Participants:
Series Code: UBP
Program Code: UBP000003S
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00:01 What is the everlasting gospel? Also God describes three angels
00:04 with messages in Revelation 14. What are they? The Bible 00:09 outlines a vital warning that answers these questions along 00:12 with providing a wonderful hope for the future. You don't want 00:15 to miss this message. Welcome to Unlocking Bible Prophecies. 00:18 The rise of an international pandemic, polarizing global 00:24 politics, increasingly destructive natural disasters 00:28 Bush fires in Australia are a warning of what may be to come 00:32 around the world. 00:33 What does it all mean? What does the future hold? Join 00:40 international speaker Cami Oetman on a journey 00:42 for answers in 00:44 Unlocking Bible Prophecies. In her travels around the world 00:47 she's come face to face with real life struggles but in the 00:51 midst of them she's found miracles of hope. Join Cami 00:55 Oetman for Unlocking Bible Prophecies as she shares how 00:59 Bible prophecy is being fulfilled faster than ever 01:02 before. 01:04 ♪ ♪ 01:11 Hi, my name is Cami. Thank you for joining me for Unlocking 01:14 Bible Prophecies. Maybe this is your first time viewing. Don't 01:18 worry. You can go to awr.org/bible and watch all of 01:24 the previous programs. Make sure and check out our many 01:27 interesting resources again at awr.org/bible. Last night we 01:33 studied about the signs that forwarn us of what is going to 01:36 take place right before Jesus' second coming. The Bible showed 01:40 how near we are to the final moments by signs given in 01:44 religion, politics, nature and society. These signs point to 01:49 the amazing climactic return of Jesus. Most importantly it 01:53 informs us that now is the time to prepare for Jesus' return. 01:57 That is why Unlocking Bible Prophecies is such an important 02:01 series. I do hope you will commit to watching every one 02:04 of these 14 presentations. Let's pray together and then we'll go 02:08 right into our subject, The Warning. 02:10 Dear heavenly Father, Lord thank you for loving us so much that 02:15 you gave us a warning in scripture to prepare us, not to 02:19 frighten us, but to just warn us Lord to be ready for your second 02:23 coming. Have us become acutely aware of the times in which we 02:25 live and open our hearts to your teachings tonight Lord. 02:29 In Jesus' precious powerful name, Amen. 02:32 Today we move into the book of Revelation. It is considered by 02:36 many to be a mysterious book. Over the centuries some have 02:40 been fearful of its message. In fact, the book was banned 02:44 from being read in certain Christian circles. But we should 02:47 not fear this book, Revelation. It literally means to be 02:51 unveiled. Tonight the message will unveil a hope like nothing 02:55 you've ever experienced before. Jesus foretold how this world's 02:59 final events play out. Can we trust that this is what will 03:03 happen? Absolutely friends. God keeps every one of his promises 03:07 to us. He is coming back soon to planet earth to reclaim his 03:12 people. How exciting it is to feel the nearness of our cosmic 03:16 rescue from this world of uncertainty and pain. The final 03:20 sign that Jesus gives to us is that the gospel will be preached 03:24 to the whole world. As you can see friends today the gospel 03:28 leaps across all barriers through radio, television and 03:31 the internet. God is reaching people in every way possible 03:36 right now. It has been my privilege to travel the world 03:40 documenting the miraculous changes in people's lives from 03:43 men and women carrying the burdens of sin and guilt to 03:46 being freed and pardoned by the gospel news. I see the gospel 03:51 being preached to all the world first hand. Here's a story of 03:56 how quickly the gospel can spread. Let me tell you about 03:59 Barbie, an Afrikaans Dutch woman living on an isolated farm 04:03 She received audio Bible messages on her cell phone. 04:07 These important gospel truths changed her life. She learned of 04:11 the urgency of our day and that God has three specific messages 04:15 to get to the world right now in our generation about the end 04:20 time. Because her trust and love in Jesus was growing she was 04:24 compelled to share what she was learning with her whole village 04:28 See you cannot hide the truth once you know it. It has to be 04:32 shared. She herself was only one study ahead of them, but shared 04:37 what she knew as they went along The villagers began to respond 04:41 positively asking to study the Bible more as a group together. 04:45 So dozens of her neighbors came to study with her under a big 04:49 tree in her front yard. One day Barbie was working in her house 04:54 when she heard a lot of noise outside. She was surprised that 04:58 an unfamiliar group of people gathered outside her house. She 05:01 couldn't believe it. It was then that a man entered and 05:05 introduced himself as Oopa. He, along with 50 from his village, 05:10 had hiked 37 miles, that's 60 kilometers, to Barbie's property 05:16 It took them all day to get there. Oopa exclaimed with tears 05:20 in his eyes, we came all this way to learn more about God and 05:24 his truth. Will you share it with us. Now over the past year 05:29 Barbie and her husband Dreece built a church structure on 05:32 their property and now more than 100 join together weekly to 05:37 learn more about Jesus' love and instruction. Because of one 05:41 woman's excitement to share. Think of all the people that now 05:45 know the Lord. Friends how much does God love us? We have the 05:49 evidence of his love. You see the greatest expression of that 05:53 love was in sending his Son Jesus who willingly came to this 05:57 earth to pay the price of sin for you and me. Let me share a 06:01 favorite text. John 3:16:... 