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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:19 ♪♪♪ 00:29 ♪♪♪ 00:37 Shawn Brummund: Hello, friends, and welcome back to 00:38 another edition of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:41 It is always good for us to be able to gather together here in 00:44 the Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:47 right here in the Greater Sacramento area of California. 00:50 It is always good to be able to have our local church members 00:53 with us here this morning as we come together to worship, as we 00:57 come together to open up God's Bible that we might be able to 01:00 sit at the feet of Jesus and continue to learn and continue 01:05 to have Him mold our minds, our world view, and the way 01:09 that we live our lives. 01:11 And so we trust and know that you will be blessed as you 01:14 invest over the next hour as we study through 01:18 our lesson number 12. 01:20 And so this morning we are looking at lesson number 12 in 01:23 the Quarterly that I know many of us have been blessed by, and 01:28 it's entitled "The Promise: God's Everlasting Covenant." 01:32 And as it turns out, this is our second last study for this 01:35 particular theme and quarter. 01:37 And so I know we're going to be blessed today and next week but 01:40 then next--the day--the week after next week we are going to 01:43 be looking at another Quarterly and another theme. 01:48 By the way, how many have been blessed by this so far? 01:51 Yeah, I see a number of hands, amens, that are going up. 01:53 I know that there's some very rich stuff that we 01:55 continue to look at. 01:57 We're kind of continuing on a similar theme and the next 02:00 Quarterly is going to be entitled, "Rest in Christ." 02:04 "Rest in Christ." 02:06 And that word "rest" is used a number of times, particularly in 02:09 the book of Hebrews, but we also find it in other--a number of 02:13 other places in the Bible as well. 02:17 And so I know that you're going to be blessed by that as well. 02:20 Just an interesting little trivia for us. 02:24 The authors of this particular new Quarterly that we'll start 02:26 to look at in just two weeks' time, is actually authored by 02:31 Pastor Jean Ross's sister and brother-in-law and so we have 02:37 kind of--it's going to be in the family, for those of us here in 02:41 Granite Bay because, of course, many of us know and love Pastor 02:43 Jean and his family very much. 02:47 So we look forward to that. 02:49 Don't forget to take advantage of our free gift offer that we 02:52 have here today--pardon me-- which is "God Drew the Plans." 02:59 "God Drew the Plans." 03:00 This is one of my favorite Study Guides that we have amongst a 03:03 number of "Amazing Facts" Study Guides in a series and this is 03:07 free offer number 129. 03:09 And so if you've never studied the Study Guide, please take 03:11 advantage of that even here today. 03:12 You just dial 1-866-788-3966 and ask for offer number 129. 03:20 Now, we also live in a digital age. 03:22 If you're interested in being able to access this digitally 03:26 and you live in continental North America, then you can 03:30 certainly also find the link by texting "SH135," and you want to 03:36 dial 40544 to be able to take advantage of that 03:41 digital download and offer. 03:43 I want to invite you to join me as we pray. 03:45 Father in heaven, this morning we are thankful for the 03:47 opportunity to be able to open Your Word. 03:50 We want to claim the promise that You have promised since You 03:53 first were on this earth and left the church to be able to 03:56 continue to grow, that You would send the Holy Spirit. 04:01 And that the Holy Spirit would guide us and lead us into all 04:03 truth, open our eyes, and give us discernment and understanding 04:07 in the things that are spiritual in Your Word. 04:10 And so, God, we want to pray that You will bless 04:12 us with that Spirit. 04:13 Give us Your presence, Lord. 04:15 Please bless our pastor and teacher, Pastor Doug, here today 04:18 as he brings the Word of life to us. 04:22 God, we want to pray that You will take it and write it into 04:24 our hearts, each and every word from Your Bible. 04:27 In Jesus's name we pray these things, God, amen. 04:32 Doug Batchelor: I enjoyed listening to our 04:33 young people sing, how about you? 04:35 That's always nice. 04:37 Welcome, friends, those of you who are here alive 04:42 in the Granite Bay Hilltop Church. 04:44 We're glad to welcome you to our Sabbath School program and we 04:46 know that we've got a lot of other people who are watching on 04:49 a variety of outlets, everything from "Amazing Facts Television" 04:53 to 3ABN, Hope, Facebook, YouTube, and it's just wonderful 04:59 to hear the reports of people studying the Word of God 05:02 together with us from around the world. 05:03 We've got a lot of folks out there that are some of our 05:05 online members because they live in a part of the country or the 05:09 world where there is no local church they can attend and 05:13 they're just very thankful that they can be at least 05:15 one of our online members. 05:16 And if you're out there in that category and you have no local 05:19 church that you can attend, you want to know, "How can I 05:21 become an online member?" 05:23 Just go ahead and contact us at granitebaysda.org and 05:28 we'll talk to you about that. 05:30 You can do, you know, Sabbath School and church with us. 05:33 We just can't download a pot luck yet, but 05:35 we're working on it. 05:37 We can't--we can send you a virtual hug. 05:40 All right, our lesson today is lesson 12. 05:43 As Pastor Shawn mentioned, we have one more in this 05:45 series on the covenant. 05:46 This is called "Covenant Faith," and we have a memory verse. 05:51 The memory verse is from Galatians 3:11. 05:54 If you've got your Bible or your lesson open, 05:56 you can read that with me. 05:58 Galatians 3:11. 06:00 You ready? 06:01 "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, is 06:07 evident: for, the just shall live by faith." 06:11 One of the most famous verses in the Bible. 06:15 Now, when we're talking about the covenant, it's not a bad 06:18 idea to do a little review, you know, I think it's a shame to 06:21 assume everybody listening has already heard all the background 06:25 and then you miss some of the important points. 06:27 When you say the word "covenant," covenant comes from 06:30 the word, it's actually--it comes from an English word that 06:35 comes from a French word that comes from a Latin word. 06:38 I did a little etymology on the word "covenant." 06:40 When you ever say "con" it means with in Latin, 06:44 and it's "convenire." 06:47 It means with agreement, and that, you know, then went to 06:50 French and then went to English until it just came 06:53 out anglicized as covenant. 06:56 But it means it's an agreement. 06:58 And a definition for covenant would be it's usually a formal, 07:04 solemn, and binding agreement or compact. 07:07 A written agreement or a promise usually under seal between two 07:11 or more parties, might be notarized, especially for the 07:15 performance of some action, is a formal agreement. 