Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: ASTPP
Program Code: ASTPP000008
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00:15 Well once again, welcome to Anchor Bible school.
00:18 We're glad you're here. 00:20 Has it been an exciting experience so far? 00:23 Praise the Lord. You're not too tired, right? 00:25 Amen. Praise the Lord. 00:27 You must have gotten a good night's sleep last night. 00:30 I know I did. 00:31 But I'm glad to have you here. 00:34 And we have some exciting things to study 00:36 in this particular session. 00:37 I want us to go in our syllabus to the bottom of page 16. 00:42 The bottom of page 16 of our syllabus. 00:45 And I'm going to read this statement from Ellen White. 00:47 We're dealing with the principle that Christ is the center 00:51 of the Old Testament. 00:52 He's the Hero of the Old Testament. 00:54 Every text in the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. 00:58 Ellen White caught this important point 01:02 in this statement from, Desire Of Ages, 01:04 pages 211 and 212. 01:07 This is what she says. 01:08 This is an audacious statement. 01:12 "In every page..." 01:15 How many pages? 01:17 "In every page, whether history, or precept, or prophecy, 01:23 the Old Testament Scriptures are irradiated with the 01:27 glory of the Son of God." 01:29 So what is the glory of the Old Testament? 01:32 Jesus. 01:34 "So far as it was of divine institution, the entire system 01:39 of Judaism was a compacted prophecy of the gospel." 01:44 What does, "compacted," mean? 01:47 Scale model, folks. 01:49 A compacted prophecy, see? 01:51 And then Jesus gives it breath when He fulfills it. 01:57 She continues saying, "To Christ 'give all the prophets witness.' 02:05 From the promise given to Adam, down through the 02:08 patriarchal line and the legal economy, heaven's glorious light 02:13 made plain the footsteps of the Redeemer. 02:17 Seers beheld the Star of Bethlehem, the Shiloh to come, 02:21 as future things swept before them in mysterious procession. 02:27 In every sacrifice Christ's death was shown. 02:31 In every cloud of incense His righteousness ascended. 02:35 By every jubilee trumpet His name was sounded. 02:39 In the awful mystery of the holy of holies His glory dwelt." 02:46 Quite a statement, isn't it. 02:48 And you read the book, Desire Of Ages, 02:50 it becomes very clear that Ellen White not only had 02:53 this in a theoretical sense, but the Desire Of Ages 02:56 shows Jesus in all of His glory in the Old Testament, 03:00 as well as the books, Patriarchs And Prophets, 03:02 and Prophets And Kings. 03:04 Now St. Augustine... 03:07 I don't like to quote saints that much. 03:12 Especially when they're human saints, so called. 03:15 But he said something I think that is very wise. 03:18 He said, "The New is in the Old concealed. 03:23 And the Old is in the New revealed." 03:27 That's a nice way to put it in a nutshell. 03:32 Now going to page 17, the Old Testament is not 03:36 abolished, but rather fulfilled. 03:42 Is there a difference between abolishing and fulfilling? 03:44 Yes. 03:45 Notice, let's change the word around 03:48 from, "fulfill," to, "fill full." 03:54 What does Jesus do with the Old Testament? 03:57 He fills it full of meaning. 04:01 To fulfill means, to fill full. 04:05 Jesus fills the Old Testament with meaning. 04:08 If Jesus had not come, the Old Testament would be 04:11 an incomprehensible riddle. 04:14 Jesus gives meaning to the Old Testament. 04:17 If Christ had not come, the Old Testament 04:21 would have no explanation or reason. 04:23 What would be the reason for killing millions of animals? 04:30 The Old Testament in itself has no light. 04:34 It's light is reflected light. 04:37 The Old Testament is a collection of stories, 04:40 laws, precepts, biographies, and events. 04:45 If the Old Testament were alone, it would be an enigma. 04:52 The Old Testament is like a light bulb. 04:55 Christ must give the bulb electric current 04:58 in order for the Old Testament to give light. 05:02 Now, the Jews and Christians commit the same basic mistake. 05:13 The Christians of today, they say, 05:14 "Well, we're New Testament Christians." 05:18 And the Jews say, "We're Old Testament. 05:20 Not Christians, but we go by the Old Testament." 05:23 Now actually when you look at it carefully, 05:26 both of them are committing the same error. 05:30 Because Christians don't see Christ in the Old Testament, 05:33 and the Jews don't see Christ in the New. 05:37 Let's read this statement. 05:39 Christ's Object Lessons, 128 and 129. 05:43 "There are those who profess to believe and to teach 05:45 the truths of the Old Testament, 05:48 while they reject the New." 05:49 Who would those be? 05:51 The Jews. 05:53 "But in refusing to receive the teachings of Christ, 05:56 they show that they do not believe that which patriarchs 06:00 and prophets have spoken. 06:02 'Had ye believed Moses,' Christ said, 'ye would have 06:04 believed Me; for he wrote of Me.' 06:08 Hence there is no real power in their teaching 06:11 of even the Old Testament. 06:14 Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel 06:17 are in a similar error." 06:19 Who would those be? 06:21 New Testament Christians, so called. 06:23 "They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, 06:26 of which Christ declared, 'They are they which testify of Me.' 06:30 In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; 06:35 for both are parts of an inseparable whole. 06:40 No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, 06:44 or the gospel without the law. 06:47 The law is the gospel embodied, 06:50 and the gospel is the law unfolded. 06:54 The law is the root, the gospel is the fragrant blossom 06:58 and fruit which it bears. 07:01 The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, 07:03 and the New upon the Old. 07:06 Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. 07:11 Both present truths that will continually reveal new depths 07:16 of meaning to the earnest seeker." 07:21 And so that's a very significant statement. 07:24 You know, people who say, "I'm a New Testament Christian," 07:26 you can't understand the New Testament without the Old. 07:29 And those who say, "Oh, I go by the Old Testament. 07:32 You know, I'm not a Christian." 07:33 Well, they can never really understand the Old. 07:37 Because the center of the Old is Christ, 07:39 and the center of the New is Christ. 07:41 So you can't accept one and not accept the other 07:44 without seeing Christ. 07:47 And so Christ is at the very center of Scripture. 07:51 Now I have a list of prophecies here 07:54 from the Old Testament about Christ. 07:57 I'm going to go through these very quickly. 07:58 I'm not going to mention the references. 08:01 You know, for those who are watching this streaming, 08:03 we've received several requests to have the materials 08:07 that we're making available. 