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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Rodney Thompson: Good morning, everyone. 00:37 Welcome to the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:40 I'm Pastor Rod Thompson. 00:42 I'm going to be leading you in this study today. 00:44 I want to welcome all of you that are watching here in the 00:47 local area of Granite Bay, California, and those watching 00:51 across the United States and around the world. 00:54 Today, we're going to be continuing in our topic on the 00:59 quarterly of "Education," and today we're looking at Lesson 01:02 Number 10, "Education in the Arts and the Sciences." 01:07 But before we get into that I want to present to you 01:10 our free offering today. 01:12 This is going to be a study called "Is There Anything Left 01:17 You Can Trust?" 01:19 and this is free offering Number 103. 01:22 You can call 866-788-3966, and you can get that study guide. 01:31 That's 866-Study-More, or you can get a digital download of 01:37 that by texting the code "SH043," to number 40544. 01:47 Again, that is "Is There Anything Left 01:50 That You Can Trust?" 01:53 Well, let's begin our study this morning with a word of prayer. 01:59 Oh, loving Father, we want to thank You for the Sabbath Day. 02:04 We want to thank You that You desire to commune with us, and, 02:08 Lord, we want to draw near to You, and so we pray that You 02:13 would speak to our hearts. 02:14 Show us what You would have us do. 02:17 And, Lord, help us to surrender our will to You and allow You to 02:22 do those things in us that we can't do in ourselves. 02:27 And we pray and ask it all in Jesus's name, amen. 02:32 I want to start off this morning by reading to you a quote from 02:36 the book "Education," page 13. 02:40 Notice, it says, "Our ideas of education take too narrow and 02:46 too low a range. 02:47 There is need of a broader scope, a higher aim. 02:51 True education means more than the pursual of a certain 02:54 course of study. 02:55 It means more than a preparation for the life that now is. 02:59 It has to do with the whole being, and with the whole period 03:03 of existence possible to man. 03:05 It is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, 03:10 and the spiritual powers. 03:12 It prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and 03:15 for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come." 03:21 I want you to notice there in that quote that it is telling us 03:25 that true education is more than just studying various 03:31 disciplines and lessons and objects. 03:34 It's even more than bringing in Bible verses that go along with 03:41 that object of study, but true education involves this life 03:49 and the life to come. 03:51 It involves our whole being, the mental, the physical, the 03:55 emotional, the spiritual, and it is all designed to bring joy in 04:01 service to God and to service to others. 04:05 That's real--that's what true education is really all about. 04:10 And this week, we are going to see how true education involves 04:16 the arts and the sciences but, more importantly than that, that 04:21 the arts and the sciences must be taught 04:24 from a biblical perspective. 04:27 Only in this way can true education accomplish its goal, 04:33 and if you were watching last week, you heard Pastor Shawn 04:37 talk about the goal of true education. 04:41 If you were watching the week before, you heard Pastor Luccas 04:44 talk about the goal of true education. 04:47 What is that goal? 04:48 The goal of true education is to provide for redemption 04:54 and salvation. 04:56 That is the goal of all true education, to introduce us to 05:02 the Creator, to introduce us to our Savior, and to show us what 05:07 we need to do and what God is doing on our behalf 05:11 for our salvation. 05:14 I really like what it says in Sabbath afternoon's lesson. 05:17 If you have your study guide, why don't you grab that and look 05:19 with me in the second paragraph. 05:24 I want you to notice what it says. 05:26 It says, "For such an education--" 05:30 what kind of an education? 05:32 A true education, right? 05:35 "For such a education truly to function, we need God's Word to 05:41 inform the teaching of every discipline, from humanities 05:45 to molecular biology. 05:48 Without it, we can lose sight of God's enormity, His sovereignty 05:52 as Creator and Sustainer of our world. 05:56 In learning to see how God views His creation as organic and 06:00 purpose-filled, we come closer to understanding how certain 06:05 disciplines could and should be taught." 06:09 In other words, if we are going to truly understand the science 06:14 behind how this world works and the laws of nature that God has 06:18 put in place, then we need to first, at the very beginning, at 06:23 the very basic level, we must have at least a basic 06:27 understanding and a belief that there is a Creator who has put 06:33 everything into existence. 06:36 Now, let me ask you a question: What is faith? 06:45 What is faith? 06:47 Is faith believing in something that you can't see? 06:53 I think that's probably a pretty good definition, right? 06:55 Faith is believing in something that you can't see. 06:58 Okay, so let me ask you a second question, and that is, 07:02 what is "blind faith"? 07:05 You see, that's also believing in something that we can't see, 07:09 but there's a difference. 07:11 You see, God doesn't just say, "Believe in Me because I said 07:16 so," but, rather, God gives us evidence on which 07:21 we can hang our faith. 07:23 He gives us evidence if we are willing to accept it that He 07:27 exists, that He is our Creator, that He is wanting to recreate 07:33 His image in us, that He loves us, and that He wants 07:36 a relationship with us. 07:38 He wants the very best for us. 07:41 I want you to notice, again, in that book "Education," this time 07:45 in chapter 10, notice what it says, "Upon all created things 07:50 is seen the impress of the Deity. 