Home » Zola TV » Video Archives » ZLM Video

Caption transcript for Faith of our Fathers: “Faith by Trial” (2/8)

• 00:03 ♪♪♪ David Hart: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots."
• 00:09 The Word of God has given us examples of faith that have
• 00:12 shaped virtually every aspect of the believer's life today.
• 00:17 Where would we be without the examples of Noah, Abraham, and
• 00:22 Isaac, David, and ultimately that of Yeshua, Jesus?
• 00:29 Faith is woven into the fabric of America as well; from the
• 00:32 pilgrims to John Adams, to Patrick Henry, and
• 00:36 George Washington.
• 00:39 God's providential hand remained highly esteemed and honored
• 00:42 above all.
• 00:44 Faith unshakable, faith unstoppable.
• 00:48 Faith of our fathers.
• 00:54 David: Thank you so much for joining us today.
• 00:55 I'm David Hart.
• 00:57 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
• 00:58 Jeffrey Seif: I am Jeffrey Seif, and I'm game to remind that life
• 01:01 comes replete with trials.
• 01:04 It is the way it is; yes, but God gets us to it and
• 01:06 through it.
• 01:07 What do you think?
• 01:08 Kirsten: I was looking at the topic for today and like, "Who
• 01:10 likes trials?"
• 01:11 No one likes the hard. We like the easy.
• 01:14 David: We've all been there, though.
• 01:16 Jeffrey: It's true.
• 01:17 If you want to have a testimony, you got to pass a test.
• 01:19 David: That's right.
• 01:20 Kirsten: That's a good one.
• 01:22 And here's Jeff teaching about the tests of our biblical
• 01:23 founding fathers.
• 01:25 ♪♪♪
• 01:28 Jeffrey: If you can think of a major ordeal that you've been
• 01:32 through--you went to it, went through it, and got out the
• 01:36 other end of it and took the knee; if you can recall what
• 01:39 that felt like, you'll find more value in what I'm looking at
• 01:42 here today.
• 01:44 Now, it sounds like it's going to be a tough program.
• 01:46 I'm going to speak directly.
• 01:48 But it's not really a tough program, but it deals with the
• 01:50 stress involved in enduring trial, the kind of situations
• 01:55 that test our mettle.
• 01:58 I'm bringing a hammer to the table, not that I'm going to
• 02:01 beat you over the head with it or me.
• 02:04 I'm reminded of a fella named Noah, who worked an instrument
• 02:07 like this and others like it to manufacture a boat.
• 02:11 Got wood together and facilitated the manufacture of
• 02:14 this mega structure at a time where they hadn't seen rain that
• 02:17 would necessitate it.
• 02:20 People who were observing this didn't even know what the
• 02:22 innovation was to speak of.
• 02:24 It wouldn't have made sense to them, and to be sure he had to
• 02:27 endure the ridicule of his associates.
• 02:30 Well, who's laughing later, to tell you the truth?
• 02:32 Not to make fun of anyone's destruction.
• 02:35 But sometimes people that walk with the Lord get tested in the
• 02:38 process, and that reminds me that--when I think of the
• 02:42 testing of mettle, I don't just think of Noah and the
• 02:45 circumstances surrounding him, but thinking of famous
• 02:49 boat rides.
• 02:51 Those who came to America came here in a very hazardous.
• 02:55 They braved the hazards as a very difficult
• 02:57 trans-Atlantic voyage.
• 03:01 Very, very, very precarious, very scary.
• 03:04 And they took the knee afterward.
• 03:06 They did as you might well imagine.
• 03:08 They said, "Thank you, God" when they got to land.
• 03:11 You know, I began this by saying I don't know if you've ever been
• 03:12 in a perilous place in your own life; if you can think of that
• 03:14 and how relieved you were when the difficulties had run
• 03:18 their course.
• 03:20 You know, that boat ride that Noah had was no easy journey.
• 03:23 And to be sure, the Pilgrims that came here, they were
• 03:26 struggling as well, but, you know, the good Lord brought
• 03:31 them through.
• 03:34 They were guided by providence in the process.
• 03:37 We endured our trials.
• 03:39 The Bible said, "Blessed are those who endure it, for
• 03:41 afterward they'll receive the crown that comes to those--to
• 03:44 whom it is due."
• 03:46 Well, I want to look at a story here that involved in other kind
• 03:48 of hammer; a builder.