08:09 And you know, if you beg hard enough, 08:15 we might accommodate you. 08:17 But I'm not going to take the time to mention 08:20 the specific verses, I'm just going to mention the events. 08:22 Because you have the verses in the syllabus. 08:25 The Old Testament says that Jesus 08:27 would be born in Bethlehem. 08:29 He would be born of a virgin. 08:32 He would be announced by a star. 08:34 Children would be massacred when He was born. 08:37 He would be called out of Egypt. 08:39 He would be baptized or anointed when the 69th week 08:43 of Daniel 9 ended. 08:45 He would perform marvelous works and be a powerful preacher. 08:48 The Jews would reject His message. 08:50 The Jews would serve Him only with their lips. 08:53 He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey in the 08:55 midst of great acclamation. 08:57 He would cast out the money changers from the temple. 09:01 Zeal for God's house would consume Him. 09:03 He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver. 09:06 His disciples would all forsake Him. 09:09 He would die a vicarious death. 09:11 He would say on the cross, "My God, My God, 09:13 why have You forsaken Me?" 09:15 That comes directly from Psalm 22 and verse 1, 09:17 the very words that Jesus spoke on the cross. 09:21 His hands and His feet would be pierced. 09:24 Lots would be cast upon His garments. 09:26 His heart would be poured out like water. 09:28 His enemies would spit in His face. 09:31 His enemies would dare Him to come down from the cross. 09:34 None of His bones would be broken. 09:36 On the cross He would say, "I thirst." 09:39 His passion would last three days and three nights. 09:42 His burial would be with the rich. 09:45 He would resurrect from the dead on the third day. 09:48 He would ascend to heaven, 09:49 and He would sit at the Father's right hand. 09:54 Do you think there was sufficient evidence 09:56 that Jesus was the Messiah? 09:57 Of course there was. 09:58 But reading the Old Testament without Christ 10:03 will lead you to wrong conclusions. 10:05 And that's the problem with the Jewish nation today, 10:08 those who have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. 10:11 They have a veil over their mind. 10:15 And the veil is taken away when they see Jesus 10:17 in the Old Testament, when they see that their Messiah 10:20 is Jesus Christ. 10:22 You know, we say Jesus Christ belongs to the church. 10:25 No, the Messiah belongs to the Jews first. 10:29 It's their Messiah. 10:32 And when they see Jesus in the Old Testament, 10:35 the Old Testament suddenly becomes a light bulb 10:38 that when you turn on the switch, you say, "Wow. 10:42 We've missed our Messiah totally and completely." 10:46 And Ellen White states that in the end time, 10:50 there will be thousands upon thousands of Jews 10:54 that will accept the message of the remnant 10:57 and come over to the Lord's side. 10:59 And so we love the Jews. 11:03 We love them because, you know, through this nation 11:05 God brought the oracles of God to us. 11:08 God loves them. 11:11 And we need to pray for them that they will see the light, 11:14 that they will see the reason for their own religion. 11:17 They don't have a reason for their religion. 11:20 What was the purpose of all of the sacrifices? 11:24 What was the purpose of all of the incense? 11:27 What is the meaning of the Hebrew feasts? 11:30 What does the Sanctuary teach? 11:32 Totally in the dark until you see that Jesus fulfills 11:36 everything, and say, "Wow, look what I've been missing." 11:41 Now, what I want us to do is go to the material, 11:44 "The Lord is Our Rock." 11:47 "The Lord is Our Rock." 11:51 I'm going to illustrate now the steps that we need to follow 11:57 in finding Christ in a particular passage 12:00 from the Old Testament, or a particular symbol 12:03 in the Old Testament. 12:05 And we're going to go through this material, 12:07 "The Lord is Our Rock," and we're going to see 12:10 several principles involved here. 12:11 We're going to see the principle of sola scriptura. 12:14 We're going to see Christ at the center. 12:16 We're going to see the importance of the 12:18 study of structure. 12:20 We're going to look at several principles here. 12:21 And I'll bring them out as we go along. 12:26 Now there is an intimate connection between 12:31 what Jesus did on the cross and the fire that fell 12:36 on the day of Pentecost. 12:38 You cannot understand the fire unless you understand the cross. 12:43 So the first thing that I want us to notice is that there's a 12:46 very close link between the cross and the fire that 12:50 descended on the day of Pentecost. 12:52 The second point that I want to underline 12:55 is that the important thing that took place on the 12:59 day of Pentecost was not what happened on earth. 13:02 The important event took place in heaven. 13:05 And what took place on earth was simply the announcement 13:08 of what was taking place in heaven. 13:10 In fact, do you know that every time that Jesus begins 13:13 a new work in the Sanctuary, there's an earthly announcement? 13:18 Let me ask you, when Jesus came to the camp to camp with us, 13:22 was it announced? 13:25 Remember the angels singing, "Glory to God in the highest." 13:29 Remember the wise men who came? 13:31 They announced that the Messiah had been born. 13:33 There was an earthly announcement. 13:36 When Jesus was about to go to the cross, 13:39 was there an announcement? 13:42 Remember the triumphal entry, 13:45 a little less than a week before Jesus died on the cross? 13:48 The purpose was to attract the attention of everybody. 13:52 Are you following me or not? 13:54 When Jesus was going to begin His work in the Holy Place 13:59 of the Sanctuary, was there an earthly announcement? 14:02 Of course there was. 14:04 There was a mighty rushing wind, and there were tongues of fire, 14:07 and the place shook. 14:10 There were tremendous phenomena that took place on earth. 14:14 But that was an announcement of something that 14:16 Jesus had begun to do in heaven. 14:19 And let me ask you, leading up to 1844, 14:21 was there an earthly announcement? 14:23 Oh, yes there was. 14:24 The Millerite movement was announcing that Jesus was 14:28 about to enter a new phase of His ministry in the 14:29 heavenly Sanctuary in the Most Holy Place. 14:32 See, there's always an announcement 14:34 when Jesus is going to move into a new phase of His work. 14:38 Is there going to be an announcement 14:40 when the judgment of the living is about to begin? 14:44 The loud cry will be the announcement that the 14:47 judgment of the living is either beginning or about to begin. 14:52 Because the Sabbath issue will be the issue 14:55 that will determine who is on one side or who is on the other. 15:00 So there will be this powerful loud cry announcement on earth 15:03 announcing that the judgment of the living 15:06 is either beginning or is about to begin. 15:08 There's no date attached. 