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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: Hello, welcome to another edition 00:37 of the "Sabbath School Study Hour" right here 00:39 in the Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh Day Adventist Church 00:42 in the greater Sacramento area of California. 00:45 It is always so good to be able to have those of you 00:47 who are watching online live here this morning 00:50 on this particular Sabbath. 00:52 For those of you who are watching this broadcast 00:54 on the various networks at various times, 00:56 it's always nice to have you join us. 00:58 And, of course, we're always thrilled to be able to have 01:01 our local church congregation and visitors, friends, 01:04 join us here right in 01:06 the Seventh Day Adventist Church here in Granite Bay. 01:09 So, it's always good to have all of you. 01:11 I want to wish God's blessing upon you as we continue to study 01:15 one of my favorite books, which is the Book of Hebrews, 01:18 powerful good news book that is full of the gospel 01:22 at the very core of its message. 01:24 And so, today we're going to be looking again at our quarterly. 01:28 Of course, the Bible is our textbook. 01:29 The lesson study that helps us to explain some of those 01:34 different Scriptures is found in your quarterly lesson study. 01:38 So, make sure that you grab that, as well as your Bible, 01:41 if you are going to study along with us. 01:43 And the title of it is, "In These Last Days, 01:46 The Message of Hebrews". 01:48 We're going to be looking at lesson number eight today, 01:50 lesson number eight, 01:51 "Jesus, Mediator of the New Covenant". 01:54 So, we're going to be looking at how Hebrews paints and reveals 01:58 Jesus as that all-important mediator for you and I today. 02:02 So, please take advantage of that. 02:03 And for those of you who are watching, I want to also offer 02:06 you a free-gift offer that we always like to offer different 02:09 ways each and every Sabbath and each and every week. 02:12 And this particular free-book offer is one 02:15 of my favorite reads. 02:16 It's written by Joe Crews, which is 02:18 "Why The Old Covenant Failed". 02:20 If you've never read this before or studied this topic, 02:23 this is a very, very helpful book in regards 02:26 to that question, why the Old Covenant failed. 02:30 And so, please take advantage of that. 02:31 Call into 1-866-788-3966 and ask for offer, 02:37 free offer number 716. 02:40 And we'll be happy to be able to send that to you if you're 02:43 in North America or the various US territories. 02:47 If you want to download a digital copy of this, 02:50 which more and more of us are interested in doing either 02:52 on your phone, tablet, laptop, and so on, 02:55 just go ahead and text to the code-- 02:58 or to the number 40544, and for the message you want 03:03 to put in there SH097. 03:07 And that will get you connected to a link that will allow you 03:10 to get a free digital download copy of that. 03:14 Let's pray. 03:15 Father in heaven, we are thankful today to be able 03:18 to worship You, to be able to open up Your Bible. 03:21 We ask for Your Holy Spirit. 03:23 We ask for You to fulfill Your promise that You have given 03:27 to us that You will send Your Spirit to all who sincerely 03:30 desire the truth, and that You will lead us and guide us 03:33 into all truth. 03:35 Please help us to be able to understand this great 03:37 and powerful truth concerning the very core of the gospel. 03:41 Jesus is our mediator. 03:43 And so, Lord, we ask for an extra blessing 03:46 both upon Pastor Luccas, as well as all of us. 03:48 In Jesus's name, we pray these things, God, amen. 03:53 Luccas Rodor: Friends, we're going to jump right in 03:55 to the study today because today's lesson is a very, 03:59 very important one, and there's a lot to cover. 04:02 We're going to spend quite a bit of time on Monday's lesson 04:06 because that's, that's where I feel that the heart 04:08 of this study is. 04:10 But I truly hope that you were able to study the lesson, 04:12 you were able to learn a lot because we are going to-- 04:15 we do have a lot here to learn. 04:17 Before we do, I know that Pastor Shawn just prayed, 04:19 but I like also to pray. 04:21 Dear Lord, thank You so much for this day. 04:23 Thank You so much for your Word, Lord. 04:25 And thank You for giving us material as the Sabbath School 04:27 lesson, all these things that are based on Your Word, Father, 04:30 for us to learn more, and not only learn intellectually, 04:33 but to apply more in our daily lives. 04:36 I ask You for these things, and I pray in Your name, amen. 04:40 So friends, a few weeks ago when we studied lesson number six, 04:45 I mentioned that Hebrews was written primarily, 04:49 or its target audience, were the Jews, the members of the church 04:54 living in the first century, right? 04:56 That was the target audience. 04:58 It was particularly written for those that were-- 05:01 those members that had left Judaism to become Christians. 05:06 Those members of the church were suffering persecutions. 05:10 They were suffering all sorts of horrible things happening 05:13 in their lives. 05:14 They had lost the connections that they had in-- 05:16 within Judaism. 05:17 Many had been kicked out of the synagogues. 05:20 Many had lost their properties. 05:24 They had been confiscated. 05:26 You remember also that, back then, for you to be kicked out 05:28 of the synagogue, for you to be expelled from the church, 05:32 it was the same thing as being cut off from the land 05:34 of the living. 05:35 And so, many of them were going through horrible times, 05:39 precisely because of their acceptance in-- 05:42 of the gospel and of Jesus Christ. 05:45 And so, as time went on and with the delay 05:48 of Christ's return--because the whole church, everyone, 05:51 thought that Jesus was coming back in that first century. 05:54 The apostles thought that He was coming back 05:56 only after a few months. 05:58 And the church, as time went on, they all had this hope that 06:01 Jesus would come back before the death of the Apostle John. 06:05 And we also mentioned that a while back. 06:07 And so, as time went on and as Jesus didn't come back, 06:10 they were becoming the victims of despair, of discouragement, 06:14 of pessimism, chronic doubt, and ultimately, 06:18 they were being tempted of giving up on their faith, 06:23 of relinquishing their faith, abandoning their faith. 06:26 And so, in essence, the Book of Hebrews 06:29 is a sermon about encouragement. 06:32 It's a sermon of motivation. 06:35 And its central argument, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, 06:38 its central argument is that Jesus is better than everything 06:44 that they had known previously. 06:46 Whatever they had known, wherever they had come from, 06:49 Jesus covers the cost. 06:52 He covers the price. 06:53 That's the central argument here. 06:55 Everything that they had known before, Jesus is better. 06:58 And so, this week's lesson, lesson number eight, 07:01 is based mainly on Hebrews chapter 7, 07:05 and it's about Christ's superior priesthood. 07:08 You'll see that the title of the lesson is Jesus, 07:11 "The Mediator of a New Covenant". 