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00:06 ♪♪♪ 00:12 ♪♪♪ 00:22 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Doug Batchelor: Good morning, friends. 00:37 We want to welcome you to the Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:40 So glad to see each of you that are here at the 00:42 Granite Bay Hilltop Church. 00:44 We welcome you, and we want to welcome the many, 00:47 many thousands we know are studying with us all over the 00:50 world in different English-speaking countries 00:53 that are joining us. 00:55 We have some online members out there, 00:56 as well, and welcome. 00:58 We're gong to continue our study today on the book of Genesis. 01:03 This is the foundation for all biblical truth. 01:07 And the study today is lesson number 7, 01:09 and it's dealing with the subject of the covenant that 01:12 God made with Abraham. 01:14 Now, with every study we like to make a free offer to just sort 01:17 of enhance the lesson, something that'll go 01:19 along with the lesson. 01:20 Part of the study today deals with the subject of Lot and 01:24 Sodom and Gomorrah. 01:26 And we have a free offer. 01:28 I hope you'll request this. 01:29 The price is right. 01:31 It's called, "Remember Lot's Wife." 01:34 Now, sometimes I think people say, 01:35 "Oh, this is a great book, you should read it," 01:37 and they've not even read it. 01:38 I've read this. 01:39 It is really good, and it's been around for years. 01:42 It's a classic, "Remember Lot's Wife" by Joe Cruz. 01:45 If you like this lesson, then just ask for 01:48 Offer #108 when you call. 01:50 If you call, it's 866-788-3966. 01:56 That's 866-Study-More. 01:58 And in the US you can text. 02:00 If you want to get it, you can download it. 02:02 Text SH054, and you text that to 40544. 02:09 Outside North America, you simply go to study.aftv.org and 02:15 there you would type in SH054 to get your free copy of this book, 02:20 can read it online. 02:21 We'll send it to you, but you'll be blessed by that information. 02:24 Let's bow our heads. 02:27 Loving Lord, we want to thank You so much for Your goodness 02:29 and blessings, and we just thank You for the gift of Your Word. 02:33 We pray that you'll be with us now in this study. 02:36 I pray be in a special way be with Pastor Brummund and just 02:39 enlighten his mind with Your Spirit, 02:41 and that we all might be edified as a result. 02:43 We thank You and pray in Jesus' name. 02:45 Amen. 02:48 Shawn Brummund: Good to be able to be with you here this 02:50 morning and studying the Word of God. 02:52 If there's one thing that this lesson and the quarterly, 02:56 as we continue to go through Genesis, 02:57 is confirming is that it is an impossibility to be able to 03:02 thoroughly study the entire book of Genesis in three months. 03:06 Thirteen Sabbath School lessons is not 03:08 sufficient, but that's okay. 03:11 This particular week is an extraordinary week in the fact 03:14 that there are five chapters that we covered in one week. 03:17 That's almost a chapter a day. 03:19 And so please forgive me if I don't make it all the way 03:22 through all the lesson study; because, 03:25 you know, five chapters is just too much to be able to cover in 03:28 40-45 minutes time of study. 03:30 But the good news is this, that we are going to be able to look 03:32 at some of those powerful truths that are revealed in those five 03:36 chapters that help us to have a better understanding of God, 03:40 help us to have a better understanding of the gospel and 03:43 strengthen our faith, as we continue to walk with the Lord 03:46 in the hope and the faith that He gives to us. 03:49 So, we have lots of good stuff that we're still going to be 03:51 able to pull out of this particular lesson study. 03:55 We're returning back to the life of Abraham. 03:59 Last week, we started to look at the life of Abraham in some of 04:02 those first chapters that introduced this patriarch of the 04:06 faith, this father of many nations, 04:09 this father of Israel, and the gospel that God continues to 04:15 propagate and perpetrate throughout human history. 04:18 And so as we come to those first years and the first century and 04:22 a half after the flood, we find that God is zeroing in on 04:26 Abraham as a key figure. 04:28 And so Abraham is no small figure. 04:31 And even by the time Jesus came, Abraham was still the biggest 04:34 figure--well, him and Moses--it was probably a tie for first in 04:39 the eyes of the religious Jews of Jesus' day. 04:44 And as we came to the end of those chapters that introduced 04:47 the life of Abraham, he is involved in a very real way. 04:50 He has become a substantial and respected force and presence in 04:55 the land of Canaan that God has promised to him. 04:59 The Bible says that he was very wealthy and increased in 05:03 possessions, livestock, gold, silver. 05:06 Abraham is a substantial force and presence economically in the 05:10 local economy of the civilizations of Canaan. 05:14 We also learned, as he was involved in a military 05:17 operation, that he is also very much respected now amongst the 05:21 different tribes and peoples for his military prowess and, 05:26 of course, the success that came when he not only delivered Lot 05:29 and his family, but also the kings and the rest of, 05:33 most of the rest of the populations 05:35 of Sodom and Gomorrah. 05:38 And so Abraham, God is building a presence and a very real 05:45 respect for this man in this part of the world. 05:50 But Abraham is now past 75 years old. 05:55 Abraham is not a young man. 05:58 He is past--several years past the age of 75, 06:01 and he still has no son. 06:03 Now, the promise that God had given to him that not only would 06:05 God give him this promised prime real estate, 06:10 the fertile crescent along the Mediterranean Sea, 06:13 but that He would also give him descendants, 06:16 and those descendants would multiply to as much as the sand 06:18 of the sea, and God would make a nation, 06:21 and all nations would be blessed through the descendants of 06:25 Abraham and the faith that he would give as a legacy. 06:30 And so here's Abraham. 06:32 He's in this foreign land. 06:33 It's very much established. 06:35 There are huge, fortified, walled cities. 06:38 There is a very established economy. 06:41 There is all kinds of military armies and kings that are 06:45 established there, and Abraham is still kind of dealing with a 06:49 little bit of post-traumatic syndrome after he came out of 06:52 his first military experience. 06:54 And so, as you and I sometimes face in our life, 06:58 as we find this life is very much broken--this world, 07:02 I should say, is very much broken; and because of that, 07:06 there are storms, there are circumstances that all 07:08 of us find ourselves traveling through, that sometimes fear and 07:12 discouragement are our biggest enemies. 07:15 And Abraham was no different than you and me. 07:18 He was just as human, he was just as frail, 07:20 he had his own weaknesses, and so on, 07:24 and fear and discouragement were very real enemies that he had to 07:28 fight, demons that he had to fight, 07:29 just like you and I do. 07:31 And this was inevitably one of those junctures in his life. 07:35 And just like you and me, when we come to God, 07:38 God is there, and God comes along. 