15:12 But we can know when thousands of people 15:15 are leaving their churches and joining the remnant church. 15:18 We know that the final movements are going to be 15:22 very, very rapid ones. 15:24 So two things. 15:25 Number one, there's a connection between the cross and the fire. 15:29 And number two, the important event was not on earth. 15:32 The important event was in heaven. 15:33 The earthly event was simply an announcement 15:35 of something that was happening in heaven. 15:37 Now let's go to the next section in our material. 15:42 And I want to show you the connection between 15:46 the sacrifice and the fire. 15:48 There's this pattern in the Old Testament 15:51 where you have a sacrifice, and then God consumes 15:55 the sacrifice with fire. 15:57 There's this pattern that I want us to notice. 16:00 The first example is Abel's sacrifice. 16:03 Now the Bible doesn't mention specifically 16:06 that God sent fire to consume Abel's sacrifice. 16:10 But it stands to reason when we look at all of the other 16:12 examples in the Old Testament. 16:14 That's the way that God showed that He accepted a sacrifice. 16:16 So I'm going to read this statement from Ellen White, 16:18 Signs Of The Times, February 6, 1879, 16:22 where Ellen White explains that "God had respect 16:25 unto this sacrifice," that is unto Abel's sacrifice, 16:29 "and fire came down from Heaven and consumed it." 16:33 How did God show that He accepted Abel's sacrifice 16:36 and not Cain's sacrifice? 16:38 Because He consumed the sacrifice that was 16:41 offered by Abel. 16:44 Sacrifice; fire. 16:46 The next example that I want to give is when the wilderness 16:50 tabernacle was inaugurated in the desert. 16:54 Let's read Leviticus 9 verses 22 to 24. 16:58 "Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, 17:01 and came down from offering the..." 17:02 Notice, three offerings. 17:04 "...the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. 17:08 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, 17:11 and came out and blessed the people. 17:13 Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people..." 17:15 And now notice, how did God show that He accepted these 17:18 three sacrifices that were placed upon the altar? 17:22 Verse 24, "...and fire came out from before the Lord 17:26 and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. 17:30 When all the people saw it, they shouted 17:32 and fell on their faces." 17:33 So how did God show that He accepted these sacrifices 17:36 upon the altar? 17:37 By consuming them with fire. 17:39 Sacrifice; fire. 17:41 The next example I want to give is from the 17:43 period of the Hebrew monarchy, the period of the Hebrew kings. 17:47 1 Chronicles 21:26 17:49 You remember that the ark of the covenant 17:51 was placed on Ornan's threshing floor for a while 17:54 before it was taken to Jerusalem 17:55 after it was recovered from the Philistines. 17:58 And I want you to notice that David offered a sacrifice, 18:02 and then something happened. 18:03 Let's read it, 1 Chronicles chapter 21 and verse 26. 18:07 "And David built there an altar to the Lord, 18:10 and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, 18:15 and called on the Lord. 18:17 And He answered him from heaven by fire 18:21 on the altar of burnt offering." 18:23 Once again, sacrifice, and then what? 18:26 Fire, showing that God accepted the sacrifice. 18:29 The next example I want to give is when the temple 18:33 built by Solomon was dedicated. 18:35 Notice I did not say, "Solomon's temple." 18:37 Because it wasn't Solomon's temple. 18:40 Neither was the ark, Noah's ark. 18:43 Nor was Jacob's ladder Jacob's. 18:47 It's the Lord's ladder, it's the Lord's ark, 18:50 and it's the Lord's temple. 18:52 So when the temple built by Solomon was dedicated, 18:56 I want you to notice what happened, according to 18:58 2 Chronicles chapter 7 and verse 1. 19:01 "When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down 19:06 from heaven and consumed the burnt offering 19:09 and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord 19:12 filled the temple." 19:14 Once again, sacrifice, and then what? 19:17 Fire. 19:18 So there's this pattern. 19:19 Sacrifice; fire. Sacrifice; fire. 19:22 Let's go to one further example. 19:24 1 Kings chapter 18 and verse 38, 1 Kings chapter 18 and verse 38. 19:31 This is the experience of Elijah on Mount Carmel. 19:37 You remember that he put the sacrifices, the animals, 19:39 upon the altar. 19:40 And I want you to notice how God responded to his plea. 19:44 And of course, we all know this story. 19:46 It says, "Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed 19:51 the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones 19:53 and the dust, and it licked up the water 19:55 that was in the trench. 19:56 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces 20:00 and they said, 'The Lord, He is God! 20:02 The Lord, He is God!'" 20:04 So you have this pattern of sacrifice, and then fire, 20:09 showing that God accepted the sacrifice. 20:13 Now what I want us to do is to look at a different symbolism 20:16 that teaches the same lesson. 20:18 You see, there's the idea that the sacrifice is accepted 20:23 by the Lord because of the fire. 20:25 But now let's look at another symbol that teaches 20:28 the same lesson. 20:31 I'm referring to the rock from which water came 20:35 in the Old Testament. 20:37 So let's go in our Bibles to Exodus chapter 17 20:40 and verses 1 through 6. 20:42 Exodus 17 and verses 1 through 6. 20:45 There are two rock episodes in the Old Testament. 20:49 And each of them teaches a very important lesson. 20:52 Exodus 17:1-6 20:54 You're going to see in a minute how this symbolism 20:58 relates to the symbolism of sacrifice and fire. 21:00 It's the same lesson, but with different symbols. 21:04 Exodus 17 verse 1 says, "Then all the congregation 21:07 of the children of Israel set out on their journey 21:10 from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment 21:13 of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; 21:16 but there was no water for the people to drink. 21:20 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, 21:23 'Give us water, that we may drink.' 21:25 So Moses said to them, 'Why do you contend with me? 21:28 Why do you tempt the Lord?' 21:30 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people 21:34 complained against Moses, and said, 'Why is it that you have 21:38 brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children 21:42 and our livestock with thirst?'" 21:47 Let me ask you, is grumbling and mumbling sin? 21:51 The Bible says, "Whatever is not of faith is sin," 21:56 in Romans 14 verse 23. 21:58 "Whatever is not of faith is sin." 22:00 Was Israel showing ungratefulness toward God? 22:04 I mean, read the previous chapter. 22:06 God had rained bread from the bakery of heaven. 22:10 Imagine how busy the angels were making this bread 22:15 to feed a million men, not counting women and children, 22:18 every day except one day of the week for 40 years. 