07:12 And so, we're going to get into this whole topic 07:14 of New Covenant, Old Covenant. 07:16 Why was the New Covenant needed? 07:18 If there's something today that I find a lot of people find 07:20 confusing is, why are there so many covenants? 07:23 I mean, you hear about a first covenant, 07:24 a second covenant, the old one, the new one. 07:26 Well, if God is perfect, why do you need so many? 07:29 And so, that's why we really emphasize 07:31 this free offer because it's exactly about that. 07:34 It's, you know, why the Old Covenant failed. 07:36 And so, that's what we're talking about today. 07:38 Now, Hebrews chapter 7 is considered among 07:42 the least-understood chapters of the Bible 07:45 with its enigmatic reference to Melchizedek in verse 3 07:49 and Levi, who hadn't even been born yet, you know, 07:52 in Melchizedek's time, but who had tithed 07:55 to Melchizedek, even though he hadn't been born yet, 07:57 he had tithed to Melchizedek through Abraham. 08:00 And you'll find that in verse 9 and verse 10. 08:01 And so, it's a very misunderstood, 08:04 or little understood, chapter of the Bible, 08:06 but it does provide precious lessons 08:09 to any fervent Bible student. 08:11 And if we read it in its entirety, 08:13 we find the essential concept that sheds further light 08:17 upon Jesus, our Great High Priest, 08:19 the mediator of a new, of a better covenant. 08:23 And that's indicated in our memory verse that you'll find 08:26 in Hebrews chapter 8, verse 6 that says the following, 08:31 "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry inasmuch 08:35 as He is also mediator of a better covenant, 08:39 which was established on better promises." 08:42 And so, today, that's what we're looking at. 08:45 So, Sunday's lesson, I think I misspoke before. 08:48 We're going to spend most of our time today on this one, 08:50 not on Monday's, on this lesson, Sunday's lesson, 08:52 which is the need of a new covenant. 08:54 And that's the question, why is there a need for a new covenant? 08:58 Now, the term itself, the concept of a covenant 09:02 is very central in the Bible. 09:04 You'll find it interwoven everywhere. 09:06 The Covenant story is huge. 09:08 If you want to break down the Bible in three basic themes, 09:13 you can do that easily. 09:14 Creation, our God is the Creator God. 09:16 He made everything that we know and that we see. 09:18 Then you go to conflict, we find that this world, 09:22 this creation of His, this perfect creation, 09:24 it fell into this conflict, this war, this battle. 09:27 And finally, you'll have covenant, 09:29 covenant is God's deal to fix things, right? 09:32 So, we have the creation, we have the conflict, 09:34 and we have the covenant. 09:35 And basically the whole Bible is summed up 09:37 into those three words. 09:39 Wherever you go, God is the Creator, 09:40 wherever you go, there is a conflict, 09:41 and what you find in Scripture is God fixing 09:44 the problem, Him doing that through this word "covenant." 09:49 And so, it's one of the central themes 09:50 throughout the whole Bible. 09:52 The word itself basically means a contract, right? 09:55 That's what covenant basically means. 09:56 It's a contract or an agreement. 09:58 But in the biblical context, it goes way beyond 10:01 these definitions. 10:02 It goes way above and beyond. 10:04 It describes the graciousness, or the gracious closeness, 10:09 between divinity and humanity, the fact that God wants to get 10:14 involved in our problem, in our conflict, 10:16 and that He desires to create a resolution 10:18 and He's made an agreement with us, 10:20 an agreement based on His closeness to us. 10:22 That's incredible. 10:23 That's marvelous. 10:25 What we learn here is that Yahweh, this transcendent being, 10:29 this being that goes way beyond anything that we know, 10:32 He enters into a relationship with us in our fallen state 10:36 so that we may know Him and we may experience the power 10:39 of His salvation and the abundance of life 10:42 that He brings. 10:43 Friends, there's no way that this subject can be small. 10:46 There's no way that it can be understated. 10:50 The story of the Covenant, that's our story 10:53 of what we're going through. 10:55 In modern terms, it means that God descended 10:57 to our level to make a deal. 11:00 That's what He says, "Come and reason with Me. 11:02 Let's make a deal." 11:04 The initiative was whose? 11:06 All His. 11:08 There's nothing that we bring to the table. 11:10 Humans have nothing to bring to the table. 11:12 He brings it all. 11:13 He brings the offer. 11:15 He establishes the terms. 11:18 And what that means is that we cannot bargain with him. 11:20 That's something that humans like to do, we like to bargain, 11:22 right? 11:24 "well, you know what? 11:25 This here doesn't work for me. 11:27 Let's--what if we do it this--" You can't do that with God. 11:29 It doesn't work like that with the Covenant. 11:31 God is the One who stipulates the terms, and that means 11:35 that we cannot bargain salvation with Him. 11:38 And I'm very thankful for that, that we can't. 11:40 The blessings of the Covenant are always on His terms, always, 11:45 but we do have a part to play. 11:47 We have our own part to play. 11:49 We can refuse and turn away the divine and special offer. 11:52 We can do that if we want to. 11:54 We can choose to despise the gracious offer 11:57 that God has given us, or we can joyfully accept it. 12:02 We can enter into a covenant with Him. 12:04 We can commit to the divine stipulations and in return, 12:08 we receive the divine promises, 12:10 we receive what He's promised us. 12:12 So, friends, God's condescension is at the very heart 12:16 of the biblical story. 12:17 The Most High, He swears by oath to the tiny men and women 12:21 here of planet Earth, and the greatest demonstration 12:25 of the acquiescence of heaven is given when He becomes a man, 12:29 Emmanuel, God with us. 12:32 He sets up His tent, just as John teaches in John chapter 1, 12:36 verse 14. 12:38 You remember John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh. 12:40 He dwelt among us. 12:43 We beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of God, 12:47 full of grace and full of truth. 12:49 And so, living a perfect life, dying a death in our stead, 12:52 Jesus became the mediator of a new covenant between God and us. 12:56 And that happened only because He is our substitute. 12:59 Jesus canceled our bill, our debt. 13:04 What does Isaiah 53:5 say? 13:07 He was wounded for whose transgressions? 13:09 For ours. 13:11 He was bruised for our iniquities. 13:13 The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, 13:16 and by His stripes, we are healed. 13:19 But the question, and this is what we're going to dive deep 13:23 into today, the question is, why was a new covenant needed? 13:29 Why wasn't the Old Covenant good enough? 13:32 Well, when we actually think about that, we understand 13:35 that the Old Covenant, it was based on the Levitical code. 13:38 It was based on the Levitical order, the Levitical priesthood. 13:42 That's what we find in Hebrews 7, verse 11. 