• 03:50 You know, those that came to the new world over here were looking
• 03:52 to build something new.
• 03:54 And it wasn't sticks and bricks, but they had to attend to that
• 03:56 to be sure.
• 03:57 But they're looking to build a new kind of commonwealth.
• 04:01 And they had to fell those trees and cut those rocks, and they
• 04:05 just built it from the ground up.
• 04:06 By looking up, they wanted heaven to shine down as they
• 04:09 were tending to their business on earth, and they weren't the
• 04:12 only ones.
• 04:14 When I go to Bible days, Zerubbabel was his name.
• 04:18 He was the first governor for those that went on the journey
• 04:21 not over sea in this case, but over sand.
• 04:24 I mentioned that Judeans were in Babylonia, but they were
• 04:27 afforded the opportunity to return and tens of
• 04:30 thousands did.
• 04:33 Actually at the tail end of the Old Testament era, they were
• 04:35 three waves of immigration; first with Zerubbabel, and then
• 04:40 Ezra, and then Nehemiah, Nehemiah came, and
• 04:42 then it all came to an end.
• 04:45 That is, the older testament narrative ends there with this
• 04:49 rebuilding under Persian occupation.
• 04:51 Well, I mention this because Zerubbabel--the name Zera Babel.
• 04:57 Zera is the Hebrew word for seed, and Babel from Babylonia.
• 05:03 That he was a seed from Babylonia.
• 05:05 He came from there and that seed was replanted in the earth of
• 05:09 Judea, but the growth came with its challenges.
• 05:14 And I'm looking at the book Zakariah.
• 05:17 In Hebrew, Zakar is the word to remember.
• 05:21 Zechariah.
• 05:23 God remembers here, and Zerubbabel was remembered in all
• 05:28 of his struggles.
• 05:31 We're told in chapter 4, verse 8, "The Word of the Lord came,
• 05:34 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of
• 05:38 this house.
• 05:42 His hands will also finish it.'"
• 05:46 Now, he wasn't exclusive.
• 05:48 He was the governor at the time, but he was responsible
• 05:50 principally for the work project.
• 05:53 But, you know, enthusiasm would wax and wane, and it was like
• 05:56 that in the days of the colonial struggle, by the way.
• 05:58 People joined Washington's army, but it was militia.
• 06:02 They defected en masse as well.
• 06:05 You know, enthusiasm waxes and wanes, and Zechariah here is
• 06:08 giving them encouragement.
• 06:10 "You can finish it, you can do this, Zerubbabel, be strong."
• 06:15 We're going to see that when I pivot to another text.
• 06:17 When I look at the faith of our fathers, faith can get tested.
• 06:22 In Hebrews, we're told the genuine faith is tested.
• 06:24 It's refined in the fire of challenging circumstances.
• 06:29 But you know what they say.
• 06:31 Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and in a biblical
• 06:34 sense to be sure that we go through it and we certainly
• 06:38 become the better for it.
• 06:40 Well here, we're told in fact--right before, there's a
• 06:46 statement here that's interesting.
• 06:48 It reminds me of Jesus talking about faith can move mountains.
• 06:51 He says to him here that--"
• 06:54 What are you, great mountain?
• 06:57 Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain."
• 07:00 That is to say with his faith in action, that big immovable
• 07:04 object will be leveled.
• 07:08 I see language like that here in Haggai, who was a prophet who
• 07:12 was reasonably contemporaneous with the prophet
• 07:17 Zakariah, Zechariah.
• 07:20 Haggai comes from a word festival, chag.
• 07:23 And he was looking to stir up a festive spirit to serve the Lord
• 07:28 at a time when enthusiasm was waning as well, and he has a
• 07:32 word to Zerubbabel that is a word to those of us that walk
• 07:39 by faith.
• 07:41 He says in chapter 2, and I'm looking at verse 4, he says,
• 07:43 "But now, Zerubbabel, chazak," chazak, "Be strong."
• 07:50 And we need that.
• 07:53 He says, "It's a declaration of Adonai."
• 07:56 You know, "Be strong."
• 07:58 And he tells the kohen gadol, the high priest, "Be strong."
• 08:01 It takes that.
• 08:03 It's a declaration.
• 08:05 "For I am with you.
• 08:07 It is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva'ot."
• 08:09 At the end of verse 4, it's a declaration of the Lord of
• 08:12 hosts, the Lord of the armies.
