Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Tim Standish & John Kurlinski
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017079A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:06 Mending broken people 00:11 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:33 I want to spend my life 00:39 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN. 01:09 We are so glad you're joining us today 01:11 and I think we're going to have an exciting interview, 01:14 one that will inspire you to believe in God 01:20 as the one, not only who created us 01:23 but who will recreate us in the image of Jesus. 01:28 Before I introduce our guests, 01:33 I would like to read a scripture to you 01:35 but before that I even need to say, 01:37 thank you so much for your prayers 01:39 and your financial support of 3ABN 01:42 because this is a team effort. 01:44 But let me read a scripture 01:46 that to me is something that tells us 01:50 about the state of all mankind 01:53 and it will ring true with you. 01:56 If you didn't grow up knowing the Lord, 02:00 this will ring so true with you 02:02 that you will say amen and amen. 02:04 And it's Ecclesiastes 3:11," 02:09 He, speaking of God, 02:11 has made everything beautiful in its time. 02:14 Also He has put eternity in their hearts, 02:19 in the hearts of his created beings, 02:21 he has put eternity, 02:25 except that no one can find out the work 02:29 that God does from beginning to end." 02:32 We'll never quite understand God, 02:34 His ways are higher than our ways, 02:36 His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, 02:38 but if you are one of those people 02:40 who has tried everything 02:43 to fill the hole in your heart, 02:44 who feels like what's going on, 02:47 Lord, I'm never satisfied 02:48 or you don't know the Lord maybe. 02:50 Maybe you've just tuned in, 02:51 and this is the first Christian broadcast you've seen. 02:55 But, you know, that there's something missing in your life, 02:58 it's because God put eternity in your heart. 03:02 There is as people say, 03:04 "A God shaped hole in our hearts 03:07 that only God can fill the void." 03:10 Well, let me introduce our special guests to you, 03:14 and I'm very excited to have 03:16 these two distinguished gentlemen with us. 03:18 First, we have Dr. Tim Standish. 03:21 And, Dr. Standish, may I call you Tim? 03:24 You may as everybody else does. 03:26 Okay. 03:27 What is your PhD in? 03:29 My PhD is in biology. 03:31 Actually, I have a PhD in environmental biology 03:35 and public policy. 03:37 So I'm interested in the way 03:40 biology works with other disciplines. 03:43 How do we interface with things? 03:44 How do we use this information? 03:47 Amen. Amen. That's great. 03:48 So you were with the Geoscience Research Institute 03:52 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 03:54 and we're going to learn a little more 03:57 about this wonderful Institute 04:00 that really studies creation science 04:03 with the disciplines of biology, geology, 04:06 paleontology and etcetera. 04:08 So this is one smart man, I'll just put it that way. 04:12 Now, we have another smart man on the set with us. 04:16 What did you say? 04:18 Be a smart alec. A smart alec. 04:20 And that is Pastor and Dr. John Kurlinski, 04:25 and you're with the Bremerton, Washington... 04:28 Seventh-day Adventist Church, currently as a pastor there. 04:31 I've been there for almost eight and a half years. 04:33 Wonderful. Tell us where that's located? 04:35 That's located, if you take a ferry right out of Seattle 04:38 and you cross the Puget Sound 04:39 then as you look back at Seattle 04:41 and look ahead to the Olympic Mountains, 04:43 it's just one of the most gorgeous times you can spend. 04:45 And we're on Bremerton's Naval Shipyards there 04:49 where a lot of carriers and subs get serviced 04:51 and we have a church there with lots of engineers 04:53 and real brainy scientific type people all around all the time. 04:57 So you're used to all of that, huh? 04:59 Yeah. 05:00 Let me ask this one question 05:02 with all the fires in Washington, are you... 05:04 Is anything close to your area? 05:05 Are you seeing smoke? What's going on? 05:07 We got some smoke coming in now and then 05:09 but that should last rain or two, 05:11 we've just received our first rains 05:13 of the end of the summer season. 05:14 You get a hundred days of sunshine 05:15 and then the rains come back and they seem to... 05:17 When people think of rainy Seattle, 05:19 they think of this time of the year 05:21 that began just last week. 05:22 But they cleared out the smoke 05:24 but there are some fires just across the cascades 05:27 and just south of the Seattle area ways, 05:29 there were some fires in the mountains there. 05:31 And it did sock in the valley 05:32 and there's some up in Canada too 05:34 that was coming down as well, 05:35 so it was interesting. 05:36 There is so much going on in the world, 05:38 it's just amazing to me that... 05:42 I think of Luke 21:25-28 that says, 05:45 "Men's hearts will be failing them 05:47 when as they see these seas roaring, 05:51 but it's time to look up, 05:52 for our redemption draweth nigh. 05:54 Well, before we get into our conversation 05:57 with these two wonderful gentlemen, 05:59 we are going to have some music because we know you love music. 