Shawn Brummund: Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." It's nice to be able to have you join us right here in the headquarters of Amazing Facts in Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento of California. It is always good to be able to come together here on this very special day that God has given to us that He calls the Sabbath, that we might be able to worship and study together as a church family. For those of you who are church members, both locally and online, we want to give you a special welcome and wish you a happy Sabbath as well as many friends that we have across America as well as many other parts of the world. And so, we are here together to be able to continue to study a very important subject that is that of Christian education.
My name is Pastor Shawn and it is good to be able to have you come together as we continue to study that important topic.
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Father in heaven, we want to thank You so much for the opportunity to be able to study Your Bible. We thank You for the faith that You have given to us for all of us who have accepted that faith and presence of You in our life, in our heart. We want to pray, God in heaven, that You will bless this session, Lord, that You will bless each and every friend and member that is watching. That, Lord, You will help us to be able to further understand the great themes of truth that You have brought to light in the topic of Christian education here this morning. And so, Lord, we want to pray that You will guide us, lead us with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus's name we pray these things, God, amen.
You know, one of the questions that I asked when I looked out our front window of the house that God has blessed our family to be able to live in, right now, and I see the street, I see the elementary school that's across the street from us, the trees, the bushes, the grasses. And, of course, everything that is beyond that and I ask myself, "What do I see in my heart, in my mind, when I look out my window and as I start my day? How am I interpreting that world that is before me?
Today's title of lesson number four is "The Eyes of the Lord: A Biblical Worldview." Today we're going to talk about eyesight or views and certainly having a proper view, an accurate and correct view, is important. Now, when we talk about views, we talk about views in a physical way but we're also talking about views in a theological, psychological, and emotional way today as well. You know, it's interesting.
I was just hearing a story of a colleague of mine, Pastor Luccas Rodor who is on our pastoral team here in Granite Bay, and Granite Bay Hilltop, and he was sharing, him and his wife were sharing, him and his wife Danielle were sharing, on how they had taken an excursion to Lake Tahoe, which is about an hour and a half's drive from here up into the beautiful Sierra Mountains. Lake Tahoe is an international destination for many people to come and visit. Beautiful, beautiful redwoods and so on.
They had their anniversary celebration up there for the weekend. They had booked a hotel for two or three nights and just had a wonderful time. They did have a challenging time, though, they shared, one afternoon when they had decided to hike to the top or summit of one of the most prominent and tallest mountains in the Lake Tahoe region. And, as it turns out, it took about, I forget how many hours, but it was in plural of hours to be able to get to the top of the summit.
It was a nice hot, sunny, dry day which is wonderful weather and, of course, climate to be able to have when you're going to the top of a summit because one of the rewards of hiking to the top of a mountain, or the ultimate reward, is this terrific view that you have when you get to the top. And sure enough, when they got to the top, all the work paid off. They enjoyed themselves, they were able to have this 360-degree view that you would never be able to get anywhere near that on the road that goes around the lake, and so they got a view of that area of Lake Tahoe that most people that visit that lake will not experience or have not experienced.
On a more serious note, they found themselves running out of water before they were even close to being halfway back down to their car and, now this is after exerting themselves for several hours in the hot dry sun. And it wasn't long before they found themselves in a very seriously hydrated condition and even to the point of great discomfort and pain, and so we are thankful that both him and his wife were able to thank--safely make it back to their car and arrive safely back to their hotel where they spent the rest of the day and evening rehydrating and they said that did not take--or it took more than a couple of hours to be able to do that.
So, you know, views. We have so many different accesses to increased views. We can go to the top of mountains. If we don't want to exert ourselves for that long, there are other alternatives, especially when there's a big city like New York City and you want to be able to have a bird's eye view of that city that you would never get on the street, you can go to the Freedom Tower at the One World Center, One World Trade Center, and find yourself at the Observatory Deck there and you can get a wonderful view of the entire city of New York; wonderful opportunity for us to be able to take advantage of.
And then, of course, many of us have those experiences where we, especially when you first started flying, you would always ask for a window seat so that you could look out and look down through the window and kind of take in the different shapes of the fields of wheat and if it's going over rice fields and agricultural areas or the great snowcapped mountains or, of course, the great cities, especially at night, when you're coming in to a city and it's all lit up and just the lights seem to go on forever. And so, it can be a very exciting experience and especially when it's new. Now, of course, we also have drones that we can buy now and we can get a virtual view as we put that drone up and get a bird's eye view that we never had access to before for not that many dollars now. It's surprising how little we need to spend to be able to get that view of a drone today.
