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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:37 Welcome again to "Sabbath School Study Hour," coming to you here 00:40 from the Amazing Facts offices in Granite Bay, California. 00:43 I'd like to welcome our regular Sabbath School members that tune 00:45 in every week. 00:47 We know you tune in because we do get your letters and emails. 00:50 And we appreciate our faithful Sabbath School members not only 00:53 from our local Granite Bay church, but also those who are 00:56 joining us online as well as friends who are watching us on 00:58 the various television networks. 01:01 We are so glad that you've taken the time to spend some time in 01:04 God's Word with us as we study a very important lesson. 01:08 Now, this entire quarter we're focusing on the work 01:10 of evangelism. 01:12 Our lesson quarterly is entitled "Making Friends for God," and 01:16 today we're getting to the very heart of evangelism. 01:19 And that's lesson number seven entitled "Sharing the Word." 01:23 There is power in the Word of God. 01:25 So lesson number seven, "Sharing the Word." 01:27 Well, before we get to our study, we'd like to tell you 01:30 about a free offer that we have, one of Amazing Facts' 01:33 sharing books. 01:35 It's entitled "Alone in the Crowd," and we'll be happy to 01:37 send this to anyone in North America. 01:39 If you'd like to receive this in your mail, just give us a call. 01:42 The number is 866-788-3966 and ask for the free offer 01:47 number 714. 01:49 That number again is 866-788-3966. 01:54 Ask for offer number 714 and you'll receive that in the mail 01:59 in a few days. 02:01 If you'd like to receive this free offer right now, you can 02:04 text the code SH004 to the number 40544 for a digital 02:11 download of the book. 02:14 Again, text the code SH004 to the number 40544. 02:20 And you'll get a link where you'll be able to download and 02:23 read the book, "Alone in the Crowd." 02:26 And I think you'll receive a rich blessing as you see what 02:28 the Bible says about us as Christians needing to stand upon 02:31 the Word of God irrespective of what might be happening in our 02:34 culture around us. 02:37 But before we get to our study, as we always do, let's begin 02:39 with a word of prayer. 02:41 Dear Father in heaven, we thank You once again that we're able 02:43 to gather together. 02:46 I know that we are gathering together in various homes and 02:48 scattered across the country, some by themselves to study 02:51 the Word. 02:53 And, Lord, we are grateful that Your Holy Spirit is not limited 02:56 by place or time, but You are everywhere speaking to 02:58 our hearts. 03:01 We recognize that the Bible is Your book. 03:02 And so we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, show us how we can 03:05 share the Word with our friends, our neighbors, family members to 03:08 draw them into a closer relationship with You. 03:11 So bless our time today. 03:13 We ask this in Jesus' name. 03:15 Amen. 03:17 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us by 03:19 Pastor Doug. 03:22 Doug Batchelor: Thank you, Pastor Ross. 03:23 I was sitting there thinking that maybe somebody was going 03:25 to--we're going to roll in some special music or something. 03:29 And since that didn't happen, I'll just sing right now. 03:34 I did that to scare the studio. 03:36 Actually, I'm not going to sing. 03:39 I'll leave you all in anxious expectation for another day. 03:41 But sometimes we roll in some music, and we like to try and do 03:45 that when we can. 03:48 We're continuing with our lesson that's dealing with the subject 03:50 of making friends for God. 03:53 And as Pastor Ross mentioned, today we're talking about the 03:55 lesson that deals with sharing the Word. 03:59 And we have a memory verse, and the memory verse is from Isaiah 04:04 55, verse 11; Isaiah 55, verse 11, which reads, "So shall My 04:11 Word be that goes forth from My mouth." 04:15 Now, if you're watching, you're supposed to be saying this along 04:16 with me. 04:18 So let's try it again. 04:20 Isaiah 55, verse 11, "So shall My Word be that goes forth from 04:22 My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it will accomplish 04:26 that which I please and it will prosper in the thing for which I 04:30 sent it." 04:32 I almost wish they'd also included the first part of that 04:34 verse because it's describing that as the rains and the snow 04:38 come down from heaven, it always greens up the earth. 04:43 It produces fruit. 04:46 It makes the change, and that's how it is with the Word of God. 04:48 Whenever the Word of God is spoken or proclaimed or shared 04:51 or studied, there's something that transforms. 04:55 It's got power in it. 04:57 And so we're going to be talking about a number of different 04:59 aspects of sharing the Word. 05:02 First part of the lesson we're sort of talking about some of 05:04 the symbols and what it means to share the Word, and then later 05:07 on we'll talk a little more specifically about sharing 05:10 the Word. 05:11 But in our first section, we're looking at what are some of the 05:14 symbols for the Word of God in the Word of God, and there's 05:19 quite a few of them. 05:20 I don't even think we're covering the whole list of them, 05:23 but one that's very obvious. 05:25 It tells us in Psalm 119, verse 105. 05:28 Now, do you know what that is if I wasn't to share that verse 05:31 with you? 05:33 Light. 05:35 You can read that there. 05:37 Psalm 119, verse 105, "Your Word is like a lamp to my feet and 05:39 like a light to my path." 05:42 You know, when you're in darkness and you don't know 05:44 where you're going, a little bit of light can make a big 05:46 difference, and we are living in a dark world. 05:51 You know, the Bible tells us that--quite literally the world 05:54 is darker now than it used to be, but spiritually it's dark. 05:58 The Bible tells us in Isaiah gross darkness covers the land 06:02 and covers the people, but in the darkness a light has shone, 06:06 speaking of even in Galilee, and just a little light makes a 06:12 big difference. 06:13 I think I read in heaven--Isaiah also says that the moon in 06:17 heaven will be seven times brighter than it is now, or the 06:21 moon will be as bright as the sun and the sun will be seven 06:23 times brighter. 06:24 So everything's going to be brighter in that world. 06:27 And when you hear the testimony of those who have been caught 06:30 off into vision and they come back to this world, they say it 06:32 seems so dark compared to the glories of heaven. 06:36 And so in this dark world, the lamp is the Word of God that 06:40 illuminates us. 06:42 Now, you'll notice that when we're talking about some of the 06:44 different symbols or metaphors that you use for the Bible, many 06:47 of them are synonymous with Jesus. 06:50 The Bible is called the light, Jesus is called the light. 06:53 In a moment we'll talk about the Bible is the Word or the bread; 06:57 Jesus is the bread. 06:59 The Bible is the Word, Jesus is the Word that became flesh. 07:03 And so a lot of these symbols for the Word of God are also 07:06 symbols for Christ because he was the embodiment of the Word 07:09 of God. 07:12 I remember a few years ago--I've actually done this twice, where 07:16 I went into a cavern. 07:18 And I remember on one occasion I was doing a camp meeting back on 07:21 the East Coast and they had signs everywhere that said, 07:23 "Endless Caverns, Endless Caverns." 07:26 And I thought--well, the signs were everywhere. 