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00:10 ♪♪ 00:20 ♪♪ 00:30 ♪♪ 00:35 Carlos Muñoz: Maranatha and good morning. 00:37 Happy Sabbath to everyone that's joining us today on 00:39 this beautiful day. 00:41 We want to welcome you all to the Sabbath School Study Hour 00:44 here at the Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:48 We're located here in the Sacramento area, 00:50 specifically in Granite Bay. 00:52 And so if you're ever in the area, 00:53 if you're ever coming to visit, or if you live in the area and 00:56 you want to come join us, we-- 00:57 please, we ask you to come and fellowship with us every Sabbath 01:02 morning if you-- if it's your delight. 01:04 So today we're continuing in our study on the book of Isaiah. 01:09 How many of you have been enjoying the book 01:11 of Isaiah, amen? 01:12 And today we're touching on a very important and a beautiful 01:15 topic, which is the desire of ages, amen? 01:19 The desire of ages. 01:20 So I'm really looking forward to today's lesson and we also have 01:24 a free offer, right? 01:25 Remember, we always have a free offer. 01:27 And our free offer for today is this book called 01:29 "12 Steps to Revival." 01:32 "12 Steps to Revival," it's one of our pocketbooks. 01:34 You can receive this book by calling us at 1-866-788-3966 01:40 or 1-866-Study-More, and you can ask for offer number 780. 01:46 Now, sadly, it's only mailed in North America, 01:49 in the United States territories, 01:50 but you can also receive this digital copy if you text SH001. 01:56 Again, text SH001 to the number 40544. 02:04 The number is 40544 and you will receive a digital copy and you 02:08 can also find this pocketbook and many others on the "Amazing 02:12 Facts" website. 02:14 So you can go there and find many of these wonderful 02:17 blessings as well. 02:18 Well, before we get into the study of our lesson today, 02:22 we are going to be delighted with a praise from the-- 02:27 Rennan and Nicole Ramus and Dorling Coinan, 02:32 and they are going to be singing "If You but Trust." 02:38 ♪ If you but trust in God to guide you and place ♪ 02:47 ♪ your confidence in Him, ♪ 02:53 ♪ you'll find Him always there beside you ♪ 03:00 ♪ to give you hope and strength within; ♪ 03:07 ♪ for those who trust God's changeless love build on the ♪ 03:16 ♪ rock that will not move, ooh. ♪ 03:27 ♪ What gain is there in futile weeping, ♪ 03:33 ♪ in helpless anger and distress? ♪ 03:39 ♪ If you are in His care and keeping, ♪ 03:45 ♪ in sorrow will He love you less? ♪ 03:51 ♪ For He who took for you a cross ♪ 03:57 ♪ will bring you safe through ♪ 04:00 ♪ every loss, ooh. ♪ 04:09 ♪ Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving, ♪ 04:15 ♪ offer your service faithfully, and trust His Word; ♪ 04:22 ♪ though undeserving, you'll find His promise true to be. ♪ 04:32 ♪ God never will forsake in need the soul that trusts ♪ 04:40 ♪ in Him indeed, ooh. ♪ 04:49 ♪ God never will forsake in need the soul that trusts ♪ 04:57 ♪ in Him indeed, ♪ 05:01 ♪ ooh, ♪ 05:07 ♪ ooh. ♪ 05:18 Carlos: I didn't hear enough amens there. 05:20 Amen, that was beautiful. 05:22 Let's have a word of prayer. 05:23 Heavenly Father, we thank You again for this great privilege 05:26 and this honor that You give us to come together. 05:28 We thank You for the beautiful music that elevates our mind to 05:32 contemplate Your beauty and Your glory and Christ there, 05:36 Father, at Your right hand interceding on our behalf. 05:39 Well, Father, now as we come to study the Word of God, 05:41 we ask that Your Spirit guide us, 05:44 and come with an attitude of what can we learn, 05:46 what more can we grasp, of how better can we understand 05:48 Your Word? 05:49 And today, Your servant, Father, is Pastor Doug Batchelor. 05:51 We just ask that Your Spirit continue to speak in him and 05:54 through him and that we may delight and rejoice in learning 05:57 more about the desire of ages. 06:00 We thank You, Father, for this opportunity and this blessing 06:02 and we ask and beg these things, in Jesus's name, amen. 06:07 Doug Batchelor: Good morning. Happy Sabbath. 06:11 I want to welcome everybody that is here in-house with us today 06:15 and we're glad that we're in some spring weather here in the 06:18 Granite Bay, Sacramento, area. 06:20 I want to welcome those who are worshiping and studying with us 06:23 online through either one of the satellite channels or Roku 06:28 or Facebook or YouTube, and it's amazing the testimonies we get 06:32 of people who join us in studying God's Word from 06:35 all over the world. 06:37 We know you're there, we see your notes, 06:38 we love to hear from you, and thank you for being there. 06:41 Today, we're continuing in our lesson on Isaiah, 06:45 and today we're going to be in lesson number 12. 06:47 We've got one more lesson in this series and I think I'm 06:50 lined up to teach that next week, 06:52 and then we're moving on to a new quarterly. 06:56 I thought I'd just give you a little preview glimpse. 06:58 And it's going to be called 07:00 "The Promise: God's Everlasting Covenant." 07:02 This is really going to be interesting because it's going 07:05 to go through the various covenants that God made to 07:08 His people and I know that will be a edifying study. 07:12 Today's study is lesson number 12 in Isaiah and it's dealing 07:15 with "Desire of Nations." 07:19 How many of you have read the book 07:20 "Desire of Ages"? 07:23 And I think that the title is drawn from this section that 07:28 you find in Isaiah. 07:29 Now, it's really been a challenge to, 07:32 you know, normally for these quarters, 07:35 for those watching you may or may not know that we, 07:38 in this church, we go through a study guide every quarter, 07:42 every, you know, 13 weeks or so. 07:45 And you know, in five years' time we try and cover the Bible 07:48 but it's really difficult to get the 66 chapters of Isaiah 07:55 in 13 weeks. 07:57 They really need to dedicate two quarters to this. 08:01 But we're going to do our best to try to cover our 08:02 subject today. 08:04 We're going to be dealing with Isaiah chapter 59, 60, 08:07 and part of 61. 08:10 And we've got our work cut out for us. 08:11 There's a memory verse. 08:13 The memory verse is from Isaiah 60, verse 3. 08:16 Isaiah 60, verse 3, and this is a good choice. 08:19 You want to say it with me if you have it there. 08:22 It says: "The Gentiles shall come to Your light, 08:27 and kings to the brightness of Your rising." 08:31 And this is certainly a fulfilled prophecy in 08:33 that the Gentiles came to the light of not only the Messiah 08:38 but the Word that was brought by the Jewish nation, 08:41 and kings to the brightness of His rising. 08:45 Well, we're going to start with Isaiah chapter-- 08:47 Isaiah chapter 59, and I like to just dive right in and start 08:53 reading the Word and do some just expository teaching 08:57 along the way. 08:58 This is under Sunday's section, "The Effects of Sin." 09:01 And you read here in verse 1, Isaiah 59: 09:04 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, 09:06 that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, 09:10 that it cannot hear. 09:12 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; 09:16 and your sins have hidden His face from you, 09:18 so that He will not hear." 09:21 Some people say, "How come my prayers are not 09:22 being answered?" 