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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:36 We'd like to welcome you to, "Sabbath School Study Hour," 00:39 coming to you here from the Granite Bay 00:40 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:43 We'd like to welcome our many online members who are tuning in 00:46 and those who are watching, wherever you might be, 00:48 whether you're in North America, or maybe you're watching us 00:51 on the Internet outside of North America. 00:53 Perhaps you're participating in this service 00:55 several weeks later, and you're doing the lesson, 00:58 we'd like to welcome all of you. 01:00 Our lesson today is lesson number nine in the series 01:03 of studies dealing with the book of Isaiah, 01:06 and today is particular important. 01:08 It's called "To Serve and to Save." 01:10 That is the title of our lesson. 01:12 Now, if you don't have a copy of the Sabbath School lesson, 01:14 we want to encourage you to go online, 01:16 and you can download a copy of the lesson. 01:18 You can visit a local Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:20 You can ask for a copy of the quarterly, 01:23 the lesson guide, and you're able to study along with us. 01:26 Well, before we get to our study, 01:28 we always like to begin by lifting our voices in song, 01:30 and so for those of you at home, you're welcome to join us. 01:33 We're going to be singing that well-known hymn "Amazing Grace." 01:37 It's hymn number 108 in the hymn book, 01:40 and I think we're going to be doing three of the verses. 01:44 ♪♪♪ 01:56 ♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ 02:04 ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ 02:12 ♪ I once was lost, but now am found ♪ 02:19 ♪ was blind, but now I see ♪ 02:28 ♪ The Lord has promised good to me ♪ 02:35 ♪ His word my hope secures ♪ 02:43 ♪ He will my shield and portion be ♪ 02:50 ♪ as long as life endures ♪ 02:59 ♪ When we've been there 10,000 years ♪ 03:06 ♪ bright shining as the sun ♪ 03:14 ♪ we've no less days to sing God's praise ♪ 03:22 ♪ than when we first begun ♪♪ 03:33 Jean: Let us bow his prayer. 03:35 Dear Father, once again, we are so grateful that we're able 03:37 to gather in Your presence and invite Your Spirit to come 03:41 and teach us as we open up Your Word. 03:44 And so, Father, we invite You to draw close to us. 03:46 Give us understanding. 03:48 It's such an important lesson, such an important book 03:50 that we are studying. 03:52 So we ask Your special blessing, Lord. 03:53 Be with those who are listening or watching wherever 03:55 they might be, and we ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 03:59 Our lesson today is going to be brought to us by Pastor Doug. 04:05 Doug Batchelor: Good morning. 04:06 We are continuing in our study on the book of Isaiah. 04:10 We want to welcome everybody. 04:12 And today we're going to be dealing with lesson number nine, 04:15 and the title of that lesson is "To Serve and to Save." 04:21 And we have a memory verse, and the memory verse 04:24 is from Isaiah chapter 41. 04:26 I'm sorry. 04:28 Isaiah chapter 42, verse 1, and if you have that, 04:31 you're welcome to say it with me. 04:33 For those that are here and those that are home, 04:36 "Behold, My Servant whom I uphold, 04:39 My Elect One in whom My soul delights. 04:43 I put My Spirit upon Him. 04:46 He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles." 04:50 Now, our assignment today is to be studying a number of, 04:54 just, magnificent chapters from the book of Isaiah, 04:57 and that would be Isaiah chapter 41, 05:00 all of chapter 41, Isaiah chapter 42, 05:03 verse 1 through 7, Isaiah chapter 44, 05:06 verse 26 through 45, and Isaiah chapter 45-- 05:12 through Isaiah chapter 45, verse 6, and Isaiah 45, 05:16 1 through 12. 05:17 And I know the writers of the lesson had a real challenge 05:20 because they've got the 66 chapters in Isaiah to study 05:23 in 13 weeks, and they tried to find out the best way 05:27 to break it up so that there were common themes 05:30 in the different sections that were being studied. 05:32 So there's a lot that's being said in Isaiah chapter 41. 05:37 Matter of fact, if you have your Bibles, 05:39 you may want to just join me and go to Isaiah 41. 05:43 We're going to read some sections there, 05:46 and I don't know if we'll get the whole chapter done-- 05:49 that talks about the servant. 05:53 Now, I should tell you probably right at the outset that 05:56 there's two things that are being spoken of in this theme. 06:03 One is that God is going to work through a human instrumentality 06:07 as a servant, to be a type of Christ, 06:12 and you'll find out later in the study that it's talking 06:14 about a Persian king named Cyrus. 06:17 And then it's also a type of God's people. 06:21 Jacob is the servant of God. 06:24 And then you're also going to be hearing about Christ, 06:27 who is the ultimate servant. 06:29 And so, you know, one of the wonderful things about prophecy 06:32 is there are different depths that you look at. 06:36 There's, like, layers to it. 06:38 Now, let me see if I can give you an example 06:40 of what I'm talking about before I even go to Isaiah 41. 06:43 If you have your Bibles, if you turn real quick to Isaiah 06:46 chapter 14, I think it's important to understand just, 06:50 kind of, this principle about why these prophets seem 06:53 to bounce around a little bit. 06:55 If you go to Isaiah chapter 14, and you'll see in the beginning 07:02 of Isaiah chapter 14, he has this prophecy. 07:05 You can go to, oh, let's say, verse 4, Isaiah 14:4, 07:11 "that you will take up this proverb against 07:13 the king of Babylon--" now, who is the proverb against? 07:17 King of Babylon, okay? 07:19 But then you get down to chapter 12, 07:23 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, 07:25 the son of the morning. 07:27 How you are cut down to the ground, 07:29 you who weakened the nations. 07:31 For you've said in your heart, 'I will ascend into heaven.'" 07:33 Now, who's this prophecy talking about? 07:36 The devil. 07:37 Well, you just said he's talkin' about the King of Babylon. 07:40 Let me give you another example. 07:42 If you go to Revelation chapter 12-- 07:46 you don't have to go there right away-- 07:47 and it says that, "The dragon stood before 07:50 the woman to devour the man child as soon as it was born." 07:54 Now, who is the dragon in Bible prophecy? 07:58 It's the devil. 07:59 But what kingdom did the devil use 08:02 to try to kill Jesus as a baby? 08:05 Rome. 08:07 All right, so, you see, it's talking about 08:08 the spiritual power behind this government, but God often-- 08:12 He can operate through governments, 08:14 and the devil can operate through governments. 08:17 If you go to Ezekiel, in Ezekiel chapter 28--you can go there 08:22 real quick, and you'll see it starts out--go to verse 11. 08:29 Ezekiel 28, verse 11, "Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, 08:33 saying, 'Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king 08:37 of Tyre--" okay, who is this oracle prophecy directed to? 08:42 King of Tyre. 08:44 That was up north. 