06:03 And today we have Johan, or Johan 06:06 I should probably say, Johan Sentana 06:09 and he is going to play for us, 06:10 "This Is My Father's World". 09:53 Thank you, Johan, 09:54 for that beautiful, beautiful, number. 09:57 We do believe this is our father's world 09:59 and we're here today to talk about creation science. 10:02 We're here today to talk about creation Sabbath, 10:07 and I'm going to just turn it over to you, Tim, to start. 10:11 Actually before we do that, tell me a little bit 10:14 about the Geoscience Research Institute, 10:17 when was it formed? 10:18 And what is your main purpose? 10:20 The Geoscience Research Institute 10:22 was formed in the 1950s, 10:24 and at that particular time 10:26 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 10:27 and we were not alone in this. 10:29 We were seeing these challenges 10:34 to the history that's recorded in scripture 10:38 that were coming from various sources 10:40 but primarily presenting themselves 10:42 as scientific challenges to the veracity of Scripture. 10:48 Certainly. 10:49 And so the Seventh-day Adventist Church decided 10:53 we need to have a collection of scholars 10:57 who really are thinking very carefully about these things. 11:00 We're no more interested in being wrong 11:03 than anybody else. 11:04 So we want to examine the, what are purporting 11:11 at least to be scientific claims that run counter 11:15 to what's revealed and recorded in Scripture. 11:19 Primary among those challenges was radiometric dating. 11:24 Yes. 11:25 And the idea then that life particularly on earth 11:29 is many hundreds of millions of years old, 11:33 billions of years of course is what people believe now. 11:37 And so this collection of scholars 11:40 was brought together by the church. 11:41 It's really an investment by the church 11:44 in making sure that we are informed 11:46 that we understand the challenges 11:49 and we understand the strengths of the biblical position, 11:54 which of course is what we embrace completely. 11:58 Amen, you know, something that I've noticed 12:01 is that like in archaeology or any of the sciences, 12:05 things that have been purported in archaeology, 12:08 and they have said that certain things did not exist 12:12 that the Bible has to be wrong 12:14 and for centuries people believe that. 12:16 And then suddenly there will be a new archaeological discovery 12:21 and all of a sudden, it's like, mm-hmm. 12:25 The Bible said this all along and it's true. 12:28 So I don't think that science proves the Bible, 12:33 I think the Bible proves science, 12:35 and one thing about science 12:36 is they change their mind quite frequently, don't they? 12:40 Well, I would agree with you. 12:41 Scientific claims are always tentative. 12:44 It has to do with the nature of the scientific process. 12:47 If somebody says to you, 12:49 such and such a thing has been scientifically proven, 12:53 there are only really two possibilities there, 12:56 the ignorance of what science is, 12:59 or they're trying to fool you. 13:03 Those are the two possibilities, now... 13:05 Science is theoretical in other words. 13:07 Well, yes, but... 13:08 you know, I don't want to degrade 13:14 the authority of science. 13:15 Science is a method for discovering things 13:21 about the natural world, 13:23 but nobody comes to looking at nature, 13:28 in a completely open minded 13:31 and, you know, without 13:35 a philosophical framework 13:39 for doing that. 13:40 In fact, this is one of things 13:42 that John is quite expert in the idea of a world view. 13:46 So if you come in with a materialistic worldview, 13:51 one that denies the possibility of anything 13:55 other than the material world, 13:57 you will explain everything that you observe 14:02 within the context of that world view. 14:05 When it comes to materialism, Darwinism, 14:08 the Darwinian sort of story of common ancestry 14:13 and change over time 14:14 producing me and you, and frogs, and oak trees, 14:18 and everything else, all other living things, 14:21 that's the story that you must get, 14:26 no matter what the fossils tell you, 14:29 no matter what the data tell you. 14:34 The beautiful thing about biblical Christianity 14:38 is that it liberates you to evaluate things 14:42 really in a much less biased way in my opinion. 14:47 You can look at a rock or pick on this one here. 14:50 we're going to get to this later 14:52 but it doesn't matter. 14:53 I could look at a rock like this particular one 14:56 and I could say, well, I mean, that's not a rock 14:58 that was made in some very specific way by a human being, 15:04 you know, or a designer going in there. 15:06 And I'm free too to say 15:08 that, that's just a normal naturally produced rock. 15:11 On the other hand, when I look at this trilobite fossil 15:16 that happens to be attached to the rock. 15:18 I'm also free... What is a trilobite? 15:20 A trilobite is, it's a kind of... 15:24 You can think of it as being almost insect like. 15:26 It's an extinct kind of creature 15:29 that you find in the fossil record, 15:31 they're not living today. 15:33 But it's like a shrimp or a lobster 15:36 or something in that general group of organisms. 15:41 And I can't study them today, but I can look at the fossils, 15:45 and as a Christian I can make a judgment about these fossils. 15:51 I can say, "Well, if it looks like it's designed. 15:55 I'm free to say, it looks like it's designed." 