Doug Batchelor - Turning Hearts in the End Time (Sabbath School Study Hour)

[Music] good morning friends welcome again to Sabbath school study hour here at the Granite Bay seventh-day Adventist Church in Sacramento California I'd like to welcome our online members and I extended Sabbath School class joining in across the country and around the world as we continue our series dealing with family seasons actually today's the final study with Allison courtly on the subject of family seasons today's lesson is lesson number thirteen and it's entitled turning hearts in the end times so that's an important and interesting study that we'll be looking at today those of you who are here in person following our lessons study today you'll be able to receive next quarters lesson Courtley it's entitled the least of these and this will be handed out following our study time here you'll also see it on the back table for those of you are joining us and who don't have a copy of our quarterly for next study you can go to amazing facts and you can order yours you can also just go visit a nearby seventh-day Adventist Church and you'll be able to receive a lesson quarterly there as well now before we go to our worship time before we get to our lesson we have something special that we'd like to let you know about this afternoon at 4:30 right here at the Granite Bay Church and also for friends or joining us on Facebook we're gonna have a special Q&A time connected with our Africa program Affco is the amazing fact center of evangelism I'm very happy that we have Daniel with us this morning Daniel come on up Daniel is the assistant Africa director also very involved with our Africa training traveling around doing a half go to goes and he's gonna tell us a little bit about a brand-new course that is available through our fqo online and then I think we're gonna show you a short video about it that's right you know time flies and it's hard to imagine that just almost a year ago we launched amazing disciples which goes through all the principles of discipleship and what it's all about about really being a Christian and so now I'm just thrilled to announce that we have expanded our program with amazing doctrines it's kind of like the next step now you're a disciple what do you teach and all these these special teachings found in the word you know Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and so each week we're gonna be going through what is the way of Jesus and how does it affect our life as we study with others and as we live and so we've got a pretty cool video that we're gonna show you now letting you know all about amazing doctrines if you want to know more you can go to online dot F co.org or you can go to F org and click on the links there and you can learn all about both programs amazing disciples and amazing doctrines alright we'll take a look at that video at this time [Music] hello friends last year we expanded our afro program to include our very first global online platform it's called amazing disciples now we're very excited to announce our brand new 13 week course called amazing doctrines that will empower you to share the precious truths found in the Word of God doctrines such as scripture salvation sanctuary the state of man and death the second coming the Sabbath strength stewardship the spirit of prophecy and we'll be talking about the origin of sin of course the material is based on the first-hand experience of our evangelists that they've acquired in their years of experience in the field so now you can learn from the very best and be equipped with proven methods to join in the work what's more you'll be able to study this fantastic material on your phone your tablet your computer and on the go you'll have 13 powerful lessons weekly downloads interactive lessons video presentations and live question-and-answer sessions with the Affco team you'll have a real team of teachers to guide you along the way and as a student you'll be able to study from home learn at any time and become a confident and effective soul winner in your community or wherever God calls you and upon completion of the course you will receive a certificate of completion now how'd you like to meet some of your personal instructors Carlos muñoz and Daniel Hudgens my friends and powerful evangelists thanks pastor Doug Franz we're so excited about this new online program we're gonna be waiting for you so please join us by logging on to our website well there it is our Affco online very excited about that our brainy series called amazing doctrines and we're actually starting our Q&A time today again that's this afternoon 4:30 right here at the church you're all welcome to come join us we're gonna be taking some questions from our fqo online students some Bible questions so I think you'll enjoy that at this time I'd like to invite our song leaders to come forward we're gonna begin our study time by lifting our voices in song as we do before every study we lift our voices to the Lord to sing together so I invite you to pull out your hymnals and those of you that home hymn number 3:18 whiter than snow and that is what we all want to be is washed whiter than snow in the blood of Jesus and taken to heaven very soon so let's sing verses one three and four whiter than snow [Music] No [Music] yes [Music] let's bow our heads for a word of Prayer dear father once again we are grateful for this opportunity to gather together and open up your word and study an important subject talking about the family and how we can prepare for the end times that we know is nearing us sooner all the time so Lord we ask for your blessing be with us study time today in Jesus name Amen now listen the small is going to be brought to us by Pastor Doug good morning happy Sabbath glad to see you here glad to see those who are here worshiping and studying with us at Granite Bay as