\00:28:34.24
But we do know that they didn't
live a very long life, did they?
00:28:34.28\00:28:38.75
Those who chose unbelief were
not only robbed of entering into
00:28:38.78\00:28:41.82
an experience, the Promised
Land, the paradise of Canaan,
00:28:41.85\00:28:45.72
but they also lost out on
living a much longer life.
00:28:45.75\00:28:49.19
Now, this is not the fist time
that the Bible reveals this.
00:28:49.22\00:28:53.33
But let's look at the context
of the chapter that we're
00:28:53.36\00:28:56.30
introduced to in
our study here today,
00:28:56.33\00:28:58.23
which is Deuteronomy chapter 4.
00:28:58.27\00:28:59.67
And so, you might as well
get a head start and turn there.
00:28:59.70\00:29:01.74
We're going to
spend some time looking at
00:29:01.77\00:29:03.10
some of the verses there.
00:29:03.14\00:29:05.84
But in Deuteronomy chapter 4
and verse 40 it says, "You shall
00:29:05.87\00:29:08.78
therefore keep His statutes and
His commandments which I command
00:29:08.81\00:29:12.88
you today, that it may go well
with you and with your children
00:29:12.91\00:29:17.65
after you, and that
you may prolong your days."
00:29:17.69\00:29:23.29
In the margin, you might
have the Hebrew experts and
00:29:23.32\00:29:26.29
translators tell us that
literally means to live longer,
00:29:26.33\00:29:29.93
just to make sure
that it clarifies--
00:29:29.96\00:29:31.37
"that you may live
longer in the land which the
00:29:31.40\00:29:33.67
Lord your God is
giving you for all time."
00:29:33.70\00:29:36.20
And so, God here is
telling us that the Israelites
00:29:36.24\00:29:41.81
had the opportunity
to live long, if they
00:29:41.84\00:29:44.15
only choose belief and faith.
00:29:44.18\00:29:45.85
And so, faith extends life.
00:29:45.88\00:29:47.25
Now, we even research today
that verifies that, do we not?
00:29:47.28\00:29:50.22
Some of you have been exposed
to that, different Christian
00:29:50.25\00:29:51.75
researchers, non-Christian
research projects and so on
00:29:51.79\00:29:55.46
have revealed that those who
have a faith, those who follow
00:29:55.49\00:29:57.66
God, those who pray, and attend
church, and study their Bible,
00:29:57.69\00:30:01.63
they heal faster, they heal more
often, and they live longer.
00:30:01.66\00:30:06.37
The Bible here is
verifying that for us, as well.
00:30:06.40\00:30:09.64
God said,
"Yeah, I'm behind that.
00:30:09.67\00:30:11.11
That's Me. Yeah,
that was My idea."
00:30:11.14\00:30:16.14
Exodus chapter 20 and verse
12, in the heart of the Ten
00:30:16.18\00:30:18.65
Commandments, we come to the
fifth Commandment, and we find
00:30:18.68\00:30:20.95
that principle revealed again.
00:30:20.98\00:30:23.82
"Honor your father and your
mother, that your days may be
00:30:23.85\00:30:27.12
long in the land that the
Lord your God is giving you."
00:30:27.16\00:30:31.73
And so, God is telling
us, when we find ourselves
00:30:31.76\00:30:34.10
giving ourselves
over to God in obedience,
00:30:34.13\00:30:37.00
He gives us longevity.
00:30:37.03\00:30:38.73
He says there's longevity
that's connected to that.
00:30:38.77\00:30:40.97
Part of the blessing is
that you get to live longer.
00:30:41.00\00:30:44.91
Okay, Joshua chapter 24, verse
29 tells us--now, Joshua and
00:30:44.94\00:30:50.28
Caleb are the
only two exceptions.
00:30:50.31\00:30:52.58
When God condemned that first
generation that came out of
00:30:52.61\00:30:54.88
Egypt, and he said,
"Listen, none of you are going
00:30:54.92\00:30:56.99
to enter into the Promised Land.
00:30:57.02\00:30:58.32
Anybody that's 20 years
or older, just forget it.
00:30:58.35\00:31:00.32
You're not going,
except for Joshua and Caleb."
00:31:00.36\00:31:04.93
Some of you
know the story, okay.
00:31:04.96\00:31:06.26
So those were the
only two faithful.
00:31:06.29\00:31:07.76
Now, you know the story of the
spies that went in and checked
00:31:07.83\00:31:10.27
out the land of Canaan, and came
back, and ten were unbelieving.
00:31:10.30\00:31:15.37
They were unfaithful.
00:31:15.40\00:31:16.91
They did not trust
or want to follow God.
00:31:16.94\00:31:19.14
And so, they
said, "There's no way we
00:31:19.17\00:31:20.58
could take the Promised Land."
00:31:20.61\00:31:21.91
Two were
faithful: Joshua and Caleb.
00:31:21.94\00:31:25.51
And so, God says, "Those
are the only two exceptions.
00:31:25.55\00:31:28.68
They will enter
the Promised Land."
00:31:28.72\00:31:30.35
And so, Joshua
and Caleb went in.
00:31:30.39\00:31:31.72
They lived well past 60.
00:31:31.75\00:31:34.19
So, everybody else, can you
imagine, all your colleagues,
00:31:34.22\00:31:37.43
all your schoolmates, your
neighbors, friends that used
00:31:37.46\00:31:40.16
to--all of them die
by the time they're 60.
00:31:40.20\00:31:43.67
The luckiest ones make it to 60.
00:31:43.70\00:31:46.57
Some of them I'm sure
died before they reached 60.
00:31:46.60\00:31:51.14
But Caleb--I mean, Joshua is on
record in Joshua 24, verse 29.
00:31:51.17\00:31:54.48
It says he lived 110 years.
00:31:54.51\00:31:57.31
Now, friends, round
numbers, that's as long.