07:41 And, you know, one of the things that we find repeated--I haven't 07:44 counted--but can safely dozens that I would put my money on, 07:47 hundreds of times throughout the Scriptures 07:49 God says, "Don't be afraid. 07:51 Do not fear. 07:53 Do not worry. Don't be anxious. 07:55 Do not fear. Do not worry. 07:56 Do not fear. Do not worry," why? 07:58 Because He knows that those are some of our biggest 08:00 enemies in this life. 08:02 And so here we find a man named Abraham, 08:06 great man of faith, but also very human. 08:09 And he's now realizing that God's calling to inherit this 08:13 land that was promised him is going to involve way more time. 08:16 It's going to involve way more strain than he ever anticipated 08:20 when God had first called him. 08:21 He packed up his goods, packed up his family, 08:24 and traveled to the Promised Land. 08:29 Kind of reminds me of our Lead Pastor, Doug Batchelor. 08:33 Now, he has publicly expressed--many of you may 08:35 recall him expressing that even from this platform, 08:38 more than once, that if he had known how long and difficult the 08:43 task of building the Word Center was going to be--now, that's the 08:47 facilities that we're blessed with now, amen? 08:50 These are the facilities that we can worship and serve and help 08:53 people to know the gospel and the truth in these last days. 08:57 The Amazing Facts building, you know, 08:59 with its much greater capacity than it had in the old building, 09:02 to continue to propagate the Word and the truth 09:04 in these last days. 09:06 All of it is a blessing, but if God had revealed--and Doug 09:10 Batchelor is on record of confessing this--if God had 09:12 revealed how long and how difficult and how strainful that 09:17 task would be, he would've hesitated, 09:19 and he's not sure if he would've signed up. 09:25 When God called me to the ministry back in 1992, 09:29 I was just freshly baptized. 09:30 I was barely out of the baptismal waters, 09:32 and God says, "I want you to be an evangelist and a preacher." 09:35 And so I signed up for college. 09:39 I began to study my theology in full-time studies. 09:43 And when I signed up for college, 09:45 I sincerely believed that within one to two years, I would be 09:47 finished with the studies, I didn't need to graduate, I would 09:49 be a full-time evangelist out in the field. 09:53 A long story short, four years later, 09:55 I graduated with my BA. 09:58 And still, it was four years after that, 10:00 again, before I actually preached my first evangelistic 10:04 prophecy seminar. 10:06 And so a lot of times the things--you know, reminds me 10:09 of a statement, the one Jesus made to His disciples one day. 10:12 It's in John chapter 16 and verse 12. 10:14 He said, "I still have many things to share with you or to 10:18 say to you, but you cannot bear them now." 10:23 You know, there's a tactfulness that God knows. 10:26 He knows that we are weak. 10:28 And so He knows that sometimes the goals and the callings that 10:33 He gives to us as believers, if He revealed all the information, 10:37 and He kind of just spelled it all out from beginning to end, 10:40 He knows that we would just kind of collapse and buckle under and 10:43 say, "There's no way, Lord." 10:45 And thank God that He's--God understands our weakness, amen? 10:50 Thank God that God understands that--and He is patient with us, 10:54 and He's tactful with His calling and the pathway that He 10:59 calls us to be able to sometimes sacrifice in some very real 11:02 ways, to be able to accomplish His goals in our lives. 11:07 Well, with that introduction, I want to invite you 11:09 to open your Bibles. 11:10 We're going to go to Revelation--sorry, not 11:12 Revelation--but the first book of the Bible, not the last one. 11:16 Revelation chapter 15, which is our first chapter 11:18 of the lesson study this week. 11:20 We're going to Rev--I keep wanting to say 11:22 Revelation, don't I? 11:24 We're going to go to Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6. 11:29 Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6. 11:32 And when we come to this chapter, 11:33 to this verse, it is a signature verse for this chapter. 11:36 It is the gospel that Abraham understood. 11:39 It is the gospel that Abraham lived under. 11:42 It's the same gospel that is offered to you and I. 11:47 Unlike many of our Christian friends that sometimes 11:49 misunderstand the Old Testament gospel, 11:53 and somehow believe that in the Old Testament, you kind of 11:56 earned your way into heaven, you kept the law of Moses strictly 12:00 enough until you finally found yourself--and I just heard that 12:03 with a preacher on Christian radio just the other week repeat 12:07 it again, and so preachers are still teaching from the pulpit, 12:10 some pulpits--not all of them, but some of them--that in the 12:13 Old Testament, you know, the curse of being in the Old 12:15 Testament era was that, you know, 12:17 you had to earn your salvation by keeping the Ten Commandments, 12:20 and the law of Moses, and so on. 12:22 But thank God, we live in the New Testament, 12:24 where God gives us grace. 12:25 He justifies us freely through our faith and the grace 12:28 that God gives to us. 12:30 But that is simply not true. 12:32 That preacher and those Christians are not studying 12:34 their Bible, not carefully enough, at least, 12:38 because the Bible tells us that Abraham was saved 12:41 by grace through faith, just as much as you and I were. 12:45 In fact, as this lesson study points out, 12:47 Paul actually was inspired by God to run with these chapters 12:50 that we're looking at, that in this window of time in the life 12:54 of Abraham, and God expounds on that in Romans chapter 4 and in 12:59 Galatians chapter 4, and it talks about the fact that, 13:02 that this represents--that the gospel that Abraham lived under 13:07 is the same gospel that Paul and the apostles and the Christian 13:10 church lives under, as well. 13:13 So, as we come to verse 6, it says, 13:15 "And he believed," that is Abraham, 13:17 "and Abraham believed in the Lord." 13:20 That's faith. 13:21 "And He accounted it to him for righteousness." 13:27 He accounted it to him for righteousness. 13:29 Now, was Abraham's faith and belief sincere and saving? 13:35 Yes, it was. 13:36 Okay, the Bible record tells us. 13:39 Of course, it confirms that it's sincere, doesn't it? 13:40 He says, "And he believed." 13:42 The Bible doesn't tell us lies. It tells us truth. 13:45 And so his faith was very sincere. 13:48 His belief was very sincere. 13:50 Was it a saving faith? 13:53 Sure it was. 13:55 Abraham was counted as a child of God, a prophet of God. 13:59 God doesn't call unsaved people to be prophets. 14:01 He only calls faithful saved people to be prophets. 14:06 Peter made that very clear in his first letter, 14:08 that God only calls holy men of God, 14:11 who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 14:16 And so, yes, Abraham had a very sincere belief. 