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Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH022142S
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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:37 Shawn Brummund: Hello and welcome to another edition 00:38 of the Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:40 My name is Pastor Shawn Brummund, 00:42 and I am privileged to be able to invite you 00:44 to join us over the next hour as we continue to study 00:47 this quarterly's quarter which is entitled, 00:50 "Present Truth in the Book of Deuteronomy." 00:54 And so for those of you who have been joining us 00:55 over the last couple of weeks, you've already started 00:57 to familiarize yourself with the quarterly and, 01:00 of course, most importantly, 01:01 with the Bible book of Deuteronomy. 01:03 And so today, we're going to be looking at Lesson number 3, 01:07 which is the everlasting gospel. 01:09 And yes, the everlasting gospel is found smack center 01:12 in the middle of this very important 01:15 and powerful Bible book. 01:17 And so this is an important milestone in history. 01:19 I know that you're going to be blessed as you continue 01:22 to grow in the grace and the knowledge 01:24 of Jesus Christ and of His Word 01:26 as we continue to study here 01:28 in the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church right here 01:31 in the metro area of Sacramento, California. 01:34 So it's always nice to have all of our different friends 01:36 that are joining us online, those on the various networks 01:39 that are with us here today and, of course, 01:41 our local church family that is also joining us 01:43 as we come together on this Sabbath to be able 01:46 to worship God in a very special way, 01:48 in this case both in song and in study. 01:52 And before we go into our song, though, 01:54 I want to invite you to take advantage 01:56 of a very special gift offer that we have for you here today. 02:00 And it is entitled "Determining the Will of God," 02:04 and it's actually written by our lead pastor, 02:06 Pastor Doug Batchelor, 02:08 who is also our teacher today as well. 02:10 And so please take advantage of this free gift offer. 02:14 You just have to dial into 1-866-788-3966 02:19 and just ask for Free Offer number 778, 02:24 and that's available to you if you're in North America 02:26 or in the different various US territories. 02:29 Now, if you're interested in a digital copy of that, 02:32 as many of us are, we like to have it 02:34 on our phone and read it in that format, 02:36 you can just text the code "SH025" and you want to be able 02:40 to text that to 40544. 02:46 So please take advantage of that. 02:48 Again, that's available as a digital download 02:49 if you're in North America and if you're 02:52 outside of North America and want a digital copy, 02:54 you also have that address that's on the screen 02:57 or just go to amazingfacts.org and do a search for it, 03:00 and if you're persistent you will find it and be able 03:04 to take advantage of that as well. 03:06 So, before we open with prayer and study, 03:08 we want to invite our musicians. 03:10 We thank them for leading us in song and worship even right now. 03:22 ♪♪♪ 03:32 ♪♪♪ 03:45 ♪ Hear our earnest prayer, O Lord ♪ 03:54 ♪ Hear our humble cry ♪ 04:02 ♪ Precious, loving, caring Lord ♪ 04:11 ♪ on whom we rely ♪ 04:19 ♪ Ever loving, ever living God ♪ 04:27 ♪ of whom no one can compare ♪ 04:36 ♪ all we ask is that You hear our prayer ♪ 04:53 ♪ Give us strength, most Holy Lord ♪ 05:02 ♪ Strength to meet this day ♪ 05:10 ♪ Lead us by Your Holy Word, guide us in Your way ♪ 05:26 ♪ For life is filled with winding turns ♪ 05:35 ♪ We have often lost our way ♪ 05:44 ♪ All we ask is that You lead today ♪ 06:01 ♪ Give us love that's true, O Lord ♪ 06:10 ♪ Trusting as a child ♪ 06:17 ♪ Love for all we see, O Lord ♪ 06:26 ♪ pure and undefiled ♪ 06:33 ♪ But to heal the hearts ♪ 06:37 ♪ and not turn away anyone who is in need ♪ 06:50 ♪ All we ask is teach us love indeed ♪ 07:07 ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ 07:40 ♪ Take me home with You, my Lord ♪ 07:48 ♪ when You come again ♪ 07:57 ♪ Take me home in peace, my Lord ♪ 08:05 ♪ to life with no end ♪ 08:13 ♪ When I've fought the fight ♪ 08:17 ♪ and I've kept the faith ♪ 08:21 ♪ and my race on earth is won ♪ 08:35 ♪ oh, all we ask is that You say, "Well done" ♪ 08:53 ♪ Lord, please let me hear You say ♪ 09:04 ♪ "Well done" ♪♪ 09:15 Shawn: I want to invite you to pray as we ask the Lord 09:18 to be with us. 09:20 Father in heaven, as we stop, we want to thank You so much 09:22 for leading us in song, that we might be able 09:24 to worship You and to remember 09:27 what a precious thing it will be when You 09:29 come again and we can stand before Your throne and hear 09:32 those encouraging words where You tell us, "Well done." 09:37 Lord, we want to pray that today's investment 09:40 in the study of Your Word will truly solidify 09:43 our faith and our faithfulness to You. 09:46 And God in heaven, that we might be able to know that 09:49 when the race is over that we have finished the race, 09:52 we have fought the good fight, and we know that 09:55 there's a crown laid up for us. 09:57 And so God, please bless each and every one of us 09:59 as we study together. 10:00 Give us Your Holy Spirit. 10:02 Want to pray a special blessing upon our teacher, 10:04 Pastor Doug Batchelor, and that You will help 10:06 to be able to understand Your Word in the way 10:09 that You would have it and give us, 10:11 and so we pray for Your Holy Spirit even now, 10:13 in Jesus's name, amen. 10:18 Doug Batchelor: Good morning. 10:20 Thank you, Pastor Shawn. 10:21 Thank the young people that brought the music this morning. 10:24 That was beautiful. 10:26 And good to see each of you that is--that are gathered here 10:29 in person at the Granite Bay Hilltop Church. 10:32 Also want to welcome those, we know there 10:34 are many thousands around the world 10:36 that are studying with us via television programs 10:39 like AFTV and 3ABN and Hope Channel. 10:42 You know, I should mention something. 10:45 When we record this program, today, as Pastor Shawn 10:48 mentioned, we're going to be in Lesson number 3 10:50 of Deuteronomy, our new study. 10:52 Most of the world church, they're just getting 10:54 to this lesson, but we record the lesson early here 10:57 at Hilltop Church because we need time 10:59 to edit the lesson, we add closed captioning, 11:02 time to mail it to the stations so then they can broadcast it. 11:07 So we're always living in the future. 11:08 We're three weeks ahead. 11:10 But right about the time this program is due to air, 11:13 something very exciting is happening I want to mention. 