Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024010S
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00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're glad that you could join us again as we continue 00:20 this journey through the book of Psalms. 00:23 We're on lesson number 10 of 13, so we're almost 00:26 at the end of the quarter but not there yet. 00:28 The title of this week's lesson 00:30 is "Lessons from the Past." What can we learn 00:33 from the past that will help us in the present 00:36 and prepare us for the future? 00:38 That's what we're going to be looking at today. 00:40 But first, we're going to start with prayer. 00:43 Father, we want to thank You for leading us on this journey 00:46 so far. You have been in the present, in the past, 00:48 You're going to be in the future, 00:50 and we ask that You will guide us through today 00:53 as we learn more about what is to come. 00:55 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:57 Well, today, we're joined once again by the author 01:00 of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 01:03 This is Dr. Dragoslava Santrac. 01:05 We're delighted to have you back again, Slava. 01:07 Thank you so much. 01:08 >>Dragoslava Santrac: Thank you, and I'm happy to be here. 01:10 >>Eric: Now, as we've been studying for the last 10 weeks, 01:13 it's very clear that you love the Psalms. 01:17 There's so much in the Psalms, so many lessons to learn, 01:21 so much hope, so much encouragement, 01:24 especially when we're going through challenging times. 01:27 This week, we're taking a look at a different element 01:31 of the Psalms, and that is a historical element 01:34 of the Psalms. There are some psalms that are certainly songs, 01:38 and we've looked at some elements of that. 01:39 But there are also psalms that are more historical in nature. 01:44 How do they differ from the other psalms, 01:47 and what benefit do they have to us? 01:49 >>Dragoslava: Yes, well, praise of God in some psalms 01:53 takes a trajectory of teaching history 01:58 and drawing valuable lessons from them. 02:02 So they are a little bit different from a typical 02:05 hymn of praise or maybe a typical prayer or lament, 02:11 so they have this didactic purpose, to teach something. 02:15 And this is an element that I believe sometimes we forget, 02:20 that part of praising God is also understanding His truth 02:27 and living in truth. 02:29 So, "Lessons of the Past" and these historical psalms 02:33 are very valuable. 02:34 There are a couple of them that are purely historical, 02:38 like Psalm 78, 105, 106, 136, 135, 02:47 and in these psalms the psalmists retell 02:51 the salvific history, the past, and to teach the people 02:56 certain lessons, also inspire people about God's faithfulness 03:02 to His people throughout all these years 03:04 in various generations, the ups and downs. 03:07 So, learning from the past is crucial. 03:11 And also I would like to add, another very important thing, 03:16 is that when we read the historical psalms, 03:19 we realize, and they are meant to help us realize, 03:23 that we are part of that grand unfolding of history 03:29 of God's people, that we are not some lonely rangers 03:34 in these generations, but then that we become 03:38 and we are part of a large community of faith 03:42 that goes through generations and centuries, 03:46 and that we can claim biblical history as our history. 03:51 So it is not their father Abraham; 03:56 it is also my father Abraham. 03:59 It's not just their Moses lawgiver; 04:03 it is my Moses the prophet. 04:05 It's not just their King David. 04:07 In Jesus Christ, it is my King David as well. 04:11 So, biblical history is also my heritage. 04:16 It provides to me insight into my spiritual roots, 04:22 and this is one very important aspect 04:25 that these psalms want to underline for us. 04:29 >>Eric: So you made mention of a couple of different examples 04:31 there of Father Abraham and David and others. 04:36 What are some of your favorite elements 04:39 of those historical psalms that have uplifted you 04:42 and given you encouragement as you see yourself 04:45 in part of that history? >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. 04:48 For example, we can look at Psalm 78. 04:52 It's a long psalm; it has 72 verses. 04:56 And it takes us on a journey through the history 05:01 of God's people, starting with the covenant in Jacob, 05:07 then through Exodus to the time of the wilderness. 05:12 And through all these texts and verses, 05:16 we read about God's faithfulness being challenged 05:23 by people's unfaithfulness, and we read how 05:27 God blesses His children, but then, verse 11, it says, 05:32 "And [they] forgot His works and His wonders 05:36 "that He had shown them. 05:38 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers." 05:41 And then he says, "He divided the sea and caused them 05:44 to pass through." 