Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024004S
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00:10 ♪♪♪ 00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We are taking a look at the book of Psalms, 00:21 and this is lesson number 4. 00:24 We're on a journey to 13 lessons, 00:27 and this is an exciting one. You're in for a real treat. 00:30 We are looking at "The Lord Hears and Delivers." 00:33 If you've ever felt like maybe you had been forgotten 00:36 or it seems like the Lord has forgotten someone 00:38 or something, you're gonna enjoy this week's lesson. 00:41 Let's begin with prayer. 00:42 Father, we wanna thank You for being with us once again, 00:45 as You have so far. 00:46 We ask that You'll bless our time together and help us 00:49 to see how You are, indeed, a delivering God, 00:52 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:56 Well, our guest once again this week is Dr. Dragoslava Santrac. 01:00 She is passionate about the book of Psalms, 01:02 has written much about it, and has much to share. 01:05 Slava, thanks for joining us once again. 01:06 >>Dragoslava Santrac: I'm happy to be here. 01:08 >>Eric: So, let me start this week a little bit differently. 01:11 I love the memory text for this week. 01:13 It is found in Psalm 34, verse 17, 01:16 that says, "The righteous cry out, 01:18 and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." 01:24 Those are encouraging words. 01:25 I mean, the Psalms is filled with encouraging words, 01:27 but those are particularly encouraging. 01:29 Why did you feel impressed for that verse to kind of 01:33 lay the foundation for where we're going this week? 01:35 >>Dragoslava: Yes, so, Eric, you see, 01:38 last week's lesson, that's number 3, 01:41 was about the Lord who reigns. 01:44 We spoke about God as the King, Creator, 01:49 the one who is the Judge, the Law-giver, 01:52 and all these beautiful titles tell us many good things 01:57 about God and give us reassurance. 02:00 But we in theology say that these are more like 02:03 transcendent characteristics of God, 02:06 and people may relate to God 02:09 in that way, thinking, "Oh, He's the King, 02:12 "Judge, something far, Creator, majestic, 02:15 "Someone who is worthy of our worship, 02:18 who is awesome," but perhaps could feel a little bit distance 02:23 because of His majesty. 02:26 However, although God is majestic, 02:29 He is by no means distant from His creation. 02:34 And hence the almost logical continuation in our study that 02:40 we come to "The Lord Hears and Delivers." 02:44 God reveals Himself as someone who is close and someone 02:50 who is near and who wants to have a relationship with us. 02:54 He speaks to us and wants to hear from us. 02:58 >>Eric: So He's our Creator, our King, 03:00 our Judge, our Savior, our Law-giver that we all 03:03 talked about last week. But He's also near to us. 03:07 How do we make that connection or how do we understand 03:09 that connection, that Someone who is so high and lofty 03:13 and powerful and above all, how does He connect with us? 03:18 I mean, we feel at times rather small compared 03:21 to a God like that. 03:23 How does He bridge that gap? What's that look like? 03:25 >>Dragoslava: Yes, well, I would simply say that's how God is. 03:29 That's who God is. He's a loving and caring God. 03:34 Very often, we connect authority with distance 03:38 and with maybe even a harshness, but God is different. 03:44 He's majestic, but at the same time, He's close. 03:48 And there is a paradox in the Psalms 03:50 and in the rest of the Bible: we read that God is far 03:54 and near at the same time. 03:56 He dwells in His holy temple in heavens, but He's 04:02 also present in His earthly sanctuary. 04:05 So what seems to us maybe today, in these modern times, 04:09 as a contradiction, to biblical believers 04:13 in those times made perfect sense 04:16 because God is God, 04:18 especially because we cannot put Him in our boxes and theories 04:24 of logics and rationality. 04:26 But what is given to us to understand is very plain 04:30 and clear, that God is majestic, 04:33 but He is also near, and He is love. He cares. 