07:28 I just--it piqued my curiosity and I thought, "Well, I'm going 07:30 to see if I can go." 07:32 But I happen to get there as the last tourists were coming out 07:36 and they said, "You know, it closes in 20 minutes. 07:40 There's really not time for a full tour." 07:42 And I seemed so disappointed. 07:44 I said, "Look, I'm from California." 07:46 "Oh, come back tomorrow." 07:48 I said, "I'm flying home." 07:49 And they said, "Well, you can't come all this way and not see 07:51 Endless Caverns." 07:52 So one of the students there who was volunteering as a tour guide 07:54 said, "I'll take you on a quick tour." 07:57 So she took me down into the caverns and was showing me 07:59 different things, and it was very impressive. 08:01 By the way, it's not endless, but it sounds good 08:03 for advertising. 08:06 So she took me to this one big chamber that was just gorgeous 08:09 and she said, "You want to do something fun?" 08:11 I said, "Yeah." 08:13 She said, "I'm going to turn off all the lights. 08:15 You got to stand still because some people get freaked out and 08:17 they start trying to run and they trip and fall into one of 08:20 the little pools or something." 08:21 I said, "No problem." 08:23 So she turned off lights, and it is what you would call 08:25 perfect darkness. 08:27 You know, if you get deep enough in space, they say they have 08:29 absolute zero. 08:31 Well, this was absolute darkness. 08:34 And, you know, you could not tell when your eyes were opened 08:38 or you closed your eyes. 08:40 You just couldn't tell the difference because it was all 08:41 absolutely dark. 08:44 And I remember Karen and I were going through Hezekiah's Tunnel 08:46 in Israel a few years ago with couple of other friends and we 08:49 turned off our lights, our phones and, wow, that's what you 08:52 call pitch black and--but then I did a little experiment. 08:57 I've got one of these. 08:59 I always use Casio watches. 09:01 I buy the cheap ones not because I'm humbled, but because I'm 09:03 rough and I'm breaking them all the time. 09:06 And so--but it's got a little light in it, and I thought, "I 09:10 wonder," And I turned on the light from my little watch. 09:14 It lit up the whole room. 09:16 My eyes had become so accustomed to the darkness that this little 09:19 light of a watch was enough to actually help you find your 09:22 way out. 09:25 A little light makes a big difference in the darkness, and 09:27 the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. 09:32 You know the story of Gideon. 09:35 How did 300 soldiers with Gideon overcome the Amalekites and the 09:40 Midianites and the people of the East? 09:42 There were multiplied, hundreds of thousands of them. 09:45 Well, it says they had pitchers and in the pitchers were lamps, 09:49 and then they broke the pitchers and the light shone out. 09:55 And then they blew their trumpets, another symbol for the 09:58 Word of God, and they said the sword of the Lord in Gideon--the 10:01 sword is a number--another symbol for the Word of God we'll 10:03 get to in a moment. 10:06 And through these broken pitchers, the light was shining 10:09 and it terrified the enemy, thought they were surrounded, 10:13 but--that little bit of light of those 300 men, it sent the 10:17 enemy running. 10:19 "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." 10:22 The Bible is a lamp, it's a light. 10:24 You know, in the Bible, it tells the story. 10:26 Jesus has the parable of a woman that has ten pieces of silver 10:30 and she loses one. 10:32 These are precious silver coins that maybe she received as a 10:35 wedding dowry. 10:37 So they've also got some emotional value. 10:39 And she gets a broom and she lights a lamp and searches 10:44 the house. 10:46 That lamp is the Word of God. 10:47 Proverbs 6:23. 10:50 I'm looking forward to when we can be meeting again with our 10:52 class and I can be giving out Scriptures that people can read 10:55 with us. 10:57 Proverbs 6:23, "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is 11:01 a light." 11:04 And you can read in 2 Peter 1, verse 19, "And so we have the 11:07 prophetic Word confirmed, which you do well to take heed to as a 11:12 light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and 11:17 the morning star arises in your heart." 11:20 Many times in the Bible, the Word of God is compared to light 11:24 so people can find their way to heaven, and you are supposed to 11:28 be a light. 11:30 It's like I read about Gideon. 11:32 You know, we are broken pitchers. 11:34 We come to Christ and we fall on the rock, and we are broken and 11:37 the light shines out at that point. 11:40 And then--and Jesus in the temple, they had three pieces of 11:45 furniture in the first compartment. 11:48 They had the bread, the altar of incense, and then they had 11:51 the light. 11:53 Not only is Jesus the light of the world, but he says you are 11:55 the light of the world. 11:57 All right, another symbol for the Word of God that we find, 11:59 another metaphor is fire. 12:02 You can read one verse that bears this out here in Jeremiah 12:05 23, verse 29. 12:08 "'Is not My Word like fire,' says the Lord, 'and like a 12:12 hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces?'" 12:15 Well, maybe we'll get to the hammer part later, but He says, 12:17 "My Word is like fire." 12:20 Why is the Word of God sometimes compared to fire? 12:23 Well, fire is--for one thing, fire is also light, you know. 12:26 Many times fire produces light, and LED lights really made quite 12:32 a wave because almost all light produces heat. 12:37 I guess all light does produce heat, but some light produces 12:39 more heat than others. 12:41 LED light produces actually very little heat and a lot of light, 12:44 and that's why it was such an amazing invention. 12:47 But fire is also light, but fire also has a purging influence. 12:52 If you want to refine gold, it takes fire to do that. 12:56 Fire is something that is used to purify, and farmers would 13:02 also use fire--often use it to burn up the stubble, get their 13:06 fields ready for planting. 13:09 If you want to get rid of garbage--one of the things Karen 13:12 and I do up in the hills that we enjoy is we burn brush. 13:17 You get a big pile of slash or brush and you want to clear your 13:19 land, boy, nothing works quite like fire. 13:22 Now, we wait until the wintertime and all the ground 13:24 around it is wet, but you can clear up a lot of garbage by 13:28 starting a fire, and it just seems to have a 13:30 purifying influence. 13:33 And so this is something that the Word of God does in us. 13:35 It's a purging, a purifying influence. 13:39 You can also read in Jeremiah chapter 5, verse 14, "Therefore 13:43 thus says the Lord God of hosts, 'Because you speak this Word, 13:47 behold I will make My words in your mouth fire and the people 13:52 the wood, and it will devour them.'" 13:56 Well, fire is not only something that's nice that 13:58 warms you. 14:01 We were just camping up in Alaska and it was very cold 14:03 outside, and it was so nice to get by a warm fire. 14:06 It was very soothing, but you don't want to fall in the fire 14:09 'cause fire can burn. 14:12 And he says, "My Word in this sense would be like a fire, fire 14:15 in My mouth, and the people wood, and it will devour them." 14:20 Now, when the Lord comes, the Bible says He'll send forth the 14:23 breath of His mouth. 14:25 It will consume the wicked; but for the righteous, they're able 14:27 to endure that. 14:29 You read the story about how the soldiers that threw Shadrach, 14:32 Meshach, and Abednego; Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, threw them 14:37 in the fiery furnace. 