00:31:57.35\00:32:00.48
So, Joshua outlived all
his fellow generation, and
00:32:00.52\00:32:03.15
neighbors, and colleagues,
and school mates by two.
00:32:03.18\00:32:06.82
And we can assume that
Caleb also did, as well,
00:32:06.86\00:32:10.53
lived well past 60.
00:32:10.56\00:32:13.73
Makes me wonder, what were some
of the last words of the parents
00:32:13.76\00:32:16.26
who rebelled and
died in the wilderness?
00:32:16.30\00:32:19.00
Because as they looked at their
children, and they're on their
00:32:19.03\00:32:20.50
death bed, disease, pestilence,
whatever it is that eventually
00:32:20.54\00:32:25.94
took them
prematurely, and they knew why.
00:32:25.97\00:32:31.45
It makes me wonder if any of
them came around and confessed
00:32:31.48\00:32:34.45
to their children and
said, "Listen, you need
00:32:34.48\00:32:36.22
to do better than we did.
00:32:36.25\00:32:37.82
You need to put
your faith in the Lord.
00:32:37.85\00:32:39.35
We really blew it."
00:32:39.39\00:32:40.82
I'm sure some of them did.
00:32:40.86\00:32:42.22
Sadly, a lot of them would
go to the grave very obstinate,
00:32:42.26\00:32:45.13
very stubborn, very
proud, as many of us do.
00:32:45.16\00:32:49.06
You know, many of us have been
around the death bed of too many
00:32:49.10\00:32:51.87
people that, you know, just, you
know, they just stay, they stay
00:32:51.90\00:32:58.27
stubborn right to the end.
00:32:58.31\00:33:00.81
But God doesn't
want that for you and I.
00:33:00.84\00:33:03.58
God wants us to be able to be
faithful, to soften our hearts,
00:33:03.61\00:33:06.15
to follow after God, amen?
00:33:06.18\00:33:08.85
Well, here we have
this new generation.
00:33:08.88\00:33:10.35
They're standing on the eastern
border of the Promised Land by
00:33:10.39\00:33:12.59
the Jordan River,
right across from Jericho.
00:33:12.62\00:33:16.26
They're about to possess the
land that is steeped in false
00:33:16.29\00:33:19.16
religions, and these
false religions include idols.
00:33:19.19\00:33:25.00
You know, idolatry was the
standard of the day back then.
00:33:25.03\00:33:29.40
It didn't matter what nation you
went to, what city and so on.
00:33:29.44\00:33:31.71
You could travel
far, east, west, north,
00:33:31.74\00:33:33.98
south, doesn't matter.
00:33:34.01\00:33:35.38
All the religions had some kind
of visible representation of
00:33:35.41\00:33:37.51
their god called an idol.
00:33:37.55\00:33:39.61
They would carve it out of
stone, or wood, or metal for the
00:33:39.65\00:33:43.22
wealthier cities,
and nations, and so on.
00:33:43.25\00:33:46.62
And so, they would have
this large, impressive-looking,
00:33:46.65\00:33:49.92
you know,
well-crafted representation of
00:33:49.96\00:33:52.76
their god or their gods.
00:33:52.79\00:33:54.10
For many of them,
they had plural gods.
00:33:54.10\00:33:56.80
And in the land of Canaan
where Israel was about to go
00:33:56.83\00:33:59.57
and inhabit, God knew
that it was steeped in these
00:33:59.60\00:34:04.04
false religions
that included idolatry.
00:34:04.07\00:34:07.94
But God was calling the
Israelites to be completely
00:34:07.98\00:34:11.21
different and unique
from those same nations
00:34:11.25\00:34:15.22
and from their religions.
00:34:15.25\00:34:16.99
Now, the Jews had a very
unique--and for the rest of the
00:34:17.02\00:34:20.06
nations would be very odd
for them because if they were to
00:34:20.09\00:34:23.96
walk into the Jewish
temple, their sacred temple of
00:34:23.99\00:34:28.26
religion, they would find
no idol, no representation
00:34:28.30\00:34:31.47
of the God of Israel.
00:34:31.50\00:34:33.80
There would be a sacred art
there, or there would be the
00:34:33.84\00:34:35.70
worshiping cherubim over the ark
representing the angels of God,
00:34:35.74\00:34:40.58
but God Himself is
nowhere to be seen, the form of
00:34:40.61\00:34:43.95
God, you can't touch Him.
00:34:43.98\00:34:46.51
You can't hear Him.
00:34:46.55\00:34:50.05
There's no audible
voice, very unique.
00:34:50.09\00:34:53.15
And so, God knew that they would
stand out, that they would be
00:34:53.19\00:34:55.79
very different, and the rest of
the nations would kind of look
00:34:55.82\00:34:58.56
at them with their head cocked
and sideways and saying, "What
00:34:58.59\00:35:01.36
kind of weird religion is this?
00:35:01.40\00:35:04.50
So, you have to remember
that the Israelites were the
00:35:04.53\00:35:06.13
exception, and God knew
that when He was sending them
00:35:06.17\00:35:08.54
into there, and He
knew the dangers that
00:35:08.57\00:35:10.31
came with the cultural norm.
00:35:10.34\00:35:12.54
They knew how dangerous it was
and how readily the Israelites
00:35:12.57\00:35:15.78
could find themselves being
assimilated by the norm of the
00:35:15.81\00:35:18.91
culture, which is idolatry,
having a visible representation
00:35:18.95\00:35:22.25
of your god, and of course a
lot of the different immoral and
00:35:22.28\00:35:25.99
perverted ethical codes that
came and practices that came
00:35:26.02\00:35:30.33
with those different
idols and false gods, as well.
00:35:30.36\00:35:35.73
You know, it is interesting
that the Israelites, even though
00:35:35.76\00:35:38.20
their God is invisible, at least
for now until Jesus comes, that
00:35:38.23\00:35:42.97
even though the God of the
Israelites was invisible, they
00:35:43.00\00:35:46.34
did hear their God
once, did they not?