14:19 He had a saving belief. 14:20 And the Bible confirms that very clearly. 14:22 Was it a fully mature and perfect faith? 14:27 No. 14:29 The Bible also makes that very clear. 14:31 In the chapters that follow, that becomes abundantly clear 14:35 that the faith that Abraham had was sincere. 14:39 It was saving, but it was still in process. 14:45 It was still maturing. 14:47 It had still not yet been perfected. 14:50 Now, years later, we find a different Abraham, don't we? 14:53 We find an Abraham where God says, 14:55 you know, "Take your son, your only son, 14:56 your only begotten, miraculous son, Isaac, 14:59 bring him up onto a mountain and sacrifice him." 15:02 And Hebrews tells us that Abraham's faith had matured and 15:04 grown so well that by that point, 15:07 it tells us in the book of Hebrews that Abraham put two and 15:10 two together and realized, "Man alive, 15:11 if I follow through with this, this is still my son, 15:14 my only son, the one whom God has promised will be the father 15:17 of all my grandchildren and great grandchildren and great, 15:20 great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren. 15:24 And so if I do follow through with this, 15:27 and I take the life of my son, God will surely, 15:30 inevitably resurrect him back to life again, 15:32 so that he can marry and bear children." 15:35 Now, that's a mature faith, amen? 15:39 So, God matures us. 15:40 We see he's in process, but even with our immature--even in his 15:45 immature faith in the beginning years, 15:48 he's still in a saving relationship with Jesus. 15:51 Why? 15:53 Because he believed, and it was accounted 15:56 to him as righteousness. 15:58 Now, Paul quotes that same verse in Romans, 16:03 in chapter 4, and he talks about the fact that this is 16:08 justification by faith, through God's grace, 16:12 that He gives to us. 16:13 That's good news. Amen? 16:16 That God reckons, He imputes, He accounts to your account the 16:21 righteousness of Christ because of your faith in Him. 16:26 So, when God looks down upon Abraham, 16:28 even though He looks down, and He sees a fumbling, 16:30 bumbling man--because truly, he's on record of doing that. 16:33 He's already lied once. 16:34 He's on--he's going to repeat the same lie in the future 16:37 again, you know, to save his skin. 16:40 Then we find him sleeping with his--the hand-servant of his 16:46 wife, Sarah, so that they might bear a child, 16:48 that wasn't part of God's plan in the first place. 16:52 And so we find that he does make some very real blunders and some 16:57 bad choices, but he's still counted righteous and perfect 17:03 according to his faith and belief. 17:06 And so when God looked down upon Abraham, 17:07 He said, "Listen, I know that we're still in process here. 17:10 We've still got some work to do in your life. 17:12 But as far as I'm concerned, you're perfect." 17:16 Now, He winks while He says that, doesn't He? 17:19 He says, "Now you and I both know," as He looks down upon 17:21 Abraham, "Now you and I both know that you're not perfect; 17:25 but as far as I'm concerned, because of your faith and My 17:27 grace and this coming life and death of Jesus Christ, 17:31 My Son, you are counted perfect in my eyes. 17:34 You are justified, and you can live in that hope." 17:40 That's the heart of the gospel, is it not? 17:43 Now, the other half is sanctification, and we're going 17:45 to talk about that as we continue here, as well, and 17:48 so we don't want to leave the other half of the gospel out, 17:50 as sometimes we as Christians can make the mistake of doing. 17:57 And so we find here, as we come back to the story of Genesis 18:02 chapter 15, 16, 17, that there are three sons, 18:08 three sons that are offered by Abraham to God. 18:11 The first two sons are illegitimate sons. 18:13 They're not part of God's plan. 18:14 The first one was Abraham's favorite servant. 18:20 He was a servant that was born into his home, 18:22 so he must've been the son of one of his 18:24 previous--current servants. 18:26 And so there is a family of servants in his home that gives 18:29 birth to a boy, and this boy becomes Abraham's favorite and 18:33 most loved and trusted servant. 18:36 And so as Abraham--the years are going by now. 18:39 You know, we're talking--he's coming on 85. 18:42 And as he comes on 85 years old, he says, 18:44 "Listen, you know, obviously, I must have misunderstood 18:47 the message that God had for me. 18:48 There must've been some disconnect there. 18:50 And so I'm going to have to pick Eleazar as my-- 18:55 my servant as my son. 18:57 Now, this is a boy that was born in his camp that Abraham has 19:02 known since birth, and so he kind of adopted him under his 19:06 wings, and he thought, "Well, this must--what God means, 19:08 you know, that He wants me to adopt this servant into my 19:11 family and into my inheritance." 19:14 And as we know, as we've read the chapters--as I hope you have 19:17 because we can't read the chapters today--is that God 19:23 says, "No, he's not the one. 19:25 The one that I was talking about, the 19:26 son that will inherit this land and his descendants will 19:29 come from your own body." 19:31 And we read that in Genesis chapter 15 and verse 4. 19:36 The second son that is presented in these chapters is the one 19:40 that Abraham has with his wife's maidservant, handmaid. 19:46 And so Hagar the Egyptian, this Egyptian handmaid that is the 19:49 number-one handmaid and servant of Sarah--you know, 19:54 again, now we're talking 85 years old. 19:57 Makes that very clear in chapter 16. 20:00 Verse 3, it tells us that Abraham is now 85 years old. 20:04 They've been hanging out in the Promised Land for 10 years now. 20:07 Now, for God, 10 years is like a blink of an eye--not even. 20:10 But for you and I, 10 years is a little bit 20:12 longer than that, isn't that? 20:13 And so they're thinking, "Man alive, we've been here 20:14 10 years, and God has made it clear to me now that Eleazar's 20:18 not the one, so we've got to come up with a second son." 20:22 And so the second son was Sarah's idea this time. 20:25 And so Sarah comes up to her husband one day and says, 20:27 "Listen, you know, it's been 10 years now. 20:29 You're 85. I mean, time's ticking. 20:33 You know, my biological clock has expired. 20:36 You know, I've got a younger handmaiden here. 20:39 I'm sure she'll be fertile, and she'll be able 20:42 to produce you a son. 20:44 And I can bear a son through her, a surrogate son." 20:46 Now, this is not unusual, she didn't come up with that idea. 20:49 This was practiced in her culture, and 20:50 at different times in different families and royalty 20:53 and so on, especially. 20:55 And so this is not unusual as far as the concept goes, 20:58 but it is not part of God's plan. 21:01 And so he says--she says, "Listen, 21:03 take her as a secondary wife. 21:05 You know, marry her. 21:07 We'll make it "right," and you go and sleep with her and 21:13 conceive, and we'll have a child and a son through him." 21:15 Well, the plan works, doesn't it? 21:18 She conceives, he marries her, he goes into her, 21:20 she conceives, and she has a son. 21:24 Aha, there it is, Lord. 21:26 And so Abraham offers up to Jesus and to his Father, 21:28 and he says, "There it is. 21:30 Here's the son. 21:31 Finally, things are coming together." 