07:53 Nature testifies of God. 07:55 The susceptible mind, brought in contact with the miracle and the 08:00 mystery of the universe, cannot but recognize the working of 08:04 infinite power. 08:05 Not by its own inherent energy does the earth produce its 08:09 bounties, and year by year continue its motion 08:13 around the sun. 08:15 An unseen hand guides the planets in their circuit 08:18 of the heavens. 08:20 A mysterious life pervades all nature--a life that sustains the 08:24 unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, that lives in the 08:28 insect atom which floats in the summer breeze, that wings the 08:31 flight of the swallow and feeds the young ravens which cry, that 08:36 brings the bud to blossom and the flower to fruit. 08:40 The same power that upholds nature, is working also in man. 08:45 The same great laws that guide alike the star and the atom 08:48 control human life. 08:50 The laws that govern the heart's action, regulating the flow of 08:57 the current of life to the body, are the laws of the mighty 09:00 Intelligence that has the jurisdiction of the soul. 09:05 From Him all life proceeds. 09:08 Only in harmony with Him can be found its true sphere of action. 09:12 For all the objects of His creation the condition is the 09:17 same--a life sustained by receiving the life of God, a 09:22 life exercised in harmony with the Creator's will. 09:26 To transgress His law, physical, mental, or moral, is to place 09:30 one's self out of harmony with the universe, to introduce 09:35 discord, anarchy, ruin. 09:38 To him who learns thus to interpret its teachings, all 09:41 nature becomes illuminated. 09:43 The world is a lesson book, life a school. 09:48 The unity of man with nature and with God, the universal dominion 09:52 of law, the results of transgression, cannot fail of 09:56 impressing the mind and molding the character." 10:01 What this is telling us here is that God 10:05 is working through nature. 10:08 He's working through science to give us faith that we can hang 10:14 on, that we can say God is real, that God 10:18 is in charge of all things. 10:20 And that's why Paul says in Romans chapter 1, verse 20, "For 10:24 since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are 10:29 clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 10:33 even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are 10:37 without excuse." 10:40 Here we see that Paul is telling us that all of the things in the 10:44 world are those visible representations that God is 10:48 giving to us to show us that He is real. 10:52 I remember, many years ago, probably about 25 years ago, I 10:56 was a new baby Christian, and I was living in California, and I 11:01 went home to Michigan to visit my parents, and I was talking to 11:05 my dad, sharing my new faith with him and talking to him 11:09 about his need for a Savior, and I'll never forget 11:14 what he said to me. 11:16 He said, "I won't believe in God unless I see it for myself." 11:23 And I remember thinking to myself, "Are you kidding?" 11:27 I said to him, "Dad, you--" you know, my dad, 11:31 he was an outdoorsman. 11:32 He loved to hunt. 11:34 He loved to fish. 11:35 I grew up doing those things with him. 11:37 I loved to do those things too, and he was always out in nature, 11:42 and I said to him, God-- "Dad, you've got to look around. 11:46 Look at what you're seeing. 11:48 You love to be out in nature. 11:49 Why is that? 11:51 Because there's so much here to identify to us that there is an 11:56 intelligent design behind it all, that there is a God who has 12:01 created all of these things. 12:03 And you look at the animals that we see 12:08 and how intricately they are made. 12:10 We look at the human body and how wonderfully 12:13 God has made us." 12:15 And I said, "Dad, you are going to be without excuse on the day 12:20 of judgment when you stand before God. 12:23 There is enough evidence there to show us that God is real." 12:28 Why don't you turn in your Bibles with me to Psalm 19. 12:33 Psalm 19. 12:35 And I want you to notice what it says here, starting in verse 1. 12:42 The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and 12:46 the firmament shows His handiwork. 12:49 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto 12:52 night reveals knowledge. 12:54 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. 12:59 Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words 13:02 to the end of the world. 13:04 In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a 13:06 bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a 13:10 strong man to run its race. 13:12 Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the 13:15 other end, and there is nothing hidden from its heat." 13:20 Here we see that the Scripture is telling us that the heavens 13:25 declare the glory of God. 13:26 They reveal to us--the creation reveals to us that there is an 13:30 intelligent design behind it, and there must be a Creator. 13:35 And, friends, if we are honest with ourselves, we can see 13:39 enough evidence in our world so that, by faith, we can not only 13:46 believe in the existence of a Creator, but that He wants to 13:52 recreate in us His image, and He wants to have a relationship 13:57 with us because God is love. 14:01 In fact, there is so much evidence that Paul says that you 14:05 will be without excuse in the judgment because enough about 14:10 Him can be seen in all that is made. 14:15 You're very familiar with the passage of John chapter 1, 14:17 starting in verse 1. 14:19 It says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 14:22 God, and the Word was God. 14:24 He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made 14:27 through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." 14:32 Obviously, this is talking about Jesus, the creative part of the 14:37 Godhead, and we can take that "Word" out of that passage, and 14:44 we can put "Jesus" in there because Jesus was the Word. 14:48 Jesus is the one who spoke the world into existence. 