05:46 But then, the next generation has a tendency to forget, 05:51 and you see when people forget, with that forgetfulness 05:55 also comes forgetting your own identity and forgetting 06:00 about God in the present, and that led them to idolatry. 06:05 So what I find fascinating, and even encouraging here, 06:09 is that in spite of our weaknesses and our tendency 06:13 to take God's blessings for granted 06:16 and even forget them, God does not forget us. 06:20 And when I sin, I realize the people before me-- 06:25 I need to be humble and not try to be a superhero when I'm not, 06:31 to be better than others, because I'm not. 06:34 I find consolation that when other people, 06:39 my spiritual ancestors, sinned and failed, 06:43 that whenever they sought God, God revealed Himself 06:47 and forgave them and led them further. 06:50 So this is a great comfort. 06:53 It teaches us humility, but it also encourage us 06:58 in God's grace and mercy, in His faithfulness. 07:01 >>Eric: So we don't have to feel that we are alone 07:04 in stumbling and falling-- >>Dragoslava: Yes. 07:06 >>Eric: ...that in history, many others have stumbled and fallen, 07:10 and, not that we should feel comfortable in that-- 07:13 >>Dragoslava: Exactly. 07:14 >>Eric: ...but we should recognize that there is hope 07:16 for us, just as there was hope for them. 07:19 What do the Psalms teach us about remembrance? 07:23 In what ways did God's people, in the Psalms, remember history? 07:28 How did they do that? >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. 07:30 There are constant appeals, not just in the Psalms, 07:33 the several psalms I mentioned-- 105, 106, 135, 136-- 07:39 but throughout the Bible there is these constant appeals 07:43 to remember God's great deeds in the past. 07:47 Why? Because that's our identity. 07:50 Our identity is shaped by our past. 07:54 Once we forget our roots, we become an easy target 08:01 for whoever and whatever ideology is there to grab us 08:05 and claim our devotion. 08:08 But when we know who we are and whose we are, 08:12 then we have this protection against temptation, 08:16 against idolatry, against all these things that are there 08:21 to separate us from God. 08:24 And the Bible would say, for example, in Deuteronomy, 08:28 "Remember the days of old, 08:30 "consider the years of many generations. 08:34 "Ask your father, and he will show you; 08:36 your elders, and they will tell you." 08:40 It is important. It also establishes and strengthens 08:45 the fellowship between various generations. 08:48 Sometimes we speak about young people not being able 08:53 to fully identify with their faith today, with their church. 09:00 Well, elders, fathers, mothers, share your experiences 09:05 with the young people. Show them where their roots are. 09:10 Tell them who they are and whose they are. 09:14 >>Eric: I think that's important, 09:15 those two things, the who they are and whose they are, 09:19 because when we understand whose we are, 09:22 that's a whole different--that's no longer just educational. 09:27 That's very personal, when we realize that we belong to Jesus, 09:30 very, very personal. 09:33 When you look at the stories of people's history in here 09:37 and how frequently Jesus quoted from the Psalms, 09:42 and other Bible writer-- New Testament writers 09:45 quoted from the Psalms, 09:47 it seems to me that they had a pretty good idea of who 09:50 they were and whose they were as they looked at the Psalms. 09:55 If there's somebody who's watching right now and thinking, 09:59 "I love Jesus, 10:02 "I believe in Him, at least, but I'm still a little bit shaky 10:06 on some things," what might you share with them, 10:10 a word of encouragement here from the Psalms to help them 10:14 connect to their identity, whose they are? 10:16 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. Well, education is very important, 10:19 and when I say education, I mean informing ourselves, 10:24 learning about that past. 10:27 This is something that God cannot and will not do for us. 10:31 He has given us His Word, and the Psalms even--if we think 10:36 that the Old Testament is too long to read, 10:39 well, the Psalms give us 10:41 the history of the Old Testament in a nutshell. 10:45 So if you want to inform yourselves, 10:48 educate yourself in the history of God's people, 10:52 which is your history because you're the child of God, 10:56 I encourage you to read Psalm 78, 10:59 to read Psalm 105, 106. 11:03 There, in a nutshell, you will find all the main events 11:08 of the history in the Old Testament that tell us 11:12 about our roots and also provide valuable lessons to us 11:17 where we can learn from the shortcomings 11:20 from, of our spiritual forefathers, 11:23 but also learn the lessons of obedience 11:27 when they were blessed. 11:28 So these psalms really are educational and given to us 11:33 for our benefit, for our upbringing in faith. 11:36 >>Eric: You know, it's been said that people 11:37 "who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." 11:41 And you look at some of the history of God's people, 11:44 there's some of that that we don't want to repeat. 