21:33 And for 13 years, he believed that was the truth, 21:37 until Abraham--until God shows up once again. 21:41 And so we find that God is needing to show up once again, 21:44 and He doesn't show up for quite a while. 21:45 Again, 13 years after Sarah and Abraham, 21:49 you know, come up with this scenario. 21:51 And so Ishmael is growing into this strong and healthy young 21:55 man, and Abraham has taken him under his wing, 21:58 inevitably, as his firstborn, and he loves little Ishmael. 22:04 But in chapter 17, Abraham is now 99 years old. 22:08 God appears to him again. 22:11 And in the midst of that conversation outside of--first 22:13 of all, He says, "Listen, your name shall no longer be Abram, 22:16 exalted father, but you shall be called Abraham, 22:19 which means father of nations; for out of you shall come 22:22 nations and kings of nations." 22:27 And so you can see Abraham nodding and saying, 22:29 "Okay, this is great. 22:30 Things are coming together. 22:32 Things are working just the way as I understand it, 22:34 and the plan of God is, yes, Ishmael is going to have these 22:37 children, and they're going to develop into nations and kings. 22:40 This is wonderful." 22:42 And then God says, "I want you to circumcise you, 22:44 yourself, every male, Ishmael, all of the males within your 22:48 camp, and this will be a sign of the covenant that I'm making 22:51 with you, a physical, visible sign." 22:57 But then God kind of confuses Abraham when we come to verse 23:00 15, because in verse 15 it says, "Then God said to Abraham, 23:03 'As for Sarah, your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, 23:08 but Sarah shall be her name.'" 23:10 Now Sarai means "my princess." 23:13 And my princess means Abraham's princess. 23:17 Now God says, "You shall no longer--Sarai's name shall no 23:20 longer just be your princess, but she shall be called Sarah, 23:24 which means princess, universal princess. 23:28 Now her name will mean that she is the mother of all nations and 23:32 the mother of kings. 23:34 From her body will come kings and nations, as well." 23:38 Now Abraham is scratching his head 23:40 and saying, "Wait a minute, this is not going as planned. 23:43 How does Ishmael fit into that? 23:46 That's not the way things are going." 23:50 And so God knows that He's changing Sarai's name to 23:53 princess, mother of kings and nations is-- 23:56 it would inevitably confuse the mind of Abraham. 23:58 And so God just makes it plain in verse 16 and says, 24:01 "I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. 24:05 And then I will bless her, and she shall 24:06 become a mother of nations. 24:08 Kings of people shall come from her." 24:11 And so God unpacks this new name and says, 24:13 "Listen, I know you're confused, but this is My plan all along. 24:16 You just kind of monkeyed it up because you thought you would 24:18 help Me out, you and Sarai." 24:22 Fascinating story. 24:25 Verse 17, Abraham fell on his face. 24:26 And what does he do? 24:29 He laughs. 24:31 Now, we don't know if he laughed out of skepticism, 24:33 like, "Lord, this is crazy talk. 24:35 You know, what is this? 24:37 You know--" 24:39 And he responds in such a way, he says, "Listen, can an 24:41 old man that's 100--" now, he rounds it off. 24:43 Have you noticed that the older you get, 24:44 you kind of round off your age? 24:47 You know, you're 58, and your birthday is in 6 months or 5 24:50 months from now, and you kind of already calling yourself 59. 24:54 I don't know why. It's just kind of a pattern. 24:55 The older you get, you kind of start rounding your age off 24:58 older than it already is. 25:00 And Abraham's no different. 25:03 He's 99 years old, according to verse 1, but Abraham responds 25:06 and says, "Can a man that's 100 years old have a child? 25:09 I mean, come on. Sarah's 90 years old now. 25:11 She's--menopause is way back there. 25:15 You know, she experienced--the hot flashes are already over. 25:20 There's no way that she can have a son, Lord." 25:23 And, of course, Abraham is still speaking on earthly terms. 25:27 He's thinking on earthly terms, isn't he? 25:29 Now, you and I don't want to be too critical, because too often 25:32 we always think in earthly terms as well. 25:34 And more than once, we forget, you know, that the Lord is 25:37 divine, and nothing is impossible with the Lord. 25:40 We're always trying to cover our bases, 25:41 you know, and the Lord's coming along and said, 25:44 "Listen, you can try to cover your bases, 25:46 but I already have them all covered anyway, 25:48 and some of the bases are going to be covered in an impossible 25:51 way that no economic strategy is going to solve," and so on. 26:00 You know, we're always trying to cover our bases. 26:02 God does talk about planning for the future, 26:04 so we don't want to be foolish; but at the same time, 26:07 we always want to keep leaning upon God and saying, 26:09 "Lord, whatever You call me to do, 26:10 wherever You call me to go, whatever needs I 26:12 have, I know You'll provide. 26:14 Some of them will come through pragmatic, 26:16 natural consequences and avenues, 26:19 and sometimes they'll come miraculously. 26:22 But whatever way that You provide, 26:24 I know that You will provide for me." 26:27 And so that's one of the lessons we can pick up from this is that 26:31 we want to pray that we can think more like God thinks and 26:36 less like Abraham is thinking at this point. 26:41 And so this is given to us for our lesson, 26:44 so that we can learn the lessons that Abraham learned the hard 26:46 way, and we might be able to avoid some of these different 26:49 bumps in the road. 26:54 All right, and so God says, "No, no, no, 26:55 Sarah, your wife, shall bear a son." 26:58 So, what's the answer in verse 19? 26:59 When Abraham kind of says, "And then Abraham says, 27:01 'By the way, don't forget Ishmael, 27:03 and let's just put Ishmael out into the front.'" 27:06 You know, whenever I come to this, it reminds me of Peter. 27:09 You know, Peter had been fishing all night. 27:11 And so him and his brother Andrew, 27:16 James, John, they were out there fishing like they do, 27:18 and they always fish at night because their nets were larger. 27:20 They didn't have that nice, clear nylon netting that we have 27:24 and the lines that we use where the fish can't see, 27:27 even in the daytime, our lines when we're 27:29 fishing, but they didn't have that back then. 27:31 So, their lines were much more visible under the water. 27:33 And so the fishermen, the professional fishermen 27:36 understood that the best time to fish is when it's dark out 27:39 because then they can't see the lines of the netting. 