08:45 It was the Phoenician kingdom. 08:48 But you get down to verse 14, "You were the anointed cherub 08:52 who covers." 08:53 And it says in verse 13, "You were in Eden 08:57 in the garden of God." 08:58 The king of Tyre was not there. 09:01 "Every precious stone was your covering." 09:04 Says, "It was prepared for you in the day you were created." 09:06 The king of Tyre was not created. 09:08 He's a human. He was born. 09:10 So who is this prophecy talking about? 09:13 It's talking about Lucifer, who is the power that was 09:16 manipulating the king of Tyre to persecute God's people. 09:19 And so the prophets often talk about earthly powers, 09:23 but then you can see they're being transported 09:25 behind the veil to see what is the spiritual power 09:29 that is behind these political powers. 09:33 Now, surprisingly, when we study Isaiah today, 09:36 we're going to see that the spiritual power behind 09:39 an earthly political power, a pagan political power, 09:43 it's not always the devil. 09:46 It's going to actually be the Lord who is working behind 09:49 a pagan political power to accomplish His purposes. 09:52 Okay, with that lengthy introduction, 09:54 I hope that made sense that sometimes these prophets, 09:56 you say, "Seems like he's bouncing around. 09:59 He's often going from the physical, 10:01 and then he's transported back to the spiritual, 10:04 behind the scenes. 10:06 All right, let's go back to Isaiah chapter 41, 10:09 and we're just going to read a few verses here. 10:11 "Keep silence--" this is verse 1, Isaiah 41:1, 10:14 "Keep silence before Me, O ye coastlands, 10:17 and let the people renew their strength. 10:19 Let them come near, then let them speak. 10:22 Let them come near together for judgment. 10:24 Who raised up one from the east? 10:27 Who in righteousness called him to His feet? 10:30 Who gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? 10:34 Who gave them as the dust to his sword, 10:36 a driven stubble to his bow?" 10:39 He's talking about this power. 10:40 Now here we believe-- he spends several chapters, 10:42 and he's talking about the Persian king 10:45 who will overthrow their enemies. 10:48 He comes from the east. 10:50 He conquers Babylon that has oppressed 10:51 and destroyed Jerusalem, and this Persian king is Cyrus. 10:56 He is a type of Christ-- Christ, who is the King 11:00 who comes from the east. 11:03 And so it leads up and, you know, 11:05 later it'll mention him by name as you get closer. 11:10 It says that, verse 3, "Who pursued them, 11:12 and passed safely by the way that he had not gone 11:15 with his feet? 11:17 Who has performed it and done it, 11:18 calling the generations from the beginning? 11:20 'I am the Lord. 11:22 I am the first, and I am the last.'" 11:24 Do you find a place in Revelation 11:25 where you find that term? 11:28 It's when Jesus is called, 11:30 "from everlasting to everlasting, 11:31 the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last." 11:34 That means as far as back as you can go in the back of history 11:38 and as far forward as you can ever go in the forward 11:41 that you never reach the end of God. 11:43 He is eternal from everlasting to everlasting. 11:47 He says, "I am He." 11:49 Verse 5, "The coastlands saw it and feared. 11:52 The ends of the earth were afraid. 11:53 They drew near, and they came. 11:55 Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, 11:57 'Be of good courage.' 11:59 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith, 12:02 and he who smooths with the hammer inspired him 12:04 who strikes the anvil, saying, 'Is it ready for the soldering.' 12:08 Then he fastened it with pegs, that it might not totter." 12:10 He's talking about the nations that turn to their idols. 12:13 "But you, Israel--" contrasted to these pagan nations-- 12:18 "you are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen--" 12:22 now why does God call Jacob, Israel, the servant of God? 12:31 You're going to find that a lot of things that-- 12:33 a lot of titles that God has for His people, Israel, 12:37 are also titles for Christ Himself. 12:40 Israel is called a servant. 12:41 When Moses came to the Pharaoh-- 12:45 and if you look in Exodus chapter 7, verse 16, He says, 12:50 "Let My people go, that they may serve Me." 12:56 Why does God save us? 12:58 So that we could go on an all-expenses-paid vacation? 13:04 Why does He save us? 13:06 We are ultimately saved to serve. 13:09 It says in Exodus 19:6, "You shall be to Me a kingdom 13:13 of priests and a holy nation." 13:16 Is a priest a person who just relaxes, 13:18 or is a priest busy in making atonement? 13:21 He's a mediator. 13:23 He's bringing people to God. 13:24 And we're to be a nation of people, kings and priests, 13:27 that are bringing people to God, that are defending others. 13:31 You look again in Isaiah 44:1, "Hear now, Jacob, My servant, 13:35 Israel, whom I have chosen." 13:37 Was Jacob brought out of Egypt? 13:41 Do you remember reading in Matthew where Jesus-- 13:44 did He spent some time in Egypt? 13:46 And God has this prophecy that says, 13:48 "Out of Egypt I have called My Son." 13:52 Not only is that true that Jesus was called out of Egypt, 13:55 Jacob was called out of Egypt. 13:58 And you read Isaiah 41, verse 8, "But you, Israel, My servant, 14:06 Jacob, whom I have chosen, 14:08 the offspring of My friend Abraham." 14:11 Now, Jesus reminds us, if you look in Matthew chapter 23, 14:16 verse 11, "He who is greatest among you will be your servant." 14:23 You look in Matthew 20, verse 27, 14:25 "And whoever desires to be first among you, 14:28 let him be your slave, just the Son of Man did not come to be 14:32 served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." 14:37 So in the same way He saved Israel, 14:41 Jacob, to serve--and Jesus is an example of one 14:44 who is among us to serve-- why are Christians saved? 14:48 To serve. 14:51 Does that diminish our happiness, 14:55 or does the real happiness come from service? 14:58 You know, I remember reading this report a few years ago 15:03 that, after Hurricane Katrina, a number of Christian churches 15:07 basically sent missionary teams to go help rebuild 15:11 different communities and facilities and infrastructure, 15:14 and it was amazing how many of the families 15:17 and the contractors that had donated this time, 15:19 they said, "This was the best vacation of our life. 15:24 We took our families to serve." 15:27 You know, I found that out in my own life. 15:29 Karen and I, we've traveled many times, 15:31 many parts of the world to do different, you know, 15:33 mission projects, evangelistic programs, 15:35 camp meetings, whatever, and sometimes 15:39 we go to exotic countries, and it's great. 15:41 We find, whenever we go somewhere to do 15:43 some mission work, we have our best vacation. 15:49 We went to Roatan years ago to-- 15:50 we did both an evangelistic meeting, 15:53 and we helped Maranatha in building 15:55 some Sabbath School rooms, but we got in some spare time 15:57 diving and spending some time for the people. 