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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:31 ♪♪♪ 00:37 Luccas Rodor: Hi, friends, welcome to the Sabbath School 00:38 Study Hour here in Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh-day Adventist 00:41 Church, in the Greater Sacramento area 00:44 here in California. 00:46 I'm so glad that you've decided to invest this hour 00:48 of study here with us. 00:49 I'm sure that you will be blessed by it. 00:52 Today we will be setting the first lesson 00:55 of our new quarterly. 00:57 The title of the entire quarterly is "Rest in Christ." 01:00 And so, this quarter I'm sure that it will be a blessing. 01:03 We'll be setting how we can truly rest in God and a society 01:08 that is so full of the rat race and running everywhere and doing 01:13 so many things. 01:14 We can truly learn how to rest in Jesus Christ. 01:17 Today will be the first lesson of this new quarter, and the 01:22 title of the first lesson is "Living in a 24/7 Society." 01:27 You know, we live in a society that it seems as though 01:30 it's always awake. 01:31 It's always awake. 01:33 There's always people running somewhere, going somewhere, busy 01:36 doing things, busy, busy, busy. 01:38 And we truly need to learn how to rest in Jesus. 01:41 And so today, Pastor Shawn will be leading out. 01:44 I'd also like to welcome our local community 01:46 that is here with us. 01:48 If you still don't have the new quarterly, 01:50 it's outside in the foyer. 01:51 I'm sure that one of our hosts will be able 01:53 to provide one for you. 01:54 So please don't leave today without getting one 01:57 of our new quarterlies. 01:58 Now before we do begin and actually get into the lesson and 02:01 before I invite our choristers to come out and sing praise for 02:04 us, I would like to invite you to take advantage 02:08 of our free offer. 02:10 The title of today's free offer is "The Rest of Your Life." 02:13 It really walks hand in hand with our quarterly today. 02:16 And if you'd like a copy, a physical copy, you can call the 02:20 number 866-788-3966 or 866-Study-More 02:27 and you can ask for Offer 813. 02:30 Again, it's offer number 813. 02:32 And so if you're on the continental North America, 02:35 if you're on the continental North America, you can send 02:38 a text to SH086 and that goes to number 40544. 02:45 Or if you're outside of North America, you can go to 02:48 study.aftv.org/SH086. 02:55 And I'm sure that you will be very blessed by this free offer. 02:58 I'd like to invite our choristers to come out and sing 03:01 a song of praise for us before we start our study. 03:05 ♪♪♪ 03:09 ♪ How sweet are the tidings that greet the pilgrim's ear, ♪ 03:15 ♪ as he wanders in exile from home. ♪ 03:21 ♪ Soon, soon will the Savior in glory appear, ♪ 03:27 ♪ and soon will the kingdom come. ♪ 03:33 ♪ He's coming, coming, coming soon I know, ♪ 03:39 ♪ coming back to this earth again; ♪ 03:45 ♪ and the weary pilgrims will to glory go, ♪ 03:52 ♪ when the Savior comes to reign. ♪ 03:58 ♪ The mossy old graves where the pilgrims sleep ♪ 04:03 ♪ shall be open as wide as before, ♪ 04:09 ♪ and the millions that sleep in the mighty deep ♪ 04:14 ♪ shall live on this earth once more. ♪ 04:20 ♪ He's coming, coming, coming soon I know, ♪ 04:26 ♪ coming back to this earth again; ♪ 04:31 ♪ and the weary pilgrims will to glory go, ♪ 04:38 ♪ when the Savior comes to reign. ♪ 04:44 ♪ Hallelujah, Amen. ♪ 04:46 ♪ Hallelujah again. ♪ 04:49 ♪ Soon, if faithful, we all shall be there; ♪ 04:54 ♪ Oh, be watchful, be hopeful, be joyful 'til then, ♪ 04:59 ♪ and a crown of bright glory we'll wear. ♪ 05:05 ♪ He's coming, coming, coming soon I know, ♪ 05:11 ♪ coming back to this earth again; ♪ 05:16 ♪ and the weary pilgrims will to glory go, ♪ 05:24 ♪ when the Savior comes to reign. ♪♪ 05:33 Luccas: Dear Father, I praise Your name 05:35 because You are worthy of praise. 05:37 This morning, as we open Your Word, Father, and try to learn 05:41 about rest in You, I ask You to bless our hearts and our minds, 05:46 Father, open our understanding. 05:49 Please bless Pastor Shawn's lips and his mind and his heart as he 05:51 leads out for us, Lord. 05:53 Pour over him Your Holy Spirit so that he might teach 05:55 powerfully and that we might truly learn that rest is Christ, 06:00 and when we have Christ we have rest. 06:02 I ask You for these things in the name of Jesus, 06:04 amen and amen. 06:07 Shawn Brummund: Today we are looking at the first 06:09 quarter--the first lesson study of a new quarterly entitled 06:13 "Rest in Christ." 06:15 And I'd like to begin by sharing a bit of a story, and this 06:19 story--as the story goes, there was a passenger plane that was 06:24 making its way across the skies from one major city here 06:29 in America to another. 06:30 And fortunately, as it rarely happens, the pilot found himself 06:36 in a very challenging situation in the fact that there was not 06:40 any alternative route that he could take and he was required 06:44 to make his way and his passenger plane through a very 06:49 serious lightning storm. 06:51 Now, the pilot knew that the rate of survival was almost 100% 06:55 and so he wasn't all that concerned but he knew it was 06:58 going to be very concerning for the passengers. 07:00 And so, sure enough, he's on the speaker and the communication 07:08 with the passengers and, as he goes, he says as in a calming, 07:12 most calming voice he can, he says, "Listen, folks. 07:15 We are going to be approaching and needing to make our way 07:17 through a fairly serious lightning storm that's ahead 07:21 and they're going to ask that you please fastened 07:24 and tighten your seatbelts. 07:26 We do have quite a ride ahead of us." 07:29 And so everybody, of course, obeyed very quickly and, sure 07:33 enough, all of a sudden as they made their way into this ominous 07:36 dark raincloud in front, with different flashes of sheet 07:41 lightning lighting up the sky in different directions, the plane 07:45 started to do its thing as it was being thrown around, 07:49 literally, by the different currents that were in that as 07:53 well as the drama of having these sheets 07:55 of lightning flash outside. 07:57 And at one point it got so violent and it lifted up and 08:01 went down again so quickly that one of the stewardesses that was 08:05 still trying to make her way towards the back was thrown into 08:08 the laps of one of the passengers. 08:11 Some of the overhead bins started to open up. 08:14 It was enough to be able to get at least one of the women in the 08:16 back of the plane to be able to kind of let out a short scream. 08:21 And everybody got very tense and white knuckled. 08:25 There was a number of people that started to envision the 08:27 lightning bolts at some point coming down and hitting one of 08:30 the engines on the plane and--or one of the wings falling off, 08:34 and all of them very quickly careening to the ground 08:36 and to their death. 08:38 And so it was a very, very difficult time for everybody in 08:41 that plane except for the pilot. 08:43 He was fairly calm and he knew what he was doing, 08:46 where he was going. 08:47 Every other passenger was scared out of their wits except 08:51 for one little girl. 08:53 And this little girl was coloring away in her coloring 08:54 book on her lap in the very front seat of the plane. 