Bible Study—Question & Answer #1

Fred R. Coulter—June 11, 2010

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This is a special Bible study in Edmonds, Oklahoma. Let's go to John 3 and let's look at one Scripture which is very interesting, and we'll find out that John knew that Mary was not in heaven. The Catholics say, when she died she was 'assumed bodily into heaven.' But it took them 1800 years to come to that conclusion. So you can make any kind of statement you want 1800 years later, but if you read the Scriptures, which you told me the Catholics say that they don't.

John 3:13: "(And no one has ascended into heaven, except He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of man, Who is in heaven.)" Now when you first read that, it sounds like a little kind of contradictory thing—doesn't it? So let's analyze this a minute here. Who was John? John was the disciple that Jesus loved, and who loved Jesus. When Jesus was on the cross, what did He say to John? 'Behold, your mother. Behold, your son.' Now people say, 'Well, why didn't He commit it to His brothers? At that time and until sometime later, none of them believed. So at least for that period of time until they believed, that's where she went.

How old was Jesus when He died on the cross? Thirty-three and a half. How old was Mary when she became pregnant? We're not told; we don't have anything telling us how old she was. But she was called a maiden, a virgin, so we can assume, and it would be appropriate to take the year twenty, because that's when they were considered adults. So Jesus died when she was then 53-1/2—right? John wrote this and obviously put this verse in here, because if you read it, it's in a parenthetical statement right in the middle of what Jesus was saying. So if you read v 12: "If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?.... [v 14]: ...And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in the same way it is ordained that the Son of man be lifted up" (vs 12, 14).

Why is v 13 in parenthesis? Because it was an edit while he was canonizing the New Testament. Which means that John, at the time he wrote this was, and putting in the edit and canonizing, was about almost 100A.D. Mary was 53-1/2 when Jesus died, approximately. That was in 30A.D. So you go 100A.D., that's 70 years, so she had already died. Otherwise she'd have been a 125 at that point. Were there people probably saying, 'Well, Mary's gone to heaven'? There may have been, but it was also inspired to be so that we can answer the Catholics the question that Mary is not in heaven, because he wrote this at a time that if Mary had died and gone to heaven, everyone would have known it. So this parenthetical statement is in there and helps answer the question that Mary did not ascend into heaven, and no one else either.

[Discussion and questions from audience]

That's why you have to go back to the Bible. Everybody has views on salvation. How could we find the Truth if God didn't give us the Truth in His Bible? You couldn't! That's why we have it.

Now to answer another thing concerning Protestants that they're in heaven, here's a good one that they always use. I did not know how some of the Protestants think on this until just the other day. It's talking about one of the two thieves that were crucified with Him. Come to Luke 23:39—this becomes very interesting, when you understand it. "Then one of the malefactors who was hanging there railed at Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.' But the other one answered and rebuked him, saying, 'Do not even you fear God, you who are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving due payment for what we did; but this man did nothing wrong.' Then he said to Jesus, 'Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom'" (vs 39-42).

Here's the verse, v 43: "And Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I tell you today, you shall be with Me in paradise.'" The Protestants read that verse and they think that today, this day, he went to heaven. Now you need to think about it. Who was the first one born from the dead? Jesus was the first born from the dead! When did He rise from the dead? After three days and three nights! If, as the Protestants say, 'Truly, I say to you today you shall be with Me in paradise,' that he went to heaven that day, who was the first one in heaven? The thief, not Jesus! So therefore Jesus would not have been the firstborn. So what are we dealing with? Well, you see it corrected in the Faithful Version. You put the comma where it should be.

This is what He's saying, "Truly I tell you today, you shall be with Me in paradise." He didn't say when. Most assume, because they believe in heaven, as soon as you die your soul goes to heaven. So one of the very verses that they use to prove it, proves exactly the opposite when you really know it.

I'll just interject something here: Everyone who lived and died, never given an opportunity for salvation while they were living in the flesh, God blinding—and if God blinds them and doesn't give them an opportunity for salvation while they were living in the flesh—let's consider; let's take it forward from that point of view then. Because the Baptists say, 'Unless you get into the church now and you die, you're not going to heaven.' I don't know what the Catholics say, but it's probably similar to it.

So here we have a situation. Now picture fast forward to the resurrection. All these people are raised from the dead and God looks at them and says, You know, you're all going to die the second death and I'm going to cast you into the Lake of Fire. 'Why, Lord?' Well, because I never called you. I blinded you. 'Why are you going to cast me into the Lake of Fire if you blind me? I never knew. How come these people go in and we don't go in?' Fair question, that is ifthere's only one resurrection.

In other words then, God would be a respecter of persons, because He would automatically condemn these people to the loss of salvation, never have an opportunity, and He blinded them. Now how's that for a God of love? How's that for a God of justice? Not so! I'll just fast-forward a little bit here. I know I'm leaving out a lot of details, but when you get the other information, you can fill it in. This is why when people never study the Bible and never really think—God wants us to think.

• He made us to be educated.
• He made us to be educated in His Word.
• He made us to rightly divide His Word.

Just put in your notes 1-Cor. 15, too, because it says 'Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christs at His coming.' Revelation 20:6: "Blessed and Holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power.... [In other words, they have eternal life.] ...But they shall be priests of god and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

Verse 4: "And I saw thrones; and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and those who did not worship the beast, or his image, and did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed).... [Now again, that's a parenthetical inset verse.] ...'This is the first resurrection,' refers to vs 4 and 6. So if the rest of the dead are going to live, what does that mean, how are they going to live? They have to be resurrected—right?

