Lost & Found

Revelation 12:11 sets the frame with the line, “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” The word of testimony is not really about a person making himself the center. Christ stands in the middle of it, because the real story is what Jesus Christ did in a life.

Jeremiah 1 and Psalm 139 reach back before the beginning. God knew every person before a single day had passed, not in a way that cancels agency, but in a way that shows his deep foreknowledge and mercy. Foreknowledge is not foreordination. Bad choices still have consequences, and by the grace of God, those very consequences can become the place where a lost soul finally sees the need for Jesus.

The family story begins with grandparents, poverty, hard work, old values, and a library of memories. Children appear as a heritage from the Lord, not personal property and not an obstacle to a better career or a cooler car. The Adventist Home presses that truth deeper, saying children are God’s property, a sacred charge, to be trained for pure and noble lives. The home has a high calling, and parents answer to God for the influence placed in their hands.

The childhood pictures show plenty of good things, holidays, baseball, swimming, birthdays, mom and dad showing up. Yet one thing is missing. There is no church, no open Bible, no family devotion, no full knowledge of Jesus in the house. The home had stability in some ways, but it did not have the rock.

The dark years show what happens when the storms come and the foundation is sand. Drug use grew into something stronger and more destructive, and the father’s death blew the family apart. Matthew 7 names it plainly: the rain came, the floods came, the winds blew, and great was the fall. A young man without direction, without his father, and without Christ tried to figure life out on his own and could not.

Christ met him in that broken place. A desperate prayer for salvation brought peace, and 1 John 5:12 gave words to the experience: “He who has the Son has life.” Revelation then opened the Bible, sharpened the hunger for truth, and led to church, baptism, a prophecy seminar, and finally the Seventh-day Adventist faith. Jesus did not merely change one man. Jesus changed a whole family, turning chaos into a common aim and focus on him.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God knew before the beginning [04:08] God’s knowledge reaches farther back than memory, family history, or even birth. That truth does not make sin God’s fault or choices meaningless, because foreknowledge is not the same thing as foreordination. The comfort is that no wreckage ever surprises God, and no dark chapter lies outside the reach of his mercy. [04:08]
• 2. Children are God’s sacred charge [14:04] Children do not belong to parents as possessions, trophies, or interruptions to personal ambition. They are entrusted by God, and that makes parenting a stewardship with eternal weight. The home becomes one of the first mission fields, not because children need religious pressure, but because they need a living picture of Christ’s nurture, discipline, and patience. [14:04]
• 3. A home needs the rock [27:00] A family can have memories, work ethic, holidays, and love, and still lack the foundation that holds when the storm hits. Matthew 7 shows that collapse is not mainly about whether rain comes, because rain comes to every house. The great difference is whether the words of Christ have been heard and done before the flood rises. [27:00]
• 4. Real life begins with the Son [31:37] Life before Christ can look full from the outside, with school, sports, work, relationships, and plans. Yet 1 John says that having the Son is the difference between existing and truly living. Conversion does not merely add religion to an already complete life, it reveals that the old life was emptier than it seemed. [31:37]
• 5. Jesus can change a whole family [40:43] Christ’s work does not have to stop with one person’s rescue. A household that looked like “pit bulls all on the attack” can be gathered around a new center. Lingering dysfunction may still need grace and growth, but Jesus remains present, working, and able to give a family a common aim.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:42] - Before the Beginning
• [05:05] - Family Roots and Grandparents
• [11:54] - Children as God’s Heritage
• [15:44] - Childhood Snapshots and Memories
• [20:54] - The Missing Place of Church
• [22:09] - The Dark Years Begin
• [23:26] - The Father’s Place in the Home
• [25:56] - A House Without the Rock
• [29:36] - Crying Out for Salvation
• [34:54] - Revelation Opens the Bible
• [37:29] - Baptism and Prophecy Meetings
• [39:50] - Jesus Changes the Whole Family
• [41:48] - Today Is Salvation

Bible Reading

Revelation 12:11
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” [00:45]

Jeremiah 1:4-5
“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’” [01:55]

Psalm 139:15-16
“My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” [02:38]

Psalm 127:3
“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” [11:54]

Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” [26:33]

1 John 5:12
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” [31:24]

Observation questions

1. In Revelation 12:11, what two things are named as the way God’s people overcome the enemy?
2. In Jeremiah 1:4-5 and Psalm 139:15-16, what details show that God’s knowledge of a person begins before birth? [02:38]
3. In Matthew 7:24-27, what is the visible difference between the two builders, and what is the real difference between them? [27:00]
4. What kinds of good things were present in the home and childhood memories, and what spiritual things were noticeably missing? [20:54]

Interpretation questions

1. Revelation 12:11 connects testimony with the blood of the Lamb. Why is a Christian testimony meant to make Christ central rather than self central? [04:47]
2. Jeremiah 1 and Psalm 139 speak of God knowing a person before birth. How can that truth bring comfort without turning human choices into something meaningless? [04:18]
3. Psalm 127:3 calls children a heritage from the Lord. How does that change the way a home should view children, discipline, and influence? [14:04]
4. Matthew 7 says the storms came to both houses. What does that suggest about suffering, and why does the presence or absence of Christ’s foundation matter most when a crisis hits? [27:16]

Application questions

1. God knew every day before a single one had passed. When looking at personal failures, painful family history, or consequences that still linger, where is it hardest to believe that God’s mercy has not run out? [04:37]
2. Children are God’s sacred charge, not personal property. Whether someone is a parent, grandparent, teacher, aunt, uncle, or church member, what kind of influence is being placed around the children in their life right now? [14:43]
3. A home can have love, memories, and hard work, yet still miss the rock. What is one practical way to bring the words of Christ more clearly into the home this week? [21:15]
4. Many people can relate to having “good pictures” in life while still knowing something essential is missing. What outwardly good things can sometimes hide a deeper spiritual emptiness? [20:44]
5. “Whoever has the Son has life.” When did it become clear that knowing about God is not the same thing as having the Son? What helped make that difference real? [31:37]
6. Jesus can change not only one person but a whole family. Is there a broken family relationship, a drifting loved one, or a chaotic household that needs to be placed before Christ in fresh prayer? What would faithful prayer and patient hope look like there? [40:43]
7. Today is the day of salvation. Is there any area of life where there has been delay in surrender, obedience, repentance, or seeking help? What would a next step toward Christ look like now? [41:48]