15:57 It looks like a created thing. 16:00 If it doesn't, like the rock 16:03 that it happens to be attached to, 16:05 I'm not forced to say it's designed either, 16:08 I have that freedom 16:10 that I'm not forced by my world view 16:15 into coming to one conclusion or another about it. 16:18 It's one of the beautiful things 16:20 about biblical Christianity, 16:22 and in fact believing in the creation. 16:25 It doesn't restrict you 16:27 and put binders on you intellectually. 16:31 It liberates you to look at nature 16:34 and make an evaluation about it. 16:38 Obviously, we come in with our own baggage out, 16:41 we've got to understand that. 16:44 But as long as we understand it, 16:45 that's the best we can possibly do. 16:48 And I did not mean to demean science, 16:50 but I know recently I've read, written, not written, 16:54 I have read an article 16:56 of an IT scientist who has, he's a... 17:00 I think he had a degree in biology and IT, science 17:06 and he was saying that, 17:09 when you look at the complexity of the cell 17:13 that the human cell, 17:15 that the information exchanged just within a single cell 17:21 is mind blowing. 17:23 I mean, it's millions of different signals 17:27 that are being sent 17:28 and he said, if that is in the single cell organism, 17:31 then you consider 17:32 what it is to look at a human being 17:37 and all of the information exchanged 17:40 from cell to cell and organ to organ. 17:42 And he was saying that there are many scientists 17:46 who say there has to be a God. 17:49 There's people with the latest science 17:52 that are disproving Darwin's theory of evolution. 17:56 So to me, that's fascinating, I'm interested. 17:59 Let me just ask you a quick question, John. 18:02 You have a doctorate in DMin. 18:05 A Doctor of Ministry, correct. 18:08 What was your dissertation on how did you get this, 18:11 you said you were a world view expert, how did...? 18:13 A little story, 18:15 before I was raised in a nominal Catholic home. 18:19 By the time we got into junior high school, 18:21 went to public school. 18:24 My dad died when I was 16. 18:26 So I went into better living through chemistry was our, 18:29 with our, self-anesthetizing the pain of life. 18:34 But in the process I was able to go to college 18:37 on disability, social security, 18:41 and I ended up becoming a history major 18:43 and so I studied history. 18:45 To know what I wanted to do maybe law something else 18:47 or going in the Peace Corps, 18:49 but over the course of events 18:50 I began to look at life through a history lens and sources. 18:54 To me source material was always important 18:56 where things came from and why it was, 18:58 and to say should be like your text said 19:01 in Ecclesiastes 3:11, I had that hunger, 19:03 that search for something bigger, broader, 19:06 more meaningful purpose 19:08 and that's where the idea 19:09 that everybody has these things. 19:11 When I actually do studies and seminars, 19:14 I begin with Genesis 3:11, I mean, Ecclesiastes 3:11. 19:17 Really. That's the take home text. 19:20 In honors class, I had the privilege of writing 19:22 for freshmen Bible, 19:25 basically begins with this passage, you know. 19:28 So we're searching for greater realities in ourselves. 19:31 My dissertation then was the one area of history 19:34 I never studied and that was origins. 19:37 They didn't offer origins class in the seminary 19:39 when I went through the seminary, 19:42 when I became a Christian, 19:44 and so I linked up with a gentleman 19:47 Dr. Randy Younker who was an archaeologist, 19:50 who Tim actually has on one of the Geoscience videos 19:54 that they offer there. 19:56 And I was able to research the area of my ignorance. 20:00 I don't like being ignorant, okay. 20:02 But I do like to have good reasons for what I believe 20:06 that I can't always sincerely prove 20:08 but I can, that make more sense 20:11 in a world of nonsense. 20:13 In the world that you look around, 20:14 you began the program, 20:16 you asked me about the fires, or the earthquakes, 20:18 the hurricanes, 20:20 and people are searching for trying to put all this data 20:23 into some sort of meaningful reality 20:27 to fit their world view, 20:28 and certain things don't fit in this idea of God is good, 20:32 how come this or how come that. 20:34 And so that's where the quest began. 20:36 So my dissertation was based on the idea of science 20:41 began in a Christian world view. 20:43 Most of your early scientists 20:44 were Christian in their faith world view. 20:47 And why did they divorce 20:50 and separate from that world view 20:54 as history went on. 20:55 What caused the scientists to flee 20:57 and become agnostic and atheistic, 21:00 actually antichristian 21:02 many of them in their way of looking at reality? 21:05 And I was interested in that change 21:07 and what causes a change. 21:09 To make it to Doctor of Ministry 21:11 I have to think pragmatic and practical like a seminar. 21:14 So the evolution, creation seminar 21:17 was the natural venue, 21:19 and so Dr. Younker worked with me 21:21 on the philosophical and historical elements. 21:24 He was helping direct myself to the research 21:28 and the sources that would help me find my answers, 21:31 and then I would develop the seminar 21:33 on evolution and creation 21:34 based on some of those answers 21:36 and other areas of interest, 21:37 and that's where I came from 21:39 and how I developed this deep interest. 