• 08:15 You got difficult stuff coming against you?
• 08:18 Well, God's got some strong stuff for you as well.
• 08:21 He says here, "Be strong."
• 08:23 It's a declaration.
• 08:25 "According to the word that I covenanted with you," he goes on
• 08:27 to say in verse 5.
• 08:29 He goes on to say finally before he gets out of this section of
• 08:31 the text--you go down a few verses and he says, "I will fill
• 08:34 this house with glory."
• 08:37 And you know why he filled it?
• 08:40 Because some labored to build it.
• 08:44 It was a long and winding road, and it's checkered with
• 08:47 challenges that come our way.
• 08:50 And we as people of faith, we go to it and we go through it and
• 08:53 we build what God has destined us to build.
• 08:58 We see it in biblical literature.
• 09:00 I trust you can be reminded of it in your own experience.
• 09:03 Who knows?
• 09:05 Right now you might be going through it in a big way.
• 09:06 I want you to know God can make a miracle to happen to you in a
• 09:09 big way as well.
• 09:11 Well, I think of you, I think of me, I think of we, I think here,
• 09:13 and I think of the founding fathers of our culture.
• 09:17 They braved the hazards, as I'd said, of a journey to come to
• 09:21 this world, and they braved the hazards associated with
• 09:24 building it.
• 09:26 And here we are now.
• 09:28 The work continues, does it not, as you and I--as we look to
• 09:31 follow the faith of our fathers.
• 09:36 ♪♪♪
• 09:44 David: Our resources this week, we have two ways you or someone
• 09:46 you love can learn the New Testament.
• 09:49 First, the book, "Once through the New Testament."
• 09:53 Zola Levitt and Dr. Tom McCall created this concise, readable,
• 09:56 and clear overview.
• 10:00 Or the audio CD, "Survey of the New Testament."
• 10:03 Here's Zola Levitt's unique point of view from the Gospels
• 10:06 to Revelation.
• 10:08 Contact us and ask for the book or the CD.
• 10:15 David: Join us right now for additional content that is only
• 10:17 available on our social media sites: Facebook, YouTube,
• 10:20 and Twitter.
• 10:23 Visit our website levitt.com for the current and past programs,
• 10:25 the television schedule, tour information; and our free
• 10:29 monthly newsletter, which is full of insightful articles and
• 10:33 news commentary.
• 10:35 View it online, or we can ship it directly to your mailbox
• 10:37 every month.
• 10:39 Also on our website is the online store.
• 10:42 There you can order this week's resource, or you can always give
• 10:45 us a call at 1-800-WONDERS.
• 10:48 Your donations to "Our Jewish Roots" help us to support these
• 10:52 organizations as they bless Israel.
• 10:55 Please remember we depend on tax-deductible donations from
• 10:58 viewers like you.
• 11:02 Kirsten: This television program is simply one facet of
• 11:04 our ministry.
• 11:07 Another facet that we absolutely love is the fact that we take
• 11:09 tours to Israel, and you and I get to host them twice a year.
• 11:14 Go to our ministry website, levitt.com.
• 11:18 There's all kinds of tour information.
• 11:20 Jeff, how many times have you been to Israel?
• 11:23 Jeffrey: Around 50.
• 11:24 David: I was going to say it will change your life.
• 11:26 One time or 50 times, it's life-changing.
• 11:28 Jeffrey: It really is.
• 11:30 It strengthens to walk in the Bible lands.
• 11:32 Speaking of which, you heard me speak about chazak, to
• 11:36 be strong.
• 11:37 And in the biblical account, individuals are beckoned to
• 11:42 be strong.
• 11:44 Sometimes we're strengthened in part when others help hold up
• 11:47 our hands.
• 11:49 You may recall the children of Israel were in a battle, and you
• 11:52 know what?
• 11:53 Individuals helped hold up Moses' hands.
• 11:57 Will you please help us keep our hands up?
• 12:03 I mention that because in these days some aren't as inclined to
• 12:09 be as supportive of ministries as they otherwise might be.
• 12:14 Please if you find value in what we do, let us know that by
• 12:19 demonstrating something tangible to help us to continue to do it,
• 12:23 and God bless you as you do.
• 12:25 Thank you.