00:35:46.37\00:35:49.78
At Mount Sinai when God spoke to
them the Ten Commandments out of
00:35:49.81\00:35:53.11
the fire and the thick darkness,
and the earthquake, and the
00:35:53.15\00:35:55.92
thunder, and the lightning,
and everything else that God had
00:35:55.95\00:35:58.42
during that very impressive
milestone in which he was
00:35:58.45\00:36:02.69
sealing a covenant with
Israel, with the testimony of
00:36:02.72\00:36:05.36
the Ten Commandments,
the government of God at its
00:36:05.39\00:36:08.03
very base and foundation.
00:36:08.06\00:36:11.47
They heard God speak to them
the greatest and most important
00:36:11.50\00:36:15.34
ethical code that
mankind has ever received.
00:36:15.37\00:36:20.31
And so, that's one that the
Israelites and you and I can
00:36:20.34\00:36:22.74
chalk up, that the
false religions can't.
00:36:22.78\00:36:25.25
They've never heard their god.
00:36:25.28\00:36:26.68
You know, the
Israelite--God spoke through
00:36:26.72\00:36:28.15
the prophets over and over.
00:36:28.18\00:36:29.48
You know, they're
worshiping these idols,
00:36:29.52\00:36:31.49
these gods, these false gods.
00:36:31.52\00:36:33.76
They don't talk, they don't
speak, they don't move, they
00:36:33.79\00:36:36.66
can't smell, they can't
eat, they can't do anything.
00:36:36.69\00:36:39.33
They just sit there.
00:36:39.36\00:36:42.76
Isaiah used to make fun of
them and say, "You know, you
00:36:42.80\00:36:45.47
carve--you get a great big
old tree, and you take half the
00:36:45.50\00:36:48.34
tree, and you carve it into one
of your idols, and you worship,
00:36:48.37\00:36:51.11
and you believe it's
alive, and you take the rest,
00:36:51.14\00:36:53.27
and you make it into firewood."
00:36:53.31\00:36:56.21
Said, "What is
that? That's illogical."
00:36:56.24\00:37:00.95
But when we're looking to
escape God and His voice and
00:37:00.98\00:37:03.02
His ethics and His obedience,
we'll grab onto anything,
00:37:03.05\00:37:07.82
no matter how ludicrous.
00:37:07.86\00:37:10.89
I mean, the most honest
of unbelieving atheists and
00:37:10.93\00:37:13.93
evolutionists will
tell you that, you know,
00:37:13.96\00:37:17.00
evolution has huge holes.
00:37:17.03\00:37:18.60
It takes massive
faith, and you have to turn a
00:37:18.63\00:37:20.94
blind eye to massive
holes in the theory of evolution
00:37:20.97\00:37:23.74
to be able to accept it.
00:37:23.77\00:37:25.54
Massive holes that
evolutionists can't even come
00:37:25.57\00:37:29.68
close to explaining on
a logical objective basis,
00:37:29.71\00:37:33.15
but that's not the point.
00:37:33.18\00:37:34.48
The point is that it's a popular
escape route; because if I
00:37:34.52\00:37:37.72
accept evolution, I
don't have to accept God.
00:37:37.75\00:37:41.26
Same with idolatry back
then, but that's a sideline.
00:37:41.29\00:37:44.93
"Come out of them and be
separate," says the Lord,
00:37:44.96\00:37:48.23
2 Corinthians
chapter 6 and verse 17.
00:37:48.26\00:37:50.90
"Come out of
them and be separate."
00:37:50.93\00:37:53.23
And so, Paul here, he's speaking
to the Christian generation.
00:37:53.27\00:37:57.87
He says, "Listen, even as the
Israelites were called to be--
00:37:57.91\00:38:00.34
come out and be separate, so are
the Israelites also called to
00:38:00.38\00:38:05.08
come out and be separate."
00:38:05.11\00:38:07.72
God was calling a special people
out of the nations back then to
00:38:07.75\00:38:12.22
be different, to
represent the truth.
00:38:12.25\00:38:15.86
That's what we've
been doing over the last
00:38:15.89\00:38:17.73
few weeks, have we not?
00:38:17.76\00:38:19.49
We've been giving presentations
night after night and helping
00:38:19.53\00:38:21.80
people to understand that God
has called us as Christians to
00:38:21.83\00:38:25.40
be different from the world.
00:38:25.43\00:38:27.60
And as we're learning from
the Bible, as I did as a new
00:38:27.64\00:38:30.71
Christian when I came to a
prophecy seminar like this, it
00:38:30.74\00:38:33.07
was like, you know, I'm learning
that God has called me to be
00:38:33.11\00:38:35.61
much more different than I
thought He did when I first came
00:38:35.64\00:38:38.75
to put my faith in Him.
00:38:38.78\00:38:41.08
You know, Christianity has
been watered down, and we have
00:38:41.12\00:38:43.59
abandoned so much of Bible
teaching that we're not nearly
00:38:43.62\00:38:45.92
as different as God
wants us to be from the world.
00:38:45.95\00:38:49.22
"Come out of them and be
separate," says the Lord.
00:38:49.26\00:38:53.70
Be different, be
unique. It should be obvious.
00:38:53.73\00:39:00.54
Some of us have had
neighbors for ten years and--
00:39:00.57\00:39:02.30
I'm not speaking to
you. I know you're different,
00:39:02.34\00:39:05.51
but some of us outside
of our crowd here today that
00:39:05.54\00:39:08.28
have neighbors for ten
years, and they still don't
00:39:08.31\00:39:10.15
even know that we're Christians.
00:39:10.18\00:39:13.28
They should know you're
Christians within a week.
00:39:13.31\00:39:18.82
God calls us to be separate,
to come out from among them.
