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00:13 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Carlos Munoz: Maranatha, my loved ones, and welcome to 00:38 another Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:40 Today we're going to study lesson number two on our 00:43 quarterly, "Making Friends For God." 00:45 But before we get into our study, I want to tell you about 00:48 this new Amazing Facts tracks we have, an Amazing Facts that are 00:52 11 tracks that we just created and this we are going to give to 00:56 you as a free gift. 00:58 If you want a printed copy, you can call 1-866-Study-More, or 01:03 1-866-788-3966, and we will send you a printed copy of these new 01:11 Amazing Facts. tracks, 11 in total. 01:14 But sadly, it's only to be mailed in the United States or 01:17 in US territories. 01:19 And so, knowing that now, let's get into our study, and let's 01:23 have a Word of prayer before we begin. 01:27 Heavenly Father, we thank you again, for another beautiful day 01:29 of life. 01:31 We thank you for the privilege and the honor that you give us 01:33 to worship you, to give you praise and glory on your 01:35 holy day. 01:37 And we just ask, Father, now as we come to review the lesson, 01:39 that your Spirit can guide us, strengthen us, and put and seal 01:43 your truth in our hearts, Father, your love, your grace, 01:46 your mercy. 01:47 Thank you again for this privilege and this 01:49 honor, Father. 01:50 We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 01:52 And so, for those that don't know me, I'm Pastor 01:53 Carlos Munoz. 01:55 I am the AFCOE director here at Amazing Facts, Amazing Facts 01:56 Center of Evangelism, and I am also an associate speaker, 02:00 bilingual speaker. 02:01 And so, I'm going to share with you today lesson number two 02:05 which is called "Winsome Witnesses: The Power of 02:08 Personal Testimony." 02:10 Now, the memory text for this week, if you want to read it 02:13 with me, it's in Acts chapter 4, verse 20 and it says, "For we 02:18 cannot but speak the things which we have seen and 02:22 heard," right? 02:25 When I do the Sabbath lesson, I always like to pay attention to 02:27 the title. 02:29 The title is going to give us a background into what we're going 02:31 to study. 02:33 And so, the title is "Winsome Witnessing." 02:35 Now, I don't know about you, but the first time I saw that word 02:37 "winsome," I had no idea what it meant, so I went and looked for 02:41 a dictionary to find out what does that word "winsome 02:43 witnesses" mean, right? 02:45 Not this time, but we have Amazing Facts. 02:47 We have a resource called "Winsome Witnessing" also. 02:50 And winsome means attractive or appealing in appearance 02:53 or character. 02:55 That's what the word "winsome" means. 02:57 And if you notice, that's where the word "handsome" actually 02:59 comes from that, right? 03:01 It's attractive or appealing in visualness. 03:02 It's handsome person, right? 03:04 And so, that's what winsome means. 03:07 It means to be attractive or appealing. 03:09 Now, the word "witness" right, winsome witnesses. 03:13 The word "witness" is defined as someone who has knowledge or 03:16 evidence about a matter. 03:19 In law, a witness is someone who either voluntary or under 03:22 compulsion provides testimonial evidence, either oral or 03:26 written, of what he or she knows or claims to do, to know. 03:32 So, what it's talking about then there is an attractive 03:35 witness, right? 03:37 There is an appealingness to somebody that has 03:40 evidence, right? 03:42 It is--it draws people in, in the context of something that we 03:45 know or something that we claim to know. 03:47 So, when you're looking for a witness, you want to make sure 03:50 that the witness has the credentials, has the 03:53 credibility, has the character, has the evidence necessary. 03:56 Of course, we're just talking generally in this context. 03:58 We're putting--now we're going to put this on a 04:01 religious context. 04:02 It's winsome witnessing. 04:04 That means that there is an attractiveness, right, to 04:06 a testimony. 04:09 There is an attractiveness to the appealing of what or how God 04:12 has worked in my life and what God is doing and so, I am 04:15 showing the credentials, the credibility, right, the evidence 04:18 of that beautiful claim that I am giving forth. 04:23 Now, the same thing with the word "testimony" because it 04:25 says, "The power of personal testimony." 04:28 A testimony is, again, a formal written or spoken statement, 04:31 especially one given in a court of law. 04:34 It's evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance 04:36 of something. 04:38 So, when we put this all together, what it's saying is 04:41 that our testimony is an attractive evidence, right? 04:45 Our testimony, our personal testimony, is a draw into claims 04:50 about who God is and what God has done, what God can do, and 04:55 what he is doing in our lives. 04:58 And so, I think that's fascinating because when you put 05:00 this together, the concept of witness, and testimony, and 05:02 evidence, this all has to do with terminally--terminal--legal 05:05 terminology, right? 05:07 Sometimes in civil, administrative, or in criminal 05:10 trials, and it's associated with a trial. 05:13 So, when we ask ourselves, what is the purpose of a trial? 05:16 Well, the purpose of a trial is to find truth, right? 05:19 There is either an accusation. 05:22 There is evidence presented in favor or against something 05:26 or someone. 05:27 And so, what we do is on a trial is to determine whether that 05:30 accusation or that, what that was presented was accurate was 05:33 real, was true, right? 05:35 So, this terminology being used in the legal settings, that 05:39 tells us then that the Bible is also giving us some legal 05:42 foundation or some legal terminology so the things that 05:45 are happening in Scripture, right? 05:47 So, if this is mostly applied in trials, then the question that 05:52 we should ask is, is there a trial in Scripture, 05:53 my loved ones? 05:55 Is someone on trial in Scripture? 05:58 Well, we know that in this great controversy, this great cosmic 06:00 conflict, God's character has been on trial, right? 06:03 Remember from the beginning, it tells us that the enemy, 06:06 Lucifer, Satan, he was accusing God, he was presenting that God 06:11 was not worthy to be ruler. 06:13 He was attacking God's character. 06:15 He was saying that God was a--was arbitrary, right? 06:19 He was, he was dictator. 06:21 He was imposing these laws and these--and his will on 06:23 other people. 06:25 And so, that was the accusation that the devil did. 06:27 And so, what does God do? 06:29 He doesn't destroy him because we know that would not have 06:30 resolved anything, but what does God do? 06:33 Says, "Okay, let's let this play out in the type of trial, right? 06:36 Let's--you've presented your evidence, now I'm going to 06:39 present and show my evidence in regards to this character." 06:42 And so, what is it saying about us? 06:45 It's saying that we are witnesses, or we are evidence 06:47 to what? 06:48 We are here to advocate, to defend, to sow the truth in 06:51 regards to God's character, in regards to who God is. 06:55 And I just think it's fascinating, the whole concept 06:57 of trial. 06:59 I studied, I studied pre-law and criminology in my bachelor's 07:02 degree, and so this concept is, is so familiar in the sense of 07:05 the presentation, the evidence of, is God worthy? 07:08 Does God deserve to be the ruler of the earth? 07:12 Is God worthy to reign over the earth, over the universe, and is 07:17 he worthy to receive our worship, to receive our 07:20 surrender, to receive our lives? 07:22 And, my loved ones, this is where the stuff the concept of 07:25 personal testimony comes in, right? 07:28 Why do I say this? 07:29 Because it says it in the lesson that people, you know, you can 07:32 get into a debate with somebody in regards to some type of 07:36 theological foundation, right? 07:39 I don't advocate that you get into a debate. 07:41 We were not called to win debates, we are called to win 07:43 souls, right? 