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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends, and welcome again to 00:38 "Sabbath School Study Hour" coming to you from Amazing Facts 00:41 offices in Granite Bay, California. 00:43 We'd like to welcome all of our regular Sabbath School members 00:46 who are joining us as well as those across the country and our 00:49 friends around the world that tune in every week to take a 00:52 look and study the lesson together. 00:55 So we've got a very important lesson that we're going to be 00:57 studying today. 00:59 It's lesson number eight in our series entitled "Making Friends 01:02 for God," and lesson number eight is "Ministering 01:05 Like Jesus." 01:07 So we're going to be looking at the example of Christ today, 01:09 learning some very important principles when it comes to 01:11 sharing our faith. 01:14 We do have a free offer we'd like to tell you about, a book 01:15 entitled "Is It Possible to Live without Sinning?" 01:19 It's got an intriguing title, and I'd highly recommend this. 01:22 If you'd like to receive a free book, the number to call is 01:25 866-788-3966 and just ask for offer number 187. 01:32 Again, that phone line is 866-788-3966. 01:37 Ask for offer number 187. 01:40 We'll be happy to send it to anyone here in North America. 01:43 If you're outside of North America, you can also still read 01:45 the book by simply texting the code SH040 to the number 40544 01:54 and we can send you a digital copy of the book. 01:57 Again, that number is SH040, and you want to text to the 02:03 number 40544. 02:07 And I think you'll be encouraged as you read the book, "Is It 02:09 Possible to Live without Sinning?" 02:12 And you'll see what the Bible has to say about this 02:13 important subject. 02:15 Well, before we get to our lesson today, we're going to 02:16 roll in a special musical item and, I think, you'll be blessed, 02:20 and then we'll get to our study. 02:24 ♪♪♪ 02:33 ♪ I need Thee every hour ♪ 02:39 ♪ Most gracious Lord ♪ 02:44 ♪ No tender voice like Thine ♪ 02:49 ♪ Can peace afford ♪ 02:55 ♪ I need Thee, O I need Thee ♪ 03:01 ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ 03:06 ♪ O bless me now, my Savior ♪ 03:12 ♪ I come to Thee ♪ 03:19 ♪ I need Thee every hour ♪ 03:25 ♪ Stay Thou nearby ♪ 03:30 ♪ Temptations lose their power ♪ 03:36 ♪ When Thou art nigh ♪ 03:41 ♪ I need Thee, O I need Thee ♪ 03:48 ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ 03:54 ♪ O bless me now, my Savior ♪ 04:00 ♪ I come to Thee ♪ 04:06 ♪ I need Thee every hour ♪ 04:13 ♪ In joy or pain ♪ 04:18 ♪ Come quickly and abide ♪ 04:24 ♪ Or life is vain ♪ 04:30 ♪ I need Thee, O I need Thee ♪ 04:37 ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ 04:42 ♪ O bless me now, my Savior ♪ 04:47 ♪ I come to Thee ♪ 04:55 ♪ I need Thee every hour ♪ 05:01 ♪ Teach me Thy will ♪ 05:07 ♪ And Thy which promises ♪ 05:12 ♪ In me fulfill ♪ 05:18 ♪ I need Thee, O I need Thee ♪ 05:25 ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ 05:30 ♪ O bless me now, my Savior ♪ 05:37 ♪ I come to Thee ♪ 05:52 Jean: Amen, well, thank you, Emma, for sharing that beautiful 05:54 hymn, "I Need Thee Every Hour," and indeed those words are so 05:58 true, we need Christ's Spirit. 06:02 We need his guidance every single hour, every single day, 06:04 especially when it comes to sharing our faith and being 06:07 involved in evangelism; and that's what our lesson is all 06:09 about today. 06:11 Well, before we get to our study, I invite you just to bow 06:13 your heads as we ask God's blessing to be with us. 06:16 Dear Father, we thank You that we're able to open up the Bible 06:18 and study a very important subject dealing with how Jesus 06:22 ministered to those around him and how we also, following his 06:25 example, can minister to our friends, our neighbors, those 06:29 that we come in contact with. 06:31 So, Lord, we ask for Your blessing. 06:34 Guard our hearts and our minds as we open Your Word in Jesus' 06:35 name, amen. 06:39 Well, our lesson today, lesson number eight in our Sabbath 06:41 School quarterly, it's entitled "Ministering Like Jesus." 06:44 And if you've been following along with us, we do have a 06:46 memory text, and you might have it right there in your 06:49 lesson quarterly. 06:51 The memory text is Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, and you can 06:54 say that with me. 06:57 Matthew 9:36 it says, "But when he," Jesus, "saw the multitude, 07:00 he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and 07:03 scattered like sheep having no shepherd." 07:08 We find that Jesus was genuinely care. 07:11 He cared about people, and he met their physical, mental, and 07:14 emotional needs. 07:16 Those that were around him, he was always reaching out. 07:19 Thus, he was opening their heart to minister to them 07:23 spiritual truths. 07:25 He was able to share with them the gospel. 07:28 Maybe you've heard it said before. 07:30 People don't care how much you know until they know how much 07:32 you care, and how true that is when it comes to evangelism. 07:36 Now, there is a very important statement that we find in the 07:39 book, "Ministry of Healing," and I think we've mentioned this 07:42 statement before. 07:44 It's on page 143, but it's kind of sort of be the springboard 07:47 for our study today. 07:49 "Ministry of Healing" page 143, and it's talking about Christ's 07:52 method of evangelism. 07:54 It says, "Christ's method alone will give true success in 07:57 reaching the people. 07:59 The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. 08:02 He showed his sympathy for them, he ministered to their needs and 08:05 won their confidence, then he bade them, 'Follow me.'" 08:11 Now, the first thing I want you to notice is that there is 08:13 one method of evangelism that brings true success, and that's 08:17 Christ's method. 08:20 So if we can find out what Jesus did to reach people around him 08:22 and we follow his example and his method for evangelism, well, 08:26 the promise is we will be successful. 08:29 What is it that Jesus did? 08:31 Well, the first thing we note here is that Jesus mingled 08:33 with men. 08:35 He was not aloof, he didn't keep himself at a distance, but he 08:37 got to know people. 08:39 He allowed people to approach him. 08:41 He visited with them, he talked to them, he ate with them. 08:43 Jesus engaged with people, he interacted with them. 08:47 So the first principle that we find when it comes to evangelism 08:49 is we need to be friendly. 08:52 We need to be approachable. 08:54 We need to reach out and engage with other people. 08:56 Secondly, we find that Jesus ministered to their needs. 09:00 Now, some of the needs that Jesus addressed were 09:01 social needs. 09:04 Sometimes it was emotional, sometimes physical; 09:06 ultimately spiritual. 09:09 Jesus always went that direction, wanting to bring them 09:10 the gospel and truth. 09:12 But Jesus ministered to their needs, and in doing so he won 09:15 their confidence so that he was able to share with them the way 09:20 of life, the keys for eternal life. 09:23 And I think that's important when it comes to our work 09:25 of evangelism. 09:27 We're ministering to the needs of people, we are getting to 09:29 know them, but the real goal is to win their confidence so that 09:32 they are willing to share with us a genuine concern or a need 09:35 that they have. 09:37 And in so doing, we can pray for them, we can minister to their 09:40 need, we can win their confidence so that they will be 09:43 open to hear what we have to say about Jesus our Savior. 