27:42 And so him and--Peter and his fishing colleagues, they were 27:45 all--they'd been fishing all night long, and they know 27:49 where every hot spot in the entire Sea of Galilee is. 27:52 They know every square inch of that lake. 27:55 You know, they grew up fishing from a little boy. 27:58 As early as they could talk, they were out on that lake. 28:00 They knew everything--he says--you know, Peter--you know, 28:03 Jesus is preaching early one morning. 28:05 And a tired Peter and his fellows, you know, they're 28:09 wrapping up their night, and they're cleaning the nets 28:11 while they're listening to the words of Christ. 28:13 And Christ kind of stops and says, 28:15 "Peter, listen, I want you to take 28:17 those nets, put them back in the boat. 28:18 Go out into the deep water there again. 28:20 The first deep water that you see, 28:22 throw your nets back in." 28:26 And Peter, you know, he's looking around, 28:27 and he's trying to be tactful. 28:29 You know, he respects the Lord. 28:30 He already understands that Jesus is no normal rabbi. 28:35 He's no ordinary person or rabbi. 28:37 And so he's looking around and saying, 28:39 "How do I handle this one? 28:42 You know, I just--I want to respect Him, but obviously Jesus 28:45 doesn't know a lot about fishing. 28:49 I know a lot about fishing. 28:50 I was brought up--I'm a professional fisherman. 28:53 Jesus is not." 28:54 So, he says, "Lord, you know, listen, 28:56 I don't know how to tell You this, but I've been 28:58 fishing all night, and that's the prime time to fish. 29:01 Nobody fishes--no professional fishes during the day. 29:04 I've been fishing all night, and I haven't caught anything, 29:07 and I went to every single hot spot on this lake. 29:10 And You're telling me now that I'm going to go out and catch 29:12 some fish just like that in the daytime? 29:16 Nevertheless, Lord--" 29:17 You can almost see Jesus looking at 29:19 Peter and saying, "Just go ahead and do it." 29:24 And so with that pause and that look that Jesus inevitably gave 29:27 to Peter, Peter says, "Nevertheless, 29:28 Lord, okay, all right, I'll go out." 29:32 And so he goes out, and we know the rest of the story. 29:34 You know, he started catching so many fish, 29:36 more fish in one go, in one spot than he had ever caught 29:41 in his entire professional life. 29:43 It was so full, the nets became so full so fast, 29:46 that the nets began to break. 29:48 And not only that, but then his boat became so full 29:52 that it began to sink. 29:53 And not only that, but then as he called James and 29:55 John to bring their boat over. 29:57 Their boat became so full, it began to sink with fish. 30:02 And then Peter, at that point, realized, "Wait a minute. 30:04 This guy is a professional fisherman. 30:09 Maybe He does know more about fishing than I do." 30:11 And not only that, but more importantly, 30:13 he fell at His feet, and he says, 30:16 "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man." 30:18 He understood the greatness and the divinity and the power that 30:22 was found in Jesus Christ. 30:26 And he understood that God can achieve the impossible, 30:29 and that's what God is teaching both Sarah and Abraham, 30:33 as they are maturing in that very sincere and saving 30:37 faith that they have. 30:38 While God is continuing to account that grace and that 30:41 righteousness and justification before Abraham and Sarah, 30:45 they were also maturing in that other divine miracle that works 30:49 in your life and mine called sanctification. 30:52 He's becoming more and more mature in his faith. 30:54 His character is growing. 30:56 His integrity is becoming stronger, 30:59 and that's what God does in our life, doesn't He? 31:02 For me, that was the best. 31:03 I didn't even know about justification until years after 31:05 I gave my heart to the Lord. 31:07 I didn't even know about that good news. 31:09 You know, that wasn't an issue. 31:10 For me, He would change me, you know? 31:14 I went from this arrogant, self-centered, 31:17 selfish, drunken, womanizing young man to this newborn, 31:26 honest, loving, Spirit-filled person that He had made me in 31:33 the years that followed. 31:36 That was the good news because I realized the contrast, 31:39 and I realized, "Man alive, my life is way better with Jesus 31:44 and having His Spirit than it was before." 31:47 Before, my heart was empty. 31:49 Now I was prospering in a lot of different sinful ways, 31:52 and there was a lot of pleasures that I was engaging in, 31:54 but it was all empty, it all came up empty. 31:58 But then when I found Christ, and He changed me, 32:01 and that sanctifying miracle started to take place, 32:04 and He matured my faith, even as He continues to do 32:06 today, by the way. 32:09 Then I became more like Jesus, and the 32:11 Spirit made me a new person. 32:12 "Behold, all things have become new," the Bible says, 32:16 when you come in Christ. 32:18 And that's what's happened with Abraham 32:20 and with Sarah, and that miracle continues as God is patiently 32:23 working with him and with Sarah, as they continue on. 32:27 And so God continues on, as we come through chapter 17, 32:33 and we come to chapter 18, 32:42 and it is here now that God appears 32:45 again, and we have God and the two angels in the form of men 32:49 that are appearing before Abraham. 32:51 And Abraham goes out quickly, as being the great man of 32:54 hospitality that he is, setting that prime model for hospitality 32:58 for you and I to those who are in need of a roof over their 33:01 head in a difficult situation. 33:04 So, here is these three traveling strangers. 33:07 Abraham goes out, greets them, brings them in, 33:10 and invites them to be able to have this meal. 33:15 And in the midst of this, he begins to recognize, 33:17 "Hey, wait a minute, these are no ordinary men." 33:20 That transition, that self-awareness started to come, 33:23 and he started to realize, "Wait a minute, 33:25 these are not just traveling men. 33:26 There's a divinity, there's a presence with these men." 33:31 And sure enough, as the conversation goes on, 33:35 the one that is the Lord Himself, 33:38 an Angel of the Lord, with a capital A, 33:42 Jesus is in the form of a human traveler, 33:45 man, that is traveling. 33:47 He goes on, and He expresses to Abraham, as Sarah is kind of 33:51 behind him, out of sight, but kind of lingering by the 33:55 door of the tent with her ear pointed in the right 33:57 direction--and as her ear is pointed in the direction of the 34:01 conversation, she's eavesdropping. 34:04 And God knows it, of course. 34:06 God knows everything. 34:12 And where is it? 34:13 Verse 10, chapter 18 and verse 10, "I will certainly 34:15 return to you, and according to the time of life--" 34:18 That means the 9-month period that we think of in 34:21 pregnancy, a term, or three terms, as we call it. 34:25 "And behold, Sarah, your wife, shall have a son." 34:29 Sarah was listening in the tent 34:30 door, which was behind him. 34:32 "Now, Abraham and Sarah were old and well advanced in age, 34:34 and Sarah was past the age of childbearing." 