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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:19 ♪♪♪ 00:29 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Shawn Brummund: Good morning, and welcome to this week's 00:37 edition of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:40 My name is Pastor Shawn Brummund, and it is my 00:41 privilege to be able to invite you and welcome you 00:43 to this particular study. 00:46 I trust and know that this will be a time in which you have 00:49 invested well, in which you will come to know the Word 00:52 of God that much better. 00:53 We pray that you come with a spirit of worship, and a sincere 00:57 desire to be able to know God better and to be able to know 01:01 His Word that much better as well. 01:04 We continue to come back to a rather new quarterly that we're 01:08 looking at, just starting this particular month, and it is 01:12 entitled, "The Promise and God's Everlasting Covenant." 01:16 There is a theme throughout the Scriptures, right from the first 01:20 chapters of the first book of the Bible that talks about God's 01:24 promise and His covenant, that He has given not only to Abraham 01:28 as we'll be looking at in our lesson study, in lesson study 01:31 number five here today, but a universal lesson or covenant I 01:36 should say, that God has given to all of mankind. 01:40 And I look forward to be able to learning more about that as 01:42 Pastor Doug teaches the lesson here today. 01:45 So if you have your quarterly, make sure 01:47 you go and grab--great. 01:48 If you don't have your quarterly, make sure 01:50 that you go and grab it; if you don't have your Bible, 01:52 make sure you go ahead and grab that as well. 01:54 This is a Bible study and so we want you to be able to make that 01:58 Bible your own and to get to know it that much better. 02:01 Also want to invite you to take advantage of a free gift offer 02:05 that we have for you here today as well. 02:08 And it is one of my favorite subjects by far, 02:11 which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 02:13 The lesson study and study guide 02:15 is entitled "Saved from Certain Death." 02:18 And so, please take advantage of this. 02:20 If you've never studied this study guide, this is 02:22 one of my favorites by far. 02:24 And you just go ahead and dial the number that is on the screen 02:27 which is 866-788-3966. 02:32 Again, that's 1-866-Study-More. 02:36 And when you do dial that number, just go ahead and ask 02:39 for offer, free offer number 109, and they'll be happy to be 02:43 able to send that out to you for free. 02:45 If you're in North America, that is in this particular 02:48 continent or in the different US territories. 02:51 Now, for those of you are in the US, we also have a digital copy 02:54 that's free and available for you as well. 02:57 And so you can just go ahead and text the word "SH060," and 03:03 you want to dial that to 40544. 03:09 So please take advantage of that, get the digital copy. 03:12 If you want a physical copy, we're happy to mail that out 03:14 to you as well. 03:16 Well, before we invite Pastor Doug out, and actually open the 03:19 Bible and look at our lesson, we want to worship God for a moment 03:22 as we spend some time in song. 03:24 And so, please as we welcome-- let's count ourselves blessed as 03:28 we welcome our musicians today. 03:32 ♪♪♪ 03:41 ♪ When peace like a river ♪ 03:47 ♪ attendeth my way, ♪ 03:52 ♪ when sorrows like sea billows roll, ♪ 04:01 ♪ whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ♪ 04:10 ♪ "It is well, it is well ♪ 04:16 ♪ with my soul." ♪ 04:21 ♪ It is well ♪ 04:26 ♪ with my soul. ♪ 04:31 ♪ It is well, it is well with my soul. ♪ 04:41 ♪♪♪ 04:47 ♪ My sin, oh, the joy of this glorious thought. ♪ 04:56 ♪ My sin, not in part but the whole, ♪ 05:04 ♪ is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, ♪ 05:13 ♪ praise the Lord, praise the Lord, ♪ 05:18 ♪ O my soul. ♪ 05:24 ♪♪♪ 05:30 ♪ And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. ♪ 05:39 ♪ The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. ♪ 05:46 ♪ The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend. ♪ 05:54 ♪ Even so, it is well with my soul. ♪ 06:03 ♪ It is well with my soul. ♪ 06:11 ♪ It is well, it is well ♪ 06:16 ♪ with my soul. ♪♪ 06:25 Shawn: Let's pray. 06:27 Father in heaven, as we stop to bow before you, we want to thank 06:30 you for this opportunity that we have to be able to worship you. 06:34 We thank you for preparing our hearts through music. 06:37 We thank you for the Holy Spirit that you promised to give to us 06:42 as a true and full representative of Jesus Christ, 06:46 to be able to be in our hearts and to be able to 06:48 guide us and lead us. 06:50 Want to pray that Your Holy Spirit will do His promised job 06:54 in our hearts and our minds, to be able to teach us and guide us 06:57 into all truth. 06:59 We thank you for this lesson study. 07:01 We thank you for the truth that it brings forth. 07:03 Pray that you will be with Pastor Doug in a special way, 07:06 and, God, that you will be with his mind as well as with ours, 07:09 that we might receive the truth from Your Word, 07:13 even as you give it. 07:14 In Jesus's name we pray these things, God, amen. 07:19 Doug Batchelor: Good morning. 07:20 Want to welcome those who are here at the Granite Bay Hilltop 07:23 Church as well as the bigger audience we know that is 07:27 watching on AFTV or on Facebook or YouTube or all of the 07:32 different social media venues to our "Sabbath School Study." 07:35 We're continuing in our study dealing with the promise, God's 07:38 everlasting covenant, and today we're on lesson number five. 07:42 And we're talking about the different aspects of some of the 07:45 covenants that God has made. 07:47 And our lesson today is going to be dealing with the subject of 07:51 the children of promise. 07:53 And we have a memory verse. 07:55 And the memory verse is from Matthew 28:20. 07:59 And if you have your Bibles, you can say that with me, 08:02 Matthew 28:20. 08:04 It says, "Lo, I am with you always even to the 08:08 end of the world." 08:11 Some of your versions may say, "I'm with you always even to the 08:14 end of the age or the end of the earth." 08:17 But he's basically saying, "I will be with you till the end." 08:20 And there's several promises in the Bible. 08:23 You know God told Jacob, "I am with you." 08:26 God told Joshua, "I am with you." 08:29 And then the culmination of the plan of salvation in heaven is 08:32 when God is with us. 08:35 Sin separates us from God, and so it's a remarkable promise 08:39 when God reminds us, "I am with you. 08:41 I'm watching over you wherever you go." 08:44 Now, H.M.S. Richards Sr. used to teach a fascinating--he used an 08:52 illustration--sorry, we've got spare parts on the podium here-- 08:58 where a father, it's a true story, a father and a daughter 09:02 went swimming somewhere on the East Coast, and it was a warm 09:05 day, and the water was fairly warm. 09:07 And it was a calm day, and they went swimming out in the ocean. 