09:47 So Jesus met the needs of people around him. 09:51 He was always interested in what people were doing, what they 09:55 were saying, what they were thinking. 09:58 He looked for examples and ways that he could minister to 10:02 whatever the needs are that he saw. 10:05 Now, we have some wonderful examples of this given in the 10:08 first few chapters of the Gospel of John, how Jesus ministered to 10:11 the needs of those around him. 10:14 You'll find in John chapter 2 Jesus ministering to a 10:16 social need. 10:19 Let me give you the background to the story. 10:21 This is just after the baptism of Christ. 10:23 Jesus and his first five disciples, they were invited to 10:26 a wedding in Cana of Galilee. 10:29 Now, John the Baptist was baptizing down in the southern 10:32 part, close to--in Judea, close to Jerusalem. 10:35 And so it was a fair journey for Jesus and his first five 10:39 disciples, which were Andrew, Peter, John, Philip, and 10:42 Nathaniel, to travel all the way up to Galilee, and they went to 10:46 a town called Cana. 10:48 We're not quite sure where that town is today, but there was a 10:50 wedding that was taking place and apparently the mother of 10:53 Jesus, who was involved in the preparations--apparently, it 10:56 could have been a relative or a close friend of the family, but 11:00 Jesus is there with the disciples. 11:03 And during the wedding, the Bible tells us they ran out 11:05 of wine. 11:07 Literally, the wine failed and the mother of Jesus came to 11:09 Christ and said, you know, "They've run out of wine." 11:12 And Jesus said, "Well, what do I have to do? 11:15 My hour is not yet come." 11:17 Maybe she was hoping that Jesus would perform a miracle, 11:19 proclaim himself as the Messiah. 11:21 Nevertheless, Jesus did meet that need. 11:23 There were six stone water jugs that were set to the side, used 11:26 for the purifying of the Jews. 11:28 And Jesus told the servants to fill the water jugs full of 11:30 water and then to draw out some of the water and take it to the 11:33 governor of the feast. 11:35 And somewhere in the process of drawing out the water, the water 11:38 became new wine or pure grape juice. 11:42 When the governor of the feast tasted the water that was turned 11:45 to grape juice or new wine, he marveled and he said, "Usually 11:48 people put the best first, but you have kept the best 11:51 until last." 11:54 So the first thing that we Jesus--we find Jesus when he 11:57 begins his public ministry, he ministers to a social need to 12:01 avoid embarrassment, and it also pronounces Christ's blessing 12:05 on marriage. 12:09 Well, the second need that we see Jesus meeting in the Gospel 12:12 of John is in John chapter 3, and that's the famous story of 12:16 Jesus and his night visit with Nicodemus. 12:19 And Nicodemus had a spiritual need that Jesus addressed, and 12:24 Jesus said, "Except you be born again, you cannot enter the 12:27 kingdom of heaven." 12:29 Nicodemus said, "How can a man be born again when he's old?" 12:31 Jesus began to explain the process of new birth, and those 12:35 seeds of truth that were planted in the heart, in the mind of 12:38 Nicodemus that night eventually grew and bore great fruit, 12:42 especially after the resurrection of Christ when 12:45 Nicodemus used his resources to help the fledgling Christian 12:49 church and he himself also boldly claimed to be a follower 12:53 of Christ. 12:56 The next need that we find Jesus meeting in John chapter 4 is an 12:59 emotional need, and in this story we find Jesus and his 13:02 disciples traveling up to Galilee once again. 13:05 And they're going through the area known as Samaria, and at 13:08 Jacob's Well Jesus meets a woman who has an emotional need. 13:13 As you get into the story, you'll find out that she had 13:16 been married six times and the person that she was living with 13:19 was not her husband, and yet she had a longing for meaning and 13:22 purpose in her life. 13:25 She had an emotional need. 13:27 She wanted to belong, and Jesus opened up the truths of real joy 13:31 and peace and longing and she was encouraged. 13:35 Matter of fact, she went--she told everyone in the village, "I 13:38 have found the man, the Messiah." 13:40 She was the first--one of the first missionaries that took 13:43 the gospel. 13:45 So in John 4, we find Jesus meeting an emotional need. 13:48 In John 5, we find Jesus meeting a physical need, and this is the 13:51 story of a man who had been laying for 38 years, the 13:57 paralytic that was laying by the pool of Bethesda. 14:00 And Jesus came on a Sabbath and said to him, "Do you want to be 14:02 made well?" 14:04 And the man said, "I have no one to carry me and put me in the 14:06 water when the water is troubled." 14:08 And Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk." 14:10 And the man was healed immediately. 14:12 So in those first few chapters of the Gospel of John, we get a 14:15 taste of the ministry that Jesus was doing, meeting the spiritual 14:19 need, the physical, the emotional. 14:22 Jesus ministered to those--the emotional need, those that were 14:25 around him. 14:28 So that was Christ's attitude. 14:30 We can see Christ's attitude in ministering to people. 14:33 Now on Sunday, the lesson is actually entitled "Jesus's 14:36 Attitude towards People," and Jesus always looked for the good 14:39 in others. 14:41 He drew out the best in them. 14:44 One of the criticisms that the religious leaders gave of Christ 14:47 is that he receives sinners and he eats with them. 14:50 Now, they were concerned because he interacted with the ungodly. 14:55 They were surprised when Jesus himself said, "For I did not 14:58 come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." 15:02 Jesus spoke of himself as coming to seek and save the lost. 15:06 That was his mission; that needs to be our mission. 15:10 In Matthew chapter 5, verse 13 we read, Jesus speaking, "You 15:15 are the salt of the earth. 15:17 But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it 15:20 be seasoned? 15:22 It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled 15:25 underfoot by man." 15:27 So Jesus likens the believer, the Christian to being the salt 15:30 of the earth. 15:32 Salt back in Bible times, in the ancient world, was extremely 15:36 valuable, a lot more valuable than today. 15:39 Even Roman soldiers were often paid by salt, and that's where 15:45 the word salary comes from. 15:47 It comes from being paid by salt. 15:49 Salt was used to preserve food. 15:52 It was also used for flavoring. 15:55 Now, the true wealth in the world--today the salt is 15:58 committed Christians, those who love God and those who are 16:01 willing to make His gospel known to those around them. 16:04 Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." 16:08 But if we lose that spirit of evangelism, if we lose the love 16:11 of souls, if we lose our commitment to Christ, what good 16:15 are we? 16:16 What can we do? 16:18 How can we help those in need if we lose that desire for 16:20 evangelism, that commitment to making the truths of the 16:23 gospel known? 16:25 In Matthew chapter 5, verse 14, Jesus used another illustration 16:29 as to what the Christian needs to do. 16:31 Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. 16:35 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." 