09:24 Well, there could be a few different reasons. 09:26 One thing, you want to pray according to God's will. 09:28 You want to pray in faith. 09:30 There are certain criteria in prayer: 09:32 patiently and persistently, but the Bible's pretty clear that if 09:36 we stop our ears to hearing the law, 09:38 even our prayer is an abomination, 09:41 that our iniquities can separate us from God and what did it say? 09:44 "So that He will not hear." 09:46 You cannot live a life of, you know, 09:48 known, open, high-handed sin and then give God your Christmas 09:51 shopping list and say, "I wonder why He's not answering 09:53 my prayers." 09:54 Do not misunderstand, please: 09:57 God always hears a prayer of repentance and confession. 10:01 When you come to Him and you've got a penitent heart, 10:04 the Lord always hears those prayers. 10:06 But when you're giving God your list, 10:10 it does make a difference if you surrendered your life to Him and 10:13 if you're willing to do His will, 10:14 turn from your sins. 10:16 And Isaiah's here, he says that there's separation that happens 10:20 because of our rebellion: sometimes our connection 10:23 is broken. 10:26 Now, up in the hills where we have had our cabin for many 10:30 years, when I first moved up there, we had no telephone. 10:37 There's no cell phone, and the way we all communicated with 10:42 each other is we had CB radios. 10:44 Does anyone remember what a CB radio is? 10:47 I think truckers still have them. 10:49 And all of the mountain people up there, we had-- 10:51 I had an antenna was, like, 40 feet tall so that I can 10:54 reach everybody. 10:56 And we all had our handles. 10:58 You know, with one family it was Country Girl, 11:01 and the other guy was Flying Fan, 11:02 and I was Cave Man. 11:04 And so we all had our handles. We communicated with CBs. 11:07 Then finally, one day, I said, "Enough is enough." 11:09 Two miles from my house, Mendocino County had a phone 11:12 line and I called the phone company and they said, 11:15 "Look, if you want to connect to the phone line, 11:16 we'll connect it for you, but," they said, 11:18 "you got to put your own line in." 11:21 And so we bought 2 miles of copper phone line. 11:26 Now, it wasn't that much back then. 11:28 Right now, that would be worth a fortune. 11:30 The price of copper went up so people are stealing copper from 11:33 people's houses. 11:34 You heard about that. 11:36 And so I ran through the woods and through the trees and over 11:39 hill and dale, this spool of wire all the way to the house, 11:44 2 miles, to the county road and it was wonderful, finally. 11:49 I tell you, it was so neat when we finally hooked it up and they 11:52 hooked us and he said, "You should be good to go." 11:54 We picked up the receiver, we heard, 11:55 "Nnnnn," ready to make a phone call. 11:58 It was amazing. I mean, it was so exciting. 12:01 But then one day it stopped working and I called the phone 12:06 company and they said, "It's not at our end; 12:08 it's at your end." 12:11 They said, "Something happened to interrupt your connection." 12:15 And I had to walk 2 miles of phone line to find where a 12:19 squirrel had chewed through the line and it was shorting out. 12:24 And so I found it and I taped it up and then I-- 12:28 I mean, for a while there, I would actually, 12:29 to make it a quicker trip, I would cut the phone line in two 12:33 and do a meter test and test this mile and test this mile. 12:38 And then the snow would fall and trees would fall on the line and 12:40 break the line and I'd have to go reconnect it. 12:44 And you know, I spent years reconnecting the line, 12:47 walking the woods, in the rain. 12:48 Had to make important phone calls, the line is out. 12:51 I'd get out there and I found it was better if I take a rag. 12:53 I'd put a rag in my hand and I'd walk like this with the line. 12:55 If there was a break in the line, I'd feel a lump. 12:57 You could feel it. 12:59 And then you'd stop and I always had my tape and I had my solder 13:01 gun and everything and I'd fix it up. 13:03 Walking through the rain. 13:05 I'll tell you, friends, you have no idea how happy I was when we 13:08 got cell reception. 13:12 It was so wonderful. 13:13 And then we had some neighbors. 13:15 We were sharing our line with them. 13:16 Any of you remember the days where you have a party line? 13:21 And I said, "Well," I said, "the line is all yours now. 13:25 We're not going to use it anymore. 13:27 We're using the cell phone. 13:28 You guys need to get a cell phone." 13:29 "No, no, causes brain cancer. 13:31 We're not getting a cell phone." 13:33 But then he had to fix the phone line and it wasn't long before 13:39 they got the victory and they got a cell phone because it was 13:45 a constant job to keep reconnecting the line. 13:50 Well, you know, it's sort of how it is in the Christian life. 13:52 It is--we are constantly struggling to maintain the 13:57 connection with God. 14:00 If you fall, sin, repent, confess, 14:03 turn back to God, reconnect, and the devil will come along and 14:07 there'll be another storm or the squirrel will chew through 14:09 the line. 14:11 Reconnect, reconnect, reconnect. 14:13 Just--that's what it is in the Christian life. 14:15 It's just one of constantly striving 14:17 to maintain that connection. 14:18 And not only is that true of God, 14:20 if you're married it's true also. 14:22 Can you have an "amen" out there? 14:24 You've got to be constantly reconnecting to maintain 14:27 the relationship. 14:29 The devil wants to sever that relationship and break 14:33 our connection with God. 14:35 In the beginning, did God run from man or did man 14:38 run from God? 14:42 Genesis 3:8: "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in 14:46 the garden in the cool of the day, 14:48 and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence 14:51 of the Lord," from God in the trees in the garden. 14:56 They heard the sound of the Lord and they ran from Him. 15:00 Someone said the first question in the Bible is God asking, 15:05 "Where are you?" to Adam. 15:08 And the first question in the New Testament is the wise men 15:11 asking, "Where is He?" 15:13 So you've got man looking for God and God looking for man. 15:16 Now, technically, the first question in the Bible is the 15:19 devil questioning God's Word, "Hath God said?" 15:23 But that's where all our troubles come from: 15:24 doubting God's Word. 15:26 So it's all about the connection. 15:29 And God wants us to be connected with Him, 15:31 but He does want us to be separated from sin. 15:35 Our sins separate us from God so if we want to be connected with 15:38 God, we must be separated from sin. 15:40 And that's why Jesus came. 15:41 Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:17: 15:46 "Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, 15:49 says the Lord. 15:50 Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'" 15:54 Does that mean that the Lord wants Christians to live in a 15:58 monastery by ourselves somewhere where, 16:01 you know, like, Simeon Stylite. 16:02 We find a tall pillar and climb up there and just separate from 16:04 the world? 16:06 Or you run off to a cave or deserted island so that you 16:10 can maintain your holiness? 16:11 How are we going to preach the gospel like that? 16:14 One of the great challenges for every Christian is how do you 16:17 separate from sin in the world and still be in the world to 16:22 reach sinners? 