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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023012S
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00:00 (uplifting theme music)
00:13 (music ends) 00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:18 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're glad to have you back again today. 00:21 Well, this is lesson number 12, 00:25 the final lesson this quarter as we've been looking 00:28 at "Managing for the Master Till He Comes." 00:31 We've come quite a distance. 00:33 We've talked about a number of subjects along the way. 00:36 We've looked at success, we've looked at tithe, 00:38 we've looked at offerings, we've looked at 00:39 how to care for the poor, and today we're going to be taking 00:42 a look at the rewards of faithfulness. 00:46 What are the rewards that await those 00:48 who have been faithful stewards of all God has given them? 00:52 That's what we're gonna take a look at today. 00:54 With us again is the author 00:56 of the Sabbath school lesson, Ed Reid. 00:58 He is an ordained minister and also a licensed attorney. 01:04 He's been involved in stewardship for over 30 years, 01:07 and he has been a blessing as we've studied week by week. 01:11 Before we ask him about this week's lesson, though, 01:13 let's begin with prayer. 01:14 Father, we thank You again for being with us, 01:16 as You have for the last quarter, 01:19 and we ask that You'll bless us as we study 01:21 this final lesson in the series, 01:23 so that we can see what success truly looks like 01:26 and the rewards that You have for the faithful. 01:29 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 01:31 Ed, thanks for being with us once again. 01:34 >>Well, we've had a good time together, 01:35 and thank you for inviting me back. 01:37 >>Oh, we're delighted to have you. 01:39 Let's talk about this week's lesson. 01:41 The memory text is from Matthew 25 and verse 21. 01:45 It says this: "His lord said to him, 'Well done, 01:48 "'good and faithful servant; you [are] faithful 01:51 "'over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. 01:55 Enter into the joy of your lord.'" 01:58 When we look at some of the stories, 01:59 as we have looked at them this quarter, 02:02 we think of people like Abraham, 02:03 we think of people like Moses, 02:05 we think about people like Paul who were 02:09 and could have been very successful in the secular world, 02:14 but they gave all that up to follow God. 02:19 What--why would they do that? 02:21 >>Well, they did actually a Ben Franklin list, Eric; 02:24 they decided what are the pros and what are the cons 02:26 for doing what the world offers and what does God offer. 02:29 And the simple answer is they did it 02:31 in hope of the reward because God promised them 02:34 something amazing and not only a blessed life here 02:37 and a more abundant life, but rewards 02:41 out of this world, literally. 02:43 >>So, huge rewards that God has offered 02:45 for those who are faithful to Him, 02:47 and Abraham, Moses, Paul, and many others saw that. 02:51 I wanna read a passage here from the book of Psalms 02:53 and have you comment on it, Ed. 02:55 This is Psalm 19, verses 7-11. 02:58 I'm gonna read through this fairly quickly. 03:00 It says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, 03:02 "converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, 03:06 "making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, 03:10 "rejoicing the heart; 03:11 "the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 03:15 "the fear of the Lord is clean, 03:16 "enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true 03:20 "and righteous altogether. 03:21 "More to be desired are they than gold, 03:25 "yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also 03:28 than honey and the honeycomb." 03:30 And then it finishes with this statement: 03:33 "Moreover by them Your servant is warned, 03:36 and in keeping them there is great reward." 03:40 Those sound like encouraging words. 03:42 >>Yes indeed, and the amazing thing about it 03:44 is it's talked about a great reward. 03:46 To me, it's interesting that this is not legalistic; 03:50 it's just simply that God said if you take up 03:53 your side of the contract, you'll be blessed in this life, 03:56 and you'll have a future life to be blessed with as well. 03:59 It's interesting that in the Bible, 04:01 the word "reward" is used over 100 times. 