well as we know there are hundreds and and thousands around the world that study some are watching live now and then when it's rebroadcast on television and satellite later there are thousands of tune in and study where this was glad that you're joining us today we're going to be covering our last lesson lesson number thirteen in our study guide on family seasons and you probably know that means that we're going to begin a new study dealing with the least of these ministering to those in need talking about some of the practical aspects of Christianity and for those of you who are members and attend locally we have our new Quarterly's on the central table out in the foyer and I'm looking forward to this series of lesson today our lesson is talking about turning hearts in the end turning hearts in the end time and our memory verse is Malachi chapter four last book in the Old Testament last chapter in the Old Testament Malachi chapter four verse five and six last verses in the Old Testament you want to say that with me this is from the New King James Version are you ready behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the Great and dreadful day of the Lord and he will turn the hearts of the father's to the children and the hearts of the children to the father's lest I come and smite the earth with a curse so our lesson is talking about turning turning hearts this turning that is being discussed in the lesson is really talking about repentance or maybe a few verses to illustrate that what will bring about a revival and repentance in the last days turning hearts of families back to the Lord if you look at Malachi chapter 3 if you want to know what is he talking about when he says there in Malachi 4 turning the hearts of the fathers to the children look at Malachi 3 let the Bible describe the Bible yet from the days of your fathers you've gone away from my ordinances and you've not kept them returned to me and I will return to you says the Lord so he's talking about that they had drifted away from the teachings of God and he says in the days of your fathers now when it says restoring the hearts of the father's to the children and the hearts of the children to the father's this is certainly talking about relationships you know they say that one of the one of the catastrophes in the world today is because of the epidemic of divorce and broken homes so many children are growing up without the father being a central part of the family are not knowing who their father is and because of that lack of strong fathers in the family that it's just created a whole cultural shift and the Lord wants to see a revival in this among other things but in the Bible when it talks about the father's it's not just talking about daddies it's talking about the teachings of the fathers there's often in the Bible a generation gap you notice it tells us for instance in the book of Judges then after I think it's even in Joshua after the generation that saw the works of the Lord had died off their children came who did not believe in or did not commit himself to the god of their fathers and they started going after other gods they rejected the gods of their fathers so this this restoration of the children to the father's is talking about the children returning to the teachings of the fathers and the fathers having a responsibility to train up their children in the way of the Lord to speak of the Word of God when lay down when they rise up on the doors of the house on the gates of the city when you go out when you come in and so it's really a revival talking about a repentance and a returning back to God here's some other verses that to help bear that out Zechariah chapter one verse three and four therefore saying to them thus says the Lord of Hosts returned to me says the Lord of hosts and I will return to you can you think of a story in the Bible where someone was returning to the father and the father returned to them prodigal son when the boy begins to make his way home as soon as the father season not as a father seen when he knocks on the door how does he see him long before he gets to the house I great way off and when he saw him coming did he fold his arms and tap his foot and say when he gets here I'm gonna lecture him or does a father run to meet him as soon as he sees him making an effort to come home and when God sees us beginning to draw near to him isn't that what the Lord wants and he runs to meet us draw near to God and He will draw near to you do not be like your father's whom the former prophets preached you saying the Lord of Hosts thus says the Lord of hosts turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds but they did not hear they did not hear me says the Lord so when we're studying turning the hearts in the end time notice what he says turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds what is the central study today turning from evil what do we call that repentance a message in the last days of repentance what was the message of John the Baptist because when it says here behold I'll send you a line to the prophet haven't gotten there yet but you know John the Baptist came in the spirit in the power of Elijah right and it's a message of repentance what was the first thing that Jesus said when he began preaching repent first word was repent first word of John the Baptist was repent on Pentecost when Peter is talking to the people and they he preaches and when he's done they say men and brethren what shall we do what's the first thing he says repent we don't hear a lot of sermons that talked about repentance but this is what it means when it talks about turning back to God you look at Isaiah 44 verse 22 I have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions and like a cloud your sins return to me for I have redeemed you again he's talking about a turning and it's a bloody not love forgiveness