Let's come to Ezekiel 37, and here helps you understand how the Bible comes together, Old Testament and New Testament. This is quite a chapter. Now notice this, just like I said, this chapter could not be understood without Rev. 20 and that cannot be understood unless you understand Christ was the Firstborn, those who are Christ's at His coming.
Ezekiel 37:1: "The hand of the LORD was on me, and brought me by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of a valley, and it was full of bones.... [What does bones indicate? That tells you what? Someone lived once and died—correct? Yes! You don't have bones unless you have someone who died.] ...And He made me walk among them all around. And behold, very many were in the open valley. And lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, You know'" (vs 1-3). 'What a question to ask me, You're God.'

"Again He said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD..... [Now we have the song, 'Them dry bones, them dry bones...the knee bone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the hip bone,' etc. So we have a spiritual song on that.] ...Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones... [So God is the one taking the action. Now I want you to remember what we read in Rev. 20, 'the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were over.' Those can't be the ones who were converted, because they were resurrected at the return of Christ.] ...Thus, says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the LORD"'" (vs 4-6).

All right, what are we talking about here? A second physical life—correct? Sinew, flesh, the whole thing, there we go. And says, 'You shall know the Lord.' Well, if God blinded them in their first life, which it shows that they died, and they didn't know God, then here are those who were blinded that are now going to be given an opportunity to know the Lord. And you look out and you see the whole population.

• What about accidents?
• What about kids?
• What about people who never knew?
• What about those who were blown up in planes?
• What about all those who were drowned in the flood?

Death is everywhere!

Verse 7: "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise. And behold, a shaking! And the bones came together, a bone to its bone. And as I watched, behold the sinews and the flesh came upon them... [Just like watching one of these things that we would see on television today.] ...and the skin covered them above. But there was no breath in them. And He said to me, 'Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live.'"' So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.... [Now that was really something for him to see. Now who are these people? [...And He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.... [Now again, you need to shift your thinking into something beyond the Jews. When Isaiah said that they are blinded and 'I have blinded them so that they would not see because of their disobedience,' these are the same ones that would have died and never knew.] ...Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried and our hope is lost; we ourselves are complete cut off'" (vs 7-11).

"Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves... [proves they were dead] ...and cause you to come up out of your graves and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened your graves, O My people, and have brought you up out of your graves"'" (vs 12-13). As you go through and read this, how many times does he say graves? And keep in mind Rev. 20, 'the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are over.'

Verse 14(transcriber's correction): "'"And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live... [What does God's Spirit do, brings what? Conversion, life!] ...and I will place you in your own land. And you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it and have done it," says the LORD.' And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'And you, son of man...'" (vs 14-16).

Let's come right back to Revelation 20; let's see the fulfillment of this. You see you can't understand Rev. 20 without Ezek. 37. And you can't understand Ezek. 37 without Rev. 20. You have to have both. After the thousand years are over—I'll leave off about Satan and that part there. The whole house of Israel means all of Israel down through all generations, so that's billions of people.

Revelation 20:11: "Then I saw a great white throne and the one Who was sitting on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead... [Which dead? The rest of the dead from v 5.] ...small and great, standing before God..." (vs 11-12). Now, what is a principle that we find in the Bible? To Israel and the Jews first, and then the Gentiles. So if it happens to Israel, it's going to happen to all the rest of the people. Is God fair and just? At the Feast you'll find out a little bit more on the timing of it, and so forth, but we'll go on from here.

"...and the books were opened... [That is signifying that the teachings of God were opened to them. We can say the Bible, but I think after a thousand years, we're going to have a whole lot more than just the Bible. So the books were opened.] ...and another book was opened, which is the book of Life.... [Now why was it opened? Because in their first life in the flesh they didn't have an opportunity for salvation, have their names written in the book of Life. So the book of life is opened to give them an opportunity.] ...And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works" (v 12).

If it was just based on the works they did in their first life, they'd be condemned to death, because they were sinners. So this has to be the works that they do after they're resurrected to a second physical life—given the Holy Spirit, given understanding of the Word of God—and with that then God is going to undo all the evil and all the death, and all the things, calamities and tragedies, and things that just seem inexplicable. Every time there's a thing like earthquake in Haiti or Chili and little kids die, and everyone says, 'Oh, if there's a God in heaven, why does He allow this? How can it happen?' He's going to bring them back to a better world, to a better place, give them an opportunity for salvation.

Question comes up: What about aborted children? The only difference between a conceived child is the little speck of a pinpoint on a piece of paper. Isn't it amazing that from that little pinpoint, speck of life, each one of us came into being? The only difference between that kind of life and the womb and us is growth, because at the point of conception everything that you are is there, but it hasn't developed. So I believe God is going to resurrect all those aborted babies. I think that's going to be one of the greatest healing things for the mothers who chose to have an abortion. I believe that God is going to resurrect them the equivalent of a full-term baby. And can you imagine how the mothers are going to feel, because they'll be resurrected, too. And they'll be presented with their baby and say, 'Here's your baby, here's your son or here's your daughter.' Talk about great healing. That'll be fantastic!

[More discussion and questions from audience]

All the works in their first life are over and done, because if you'd be judged on that, then you're living in the past. We're judged according to our works after we're baptized. It would have to be the same thing there. It couldn't be going back to their first physical life, unless—the wages of sin is death. They didn't commit the unpardonable sin. Now you can go online and go to the series in Hebrews and I have two sermons on the unpardonable sin. But the unpardonable sin is an absolute hateful, unrepentant rejection, and absolute excoriation of Christ with no remorse at all. A lot of people sin a very serious sin and they think, 'Well, I've committed the unpardonable sin.'

[More discussion & questions from audience]

Come back here to Matthew 12 for just a minute. This will also give us a little more understanding on this. Why doesn't the world understand this?

• They don't keep the Sabbath
• They don't keep the Passover
• They don't keep the Holy Days

and we learn by doing.