16:39 So the Christian is likened unto salt, but we're also likened 16:42 unto light. 16:44 Light does not avoid darkness, but light dispels the darkness. 16:48 And so as Christians, we are not to avoid those in need, but we 16:52 ought to shine forth the love of Jesus into the darkness of the 16:56 hearts of those who have never experienced the grace and the 17:00 power of God not only in forgiveness, but also 17:03 transformation in their hearts and lives. 17:07 It is God's desire that His church shine forth the glory or 17:11 the character of the Savior. 17:14 We actually find that to be the mission of the remnant we find 17:16 in Revelation chapter 18, verse 1 and 2. 17:20 We call this the fourth angel's message. 17:22 It says, "After these things, I saw another angel coming down 17:24 from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was 17:28 illuminated with his glory." 17:32 Now, these angels that we read about in Revelation, both the 17:35 three angels that we find in Revelation chapter 14; you call 17:38 it the first, second, and third angel's message, plus this 17:40 fourth angel that we read about in Revelation chapter 18, 17:44 represent God's people in the last days that are taking the 17:48 everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, 17:50 and people. 17:53 So this fourth angel that illuminates the world with the 17:56 glory or the character of God really represents you and I, 18:00 represents the church. 18:03 And the work that we have to do is--verse 2, "And he cried 18:06 mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, 18:09 is fallen.'" 18:11 And then if you jump down to verse 4, it says, "And I heard 18:13 another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my 18:15 people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive 18:18 her plagues.'" 18:21 Now, who is this other voice from heaven that we read about 18:24 in verse 4? 18:26 That would be the voice of Jesus. 18:28 Jesus said, "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, but 18:30 I'll call them and they'll come, and there'll be one fold and 18:32 one shepherd." 18:35 In order for Jesus to call His people out of religious 18:37 confusion, out of Babylon, God has given us a work to do, and 18:41 that is to proclaim and reveal the glory of God to the world. 18:47 So central to the work of the remnant in the last days is the 18:50 work of evangelism. 18:53 That's why we are here. 18:55 That's the work that God has given us to do. 18:58 In John chapter 17, verse 15, we read the words of Jesus, "I do 19:03 not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that 19:06 You should keep them from the evil one. 19:11 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 19:15 Sanctify them by Your truth. 19:17 Your Word is truth." 19:20 And then verse 18, "As You sent me into the world, I also have 19:25 sent them into the world." 19:29 So just as Jesus had come to seek and save the lost, to 19:31 minister to the needs of those around him, to win their 19:34 confidence and share the gospel and share truth, so we as the 19:38 followers of Christ are to follow in his example. 19:43 Now, we can see three distinct phases in the work of Christ. 19:48 The first is what we call the prepare phase. 19:51 Just before Jesus would go to towns and villages and preach 19:54 the gospel, he would often send his disciples before him to 19:58 prepare the way. 20:00 The entire public ministry of Jesus was prepared by John the 20:04 Baptist, who went and preached and prepared the way for Jesus. 20:09 Jesus sent out the 12 disciples to different towns and villages, 20:11 and you can read another occasion where Jesus sent out 70 20:15 others who were to go and prepare the way before him. 20:19 So the first phase of Christ's ministry is preparation, and 20:23 we'll look at how that relates to the church in just a 20:25 few moments. 20:28 The second phase that we see of Christ's ministry was that of 20:30 preaching, where Jesus would go to those same towns and villages 20:34 and he would preach where the work had been done--where the 20:36 preparation was done. 20:38 And then the third phase, a very important phase of the ministry 20:41 of Christ, was that of preserve. 20:44 Jesus taught the importance of nurturing new believers, and 20:48 that's the work that the church needs to do. 20:50 You got to remember that the baptistery isn't the finish line 20:53 when it comes to evangelism. 20:56 In reality, it is the starting line. 20:58 You can see how the early Christian church was 21:00 established; not only to preach the gospel to those who have 21:04 never heard, but it was also established to preserve and 21:07 nurture those who did believe. 21:10 And we can see this truth beautifully illustrated in a 21:13 parable that Jesus told. 21:16 It's a familiar parable. 21:18 It's the parable of the Good Samaritan, and it's recorded for 21:20 us in Luke chapter 10. 21:22 And the story is about a man traveling from Jerusalem down 21:24 to Jericho. 21:26 And geographically if you were to go from Jerusalem to Jericho, 21:29 you would literally go down. 21:31 Jericho is close to the Dead Sea, which is the lowest body of 21:34 water on the earth. 21:36 So there was quite a geographical change, and the 21:39 man's traveling from Jerusalem down a very twisty mountainous 21:42 road with caves and rocks. 21:46 And as he's traveling down to Jericho, Jesus said the 21:49 thieves came. 21:51 He fell amongst thieves, and they stripped the man of 21:54 his raiment, they beat him, they left him half dead, and there he 21:56 was on the side of the road. 21:59 But then a priest came by and the priest didn't really do 22:01 anything for him, neither did the Levite. 22:03 But when the Samaritan came by--and of course you understand 22:06 that the Jews and the Samaritans, they did not 22:08 get along. 22:10 But when the Samaritan came by and he saw the man, Jesus said 22:13 he had compassion upon him and he went over to the man and 22:15 ministered to his needs. 22:19 Jesus said that he poured in oil and wine into his wounds. 22:22 He probably covered him with his own cloak and placed him on a 22:25 donkey and took him to an inn. 22:28 And then he ministered to the man there in the inn, but then 22:30 he told the innkeeper, "I need to go. 22:33 If you spend any more money than I've given you, I will richly 22:36 repay you when I come back again." 22:39 Now in the parable, this man traveling from Jerusalem to 22:41 Jericho in one sense can represent the whole human race. 22:46 The priest could represent the sacrificial system of the Old 22:49 Testament that couldn't really take care of the sin problem. 22:53 The Levite could represent the chosen people, Israel. 22:57 Again, they would appoint people to Christ. 23:00 They were not the final solution. 23:03 But the Good Samaritan, of course, represents Jesus. 23:07 Jesus came to minister to our needs. 23:10 It says he poured in oil and wine into the man's wounds, 23:13 nursed him. 23:15 Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit; this new wine a symbol 23:17 of the atoning blood of Christ. 23:20 And then the Samaritan took the man to the inn and took care of 23:23 him and gave money to the innkeeper and said, "You take 23:26 care of the man." 23:28 Where does Jesus take those who have responded to the gospel 23:30 of grace? 23:33 Those whom he has forgiven, where does he take them? 23:35 He takes them to the church, and Jesus has given the church 23:37 talents and abilities. 