Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210043S
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00:01 If you'd like to study the Bible,
00:02 then you've come to the right program 00:04 because this is 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 00:06 where we love to study the truth of God's Word. 00:09 We've been working our way through a study 00:11 of Present Truth in the Book of Deuteronomy. 00:14 And we're in week number four, 00:15 and this week we're talking about 00:17 to love the Lord your God. 00:18 Jesus even said, "The greatest commandment 00:20 is to love the Lord God with all your heart, 00:22 mind, soul, and strength." 00:24 And that's what we're going to be talking about 00:25 right here this week, 00:27 but you may not have a copy of the study 00:29 and we want you to be able to follow along with us. 00:31 There's a couple of ways you can get that. 00:32 Obviously, we encourage you to find 00:34 your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:36 because it's always good to study 00:38 with a group of people in person 00:39 and just ask them for a copy of the study. 00:41 Or you can go online to ABSG.Adventist.org 00:47 And, of course, you can access 00:49 a copy of the lesson for free online. 00:51 So hey, get your notepads, your pens, your pencils, 00:54 all of that together, gather your family around. 00:57 And we're going to study the Word of God right now 00:59 as we make our way through the Book of Deuteronomy. 01:01 We'll see you in just a moment. 01:32 Hello, friends, and welcome again 01:34 to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:35 As always, we are so thankful that you are joining us. 01:39 You could be doing anything right now, 01:40 but you're studying right here with us 01:42 wherever you are around the world. 01:43 And we're so thankful for that. 01:45 Again, we're studying this week lesson number four 01:47 in our study through the Book of Deuteronomy. 01:50 And this week's lesson is entitled 01:51 "To Love the Lord Your God." 01:53 And it's an exciting one. 01:55 And I think we're going to be able to unpack it 01:57 with this incredible panel as always. 01:59 And I'm going to introduce you guys now 02:00 to my direct left is Miss Shelley Quinn. 02:02 It's always a blessing to have you. 02:03 Oh, it's always a blessing to be here 02:05 and to get to learn from everybody on the panel. 02:08 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:10 And, of course, new to the panel 02:12 but not so new, because you've been on 3ABN many times. 02:15 Brother James Rafferty, 02:17 it's always a blessing to have you. 02:18 Good to be here. Very excited about the lesson. 02:20 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:21 And, of course, my brother from another mother. 02:25 Pastor Kenny Shelton, 02:26 it's always a blessing to have you. 02:28 It's good to be here study the Word of God. 02:29 I'm excited about this lesson. 02:31 All right. Praise the Lord. 02:32 And, of course, way down there at the far side of the table, 02:35 we have Miss Jill Morikone, Vice President of 3ABN, 02:37 and it's always a blessing to hear it. 02:39 I know you got a list. 02:40 That might happen. 02:42 I'm excited about this lesson 02:43 and continuing our study of Deuteronomy. 02:46 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:47 And so we're gonna get right into this. 02:49 But before we do, 02:50 we should always invite the Holy Spirit 02:52 to lead and guide us in our study. 02:53 And so I'm going to ask, Jill, 02:55 if you would please have a prayer for us? 02:56 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 02:59 grateful for the gift of Your Word, 03:01 grateful for the gift of Your Spirit. 03:03 And we ask right now, would You come and teach us 03:05 and open up our minds and hearts 03:07 to what You have for us. 03:09 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:11 Amen. 03:12 Praise the Lord. 03:14 As I'm preparing for these lessons, 03:15 I'm so blessed often and there's many times 03:18 as I'm reading the author's words, 03:20 and this, this sense, it's Clifford Goldstein. 03:23 And he's such an amazing student of the Word 03:25 and a great teacher. 03:27 And as I was reading through the studies 03:29 that we've been studying through this study 03:31 on the Book of Deuteronomy, 03:32 I just... Some ways he just words things so well 03:35 that I have to put it into my study. 03:37 And there may be someone watching 03:38 that doesn't have a legitimate copy of this study yet. 03:41 And we want to be able to share some of those words with you. 03:43 So I'm going to open up 03:44 with how he opens a Sabbath afternoon's lesson. 03:47 And he says in the Jewish religion, 03:50 one of the most important players 03:51 which has been player's prayers, 03:53 that's what I wanted to say. 03:55 One of the most important prayers 03:56 is taken from Deuteronomy Chapter 6. 03:59 It is known as the Shema, 04:01 based on the first Hebrew word 04:03 of the prayer from the root Shema, 04:05 which means to listen or even to obey, 04:09 a word that appears over and over, 04:11 not just in Deuteronomy, 04:12 but all through the Old Testament. 04:14 And, of course, the first line of the Shema, 04:16 it literally sounds like this. 04:17 And I love the Hebrew language 04:19 because it just sounds so great. 04:20 But it sounds like this, 04:21 Shema yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai echad. 04:27 You got to get that ech in there 04:28 because that's the way it's said, echad. 04:31 It goes on to say, it means, 04:33 hear O Israel, and this is words 04:35 we've probably heard so many times. 04:37 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 04:40 It's literally the holiest text in all of the Torah 04:44 according to the Jewish faith. 04:46 And, of course, that comes from Deuteronomy 6:4. 04:49 Many times when Jews pray it, they cover their eyes. 04:53 And, of course, the idea is to let nothing distract them 04:55 from thinking about God. 04:58 Now, it make sense, because oftentimes 04:59 when I'm really trying to concentrate, 05:01 I'll close my eyes just to kind of focus on my words 05:03 that I want to say, but they do that. 05:05 In tradition, they do that many times 05:06 they'll close the eyes when they say this prayer. 05:08 Of course, the first line of the Shema is deemed 05:11 an affirmation of the monotheistic nature 05:13 of Adonai eloheinu, 05:16 the Lord our God is how that is translated, 05:19 and Israel's loyalty to him alone 05:21 and to no other God. 05:22 Of course, we see this repeated 05:24 all the way through the Old Testament, 05:25 even into the New Testament 05:27 that only God you will serve, you shall serve no other gods. 05:30 In fact, it could also be read as the Lord is our God. 05:34 And this one line is part of the first speech 05:36 that Moses gave to the children of Israel 05:38 as they were about to enter into the Promised Land. 05:41 And, of course, what follows that opening line, 05:43 however, is very, very powerful. 05:45 And that's exactly what we're going to be studying 05:47 as we make our way into Sunday's lesson 05:49 which is entitled, "To Love God." 05:51 Okay, so as we go down the panel today, 05:53 we're going to be breaking down different aspects 05:55 of Deuteronomy Chapter 6. 05:57 I wanna go right into Deuteronomy Chapter 6, 05:59 let's turn there, 06:00 and I'm gonna read verses 1 and 2. 06:02 So Moses has just finished basically his history lesson. 06:06 And now he goes on to instruct the children of Israel 06:09 on in what way they need to do or to keep the land 06:12 and how to thrive in the land that God has given them. 06:14 So this is how they are to keep that land and to thrive in it. 06:17 And, of course, it begins with Deuteronomy Chapter 6, 06:19 I'm going to read verses 1 and 2. 