Let's come to Matthew 12:31: "Because of this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit... [There's something very interesting here. Why the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? That comes directly from God the Father. And this also is the proof that the Holy Spirit is not part of the triune God, because that would make the Holy Spirit greater than the Father. He doesn't say, 'Every sin and blasphemy against the Son of man shall be forgiven.' We'll read that in here in just a minute. If the Holy Spirit is God, it has to be then greater than the Father, but the Father is the greatest. Just an aside as we go on.] ...except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; that shall not be forgiven to men."

Then He qualifies it a little bit more. "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him... [So whatever it is, be forgiven.] ...but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age" (v 32). And of course the coming age is in the future, which says then there is forgiveness in the coming age, which they did not receive in this age. Isn't that fantastic?

[More discussion and questions from audience]

Isn't that interesting, when you stop and think one of the greatest questions that people have is: What about those that died that never had a chance?

I'll tell you just one experience here. My first funeral was for an old woman. She was in her eighties who died. The funeral outline that we had given to us—and of course I dutifully followed the funeral outline. My first funeral, what am I going to follow. In there was an outright condemnation—anyone who believes in the immortal soul, believes a lie. How's that for really giving comfort at a funeral? Of course, that was not well received. Some of the relatives came up and gave me you know what. So my next funeral was entirely different. The next funeral was a most tragic one. I forget whether it was a six-month, or nine-month old baby. The mother and father went out, had the baby sitter there. The house caught on fire and they don't know whether the baby sitter put the house on fire or not. The baby burned up and died. So they called me to do the funeral. And the first thing I thought, 'You better not say there's no immortal soul, Fred'—tragic situation like that. Here a mom and dad out there, there are all the relatives out there. So what I did, I preached a shorter version of what I just gave you. I told them that you will see your child again, and you will hug them and embrace them and kiss them. And they will live out a full life. That's undoing sin big time, when you really understand it. It does give them hope.

[More discussion & questions from audience]

If you die tomorrow, you go in the ground, just like Jesus said, 'Into your hands I commit My Spirit, Father.' And we can liken the Spirit very much like this chip that I put in here. The spirit of man united with the Spirit of God will go to God, but will have no consciousness, because it needs a mind and a body to function. So you will have to have a spirit mind and a spirit body, which comes at the resurrection. Exactly how God is going to do all of this, it's like asking Ezekiel, 'Can these bones live? 'Lord, you know.'

 [More discussion & questions from audience]

Let's ask the question: How did these Christian religions get deceived, without going through all the history? We'll look at the mechanics of it. Let's come to 1-John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God... [If you have the Spirit of God in you, you are the same as an unborn child in the womb. You are a child of God.] ...For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested... [Of course, that's at His return.] ...we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is" (vs 1-2).

Now this is far different from a beatific vision that you can see kind of a glow of God, like looking on a sun. No, you're going to see Him face-to-face. We're made in His image for that very purpose. Fantastic!

"And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure" (v 3). In other words, this is the whole reason why we have motivation in seeking the Kingdom of God first. We have great purpose in our life. That's what it is. It's not a religion of fear to beat you down. It's a religion of hope and the resurrection and love and work and truth, all the way through.

Come forward in the Bible to Philippians. Let's see what Paul wrote of this very thing. This is the next book I've got to write. I've got to find the time to write this book. I already have the title for it and I've been thinking about this for many years. And I'm going to entitle it, From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God—Why Were You Born?

Philippians 3:20: "But for us, the commonwealth of God... [We're going to be in the Kingdom of God.] ...exists in the heavens... [Christ is bringing it.] ...from where also we are waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who will transform our vile bodies, that they may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the inner working of His own power, whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself" (vs 20-21).

Think of that! What does Jesus look like in full glory? At the vision of transfiguration He showed them. He shined like the sun. Rev. 1 shows the same thing.

• we're going to have spirit bodies of glory
• we are going to live forever
• we're going to rule and reign with Christ
• we're going to live in New Jerusalem
• we're going to see God the Father
• we're going to see Christ

God's purpose is that. That's all revealed by the Holy Days. That's why we're made in His image. Philosophers don't believe that God has a body. What is in the Bible they call those amorphisms. In other words, they're just describing things—God is Spirit and He has no body, He has no head, He has no hands, He has no arms. No, we've got the article, you can download that from Church at Home, Ninety Facts About God, right out of the Bible. So the big mistake that people have done, they have taken the Bible and they've said, 'Well, we don't need this part and we don't need that and we don't need the other part.' 'Once saved, always saved.'

Let's come here to Genesis 1. Let's read what God said, and then I'll show you another instance of a New Testament explanation that is answered in the New Testament, but brings up the question about it here. And the Jews have never figured it out, because they reject the New Testament. I'll tell you that here in just a minute.

Genesis 1:26: "And God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth.' And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female" (vs 26-27).

You want to know something else very interesting? This will blow you away. There are a lot of interesting things in the Bible. Go to Genesis 5:1: "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them, and He called their name Adam in the day when they were created" (vs 1-2). So how about that, Mr. & Mrs. Adam. Isn't that something? You read the Bible and you read over things so quickly, sometimes you just don't get it. But isn't that amazing?

 [More discussion and questions from audience]

If you make an image of something, what is that? Image and likeness, that means that you reflect what you are make like. If you take a photograph of someone, you have their image. You see who it is. If you make a statue of someone, made in the image of the person it's supposed to depict. So the image reflects the real thing. So we, even though we're living human beings, reflect God—how He looks, how He thinks. This is all in the Bible. The Bible is so fantastic, it blows you away when you really get into it. Why did He make us after His image?

• So He could become a man, because it was ordained from the foundation of the world that He would die, so He could become a man, God manifested in the flesh, to become our Savior.
• So that God in the flesh could come and talk to His human creation on a one-to-one level as a human being.

People will say, 'Well, I'll do this if God would speak to me.' Well, He did. Right here in the Bible. And during the time He was on the earth, He spoke to them. It was God speaking to them. What was one of the names of Jesus? Emanuel—which is what? God with us!