04:03 And the last mention of it, "rewards," is in Revelation 22, 04:07 the last chapter of the Bible, verse 12, 04:09 where He says, "And, behold, I come quickly; 04:12 "and my reward is with me, to give every man 04:13 according as his work shall be." 04:16 In other words, there are some people who say, 04:18 "I don't care if I have a mansion in heaven or not. 04:20 "If I just live content, it's gonna be fine with me. 04:22 I just want to get there." But that's not the reward. 04:25 The Lord Himself promised us mansions, 04:28 and that's the interesting part. 04:29 So, no one's gonna just get there. 04:32 The bottom line is we get there as a result 04:35 of our faithfulness, and God's gonna reward us accordingly. 04:38 >>So Jesus has promised to bring a reward. 04:40 Certainly, mansions are involved in that, 04:43 living in the presence of God, 04:44 being able to thank Jesus personally, 04:47 eternal life, so many different rewards. 04:50 Sunday's lesson talks about rewards, again, 04:53 the reward for faithfulness. 04:55 How are rewards associated with faithfulness? 05:00 >>Well, this is interesting because Paul says 05:01 in 1 Corinthians, the fourth chapter, 05:03 it's "required in stewards that one be found faithful." 05:06 So we want to talk about what faithfulness means. 05:08 We all know that the faith chapter is Hebrews, chapter 11 05:12 and verse 6 states: "But without faith 05:15 it is impossible to please Him." 05:16 So that's the first constituent element to please God. 05:19 "For he that cometh to God must believe 05:20 "that He is, and that He is a rewarder 05:23 of them that diligently seek Him." 05:25 So if we diligently seek Him, He's gonna be a rewarder also. 05:28 So it's interesting. Moses is a good example of this. 05:31 We're gonna talk about two or three others 05:32 that are in there, these have to be Old Testament characters 05:34 'cause it was written in the New Testament, 05:36 so they didn't include themselves in it. 05:38 But I can just tell you something interesting, 05:40 that Moses is a good example. 05:41 Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 24-26 says, 05:44 "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, 05:47 "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 05:50 "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people 05:52 of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season"-- 05:55 so he knew that the things on this earth 05:56 were only temporary-- 05:58 "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches 06:00 "than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect 06:03 unto the recompense of the reward." 06:05 So he had his eyes on the reward. 06:07 So I'm gonna give you a little illustration now. 06:09 We're doing this for the first quarter of 2023, 06:14 but 2022, where we are while recording, 06:17 is interesting because 100 years ago, one of 06:20 the greatest archeological finds of all time was discovered 06:23 by an English archaeologist named Howard Carter. 06:26 He discovered King Tut's tomb, and this is incredible 06:30 because more than 4,000 solid gold artifacts came 06:33 out of that tomb, including a solid gold sarcophagus, 06:38 solid gold mask. Many of you have seen pictures of it. 06:39 You can go on the internet easily--King Tut's tomb, 06:41 and it shows you right there what it was. 06:43 We understand that because he was raised 06:45 by Pharaoh's daughter that Moses was in line for royalty, 06:51 but he chose rather to suffer with God's people there 06:53 because he knew about the rewards. 06:55 So what could Moses have had if he had stayed in Egypt? 06:59 Well, maybe royalty, a pleasant life 07:02 without much expenses and so on. 07:04 And the interesting thing is 07:06 that he would've been honored in his burial. 07:08 He, for example, could have been buried 07:09 in a pyramid in a tomb with solid gold and all of that. 07:13 But right now, he would be a mummy in the Cairo Museum, 07:16 and that would be the end of Moses. 07:19 But the interesting part is he actually went 07:22 with God's people and put up with 07:24 all their murmuring and complaining 07:26 and stiff-necked actions and so on. 07:28 But God rewarded him by resurrecting him 07:32 from the dead and taking him to heaven. 07:33 We know He did that because it's mentioned 07:35 that in the book of Jude in the New Testament. 07:37 But beyond that, he was there 07:38 at the Transfiguration with Elijah. 07:40 Incredible as it may seem, eternity is in his hands now. 07:44 God honored him with that, so he--it was a good decision, 07:48 in my opinion; he was much rewarded for that decision. 07:52 >>You take a look at what he could have had, 07:54 and most people would be pretty satisfied 07:57 to have the riches and the wealth of Egypt. 