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00:15 ♪♪♪ 00:29 CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com 00:35 male: I would like to invite you to take advantage of our 00:38 free offer this morning. 00:40 This offer is called "The Savior & The Serpent," and so if you 00:43 would like to receive this, you could call 866-788-3966 and you 00:49 could ask for offer number 798. 00:51 If you're in continental North America, 00:54 so in the United States or in Canada, 00:55 you can text SH1462 to the number 40544 or if you're 01:00 somewhere else, you can go to study.aftv.org/SH146, 01:07 and you could get a digital download of this study. 01:12 I would like to invite our choristers to come out before we 01:15 begin, and they have a beautiful song, 01:18 a beautiful song of praise to lead out for us. 01:23 ♪♪♪ 01:38 ♪♪♪ 01:39 ♪ The Lord's our Rock, in him we hide, ♪ 01:44 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm; ♪ 01:48 ♪ Secure whatever ill betide, ♪ 01:52 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 01:57 ♪ Mighty Rock in a weary land, ♪ 02:02 ♪ Cooling shade on the burning sand, ♪ 02:06 ♪ Faithful guide for the pilgrim band, ♪ 02:10 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 02:16 ♪ The raging storms may round us beat, ♪ 02:20 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 02:25 ♪ We'll never leave our safe retreat, ♪ 02:29 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 02:34 ♪ Mighty Rock in a weary land, ♪ 02:39 ♪ Cooling shade on the burning sand. ♪ 02:44 ♪ Faithful guide for the pilgrim band, ♪ 02:48 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 02:53 ♪ O Rock divine, O Refuge dear, ♪ 02:57 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 03:02 ♪ Be Thou our helper ever near, ♪ 03:07 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪ 03:11 ♪ Mighty Rock in a weary land, ♪ 03:16 ♪ Cooling shade on the burning sand. ♪ 03:20 ♪ Faithful guide for the pilgrim band, ♪ 03:25 ♪ A shelter in the time of storm. ♪♪ 03:33 Shawn Brummund: It is good to be able to worship together with 03:35 my church family as we come together for study. 03:39 And one of my favorite books, one of the--well, 03:41 the foundational book of the entire Bible. 03:44 Without Genesis, we're lost in a lot of ways in regards to the 03:48 rest of the information that God gives us, 03:50 to us, in the Bible. 03:52 And so, we're going to go back to the very beginning in review 03:55 of last week a little bit. 03:57 As we looked at our first lesson study in Genesis 1 and 2, 03:59 we discovered that it was God who created the heavens 04:02 and the earth. 04:04 And not only that, but then when it was all finished, 04:06 was it good? 04:08 Yes, it was incredibly good. 04:10 And I can only imagine, after that incredible task 04:14 was finished as Jesus and his Son were not alone, 04:18 but they would be accompanied by millions, 04:20 perhaps more angels that were there watching God speak into 04:24 existence this new planet of life and the awesome feeling 04:31 of amazement, admiration, that those angels had as they 04:35 watched, once again, the Creator of the universe take this dark, 04:38 void, water-filled planet and make it a teeming with all 04:42 kinds of different amazing life forms and species. 04:46 And they could hardly believe their eyes, 04:50 I'm sure every time that they saw God declare 04:53 things into existence. 04:55 And it was beyond their understanding, 04:58 but they saw it with their own eyes. 05:00 And so, they looked dumbfounded but also in awe at the beauty 05:05 that was before them. 05:07 The Bible record tells us that when it was all said and done, 05:11 God said that it was, it was very good. 05:13 And they're on this beautiful, new, 05:17 teeming planet, teeming with life was the head of all 05:22 species, which was Adam, noble Adam sitting--standing there in 05:28 the beautiful Garden of Eden with his beautiful wife Eve at 05:32 his side, both of them created in the very image of God 05:35 Himself, the great privilege and full dominion that God had given 05:41 to them over the entire planet, over all other life forms and 05:44 species on the planet. 05:47 They had everything that life could ask for, 05:49 everything and more. 05:51 Eternal life was given them, they could live forever 05:54 was part of that gift. 05:56 And in the midst of this Garden where there must have been at 05:59 least dozens, probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of 06:02 beautiful fruit trees, mature fruit trees that were loaded, 06:08 heavy laden with these--with a great variety of delicious, 06:13 nutritious, life-giving fruit. 06:17 They would be pleasant to the eyes, 06:20 amazingly attractive to look upon. 06:23 And in the midst of these dozens, 06:26 hundreds, perhaps thousands of trees, 06:28 there was two unique trees that the Bible tells us in those 06:32 first two chapters of Genesis. 06:34 These two trees were unique. 06:35 The first one, tree number one, was the tree of life. 06:38 This was the contact point that God had created that they might 06:40 have, that humankind might have access to be able to eat from 06:46 that tree and to find themselves revitalizing their bodies, 06:50 their minds, to keep their bodies and minds in full and 06:53 perfect condition for all of eternity. 06:55 The true fountain of life was available to them at all times. 06:58 And so, of all the trees, even amongst the two that were unique 07:04 amongst all the other trees that filled that first part of the 07:09 planet in which they were to multiply and be fruitful 07:13 and fill the entire earth, in which they were to expand from, 07:18 there was only one tree that was off bounds. 07:21 God said, "There's only one tree that I ask you. 07:25 I don't only ask you, but I command you to stay away from." 07:30 Did God have good reason? 07:32 Yes, He did. 07:34 It was the knowledge of the good--the tree of the knowledge 07:36 of good and evil. 07:38 Now, when God created Adam and Eve, 07:41 He declared that it was very good. 07:43 He didn't say that it was very good with a little bit of evil 07:45 on the side. 07:47 No, it was just very good, was it not? 07:50 When God--when Adam and Eve got up in the morning, 07:53 all they thought was pure thoughts. 07:55 Their motives were always completely 100% selfless. 08:00 Selfishness was a completely foreign concept for them. 08:04 And so, of all the trees, God said there's only one tree 08:09 that is off limits. 08:11 Was that well within reason? 08:13 Yes, it was. 08:14 Now, I think it's important for us to stop and clarify and 08:18 really let that sink in because I've heard more than one person, 08:21 as the devil has convinced more than one person, 08:24 that somehow this was unreasonable, 08:26 that God was not being fair when he planted that one tree 08:29 in the Garden of Eden. 08:31 Because of the fact that Adam and Eve had made the wrong 08:34 choice, it must not be fair. 08:36 And yet, God had given them more than enough. 08:39 You know, one of the things about God that He reveals, 08:42 both in the Old Testament, in the present, 08:43 and especially in the future when you look at the new 08:46 heavens, the new earth, the New Jerusalem, 08:48 and so on, God is not interested in just giving us our needs. 08:50 Have you noticed that? 08:52 God is interested in supplying so many of our desires, 08:54 as well as our needs. 