16:00 That was a great trip. 16:03 And then we said, "We're going to take a pure vacation, 16:06 no preaching, no responsibilities." 16:08 You know, I won't tell you who said it, but I've heard, 16:10 "Doug, every time you go somewhere, 16:11 you always have to preach." 16:13 It'd be nice if we just went on a vacation 16:14 with no responsibilities. 16:16 So we did that. 16:18 Went to Hawaii--rained every day we were there. 16:23 Matter of fact, it was historic rain. 16:26 It rained every day in Hawaii for 40 days, 16:29 including every day we were there. 16:32 We went to the beach in the rain anyway, 16:33 but we thought, "How much more fun we have when we take 16:37 the family, and we go do a mission project. 16:40 And so, you know, Jesus said, "It's more blessed to give 16:43 than receive," and if we look upon service as a blessing, 16:50 that's where you find your greatest happiness. 16:53 "He who seeks to save his life will lose it." 16:56 It'll rain every day of your vacation. 16:59 "But he who forsakes his life--" you give your life to Christ-- 17:02 "that's when you find it." 17:03 That's when you get the greatest blessing. 17:05 So we, like Israel, like Christ, our purpose in life 17:10 is to be His servants. 17:12 I remember--and this is a great message for churches, 17:16 you know? 17:17 A lot of people that come to church, 17:19 come, they sit, they try to just soak it up. 17:22 They may bring their offering, and then they leave, 17:25 and you don't hear from them again for another week. 17:27 They say, "Well, I kind of put in my time. 17:29 I gave my offering." 17:31 But they're not really involved in service. 17:35 And, you know, God has really called us to serve. 17:38 You've heard the statistics before that 80% of the work 17:43 in any church is done by 20% of the people. 17:48 You know, that's true. 17:50 Eighty percent is usually done by twenty percent. 17:54 Do you know, 80% of the giving is usually done by 20% 17:58 of the people. 18:00 Are you aware that 20% of the carpet in your house 18:02 gets 80% of the traffic? 18:07 And I take that a different direction. 18:08 It's called the 80-20 rule. 18:09 It's true in many areas of life. 18:12 You ever notice that? 18:14 Your carpet, most of your carpets really good 18:16 'cause you don't walk on it, but you have trails. 18:18 Twenty percent of it, you'll wear out. 18:20 Well, that's kind of the way it is in life. 18:22 It seems like there's always 20% of the people 18:25 doing 80% of the work. 18:27 I heard a story one time, years ago, 18:29 this man was waiting for a stagecoach to take him 18:32 from one city to another in the West, and he went to the office 18:35 where they were selling the tickets, and it said, 18:39 "First class, $1, second-class ticket 50 cents, 18:44 third class ticket, 25 cents. 18:47 And he looked out the door, and he saw the stagecoach 18:49 was just arriving, and all three groups, first class, 18:52 second class, third class, climbed out of the same cabin 18:55 and had the same seats. 18:57 He thought, "Well, I'm dumb, but I'm not stupid. 18:59 I'm going to get a third-class ticket." 19:01 He thought he was pretty smart and he saved a lot of money. 19:03 So he got on board, and he's riding along, 19:05 and he's looking at this fellow. 19:06 He's got a first-class ticket, and he's thinking, 19:08 "Hah, he's not very bright." 19:10 He said, "He paid a dollar. I paid 25 cents. 19:12 We're getting to the same place. 19:14 We're riding in the same coach. 19:16 I don't know how they can do that"-- 19:17 until they came to the first steep hill, 19:21 and they stagecoach driver, he said, 19:23 "Okay, second-class passengers, get out and walk. 19:28 First-class passengers, remain seated. 19:31 Third-class passengers, get out and push." 19:38 Problem in most churches is we're full of first-class 19:40 passengers, hah-ha. 19:44 We need more third-class passengers that are willing 19:47 to get out and push, amen? 19:50 You know, Paul, in Romans chapter 1, 19:52 he refers to himself as the servant of Jesus Christ. 19:57 Matter of fact, in several of his letters, 19:58 he refers to himself as a servant. 20:00 Matter of fact, in some of your versions, 20:02 it'll actually say, "Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ." 20:07 Now, in the Bible, you know, now we think of people as employees. 20:14 You've got the boss, and then you've got the employee, 20:16 but in Bible times, those who served were not employees. 20:20 It was a whole different mind-set. 20:22 You didn't punch hours and have all these rights 20:24 and all these safety measures, and, you know, 20:27 it wasn't all for your convenience. 20:28 You really were at the beck and call of your master 20:30 24 hours a day. 20:33 And so, when we talk about serving the Lord, 20:37 you don't punch a clock. 20:42 Sometimes as I'm traveling between one speaking engagement 20:44 and another speaking engagement, I might be tired, 20:48 and I'll get on the plane, and I'll think, 20:51 "Well, I hope nobody sits in this seat next to me so that 20:55 I can have a little more room to spread out and maybe do 20:58 some writing or reading," and then someone will sit down 21:03 next to me, and I'll hear a little voice say, 21:05 "Doug, maybe you should witness to him. 21:08 Strike up a conversation." 21:09 And I'll think, "But Lord, I'm off duty." 21:13 I'm going from--I'm a pastor, and I'm going 21:15 from one speaking occasion to another speaking occasion, 21:18 and when I get there, then I'll be back on duty. 21:21 And God says, "You're never off duty. 21:25 You're My servant. 21:27 And, you know, you're to serve Me 21:28 whenever an opportunity presents itself." 21:31 So--and that's the way it should be with a Christian. 21:34 We don't say when we leave church, 21:35 "Okay, I'm off the clock now," right? 21:39 Matter of fact, that's when you really on the clock. 21:41 I remember seeing this church that you drove onto the church 21:47 premises, and it said-- it had a sign. 21:50 It said, "Enter to learn," and then, as you left, 21:54 it said, "Leave to serve." 21:56 I know another church that, as people drove out-- 21:58 we might do this. 21:59 It's a good idea. 22:01 As they left the parking lot, there's a bit sign that said, 22:03 "You are now entering the mission field." 22:06 And it kind of reminded everybody 22:08 that your work really begins. 22:10 You're here to kind of worship and learn, 22:11 and then you leave, and you are in the mission field. 22:14 You know, sometimes, even in the church 22:15 you're in the mission field, right? 22:17 But I think that just helps keep it in our minds 22:19 that we are called to serve. 22:22 It's not just about saving ourselves. 22:25 So, Isaiah often identifies God's people as his servants. 22:34 Now go to chapter 42. 22:36 I'm going to read the first six verses here. 22:38 I think our lesson is telling us first seven verses. 22:41 "Behold, My Servant whom I uphold, 22:45 My Elect One in whom My soul delights." 