23:39 And Christ says to us, "You take care of these people. 23:42 You nurture them. 23:44 You build them up, and when I come again, I will richly 23:47 repay you." 23:49 So we can see even in the parable that Jesus told the 23:51 importance of nurturing new believers. 23:55 It's so important when it comes to evangelism. 23:59 Well then moving on, on Monday the lesson is entitled "Jesus's 24:02 Treatment of People." 24:05 And we've got a few Bible stories here that help 24:06 illustrate how Jesus ministered to people around him, and one of 24:10 my favorites is in Matthew chapter 8 from verse 5 24:13 through 10. 24:16 You have the story of the healing of the centurion's 24:18 servant, and it goes like this. 24:20 Matthew chapter 8, verse 5, "Now when Jesus had entered 24:23 Capernaum, a centurion came to him pleading with him, saying, 24:26 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, 24:28 dreadfully tormented.' 24:31 And Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.'" 24:34 Now, remember this is a centurion. 24:37 This is a Roman officer. 24:39 This is not a Jew, but he heard something of Jesus and faith 24:42 awakened in his heart and he said, "I'm going to go 24:44 find Jesus." 24:46 And when he finds Jesus and tells him his problem, Jesus 24:48 says, "I will come and I will heal him." 24:51 You'd think that most people would say, "Fantastic." 24:53 They would say, "Clear the way. 24:55 Jesus is coming to my house." 24:57 But that's not this man's response. 24:59 Look at what he says. 25:01 Verse 8, "The centurion answered and said, 'Lord, I am not worthy 25:04 that you should come under my roof, but only speak a word and 25:09 my servant will be healed. 25:12 For I'm also a man under authority, having soldiers 25:14 under me. 25:16 And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another one, 25:18 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he 25:20 does it.' 25:22 When Jesus heard it," take note of this, "When Jesus heard it, 25:24 he marveled and he said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say 25:27 unto you, I have not found so great of faith; no, 25:31 not in Israel.'" 25:33 Of course, Jesus did speak the word and the centurion's servant 25:35 was healed. 25:38 You can just imagine the man saying, "I'm not worthy, Lord, 25:40 for you to come under my roof, but just speak the word." 25:43 He had faith in the power of the word of Christ. 25:48 And when Jesus heard that, he turned to those standing around 25:50 him and said, "I have not seen this kind of faith; no, not 25:53 in Israel." 25:56 Here we find Jesus encouraging the faith of this centurion and 25:59 using his faith as an example to the Jews who were lacking this 26:03 kind of faith, that whatever Jesus said they believed or he 26:07 believed--the centurion believed it would happen because there 26:10 was power in the word of Christ, and we want to encourage that 26:14 same kind of faith in the people that we minister to. 26:18 We have another story recorded for us in Mark chapter 12, verse 26:21 34, and this is where a scribe comes to Jesus and asks--asked 26:26 Christ what is the greatest commandment in the law, and 26:29 you'll recall the response of Christ. 26:31 He said there are actually two commandments. 26:33 The first is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all 26:36 your soul, all your mind, all your strength; and the second is 26:38 like unto it, you must love your neighbor as yourself. 26:41 Well, after Jesus said that, these words made such an 26:43 impression upon the scribe he responded and said, "You have 26:47 answered correctly." 26:49 He said, "Indeed, to love God with everything is the most 26:51 important, to love your neighbor as yourself." 26:53 But then Jesus responded to him. 26:55 This is verse 34 of Mark 12. 26:58 "Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, 27:02 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'" 27:06 Now, that's quite a statement. 27:08 Here is a scribe searching for truth, wanting to find the way 27:12 of life. 27:14 He asks Jesus a question because he was genuinely concerned. 27:17 Jesus gave him an answer. 27:20 He responded positively to that answer, and then Jesus said, 27:22 "You're not far from the kingdom of God." 27:25 That must have encouraged him to learn more, to study further. 27:28 We want to encourage people in their walk with Christ. 27:32 It's easy to discourage someone by pointing out their faults and 27:35 their errors and their sins, but what Jesus did was to encourage 27:39 people, to build on their faith. 27:42 Even if it was a little, Christ wanted to strengthen their faith 27:45 and build on it. 27:47 So learning from the example of Jesus, we can see that Christ 27:50 looked for the good in people around him and he tried to 27:54 encourage faith. 27:55 He tried to encourage spiritual growth. 27:58 Isaiah chapter 42, verse 3, it says, "A bruised reed He will 28:01 not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench." 28:06 In other words, Jesus was careful not to needlessly bruise 28:10 a sensitive soul. 28:12 He tried to encourage people. 28:14 Colossians chapter 4, verse 5 and 6 it says, "Walk in wisdom 28:17 towards those who are outside, redeeming the time. 28:22 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that 28:27 you might know how you ought to answer each one." 28:32 So when it comes to evangelism, here Paul is telling us in 28:34 Colossians, those outside the church how we're to treat them. 28:38 Let your speech be seasoned with grace, and pray that God will 28:42 give you wisdom as you interact with them. 28:45 Ephesians chapter 4, verse 15 says, "But speak the truth in 28:48 love, that you might grow up in all things unto Him who is the 28:52 head, which is Christ." 28:55 So we are to speak the truth in love. 28:57 We are to always speak with grace. 29:00 We can find that this is an important work when it comes to 29:03 evangelism because it's planting seeds of truth in the hearts and 29:07 the minds of people. 29:09 When it comes to evangelism, we can see the example of Jesus. 29:12 There are different phases of the work that Christ did, and we 29:16 want to learn from Jesus. 29:18 He is our example. 29:20 Now, I want you to imagine for a moment a farmer who decides to 29:22 grow wheat. 29:24 And so he plows up his field and maybe he fertilizes it and he 29:28 waits for the wheat to grow, but nothing seems to happen. 29:32 His neighbors, their fields are filled with green shoots of 29:36 growing wheat, but he's got nothing growing in his field. 29:40 And so he goes to his farmer friends and he says to them, 29:42 "I'm not sure why wheat is not growing in my field." 29:45 And so they ask him what type of fertilizer he used. 29:48 He tells them. 29:50 And they ask him, "Did you check the pH balance of the soil?" 29:52 And he tells them yes, and they can't figure it out. 29:55 Well, one day all of his friends come over to his farm because 29:58 they're curious about this, and there they walk out onto the 30:02 farm, onto the dirt, and onto his field and around it is 30:05 beautiful green fields, but nothing is growing on his field. 30:12 So finally one of his farmer friend says to him, "Well, say, 30:15 what kind of seeds did you plant anyway?" 30:19 Well, with that, our farmer friend looks down and a little 30:23 embarrassed he says, "Well, you know, I've been hoping for 30:26 wheat, I've been praying for wheat, but I guess I didn't 30:29 plant any seeds." 