13:44 Look at what it says. 13:45 "Therefore, if perfection were through 13:47 the Levitical priesthood, for under it the law-- 13:50 the people received the law, what further need was there 13:54 that another priest should rise according to the order 13:56 of Melchizedek, and not be called 13:59 according to the order of Aaron?" 14:00 So, the Bible itself is making this question. 14:02 If perfection, if wholeness, and I would like you to understand 14:05 the word "perfection" here as wholeness with God. 14:09 If wholeness were possible through this 14:13 old Levitical priesthood, this old Levitical system, 14:17 well, then what need was there for the people 14:21 to continue bringing sacrifices to the temple? 14:25 What need was there for them to do that? 14:27 So, the Bible itself is stipulating the same question, 14:29 what need was there for a new covenant? 14:33 But according to the Levitical order, and here's the problem, 14:36 according to the Levitical order, Jesus could not be 14:39 a priest because Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi. 14:45 What tribe was Jesus from? 14:47 Judah. 14:48 So, according to the text itself, 14:50 Jesus was disqualified from birth. 14:54 He couldn't be part of that priesthood. 14:56 He couldn't be part of that order. 15:00 So, how do we resolve this? 15:02 How do we understand Jesus as our, not only our priest, 15:05 but our High Priest? 15:06 If Jesus was disqualified from birth of being a priest, 15:09 how could Jesus be our priest? 15:12 That's where--and again, this is a text coming 15:15 from the Old Testament. 15:16 You know, a lot of interpretations bring 15:18 the idea of the New Covenant as something completely new 15:22 and unique to the New Testament. 15:24 It's absolutely not. 15:25 This idea of a new covenant, this was already 15:28 in the Old Testament times. 15:31 If you read, and this is the central verse 15:34 to this whole thesis, to this whole understanding, 15:37 is Psalms chapter 110, verse 4, 15:39 and this is one of the main messianic Psalms. 15:43 Psalm 110, verse 4 it says, "The Lord has sworn 15:48 and he will not relent, you are a priest forever, 15:52 according to the order of Melchizedek." 15:55 This is David. 15:59 This is in the Book of Psalms, hundreds of years before Jesus. 16:04 And it's already speaking of a new order, 16:06 a different order of priesthood, different from 16:08 the current-day priests of his time, the order of Melchizedek. 16:13 Now, this is an exclusive text that stipulates the emergence 16:18 of a new priesthood, a priesthood, friends, 16:20 that transcends, that goes beyond the Levitical order. 16:24 And this way, only this way, Jesus could be our High Priest. 16:28 In fact, Psalm 110, verse 4 not only provides 16:31 the scriptural foundation for the thesis 16:33 of Hebrews chapter 7, but it also carries 16:35 through the entire Book of Hebrews. 16:37 Without Psalm chapter 10--110, verse 4, 16:40 there would be no Book of Hebrews. 16:42 It couldn't happen because it wouldn't make sense. 16:46 The apostle writing this book, he continually quotes, 16:50 either completely or partially or by allusion, this truth. 16:56 And this reality is where the book, the author of the book, 17:00 finds his theological foundation and authority 17:02 for the priesthood of Jesus. 17:04 And his position is the very basis of the New Testament 17:08 and of the New Covenant. 17:10 And so, we find Psalm 110, verse 4 being quoted 17:12 all through the book, okay. 17:14 So, if you ever want to understand this subject 17:17 of the New Covenant, and someone is talking 17:19 of New Covenant, Old Covenant, you know, 17:22 first and second, see what they're quoting. 17:25 What Scripture are they quoting? 17:27 And if they're trying to discard the Old Testament, you can't. 17:31 There's something wrong there because the Old Testament is 17:33 what lays the foundation for this New Covenant idea. 17:38 I'll give you an example of how you can find this psalm 17:41 all throughout the Book of Hebrews. 17:44 For example, in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 6, 17:47 the author quotes clearly that Jesus is divinely 17:52 designated as a High Priest, 17:53 even though He didn't ascend from Aaron. 17:56 In chapter 6, verse 20, they have only the last part. 18:00 So, in chapter 5, you have the first part. 18:02 In chapter 6, you have the latter part that says, 18:04 "Having become a high priest forever, according to the order 18:06 of Melchizedek," you find that quote. 18:08 The--and so this way, the author of Hebrews, he completes 18:11 what he had said in chapter 5, verse 10, 18:14 with the last part of the fuller revelation of chapter 111, 18:18 verse 4 of Psalms in chapter 6. 18:20 So, you might be saying, "Well, he's talking about chapter this, 18:22 chapter that, chapter that." 18:24 Well, unfortunately, in this study, 18:25 this is necessary. 18:27 This is a very biblical study. 18:28 It's not very even thematic. 18:30 It's more biblical, and that's why 18:31 so many quotes have to be mentioned. 18:34 In chapter 7, verse 11, 18:35 you'll remember that the main chapter 18:38 of this week's lesson is Hebrews chapter 7. 18:40 So in chapter 7, verse 11, he alludes again to Psalm 110, 18:45 verse 4, making the argument that the new priestly order 18:48 was necessary. 18:49 In verse 15 and 17, it's quoted again completely in contrast 18:53 to the old order that demanded a physical descendent of Levi. 18:58 In verse 20 and 21, the emphasis is placed on the first part 19:02 of Psalm 110, verse 4, which is a divine oath. 19:06 The Lord has sworn and will not relent. 19:08 And here we find God swearing something. 19:09 God is making an oath of something. 19:11 In verse 24, we find another allusion that emphasizes 19:16 the continual priesthood of Jesus. 19:18 The text calls it the unchangeable priesthood. 19:22 And finally in verse 28, we find an allusion to Psalm 110, 19:27 verse 4 again, in which the theme of the high priesthood 19:30 with the divine indication the eternal office of Jesus 19:33 is united. 19:35 And so, friends, here, have you just noted how many texts 19:37 just in Hebrews chapter 7 quote Psalm 110? 19:42 How could you ever discredit the Old Testament? 19:45 How could you ever discredit the teachings coming 19:48 from the prophets? 19:49 How could you, if they're completely intertwined 19:51 into the very foundation of the New Testament theology? 19:55 You can't. 19:56 The Bible is whole. 19:58 You can't put the Bible against itself. 20:01 It doesn't work. it doesn't work that way. 20:04 And so, there is a change in the emphasis of how the author of 20:08 Hebrews, how Paul, is using or writing--sorry, using Psalm 110, 20:13 but he does use it again and again. 20:15 I'll give you--I'll give it again to you very quickly 20:18 because this is essential. 20:20 In chapter 5, verse 6, Jesus is the priest forever. 20:24 In chapter 6, verse 20, in chapter 7, verse 11, 20:28 and in chapter 7:15, through 17, the emphasis is 20:31 on the order of Melchizedek. 20:34 On verse 20 and 21 of chapter 7, 20:36 the emphasis is the Lord has sworn and He will not relent. 20:39 In chapter 7, verse 24, the priesthood is described 20:42 as unchangeable. 20:44 And in chapter 7, verse 28, it's forever, it's eternal. 20:48 So, friends, according to the Book of Hebrews, 20:50 the fact that Jesus was indicated as priest according 20:53 to the order of Melchizedek, implies that the New Covenant 20:58 had been inaugurated. 