08:58 And she was right beside the window and she was just calmly 09:02 and very quietly coloring in her coloring book. 09:07 And every once in a while, she would look up through the small 09:09 window of her plane and of her seat and be able to look at one 09:14 of the more outstanding flashes of lightning that was making its 09:17 show outside of the plane. 09:19 And then she would just calmly and quietly return back 09:21 to her coloring. 09:23 Well, of course, when the plane finally made its way through the 09:25 storm and kind of touched down onto the landing strip of the 09:28 airport at which they were aiming for, there was a great 09:32 sigh of relief, there was clapping, there was cheering, 09:35 there was this kind of great kind of very clear emotional 09:39 relief that came upon the rest of the passengers. 09:43 As those passengers started to exit the plane, as we always do, 09:48 one of the men couldn't help but stop and talk to the little girl 09:51 and said, "You know, we couldn't help but notice that the entire 09:53 time all of us were scared of our wits but when we kept 09:57 looking at you, you were so calm and you were not showing any 10:01 sign of fear whatsoever and--what's your secret?" 10:05 And she looked up and she goes, "Oh, that's easy. 10:07 I wasn't scared at all. 10:09 As it turns out, my daddy is the pilot and I knew that he was 10:13 taking me home." 10:17 You know, it's interesting, as we come into this year, 2021, we 10:22 are--as we continue to make our way through this year, 2021, 10:26 mankind has entered into one of the most unstable years and 10:30 experiences that we've had in a very long, long time. 10:35 The USA, Canada, and I'm sure many other nations have taken 10:38 an economic hit along with a massive spending spree in 10:44 stimulus checks that has everyone holding our breath 10:47 for the future. 10:49 Many thinking people know that there is a good chance that all 10:52 the efforts to protect ourselves from the harm of one single 10:56 virus may lead us--may lead us into another storm 11:00 that may be--that may be worse than the first. 11:05 Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm just like you. 11:07 I am not God. I am not a prophet. 11:10 I do not know exactly what tomorrow will bring 11:12 or next week or next month. 11:14 I know that there are some unstable and concerning factors 11:18 that we have such as I have just mentioned here that many 11:21 thinking people are asking and concerned about. 11:26 But one thing that I have done is that I have studied the 11:29 teachings of the Bible and Christ very carefully 11:31 over the years. 11:33 And they both are telling me that we are on the very 11:35 precipice of very unprecedented times. 11:39 As Jesus told His first followers, that when we see the 11:43 leafless tree starting to form those buds on the end of its 11:46 branches, that even so we know that summer is near. 11:50 Jesus says, "So it is with the return of Christ to this earth." 11:53 You can know when you start to see these signs that the return 11:57 of Christ is very close, that it is very near. 12:02 Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke that indeed will we--we 12:06 will experience the distress of all nations, and we got a 12:10 preview of that over the last year. 12:14 The distress of all nations. 12:17 And the events and circumstances that lie ahead of us are going 12:20 to prove themselves deep and challenging. 12:24 Friends, we have arrived at a time when two of the freest 12:26 nations on the planet, that of the United States of America and 12:30 Canada, have experienced our governments challenging our 12:33 freedoms on levels that this generation 12:35 has never seen before. 12:38 We have arrived at a time when more than one of America's 12:40 greatest cities are giving notoriously violent and 12:44 historically dangerous cities and countries like El Salvador 12:48 and Honduras and Guatemala, a run for their money. 12:53 An increase in violent crimes is rampant and growing across this 12:58 nation and the nations of the world. 13:01 We have arrived at a time right here in America when there are 13:04 more mass shootings than there are days in the year. 13:10 And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has told us that men's 13:13 hearts would be failing them from fear and the expectation of 13:16 those things that are coming upon the earth. 13:21 We have arrived at a time when we are far more fearful of the 13:24 oncoming climate change than we are in the very soon 13:28 Coming of Jesus Christ and the great Judgment Day. 13:33 But in the middle of this brewing storm, the Lord and the 13:36 Savior, Jesus Christ Himself, continues to offer the same 13:40 invitation that He offered when He was on earth the first time: 13:43 "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will 13:49 give you rest," as many of you know that great invitation. 13:55 As many of you have experienced the great invitation that Jesus 13:58 gave some 2000 years ago, "And I will give you rest. 14:02 Take My yoke upon Me--upon you," Jesus says, "and learn from Me 14:09 for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you shall 14:15 find rest for your souls." 14:21 "For My yoke is easy," Jesus says, "and My burden is light." 14:27 Thank God for Jesus, amen? 14:31 Now when Jesus says His yoke is easy and take His yoke upon you, 14:34 now today in today's English and in today's thinking because we 14:38 are so far removed from the previous days and methods of 14:41 farming that the only yoke that we know of in our generation is 14:44 that yellow part at the center of an egg. 14:48 But that's not the yoke that Jesus is offering to us. 14:50 That's the yoke that Jesus invites us to be able to take 14:53 upon ourselves, but rather we have to go previous to the 14:56 tractors, previous to the combustible engine and the 15:00 combines and all the other modern equipment and machinery 15:02 that our farmers are using today and we have to go back to where 15:05 we were still using the oxen. 15:08 And when the farmer took the two most powerful oxen together to 15:11 be able to plow his fields, why, he would take the yoke. 15:15 And this was a kind of a--it looked like a round "M," you 15:19 know, and it's made of wood with some metal reinforcements and 15:23 attachments and so on, and that yoke would be placed upon 15:26 the--upon the neck of those two oxen that they might be able to 15:28 use double the strength, to combine the strength of the oxen 15:32 together that they might have twice the horsepower, 15:36 twice the ox power. 15:40 And Jesus tells us that He wants us to take His yoke upon Him 15:43 that we might be able to walk together even as 15:45 the two yoke walk together. 15:47 Now, I can tell you, unlike the two oxen which are equal in 15:50 strength, the yoke that Jesus offers to--for us to take upon 15:53 ourselves, that we might walk with Him with that yoke on our 15:56 neck and as His as we walk through life together, as you 16:00 can guess, His side of the partnership is tremendously more 16:04 stronger than our side. 16:08 And unless the two ox that are equal in strength, Jesus takes 16:11 the vast majority of the burden upon Himself. 16:16 And that's why He could use that illustration 16:18 in this great invitation. 