And then, of course, the ultimate view of the world is, on a physical basis, is if you are able to get into a space shuttle or a rocket ship and find yourself floating beyond the atmosphere in space and you look back and now you get much more than a bird's eye view. Now you're getting more closer to what God's view is on a physical basis, the view of the angels that look down on the entire globe of the planet in all of its beautiful blue that's glowing in the sky, and the seas and, of course, the cloud cover and land and so on. So, and even if you can't find yourself fortunate enough to be able to ride in a space shuttle and physically be up there, we have satellites now, we have Google Access. Google Earth allows us to be able to drone, you could say, or hover over the earth and kind of zero in on any part of the planet today. And so we live in a day and age when we have views and access to views of the planet, of the world, that we never had in all of history.
But I'd like to invite you to come with me to the memory verse of our lesson study here today which is lesson number 4 and that starts on page 30. And so, when we go to page 30 of the lesson study, the memory text itself is coming from Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 3. In 15, verse 3, the Bible says: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." "The eyes of the Lord are in every place." Now, this is just a sample verse.
For those of you who have studied and read through the whole Bible, can most likely recall that there are multiple times and multiple places where that same truth is repeated that you can go to the very tops of the sky and the Lord is there. You can go to the depths in the bottom of the sea and the Lord is there. There is nowhere we can go that the Lord does not have view of. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere. And this important Bible truth tells us something very important. It tells us that God is very much involved in this world and He's very much aware of everything that is going on in every place at every time 24/7. And therefore, because of that, God has a view of this entire world that is more comprehensive than the most comprehensive and technologically advanced monitoring system that mankind could ever come to invent.
Now, we have some pretty amazing monitoring systems today, don't we? When we look over in China, you know, there's a bit of a controversy that's been taking place over the last year or so where one or more American technology companies are selling to the Chinese Communist government some very advanced monitoring cameras and systems, and the Chinese government is placing those in every street corner and, basically, setting themselves up as the "Big Brother" like they never have before and never had the technology to be able to do that in the past. And this is certainly something that should cause us to tremble a little bit because when we have fallen man being the Big Brother and trying to replace or at least imitate God's eyes that are everywhere at all times in all ways, friends, we're not in safe hands. When we're in the Lord's hands, we can know that we're in safe hands and that He can know everything and monitor and everything. And so that's a much different story and scenario.
Well, not only does God have the ability and always has had the ability to monitor and know the good and the evil and all the activities and thoughts that go through the lives of every single human being that has ever lived, but the fact of that should tell us that this worldview should be something that the wisest of us should want to learn, that should want to adopt.
And, of course, the Bible also tells us that not only does God know everything that's presently going on, but He knows every point of every history of every human being that has ever taken place. And, not only that, but then God also puts Himself out and He says, "I also know what is going to happen tomorrow and the day after that." And He has demonstrated it, He has claimed it, and--multiple times throughout the Bible, and He has a 100% batting average. And so the Lord not only knows and monitors everything that's presently going on, but He also knows every moment that's going to take place in the future.
Now, if you want to be in the know, you want to make sure that you go to God's worldview. If you want to be able to see the world as it really is, as it really was, as it really came from, and as it really is going, then of course we want to be able to find ourselves learning and adopting God's worldview. And of course, that's what we're talking about today, isn't it? We're not talking so much about physical view, even though that certainly is included in God's involvement in this planet, but even more so, He knows the intents and thoughts of the heart and He is taking all these things into account, and He knows the world more than anyone else as well.
Now, that being said, I should qualify that when we come to the Bible, which by the way all evidence points us to as the only reliable and accurate source of God's worldview, of the view that He has of the reality of the world, is that this is not a comprehensive revelation of everything that God knows about the world. No, not at all. And, in fact, if we go through--go to one of those key texts that we find in the Bible which is Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 29, we find there that it tells us that the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but what has been revealed belongs to us, as Moses wrote as the first Bible writer.
And so as God was laying the foundation of the Bible, speaking through His first Bible writer and prophet, Moses, He makes it clear to us that He doesn't reveal all the secrets and all the things that He knows. It would be overwhelming in the first place. But He does reveal what we need to know and what is important for us to know. And so, friends, with Christian education, of course, as the Bible lesson teaches us on, in lesson number 4 is that we need to make sure that that Christian education is based on God's worldview and the secret things that He has revealed to us through the holy Scriptures and the holy prophets that wrote them. So I think that's important for us to be able to know.
Now, sadly, even as we talk about the authentic and the only reliable worldview that we can learn and adopt which is God's worldview, mankind and Satan has kind of partnered together and they have developed countless alternative worldviews that we can adopt and learn instead. And that's also important for us to be able to understand and, of course, if you talk to five of your neighbors just on one street alone, you will find that you could find up to five different worldviews. And so worldviews are--seem to be countless.