14:40 It killed the soldiers, but it did not hurt the three 14:42 Hebrew worthies. 14:45 And in the same way, when Jesus comes, that fire that purges the 14:47 world, it's not going to hurt the people of God or the city 14:50 of God. 14:52 But fire is a--when the Lord brought the children of Israel 14:56 out of Egypt, He led them with a pillar of fire. 15:02 And that fire was threatening to the Egyptians that were 15:04 attacking them, but it was illuminating for the Israelites. 15:08 God's Word is illumination. 15:12 It is also warmth and comfort. 15:13 It is like a fire. 15:15 It is also convicting. 15:18 The Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost the Word of God 15:20 came on the apostles in special power as tongues of--what is it? 15:24 Fire. 15:27 And so you can also read in Malachi chapter 3:3, "He will 15:32 sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and He will purify 15:37 the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they 15:42 may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." 15:46 And then Peter says, "Do not be amazed at the fiery trials that 15:49 try you as though some strange thing has happened to you, but 15:53 know that this trying of your faith is more--makes it more 15:56 precious than gold." 15:58 So, friends, sometimes the Word of God, you read something, it 16:01 convicts us. 16:03 It's like a fire that will--we'll read it and we'll 16:05 go, "Ouch." 16:06 And it--but it has a purging influence to it. 16:08 Some other symbols for the Word of God. 16:10 I won't spend all my time on this part, but it is my favorite 16:12 part 'cause I like looking at some of the Bible analogies. 16:17 The Bible is compared to seed and bread. 16:21 Luke 8--in the parable of the man who is sowing the seed in 16:24 Luke 8, verse 11. 16:26 You also find it in Matthew. 16:28 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God." 16:31 You know, all through the time of the Bible, God has been 16:36 spreading the seeds of His Word, and that goes all the way back 16:40 to Adam and Eve. 16:42 And God, He's been sowing the seed and the seed has been 16:45 sprouting; not all of it sprouts. 16:48 You know the parable of the sower. 16:50 Sometimes a seed falls on bad ground, sometimes it's on the 16:52 path and the ravens snatch it away, sometimes it falls amongst 16:54 the thorns and they grow up and they choke it, but sometimes the 16:58 seed falls on good ground and it's the right nutrients and it 17:02 flourishes and it's--produces a lot. 17:05 So why is the seed also a symbol for the Word? 17:09 Well, that seed grows and it feeds. 17:13 That's why you also have it being a symbol for bread. 17:16 Now, bread could be made from different kinds of seed. 17:19 You know, corn bread. 17:20 You can have wheat bread, you could have rye bread. 17:22 Principally, in the Bible they grew a type of primitive wheat. 17:26 Wheat's been highly processed, even our corn today, from what 17:28 they had back then, and barley was a bread that was sort of the 17:32 poor people's bread. 17:34 They often gave that to the animals in their grain, but it 17:37 was life-sustaining. 17:40 Jesus said, "Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every Word." 17:43 So that bread is the Word of God, and I think it's 17:47 interesting that Jesus was the bread of life. 17:51 He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 17:54 We don't know what Jesus looked like, but we know what he said. 17:56 It's his word that is nourishing. 17:59 And in the same way that you should eat food every day, you 18:02 eat the bread of life every day. 18:05 And I'm getting ahead in my analogies here. 18:08 Also, Jesus was the bread of life and he was born in what? 18:13 Bethlehem. 18:15 What does Bethlehem mean? 18:17 House of bread. 18:19 And after Jesus, the bread of life, was born in the house of 18:21 bread, Mary wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and placed him 18:23 in a manger. 18:25 What's a manger? 18:27 Manger is a trough for bread. 18:28 So here you have the bread of life, born in the house of 18:30 bread, placed in a bread trough where they held the grain. 18:34 You read in Matthew chapter 24, it talks about signs of 18:37 Christ coming. 18:40 Says two women grinding at the mill. 18:42 What are they grinding? 18:43 Well, they're grinding out the seed and making bread. 18:46 And what does a woman represent? 18:47 A church. 18:49 You got two kinds of churches in the world, the true and 18:51 the false. 18:52 That's all there is. 18:54 If it's not true, it's false. 18:55 But they're working with the bread. 18:57 A lot of churches claim the Bible, but they misapplied or 18:58 they twist it. 19:00 So bread of life is a very important analogy. 19:04 And Bible says, "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than 19:08 my necessary food." 19:10 That's the book of Job. 19:12 I think Jeremiah says, "I found His words and I did eat them." 19:15 And so we need to eat the bread of life. 19:19 And then another analogy for the Word of God is a sword. 19:26 Now, when you go through the armor of God that you find in 19:28 Ephesians chapter 6, you'll notice that most of the 19:32 implements of armor are there for defense. 19:36 You've got the breastplate of righteousness. 19:39 You don't really run up and hit anybody with your breastplate. 19:41 It's to defend your vital organs. 19:44 And you've got the gospel shoes so you can have traction. 19:47 You've got the helmet of salvation so you don't get 19:49 clunked on the head with a sword or a rock. 19:52 It doesn't take you out. 19:54 And you've got the shield of faith. 19:56 Again, largely it's a defensive piece of armor. 19:59 But then it says you've got the sword of God's Spirit, and you 20:02 read about this in Ephesians 6:17. 20:05 "And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." 20:08 Because the Word of God is not just offensive. 20:11 You could use a sword to defend, but the Word of God 20:13 is offensive. 20:15 We go forth conquering and to conquer. 20:18 In Revelation chapter 1, Jesus appears and he's got a 20:21 double-edged sword coming from his mouth. 20:24 Do we really think that in heaven Jesus is going to walk 20:26 around with a big metal sword sticking out of his mouth? 20:30 I would think that'd be difficult to speak like that. 20:33 Obviously, it's a symbol for the Word of God was in his mouth. 20:36 You can read in Hebrews chapter 4, "The Word of God is quick 20:40 and powerful." 20:42 This is Hebrews 4, verse 12. 20:44 "It is living and powerful and sharper than any 20:46 two-edged sword." 20:48 Why two edges? 20:50 Two in the Bible is a symbol for the dual nature of the Word 20:52 of God. 20:54 Ten Commandments were written on two tables of stone. 20:57 The Bible tells us last chapter in the Old Testament, "Remember 21:01 the law of Moses my servant. 21:03 Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet." 21:06 Sometimes it's a summary for the law and the prophets is the Word 21:10 of God. 21:12 When Jesus rose from the dead, he taught the disciples the law 21:13 and the prophets that showed that he was the Messiah. 21:18 So Hebrews it tells us there in 4:12, "Quick and powerful, 21:22 sharper than any two-edged sword." 21:25 Two edges. 21:27 Old Testament, New Testament; Ten Commandments, two stones; 21:31 the two witnesses of Revelation, Moses and Elijah, the law and 21:35 the prophets. 21:37 It's the dual nature of the Word of God. 21:40 And one reason you have two edges is because you could use 21:42 the sword that way and--on the backward and the forward thrust. 