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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. 00:38 Welcome to our "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:39 We're so glad that you can tune in and join us today. 00:42 We have a good lesson ahead of us. 00:45 We know that we've got friends that are tuning in now from all 00:48 different parts of the planet, and, boy, what an interesting 00:50 world we're living in right now. 00:53 We're looking forward to getting into our study in a little bit, 00:55 dealing with the subject of education. 00:58 But at the beginning of our broadcast, we always want to 01:00 tell you about a free offer we have that should help accent 01:03 and enhance the subject that we're studying, 01:06 and it's a beautiful study guide produced by Amazing Facts, 01:09 one of our best and most popular. 01:12 It's called "A Love That Transforms," and we'll be 01:15 actually sending this to you for free. 01:18 You can call to get a hard copy by calling the number 01:21 866-788-3966. 01:26 That's 866-Study-More. 01:30 Or you can also, if you want, you can have it sent to you 01:33 digitally by texting, "SH003" to 40544, and you should see those 01:42 numbers up there on the screen. 01:44 And you can also find this by simply going 01:47 to the Amazing Facts website. 01:50 If you go to the Amazing Facts website, 01:51 this is one in our series, beautiful color study guides 01:54 that teach different principles from the Word of God. 01:58 They're very powerful, been around for about 45 years now, 02:01 updated, upgraded several times, but they just--they make the 02:05 most of the Word of God, and they still transform lives. 02:08 Well, we're going to dive into our lesson today and dealing 02:12 with the subject of education, in particular, in the family. 02:15 But as always, we want to begin asking for God's blessing 02:19 before we do. 02:21 Loving Father, we pray that as we talk about this 02:24 very important and vital subject of education, in particular, 02:27 the education of children in the family, we pray for the Holy 02:30 Spirit to be with us, pray that we'll learn the most important 02:34 priorities, and then, Lord, guide us in how to put these 02:36 into practice, and so bless now. 02:39 We thank you, and we pray this in Christ's name, amen. 02:43 All right, so we're in lesson number two. 02:46 We're dealing with our quarterly, fairly new in our 02:49 study, dealing with the subject of education, and today we're 02:52 talking about education in the family, and we have a memory 02:55 verse, and our memory verse is coming to us from Proverbs 8, 02:59 verse 1, and it says here, "My son, hear the instruction of 03:05 your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." 03:10 Of course, right in the middle of the Ten Commandments, the 03:13 first of the commandments that deal with our relationship 03:17 between man and man, is "Honor your father and mother, that 03:21 your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is 03:24 giving you." 03:27 Remember, the Ten Commandments are divided in two tables. 03:29 First four commandments deal with our relationship to God, 03:32 and, of course, that first commandment says, "I am the 03:36 Lord, you shall not have other gods." 03:37 Then you get to the other table dealing with our relationship 03:40 with our fellow man. 03:42 First thing it does, very basic elementary level, saying, "Honor 03:45 your father and mother," because the father and mother will be 03:48 the spring of knowledge for that child as they enter the world, 03:52 and they must be respected because, in many ways, the 03:55 respect and the honor that children have for their parents 03:58 will ultimately be transferred to respect and honor for their 04:03 heavenly Father. 04:05 And so the parents have this extraordinary responsibility in 04:08 guiding, in rearing, in teaching principles, in supplying data 04:15 and information for the minds, the growing, fertile minds of 04:20 young children. 04:23 The family and the parents are to be the first school. 04:26 This was part of God's original design. 04:29 Now, as human beings, our brains are healthy--if our brains are 04:34 healthy--we're always learning. 04:38 In fact, life itself is a school. 04:42 And God did something when he first made people, where he made 04:44 our minds hungry and curious. 04:48 You think about children. 04:50 They're such a wonder when they first begin to look out in the 04:53 world, and they keep that wonder for quite a while where they are 04:56 drinking in. 04:58 They're just vacuuming information on a level of data 05:01 consumption that you and I can't comprehend. 05:04 They're taking in so much into their eyes and into their ears 05:07 and into their senses, and you watch the little babies--I know 05:10 when they're--they can't even roll over. 05:13 You put them in the bassinet or in the crib, and the parents get 05:16 them one of these little mobiles or something to hang above the 05:18 crib, and they look at its spinning, and they look at the 05:21 colors, and they reach it, and then they want to taste it, and 05:23 they're trying to gather information about how these 05:26 things work. 05:28 And they're examining their fingers and their toes and 05:31 trying to figure out what their bodies are, and it's, just, it's 05:34 a marvelous thing to watch how their little minds are so 05:37 voraciously taking in information. 05:40 Well, they're going to learn. 05:44 They're going to be taking in information from their 05:46 environment, but it is so important for parents to guide 05:49 them in the principles that they learn about what is the purpose 05:53 of life. 05:55 Let me read a quote to you from the book "Child Guidance," and 05:57 this is page 299: "Our life work here is a preparation for 06:02 eternal life. 06:05 The education begun here will not be completed in this life. 06:09 It will be going forward through all eternity, ever progressing, 06:14 never completed." 06:16 You know, I used to love playing guitar. 06:20 Well, I still play guitar. 06:22 I play guitar just about every day, actually. 06:24 I have one. 06:27 Got a guitar, and I've got a flute in my office, and when 06:29 I've had all the studying and reading and writing that I can 06:31 do, I just get up, and I grab my guitar, and it's sort of a break 06:34 for me, but I've always been very frustrated because I never 06:37 had, really, formal training with a guitar. 06:40 I think I took three lessons before my mother became 06:42 exasperated that I wasn't practicing, and that was the end 06:45 of that. 06:47 Then I took it up again when I lived in the cave. 06:49 I was about 17. 06:52 And so--but I never did learn to do these certain complicated 06:54 picking motions with my hands, and I remember thinking a little 06:58 while ago, 'Well, you know, I'm over 60, now. 07:01 What are my chances to learn that?" 07:03 And then I thought about this quote that, "Whatever I learn in 07:06 this life, I take with me into the next life," and I thought my 07:10 education isn't done just because I'm getting older in 07:15 this life. 07:17 You know, if you are a Christian and you believe you take from 07:19 this life what you learn into the next life--I heard about a 07:22 lady who was in her 90s, and she decided to go back to college, 07:26 and she got her bachelor's degree. 07:29 Actually, she graduated with one of her granddaughters or 07:33 great-granddaughters--I forget. 07:34 Just an amazing story. 07:36 She says, "I never want to stop learning." 