11:15 We're going to be having a program here, 11:17 an Evangelistic program, called "Panorama of Prophecy." 11:23 And it will air on most of our partner networks, 11:26 such as 3ABN, Hope Channel, 11:28 and Amazing Facts Television, and AF--that's AFTV. 11:33 And so we hope, if you don't know about that, 11:36 go to the website. 11:38 It's a great time for you to bring your friends 11:40 into your church, into your home. 11:42 All you've got to do is turn on one of those streaming 11:44 opportunities and do some evangelism, 11:47 especially in the times we're living right now. 11:49 We want to be winning souls. 11:51 So we're going to be going through our full 11:53 evangelistic program called "Panorama of Prophecy." 11:56 Just go to the website, panoramaofprophecy.com 12:00 and you can find out more information there, 12:03 how you can be involved. 12:04 We've got a brand new set of lessons that we've printed 12:06 for this series, so we're excited about it. 12:08 And I hope those here that are part of our local family, 12:11 you'll be praying because we're going to have 12:14 a lot of folks that are going to come from the community. 12:16 I don't know, we're sending out, 12:18 like, 50,000 handbills so we're hoping somebody comes. 12:21 And going to be meeting some new people 12:25 and sharing the good news. 12:27 All right, now to our lesson, "Present Truth in Deuteronomy," 12:31 and we're--our lesson today is Lesson 3, 12:34 "The Everlasting Covenant." 12:36 And we have a memory verse. 12:38 And the memory verse is from Genesis 17:7. 12:41 You can find that either in your lesson or your Bible. 12:44 I invite you to say it with me: Genesis 17:7: 12:48 "And I will establish My covenant 12:51 between Me and you and your descendants after you 12:54 in their generations for an everlasting covenant, 12:58 to be God to you and your descendants after you." 13:02 You notice that phrase, "Everlasting covenant." 13:06 Now, we've got a special mission to share 13:08 the three angels' message. 13:10 And what does that first angel have? 13:13 He is sharing the everlasting gospel, right? 13:17 To preach to every nation. 13:18 So we've got this message about a covenant that is everlasting, 13:22 and so we're going to be talking about that today in our study. 13:26 In leading up to that, I just thought 13:28 you might find it interesting to know, 13:30 the phrase "everlasting covenant" 13:33 is found in the Bible 15 times. 13:36 And, of course, you go from the beginning--I'm sorry, 13:40 the end of the Bible in Revelation 14:6: 13:42 "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, 13:45 having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell 13:49 on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." 13:54 So at what point in history did God think up the gospel? 13:59 It's sort of a trick question because, 14:03 does God know everything? 14:07 To our knowledge, has God always known everything? 14:11 Then was there ever a time when He did not know the gospel? 14:15 Was there ever a time that God did not know that someday 14:18 there would be a race of intelligent creatures 14:23 that would rebel against Him? 14:26 So if you go as far back as you can go in eternity past, then, 14:30 you know, I always--I wonder, maybe you do too, 14:34 it's nice to know we've got eternity in front of us, 14:39 that we're going to live forever. 14:41 Some author put it that we will have lives that measure 14:44 with the life of God for length. 14:45 Isn't that something? 14:47 To live for ever and ever and ever. 14:49 But how long ago did God, like, 14:53 make the first intelligent creature, the angels? 14:57 We can only speculate. 14:59 I mean, if God lives forever, it's hard to imagine 15:02 that there were billions of years where 15:04 God was just in this cosmic closet waiting to do something. 15:08 But He knew at whatever that point was, I mean, 15:12 the Bible says Lucifer was created. 15:14 It says: "You were perfect in the day you were created 15:17 until iniquity was found in you." 15:19 That means Lucifer even had a beginning. 15:21 The angels were created. 15:22 They had a beginning. 15:23 So at whatever point in history God decided to make 15:26 intelligent creatures, in order for them to love God, 15:29 He knew He was going to have to give them 15:31 something very dangerous, and that was true freedom. 15:35 And that means that at some point, some creature might say, 15:38 "After thinking it over, God, I don't love You. 15:42 I love myself more." 15:44 So God had to decide is love so important 15:47 that I'm going to take that risk? 15:48 And when He said yes, He knew that at some point 15:51 there would be someone that would choose not to love Him 15:55 and what would happen then was sin. 15:58 And so the Lord, the Father, and the Son, 16:01 they mobilized an agreement way back then. 16:04 Matter of fact, if you look in the book, 16:06 "Desire of Ages," page 834, 16:09 and you can write the reference down. 16:11 You probably don't have the book at your fingertips. 16:13 "Before the foundations of the earth were laid, 16:15 the Father and the Son had united in a covenant 16:19 to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. 16:23 They clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge." 16:26 Think about that. 16:27 You know, sometimes, you'll make a deal with someone 16:29 and they say, "Let's shake on it." 16:31 At least, used to do that. 16:32 I don't know, how many can remember the days 16:34 where you'd say, you know, you'd shake on it and that was a deal. 16:36 They didn't sign out a big covenant. 16:37 But says, "God the Father and the Son clasped Their hands 16:42 in a solemn pledge." 16:44 They shook on it. 16:46 And the pledge was that Christ should become the surety 16:50 for the human race. 16:52 And so this is from the foundations of the earth. 16:56 Actually, it said, "Before the foundations of the earth." 16:59 You can read in Titus 1, verse 2: 17:01 "In hope of eternal life, 17:04 which God who cannot lie promised before time began." 17:11 So when was that, "Before time began"? 17:16 Now we all live in a dimension of time and I don't want to get, 17:18 you know, too much into physics and cosmic science right here 17:22 but, you know, God lives outside of time. 17:26 God can take us, eternity, into the future 17:29 and show us something. 17:31 He can take us eternally into the past and show us something. 17:34 He took the apostle John forward in prophecy and He took him 17:37 back to where he saw the war in heaven. 17:40 So God can appear at any time and time whenever He wants. 17:45 But God had this plan. 17:47 Eternal life which was in God, He promised before time began. 17:50 Go to Revelation 13:8: "All who dwell on earth will worship him, 17:56 whose names have not been--" 17:59 and it's talking about the beast, of course. 