22:23 Wow, that's amazing. 22:26 They had seen the Red Sea open, 22:27 they had seen the Egyptians swallowed, 22:29 they had seen the plagues falling upon Egypt. 22:31 They had seen all kinds of signs that God was with them 22:35 and that God was blessing them. 22:36 And now they're complaining because there's no water. 22:38 They deserved to fall under the judgment of God. 22:43 So in verse 4 we're told, "So Moses cried out to the Lord, 22:47 saying, 'What shall I do with this people? 22:50 They are almost ready to stone me.'" 22:55 And now God says something very interesting. 22:59 "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go on before the people, 23:04 and take with you some of the elders of Israel. 23:07 Also take in your hand your rod with which you 23:11 struck the river...'" 23:12 That is the river Nile when it was turned into blood. 23:15 "...with which you struck the river, and go." 23:18 Verse 6, "Behold, I will stand before you there 23:23 on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, 23:29 and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." 23:34 Now, this is an interesting episode. 23:38 You have three symbols in this story. 23:40 You have a rock, you have a rod, and you have the water 23:45 that comes from the rock. 23:47 So how do you suppose we can find out what the rock means, 23:50 and what the rod means, and what the water represents? 23:54 Hello. 23:56 Sola scriptura. 24:00 Because if you only read this passage, you have 24:02 no interpretation to the symbols. 24:05 So where do you find other passages that allude to this 24:09 story that we find here? 24:11 A Bible concordance. 24:13 And where else? 24:15 The marginal references, that's right. 24:18 And so when we go to a concordance, we find 24:22 all sorts of text that help us understand what God 24:25 wanted to teach through this particular passage. 24:29 Now in this passage we have three symbols. 24:32 And we need to study each symbol within itself 24:37 and determine what that symbol means. 24:39 And then after we've done that individually, 24:42 we'll put them all together to get the picture. 24:45 So what you do is you interpret the symbols individually. 24:48 And then after you understand what each symbol means, 24:50 then you bring them together so that you see how they 24:53 relate to each other. 24:54 Now the first symbol that we want to take a look at 24:57 is the rock. 24:58 What does the rock represent? 25:01 Well, Deuteronomy 32 verse 4. 25:04 Nine times in this chapter it tells us that the rock 25:09 is the Lord. 25:10 Should Israel have understood even that in the Old Testament 25:13 that the rock was more than a literal rock? 25:16 They could understand that in the Old Testament. 25:19 Yes. 25:20 Could they have understood that the manna 25:22 was more than physical food? 25:24 Yes, because Moses told them in Deuteronomy 8. 25:27 He says that God gave them manna from heaven 25:30 that they might know that man does not live by bread alone, 25:33 but by ever word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 25:35 They knew that the manna represented God's word. 25:37 Moses told them so. 25:39 And so they should have known that the rock was a symbol, 25:42 even in the Old Testament. 25:43 It says in Deuteronomy 32 verse 4, "He is the Rock..." 25:47 See, the rock is a person. 25:49 "...His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, 25:53 a God of truth and without injustice; 25:55 righteous and upright is He." 25:56 And in this chapter 32, you know, 26:00 Moses is bragging a little bit. 26:01 He says, "The rock of the pagans is not like our Rock." 26:07 Because the pagans had their rock too. 26:09 But their gods were made out of stone. 26:12 Here, the stone represents the Lord. 26:16 Now, the rock then in the Old Testament represents the Lord. 26:22 But which particular Person are we dealing with here? 26:24 Because we have God the Father, we have the Son, 26:26 we have the Holy Spirit. 26:27 Which individual here are we dealing with? 26:31 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verses 1 through 4 26:34 has the answer; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. 26:37 "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware 26:41 that all our fathers were under the cloud, 26:43 all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses 26:47 in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same..." What? 26:52 "...spiritual food..." 26:53 Ah, it wasn't only physical food. 26:56 The same spiritual food. 26:58 "...and all drank the same spiritual drink." 27:01 So water represents something beyond the literal water, 27:05 beyond the literal H2O. 27:07 "For they drank from that spiritual Rock 27:11 that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." 27:17 So who is the Lord who is mentioned in Deuteronomy 32? 27:21 Jesus Christ. 27:24 Jesus Christ is the Rock. 27:26 Now you know what's interesting in this story, 27:28 in this story in Exodus 17? 27:31 Jesus tells Moses, because it's Jesus speaking, 27:34 He says, you know, "I'm going to go and I'm going to 27:36 stand on the rock." 27:38 So there you have the symbol and what the 27:40 symbol represents together. 27:45 The rock is the symbol, and Jesus is standing on the rock. 27:50 So you have the symbol and what the symbol 27:53 represents in the story. 27:56 And so now we have to interpret what the rod represents. 27:58 Is it clear what the rock represents? 28:00 Now we need to interpret what the rod represents. 28:03 What does the rod represent? 28:06 Well, the rod represents judgment. 28:10 Every time that Moses raised his rod, what happened? 28:13 A judgment fell upon the Egyptians. 28:17 But not only does the rod represent judgment, 28:20 but the act of smiting with the rod represents 28:24 that judgment is falling upon. 28:27 In other words, the act of the rod striking the rock 28:31 or falling upon the rock means that a judgment 28:34 is falling upon the rock. 28:36 I can imagine that when Moses was there before the people 28:39 and they were complaining and murmuring, 28:41 and now Moses raises his rod before the people, 28:45 the people were probably shaking in their sandals. 28:49 Whoo, they knew the power that was in that rod; 28:53 that rod of judgment. 28:54 But lo and behold, instead of the rod falling upon the 28:58 people who were guilty, the rod fell upon the Rock. 29:02 Interesting. 29:05 Now the word, "smite," that is used here, 29:07 "You will smite the rock," is the Hebrew word, "nakah." 29:12 And basically, this word is translated in different ways 29:16 in the Old Testament. 29:18 It's translated, to smite, to hit, to kill. 29:23 There are many, many different synonymous terms 29:26 that are used to describe this. 29:29 So the act of smiting with the rod symbolizes 29:33 the fact that the judgment is falling upon. 29:37 Now let's read Isaiah 53 verse 4, 29:40 this Messianic prophecy. 