07:20 Now God saves us under a legal agreement. 07:25 Why does it need to be a legal agreement? 07:29 Because there's law involved. 07:32 We have broken a law. 07:35 And so He makes--God is not only a loving Father, He's not only 07:40 our Savior, He's not only a King, He's a Judge. 07:43 And so the agreement to save us is a legal agreement where He 07:48 has a right to do it because there is a debt that is paid. 07:53 There is a penalty for sin and what are the wages for sin? 07:58 Death. And how many have sinned? 08:02 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 08:04 And so God has devised a way in the plan of salvation where He 08:08 will save us but there are terms to the agreement. 08:11 So this is the covenant. 08:13 Now, when we talk about covenants in the Bible, scholars 08:17 speculate there are really seven major covenants in the Bible. 08:23 There's a lot of minor ones. 08:24 Any agreement in the Bible, someone says, you know, 08:27 "You sow my seed and I'll pay you for doing it." 08:30 Well, that's technically an agreement, but the major 08:31 covenants in the Bible are what are called the Edenic Covenant, 08:37 which you would find in Genesis chapter 3. 08:39 It's the covenant that God makes in the Garden of Eden between 08:43 the woman and the seed of the woman and it's the redemption of 08:46 man where the sacrificial system is established. 08:50 You have the Noahic Covenant. 08:53 You remember after the flood, God made a covenant with Noah 08:56 that He would no longer destroy the earth and that 08:58 He would bless him. 09:00 Then you have the Abrahamic Covenant. 09:02 We're going to talk a lot about that in the lesson today, 09:05 so that's three so far. 09:06 Then you've got the Mosaic Covenant and that's the 09:09 covenant, well, in the Ten Commandments you find, says, "I 09:13 gave them My covenant which I commanded them to perform." 09:16 This is actually Deuteronomy chapter 4, Ten Commandments, 09:19 but--so there's the covenant there that He made in Exodus. 09:22 You've got the covenant you find in Levi that He made with the 09:26 sons of Aaron that they would be His priests, 09:29 the Priestly Covenant. 09:30 Then you have the Davidic Covenant where God said that 09:33 through the house of the seat of David the Messiah would come. 09:37 And then, of course, in the New Testament Jesus with His blood 09:40 ratifies the New Testament or the Gospel Covenant. 09:44 Now where do you first find the new covenant? 09:50 In the Old Testament. 09:52 Kind of a trick question. 09:54 Who is the oldest man who ever lived? 09:58 Methuselah--I heard someone got it, they said Enoch. 10:01 It's a trick question. 10:03 Methuselah is the oldest man who ever died. 10:07 The oldest man who ever lived is Enoch; his father 10:10 is still alive, right? 10:11 He's not died yet. 10:12 So the new covenant is found in Jeremiah. 10:16 You find it in the Old Testament. 10:17 And you also find it alluded to in Ezekiel where He said "A new 10:21 heart I will put within you." 10:23 And so those are the main covenants or agreements 10:26 that God has made. 10:29 Does God ever make an agreement or a covenant 10:31 and then fail to fulfill? 10:34 "Not a word of the Lord falls to the ground. 10:37 What I have said I will do." 10:39 Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away; My word 10:41 will not pass away." 10:43 Have you made agreements or covenants with people in the 10:46 past and they fell through? 10:50 Maybe you fell through. 10:53 I think back with some chagrin on a couple of promises I made 10:56 and I didn't keep and it's too late now. 10:58 And I always feel some guilt for that 'cause you want 11:01 to keep your covenants. 11:03 People don't always keep their agreements, but 11:05 God's Word never fails. 11:07 So if God makes a salvation covenant with us, if we embrace 11:12 the terms of the covenant, will He keep His part? 11:16 Isn't that right? He will. 11:18 All right, well, under "Sunday," the first section, it's 11:20 "Reflections of Calvary." 11:25 Why was it necessary for Jesus to die to redeem us? 11:34 Now, some people say, "Well, Jesus died because covenants 11:36 were often sealed with a sacrifice." 11:39 Oh, no, that's true but there's much more than that. 11:43 You know, sometimes people in the old days, they cut their 11:46 wrists and two people would shake hands and they were 11:49 called blood brothers. 11:51 It was like an agreement made in blood. 11:54 Well, the sacrifice of Christ is more than that. 11:57 There is a debt that is being paid and the reason that Jesus, 12:02 the Son of God, had to die is only the Creator had the right 12:08 to pay the debt for the Creation. 12:11 Now this is so important to understand because I know there 12:15 are people out there in the world that question whether 12:17 Jesus was everlasting. 12:21 They say, "Well, no, He at one time was begotten." 12:23 I say, "What, you mean He was created?" 12:24 "No, not created; begotten," they say, "that's different." 12:27 And I say, "No, you're saying that He was not in existence and 12:30 the Father brought Him into existence. 12:32 That's a creation." 12:33 Doesn't matter how you play with the semantics. 12:35 He went from non-existence to existence. 12:37 That means He's created. 12:39 But the Bible says: "All things that were created 12:42 were created by Him." 12:43 Isn't that right? 12:45 So He didn't create Himself. 12:48 And so only Jesus the Creator could die for the Creation. 12:55 Only the King could die for the subjects, and only the law giver 13:00 could die for the law breakers. 13:02 An angel could not have done it. 13:05 It was only God Himself that could do it and that should tell 13:10 you something about the magnitude of sin that the sin of 13:15 one person to be saved would require the death of the Creator 13:19 to fulfill the penalty. 13:22 It should also tell you something about the magnitude of 13:24 God's love for you. 13:26 He didn't have to do it. 13:28 You could pay your own penalty. 13:30 And by the way, many will. 13:32 Because they don't accept the salvation Jesus has offered for 13:35 them, they when--ultimately pay the penalty for their sins. 13:40 So Jesus is the only one who can do that. 13:45 Is there a different covenant of salvation in the New Testament 13:48 and the Old Testament? 13:51 Yes, the Bible talks about the new covenant 13:54 and the old covenant. 13:55 Were people in the Old Testament saved differently 13:58 than people in the New Testament? 14:01 Not really. 14:03 Now, this is so important. 14:04 Are you saved by faith in the new covenant? 14:08 Yeah, but you're saved by works in the old covenant? 14:13 Nobody's saved by works. 14:15 See, this is--I've met in a lot of dear Christians from the 14:19 dispensational tribe, and they say, "Well, the Old Testament, 14:23 they had to be saved by works," as though they could work 14:26 their way into heaven. 14:27 That would insinuate that there were some in the Old Testament 14:30 who successfully worked their way to heaven. 14:32 Isn't that right? 14:34 But no one is going to be in heaven by works. 