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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002129S
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00:37 Rain forests are planet earth's last paradise. They're so 00:41 amazing and beautiful. These incredible places cover only six 00:48 percent of the earth's surface but they contain more than half 00:51 of the world's plant, animal and bird species. They team with 00:57 life and are centers for many species of earth's wildlife. 01:01 They're vitally important because they produce most of the 01:05 oxygen we breathe They safeguard our fresh water. They're the 01:10 original source of much of our food and they're the world's 01:14 largest pharmacy house providing much of the medication we use to 01:18 ensure our health and wellbeing. Rain forests are planet earth's 01:23 great storehouse. And importantly these rain forests carry a 01:29 special message for us today. Join me on a journey as we 01:34 continue to explore the wonderful world of the rain 01:37 forest, the last paradise. 01:41 ♪ ♪ 01:58 This huge mound of leaf litter in the heart of the rain forest 02:00 is raked up by one bird, a male brush turkey. It's actually a 02:06 giant incubator where females come to lay their eggs. 02:11 Amazingly the male maintains the temperature of the mound at a 02:16 constant level. It achieves this by removing leaves when it gets 02:20 too hot or adding leaves if it starts to cool. He instinctively 02:26 knows that the decaying leaf litter generates heat, just 02:30 what's needed to keep eggs warm. It's springtime now and 02:35 been working hard to get the mound ready. It's taken him 02:39 months to build it to this size. When a hen ventures into his 02:43 patch in the forest he welcomes her with typical male bravado. 02:48 With lightning speed he digs a nesting hole. The mound needs to 02:55 be around 33 degrees and he tests the temperature with his 02:58 beak. Just right! The egg she lays is large and she will 03:04 produce a number of eggs during the spring. The female leaves to 03:10 recover from her egg laying efforts but the male remains on 03:14 duty to protect the eggs, which he does with tremendous energy. 03:19 A python approaches. He knows there are eggs in the mound. But 03:26 these normally powerful menacing reptiles just sometimes meet 03:32 their match. The turkey has to judge this one just right. He 03:38 doesn't want to get within lunging distance of the snake, 03:41 but he has to get close enough to give the snake a face full. 03:45 ♪ ♪ 03:54 Such a lot of effort by the male to protect the eggs. But by the 04:01 time the chicks emerge safe from the mound the parents have lost 04:07 all interest. These little fluff balls are going to have to fend 04:12 for themselves. After hatching deep in the mound and struggling 04:17 all on their own through the leaf litter to the surface these 04:21 little survivors are able to fly immediately. Down on the rain 04:28 forest floor life is abundant but here even snakes encounter 04:35 unfriendly neighbors. However creatures like these reptiles 04:39 have learned to respect and live with each other and avoid 04:42 unnecessary conflict. Black skinks, one of the largest 04:48 skinks in the world, relax in the warm sunny patches on the 04:53 rain forest floor. They spend much of their time watching over 04:56 over the young as they learn to fend for themselves. The forest 05:04 is also home to two species of bowerbirds. This resplendent 05:09 regent bowerbird has built a bower of sticks on the rain 05:13 forest floor. The bower is not a nest. It's a carefully built 05:18 stick structure designed to attract females. He has 05:23 decorated the floor of the bower with his prize treasures and is 05:27 lovingly perfuming the walls with aromatic leaves to make it 05:32 more appealing. The female is impressed and flies down to be 05:37 greeting by an excited courtship display. He enthusiastically 05:42 welcomes her and presents his vast treasures. With that 05:50 impressive performance who could say no. He wins her heart and 05:56 she accepts his advances. The spring rains arrive and swell 06:06 the rain forest streams. The female regent bowerbird has 06:12 built her nest near a waterfall and is raising her chicks. Their 06:18 cryptic coloring is in stark contrast to her mates bright 06:21 attire. But her chances of survival and that of her chicks 06:25 are much better for it. She cleans up the nest before she 06:29 leaves eating the berries dropped by the chicks. They grow 06:34 quickly and at two-and-a-half weeks are ready to leave the 06:39 nest. As a single parent she must divide her time between 06:43 gathering food and caring for her young. After their flying 06:51 adventure her family settle beside a sleeping rain forest 06:57 dragon. The dragon lies motionless on the limb. He 06:59 blends in with his surroundings and relies on the lack of 07:04 movement to escape detection. Sharp claws in the back and a 07:08 swift peck on the nose is just too much for a dragon to put up 07:13 with. More widespread is the intriguing satin bowerbird. In 07:23 these highly competitive males just love the color blue. 07:27 Anything blue they can find gets pride of place in the bower. The 07:34 problem for this satin bowerbird is that sometimes he must leave 07:39 bower to forage for food and search for new treasures to 07:43 enhance his bower. The male with a bower close by takes this 07:49 opportunity to vandalize his rival's bower and he sets about 07:54 the task with great haste and obvious relish. He's nervous and 08:00 he knows that any moment now the proud owner could return and 08:04 catch him in the act and he would be in big trouble. 