07:39 And so, you know, that inspires me to know that, at any point in 07:41 your life, whatever you choose to learn, you will be taking 07:43 that with you into the next life. 07:45 I am going to--by the way, I did learn how to do that picking. 07:47 I just kept at it, and I thought, "Wow, it's not too late 07:50 to learn." 07:52 And it was so difficult, but I kept at it, and now I can do it 07:54 without thinking it. 07:56 I thought, "I can keep learning. 07:58 I'm going to know how to pick my harp in heaven now because I 08:00 trained in this life. 08:02 I will take the education from here to there." 08:04 And so you don't ever want to say, "Well, what good will it do 08:07 me to be learning in this life?" 08:09 Because this life is not the end of where you use what you learn. 08:14 And so that's just a really important principle for us 08:16 to remember. 08:18 So we learned a little bit about the family last week. 08:21 Now, the family is the first place where the education 08:25 begins, and this is part of God's plan. 08:28 The first teacher for Adam and Eve was God, and I'm sure that 08:33 God gave them a lot of instruction about their 08:35 environment in the garden, in nature, and just the principles 08:39 of life, but as man was made in the image of God, then God 08:43 designed that, when man and woman procreate through an act 08:47 of love, they then become the teachers. 08:50 Boy, what a fantastic--what a frightening responsibility that 08:57 parents should be guiding the minds of a creature that has the 09:01 potential to have a life that will measure with the life of 09:05 God, that they can live eternally, and teaching them 09:08 rightly can give them a better chance of having that eternal 09:13 life, or neglecting their teaching or teaching them 09:16 wrongly can set them on the course to eternal loss. 09:19 That is a wonderful and an awesome and a terrifying 09:24 responsibility, but that's part of God's design. 09:28 Now, some things are different from when God made Adam and Eve. 09:33 Adam and Eve came from the factory, you might 09:35 say, preprogrammed. 09:38 They came with certain software already installed. 09:42 You know, when you get your computer out of the box, if you 09:46 buy a new desktop or laptop computer or even your phone or a 09:50 tablet, you press the power button, and as soon as it powers 09:54 up, it usually comes with a lot of pre-installed software, and 09:58 that computer already has usually a word processor, and 10:02 it's made where it can read. 10:05 It's got a camera. 10:09 It's made where it can see. 10:12 It's got--my computer had a program where I can talk, and 10:15 it types. 10:17 It could hear. 10:19 It's got all this pre-installed software. 10:21 Adam came with a lot of pre-installed knowledge. 10:24 Adam did not need to learn to crawl. 10:26 Adam did not need to learn to eat. 10:29 He did not--I can't picture Adam in the Garden of Eden 10:31 with--God's got a little bitty spoon, trying to put applesauce 10:33 in his mouth. 10:35 I'm sure he came pre-installed with great coordination, 10:37 probably better than any we have. 10:40 And so he had that benefit or advantage, you might say, but 10:44 when human parents have a little baby, they are looking to the 10:48 parents to help teach them so many of the fundamentals and the 10:54 basics of life. 10:56 And, yes, even Jesus had to learn those things, but we're 10:59 getting ahead of ourselves now. 11:02 If you look in the book "Education," page 33--and this 11:04 is in your lesson, still under the introduction-- 11:08 "The system of education established in Eden centered in 11:11 the family. 11:14 Adam was 'the son of God,' Luke 3:38, and it was from the Father 11:19 that the children of the highest received the instruction. 11:22 Theirs, in the truest sense, was the family school." 11:27 And so Adam and Eve had this responsibility of teaching 11:31 His children. 11:33 I think God gave them some information about what their 11:36 responsibilities were going to be because it just winging it 11:40 can be difficult. 11:42 Now, my father's father died when he was seven. 11:45 My father was the oldest. 11:48 My father's younger brothers grew up pretty much without 11:51 a father. 11:53 Grandma Batchelor never remarried. 11:55 And I lived with my uncle, who was younger than my father, and 11:58 he ended up being a pretty good father. 12:00 He--just, you know, I lived with him for a few months, and I 12:04 thought, you know, his kids all loved him. 12:06 They turned out pretty good. 12:09 And I asked him one day, I said, "Harry," I said, "how is it that 12:12 you just knew how to be a father, and you really had no 12:17 father to be an example?" 12:19 And then he said, "Well, you know, Doug, sometimes you have 12:22 to 'wing it,'" and they call that "flying by the seat of your 12:26 pants," and--or you look around. 12:29 Maybe you've got some good uncles that are mentoring 12:31 for you. 12:33 But God didn't design that Adam and Eve should have to just 12:36 wing it. 12:38 I think the Lord guided them as they sought for wisdom in how to 12:41 guide their children. 12:43 But they understood that it was very important for them to 12:46 tenderly and patiently teach their children. 12:49 Now, as a father of six children, eight grandchildren, 12:54 last count, it takes patience to teach children. 12:59 And, for me, who am naturally an impatient person, it is so much 13:05 easier for me to clean their room than teach them how to 13:08 clean their room, but I've learned that, if I take a little 13:11 extra time to teach them how to clean their room, then it saves 13:15 me a lot of time in the future. 13:17 The first few times you try to get your kids to wash the 13:20 dishes, you kind of have to wash them again. 13:23 There's still food on the plates. 13:25 There is a risk they're going to drop the porcelain dishes and 13:27 break them, or glasses are going to break, or you're going to end 13:30 up with the forks in the spoon slot in the drawer, and there's 13:33 going to be things that are fudged up a little bit, but you 13:36 know what? 13:38 As a parent, that is part of the teaching process. 13:40 And so you just got to say, "Look, I'm going to take the 13:43 time to lovingly and patiently go through it with them," and 13:47 then there's repetition, over and over, and they get it. 13:51 There's something else that you learn in raising children. 13:54 Children love to play. 13:57 Matter of fact, if you try and get them to do work--and, by the 13:59 way, work is something Adam and Eve had to teach their children. 14:01 Part of God's plan. 14:03 If you don't teach your children discipline and work, they're 14:05 going to have a really tough life. 14:07 They've got to have self-control, and they've got to 14:09 learn how to work. 14:11 But you've got to mix the work with play, and if the kids know 14:13 that "After you do this little bit of work, we're going to 14:17 reward you with some time of play," they are so excited to 14:20 get that work done. 14:23 And if you say, "If you do the work and you do it well, I'm 14:25 going to reward you with some time to play," they become very 14:28 excited about it, and pretty soon they just realize that work 14:31 is part of life so that you get to enjoy the play. 14:35 And, of course, there are benefits to work. 14:38 There's some satisfaction that comes from a job that's well 14:41 done, as well as the money you might receive that empowers you 14:44 to do other things that might be of interest. 