08:00 But Moses said, "No, that's a pittance compared 08:03 to what is actually waiting for me." 08:06 And he set his sights much higher than anything 08:10 that even Egypt had in store for him. 08:14 I'd like to read some passages here 08:15 from a book called "The Great Controversy." 08:17 These are found on pages 674 and 675. 08:21 It says, "A fear of making the future inheritance seem 08:23 "too material has led many to spiritualize away 08:26 "the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. 08:31 "Christ assured His disciples that He went 08:33 "to prepare mansions for them in the Father's house. 08:36 "Those who accept the teachings of God's word 08:38 "will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. 08:41 "And yet, 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 08:44 "'neither have entered into the heart of man, 08:45 "the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.' 08:49 "Human language is inadequate to describe 08:51 "the reward of the righteous. 08:53 "It will be known only to those who behold it. 08:56 "No finite mind can comprehend the glory 08:59 "of the Paradise of God. In the Bible, the inheritance 09:02 of the saved is called 'a country'"-- 09:04 in Hebrews 11:14-16. "There the heavenly Shepherd 09:07 "leads His flock to fountains of living waters. 09:10 "The tree of life yields its fruit every month, 09:12 "and the leaves of the tree are 09:13 "for the service of the nations. 09:15 "There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, 09:18 "and beside them waving trees cast 09:20 "their shadows upon the paths prepared 09:22 "for the ransomed of the Lord. 09:23 "There the wide-spreading plains swell 09:26 "into hills of beauty, and the mountains 09:28 "of God rear their lofty summits. 09:30 "[Of] those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, 09:33 "God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, 09:36 shall find a home." 09:38 In Hebrews 11, the famous faith chapter, Paul states, 09:42 "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, 09:45 "for he who comes to God must believe that He is, 09:48 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 09:51 After discussing the faith of Abel, Enoch, 09:54 Noah, and Abraham and Sarah, Paul notes, 09:57 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, 10:02 "but having seen them afar off were assured of them, 10:06 "embraced them and confessed that they were strangers 10:10 and pilgrims on the earth." 10:12 So they didn't get to see the realization, 10:15 but in faith they looked forward 10:16 to the reward that God had for them. 10:18 >>Their whole earthly life, Eric, was faithfulness, 10:21 even though they didn't receive the reward, 10:23 but they will get the reward, and we're gonna see 10:24 what that is in their life in just a few minutes. 10:27 It's interesting that in Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount, 10:30 He begins it with the Beatitudes, 10:32 and one of the Beatitudes stated, 10:34 "Blessed are you when they [shall] revile 10:35 "and persecute you and say all kinds of evil 10:37 "against you falsely for my sake. 10:39 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great 10:41 "is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted 10:45 the prophets which were before you." 10:48 There's a reward for the righteous, 10:49 and we can ask, what are they? 10:51 Well, John 3:16 gives one of them, 10:53 there's only two choices in life, 10:55 and that is seeking eternal life or planning on perishing. 10:59 John 3:16 says if we believe in the Lord Jesus, 11:02 we're gonna have eternal life saved up for us. 11:05 Romans 6:23 says something similar: 11:07 "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God 11:09 is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 11:11 So having the hope of eternal life is an awesome thing 11:15 that we can live with all through our earthly life as well. 11:18 >>So for the righteous, it looks, 11:20 the reward looks like eternal life. 11:22 For the wicked, well, unfortunately, 11:24 it's not something that desirable, 11:27 but ultimately, God does give us the option. 11:29 He gives us the privilege to be able to choose 11:33 whether we want eternal life or, ultimately, destruction. 11:37 You know, the most famous verse in the Bible, 11:39 John 3:16, says that we will either have eternal life 11:42 or we will perish, and perish certainly 11:46 doesn't sound like much of a, well, much of 11:48 a reward that we would want in comparison with eternal life. 11:53 But God in His mercy and His love makes 11:54 those two options available to each one of us. 11:57 We've been looking this quarter at what success looks like, 12:01 at financial success, at preparing for the future, 12:05 at providing for the means to spread 12:09 the gospel around the world. 