18:01 "Whose names have not been written in the book of life 18:03 of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 18:08 It's pointing all the way back. 18:11 And in Genesis 17:7: "And I'll establish My covenant 18:14 between Me and you and your," this is our memory verse, 18:17 "and your descendants and their generations 18:20 for an everlasting covenant," is what God said to Abraham. 18:24 Isaiah 24. 18:26 I'm not going to read all 15 references, but here's a few. 18:29 Isaiah 24, verse 5: "The earth's-- 18:31 earth also is defiled under its inhabitants 18:33 because they've transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 18:37 broken the everlasting covenant." 18:42 When God makes a covenant, He opens His mouth, 18:45 He does not lie. 18:47 He says, "I am the same, Jesus Christ the same, 18:49 yesterday, today, and forever," Hebrews 13. 18:52 Malachi: "I am the Lord. I change not." 18:55 God makes a promise, He does not vacillate. 18:58 So the covenant that He made to save is an everlasting covenant. 19:02 Ezekiel 16:60: "Nevertheless I will remember My covenant 19:05 with you in the days of your youth. 19:08 I will establish an everlasting covenant with you." 19:11 That's comforting. 19:13 And Hebrews 13: "Now may the God of peace who brought 19:16 our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd 19:19 of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 19:23 make you complete in every good work to do His will." 19:27 It's part of what the covenant does, one of the promises, 19:31 is to help us be obedient, doing His will, 19:34 through the power of the blood in every good thing. 19:38 And He said, "Make you complete in every good work to do 19:44 His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight 19:47 through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever, 19:50 amen." 19:51 So the book of Hebrews closes, which is a book 19:54 all about covenants, by emphasizing 19:56 the everlasting covenant that God's made with us. 19:59 Now, that was all introduction. 20:01 Now, we're going to get into the first section 20:02 on the covenant in the gospel. 20:05 If you have your Bibles, you'll want to turn 20:06 to the very important passage in Genesis chapter 12. 20:11 God establishes His covenant with Abraham. 20:15 His name is not Abraham yet, but that's how we know him. 20:18 His name was Abram. 20:20 Abraham, Abba, is father or papa, Abba. 20:23 Abram is talking about Father. 20:26 It's a little more formal, Abraham means father 20:29 of a multitude. 20:31 So, Abraham was not a father of a multitude at this time. 20:35 'Course, God gave him the name "Father of Multitude" 20:38 before he had any kids. 20:40 But so here we're reading in Genesis 12:1, 20:43 "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Get out of your country 20:46 from your family and your father's house 20:50 to a land that I will show you. 20:52 I will make you a great nation, I will bless you 20:56 and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. 20:59 And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him 21:04 who curses you, and in you all the families 21:07 of the earth will be blessed.'" 21:09 Notice the word "bless, bless, bless." 21:13 A lot of blessing that's happening there. 21:16 For one thing, you don't want to get on the wrong side 21:18 of those that are under the everlasting covenant 21:20 because He says, "I'll curse those who curse you." 21:23 What happened to Potiphar? 21:26 Joseph was blessed. 21:27 He was in that covenant and when Joseph went 21:30 to the house of Potiphar what did God do for Potiphar? 21:35 Everything he put his hand to was blessed. 21:38 I don't know what happened when Joseph moved out. 21:42 Probably wasn't good because Potiphar's wife 21:44 falsely accused him, but then Joseph goes to prison. 21:46 Now, can you be blessed in a prison? 21:50 But it says that everything that Joseph did was blessed. 21:54 And then he goes to be prime minister of Egypt. 21:57 What country of all the countries in that fertile 22:01 crescent was blessed during the famine? 22:03 Egypt. 22:04 Why? Because of Joseph. 22:06 So there's a blessing that flows out from God's people 22:09 to those around them. 22:11 And those who persecute you, they will be cursed. 22:17 And you can see that happening as well. 22:20 A lot of nations that fought against God's people 22:22 were decimated or destroyed. 22:26 Then you go to-- God repeats the covenant. 22:28 Matter of fact, we can't even repeat all the times 22:30 that God repeated the covenant to Abraham. 22:32 Genesis 15, verse 4: "And behold, 22:35 the word of the Lord came to him saying: 22:37 'This one shall not be your heir; but one that 22:40 comes from your own body will be your heir.' 22:43 And then he brought him outside, said, 'Look now towards heaven, 22:45 and count the stars, if you're able to number them.' 22:47 He said, 'So shall your descendants be.' 22:51 And he believed in the Lord," even though he had no children. 22:55 God said, "Your descendants will be more than the sand, 22:57 more than the stars." 22:58 Abraham believed the Lord, even though he's old, 23:01 "and God counted it to him for righteousness." 23:05 What's another word for believe? 23:09 The just shall live by faith. 23:12 He had faith in God, and God counted it to him for, what? 23:17 Have you heard of righteousness by faith? 23:20 This is exhibit A of righteousness by faith. 23:23 We are declared righteous based on faith. 23:25 So God says that while you appear dead and unfruitful, 23:30 because you believe, I can do wonderful things 23:34 for those that believe. 23:36 And so God obviously did. 23:37 He performed several miracles. 23:40 Now, some covenants are made and they've got 23:44 a time period attached. 23:46 There's an agreement and when the certain time is reached, 23:51 it said all terms of the covenant are now 23:53 void and null and without effect. 23:57 But God's covenant is an everlasting covenant. 24:01 Now, people might think, "Well, Pastor Doug, 24:05 but Abraham's descendants, I mean, it-- 24:07 sometimes it doesn't look like they're blessed." 24:10 Well, He doesn't say they're not going to go through hard times, 24:13 which they did, but it seemed like they just kept bouncing 24:17 back because God has not forgot His covenant. 24:20 Matter of fact, I'm getting ahead of myself. 24:22 All right, Genesis 18:17: "And the Lord said, 24:27 'Shall I hide from Abraham the thing I'm doing,'" 24:29 this is when the angels were going to destroy 24:31 Sodom and Gomorrah. 24:33 "'Since Abraham shall surely be great and a mighty nation, 24:37 and all nations of the earth will be blessed in him?'" 24:40 God said, "We're friends. 24:41 I'm going to bless you above all nations in the world. 