14:37 The Bible says: "Abraham believed God and it was counted 14:41 to him for righteousness." 14:42 He was given credit for righteousness based 14:45 on his faith. 14:48 Everybody in the Old Testament was saved by faith, looking 14:51 forward to the cross. 14:52 Everybody in the New Testament and now, we are saved by faith, 14:56 looking back to the cross. 14:57 Everybody is saved by faith in the cross. 15:01 There will even be some people in heaven that are there that 15:04 maybe didn't know the name of Jesus but everyone is saved by 15:07 Jesus's name and everyone is saved by Christ's sacrifice. 15:12 And some of these people are going to be in 15:13 heaven 'cause they had faith in God. 15:15 They maybe didn't know a lot about God but God winked at 15:18 their ignorance and-- 'cause He's a merciful God. 15:22 So everyone saved is saved by Christ or saved by faith. 15:26 Nobody is saved by works. 15:28 Now I've heard evangelists, and I've used it myself, use an 15:32 illustration that talks about salvation like a person crossing 15:35 a river and they've got two oars. 15:39 And they've got one oar called faith and they've 15:43 got one oar called works. 15:45 And if you use only faith, the boat goes in circles, and if you 15:48 use only works, the boat goes in circles. 15:51 But if you want to get across the river, you use both. 15:55 That's really a flawed illustration because it 15:56 leaves you with the impression that works contribute 15:59 to your salvation. 16:01 It is true in the Christian life that if you have saving faith 16:06 you will have works. 16:08 So you will see both in the Christian life. 16:11 But we are saved by faith. 16:13 The thief who was on the cross that is saved, was he saved by 16:17 his works in any way? 16:19 Well, there's one work he did. 16:21 You know what that one work is? 16:23 He asked. 16:26 Jesus said, "This is the work that you shall do: to believe on 16:28 the One the Father has sent." 16:30 So you--if you want to call believing and asking a work, 16:33 then you--there's something you must do. 16:35 You must reach out. 16:36 You must ask. And he did that. 16:39 But he didn't do a lot of charitable deeds, he did not do 16:42 a lot of sacrificial mission projects. 16:44 He just accepted Jesus, turned to Jesus, asked for mercy, and 16:48 he was saved by faith in Christ. 16:52 So the good news is that means everybody here today and all 16:55 those who are watching, you can be saved right now by turning 16:58 to Christ in faith. 17:00 So that's the beautiful news of that. 17:03 Now, there's a good quote in your lesson and it's from the 17:06 "Testimonies to the Church, Volume 2," page 213. 17:10 "The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotion. 17:16 Upon this subject, you will be excusable if 17:20 you manifest enthusiasm." 17:22 In other words, some people say, "They're getting 17:24 too excited in church." 17:25 Here she says, "When it's talking about the sacrifice of 17:28 Christ for us, you'll be excused if you get too excited, if you 17:32 get too emotional, because it--the sacrifice of Jesus 17:36 on our behalf is the story that should call forth 17:41 the deepest emotion." 17:43 "That Christ so excellent, so innocent, should suffer such 17:46 painful death, bearing the weight of the sins of the world, 17:49 our thoughts and imaginations can never fully comprehend. 17:53 The length, the breadth, the height, the depth of such 17:56 amazing love we cannot fathom. 17:58 The contemplation of the matchless depths of the Savior's 18:01 love should fill the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine 18:05 and elevate the affections, and completely transform 18:08 the whole character." 18:11 One of my personal prayers lately has been that I might 18:14 love the Lord more because the longer I've lived, the more I 18:19 realize that the essence of everything I need in a Christian 18:23 and sanctification boils down to loving God more. 18:27 I don't serve God very well because I don't 18:30 love Him very much. 18:33 Now, I love Him, but I don't think I love Him like I should. 18:37 I think if I loved Him more I'd love you more. 18:42 And vice versa, by the way. 18:45 I think the more that we love God, the better we serve Him; 18:49 the more we love God, the more we love each other; the more we 18:52 love God, the more joyful we are, the better advertising 18:55 agents we are for Christianity. 18:58 All of our problems would be solved if we loved Jesus more. 19:02 So where do you get more love for God? 19:06 Bible says: "We love Him because He first loved us." 19:11 As we look at the place where His love is demonstrated and we 19:14 see His love for us, love begets love. 19:18 Isn't that right? 19:20 And as we see Him on the cross and we see His life of love and 19:25 His mercy and His forgiveness, it should stir 19:28 our hearts and it transforms us. 19:34 I've heard a number of illustrations that bear this out 19:39 but I remember one in particular where years ago this lady was 19:43 married to a scoundrel that had a drinking problem, and 19:46 every night he was down at the saloon with his buddies, and 19:48 he'd come stumbling home late at night and sometimes he'd, you 19:56 know, bring his friends over and his wife was a Christian and she 19:59 was so patient, she was so loving. 20:01 She had no idea that he would develop this problem 20:03 when they first married, and it became a real challenge. 20:06 But she decided to live out the love of Christ, no 20:08 matter how he acted. 20:12 And one day he was at the saloon. 20:13 He was bragging to his friends, he says, 20:15 "I've got the best wife in the world." 20:17 One of 'em said, "I got the best wife in the world." 20:19 And this guy said, "No, you guys have nothing." 20:21 He says, "I want you to come over to my house right now." 20:23 And he brought three or four of his half-drunken friends over to 20:26 his house, and his wife greeted them, and he said, 20:30 "Honey, can you get us something to eat?" 20:31 And she went in the kitchen, started cooking. 20:33 Well, it's like, one in the morning, and she began to bring 20:37 out the food and they took a few bites and stabbed it a little 20:40 bit and they said, "Yeah, Zeb, your wife is the nicest 20:42 wife in the world." 20:44 Said, "Who else would put up with this bad behavior?" 20:46 They all kind of slunk out. 20:48 And he came over--she came over to her husband and 20:54 he was alone at the table now. 20:55 His friends had all left and he was crying. 20:58 And she put her arm around him and said, "What's 20:59 the matter, dear?" 21:01 He said, "Why are you so good to me? 21:04 I don't understand why you're so good to me." 21:07 And she said, "Well, God is so good to me and because God loves 21:10 me so much and He's forgiven me so much, that's how I love you." 21:15 And she said, "By the way," she says, 21:17 "when I die, I've got eternal life." 21:19 She said, "You don't. 21:20 The only happiness you're ever going to have is 21:22 what you have in this life. 21:23 So I'm just trying to make you as happy as you can be." 21:28 And he was so brokenhearted by her response 21:30 that he became a Christian. 