09:11 And they were good swimmers, and they went swimming out, and then 09:14 all of a sudden, the father realized as they tried to swim 09:18 back to shore, the tide had changed and now it was going out 09:21 and it went out with great force in this particular area. 09:24 And swim though he might, he could barely get back in 09:29 and his daughter's with him. 09:30 And if he tried to carry her back in, they just went out. 09:34 So he had to make a pretty fateful decision. 09:36 He said, "Listen," he told his daughter, "I'm going to go in 09:41 and I'm going to get some help. 09:44 The water is warm. 09:46 You can float on your back all day if you get tired. 09:49 I will come back for you." 09:51 And she was used to swimming in the ocean, so she wasn't 09:53 frightened by that, but he took off and left her and she 09:56 kept getting pulled further and further out. 09:59 And he used all of his strength and just barely made it back in. 10:04 Well, he notified a bunch of people in the village and 10:08 several of the people in the town. 10:11 They got their boats together and they went swimming-- 10:14 or they went paddling out to see if they could find the 10:18 girl, and hours went by. 10:21 Finally, four hours later, they returned where about 100 people 10:25 had gathered on the shore with the girl. 10:28 And when they picked up, they said, "Were you frightened? 10:31 She said, "No." 10:32 She said, "Dad told me he'd come back for me and he said you 10:35 could float all day on your back, so I believed him." 10:39 And so, she wasn't afraid. 10:42 You know, if you believe the promises and the covenant that 10:44 God has made with us, it goes a long way to give you peace. 10:48 There's a lot of trials in life and if you focus on the 10:51 problems, you could live a fearful existence. 10:54 But God wants us to be people of faith and not fear, amen. 10:59 So we're going to talk about some of these promises God made. 11:02 Take a look for instance in that first covenant promise and 11:05 you'll find this in Genesis chapter 15. 11:08 And I'm going to read verses 1 through 3. 11:10 If you got your Bibles, you can join me there. 11:13 And we're going to focus on this. 11:15 Genesis chapter 15, verse 1 through 3. 11:17 Now, you remember, we read that first promise in an earlier 11:20 lesson that God makes in Genesis 12 to Abraham. 11:25 And He kind of renews it here when God first calls Abraham. 11:29 We find it in Genesis 12, verses 1 through 3, and now we here in 11:33 Genesis 15. 11:35 "After these things, the Word of the Lord came to 11:37 Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. 11:42 I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.'" 11:47 God says, "I am your reward." 11:50 "But Abram said, 'Lord, what will you give me, seeing I 11:53 go childless, and the heir of my house is this 11:56 Eliezer of Damascus?' 11:59 And Abraham said, 'Look, you have given me no 12:02 offspring and indeed one born in my house is my heir.'" 12:07 And he says, "Behold, the Word of the Lord came to him 12:09 saying, 'This one shall not be your heir, but one who has 12:12 come from your own body shall be your heir.' 12:15 And He brought him outside and He said, 12:17 'Look toward the heaven and count the stars, 12:19 If you're able to number them.' 12:21 And He said, 'So shall your descendants be.' 12:24 And he believed God and he counted it 12:27 to him for righteousness." 12:29 That's what you call righteousness by faith. 12:31 He believed God and God declared him righteous 12:34 because of his faith. 12:36 Well, a few things to consider in this passage 12:39 that we just read. 12:41 First of all, you'll notice that God said, "Do not be afraid." 12:44 Now, why would He say that? 12:47 Do you tell somebody who is not afraid "don't be afraid" 12:51 or do you tell someone who's afraid "don't be afraid"? 12:53 Why was Abraham afraid? 12:55 I mean, here he's called the father of the faithful. 12:57 Well, think about this. 12:59 He had come from Ur of the Chaldees. 13:03 Now, just so you know, there is discrepancy 13:06 among the scholars where that was. 13:08 Some have what they called the southern Ur, which is close to 13:11 where the Euphrates River dumps off into the Gulf, and some have 13:15 the northern Ur. 13:17 There's an area in the mountains not far from Ararat 13:20 that also had the ancient name Ur, that was inhabited 13:24 by the people of Mesopotamia. 13:25 So there's some discussion about whereabouts. 13:27 But either way, so he comes from Mesopotamia. 13:29 He crosses Euphrates, he leaves his family, and his people and 13:33 his city, his town, all of this support structure, their 13:37 culture, and they go to a strange country where people are 13:41 speaking strange languages and they've got different customs 13:44 and they're little bit barbaric. 13:47 Let me give you an example of why God had to tell Abraham, 13:50 "Abraham, do not fear." 13:53 You remember, for example, when--Genesis chapter 12, in 14:01 just the former chapters here, "Came to pass when he was close 14:06 to entering Egypt," during the time of famine, "that he said to 14:09 Sarai, his wife," she had not been renamed yet, "Indeed, I 14:13 know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 14:16 Therefore, it will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they 14:18 will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill 14:21 me, but they'll let you live. 14:23 Please, say that you're my sister that it might be well 14:26 with me for your sake, that I might live because of you." 14:31 So he was in fear all the time. 14:32 His wife was so beautiful. 14:34 He was in fear that they were going to kill him for his wife. 14:37 He's surrounded by nations that were, you know, they 14:39 just--remember, God destroyed the world because of violence in 14:43 the days of Noah before the flood. 14:47 And now, things have gotten to almost that same point 14:50 where Abram said, "These are a violent 14:52 and a barbaric people," and so he was afraid. 14:55 They're surrounded by seven nations that were 14:57 greater than they were. 14:59 Even in the days of Isaac, so, 15:02 several years have gone by, Isaac tells Rebecca when they're 15:06 going to stay with the Philistines, and they're in the 15:10 area of King Abimelech. 15:11 He said, "Say that you're my sister." 15:13 Or they asked about Rebecca and he said, "Oh she is my sister," 15:16 'cause he was afraid. 15:18 That's what it says. He was afraid. 15:20 So they're afraid. 15:21 And one more example of this. 15:23 Of course, the sons of Jacob caused this problem. 15:26 You know, Simeon and Levi got upset because the people of 15:29 Shechem, the Prince of Shechem slept with Jacob's 15:34 daughter Dinah. 15:36 And so Simeon and Levi went through and they sort of tricked 15:39 the men of Shechem into going through the rite of 15:45 circumcision, and then Levi and Simeon attacked them, killed all 15:49 the males, took all their livestock and their slaves, and 15:53 here's what Jacob says. 15:55 He said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me by making me 15:58 obnoxious, odious, making me stink among the inhabitants of 16:02 the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 16:04 And since I am few in number, they will gather themselves 16:07 together against me and kill me and I'll be destroyed, 16:10 I and my household." 