08:57 And this was no exception. 08:58 God had given them way more than they actually needed. 09:01 God had given them every desire that they could ever imagine 09:05 that could come from the pure and holy heart in which He had 09:08 created them with. 09:11 And so, for God to tell them that this one tree was 09:14 off limits was completely within reason. 09:16 Now, as the Bible expands through, 09:19 both in the first chapters of Genesis, 09:21 as well as the rest of the Bible, 09:23 we discover that it was in this tree that God had warned them 09:26 about, that God had commanded them not to eat of it, 09:29 not to have anything to do with it, 09:30 not to touch it, why? 09:33 Because this was the only contact point, 09:35 this was the only access that the serpent--because the Bible 09:38 says that the tree was not alone. 09:40 There was not only fruit in the tree, 09:42 but there was also, there was also a serpent. 09:44 There was an intelligent being. 09:48 Now, one of the things that I've discovered about Genesis, 09:51 as the years have gone by and as I've studied, 09:53 is that Genesis is a very brief record. 09:55 We have to remember that Genesis covers about 2500 years 09:58 of history, and it's only 50 small chapters. 10:03 And so, is God required to be brief? 10:07 Sure He is. 10:09 God was required--if you cover 2500 years of history in 50 10:13 very small chapters, you have to be very brief. 10:16 And that's what we find. 10:18 But God knows that in the brevity of the record of 10:21 Genesis, that there's enough clear--if you spend enough time 10:25 there and you park in Genesis and you pray over it, 10:29 you meditate over what is before you, 10:31 you ruminate over what God has given to us, 10:34 you can take that information and the Holy Spirit's help, 10:36 He can help you connect dots there that aren't obvious 10:39 at first. 10:40 He can help you discover that there's some very obvious 10:42 implications if you spend enough time there. 10:45 And one of those implications is that when the Bible record tells 10:50 us in Genesis 2 that, "you shall not eat of the tree of the 10:54 knowledge of good and evil, for the day that you eat of it, 10:57 you shall surely die," that that was just a very brief summary of 11:02 the conversation that God had with Adam and Eve that day, 11:06 that indeed, God sat Adam and Eve down, 11:09 and they--and He had the talk. 11:13 And he began to give a bit of a history lesson to Adam and Eve 11:15 and say, "Listen, this is the first day of life for you, 11:18 but there is an intelligent being, 11:20 one in which I've loved for who knows how many eons, 11:23 the one that was at My right hand next to Jesus Himself, 11:26 the highest of the two highest ranking angels of all of heaven 11:31 one day decided that he knew better than Me. 11:35 And he began his own program, and he began to sin 11:37 and rebel against Me. 11:40 And he began to convince a third of the angels to rebel with him, 11:43 and war broke out in heaven. 11:46 And there's this preexistence of evil that has preexisted you, 11:51 Adam and Eve," as He gave that talk, 11:53 sharing the fact that--and indeed, 11:56 when we come to the Genesis record of chapter 3 in our 11:58 lesson study this week, it makes it very obvious that sin 12:01 preexisted planet earth. 12:03 Sin had to have preexisted Adam and Eve, 12:06 and that's why the tree was there. 12:08 It was representing the fact that there was already 12:10 a great controversy going on. 12:12 There was already a war between good and evil, 12:14 between darkness and light. 12:18 And so, God had the talk and said, 12:21 "Then day that you eat of it, you shall surely die." 12:24 Adam and Eve were instructed to stay solid in their loyalty 12:28 to God and had every reason to. 12:31 God had given them this beautiful planet, 12:33 eternal life, the tree of life, communion with angels and with 12:37 hundreds of different species of birds and fish and animals and 12:41 so on upon the planet, more food and variety than they could ever 12:47 imagine or dream of and desire. 12:49 Every holy and fulfilling desire that a human being could ever 12:54 desire was set before them. 12:58 And so, God gave them every reason to be loyal to him. 13:05 Obedience was easy because as long as the tree was avoided, 13:09 it was a natural thing. 13:10 Why? 13:11 Because again, Adam and Eve didn't have that struggle. 13:13 Adam and Eve didn't have that carnal nature that you and I 13:15 battle with. 13:17 Adam and Eve, again, when they made their way through the day, 13:19 it was easy to be holy. 13:22 It was easy to make selfless decisions all the time because 13:25 their heart was 100% selfless. 13:28 As long as they avoided that tree, 13:33 that natural nature for good would always exist within 13:36 their planet and within their lives. 13:39 And so, the million-dollar question that all of the 13:41 universe, all of heaven and the angels and the intelligent 13:44 beings of God's creation, the million-dollar question that 13:48 they asked was whether Adam and Eve would avoid dealing with 13:50 such a dangerous tree. 13:53 Were they willing to take God at his Word? 13:56 Would they always choose God in complete love and trust, 14:01 even as the loyal angels that were watching had already chosen 14:04 and continued to choose? 14:09 Well, most of you know the answer. 14:12 In different details, we're going to look 14:14 at Genesis chapter 3. 14:16 And as we open our Bibles to Genesis 3, 14:18 which is the only chapter that we look at in regards to Genesis 14:21 for this week's study, we look at how Satan chooses a beautiful 14:26 creature of the earth that God had created. 14:29 And even as God tells us, He created everything good. 14:32 Was the serpent originally a good creature? 14:35 Sure, it was. It was very good. 14:36 It was incredibly good, just like the rest of the creatures 14:39 of the earth. 14:40 But Satan was channeling. 14:42 He had chosen to channel through one of the most beautiful 14:44 creatures on the earth. 14:46 Now, this serpent had to be much different than the one we know 14:48 of today. 14:51 We know that it wasn't creepy and crawly. 14:52 We know it didn't have venomous fangs. 14:55 We know that it didn't--wasn't covered in cold scales. 14:58 How do we know that? 15:00 I'll give you two good reasons. 15:02 Number one, because the Bible tells us in Genesis 3 that this 15:05 serpent succeeded in attracting and seducing a woman. 15:10 Now, I've been married for 31 years to a woman, 15:15 and I happen to know that that woman is very adverse 15:19 to serpents, okay? 15:22 When she sees a snake, she doesn't get intrigued and say, 15:25 "Oh, I'm so attracted to that serpent. 15:28 I want to go and pet it and spend some time 15:30 with that serpent. 15:31 Oh, it talks. 15:32 I want to talk to that serpent." No. 15:35 Okay, the fact of the matter is that we know that women, 15:38 in general, there is the odd exception, 15:40 but we know that women in general are not all that 15:42 attracted to snakes, to serpents, 15:44 in the way that we know them today, are they? 15:46 So, we know that it couldn't have been in the form that 15:49 we know of today. 15:51 Number two, the second reason we know it's not in its original 15:54 form, that it must have been very attractive and very 15:56 beautiful originally is that it crawled on its belly only after 15:59 Adam and Eve had sinned. 