Participants:
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000190A
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00:21 Good evening everyone
00:22 and welcome to our Wednesday Night Bible Study here 00:24 at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:26 We thank you for taking the time 00:28 to tune in and join us, 00:29 and we're gonna be continuing our study tonight 00:31 on "Stewardship, 00:33 the Complete Truth about Stewardship." 00:36 And so all you need is a pen. 00:39 We'll tell you in just a moment 00:40 where to get a copy of the lesson to follow along, 00:43 you need a Bible and you need an open heart 00:45 as you invite the Spirit of God to speak to you tonight. 00:50 Before we do anything though, 00:51 we always like to begin with prayer 00:52 and I'll invite you to bow your heads with me 00:54 as we open the Word of the Lord. 00:57 Father in heaven, we thank You tonight 00:59 for the beauty of Your Word, 01:01 for the strength and clarity of Your Word, 01:04 we do pray that as we invite Your Spirit 01:07 to come tonight 01:08 that we will be taught, 01:10 our minds will be not only furnished 01:12 with information 01:14 but we will experience transformation. 01:17 Be our teacher and what we learn, 01:20 Lord, help us to apply it to our Christian walk, 01:24 we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 01:27 Good evening, everyone, can I say that? 01:30 Good evening, everyone, okay. 01:32 And if you'd like to get a copy of the lesson, 01:34 lesson number 43, 01:36 go to this following website 01:38 ASF.3ABN.org 01:41 and download lesson number 43, 01:44 ASF.3ABN.org. 01:46 And at website there are many other lessons 01:48 and also lot of other videos that you can follow along, 01:51 and learn and share with your friends 01:53 and your family. 01:54 But we also, before we go to the lesson, 01:57 we sing our theme song, 01:59 and what is our theme song? 02:00 What's the title there? Victory in...? 02:01 Jesus. Let's sing the song together. 02:12 I heard an old, old story 02:16 How the Savior came from glory 02:19 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:23 To save a wretch like me 02:27 I heard about His groaning 02:31 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:35 Then I repented of my sin 02:39 And won the victory 02:42 O victory in Jesus 02:46 My Savior, forever 02:50 He sought me and bought me 02:53 With His redeeming blood 02:57 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:01 And all my love is due Him 03:05 He plunged me to victory 03:08 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:12 I heard about a mansion 03:16 He has built for me in glory 03:20 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:24 Beyond the crystal sea 03:27 About the angels singing 03:31 And the old redemption story 03:35 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:39 The song of victory 03:41 Key change. 03:43 O victory in Jesus 03:46 My Savior, forever 03:50 He sought me and bought me 03:54 With His redeeming blood 03:58 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:01 And all my love is due Him 04:05 He plunged me to victory 04:09 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:13 He plunged me to victory 04:17 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:23 Amen? Amen. 04:25 The topic is "The Truth about Complete Stewardship," 04:29 say that with me, what is it? 04:31 The Truth about Complete Stewardship. 04:35 Now last week we learned a number of things 04:37 about Stewardship and I wanna... 04:39 When you think about Stewardship, 04:41 normally our wheels begin to turn 04:44 and in many cases when churches talk 04:46 about Stewardship, they talk about money. 04:49 They say well tithe and offering, 04:51 how to support certain ministries financially, 04:55 but when the Bible talks about Stewardship, 04:57 it addresses it in at least five areas. 05:00 Those five areas we wrote them down last week 05:03 and just to... 05:05 If you download question number 43, 05:07 I'll just go ahead 05:09 at the very beginning of lesson number 43, thank you. 05:12 At the very beginning, 05:15 we have Stewardship is 05:16 and there's one, two, three, four, five, 05:18 and I wanna give you a chance 05:19 if you miss the last one to write those down. 05:22 So Stewardship is, here it is, 05:24 look at this, together, 05:26 Time, Temple, Testimony, Talent, and Treasure. 05:31 What are those again? 05:32 Time, Temple, Testimony, Talent, and Treasure. 05:37 And you can find other T's if you'd like 05:39 but the five general areas of Stewardship 05:42 is Time, Temple, Testimony, Talent, and Treasure 05:46 and you'll discover something very important 05:48 because there's a phrase 05:50 and we'll get into this a little more tonight 05:53 but there's a phrase that's loosely used. 05:56 Some people have said time is money. 06:01 Have you heard that before? 06:03 Well, you know, that's not true. 06:05 Time is not money except if you have a job, 06:08 but if you're laying on your hospital bed 06:10 and you're a millionaire, 06:11 you can't buy time with money. 06:14 Time is the most important commodity 06:17 we were ever given, time. 06:20 And also I've discovered something else, 06:22 time is the greatest test. 06:25 Now we often think it's money, but it's easier to give money 06:29 than it is to give time. 06:31 Think about that for a moment. 06:34 When you have projects, 06:35 when you're raising funds for projects, 06:37 let's look at the comparison. 06:38 If there are missionaries 06:40 and those missionaries need to be sponsored or supported, 06:43 some people would rather write a check for missions 06:47 than become a missionary themselves. 06:50 Some people would say, 06:51 "I'll be glad to buy materials." 06:52 They'll give money to purchase the materials 06:55 rather than go out 06:56 into the highways and hedges, door to door, 06:58 and give out the materials. 07:00 So time is not money. 07:02 Money can buy anything, but money can't buy time. 07:06 So we're gonna find out tonight as we go forward 07:09 how time is the most important commodity 07:13 we've been given 07:15 because when you, 07:16 when we visit people in the hospital 07:18 or when people are sick, 07:20 I've never heard people say, 07:21 "I wish I had more money, 07:23 or more materialistic, or possessions, 07:25 or wish I had a bigger house 07:27 or better car, or better job." 07:29 They say, "I wish I had more time." 07:32 And so Stewardship is widely important 07:34 and it's connected very much to time. 07:36 Go with me to the Book of Deuteronomy. 07:39 We're gonna spend a little time 07:40 and we ended on question 12 last week, 07:43 we're gonna begin on question 12 this week. 07:46 Talking about some very important lessons 07:50 that we could learn 07:52 from the children of Israel, 07:55 the children of Israel, that's right, 07:57 that's a very good point, 07:58 we're gonna see that in the lesson. 08:00 Okay, we're gonna talk about that, 08:02 right? 08:04 Deuteronomy Chapter 8, 08:06 this is a... 08:11 There are three remembers in the Bible, 08:14 but I'm gonna introduce a fourth. 