Certainly, there is more prominent ones that the majority of mankind adopts, and certainly, we're going to talk about those. The first one is found in the original Garden of Eden where God had planted two trees. He had planted the tree of life in which He intended originally for mankind, starting with Adam and Eve and all their descendants, to be able to access on a regular basis that they might have eternal life and to be able to experience eternal love and purity and holiness and perfection for all of eternity.
Sadly, it tells us in the third chapter that things kind of went south. We find there that the second tree that God had planted, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was accessed by Satan himself, the enemy of God, the enemy of all that is true, the enemy of all that is holy and righteous. And it is that enemy that spoke through a serpent one day and the definition of the worldview essentially that he sold to Eve and then Even had sold to her husband was that even though God exists and certainly this is something that the serpent wasn't foolish enough to think that they could convince Adam and Eve otherwise, even as he knows that he can't convince many today that God does not exist. But he--in spite of the fact that he could not convince them that God does not exist, he did give them a worldview that says even though God does exist, sin and evil does not result in eternal death, but rather, it widens your horizons, it widens your life experience, in a very life-fulfilling and positive way.
Now, make no mistake about it, friends, this worldview is still a bestselling list and is adopted by many human beings that are living today. Perhaps you have adopted that in the past. Perhaps it's something that is being challenged even today. And, friends, we want to be able to consider the worldview that God has for us, which tells us something much different than the worldview that Adam and Eve had bought into and that many of us buy into today.
Now, the lesson studies points out that there are multiple less-popular worldviews that also exist today. We are given a very almost humorous kind of example of that, and even though many of us, including myself when I read it, found it more humorous than anything that could be taken more on a serious basis, from what I understand, it was presented seriously. It is believed on some level by an Oxford University professor on a serious basis and, of course, that is that the proposition that this Oxford professor is proposing is that all of us, including our world and all life forms, are nothing more than virtual digital creations that have been created and are manipulated in different ways and controlled by aliens in another part of the universe with super-powered computers that are far more advanced than we have achieved even here today. And so this might be humorous to some, it might be intriguing to be able to ponder over for others, but, friends, the bottom line is, it has no harmony with the worldview that the Creator of the universe has given to us and this reliable book called the Bible reveals to us. And so, again, this reveals and confirms that there are multiple worldviews that we can adopt or we can even create, and we have a lot of creative people.
I've talked to many people over the years. It's amazing how creative different people have become in creating their own personal worldview that may be unique to themselves and maybe a couple others that they were able to manage to convince. Now, Sunday's lesson also shares another very popular and successful alternate worldview. And this is no small one. In fact, I would say it's just as large. It's kind of a close call between them. These are the two biggest, most popular worldviews. Again, the one that I explained and reviewed for many of us that the devil had sold to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but then also the worldview that has really taken root here in America and in most nations around the world by far. And that is the atheistic, materialistic viewpoint. And we're introduced to that in, again, in I think it's Sunday's lesson.
If you have your lesson quarterly, I invite you to open up there with me as I want to just read a very helpful quote that the lesson's author has shared with us on Sunday concerning the atheistic, materialistic view. It says: "The universe and all that is in it, including us, just is. Nothing created it, nothing formed it. It just is here. It is simply a brute fact. There is no God, there are no gods, there is nothing divine. Reality is purely material, purely natural." And so I thought that was a good definition and kind of synopsis of what we would call today the atheistic, materialistic worldview. And so, again when they look out of their living room window or their apartment window or whatever their dwelling is and they start to begin to take in the world around them when they start a new day, this is what they see. This is their view of reality.
Now, again, it is not in harmony and is not congruent at all with the Bible and with the Christian faith, but nevertheless, friends, it is something that has taken root in a very real way, in a very substantial area and population of America and many nations around the world. Now, I'd like to suggest that this worldview likely leads to the emptiest life experience that we can possibly have.
Friends, every counterfeit, every alternate worldview that the devil and mankind has created and offers to us, leads us to an emptier experience than that which God has in mind for us: the true view that He has and has revealed to us. But I would say that this one probably leads to the emptiest experience of all.
Now, one of the most important jobs that Christian education has to do is to remove the "A" from atheists. Remove the "A" from the term "atheist." And this--and as part of that job is to demonstrate why the Bible is the only accurate and reliable explanation of what we call theism. Because atheism is the opposite of theism. Atheism rejects the existence of a God, theism believes and claims the existence of a God. Now, so, again, Christian education, one of the most important jobs is to remove the "A" from atheist but also demonstrate why the Bible is the only accurate and reliable source of theism and why being a theist is the best choice that you can possibly make.