24:43 I'm not going to hide from you what I'm doing." 24:45 Now, if you jump to the New Testament, 24:47 Paul commenting on this covenant with Abraham, 24:49 in Romans 4, verse 1: "What shall we then say that Abraham, 24:54 our father, has found according to the flesh? 24:57 For if Abraham was justified by works, he had something 25:00 about which to boast, but not-- he's not justified by works. 25:04 For what does the Scripture say? 25:08 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him 25:11 for righteousness.'" 25:13 Now, I want to pause. 25:15 Any of you notice a little contradiction here 25:17 with another verse? 25:20 Was Abraham saved by faith or works? 25:23 Faith. 25:26 Did Abraham--no question. 25:27 Absolutely was saved by faith. 25:28 He believed God, God counted it to him for righteousness. 25:31 Did Abraham do works? 25:34 You know, when you go to James and it talks about faith 25:36 and works, it says, "Was not Abraham justified 25:38 when he offered his son, by works?" 25:41 His works showed his faith and it even says there in Hebrews 25:46 "when Abraham offered Isaac, he had faith." 25:50 He did a very difficult work, but he had faith 25:52 that God's promise, a great nation's coming 25:54 from Isaac, even if I kill him, God is able to raise him up, 25:57 in which he received him in figure. 25:59 Isaac being a type of Christ that did die and was raised up 26:04 and a great nation came out of Christ, like Isaac: 26:08 Christians, through his death. 26:11 And so Abraham showed his faith by his works. 26:16 The Bible says Abraham "who kept all of My charge, 26:20 My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." 26:22 So Abraham is known as the father of the faithful, 26:26 but he's also the father of the obedient, 26:28 and so that is certainly part of the covenant. 26:32 Let me go back and finish Romans here. 26:34 "For what does the Scripture say? 26:36 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him 26:38 for righteousness.' 26:39 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted 26:42 as grace but as a debt. 26:44 But to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies 26:47 the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness." 26:51 So when we come to Christ 26:52 it doesn't matter how ungodly we've been. 26:54 If we believe that for Christ's sake we can be forgiven, 26:58 we are justified by faith in the blood of Christ. 27:02 When we are justified by faith, will there be a difference 27:06 in the works? 27:08 See, do we do the good works to be saved 27:10 or do we do the good works because we are saved? 27:14 Does a person with a loving heart do loving things to have 27:18 a loving heart or do they do loving things 27:20 because they have a loving heart? 27:22 So when you're born again and you're a new creature and 27:24 you get a new heart, you start doing different works, right? 27:29 So if a person is not doing any of the loving heart works, 27:31 then you have to question have they been saved by faith? 27:36 Does that make sense? 27:37 So people try to create a war where there really 27:39 isn't a war between faith and works. 27:42 It is--clearly, it all begins with faith, 27:44 but then the works follow. 27:47 Now, when we talk about the covenant that God made with 27:50 Abraham, that's not the first time that you have a covenant. 27:54 Did God also make a covenant with Noah? 27:59 Yes. 28:00 Did God make a covenant with Adam? 28:04 Yes, okay-- 28:05 He made a covenant about seedtime and harvest, you know, 28:07 the seasons will continue. 28:09 But when you read in Genesis 3:15, 28:11 with Adam and Eve, God said that, 28:13 "the seed of the woman would destroy the serpent's head." 28:18 That's probably one of the first covenants and prophecies 28:21 there in the Bible, that there would be a descendant of Eve-- 28:25 of course, Abraham, Noah, they all came from Eve-- 28:27 that would ultimately destroy the serpent's head. 28:30 That was a prophecy about Christ. 28:32 You see it repeated in Revelation when it talks 28:35 about Michael doing battle with the dragon 28:40 and there's a woman there. 28:42 And the dragon is defeated and so, you know, 28:45 all of that language is played out there in Revelation. 28:48 All right, and so we're saved by faith. 28:53 It's the everlasting covenant, but the everlasting covenant 28:56 does not abolish the law because the everlasting covenant 29:00 is given in the context of the law. 29:03 So if you read the old covenant, where do you find 29:07 the old covenant? 29:09 Old Testament. 29:10 What chapters? 29:13 Chapter 20 and then if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 4 29:17 it says, "He declared unto you His covenant, 29:20 even ten commandments 29:22 which He commanded you to perform," right? 29:25 So let's say that's the old covenant. 29:26 Now what's the new covenant? 29:28 If you look in Hebrews 8, verse 10: 29:31 "'For this is the covenant that I will make 29:33 with the house of Israel after those days,' 29:35 says the Lord. 29:36 'I put my laws in their minds and write them on their heart, 29:39 and I will be their God and they will be My people.'" 29:42 So is the law still part of the new covenant? 29:45 Yeah, it's just written in a different place. 29:47 It's written in the heart. 29:49 So once you got the new covenant, 29:52 did the old everlasting covenant go away? 29:57 Both covenants had to do with salvation by faith. 30:01 Was anybody in the Old Testament saved by works? 30:06 No. 30:07 Is anybody saved by works? 30:08 They're all saved by faith, looking forward to the cross, 30:11 and we are now saved by faith looking back at the cross, amen? 30:16 All right, let's go to the section, "Covenant in Israel." 30:20 Deuteronomy 9:5: "Is it not--" 30:23 I'm sorry. 30:24 "It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness 30:27 of your heart that you going to possess the land, 30:29 but because of the wickedness of these nations 30:32 that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, 30:35 that He might fulfill the word which He swore to your fathers, 30:38 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 30:41 So, God is saying, "Look, I'm not saving you 30:43 because you're hyper-righteous." 30:46 In fact, He said, "You are a stubborn and a stiff-necked 30:48 people, but I made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 30:53 and I've not forgot My covenant." 30:56 There are several times in the Bible 30:57 where God renews the covenant to someone 31:00 that really didn't deserve it. 31:02 When Solomon started to marry many wives, 31:07 and the kingdom was going to be split in two, God said, 31:10 "Solomon, I haven't forgot the promise I made to David 31:13 so I'm not taking the kingdom away from you completely, 31:16 because I made a promise that David would not lack 31:18 someone to sit upon the throne. 