16:02 That was part of the curse. 16:04 That was the aftermath. 16:06 And so, as we come to the original conversation of the 16:08 serpent with Eve, we know that Eve is talking to a very 16:12 beautiful and attractive creature. 16:15 It's interesting. 16:17 And this is the third reason that I just thought of recently, 16:20 and that is that there's evidence that the original 16:23 serpent had wings. 16:27 Now, I know it's so hard because every Christian artist always 16:30 paints and draws a snake as we know it, 16:34 you know, curled around a branch somewhere in the tree talking. 16:37 And so, it's hard, even as I think of wings, 16:39 I have to kind of force my mind to get this picture of a snake, 16:43 as we know it, with wings on it because that's not really 16:45 what it was. 16:47 Again, it had to be beautiful in all of its forms because that's 16:49 what attracted and enticed and seduced Eve in the first place. 16:57 When we come to Genesis chapter 12, 16:59 and verse 3, it tells us that the dragon was cast down 17:05 to this earth. 17:08 And then it calls it this serpent, 17:11 the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. 17:16 And so, a dragon is used to represent the serpent of old. 17:21 Now, have you ever seen a wingless dragon? 17:24 No. 17:27 Even when you go outside of the Bible descriptions of what 17:29 sometimes is described in Job and other places as a dragon of 17:31 some sort, even when you go to all the different legends that 17:35 carry through the centuries in different cultures in different 17:38 countries around the world in history, 17:41 you always see a dragon with wings. 17:44 And a dragon is what God has chosen to represent 17:46 the serpent in symbolic prophecies, such as Revelation. 17:51 And so, the evidence is there. 17:53 There is some evidence that there is--there was originally 17:56 wings upon the original beautiful serpent. 18:00 And so, it was just a beautiful, gorgeous creature 18:05 in a beautiful, attractive fruit tree. 18:08 And so, we have to remember that the knowledge of good and evil, 18:12 that tree did not look different than any other tree. 18:14 It looked just as beautiful, just as appealing to the eyes, 18:17 just as attractive. 18:21 The only thing that was to keep Adam and Eve away from that tree 18:24 was not its appearance, but the Word of God. 18:34 So, let's go to it. 18:35 Let's go to Genesis chapter 3, and verse 1. 18:37 It says, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of 18:40 the field which the Lord God had made." 18:42 So, not only was it beautiful and attractive, 18:46 but it was also very intelligent. 18:49 "And he said to the woman--" 18:51 And, of course, there's a greater intelligence behind this 18:55 species that is channeling through this creature 18:57 called a serpent. 18:58 But it is a created creature. 19:01 It calls it a beast. It's an animal. 19:03 "Cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God 19:04 had made. 19:05 And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 19:07 You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'" 19:10 Is that how God worded it? 19:14 Let's keep our thumb there. 19:16 Let's go back to Genesis 2 and actually look at 19:18 the original statement. 19:20 Is he quoting God word for word? 19:22 No, he rarely does. 19:23 You know, the serpent and the devil behind that serpent, 19:25 that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, 19:28 he always is spinning things. 19:29 He takes the things--he takes the words of God 19:31 and he spins them. 19:33 He spins them to be able to deceive us, 19:37 to make it say something that God wasn't originally intending 19:39 to say. 19:42 And this is no exception. 19:43 In fact, this is the first example of it. 19:46 So, we go back to Genesis chapter 2. 19:50 And we read verse 16, and we quote from God Himself. 19:55 "And the Lord God commanded the man." 19:56 What did they do? God commanded. 20:00 This is the first commandment, the holy commandment. 20:02 Now, notice there's not ten, there's only one. 20:05 The other ten didn't have to come into until they had broken 20:07 the first commandment. 20:08 Because again, when Adam and Eve got up, 20:10 they didn't say, "I better be honest. 20:11 I better make the honest choice." 20:13 No, they just were honest naturally. 20:15 It was instinctual for them. 20:17 And then when there was different women or men to be 20:20 able to look upon as the world began to be multiplied, 20:23 they wouldn't say, "Oh, boy, you know, 20:26 that looks like, you know, a very attractive man or a very 20:29 attractive woman outside of my marriage. 20:31 And I start to go down the road of adultery." 20:33 They would never think that. 20:35 Their minds were pure all the time. 20:38 They never had to fight against impure thoughts. 20:41 And so, the only command that they had, 20:44 the first holy commandment was, "Do not eat of the tree of the 20:48 knowledge of good and evil." 20:50 So, let's read it again. 20:51 "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, 20:53 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.'" 20:57 Does that sound positive? Yes. 21:01 All right, so that's the way God said. 21:02 He says, "Now, look, of all these trees, 21:05 you may freely." 21:09 Now, let's go back and see how the devil spins that. 21:12 We're exposing the way the devil operates. 21:18 So, we go back and he says, "Has God indeed said you shall not 21:20 eat of every tree of the Garden?" 21:24 Notice how he takes something that's very positive and he 21:27 turns it into a negative. 21:29 Something that God said, "Freely eat of all the trees." 21:32 And then the devil says, "Isn't it true that God says you can't 21:34 eat of every tree of the Garden?" 21:38 He puts it in a negative. 21:40 He puts it in a restrictive form. 21:43 He's saying, ah. 21:44 You start to plant a seed in the mind of Eve and telling Eve, 21:46 "Listen, you know, God has some good things that He's given to 21:50 you, but as I'm going to continue with my conversation, 21:52 it turns out that He's restricting you. 21:56 He's a restrictive God." 21:57 Have you ever heard of that before? 21:59 Through the years, I've heard different people and public 22:01 speakers I've seen with auditoriums packed with 22:05 thousands of people and she'll say, 22:08 talk about how restrictive the Ten Commandments are. 22:11 You know, "Do not do this, don't do that. 22:13 Don't do this, don't do the other thing." 22:16 That's the same spin that the devil is working on Eve with 22:20 his--is it true that God said that, 22:22 "You shall not eat of every tree of the Garden"? 22:24 Well, the woman had it pretty straight. 22:27 And again, verse 2 and 3 reveals that God had a very clear talk, 22:31 a very extensive talk with Adam and Eve. 22:33 "And the woman said to the serpent, 22:36 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 22:40 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the 22:42 garden, God has said, You shall not eat it. 22:44 nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 22:47 So, there's the warning. 22:49 Verse 4, the serpent said to the woman, 22:52 "You shall not surely die." 22:56 And so again, we find here that the devil is doing something 22:59 that he quite often does. 23:01 He'll say, you know, take something that God has clearly 23:03 said, and he'll say the opposite. 