that comes and in James chapter 4 here's another example of you drawing near to God James 4 verse 7 therefore now someone here is going to read for me Ezekiel 11 19 you'll have that in just a moment therefore submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you drawing near to God now how do you resist the devil you join near to God draw near to God and He will draw near to you there you have it again turn to God he will turn to you he will draw near to you cleanse your hands you sinners so what does it mean to turn to God cleanse your hands you sinners purify your hearts you double-minded lament and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom now does that sound like a positive message it is a positive message when you think about it what's the next verse a humble yourself in the sight of God he will lift you up so what comes before God lifts us up a humbling of ourselves before God you know that classic verse there in second chronicles if my people who I think is chapter 14 verse 7 if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven I will forgive their sin I will heal their land we want God to hear we want God to forgive we want God to heal what comes first humbled ourselves in the sight of God he will lift us up at that point now go ahead you read your verse for me in Ezekiel 11 verse 19 Ezekiel 11 19 then I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh this is the new conversion experience we were talking about this in our family last night about you know how do you really obey God you need to be born again but in so many churches now they're teaching that being saved means you simply embrace salvation and there's no transformation in the life that is not biblical the Bible is pretty clear that first we must repent and part of repentance the verbal side of repentance is confession is that right is there a place for us repenting and confessing our sins now confession of sin means how many know every sin you've committed some of you might have a photographic memory but I don't how can you be sure that you've repented and confessed every sin you've ever committed but the Holy Spirit will remind you of what you need to confess now first of all when God says repent and confess your sins I don't think he's wanting you to do an inventory of every sin from the day you reach the age of accountability until the present because I seriously doubt anyone can remember every sin but can you remember the categories so you may not remember every time you told an untruth that's a code for lie but you can say you know Bible says do not bear false witness just use the 10 commandments as a template go through them I've said this frequently that I think it's a very good idea if you've never done this before and you've accepted Jesus to get off by yourself and say Lord show me about my sins how doesn't David say search me and try me see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting it's like search me and try me and reveal these things to me I will repent of them and say Lord show me my sin get by yourself get on your knees get a piece of paper and just say Lord I've been a liar I'm guilty of murder wait pastor Deng I've never murdered Jesus says have you been angry with your brother without cause that's called murder if he said do not swear by heaven above or earth beneath what your ABA your navy nay if if you're giving any kind of shades of the truth that's dishonesty I committed adultery oh wait I've never committed adultery how do you look on the opposite sex Celeste does Jesus say you can commit adultery in your heart we probably be surprised that most of us are probably guilty of all 10 - shalt not covet and so just say go through the Ten Commandments and say Lord I have broken your law many times I don't even remember all the times that way you cover anything you've left out and say but I believe your promise that if I confess and forsake my sins I will have mercy the Bible says if we can confess our sins what is this first John chapter 1 verse 9 if we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from how much all unrighteousness claimed that promise and then when you have repented and confess your sins and you get off your knees you're forgiven but then what do you do the Bible tells us there needs to be a Reformation in life maybe I should start with a definition of what repentance is to repent this means remorse regret or contrition for past conduct or sin to feel such regret as to change one's mind regarding it as in repenting of intemperate behavior to make a change for the better as a result of remorse or notice what repentance is to make a change for the better as a result of this remorse or contrition for one sins the Hebrew word for repent is Nahum and it means to sigh to breathe strongly it's like regret and the Greek word is meant a Nino and it means to regretful thinking differently turning from sin Peter said repent and be baptized and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so connected with this repentance is you get a new beginning the washing away from your sin all right back to our lesson now we just heard about this new heart then God gives us and then in Ezekiel 18 he says cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed this is describing that repentance get yourself a new heart and a new spirit for why will you die o house of Israel for I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies says the Lord therefore turn talking about turning hearts what is turning mean it says I cast away your transgressions turn and live and so this B is speaking of a repentance a transformation now how many of you have heard this these hints that being a Christian means you come to the front you say a prayer and say I accept Jesus he died for my sins thank you you're now saved and it's implied that now this is what you've done this is your