Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000022S
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00:22 Timeless
00:23 Healing 00:23 Insights with Dr. 00:24 David DeRose. 00:25 I am so glad 00:26 to have you with us today. 00:27 As we look at part 00:28 two in a two part 00:29 series, Lessons 00:30 from the Middle East. 00:31 Let's pray for God's 00:32 guidance together. 00:34 Father in heaven, 00:34 we thank you so much 00:35 that you cared enough for us 00:37 that you sent your Son 00:38 to the Middle East 00:40 to make a difference for us 00:42 and for our world. 00:43 Father, 00:44 as we go in our mind's eye 00:45 to that part of the world, 00:47 please draw us closer to you 00:49 and to one another. 00:51 We ask in Jesus name, Amen. 00:55 Well, 00:56 if you end up 00:57 in the Middle East, 00:59 you cannot avoid 01:01 being connected 01:02 with the world of the Bible. 01:03 After all, 01:03 that's 01:04 where the much of the Bible 01:05 was written, right? 01:06 Right there in the Middle East. 01:07 And one of 01:09 the interesting things 01:09 you'll find 01:10 if you go to minister, 01:12 no matter what reason 01:13 you go, the locals, 01:16 your brothers and sisters in 01:17 the church, 01:18 they're going to want you 01:19 to see some of their country. 01:21 And so it was in Lebanon. 01:23 We had been busy. 01:24 We flew 01:25 in, got in early 01:26 Friday morning, 01:28 you know, jetlagged 01:29 and all, you know, 01:30 sleeping 01:30 a good part of the day. 01:31 And then we met 01:33 with some of the 01:33 union leadership 01:35 later in that day. 01:36 And then we're holding meetings 01:39 preaching Sabbath 01:40 and holding other meetings 01:42 on Sabbath. 01:43 And the sun has gone down. 01:45 And 01:47 some of the members say, 01:48 we want to take you to 01:49 to see something. 01:51 Where would you like to go? 01:52 And they give us some options. 01:53 So we end up going to the 01:55 the ancient city of Byblos. 01:58 And it was an amazing place. 02:01 One of the amazing things 02:02 that as you connect 02:04 with the world of the Bible, 02:05 you see the truth 02:06 of the Scriptures. 02:07 One of the things 02:08 that first struck 02:09 me as they took us 02:10 is there's a little creation 02:13 science. 02:13 He didn't call it this 02:14 the proprietor. 02:15 I think 02:16 he was mainly selling fossils, 02:18 but he's got 02:18 a little museum there 02:20 with all kinds of fossils 02:21 that have been found 02:22 right there in Lebanon, 02:23 right near the town of Byblos. 02:26 And if you've ever read 02:28 through the Bible, 02:30 just the first six, 02:31 eight chapters, 02:33 you read through the flood, 02:34 you know, 02:34 get down to Genesis 9. 02:37 You read through that. 02:38 And if you read 02:38 the secular scientists, 02:40 they say it didn't happen 02:41 like that. 02:41 You know, just a little, 02:43 you know, flood there. 02:44 Yeah, maybe it was big 02:45 flood in the Middle East. But 02:48 I'll tell you, as 02:49 you read the account, 02:50 there is no way 02:51 you can read 02:52 the biblical account 02:53 and not believe 02:54 in a worldwide deluge. 02:56 But more than that, 02:57 if you look at 02:57 the fossil record 02:59 fossils all over the world, 03:00 including right there 03:01 in the Middle East. 03:02 And when you look 03:03 at these fossils, 03:05 don't 03:06 don't believe this narrative 03:07 that a fish just died, 03:09 fell on the bottom of the sea, 03:11 and then sediment 03:11 gradually fell on top of it 03:14 and it fossilized. 03:15 It does not work like that. 03:17 If you look at the bones here, 03:18 if you could see them up 03:19 close there 03:20 and just like the living fish, 03:23 you can see scales on 03:24 some of these fish. 03:25 You can see eyes on them. 03:27 There's been no time for decay. 03:29 Now, I'm not saying that people 03:30 that believe 03:31 in a different world view 03:31 don't have an explanation, 03:33 but the only explanation 03:34 for this 03:35 is that there was a 03:36 catastrophic event. 