• 12:28 David: In our drama today, we find Betsy Ross's friend who is
• 12:30 a clergyman, who shares with us some insightful information,
• 12:33 even going back to the Pilgrims, of their unwavering faith in
• 12:37 God, let's go there now.
• 12:43 male: Betsy, I believe a providential plan is at
• 12:48 work here.
• 12:51 As I've transcribed these notes in my own hand, it's given
• 12:54 me pause.
• 12:55 How could one not be moved by those who have committed
• 12:59 themselves with such immense faith to the will of their
• 13:02 heavenly Father?
• 13:05 Betsy Ross: Please, sir, do share their thoughts.
• 13:08 male: For me, it all started with Mr. William Bradford and
• 13:13 the souls aboard the Mayflower in the year 1620 of our Lord.
• 13:19 He left behind a journal concerning those who had
• 13:22 joined him.
• 13:23 I read in part.
• 13:26 "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land,
• 13:30 they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who
• 13:33 brought them over the vast and furious ocean."
• 13:36 You see, they viewed themselves as replaying the story of the
• 13:41 Exodus, the escape of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to
• 13:46 a promised land.
• 13:50 Betsy: Yes, I can see that.
• 13:52 The ocean, I suppose, was likened to the wilderness there
• 13:56 which the children of Israel sojourned for 40 years.
• 14:00 America was their promised land.
• 14:03 male: Yes, exactly, especially the Puritans who perceived
• 14:07 fleeing the tyranny in Europe to fleeing slavery of Egypt.
• 14:14 Bradford's secretary would later write, "Thus out of small
• 14:19 beginnings, greater things have been produced by God's hand,
• 14:24 that made all things of nothing.
• 14:27 Just as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light
• 14:30 that kindled hath onto many, yea to our whole nation hath that
• 14:35 light shone.
• 14:37 Let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise."
• 14:42 Betsy: That small light has flickered among us for over
• 14:44 100 years.
• 14:47 May we be prudent in fanning that flame.
• 14:49 ♪♪♪
• 14:59 Jeffrey: In Hebrew, it's aish.
• 15:01 It means fire or flame.
• 15:04 And our guest, David Barton, has a passion.
• 15:08 He's on fire to help people see the lost Christian heritage of
• 15:12 the American colonies.
• 15:16 You've heard of the Puritans.
• 15:18 Well, you're going to be exposed to William Bradford as we enter
• 15:22 into the world of the faith of our founding fathers.
• 15:27 Jeffrey: David, in the first program you spoke of primary
• 15:30 source data, the principal literature.
• 15:34 I've long lamented personally that in church a lot of
• 15:37 preachers don't have an open Bible.
• 15:39 They just talk, and there's little reference to the
• 15:41 principal sources.
• 15:43 Looks to me like you're interested in principal sources.
• 15:45 There's the picture there that gives a window into one.
• 15:47 Doesn't it?
• 15:49 David Barton: Well, in the program we just saw, we were
• 15:51 talking about William Bradford, and William Bradford is this man
• 15:53 right here.
• 15:55 He came over with the Pilgrims on the ship originally.
• 15:57 This is the congregation of the Pilgrims leaving Leadenhall.
• 16:01 They're going to Great Britain, and then on to England.
• 16:04 And so it started out two ships.
• 16:06 The congregation split between two ships.
• 16:08 Actually, English sailors sabotaged this ship.
• 16:11 It didn't make it.
• 16:12 So they all got on the Mayflower.
• 16:13 They had to leave some behind.
• 16:15 So as they come on the Mayflower, he becomes the
• 16:16 governor for nearly 30 years of the Pilgrims.
• 16:18 He is a primary source and this is the book that he wrote, and
• 16:22 it records the 30 years of what they did.
• 16:25 These are actually the records of the colony in the time he
• 16:28 was governor.
• 16:30 And so we know much.
• 16:31 This is where we learn about the first Thanksgiving.
• 16:32 This is where we learn about their faith.
• 16:34 And as you look at these folks, they're really the second colony
• 16:36 in America.
• 16:38 And they gather around this Bible right here, and this Bible
• 16:40 being held by Elder William Brewster.
• 16:42 This is their pastor, John Robinson, who did not make
• 16:45 the trip.
• 16:46 He was on the ship that was coming, and that ship didn't
• 16:47 make it.
• 16:50 So this Bible is actually what's called a Geneva Bible, and it
• 16:53 was the first Bible printed in the English language.