21:41 And I teamed up with a friend 21:42 who's also been seen on 3ABN, Dr. Stan Hudson. 21:46 And Stan and I developed this seminar 21:48 that Stan has developed even beyond anything 21:51 that was originally my dissertation seminar 21:54 which developed into his in the beginning seminar, 21:57 and we've been both doing these seminars 21:58 for quite some time. 21:59 And then I expanded more into world view 22:02 as I went into teaching in college. 22:04 Actually I shouldn't say this, I admit this on camera 22:08 but I envy the opportunity you've had to study 22:13 because I know even in just preparing for 22:16 when I go out to do an evangelistic series, 22:20 in preparing and looking at, 22:23 you know, the little research that I've done. 22:26 I have seen so many times 22:29 that where the sciences like archaeology 22:33 have been disproven, 22:35 and I think you actually had an example of that 22:37 when I mentioned that earlier in the green room 22:39 with the camels. 22:41 Yeah, that's ready under my dissertation doctorate 22:45 is a colleague, in a sense, in this greater, 22:48 he teaches at the Andrews Theological Seminary 22:51 and he teaches the class. 22:52 Tell us that story real quickly? 22:53 But tell that story. 22:55 Dr. Younker is the director 22:56 of the Horn Archaeological Museum 22:58 in Michigan, 23:00 and I actually produced a film about it, 23:05 it was fabulously fun to film. 23:07 We filmed in Jordan and we were in Petra, 23:11 I actually got into Petra when I was... 23:15 I believe the only, at least the only visitor there. 23:18 There may have been some better one around or something 23:20 but I was the only... 23:21 It was wonderful to do this thing 23:23 and out in Wadi Rum there. 23:25 And so but the question that we were looking at 23:27 was this claim that the Bible must not be true 23:32 because it talks about Abraham having camels 23:38 and the people at that time having camels. 23:41 The idea is or was among archeologists, 23:46 that camels were not domesticated 23:49 at that particular point in history. 23:51 So therefore, Abraham could not have had them, 23:54 and therefore the Bible isn't true. 23:57 These are stories that were perhaps modified 24:00 passed on over the eons 24:02 and maybe they were written down some time 24:03 not that long before the time of Christ. 24:06 So that's, that was the challenge there. 24:11 Dr. Younker found what is considered to be the... 24:15 I mean, at least I would consider it to be 24:17 the gold standard when it comes to archeology. 24:21 A whole set of data 24:24 that all point toward the domestication of camels, 24:28 and specifically what he found 24:30 on the Sinai Peninsula 24:35 there, out in the desert were petroglyphs, 24:38 petroglyphs of these images 24:39 that people were putting into rocks at the time. 24:42 So petroglyph showing an individual leading camels, 24:47 so there's a man leading a camel train 24:50 and right there associated with the petroglyph 24:53 is the name of a pharaoh, 24:56 like the pharaoh's signature you can almost think of. 25:00 The name of the pharaoh 25:01 and we know exactly when that pharaoh lived. 25:05 It happens to have been around the time of Abraham. 25:08 So there's a man leading camels 25:10 associated with this very datable thing, 25:12 but in addition to that, 25:14 this is in an archaeological context 25:17 to do with mining in that area, 25:20 that is all consistent with the time of Abraham. 25:24 And then you can look at other things 25:26 like the patina on these petroglyphs. 25:31 It's the same on the pharaoh's name 25:34 as it is on the camels 25:39 and the man leading the camels. 25:41 It's all the same, it all matches up 25:43 and it all points towards domesticated camels 25:46 at the time of Abraham. 25:49 And of course, being a professional archaeologist 25:52 Dr. Younker has published this in the professional 25:56 peer reviewed archeological literature 26:00 demonstrating that at least that particular challenge 26:04 to the history that's recorded in Scripture 26:08 and that is what Scripture is. 26:09 At least in one sense, a record of history 26:13 that has proven to be extraordinarily accurate. 26:17 Yeah, I know we need to get on to our topic 26:19 but I just think of how long, 26:21 how many hundreds of years 26:23 archaeologists were saying David didn't exist. 26:26 And, you know, just recently when was that, 26:28 12 years ago or not even that long ago? 26:31 But just recently they have found proof of David 26:36 and so it's something... 26:38 I've actually seen that. 26:39 It's so real, it's so exciting to see. 26:42 I've been to the place 26:44 where they discovered it there in Israel, 26:45 what an incredible thing, yeah. 26:47 Yeah. It's extremely exciting. 26:50 It goes into the idea of we all are looking at life 26:54 and trying to make sense of it 26:55 and support our world view, 26:57 and this is saying you know what? 26:58 We're not crazy if we believe this Bible says these things 27:01 it happened when they did, with who they did. 27:03 We're finding more and more evidence 27:05 to make our faith reasonable. 27:07 Absolutely. 27:08 And gives us more assurance in our walk, 27:10 in our orientation of who we are 27:12 and why we exist in the first place, 27:14 which gets back to creation or our creator. 