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00:13 ♪♪♪ 00:23 ♪♪♪ 00:33 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Carlos Muñoz: Maranatha, and happy Sabbath to everyone. 00:37 Welcome to the Granite Bay Seventh-day--Seventh-day 00:41 Adventist Church. 00:42 We want to welcome you to our Hilltop Church here in 00:45 Sacramento, Granite Bay, in the Sacramento area. 00:48 We want to welcome everybody that's here in person and 00:50 everybody that's watching online or through Amazing Facts TV or 00:53 all of the different TV stations. 00:55 We want to welcome you and we want to say if you're ever in 00:58 the area, if you're ever in the Sacramento area, please come and 01:01 join us here at Granite Bay Hilltop SDA Church. 01:04 And so, as we're going to come into our study lesson for this 01:09 week, which is studying in the present truth in Deuteronomy, 01:11 we're studying Lesson number 7, "The Law and Grace," on this 01:15 day, November 13, and so we want to welcome all of you. 01:18 And before we get started, I just want to remind you 01:20 we always have a free gift. 01:22 And so this free gift that we're giving today is called, 01:25 "God's Law and God's Grace." 01:28 And you can attain--you can receive this free gift by 01:31 calling 1-866-788-3966 or 1-866-Study-More, and you can 01:39 ask for offer number 881 or you can text, if you are inside of 01:43 the United States and its territories, you can text 01:46 "SH150" to the number "40544," and you will receive a digital 01:53 copy download of this free gift. 01:55 So we hope that you take advantage of this and the many 01:59 resources that we are always wanting to put in your hands. 02:02 So today's Sabbath School lesson, number 7, is going to be 02:04 presented to us by Pastor Alden Ho. 02:07 Pastor Alden is a new addition to the Amazing Facts family. 02:12 If you don't know him, well, today you'll get to know him a 02:14 little bit better and he will be sharing with us the Word of God 02:17 through the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 02:19 Thank you very much. God bless. 02:21 Alden Ho: It's a very interesting Sabbath School 02:23 lesson we have this morning because it deals with us today. 02:29 I mean, not just Deuteronomy. 02:32 Did you have this and look at this? 02:35 It says right here a very important thing. 02:38 It's not just Deuteronomy. 02:39 It's the two words before that. 02:41 It says--or three words before that: "Present Truth in 02:46 Deuteronomy." 02:47 This is very important for us today because how many of you 02:50 believe that we are truly in the last days? 02:53 Can I see your hands? 02:55 I know that those of you online, I can't see your hands, but I'm 02:58 pretty sure that you have your hands up, considering all the 03:01 craziness that's going on today. 03:03 But this particular lesson today deals with an issue that many of 03:08 us have dealt with, with people we know, with other friends who 03:13 are churchgoers but just not of the Sabbath Day 03:16 churchgoing type. 03:18 So let's look at this today. 03:19 As we go through it, I want to read something to you that was 03:22 right at the very beginning by the editor and the contributor 03:26 to the lesson, and that's Clifford Goldstein, and he 03:29 writes here on page 2 of your lesson. 03:31 If you have it, follow along with me. 03:33 It says: "Moses spoke to them in a series of speeches. 03:37 The essence of those speeches was: 'You're now about to enter 03:41 the Promised Land. 03:42 Finally! 03:44 Don't forget what the Lord has done for you, and don't forget 03:50 what He has asked of you, which is to love Him with all your 03:54 heart, with all your soul, and to reveal that love by obedience 03:59 to all the commandments according to the covenant.'" 04:04 So, he also writes several parts I want to include here. 04:07 He says, "Moses's upper desert discourse consists of a series 04:12 of farewell messages to Israel." 04:15 He's aging now. 04:17 He's 120 years old and it's addressed to a new generation 04:21 that's on the edge of the Promised Land, about to possess 04:25 the Promised Land, those who survived the 40 years in the 04:29 wilderness. 04:31 Moses reminds this new generation of the importance of 04:35 obedience as they had learned, hopefully, from the sad 04:39 experiences that their parents faced. 04:42 Moses reminds them also in his parting words to the new 04:46 generation are given in oral written form so that they can be 04:50 endured for all generations, not just for them but also for us 04:56 today as well. 04:58 If this was present truth for the Israelites who are right on 05:03 the border of the Promised Land, then it is present truth 05:07 for us too. 05:09 If you raised your hand and you truly believe that we are 05:12 nearing the end of time, I mean, nearing, so near that we are 05:15 there, then this applies for us too, knowing that the next thing 05:21 for us is to meet Jesus and head to our eternal home. 05:27 Would you say "Amen" to that? 05:29 As we look at Sunday's lesson, "Law in Heaven," it brings us to 05:35 a text here found in Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 15. 05:38 In Ezekiel 28:15, it's talking about Satan here, a very 05:43 important part of this lesson of "Law and Grace." 05:48 It says, "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were 05:52 created, until iniquity was found in you. 05:56 By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence 06:00 within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a 06:06 profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed 06:10 you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones." 06:16 Now, if we back up a little bit from this, we go back to 06:19 Revelation 12:17. 06:21 Actually, that looks like forward but it's actually going 06:23 backwards because it's describing to us exactly what 06:27 happened here in this process. 06:29 In Revelation 12:7, we've heard this and it says: "And war broke 06:33 out," where? 06:35 "In heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon." 06:39 Who's Michael by the way? 06:41 Jesus. 06:43 "Jesus and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon 06:46 and his angels fought." 