08:16 There are three prominent remembers in the Bible, 08:19 but I'm gonna introduce a fourth 08:21 because there are many remembers, 08:23 but this fourth one I'm going to introduce 08:25 is more important than all the other three 08:27 because if you remember this one, 08:29 then the other three are no issue. 08:31 Now one of the first ones is, 08:33 it's talked about by man 08:35 by the name of Dr. Luke or Luke, 08:37 the writer of the Book of Acts and the Book of Luke. 08:39 He says, "Remember Lot's wife." 08:41 So what that means is, if you remember Lot's wife, 08:44 what did she do when the Lord told her 08:46 to leave Sodom and Gomorrah. 08:48 He said to her, "Don't look back." 08:51 So when the Lord calls a person to follow Him, 08:54 in truth, and in light, in obedience, 08:57 He says to that person, 08:58 "Remember Lot's wife." 09:00 She became the first human salt shaker, 09:03 a pillar of salt. 09:07 Not to intend, not to belittle that at all, 09:10 but disobedience will make you 09:12 what you never thought you could become. 09:15 Did you hear that? 09:16 A person that becomes disobedient will... 09:20 If she could have responded in her new condition, 09:24 she would've said, "I would never think 09:26 that I would become a pillar of salt." 09:28 Disobedience also sometimes put you 09:30 in an irreversible circumstance. 09:33 So remember Lot's wife, that's the first one. 09:35 Second one is in Ecclesiastes 12, 09:37 "Remember the Creator in the days of your youth." 09:40 How many of us think it's important 09:42 for young people to remember the Lord? 09:44 Can we say amen? Amen. 09:46 This is what we know. 09:47 So we say to young people today, 09:49 remember the Creator in the days of your youth, 09:53 but Ecclesiastes 09:56 takes that to another level, 09:57 it's in essence saying, "Remember the Creator 09:59 before you get any older." 10:00 That's really the inference of that 10:02 because as we get older, 10:03 and that's where the fourth one is gonna come in. 10:05 And the third one is, "Remember the Sabbath day 10:07 to keep it holy." 10:09 We're gonna see how that fits 10:10 into the Stewardship of time. 10:11 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 10:13 Is it important to remember the Sabbath? 10:15 Yes, it is. 10:16 It's a sign between God and His people 10:18 to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. 10:20 The fourth one is found here in Deuteronomy Chapter 8. 10:24 Now this, this leans in on, 10:27 this leans in on the second one I remembered, 10:31 the second one that I mentioned a moment ago 10:33 and that is, "Remember the Creator 10:35 in the days of your youth." 10:37 Young people ought to remember the Creator. 10:39 But the children of Israel, 10:41 literally the sons of Jacob, 10:45 as they were let out of Egypt, 10:47 the Lord was trying to retrain them 10:49 in preparation to go into the Promised Land, 10:52 and as they got out of Egypt 10:54 and they began to surmount wealth 10:56 and begin to get their own, 10:58 something happened, something happened. 11:01 Okay, let's look at verse 2, and I'm gonna work my way down 11:05 to the question that is question number 12. 11:07 All right. 11:12 Well, I'm gonna start with verse 1, 11:13 and I'm gonna very quickly. 11:14 "Every commandment which I command you today, 11:18 you must be careful to do," what? 11:20 "To observe, that you may live and multiply, 11:24 and go in and possess the land 11:26 of which the Lord swore to your fathers." 11:28 He says, "If you do what I ask you to do, 11:31 you're gonna possess that land. 11:32 Be careful to do it." 11:34 And verse 2, "And you shall remember 11:37 that the Lord, your God led you" how far? 11:40 "All the way these forty years in the wilderness." 11:43 It's important to see that where we are today, 11:45 we cannot get there except the Lord let us. 11:48 He goes on, 11:49 "To humble you 11:52 and test you." 11:54 You ever see that test? 11:56 You've experienced the test? 11:57 Humble your intension, notice what else He says. 12:00 To humble you and test you, 12:01 to know," and here's the key, 12:04 "what was in your heart, 12:07 whether you would keep His commandments or not?" 12:11 Now what a lot of Christians don't understand 12:14 is the Lord is leading then and His leading is a test 12:18 to see what, what did the verse say? 12:19 What does it say? 12:21 To see whether we keep what, Yannick? 12:23 His commandments or not. 12:25 So as the Lord is leading us 12:26 from where He found us to where we're gonna head, 12:29 Christians of every denomination, 12:32 if you don't keep the commandments of God, 12:34 you fail the test. 12:37 Because He said, "I wanna see whether or not, 12:39 I'm gonna test you to see whether or not 12:41 you're gonna keep My commandments." 12:42 He goes on further. 12:44 Verse 3, "So he humbled you, allowed you to" what? 12:49 "Hunger and fed you with mannar 12:52 which you did not know nor did your fathers know, 12:55 that he might make you know 12:56 that man shall not live by," what? 12:59 See that's where it comes from. 13:01 We thought it was Matthew 4:4, it starts right there, 13:03 "Man shall not live by bread alone, 13:06 but man lives by every word 13:09 that proceeds from the mouth of God." 13:11 That's where Matthew got it from. 13:13 And by the way Matthew didn't have the New Testament, 13:15 Matthew became a part of the New Testament. 13:17 Look at all the blessings I wanna get this, 13:19 look at all the blessings. 13:20 "Your garments did not wear out on you, 13:23 nor did your foot swell these 40 years," 13:26 'cause they didn't have cars, they did what? 13:28 Walked. 13:29 They walked everywhere. 13:30 He took care of them, they didn't need doctors. 13:33 Go on to verse 5, 13:34 "So you should know in your heart 13:36 that as a man chastens his own, his son, 13:40 so the Lord your God chastens you. 13:43 Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord, 13:45 your God, to walk in His ways and to do," what? 13:48 "Fear Him," that is to honor Him. 13:50 "For the Lord your God is bringing you 13:52 into a," what kind of land? 13:54 "Good land. 13:56 A land of brooks of water, 13:58 of fountains and springs 14:00 that flow out of the valleys and hills, 14:02 a land of wheat and barley, of vines 14:05 and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive, 14:08 olive oil and honey, 14:10 a land in which you'll eat bread 14:11 without scarcity, 14:13 in which you'll lack nothing. 14:15 A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills 14:19 you can dig copper." 14:20 A rich, a mineral rich land. 14:23 Good food but look at this, 14:26 "When you have eaten and are full, 14:29 then you shall bless the Lord, your God 14:31 for the good land 14:33 which He has given you." 14:36 Look at verse 11, 14:37 "Beware that you do not," what? 14:40 "Forget the Lord your God 14:43 by not keeping His commandments, 14:45 His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today." 14:49 Look at question 12. 14:50 This is the lead right into question 12. 