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Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH022047S
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00:14 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Shawn Brummund: Good morning and welcome to another edition 00:37 of the "Sabbath School Study Hour" on this beautiful last day 00:41 of October, here in 2020. 00:44 It's nice to be able to have you here in the studio 00:46 of Amazing Facts as we come together 00:48 to be able to continue to study this 00:50 very important subject of education. 00:53 In this particular instance, it is, of course, Christian 00:55 education as revealed in the Bible and, of course, the 00:59 number-one textbook that we have for Christian education is the 01:03 Holy Bible itself. 01:04 And so, thank you for joining us. 01:06 Those who are local, I know that many are joining us because 01:08 of the pandemic, even locally here in Granite Bay, 01:11 Roseville-Sacramento area. 01:13 As well, of course, we have our online friends, members across 01:17 the United States, and many people that are tuning in from 01:19 around the world. 01:21 So, for those of you who are livestreaming, happy Sabbath. 01:23 To those of you who are watching this in the future, perhaps 01:26 throughout the week preparing for the Sabbath, I want to wish 01:29 you a special blessing throughout your week, as well. 01:32 My name is Pastor Shawn Brummund, and our pastor that 01:36 will be teaching today is Pastor Lucas, Luccas Rodor, and so 01:40 we're going to invite him up shortly. 01:42 But before we invite him up, we want to continue to offer our 01:45 free offer as we do every single week, and this particular offer 01:50 is a Bible study guide entitled "Saved from Certain Death." 01:55 And if you'd like to receive a copy of this particular free 01:59 offer, you can dial into 1-866-788-3966, and they will be 02:06 happy to be able to offer this to you and send it out for free 02:10 if you are in the United States. 02:12 Now, that is offer number 109. 02:15 If you prefer a digital copy, that also is available for you. 02:18 Want to encourage you to take advantage of that by texting the 02:21 code SH060, and you want to text that to the number 40544. 02:31 And so, again, "Saved from Certain Death," and this is 02:34 important Bible subject that I know that you will be blessed 02:37 with as you continue your Christian education, even as we 02:41 will be over the next hour here as well. 02:44 So, we want to give as much time as possible to our teaching 02:47 pastor, so I want to invite you to join me in prayer. 02:51 Father in heaven, we thank You for the opportunity to be able 02:54 to worship You here this morning. 02:57 We want to thank You so much, Lord, for giving us this 03:00 opportunity to be able to open Your Bible. 03:02 We thank You for the subject that You have revealed to us in 03:05 the Bible of Christian education, even as You, Lord 03:09 Jesus, had commanded Your church and the first leaders of Your 03:12 church to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the 03:16 name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them 03:19 to observe all things in which You have commanded them. 03:23 And so, Lord, we continue to be Your students, want to pray, God 03:27 in heaven, that You will be our teacher, even as You, Lord 03:29 Jesus, were our teacher here on Earth. 03:32 That You'll continue to guide us into all truth even as You send 03:35 Your Spirit. 03:37 Be with our teacher. 03:38 Be with our pastor today as he brings the Word of Life to each 03:43 and every one of us, and so we pray these things 03:45 in Jesus's name. 03:47 Amen. 03:49 So again, thank you for joining us. 03:51 Pastor Rodor. 03:56 Luccas Rodor: Happy Sabbath, friends. 03:57 It is so good to be here with you. 03:59 It's so good to be able to share this lesson with all of you. 04:03 I know that we have people that are just watching from all over, 04:06 really, and it's a privilege to be here. 04:09 We're having a beautiful day here in the--in Granite Bay, 04:12 in the proximity of Sacramento, in California. 04:15 We're having a gorgeous day. 04:16 I was just in Maryland this last week with my parents. 04:20 I was visiting them and out there it was, kind of, rainy, 04:23 kind of--you know, we--you could tell it was fall. 04:27 Out here you can also tell, but here we have the sunshine, 04:30 so that's always a pleasure. 04:33 The study of this--of today's lesson is really 04:36 an interesting one. 04:37 Honestly, I'm really happy that I got to do this one, because 04:40 it's about education and redemption, and, really, I feel 04:43 that this is one of the core messages of this quarter, which 04:47 is where we understand that education, true education, has a 04:51 redemptive purpose. 04:52 It's there for the sole reason of redemption. 04:56 Any education, Christian education that doesn't have in 04:59 its sight, in its target, in its focus redemption, 05:04 there's something wrong with that kind of education. 05:09 I'm going to start reading the memory text with you all. 05:11 This memory text, it's one of the famous 3:16s of the Bible. 05:15 You know that the most famous, one of the most famous, 05:18 at least, verses in the Bible is John 3:16, but there are quite a 05:21 few other important 3:16s in the Bible, and this is one of them. 05:26 And so, this one comes from 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16, and 05:29 it says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is 05:33 profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 05:37 for instruction in righteousness." 05:39 Now, friends, one thing that I find extremely important to 05:44 understand before we actually begin and dive deep into the 05:47 content of this lesson is the understanding about God, His 05:52 creation, the world around us. 05:55 When it comes to understanding Him, when it comes to 05:56 understanding the world, when it comes to understanding His 05:59 creative capacity and His creativity, there are basically 06:02 three different forms or three different types of revelation 06:07 that we find, three different, as Pastor Shawn put it, 06:10 textbooks that really explain who God is, that explain His 06:14 personality, His character. 06:17 The word "revelation" actually comes from two Latin root words, 06:22 which are the words "re" and "velo" 06:26 that literally mean together. 06:27 When you combine them, revelation, they literally mean 06:30 "the removal of the veil." 06:31 And, of course, they come--that is also a transliteration from 06:35 the Greek "apokalypsis," which is, again, two root words. 06:39 If you've ever heard the word "apocalypse" before, that's 06:41 where it comes from, is these two root word. 06:44 That is, "apó" and "kalypsis" that literally mean "the removal 06:47 of the veil." 06:49 So, through it, through this revelation, through this removal 06:53 of the veil, God, He opens the curtains to fix the problem that 06:57 sin created in the very beginning, in the communication 07:01 between heaven and between Earth. 07:03 We know that sin, when it came around, it destroyed the best 07:08 part of our communication with heaven, and so God's revelation 07:11 comes to fix that problem between God and humans, 07:15 communication between God and us. 07:17 You see, sin affected our capacity of seeing correctly, 07:20 of thinking correctly, of acting correctly, of feeling correctly. 