14:51 And if we do that, it would say, "In the beginning was Jesus, 14:55 and Jesus was with God, and Jesus is God. 14:58 He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made 15:02 through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made." 15:08 And so, if we are going to truly receive an education and if we 15:13 are going to rightly understand the arts and the sciences, we 15:18 must believe in a Creator, and the science and the arts have to 15:24 be taught from the laws of nature that God has put in place 15:29 because, if we don't do that, then we are going to fall into 15:33 the same trap as the rest of the world, who worshiped the 15:37 creation rather than the Creator. 15:41 And in the end, any ideologies, philosophies, presumptions, 15:46 presuppositions, or teachings that deny or exclude God and His 15:52 Word are only going to lead to error. 15:57 And so let's look at Monday's lesson, and it's called "The 16:01 Beauty of Holiness." 16:04 Psalm 96, verse 9, says, "Worship the Lord in the beauty 16:08 of holiness." 16:10 Well, that, friends, should really beg of us the question, 16:13 what does it mean to worship God in the beauty of holiness? 16:18 And how should that impact what we teach about art and the 16:23 beauty that is often associated with it? 16:27 Because nature is God's 24-hour-a-day, 3D-multimedia, 16:33 stereophonic revelation of Himself, and the arts should do 16:38 that as well. 16:40 To the degree that they reflect the beauty and/or the truth, 16:44 they can be a source of seeing God 16:48 and reflecting his character. 16:50 In other words, looking at the arts, looking at the beauty of 16:55 the Creation of God, that should bring us to looking to God and 17:01 bring us to a place where we can reflect the character of God. 17:06 And so art, in the proper context, can and should lead us 17:12 to God. 17:14 It should lead us to developing the character, His character, 17:18 which is beautiful, and worshiping Him in true holiness 17:24 in spite of our sinful nature. 17:28 I want you to think about this for a minute. 17:30 Our world has been marred and decimated by sin, and, yet even 17:37 in this condition, there are beautiful things in nature and 17:43 beautiful things in art that can draw us to God. 17:48 I remember, years ago, my wife and I were going to visit the 17:52 Niagara Falls, and we came up over the hill, and we got up to 17:58 the top, and just as we started coming over the hill, "bam," 18:04 there was the Niagara Falls, right there in front of us. 18:08 It was literally a "wow" moment. 18:12 It was exciting. 18:14 It was beautiful, and I just remember it immediately brought 18:19 my attention to the Lord, and I just started praising God, "Oh, 18:23 Lord, You are so amazing. 18:25 You created this beautiful tapestry, if you will, of this 18:30 waterfall." 18:32 And then, you know, I realized that all of that was created 18:38 through destruction. 18:41 You see, friends, we are living in a world that has been marred 18:45 and decimated by sin, and, yet even in the midst of that, 18:48 there's still these beautiful things that God uses to draw us 18:54 to Himself. 18:56 You know, my wife and I, we lived in Michigan for the last 18:58 19 years, and we had the four seasons, and every fall, you 19:04 would see those trees. 19:06 The leaves start to turn beautiful colors, and there are 19:10 people that come from all over the place to go on a color tour 19:15 to look at the beautiful colors of the trees, and, yet we 19:19 realize that all of that is happening because of death, that 19:25 those trees are going dormant for the winter, and, yet even in 19:30 all of that there is a beauty that God has provided. 19:34 I want you to notice in the book "Steps to Christ," what it says: 19:39 "God would have His children appreciate His works and delight 19:43 in the simple, quiet beauty with which He has adorned 19:47 our earthly home. 19:49 He's a lover of beauty, and above all that is outwardly 19:52 attractive He loves beauty of character. 19:55 He would have us cultivate purity and simplicity, the quiet 20:00 graces of the flowers." 20:03 I want you to notice there that it's telling us that our God 20:07 loves beauty, and I can't help but think of that verse where 20:11 Jesus was talking about Solomon, and he said, "And even in all of 20:16 his splendor, Solomon's dress couldn't compare 20:20 to that of the flowers." 20:22 And God has given us that beauty so that we 20:27 can be attracted to Him. 20:30 And even more importantly than outward beauty, God desires that 20:36 we would have inward beauty. 20:38 He desires that we would have that meek and quiet spirit and 20:44 emulate our Lord Jesus Christ, that we would have His 20:49 character, that we would have His beauty, not that outward 20:53 beauty, but that inward beauty of God. 20:56 And that's why Paul tells us in Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8 21:01 and 9, he says, "Whatever things are true, whatever things are 21:04 noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, 21:08 whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good 21:11 report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything 21:14 praiseworthy," He says, "meditate on these things," 21:19 those things that are going to draw us to God, not those things 21:24 that are going to pull us away. 21:27 And so there's another lesson that we need to learn from 21:32 beauty and from the arts. 21:35 You see, not everything that is beautiful is holy. 21:43 Think about that for a minute. 21:45 Not everything that is beautiful is holy. 21:48 We don't have to go very far to figure this out. 21:50 We can go back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 6, which says, 21:53 "So the woman saw the tree, that it was good for food, that it 21:58 was pleasant to the eyes, and it was a tree desirable to make one 22:04 wise, and so she took of the fruit, and she ate it." 22:07 And so it looked good, it was beautiful, it was pleasing to 22:12 the eyes, and, yet it was not good, right? 22:17 I want you to notice the last paragraph on Monday's lesson. 