14:52 Here it is, question 12. 14:55 What have many successful people forgotten? 15:00 Look at verse 18. 15:02 Actually I'm gonna go to verse 18 in the moment. 15:04 But I'm gonna go all the way down, okay. 15:06 So we're understanding what the problem was here. 15:10 I want to go to verse 18 right now, 15:11 and then we're gonna come back to verse 12. 15:13 Let's go to verse 18. 15:16 Here it is. 15:17 What have many successful people forgotten? 15:20 Here it is, 15:22 "And you shall remember the Lord your God," 15:26 read the yellow part with me on the screen, 15:28 "for it is He who gives you power 15:31 to get wealth, 15:33 that He may establish His covenant 15:36 which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." 15:39 What does the Lord give us? 15:40 Power. 15:42 What does the word power mean? 15:43 Strength. 15:45 Say it. Strength and what else? 15:47 Health. 15:48 Health, vigor, He said your feet didn't swell, 15:52 your clothes didn't rot, 15:54 everything you had I provided for you 15:56 but He says don't forget, 15:58 "I am the power." 16:00 So think about it. 16:01 You ever had a power outage? 16:03 Do we have power outages out here? Come on, 16:05 we're in Southern Illinois, we get power outages. 16:08 And when we get power outages, what do we wait? 16:11 What do we say? 16:12 When will the power come back on? 16:15 So many Christians have had power outages 16:18 and only when the power goes off, 16:20 do they realize how badly they need it. 16:23 What that means is, 16:24 only when we lack 16:26 and we realize, wait a minute, 16:28 you know why, I know I don't have anything 16:30 because I don't even thank the Lord. 16:32 I don't remember Him, 16:33 and this remember is gonna get 16:35 into another area of Stewardship 16:37 because remembering the Lord, 16:38 when you return tithes and offerings 16:40 because you're saying, 16:41 "Thank you Lord 16:42 for giving me ten oranges 16:44 and only asking for me to give you back one." 16:47 That's Stewardship. 16:48 He's testing the heart. 16:49 Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. 16:52 So let's put the answer down to question 12. 16:54 What have many successful people forgotten? 16:57 The Lord. 16:59 No, what have they forgotten? 17:00 They did remember the Lord, 17:02 but they forgot what? 17:03 He's the one 17:04 who gives you the health which is the Lord, 17:07 remember the Lord. 17:08 He's the one that gives you the health 17:10 to get the wealth. 17:12 Gives you the power 17:14 and power there is not the same word 17:17 like in the New Testament dunamis 17:19 which talks about the Holy Spirit's power. 17:21 What that is in essence 17:23 best described as "He gives you the vigor, 17:25 the energy, the vitality 17:27 so that you could go out and work 17:28 because they didn't have, 17:29 you know, they didn't have computers back then. 17:31 They had to literally cut stuff down, 17:33 and chop down trees, and do all that stuff that... 17:38 I think they were a lot stronger 17:39 than we are today. 17:40 Let's go to number 13, 17:42 but I wanna go back to Deuteronomy 8 17:45 before we go to question 13 17:47 because I want you to see the trajectory, 17:49 I want you to see how they forgot the Lord. 17:52 They forgot Him. 17:53 Now we're gonna go to verse what? 17:54 Verse 12 17:56 and it says, "Lest when you have eaten 17:58 and are full," that's Deuteronomy 8:12 " 18:02 and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, 18:06 and when your herds and your flocks multiply," 18:08 that means you have a lot of animals, 18:10 lot of livestock," 18:11 and your silver and your gold are multiplied," 18:13 meaning you got lot of cars, " 18:15 and all you have is multiplied, 18:19 when your heart is lifted up, 18:20 if you're good and you forget the Lord..." 18:22 Notice how many times he says forget. 18:24 "You forget the Lord who brought you out 18:26 of the land of Egypt 18:28 from the house of bondage." 18:29 He said, "You don't remember, 18:30 you used to be a slave, 18:32 you had nothing and I am blessing you." 18:34 Look at verse 15, 18:35 "Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness" 18:38 that means He protects us, 18:40 "in which were fiery serpents and scorpions 18:43 and thirsty land 18:44 where there was no water, 18:46 who brought water for you out of the rock of flint." 18:49 That's not just a regular rock, that's a hard rock. 18:52 "Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, 18:54 which your fathers did not know, 18:56 that He might humble you 18:57 and that He might test you, 18:59 to do you good in the end. 19:02 Then you say in your heart, 19:06 'My power and the might of my hand 19:09 have gained me this wealth.' " 19:12 Now let's go to question 13, 19:15 arrogance, arrogance, terrible thing. 19:19 Question 13. 19:21 What does the Bible contribute to our needs not being met? 19:32 This is really important, Deuteronomy 8:19. 19:36 Here it is, here it is, 19:40 "Then it shall be," and this is so, 19:44 if you could, then it shall be, I'll say this, 19:46 "If you by any means," together, 19:49 "forget the Lord your God, 19:52 and follow other gods, 19:54 and serve them, and worship them, 19:57 I testify against you this day 20:00 that you shall," what? 20:02 "Surely perish." 20:04 Meaning your livestock is gonna dry up, 20:07 your cattle is not gonna produce, 20:09 your land is not gonna produce, 20:11 all your gold and silver is gonna rot, 20:13 it's gonna canker up against you. 20:14 You're not gonna be in good health. 20:19 You're not gonna have the strength you need 20:21 and you wonder, where did that come from. 20:23 Remember I got you healthy. 20:26 You didn't get me healthy, 20:27 I have a great health plan. 20:29 Now, let me just make a point right here. 20:31 As conscious as we are about health, 20:33 it's important, isn't it? 20:34 Yes. 20:36 The Lord gives you a health plan. 20:37 If you follow that health plan, 20:38 that health plan will keep you healthy. 20:40 But you can be healthy and still forget the Lord. 20:44 There are some people that are healthy, 20:46 they are healthy financially, physically, 20:48 but they are not healthy spiritually. 20:51 He's talking about a spiritual health 20:52 which gives God the glory for all the provision 20:55 He provides for us. 20:56 Okay, so look at... 20:58 So the answer to question number 13. 21:00 What does the Bible contribute to our needs not being met? 21:03 What happened? 21:05 Once again, forget the Lord 21:07 and the things we do begin to show it. 21:09 We start serving other gods, 21:11 we worship other gods, 21:12 our worship is affected, 21:14 the way we serve is affected. 21:16 He says, "Worship other gods 21:17 and you serve them 21:18 and you worship them," He said. 21:20 All of a sudden, 21:21 here you are in the groves worshipping 21:23 Ashtaroth and Baal all these gods 21:27 that has nothing to do with your freedom in Egypt 21:30 and you forget Me. 21:32 So vitally important to remember the Lord. 21:34 Can I get an amen? Amen! 21:36 Now we're gonna go back to the verses 21:37 we read just a moment ago. 21:39 We're gonna go to question number 14. 