27:17 That's one of the things that excites me 27:19 about Christianity in general. 27:21 Christianity isn't some sort of 27:23 theoretical airy fairy myth based religion. 27:28 Christianity is about real things 27:32 that really happened over the course of history, 27:35 real things that will happen in the future. 27:39 It's not a sort of philosophical construct 27:43 about the way things should be or shouldn't be or... 27:46 it's real, it's tangible. 27:49 It's about stuff that you can touch and feel 27:51 and maybe because I'm a scientist that excites me. 27:56 Personally, I think that should excite everybody 27:58 because there's one thing to have 28:01 a philosophy or a theory, 28:03 but when you have real proof of the truth 28:09 as you said the veracity of the Scripture. 28:11 And when we see all of these prophetic timelines 28:15 and the different prophecies that have been fulfilled, 28:20 it gives us such great hope, 28:23 and I don't mean hope like, oh, wishy-washy hope. 28:26 I mean it gives us an eager expectation 28:29 that God's word is going to happen 28:32 just as he has said it happen. 28:35 He is the God who sees the end from the beginning, 28:37 He is the creator of all things and, you know... 28:41 He's the rock of our salvation. 28:42 The rock of our salvation. 28:44 I love it. It's so solid. Amen. 28:47 It's so solid. 28:48 Jesus Christ is our Creator. 28:50 He really did create us. 28:54 And, you know, when you look back at the sin 28:57 and then the fall of Satan, 29:00 you think about the question that Satan raised 29:04 was does God really have the authority 29:11 to rule over His created beings? 29:14 I mean, I have no doubt 29:15 that Satan believes in God as creator, 29:17 but he challenged God's authority. 29:19 Now as Seventh-day Adventists, 29:21 we believe in the authority of God. 29:24 We find it, we want to get to the Ten Commandments. 29:27 We find this scripture, 29:30 the fourth commandment in Exodus 20, 29:33 we find the very imprint of God in this scripture. 29:37 I'm going to let you, Tim, read that for us 29:41 because we are a commandment keeping people 29:45 because we do believe in God. 29:48 And not only is He our creator, 29:51 but He's the one who recreates us 29:53 in the image of Jesus. 29:55 Yeah. 29:56 I know that you shouldn't have favorites 29:58 when it comes to the commandments, 29:59 but the fourth commandment is such a beautiful thing. 30:03 I'll read it from the King James Version 30:05 because it's the most beautiful English translation 30:08 but it says here, "Remember, 30:12 remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 30:15 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 30:19 But the seventh day 30:20 is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: 30:23 in it thou shalt not do any work, 30:26 thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, 30:29 thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, 30:31 nor thy cattle." 30:33 Not even animals to work. 30:36 God gives rest to everybody, the creator brings us rest. 30:41 "Nor the stranger that is within thy gates for." 30:45 And it explains why, 30:47 "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 30:51 the sea, and all that is in them 30:54 and rested on the seventh day: 30:58 wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, 30:59 and hallowed it." 31:01 What I really appreciate about it, 31:02 it goes not only into his power and authority 31:06 by just the sheer right of what he has able to do. 31:10 It says he keeps it, 31:12 He invites us to keep it with... 31:14 it also there is in this commandment is also 31:19 a hinting toward the character of the one who can do this. 31:23 And He invites us into sharing time with Him 31:27 that He is set apart. 31:28 And He says, "Keep the date with Me. 31:31 I want to enter more fully with you on this day. 31:34 I'm going to meet you. 31:35 I'm going to spend time with you. 31:37 We're going to relish life together that I made." 31:41 And this is the day that He promises 31:43 rest from the ordinary, 31:46 from the life that as usual to bring it up a notch, 31:50 so to speak rhythmically. 31:52 This is the kind of God He is, 31:54 it speaks not only to His ability 31:56 but to His character. 31:57 He invites us all to just enter into it, 32:00 and then you go into the Deuteronomy version of it 32:02 and it tells us, not only can I... 32:05 I want you to keep it, I'm your keeper 32:07 who sustains you and cares about a world that is fallen. 32:12 Amen. I'm going to redeem it. 32:14 I'm going to deliver you, and so it talks of deliverance, 32:18 and He's the savior of this world 32:20 He already has made. 32:22 And so God doesn't look at this world 32:25 that is suffering through like we began the program 32:28 with the hurricanes and the disasters, 32:31 and looks kind of absent mindedly 32:33 sitting back one so day a week. 32:35 He is actively according to Jesus' own 32:38 illustrations of Sabbath keeping, 32:40 trying to redeem, and heal, and restore the brokenness. 32:44 Even now, He wants to make sure 32:47 that He's not indifferent to the suffering of this world. 32:50 He is its keeper and its maker, 32:52 that's the kind of being we worship as a creator. 