16:12 And so, they kind of lived in constant fear of one nation 16:15 attacking another. 16:17 Why did Abraham have to rescue Lot? 16:22 When Chedorlaomer, the king of the north up by Damascus, he and 16:26 the confederacy of other kings, they were really tribes back 16:29 then, they came and attacked Sodom and Gomorrah. 16:32 And so, they were warring back then and attacking. 16:34 So Abraham's surrounded by these barbaric, warlike people. 16:38 And you know, he didn't have to--had to wonder at night if 16:43 they're going to take his livestock and it 16:47 was a dangerous time. 16:49 It was the wild west back then. 16:52 We call it the Middle East, but it was west of Mesopotamia. 16:56 And so God said, "Don't be afraid. 16:59 I've called you. I'm going to watch over you." 17:01 God had to tell Paul that. 17:03 Paul went to preach in some dangerous cities. 17:05 Paul said, "No man is going to hurt you here 17:07 'cause I'm going to be with you. 17:08 I've got many people in this city." 17:10 And so there's many times that God's servant has had 17:13 to have reassurance that he's going to 17:15 watch over us during these times. 17:17 What else does He say? He said, "Do not be afraid." 17:20 I remember hearing a pastor. 17:23 A little boy said, you know, he sometimes was afraid. 17:26 And the pastor said, "Do you say your prayers every night?" 17:29 And the boy said, "Yes, sir." 17:31 And he said, "Do you say your prayers in the morning?" 17:33 He said, "No, sir, I'm not afraid during the daytime. 17:36 Just afraid at night." 17:40 But Deuteronomy chapter 20, verse 8, "What man is there 17:45 among you who is fearful and fainthearted, let them go and 17:48 return to his house, lest the heart of his 17:51 brethren faint like his heart. 17:53 Fear can be contagious, and God did not want His people 17:56 being fearful." 17:58 And when Jesus calmed the sea, you know what He said 18:01 to His disciples? 18:03 "Please be still. 18:05 Why are you so fearful? 18:06 How is it you have no faith?" 18:08 You know what that means? 18:10 People that are living in constant fear, they don't 18:13 live by faith. 18:15 I just finished a book on worry. 18:18 I grant it's not the word "fear" but--same principle. 18:21 And the reason I wrote the book is because I've met so many 18:24 Christians that just live afraid all the time and afraid 18:29 of everything and they're always worried. 18:32 And once they find they don't have to worry about one thing, 18:34 they find something else to worry about. 18:36 And nobody is won to your faith by your worrying. 18:41 People will be won to your faith by your faith. 18:45 If you're a person that has peace and some serenity, 18:49 people will be attracted to that because 18:50 we're in a fearful world. 18:53 And so, God tells--Jesus said, "Where is your 18:55 faith, why are you afraid?" 18:57 Now, wouldn't you are afraid if you were in a storm in a little 18:59 boat at night on the dark sea and about to sink? 19:03 And Jesus was not afraid, and He said you should not be afraid. 19:06 I know that sounds like a stretch. 19:07 You know how Wesley was converted? 19:10 Wesley was out doing missionary work in North America trying to 19:14 work among the Indians and he didn't have very much success. 19:18 And sailing back across to England, he was doubting his 19:22 conversion when during a terrible storm, all the sailors 19:27 were afraid and the passengers were afraid except a group of 19:30 Moravian, primitive Baptists. 19:34 They were up on deck singing, and they 19:35 looked absolutely fearless. 19:37 And Wesley was so impressed, he asked them, he spoke to the 19:40 elder of the group, he said "Aren't you afraid?" 19:43 This terrible storm, the boat was going down into 19:45 the trough of the waves. 19:47 The waves were rolling over and it was rocking back and forth, 19:50 and lightning was flashing, the wind was howling, 19:52 and everybody was afraid. 19:54 Water was coming in, the sailors were pumping, 19:56 and they were singing. 20:00 He said, "Aren't you afraid?" "No, we're not afraid." 20:02 "Aren't your women and children afraid?" 20:04 "They're not afraid. We're in the hands of God." 20:07 You know, when we decided to follow Jesus, we died way back 20:09 then so now we're not afraid of death anymore. 20:12 You realize when you take up your cross 20:14 to follow Jesus, you die. 20:16 And once you're dead, Christians just go to sleep. 20:21 They don't die, right? 20:23 So you don't have to be afraid. 20:26 Anyway, I've got a friend that her husband was a little bit of 20:29 a reckless driver. 20:31 If they're watching now, they'll know I'm talking about them, but 20:34 I'm not going to tell their names. 20:36 And he was, you know, totally fearless and she was fearful. 20:42 Isn't it something how God puts those people together all the 20:45 time in marriage? 20:47 It's part of God's cosmic humor, and He takes those opposites. 20:50 Somehow, they're attracted to each other. 20:53 And every time he'd go around the turn, she'd scream, 20:56 "Oh, oh, oh," because he was--he'd be up on two wheels 21:00 and he's just that way. 21:01 He drove like Jehu. 21:04 And I finally told her one day, I was riding with him in the car 21:07 and I'm watching this go on. 21:09 And I thought, "Wouldn't be easier," I'm talking to the 21:12 sister, I said, "wouldn't be easier just to assume that 21:14 you're going to die and then relax?" 21:17 I said, "Living in constant fear like this has got to be torment. 21:21 Just accept, say, I'm going to die,' 21:23 and then just enjoy the ride." 21:25 It doesn't make any sense to just be afraid 21:28 and screaming all the time, it was this constant terror. 21:32 And so for the Christian, you know just accept, "Well, I'm 21:34 going to die." 21:35 Enjoy the ride, right? 21:37 Live by faith. 21:39 Anyway, God said, "Don't be afraid," and then He 21:41 makes this other statement. 21:42 He says, "I am your shield and your exceeding great reward." 21:48 Let's talk about the shield part here for a minute. 21:51 If you look in, oh, Psalm 144, verse 2, "God is my shield, 22:00 the one in whom I take refuge." 22:03 Now that's a picture of, like, when--you can read in Ephesians. 22:08 One of the implements of the Christian's armory is the shield 22:12 of faith that you hold up and you quench the 22:15 fiery darts of the enemy. 22:18 When Satan is hurling his doubts and his temptations at you, you 22:21 hold up that shield and they just deflect. 22:23 They don't touch you. And God protects us. 22:26 I like the picture it gives in Psalm 91, verse 4. 22:29 Says, "He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings 22:33 you will take refuge. 22:34 His truth will be your shield and your buckler." 