21:42 Question number 14. 21:44 Here it is. 21:48 How did God...? 21:50 We're gonna go to Deuteronomy 28 on this one. 21:52 How did God honor Israel 21:55 when they were faithful to Him? 21:58 This is beautiful. 21:59 And this by the way applies to every one of us. 22:03 You all know today 22:05 that there are certain principles 22:06 in the Bible today 22:07 about how to plant, 22:10 how to do gardening, 22:11 how to do agriculture 22:13 that the Lord established among the Israelites. 22:16 And anybody from any nation, if you follow those principles, 22:19 you'll have the very same success. 22:21 How to allow the land to rest once every seven years 22:24 for to replenish itself? 22:26 You'll have a lot of success. 22:27 But notice what? 22:29 The answer is, how did God honor Israel 22:31 when they were faithful? 22:33 Deuteronomy 28, and here it is, 22:36 "The Lord will open," the Lord will do what? 22:40 "Open to you His good treasure," 22:43 which is what? 22:44 "The heavens." 22:46 Doesn't that sound like Malachi Chapter 3? 22:47 Yes. 22:49 I will not open for you the windows of heaven, 22:51 "To give the rain to your land 22:54 and its season, and to bless, 22:58 in its season," sorry, 22:59 "and to bless all the work of your hand." 23:02 I love this, 23:04 "You shall lend to many nations, 23:06 but you shall not," what?" 23:08 "You shall not borrow." You're gonna have money, 23:10 I'm not gonna, you don't have to worry about finances, 23:12 I'll take care of you. 23:13 The Lord will make sure that you have. 23:15 And by the way, let me add this to this. 23:18 Some people are blessed financially, 23:20 but how you handled your money 23:21 will determine whether or not 23:23 that money can serve you for a long periods of time 23:25 because some people have a lot of finances, 23:27 they're blessed financially, 23:28 but they don't lay anything aside for those seasons 23:31 that we call the what day? 23:33 The rainy days. 23:35 Lord is saying, "Be mindful, be business minded." 23:38 David the Psalmist says, 23:39 "Don't be slothful in business." 23:41 Be a person that's wise 23:43 and learn how to use what God has given to you. 23:46 Put it here so that when this pot is empty, 23:49 you ever heard the phrase, 23:50 the left and right pocket, what do we call them? 23:52 They have two names. 23:54 We took from... 23:56 Okay, we rob Peter to pay Paul. 24:00 We shouldn't have to do that. 24:01 I was reading something earlier this week 24:03 from an old motivational speaker. 24:06 He was a very well-known in his day. 24:09 You young people won't know who he is, 24:11 but a man by the name of Zig Ziglar. 24:13 Anybody heard about Him? 24:14 Oh, you heard about Zig Ziglar, man we've got a teenager 24:16 heard about Zig Ziglar. 24:18 And Zig Ziglar said, 24:19 "One of the greatest challenges in life 24:21 is people steal from themselves." 24:25 He addresses the chapter, he says, "Stop being a thief." 24:28 And he addresses people that steal from themselves. 24:32 He says, "When we don't follow through on our commitments, 24:35 we steal our blessings. 24:37 When we don't follow through, and he was a Christian, 24:39 he was a Baptist, 24:41 "When you don't follow through 24:42 on what you know is right in God's Word, 24:44 you steal your blessings." 24:46 And he says, "Would you be upset 24:47 if somebody stole something from you?" 24:49 Would you? Yeah. 24:50 He says, "Stop stealing from yourself." 24:52 Your blessings, 24:54 all the things that the Lord wants to do 24:55 in your life, 24:57 when we are not faithful, 24:58 we steal from ourselves. 25:00 Because the Lord says, "I will open," 25:03 open to you His good, what? 25:05 "Treasure, His good treasure." 25:07 And that's that window that Malachi talks about, 25:10 "The Lord will pour into us." 25:11 And here's the principle, 25:13 He will not pour into you 25:14 if you waste what He pours into you. 25:17 Do you think so? 25:19 Would you give him a lot of money 25:20 if you know he wastes it, Miss Frasier? 25:22 No. 25:23 But if you see him using wisely, 25:24 you say, "Okay, now he'd be trusted with more. 25:27 Even Olive Garden is doing that. 25:28 I notice we went to Olive Garden. 25:30 We like Olive Garden. 25:31 My wife and I, 25:33 when we were coming back from the airport, 25:34 we say, "Where we're gonna eat? 25:36 Well, we like to get out of Missouri 25:37 and go into Illinois 25:38 and we say, "Let's go to Olive Garden." 25:40 And there was a time that they used to give you 25:41 more salad in the very beginning. 25:45 They used to give you like a full bowl of salad, 25:47 but now they are doing something, 25:49 they give you a little bit. 25:50 Yeah. 25:52 You notice that? 25:53 And if you eat it, 25:54 they fill it up the second time. 25:56 They give you only three breadsticks, 25:57 I like breadsticks. 25:59 But they only give you three 26:01 and sometimes they are not the best breadsticks. 26:03 But if you get past 26:04 those first three meager breadsticks 26:06 and that little bit of salad, 26:07 they'll say, "Do you wanna eat more breadsticks?" 26:09 And then the second time they give you the hot ones. 26:12 So they wanna give you the better one 26:14 the second time around if you endure the first set. 26:17 So I thought, 26:19 "Why are they giving us such little bit of salad." 26:20 You know why? 26:21 Because many people get salad and don't eat it. 26:24 And economically, do you think that's an impact? 26:26 Think about your restaurant. 26:27 You got 300 people came in here today 26:29 and 300 of them wasted two ounces of salad, add it up. 26:33 That's a lot of salad. 26:35 American Airlines years ago, 26:38 I forgot how many millions they saved. 26:40 It was talked about, it was on that, 26:42 you know and this is just for people in first class, 26:45 they saved millions by eliminating 26:47 one olive from their meals. 26:52 How many? One. 26:53 Now you think about how many flights, 26:56 how many meals they serve, 26:58 they eliminated just one olive 27:01 and they saved millions. 27:03 Because that one olive, 27:04 all those passengers, all those flights, 27:05 thousands of flights a day, thousands of meals, 27:09 starts adding up really quickly. 27:11 So what I am talking about here 27:13 Stewardship, and company executives, 27:15 they always try to find ways to cut off the... 27:18 increase the bottom line, 27:20 and cut off the expenses. 27:22 How can we trim the fat? 27:23 How can we be more efficient? 27:25 Stewardship 27:26 is how can Christians be more efficient? 27:29 And one of the greatest problems 27:31 in the church today 27:33 is we have the greatest product 27:38 we have the greatest product 27:42 and we treasure it so lightly. 27:46 Let me give you an example, 27:48 and I am teaching, I am not preaching. 27:50 If you have... 27:52 If somebody says, you know what? 27:53 I have something that I'd like to give you, 27:56 it's a retirement plan 27:58 and the benefits are out of this world. 