we've got eternal life now just enjoy yourself but there's really no teaching that goes along with it about what does it mean to repent it used to be that when people came to the Lord they say they wanted to accept Jesus the pastor would then study with him and talk about Reformation in life the Bible describes that this is what is spoken of here Ezekiel 33 11 say to them as I live says the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turned from his way and live turn turn from your evil ways for why will you die o house of Israel so a message in the last days for families is turning from evil Ezekiel 33 14 I just read Ezekiel 33 11 now you go a little later in the chapter again I say to the wicked you will surely die if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right if the wicked restores the pledge not to be some specifics if he restores the pledge gives back what he has stolen walks in the statutes of light without committing iniquity he will surely live and not die none of his sins he is committed shall be remembered against him what is done he has done what is lawful and right he will surely live almost makes it sound like well is that salvation by works I worked my way to heaven no if you are saved by grace if you are sorry for your sin there'll be an evidence you'll have fruit in the life it's like the person who says lord please forgive me for borrowing my neighbor's lawn mower and never returning it praise the Lord I'm forgiven now the question is do you still have his lawnmower in your garage if you say well yeah I still got his lawnmower but Jesus is forgiving me no wait a second you take the lawnmower back otherwise you have not repented isn't that right I say that cuz I got some a friend who did that to me it wasn't my lawnmower it was something else he borrowed some tools then he asked me to forgive him but he never brought him back that's not real repentance all right next section oh I got one more verse here in John a Jonah 3:10 when Jonah preached up and down the streets of Nineveh the Bible says God saw their works that they turned from their evil way this is the turning and it says he relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them and he did not do it because they turn God then showed them mercy friends is there time for us right now to turn and if we turn will he show mercy will there be a time when probation closes and then it's too late yes and now is the time today why you hear his voice Jeremiah 19 we're talking about the family reunion here Jeremiah 19 verse 5 they've also built high places to the bail they burnt their sons in the fire for burnt offerings to bail which I did not command or speak neither did it come into my mind now under this section about family reunion I mean if they want you to read two chapters of three chapters they're in first Kings and there's no way we can do that in the classroom but it's telling the story of what happened because a have married out of the church who today have Mary Jezebel was a daughter of F Bale from the side--oh nians and she was like a priestess for bail and here he marries her that's just like really marrying out of the church and she begins to bring bail worship in a big way into the northern kingdom and because his what was happening in his family it began to spread throughout the families and so and all kinds of nasty things went along with bail worship that was affecting everybody but during this time God sends elijah to stay with as I don't even family and he brings two over there so he Rahab he brings he brings the worship of bail from Zidan down into Israel and they start to follow a practice Elijah goes up there and he does missionary work it's like the opposite way of doing it in the same territory Luke for Jesus begins his ministry notice what he refers to I tell you truly many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up three years in six months and there was a great famine throughout the land but - none of them was a wide ascent except as Arif ahthe the region of Sidon to a woman who was a widow now Jesus it's interesting Jesus does one miracle for a Gentile why should we in Gentile mission trip you might say there's one time when Jesus actually leaves the territory of Israel he goes up to Zion and a woman comes crying after him and says have mercy my daughter is tormented by the devil and he ignores her at first and she continues to plead have mercy on me my daughter is tormented by the devil and finally he says I you know I'm not in Israel right now and on sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and she said oh lord have mercy he said it's not appropriate to take the children's food and give it to the dogs I know it sounds like very harsh language Jesus was answering her the way the priest would have answered he wanted the disciples to hear how the religious leader sounded but her faith was so persistent she said yes but the little dogs get the crumbs that fall from the children's tables said woman great is your face go home your daughter is gonna be healed and she went home and her daughter was healed so Jesus performs a miracle for a child of as I don't women Elijah goes up and designed he performs a miracle you remember he stays with this woman and he really gives her credit test during the time of famine he comes to the gates of the city remember Elijah is stained by the brook Cherith and the water in the brook finally dries up that's back when the Ravens were bringing him food and God says go up designing I've spoken to a widow there she's gonna take care of you well evidently the widow hadn't opened her mail yet because when Elijah comes outside the the gates of the city she's out gathering sticks God impresses Elijah that's the woman and he says to her can you get me a drink of water she said yeah just the water in the well there was a famine it hadn't rained