03:38 And when 03:39 you see it all over the world, 03:41 a catastrophic event, 03:42 basically it is consistent 03:44 with the biblical worldview. 03:46 And so I always enjoy 03:48 looking at fossils, 03:49 seeing this intricate detail 03:50 that showed there. 03:51 I've never seen a fossil 03:53 of something partially decayed. 03:56 Now, I'm sure there are some, 03:57 because there obviously 03:58 were some things 03:59 that were partially decayed 04:00 at the time of the flood, 04:01 but the overwhelming 04:02 majority, vast 04:04 majority are things 04:05 that were alive 04:05 because that's what happened 04:06 during the flood. 04:07 And there's all kinds 04:08 of fossils in this museum. 04:10 And that was just inspiring 04:11 to see 04:11 this evidence 04:13 again of the biblical account. 04:16 Well, on that 04:17 same trip to Lebanon, 04:19 the the field president wanted 04:21 to take us to Tyre 04:24 to the city of Tyre. 04:25 Many of you know, Tyre 04:26 and Sidon, very famous 04:27 biblical sites, 04:28 much in the Bible about Tyre. 04:31 And 04:33 Tyre is 04:33 associated with purple dye. 04:36 So I put a couple 04:37 of different images here 04:38 to kind of challenge you. 04:40 But the best 04:41 purple dye in iniquity 04:43 is said to have come from Tyre, 04:45 that it had originated there. 04:46 So some of you 04:47 remember the story of Lydia, 04:49 the seller of purple 04:50 in the Book of Acts. 04:51 It is believed 04:52 that Lydia got her finest 04:54 purple from Tyre. 04:56 It was imported to Philipi. 04:58 Tyre and purple. 05:01 Why? 05:02 Why do some people have this 05:03 special connection with purple? 05:05 It's often a royalty 05:07 that uses purple. 05:08 The Roman legions, 05:08 I'm told, use purple. 05:11 Here is this iconic Burj 05:13 Al Arab in Dubai. 05:17 You've probably seen this 05:18 seven star hotel in white 05:21 because it's a white structure. 05:23 But at night, 05:24 at least they were 05:25 lighting it that night 05:27 in what color? 05:28 In purple. 05:29 So Tyre is associated 05:30 with purple. 05:31 And really, 05:33 if you have thought much lately 05:35 about the book of 05:37 Daniel, Daniel 2, 05:38 and then Daniel 7 05:39 and 8 05:40 go through 05:40 a series of empires, 05:42 world empires, 05:43 and they walk you 05:44 through Babylon 05:45 and then Medo Persia 05:47 and then Greece and then Rome. 05:48 The interesting thing is 05:49 all these empires 05:50 intersect at Tyre and 05:53 Ezekiel 26 amazing prophecies 05:57 about Tyre in connection 05:59 with Babylon prophesying 06:00 actually 06:01 the destruction of Tyre. 06:02 Look with me at Ezekiel 06:05 the Word of the Lord 06:06 as it appears in Ezekiel 27:7 06:09 and onward, 06:09 For thus says 06:10 the Lord God, behold, 06:11 I will bring against Tyre 06:13 from the north 06:14 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, 06:16 king of kings, 06:17 with horses and chariots, 06:19 and with horsemen 06:20 and a host of many soldiers. 06:21 He will set up a siege 06:23 wall against you 06:24 and throw up 06:25 a mound against you. 06:26 What do you think happened 06:27 as the Bible prophesy? 06:30 That very thing. 06:31 Nebuchadnezzar besieged 06:33 Tyre as part of his conquest 06:35 of that whole region. 06:37 Nebuchadnezzar, also 06:39 known as Nebuchadnezzar 06:40 II of Babylon 06:42 besieged Tyre 06:43 for some 13 years. 06:44 It was an extended siege. 06:45 Later in history, Alexander 06:47 the Great besieged Tyre. 06:50 So Tyre plays a prominent role 06:52 in these world powers 06:53 that were dominating 06:55 the Middle East. 06:56 There are still Byzantine 06:58 and Roman ruins 06:59 still there in Tyre 07:01 and they took us to see them. 07:03 There is a lot 07:05 that is devoted to burial. 07:07 There is burial crypts. 07:09 There's tombs. 07:10 But one of the things I noticed 07:12 is that virtually 07:13 every tomb 07:15 had been broken into. 07:16 Every tomb. 07:18 I mean, 07:19 think about this for a minute. 07:20 Where did many of the 07:21 people of antiquity 07:22 put their treasures? 