28:02 Did you get that? 28:05 And it's already paid for 28:08 and the second benefit is you never die. 28:13 All your needs will be met, 28:15 you will never get sick, 28:18 but all you have to do is sign the dotted line. 28:21 Where do I sign? 28:25 But you know what people ask instead. 28:27 Oh, if they only going to... 28:29 They ask the... 28:30 I don't wanna use the word dumb. 28:32 Okay, I'll use the word dumb. 28:33 They ask the dumbest question, 28:36 "What do I have to give up? 28:38 It's like a little boy, 28:39 I saw a picture of a little boy, 28:41 sorry, it's little girl, 28:43 and... 28:47 the mother came to the little kid 28:49 and was offering them a... 28:52 They said, "If you, could I have your teddy bear? 28:55 That little teddy bear." 28:58 No, no. 29:01 If you give me your teddy bear, I'll give you something better. 29:03 Well, that kid loved that teddy bear. 29:05 They didn't wanna let it go. 29:09 Do you trust your mom? 29:10 Yes, mommy, but I'm not giving you 29:12 my teddy bear. 29:13 And that kid had it all. 29:15 So finally after coaxing and talking and convincing 29:19 and going through history, 29:21 finally says, "Okay, here's the teddy bear." 29:25 And the mom said, "Okay, now here's a teddy, 29:27 and gave her a huge teddy bear." 29:29 And she, her eye's like 29:33 and you know what kids often say? 29:35 You know what they think, 29:36 If I knew that's what you were gonna give me, 29:38 I'd have given you this a long time ago. 29:39 Yeah. 29:41 We forget that God wants to give us, 29:44 He wants to give us reign on the land, 29:46 bless all the works of our hands. 29:49 You won't lend, you'll give money out, 29:52 you want to borrow any. 29:53 I'll make sure your crops are taken care of, 29:55 I'll make sure your clothes don't rot, 29:56 your feet wont swell, 29:58 you'll never have to worry about your knees 30:00 and we say, 30:02 "But what do I have to give up?" 30:03 Your teddy bear. 30:05 And we have to settle teddy bear called selfishness. 30:08 That robs us as Zig Ziglar said, 30:12 "Robs us of the blessings that are just ahead of us." 30:16 Sad, but it's true, it's true. 30:18 So look at this. 30:19 How did God honor Israel when they were faithful? 30:22 Man, He poured into the allies. 30:23 Write anything you like, 30:25 but the answer is according to the way 30:26 you can best describe it. 30:28 Let's go to number 15. 30:30 The Lord wants to bless us and as I go further, 30:34 you'll see that God 30:36 and I'll reiterate this later on 30:37 in the scripture on the screen, 30:39 but He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly 30:44 above all that you can ask or think 30:47 according to the power that is at work in us. 30:50 But if there is no power working in you, 30:52 then that will never be a reality in your life. 30:55 Okay number 15, here it is. 30:57 In recognition of God's total Ownership, 31:01 how should we approach Him? 31:03 How should we approach Him? 31:07 Psalm 116:12, here's the answer. 31:12 How should we approach Him? 31:16 And that question is not a loaded question, 31:18 it's a fact. 31:19 How much do we own? How much do we own? 31:24 Nothing. Nothing. 31:26 Last week we discovered in our last study, 31:28 we discovered, 31:30 we brought nothing into the world 31:32 and it's for certain we take how much out? 31:34 Nothing. 31:36 We can't take anything with us. 31:38 So in honor of Gods, 31:40 in recognition of God's total ownership, 31:42 look at Psalm 116:12. 31:44 Okay, here's the question that David asked, look at it. 31:47 "What shall I render to the Lord for," 31:50 what? 31:52 "All His benefits toward me?" 31:55 One of the questions people ask when they get a job, they ask, 31:58 "What are the benefits?" 32:02 Oh, you have medical, you have dental, 32:04 you have six weeks vacation in the first year? 32:06 Not in America, that's in Australia. 32:10 In America, they work you like a horse. 32:13 Please, Congress, do something. 32:15 You go to Australia, 32:17 they get six weeks vacation the first year. 32:20 They don't take vacation days, 32:22 they take a sabbatical. 32:24 They travel around the world, 32:25 six weeks vacation. 32:28 But here's the key, 32:29 so when you have a company like that, 32:30 would you wanna work? 32:32 Would you wanna work for them? 32:34 What shall I render to the Lord for how much? 32:36 All His benefits towards me. 32:39 I play basketball 32:41 and I played basketball last night. 32:44 My wife told me to stop telling my age. 32:46 Okay, I won't tell you my age, 32:47 but I am one year past 59 32:50 Okay, okay. 32:53 And you know what? 32:55 I don't take medications 32:56 for rickets, crickets, hydrophobia, claustrophobia, 33:00 my knees work very well 33:02 and the guys in the gym still fear me. 33:07 Not honor me but they say, 33:10 "You better check Him up 33:12 'cause his shot is deadly, he doesn't miss." 33:15 And I can't help but when I leave the gym, 33:17 I say, "Guys, that's 60 years old." 33:22 If you treat what God has given you right, 33:24 it will treat you well. 33:26 Remember that, young man, 33:27 if you take care of yourself, 33:29 the Lord will show you that your days will be long, 33:32 but you got to be a steward of what God gives you. 33:34 Some people... 33:36 Would you treat your car? 33:38 Wow, 33:41 forget about the car. 33:43 If you had a million dollar horse, 33:45 Angie knows where I am going, 33:48 and you expected him to win the race tomorrow 33:50 at The Kentucky Derby. 33:53 I know, for you it's Indiana, but Kentucky Derby. 33:55 We don't gamble by the way just to make that clear. 33:58 And would you keep him up late at night, 34:02 give him coca-cola, give him a cigarette, 34:05 a box of donuts 34:07 and have him watch TV for six hours. 34:10 Would you do that? 34:12 Why do we do that to ourselves? 34:15 We treat our bodies worse 34:17 than we will on million dollar horse, 34:19 and there is not a second person 34:20 on earth like us. 34:22 We can't trade it in to the Pontiac dealer 34:25 and get another us. 34:27 We gotta take care of ourselves. 34:29 So what shall I render to the Lord 34:30 for all His benefits toward me? 34:32 Did you write that down? 34:33 Now, look at another one. 34:35 In other words, Lord, I'll be willing to do anything, 34:38 tell me what? 34:39 What shall I render to you for all Your benefits? 34:43 If somebody saves you 34:44 and blesses you and provides for you, 34:47 you shouldn't have any hesitation about. 34:49 That's why I've said, this topic 34:50 we're gonna get into a moment here, 34:52 you shouldn't have any issue 34:54 about spending time 34:57 or working for Him 35:01 or laboring in His vineyard, 35:03 when you realize His benefits. 35:05 Let's look at number 16. 35:06 How does David the psalmist describe our obligation to God? 35:13 How does he describe our obligation to God? 35:16 Psalm 92:12, 35:19 sorry verse 2, Psalm 92, 35:22 Psalm 29, 35:23 I just all of a sudden got dyslexic. 35:26 Psalm 29:2, and I am not dyslexic 35:30 just to make the record clear 35:32 'cause somebody will send me a letter, 35:33 here's what medication you need to take. 35:35 No, I am okay. 35:37 Okay, look at Psalm 29:2, here's what the Bible says. 35:42 Could we read this together from the screen? 