04:37 He did not just create us and leave the world to run 04:40 by its laws, but He, as the good heavenly Father, 04:44 wants to have a relationship, communion with us. 04:48 >>Eric: So how do we experience that communion? 04:50 We're trying to identify with--I don't know if that's 04:54 the right term--but identify with a God who is majesty. 04:58 How do we experience that nearness that He wants 05:01 to experience with us? 05:03 How do the Psalms help us to make that connection 05:06 that we really do need in order to make it through this life? 05:10 >>Dragoslava: Yes, I believe that it is when we read 05:13 the Psalms, we pray the Psalms, 05:16 sing the Psalms, 05:18 that it is the Holy Spirit, God Himself, 05:22 who joins us in that activity, who comes close to us 05:27 and touches our heart and also opens our eyes to see. 05:32 If you ask me how that happens, 05:36 I don't have a mathematical formula. 05:38 It is like if you were to ask me 05:42 how I fell in love with my husband, 05:44 I could tell about the good things that he has done 05:47 and achieved and his good looks, but that wouldn't be enough. 05:52 There is something much deeper when we speak about 05:55 relationships, and I think that that moment is achieved 06:00 through the Holy Spirit. 06:02 So then when we read in Psalm 139 the psalmist 06:07 now gets this realization that God is everywhere. 06:13 God is deep inside and deep above him. 06:18 God knows him even before he was born. 06:22 He says, "My frame was not hidden from You." 06:25 He says, "When I go to sleep, You know where I am. 06:28 "When I'm up, You know. 06:30 "Even if I go and hide myself in the depths of the sea, 06:33 even there You will find me." 06:36 And he does not say all these things with despair. 06:38 Quite contrary, he finds peace and reassurance in the knowledge 06:45 that God is so close to him that nothing escapes God's attention 06:53 when it comes to His beloved child. 06:55 >>Eric: So He is a God who cares. 06:58 He's a God who desires to commune with us, 07:00 to connect with us, to encourage us, 07:03 to help us in many different areas and experiences 07:10 in our lives. And that's really, 07:12 as you said, we tend to get this idea 07:14 that power is lofty and distant. 07:17 But God says, "No, I'm all-powerful, but I'm also 07:21 right there and very interested in you." 07:24 Let me ask you a question, something else that you 07:28 talked about in this week's lesson, 07:29 and that's the sanctuary. 07:31 How does the sanctuary kind of help us to understand 07:36 the experience that God wants to have with us, 07:41 that nearness? 07:42 A sanctuary is just--it's full of symbols and stories. 07:48 What do we see in the sanctuary about 07:51 God's desire to be close to us? 07:52 >>Dragoslava: Yes, sanctuary is a wonderful 07:55 and very deep subject, not just in the Psalms. 07:58 It's at the heart of the entire Bible. 08:00 The sanctuary is the place where God dwells. 08:04 You mentioned the various pieces of furniture and symbols 08:07 that teach us the story of God's gospel of salvation 08:13 from the entrance being one entrance, one way 08:16 that leads to life, Jesus, to the altar with the sacrifice. 08:21 Again, Jesus is the Lamb of God 08:24 who died for the forgiveness of our sins. 08:27 And now when we are forgiven, there is a laver with water 08:32 to wash us away and to clean our conscience. 08:35 We enter into this holy place, 08:39 where we have this close communion with God. 08:41 And when we enter there, we receive the gifts of God: 08:45 His light that we need in this dark world, 08:49 the bread to nourish us. 08:51 Jesus said, "I am the light," "I am the bread." 08:54 And then in the most holy place is the seat of God's rule, 08:59 His throne with His law. 09:02 So there is this whole story of salvation. 09:05 But for the psalmist, the sanctuary, 09:08 apart from teaching these wonderful lessons of salvation, 09:12 is also a place of refuge. 09:14 We read in the Old Testament that people who unintentionally 09:19 committed certain crimes could go and find refuge 09:23 in the sanctuary, and they would be protected. 