34:37 It's such an endearing kind of personal scene 34:40 that we find here. 34:41 "And so the Lord said to Abram, 'Why did Sarah laugh?' saying, 34:44 'Shall I bear a child in being that I'm old?' 34:47 'Is anything too hard for the Lord?'" 34:50 And so the Lord is helping move Sarah and 34:54 Abraham forward in their faith and to recognize that some of 34:57 the things that God calls us to do or the things that He 35:00 promises in our life are literally, are impossible. 35:03 On a human plane, they are impossible. 35:08 Physically speaking, scientifically speaking, 35:11 economically speaking, educationally speaking, 35:16 whatever avenue and field that God is talking to you about, 35:19 sometimes He achieves the impossible. 35:24 And so He says, "Is anything too hard for the Lord? 35:26 At the appointed time, I will return to you, 35:27 according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." 35:31 But here we have Sarah denying it, 35:33 saying, "I didn't laugh," for she was afraid. 35:35 And He said, "Oh, but you did laugh." 35:39 Yeah, so we have this, almost like a family conversation here, 35:42 you know, and it's so endearing, you know, 35:43 because Sarah really loved the Lord, didn't she? 35:46 She had a very sincere love for God, just like Abraham. 35:49 These are two very godly, God-fearing, 35:52 Spirit-filled, justified, sanctified couple of God, 35:58 but they have their weaknesses. 36:01 And God is working and helping them work through those 36:03 weaknesses to mature their faith. 36:06 And thank God that we can see that He does that 36:09 with them, and He does that with me. 36:10 We can know if God did that with this great patriarch, 36:13 the highest, most exalted, most important figure since the 36:17 flood, up to Jesus, then certainly He also works with us. 36:22 And so I take great comfort and encouragement in that, 36:28 and also instruction as well. 36:35 God always calls us on our sin, doesn't He? 36:38 Did Sarah sin at that moment? 36:40 Yeah, she disbelieved, which is probably just as bad, 36:43 maybe worse, and then she goes ahead and says, 36:45 "No, I didn't laugh." 36:47 You know, sometimes when we're under pressure, 36:48 we're not as honest as we should be. 36:51 And she finds herself in an awkward pressure and situation, 36:54 so she bends the truth and says, "No, I didn't laugh." 36:57 And God says, "Oh, no, let's be honest here," no pun intended, 37:02 "but you did laugh. 37:04 You didn't tell the truth, did you?" 37:07 And sometimes we kind of wink at each other's 37:09 dishonesty sometimes, don't we? 37:11 We wink at our own dishonesty and say, 37:12 "Well, Lord, I was in a pinch there, you know. 37:15 I had to be able to twist the truth to be able 37:17 to smooth things over." 37:19 And God never tells us to smooth things over with dishonesty. 37:25 God tells us that we are to be honest at all times. 37:29 And, you know, so dishonesty is never justified. 37:35 It's never justified. 37:36 It's a sin 100% of every minute of every day. 37:40 And so we have to be careful on that. 37:44 Yeah, God calls us to be honest at all times. 37:51 All right, and, of course, the supernatural-- 37:55 was Isaac conceived? 37:56 Did God fulfill His promise that He gave? 37:58 Sure, He did. 38:00 You know, He said, "You will have a son through your own 38:03 body," which originally He had told Abraham. 38:05 Now He comes and clarifies and says, 38:06 "Listen, I guess I didn't clarify well enough with you 38:09 that it would not be only your own body but also Sarah's body, 38:13 not her handmaid's body but Sarah's body will conceive. 38:16 And she will conceive well after--" 38:18 It reminds me of Lazarus. 38:20 You know, Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick and that he was 38:24 about to die, he was so sick. 38:25 And so Jesus, instead of running straight off to Bethany, 38:28 where His friend Lazarus was there, 38:30 that He might save her--save him--He hangs out for another 38:33 four days in whatever town He was in, at a distance. 38:38 And what was Jesus doing that for? 38:40 Well, number one, He wanted Lazarus to 38:41 be able to breathe his last breath. 38:43 He wanted his heart to stop. 38:44 He wanted Lazarus to be buried, and then He wanted Lazarus to 38:47 rest in the grave for four days. 38:50 You know, scholars, fascinatingly discovered that 38:53 the reason that He wanted four days is because the Jews 38:55 believed somehow--there's a superstitious traditional 38:57 religious belief that if someone died, if their heart stopped 39:01 beating, there is still a possibility that the spirit of 39:04 life can return back to them, and they can come back 39:06 to life within three days. 39:10 And so, Jesus, knowing, almost for certain knowing that, 39:13 waited four full days because He didn't want that excuse to be 39:17 able to be used in explaining this miraculous, 39:21 divine resurrection that He was about to perform. 39:26 And so He shows up, and He performs this miracle. 39:29 And He says, "Lazarus, come forth." 39:30 And poof, there's Lazarus, waddles out. 39:33 You know, his heart is beating again 39:34 and he's trying to take off his swaddling cloths 39:36 and people are helping him--not swaddling cloths, 39:38 but burial cloths and such. 39:42 And I believe that God waited on purpose. 39:47 In fact, the evidence is there that God waited on purpose until 39:52 not only did Sarah experience menopause, but then menopause 39:55 was distant history, just like Lazarus. 39:58 He wanted to make sure that he was not only dead and buried, 40:00 but he was buried and dead for four full days. 40:03 And same here with Sarah. 40:05 God waited until Sarah not only went through menopause, 40:08 but until menopause was far distant in the history of her 40:12 life, so that when it really did take place, 40:15 that both Abraham, Sarah, and every other human being that 40:17 understood the details of this story would know that it was 40:20 only by a divine miracle, only by God's divine supernatural 40:24 working did she conceive. 40:28 And there is a miracle that is symbolized, 40:30 and Paul picks up on this, as God is working through the 40:32 apostle and prophet Paul, in Romans chapter 4 and in 40:35 Galatians chapter 4, as he expands on some of the mistakes 40:40 that Abraham and Sarah had made with Hagar and so on and uses 40:45 that to symbolize two different religious experiences 40:48 that we can have. 40:50 Religion number one is produced by the flesh, 40:52 our human strength and effort. 40:54 Now, this is the most popular form of Christianity today and 40:57 always has been, historically, is when we lean upon our own 41:02 human strength and our own righteousness, 41:04 and our own goodness, and our own effort to be able to find 41:09 ourself becoming a godly man or woman, a child of God. 41:14 Religion number two, and that is represented and symbolized by 41:18 Hagar and the child that was conceived through the human 41:23 effort and surmising of both Sarah and Abraham. 41:28 But then religion number two is produced by the Spirit, 41:33 and the religion that is produced by the Spirit is by 41:35 God's divine strength and effort. 