35:44 Let's put some strength behind that. 35:45 Together, "Give unto the Lord the glory 35:49 due His name, 35:51 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." 35:56 Is He worth it? Yes. 35:59 Wow, 36:01 give unto the Lord the glory, 36:04 the next word, due. 36:06 You know what happens when you build this past due. 36:09 Now just picture this, picture this, 36:11 are you ready? 36:13 What would happen 36:14 if you got a letter from the Lord says, 36:17 "My glory is due and it's, you've overlooked it." 36:23 What would you do? 36:25 My glory is past due, 36:27 you haven't given me glory for anything for six months. 36:32 I am sending, this is a final notice 36:37 and after this, I am cutting off your lights, 36:40 I am cutting off your water, 36:43 your car is not gonna work. 36:45 My wife and I, when we were dating, 36:47 she had an old Toyota, 36:49 what would we call it? 36:51 Struggle buggy. A struggle buggy. 36:53 It only had a forward, it didn't have a reverse gear. 36:56 Don't laugh, 36:58 it only went forward, 36:59 but then again the Bible says go forward. 37:03 It was a small Toyota Corona, 37:05 that's when Toyotas were little, 37:07 well, you know, they were little. 37:09 You got in it, you close the door 37:10 and that was most of it. 37:14 Whenever we use that car for prison ministry, 37:17 it worked all the time. 37:19 One Sunday we decided, just before we got married, 37:22 we were living in New York, 37:24 we decided, this Sunday we're gonna go to I think... 37:27 Great America. 37:28 Great America in New Jersey, 37:31 amusement park. 37:33 We got all the way there, 37:36 on the way back, 37:38 on the George Washington Bridge, Larry, 37:40 when we got to the toll-booth, 37:41 we paid the toll and we pressed the gas pedal... 37:46 And we heard... 37:51 The transmission fell apart right at the tollbooth 37:57 and the toll person is looking at me like, 38:00 "Are you gonna go?" 38:02 The car couldn't move. "Are you gonna leave?" 38:06 So I went... 38:08 Just to get some kind of, 38:10 so you could hear the gears crunching 38:11 and it just started moving slowly 38:15 and thank God at that time, 38:17 the toll booth, the bridge went up 38:19 and, the toll booth was at the apex 38:21 the fulcrum point of the bridge, 38:23 so it's downhill from here, 38:25 Sister Frasier. 38:27 Cars were flying by us, 38:29 we were coasting about 15 to 20 miles downhill 38:33 praying that no one will stop in front of us. 38:36 We coasted all the way off the bridge, 38:38 all the way down, all the way 38:39 till we got to the side street and called somebody, 38:42 "We're broken down on the West Side Highway 38:44 in Manhattan." 38:45 And, you know, we traced it too. 38:47 We said, you know what? 38:48 We had dedicated this car to ministry, 38:50 we decided to use it for pleasure 38:53 and it stopped working. 38:57 When you dedicate 38:58 what God has given to you 39:01 for the glory due His name, 39:05 He will bless you. 39:06 Can I get an amen? Amen. 39:08 You got to make sure that what God blesses you with, 39:10 you use it to bless others. 39:11 That car always worked, always, 39:15 every prison, every jail we went to, 39:17 it always worked. 39:19 The moment we used it for pleasure, 39:20 it broke down. 39:22 But praise the Lord. 39:25 That was our Christian car, we went forward all the time. 39:27 Let's go to the next one. 39:29 So what is the answer to number 16? 39:32 I mean to number 16 here, 39:34 how does David describe our obligation? 39:37 What's the word? 39:38 Due His name. 39:41 Due, it's due. 39:42 He deserves it, He deserves it. 39:46 Now number 17, question 17. 39:49 Okay, very important. 39:52 In what way does the Bible emphasize 39:55 the Stewardship of time? 40:00 Psalm 90:10, we already in Psalm, 40:03 let's go to Psalm 90. 40:05 We're gonna spend a little time there, 40:08 Psalm 90:10. 40:13 Look at it, Psalm 90:10. 40:18 Wow, what a humble passage. 40:21 What a humbling passage. 40:23 Man. 40:26 Okay, here it is. 40:31 Here it is, the day years ago, 40:35 "The days of our lives..." 40:37 That used to be soap opera years ago. 40:40 "The days of our lives are," how many years? 40:43 "Seventy years 40:46 and if by reason of strength," 40:47 that word there means health, 40:50 "they are," what?" 40:51 Eighty years, yet their boast is only," what? 40:55 "Labor and sorrow, 40:57 for it is soon cut off," 40:59 and what happens? 41:00 We fly away. 41:02 "Fly away." 41:03 That's it. 41:05 What happened to them? 41:07 What have happened to them? 41:09 They are gone. 41:11 Don't know. 41:15 So when you hit 70, that's a... 41:18 Everybody should have huge birthday party at 70. 41:22 When you hit 80, 41:23 you should have a banquet at 80. 41:27 If you go past that, 41:29 it's like you check your time bank 41:34 and you don't say Lord, 41:36 next year you say, 41:37 "Father, just give me one more day, 41:38 one more day, one more day." 41:41 Because you don't realize how fragile life is, 41:43 and when I think about this, 41:45 70 years is not a long time when you measure eternity. 41:49 Can I use an example here? 41:50 I expect to see that behind me. 41:52 Okay, behind me on the wall, you could see it on television. 41:55 Now there's a little green dot behind me, 41:57 I have done this intentionally so on television you can see. 41:59 See a little green dot? 42:01 That little green dot is very tiny 42:03 compared to the size of this room. 42:05 That little green dot is our life. 42:08 This room is eternity. 42:11 That little green dot is all we have in our life. 42:16 This room is eternity. 42:19 I didn't mean to misrepresent eternity, 42:22 the rest of this planet is eternity. 42:26 Come back in, zoom that again right on me, 42:28 tight shot, there you go. 42:29 Just bring it in. 42:31 I want them to see that green dot behind me. 42:32 That little green dot behind me represents our lives. 42:36 Every other space on this planet 42:38 where this green dot is not touching 42:40 represents eternity. 42:43 That's what we have. 42:45 If you cover the rest of this planet 42:46 with a green dot, 42:48 and the rest of the other planets 42:49 with a green dot, 42:50 and rest of those other worlds with the green dot, 42:52 that's eternity. 42:53 Some people fight and waste that 42:55 when God is saying," 42:57 I wanna give you green dots that cover everything 42:58 I've ever touched, eternity." 43:00 How many green dots are there in eternity? 43:04 We don't have enough laser pointers 43:05 to cover eternity, 43:08 but people waste that 43:09 and they don't use that to prepare for eternity. 43:13 I didn't have that written down on paper, 43:14 it just came to me. 43:15 It's good. Wow! 43:17 That's humbling, the days of our lives. 43:22 In what way does the Bible emphasize 43:24 the Stewardship of time? 43:25 Let's summarize it, we don't have a lot of time, 43:29 and we are given that time to prepare for eternity. 