30:32 Now, of course, that's not a true story. 30:33 There isn't a farmer alive that would expect a harvest without 30:36 first planting seeds. 30:39 But when it comes to evangelism, we pray for a harvest, we hope 30:43 for a harvest, but often we neglect the importance of 30:46 planting the seeds of the gospel. 30:49 We look at the example of Jesus, he was always planting 30:52 spiritual seeds. 30:55 Now, when it comes to evangelism, there are different 30:57 phases that make evangelism successful. 31:01 We typically call this the evangelism cycle, and it's been 31:04 divided up into six phases of evangelism and each of them 31:08 are important. 31:10 You've got the personal preparation phase. 31:13 This is even before you get involved in some kind of 31:15 evangelistic outreach. 31:18 Phase two is preparing the soil, phase three is what's called 31:21 sowing the seed, and then you've got four--phase four, 31:25 cultivating; phase five, the harvest; and phase six is 31:29 preserving the harvest. 31:32 So I'm going to just highlight a few things about this evangelism 31:35 cycle as we look at the example of Christ. 31:38 The first phase is personal preparation, and it begins with 31:41 us as individuals. 31:43 We are to seek for revival. 31:46 We are told in "Review and Herald" March 22, 1887, it says, 31:52 "The revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and the 31:55 most urgent of all of our needs. 31:59 To seek this should be our first work." 32:02 So in this phase of personal preparation, we are to 32:06 seek revival. 32:08 How do we do that? 32:09 Well, we spend time in prayer, we spend time studying the Word. 32:13 Some of the last words that Jesus told his disciples before 32:16 ascending to heaven, he said that they were to go to all the 32:18 world and they were to preach the gospel. 32:21 But before they were to go out to the world and preach the 32:24 gospel, Jesus told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they received 32:27 power from the Holy Spirit. 32:30 In order for evangelism to be successful, we must be filled 32:34 with the Spirit of God. 32:36 You can't give something that you don't have. 32:38 So the first phase of evangelism is seeking for a deeper 32:41 experience, pleading for the Holy Spirit, spending time 32:44 in prayer. 32:46 It's also wise to do some planning. 32:48 What is the plan for the church? 32:50 What are we going to do to try and reach out to those in 32:53 the community? 32:55 So some of the things that we want to be looking for during 32:57 this first phase of evangelism, we're looking at the spiritual, 33:01 practical Christian experience of the believers. 33:05 We're looking at the commitment that the individual members in 33:07 the church have to evangelism, to the fulfillment of the 33:11 Great Commission. 33:13 The focus of the church needs to be on the work of evangelism, 33:17 sharing the gospel. 33:19 We want to have some planning taking place. 33:21 We want to plan for an evangelistic series, some other 33:23 training events taking place. 33:26 So the first phase of this evangelism cycle is spending 33:29 time preparing our hearts and our minds for the work 33:32 before us. 33:35 Before Jesus started his public ministry, right after his 33:37 baptism he went into the wilderness for 40 days, where he 33:41 spent time fasting and praying, where he was equipped and filled 33:45 with the Spirit and prepared for the great work that he was about 33:49 to do. 33:51 The second phase, then, of this evangelism cycle is what we call 33:55 preparing the soil. 33:58 Before the farmer plants the seed, he needs to go plow up the 34:01 soil, and he needs to fertilize, etc. 34:03 What does this involve in an evangelism cycle? 34:07 Well, we want to be involved with things like friendship 34:09 evangelism; getting to know people, find out about their 34:13 family, their occupation, what is their religious background. 34:18 Maybe you can even share your own personal testimony with the 34:21 people you engage with. 34:24 The church wants to be involved in community service programs 34:26 where we are ministering to the needs of those around us. 34:30 We might also want to start advertising for Bible studies. 34:34 We might want to do surveys door to door to find out the 34:37 interest--the spiritual interests of the people in 34:40 the community. 34:42 We want to be involved in building up a database of names 34:44 of people that we can follow up on, those who might be 34:47 interested in spiritual things. 34:50 So what are we looking for in this second phase of the 34:52 evangelism cycle? 34:54 We're looking for the number of positive relationships between 34:56 the church and the people in the community. 35:00 We're also looking for the number of positive relationships 35:03 between the members of the church and non-members, those in 35:07 the community around us. 35:09 Now on Tuesday, the lesson is entitled "Jesus's Healing 35:13 Ministry," and there's two parts. 35:16 So Tuesday is part one, and then Wednesday is part two. 35:20 And in the introductory to Tuesday's lesson, it says Jesus 35:24 ministered to the needs of people. 35:26 One of the greatest needs that Jesus addressed was in the area 35:29 of health and healing. 35:31 The ultimate need, however, is that of having a saving, 35:34 transforming relationship with God. 35:37 Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life, and that 35:40 they might have it more abundantly." 35:43 Jesus was concerned about the quality of life that people had. 35:47 Not only concerned about their need or the quality of their 35:52 life now, but he was ultimately concerned about their eternal 35:55 destiny, concerned about having--them having 35:58 eternal life. 36:00 So we can see how Jesus used healing--the work of ministry in 36:04 healing to lead people to a spiritual experience. 36:09 We have a couple of stories that are given in our lesson, of how 36:11 Jesus did this. 36:13 We have one in Matthew chapter 9. 36:16 It's the healing of the man lowered through the roof, and 36:19 this is what it is. 36:21 Matthew chapter 9. 36:23 You can also read this story in Mark. 36:25 A parallel passage there. 36:27 It says, "So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his 36:29 own city." 36:31 That would be Capernaum, and that was the home also of 36:32 Simon Peter. 36:34 We believe this story actually took place in the home of 36:36 Simon Peter. 36:37 Verse 2 says, "Then behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying 36:39 on a bed. 36:41 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, 36:43 be of good cheer. 36:45 Your sins are forgiven you.'" 36:47 Now, again, Mark tells us that this story took place in 36:49 a house. 36:51 And the man on the bed was carried by his friends to Jesus, 36:53 but they couldn't get in because of the crowd so they went up 36:56 onto the roof. 36:58 And as Jesus is preaching and teachings, suddenly he is 37:00 interrupted by a scraping noise as they begin to move the 37:03 roof tiles. 37:06 The roofs back in those days--flat roofs, and often 37:08 there was a hole in the center of that--of the room where the 37:12 smoke from the fire could go, and there were tiles that were 37:15 covering, often, that opening. 37:18 And here Jesus is preaching and suddenly stops, and everybody 37:19 begins to look up as the tiles are moved. 