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00:10 CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 aberdeen.io 00:15 ♪♪♪ 00:20 ♪♪♪ 00:30 ♪♪♪ 00:37 Luccas Rodor: Hi friends, welcome to our "Sabbath School 00:39 Study Hour" here at the Granite Bay Church 00:41 in the greater Sacramento area. 00:43 I'm so thankful that you have decided to invest this hour here 00:46 studying with us and learning more about God's Word. 00:49 And we have a great study today. 00:51 Thank you so much for the local congregation that 00:52 is here too, you that are watching online. 00:55 I'm sure that is going to be a great day for you. 00:57 We have been studying from this quarterly, which is called 01:00 "In These Last Days, The Message of Hebrews." 01:03 And the lesson I was just commenting with Pastor Doug and 01:06 Pastor Shawn behind the stage, it's been so beautiful to learn 01:09 about Jesus as our sacrifice, as a mediator of a better covenant. 01:12 And so, today we'll be studying lesson number nine, 01:15 which is "Jesus, The Perfect Sacrifice." 01:18 But before that, I would like to offer and to invite 01:21 you to take advantage of our free offer. 01:23 It's called "The Surrender of Self." 01:25 And if you would like this free offer, you could call 01:27 866-788-3966, and you could ask for offer number 153. 01:34 If you're in continental North America, you could text SH087 to 01:38 the number 40544, and you could ask for a digital download. 01:43 But if you're outside of North America, if you're, you know, 01:45 somewhere else and you would still like this offer, then you 01:47 could go to study.aftv.org/SH087 and you could 01:53 download a digital copy of this too. 01:55 Before we get started, I would like to invite our chorus here 01:58 to come out and lead us in praise. 02:11 ♪♪♪ 02:21 ♪♪♪ 02:31 ♪♪♪ 02:41 ♪♪♪ 02:51 ♪♪♪ 03:01 ♪♪♪ 03:11 ♪♪♪ 03:21 ♪♪♪ 03:31 ♪♪♪ 03:41 ♪♪♪ 03:51 ♪♪♪ 04:01 ♪♪♪ 04:11 ♪♪♪ 04:21 ♪♪♪ 04:31 ♪♪♪ 04:41 ♪♪♪ 04:51 ♪♪♪ 05:01 ♪♪♪ 05:11 ♪♪♪ 05:21 ♪♪♪ 05:31 ♪♪♪ 05:41 ♪♪♪ 05:51 ♪♪♪ 06:01 ♪♪♪ 06:11 ♪♪♪ 06:19 Luccas: Pastor Shawn will be leading our lesson today 06:21 and before he steps out, I'd like to invite you to pray. 06:24 Dear Father, thank You so much for this beautiful day where we 06:27 can come together and learn more about You. 06:30 Thank You so much because the lesson today, we'll be talking 06:33 about Jesus as our perfect sacrifice. 06:37 Lord, thank You so much because everything that 06:38 You have done, You have done it perfectly. 06:41 Please anoint Pastor Shawn's lips today as he leads out, 06:45 allow him to truly be inspired by heaven, Lord, 06:47 and use him to bless us and to teach us. 06:51 I ask these things in Jesus's name, amen. 06:54 God bless, Pastor Shawn. 06:57 Shawn Brummund: It's good to be able to see you here this 06:59 morning as we come together to study again one of my favorite 07:02 books, which is the book of Hebrews, 07:05 and my favorite topic, not only in the book of Hebrews, 07:08 but also throughout all of the Bible. 07:11 And so, I want to invite you as we continue our study here this 07:14 morning by opening your Bibles to 1 Corinthians, and we're 07:18 going to the first book of Corinthians. 07:23 And I want to look at three different places there because 07:26 as we come to the first two chapters of Corinthians, we find 07:29 there that Paul is reflecting upon his ministry. 07:34 Now, he planted the church in Corinth, which is the ancient 07:37 city in which this letter was written to. 07:39 And so, sometime later, probably years after he had planted that 07:42 church, the very first Christian Church in that city, he's 07:45 writing back and it's reflecting upon his ministry, not only in 07:49 Corinth, but as an apostle and prophet and pastor, preacher, 07:54 evangelist, and the many other things that he was. 07:57 So, when we come to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 07:59 18 he says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to 08:04 those who are perishing, but to us who are 08:06 being saved, it is the power of God." 08:09 And so he says, "Listen, the message of the cross has two 08:13 different effects on different people, depending 08:15 on who's listening and how they respond." 08:18 And so, he says, "Listen, for some people, it's foolishness 08:21 when they hear the message of the cross. 08:23 And but for us who are saved, for us who have seen Jesus and 08:27 embraced that Jesus on the cross," and which the cross here 08:30 is obviously representing, "it has the power to save. 08:34 It is the hope of salvation for all who believe." 08:37 And then later on as we follow--drop down 08:40 on the same chapter in verse 23 it says, "But we 08:43 preach Christ crucified," it says. 08:47 "To the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks," 08:51 representing the non-Jewish populations 08:54 or the Gentiles, "to the Greeks foolishness." 08:58 And so he says, "We preach Christ crucified." 09:01 And then we come to chapter 2 as we look 09:03 at the first two verses there. 09:04 And again, Paul comes back to the cross and the crucifixion 09:07 that Jesus experienced there for you and me. 09:10 Chapter 2 and verse 1, it says, "And I, brethren, when I came to 09:13 you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom 09:16 declaring to you the testimony of God. 09:19 For I determined not to know anything among you, 09:21 except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 09:26 And so again, here we have Paul reflecting 09:28 upon his ministry, reflecting over the years, 09:31 reflecting of his time in Corinth. 09:33 And he said, "When I first entered the city of Corinth with 09:36 the mission and the purpose of preaching the gospel of Jesus 09:38 Christ, and lifting Jesus up from the earth and causing all 09:43 those who are hearing to be able to see Jesus crucified for the 09:46 sins and the guilt of the world," he said, "I determined 09:50 not to know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 09:56 And so, for Paul, the cross was the center of his ministry. 10:01 It was the greatest emblem and 10:02 representation of the hope of the Christian. 10:06 And therefore, we come to that powerful statement, 10:08 "I determined not to know anything 10:10 but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 10:13 In spite of how unpopular a crucified God was, 10:17 both to the Jews and to the Greeks, 10:19 and well, to all people for that matter. 10:21 Paul knew that it was the only avenue to save us as a fallen 10:25 and corrupt mankind from sin and from its penalty. 