16:24 Well, Jesus gave us an example of how to do that. 16:26 You sort of have to go from the mountain to the multitude. 16:29 Go to the mountain and pray, and then you go to the multitude. 16:34 But God is calling us to be separate, 16:37 be holy, and maintain that relationship. 16:42 You know, there's a great quote in the lesson from the book, 16:44 "Faith and Works," page 36. 16:47 "We must learn in the school of Christ nothing 16:50 but His righteousness can entitle us to one of the 16:53 blessings of the covenant of grace. 16:55 We've long desired and tried to obtain the blessings but have 16:58 not received them because we've cherished the idea that we can 17:01 do something to make ourselves worthy of them. 17:04 We've not looked away from ourselves, 17:05 believing that Jesus is a living Savior. 17:08 We must not think that our own grace and merits will save us. 17:12 The grace of Christ alone is the hope of salvation. 17:15 Through the prophet, the Lord promises, 17:17 'Let the wicked--'" she's quoting Isaiah-- 17:20 "'Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man 17:23 his thoughts.'" 17:24 Notice, she's saying it's only through Christ but then it goes 17:27 on to say, "We must forsake our way and our unrighteous 17:30 man his thoughts. 17:32 Let him turn to the Lord and He will have mercy on him, 17:35 and to our God and He will abundantly pardon." 17:37 That's how we gain that reconnection. 17:39 "We must believe the naked promise and not accept feeling 17:43 for faith. 17:44 When we trust God fully, when we rely upon the merits of Jesus as 17:48 a sin-pardoning Savior, we shall receive all the 17:51 help that we desire." 17:53 What a wonderful promise. 17:55 Now, I want to go back to Isaiah chapter 59. 17:58 I just read verse 1 and 2. 18:00 Go to verse 3. 18:02 Then he gets specific. 18:04 "For your hands are defiled with blood, 18:06 your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, 18:09 your tongue has muttered perversity." 18:11 He's going through all the anatomy here. 18:13 "No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. 18:18 They trust in empty words and speak lies; 18:20 they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. 18:23 They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web." 18:28 The viper, remember what John the Baptist said to 18:30 the Pharisees and scribes, so, "Den of vipers who has warned 18:34 you to flee from the wrath to come." 18:36 "He who eats their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed 18:40 a viper breaks out. 18:42 Their webs will not become garments, 18:44 nor will they cover themselves with their works; 18:46 their works are works--" now notice this. 18:49 "Their works are works of iniquity, 18:50 and the act of violence is in their hand." 18:53 You might underline that word: "in their hand." 18:55 "Their feet run to evil, they make haste to shed innocent 18:58 blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; 19:01 wasting and destruction is in their paths." 19:04 So you've got "in the hand" and "in the thoughts." 19:07 What are two characteristics of the mark of the beast in 19:09 the last days? 19:11 When it says "in the hand," is it physical or is it talking 19:14 about their works are works of iniquity in their hand. 19:16 See what it said? 19:18 In the forehead, their thoughts are thoughts. 19:20 And so in the Bible, when it says, 19:22 "in the forehead," and "in the hand," Isaiah helps spell out 19:25 what does that mean? 19:26 It means your actions, your thoughts, 19:28 is what's that's talking about. 19:32 "The way of peace they have not known, 19:34 and there's no justice in their ways; 19:36 they have made themselves crooked paths; 19:38 whoever takes that way shall not know the way of peace." 19:43 So it talks here about our sins have separated us but God wants 19:48 us to separate from sin, come out and be separate. 19:51 What is the second angel's message in Revelation 19:54 chapter 14? 19:59 "Babylon is fallen, is fallen. Come out from her, my people. 20:04 Come out and be separate lest you receive of her plagues and 20:07 partake of her sin." 20:08 So there is actually a message of calling out and separating 20:12 from sin is part of the three angels' message, amen? 20:17 If you look in Romans-- I'm sorry, Romans 8:38-39. 20:23 Now, while we are to separate from sin, 20:25 do our sins separate us from God's love? 20:28 Nothing can separate us. Let's read this. 20:31 Romans 8:38: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 20:35 nor angels nor principalities nor powers, 20:37 nor things present nor things to come, 20:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, 20:42 shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is 20:45 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 20:47 That love that God has for us, does that begin after we come 20:51 to Him or does He love us even before we come to Him? 20:55 That love that God has for us, is that love after we've 20:58 confessed and forsaken our sins or does He love us as sinners? 21:03 God loves sinners. 21:04 There's nothing that can separate you from the love 21:06 of God. 21:07 That love brings the sinner to Christ. 21:10 "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 21:13 "God so loved the world," the holy world and the sinful world. 21:17 He loved the world of sinners so that He gave His only begotten 21:20 Son, so let's remember that. 21:22 All right, under Monday, the section "Who is Forgiven?" 21:24 Now we're going to read Isaiah 59, 21:26 verse 15 to 50-- verse 15 to 21. 21:31 So if you want to join me there. 21:33 It says: "So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes 21:38 himself a prey. 21:41 Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him." 21:43 What's one of the big challenges in the world today? 21:49 Truth fails. 21:52 When you read Daniel chapter 8:14 and it talks about this 21:55 beast power, what does a beast power do? 21:58 Casts down truth. 22:02 And the cleansing of the sanctuary is a restoration 22:05 of truth. 22:07 And so that's part of the work of the church. 22:09 Are we living in a world today where truth is 22:12 becoming relative? 22:15 I don't know-- not for us, I mean, 22:17 the truth is absolute. 22:18 Jesus is the truth. His Word is truth. 22:21 But in the world, it's like, you've got your truth, 22:24 I've got my truth. 22:26 Everybody has their own truth. 22:27 And it's like everybody's living in various fantasies and we're 22:33 supposed to respect everybody's fantasies as it's a truth. 22:37 But I don't like the idea the government's telling me I need 22:40 to respect someone else's fantasy and call it truth 22:43 just to make them happy. 22:46 There is absolute truth and we need to be clear about that 22:49 because it is the truth that sets you free. 22:51 The truth is what saves. Jesus is the truth. 22:54 When we start going in for some of the cultural ideas of what is 22:59 truth so that we can fit in, it's really a betrayal 23:04 of Christ. 23:07 When you start buying into this idea that there are really 15 or 23:10 20 different genders, no, the Bible says there's 2. 23:16 And no, it doesn't matter how many times someone tells a lie, 23:20 it doesn't make it true. 23:22 And so we've got to be careful. 23:24 No, the truth is the truth is the truth. 