29:41 Interesting Messianic prophecy that uses the very same word, 29:44 "smite," but it applies it to the Messiah. 29:49 Notice Isaiah 53 and verse 4. 29:54 It says there, "Surely He has borne our griefs 29:59 and our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him nakah..." 30:07 We esteemed the Messiah, what? 30:11 Stricken. 30:13 Same identical word that is used for striking the rock. 30:16 It says, "...yet we esteemed Him stricken, 30:20 smitten by..." Whom? 30:22 "...smitten by God, and afflicted." 30:27 So the rod represents judgment. 30:29 And the falling of the rod represents execution 30:33 of judgment. 30:35 It means punishing. 30:38 Now what does the water represent? 30:40 We've interpreted two symbols so far. 30:42 The first symbol is the rock. 30:45 It represents whom? 30:46 Christ. 30:48 And then you have the rod, which represents judgment. 30:51 And the act of smiting represents the fact that the 30:54 judgment is falling upon. 30:56 Incidentally, when Moses smote with the rod the river Nile, 31:00 a plague fell, a judgment fell. 31:03 The Nile was turned into blood. 31:04 And when he smote the dust, lice came forth from the dust. 31:09 So the act of smiting means that a judgment 31:11 of God is falling upon. 31:13 Now what does the water represent in this episode? 31:18 Well when the rock was smitten, it gave its what? 31:21 It gave its water. 31:24 Now what does the water represent? 31:26 The water represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 31:30 You say, "Well, where do you get that from?" 31:32 Let's go to John chapter 7 verses 37 to 39. 31:36 John chapter 7 verses 37 to 39. 31:40 You know, in this passage Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. 31:44 And it's the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. 31:46 It's the 8th day. 31:47 It's called the great day of the feast. 31:49 And Jesus is present in Jerusalem. 31:51 And He's going to make a revolutionary statement. 31:54 In verse 37 it says, "On the last day, 31:58 that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, 32:01 saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'" 32:09 So who is the Rock? Jesus. 32:12 He said, "I'm the Rock. Come to Me and drink." 32:15 Like people came to the rock to drink. 32:18 Jesus says, "Come to Me and drink." 32:20 And now comes something very important. 32:22 "He who believes in Me..." 32:25 The word, "believes," means to trust in Jesus. 32:27 It means to claim Jesus as Savior. 32:31 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 32:35 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 32:40 Out of whose heart will flow rivers of living water? 32:44 Not out of Jesus, no. 32:46 Out of the person who believes. 32:51 Are you with me or not? 32:53 Jesus says, "Come to Me and drink. 32:56 And if you believe in Me, trust in Me..." 32:58 That's what it means to drink. 32:59 "If you trust in Me, then I will give you the water. 33:02 And the water will be in you. 33:05 And you will become a fountain of water." 33:08 That's what He's saying. 33:11 What was Jesus referring to? 33:13 Notice verse 39. 33:15 "But this He spoke concerning the Spirit..." 33:18 So what does the water represent? 33:20 The Spirit. 33:22 "But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom..." 33:25 Now listen carefully, "...whom those..." What? 33:27 "...believing in Him..." 33:30 That is, trusting in Him. 33:32 Repenting their sins, confessing their sins, 33:35 claiming Jesus as their Savior, and trusting in Him. 33:40 "But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, 33:42 whom those believing in Him would..." What? 33:45 "...would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, 33:48 because Jesus was not yet glorified." 33:50 When was Jesus glorified? 33:55 Actually, beyond the resurrection. 33:59 When He was installed at the right hand of God. 34:01 When He was invested as High Priest in heaven 34:05 when He went before His Father. 34:07 That's when Jesus was glorified. 34:10 Are you following me or not? 34:12 Now, how are we to understand this? 34:16 I'd like to illustrate it with the relationship between 34:18 the sun and the moon. 34:20 You know, you go out on a clear night in Fresno, 34:24 and you look into the sky and see this beautiful full moon. 34:29 You say, "Oh, how beautiful the moon is tonight." 34:33 Well, that's only partially true because the moon is ugly. 34:41 What makes the moon beautiful? 34:43 The sunlight shines on it. 34:45 And then you know what the moon does? 34:47 The sun shines on the moon, and then the moon 34:50 shines to the earth. 34:53 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." 34:57 But He also said, "Ye are the light of the world." 35:00 Now how are we to understand that? 35:02 Jesus is the sun and we are moons. 35:06 And when Jesus shines on us, we shine to others. 35:11 What Jesus is saying is that when we drink the water, 35:14 we become fountains of water. 35:17 Because the water fills us. 35:19 Then we are able to share what God has given to us to others. 35:24 The greatest sign that you know Jesus is that you cannot 35:28 keep Jesus inside. 35:29 You want other people to have the experience that you've had. 35:34 If you don't feel that intense desire to tell people 35:36 about Jesus, perhaps it's because you don't know Jesus. 35:40 Because when you drink the water, you become 35:41 a fountain of water. 35:43 When you receive the light, you project the light 35:47 or you reflect the light to the earth. 35:49 So Jesus is saying that on the day of Pentecost, 35:52 the disciples would what? 35:54 The disciples would drink the water, because they 35:57 believed and trusted in Jesus. 35:59 And when they drank the water, 36:00 they would become fountains of water. 36:02 Let me ask you, what is the first thing that the disciples 36:05 did after they received the Holy Spirit? 36:09 Preached. 36:11 Preach about whom? 36:13 About Jesus. 36:15 You see, they drank the water. 36:16 And because they drank the water, now what? 36:20 Now they shared the water that they had received. 36:26 Now there's a second episode concerning the rock 36:31 in the Old Testament. 36:32 Before that, let me just read 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 36:36 where it clearly says that the water 36:37 represents the Holy Spirit. 36:38 It says, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; 36:42 whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, 36:45 and all have been made to drink into one Spirit." 36:48 So what does the water represent? 36:50 The Holy Spirit. 36:51 And when you receive the Holy Spirit, 36:53 then you are what? 36:56 Then you become a fountain to share what God has given you. 37:00 Now there's a second episode, rock episode. 37:03 It's found in Numbers 20 verses 7 through 11. 37:05 You have it there in your material. 37:07 Let's read that passage. 