10:30 And not only that, but Paul also understood that to preach the 10:33 message of Jesus, the eternal Son of God that became one with 10:37 humanity as a crucified God, one that volunteered Himself to die 10:41 on that cross for the sins of the world, it was the greatest, 10:45 most powerful demonstration of both God's love, as well as his 10:50 character, vindicating the true heart and character of God. 10:57 Now, Paul also knew that there was many other implications that 11:00 came with the cross, but those were the two biggest ones. 11:04 And therefore Jesus had inspired Paul to determine not to know 11:07 anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 11:12 Now, I have to confess, even as I come back to this as a 11:14 preacher and as a pastor of 25 years now, it is a reminder to 11:18 me that I do not come back to the cross, that I do not present 11:21 and talk about Jesus and Him crucified often enough. 11:26 And I think we would be hard pressed to find a preacher that 11:30 doesn't find himself sometimes being sidelined too often for 11:33 too long without making Jesus and Him crucified the center of 11:38 the message in which God has given to us. 11:44 In John chapter 12, and verse 32, 11:45 Jesus made a very powerful, huge statement. 11:49 In that particular verse Jesus says, "And I--if I am lifted up 11:53 from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." 11:57 Now, in case we didn't understand exactly what Jesus 11:59 was saying, John then was inspired by God to follow up 12:03 with the next verse and statement where he says, "This 12:06 he was saying signifying by what kind of death Jesus would die." 12:13 And so, Jesus knew that the ultimate drawing card, Jesus 12:17 knew that the ultimate magnet that He had to be able to draw a 12:21 corrupt and fallen, sinful, pride-filled, selfish, 12:25 self-centered mankind and beings is to be able 12:29 to find Himself on the cross giving Himself 12:32 over for the sins of that same people. 12:36 It is the ultimate drawing card, is it not? 12:39 Jesus, self-sacrificing Himself, died a death 12:44 that He did not deserve, that you might 12:46 be able to receive what you don't deserve. 12:50 That's the cross, that's the message 12:52 that we're looking at here today. 12:54 Now, we have to make sure that we don't misunderstand 12:58 that statement that Jesus made because He did not say, "If 13:00 I--If I am lifted up from the earth will save all men." 13:05 But it does tell us that it is that message, it is that event, 13:09 it is that moment in history that is more of a drawing card 13:16 towards the Kingdom of God and towards the Maker of the 13:18 universe than any other thing that God has ever done. 13:23 Now, not all respond with a saving response, not all 13:27 surrender and confess their sins, repent from their ways, 13:30 ask God into their heart, as many of you 13:33 have, if not all of us here today. 13:36 But it is the ultimate drawing card. 13:38 And therefore Jesus could confidently say, "When I am 13:40 lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me." 13:47 How sad it is that so few respond 13:50 and go all the way in response to that drawing. 13:54 Now, of course, the list is very long of the different stumbling 13:56 blocks as the offenses, the different things that get in the 13:59 way between us experiencing that drawing power of looking--of 14:05 looking and witnessing and seeing Jesus in 14:07 our mind's eye on that cross dying for us. 14:12 Now, I can't give you an exhaustive list, I'm sure, even 14:15 if I sat down for a couple of hours or a couple of days, 14:18 I wouldn't be able to exhaust the list, but I want to share 14:20 with you just four of probably the--if not in the top in the 14:24 top ten for sure, if not in the top four reasons, why many men, 14:29 many women, many children and young people 14:34 decide not to fully respond to the drawing 14:37 power of Jesus on the cross. 14:40 Pride, that's probably the top of the list, 14:42 almost for certain, wouldn't you say? 14:45 Pride gets in the way between us responding 14:47 fully in surrendering to God. 14:50 Jesus, in His inauguration speech, 14:52 the Sermon on the Mount that He gave, He said, "blessed 14:54 are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 15:00 Now, of course, this flies straight into the face of the 15:03 very heart of our fallen nature, doesn't it? 15:07 Because it tells us that we need to put all pride aside, and we 15:10 need to humble ourselves first before God. 15:14 But then the Bible also says in different ways, 15:16 many times that as believers, we are called by God 15:18 to humble ourselves before each other. 15:22 Didn't Paul himself, under inspiration, tell us that we are 15:24 to count each other more important than ourselves? 15:30 And so, pride is a great obstacle that keeps us from God. 15:35 Jesus says, "Unless you become like little children, you will 15:38 by no means enter the Kingdom of God." 15:42 We need to humble ourselves as a child 15:45 and accept Christ into our hearts. 15:48 That's the gospel that Jesus gives to us. 15:49 But pride, sadly, is probably the 15:51 number-one reason that keeps us away. 15:52 Another very common reason is fear. 15:55 The Bible records many times that there are many who came to 15:58 respect and believe the message of the apostles, believe the 16:01 message of Jesus, but they did not fully take their stand. 16:04 They did not fully stand for Jesus Christ and for that 16:08 message of truth because they fear that they would be cast out 16:11 of the synagogues, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment 16:18 from the world around us, from the majority that continued to 16:21 say, "No, God, I don't want You to be the Lord of my life. 16:25 I don't want You truly as my Lord and Savior." 16:29 And so, certainly in the top three 16:31 or four or five, there would be fear. 16:34 Another obstacle that can get in the way, 16:35 if we're not careful, is greed. 16:38 And an extension of that, we could say that the fourth one 16:40 I'd like to share here today is self-centeredness, 16:43 greed and self-centeredness. 16:45 You see, the message of Jesus on the cross giving Himself 16:49 voluntarily in a way, again, that He did not deserve, that He 16:54 might be able to give you and I the greatest gift that we could 16:57 ever receive is a great and powerful message 17:02 and example of self-sacrificing love. 17:06 In fact, we find a great, powerful quote 17:08 in the very last day of this week's lesson on Friday, 17:13 the very last of that excerpt that we have there from 17:16 one of the writings of Ellen G. White. 17:18 And she says there, "Indeed that Christ was giving 17:20 Himself as an example of the greatest 17:23 demonstration of self-sacrificing love." 17:28 Now, of course, that's the opposite of greed, is it not? 17:31 It's the opposite of self-centeredness. 17:35 And so, even though it is the ultimate drawing card and Jesus 17:37 may have very quickly and very powerfully, clearly told us 17:42 that, sadly, the message of the cross is also 17:45 the most unpopular message that there is as well. 17:52 But as Paul said in Romans chapter 1, and verse 16, he 17:55 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel. 17:57 For it is the power of God unto all who believe unto salvation." 