06:21 The Bible says, "Now this is the commandment, 06:24 and these are the statutes and judgments 06:26 which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, 06:30 that you may observe them in the land 06:31 which you are crossing over to possess, 06:35 that you may fear the Lord your God, 06:37 to keep all His statutes and His commandments 06:40 which I command you, 06:42 you and your son and your grandson, 06:43 all the days of your life, 06:45 and that your days may be prolonged." 06:48 So those are the opening words, 06:50 look, this is how you're going to keep the land 06:51 that I've given you. 06:52 This is how you're going to thrive. 06:54 And this is how you're going to continue to be My people, 06:55 keeping God's commandments, His statutes, His judgments. 06:58 Then afterwards He delivers the great Shema. 07:02 Deuteronomy 6:4-5, "Hear, O Israel: 07:05 The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 07:08 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 07:12 with all your soul, and with all of your strength." 07:16 So loving God with all of your heart, 07:19 your soul, your strength means to love Him, 07:23 should be in supreme, right? 07:24 Your love for Him should be supreme 07:26 for everything and every, 07:28 for everything and everyone else 07:29 should come secondary, right? 07:30 And that's essentially what we need to understand 07:33 when we're talking about this, 07:34 how to love the Lord God 07:35 with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. 07:37 We're gonna break this down in just a moment. 07:38 But that's important, love for Him should be, 07:40 should put our love for everything else 07:42 in proper perspective. 07:45 And the Hebrew word, of course, in the Hebrew, the word your, 07:48 okay, so your God, your heart, your mind, 07:51 of course, the singular meaning that God specifically 07:53 while He's addressing the masses here, 07:56 He's addressing them on an individual level, 07:58 your heart, your mind, your strength, 08:00 this is an, it's a personal relationship 08:02 between us and God. 08:04 But, of course, none of this should surprise us 08:06 because Jesus is often quoting Deuteronomy in His ministry. 08:11 In fact, more than any other book, 08:12 we find him quoting Deuteronomy. 08:14 And let's go to Mark Chapter 12. 08:15 We see the words of Christ 08:16 as He is referencing the great Shema, 08:18 in this case, to the greatest first commandment of all. 08:22 Mark Chapter 12:28-30. 08:25 Notice what the Bible says, of course, 08:26 it says beginning in verse 28, 08:28 "Then one of the scribes came, 08:30 and having heard them reason together, 08:32 perceiving that He had answered them well, 08:34 asked Him, 08:35 'Which is the first commandment of all?' 08:37 Jesus answered him, 08:39 'The first of all the commandments is, '" 08:41 and here it is, "'Hear, O Israel, 08:43 the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 08:45 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 08:47 with all your soul, with all your mind, 08:49 and with all your strength.' 08:51 This is the first and great commandment.'" 08:54 And so, I guess the question we need to ask is 08:57 what does it mean to love the Lord God 08:59 with all your heart, right? 09:01 With all your heart. 09:03 There's a song that I sing called with all my heart. 09:05 And as I was studying this, that song came to my mind 09:08 and the chorus is so beautiful because it just expresses 09:11 how we should respond to God, 09:12 how our relationship should be with all my heart. 09:16 I want to love you, Lord, 09:20 and live my life 09:22 each day to know you more. 09:25 All that is in me is yours completely. 09:31 I'll serve you only with all my heart. 09:36 Beautiful song, made popular by Babbie Mason, 09:39 I sing it often as a child growing up 09:41 and I still sing it today. 09:42 And when I hear the words here, 09:44 to love the Lord God with all your heart. 09:47 You know, looking at the word heart 09:48 in both the Hebrew and the Greek 09:49 it really comes across the same. 09:51 The heart is in the... 09:53 It basically establishes the center of you. 09:56 It's talking about the middle or the center 09:58 which comes from within you. 10:01 It's not talking about that cardiac pump in the center 10:03 of your chest, right? 10:04 It's talking about your thoughts, 10:05 your feelings, your inclinations, 10:07 and your understanding, 10:08 the fullness of your understanding. 10:10 Proverbs 4:23. I love that scripture. 10:13 It says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, 10:16 for out of it are the issues of life." 10:19 That's the King James Version. 10:21 And, of course, I went over just to see 10:22 how the NIV worded this, very similar, above all else. 10:26 This is the NIV of Proverbs 4:23. 10:28 "Above all else, 10:30 guard your heart for everything you do flows from it." 10:33 Right? 10:34 So we have to guard our thoughts, our ideas, 10:36 our inclinations, right? 10:37 Matthew 12:23, what did Jesus say? 10:41 "Brood of vipers! 10:42 How can you being evil speak good things?" Right? 10:45 Notice how he's talking about speaking good things, 10:47 because he says, 10:48 "For out of the abundance of the heart, 10:50 the mouth speaks." 10:52 So when you love God with all your heart, 10:55 not only your behavior reflects that, 10:57 but also what you say 10:59 is the evidence of that as well. 11:00 So how do we love the Lord God with all our heart? 11:03 It's all of our understanding, all of our thoughts, 11:06 all of what we say and do. 11:07 That is how we express to Him 11:09 that we love Him with all our heart. 11:11 Love Him with all our soul. 11:13 That's an interesting one, right? 11:14 But Christianity has a different perspective 11:16 on what the soul is, right? 11:18 But we want the biblical perspective. 11:19 The soul, of course, is more than 11:21 just an abstract word for life. 11:23 It is everything that encompasses 11:25 the living individual itself, 11:27 the person or creature as well as the mind 11:30 that speaks of deep thought and deliberate choice. 11:33 And so in this case, Genesis 2:7, 11:36 remember what the Bible says when God was creating Adam. 11:38 It says, "And the Lord God formed 11:40 man of the dust of the ground, 11:41 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 11:43 and man became a," what? 11:45 "We became living." 11:46 So not that he has the soul 11:48 or that God somehow took this, 11:49 you know, translucent or invisible substance 11:52 and said, you know, gave it and now 11:54 we possess it as some type of substance, 11:56 but rather we are a living soul. 11:58 And so when we serve God, 12:00 and we love Him with all our heart, 12:01 and with all our soul, it means with all of our living, 12:05 and the living being that we are in God, 12:07 that life source that He has given us, 12:09 we are to serve Him, which is why Matthew 10:28, 12:12 we've heard this text, 12:13 and some people get confused by it. 12:15 But Jesus says, "And do not fear 12:16 those which were able to kill the body 12:17 but cannot kill the soul, right? 12:20 But rather fear Him who is able to destroy 12:23 both soul and body in hellfire." 12:25 Right? 12:27 What it's talking about is, 12:28 you know, man can kill the body, 12:29 they can destroy the body, but our eternal destiny, 12:32 our very living existence is wrapped up only in God, 12:36 only God has control of that. 12:37 So when we love the Lord God with all of our soul, 12:40 we're giving Him all of our very being, 12:43 our very living existence, 12:44 encompassing all that we are as a living being 12:47 that receives and has received the breath of life to live. 12:51 We serve Him with all our soul, with all our strength. 12:55 How do we serve the Lord? 12:57 With all our strength. 12:58 Lord, I'm gonna be powerful for you, right? 13:00 I don't know. 13:01 Some people think of that 13:02 with all our strength and all our might. 13:04 We are commanded to love Him 13:05 with the things that make us strong, right? 