To answer your question: What about 'Us'? Come back to the Gospel of John 17. Like I said, you have to wait for the interpretation in the New Testament. This is why the Jews can't understand 'Us.' They're stuck with a problem and that problem is, there's only one God in number. Why then does He say 'Us'? They say that's the majestic majesty of the angels. You read in the book of Job that the angels rejoiced when God laid the foundation of the earth and He made man in His image. And the word for God is 'Elohim'—which means more than one. So how many more than one? He said 'Us.' John 17, let's go there and we will see what Jesus said.

John 17:4: "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do.... [Remember this: John 17 is the Lord's prayer. That's His prayer. Matt. 6, 'Our Father in heaven,' that is an outline prayer for us.] ...I have finished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed" (vs 4-5). And that's what it is in the Greek.

Verse 17: "Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth." Now we can talk about the Truth later. But Jesus said, 'If you practice the Truth, you shall be free.' Free from what? Sin! Then through Christ, and so forth. "Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth." That one verse there tells us why it's so important to study the Bible and why it is the Word of God. And why, if it's going to be translated, you better translate it according to the Truth. You better translate it according to the way that it was inspired to be written, because if you don't God is going to hold you accountable and judge you for it.

"Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your truth. I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word. That they all may be one... [That is of one family, because God is a family. We are called the sons and daughters of God.] ...That they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You... [That means spiritually, not bodily, but spiritually they are one.] ...that they also may be one in Us... [There you go, that's who the 'Us' is. It's not answered fully until John 17.] ...in order that the world may believe that You did send Me'" (vs 18-21). So that's quite a thing.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

Look at it this way: The Word of God is like a sphere. It's not a flat sheet, not a box, or triangle, it's a sphere. Now if you have a sphere, you can have almost an infinite number of lines intersecting into that sphere from so many different angles and each connection connects the Word of God together to explain the rest of the Word of God. But there are certain keys that have to be done. And the certain keys are the ones that the so-called Christian religions reject, which is what?

• Sabbath
• Passover
• Holy Days

What do they do?

• Sunday
• mass, Eucharist or Lord's Supper
• holidays

So you have the three truths and you have the three counterfeits. And the truths are what come from God and the counterfeits is what come from men inspired by Satan saying they came from God. As long as you follow these three counterfeits, you won't understand the three truths. It gets down to be a very simple thing.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

(go to the next track)

Just review a little bit. Gen. 1, we don't have to turn there. The two reasons why that we're made in His image:

• So that Christ could come as a human being, God manifested in the flesh.
• That at the resurrection, we can become like Him.

Being made physically in the image of God is also a Holy purpose. What you're going to find is this: Let me suggest this, if you just want to do a Bible reading, a book, let me suggest you read the Gospel of John, because that will tell you so much. There are so many principles there. It's not just a matter of reading, to read for the sake of reading, but take a chapter or two, may be one chapter preferably if it's pretty long like chapter eight here, and what you do is you go back and you think about it and you underline the important things that catch your eye as you're going through.

Now we're going to cover some of them here, because here is real principle that we are going to cover here in John 8:25: "Then they said to Him, 'Who are You?'.... [Because they were arguing back and forth, was He the Messiah, the Christ, or whatever.] ...And Jesus said to them, 'The one that I said to you from the beginning.... [He told them Who He was.] ...I have many things to say and to judge concerning you; but He Who sent Me is true...'" (vs 25-26).

The important thing to also remember is: God cannot lie, because He is the Sovereign God, and if He lied, there would be no truth. It's impossible for Him to lie, because of His character. His purpose in calling man and woman, who are deceitful is, to change them and convert them, mentally and spiritually, and then change them into His sons and daughters at the resurrection. So that's why He made our minds. You probably heard of the plasticity of the human mind, how you can recover from injuries, how you can change your thoughts. There are the books, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. There are several of those. How to Make Your Life Work or Aren't you Happy; Change Your Thoughts, Change your Life, and all of that sort of thing. So human beings, with their own ability, are able to do certain things. I'm certain you've seen a lot of it. The purpose of that is so that we can become converted, we can have our sins forgiven, we can re-learn how to think with God's way, and His Word, and His Spirit, so that we can become like Him. It depends on God being true. It says there in Hebrews 6, 'It's impossible for God to lie' (Titus 1); 'God who cannot lie, promised salvation.' The biggest problem in human life is where is Truth? You look at the politicians, there ain't any there any longer. You look at the pulpit and when they're confronted with the Truth, they have a hard time handling that, because they have been pretending Truth.

Let's see what he says here. He is true, v 26: "...and what I have heard from Him, these things I speak to the world.' But they did not know that He was speaking to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you yourselves shall know that I AM... [That's special in the Greek. That is what is called a double I AM. There are two words for I AM in Greek. One is 'ego,' and the other is 'eimi.' When you have 'ego eimi,' which is what this is, it means I AM. And because Who He was and Who He is, all of those I put in capital letters. You'll find a lot of those throughout the book of John—I AM. Now what did this mean to the Jews? When Moses said, 'Who shall I tell the children of Israel sent me?' 'Tell them, I AM has sent me.' So He was telling them Who He was. He was the God of the Old Testament.] ...and that I do nothing of Myself…." (vs 26-28).

In other words, of His fleshly being He did nothing originating from His own human initiative, from God's Spirit. "…But as the Father taught Me, these things I speak" (v 28).