07:45 But sometimes, you know, when you're talking with something, 07:47 you're presenting the evidence to a belief system that you have 07:49 to one of our doctrines or anything, and people can refute 07:52 it, right? 07:54 Some people, they can use their own text, takes things out of 07:57 context and try to debate and try to contrast what you're 08:00 trying to say, what you're trying to present. 08:03 But it's very difficult to debate a testimony. 08:07 It's very difficult to refute somebody's personal testimony. 08:11 I'll give you an example. 08:12 There was this story about this church that opened up in this 08:16 very, this city, right? 08:19 It is a very cosmopolitan city, very advanced, high, known as 08:24 high society, people very educated. 08:26 And so, this church decided that it wanted to do some type of 08:30 modern debate, right, to try attract the professionals and 08:35 the scholars that were in the area, to try appease to their 08:40 intellect, right, to try to reach out. 08:42 And so, they decided to do a debate, a debate between atheism 08:45 and theism, right, a debate in regards to the arguments in 08:48 favor and against these, and present a good debate in regards 08:52 to this to try to draw people in. 08:55 And so, the story says that they brought in some Christian 08:58 doctors and they brought in some Christian scholars to talk 09:01 about, you know, creationism, evolution, postmodernism, and 09:05 all of these terminology that we debate sometimes in 09:09 religious settings. 09:12 And there was this atheist lawyer that was in the crowd and 09:16 as the presentation was going on, the story says that this 09:21 atheist doctor, they asked for questions from the public and 09:24 this atheist doctor stood up and he grabbed the microphone. 09:27 And it says that in front of every everybody, based on 09:30 everything that they had been talking about or said during 09:33 that debate, he refuted every single piece of it. 09:37 He just attacked. 09:39 He went straight to--he went straight to the core of 09:41 everything and he used his own atheistic perspective, his own 09:45 arguments, right, in favor of naturalism, in favor of atheism, 09:48 in favor of evolution. 09:51 And he just broke it down. 09:54 Everybody was stunned, right, because he was so convincing, he 09:56 was so assertive, he was so accurate, and he was so eloquent 10:01 in the way that he was saying that people were stunned and 10:03 people were afraid, right? 10:05 Because they're saying, "Wow, he's going to even convince some 10:07 of the Christians that are among us who were not trying to draw 10:09 him, but they were just part of the church." 10:12 Well, amongst all the chaos, everybody was stunned 10:14 and silent. 10:16 But it says that this little, old man raised his hand and he 10:19 called him up with amongst the silence of the crowd, and he 10:23 stood up and he grabbed his microphone. 10:25 Little, little old man, and he says, "You know what? 10:28 I was not raised in the city. 10:30 I was raised out as a farm boy. 10:32 I did not go--I didn't do past high middle school, I didn't do 10:37 high school education. 10:39 I didn't go to any of the fancy universities all of you guys 10:40 are in. 10:42 I didn't study all of these concepts, and I'm not as 10:44 eloquent, and I can't express terminologies, and I don't have 10:48 all of the knowledge that every one of you that is here on the 10:50 panel and this atheist lawyer here has. 10:54 But I do have something," he said. 10:57 "I don't know much about anything you're talking about, 11:01 but I do know that God is alive and God is powerful." 11:05 He says, "You know how I know this? 11:07 Because I used to be a drunk. 11:09 I used to beat my wife. 11:10 I used to spend all my money on gambling. 11:12 I used to do all of these horrific things. 11:14 I was just a complete mess, and I hit rock bottom but that's the 11:17 moment when I gave Christ the chance to be in my life, and I 11:21 gave him an opportunity because I was going to lose everything. 11:24 My wife have left me, everything, my children did not 11:27 respect me. 11:28 I have lost everything. 11:30 My business was on the ground. 11:31 And at that moment, I gave Jesus Christ a chance. 11:33 And from that moment to today, I have been a new man. 11:35 I have been changed and transformed. 11:37 I do not--I do not participate in any of the ways of the world 11:40 as I used to anyway. 11:42 My marriage has been restored. 11:44 My children have been restored. 11:46 My business has been restored. 11:47 I am a new man. 11:49 So, even though I'm not able to express eloquently and present 11:51 all these arguments that all of you fine gentlemen can, I do 11:56 have the power and the testimony to say that God is alive because 11:59 I have experienced it in my own life." 12:02 And to that you say what you say what? 12:04 You say amen, right? 12:06 There's no way to debate that. 12:07 You might not agree with it, you might think that it was some 12:09 type of superstition, but at the end of the day, the power and 12:12 the impact of a personal testimony goes way beyond fancy 12:15 and eloquent arguments, and big titles and big degrees. 12:20 That doesn't mean that it's not good to study. 12:22 It doesn't mean that it's not good to go to university. 12:24 But the core of it is that, that surrender to God where we can 12:28 see the power of God working in our lives in such a way that we 12:33 are to share and to show others what that is, and that is what 12:37 we're talking about when we're talking about a winsome 12:40 witnessing, right? 12:41 It's just people are drawn in to see and to notice the power 12:44 which with God has worked in your heart. 12:48 You see, my loved ones, before we are able to convince people 12:50 about our doctrines, our beliefs, the things that we hold 12:53 so dear, the mission, the purpose of the church, first 12:57 they have to be able to see the love of God in us. 13:01 First they have to be able t witness, they have to be able to 13:04 see that what we're saying, how we're living, is a 13:08 greater sermon. 13:10 Our life is a pulpit and so when people see that when they 13:13 are--when they see the reality of our witness, when they're 13:16 able to see the power of God in our lives, that is what wins 13:19 them in, right? 13:21 That is what's appealing and attractive and then, once 13:23 they're convinced of our faithfulness, once they're 13:28 convinced of our genuine person, then, my loved ones, then that 13:34 opens the door for what? 13:36 That opens the door for us then to share why we believe, why we 13:39 live the way we are. 13:41 And so, that is the key, my loved ones, to this. 13:43 That's why it says in Matthew chapter 24, verse 14, that this 13:47 gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all the world as 13:50 a what? 13:51 As a witness, all right, to all nations, and then the end 13:54 shall come. 13:56 So, it is through our witness that this gospel of the world, 13:59 which we know is Revelation chapter 14, verse 16, 14:01 everlasting gospel, right, the three angels' message of 14:04 Revelation chapter 14, verse 6 and 12. 14:06 It says in Matthew 24 that that gospel of the world shall be 14:09 preached as a witness, is that people are going to see what 14:13 we believe. 14:14 They're going to see it manifested in our daily lives. 14:16 And I think it's fascinating, if you want to join me in 14:18 Revelation chapter 3 'cause it says something, it uses a quite 14:22 unique phrase when it's talking about Jesus Christ. 14:26 Revelation chapter 3, look at what it says here in verse 14:30 number 14, Revelation 3:14. 14:33 It also says it in Revelation chapter 1, verse 5 but here, I 14:37 like how it says it. 14:39 It says Revelation chapter 3:14, it tells us, "And the angel of 14:42 the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the 14:45 Amen, the Faithful and True Witness.'" 14:49 It calls Jesus, Jesus says, "I am the faithful and 14:52 true witness." 14:54 Now, the question is, what is Jesus the faithful and true 14:56 witness of? 14:58 My loved ones, Jesus is the faithful and true witness of the 15:01 love of God, right, of the power of God, of the mercy of God, of 15:05 the evidence, right? 15:07 He is the evidence of the love of God, not that we love God, 15:11 but that He loved us and He sent His Son. 15:13 Jesus is the greatest manifestation, the greatest 15:16 evidence of the love of God for humanity because he sent the 15:19 greatest thing that he had, and that is Jesus Christ. 15:22 And so, that's why he is the true and faithful witness 15:24 because Jesus gives a perfect account of who God is, of his 15:29 character, right, of what God wants to do in us and 15:32 through us. 15:34 And I think that's just beautiful when it ties into this 15:37 concept of the powerful testimony, right, because what 15:39 it's telling us is that we also are to give witness, right? 15:43 So, the question that I asked myself, myself is, am I a true 15:47 and faithful witness? 15:49 Because the implication is that if they're a true and faithful 15:51 witness, then that must mean what? 15:54 There must be false and unfaithful witnesses, and I want 15:58 to make sure that I am being a true and faithful witness. 16:01 And so, that's what the lesson is about this week. 16:03 It was just a great lesson. 16:05 And so, it's interesting because when we go into the lesson you 16:08 would think, okay, so who are the first people that were sent 16:11 out to work, right? 16:13 Who are the first people to send out to give witness and 16:16 testimony to the love of God, to the power of God in this sense? 16:19 And we probably think, oh, it must have been Peter, and Paul, 16:22 or John, or some of the disciples. 16:25 It's interesting because the first missionary that Christ 16:28 sent out to do the work was who? 16:31 Was the man possessed by demons. 16:33 Join me please in Matthew chapter 5, Mark chapter 5, I'm 16:36 sorry, Mark, chapter 5. 16:38 And in Mark chapter 5, verse 15 forward, we have the story of 16:41 the man that was possessed by a demon, right? 16:45 And so, the story, if you've read it before, it's a 16:48 horrific story. 16:49 I mean, it says that the man, he was, he had a legion of demons 16:52 that possessed him, and a legion is the estimate for a Roman army 16:57 in that context is about 16--6,000 soldiers. 17:01 So, this man was utterly, utterly possessed by 17:04 demons, right? 17:05 He was naked. 17:07 I mean, it was just horrific. 17:08 And notice what it says in Matthew chapter--Mark chapter 5, 17:10 I'm sorry, verse number 15. 17:12 It says, "Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had 17:17 been demon possessed and had the legion, right, sitting and 17:20 clothed in his right mind." 17:22 So, notice the transformation. 17:24 He was naked, he was tied. 17:25 They tried to try to tie him down, right, but he would break 17:28 the chains. 17:30 He was sitting silently. 17:32 That's another implication, sitting. 17:33 This man was enraged, right? 17:35 He was sitting and clothed in his right mind, right? 17:39 That means he was at peace, right? 17:41 He was sober. 17:42 He was thoughtful. 17:44 It says and they were afraid, and they--and those who saw it, 17:47 who saw what? 17:49 Who saw the transformation of this man that was demon 17:51 possessed, told them how it happened to him who had been 17:54 demon possessed, and about the swine. 17:56 And then they began to plead with him to depart from 17:59 the region. 18:01 So, these people are witnesses to this man that is demon 18:03 possessed, right? 18:05 They saw what he was. 18:07 They saw the life that he was living before that as he was a 18:10 slave to the devil. 18:12 And it says, and when he got into the boat, he who had been 18:15 demon possessed begged him, talking about Jesus, that he 18:18 might, what? 18:20 That he might be with him. 18:22 Now, notice that this man wanted to be a disciple of Christ, this 18:24 man wanted to follow Jesus Christ, right? 18:27 But it's interesting that Christ did not let him, right? 18:30 And so, the question is, why not? 18:33 Well, it continues to say, however, Jesus does not permit 18:35 him but said to him, "Go," right, "home to your friends and 18:40 tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he 18:43 has compassion on you," amen. 18:46 And this is just a beautiful statement because it says, first 18:49 of all, he says what? 18:51 Go, right? 18:53 That means he was sent. 18:54 That concept of going or sent is a divine commission in the sense 18:58 of going as an ambassador would go, right? 19:02 When a government commissions an ambassador to go represent this 19:05 kingdom or this nation in a foreign land, what Jesus is 19:08 telling him is that, "go and represent me," right? 19:11 "Go and show others who I am. 19:14 Go and speak of the kingdom that I am trying to establish in the 19:16 hearts and in the minds of those that are around us. 19:19 I want you to go to be an ambassador," right? 19:22 So, he was a disciple in the sense of that he came to the 19:27 feet of Christ, right? 19:28 And I'm sure that it didn't stop here, his admiration, his 19:30 following of Jesus. 19:32 But in this context, Jesus gave him a very specific mission. 19:34 He said, "Go." 19:36 And notice what he says, "Tell them of the great things that 19:37 the Lord has done for you," right? 19:39 We should be able, my loved ones, as Christians to give 19:42 evidence to what God has done in our lives and not only what God 19:46 has done, but what God is doing right now. 19:49 We should be able, as this man who had a total 19:53 transformation, right? 19:54 Remember, everybody knew who this demon-possessed guy was, 19:58 all the cities, all the towns in the area, right? 20:00 It's known--it says here that the Decapolis, the ten cities, 20:03 this Gentile region, they all knew who he was. 20:07 They were afraid of this man. 20:09 And it says, he said, "Go and tell them what you have done, 20:12 for he has done compassion on you," amen? 20:14 This is beautiful, my loved ones, is that God has shown 20:17 compassion, why? 20:18 Because God has freed him from that bondage, from that slavery, 20:21 from that demon-possessed driven life that he was. 20:24 God had compassion, how? 20:26 Because He sent His Son Jesus Christ. 20:29 And Jesus, what did Jesus do? 20:30 Jesus liberated that man from that situation and so the 20:34 compassion of God, not only to send His Son, but the love of 20:37 God through His Son Jesus Christ, to liberate that man 20:40 from that time, my loved ones. 20:42 It was a powerful, powerful testimony. 20:44 And Jesus doesn't say, "Come follow me." 20:46 He says, "Go witness," right? 20:48 "Go talk to others, go back to your city and give witness and 20:51 testimony to the things that I have done." 20:54 And so, it's believed that because of this Gentile region 20:57 known as Decapolis, right, the Gentiles were there. 21:00 There was a lot of prejudice towards the Jews and so what it 21:03 says is that, what's understood is that this man went back to 21:08 the city and he started to do what? 21:10 He started to prepare the groundwork, right? 21:12 I like to look at it in the concept of evangelism, right? 21:15 You don't just show up in a city and start preaching, you have to 21:18 start doing the groundwork, you have to start preparing the 21:20 hearts and minds. 21:22 In the same way that John t Baptist came to God's people and 21:25 he prepared them for the coming of the Messiah, so Jesus also 21:28 sent this man out to Decapolis, to do what? 21:32 To prepare to tell, to witness to the compassion and to the 21:35 love of God that was going to be manifested. 21:37 And so, only he could have done it, right? 21:40 You can't send the disciples, it would have probably not have 21:43 gone too well. 21:44 So, Jesus understanding this, and it actually says in "Desire 21:46 of Ages," that nine months later after this event, Jesus showed 21:51 up in the region of Decapolis, and guess what. 21:54 He started to preach and he was received and they started to 21:56 listen to him. 21:58 So, that's beautiful, my loved ones. 22:00 And so, what was so special about this? 22:02 What was so beautiful about this, my loved ones, is the fact 22:04 that this demon-possessed man, he was not a disciple of Christ. 22:08 He was not walking with Christ. 22:09 He was not living with Christ. 