41:38 It is a miraculous occurrence that takes place 41:41 in your life and mine. 41:44 For you to become truly born again requires a miracle. 41:51 The fact that I am standing up before you here 41:53 today instead of carousing through the nightclubs 41:56 and getting drunk and chasing women 41:58 and doing all kinds of selfish and sinful things that I used to 42:01 do before the Lord had found me. 42:07 The only reason that I stand and then be able to teach the Word 42:09 of God to you today is because God has worked a miracle in me. 42:15 There is something that God has done and continues to do through 42:18 me that I could never do on my own. 42:20 And even if every single person here was to try to help me, 42:24 you still couldn't make me the man that I am today. 42:27 No self-help guru, no psychologist, 42:29 no pop psychologist, no expert in the mental or emotional field 42:35 could ever make me what I am today. 42:39 There is no method within--and I'm not downplaying psychology 42:43 and psychiatric--psychiatry, because they have their place 42:46 when they're rightly understood and applied. 42:51 But none of it--all of it comes up empty without the miracle of 42:55 Jesus in the heart, being born again and recognizing that I am 43:03 a sinful, selfish, self-centered human being, 43:06 and the only way that I can overcome that is by the miracle 43:11 of Christ within my heart, to be born again. 43:15 This is where we find divine strength. 43:18 This is where we find divine effort. 43:21 Do I cooperate with the Lord? 43:23 Yes, of course. 43:25 The number-one avenue of cooperation, the number-one 43:27 part that I need to get before the Lord is twofold. 43:30 Number one, my belief in faith. 43:34 And number two, to surrender, to surrender before the Lord. 43:40 And so every morning I'm on my knees surrendering before the 43:44 Lord and saying, "Lord, work a miracle in my life again today. 43:50 Take this sinful, self-centered, selfish heart, 43:53 and continue to make it the heart that you have made it. 43:57 I surrender before You, Lord. 43:59 Whatever You call me to do, help me to be Your servant today. 44:02 Help me to live out Your ways today. 44:05 Help me to be the person that I could never be without You. 44:10 Do Your work in me, Lord, because I can't do it." 44:14 And friends, that is the difference between religion 44:17 number one and the experience in religion number two. 44:21 Religion number one is represented by Hagar and the 44:24 conception that she received and that, through a surrogate kind 44:29 of scenario, Sarah received, and then Abraham being involved, 44:34 strictly on a earthly, human plane. 44:40 Number two, we find Isaac. 44:42 Now, Isaac shouldn't be. 44:44 Isaac should never have existed. 44:47 Abraham and Sarah could've tried for 100 years, and almost did 44:53 try for 100 years, and they weren't able to produce a son. 44:58 But when God got involved and God used His divine strength and 45:02 power to do the work that Abraham and Sarah could never do 45:06 on their own, that is when Isaac came to be. 45:09 And so Isaac represents justification by faith and God's 45:13 grace, yes, but also sanctification that God gives to 45:17 us as well, the miracle of God changing us. 45:22 "Behold, all things have become new," the Bible tells us, 45:26 1 Corinthians--2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. 45:30 And so, that is the great miracle and the 45:34 truth that God brings to us. 45:35 Well, I knew that we weren't able to get through all of it. 45:39 You'll have to forgive me. 45:41 If you haven't read the chapter of Lot 45:43 and Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction there, 45:44 there's some very good things to look at there. 45:47 Read the chapter, go through your lesson study, 45:50 and I'm sure you'll be able to pull out some important 45:52 truths there, as well. 45:54 Don't forget to take advantage of our free gift offer today. 45:56 If you haven't heard about it at the beginning of our program, 46:00 want to make sure that we offer it one more time, 46:01 which is "Remember Lot's Wife." 46:04 And so, again, this is on the last chapter, 46:07 chapter 19, that we look at in this lesson study. 46:09 It's free offer # 108. 46:11 All you have to do is dial 1-866-788-3966. 46:16 That's 1-866-788-3966. 46:20 Ask for free offer # 108. 46:23 Love to be able to put this into your hands. 46:25 It's available if you're in North America 46:27 or any of the US territories. 46:28 If you want to take advantage of a downloaded copy on your phone, 46:32 you can go ahead and text the code SH054, 46:36 and you want to dial that to 40544. 46:41 And that's only available if you're in the United States with 46:44 the cellular networks that are available here. 46:46 If you're in another part of the world, we also have a website 46:49 which is study.aftv.org/SH054, and that can be downloaded on 46:58 the internet anywhere around the world. 46:59 Make sure you take advantage of that and continue to grow in the 47:03 knowledge of God's Word. 47:05 Until next week, we look forward to seeing you then. 47:07 May God bless you and keep you. 47:12 announcer: Don't forget to request today's 47:14 life-changing free resource. 47:16 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 47:18 you can download a digital copy straight to 47:20 your computer or mobile device. 47:22 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 47:25 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web 47:30 address shown on your screen, and be sure to select the 47:33 digital download option on the request page. 47:35 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 47:38 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 47:42 and most important, to share it with others. 47:50 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 47:58 Christine VanOrder: I was born into a family of criminals. 48:01 When I got older, and I started breaking the rules, 48:03 no one ever taught me about, "Thou shalt not steal and thou 48:06 shalt not lie, thou shalt not commit 48:09 adultery," anything like that. 48:10 When I became a runaway at 14, I was just a wild and lost child. 48:17 I had somebody tell me, "Hey, you want to earn some money 48:20 cleaning this guy's kitchen?" 48:22 So, I went to this house on a different side of town 48:24 than I was used to. 48:25 Someone kept giving me alcoholic drinks. 48:28 And being 115 pounds and 14 years old, 48:31 it really didn't take much time before I was so inebriated that 48:36 I had no control over what was going on around me. 48:39 He took me to another location, another town, 48:43 and I was put in isolation. 48:44 I would come out to be abused between 3 and 8 times a day. 48:48 I was degraded. I was humiliated. 48:50 I had no value as a human being. 48:53 And I learned very quickly that what I felt 48:56 and what I thought and how this made me feel 48:58 did not matter to him at all. 49:00 If I even thought about not doing what he wanted me to do, 49:06 I would have a gun to my head, a knife to my throat. 49:12 There was one time in particular where he had been 49:16 tormenting me psychologically. 