22:24 It says, "As with everything God has done, we have an enemy who 22:30 distorts and exploits it. 22:33 It shouldn't be surprising, then, that beauty and concepts 22:37 of beauty can be used against us, as well. 22:40 Thus, especially in the arts, Christian education, guided by 22:44 Scripture, must help us learn to be careful in understanding that 22:50 not all that is beautiful is necessarily good or holy." 22:57 It's simply saying that we need to make sure that just because 23:01 it's beautiful doesn't mean that we are attracted to it, that 23:05 we're going to follow those things because, friends, we 23:08 know--don't we?--from firsthand experience, that much of the 23:12 art, much of the philosophy, the teachings of this world, do not 23:17 honor God. 23:20 I can't help but think of that description of Lucifer in Isaiah 23:25 chapter 14, and it talks about him and, of course, he gained 23:31 that title for himself of Satan, but it says in chapter 14, verse 23:36 12, "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and 23:42 perfect in beauty." 23:46 He's a beautiful creature, and, of course, we know that the 23:52 Scripture says that he can transform himself into a being 23:57 of light, and so we need to be very careful because then it 24:01 goes on in verse 13, and it talks about the workmanship of 24:07 his timbrels and his pipes and how they were prepared for him 24:11 on the day that he was created. 24:13 I don't know about you, friends, but when I read that verse, I 24:16 can't help but think that Lucifer had an orchestra built 24:23 right into his body. 24:26 I remember, years ago, went to a musical, and I was sitting 24:32 there, and the person that was singing, oh, they had such a 24:36 beautiful voice, and the person that was sitting next to me, 24:41 when the song ended, they said, "Wow, what a great set of 24:44 pipes," right? 24:46 You ever heard someone say that in talking about someone being 24:49 able to sing? 24:51 You know, he had these pipes and these timbrels, this orchestra 24:54 built right in him. 24:55 He was the leader of the worship of God but, of course, we know 25:02 that he has taken that, and he has twisted it. 25:06 And there are some great DVDs that are out there on this 25:10 topic. 25:11 I can think of Christian Berdahl, I can think of Scott 25:16 Ritsema, who have done topics on this and 25:20 how Satan has twisted it. 25:22 In fact, Scott Ritsema's DVD called "The Media Mind," we have 25:27 that in the Amazing Facts website. 25:30 You can just go to AmazingFacts.org, and you can 25:33 click on the bookstore and type in "The Media Mind," and that 25:38 will pull that up. 25:40 Scott goes into how the media, how movies, and how music has 25:47 been twisted by Satan. 25:49 He's used men to take that music which God intended to draw us 25:54 near to Him, and they've used it to twist it and to pull us away 26:00 from God rather than to Him. 26:04 And so we have to be very careful that our study of art 26:08 and music draws us closer to God and doesn't lead us into the 26:14 ways of the enemy. 26:16 Friends, you know, the melody of praise is the atmosphere of 26:20 heaven. 26:21 And when heaven comes in touch with the earth, there is music, 26:24 and there is song. 26:26 Isaiah 51, verse 3, talks about "thanksgiving and the voice of 26:31 melody." 26:32 Job, chapter 38, verse 7, is talking about the creation of 26:36 the world, and it says, "The morning stars sang together, and 26:40 all the sons of God shouted for joy." 26:44 You know, the earliest song recorded in the Bible is when 26:48 Israel came out of Egypt, and they went through the Red Sea, 26:53 and when they came out the other side, there was this glorious 26:57 outburst of thanksgiving by the host of Israel, and they were 27:01 singing songs and praising God. 27:05 You know, we could talk about poetry of the words of Moses 27:09 that he used in describing that conversation 27:12 that God had with Job. 27:15 You know, in the original language, it was very poetic, 27:18 and then there's a little bit of that missing when you translate 27:22 from the Hebrew to the English language, but God said to him, 27:26 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? 27:30 Who determined its measurements? 27:33 Who stretched the line upon it? 27:35 To what were its foundations fastened? 27:38 Who laid its cornerstone?" 27:41 In other words, God was pointing Job back to Creation. 27:45 He was pointing him back to all that God has done for us. 27:50 And how Job respond to that? 27:55 Job, chapter 42, verse 5, he said, "I have heard of you by 27:59 the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you." 28:04 In other words, Job is saying, "I've heard of you. 28:07 I've, you know, had this experience, but now I see you. 28:12 When I look at Creation, I can see that 28:15 there's an intelligent design. 28:17 I can see that there is a God." 28:20 And so, like Job, our human hearts in sympathy with heaven, 28:25 have responded to God's goodness, and we do that in 28:30 notes of praise, whether it's music or hymns or meditation, 28:35 and all of that, the arts, all those things that are designed 28:39 to draw us to God. 28:41 So let's talk now a little bit about science. 28:45 I remember, years ago, my wife and I went and visited the Grand 28:49 Canyon, and I have to say that it was awe-inspiring. 28:54 It was truly majestic. 28:57 And it's interesting: If you look at a topographical map and 29:04 you go from the Grand Canyon, all the way up through Arizona 29:08 and into Utah, you discover on that topographical map, you 29:14 discover what's called the Grand Staircase. 29:19 It is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that 29:22 stretch from the Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, down 29:28 through Zion National Park in Arizona, 29:31 and down into the Grand Canyon. 29:34 And in the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first 29:39 conceptualized this region as a huge staircase. 