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Doug Batchelor:
Good morning, friends.
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We want to welcome you to
the Sabbath School Study Hour.
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So glad to see each of
you that are here at the
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Granite Bay Hilltop Church.
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We welcome you, and we
want to welcome the many,
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many thousands we know are
studying with us all over the
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world in different
English-speaking countries
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that are joining us.
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We have some
online members out there,
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as well, and welcome.
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We're gong to continue our study
today on the book of Genesis.
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This is the foundation
for all biblical truth.
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And the study
today is lesson number 7,
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and it's dealing with the
subject of the covenant that
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God made with Abraham.
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Now, with every study we like to
make a free offer to just sort
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of enhance the
lesson, something that'll go
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along with the lesson.
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Part of the study today deals
with the subject of Lot and
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Sodom and Gomorrah.
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And we have a free offer.
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I hope you'll request this.
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The price is right.
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It's called,
"Remember Lot's Wife."
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Now, sometimes I
think people say,
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"Oh, this is a great
book, you should read it,"
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and they've not even read it.
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I've read this.
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It is really good, and
it's been around for years.
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It's a classic, "Remember
Lot's Wife" by Joe Cruz.
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If you like this
lesson, then just ask for
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Offer #108 when you call.
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If you call, it's 866-788-3966.
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That's 866-Study-More.
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And in the US you can text.
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If you want to get
it, you can download it.
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Text SH054, and
you text that to 40544.
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Outside North America, you
simply go to study.aftv.org and
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there you would type in SH054 to
get your free copy of this book,
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can read it online.
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We'll send it to you, but you'll
be blessed by that information.
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Let's bow our heads.
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Loving Lord, we want to thank
You so much for Your goodness
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and blessings, and we just thank
You for the gift of Your Word.
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We pray that you'll be
with us now in this study.
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I pray be in a special way
be with Pastor Brummund and just
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enlighten his
mind with Your Spirit,
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and that we all might
be edified as a result.
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We thank You and
pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Shawn Brummund: Good to be
able to be with you here this
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morning and
studying the Word of God.
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If there's one thing that
this lesson and the quarterly,
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as we continue to
go through Genesis,
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is confirming is that it is
an impossibility to be able to
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thoroughly study the entire
book of Genesis in three months.
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Thirteen Sabbath
School lessons is not
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sufficient, but that's okay.
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This particular week is an
extraordinary week in the fact
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that there are five chapters
that we covered in one week.
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That's almost a chapter a day.
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And so please forgive me
if I don't make it all the way
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through all the
lesson study; because,
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you know, five chapters is just
too much to be able to cover in
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40-45 minutes time of study.
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But the good news is this, that
we are going to be able to look
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at some of those powerful truths
that are revealed in those five
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chapters that help us to have
a better understanding of God,
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help us to have a better
understanding of the gospel and
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strengthen our faith, as we
continue to walk with the Lord
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in the hope and the
faith that He gives to us.
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So, we have lots of good stuff
that we're still going to be
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able to pull out of
this particular lesson study.
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We're returning back
to the life of Abraham.
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Last week, we started to look at
the life of Abraham in some of
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those first chapters that
introduced this patriarch of the
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faith, this
father of many nations,
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this father of Israel, and
the gospel that God continues to
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propagate and perpetrate
throughout human history.
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And so as we come to those first
years and the first century and
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a half after the flood, we
find that God is zeroing in on
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Abraham as a key figure.
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And so Abraham
is no small figure.
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And even by the time Jesus came,
Abraham was still the biggest
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figure--well, him and Moses--it
was probably a tie for first in
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the eyes of the
religious Jews of Jesus' day.
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And as we came to the end of
those chapters that introduced
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the life of Abraham, he is
involved in a very real way.
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He has become a substantial and
respected force and presence in
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the land of Canaan that
God has promised to him.
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The Bible says that he was
very wealthy and increased in
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possessions,
livestock, gold, silver.
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Abraham is a substantial force
and presence economically in the
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local economy of the
civilizations of Canaan.
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We also learned, as he
was involved in a military
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operation, that he is also very
much respected now amongst the
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different tribes and peoples
for his military prowess and,
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of course, the success that came
when he not only delivered Lot
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and his family, but also
the kings and the rest of,
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most of the rest
of the populations
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of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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And so Abraham, God is building
a presence and a very real
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respect for this man
in this part of the world.
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But Abraham is
now past 75 years old.
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Abraham is not a young man.
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He is past--several
years past the age of 75,
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and he still has no son.
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Now, the promise that God had
given to him that not only would
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God give him this
promised prime real estate,
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the fertile crescent
along the Mediterranean Sea,
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but that He would
also give him descendants,
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and those descendants would
multiply to as much as the sand
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of the sea, and God
would make a nation,
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and all nations would be blessed
through the descendants of
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Abraham and the faith
that he would give as a legacy.
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And so here's Abraham.
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He's in this foreign land.
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It's very much established.
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There are huge,
fortified, walled cities.
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There is a very
established economy.
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There is all kinds of military
armies and kings that are
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established there, and Abraham
is still kind of dealing with a
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little bit of post-traumatic
syndrome after he came out of
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his first military experience.
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And so, as you and I
sometimes face in our life,
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as we find this life is
very much broken--this world,
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I should say, is very much
broken; and because of that,
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there are storms, there
are circumstances that all
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of us find ourselves traveling
through, that sometimes fear and
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discouragement are
our biggest enemies.
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And Abraham was no
different than you and me.
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He was just as
human, he was just as frail,
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he had his own
weaknesses, and so on,
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and fear and discouragement were
very real enemies that he had to
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fight, demons
that he had to fight,
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just like you and I do.
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And this was inevitably one
of those junctures in his life.
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And just like you and
me, when we come to God,
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God is there,
and God comes along.
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And, you know, one of the things
that we find repeated--I haven't
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counted--but can safely dozens
that I would put my money on,
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hundreds of times
throughout the Scriptures
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God says, "Don't be afraid.
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Do not fear.
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Do not worry. Don't be anxious.
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Do not fear. Do not worry.
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Do not fear. Do not worry," why?
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Because He knows that
those are some of our biggest
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enemies in this life.
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And so here we find
a man named Abraham,
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great man of faith,
but also very human.
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And he's now realizing that
God's calling to inherit this
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land that was promised him is
going to involve way more time.
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It's going to involve way more
strain than he ever anticipated
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when God had first called him.
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He packed up his
goods, packed up his family,
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and traveled to
the Promised Land.
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Kind of reminds me of our
Lead Pastor, Doug Batchelor.
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Now, he has publicly
expressed--many of you may
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recall him expressing
that even from this platform,
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more than once, that if he had
known how long and difficult the
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task of building the Word Center
was going to be--now, that's the
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facilities that we're
blessed with now, amen?
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These are the facilities that we
can worship and serve and help
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people to know the gospel and
the truth in these last days.
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The Amazing Facts
building, you know,
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with its much greater capacity
than it had in the old building,
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to continue to
propagate the Word and the truth
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in these last days.
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All of it is a blessing, but
if God had revealed--and Doug
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Batchelor is on record of
confessing this--if God had
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revealed how long and how
difficult and how strainful that
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task would be, he
would've hesitated,
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and he's not sure if
he would've signed up.
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When God called me to
the ministry back in 1992,
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I was just freshly baptized.
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I was barely out of
the baptismal waters,
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and God says, "I want you to be
an evangelist and a preacher."
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And so I signed up for college.
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I began to study my
theology in full-time studies.
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And when I
signed up for college,
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I sincerely believed that within
one to two years, I would be
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finished with the studies, I
didn't need to graduate, I would
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be a full-time
evangelist out in the field.
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A long story
short, four years later,
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I graduated with my BA.
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And still, it was
four years after that,
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again, before I actually
preached my first evangelistic
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prophecy seminar.
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And so a lot of times the
things--you know, reminds me
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of a statement, the one Jesus
made to His disciples one day.
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It's in John
chapter 16 and verse 12.
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He said, "I still have many
things to share with you or to
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say to you, but you
cannot bear them now."
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You know, there's a
tactfulness that God knows.
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He knows that we are weak.
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And so He knows that sometimes
the goals and the callings that
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He gives to us as believers, if
He revealed all the information,
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and He kind of just spelled it
all out from beginning to end,
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He knows that we would just kind
of collapse and buckle under and
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say, "There's no way, Lord."
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And thank God that He's--God
understands our weakness, amen?
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Thank God that God understands
that--and He is patient with us,
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and He's tactful with His
calling and the pathway that He
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calls us to be able to sometimes
sacrifice in some very real
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ways, to be able to accomplish
His goals in our lives.
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Well, with that introduction,
I want to invite you
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to open your Bibles.
00:11:09.23\00:11:10.53
We're going to go to
Revelation--sorry, not
00:11:10.57\00:11:12.30
Revelation--but the first book
of the Bible, not the last one.
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Revelation chapter 15,
which is our first chapter
00:11:16.71\00:11:18.87
of the lesson study this week.
00:11:18.91\00:11:20.21
We're going to
Rev--I keep wanting to say
00:11:20.24\00:11:22.54
Revelation, don't I?
00:11:22.58\00:11:24.28
We're going to go to
Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6.
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Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6.
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And when we
come to this chapter,
00:11:32.65\00:11:33.96
to this verse, it is a signature
verse for this chapter.
00:11:33.99\00:11:36.66
It is the gospel
that Abraham understood.
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It is the gospel
that Abraham lived under.
00:11:39.19\00:11:42.90
It's the same gospel
that is offered to you and I.