21:00 That's the meaning here. That's the implication. 21:02 The Levitical priests, and this is important for us 21:05 to understand, these Levitical priests, 21:07 they act as mediators between God and Israel. 21:15 And the law of Israel excluded anyone except from the order, 21:19 from the light lineage of Levi of being priests. 21:23 So, here the author concludes that the change 21:25 of the priesthood implied in a change of the law 21:28 of the priesthood. 21:30 See, notice the logic of the author. 21:34 He's implying that since Jesus was not of the order of Levi, 21:39 there needed to be a change in the law itself by changing 21:42 the law of priesthood, and that implied in a change 21:45 of the Covenant. 21:47 Do you understand the need of a new covenant? 21:51 Because the Old Covenant couldn't fit into Jesus. 21:54 And it wasn't Jesus that had to alter Himself 21:56 or change Himself to the Old Covenant. 21:59 It's the Covenant that needed to alter itself. 22:02 The logic of the biblical author, it's flawless. 22:05 It's impeccable. 22:07 Now, the problem with the Old Covenant was 22:09 that it didn't provide perfection. 22:11 Isn't that what we read in Hebrews 7:11? 22:14 So, what does that mean? 22:15 The author is speaking regarding the priestly, or the priesthood, 22:19 in its ministries. 22:20 Its sacrifices, its feasts, its services in the old system, 22:24 that's what he's talking about. 22:25 What he's saying is that the sacrifices of animals 22:27 could never provide complete, true, 22:30 and total atonement and purification from sin. 22:34 It couldn't offer access to God. 22:37 Look at what Hebrews 10, verse 1 through 4 says. 22:40 "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, 22:43 and not the very image of the things, 22:45 can never with these same sacrifices, 22:48 which they offer continually year by year, 22:51 make those who approach perfect. 22:53 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? 22:57 For the worshipers, once purified, 22:59 would have no more consciousness of sins. 23:02 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 23:05 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls 23:08 and goats could take away sins." 23:12 The fact that the New Covenant was necessary, 23:16 doesn't mean that God was unfair with the ministration 23:19 of the Levitical priests. 23:20 It doesn't mean that God gave them something to do and said, 23:23 "You're not doing good enough." 23:25 It has nothing to do with that. 23:26 It was never meant for that. 23:28 The service of the tabernacle, friends, was designated 23:30 to protect them from idolatry, to point towards the future, 23:36 towards the future ministry of who? 23:38 Of the Messiah, of Jesus. 23:42 Hebrews emphasizes that the sacrifices of the old tabernacle 23:45 were shadows of good things to come. 23:48 And so, these lambs, these goats, as much as 23:50 they represented, as much as they were significant, 23:53 and as much as they meant, they didn't save. 23:59 That's what this text is saying. 24:02 They pointed to Jesus. 24:04 The sacrifices of the old system, they were meant to help 24:07 the people place their hope and faith in the true Lamb of God 24:12 that removes away the sin of the world. 24:15 And that's precisely the same point that Paul makes 24:18 when he declares in Galatians chapter 3, verse 24, 24:21 "Therefore the law was a tutor to bring us to Christ, 24:24 that we might be justified by faith." 24:26 And also Romans 1:4 that says, "For Christ is the end 24:30 of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." 24:33 So, friends, in other words, even the Ten Commandments, 24:38 even the Ten Commandments, as good and as perfect as 24:41 they are for their purpose, are not meant to provide salvation. 24:48 The law is not meant to save but to make sin evident and 24:52 to provide a norm for justice, but the law does not provide 24:57 justice itself. 25:00 You understand the difference? 25:02 The law is meant to provide a norm, 25:05 but it doesn't provide justice itself. 25:07 You remember that old illustration? 25:09 I've seen Pastor Doug do it. 25:10 I remember as a kid watching him do it, where there's a mirror, 25:12 and there he has a marker on his forehead. 25:14 And he has water and a washcloth, 25:16 you remember that? 25:17 In that old illustration of the mirror and the water, 25:19 the purpose of the mirror is only to indicate the sins, 25:23 the stains. 25:24 But the purification, the cleanliness comes 25:28 from the water, which is a symbol 25:30 of God's grace. 25:32 So, someone might ask, and a lot of people do, 25:34 "Why doesn't the law save? 25:37 Why doesn't the law save?" 25:39 Well, it's easy. 25:41 It's because that was never its purpose. 25:44 You want to buy a car, fine. 25:46 You can ask a whole bunch of questions about a car. 25:49 It goes this fast, there's this much horsepower. 25:50 It has this much torque. 25:52 It can do this, it can do that. 25:54 But what happens if you ask the car salesman, 25:56 the car dealership salesman if how fast does the car fly? 26:01 Is that a fair question? 26:03 Why is that not a fair question? 26:06 Because cars don't fly. 26:08 It's unfair to ask that question. 26:11 You cannot demand that of the law. 26:13 It's unfair. 26:14 The law was never given to save, never. 26:22 Our salvation does not depend on our obedience, 26:25 but on Christ's obedience. 26:28 His grace was the foundation of our salvation. 26:31 And faith is the instrument by which we take hold of His grace. 26:35 And obedience is the result of our acceptance of Christ 26:38 as our Lord. 26:40 What does Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 through 10 say? 26:42 By what are we saved? 26:44 By grace. 26:45 "By grace you have been saved through faith, 26:48 and that does not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 26:51 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 26:53 For we are His workmanship, created in Lord Jesus, 26:56 in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand 27:00 that we should walk in them." 27:02 Do you see that? Everything is coming from God. 27:04 Grace comes from God. Faith is created by God. 27:07 Faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of God. 27:09 And even obedience, the good works, who do they come from? 27:13 Who prepared them beforehand? 27:15 Him, everything comes from Him. 27:17 Friends, if our obedience saved us, 27:18 then salvation would not be by grace, 27:21 but the reward for our effort. 27:24 And what matters, what really matters, 27:27 at least primarily, it's not what we do 27:29 as the basis of our salvation. 27:31 It's what Christ did for us. 27:34 And that's where we kind of segue into Monday's lesson, 27:37 which is New And Renewed. 27:38 And this is also a crucial day because the promise 27:41 of the New Covenant, it's not a new concept. 27:43 As I've already stated, this isn't a new concept. 27:45 It doesn't only emerge in Psalms 110. 27:48 This is something, again, that's interwoven through 27:50 the whole Old Testament. 27:51 You'll find the need of a new covenant 27:53 all throughout the Old Testament. 