08:09 Male bowerbirds consider these blue feathers to be prized 08:13 possessions and the intruder knows they would add some real 08:17 class to his bower. The owner hurries back, but it's too late. 08:23 His masterpiece is in ruins and he knows he has much work to do 08:28 if he is to stand a chance of attracting females. The male's 08:34 obsession with this complex mating ritual leaves him no time 08:38 for family duties. The female's life is that of a single mum 08:43 with a nest of hungry beaks to feed. Bowerbirds are rain forest 08:48 fruit eaters and this female times her nesting to take 08:54 advantage of the ripe fruits of the native raspberry. But where 08:58 is the male? He's back at the bower practicing his best dance 09:04 in the hope of attracting another visitor. Antarctic beach 09:11 trees are a true relic of a lost age. Their fossil ancestors have 09:16 been found entombed in rock beneath the Antarctic ice pack. 09:20 Remnants of these trees are now only found on these high 09:25 mountain ranges and most do not rely on seeds to germinate but 09:30 depend on suckers from the same old root stock that developed 09:35 into trees time and time again. The fronds of the bird's nest 09:42 ferns cleverly drain rain water and leaf litter back into the 09:46 center of the plant where it is needed. They also draw moisture 09:51 from the damp air and provide homes for a host of small forest 09:56 creatures. The epiphytes along with the enormous tangle of 10:01 vines that shroud the trees amount to almost half the bulk 10:05 of this rain forest. 10:06 ♪ ♪ 10:15 Many rain forest trees have shallow roots and they rely 10:18 instead on extensive buttresses for stability. Storms come in 10:34 the warmer months of the year bringing torrential rains, 10:38 strong winds and lightening strikes ripping holes in the 10:42 canopy. Branches can snap off burdened by the added weight of 10:48 epiphytes and vines. And when rain loosens the roots the storm 10:56 can bring down huge trees. But these gaps in the canopy can 11:03 create an opportunity for new growth. Ferns and cunjevoi 11:09 thrive in the newfound blaze of light and giant stinging trees 11:13 reach for the sun eventually sealing the gap in the canopy 11:16 once again. These are thought to be the world's tallest 11:22 stinging plants. Grown to 40 meters in height their large 11:27 heart-shaped leaves are covered in tiny barbs that 11:31 can inflict an 11:33 agonizing sting. Yet despite the formidable defenses, these giant 11:39 trees come under attack from an army of grazing insects. They 11:44 graze with tremendous enthusiasm and no doubt consider these 11:49 leaves to be a delicacy with the poisonous barbs adding some 11:53 spice to the meal. Huge brush box trees with massive buttresses 11:58 provide shelter from strong winds that blow against tall 12:03 slender rain forest trees. The nectar-bearing flowers are for 12:09 for food and energy for flocks of colorful rainbow 12:11 lorikeets. They move hastily through the foliage pausing only 12:17 lick and savor their sugary meal with specially adapted tongues. 12:23 Hollows in the brush box trees provide drinking holes for these 12:26 overactive birds. But there is only room for two at this 12:31 drinking hole. The others must patiently wait their turn. The 12:37 two drinkers have decided to cram into the water hole for a 12:41 bath, further testing the patience of the others. Lack of 12:47 room soon causes trouble and the squabbling pair finally leave 12:50 the water hole for others to enjoy. Rain forests are 13:00 extremely biodiverse and this biodiversity is essential to the 13:06 health of our planet. Of all the living things on earth apart 13:09 from bacteria, it is insects that are the most successful and 13:15 plentiful. There are three times as many insect species as all 13:22 other species combined and new insects are being discovered 13:28 constantly. The insect body is the best adapted to life on 13:33 earth and insects have exploited just about every ecological 13:37 niche on_. The rain forest could not exist without them. 13:41 Insects are essential for plant pollination. Flowers, their color 13:49 and their scent are the signal that nectar is on tap and 13:53 nectar's function is to attract the pollinators. So plants need 13:58 the insects, but the insects also need the plants. Most 14:03 species of plants are eaten by insects and the insects are a 14:09 feast for hundreds of