12:10 And God gives us, entrusts to us the means that we have, 12:15 the finances that we have so that we can learn, 12:18 we can grow, we can build our characters, 12:21 we can be successful in many different ways in this life, 12:24 and we can be a blessing to others 12:26 so that they can get to know Jesus as well. 12:29 I trust that you have enjoyed this quarter's lessons. 12:32 We're not done with this lesson yet, 12:33 but I wanna give you one final opportunity, 12:36 if for some reason you have put off doing something 12:39 that you know you should have done a long time ago. 12:42 Here's one more opportunity to pick up 12:44 the companion book to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 12:47 It is entitled "Managing for the Master" 12:49 by, of course, G. Edward Reid. 12:51 And you can find that at itiswritten.shop. 12:54 Once again, that's itiswritten.shop. 12:57 You want to pick this up, don't let this slip by 12:59 without picking it up, and you will be blessed. 13:02 We're going to be back in just a moment 13:03 as we continue taking a look at the rewards of faithfulness. 13:08 We will be right back. 13:10 (uplifting theme music swells and ends) 13:15 >>[John Bradshaw] It's called "the faith chapter." 13:17 Many of the luminaries of Bible history are mentioned 13:20 in Hebrews, chapter 11 for the great faith 13:24 in God that they demonstrated. 13:26 Join me for "Great Chapters of the Bible: 13:29 Hebrews [Chapter] 11" and learn how you can have 13:32 great faith, saving faith in a great God. 13:37 You'll discover that many of the great men 13:39 and women of faith were flawed people, 13:42 faulty people who, on occasion, made terrible mistakes. 13:46 And you'll be encouraged to know that God can use flawed 13:49 and faulty people to do His work in a great way. 13:54 Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Gideon, 13:58 and so many more--it's the roll call of the faithful. 14:02 Don't miss 14:03 "Great Chapters of the Bible: 14:05 Hebrews [Chapter] 11" 14:07 on It Is Written TV. 14:12 You know that at It Is Written, 14:13 we are serious about the study of the Word of God, 14:17 and we encourage you to be serious about God's Word also. 14:21 Well, I wanna share with you another way 14:23 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God. 14:26 And here it is: itiswritten.study. 14:32 Go online to itiswritten.study and you can access 14:35 the It Is Written Bible Study Guides, 14:38 25 in-depth Bible studies that will walk you 14:42 through the Bible. It's gonna be good for you, 14:45 and it's the sort of thing that you will want 14:47 to tell somebody else about so that they can dig deeper 14:51 into the Word of God and come to know 14:53 the things of the Bible intimately. 14:56 As you get into the It Is Written online 14:58 Bible study guides, you'll understand 15:00 the prophecies of the Bible, 15:01 the plan of salvation, and more. 15:03 So don't forget: 15:05 itiswritten.study, 15:07 itiswritten.study. 15:09 (uplifting theme music) 15:14 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:17 We're taking a look at the rewards of faithfulness, 15:20 and one of the rewards that Jesus gives us, promises us, 15:25 those who are faithful to Him in this life, 15:28 is described in John 14, verses 1-3. 15:31 I'd like to share that with you. 15:33 Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled: 15:35 "ye believe in God, believe also in me. 15:38 "In my Father's house are many mansions: 15:41 "if it were not so, I would have told you. 15:43 "I go to prepare a place for you. 15:46 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, 15:48 "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; 15:52 that where I am, there ye may be also." 15:55 So, Ed, Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, 15:58 and it looks like a pretty decent place. What do you think? 16:01 >>Plus He's coming back, and it was His idea 16:03 that He talked to us about mansions. 16:05 That's not some pie-in-the-sky idea that we've come up with. 16:08 You know, skeptics say that "religion 16:09 is the opiate of the people," that they think 16:11 there's a pie-in-the-sky by-and-by, and so on. 16:14 These are words of Jesus I wanted to include 16:15 in here because He says, "I'm coming back for you. 16:18 There's a mansion for you in the kingdom." This is His idea. 16:21 >>So this idea of a mansion for us, 16:23 that He's preparing for us in the kingdom, 16:25 that leads us to Tuesday's lesson, "The New Jerusalem." 16:28 New Jerusalem is a picture of a city 16:31 that is far beyond any of our wildest imaginations. 