22:11 He didn't have that advantage, like the disciples said, of 22:13 seeing the character being developed little by little. 22:16 He was just, at that very moment, freed from that which 22:20 oppressed him, freed from that which was imposed on him by 22:23 these demons. 22:25 And so, this miraculous healing, this miraculous deliverance that 22:29 Jesus Christ did was special because this man did not 22:32 hesitate for a second, immediately, right? 22:35 And so, this is the indispensable ingredient, my 22:37 loved ones, for witnessing is the changed life. 22:40 It's the transformed life. 22:42 And for that, we have to have a personal knowledge and 22:45 understanding of who God is. 22:47 I cannot give a witness or testimony to others about who 22:51 God is if I don't know him, right? 22:54 I can't come--I would not be called to a trial to give 22:57 witness or to give evidence to an event or to a person, if I 23:02 don't know that person. 23:03 That would be a great waste of time. 23:05 When they call somebody in as a witness is because they believe 23:08 that there is credibility, right, that there is 23:10 information, there is truth in this that this person is going 23:12 to reveal to be able to clarify whatever situation that is 23:16 happening in a courtroom. 23:19 And that's what we're here on earth to do, my loved ones, we 23:21 are here to give clarity to the world because there's a lot 23:24 of confusion. 23:25 Who is God? 23:27 Is God good, right? 23:28 Why does God permit all of these things happening? 23:30 This is the great concept of theodicy, right? 23:32 Does God deserve to reign? 23:34 Well, my loved ones, you and I, through our lives, are to give 23:38 witness to this but for to be able to be effective, powerful 23:40 witnesses, we have to have that one-on-one interaction with God. 23:45 We have to have that one-on-one connection. 23:47 I want you to join me to the Book of Psalms, a beautiful part 23:51 of the Psalms that I just absolutely love it, it talks to 23:55 this effect and I think it has--it's closely related to 23:58 this demon-possessed man in the story of Mark chapter 15, in the 24:05 story of Mark chapter 5, I'm sorry. 24:09 Psalms chapter 40, if you're there, Psalms chapter 40, verse 24:12 number 1, look at what it says here in Mark--Psalms Chapter 40, 24:16 verse number 1, "I waited patiently for the Lord and he 24:19 inclined to me and heard my cry," right? 24:22 This reminds me of when God's people were in Egypt. 24:24 And it says, "And he brought me up out of the horrible pit, out 24:29 of the miry clay." 24:31 Now, in Spanish, I like how it says in Spanish, it says that he 24:33 brought me up out of quicksand, right? 24:37 Now, if you know the experience of quicksands, what happens if 24:40 you caught in quicksand? 24:41 It means that you're going to die, right? 24:43 Unless something external happens, you're not going to be 24:46 able to come out. 24:47 The harder you try, the deeper you get dragged into it. 24:50 And so, this is the concept of what is happening to us, right? 24:53 When we see what is happening in our lives, testimony of so many 24:57 people that say, "You know what I have--I've lost 25:00 everything," right? 25:01 Like the disciples after Jesus Christ was murdered, they lost 25:05 hope, right? 25:06 They were like, "What are we going to do? 25:08 We have nothing." 25:10 They were afraid that they were going to--and that was the 25:11 moment when they were ready, and they were ready to 25:13 surrender completely. 25:14 So, that's the experience that we're seeing here. 25:16 There's no hope, there's no, there's nothing that can save us 25:18 from the situation that we're in. 25:20 And when we're talking spiritually, we're talking about 25:22 the eternal death that is coming forth, right? 25:25 There's nothing that can avoid that, but it says that, "As we 25:28 cry to God," it says, "He brought me up. 25:30 He took me out of that condition, out of that destiny 25:32 that I was to die," and he says, "and out of my miry clay, and he 25:38 set my feet upon a rock." 25:39 Now, who is the rock in the Bible? 25:41 We know it's God. 25:42 It's Jesus Christ, amen? 25:44 So, you go from this condition of having of having no balance 25:46 and being dragged in and drowning basically in sound--in 25:48 sand, to now being placed upon a rock, amen? 25:52 And it says, "He established my feet." 25:54 In other words, what it means is he straightened my walk. 25:57 Notice, my loved ones, that God, all we can do is cry out to God, 26:01 and he drags us out of the bottomless pit. 26:04 He drags us out of the quicksand that was going to be our death*. 26:08 And he puts us on a rock and he straightens our steps. 26:11 That's justification, sanctification perfectly 26:14 explains, amen? 26:16 And here's verse 3, here's where it gets beautiful. 26:18 "And he put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God, many 26:21 will see it and fear and will trust in the Lord." 26:24 Notice the response of this person is he's saying what? 26:27 "I was dragging down. 26:29 I was going down, I was going to die, and God saved me from that 26:32 situation, and God put a new song in my mouth," amen. 26:36 There are many people that can sing and have a beautiful voice, 26:39 right, but there are not many people that can praise God. 26:42 To praise God is to be able to sing, to give witness, to 26:46 evidence to the beauty of God, to the power of God that he has 26:50 been doing, that he has done in our lives and not only in the 26:53 past, but as I mentioned already, also in the future. 26:56 And so, when we move on, it gives us another example through 26:58 the lesson of this week in regards to Mary, right, Mary 27:02 Magdalene and Mary Jesus's my mother on that Resurrection Day. 27:06 Join me please right there in the Book of Mark chapter 16. 27:08 I want to share something with you. 27:10 So again, it's talking about this personal testimony and now 27:13 it's looking into Mark chapter 16. 27:15 If you're there, go with me please to verse number 9. 27:19 Mark chapter 16, verse number 9. 27:21 Now, we know that they went to prepare, they went to embalm the 27:24 body of Jesus Christ. 27:26 It was Sunday morning, and as they go, it says in chapter 16 27:28 that they went and the angel tells them now he's not here 27:32 anymore, for what? 27:33 He has been resurrected. 27:35 And look at what it says in verse--in Mark chapter 16, verse 27:39 number 8. 27:40 "So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they 27:43 trembled and were amazed," right? 27:45 "And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid." 27:49 Now verse number 9, "Now when he rose early on the first day of 27:52 the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom we 27:55 had cast," what? 27:57 "Seven demons and she was--and she went and told those had been 28:00 with him as they mourned and wept." 28:03 Notice something, my loved ones. 28:05 It says here that it's talking about Mary Magdalene, and it 28:08 brings forth the fact that she had been--Jesus had cast out 28:10 seven demons from this woman. 28:13 Why do you think it brings up this concept? 28:15 Why do you think it presents the casting out of the seven demons? 28:18 Because I think it's looking back at the testimony, right, of 28:21 that moment, that encounter that she had with Jesus Christ when 28:24 she was freed again, right, from the seven demons that had her in 28:28 prostitution, that had her living in a complete carnal way 28:34 and completely ways I'm sure she was depressed. 28:37 I'm sure she was not happy as most situations of people that 28:40 are--that are succumbed in the--completely in the ways of 28:44 the world, and so what happens is that it mentions that Jesus 28:48 had saved her. 28:50 That was her past testimony, but now she has what? 28:53 She has more evidence to the power of God. 28:55 She can testify to the past when Jesus Christ took those seven 28:59 demons out, but now she is also, what? 29:02 She is giving present, she is getting fresh manna coming out 29:05 of that oven, fresh manna in regards to now not only has he 29:09 saved me, but he has also resurrected, right, that our 29:12 King, our Savior has been resurrected. 