31:20 So I'm giving you Judah. 31:22 The other tribes to the north, I'm taking away from you." 31:25 And He said, "Because I haven't forgot the covenant 31:27 that I made." 31:28 God has a good memory. 31:31 In fact, the children of Israel made a promise 31:34 to the Gideonites. 31:36 I don't know if you remember the story? 31:38 They promised that, "we will not destroy you 31:41 but you need to be servants for the temple." 31:44 Hundreds of years later, King Saul made war against 31:47 the Gideonites and a plague, a famine, came on the land. 31:52 And David prayed to the Lord, 31:54 "Why is this terrible famine on the land?" 31:57 And God said--this is after Saul's been dead for years. 31:59 God said, "Because Saul broke the covenant that I made-- 32:03 or that you made with the Gideonites 32:05 and I haven't forgotten. 32:07 A promise was broken." 32:09 God was showing them all kinds of peace and prosperity 32:13 for years, but God's saying, "Well, judgment's coming. 32:16 I haven't forgot." 32:18 And it wasn't until David dealt with that 32:20 that the famine was over. 32:22 So God's got a long memory, and He's going to do what He says, 32:25 and do not misinterpret temporary peace to think that 32:29 that means God has forgotten His covenant. 32:33 God said to Noah and his family, "Come in the ark," 32:35 and Noah had been preaching, 32:37 "Only those in the ark will be saved. 32:40 A terrible storm is coming." 32:41 God brought Noah and the animals in the ark. 32:43 He shut the door and they had one day of beautiful weather. 32:48 The next day, beautiful weather. 32:50 People outside the ark said, "Ah, it's not going to happen." 32:53 They misinterpreted the mercy of God, but their doom was sealed. 32:57 God had made a covenant of salvation. 32:59 They did not take the covenant up 33:00 on its terms and the flood did come. 33:04 God--"A thousand years with God are like a day," the Bible says. 33:09 Okay, the covenant with Israel. 33:12 Then look in Exodus chapter 2, verse 24: 33:15 "So God heard their groaning, and God remembered 33:19 His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 33:22 And God looked upon the children of Israel, 33:25 and God acknowledged them." 33:27 Now, two things here that are metaphors. 33:29 God remembered. 33:31 Does that mean that the Lord took some Prevagen or something 33:33 and He suddenly remembered? 33:35 "Oh yeah, didn't I make a covenant with Abra--" 33:38 And then it says: "God looked upon." 33:40 You know when it says the angels came down to look and see 33:43 if the things in Sodom were as bad as the report they heard? 33:46 Does God not know or is He using language that we use? 33:50 God had not forgotten. 33:52 This is just God's way of saying it was time 33:55 to deal with something. 33:56 After years of the Israelites being slaves in Egypt, God says, 34:00 "I've seen their suffering, I've heard their tears 34:03 and their cries and their prayers. 34:05 Now, I'm going to act." 34:07 Reminds us that sometimes you've got to pray for a while 34:09 before you get your answer. 34:11 So He said He remembered His covenant with Abraham, 34:13 Isaac, and Jacob. 34:14 Now, here's a unique verse. 34:16 Leviticus 26, verse 42: "Then," He says, "as you pray to Me, 34:22 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, 34:25 My covenant with Isaac, My covenant with Abraham. 34:28 I will remember. 34:30 And I will remember the land." 34:33 Anyone notice anything interesting about the way 34:34 that it's stated here? 34:38 It's backwards. 34:40 Almost always, God says, "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 34:42 What did He just do here? 34:45 He said, "Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham." 34:50 And so, forward or backwards, God remembers. 34:52 Psalm 89: "My covenant I will not break or alter the word 34:59 that has gone out of My lips." 35:01 This was a verse that actually helped me when I was studying 35:03 the Sabbath truth because I thought Sabbath was part 35:07 of a covenant that God made there at Mount Sinai, 35:10 part of the new covenant of putting the law in our hearts. 35:13 I couldn't imagine that God would say, 35:15 "I made a mistake picking the seventh day. 35:16 I'll have to pick a different day." 35:18 There's nothing wrong with it. 35:19 Said, He's made a covenant, He does not change. 35:21 "I will not break what's gone forth from My lips." 35:24 I said, "I think the Sabbath must still be intact." 35:28 Every covenant that God makes. 35:30 Joshua 23:14. 35:33 When Joshua, near the end of his life, 35:35 he gathered Israel together, and he said 35:37 in these beautiful words: "Behold this day, 35:40 I am going the way of all the earth." 35:42 When he said "this day," 35:43 it could have meant "this year," 35:45 but he meant the time is coming when I'm going to die. 35:47 Going the way of all the earth. 35:49 "And you know in your hearts-- and you know in all your hearts 35:54 and in all your souls, that not one thing has failed 35:59 of all the good things which the Lord your God spake 36:02 concerning you. 36:03 All have come to pass for you; 36:06 not one word of them has failed." 36:09 Joshua's reminding that God had promised to bring them 36:12 into the land and that God had promised 36:15 that He'd give them victory over their enemies 36:18 and that He would settle them and divide the land among them, 36:20 and at this point in history, Joshua said, 36:22 "God has kept His promise. 36:26 He keeps His covenants. 36:27 Everything He promised, He has done." 36:30 Now, if you're looking for a point in earthly history 36:33 when you can say, "What was the zenith 36:35 of God's keeping His covenant with Abraham on earth?" 36:40 The reason I say it like that is when God said to Abraham, 36:44 "To you and your descendants, I give all this land, 36:47 speaking of the Promised Land," did Abraham ever really enjoy 36:51 that inheritance or was it occupied by enemies? 36:55 He didn't really enjoy it. 36:57 He didn't receive it then. 36:58 When will he receive it? 37:00 New Jerusalem comes down. 37:02 Where does it come down? Mount of Olives. 37:04 How big is it? 37:05 Three hundred and seventy-five miles on each side, 37:07 which means it completely encompasses the land 37:09 that God promised to give Israel. 37:11 How long will Abraham have it then? 37:13 Forever. 37:15 But on earth, the closest that Israel ever got 37:17 to fulfilling His purpose for them was during the reign 37:20 of Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba came 37:23 before Solomon got led away by his wives later in his life. 37:27 All nations were flowing to Israel to learn about Jehovah. 37:32 They were at peace. 