23:27 And our mission as Christians is to be constantly seeking out and 23:31 sharing what is true. 23:33 But boy, it is sure getting murky out in the world today. 23:37 All right, so tells us that truth is fallen in the streets. 23:43 And then you go on and read here what it says in verse 16 23:48 in Isaiah chapter 59: 23:50 "He saw that there was no man, and He wondered that there was 23:53 no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation 23:58 for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 24:02 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and as a 24:05 helmet of salvation on His head; 24:08 He put the garments of vengeance on for clothing, 24:10 and was clad with zeal as a cloak." 24:13 Now, do a couple of those phrases sound familiar? 24:17 If you look in Ephesians, you know, 24:18 the armor of God, so much of what the apostles were saying, 24:22 they are quoting from the Old Testament. 24:25 You read the armor of God that you find in Ephesians chapter 6, 24:28 starting with verse 13: "Therefore take up the whole 24:32 armor of God, that you might be able to withstand in the evil 24:35 day, having done all, to stand. 24:37 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, 24:42 having put on the breastplate of righteousness." 24:44 Did Isaiah just talk about truth? 24:46 Did he just talk about a breastplate-- 24:48 breastplate of righteousness? 24:50 That was the big centerpiece of steel, or scales of iron, 24:55 that protected your vitals. 24:59 "Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel 25:01 of peace." 25:02 Now, Isaiah's not talking about that here, 25:04 but does Isaiah talk about how beautiful upon the mountain are 25:07 the feet of those that bring good tidings, good news, feet? 25:11 Paul is alluding to things that Isaiah 25:14 has said for the believer. 25:18 "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you were able 25:21 to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 25:23 And take the helmet of salvation." 25:25 Well, we just read that, "helmet of salvation," 25:27 here in Isaiah 59. 25:29 "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, 25:32 which is the Word of God." 25:34 So he kind of unpacks a little more for us what 25:36 those elements are. 25:38 All right, continuing, Isaiah 59, verse 18: 25:42 "According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay." 25:46 Is there another Scripture that says that? 25:49 "Behold, He comes in the clouds and every eye will see Him and 25:52 He will reward every man according to their works." 25:56 Everyone's going to be-- 25:57 "The books were open and every man was rewarded according to 26:00 his needs." 26:01 Now that confuses people because we know, 26:03 as Protestants, that Christians are saved by works or by faith? 26:07 By faith. 26:09 But we're rewarded by works or by faith? 26:12 By works. 26:14 Saved by faith, and then if you are saved by faith, 26:17 there'll be a change in your works and your works are evident 26:20 of whether or not you've been saved. 26:22 That's where Jesus said, 26:23 "You will know them by their fruits." 26:26 The fruits is talking about their actions. 26:28 So if a person says, "Lord, Lord," and they're not following 26:33 the Lord, Jesus said, "It's not everyone that says, 26:35 'Lord, Lord,' but he that does the will of My Father." 26:38 So it's ultimately who does the will of God that determines if 26:42 the heart has been changed. 26:45 "According to their deeds," I'm back in Isaiah 59, 26:48 verse 18, "He will repay, fury to His adversaries, 26:52 and recompense to His enemies; 26:53 the coastlands He will fully repay. 26:57 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, 27:00 and His glory from the rising of the sun," that would be the 27:02 east, "when the enemy comes in like a flood, 27:05 the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." 27:09 Now, that's a promise you can underline in your Bible. 27:11 Who's the enemy? The devil. 27:14 Well, we got another enemy I'm talking about 27:15 in the sermon today. 27:17 But principally, we think about the devil. 27:20 Can you think of a time in the Bible when an enemy was 27:23 approaching God's people and He lifted up the standard 27:25 against them? 27:29 When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, 27:31 before they crossed the Red Sea, the Pharaoh and his army began 27:35 to say, "Why did we let all of our slaves go? 27:37 What were we thinking? 27:38 We let them go, we gave them our treasure. 27:40 We must have been out of our minds. 27:42 Now, we're going to have to do all the work." 27:43 And they took off after the Israelites. 27:46 And the Israelites, so they're feeling pretty good about 27:48 freedom and when they get to the Red Sea, 27:50 they see a barrier and there's now mountains on the right and 27:53 the left, and then they see a cloud of dust coming from the 27:56 west and, alas, it's the Egyptians with all their 28:00 chariots of war coming to either kill or retrieve the Israelites. 28:06 And they say to Moses, "Were there not enough graves in Egypt 28:08 that you brought us into the wilderness to kill us?" 28:11 And God said, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." 28:13 Now, listen to what happens here. 28:16 Exodus 14:19: "And the Angel of God, 28:19 who went before the camp of Israel," he's moving in this 28:21 pillar, leading them. 28:24 "The Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, 28:26 moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went up from 28:31 before them and stood behind them," as their rear guard. 28:35 "So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp 28:38 of Israel. 28:39 Thus it was a cloud and darkness to one," 28:42 the Egyptians, "and it gave light by night to the other," 28:45 the Israelites, "so one did not come near the other all 28:48 that night." 28:50 Here the Lord set up a standard against them. 28:53 He created this barrier of protection. 28:55 That's a wonderful promise that you can claim. 28:58 Go back to Isaiah 59, verse 20: "The Redeemer will come to Zion, 29:04 and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob." 29:07 Now, who does the Redeemer come to? 29:09 "To those who turn from transgression," those who 29:11 are hungering after righteousness. 29:14 "Says the Lord. 29:15 'As for Me,' says the Lord, 'this is My covenant with them: 29:17 My Spirit who is upon you, and My words that I put in 29:20 your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, 29:23 nor from the mouth of your descendants, 29:25 nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,' 29:28 says the Lord, 'from this time and forevermore.'" 29:31 Saying that the Word of God, those words that Isaiah spoke 29:34 have continued to go down through time to all of those 29:37 who are either children of Abraham or spiritual children 29:40 of Abraham, to the present day where here I am teaching those 29:43 words to you. 29:45 It was a covenant that God made that that word about the Messiah 29:49 would continue to go on. 29:51 And so here you've got-- it says the Redeemer will come. 29:54 If you've got your Bibles, you'll notice that's capital 29:56 R, that's Isaiah 59:20. 29:59 "The Redeemer will come to Zion." 30:01 There are so many prophecies about the Redeemer coming. 