but there's still water in the well so she's going to get a cup of water and now she's going he says and can you bring me a little cake of bread and she's just exasperation turns around so the man of God look I'm out gathering 2 sticks so that my son and I can prepare our last meal eat our last loaf of bread and die he said trust me you go make a loaf for me and then make for yourself making a loaf for me first for thus says the Lord the flour will not go away from the bin and the oil will not dry up until God sends rain on the earth so she's got to make a decision do I believe the Word of God so she does it she said what I got to lose he might be right if I put him first maybe we'll leave for any many many days otherwise I get one more meal anyway so what's the difference I don't know if that's what she's thinking but that's what I would have thought so she goes and she makes a loaf for Elijah gives him a drink of water she comes back to make a loaf for herself and there's more flour in the bin and it says she and her family every day ate through the remainder of the famine whenever she reached in there there were more it's almost like Jesus multiplying the brand right now while he's seen with the widow tragedy strikes a home and the woman's son gets sick and dies and Elijah he goes up to the upper room where the child is he prays for the child he stretches himself on the child he prays three times and the child was resurrected now what's the response of the woman when that happens and that's I think you're gonna reread in that for me so here he multiplies the bread this miracle happens what other miracle happens here good read I think it's first king in 1724 first king 1724 then the woman said to Elisha now by this I know that you are a man of God in that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth you know something I probably should have said right at the beginning of our lesson is in our memory verse last prophecy in the Old Testament behold I send you in line to the prophet did Elijah the prophet come back to earth again someone venture an answer he have 50/50 chance yeah well he did do you read in mark chapter 9 it's also in Matthew and Luke I think it's also in Luke chapter 9 that Jesus goes up this mountain and Moses and Elijah appear to him so technically Elijah does make at least a brief visit back to earth right but what is it specifically talking about well John the Baptist comes in the spirit and the power of Elijah and we're gonna get to that yeah a little later who is the first one who comes in the spirit and the power of Elijah Elijah am i right when they cross the Jordan River and Elijah performs his miracle he hits the Jordan with his mantle and it parts and they go over on dry ground and Elijah says to Elijah his attendant his apprentice prophet he said is there anything that you want to ask from me before I'm taken away to heaven he said yes let what a double portion of your spirit be upon me and as they walk together suddenly Elijah is taken up in his his a chariot is heavenly limousine to heaven he throws down his mantle Elijah shocked it's a double portion that he lied to spirit so Elijah comes back to the sons of the Prophet and first he comes back to the river he strikes it with the mantle of Elijah it parts and then the sons of the prophets say surely the spirit of Elijah rests on Elijah so who is the first one who comes in the spirit and the power of Elijah Elijah right now does the Elijah perform a miracle where Bread is multiplied and the son is resurrected of a woman in an upper room does Elijah then stay with a Gentile woman who is a Shunammite who builds an upper room for him he prophesized that she will have a son she has a son when he's like five years old or so he dies she fetches Elijah who goes to the upper room he stretches himself upon the child he prays the child sneezes seven times and comes back to life does he like shall also do a miracle where he multiplies bread he does so Elijah does the same miracles as Elijah and then they are both types of Christ who is the ultimate resurrection he is the son that comes back to life you notice what the woman says by this what Alberto just read by this I know that you are a man of God and the word of the Lord is in your mouth what is the greatest evidence that Jesus had the Word of God in his mouth the resurrection that he was the son of God I mean it was the the greatest miracle of all so you end that by the way then you find in second Kings 4 verse 35 you find where Elijah Swahili sheesha he does the same miracle and the woman bowels at his feet she also praises God for her son that is resurrected all right so they had the bread of God in the home being multiplying and they had the son in the home being resurrected these are signs of the Word of God and the Living Christ in the families and these are these family reunions that's being talked about now talks about here in the next section turning hearts at the altar if you look in Exodus 29 verse 41 well maybe I ought to direct your attention to this is all about the Mount Carmel experience where you read that it says in first Kings 18 verse 30 Elijah says to all the people come near to me so all the people came near to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down the Mount Carmel experience is one of the high points in the Bible you know if I were to point to some of the great glorious times of God being magnified in the Bible let me tell you what I think they were the fiery furnace on the plains of Dura when three Hebrews stood up when everyone else bowed down and God came and protected them and the whole world had a proclamation that Jehovah was a living God the Lord accomplished through them that day what he had been trying to do through the nation for hundreds of years he wanted them to be a light to the world so that was one of the high points David