22:38 So you picture, you know when the hen gives a little chirp for 22:41 warning and all the chicks run underneath the wings, and there 22:45 they're shaded, and there they're protected and the 22:47 mother's ready to give her life to protect them. 22:49 God says, "I will protect you under My 22:51 wings and you'll take refuge." 22:54 God is your shield. 22:55 Now, if you've got God as your forcefield, if He is your 23:01 protection, then is there anything the enemy can do to 23:04 hurt you? 23:06 Yeah, nothing-- God said no one's-- 23:08 by the way, Abraham didn't make it. 23:09 He died of old age. 23:11 God protected him through his life, through all the trials and 23:13 adventures that he had. 23:15 God said, "I will protect you." 23:17 It's amazing with all the adventures that David had that 23:19 David managed to die in his bed of old age, essentially. 23:24 And He says, "I'll take care of you. 23:26 I'll protect you. Don't be afraid. 23:27 I am your shield." 23:29 And He said, "And I am your exceedingly great reward. 23:32 Now, when you think about the reward of the Christian, you 23:34 think about heaven or do you think about God? 23:38 So many people, they think about heaven, they think, 23:41 "Ah, a world--no more pain. 23:44 New body. No more aches and pains. 23:46 No more sorrow and no more tears. 23:49 I'll be able to fly. 23:51 Soar to worlds unknown. 23:53 I'll be able to eat from the tree of life to my full. 23:56 Never be hungry again, never be thirsty again." 23:58 And people go through the litany of wonderful things in heaven. 24:00 And all of that is true, but what is the greatest 24:03 reward of heaven? 24:06 God himself will be there and we can be with God. 24:10 The real reward for the Christian is when you love Jesus 24:12 and you think about heaven and you're thinking about being with 24:15 the one you love, that will be your exceeding great reward: 24:19 to be with your Creator and your Redeemer. 24:21 All right, let's go to the next section here. 24:23 It's the messianic promise, messianic promise, 24:27 and there's two parts to this; this is part one. 24:29 And you read here in Genesis 28, part of God's 24:32 covenant for His people. 24:35 "Also your descendants will be as the dust of the earth and you 24:40 will spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north 24:44 and to the south. 24:46 And in you and in your seed shall all the families of the 24:50 earth be blessed." 24:52 Now, that is really a-- that's a promise and a 24:55 prophecy that has multiple, you might say manifold, 24:59 different ways that it could be fulfilled. 25:01 First of all, the Jewish people--Christians in the world 25:07 today, 2.1 billion, 2.3 billion, somewhere in there. 25:12 A lot of people are classified as "Christians." 25:14 They are born in the Catholic church or they're born in the 25:17 Anglican church, they may not be practicing, 25:19 but they are categorized as Christians. 25:21 Muslims, of course, you've got both devout 25:23 and you've secular Muslims. 25:25 They're about 1.7, 1.8 billion. 25:29 Jews, you want to guess? 25:33 Sixteen million. How'd they--good, Luke. 25:35 There's not that many. 25:37 I mean, you think they'd been around a lot longer 25:38 than Muslims--well, of course there's been several times 25:42 in history that they've been virtually annihilated 25:44 or exterminated, but about 16 million. 25:50 And so when He said, "Your people will be like the sand of 25:53 the sea," was He talking about Jews or was He talking about 25:55 Christians or maybe both? 26:00 Because every Christian-- what does the Bible say? 26:03 You read in Galatians chapter 3, verse 29, "If you are Christ's, 26:07 then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." 26:12 So the promise that God made to Abraham, "Your descendants are 26:15 going to be like the stars and like the sand." 26:18 That will also include not only literal Israel. 26:21 And you know, even back in the days of Solomon when he 26:25 dedicated the temple, and David, he said, you know, "You've made 26:28 me king over your people that are numberless." 26:32 And so God had fulfilled that promise back then. 26:36 He made them a great nation back then. 26:39 But even beyond that, you can read here in Genesis 18:18, 26:45 "Since Abraham surely shall become great and a mighty 26:49 nation, and all the nations of the earth 26:52 will be blessed in him," how? 26:55 I know you think about the greatness, you can think about 26:57 the numerical quantity. 26:58 There's a lot of Christians and Jews in the world. 27:01 Billions, they fill the world. 27:05 Why does it say, "In your seed all the world will be blessed"? 27:09 You know the word "seed" means descendants. 27:11 It's sort of the Hebrew way of saying "your offspring." 27:15 How is all the world blessed in that offspring? 27:21 Through the seed of Abraham, the Messiah came, right? 27:27 But another way you might realize that-- 27:29 how do you have the Bible? 27:31 We're all sitting here today because of the book. 27:32 You know, I'm glad that we found an acronym for this facility or 27:36 I should say these facilities. 27:37 Namely the church, and the Amazing Facts office, the 27:40 warehouse, all that happens here in the studios, and we 27:43 call it the WORD. 27:44 The WORD Center. 27:46 And the WORD, in case you don't know, that's World Outreach 27:49 Revival and Discipleship. 27:52 Everything we do here is because of this book. 27:54 Would you agree? 27:55 Everything we believe, it's the foundation, it's our 27:57 constitution, it's the, you know, the Magna Carta of 28:02 what the Christian believes. 28:04 It's the ultimate source. 28:06 Jesus is called "the Word." 28:08 How do we get this book? 28:11 This book is the history of Abraham and his people. 28:15 It is all written by Abraham's people. 28:18 "In the end, in your seed, all the world will be blessed." 28:20 If it was not for the Jews, the world would not have the Bible, 28:24 with the exception of a small excerpt in the Book of Daniel, 28:27 written that Nebuchadnezzar that was inserted. 28:30 You know, Nebuchadnezzar had his had his dream in chapter 4 and 28:31 he writes that section. 28:34 The whole book is written by Jews. 28:37 In Abraham's seed, all the world is blessed. 28:41 Part of the job of the Jewish people was to announce 28:44 and introduce the Messiah. 28:45 They did that at Pentecost, and in addition, they delivered the 28:50 holy Scriptures. 28:52 Paul says, "For to Israel, we're committed the oracles of God. 28:57 The sacred oracles. 28:59 The law, and the prophets and the Psalms 29:01 through Abraham's seed. 29:03 So it wasn't all written by Jesus in person. 29:05 It was written by the seed of Abraham, right? 29:07 So there's a few ways that this prophecy was literally fulfilled 29:10 but the ultimate way is that the Messiah would come through the 29:14 genealogy, the line of Abraham. 29:18 Now, there were several forks in that tree. 29:21 You know, you've got--not every Hebrew is a Jew. 29:28 I saw something on the internet when I was studying last night 29:30 that says, "Jews, Hebrews, Israelite are the same." 29:34 That's just--sorry, they don't know their Bible. 