14:47 So teaching them those principles of reward and 14:50 consequences, it's just so very important, and if they don't get 14:53 their work done, they don't get to play. 14:56 But that means that, as parents, you work alongside with them, 14:59 and when they've done what you think they can do--you don't 15:02 want to, you know, ask a five-year-old to do eight hours 15:04 of work. 15:06 You just give them a little bit of work and teach them the 15:08 principle, then stop, and you need to play with them. 15:11 Mom needs to spend some time playing with them, and just keep 15:14 going through that benefit and that reward, teaching them 15:18 self-discipline, self-control, making them apply themselves to 15:21 something they may not want to do, but they're looking beyond 15:25 to the reward. 15:27 So there are just some basic principles here. 15:30 I'm sure--what are the things that God taught Adam and Eve? 15:33 Well, probably he taught them something--how to survive in 15:36 their environments. 15:38 One of the first things children need to learn is "What is this 15:41 environment I live in?" 15:43 They're very tactile and touching everything and trying 15:45 to understand it. 15:47 You blow a little in their face, and they gasp, 15:49 and they're trying to figure out what's going on around them. 15:51 Well, Adam and Eve, God taught them about their environment. 15:54 Let me just give you a few little wonders someone 15:59 sent me of Creation. 16:01 "One might observe God's accuracy and wonders in creation 16:05 just in the way that eggs hatch. 16:09 You know, the eggs of a canary are in 14 days. 16:13 Those of the barnyard hen hatch in 21 days. 16:16 Eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days. 16:20 Those of a mallard, 35 days. 16:23 The eggs of a parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. 16:27 Notice that, with all these birds, they are all divisible 16:29 by seven. 16:31 Of course, that's the number of days in a week. 16:34 God in His wisdom made the elephant. 16:37 The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the 16:40 same direction. 16:42 No other quadruped is made this way. 16:44 God planned that this animal would have a huge body too, and 16:48 he lives on two legs. 16:50 For this reason, he gave it four fulcrums so that it can raise 16:53 from the ground easily, two legs at a time. 16:56 The horse rises from the ground on its front legs first. 16:59 The cow rises from the ground on its hind legs first. 17:04 How wise the Lord is in all of His Creation. 17:07 Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind. 17:11 Each orange has an even number of segments. 17:14 Each ear of corn will have an even number of rows." 17:18 You're going to be counting this next time. 17:21 "Each stock of wheat has an even number of grains. 17:24 Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row and even number 17:28 of bananas, and each row decreases by one so that one row 17:33 has an even number, the next row, an odd number, the next 17:36 row, an even number." 17:38 Amazing. 17:41 "The waves of the sea roll on shore 26 to the minute in all 17:43 kinds of weather. 17:46 All grains are found in the even numbers of the stock. 17:49 God has caused the flowers to blossom at a certain specific 17:51 time during the day, and different flowers, different 17:55 times during the day." 17:57 I know, when I lived up in the cave, they had something called 17:59 "deadly nightshade," and they called it nightshade because the 18:01 flower would un-spiral and open during the full moon. 18:05 I used to observe that. 18:07 "Linnaeus the great botanist, once said that, if he had a 18:10 conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture, 18:13 and temperature, he could plant enough different plants, and he 18:16 could tell the time of day or night by looking at the 18:19 different plants that were open and those that were closed. 18:22 He said he could set a clock by them." 18:24 God has made nature so precise. 18:26 And this is just the tip of the iceberg, you might say. 18:30 And so this was God's plan that they teach their children from 18:36 the environment, that the children were able to work in 18:39 the soil and then maybe play with the animals. 18:42 I'm sure that, you know, back there, just outside the Garden 18:45 of Eden before the flood, that the animals were 18:48 probably--still, though they had the fear of man, that they had 18:51 many that were pets and that many that were very cute and fun 18:56 to play with, and the children were able to play with these 19:00 things. 19:02 They learned from the different animals and their interesting 19:04 habits, and what a beautiful world it must've been before the 19:06 curse of the flood. 19:11 So they received instruction probably in botany, agriculture, 19:13 zoology, astronomy, and that God was placing them, of course, in 19:20 charge of His garden, and so they knew something 19:23 about botany. 19:25 In Genesis 1, they were taught about Creation, 19:29 Genesis 1:1 and 2, 19:30 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 19:32 And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on 19:35 the deep. 19:37 And the Spirit of God was hovering on 19:39 the face of the waters." 19:41 So they learned about God. 19:43 God's saying, "Let Us make man in Our image," God the Father, 19:45 Son, and the Spirit, that hovered on the face of 19:48 the waters. 19:50 They learned about that He was the Creator. 19:53 You can read in Genesis 1:26, "And the Lord said, 'Let Us make 19:56 man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them have 20:00 dominion over the fish and over every creeping thing that creeps 20:03 on the earth.' 20:05 So God created man in His own image. 20:08 In the image of God created He male and female, created 20:10 He them." 20:13 And so I think man was made with a certain amount of curiosity. 20:18 And those of you who are parents, you know that, when 20:22 children get to where they can talk and they're two or three 20:26 years old, they start asking questions that can drive you 20:31 to distraction. 20:33 "Why? Why? 20:35 Why?" 20:37 "Well, I've got to plant this flower." 20:38 "Why?" 20:39 You know, and it could rain. 20:42 "Why?" 20:44 "Don't eat your dessert before you eat your dinner." 20:46 "Why?" 20:48 Heh-heh, they got some good questions. 20:50 But, boy, you've got to be patient, answering all those 20:52 "why" questions. 20:54 And they are just--if we could only see, their minds are 20:57 soaking up information so quickly. 20:59 You know, it's phenomenal, it really is phenomenal 21:02 when you think about it. 21:04 I've known people that were 25 years old, and they move from 21:09 one country where they speak one language to another country, and 21:12 25 years later, they are still struggling to speak the 21:15 language, but then you have a family that moves, and that 21:19 family--and I've seen this many times--that family's got three 21:23 kids that are under the age of ten, and they send them to 21:28 school in a foreign country, being taught in a language that 21:31 kids have never spoken before, and you know what? 21:34 In one year, those kids are fluently speaking the language. 21:39 In two years, they're speaking it without an accent. 21:42 And 20 years later, the parents still don't understand. 21:45 So there is a time--and you probably--I can see you're 21:48 nodding out there--other side of the camera. 21:52 There is a certain time in the life when the minds are so 21:57 astute and so sharp, and the memories. 22:01 You know, I used to have a really good memory. 22:04 My memory is not bad now, but it was really, really good when I 22:07 was younger. 22:10 And I'll make a confession now. 22:13 The way I got my driving test is they had a master book--you 22:18 might get one of five different tests when you were driving, and 22:23 you did not know which one they were going to hand you at the 22:26 DMV here in California, but it was one of three or five. 22:29 I forget. 