22:48 Now, how many of you, in your Bibles, 22:50 when you read verse 1, of Isaiah 42, 22:53 the word "Servant" is capitalized? 22:57 And it says, "My Elect One." 23:00 It says, "Elect One" is capitalized. 23:03 Why is that? 23:05 Who is that Servant? 23:06 That means it's a proper name. This is a special one. 23:09 This is a prophecy about Jesus. 23:12 So you notice, chapter 41, it says, 23:13 "Isaac, Jacob, My servant," and talks about Abraham His servant. 23:19 Here it says, "Behold, My Servant," 23:21 it's talking about the Messiah. 23:23 "I put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring forth justice 23:28 to the Gentiles. 23:29 He will not cry out, or raise His voice, 23:32 nor cause His voice to be heard in the street." 23:35 Matthew actually refers to this passage 23:39 in one of his prophecies, saying that, you know, 23:41 He would not make a stir. 23:43 Jesus often, healed a person, and then, 23:45 He wouldn't say anything about it. 23:47 Look in Matthew chapter 12, verse 14, and just-- 23:50 so you can see that, if you have any doubts 23:53 about who this is, the apostles tell us who this is. 23:56 Matthew 12, verse 14, "Then the Pharisees went out 23:59 and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 24:02 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. 24:05 And great multitudes followed Him, 24:07 and He healed them all. 24:09 Yet He warned them not to make Him known--" 24:12 how often did Jesus heal somebody and say, 24:14 "Now, don't tell anybody"? 24:16 Like that man who was born blind-- 24:18 not the man who was born blind. 24:20 That's the sermon later today. 24:22 The man who was full of leprosy. 24:24 Jesus healed him, and He said, 24:25 "Now, don't say anything." 24:26 So often, Jesus would heal a person, 24:28 even some of the blind people, and He'd say, 24:30 "Don't say anything." 24:31 Why did He do that? 24:33 Well, one, the--too much notoriety was going to hinder 24:37 His work, and the other was just the meekness of Christ. 24:40 Going on here, it says here in Matthew chapter 12, 24:44 "He healed them all. 24:45 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 24:48 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet 24:52 Isaiah, saying, 'Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, 24:55 My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased. 24:58 I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice 25:01 to the Gentiles. 25:03 He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear 25:06 His voice in the street. 25:08 A bruised reed He will not break, 25:10 and smoking flax He will not quench, 25:12 till He has sent forth justice to victory, 25:15 and in His name the Gentiles will trust.'" 25:18 This is a very vivid prophecy. 25:21 What does it mean when it says there in Isaiah chapter 42, 25:25 "A bruised reed he will break"? 25:29 And a little piece of grass, it might be bent a little bit, 25:33 but He won't snap it off. 25:35 He didn't want to do anything to discourage anybody. 25:39 He was tenderhearted. 25:40 "Smoking flax He will not quench." 25:43 You know, as they sometimes carried fire from place 25:46 to place, they did not have matches in Bible times, 25:49 and they would get a piece of smoking flax, 25:51 and they would keep it smoldering to get 25:53 to the next place where they'd start a fire. 25:55 Because I don't know if you've ever tried to start a fire, 25:57 rubbing wood together, you know, you hear Boy Scouts can do that. 26:03 It is really hard. 26:05 You work up a sweat, and they didn't always have 26:07 a steel and a flint, and it wasn't always easy, 26:09 and they would try to keep some smoking flax going. 26:12 So the idea of "smoking flax He would not quench," 26:14 it means He will not discourage the flame of hope in any heart. 26:18 He will not take a little bruised reed and bend it. 26:21 He cares about the poor and the weak. 26:24 He cared about the sinners and those who were discouraged. 26:29 "He will bring forth justice for truth. 26:31 He will not fail or be discouraged--" 26:35 even though He encountered so much opposition-- 26:38 "till He has established justice in the earth, 26:41 and the coastlands--" meaning the Gentiles-- 26:45 "will wait for His law." 26:46 So this is one of the prophecies that the Messiah-- 26:48 His ministry was not just for the Jews, 26:52 but it was principally that He was going 26:53 to then take the message-- the Jews were to be 26:56 a nation of kings and priests. 26:57 Kings and priests for who? 26:59 They were going to be a nation of priests to present the Word 27:01 to the Gentiles, the whole world, 27:04 in other words. 27:05 And so this is just one of those vivid prophecies. 27:07 "And the coastlands shall wait for His law. 27:11 Thus says God--" I'm in Isaiah 42, verse 5-- 27:15 "the Lord, who created the heavens and who stretched 27:18 them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes 27:22 from it, who gives breath to the people on it, 27:25 and spirit to those who walk on it: 27:27 'I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, 27:30 and I will hold Your hand. 27:32 I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, 27:35 as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, 27:40 to bring the prisoners out from the prison, 27:42 and those who sit in darkness from the prison house.'" 27:46 Now does that sound familiar? 27:49 If you look in Isaiah chapter 61, 27:53 when Jesus began His ministry, 27:56 He quoted from a very similar passage. 27:58 I forgot I put it in my notes here. 28:00 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because the Lord 28:03 has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor. 28:06 He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 28:09 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 28:10 and the opening of prison to those who were bound." 28:14 What was the first sermon that Jesus preached when He stood up 28:16 in Nazareth, in His hometown church? 28:19 Isaiah 61, which is repeating the message from Isaiah 42. 28:24 Tells about the ministry of the Lord to proclaim justice, 28:28 to set the oppressed free, to liberate those 28:31 who were in prison. 28:33 All right, well, there's still a lot to cover here. 28:38 And it says that, "My Spirit will be upon Him." 28:42 I want you to notice that. 28:43 "Behold, My Servant whom I uphold. 28:45 I put My Spirit upon Him." 28:47 What does the word "Christ" mean? 28:51 When I was first going to church and I heard them refer 28:53 to Jesus Christ, it's like, "I'm Douglas Batchelor." 28:56 I thought his last name was "Christ." 28:58 I had no idea what that meant. 29:00 I had heard it all my life, but I just assumed it was 29:01 His name and that His father was "Joseph Christ," and His mother 29:08 was "Mary Christ," and He was "Jesus Christ." 29:11 The word "Christ," of course, is a title, 29:14 and it means "Anointed." 29:16 You know when they christen a ship? 29:21 "Christos," it means "to anoint" something. 29:24 When you christen a baby, they put a little water 29:26 on the baby's forehead. 29:27 When they splash a bottle of champagne or something 29:30 on a ship, they christen the ship. 29:32 It means "to anoint." 