37:34 Solomon's name means peace, related to Shalom. 37:37 They were at peace, they were a glorious kingdom. 37:40 God was blessing them. He was blessing their crops. 37:42 He had 40 years of wonderful prosperity, 37:46 and it's the closest you can see. 37:47 The borders of Israel were the greatest 37:49 during the time of Solomon. 37:51 That's when they were the closest to the climax 37:54 of everything God had promised them on earth. 37:57 But, you know, it's interesting that you can read 38:00 in I think it's--might be 1 Kings chapter 11, I forget. 38:04 But it says: "But Solomon loved many foreign wives." 38:09 And at that point, it went down. 38:14 And just before it says that, it says: 38:17 "In that year, 666 talents of gold came into the kingdom." 38:22 I thought, "That--is that coincidence: it mentions 666, 38:26 the next chapter the kingdom takes a dive?" 38:29 I thought that was interesting. 38:31 Amazing fact. 38:33 But the real fulfillment for-- of all the covenant, 38:36 is it going to be for the literal Jews? 38:39 Everyone's waiting for Israel to become another world power. 38:42 They certainly are blessed right now with--for the size 38:44 of the nation, they've got quite a bit of influence. 38:49 But, no, the ultimate inheritance is going to be 38:52 for the children of Abraham, both physical children 38:57 of Abraham and spiritual children of Abraham, 38:59 not in this world but in a world made new, right? 39:03 I'm not planning on moving to Israel and, you know, 39:07 there have been different groups both in our church 39:09 and others that were so sure that God was going 39:11 to reestablish a literal kingdom and all the promises 39:14 He made to Israel, they moved to Israel 39:15 waiting for it to happen. 39:17 Many died there, waiting for this world empire, 39:19 glorious kingdom. 39:20 That's going to happen after the 1000 years 39:23 when the new Jerusalem comes down. 39:25 Then you're going to see the ultimate fulfillment 39:27 of all those things, amen? 39:30 So if you go to Deuteronomy 7, let me see if I read that. 39:38 Yeah, tell you what, let me go to-- 39:40 go to Deuteronomy 18. 39:43 God gives them a special warning. 39:45 He says, "Look, you are My special people 39:48 and I've made a covenant with you." 39:49 By the way, the word "covenant," it means confederacy, a league, 39:56 covenant, an alliance, a pledge, a treaty, a constitution, 40:03 an ordinance. 40:05 The word is used 264 times in the Bible. 40:09 A lot of covenants in the Bible. 40:11 It's from a Hebrew word, beriyth, and it means covenant. 40:17 That's what it means. 40:19 And it is used so often in Deuteronomy, 40:22 that Deuteronomy is sometimes called the book of the covenant 40:25 because the word "covenant" is found so many times 40:27 in the book. 40:29 So, you can read in Deuteronomy 5, verse 2: 40:33 "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb." 40:36 So what happened? 40:38 Horeb and Mount Sinai are the same mountain. 40:40 What happened there? 40:42 Ten Commandments. 40:44 Now, I'm reading Deuteronomy 5. 40:46 Is that at the beginning or end of Moses's life? 40:49 It's the end of the 40 years. 40:51 So God gives them, 40:53 shortly after they enter the wilderness, 40:55 God gives them the Ten Commandments 40:57 and establishes this new aspect of the covenant. 41:00 Now, when God gave the covenant to Abraham, does it mention 41:03 the Ten Commandments in Genesis 12? 41:05 No. 41:07 Did they have the Ten Commandments? 41:08 Yes, the Bible says: "Abraham kept My laws." 41:11 Was adultery a sin in Abraham's day? 41:15 How do you know that? 41:17 Joseph said to Potiphar's wife, 41:19 "How can I do this thing and sin against God?" 41:21 And when Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister, 41:24 Abimelech and the Pharaoh both chastised him, said, 41:27 "Lest we take your wife and had slept with her. 41:30 That would have been a sin." 41:32 Was murder a sin before the time of Abraham? 41:37 When Cain was conspiring against his brother, God said, 41:41 "Sin lies at the door." 41:43 Murder was a sin. 41:44 The blood of your brother, cries-- 41:45 You go through all the Ten Commandments. 41:47 Was the Sabbath established, even way before Abraham? 41:52 Was it wrong to lie or to steal or to covet? 41:56 Yeah, just-- so the Ten Commandments 41:57 were sort of in their hearts. 41:59 It was sort of just self-evident law, but the people, 42:03 after all their time in Egypt, had grown so wicked, God said, 42:06 "We need to codify this and write it down." 42:09 At the beginning of the 40 years, He gives them 42:12 the Ten Commandments shortly after they enter the wilderness. 42:15 Shortly before that they entered the Promised Land, 42:17 it's repeated again in Deuteronomy 5. 42:20 Just in case anyone thought it had died during that-- 42:23 the covenant had changed during that 40 years. 42:26 Moses said, "No, it's still the same." 42:28 Matter of fact, in Deuteronomy 5, 42:29 He expands on the Ten Commandments. 42:31 Does not change or take away. 42:34 And then you go on to the section here, "Special People." 42:38 Deuteronomy 18, verse 9: "When you come into the land 42:42 which the Lord your God has given you, 42:44 you shall not learn to follow 42:46 the abominations of those nations." 42:48 Now, how does that apply to you and me today? 42:51 We're not moving to the foreign mission field 42:53 where they have scary practices. 42:57 Or are we living in a jungle right now? 43:03 If--when you come to Christ, suddenly you're going to look 43:06 around and say, "I'm surrounded by pagan nations." 43:12 You know what I mean? 43:14 The customs of the lost world, it's like the Israelites 43:17 when they moved into Canaan. 43:18 They were surrounded by these evil practices. 43:22 Moses warns them against witchcraft, sorcery, 43:25 mediums, idolatry. 43:28 Do we have that in our society? 43:30 And so they were not to make any league with those nations 43:34 or follow any of their practices. 43:36 It says, "You shall not learn to follow the abominations 43:39 of those nations." 43:41 Exodus 34:11, "Observe what I command you this day. 43:45 Behold, I'm driving out from before you the Amorite, 43:49 the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, 43:52 and the Jebusite." 43:53 I always want to say, "And the termite." 43:57 "And take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant 44:00 with the inhabitants." 44:01 Now, God says, "I'm making a saving covenant with you. 44:04 You shall not make a covenant with the unbelievers." 44:07 What does Paul say? "Do not be unequally yoked." 44:11 A yoke is an agreement. 44:12 Marriage would be an agreement, with unbelievers, 44:16 or they'll start to change you. 44:20 "You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land 44:22 where you're going, lest it be a snare in your midst." 