16:35 I've been to some pretty incredible homes 16:38 around the world, castles and so forth. 16:41 You think of Versailles; you think of Neuschwanstein 16:44 and other places like that--I have a feeling 16:47 that this is going to leave them all behind. 16:50 What was it that motivated Abraham and Sarah 16:53 to leave an established home, a place that they had 16:57 and live the rest of their lives, essentially, in a tent? 17:02 You know, Jesus promises something fantastic. 17:04 They didn't see that, really, in their lives. 17:07 >>The interesting thing about that is 17:09 there is some motivation for it. 17:11 And, believe it or not, I'm gonna give Sarah credit too 17:13 because she was willing to go along with it, 17:14 and her name is mentioned in the faith chapter as well. 17:16 So this is amazing; this couple were willing 17:19 to leave their established home, 17:21 their friends, and their roots, and so on 17:23 and travel to a foreign country and to, essentially, 17:26 live in a tent the rest of their life. 17:28 There were some amazing things that happened 17:30 as a result of that, Abraham's encounters 17:33 with God and so on, but what made him faithful was recorded 17:37 in Hebrews 11, verse 10, why he was willing to do that: 17:40 "For he looked for a city which [has] foundations, 17:42 whose builder and maker is God." 17:44 The only city mentioned in the Bible 17:46 that talks about its foundations is the New Jerusalem 17:48 that's described in Revelation 21. 17:52 So I'm gonna tell you something interesting; 17:54 eternal life that we talked about in John 3:16 17:56 and John 14:1-3 is not more of the same 17:59 we've had on this earth; it is eternal life based on 18:02 the fourth verse of Revelation 21, 18:04 with no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, 18:08 no more suffering, no more death. 18:10 Would you like to live in a place like that? 18:12 This is incredible, and then the city is described. 18:16 It's incredible; the beautiful city, it's amazing. 18:19 It talks about 12 foundations all covered 18:21 with precious stones of different kinds and so on, 18:24 walls of jasper. I mean, if you can only imagine this: 18:28 12 gates, and each gate was one pearl-- 18:31 huge, I mean big enough for a semi 18:34 to drive through, a big pearl. This isn't crazy. 18:36 Not that we're bringing semis with us, you understand, 18:38 but something big for huge crowds of people. 18:40 Also, the city itself is pure gold, 18:43 and the streets are paved with gold. 18:45 If you can imagine the light is the light of Jesus 18:48 and the Father, and it shines through the whole city. 18:51 It's just incredible. 18:53 The tree of life is there--do I need to say more? 18:57 The tree of life is there, the water of life, 18:59 the pure crystal water. 19:01 Today, we know mostly about polluted waters here, 19:05 and we have to strain our water. 19:06 And we know there's even some cities 19:07 that have awful water here in America today. 19:10 But the interesting thing is God's throne 19:12 is there, and He's the light. 19:15 To me, this is incredible, that's what motivated him 19:17 to go forward and them to live there, 19:19 even though they didn't receive it, 19:21 even though they were told that their seed 19:23 will be like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. 19:26 Of course that's true today, but it wasn't for him then. 19:29 But he was by faith; he was always faithful. 19:31 He's called "the father of the faithful" 19:32 because he had his eyes on the prize. 19:35 He had his eyes on the reward that God offered him. 19:37 >>Ed, we look at those rewards, 19:39 and if we are thinking people, 19:42 we want those; we want to inherit those; 19:44 we want to move into that city, to make our abode there, 19:48 and to be surrounded by these incredible things. 19:50 They sound a whole lot better than what we have here 19:53 on this earth regardless of where we might live. 19:56 On Wednesday's lesson, it talks about 19:58 the settling of accounts; we wanna make it 20:01 to the reward that God has for us. 20:03 But there's some accounts that need to be settled first. 20:06 And Jesus tells us a story, a parable 20:09 of the talents in Matthew 25, verses 14 through 19, 20:12 about somebody who's traveling into a far country. 20:17 What is the purpose of this parable? What does it all mean? 20:19 What can we learn from it? 20:21 And what does it really mean to settle accounts? 20:23 >>This is a good question because Jesus' disciples came 20:26 to Him privately in Matthew 24, verse 3 and said, 20:29 "Tell us, when will these things be? 20:30 And what will be the sign of Your coming?" 