• 16:56 What makes it unique is all along the sides it has
• 16:59 commentaries of the reformers.
• 17:01 The Bible is a brand new book to them, and it had been put away
• 17:04 for nearly 1,000 years.
• 17:06 That book--this book is called the world's first pocket Bible.
• 17:09 It's pretty large, but it was the first one that you could
• 17:12 carry around for yourself in over 1,000 years.
• 17:14 So they're back into reading the Bible, and what makes them so
• 17:17 significant from the first colony--the first colony was
• 17:20 Jamestown, and these are the records of Jamestown from their
• 17:22 governor, John Smith.
• 17:24 Jamestown, they were all professing Christians.
• 17:27 But these guys were biblical Christians, and there's a
• 17:29 big difference.
• 17:31 These guys profess Christianity, these guys actually lived it.
• 17:34 These guys did not live the Bible.
• 17:36 And out of the Jamestown colony is where we find really
• 17:38 socialism takes root in America.
• 17:41 The government provides for everything.
• 17:42 They wait on the government.
• 17:44 They're very lazy.
• 17:45 They had a starving time where the--70% of the people died
• 17:48 simply because they would not work.
• 17:50 They refused to work.
• 17:51 These guys started as a community of believers with a
• 17:54 kind of church socialism.
• 17:56 And they came across two Scriptures in the Bible; one in
• 17:59 Thessalonians, one in Timothy; and it talked about if you don't
• 18:02 provide for your own household you're worse than an infidel,
• 18:05 1 Timothy.
• 18:06 And so they broke everyone up and had individual land.
• 18:08 They bought all the land from the Indians.
• 18:11 The Jamestown colony took it from the Indians.
• 18:13 These guys said, "No, the king gave us a grant."
• 18:16 But it's private property, the Indians own it.
• 18:18 Jeffrey: Where did they land?
• 18:19 David: They landed--they came into what we've called
• 18:21 Massachusetts Straits.
• 18:23 Part of the providence's story, they were being sent to the
• 18:25 Jamestown colony, but the winds were so strong they couldn't
• 18:29 get there.
• 18:31 And the more they turned that ship to the south, the stronger
• 18:33 the winds got and it blew them about 200 miles north and they
• 18:36 landed in a completely uninhabited area.
• 18:39 And so as a result, they got to start their own government, they
• 18:41 got to start their own church, they got to start their
• 18:43 own system.
• 18:45 In Jamestown, they had a state-established church.
• 18:48 The English crown told you what church to go to.
• 18:50 They said, "No, we want a biblical church."
• 18:53 So when they landed, they said, "We're electing our pastor
• 18:55 different from our civil leaders."
• 18:57 And in Jamestown, it's pretty much the same.
• 19:00 Jeffrey: You know, it's interesting.
• 19:01 Today we think of the belt around America.
• 19:03 The Bible belt is in the south, the north is different.
• 19:05 But it seems to me religion was in the south, but the Bible was
• 19:08 in the north.
• 19:09 David: It was.
• 19:11 And these guys not only--the longest lasting treaty with
• 19:13 Native Americans was these guys.
• 19:15 These guys also--the first load of slaves came to Jamestown and
• 19:18 they accepted them.
• 19:19 The second load of slaves came to these guys.
• 19:21 They promptly freed the slaves, imprisoned the slave owners, and
• 19:24 they quoted the Bible passages out of Exodus that man stealing
• 19:27 was--is a capital offense.
• 19:29 Jeffrey: Out of an extension of Christian faith and virtue.
• 19:31 Fascinating.
• 19:33 You know, the Bible is the greatest story ever told.
• 19:35 This is the greatest story never told, and this is the roots of
• 19:37 our culture.
• 19:39 David: It is the roots of our culture, and it's interesting.
• 19:41 There was a map done in 1888 showing the influence of the
• 19:44 Bible from the Pilgrims and the influence of the Jamestown
• 19:47 colony; and really all the bad stuff came out of the Jamestown
• 19:50 colony, and all the good stuff came out of the biblical
• 19:52 Christians, and this is the book that made that difference.
• 19:56 They lived by this.
• 19:58 You see early paintings of them, they always have a Bible
• 19:59 with them.
• 20:01 They were people of the book in a very literal sense.
• 20:03 Jeffrey: Well, they borrowed that from the Jewish people that
• 20:05 have long held that moniker, the people of the book.