00:39:18.85\00:39:21.49
Deuteronomy
chapter 4 and verse 32.
00:39:21.52\00:39:23.46
We're going to run out of
time far before we get through
00:39:23.49\00:39:25.23
all this, but that's okay.
00:39:25.26\00:39:26.73
There's always more
material than we'll ever cover
00:39:26.76\00:39:29.93
in Sabbath School lesson.
00:39:29.96\00:39:32.20
That's why we do our
Sabbath School lesson study
00:39:32.23\00:39:34.20
as well at home, right?
00:39:34.24\00:39:36.47
Right? Okay.
00:39:36.50\00:39:40.14
Deuteronomy
chapter 4, verses 32 to 35.
00:39:40.18\00:39:42.48
We're not reading the whole
passage from that day in the
00:39:42.51\00:39:44.41
lesson, but we're going
to look at the key verses.
00:39:44.45\00:39:46.31
So, Deuteronomy chapter 4,
verse 32, it says, "For ask now
00:39:46.35\00:39:49.05
concerning the days that
are past, which were before you
00:39:49.08\00:39:52.12
since the day that God created
man on the earth, and ask from
00:39:52.15\00:39:55.12
one end of heaven to the other
whether any great thing like
00:39:55.16\00:39:57.79
this has happened or anything
like it has ever been heard."
00:39:57.83\00:40:01.03
He says, "You go back to the
very beginning from Adam and Eve
00:40:01.06\00:40:03.20
all the way to you and I today,"
Moses's day, okay, 2500 years
00:40:03.23\00:40:08.80
later and all those 2500
years of earth's history.
00:40:08.84\00:40:11.41
When Moses is making the
statement, when God is speaking
00:40:11.44\00:40:13.74
to the Israelites, "Has anything
this great ever happened?
00:40:13.78\00:40:17.38
Did any people ever hear the
voice of God speaking out of the
00:40:17.41\00:40:20.08
midst of fires you
have heard and live?
00:40:20.12\00:40:23.02
Or did God ever try to go and
take for Himself a nation from
00:40:23.05\00:40:26.05
the midst of another nation by
trials, by signs, wonders, war,
00:40:26.09\00:40:31.33
a mighty hand, and an
outstretched arm, and by great
00:40:31.36\00:40:33.93
terrors, according to all that
the Lord your God did for you in
00:40:33.96\00:40:37.07
Egypt before your eyes?
00:40:37.10\00:40:40.54
To you it was shown that you
might know that the Lord Himself
00:40:40.57\00:40:44.91
is God; there is
none other besides Him."
00:40:44.94\00:40:48.94
God is speaking to the
Israelites and saying, "Listen,
00:40:48.98\00:40:51.11
through the last 40 years and
especially in the years that are
00:40:51.15\00:40:54.92
going to follow after you cross
that Jordan River, and you find
00:40:54.95\00:40:57.95
yourself surrounded and tempted
to assimilate into the religions
00:40:57.99\00:41:01.62
and the idolatry and the false
doctrines and beliefs that are
00:41:01.66\00:41:06.26
being practiced there--as all
that is taking place, I want you
00:41:06.29\00:41:09.46
to remember and know that there
is no other God besides Me, that
00:41:09.50\00:41:14.50
all of it is counterfeit, all of
it comes up empty, and the only
00:41:14.54\00:41:19.57
hope that you have is to
put your faith in Me and believe
00:41:19.61\00:41:22.64
that I am the One who made
heaven and earth, and I have
00:41:22.68\00:41:25.58
given you a boatload of evidence
to be able to understand
00:41:25.61\00:41:29.48
and accept Me as
the true God of heaven.
00:41:29.52\00:41:33.32
A boatload of evidence.
00:41:33.36\00:41:36.02
The sea was
parted supernaturally
00:41:36.06\00:41:38.76
from one side to the other.
00:41:38.79\00:41:40.80
And not only that, but then I
dried the ground on the bottom.
00:41:40.83\00:41:44.17
You didn't have to put your
mud boots to get across like you
00:41:44.20\00:41:45.93
would think we would have to
once that was freshly departed,
00:41:45.97\00:41:49.27
but no, then I went
ahead and, phoo, I blew on the
00:41:49.30\00:41:51.71
ground, and I dried it up.
00:41:51.74\00:41:53.94
Solid ground as
you walked across that
00:41:53.98\00:41:55.81
ocean or through that ocean.
00:41:55.84\00:41:59.65
The fire, the cloud of fire that
led you day by day, through the
00:41:59.68\00:42:02.72
night when you traveled, and the
cloud by day that protected you
00:42:02.75\00:42:06.39
from the hot, scorching
sun during the daytime, as
00:42:06.42\00:42:10.59
you traveled, all
of it supernaturally.
00:42:10.63\00:42:13.16
The manna that supernaturally,
miraculously appeared day by day
00:42:13.19\00:42:16.87
on the ground before you."
00:42:16.90\00:42:18.97
God had given them a boatload
of evidence to accept Him as the
00:42:19.00\00:42:23.24
true God, the only reason that
they ever would've--ever, ever,
00:42:23.27\00:42:27.61
ever, ever choose to reject God
is because they didn't want God.
00:42:27.64\00:42:30.95
They wanted to
harden their hearts.
00:42:30.98\00:42:32.35
They loved sin more than God,
and that's why God condemned
00:42:32.38\00:42:36.95
that first
generation in the first place.
00:42:36.99\00:42:39.82
They had this
boatload of evidence.
00:42:39.85\00:42:41.56
There was absolutely no logical,
rational, objective reason that
00:42:41.59\00:42:46.06
they could even come close
to grabbing onto to be able to
00:42:46.09\00:42:49.13
reject God, the God of Israel as
the true God of heaven, except
00:42:49.16\00:42:54.77
for the fact that they wanted
to do things their own way.