43:35 Thank the Lord. 43:36 When we go to bed at night, 43:38 my dear pastor Elder C.D Brooks who is resting in the Lord now. 43:42 He would always say, "When the day ends, 43:45 I confess my sins, 43:48 I make sure that before I close my eyes, 43:51 I settle my count with God 43:54 just in case I don't wake up. 43:56 My sins are confessed, 43:58 I thank the Lord, Father, cover me." 44:00 And we do the same thing, 44:01 Lord, if we've said or done anything today, 44:04 please forgive us, cover us with, say it again. 44:08 That's not pleasing in Your sight. 44:09 Whatever we've done that's not acceptable to You, 44:11 that's not pleasing to You, Lord, 44:13 please forgive us of it, 44:14 cover us with Your righteousness. 44:16 If we don't wake up in the morning, 44:18 please help us to wake up when You return. 44:22 'Cause you never know, 44:23 people have fallen asleep all day long, 44:25 being buried all day long, 44:27 and the saddest reality of all is to close your record 44:31 and have made no provision 44:33 for eternal life. 44:35 Let's go to the next one, number 18. 44:38 Number 18, wow! 44:42 Now, we're gonna get into time now. 44:44 Number 18. 44:47 What should we not forget to do 44:50 in the time that the Lord gives us? 44:53 What should we not forget to do 44:56 in the time that the Lord gives us? 44:59 Psalm 34:1. 45:03 Psalm 34:1... 45:09 as we read this, 45:10 there is a phrase that's called delayed gratification. 45:15 The Christians should learn about delayed gratification 45:18 because the world is enjoying, 45:19 the people of the world are enjoying it now, 45:21 they call, does not delay, they want it now, 45:24 you know, everything is fast, they want it now, fast, fast, 45:27 they want everything, they want joy now, peace. 45:29 They want joy, they want pleasure, 45:30 they want worldliness, they want alcohols, 45:32 smoke in the back or the gambling, 45:35 they want everything now. 45:37 And delayed gratification says, 45:41 "I'm waiting for my blessing, 45:43 I'm waiting for mine, it's coming, 45:45 and I'm making all the preparations." 45:48 That's why the Bible, 45:49 that's why Matthew the apostle said, 45:50 I mean the disciple says, 45:52 "Which of you decided to build the house 45:55 and not count the cost 45:57 and you were not able to finish it?" 45:58 And so many people, 45:59 they don't understand the Stewardship 46:01 of understanding the great cost of Christianity. 46:04 It's really not a cost, it's a benefit. 46:06 You have to prepare for this long team benefit 46:08 which is eternity but look at this. 46:11 Let's answer the question to number 18. 46:13 What should we not forget to do 46:14 in the time that the Lord has given to us? 46:16 Look at the answer, look at the answer, 46:18 "I will bless the Lord," how frequently? 46:22 "At all times, 46:23 His praise shall continually," be where? 46:27 "In my mouth." 46:29 Now that's a test, does anybody know that? 46:35 That's a test. 46:36 Because when difficulty comes, 46:40 hardship comes... 46:45 no, we kind of, 46:48 in those tight moments 46:50 we clam up about when it comes to praise. 46:54 But the reason why the Lord said, 46:55 do this all the times 46:56 because praise 46:58 is the precursor to deliverance. 47:02 Okay, praise Him in the storm. 47:04 I think the group casting comes up, 47:07 praise you in the storm. 47:09 When you praise Him in the difficulty, 47:11 the difficulty doesn't seem as difficult. 47:13 It's difficult, 47:15 fiery trial which is to try you. 47:17 We get fiery trials, 47:18 do we not get fiery trials, everybody? 47:20 But when you praise Him in it, 47:22 like Paul and Silas, 47:24 they sang in prison at midnight. 47:27 Who is that? 47:29 Blessed assurance, 47:32 prisoners sing blessed assurance at midnight? 47:34 Are they okay? 47:36 Do they not know they are in prison? 47:38 Praise Him, praise Him at all times. 47:40 The Hebrews, 47:42 guys, it's gonna be hot today, 47:44 but the Lord will be with us. 47:46 Daniel in the lions' den. 47:48 Boy, it's really warm on this lion's coat. 47:52 If you praise God, He will sustain you. 47:56 If you praise Him at all times, 47:58 He will sustain you at all times. 48:00 One of my favorite writers is Oswald Chambers. 48:02 Boy, I tell you, 48:05 his writings have revolutionized the way I think 48:08 in a beautiful way. 48:09 Now let's look at 48:11 one of these Stewardship aspects of time. 48:13 Number 19, look at number 19. 48:16 Learn what it means to praise the Lord at all time, 48:18 bless Lord at all time. 48:20 Let me, as you go into question number 19, 48:24 I wanna emphasize this. 48:26 Praising God and blessing the Lord 48:28 is not something that is natural. 48:30 It's not a natural thing. 48:33 Ellen White says, 48:34 "We must educate our lips to praise the Lord," 48:38 educate our lips. 48:41 You know, in church we say amen, right? 48:44 But do we say praise the Lord? 48:48 Praise the Lord, can we say that? 48:51 Praise the Lord. 48:53 And I just want you all to know 48:54 the board approve that phrase. 48:58 Right, Iris? 48:59 No, the board didn't approve it, 49:00 God approved it. 49:02 Praise the Lord, 49:03 bless the Lord. 49:05 His praise shall be continually in my mouth 49:08 and sometimes we hear people that do that and we say, 49:10 are they all right? 49:12 Every minute they're praising Lord. 49:13 It's kind of revolutionizing the way I think 49:15 about that individual. 49:17 Praise the Lord, look at question number 19. 49:20 How has God established a time temple for us 49:25 to recognize Him as Creator? 49:28 How has God established a time temple for us 49:31 to recognize Him as Creator? 49:33 We're gonna go to Exodus 20:11, 49:39 we'll get to verse 11 eventually 49:40 but we will start at verse 8. 49:42 All right, 49:45 Exodus Chapter 20, 49:47 I'll start with verse 8 and when I get to 11 49:49 you bring the text up. 49:51 Exodus 20:8, what's the first word? 49:53 Remember. 49:54 Remember, "Remember the Sabbath day, 49:55 to keep it holy. 49:58 Six days you shall labor and do all your work." 50:01 That's Stewardship of time, 50:03 that's Stewardship of recognizing 50:05 who owns everything. 50:06 "But the seventh day is the Sabbath 50:09 of the Lord your God." 50:12 If the Lord of creation is your God, 50:14 then the Sabbath is already been selected. 50:15 You can't pick a day, 50:17 because you don't have that authority. 50:19 We can't pick a day because we're not the creator 50:21 and then He says what we shall do." 50:23 In it you shall do no work." 50:26 So if somebody says you're keeping the Sabbath 50:28 and you're working your way to salvation, 50:30 let me add a bulletin here. 50:31 When you read the Ten Commandments, 50:33 the only place you find the word work 50:35 is you shall not do any works. 50:37 It's not about works, 50:38 it's about recognizing God's creatorship." 50:41 You, nor your son, nor your daughter, 50:46 nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, 50:48 nor your cattle, 50:50 nor your stranger who is within your gates." 50:52 So when people come to visit us, 50:54 if they are not a Sabbath keeper, 50:55 they don't, they are not turning the TV on 50:57 in my house on the Sabbath. 