29:14 And so, she's also giving testimony and witness of her 29:17 past life and how that has helped her to be present for 29:21 this new testimony, this new witness to the power of God when 29:25 he resurrects Jesus Christ. 29:27 And so, it says in verse 10, "She went and told those who had 29:29 been with him, and they mourned and wept. 29:32 And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, 29:36 they did not believe." 29:38 So, it happens sometimes, my loved ones, when you're sharing 29:41 your testimony, when you're giving your testimony, that some 29:44 people might not be impressed. 29:46 Don't worry about it. 29:48 Our job is not to try to convince people, to 29:50 convict people. 29:51 That's the work of the Holy Spirit. 29:53 Our job is to be a faithful and true witness to give evidence to 29:55 the power of God that people can see that and that seed is going 29:59 to be implanted in their heart and that's how they're going to 30:02 be won over, my loved ones. 30:04 And so, again, talking about this past, talking about Mary 30:06 Magdalene in this sense, not only did she have a present 30:09 testimony, a present evidence to the power of God, and she 30:13 immediately, what did she do? 30:15 She was so excited, she went to tell the disciples, thinking 30:18 that they would be just as excited as they were, and they 30:20 were actually afraid. 30:22 But it's also pointing back to the past. 30:24 Why do I say this? 30:25 I remember when I was starting off in the church, my church in 30:28 New York City, in Dyckman, and on Wednesday nights was known as 30:32 prayer and testimony night, right, prayer and 30:35 testimony night. 30:37 And I remember that I would go to prayer and testimony night 30:39 expecting to hear testimonies, right, just to hear evidence of 30:42 the power of God manifested through the lives of my brothers 30:45 and sisters of the church. 30:48 And I remember that I would go there and all they would do 30:51 would be giving prayer requests, and thanking God. 30:53 And don't get me wrong, there's a time for a prayer requests, 30:55 and there's a time for giving gratitude and thanks to God, but 30:59 the purpose specifically of this service was to give testimony. 31:02 And one thing that stood out to me is that people were not, very 31:05 few people, very few people would actually be 31:08 giving testimony. 31:09 I never forget that there was this older lady, right, God 31:12 bless her, and every Wednesday night, she would give the same 31:15 testimony I think it was for over 30 years. 31:18 She would always raise her hand, and the elder would call on 31:21 her, right? 31:23 And she would come and say, "Oh, you know, 30 years ago, I had 31:26 cancer, and God healed me from my cancer, and he saved me." 31:31 And pray, and everybody would say amen because everybody knew 31:34 because she would do the same thing. 31:36 And I was just a new convert, right? 31:38 I was just a baby in Christianity, and but everybody 31:41 else knew already. 31:43 It was kind of a joke of everybody that would go to 31:45 Wednesday night testimonies, and she would give away the 31:46 same testimony. 31:48 And here's my point, don't get me wrong, praise the Lord that 31:52 God healed her 30 years ago, amen, and that she can continue 31:54 to give witness to this. 31:56 But we want to make sure that we have fresh manna coming out of 31:59 that oven, amen? 32:00 We want to--we're not going to be biting on old, stale bread 32:04 from the past, which don't get me wrong, is powerful, right? 32:07 But we want to make sure that the way that we give strength to 32:10 that original miracle that God did, or strength to that 32:14 original testimony that God may have done when he started that 32:18 conversion process in us, is that we should be able to see 32:21 fresh manna today, amen. 32:23 We should be able to consistently be giving fresh 32:26 evidence, fresh power, and that again only can come from a 32:30 relationship with God. 32:32 When God told Abraham go, right, when God told Abraham what to 32:35 do, it says that Abraham believed God. 32:38 It didn't say that he believed in God. 32:41 It says that he believed God, why? 32:43 Because Abraham knew God. 32:45 Abraham had a personal relationship with God. 32:48 And so, when Abraham is going, following God, he's giving 32:52 witness and evidence to, who? 32:54 He's showing others by his obedience, by his surrender to 32:57 God, and by God guiding him and protecting him. 33:00 And not only Abraham, we know that all the patriarchs and 33:03 throughout the Bible and throughout Christianity, right? 33:05 We see this evidence, and that comes from a personal 33:08 relationship with God, again, that intimate relationship to 33:12 where you can say, "You know what, I know this 33:15 person," Right? 33:16 Right now President Donald Trump, Donald Trump is our 33:18 president, right? 33:20 I can't say I know Donald Trump. 33:21 I can say I know of Donald Trump, right, because I know who 33:24 he is, but he doesn't know who I am, right? 33:27 He doesn't know me, and I don't know him personally either. 33:30 I can only go by what I see him say, right? 33:33 But I don't have a personal relationship, so I cannot go and 33:36 give account of this person, why? 33:39 Because I don't know him. 33:40 But when we know God, right, when we know God, not only do we 33:43 know him, but God knows us and God, when that happens with that 33:47 relationship is that you are going to share God because when 33:51 you know him, you know the beauty, the character, you're 33:53 going to tell other people, right? 33:54 You tell other people about when they ask you for a reference, 33:56 right, or referrals, that's just basically giving--asking for an 34:00 account of the character of this person, and that's what we are 34:04 to do, my loved ones. 34:05 We are to share the character of God to others, to the world, to 34:09 share this. 34:10 There's a beautiful quote in "Desire of Ages" that says, "Our 34:13 confession of his faithfulness is heaven's chosen agency for 34:16 revealing Christ to the world. 34:18 We are to acknowledge his grace as made known through the holy 34:21 men of old, but that which is most effectual is a testimony of 34:25 our own personal experience. 34:28 We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves, the working 34:32 of a power that is divine." 34:35 It is something that is supernatural, right? 34:37 It is something that has no human explanation, the power of 34:40 God to change and transform us. 34:43 That's why in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18 it says that 34:46 when we're the unveiling the book, the mirror, right, the 34:50 Word of God, it says, We are then transformed, right, from 34:53 glory to glory. 34:55 So, when we contemplate the glory of God, when we know God 34:58 through His Word, as Jesus says, "You seek the Scriptures because 35:01 you think in them, that you have everlasting life, but they are 35:06 they which give testimony of me." 35:08 So, when we have that daily, intimate relationship with 35:11 Christ, when we get to know him, when we hear the promises and we 35:14 see how those promises have been fulfilled in the lives of other 35:17 people, and then we start to see those promises fulfilled in our 35:20 lives, we can just, we just can glorify Him, right? 35:23 Our minds are changed. 35:25 That means our character, our paradigms, right, the way we 35:28 think is changed, and we start to see God in a different light. 35:31 And by seeing God in a different light, by knowing God in a 35:34 different light, by having that relationship, the response, the 35:37 immediate response, is to tell others about this peace, this 35:41 joy, this freedom that you have experienced through the power 35:44 of God. 35:46 And so, in the lesson, it also tells us about the Book of 35:49 Acts, right? 