37:22 And here is this man lowered down to where Jesus is, and of 37:27 course everybody's staring at Christ wondering what he's going 37:29 to do. 37:31 And Jesus looking at the man, he knows his real need. 37:35 So before even healing him physically, Jesus wanted to heal 37:38 him spiritually, and that's why Jesus said those 37:41 beautiful words. 37:43 "Son, be of good cheer. 37:46 Your sins are forgiven you." 37:48 And before the man could even respond--I'm sure there was 37:50 peace in his heart, but before he could say anything--the story 37:53 goes on. 37:55 It says, verse 3, "And at once some of the scribes said within 37:57 themselves, 'This man blasphemes.'" 38:00 You see, rightfully they knew that only God could forgive 38:04 sins, and they said Jesus is blaspheming because, you know, 38:08 he's forgiving sins. 38:10 But of course they didn't recognize Jesus as God, and 38:12 Jesus had the power to forgive. 38:15 And verse 4, "But Jesus knowing their thoughts he said, 'Why do 38:18 you think evil in your hearts? 38:21 For what is easy to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to 38:24 say, 'Arise and walk?'" 38:27 Now for us, if we put ourselves in the place of Christ 38:33 and somebody was in need of forgiveness and they were in 38:36 need of a miracle, we might think, "Well, the easier thing 38:39 to do is to forgive them." 38:42 I mean, especially if they didn't hurt us too badly, we can 38:45 say, "Okay, I forgive you." 38:48 But when it comes to performing a miracle, well, that's 38:51 something we can't do. 38:54 We can't perform miracles. 38:56 But in the case of Jesus, what was easier for Jesus? 38:58 Was it easier for Jesus to forgive, or was it easier for 39:01 Jesus to perform a miracle? 39:05 You see, what does it take for Jesus to perform a miracle? 39:08 He simply needs to speak the Word and the man is healed, but 39:13 what did it take for Jesus to be able to give that 39:17 man forgiveness? 39:19 You see, Jesus knew that in order for him to provide 39:22 forgiveness, it would involve a cross. 39:25 It would involve his crucifixion, his suffering, 39:28 his death. 39:30 Thus Jesus said, "What do you think is easy to say: 'Your sins 39:33 are forgiven?' or, 'Rise and walk?'" 39:36 You see, Jesus was illustrating here the importance 39:39 of spiritual healing. 39:41 Yes, physical healing is good and nice, but in the eyes of 39:44 God, even more important than physical healing is 39:48 spiritual healing. 39:50 It's obtaining that forgiveness that only Jesus can give. 39:54 And then verse 6, "But that you might know that the son of man 39:57 has power on earth to forgive sins. 39:59 He said to the paralytic, 'Arise, take up your bed, and go 40:02 to your house.' 40:04 And he arose and he departed." 40:07 Of course, the people were amazed, and they saw what 40:09 Jesus did. 40:11 We have another story recorded for us in Mark chapter 5, and 40:13 I'm not going to read through the whole story because of time. 40:16 But it's a woman that came to Jesus while he was journeying in 40:19 a crowd and she couldn't actually get close to him, but 40:22 she was able to reach out and touch the hem of his garment and 40:26 she was healed of this flowing of blood that she had struggled 40:29 with for 12 years. 40:32 And when she reached out and she touched the hem of Christ's 40:34 robe, immediately she was healed. 40:36 She knew within herself that she had been healed. 40:38 She kind of slipped back into the crowd, but Jesus stopped and 40:41 he turned to his disciples and he said, "Who touched me?" 40:44 The disciples said, "But, Lord, there's so many people pressing 40:46 in around you. 40:48 How can you ask, 'Who touched me?'" 40:50 Jesus says, "No, somebody touched me. 40:52 I felt virtual power go out of me." 40:54 And then of course she came forward, she 40:56 confessed everything. 40:57 It says she was trembling, she was afraid. 41:00 But Jesus said to her in verse 34 of Mark 5, "Daughter, your 41:03 faith has made you whole. 41:06 Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." 41:10 Jesus affirmed her faith. 41:12 Jesus encouraged her. 41:14 So Jesus ministered to all kinds of people; those who were strong 41:16 in faith, those who were weak in faith. 41:19 He ministered to those who were humble, all classes of people. 41:23 Didn't matter what their position. 41:25 Jesus recognized that here is a soul to be saved, and so it is 41:29 when it comes to our work of evangelism. 41:32 We want to be planting seeds of truth. 41:35 So we minister to the physical needs of people. 41:37 We want to win their confidence so that we can share Bible 41:39 truth, and the way we do this in a practical way is through 41:44 different types of Bible studies. 41:47 It might be a personal, one-on-one Bible study. 41:50 We could drop off a lesson that somebody could read on their own 41:54 at home. 41:56 We might invite somebody to a small group Bible study. 41:59 But just as Jesus ultimately wanted to lead people to a 42:02 saving relationship, so we in our work of evangelism want to 42:06 lead people to being exposed to Bible truth so that they can 42:11 make a decision for Jesus. 42:14 We also read that an important part of the work that we have to 42:17 do when it comes to evangelism is cultivating these new 42:22 interests, those who show an interest in spiritual things. 42:26 In doing so, we might want to invite them to church--to some 42:30 church activity, we might want to invite them to a special 42:33 program that the church is putting on. 42:36 We want to introduce them to other church members who might 42:39 have similar interests or backgrounds, and of course one 42:42 of the greatest things you could do is invite them to come to 42:44 your home for a small group Bible study. 42:46 Maybe a meal at first and then transition that into a 42:49 Bible study. 42:51 So some of the things that we are looking for here is the 42:53 number of consistent personal Bible studies that are taking 42:57 place between the church members and those in the community. 43:02 We also want to look for the number of people who are 43:04 actually attending these bridge events that the church might put 43:07 on, health seminars and alike. 43:11 Well, then we come to Wednesday, and Wednesday's lesson 43:14 continuing with Jesus's example of healing people. 43:17 We also see that there were three phases to the work of 43:20 Jesus: teaching, preaching, and healing. 43:25 In Matthew chapter 4, verse 23 it says, "And Jesus went about 43:28 all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel 43:32 of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sicknesses, all kinds 43:36 of diseases amongst the people." 43:39 So there we see Jesus teaching, preaching, and healing. 43:42 In Mark chapter 1, verse 32 it says, "At evening, when the sun 43:46 had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were 43:49 demon-possessed, and the whole city was gathered together at 43:52 the door." 43:54 This is after the healing that took place of a demon-possessed 43:57 man in the synagogue that Sabbath morning. 44:01 Now the sun had set, Saturday evening, and people came. 44:04 This is taking place at Capernaum. 44:06 People brought their sick to Jesus, and he healed them. 44:09 Verse 34 says, "And he healed many who were sick of 44:11 various diseases. 44:13 He cast out many demons. 44:15 He did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him. 44:17 Now in the morning," this would be early Sunday morning, "having 44:20 risen a long time before daylight, he went out and 44:23 departed to a solitary place and he prayed. 