23:06 In this case, God has said, "Do not eat of it, 23:08 for the day that have you eat of it, 23:09 I'm telling you, you will surely die." 23:11 Death is the ultimate and inevitable result 23:14 from eating that tree. 23:15 The serpent comes along and says, 23:16 "That's not true. 23:19 You will not surely die." 23:21 So, not only is this the first lie on record from the serpent, 23:24 from the devil, but it also reveals how the devil works. 23:28 He calls God a liar. 23:30 He spins it around. 23:32 He says, "No, no, no, I'm not a liar, 23:35 God's a liar." 23:37 Because the moment he said that you shall not surely die, 23:40 he called God a liar, did he not? 23:42 Sure he did. 23:43 Okay, so now Eve is in a predicament because now 23:46 she's got two sides. 23:47 She's got God saying that, "in the day that you eat, 23:50 you shall surely die." 23:51 And now she has another intelligent being telling her 23:53 that in the day that she eats of it, 23:55 she will not surely die. 23:58 In order for her to believe--was Eve deceived? 24:01 Yeah, she was deceived. 24:04 Verse 13, she actually says it from her own mouth. 24:06 When God held her accountable, she says, 24:08 "The serpent deceived me." 24:11 And then when we come to, I think it's 1 Corinthians as well 24:14 as 1 Timothy, Paul, in both of those places, 24:18 talks about how Eve was deceived. 24:21 And so, the Bible makes it very clear, 24:23 it's confirmed in those two places that when Eve said she 24:27 was deceived, that's true. 24:30 She was deceived. 24:31 Deceived means that you were tricked, 24:33 that you were lied to and you accept it and believed it. 24:34 But we have to remember, we don't want to be too easy on Eve 24:36 because, again, sometimes we can come to the wrong conclusions 24:38 say, "Well, God's not being very fair here. 24:39 He's not being just. He's taken this woman. 24:42 He's allowing her to be lied to, and now she is 24:44 sincerely deceived." 24:47 We can be guilty even while we're being deceived. 24:49 Did you know that? 24:51 That's what this is revealing, okay? 24:53 Did God still hold Eve accountable? 24:55 Yes, okay? Was she sincerely deceived? 24:59 Yes, you have to remember that she had sufficient information 25:03 already before the lie was presented before her. 25:06 "In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely, 25:08 you shall surely die." 25:11 So, here she is. 25:14 In order for her to believe and be deceived by the serpent, 25:17 she had to disbelieve God. 25:20 She had to disbelieve her Maker, and that's 25:25 where she got in trouble. 25:28 And sometimes that's where we get in trouble because sometimes 25:30 people, relatives, our employer, our friends, 25:36 and so on, they'll convince us that God doesn't know best, 25:39 that God's Word can't be trusted, 25:41 that God's Word is not right on this count or that count, 25:44 and that you actually are missing out on something. 25:47 And so, you have to--you're in a predicament now, 25:51 just like Eve. 25:52 "Am I going to choose to believe my friend, 25:55 my relative, my employer, whatever it is, 25:58 my children, or am I going to believe God? 26:03 Is the Word of God going to be number one in my life? 26:07 Do I trust Him implicitly on this point in regards to what He 26:10 tells us in His Word?" 26:12 And so, that challenge that Eve faced is still facing us 26:15 from day to day. 26:16 This is real stuff. This is relevant. 26:18 This is not just history, but this is revealing different 26:20 challenges that you and I face even today. 26:23 Verse 5 says, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it 26:25 your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 26:31 knowing good and evil." 26:35 Were Adam and Eve created like God? 26:37 Well, the answer is kind of yes or no, isn't it? 26:40 All right, yes, in a large way because when God in the Trinity, 26:45 God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit were discussing 26:49 in discussion, Genesis chapter 1, 26:51 I think it's verse 26, it says that, 26:52 "Let us make man in Our image." 26:57 So, God created us, you and I, in God's very image. 27:03 What a great privilege. 27:05 Does that mean that we were created equal with God? 27:08 No, we were created similar in the image of God. 27:12 In other words, if you look in a mirror, 27:14 we were very similar. 27:16 Our form was the same, our creative abilities were similar 27:19 to God in a way that no other creature on earth is similar to, 27:22 our intelligence is light-years ahead of every other creature 27:27 on the planet. 27:28 And so, in many ways, we reflected the Almighty, 27:30 but we weren't equal with the Almighty, were we? 27:34 Adam and Eve, but here we find that the serpent comes along and 27:37 says to Eve, "You know, listen. 27:39 God is holding you back. 27:40 Yes, He's created a lot of things in the same way. 27:42 You guys look the same. You talk the same. 27:44 You can have conversations, intelligence, 27:46 very similar, but He's still holding some things 27:50 back from you. 27:53 You see, the reason that you can't believe God when He tells 27:56 you through His Word that in the day that you eat you shall 27:59 surely die is because He's--it's a coverup. 28:02 It's a conspiracy. 28:05 And God is trying to hold back from you something that He 28:07 doesn't want you to have. 28:09 And so, it's a coverup." 28:11 And so again, Eve has to decide, "Do I believe, 28:13 not only the words of God, but all the evidence of everything 28:16 around me that cries out that God loves me, 28:19 He cares for me, and He has my best interest for me? 28:26 Was God really covering something up? 28:28 Is this really a conspiracy that I need to be made aware of?" 28:32 Well, you and I know that the answer is no and the rest of 28:34 the Bible tells us so. 28:37 But in verse 6, it says very sadly, 28:39 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, 28:42 it was pleasant to the eyes--" 28:44 Again, this tree was just as beautiful as 28:46 the other fruit trees. 28:48 "And a tree desirable to make one wise--" 28:50 Now it had an extra attraction. 28:52 It looked just as beautiful. 28:54 It supplied the same nutrition and amazingly tasty food that 28:56 hung from its branches as the rest of the trees, 28:59 but now there was an additional attraction that she had 29:03 fallen into, why? 29:05 Because she chose to disbelieve and distrust God, 29:08 and therefore believe the lie that Satan was bringing 29:11 before her. 29:15 And now it is also attractive because it was desirable to 29:18 make one, to make one wise. 29:21 And so, she took off its fruit and ate, 29:24 and she also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. 29:28 Sadly, this is the saddest, most tragic, 29:30 biggest verse in all the Bible. 29:33 I hate this verse. 29:36 Every time it comes to this verse in this chapter, 29:37 for the most part, I hate it. 29:40 Why? 29:42 Because it reveals how our world fell apart from 29:44 that point forward. 29:47 It reveals why our hair start to go gray as we get into the 29:53 latter half of our life. 29:55 It reveals why our skin starts to lose its elasticity. 29:59 It reveals why my joints start to hurt after I turn 50. 30:03 It reveals why I can't run as far as I used to when I was 20. 30:08 It reveals all of these different things. 