00:11:42.93\00:11:47.07
Unlike many of our
Christian friends that sometimes
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misunderstand the
Old Testament gospel,
00:11:49.80\00:11:53.31
and somehow believe that in
the Old Testament, you kind of
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earned your way into heaven, you
kept the law of Moses strictly
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enough until you finally found
yourself--and I just heard that
00:12:00.28\00:12:03.92
with a preacher on Christian
radio just the other week repeat
00:12:03.95\00:12:07.26
it again, and so preachers are
still teaching from the pulpit,
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some pulpits--not all of them,
but some of them--that in the
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Old Testament, you know,
the curse of being in the Old
00:12:13.73\00:12:15.73
Testament era
was that, you know,
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.47
you had to earn your salvation
by keeping the Ten Commandments,
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and the law of Moses, and so on.
00:12:20.34\00:12:22.30
But thank God, we
live in the New Testament,
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where God gives us grace.
00:12:24.14\00:12:25.51
He justifies us freely
through our faith and the grace
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that God gives to us.
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But that is simply not true.
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That preacher and those
Christians are not studying
00:12:32.78\00:12:34.72
their Bible, not
carefully enough, at least,
00:12:34.75\00:12:38.72
because the Bible tells
us that Abraham was saved
00:12:38.75\00:12:41.29
by grace through faith,
just as much as you and I were.
00:12:41.32\00:12:45.33
In fact, as this
lesson study points out,
00:12:45.36\00:12:47.23
Paul actually was inspired by
God to run with these chapters
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that we're looking at, that in
this window of time in the life
00:12:50.27\00:12:54.84
of Abraham, and God expounds on
that in Romans chapter 4 and in
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Galatians chapter 4, and
it talks about the fact that,
00:12:59.21\00:13:02.54
that this represents--that the
gospel that Abraham lived under
00:13:02.58\00:13:07.25
is the same gospel that Paul and
the apostles and the Christian
00:13:07.28\00:13:10.39
church lives under, as well.
00:13:10.42\00:13:13.96
So, as we come
to verse 6, it says,
00:13:13.99\00:13:15.32
"And he
believed," that is Abraham,
00:13:15.36\00:13:17.73
"and Abraham
believed in the Lord."
00:13:17.76\00:13:20.20
That's faith.
00:13:20.23\00:13:21.76
"And He accounted it
to him for righteousness."
00:13:21.80\00:13:27.44
He accounted it to
him for righteousness.
00:13:27.47\00:13:29.84
Now, was Abraham's faith
and belief sincere and saving?
00:13:29.87\00:13:35.24
Yes, it was.
00:13:35.28\00:13:36.61
Okay, the Bible record tells us.
00:13:36.64\00:13:38.98
Of course, it confirms
that it's sincere, doesn't it?
00:13:39.01\00:13:40.92
He says, "And he believed."
00:13:40.95\00:13:42.35
The Bible doesn't tell
us lies. It tells us truth.
00:13:42.38\00:13:44.99
And so his faith
was very sincere.
00:13:45.02\00:13:48.12
His belief was very sincere.
00:13:48.16\00:13:50.96
Was it a saving faith?
00:13:50.99\00:13:53.86
Sure it was.
00:13:53.90\00:13:55.40
Abraham was counted as a
child of God, a prophet of God.
00:13:55.43\00:13:59.03
God doesn't call
unsaved people to be prophets.
00:13:59.07\00:14:01.70
He only calls faithful
saved people to be prophets.
00:14:01.74\00:14:06.54
Peter made that very
clear in his first letter,
00:14:06.57\00:14:08.41
that God only
calls holy men of God,
00:14:08.44\00:14:11.01
who spoke and wrote as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit.
00:14:11.05\00:14:16.35
And so, yes, Abraham
had a very sincere belief.
00:14:16.38\00:14:19.02
He had a saving belief.
00:14:19.05\00:14:20.76
And the Bible
confirms that very clearly.
00:14:20.79\00:14:22.66
Was it a fully
mature and perfect faith?
00:14:22.69\00:14:27.96
No.
00:14:27.96\00:14:29.83
The Bible also
makes that very clear.
00:14:29.86\00:14:31.93
In the chapters that follow,
that becomes abundantly clear
00:14:31.97\00:14:35.87
that the faith that
Abraham had was sincere.
00:14:35.90\00:14:39.77
It was saving, but
it was still in process.
00:14:39.81\00:14:45.68
It was still maturing.
00:14:45.71\00:14:47.58
It had still not
yet been perfected.
00:14:47.62\00:14:50.65
Now, years later, we find a
different Abraham, don't we?
00:14:50.69\00:14:53.59
We find an
Abraham where God says,
00:14:53.62\00:14:55.06
you know, "Take
your son, your only son,
00:14:55.09\00:14:56.69
your only begotten,
miraculous son, Isaac,
00:14:56.73\00:14:59.23
bring him up onto a
mountain and sacrifice him."
00:14:59.26\00:15:02.20
And Hebrews tells us that
Abraham's faith had matured and
00:15:02.23\00:15:04.73
grown so well
that by that point,
00:15:04.77\00:15:07.84
it tells us in the book of
Hebrews that Abraham put two and
00:15:07.87\00:15:10.57
two together and
realized, "Man alive,
00:15:10.61\00:15:11.94
if I follow through with
this, this is still my son,
00:15:11.97\00:15:14.24
my only son, the one whom God
has promised will be the father
00:15:14.28\00:15:17.75
of all my grandchildren and
great grandchildren and great,
00:15:17.78\00:15:20.55
great, great, great, great,
great, great grandchildren.
00:15:20.58\00:15:24.85
And so if I do
follow through with this,
00:15:24.89\00:15:27.39
and I take the life of
my son, God will surely,
00:15:27.42\00:15:30.29
inevitably resurrect
him back to life again,
00:15:30.33\00:15:32.36
so that he can
marry and bear children."
00:15:32.39\00:15:35.16
Now, that's a
mature faith, amen?
00:15:35.20\00:15:39.23
So, God matures us.
00:15:39.27\00:15:40.80
We see he's in process, but even
with our immature--even in his
00:15:40.84\00:15:45.61
immature faith in
the beginning years,
00:15:45.64\00:15:48.11
he's still in a saving
relationship with Jesus.
00:15:48.14\00:15:51.81
Why?
00:15:51.85\00:15:53.15
Because he
believed, and it was accounted
00:15:53.18\00:15:56.08
to him as righteousness.
00:15:56.12\00:15:58.82
Now, Paul quotes
that same verse in Romans,
00:15:58.85\00:16:03.06
in chapter 4, and he talks
about the fact that this is
00:16:03.09\00:16:08.16
justification by
faith, through God's grace,
00:16:08.20\00:16:12.37
that He gives to us.
00:16:12.40\00:16:13.77
That's good news. Amen?
00:16:13.80\00:16:16.27
That God reckons, He imputes,
He accounts to your account the
00:16:16.30\00:16:21.51
righteousness of Christ
because of your faith in Him.
00:16:21.54\00:16:26.72
So, when God
looks down upon Abraham,
00:16:26.75\00:16:28.52
even though He looks
down, and He sees a fumbling,
00:16:28.55\00:16:30.62
bumbling man--because truly,
he's on record of doing that.
00:16:30.65\00:16:33.36
He's already lied once.
00:16:33.39\00:16:34.76
He's on--he's going to repeat
the same lie in the future
00:16:34.79\00:16:37.19
again, you know,
to save his skin.
00:16:37.23\00:16:40.80
Then we find him sleeping with
his--the hand-servant of his
00:16:40.83\00:16:46.40
wife, Sarah, so that
they might bear a child,
00:16:46.43\00:16:48.84
that wasn't part of
God's plan in the first place.
00:16:48.87\00:16:52.77
And so we find that he does make
some very real blunders and some
00:16:52.81\00:16:57.95
bad choices, but he's still
counted righteous and perfect
00:16:57.98\00:17:03.15
according to his
faith and belief.
00:17:03.18\00:17:06.25
And so when God
looked down upon Abraham,
00:17:06.29\00:17:07.92
He said, "Listen, I know that
we're still in process here.
00:17:07.96\00:17:10.46
We've still got some
work to do in your life.
00:17:10.49\00:17:12.89
But as far as I'm
concerned, you're perfect."
00:17:12.93\00:17:16.00
Now, He winks while
He says that, doesn't He?
00:17:16.03\00:17:19.03
He says, "Now you and I both
know," as He looks down upon
00:17:19.07\00:17:21.04
Abraham, "Now you and I both
know that you're not perfect;
00:17:21.07\00:17:25.21
but as far as I'm concerned,
because of your faith and My
00:17:25.24\00:17:27.94
grace and this coming
life and death of Jesus Christ,
00:17:27.98\00:17:31.05
My Son, you are
counted perfect in my eyes.
00:17:31.08\00:17:34.92
You are justified, and
you can live in that hope."
00:17:34.95\00:17:40.62
That's the heart of
the gospel, is it not?
00:17:40.66\00:17:43.12
Now, the other half is
sanctification, and we're going
00:17:43.16\00:17:45.26
to talk about that as we
continue here, as well, and
00:17:45.29\00:17:48.53
so we don't want to leave the
other half of the gospel out,
00:17:48.56\00:17:50.67
as sometimes we as Christians
can make the mistake of doing.
00:17:50.70\00:17:57.64
And so we find here, as we come
back to the story of Genesis
00:17:57.67\00:18:02.41
chapter 15, 16, 17,
that there are three sons,
00:18:02.44\00:18:08.72
three sons that are
offered by Abraham to God.
00:18:08.75\00:18:11.75
The first two sons
are illegitimate sons.
00:18:11.79\00:18:13.59
They're not part of God's plan.
00:18:13.62\00:18:14.92
The first one was
Abraham's favorite servant.
00:18:14.96\00:18:19.96
He was a servant that
was born into his home,
00:18:20.00\00:18:22.76
so he must've been
the son of one of his
00:18:22.80\00:18:24.30
previous--current servants.
00:18:24.33\00:18:26.67
And so there is a family of
servants in his home that gives
00:18:26.70\00:18:29.17
birth to a boy, and this boy
becomes Abraham's favorite and
00:18:29.20\00:18:33.38
most loved and trusted servant.