Just put in your notes there, read the appendix, Jesus was Taught By God the Father. He was wakened every morning and taught by the Father. Now that's an amazing thing to understand.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

Why did He do nothing of Himself? John 6:63; here is a key thing in understanding about the Word of God. "'It is the Spirit that gives life... [That means no ritual, no secret formula, God's Spirit alone is what gives life.] ...the flesh profits nothing... [Even if you do great accomplishments, or like Solomon said, 'What if you live a thousand years twice fold and die?' You left it all behind. It's like when they were at Paul Getty's funeral. They said, 'How much did he leave behind?' Someone said, 'All of it.'] ...the flesh profits nothing... [This is what I prayed that would reflect in the translation of the New and the Old Testament, because these are the keys to conversion. Something happens when you read the Word of God that doesn't happen with any other book.] ...The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.'" In other words, when you read the Word of God and you're wanting to keep the Word of God, you're wanting to keep the truth, something happens to your understanding and it's like turning on a light. Bing! Like you said, when you started to obey, things began to fall in place. On the series I have done about the Sabbath, I put the challenge out in two programs. Do this: Take one month, keep the Sabbath, every Sabbath for one month. Study on the Sabbath. Get a concordance or go through electronic concordance, look up every place the Sabbath. I guarantee you at the end of that month you'll understand about the Sabbath. When I meet new people who've never kept the Sabbath, but were interested, I said, 'Okay, you do that. You take that as a challenge.' Always worked out, because of obedience they understood. Especially when you've had Sunday all your life. What are you going to do?

You're not going to say right out of the chute, 'Oh, what a wonderful Truth. I've been deceived.' No, you're going to say, 'Huh?' What's going to happen, all of these church authorities say, 'Cult, cult, cult, cult!' But the opposite is true! These words are spirit and they are life. That's why when you're reading and studying the Bible and all of a sudden it connects, it's like a light going on. What's happening? God's Spirit is giving you the Word of Truth, which brings you life. That's what's happening.

John 8:28: "'...then you yourselves shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as the Father taught Me, these things I speak. And He Who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone because I always do the things that please Him'" (vs 28-29). Now we're going to see something here in a little bit. Can a man please God? Yes!

Some people say, 'Oh, you can never please God.' Yes, you can. Hold your place here and come to 1-John 3. I'll show you right here. Yes, we can please God! How do you please God?

• by loving Him
• by obeying Him
• by doing the things that please Him
•  

1-John 3:18: "My little children, we should not love in word, nor with our tongues; rather, we should love in deed and in Truth." Let me just stop here and say one of the major problems in authoritarian churches, be they Church of God, or being a Sunday-keeping church, where they do not have the love of God, it becomes all authority, all power. How are we to love?

• love God
• love our neighbors
• love each other as Christ loved us
• even love our enemies

And that's the hardest thing to do, love our enemies.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

How can you love them?

• Pray for them
• If they're real troublesome, ask God to keep them away from you
• If they're really, really vindictive and they won't be called, or they won't answer the call, then

'God, You deal with them. I don't want to judge them, though I do want to judge them. I'm going to put some judgment in Your hands, You deal with them.' If they still refuse: Let God's judgment be executed whichever way He wants.

God will take care of the enemies for you, but you don't hate them. You don't accept or don't like the sin or hate the sin that they do, but remember, they may be blinded, which they probably are. They don't understand what they're doing. What did Jesus say just before He died, He said, 'Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing.'

[More discussion and questions from audience]

You have to have the understanding. Let God take care of them. I could tell you stories, but I'm not going to tell you stories. God has taken care of enemies on my behalf. I'm not going to say what was done, lest people think I'm trying to lift myself up, but I'm not.

What does this do then? This keeps hatred out of your heart and hatred's going to choke off the love of God. Not only that, but what does it do to you spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, and even these things: bitterness, hatred, and resentment, you see, that can create sickness within, because your mind and your emotions are generating the hormones in your system that are toxic coming from your thoughts. So it's toxic thoughts.

'Love in deed and in Truth.' In deed is the same word in Greek, 'ergon,' for work. We're created unto good works. Let's go on. We're going to see Truth come out here in what we're covering now, when we go through this, what we're studying now.

"And in this way we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. That if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us..." (vs 19-21). What condemns us? When we sin and we have a guilty conscience, then you go repent and pray. You don't have to run off somewhere and get on your knees. If you sin and you recognize you sin, you can ask God to forgive you right where you are, standing where you are, doing what you're doing. No one needs to know what's going on in your mind and what you're saying. But then, that with God's Spirit will give you the help and will give you the strength, so that you're not going to be in that sin. Now it may be a temptation and we could talk a little later on how sin comes about, because not every thought is sin. It may be temptation.

"...then we have confidence toward God. And whatever we may ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and practice those things that are pleasing in His sight.... [We can please God!] ...And this is His commandments: that we believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, exactly as He gave commandment to us. And the one who keeps His commandments is dwelling in Him... [That means, you have the Spirit of God, you're dwelling in Christ.] ...and He... [Christ] ...in him... [you] ...and by this we know... [This is something that you really do not have in the other religions. You do not have the conviction that you know. You go around with doubt, you wonder. The priest, the minister keeps you in fear. 'Doubt out of this, doubt of that, you want to burn in hell forever,' all this sort of thing. 'Don't you dare go against the pope's edicts, don't you know that he's the vicar of Christ.' Well, who put him there?] ...and by this we know that He is dwelling in us; by the Spirit which He has given to us" (vs 21-24).

• He wants us to have understanding of conversion
• He wants us to have understanding of His love
• He wants us to understand, yes, we can please God

We can, we don't have to go around and say, 'Oh, I wonder if I can please God.' You can!

Now come back to John 8 and we'll see how all of this ties together here. 'I always do the things that please Him.' Now notice this. I want you to notice this. John 8:30: "As He spoke these things, many believed in Him…. [Now this reveals there is a depth of belief. Is it a convicting belief unto Truth or is it believing because you heard good words?] …Therefore, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, 'If... [And that's a word you're going to find throughout the Bible.] ...If you continue in My Word... [Which means His whole message.] ...you are truly My disciples.... [Now you take the reverse of that. If you do not continue in My word, you are not My disciples.] ...And you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free'" (vs 30-32). Free from what?