29:44 In looking at it, he saw that, descending from the Bryce Canyon 29:53 National Park, up in Utah, down in through Arizona, and down 29:59 into the Grand Canyon, he showed a giant staircase that was 30:05 formed, and he goes into that, and if you look at this from a 30:13 biblical perspective and you study the geomorphology, that 30:18 is, the physical features of the landforms from Utah, all the way 30:23 down into Arizona, and down into the Grand Canyon, and you look 30:29 at places like Devils Tower National Monument, you discover 30:34 that all of these landforms actually provide physical 30:38 evidence of a global flood. 30:41 It shows how the water must've come down and how it created 30:48 that Grand Canyon. 30:49 I remember, back in 2017, my wife and I had taken a call to 30:56 pastor in the middle of Michigan in Midland and Mount Pleasant, 31:00 and we were up there looking for a house to purchase, and they 31:03 had just had a storm that had come through that lasted several 31:10 days, and they had a lot of rain. 31:12 And as we were driving around, trying to find some houses that 31:18 we wanted to look at, we went by this one place that just caused 31:23 me to stop, right in the middle of the road, and I looked at it, 31:27 and you could see where there was a river about 20 feet below 31:30 the road, and then there was this house, and then the 31:33 landscape went up a little bit higher, but you could see how 31:38 the rain ran down through this yard, and it tore away large 31:44 pieces of ground, and, fortunately, it missed the 31:47 house, but it went right across their driveway, right across 31:51 their front yard, and down into the river, and we literally saw 31:55 a miniature version of the Grand Canyon, and that was just 31:59 from a very small local flood. 32:03 And so, as my wife and I were visiting the Grand Canyon, we 32:07 walked down into the canyon, and that was a lot of fun. 32:10 We enjoyed that. 32:11 We rode mules on the rim of the canyon, and we had a lot of fun 32:16 doing that, and then we went into the Museum of Natural 32:20 History there in the Grand Canyon National Park, and what 32:24 do you suppose they did? 32:27 They described how it took millions and billions of years 32:31 to form the Grand Canyon, right? 32:33 And I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, foolish man." 32:38 You see, brothers and sisters, whenever we leave God out of the 32:41 equation, when we remove the Creator and the Word of God from 32:46 the science and the study of the earth, 32:50 we become experts in error. 32:54 I want you to notice in that book "Education," again, this 32:56 time in chapter 14, notice what it says: "Inferences erroneously 33:02 drawn from facts observed in nature have, however, led to 33:07 supposed conflict between science and revelation, and in 33:11 the effort to restore harmony, interpretations of Scripture 33:14 have been adopted that undermine and destroy the force 33:17 of the word of God. 33:19 Geology has been thought to contradict the literal 33:22 interpretation of the Mosaic record of the Creation. 33:25 Millions of years, it is claimed, were required for the 33:29 evolution of the earth from chaos, and in order to 33:32 accommodate the Bible to this supposed revelation of science, 33:37 the days of Creation are assumed to have been vast, indefinite 33:41 periods, covering thousands or even millions of years." 33:46 Here we see that what it's saying is that, unfortunately, 33:52 many Christians have tried to harmonize the theory of 33:57 evolution with the story of Creation and blend the two of 34:02 them together, and when you do that, rather than taking 34:07 Scripture at face value and literally viewing Creation as 34:11 happening in six literal 24-hour days, we say it took thousands 34:18 of years. 34:20 And in contrast to that, I want you to notice in that book, 34:24 "Education," back there in chapter 14, page 128, it said, 34:28 "Since the book of nature and the book of revelation bear the 34:31 impress of the same master mind, they cannot 34:35 but speak in harmony. 34:37 By different methods, and in different languages, 34:39 they witness to the same truths. 34:42 Science is ever discovering new wonders, but she brings from her 34:47 research nothing that, rightly understood, 34:51 conflicts with divine revelation. 34:54 The book of nature and the written word shed light 34:58 upon each other. 34:59 They make us acquainted with God by teaching us something of the 35:03 laws through which He works." 35:06 And in that quote, we see there that nature and science should 35:13 be in agreement with the Scriptures. 35:16 Proverbs chapter 1, verse 7, says, "Fear of the Lord is the 35:20 beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom 35:24 and instruction." 35:25 Psalm 33, verse 9, says, "He spoke, and it was done. 35:29 He commanded, and it stood fast." 35:32 Nehemiah chapter 9, verse 6, says, "You alone are the Lord. 35:36 You have made the heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all of 35:39 their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and 35:42 all that is in them." 35:45 You go back to that book, "Education," chapter 14, this 35:47 time on page 133, it says, "He who studies most deeply into the 35:54 mysteries of nature will realize most fully his own ignorance 36:01 and weakness. 36:03 He will realize that there are depths and heights which he 36:06 cannot reach, secrets which he cannot penetrate, 36:08 vast fields of truth lying before him unentered." 36:13 Friends, here we see that, when we look at Creation and we think 36:21 about a Creator and an infinite God, and we try to understand 36:27 the infinite in our finite minds, we are always going to 36:31 come up short. 36:33 There are going to be some things that we are just going to 36:37 have to take by faith. 36:40 You know, in our study here, there's a quote by Sir Isaac 36:44 Newton, who once said, "I seem to myself to have been like a 36:49 child on the seashore, finding pebbles and shells, while the 36:53 great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me." 36:58 Here we see that, in our finite minds and trying to grasp all 37:04 that God has done, friends, it's going to take us all of eternity 37:08 to figure out God and His creative power and who He is. 37:13 And, you know, I imagine that, just about the time where we 37:17 think we've got God figured out, Jesus is going to say, 37:20 "Hey, come on with me. 37:21 I want to take you, and I want to show you something," 37:24 and he's just going to blow our minds, right? 