00:42:54.80\00:42:57.41
They didn't want
God in their life.
00:42:57.44\00:42:58.97
They did not want to acknowledge
God in their heart, as Paul had
00:42:59.01\00:43:01.44
written in Romans chapter 1.
00:43:01.48\00:43:04.91
Hebrews chapter 3 and
verses 15 to 16, it says,
00:43:04.95\00:43:08.42
"While it is said, 'Today,
if you will hear His voice,
00:43:08.45\00:43:11.19
do not harden your
hearts as in the rebellion.'"
00:43:11.22\00:43:14.59
What rebellion? "For
who having heard rebelled."
00:43:14.62\00:43:18.33
The question is asked,
00:43:18.36\00:43:19.69
"Indeed, was it not all who came
out of Egypt, led by Moses?"
00:43:19.73\00:43:22.90
And so, Paul here in Hebrews, in
the New Testament, is testifying
00:43:22.93\00:43:25.60
and clarifying, confirming
indeed that the only reason that
00:43:25.63\00:43:28.97
that generation was condemned
that was 20 years or older, "The
00:43:29.00\00:43:31.67
only reason," God says, "you're
going to die in the wilderness a
00:43:31.71\00:43:34.01
premature early death and
never enter the Promised Land is
00:43:34.04\00:43:37.41
because you hardened your heart.
00:43:37.45\00:43:40.92
You refused to accept the
God of heaven in your heart.
00:43:40.95\00:43:44.89
Not only did I give you physical
evidence to be able to accept Me
00:43:44.92\00:43:48.09
and know that I am the only true
God and there is none besides
00:43:48.12\00:43:51.23
Me, but I have given you a
boatload of evidence that I am a
00:43:51.26\00:43:53.96
God of kindness, and of mercy,
and of love, and I have nothing
00:43:54.00\00:43:58.00
more than your
best interest in mind."
00:43:58.03\00:44:01.54
Can you say amen?
00:44:01.57\00:44:03.64
And so, God is
calling to us again today.
00:44:03.67\00:44:06.04
And we need to close.
00:44:06.07\00:44:08.54
Revelation chapter 12 and verse
11, it says, "They overcame him
00:44:08.58\00:44:11.31
by the blood of the Lamb and
by the Word of their testimony."
00:44:11.35\00:44:16.55
And at the end of that same
chapter in verse 17, it says
00:44:16.58\00:44:20.22
that, "Here are they that keep
the commandments of God and have
00:44:20.26\00:44:23.73
the testimony of Jesus Christ."
00:44:23.76\00:44:25.96
Friends, we want to be part of
that last day people that have
00:44:25.99\00:44:28.16
the testimony of God, and keep
the commandments of God, and
00:44:28.20\00:44:32.23
have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
00:44:32.27\00:44:33.74
Revelation chapter 14, in
the last verse--or verse 12.
00:44:33.77\00:44:38.87
Revelation 14, verse
12, it says, "Here is
00:44:38.91\00:44:41.01
the patience of the saints.
00:44:41.04\00:44:42.71
Here are those who keep
the commandments of God and
00:44:42.74\00:44:46.41
have the faith of Jesus Christ.
00:44:46.45\00:44:49.18
That's the part
that we want to be in.
00:44:49.22\00:44:51.02
May God bless you.
00:44:51.05\00:44:52.39
We look forward to
having you again next week.
00:44:52.42\00:44:54.26
We're going to come together for
our Bible study, and the Bible
00:44:54.29\00:44:58.13
study--"Sabbath School
Study Hour," I should say.
00:44:58.16\00:45:01.70
And if you haven't taken
advantage of our free offer,
00:45:01.73\00:45:03.87
please take advantage of that,
even today, and it's entitled,
00:45:03.90\00:45:07.60
"Spiritual Israel."
00:45:07.64\00:45:08.94
What does the New Testament
teach concerning Israel?
00:45:08.97\00:45:11.11
How are we involved in that, and
how should we be involved in it?
00:45:11.14\00:45:13.88
Very important
in these last days.
00:45:13.91\00:45:15.71
Free offer number 174.
This is the number you ask for.
00:45:15.74\00:45:19.25
1-866-788-3966. Please
take advantage of that.
00:45:19.28\00:45:23.35
Call in if you're
in the US territories
00:45:23.39\00:45:25.99
or in continental USA or Canada,
00:45:26.02\00:45:29.52
and we'll be happy
to send that out to you.
00:45:29.56\00:45:31.26
Until next time, God bless you.
00:45:31.29\00:45:33.80
announcer: Don't
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announcer: Amazing
Facts, changed lives.
00:46:13.37\00:46:18.97
Brian: It was ongoing with
me. I would get up and drink.
00:46:21.51\00:46:25.55
I would go to work and drink.
00:46:25.58\00:46:27.02
I would come home and drink.
00:46:27.05\00:46:28.72
And that was--that
was my way of life.
00:46:28.75\00:46:31.52
I had an older sister, and in
2008, we received a phone call
00:46:31.55\00:46:36.22
from her husband saying that she
was involved in a very serious
00:46:36.26\00:46:39.23
home accident.
00:46:39.26\00:46:41.16
She had fallen
outside on her patio.
00:46:41.20\00:46:44.17
It was a concrete patio, and she
hit her head because she was in
00:46:44.20\00:46:49.20
a drunken stupor.
00:46:49.24\00:46:51.07
And she needed emergency brain
surgery because of the trauma
00:46:51.11\00:46:54.84
that she had suffered.
00:46:54.88\00:46:56.85
And so, they were able to stop
the bleeding in her brain, but
00:46:56.88\00:47:00.12
her organs started
shutting down one by one.
00:47:00.15\00:47:03.62
So here I was, you know, hadn't
had a drink, being a full blown
00:47:03.65\00:47:07.12
alcoholic myself, hadn't had
a drink in probably a full day,
00:47:07.16\00:47:11.99
which was, you
know, a lifetime for me.