06:16 Why would Jesus give his life for us? Because he loves us that 06:22 much. So then why did Jesus have to die for us? Well it tells us 06:27 in Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is 06:33 is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ was sinless but 06:38 yet he took our penalty. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: 06:43 For he (that is God) made Him (that is Jesus) who knew no sin 06:49 to be sin for us. 06:52 Do you realize that when Jesus walked into the dreaded Garden 06:56 of Gethsemane he allowed the weight of our sins, the sins of 07:00 the whole world to almost crush him? Can you picture what that 07:05 really includes? Every rape, murder, lie, betrayal, torture, 07:13 abuse, the filthiest of filth, the pure white lamb, Jesus, 07:19 takes it all. Christ sees himself mocked, humiliated, 07:25 and even nailed to a degrading cross. He is bearing within 07:29 himself the horrific reality of your guilt and mine, your shame 07:35 and mine. Jesus is taking on all the accusing fingers of the 07:41 universe pointing at him as the singular reason for sin while we 07:48 go free with innocense. Jesus prays a prayer that has you and 07:53 and me at the very center of it. Father, if there's any way out 07:58 of this, please let me go free, but if not, if this is what it 08:04 takes to save humanity the your will be done. In the Old 08:11 Testament the Israelites sacrificed animals for the 08:14 forgiveness of their sins which pointed forward to Jesus who 08:18 would come to shed his blood on the cross for the sins of all. 08:23 The sanctuary services in the Old Testament were designed to 08:26 teach us God's plan of salvation Christ lived a life of perfect 08:30 obedience to God's law and exemplified in his relationships 08:34 and actions towards others the infinite and perfect love of God 08:39 The Lord undid in the wilderness what Adam and Eve had done in 08:45 the Garden of Eden. Although tempted by Satan in the 08:48 wilderness after a 40 day fast Jesus remained faithful and 08:52 loyal to the word of God. Christ also obtained victory where 08:57 Israel had failed. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy to combat Satan 09:01 the tempter. That is Old Testament friends. Do you see 09:06 how Jesus uses scripture, Old Testament and New Testament go 09:10 together. Christ's victory and his life of perfect obedience 09:15 are credited in favor of those who accept him as Savior. Do you 09:20 want his life credited for yours? Enabled by a life of 09:24 perfect obedience to the Father Jesus offered himself as the 09:27 blameless lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the 09:30 world. And as Martin Luther so beautifully expressed:... 09:50 Christ's death on the cross is more than a historical event 09:53 located in the past. It is significant that Paul spoke of 09:57 Christ, not as Jesus who was crucified, but Jesus who is the 10:03 crucified one. He is alive friends. And by his resurrection 10:07 Jesus overcame death, defeated the forces of evil and obtained 10:11 righteousness for us. His resurrection became a pledge of 10:16 our future immortality. Because he rose, we can live forever. 10:21 Jesus provided the driving force for us to walk in newness of 10:25 life. It is only becaue of him that we can be born again. 10:29 Because of his great love for us he made the ultimate sacrifice 10:34 that he paid on our behalf. God is doing everything he can to 10:39 warn us so that we are prepared for what is about to come. Let's 10:44 remember our theme:... 10:52 Together let's look at the warning found in these urgent 10:55 Bible prophecies from the book of Revelation that God has given 10:59 especially for our generation. As we saw last night in Matthew 11:02 24 the signs of the end time are increasing in frequency and 11:07 intensity. God's last day message is revealed in 11:11 Revelation. He always sends a warning to prepare his people 11:15 for major worldwide events which affect their eternal destiny. 11:19 There is a Biblical pattern actually that is so exciting to 11:23 discover tonight. A loving God invites men and women to be 11:27 saved before the coming calamity He pursues us from Genesis right 11:33 through to Revelation. Let's look at some examples right now. 11:37 God instructed Noah to prepare men and women for the coming 11:41 destruction of the world by water. He longed for the people 11:44 to be saved, not to be destroyed by the flood. God has such a 11:49 huge heart and incredible patience that he asked Noah to 11:53 warn of the impending doom and gave the people a hundred and 11:58 twenty years to decide. That's 120 years of mercy, 120 years of 12:06 grace, 120 years of loving appeals. Isn't it awesome that 12:11 mercy and warnings always precede major biblical events. 