hungry mouths. As the day draws to a 14:15 close thousands of fruit bats or flying foxes stir ready to leave 14:20 on their nighttime foray for fruit and nectar. This colony of 14:28 bats leave their cave at night to hunt for flying insects. They 14:32 navigate their way through the tangle of branches and vines in 14:37 total darkness echo-locating their prey with their finely 14:41 tuned acoustic senses. Food is abundant in the rain forest. It 14:49 also nourishes an entire nocturnal community. Pygmy 14:54 possums are nectar eaters and they play an active role in 14:58 pollinating flowers. As well as possums, there is an array of 15:03 shy mammals with most delightful names like anticimas, shuscepes 15:09 and the brush-tail phascogale. Red-eyed green frogs 15:14 spend an enormous amount of energy 15:17 trying to attract a mate and it's a risky business 15:21 because they can attract more than just the desired female 15:31 Night hunters like these highly venomous snakes know that during 15:34 summer frogs always come to this pond to mate. One of the 15:41 most secretive and successful night hunters are the 15:45 brush-tail phascogale. Searching through the rain forest in erratic, 15:48 jerky movements with its super sensitive nose. It sniffs out 15:55 any insects trying to hide in the cracks of dead branches. 16:00 Brush-tail phascogale dales lead solitary lives and only go 16:04 looking for mates during the cooler winter months. But by 16:08 morning this night hunter will be safely tucked away in the 16:13 hollow branch of a tall rain forest tree. Down on the rain 16:19 forest floor bandicoots are sniffing out spiders, grubs and 16:24 insects in the leaf litter. The juveniles are a little hesitant 16:28 about venturing forth from their hideaway hollow log. This little 16:35 fellow can't make up his mind and he eventually decides to 16:38 come out another way cautiously poking up through the leaf 16:42 litter. Nothing escapes the attention of their food-finding 16:49 snouts. Any foreign sound in the rain forest night sends the 16:53 juveniles scurrying to the safety of their log home. But 16:56 they are soon back out in search of another tasty meal. Tiny 17:03 pygmy possums, the size of small mice, emerge warily from their 17:07 sleeping hollows and move off into the night in search of 17:11 fruit and nectar. Rain forest fruits provide a sugary meal and 17:16 plenty of energy for this little fluff ball. But there is more to 17:22 be found in this big rain forest Nectar-bearing flowers like this 17:27 subtropical waratah is what they really relish. But they can't 17:32 linger for too long out in the open. With predators lurking in 17:37 the rain forest it's best to head for the safety of the 17:41 shadows. This mother spotted tail quoll has successfully 17:54 raised well fed young. She's taught them to forage and sniff 17:59 out food for themselves. Being youngsters they're always 18:03 looking for opportunities to chase each other and play hide 18:07 and seek around their log home. Quolls are very capable hunters 18:17 with powerful claws and sharp teeth making them one of the 18:21 most feared predators in the rain forest. The climate here in 18:28 these high mountain rain forests suits some impressive creatures. 18:32 This Bloomington Blue cray survives in the creeks of the 18:36 rain forest. They only thrive in a climate that is stable, damp 18:41 and cool. Many other creatures of the forest also come to these 18:47 shady pools to drink and to bathe. The rain forest is one of 18:53 the last bastions home to a unique community. Survivors of a 18:58 golden age. Every creature living here is precious and we 19:04 must do all we can to protect their home. This complex and 19:08 beautiful world that is the rain forest. The lyrebirds have 19:18 been singing the songs of their ancestors for as long as the 19:22 rain forest has been here. May our children have 19:26 the pleasure of 19:28 their glorious song for ages to come. A wise man once said 19:35 about 200 years ago, In wilderness is the preservation 19:40 of the world. Maybe it's time for us to heed these words and 19:45 let the wilderness lift our spirits and bring new life into 19:49 our busy lives. 19:51 ♪ ♪ 20:10 But the rain forest does more than that, much more. It carries 20:14 a special message about our origins that gives us meaning, 20:18 purpose, inner peace and happiness right here and now and 20:23 gives us hope for the future. In the rain forest, we see 20:27 beauty, order, design, precision and balance. 20:31 This indicates that the rain forest is the outcome of 20:36 intention rather than chance. It's the result of design rather 20:40 than accident. The rain forest tells us as forcefully as 20:45 anything can that a master designer has been at work. 20:51 The Bible identifies this master designer in its opening sentence 20:56 Here's what it says in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1: 21:07 So the message of the rain forest is simple and clear. All 21:12 the abundance of life here and beyond right across planet earth 21:16 didn't get here by chance or accident. Rather life began with 21:22 God the Master Designer. Now do you see what this means? 