37:27 You see, the deepest students of science are constrained to 37:34 recognize in nature the working of infinite power. 37:41 And so, when we leave God and we leave the Word of God out of 37:47 education and we go by man's unaided reason, nature's 37:53 teaching seem to be contrary and contradictory and disappointing. 37:59 And so, when we look at nature, when we look at the Grand 38:05 Canyon, when we look at the sciences, and we look at the 38:09 Word of God, rather than trying to bring harmony between these 38:14 two opposing views, these two views that have nothing in 38:20 common, we need to realize that it doesn't work. 38:25 It is only in the light of revelation that we can read and 38:31 understand the sciences correctly. 38:34 Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 3, says, "Through faith we 38:40 understand." 38:42 You see, friends, both the atheist and the Christian have 38:50 to live by faith. 38:52 Now, I want to pause for a moment, and I want to just let 38:56 that sink in. 38:59 Let me say it again: Both the atheist and the Christian 39:05 live by faith. 39:08 You see, by faith, one says there is no God, that all things 39:12 came from chaos and evolved over millions and billions of years, 39:16 and you are here by chance. 39:22 And then the other says by faith that there is a Creator God, and 39:28 all that was made, was made through Him, 39:32 that there is order, that there is purpose in everything, 39:37 and that He loves you. 39:40 He wants to have a relationship with you. 39:43 He wants to commune with you, and He has a plan for your life. 39:49 I love that verse that says that God has a plan for you and that 39:54 it is for good and not for evil. 39:58 You see, true education involves the arts and the sciences, but 40:05 it's about much more than that. 40:10 I want you to notice that in Friday's lesson here, it says 40:17 two reasons exist why science, which gets so many things right, 40:23 gets origins so wrong. 40:26 First, science, which studies the natural world, must look 40:31 only to the natural world for answers. 40:35 Second, science assumes that the law of nature must remain 40:39 constant, yet both of these are wrong when it comes to origins. 40:46 If we leave the Word of God out of the equation, 40:51 if we leave a Creator out of the equation, then it's going 40:57 to lead us to error. 41:02 True education involves the arts and the sciences, but it's about 41:11 much more than that. 41:14 Friends, what did we read in the beginning of our lesson today 41:18 from the book of "Education"? 41:20 It said, "True education means more than pursual of certain 41:27 courses of study." 41:29 It's important to get a good education. 41:31 It's important to go to school. 41:33 It's important that we study certain topics and that, if we 41:38 can, that we become an expert in one of those and provide for 41:42 ourselves and for our family. 41:44 But true education is far more than just a certain course of 41:50 study, and it even said there that it was more than adding 41:54 Scripture to our course of study, and it's even more than a 42:02 preparation for the life that now is. 42:06 It has to do with the whole being. 42:10 It has to do with the whole period of existence that is 42:13 possible to man. 42:16 It is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, the 42:22 emotional, the spiritual powers, and all of those things are 42:28 designed to prepare us for the joy of service to God and 42:35 service to each other, and if we are looking to that next world, 42:41 if we are looking to heaven, we see that that's what heaven's 42:45 going to be all about. 42:47 It's going to be about our service to others, and if we are 42:52 going to gain a true education, then we have got to put it into 42:58 the proper context. 43:00 We have got to put it into view that there is a Creator, and 43:05 whether you believe that there is no God or whether you believe 43:10 that there is, both are going by faith, and ultimately, faith has 43:18 to have a play in all of this. 43:20 I remember, years ago, there were some presidential 43:24 candidates who were having a debate, and I remember one of 43:28 them, they were talking about their faith, right? 43:33 And I remember one of them saying, "I have faith, but it 43:40 doesn't dictate what I do." 43:43 And I remember thinking to myself, "That's insane. 43:46 I've never heard of such a thing." 43:48 Your faith will always dictate what you do. 43:53 And so you either have faith that there is no God, or you 43:58 have faith that there is, and depending on which side of the 44:02 equation you're on is going to determine what you do. 44:06 And if we are going to truly understand science, if we're 44:09 going to truly understand the arts, if we are going to make 44:12 sense of it all as we look at that grand staircase coming 44:17 down, as we look at the geomorphology--you know, you go 44:20 out in the deserts of Arizona and up into Utah, and you see, 44:27 you know, those giant rock formations sticking up, 44:30 and it's incredible. 44:32 If you go up onto the top of those, you find stones, giant 44:36 boulders, that are up there that don't belong in that area. 44:43 You know, where did they come from? 44:45 And the science can't always give an answer to that if you 44:50 take Creation out of that, if you take the flood out of that. 44:55 And so if we are going to look at the sciences and we are going 45:01 to look at the arts and we are going to truly understand them, 45:06 then we have to have a correct interpretation. 45:12 There has to be an element of faith. 45:18 You see, it's only when the arts and the sciences are taught from 45:22 a biblical perspective that they can rightly be understood. 