12:16 God sent the flood only after the inhabitants of Noah's day 12:20 rejected the message of mercy. It became crystal clear who 12:26 God's real followers were. Here's another example. God 12:31 illustrated the same pattern in the days of Joseph. He revealed 12:35 that a famine was coming to the land of Egypt but before the 12:39 drought happened he raised up a man by the name of Joseph to not 12:42 only be the messenger of warning but also to help them prepare 12:46 for the coming devastation. God didn't give Pharaoh and the 12:49 Egyptians only seven days to prepare for the famine. 12:51 He didn't cause them to scramble to be ready. No. He graciously 12:56 gave them seven years of warning to prepare for the seven 12:59 years of famine which would follow. He advised the Pharaoh 13:03 to store surplus of grain so the barns were overflowing and 13:07 filled to the brim. So once again, God saves those who 13:12 follow his commands. God saw who followed his instructions. This 13:18 pattern was repeated again and again throughout the Old 13:21 Testament. God sent his prophets to warn Israel before the 13:25 impending doom. I just love that Now in the New Testament God 13:30 called on John the Baptist to prepare the way for the first 13:33 coming of Jesus. John preached the powerful shocking truth to 13:37 bring attention to the Son of God's soon arrival. The Bible 13:41 describes John as a voice crying in the wilderness to make people 13:44 ready and prepared for the Lord. Our God is consistent and 13:49 faithful. We can trust that he means what he says. When he 13:53 gives us a warning we can take him at his word. So let's do 13:57 just that as we study these three angels messages to prepare 14:02 us for great world shaking events that are soon to come. 14:05 Once again, God will see who his real followers are. In the 14:12 Bible's last book, Revelation, God has given us a warning that 14:15 is just as important for us to understand in our day as it was 14:19 in the days of Noah, Joseph and John the Baptist. Let's read 14:23 this end time prophecy in Revelation chapter 14 directly 14:28 from the Bible. We will see it is proclaimed by three angels. 14:33 Let's begin with message one found in Revelation 14 verse 6,7 15:03 God's last days urgent message is pictured as being swiftly 15:07 carried by angels to the ends of the earth. This is universal 15:11 friends. Going to every nation, kindred, tongue and people to 15:15 prepare us for earth's last hour This urgent message has the 15:20 everlasting gospel in it and what is that? The gospel is the 15:24 good news that through Jesus our sins can be forgiven so we 15:29 have eternal life in heaven. Our guilt can be gone and we can 15:34 experience real joy in this life The gospel's also the good news 15:39 that the grip of sin on our lives can be broken and through 15:43 Jesus we can be set free. Let's have the apostle Paul describe 15:48 this gospel a little more. 1 Corinthians 15: 3, 4:... 16:02 Let's look at four points regarding the everlasting gospel 16:04 Number one: Christ Jesus died for our sins. The gosple centers 16:10 on the death of Christ. Our hope is anchored in the cross of 16:14 Jesus. Our faith depends on what Jesus did for us, not what we do 16:19 for ourselves. Ephesians 2:8, 9:... 16:32 Salvation is a gift and God is offering it to you right now. 16:37 Number two: Christ lived a perfect life. Christ's perfect 16:43 life record is put in place of the sinful records of all who 16:46 accept him. He was and is perfect. We are imperfect. 16:52 Through his perfect righteousness we stand before 16:55 God's throne complete in him so that when God the Father looks 16:59 at us he only sees Jesus. Though your sins be as scarlet they 17:05 shall be white as snow. Number three: Christ rose from the dead 17:11 Jesus not only died for us, he lives for us. We can bring to 17:18 him all of our heart's longings and desires. We can come to him 17:21 with all of our weaknesses and sins, we can bring to him 17:25 everything that troubles and confuses us. Our God has risen 17:29 from the grave. Our God is not made of stone that crumbles. 17:34 He is alive. And point number four: Christ Jesus ascended to 17:41 the Father. That's important because the world's political 17:45 leaders all die. Nebuchadnezzar is dead. Alexander the Great is 17:49 dead. Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin are all dead. But 17:54 Jesus is alive! He ascended to the Father 2000 years ago and is 18:00 in heaven at this very moment. He knows you name, friend. 18:04 He understands your needs. Did you know he longs to hear your 18:09 personal prayers? His greatest desire is to save you for his 18:14 kingdom. The everlasting gospel is Jesus and he is the answer. 18:19 He continues to forgive over and over again. Jesus still changes 18:25 lives. I've witnessed this in death row prisoners' lives. 18:29 Once he understood Jesus' love and that it's for him he 18:34 accepted Jesus into his life and he now has the hope of life 18:38 eternal beyond these bars. I've seen this in an entire communist 18:43 rebel camp that laid down their weapons and joined us in worship 18:48 ending with a beautiful baptismal ceremony. And while in 18:52 Nepal in the Himalayan mountains my video crew and I hiked to 18:56 to visit a newly baptized Christian village. I personally 19:00 observed a former witch doctor's new found joy in the power of 19:04 Jesus. He recognized that his empty chants and worthless 19:08 potions were no match for the King of kings. And I love our 19:13 documentary of a young girl who left the safety of her mountain 19:17 village to make it big in the city. She was tricked into 19:21 prostitution and became imprisoned in hopelessness. 