Now, this is no small job. This is a huge responsibility that we have as pastors, that Christian educators have in our school systems, but, friends, also we have to remember that part of this job is also found in the home, the parents of the children that are going through grade school. And also even while they're going through the college years. And so, parents, we have to remember that we also are Christian educators and so please don't make the mistake of believing that our job is to be able to teach our children how to tie their shoes and how to brush their hair and take a shower properly and clean up the dishes.
No, friends, as parents, part of our job is also to be able to be Christian educators to our children. And to be able to help and make sure that you are there, augmenting and working in partnership with your local Christian school and educators, to be able to establish your children in this most important job that I just spoke of. Want to invite you to come with me in your Bibles to Psalm 53.
The lesson study points us to Psalm 53 as one of the key texts for us to be able to study and so I invite you to come with me there as we look at the first two verses. Psalm 53 and verse 1 says: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good." And then verse 2 goes on and says: "God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, and who seek God." And so verse 2, again, reflects our memory verse that reveals again that God is very much involved in this world and that He is very much involved and cares for this world and for you and me.
And we're going to talk about God's love a little bit later, but right now, friends, the Bible has declared a very sad reality, one that He wants us to understand as believers and if we aren't a believer today, that we might be able to understand that to be a believer is the very best place that we can be and that it is only a fool that says in his heart that there is no God. And so that is the Bible's response to the atheistic, materialistic view and philosophy and worldview that has been adopted by so many, even here across America.
You see, friends, there was a time when the vast majority of Americans held a worldview that was theistic at its core. The majority of those who counted themselves as American citizens, if you were to ask them, "Do you believe in God or do you believe that there is a God," most of them, by far the vast majority of them, would say, "Well, of course, there is." Now, how they interpret that and then what kind of worldview they believe that God has given to us or they have invented in their own mind, is a different story.
There are all kinds of different religions and different flavors and versions of Christianity that aren't in harmony with the Bible that people have adopted, but at its core, at minimum at least, most Americans had a theistic view. But that time is no more. Atheism and the theory of evolution which has partnered up with atheism and has, for many people, seemed to have affirmed and confirmed that an atheistic, materialistic view is indeed, quote, "scientific." It is intellectually acceptable and is really the answer to our origins as well as our present and future. But because atheism and the theory of evolution has taken root with so many across this country and many countries around the world, that we are reaping the fruits today. "They are corrupt," the Bible says in the same verse. After he says, "The fool has said there is no God," it goes on and says that "they are corrupt. They have done abominable iniquity."
Friends, one of the most horrible fruits that is taking place here in America as a result of adopting this atheistic, materialistic worldview that also again partners up with evolution is that we have lost great respect for the civil and religious liberties that this country was built on. That is still the key to the great prosperity and happiness and satisfaction that so many of its citizens have experienced and have had access to for so many centuries or decades in the past.
There has been a great loss of respect for the freedom of speech for everyone, not just for you. You know, there's many people today that believe and say, you know, listen, I believe in the principle that is founded in this nation that there is free speech for all as long as you agree with me. But as soon as you start to challenge my view, as soon as you start to challenge my worldview or my philosophies and my understanding, then suddenly, free speech seems to be disappearing very quickly amongst those same people. And so there's a great loss of respect and protection of the freedom of speech, not just for myself but for everyone.
There's been a great loss of respect for law enforcement in America today, and I believe, again, that, friends, this is much--very clearly tied to that of the atheistic, materialistic view that so much of our newest generations have adopted. Now, friends, they didn't have to go out and find this. They have found it, in fact, it came and found them in our public school systems, in our grade school systems, in our universities across this country. Friends, all of it has found them and, friends, they have been indoctrinated in it. They have been told that this is no longer a theory when it comes to evolution, they have been told that this is a scientific fact. They have been duped, they have been sold into a number of goods that simply come up empty and are not in harmony with true science, are not in harmony with rational thinking and logic, and not in harmony with the worldview that God presents in His Bible. As the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 8 in verse 7: "They have sown to the wind and are reaping the whirlwind."
Friends, we are in a day and age, I believe, that in America we are sowing to the wind. We have sowed in the wind over the last 50-plus years and now we are reaping the whirlwind. It is not by coincidence that we have so much social unrest today. It is not by coincidence that we have so much political unrest today. Friends, this is all a natural consequence of a worldview that we have adopted and indoctrinated our children in that is totally contrary to that which many, the bulk of Americans, believed in the past, which is a biblical Christian worldview. And so, friends, biblically based Christian education is our only safe refuge. It is the only place that we can find safety and it's the only place that we can safely place our children. And so there is a battle that is more intense today than it ever has been in all of the history of this great country.
And, friends, I want to encourage you as Christian parents, to be able to do whatever you can to be able to place your children in a seat that is at the feet of sincere Christian teachers that are teaching them and indoctrinating them and introducing them to the only reliable and safe worldview that we can find, which is in the holy Scriptures. As soon as you leave a sincere, reliable, faithful Christian educating school, friends, you are putting your children into the very hands of the evil one.