07:25 In their tomb with them, right? 07:27 And so you say no surprise 07:29 that grave 07:29 robbers would come there. 07:32 The tour guide who 07:33 was with us, of course, told us 07:34 there was nothing of 07:35 value in those tombs. 07:37 I was a bit skeptical. 07:38 I thought he was maybe 07:39 just trying to curb 07:40 any future attempts. 07:42 But but the point is 07:43 simply this. 07:44 Where, where is the place 07:46 we should put our resources? 07:48 So we try to be saving enough 07:50 so that we can 07:50 have the best casket around? 07:54 No, no. 07:55 The Lord wants us 07:56 investing in His cause, 07:57 laying up our treasures 07:58 in heaven. 07:59 But you see, all through Tyre, 08:01 you see evidence of the Roman 08:03 occupation there. 08:04 You see 08:05 these remnants 08:07 of aqueducts there. 08:08 And then there's this 08:09 amazing Hippodrome, 08:10 a large stadium, huge stadium 08:13 where they had horse races. 08:15 It's only been 08:15 partially reconstructed. 08:17 You can see there in the 08:19 in the background 08:20 some of the bleachers 08:22 that have been reconstructed 08:23 in some of the inset 08:24 pictures on the right. 08:25 You'll see some people 08:27 walking through some of the, 08:28 but this was a vast stadium, 08:30 just like a stadium 08:31 that we would have today, 08:32 perhaps holding as many people 08:34 as a modern day stadium. 08:35 It was huge. 08:36 A lot of the building 08:37 materials have vanished 08:40 because subsequent 08:41 generations, over 08:42 some 2,000 years 08:44 have appropriated 08:45 those things 08:46 for their own homes, their own 08:48 building structures. 08:50 One of the 08:51 connections with 08:51 the biblical world 08:52 I especially enjoyed was this. 08:54 We saw this 08:55 in Tyre, The Olive Press. 08:58 So this is a stone 09:00 press, there 09:00 ਲmill stone off to the side, 09:02 and they would 09:02 literally crush the olives 09:04 to make olive oil. 09:06 While we were at Middle 09:07 East University, 09:07 one of the places 09:08 where I spoke, 09:09 we have a Seventh-day 09:09 Adventist school 09:10 there in the Middle East 09:11 outside of Beirut. 09:13 One of the union officers 09:17 was giving us 09:19 a little show and tell. 09:20 It was instigated 09:21 actually by his young son there 09:23 who is holding, 09:24 whether you recognize it 09:25 or not, 09:26 some freshly pressed 09:28 pressed olive oil. 09:29 It was just pressed 09:30 a few hours before. 09:31 He was very excited 09:32 and he wanted to show us 09:33 the fresh olive oil. 09:36 And there you see 09:38 the remnants of the olives. 09:39 It's just like a dry pad. 09:41 Everything has been crushed. 09:42 Everything of life 09:44 has been crushed 09:45 out of the olives. 09:46 Now, some of you notice 09:47 the caption on these pictures. 09:48 It says Gethsemane insights. 09:52 Do any of you know 09:52 what Gethsemane means? 09:57 Gethsemane literally 09:58 means the oil press. 10:01 So when Jesus 10:02 went to the 10:02 Garden of Gethsemane, 10:03 where was He going? 10:06 He was going to an oil press. 10:08 And what happened 10:09 to Jesus in Gethsemane? 10:11 Jesus in Gethsemane chose 10:14 He made the 10:15 irrevocable decision. 10:16 Well, 10:17 made a, 10:18 He could have still changed 10:19 the decision on the cross. 10:20 But but He made that decision 10:22 where He said, 10:23 you know, Father, 10:24 please 10:24 have this cup pass from me. 10:26 But He said, nevertheless, 10:27 not my will what? 10:28 But Your will be done. 10:30 And He chose to be crushed. 10:32 He started in a 10:33 very real sense, 10:34 bearing the weight 10:35 of the sin of the world 10:36 in Gethsemane. 10:38 Not that He wasn't 10:38 carrying the weight of sin 10:40 all through His ministry, 10:42 all through His life 10:42 in a very special way. 10:44 It seems like He 10:45 He really starts to experience 10:49 the weight 10:50 of the sins of the world 10:51 in a very unique way 10:52 at Gethsemane. 