27:55 It's not new. 27:58 We find it all the way back in Jeremiah chapter 31 where, 28:01 according to Jeremiah, the New Covenant was, 28:03 in fact, a renovation, a renewal of the covenant 28:06 that God had already established with Israel through Moses. 28:10 Look at Jeremiah chapter 31:31 through 33. 28:14 It says, "Behold, the days are coming--" 28:15 This is Jeremiah, okay, again, hundreds of years before Jesus, 28:19 a classical Old Testament prophet. 28:21 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, 28:23 that I will make a," what? 28:25 "A new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house 28:29 of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made 28:32 with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand 28:34 to lead them out of the land of Egypt, 28:36 My covenant which they broke, 28:39 though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 28:42 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house 28:44 of Israel after those days, says the Lord: 28:47 I will put My law in their minds, 28:48 and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, 28:52 and they shall be My people." 28:54 You know, the Hebrew term for "new" is the word Chadashah, 28:59 and it has a double meaning. 29:02 Depending on the context, it can mean completely new, 29:05 or it can mean renovated, renewed. 29:09 Now, the problem with the Old Covenant is 29:11 that the people broke it, how many times? 29:14 Continuously, all the time. 29:16 They broken it again and again and again and again. 29:18 And you see this in Hebrews chapter 8, verse 8 and 9. 29:21 Now, there was no problem with the covenant itself 29:23 because God is the One who established the covenant. 29:25 Can God make anything unperfect? 29:28 Can God make anything that's not good enough? 29:30 No. 29:32 The problem wasn't the covenant itself, it was with the people. 29:36 If Israel had understood through the symbols, the anti-types, 29:41 the parables, and they had placed their faith 29:43 in the coming Messiah, what would have happened 29:45 if they had done that? 29:47 Well, then the covenant would never have been broken. 29:51 So, in a way, the New Covenant is the Old Covenant, 29:54 but renewed. 29:56 And in another way, it's something entirely different. 29:59 So, here you find this kind of this strange dichotomy. 30:02 You have the Covenant, which is very similar to the old 30:04 in many ways, but it's also very different, 30:07 completely different. 30:08 As the lesson puts it, the Covenant would not be 30:10 like the Covenant that God had made with their fathers 30:13 because of the unfaithfulness of the people. 30:15 The promises that God made under the Mosaic Covenant 30:18 were never fulfilled. 30:20 Now, in virtue of the guarantee given by the Son, 30:23 God would fulfill their purposes of his Covenant. 30:26 God did not change His law or His power 30:28 or lower His standards. 30:30 Instead, He sent His Son as a guarantee 30:33 of the Covenant promises. 30:34 This is why the Covenant does not have curses. 30:38 You remember that the Old Covenant had curses. 30:40 There were the rights, the-- not the rights, the blessings 30:43 of the Covenant and there were also the curses. 30:45 This New Covenant has no curses. 30:48 This is why the Covenant has no curses. 30:50 It is it has only blessings because Jesus 30:53 fulfilled it perfectly, becoming a curse for us. 30:56 And so, this is, this is what the Monday lesson tells us 31:01 at the end of that day. 31:03 And that also segues into the next day. 31:05 The New Covenant has a better mediator. 31:07 What does that mean? 31:09 The New Covenant has a better mediator. 31:11 How could Jesus--why is Jesus a better mediator? 31:14 So, friends, as we have already seen, 31:16 according to the Old Testament, Jesus did not qualify 31:19 for priesthood. 31:20 Why did Jesus not qualify? 31:22 Let's see if you're--why? Why? 31:25 His lineage, his lineage. 31:26 Jesus was not from the lineage of Levi. 31:29 Now, friends, for us today living thousands of years 31:32 after this whole cultural, scriptural context, 31:36 it's difficult for us to really say, 31:38 "Well, why is that such a big deal? 31:39 Right, why was that--why would that make the need or create 31:43 a necessity of a new covenant? 31:45 Why?" 31:47 But it is a very big deal. 31:51 It's a huge deal in the Bible. 31:55 The very prediction of Scripture indicates that 31:57 a new priestly order would be established designed by God. 32:01 And so, Jesus, while he was born of the lineage of Judah, 32:05 he became a priest by divine proclamation. 32:08 God made Jesus a priest. 32:11 It wasn't His lineage. 32:12 It wasn't His family. 32:14 It wasn't His genetics. 32:15 It wasn't the power of His family name. 32:18 It was none of that. It wasn't His pedigree. 32:21 It was God saying, "You are my Son. 32:23 Today, I have begotten You. 32:25 You are a priest forever, according to the order 32:27 of Melchizedek." 32:29 This cannot be overstated. 32:32 That's why I'm repeating it so much. 32:33 And not only is Jesus a priest, He's a better priest. 32:38 Hebrews chapter 7, verse 10 establishes that Melchizedek 32:42 was superior to Abraham, and therefore superior to Levi 32:45 because Levi was of the descendants of Abraham, 32:49 Melchizedek wasn't. 32:51 Do you see why this is so significant? 32:54 Jesus is a priest according to an order that is completely 32:57 outside the scope of Judaism, of the Israelite nation, 33:04 because Israel could not keep the covenant. 33:09 Something external was needed. 33:11 You see, you kind of think of God as extending his hand 33:13 and trying to take hold of the arm of man, 33:16 to come into a deal. 33:17 The problem is that the arm of man is constantly slipping 33:19 and failing. 33:22 And so, what happens is that God--and He knew all of this. 33:25 All of this is for us to learn. 33:27 It's for our benefit. 33:28 But what happens is that God steps out from behind 33:31 His kind of--His veil of silence because one of the most powerful 33:37 instruments that God used in this whole, 33:39 this whole great controversy is that God, 33:43 He didn't immediately argue with Lucifer. 33:46 Lucifer is spouting out his ideas, 33:51 but God uses silence because silence is 33:53 a very strong weapon. 33:56 Instead of talking too much, God, at the right moment, 34:00 the Bible says, "In the plenitude of times," 34:02 God steps out from behind that curtain. 34:05 And He appears on scene as a baby in the manger, 34:10 a defenseless baby. 34:12 And all throughout the whole Old Testament, 34:13 you have those 34:15 slivers of light of truth of a coming Messiah, 34:18 someone that would come that would finally be able 34:21 to grab hold of the arm of God and not let go. 34:27 Jesus, the new High Priest. 34:30 He didn't acquire his office based on power or authority, 34:35 but by divine institution. 34:38 It was based on the indestructible power 34:40 of his life. 34:41 You find that in verse 16, chapter 7. 34:43 The author himself indicates this by saying in chapter 7, 34:47 verse 3 that, "he having neither beginning of days 34:50 nor end of days." 34:51 Now this is there in the context referring to Melchizedek, 34:53 but was Melchizedek God? 34:55 No. 34:57 This is a parable. 34:58 This is an example. 