13:08 We are to love Him with our accomplishments, 13:10 our influence with all of our tangible capacities. 13:14 1 John 3:18, I love this text, "My little children, 13:17 let us not love in word or in tongue, 13:21 but in deed and in truth." 13:24 Right? 13:25 So ask yourself, what are you good at? 13:28 What is it that you're good at? 13:29 What are my strengths? That's a good question. 13:31 What do I have going for me? 13:33 You know, are you serving God with all of your resources, 13:36 your money, your abilities, 13:38 your influences, your talent, your time? 13:41 What am I capable of? 13:42 That's the question we should be asking. 13:43 We need to love Him by using our money 13:45 that He has given for our glory, 13:47 that's according to our strength. 13:49 Money may be your strength, 13:50 not that it's yours, it's God's, 13:52 but you're using it to serve Him with all of your resources. 13:54 Love Him by raising your children as unto him, 13:57 love him by spending your time and energy listening to Him, 14:00 praising Him, thanking Him and obeying Him. 14:02 Love Him with your ability to create great opportunities 14:06 and growth of fellowship, right? 14:08 Creating those opportunities, 14:09 love Him with your ability 14:10 perhaps with the arts 14:12 or the talents God has given you. 14:13 Maybe you paint, maybe you sew, maybe you write, 14:16 maybe you sing, whatever it is you do, 14:18 do it with all your might, do it with all your strength. 14:21 Love Him with your influence in the workplace. 14:24 That's important, right? 14:25 Love Him with your ability to see into people's lives 14:28 and encourage them. 14:29 Love him, of course, I mentioned this earlier, 14:31 but with the talent, everyone has a talent. 14:33 I got a talent. You got a talent. 14:34 Are you using it for God's glory? 14:36 Are you using it to show your love for your Creator? 14:40 Love Him with your gifts of teaching, 14:42 with your gift of serving, 14:44 with your gift of encouragement. 14:45 Love Him with relationships, 14:48 with your relationship with others. 14:49 There's so many ways 14:50 that we can love God with our heart, 14:52 our mind, our soul, our strength, 14:53 and that's what Sunday's lesson is all about. 14:56 But I'm gonna pass it on to Shelley for Monday's lesson. 14:59 And I'm not going to speak In Hebrew, 15:00 I'm not gonna sing. 15:02 I used to hear or read Mark 12:30. 15:05 And I just thought, Lord, 15:07 I can't love You with all my heart, 15:09 soul, mind and strength. 15:10 And then one day the Lord showed me Romans 5:5, says, 15:14 He pours His love into our heart 15:16 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 15:18 So it's only as the spirit fills us 15:21 that we're able. 15:23 All of His commandments are promises. 15:26 I'm Shelley Quinn, I have Monday's lesson, 15:29 "To Fear God." 15:31 What do you mean, love God, fear God. 15:33 Fear is not contradictory to love. 15:37 Let's look at Deuteronomy 10:12. 15:39 "Now, Israel, 15:40 what does the Lord your God require of you, 15:44 but to fear the Lord your God, 15:46 to walk in all of His ways and to love Him, 15:51 to serve the Lord your God with all of your heart 15:54 and with all of your soul." 15:57 You know, according to Scripture, 15:59 fearing God is wisdom. 16:02 And as I said, that's not contradictory to love. 16:06 We should have a sense of awe and respect for who He is, 16:12 and for His authority and power 16:14 and His righteousness and His justice, 16:18 particularly when you compare Him to us 16:20 who are sinful, weakened, 16:23 or completely dependent upon Him. 16:25 This is fear as a child would have fear for their parent. 16:31 I used to, you know, I loved my mother, 16:33 but I feared her having, 16:36 if she told me to do something, I was going to have. 16:39 There was a response of respect and submission to authority. 16:45 God has unlimited knowledge, unlimited power, 16:50 He's perfectly righteous and holy, 16:53 and He expects us to obey. 16:57 This is interesting, I was looking at 17:00 researching some things on covenant. 17:03 And in the ancient Near Eastern covenant language, 17:09 you know what? 17:10 Covenant loyalty, how it was described? 17:13 Covenant loyalty was described as fear and love. 17:19 Isn't that interesting? 17:21 So let me define fear the Lord. 17:23 To fear the Lord is to honor, submit, have reverence for Him, 17:28 have awe and worship Him. 17:30 Now, often we stop there and say, 17:32 that's all it means. 17:34 No, I did a deep word study on this. 17:36 To fear the Lord also means to respect 17:40 His authority as our Creator and Redeemer, 17:44 and to demonstrate our allegiance to Him 17:47 by humble submission to His commandments. 17:52 And our obedience is motivated by love. 17:56 Let me give you some quick benefits 17:58 of fearing the Lord, covenant loyalty. 18:02 Benefit number one, if we fear the Lord, 18:05 we will not depart from Him. 18:08 Now what happens without fear of the Lord? 18:10 Jeremiah 2:19. 18:12 Jeremiah 2:19 says, this is God speaking, 18:17 "Your own wickedness will correct you, 18:19 and your backslidings will rebuke you. 18:21 Know therefore and see that it is an evil 18:25 and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, 18:29 and the fear of Me is not in you, 18:32 says the Lord your host." 18:33 You know, there's consequences to sin. 18:36 And often, even when we get forgiven by God, 18:39 if we confess our sin, 18:41 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. 18:44 But those consequences have already been put into action. 18:47 Then what happens when we do fear the Lord? 18:51 In Jeremiah 32:38-41, it says, 18:55 "They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 18:58 then I will give them one heart and one way, 19:02 that they may fear Me forever, 19:05 for the good of them and their children after them. 19:09 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, 19:13 that I will not turn away 19:17 from doing them good, 19:19 but I will put My fear in their hearts 19:23 so that they will not depart from Me." 19:25 Hallelujah. Then he goes on. 19:27 He says, "Yes, I rejoice over them to do good." 19:31 So the first benefit of fearing the Lord 19:35 is we will not depart from Him. 19:37 The second benefit is the fear of the Lord brings wisdom. 19:41 Job 28:28 says, "Behold, 19:45 the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, 19:48 and to depart from evil is understanding." 19:54 Psalm 111:10. 19:56 Psalm 111:10, says, 19:58 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, 20:02 a good understanding have all of those 20:05 who do His commandments." 20:08 We are living in a redemptive relationship 20:11 with our Lord. 20:13 There should be reverential awe, 20:15 submissive fear. 20:17 This is the foundation 20:19 of spiritual knowledge and wisdom. 20:21 The third benefit, 20:23 the fear of the Lord keeps us walking in His ways. 20:26 Deuteronomy 10:12," And now, Israel, 20:29 what does the Lord your God require of you, 20:31 but to fear the Lord your God, 20:34 to walk in all of His ways, to love Him, 20:37 to serve the Lord your God 20:39 with all your heart and with all your soul." 20:42 Who is the wisest man supposedly? 20:45 Well, now, I guess you would say 20:47 ever lived was Solomon. 20:49 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. 20:52 Solomon is considering everything 20:54 that's going on in the world. 20:56 And he says, you know what? 20:58 Everything is vanity. 20:59 And then he comes down to the point, he said, 21:01 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 21:05 "Fear God, and keep His commandments, 21:10 for this is man's awe, 21:13 for God will bring every work into judgment, 21:16 including every secret thing, whether good or evil." 21:20 So does fear of the Lord 21:24 play a part in the New Testament Church? 21:26 Let's look at it, Acts 9:31. 21:28 It says, "The churches throughout all Judea, 21:32 Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified." 