18:03 I am not ashamed of the gospel, are you? 18:06 I'm not ashamed that I follow a God that loved me so much 18:10 that He set the ultimate example and died 18:12 on the cross for your sins and mine. 18:17 The cross is central to the gospel. 18:19 And so therefore, it's not--it should not be surprising 18:21 that we find it also in the book of Hebrews. 18:25 And that's what we're studying here again today. 18:26 We're looking at Jesus, the perfect 18:29 sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice. 18:32 Now, Hebrews spends a lot of time talking about the ins and 18:34 outs of the sacrificial system at the Jewish temple. 18:38 And then its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus on a hill 18:42 called Calvary where He died on a Roman cross. 18:47 Now, Monday's lesson shares some interesting insights on the 18:50 lessons that can be learned from the five different sacrifices 18:53 that the Israelites were to bring to God at the temple. 18:57 But the foundation of every single one of those five 19:00 sacrifices was the shedding of blood, was an innocent animal 19:04 that was brought to the altar and that died for the sins of 19:08 that person or of that family and group 19:11 of people that that person represented. 19:15 It was the foundation, it was the symbol of the substitute 19:18 death that was represented for us. 19:23 And so, the question is asked, I think it was around Monday or 19:27 maybe it was Sunday in this week's lesson studying and it 19:30 says, "Why did God require a sacrifice?" 19:35 Why is it that God has always required a sacrifice? 19:38 Why is it that it tells us that without the shedding 19:40 of blood, there is no remission of sins? 19:46 In Romans chapter 6, and verse 23, 19:48 it tells us that the wages of sin is, is death. 19:52 And so, very clearly God tells us in the book of Romans 19:54 that the wages of sin is death. 19:55 And then in Romans chapter 3, and verse 23, it confirms what 19:58 you and I already know and that is that for all 20:01 have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 20:06 Where did Paul get these truths from? 20:08 Was this a new revelation that God was giving to 20:11 Paul and to mankind for the first time? 20:13 Or is it something that Paul already knew 20:15 because of his study of the Word? 20:18 It was already what he knew from the study of the Word. 20:20 Paul was simply reflecting and reiterating, confirming the 20:24 truths that God had revealed to mankind all the way back to a 20:27 beautiful garden called the Garden of Eden where Adam and 20:30 Eve, the mother and father of all mankind, first found their 20:35 breath and their experience in life. 20:37 Genesis chapter 2, as we back up to that particular chapter 20:40 and as we look at those first chapters, 20:42 we find the foundation for what Paul and God is 20:44 expanding for us in the book of Hebrews. 20:48 In Genesis chapter 2, and verses 16 through 17 it says, "And the 20:51 Lord commanded the man saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you 20:54 may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and 20:58 evil, you shall not eat for the day that you eat of it, you 21:01 shall surely, you shall surely die." 21:05 Did God just give mankind a command? 21:09 He did, did he not? 21:10 He said, "Listen, I want you to consider 21:11 staying away from this tree. 21:13 You know, I'm not sure if you should or not, but--" 21:15 No, it was a command. 21:16 Just as much as He says, "You shall not murder, you shall not 21:19 use the Lord's God--Lord God's name in vain," so did God tell 21:24 Adam and Eve, "You shall not eat from this particular tree. 21:27 You may freely eat of all the other trees, 21:29 and there's more trees than you will ever, ever need. 21:32 But of this one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I am 21:34 commanding you today, I am setting a law before you. 21:40 And the day that you decide to break that law, 21:41 you shall surely, you shall surely die." 21:48 In Romans chapter 6, verse 23, it tells 21:49 us the wages of sin is death. 21:52 Adam and Eve ate that tree, did they not? 21:54 They eat from the fruit of that tree. 21:56 We all know the story. 21:59 Did they sin when they ate from that tree? 22:01 Yes, they did. Why? 22:02 Because the Bible tells us in 1 John chapter 3, and verse 4 22:05 that sin is the transgression of the, of the law. 22:11 Sin is the transgression of the law. 22:15 Adam and Eve had decided to break God's law, 22:20 they had sinned that day. 22:22 Genesis chapter 3, and verse 19 it says, 22:24 "For dust you are and to dust you shall, to return." 22:28 You see, after they had sinned, after they have had that sober 22:31 conversation with the Lord as God then begins to unpack the 22:35 different negative consequences that would result because of 22:39 that sinful, disloyal decision that they had made, 22:42 they had broke faith, they had broke confidence 22:45 in the Lord that had given them so much. 22:49 And as God was sharing all these different negative consequences 22:53 again that they and their descendants would experience 22:55 through the centuries that were ahead, God wraps that 22:58 conversation up by saying, "Oh, and by the way, remember that 23:01 time whatever days ago or weeks beforehand when I say, do not 23:06 eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for 23:07 the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die? 23:10 I really meant it. 23:13 And so, Adam and Eve, as hard as this is to say, 23:16 for dust you are and to dust you shall return." 23:25 Because of this, God presented 23:26 the gospel that same day as well. 23:30 You see, Jesus and the Father not only confirmed with Adam and 23:34 Eve that the consequences of death and all the negative 23:37 things between that and the time that they ate 23:40 and the time in which they will return to the dust, 23:43 He also gives them the good news. 23:45 And He says, "Listen, this is horrible news. 23:47 This is a bad day in history." 23:51 But He says, "I want to give you a promise. 23:54 I want to share a gospel message with you here today." 23:58 In fact, if you look at the order of the conversation in the 24:01 Garden that day after and Adam and Eve ate, we find that God 24:03 actually shared the good news before He shared the bad news. 24:08 You know, sometimes we ask ourselves, "I got good news 24:09 and bad news, what you want first?" 24:11 God didn't even ask them that. 24:13 He said, "Listen, I'm so wise, I know that it's better for me to 24:15 give you the good news before I share with you 24:17 and confirm some of the bad news that's going 24:19 to happen because of your decision today." 24:24 The same day that they sinned, God presented the gospel, the 24:27 ultimate sacrifice and death in their place. 