06:49 This is some sort of warfare going on. 06:51 Doesn't seem to be really good, but we already know who won. 06:56 And the verse says: "But they did not prevail, nor was a place 07:00 found for them," where? 07:03 "In heaven any longer. 07:06 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called 07:09 the Devil and Satan," notice and it says, "who deceives the whole 07:14 world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out 07:18 with him." 07:20 There's a wonderful book called "Thoughts From the Mount of 07:23 Blessings," and on page 109 it says: "The will of God is 07:27 expressed in the precepts of His holy law, and the principles of 07:31 this law are the principles of heaven." 07:34 So what we find is not only is the law applicable here, but the 07:39 law here is actually based on the law there. 07:43 So nothing's different. 07:45 Why would God create something different and say, "Well, I want 07:47 for you today what you do on earth is going to be very 07:50 different from over there." 07:52 No, everything that we do on earth is a precursor to prepare 07:56 us for what? 07:58 For our eternal home. 08:02 She goes on to say here: "The angels of heaven attain unto no 08:07 higher knowledge than to know the will of God and to do His 08:13 will is the highest service that can engage their powers." 08:18 If that's what it is for angels, then what should it be for us, 08:23 living today? 08:24 I mean, if angels are--their whole issue, their whole focus, 08:30 is to know the will of God, and once you know it, God's not 08:33 going to say, "Okay, angels, here it is. 08:36 I'm downloading the whole thing to you." 08:39 Can you imagine if that was, like, fiber optic 08:43 coming into our head? 08:44 No, God gives it little by little, a trickle at a time, 08:48 because what we have to do is we have to gnaw on it a bit. 08:51 You ever see people who chew their food like one, two, three, 08:55 four, five...? 08:59 I'm wondering, "Do I have to do the Heimlich on them? 09:02 Are they going to get stuck?" 09:04 I know sometimes in the morning if I'm in a hurry with my 09:07 muesli, I can't put very much in it because I can look at that 09:11 clock and I'm thinking, "I'm not going to make it. 09:14 Either I got to eat something else or, you know, just it takes 09:18 so long to chew." 09:20 That's how it is with the truth. 09:22 Sometimes, we have to chew on it. 09:25 Hopefully, we don't regurgitate it like some animals do, but we 09:29 do chew on it and get it so that it's smaller pieces and then we 09:35 can swallow it better. 09:37 And that's exactly what happens for angels and that's what 09:40 happens for us too. 09:42 So the question, then, I have for you, is it possible for sin 09:46 to ever enter heaven again? 09:49 What do you think? 09:51 I heard yes. 09:52 No, I heard no. 09:54 Could evil angels get back into heaven? 09:59 So then, here's the question. 10:03 If they could get back into heaven, or maybe they could get 10:06 back into heaven but then if Michael fought with Satan, and 10:12 Satan we know deceived how many of the angels? 10:16 One third of the angels. 10:17 So if one third of the angels are cast out of heaven, could 10:20 you tell the different between the one third that was cast out 10:24 and the two thirds that remained then? 10:28 I mean, all of a sudden, when they walked out of the pearly 10:30 white gates, does their demeanor, does their focus, does 10:33 everything about them change in looks? 10:37 Not really. 10:40 You know, that's what the devil wants us to think. 10:43 But Satan was a very beautiful creature, and he still is today. 10:47 He doesn't go around with horns, a pitchfork, and a pointed tail, 10:53 wearing a red suit. 10:56 I think that's in the political world. 10:58 But when you came in here this morning, I think you've noticed 11:04 over the last maybe couple of months that there have 11:07 been--they've been building something out by the road. 11:10 Now, those of you watching online probably have no clue as 11:12 to what we're talking about here. 11:14 But Amazing Facts has set up a security system, a gate. 11:20 Now, if you try to come at night-time, will you be able to 11:23 get in? 11:24 No, you can't. 11:26 Now, well, let me rephrase that. 11:28 You can, but you can't. 11:31 You can park your car and you can walk in, but can your car 11:35 come in? 11:38 No, not unless you have the pass, the secret pass, which 11:43 most of you don't have that secret pass so you're not 11:45 permitted to get past the gate unless you go out and walk. 11:49 Many years ago, I remember I was in Korea. 11:51 I served there as a student missionary in Seoul, Korea, and 11:54 I remember going to the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone, and I stood 11:59 there in that one main building and they had the cable for the 12:03 microphone going across and you could walk around the table and 12:06 the moment you walked around that table, you were in 12:10 communist country. 12:11 That was North Korea. 12:13 Now, you can't drive into North Korea freely, and neither can 12:18 you really walk into North Korea because of everything that's set 12:23 up around. 12:25 But because Satan's angels could be looked at as God's angels, 12:33 did you know that there's a security system that has been 12:36 set up in heaven as a result of this? 12:39 How many of you knew that? Can I see your hands? 12:42 Wow, a lot of you didn't. 12:44 Let me explain to you so you don't think I'm preaching 12:46 heresies or something like that. 12:48 This is found in early writings, page 37. 12:50 Listen to this: "Then my attending angel directed me to 12:53 the city again where I saw four angels winging their way to the 12:57 gate of the city. 12:59 They were just presenting the golden card to the angel 13:04 at the gate. 13:06 Hm, let's go two more pages to page 39: "There is perfect order 13:10 in--and harmony in the holy city. 13:13 All the angels that are commissioned to visit the city 13:16 hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the 13:21 gate of the city as they pass in and out," wow. 13:27 Now you learned something today that you never knew. 13:30 So, God's heavenly kingdom has a fortified security system 13:38 because sin will never have a chance to enter in again. 