35:00 When it says, "Neither beginning of days nor end of days," 35:02 it's talking--it's telling us that we don't know about him. 35:05 He's excluded from the scope of the context of Israel. 35:10 But what it's really saying is that Jesus, 35:12 His power comes from His eternal life, 35:16 indestructible, having neither beginning of days 35:19 nor end of days. 35:21 As the Son of God, He remains High Priest forever. 35:26 The rest of chapter 7 establishes the specific ways 35:29 in which the New Covenant succeeds the Old. 35:33 The original term for mediator, it's derived from the word, 35:37 the Greek word, "mesos." 35:39 Have you ever heard the word "meso?" 35:40 Yeah, meso, it means half, middle. 35:43 that's where meso comes from. 35:44 And so, that's where the word "mediator" comes from also, 35:47 and it describes someone that walks in the middle. 35:50 And it was a technical word used to refer to a few things, 35:54 someone who fulfilled the role of a mediator, 35:56 someone in the function of an arbiter 35:58 between two parties, a negotiator, a witness 36:02 in the legal sense of the word, or yet someone 36:04 that guaranteed the execution of the deal or of the bargain. 36:09 That's what the word "mediator" means literally in Greek. 36:13 The problem is that our English word for mediator, 36:15 it doesn't translate all these different definitions. 36:19 It doesn't translate the richness of the original word. 36:22 But when it comes to Jesus, the mediator here means 36:25 that He is the One that guaranteed the New Covenant. 36:28 He's the One. 36:30 You want something that to make sure--do you want to know 36:32 why you can be sure that the New Covenant is enough? 36:35 Jesus is the One that guarantees it. 36:38 In the letter of Hebrews, the term "mediator" 36:40 is equivalent to, he who guarantees. 36:44 He is the One that guarantees that the promises 36:46 of the Covenant would be fulfilled. 36:49 Jesus's death, friends, makes the institution 36:52 of the New Covenant possible of being satisfied 36:55 because it satisfies the demand 36:57 of the first covenant with Israel. 37:03 It even satisfies the needs of the first covenant given 37:06 to Adam. 37:08 Jesus covers it all. 37:11 Jesus fulfills it all. 37:14 And so, this way, in this way, Jesus is the care--I know 37:17 that this isn't a word, but Jesus is the guarantor. 37:19 Is that a word, guarantor, guarantor is that 37:23 how you say it? 37:25 So, Jesus is--you live and you learn, right, 37:27 one new thing every day. 37:28 Jesus is the guarantor. 37:30 That's a weird word, but Jesus is the guarantor that took 37:34 upon Himself the legal obligations of the Covenant 37:37 that had previously been broken. 37:40 And so, in another way, the execution, 37:42 or the exaltation of Jesus in heaven guarantees 37:45 that God's promises to humanity will be fulfilled. 37:48 At Jesus's resurrection when He sat at the right hand of God, 37:52 He demonstrated that He will also resurrect us, 37:56 and He will come back to bring us to stay at His right hand. 38:00 Do you see? 38:02 Because that happened to Jesus, that promise as co-heirs, 38:05 it applies to us. 38:08 Jesus was a mediator greater than Moses himself because 38:11 He ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, 38:14 and He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for us. 38:19 Moses's face reflected the glory of God. 38:22 That's a big thing. 38:24 Jesus is the glory of God. 38:27 Moses spoke to God face to face, but Jesus is the face of God, 38:36 the Word of God made flesh. 38:39 And so, Jesus satisfies all the requirements of the Covenant. 38:44 He died to bear the weight of sin so that we could die to sin, 38:48 and that makes obedience not only important, but vital. 38:53 Wednesday's lesson speaks about the better promises 38:55 of the Covenant. 38:57 What are these better promises? 38:58 After all, what rewards could be better 39:01 than the old ones that He had already given? 39:04 The truth, the truth, friends, is that God offered the same, 39:07 the same rewards, the same rewards that the Old Testament 39:11 heroes and patriarchs were offered. 39:14 They're the same promises that He offers us. 39:16 When Hebrew speaks of these better promises, 39:19 such as in Hebrews chapter 8, verse 6, it's speaking 39:21 about a different kind of promise. 39:24 The covenant between God and Israel was a formal exchange 39:28 of promises when God took the initiative and freed 39:31 Israel from Egypt, and He promised them the Promised Land. 39:35 The promises of this Old Covenant had to do 39:37 with the emergence of Israel as a nation. 39:41 That's the context of these better promises. 39:43 The thing about the New Covenant and the promises 39:47 of the New Covenant is that it implies 39:48 something more universal. 39:50 The Old Covenant had to do with the emergence of Israel 39:53 as a nation. 39:54 The New Covenant goes way above and beyond that 39:56 because in Galatians chapter 3, verse 28 and 29 it says that, 39:59 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, 40:03 there is neither male nor female; 40:05 for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 40:07 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, 40:10 and heirs according to the promise. 40:13 For the Christians of the New Testament, 40:16 Jesus was the definitive lens through which they understood 40:19 the Old Testament, and He attributed 40:22 to Scripture and interpretation that was not centralized 40:24 on Himself-- 40:26 sorry, not centralized on the Israelites, 40:28 but centralized on Himself. 40:31 So, that was something completely different 40:33 for the Israelites at that time because the whole Covenant 40:36 had to do with them, with their nation, 40:38 with their people, with their land. 40:41 But in Jesus, it becomes universal. 40:44 It's for everyone. 40:46 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son 40:48 that," how many? 40:51 Whoever, all inclusive. 40:56 The New Covenant applies to everyone. 41:00 Jesus, not the old geographical dream of the Jews is the focus, 41:05 the gravitational center of the New Testament, 41:07 and even the Old, if you read it right. 41:10 According to Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:20, 41:12 "For all the promises of God, in Him are yes and in Him amen 41:18 to the glory of God through us." 41:20 All of the promises of God are made complete, 41:23 are fulfilled through who? 41:24 Through Jesus. 41:26 Friends, you cannot exclude Jesus from Scripture. 41:29 It just becomes words. 41:33 Jesus is the key. 41:35 He's the conduit through which we understand the Bible. 41:40 Gerald Hasel, an already deceased, 41:44 but great Adventist theologian, 41:47 he observed that this text provides a Christocentric answer 41:50 to the question to "Whom pertained the promises 41:53 of the Old Testament?" 41:54 And the answers, "These promises are not connected anymore 41:57 to the ethnic, literal Israel, but to Christ. 42:00 He is in you the hope of glory." 42:03 So, when you read his writings, Paul's writings, 42:06 Paul completely ignores the territorial aspects 42:11 of the promises given to ancient Israel. 42:14 The Palestinian land doesn't even appear within his horizon. 