00:18:33.41\00:18:36.85
And so as Abraham--the
years are going by now.
00:18:36.88\00:18:39.38
You know, we're
talking--he's coming on 85.
00:18:39.41\00:18:42.32
And as he comes on
85 years old, he says,
00:18:42.35\00:18:44.65
"Listen, you know, obviously,
I must have misunderstood
00:18:44.69\00:18:47.32
the message that God had for me.
00:18:47.36\00:18:48.66
There must've been
some disconnect there.
00:18:48.69\00:18:50.96
And so I'm going to
have to pick Eleazar as my--
00:18:50.99\00:18:55.23
my servant as my son.
00:18:55.26\00:18:57.27
Now, this is a boy that was born
in his camp that Abraham has
00:18:57.30\00:19:02.64
known since birth, and so he
kind of adopted him under his
00:19:02.67\00:19:06.14
wings, and he thought, "Well,
this must--what God means,
00:19:06.17\00:19:08.51
you know, that He wants me
to adopt this servant into my
00:19:08.54\00:19:11.28
family and into my inheritance."
00:19:11.31\00:19:14.32
And as we know, as we've read
the chapters--as I hope you have
00:19:14.35\00:19:17.45
because we can't read the
chapters today--is that God
00:19:17.49\00:19:23.06
says, "No, he's not the one.
00:19:23.09\00:19:25.13
The one that I
was talking about, the
00:19:25.16\00:19:26.46
son that will inherit this
land and his descendants will
00:19:26.49\00:19:29.50
come from your own body."
00:19:29.53\00:19:31.17
And we read that in
Genesis chapter 15 and verse 4.
00:19:31.20\00:19:36.57
The second son that is presented
in these chapters is the one
00:19:36.60\00:19:40.74
that Abraham has with his
wife's maidservant, handmaid.
00:19:40.78\00:19:46.21
And so Hagar the Egyptian, this
Egyptian handmaid that is the
00:19:46.25\00:19:49.85
number-one handmaid and
servant of Sarah--you know,
00:19:49.88\00:19:54.12
again, now we're
talking 85 years old.
00:19:54.16\00:19:57.13
Makes that very
clear in chapter 16.
00:19:57.16\00:20:00.80
Verse 3, it tells us that
Abraham is now 85 years old.
00:20:00.83\00:20:04.13
They've been hanging out in the
Promised Land for 10 years now.
00:20:04.17\00:20:06.97
Now, for God, 10 years is like
a blink of an eye--not even.
00:20:07.00\00:20:10.54
But for you and I,
10 years is a little bit
00:20:10.57\00:20:12.11
longer than that, isn't that?
00:20:12.14\00:20:13.44
And so they're thinking,
"Man alive, we've been here
00:20:13.48\00:20:14.81
10 years, and God has made it
clear to me now that Eleazar's
00:20:14.84\00:20:18.28
not the one, so we've got
to come up with a second son."
00:20:18.31\00:20:22.02
And so the second son
was Sarah's idea this time.
00:20:22.05\00:20:25.42
And so Sarah comes up to
her husband one day and says,
00:20:25.45\00:20:27.62
"Listen, you know,
it's been 10 years now.
00:20:27.66\00:20:29.32
You're 85. I
mean, time's ticking.
00:20:29.36\00:20:33.33
You know, my
biological clock has expired.
00:20:33.36\00:20:36.87
You know, I've got a
younger handmaiden here.
00:20:36.90\00:20:39.10
I'm sure she'll be
fertile, and she'll be able
00:20:39.13\00:20:42.60
to produce you a son.
00:20:42.64\00:20:44.41
And I can bear a son
through her, a surrogate son."
00:20:44.44\00:20:46.84
Now, this is not unusual, she
didn't come up with that idea.
00:20:46.88\00:20:49.08
This was practiced
in her culture, and
00:20:49.11\00:20:50.95
at different times in
different families and royalty
00:20:50.98\00:20:53.38
and so on, especially.
00:20:53.42\00:20:55.38
And so this is not unusual
as far as the concept goes,
00:20:55.42\00:20:58.95
but it is not
part of God's plan.
00:20:58.99\00:21:01.62
And so he
says--she says, "Listen,
00:21:01.66\00:21:03.43
take her as a secondary wife.
00:21:03.46\00:21:05.73
You know, marry her.
00:21:05.76\00:21:07.03
We'll make it "right," and
you go and sleep with her and
00:21:07.10\00:21:13.07
conceive, and we'll have a
child and a son through him."
00:21:13.10\00:21:15.70
Well, the plan
works, doesn't it?
00:21:15.74\00:21:18.77
She conceives, he
marries her, he goes into her,
00:21:18.81\00:21:20.78
she conceives,
and she has a son.
00:21:20.81\00:21:24.65
Aha, there it is, Lord.
00:21:24.68\00:21:26.25
And so Abraham offers up
to Jesus and to his Father,
00:21:26.28\00:21:28.95
and he says, "There it is.
00:21:28.98\00:21:30.32
Here's the son.
00:21:30.35\00:21:31.65
Finally, things
are coming together."
00:21:31.69\00:21:33.32
And for 13 years, he
believed that was the truth,
00:21:33.36\00:21:37.06
until Abraham--until
God shows up once again.
00:21:37.09\00:21:41.53
And so we find that God is
needing to show up once again,
00:21:41.56\00:21:44.33
and He doesn't show
up for quite a while.
00:21:44.37\00:21:45.83
Again, 13 years
after Sarah and Abraham,
00:21:45.87\00:21:49.54
you know, come up
with this scenario.
00:21:49.57\00:21:51.54
And so Ishmael is growing into
this strong and healthy young
00:21:51.57\00:21:55.34
man, and Abraham has
taken him under his wing,
00:21:55.38\00:21:58.01
inevitably, as his firstborn,
and he loves little Ishmael.
00:21:58.05\00:22:04.02
But in chapter 17,
Abraham is now 99 years old.
00:22:04.05\00:22:08.02
God appears to him again.
00:22:08.06\00:22:11.06
And in the midst of that
conversation outside of--first
00:22:11.09\00:22:13.56
of all, He says, "Listen, your
name shall no longer be Abram,
00:22:13.60\00:22:16.90
exalted father, but you
shall be called Abraham,
00:22:16.93\00:22:19.83
which means father of nations;
for out of you shall come
00:22:19.87\00:22:22.70
nations and kings of nations."
00:22:22.74\00:22:27.14
And so you can see
Abraham nodding and saying,
00:22:27.18\00:22:29.41
"Okay, this is great.
00:22:29.44\00:22:30.85
Things are coming together.
00:22:30.88\00:22:32.18
Things are working just
the way as I understand it,
00:22:32.21\00:22:34.52
and the plan of God is, yes,
Ishmael is going to have these
00:22:34.55\00:22:37.89
children, and they're going to
develop into nations and kings.
00:22:37.92\00:22:40.62
This is wonderful."
00:22:40.66\00:22:42.46
And then God says, "I
want you to circumcise you,
00:22:42.49\00:22:44.93
yourself, every male, Ishmael,
all of the males within your
00:22:44.96\00:22:48.23
camp, and this will be a sign
of the covenant that I'm making
00:22:48.26\00:22:51.87
with you, a
physical, visible sign."
00:22:51.90\00:22:57.57
But then God kind of confuses
Abraham when we come to verse
00:22:57.61\00:23:00.38
15, because in verse 15 it
says, "Then God said to Abraham,
00:23:00.41\00:23:03.35
'As for Sarah, your wife, you
shall not call her name Sarai,
00:23:03.38\00:23:08.78
but Sarah shall be her name.'"
00:23:08.82\00:23:10.85
Now Sarai means "my princess."
00:23:10.89\00:23:13.89
And my princess
means Abraham's princess.
00:23:13.92\00:23:17.16
Now God says, "You shall no
longer--Sarai's name shall no
00:23:17.19\00:23:20.80
longer just be your princess,
but she shall be called Sarah,
00:23:20.83\00:23:24.87
which means
princess, universal princess.
00:23:24.90\00:23:28.14
Now her name will mean that she
is the mother of all nations and
00:23:28.17\00:23:32.64
the mother of kings.
00:23:32.67\00:23:34.21
From her body will come
kings and nations, as well."
00:23:34.24\00:23:38.38
Now Abraham is
scratching his head
00:23:38.41\00:23:40.45
and saying, "Wait a minute,
this is not going as planned.
00:23:40.48\00:23:43.95
How does Ishmael fit into that?
00:23:43.99\00:23:46.02
That's not the
way things are going."
00:23:46.05\00:23:50.89
And so God knows that
He's changing Sarai's name to
00:23:50.93\00:23:53.80
princess, mother of
kings and nations is--
00:23:53.83\00:23:56.10
it would inevitably
confuse the mind of Abraham.
00:23:56.13\00:23:58.70
And so God just makes it
plain in verse 16 and says,
00:23:58.73\00:24:00.97
"I will bless her, and I
will also give you a son by her.
00:24:01.00\00:24:05.41
And then I will
bless her, and she shall
00:24:05.44\00:24:06.78
become a mother of nations.
00:24:06.81\00:24:08.14
Kings of people
shall come from her."
00:24:08.18\00:24:11.01
And so God unpacks
this new name and says,
00:24:11.05\00:24:12.98
"Listen, I know you're confused,
but this is My plan all along.
00:24:13.01\00:24:16.32
You just kind of monkeyed it
up because you thought you would
00:24:16.35\00:24:18.79
help Me out, you and Sarai."
00:24:18.82\00:24:22.36
Fascinating story.
00:24:22.39\00:24:25.26
Verse 17,
Abraham fell on his face.
00:24:25.29\00:24:26.93
And what does he do?
00:24:26.96\00:24:29.83
He laughs.