30:04 Look in Isaiah chapter 49, verse 8: "And I will preserve thee and 30:11 give thee for a covenant of the people, 30:13 to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate 30:16 heritages; that you might say to the prisoners, 30:19 'Go forth,' and to them that are in darkness, 30:21 'Show yourselves.' 30:23 And they will feed thee and the way of the pastures shall be in 30:26 all the high places. 30:27 And they will not hunger or thirst, 30:29 neither shall the heat or the sun smite them; 30:31 for He will have mercy on them and He will lead them, 30:34 by the springs of water He will guide them." 30:37 It's one of the prophecies of the Messiah, 30:38 leading them to that living water. 30:41 You read in Isaiah 54:10: 30:43 "'For the mountains will depart and the hills will be removed, 30:45 but My kindness will not depart from thee, neither shall the 30:49 covenant of My peace be removed,' says the Lord, 30:53 that has mercy on thee." 30:55 Another promise of God's mercy in his covenant. 30:58 And then Romans chapter 3, verse 20: 31:02 "Therefore by the deeds of the law will no flesh be justified 31:05 in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 31:08 But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, being 31:12 revealed, being witnessed through the Law and the 31:15 Prophets, even the righteousness of God, 31:18 through faith in Jesus," now what prophets is Isaiah 31:20 talking about? 31:21 One of them's Isaiah. 31:23 I'm sorry, what prophet is Paul talking about? 31:26 One of them is Isaiah. 31:28 "Being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 31:30 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ." 31:34 So the idea that the Jews were saved by works but in the New 31:37 Testament we're saved by faith. 31:38 Does the Bible teach that? 31:41 No. 31:42 How are they saved in the Old Testament: 31:44 by works or faith? 31:46 Faith. 31:47 Nobody--no one's getting to heaven based on works. 31:50 They were saved by faith. 31:51 This is the message that you always see in the writings of 31:54 Isaiah and the other prophets. 31:56 Habakkuk said, "The just shall live by his faith." 31:59 Abraham, way back in Genesis: "Abraham believed God and it 32:02 was counted to him for righteousness. 32:06 Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ 32:09 to all and on all who believe. 32:12 For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short 32:15 of the glory of God." 32:16 Whether you're a Jew or a Greek, a Gentile, 32:19 it doesn't matter. 32:21 It's--all of us are saved by that grace. 32:23 All right, under Thursday's section, universal appeal. 32:26 Now, we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 60, 32:28 verse 1 and 2. 32:30 And again, I'm having to-- there's so much I could say 32:32 on these verses in Isaiah. 32:36 Isaiah 60:1: "Arise, shine; for your light has come! 32:41 And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 32:44 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, 32:47 and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over 32:51 you, and His glory will be seen upon you. 32:54 And the Gentiles shall come to your light, 32:56 and the kings to the brightness of your rising." 32:59 Now, that's a messianic promise: that the Gentiles would come to 33:04 the light of Israel. 33:05 All the Gentiles that are Christians around the world, 33:07 the book they read, who wrote the book? 33:10 It was written by the Jews, by the Israelites. 33:13 And so this is the message and, you know, 33:15 when you look at the religions of the world, 33:17 just, it's amazing to me that Jesus said, 33:20 "This gospel will be preached in all the world." 33:22 How did He know that? 33:24 Was He right? 33:25 You know, all the prophecies Jesus made about His Word going 33:29 into all the world, and, you know, 33:31 like the woman who washed Jesus's feet, 33:32 "what she has done will be remembered forever," 33:36 and He made all these promises. 33:38 How--that's a pretty bold statement for an uneducated 33:42 carpenter who doesn't have a social media account to say 33:45 that His message is going to go into all the world. 33:47 Did it? 33:49 Number one religion in the world is Christianity, 33:51 with all its flaws and warts. 33:53 There's about, oh, 2 billion Christians in the world, 2.1; 33:59 second is Islam, about 1.7. 34:02 Then you've got, you know, Buddhism, 34:04 Hinduism, and the other religions. 34:06 Jews are comparatively very small, 16, 17 million 34:10 Jews in all the world. 34:12 But the influence of what they wrote has changed the world. 34:19 You could even look at, you know, 34:21 even Islam claims to believe the five books of Moses. 34:25 So look at that incredible influence of the Word of God 34:27 going everywhere. 34:28 Universal appeal. 34:30 And He says the time has come for you to rise and shine. 34:34 Didn't Jesus say to the church, 34:36 "You are the light of the world"? 34:38 We're to be shining. 34:40 "Let your light so shine before men that they may 34:42 see your good works." 34:43 They ought to see a difference in our lives. 34:45 I know years ago, they had a bumper sticker. 34:47 It said: "Christians aren't perfect; just forgiven." 34:50 And while it's true that most Christians are not perfect, 34:53 I hope we're more than "just forgiven." 34:56 That seems we might be downplaying that there's 34:59 supposed to be a transformation and we're new creatures. 35:02 Arise and shine. 35:05 "Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, 35:08 and deep darkness the people." 35:09 When do Christians shine the brightest? 35:13 When it's the darkest. 35:15 Is it just me or do you also sense that it seems the world 35:19 is getting a little darker? 35:22 I'm talking about the spiritual. 35:23 It seems like there's more spiritual wickedness 35:25 in high places. 35:27 And that's one of the signs of the end. 35:31 When does the bridegroom come? 35:33 Midday when the sun is shining or at midnight? 35:37 Says in the parable, "And at midnight." 35:38 It's at the darkest hour, "darkness will cover the land, 35:42 and deep darkness the people. 35:45 But the--" 35:46 It says: "The Lord will arise over you, 35:48 and His glory will be seen upon you," especially during this 35:51 time of darkness, God wants the church to reflect the character 35:54 of Christ. 35:56 And to show the world what is a Christian. 35:59 And I think we're going to be tested. 36:00 Our faith is going to be tested in the months and years to come. 36:09 1 Thessalonians 5:2: "For you yourselves know perfectly that 36:14 the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. 36:17 For when they say to you, 'Peace and safety!' 36:19 then sudden destruct comes upon-- 36:20 sudden destruction comes upon them, 36:22 as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. 36:24 And they will not escape. 36:26 But brethren, you are not in darkness, 36:28 so that that Day should overtake you as a thief." 36:31 Now, does any man know the day or the hour of 36:32 the Lord's coming? 36:34 Can we look up and see the signs and know when 36:37 it's near? 36:39 And Paul also says here, 36:40 "You are not in darkness that that Day should overtake you 36:43 as a thief." 36:44 It's going to come as a thief for the world but He's given 36:46 us signs and I think we're seeing those signs. 36:50 "You are sons of light and sons of the day. 36:52 We're not of the night or of the darkness. 