45:29 And, friends, I don't know about you, but I really appreciated 45:33 this study this week in talking about how the arts and the 45:37 sciences should rightly lead us to God because God doesn't 45:43 expect us to just have blind faith. 45:46 He doesn't expect us to just take His word that He is 45:50 Creator, but, rather, He has given us the evidence that we 45:54 need that He not only exists, but that He loves us and that He 46:02 wants to call us out of the world and set us apart for His 46:06 good purpose. 46:08 He has a plan for your life. 46:09 There is a purpose to your life, and He is leading and guiding 46:14 each and every one of us as far as, and as much as, 46:17 we allow Him to do that. 46:20 And as we surrender our hearts to Him and as we allow Him to do 46:25 those things in us that we can't do in ourselves, He can 46:31 transform us and give us that beautiful character 46:37 that He is looking for. 46:38 Yes, He loves the outward beauty, but more than that, 46:43 He is looking for that inward beauty that He, and He alone, 46:49 can develop in you. 46:50 And if we take that out of the picture, if we take that away 46:54 from our understanding of the sciences and the arts, we are 47:00 going to always be going down a path of error. 47:06 So, friends, I hope that you were blessed by our study today. 47:10 I really appreciated this week's study. 47:12 I hope that you were able to get those things out of there 47:16 and hopefully much more than that, and you can see 47:19 that God is there. 47:21 And just looking at creation itself, just looking at the 47:25 things around us, there is evidence in a God. 47:31 I'm going to close today by reminding you of our free 47:34 offering today, and it's this book, "Is There Anything Left 47:38 That You Can Trust?" 47:40 That's offering Number 103, and once again, you can dial 47:45 866-788-3966, and you can ask them for offering Number 103, or 47:54 you can get a digital download, and you can just text "SH043" 48:01 to number 40544. 48:05 Well, brothers and sisters, God bless you. 48:07 I hope that you have a great Sabbath today. 48:10 Let me close with a word of prayer. 48:15 Oh, loving Father, Lord, as we look at the things around us, 48:22 even though our world has been marred and decimated by sin, 48:27 Lord, there is clearly evidence of a Creator of an intelligent 48:35 design behind it all. 48:38 And, Father, we are just so grateful and thankful that You 48:41 don't just say: Just trust Me and believe," but, rather, You 48:45 have given us the evidence that we need to hang our faith on, 48:52 that we can trust and believe that there is a Creator, God, 48:58 that You love us, Lord, and that You have a plan for us. 49:03 And You have gone to prepare a place for us, yes, and You are 49:06 desiring to come back to this world, and I believe very soon 49:10 that, Lord, You want to come, and You want to take us home so 49:14 that we can be with You. 49:17 And, Lord, we long for that day when You would come and wake the 49:22 dead and transform the living in the twinkling of an eye, that, 49:26 Lord, we could come and be with You. 49:29 We long to see You re-create the world, and we pray that You 49:33 would help us to become a part of it, and we ask for it in 49:35 Jesus's name, amen. 49:39 God bless you, everyone. Have a great day. 49:41 ♪♪♪ 49:43 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 49:46 free resource. 49:47 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 49:49 download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:52 or mobile device. 49:53 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 49:56 the key word on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 50:01 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 50:04 download option on the request page. 50:06 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:10 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want and, most 50:13 important, to share it with others. 50:19 ♪♪♪ 50:22 announcer: Amazing Facts changed lives. 50:26 ♪♪♪ 50:30 Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia, and I am from 50:32 the beautiful islands of Hawaii. 50:34 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, 50:38 like most families. 50:40 Being in that environment, I would lie, cheat, steal, rob 50:43 houses, cheat in school on tests and lie to teachers and getting 50:48 into fights, and all kinds of stuff. 50:52 One day, I was asked to take this little box of something. 50:55 I had to walk down the road and give it to someone, and they 50:58 would give me money, and I would walk back home, and I later 51:00 realized that I was dealing drugs. 51:04 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, being 51:07 an adult was a life of drinking and smoking and partying, and 51:10 that's just what adults did. 51:14 When I looked at my family and saw the road that they were 51:16 going down, getting arrested, getting beaten up, coming home 51:20 drunk and puking all over the floor, I just didn't want 51:23 that for myself. 51:26 Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian in 51:29 her 20s, but then she wasn't ever a practicing Christian. 51:33 And so, one day, I was at her house, and there was a box of 51:36 various books, and I went to the bottom of that box and found a 51:39 book called "The Great Controversy," and I picked it 51:42 up, and I said, "This is interesting." 51:44 And I opened to the first page of that book, and it said, "If 51:47 thou hadst known--" I had no clue what it meant. 51:51 And so I said, "You know what? Forget this." 51:53 I put the book down. I just walked away. 51:55 I did my thing. 51:57 But then something told me, "You know, Diamond, 51:58 go back to that book." 52:00 And so I went back to the book, picked it up, went to the last 52:03 two chapters, and I read it, and I said to my grandmother, I 52:08 said, "What church is this from? I want to go to that church." 