44:26 And you read in Deuteronomy 7, verse 2: 44:29 "And when the Lord your God delivers them over to you 44:31 and you conquer them," this is going to sound brutal, 44:33 but it's what it says. 44:35 "When the Lord delivers," these pagan nations, 44:38 "and you conquer them and utterly destroy them, 44:41 you will make no covenant with them or show them mercy." 44:44 You know, some of them must have lived or it would not be a risk 44:46 that they make covenants with them. 44:48 It's interesting the Bible says that God conquered 44:49 the Jebusites, but Jebusites continued to live in Jerusalem 44:53 up until the time of David. 44:55 He had to conquer the Jebusites again to get Jerusalem. 44:57 And then even after David conquered Jerusalem, 45:01 there were still people that were called Jebusites 45:04 that were in the land. 45:05 So they had not exterminated them. 45:08 And Uriah, one of David's faithful soldiers, 45:11 he was a Hittite, right? 45:13 But they converted. 45:15 So it's telling us their, what do you call it, 45:17 their genealogy was from those nations but they had converted. 45:20 It's like, Ruth was a Moabite, there you go. 45:24 But she converted. 45:25 So they dwelt among them. 45:28 He said, "You shall utterly destroy them. 45:31 Do not make a covenant with them or show them mercy. 45:34 You shall not make marriages with them. 45:36 You will not give your daughter to their son or take 45:38 their daughter for your son, for they will turn away--" 45:42 I'm missing up where I am. 45:45 Hang on. 45:47 "Your daughter, nor turn-- nor take their daughter 45:50 for your son." 45:51 Marriage always confuses me, sorry, the subject. 45:54 "For they'll turn your sons from following Me 45:56 and serve other gods. 45:57 So the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you 45:59 and destroy you suddenly, 46:02 but thus you shall deal with them. 46:03 You shall destroy their altars, break down their sacred pillars, 46:07 cut down their wooden images, burn their carved images 46:10 with fire." 46:12 It's the kind of thing that King Jehoash did and God blessed him 46:14 for having this revival where he just cleaned house 46:19 from all of the idolatry that had crept into the land. 46:22 And then Deuteronomy 26:16, there are some key words 46:25 here I want you to notice. 46:27 "This day the Lord your God commands you to observe 46:30 these statutes and judgments. 46:31 Therefore you shall be careful to observe them 46:33 with all of your heart and with all of your soul. 46:35 Today you have proclaimed that the Lord will be your God, 46:40 and that you'll walk in His ways, and keep His statutes, 46:42 His commandments, and His judgments, 46:43 and that you will obey His voice. 46:45 Also today, the Lord has proclaimed you 46:47 to be His special people." 46:49 Notice, this day, today, today. 46:54 So what does it say to us? 46:56 Today, when it comes to the covenant? 46:59 That we need to resolve, "Today, while you hear His voice, 47:03 do not harden your heart," 47:05 that we are going to be His people, 47:07 that we enter into that covenant. 47:08 A lot of people who say they're Christians know 47:10 they're not completely surrendered and they say, 47:12 "One of these days, I'm going to get around to it." 47:15 And years go by and they haven't gotten around to dealing with 47:17 those things in their life they know they need to deal with. 47:20 So Moses is emphasizing, "Today, today, today," 47:23 three times in that passage. 47:26 And then he says, in the section under "Other Images," 47:31 Deuteronomy 14:1: 47:33 "You are the children of the Lord your God. 47:35 You shall not cut yourselves or shave the front 47:38 of your head for the dead." 47:40 Notice, "For the dead." 47:43 "For you're a holy people to the Lord your God, 47:45 and the Lord's chosen you to be a people for Himself, 47:48 a special treasure above all the people on the face 47:50 of the earth." 47:51 Leviticus 19:28: "You shall not make any cuttings 47:54 in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks on you. 47:58 I am the Lord." 48:00 That's--seems some people aren't reading that verse anymore. 48:04 By the way, there is forgiveness, 48:07 but God's pretty clear, your body's a temple 48:08 of the Holy Spirit. 48:10 It's not a billboard for your own graffiti. 48:12 It be holy to the Lord. 48:14 Leviticus 21:5: "They shall not make any bald places 48:18 on their heads nor shall they shave the edges 48:20 of their beards." 48:21 Some people think, "Oh, yeah, we're not supposed to ever shave 48:23 our beard," and I've had different denominations 48:26 have come to me and says, "If you don't have a beard, 48:28 you can't be saved," really. 48:30 You'll be okay, Mike. 48:32 You've got a beard, you'll be safe. 48:33 And then they quote this verse. 48:35 This ain't nothing to do with saying it's wrong to shave. 48:37 The context was they used to do this for the dead. 48:40 When their dead died, they would shave off their head, 48:44 they'd cut off their beard, and they'd cut their flesh. 48:47 He said, "You're not to mutilate yourself in any way 48:49 for the dead, as the pagans do." 48:52 And so, the Bible says before Joseph became prime minister, 48:55 he shaved. 48:56 So it's not a sin to shave. 48:58 Anyway, just in case you ever wondered, that was free. 49:01 So God did not want them to imitate the pagan practices 49:06 of the nations that surrounded them or, if they did, 49:09 they were chastened. 49:11 Deuteronomy 8:5: "You should know in your heart, 49:13 as a man chastens his son, so the Lord chastens you." 49:16 He chastened them many times, but praise God, 49:19 He never forgot His covenant, amen? 49:21 Because the covenant is still alive today. 49:24 God has made a covenant, the blood of Jesus, to save us. 49:27 God bless you, friends. 49:29 We are out of time for our study today but if you didn't hear 49:34 the announcement at the beginning, 49:35 we have a free gift dealing with "Determining the Will of God." 49:39 And if you'd like a copy of this, it's simply call 49:43 866-Study-More where you can ask for Offer number 78-- 49:48 I'm sorry, 778, and-- or you can text "SH025," 49:54 text that to 40544. 49:56 You can download a copy of that. 49:58 God bless you. 49:59 We'll look forward to reading and studying His Word 50:02 together again next time. 50:06 male announcer: Don't forget to request 50:07 today's life-changing free resource. 50:09 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 50:11 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 50:14 or mobile device. 