Now, I know I'm speaking frankly here and I'm speaking strong, but, friends, I believe that God has a burden that He has put in my heart and that He has for your children, and He wants to make sure that your children have the best chance to be able to know the truth from error and to be able to have a worldview that will give them the most satisfying and fulfilling life that they can find. That's why Jesus says: "The thief does not come except to kill and to steal and destroy," speaking of the evil one, "but I have come," Jesus says, "that they may have life, and have it more abundantly."
Friends, this is where we find abundant life. This is where we find our peace, our joy, our patience, our love. Friends, there is only one source in which we can find these things and, again, there's all kinds of alternative worldviews that claim to be able to offer those things to you and I, but, friends, it always comes up empty. That's why Jesus says: "I am the living water. He who drinks from Me and from My fountain and from My water will never thirst again," because He knows and He still knows today that is the only way in which we can satisfy our thirst. It is the only place that we can find a true abundant life.
All right, well, that's enough of preaching. Let's go back to our lesson study. One of the things I also appreciate about the lesson's author is that he points out that we must not stop at teaching and affirming that God simply exists. Now, to have a theistic worldview is important. That's the foundation and beginning of having a relationship with God. But, of course, as a Christian educator, we would fall very dramatically short if we only just tried to convince our students and, as parents, our children that indeed, just God simply exists.
But rather, we also have to go further and explain and educate them on what kind of God exists. Because, again, the devil has been very busy. Mankind has partnered in a very effective way in developing all kinds of different gods and it's even reformed the God of the Bible into a man and into a person in which He is not. And so we have to bring the truth of what kind of God is, as well.
If we come back to the lesson study in chapter or verse or page 31, coming back to the lesson study in page 31, again, as we go to the last paragraph there, at the bottom of the page, I just want to read the one sentence. It says: "Central to any Christian education is the reality, not just of God but of the kind of God that He is: a personal God who loves us and who interacts with us."
Friends, this is so important for us to understand. We talked about the interacting already a number of times throughout our lesson study today, but what kind of God is it that interacts with us, that knows so much and whose eyes know every move and thought and intent of the heart? That can be very intimidating if we don't know what kind of God, God is. And so the lesson study wisely points us to John chapter 3 and verse 16. Many of us rightly and helpfully know it by heart: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever should believe on Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
And so that key, most famous gospel text that we have in all the Bible begins with the important several words: "For God so loved." "For God so loved." Four powerful words that help us and introduce us to the kind of God that is so involved in our world, that is the ruler and maker of all the universe. John doesn't stop there, though. He takes that and runs with it. After God had inspired him to write the Gospel of John, he then goes on and writes the great Epistle of love as it's come to be called: 1 John. And in 1 John chapter 4, verse 8, we find the three most important theological words in all of the Bible. Of course, it begins in that particular verse by saying the words such as, "He who does not love, does not know God." Why, John?
Why is it that if we do not love, we do not know God? Because God is love. You see, the source of all love comes from the heart and throne of God. That's the one that monitors and knows every move and every thought and intent of the heart. He is the one that is able to see all things and is keeping track both of good and of evil as we have read here today. And so, friends, we need to teach our children as they continue to grow that not only did God exist but that at the very core of His very being is that of love.
I hope I'm hearing some "Amens" out there in a virtual world, of course. We have no one live here as we normally do before the pandemic in our church here, but, friends, I hope that there are some "amens" to that, because, friends, we need to be able to say a loud "amen" to that. And not only that, but John doesn't stop in 1 John chapter 4, verse 8, but in the following two verses, in verses 9 and 10, John then goes on and tells us the ultimate proof of that love. And he says, "Listen, the ultimate proof of that important theological statement that God is love is the very fact that God gave His Son, his eternal Son, the most precious, most valuable commodity and possession that He has had for all of eternity, which is that which He has spent all of eternity with, His own Son. And He gave Him to die on a cross to bear the guilt and the sin of you and me, to bear the guilt and the sin of all mankind upon Himself when He hung upon that cross.
Friends, it is upon that cross that we find hope, that we find the ultimate demonstration and confirmation that it is God that we can trust. It is His worldview that is the only safe refuge. And Satan and all that he has developed before and since is something that we need to be able to throw in the trashcan exactly where it belongs, that we might walk with Christ, that we might trust Him from day to day and know it is Him that gives us life and life eternal.