29:36 That's categorically not true. 29:38 Jews, the word Jew, principally means people who have descended 29:41 from the tribe of Judah because ten other tribes were carried 29:44 away by Assyria, but the tribe of Judah which was the biggest 29:48 tribe, and Benjamin and Levi, they were carried 29:51 off by the Babylonians. 29:53 They did come back. 29:55 The Assyrians never really allowed the Jews carried off, or 29:58 the Israelites carried off by them, to come back again. 30:01 And a Hebrew, technically Abraham was a Hebrew. 30:06 The word Hebrew means those who have crossed over. 30:11 That would mean all Muslims are Hebrews. 30:14 It is true Jews and Muslims are both Semitic. 30:18 That means that they came from the tribe of Shem. 30:20 That's where you get the word Semitic. 30:22 But there are differences. 30:24 The descendants of Jacob: Israel are the Israelites, 30:27 the 12 tribes. 30:29 The descendants of Judah: Benjamin and Levi, they're 30:31 typically called Jews but--yeah, if you're--you can find people 30:35 from Manasseh or Issachar, you can call them a Jew too. 30:37 Everyone will sort of know what you're talking about. 30:39 All right, and that was probably more than you needed on that. 30:45 Now, can you be a physical Jew and not a child of Abraham? 30:53 Let me read something to you. 30:54 John 8:39. 30:57 "They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.' 31:00 Jesus said to them, 'If you are Abraham's children, you 31:03 would do the works of Abraham.'" 31:06 And later He says, "You're not Abraham's children. 31:07 You're of your father, the devil, because you doing the 31:10 works of your father." 31:12 So when it talks about the seed of Abraham, it's not just 31:15 talking about physical genealogy, DNA. 31:20 It's talking about those who have the spiritual DNA. 31:24 And what was the real trait? 31:26 What was that identifying marker in the DNA of Abraham? 31:30 Abraham believed God. 31:33 These are people of faith, amen? 31:37 All right, so you get that first promise and there's many in 31:41 prophecies we could look at where it talks about the 31:43 Messiah would be coming through the line of Abraham, 31:47 and we know that that was true. 31:48 Not only did it tell us that the Messiah was going to come 31:52 through the line of Abraham; further on it 31:56 says it was going to come through the line of Jacob. 31:58 Then again, they'll come through the line of Isaac, 32:01 then the line of Jacob. 32:02 Then Jacob says, "that through the line of Judah, 32:09 the Messiah would come." 32:11 Did I put that verse in my notes? 32:13 Yeah, Genesis 49 verse 10, "The scepter will not depart from 32:17 Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet." 32:20 And a little later, he not only narrows the focus more, starts 32:24 out saying you know it's going to be through Shem and through 32:27 Abraham, and then it's going to be through Isaac and Jacob, and 32:31 then it's going to be through David--or Judah, then David. 32:36 And the last marker given is that's it's 32:39 going to come through the line of David. 32:41 And then of course, both Joseph and Mary came from 32:44 the line of David. 32:46 All right, moving on, the Messiah promise, part two. 32:50 Now, there were a lot of promises in the Old Testament 32:52 that talk about the Messiah's coming. 32:55 Some of them are talking about the first coming and some of 32:58 them are talking about the Second Coming. 33:00 Let me just say this, because you probably heard me say it 33:06 before, but there's always people listening who 33:08 haven't heard it. 33:11 The devil confused people regarding the prophecies of 33:14 Jesus coming so they were not ready for His first coming. 33:19 Some prophecies talk about Jesus coming loudly like a lion. 33:25 Some talk about Him coming meekly like a lamb. 33:29 The nation of the Israel thought that the first coming of Jesus 33:32 was going to be loudly like a lion, but they were wrong. 33:36 They misunderstood the prophecies. 33:37 And when He came quietly, they said, "We don't understand. 33:41 We thought you were coming like a conquering king and you were 33:44 going to overthrow the Romans and you're going to reestablish 33:46 the Davidic dynasty and the kingdom of Solomon." 33:51 And when He came, and he's dying on a cross, they said "This was 33:54 not at all what we pictured with the King coming. 33:57 Don't look like a King." 34:01 And they got the prophecies mixed up. 34:02 Now, what's happening-- and so they were not ready 34:04 for His first coming. 34:06 Now what's happening is the same thing. 34:08 They say he's coming secretly, quietly. 34:12 People are going to disappear. 34:14 And life's going to go on, and we're going to go through seven 34:16 years of tribulation. 34:17 No, now when Jesus comes next time, 34:19 he's coming like a lion. 34:21 And he's going to roar and it's not going to be a secret. 34:24 And they're confusing the Second Coming, preparing much of the 34:28 Christian world to be deceived by a false Christ. 34:33 So the devil always does that. 34:34 He tries to flip things over. 34:36 He says, "They call good, evil; and evil, good; and light, dark; 34:38 and dark, light," and the devil wants to just get 34:41 it all mixed up. 34:42 So, now we're dealing with the promises of the 34:46 Second Coming of Jesus. 34:47 Do you find in the Old Testament promises about the first coming? 34:52 Yes, do you find-- 34:53 and let me see what are some examples of the first coming. 34:57 Well, Isaiah 53 is an example of the first coming of Jesus. 35:01 Do you find any Old Testament prophecies of the Second Coming 35:04 or were they only New Testament? 35:08 Don't be afraid to answer. 35:10 Worst that could happen is you'd be wrong. 35:13 Yes, so there are prophecies, many prophecies in the Old 35:16 Testament of the Second Coming, and that's why they sometimes 35:20 got it mixed up, and here's just a couple. 35:22 You can look in Psalm 50, verse 3, "Our God shall come 35:26 and shall not keep silent. 35:27 A fire will devour before Him. 35:29 It will be very tempestuous all around Him and He will call to 35:33 the heavens above and the earth, that He might judge His people. 35:36 Gather My saints together." 35:37 That's what Jesus is--He'll send the angels to gather 35:39 together the elect from the four ends of heaven, 35:42 "Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." 35:45 Look in Job 19, verse 25. 35:47 "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand at 35:51 last on the earth. 35:53 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know 35:55 that in my flesh I will see God." 35:57 That must be Second Coming 'cause you're talking about the 35:58 resurrection, glorified body. 36:01 "Whom I will see for myself and my eyes will 36:03 behold, and not another. 36:04 How my heart yearns within me." 36:06 So there are several prophecies in the Old Testament. 36:09 You can look in the Book of Joel, and the Book of Amos, 36:13 Book of Ezekiel, and I mentioned Jeremiah. 36:17 Lot of prophecies of the Second Coming in the Old Testament. 