00:47:12.03\00:47:14.83
And during the time we were
watching there and they said
00:47:14.86\00:47:16.77
that she wasn't going to make
it, and we had made the decision
00:47:16.80\00:47:19.37
as a group, you know, with her
children present and her husband
00:47:19.40\00:47:21.87
that they were just going
to go ahead and pull the plug.
00:47:21.90\00:47:24.97
During that time, watching her
fade away, God forgive me, but I
00:47:25.01\00:47:28.24
sat there asking her to die
fast so I could go get a drink.
00:47:28.28\00:47:35.48
And you know, I didn't even see
it then, I didn't see how bad I
00:47:35.52\00:47:39.09
was at that time.
00:47:39.12\00:47:40.86
But you know, I look back at
it now and it just tears me up.
00:47:40.89\00:47:46.59
Alcohol, that's
what it does to you.
00:47:46.63\00:47:49.46
I was walking out to go to work
one morning with my breakfast,
00:47:49.50\00:47:52.63
which was a six pack of beer.
00:47:52.67\00:47:55.47
And as I was climbing into
my truck, it just hit me that it
00:47:55.50\00:47:59.37
was enough.
00:47:59.41\00:48:02.24
So I turned around, I took the
six pack of beer, and I threw it
00:48:02.28\00:48:05.35
in the trash can, and I went
and told my wife I needed help.
00:48:05.38\00:48:09.05
And there's two things I
never do, ask for help and throw
00:48:09.08\00:48:11.82
away beer.
00:48:11.85\00:48:14.42
And you know, thank
God I was able to do both.
00:48:14.46\00:48:17.89
Well, when I finally got to the
hospital, and they came and got
00:48:17.93\00:48:21.30
me and took me in.
00:48:21.33\00:48:24.00
And when they did a blood
alcohol on me, they had to do it
00:48:24.03\00:48:26.87
twice because they weren't
quite sure it was right, but it
00:48:26.90\00:48:29.27
was 0.38.
00:48:29.30\00:48:32.07
They were all amazed I was
even able to walk in there, let
00:48:32.11\00:48:34.54
alone, you
know, being conscious.
00:48:34.58\00:48:37.25
It was about two months after
I'd got out of treatment and
00:48:37.28\00:48:39.58
starting my fresh life.
00:48:39.61\00:48:41.95
I had left home, left my wife,
and I was going to start my new
00:48:41.98\00:48:44.25
life of sobriety, and she
wasn't going to be a part of it.
00:48:44.29\00:48:47.32
So I moved out and I was on
my way to the store one morning
00:48:47.36\00:48:50.79
when I was T-boned, broadsided
by an oncoming SUV on the
00:48:50.83\00:48:56.60
driver's side door of my truck.
00:48:56.63\00:48:59.77
And this driver was doing
an estimated 65 to 70 miles
00:48:59.80\00:49:02.60
an hour.
00:49:02.64\00:49:04.81
And he smacked on
my side of the door.
00:49:04.84\00:49:06.88
I woke up in the
passenger seat of the truck.
00:49:06.91\00:49:09.74
And I remember coming to and
hearing people standing outside,
00:49:09.78\00:49:12.98
"Look, he's still alive."
00:49:13.01\00:49:15.45
There was hairline fractures
in my pelvis and there was a
00:49:15.48\00:49:18.02
compression
fracture in my spine.
00:49:18.05\00:49:20.49
And so, on all intents and
purposes, I walked away from an
00:49:20.52\00:49:23.43
accident I had
no business living.
00:49:23.46\00:49:26.09
Well, with a broken back, I
wasn't allowed to be vertical
00:49:26.13\00:49:28.53
for but very
short periods of time.
00:49:28.56\00:49:31.60
And I wasn't very mobile with
a fractured pelvis, so I was
00:49:31.63\00:49:35.90
forced to move back home.
00:49:35.94\00:49:39.01
And you know, thank God I've got
a stubborn wife who was willing
00:49:39.04\00:49:42.78
to take me back and
put up with all this.
00:49:42.81\00:49:46.18
During my recovery, the
only thing I could really do was
00:49:46.21\00:49:48.55
watch television.
00:49:48.58\00:49:50.69
And so, as I was thumbing
through the channels, I noticed
00:49:50.72\00:49:52.99
a gentleman.
00:49:53.02\00:49:55.46
And I happened to stop because
he was proclaiming that you
00:49:55.49\00:49:58.63
can't prove biblically that
the Sabbath was changed from
00:49:58.66\00:50:01.13
Saturday to Sunday and
that it's not biblical.
00:50:01.16\00:50:04.43
I thought, "Well, you know
what, I think I can do this."
00:50:04.47\00:50:08.74
You know, so I took up my Bible
and I did something strange to
00:50:08.77\00:50:11.47
me, which was actually study.
00:50:11.51\00:50:14.24
You know, and over the course of
several months of watching this
00:50:14.28\00:50:17.41
man, who I would later discover
was Pastor Doug Batchelor, I
00:50:17.45\00:50:21.32
started trying to disprove
everything he was saying.
00:50:21.35\00:50:26.92
And the more I read and the more
I studied, the more I found out
00:50:26.96\00:50:30.26
that not only could I not
disprove it, I was believing it.
00:50:30.29\00:50:36.13
I realized it was the truth.
00:50:36.16\00:50:38.67
Then I started soaking up
everything that "Amazing Facts"
00:50:38.70\00:50:41.74
had--I was at their website,
you know, doing all the reading,
00:50:41.77\00:50:43.57
I was looking at
the Sabbath truths.
00:50:43.61\00:50:45.57
I was, you know, downloading,
streaming everything they had,
00:50:45.61\00:50:48.71
and I was really, really getting
it, and it helped me so much.