As we go to Monday's lesson, at the top there it talks about a German philosopher and thinker and so on and he asked the question that different thinking people have asked through the centuries and that is: "Why is there something instead of nothing?" And the Bible is not silent on that important question. Why is there something instead of nothing? Well, God kind of steps in right off the bat, and He starts with the very first verse of the very first book of the Bible and He says, "Listen, I've got some information on that. I happen to have been there and I know the answer to that question." And so he starts the Bible with: "For God--In the beginning," I should say, "God created the heavens and the earth." God is the source of all things. The reason that there is something instead of nothing is because there is an eternal existing, almighty, all-intelligent, all-loving God that has made everything that we see.
Now, the rest of the Bible, I should say the rest of the next two chapters of the first book of the Bible in Genesis unpacks that powerful, important theological statement in answer to the question. But then also, when we come to Hebrews chapter 3, sorry, Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3, and again, if your Bibles are with you, you can go ahead and read that with me, where Paul also was inspired to write an inflection of that question. It says: "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what was--what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
Now, that's kind of a deep poetic way and prophetic way of saying, "Listen, everything that we see, everything that we can touch, everything that contains atoms in the subatomic world, makes up the material that is around us in the universe, all of it was not--was made from that which is not seen." In other words, ex nihilo, as the scholars call it, which means that God made things out of nothing. That's why the word "command" is key in that verse as well. It says: "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command." And that's why the Bible tells us when it describes the six-day Creation that God spoke and He said, "Let there be light."
That's the command of God, friends. And just like that, there was light. He said, "Let there be an atmosphere that separates the waters from the earth and from the sky," and just like that He separated the waters and the earth from the waters and the sky and created a perfect atomic concoction of the air, what we call the air, with all the right ingredients to be able to sustain the life that He was going to later command in the following days. At God's command He begins to create things out of things that do not exist. And so God is not--doesn't need to go down to Home Depot when He wants to construct something. He doesn't need to go down to the local construction store and buy the lumber and the building materials that He needs. No, He can make that material out of nothing, friends. And so the Bible gives us answers to these important questions.
Friends, it's not by coincidence that the doctrine of a six-day Creation by God is the number one target of Satan and this world. And the assault is not only outside the church, by the way, but this assault on a six-day literal creation at the command and word of God where He made things out of nothing is not only being assaulted outside of the church but it is also under assault in a very real way inside the church.
Now, you may say to yourself, "Well, I'm glad I'm not part of that church," but the fact of the matter is, friends, there is no church that is untouched by this assault and that includes the Seventh-day Adventist Church and which I represent, and which Amazing Facts represents. And so, friends, this assault is very real, and some of us have been exposed to it, even in some of our church's universities and classrooms. I've seen it assaulted in different Sabbath school rooms in churches around the world.
Friends, this is a very real challenge that Satan and this world is bringing upon us, and we are not immune to it. We need to be able to understand it, be established in what the Word of God actually says, and to be able to stand--understand much of the rationale and the logic that is behind it as well. It is not by coincidence that in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 7 when we come to the three angels' message, that great end-time message of prophecy that God has for the last generation before Jesus comes, that cries out, "Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water." Friends, it is not coincidence that God put it in there because He knew that that was a foundational doctrine that would be assaulted and attacked, both within the church and without the church in the last generations of this world.
In page 32 of the lesson study we find another very helpful quote there. It says: "The doctrine of Creation also is foundational to any Christian education. Everything we believe as Christians, everything, rests on the doctrine of the six-day Creation. The Bible didn't begin with a statement about atonement or about the law or about the cross or about the Resurrection or about the Second Coming. No, it began with a statement about God as the Creator because none of these other teachings makes any sense apart from the reality of God as our Creator."
Now, friends, how much do I wish that we had another half an hour to our Bible study hour and it was an hour and a half and I might be able to unpack that for the next half-hour. And one by one, going through those other key foundational Christian fundamental beliefs and see how all of them fall on the ground if it wasn't for the fact that we understand and adopt and believe in the literal six-day Creation in which Moses believed and in the style in which he has written for us, for you and I today.
Well, one of those examples is hard to imagine. It's a teaching that is antithetical to the Bible. The lesson study looks at it. I wish I had more time to be able to look at it more thoroughly. But, friends, with our closing thoughts here today, I wanted to share with you that to adopt the theory of evolution as a believing, church-going Christian, is one of the--you know, evolution as this lesson study points out, is, in fact, let me read the quote. It says: "It's hard to imagine a teaching more antithetical to the Bible and to the Christian faith in general than that of evolution."
Friends, the Bible teaches that we are created perfect and then we sin shortly after and, as a result of that sin, we have degraded physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually ever since. Our lifespan has degraded, our stature physically, our height and stature, has degraded, our intellectual ability has degraded over the centuries. Friends, that is the diametrical opposite of what Darwin's theory of evolution presents today and which is adopted by most around us today. And that tells us that we started with the most primitive, most corrupt, most basic forms of life, and then, through much violence and killing and manipulation of other species for our advantage, it was the avenue in which we found ourselves and still find ourselves evolving and arriving in a different place.