• 20:07 But to be sure, they were interested in the story, the
• 20:10 Jewish people, and related.
• 20:12 Of course, they crossed the seas.
• 20:14 The Jews crossed the desert sands to get to the
• 20:15 Promised Land.
• 20:17 David: Well, it's interesting that Governor Bradford in his
• 20:19 late 60s took up the study of Hebrew, which at the time was
• 20:22 essentially a dead language.
• 20:24 He said, "When I read the Bible, I want to hear what it sounded
• 20:26 like when Adam named all the animals.
• 20:30 I want to know how it sounded like when God spoke to them.
• 20:32 I want to hear what that sound is."
• 20:34 And so they were very focused on Hebrew Scriptures and even
• 20:37 Hebrew language at a very early time in American history.
• 20:41 Jeffrey: It is just so fascinating.
• 20:43 What's of principal importance to all this to you?
• 20:44 Something is underneath generating that inquiry.
• 20:48 What is it?
• 20:50 David: For me, when I look at these guys, this is what happens
• 20:51 when you read the Bible, know the Bible, study the Bible, and
• 20:54 apply the Bible.
• 20:56 You get a whole different culture.
• 20:58 What they did for the free market system.
• 21:00 The first free market business in America, they started it,
• 21:02 1627, good relations, equality--
• 21:06 the concept of equality.
• 21:07 Never was a time in Massachusetts' history when
• 21:09 blacks could not vote.
• 21:11 I mean, that's just so different from the south.
• 21:12 And so people who live the Bible versus people who profess
• 21:15 Christianity, don't know the Bible, that's the real story of
• 21:18 the Pilgrims.
• 21:20 Jeffrey: I mean, I am really just blown away.
• 21:22 Frankly, I didn't know that.
• 21:24 And of course I learn new things every day, but there in the
• 21:27 colonies in the north where the Bible was central, slavery was
• 21:30 eschewed as an extension of Christian faith and virtue.
• 21:34 David: Another really interesting thing is they
• 21:36 believed that everyone should know the Bible, so they provided
• 21:39 education for boys and girls.
• 21:41 Most of the world only for men.
• 21:43 They did it for men and women.
• 21:45 The highest literacy rate in the world was in New England for
• 21:47 women--highest literacy rate for women.
• 21:50 And actually John Adams said it's more common to see a comet
• 21:54 than it is to find someone who can't read in New England.
• 21:57 So the Bible was a source of literacy.
• 22:00 They produced the first public education law in 1647, to know
• 22:04 the Bible.
• 22:05 So they really did live out their faith and affect us in
• 22:07 many ways.
• 22:09 Jeffrey: You know what's interesting, those that critique
• 22:11 our interest in the faith of our fathers say, "Well, we're just
• 22:14 trying to read biblical sentiment into their minds."
• 22:20 But, you know, a picture tells a thousand words.
• 22:22 We only have a minute left.
• 22:23 But as you point out, it looks like the Bible's pretty central
• 22:26 there, yes?
• 22:28 David: The Bible is central there.
• 22:29 It's interesting.
• 22:30 You even see God with us up in the sail.
• 22:33 That was part of--and you see the rainbow, which they believe
• 22:35 this was a covenant, and they were very covenantal people.
• 22:38 And they looked at the covenants of the Bible that God had done
• 22:40 and they held the position that a covenant requires input from
• 22:44 both sides.
• 22:45 God will bless us, but we have to do things that will receive
• 22:47 that blessing.
• 22:49 And so they really did believe and live in a biblical
• 22:51 lifestyle, and that's what you see in this picture.
• 22:54 Jeffrey: So it is with the faith of our fathers.
• 22:56 Thank you, David.
• 22:57 David: My pleasure, Jeff.
• 23:00 Kirsten: Is it odd for me to honestly say I love
• 23:03 this program?
• 23:06 And I know we've hosted it for a while now, but I love the
• 23:10 insight that we learned that you bring out.
• 23:13 And David just a minute ago talked about the fact that our
• 23:17 founding fathers studied Hebrew.
• 23:20 I never knew that.
• 23:21 Jeffrey: Yes, it was required in Harvard eventually.
• 23:23 They brought a guy in who was of Jewish extract, who came to
• 23:27 faith to teach it, who had actually written a book on
• 23:29 Hebrew grammar.
• 23:31 Was a big to do.
• 23:32 Yale was slower to catch on, but eventually they all did.