• free from sin
• free from guilt
• free from Satan the devil
• free from the clutches of other people

"They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone..." (v 33). And yet the Romans were there as a conquering army. Many people don't realize it, but the temple was built in such a way that here's the temple, and across the colonnades that you see was a walkway. And this walkway went six hundred yards up to Fort Antonio. In Fort Antonio was where the whole Roman army, I think there were three brigades, or 5,000 Roman soldiers, and they always guarded right there up on top of the temple. So even when they were in the temple area doing the things at the temple, there were the Roman guards with their swords and with their spears and shields. The Romans learned that riots started at the temple and spread to the city, so that's how they were able to control it. Then you go to the book of Acts, and remember, there were riots started when Paul was speaking to them and they hated Paul. So the Roman soldiers came down and got him right away and rescued him.

That's interesting they say, 'We're not in bondage to anyone.' "...What do You mean by saying, 'You shall become free"?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a servant of sin'" (vs 33-34). Now 'practice' means continually doing.

Let's ask a question: What is sin? 'Sin is the transgression of the law.' A real firmer definition is: 'Sin is lawlessness.' Now there are several forms of lawlessness.

• anti-law all together; you're just a complete anarchist
• you are against the laws of God
• you add your own version of laws to the laws of God, via traditions

You are saying, 'God, Your law's not good enough. I have this one over here which is going to improve it.' And that goes all the way back to Cain.

"'...everyone who practices sin is a servant of sin. And the servant does not live in the house forever; but the Son lives forever. Therefore, if the Son shall set you free, you shall truly be free.... [How is that? Through repentance, through baptism, through receiving the Holy Spirit of God.] ...I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds'" (vs 34-37). And that's what happens to religious people—isn't it? That's why God has to call. Put this in your notes, so you can get it on CBCG.org—From God's Calling to Eternal Life. I did that March 19th 2010. God is the one Who has to call you and draw you. So if you feel something really spiritual happening in your mind and your life, God is dealing with, He is working with you.

But if not: "'...because My words do not enter into your minds. I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from your father.'.... [Now this gets really hot, but there's going to be a real lesson here. Are there religious people, were they at the temple? Did it say that they believed in Jesus? But how did they believe in Him? Not unto repentance! Now notice what happened. So this is what happens in religion today. Christian religion, oh, the Muslims are in total bondage to it. Look at what they're into.] ...They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a man who had spoken the Truth to you, which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father''" (vs 37-41).

Now imagine going up to a Catholic cardinal and saying, 'You are of your father the devil.' Or going up to the Dahlia Lama and saying, 'You are of your father the devil.' Or going to a noted Protestant preacher who is preaching such a watered-down thing of another Jesus, 'You are preaching of the devil, an antichrist.' Oh, no, I'm not, I'm saving people. Are they religious, do they claim to believe in God? Do they think they are doing right? Yes! Now it really gets nasty.

"...You are doing the works of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We have not been born of fornication. We have one Father, and that is God.' Therefore, Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me'" (vs 41-45). So it's the Truth that convicts; it's the truth that separates. That's why you need the words of Christ and the Bible.

"The Truth shall set you free." That's what He said. But they didn't want to accept it. They wanted to continue in their own religion, so it gets really nasty here. I just want to go through this to show you some of the responses that people will have who are 'religious' and think they're right with God, like these people did, even in the temple. There they were at the temple of God. Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil." Well, where's the best place for Satan to come to deceive people? Right at the temple. They'll think it's of God. What a good place for a counterfeit.
Verse 46: "Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the Truth, why don't you believe Me?.... [Now here's the key, v 47—this is what is happening in your life]: ...The one who is of God hears the words of God...."

• you listen to them
• you prove them
• you analyze them
• you check them
• you obey them

...For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God" (v 47).

And it was said they were Jews who believed in Him and they were at the temple. This tells us an awful lot when we want to answer the questions:

• How can there be so many religions in the world?
• How can they be all so wrong?
• How can just the few…?

—here we are, five right here in this room. And there are a few scattered here and there. On our mailing list we have about 2,100. We started out at three and just let God add to it as we go along. People look to numbers and say, 'Oh, look at the numbers.'

• Is there conversion?
• Is there Truth?
• Do you believe the Truth?
• Are you willing to listen to the Truth?

Verse 47: "The one who is of God hears the words of God...." And that's what to be preached. Any preacher, teacher, whatever, had better preach the Truth, and the words of God rightly dividing them.

"...For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God.' Then the Jews answered and said to Him, 'Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?' Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is one Who seeks and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words... [obey the truth, practice the truth. If you practice sin, you're a servant of sin. Notice the contrast right through this one chapter, which tells you a lot in answering the question: What do I do? How do I understand? It's all right here. How do I get out of this counterfeit Christianity? How is my life changed? Through Christ!] ...Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words, he shall not see death forever'" (vs 47-52). Which is the correct translation. The King James has that wrong. It says, 'he shall not die.' That's not correct. So "shall not see death forever"—because we have to die in the faith, if we die before the first resurrection. But that's not forever. So if you read that in your King James Version, it says, 'he shall not die,' so you read that and you think immortal soul.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

Verse 53: "'Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets, who died? Whom do You make Yourself to be?' Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing... [So how did Jesus even view Himself? Look at the humility that the God the Creator of all the universe and mankind had when He was here manifested in the flesh.] ...It is My Father Who glorifies Me, of Whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not know Him...'" (vs 53-55). Isn't that something? Where were they? At the temple! If you say that to some of these religious leaders today, 'You have not known God.' Man!