00:24:29.86\00:24:31.20
Now, we don't know if he
laughed out of skepticism,
00:24:31.23\00:24:33.27
like, "Lord, this is crazy talk.
00:24:33.30\00:24:35.74
You know, what is this?
00:24:35.77\00:24:37.17
You know--"
00:24:37.21\00:24:39.21
And he responds in such a
way, he says, "Listen, can an
00:24:39.24\00:24:41.14
old man that's 100--"
now, he rounds it off.
00:24:41.18\00:24:43.38
Have you noticed
that the older you get,
00:24:43.41\00:24:44.71
you kind of round off your age?
00:24:44.75\00:24:47.42
You know, you're 58, and your
birthday is in 6 months or 5
00:24:47.45\00:24:50.42
months from now, and you kind
of already calling yourself 59.
00:24:50.45\00:24:53.99
I don't know why. It's
just kind of a pattern.
00:24:54.02\00:24:55.56
The older you get, you kind
of start rounding your age off
00:24:55.59\00:24:58.33
older than it already is.
00:24:58.36\00:25:00.36
And Abraham's no different.
00:25:00.40\00:25:03.30
He's 99 years old, according
to verse 1, but Abraham responds
00:25:03.33\00:25:06.47
and says, "Can a man that's
100 years old have a child?
00:25:06.50\00:25:09.10
I mean, come on.
Sarah's 90 years old now.
00:25:09.14\00:25:11.07
She's--menopause
is way back there.
00:25:11.11\00:25:15.51
You know, she experienced--the
hot flashes are already over.
00:25:15.54\00:25:20.62
There's no way that
she can have a son, Lord."
00:25:20.65\00:25:23.05
And, of course, Abraham is
still speaking on earthly terms.
00:25:23.08\00:25:27.02
He's thinking on
earthly terms, isn't he?
00:25:27.06\00:25:29.49
Now, you and I don't want to be
too critical, because too often
00:25:29.52\00:25:32.56
we always think in
earthly terms as well.
00:25:32.59\00:25:34.56
And more than once, we forget,
you know, that the Lord is
00:25:34.60\00:25:37.23
divine, and nothing is
impossible with the Lord.
00:25:37.27\00:25:40.04
We're always
trying to cover our bases,
00:25:40.07\00:25:41.74
you know, and the
Lord's coming along and said,
00:25:41.77\00:25:44.81
"Listen, you can
try to cover your bases,
00:25:44.84\00:25:46.64
but I already have
them all covered anyway,
00:25:46.68\00:25:48.34
and some of the bases are going
to be covered in an impossible
00:25:48.38\00:25:51.41
way that no economic strategy
is going to solve," and so on.
00:25:51.45\00:26:00.19
You know, we're always
trying to cover our bases.
00:26:00.22\00:26:02.39
God does talk about
planning for the future,
00:26:02.42\00:26:04.59
so we don't want to be
foolish; but at the same time,
00:26:04.63\00:26:07.23
we always want to keep
leaning upon God and saying,
00:26:07.30\00:26:09.53
"Lord, whatever
You call me to do,
00:26:09.56\00:26:10.87
wherever You call me
to go, whatever needs I
00:26:10.90\00:26:12.80
have, I know You'll provide.
00:26:12.83\00:26:14.14
Some of them will
come through pragmatic,
00:26:14.17\00:26:16.27
natural
consequences and avenues,
00:26:16.30\00:26:19.01
and sometimes
they'll come miraculously.
00:26:19.04\00:26:22.64
But whatever way
that You provide,
00:26:22.68\00:26:23.98
I know that You
will provide for me."
00:26:24.01\00:26:27.95
And so that's one of the lessons
we can pick up from this is that
00:26:27.98\00:26:31.39
we want to pray that we can
think more like God thinks and
00:26:31.42\00:26:36.22
less like Abraham is
thinking at this point.
00:26:36.26\00:26:41.00
And so this is given
to us for our lesson,
00:26:41.03\00:26:43.97
so that we can learn the lessons
that Abraham learned the hard
00:26:44.00\00:26:46.67
way, and we might be able to
avoid some of these different
00:26:46.70\00:26:49.40
bumps in the road.
00:26:49.44\00:26:54.21
All right, and so
God says, "No, no, no,
00:26:54.24\00:26:55.71
Sarah, your wife,
shall bear a son."
00:26:55.74\00:26:58.18
So, what's the
answer in verse 19?
00:26:58.21\00:26:59.68
When Abraham kind of
says, "And then Abraham says,
00:26:59.71\00:27:01.88
'By the way,
don't forget Ishmael,
00:27:01.92\00:27:03.59
and let's just put
Ishmael out into the front.'"
00:27:03.62\00:27:06.69
You know, whenever I come to
this, it reminds me of Peter.
00:27:06.72\00:27:09.19
You know, Peter had
been fishing all night.
00:27:09.22\00:27:11.76
And so him and
his brother Andrew,
00:27:11.79\00:27:16.26
James, John, they were out
there fishing like they do,
00:27:16.30\00:27:18.40
and they always fish at night
because their nets were larger.
00:27:18.43\00:27:20.64
They didn't have that nice,
clear nylon netting that we have
00:27:20.67\00:27:24.24
and the lines that we
use where the fish can't see,
00:27:24.27\00:27:27.61
even in the
daytime, our lines when we're
00:27:27.64\00:27:29.71
fishing, but they
didn't have that back then.
00:27:29.74\00:27:31.18
So, their lines were much
more visible under the water.
00:27:31.21\00:27:33.65
And so the fishermen,
the professional fishermen
00:27:33.68\00:27:35.98
understood that the best time
to fish is when it's dark out
00:27:36.02\00:27:39.02
because then they can't
see the lines of the netting.
00:27:39.05\00:27:42.19
And so him and--Peter and his
fishing colleagues, they were
00:27:42.22\00:27:45.83
all--they'd been fishing
all night long, and they know
00:27:45.86\00:27:49.10
where every hot spot in
the entire Sea of Galilee is.
00:27:49.13\00:27:52.80
They know every
square inch of that lake.
00:27:52.83\00:27:55.30
You know, they grew up
fishing from a little boy.
00:27:55.34\00:27:58.57
As early as they could talk,
they were out on that lake.
00:27:58.61\00:28:00.61
They knew everything--he
says--you know, Peter--you know,
00:28:00.64\00:28:03.71
Jesus is
preaching early one morning.
00:28:03.75\00:28:05.45
And a tired Peter and his
fellows, you know, they're
00:28:05.48\00:28:09.42
wrapping up their night,
and they're cleaning the nets
00:28:09.45\00:28:11.15
while they're listening
to the words of Christ.
00:28:11.19\00:28:13.72
And Christ kind
of stops and says,
00:28:13.76\00:28:15.52
"Peter, listen,
I want you to take
00:28:15.56\00:28:17.13
those nets, put
them back in the boat.
00:28:17.16\00:28:18.46
Go out into the
deep water there again.
00:28:18.49\00:28:20.90
The first deep
water that you see,
00:28:20.93\00:28:22.20
throw your nets back in."
00:28:22.23\00:28:26.07
And Peter, you
know, he's looking around,
00:28:26.10\00:28:27.47
and he's trying to be tactful.
00:28:27.50\00:28:29.54
You know, he respects the Lord.
00:28:29.57\00:28:30.87
He already understands
that Jesus is no normal rabbi.
00:28:30.91\00:28:35.71
He's no
ordinary person or rabbi.
00:28:35.74\00:28:37.71
And so he's
looking around and saying,
00:28:37.75\00:28:39.51
"How do I handle this one?
00:28:39.55\00:28:42.25
You know, I just--I want to
respect Him, but obviously Jesus
00:28:42.28\00:28:45.22
doesn't know a
lot about fishing.
00:28:45.25\00:28:49.29
I know a lot about fishing.
00:28:49.32\00:28:50.63
I was brought up--I'm
a professional fisherman.
00:28:50.66\00:28:53.50
Jesus is not."
00:28:53.53\00:28:54.83
So, he says,
"Lord, you know, listen,
00:28:54.83\00:28:56.13
I don't know how to
tell You this, but I've been
00:28:56.16\00:28:58.03
fishing all night, and
that's the prime time to fish.
00:28:58.07\00:29:01.30
Nobody fishes--no professional
fishes during the day.
00:29:01.34\00:29:04.04
I've been fishing all night,
and I haven't caught anything,
00:29:04.07\00:29:07.44
and I went to every
single hot spot on this lake.
00:29:07.48\00:29:10.51
And You're telling me now that
I'm going to go out and catch
00:29:10.55\00:29:12.31
some fish just like
that in the daytime?
00:29:12.35\00:29:16.42
Nevertheless, Lord--"
00:29:16.45\00:29:17.75
You can almost
see Jesus looking at
00:29:17.79\00:29:19.09
Peter and saying,
"Just go ahead and do it."
00:29:19.12\00:29:24.43
And so with that pause and that
look that Jesus inevitably gave
00:29:24.46\00:29:27.10
to Peter, Peter
says, "Nevertheless,
00:29:27.13\00:29:28.66
Lord, okay, all
right, I'll go out."
00:29:28.70\00:29:32.83
And so he goes out, and we
know the rest of the story.
00:29:32.87\00:29:34.94
You know, he started
catching so many fish,
00:29:34.97\00:29:36.94
more fish in one go, in one
spot than he had ever caught
00:29:36.97\00:29:41.41
in his entire professional life.
00:29:41.44\00:29:43.61
It was so full, the
nets became so full so fast,
00:29:43.65\00:29:46.38
that the nets began to break.
00:29:46.41\00:29:48.52
And not only that, but
then his boat became so full
00:29:48.55\00:29:52.02
that it began to sink.
00:29:52.05\00:29:53.62
And not only that, but
then as he called James and
00:29:53.66\00:29:55.96
John to bring their boat over.
00:29:55.99\00:29:57.29
Their boat became so full,
it began to sink with fish.