21:32 Her love transformed him. 21:36 And it works both ways. 21:38 And so, as we look at the love of God, 21:40 that's where the power is. 21:41 Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrated His own love 21:45 towards us in that while we were still sinners," Jesus didn't die 21:49 for us after we were beautiful loving Christians. 21:52 He died for us while we were mean, ornery sinners. 21:57 He died for people that were cursing His name 'cause 21:59 He still loved them. 22:02 So "Monday" section, "The Covenant in the Sacrifice." 22:07 Let's look here. There's a verse, 1 Peter. 22:12 1 Peter 1:18-19: "And knowing that you were not redeemed with 22:17 corruptible things, like silver or gold," it's interesting that 22:20 he says corruptible because silver and gold don't 22:23 corrupt very quickly. 22:24 They last pretty long, but compared to 22:26 eternity they're corruptible. 22:29 "You were redeemed not with corruptible things, like silver 22:31 or gold from your aimless conduct received by the 22:34 tradition of your fathers," sometimes people would--they pay 22:39 some money for forgiveness, you know, some religions teach that 22:43 you can pay for an indulgence or you can make an offering to 22:45 cover your sin, but Peter said, "No, you were redeemed with the 22:53 precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without 22:57 blemish and without spot." 22:59 So in the Bible, there was an ancient practice of an 23:05 indentured slave, one of the ways they could be freed is if 23:10 they somehow had the money or if a friend would pay their master 23:14 the amount owed to free them from their slavery. 23:20 And this, of course, is what the Lord 23:21 did for the children of Israel. 23:23 He came and He interceded and He saved a nation from slavery. 23:29 There was, like, a redemption price that was paid. 23:33 Some of you have read the beautiful story 23:35 in the book of Ruth. 23:38 You know, the book of Ruth is a love story but the book of Ruth 23:41 is a story of redemption. 23:43 It begins with this family of-- is it Elimelech and his sons, 23:51 Milcon and Malcon? 23:54 And they all die. 23:56 They go to Moab and they all die during the famine 23:59 because they're absent. 24:00 Someone else buys their land and after years, Naomi comes home 24:06 with Ruth but now she's lost her land and the only one that has 24:09 the right to get the land back is a near kinsman who can redeem 24:15 the land by marrying Ruth. 24:18 It's an interesting story, but he basically pays the dowry. 24:22 He marries Ruth and he marries back into the family line. 24:27 And so the whole story is a love story and it's 24:29 also a story of redemption. 24:32 Well, this, of course, is an allegory of Jesus paying the 24:35 redemption for our sins. 24:38 The price of our sins is death and Jesus said, "I will redeem 24:42 you from the law, the curse of the law." 24:45 Everyone who is saved is saved from the curse of the law. 24:48 What's the curse of the law? Is the law a cursed thing? 24:50 Not killing, not stealing? Is that cursed? 24:52 No, the curse of the law is the penalty. 24:55 God saves us, He redeems us from the penalty of death, which is 24:58 the curse of the law. 25:00 Some people think that we're saved from the curse of the law 25:02 and that means we don't have to keep the law. 25:04 Doesn't mean that, it means you're saved from 25:05 the curse of the death penalty of the law. 25:08 And so Jesus does this for us. 25:11 If you look here in 1 John 5, verse 11 through 13: "And this 25:19 is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, 25:23 and this life is in His Son. 25:26 He that has the law--Son has life; he that does not have the 25:30 Son of God does not have life. 25:33 These things I've written to you that believe in the name of the 25:37 Son of God, that you might know that you have eternal life, and 25:41 that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." 25:45 This is a powerful verse because how many of you would like to 25:48 know--how much better would your day be if you knew 25:50 you had eternal life? 25:52 If you never had to wonder. 25:55 Now that doesn't mean you go round bragging once you're saved 25:56 you can't be lost. 25:59 It means you've got a sweet confidence that you are abiding 26:01 in Christ and you are saved. 26:03 It's healthy for every believer to examine himself every now and 26:07 then, but God doesn't want us always second-guessing our 26:10 salvation because where could you have happiness as a 26:15 Christian if you're always in doubt whether 26:17 or not you're saved? 26:19 Doesn't the joy come from what is righteousness by faith? 26:22 It's having faith that you're saved. 26:25 And so this is very clear in John that, you know, you just 26:28 are living life that you have confidence that He that began a 26:32 good work in you will finish it. 26:34 I think Christians would look a whole lot more happy, a whole 26:37 lot happier, if we believed that we had eternal life. 26:42 So where does that come from? 26:44 Says, "Believing in the name of the Son of God, that you might 26:48 know you have eternal life, that you might continue to 26:50 believe in the name." 26:51 This is one of the most misunderstood phrases. 26:53 How many of you have maybe seen on TV or heard on the radio 26:57 where some pastor is chanting the name of Jesus and claiming 27:02 the name of Jesus and proclaiming the name of Jesus 27:05 and saying, "In the name of Jesus"? 27:07 Now, there's power in the name of Jesus but I think it's one of 27:09 the most misunderstood statements. 27:12 The name of Jesus is not an abracadabra special word that 27:18 you pronounce that sends the devil running. 27:23 And the reason you've got to know that is I know some people 27:26 that say, "If you pronounce the name of Jesus wrong, 27:29 it doesn't work." 27:32 And you've probably met people that have said, "You must also 27:35 pronounce His name in the original Hebrew." 27:38 Now, in English we would say Jesus's name is Joshua. 27:41 In Hebrew you would say, "Yeshua." 27:44 Do you really think God up in heaven is looking down and when, 27:47 at the end of your prayer, you say, "In Jesus's name," He said, 27:50 "Not hearing that prayer, you said it wrong"? 27:54 Well, that's really where this goes if you 27:56 start believing that. 27:58 That--so what does it mean when it says, "In the name of"? 28:03 In the Bible, "in the name of" is talking about to believe in a 28:07 person's name is to believe in them. 28:10 The name denotes the person and their teachings. 28:15 And He talks about those who are baptized in Moses. 28:17 That's 1 Corinthians 10. What does it mean? 28:20 It means they believed in the teachings of Moses, they 28:22 followed Moses through the Red Sea, they were baptized in the 28:25 sea through following and believing in the 28:27 leadership of Moses. 28:29 So when you are believing in the name of Jesus, it's much more 28:33 than the mention of His name. 28:34 It means the teachings of Jesus. 28:38 Those who believe in His name, Jesus says, "Go baptize in the 28:41 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." 