50:59 They're not doing 51:00 what they want to do on the Sabbath 51:01 because it's within our gates. 51:03 Because we honor the Lord and as Joshua said, 51:06 "As for me and my house, 51:07 we will serve the Lord." 51:10 Right, well, unless it's 3ABN bulletin. 51:13 Now verse 11, 51:16 how has God established a time temple for us? 51:19 Here it is. 51:21 "For in six days the Lord made the," what? 51:24 "Heavens and the earth, the sea, 51:26 and all that is in them, 51:29 and rested the seventh day. 51:31 Therefore the Lord," did what? 51:33 "Blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." 51:37 I am amazed that in our world today, 51:41 there's so much effort being put forth 51:43 by religious people to get rid of this blessing. 51:46 So much effort, the Lord said," 51:48 I created the world in six days." 51:50 If the Jews are the only ones He created, 51:52 then the Jews are the only ones that should keep the Sabbath. 51:55 Was Adam and Eve a Jew? 51:56 Somebody tell me. 51:57 No, they were not Jews. 52:00 This is about His creatorship, His lordship. 52:03 "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 52:08 the sea, and all that is in them." 52:10 He owns it all, that great plan of Stewardship 52:12 and He says to acknowledge My Stewardship, 52:15 just honor My Sabbath. 52:17 Look at Ezekiel very quickly, 52:20 Ezekiel Chapter 20, 52:22 wanna add a few dots on it, 52:25 Ezekiel, that's right, 52:26 before the Book of Daniel, 52:28 all right. 52:30 Ezekiel Chapter 20, 52:32 he says, 52:35 I am amazed, I just am amazed, 52:37 I have run into so many leaders, 52:38 so many pastors, teachers, religious people 52:41 that say no, I'm not keeping the Sabbath, 52:43 I have a different day. 52:45 I got Sunday, I'm gonna keep that one instead. 52:48 And he says, wait, what, the Lord blessed the Sabbath, 52:50 there is only one blessed day. 52:52 Now let me make a point so that people can say 52:54 because I have heard people try to modify this 52:56 with this phrase. 52:57 They say, I worship the Lord how often? 52:59 Every day. Every day. 53:00 How often should we worship the Lord? 53:02 Come on, every day. 53:04 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, 53:06 our lives should be constant worship 53:08 by the way we live, every day. 53:10 But how many days did He bless? 53:12 He only blessed one, He only blessed one. 53:14 So you can't, 53:16 if you believe now this is amazing, 53:17 if you believe that you can pick any day, 53:20 if you believe that He blessed every day, 53:22 then you should never work, and let me have a bulletin, 53:25 if you never work, you'll never eat. 53:27 He only blessed one 53:29 and look what He says for us to do. 53:30 Ezekiel 20:12, 53:32 and you're gonna see a phrase here, 53:35 you'll see a phrase here that's vitally important 53:37 because whenever I referred to these ceremonies, 53:41 you know, the Feast of Tabernacles, 53:44 all the things that Israel observed 53:45 a part of the Book of the Law, 53:47 but when He referred to the Ten Commandments, 53:49 notice what the Lord said, 53:50 verse 12, 53:52 Ezekiel 20:12, 53:55 "Moreover I also gave them," what? 53:58 "My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, 54:04 that they might know that I am the Lord," 54:06 who does what? 54:07 "Sanctifies them." 54:08 He makes us holy. 54:10 When we honor His commandments, 54:11 when we honor the Sabbath, 54:12 it's an act of He's sanctifying us, 54:16 He's making us holy 54:17 because the day is holy and the Lord is holy. 54:20 Look at verse 20, 54:22 look at verse 20, 54:25 "Hallow My Sabbaths, 54:28 and they will be a," what? 54:30 "Sign between Me and you, 54:31 that you may know that I am the Lord," what? 54:34 "Your God." 54:35 I go right back to that, 54:37 the Lord, the Lord. 54:39 I am the Lord, you're God, 54:41 you honor my day that means I am your, Lord. 54:44 May 22nd, 54:46 it's our day, right, honey? 54:47 Yeah. 54:48 So it may mean nothing to anybody else, 54:50 but what does it mean to us? 54:51 Our wedding anniversary. 54:53 It's a sign of sanctity between us. 54:55 All right. 54:57 When you honor that, 54:58 we honor each other. 54:59 Praise God for that. 55:01 Look at number, can we get another one in here? 55:03 Let's go to number 20. Let's go to number 20. 55:07 Oh, yes, 55:09 this is really about time. 55:11 Wow. 55:13 Since the lesson is not totally on the Sabbath, 55:16 we're not spending a ton of time, 55:17 we're talking about time here. 55:19 Question number 20, 55:20 here it is. 55:22 In what way does the Bible express 55:25 the urgency of time? 55:29 Romans Chapter 13, Romans Chapter 13, 55:34 okay, here I am. 55:36 Romans 13:11, 55:39 here it is. 55:43 I love to hear those pages turning in spite of the fact 55:45 that it's on the screen. 55:46 All right, Romans 13:11 55:48 and here's what the Bible says to us, 55:50 "And do this," 55:53 I always put this on my CD'S when I sign, 55:55 "knowing the," what? 55:57 "Time, that now it is," what? 56:00 "High time to awake out of sleep, 56:03 for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." 56:07 So when you know the time, 56:09 you know that something's happening. 56:11 Every night, 56:12 now on Sabbath mornings I do something on Friday night 56:15 that I don't do any other day of the week 56:18 and that is I set my own phone, 56:21 cell phone to wake me up at a certain time 56:24 and because I know 56:26 that loud alarm's frighten my wife, 56:29 some people have those... 56:31 Don't wake up with that 56:33 because it will give you a headache. 56:34 So mine with a little nice chimes... 56:37 And it increases in volume 56:38 and I hear it before it gets too loud 56:40 and sometimes the phone says, 56:41 "It's 7:15." 56:44 But I am amazed that when we go to bed late 56:46 during the week, 56:48 my wife has a clock by her side, 56:50 it starts really soft... 56:54 And I could tell when she's in a deep sleep 56:56 because it takes a while before she turns it off. 56:59 She turns it off because she knows 57:01 it's high time to wake 57:04 and every night she says, 57:06 "Can we go to bed," and she said to me once, 57:08 "If you were not home, 57:09 I would be in bed at 8 o'clock. 57:13 Isn't it sweet to sleep? 57:14 Come on, isn't it lovely to sleep? 57:19 And I said to her number of occasions, 57:23 it seems like the morning comes so fast. 57:27 Can we get testament to that? 57:28 It comes so fast but I said that for a reason 57:32 because we don't know it, 57:33 the Lord is gonna come faster than we think 57:38 and what is our responsibility? 57:40 To be awake out of sleep, 57:44 for now our salvation is what? 57:46 Nearer than when we first believe. 57:50 We're gonna leave that thought with you tonight, 57:51 the coming of the Lord is nearer 57:53 than when we first believe. 57:54 If you've been a Christian for a long time, 57:57 it's time to wake up and I consider this, 58:00 keep studying because one day 58:02 it will come into A Sharper Focus. |
Revised 2019-05-30