21:47 It was nice having a two-edged sword because you didn't just 21:49 get to hack in one direction. 21:52 It worked both ways. 21:55 The Word of God both is offensive and it is also 21:57 convicting when we apply it to ourselves. 22:00 We may use it to defend us from the temptations of the devil 22:03 just like Jesus did in Revelation 19. 22:07 Not only in Revelation 1, in Revelation 19, Jesus is coming. 22:10 On his thigh it says that the Word of God, but in his mouth 22:14 again it is pictured a sword coming out of his mouth. 22:18 So the Word of God is a sword. 22:21 And one of the most important implements--if you are a soldier 22:23 and you had to lose all the other parts of the armor, you'd 22:26 probably want to hang on to your sword. 22:29 And so it's crucial that we know this. 22:33 Now, not only many pastors but many members, if they don't have 22:38 their swords, it's hard to resist temptation. 22:41 So you need to become well acquainted. 22:44 A sword really only does you good if you are familiar with 22:46 it, if you understand what its point of balance is, if your arm 22:50 is strong enough to swing it because you practiced with it. 22:54 And so with any tool, it goes a long way through practice. 22:57 You need to be familiar with it. 22:59 You need to keep it sharp. 23:02 Solomon says that if the axe is sharpened, it requires 23:04 less labor. 23:07 I think that's Ecclesiastes and I'm doing a paraphrase there, 23:10 but how do we keep it sharp? 23:13 Well, sharpened through use, Paul says in Hebrews. 23:17 And so we continue to use it and we stay sharp. 23:20 All right. 23:22 And then one more analogy, and there's several more I could 23:24 give, but the Word of God is compared to a rock. 23:26 In Matthew chapter--and I know some of these are not in your 23:28 lesson, but I got carried away. 23:30 Matthew chapter 7, verse 24, "Therefore whoever hears these 23:33 sayings of Mine and does them, I liken him to a wise man who 23:37 builds his house on," what? 23:39 The rock, a solid rock. 23:42 You know, if you're building a house and you're on sandy ground 23:44 but you know that there's good bedrock down there, don't build 23:46 on the sand. 23:48 Go down until you hit the rock. 23:51 I remember when we were doing the Net 99 program over 20 years 23:54 ago in New York City, that right across the street from the 23:58 Manhattan Center the whole time we did this series they were 24:01 doing construction across the street and dynamite was going 24:04 off in downtown Manhattan. 24:07 You think they wouldn't allow that. 24:09 But the only way that they could get deep enough into the bedrock 24:12 of Manhattan to build this other skyscraper, they had to go down 24:16 where it looked like they were going eight stories down into 24:19 the ground. 24:21 They were blasting with dynamite. 24:23 They'd put all the dynamite there and then they'd put this 24:25 metal grate over it so when the dynamite went over--off, it 24:27 would not blow rocks out onto the street and--but we'd be 24:30 working along and I would hear kaboom and all the windows would 24:33 shake, but the only way they could build in New York. 24:36 And the reason they're able to build so high in New York City 24:39 is New York City is not a swamp like New Orleans. 24:42 New York City is a rock. 24:45 And so they get down to the bedrock and they can build up to 24:48 great heights there because it's got that good foundation. 24:52 In Luke, Jesus said, "The wise man not only builds on the 24:54 rock," it says, "He digs deep and then he builds on the rock." 24:59 Well, the rock is God's Word. 25:01 It is the foundation for all that we believe. 25:05 Ten Commandments are written on stone because they are 25:08 unchanging in nature. 25:11 They are dependable. 25:13 When David brought down Goliath, he used a rock. 25:16 It's interesting he actually picked five stones because the 25:19 five books of the law, the Torah, is often identified 25:24 as five. 25:27 And Peter says Jesus is called the cornerstone. 25:30 And in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 8 it says, "We are coming to a 25:33 stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for the world, but for 25:40 us he is the cornerstone." 25:43 Matthew 21, verse 44, "Whoever falls on this stone will be 25:46 broken, but on whomsoever it falls it will grind him 25:49 to powder." 25:51 We read the Word and we're convicted, we repent of our 25:53 sins, we are falling on the rock of Jesus and we are 25:55 brokenhearted, we're converted. 25:58 But if we do not, in the judgment it falls on us. 26:02 Says so do--and so keep as those who will be judged by the law 26:07 of liberty. 26:09 And if we obey it, it's salvation. 26:11 If we don't obey it, we will be judged by every word. 26:15 And so the Word of God is compared to a rock. 26:18 All right, well, I spent plenty of time on that. 26:20 We're going to move on to the next section, the creative power 26:24 of God's Word. 26:26 The Word of God brings things into existence. 26:30 In the beginning, God said, "Let there be light. 26:34 Let there be a firmament. 26:36 Let there be," God's said it, and by His Word these things 26:40 came into existence. 26:42 "Let there be vegetation. 26:44 Let there be birds in the air and fish in the sea. 26:46 Let there be animals on the land." 26:48 And ultimately, He made man in His own image. 26:50 Now, God didn't speak man into existence. 26:53 God formed man, but He spoke all the other things in the 26:57 environment and the other animals into existence. 27:00 And, you know, there's scientists that struggle 27:01 with that. 27:03 How can that happen? 27:05 How can you speak something into existence? 27:07 Well, you know what some of these same evolutionary 27:09 scientists are coming up with now? 27:12 They believe in something called string theory. 27:15 There may be some truth to this string theory, is that basically 27:19 all matter in the universe is actually made up of super 27:23 microscopic strings of vibrating energy. 27:28 There--it is sound. 27:30 Now think about that. 27:32 All life comes from vibrating matter-producing sound. 27:38 Well, God said and it was. 27:41 I mean, that's--they are ending up back where the Bible starts. 27:45 String theory. 27:47 All life comes through sound. 27:50 And so you read in first--I'm sorry, John chapter 1, verse 1 27:53 through 3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 27:58 God, and the Word was God. 28:02 He was in the beginning with God. 28:04 All things were made through Him." 28:06 All things were made through the Word. 28:08 Now, the Word is Christ, but Christ spoke and it was done. 28:12 "And without Him, nothing that was made was made." 28:16 Now, I gotta pause right here and say something to our friends 28:18 that struggle with the idea that Jesus is eternal. 28:24 You know, some people deny the Trinity and they deny the 28:26 eternal existence of the Son. 28:29 They think the son at some point was brought into existence. 28:32 They say, "Well, he was begotten." 28:34 Well, if he wasn't, then he was. 28:36 He was created. 28:38 But in order for all things to be made by the Son, He had to 28:40 always exist. 28:43 If the Father created the Son, then He didn't create 28:45 all things. 28:47 So Jesus is not a creature; He is a Creator. 28:50 Big difference. 28:52 And so it says that He spoke and it was done, 28:55 the creative power of God's Word. 28:58 And by the way, God's Word still creates today. 