36:55 Therefore since we're not of the darkness, 36:57 let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 37:01 For those who sleep, sleep at night, 37:03 and those who get drunk get drunk at night." 37:07 You know, my friend's mother used to always say-- 37:13 we'd go out and goof off. 37:15 She'd say, "I want you back by 11." 37:17 "Oh, but you know, can we stay out a little later?" 37:19 And she'd say, "Nothing good ever happens after 11. 37:23 You've got to be home by 11. 37:25 Nothing good ever happens after 11." 37:26 You know, I could look now over my life and I thought, 37:29 "Well, that's true." 37:32 The police say, "You know, the most interesting phone calls 37:34 are about 2 in the morning." 37:38 "Oh, let us not sleep, as others do, 37:39 but let us watch and be sober. 37:41 Let those of us who are of the day be sober, 37:43 putting on the breastplate of faith and love, 37:48 and a helmet as the hope of salvation." 37:50 There he is implementing those implements of armor again. 37:55 "For God did not appoint us to wrath, 37:57 but to obtain salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ." 38:01 Look at Amos. 38:03 What does it mean when it says, "Darkness covers the land"? 38:05 What's another name for the Word of God? 38:09 "Thy Word is a lamp." 38:11 What's a lamp do? 38:13 Gives light. 38:16 So when it says that darkness covers the land, 38:19 what does that mean? 38:20 Word taken away. 38:23 Amos 8, verse 11: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord 38:27 God, 'that I will send a famine on the land, 38:30 not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, 38:33 but of hearing the words of the Lord. 38:35 And they'll wander from sea to sea, 38:37 and from north to east; and they'll run to and fro, 38:39 seeking the word of the Lord, but will not find it.'" 38:42 Now, Isaiah, is he writing to the pagans or is he writing to 38:45 the church? 38:47 Writing to the church. 38:49 Pagans don't have Isaiah, and he's telling us in the church 38:55 there can be a famine for the Word of God. 38:59 You can have Christians in North America where the 39:01 average Christian has five Bibles in their home but you 39:03 start quoting Scripture and they act like they've never 39:05 heard it before. 39:07 Many, many Christians think owning a Bible is a substitute 39:10 for actually reading it. 39:13 They go to church once a week and nowadays they may not even 39:15 take it with them. 39:18 And there's a famine for the Word of God. 39:21 We need to be storing up our minds with the Word of God 39:23 because we're going to be challenged about our beliefs 39:26 on every front from both the world and even some who are 39:29 in the church. 39:30 We need to know what we believe. 39:31 All right, Wednesday, I'm running out of time here. 39:33 I want to get to Wednesday, the year of the Lord's favor. 39:39 It says: Isaiah 61, verse 1 and 2: 39:42 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has 39:46 anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. 39:50 He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 39:52 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 39:54 and the opening of prison to those who are bound; 39:57 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 39:59 Is Isaiah speaking about himself or is he speaking 40:03 about the Messiah? 40:06 I hadn't finished. 40:07 Or both? 40:11 It's really both. 40:12 This is what you would call a dual prophecy. 40:14 Did not the word of Isaiah have some relevance in his day? 40:19 The people were being attacked by the Assyrians in the northern 40:22 kingdom of Israel, and remember, Isaiah lived during the time of 40:25 Hezekiah and they were greatly discouraged and 40:27 he gave them encouragement. 40:29 Did Isaiah receive the Holy Spirit? 40:32 Have you read Isaiah 6, where he saw the Lord and God took a coal 40:38 from his altar and touched his lips. 40:39 Isaiah was anointed. 40:40 He was called as a prophet of God to proclaim the good news 40:46 to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, 40:49 to proclaim liberty to the captives," through the Word 40:51 of God, people are liberated from sin, 40:53 "and the opening of prison to those who are bound; 40:55 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 40:57 That was all true in his day. 40:59 So this is what you call a dual prophecy. 41:01 You know, one of my favorite examples of a dual prophecy 41:03 in the Bible is where Nathan comes to David. 41:06 David is sitting in his home and Hiram the king of Tyre had 41:11 helped David build a beautiful cedar home and David is looking 41:15 at this beautiful home and he's thinking, 41:16 "Man, I used to be a shepherd. 41:17 This is such a nice house and the ark of God is in a tent 41:20 that's all tattered after its years in the wilderness 41:22 and its wandering. 41:24 He said, "I really need to build a temple." 41:25 And Nathan the prophet comes in and David says to Nathan, 41:31 "I live in a house of cedar but the ark of God is in a tent. 41:35 I--" and he said, "I want to build a temple." 41:38 And Nathan says, "Do all that's in your heart. 41:40 The Lord is with you." 41:42 But then as Nathan leaves, God said, 41:43 "No, no, go back and talk to David. 41:45 Tell him I don't want you to actually build the temple. 41:47 You can store up materials and build the design but you're not 41:50 going to build it because you're a bloody man. 41:52 Not only were you a man of war, 41:53 but you were guilty of innocent blood." 41:56 And so Nathan the prophet comes back and he tells David, 42:00 "You're not going to build My house, 42:02 but your son who comes after you. 42:05 He will build My house and I will establish 42:09 his kingdom forever." 42:11 What is that prophecy about? 42:13 Is it about Solomon, who built the temple, 42:15 the son of David, or is it about Jesus, 42:18 or is it about both? 42:20 That's an example of a dual prophecy in the Bible. 42:23 So it was relevant in the day that Isaiah said this that the 42:28 Lord had anointed him but that would be even more. 42:30 How do we know that it also applies to Jesus? 42:32 All you've got to do is look-- and this is our next section 42:36 in Thursday, in-- you read in Luke 4, 42:42 verse 17: Jesus goes to His church in Nazareth, 42:47 His home town, and He's handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, 42:50 probably at His request. 42:52 "And when He had opened the book, 42:54 He found the place where it was written, 42:56 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to 43:00 preach the gospel to the poor. 43:02 He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 43:04 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 43:06 the recovery of sight to the blind, 43:07 to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 43:09 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'" 43:11 First of all, friends, I've just got to tell you it's 43:13 really encouraging to me that in the 700 years from when Isaiah 43:18 wrote that to the time when Jesus read it, 43:21 it had not changed. 43:23 God had preserved His Word all those years, 43:26 and it's really encouraging to me, 43:28 you can go to Israel today and they have found a scroll 43:30 of Isaiah that predates Jesus and it's the same as what you 43:35 find in your Bibles today. 43:36 Of course, it's in Hebrew. 43:37 Yours is translated into English. 