11:47 They've kind of wandered down the wrong path; 11:49 they have histories of rebellion. 11:52 You see a kind of a rollercoaster experience 11:56 for some. 11:57 I don't think we desire to have 11:59 that rollercoaster experience in faith. 12:00 We desire to have a nice steady, firm faith, 12:03 and maybe even one that's on an incline. 12:06 But if we don't know the history, 12:08 if we don't know who we are, if we don't know whose we are, 12:12 then we have a--there's a very high likelihood that, 12:16 like you mentioned, ideologies can come in and take us away, 12:23 and even, more than us, people that we care about, 12:26 people that we love, children or brothers or sisters. 12:30 The adversary is very hard at work, but so is God. 12:33 >>Dragoslava: Yes, exactly. 12:35 >>Eric: That's the encouraging thing. 12:36 >>Dragoslava: And people, we all search for answers. 12:39 We all want to know answers to these questions. 12:42 And whose answer are we--answers are we to adopt, 12:47 if not from the One who loves us, 12:50 created us, and redeemed us? 12:53 The One who constantly remembers His people, 12:57 even when they so stubbornly forget Him. 13:01 >>Eric: Yeah, and unfortunately, we're good at that. 13:03 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. >>Eric: We're very good at that. 13:06 We are going to continue taking a look at history 13:09 in the book of Psalms, but if you wanna get more 13:12 out of your study of the book of Psalms, 13:14 make sure that you pick up the companion book to 13:16 this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson at itiswritten.shop. 13:21 Make sure you go to itiswritten.shop. 13:23 You'll find the book there. 13:24 Pick it up, and you will be blessed indeed as you study it. 13:29 We look forward to seeing you back in just a moment 13:30 as we continue looking at the Psalms. 13:33 ♪♪♪ 13:38 >>Male announcer: It has followed God's people 13:39 since the dawn of time. 13:41 Under the pharaohs of Egypt, 13:45 the decree against the Jews in the time of Esther, 13:51 Herod's decree against baby boys in the time of Jesus, 13:55 and Jesus said many of His followers would be persecuted. 14:00 The Roman emperor Diocletian took persecution 14:03 to a whole new level. 14:06 Houses of worship were destroyed, 14:09 and Christians who refused to sacrifice to the gods 14:12 were put to death. 14:15 History has a habit of repeating, 14:18 and the Bible makes clear that when it comes to persecution, 14:21 history is going to repeat. 14:24 ♪♪♪ 14:27 Don't miss "History Repeats" on itiswritten.tv. 14:32 ♪♪♪ 14:38 ♪♪♪ 14:40 >>Female announcer: Planning for your financial future 14:41 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 14:45 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer free 14:48 planned giving and estate services. 14:51 For information on how we can help you, 14:53 please call 800-992-2219. 14:58 Call today or visit our website: HisLegacy.com. 15:02 Call 800-992-2219. 15:08 ♪♪♪ 15:12 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:14 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:15 We're taking a look at history in the Psalms. 15:19 Slava, let me ask you this question. 15:21 How does remembering the past lead to repentance and praise 15:27 of God because, as we remember Him, hopefully it helps us 15:31 to realize where we are and who we are and our need. 15:35 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. 15:36 When we read the Psalms, the historical psalms 15:39 especially, that share about the various mistakes 15:43 and shortcomings of God's people and they also explain 15:48 why that happened, we learn something for ourselves. 15:52 Maybe we will recognize some things that we have been 15:56 repeating without knowing or maybe 15:59 because of the stubbornness of our heart, but either way, 16:03 recognizing these things will lead us to repentance, 16:09 especially when we see how gracious and kind God is 16:14 in not giving up on people. 16:16 >>Eric: So He has forgiven people in the past. 16:19 And when we fall short, we can look back at Him 16:23 and His forgiveness of others and know that 16:25 there is some hope for us. 16:28 But that repentance--that repentance comes by the moving 16:32 of the Holy Spirit. And as we're spending time in His Word, 16:35 especially in something like the book of Psalms, 16:37 the Holy Spirit certainly has more opportunities 16:41 to reach out and touch our hearts and to turn us 16:44 in the right direction. 16:46 What happens if we're not familiar with the past? 16:49 Or if we were familiar with it, but it slips away. 16:54 I don't--you've probably never had this challenge, but I, 16:57 as I gain gray hairs, my memory is not as good as it used to be, 17:01 and, unfortunately, things slip away if I don't constantly 17:06 keep reminding myself of them. 17:09 Is there a lesson there for us as well? 17:11 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes. 17:13 Well, maybe as an encouragement for both you and I, who may 17:16 very soon have this problem of remembering things, 17:20 due to our bodily deterioration, the--remembering that 17:25 the Psalms talk about, is not just an intellectual memory 17:29 or intellectual knowledge of the past. 17:33 Remembering always leads to action. 