37:09 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the rod; 37:14 you and your brother Aaron 37:15 gather the congregation together.'" 37:17 But now there's a difference. 37:20 God says what? 37:22 "Speak to the rock..." 37:23 In other words, "Say to the rock, 'Give me your water.'" 37:26 "Speak to the rock before their eyes, 37:28 and it will yield its water." 37:32 So the first time, God says strike the rock. 37:35 And the second time, God says speak to the rock 37:37 and ask the rock for its water. 37:39 Why the difference? 37:41 Well you know what Moses did. 37:44 He was pretty mad. 37:46 And you know what? 37:49 Moses spent 40 years with the children of Israel 37:52 in the wilderness. 37:54 A congregation of a million, not counting women and children. 37:59 Senior pastor. 38:03 And in those 40 years, he never lost it till the very end. 38:07 In fact, Ellen White says in, Patriarch And Prophets, 38:09 that if Moses had not committed that one sin, 38:13 he would have been translated to heaven from among the living. 38:17 He would not have died she says in, Patriarch And Prophets. 38:20 The impression is that during those 40 years, 38:22 of course, he had 40 years of preparation in the wilderness. 38:26 See. 38:27 He had his Pentecost experience. 38:30 And that's why he was so patient. 38:31 But he lost it. 38:33 And instead of speaking to the rock, what did he do? 38:37 He took the rod and he struck the rock twice. 38:41 And as a result, God said, "You will not enter 38:43 the Promised Land." 38:44 That was terrible for Moses. 38:47 Imagine, 40 years longing to reach the destiny that God 38:52 had said they were going to have, and now God says 38:54 you're not going to enter. 38:55 Wow. 38:58 What was so serious about what Moses did? 39:00 It was not simple disobedience. 39:02 Notice, Patriarchs And Prophets, page 418. 39:05 "By his rash act Moses took away the force of the lesson 39:10 that God purposed to teach. 39:13 The rock, being a symbol of Christ, had been once smitten, 39:17 as Christ was to be once offered. 39:20 The second time it was needful only to speak to the rock, 39:25 as we have only to ask for blessings in the name of Jesus. 39:30 By the second smiting of the rock the significance of this 39:34 beautiful figure of Christ was destroyed." 39:38 Moses destroyed the beautiful symbolism 39:40 that God wanted to teach. 39:42 That was the seriousness of his sin. 39:47 By the way, if we want the Holy Spirit today, 39:50 Jesus doesn't have to suffer under the judgment 39:52 of God any more. 39:54 That happened once for all. 39:57 If we want the blessings, all we have to do is ask. 40:00 Notice Luke 11 verse 13. 40:02 Luke 11 and verse 13. 40:04 It says, "If you then..." 40:06 Here Jesus is speaking. 40:07 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 40:11 to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father 40:16 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." 40:21 And yet there's a church in the world, 40:24 the Roman Catholic Church... 40:26 I know that some of you use to be Roman Catholics. 40:31 That church teaches that every time the mass is celebrated, 40:35 Christ is sacrificed again. 40:39 If God excluded Moses from the Promised Land 40:43 for ruining the symbol and giving the impression 40:46 that Christ would have to suffer under the judgment of God 40:49 more than once, how does God feel about a teaching 40:52 of a church that says that Jesus is sacrificed 40:55 over and over and over again in thousands of places 41:01 all over planet earth? 41:04 It's an insult to the Lord. 41:06 Because the book of Hebrews tells us that when Jesus 41:09 died, He died once for all. 41:13 He needs not die any more. 41:14 He does not need to suffer under the judgment of God. 41:17 He already suffered the judgment once and for all 41:20 for sin and for sinners. 41:24 Now, what does Pentecost have to do with this? 41:28 Well let's take a look at the middle of this page 41:30 that you have in your handout. 41:33 What did Jesus accomplish by His ministry on earth? 41:36 That's what we need to know first. 41:39 First of all, Jesus lived His perfect life in the camp, right? 41:43 And He lived it for all of us, because we can't 41:45 offer the law perfection. 41:46 Jesus came and lived the life that the law requires, 41:49 and He lived it in our place. 41:51 What else did He accomplish? 41:53 He offered His life and sacrifice upon the altar. 41:56 He bore our sins, the sins of the whole world, upon Himself 41:59 so that we wouldn't have to die. 42:00 He died so that we don't have to die. 42:02 He lived to offer the law the life 42:05 that we cannot offer the law. 42:08 And then Jesus resurrected from the dead at the laver. 42:11 So He's following the Sanctuary. 42:13 The camp, the altar of sacrifice, the laver. 42:17 Where would we expect Him to go after His resurrection, 42:20 which is represented by the laver? 42:22 The next thing that we would expect would be 42:27 His entering the Holy Place. 42:29 Right? 42:30 We would expect, after His sacrifice, the fire to 42:34 show approval of the sacrifice that He had offered. 42:39 Are you understanding me or not? 42:41 Now the question is, where is that fire manifested 42:45 showing that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? 42:48 Well, we need to study the temple geography. 42:53 You see, in the Hebrew Sanctuary, after the 42:54 altar of sacrifice you have the laver. 42:57 And after the laver, you have the ministration of the 43:00 High Priest in the Holy Place. 43:02 After Jesus died and resurrected on earth, we would expect Him 43:06 to go where? 43:08 To begin His ministry in the Holy Place 43:10 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 43:11 But you know what most Christians say? 43:13 Including some Adventists who have left the faith, 43:16 like Desmond Ford. 43:17 They say, "No, Jesus went directly into 43:20 the Most Holy Place." 43:22 That's senseless. 43:24 What about the Holy Place? 43:26 If Jesus lived His perfect life in the camp, 43:29 if He died at the altar, if He resurrected at the laver, 43:32 we would expect Jesus next to go into the Holy Place. 43:36 And then later to go into the Most Holy Place. 43:40 So it's foolishness to say that He jumped from the court 43:42 into the Most Holy Place. 43:44 Because there is a Holy Place ministry of Jesus Christ. 43:48 Now the question is, where did Jesus enter? 43:52 Well, let's read Revelation chapter 4 and verse 5. 43:54 Revelation chapter 4 and verse 5. 43:59 This is an interesting detail. 44:01 It's describing the heavenly throne room 44:04 before Jesus arrives. 44:05 Jesus arrives in chapter 5. 44:06 Chapter 4, the throne room is being prepared 44:09 for the arrival of Christ. 44:11 It says there, "And from the throne proceeded lightnings, 44:14 thunderings, and voices. 44:16 Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, 44:18 which are the seven Spirits of God." 44:20 Now, where is this event taking place in Revelation 4? 