19:25 Amazingly enough a small radio was given to her as payment one 19:30 night and this is how she learned of Jesus, her personal 19:35 Savior and his healing forgiveness. Hope and strength 19:39 grew within her and she escaped that life and is now living free 19:43 as a child of God. Friend, Jesus can change anyone's life. He is 19:50 the ultimate gentleman so you must invite him into your heart. 19:54 He will carry your burdens and give you peace of life eternal 19:58 and he makes this available to everyone. He wants all of us to 20:03 know of his healing power and grace and that's why we must 20:07 tell the whole world just like we learned in Matthew 24:14: 20:13 The gospel will be preached to the entire world before Jesus 20:17 comes. Every individual will have the opportunity to respond 20:21 to the action that God is taking in his or her own life. He is 20:25 protecting, providing and pursuing us constantly. The King 20:31 of the universe is seeking your attention. Can you believe that? 20:35 He is wanting to be close with you and hears your hearts 20:39 desires. Now that we've reviewed what the everlasting gospel is 20:45 we will now return to the first angel's message. Revelation 14:7 21:01 What does it mean to fear God? To fear God means to respect or 21:07 reverence him by obeying his teachings. 21:09 Ecclesiastes 12:13 says:... 21:20 Proverbs 3:1 says:... 21:26 In an age of waning morality God is calling us back to obedience 21:32 to his law. He's calling us to keep his commandments. 21:36 Revelation 14:12 describes God's end time people this way:... 21:48 This is a call to obedience. Obedience is a neglected truth 21:53 in some Christian circles today. Too many Christians emphasize 21:57 free grace without paying attention to the importance of 22:00 God's law. Now what is God's law? It is a reflection of God's 22:05 character spelled out in his 10 commandments. He wants us to be 22:10 like him, to live in peace and harmony. So when we keep his 22:14 law it is in our best interest for an optimal life. Secondly it 22:18 is a call to give glory to God. What does it mean to give glory 22:22 to God? It means to honor him in our lifestyle. God's last day 22:27 message is calling us to honor God in how we treat our bodies, 22:30 and this includes what we eat, drink, how we live. 22:34 I Corinthians 10:31 says:... 22:42 Romans 12:1:... 22:53 Our bodies are temples of the living God and belong to him. 22:58 He also appeals to us to give him glory and honor in every 23:03 aspect of our lives. Revelation 14:7:... 23:12 Who are we called to worship? Our creator. That makes sense. 23:16 In an age of evolution when millions have dismissed the idea 23:19 of a Creator God Revelation 14:7 appeals to us to worship him who 23:25 made heaven and earth. The very basis of worship is the fact 23:28 that God created us. Revelation 4:11:... 23:32 ..... 23:41 The final conflict between good and evil focuses on the issue of 23:47 worship and specifically who we worship. The Creator or manmade 23:53 teachings, the Creator or the beast. It calls us back to 23:59 accepting God's sign of loyalty rather than the beast's mark. 24:02 Through the message of the first angel we have discovered as 24:06 Christians what we are supposed to be doing. Obeying God and 24:10 giving him glory in our lifestyles. We have discovered 24:14 why we are supposed to do it. It's because he's our Creator. 24:17 He made us so he is worthy of our allegiance. Now let's 24:22 discover why this message is so critically important. 24:25 Revelation 14:7:... 24:33 Revelation's final message does not say the hour of God's 24:38 judgment will come. No. It has come. Could it be that we are 24:44 living in a judgment hour? Could it be that the destinies of all 24:48 humanity are soon to be settled by the choices we are now making 24:53 today? Before the coming of Jesus heaven's final judgment 24:57 will determine the reward of each person before he comes. 25:01 Revelation is a book about eternal choices. 25:04 Revelation 22 verse 12 shows us this:... 25:17 If Jesus is coming to give out his rewards there must be a 25:22 judgment preceding his return. Revelation 16:7:... 25:31 You see God never makes a mistake. Earthly courts and 25:35 judges make mistakes, but our sovereign King never makes a 25:40 mistake. His judgments are true and righteous. You can count on 25:45 him to be fair. Revelation reveals that every human being 25:49 alive when Jesus comes has already made their final 25:52 decision for or against Christ. Revelation 22:11:... 26:13 The Christ of Revelation is appealing to you tonight. 26:16 He wants you to be saved. He wants you to live in his kingdom 26:21 forever. He can't bear the thought of you being lost. More 26:26 than anything else he desires to be with you forever in his 26:31 kingdom. So he has sent this urgent message to you in 26:36 Revelation 14. Let's summarize this vital message of the first 26:40 angel. This is a call to accept the everlasting gospel, to give 26:44 glory to God in our lives and also a reminder to worship the 26:48 Creator. This is God's appeal for commitment, obedience and 26:52 loyalty. Next the second angel reveals truth and exposes error. 26:58 Here's what God's word says in Revelation 14:8:... 27:14 In the book of Reveltion Babylon represents spiritual confusion. 27:19 Just as God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel 27:22 at the end time manmade teachings based on tradition 27:27 would bring confusion into the Christian church. The second 27:31 angel announces that all man made systems will not stand in 27:34 the final crisis. False doctrines would come into the 27:38 church through the false religious system called Babylon. 