42:18 And so, he--what happens is that he does personify the promises 42:22 in Jesus, and by doing so, he universalizes the promises 42:26 of the Bible. 42:28 Friends, you know what this means? 42:31 This means that you can never say that you are disqualified. 42:36 This means that you can never say 42:38 that it doesn't apply to you. 42:41 You could never say that you are a greater sinner than Jesus is 42:45 a priest, an atoner, a forgiver. 42:50 The promises apply to you. 42:53 They apply to us. 42:55 Whatever your past has been, wherever you have lived, 42:57 whatever you have done, what matters is now forward 43:02 because this New Covenant applies to your life. 43:08 The saints united in a universal assembly. 43:11 They await the city of the living God, the New Jerusalem. 43:16 The lesson puts it this way, 43:17 God satisfies the absolute demands of the New Covenant 43:20 for us because He gave His own Son to come and live 43:22 a perfect life, so that the promises 43:25 of the Covenant might be fulfilled in Him, 43:28 and then offered to us by the faith in Jesus. 43:32 Now, unfortunately, we won't be able to go 43:34 into Thursday's lesson, which, in my opinion, 43:36 was such a beautiful day. 43:38 The New Covenant has solved the problem of the heart. 43:39 But basically, this day's lesson is summed up by the reality that 43:43 the old law written on stone and written on paper, on scrolls, 43:53 those could be lost. 43:54 They could be broken, as the law of stone was broken 43:56 at one point. 43:58 And this is why God, He writes the new law, the New Covenant, 44:01 in our heart. 44:03 He's the only One that can do that. 44:05 He can write it in your heart, what that means 44:07 that He'll write this new law of His in your mind, in your will, 44:11 in your volition, in your actions. 44:13 In every aspect that you allow Him to write it, 44:15 He will write His new law, and this new law now 44:19 is based on Him. 44:21 Last quote that I'd like to read comes from the book 44:23 "Steps To Christ" page 60, 64 and 65. 44:27 It says, "No deep-seated love for Christ can dwell 44:29 in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. 44:33 The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ 44:35 will admire His divine character. 44:37 But if we do not see our own moral deformity, 44:39 it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view 44:43 of the beauty and the excellence of Christ." 44:46 You know how you have a view of this? 44:48 You get to know Him. 44:50 Contemplate Him, and He will reveal to you everything 44:53 that needs to be revealed. 44:55 I'd like to emphasize this offer. 44:58 You'll get all of this and more in this book, 45:00 "Why The Old Covenant Failed." 45:01 You could get it by calling 866-788-3966. 45:06 You can ask for offer number one--sorry, number 716. 45:11 If you're in continental North America, 45:13 you can text us SH097 to the number 40544. 45:19 Outside of North America, you can go to 45:21 study.aftv.org/SH097, 45:25 and you could get a digital download of, 45:27 "Why The Old Covenant Failed." 45:29 Please bow your head and pray with me. 45:31 Dear Lord, thank you so much for the understanding that we get 45:35 from the Bible of who You are and what You've done for us. 45:38 Thank you so much, Lord, that we understand 45:39 that this New Covenant was, in essence, 45:43 You coming down to our level, reaching out, 45:48 grabbing the hand of God for us, and taking us along 45:51 as You fulfilled the deal. 45:54 And thank You for offering us this new deal, this new bargain, 45:57 this covenant, Lord, where by Your merits, 46:00 we can gain salvation. 46:03 Lord, out of love, allow us to see You day by day and want 46:07 to live by Your side day by day, allow us to want to be obedient 46:11 and to be more like Jesus day by day because we see 46:14 the great love that You have towards us. 46:17 We can't understand it. 46:18 We don't really understand why. 46:22 But we do know that You love us. 46:24 I thank You, Lord, for these precious lessons. 46:26 Please bless everyone here that is watching live 46:28 and those that are watching from home, 46:31 those that are going to be watching from the future. 46:33 Please allow these truths to be made open and clear 46:35 in their minds and hearts and write Your law in their hearts. 46:39 I ask You these things in Jesus's name, amen. 46:42 May God bless you. 46:45 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 46:47 free resource. 46:49 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 46:51 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 46:53 or mobile device. 46:55 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 46:57 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 47:01 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 47:04 And be sure to select the digital download option 47:07 on the request page. 47:08 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 47:11 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 47:14 And most important, to share it with others. 47:23 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 47:32 Rubin: You know, we grew up in a neighborhood up 47:33 in the Midwest that was a pretty bad neighborhood. 47:37 And when I became a teenager, I started using drugs. 47:41 I was on--I started using meth when I was like, I think, 16,15, 47:45 something like that. 47:46 I was having some problems in my life I really didn't know 47:48 how to deal with. 47:51 The only thing I really knew was violence. 47:54 So, this night here, I was going to inflict violence on myself. 47:58 I was really high and really depressed, so I took, you know, 48:02 I had this 40 caliber. 48:04 So, I remember I put one in the chamber, and I stuck it 48:06 to the side of my head like this. 48:10 And that gun had a hair trigger, you know? 48:14 I remember I was tapping it 'cause a part of me said, no, 48:18 I don't want to do this. 48:20 But there was something very evil present there saying, 48:23 "Do it." 48:24 I just said to myself, I said, "God, if you're real, 48:30 show yourself to me." 48:32 My mother took me to church when I was a little kid, and we used 48:36 to sing "Jesus Loves Me." 48:38 And I remembered that song. 48:41 It started playing in my mind, and I almost had like 48:44 a vision of me as a little kid. 48:49 You know, in Sabbath school, we used to bang those sticks 48:54 together and sing, "Jesus Loves Me." 49:00 And I heard that in my mind. 49:04 So, I said, wow. 49:09 So, I just kind of like put the gun down, and I kind of fell 49:12 on my bedside there. 49:13 I said, "Lord." 49:16 I just basically just prayed this crazy prayer. 49:18 I says, you know, I told Him everything that was wrong 49:20 with me. 49:22 And I remember one day I was driving around, 49:23 I kind of felt lost. 49:25 And I drove by this church, and I seen Tom out there. 49:28 Tom was just out there watering the flowers, you know? 49:32 Tom: So, I caught a vision of the side of my eye of this big, 49:36 husky guy with tattoos walking up and saying, "Hello." 49:42 And so I asked him if I could help him. 49:46 And he told me that he drives by church on occasion, 49:51 and every time he goes by, he's thinking that he should stop in. 49:55 Rubin: After he showed me around the church, you know, 50:00 I was like, "Okay, man, it's nice meeting you," 50:03 and this and that. 50:04 So, I jumped in my car, and I started heading 50:07 down the driveway. 