16:20 "Take My yoke upon Me," "Upon you," I should say. 16:23 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 16:26 Why? 16:27 Because Jesus is the powerful ox that moves us through life, that 16:31 moves us through the storms that come with this life. 16:34 Now, all of us, from Adam and Eve to you and I here today, 16:37 have all experienced and will experience storms in this life. 16:40 That is what comes with a package of living life out in a 16:43 fallen sinful world. 16:47 But friends, this world has also experienced collective storms. 16:50 We've experienced a globally collective storm 16:53 over the last year. 16:57 And the Bible tells us that we have greater collective storms 17:00 that are just around the corner ahead of us. 17:04 But the good news is that Jesus stands up in the midst of all 17:06 those storms and He offers us rest in Him. 17:10 And thus we have the title for our new quarterly 17:13 which is "Rest." 17:16 Everybody take a deep breath. 17:22 Do you find yourselves doing that quite often when the sun 17:24 goes down on Friday night? 17:27 And if you don't do it consciously, you do it 17:29 subconsciously, do you not? 17:31 You just kind of take that collective rest. 17:37 Thank You, Jesus. 17:40 Thank You for helping me through the different challenges that 17:43 inevitably rose up in different ways to the last week. 17:47 Thank You for giving me this day that helps me to reflect upon 17:50 the great goodness and creative ability that You have and offer 17:54 to me, the great mercies and grace that You give to me. 17:59 Thank You for the rest that is found in the person of who You 18:03 are, Lord Jesus. 18:08 Now, this particular title and theme that we're studying over 18:11 the next three months may be the important theme, the most 18:14 important theme, of truth that we can study in all of the 18:17 Bible. 18:19 It brings us to the heart of the gospel, the rest that is found 18:22 in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 18:23 It bring us to the heart of the question of gaining eternal 18:26 life. 18:28 It helps us to make our way through the day. 18:31 It helps us to find emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental 18:34 health. 18:37 It is the rest in Christ that brings us to the Sabbath and to 18:40 our origins. 18:41 It is rest in Christ that brings us to the truth on the state of 18:45 the dead, that when we die we truly rest in peace. 18:52 It brings us to the question and the ability to make good 18:56 ethical--good ethical choices. 18:59 It helps us to succeed in our marriage relationships and 19:02 families. 19:04 Rest in Christ. 19:09 "Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy-laden and I will 19:12 give you rest." 19:16 As it says in the introductory pages of our quarterly, in pages 19:18 2 and 3, in this case on page 3, quote, "Resting in Christ is the 19:22 key to the type of life that Jesus promises to His 19:27 followers." 19:29 And then they quote from my favorite--one of my favorite 19:31 texts now. 19:32 Now it's one of my favorite but it was my signature and still is 19:34 my signature text because as I gave my heart to the Lord when 19:37 I was 20 years old and I began to experience this massive 19:41 transformation in my life, and I became born again, I began to 19:45 experience the rest that Jesus had offered to me 19:49 at that point in my life. 19:51 Not that He hadn't offered it before but that I'd accepted it 19:54 for the first time in my life. 19:55 And as I was experiencing that rest in Jesus, and as I began to 20:00 open the Bible for the first time, and I began to read the 20:02 Gospels of the life and teachings of Jesus, I came to 20:05 John chapter 10 and verse 10, where Jesus stands before the 20:10 crowds of His day and He says, "The thief does not come except 20:12 to steal and to kill and to destroy," as He's speaking 20:16 symbolically of Satan being the thief. 20:20 He says, "That's the only motivation Satan has in your 20:22 life and concerning your life is to kill and to steal and destroy 20:26 but I, in contrast to that," Jesus says, "have come that you 20:28 may have life, and that you may have that life more abundantly." 20:34 And that verse just jumped right out at me as I read it for the 20:38 first time, and it described the experience that I had already 20:43 been experiencing for the last year or two in Christ before I 20:46 had come to that text for the first time. 20:48 It was the first one that I'd ever memorized 20:49 and wrote upon my heart. 20:53 Jesus wants us to have the type of life that rests in Him. 20:58 Now, of course, we're going to spend three months looking at 21:00 the different aspects and applications of rest. 21:04 In fact, we're going to look at a future week in this quarterly 21:06 where we just unpack that invitation in Matthew chapter 28 21:10 in verses--Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 to 30, "Come unto Me 21:13 all ye who labor." 21:16 But today we look more closely at getting some very much needed 21:21 and regular physical and emotional rest. 21:26 This is one of the rests that Jesus offers us right 21:29 from the beginning. 21:30 In fact, as we look at the first two pages of this week's lesson, 21:33 it talks about how we are to proactively integrate physical 21:36 rest into our daily lives and it points out for you and I that 21:40 God is the one, Christ is the one, that took that initiative. 21:45 He is the one that took that initiative to be able to explain 21:48 and set before us a cycle of life that includes regular rest, 21:53 physical and mental rest. 22:00 Now, I have to say that I very much appreciated that as I 22:03 pointed out in different verses, how God took that first 22:05 initiative in our life, that I'd never really thought of it 22:08 before in concern to the first answer to that in the very first 22:12 chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1 22:15 and verse 5. 22:17 In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 5, the Bible says: "God called 22:22 the light day and the darkness He called night. 22:27 So the evening and the morning were the first day." 22:33 And ever since then, every 24 hours the sun finds itself 22:38 setting over the horizon and disappearing for about 12 hours. 22:44 And so halfway through every original 24-hour cycle 22:47 it was regular. 22:49 Since the Flood and different things have monkeyed up the 22:52 planet in different ways, it's a little bit more scattered. 22:57 But, friends, the bottom line is that God had initiated a cycle 23:00 of being awake and being asleep, of being active and finding 23:06 ourselves in rest. 23:09 Rest in Christ. 23:11 And so that is the regular cue that we have for sleep. 23:14 Now, I have to confess that when I looked at this and I was 23:16 contemplating this in preparation for our lesson study 23:19 here today, that I began to ask the question to myself for the 23:22 first time: I wonder what time Adam and Eve went to bed. 23:28 Was it just like it was here 200 years ago before we had 23:31 electricity, before we had kerosene lamps? 