27:41 God is calling his people today back to his word. The Bible is 27:46 the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus said in John 17:17: 27:55 The central issue regarding the mark of the beast is worship. 28:00 Stay tuned friends because we will dive deeper into the 28:03 details of Babylon and the mark of the beast in upcoming 28:07 programs titled The Harlot and The Mark. The angel's warning 28:12 against receiving the mark of the beast is one of the most 28:16 serious in the entire Bible. You won't want to miss hearing 28:19 details on that. Now let's look at the third angels message 28:23 beginning in Revelation 14:9:... 28:41 These three angels conclude with a description of those who are 28:44 faithful at the end time. And what are those characteristics 28:48 of those who will be ready when Jesus comes? Revelation 14:12: 29:01 Let's summarize. Revelation 14:7 is a call to true worship, 29:06 worshipping the Creator. Revelation 14:9 is a warning 29:10 against false worship and Revelation 14:12 presents the 29:14 true followers of God. Friends the issue is worship. God will 29:20 have a group of people who worship him as Creator and Lord 29:24 by keeping all his commandments. God's last day message warns us 29:29 against the devil's deceptions in the end time. Satan's main 29:33 goal is to mess with God's commandments. The three angels' 29:38 messages are the final messages of warning to the world. These 29:42 messages ensure that everyone has had a chance to choose 29:45 between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of earth, Satan's 29:49 kingdom. When the messages have reached everyone Christ will 29:53 return to free and rescue his people. Jesus told us those 29:58 things not so that we would be troubled but that we would not 30:02 be misled and so that we would work hard to share his urgent 30:06 messages. Now is the time for serious reflection, not fear. 30:11 With prophecy markers all around us today is the day to watch as 30:16 faithful, wise servants for Christ's return. It's an appeal 30:21 to surrender complelely to God and commit our lives to 30:24 following his truth. What is God's desire for his end time 30:28 people? It is a heart loyal to him. It is a willing obedience 30:34 to him. It's a giving over of our lives to him. There was a 30:40 precious little blonde haired girl with a rare disease. 30:42 In order to live she urgently needed a blood transfusion. 30:46 After much searching it was discovered her only hope for 30:51 survival was to receive a blood donation from her twin brother 30:55 not only because the siblings had the same blood type but also 30:59 because he himself had survived the condition that she suffered 31:02 from. His blood contained the antibody that could save Judy's 31:07 life. When Dr. Brad asked the boy if he would agree to give 31:10 blood for his sister he was initially hesitant. He thought 31:14 long and hard. But when the doctor explained to him that it 31:18 was the only way to save his sister's life, the little boy's 31:22 eyes filled with tears and he said yes, he would go through 31:26 with it. The transfusion proceded. The two siblings lay 31:31 next to each other on the hospital bed holding hands 31:33 during the treatment. The doctor was relieved as he saw color 31:38 return to Judy's face. When the procedure was finished, the 31:42 young boy suddenly became very solemn. His big blue serious 31:47 eyes looked up at the doctor and he quietly whispered a question 31:51 that the doctor will never forget. Doctor, so when will I 31:55 die? The brave unselfish brother thought that with his blood 32:01 donation he would be literally giving up his life to save his 32:04 sister's. He loved his twin sister to the point he was 32:09 willing to give his life, a sacrifice, to save her life. 32:13 The doctor was astounded and quickly reassured him 32:16 immediately and clarified that of course he wasn't going to 32:20 die. Instead now they both would live. In contrast, now I want to 32:27 tell you a story about a man who willingly did give up his life 32:31 for undeserving strangers. What is incomprehensible is that you 32:36 and I have King Jesus who willingly died for undeserving 32:42 you and undeserving me in such a gruesome demeaning way, the 32:48 cross. What does dying on the cross really mean? The cross is 32:52 this beautiful, undeniable demonstration of love for all 32:57 others, even his enemies. He puts them above himself. Jesus 33:02 proves that God loves every member of the human race more 33:07 than his own existence, more than his own life. So Jesus said 33:12 when people look at the cross they are going to encounter a 33:16 love that will draw their hearts back to me. I won't have 33:20 to force or 33:21 manipulate or deceive them. I simply love them. And by loving 33:27 them, by giving my own life they will see my character, my way. 33:33 Simultaneously two things are happening at the cross. Satan is 33:38 conquered and human hearts are won back to the kingdom of God. 33:43 Colossians 2:15, Paul that the cross disarmed evil powers. It 33:50 was here that Jesus made a public spectacle of the devil. 33:55 Jesus is showing all people, all angels, all the other worlds out 34:01 there that Satan's ways of force and coercion are defective. 