00:29:57.33\00:30:02.63
And then Peter, at that
point, realized, "Wait a minute.
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.80
This guy is a
professional fisherman.
00:30:04.83\00:30:09.00
Maybe He does know more
about fishing than I do."
00:30:09.04\00:30:11.67
And not only that,
but more importantly,
00:30:11.71\00:30:13.24
he fell at His
feet, and he says,
00:30:13.27\00:30:16.18
"Lord, depart from me,
for I am a sinful man."
00:30:16.21\00:30:18.31
He understood the greatness and
the divinity and the power that
00:30:18.35\00:30:22.78
was found in Jesus Christ.
00:30:22.82\00:30:26.89
And he understood that God
can achieve the impossible,
00:30:26.92\00:30:29.76
and that's what God is
teaching both Sarah and Abraham,
00:30:29.79\00:30:33.53
as they are maturing in
that very sincere and saving
00:30:33.56\00:30:36.97
faith that they have.
00:30:37.00\00:30:38.67
While God is continuing to
account that grace and that
00:30:38.70\00:30:41.37
righteousness and justification
before Abraham and Sarah,
00:30:41.40\00:30:45.77
they were also maturing in that
other divine miracle that works
00:30:45.81\00:30:49.04
in your life and mine
called sanctification.
00:30:49.08\00:30:52.81
He's becoming more and
more mature in his faith.
00:30:52.85\00:30:54.85
His character is growing.
00:30:54.88\00:30:56.25
His integrity is
becoming stronger,
00:30:56.28\00:30:59.79
and that's what God
does in our life, doesn't He?
00:30:59.82\00:31:02.56
For me, that was the best.
00:31:02.59\00:31:03.89
I didn't even know about
justification until years after
00:31:03.93\00:31:05.56
I gave my heart to the Lord.
00:31:05.59\00:31:07.66
I didn't even know
about that good news.
00:31:07.66\00:31:09.53
You know, that wasn't an issue.
00:31:09.56\00:31:10.93
For me, He would
change me, you know?
00:31:10.97\00:31:14.00
I went from this
arrogant, self-centered,
00:31:14.04\00:31:17.14
selfish, drunken, womanizing
young man to this newborn,
00:31:17.17\00:31:26.82
honest, loving, Spirit-filled
person that He had made me in
00:31:26.85\00:31:33.59
the years that followed.
00:31:33.62\00:31:36.39
That was the good news
because I realized the contrast,
00:31:36.42\00:31:39.06
and I realized, "Man alive,
my life is way better with Jesus
00:31:39.09\00:31:44.93
and having His
Spirit than it was before."
00:31:44.97\00:31:47.37
Before, my heart was empty.
00:31:47.40\00:31:49.74
Now I was prospering in a
lot of different sinful ways,
00:31:49.77\00:31:52.61
and there was a lot of pleasures
that I was engaging in,
00:31:52.64\00:31:54.71
but it was all
empty, it all came up empty.
00:31:54.74\00:31:58.15
But then when I found
Christ, and He changed me,
00:31:58.18\00:32:01.42
and that sanctifying
miracle started to take place,
00:32:01.45\00:32:04.02
and He matured my faith,
even as He continues to do
00:32:04.05\00:32:06.79
today, by the way.
00:32:06.82\00:32:09.02
Then I became more
like Jesus, and the
00:32:09.06\00:32:11.49
Spirit made me a new person.
00:32:11.53\00:32:12.83
"Behold, all things have
become new," the Bible says,
00:32:12.86\00:32:16.80
when you come in Christ.
00:32:16.83\00:32:18.40
And that's what's
happened with Abraham
00:32:18.43\00:32:20.17
and with Sarah, and that miracle
continues as God is patiently
00:32:20.20\00:32:23.77
working with him and with
Sarah, as they continue on.
00:32:23.81\00:32:27.44
And so God continues on,
as we come through chapter 17,
00:32:27.48\00:32:33.78
and we come to chapter 18,
00:32:33.82\00:32:42.36
and it is here
now that God appears
00:32:42.39\00:32:45.26
again, and we have God and the
two angels in the form of men
00:32:45.29\00:32:49.16
that are
appearing before Abraham.
00:32:49.20\00:32:51.37
And Abraham goes out quickly,
as being the great man of
00:32:51.40\00:32:54.27
hospitality that he is, setting
that prime model for hospitality
00:32:54.30\00:32:58.54
for you and I to those who
are in need of a roof over their
00:32:58.57\00:33:01.44
head in a difficult situation.
00:33:01.48\00:33:04.75
So, here is these
three traveling strangers.
00:33:04.78\00:33:07.15
Abraham goes out,
greets them, brings them in,
00:33:07.18\00:33:10.02
and invites them to be
able to have this meal.
00:33:10.05\00:33:15.02
And in the midst of
this, he begins to recognize,
00:33:15.06\00:33:17.96
"Hey, wait a minute,
these are no ordinary men."
00:33:17.99\00:33:20.36
That transition, that
self-awareness started to come,
00:33:20.40\00:33:23.20
and he started to
realize, "Wait a minute,
00:33:23.23\00:33:25.53
these are not
just traveling men.
00:33:25.57\00:33:26.90
There's a divinity, there's
a presence with these men."
00:33:26.94\00:33:31.84
And sure enough, as
the conversation goes on,
00:33:31.87\00:33:35.34
the one that is
the Lord Himself,
00:33:35.38\00:33:38.41
an Angel of the
Lord, with a capital A,
00:33:38.45\00:33:42.48
Jesus is in the
form of a human traveler,
00:33:42.52\00:33:45.75
man, that is traveling.
00:33:45.79\00:33:47.26
He goes on, and He expresses
to Abraham, as Sarah is kind of
00:33:47.29\00:33:51.93
behind him, out of sight,
but kind of lingering by the
00:33:51.96\00:33:55.73
door of the tent with
her ear pointed in the right
00:33:55.76\00:33:57.93
direction--and as her ear is
pointed in the direction of the
00:33:57.97\00:34:01.74
conversation,
she's eavesdropping.
00:34:01.77\00:34:04.34
And God knows it, of course.
00:34:04.37\00:34:06.31
God knows everything.
00:34:06.34\00:34:12.08
And where is it?
00:34:12.11\00:34:13.42
Verse 10, chapter 18 and
verse 10, "I will certainly
00:34:13.45\00:34:15.85
return to you, and
according to the time of life--"
00:34:15.88\00:34:18.79
That means the 9-month
period that we think of in
00:34:18.82\00:34:21.02
pregnancy, a term, or
three terms, as we call it.
00:34:21.06\00:34:25.96
"And behold, Sarah,
your wife, shall have a son."
00:34:25.99\00:34:29.50
Sarah was listening in the tent
00:34:29.53\00:34:30.83
door, which was behind him.
00:34:30.87\00:34:32.17
"Now, Abraham and Sarah were
old and well advanced in age,
00:34:32.20\00:34:34.77
and Sarah was past
the age of childbearing."
00:34:34.80\00:34:37.94
It's such an
endearing kind of personal scene
00:34:37.97\00:34:40.41
that we find here.
00:34:40.44\00:34:41.74
"And so the Lord said to Abram,
'Why did Sarah laugh?' saying,
00:34:41.78\00:34:44.91
'Shall I bear a child
in being that I'm old?'
00:34:44.95\00:34:47.22
'Is anything too
hard for the Lord?'"
00:34:47.25\00:34:50.82
And so the Lord is
helping move Sarah and
00:34:50.85\00:34:54.09
Abraham forward in their faith
and to recognize that some of
00:34:54.12\00:34:57.49
the things that God calls
us to do or the things that He
00:34:57.53\00:35:00.23
promises in our life are
literally, are impossible.
00:35:00.26\00:35:03.70
On a human plane,
they are impossible.
00:35:03.73\00:35:08.57
Physically speaking,
scientifically speaking,
00:35:08.60\00:35:11.91
economically speaking,
educationally speaking,
00:35:11.94\00:35:15.98
whatever avenue and field that
God is talking to you about,
00:35:16.01\00:35:19.18
sometimes He
achieves the impossible.
00:35:19.21\00:35:24.25
And so He says, "Is
anything too hard for the Lord?
00:35:24.29\00:35:26.29
At the appointed
time, I will return to you,
00:35:26.32\00:35:27.92
according to the time of life,
and Sarah shall have a son."
00:35:27.96\00:35:31.76
But here we have
Sarah denying it,
00:35:31.79\00:35:33.73
saying, "I didn't
laugh," for she was afraid.
00:35:33.76\00:35:35.90
And He said, "Oh,
but you did laugh."
00:35:35.93\00:35:39.40
Yeah, so we have this, almost
like a family conversation here,
00:35:39.43\00:35:42.44
you know, and it's
so endearing, you know,
00:35:42.47\00:35:43.84
because Sarah really
loved the Lord, didn't she?
00:35:43.87\00:35:46.14
She had a very sincere
love for God, just like Abraham.
00:35:46.17\00:35:49.31
These are two very
godly, God-fearing,
00:35:49.34\00:35:52.41
Spirit-filled, justified,
sanctified couple of God,
00:35:52.45\00:35:58.62
but they have their weaknesses.
00:35:58.65\00:36:01.26
And God is working and
helping them work through those
00:36:01.29\00:36:03.73
weaknesses to
mature their faith.
00:36:03.76\00:36:06.46
And thank God that we
can see that He does that
00:36:06.49\00:36:09.00
with them, and He
does that with me.
00:36:09.03\00:36:10.33
We can know if God did
that with this great patriarch,
00:36:10.37\00:36:13.37
the highest, most exalted,
most important figure since the
00:36:13.40\00:36:17.44
flood, up to Jesus, then
certainly He also works with us.
00:36:17.47\00:36:22.64
And so I take great comfort
and encouragement in that,
00:36:22.68\00:36:28.88
and also instruction as well.