21:35 And this is Acts 9:31, 21:39 "Walking in the fear of the Lord 21:43 and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 21:45 they were multiplied." 21:48 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, 21:50 "Therefore, having these promises," 21:53 Paul tells the Corinthians, "beloved, 21:55 let us cleanse ourselves 21:57 from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 22:02 perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 22:08 Oh, see, when we honor Him and respect Him and love Him, 22:12 and we submit to His authority. 22:15 God can then perfect holiness in us. 22:18 And, of course, you know, Revelation 14:7, 22:21 when the first angel comes and says, with the loud voice, 22:24 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 22:28 for the hour of His judgment has come. 22:31 Worship Him, 22:33 who made the heavens and the earth." 22:36 Now the four things. 22:37 God... 22:39 This is the fourth benefit to fearing God. 22:41 God takes pleasure in those who fear Him. 22:44 Psalm 147:11. 22:45 It says, Psalm 147:11, 22:50 "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, 22:53 and those who hope in His mercy." 22:57 So, you know, fear and love are just totally... 23:02 They're so intertwined, it's hard to separate them. 23:05 Malachi 3:16-17. 23:08 Malachi 3:16-17, 23:11 "Those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, 23:13 the Lord listened and heard them, 23:15 so a book of remembrance was written 23:19 before Him for those who fear the Lord 23:24 and who meditate on His name. 23:27 And God say, 'Oh, they shall be Mine. 23:31 On that day I will make them My jewels. 23:34 I will spare them 23:36 as a man spares his own son who serves him.'" 23:39 Beautiful. 23:41 Number five, God accepts those who fear Him. 23:46 Acts 10:34-35. 23:49 Acts 10:34-35. 23:51 Peter said, "In truth I perceive, 23:55 God shows no partiality. 23:58 But in every nation whoever fears Him 24:01 and works righteousness is accepted by Him." 24:05 Oh, the psalmist in Psalm 112:1 said, 24:09 "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, 24:11 who greatly delights in His commandments." 24:16 And Luke 1:50 says, 24:18 "His mercy is on those who fear Him 24:20 from generation to generation." 24:22 Number six, God hears the cries of those who fear Him. 24:27 Psalm 110, excuse me, 24:30 Psalm 103:11-14, 24:34 "As the heavens are high above the earth, 24:36 so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. 24:41 As far as the east is from the west, 24:44 so far He has removed our transgressions from us. 24:50 As a father pities his children, 24:54 so the Lord pities those who fear Him. 24:58 For He knows our frame, 25:00 He remembers we are but dust." 25:03 Amen. Praise the Lord. 25:04 To fear the Lord of reverential awe, 25:06 respect and honor that only God deserves. 25:09 Thank you so much, Shelley, for that. 25:10 Don't go anywhere. 25:12 Don't change the channel. 25:13 Don't stop watching this program. 25:15 We're just going to take a short break 25:16 and we'll come right back. 25:22 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 25:25 again, or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:29 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 25:34 A clean design makes it easy 25:36 to find the program you're looking for. 25:38 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:42 so you can follow along. 25:44 Sharing is easy. 25:45 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:48 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:53 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 25:55 We're going to kick it to Pastor James Rafferty 25:57 with Tuesday's lesson. 25:58 You know, one of the benefits of sitting next to you, 26:00 Shelley, is that I don't have to turn my Bible as much, 26:02 I get to look at your notes I read. 26:06 The only time that becomes a hindrance as you're, 26:08 you know, so if you just keep those arms down to your side, 26:12 let me review, okay. 26:14 All right. 26:15 I'm Pastor James Rafferty, and I have Tuesday's lesson 26:17 which is entitled, "He First Loved Us." 26:21 And I am amazed 26:24 at the Bible verses there in this lesson. 26:25 We're just going to start by reading a few of them. 26:27 They start in Deuteronomy 4:37. 26:31 Deuteronomy 4:37, here we go. 26:36 "And because he loved thy fathers, 26:39 therefore he chose their seed after them, 26:42 and brought thee out in his sight 26:45 with his mighty power out of Egypt." 26:47 Now, I want to pause there for just a second. 26:50 Notice here what this verse is telling us. 26:52 This verse is telling us that God's love motivate Him, 26:56 motivated Him to do for us what He did. 26:58 And when I say for us, I'm talking, 27:00 of course, about the children of Israel. 27:01 I'm talking about the Hebrews, 27:03 but I'm also talking about us today. 27:05 God's love motivates us, 27:07 so it's not our goodness that motivates Him. 27:09 It's His love that motivates Him to do for us. 27:12 That's good. Yeah. 27:13 Okay. 27:15 Now let's go to the next verse. 27:16 The next verse is found in Deuteronomy 7:7. 27:20 Deuteronomy 7:7, 27:22 we'll actually read verses 7 and 8 of Deuteronomy 7. 27:24 Again, we're looking for this theme 27:27 in the Book of Deuteronomy, 27:28 because we've understood that Book of Deuteronomy 27:31 is the Book of the Law, the Book of the Law. 27:34 Well, guess what? 27:35 There's no way God is going to establish His law 27:38 in any way on this earth, 27:40 on this planet, in our hearts, in any religion, 27:43 any group of people without first establishing His love. 27:48 So the Book of Deuteronomy is not just God's law, 27:51 the Book of God's law, it's the Book of God's love. 27:53 No wonder it was Christ's favorite book. 27:55 No wonder Christ quoted so often. 27:57 And I didn't realize this about Deuteronomy 28:00 until I started reading these verses 28:01 one after another from today's lesson. 28:04 So Deuteronomy Chapter 7, let's look at it again here. 28:06 Verse 7, "The Lord did not set His love upon you, 28:10 nor choose you 28:12 because you were more in number than any people, for you have, 28:15 you were the fewest of all people." 28:16 You know, many times we choose our church, 28:18 we choose our group, whatever, 28:20 oh, that's a big church. 28:21 That's where I'm going to go. That must be a popular place. 28:23 I'll go over there. Look at all those people. 28:24 This place is... Oh, yeah, we had a ton of people. 28:26 This was really a good meeting, you know? 28:28 No, God didn't choose us because of our numbers. 28:30 Right. 28:32 He set His love upon us when we were the fewest. 28:35 Verse 8 says, 28:36 "But because the Lord loved you," the Lord did what? 28:40 "He loved you 28:41 and because He would keep the oath 28:43 which he had sworn under your fathers, 28:45 hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand 28:48 and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, 28:50 from the land of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, 28:53 from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt." 28:54 So again, the same point is emphasized. 28:57 This is why God did for you what He did for you. 28:58 This is why God does for you what He does for you. 29:01 He does it, He did it because He loves you. 29:04 Okay, next verse. 29:06 Deuteronomy Chapter 7. 29:08 We're not going any further than this chapter right now 29:10 in verse 13, Deuteronomy 7:13. 29:14 We've read the verses that tell us why God did it. 29:17 That's kind of a past tense, 29:18 this is why He did it because He loves you. 29:20 And notice what it says here in verse 13, 29:21 "And He will love thee, 29:23 and He will love thee and bless thee." 29:25 See, this is what it means when it says, I don't change. 29:28 I'm the same today, yesterday and forever. 29:31 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. 29:32 I'm the Lord God, I don't change. 29:34 That's the context of the verse. 