I got an email from a Baptist minister who said, 'I am a true Christian. What do you mean doing this Bible? Don't you know how blasphemous that is?' So I said, 'Thank you for your email.' I wrote him back, I said, 'If you're a true Christian, would you not consider that if you judge something before you have seen it, that you put yourself in the category that the proverbs says, 'The fool speaks before he knows.' If you judge something before you've seen it, is that not foolishness? I said, 'This is done to bring the Word of God in a way that's easy to understand.' And I said, 'I'll be happy to send you a Bible at no cost, if you write back and give me your address.' So he wrote back and gave me his address, a little more conciliatory. So I said, 'Okay, now before I send you the Bible, I'm going to send you four booklets: Which Day is the True Christian Sabbath; A Sabbath/Sunday Challenge You Have Never Read—Rome's Challenge to the Protestants; Understanding Paul's Difficult Scriptures; and The Grace of God. I said, 'You go through these and you show me where I'm wrong and if I'm really wrong, I'll change. And if you're wrong, will you be willing to change? And after you've gone through these four booklets, I'll then send you the Bible at no cost.'

So the same thing here. "'Yet you have not known Him; but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar, like you.... [Which also tells us what? Jesus could have sinned, but He didn't. And if there was not the potential for Him to sin, how could He be tempted in everything like we are?] ...But I know Him, and I keep His Word. Abraham your father was overjoyed to see My day; and he saw it and rejoiced.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not even fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM'" (vs 55-58). 'Ego eimi.'

And they ran and embraced Him and said, 'Oh, You are the Messiah.' NO! "Then they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus concealed Himself and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them, and in this manner departed" (v 59). Very interesting! So you can be right where God is supposed to be, and bring in your sins. And you can have a whole religious system that looks good, but Satan is in the middle of it, and not know it. That's why I suggest that you read through slowly and really consider as you go through the book of John, because there's so much there.

 [More discussion and questions from audience]

John 6:44. Turn over there. This is also very interesting. Who can become a Christian? Well, anyone who can stand up and say, 'Lord, I repent of my sins and accept you into my life.' And now the preacher says, 'You're born again,' or Catholic, you baptize them as an infant. Why do they baptize them as an infant? Because if they're not baptized they don't go to heaven. Here's the thing that they look to in the Bible.

Matthew talks about the Kingdom of Heaven. The rest of the New Testament talks about the Kingdom of God. The pope says he is the ruler of the Kingdom of God; i.e., the Catholic Church on earth. Therefore, we baptize babies so they can go to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now let's come to John 6:44: "No one... [that means no one] ...can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him... [Now, what does this tell us? If we answer God's calling—'Many are called, but few chosen'—if we answer the calling, God chooses and begins to draw him. This is what you're experiencing, and what you're going through here now. God's Spirit is beginning to draw you. So you have to continue along and He will continue to draw you.] ...and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God….'" (vs 44-45).

Now here's another thing. Whatever you learn from the Word of God, you're being taught by God—right? It's His Word! Whoever is the minister, is only the one to convey and teach these things according to the Scriptures—all taught by God.

"…Therefore, everyone who has heard from the Father... [That is, answer the call.] ...and has learned, comes to Me." (v 45).

Let's finish the other half of the equation, come to John 14:6. You combine these two together and you get the answer: How does God deal with human beings out here in the world and they don't know anything? God has to intervene to do it. So it is really a true intervention of God in your life, because you're seeking. What did He promise? 'If you seek, you shall find. If you knock, it'll be open, if you ask you'll receive.' So God answers and God is the one Who is doing the drawing and calling.
John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way... [That is the way of life, the way to God.] ...and the Truth... [That's why the words and message from Christ are so important. And as you go through and read and study the Gospel of John, look for key things like:

• truth
• life
• practice
• obey
• believe

All of those are key words that help you there.] ...I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life... [In other words, He is the Way of God, and the Truth which will bring you to eternal life, which is salvation, and the Life.] ...no one comes to the Father except through Me.'" Though the Father starts the drawing, the individual must respond and keep coming. Then they have to come through Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and that opens the door more for God's Spirit and to the Father. And that's how God is able to work in the world spiritually and the world not know it. It's a spiritual thing.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

We spent years alone to do this, because we resolved to keep our noses in the Bible, stay close to God, don't let anything deter you, don't look to numbers, don't get lifted up, don't go do your own thing, but just keep learning. Ask God to open our minds, give us understanding, grant us the Truth, and that the key thing is to love God. That's the key thing.

Come back here to John 3 and let's pick it up here in v 33. This is John the Baptist speaking of Christ, but we find a principle here that is true. John 3:33: "'The one who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true.'" Now it's interesting, what does it mean 'set his seal'? Well, they used to seal letters with hot wax and an insignia ring that bore the witness that you have read it. That's what it means. You set your seal that God is true.

"'For He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God... [Now that's how you are to know any teacher. He's talking about Christ, Who came as the Messiah here, but that is truism with everything. That's why we are to do like it said there, 'the Bereans searched the Scriptures, whether they are so.' 'Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good.' Anyone who is going to really teach the Word of God, they're going to make it clear, 'Don't follow me, follow Christ.'] ...and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him.... [That is Christ.] ...The Father loves the Son and has given all things into HIs hand. The one who believes in the Son has everlasting life... [Of course, believes then means everything about it. Not just a superficial believe as we saw back there in John 8, 'Oh, we believe.' But how do you believe?] ...but the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, for the wrath of God remains on him'" (vs 34-36).

Isn't that interesting, the word obey comes up. What did Jesus say? There are even some evangelicals who say, 'Well, we don't even need the Gospels, because Jesus was a minister to the circumcision, so therefore, we don't have to follow that.' What does it say here? 'But the one who does not obey the Son, shall not see life.'

[More discussion and questions from audience]

• How do you believe?
• Do you believe Who He is?
• Do you believe what He says?
• Do you obey His commandments, His Word?

As I'm going to bring out tomorrow, keeping the commandments in the New Covenant is only through grace. It's not grace or law; it's not works of law. That's another whole subject. It is doing the good works that have been ordained that we do. Are the Ten Commandments good? Of course they're good! We are to do those. But what do we do beyond that?