29:01 I love that story in the Bible where it tells us that a leper 29:03 came to Christ, and the leper said, he was full of leprosy, 29:08 "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 29:11 And Jesus reached out and touched him, and he said, "I am 29:13 willing, be clean." 29:16 And the very power when God said, "Be clean," he 29:20 became clean. 29:22 It's like when that widow--that woman reached out. 29:25 She had an issue of blood for 12 years. 29:28 He said, "Be cleansed of your infirmity." 29:31 God spoke it and it happened. 29:33 And so there's creative power in the Word of God. 29:35 Hebrews 1, verse 1 through 3, "In the beginning was 29:39 the Word--" 29:41 No, I'm sorry. 29:43 "God who had various times," This is the Hebrew chapter 1, 29:45 verse 1. 29:47 "God who had various times and in various ways spoken time 29:49 passed to the fathers by the prophets, He has in these last 29:52 days spoken to us by His Son whom He's appointed heir of all 29:57 things and," notice, "through whom also He made the worlds." 30:03 That's also interesting because He didn't just make the world, 30:05 He made worlds. 30:07 Plural. 30:09 The unfallen worlds. 30:11 "Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of 30:14 His person, a perfect reflection of the Father, and upholding all 30:18 things by the word of His power. 30:22 When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the 30:24 right hand of the majesty on high." 30:27 Again, it tells us He made the worlds, that through His Word of 30:31 His power these things were brought into existence. 30:35 You read in Psalm 33, verse 6, "By the word of the heavens--by 30:41 the Word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and all the 30:44 hosts of them by the breath of His mouth." 30:47 So we were made by the breath. 30:50 God breathed into Adam the breath of life, but He spoke the 30:52 other things into existence. 30:54 Go to Psalm 33, verse 9. 30:58 Same chapter. 31:01 "For He spoke and it was done. 31:03 He commanded and it stood fast." 31:05 God speaks and things happen. 31:08 Now, I want to pause before I read any more on this subject 31:10 just to tell you how this is applicable to our lives today. 31:14 Is there still creative power in the Word of God? 31:17 So if you are sharing the Word with others, friends, I can't 31:20 explain how it happens. 31:23 But as you're preaching and proclaiming and reading the Word 31:26 of God and listening to the Word of God with others, creative 31:31 things happen. 31:33 Just like when the rain comes down, it does not return void. 31:36 Things are brought into existence by the Word of God. 31:39 And one of the few things that I enjoy--there are a few things I 31:42 enjoy more than giving a Bible study to somebody and watching 31:45 the light come on for the first time and you see that glint of 31:49 inspiration, they're going, "Aha, wow." 31:53 And you just see the Word is creating new life in them. 31:56 So the Word has that creative power, and don't 32:00 ever underestimate. 32:02 You know, I sometimes get a little exasperated. 32:05 I listen to different preachers all the time sometimes on radio 32:08 or television and sometimes in our church and other churches, 32:16 and I'll hear a pastor and he'll share one little verse. 32:20 Now, there's creative power in one verse, but then he kind of 32:23 dedicates the rest of his time in the pulpit to sort of 32:27 personal pontification on what's happening with politics or his 32:32 own, you know, anecdotes and stories and--you know, you start 32:36 getting away from the power. 32:38 I think we'd be better off if preachers would get up and read 32:40 a chapter of the Bible and sit down than just read an 32:43 itty-bitty verse--not that there's no power in that verse, 32:46 but then just to ramble on. 32:49 Now, I don't mind if you've got a Spurgeon preacher. 32:52 He'll read a verse and then he'll do expository preaching on 32:55 that verse. 32:57 He'll take that verse and he'll break it down, but he's all in 32:59 the Word at that point. 33:01 He's not sharing his opinions. 33:03 But really all preaching and Bible study needs to be 33:05 Word-centered 'cause that's where the creative power 33:07 happens, people come to life by listening to the Word. 33:12 I like listening to Family Radio. 33:15 I don't always like all of the preaching and the music, but 33:20 they have part of the program every day where they just read 33:22 the Bible. 33:25 And I get a blessing just by listening to the Word of God 33:28 being read, and the Lord speaks to me. 33:31 And sometimes it's comforting and sometimes it's convicting. 33:34 Sometimes it's a light, sometimes it's a hammer. 33:37 Sometimes it's a fire, but there's--it's creative power. 33:41 Things change through the proclamation of the Word. 33:45 Often you'll see the Holy Spirit fell while Peter was preaching. 33:50 The Holy Spirit works together with the Word in that way. 33:54 We talked about that during an earlier lesson. 33:56 Okay, Hebrews 11:3. 33:58 I already read Hebrews 1, look at Hebrews 11. 34:00 "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word 34:03 of God. 34:05 So the things that are seen are not made from things that 34:08 are visible." 34:10 God speaks and He brings into existence. 34:13 From nothing He can create. 34:16 I think it was Martin Luther that said that before God can 34:19 remake you, you must become nothing. 34:21 God makes from nothing. 34:23 So until you become nothing, He can do nothing with you. 34:26 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 5, "For of this they are willfully 34:30 ignorant or they forget that by the Word of God the heavens were 34:35 of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water." 34:41 The Word of God brings life, and the Word of God brings new life. 34:46 That's where the new birth comes from. 34:49 It's when Jesus, the Word of God, was preaching the Word of 34:50 God to Nicodemus, he began to experience that new birth. 34:54 And unless you're born of the water and the Spirit, you cannot 34:56 enter the kingdom of heaven. 34:58 That birth happens in the crucible of the proclamation of 35:02 the Word of God. 35:04 All right, I got a quote here. 35:06 It's in your lesson from the book, "Education." 35:08 This is written by E.G. White. 35:10 Page 126, "The creative energy that called the worlds into 35:13 existence is in the Word of God. 35:17 This Word imparts power. 35:19 It begets life. 35:22 Every command is a promise accepted by the will and 35:24 received into the soul. 35:25 It brings with it the life of the infinite one. 35:29 It transforms the nature. 35:31 It recreates the soul in the image of God." 35:34 Wow. 35:36 The Word of God as you're listening is vitality and power 35:39 to it, it's creative. 35:41 All right, some of the other benefits of studying the Word of 35:43 God, let's go into that department for a moment. 35:46 Romans chapter 10, verse 17. 35:49 Now, let me just set the table for this verse. 35:53 Without faith it is impossible to please God. 35:55 You cannot be saved without faith. 35:58 How do you get faith? 36:01 Romans 10:17, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word 36:05 of God." 36:07 You know, one of the first things a good evangelist might 36:09 do is when you do an evangelistic meeting you preach 36:13 on prophecy. 36:15 Why do evangelists preach on prophecy? 36:19 Because when people hear Daniel 2, for example, how God foretold 36:23 thousands of years in advance the history of the kingdoms of 36:27 the world and everything happened right on 36:30 schedule--while you're hearing that, something transforms. 