43:40 But it is essentially the same. 43:41 God has protected His Word in a miraculous way. 43:45 So that was one thing. 43:46 As Jesus is reading it, it sounds just like what you 43:48 read in Isaiah because it had not changed in those 700 years. 43:52 But notice that it says: "He closed the book." 43:56 Why did Jesus close the book and He did not read the rest of this 43:59 because if you look in Isaiah chapter 62, 44:04 it says: "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord 44:07 and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort those 44:12 that mourn." 44:13 "Vengeance of our God." 44:14 Why did Jesus not read the part about vengeance? 44:17 Because when Jesus came the first time, 44:19 was He coming as a Lamb or as a Lion? 44:24 He came as a Lamb. 44:25 He came to proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand, 44:28 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, that you 44:31 could be accepted by God if you come to God now. 44:35 Now is the accepted time. 44:37 Today is the day of salvation. 44:38 This is what Jesus was talking about. 44:40 But what about the rest of the passage in Isaiah? 44:44 It says, "In the day of vengeance of our God." 44:46 Now, this is a very important point. 44:47 When you're reading through prophecies, 44:49 especially prophecies like Isaiah and Ezekiel and Zechariah 44:54 and even Daniel, you might see the prophet who is writing under 44:57 the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and between two words 45:02 you can have 2000 years go by. 45:06 There--the day of vengeance was not when Jesus came 45:09 the first time. 45:10 The day of vengeance-- 45:12 and Jesus showed that because He closed the book. 45:14 He didn't even read "and." 45:17 That part of the prophecy is going to be fulfilled also, 45:19 isn't it? 45:21 You read in Leviticus 25, verse 9: 45:26 "Then you'll call--" 45:27 So now, this is talking about the Jubilee. 45:29 I think most of us here know what the Jubilee is. 45:30 Once every set of 50 years or 49 years would go by, 45:37 then in the 50th year they'd blow the trumpet and they'd 45:39 be Jubilee. 45:40 It was called the acceptable year of the Lord. 45:43 "Then you'll cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the 45:45 tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement and you 45:48 will make the trumpet to sound throughout all of your land." 45:53 So Jesus said, "This is the acceptable year." 45:56 He came to set the captives free, 45:58 to open the prisons. 46:00 But is there a time when He's going to be coming and there's 46:02 going to be judgment? 46:04 Yes. 46:05 You look in Luke 21:21-22: "Let those who are in Judea flee into 46:12 the mountains." 46:13 Now, you realize that Matthew 24, 46:17 Mark 13, Luke 17, Luke 21 are the places where Jesus 46:23 prophesies the last days. 46:26 So Luke 21 is one of those. 46:29 "Then let those that are in Judea flee into the mountains. 46:31 Let those who are in the midst of her depart. 46:34 Let not those who are in the country enter her, 46:36 for these are the days of vengeance, 46:39 that all things are written may be fulfilled." 46:42 Now, notice, Luke says, "All things written." 46:44 The rest of Isaiah chapter 62, or 61 rather, 46:49 is going to be fulfilled where it says: 46:51 "In the day of vengeance of our God." 46:53 Jesus, when He comes in the end, how is He pictured coming? 46:57 "Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will 46:59 see Him coming. 47:02 And the wicked are going to call for the rocks and the mountains 47:05 to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sits 47:07 on the throne," and you know, these words always seem like 47:10 an oxymoron to me. 47:11 It talks about the wrath of the Lamb. 47:14 I mean, you might think about the wrath of a lion, 47:17 a tiger, the wrath of a bear, the wrath of a snake. 47:20 Most people don't have nightmares about lambs 47:23 attacking them. 47:25 Doesn't it seem a little incongruous, 47:27 the wrath of the Lamb? 47:29 But Jesus, because they rejected Jesus coming as a Lamb during 47:35 the acceptable year of the Lord, He is going to be coming like a 47:38 lion to execute judgment. 47:41 He said at His trial, "Hereafter," He said 47:44 to the high priest who condemned Him. 47:46 "Hereafter you will see the Son of man coming on the right hand 47:49 of power," and that's going to be the day of vengeance 47:53 of our God. 47:55 So all of these prophecies are going to be fulfilled, 47:57 every word. 47:58 You know, the Bible tells us all these prophecies that Moses made 48:02 about the blessings and the cursings, 48:04 and Joshua, when they entered the Promised Land just before 48:06 he died, he gathered Israel together and he said, 48:10 "You bear witness today. 48:12 Everything that Moses said has happened. 48:17 All that he prophesied has come true. 48:19 God brought us into the land, He brought us into a land flowing 48:21 with milk and honey, and not one--" 48:23 I like the way he says it. 48:25 "Not one word has fallen to the ground." 48:29 Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word, 48:32 every word of God is pure. 48:35 None of these prophecies in Isaiah, 48:37 "not one jot or one tittle will in anywise 48:41 fail from the law," amen? 48:43 So I think sometimes we lose. 48:44 A lot of people speculate about the Bible and say, 48:46 "Well, I believe most of it. 48:48 You know, some things you can't trust." 48:49 You start down that road, friends, 48:52 and pretty soon you'll be the arbiter of what you want to 48:54 follow or not. 48:55 "Every word." 48:56 You look at Isaiah and you can see everything that he foretold 48:59 is coming true. 49:00 Anyway, well, I hope you've been blessed. 49:02 I think we did get through our lesson today, 49:04 and I want to remind those who are watching, 49:07 we have a free offer and it's called "12 Steps to Revival," 49:10 and if you'd like a free copy, that's a good book, 49:12 I really recommend the author. 49:15 And it's number 780 and the number if you'd like to call 49:20 in to receive that is 866-788-3966, 49:24 that's 866-Study-More, and that's, of course, 49:27 in North America. 49:29 You can also go to the Amazing Facts website, 49:31 that's in our section of free downloads. 49:33 "12 Steps to Revival," we know you'll appreciate that. 49:36 And just want to give you again a heads up. 49:38 In the next couple of weeks we're going to be moving into 49:40 our new quarterly dealing with the promise, 49:42 talking about the covenants of God, 49:45 and I know you'll be blessed. 49:46 Let's have prayer as we close. 49:48 Father in heaven, thank You so much for just the things we've 49:51 learned from this fantastic study of the prophecies of 49:56 Isaiah and what we still will learn. 49:59 And Lord, we pray that You will be present now with us 50:01 in a special way. 50:03 Thank You for these Sabbath hours and blessing our service 50:05 now that will follow. 50:06 We ask in Jesus's name, amen. 50:12 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 50:14 life-changing, free resource. 50:16 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 50:18 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer or 50:20 mobile device. 