23:34 You know, when everybody for the most part, right across the 23:37 entire nation and across the globe, you know, when the sun 23:39 set it was within half an hour everybody was in bed and going 23:41 to sleep because we just didn't have a lot of good sources of 23:45 light back then. 23:50 Now it does say in the same Genesis, in the same Genesis 23:52 record, in chapter 1, that indeed God put the moon in the 23:55 sky to be able to give a dimmer light throughout the night, that 23:59 it's not pitch darkness but you could see to a limited degree 24:03 but yet the cue was there: it's time for rest. 24:09 Maybe Adam and Eve still took some quiet romantic night walks 24:14 through the moonlight before they found themselves 24:17 calling it a day. 24:18 I don't know. 24:20 The Bible doesn't give us record of such things. 24:22 But one thing we do know is that God had set that cycle in place 24:25 right from the get-go. 24:27 The day, the light He called night and the darkness 24:29 He called night. 24:35 Later on, King David, a man after God's own heart, one that 24:39 came to experience God in a very real way, he wrote under 24:42 inspiration in Psalm 4 in verse 8, "I will lie down--I will both 24:46 lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me 24:53 dwell in safety," he says. 24:57 And so here, indeed even centuries and long after Adam 25:01 and Eve had come to live on this planet, we find that another man 25:05 that was after God's own heart was also one that found himself 25:09 in peaceful sleep. 25:10 You know, insomnia is a growing problem in modern--in not only 25:13 in modern America but in many countries 25:17 around the world today. 25:19 It's one thing I've never really struggled with. 25:21 You know, my family and my friends always giggle when I say 25:23 something like that. 25:25 My mother always laughs. 25:27 You know, sleeping has never been a problem for me. 25:28 You know, I have other struggles that I deal with. 25:31 But sleep has never been a problem. 25:33 Insomnia is--I think I've had maybe less than a handful of 25:37 restless, sleepless nights. 25:40 So sleeping's never--my mom still--my daughters giggle 25:43 because, you know, my mom will tell them stories about when I 25:45 was just a little boy, you know, I was about five or six or 25:47 seven, you know, I still had nap time. 25:49 And she says--my mom says I'm the only child that she's ever 25:52 known that comes up to her when it's nap time and says, "Mommy, 25:54 is it my nap time now?" 26:01 So sleep has never been a problem for me and now that I've 26:04 found the Lord and my conscience is clear, I find myself sleeping 26:07 even better after I met Christ from 20 years age of onward. 26:10 Why? 26:12 Because now I sleep with a clear conscience as well. 26:14 My heart is right with God and with the world. 26:20 "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O 26:23 Lord, make me dwell in safety," as the quarterly study points us 26:27 to that text and both are important for us to be able to 26:30 have a healthy successful life in this world, to experience 26:34 the abundant life. 26:36 Now, the second cycle that God put in place, right from the 26:38 get-go, right from the moment that He created life on earth 26:41 and created mankind and set us in the Garden of Eden, is found 26:44 in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, Genesis chapter 2 26:46 and verses 2 to 3. 26:49 At Seventh-day Adventist we're more acquainted to this than 26:51 perhaps some of our other Christian friends that may be 26:53 watching or visiting with us here in the church here this 26:55 morning. 26:56 But indeed, it is something that opened my eyes to the cycle of 26:59 rest that God had intended from the very beginning for all of 27:02 mankind, not just for the Jews, but as we come to Genesis 27:05 chapter 2 we find only two men--one man I should say, and 27:08 one woman and that is Adam and Eve. 27:11 There wasn't such thing as a Jew. 27:13 In fact, Jews never came to exist or live on the planet for 27:15 hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years after this. 27:19 But God had established a cycle of rest and holiness and loyalty 27:24 to God from the very beginning on a universal front. 27:27 And so, as we read in Genesis chapter 2, verses 2 through 3, 27:31 it says: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had 27:34 done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work 27:37 which He had done. 27:38 And then God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it," that 27:41 means He made it holy, "because in it He rested from all His 27:45 work which God had created and made." 27:49 And so as God came to the end of the sixth day, 27:51 His work was done. 27:54 Every life form and species that He had intended to put on this 27:57 planet originally was already completed. 28:00 The atmosphere was perfect for His life-giving peace and 28:04 abundance and prosperity for all of those different life forms 28:07 or species. 28:10 He had come to the pinnacle of His work when He created mankind 28:14 in His own image, and now all was done and it was declared 28:18 very good. 28:22 Now God could have said, "Okay, now from now on I want you to 28:24 keep the weekly cycle: every six days, your calendar week 28:29 starts over again. 28:30 Every six days, you start a new week." 28:32 But He didn't, did He? 28:34 No, we find that as He come to the--as He came to the end of 28:36 the sixth day, He said, "No, I'm going to cap off the week with a 28:39 seventh day, not to do any work but to rest." 28:46 Now, did God do that because He was worn out? 28:51 Did God say, "Listen, I think it's time for us to get some R&R 28:53 because I don't know about you, Adam and Eve, 28:55 but I'm wiped out." 28:59 No, not at all. 29:00 In fact, later on, Isaiah made it very clear for us in Isaiah 29:02 40 and verse 28, he says, "Have you not known?" 29:06 Isaiah cries out, the great prophet, "Have you not heard? 29:09 The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the 29:12 earth, neither faints nor is weary." 29:17 God never gets weary. 29:18 He never sleeps, he never slumbers. 29:22 God is totally alert and aware and understands the intents and 29:25 purposes of all our thoughts in our minds continually, 24/7, 29:31 throughout the entire planet. 29:32 And not only on this planet but throughout the entire universe. 29:37 God is a big God, amen? 29:41 And so God didn't rest because He was worn out. 29:44 God rested as an example for you and I, for Adam and Eve, for all 29:48 of mankind, that we might understand that God not only 29:52 wants us to stop every day and find ourselves with our eyes 29:55 closed for a time, before we start the day part or the light 29:59 part of the next 24-hour cycle and day, but rather He also 30:02 tells us that every seven days we are to take an entire 24-hour 30:06 period, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. 30:10 On the seventh day of the first week that has been repeated 30:13 uninterrupted ever since, we are to find ourselves in the 30:16 holiness of the day that God declared holy and made blessed. 30:21 Where we can take that collective... 30:26 as a body of believers and say, as His children, "Thank You, 30:29 Lord, for another week." 30:32 And as the quarterly points out for us, it says it's a time when 30:35 we stop doing and we just stop and we contemplate and we be. 30:41 Be in the moment. 30:42 Have you come to church today to be in the moment? 