30:10 It reveals why I battle in my mind with impure thoughts, 30:13 and it reveals why I have to continually make choices against 30:17 evil and fight against the resistance that you and I deal 30:20 with from day to day. 30:23 It reveals why I have to put a lock on my door and make sure 30:26 that it's locked before I go to bed. 30:28 It reveals why I have to push my FOB after I parked my car and 30:31 make sure that it's fully armed. 30:33 It reveals why I have to be careful and cautious and watch 30:36 out for my daughters or my wife when they're going down a dark 30:40 alley at night. 30:42 It reveals all of these things and where they came from. 30:45 It all came from chapter 3. 30:48 It all came from verse 6. 30:51 Adam and Eve both tragically made that decision 30:55 to eat from the tree. 30:58 And it wasn't the eating of the fruit, 31:00 there was no magic in the fruit. 31:04 Sometimes we believe this is almost like some kind of 31:06 Snow White Disney movie and story or something. 31:07 There was no potion within the tree itself. 31:10 The fruit did not have any kind of different molecular structure 31:13 to it than the rest of the fruit on the rest of the trees. 31:17 It wasn't the external that made the difference, 31:19 but as Jesus continually tried to get across to the religious 31:22 community around him in Israel, it's not what's on the outside, 31:26 it's what's on the inside that counts. 31:28 That's where the battle is, that's where the brokenness is. 31:32 That's where we're broken and that's where Adam and Eve broke 31:36 their heart and mind and purity that day. 31:40 You see, when they reached out and grabbed the fruit of the 31:44 tree and they decided, by their own free will, 31:46 to believe the serpent and therefore disbelieve God, 31:49 something very tragic happened inside the heart. 31:52 Now, of course, we know it's not our biological heart, 31:55 but scientifically, we know that that's in the frontal lobe. 31:58 It's that part of our mind that we make ethical 32:00 and decision choices. 32:02 That's where our conscience is located. 32:04 Something broke that day the moment that they reached out and 32:06 ate from that tree. 32:09 And so, from that point forward, our DNA changed and now we not 32:18 only had a knowledge of good, but now we also have 32:20 a knowledge of evil. 32:23 And that's why you and I struggle with selfishness. 32:25 That's why one of the deepest statements that my favorite 32:28 author Ellen White once said that she says that the moment 32:31 that we become a Christian, the moment that we give our hearts 32:33 over to God, the greatest battle that you and I will ever fight 32:37 is with ourselves. 32:42 Why? 32:44 Because she is--she had a full personal and theological 32:46 knowledge of the fact that you and I are broken. 32:49 We are born broken. 32:52 We are born with a bent to evil. 32:54 We have a propensity towards evil that you and I have to 32:57 fight on a daily basis. 32:58 That's why Paul said, when he came to the end of his life, 33:01 he said, "I have fought the good fight. 33:03 I have finished the race. 33:07 Therefore there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me on 33:09 that day when the Lord appears, and not only for me, 33:12 but all who have loved, he's appearing." 33:16 Paul knew that every day when he got up in the morning, 33:18 he had to get on his knees and surrender before his Lord and 33:22 say, "Lord, overcome my selfishness today. 33:25 Help me to fight against that natural propensity to be selfish 33:28 and self-centered and arrogant and proud and sinful and carnal 33:32 and lustful," and all these other struggles that 33:34 you and I face. 33:37 And we're coming back to the very origins of the brokenness 33:40 of our heart. 33:43 In verse 7 it says, "The eyes of both of them were opened." 33:46 Now, we don't want to miss this. 33:48 Let's go back to verse 5 because the serpent had promised 33:50 something to Eve and then through Eve to Adam. 33:54 Verse 5 it says, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it 33:56 your eyes will be-- will be opened. 34:00 And he says, "And you're going to have a higher plane 34:02 of existence. 34:04 You're going to be like God." 34:06 And, of course, we have people on talk shows like "Oprah" 34:09 and others, you know, that we're watching. 34:12 We have new-age gurus and talk show hosts and guests and so on, 34:17 they're all telling us the same thing, 34:20 that you have God within you. 34:23 You can be like God. 34:25 You only have to discover the God within you. 34:28 There's so many different parallels that 34:30 still exist today. 34:32 The devil is just as rampant and just as active today with these 34:34 same principles and lies that he is way back then. 34:38 Then the eyes, in verse 7, when we come to verse 7, 34:40 it says, "Then the eyes of both of them were-- 34:43 were opened. 34:44 All right, so their eyes indeed were opened. 34:46 That part of the serpent's promise is true. 34:48 He says, "In the day that you eat of it, 34:50 your eyes will be opened." 34:52 But the rest of the promise was a lie, was it not? 34:54 That's where the deception was found because indeed their eyes 34:56 were open, but it wasn't to a higher plane. 35:00 It was wasn't to a greater sense of existence and joy and 35:03 satisfaction and purity and holiness and security and trust. 35:08 No, it says the eyes of both of them were opened, 35:11 they knew that they were naked. 35:15 And so, they sewed fig leaves together and made 35:17 themselves coverings. 35:19 Now, so often we think when they looked and their eyes were 35:21 opened, they realized, "That's what a naked body looks like." 35:26 No, earlier on in Genesis chapter 2 it says after the 35:29 wedding and during their honeymoon in verse 25, 35:32 they were both naked. 35:34 And the man and his wife were not ashamed. 35:37 So, they very well knew what a naked body looked like, okay? 35:41 So, verse 25 in Genesis chapter 2 clarifies that for us and 35:45 helps us to make that needful distinction again. 35:48 Again, do you see how we can connect the dots? 35:51 But you have to spend enough time here. 35:56 So, what did he mean when he said that their eyes were opened 35:58 and they discovered that they were naked? 36:01 They're talking about the heart here, aren't they? 36:04 They're talking about this overwhelming sense of guilt. 36:07 They've never--you have to remember up until this point, 36:09 they had never ever, ever experienced guilt before. 36:14 In fact, they had never experienced a negative emotion 36:16 up until that point. 36:18 Not one thought, not one feeling was ever negative up 36:21 until this point. 36:24 And now all of a sudden, their eyes are opened, 36:26 and they feel this overwhelming negative feeling and emotion and 36:30 thoughts that they'd never ever, ever had experienced 36:33 before that. 36:35 Can you imagine how horrible that would be? 36:37 I don't know about you, but I feel different negative emotions 36:40 on a regular basis. 36:42 We're accustomed to that. 36:43 But you have to remember, they weren't accustomed to that. 36:45 And so, the contrast must have been incredible. 36:48 And so, they looked at themselves, 36:49 and they feel horrible. 36:51 And so, they started to--you know, 36:52 and again, we have all these classic paintings, 36:54 you know, just the private parts are covered with the fig leaves. 