Friends, those two theories go in completely different directions, and yet many of us, as Christians, has revealed that either we have a very low understanding of the great themes of the Bible and evolution, I mean the great things of the Bible and salvation, or we don't understand, really, and aren't educated in the theory of evolution because, friends, these two things go in the exact opposite direction.
And so, please do not make the mistake of believing that you can adopt a theistic evolutionary viewpoint. You cannot marry the two. They are unmarriable. They are completely diametrical opposites. And so, friends, we need to be able to teach and educate our children concerning that, and, friends, I wish we had more time.
There's a couple of other things that we have to share but, friends, I hope that you have studied through this lesson study. There are many good points that it makes, both what we pointed out today as well as what we can find in the lesson study.
So don't forget to take advantage of our free offer that we had at the beginning of the lesson. In case you missed it, it's written by Joe Crews: "Hidden Ears-- Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears." Friends, we don't want to find ourselves in that predicament. If you've never read it, make sure you take advantage of it. Dial 1-866-788-3966 and you can receive a free copy of that and you can also text it--just text the message "SH036" and you want to text that to the number which is 40544. 40544, we can call that the phone number, if you can. And so you want to text it to that phone number, if we can call it that, with that message and you can receive a free digital offer. Friends, we look forward to seeing you again next week as we continue to study in this important topic of education. Until then, God bless you and don't forget that God loves you.
Announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing free resource. Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can download a digital copy straight to your computer or mobile device. To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address shown on your screen and be sure to select the digital download option on the request page. It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. And most important, to share it with others.
Announcer: The statistics are grim. Millions have been infected by coronavirus, thousands have died. Race riots have broken out on streets, political tensions are at an all-time high. Does the Bible have anything to say about the times in which we are living?
Doug Batchelor: Hi, friends. This is Pastor Doug Batchelor. Many people are wondering if the world's about to implode. Some are fearful that global events point to a coming crisis unlike anything we've ever witnessed. Did you know the Bible book of Revelation actually speaks about the days in which we're living now? And it contains a message of hope, if we would only listen. That's why I'd like to invite you to "Revelation Now! Decoding the Bible's Greatest Prophecies." In this multi-part series, I'll be sharing relevant truths for our time from the last book in the Bible.
Announcer: Coming October 23. To learn more, visit revelationnow.com.
Announcer: Amazing Facts: Changed Lives.
Gary: Early 1980s all the baby boomers were turning 21 and the nightclub scenes were exploding and I started a entertainment lighting company.
Female: I was the president and there were six divisions. Doing the raves in the '80s and '90s, you know, in some warehouse where you're setting up lighting and fog and, you know, who knows what's going on in there and nightclub--nightclub installations. I loved it and it was who I was.
Gary: Bought a new house out of town and we moved about two or three times. But we were always going into different churches. We were in a Lutheran church and then we were in a Methodist church. I think we were in three different Baptist churches. My wife was raised Catholic. I was raised Methodist. Currently, I've been out reading all the Hal Lindsey books and watching all the "Left Behind" movies and so I really wanted to understand what the book of Revelation was all about. But nothing really ever made sense to me.
Female: One day, Pastor Lloyd Logan came knocking and he had that '99 flyer.
Lloyd Logan: We were preparing for an evangelistic series and different people were going different directions with handbills to invite people to the meetings.
Female: I saw that coming at me, you know, all the colors and I thought, "Oh no, this is some kind of cult thing."
Lloyd: And she said, "Thank you very much and I'm not much interested myself but my husband likes that kind of thing." Female: And Lloyd said, "Would you give it to him please?" And I said, "Okay, I will." So I took the pamphlet and I put it on the counter. Gary came home and he walked by it.
Gary: Ran through the kitchen to quickly eat and take a shower and go back out and work a show.
Female: Two or three days went by like this and I moved that brochure from the counter, put it on the dining room table, put it back on the counter. And I actually threw it in the garbage. As I threw it in that garbage can, I could hear him and see his face saying, "Would you give it to him please?" And I actually took the garbage out. Then--and that night, lying in bed, I kept seeing his face and hearing his voice and thinking, "Oh boy, I've got to get that brochure out of the garbage." And I took that and I put it right underneath the remote control. Bright colors, he'll see it.
Gary: I finally sat down in my living room and I picked up the remote and I saw that angel holding out that scroll.
Female: "Whoa, cool. What is this?" And I was in the kitchen, cooking, and I thought, "Oh no."
Gary: And I looked at it and I turned it over and then I saw a little building, a little church building, and it wasn't too far away. It was about six houses down and it said, "Friday night."