00:50:48.74\00:50:52.65
Over a process of about three
months while studying, you know,
00:50:52.68\00:50:57.12
with Doug Batchelor and the
"Amazing Facts" team and then,
00:50:57.15\00:51:00.09
you know, of course my Bible.
00:51:00.12\00:51:02.52
But over that three months, I
had fallen in love with Christ
00:51:02.56\00:51:06.56
like I had never had before.
00:51:06.59\00:51:08.63
And not only was my back and
my pelvis healed, but my soul
00:51:08.66\00:51:11.93
was healed.
00:51:11.97\00:51:13.94
And I experienced an emotional
and a mental healing that, you
00:51:13.97\00:51:19.34
know, I had been
longing for, for years.
00:51:19.37\00:51:24.11
I've got to do something.
00:51:24.15\00:51:26.31
What do I do next?
00:51:26.35\00:51:28.02
So, I looked up in the phone
book and I found the number for
00:51:28.05\00:51:29.95
the local pastor.
00:51:29.98\00:51:31.49
I called him and I said,
"Hi, my name is Brian, I've just
00:51:31.52\00:51:33.42
been converted.
00:51:33.46\00:51:34.89
Where do I go?"
00:51:34.92\00:51:36.83
And the poor guy was like,
"Brian, it's nice to meet you.
00:51:36.86\00:51:39.03
Converted from
what and go where?"
00:51:39.06\00:51:41.96
I said, "That's
what I want to know."
00:51:42.00\00:51:44.60
But we had a little laugh
over that and he thought it
00:51:44.63\00:51:46.30
was funny.
00:51:46.33\00:51:47.77
And before we knew it, I was,
you know, heart and soul into
00:51:47.80\00:51:50.81
this little church.
00:51:50.84\00:51:52.44
And I was studying with the
pastor and decided, you know, I
00:51:52.47\00:51:56.21
want to be baptized,
I want to be rebaptized.
00:51:56.24\00:51:59.28
And we thought, "Great."
00:51:59.31\00:52:01.22
So, I did some study, and we
agreed that I was going to be
00:52:01.25\00:52:06.42
baptized on this date.
00:52:06.45\00:52:08.52
Well, the next morning, my wife
asked me and said, "You realize
00:52:08.56\00:52:10.53
what day this is?"
00:52:10.56\00:52:12.26
I said, "Well, it's Sabbath."
00:52:12.29\00:52:14.03
And you know, Sabbath was
amazing in itself, but she said,
00:52:14.10\00:52:17.30
"Look at the calendar."
00:52:17.33\00:52:19.00
And when I looked at the
calendar, on that day was my one
00:52:19.03\00:52:21.57
year anniversary of my sobriety.
00:52:21.60\00:52:24.21
I was being baptized
one year after being sober.
00:52:24.24\00:52:27.68
And I just thought, you
know, there's no such thing
00:52:27.71\00:52:29.74
as coincidence.
00:52:29.78\00:52:31.31
That was just amazing
God would work that for me.
00:52:31.35\00:52:33.18
God has done amazing things with
my life, and I have to give Him,
00:52:33.21\00:52:36.82
you know, all the credit because
short of just responding, you
00:52:36.85\00:52:43.32
know, I've done nothing.
00:52:43.36\00:52:45.69
And it's been Him, and it's just
pleasure, absolute pleasure be
00:52:45.73\00:52:48.73
called a child of God.
00:52:48.76\00:52:52.07
I am really thankful that God
used "Amazing Facts" television
00:52:52.10\00:52:55.14
program and Pastor Doug
Batchelor to make a change in
00:52:55.17\00:52:58.31
my life.
00:52:58.34\00:53:00.34
announcer: Together, we
have spread the gospel much
00:53:04.18\00:53:06.38
farther than ever before.
00:53:06.41\00:53:09.28
Thank you for your support.
00:53:09.32\00:53:13.69
announcer: Amazing
Facts, Changed Lives.
00:53:19.66\00:53:24.43
Daryl: I live in a
neighborhood in northwest DC in
00:53:27.54\00:53:29.84
a neighborhood called Petworth.
00:53:29.87\00:53:31.27
I went to a private school, and
I didn't fit in well at school
00:53:31.31\00:53:33.21
because I was from an
inner-city neighborhood.
00:53:33.24\00:53:35.14
I didn't fit in
well at home because I
00:53:35.18\00:53:36.54
went to a private school.
00:53:36.58\00:53:37.88
I've always been a
people pleaser, so I
00:53:37.91\00:53:39.21
would do what they did.
00:53:39.25\00:53:41.35
And if they started
drinking, I started drinking.
00:53:41.38\00:53:44.29
They started smoking
marijuana, I smoked marijuana.
00:53:44.32\00:53:47.02
Once I became aware of girls and
what male-female relationships
00:53:47.06\00:53:52.16
were all about, I was off
to the races with these guys.
00:53:52.19\00:53:54.73
So, we started partying
every weekend, and we'd stay out
00:53:54.76\00:53:57.17
until all hours of the evening.
00:53:57.20\00:53:58.70
My homework didn't get done.
00:53:58.73\00:54:00.17
My grades
suffered because of it.
00:54:00.20\00:54:02.14
As soon as I went to
college at a Catholic university
00:54:02.17\00:54:05.34
here, I started smoking
hashish, and back in those
00:54:05.37\00:54:09.28
days you could smoke in class.
00:54:09.31\00:54:11.38
I loved the way it made me feel.
00:54:11.41\00:54:13.42
I didn't have to
worry about how I fit in.
00:54:13.45\00:54:15.98
It was fun. People
liked to hang with me.
00:54:16.02\00:54:19.59
I was kind of the
life of the party.
00:54:19.62\00:54:21.32
I came out of my shell.
00:54:21.36\00:54:22.69
And shortly thereafter, in my
mid-20s, I was working at one of
00:54:22.72\00:54:25.53
the biggest computer companies.