30:46 To stop and put all the stresses and pressures, the bills, the 30:50 work deadlines, the school papers and exams that we're 30:56 studying for, the--all of these different things that stress us 30:59 and challenge our emotion and our mental health and wellbeing 31:05 and just stop and pause and say, "Thank You, Lord." 31:17 And so God intended for the seventh day to be different 31:19 from the other six. 31:21 He made it holy, He blessed on it, He rested as our example. 31:25 Now, there's three activities that God has revealed in the 31:27 Bible that He has designed for us to be able to experience and 31:30 be involved in in different measures. 31:33 And so those are, the first one which He gave by example when He 31:37 stopped and He paused and He rested. 31:39 He stopped working, he ceased from His work and He asked Adam 31:42 and Eve to cease from any work or if they had done any work at 31:47 the end of that first sixth day in which they were created, we 31:49 do not know. 31:52 But God said, "Okay, listen, we're going to spend a special 31:55 day together, your first entire day together." 31:57 Now, this is the first complete day that Adam and Eve had ever 32:02 experienced, and God says, "Now I want you to stop with Me and 32:05 we're just going to stop and take it all in." 32:09 Now, very clearly in Genesis chapter 2, later on, God did 32:12 tell Adam and Eve that outside of that seventh day that they 32:16 were to tend the garden, that labor and work was a very real 32:18 part of God's intended plan for them, to find fulfillment in 32:22 tending the garden and growing different vineyards in the 32:25 future and all these other things that God had in store for 32:28 their future and for their work. 32:30 But He said, "Listen, the first day we're just going to hang out 32:33 together, and I want you just to really take in everything that's 32:37 around you. 32:39 And not only do I want you to do it today, but I want you 32:41 to do it every seven days." 32:45 Take it all in. 32:48 And so rest. 32:49 Sometimes we need extra physical rest. 32:51 You know, sometimes we kid around and sometimes we look 32:53 down our noses at some other believers in Seventh-day 32:55 Adventist when we say, you know, after lunch we're going to go 32:57 home and we're going to have a nap. 32:59 We don't nap during the week but there is a special nap that we 33:01 have on Sabbath afternoon. 33:04 That's in harmony with the Bible. 33:07 You know, but we're so work-driven in our culture and 33:09 society in this part of the world that we almost look down 33:12 our noses at people that might have a nap. 33:17 But it's a time for physical rest, not to be lazy, 33:20 to be sure. 33:22 God doesn't want us to be lazy. 33:23 And so if you're not tired, you shouldn't be taking a nap. 33:27 But a lot of times we get to the end of the week 33:29 and we're worn out. 33:30 We're not like God, we do have limits. 33:33 And so reviving yourself, refreshing yourself, so that 33:37 when you get up on Sunday morning and you get up on Monday 33:39 morning, Tuesday morning, you have more energy because you've 33:42 refilled your reserves. 33:46 That's important for us to be able to do. 33:50 And so physical rest on the Sabbath is important and it's a 33:52 blessing that God intended for us to be able to experience in 33:55 an extra measure on top of the nightly sleeps that we have 33:59 every 24 hours. 34:01 So physical rest. 34:03 The second activity is what Jesus says, Luke chapter 3 and 34:05 verse 16, it says that as His custom was, Jesus went into the 34:09 synagogue to read and unto worship. 34:13 And so indeed, Jesus is on record in the Bible of going to 34:17 church on a regular weekly basis. 34:20 Every Sabbath morning He was found worshiping His Father in 34:23 church. 34:25 And that's why later, Paul inspired--God inspired Paul to 34:28 write in Hebrews chapter 11, I think it's verse 25, where he 34:32 says, "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves as some 34:36 are in the habit of doing, but gather together and even more 34:40 so, encouraging each other in love and in good works, as we 34:45 see the day approaching." 34:47 And so as Jesus's Coming comes closer, we should actually be 34:50 gathering together even more faithfully, unlike those who are 34:55 in the habit of doing otherwise. 34:57 And so God has called us to follow after the example of 34:59 Jesus: worship God actively in church. 35:03 That's very important for us to be able to experience. 35:06 The third activity that God reveals and Jesus set that 35:08 example is to do good works. 35:11 And so again, this is active work but it's work that is 35:14 essential to be able to relieve suffering, including people's 35:19 hunger, their medical needs, and so we have a number of people 35:24 that are doing holy work. 35:25 Jesus says, "Do you not know that the priests profane the 35:27 Sabbath and yet they were without guilt?" 35:30 Why? Because they're doing holy work. 35:32 I'm working for you here today. 35:34 I'm on the job. 35:37 But it's holy work, is it not? 35:39 God has called us. 35:41 You know, our Sabbath School teachers that are teaching the 35:42 children and in the different adult lessons and so on, 35:45 pastors, laymen, they're all working. 35:46 They're on the job. 35:48 Some of them are volunteering, some of them are salaried, 35:49 but we're all on the job. 35:51 We're doing holy work. And same with the doctors. 35:53 We have some doctors that are meeting people's needs as they 35:55 just had a heart attack or they find themselves with their--with 35:58 not being able to breathe properly or they just broke 36:00 their leg, and thank God we have doctors that are available in 36:05 our hospitals when that takes place on the Sabbath hours. 36:07 And so we have doctors and nurses and policemen and they're 36:11 still protecting us, so if somebody breaks into our house 36:13 during the Sabbath hours, we can call the local police station. 36:17 We can call 911 and there's still people on duty. 36:19 Why? Because they're doing holy work. 36:22 God forbid that we have a burglar that's breaking into our 36:24 house one evening on Friday night after we went to bed and 36:27 we call 911, they say, "Happy Sabbath." 36:31 You get a recording. 36:32 It's just a recording that says, "Happy Sabbath. 36:36 We're sorry we can't serve you right now but in about 12½ 36:39 hours, when the sun goes down, please call back and we'll be 36:41 happy to come over and help you out." 36:44 No, there's different things that we need to be able to do on 36:47 the Sabbath that God and Jesus says are holy works. 36:50 These are good works that God has given to us. 36:53 And Jesus got in hot water for doing that sometimes but He 36:55 wants us to understand that. 36:56 Now, sometimes, we can err on the other side and we start to 37:00 take that definition and we start to say, "Well, we can--we 37:02 can go out and start washing people's windows 37:06 on the Sabbath." 37:08 Well, I don't know. 37:10 I've, you know, I don't like a dirty window, I have to confess. 