20:32 So Jesus gave a private discourse to His faithful disciples, 20:36 whom He loved dearly and was going to leave soon. 20:38 And an incredible thing, He says, 20:40 here's what you're gonna expect to see in the world-- 20:41 and this is Matthew 24--you're gonna see wars 20:43 and rumors of wars, pestilence, 20:45 famines, all kinds of things like that. 20:47 And the gospel's going to all the world, 20:49 and then Jesus will come. 20:50 But then, Matthew 25 where He tells the stories 20:53 of the 10 virgins, and the talents, 20:55 and the sheep and the goats, that's talking 20:57 about what's it like in the church just before He comes. 21:01 Because--remember the 10 virgins? 21:02 There were five foolish and five wise. 21:07 All of them professed the truth. 21:09 All of them were waiting for the bridegroom. 21:10 But the foolish ones didn't have 21:12 the Holy Spirit to transform their lives. 21:14 So they're all part of His servants. 21:17 And since you asked the question about the talents, 21:19 this is incredible, because this master 21:22 who's going to a far country called 21:23 his own servants and gave it to 'em. 21:25 He's not talked about the money that the wicked people have. 21:28 It's the money that God's people have had. 21:30 And this is incredible when you think about it 21:32 because he gave one a five, and one two, and one one. 21:36 And the ones that had the most doubled 21:39 their amounts and were blessed 21:40 and were given responsibilities in heaven and so on. 21:43 But believe it or not, the guy with the one talent was 21:46 the one unfaithful one. 21:47 So everybody's got at least one talent. 21:50 Let me just tell you something interesting. 21:52 If you work your whole life in your earning years 21:55 and you just make minimum wage, 21:56 you're gonna make more than a million dollars. 21:59 Should you give an account of that? 22:00 Of course. The amazing thing is 22:03 he was unfaithful, so he was cast out. 22:05 That's pretty sad when you think about it. 22:08 But I want to tell you that God's told us 22:11 that the parable of the talents, 22:13 and it's recorded in volume--"Testimonies to the Church," 22:17 volume 1, page 97: "I was shown...the parable 22:20 "of the talents [is] not...fully understood. 22:21 "This important lesson was given to the disciples"-- 22:24 remember this private meeting with Jesus-- 22:26 "for the benefit of Christians living in the last days. 22:29 "And these talents do not represent merely 22:31 "the ability to preach and to instruct [in] the word of God. 22:34 "The parable applies to the temporal means 22:36 which God has entrusted to His people." 22:38 So when he comes back to settle accounts, 22:41 it's kind of like, "Well, tell me what you've done 22:45 with what I've entrusted to you." 22:47 So it's kind of a judgment day, if you please. 22:49 >>So God is going to hold us accountable 22:51 for the things that He has given to us, 22:53 including temporal means, as you just mentioned. 22:56 >>Yes. >>Worth considering 22:59 when we decide where we want to spend that money. 23:02 Thursday's lesson, "Eyes on the Prize," 23:05 Thursday talks about Paul, 23:07 and Paul went through the wringer. 23:10 He went through beating, stoning, prison, 23:12 shipwreck, hunger, cold, he went through the gamut, 23:17 and yet he was able to endure it all. 23:19 What was it that helped Paul get through 23:22 everything he went through? 23:24 >>This is really interesting because many times 23:26 he talked about the reward, and, to me, it's incredible 23:29 that he was willing to endure all he did. 23:32 Sometimes I think that I've been so blessed 23:34 that I haven't ever been stoned and left for dead. 23:36 I have never been beaten with rods. 23:38 I've never been thrown in prison. 23:39 And I've tried to be faithful and honor God 23:42 in all of my life and in my works 23:44 and my writings and my speaking and so on. 23:46 But the bottom line is, would I be faithful, 23:49 even if that wasn't the case, 23:51 if I did have a life of difficulty? 23:53 That's the kind of thing that we're talking about. 23:55 But in Romans he says, "The Spirit...beareth witness 23:57 [to] our spirit that we're the children of God." 23:59 He recognized that. "And if children, then heirs of God; 24:02 "...joint-heirs with Christ; 24:03 "...so be [if] we suffer with Him, 24:05 ...we [shall all] be...glorified together." 