13:43 Why is this important? 13:45 Well, it's important because when we sin, well, let's turn to 13:52 Romans chapter 7. 13:53 Romans chapter 7, verse 7. 13:56 Paul writes here and he says: "What shall we say then? 13:59 Is the law sin? 14:01 Certainly not! 14:03 On the contrary, I would not have known sin except," what? 14:08 "Through the law. 14:10 For I would not have known covetousness unless the law 14:14 said, 'You shall not covet.'" Do you remember the name "Rahab"? 14:20 What do we know about Rahab? 14:21 Rahab was kind of the mother of all harlots, wasn't she? 14:27 And she--that her story's found in Joshua chapter 2. 14:31 She hid the two Hebrew spies that came in. 14:34 A security detail was now sent to Rahab and what happened? 14:38 They were asking her, "Hey, Rahab, where did the two guys 14:42 come that came into your place?" 14:45 What was her answer, ha, ha? 14:47 She says, "They've gone. I don't know where they are." 14:51 Now, let's be clear. 14:53 Did Rahab lie? 14:56 Yeah, certainly she lied. 14:58 Is lying a sin? 15:00 It's in the 11th commandment, right? 15:02 "Thou shalt not tell a lie." 15:04 "Thou shalt not bear false witness." 15:07 So why would Rahab tell a lie? 15:11 Because Rahab did not know that was sin. 15:14 Kind of like, Rahab didn't realize that being a mother of 15:17 all harlots was a sin, until it was pointed out to her. 15:22 When it was pointed out to her, was she continuing on being a 15:26 harlot? 15:28 No. 15:29 Did she continue lying? No. 15:31 In fact, Rahab's life changed so much that her name is mentioned 15:38 in Hebrews chapter 11 as one of the faithful and she is counted 15:44 as one of those who are the great cloud of witnesses. 15:49 Let's go to Monday's lesson: "The Law in Deuteronomy." 15:53 In Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 44, it says: "Now this is the 15:59 law which Moses set before the children of Israel." 16:03 The law, the Torah, meaning God's instructions to them, 16:08 which was inclusive of the Ten Commandments. 16:11 Now, we find also that in Romans 3:20 it says: "Therefore, by the 16:16 deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight for by 16:22 the law is the knowledge of sin." 16:25 You notice how it says we use the--in the English, the word 16:29 "The law." 16:31 Now, when I was teaching in Korea, they don't like to put 16:34 articles before the words. 16:36 And if, in fact, if you listen to Australian people, I have a 16:40 lot of friends that are in Australia, downunder, they don't 16:44 like to use the article in there. 16:46 When they say, "I'm going--" we would say, "I'm going to the 16:49 hospital." 16:51 They would say, "I'm going to hospital." 16:54 We would say, "Pastor." 16:57 I mean, sorry, we would say, "The pastor." 16:59 They would say, "Pastor." So they don't include the law. 17:01 Now, this is very interesting because this word "the" and the 17:06 leaving it out, if the Jews said, "This is the law," that 17:11 means they're referring to the law being their law. 17:15 Now, if I--my wife's somewhere here, hiding. 17:18 If I said, "This is the wife," what would that, you know, what 17:24 if I said, "This is a wife"? 17:26 Ha, she would not like that. 17:29 I can tell you that much. 17:31 But when you say, "This is the law," versus what if you said, 17:37 "This is law," do you see the difference? 17:41 There's a big difference in the two. 17:43 So we find that when we state this, Paul is stating here the 17:48 general truth that is applicable to not just the Jews but also to 17:53 the Gentiles, because righteousness by works of law 17:58 has been the basis of every false religious system and had 18:02 become the principle even for the Jewish region--religion. 18:08 But works performed in obedience to the law, whether that law be 18:12 made known by reason, by conscience, or by revelation, 18:17 cannot justify a sinner before God. 18:23 The Bible commentary states this: Paul had already shown 18:26 that Gentiles--the Gentiles have violated the law revealed to 18:30 them in nature and conscience. 18:33 But we find the law has no power to justify. 18:37 It can only expose the sinfulness of sin in its true 18:42 colors. 18:44 Justification can only be obtained one way. 18:50 We find here from the Fall of Adam onward up to those who live 18:55 through the time of trouble and the mark of the beast the people 18:59 depicted as those who keep the commandments of God and the 19:04 faith of Jesus. 19:06 That's hopefully us. 19:11 Now, in Tuesday's lessons, we look at this word, if you have 19:14 your lesson and you look at it, it's kind of interesting. 19:18 It says here, "latovlah." 19:22 I thought, "What is this word? 19:24 Is this a typo? Or is it something like this?" 19:26 And I kind of briefly looked at it and it really didn't say a 19:29 whole lot, so I messaged a friend of mine over in--my 19:34 friend Abi David, over in Jerusalem, and I said, "Hey, 19:37 Abi, do me a favor. 19:39 Send me a voice clip, an audio clip back, saying what this word 19:42 is, because it's supposed to mean 'for your good.'" 19:47 She said, "But that word does not mean 'for your good.'" 19:51 And I thought, 19:53 "Well, that's interesting but that's what the lesson says." 19:56 And she says, "No, the actual word is latovlah." 20:03 I can't say it. 20:05 'Cause when she said it on the audio clip, it sounded like she 20:07 was coughing and spitting up here, because of the way 20:11 the Hebrew word is. 20:12 It's very glottal sounding, so it's latov-glagh. 20:16 I kid you not, that's how it says. 20:19 Pastor Doug told me, "Just say it 'latovlag.' 20:21 Just don't try to get too dramatic with the whole thing." 20:26 But that's how they pronounce it. 20:27 And this word, we find, is a very interesting word. 20:34 People look for excuses. 20:40 When--if you were like me, ha, ha, growing up in high school, 20:43 how many of you looked for excuses not to do your homework? 20:47 Can I see your hands? 20:49 Yeah, Jessica, I can figure that one out there. 20:52 So, we have all kinds of excuses for not doing things and 20:58 sometimes we have excuses for not working as well. 21:01 And you notice, what's going around today? 