37:13 I don't like looking out my window when it's dirty but I 37:16 have to confess, I've never suffered from it. 37:21 I've never looked at it and thought, "Boy, I'm just so 37:23 tired, I just--I can't wash that window but, boy, I wish somebody 37:26 would come and wash that window for me today 37:28 because it's killing me." 37:30 So we have to be careful that we don't err and go, you know, take 37:34 that good works definition to the point we're actually 37:36 starting to sin against the Lord all in the name of the Lord. 37:39 So we have to be careful on that end as well. 37:40 And so there's three activities that God has called us to be 37:42 experiencing. 37:44 One of them is physical and mental rest. 37:46 God intends for us to be able to experience rest. 37:50 Now, the quarterly continues to go on and tell us, you know, as 37:53 many of us talk in our conversations and I've heard it 37:55 with more than one of us, you know, it's amazing with all 37:57 these time-saving devices, all these work-saving devices, that 38:01 continue to be invented that we continue to be able to afford 38:04 more and more and bring into our arsenal and to make it through 38:06 the day, you would think that we have more spare time and we're 38:09 more relaxed than ever before and any other generation. 38:14 And yet, really, it almost seems to be the opposite, doesn't it? 38:16 It seems to get us on a treadmill that gets us even 38:19 running faster than ever before. 38:21 And so, really, I think what's really happening, there's a 38:23 couple of different reasons for this and I don't claim to have 38:26 all the answers by any means on this conversation, but I do 38:29 think that one of the reasons is because of endless user menus. 38:35 Now, just think--stop and think about that. 38:37 Endless user menus. 38:39 Friends, everything that we buy has a user menu now. 38:41 Have you noticed that? 38:43 We get our phone, we get our watch, we get our car. 38:46 You know, we just bought a car. 38:48 The car has all kinds of user menus. 38:49 You know, we got a manual that's that thick and it say, "Just go 38:54 through this nice brief manual and it'll tell you all the 38:56 different functions that this car can do for you." 38:58 We have smart cars, we have smart phones, 39:00 we have smart laptops. 39:02 We have smart watches. 39:05 Everything smart except me. 39:09 That's the only problem, how three-quarters of it I'll never 39:12 know could do it for me, you know? 39:14 There's three-quarters of the things that all these things can 39:15 do that I'll never use because I'll never learn it. 39:18 I'm not smart enough to keep up with our smart stuff. 39:21 And so we have endless user menus that are consuming hours 39:25 and hours of our time on a weekly basis. 39:28 Information overload. 39:30 It's a blessing and a curse at the same time. 39:32 We can ask Alexa, you know, on a moment's notice, 39:35 you know, "Tell us." 39:36 We can ask Siri, we can ask Google. 39:39 We can go on the Internet and do a Google search. 39:41 We can find information all over the place but, friends, the 39:43 information is coming at us so fast that I think that sometimes 39:45 we find ourselves overwhelmed and it can be actually 39:49 detrimental for our health. 39:53 And so we don't use these devices to help create more 39:55 spare time but we use them to get more done in the same 24 39:58 hours every day. 40:00 And I'm guilty of that as well. 40:02 So we're not using it to be able to create more spare time, we're 40:04 just thinking, "Wow, we can even be more efficient 40:06 and get things more done." 40:08 And that's good to a real degree but it can also be to our 40:11 detriment if we're not careful. 40:15 Now, of course, this is not the case for many others and I had 40:18 to stop and pause for a moment as I thought, you know, I'm 40:20 thinking of myself and I'm thinking of others, you know, 40:23 that I know here in the church and otherwise that, you know, 40:25 are regular productive good Americans, Canadians, and other 40:29 citizens of different countries that are very productive and 40:32 they see the value and the importance of being productive. 40:38 But, friends, we have a growing number of Americans around the 40:41 world that are--that have too much spare time. 40:45 We have millions of people on Welfare, Unemployment Insurance, 40:48 living off their parents until they're in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 40:52 and that's the other side of the coin. 40:54 So we don't want to be found on that side of the coin as well. 41:00 On Wednesday's lesson we look at Mark chapter 6 and verses 30 41:03 through 32. 41:04 We find there that Jesus attempts to pull the apostles 41:06 aside. 41:08 He says, "We need to go and find a secluded place." 41:09 The crowds are pressing in on them again. 41:11 The apostles are pumped, they're excited. 41:14 They just got back from their first mission trip that Jesus 41:17 had sent them out independently, aside and separate from Himself. 41:21 They've had this Spirit-filled experience where they began to 41:24 teach and cast out demons and preach in the Spirit 41:28 and power of the Lord. 41:30 As they are experiencing all these things, they come back and 41:32 they're just thrilled to be able to share with Jesus. 41:34 But it says they were so busy they didn't even have time to 41:36 eat, and the people were demanding more and more and more 41:39 until Jesus says, "Listen, we need some R&R. 41:41 You need some R&R. 41:42 We need to be able to pull away and find a secluded place." 41:46 And so sometimes, even outside of the Sabbath hours and outside 41:49 of the night hours, God also has set the example through Jesus by 41:54 telling us that there are times, even when we're involved in the 41:57 Lord's work, that we need to be able to spend time aside in a 42:00 secluded place and just get some real R&R, and refill those 42:06 reserves, recharge the batteries. 42:12 You know, I've known some colleagues in the ministry that 42:14 thought it was cool over the years, they thought it was cool 42:18 to brag about how they hadn't taken a vacation or even a day 42:21 off in several months. 42:23 One of them came up to me once and said, "You know, I haven't 42:25 taken a day off in over a year and a half." 42:30 And he thought that I should admire him from that. 42:32 He was bragging. 42:33 He was boasting. 42:36 Yet when I read my Bible, the Bible doesn't tell me that's a 42:38 good thing at all, no. 42:40 You know, for pastors and those who are busiest on Sabbath, that 42:43 are doing holy work, they still need to be able to unplug, they 42:46 still need to be able to unwind. 42:48 They still need to be able to take that pastor switch or 42:50 evangelist switch or administrator's switch and just 42:53 kind of turn it off, and just take a whole day with their 42:57 husband, with their wife, or with their family, and just go 43:02 and unplug and keep that switch on the off switch for a day. 43:06 That's important. 43:08 You know, some of those same colleagues that were bragging 43:10 about that years ago, years later they had different 43:12 breakdowns. 43:14 Their health started to break down and pretty soon they were 43:16 totally incapacitated for a time. 43:20 You cannot live outside of the laws of nature that God has 43:24 created us in. 43:25 You cannot deny and live outside of those laws and expect to 43:29 prosper and expect to be able to live a long, healthy, 43:32 prosperous, productive life. 43:39 James White, one of our great founders, now this is not a 43:42 slight to him in any way. 43:44 This is public knowledge. 