22:32 But you could buy the book that had all of the tests in it, and 22:34 I went through the book, and I just memorized all the answers. 22:36 And when I got my flying degree, they had something similar. 22:41 They had a book, and on your final written exam for 22:44 flying--and there's some really complicated questions in there 22:47 that deal with math and wind drift and direction and 22:51 compensation and three-dimensional calculations, 22:54 and there's just some deep stuff for me, anyway. 22:57 I got the book, and I went through the book, and I read 22:59 every question. 23:01 I read the multiple-choice answers, and I noticed 23:03 which answer was right. 23:05 That's how I passed. 23:08 And I just was able to--I'd read a Scripture. 23:10 I'd just remember it. 23:12 And now I read a Scripture, and in 20 minutes, I've forgotten 23:15 it, and I think, "Oh, I wish I had read more Scripture when I 23:19 was younger." 23:22 I wish that I had committed the whole Bible to memory because 23:24 the verses I remember now, when I'm teaching and preaching, it's 23:27 not the verses I read yesterday. 23:29 It's the verses I read 30 years ago that I remember. 23:33 So there's something about your mind 23:35 where it's extremely supple. 23:37 Now, I can still learn things. 23:39 It just takes a lot more effort. 23:41 And I can memorize a verse, but I've got to read it about 23:43 six times now, where before--one time. 23:45 And so make the most when your children are young. 23:48 Have them memorize Scripture. 23:52 And the lessons that you implant, "Train up a child in 23:55 the way he should go when he's young, and when he is old, 23:58 he will not depart from it." 24:01 The concrete is so much easier to shape when it's soft, 24:04 and once it hardens, it becomes a little more difficult. 24:08 And so teach them while they're young. 24:11 So they were taught about the Creator and that the Creator 24:15 should be worshiped. 24:17 Nehemiah 9:6, "You alone are the Lord. 24:20 You have made the heaven and the heavens, with all their hosts, 24:24 the earth and everything in it, the sea and all that is in them, 24:28 and you preserve them all. 24:30 The host of heaven worships You." 24:32 Now, how different that is from what is being taught to most 24:35 children in public education today. 24:38 The kids are not being told that everything was made by God, and 24:44 it had just--it grieves me, and I kind of flinch every time I 24:48 hear a teacher in a public school--now, I know there are 24:53 some public schools that are exceptions, but when they say, 24:56 "Millions of years ago, this slowly evolved from this," and 25:00 what do the children learn? 25:03 Instead of the idea that they are made in the image of God 25:05 with a great and a noble purpose, and they someday will 25:10 live through eternity, and God will dwell with them, this big 25:13 picture of God and divinity, instead of that, they're 25:17 getting, "You really have no purpose in life. 25:19 You've evolved from some primeval sludge, and just by a 25:23 lot of accidents, you sort of mathematically worked your way 25:26 up, and you just got lucky enough to be born as one of 25:30 these creatures, called 'humans,' that really have no 25:34 purpose and other than your brief existence." 25:38 To be taught that is so sad. 25:41 That's why it's so important, when we're living in a world 25:43 where the children are going to get mixed messages--now, back in 25:46 Adam's day and probably for the first few generations, think 25:50 about it: When Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel and their 25:53 posterity, when they were alive before the flood, they could go 25:55 to the Garden of Eden. 25:57 They could go to the gates. 25:59 They couldn't go in. 26:01 They could go to the gates of the Garden of Eden, and they 26:03 could see that flaming cherub there with the sword. 26:05 They believed the story of Adam and Eve. 26:07 They believed that God made them, and I don't think they had 26:09 problems with evolution back then, but now you've got to 26:12 train up your children so that they have a deeply ingrained 26:17 faith that they have been divinely created. 26:20 Whenever you show them anything, they need to know that this was 26:26 made by God. 26:29 You know, when our kids were young, we used to enjoy watching 26:31 good nature videos, and some of the best nature videos were made 26:36 by BBC, and some of the best photography and the most 26:40 amazing, wonderful things, David Attenborough did, a lot of 26:44 beautiful nature videos, whether it was "Planet Earth" or "Blue 26:49 Planet" or about the oceans, and our kids used to watch that, but 26:53 I'd sit there with them, and then every now and then, after 26:56 showing all these amazing, wonderful, miraculous things 26:59 in nature, they would say, "And millions of years ago," 27:03 and I taught my kids, whenever they heard it, they went, 27:06 "Nah, nah, nah. 27:08 Nah, nah, nah," and because, you know, they just--I had to train 27:12 them and say, "Look at all the miracles that we're seeing in 27:14 this program. 27:16 That all happened by accident?" 27:19 And they realized that that is really an absurd idea that all 27:21 that symbiotic relationships and all that design and all that 27:25 wonder could just evolve by accident. 27:29 So you have to sit there with them and prepare them because, 27:32 once they get out in the world, they're going to be hearing, 27:34 "Millions of years ago," "Millions of years ago," 27:37 "Billions of years ago, there was nothing, and all of this 27:41 came from nothing. 27:43 It just exploded." 27:45 That's theory of man. 27:47 And so in your training them about the importance of God the 27:49 Creator and the Creation, that needs to be just settled in 27:52 their minds so they never doubt it and their noble purpose: "I 27:56 am made in the image of God, and some day, I will answer to God 27:59 for the life that I've lived." 28:02 This life is very brief. 28:04 You can't just live it for yourself. 28:06 You'll give an account to God for everything you do, for all 28:08 of your works, for every idle word that you speak. 28:11 This is what Jesus teaches. 28:13 And so they are created by God for a great purpose, and we will 28:16 all answer to God. 28:18 We are stewards of our time and our lives. 28:20 Once a child reaches the age of accountability, which, you know, 28:24 biblically it could be somewhere between 10 and 13, depending 28:27 on the child's understanding, they need to realize, 28:31 "I'm accountable to God for my decisions." 28:34 So they taught them this. 28:39 "Christian education is committed to educating families 28:42 and members in doctrine, worship, instruction, 28:45 fellowship, evangelism, and service. 28:48 Home is where you minister to family members about the love 28:51 and the promises of God. 28:53 It's where Jesus is introduced to the children as their Lord 28:58 and Savior and friend, and where the Bible is upheld 29:02 as the Word of God." 29:05 In 2 Corinthians 4:16, "For it is the God who commanded light 29:08 to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give 29:11 the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face 29:15 of Jesus Christ." 29:17 So not only are we teaching them about God, they need to be 29:20 taught about the plan of salvation. 29:23 They need to be taught about the fall. 29:25 Why is there suffering in the world? 