49:19 And one day he said, "Oh, you'll never kill yourself. 49:22 You'll never do it." 49:24 And almost defiantly, I was like, "Yes, I will." 49:27 And he handed me a big old handful of pills, 49:29 and I took them. 49:31 While I was overdosing--and I had been overdosing all night--I 49:34 cried out to a God that I didn't even believe in. 49:37 And at that very moment, in the most powerful way, 49:41 God shone His light on me, and He gave me peace of mind like 49:45 I'd never had, and He let me know right then and there 49:48 while I was on that bathroom floor 49:50 that He was real and that He was love 49:53 and that I did not know how at that time, 49:55 but He was going to help me. 49:57 A little less than a year later, I became pregnant at 15. 50:01 I loved my son with my whole heart. 50:03 He also became something that my abuser could use against me in 50:07 order to pump more fear and coercion. 50:12 I had finally got away from my abuser, 50:15 and I had finally built up a support system to help me stay 50:18 on the move and stay on the run. 50:20 And I was at my grandmother's house. 50:22 And on my son's third birthday, he--he took my son. 50:30 And when I called the police and said, "My son's 50:31 just been kidnapped," they said, 50:33 "He's the father, and we can't do anything about it." 50:36 After my son was gone, I lost my mind. 50:39 I started doing drugs. 50:40 And within a month and a half, I robbed a convenience store. 50:44 So, I was sentenced to 70 months, 50:47 5 years, 10 months in prison. 50:49 And it was the best thing that ever happened to me. 50:54 I started attending the church services in prison 50:57 7 days a week. 50:59 It blew my mind. 51:01 I was hooked. 51:02 And then we went through--it was "Millennium of Prophecy," 51:06 and NET '99, that just solidified my faith in such a 51:11 powerful way, and I knew that God was leading me. 51:15 Even the guards there commented on how much I had changed. 51:20 And since I started doing the studies on Amazing Facts, 51:24 I was so excited about what I was learning that I was coming 51:27 back from there and trying to convert my hardened criminal 51:31 friends with the Storacles of Prophecy. 51:33 Every question I ever had, every worry, 51:36 everything that I ever wondered about, the Bible answered 51:41 everything, and it was so clear and so easy to understand. 51:45 It's been 11 years since I've been out of prison. 51:48 I am married to an amazing, wonderful man, 51:51 my first non-abusive relationship 51:53 in my whole entire life. 51:54 Before we got married, we watched the "Millennium of 51:57 Prophecy" series together, and it was just such a blessing to 52:02 be able to see him learn and see him grow, 52:06 and I feel like my life now is just a gift, 52:09 that every single thing that happened to me bad in the past 52:13 is nothing compared to the joy and happiness and the stability 52:18 that I have now. 52:19 My name is Christine VanOrder, and my life has been changed by 52:23 Jesus Christ and Amazing Facts. 52:25 ♪♪♪ 52:34 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives 52:43 Nita Littlefield: I'm Tlingit Indian from Sitka, Alaska. 52:47 My Tlingit name is [speaking Tlingit] 52:50 It was a very depressing time for the people of Alaska. 52:54 A lot of alcohol abuse was taking place. 52:59 And unfortunately, my mother got caught up in the alcohol. 53:05 It made myself and my siblings grow up in 53:12 a pretty horrible environment. 53:17 It was really hard to understand God. 53:21 It was really hard to understand what love was. 53:26 I ended up having a child in my 12th grade and leaving home 53:35 when I was 15 years old. 53:37 But somehow, someway, we made it. 53:40 And I became a loner, I became a hermit. 53:43 So, I went up to the biggest marijuana county, 53:48 to Humboldt County, and started my new career. 53:53 Things weren't right though. 53:54 No matter how nice I kept thinking life was living up on 53:59 top of the mountain, not having to worry about wearing clothing, 54:05 just waking up and watching the plants grow, 54:09 searching still for more and more. 54:12 I went to the post office, and I was standing there by myself. 54:18 I looked down and here was this, what is called 54:22 a handbill, a postcard. 54:25 And the letters on it grabbed my attention 54:28 and it said, "Revelations." 54:30 I'd never heard Revelation taught before, and I thought, 54:34 "Gosh, that would have been so good." 54:37 I looked at the time and the day and I said, "Wow, that's today." 54:44 And for six weeks, I sat there in the front seat of that 54:51 building and could not believe the things that I heard. 54:57 And I found this hunger, that I had in my heart 55:01 for decades being filled. 55:04 I was actually like a starving child, 55:07 you know, wanting to get into learn more about Revelations. 55:12 And I chose to be baptized on April 3. 55:17 Even though I chose to serve God, I kept falling. 55:22 I was going to Bible studies all--four times a week and just 55:28 so hungry to learn as much as possible. 55:32 God, just overnight, had me studying the Word of God through 55:37 AFCOE, and the miracles that happened through 55:41 AFCOE is so incredible. 55:44 The only preacher I was listening to was Pastor Doug 55:47 Batchelor, who I didn't even call by his name. 55:51 I called him the caveman. 55:53 And then here, all of a sudden, I'm sitting in front of him in 55:58 his classroom, learning from him. 56:03 On October 11, I sat there, though, 56:06 in my room saying, "Lord, here I am studying Your Word. 56:11 But what, what am I doing here? 56:15 What do I need to do? 56:18 What is it you want me to do?" 56:20 And that night about 1 in the morning, 56:23 God spoke to me and He said, "I want you to write a note to 56:27 Pastor Doug and tell him what you do." 56:29 I sat there and I says, "No, I'm not going to write a note. 56:31 I'm not going to write a note." 56:33 And I said okay, so I ripped off a piece of paper, 56:36 and I wrote on the note and I said, 56:38 "I'm an experienced fashion designer. 56:41 I can sew anything. 56:42 I could make any patterns. 56:44 If there's any way that I can be of any service to you, 56:49 God told me to be bold and tell you." 56:51 And I walked up and I handed him the note, 56:53 and he didn't know what it was, but he said, "Thank you." 56:56 And four hours later, I got a phone call from Amazing Facts. 57:01 Pastor Doug told me that I was an answer to their prayers. 57:05 They had been looking for a wardrobe stylist for their new 57:08 film that they're producing. 57:11 male: Action, two, three. 57:15 Nita: Amazing Facts has changed my life in the direction 57:19 that God wants me to go. 57:22 And now, out of all the knowledge that was taught to me, 57:26 I'm able to go out into this world and share the gospel and 57:32 finish the work for Jesus Christ. 57:36 Doug Batchelor: Friends, it's because of God's blessing and 57:39 your support that thousands of others like Nita have found 57:42 Jesus and everlasting life. 57:45 ♪♪♪ 57:56 ♪♪♪ 58:06 ♪♪♪ 58:16 ♪♪♪ 58:26 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2022-05-05