29:34 So it's simply the Greek word for "the anointed. 29:37 "Messiah," is the Hebrew word. 29:40 And so, when it says, "Jesus anointed," 29:42 anointed with what? 29:44 Martinelli's? 29:46 Champagne? Water? 29:47 Or the Holy Spirit? 29:50 It's talking about Jesus being anointed with the Holy Spirit, 29:53 and when was He anointed with the Holy Spirit? 29:58 Let me read to you here in Acts chapter 10, verse 37, 30:03 "that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout 30:06 all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which 30:10 John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth--" 30:15 now, there, that would be the closer to His name, 30:17 "Jesus of Nazareth." 30:19 "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit 30:23 and with power--" at His baptism, 30:25 the Spirit came down-- 30:27 "who went about doing good and healing all 30:30 who were oppressed by the devil, 30:31 for God was with Him." 30:33 So when we pray for the Holy Spirit, 30:34 what are you praying for? 30:36 A good feeling or power to go about doing good 30:39 and healing those who are oppressed by the devil? 30:42 Shouldn't our ministry be the same as Christ's? 30:44 Why does God give us the Holy Spirit? 30:46 "That you might be My witnesses." 30:47 Isn't that what Jesus said? 30:50 And so it's not just that we might say, 30:52 "I've got the power of the Sprit, 30:54 and I can now, you know, do miracles." 30:56 It's really to preach the Gospel, 30:59 to be witnesses for Christ. 31:01 All right, if we go to the next section here, 31:03 it says, the "Persian 'Messiah.'" 31:06 And you look in Isaiah chapter 44, 31:08 and we're going to start with verse 26. 31:11 This is really fascinating. 31:15 Here it's foretelling-- well, first of all, 31:18 Isaiah talks about the Babylonian captivity, 31:22 but if you go to Isaiah chapter 44, verse 26, 31:27 "Who confirms the word of His servant, 31:30 and performs the counsel of His messengers, 31:33 who says to Jerusalem, 'You will be inhabited,' 31:37 and to the cities of Judah, 'You will be built'--" 31:39 now, why would He be saying, 31:40 "Jerusalem, you'll be inhabited"? 31:41 You know, when Isaiah prophesied that, 31:43 Jerusalem was already inhabited. 31:46 See, Isaiah was looking beyond to the time when Jerusalem 31:48 is uninhabited because the Babylonians have destroyed 31:52 the temple and carried them all away. 31:55 And he, in advance--Isaiah is one of the most amazing prophets 31:59 because he prophesies very specific events 32:03 with such incredible precision, and this is an example of that. 32:07 He foretold that Babylon would destroy them, 32:10 destroy the temple. 32:11 They'd be carried away, but He said, 32:14 "Don't be discouraged when this happens." 32:16 Says, "'You will be inhabited.' 32:18 The city of Judah, 'You will be built. 32:20 You will raise up her waste places--'" 32:23 it's saying that they would all be wasted by the enemy-- 32:26 "Who says to the deep, 'Be dry,' 32:30 and to the rivers, 'And I will dry up your rivers,' 32:34 who says to Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd.'" 32:37 Now, Isaiah is making this prophecy 150 years 32:42 before King Cyrus-- now, when you say, "Cyrus," 32:45 there was one really great Persian king. 32:47 He was Cyrus II, technically. 32:50 If I say, "Nebuchadnezzar," we all think 32:52 about King Nebuchadnezzar, but did you know, 32:53 Nebuchadnezzar is really Nebuchadnezzar II? 32:56 Nebuchadnezzar the Great was really the second guy 32:58 by that name. 33:00 And so, Cyrus the Great, who had one of the most vast 33:06 empires--and, you know, I really enjoyed Bible study 33:09 when I got into these prophecies because I was good at history, 33:12 and I do remember studying the Persian Empire, 33:16 and I do remember studying the Babylonian Empire back 33:19 in New York City public school. 33:21 So when I read these things in the Bible, I said, 33:22 "Yeah, I remember that." 33:25 So he was this Persian general who conquered Babylon. 33:28 How did he conquer Babylon? 33:30 Well, he was--his beginnings were a little bit vague 33:36 in history. 33:37 Some of the historians contradict each other, 33:39 but Herodotus, the historian says that he was 33:42 from the Median mother. 33:44 The Medes and the Persians kind of joined together, 33:48 and he created an alliance, and he conquered Nabonidus, 33:53 who was the real king of Babylon at that time. 33:55 He had put his son Belshazzar in charge of things down in Babylon 34:00 while he was off in another kingdom. 34:02 That's why we think Belshazzar was king of Babylon. 34:05 He was actually the vice regent. 34:06 He was king while his father was gone. 34:09 Cyrus defeated Nabonidus, and then he made his way 34:12 towards Babylon. 34:14 Well, Babylon was an extremely large city 34:16 that Nebuchadnezzar had built. 34:18 Several walls, inner walls, outer walls. 34:21 One historian says the walls were 60 miles around, 34:24 though some historians contest that. 34:26 And that there were hundreds of feet high, 34:28 and there were outer walls and inner walls, 34:30 and they all agree with that. 34:31 They had outer gates and inner gates, 34:32 and the Euphrates River ran under the wall because 34:36 it was a main water supply for the city, and they had 34:38 the walls built down by-- the waters had flood stage, 34:42 so you couldn't really get under the walls, 34:44 and it irrigated the whole city, provided water 34:48 for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that Nebuchadnezzar 34:51 had built for his wife because she was from the mountains, 34:54 and Babylon was a great plain, and he said, 34:57 "I don't want you to be homesick for the mountains, 34:59 so I will build you a mountain." 35:01 And he built these man-made mountains and took all these 35:04 exotic plants and had clever engineers pumping water up 35:08 to irrigate waterfalls, and Herodotus said it was 35:11 one of the wonders of the ancient world. 35:13 So Babylon still had that glory even after Nebuchadnezzar died 35:17 during the time of Belshazzar. 35:19 So they had all the food in the city. 35:22 They had the storage of food, plus they could grow food 35:25 in the city, and so when Cyrus came with his very big army 35:29 and laid siege to show they were not afraid-- 35:31 and historians even support this. 35:33 It's not only in the Bible. It's in history. 35:35 Says that the king of Babylon had a great festival to show 35:38 they were not afraid to mock the Persians outside the gate. 35:43 Well, Cyrus made like he was withdrawing, 35:47 and he took his soldiers, and he went out of sight, 35:50 and he did something he had done once before. 35:52 He made these canals to divert the Euphrates River. 