44:26 And then Simon," whose house Jesus was staying at, 44:30 "And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and 44:32 when they found him, they said to him, 'Everyone is looking 44:35 for you.'" 44:37 Speaking to Jesus. 44:39 "But he said to them, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I 44:41 might preach there also because for this purpose I've 44:43 come forth.' 44:46 And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all of 44:48 Galilee, casting out demons." 44:50 So we find that Jesus was not content just to minister to 44:53 those that were close to him. 44:56 Jesus has a burden to minister to as many people as possible, 44:59 and he actually began his first Galilean tour traveling from 45:03 town to town, village to village. 45:06 He was preaching the gospel. 45:08 He was healing. 45:10 He was sharing with them the truths of the kingdom. 45:12 In Luke chapter 19, verse 10, Jesus says, "For the son of man 45:14 has come to seek and save that which was lost." 45:18 So we see an important phase of Christ's ministry not just 45:21 ministering to the needs of people and not just providing 45:24 healing, but we also see a very definite emphasis on the 45:27 preaching part of Christ's ministry. 45:30 When it comes to evangelism, we don't want to neglect the 45:34 importance of evangelistic preaching. 45:38 And I want to encourage churches, especially those that 45:40 haven't done an evangelistic series for a while. 45:42 I want to encourage churches to be involved in doing a public 45:46 evangelistic meeting. 45:48 And during this public evangelistic meeting, you want 45:51 to invite those that you've ministered to, those who 45:54 have--you want to reap confidence, you've built 45:57 relationship with them. 45:58 You want to invite them to come. 46:01 And during this evangelistic series, you want the message, 46:04 the gospel, the three angels' messages to be preached clearly, 46:09 and you want to call for a decision. 46:11 You want people to respond. 46:13 Now, if you can't do an evangelistic series in person; 46:16 maybe you don't have any evangelists, maybe the pastor is 46:19 unable to preach an evangelistic series, you can still do a video 46:21 evangelistic series. 46:24 You can even invite people to your home and you could do a 46:27 evangelistic series right there on the television. 46:30 You can invite them night after night, but the goal is to share 46:32 these life-saving truths, the three angels' messages 46:36 with people. 46:38 What are the things you're looking for in this phase? 46:40 Well, first of all, you want to get a crowd. 46:43 You want as many people to come out to your evangelistic series 46:45 as possible so that they can hear the Word. 46:48 You want to keep a crowd; so that might involve visiting 46:51 people throughout the evangelistic series, encouraging 46:54 them to come, giving them resources and materials, 46:57 answering their questions, and you want to baptize a crowd. 47:01 Jesus said, "Go preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, 47:04 tongue, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the 47:07 Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I've 47:10 commanded you. 47:12 Lo, I am with you always, even until the very end." 47:14 So the commission that we've been given by Christ is to 47:16 preach, to teach, and to baptize, to bring people into a 47:20 saving relationship with Christ. 47:24 Now, once somebody makes that decision to be baptized and to 47:28 join the church, we mustn't neglect the importance of 47:31 preserving their faith and growing their faith. 47:36 Statistically, if a person doesn't develop meaningful 47:38 friendships within the church in the first few months of when 47:42 they join, it's very unlikely that they will actually stay 47:46 with the church. 47:50 So not only presenting Bible truth is important, but also 47:53 connecting them with other like-minded believers, building 47:56 relationships, encouraging them in their walk with Christ; 47:59 especially if maybe they're the only believer in their family 48:02 and they're going to have challenges at family, maybe 48:06 they're going to have challenges at work because they are 48:08 standing up for Bible truths. 48:10 As a church, we want to be there to encourage people and to build 48:12 them up. 48:15 So in summary then looking at the example of Jesus, we find 48:18 Jesus involved in different phases of ministry. 48:20 We see Jesus ministering to the physical needs of people. 48:24 We see Christ interacting, befriending people. 48:27 And as he won their confidence, he began to share with them the 48:31 truths of the gospel. 48:33 We want to follow Christ's example in getting to know 48:36 people, being friendly, being approachable, allowing people to 48:38 come and building relationship with them, ministering to their 48:42 needs, winning their confidence so that we can share the Word. 48:46 Maybe that'll be inviting them to an evangelistic series, maybe 48:49 inviting them to a small group Bible study, or maybe even just 48:51 a one-on-one Bible study. 48:54 But we want to get to the point where we're able to share the 48:56 Word with them, and then we need to nurture these new believers 49:01 in their relationship with Christ. 49:03 Three reasons why evangelism sometimes does not work, we 49:07 don't plant enough seeds. 49:10 We need to remember that the seed is in the harvest. 49:13 We need to keep doing the work of evangelism, and we neglect 49:16 preserving the harvest. 49:18 We don't want people coming in through the front door of the 49:20 church, but leaving through the back door. 49:23 We want to hold on to them. 49:24 We want to nurture the, we want them to grow. 49:27 In closing then, let me share with you this verse. 49:30 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 6, "But this I say, he who sows 49:32 sparingly shall reap also sparingly, but he who sows 49:36 bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 49:39 God wants us to plant the seeds of the gospel as far and as wide 49:42 as we possibly can, that there might be a rich harvest of souls 49:46 for the kingdom. 49:49 I want to remind you, friends, about our free offer for today. 49:52 It's a book entitled "Is It Possible to Live 49:53 without Sinning?" 49:56 And we'd like to make this available to anyone in 49:57 North America. 49:59 Just call 866-788-3966 and ask for offer number 187. 50:04 We'll be happy to put in the mail and send it to you. 50:07 If you would like a digital copy of the book, you just need to 50:10 text the code SH040 to the number 40544. 50:16 You'll get a digital copy of the book, "Is It Possible to Live 50:19 without Sinning?" 50:23 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 50:25 free resource. 50:27 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 50:29 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 50:32 mobile device. 50:33 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 50:36 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 50:40 shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital download 50:44 option on the request page. 50:46 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:49 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want and, most 50:52 important, to share it with others. 