29:36 In Malachi, "Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed." 29:39 Not I'm the Lord God, I don't change, 29:40 therefore keep the Sabbath because the laws... 29:42 No, love comes before law keeping. 29:45 Jesus said, "If you love Me, 29:47 you're going to keep My commandments. 29:49 It's gonna be a natural consequence. 29:50 So God says, I love you, 29:52 and that's why you're not consumed. 29:54 And when that dawns upon us, we're like, wow, 29:56 and that dawned upon me like, my whole life, 29:58 Satan was trying to take me out. 30:00 And then I realized, the only reason 30:01 he didn't take me out is 30:02 because God loved me even when I didn't know Him, 30:04 have relationship with Him, He loved me. 30:07 I said, whoa, this motivates me to live for God. 30:10 He has put His love upon me, I want to respond to that love, 30:14 and I want to live for Him. 30:16 And this is what we're finding here 30:17 over and over again in Deuteronomy. 30:19 "He will love thee, He will bless thee, 30:21 He will multiply thee, 30:23 He will also bless the fruit of thy womb 30:24 and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, thy wine, thine oil, 30:27 the increase of thy kine, the flocks thy sheep, 30:31 and in the land in which he swear 30:33 unto the fathers to give thee." 30:34 God is going to continue. 30:36 He has loved you. 30:38 He's gonna continue to love you. 30:39 He will never stop loving you. 30:40 He will not change from loving you. 30:42 He will love those who are lost. 30:43 He will love those who are destroyed. 30:46 He is love. 30:48 There's no option for God, God is love, 30:50 and He will continue to love no matter what. 30:53 All right, the next verse 30:54 we want to look at is Deuteronomy 10:15. 30:58 Deuteronomy 10:15, didn't realize 31:01 were so many love verses here in Deuteronomy. 31:04 I mean, it's almost like we're in 1 John, right? 31:06 Right. 31:08 The love epistle. 31:09 Only, verse 15 says, 31:10 "Only the Lord hath a delight in thy fathers to love them, 31:16 and he chose their seed after them, 31:17 even you above all the people as it is this day." 31:22 And again, we're going to read this in Deuteronomy 33:3. 31:26 Deuteronomy 33:3, "Yea, 31:31 he loved the people, all his saints are in thy hand: 31:34 and they sat down at thy feet, 31:37 every one shall receive of thy words." 31:41 So there they are. 31:42 Love, love, love, love, love. 31:45 And we're in the Old Testament, we're in the Book of the Law. 31:49 And we know why it's here. 31:51 We know it, because God has to first love us 31:55 before we can love Him. 31:57 It doesn't work the other way around. 31:58 It won't work, it won't happen. 32:00 There's no way we can love God first. 32:03 This is the message of the Bible. 32:04 It's the message of the Old Testament, 32:06 as well as the message of the New Testament. 32:07 So it wouldn't be surprising to go to the New Testament, 32:10 and realize and understand 32:13 how important it is that God loves us first. 32:17 The reason why God loves us first, 32:19 the reason why He must love us first and get this, 32:21 the reason why we as preachers, 32:23 teachers of the Word of God 32:25 must encourage other people to understand 32:26 that God loves us first, 32:28 is because that's the only thing 32:30 that will motivate us to love God in response. 32:32 Amen. 32:33 You love God in response, whoo. 32:35 And so Paul really gets into this. 32:36 I mean, he really nails this 32:38 in Ephesians Chapter 32:41 1, 2, and 3, 32:45 Paul spends his entire time focusing on 32:49 the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God. 32:52 It's really interesting, 32:53 you know, if you read carefully, 32:55 and I'm gonna just challenge you to do this, read carefully. 32:56 Ephesians 1, 2, and 3. 32:59 You're going to find, in fact, 33:00 let's just open there to Ephesians Chapter 3, 33:02 just for a second because, 33:03 well, maybe for more than a second, 33:05 how about two seconds. 33:06 Because Ephesians Chapter 3 33:08 has this really interesting ending. 33:10 Look at this, Paul, Paul goes through Ephesians 1, 2 and 3, 33:14 and then he closes out in Ephesians 3 with this, 33:17 this word that he uses, amen, like, end of story, 33:21 like that's it, like we're done. 33:23 Okay? Amen. 33:24 And he's acting 33:26 as though he doesn't have three more little, 33:28 you know, chapters here. 33:29 We divide them into chapters to finish up Ephesians. 33:32 He's acting like there's no more to it. 33:33 Right. 33:34 That's because there's a certain point he's making it. 33:36 Ephesians 1, 2, and 3, 33:37 there is nothing in there about obedience. 33:40 There's nothing in there about responding to God, 33:42 I mean, I shouldn't say responding to God, 33:44 doing what God wants us to do. 33:46 There's nothing. 33:47 The first three chapters of Ephesians 33:48 are just chock-full of God's foreknowing, 33:53 predestining and in love for us, 33:55 His inclusive love for the whole of humanity. 33:58 In fact, Paul closes out here in Ephesians Chapter 3, 34:00 and this is what he says. 34:02 He says, "For this cause," verse 14, 34:04 "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 34:06 of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 34:09 that He would grant you 34:10 according to the riches of His glory, 34:12 to be strengthened with might, by His Spirit in the inner man, 34:15 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, 34:17 that you being rooted and grounded in love, 34:20 may be able to comprehend with all saints 34:21 what is the breadth, and what is the length, 34:24 and what is the depth, 34:25 and what is the height and to know the love of Christ 34:27 which passes knowledge that you may be able to." 34:30 Chapter 4, "Be good citizens in this world." 34:33 Chapter 5, 34:35 "Have good relationships in your family. 34:37 Chapter 6, "Relate well in your workplace." 34:40 The whole rest, the whole other half of the Book of Ephesians 34:43 tells us what love produces, 34:46 in the family, in life, in our community, 34:50 in relationship to other people, 34:52 in relationship to our children, our parents. 34:54 The first half tells us love, love, love, love, love, 34:57 and the second half tells us how that love is manifest. 35:00 That's what the Book of Deuteronomy does. 35:01 That's what the Book of Ephesians does. 35:03 And by the way, friends, just a little plug here 35:06 for Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 35:08 That's what the Book of Revelation does. 35:10 You know, the Book of Revelation 35:12 does not reveal the people 35:13 who keep the commandments of God 35:15 until you get to Revelation 12:17. 35:17 Never mentioned, no commandment keeping is mentioned 35:19 in Revelation Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, 35:21 Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, 35:23 Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, 35:26 no commandment keeping. 35:27 But once that first half of the book 35:29 establishes God's salvation plan in our hearts, guess what? 35:34 It is manifested. 35:35 It reveals the people 35:37 who keep the commandments of God. 35:38 The whole Bible is all about this. 35:40 Deuteronomy is about it. 35:41 Ephesians is about it. 35:43 Revelation is about it. 35:44 And all of it is summarized at this one phrase, 35:47 Jesus Christ, John 14:15. 35:49 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 35:52 Praise God. 35:54 Amen. Amen. 35:55 Praise the Lord. 35:57 That's such a good foundation. 35:59 And that's, that's love, 36:01 you know, and then I'm gonna go on Wednesdays lesson, 36:03 I'm Pastor Kenny Shelton. 36:05 We're going to be looking at, "If you love Me, 36:07 keep My commandments." 36:08 So you set that beautifully. Thank you. 36:10 If you love Me, keep. 36:11 So we have the foundation of love. 36:13 Praise God for that. 36:15 Now there's something that goes beyond 36:16 the love and then keep. 36:18 So we're gonna look at that a little bit closely here 36:20 on Wednesdays lesson. 