and Goliath is one of the high points David goes out with nothing really but depending on the Lord and you've got one of the high points in the Bible Mount Carmel is a nut well for Daniel the lion's den is another one of those high points there's a few glorious of the Red Sea you know the a few glorious high points in the Bible and well it's quite a few now that I think about it but one of them has got to be the Mount Carmel experience where you've got the ultimate showdown you've got the good guy you got the good cowboy who's outnumbered by 800 bad guys and he comes fearlessly into town and he's unarmed at least he looks that way and he takes on the king and his army and his priests just Elijah and God you and God are a majority I mean it's just a great story talk about the boldness and the audacity of him to say get all of Israel together and tell all the prophets of bail you do whatever you want to do you build your altar you see if you can get rain or fire to come down on your altar and then whoever whoever's God answers by fire he's a real God and so after the the prophets of Bale's is where themself out there they're trying to sneak a magnifying glass of something in there to get their fire going I'll I just watching them too carefully they can't do it and so they're not able to get the fire and they carry on and they cut themselves and they prophesy and they bleed and they beat the drums they jump up and down they chant old they'll hear us old Bale here's nothing happens the only thing that gathers around the sacrifices flies then at the end of the day and you know he waits until the time of the evening sacrifice the time that Israel should have been sacrificing to God and you read about this in Exodus 29 verse 41 the other lamb you shall offer at twilight what time of day did Jesus die it was in the afternoon and you shall offer it with the grain offering and the drink offering as in the morning for a sweet aroma an offering made by fire to the Lord so Elijah after after the prophets of bale lose their audience and they just totally give up and they walk away he says come near to me now what is this lesson about drawing near to God he says come near to me what does Jesus say come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I'll give you rest and all the people jr. and what does he do he repairs the altar of the Lord now they used to have morning and evening sacrifice where they gathered together they would read the promises they quote one of the sayings of Moses and then they'd offer sacrifice what happens when the families neglect the time of worship in their homes how important is it and is this something father's if if a family has a father father's ought to be leading out in this you know the Bible says the father should be the priests of the family what it says oh no I know it may not be politically correct but it's what it says and they ought to be leading the family of the altar and saying you know children wife hey let's have worship sometimes Karen has to remind me she did this morning why don't we read something and so we need to have worship in our homes morning and evening this is part of what it says drawing the hearts of the father's to the children and the children to the father's lest I come and smite the earth with a curse why does the Old Testament in that way if we neglect the coming together of the families at the altar the result is gonna be that the sins of the fathers are reproduced in the children to the third and fourth generation takes a long time to get another revival and because the sins of the fathers are reproduced in the children the neglect of God then all the judgments and the problems and the that the backsliding is perpetrated in the children and so there needs to be a rebuilding of the altar regular worship even at times when it seems boring any of you ever read the book the hiding place by Corrie ten Boom yeah it's a great book she ended up becoming a great lady of faith and she says that her father he had worship every morning and every evening and she's to think oh no don't read a whole chapter from Luke the chapters in Luke is so long when she was growing up but her father faithfully and you know what when she went through a trial and she was in a prison of war camp in Germany she was so thankful that her father had put the word of God in her life even at times when they had worship it seemed tedious your kids will complain but they're listening and so you got to do it anyway rebuild the altar of the Lord can you say Amen alright um and you can read here now in chapter 18 verse 36 it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice but Elijah the Prophet came near and said Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel let it be known this day that you are God in Israel that I am your servant that I've done all these things at your word hear me o Lord hear me that this people might know that you are the Lord that you have turned their hearts back to you again and what happened when he prayed they are from a cloudless sky like a giant arc welder fire came rocketing from the heavens burnt up the sacrifice it burnt up the stones had burnt up the water in the ditch and there was nothing but vapor sizzling and all the people fell down and they said the Lord he is God the Lord he is God there's a great revival people's hearts were turned back there was a revival in the nation because he had rebuilt the altar of the Lord and that's the way that it happens turning hearts of the Jordan now again you know you can talk about when Elijah there at the Jordan River how many miracles were there at the Jordan can you name some when Elijah and Elijah cross the Jordan how about Elijah with Mammon what does it was that a miracle did the Jordan River part miraculously for the children of Israel in the days of Joshua was that a miracle of the Jordan when Christ is filled with the Holy Spirit that another miracle of the Jordan what about when Elijah purified the waters of Jericho that's right next to the Jordan and he also there at the Jordan River he multiplied at the school of the prophets they had there he multiplied bread you can see quite a few miracles happened in the Jordan where was Jesus baptized the Jordan represents this new birth and so you have all these miracles that are happening cleansing from leprosy this cleansing of sin the bread being multiplied talking about the Word of God Carl the waters being dried up talking about that the Jordan is like a type of death that we cross on our way to heaven so the disciples when Jesus they were asking about isn't Elijah supposed to come and this is Matthew 17 verse 10 Jesus responds and he says indeed Elijah is coming first and will restore all things not when Jesus said this he's saying he is coming future but I say that Elijah has come and they did not know him but they did to him whatever they wished likewise the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands now that's a very very very very very important verse I want you to catch that Jesus had Elijah will come and the Elijah has come speaking of John the Baptist Jesus is saying John the Baptist came in the spirit and the power of Elijah and that's gonna be found in matthew 11:14 if you're willing to receive it if you can understand it he is John the Baptist is Elijah who is to come he's who has ears let him hear and some have been confused by this because the religious leaders came to John once they said are you Elijah he said no and what they were asking is are you Elijah resurrected he said no you don't understand the state of the Dead I'm not Elijah resurrected he came in the spirit and the power Elijah was not Elijah resurrected vide Elijah had the spirit and the power of Elijah Jesus is saying Elijah Elijah will come so if there's John the Baptist he says Elijah did come and they did to him whatever they wanted but Elijah will come in Malachi when we read that prophecy that we started with behold I send you realigned to the Prophet was it just talking about John the Baptist or is there going to be another Elijah message in the last days I believe there is I believe God is going to send that spirit and power of Elijah I don't know if it'll be a message that will take people or if there'll be an individual or maybe a combination of the two you that will be proclaiming the Elijah message a great revival John the Baptist he called the people to repentance and revival Elijah it was a message of repentance and revival and this is supposed to happen in the last days before notice lest I come and smite the earth with a curse and the ultimate curse is going to be when the Lord comes for the lost if they're not ready all right something else I want you to notice here when he talks about this you look in how does the Gospel of Mark no no no the Gospel of Matthew and Luke they both begin with the birth of Jesus how does Mark and John begin where in chronology they begin with John the Baptist have you noticed that Matthew and Luke begin with the Christmas story and Mark and John they just they start right at the Ministry of Christ that began at his anointing with the Holy Spirit and the Ministry of John the Baptist you can look at mark chapter 1 and someone's gonna read for me in just a moment John chapter 1 verse 6 the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God as it is written in the prophets behold I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make his paths straight and this is what they used to do they go before the king they had messengers that would smooth down the high spots and fill in the low spots and make it a road for the King John the Baptist said that was his work you can go ahead and read your verse there was a man sent from God whose name was John this man came to witness to be a witness to the life that all through him might believe he was not the light but he was sent to bear the witness off of that alight so right out of the gate my Gospel of John talks about the ministry of John the Baptist that John came to point to Christ say this is the Lamb of God and you know it this is really the message of repentance someone asked the Rabb one time they said when is the best time to repent and he said the last day of your life and they said well what if you don't know when the last day of your life is I said exactly today is the is the appointed time today is the day of salvation failing to repent someone once said failing to repent every day you put off repenting is one more day to repent of and one less day to repent in and so it's something that so many people say yeah one of these days I'm gonna repent of my sins in turn one of these days I'm gonna surrender everything and follow Jesus what a person really does make a complete repentance there's going to be a transformation in the life I heard about this evangelist his name was WP Nicholson he went to Belfast and had a great revival and there was such a widespread repentance in the city that a lot of these shipyards there in Belfast so many of the workers were convicted of the tools they had stolen they brought them back they ended up with so many extra tools they had to build new sheds to hold the tools that have been purloined by the workers so the revival meant they they they brought back I heard about this one man his name was Al Johnson he came to faith in Christ back in the 1920s and he confessed to a bank robbery he had done with for others he had never been caught but he says I've come to Christ and I can't have that on my conscience and he went to the bank and he had gone past the statute of limitations I said you can't be prosecuted anymore had been seven years or whatever it was back then he said it doesn't matter he says it's written in heaven and he paid