35:51 And so, really the Book of Acts if you really notice it, my 35:54 loved ones, the Book of Acts is actually the book that witnesses 35:57 to the power of the Holy Spirit in that sense, to the ministry 36:01 of Jesus Christ, to the power of God, why? 36:04 Because remember, these same disciples that were all cowards 36:07 when they went to arrest Jesus Christ, and they all fled at 36:11 that right moment, what happened to them, my loved ones? 36:14 When you start to look through the Book of Acts, these men 36:16 became powerful, powerful witnesses to what? 36:20 To what God wanted to do. 36:22 They became powerful witnesses to that evidence, and it gives 36:25 us the example in Acts chapter 3 and chapter 4, right, about 36:29 John, the Apostle John and Peter, when they healed the man 36:33 that he was a paralytic, right, from his birth. 36:38 And it says that after they were healed, it says, then they have 36:43 to go before the courts and judges. 36:46 Go with me to Acts chapter 4. 36:48 Go with me to Acts chapter 4 because I think this context is 36:50 very, is very important in the sense of what they were doing 36:54 and where they were giving witnesses, right? 36:57 They had just healed this man, so this man is crying out to the 37:00 world, right? 37:02 It says he was leaping and jumping in Acts chapter 3. 37:03 He was so excited, and they were there in the temple. 37:06 And so, everybody was witnessing to this. 37:08 And look at what it says in Acts chapter 4, verse 1. 37:11 It says, "Then Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit returned from 37:14 the Jordan--" 37:16 I'm sorry, that's Luke. 37:18 I'm sorry, Acts chapter 1, Acts chapter 1, chapter 4, verse 37:22 number 1, here we go. 37:24 Acts chapter 4, verse number 1, look at what it says. 37:26 "Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain 37:29 of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly 37:33 disturbed that they taught the people and preached in 37:36 Jesus," what? 37:38 "The resurrection of the dead." 37:39 Now, jump with me to verse number 5, "And it came to pass, 37:41 on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as 37:44 well as Ananias the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, 37:48 and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were 37:52 gathered together at Jerusalem," right? 37:54 And what do they say? 37:56 "And they asked them, 'By what power or by what name have you 37:59 done this thing?' 38:01 " So, notice that they're being presented here to the highest 38:03 governmental authorities, religious authorities, of the 38:07 region, right, of the people. 38:09 You have the high priest, you have them there, and they're 38:12 giving what? 38:13 They're giving account of what? 38:15 Of the testimony, of the witness of that man that was just 38:16 healed, Peter and John are there doing what? 38:19 They're giving account and saying what? 38:21 This is the power of God. 38:23 Notice that they recognize that there was some power that was 38:26 working in them, right? 38:27 And so, they know that there's something interesting. 38:30 Go with me to verse number 13. 38:32 Watch what it says. 38:34 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived 38:37 that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. 38:41 And they realized that they had been with Jesus." 38:44 I know a lot of people sometimes they say, "Well, I can't give, I 38:47 can't give a personal testimony. 38:49 I don't have the eloquence as some speakers. 38:51 I don't have the education. 38:53 I don't have the credentials, right. 38:55 I didn't study theology. 38:56 I don't have like this background that other 38:59 people say." 39:00 Well, my loved ones, you don't have to worry about that because 39:02 that's not the most important thing. 39:04 The most important thing, my loved ones, is a surrendered 39:06 heart because that's what God wants to use. 39:09 That's the power of the Holy Spirit. 39:11 That's why he could not use the Pharisees and the priests of 39:13 those times because, what? 39:15 They were so educated, they were so--they thought they were so 39:18 self-righteous in regards to everything that they knew that 39:20 nobody can teach them. 39:22 And so Jesus says, "I'm going to I'm going to pass you guys. 39:24 I'm going to go to these men that I know are not going to 39:27 hold on to their education, not going to hold on to their 39:30 knowledge, not going to hold on to their position." 39:32 Are going to what? 39:33 "Are going to let me work." 39:35 And so, because they were uneducated and untrained, that 39:37 gave even more power, right, because they were--if you when 39:40 you study the Book of Acts and the rest of the gospels, they 39:43 were schooling, right, to the Pharisees and the doctors of the 39:49 law in the same way that Jesus was, right, that he wasn't--he 39:52 didn't go to any rabbinical school, per se, in as the 39:55 tradition would be. 39:58 And so, this is a powerful testimony again, to what? 40:00 To the power of God, God working with us. 40:03 Doesn't mean that it's not good to get an education, it doesn't 40:05 mean that it's not good to get training. 40:07 It doesn't mean that it's not good to learn, that's good. 40:10 But that, if it's not surrendered to--if it's not 40:13 given to a surrendered heart, to somebody that has completely 40:16 given in to God, then it's not worth it. 40:19 It actually becomes an impediment to the gospel. 40:21 And so, this is the witness that they were giving in regards 40:24 to that. 40:25 Look at what it says in verse number 14, "And seeing the man 40:28 who had been healed standing with them, they could say 40:31 nothing against it. 40:32 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, 40:35 they conferred among themselves, saying, 'What shall we do to 40:38 these men? 40:40 For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through 40:42 them is evident," Right, evidence, there it is, 40:45 "testimony to the all who dwell in Jerusalem and you cannot 40:50 deny it." 40:53 My loved ones, it is impossible to deny that evidence, the power 40:56 of somebody that is speaking truth, somebody that is standing 40:59 up for what is right, somebody, my loved ones, that is wanting 41:03 to give a faithful account to clear the waters, my loved ones. 41:07 And that's why it says in Acts chapter 4, verse 20, "For we 41:10 cannot but speak to things which we have seen and heard." 41:13 Notice they're saying, "We cannot stay quiet. 41:16 We cannot stay quiet to wonderful things that God has 41:20 done in us and the wonderful things that God is doing through 41:23 us," my loved ones. 41:24 And so, this is the witness. 41:26 That's why it says in Acts chapter 1, Jesus says, "You 41:28 shall be witnesses to all the world," right? 41:30 You will be martyrs, basically what the Word is saying, "They 41:33 will see that through your surrendered life, they will see 41:35 that through your giving over that you have surrendered 41:38 completely to me. 41:40 I am going to work through you and people will see that 41:42 manifestation," my loved ones, people will see that power, my 41:45 loved one. 41:47 And so, it's only genuine, authentic Christianity, my loved 41:49 ones, pure Christianity that can capture the attention of the 41:53 times, my loved ones. 41:55 Now there's so much chaos, now there's so much confusion, and, 41:58 my loved ones, it is we think that we have to do, oh, we have 42:01 to make our services interesting, we have to use this 42:04 type of music, or we have to use this type of 42:06 entertaining service. 42:08 No, the gospel shall be preached through our testimony, says 42:11 Jesus in Matthew 24:14. 42:13 So, it's when people see genuine love, when they see the 42:17 character of Christ in us, that is what's going to draw them in, 42:20 that is what's going to bring them and they're going to see 42:23 that and that's what's going to win the world over. 42:26 It's not trying to impress people, it's trying to represent 42:28 the character of God, it's trying to humbly go and share 42:32 others and when you do, you cannot stay quiet, my loved 42:36 ones, right? 42:37 It's like when you're in love, right? 42:39 When you know when somebody is in love because you can tell 42:41 there's something different about you, right? 42:42 Your face is different, your expressions are different. 42:45 Now all of a sudden, you're so happy, you're so glittery, 42:47 you're changing your hair, you're whatever people are 42:50 doing, right? 