• 23:35 Kirsten: But it was a dead language.
• 23:37 I mean, now here we are in this time where we have Israel, the
• 23:41 Jewish people are back.
• 23:43 But it was a dead language, but they saw the value in that.
• 23:46 Jeffrey: Well, put it like this.
• 23:48 It was dead outside of the Jewish world in so many ways.
• 23:50 But, you know, back then--you know, they're going to Harvard
• 23:52 at 1617, and think about this.
• 23:55 They don't have TV and video games.
• 23:58 These people didn't just know Hebrew.
• 24:00 They were studied up in Latin and in Greek.
• 24:03 The scholarship was a lot higher back then.
• 24:07 David: There was another word that I heard in this discussion
• 24:10 about--in Hebrew chazak, which means be strong, correct?
• 24:15 Jeffrey: Chazak, yes, to be strong.
• 24:18 David: Even in our trials, whatever we're going through to
• 24:20 be strong.
• 24:22 Jeffrey: There was one guy, by the way, in the colonies in New
• 24:23 Amsterdam in 1654.
• 24:26 His name was Jacob Bar Simpson.
• 24:29 And I know you're thinking Bart Simpson.
• 24:31 Kirsten: I know, went right there, yeah.
• 24:33 Jeffrey: They wouldn't let the Jews serve in the militia, and
• 24:37 he fought for the right to be a pillar to strengthen
• 24:40 the colonies.
• 24:42 He had to fight against a guy named Stuyvesant, who was
• 24:44 the governor.
• 24:46 I mean, there's appreciation for the language.
• 24:47 There isn't always appreciation for the people.
• 24:50 But Bar Simpson, if you can imagine that--
• 24:52 Kirsten: Bar son, right?
• 24:54 Son of Simpson.
• 24:55 Jeffrey: Yes, was one of those.
• 24:57 There were Jews here at the beginning, and I love to tell
• 25:00 that story.
• 25:01 Kirsten: And you talked about in your teaching today about
• 25:03 walking through trials.
• 25:06 And I think I mentioned in the beginning of the program who
• 25:07 likes a trial?
• 25:09 We don't like that 'cause it's hard.
• 25:11 Talk about the refining fire that so many walk through.
• 25:15 Jeffrey: I try and get up and lift weights about three times a
• 25:17 week anyway, and run other times four or five times a week in the
• 25:21 morning before the sun gets up.
• 25:23 You have to get to the pain in order to get the gains,
• 25:25 you know?
• 25:26 And the truth of the matter is, you get underneath those weights
• 25:29 till it hurts and that's what makes you what you are.
• 25:32 David: If there's somebody watching today who's never had a
• 25:34 trial, you are set apart because we've all been through trials in
• 25:39 our lives.
• 25:41 Jeffrey: That's right.
• 25:42 You don't get a pass because you've accepted the Lord.
• 25:44 Sometimes people have trials, the problems.
• 25:47 They come to Jesus and there's trials, you know, but we have
• 25:50 the grace of God to get us to it and through it and make it
• 25:52 better because of it.
• 25:54 Kirsten: If you are walking through something today that you
• 25:56 think is just unimaginable and you feel as if you're in the
• 26:01 midst of a fire, get in touch with our ministry.
• 26:05 We are a television program, but we are at heart in ministry.
• 26:09 There's a way to get in touch with us online.
• 26:12 Call us.
• 26:14 Call that phone number.
• 26:15 There'll be someone that you can talk to.
• 26:17 We don't want you to ever feel that you're going through what
• 26:19 you are alone.
• 26:21 We're here also.
• 26:22 Jeffrey: That's true, there's caring people at the end of
• 26:23 that mail.
• 26:25 If you don't send a check, send a request, you know.
• 26:26 People are here for you.
• 26:28 We're not those fakes that just open up the mail, pull the
• 26:31 checks, and ditch the rest.
• 26:33 I mean, people are going to pray and care and share.
• 26:35 It's all there.
• 26:37 David: Chazak, chazak?
• 26:39 Jeffrey: Chazak.
• 26:40 David: Chazak, be strong.
• 26:41 And we end our program with a song from our founder,
• 26:43 Zola Levitt.
• 26:44 Jeffrey: And a Word from the Scripture.
• 26:46 Sha'alu shalom Yerushalayim.
• 26:47 David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 26:49 ♪♪♪