36:34 Your faith grows. 36:37 Faith comes by hearing. 36:40 And the more that we see that the Word of God is true, the 36:42 more our faith in the Word grows, more that our faith in 36:44 God grows. 36:46 And so as you listen to the Word, you get more faith. 36:49 People say, "I need more faith. 36:50 I just don't have any faith." 36:52 Well, go to the Bible. 36:54 Read the Bible, and faith comes from that. 36:57 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 22, "Since you have purified your 37:00 souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere 37:04 love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure 37:08 heart; having been born again not of corruptible seed, but 37:12 incorruptible through the Word of God." 37:15 How are you born again? 37:17 Through the Word of God. 37:19 So what's one of the benefits of reading the Word, sharing 37:20 the Word? 37:22 People experience the new birth. 37:24 I've seen it happen so many times. 37:26 Somewhere--you never know when it's going to happen, but 37:28 somewhere along the way in studying the Word with people, a 37:30 transformation begins to take place. 37:32 And like the birth of a baby, it may not happen in a moment. 37:35 It might take 9 months, but they're being reformed. 37:40 Peter says that they're, "Having been born again through the Word 37:45 of God that lives and abides forever." 37:48 It is a living Word inside them. 37:51 Now go to 2 Peter 1, verse 4. 37:54 He says, "By which have been given to us exceeding great and 37:56 precious promises that through these you might become partakers 38:00 of--having become partakers of the divine nature, having 38:07 escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 38:10 Through the promises of God, he gives us power that we might 38:13 escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. 38:16 Through the Word of God, that Jesus resisted every temptation. 38:21 I'm talking about that in my sermon following 38:23 this presentation. 38:26 You look in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 26, "That He might 38:30 sanctify and cleanse her," speaking of His people, His 38:33 church, "with the washing of water by the Word." 38:38 There is a sanctifying cleansing influence of the Word. 38:41 As you read the Word, it transforms, it cleanses us, it 38:44 convicts us, which has a cleansing influence. 38:47 It can have us turn away. 38:50 We're just guided by the Word of God. 38:53 "That He might present to Himself a church that is holy 38:55 and without blemish." 38:57 James 1:21, "There aside--therefore, lay aside all 39:01 filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with 39:04 meekness the implanted Word which is able to save 39:09 your souls." 39:10 So, you know, friends, I think if people understood how 39:13 important the Word of God was in the life of a Christian, the 39:15 Word of God can save your soul. 39:18 It is through--Jesus spoke to the thief dying on the cross. 39:21 He believed the promise of Christ. 39:23 It saved his soul. 39:25 It was through the Word of Christ his soul was saved. 39:28 We need to be reading and studying the Word of Christ; and 39:31 not only 'cause we want to be saved, but we want God to save 39:34 others through us and that happens through the Word. 39:39 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all with unveiled face beholding as 39:43 in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed," 39:47 notice, "into the same image from glory to glory just as by 39:51 the Spirit of the Lord." 39:54 As we're looking at the face of Christ reflected through His 39:57 Word, it has a transformational influence on us. 40:01 By beholding, we become changed. 40:03 So if I said, do you want to be like Jesus, behold Jesus, 40:05 which direction do you look to behold Jesus? 40:08 Well, you could see him somewhat in the things of nature, you 40:12 might see him reflected in the life of another believer, but 40:15 the best place you're going to see is in the Word of God. 40:18 The Word is called a mirror, but here is a mirror where we look 40:21 in and we see a reflection of Christ in His Word. 40:25 It's kind of like taking a mirror and aiming it up at the 40:27 heavens and you see Jesus reflected in His Word, and you 40:32 are transformed by beholding him into the same image. 40:36 Acts 20, verse 32, "So now, brethren, I commend you--I 40:41 commend you to God into the word of His grace that is able to 40:46 build you up and give you an inheritance among those who 40:49 are sanctified." 40:51 I love this one. 40:53 The word sanctifies, the word edifies--that's what build 40:55 up means. 40:58 An edifice is a building because it's something built up. 41:00 If you say it in Spanish, it's edificio. 41:03 It means the Word of God builds us up, and it gives you 41:04 an inheritance. 41:06 So it saves, it builds up, it sanctifies. 41:09 All comes through the Word of His grace, meaning the Word of 41:13 God and the gospel that you read. 41:16 Look in John 17:14. 41:18 This is a great verse from the Lord Himself. 41:20 John 17:14, and I'll read through verse 19. 41:24 "I've given them your Word, and as--in the world has hated them 41:28 because they're not of the world just as I'm not of the world. 41:31 I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but 41:34 that you should keep them from the evil one." 41:37 How does that happen? 41:39 "They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. 41:41 Sanctify them by your truth. 41:45 Your Word is truth." 41:48 You ever wondered if the Bible is true? 41:50 Well, you got to decide, do you believe in Jesus? 41:53 Jesus says the Bible is true, and we can believe that it is 41:57 all true because Christ said so. 42:00 "Your Word is truth, and it also has a sanctifying influence 42:03 on us. 42:05 As you sent me into the world, I've also sent them into 42:07 the world. 42:09 For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they may also be 42:12 sanctified by the truth." 42:16 Continuing to read and walk in the Word of God, we are 42:20 transformed, we are purified. 42:22 That's how you become a saint, through the Word. 42:25 The Bible speaks of the redeemed as saints. 42:27 Well, believe in the promises of God, we accept them by faith, we 42:30 are sanctified. 42:32 2 Timothy 3:15, "And that from childhood--" 42:37 You all know this verse. 42:39 "And from childhood you have known the holy Scriptures that 42:41 are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which 42:45 is in Christ Jesus. 42:47 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is 42:50 profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 42:54 instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be 42:57 complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work." 43:01 Wow, there's a lot there. 43:03 We're talking about what some of the benefits of the Word of 43:04 God are. 43:06 Well, it says it's there to benefit us and corrects us. 43:09 It instructs us. 43:11 It inspires us. 43:13 It is profitable for doctrine. 43:16 It makes us wise for salvation. 43:18 I can stop right here and do a whole sermon just on this 43:20 one verse. 43:22 And so look at how much we're missing. 43:23 Makes me want to read my Bible more even as I read 43:25 these things. 43:26 All right, last section here--oh, I got two more 43:28 sections, and I got 6 more minutes. 43:31 Applying the Word of God. 43:33 Romans 8, verse 32, "He who did not spare His own Son but 43:36 delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with him also 43:40 freely give us all things?" 