32:55 You know, I think of 1 John 4:16 32:57 where John wrote, 32:59 "We have come to believe and know 33:02 that God loves us." 33:03 You know, for God is love. 33:05 We know this love that God has for us, 33:07 God is love and those who abide in love, 33:10 abide in Him, and He in them. 33:12 I grew up having a love affair with Jesus Christ 33:16 because I knew He died for me, 33:17 but I was "I grew up in a denomination 33:20 that was considered a New Testament church." 33:22 So my view of the Father was that He was ready to just, 33:29 you know, He was just watching me 33:30 ready to zap me when I made a mistake. 33:33 And it was the Sabbath that changed that 33:37 because one of my favorite scriptures 33:39 on the Sabbath is Exodus 31:13 where he says, 33:43 "The Sabbath is a sign that I am the God 33:47 who sanctifies you." 33:48 In other words, 33:50 it's all by grace even obedience, 33:51 God is going to work in us 33:53 to will and to do His good pleasure, 33:55 and He doesn't ask us to earn our salvation. 33:58 So if you are watching this program and you think, 34:01 how can those people be talking about the Sabbath 34:03 because that's legalism. 34:05 No, that's total freedom in Christ and we've got... 34:10 It's all about relationship. 34:12 And we're going to talk about celebrating a creation Sabbath. 34:16 That's right. 34:18 In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 34:20 obviously, every Sabbath we are remembering 34:26 the God is our creator and our redeemer. 34:30 I mean, if He wasn't our creator, 34:32 how could He redeem us? 34:33 How could He promise us a new creation? 34:36 How could He promise to make us new creatures, 34:39 if He didn't do it in the first place? 34:41 That's right. 34:43 But it does turn out 34:45 that we actually in our church calendar 34:48 have a special creation Sabbath, 34:51 it's at the end of October every year. 34:54 And it's not just for us, 34:56 anybody can celebrate this beautiful thing with us, 35:01 any Seventh-day Adventist church could do. 35:02 Hey, you know what? 35:04 Any other denomination, 35:05 any church is more than welcome 35:07 to celebrate this absolutely wonderful thing. 35:12 And, you know, this business of the, 35:17 you know, somehow out of the law, 35:20 the Ten Commandments 35:21 being done away with at the cross 35:24 it's such an unfortunate thing. 35:26 One of the things you mentioned Exodus 31, 35:29 and what jumped to mind there for me 35:31 was that actually the fourth commandment 35:32 is repeated there. 35:35 And I want to draw your attention to verse... 35:38 to verse 17... 35:42 no, verse 16. 35:43 We'll start there at Exodus 31, it says, 35:46 "Wherefore the children of Israel 35:48 shall keep the Sabbath, 35:50 to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, 35:54 for a perpetual covenant." 35:58 A perpetual covenant, forever, forever, 36:02 that's what perpetual means. 36:04 Jesus Christ dying on the cross 36:07 made us all children of Abraham and... 36:11 Absolutely. 36:12 You know, sons of the promise. 36:15 And this is the covenant, this is it, 36:18 what kind of God is this any way? 36:20 This is a God who gives us... 36:22 Who says, "Worship Me by resting." 36:26 Amen. What kind of God is that? 36:28 Other gods don't do that. 36:29 They demand things, 36:30 they want your stuff, they want your... 36:32 You have to earn your way too. 36:34 You got to make him happy. 36:36 It's grace in the most, 36:39 it just, it leaves you breathless, doesn't it? 36:41 It does. It's a beautiful thing. 36:42 So I am proud to be part of a denomination 36:46 that sets aside 36:47 creation Sabbath every year 36:50 to absolutely refocus, 36:53 remind ourselves that God is our creator, 36:59 God is our redeemer, 37:02 God is beyond our imagination, 37:07 we can never plum the depths of what's there, 37:09 that was what was going on there. 37:11 I love Ecclesiastes 3:11 as well, 37:17 and my favorite bit is the bit at the end there were it says, 37:20 "It is forever." We'll never know everything. 37:24 The depts. Yeah. 37:26 There's always going to be something new to find out, 37:28 something fascinating, 37:30 something beautiful that's there for us 37:33 that God's been there, He's infinite, 37:36 He's ahead of us with this. 37:38 And always will be. Yes. 37:40 It's just the most wonderful thing. 37:42 And sometimes you meet people 37:43 who believe they know everything already, 37:46 what a terrible state to be here, 37:47 and how horrible to be stuck in a room with them. 37:52 How wonderful Christianity is with Jesus Christ 37:56 our creator and redeemer at the center, 37:59 and that is where creation Sabbath comes from. 38:03 This desire to worship 38:08 and just re-embrace, 38:11 re-remind ourselves once again at this 38:13 profound beautiful liberating truth. 38:17 And now you have created a resource 38:21 that we want to make sure we have time to show you. 38:24 Our time is flying, 38:26 but tell us about this resource and what is it titled? 38:31 It's entitled "The Hole", 38:33 and I think it doesn't really take a lot of explanation, 38:36 it's for anybody who wants to share 38:39 about creation Sabbath or the creation in general, 38:42 anybody is welcome to use this resource. 38:47 You can share it on Facebook, 38:48 you can point to your friends to it. 38:50 Social media is a great way of sharing it. 38:53 It's short, it's only five minutes, 38:55 and it is centered on the gospel. 38:57 Let's look at it. Amen. Let's do. 39:08 There is a hole in the universe 39:10 and it threatens each of us with its destructive power. 