34:06 Jesus proves truth and love are more powerful than evil ever 34:12 could be. This is how Jesus wins the war against the kingdom of 34:16 darkness. This is how God's character and government are 34:21 finally vindicated. The cross was totally unanticipated. 34:26 That's the thing I love about it Satan believed that this would 34:30 be a force by force, fist to fist fight. But what really 34:34 happened is that he got outflanked, outsmarted, and 34:39 outplayed. Victory comes at the very moment Satan thinks he has 34:44 achieved victory by killing Jesus in a terrible, hideous, 34:48 demonic way. It is as if Satan bore his chest with pride only 34:53 to simultaneously receive the strike of death. He really 34:58 believed that he had won only to realize at the same moment, I've 35:03 lost it. What happened at the cross is this. Love and 35:08 selfishness stood face to face and love gained the victory. 35:14 Jesus rose again friends and that's why he sends his three 35:18 angels to warn us of the events to prepare us for his coming, 35:22 to illustrate to us once again how much he loves us. Today in 35:27 hearing the message of this presentation are you comforted 35:31 and do you sense the need to be mindful of God's warning? Jesus 35:36 longs for you to make a decision to follow him. Jesus says in 35:40 John 14:1-3: Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God 35:45 believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions 35:49 If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a 35:54 place for you. Now let me pause there. This is so deeply 35:59 personal. Jesus is preparing a place for you. And he continues: 36:06 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and 36:11 receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also. 36:16 Jesus, the King of the universe, wants you with him forever. 36:24 So wherever you are right now, watching or listening, would you 36:27 like to respond, Yes Lord, prepare my heart just as you are 36:34 preparing a heavenly home for me Let's pray together. 36:36 Heavenly Father, thank you for sending us your three angels' 36:43 messages warning us about what is to come and providing us the 36:48 perfect way out through the sacrifice of your Son Jesus. 36:52 Lord, prepare the hearts of each listener right now for your soon 36:58 coming. May we each choose to heed your warning. You are such 37:02 a gracious and merciful God. 37:04 In Jesus' precious, powerful name, Amen. 37:08 Friends, don't forget. Our live Bible instructors are standing 37:14 by right now to answer any question. And remember, you can 37:19 also register for our online Bible studies. Thank you so much 37:22 for watching. Join us tomorrow night for more Unlocking Bible 37:27 Prophecies. Choose God's way. Good night friends. 37:30 As a special bonus for our 3ABN viewers we wanted to share 37:36 stories of God's incredible miracles before we end this 37:40 program. Thank you for your prayers and support of Adventist 37:42 World Radio. Every day lives like these are being changed 37:47 for eternity. ♪ ♪ 37:53 From just one cell phone an entire church has been planted 37:56 in Namibia. I'm Cami Oetman and this is AWR 360. 38:01 ♪ ♪ 38:18 A year ago we came to Namibia to learn about how cell phone 38:21 evangelism is spreading fast around the world. Started by 38:25 Neville Nedley after seeing a need in his area. Now people 38:30 across the globe are using their phones for evangelism. From the 38:36 blind to the quietest person in the church the message of the 38:39 Lord is being sent out. We are back here because we have heard 38:45 remarkable stories coming as a result of cell phone evangelism. 38:49 Some remarkable things have been happening this past year. A year 38:54 ago when we visited under the tree at Barbie's church I did 38:59 not mention to you that this area actually had very minimal 39:03 Adventist reach. ♪ ♪ 39:06 Though evangelism has been tried it was unsuccessful. 39:10 You see this area is actually predominantly Roman Catholic. 39:15 I must say I did not actually think that AWR 360 cell phone 39:22 evangelism would have this kind of impact. 39:24 Our AWR team is traveling far into northeastern Namibia to the 39:29 city of Cashura. There have been no Adventist churches there 39:33 that is until just a year ago when Barbie started one under 39:38 her tree. She has been listening to cell phone evangelism and 39:44 enjoyed learning about the truths she heard. But it was the 39:47 message about the Sabbath that really woke her up. One week 39:51 after hearing the message she started a church under her tree. 39:55 She then invited the community to join her and they came. 39:59 But now some incredible things have happened. 40:04 (Translation) After your visit our church has grown 40:07 dramatically. 40:09 Their Pathfinder Club has been doing great things 40:13 for the community from doing work for the neighbors to 40:16 singing. They are representing Adventism in a great way. She 40:21 has a community garden in the back and has been teaching the 40:24 villagers how to grow their own food and many people have come 40:29 to listen to her health seminars 40:31 (Translation) It wasn't long ago as I was working in my house 40:36 on Friday afternoon baking for the Sabbath when I heard a lot 40:41 of noises. 40:43 She then noticed that a crowd of people had gathered outside her 40:46 house. She couldn't believe it. It was then that a man entered 40:50 the house. 