43:43 Through the promises that are in the Word of God, we know that 43:45 God is going to give us everything that we need to 43:48 be saved. 43:50 The Bible promises, why would God go through all that He went 43:51 through to send His son if He wasn't going to give us 43:55 everything we need to be saved? 43:57 The whole desire of the plan of salvation is to save us. 44:01 So God has supplied everything we need for salvation. 44:04 Most of that comes through the message which you find in 44:06 the Bible. 44:08 Matthew 13:58, and it says in this passage, "He did not--" 44:14 Jesus, "Did not many works there," this is in Nazareth, 44:17 "because of their unbelief." 44:19 And so we must not only read the Bible, but it doesn't come alive 44:23 unless we believe the promises. 44:25 You need to stand on those promises. 44:27 Ephesians 3, verse 20, "Now to Him who is able to do 44:30 exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according 44:35 to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by 44:39 Jesus Christ to all generations forever and ever." 44:43 I love this promise. 44:45 He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all, but we 44:48 must ask. 44:50 He's able to do that for us. 44:52 What a wonderful promise. 44:55 1 John 1, verse 7, "But if we walk in the light as He is in 44:58 the light," so it's not just the light of God's Word. 45:00 You need to read it and then walk in it. 45:03 A lot of people look at the light; they don't walk in 45:04 the light. 45:07 "We have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus 45:09 Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 45:13 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth 45:16 is not in us. 45:18 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us 45:21 our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 45:25 So one of the things we learn from this is how to 45:27 apply the Word. 45:29 Don't just read it, walk in it. 45:31 You know, if you just look at the sun, you'll burn your eyes. 45:33 The sun is not for looking at, the light of the sun is for 45:35 walking in. 45:37 It's great if you're walking in the light. 45:39 Just staring at the light doesn't do you any good. 45:41 It'll actually hurt you. 45:43 And then the last section is sharing the Word. 45:45 Acts 4, verse 20, "For we cannot but speak the things that we 45:51 have seen and heard." 45:53 I remember reading in the Book of Job, and I should have looked 45:55 this up. 45:57 It just came to me now, and I don't remember the reference. 45:59 But after the three friends of Job get done talking, all of a 46:01 sudden a fourth character appears. 46:03 He had evidently kind of crept up and been listening to the 46:05 discourse between Job and his three friends, and I think his 46:08 name is Eliphaz. 46:11 And he finally says, "Look, I've listened. 46:14 You're older than me and so I held my peace, but I'm like 46:17 carbonated wine that's ready to burst the skins. 46:19 I've just got to speak. 46:21 How can I keep it inside? 46:23 I just can't keep the truth." 46:25 It's like Paul said, "Woe to me if I preach not Christ." 46:27 They could never bottle him up. 46:29 Paul just--he was constantly ready to erupt with truth. 46:32 And if you've been saved and you've got the good news in your 46:34 heart, you can't keep it to yourself. 46:37 You just always desiring and burning and you feel bursting 46:41 with the desire to share with others. 46:46 He says, "We cannot but speak the things that we've seen 46:48 and heard. 46:50 Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." 46:52 And if you've got the gospel in your heart, the mouth is going 46:54 to speak it. 46:56 If you're always talking about football, then you got football 46:58 in your heart. 47:00 If you spend all your time talking about airplanes or 47:02 automobiles, you've got cars and planes in your heart. 47:05 But if you can't help yourself but from talking about the 47:07 gospel, you've got Jesus in your heart. 47:10 In Romans 1, verse 14, Paul says, "I am a debtor both to the 47:15 Greeks and the barbarians, the wise and the unwise. 47:18 So as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who 47:21 are in Rome also, for I'm not ashamed to preach the 47:24 gospel--I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the 47:28 power of God to salvation." 47:31 In preaching the Word of God, power happens, things 47:35 are transformed. 47:38 "It's the power of God to salvation for everyone who 47:40 believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." 47:43 Because the Jews had all that historic background, they would 47:46 be the first to comprehend it. 47:49 And then of course the Great Commission. 47:51 It tells us Jesus says, "Go therefore and make disciples of 47:55 all nations, teaching them in the name of the Father and the 47:58 Son and the Holy Spirit--baptizing them," I 48:01 should say, "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 48:04 Spirit, teaching them," teaching them what? 48:06 "To do all the things I've commanded you." 48:08 Teaching the commands of God you're going to find in the Word 48:10 of God. 48:12 So we'd be sharing it. 48:14 This is the parting message of Jesus. 48:16 "Go teach the Word of God, baptize." 48:20 Isaiah 50, verse 4, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of 48:23 the learned, that I should know how to speak a Word in season to 48:26 him who is weary. 48:29 He awakens me in the morning by morning, he awakens me to hear 48:32 as the ear of the learned." 48:34 God is--wants us to speak to those who are willing to listen. 48:38 So it's not just to have the Word and to study the Word, we 48:40 need to be sharing the Word by our example, but don't be afraid 48:43 to do it physically or to verbally do it. 48:46 You know, and in closing, I'd like to read to you from--a 48:51 quote from--and this is page 259 by "The Life of Jesus." 48:58 "Tell it to others the blessed choose of His Word, and obeying 49:04 the words of Christ continue in His love. 49:06 Tell them how he urges us by love to bear to him to keep 49:11 His commandments. 49:13 He does this not to urge us to do impossible things, but 49:15 because he knows what it means to keep his 49:17 Father's commandments. 49:19 He wants every soul that hears his invitation to say the same 49:22 to others, to receive his richest gifts for he knows that 49:26 in keeping the commandments of God we are not brought into 49:29 servile bondage, but we are made free through the blood of 49:32 Jesus Christ." 49:34 We don't share the gospel to make life difficult for others; 49:37 we do it because we want to share the life that God has 49:39 given with us. 49:41 Want to remind you in closing, friends, we've got a special 49:44 offer that's free. 49:46 It's called "Alone in the Crowd," an encouraging book by 49:48 Joe Crews. 49:50 Talks about also the power of God's Word. 49:52 If you'd like a copy of this, you can call, if you're in North 49:54 America, 866-788-3966. 49:58 That's 866-STUDY-MORE, or you can text. 50:02 You can download it right now. 50:04 Text "SH004" to 40544. 50:10 And I think you can even download this right now from the 50:12 Amazing Facts' website under our free library. 50:14 God bless you, friends. 50:16 We've got more exciting studies in this quarter's study guide. 50:20 Look forward to sharing that with you again next week. 50:25 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 50:27 free resource. 50:29 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 50:31 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 50:34 mobile device. 