24:30 And that's why Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 is a massive verse 24:34 that Christians through the centuries have clung to that 24:36 have seen the light shining from the Garden of Eden, 24:39 shining from that first few chapters of the 24:43 first book of the Bible called Genesis. 24:45 Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent, "I will put enmity 24:49 between you, serpent, and between the woman." 24:51 And from that point on, God has always, from this chapter all 24:55 the way through to the end of the last book of the Bible in 24:58 Revelation, God has used a woman to represent 25:01 God's faithful church, those who decide to 25:05 follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 25:09 And from that point forward, He chooses to represent those who 25:13 do not choose Jesus by the serpent. 25:19 "I will put enmity between you, serpent," as God is addressing 25:21 the serpent in the Garden that day. 25:23 "Between you, serpent, and the woman, 25:25 and between your seed and between her seed." 25:28 God is also revealing that one of the unfortunate most tragic 25:31 results of Adam and Eve's decision to sin that day is that 25:34 not only would they suffer the consequences, but their children 25:37 would suffer the consequences, and their 25:38 children's children, and the great grandchildren, 25:41 all the way to your generation and mine. 25:45 He tells us, and Adam and Eve, He tells them, says that 25:48 unfortunate reality that He says, "There will be two camps 25:51 that will exist upon the planet from this time forward," those 25:55 on God's side and those who were on the serpent's side. 25:59 It was that way back then in the 26:00 first generation, still is today. 26:03 There is only two camps that both--all of us, every single 26:06 human being on the planet today is in only two camps, always 26:10 has been, always will be until Jesus comes. 26:14 But then God reduces the seed representing the descendants 26:17 both of the woman, those who decide for Jesus, and the 26:20 descendants of the serpent, those who decide against Jesus, 26:23 and either consciously or by default find themselves in the 26:26 camp of the serpent, God then is whittling down 26:30 those descendants to a singular male person. 26:35 For it says in the very next line, "He shall bruise your 26:37 head, and you shall bruise his heel." 26:43 God is saying, "Listen, of all the descendants of the woman of 26:46 the faithful of God through the lineage eventually of Judah, of 26:50 Abraham, of course, and then Judah and then David, we would 26:54 find Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the ultimate seed." 26:58 Jesus gives a promise to Adam and Eve that day that the Son of 27:02 God would come and that He would give the sacrifice. 27:06 Now, friends, if you get crushed under a heel, does it hurt? 27:10 If you get in a farming accident and a big piece of machinery 27:13 crushes your heel between two multi-ton 27:16 pieces of machinery, does that hurt? 27:20 Oh, it's going to hurt. 27:21 It's going to hurt a lot, isn't it? 27:23 Are you going to survive? 27:26 Okay, it's going to take some healing. 27:27 It's going to take some recovery. 27:29 You know, it's not going to be an easy road, 27:31 but you're going to make it, aren't you? 27:34 Okay, this is representing Jesus on the cross. 27:37 Okay, He received a mortal wound that day, did He not? 27:41 He died on the cross for you and me. 27:44 But as Jesus said, before He even received that wound that 27:48 crushed on his heel, he said, "I have the power to both to give 27:52 My life, and I have the power to take it up again." 27:56 Then it also says that Jesus helped 27:58 crush the head of the serpent. 28:00 Now, if you get that same machinery in the farm crush your 28:04 head between those things, are you going to make it? 28:07 No, okay? 28:08 All right, so I don't even know if you'll feel the pain, 28:11 you know, for more than a couple of seconds. 28:12 You're not going to make it, are you? 28:14 That's what it's saying here, when Jesus died on the cross, 28:16 it was the death knell for the devil. 28:19 The devil lost at Calvary. 28:25 So again, I want us to notice that even before God introduces 28:27 Adam and Eve to the symbolic animal sacrifices, he promises 28:32 the ultimate and perfect human sacrifice that animals pointed 28:36 to, that those animals, those sacrificial animals, pointed to. 28:40 They were all pointing to the seed. 28:42 They were all pointing to the promise that God gave to the 28:45 very first man and woman that lived. 28:48 And so, the promise of a coming Savior is not something that was 28:51 unavailable in the Old Testament. 28:53 It was available from the 3rd chapter 28:55 of the Bible all the way through. 29:00 And so, God introduces the ultimate 29:03 fulfillment of the animal sacrifices. 29:05 And then the later verses gives us some very clear information 29:09 that tells us that indeed He then introduced Adam and Eve to 29:12 the animal symbolic sacrifices that were given to them to 29:17 sacrifice by faith looking forward to the time when Jesus 29:22 would come and die on the cross and fulfill those symbols, 29:26 when type would meet antitype. 29:30 And so, as we follow through in those same chapters, in Genesis 29:33 chapter 3 and verse 21 and the first several verses of Genesis 29:36 chapter 4, we only have to apply some very simple deductive 29:39 thinking that tells us that God indeed did introduce 29:42 this deep symbolism of the promise that he already 29:45 gave at the sacrifice of His Son. 29:48 Genesis chapter 3 and 21, it tells us that God made for Adam 29:51 and Eve that day tunics of animal skins. 29:56 Now, you and I know that the only way we can acquire animal 29:58 skins is by taking the life of an animal, right? 30:03 So, by some very simple deductive thinking and 30:08 reasoning, we can assume then that God 30:11 had taken the life of an animal that day. 30:14 Now, as we go to the first verses of Genesis chapter 4, we 30:17 can continue to apply some very simple deductive thinking and 30:20 realize that, indeed, God had not only taken the life of that 30:24 animal to provide clothing for Adam and Eve 30:26 in their new sinful condition and state, but also 30:29 that he introduced a sacrificial system, why is that? 30:34 Because the very first two boys and children of Adam and Eve 30:38 very clearly understood the sacrificial system. 30:41 Now, where did they learn it from? 30:43 Again, very simple deductive thinking 30:45 backs us up to their parents. 30:47 Okay, where did you learn your first information? 30:49 If you were in an ideal situation the way that God would 30:54 have it for all of us, but in a fallen world we don't always 30:56 have, but we learn it from our parents, okay? 31:01 And if you back up before Adam and Eve, 31:02 where did Adam and Eve come up with the idea? 31:05 Deductive thinking tells us it can be 31:07 none other than God himself. 