00:54:25.56\00:54:27.83
After graduating college, I was
at one of the biggest computer
00:54:27.86\00:54:29.90
companies on the
planet at the time.
00:54:29.93\00:54:31.77
And I had money, I had
women, I had, you know,
00:54:31.80\00:54:36.17
a car every two years.
00:54:36.20\00:54:37.84
My job
performance started to suffer.
00:54:37.87\00:54:40.84
Nothing else was
the same in my life.
00:54:40.88\00:54:43.08
I started missing work.
00:54:43.11\00:54:44.95
I would get hired,
maybe even be promoted.
00:54:44.98\00:54:48.18
I did really well.
00:54:48.22\00:54:49.55
Three or four months in,
five months in, say, four to six
00:54:49.58\00:54:53.22
months, I would lose a job.
00:54:53.25\00:54:54.92
I've forgotten more
jobs than I can remember.
00:54:54.96\00:54:57.26
I needed to smoke on a
daily basis all day, every
00:54:57.29\00:55:01.20
day, and that cost money.
00:55:01.23\00:55:03.23
So, then, I started
getting into stealing.
00:55:03.26\00:55:07.47
I'm stealing from
family and friends.
00:55:07.50\00:55:09.10
And when that ran out
and people were not trusting
00:55:09.14\00:55:12.11
me anymore, I
started to rob people.
00:55:12.14\00:55:16.58
My family didn't want
anything to do with me.
00:55:16.61\00:55:18.38
My friends didn't want
anything to do with me.
00:55:18.41\00:55:19.78
When I called people,
they didn't answer the phone.
00:55:19.81\00:55:21.58
When I knocked on the door,
they didn't answer the door.
00:55:21.62\00:55:23.75
I purchased a house, and a
young lady and I purchased it
00:55:23.79\00:55:26.55
together, and we were going to
move in together, and that fell
00:55:26.59\00:55:29.26
by the wayside because I started
smoking, and I started taking
00:55:29.29\00:55:32.99
things from the
house and selling them.
00:55:33.03\00:55:35.00
I started taking her
personal items and selling them.
00:55:35.03\00:55:37.73
I started
stealing from her purse.
00:55:37.77\00:55:40.64
I started stealing from stores.
00:55:40.67\00:55:44.67
Pizza delivery
guys were like an ATM.
00:55:44.71\00:55:47.11
Nothing mattered.
00:55:47.14\00:55:48.54
I've been homeless
about four or five times in my
00:55:48.58\00:55:51.55
life, and each
time was drug related.
00:55:51.58\00:55:54.02
Each time, I chose to do drugs
rather than to live with this
00:55:54.05\00:55:58.75
person, whoever
it was I was dating.
00:55:58.79\00:56:02.22
During all this time, my sister
and her family, they would
00:56:02.26\00:56:05.33
engage me, they
were taking me to church.
00:56:05.36\00:56:07.86
I met this woman who happened
to be going to my church, and I
00:56:07.93\00:56:10.37
didn't even know it, and she was
taking Bible studies from her
00:56:10.40\00:56:13.74
brother-in-law and her
sister, who were church leaders.
00:56:13.77\00:56:16.67
They heard about a seminar by
Doug Batchelor and Amazing Facts
00:56:16.71\00:56:19.91
called "The Prophecy Code."
00:56:19.94\00:56:21.81
I learned about the
true meaning of the Sabbath.
00:56:21.84\00:56:24.75
I learned about my health issues
and how diet and exercise can
00:56:24.78\00:56:30.29
positively affect my
health and my well-being.
00:56:30.32\00:56:33.82
I learned about
forgiveness from God.
00:56:33.86\00:56:37.23
For me, I took to Pastor Doug
right away because of the way
00:56:37.26\00:56:41.23
he spoke, his cadence,
the way he talked was so--
00:56:41.26\00:56:45.70
it was just like
he was talking to me.
00:56:45.73\00:56:48.04
He gave out his book,
"The Richest Caveman."
00:56:48.07\00:56:51.81
And when I read that
book, I was astonished,
00:56:51.84\00:56:54.84
all the things
he had been through.
00:56:54.88\00:56:57.11
His story was not
exactly like mine, but it
00:56:57.15\00:57:00.42
was a lot like mine.
00:57:00.45\00:57:01.82
I just identified with
it right from the start.
00:57:01.85\00:57:04.05
I thank God that I went
to the Prophecy Code Seminar.
00:57:04.09\00:57:08.29
It was my introduction to
the truth, and I even go to
00:57:08.32\00:57:12.59
YouTube and catch some
of the other seminars that
00:57:12.63\00:57:15.83
they've had, you
know, over the years.
00:57:15.86\00:57:19.07
And I do it because I
still feel a connection.
00:57:19.10\00:57:21.37
It's like my roots.
00:57:21.40\00:57:22.70
It's like my foundation
was built on Amazing Facts.
00:57:22.74\00:57:25.44
And I like the
free offers they give.
00:57:25.47\00:57:27.38
I can imagine the
call-taker on the other end when
00:57:27.41\00:57:29.81
I call the 800 number.
00:57:29.84\00:57:31.71
"Hi, Daryl, how are you?
00:57:31.75\00:57:33.11
Which free gift
would you like today?"
00:57:33.15\00:57:35.38
I can't imagine life without
getting those free offers
00:57:35.42\00:57:38.09
because those books
are so well-written,
00:57:38.12\00:57:40.09
just like
they're written for me.
00:57:40.12\00:57:41.42
I really do appreciate
Amazing Facts and Pastor Doug
00:57:41.46\00:57:43.69
Batchelor because they
brought-- they helped bring me
00:57:43.73\00:57:45.83
to where I am today.
00:57:45.86\00:57:47.40
My name is Daryl.
00:57:47.40\00:57:49.10
You and Amazing
Facts have changed my life.
00:57:49.13\00:57:52.30
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