50:22 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:25 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web 50:29 address shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital 50:33 download option on the request page. 50:35 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:38 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 50:41 And most important, to share it with others. 50:47 announcer: "Amazing Facts," Changed Lives. 50:58 Steve Johnson: I was heading south on Interstate 5. 51:00 This commercial come on KFBK radio about a Revelation Seminar 51:05 by Amazing Facts. 51:07 I began--my chest began to tighten up. 51:09 I began sweating profusely. 51:12 I had difficulty in breathing. 51:15 There were this big rest area and, 51:17 at this time, I pulled into there. 51:18 I thought, "Well, maybe I'm having a heart attack." 51:21 I got out of my truck, walked into the men's restroom there 51:25 and put cold water on my face. 51:27 And then finally, things subsided. 51:29 A week later, again, I heard this Amazing Facts commercial 51:33 come on the radio. 51:34 In fact, the meetings were going to start that very night. 51:36 Just--and again, immediately I had these same symptoms. 51:39 I thought, "You know, this isn't my heart. 51:42 I have to go to that meeting." 51:44 And as I was going down to Sacramento, 51:46 I decided to park and go inside. 51:49 Well, I got in and walked into the furthermost rear seat they 51:54 had, in the pew there. 51:56 And this particular evangelist-- his name was Kim Care. 52:02 It was like taking one layer off at a time of an onion. 52:07 He laid it out so perfectly that we could all understand it. 52:10 And I was really motivated. 52:11 I couldn't believe it. 52:12 Well, I finished-- I didn't miss a meeting. 52:14 In fact, on the fifth night, they had an altar call and my 52:19 knees stood right up and I walked forward and I gave my 52:21 heart to Jesus Christ. 52:24 I've learned throughout this whole thing that when you leave 52:28 the devil's territory, he gets pretty active in causing a lot 52:32 of problems. 52:34 Well, I had the evangelists come out and they had prayer with me 52:38 about my business. 52:39 I would find a sick business and make it well and then market it. 52:44 I finally ended up with a business that I really enjoyed. 52:47 It was one that was building equestrian centers. 52:51 And they said to me, "Steve," he said, 52:53 "you know, if you're going to really keep the Sabbath, 52:55 you've got to shut your doors on the Sabbath." 52:58 Well, I did and so I sold the business to my brother. 53:01 Took me 22 years to build that business and he lost it 53:05 in 33 months. 53:07 My son who was my business partner, 53:09 I'd been giving him 10% of the business every year. 53:13 He thought I'd just fallen off the bridge. 53:17 My son didn't talk to me for 5 1/2 years. 53:20 And then a few other things happened. 53:22 I had an ex-employee living in my guest house. 53:25 He kind of watched after our place and he said, "Steve." 53:29 He said, "There's an Allied moving van backed up to your 53:32 front door in your home." 53:34 I said, "You're kidding." I said, "What do you mean?" 53:37 He said, "They're moving everything out of your house 53:39 into this truck and your wife is out there supervising them." 53:43 And when I went home and opened the front door, 53:46 my voice echoed in that house. 53:47 There wasn't any furniture left anywhere. 53:49 There was one bed left in the house. 53:52 I knew my wife was upset because of my coming to this church, 53:57 but I had no idea that she would move out like this. 54:00 That was a total shock to me. 54:02 It was some time there, I locked myself in the bedroom and I 54:05 began reading the Bible. 54:07 I spent about a half a year just every night, 54:10 getting home, and I would-- I would study. 54:13 It allowed me to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 54:17 Well, to make a long story short, 54:19 I met Crystal and she was a godly woman. 54:22 That was the Lord's doing, not mine. 54:25 And He was just there to let me know that I'm with you all the 54:28 way, even though you're going to have some trials and you're 54:30 going to have some hardships, I want you to know that I'll be 54:33 with you." 54:35 Because no matter what I do now, He is my leader. 54:39 He's the leader of my marriage, He's the leader of everything 54:42 in my life today. 54:44 That one meeting with the Amazing Facts seminar changed 54:46 my entire life and to this day, I'm still on fire for God. 54:52 I'm still witnessing to my neighbors. 54:54 My name is Steve Johnson and it's because of you that 54:57 Amazing Facts has changed my life. 54:59 ♪♪ 55:08 announcer: "Amazing Facts," Changed Lives. 55:16 male: I come from a Hindu background. 55:18 My mom is a preacher for Shiva, who is a Hindu god, 55:21 and my father is the agnostic kind, so me 55:23 myself, I grew, like, as an atheist. 55:27 In the year 2007 I had an experience of being in South 55:31 India and that was the first time I experienced Christian 55:34 people, you know? 55:35 The majorities were Christians there. 55:38 There were some Adventist youth who invited me to be a part of 55:42 one of their midweek service. 55:45 They were presenting a video of Pastor Doug Batchelor, 55:50 "The Richest Caveman." 55:52 I was moved, you know? 55:53 I do understand good and bad and I pictured myself into the bad 55:57 category than the good one. 55:59 I started experiencing several dreams and which started 56:04 troubling me. 56:05 And you know, I kept the website in my mind. 56:07 I went to the Internet Cafe and started browsing the website of 56:12 Amazing Facts. 56:14 And then I saw the Bible study guide there. 56:17 Every day I started taking one of the lesson and I was 56:21 baptized, 2007. 56:23 After my conversion, I straightly came to Spicer 56:26 to do my studies. 56:28 During the summer vacation, I decided to go back home and give 56:31 my mom and my father a visit. 56:32 By that time, they knew that I have converted to Christianity. 56:35 I was thrown out of the house. 56:38 We are not in good terms even today but sad part for them, 56:43 not for me. 56:45 There in 2015 I was diagnosed with leukemia. 56:50 I had only one professor and one friend who was coming along with 56:54 me to the hospital every day. 56:56 When I asked this assistant doctor what do you think is 57:01 the lifespan of a person like me, she said, 57:03 "You'll be losing weight and you'll get sick slowly, 57:06 slowly if you don't go for treatment." 57:08 So a year plus, one night I had decided, 57:12 it was January 2015, I said, 57:15 "I am not going for any treatment anymore." 57:18 I said, "Lord, You gave me one year so what I'll do is I'll 57:22 just do Your ministry and that's okay." 57:26 And I never went for any treatment after that. 57:29 I just left everything right away there. 57:31 I didn't take even one tablet, one medicine. 57:34 I'm standing in front of you, strong in 2018. 57:38 Nothing happened. I don't know what happened. 57:40 I don't know. 57:41 I don't know if it's still there in my body or what. 57:43 I don't know. I'm not dead yet. 57:47 I want to serve in India. 57:50 Amazing Facts team, especially Pastor Doug, 57:53 has really paid a very important element in my 57:56 life to give me an identity. 57:58 ♪♪ 58:08 ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ 58:21 CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 abercap.com |
Revised 2021-03-15