07:26 Sin was this great divide here on planet Earth, so what God 07:31 decided to do to bridge that problem was to communicate, was 07:35 to reveal Himself through these three types, these three 07:40 textbooks of revelation, and we're going to quickly cover 07:42 them so that we can better understand what this lesson 07:46 has for us. 07:47 So, first of all, we know that God reveals Himself through the 07:50 textbook of nature. 07:52 That's the first textbook, using Eden, the laws that govern the 07:56 universe, the laws of physics, of chemistry, of algebra, 08:01 of geometry, of biology. 08:03 When we see the tree, the skies, the air, we see how they 08:06 interact with each other. 08:07 We see the laws of thermodynamics and gravity. 08:10 That is God exercising His creativity. 08:13 That is God exercising His creative power. 08:16 And, honestly, one thing that I truly love about the textbook of 08:19 creation is that when God exercises His creative power, we 08:24 see not only His power, but we see His good sense of humor. 08:28 We see that God is a creative God. 08:29 I mean, God--this is the being that created creatures such as 08:34 the duck-billed platypus. 08:35 Who could have thought of creating an animal like that 08:38 except a creative, good-humored God? 08:41 So, I just love understanding and studying the textbook 08:44 of nature. 08:46 I'm fascinated by it. 08:47 I am not good at physics or chemistry. 08:49 You could just ask my high school teachers. 08:50 They would be the first to tell you that they don't know how 08:53 I passed all those years, but I do have a deep appreciation for 08:57 those areas of knowledge and those areas of existence. 09:01 However, all that being said, while nature, if understood 09:06 correctly, does bear witness to the Creator God and His 09:10 footprint here in our world, the entrance of sin did make this 09:15 textbook, the textbook of nature, incomplete, because it 09:19 can lead to divergent and even defective conclusions, depending 09:24 on the perspective by which nature is interpreted. 09:28 So, for example, those who believe in the theory or the 09:30 faith of evolution, for example, they say that they base their 09:35 conclusions on the empirical study of nature. 09:38 And so, we understand that this textbook, it can and it is to a 09:43 great extent quite subjective depending on how one 09:47 is interpreting it. 09:49 Even in Eden, within the limits of original perfection, nature 09:53 was not absolute or complete revelation. 09:57 Even then it needed to be complemented by special 10:00 revelation, and we know this, for example--point in case 10:04 of this is that the Bible tells us that Jesus, He would visit 10:06 our first parents. 10:08 He would walk with them in the evenings before sin. 10:11 And what would they be doing? 10:12 They would be talking. They would be communicating. 10:14 He would be teaching them and instructing them, so even the 10:17 textbook of nature was made to be understood as time goes by 10:21 and learned as time goes by. 10:23 And it is best interpreted by special revelation, which is the 10:27 very next textbook. 10:29 Before I get there, the last thing I'd like to say about 10:32 natural revelation in the context of the Eden, another 10:36 example of how natural revelation is not complete is 10:41 the forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10:44 For example, it wasn't defined by nature. 10:47 Naturally, there was no way to know that that tree was in any 10:51 way different or special, unless God revealed it, so what makes 10:55 that tree different is the fact that God told them 10:58 not to eat of it. 10:59 Naturally, there was nothing identifying it 11:02 as anything different. 11:04 Special revelation had to come in from God so that they could 11:06 understand what they were supposed to do. 11:08 So, you see that natural revelation, it reveals the 11:11 character of God. 11:12 It reveals the personality of God. 11:14 It reveals that He is a creator. 11:15 It reveals certain aspects, certain communicable attributes 11:18 of who He is, but at the same time it is not complete, 11:22 especially with the entrance of sin in our world. 11:25 And so, this is how we understand the second great 11:28 textbook of God's revelation, which is the Bible. 11:31 It's Holy Scripture, and it's called special revelation. 11:36 And here we have to understand two very basic theological 11:40 concepts before we actually dive into the main part 11:43 of this week's lesson. 11:44 The first is, what is special revelation? 11:47 What is it? What does it do? 11:49 Why is it special revelation? 11:50 So, it is when God communicates that which could never be 11:55 understood or learned by fallen humans through any 11:58 of our methods. 11:59 There's no way that we could learn this revelation through 12:02 induction, through a logical deduction, through empirical 12:06 study unless God had communicated it. 12:09 So, basically, special revelation is what we could 12:11 never know unless God had told us, right? 12:14 It's what we could never understand, could never grasp 12:17 unless God had communicated it to us, so this special 12:20 revelation was done through the prophets. 12:22 This is what we find in the Bible, those who spoke through 12:26 or then spoke for God, and it was then condensed in a book 12:31 called The Bible, which literally comes from a Greek 12:34 word "biblos," which, again, literally means "book." 12:37 That's what Bible means. 12:38 It literally means "book.'' 12:40 Biblos. 12:41 So, its purpose, according to our memory verse today in 12:46 Timothy 3:16, is primarily educational. 12:49 The purpose of the Bible is educational, friends. 12:52 That's why it's so important that this quarter 12:54 we're studying education. 12:55 We're studying this concept that education goes way beyond 13:00 classrooms and teachers and diplomas and degrees, and then 13:04 preparation for future jobs and salaries. 13:08 Ultimately, revelation has a redemptive purpose, so that's 13:11 what we find here. 13:13 Primarily, the purpose of the Bible is to instruct in 13:16 doctrine, to correct, to reproof, to discipline, to 13:20 become instructed in righteousness, to become apt for 13:24 salvation by the work of the Holy Spirit of God, the great 13:28 interpreter of Scripture. 13:29 And that's how we understand Scripture and the role of the 13:32 Holy Spirit in helping us to interpret Scripture. 13:37 The second concept--so, the first one is direct revelation, 13:40 where God reveals to the prophet. 13:41 The second idea that we have to understand here is the concept 13:44 of inspiration. 13:46 So, what is inspiration? 13:47 What's the difference between inspiration and revelation? 13:49 Well, first of all, not only did God make His plans, His wisdom, 13:54 His purposes, His paths available to us through 13:58 revelation, but He guaranteed that the content of that 14:01 revelation was faithfully communicated through the 14:04 inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 14:07 So, inspiration, friends, in a nutshell, it guarantees that the 14:10 Scriptures, which were inspired by the Spirit of God--and that's 14:14 the literal meaning of inspiration. 14:18 Inspiration comes from that literal meaning. 