29:27 And when the kids are asking, "Why, why, why?" 29:29 you know, at some point, they're going to see something die, and 29:32 it's at a usually very early age, and they're going to want 29:34 to know why, and what's going to happen to Kitty or to Fido when 29:39 they die? 29:41 Why is there death? 29:44 And just explaining to them the rebellion of Lucifer, the 29:48 entrance of sin, that death is not permanent for the believer, 29:52 it's so important for them to understand that. 29:54 I remember being shocked. 29:56 When I was little, I always thought you got hurt, and you 29:58 went to the doctor, and we used to play doctor, and we always 30:02 put Band-Aids all over each other, and we thought, you know, 30:05 you just put some medicine on, take a pill, and we used to mix 30:08 up our own concoctions, and we thought doctors fixed 30:11 everything. 30:13 And then I vividly remember this: There was a 30:15 black-and-white TV. 30:18 I was with my grandmother and grandfather. 30:20 My grandfather was watching some program where a bullfighter was 30:23 out in the ring, and the bullfighter got hit by the bull, 30:26 and he got tossed around and gored, and they carried him off. 30:30 And I said, "Grandpa, they're taking him to the doctor," and 30:32 my grandfather, in his abrupt way, he said, "No, Dougie, he's 30:38 deader than a doornail." 30:41 I said, "Well, he's going to--they'll give him some 30:43 medicine, he'll get better." 30:44 He said, "No, he's dead. 30:47 He's not ever coming back." 30:49 And I was shocked as a child with the concept of death, that 30:52 someone's life could end. 30:54 I thought, "That could happen to me?" 30:56 And, boy, I tell you, it kind of puts a fear in you as a child. 31:01 They need to be taught that there's life beyond the grave, 31:05 or, otherwise, it's a hopeless end, but they need to be taught 31:08 that, really, they've got an endless hope because of Jesus. 31:11 Now, looking in the section on the childhood of Jesus, just 31:14 think about how miraculous and amazing it was that God the 31:19 Father, He committed the education of His beloved Son to 31:23 a flawed, human family. 31:28 Now, you realize that Joseph and Mary, though they were 31:31 godly people--Mary was a godly woman--they were people, 31:36 and all humans have sinned. 31:38 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and 31:40 the only exception to that is Jesus Himself. 31:43 Yes, Joseph had sinned. 31:46 Mary--I know that there's a church that teaches the 31:48 "immaculate conception," that Mary was born sinless. 31:51 That's not taught anywhere in the Bible. 31:53 Mary was human. 31:54 Even during the life of Jesus, Mary had to be, kind of, 31:57 corrected by Jesus a couple times. 31:59 She was pushing Him to do things before His time. 32:02 Said, "Come and talk to your family. 32:05 We're out here waiting for you," and He said, "Who is my mother, 32:07 my father, my brethren, but those that hear 32:10 the Word of God and do it." 32:12 Said, "Jesus, you need to help them at the wedding." 32:14 He turned the water into wine, and He said, "Woman, 32:16 My time has not yet come." 32:18 And so, you know, there were times even in Mary's life--and 32:20 I'm sure before--where she sinned, and, yet God took His 32:26 perfect Son and placed Him in a human family to be taught 32:30 by humans. 32:33 And can you imagine, when the angels appeared and spoke to 32:37 the shepherds? 32:39 And the shepherds came to Joseph and Mary and said, "We've just 32:41 heard from angels this is the Messiah." 32:42 When the wise men showed up and they said, "We've seen the 32:44 star," "This is the King," and the angel who spoke to Joseph, 32:47 and the angel who spoke to Mary, they understood that they had 32:51 been given the commission of the highest charge of any parents to 32:56 raise the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. 33:01 Boy, talk about a heavy job. 33:04 How careful they were in instructing Jesus. 33:08 And so, yeah, the angels told them--said, "Mary, do not 33:16 be afraid. 33:18 God is," and this, by the way, is Matthew* chapter 18, verse 33:20 25, while Joseph is thinking about these things because the 33:24 angel had said that she would be of child with the Holy Spirit. 33:27 He told him, "Joseph, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, 33:31 your wife, for that which is conceived in her is 33:33 of the Holy Spirit. 33:36 She will bring forth a Son. 33:38 You'll call His name Jesus. 33:40 He will save His people from their sins." 33:43 And this was spoken of by the prophet, the fulfillment that 33:45 God would be with us. 33:47 You could read in Luke 1, verse 26, "Now in the sixth month 33:50 the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named 33:53 Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, 33:58 of the house of David. 34:00 And the virgin's name was Mary. 34:03 And having come in, the angel said, 'Rejoice highly favored 34:05 one, the Lord is with you. 34:07 Blessed are you among women.' But when she saw him, 34:09 she was troubled at this saying, and considered what manner 34:12 of greeting this was. 34:14 The angel said, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you've found 34:18 favor with God. 34:20 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son 34:22 and call His name Jesus. 34:25 He will be great and be called the Son of the Highest, and the 34:28 Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 34:31 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever." 34:34 Boy, can you imagine the pressure of knowing that you've 34:37 got this child, and can you imagine how Joseph and Mary felt 34:41 when Jesus was 12, and they took Him to the temple, and then they 34:45 went home with this big procession of people that were 34:48 up from Galilee and Nazareth, and after they traveled for a 34:51 day and a half, they said, "You know, we can't find Jesus in the 34:54 crowd anywhere." 34:56 They thought for sure He was a responsible young man. 34:57 He was hanging out with some cousins or something. 35:00 And they realized they had lost Jesus. 35:02 Can you imagine trying to explain that to God? 35:05 "God, we know that you gave us your Son to watch over Him. 35:09 We seem to have misplaced Him." 35:11 Well, that would've been really tough. 35:14 And that's why she said later, when they found Jesus, she said, 35:16 "Son, why'd You do this to us? 35:19 You nearly gave us a heart attack." 35:21 I'm paraphrasing. 35:23 "We have sought You, sorrowing." 35:25 For three days, they were so anxious. 35:27 "God committed to us this important charge. 35:29 The Savior of the world. 35:31 We've misplaced Him. 35:33 We've lost the Savior." 35:35 Hah, and, now, I just said that somewhat in jest but trying to 35:40 get us to understand, really, every parent with every child, 35:46 you have the potential to raise someone up that will be a son 35:50 and daughter of God. 35:53 The Bible said, "Behold what manner of love the Father has 35:56 bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God." 35:59 And so, yes, Joseph and Mary were given this charge 36:05 to raise up the Savior of the world. 36:08 You and I are given the charge to raise up children who will 36:10 not just be saved, but God wants us to raise children that can 36:13 save others. 36:15 We want to teach them the plan of salvation and give them a 36:19 missionary spirit. 36:21 Teach them through example. 36:23 You know, I don't want to finish this lesson without saying the 36:26 most obvious thing: Sometimes, children do not listen to their 36:32 elders, but they never fail to imitate them. 36:34 The most important way to teach children--three things, example, 36:38 example, example. 