09:26 The sanctuary, the Psalms tell us, 09:29 is the place where the Father of the fatherless takes care, 09:34 the One who takes care of the widows, 09:36 of the hungry, of the poor. 09:38 And for the psalmist, that's the place where he wants 09:41 to abide forever and ever. 09:44 >>Eric: So, the sanctuary gives us a picture of God's desire 09:49 to be, well, "Let them build me a sanctuary--" 09:52 >>Dragoslava: "So that I can dwell among them." 09:55 >>Eric: That's it. And so He wants us 09:57 to feel His nearness and sense it. 10:00 And you mentioned the different elements of the sanctuary 10:03 and, you know, the. one that I love is the altar of incense, 10:07 you know, the prayers ascending before the Father. 10:11 It's all about that communion, about that connection 10:15 that God wants to have with His children. 10:17 And the book of Psalms goes through so many pictures of God 10:21 and His care for us, that He didn't just start the earth 10:25 spinning and then, as you mentioned, 10:26 go off and deal with weightier matters. 10:29 He's still--He longs to hear our prayers. 10:32 He longs to commune with us. 10:33 He wants to draw close to us and for us to draw close to Him. 10:39 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes, and if I may quickly add: 10:44 though for the psalmist, God is everywhere, and he feels 10:48 His presence and love wherever he is in the world, 10:52 he acknowledges that he experiences God's presence 10:57 in a very special way when he is in the sanctuary, and that's 11:01 a great encouragement and a call for us, especially 11:05 for us who are a little bit introverted, 11:08 not to abandon the community of faith, 11:11 not to abandon going to church and meeting in God's sanctuary. 11:16 Yes, that is a building, but "where two or three 11:19 are gathered in my name," Jesus said, "here I am in the midst 11:23 of them," in a very special way and blessing. 11:27 >>Eric: So, church attendance, church participation--I use 11:31 the word "attendance"; that means you're there. 11:33 That's good, but really, participating in the life 11:37 of the church draws 2 or 3 or 4 or 200 or 300 or 400 people 11:43 together, and there's a dynamic there, in which the Holy Spirit 11:49 can really work, and we can be an encouragement to others, 11:51 and they can be an encouragement to us. 11:54 So, "Fo not forsake the assembling of yourselves 11:56 together, as the manner of some is." 11:59 And we see Christ's return coming very, 12:02 very soon, and it's a very real call for us to be 12:07 a people of faith and a family of faith. 12:09 And that family of faith ought to spend time together. 12:13 And the sanctuary is, again, as you said, 12:15 a beautiful picture of that, of God's people coming together. 12:19 They would come to the sanctuary each day, and they would connect 12:23 with the priests there, and the priests interacted 12:25 with people and made that connection 12:28 between the Savior and them. 12:31 If there was somebody who was feeling disconnected, 12:35 not sure, they know God exists, but He seems kind of distant, 12:40 what kind of words would you share with them to help them 12:43 be encouraged that He cares? >>Dragoslava: Be encouraged. 12:46 Yes, well, I would like to say again, every, every text 12:50 in the psalm is there that can encourage, but perhaps, 12:55 as we mentioned Psalm 139, why not read something 12:59 from this psalm? 13:01 And maybe I will read verses 7 and on, just a few: 13:06 "Where can I go from Your Spirit? 13:10 "Or where can I flee from Your presence?... 13:14 "If I take the wings of the morning, 13:17 "and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 13:21 "even there Your hand shall lead me, 13:24 and Your right hand shall hold me." 13:28 Now, if you are encouraged and think, 13:30 "How can I find God? I don't believe in God," 13:34 God will find you because He created you. 13:38 He redeemed you by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus. 13:41 He will find you. Hold on. God has good plans for your life. 13:47 He loves you. 13:48 >>Eric: He absolutely does. 13:50 And if you're wanting to learn more about His love and dig 13:52 more deeply into the book of Psalms, then make sure 13:55 you pick up the companion book to the book of Psalms. 