31:09 And so, when you connect those dots, you start to realize that 31:13 the entire system of salvation was revealed 31:17 the very same day that Adam and Eve had sinned. 31:22 How did that sacrifice take place? 31:25 Well, the later information is God, years later, told Moses to 31:28 record some of the details of what He inevitably must have 31:31 recorded and revealed to Adam and Eve that day, is that He 31:34 would have had Adam and Eve come over to this beautiful lamb, a 31:38 lamb that not very long beforehand, 31:40 Adam had the privilege of naming as one of 31:42 the species that God put on the planet. 31:45 And as he brought this male lamb in all its perfection--now, you 31:49 have to remember up until this point, death was non existent. 31:52 It was a foreign concept to Adam and Eve. 31:59 And as the Lord puts a knife into the hand of Adam, He says, 32:04 "I want you to put your--" before that even, He says, "I 32:06 want you to put your hands on the head of that lamb, and I 32:11 want you to confess the sin that you have committed towards Me 32:15 and towards yourself and towards mankind." 32:21 And God would have explained how symbolically 32:23 that sin would have been transferred into the lamb. 32:27 Now, I want to ask you a question. 32:28 Did the lamb have anything to do with the decision 32:31 to sin that day in the Garden of Eden? 32:33 No, the lamb is perfectly innocent, 32:37 an innocent party to the sin of Adam and Eve. 32:42 Can you see the fitting, beautiful, powerful symbolism 32:46 that is found there that is connected to the ultimate Lamb 32:50 of God who also had no influence or place in the sinful decision 32:59 of Adam and Eve or your sin or mine? 33:03 And so then after he confesses the sin and God explains how 33:06 that symbolically transferred the guilt and sin upon an animal 33:09 that had nothing to do with that sin, did not deserve to receive 33:12 that sin, nor the penalty of that sin, God then 33:15 puts a knife into the hand of Adam. 33:19 And He says, "Now, Adam, I want you to take 33:20 the knife, and I want you to cut its throat. 33:25 And as the blood is bleeding out and pouring out of that innocent 33:28 lamb, I want you to be able to remember each and every time 33:33 that you commit a sin, each and every time that you fail Me, and 33:36 that your children fail Me, and that your grandchildren fail Me, 33:41 that that represents My Son, the seed of the woman, the one that 33:45 I have promised, the perfect Son of God that would come 33:49 and die for the sins of the world." 33:53 And that is one of the central facets and that, in fact, that 33:57 is the central truth, that symbolism and the ultimate 34:00 fulfillment of it was the central truth of the gospel of 34:03 Jesus Christ and the preaching of Paul, as well as one of the 34:06 most powerful gospel books that he had ever written, 34:09 and that God had ever inspired him to write, 34:11 which is found in the book of Hebrews. 34:14 And now we get to look at something 34:16 exciting in the book of Hebrews itself. 34:18 Let's go back to the book of Hebrews. 34:19 We're going to chapter 9, and this is no small verse. 34:23 Hebrews chapter 9, verse 15. 34:27 Okay, Hebrews chapter 9, and verse 15. 34:29 Our lesson study brought it to us, so if you've 34:31 read your lesson study, you've already read it. 34:33 Let's go back to it. This is powerful. 34:35 The first time I came to this, I was just-- 34:38 the light just went on so bright for me. 34:41 And it just answered so many questions that I had in concern 34:44 to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people and the 34:47 sacrificial system and the temple and the priesthood. 34:49 How did that all apply and relate to the New Testament and 34:52 Jesus on the cross and all these other things, the sins that of 34:55 those who are forgiven in the New Testament era 34:57 compared to those in the Old Testament era? 34:59 And all the misunderstandings and misinformation 35:01 that comes around those questions. 35:05 In verse 15 it says, "And for this reason He 35:07 is the mediator of the New Covenant." 35:11 That's the New Testament. 35:13 Covenant and Testament are synonymous. 35:15 Mediator of the New Covenant or Testament by means of death. 35:19 Okay, fair enough, every evangelical Christian 35:22 understands that today and pretty well every church. 35:24 It says, "For the redemption of the transgressions under the?" 35:29 Under the first covenant, under the first Testament. 35:33 We typically call that the? Come on, now. 35:39 What do we call the first covenant? 35:42 The Old Testament, okay, all right? 35:46 I stumped you a little bit there, didn't I? 35:47 Okay, remember, I already gave you a hint. 35:49 I said, "Covenant is synonymous with Testament. 35:52 All right, so you should have got that really. 35:53 So, it's the Old Testament, isn't it? 35:56 Okay, we want to make sure that we know exactly 35:58 what God is trying to tell us here. 36:00 And if we don't understand the covenant is synonymous with 36:02 testament and that the first covenant is the Old Testament 36:04 that God sealed with blood with the sacrifices in Moses's day, 36:08 we will not understand the full truth and implications 36:11 that God is telling us here today. 36:13 It says that "when Jesus died as a mediator, he is the 36:17 mediator of the New Covenant, the New Testament, by means of 36:19 death for the redemption of the transgressions--" 36:22 What's another name or word for transgressions? 36:25 Sins, all right, you with me, okay? 36:27 "For the redemption of the sins under the Old Testament." 36:34 Okay, I'm just translating here for what we more commonly 36:37 understand the first covenant to be. 36:40 We typically think and call it the Old Testament. 36:42 "Under the Old Testament that those who are called may receive 36:46 the promise of eternal inheritance." 36:48 And so, what this is telling us, friends, is that the only reason 36:51 that Adam and Eve will be at the first resurrection, the only 36:53 reason that they will accept and receive eternal life, is because 36:58 of the death that Jesus died on the cross for their sin. 37:02 When Jesus died on the cross, He bore the sin of Eve reaching up 37:06 to that tree and eating from its fruit. 37:11 He bore the sin of Adam when Adam took one of those pieces of 37:14 fruit from the hands of Eve and chose to ate--to eat. 37:20 And every other sin that has been committed by mankind 37:24 throughout all of human history was born by Jesus upon 37:28 his own body when He died on the cross. 37:30 Do you see that, friends? This is a powerful truth. 37:35 Some of you say, "Well, this is old news. 37:36 Thank you for confirming and reviewing it for me." 37:39 For some of you, this may be life giving. 