14:21 It means that it was communicated precisely as God 14:24 wanted it to be communicated. 14:27 And moreover, more than just revelation and inspiration, we 14:31 also know that there's a word mentioned in theology 14:34 called "illumination." 14:36 Now, illumination has nothing to do with, you know, the 14:40 post-medieval moment of illumination and renaissance. 14:46 Has nothing to do with that. 14:47 In this sense, illumination is the phenomenon that occurs 14:51 within the believer that studies the Word in order for the author 14:55 to communicate the correct meaning of the text, so this is 14:58 something--illumination is when God illuminates. 15:00 That's why we say that God is--you know, that God's Word is 15:03 a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. 15:06 This is what it means. 15:07 He illuminates us so that we can understand the correct meaning 15:11 of what the author was trying to convey or to pass, 15:16 so this way, friends. 15:17 Revelation is the phenomenon by which God communicates knowledge 15:21 that we could never acquire through any other source. 15:24 Inspiration is the phenomenon by which God guarantees that 15:27 that which is revealed or that that was revealed is faithfully 15:31 communicated by a prophet in a reliable manner. 15:35 And inspiration occurs in the believer through the Holy Spirit 15:40 of God, or capacitating them to correctly understand what was 15:46 transmitted by the author. 15:48 And so, this way, friends, we understand that the Bible does 15:51 not--the Bible does not contain or reflect human knowledge, 15:55 human philosophy, human ideologies. 15:58 No, the Bible reveals the mind of God. 16:02 That is the purpose of the Bible. 16:04 The Bible reveals the mind of God, the very mind of God. 16:09 Another important aspect about special revelation is that it 16:12 comes through Jesus. 16:14 It comes through Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. 16:16 So, in special revelation in Scripture we have the written 16:19 Word, but the third and most glorious textbook that we have 16:22 of revelation is Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. 16:25 The clearest, the most perfect, the most glorious revelation 16:28 from God came through His son. 16:31 And so, we have these three textbooks of revelation. 16:33 We have natural revelation, we have special revelation, and 16:36 then another sort of special revelation we have 16:39 through Jesus Christ, the absolute revelation 16:41 of God to us. 16:43 Jesus Himself said in John chapter 17, verse 3, he says, 16:47 "And this is the eternal life, that we may know You the only 16:51 true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." 16:55 And so, this is how we understand revelation. 16:58 The progression of this week's lesson is very interesting, and 17:01 one of the main topics that are covered there is how we 17:04 understand that we were created in the image of God. 17:06 Now, the first lesson of Scripture or one of the first 17:10 lessons of Scripture is that humankind was created. 17:13 We were created. 17:14 We did not just pop into existence. 17:16 We were intelligently, literally purposefully, created. 17:24 We were made, so we are a creation of God. 17:27 Not only this, but we were created in His image 17:30 and in His likeness. 17:32 This is one of the first and most important lessons that we 17:34 find in Scripture. 17:35 And what this means is that even though throughout history there 17:38 have been many theologians and many interpreters that 17:42 understood this declaration that we were created in God's image 17:46 in different ways, there are a few very basic principles that 17:50 we can understand and can all agree about this. 17:53 So, basically, being created in the image and in the likeness 17:57 of God, ultimately what it means is that we are like God 18:00 in certain aspects, and God is like us in certain aspects. 18:04 So, this expression, likeness and image, it indicates that 18:08 there are elements inside of humans, inside of us, 18:11 that bear witness to our origin. 18:14 There are elements inside of us--I'm going to repeat it--that 18:16 bear witness to our origin, to our Creator and to how 18:20 we were created. 18:22 Even after the Fall, in some aspects, humans still reflect 18:27 these indicative attributes of their origin, so, friends, true 18:32 education focuses precisely on the contact points, on the 18:36 contact points between God and His creation. 18:39 What is similar? 18:40 How were we created in His likeness? 18:43 Now, unfortunately, we know that sin did obscure, distort, and 18:47 even mutilate the image of God inside of humanity, but what was 18:52 left is still the object of God's divine action. 18:56 And so, the process of education, 18:58 it converges with redemption. 19:00 The process of education converges with redemption 19:03 because it restores in humanity what was lost in the Fall, what 19:08 was lost by sin, so God conceded to humans that way His 19:12 communicable attributes. 19:14 Everything that makes us different from the animals, God 19:16 communicated that to us. 19:18 We are relational creatures. 19:19 We have sentience. We think. 19:21 We can reason much more than unrational animals. 19:27 And so, because of all these qualities and so much more, the 19:30 fact that we were given authority, the fact that we were 19:33 given domain, the fact that the Son of God came to die to give 19:37 Himself for us, all of this--in all of this we understand that 19:40 we are--we were created in His likeness and in His image. 19:46 One of the things that most surprised me positively and made 19:54 me truly enjoy this past week's lesson was the study on Jesus as 20:00 the master teacher, Jesus as the teacher, as rabbi. 20:03 You know, out of all the titles of God, of all of the titles 20:07 attributed to Jesus Christ during His incarnation, 20:10 one stands out. 20:12 One attribute stands out, which is the one of teacher. 20:15 So many times we find Jesus being called Rabbi or Master or 20:19 Lord and what's interesting is that Jesus approved this. 20:22 He never denied it. 20:23 He never rebuked people who called Him Teacher 20:25 or Rabbi or Master. 20:27 In fact, in John 13:13 He says, "You call Me Teacher and Lord, 20:31 and you say well, for so I am." 20:35 And here we find, again, another little moment where Jesus--He 20:40 says, "I am," right? 20:41 And this is the ego eimi of Greek. 20:44 I am. This is who he is. 20:46 This is the--that self-existence portrayed here in Jesus Christ. 20:50 So, Jesus, he never went against people calling Him 20:53 rabbi or teacher. 20:55 Some of His main lessons as a rabbi that we learn in the New 20:58 Testament, that truly reflect the personality of God, that 21:02 truly reflect Jesus's purpose here more than anything, which 21:05 was to reveal the person of God, the person of the Father. 21:08 In Jesus's substitution for us, He was revealing who God is. 21:11 In His example to us, his life of example, he was revealing God 21:15 to us, and so we find that some of His main lessons when it 21:19 comes to revealing God, when it comes to being our Redeemer and 21:22 our Savior, and when it comes to being our example are, for 21:24 example, that Jesus, He came to reveal God just as He is. 21:29 Jesus came to reveal God just as He is, not as some sort of 21:33 contorted Santa Claus that appears once a year to bring 21:35 down gifts, not as some sort of cosmic policeman just waiting 21:39 behind the bush to see if someone is speeding and to give 21:42 them a ticket, not as some severe divine judge just waiting 21:45 to condemn people. 