21:03 The pandemic of employment today is many people would rather just 21:08 stay at home unemployed rather than working. 21:12 I see so many of your heads nodding up and down. 21:16 Any excuse they can find. 21:18 Now, listen to this. 21:19 In Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12 and 13, turn with me to that. 21:24 Deuteronomy 10, verse 12 and 13. 21:27 It says: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require 21:32 of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His 21:37 ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your 21:43 heart, with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the 21:48 Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your 21:54 good?" 21:56 That's interesting. 21:58 So, this command, He set up this--He established this law 22:06 for us, the principles of the Decalogue are based not on just 22:10 some arbitrary thing, but this law is actually based on the 22:14 character of who God is. 22:18 And they are established very firmly. 22:22 Now, it was interesting that last night, when you watched the 22:28 prophecy series that's going on, "Panorama of Prophecy," last 22:32 night's topic was "The Commands of the King." 22:35 And do you remember what happened to Daniel? 22:38 They had made up this new law to try and trap Daniel, right? 22:43 They said that when the king realized what had happened, 22:48 would he have changed the law if he could? 22:51 Yeah, he would have. But why didn't he? 22:56 Because it was the law of the Medes and the Persians and they 23:00 always say that, "Because it is the law of the Medes and the 23:03 Persians, which cannot change." 23:07 But why is that that we don't quote the same thing 23:10 for God's law? 23:12 "This is the law of God, which cannot change"? 23:16 It does not change. It does not alter. 23:18 It is what it is, because I don't know about you, but I've 23:26 never seen or read or heard anywhere where God says, "Oops." 23:34 Have you? 23:36 God doesn't make mistakes, which is why the law is the way it is 23:42 and that's why it's firm and that's why it is established. 23:48 So we don't change God's law. Why? 23:54 Because it is for our good. 23:57 That's what He's saying. It's for our good. 24:00 When you were growing up, did you ever hear the words, "It's 24:04 for your own good"? 24:08 And probably you hated that but then you used those same words 24:13 on your children. 24:15 Did you not? 24:17 Not only those ones but, you know, the other ones: "It's 24:20 gonna hurt me more than it hurts you." 24:28 It's for your own good. 24:31 Did you know this is why the Creator of the universe who not 24:36 only spoke things into existence, but formed us from 24:41 the dirt and the dust of the ground, and He knows our whole 24:47 body system. 24:48 And knowing our whole body system, He says, "I'm giving you 24:53 a health message for your own good." 25:00 He spoke this to the children of Israel. 25:02 "I'm taking you away from the flesh pots of Egypt. 25:06 I'm giving you angels' food," and what did they say? 25:12 "But I don't want it. 25:14 We want--" you remember years ago the Wendy's thing, "Where's 25:19 the beef?" 25:22 They wanted that. 25:23 That was their whole focus. 25:24 They didn't want what God told them, so they would rather have 25:29 it their way. 25:31 What was the result of that? 25:34 They died. 25:36 Sin always ends in death. 25:43 God did not set up the law to hurt us. 25:48 He set up the law to keep us safe. 25:50 I remember many years ago, when our twin girls were young, we 25:59 had them in a playpen. 26:01 The playpen was not there to keep them isolated and to keep 26:07 strangers out. 26:08 It was there for their own good so they wouldn't get into 26:12 mischief. 26:14 Should have kept them in that playpen for a long time. 26:19 But we put them in this portable crib, not because we hate them. 26:24 We put them in this because we love them and we want to keep 26:27 them safe, because the moment you let them out, I remember one 26:31 of them, our daughter Madison who just got married three weeks 26:35 ago, she found a paperclip in the middle of our move and she 26:40 thought, "Oh, look, there's some holes in the wall and she 26:45 touched it and she jumped back screaming, "It bit me, it bit 26:49 me." 26:52 Now, we didn't put the playpen right next to those plugs, I 26:57 just want you to know that, okay? 26:59 God, in the same way, does not set the law and then set 27:03 temptation before us. 27:05 No, it's us that likes to draw near the temptation. 27:09 If we look at the law and these ten commandments as not a 27:14 perimeter but as a safety zone, this will keep us safe and will 27:21 keep us in His love. 27:25 In order for man to be justified by faith, listen to this, faith 27:29 must reach a point where it will control the affections and the 27:34 impulses of the heart. 27:36 That's us today. 27:38 Let's jump to Wednesday's lesson. 27:40 Time is ticking on. 27:41 "A Slave in Egypt." 27:44 When you were growing up, do you remember your parents telling 27:46 you this or to do this or to do that or mine would be, "Remember 27:53 to clean your room." 27:56 So what do you do? 27:57 Take everything and throw it in the drawers, 27:59 throw it under the bed. 28:01 It's kind of hard to put it on the bed and cover it because, 28:03 you know, it creates a mound there. 28:06 In Deuteronomy chapter 5, verse 12, there's a reiteration here 28:11 of the fourth commandment, not--but it doesn't start the 28:15 same way like it does in Exodus chapter 20. 28:17 It doesn't start with the words, "Remember." 28:20 Here, in the King James Version, it says, "Keep." 28:24 In the New King James Version, it says, "Observe." 28:27 This is a repetitive theme that's actually throughout the 28:30 entire book of Deuteronomy. 28:33 "Remember what God has done for you." 28:37 Do you remember sometimes what your parents have done for you? 28:43 Do you remember the sacrifices they have done for you? 28:47 It's all about law and grace. 28:51 God never changes. 28:53 And God is reminding them, "Because I'm loving you, I'm 28:57 doing this for you, and I'm bringing you here and I'm taking 29:01 you there." 