42:52 You have a countenance and the person is also consistently 42:54 speaking about that person, right? 42:56 "Oh, because I just met somebody, and oh, this and 42:58 that," right? 43:00 And sometimes you're like "Ah, here we go again," right? 43:02 But in this context, in this state, my loved ones, no, it 43:04 says the beauty of the gospel, right? 43:06 It's that transformation that we can share with others. 43:09 And again, here's the problem, my loved ones, the problem is 43:12 is, what if I don't have anything to say? 43:14 Well, if I don't have anything to say, if I'm not seeing fresh 43:18 manna, if I don't have anything to share about God, my loved 43:20 ones, then that means that there is some type of disconnect 43:23 with God. 43:25 And so, we want to make sure that we're connected with God 43:27 always, that we're always seeking God, that we're always 43:29 with him so that he can continue to, that power continue to flow 43:32 consistently, not hold on to a 30-year-old testimony. 43:35 Don't get me wrong, is great, but we want to see that that 43:38 testimony has continued to grow and has continued to go deeper 43:41 and deeper. 43:43 We want to--God wants that to be--He wants us to be the 43:45 witnesses to His love and His power. 43:48 And so, it's interesting because in the in the study it talks 43:51 about Acts chapter 6 when Paul is in front of King 43:54 Agrippa, right? 43:56 And we won't read the whole thing because of time, but in 43:59 the lesson, it actually gives us, it breaks down Paul's 44:01 testimony in three parts. 44:04 It talks about Paul mentioned before he was, before he was 44:06 a Christian. 44:08 He talks about his encounter with Christ. 44:10 And he then he talks about, and then he's giving evidence to his 44:14 current life. 44:15 And so, sometimes people come to me and they say, "You know what? 44:18 I don't know how to give my testimony. 44:20 How do I give my testimony in a quick way?" 44:21 I want to share with you something, a very simple way 44:24 that you can prepare a short three-to-five-minute testimony 44:27 that you can prepare because sometimes, you know, there are 44:29 moments in life where you come across people, and you kind of 44:34 have that desire to share what God has done. 44:36 Try to reach that person, my loved ones. 44:38 Well, you always want to have, you want to have a 44:40 full testimony. 44:41 You want to develop a full testimony, right, so that in 44:43 some places, you go to a church, you go someplace where you have 44:46 time, you can develop and talk to the love of God. 44:48 But what about if you have a short time? 44:51 And I don't want to take this last couple of minutes and share 44:53 with you that we should follow the same pattern, but I want to 44:56 add a fourth part. 44:57 So number one, before Christ, write a sentence, write in one 45:00 sentence what God has done. 45:02 What were you before God? 45:04 Don't exaggerate sin, right? 45:08 Don't give sin. 45:11 Don't prop up sin, right? 45:13 Just keep it basic. 45:14 Number two, how did you--what happened when you knew Christ, 45:16 your conversion? 45:18 Number three, what happened after Christ, right, or what is 45:21 God doing currently in your life? 45:23 And number four is, what are your expectations for 45:25 the future? 45:26 One sentence, right, one sentence and I'll share mines 45:28 very quickly with you. 45:30 So number one, before Christ. 45:32 Well, you know, my loved ones, before I came to Christ, I was 45:34 living in all the ways of the world. 45:36 I was following the ways of the flesh. 45:39 I was doing all the wrong things, with all the wrong 45:42 people, in all the wrong places, right, I was depressed, 45:45 even suicidal. 45:47 Number two, but at that moment when I hit rock bottom is when I 45:50 looked up and I gave God a chance. 45:53 And I came and I let Jesus Christ come into my heart, and I 45:57 started my relationship with him, my loved ones. 45:59 Number three, currently that testimony, it's been 12 years 46:03 since I gave my life over to Jesus Christ, and my loved ones, 46:06 I have never had so much joy, so much peace, so much desire to 46:11 live so much purpose, so much reason, right? 46:14 We're trying to point back to that past and to see how this is 46:17 being transformed. 46:19 I'm just sharing with you as I'm explaining to you, right? 46:21 And so, we want to focus on what is your life now since 46:23 that moment? 46:25 And number four, what is the future? 46:27 You know what? 46:28 I'm really looking forward to what God has for me, because I 46:30 know this is just the beginning. 46:32 There's so many things that need to be done, so many people that 46:33 need to be reached, Christ. 46:35 And so, I'm excited and waiting to see what plan God has for 46:38 my life. 46:39 Four simple points, four sentences, right? 46:42 You can say I took a little bit longer because I was explaining 46:44 in between, but that can be the power of your testimony in 46:47 three, four, five minutes if you have to. 46:50 If you have more time, amen, but you should be able to share. 46:53 And sometimes I come across Christians that say, "Oh, I was 46:56 raised a Christian, right. 46:58 I don't have this powerful testimony like a lot of people 47:01 have that they were taken out of drugs, or they were gangs, or 47:04 one of those things, or they were prostitutes. 47:06 I don't have a witness like that." 47:08 But you know what? 47:09 Nobody is born a Christian. 47:11 We might be born in a Christian family, right, but to be a 47:13 Christian, you have to make decision and that decision has 47:15 to be made. 47:18 There has to be a moment in your life where you know that your 47:21 life has been changed or transformed, right? 47:23 If we're seeing in our Christian walk, if we're seeing in our 47:26 Christian life, that things are just the same, that nothing is 47:29 changing, my loved ones, again, there's a problem there. 47:31 There's a disconnect. 47:32 We should be able, whether we came from the ways of the world 47:36 or whether we come from Christian family, to give 47:38 evidence, to give testimony, to the power of God, to show 47:41 them, right? 47:43 And I know lots of Christians that were raised in Christian 47:44 families, and they talk about it. 47:46 They said, "You know what? 47:48 I was just going through t routine, I was this nominal 47:49 Christian, I, no, no power whatsoever." 47:52 And then it wasn't sometimes until they hit rock bottom that 47:55 they hold on to that faith of their father's and then they 47:58 give evidence and power to the testimony. 48:01 So, you must have it, right? 48:03 You must have that connection, you must have that experience 48:06 with God, to be able to testify and give witness, evidence of 48:09 the love of God, you have to know Him, you have to relate to 48:12 Him, you have to spend time with Him so that He can show His 48:15 love, His grace, His mercy, his power to others. 48:21 And so, I invite you that if you don't have anything to say, if 48:24 you don't have anything new to say really, right, then I invite 48:27 you to say, "God, I want to be a powerful witness. 48:30 I want to be a powerful testimony to others. 48:33 I want others to see your love in me, your grace, your power. 48:36 I want to be that instrument. 48:39 I want to be that ambassador, and I want to go tell others and 48:42 share others through my life, through my character, through my 48:45 words, that they may see the power in you," my loved ones. 48:48 And that's what it means, my loved ones, to live a life of 48:51 testimony, a life of witnesses is that we have this connection 48:54 with God, and we are sharing the love of God with others. 48:56 And when that happens, it's attractive. 48:59 It's winsome, it's beautiful, and people are going to be drawn 49:02 in as they see our lives, as they see what God has done with 49:05 us, and they're going to want to know more about the God that you 49:08 and I serve. 49:09 So, I invite you to have that opportunity, my loved ones, 49:11 to share. 49:13 Spend that time, one-on-one time with God, which is the key to 49:16 connection, prayer and study, daily devotional. 