00:36:28.92\00:36:35.69
God always calls us
on our sin, doesn't He?
00:36:35.72\00:36:38.63
Did Sarah sin at that moment?
00:36:38.66\00:36:40.66
Yeah, she disbelieved,
which is probably just as bad,
00:36:40.70\00:36:43.50
maybe worse, and then
she goes ahead and says,
00:36:43.53\00:36:45.43
"No, I didn't laugh."
00:36:45.47\00:36:47.37
You know, sometimes
when we're under pressure,
00:36:47.40\00:36:48.80
we're not as
honest as we should be.
00:36:48.84\00:36:50.97
And she finds herself in an
awkward pressure and situation,
00:36:51.01\00:36:54.28
so she bends the truth and
says, "No, I didn't laugh."
00:36:54.31\00:36:57.21
And God says, "Oh, no, let's be
honest here," no pun intended,
00:36:57.25\00:37:02.22
"but you did laugh.
00:37:02.25\00:37:04.85
You didn't tell
the truth, did you?"
00:37:04.89\00:37:07.22
And sometimes we kind
of wink at each other's
00:37:07.26\00:37:09.12
dishonesty sometimes, don't we?
00:37:09.16\00:37:11.59
We wink at our own
dishonesty and say,
00:37:11.63\00:37:12.93
"Well, Lord, I was in
a pinch there, you know.
00:37:12.96\00:37:15.40
I had to be able to
twist the truth to be able
00:37:15.43\00:37:17.07
to smooth things over."
00:37:17.10\00:37:19.57
And God never tells us to smooth
things over with dishonesty.
00:37:19.60\00:37:25.21
God tells us that we are
to be honest at all times.
00:37:25.24\00:37:29.64
And, you know, so
dishonesty is never justified.
00:37:29.68\00:37:35.02
It's never justified.
00:37:35.05\00:37:36.45
It's a sin 100% of
every minute of every day.
00:37:36.48\00:37:40.86
And so we have to
be careful on that.
00:37:40.89\00:37:44.09
Yeah, God calls us to
be honest at all times.
00:37:44.13\00:37:51.00
All right, and, of
course, the supernatural--
00:37:51.03\00:37:54.97
was Isaac conceived?
00:37:55.00\00:37:56.30
Did God fulfill His
promise that He gave?
00:37:56.34\00:37:58.87
Sure, He did.
00:37:58.91\00:38:00.88
You know, He said, "You
will have a son through your own
00:38:00.91\00:38:03.21
body," which
originally He had told Abraham.
00:38:03.24\00:38:05.21
Now He comes and
clarifies and says,
00:38:05.25\00:38:06.65
"Listen, I guess I didn't
clarify well enough with you
00:38:06.68\00:38:09.52
that it would not be only your
own body but also Sarah's body,
00:38:09.55\00:38:13.12
not her handmaid's body
but Sarah's body will conceive.
00:38:13.15\00:38:16.46
And she will
conceive well after--"
00:38:16.49\00:38:18.96
It reminds me of Lazarus.
00:38:18.99\00:38:20.30
You know, Jesus heard that
Lazarus was sick and that he was
00:38:20.33\00:38:24.20
about to die, he was so sick.
00:38:24.23\00:38:25.57
And so Jesus, instead of
running straight off to Bethany,
00:38:25.60\00:38:28.17
where His friend
Lazarus was there,
00:38:28.20\00:38:30.17
that He might save her--save
him--He hangs out for another
00:38:30.21\00:38:33.51
four days in whatever
town He was in, at a distance.
00:38:33.54\00:38:38.08
And what was
Jesus doing that for?
00:38:38.11\00:38:39.98
Well, number one,
He wanted Lazarus to
00:38:40.02\00:38:41.75
be able to
breathe his last breath.
00:38:41.78\00:38:43.08
He wanted his heart to stop.
00:38:43.12\00:38:44.49
He wanted Lazarus to be buried,
and then He wanted Lazarus to
00:38:44.52\00:38:47.29
rest in the grave for four days.
00:38:47.32\00:38:50.69
You know, scholars,
fascinatingly discovered that
00:38:50.73\00:38:53.23
the reason that He wanted
four days is because the Jews
00:38:53.26\00:38:55.53
believed somehow--there's
a superstitious traditional
00:38:55.56\00:38:57.93
religious belief that if someone
died, if their heart stopped
00:38:57.97\00:39:01.24
beating, there is still a
possibility that the spirit of
00:39:01.27\00:39:04.44
life can return back to
them, and they can come back
00:39:04.47\00:39:06.44
to life within three days.
00:39:06.47\00:39:10.45
And so, Jesus, knowing,
almost for certain knowing that,
00:39:10.48\00:39:13.82
waited four full days because
He didn't want that excuse to be
00:39:13.85\00:39:17.85
able to be used in
explaining this miraculous,
00:39:17.89\00:39:21.89
divine resurrection
that He was about to perform.
00:39:21.92\00:39:26.29
And so He shows up, and
He performs this miracle.
00:39:26.33\00:39:29.20
And He says,
"Lazarus, come forth."
00:39:29.23\00:39:30.83
And poof, there's
Lazarus, waddles out.
00:39:30.87\00:39:33.07
You know, his
heart is beating again
00:39:33.10\00:39:34.40
and he's trying to take
off his swaddling cloths
00:39:34.44\00:39:36.37
and people are helping
him--not swaddling cloths,
00:39:36.40\00:39:38.91
but burial cloths and such.
00:39:38.94\00:39:42.54
And I believe that
God waited on purpose.
00:39:42.58\00:39:47.82
In fact, the evidence is there
that God waited on purpose until
00:39:47.85\00:39:52.22
not only did Sarah experience
menopause, but then menopause
00:39:52.25\00:39:55.19
was distant
history, just like Lazarus.
00:39:55.22\00:39:58.49
He wanted to make sure that
he was not only dead and buried,
00:39:58.53\00:40:00.56
but he was buried and
dead for four full days.
00:40:00.60\00:40:03.40
And same here with Sarah.
00:40:03.43\00:40:05.53
God waited until Sarah not
only went through menopause,
00:40:05.57\00:40:08.20
but until menopause was far
distant in the history of her
00:40:08.24\00:40:12.07
life, so that when it
really did take place,
00:40:12.11\00:40:14.98
that both Abraham, Sarah,
and every other human being that
00:40:15.01\00:40:17.95
understood the details of this
story would know that it was
00:40:17.98\00:40:20.55
only by a divine miracle, only
by God's divine supernatural
00:40:20.58\00:40:24.55
working did she conceive.
00:40:24.59\00:40:28.56
And there is a
miracle that is symbolized,
00:40:28.59\00:40:30.46
and Paul picks up on this,
as God is working through the
00:40:30.49\00:40:32.89
apostle and prophet Paul,
in Romans chapter 4 and in
00:40:32.93\00:40:35.76
Galatians chapter 4, as he
expands on some of the mistakes
00:40:35.80\00:40:40.54
that Abraham and Sarah had made
with Hagar and so on and uses
00:40:40.57\00:40:45.47
that to symbolize two
different religious experiences
00:40:45.51\00:40:48.61
that we can have.
00:40:48.64\00:40:50.41
Religion number one
is produced by the flesh,
00:40:50.45\00:40:52.81
our human strength and effort.
00:40:52.85\00:40:54.95
Now, this is the most popular
form of Christianity today and
00:40:54.98\00:40:57.62
always has been, historically,
is when we lean upon our own
00:40:57.65\00:41:02.26
human strength and
our own righteousness,
00:41:02.29\00:41:04.49
and our own goodness, and our
own effort to be able to find
00:41:04.53\00:41:09.46
ourself becoming a godly
man or woman, a child of God.
00:41:09.50\00:41:14.40
Religion number two, and that
is represented and symbolized by
00:41:14.44\00:41:18.57
Hagar and the child that
was conceived through the human
00:41:18.61\00:41:23.48
effort and surmising
of both Sarah and Abraham.
00:41:23.51\00:41:28.55
But then religion number
two is produced by the Spirit,
00:41:28.58\00:41:33.19
and the religion that is
produced by the Spirit is by
00:41:33.22\00:41:35.92
God's divine
strength and effort.
00:41:35.96\00:41:38.39
It is a miraculous
occurrence that takes place
00:41:38.43\00:41:41.80
in your life and mine.
00:41:41.83\00:41:44.33
For you to become truly
born again requires a miracle.
00:41:44.37\00:41:51.74
The fact that I am
standing up before you here
00:41:51.77\00:41:53.84
today instead of
carousing through the nightclubs
00:41:53.88\00:41:56.51
and getting
drunk and chasing women
00:41:56.54\00:41:58.28
and doing all kinds of selfish
and sinful things that I used to
00:41:58.31\00:42:01.35
do before the Lord had found me.
00:42:01.38\00:42:07.16
The only reason that I stand and
then be able to teach the Word
00:42:07.19\00:42:09.56
of God to you today is because
God has worked a miracle in me.
00:42:09.59\00:42:15.36
There is something that God has
done and continues to do through
00:42:15.40\00:42:18.40
me that I could
never do on my own.
00:42:18.43\00:42:20.74
And even if every single person
here was to try to help me,
00:42:20.77\00:42:24.14
you still couldn't make
me the man that I am today.
00:42:24.17\00:42:27.48
No self-help
guru, no psychologist,
00:42:27.51\00:42:29.54
no pop psychologist, no expert
in the mental or emotional field
00:42:29.58\00:42:35.62
could ever make
me what I am today.
00:42:35.65\00:42:39.29
There is no method within--and
I'm not downplaying psychology
00:42:39.32\00:42:43.09
and psychiatric--psychiatry,
because they have their place
00:42:43.12\00:42:46.76
when they're rightly
understood and applied.