28:44 So when we have baptisms, as we will today, praise the Lord. 28:47 So when we have baptisms and they say, "In the name of the 28:49 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if you say the name 28:53 wrong, is the baptism canceled? 28:57 I was at a baptism one time and a friend of mine, who is a 29:02 pastor, was baptizing a member who was from Mexico. 29:06 English was his second language and the pastor wanted to honor 29:09 that and so he learned how to say it, the proclamation, in 29:13 Spanish, which is something to the effect of, "I baptize you--" 29:17 [speaking foreign language] 29:21 I'm sure I messed that up. It's something like that. 29:24 Well, he got flustered and instead of saying, "In the name 29:26 of the Padre," he said "in the name of the Papa." 29:31 Well, Papa is either potato or Pope in Spanish, and neither one 29:36 of those was right. 29:38 So here's the question. 29:40 Afterward, when he realized that he had messed up, did the guy 29:43 need to go get rebaptized? 29:46 Or did God and the angels smile and say, "We knew that you 29:51 believed you were being baptized in the name of the Father, 29:54 Son, and Holy Spirit"? 29:57 Do you know, if a pastor during a wedding-- 29:58 a wedding's a covenant, you know that? 30:01 A wedding is a holy covenant. 30:02 And in a wedding, when the pastor says, "Do you," you know, 30:07 "Bill, take you, Jane," and, ha, 30:15 I don't know if I dare tell you this. 30:19 I mean, wherever your level of respect is before now, it's not 30:22 going to go up any higher, I know, if I tell you this, but I 30:26 don't know if it could go any lower so I'll take a risk. 30:30 You know, when I do weddings, I write in the name of the husband 30:35 and wife so I don't mess it up. 30:37 And then--I do a lot of weddings. 30:39 I don't--I hope you won't disrespect me, but I try to 30:42 tailor them all where they're a little bit unique but they're 30:44 not all completely 100% new. 30:47 So sometimes, I recycle them, say, you know, this is a whole 30:51 different audience, they've not heard this wedding sermon before 30:53 and it's a good sermon, I want to use it again. 30:55 Is that okay? Does that make sense? 30:58 So I'm doing this wedding and I forget to change the names. 31:02 [laughing] 31:06 Do I need to say any more? 31:10 So while I'm doing the wedding, I got--I think I changed the 31:14 girl's name but I forgot to change the guy's name. 31:17 And when I said the name, he went, "Norman?" 31:23 Well, they all got a laugh out of it, and I, of course, 31:26 turned bright red. 31:28 But they were still married at the end of the day. 31:33 So--and I did get his name right before it was all over. 31:36 So the thing to really emphasize though is it's the covenant. 31:41 It's the covenant, it's the teachings of the individual 31:44 being baptized in the name. 31:46 All right, under "Tuesday's" section, 31:48 "The Faith of Abraham, Part 1." 31:51 Genesis 15, verse 6. 31:53 And this is that famous verse that we've quoted already from 31:56 our memory verse: "And he believed in the Lord," now this 32:00 is where God promised Abraham that in spite of the fact he had 32:03 no children, "Your descendants are going to be in multitude 32:07 like the stars of heaven and like the sand by the seashore," 32:12 and even though Abraham is old and he has no children, he said, 32:16 "Lord, nothing's too hard for You; I believe You." 32:19 And because of Abraham's faith, God counted it 32:22 to him for righteousness. 32:24 And, you know, Jesus often said, "Be it unto you 32:29 according to your faith." 32:32 Faith is one of the single most important components, if not 32:35 the most important component in salvation. 32:38 I just typed up a few references here to try to accentuate this. 32:43 2 Samuel 22:31: "As for God, His way is perfect. 32:48 The Word of the Lord is proven. 32:50 He is a shield to all who trust in Him." 32:54 God is a shield for those who have faith in Him. 32:57 Psalm 9, verse 10: "And those who know Your name will put 33:00 their trust in You, for You have not forsaken 33:04 those who seek You." 33:05 Psalm 147, verse 11: "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear 33:09 Him and those who hope in His mercy," and 33:12 trusting in His mercy. 33:14 Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 33:17 Lean not on your own understanding. 33:19 In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." 33:22 It's a great verse for young people getting out of college. 33:26 Proverbs 29:25: "The fear of man brings a snare but whoever 33:29 trusts in the Lord will be safe." 33:33 Isaiah 26, verse 3: "You will keep him in perfect peace." 33:36 Who wants that? 33:37 "Whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You." 33:40 So there again, should a believer have faith? 33:43 Based on what? 33:45 They trust in the Lord. 33:49 Jeremiah 17:7: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and 33:53 those who hope in God." 33:55 Jesus, when He healed people, He turned around. 33:58 He said to the woman, "Be of good cheer, daughter. 34:00 Your faith has made you well." 34:03 In Matthew 21:21, Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I 34:06 say to you, if you've got faith and do not doubt, you'll not 34:09 only do what was done to the fig tree, but you'll say to this 34:12 mountain, 'Be removed and it will be cast into the sea," 34:14 and it will be done.'" 34:16 Over and over through the Bible, 34:17 God talks about the importance of faith. 34:20 "Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, 34:23 you will receive." 34:24 So Abraham is--God is so pleased with Abraham because he believes 34:29 what evidently is impossible and God says, "Look, if you believe, 34:33 I will honor your faith." 34:36 I don't want to overplay this story but you're sitting in a 34:41 building a lot of--there's a lot of faith that went into this. 34:47 I mean, doing what many said was impossible, you know, many times 34:53 I felt it was impossible. 34:56 But I thought, "Lord, I believe if You've put this on my heart 35:00 and the hearts of others, that You will bring it to pass." 35:03 And God never fails, does He? 35:06 So, believe. 35:09 Now, going back to Abraham. 35:11 Romans 4, verse 2 through 5: "For if Abraham was justified by 35:15 works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 35:19 For what does the Scripture say? 35:22 Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him," 35:25 that means it's credited to him, "as righteousness. 35:28 Now to him who works, the wages are not 35:30 counted as a grace but a debt." 35:32 If I go work for you all week long and at the end of the week 35:35 you say, "Okay, I've got a gift for you," and you hand me my 35:37 paycheck, I'll say, "No, sirree, this is not a gift. 35:40 You owe it. 35:41 It is a debt you owe me," right? 35:44 So, it can't be a debt. 35:47 "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who," it 35:50 doesn't mean you don't do good works. 35:51 It means, "But him who doesn't trust in his works, but believes 35:54 on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is 35:57 accounted for righteousness." 