35:56 Left the dams in place, dug canals so that, 35:59 at the right moment, they would break the dams 36:01 and all the water normally in the river would run out 36:04 of the river, and the water level 36:07 would drop precipitously, and then they could send 36:11 some men under the walls to sneak in at night, 36:16 open the gates, and let the army in, and they did that. 36:20 The historians said that. 36:21 Now, the Euphrates River today is a shadow 36:25 of what it used to be. 36:27 In fact, something you might find interesting, 36:30 I've seen several articles-- right now, today, 36:33 you can read them--that says Euphrates River is running dry. 36:37 It's been drying up for years. 36:39 I've seen them talking about this for years 36:40 because Turkey has got, like, 40 dams up river. 36:44 They dammed the Euphrates. 36:45 They're taking all the water before it ever gets to Iraq, 36:48 and then they've had some droughts, 36:50 and there are so many places you could walk across the Euphrates 36:52 where, before, they used to fly ships up and down those waters. 36:57 It was a mighty river back then. 37:00 But, so Cyrus, he was able to divert it 37:03 into some dry channels. 37:04 They all broke these dirt dams. 37:06 The water all went running out. 37:08 His soldiers, just like clockwork, 37:10 they went under the walls. 37:12 The soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the inner city, 37:15 they had left the inner gates open because they thought, 37:17 "Well, we'll see when they come. We'll lock inner gates." 37:20 They were drunk from the festival. 37:22 This is the great feast that Belshazzar-- 37:24 you read about in Daniel chapter 5-- 37:26 they open the gates, they came in. 37:29 They stormed the city. 37:30 Matter of fact, the city was already taken by the time 37:33 Belshazzar heard in the banqueting hall 37:35 that they had breached the walls. 37:37 That's how quickly they took the city. 37:39 Now, when you read what happened in history, 37:42 and then you look at this, and it says, 37:44 "I will raise up her waste places. 37:46 Who says to the deep, 'Be dry.' And I will dry up your rivers.'" 37:51 That's what Cyrus did. 37:52 "Who says of Cyrus--" called him by name. 37:56 I mean, that's pretty amazing. 37:59 There were no Jews named Cyrus. 38:01 Calls him by name. 38:03 Says, "'He is My shepherd. 38:04 He will perform My pleasure,' saying to Jerusalem, 38:08 'You will be built.'" 38:09 Cyrus was the Persian king who let them go from Babylon, 38:12 back to Israel, who not only gave them permission to build, 38:15 he supported them in the project, 38:17 gave them funds to do it, and to the temple, 38:20 'Your foundation will be laid.'" 38:22 He was the one who initiated all these things happening. 38:25 What a amazing prophecy, and some people say, 38:28 "Well, yeah, that part of Isaiah was written afterward." 38:33 And there's some people that argue that, 38:35 "Everything from Isaiah chapter 39, on, 38:37 was written by a different Isaiah 38:39 because how could he possibly know all that with such detail?" 38:43 No, the scholars look at it in the theme, 38:46 the style of Isaiah. 38:49 There's nothing in Hebrew literature that shows 38:50 there are two Isaiahs. 38:52 It was one book. 38:54 In fact, if you go to the Dead Sea Scrolls, 38:56 all of this is one book, and they know 38:58 that it was written before the time of Christ. 39:02 Then you go to chapter 45. 39:04 Keep in mind, the chapters were not there. 39:05 They were added later. 39:07 So it's still continuing with the theme of Cyrus. 39:09 "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, 39:12 To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, 39:14 to subdue nations before him--" 39:16 Now, Cyrus, in a way, is a type of Christ, 39:20 and you might be thinking, "How can a pagan king 39:24 be a type of Jesus? 39:26 Well, he was a great liberator. 39:29 He freed them from their enemies. 39:31 He made it possible for them to go to the Promised Land. 39:34 And any leader who makes it possible for God's people 39:37 to go to the Promised Land who frees them from slavery 39:40 is in a way a type of Christ. 39:44 "Thus says the Lord to His anointed to Cyrus 39:47 whose right hand I have held." 39:49 God says, I'm the one who's giving you victory 39:51 over these other nations-- "to subdue nations before him, 39:55 to loose the armor of kings, to open before him 39:59 the double doors." 40:00 What did we learn? 40:02 That, when the general of Cyrus went under the walls 40:04 with his men, they had left the inner bronze gates open. 40:10 God had arranged that. 40:11 "So the gates will not be shut." 40:13 This is exactly what happened. 40:15 "I will go before you and make the crooked places straight." 40:19 Have you ever had a difficult day where God 40:21 all of a sudden straightened all the crooked places for you? 40:24 You say, "Lord, everything fell into place today? 40:26 So many things could've gone wrong, 40:28 but you made the crooked places straight. 40:30 You made my going easy." 40:32 God removed the obstacles. 40:35 "I will break in pieces the gates of bronze 40:37 and I will cut the bars of iron." 40:39 They also had bars of iron on the other gate. 40:42 "I will give you the treasures of darkness--" 40:44 all the treasures that Babylon had accumulated. 40:47 Now, Greece was the bronze kingdom. 40:52 Rome was the iron kingdom. 40:54 Persia was what metal? 40:57 Silver. 40:59 And what was Babylon? 41:01 Why was Babylon called the "Golden Kingdom"? 41:05 Because Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar 41:06 was the wealthiest. 41:09 They had great treasures. 41:12 Keep in mind, Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Egypt. 41:14 Do you know how much gold they found in the pyramids? 41:16 They've had a fabulous amount of gold in the city, 41:21 and so he says, "I'll give you the treasures of darkness--" 41:24 meaning the treasures that had been accumulated 41:26 by the Babylonians. 41:28 And, by the way, I'm in Isaiah chapter 45, verse 3, 41:32 "I'll give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden 41:34 riches of secret places, that you might know that I, 41:38 the Lord, am the One who has called you by name." 41:41 God is saying, "Cyrus, I am God who's calling you by name." 41:44 Now, what do you think it did for Cyrus when, 41:46 after he conquered Babylon, when Daniel, 41:50 or one of the other Hebrews, came up to him and said, 41:52 "You want to see something? 41:53 Let us show you this ancient scroll." 41:56 Here we got a scroll. 41:57 It's 150 years old, and look what our prophet said about you. 42:01 We'll translate it for you. 42:03 "And I am the One who called you by name." 42:04 Can you see why Cyrus would be friendly to the Jews?" 42:08 You know, it's interesting when you talk to-- 42:12 you read what the historians say about Cyrus, 42:14 and they try to figure out what his religion was. 42:18 And they say, "You know, we really can't figure out 42:20 his religion. 42:21 It doesn't seem clear that he was polytheistic or, 42:24 you know, one of the other Middle Easter religions, 42:29 and it could be that, when he saw that, 42:32 he started worshiping the God of Israel because he actually told 42:35 the priests when they went back to rebuild the city, 42:37 he said, "Build the temple for the Lord--" 42:40 and he uses the word Jehovah, and he said, 42:42 "And pray for the king." 42:45 And so, he had at least acknowledged the God of Israel. 