29:04 But then again, on Acts--in the book of Acts 17 you might 29:11 remember this: "Truly, these times of ignorance, God 29:14 overlooked." 29:16 There's another word that's found there, not overlooked but 29:19 what? 29:20 He winks. 29:22 What does he wink? 29:23 He, you know, it's almost like covering your eyes 29:26 just for a moment. 29:27 I didn't see that. 29:29 You ever heard that said to you? 29:31 "I didn't see that." 29:33 Does that person continue to say that, even though you continue 29:36 to do the same thing? 29:37 "I didn't see that, I didn't see that, I--" No. 29:40 Maybe once or twice. 29:43 And that's the same thing with God. 29:46 God winked because you didn't know, as in Rahab didn't know, 29:53 but now you know, you know? 29:58 You make mistakes, therefore you commit sin over and over but now 30:03 you understand and as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, 30:08 "Go and," what? 30:11 "Go and sin no more." 30:13 You know the buzz word these days? 30:15 You hear it on the media all the time. 30:18 That word is the "narrative." 30:21 All of a sudden, it just kind of appeared. 30:23 The narrative says, "Well, let me tell you what the narrative 30:26 says here in Deuteronomy chapter 5, verse 12: "Observe the 30:30 Sabbath day." 30:32 Let me read through the whole thing. 30:33 "To keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 30:37 Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh 30:40 day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 30:43 In it you shall do," some work. 30:47 Okay, "No work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your 30:51 male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your 30:54 donkey, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your 30:58 gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest 31:03 as well as you. 31:07 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and 31:10 the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand 31:15 and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God 31:19 commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." 31:24 This narrative is by God. 31:28 Now, I know that most of you, probably 99.9% of you, don't 31:33 know who I am. 31:36 I was not born in where I grew up. 31:40 It was very confusing. 31:41 I confused a poor Zambian taxi driver one day. 31:44 He asked me, "So, are you from America?" 31:48 I said, "No." 31:50 "So, where were you born?" 31:53 I said, "Singapore." 31:54 "So, you live in Singapore?" 31:57 "No." 31:59 "So, where are you from?" 32:01 I said, "Well, I grew up in Canada." 32:03 "Oh, so you live in Canada?" 32:05 "No." 32:08 "So, where you live?" 32:11 I said, "I live in America." 32:13 "Oh, okay." 32:15 And then he--then I said, "I married an American wife." 32:19 He looked at--he was just so confused by the end 32:21 of the whole thing. 32:23 I grew up in Toronto, Canada, in a section where there were many, 32:28 many Hasidic Jews. 32:30 And on Sabbath morning as we are driving to church, you see the 32:35 Hasidic Jews in their black outfits with their hats, the 32:39 special hats, very expensive hats, and they're walking to the 32:43 synagogue. 32:45 And they don't drive a car. 32:46 Oh no, no, no, 'cause that would be work. 32:48 You have to walk. 32:50 So, to walk, that means they can only go so far because it's only 32:54 permitted for a Sabbath Day's journey so they have to stay 32:57 very close to the synagogue so the concentration of Hasidic 33:01 Jews is very high. 33:02 In fact, it's so high that they create apartment buildings 33:06 for them there. 33:07 And all these Jews live in the apartment buildings 33:10 but you know what? 33:11 When you get into the elevator, 'cause you live on the tenth 33:14 story, you can't press the button because that's work. 33:24 I mean, you know, these elevators were specially 33:29 programmed on Sabbath. 33:31 They stopped at every floor. 33:33 You didn't have to press any button. 33:35 It stopped at every floor, as a convenience. 33:39 But heaven forbid you were not in one of those special 33:42 elevators and you're a Hasidic Jew and you get into this 33:45 elevator and you're just standing there waiting and I 33:49 walked in and he would, you know, I'm like, "Why is he 33:52 standing there? 33:54 Why is nothing lit up on the numbers?" 33:56 He would say, "Sure would be nice to get to the tenth floor 34:00 today." 34:04 "Oh, you want to go to the tenth floor?" 34:06 "Oh, yes." 34:07 "There you go." 34:09 Oh, I could sin, but he wouldn't sin. 34:15 You see, this is kind of the same logic today. 34:18 Think about this. 34:22 Sometimes, we as Adventists go out and eat on the Sabbath Day, 34:29 because we're not doing the work. 34:32 It's just would be nice to eat on the Sabbath Day. 34:36 So we would be--it would be nice to have somebody else do the 34:40 work for you. 34:43 But is that what God is saying for us today? 34:48 You see, there's something you have to keep in mind. 34:53 Satan knows that he cannot--he cannot deceive us on the day of 34:59 worship. 35:02 But he is doing his utmost to deceive us not only in the way 35:07 of worship, but also in the way we keep the Sabbath holy. 35:11 That's really deep. 35:14 Think about that for a moment. 35:16 You may not be deceived on the day but you might be deceived on 35:20 the way and how you keep the Sabbath Day. 35:23 Remember, "Not everybody that comes to Me saying, 'Lord, 35:27 Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven." 35:30 It's not just keeping the day, the Sabbath Day, but it's also 35:35 in the way we keep it. 35:38 Let's jump now to Thursday. 35:41 Thursday is titled, "Not For Your Righteousness." 35:47 Isaiah 64:6 says: "All our righteousness are like," what? 35:53 "Filthy rags." 35:58 In this devotional book, "The Faith I Live By," page 109, it's 36:02 a very powerful statement here given. 36:04 It says: "What is justification by faith? 36:08 It is the work of God in laying the glory of men in the dust and 36:12 doing for men that which is not possible in his power to do for 36:18 himself. 36:20 When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared 36:24 to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ." 