21:47 No, Jesus depicted God as Father, as a loving, caring, 21:52 intimate Father, revealed in the word "Abba," which better 21:57 translates as papa. 22:00 That is the God that Jesus came to reveal, and that is one 22:02 of His main lessons. 22:04 He also taught us not only who God is, but he taught us who we 22:07 are, who we as humans are. 22:09 We are not orphans of some insensitive, chaotic, uncaring, 22:14 impersonal existence, not some evolved amoeba, 22:17 but a creature of God. 22:19 And in that way each individual person is important. 22:24 Each individual has an eternal destiny at their disposal, 22:28 available to them. 22:29 Jesus taught personal value of each person. 22:33 He described and taught the meaning, the horror, the 22:36 severity of sin with an incredible realism. 22:40 Jesus taught that not only is sin horrible and bad, but He 22:45 showed us how great of an optimist God is. 22:49 Our God, friends, is an incredible optimist that never 22:53 lost hope in human possibilities in God. 22:56 He never lost hope of what we can become in Him. 22:59 Humankind, friends, humanity is not a failed project. 23:04 We are not a failed project. 23:05 We are redeemable, we have potential, and God can change 23:09 and transform us. 23:10 And this is one of Jesus's greatest lessons. 23:12 He taught us the meaning of true repentance. 23:15 He taught us that God does not love us because we repent. 23:18 He taught us that we, on the contrary, repent because God 23:22 loves us and because He calls us to repentance. 23:25 Through parables, through interactions with people, 23:28 through stories, and through the entire gospel we find that God 23:32 loves us before we need to ask for repentance. 23:35 Just take a look at the story of the prodigal son, 23:37 and you'll see this. 23:39 We know that by divine grace we can stand back up, that there is 23:43 hope for everyone, that no one is excluded, unless those that 23:48 decide to exclude themselves. 23:52 Jesus taught us the purpose of life. 23:55 He taught why we live, why we are in existence. 23:58 He taught us connection with God, discipleship, mission. 24:01 The purpose of life, friends, is not fulfilled when we become 24:04 rich, when we hold titles and diplomas, when we are 24:07 recognized, when we have status, 24:09 when we become important or sophisticated. 24:12 No, Jesus taught us that when we submit ourselves 24:15 to God's purposes. 24:17 You know, Jesus came so that we could live with abundance 24:20 and in abundance. 24:22 Through His incredible paradoxes, His parables, He 24:26 taught us that we win when we lose. 24:29 He taught us that we are rich when we are poor for him. 24:33 He taught us that we are great when we serve and that we live 24:37 when we die. 24:38 Who could compare to these teachings? 24:42 He taught us to overcome evil with good. 24:45 This sure goes against the very fabric of fallen humanity. 24:49 He taught us resistance and resilience under pressure 24:53 and hostility. 24:55 He taught us that true spiritual maturity is not the result 24:58 of pharisaic pride, but when we become completely 25:01 and entirely dependent upon him. 25:04 Sin, friends, is more than just actions. 25:06 This was perhaps one of Jesus's greatest lessons. 25:08 Sin is more than just what we do. 25:10 It is a chronic evil that is rooted within the human heart 25:14 and the very nature. 25:15 What does the Bible say? 25:16 "Who can fathom the depths of the human heart?" 25:20 Jesus taught us solidarity, to take care of those 25:23 who are weaker. 25:25 In the terms of His kingdom, this is true greatness. 25:28 This is true greatness. 25:30 Jesus taught us that true religion is related and 25:34 connected to the great principle of love and not the flimsy, 25:39 superficial attempts to impress others. 25:42 No, here we are talking about the very essence of who God is, 25:46 because according to 1 John chapter 4, verse 8 those who do 25:49 not love do not know God, for God is love. 25:53 God is love. 25:56 In the school of Christ, friends, we learn that the best 25:59 students aren't those who glory themselves in their tiny 26:02 accomplishments or religious performances. 26:04 The depth of what Jesus taught us, His parables, His way 26:08 of removing people from the audience and placing them up on 26:11 the center stage so that they could think better, so they 26:13 could react better, this is what Jesus was a master at. 26:18 Everything he did or said dripped with significance and 26:22 importance and precision. 26:24 Jesus was never one to just speak, to just filibuster. 26:29 Jesus cut to the heart of the matter consistently 26:32 and constantly. 26:33 He mocked the pharisaic religion that was preoccupied with 26:37 insignificant details. 26:38 His leadership style is still unmatched. 26:41 His personal interest in the creatures of God is still 26:45 capable of bringing tears to the eyes. 26:48 He honored. He dignified. 26:50 He exalted the value of women, in complete contradiction to the 26:54 prejudice and devaluation of women in His days. 26:58 He rejected all the traditions that depreciated people or 27:02 creatures of God. 27:03 He exalted monogamous marriage as a divine institution that 27:08 cannot be treated with superficiality, disregard, 27:11 and indifference. 27:13 He taught about the Sabbath and its true meaning. 27:15 His discussions with the Pharisees about the Sabbath had 27:18 nothing to do with the importance of the Sabbath day, 27:21 and what I mean about this is that His discussions with them 27:24 was not about the Sabbath, or the Wednesday, or the Sunday, 27:26 or--it wasn't the day. 27:27 That was a given. 27:29 That wasn't the issue. There was no discussion. 27:31 It was obvious that it was that Sabbath day. 27:35 The issue with Jesus and the Pharisees 27:37 was on a much deeper level. 27:40 How must the day of rest be observed? 27:43 And this way He removed tons of useless traditions based on the 27:48 mere artificiality of experts in the law. 27:51 Friends, His person is capable of making us hate who we are, 27:57 only then to fall in love with who we can become in him, 28:01 transformed, redeemed by His grace. 28:05 After Jesus, friends, after His lessons, after the Great Rabbi 28:08 in this world, life on planet Earth was altered forever, 28:13 permanently impacted by His teachings, by who He was. 28:18 We see this in the very Old Testament, even before His birth 28:21 here in the world. 28:24 His attributes as God were already clear and communicable 28:27 to the prophets, to Moses, for example. 28:29 We see his impact on Moses's life. 28:33 For example, Moses, the great teacher of the Exodus, inspired 28:37 by God he wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Holy 28:41 Bible, and this is where we find the basic teaching of the entire 28:44 history of humanity. 28:46 In its revelation we find information about creation, 28:48 about the Fall, about the promise of divine intervention, 28:52 and the history of the human race. 28:53 We find the patriarchal epoch with the great heroes of faith. 28:57 We find the Exodus. 