00:42:46.80\00:42:51.10
But none of it--all of it comes
up empty without the miracle of
00:42:51.13\00:42:55.94
Jesus in the heart, being born
again and recognizing that I am
00:42:55.97\00:43:03.28
a sinful, selfish,
self-centered human being,
00:43:03.31\00:43:06.41
and the only way that I can
overcome that is by the miracle
00:43:06.45\00:43:11.52
of Christ within my
heart, to be born again.
00:43:11.55\00:43:15.76
This is where we
find divine strength.
00:43:15.79\00:43:18.33
This is where we
find divine effort.
00:43:18.36\00:43:21.90
Do I cooperate with the Lord?
00:43:21.93\00:43:23.37
Yes, of course.
00:43:23.40\00:43:25.13
The number-one avenue of
cooperation, the number-one
00:43:25.17\00:43:27.64
part that I need to get
before the Lord is twofold.
00:43:27.67\00:43:30.94
Number one, my belief in faith.
00:43:30.97\00:43:33.98
And number two, to surrender,
to surrender before the Lord.
00:43:34.01\00:43:40.58
And so every morning I'm on
my knees surrendering before the
00:43:40.62\00:43:44.12
Lord and saying, "Lord, work a
miracle in my life again today.
00:43:44.15\00:43:50.46
Take this sinful,
self-centered, selfish heart,
00:43:50.49\00:43:53.43
and continue to make it the
heart that you have made it.
00:43:53.46\00:43:57.67
I surrender before You, Lord.
00:43:57.70\00:43:59.20
Whatever You call me to do, help
me to be Your servant today.
00:43:59.23\00:44:02.60
Help me to live
out Your ways today.
00:44:02.64\00:44:05.01
Help me to be the person that
I could never be without You.
00:44:05.04\00:44:10.61
Do Your work in me,
Lord, because I can't do it."
00:44:10.65\00:44:14.92
And friends, that is the
difference between religion
00:44:14.95\00:44:17.15
number one and the experience
in religion number two.
00:44:17.19\00:44:21.42
Religion number one is
represented by Hagar and the
00:44:21.46\00:44:24.73
conception that she received and
that, through a surrogate kind
00:44:24.76\00:44:29.93
of scenario, Sarah received,
and then Abraham being involved,
00:44:29.96\00:44:34.24
strictly on a
earthly, human plane.
00:44:34.27\00:44:40.14
Number two, we find Isaac.
00:44:40.18\00:44:42.18
Now, Isaac shouldn't be.
00:44:42.21\00:44:44.91
Isaac should never have existed.
00:44:44.95\00:44:47.72
Abraham and Sarah could've tried
for 100 years, and almost did
00:44:47.75\00:44:53.46
try for 100 years, and they
weren't able to produce a son.
00:44:53.49\00:44:58.73
But when God got involved and
God used His divine strength and
00:44:58.76\00:45:02.83
power to do the work that
Abraham and Sarah could never do
00:45:02.86\00:45:06.07
on their own, that is
when Isaac came to be.
00:45:06.10\00:45:09.34
And so Isaac represents
justification by faith and God's
00:45:09.37\00:45:13.11
grace, yes, but also
sanctification that God gives to
00:45:13.14\00:45:17.65
us as well, the
miracle of God changing us.
00:45:17.68\00:45:22.42
"Behold, all things have
become new," the Bible tells us,
00:45:22.45\00:45:26.82
1 Corinthians--2
Corinthians 5, verse 17.
00:45:26.86\00:45:30.56
And so, that is the
great miracle and the
00:45:30.59\00:45:34.36
truth that God brings to us.
00:45:34.40\00:45:35.70
Well, I knew that we weren't
able to get through all of it.
00:45:35.73\00:45:39.77
You'll have to forgive me.
00:45:39.80\00:45:41.10
If you haven't
read the chapter of Lot
00:45:41.14\00:45:43.04
and Sodom and Gomorrah
and the destruction there,
00:45:43.07\00:45:44.81
there's some very good
things to look at there.
00:45:44.84\00:45:47.11
Read the chapter, go
through your lesson study,
00:45:47.14\00:45:50.01
and I'm sure you'll be
able to pull out some important
00:45:50.05\00:45:52.38
truths there, as well.
00:45:52.41\00:45:54.48
Don't forget to take advantage
of our free gift offer today.
00:45:54.52\00:45:56.72
If you haven't heard about it
at the beginning of our program,
00:45:56.75\00:46:00.16
want to make sure that
we offer it one more time,
00:46:00.19\00:46:01.96
which is "Remember Lot's Wife."
00:46:01.99\00:46:04.39
And so, again, this
is on the last chapter,
00:46:04.43\00:46:07.03
chapter 19, that we
look at in this lesson study.
00:46:07.03\00:46:09.60
It's free offer # 108.
00:46:09.63\00:46:11.37
All you have to do
is dial 1-866-788-3966.
00:46:11.40\00:46:16.64
That's 1-866-788-3966.
00:46:16.67\00:46:20.34
Ask for free offer # 108.
00:46:20.38\00:46:23.11
Love to be able to
put this into your hands.
00:46:23.14\00:46:25.61
It's available if
you're in North America
00:46:25.65\00:46:27.15
or any of the US territories.
00:46:27.18\00:46:28.95
If you want to take advantage of
a downloaded copy on your phone,
00:46:28.98\00:46:32.59
you can go ahead
and text the code SH054,
00:46:32.62\00:46:36.46
and you want to
dial that to 40544.
00:46:36.49\00:46:41.36
And that's only available if
you're in the United States with
00:46:41.40\00:46:44.30
the cellular networks
that are available here.
00:46:44.33\00:46:46.60
If you're in another part of the
world, we also have a website
00:46:46.63\00:46:49.47
which is study.aftv.org/SH054,
and that can be downloaded on
00:46:49.50\00:46:58.25
the internet
anywhere around the world.
00:46:58.28\00:46:59.91
Make sure you take advantage of
that and continue to grow in the
00:46:59.95\00:47:03.32
knowledge of God's Word.
00:47:03.35\00:47:05.25
Until next week, we look
forward to seeing you then.
00:47:05.29\00:47:07.59
May God bless you and keep you.
00:47:07.62\00:47:10.23
announcer: Don't
forget to request today's
00:47:12.79\00:47:14.10
life-changing free resource.
00:47:14.10\00:47:16.10
Not only can you receive
this free gift in the mail,
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you can download a
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your computer or mobile device.
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To get your digital
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simply text the keyword on your
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and be sure to select the
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digital download
option on the request page.
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It's now easier than ever
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Amazing Facts
wherever and whenever you want,
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and most important,
to share it with others.
00:47:42.06\00:47:44.76
announcer: Amazing
Facts, Changed Lives.
00:47:50.63\00:47:53.77
Christine VanOrder: I was
born into a family of criminals.
00:47:58.17\00:48:01.04
When I got older, and I
started breaking the rules,
00:48:01.08\00:48:03.78
no one ever taught me about,
"Thou shalt not steal and thou
00:48:03.81\00:48:06.72
shalt not lie,
thou shalt not commit
00:48:06.75\00:48:09.32
adultery," anything like that.
00:48:09.35\00:48:10.85
When I became a runaway at 14, I
was just a wild and lost child.
00:48:10.89\00:48:17.79
I had somebody tell me, "Hey,
you want to earn some money
00:48:17.83\00:48:20.23
cleaning this guy's kitchen?"
00:48:20.26\00:48:22.03
So, I went to this house
on a different side of town
00:48:22.06\00:48:24.17
than I was used to.
00:48:24.20\00:48:25.50
Someone kept giving
me alcoholic drinks.
00:48:25.53\00:48:28.77
And being 115
pounds and 14 years old,
00:48:28.80\00:48:31.94
it really didn't take much time
before I was so inebriated that
00:48:31.97\00:48:36.11
I had no control over
what was going on around me.
00:48:36.14\00:48:39.35
He took me to another
location, another town,
00:48:39.38\00:48:43.05
and I was put in isolation.
00:48:43.08\00:48:44.85
I would come out to be abused
between 3 and 8 times a day.
00:48:44.89\00:48:48.16
I was degraded.
I was humiliated.
00:48:48.19\00:48:50.86
I had no value as a human being.
00:48:50.89\00:48:53.09
And I learned very
quickly that what I felt
00:48:53.13\00:48:56.40
and what I thought
and how this made me feel
00:48:56.43\00:48:58.93
did not matter to him at all.
00:48:58.97\00:49:00.87
If I even thought about not
doing what he wanted me to do,
00:49:00.90\00:49:06.57
I would have a gun to my
head, a knife to my throat.
00:49:06.61\00:49:11.98
There was one time in
particular where he had been
00:49:12.01\00:49:16.82
tormenting me psychologically.
00:49:16.85\00:49:19.49
And one day he said, "Oh,
you'll never kill yourself.
00:49:19.52\00:49:22.49
You'll never do it."
00:49:22.52\00:49:24.29
And almost defiantly, I
was like, "Yes, I will."
00:49:24.33\00:49:27.76
And he handed me a
big old handful of pills,
00:49:27.76\00:49:29.76
and I took them.
00:49:29.80\00:49:31.10
While I was overdosing--and I
had been overdosing all night--I
00:49:31.13\00:49:34.80
cried out to a God that
I didn't even believe in.
00:49:34.84\00:49:37.71
And at that very moment,
in the most powerful way,
00:49:37.74\00:49:41.08
God shone His light on me, and
He gave me peace of mind like
00:49:41.11\00:49:45.38
I'd never had, and He let
me know right then and there
00:49:45.41\00:49:48.85
while I was on
that bathroom floor
00:49:48.88\00:49:50.39
that He was real
and that He was love
00:49:50.42\00:49:53.32
and that I did not
know how at that time,
00:49:53.36\00:49:55.46
but He was going to help me.
00:49:55.49\00:49:57.09
A little less than a year
later, I became pregnant at 15.
00:49:57.13\00:50:01.26
I loved my son
with my whole heart.