36:40 And if you're going to teach them to clean, clean right 36:44 beside with them. 36:46 If you're going to teach them to vacuum, do it with them if 36:47 you've got two vacuum cleaners, but you know what I mean. 36:50 Work with them. 36:52 If you're going to tell them how to plant seeds, do it with them. 36:54 You teach them by example. 36:56 If you don't want them to yell at each other, never yell at 36:58 them, and do not yell at your spouse. 37:01 When kids show up in kindergarten, and they're losing 37:03 their temper, they probably learned it at home, or they've 37:06 got a very indulgent parent that hasn't taught them self-control. 37:10 And so it's so much by example that they learn these things. 37:16 So, and then, of course, we need to teach them, of course, to 37:22 read and to write so that they can read and study the Word 37:24 of God. 37:28 You know, "Among evangelical protestants--" 37:29 I saw this. It was interesting, an amazing fact. 37:32 This morning I thought I'd share with you: "Among evangelical 37:34 protestants, 66% of women read the Scriptures at least once a 37:37 week compared to 58% of men, and there are similar studies that 37:44 have been done both by the Pew Research and 37:47 the Barna research groups. 37:49 "More women read their Bibles than men." 37:51 Could Mary read? 37:53 You know, it talks about that usually the boys were taught in 37:56 Israel to read, and they did the public readings, but evidently 38:00 the women could also read, and I'm quite sure that Mary 38:02 could read. 38:05 Listen to this: "Desire of Ages," page 70, talking about 38:07 the learning and training of Jesus: "The child Jesus did not 38:13 receive instruction in the synagogue schools. 38:15 His mother was His first human teacher. 38:18 From her lips and from the scrolls of the prophets, He 38:22 learned of heavenly things. 38:24 The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel 38:27 He was now taught at His mother's knee. 38:31 As He advanced from childhood to youth, He did not seek the 38:34 schools of the rabbis. 38:36 He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources, 38:42 for God was His instructor." 38:45 Not only was He taught of His mother, He was taught by the 38:48 Holy Spirit. 38:50 I read an interesting amazing fact. 38:53 You know, in 1977, some geologists were doing some 38:56 exploration in an extremely remote part of Siberia, off by 39:00 the border of Mongolia, and there at 6,000 feet, they 39:04 thought they saw something that it looked like it was man-made, 39:08 and as they came in a little closer, they saw something that 39:11 looked like a shed in the side of a hill and rows and rows 39:13 of gardens. 39:15 They landed and gradually came up to the place. 39:18 They found a family that had been living in isolation for 39:20 42 years. 39:23 The father with his wife and three children had escaped the 39:26 Bolshevik persecution, and they had had no interaction, or 39:31 virtually no interaction, with any other humans for 42 years. 39:36 They'd lived off the land, just about starving from year 39:39 to year. 39:41 Can you imagine in Siberia surviving the winters up there? 39:43 And they had two more children that lived up there that had 39:45 never seen anybody outside of their own family, two daughters, 39:48 yet the mother--the only books they had was they had a Bible 39:52 and a few prayer books. 39:54 Very devout people. 39:56 The mother taught the girls to read, and they made their own 39:59 ink from some of the local plants. 40:02 She taught them to read and write the Word of God, which is 40:05 quite amazing when you think about it, but that family, those 40:09 parents, were the teachers, the only school for those children 40:12 from--for 42 years. 40:17 Now, that's not healthy. 40:19 We're not recommending that, but it's just talking about an 40:21 amazing fact. 40:23 I thought you'd find interesting. 40:25 Communication. 40:27 "The true teacher can impart to his pupils few gifts so valuable 40:30 as the gift of his own companionship. 40:33 It is true of men and women, and how much more of youth and 40:36 children, that only as we come in touch through sympathy can we 40:41 understand them, and we need to understand in order to more 40:45 effectively benefit." 40:48 So in the process of teaching, parents will learn every one of 40:52 your children is unique and different. 40:54 And Karen and I stand back sometimes, and we look at the 40:57 kids, and we go, "Wow, they are all so different." 41:00 And even though they grew up in fairly similar circumstances, 41:04 they've got different temperaments. 41:08 There's different combinations of genes and DNA. 41:11 You know when that miracle of life happens? 41:14 It's just a--you don't know what you're going to drop in the 41:17 blender that day, and interesting that the different 41:20 traits and characteristics, they'll be like the mother and 41:23 father, and I always tell Karen, "It's amazing how the kids got 41:26 all of my good traits," and her bad ones, but they'll end up 41:29 being something--I'm just kidding. 41:32 They'll end up being something like the mother and the father, 41:35 and some are trained tendencies, some are inherited tendencies, 41:38 but that all must be guided and molded for the glory of God. 41:44 You do that by drawing near to them. 41:48 Study them, their temperaments, how they respond better. 41:51 Some of our kids, I could talk to them and tell them I was 41:53 displeased, and they'd had a meltdown. 41:55 Their little hearts would break, and I didn't need to ever resort 41:58 to corporal punishment. 42:00 Other kids, they'd fold their arms and stomp their feet, and 42:02 they were just defiant and strong-willed, and it took 42:05 somethin' different. 42:07 You just have to know, with every child, study them, draw 42:10 closer to them. 42:11 Let them see that you love them, and you have their best 42:13 interests in mind, and that's so important. 42:15 Psalm 37, verse 7, "Rest in the Lord, 42:20 and wait patiently for Him. 42:22 Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way because of 42:24 the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 42:26 Cease from anger, forsake wrath. 42:29 Do not fret. 42:31 It only causes harm." 42:33 So don't let your children see you stewing and worrying and 42:36 stressing and fretting because they'll just model 42:41 what you have. 42:43 Let them see that you have a faith in God, that you trust 42:46 God, that your love for them is unconditional, and they will 42:50 then begin to trust in that. 42:52 You know, especially because you have them when they're so young, 42:55 they grow up--you are really God to them. 42:59 You're supplying all of their needs when they're little. 43:02 They're looking to you to hold them to protect them, to provide 43:04 for them, to clean them. 43:06 They're utterly dependent when they come in this world, 43:10 and if you showed them love, and you've got their best interests, 43:13 they're not going to doubt you when you tell them about God 43:15 and his truth. 43:17 Some parents assume the kids are going to get it 43:19 all through osmosis. 43:21 It is important you sit down and you teach them diligently. 43:24 Then this is one of the most important parts of the lesson, 43:26 Deuteronomy 6, verse 6, teach them the Word of God: "These 43:31 words that I command you shall be in your heart. 43:34 You shall teach them diligently," that means 43:36 repetitively, with effort-- "when you talk of them, when you 43:41 sit in your house, when you walk by the way, on the road, in the 43:44 home, when you lie down," evening worship, "when you rise 43:48 up," morning worship. 