10:53 And so Jesus basically, 10:55 His life is being crushed out. 10:57 And what comes out is 11:00 we speak of His 11:01 cleansing blood, 11:03 that life, 11:03 His life giving blood. 11:05 But the olive oil is 11:06 another metaphor, right, 11:07 for a healing agency. 11:09 And the only way you get 11:10 the olive 11:11 oil is by the olive 11:12 being destroyed, being crushed. 11:14 And so that's what 11:15 Jesus went through for us. 11:17 And so as we're 11:17 ministering there 11:19 in the Middle East, 11:20 we're seeing this imagery 11:22 of the kind of ministry 11:23 that Jesus gave to us. 11:25 We talk about why 11:26 be involved in ministry. 11:27 It's because you are valuable 11:29 to God. 11:30 It's that 11:30 He gave everything for you. 11:32 And we got that picture again 11:33 there. 11:34 From Tyre we went up to Sidon. 11:36 They're not far apart. 11:37 And in Sidon 11:39 we saw evidence of 11:41 just what I was 11:41 telling you about. 11:42 This was a sea castle, 11:44 a sea citadel in Sidon. 11:47 You can see it there, 11:48 the remnants of it. 11:49 It's still 11:50 fairly well-preserved. 11:51 And if you go out there 11:52 and look at the structures, 11:54 you will see 11:55 Roman pillars 11:56 that have been used 11:58 as building materials. 11:59 There's one of them right there 12:01 as part of the foundation. 12:03 And if you look here 12:04 at this picture, 12:05 if you can see kind of 12:06 in the middle of the picture, 12:07 there's a series 12:08 of Roman pillars 12:08 that have been laid down. 12:10 There's Roman 12:10 pillars interspersed 12:11 throughout the whole structure. 12:13 So if you say, well, 12:13 why don't 12:14 we see 12:14 more Babylonian ruins or 12:17 or ruins 12:18 from the time of Greece 12:19 or even from Rome, it's 12:20 because subsequent conquerors 12:24 would utilize 12:26 the very building materials 12:27 that had been 12:28 utilized previously. 12:29 And so fortunately, 12:30 with Roman columns, 12:32 marble columns, 12:33 they're pretty hard to 12:34 to break up. 12:35 And they made good 12:37 building materials. 12:38 So you can still see them. 12:40 So if you look out 12:41 from that citadel 12:42 at the city of Sidon, 12:43 you see a very 12:44 different picture 12:45 than we'll show you from Dubai. 12:47 But it is an interesting place. 12:49 Lebanon. 12:49 Lebanon has the largest 12:50 Christian population 12:52 in the Middle East. 12:53 And you can see this mix. 12:54 You can see the 12:55 minaret there of a mosque. 12:57 But this interesting 12:58 mix of Islam 12:59 and various 13:00 branches of Christianity 13:02 there in Lebanon. 13:04 Lebanon, 13:06 you know, 13:07 was the site of one of Jesus 13:08 most remarkable cross-cultural 13:11 aspects of His ministry, 13:13 at least from my perspective. 13:14 Jesus had gone out of Galilee 13:16 and He'd gone all the way 13:17 to Tyre and Sidon. 13:19 And there in Mark 13:20 7, we read that 13:22 as He comes to Tyre and Sidon, 13:23 and if you read 13:24 through the account, 13:25 there is this woman there. 13:26 She's a Gentile, 13:27 she's not a Jew, 13:28 and she's asking Jesus 13:30 to do a miracle. 13:32 And Jesus first acts 13:34 like the Jews 13:35 would have expected Him to act. 13:38 I can't help you. 13:39 I'm just sent for the lost 13:40 sheep of the house of Israel. 13:41 But she implores Jesus. 13:43 She said, But, 13:44 but Jesus, even the little dogs 13:46 get crumbs from the table. 13:48 And He responds to her faith. 13:51 And He shows the disciples 13:52 that He's come for everyone. 13:54 And so this picture 13:55 is especially appropriate 13:56 in Lebanon, 13:57 where we have this very cross 13:58 cultural population 14:00 that Jesus ministry 14:01 is for everyone. 14:02 And then as we were walking 14:03 through the streets of Sidon, 14:05 one of our locals said, 14:08 you know, 14:08 those are the baskets 14:09 that the fishermen use. 14:11 You know, 14:12 they're specially slotted. 14:13 So, you know, 14:14 you throw the fish in there 14:14 and the 14:15 the water seeps through. 