13:58 You can find it very easily by going to itiswritten.shop, 14:02 and there you will find the companion book 14:04 on the book of Psalms by Dr. Martin Klingbeil, 14:08 and it will be an incredible blessing to you. 14:10 We're going to come back in just a moment as we continue 14:12 looking at this week's lesson. 14:14 We'll be right back. 14:15 ♪♪♪ 14:20 >>John Bradshaw: They are some of the most famous words 14:22 ever spoken: 14:23 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want," 14:28 written by a former shepherd. 14:30 King David wrote the 23rd Psalm. 14:32 Don't miss "Great Chapters of the Bible: Psalm 23." 14:37 As we look at this beautiful Psalm, 14:40 David draws on his experience as a shepherd and draws 14:44 on the depths of his relationship, his sometimes 14:47 rocky relationship, with the God of heaven. 14:50 David speaks about God as his shepherd. 14:53 He says, "I shall not want." 14:55 He said that God, his shepherd, makes him "to lie down 14:59 in green pastures" and leads him "beside still waters." 15:03 See a beautiful picture of God, the picture David saw: 15:06 God as shepherd, as carer, as provider. 15:11 Don't miss "Great Chapters of the Bible: Psalm 23" 15:16 on It Is Written TV. 15:20 >>John: More and more people are watching 15:22 It Is Written TV. 15:24 They're watching their favorite "It Is Written" programs, 15:27 listening to inspiring sermon series, and much more. 15:32 They're watching them here, here, 15:34 and even here. 15:36 See for yourself why people are turning to It Is Written TV 15:39 to watch their favorite Christian programs 15:42 live and on demand. 15:43 Watch It Is Written TV for free anytime 15:46 on Roku, Apple TV, and at itiswritten.tv. 15:50 ♪♪♪ 15:55 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:57 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:58 We're taking a look now at lesson number 4 in our study 16:02 of the book of Psalms. 16:04 And, Slava, we're talking here about God in the challenges 16:08 that we face in life sometimes, the Defender, the Deliverer, 16:12 but life is not all full of sunshine and rainbows. 16:15 We go through challenges. It's part of life. 16:19 But when we're going through those challenges, 16:21 sometimes the question comes up in our minds, 16:23 naturally: "Why, God? 16:26 "Why are You letting me go through this? 16:28 "I've tried to serve You and love You, and I read 16:32 "the Bible, and I pray, and now I'm going through 16:35 this very difficult challenge." 16:38 Where is God when these things happen? 16:42 >>Dragoslava Santrac: Well, I think the history of humanity 16:45 has examples of people trying to address that question 16:49 and give an answer. 16:50 And I'm not sure that we do have a straightforward answer 16:55 that will satisfy anyone's curiosity and a need. 17:00 But, on the other hand, I believe we have enough 17:02 revelation in the Bible to provide us 17:05 peace and assurance in all this misery happening around us. 17:11 And first thing I would say is we should remember 17:15 that the Psalms are God's Word, not just people's words to God, 17:21 but God's Word to us; namely they're Jesus's prayers, too. 17:27 So, one of the most desperate Psalms, I believe, is Psalm 88: 17:34 "O Lord...of my salvation, I have cried out 17:36 "day and night before You. 17:38 "Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. 17:42 "For my soul is full of troubles, 17:45 "and my life draws near to...grave. 17:48 "I am counted with those who go down to the pit; 17:51 I am like a man who has no strength." 17:54 And the images--and later on it becomes even harder to read, 18:00 at least experience and go through such experience. 18:04 And when we read this as Jesus's prayer, 18:09 we understand that we are not alone in our pain, 18:14 in our cries, that this is also God's cry: 18:18 "My God, my God, why?" 18:20 And God is asking this question, why. 18:23 He is the one who created this perfect lovely world. 18:27 How did it happen? 18:29 And God will ask these questions throughout the Bible as well: 18:33 Why and how? 18:36 And maybe a little hint towards the answer is the motif 18:40 of the great controversy, that yes, God is the sovereign ruler 18:45 and yes, He is in control, but that does not exclude 18:50 the possibility, which God allowed, that His reign 18:54 is challenged by evil on a daily basis. 