37:43 For me, it was life giving because it just threw 37:45 away so many misunderstandings and so much 37:48 misinformation and concern to what it was like to 37:51 be a believer in the Old Testament time. 37:53 What was it like to be a faithful Israelite? 37:55 What was it like to be David when he lived during-- 37:58 when Jesus died on the cross, He died for David's sin 38:01 and his adultery with Bathsheba. 38:05 The only reason that David has the promise and the hope and the 38:09 certainty of being in the first resurrection is because Jesus 38:12 died on the cross for his adultery. 38:17 The only reason that Noah is going to be in the first 38:19 resurrection is because Jesus died on the cross for the sin of 38:22 Noah when he indulged and became drunk one night 38:25 and embarrassed himself before his family. 38:30 Jesus died for all sin throughout all of eternity. 38:35 And Hebrews here is tightening up that truth 38:37 for us in this one powerful verse. 38:40 That's why I was so excited when I saw it in our lesson study 38:43 and as it was pointed to for us to be able 38:45 to look at because this is a huge verse. 38:54 On Tuesday, Jesus's perfect sacrifice is looked at. 39:00 Why was Jesus's sacrifice perfect? 39:03 Well, because Jesus is perfect, right? 39:06 Okay, why did that make all the difference compared to the 39:09 sacrifices that took place before that? 39:11 Because there was millions of sacrifices that already took 39:13 place by God's faithful people as instructed and told by God. 39:19 And yet when Jesus came, He died one perfect death. 39:24 Well, of course, Jesus was the ultimate antitype, wasn't he? 39:28 Okay, so we have type, Jesus is the antitype. 39:32 He's the One that came and fulfilled the symbolism that God 39:35 had introduced in the Garden of Eden 39:37 the same day that mankind had sinned. 39:43 And so, after 4,000--we have to take in context the 39:46 book of Hebrews, you know, because as we 39:47 look at these different books, it's helpful. 39:49 And scholars will tell you that, pastors will tell you. 39:51 It's true, having the context of the entire book, 39:57 what kind of environment and context was the church in? 40:00 And what were they up against? What were they facing? 40:02 What was the audience experiencing when God had first 40:05 inspired Paul to write to the Hebrew believers? 40:08 These were Jewish people, religious Jews who had converted 40:11 to Christianity and accepted the fulfillment of Judaism in the 40:15 seed of the woman, Jesus Christ the Messiah. 40:19 We have to remember that after 4,000 years, millions of animals 40:25 sacrificed, the symbolism came to its fulfillment, and the 40:30 Hebrews found themselves needing to switch gears, 40:35 to change rails in a way that was--must have 40:37 been very, very challenging for them, why? 40:39 Because right from their childhood on, they had both 40:42 participated in and/or observed the sacrifice of--well, by the 40:47 time their adulthood, if they heard this truth, 40:51 would be hundreds of sacrifices. 40:54 This was an integral part of their religious experience 40:57 and faith expression and now God is saying, "Stop it. 41:03 You need to change gears." Why? 41:05 Because now the perfect sacrifice has come. 41:09 Now, for you and I we'll say, "Well, of course, that's what 41:10 they did, and that's what they should have done, 41:12 and they should have done it immediately." 41:14 But you have to remember that these people, you know, you're 41:17 conditioned for some of them, let's say they're 40 years old, 41:20 for 40 years now, part of their faithful expression of faith 41:23 before God is to bring an animal sacrifice to symbolize their 41:27 guilt, to symbolize their redemption, their forgiveness, 41:30 and their reconciliation with the holy God. 41:33 And now God is saying, "You don't need to do that. 41:35 Stop doing it, not required anymore," why? 41:39 Well, God then explains it several times, several times 41:44 throughout the book of Hebrews, why? 41:45 Because he wants to get it across. 41:47 Hebrews chapter 7, and verse 27. 41:50 In Hebrews 7, verse 27, the lesson study tells us in 41:53 this--points us to the verse and the Bible says, "Who does not 41:56 need daily as those priests--" Now he's talking about daily 42:01 sacrifices of the priests brought these daily sacrifices. 42:05 "Who does not need daily as those high priests who offer up 42:07 sacrifices first for His own sins, and then 42:10 for the peoples, for this He did once for all 42:13 when He offered up Him, Himself." 42:16 Hebrews 10, verse 10 says, "By what--by that we will have been 42:21 sanctified through the bought--through the offering of 42:24 the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 42:30 And then when it comes to Hebrews chapter 10, 42:32 verse 14, God repeats it again. 42:33 He says, "For by one offering, He has perfected 42:38 forever those who are being sanctified." 42:40 Now, we don't want to miss out on that because 42:41 it gives us sanctification and also the gospel 42:45 is found here with justification, why? 42:48 Because it says, "For by one offering, 42:50 He has perfected forever," that's justification. 42:52 When you come to Christ, you confess your sins, 42:54 you surrender to Him, He's your Lord and Savior 42:56 in your heart from that point forward. 42:58 God forgives you every sin. He completely cleanses you. 43:02 And now when He looks down upon you, He says, "As far as I'm 43:06 concerned, you have never sinned. 43:09 As far as I'm concerned, you're completely holy." 43:13 Now, does God and you both know that you haven't arrived yet? 43:17 Yes, He knows that and you know that. 43:18 But as far as He is concerned, you have already arrived. 43:22 But then it goes on and says that there is also a sanctifying 43:25 experience that God asked us to enter into as well, and that 43:29 sanctifying experience is a process that takes time as God 43:33 roots out our selfishness and our self-centeredness and our 43:37 greed, and all these other sinful attributes that God needs 43:40 to be able to clean out of our life. 43:42 Verse--chapter 9, verse 26, the last half 43:44 of this particular verse says it again. 43:46 It says, "But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared 43:49 to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 43:52 Hebrews 9, verse 28 it says, "So Christ was 43:54 offered once to bear the sins of many. 43:58 To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second 44:01 time apart from sin for salvation." 44:05 Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 12 says, "Not with the blood of 44:07 goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most 44:10 Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." 44:16 You see the theme, friends? 44:19 Why is God repeating it so often? 44:20 Why does he keep revisiting that powerful truth? 