50:09 And the next thing you know, in like my peripheral vision, 50:12 I see him coming around the corner like Jerry Rice 50:16 running a football. 50:18 Nah, not that fast, but, you know, he was 50:20 taking off after me. 50:22 And he says, "Hey, hey, hey. 50:23 Hold on, hold on." 50:25 Tom: I asked if he would like to have some Bible studies, 50:27 and he said, "Yeah." 50:29 Rubin: He would come by the house, we'd all start-- 50:31 we'd start hiding the beer cans and trying to air out 50:35 the weed smell. 50:36 And there was a presence that came with Tom 50:39 that was comforting. 50:41 You know what I mean? 50:43 Even though I wasn't taking the Bible studies as serious as 50:45 I should have looking back, there was just a presence 50:49 about him being there in the house that was comforting. 50:54 I told Tom, I said, "Tom, you know, you can't win everybody." 50:57 Tom: I looked at him and I knew I--I said to him, 51:00 "Rubin, I never get anybody." 51:04 I says, "The Holy Spirit will do that." 51:07 And I kind of, in my heart, knew that the Holy Spirit 51:11 was going to work on Rubin. 51:13 Rubin: So, then Tom kind of left the picture for a while. 51:17 And then I think one day at my mother's house, 51:18 they were watching "The Final Events of Bible Prophecy." 51:21 So, I watched that, and I remember the scene where 51:28 they had the hellfire and stuff. 51:31 You know, they're outside the city, and it showed the hellfire 51:36 coming down and burn and people and stuff. 51:38 And I remember saying to myself, "That's where I would be 51:43 right there." 51:45 After the hellfire scene, I saw the saints in the city, 51:51 and the New Jerusalem, Jesus recreating the earth. 51:55 And I said, "I want that to be my--me and my family." 52:03 There was something about the way Doug preached and things 52:05 that I felt that touched me because he's kind of like 52:10 myself, you know? 52:13 He's--he didn't grow up like that. 52:15 You know, he'd done drugs and things. 52:18 So, I kind of found these common grounds that I had him, and 52:22 I liked how he just kind of like kept it real with his preaching. 52:25 And then Pastor Rodney came to the church, 52:29 and I got to know him very well. 52:31 We started doing some finishing studies. 52:35 He wanted to make sure I understand 52:36 what I was doing and things. 52:39 He baptized me, my wife, my brother. 52:43 No matter what you've done, where you come from, where 52:48 you've been, no matter how bad of a sinner you think you are, 52:53 the Lord Jesus loves you no matter what you've done. 52:57 Doug Batchelor: Friends, it's because of God's blessing 52:59 and your support, thousands of others, just like Rubin, 53:03 have found Jesus and eternal life. 53:17 male: When I was 15, I bought my first bag of marijuana 53:20 out of curiosity. 53:22 And from the age of 15 on to 23 was a constant experimentation 53:27 with different substances. 53:30 By the time I was 23, there was not a drug I had not tried. 53:34 I had worn myself out searching for happiness. 53:38 And one day I came home, tired as usual, 53:41 and I started drinking. 53:44 And as usual, after I started drinking, I started looking 53:47 for a higher buzz. 53:51 Someone came by with some Xanax. 53:55 Someone also came by with something else that I liked, 53:58 and that was cocaine. 54:00 This time, not thinking, I took the whole thing. 54:03 So, I went to bed about 5 in the afternoon. 54:07 My roommate went off to work that night. 54:09 When he came back from work the next day, though, 54:12 he noticed something was wrong because I was still in bed 54:15 in the same position. 54:17 He tried to wake me up, and he couldn't wake me up. 54:21 And when my parents found me, they found me curled up 54:25 in the fetal position in my hospital room unconscious still. 54:31 And I stayed unconscious and in this coma-like state 54:35 for the next week. 54:37 I stayed the next month in the hospital, slowly getting better 54:42 to where I could sit up in bed, and I had to learn 54:45 to walk again. 54:46 But my parents found this one facility out in the hills 54:50 of Tennessee. 54:51 I had to admit that I liked the place, but they were Christian. 54:56 And even worse than that, I said yes when they ask asked me 55:00 if I wanted to go to church that week. 55:02 Before the pastor said the benediction, I was so excited 55:05 because I was planning my escape. 55:07 And so, after everybody was all in bed that night, I made sure 55:11 that they were snoring and that they were asleep. 55:15 I went into the kitchen and stole a few bananas, 55:18 got my backpack ready. 55:19 I figured I can get sober on my own. 55:23 My favorite song was, "I Did It My Way." 55:26 Of course, my definition of sober was a nice supply 55:32 of marijuana each day and alcohol on the weekends. 55:36 And, of course, if I had a bad hangover, I might need some 55:38 of those relaxing pills to take. 55:41 But other than that, that would be it. 55:45 So, here I am stranded on the street 55:47 in the big city of Houston. 55:49 My bag of clothes is gone. 55:51 My cell phone's gone, my wallet, my bus ticket's gone. 55:54 I don't have anything but the shirt on my back. 55:57 It's at that point that this man comes up to me, 56:00 this mysterious man. 56:01 He's actually very short and appears to be homeless, and he 56:05 led me to some food and even a place to stay that night. 56:09 Looking back, it is my firm conclusion 56:13 that that was an angel. 56:15 So, my dad was able to come down to Houston and pick me up 56:18 and take me back up to the health retreat at Wildwood 56:21 in Tennessee. 56:23 They had a satellite. 56:26 On this channel, there was a man named Doug Batchelor. 56:29 I liked what I heard. 56:31 I liked the way he explained the Bible. 56:33 It was so simple, and he also had an experience 56:35 similar to mine. 56:38 And I talked to Lou about him, and they happened to have 56:40 a whole set of cassette tapes. 56:43 I would wake up at 4 in the morning sometimes, and I would 56:46 get up, and I would watch two of those videos before breakfast. 56:50 I would sit this close to the TV watching what Doug Batchelor 56:54 was saying, just eating up every word of it. 56:56 I was so tired of hearing lies and even believing my own lies 57:00 that I--it was so wonderful to find something that was solid 57:04 and that I could rely on. 57:07 And so, when I got home from rehab in my local church, 57:12 Eric Flickinger from Amazing Facts was holding 57:15 an evangelistic series. 57:16 They solidified my conviction, and it was then I made 57:20 the absolute decision to follow Jesus. 57:24 I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for Amazing Facts. 57:28 I praise God for Amazing Facts because they're so Bible based. 57:33 They send out evangelists who are willing to teach 57:36 the truth to people. 57:38 I'm thankful that they're preaching right now 57:41 all over the world, changing lives just as they changed mine. 57:48 announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel 57:50 much farther than ever before. 57:53 Thank you for your support. |
Revised 2022-02-10