28:58 We find the Ten Commandments containing the divine principles 29:02 for human behavior that reflect the character 29:04 of the very living God. 29:08 We find in the book of Deuteronomy that reminds us that 29:12 human behavior is conditioned by blessings and cursings, 29:17 depending on the exercise of our free will, depending 29:20 on our choices, our decisions. 29:23 The laws found within these first five books of the Bible, 29:26 the virtues that we find here, are unmatched. 29:29 They surpassed everything that was known in those times and 29:32 everything that is known in our times. 29:34 When it comes to ethics, to morality, to principles of 29:37 justice, that transcend--they transcend everything that can be 29:41 found anywhere else, within any other culture, within any other 29:44 border, or within the limits of any other area of study 29:48 and academia. 29:50 Within the laws of Moses we find the principles of health, 29:53 of respect for life, of morality and justice. 29:56 We find the divine warning, for example, in Exodus chapter 23, 29:59 verse 2, "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil." 30:03 We find the standard. 30:05 Required human conduct is based on justice that only God 30:10 could provide. 30:11 No one else could ever fathom the depths of His standard, 30:16 because His standard reflects who He is. 30:21 Biblical prophets, they were not--and this is also something 30:24 that I truly appreciate when it comes to studying Moses 30:27 and the prophets. 30:28 The prophets, they weren't sacral figures chosen by 30:31 position or by office or by politics, as were the priests in 30:34 the surrounding nations of Israel. 30:37 Prophets were called by God. 30:40 There's nothing more. 30:41 Prophets were called by God, because only God sees 30:44 what is within the heart. 30:47 No one chose a prophet. 30:48 It was a divine convocation to serve, to teach, to correct, to 30:53 rebuke, to warn, to condemn, and all of this by the will of God 30:57 acting in and through the prophets. 31:01 The sheer quantity of educational material found 31:03 within their writings is simply astounding, 31:06 and it covers every area of life. 31:09 We learn in the pages of the Old Testament that God is sovereign. 31:12 He is the Sovereign Lord. 31:13 He holds absolute control over everything. 31:17 Our God, friends, is never caught by surprise. 31:21 Have you ever become worried about the situation of the world 31:23 around us as we see it, the political chaos? 31:27 Apparently, the world, the natural world, 31:29 has just spun out of control. 31:33 God is never caught by surprise. 31:36 God is never caught by surprise. 31:39 Our God is the God whose hands never tremble. 31:43 And so, if you are worried, my dear friend, have faith in your 31:46 God, because while you cannot see the future, do know that 31:51 your God is already there, preserving you and working 31:55 in your best interests. 31:58 Contrary to the understanding of many, what we find in Moses and 32:03 the prophets and the rest of the writings of the Old Testament, 32:07 the teachings there, the lessons, they transcend time, 32:11 space, culture, and borders. 32:14 They are applicable in all moments of history on this 32:16 world--of this world. 32:18 Above everything that may be considered local and limited by 32:21 the elements of culture, we find eternal principles that apply to 32:25 every man and woman, child, youth of every age. 32:31 In Scripture, another great lesson here that has to do with 32:34 the redemption that is brought through education is that 32:37 through Scripture we learn either by similarity 32:40 or by contrast. 32:41 The examples, the stories we find therein are real, and they 32:45 involve real men and women of flesh and of blood, real humans 32:50 that lived, that walked this Earth, that had to learn in 32:53 their contact their reactions and actions with God. 32:58 But while these were real men and real women that lived and 33:02 walked here in this world, they are also types, parables. 33:09 They're also representative. 33:11 In a way, they are all us in our choices, in our decisions, in 33:16 our rights, in our wrongs. 33:18 All of us learning, them and us, through the divine grace of God, 33:22 forgiving grace of God, the redeeming grace of God, all 33:26 learning how we should be living, how we should be 33:29 reacting and interacting with God. 33:32 We learn through these people that the consequences of sin and 33:36 the consequences of wrong choices are inevitable. 33:38 Take David, for example, the great king of Jerusalem, the 33:41 great king of Israel that could not avoid the consequences 33:45 of his mistakes and his errors, and these errors were reflected 33:48 upon his family, upon his children. 33:50 We know that. 33:51 We see that. He edified. 33:53 And this is--you know, this is the great story of David. 33:54 He edified a recognized and a respected nation as you find 33:59 in 2 Samuel chapter 8. 34:00 You'll find that right there David, he--everything 34:03 that he did, everything that he made, you find it right there. 34:06 And most history books would stop right there. 34:09 They would reflect only the positive of their heroes, but 34:11 not the Bible, because the Bible's heroes are not human. 34:16 The only hero in the Bible is God. 34:20 Most history books, they would finish elsewhere, but the Bible 34:23 wanted to demonstrate and to show us that it is possible to 34:27 be men and women according to the heart of God, 34:29 and yet need a Savior. 34:31 That's what we learn here. 34:33 We learn in 2 Samuel, for example, 11 and 12. 34:36 We find the darkest hour of David's life, where we find 34:39 adultery, deceit, and murder. 34:41 The guilt and the remorse because of that action with 34:44 Bathsheba, the death of Uriah, all of these things, 34:47 they devastated. 34:49 They transformed David, leaving him devastated. 34:54 In the so-called Psalms of Penitence we find his complete 34:58 collapse, and there we find the king of Jerusalem baring his 35:03 soul before the King of kings, his Redeemer. 35:08 And we know that God forgave him, purified him. 35:12 However, friends, actions have consequences. 35:15 God forgave him, but divine forgiveness does not deliver us 35:18 from the consequences, at least not the worldly consequences 35:23 of our actions. 35:24 We know that Nathan the Prophet sent by God pronounced a pretty 35:28 cold anticipation of the future. 35:31 This is 2 Samuel 12:10. 35:32 "Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house." 35:35 David reaped bitter results for what he had sown. 35:39 An example of this is that his daughter Tamar was raped by her 35:42 half-brother, her own half-brother Amnon, who was 35:46 later murdered by Absalom, who later led a rebellion against 35:49 his own father, who was then killed in battle, 35:51 calling--causing David no shortage of pain. 35:54 His wives were publicly violated, just as he had 35:57 secretly violated the wife of Uriah. 36:00 Friends, Scripture teaches us that we live in a moral 36:03 universe, and we verify in life the same thing that we verify 36:08 in the agricultural world. 36:10 First, we reap what we sow. 36:13 Second, we reap more than we sow. 36:15 You plant a little seed, and you reap a big beanstalk. 36:19 You reap more than you sow in that context. 