43:50 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. 43:52 They will be as frontlets between your eyes." 43:54 And that's symbolically speaking. 43:56 It says it'll be in your heart too. 43:58 That's obviously a symbol. 44:00 That means show them the Word of God in your work and your 44:02 actions, in your thoughts and in your meditation. 44:05 "Write them on the doorposts of your house and of your gates." 44:08 You surround yourself with the Word of God. 44:11 "Thy Word I've hidden in my heart that I might not sin." 44:13 So hide the Word of God in your children's hearts, and it will 44:17 be a great blessing to them. 44:20 Well, I'm looking at the clock, and I see that I'm about out 44:21 of time. 44:24 I think we got through the heart of the lesson. 44:26 I want to remind you, if you missed it at the beginning, we 44:29 do have a free offer I trust will be a blessing. 44:31 It's called "A Love That Transforms." 44:33 We will send you a copy. 44:35 If you're in North America, 866-788-3966, and I believe 44:39 that's the lower 50 states, the contiguous U.S., 866-Study-More. 44:44 And you can download this via text, "SH003" to 40544. 44:53 Read that. 44:55 Share it with friends, and God willing, we'll look forward to 44:56 studying His Word with you again next week. 45:02 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 45:04 free resource. 45:06 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 45:08 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 45:10 mobile device. 45:11 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 45:14 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 45:18 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 45:22 download option on the request page. 45:24 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 45:27 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 45:31 and most important, to share it with others. 45:37 male announcer: The statistics are grim. 45:38 Millions have been infected by coronavirus. 45:41 Thousands have died. 45:42 Race riots have broken out on streets. 45:45 Political tensions are at an all-time high. 45:48 Does the Bible have anything to say about the times 45:51 in which we are living? 45:52 Doug Batchelor: Hi, friends. 45:54 This is Pastor Doug Batchelor. 45:55 Many people are wondering if the world's about to implode. 45:59 Some are fearful that global events point to a coming crisis 46:02 unlike anything we've ever witnessed. 46:05 Did you know the Bible book of Revelation actually speaks 46:08 about the days in which we're living now? 46:10 And it contains a message of hope, if we would only listen. 46:15 That's why I'd like to invite you to "Revelation Now: 46:19 Decoding the Bible's Greatest Prophecies." 46:21 In this multi-part series, I'll be sharing relevant truths 46:24 for our time from the last book in the Bible. 46:27 male announcer: Coming October 23. 46:29 To learn more, visit revelationnow.com. 46:37 ♪♪♪ 46:40 announcer: "Amazing Facts Changed Lives." 46:48 Brittney: I was addicted to all different types of things. 46:50 I finally hit rock bottom when I got pulled over one night after 46:55 a heavy night of partying with some friends. 46:59 I was drunk, high on Ecstasy, and I realized then that I had 47:03 to make a change. 47:06 Vince: Was in the military and listening to very satanic music 47:09 every day and heard this whisper to carve "666" into my knuckles. 47:14 Contemplated on it a while, and I was sitting at my desk, and I 47:18 had my knife on me, and I started carving the horizontal 47:22 lines for the sixes into my index finger first with serrated 47:27 edges and started to enjoy it. 47:33 I wanted to make it known who I wanted to follow, actually, 47:37 and not knowing I was following Satan at the time. 47:40 Just, I thought it was a cool thing to do. 47:43 Brittney: So I met this guy online, and that was my husband, 47:45 Vince, and I noticed his ears, and we started talking, 47:52 and he was just adorable. 47:53 Vince: Flew down and actually met her here in Arizona. 47:56 Brittney: And, at that point, I found out quickly 48:00 after we met that I was pregnant. 48:02 Vince: So shortly after our daughter was born, it was a very 48:04 exciting moment, but the nurses and doctors notice something 48:07 right away that she was extremely orange with jaundice. 48:10 Brittney: And she ended up in the hospital, very sick, and it 48:14 was extremely hard on us. 48:17 We were teenagers. 48:19 We were scared. 48:21 Our baby was sick. 48:23 I was with someone that was very angry, and at that point, 48:29 we were in the hospital room, and I remember a chaplain coming 48:34 in and speaking with the people. 48:37 Since it was like a conjoined room, we had a roommate, and the 48:41 chaplain had said, you know, if he could pray for the other 48:45 family, and that's when I knew that it was my chance. 48:47 I had to take that opportunity, and I asked my husband, "Should 48:52 I go talk to him?" 48:54 Vince: I said, "No way." 48:55 I wanted nothing to do with God. 48:57 I wanted nothing to do with talking to this chaplain. 49:00 Brittney: I decided that I was going to get up anyway, and I 49:02 got up, and you could tell he was very angry that I decided to 49:04 walk over, and I went to the chaplain, and I asked him to 49:09 come over and speak to us, and he did. 49:12 Vince: And he came in, and we asked him questions, 49:15 and he actually came to visit us every single day. 49:17 Brittney: The chaplain that we met with mentioned Amazing Facts 49:20 study guides and, just, the ministries. 49:23 Vince: He showed us videos and study guides 49:26 from Amazing Facts, specifically. 49:29 It was on "Final Events" and "Cosmic Conflict." 49:31 At that point, we had transferred hospitals to 49:33 an outpatient hospital, and we were able to watch these videos, 49:37 and we were hooked on them. 49:39 Brittney: It was a huge blessing. 49:41 We would watch Pastor Doug, and we would sit up late at night, 49:46 watching sermons, and we were just teenagers. 49:50 Most kids our age were out doing crazy things, and here we are at 49:54 home with popcorn and chocolate bars, watching Pastor Doug. 49:58 Ben Lundquist: This young couple came into the Camelback Church 50:01 holding a beautiful little baby, and this was one 50:04 of the first times that I had ever met Vince and Brittney. 50:07 Vince: We needed somebody to show us that they loved us, that 50:10 they supported us, and Pastor Ben was there, giving us 50:12 Bible studies on marriage counseling as well as baptism. 50:15 Brittney: I was still smoking and drinking lightly, and a few 50:18 things along those lines, and it was one day when I woke up on 50:23 February 15, 2011, after watching many sermons on 50:29 "Amazing Facts" from Pastor Doug, and having a really solid 50:33 church family, that I was able to say, "No more." 50:37 And from that day on, I stopped all of my addictions. 50:41 Charles White: And, ultimately, their lives began to take 50:44 on just a new dimension of congruity because Jesus was 50:47 there, and He was the one that was bringing that sense of 50:50 belonging and hope and help. 50:53 Brittney: We decided to get baptized and married, and we got 50:57 baptized one day and married the next, and it was 50:59 an amazing experience. 51:01 Ben: And we found a spot by the lake, and it was 51:03 absolutely perfect. 51:05 The evening was coming to a close. 51:07 The sun was about ready to go down. 51:09 Vince: And we were standing on the water with Pastor Ben, 51:12 and the sky was such a deep red. 51:14 The reflections off the sky was almost as if we were standing 51:18 in blood, we were washed in the blood of Jesus. 