back the part of the money to the bank that he had stolen said I'm not gonna pay back where the other guys stole but I'll pay back what I still mike-mike my cut of it that's a sign of repentance I've had people come to me before they said pastor Doug I want to come to Jesus but I stole from my boss and if I tell them I'm gonna get fired and I'll never be able to pay back what I stole I said well what would Jesus do he said I might end up in jail I said you need to do the right thing and put it in God's hands and I could tell you testimony after testimony because I've had this conversation with many people where they go to their boss and they say you know I found the Lord and I got to tell you something I stole from you and I cooked the books and I took thousands of dollars and I understand you'll need to fire me and I'll do everything I can to pay you back and on more than one occasion the boss is so flabbergasted he has to sit down with his mouth open he said now I've got at least one honest person working for me I'm not huh I'm not firing you and very rarely I don't know of anyone that got prosecuted because it's just like the Holy Spirit works on their heart so repentance is going to mean a reform and a transformation in the life amen doing the right thing confessing and forsaking our sin all right well we're out of time for a lesson I want to remind you that we have a free offer it's the day of the Lord and if you just contact the number on your screen dial eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six they will send that to you this is a real quality magazine it's filled with beautiful illustrations after you read it you'll want to share it and don't forget next week we're gonna begin our study talking about the least of these our new quarterly god bless you friends will continue god willing to study his word next week 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 four zero five four four or visit the web address shown on your screen and be sure to select a 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 [Music] friends are you afraid of heights if so you might want to look away right now one of the most famous attractions in the San Francisco Bay Area is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge while this world-famous bridge was named as one of the seven wonders of the modern world few people know the story of the brave men who are involved in its construction and also known as the halfway to hell Club designed by a group of visionary engineers at 4200 feet from end to end the Golden Gate Bridge was at one time the longest suspension bridge in the world during its construction from 1933 to 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge had one of the best safety construction records of any project during that time keep in mind they would factor in and calculate that one man would die for every million dollars that was spent so with a budget of thirty-five million dollars they knew that loss of life would be unacceptable this is why the chief engineer Joseph B Straus was absolutely adamant about using the most rigorous safety precautions that had ever been used in bridge building he had a local manufacturer of safety equipment designed special headgear that he insisted be worn on every job this became the prototype for the modern hardhat worn for the first time ever but the safety precautions went even farther Strauss provided a special hand and face cream to protect the skin from the cold biting wind and glare free goggles to protect their eyes in addition they also ate a special diet to help ward off dizziness when they were working at those epic Heights but the most conspicuous safety precaution was a gigantic myth that was suspended from end to end under the entire construction area of the Golden Gate Bridge in fact during construction this net saved the lives of 19 men who later became known as the halfway to Hill Club now you need to keep in mind these were some of the most dangerous construction conditions you can imagine the wind was constantly blowing they were walking around on iron that sometimes had ice from the freezing fog in places they were over 700 feet above the icy waters yet the men coming from all walks of life were willing to take these risks because it was during the Great Depression and they would get paid up to 11 dollars a day which was a fortune back then one of the other benefits of the net was they discovered that the men were much more courageous even though they were walking high on those slippery services because they knew there was a mechanism to protect them if they should fall this gave them the confidence in the courage to press on and get the bridge built in record time you know friends as Christians we have a great work to do the Bible tells us that we get to participate with Jesus in building a bridge that connects heaven and earth and there are dangers along the way the devil would like to paralyze us with fear that we might fall or make a mistake but we know that Jesus has provided a safety net for us and we don't have to be afraid we can press on with confidence because it promises in the book of Jude verse 24 he is able to keep us from falling but sometimes we make mistakes still don't be discouraged friends if you read in 1st John chapter 2 verse 1 the Bible says if we fall if we sin we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ so let's press on together and build that bridge with Christ [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] no I don't think so you didn't do very well on your report card this last quarter so no you haven't been pulling your weight around here lately you want help well I wanted help with the dishes last night help yourself mom honey did you bring the marshmallows [Music] [Music] [Music] you

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Published: Sat Jun 15 2019