36:01 "For the wages of sin are death," Romans 6:23, "but the 36:04 gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 36:08 So it's a gift. 36:10 Now, going--look at back at Romans 4:20: "Abraham," it's 36:13 saying, "did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, 36:18 but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and 36:21 being fully convinced that what He," God, "had promised He was 36:25 able to perform. 36:27 And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness." 36:29 Okay, that's such a great verse. Think about this for a second. 36:32 What God had promised He's able to perform. 36:38 What promises has God made to you? 36:41 Did God promise that if you come to Me I will in 36:44 no wise let you go? 36:46 Is He able to perform that? 36:48 If you believe. 36:51 Did Jesus promise that He has suffered enough to cover all the 36:55 sins you ever committed or will commit? 36:58 He did. Do you believe that? 37:03 And so you start going through the promises that God has made 37:05 connected with your salvation and it says God is pleased if 37:08 you believe He can finish the work that He 37:10 started in your life. 37:12 This is why faith is so crucial to just your peace. 37:16 Galatians 3, verse 6 through 9. 37:19 This is a often-referenced verse: "Just as Abraham 37:22 believed God, and it was accounted to him 37:24 for righteousness; therefore know that only 37:27 those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 37:31 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the 37:33 Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, 37:38 saying, 'In you all the nations,'" not just the Jews, 37:41 "'but in you all the nations will be blessed.' 37:44 So then those who are of faith are blessed 37:47 with believing Abraham." 37:50 All the promises that God made to Israel belong 37:52 to you if you believe, that's what He's saying. 37:56 All that He promised for Abraham is ours. 37:58 Abraham believed God and it was accounted 38:01 to him for righteousness. 38:02 He was called the friend of God. 38:04 And you see that a man is justified by works 38:08 and not by faith alone. 38:11 So it's interesting that James is saying God--that Abraham 38:16 showed his faith in God when he offered Isaac. 38:20 Now, why did he do that? 38:22 You remember, God said, "Through your seed all the 38:24 world's going to be blessed," and then God says, "Okay, 38:29 I've given you that son. 38:31 It's going to be through Sarah's son, not Ishmael. 38:34 Through Sarah's son, Isaac, all the world's going to be blessed, 38:36 all the nations are going to be blessed. 38:38 Okay, Abraham, let's see if you really believe Me. 38:40 Take him and kill him. 38:42 Offer him for a sacrifice." 38:45 Does Abraham obey? 38:46 He goes to the point of just about bringing down the knife. 38:49 God knew that he was ready to go all the way through with it. 38:52 Why could he do that? 38:54 The key is found in Hebrews 11, verse 17: "By faith when tested, 39:00 Abraham offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promise 39:05 offered up his only begotten son," notice it doesn't talk 39:08 about Ishmael, "of whom it is said, in 39:10 Isaac your seed shall be called." 39:12 Why did he do that?" 39:13 "Concluding," verse 19, "God was able to raise him, even from the 39:18 dead, and which he also received him in a figure." 39:21 It looked like Isaac was dead and he sort of was raised 39:23 up by the angel, just as Jesus was dead and an angel 39:26 opened the prison door so it's a figure of that. 39:29 But Abraham said, "God, You promised through Isaac You're 39:32 going to make me a great nation. 39:33 I don't know how You're going to do it but I believe, 39:35 even if I kill him, You can raise him up." 39:37 Now, there had not been a lot of resurrections in the Bible 39:40 at the time Abraham did that. 39:42 Can you name one? 39:46 Elijah's resurrecting the boy, Elisha resurrecting a boy, 39:49 Elisha's bones resurrecting a man. 39:52 All that came after Abraham. 39:54 So how much faith did it take Abraham to believe that God 39:57 could actually raise Isaac up? 39:58 They'd never seen that. 40:01 So that's why he believed in that. 40:05 And then Genesis 26, verse 4 and 5: "And I will make your 40:08 descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give 40:11 your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the 40:14 nations of the earth will be blessed; because Abraham obeyed 40:18 My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, 40:21 My statutes, and My laws." 40:23 Notice the connection between believing and how does Abraham 40:27 show his belief? 40:29 He "obeyed My voice, kept My charge, My commandments, My 40:33 statutes, and My laws." 40:35 I've got to throw that in for those who think you just believe 40:37 and live like the world. 40:39 The way that you show your belief, "whosoever believeth in 40:41 Jesus shall not perish." 40:43 What does it mean to believe in Jesus? 40:45 Believe in the name and the teachings of Jesus, and that 40:49 means following Him. 40:51 Okay, "Faith of Abraham, Part 2." 40:56 If you look again at Genesis 15:6, we can see that various 41:01 translations reckon the term "that's counted," 41:04 means accounted it to him as righteousness, it's from the 41:08 Hebrew-- [speaking foreign language] 41:11 or reckoned or credited or accounted. 41:15 You find similar examples of that in, like, Genesis 15--or 41:19 Genesis 31:15, the daughters of Laban said, "Are we not counted 41:24 as strangers by him? 41:26 For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money." 41:29 They're looking--Laban looked upon his daughters as strangers, 41:33 instead of as his daughters. 41:35 Well, God looks upon us as sons, it's the same word, because of 41:39 faith in Christ. 41:41 Leviticus 7:18: "And if the flesh of the sacrifice, the 41:46 peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not 41:50 be accepted," it'll not be counted, "it will not be imputed 41:53 to him," because that was supposed to be unclean after 41:56 that three days, the time of Christ in the tomb. 42:01 Anything beyond that was considered rotten or unclean, 42:04 and they got no credit for that. 42:05 It had to still be pure. 42:06 So using that same word, God is saying, "I'm giving you credit, 42:11 I'm looking upon you as my own son." 42:14 When you accept the faith and the blood of Jesus in your 42:16 behalf, God looks upon you as thought you have 42:20 the same righteousness as His Son. 42:21 It's counted to you as righteousness. 42:25 So all right, let's move along. 42:28 I've got a couple of things I'm going to have 42:30 to skip or I won't get to this. 42:31 "Resting on the Promises," this is the last section, Thursday. 42:35 And I want to point to 1 Samuel 1:17-18. 42:39 You remember the story where Hannah, she doesn't have a son. 42:42 She's barren. 42:44 Peninnah has got a lot of children. 42:45 Peninnah's persecuting or harassing Hannah and 42:49 making her life miserable. 42:50 Hannah goes to the temple. She's weeping, she's not eating. 