36:58 Okay, that's a Middle Ages theology. 37:01 Okay, no, again in verse 25 in verse 2--chapter 2 tells us that 37:06 they weren't ashamed to be naked in front of them because they 37:08 were husband and wife. 37:10 They were companions. 37:12 They had that security within their loving relationship 37:16 as lovers. 37:18 So, that's not what it's talking about here. 37:21 What it's talking about is the nakedness of the heart, this 37:25 overwhelming negative emotion that they were experiencing. 37:29 And so, they began to cover their whole bodies as much as 37:31 they could with these fig leaves, 37:34 trying to make up for this fall that they knew this overwhelming 37:38 sense of guilt. 37:41 And so, their eyes were opened, and they knew 37:43 that they were naked. 37:45 And so, they tried to cover themselves. 37:47 In Galatians, Paul says that this covering was a desperate, 37:49 futile attempt to be able to make up for their lack 37:54 of righteousness for this fall from righteousness and holiness 37:59 that they were experiencing. 38:02 God says that this is a symbol of righteousness by works, 38:05 rather than righteousness by faith. 38:08 And so, they were trying to make up for their falling, 38:12 for their shortcoming for this overwhelming new emotion and 38:16 feeling that they were totally new to. 38:18 In verse 8 it says, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God 38:21 walking in the garden in the cool of the day, 38:23 and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of 38:25 the Lord God among the trees of the garden." 38:27 Why were they hiding? 38:29 In the past when God came, they would freely come out and meet 38:31 him, and that was the highlight of the day. 38:33 They got to walk in the Garden of the cool the day with the 38:36 Lord Himself face to face. 38:38 And so, what used to be the highlight of the day now was the 38:41 low light of the day because now we find that they're hiding in 38:46 the trees, in the bushes. 38:48 Why are they hiding? 38:50 Because they're overwhelmed with guilt and all these horrible, 38:52 negative feelings of guilt and betrayal and failure, 38:58 and all these other horrible negative emotions. 39:03 Verse 9 says, "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 39:08 'Where are you?'" 39:10 Did God know where Adam was? 39:12 Sure He did. 39:13 This is what we call a rhetorical question. 39:15 In other words, He's not saying it for His sake. 39:17 He's asking it for Adam and Eve's sake. 39:19 He wants Adam and Eve to know that He's there, 39:22 that He hasn't abandoned them despite this horrible place that 39:25 they're in in their hearts, and that He does still love them 39:29 and care for them. 39:31 "Where are you?" 39:33 And by the way, ever since then, God has called out to all of us. 39:35 He called out to me as this worldly, 39:38 irreligious, self-centered, arrogant, 39:42 selfish, self-absorbed young man of 20 years of age. 39:47 And He called out to me when I was 20 and said, 39:49 "Shawn, where are you?" 39:52 By God's grace, I thank God I responded and now I'm here 39:54 today, teaching you about the grace and the goodness and the 39:57 renewal that comes from Jesus Christ. 40:01 And so, "God calls out, 'Where are you?' 40:02 And so he said, 'I heard your voice in the garden, 40:04 I was afraid because I was naked. 40:06 And I hid myself.'" 40:08 Now again, he's not afraid because he's naked 40:10 and the fact that, you know, 40:12 yes, he was shrouded with a light of glory. 40:14 Yes, it is true as this lesson study points out, 40:17 there's a couple of points in the Psalms where there is some 40:19 dots that you can connect that they did have a shroud of light. 40:22 But again, the nakedness that they're speaking of here is much 40:25 deeper than the shroud of light. 40:27 It's what's in the heart. 40:30 "I was naked. I was guilty. 40:31 I've been overwhelmed with this new, 40:33 foreign, horrible feeling of guilt and betrayal and failure 40:37 that I've never experienced before." 40:43 In verse 11, "And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? 40:48 Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you 40:51 should not eat?'" 40:53 God always holds us accountable, doesn't He? 40:56 You know, the first thing, the first step to reconciliation 40:58 with God and with our own conscience is to own our sin. 41:02 And so, God says, "Listen, you need to be able to own your sin. 41:06 I'm asking this question, not because I don't know the answer 41:08 again, but because it's for your sake. 41:11 I'm giving you opportunity. 41:13 I'm inviting you to own your sin." 41:16 If we don't own our sin, God can never forgive us. 41:19 If we don't own our sin, we can never mend our hearts. 41:22 And so he says, "Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded 41:26 that you should not eat?" 41:28 In other words, "Did you just obey Me? 41:29 Did you break My commandment? 41:31 Did you sin against Me?" 41:33 In verse 12 it says, "Then the man said, 41:35 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, 41:37 she gave me of the tree, and I ate.'" 41:39 And so, there goes the blame game right off the top. 41:41 He's saying, "It's kind of your fault, 41:43 God, because you gave me that woman, 41:45 and she made me eat of the tree." 41:48 Verse 13, "And the Lord God said to the woman, 41:49 'What is this you have done?'" 41:52 So, now he turns to the woman and as he directs his attention 41:54 to her, the woman said, "Well, the serpent deceived me, 41:57 and I ate." 41:59 "It's kind of the serpent's fault because he lied to me." 42:02 Verse 14, "So the Lord said to the serpent," now he has this 42:07 conversation with the third party involved. 42:10 And he talks to the serpent and he says, 42:13 "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, 42:15 And more than every beast of the field; 42:17 On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days 42:19 of your life." 42:23 And so, when he turns to the ultimate culprit, 42:26 to the origin of sin and he speaks to the one that did 42:30 indeed deceive and lead Adam and Eve down this pathway, 42:34 even though Adam and Eve also have their part and are also 42:36 held accountable, he holds the serpent accountable first, 42:41 even as it says that the serpent and the devil will be the final 42:44 scapegoat, which all sin originally we fall 42:46 on the head of. 42:49 And so, it's no different right to the end of 42:51 the book of Revelation. 42:53 It's interesting here that we find that the serpent then is 42:56 morphed into a totally different kind of creature. 42:59 He goes to one of the most beautiful, 43:01 if not the most beautiful animal that God had created. 43:05 He plucks his wings off, and he turns them into this pathetic, 43:09 slithering, legless, wingless, scale-covered, 43:18 ugly creature that most people do everything they possibly can 43:21 to be able to stay away from. 43:24 And He says that, "Now you're more cursed than 43:27 all the cattle." 43:28 Notice how it says that "You are more cursed than all the cattle 43:30 or every beast of the field." 43:32 That means that all cattle and all creatures were cursed 43:34 from point. 43:36 That's why in Romans chapter 8, it tells us that indeed 43:38 all creation groans. 43:41 All creation groans for the time in which Jesus comes to recreate 43:45 us back again. 