36:21 And finally, that we reap in another moment than we sow. 36:26 Another great example here of this reality was Solomon, 36:29 another great figure of the Bible that begins his trajectory 36:32 with humility, asking God for wisdom. 36:36 You find that in 1 Kings chapter 3, and under his leadership the 36:39 kingdom of Israel grew into--in domain and grew in glory. 36:43 His wisdom was simply incomparable. 36:46 Kings, queens would come from afar seeking his wisdom, 36:50 seeking his knowledge and his counsel. 36:52 He built. He planted. 36:54 He accumulated riches. 36:55 He wrote proverbs observing and describing the natural world. 36:58 And the question is, what did he do with his success? 37:01 Well, the small, obscure dots in his life eventually became great 37:06 big stains. 37:07 He became a libertine. 37:10 His faith in the true God was placed in doubt. 37:13 He became depressed, and in the book of Ecclesiastes you find 37:19 the mourning of a truly sad man, a truly depressed man. 37:25 But Scripture also bears witness of Solomon's restoration and how 37:30 at the very end of his life he warned others to not become 37:33 victims of the evils--of the same evils and sins as he, and 37:37 that's why he says in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 37:39 1, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth." 37:44 The detours of Solomon faithfully recorded in the Bible 37:47 portray divine forgiveness, and the wise man, as he calls 37:51 himself in Ecclesiastes, then taught everything 37:53 that he had learned. 37:54 So, friends, what we learn is that these are just two stories 37:57 that were overly simplified here for lack of time, but we 38:01 understand that these stories in the Bible, the people that come 38:04 and go, these shadows that we find, they ultimately reflect 38:07 our biography also, how we encounter God, how we should or 38:12 should not live our life. 38:14 In the New Testament and later times, we know that Jesus 38:17 prepared a core group of people, His disciples, to pass on what 38:20 He had taught, and when He died apparently not even one of them 38:24 appeared to have understood anything. 38:26 Not one. 38:28 They all ran away. 38:29 All of them were skulking around. 38:31 Normally, this would have frustrated any human teacher. 38:34 I know it would have frustrated me. 38:35 If I had spent three-and-a-half years with a group of students 38:39 and at the end of those three-and-a-half years 38:41 apparently they learned nothing, I would probably tear all my 38:45 diplomas and my lessons. 38:46 I'd burn it all up, and I would go try to do something else. 38:49 But not Jesus, not Jesus. 38:52 Jesus knew that His work with His disciples was complete, that 38:55 He did it. 38:56 He knew that it would not fail. 38:58 All of them--and here we find a reflection of that, because all 39:01 of them, with the exception of John, died the death 39:04 of a martyr. 39:05 And if we ask Him, "Well, who will continue Your work?" 39:08 if we had asked Jesus, "Who will continue Your work?" 39:11 He would have answered, "Well, My disciples will continue 39:12 My work." 39:14 And if we kind of pressed Him a little bit more and said, 39:16 "Well, what if they fail?" 39:18 I'm certain that Jesus would have said something around or 39:22 something of the sort of, "I have no plan B. 39:24 There is no plan B. 39:26 I won't need it." 39:27 He was sure that his education was complete and, true enough, 39:30 the 1st-century church, the primitive church, 39:33 became a powerful educational agency. 39:36 So, with the Great Commission-- 39:37 and we find this here. 39:38 In the Great Commission, Jesus placed his followers under 39:41 orders, and the mission of educating and redeeming 39:45 a fallen world, of going and teaching disciples to the ends 39:48 of the world. 39:50 What I find truly beautiful on the Great Commission of Matthew 39:53 chapter 28 is the usage of the word "all." 39:56 "Go to all places, teaching all people all the things 40:00 that I have taught you. 40:01 And, lo, I am with you always until the very end of time." 40:03 You see that totality. 40:04 All authority is given, so you see that everything here, 40:08 absolute control, is under His hands. 40:11 And what's more, this mission's hold--this mission of educating 40:15 this fallen world holds true to this very day through you 40:19 and through me. 40:21 We are called for this. 40:22 We are called to educate a fallen world, because education 40:27 primarily has to do with redemption. 40:31 There are a few quotes that I would like to read as we sum up 40:34 our lesson here, and you can find them in the book 40:36 "Education," page 30. 40:38 It's a beautiful book. 40:40 The first one says this: "The true teacher is not satisfied 40:43 with second-rate work. 40:45 He is not satisfied with directing his students to a 40:48 standard lower than the highest which is possible for them 40:51 to attain. 40:52 He cannot be content with imparting to them only technical 40:56 knowledge, with making them merely clever accountants, 40:59 skillful artisans, successful tradesmen. 41:02 It is his ambition to inspire them with principles of truth, 41:06 obedience, honor, integrity, and purity, principles that will 41:10 make them a positive force for the stability 41:13 and uplifting of society. 41:15 He desires them, above all else, to learn life's great lesson 41:19 of unselfish service." 41:21 So, friends, just as we know that Jesus was this true 41:24 teacher, we also understand that He calls us to be true teachers. 41:29 In a chaotic work environment, in an anxious and temperamental 41:36 home, inside a school full of contention God calls us 41:41 to be peacemakers. 41:42 God calls us to be teachers of love, of peace, 41:47 of hope, of salvation. 41:50 That is what it means to be a true teacher and in that 41:53 capacity all of us are called. 41:55 All of us are not only called. 41:56 We are commissioned to be true teachers. 42:00 The next quote that I would like to read is found in the same--in 42:03 the sequence of the text, and it says, "In the highest sense, the 42:06 work of education and the work of redemption are one, for in 42:11 education, as in redemption, other foundation can no man lay 42:16 than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 42:19 Colossians 1:19 says it was the good pleasure of the Father, 42:22 that in Him should all the fullness dwell. 42:25 So, friends, please, if you forget everything else of 42:29 today's lesson, remember this quote. 42:31 Remember this phrase: in the highest sense, the work of 42:35 education and the work of redemption are one. 42:39 Teachers, Sabbath School teachers, pastors, elders, 42:43 deacons, deaconesses, all of you that hold the capacity 42:46 of teaching, and not only that but dear members of the church, 42:50 brothers and sisters, you are teachers in your neighborhood. 42:53 You in that sense, you minister. 42:55 You are shepherds of people in your community, to teach them, 42:59 because in the highest sense of the Word, the work of education 43:03 and the work of redemption are one. 43:04 And finally, the great principles of education 43:07 are unchanged. 43:08 They stand fast forever and forever, according to Psalm 111, 43:12 verse 8, for they are the principles of the character 43:15 of God. 43:16 That is why they hold forever. 