18:58 And that's why we have this great controversy 19:01 going between good and evil. 19:03 And God is there to navigate His children and this world 19:09 towards the end, where He wants the world to bring, 19:12 and this is the world without suffering, without crying, 19:15 without sin and evil. 19:17 But let us remember when we read these cries for justice, 19:22 they are our cries, but they are God's cries, above everything. 19:26 >>Eric: So, this is another aspect of Him drawing close 19:30 to us and wanting to be with us because He's gone through 19:35 many of the same things that we are going through. 19:37 In fact, He's--He goes through them manifold times 19:40 more than we do. >>Dragoslava: On the cross. 19:42 >>Eric: On the cross, things that I don't think many of us 19:44 have experienced. 19:45 He was abandoned by everyone, taking all the sins of the world 19:49 on His own shoulders, so He's borne more than any of us 19:53 are going to ever have to bear, which doesn't decrease 19:58 the magnitude of our struggles and our challenges. 20:00 We go through many, and some people's struggles 20:03 are more significant than ours, or difficulties are 20:07 more significant than ours or less so. 20:10 So, understanding the great controversy, 20:12 as you mentioned, helps us, I think, 20:14 to understand how God's sovereignty and His goodness 20:18 and His power and His desire for good 20:21 don't negate the challenges that we face. 20:26 Anything else that you could share on that 20:27 to kind of help us grapple with that? 20:30 >>Dragoslava: Yes, and just see the key questions 20:32 that we sometimes or usually want to address in conversations 20:37 like this with other people is almost our need to defend God, 20:43 to prove that God is right and that everything 20:46 is in its place. 20:47 But not the Psalms. 20:49 The same psalm that I read, Psalm 88, 20:52 verse 13: "But to You I have cried out," and then verse 14: 20:57 "Lord, why do You cast off my soul? 21:00 Why do You hide Your face from me?" 21:02 So the psalmist is not there to defend God. Why? 21:05 Because he knows that God will defend Himself. 21:09 The key in the great controversy, 21:12 I would say, is our attitude. 21:18 Our--what is tested there is not our knowledge; 21:21 it's our faith. 21:23 And when our faith is tested, 21:26 the key is, will we withstand the test? 21:30 And that's where the Psalms can help us tremendously 21:35 because we realize for the psalmist 21:37 there are moments, difficult moments, 21:40 where faith is a deliberate choice 21:44 to continue trusting the Lord. 21:46 And this Psalm 88 ends with the thoughts 21:50 of "I will say praise to the Lord." 21:53 At the moment, he's like a dead person, 21:56 but still he chooses faith over despair. 22:00 He chooses intentionally trust over abandoning his God, 22:06 who has proven Himself in the past time and time again, 22:10 and this is one of the biggest lessons I drew from the Psalms 22:14 for myself: that there are times in my life when faith is purely 22:20 a deliberate choice for God, for faith 22:25 over the other things. 22:27 >>Eric: So there may be things in our lives 22:29 that cause us to doubt. >>Dragoslava: Yes. 22:32 >>Eric: These things come. It's a natural part of life. 22:35 But in the times when things are good, 22:38 we can build up that faith that helps to carry us through 22:42 the times when doubts may arise, and that's very, very powerful. 22:47 Friday's lesson mentioned something interesting, 22:49 that some Psalms can be used to foster false hopes. 22:53 How does that happen, and how can we avoid gaining false hopes 23:00 from something that we might find in one psalm or another? 