36:21 We're challenged, you know, at least as I study this, 36:24 you could go several different directions with it. 36:27 You know, the old fashioned Bible study 36:28 as it were or whatever. 36:30 Or let's look at 36:31 what the lesson kind of brings out. 36:33 If I ask these three questions, before we go over this part, 36:37 I wonder what our answers might be after we go over. 36:40 What might they be different? 36:42 Okay. 36:43 I'm gonna give you those three questions 36:44 we have right now. 36:46 What kind of experience have you had in seeking to obey God? 36:50 Interesting. 36:52 What kind of experience when you, 36:53 you know, you're seeking God, you want to obey Him? 36:55 Number two, what are your motives 36:58 in obeying God? 37:00 Amen. 37:01 Motives always play a part here, something going on. 37:02 Number three, should it be done out of love for Him 37:05 or which had been brought out fear or maybe both? 37:09 And, of course, we need and we begotten 37:11 I think very well, 37:12 a biblical understanding of love and of fear. 37:17 And I may be wrong here. 37:20 This is, I'm gonna refer to my brother writing songs. 37:23 And because we say what is love, 37:25 and I think he wrote the song Calvary means love to me. 37:27 Am I correct on that? 37:29 Yes. 37:30 Okay. So I want to continue. 37:31 Calvary means love to me. 37:33 So if I'm looking to biblical definition of love, 37:35 I've got to look at Calvary. 37:36 I've got to look at Calvary. 37:38 I've got to consider Calvary because that, 37:39 that's what true love is, is all about. 37:41 That's right. 37:43 And then another he wrote, I think was written in red. 37:46 Yes. 37:47 Now I've always loved those songs that's written in red. 37:49 If your brother is Danny. Yeah. 37:51 Danny. Yeah. 37:52 Written in red. Yeah, I think it still is. 37:53 Yeah, he still is. 37:55 Yeah, no, written in red. 37:56 It's just a beautiful song written in red. 37:58 This is what it's all about in our life here. 38:01 And if you love Me, keep My commandments, 38:02 because it's written, it's written in red 38:04 or something there and you can't separate the two. 38:08 I thought about fear because we talked about fear. 38:11 Fear is a lack of trust and faith in God. 38:16 You know, perfect love, we know cast out all fear. 38:18 But if you don't have that faith, 38:20 and you don't have trust, 38:21 and then we go around afraid. 38:23 I'm meeting a lot of people nowadays, they're afraid. 38:25 They're afraid of what's going on in the world. 38:26 They're afraid of what's gonna happen tomorrow, 38:28 and they're not living what God would have them to live today. 38:31 Today's the day, you know, of salvation, 38:33 and proper fear produces fruits of righteousness. 38:38 Amen. 38:39 And I need that in my own life. 38:40 I don't know about anybody here, 38:42 but I need the fruits of righteous in my own life. 38:43 Now if, if we've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 38:47 Now, I'm not going to cut down like Brother Ryan did 38:49 and I've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 38:51 But I'm gonna say it that way. 38:53 I've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 38:55 If you've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, 38:57 there's something exciting about that. 38:59 To be redeemed, to get up every morning, say, 39:01 by the blood of the Lamb, I've been redeemed. 39:04 Amen. 39:05 And then, because we have been redeemed, 39:07 kind of what everybody was saying here, 39:09 because we've been redeemed, 39:10 we want to respond our natural response is we want to obey. 39:15 It's just natural response. 39:16 You don't have to, we want to respond to Him. 39:20 Moses many times reminded Israel 39:22 after they had been redeemed from Egypt. 39:26 He kept saying, love and obey God. 39:29 Use those two things together, love and obey God and what? 39:33 That's simply a response for what He had done for them. 39:37 I like the natural response, I don't like force, 39:40 I don't like you have to or, you know, if you don't, 39:42 you're not, just natural response. 39:45 We love God, we fear God. 39:46 The Word of God is clear. 39:49 It doesn't say, I think maybe you brought this out. 39:51 It doesn't say just way He loves us. 39:54 But He has revealed that love. 39:57 You know, a lot of people talk. 39:59 There's a lot of talk goes on 40:00 in Christian circles a lot of time. 40:02 A lot of, you know, love and... 40:05 But love is what we're talking about here 40:07 that love for us is by what He has done, 40:10 what He is still doing 40:13 and what He's going to continue to do for us, 40:14 it just goes on, praise God for that. 40:17 And then that demands a response from me 40:20 That's right. 40:21 That demands that tremendous love, 40:23 even when I'm bad, He still loves me. 40:27 That's right. 40:28 He may not approve, but He still loves me 40:29 and He gonna keep drawing me into His, in His arms. 40:32 I appreciate that so very much. 40:34 So we show our love to God by simply by our actions. 40:38 You know you want to bring that into. 40:39 As Christians, we say we love God and we should. 40:43 But so you have obedience and then you have love. 40:46 They're linked together. 40:48 I don't think you can separate. 40:49 Some people think you can separate. 40:51 I don't think that you can't separate those things. 40:53 Now the couple of passages of scripture, two verses here. 40:56 We may have went over them, it's okay in our lesson. 40:58 John says, 1 John 5:3, he says, "For this is the love of God, 41:02 for this is the love of God." 41:04 So what it says, and I'm looking that up, 41:05 and I'm saying, this is the love of God. 41:07 Okay, that's God's love. 41:08 This is our love. 41:10 Yes. 41:11 This is our, that makes it little more personal for me. 41:13 This is our love for God that we keep His commandments, 41:18 what it says here, isn't that right? 41:19 Yeah. 41:21 And, of course, you know, 41:22 you talk about in 1 John 5:2 says, 41:24 "By this we know." 41:26 That's why I love that. By this we know. 41:28 That's right. 41:30 Praise God for that. 41:31 And then John 14:15 has been said several times here. 41:34 If you love Me, then keep them. 41:37 I mean, that's one of the most, 41:38 probably one of first ones I probably memorized. 41:40 I don't know growing up in church, 41:41 what, if you love Me, keep My commandment. 41:43 First one, we always, 41:44 you know, response to somebody if we're doing the, 41:46 you know, commandments, 41:47 and should we keep them and so on. 41:48 If you love Me, keep them. 41:50 Two verses express what we've been talking about, 41:53 love to God must always be expressed, 41:56 to me, at least by actions. 41:58 It must be, obedience to Him. 42:00 It's always been, it's always will be, 42:03 it's never going to change, this obedience. 42:06 And we just break it down just a little bit. 42:07 This obedience to God is surely means 42:09 obedience and get it, to His law. 42:13 And it means to the seventh day Sabbath, 42:15 I just bring that in, 42:17 you know, and you say, "Well, I don't know." 42:18 That's it. 42:20 Yeah, all of those, you know, 42:21 including the fourth day, keep this in mind. 42:22 I just, you know, I hear someone say, oh, legalism. 42:24 You hear that a lot. 42:26 You keep the law, oh, legalism, legalism. 42:27 Well, you know, it's no more legalistic 42:30 than keeping the other nine, 42:32 that I can figure out in my own mind, 42:34 even though... Yeah, even though if we keep them 42:37 for the wrong reasons, it can't be legalism, 42:38 and sometimes we approach it that way. 42:40 We've met people that way. 42:42 We talk to people and so on so forth. 42:43 We want to do it God's way, don't we? 42:45 We're asked to look to several texts. 42:47 And we'll just have time just for a few of those, 42:49 since we've been going in Deuteronomy. 