43:47 Why? 43:48 Because the entire ecosystem, the entire animal kingdom 43:51 was cursed that day. 43:54 And the implication, again, do you see the implications? 43:56 It doesn't come right out and say it, 43:58 but the implication is there, isn't it? 44:00 When He says to the serpent that "you're cursed more than all the 44:03 other cattle and the beasts of the field, 44:05 that means they're all cursed. 44:07 But the serpent was cursed the most. 44:09 Did you pick that up? 44:11 All right, verse 15, we have the good news. 44:12 God doesn't stay there. 44:14 Well, the first part of 15 is still the bad news. 44:16 He continues on and he reveals, not only to the serpent but, 44:18 of course, within earshot is Adam and Eve. 44:21 And so, the mother and father of all mankind is listening and God 44:23 says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you, 44:25 serpent, between you, Satan, and the woman, 44:30 And between your seed and her seed." 44:32 And so, the first part of this statement, 44:35 this powerful, huge verse that we're looking at here, 44:38 we find here that God is revealing that from this point 44:41 forward, there'll be two camps now. 44:44 Before that there was only one camp, 44:46 purity, holy, holiness, loyalty to God through Adam and Eve and 44:49 any children that they would have had in the future. 44:52 But now God is saying from now on, 44:54 there's going to be two camps. 44:55 There will be the descendants of Adam and Eve that will choose 44:59 the serpent, whether either by conscious choice or by default. 45:03 Jesus says, "If you're not with Me, 45:05 you're against Me." 45:08 When He made that statement, He's reiterating and 45:10 reconfirming what He told Adam and Eve in the Garden that day 45:14 and that is that there's only two camps we can be in. 45:16 If you don't choose Jesus, you, by default, 45:18 are choosing Satan. 45:19 If you don't choose the kingdom of light and Jesus, 45:21 you are, by default, choosing the kingdom of darkness, 45:24 whether you want to or not. 45:26 That's where you are. 45:28 And, so God is saying, there's only two camps, 45:30 but sadly, there's going to be two camps. 45:31 The descendants of the woman, the woman from this point 45:34 forward, God always uses to represent God's faithful, 45:37 His church, believers, those of the kingdom of light. 45:43 And then He says, sadly, there will also be those who will be 45:45 descendants and the seed--seed here is an old term that they 45:48 use for descendants. 45:50 And so, the descendants of all mankind in the second camp will 45:53 choose Satan, either by choice or by default. 45:56 And so, the great controversy that was taking place already in 45:59 heaven between the angels of heaven is now taking place 46:03 between mankind, two camps in heaven, 46:05 two camps on earth. 46:08 And then, "He shall bruise your head, 46:10 and you shall bruise His heel." 46:11 This is the first gospel. 46:13 Now, before God actually addresses Adam and He addresses 46:15 Eve, because we know the rest of the story. 46:17 Many of us are familiar with the bad news. 46:18 God says, "Listen, these are all the bad consequences that are 46:21 going to take place for you and all women that will follow. 46:24 And Adam, this is the bad results and consequences of your 46:28 choice that will come upon all men and their children 46:32 throughout all of history." 46:34 And then He tells us that indeed in the midst of this seed in the 46:39 descendants of the woman, there will be one seed, 46:41 a singular seed, a male seed. 46:47 "And He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." 46:51 Now, the bruising of the heel--and by the way, 46:55 bruise here is not the best translation. 46:57 It should be crush, you know, a mortal blow, 46:59 a major blow to the head. 47:02 Now, of course, a major blow to the heel hurts a lot, 47:04 doesn't it? 47:06 But it doesn't do you in. 47:08 That represents Jesus on the cross. 47:10 Yes, He gave up His life, but He said to Pontius Pilate before He 47:13 died, He said, "I give My life, and I have the power to 47:15 take it up again." 47:16 And He did. So, it was a temporary wound. 47:18 But if you get a really strong blow to the head and it crushes 47:22 your head, you're gone. 47:24 And that's what Jesus did on the cross that day as well. 47:27 I wish we had more time, friends. 47:28 We're out of time. 47:30 But friends, this is the good news gospel. 47:31 Jesus gives the gospel to Adam and Eve before He gives them 47:35 the bad news. 47:36 You notice that? He didn't even ask them. 47:38 He said, "You want the good news first or the bad news first? 47:40 I got both." 47:41 No, He goes, "Now you know the answer." 47:43 If you want a Bible answer and somebody says, 47:44 "You want the bad news first or the good news? 47:46 I got both." 47:47 You can say, "Always give me the good news first because that's 47:49 what God gave Adam and Eve." 47:51 He said He gave them the good news that He's going to die on 47:53 the cross, that He's going to help rescue them from other sin 47:56 and give all mankind hope to be reconciled with God. 48:01 And then He gives the bad news. 48:02 You know, "You shall have pain in childbirth, 48:04 and there's going to be marital struggles. 48:06 And there's going to be--by the sweat of your brow, 48:10 you're going to eat your bread. 48:12 And there's going to be thorns and thistles and all these other 48:14 horrible things that will come up as well." 48:17 Well, friends, it's been good studying with you. 48:19 It's a bit of a cruel thing to be able to go through that 48:22 chapter in one Sabbath school's lesson because it's just 48:24 impossible to look at all the nuances there. 48:26 But I'm glad we could look at some of the highlights. 48:29 I want to invite you to take advantage of our free gift offer 48:32 if you never saw the beginning of our program, 48:35 and that is on the same subject that we're looking at here, 48:37 the great battle between good and evil. 48:40 "The Savior & The Serpent" written by our lead pastor, 48:43 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 48:45 Go ahead and dial into 1-866-788-3966. 48:50 Ask for free offer number 798, and we'll be happy to send that 48:54 out to you if you live in North America or any of 48:57 the US territories. 48:58 And for those of you who are wanting a digital copy, 49:02 that is also available. 49:03 You can download that on your phone, 49:05 and you just have to text the code SH146 to 40544. 49:10 And we'll be happy to be able to download that for you. 49:13 Now, that's, again, only if you're in the USA. 49:16 If you're outside of the USA and you'd like to have a copy of 49:19 that, then we also have a website address. 49:24 And so, that is study.aftv.org/SH146. 49:35 And so, again, if you're listening to this program, 49:36 please take advantage of that. 49:37 If you're in other countries in the world, 49:39 go on to the internet, go to that website, 49:40 and you'll find a free digital download copy for that. 49:43 God bless you, and we look forward to seeing you next week. 49:48 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 49:50 life-changing, free resource. 49:52 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 49:54 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:56 or mobile device. 