36:22 And of course, in the New Testament, all the prophecies of 36:26 His coming are the Second Coming, or when He comes at the 36:29 end of the millennium. 36:31 Jesus said--John chapter 14:1-3. 36:33 Here's one of the plainest ones. 36:34 "Let not your heart be troubled. 36:37 You believe in God, believe also in Me. 36:38 In My Father's house are many mansions, many dwelling places. 36:42 If it were not so, I would've told you. 36:45 I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place 36:48 for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where 36:53 I am, there you might be also." 36:56 And then, of course, Revelation 3:12, 36:59 "He who overcomes, I will make a pillar in the temple of My 37:02 God and he will go out no more. 37:05 And I'll write on him the name of My God, 37:10 and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which 37:13 comes down out of heaven from God, and I will write 37:15 on him My new name." 37:18 God talks about that new city, and the many prophecies. 37:22 In fact, if you read in Matthew 24, Mark chapter 13, 37:29 Luke chapter 17, Luke chapter 21, these are 37:32 passages where the disciples just said, "Jesus, tell us 37:35 about Your Second Coming, what is the signs of Your coming? 37:38 What's going to happen in the end of the world?" 37:40 He give them a very thorough discourse on some of the 37:43 events dealing with the Second Coming. 37:45 So there are multiple prophecies. 37:47 You can read there in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, "The 37:49 Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice 37:52 of the archangel, the trump of God. 37:54 The dead in Christ shall rise." 37:55 You can even read in Daniel talking back about the Second 38:00 Coming in the Old Testament. 38:02 "At that time, Michael will stand up, the great prince that 38:05 stands for the children of my people and they'll be a time of 38:08 trouble such as there never was and a resurrection. 38:11 Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake." 38:14 So you can find many prophecies about the Messiah's Second 38:18 Coming in the Old and in the New Testaments. 38:23 And then He makes a promise that Abraham would be a 38:27 great and a mighty nation. 38:30 Did God keep His promise, that Abraham would be a great and a 38:33 mighty nation? 38:35 Let's read something here, Deuteronomy 4, verse 6 38:38 through 8, "Therefore, be careful to observe them." 38:43 He's just recited the Ten Commandments. 38:46 And--actually, this is--I'm sorry. 38:49 This is just before the Ten Commandments. 38:51 "Be careful to observe them for this is your wisdom and your 38:54 understanding in the sight of the peoples who 38:57 will hear all these statutes. 38:59 Others are going to hear about My laws. 39:01 And they will say, 'Surely, this great nation is a wise and an 39:06 understanding people. 39:07 For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as 39:12 the Lord our God is to us. 39:14 For whatever reason we may call upon Him. 39:16 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and 39:19 righteous judgments as are in all of His law which I set 39:23 before you this day?" 39:25 You know, God's plan was that as missionaries fan out around the 39:28 world, and you teach the Word of God, that the different nations 39:31 will say, "Wow, these are just really logical, just and 39:36 righteous laws. 39:38 And if society followed these laws, you would have a lot more 39:41 happiness and peace." 39:44 Now, it is true, and you'll often hear from, you know, 39:49 modern media today and the history books that these, you 39:53 know, missionaries went out and they were all violent 39:56 Jesuits that told people, "Either believe or die.. 40:00 That did happen some; that didn't always happen. 40:05 There were a lot of good missionaries, yes, and there 40:07 were a lot of even gentle ones from, like, Catholic and 40:11 Orthodox churches that went out. 40:13 A lot of Protestant missionaries that didn't say, 40:14 "Believe what we tell you or die." 40:16 They lived among the people, they taught them the Word of 40:19 God, they learned the language. 40:20 I've been reading some great books on missionaries, 40:23 William Carey, and Hudson Taylor and others, 40:26 and the incredible work they did. 40:28 And you know what happened? 40:29 People that had never heard about Christianity, they said, 40:33 "This makes sense. 40:34 It resonates as true. 40:35 These are wise and just laws." 40:38 The reason that Christianity spread around the world is not 40:41 because it was all done by force. 40:43 It's because they were good laws. 40:47 Matter of fact, most of the governments in the world today, 40:51 their basic statutes of law have been adopted from 40:55 the laws of Moses. 40:58 And no matter what country you go to today, it seems like after 41:01 a while, they end up going over to the state of law that is 41:09 basically founded on the laws of Moses. 41:12 And they're just laws, that you treat people differently if they 41:17 did not know something, and if they do know, 41:20 you're more culpable. 41:21 That's why in America, you got first degree murder, second 41:24 degree, third degree murder. 41:26 If it's premeditated murder, you're more liable and the 41:29 punishment is more severe. 41:31 All that's in the laws of Moses. 41:33 And the laws regarding inheritance and property, 41:37 so much of that traces to the Bible. 41:39 Good and just laws, laws about take care of your neighbor. 41:42 If their donkey wanders off, bring it back. 41:44 Even if you don't like your neighbor, it's the 41:45 right thing to do. 41:47 And so, things are, they're basically, they're wise laws 41:50 that make for a happy society. 41:52 By the way, we're starting to get away from that now. 41:57 How much time do I have? 42:00 You probably heard me say before that, you know, we have one 42:05 group in North America that is kind of pushing that if it's 42:09 anything religious, we need to get away from it. 42:12 They tried it, they called it the separation of church and 42:13 state: anything that can be found in the Bible, shouldn't 42:16 have the Ten Commandments posted anywhere, and we shouldn't 42:19 be enforcing anything based on what's in the Bible because 42:21 that's using religion. 42:24 Well, that's not really what the writers of 42:27 the Constitution believed. 42:30 The writers of the Constitution were a religious people. 42:32 Even deists, some of them were deists, are religious. 42:35 They believe in God. 42:37 And you look at the writings of the founding fathers. 42:39 They all unanimously believed that these laws would only work 42:43 among the religious people that were self-governed, 42:45 that had certain morals. 42:48 If you expect the government to solve all the problems with new 42:50 laws, most of the problems that we have in society are from 42:53 people with bad hearts. 42:56 It's not because we don't have enough laws. 42:58 If our hearts were changed, we would not have half 42:59 the problems we have. 43:01 You missed a good amen. 43:03 That one, that was a great opportunity there. 