14:16 But we you know, 14:17 we couldn't help but wonder did 14:19 is that similar 14:20 to the baskets of antiquity, 14:22 that young boy 14:23 carrying just his meager 14:25 supply of loaves and fish, 14:27 do you think he might have 14:28 had something like that? 14:29 Now, I ask you the question 14:30 because think about it 14:32 for a minute. 14:32 You remember the story 14:33 when Jesus fed the multitude. 14:35 He did it on two occasions. 14:37 But when he fed the 5,000, 14:38 that little boy 14:39 just had those five loaves 14:40 and two fish. 14:41 Was that enough 14:43 for the multitude? 14:44 Was that sufficient for them? 14:47 Well, it wasn't 14:48 in itself, right. 14:49 But when he gave it to 14:50 Jesus, Jesus 14:52 multiplied it. 14:53 So don't ever depreciate 14:55 your own resources, okay? 14:56 Don't say, Well, 14:57 I could never do anything 14:58 for the Lord, 14:58 not even here in town, 14:59 because I don't know my Bible 15:01 well enough, 15:01 or I don't have this talent 15:03 or that talent. 15:04 Just use what you have, 15:05 bring your 15:07 barley loaves to Jesus 15:09 and he'll multiply them. 15:11 Camels. Fascinating animals. 15:13 Over 60 times in the Bible. 15:15 Camels are mentioned. 15:16 Did you know that? 15:17 You can look at it. 15:18 Many stories about camels. 15:20 So while we were there 15:21 in the United Arab Emirates, 15:22 after speaking one day, 15:23 they said, well, 15:24 you know, 15:25 there's a little time 15:25 this evening 15:26 you want to come out and 15:26 and see 15:27 some of the local villages. 15:29 So we left the 15:30 we were actually staying. 15:31 They had put us up on a 15:33 manmade island. 15:34 If you're not aware, 15:35 a lot of the coastline 15:37 has been extended 15:39 in places like Dubai 15:40 and other 15:40 of the Emirates there. 15:42 So we were staying 15:43 on a manmade island, 15:44 a huge island, 15:45 multiple 15:47 dwellings 15:47 there, hotels and things. 15:50 And so we went into the 15:52 to the real 15:54 country, 15:55 not something that 15:56 someone built out of the sea. 15:58 And here they are 16:00 training their camels. 16:01 How many of you can imagine 16:03 camels racing? 16:06 That just was not in my 16:08 vocabulary. 16:09 We didn't 16:10 actually see them racing, 16:11 but supposedly 16:12 they had been 16:13 the end of the day, 16:14 and they're 16:15 bringing them in now. 16:17 There's also camels 16:18 that are feeding out 16:18 alongside the road, 16:20 and Sonja 16:21 would not miss getting 16:22 close up to the camels 16:24 and a very gracious herdsman. 16:29 These are wealthy folks 16:31 that are herding camels. 16:32 They tell us the camels list, 16:34 you know, the low end 16:36 for like $10,000. 16:37 So this is not inexpensive. 16:39 And he's out there driving his, 16:41 you know, late 16:42 model pickup or four wheel 16:43 drive out in the desert, 16:45 herding, herding cattle, 16:46 camels, not cattle. 16:49 Here is that 16:49 we stopped at a camel farm. 16:51 And they're interesting 16:53 creatures. 16:54 They're very curious, 16:56 the camels are. 16:56 We were kind of curious 16:57 about the locals, too. 16:59 And this connected us 17:01 with Middle 17:02 Eastern hospitality. 17:03 You know what Paul said 17:04 in Hebrews 13? 17:05 He said, Don't neglect 17:06 to show hospitality 17:08 to strangers 17:09 for thereby 17:10 some have entertained 17:11 angels unawares. 17:13 Now, we were under no delusion. 17:15 We were not angels, 17:16 but we saw some of the 17:17 owners of the camels 17:20 in a little, they 17:21 came kind of like, 17:22 as I understand it, 17:23 they have like a camp 17:25 where they stay during the day. 17:26 And then they have 17:26 their nice homes 17:27 where they go in the evenings. 17:28 So they're kind of in these, 17:30 these humble 17:31 dwellings where they 17:32 can get out of the sun. 17:34 They've got some laborers 17:35 that work for them 17:36 and actually do the 17:37 a lot of the dirty work 17:38 with the camels. 17:39 And 17:41 think about this. 17:42 Think, 17:43 think about this scenario 17:44 with Abraham. 