43:18 That is why they are unchanged, to aid the student in 43:21 comprehending these principles, and in entering into that 43:25 relation with Christ will--which will make them a controlling 43:28 power in the life should be the teacher's first effort and his 43:32 constant aim. 43:33 The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a coworker with 43:37 Christ and a laborer together with God. 43:41 My dear friend, I'll tell you something, and this is very 43:43 personal to me. 43:46 I love being a pastor. I love it. 43:49 It is the passion of my life. 43:50 Of course, there are ups and downs and there are moments 43:52 where I kind of--I don't know, you know? 43:54 There are those quit days, those give-up days where you feel that 43:58 everything is going down, but I love being a pastor. 44:00 It is the passion of my life. 44:02 It is my--it's my ministry. 44:04 If I were a professional pastor or not, I would want to do this, 44:07 but within the pastoral ministry do you know what I love doing 44:10 the most? 44:12 I love giving Bible studies. 44:14 That's what I am passionate about. 44:16 I love studying the Bible with people. 44:18 I love teaching them lessons that were taught to me as a 44:21 teenager, as a child and growing up. 44:24 It is something that grows on you, and the more you do it, 44:27 the more you share Jesus in an active, interactive, and 44:33 intentional way, my friend, the more you will fall in love 44:37 with Jesus Christ. 44:38 So, please understand today that education is a work of 44:41 redemption and that you have the privilege of teaching and 44:44 working that with other people. 44:46 I would like to finish with a word of prayer. 44:48 Dear Father God, I thank you so much for Your love for us and 44:51 for conceding to us the work of education, which is, in truth, 44:55 the work of redemption. 44:57 Father, we are--we have such a great privilege and honor to 45:00 work with Jesus, to work alongside the Holy Spirit, and 45:03 to be used by God to be able to reach a fallen world, a world 45:06 that is already vomiting its demons, telling us and showing 45:11 us that something is horribly wrong. 45:13 We thank You for being a light in this world. 45:16 I ask you to please bless, inspire, illuminate, and reveal 45:20 Your will to Your children at home wherever 45:22 they are right now. 45:23 Use them, Father. 45:24 Imbue them with Your Spirit so that they can be used by You to 45:28 take the eternal gospel, the good news, to dark places 45:31 in this world. 45:33 I thank You, and I ask You these things not in my name, for there 45:35 is no power in my name, but in the name of Jesus Christ 45:38 I pray and I thank. 45:40 Amen and amen. 45:41 May God bless you, my dear brother and my dear sister. 45:47 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 45:49 free resource. 45:50 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 45:53 download a digital copy straight to your computer 45:55 or mobile device. 45:56 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 46:00 the key word on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 46:05 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 46:08 download option on the request page. 46:10 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 46:13 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want and, most 46:17 important, to share it with others. 46:21 ♪♪♪ 46:31 Doug Batchelor: Among the people living in the tropics for 46:33 thousands of years, the coconut has been a virtual tree of life. 46:37 The people use it for food, for clothing, for water, 46:41 for tools, for soap. 46:43 It does just about everything. 46:45 The coconut has also saved a lot of lives. 46:50 During World War II, pilots that were shot down or sailors that 46:53 were stranded on Pacific Islands, they lived for many 46:55 months on nothing other than the coconut trees that were 46:58 on their islands. 47:00 Yes, sir. 47:01 The coconut is a tree of life. 47:03 One of the amazing things about the coconut is they're designed 47:06 so they're actually able to float across oceans. 47:09 Coconuts can go thousands of miles, after many months be 47:13 washed up on some deserted sandy beach. 47:15 Then, they take root, sprout, come to life, and they'll 47:20 develop a whole new ecosystem, holding islands in place 47:23 through a hurricane. 47:25 When the ancient Polynesian travelers crossing oceans saw an 47:28 island with coconut trees, they knew there was hope. 47:32 It's amazing how in virtually no time at all those living on 47:35 Pacific Islands know how to make baskets and all kinds of tools 47:39 from the leaves of the coconut tree. 47:44 The coconuts even serve different purposes at different 47:46 times in their development. 47:48 The younger green coconut, they're full of water, and that 47:50 will keep you alive. 47:52 Mmm. 47:54 You can even make your utensils from the coconut. 47:57 My spoon is part of the green shell, and here, 48:01 this is the coconut jelly. 48:03 Makes good for breakfast. 48:07 The more mature coconuts, that's where you get the meat, but you 48:10 want to make sure that they're not bad. 48:11 The way you test this is you can hear the water inside. 48:14 Hey, bring that mic over here. 48:17 Can you hear it? 48:18 That's a good one. 48:19 How about we take a bite? 48:21 Now, that makes a meal that will really fill you up, and it 48:23 cleans your teeth at the same time. 48:28 Throughout the Bible, Jesus uses a number of metaphors to remind 48:31 us that everything we need to survive comes from Him. 48:34 He says that He's the living water. 48:36 Jesus tells us He is the bread of life. 48:39 His robe covers us with righteousness. 48:42 He is our good shepherd that protects us. 48:44 Jesus is the living vine through which we get our life 48:47 and our nourishment. 48:49 You might say Jesus is like the coconut tree, a tree of life. 48:53 You know, the first few verses in the Bible tell that God 48:56 provided a tree of life for man so he could live forever, but 49:00 because of sin man was separated from that tree 49:02 and from the garden. 49:03 But through trusting in Jesus and trusting in His sacrifice on 49:06 the cross, we once again will have access to the tree of life 49:10 and have eternal life with Him in the kingdom, but this is all 49:13 made possible because we trust in Jesus, who is the real tree 49:16 of life. 49:18 Jesus said, "Unless You eat My flesh and drink My blood, you 49:20 have no life in you." 49:22 But when we accept Christ as our sacrifice and we allow Him to 49:25 cleanse us and fill us with His Spirit, we become new creatures, 49:28 and we can be with Him in sharing the gift of everlasting 49:31 life with others. 49:33 Matter of fact, we can do that right now by tossing the coconut 49:35 out and praying that it lands on a deserted beach. 49:40 ♪♪♪ 49:51 ♪♪♪ 50:00 announcer: Amazing facts. Changed lives. 50:08 Charlie Green: My life was in turmoil. 50:10 My wife and I were fighting all the time. 50:12 I got away from everything and everybody. 50:15 I don't know. 50:16 I just always had this emptiness in my heart I wanted filled. 50:20 I just felt like I went my whole life, you know, 50:22 just searching for something. 