21:28 It means that life has a purpose, particularly human 21:31 beings, the pinnacle of God's creation. It means that you are 21:37 not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap and your 21:40 life is no freak of nature. It's not fate nor chance nor luck nor 21:46 coincidence that you are you. That you are alive and breathing 21:51 at this very moment. God was thinking of you when he made the 21:55 world. In fact, that's why he created it. He planned it with 22:01 great precision. It's custom made with the exact 22:04 specification that makes human life possible. God designed this 22:09 planet's environment just so we could life in it and enjoy it. 22:15 We have the focus on his love and the most valuable of all 22:19 his creation. You are alive because God wanted to create 22:25 you. There's a reason you are here. Nothing in your life is 22:30 arbitrary. It's all for a purpose. The Master Designer has 22:35 a plan, a wonderful plan for life and he had a plan in 22:39 creating you. He has a plan for your life. He made you for a 22:45 reason and your life has profound meaning. We discover 22:50 that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference 22:55 point of our lives. So see yourself as God sees you. Study 23:00 God's word, the Bible, and you'll discover that you're 23:04 precious, created by God. You are not an accident. I can 23:10 assure you that God wanted you. You are valuable. You have worth 23:15 You are gifted. You are talented and you have a purpose on this 23:21 earth. This is a truth to build your life on. If you'd like to 23:25 do that, why not start right now as we pray. 23:30 Dear Heavenly Father, today we want to recognize you as the 23:36 Master Designer, the Creator of heaven and earth. We thank you 23:41 for life and for the amazing and beautiful rain forests that you 23:45 have given us. May we recognize their importance and do all we 23:50 can to protect and preserve them and may we remember that not 23:55 only are you the Divine Master Designer who created our planet 23:59 but you're also our loving heavenly Father who made us, 24:03 guides our lives and promises us a home with you one day soon. 24:09 Bless us now we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 24:16 ♪ ♪ 24:29 Rain forests team with life. More species live in rain 24:32 forests than anywhere else on earth. These incredible places 24:37 cover only six percent of earth's surface but they contain 24:41 more than half of the world's plant and animal species. As 24:45 many as 13 million species live in rain forests including 24:49 one-third of the world's bird species. But how does it all 24:54 start? This rain forest and all it's inhabitants just how did 25:00 they get here? Where did they come from? Life. How did it 25:05 begin? Well there are really only two options. All the life 25:10 that we see here in the rain forest happened or got here 25:14 either by accident or by design. Evolution or creation. If you'd 25:21 like to take a look at the evidence and consider this 25:24 question of how life originally began and if you're looking for 25:29 hope and ways to find inner peace and true happiness, then 25:33 I'd like to recommend a free gift we have for all our viewers 25:36 today. It's the book How Evolution Flunked the Science 25:42 Test. This book is our gift to you and is absolutely free. 25:47 There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 25:49 So make the most of this wonderful opportunity to 25:55 receive the gift we have for you today. Here's the information 25:58 you need. Phone or text us at: 26:02 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or 26:11 visit our website TiJ.tv to request today's free offer and 26:17 we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 26:20 obligation. Write to us at: 26:36 Don't delay. Call or text us now The Incredible Journey and 26:40 Pastor Gary Kent with Pastor Louis Torres and Carol Torres 26:43 as the principle trainers are opening a Bible College in 26:47 Sydney in February of 2020. This 14-week program will give 26:51 you the skills you need to be an effective co-laborer with 26:54 Christ to carry the message of a crucified, risen and soon coming 27:00 Savior to the whole world. For more information and to register 27:03 phone or text us at 0481315101 Email us at info@tij.tv or visit 27:12 our website at TiJ.tv/events. 27:19 If you've enjoyed today's journey through the rain forest 27:21 and our reflections on how life began, then be sure to join us 27:28 again next week when we will share another of life's journeys 27:30 together. Until then remember the ultimate destination of 27:37 life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God 27:39 will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no 27:43 more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more 27:47 pain for the former things have passed away. 27:50 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-07-16