52:10 So she brought me down to the local church, and then I walk in 52:13 through the back door, and the piano is 52:16 off-key, the people are off-key. 52:18 It's like, man, this is really, kind of--I don't want 52:20 to be here. 52:23 And I got to the front of the church, and I sat down. 52:24 I was listening to the sermon, and the whole service, it was so 52:27 boring to me, but then someone gives me this set of DVDs, and 52:32 it was called "The Prophecy Code." 52:36 It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain the truths 52:39 found in the Bible that really brought me to 52:41 Christ and brought me to realize that, you know what? 52:43 There is a life better than my family's life. 52:48 My second week at church on Sabbath, 52:50 there was one person there. 52:52 He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond, do you want to make 52:54 some money?" 52:55 And I said, "Sure." 52:57 I said, "What do you do?" 52:59 He says, "Well, I'm a call porter. 53:01 We go door-to-door, and we sell Christian books." 53:02 I said, "Oh, okay, well, that sounds interesting. 53:05 I do want to make some money too." 53:06 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me." 53:09 We drove out to the neighborhood, parked the car, 53:12 and that night was just raining. 53:14 It was pouring and pouring. 53:15 It could not stop raining. 53:17 He prayed. 53:19 He said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. 53:20 If it's Your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." 53:23 And as soon as he said, "Amen," the rain just stopped. 53:26 I was just thinking in my head, "Is this guy a prophet, 53:29 or what?" 53:30 I mean, he just prayed and asked God, and it happened. 53:34 And so I was so happy. 53:36 I grabbed the books, and I went to the first door, and the first 53:38 door I went to, the person gave me 50 bucks. 53:41 That night was actually a big night for me because it was 53:43 where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain, and people 53:47 were actually giving me lots of money. 53:50 I then became a call porter, or a canvasser, and I received 53:52 money to pay for my way through academy, and when my church 53:55 began to see how God was using me, they immediately recognized 54:00 that it was God's Word moving, and they put me, you know, 54:03 preaching and teaching and sharing my faith. 54:05 And I've been engaged in ministry for the past six or 54:07 seven years now, and God has taken me all over the world on 54:10 multiple continents, sharing my testimony how God has brought me 54:13 out of darkness into his marvelous light. 54:17 That's just total contrast as to how I was before, and now, you 54:19 know, it's a total contrast. 54:23 My name is Diamond, and Amazing Facts has helped 54:26 to change my life. 54:28 ♪♪♪ 54:38 ♪♪♪ 54:49 Doug Batchelor: Friends, have you ever heard 54:50 of the bowhead whale? 54:51 This enormous Leviathan is the second largest creature 54:55 in the world. 54:56 Dark and stocky, it roams the fertile Arctic northern waters. 55:01 These massive creatures can be more than 65 feet long and weigh 55:05 more than 75 tons. 55:06 That's heavier than the space shuttle. 55:10 Yet in spite of their titanic size, they're able to leap 55:13 entirely out of the water. 55:15 Can you say, "belly flop"? 55:18 The bowhead whale gets its name from its bow-shaped skull, 55:21 and they've got one ginormous noggin. 55:24 Matter of fact, their heads are about 40% of their body size, 55:27 which comes in handy when you find out how 55:29 they use their heads. 55:31 They've got very thick skulls. 55:33 Sometimes they get trapped under the surface, and they use their 55:36 heads to ram the ice. 55:38 They can break a breathing hole in the ice that is a foot 55:40 and a half thick. 55:43 Friends, you have to just imagine what it would be like to 55:45 be walking around on the Arctic ice and, all of a sudden, have 55:48 the ground beneath you crack and split and rise as one of these 55:53 sea monsters pushes its head up to breathe for the first time 55:56 in 90 minutes. 55:58 Because bowheads make their home in the coldest part of our 56:01 world, they have the thickest blubber of any whale, but this 56:04 plus their friendly and curious nature made them prime targets 56:08 when the European whalers discovered the bowheads. 56:11 They hunted them nearly to extinction. 56:15 Fortunately, because of conservation efforts, we've 56:18 slowly seen their numbers begin to increase since the '60s. 56:22 One of the most amazing facts about the bowhead whale 56:25 is its longevity. 56:26 Scientists have discovered by evaluating harpoon tips found in 56:30 their skull and examining their eye tissue, there are bowhead 56:34 whales out there that are probably over 200 years old. 56:38 You realize that means there are bowhead whales swimming the 56:41 oceans right now that were alive before Abraham Lincoln 56:45 was elected President. 56:47 Can you imagine that? 56:49 Among the other amazing mega-facts about the bowhead 56:52 whale is its mega-mouth. 56:54 They have the largest mouth of any in the animal kingdom, and 56:58 when they open their piehole, full extended, it's large enough 57:01 to park a medium-sized SUV inside. 57:04 Yet in spite of the fact they've got such big mounds, they 57:07 survive by eating the very smallest creatures in the ocean, 57:11 plankton, krill, and other microscopic animals. 57:15 Friends, I'm always amazed by the creatures God has made. 57:18 This bowhead whale is able to dive to the deepest oceans. 57:21 They can break through the ice and move mountains with their 57:23 head and completely leave the water and fly through the air, 57:27 and, yet they do all that by gaining strength from almost 57:30 microscopic organisms. 57:33 Helps us remember that we survive through the little 57:35 promises in God's Word. 57:37 Jesus, when tempted by the devil, He quoted just a few 57:40 little verses, and He sent the enemy running. 57:43 You can also have that same durability and long life as the 57:46 bowhead whale by trusting in God's Word and His promises. 57:50 ♪♪♪ 57:58 ♪♪♪ 58:08 ♪♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-12-01