24:07 Then he says this one in verse 18: 24:09 "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time 24:11 "are not worthy to be compared with the glory 24:13 which [God has] revealed [to] us." 24:15 This is incredible. And we're gonna look 24:18 at a couple verses here beyond that as well. 24:21 >>So Paul had his eyes set on the prize, 24:24 the ultimate goal that he was striving toward by the grace 24:28 of God, and he didn't let that out of his sight. 24:32 You mentioned some of the things he's gone through. 24:34 Share a little bit more about Paul 24:35 in the time that we have left. 24:37 >>Well, it's interesting to see 24:38 that he wrote in Philippians; by the way, 24:42 that's one of the prison epistles, so it's incredible. 24:44 He's in prison, knows he's gonna die. 24:47 And he wrote this to people: 24:49 "I don't count myself to have apprehended; 24:51 "but one thing I do, [I forget] those things 24:53 "which are behind and [I reach] forward 24:54 "to those things which are ahead, 24:56 "[and] I press toward the goal [of] the prize 24:58 of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 25:00 So it's very interesting that early on in his ministry-- 25:04 I like the fact that Paul said 25:07 when Jesus returns, "The dead in Christ will rise first, 25:09 "and then we [that] are alive and remain"-- 25:10 like he thought he was gonna be part of that group-- 25:12 "will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air." 25:14 Well, finally, near the end of his ministry, 25:16 he realized that wasn't gonna be the case. 25:18 So he wrote to Timothy these words in 2 Timothy, 25:21 fourth chapter. Would you kindly read those to us? 25:24 >>In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verses 6-8, 25:26 this passage is often referred to as Paul's valedictory, 25:29 and we're gonna tie this quarter's lessons 25:31 together with these words. 25:33 Paul writes, "For I am now ready to be offered, 25:36 "and the time of my departure is at hand. 25:39 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 25:43 "I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up 25:46 "for me a crown of righteousness, 25:48 "which the Lord, the righteous judge, 25:50 "shall give me at that day: and not to me only, 25:54 but unto all them also that love His appearing." 26:00 Ed, we've been through 12 weeks 26:01 of "Managing for the Master." 26:03 We're down to the last couple of minutes. 26:06 Tie things together for us. 26:08 What are the nuggets that you hope 26:10 that we've been able to gain from these 12 weeks, 26:13 this journey that we have spent together? 26:16 >>Thank you, I can actually do that in one verse. 26:19 And that verse is Matthew 13:44, in the words of Jesus: 26:23 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden 26:26 "in a field, which a man found and hid; 26:30 "and for joy over it... 26:31 sells all that he has [to buy the] field." 26:35 My question to all of us: Have we found the treasure? 26:37 Have we found something worth giving up 26:39 to get to the kingdom? 26:41 "Things of this earth will go strangely dim in the light 26:43 of His glory and grace," as we learned in the song. 26:45 So what I would say to people is put God first. 26:49 Recognize that He is the treasure. 26:50 He's the one that has the opportunity 26:52 to provide the treasure for us. 26:54 And if we're faithful to Him, when He comes back, 26:56 He will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. 26:58 Enter into the joy of your Lord." 26:59 >>Ed, we wanna thank you for spending 27:01 these 12 weeks with us, guiding us 27:04 through this incredible subject. 27:06 It has been a wonderful journey, and I have no doubt 27:08 that many people's lives are going to be changed, 27:10 not just in this earth but for eternity 27:13 as a result of what we've been studied. 27:15 And I'd like to thank you for joining us 27:17 for the last 12 weeks, and if, for some reason, 27:19 you haven't been able to join us for these 12 weeks, 27:22 you can go back and watch the archived versions, 27:25 or episodes, of this quarter's lesson 27:27 so that you can receive the blessing of it as well. 27:30 Once again, if you haven't already picked it up, 27:32 make sure that you pick up "Managing for the Master." 27:34 This is a phenomenal read, and you will enjoy it immensely. 27:38 We're excited to have had you on this journey. 27:40 We trust that there are some things 27:42 that you can now put into practice in your life 27:45 that will bless you in this world 27:46 and bless you in the world to come. 27:49 Next week we're going to be back with a brand new quarter, 27:52 a brand new subject, and you won't want to miss an episode. 27:56 Thank you once again for joining us here 27:59 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 28:03 (uplifting theme music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-03-17