50:25 And my father died, and that ruined me a lot. 50:28 My father didn't believe in suicide, and I didn't wanna 50:31 live, but rather than disrespect him I decided I would just 50:35 become so mean and someone else would do it to me and I wouldn't 50:38 have to, so I joined the army thinking, "What better place to 50:41 get killed than in the army?" 50:42 And while I was in the army, my daughter got injured. 50:45 She was in an accident, and she was blind and paraplegic, and 50:52 it's just like I felt the whole world was coming down on me. 50:55 And one morning, I just really got mad, and I gave God a 50:58 cussing like you wouldn't believe. 51:00 I said, "I'm not Moses. 51:02 I'm not Abraham, you know? 51:05 But I put my sandals on just like they do, and I'm a man. 51:08 I don't want to know why this is happening to me. 51:10 I just want to know it's happening for a reason. 51:14 If You tell me right now that this is all for a reason, then 51:16 You can stack it on me from here to the end of time, and I will 51:20 never complain again." 51:23 And that little TV came on. 51:26 It'd been sitting there just static all night long, and there 51:29 was this minister. 51:30 He pops up and says, "Today's lesson is from the book of Job. 51:34 God only lets those suffer that He loves the most." 51:37 And I said, "Well, that's all You got to say, Lord. 51:38 I appreciate it more." 51:40 From that day forward, I knew that He was there and He was in 51:43 my life and that He would help me. 51:47 I went to prison just almost immediately after that. 51:51 I was in prison for aggravated assault. 51:53 I was in one of the worst prisons 51:55 in the state of Tennessee. 51:56 It was full of gang activity. 51:58 I got my throat cut. 52:00 Fifty-two stitches in my neck. 52:03 I could take those fingers and stick them all throughout 52:05 my mouth. 52:06 I'd gone to the library that day because it was really about the 52:09 only thing to do, but I ran across this little book called 52:12 "The Richest Caveman." 52:14 This book is hilarious, but it is great. 52:18 I'm sitting here with this big beard. 52:19 I'm thinking, "Hey, I know what it's like to look 52:21 like a caveman." 52:22 But--[laughing] 52:23 I'm not an educated person, I guess you'd say, 52:26 but I'm a simple guy. 52:27 I'm just really a simple guy. 52:29 That's what I loved about Doug Batchelor, because this guy is 52:34 just straight out as you can get. 52:36 And my wife now, we've kept contact through all these years, 52:41 and so much has gone on. 52:44 And I told her, I said, "Listen, this is the center of my world 52:49 right now." 52:50 And I said, "I really want you to be involved in it with me. 52:53 I need it." 52:55 And I said, "You will, too, if you ever just take hold of it." 52:58 I told my wife, I said, "Listen, I've got this Amazing Facts 53:00 Bible study going here, 53:02 and this is the best way for you to get this information." 53:06 And I think I said, "Because it's broken down, and they give 53:10 you questions and--to make you look for these things, you know? 53:17 So, it's not anyone telling you. 53:19 You find it on your own, and they teach you 53:21 to actually use the Bible." 53:23 She was there faithfully every Wednesday, until we decided, you 53:28 know, she wanted to be baptized also. 53:31 She started coming around. 53:33 The choice was made. 53:35 On October 4, 2014, my wife and I were baptized in the water, at 53:41 the same time, and we started our walk together, 53:46 I guess you'd say. 53:48 I went through everything that a man could possibly go through, 53:51 I guess, from marital trouble, loss of family members, 53:57 death in my family. 53:58 My children were harmed, 54:01 and my daughter was handicapped for life. 54:04 I went to prison, but still I kept my word to God that He 54:09 could stack it on me as much as He wanted 54:12 and I'd never question Him again. 54:13 And I didn't, but I could say this much: He never put nothing 54:19 on me that I couldn't handle, and He walked with me 54:22 through it all. 54:23 And I'd like to say that--to anyone who is in prison, 54:29 not to give up. 54:30 Don't lose hope. 54:32 Put your faith in the Lord and study and seek Him, 54:36 and He will seek you. 54:37 And my name is Charlie Green, and I want you to know that you 54:40 and Amazing Facts have changed my life. 54:45 ♪♪♪ 54:57 ♪♪♪ 55:05 Doug: Can you hear me now? 55:06 Can you hear me now? 55:08 Can you hear me now? 55:11 Actually, I know they can't hear me because there's no cell-phone 55:13 reception here. 55:14 We're right now standing in what is known as a quiet zone, and 55:18 there's a very good reason for that. 55:21 Hidden, nestled among the jungle mountains of Puerto Rico is a 55:24 giant sentinel, an aluminum ear 1,000 feet across. 55:29 Located 10 miles south of the coastal city of Arecibo, this 55:33 enormous space-age parabolic dish is aimed 55:35 at the sky listening. 55:38 Built in 1963 by Cornell University, the Arecibo 55:42 Observatory dish is one of the largest curved 55:44 focusing antennas on Earth. 55:47 The dish surface is made of nearly 40,000 perforated 55:50 aluminum panels, each measuring about 3 feet by 6 feet and 55:54 supported by a mesh of steel cables. 55:56 The vast antenna surface covers 18 acres, or about the same size 56:01 as 26 football fields. 56:03 When the huge telescope switches to radar mode, it beams out a 56:06 powerful signal of 1 million watts towards the planets, 56:10 moons, asteroids, and comets. 56:12 The faint echo of the signal bouncing off its astronomical 56:15 targets is collected by the huge dish and then amplified, 56:19 allowing scientists to create scanner-like images 56:22 and maps of the object. 56:23 But another primary purpose for the Acibo Observatory is SETI. 56:28 SETI's an acronym for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. 56:32 They're listening for messages from above. 56:35 For over 50 years, radio astronomers have used the 56:38 world's largest radio telescope to study the radio signals 56:42 emanating from the cosmos. 56:44 While listening to the strange songs buried in the heart of 56:47 distant stars and quasars, they're also listening and 56:50 analyzing every signal for signs of intelligent life. 56:54 It's really astonishing when you think about it, that for more 56:57 than 50 years now the Arecibo Observatory has been scanning 57:01 the heavens, spending millions of dollars wondering if there's 57:05 intelligent life out there. 57:06 Yet in more than half a century of listening, SETI has not 57:10 identified a single radio signal that seems to come from 57:13 extraterrestrial intelligence. 57:16 Perhaps they're missing the forest because the trees 57:18 are in the way. 57:19 Some messages have actually already come from space. 57:22 You know, the Bible tells us in the book of Romans faith comes 57:25 by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of God. 57:28 It seems often when God wants to talk to us, He has to take us 57:31 where we can actually hear His voice. 57:33 When God wanted to speak to Elijah, he ended up down in the 57:36 deserts of Mount Sinai. 57:38 There was a fire, an earthquake, and a wind, but God was not in 57:41 the earthquake or the fire or the wind, but God spoke through 57:45 a still, small voice. 57:47 Jesus wants to talk to you. 57:48 He has a plan for your life, but you need to have a quiet place 57:51 where you can hear Him. 57:53 [phone ringing] 57:56 Doug: Oh, it's for you. 58:02 ♪♪♪ 58:13 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-11-12