51:20 Ben: And that was the moment that God painted the canvas of 51:23 the sky with the most beautiful colors signifying the journey 51:28 that he was going to be laying out for Vince and Brittney. 51:31 Vince: Shortly after we were baptized, about a month later, 51:35 we had realized that my scars were gone. 51:38 I was completely healed physically of not having 51:41 the "666" on my knuckles anymore, and I struggled with 51:44 that for so long because of what I did, and He forgave me. 51:49 Malcolm Douglas: Many times, when we think of the way that 51:50 we've been led to Christ, we think there's usually one 51:53 individual, but having been able to work alongside Pastor Ben and 51:56 Pastor White, it's been great to see how we've been able to work 52:00 with Brittney and Vincent and seen them just really grow. 52:03 And this has really been something that's been beneficial 52:06 to me. 52:08 You know, sometimes I think about this, and the Bible says, 52:10 "More blessed is he who gives than receives," and I feel, in 52:12 many times, more blessed, just seeing them and seeing all the 52:17 challenges they've gone through, all the difficulties, and seeing 52:21 them overcome these things, it just--it amazes me. 52:24 Vince: As I reflect back on everything I've done in my life, 52:27 completely going against God, wanting nothing to do with Him, 52:33 He still tried so hard as if I was the only one that was lost, 52:35 just as He promises. 52:38 He still went and found me even though I wanted nothing to do 52:42 with Him. 52:44 Brittney: Having Amazing Facts and the pastors in our lives 52:46 help us so much, it's really a blessing, and I feel like now 52:50 we're happy, and we have these two healthy, beautiful, little 52:55 girls, and God has truly blessed us, and I just want to share it 53:00 with everyone. 53:02 I want to scream it. 53:04 I'm so excited, and I feel really blessed to even have this 53:06 opportunity to share my story. 53:10 ♪♪♪ 53:24 Doug: We're here on the beautiful coast of the island of 53:26 Puerto Rico, and if you were to travel east about 2,000 miles, 53:30 of course, you'd be out in the middle of the ocean. 53:32 But you'd also be in the middle of a mystical sea called 53:35 the Sargasso Sea. 53:37 It gets its name because of this common brown seaweed 53:40 that can be found floating in vast mass. 53:43 The area of the Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide 53:48 and 2,000 miles long. 53:50 Now, the seaweed itself is fascinating stuff. 53:53 It was first observed and called gulfweed 53:55 by Christopher Columbus. 53:58 It gets the name "sargum" from the Portuguese. 54:00 Some people use it as herbal remedies. 54:02 But out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea the water is some 54:04 of the bluest in the world. 54:07 It's there you can see 200-feet deep in places. 54:10 It also has a great biodiversity and ecosystem that surrounds 54:13 the Sargasso Sea. 54:15 For years, scientists wondered where the American and 54:18 the Atlantic eels were breeding. 54:21 They knew the adult eel swam down the rivers, out into 54:23 the Atlantic, but they never could find the place 54:25 where they reproduced. 54:27 Finally, they discovered it was out in the middle 54:28 of the Sargasso Sea. 54:30 So it's a fascinating place, but if you were an ancient sailor, 54:33 you did not want to get stuck there. 54:36 ♪♪♪ 54:38 Doug: Being caught in the doldrums was extremely difficult 54:40 for the ancient sailors. 54:43 Of course, their boats were driven by wind and sail, and 54:45 they'd be caught in the vast mass of the seaweed that would 54:47 wrap around their rudder. 54:50 Barnacles would begin to grow. 54:52 It's an area that is notorious for light and baffling winds, 54:55 and so they'd make no progress. 54:58 They'd get stuck. 55:00 The men would become extremely dispirited. 55:02 Sometimes, violence and even insanity would break out 55:04 as people were trapped in the doldrums. 55:07 Well, friends, perhaps sometimes you've felt that you're trapped 55:09 in the doldrums. 55:11 You've gone through episodes of depression. 55:14 You feel like you're going in circles. 55:16 Life seems stifling. 55:18 You know, the Bible offers good news. 55:20 There is a way out. 55:22 The Bible talks about a famous character that was trapped 55:24 in a cycle of depression. 55:25 He was low as you could be. 55:27 Matter of fact, he even had seaweed wrapped around his head. 55:29 His name was Jonah. 55:31 But God gave him a way of escape. 55:33 In Jonah chapter 2, verse 3 through 7, we read: "For You 55:37 cast me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, 55:40 and the floods surrounded me. 55:42 All of Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 55:45 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight, 55:49 yet I will look again towards Your holy temple.' 55:52 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul. 55:54 The deep closed around me. 55:56 Weeds were wrapped around my head. 55:58 I went down to the moorings of the mountains. 56:01 The earth with its bars closed behind me forever, yet You've 56:03 brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God. 56:08 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, 56:12 and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple." 56:15 You know, friends, the way that Jonah got out of his 56:18 discouraging circumstances, he turned to God, and he prayed. 56:22 And if God could hear Jonah's prayer, just think about it: 56:25 He was as far away from God as anybody could be. 56:27 He was in the belly of a sea monster in the bottom 56:30 of the ocean in the dark, yet he turned to God, 56:33 and God heard his prayer. 56:34 You know, these ancient sailors, when they were trapped on the 56:37 deck of a ship for weeks, stuck in the doldrums, discouraged, 56:39 sometimes they would have a prayer meeting and pray that God 56:43 would send a breeze that would set them free and get 56:46 their boats moving. 56:48 They turned to God in prayer, and often miracles would happen, 56:50 and the wind would flutter in the sails and bring them out 56:53 of their seaweed prison. 56:55 Friends, maybe you have been stuck in the doldrums. 56:58 Maybe you've been caught in a cycle of depression. 57:00 If God can do it for Jonah, if He can do it for the ancient 57:02 sailors, He can do it for you. 57:05 Turn to the Lord in prayer. 57:06 Trust His Spirit to blow through your soul and to set you free. 57:10 ♪♪♪ 57:18 male: I really started getting involved with crime, 57:19 break and enters, selling drugs, stealing cars. 57:22 male: All of us were high, drugs all over the car, 57:24 paraphernalia, pipes. 57:25 female: I was suicidal. 57:27 I was developing an eating disorder, so, like, 57:29 all these things were just coming into play. 57:31 male: One night, I was flicking through my channels in my dorm. 57:35 There was this guy, this preacher. 57:37 male: By the end of the program, I had a complete understanding 57:40 of what God's plan actually is. 57:43 male: I started going through these Amazing Facts study 57:46 guides, and I finished those, and I was so hungry, I couldn't 57:50 put them down. 57:51 male: These series helped me to see how reasonable God is. 57:55 female: So after doing the studies and learning the truths 57:58 that I had been learning, I decided to take that next step. 58:02 male: I thank God for ministries like Amazing Facts, to a great 58:05 extent, the reason why I am in the church today. 58:09 male: Thank you. 58:10 male: Thank you. 58:12 female: Thank you for changing my life. 58:14 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-10-04