40:51 (Translation) He said his name was Oopa. He was from the town 40:54 Devondu and that he and his group wants to join our church. 40:58 This was quite amazing because this region in northern Namibia 41:03 really has had no Adventists, maybe 10 total in the entire 41:08 area. 41:09 Just looking at this area where Barbie's church has been 41:15 established, it's part of a minority people group in Namibia 41:21 Mbrize. So there are not a lot of these people around, it's a 41:27 minority group and the group as such are actually Catholic. 41:33 So it's very, very difficult to get into such a group because 41:37 it's like changing group dynamics. 41:40 So when Barbie started the church the word spread quickly. 41:44 But how did the new group hear about Barbie and make a decision 41:48 to join? For that we must meet them as they walk to church. 41:52 This is no ordinary trek. You see for them to get to Barbie's 41:59 they must walk all day on Friday. We head out in search of 42:04 this group. Northern Namibia has a population of 220,000. Because 42:11 of the poor roads this area gets few visitors. It has the highest 42:17 level of poverty in Namibia with about half the population 42:20 considered poor. But it is in this area that lives are being 42:25 changed. This group is currently on a 40 mile hike to Devondu. 42:33 It will take them all day to get there. Over sand, rocks and 42:38 hills they march on. It's an amazing sight to see this many 42:43 people making this long walk. Oopa Steven is the leader of 42:47 the group. He's the one who made the decision to find this new 42:52 church. 42:53 (Translation) I go because we must learn about God. I have 42:59 been waiting years for an Adventist church. Even if it 43:03 were 80 miles away we would still walk to it. 43:10 Oopa was one of the few Adventists in this region of 43:13 Namibia. He lives a simple life of managing his animals and 43:18 sitting outside his house. 43:19 (Translation) For many years I was alone in my faith and with 43:25 no church nearby I could not invite anyone to learn with me. 43:28 But then when Barbie's church started word started spreading 43:35 around the area about this new belief. 43:37 (Translation) A rumor came to me that an Adventist church had 43:43 started in the town of Devondu. I almost cried when I heard that 43:48 I prayed to God that it was true. 43:52 He wasted no time inviting the people of his area to trek with 43:57 him to Devondu. He said, they are teaching the truth and we 44:00 must go. Nearly 50 people came with him eager to hear this new 44:06 truth about Jesus. The trek is long and anyone could have been 44:12 easily discouraged about walking all day but they wanted to hear 44:16 more about this church. 44:18 (Translation) When we arrived I was very excited to meet Barbie 44:24 for the first time. 44:28 His first words were that he wanted to join the church. 44:31 (Translation) That night we pitched tents and prepared 44:35 for the Sabbath waiting in anticipation for the morning. 44:40 And the next morning they had their first church service 44:45 together. Everyone in the group was impressed with the Sabbath 44:49 message and were determined to return the very next week. 44:53 When AWR heard about how the church had grown we knew the 44:57 tree that they were worshipping under would not be enough. And 45:01 this is when we sought our AWR supporters like you. AWRs web 45:06 page lists many needs all around the globe from terrorists in the 45:11 Philippines to the high mountain area of Nepal lives are being 45:15 changed. But it cannot be done alone. It is only through our 45:20 faithful supporters that AWR can keep these broadcasts going. And 45:25 now this group of people have a church to worship in. Hands 45:29 across the globe joined to support this project and I know 45:33 God has blessed. The most amazing thing is this is the 45:38 first cell phone evangelism church. 45:40 (Translation) After that first visit everyone wanted to return. 45:46 Oopa has since made many treks to worship on the Sabbath. 45:53 I really am amazed to think that one year ago there were less 45:58 than 10 Adventists in this entire area. Yet because someone 46:02 sent one message through their cell phone now there's a 46:06 community of believers. I can't help but think that if all of us 46:11 would just do the Lord's will and evangelize how many more 46:15 lives would be saved for Christ's kingdom. On this 46:18 Sabbath morning we attend the church service. It was just one 46:22 year ago we were here under a tree and now we are dedicating a 46:26 new church and there is a communion and foot washing 46:30 service. Many phones were dedicated to sharing cell phone 46:34 evangelism. And after this it is time for many to be baptized. 46:40 You see many of Oopas group have made the decision to dedicate 46:45 themselves to the Lord. This is what AWR 360 is all about. 46:50 From Broadcast to Baptism. 46:57 (Translation) I am so amazed that through my cell phone I was 47:02 reached and now just one year later there's a new church and 47:06 many people have been baptized. God is working mightily all 47:10 around the world. 47:11 Friends, The lives saved here today are because 47:15 someone shared the love of Christ through their cell phone. 47:19 They looked at their hand and they saw the tool to reach 47:22 another. AWR 360 calls upon you to share these important Bible 47:28 truths. It is only working together that we can spread the 47:32 message of the Lord to the entire world. 