42:50 "That you might know that I am the Lord--" 42:52 I'm, again, in Isaiah chapter 45, verse 3, 42:55 "That you might know that I'm the Lord who called you by name. 42:57 I am the God of Israel. 42:58 For Jacob My servant's sake, and for Israel My elect, 43:02 I have even called you by your name." 43:05 God is emphasizing that. 43:06 "I have named you, though you've not known Me. 43:10 I am the Lord, and there's no other. 43:12 There is no Gods beside Me." 43:13 He's telling Cyrus, "There is no other God beside Me. 43:16 I will gird you, though you've not known Me, 43:19 that they may know from the rising of the sun 43:22 to the setting thereof, there is no God besides Me. 43:25 I am the Lord, and there is no other. 43:27 Was there a time during the Persian kingdom 43:31 when the king of Persia made a decree 43:33 that everyone should worship the God of Daniel? 43:37 You remember when Daniel was brought 43:38 out of the lion's den during the time of Darius? 43:42 He's part of the Medo-Persian kingdom. 43:44 He issued a decree that nobody should speak 43:47 against the God of Daniel. 43:49 And so God said, "Through your kingdom, 43:51 My name is going to be known everywhere." 43:53 Did that come true? 43:55 Can you think of-- now, there's other people 43:58 who were foretold by prophets by name. 44:01 Did the angel foretell the name of Jesus? 44:04 Yeah, and some others. 44:06 I forget--what? Ishmael. 44:08 I think the angel maybe gave His name and some others, 44:11 but wasn't there another king where God foretold his name, 44:14 long before he was born? 44:19 Yeah, you can read about when God foretold King Josiah. 44:27 Go to this prophet. 44:29 He's an unnamed prophet, 1 Kings 13, verse 2. 44:32 An unknown prophet goes to the King of Israel, 44:36 and he prophesies against this false altar to Baal, 44:42 and he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, 44:44 and said, 'O altar, altar. 44:46 Thus says the Lord, "Behold, a child, 44:50 Josiah by name, will be born to the house of David, 44:54 and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who 44:58 burn incense on you, and men's bones will be burned on you,'" 45:02 meaning that that altar would be defiled. 45:04 Did that happen? 45:06 It did, hundreds of years later. 45:09 Josiah was born, and he went up, and he did the very thing that 45:13 the prophet of Judah foretold, and so, every now and then 45:17 God is going to really spell things out very definitively, 45:20 and he says, not only am I telling you what's going 45:22 to happen, I'm going to tell you the name of the person 45:24 who's going to do it. 45:27 You know, Moses gave a prophecy. 45:29 He said, "There will be a prophet--" 45:33 and this is Deuteronomy chapter 18. 45:35 He says, "There's a Prophet that God is going to raise up a 45:37 Prophet to you, who is like me, and He's called the Prophet." 45:44 And he prophesies about Jesus. 45:48 And they always called Him, "Who is that Prophet 45:50 that would come that would be like Moses," 45:52 and ultimately, He's identified as Jesus. 45:55 Then, finally, the last section here, 45:58 I talked a little bit about "Hope in Advance," 46:00 that section already, and God told them, 46:04 "Though you're carried away, I'm giving you promises 46:07 in advance. 46:08 The Babylonians will carry you away. 46:09 Don't get discouraged. You will come back again. 46:11 You know, there--how many of here remember there were some 46:20 books that went out years ago in the Adventist Church about Dan. 46:27 It was called "Dare to Dan," and I hope I'm sayin' 46:30 the title right. 46:33 And this guy would invite people to meetings, 46:36 and he would explain prophecy to them, 46:38 and it was just an incredible example. 46:42 And one of the things is that he foretells deliverance 46:46 before it ever happens. 46:48 You can read in Leviticus 26, for instance, 46:51 Leviticus 26, verse 40, he says, "If My people are unfaithful 46:55 and they're carried off by their enemies, 46:57 if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity 47:00 of their fathers--" this is what Daniel did in chapter 9, 47:04 with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful 47:07 to Me, then I'll remember my covenant with Jacob, 47:11 my covenant with Isaac, my covenant with Abraham, 47:13 and I'll remember their land," and he says, 47:15 "I will bring them back." 47:17 So God, in advance, way back in the time of Moses, said, 47:20 "If you're carried away by unfaithfulness, 47:22 I will bring you back." 47:24 What did Solomon say during his dedication prayer? 47:26 "And if your people by unfaithfulness are carried off 47:30 by their enemies, if they pray towards this place, 47:33 Daniel literally prayed towards Jerusalem, said, 47:36 I will hear their prayer. 47:37 I will bring them back again. 47:39 God gives us hope in advance in his Word. 47:43 And then, finally, you read in Isaiah 49, 47:46 about the feeling and suffering servant. 47:49 He says, "Listen, O coastlands to Me, 47:51 and take heed, you peoples from afar. 47:54 The Lord has called Me from the womb. 47:56 From the matrix of my Mother He has made mention of My name. 48:00 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword. 48:03 In the shadow of His hand, He has hidden Me, 48:05 and He's made Me like a polished shaft. 48:08 In His quiver He has hidden Me." 48:09 So He said, "You know, I even foretold-- 48:11 Jeremiah says, God said, "I've called You from the womb." 48:15 Jesus was foretold in advance. 48:17 Moses was foretold, "O Israel, in whom I will be glorified," 48:22 and you go down to verse 5, "And now says the Lord, 48:26 Who formed Me in the womb to be His Servant, 48:29 to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him, 48:33 for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, 48:36 and My God shall be My strength. 48:39 Indeed He says, 'Is it too small a thing that You should be 48:42 My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, 48:44 and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. 48:47 I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles--" 48:50 this is a prophecy of Jesus the Servant-- 48:52 "that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48:56 Oh, wonderful prophecies in Isaiah that 48:58 we can look back now and say, 49:00 "How could they miss it because they were all so clear?" 49:02 Friends, I think we have run out of time for today's study. 49:05 For those who are joining us late, 49:07 I want to remind you that we have a free offer. 49:10 It's called, "Christ's Human Nature." 49:12 And you can get this simply by calling 866-788-3966. 49:17 Ask for Offer Number 729, and you can also get it 49:21 by texting "SH017" to 40544. 49:28 This is for North America. 49:30 God bless you. 49:31 We'll study His Word together again next week. 49:34 ♪♪♪ 49:35 male announcer: Don't forget to request 49:37 today's life-changing free resource. 49:39 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 49:41 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:43 or mobile device. 