49:57 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:00 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the 50:05 web address shown on your screen. 50:07 And be sure to select the "digital download" option on 50:10 the request page. 50:11 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:14 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 50:17 and most important, to share it with others. 50:20 ♪♪♪ 50:30 Brad: So, I grew up in a nondenominational house 50:32 or the Pentecostal side. 50:35 I really didn't read the Bible that much. 50:37 I knew of Jesus, but I really didn't have that relationship. 50:40 I attended the church, but it was more like check, I did it. 50:44 So, it's just like, all right, I've got fire insurance. 50:46 I'm not going to go to hell because I'm going to church and 50:48 I know enough to be a good person. 50:50 Post education, working in Denver, Colorado, 50:53 and the company that I worked for said, 50:56 "All right, we're closing the Denver office. 50:58 Brad, would you like a transfer letter, 51:00 or would you like a severance package?" 51:02 I went ahead and took the transfer. 51:04 My family and I moved to Woodlands, Texas. 51:06 Here for about three and a half years, 51:09 and the company that I was with was acquired, 51:12 so I found myself unemployed. 51:15 I started to stress out. 51:17 A lot of anxiety and depression started to soak in. 51:20 We were just trying to figure out what to do. 51:23 My anxiety was so bad, I started to pace. 51:25 I was starting to get like these shocks. 51:27 Up till that time, I was a social drinker, 51:29 so I drank and I chewed tobacco quite often. 51:31 And with the worry, anxiety that was starting to come in, 51:36 I started to do that more frequently. 51:38 So, it came to the point of my wife had to have a lot of 51:41 conversations with the kids of, "Dad's working through this. 51:43 We just got to pray for him." 51:45 And I didn't want to let them down, 51:47 but you get so self-absorbed just trying to figure out, 51:49 "I want the best for him, but I don't know what to do. 51:51 I don't know the next step to take." 51:53 The anxiety got so bad, it was like the feeling you get when 51:56 you get pulled over by a cop. 51:58 It's that gut-wrenching feel day in and day out. 52:01 At that time was when we started to seek out other resources. 52:05 I was admitted into a mental facility. 52:09 So, when I went there, they drug me up on a couple different 52:12 medications, which really didn't help out much. 52:15 My cognitive skills went down. 52:17 I really couldn't remember what was going on. 52:20 After being there for eight days, I was let go. 52:22 My wife's mom pointed us to Dr. Neil Nedley with his depression 52:27 and anxiety recovery program. 52:29 So, they sent us some DVDs and got me on a plant-based diet and 52:33 a strenuous workout program. 52:36 Then in October, I flew to Weimar and was in his ten-day 52:40 depression and recovery program, which that there helped out. 52:43 The anxiety was still there, but it was starting to subside 52:47 because I was starting to reframe my thoughts and starting 52:48 to incorporate some of the things I learned through 52:51 Dr. Nedley's program. 52:53 He gave me these study guides from Amazing Facts and said, 52:58 "Just read these when you get back home." 53:00 And that's where we get introduced to Amazing Facts. 53:03 So, we started to go through the guides and learn about the 53:06 Sabbath and the other topics. 53:08 We were able to study together as a family, 53:11 so some of the biblical truths went from my head to my heart, 53:14 and then that's when the change started. 53:16 It just wasn't me studying it. 53:18 It was collectively, us as a family, 53:20 because I just don't want to be changed, 53:22 I want the whole family to be changed. 53:24 On top of the study guides, I also downloaded the app 53:26 of Amazing Facts. 53:28 So, we started to watch a lot of videos. 53:31 And us, as a family, we all got baptized, 53:33 and my wife and my son got rebaptized. 53:36 But if it wasn't for the resources from Amazing Facts, 53:40 I would not be the father, I would not be the husband, 53:43 that I am now. 53:44 My name is Brad. 53:45 I want to thank you for changing my life. 53:48 ♪♪♪ 54:00 announcer: Amazing Facts, Changed Lives. 54:08 female: Well, my conversion story is when I was in the 54:12 Philippines, I just graduated as a nurse. 54:16 And afterwards, I did not have any religion. 54:20 And one time I found myself inside a small church, 54:24 Catholic Church in Manila, and before a big cross. 54:30 And I was kneeling before, and I could hear Jesus telling me 54:37 to enter the convent, save myself and also my family. 54:41 And I said, "Lord, I would like to follow you all the way." 54:44 At that point, I seemed to be happy externally, 54:48 but because inside the convent we don't read the Bible, 54:52 we don't study about the Word of God. 54:54 We prayed the rosary. 54:56 We also, at the same time, studied the lives of the saints 54:59 and also our founders and the encyclicals of the Pope 55:05 and the Virgin Mary. 55:08 And so, I do not know the truth, and I had this torture 55:10 of conscience, the guilty feelings 55:13 that cannot be resolved. 55:16 So, I would confess to the priest in the confessional box 55:18 saying, "Father, forgive me. 55:21 Since my last confession was last week, 55:24 since then I have committed the following sin, 55:27 including the root cause, why am I falling and falling in that 55:31 same sin over and over again?" 55:34 And still for 21 long years, I struggle, 55:38 and I struggle, and I struggle. 55:41 I realized that I was totally empty. 55:45 I was totally helpless and hopeless and so depressed and so 55:50 desperate that I would like already to end my life. 55:54 I was working for five years as dean of the University of 55:58 St. Augustine College of Nursing in Iloilo City, 56:03 one of the islands in the Philippines. 56:05 After five years, I received a commission from my parents to 56:10 help my sister who is being a battered woman. 56:15 This is one of the reasons why I came over to United States. 56:20 It is because my sister needs my help. 56:24 As I was working in the hospital in New York, 56:27 my boss, Seraphim, he was so gracious enough to give me 56:30 an invitation to the Millennium Prophecy. 56:33 As I was listening to Pastor Doug Batchelor's presentation, 56:37 my heart really was beating so fast and my mind, 56:43 I'm able to grasp the truth that this is the truth that I have 56:49 been longing to hear all my life, 56:51 that I've been seeking for so long. 56:54 My personal relationship with Jesus, 56:57 I can see Jesus as my personal Savior. 57:01 He is not only the Savior of the whole world, 57:04 but He is my personal Savior. 57:07 He was the One who delivered me mightily from the depths of sin, 57:14 from the miry clay. 57:15 Pastor Doug Batchelor has been used by the Lord 57:19 in my conversion. 57:21 The Amazing Facts, I owe to them. 57:23 The Lord really blessed this ministry, 57:27 and I'm so proud that I was able to attend 57:31 this Millennium Prophecy. 57:33 My life has never been the same. 57:35 It has given me that peace, that joy that never--I have never 57:42 tasted in my life. 57:44 And now I'm set free to be able to work for Him 57:48 and to follow Him. 57:50 ♪♪♪ 58:01 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2022-04-07