42:53 She goes to the temple, she prays, 42:54 and she makes a promise to God: "Lord, if You 42:57 will give me a son, I will dedicate that son to You. 43:00 He'll be a Nazarite, no razor will come upon his head. 43:03 Please have mercy on me. Give me a child. 43:05 Not for me, because I'll give him back to You, but just so 43:10 I'll know that You've not forsaken me and that 43:12 You're still with me." 43:14 And so Eli sees her lips moving. 43:16 He has no idea what she's praying. 43:18 First, he thinks she's drunk. 43:19 She says, "I'm not drunk. I'm just praying." 43:21 He says, "Oh, okay, I didn't understand." 43:22 Now listen to what Eli says. 43:23 "He answers and says, 'Go in peace, and the God of Israel 43:27 grant you your petition which you have asked of Him.' 43:31 And she said, 'Let your maidservant 43:32 find favor in your sight.'" 43:34 Very similar to what Mary said to the angel. 43:36 "So the woman went her way," and notice, it says, "She ate and 43:43 she drank, and her face was no longer sad." 43:48 Was she pregnant yet? 43:51 As far as we know she and Elkanah had not 43:54 even gone home yet. 43:57 Why is she happy? 43:59 She has faith that God has spoken through the high priest 44:02 and God has heard her prayer. 44:04 So what happens as a result of her faith? 44:07 Does she get pregnant? Does she have a son? 44:10 She keeps her promise and God gives her five more kids. 44:13 Be careful what you pray for, amen? 44:16 So automatically, she feels differently and what she's 44:20 prayed for, because she believes, even the priest who 44:22 speaks doesn't even know he's speaking it. 44:26 But because she believes the Word of God, God honors 44:28 and blesses her. 44:30 She resting on the promise. 44:32 Some of you remember the story in the Bible where Nathan the 44:36 prophet told David, this is 1 Chronicles 22, verse 9: "Behold, 44:41 a son will be born to you, who will be a man of rest; and I 44:44 will give him rest from all of his enemies all around. 44:47 His name will be Solomon, for I will give him peace," 44:50 Solomon is similar to shalom. 44:52 "I will give him peace and quietness to 44:53 Israel for his days. 44:56 He will build a house for My name, and he will be My son, and 44:59 I will be his Father; and I will establish the 45:01 throne of his kingdom forever." 45:03 All right, so what does David do as soon as he 45:05 hears that promise? 45:06 He begins to assemble materials, to amass materials, to build the 45:10 temple 'cause he believes the promise of God, the temple's 45:13 going to be built by the son. 45:15 Does it happen? 45:17 Does Solomon build the temple? He does. 45:20 So David has the promise and he acts upon the promise. 45:23 I wonder how many times in life we have missed miracles because 45:28 we don't step out in faith and believe. 45:31 And if you look back over your life, how many times can you see 45:33 that because you believed in something and you went towards 45:36 it, it happened? 45:38 It's not that we performed self-fulfilling prophecies but I 45:42 think faith plays a lot bigger role in our lives than sometimes 45:46 we give it credit for. 45:48 We are out of time, but we made it through most of the lesson. 45:51 I want to remind those who are watching, if you missed at 45:53 the beginning, we have a free offer. 45:55 It's called "God Drew the Plans." 45:57 We'll send this to you by simply asking. 45:59 Call 866-788-3966, that's 866-Study-More. 46:05 Ask for offer number 129 and after you read it, share 46:09 it with a friend. 46:11 Well, thank you for studying the Word of God 46:12 with us today, friends. 46:13 And we're looking forward to our last lesson on 46:16 the covenants next week, and then we'll enter a new quarter. 46:19 God bless you. 46:22 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 46:24 life-changing free resource. 46:26 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 46:28 download a digital copy straight to your computer 46:30 or mobile device. 46:31 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 46:35 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 46:40 shown on your screen. 46:41 And be sure to select a digital download option 46:44 on the request page. 46:45 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 46:48 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want. 46:51 And most important, to share it with others. 46:55 male: I grew up in a church-going family. 46:59 I mean, we were at every meeting. 47:00 I sang in four of the choirs there, I directed three. 47:04 Very involved, very active. 47:08 It almost seemed like busy work sometimes, you know? 47:11 I went to Sunday school, I knew about God, I knew 47:14 about Jesus. 47:17 But I didn't have a personal relationship with 47:19 Jesus Christ. 47:21 My senior year in high school I got the news that 47:26 my father had been murdered. 47:30 Now, I played it off well. 47:32 No one really saw that I was struggling with it. 47:38 It just really felt like there was a hole that 47:40 needed to be filled and I tried to fill it with 47:43 drugs, with alcohol, with partying. 47:47 After college, I just stopped going to church altogether. 47:54 One day, on a Sunday, 'cause I didn't feel like 47:56 going to church with my mom, I thought, you know, 48:00 "I should get a little bit of Word." 48:04 She had the satellite system hooked up and I'm 48:06 flipping through channels. 48:07 And then the logo pops across, "Amazing Facts Presents." 48:12 I've listened to a lot of different ministers but 48:14 this was the first time that he's actually saying 48:17 something where I had to grab my Bible and actually 48:19 pick it up and I've never heard this before. 48:22 Let me look through and find this. 48:24 I went through all the historicals, I went 48:26 through all the study guides and I just 48:28 couldn't get enough. 48:29 And then the Sabbath came up and he's going through 48:32 the appeal and I'm just going, "Lord, I hear You. 48:35 I have to go to church." 48:37 So I show up. 48:39 It was funny, I didn't feel like I was going to 48:41 be judged, anything judgmental, anything. 48:45 And I walked in the door, and I just felt at home. 48:48 But there's still a problem. 48:51 I'm still partying. 48:53 I was still going out to the bars. 48:55 At this time, I was selling cocaine to pay my rent. 49:00 Sixteen days later, I find myself in a life or 49:03 death situation. 49:05 I had just came back from a liquor store and I 49:07 grabbed a bottle of vodka. 49:10 And there I am, high off cocaine, with my Bible in 49:14 hand, trying to do a Bible study. 49:18 And I heard an audible voice, "Just look at yourself." 49:25 And I did, and I was, like, "What am I doing?" 49:30 And I got on my knees and I said, "Lord, if You do 49:33 not take this away from me now, I'm going to kill myself." 49:39 I was going to continue this lifestyle and I was 49:41 going to end up overdosing, having a heart 49:44 attack, whatever it was. 49:47 "You have to take this away, all of it." 49:53 And that day, He lift it all up and away from me. 49:57 It was all gone. 49:59 When God does something in your life, He does it complete. 