49:45 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 49:48 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544, 49:52 or visit the web address shown on your screen, 49:55 and be sure to select the digital download option 49:57 on the request page. 49:58 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 50:01 with Amazing Facts, wherever and whenever you want, 50:05 and most important, to share it with others. 50:09 ♪♪♪ 50:17 Ashley: I grew up in Northern New Jersey, 50:20 just about 35 minutes out of New York City, 50:23 and I grew up in a famous family. 50:26 And so, my father played for the New York Giants for nine years. 50:30 That's how we ended up where we were. 50:32 He also played for the San Francisco 49ers, 50:35 and he was in the Pro Bowl. 50:37 He won two Super Bowls. 50:40 And I also had an older brother who played 50:43 professional baseball, so I had a lot to live up to. 50:47 Everything we did was based around sports. 50:50 That was my life, and I loved it, 50:52 but inside I was--I struggled daily with insecurity, 50:56 lacking confidence. 50:58 You know, I would look at myself in the mirror and not-- 51:02 and would not see good things about myself. 51:04 I started to put all my energy into soccer, 51:08 and I decided that I was going to go far with that. 51:15 So I ended up getting a scholarship to play 51:19 in the University of Miami. 51:22 I was being pulled in these, like, two directions of, 51:24 you know, wanting to live this party lifestyle 51:27 with my teammates, and I was so engulfed 51:32 in soccer and school, but I also had this, like, 51:35 strong yearning desire to serve God, 51:40 and I was just struggling to figure out the balance 51:42 and how to do that. 51:44 I was in Sin City, in Miami, and I couldn't-- 51:48 I felt like I was swimming upstream. 51:50 And I just felt like I couldn't breathe. 51:52 I had everything everyone would've wanted. 51:54 I had everything. 51:55 I had a scholarship to pay for school. 51:57 I was playing a sport. 51:58 I was the captain of my team. 52:00 I was in Miami. 52:02 I was--I had a great family. 52:05 I had a lot of friends. 52:08 But where was God? 52:09 It was--all of that is meaningless unless I had Him. 52:14 And the lifeline that He gave me was this soft whisper in my ear, 52:21 saying, "Go." 52:22 I just remember, "Go." 52:24 So I decided to go, and I spent two months in Kenya 52:27 and two months in Uganda, and God was saving me 52:31 by sending me there. 52:32 It was God's prescription for my life, for my existence. 52:35 When I returned from Africa, I went back to school. 52:39 I finished school, finished soccer. 52:42 I went to the University of Tennessee 52:46 to get my master's when I met my husband. 52:50 Our motto in life was we wanted to live in reckless abandon 52:52 for our Creator and whatever that was, 52:56 whatever that looked like, and, you know, we've traveled, 52:59 and we've done mission work, 53:01 but we've mostly been in Tennessee, 53:03 and when we spent the summer apart a year after that 53:08 we were married, and it was the summer of 2015, 53:12 when we came back together, he's like, 53:15 "I have some things I want to share with you. 53:18 I want you to listen to this." 53:20 And we were on a 14-hour car ride, 53:23 and he just started playing this "Prophecy Code" 53:26 all the way back from 2005, and it was so clear, 53:30 and I just was comprehending it so well. 53:34 You know, after a couple, like, three or four, I was like, 53:36 "I need a break. 53:37 My mind is going to, like, explode from all this, 53:40 like, information overload," and everything that I thought 53:43 I had known about the Bible and about Scripture 53:48 is just completely different. 53:51 I was in shock. 53:53 Everything that I was hearing, it was like Scripture 53:55 is proving Scripture is proving Scripture. 53:58 My heart was, like, changing in that car ride because 54:00 it's like learning more about God than I ever had before. 54:06 After that car ride and after listening to the whole, 54:08 "Prophecy Code," my life was completely changed. 54:12 He's become more real to us than He ever had been before, 54:15 and that has pushed us to disciple and to minister 54:19 to others and share with them what we know. 54:24 My name is Ashley, and I want to thank you for changing my life. 54:29 ♪♪♪ 54:40 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 54:48 Dan: One particular evening, we're searching through 54:51 the channels and happened to find a program called, 54:55 "Amazing Facts with Pastor Doug Batchelor." 54:58 Some of the things that he was talking about 55:01 were very interesting and intrigued me. 55:04 female: As Dan began to continue to watch 55:06 "Amazing Facts" with this Doug Batchelor, 55:10 this caveman that had an incredible story, 55:13 my world was beginning to change. 55:15 It's been turned upside down. 55:17 I was resistant. 55:19 I think hit me was really the testimony of Pastor Doug. 55:22 This was a real person with a real story that had had 55:26 some things in his lifetime that maybe I didn't experience, 55:30 but he was real. 55:31 His journey was real. 55:33 He was honest about wanting to share and giving that light 55:36 to other people so they too could have more light. 55:40 That's when we got the cancer diagnosis, 55:42 and nobody wants that "C" word, "cancer," and then to find out 55:47 that it's aggressive, and sometimes people 55:50 get to wait with prostate cancer, 55:52 but we didn't have that opportunity. 55:54 He's in surgery, and doctor comes out, 55:57 and I knew something was wrong. 55:59 Come find out that my husband has had a stroke. 56:05 So we go about midnight and have an MRI, 56:09 and they confirmed that it truly was a stroke, 56:11 and he was going to be okay. 56:13 ♪♪♪ 56:15 Dan: Within one year and a half, 56:17 I had a major heart attack, cancer, 56:20 aggressive cancer, and a stroke. 56:22 I really was at the lowest point. 56:26 I didn't know what I was going to do. 56:30 We had rehabs scheduled after I was dismissed from the hospital. 56:38 female: And I watched him walk out of a facility with a cane 56:42 that, two weeks before, he couldn't even walk into. 56:46 Dan: God knew ahead of time that I was going to be going 56:48 through all of this, and I truly believe that it was His hand 56:53 that brought the Amazing Facts and the additional light that I 56:57 was getting, that it helped take my mind off of the circumstances 57:04 at the time and in a way that I don't think anything else could. 57:08 female: It's so comforting to know that we have a Christ 57:15 that loves us so much and will always hold us. 57:19 Dan: I cannot thank the people enough 57:25 who support ministries like this. 57:29 Because of them, I am one of those lives 57:35 that have been changed. 57:37 ♪♪♪ 57:40 Dan: And I can only thank God for leading me 57:43 through His providence to that program. 57:49 My name is Dan. 57:51 Thank you for changing my life. 57:52 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-02-23