44:24 In the Holy Place. How do we know that? 44:26 Because there's seven lamps of fire. 44:28 And the seven lamps of fire were in the Holy Place, right? 44:32 And by the way, the seven lamps of fire represent what? 44:35 The Holy Spirit. 44:36 Are there seven Holy Spirits? 44:38 No. 44:39 The number seven represents, there present, is the 44:42 fullness of the Holy Spirit. 44:44 The totality of the Holy Spirit is present there 44:47 in the throne room. 44:48 And then in chapter 5 Jesus arrives. 44:52 See, in chapter 4 the throne room is prepared. 44:54 Those who have watched the series on, The 24 Elders, 44:57 I have a whole presentation called, 45:00 The Return of the War Hero. 45:02 Chapter 4; the preparation of the throne room, 45:04 the cherubim and seraphim are there, the representatives 45:06 of the worlds are there, you know, the Holy Spirit 45:10 is present there, the Father is sitting on the throne. 45:12 And everything is in expectancy, because in chapter 5 45:15 Jesus is returning from the earth victorious 45:18 in His battle with the devil. 45:20 And He arrives in chapter 5 and verse 6. 45:23 And how does He arrive? 45:25 How does He present Himself before His Father? 45:27 Notice verse 6. 45:29 "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of 45:33 the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, 45:35 stood a Lamb as though it had been slain..." 45:39 How is Jesus presenting Himself? 45:42 Is He alive when He presents Himself? 45:45 Yes, He died but now He's coming alive. 45:48 And He's presenting Himself as the Lamb 45:51 as though it had been slain before the throne 45:53 where the Father is sitting. 45:55 And it says, and now notice the nuance here, 45:58 "...having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the 46:00 seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." 46:06 In chapter 4, the seven Spirits are there. 46:10 But in chapter 5, the seven Spirits are what? 46:13 Sent to the earth. 46:14 What event is that? 46:16 That event is the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit 46:19 is sent to the earth. 46:21 So in other words, Jesus ascends to the throne room, 46:23 He presents Himself before His Father, 46:26 and then the next step is that the Holy Spirit is poured out. 46:33 The Spirit is sent to the earth. 46:35 And Ellen White describes it beautifully in the 46:38 last three pages of, Desire Of Ages. 46:40 Wow. 46:41 If you can read that without goose bumps, 46:45 I don't know how you can do that. 46:47 Because it is really exciting. 46:49 And it's even going to be more exciting when Jesus 46:52 comes to take all of His people home. 46:54 Whoo, the heavenly throne room is going to be prepared. 46:57 By the way, the Father doesn't come at the second coming. 46:59 He sends forth Jesus. 47:02 Now there's this idea that Jesus is coming with the Father. 47:05 No, no, the Father sits on His throne in heaven. 47:08 And the throne room will be prepared in heaven. 47:11 And then Jesus with His angels will come here, 47:14 and Jesus and His angels will call forth the dead. 47:17 And then we'll take the journey to heaven. 47:19 And then the heavenly throne room will be prepared 47:22 to receive the redeemed from all ages. 47:25 And so Ellen White describes it in a magnificent way. 47:29 She says that Jesus entered through the gates into the city, 47:33 and the angels were singing and they were praising. 47:35 I mean, thunderous praise. 47:38 And then Jesus raises His hands and He says, 47:41 "Shhh, silence." 47:43 She says, suddenly all the angels obey 47:45 and there's absolute silence. 47:48 And then Ellen White describes how Jesus enters the 47:50 presence of His Father. 47:52 He shows His Father the wounds on His hands, 47:55 on His brow, His side, His feet. 47:59 And He says, "Father, I need to know if My sacrifice 48:04 was sufficient to bring all of My people home. 48:07 I need to know." 48:10 And the Father says, "It is enough." 48:15 And then the Father embraces His Son. 48:19 And then the Father says, "Let all the angels 48:23 of God worship Him." 48:25 And then the angelic hosts sing even at a higher note 48:29 hymns of praises to the Lamb that was slain. 48:33 And then the Holy Spirit is poured out, 48:36 and the tongues of fire are seen on earth. 48:38 The tongues on earth of fire were a signal that the 48:42 sacrifice of Jesus had been accepted in heaven. 48:45 Sacrifice and fire. 48:47 The same symbolism. 48:49 God was showing that the striking of the rock 48:52 was accepted, because now the water was coming 48:56 forth from the rock. 48:58 Isn't that magnificent symbolism? 49:01 I mean, how can you understand all of these episodes 49:04 in the Old Testament without reference to Jesus Christ? 49:08 In, Story Of Redemption, page 386, which 49:11 you have in your material, Ellen White explains, 49:14 "The rending of the veil of the temple showed that the 49:16 Jewish sacrifices and ordinances would no longer be received." 49:21 Now listen carefully. 49:23 "The great Sacrifice had been offered and had been accepted, 49:30 and the Holy Spirit which descended on the day of 49:33 Pentecost carried the minds of the disciples from the 49:35 earthly sanctuary to the heavenly..." 49:37 Now listen, "...where Jesus had entered by His own blood, 49:42 to shed upon His disciples..." 49:45 Not the whole world, folks. 49:47 "...to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement." 49:53 Now what are the benefits of Christ's atonement? 49:56 The benefits are His perfect life and His death for sin. 50:00 Those are the benefits of His earthly work. 50:02 And those benefits are available to how many? 50:05 They're available to everyone. 50:08 In other words, when Jesus lived His life and died His death, 50:11 Jesus bought the gift of salvation. 50:15 He paid for the gift of salvation. 50:18 Let me ask you, how much does a gift cost you? 50:22 It costs to the giver. 50:26 But it's free to the receiver. 50:29 Now let me ask you, is it possible to refuse a gift 50:32 that somebody gives you? 50:34 Of course. 50:36 Is it possible to refuse the gift that Jesus bought? 50:40 Oh, you better believe it. 50:42 You see, it's in the Holy Place that we receive the gift 50:45 when we claim Jesus as our Intercessor, 50:49 when we claim Him as our Mediator. 50:52 If we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father; 50:55 Jesus Christ the Righteous. 50:57 And so it's in the service in the Holy Place 51:00 where we benefit from what He did on earth. 51:03 You see, when I come to Jesus repentant, 51:05 sorry for sin, I say, "Lord, I blew it. 51:07 I'm sorry. I repent. 51:09 I confess my sin. 51:10 I'm a miserable sinner. I deserve death. 51:12 But Jesus, I believe that You lived the life 51:15 that I should live, You died the death that I should die. 51:18 I receive You as my Savior and as my Lord." 51:20 Jesus says, "I take My life and My death, 51:23 and I place them to your account. 