47:34 From Broadcast to Baptism. This is AWR 360. 47:39 ♪ ♪ Come with me to an undisclosed 47:47 country where despite all odds Adventist World Radio is 47:50 bringing hope to the hopeless and setting the captives free. 47:54 I'm Cami and this is AWR 360. 47:57 ♪ ♪ 48:17 To protect the individual in this story names and locations 48:21 have been altered and none of the real characters are shown. 48:24 ♪ ♪ 48:56 Raina grew up in a small rural village helping her mother cook 49:00 for their family and caring for her younger siblings. It was a 49:04 simple and often hard existence and Raina started to feel 49:08 discontent. There must be a better more exciting life for 49:17 her elsewhere. She had heard stories of people going to the 49:21 big city to find jobs and making lots of money. In the comeback 49:26 of golden stories only left Raina wanting to experience the 49:30 big city for herself. Maybe she would find happiness there. 49:35 Maybe she could earn enough money to help her family back 49:40 home. Raina knew what she had to do. She packed a small bag with 49:52 all her belongings and set off for the big city. 50:05 (Translation) I had never been to the city before and rarely 50:09 ventured outside my tiny village So the thrilling newness of this 50:14 adventure filled me with excitement. 50:15 ♪ ♪ 50:25 When I finally arrived and stepped down from the bus my 50:28 heart froze as the reality of what lay before me started to 50:32 sink in. 50:34 ♪ ♪ 50:46 She had no contacts here, no place to stay, no job and no 50:51 friends. Part of her wanted to jump right back on that bus. 50:54 But she had spent her last coins for that ride. 50:58 (Translation) I had to be brave and with renewed confidence 51:04 walked down the street. If I could just find a job I would 51:11 soon be able to help my family back home. 51:14 ♪ ♪ 51:27 One afternoon a man approached Raina. He had a kind demeanor 51:31 and offered Raina a job. He promised she would make lots of 51:36 money and would have plenty to send back to her family. This 51:40 sounded like a dream come true and Raina was anxious to begin. 51:45 ♪ ♪ 51:53 She followed the man down streets that narrowed and got 51:56 darker. Unbeknownst to her she was selling her freedom and her 52:03 body. ♪ ♪ 52:11 What followed would bring my worst fears and nightmares to 52:15 reality. I was betrayed by a kind man who was now my cruel 52:27 boss. I was trapped and as the dark days passed hopelessness 52:32 filled me. My boss did not fulfill even one of his promises 52:43 and I was paid so little that I often went hungry and lacked the 52:50 basic necessities of life. 52:51 One day when her boss arrived with 52:55 her meager weekly earning he coldly informed her that he had 52:59 no money to pay her and tossed a small short wave radio onto her 53:03 bed. This is your payment today, he said gruffly. Raina wasn't 53:10 happy with this arrangement. She was hungry and the radio wasn't 53:14 going to fill her empty stomach but she knew there was no point 53:17 in arguing. Raina had never used a radio before and out of 53:23 curiosity started pushing buttons and turning the knobs. 53:26 Soon the sound of sweet music filled her dark room. Then a man 53:36 started talking about Jesus, his great love for us, how we can 53:39 call on him in our darkest times of life and his promise to be by 53:44 our side (Sounds of radio voice) She stopped to listen to these 53:50 words feeling like they were directed straight to her heart. 53:54 (Translation) Up until this point in my life I had never 54:01 heard the name of Jesus but a longing was born in my soul to 54:05 know more. I felt like a dirty, worthless human. But in that 54:10 moment a glimmer of hope appeared. I wanted to experience 54:15 this unconditional love the man talked about. 54:18 Raina didn't realize it then but what she was listening to was 54:23 broadcast from Adventist World Radio. She eagerly turned the 54:30 little radio on every day. As the words of truth began to set 54:33 her imprisoned soul free. With every broadcast there 54:41 was an offer 54:43 given for free Bible studies and Raina finally mustered up the 54:46 courage to call in. The kind lady at the AWR office not only 54:58 signed her up for the studies but gave her the address of the 55:01 nearest Seventh-day Adventist church. 55:06 (Translation) I desparately wanted to leave this lifestyle 55:10 I had been forced into. But when my boss caught wind of my 55:14 religious activities he was very angry and threatened to kill me 55:18 if I left. I now had Jesus by my side though and I wasn't afraid. 55:24 One day Raina escaped her dark little room never to return 55:32 again. She timidly made her way to the only safe place she knew, 55:45 the local Seventh-day Adventist church. The members welcomed her 55:55 so warmly. They didn't shun her but offered to help and opened 56:00 their arms to her in protection. ♪ ♪ 56:19 Just a few short months later Raina was baptized into the 56:27 Seventh-day Adventist church. ♪ ♪ 56:45 (Translation) I now live a life of freedom and joy in Jesus 56:49 thanks to that unlikely gift and Adventist World Radio. 56:53 ♪This is AWR's mission, To set the captives free. Will you join 56:59 us in spreading the message of salvation and the unconditional 57:03 love of Jesus to others like Raina. Your prayers and 57:07 donations are changing lives. 57:12 From Broadcast to Baptism. This is AWR 360♪ 57:17 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-09-28