51:01 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 51:09 Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia and I am from the 51:11 beautiful islands of Hawaii. 51:14 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, like 51:17 most families. 51:20 Being in that environment, I would lie, cheat, steal, rob 51:22 houses, cheat in school and tests and lie to teachers, and 51:27 getting into fights and all kinds of stuff. 51:31 One day I was asked to take this little box of something and I 51:35 had to walk down the road and give it to someone and they will 51:37 give me money and I'll walk back home, and I later realized I was 51:40 dealing drugs. 51:43 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, being 51:46 an adult was a life of drinking and smoking and partying, and 51:49 that's just what adults did. 51:53 When I looked at my family and saw the road that they were 51:55 going down: getting arrested, getting beaten up, coming home 51:59 drunk and puking all over the floor, I just didn't want that 52:03 for myself. 52:06 Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian in 52:09 her 20s, but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. 52:13 And so one day I was at her house and there was a box of 52:15 various books, and I went to the bottom of that box and found a 52:19 book called "The Great Controversy." 52:22 And I picked it up and I said, "This is interesting." 52:24 And I opened to the first page of that book and it said, "If 52:27 thou hadst known." 52:30 I had no clue what it meant, and so I said, "You know what? 52:32 Forget this." 52:34 I put the book down. 52:36 I just walked away, did my thing. 52:37 But then something told me, "You know what, Diamond? 52:39 Go back to that book." 52:41 And so I went back to the book, picked it up, went to the last 52:43 two chapters, and I read it. 52:45 And I said to my grandmother, I said, "What church is this from? 52:49 I want to go to that church." 52:50 So she brought me down to the local church, and then I walked 52:53 in through the back door and the piano is off-key, people 52:56 are off-key. 52:58 It's like, "Man, this is really kind of--I don't want to 53:00 be here." 53:02 And I got to the front of the church and I sat down. 53:04 I was listening to the sermon and the whole service was so 53:06 boring to me, but then someone gives me this set of DVDs and it 53:11 was called "The Prophecy Code." 53:14 It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain the truths 53:18 found in the Bible that really brought me to Christ and brought 53:21 me to realize that, "You know what? 53:23 There is a life better than my family's life." 53:27 My second week at church on Sabbath, there was one 53:30 person there. 53:32 He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond. 53:34 Do you want to make some money?" 53:36 And I said, "Sure." 53:37 I said, "What do you do?" 53:39 He says, "Well, I'm a call porter. 53:41 We go door to door and we sell Christian books." 53:43 I said, "Oh, okay, well, that sounds interesting. 53:45 I do want to make some money, too." 53:46 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" 53:49 We drove out to the neighborhood, parked the car, 53:52 and that night was just raining. 53:54 It was pouring and pouring. 53:56 It could not stop raining. 53:57 He prayed. 53:59 He said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. 54:01 If it's Your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." 54:04 And as soon as he said amen, the rain just stopped. 54:06 I was just thinking in my head, "Is this guy a prophet or what? 54:09 I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened." 54:13 And so I was so happy. 54:16 I got the books and I went to the first door. 54:17 And the first door I went to, the person gave me 50 bucks. 54:21 That night was actually a big night for me because it was 54:23 where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain and people 54:27 actually giving me lots of money. 54:29 I then became a call porter or a canvasser, and I saved money to 54:32 pay for my way through academy. 54:34 And when my church began to see how God was using me, they 54:38 immediately recognized that it was God's Word moving and they 54:41 put me, you know, preaching and teaching and sharing my faith, 54:45 and I've been engaged in ministry for the past 6 or 7 54:47 years now and God has taken me all over the world on multiple 54:50 continents sharing my testimony, how God has brought me out of 54:53 darkness into his marvelous light, which is total contrast 54:57 as to how it was before and now. 54:59 You know, total contrast. 55:02 My name is Diamond, and Amazing Facts has helped to change 55:05 my life. 55:08 ♪♪♪ 55:26 Doug Batchelor: Flying sounds really exotic when you're young. 55:28 As you get older, if you do any commercial flight, it can lose 55:31 its luster. 55:34 The longest commercial flight in the world goes from Auckland, 55:42 New Zealand to Dubai, over 17 hours, 8,800 miles. 55:43 That's a long flight, especially if you're stuck in 55:45 the middle seat. 55:47 You spend a long time looking at your watch, waiting for the 55:49 plane to land. 55:51 But scientists have now found there are some birds that can 55:53 fly much longer than anything a man has made. 55:56 Matter of fact, for years they've known that the great 55:59 frigate birds can stay on the wing for several weeks. 56:02 We always thought that was impressive until recently when 56:06 scientists in Sweden did an experiment with the 56:08 common swift. 56:10 They have these very lightweight micro-transmitters. 56:13 They put them on 13 swift birds and let them go. 56:17 They discovered that three of those swifts did not land even 56:20 one time in 10 months. 56:23 Ten months of non-stop flying. 56:27 So someone might naturally be wondering, "How do the swifts 56:30 manage to sleep, especially if they're flying non-stop for 56:31 10 months?" 56:33 Everybody needs their rest. 56:36 Well, we're not exactly sure, but through studying these 56:38 swifts with the electronic transmitters, it seems just 56:41 before sundown they fly up to an elevation of about 2 miles and 56:45 then they begin to glide slowly down, taking catnaps. 56:51 Birds taking a catnap. 56:53 Evidently, that's what they do. 56:55 You might be wondering, "How do they eat without landing?" 56:58 You see, the swift has an almost perfect aerodynamic design. 57:01 In fact, some aircraft designers have looked at the shape of the 57:04 swift and used their design to pattern jet fighters 'cause the 57:08 swift is able to turn and maneuver so precisely in 57:11 the air. 57:13 So generally, right after sunrise and just before sundown, 57:16 the birds go on a feast and they're able to grab the bugs 57:19 right out of the air, having a great birdie-bug buffet. 57:24 Perhaps before you've wished that you could have that 57:27 unending energy like these birds, be able to fly non-stop 57:30 without getting bored or tired. 57:33 You know, the Bible says that those that put their trust in 57:34 God will never feel that kind of fatigue. 57:37 Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31, "They that wait upon the Lord 57:41 will renew their strength. 57:44 They will mount up with wings like eagles. 57:46 They will run and not be weary. 57:49 They will walk and not faint." 57:51 So, friends, if you need an energy boost, surrender to Jesus 57:54 and he'll help you mount up with wings like a bird. 57:57 ♪♪♪ 58:06 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-08-14