49:19 And if you go with the attitude of wanting to know God, and 49:21 wanting to share God, and wanting to have a deeper walk 49:24 with him, you will see, I promise you, God because it's 49:28 impossible for God to come into the life of somebody and for the 49:31 person to stay the same. 49:32 You are that instrument, you are that piece of evidence that God 49:35 wants to present, so I invite you to ask for that. 49:37 God bless you. 49:41 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 49:43 free resource. 49:45 To get your copy of today's free gift, simply text the key word 49:48 on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address shown on 49:52 your screen. 49:54 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 49:57 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, and most 50:00 important, to share it with others. 50:06 ♪♪♪ 50:15 Doug Batchelor: Friends, have you ever heard of the 50:17 bowhead whale? 50:18 This enormous leviathan is the second largest creature in 50:22 the world. 50:24 Dark and stocky, it roams the fertile arctic northern waters. 50:27 These massive creatures can be more than 65 feet long and weigh 50:32 more than 75 tons, that's heavier than the space shuttle. 50:37 Yet in spite of their titanic size, they're able to leap 50:40 entirely out of the water. 50:43 Can you say belly flop? 50:45 The bowhead whale gets its name from its bow-shaped skull, and 50:49 they've got one ginormous noggin. 50:52 Matter of fact, their heads are about 40% of their body size, 50:55 which comes in handy when you find out how they use 50:57 their heads. 50:59 They've got very thick skulls. 51:01 Sometimes they get trapped under the surface, and they use their 51:03 heads to ram the ice. 51:06 They can break a breathing hole in the ice that is a 51:08 foot-and-a-half thick. 51:10 Friends, you have to just imagine what it would be like to 51:12 be walking around on the Arctic ice and all of a sudden have the 51:16 ground beneath you cracked and split and rise as one of these 51:20 sea monsters pushes its head up to breathe for the first time in 51:24 90 minutes. 51:26 Because bowheads make their home in the coldest part of our 51:28 world, they have the thickest blubber of any whale. 51:30 But this, plus their friendly and curious nature, made them 51:34 prime targets when the European whalers discovered the bowheads. 51:38 They hunted them nearly to extinction. 51:42 Fortunately, because of conservation efforts, we've 51:45 slowly seen their numbers begin to increase since the '60s. 51:48 One of the most amazing facts about the bowhead whale is 51:51 its longevity. 51:53 Scientists have discovered, by evaluating harpoon tips found in 51:57 their skull and examining their eye tissue, there are bowhead 52:00 whales out there that are probably over 200 years old. 52:05 You realize that means there are bowhead whales swimming the 52:08 oceans right now that were alive before Abraham Lincoln was 52:12 elected president. 52:14 Can you imagine that? 52:16 Among the other amazing mega facts about the bowhead whale, 52:19 is its mega mouth. 52:21 They have the largest mouth of any in the animal kingdom, and 52:25 when they open their pie hole full extended, it's large enough 52:28 to park a medium-sized SUV inside. 52:31 Yet in spite of the fact they've got such big mouths, they 52:34 survive by eating the very smallest creatures in the ocean, 52:37 plankton, krill, and other microscopic animals. 52:41 Friends, I'm always amazed by the creatures God has made. 52:45 This bowhead whale is able to dive to the deepest oceans. 52:48 They can break through the ice and move mountains with their 52:51 head and completely leave the water and fly through the air, 52:54 and yet they do all that by gaining strength from almost 52:56 microscopic organisms, helps us remember that we survive through 53:01 the little promises in God's Word. 53:04 Jesus, when tempted by the devil, he quoted just a few 53:07 little verses, and he sent the enemy running. 53:10 You can also have that same durability and long life as the 53:13 bowhead whale by trusting in God's Word and His promises. 53:16 ♪♪♪ 53:29 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 53:38 male: I'd have to say that I had a wonderful childhood 53:40 growing up. 53:42 I went to a private school up until the seventh grade, till 53:45 junior high. 53:46 I believe it was at that point in junior high that my life 53:50 began to change. 53:52 Going from a Christian education into a public school was a 53:55 big difference. 53:57 There was a lot of secular influence, peer pressure. 54:01 And for me it was the music. 54:04 I started listening to heavy metal music. 54:06 Every concert that would come to town, I was there. 54:09 That had a profound effect on me. 54:11 I started using marijuana, probably at the age of 14. 54:17 I started drinking, using a lot of cocaine, and that led to 54:21 methamphetamine, and that completely changed my life. 54:24 I dropped out of high school my sophomore year and went to work. 54:30 I would get off of work, and we'd go into the bar until 54:33 two o'clock in the morning. 54:35 I'd get back up at five and I'd go back through it again six, 54:38 seven days a week. 54:42 At the age of 20, I lost my dad to a heart attack. 54:47 I didn't know how to handle the loss, so I tried to mask my pain 54:51 with alcohol and drugs. 54:54 I got three DUI's in one year. 54:56 I was arrested, and they gave me a year in the county jail. 55:00 And the moment I got out, I went back to doing the same thing, 55:04 hanging with the same people, the same crowd. 55:07 I was involved in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident, and I was 55:10 charged with a felony DUI. 55:13 Even though at the time of the accident, I was not under the 55:15 influence, I still had methamphetamine in my system. 55:18 At my sentencing day, I left the courtroom, and I didn't come 55:22 back, and that left me with a felony warrant. 55:25 And I'd fallen asleep at a park, and I woke up to a park ranger 55:31 knocking on my window. 55:34 I knew I was wanted, and I knew that I was not gonna just turn 55:37 myself in. 55:39 I turned to him and I'd made the comment, "Not today," and I 55:42 took off. 55:44 I led five different agencies on about a 35-minute chase, and I 55:48 realized at that point that I wasn't going to get away and 55:51 that this was going to end up either me killing somebody 55:54 or myself. 55:57 And so, I made a decision to pull over. 55:59 At that point, everything that I had, I lost. 56:03 I was sentenced to two years in state prison and it was there 56:07 that God got a hold of me and it was through Amazing 56:13 Facts Ministries. 56:15 I remember listening on my radio Pastor Doug Batchelor. 56:19 I wanted to get to know the Bible. 56:21 I wanted to know God. 56:23 And so, my Aunt Marilyn sent me the Amazing Fact study guides, 56:28 and it was there that my relationship with Christ began. 56:35 I had called home and I knew my mother wasn't doing well, but I 56:41 didn't realize that she had cancer. 56:45 She had about a 30% chance of making it through her surgery. 56:51 She had told the doctors that she was not going to have chemo, 56:54 and she was not going to have radiation, that if her God was 56:56 going to save her, then He would save her. 56:59 I remember hanging up the phone to what I thought was my last 57:03 conversation with my mom. 57:07 I turned around, I got down on my knees, and I prayed to God. 57:12 I said, "God, if you're there, please save my mother, and 57:16 wherever you lead me in life, whatever you want me to do, I 57:20 am yours." 57:22 And I had a feeling of such peace that I knew that my mother 57:26 was going to be okay and that my life was going to change. 57:31 There are no words that I can adequately express to Amazing 57:35 Facts and to Pastor Doug to say thank you. 57:38 To all those people who support the ministry, I am a product of 57:41 your support. 57:44 My life has changed because of this ministry, and I thank you 57:48 from the bottom of my heart. 57:53 ♪♪♪ 58:03 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-07-03