44:23 Well, it's important for you and I to be able to absorb it, but 44:26 it was even more difficult inevitably for the Jews, for the 44:30 religious Jews that had become Christians that had seen Jesus 44:34 as their Lord and Savior, accepted Him as so as such, 44:37 but now needed to readjust their religious 44:39 experience in a very dramatic way. 44:43 And so, God goes out of his way to be able to explain 44:45 to them and share with them that, "Hey, 44:49 this is something that is done with. 44:50 It's something that has found its fulfillment. 44:52 It served its purpose in a needful way. 44:55 It was my idea," God says. 44:56 But now that idea has come to its fulfillment, and now you can 45:00 express yourself by coming to Jesus in your heart in your 45:03 mind's eye as you come to Him in prayer and claim the death of 45:08 Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. 45:15 Again, this would be very helpful for the religious Jew. 45:18 Hebrews chapter 8, and verse 13 45:20 tells us something very important. 45:25 Let's go to Hebrews chapter 8, and verse 13 45:27 because, again, this is no small verse. 45:30 And again, it's relate--the relationship between 45:32 the Old Testament and the New Testament. 45:35 Okay, so Hebrews chapter 8, and verse 13 it says, "In that he 45:38 says, a New Covenant--" Again, that is the New Testament. 45:42 "He has made the first obsolete." 45:44 What's the first again? 45:45 Now you better get this this time. 45:46 The Old Testament, okay, good. All right, the Old Testament. 45:49 "A New Covenant or New Testament, 45:51 He has made the first obsolete." 45:53 That's the Old Testament. 45:55 "Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing away, growing old, 45:58 is ready to, is ready to vanish away." 46:03 And so, very clearly here, God in His graciousness, notice how 46:06 He's just giving the Jewish believers' transition time. 46:10 He's saying--He doesn't come up and say, 46:11 "Stop it and stop it right now." 46:14 No, He doesn't do that, does He? 46:16 He says, "But just let it start to vanish away. 46:19 I know, I know you still have a part of you that feels 46:22 unfaithful unless you bring that lamb because, 46:24 you know, you didn't--you didn't treat your wife 46:27 quite the way you should have. 46:29 You lost your temper or whatever it is. 46:32 And I know in the past, you know, that you knew 46:34 that was the right thing to do to bring a lamb, 46:36 but now I want you to come to the lamb." 46:41 And so, God is telling the Jewish believers, 46:42 "Listen, you need to let that go. 46:44 It's vanishing away. 46:46 It's fading because it's found its fulfillment in Jesus." 46:59 Now, the last two--the last two days speak on the Day of 47:04 Atonement, talks about the judgment hour, 47:06 and we don't even have nearly enough time. 47:09 We're just wrapping things up today. 47:11 So, if you haven't looked at the last two days of the lesson 47:13 study, we really want to encourage you to be able to 47:15 spend some time and consider some 47:17 of the thoughts that is sharing that. 47:19 Revelation chapter 3, and verse 20 is my favorite. 47:21 In fact, let's close with that. 47:23 Let's go to Revelation chapter 3, and verse 20 with our last 47:26 minute or so that we have here because this is such a 47:28 powerfully--I just want to express one thing as well. 47:32 You know, I know that it's become the in thing for us, as 47:34 Seventh-Day Adventists, to scrap the whole term "investigative 47:38 judgment" from 1844 onward when Jesus entered the second phase 47:43 of ministry, not only as our mediator, as we talked about 47:45 today, but also as our advocate and judge. 47:49 And we just call it the pre Advent judgment now. 47:54 Friends, why did God inspire Ellen White to 47:56 use the term "investigative judgment?" 47:58 You know, I did a word search dozens of times. 48:02 Several times God had asked--inspired Ellen White to 48:05 use the term "investigative judgment." 48:07 And yet we're afraid to use that term. 48:10 Either we're guilty and we know we're not right with God, or 48:14 we're misunderstanding the gospel. 48:15 One of those two, and if it's either those two, 48:17 we want to get that straightened out, amen? 48:20 Because I can freely use the term "investigative judgment," 48:23 and I have no qualms doing that. 48:25 And I do not feel threatened by it in any way, why? 48:28 Because I understand the gospel correctly and because I know 48:31 that my heart is right with Jesus. 48:35 Revelation 3:20 gives me that hope. 48:42 Sorry, it's not Revelation-- 48:44 Revelation, chapter 3, and verse 5. 48:47 Verse 20 is another powerful one as well but verse 5. 48:50 In closing it says, "And he who overcomes shall be 48:52 clothed in white garments, and I will not 48:54 blot out his name from the book of Life. 48:56 But I will confess his name before 48:58 My Father and before His angels." 49:01 You see, even there in the judgment hour, Jesus is still 49:04 interceding for you and me, is He not, okay? 49:07 Now, He wants us to be able to continue to forget those things 49:09 that are behind, press forward to those things which are ahead. 49:12 As Paul said, Paul says, "I have not yet arrived." 49:15 And he wrote that at the end of his life. 49:17 He said, "Listen, after years, I'm still in process. 49:19 God is still rooting out things in my life. 49:21 But one thing I do, I forget those things which are behind, 49:23 and I press forward to those things with are ahead, which is 49:26 the upper calling in Jesus Christ my Lord." 49:30 And so, friends, that's what I want to leave you 49:31 with in concern to the judgment hour. 49:33 Remember, Jesus is still interceding for you as you are 49:36 in process, but you need to be faithful to Him, amen? 49:40 Let's close with prayer. 49:42 Father in heaven, I just want to say a short prayer that You 49:44 might be able to bless each and every person here and that as we 49:46 contemplate the words and truths that we looked at, that You 49:49 might speak to us and help us to be able to follow. 49:51 In Jesus's name, amen. 49:54 Friends, those of you who are watching online, 49:56 we want to thank you and on various 49:57 networks for joining us here today. 49:59 And don't forget to take 50:01 advantage of our free gift offer. 50:04 And the information will be on the screen for you 50:06 to be able to take advantage of that. 50:08 God bless you, and we look forward to seeing you next 50:10 time--next week on our "Sabbath School Study Hour." 50:12 For those of you watching this live, don't forget to stay by. 50:15 In ten minutes from now, we're going to 50:16 begin our worship service. 50:17 Love to have you join us if you're not 50:19 joining a local church. 50:20 Until then, God bless. 50:24 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 50:25 life-changing, free resource. 50:27 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 50:29 you can download a digital copy straight 50:31 to your computer or mobile device. 