50:05 ♪♪♪ 50:13 ♪♪♪ 50:27 announcer: "Amazing Facts" change lives. 50:35 female: Well, my conversion story is when I was in the 50:39 Philippines, I just graduated as a nurse and afterwards I did not 50:45 have any religion and one time I found myself inside a small 50:51 church, Catholic church, in Manila, and before a big cross. 50:58 And I was kneeling before and I could hear Jesus telling me to 51:04 enter the convent, save myself and also my family. 51:09 And I said, "Lord, I would like to follow You all the way." 51:12 At that point, I seemed to be happy externally, but because 51:16 inside the convent we don't read the Bible, we don't study about 51:21 the Word of God. 51:22 We prayed the rosaries, we also at the same time studied the 51:26 lives of the saints and also our founders, and the encyclicals of 51:31 the Pope and the Virgin Mary. 51:35 And so I do not know the truth and I had this torture of 51:38 conscience, the guilty feelings that cannot be resolved. 51:43 So I would confess to the priest in the confessional box, saying, 51:47 "Father, forgive me, since my last confession was last week. 51:52 Since then I have committed the following 51:54 sin," including the root cause. 51:56 Why am I falling and falling in that same 51:59 sin over and over again? 52:02 And still for 21 long years, I struggle and I 52:06 struggle and I struggle. 52:09 I realized that I was totally empty, I was totally 52:14 helpless and hopeless. 52:16 And so depressed and so desperate that I would like 52:20 already to end my life. 52:22 I was working for five years as dean of the University of San 52:26 Agustin College of Nursing in Iloilo City, one of the islands 52:31 in the Philippines. 52:33 After five years I received a commission from my parents to 52:38 help my sister who is being a battered woman. 52:43 This is one of the reasons why I came over to United States. 52:48 It is because my sister needs my help. 52:52 As I was working in the hospital in New York, my boss-- 52:55 he was so gracious enough to give me an invitation 52:59 to the Millennium Prophecy. 53:01 As I was listening to Pastor Doug Batchelor's presentation, 53:06 my heart really was beating so fast, and my mind, I'm able to 53:11 grasp the truth, that this is the truth that I've been longing 53:17 to hear all my life, that I have been seeking for so long. 53:22 My personal relationship with Jesus, I can see Jesus 53:27 as my personal Savior. 53:29 He is not only the Savior of the whole world but He is my 53:33 personal Savior. 53:35 He was the one who delivered me mightily from the depths of sin, 53:41 from the mighty clay. 53:43 Pastor Doug Batchelor has been used by the Lord 53:47 in my conversion. 53:48 The Amazing Facts, I owe to them. 53:51 The Lord really blessed this ministry and I'm so proud I was 53:57 able to attend this Millennium Prophecy. 54:00 My life has never been the same. 54:03 It has given me the peace, the joy, that never--I have never 54:10 tasted in my life, and now I am set free to be able 54:15 to work for Him and to follow Him. 54:31 announcer: "Amazing Facts" change lives. 54:38 male: I met my ex-wife, and her family were 54:41 real big into drugs. 54:42 And it started out with them wanting me to go 54:45 to the doctor to help get them drugs. 54:47 And you know, I'm noticing they're going to the doctor, 54:50 they're coming back with like 60 pills, 54:52 and they're selling these pills for like 1,000 bucks. 54:54 And I'm thinking, "Wow, this is a lot of money I'm giving 54:57 these people, so I'm just going to start selling it myself." 55:00 My problem with that was that we had all this money, 55:04 but we was absolutely miserable. 55:06 She would go out and sleep with other guys to get drugs, 55:10 and that ended my marriage. 55:12 But during this time, I have to get a job to build back up 55:16 to where I was at, to open my shop again, 55:18 so I get a job at Food City. 55:19 And when I get this job at Food City, 55:22 there's my wife now, Rebecca. 55:24 She's a cashier there. 55:26 And when I walk in, she's the most beautiful girl 55:29 I've ever seen in my life. 55:30 I was like, "Man, I could never have a girl like that. 55:34 Wow, she's so beautiful." 55:35 But as I'm working with her, she's actually kind of mean to 55:38 me, and she's saying, "I don't want anything to do with you. 55:42 Get away from me," stuff like that. 55:44 But you know, I just keep being nice to her and keep tryin' 55:47 to give her my phone number. 55:49 And it's around Christmas Eve, we'd just been dating 55:52 for a little while, moved in together, 55:54 my ex-wife shows up with my three children 55:57 that I had by her. 55:59 And she's like, "Here's your kids. 56:01 Here's their birth certificates. 56:02 Here's their social security cards. 56:04 I'm done." 56:05 And we were starting a family, we already have three kids. 56:08 During this time, we spent the next year watching nothing but 56:12 "Amazing Facts" on YouTube. 56:14 I didn't even know they even had a website at this time. 56:16 I just knew that this little guy on YouTube was super smart, 56:20 was teaching Bible, and I wanted to follow him. 56:23 I wanted to be a Christian. 56:25 I gave my life to God now because of these truths 56:27 that I'm learning from Doug Bachelor. 56:29 Just because Doug taught it didn't make me real sure 56:32 about going to this church. 56:34 I really didn't want anything to do with it. 56:36 But I called the guy up and I'm telling him, 56:38 and I'm not very nice about it actually. 56:40 I'm telling him, "Look, we was thinkin' about coming 56:42 into your church," and he's really nice. 56:45 He's like, "Well, you're more than welcome to. 56:47 We'd like to have you come." 56:49 And I'm like, "Well, hold on. 56:50 I'm going to lay down some ground rules." 56:52 I'm tellin' him, I said, "Look here, 56:54 I'm covered in tattoos and I'm a tattoo artist," 56:56 and he don't say, "Well, you know, wow. 56:59 I didn't know all that. Don't come to my church." 57:01 He says, "You're more than welcome. 57:02 We would love to have you. 57:04 Please come." 57:07 He asked me what I want to do and I said, 57:08 "Well, I want to preach." 57:10 I said, "I have all these truths. 57:12 I have all this knowledge, stuff I've never known before, 57:15 stuff if I'd've had when I was younger that would've been 57:17 life-changing to me," I said, "I got to share this 57:21 with the world." 57:23 I said, "I want to preach. I want to teach." 57:25 He gives me the book, says, "Study that." 57:27 Well, now that I'm a Bible worker, 57:29 I'm able to go reach people that most of the normal churches 57:33 wouldn't even bother to even speak to. 57:35 I'm able to go out and reach the people who have lived 57:38 the life that I've lived. 57:40 I'm able to let them know that I am like you. 57:43 I've been there. I've done that. 57:45 I want to show you what my life is like now. 57:48 I'm want to teach you this Bible. 57:50 I want to show you what Jesus can do for you. 57:52 It's not too late. 57:57 ♪♪♪ 58:07 ♪♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪♪ 58:23 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-06-15