23:03 >>Dragoslava: Well, an interesting example 23:06 from Jesus's life can help us understand that. 23:09 In Matthew, chapter 4 when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, 23:14 there is that one incident when Satan comes and tells Him, 23:18 "Well, if You throw Yourself from this height, 23:21 from this cliff, didn't God say in His Word"-- 23:24 and then Satan quotes Psalm 91, verses 11 and 12, 23:29 that God will send His angels to take you, so your foot 23:35 will not be stricken by the stone, 23:37 and you will be preserved and-- 23:40 what a wonderful Bible quoter Satan is, 23:45 but, you see, the way he quoted the Bible is 23:48 to combine a Bible promise with a clear temptation of God, 23:53 going against God's will. 23:55 And this is a way that sometimes we can mistreat 24:00 the Bible promises and apply them to something that's 24:04 clearly not God's will. 24:07 If I know that something is sinful, 24:09 that something is not bringing praise to God, 24:13 it may be even harmful to someone, 24:15 I can never pray the psalms of confidence: 24:19 "The Lord shall be with you wherever you go 24:21 and whatever you do"-- and things like that. 24:24 So, in order to pray those psalms rightly, 24:27 we need to have a right heart before God 24:30 and to serve Him in truth and how God wants. 24:35 Only then we will read the Psalms the way 24:37 God wants us to read them. 24:40 >>Eric: You mentioned the importance of having 24:41 a right heart with God. 24:44 How might one--I don't know if I wanna use the word "ensure." 24:48 It might be a little bit strong. 24:49 But how might one have a right heart with God 24:53 so that we don't end up fooling ourselves 24:56 into falling into that trap because, as you mentioned, 24:59 the devil knows the Bible better than any of us do. 25:02 He can quote it, probably in its entirety, 25:06 over and over again; it wouldn't surprise me at all. 25:08 We can trip ourselves up. 25:10 How can we make sure that our approach is correct 25:13 so that we can understand these verses in the right context? 25:17 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes, the psalmist, whenever, 25:20 in many places, would pray, 25:22 he would say, "Lord, You see me, and You know me." 25:26 So, being open to God in prayer, as you said, sometimes 25:31 we fool ourselves, but many times we try to fool God, even, 25:36 if I can say that way, by pretending to be 25:40 something we are not. And God does not need that. 25:44 God wants us, who we are with what we are, 25:49 to come like that to Him. 25:51 And then the psalmist would say in another place, 25:54 "Create in me a new heart." 25:57 If we are--if you are aware that your heart is not right with God 26:03 and you just don't have the means and the knowledge, 26:05 sometimes even the will, to make it right, 26:09 rest assured that that job is not yours at all. 26:14 The psalmist says, "Create in me a new heart," meaning it is God 26:19 who will create that will and want to do His will. 26:24 And by His grace, He can do that. 26:26 If we will stay on that track of trusting Him and abiding 26:31 in His presence, to His Word. 26:34 >>Eric: So, we can find our own faith 26:36 strengthened by reading the Psalms. 26:38 We can gain a clearer picture of God, 26:40 of His majesty, but also of His desire to have 26:44 a personal relationship with us. 26:46 And as we get to see a clearer picture of who He is 26:49 and His willingness to condescend to our level 26:53 and care about us, I mean, it is who He is. 26:56 God is love. He's naturally gonna do that. 26:58 But He reaches out, and He cares. 27:00 When we see that desire, that relationship, 27:03 it should--it should awaken in us a desire to be close 27:07 to Him and to understand Him better 27:10 and His plan for our lives. 27:12 And because of that, if we face--and I should say, 27:15 when we face challenges and difficulties, 27:19 we can cling to the God who clings to us. 27:23 And that should give us an incredible amount of hope. 27:27 >>Eric: Well, this week, we've been delighted 27:29 to have you join us once again as we have looked 27:31 at the challenges that are faced in the Christian walk. 27:35 We trust that you have been blessed as a result of that, 27:37 and we're going to continue our study together as 27:41 we look at more of the Psalms in the very near future. 27:45 Next week, when we come back once again, 27:47 we're going to see exactly how we can do that. 27:51 Thanks for joining us, and we'll look forward to seeing you again 27:54 next week on "Sabbath School," 27:55 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:57 ♪♪♪ 28:23 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-01-18