50:33 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:36 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 50:40 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 50:43 And be sure to select the 50:44 digital download option on the request page. 50:47 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:50 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, and most 50:54 important, to share it with others. 51:02 announcer: Amazing Facts Changed Lives. 51:10 Kip Johnston: I was raised very spoiled, 51:12 very lucky, very blessed. 51:14 I was raised in the church actually. 51:17 As a child, God was presented to me as vindictive, 51:20 so it didn't interest me very much. 51:22 When I got much older, I was told by a friend 51:25 of mine I wasn't even a Christian. 51:27 I said, I'm a good person. I don't steal. 51:29 I don't cheat. I don't kill." 51:31 And it was told to me that, "No, in order to be 51:34 a Christian, you must be born again." 51:36 The next day, I went and appropriated a Bible. 51:39 I read the New Testament. 51:40 I just sat the Bible down and said, 51:42 "God, if you're real, deal me in." 51:45 I went to a Christian college to study theology and about God, 51:50 but when I left college, I took a job selling Christian 51:53 literature and Bibles door to door. 51:55 And I went flat broke. 51:57 I stopped in to play poker in a place in LA. 52:00 I was an instant success. 52:02 My life became poker and I got books, and I read poker books. 52:05 I had my Bible in one hand and a poker book in the other. 52:07 I was a Christian poker player. 52:09 I thought the Lord was blessing me. 52:10 The amount of money that I made playing poker 52:13 was so big, it would scare you. 52:16 I was very self-indulgent. 52:17 I did not deny myself anything that I thought 52:19 would make me happy, but I was still empty. 52:23 I went to all the Christian churches, gave them all a fair 52:26 shot, some of them three months, 52:27 some of them two years, unimpressed. 52:31 Saturday morning, I happened to be traveling 52:33 from one poker place to another. 52:35 I just happened to have a little TV in my truck, 52:38 and Doug Batchelor came up on there. 52:40 I was like, this guy makes sense. 52:42 I knew Doug Batchelor was in Sacramento, 52:44 so I came to meet him. 52:47 I told him, I said, "I'm a Christian doing God's work, 52:50 and I make a living playing poker. 52:52 And I am giving away great converses to players. 52:55 I go to church and help the community 52:57 and don't tell me that I'm not doing what's right." 52:59 And he said, "No, you got to get out of that casino, period." 53:04 I said, "I'm making good money." 53:06 And he says, "I know that you know 53:07 what I'm telling you is right," and I did. 53:11 I recognized through it all, I wasn't happy. 53:16 I said, "Lord, my life is a disaster. 53:18 I'm selfish, I'm empty. 53:21 I've tried to do what You wanted me to do 53:23 so many times, and I've always failed. 53:27 Why do I always fail? Why do I always lose my way?" 53:34 And the Lord spoke to me, says, "You got to be involved. 53:40 You got to be involved in My work." 53:43 And that's when I said, I need to dedicate 53:45 my life fully to God's work. 53:48 I, by the grace of God and my wife, we went to India. 53:53 Until the Lord tells me otherwise, we're going to build 53:55 orphanages in India so that children can grow up 53:59 and hear about Jesus, and they can go tell 54:01 the 1.3 billion people in their country. 54:05 God had a plan for me and now I just want to 54:08 be fully dedicated to the Lord's cause. 54:13 I am Kip Johnston, and God used Amazing Facts to change my life. 54:28 announcer: Amazing Facts Changed Lives. 54:36 Peggy Toulon: My name is Peggy Toulon, 54:39 originally from Houston, Texas. 54:41 We lived in Midland for about 14, 15 years 54:43 when my husband had a job offer to move to Detroit. 54:48 We went, you know, expecting things to be easier 54:51 as far as financial situations go. 54:55 And, you know, once we got there, we realized 54:57 the cost of living there was actually worse than it was here. 55:01 And so, he was working more. 55:02 He was out of town a lot because he was a truck driver. 55:05 And there was a time when I felt like I 55:07 was taking care of my girls on my own. 55:09 In any situation that would come up, he wasn't there. 55:12 You know, it was just me trying to take care of everything. 55:17 And I--I felt kind of angry towards God for that, felt kind 55:21 of angry toward my husband for that, you know? 55:23 And at that point, I was already kind of angry with God because 55:27 He hadn't been answering my prayers. 55:29 Of course, my prayers back then were 55:30 really selfish-type prayers. 55:32 They were more, you know, "God, we need more money. 55:36 We don't--you know, we need financial help." 55:39 And I just thought, what's the point? 55:41 God's not listening to me. 55:43 I don't even want--I don't even want to 55:44 have anything to do with Him anymore. 55:49 There was one night I had been reading Revelation, and I read 55:53 through the whole thing and it made no sense whatsoever to me. 55:57 And I--after I finished it I said, I prayed, 56:00 "Lord, help me to understand what this means. 56:02 You must want me to understand. It's in your Word. 56:05 I must--I need to know what it means." 56:08 And so, I went on to bed and a couple of days later, 56:11 we got a flyer in the mail that said, "Amazing Facts 56:15 Presents Revelations Prophecy Seminar." 56:19 And I was like, wow, that's an answer to prayer. 56:22 You know, I was so excited and my husband was too. 56:24 And so, we decided we were going to go to that seminar. 56:27 And I just knew when I got through the whole seminar, I 56:30 just knew that's where I was going to be. 56:35 With Amazing Facts, I have learned so much 56:39 about the Bible and about how to study the Bible, 56:41 which was what I needed before. 56:44 Because without knowing how to study the Bible, 56:47 you can't--you can't get to know Jesus. 56:49 And that's the most amazing thing to me is that God has led 56:53 me to the place where I am now to where I can learn every day 56:58 more and more about His character 57:00 and how much He really does love us. 57:08 Looking back, I'm just happy that He led me the way He did, 57:12 even though I wasn't really listening. 57:16 God has a way to just lead you where you need to be 57:19 and take you down the right path. 57:21 But I looked at my life now and I think wow, if it could have 57:25 been that way before and I would have had Him in my life 57:28 this way all along, you know--I don't know. 57:33 I'm just--I'm just happy now. 57:35 You know, it doesn't matter what's going on in my life. 57:38 I'm happy with God. 57:40 ♪ God's good is life to me. ♪ 57:46 ♪♪♪ 57:56 ♪♪♪ 58:06 ♪♪♪ 58:16 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2022-02-17