36:30 In Deuteronomy chapter 9, verses 1 through 6, the following is 36:34 said: "Hear, O Israel." 36:36 Hear, as in listen. 36:38 "You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to 36:42 dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities 36:47 great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, 36:52 the descendants of Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you've 36:57 heard it said, 'Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?' 37:02 Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes 37:07 over before you as a consuming fire." 37:11 Notice the words here: "He will destroy them and bring them down 37:15 before you." 37:17 Why? 37:18 "So you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the 37:22 Lord has said to you." 37:24 The Lord is doing things for you. 37:25 He's paving the way for you in order to make it easy on you. 37:33 Verse 4 says: "Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your 37:37 God has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my 37:41 righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this 37:45 land'; but it is because of the wickedness of those nations that 37:50 God is driving them out before you. 37:52 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness 37:56 of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because 38:01 of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God 38:05 drives them out before you, and that He may fulfill the word 38:10 which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, 38:14 to Jacob. 38:15 Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you 38:19 this good land to possess because of your righteousness, 38:24 for you are a stiff-necked people." 38:29 Now, I'm not going to ask you, 'cause I don't think anybody 38:32 here is going to say, "Huh, yeah, I'm a stiff-necked 38:34 person." 38:37 But I can tell you, I have pastored some stiff-necked 38:39 people before and there's good reason they're called 38:43 stiff-necked people. 38:44 Do you ever wake up with a stiff neck? 38:49 Can you do this? 38:51 No, why? 38:53 'Cause you got a stiff neck. 38:55 Same reason why many of them can't see God's way. 39:00 They're stiff-necked. 39:02 They can't turn, they can't observe. 39:05 In short, it says here: "The Lord is going to do a wonderful 39:09 work for you and in your heart so you must obey His laws. 39:15 Your good behavior does not save you." 39:18 I don't care how good you are, you're not going to get into the 39:21 kingdom of heaven based on anything you can do. 39:25 Your good behavior comes because you are saved. 39:31 The Lord saves you by His mercy. 39:32 He writes His law in your heart and gives you His Holy Spirit 39:37 to help you obey. 39:43 The Lord saved--has saved by grace with His law written in 39:50 your heart and He tells us go and obey His law. 39:57 Since you don't know my background, I'll just say that I 40:00 should not be here. 40:02 Many years ago, I should have died. 40:04 When I graduated from Andrews University, one year after, or 40:08 not even one year, three months after I graduated, I was 40:12 involved in a plane crash doing aerial photography. 40:15 It's a very intriguing story. 40:16 You can go on YouTube and watch it. 40:18 But I should be dead. 40:20 And it's only by God's grace that God saved me, and I know 40:24 why He saved me. 40:25 Because He was calling me into ministry, but you know what? 40:28 I played the fool. 40:30 And then one time, God called me. 40:32 Very audibly, He called me. 40:36 And being not sure that I really wanted to go into ministry, I 40:43 went and saw one of the chaplains at Andrews University, 40:45 an older man, Elder David Ran. 40:49 He knew me very well and I said, "Elder Ran." 40:51 He knew my whole story. 40:53 And I said, "Elder Ran, this is what God said to me, and I'm not 40:58 sure." 40:59 He set me down and he looked right in my face and he pointed 41:02 at me and he says, "Now, Alden, did God spare you 41:07 in the plane crash?" 41:08 "Yes." 41:10 "Did He save your life?" 41:12 "Yes." 41:14 "Did He call you to ministry?" 41:17 "Yes." 41:19 "Did He open the door before you?" 41:21 "Yes." 41:24 And then he said, "Well, then, shut up and go about doing 41:28 His business." 41:32 That set it straight for me. 41:35 Could it be that sometimes God's saying to us, "You know what? 41:38 You're so involved with this, you're giving excuses for this," 41:43 just shut up and keep His commandments? 41:44 Stop giving excuses. 41:48 Live up to everything that God has commanded you to do. 41:55 You know, in Friday, Friday's lesson, in the Bible commentary, 42:02 there is a great quotation here and it says: "The sinner cannot 42:06 depend upon his own good works as a means of justification. 42:10 He must come to the point where he will renounce all his sin and 42:14 embrace one degree of light after another as it shines on 42:19 his pathway. 42:21 He simply grasps by faith the free and ample provision made in 42:26 the blood of Christ. 42:28 He believes the promises of God which, through Christ, are made 42:33 unto him, sanctification and righteousness and redemption. 42:37 And if he follows Jesus, he will walk humbly in the light, 42:41 rejoicing in the light, and defusing that light to others. 42:47 Being justified by faith, he carries cheerfulness with him." 42:54 Are you happy in the Lord? 42:56 You know, sometimes I've been to churches where people are 42:58 sitting there. 43:00 "Are you happy?" "Yeah." 43:03 I have to say sometimes if you're really happy, don't 43:06 forget to tell your face. 43:13 "Being justified by faith, he carries cheerfulness with him in 43:17 his obedience in all his life." 43:21 You know, people are watching. They're watching you. 43:25 They're--I was at Rayleigh's the other day getting a--my 43:28 groceries, coming back from work at Amazing Facts, and I was 43:31 coming out and a man behind me says, "Hey, do you know Jesus?" 43:35 And I turned to him. 43:38 I was kind of surprised 'cause, you know, I'm usually the one 43:41 that says it. 43:42 And he caught me off-guard. 43:43 And I said, "Well, yeah, I'm a pastor." 