39:21 I'm not talking about 39:22 the mysterious black hole in the center of our galaxy 39:25 that devours everything around it 39:27 in the whirlpool of gravity. 39:30 Or the supervoid, a cold barren cavern in space, 39:34 so massive it drains energy 39:37 from any light that passes through. 39:40 No, this hole so potentially dangerous 39:44 is located much closer to home. 39:48 For deep within every human heart, 39:50 there is a spiritual void and a haunting emptiness 39:54 that breeds anxiety, discouragement, fear, 39:58 and an unquenched longing for true happiness and purpose. 40:04 The philosopher Pascal called it the infinite abyss, 40:09 and it's a vacuum we try to fill 40:11 in a thousand different ways. 40:20 We race through life in frantic pursuit 40:22 of material possessions, financial security, 40:25 meaningful jobs, entertainment, personal recognition, 40:29 and escape from the pain and struggles of everyday life. 40:34 But each of these attempts is at best a temporary fix, 40:39 for the hole in our hearts 40:40 can never be permanently satisfied 40:43 by any created thing. 40:49 Two thousand years ago, 40:51 God entered the world to fill the hole forever. 40:56 His solution, a death and resurrection 40:59 with the power to transform our lives. 41:04 Now that's a difficult concept to grasp, 41:06 but maybe this will help. 41:09 In the original Greek of the New Testament, 41:12 the word for transformation is metamorphose. 41:17 It is the root of the English word 41:19 metamorphosis, 41:21 the term used for an extraordinary event 41:23 that occurs in nature. 41:29 A caterpillar earthbound, painfully slow, 41:33 and virtually blind 41:35 inches its way through life for a few short weeks 41:39 then encases itself within a chrysalis. 41:43 Here inside a paper thin shell 41:46 the caterpillar's body is broken down cell by cell. 41:50 This is no death wish, 41:53 instead, the insects deconstruction 41:55 is the gateway to an entirely new way of living. 42:05 In a matter of days, 42:06 the biological structure of the caterpillar 42:08 is completely rearranged 42:11 and the results are breathtaking. 42:23 This incredible change is a metaphor 42:26 for an even greater transformation 42:29 God can perform in each of us, 42:32 the metamorphosis of our heart, mind, and spirit. 42:37 Just consider His promises to anyone 42:40 who turns from sin 42:41 and accepts His gift of salvation. 42:47 And the Lord said, 42:48 "Look, I am making everything new. 42:52 I will replace your heart of stone 42:54 with a heart that is sensitive to me. 42:57 I will renew your mind 42:59 and give you a future filled with hope. 43:02 Come, you who are weary and I will give rest. 43:08 For I know your hardships and care about your sufferings. 43:13 I will be your safe place in times of trial. 43:18 I will forgive your sins and remember them no more. 43:23 In this world, 43:25 you will have trouble but take heart. 43:29 I have overcome the world." 43:59 You know, now that was advertising 44:02 at the end next year, 44:03 but this year it's October the... 44:05 October 28th this year in 2017 is Creation Sabbath 44:10 and there will be churches around the world. 44:14 Pretty much anywhere, anybody is watching this, 44:16 if you can find a Seventh-day Adventist church, 44:18 you should find people celebrating creation. 44:21 Give a call and ask them what they're doing. 44:24 And, you know, if maybe you live in an area 44:26 and you're saying, you may even be 44:28 a Seventh-day Adventist and say, 44:29 I haven't heard of this, 44:31 they've been doing that since what, 2009? 44:32 2009, yes. 44:34 If your church hasn't yet participated in this, 44:38 then this is something that first it. 44:40 That's an incredible resource that we just saw, 44:42 what a beautiful and inspiring film. 44:45 And you can get this, you can download it, 44:49 you can post it to the web, and you do... 44:52 How do we... The easiest way to get this? 44:54 I think the easiest way 44:55 is probably to go to creationsabbath.net. 44:59 No spaces or anything, just creationsabbath.net 45:03 and it will be there readily available for you 45:07 to use in any way that you see fit. 45:10 So I want to encourage you to get this resource 45:14 and start using it. 45:16 We want to get it out before October 28th. 45:19 So start using this, put it on your Facebook page. 45:25 You can talk about it on Twitter 45:26 and send people somewhere to see it. 45:28 Get it up on your YouTube, 45:30 whatever, get this resource out there 45:32 because this is a message. 45:34 Even if somebody isn't coming to church for Creation Sabbath, 45:37 it's a message that makes people realize, 45:40 "Yes, there is a hole in my heart. 45:42 Yes, this is the infinite abyss 45:44 that I can't find anything to fill." 45:47 And it points them 45:48 in the direction of Jesus Christ. 45:50 So I really want to encourage you. 45:52 Now I know that you worked on this project, 45:55 but who was it that put together 45:58 such a beautiful pics for you? 46:00 I want to give huge credit to Lad Allen and Jerry Harnad. 46:06 These guys are the, I believe 46:09 the most fabulous Christian filmmakers living today. 46:13 They're incredible. 46:14 And I'll just give this particular example here. 46:17 This is a film called metamorphosis. 