43:05 No, it's too late now, it doesn't count. 43:07 I had to tell you to do it. 43:08 If I have to tell you to do it--tch. 43:11 Was Roger Williams came along and he said, "You know, you 43:14 need to make a distinction." 43:15 Said, "You know, I would hope that everybody would want to 43:17 keep all ten, but as far as the government's concerned, there 43:20 does need to be a separation. 43:21 You separate the the two tables of the Ten Commandments 43:24 the way that God did. 43:26 One is more civil in nature. 43:28 One is more purely religious. 43:30 The first four commandments deal with our worship of God. 43:33 It defines who God is and how to worship Him and 43:35 when to worship Him, what His name is. 43:37 The government should never make laws telling people, 'This is 43:40 when you should worship,'" and that's important for us, right? 43:43 We should be free to choose. 43:44 "Or what His name is or how to worship Him," and so forth. 43:47 So--but he said, "The government must enforce the last six. 43:54 Parental rights, the sanctity of marriage, that marriage is 43:57 between a man and a woman." 43:59 Notice it's, "Love your--honor your father and your mother." 44:02 That's pretty clear that there's only supposed to be one of each, 44:06 and they're not the same. 44:08 And the rights of property ownership. 44:11 The government doesn't own everything. 44:13 You have the right of property ownership, your house, your 44:15 land; do not covet your neighbor's possessions. 44:18 When a government stops to support those things, it begins 44:21 to unravel, and pretty soon you got kind of totalitarianism. 44:27 But anyway, I don't know how I got on that little rant, but it 44:31 feels better now that it's over with. 44:34 So going to a great and mighty nation, that's where we were, 44:37 Joshua 21:44. 44:39 Did God keep His word, did they become 44:40 a great and mighty nation? 44:42 Joshua 21:44, "The Lord gave them rest all around according 44:47 to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and not a man of 44:50 all their enemies stood against them. 44:53 And the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands." 44:56 If they've delivered all the foreign nations into their 44:58 hands, they've become a great and mighty nation. 45:02 "Not a word," I love this verse, "not a word failed of any good 45:07 thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. 45:11 All came to pass." 45:13 And what's the title of the lesson? 45:14 It's talking about the covenant of promise. 45:16 Did all of God's promise come to pass that He would bring them 45:19 into the Promised Land and give them victory? 45:22 He did. God keeps His word. 45:26 He is the author and finisher of your faith. 45:28 You must believe that if you let Him, He will finish what He 45:31 started in your life. 45:33 God finishes His work if we follow. 45:36 Jesus said, "Follow Me. 45:38 The children of Israel, as long as they followed God, He brought 45:40 them into the Promised Land. 45:42 Psalm 19, verse 7, "The law of the Lord 45:45 is perfect converting the soul. 45:47 The testimony of Lord is sure, making wise the simple." 45:51 What nation is there that has laws that are so righteous? 45:56 And then finally He said, "And I will make your name great," was 46:01 God's promise to Abraham. 46:02 We're still expanding on Genesis chapter 15. 46:06 He said, "I'll make your name great," how did that happen? 46:08 He also says this in Genesis 12 verse 1 and 2, "The Lord said to 46:11 Abram, 'Get out of your country from your family, from your 46:15 father's house to a land that I will show you, and I will make 46:18 you a great nation. 46:21 I will bless you and make your name great." 46:24 What does it mean to have a great name? 46:26 Does it mean to have a long name like Evil-Merodach or 46:31 Zaphnath-Paaneah? 46:34 Or--I'm trying to remember this, there's another. 46:36 I think there's some Egyptian Pharaoh who had a really long 46:38 name, but I can't say it. 46:42 Uses every letter in the alphabet. 46:45 Is that what it means to have a great name? 46:48 "Have a great name" means that you've got a great 46:51 reputation with the name. 46:53 The name of the Lord is great, why? 46:55 Because He is a great one. 46:56 His name represents who He is. 46:59 When people think about Abraham, they think of his great faith. 47:03 Now, he deserted his country at 75. 47:06 He lost his name there. He started out new. 47:08 If you move to a new town, nobody knows you, you're 47:11 starting from scratch, you've got no name. 47:13 I moved to new towns before, I go to the bank, 47:15 I want to open an account, and they said, "You got any credit?" 47:17 And I said, "No." 47:18 "And you got anyone here who will cosign for you?" 47:20 "I don't know anybody." 47:21 He said, "Well, then you're nobody here." 47:23 No, you have no credit. Nobody knows you. 47:26 So Abraham's starting out from scratch, God says, "Don't worry, 47:28 you're going to have a great name before it's over. 47:34 The word "Abram," the definition is a high father, a father of 47:38 height or an exalted father. 47:39 It was a good name. 47:41 But then God later changed his name to Abraham. 47:43 What does that mean? 47:45 A father of a multitude. 47:47 A father of many nations. 47:49 And God changed his name to Abraham before he had any 47:52 children; now, that must've been awkward. 47:56 Here he is, you know, 75, 80 years old, and he marches into a 47:59 new territory of the land of Canaan. 48:01 And he meets some of the people there, "And hi, how are you?" 48:04 "Fine, how are you?" 48:05 "What's your name?" 48:07 "Abraham." 48:08 "Oh, father of many nations. 48:11 So how many children do you have?" 48:13 "None yet, but I'm optimistic." 48:16 "And how old are you?" 48:18 "Seventy-five." 48:22 And so he did end up with a great name. 48:25 Abraham means "father of a multitude." 48:26 Now, how many people are there in the world right now? 48:31 Just under 8 billion. 48:32 It changes every moment. You realize that. 48:35 But there's under 8, just under 8 billion. 48:38 Roughly 50% of the people in the world today claim Abraham 48:42 as their spiritual father. 48:45 Think about that. 48:47 All the Muslims, Jews, Christians, even people of the 48:52 Bahá'í faith and others, they trace back the great 48:56 inspiration of their faith. 48:58 I emphasize the word "great" inspiration to the name Abraham, 49:02 someone who loved God so much he left everything to follow God 49:05 and put his son on the altar. 49:07 I mean you got to--he put his past on the altar when he walked 49:11 away from home. 49:12 He put his future on the altar when he put Isaac on the altar. 49:17 Abraham trusted God completely, and God made his name great. 49:21 Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, "His name is great 49:25 among the Jews whose descendants boasted having 49:28 Abram for their father. 49:30 And among the several nations of the world, his name is famous in 49:33 a secular history even among non-Jews and Muslims. 