51:25 And I look upon you as if you had never sinned." 51:29 You benefit from what He did, personally and individually. 51:32 Are you following me? 51:34 For most Christians, you know, everything 51:36 took place at the cross. 51:37 Jesus has an important work to perform in the Holy Place 51:41 of the Sanctuary. 51:44 Now what happened after the day of Pentecost? 51:46 Well the disciples drank the water, and what did they do? 51:52 Whoo, they drank the water, 51:53 and immediately after drinking the water... 51:55 Which means that they received the Holy Spirit. 51:56 Because they had repented and they had confessed their sins 51:59 the ten days before, and so on. 52:01 They prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. 52:03 So now they received the Holy Spirit. 52:05 And what do they do immediately? 52:08 They go out and witness. 52:10 Notice Acts chapter 1. 52:11 This is on the last page of your material. 52:13 Acts chapter 1 verses 7 and 8. Acts chapter 1 verses 7 and 8. 52:19 I want you to notice that the expression, "you shall," 52:21 is used twice here. 52:24 "And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or 52:28 seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 52:31 But you shall receive...'" 52:33 There, "you shall." Notice. 52:35 "...you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit 52:38 has come upon you." 52:40 What did Jesus say? "You shall receive..." What? 52:43 Power. What for? 52:46 You know, today you listen to charismatics 52:48 and they say, "Oh, the reason for the power is for you 52:50 to have a good time in church, to roll in the aisles, 52:53 to laugh in the spirit, and to feel good." 52:56 You know, it's for your own personal benefit. 52:58 So you can speak in tongues that not even God can understand. 53:04 It's all about me, me, me. 53:07 But the purpose of the Holy Spirit, of receiving the power, 53:11 is witness. 53:13 Because it says, "You shall receive power when the 53:15 Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses..." 53:19 "Receive and give," is what Jesus is saying. 53:22 "...you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 53:25 and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the end of the earth." 53:30 One final illustration. 53:32 The Samaritan woman illustrates perfectly 53:34 what we've been talking about. 53:37 Jesus goes to Jacob's well. 53:41 Sitting there, and a woman comes to draw water at noon. 53:44 Which is very unusual because water isn't drawn at noon. 53:48 It's terribly hot in the Holy Land. 53:49 But this woman had a life that she lived, 53:53 which was morally corrupt. 53:55 And so she didn't want anybody to see her. 53:57 So Jesus says, "Give Me water to drink." 54:00 And she says, "How is it that You, a Jew, 54:01 would speak to a Samaritan?" 54:03 See, this woman progresses in her understanding of Jesus. 54:06 First of all, Jesus is a Jew. 54:08 Then when Jesus reveals her life to her, she says, 54:10 "I think you're a prophet." 54:12 By the end of the conversation, she says, 54:13 "I believe You're the Messiah." 54:17 And so this woman, you know, Jesus says 54:20 something very interesting to her in John 4 verses 13 and 14. 54:23 Notice John 4:13-14. 54:25 "Jesus answered and said to her, 54:27 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again...'" 54:30 You drink from this water from Jacob's well, 54:32 you will thirst again. 54:34 "...but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him..." 54:38 It's speaking about Pentecost. 54:40 Listen carefully. 54:41 "...that I shall give him will never thirst. 54:43 But the water that I shall give him will become in him 54:47 a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." 54:51 Are you catching the picture? 54:52 "You come and drink from the fountain, 54:55 and then you become a fountain," 54:57 is what Jesus is saying. 54:59 And this woman lived this experience. 55:03 When she accepted Jesus as Messiah, she goes back to 55:05 Sychar, the city that she lived in. 55:08 She not embarrassed now. 55:10 She goes from house to house, she says, 55:12 "I found the Messiah that we've been waiting for. 55:15 Really!" 55:16 And you know she had an excitement in her voice 55:19 that led people to say, "Wow, we've got to hear." 55:21 "Yeah, I can show you where He's at." 55:24 And so now she comes with the whole city of Sychar. 55:27 She drank the water, and now she's giving the water. 55:30 And then, you know, the disciples come back to Jesus, 55:32 and they say, "Lord, we brought You the food 55:34 that You told us to go get." 55:35 And you know, Jesus said, "My food and My drink 55:38 is to do My Father's will and to finish His work." 55:40 And the disciples, you know, spiritually blind, they say, 55:45 "Well maybe somebody brought Him some food 55:46 while we were gone." 55:50 And then Jesus says, "Haven't you heard that there's 55:53 four months until the harvest?" 55:54 He says, "No, no, there's not four months until the harvest." 55:56 He says, "Look, at the fields. 55:58 They're already white waiting for the harvest." 56:01 And you read, Desire Of Ages, Ellen Whites says that 56:03 Jesus was not pointing at fields of barley or fields of wheat. 56:07 Jesus was pointing at this woman who was coming 56:10 with the entire city of Sychar to hear the words of Jesus. 56:17 She drank the water from the fountain. 56:20 And now she became a fountain of water to others. 56:25 The greatest sign, brothers and sisters, 56:28 that we know Jesus is an intense desire 56:32 to let others know about Jesus. 56:35 If we are not letting other people know about Jesus, 56:37 if we don't feel that desire, if we're simply warming the pew, 56:41 perhaps it's because we haven't known the Lord. 56:43 I finish by reading this statement from Ellen White, 56:45 Ministry of Healing, 102. 56:48 "She proved herself a more effective missionary 56:50 than His own disciples. 56:52 The disciples saw nothing in Samaria to indicate 56:54 that it was an encouraging field. 56:57 Their thoughts were fixed upon a great 56:58 work to be done in the future." 56:59 Like many Adventist, they say, "We're not doing much now, 57:02 but when the latter rain comes..." 57:05 "They did not see that right around them 57:08 was a harvest to be gathered. 57:10 But through the woman whom they despised, a whole city full 57:13 were brought to hear Jesus. 57:15 She carried the light at once to her countrymen. 57:18 This woman represents the working of a 57:21 practical faith in Christ." 57:25 So is this story of the rock a very significant story? 57:29 Is it centered in Jesus Christ? 57:32 It most certainly is. 57:33 If you don't see Christ, you will make no sense out of it. 57:37 It will be meaningless. 57:38 But with Christ, it becomes a living passage to teach us 57:42 important lessons in our spiritual walk with the Lord. |
Revised 2015-02-05