17:44 I want you to connect this 17:46 and I'll tell you 17:46 what happened to us. 17:47 In Genesis 18, 17:49 Abraham is sitting there 17:51 at his tent and he looks out 17:54 and he sees three men. 17:57 And what does he do? 18:00 Did he say, Boy, 18:00 I hope they don't 18:01 come over here 18:01 and ask me for something 18:02 because, you know, 18:04 what does he do? 18:06 He runs to them. 18:08 He says, You've got to come, 18:09 you've got to come, 18:10 you've got to eat. 18:10 You've got to, 18:11 you know, sit down with me. 18:14 Well, 18:14 this is exactly 18:15 what happened to us. 18:15 We wanted to take a picture 18:16 of these guys. 18:17 He was okay 18:18 to take some pictures 18:19 of their village 18:20 and they said, No, no, no, no. 18:21 You have to come and 18:22 sit down with us. 18:23 You know, you have to, 18:24 you know, fellowship with us. 18:26 So it's just it's this 18:28 this Middle Eastern hospitality 18:30 that that 18:31 they want to extend to you. 18:33 And it 18:34 it reminds us, well, 18:36 maybe we would be better. 18:37 Maybe I myself would be better 18:39 to have more of that Middle 18:40 Eastern hospitality. 18:41 It wasn't 18:42 because they were poor. 18:42 Sometimes people think, 18:43 oh, you know, 18:44 poor people 18:45 are more likely to share 18:46 these people are very wealthy. 18:47 Okay? 18:48 They were, 18:49 you know, status wise, 18:50 they were probably high 18:52 above us. 18:53 It's you know, 18:53 if you look at income, 18:55 they were far above us 18:56 living in these, you know, 18:58 these estates somewhere. 19:00 But they wanted to extend their 19:02 their hospitality to us. 19:04 Peter put it this way. 19:05 Above all things have fervent 19:07 love for one 19:08 another, 19:08 for love 19:09 will cover a multitude of sins. 19:12 Be hospitable to one another 19:14 without grumbling. 19:15 Well, let's bring you to Dubai. 19:18 So we ministered in Lebanon 19:19 for a while, 19:20 and then we went 19:21 to to Dubai and the other 19:24 Emirates there, 19:25 like I said, seven Emirates, 19:26 kind of like the United States, 19:27 50 states. 19:29 The United Arab 19:29 Emirates has seven Emirates. 19:31 So we were doing 19:32 most of our work 19:33 an hour outside of Dubai 19:35 and another emirate called Ras 19:36 al Khaimah, 19:37 which is where our 19:39 field headquarters are, 19:40 the Gulf field headquarters 19:41 for the Adventist Church. 19:43 But we spent 19:45 a little bit of time in Dubai 19:46 and some of Dubai 19:47 looks like it did, 19:48 people tell me, 19:49 40, 50 years ago. 19:51 And you'll find these 19:53 open air markets 19:54 where they're selling 19:55 everything from 19:55 spices to perfumes to 19:59 upholstery, rugs and clothing. 20:03 And you'll look at some areas 20:05 and you'll say, 20:06 from what 20:06 the locals tell us, 20:07 I mean, this looks pretty 20:08 similar to 20:10 how things were decades ago. 20:13 And you can see the, 20:14 you know, the mosques 20:15 and the minarets. 20:15 This is 20:16 right up against Dubai Creek, 20:18 which is actually 20:18 a large body of water. 20:19 You wouldn't call it a creek 20:20 here in Fort Wayne. 20:22 You'd call it a mighty river. 20:25 And in this old area of town, 20:27 there's 20:28 this very 20:29 inconspicuous entrance that our 20:31 our local Adventist 20:32 tour guide, actually 20:33 one of the pastors took us to. 20:36 And this is the Dubai 20:37 Municipality Museum. 20:39 And it goes through 20:40 a history of Dubai 20:41 from the fifties up 20:42 until the seventies. 20:43 There was nothing there, 20:45 just a 20:45 it was a trading community. 20:47 They were 20:48 specialized in pearl diving, 20:50 at least up 20:52 in the early 1900s 20:54 and commerce. 20:55 So they were a 20:55 trading community. 20:57 But today it's very different. 20:59 The world's tallest building, 21:00 the Burj Khalifa, 21:01 is there in Dubai. 