00:50:01.30\00:50:03.47
He also became something that my
abuser could use against me in
00:50:03.50\00:50:06.97
order to pump
more fear and coercion.
00:50:07.00\00:50:12.11
I had finally got
away from my abuser,
00:50:12.14\00:50:15.51
and I had finally built up a
support system to help me stay
00:50:15.54\00:50:18.18
on the move and stay on the run.
00:50:18.21\00:50:20.52
And I was at my
grandmother's house.
00:50:20.55\00:50:22.22
And on my son's third
birthday, he--he took my son.
00:50:22.25\00:50:30.19
And when I called the
police and said, "My son's
00:50:30.23\00:50:31.53
just been kidnapped," they said,
00:50:31.56\00:50:33.23
"He's the father, and we
can't do anything about it."
00:50:33.26\00:50:36.20
After my son was
gone, I lost my mind.
00:50:36.23\00:50:39.43
I started doing drugs.
00:50:39.47\00:50:40.94
And within a month and a half,
I robbed a convenience store.
00:50:40.97\00:50:44.44
So, I was
sentenced to 70 months,
00:50:44.47\00:50:47.38
5 years, 10 months in prison.
00:50:47.41\00:50:49.71
And it was the best
thing that ever happened to me.
00:50:49.74\00:50:54.75
I started attending the
church services in prison
00:50:54.78\00:50:57.59
7 days a week.
00:50:57.62\00:50:59.32
It blew my mind.
00:50:59.35\00:51:01.02
I was hooked.
00:51:01.06\00:51:02.42
And then we went through--it
was "Millennium of Prophecy,"
00:51:02.46\00:51:06.36
and NET '99, that just
solidified my faith in such a
00:51:06.39\00:51:11.67
powerful way, and I
knew that God was leading me.
00:51:11.70\00:51:15.94
Even the guards there commented
on how much I had changed.
00:51:15.97\00:51:20.24
And since I started doing
the studies on Amazing Facts,
00:51:20.28\00:51:24.08
I was so excited about what I
was learning that I was coming
00:51:24.11\00:51:27.02
back from there and trying
to convert my hardened criminal
00:51:27.05\00:51:31.59
friends with the
Storacles of Prophecy.
00:51:31.62\00:51:33.89
Every question I
ever had, every worry,
00:51:33.92\00:51:36.86
everything that I ever wondered
about, the Bible answered
00:51:36.89\00:51:41.06
everything, and it was so
clear and so easy to understand.
00:51:41.10\00:51:45.70
It's been 11 years
since I've been out of prison.
00:51:45.73\00:51:48.40
I am married to an
amazing, wonderful man,
00:51:48.44\00:51:51.47
my first
non-abusive relationship
00:51:51.51\00:51:53.24
in my whole entire life.
00:51:53.27\00:51:54.91
Before we got married, we
watched the "Millennium of
00:51:54.94\00:51:57.05
Prophecy" series together, and
it was just such a blessing to
00:51:57.08\00:52:02.65
be able to see him
learn and see him grow,
00:52:02.68\00:52:06.79
and I feel like my
life now is just a gift,
00:52:06.82\00:52:09.76
that every single thing that
happened to me bad in the past
00:52:09.79\00:52:12.99
is nothing compared to the joy
and happiness and the stability
00:52:13.03\00:52:18.17
that I have now.
00:52:18.20\00:52:19.57
My name is Christine VanOrder,
and my life has been changed by
00:52:19.60\00:52:23.47
Jesus Christ and Amazing Facts.
00:52:23.51\00:52:25.87
¤¤¤
00:52:25.91\00:52:32.51
announcer: Amazing
Facts, Changed Lives
00:52:34.78\00:52:37.75
Nita Littlefield: I'm Tlingit
Indian from Sitka, Alaska.
00:52:43.09\00:52:47.03
My Tlingit name
is [speaking Tlingit]
00:52:47.10\00:52:50.27
It was a very depressing
time for the people of Alaska.
00:52:50.30\00:52:54.20
A lot of alcohol
abuse was taking place.
00:52:54.24\00:52:59.81
And unfortunately, my mother
got caught up in the alcohol.
00:52:59.84\00:53:05.58
It made myself and
my siblings grow up in
00:53:05.61\00:53:12.05
a pretty horrible environment.
00:53:12.09\00:53:17.36
It was really
hard to understand God.
00:53:17.39\00:53:21.90
It was really hard to
understand what love was.
00:53:21.93\00:53:26.03
I ended up having a child in
my 12th grade and leaving home
00:53:26.07\00:53:35.41
when I was 15 years old.
00:53:35.44\00:53:37.58
But somehow,
someway, we made it.
00:53:37.61\00:53:40.75
And I became a
loner, I became a hermit.
00:53:40.78\00:53:43.52
So, I went up to the
biggest marijuana county,
00:53:43.55\00:53:48.16
to Humboldt County,
and started my new career.
00:53:48.19\00:53:53.33
Things weren't right though.
00:53:53.36\00:53:54.93
No matter how nice I kept
thinking life was living up on
00:53:54.96\00:53:59.17
top of the mountain, not having
to worry about wearing clothing,
00:53:59.20\00:54:05.71
just waking up and
watching the plants grow,
00:54:05.74\00:54:09.41
searching still
for more and more.
00:54:09.44\00:54:12.85
I went to the post office, and
I was standing there by myself.
00:54:12.88\00:54:18.62
I looked down and here
was this, what is called
00:54:18.65\00:54:22.96
a handbill, a postcard.
00:54:22.99\00:54:25.76
And the letters on
it grabbed my attention
00:54:25.79\00:54:28.56
and it said, "Revelations."
00:54:28.60\00:54:30.87
I'd never heard Revelation
taught before, and I thought,
00:54:30.90\00:54:34.50
"Gosh, that would
have been so good."
00:54:34.54\00:54:37.74
I looked at the time and the day
and I said, "Wow, that's today."
00:54:37.77\00:54:44.95
And for six weeks, I sat
there in the front seat of that
00:54:44.98\00:54:51.45
building and could not
believe the things that I heard.
00:54:51.49\00:54:56.99
And I found this
hunger, that I had in my heart
00:54:57.03\00:55:01.86
for decades being filled.
00:55:01.90\00:55:04.47
I was actually
like a starving child,
00:55:04.50\00:55:07.47
you know, wanting to get into
learn more about Revelations.
00:55:07.50\00:55:12.01
And I chose to be
baptized on April 3.
00:55:12.04\00:55:17.95
Even though I chose to
serve God, I kept falling.
00:55:17.98\00:55:22.68
I was going to Bible studies
all--four times a week and just
00:55:22.72\00:55:28.16
so hungry to learn
as much as possible.
00:55:28.19\00:55:32.59
God, just overnight, had me
studying the Word of God through
00:55:32.63\00:55:37.80
AFCOE, and the
miracles that happened through
00:55:37.83\00:55:41.40
AFCOE is so incredible.
00:55:41.44\00:55:44.31
The only preacher I was
listening to was Pastor Doug
00:55:44.34\00:55:47.24
Batchelor, who I
didn't even call by his name.
00:55:47.28\00:55:51.11
I called him the caveman.
00:55:51.15\00:55:53.58
And then here, all of a sudden,
I'm sitting in front of him in
00:55:53.62\00:55:58.55
his classroom,
learning from him.
00:55:58.59\00:56:03.06
On October 11, I
sat there, though,
00:56:03.09\00:56:06.26
in my room saying, "Lord,
here I am studying Your Word.
00:56:06.29\00:56:11.90
But what, what am I doing here?
00:56:11.93\00:56:15.70
What do I need to do?
00:56:15.74\00:56:18.27
What is it you want me to do?"
00:56:18.31\00:56:20.38
And that night
about 1 in the morning,
00:56:20.41\00:56:23.08
God spoke to me and He said,
"I want you to write a note to
00:56:23.11\00:56:27.35
Pastor Doug and
tell him what you do."
00:56:27.38\00:56:29.72
I sat there and I says, "No,
I'm not going to write a note.
00:56:29.75\00:56:31.59
I'm not going to write a note."
00:56:31.62\00:56:33.32
And I said okay, so I
ripped off a piece of paper,
00:56:33.36\00:56:36.46
and I wrote on
the note and I said,
00:56:36.49\00:56:38.89
"I'm an
experienced fashion designer.
00:56:38.93\00:56:41.30
I can sew anything.
00:56:41.33\00:56:42.76
I could make any patterns.
00:56:42.80\00:56:44.43
If there's any way that I
can be of any service to you,
00:56:44.47\00:56:49.54
God told me to be
bold and tell you."
00:56:49.57\00:56:51.67
And I walked up and
I handed him the note,
00:56:51.71\00:56:53.91
and he didn't know what it
was, but he said, "Thank you."
00:56:53.94\00:56:56.41
And four hours later, I got a
phone call from Amazing Facts.
00:56:56.44\00:57:01.08
Pastor Doug told me that I
was an answer to their prayers.
00:57:01.12\00:57:04.99
They had been looking for a
wardrobe stylist for their new
00:57:05.02\00:57:08.92
film that they're producing.
00:57:08.96\00:57:10.76
male: Action, two, three.
00:57:11.33\00:57:15.03
Nita: Amazing Facts has
changed my life in the direction
00:57:15.06\00:57:19.27
that God wants me to go.
00:57:19.30\00:57:22.27
And now, out of all the
knowledge that was taught to me,
00:57:22.30\00:57:26.94
I'm able to go out into this
world and share the gospel and
00:57:26.98\00:57:31.98
finish the work
for Jesus Christ.
00:57:32.01\00:57:35.42
Doug Batchelor: Friends, it's
because of God's blessing and
00:57:36.62\00:57:39.02
your support that thousands
of others like Nita have found
00:57:39.05\00:57:42.82
Jesus and everlasting life.
00:57:42.86\00:57:45.59
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