43:45 We find it in our history books. 43:47 Ellen White wrote about it extensively in her own writings. 43:50 Her great faithful husband, one of our first GC presidents, one 43:53 of the ones we are indebted to James White for a tremendous 43:56 amount of labor and work and sacrifice that he put in to be 43:59 able to get this great Advent movement off its feet 44:02 and off the ground. 44:05 But James White found himself denying and trying to live 44:08 outside of these laws of nature in concern to mental and 44:10 physical rest. 44:13 He was a workaholic as we call them. 44:15 They didn't have that term back then but now we know what it--we 44:17 have a technical term: workaholic. 44:20 And as a workaholic, it caught up with him periodically, 44:23 on a regular basis. 44:24 He would go a few years and then he would have a complete mental 44:26 and physical breakdown until he was completely incapacitated. 44:32 Now, there's no record that he used to brag about it or boast 44:34 about it, but he just thought that that was the way to do it. 44:37 That was being faithful to the Lord. 44:42 But God in the Bible and the spirit of prophecy 44:44 tells us otherwise. 44:46 So we need to learn from these things. 44:49 I want to read a quote here, as we're wrapping things up here. 44:51 I see that our time is fastly running to a close, so I'm glad 44:55 I'm able to be able to read. 44:56 Let's go to Friday. We're going to skip to Friday. 44:58 There's no way we'll be able to look at all the information in 45:01 here and never are each week, but I want to ask you to come to 45:06 Friday's lesson study. 45:09 If--page 12 if you have your quarterly study with you, and on 45:14 page 12 it says: "In the estimation," this is a quote 45:16 from "The Desire of Ages," one of the greatest, well, the 45:19 greatest book, I believe, on the life of Christ, 45:22 outside of the Bible. 45:25 It says: "In the estimation of the rabbis, it was the sum of 45:28 religion to always be in a bustle of activity. 45:31 They depended upon some outward performance to show 45:34 their superior piety. 45:36 Thus, they separated their souls from God and built themselves up 45:39 in self-sufficiency. 45:42 The same danger still exists. 45:47 As activity increases and men become successful in doing any 45:51 work for God, there is a danger of trusting to human plans 45:55 and methods. 45:57 There is a tendency to pray less and to have less faith. 46:03 Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our 46:06 dependence on God and seeking to make a savior of our activity. 46:12 We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His 46:16 power which does the work. 46:18 And while we are to labor earnestly for the salvation 46:21 of the lost," in other words, don't get her wrong. 46:24 It's not that she's saying that we are to not labor earnestly 46:27 for the salvation of the lost. 46:29 We must do so. 46:30 "But we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for 46:36 the study of the Word of God. 46:39 Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by 46:43 the merit of Christ, will the end prove to be of efficient 46:47 for good." 46:48 Now, I think I should probably clarify meditation because 46:51 that's become a kind of a hot button in recent years as 46:55 different forms of meditation have kind of crept into 46:58 different circles, even within the Seventh-day Adventist Church 47:00 on a kind of more near-Eastern yoga kind of type facet or kind. 47:09 But the meditation here that Ellen White is talking about 47:11 when we talk and meditate is more synonymous to ponder. 47:15 We need to stop and just spend some time pondering. 47:20 When you read the book of the Bible and you find yourself 47:22 stopping once in a while and you just ponder on what you just 47:25 read. 47:28 So it's not just about seeking the information, it's about 47:29 pondering, meditating, on that information. 47:33 Meditating on the person behind the meditation, upon God, upon 47:36 Jesus. 47:38 Ellen White counsels us and says that we should stop and pause 47:40 and meditate, she says up to an hour a day just on the last 47:44 events of Christ's life in the last week of His life and death 47:47 and Resurrection. 47:50 And so that's the kind of meditation that is being spoken 47:53 about there. 47:56 Well, there's also the emotional drain and rest that we need from 47:59 as well. 48:01 We don't have time to be able to look at Jeremiah chapter 45 but 48:03 if you haven't looked there already, there's a classic 48:05 example there where the poor secretary of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 48:08 didn't really write his own words. 48:10 God gave him the words and then Jeremiah told his secretary or 48:13 scribe, Baruch, to be able to write it down for him. 48:17 And poor Baruch, he kind of got the short end of the staff when 48:20 he was kind of in Egypt as the rebellious Israelites had forced 48:24 him and Jeremiah to go down that way and so not only did Baruch 48:29 experience all of this tragedy and destruction by the 48:32 Babylonians in Jerusalem and in Israel, forced to go into exile 48:35 into Egypt, but now the rebellious leaders that forced 48:40 them into Egypt, are blaming Baruch and saying that 48:42 Jeremiah's prophets are false and Baruch is the one that put 48:45 him up to it, so that they would all be killed by the 48:48 Babylonians. 48:49 And so now Baruch has got woe upon woe as he says: "I have now 48:53 got grief upon my sorrow," and so sometimes we go through 48:56 valleys where our emotional tank is being drained extra, 49:00 in an extra measure. 49:01 And so we have to be able to measure that out and counter 49:04 that with extra rest, as well. 49:08 And, of course, Elijah is another classic example of that. 49:11 Well, friends, this is another week and I pray that you'll 49:14 faithfully go through the next quarterly 49:16 as we continue to study. 49:17 Don't forget to take advantage of our free gift offer which is 49:20 "A Rest in Christ." 49:22 It's all about the Sabbath and you'll be able to find that 49:25 information on the screen. 49:27 It's offer number 813. 49:28 You can dial 1-866-788-3966, which is 1-866-Study-More, and 49:36 we'll be happy to be able to send you a free copy of that if 49:39 you are in North America or in one of the American territories. 49:43 And you can also get a digital download for that, 49:46 and that'll be available on the screen as well. 49:49 So God bless you and we look forward to seeing you next week. 49:54 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 49:56 free resource. 49:58 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 50:00 download a digital copy straight to your computer 50:02 or mobile device. 50:04 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 50:07 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 50:12 shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital download 50:15 option on the request page. 50:17 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:20 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 50:23 And most important, to share it with others. 