21:03 The Dubai mall is a huge, 21:05 opulent mall. 21:06 They told me, don't 21:07 go into any of the shops 21:09 thinking you'll buy anything, 21:11 You know, 21:11 $7,000 price tags on handbags 21:14 and things. 21:15 So, yes, 21:16 we didn't do any 21:16 shopping there. 21:17 They have a full aquarium 21:20 in the mall. Okay. 21:22 So it's it's 21:24 some people would say 21:25 is kind of over the top. 21:27 Every half hour 21:29 huge fountains out 21:32 just beyond the Burj 21:33 this this tallest building. 21:35 People gathering around, 21:36 you can see 21:36 all the people there 21:37 in the evening 21:38 and lighted 21:39 fountains, 21:39 choreographed music shows. 21:43 They're trying to make this 21:44 a world destination. 21:45 And it's working. 21:46 People from all over the world 21:47 coming there 21:48 and they're crowding in. 21:49 This is a picture 21:50 from the evening. 21:51 Okay. 21:52 It's like nine or ten at night 21:53 and people just crowding there 21:55 into Dubai, into this city 21:58 that's been built up 21:59 out of the desert. 22:01 Here's a view 22:02 from the 124th 22:04 floor of the Burj Khalifa. 22:06 By the way, there's 22:06 no roof there. 22:07 So when Sonja and I 22:08 went up there, it's 22:09 kind of an interesting thing 22:10 to look up 22:11 and you're seeing the clouds, 22:13 you know, 22:13 kind of pass over you there. 22:15 It doesn't rain much. 22:17 So I guess they're 22:17 not too worried 22:18 about needing a lot of shelter. 22:22 The current ruler, 22:24 the Sheikh here, 22:26 he has a quote 22:27 that appears there in the Burj, 22:30 The word impossible is not 22:32 in the leaders냥ctionaries. 22:36 So this is 22:36 his philosophy and 22:37 the philosophy 22:38 of many in leadership 22:39 there in Dubai. 22:40 And as I thought about that, 22:42 I thought about 22:42 another leader's words, 22:45 the King of kings. 22:47 And Matthew 17, 22:48 He said, truly, 22:49 I tell you, 22:50 if you have faith 22:51 as small as a mustard seed, 22:52 you can say 22:53 to this mountain, move 22:53 from here to there 22:54 and it will move. 22:55 Nothing will be impossible 22:57 for you. 22:57 God wants us to have 22:58 that same vision 22:59 that can do vision. 23:00 So there they are, 23:01 reclaiming land, 23:02 building land out of the ocean. 23:04 They're building 23:04 these great memorials 23:06 there in Dubai, if you will. 23:08 And I ask, well, 23:08 what would happen to us 23:09 if our attitude was that 23:10 we were going to build 23:11 memorials for God? 23:12 What would our memorials 23:14 look like? 23:14 Would they look like Dubai 23:15 or would 23:15 they look like 23:16 something different? 23:17 After all, Jesus said, 23:19 we already looked 23:19 all power is given unto me, 23:22 so there's not a limitation. 23:24 It was interesting to me 23:25 as we looked at the different 23:26 aspects of that Burj Khalifa, 23:29 it was like a pillar 23:30 of fire by night. 23:32 You know, the Bible talks 23:33 about an even more, 23:34 to me, 23:35 impressive pillar of fire, 23:36 was God's presence Himself. 23:39 And His presence 23:41 blessing the sanctuary 23:42 with His physical presence, 23:44 the Shekhinah glory. 23:47 On the way back 23:49 from Qatar to 23:50 we flew back through Dallas. 23:52 They had a 23:53 they had a documentary, 23:54 a documentary 23:56 that dealt 23:57 with beauty, architecture 23:58 and your brain. 24:00 I hadn't really 24:01 known anything 24:02 about neuroscience 24:03 and how it relates to 24:04 architecture. 24:06 And these researchers 24:07 were talking about 24:08 how architecture, 24:09 how buildings 24:11 can either put you 24:12 in a frame of mind 24:13 that's relaxing and calming, 24:15 or it can agitate you. 24:17 And I was thinking 24:17 about the sanctuary 24:19 and all the symmetry. 24:20 They were 24:21 talking about these different 24:22 aspects of ideal buildings, 24:23 and it sounded like 24:25 in Dubai 24:26 they were trying to imitate 24:27 the sanctuary 24:28 and it sounded like 24:29 the scientists 24:30 were speaking about 24:31 God's sanctuary. 24:32 Do you know that the Burj 24:34 Khalifa has its own scent? 