49:36 And it is in high esteem with the Muslims, especially 49:40 among--especially is his name great and famous. 49:43 And the memory of him is precious among all those who 49:46 have obtained like precious faith. 49:48 Every Christian out of every nation." 49:51 You know, God makes a promise, He says in 1 Samuel 2:8, 49:55 "He raises up the poor out of the dust. 49:58 He lifts the beggar from the dunghill, and He sets them among 50:01 princes to make them inherit the throne of glory." 50:04 God can take people that are nobody and 50:06 make them somebody, amen? 50:08 And gives them a great name. 50:10 Hebrews 11, verse 8, "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was 50:14 called to go to the place in which he would receive as an 50:17 inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going." 50:21 That took courage and faith. 50:22 "By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign 50:25 country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with 50:29 him of the same promise, for he waited for a city that has 50:32 foundations, whose builder and maker is God." 50:36 He had great faith. 50:37 It's why he had a great name. 50:40 Anyway, finally, "The Lord gave him rest from all the nations 50:44 around and made them as the stars of heaven, 50:47 as God promised." 50:49 Want to remind our friends before we go off the air, we do 50:51 have a free offer. 50:53 And that free offer today is "Saved from Certain Death." 50:56 It's a wonderful story of salvation by faith. 50:59 We've been talking about in our lesson today in God's 51:01 promise of--is a covenant promise. 51:03 You can get a free copy of this by simply calling 51:06 866-788-3966. 51:09 That's 866-Study-More. 51:12 And we'll continue studying His Word with you again next week. 51:18 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 51:20 life-changing free resource. 51:22 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 51:24 download a digital copy straight to your computer 51:26 or mobile device. 51:28 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 51:31 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 51:36 shown on your screen. 51:37 And be sure to select a digital download option 51:40 on the request page. 51:41 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 51:44 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want. 51:48 And most important, to share it with others. 51:54 male announcer: "Amazing Facts" change lives. 52:02 Dan: One particular evening, we're searching through the 52:05 channels and happen to find a program called "Amazing Facts" 52:11 with Pastor Doug Batchelor. 52:13 Some of the things that he was talking about were very 52:17 interesting and intrigued me. 52:19 female: As Dan began to continue to watch "Amazing 52:22 Facts," this Doug Batchelor, this caveman that 52:25 had an incredible story-- 52:27 my world is beginning to change. 52:29 It's been turned upside down. 52:32 I was resistant. 52:33 I think hit me was really the testimony of Pastor Doug. 52:37 This was a real person with a real story that had had some 52:41 things in his lifetime that maybe I didn't experience, 52:45 but he was real, his journey was real. 52:47 He was honest about wanting to share and giving that light to 52:50 other people, so they too, could have more light. 52:54 That's when we got the cancer diagnosis, and nobody wants that 52:59 C-word, cancer. 53:01 And then to find out that it's aggressive. 53:03 And sometimes, people get to wait with prostate cancer, but 53:06 we didn't have that opportunity. 53:09 He's in surgery and doctor comes out and I knew 53:12 something was wrong. 53:14 Come find out that my husband's had a stroke. 53:20 So we go about midnight and have an MRI, and they confirmed that 53:24 it truly was a stroke, and he was going to be okay. 53:29 Dan: Within one year and a half, I had a major heart 53:32 attack, cancer, aggressive cancer and a stroke. 53:37 I really was at the lowest point. 53:41 I didn't know what I was going to do. 53:44 We had rehab scheduled after 53:48 I was dismissed from the hospital. 53:52 female: And I watched him walk out a facility with a cane, 53:56 that two weeks before, he couldn't even walk into. 54:00 Dan: God knew ahead of time that I was going to be going 54:03 through all of this, and I truly believe that it was His hand 54:07 that brought the "Amazing Facts" and the additional light that I 54:12 was getting, that it helped take my mind off of the circumstances 54:18 at the time, in a way that I don't think anything else could. 54:23 female: It's so comforting to know that we have a Christ that 54:29 loves us so much and will always hold us. 54:33 Dan: I cannot thank the people enough who support 54:39 ministries like this. 54:44 Because of them, I am one of those lives that 54:50 have been changed. 54:55 And I can only thank God for leading me through His 54:58 providence to that program. 55:04 My name is Dan. 55:05 Thank you for changing my life. 55:09 ♪♪♪ 55:20 announcer: "Amazing Facts" change lives. 55:29 Connie: Nobody was there to defend me. 55:31 Nobody was there to protect me. 55:33 My question was why did that happen to me, God? 55:37 Why didn't you intervene? 55:40 Once I hit my teenage years, everything 55:43 just started coming out. 55:45 I felt embarrassed of what had happened because for so long I 55:49 felt it was my fault. 55:51 There were times that I prayed, but it was prayers of 55:54 resentment, and anger and just yelling at God. 55:59 I was so confused, so depressed and I could not 56:04 bear any more of the pain. 56:06 You know, what's the point of living? 56:08 It's might as well just die. 56:12 I started cutting myself, but I heard a small, still voice and 56:18 it said, "Stop. 56:21 Give Me a second chance." 56:23 And right there, I just felt something completely different. 56:28 I felt a presence there and I put everything down 56:33 and I went to my room, I just started crying. 56:37 I realized that me and God connected so well. 56:40 And I no longer saw Him as just a God that no longer cared, but 56:44 I actually saw Him as a Father, and I continued praying. 56:49 One day, I was sleeping, my mom came to the bed, and she said, 56:54 "Connie, he's here, he's in town. 56:57 And the Lord impressed me that you need to face the situation. 57:02 It's time for you to forgive." 57:05 When something so drastic and so painful has happened, 57:10 forgiveness is very hard because you're vulnerable, 57:16 you let go of that ego, that pride that has taken 57:19 over you for so many years. 57:22 I prayed, and when we confronted the situation, it was the most 57:26 amazing moment, where we could pray, we could cry, 57:30 and we could forgive. 57:32 And because of that, I'm able to help others and tell others that 57:36 there is hope and there's someone that does care. 57:40 ♪♪♪ 57:48 male announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel much 57:50 farther than ever before. 57:53 Thank you for your support. 58:01 ♪♪♪ 58:11 ♪♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-04-21