50:15 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:18 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 50:22 or visit the web address shown on your screen 50:25 and be sure to select the digital download option 50:27 on the request page. 50:29 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 50:32 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 50:35 And most important, to share it with others. 50:44 Diana Dixon: My name's Diana Dixon. 50:46 I'm a professional truck driver, and August 4, 2011, 50:50 I stopped to help in an accident. 50:51 male: Diana Dixon also tried to help. 50:53 She parked her semi, jumped out, and headed toward the pick-up. 50:57 That's when she saw vehicles barreling toward her 51:00 so she reacted by jumping off 475 to a road below. 51:05 Diana: Well, a pick-up had clipped a semi, 51:07 and I stopped to help and I saw it in the mirror, 51:08 so I walked back. 51:10 A gentleman told me, he says, 51:11 "Hey, you know, everything's okay. 51:12 Call 911." 51:14 And I looked over at the pick-up and there was a black pick-up 51:16 over there and he was okay. 51:17 At about that time, I don't know how far I walked, 51:20 but I walked far enough and a semi hit him and it imploded. 51:25 I knew it was going to hit me. 51:27 I had 30 seconds to decide and I decided to jump." 51:30 Diana: [recorded phone call] Yeah, I jumped off the bridge. 51:33 My back's broken. 51:34 dispatcher: Where are you at? 51:37 Diana: [recorded phone call] I don't know. 51:39 Diana: Fractured my pelvis in 24 places, 5 broken ribs, 51:42 C5 neck fracture, I had a collapsed lung, 51:46 I had a lacerated bladder, I was bleeding internally, 51:49 I had no marks on the outside of me 51:51 at all but a scrape where my arm had scraped the concrete. 51:54 From the chest down, I was on fire. 51:57 I was a dispatcher for a year after the accident and 52:00 I went back, finished my degree, and I went to Pittsburgh. 52:04 Threw a backpack over my back, 52:06 walked like all the other students. 52:08 I ran a marathon and I'm-- since then I've been back 52:12 to truck-driving. 52:14 There was a gentleman I worked with and one day he was walking 52:17 in and he walked up to my desk and I was reading my Bible. 52:20 And he says, "Are you a believer?" 52:22 And I said, "Yes." 52:24 And he gave me some "Amazing Facts" study guides 52:27 and it just--it was an eye-opening experience for me. 52:31 I mean, I started reading them and I had a bunch of questions 52:33 to ask him, so I got online and I got on the "Amazing Facts" 52:37 web page and I just found information 52:41 just that I'd never known. 52:43 I went back to work as a truck driver 52:45 because that was my ministry. 52:47 It was my ministry before the accident 52:49 and I was driving down the road and I just needed 52:52 a connection and I was flipping through and somehow 52:54 I ended up on YouTube and next thing I know, 52:58 "Amazing Facts," one of those things would come up 53:00 there and I listened to it. 53:02 I'm driving down the road, I got 11 hours of driving. 53:07 So I listened to one, I listened to another one. 53:09 And the more I listened to him, everything that I thought 53:11 in my heart, I'd just click on to one of these YouTubes 53:14 and there he was giving me the answer. 53:15 I walked in Seventh-day Adventist Church 53:17 for the first time and I felt at home. 53:20 I was baptized in the Seventh-day Adventist Church 53:23 because I had found the truth that I just was searching for 53:28 and I'd been praying about. 53:29 "Amazing Facts" has been such an inspiration and important 53:33 for my coming back into ministry that I want to be able 53:37 to give back to anyone that I can and "Amazing Facts" 53:41 is the backbone of my ministry. 53:45 My name is Diana Dixon. 53:47 Thank you for changing my life. 53:50 ♪♪♪ 53:56 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 54:04 female: Well, my conversion story is when I was 54:08 in the Philippines, I just graduated as a nurse 54:13 and afterwards I did not have any religion and one time 54:17 I found myself inside a small church, 54:21 Catholic church, in Manila, and before a big cross. 54:27 And I was kneeling before and I could hear Jesus telling me 54:32 to enter the convent, save myself and also my family. 54:37 And I said, "Lord, I would like to follow You all the way." 54:40 At that point, I seemed to be happy externally, 54:44 but because inside the convent we don't read the Bible, 54:48 we don't study about the Word of God. 54:51 We prayed the rosaries, we also at the same time 54:55 studied the lives of the saints and also our founders, 54:59 and the encyclicals of the Pope and the Virgin Mary. 55:03 And so I do not know the truth and I had this torture of 55:07 conscience, the guilty feelings that cannot be resolved. 55:11 So I would confess to the priest in the confessional box, saying, 55:15 "Father, forgive me. 55:18 Since my last confession was last week. 55:20 Since then I have committed the following sin 55:23 including the root cause: why am I falling and falling 55:27 in that same sin over and over again." 55:31 And still for 21 long years, I struggle and I struggle 55:36 and I struggle. 55:38 I realized that I was totally empty, 55:41 I was totally helpless and hopeless, 55:44 and so depressed, and so desperate 55:48 that I would like already to end my life. 55:50 I was working for five years as dean of the University 55:54 of San Agustin College of Nursing in Iloilo City, 55:59 one of the islands in the Philippines. 56:02 After five years I received a commission from my parents 56:07 to help my sister who is being a battered woman. 56:11 This is one of the reasons why I came over to United States. 56:16 It is because my sister needs my help. 56:20 As I was working in the hospital in New York, 56:23 my boss-- he was so gracious enough 56:26 to give me an invitation to the Millennium Prophecy. 56:30 As I was listening to Pastor Doug Batchelor's presentation, 56:34 my heart really was beating so fast, and my mind, 56:39 I'm able to grasp the truth, that this is the truth 56:44 that I've been longing to hear all my life, 56:47 that I have been seeking for so long. 56:51 My personal relationship with Jesus, 56:54 I can see Jesus as my personal Savior. 56:58 He is not only the Savior of the whole world 57:00 but He is my personal Savior. 57:04 He was the one who delivered me mightily from the depths of sin, 57:10 from the mighty clay. 57:12 Pastor Doug Batchelor has been used by the Lord 57:15 in my conversion. 57:17 The Amazing Facts, I owe to them. 57:20 The Lord really blessed this ministry and I'm so proud 57:25 I was able to attend this Millennium Prophecy. 57:29 My life has never been the same. 57:32 It has given me the peace, the joy, that never-- 57:37 I have never tasted in my life, and now I am set free to be able 57:43 to work for Him and to follow Him. 57:46 ♪♪♪ 57:57 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-10-07