24:36 Special aromas 24:37 that have been 24:38 blended there infuse 24:39 through the air conditioning? 24:41 This is not original. 24:43 In Exodus 30, 24:45 a special 24:46 aroma was associated 24:48 with the sanctuary. 24:49 So all these things 24:50 that really speak to us 24:52 of God's memorials. 24:54 He wants to create something 24:56 that powerfully impacts 24:57 senses of people today. 24:59 And what is that? 25:01 Well, 25:01 I hope you're getting 25:02 some encouragement, whether you 25:04 whether you resonate 25:05 and you think, well, 25:05 these folks must be inspired 25:07 by God in Dubai. 25:08 I don't know what 25:08 their inspiration is. 25:09 Some people say, 25:10 Oh, it's just commercialism. 25:12 But Jesus said, 25:13 we need to learn 25:14 even from people 25:15 that don't claim to follow God. 25:17 And I think 25:17 most of the people 25:18 there, you'll find 25:18 those say 25:19 they're following God. 25:21 But let me 25:22 give you a final lesson. 25:23 And it comes from Seventh-day 25:24 Adventist history. And 25:27 you may 25:28 think that the time has passed. 25:31 There's no reason for us 25:33 to build memorials for God. 25:36 But our early pioneers 25:39 in the Seventh-day Adventist 25:39 church realized 25:40 we needed to be building 25:41 memorials. 25:43 Let me put it this way for you. 25:45 This is from the book 25:46 Councils on Stewardship. 25:48 It says, Can you not see that 25:50 He, God, wants you 25:51 to use your means 25:52 in helping to build 25:53 meetinghouse churches, 25:54 established sanitariums, 25:57 helping to start schools. 26:01 Now listen here. 26:02 This is really significant 26:05 because some people say 26:06 the end is too close. 26:08 A great work must be done 26:10 all through the world. 26:11 And let no one 26:12 conclude that 26:13 because the end is near, 26:14 that there is no need 26:15 of special effort 26:17 to build up 26:17 the various institutions 26:18 as the cause shall demand. 26:20 When the Lord shall bid 26:22 us make no further effort 26:24 to build meeting houses 26:25 and establish 26:26 schools, sanitariums 26:27 and publishing institutions. 26:29 It will be time for us 26:31 to fold our hands 26:32 and let the Lord 26:33 close up the work. 26:34 But now is our opportunity 26:36 to show our zeal for God 26:37 and our love for humanity. 26:40 Here is the concluding message 26:41 for us. 26:42 Can we catch the vision 26:44 of people over there 26:45 in the Middle East 26:45 who are trying to do 26:46 great things? 26:47 I know, 26:48 I know you've caught the vision 26:49 in many respects 26:49 because you're doing 26:50 that here in Fort Wayne, right? 26:51 You said 26:52 we're going to step out 26:52 beyond our means. 26:54 We're not just saying 26:55 we've got enough money 26:55 from oil fields 26:57 that we can build, 26:58 but we're going on 26:59 God's program 27:00 of stepping out in faith 27:02 and doing things for Him. 27:03 I encourage all of you 27:05 to ask the Lord 27:06 what He's calling you to do, 27:07 to continue to partner with us 27:08 and the things 27:09 we've undertaken jointly 27:10 and to go forward in His grace. 27:15 God is calling us 27:16 out of our comfort zone 27:17 to make a difference 27:18 on planet Earth. 27:20 I don't know 27:20 what He's inviting you to do, 27:21 but I know the Holy Spirit 27:23 will guide you 27:24 as you seek to partner 27:25 with Jesus. 27:27 And by the way, 27:27 thank you for each one of you 27:28 who is partnering with us, 27:30 making this ministry possible. 27:32 It is only by 27:33 generous donations 27:34 from people like you 27:35 that keep 27:36 Timeless Healing 27:37 Insights in production 27:38 and going out 27:39 throughout the world. 27:40 If you want to be 27:40 a part of this program 27:42 through your prayers 27:42 and through your 27:43 financial support, 27:44 you can meet us 27:46 at 27:47 www.TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:51 Again, 27:52 that's 27:53 www.TimelessHealingInsights.org. |
Revised 2023-01-18