50:34 Laren: I'm from Armenia, I'm Armenian, and I was born there 50:36 but I was raised in L.A. 50:38 I was a sophomore in high school so, give or take, 50:41 15, 16 years old. 50:43 And I had some idea about God 'cause I was raised in a 50:47 Christian home, but to know Him as the Bible taught, no clue. 50:51 I was really poor in math so my mom took me to a math tutor 50:54 every Sunday morning to sharpen my skills, if you will. 50:58 And one particular Sunday morning, we were watching those 51:01 Sunday morning TV shows where the preachers are preaching and 51:04 Doug Batchelor happened to be on. 51:06 I paid attention. 51:07 I'm like, "Mom, makes pretty good sense though," 'cause he 51:09 was back up with Scripture. 51:11 So once Doug Batchelor finished his sermon, the announcer said, 51:14 "If you're interested in Bible studies, you can go to the 51:17 Amazing Facts web site and there is a link there 51:19 for free Bible studies." 51:20 So I said, "I've got spring break next week. 51:23 Might as well just do it because I have nothing else to do." 51:26 Well, I did it for about two, three days non-stop. 51:28 I was up until two, three in the morning doing the 51:30 Bible Study Guides. 51:32 And when I was done, I was, like, "Wow, I have no idea 51:36 about God. 51:37 I thought I did, but I don't." 51:38 So as I was beginning to learn all these things, my mom was 51:42 open because she's the one who was actually watching the shows, 51:46 and so she began to study alongside with me after 51:49 my first lessons were done. 51:51 And she embraced the truth 'cause she was open 51:54 to the truth. 51:55 But what the real problem was, was my grandmother. 51:58 Growing up in an Armenian home, if you ever go away from your 52:02 own religion, from your own Christianity, 52:04 it's like you're an heretic. 52:05 So there was a war between myself and my grandma. 52:08 So I had to study with her in her own language, in Armenian, 52:12 to show from her Bible 52:13 the things that I was learning was actually from the truth. 52:16 So as my mom and I began to attend the church, we made a 52:19 decision to get baptized as members. 52:22 And so we got baptized some months later after doing some 52:24 Bible studies with the pastor and then I went to school and I 52:28 said to my friends, "I'm officially a Seventh-day 52:30 Adventist," with a big grin on my face. 52:33 And they said to me, "What is that?" 52:36 It dawned on me, I'm a teenager, going to high school, I'm not 52:39 ordained, I'm not a professor, I don't know much. 52:43 I just know that I did some Bible studies, I learned about 52:46 Christ, and now I'm sharing with those friends of mine. 52:48 So I began to study with some of my friends in the school bus and 52:51 in class about the things I was learning, and I began to share 52:54 the Bible Study Guides from Amazing Facts with them. 52:57 And I gave them some DVDs from Amazing Facts as well. 53:00 And I began to read and read, because as I was sharing things 53:03 with people, they asked me questions about God, to which I 53:06 said, "Let me get back to you." 53:08 So I had to go back and purchase some more books and study out 53:11 those topics so I can give 'em a answer. 53:13 I probably ordered over $1000 worth of books from Amazing 53:17 Facts, books on revelation and Daniel and prophecy and the law 53:21 and grace and all sorts of things. 53:23 And so, Amazing Facts was really crucial at that stage where it 53:27 provided the resources I needed to know the Bible better and to 53:31 share my faith with others. 53:33 But it's funny how God works because years later, they 53:37 themselves got baptized in church and when they came to me, 53:40 they said, "I am officially a Seventh-day Adventist myself." 53:43 To this very day, every Sabbath morning my mom isn't able to go 53:46 to church but she watches Amazing Facts online every 53:50 Sabbath as her divine worship. 53:52 If it wasn't for Amazing Facts, I would have not known Christ. 53:55 I would have not had that peace that He offers. 53:58 And all these people who came to know Christ would have not had 54:01 the opportunity. 54:03 My name is Laren-- 54:05 I want to thank you for changing my life. 54:08 ♪♪♪ 54:23 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 54:31 Peggy Tuan: My name is Peggy Tuan. 54:32 I'm originally from Houston, Texas. 54:35 We lived in Midland for about 14, 15 years. 54:38 When my husband had a job offer to move to Detroit, we went, you 54:43 know, expecting things to be easier as far as financial 54:48 situations go, and, you know, once we got there we realized 54:51 the cost of living there was actually worse than it was here. 54:55 And so, he was working more, he was out of town a lot 54:58 because he was a truck driver. 55:00 There was a time when I felt like I was taking care of 55:02 my girls on my own and any situation that would come up, 55:05 he wasn't there, you know, it was just me trying to take care 55:10 of everything. 55:12 And I felt kind of angry towards God for that. 55:15 Felt kind of angry toward my husband for that, you know? 55:17 And at that point, I was already kind of angry with God 55:20 because He hadn't been answering my prayers. 55:23 'Course, my prayers back then were really 55:25 selfish-type prayers. 55:27 They were more, you know, "God, we need more money. 55:30 We've got, you know, we need financial help," and I just 55:34 thought, "What's the point? 55:35 God's not listening to me. 55:37 I don't even want--I don't even want to have anything to do 55:39 with Him anymore." 55:44 There was one night I had been reading Revelation and I'd read 55:48 through the whole thing and it made no sense whatsoever to me. 55:51 And I, after I finished it, I said--I prayed, "Lord, help me 55:55 to understand what this means. 55:57 You must want me to understand. 55:58 It's in your Word. 56:00 I must--I need to know what it means." 56:02 And so I went on to bed and couple of days later, we got a 56:06 flyer in the mail that said, "Amazing Facts presents 56:11 Revelations Prophecy Seminar." 56:13 And I was, like, "Wow, that's answered a prayer." 56:16 You know, I was so excited. 56:17 My husband was too. 56:19 And so we decided we were going to go to that seminar. 56:21 And I just knew when I got through the whole seminar, 56:25 I just knew that's where I was going to be. 56:30 With Amazing Facts, I have learned so much about the Bible 56:34 and about how to study the Bible, which was what I needed 56:37 before because without knowing how to study the Bible, you 56:41 can't get to know Jesus. 56:43 And that's the most amazing thing to me is that I--God has 56:47 led me to the place where I am now, to where I can learn every 56:52 day more and more about His character and how much 56:55 He really does love us. 57:02 Peggy: Looking back, I'm just happy that He led me the way 57:06 He did, even though I wasn't really listening. 57:10 God has a way to just lead you where you need to be and take 57:14 you down the right path but I look at my life now and I think, 57:18 "Wow, if it could have been that way before, and I would have had 57:22 Him in my life this way all along," 57:27 'cause, you know, I don't know. 57:29 I'm just--I'm just happy now, you know? 57:31 It doesn't matter what's going on in my life, 57:32 I am--I'm happy with God. 57:34 ♪ God's Word is life to me. ♪♪ 57:44 ♪♪♪ 57:54 ♪♪♪ 58:04 ♪♪♪ 58:14 ♪♪♪ 58:24 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-06-25