50:35 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 50:38 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 50:42 shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital download 50:46 option on the request page. 50:49 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:51 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want and, most 50:55 important, to share it with others. 51:03 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 51:12 Kip Johnston: I was raised very spoiled, very lucky, 51:14 very blessed. 51:16 I was raised in the church, actually. 51:19 As a child, God was presented to me as vindictive, so it didn't 51:22 interest me very much. 51:25 When I got much older, I was told by a friend of mine that I 51:27 wasn't even a Christian. 51:30 I said, "I'm a good person, I don't steal, I don't cheat, 51:32 I don't kill." 51:34 And it was told to me that, "No. 51:36 In order to be a Christian, you must be born again." 51:38 The next day I went and appropriated a Bible. 51:41 I read the New Testament. 51:43 I just set the Bible down and said, "God, if you're real, deal 51:45 me in." 51:48 I went to a Christian college to study theology and about God. 51:51 But when I left college, I took a job selling Christian 51:54 literature and Bibles door to door and I went flat broke. 51:59 I stopped in to play poker in a place in LA. 52:02 I was an instant success. 52:05 My life became poker, and I got books and I read poker books. 52:07 I had my Bible in one hand and poker book on the other. 52:10 I was a Christian poker player. 52:11 I thought the Lord was blessing me. 52:14 The amount of money that I made playing poker was so big it 52:16 would scare you. 52:18 I was very self-indulgent. 52:20 I did not deny myself anything that I thought would make me 52:22 happy, but I was still empty. 52:25 I'd went to all the Christian churches, give them all a fair 52:27 shot, some of them 3 months, some of them 2 years. 52:31 Unimpressed, Saturday morning I happened to be traveling from 52:34 one poker place to another. 52:37 I just happened to have a little TV in my truck, and Doug 52:41 Batchelor came up on there and I was like, "This guy 52:43 makes sense." 52:45 I knew Doug Batchelor was in Sacramento. 52:46 So I came to meet him. 52:49 I told him, I said, "I am a Christian doing God's work, and 52:52 I make a living playing poker and I am giving away great 52:55 controversies to players. 52:57 I go to church and help the community, and don't tell me I'm 52:59 not doing much right." 53:01 And he said, "No, you got to get out of that casino, period." 53:06 I said, "I'm making good money." 53:08 And he says, "I know that you know what I'm telling you is 53:10 right," and I did. 53:13 I recognized through it all I wasn't happy. 53:18 I said, "Lord, my life is a disaster. 53:20 I'm selfish, I'm empty. 53:23 I've tried to do what You wanted me to do so many times and I've 53:26 always failed. 53:29 Why do I always fail? 53:31 Why do I always lose my way?" 53:36 And the Lord spoke to me, says, "You got to be involved. 53:42 You got to be involved in My work." 53:45 And that's when I said I need to dedicate my life fully to 53:48 God's work. 53:50 I, by the grace of God, and my wife, we went to India. 53:55 Until the Lord tells me otherwise, we're going to build 53:57 orphanages in India so that children can grow up and hear 54:01 about Jesus and they can go tell the 1.3 billion people in 54:04 their country. 54:07 God had a plan for me, and now I just want to be fully dedicated 54:11 to the Lord's cause. 54:15 I am Kip Johnston, and God used Amazing Facts to change my life. 54:23 ♪♪♪ 54:30 ♪♪♪ 54:41 Doug: Friends, are you afraid of heights? 54:43 If so, you might want to look away right now. 54:45 One of the most famous attractions in the San Francisco 54:47 Bay Area is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 54:51 While this world-famous bridge was named as one of the seven 54:54 wonders of the modern world, few people know the story of the 54:57 brave men who were involved in its construction and also known 55:01 as the Half Way to Hell Club. 55:04 Designed by a group of visionary engineers at 4,200 feet from end 55:08 to end, the Golden Gate Bridge was at one time the longest 55:11 suspension bridge in the world. 55:14 During its construction from 1933 to 1937, the Golden Gate 55:18 Bridge had one of the best safety construction records of 55:21 any project during that time. 55:23 Keep in mind, they would factor in and calculate that one man 55:26 would die for every million dollars that was spent. 55:30 So with a budget of $35 million, they knew that loss of life 55:33 would be unacceptable. 55:36 This is why the chief engineer, Joseph B. Strauss, 55:38 was absolutely adamant about using the most rigorous 55:41 safety precautions that had ever been used in bridge building. 55:44 He had a local manufacturer of safety equipment design special 55:47 headgear that he insisted be worn on every job. 55:51 This became the prototype for the modern hard hat worn for the 55:54 first time ever, but the safety precautions went even farther. 55:58 Strauss provided a special hand and face cream to protect the 56:01 skin from the cold, biting wind and glare-free goggles to 56:05 protect their eyes. 56:07 In addition, they also ate a special diet to help ward off 56:09 dizziness when they were working at those epic heights, but the 56:13 most conspicuous safety precaution was a gigantic net 56:16 that was suspended from end to end under the entire 56:19 construction area of the Golden Gate Bridge. 56:23 In fact, during construction, this net saved the lives of 19 56:27 men who later became known as the Half Way to Hell Club. 56:32 Now, you need to keep in mind these were some of the most 56:34 dangerous construction conditions you can imagine. 56:37 The wind was constantly blowing. 56:40 They were walking around on iron that sometimes had ice from the 56:43 freezing fog. 56:45 In places, they were over 700 feet above the icy waters. 56:50 Yet the men coming from all walks of life were willing to 56:52 take these risks because it was during the Great Depression and 56:56 they would get paid up to $11 a day, which was a fortune 56:59 back then. 57:01 One of the other benefits of the net was they discovered that the 57:04 men were much more courageous even though they're walking high 57:07 on those slippery surfaces because they knew there was a 57:10 mechanism to protect them if they should fall. 57:13 This gave them the confidence and the courage to press on and 57:16 get the bridge built in record time. 57:19 You know, friends, as Christians, we have a great work 57:21 to do. 57:23 The Bible tells us that we get to participate with Jesus in 57:25 building a bridge that connects heaven and earth, and there are 57:28 dangers along the way. 57:31 The devil would like to paralyze us with fear that we might fall 57:33 or make a mistake, but we know that Jesus has provided a safety 57:37 net for us and we don't have to be afraid. 57:39 We can press on with confidence because it promises in the Book 57:42 of Jude, verse 24 he is able to keep us from falling. 57:46 But sometimes we make mistakes. 57:48 Still, don't be discouraged, friends. 57:50 If you read in 1 John chapter 2, verse 1, the Bible says if we 57:54 fall, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 57:58 Jesus Christ. 57:59 So let's press on together and build that bridge with Christ. 58:03 ♪♪♪ 58:11 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-08-07