• we grow in knowledge
• we grow in understanding
• we grow in loving God

We come to realize that every breath of air we have, every morsel of food that we eat, every thought that we have is because of God's love. Don't get lifted up over anything, because God is the one Who makes it all possible.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

The comment was made: If you believe and do not keep the commandments, you are no better than the hypocrites that He chastises in the temple that you're giving lip service, but not doing anything else. Let's take it one step further. You're working here on Todd's forty acres, and you dig up a map and it says there's gold hidden under his house. If you believe that, what would you and Todd do to his house? You would have action. That's why when you read Heb. 11, the faith chapter:

• By faith Abraham believed God and left his own country
• By faith Moses kept the Passover
• By faith Noah built the ark

So faith requires action. Belief requires action. If you believe something, that's what you're going to do.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

You can go to any Protestant minister and say, 'I want you to tell me honestly.' Just private conversation so you don't have a confrontation. 'I want you to answer me truthfully. Isn't it true that the Bible only teaches the Sabbath?' And he will say yes, but the church changed it.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

We have a new man, he's still going to a Protestant church because his wife is going. He got a Bible and he gave it to his minister. He asked him also about the Sabbath day. And he gave them the answer, then he said, 'Yes, I know it is but, the church changed it. If I preached it, I wouldn't have a congregation.' Well, why should you have a congregation if you're pretending to be a minister of Christ and you're not teaching His Word? A month after he gave the Bible to the minister, he went to church on Sunday and the minister gave a scathing diatribe about cults and Sabbath-keepers and Seventh-Day Adventists. He was sitting there and he said he didn't use one single Scripture.

[More discussion and questions from audience]

What you're experiencing is what everyone experiences when God begins to deal with them. There comes a signal moment in your life that you look back and remember: 'That was the moment.' That moment for me was when I was going to San Mateo Junior College, first year there, and I had to take paleontology, which was six weeks paleontology, six weeks of geology and six weeks of biology. We had about 400 in the class. So here we were first meeting, you know how it is in school, he had the big classroom that went up so everyone could look down and see him standing on his little stage down there. So we all filed in and everybody was talking. Finally he came out and he stood there with his arms folded and looked at everyone. Gradually it became more quiet. Finally it was silent. The first thing he said, 'Anyone who believes in God and the Bible, there is the door. We will have none of that in this class.' Now I wasn't religious, I hadn't gone to church, but that was the signal moment that got me started, because I said, 'How dare he tell us'—I said to myself, not out loud-because you know, you've got to get your grade to pass and if you don't get this, you don't get your degree. So they've got you all clutched in there. So that's how it started for me.

Then I had enough troubles in my life and what I would do, I would work Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then I would have off Tuesday, Thursday, then all day Saturday morning and all day Sunday morning to study, because I was a cook. I worked down at Sandy's Kitchen and Kibby's Restaurant in Palo Alto and Redwood City. I had enough troubles in my life and I didn't know anything, but this kept bothering me about this. Then my troubles coming up and see, God uses troubles in your life to draw you to Him. Rahm Emanuel wasn't the first one who said, 'Don't waste a good crisis.' God makes them for the purpose of bringing people to Him.

So I was out walking after studying one night and I just looked up and through the fog up there in the Bay area, was in Burlingame, I saw a star. The only thing I remembered was, 'Ask and you shall receive.' So I say, 'God, I'm in trouble. I need help.' That was it, less than a ten second prayer. Well how was that answered? I work every night Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday I was studying. I had no radio in my apartment. I had no television in my apartment, because I knew if I got distracted, I wouldn't get my homework done, and I wasn't there to fiddle around.

So after that walk, one night—it must have been on a Thursday or a Tuesday—I was in my little Nash rambler. I had a little two door Nash rambler. I like classical music, so I always kept it on the classical music station, never changed it, never turned it. So one time I'm out driving and here's this dirge of Bach. It grated on my nerves, so I turned the dial and there was the World Tomorrow Program. That was in early 1960. I listened to the program and as soon as I heard it, because they were teaching the Truth at that time, and as soon as I heard it I said, 'That's it.' I knew that was an answer to that prayer. And that's how I got started and I got the Plain Truth [magazine] and different things like that, and so forth and so on.

I could tell you a story how I started keeping the first Sabbath. I would work sixteen hours a day in the summer so I could have money to go school the next fall. So when I told my boss, 'I have to have off from Friday night sundown to Saturday night sundown,' he said, 'What for?' I said, 'Because of my religion.' He said, 'When did you become religious?' So I finally worked out a schedule where I could have it off, and so forth.

Scriptural References:

• John 3:13, 12, 14
• Luke 23:39-43
• Revelation 20:6, 4-5
• Ezekiel 37:1-16
• Revelation 20:11-12
• Matthew 12:31-32
• 1-John 3:1-3
• Philippians 3:20-21
• Genesis 1:26-27
• Genesis 5:1-2
• John 17:4-5, 17-21
• John 8:25-28
• John 6:63
• John 8:28-29
• 1-John 3:18-24
• John 8:30-59
• John 6:44-45
• John 14:6
• John 3:33-36

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 1-Corinthians 15
• Revelation 1
• Hebrews 6
• Titus 1
• Hebrews 11

Also referenced:

Sermon: From God's Calling to Eternal Life
Sermon Series:

• Hebrews
• Holy Sabbath

Books:

• Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen
• How to Make Your Life Work or Why Aren't You Happy by Ken Keyes Jr.
• Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life by Wayne Dyer

Booklets:

• Which Day is the True Christian Sabbath?
• Rome's Challenge to the Protestants
• Understanding Paul's Difficult Scriptures
• The Grace of God

Article: Ninety Facts About God

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 6-27-10
Formatted: bo—7/5/10