42:51 And I'm like you, I love. 42:52 I love Deuteronomy. 42:53 I mean, it just really opens up your eyes and your heart 42:55 and again, that you and I are reading Deuteronomy, 42:57 I'm thinking, I'm reading New Testament, 42:59 which is good because right from Old Testament, 43:01 we bring it right on over to the New Testament. 43:03 Deuteronomy 5:10 says, 43:04 "In showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me 43:08 and keep My commandments." 43:10 It's good. 43:11 It's beautiful, showing mercy to them. 43:12 Praise God for His mercy. 43:15 Thank God for His long suffering. 43:16 I can tell you right now, wouldn't for that, 43:18 I wouldn't be here. 43:19 Amen. 43:21 I don't know about you guys, but I just, 43:22 I know I wouldn't be here. 43:23 And praise God for that mercy. Amen. 43:25 It's thousands of them. 43:26 Only those who love God can possibly obey Him. 43:29 Amen. 43:30 You've got to love Him and then, of course, 43:32 obedience comes natural. 43:34 You have a spirit, we talked about, 43:35 without the spirit of obedience, 43:37 all we have is the letter. 43:39 Right? 43:40 All we have is the letter of the law. 43:42 Always going to be careful, the outward form, 43:44 and can I use the word worthless? 43:46 Yes. 43:47 That's worthless. 43:48 Yes. Okay. 43:50 Just please, we're in second, and Deuteronomy 7:9, says, 43:52 "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God." 43:55 I love that. No question about it. 43:57 He is God. 43:58 Now this says, the faithful God. 44:00 So I hear that, I just get so encouraged about this. 44:02 I say, oh, He's faithful. 44:03 And He's just, faithful means He's supportive. 44:06 That means He's gonna stay with it. 44:07 That means He's going to be, He's firm, 44:09 but He's going to be right there all the time. 44:11 He's not going to waver back and forth. 44:12 And I like it. He's dependable. 44:14 Amen. 44:15 He is so dependable and this you can count on him. 44:18 Don't get discouraged by all, I can't count. 44:20 You can count on God. 44:22 He's always going to be there. 44:23 You might be the issue and I might be the issue, 44:25 but God's not the issue. 44:27 So reading along with it, which keep the covenant, 44:29 notice this, keep the covenant and mercy of them 44:32 that love Him and keep His commandments. 44:35 Again, mercy, we're talking steadfast love, 44:37 we're talking about selflessness. 44:40 We're talking about grace. 44:42 We're talking about favor. 44:43 We're talking about love. 44:45 All combined in here in the whole ball of wax. 44:48 I mean, it's wonderful when you look at that. 44:50 time's about up. 44:52 Deuteronomy 10:12 says, "And now Israel, 44:54 what doeth the Lord require of thee." 44:57 And I like, I pick out, 44:58 I think was six things real quick here. 45:00 What does the Lord require, that was required of us today? 45:02 It says, but to, notice it, on our lesson, 45:05 fear the Lord thy God, notice this, 45:07 and then walk in all of His ways. 45:09 Number three, love Him. 45:10 That's right. 45:11 Number four, serve Him. 45:13 Number five, all your heart. 45:15 And notice number six, with all your soul, 45:18 which has been covered so well right up to that. 45:20 It's just saying what we have been studying. 45:22 And we can be encouraged by that today. 45:25 What does God require, His request, 45:27 what's His desire for us? 45:28 Reverence for Him. 45:30 Just simply have a right attitude toward Him, 45:33 to walk in His power, to walk in His strength, 45:36 and develop, I like this, to develop His character. 45:38 Amen. 45:39 You know, may God help me, 45:41 help each one of you to develop His character. 45:43 And the only way I know to do is by studying the Word, 45:45 by praying, and by beholding the Lamb of God. 45:49 We behold the Lamb of God 45:50 where our character is going to be changed into his image, 45:52 that's always waiting for, 45:54 that character is fully reproduced in us, He will come. 45:57 Amen. 45:59 Hallelujah. 46:00 Pastor Kenny would say glory. 46:01 That's right. 46:04 Thank you so much. 46:05 I love sitting in Thursday because you get to hear 46:08 from each one of the panelists. 46:09 What an incredible study. 46:10 I love that. 46:12 I'm Jill Morikone, and I have Thursday, 46:13 which is "The First Commandment." 46:15 You know, to me, 46:16 as I've been listening to each one of you. 46:18 Each one of your days is all about connections. 46:21 Ryan, you're about the connection between us 46:23 and God, which is love. 46:25 We're called to love God with everything we have. 46:27 Shelley, yours was the connection 46:28 between fearing God and loving God. 46:31 Pastor James, the connection between us and God, 46:33 again being loved because He loved us first. 46:36 He demonstrated that love for us. 46:38 Pastor Kenny, the connection between love and obedience. 46:41 I love that. 46:42 I have a connection as well. 46:44 There was a point to all of this. 46:45 The connection is... My lesson is the connection 46:48 between the Old and the New Testament. 46:50 Jesus quoting from the Old Testament, 46:53 and we see that, but before we get to that, 46:56 and His reference to Deuteronomy. 46:58 Let's just talk just a moment about that connection 47:00 between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 47:02 You know, in the Old Testament, we have the sacrificial system 47:05 that was established for the children of Israel, 47:08 and we call that the type 47:10 and then the antitype Jesus coming. 47:12 And then we see how he fulfilled 47:16 the sacrificial system. 47:17 We see how it was like a foreshadowing 47:20 of the things to come. 47:22 In the Old Testament, what did they sacrifice? 47:24 A lamb without spot and without blemish. 47:27 It was killed or slain for the sins of the people. 47:30 In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 1:18-19, 47:35 "we see knowing that you were not redeemed 47:37 with corruptible things like silver or gold, 47:40 from your aimless conduct 47:42 received by tradition from your fathers." 47:44 What were we redeemed with? 47:46 With the precious blood of Christ, 47:49 as the lamb without blemish, without spot. 47:53 In the Old Testament, blood was spilled to cover sin. 47:57 It was the blood of lambs and goats and calves, 48:00 but in the New Testament, Hebrews Chapter 9, 48:03 we know, if the blood of goats and calves 48:06 was spilled, sanctified in the Old Testament. 48:08 In verse 14, Hebrews 9:14, 48:11 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, 48:15 who through the eternal Spirit offered himself 48:18 without spot to God, 48:20 cleanse your conscience 48:22 from dead works to serve the living God?" 48:25 In the Old Testament, 48:26 the sins were symbolically placed on the head of the lamb. 48:30 In the New Testament, 48:32 Jesus Christ became our sin bearer. 48:36 John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God 48:38 who takes away the sin of the world." 48:40 In the Old Testament, Christ dwelt with His people 48:43 through the sanctuary. 48:44 Exodus 25:8, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, 48:47 that I may dwell among them." 48:50 In the New Testament, 48:51 Christ dwelt with His people in person. 48:53 John 1:14, "And the Word, it was made flesh," 48:57 that's Jesus, "and He came and dwelt among us." 49:01 In the Old Testament, we have earthly priests, 49:04 and an earthly sanctuary. 49:06 In the New Testament, in the Book of Hebrews, 49:08 we have Christ, the high priest, 49:11 we have the heavenly sanctuary. 49:14 In the Old Testament, Moses mediated 49:16 between the people and God. 49:18 In the New Testament, Christ became our mediator. 49:22 Hebrews 9:15, 49:24 "He is the mediator of the New Covenant." 49:28 You know, the New Testament writers quote extensively 49:31 from the Old Testament. 49:32 There's at least now, this is not, you could look up 49:36 and probably see different references to this, 49:39 but there's at least 295 direct quotes 49:42 to Old Testament scriptures in the New Testament. 