Female: And I certainly wasn't going. I mean, it wasn't my intention to go.
Gary: I didn't have any shows going on that night and so I thought it was a one-night deal. I went and as I heard about the Millennium, man, I was just blown away. I didn't want it to end. I knew what I was hearing was all from the Scripture and it wasn't based on Hollywood movies or other books that were written. They said, "Come again tomorrow night," and I thought, "Wow, great, two nights." So I tried to tell my wife about it and she still wasn't interested and then she decided to come.
Female: I started to hear the truth, you know, and I started to get fed.
Gary: Every night after the seminar, they would hand us an Amazing Facts study guide. I couldn't do those fast enough.
Female: The business kept us going seven days a week and it was night and day.
Gary: Crews working all around the clock and so when we finally heard the Sabbath message, you know, so far everything's been true, right from the Bible.
Female: Church on Saturday, no work. Anyway, it all clicked. Gary: Both our heads turned at each other, our jaws dropped open.
Female: I said, "We can't do that."
Gary: And the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "We have to."
Female: I knew that it would be a sacrifice and I was in fear about it.
Gary: We didn't know how we were going to do it but we talked to the pastor about it and the pastor said, "Well, just pray about it and God will open doors."
Female: I didn't want to give up all the connections I had made, all the networking, all the money, all the investment.
Gary: We went to the board and asked them if they would consider closing on Saturday and they agreed to. So we closed the storefront on Saturday but we were still doing productions and that kind of bothered us. So a couple of months later, God opened a door for my wife. She exited the company. I prayed about it and God opened a door for me too.
Female: Gary, shortly after, was offered a job being paid more money than he made as an owner of the company.
Gary: He said, "I'll give you a $1,000 raise and you will never work another weekend."
Female: And we were able to keep the Sabbath and enjoy the wonderful blessings that God had for us on the Sabbath day.
Gary: My kids never again had to say, "Quit talking about work." After the seminar was over, my wife and I and my children were all baptized in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Even if I gave up everything, I knew that God would have something better.
Female: I have much more understanding and there's much more depth in my Christian walk with the Lord.
Gary: We started an Amazing Facts Bible School at our church. It allows anybody to understand the Scriptures and to understand the end-times. Church changed my life dramatically, and I'm very happy and excited to be a part of it.
Doug: Have you ever heard a mouse howl like a wolf? Well, what would you expect would happen when a creature changes its destiny from the hapless prey to mighty predator? From the outside, they look very much like just an oversized field mouse: cute brown fur, white on the underbelly, nice little beady eyes, but that's where the similarities stop.
Grasshopper mice are very unusual, making them the objects of great interest for animal researchers. These furry little creatures are found in the harsh deserts of North America. They're very territorial in nature and they will monopolize and fend off 25 acres. They don't build their own homes but sort of confiscate the burrows and the homes of other creatures.
They're not called grasshopper mice because they hop around, but it's because they eat a lot of grasshoppers. In fact, scientists have discovered grasshopper mice are the only mice that are purely carnivorous. They hunt much like cats or weasels, stalking their prey in a predatory fashion, and when they pounce, they are ferocious, sometimes even taking on snakes and scorpions and centipedes.
When a grasshopper mouse gets into a fierce battle with a snake or a scorpion or a centipede, they may be bit or stung several times, but what is amazing to researchers is they've noticed when they are bitten, they somehow shake it off because they convert the toxin in the venom to painkiller. I think you can understand why this information would be of special interest to scientists that are trying to discover new ways for people to deal with chronic pain.
One of the most intriguing characteristics of these little creatures is when they're defending their territory or celebrating a victory over some adversary, they'll throw back their head and let out this earthshaking howl. It's a mousy howl. Check it out.
[Howling]
Doug: The grasshopper mouse is not the only member of creation that can survive encounters with venomous predators. In Luke 10:19 it says: "Behold, I will give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will by any means hurt you."
We don't have to be the biggest and the strongest to defeat our enemy and let out that victory roar. When God called David to be king, no human would have guessed that he had it in him. He was young and insignificant. From the outside, he looked like there was no greatness in him. But when God looked at his heart, he saw courage, humility, compassion, and love. David wasn't perfect and he made mistakes but through God's power he was able to conquer giants.
Friend, God does not intend that you live out the rest of your life cowering and trembling like a little field mouse. If God can take the grasshopper mouse and give him courage so that he fights snakes and scorpions and centipedes, if God can put in the heart of David the courage to fight giants like Goliath, then he can give you that same courage.
The Scriptures say, "God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." And you can have that peace in your heart when you invite the Prince of peace in your heart. Why don't you do that right now?
Male: "I was a stranger and you took me in."
"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."