46:20 If you, if anybody who's interested 46:22 in design and beauty in nature 46:26 can purchase this film. 46:28 It's available on Amazon.com 46:30 or you can go to illustramedia.com 46:32 and get it there. 46:34 It's readily available. 46:35 And it is beautiful talking about the design 46:37 and the miracle that goes on during that metamorphosis. 46:42 It's gorgeous. 46:45 And it's filmed in 46:47 lots of interesting different places, 46:48 it talks about more of that, 46:49 this incredible migration that these... 46:52 And this metamorphosis when we think of Romans 12:2 46:56 where God talks about the transformation, 46:59 how He's going to renew our mind and transform us. 47:02 This is the word metamorphose in the Greek 47:05 and this is all about 47:08 the caterpillar to the butterfly stage, right? 47:11 Yes. It's gorgeous. 47:12 So you have several here, you've got Metamorphose, 47:16 Living Waters and then One on Flight with Jesus. 47:20 In that particular big one 47:21 we've got the more collected together, 47:23 we call them the design of life collection. 47:25 And that's illustra, i-l-l-u-s-t-r-a media. 47:30 Yes. Okay. 47:32 We have just a few short minutes. 47:34 You've got something else 47:35 that you are working on a new film, tell us about it? 47:41 Oh, yeah, there's always something new in the works. 47:45 Before Creation Sabbath, 47:46 this year we're going to be releasing one 47:48 in this series we call Seeking Understanding. 47:51 And I should tell you, any of these ones 47:53 like the one that we talked about 47:54 earlier about Dr. Randy Younker, 47:57 these are all available 47:58 at the Geoscience Research Institute website. 48:02 It's just grisda.org. 48:06 Anyone can go there and watch these for free. 48:11 The new one that we're going to release 48:13 is about a scientist named Isabel de Moraes, 48:18 wonderful, amazing woman of incredible personal story. 48:22 She studies the molecular make up of proteins 48:26 that are found in cell surfaces. 48:29 It's breathtaking. 48:31 As a scientist, when I looked at what she was doing, 48:34 when I initially I heard about it, 48:35 my first thought was, "No, that's impossible." 48:39 It's amazing, she does this work inside 48:42 a gigantic synchrotron 48:45 just outside of Oxford in Britain. 48:47 Her personal story growing up in a family 48:50 where Christ was not honored 48:52 and her experience being 48:57 physically handicapped as well, 49:00 and the way that God used her. 49:02 Here she is one of the leading scientists in the world, 49:06 she looks at these proteins and sees creation. 49:10 But this is done in such a way 49:12 that not only would it appeal to a scientific mind, 49:15 but it is going to appeal to the average person. 49:19 These videos that have been produced, 49:22 you know, when we talk, I want to encourage 49:23 all the pastors Adventist pastors 49:25 who may not have given this creation Sabbath 49:28 enough impetus. 49:29 I want them to think about planning the entire, 49:32 not just a day but the whole Sabbath. 49:34 Start on a Friday night, show these videos, 49:38 have a place where you can sit and show Living Waters, 49:41 and Metamorphosis, 49:43 and then and have discussions about 49:44 why people are where they are 49:46 and what they're going to do with their life. 49:50 What else do you want to talk about, 49:51 you know, it becomes a relationship starter 49:54 because in the end 49:55 God is all about those relationships 49:56 and He wants us to be able to find safe, 50:00 wonderful venues to contemplate grand realities. 50:03 And I think our churches can be the natural venue 50:06 to show these kinds of productions. 50:09 You can go on the website and download them, 50:11 it's very accessible, 50:12 and I just want to encourage people 50:14 to really engage in these kinds of ministries 50:18 and apply it to their life in this day and age 50:21 which is crying out for it. 50:23 Amen, and, John, I know you personally, 50:24 you told me earlier 50:26 that you use these frequently in your church. 50:28 And they have been very successful. 50:30 Well, we, kind of, just rush by that address while ago, 50:35 the internet for the geo... 50:38 Geoscience Research Institute. Yes. 50:41 But what we want to do now is put it up for you, 50:44 so that you can see how to get online 50:48 and get the information. 50:50 Or perhaps you have other reasons 50:53 that you might like to contact them. 50:56 Here's how you can get in touch with them. 51:00 If you'd like to learn more about 51:01 the Geoscience Research Institute, 51:04 you can visit them online at grisda.org. 51:10 That's grisda.org. 51:14 You can also give them a call at area 909-558-4548. 51:20 That's 909-558-4548. 51:25 Or you can write to them at 11060 Campus Street, 51:29 Loma Linda, California 92350. 51:33 That's 11060 Campus Street, 51:36 Loma Linda, California 92350. 51:47 Not only can you go to their website 51:50 and look at these, 51:51 you can get some questions answered on their website, 51:53 they've got an excellent website but you can... 51:56 You're also welcome to call 51:58 and Tim said he will give you his cell phone, maybe not. 52:02 But if you want to have someone come out to your church perhaps 52:07 and talk on Creation Science, 52:10 just take advantage 52:12 of the Geoscience Research Institute. 52:15 Well, right now, we've got to do with news break, 52:17 and then we'll come back for a closing thought. |
Revised 2017-10-16