43:45 And he kind of looked at me. 43:47 "Really? You're a pastor?" 43:49 Then he looked at me and says, "No wonder you're clean cut and 43:53 you're dressed well." 43:57 They're watching. 43:58 They're watching to see what type of person you are. 44:02 Are you--how do you handle adversity? 44:04 Your friends, your family, your co-workers are watching you. 44:09 You see, we're told here at the very ending of this quote, it 44:12 says: "The souls who are in subordination to God, who honor 44:16 Him, and are doing His Word will receive divine enlightenment. 44:20 In the precious Word of God, there is purity and loftiness as 44:25 well as beauty that, unless assisted by God, the highest 44:30 powers of men cannot attain to." 44:35 You know, there is a good reason why the message in this Sabbath 44:42 School lesson of Deuteronomy says it's a message of present 44:48 truth. 44:50 You see, for us living today, the full light of truth is 44:56 shining on us more than it's ever shone on anybody who has 45:02 walked the face of this earth. 45:05 You believe that? 45:08 You know, William Miller didn't have the full light. 45:10 Joseph Bates didn't have the full light. 45:14 Ellen White didn't have the full light to begin with. 45:17 But we today, have absolutely zero excuses. 45:22 It's all set before us. 45:23 But God is not just truncating the whole thing into our hearts 45:27 and minds. 45:28 He's giving us one ray of light at a time, and He sees how we're 45:33 handling it. 45:35 Just like Peter. 45:36 Peter talks about the eight rungs that we have to climb. 45:38 And you--and you can't go one, three, four, five. 45:41 You have to handle them one at a time. 45:45 And God's watching. 45:46 He wants to see how you handle them. 45:50 I want to give you this one last thought because it's not 45:54 impossible. 45:55 It's fully possible. 45:57 If you stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince 46:00 Immanuel, faithfully doing His service, you will never yield to 46:05 temptation for one will stand by your side who is able to keep 46:09 you from falling, but God cannot do this work for you unless you 46:15 give Him all the powers of your mind and your heart, amen? 46:25 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 46:27 free resource. 46:28 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 46:30 download a digital copy straight to your computer or mobile 46:33 device. 46:34 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 46:38 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 46:42 shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital download 46:46 option on the request page. 46:47 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 46:51 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 46:54 And most important, to share it with others. 47:02 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 47:11 Reuben: You know, we grew up in a neighborhood up in the 47:13 Midwest that was a pretty bad neighborhood. 47:15 And when I became a teenager, I started using drugs. 47:19 I was on--I started using meth when I was, like, I think, 16, 47:23 15, something like that. 47:25 I was having some problems in my life I really didn't know how to 47:28 deal with. 47:30 The only thing I really knew was violence. 47:33 So, this night here I was going to inflict violence on myself. 47:37 I was really high and really depressed, so I took, you know, 47:41 I had this .40 caliber so I remember, I put one in the 47:44 chamber and I stuck it to the side of my head like this. 47:49 And that gun had a hair trigger, you know? 47:53 I remember I was tapping it, 'cause a part of me said, "No, I 47:57 don't want to do this." 47:59 But there was something very evil present there 48:02 saying, "Do it." 48:03 I just said to myself, I said, "God, if You're real, 48:09 show Yourself to me." 48:11 My mother took me to church when I was a little kid and we used 48:16 to sing, "Jesus loves me," and I remembered that song. 48:20 It started playing in my mind. 48:23 And I almost had, like, a vision of me as a little kid, you know, 48:29 and in Sabbath School we used to bang those sticks together and 48:36 sing, "Jesus loves me." 48:38 And I heard that in my mind. 48:44 So I said, "Wow." 48:48 So I just kind of like, put the gun down and I kind of fell on 48:51 my bedside there and I said, "Lord." 48:55 I just basically, just prayed this crazy prayer. 48:57 I says, you know, I told Him everything that was wrong with 49:00 me. 49:01 And I remember one day I was driving around, I kind of felt 49:03 lost and I drove by this church. 49:05 And I seen Tom out there. 49:07 Tom was just out there, watering the flowers, you know? 49:11 Tom: So I caught a vision out of the side of my eye, this big 49:15 husky guy with a tattoo, walking up and he's saying, "Hello," and 49:21 I said--so I asked him if I can help him. 49:25 He told me that he drives by the church on occasion and every 49:31 time he goes by, he's thinking if he should stop in. 49:34 Reuben: After he showed me around the church, you know, I 49:39 was like, "Okay, man, it's nice meeting you and this and that." 49:43 So I jumped in my car and I started heading down the 49:46 driveway and the next thing you know in, like, my peripheral 49:51 vision, I see him coming around the corner like Jerry Rice 49:55 running a football. 49:56 No, not that fast but, you know, he was taking off after me, and 50:00 he says, "Hey, hey, hey, hold on, hold on." 50:03 Tom: I asked if he would like to have some Bible studies and 50:06 he said, "Yeah." 50:08 Reuben: He would come by the house. 50:10 We'd all start--we'd start hiding the beer cans and trying 50:13 to air out the weed smell and there was a presence that came 50:16 with Tom that was comforting, you know what I mean? 50:22 Even though I wasn't taking the Bible studies as serious as I 50:25 should have, looking back, there was just a presence about him 50:29 being there in the house that was comforting. 50:32 I told Tom, I said, "Tom, you know you can't win everybody." 50:36 Tom: I looked at him and I knew. 50:38 I said to him, "Reuben, I never get anybody." 50:43 I says, "The Holy Spirit will do that," and I kind of, in my 50:48 heart knew that the Holy Spirit was going to work on Reuben. 