49:45 Now if you're looking at allusions, 49:47 the figures are much higher than that. 49:50 CH Toy says there's 613 instances or illusions. 49:55 William Dittmar, however you pronounced his name, 49:58 says, there's 1,640 references. 50:02 Eugene Huehn says 50:04 4,105 passages 50:08 in the New Testament are reminiscent 50:10 of Old Testament Scriptures. 50:13 Jesus quoted extensively from the Old Testament. 50:16 Matthew has the most Old Testament references 50:19 followed very closely by the Book of Luke. 50:21 The Book of Romans 50:23 has a great deal of Old Testament references. 50:25 Some people say 35% of the book is references 50:28 to the Old Testament, 50:30 153 references in the Book of Romans 50:34 to the Old Testament, 50:35 and Romans has 433 verses. 50:38 In the Book of Hebrews, 50:39 69% is references to the Old Testament, 50:43 210 references to the Old Testament, 50:46 and there's 303 verses. 50:48 And in Revelation, 50:49 it's over 100% if you count references. 50:53 There's 605 references found within the 404 verses. 50:58 So let's look at the first commandment, 51:01 I'm going to reference the same thing 51:02 that Ryan started out with Mark Chapter 12. 51:05 So let's go to Mark Chapter 12. 51:07 This is, of course, Jesus referencing 51:10 that Old Testament scripture where we started, 51:12 which was our memory text there in Deuteronomy 6. 51:15 But let's look at Mark 12:28," 51:21 Then one of the scribes came, 51:23 and having heard them reasoning together, 51:26 perceived that He had answered them well, 51:29 asked Him, 51:30 'Which is the first commandment of all?'" 51:33 Now the Jewish rabbis counted 613 commandments 51:38 that they said that the people needed to keep, 51:42 248 positive, 51:44 and 365 negative. 51:48 There were 613 in total. 51:51 To capture the essence of a rabbis' thinking 51:53 and enquirer would pose a question, 51:55 such as a scribe as Jesus. 51:58 So trying to distill down to the bottom 52:00 of what is Jesus teaching? 52:02 He said, 52:03 "Which is the first commandment of all?" 52:05 So let's look at Jesus' answer. 52:07 It's in verse 29. 52:09 "Jesus answered him, 52:11 'The first of all the commandments is, 52:13 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, 52:17 the Lord is one.'" 52:18 Now this, of course, is a direct quote 52:21 to what Ryan referenced at the beginning, 52:23 Deuteronomy 6:4, you call it the Shema? 52:27 The Shema. 52:29 That Jesus quoted that. 52:30 Every pious Jew would have quoted the Shema every morning, 52:34 and every evening. 52:37 It reaffirmed the Jews belief in monotheism. 52:39 And it also affirmed by Jesus quoting it, 52:42 it affirmed His belief in monotheism. 52:45 And he goes on in verse 30, Mark 12:30, 52:48 "You shall love the Lord your God, 52:50 with all your heart, with all your soul, 52:51 with all your mind, with all your strength. 52:53 This is the first commandment." 52:56 Now is this a direct quote 52:57 from Deuteronomy 6:5, yes or no? 53:01 That's not meant to be a trick question. 53:02 It is almost a direct quote. 53:05 But there's one phrase that Jesus added, 53:09 that was not in the Book of Deuteronomy. 53:13 You see, Deuteronomy 6:5, says, 53:15 "You shall love the Lord God with heart, 53:17 with all your soul, with all your strength," 53:19 that leaves out with all your mind. 53:21 Now, it's interesting, Jesus added that, 53:23 when He said that, with all your mind. 53:26 I think of the heart and soul as being the emotional part 53:30 of our being. 53:31 The strength, of course, being physical, 53:33 or as Ryan brought out so beautifully 53:35 with our talents, and our abilities, 53:38 and all of those things that we use 53:40 and serve God with all our strength. 53:42 But the mind especially, is intellectual. 53:45 We're called to serve God with everything we have, 53:48 with our heart, with our mind, 53:49 with our intellect, with our strength, 53:51 with everything we have, we are called to serve Him. 53:56 Would you serve someone that you do not know? 54:02 It could be difficult, could it not? 54:04 You might serve them out of fear. 54:06 You might serve them, because it's your job 54:07 and you're paid to do it. 54:09 Would you serve someone you didn't know? 54:10 Someone you didn't love? 54:12 Would you obey someone that you did not know? 54:16 Someone that you did not love? 54:18 Would you die for someone you did not know? 54:22 You did not love? 54:24 You know, it's amazing to me. 54:26 Turn with me to 2 Peter. 54:27 2 Peter Chapter 3, it's amazing to me. 54:31 How can we serve a God we don't know? 54:34 How can we honor a God we don't know? 54:37 How can we worship a God we don't know? 54:39 How can we explain, and teach, and preach, 54:42 and share a God that we do not know? 54:45 It behooves us to find out who God is, 54:48 to learn about Him. 54:50 And then and only then can we serve God 54:53 with everything we have. 54:55 2 Peter 3:18 I love the scripture. It says. 54:57 "Grow in the grace and knowledge 54:59 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 55:02 We are called to grow in grace and knowledge. 55:05 To me, this is the same thing that Jesus was talking about, 55:07 about loving with heart, and mind, 55:10 and soul, and strength, it's the whole person. 55:13 In this case, we don't just grow 55:15 in knowledge, which is the intellect. 55:17 We need to grow in knowledge. 55:18 We need to grow in our understanding 55:20 of the Word of God. 55:21 Neither do we just grow in grace 55:24 and leave out the knowledge, 55:26 leave out the biblical understanding. 55:28 It is a synthesis of the two, 55:30 we are called to grow in grace and knowledge. 55:33 We are called to love God with our mind, 55:36 yes, with intellect and understanding who He is. 55:39 But we're also called to love God with everything, 55:42 every fiber of our being, 55:44 and we're called to share that God 55:47 with our lost and dying world, not just share, 55:50 hit people over the head with the Bible. 55:51 We're called to share the truth in the Word of God. 55:55 But we are called to share it with the love of Jesus. 55:58 Amen. 55:59 Beautiful. 56:01 This whole panel was on fire. 56:02 Amen. 56:03 Praise the Lord. 56:05 Well, let's get some final thoughts. 56:06 I just wanted to say this one final thought is, 56:10 we should pray for the fear of the Lord in Psalm 86:10-13. 56:16 I won't read the whole thing. 56:17 But the psalmist says, 56:19 "Unite my heart to fear Your name." 56:23 There's so many benefits in understanding 56:26 that fear doesn't contradict love. 56:28 Amen. 56:29 Amen. 56:31 Any steps we take to Christ 56:33 must begin with God's love for us. 56:35 It all starts, our journey to Christ all starts 56:38 with God's love for us. 56:39 Amen. 56:41 Part of that I drew out of this lesson 56:42 is like all the promises, 56:44 they are contingent upon our obedience to God's command. 56:47 By God's grace, we are obedient to Him. 56:50 And I like that He'll cause us to ride 56:52 upon the high places of the earth. 56:53 Amen. Amen. 56:55 Psalm 34, it says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good. 56:58 Blessed is the man or woman who trusts in Him." 57:00 So just invite you to check out, 57:03 taste and see who He is. 57:04 Amen. 57:06 We love Him because He first loved us. 57:09 And you know what? 57:10 That's what next week's lesson is really all about 57:12 in the sense that because we love Him... 57:16 He first loved us, right? 57:17 That's why we love Him. 57:18 Well, that also applies to our fellow man. 57:20 If we love them, 57:21 they will also love us in return. 57:23 We have to show forth the love of God. 57:25 Next week's lesson is entitled, "The Stranger in Your Gates." 57:28 Can you love the stranger in your gates? 57:30 Well, you got to tune in next week right here 57:32 at 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:34 God bless. |
Revised 2021-10-28