50:51 Reuben: So then Tom kind of left the picture for a while and 50:56 then I think one day at my mother's house they were 50:58 watching "The Final Events of Bible Prophecy." 51:00 So I watched that and I remember the scene where they had the 51:08 hellfire and stuff, you know, they're outside the city and it 51:14 showed the hellfire coming down and burning people and stuff and 51:18 I remember saying to myself, "That's where I would be, 51:22 right there." 51:24 After the hellfire scene, I saw the saints in the city, in the 51:30 New Jerusalem and Jesus recreating the earth. 51:35 And I said, "I want that to be my--me and my family." 51:42 There was something about the way Doug preached and things 51:44 that I felt that touched me because he's kind of like 51:49 myself, you know? 51:51 He's--he didn't grow up like that, you know? 51:54 He done drugs and things, so I kind of found these common 51:59 grounds that I had with him and I liked how he just kind of like 52:02 kept it real with his preaching and then Pastor Rodney* came to 52:06 the church and I got to know him very well and we started doing 52:13 some finishing studies. 52:14 He wanted to make sure I understand what I was doing 52:17 and things. 52:19 And he baptized me, my wife, my brother. 52:22 No matter what you've done, where you come from, 52:26 where you've been. 52:28 No matter how bad of a sinner you think you are, the Lord 52:33 Jesus loves you no matter what you've done. 52:35 Doug Batchelor: Friends, it's because of God's blessing and 52:39 your support, thousands of others, just like Reuben, have 52:42 found Jesus and eternal life. 52:46 ♪♪♪ 52:57 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 53:06 male: When I was 15 I bought my first bag of marijuana out of 53:09 curiosity and from the age of 15 on to 23 was a constant 53:15 experimentation with different substances. 53:19 By the time I was 23, there was not a drug I had not tried. 53:23 I had worn myself out searching for happiness. 53:26 And one day, I came home, tired as usual, and I started 53:31 drinking. 53:32 And as usual, after I started drinking, I started looking for 53:37 a higher buzz. 53:39 Someone came by with some Xanax. 53:43 Someone also came by with something else that I liked and 53:46 that was cocaine. 53:48 But this time, not thinking, I took the whole thing. 53:52 So I went to bed about 5 in the afternoon. 53:55 My roommate went off to work that night. 53:58 When he came back from work the next day, though, he noticed 54:01 something was wrong 'cause I was still in bed in the same 54:04 position. 54:05 He tried to wake me up and he couldn't wake me up. 54:09 And my--when my parents found me, they found me curled up in 54:14 the fetal position in my hospital room, unconscious 54:19 still. 54:20 And I stayed unconscious in this coma-like state for the next 54:24 week. 54:25 I stayed the next month in the hospital, slowly getting better 54:31 to where I could sit up in bed and I had to learn to walk 54:34 again, but my parents found this one facility out in the hills of 54:38 Tennessee. 54:40 I had to admit that I liked the place, but they were Christian. 54:45 And even worse than that, I said, "Yes," when they asked me 54:48 if I wanted to go to church that week. 54:50 Before the pastor said the benediction, I was so excited 54:54 because I was planning my escape. 54:56 And so after everybody was all in bed that night, I made sure 55:00 that they were snoring and that they were asleep. 55:03 I went into the kitchen and stole a few bananas, got my 55:07 backpack ready. 55:09 I figured I could get sober on my own. 55:12 My favorite song was, "I Did It My Way." 55:15 Of course, my definition of sober was a nice supply of 55:21 marijuana each day and alcohol on the weekends. 55:24 And of course, if I had a bad hangover I might need some of 55:27 those relaxing pills to take but, other than that, that would 55:32 be it. 55:34 So here I am, stranded on the street in the big city of 55:36 Houston. 55:38 My bag of clothes has gone, my cell phone's gone. 55:41 My wallet, my bus ticket's gone. 55:42 I don't have anything but the shirt on my back. 55:45 It's at that point that this man comes up to me, this mysterious 55:49 man. 55:50 He's actually very short and appears to be homeless, and he 55:52 led me to some food and even a place to stay that night. 55:58 Looking back, it is my firm conclusion that 56:02 that was an angel. 56:04 So my dad was able to come down to Houston and pick me up and 56:07 take me back up to the health retreat at Wildwood in 56:10 Tennessee. 56:12 They had a satellite. 56:14 On this channel, there was a man named Doug Batchelor. 56:18 I liked what I heard. 56:19 I liked the way he explained the Bible. 56:21 It was so simple, and he also had an experience similar to 56:24 mine. 56:26 And I talked to Lou about him and they happened to have a 56:28 whole set of cassette tapes. 56:31 I would wake up at 4 in the morning sometimes, and I would 56:35 get up and I would watch two of those videos before breakfast. 56:38 I would sit this close to the TV, watching what Doug Batchelor 56:43 was saying, just eating up every word of it. 56:45 I was so tired of hearing lies and even believing my own lies 56:48 that I--it was so wonderful to find something that was solid 56:53 and that I could rely on. 56:55 And so when I got home from rehab, in my local church, Eric 57:00 Flickinger from Amazing Facts was holding an evangelistic 57:04 series. 57:05 They solidified my conviction and it was then I made the 57:09 absolute decision to follow Jesus. 57:13 I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for Amazing Facts. 57:17 I praise God for Amazing Facts because they're so Bible based. 57:22 They send out evangelists who are willing to teach the truth 57:25 to people. 57:27 I'm thankful that they're preaching right now all over the 57:30 world, changing lives just as they changed mine. 57:36 announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel much farther 57:40 than ever before. 57:42 Thank you for your support. 57:43 ♪♪♪ 57:51 ♪♪♪ 58:01 ♪♪♪ 58:11 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-11-05