17:36 When in the Bible says, for example, that God 17:38 remembered Noah, that was not a passive intellectual memory, 17:44 saying, "Oh, I remember Noah. He's somewhere in the ark. 17:48 Nice, and I'm going on with my activities." 17:51 When God remembered Noah, 17:53 it means that God stood up to deliver Noah. 17:56 So remembrance always leads to action. 18:00 When the Psalms call us to remember the Lord, 18:03 it means that our actions are there to kind of support 18:09 and demonstrate that memory. 18:12 So, yes, we know--we need to know the facts 18:15 of our history, but if that remembering, 18:19 if that knowledge does not lead to appropriate action, 18:23 which will be exemplified in the way of life, 18:27 in the way we approach God and treat other people, 18:31 then we are not remembering it rightly. 18:34 And not remembering will definitely lead 18:38 into idolatry, will definitely lead away from God. 18:42 And I love the Hebrew word, "to hear"-- 18:46 "shama" means "to hear," but it also means "to obey," 18:51 meaning if you don't obey what you hear, 18:55 it means that you didn't hear. The same is with remembering. 19:00 If you don't act on your remembrance, 19:03 on your memory, it means that you actually, 19:07 in practice, just forgot and don't care. 19:11 So, remembering is important because it leads 19:15 to the correct action. It shapes our today. 19:19 The memory of the past shapes our today and also provides hope 19:24 for the future and vision of the future. 19:27 >>Eric: So this remembering is kind of interactive. 19:30 It's not just intellectual, but there is, there's action 19:34 that takes place or that should take place; 19:38 otherwise, I suppose if we simply 19:40 intellectually remembered but didn't act on it, 19:44 then it works against us, rather than working for us, 19:49 which is the way that God designed and desires 19:52 for it to work, for us to remember and put into action. 19:56 How does remembering-- when we talk, this active 20:00 remembering, now--how does remembering history guard us 20:03 against idolatry and error and wandering off after these 20:09 other ideologies or whatever the case may be? 20:11 >>Dragoslava: Yes, well, as we already mentioned, 20:14 knowing, learning who we are and whose we are will get us 20:19 well-established and rooted in the truth of the one 20:24 only living sovereign God. 20:27 But losing the remembrance of that, 20:30 losing the remembrance of His past acts 20:34 of mercy and greatness, will, as we said, leave us open 20:40 to the various options and ideologies to take hold 20:45 of our mind and provide answers instead. 20:48 But when we are rooted in God, that actually leads to praise, 20:53 leads to action that we highlighted. 20:55 And when we read the Psalms, 20:57 that's exactly what the people did. 20:59 Whenever they forgot that it was God who delivered them 21:04 from Egypt, they would turn to idols and conform themselves 21:09 to the culture surrounding them, the culture of other religions 21:13 and other people that were always so very appealing, 21:18 because they forgot whose they are, 21:21 whose they were, and who they were. 21:24 >>Eric: You know, when we take a look at Christianity today, 21:27 as a whole, the number of Christians worldwide 21:30 is decreasing. It's not increasing. 21:34 And I think, you know, depending on which studies you wanna take 21:37 a look at, much of that is because, I think, Christians 21:40 have forgotten who they are and whose they are 21:43 and their history. 21:45 And we start to listen to the other voices out there 21:47 that sound convincing; they are--well, 21:53 they're encouraging, from a certain point of view, 21:55 offering, well, offering kind of like what Satan offered 21:59 at the beginning: freedom and free yourself 22:02 from the shackles of Christianity and tradition. 22:05 But really, this is the freedom. >>Dragoslava: Yes. 22:08 >>Eric: This is the freedom, and we take a look 22:10 at this history, and it should help us to see that freedom. 22:14 >>Dragoslava: Yes, and sometimes people today 22:16 reject Christianity because of Christians. 22:21 And I would say this is because we, 22:23 as Christians in general, forgot all these lessons, and then, 22:30 as you said, we start repeating the mistakes of the past 22:34 and by doing that, people see all their shortcomings, 22:38 and they say, "If that's Christianity, 22:40 I don't want to be part of that." 22:43 But instead of repeating the past or maybe being ashamed 22:47 of certain things in the past, we should face the shortcomings; 22:51 we should face those dark times and say, 22:54 "Yes, this is what happened, but I'm going to learn. 22:58 "As a community of faith, we are going to learn from that 23:02 and become better by God's grace." 23:04 So we will own our history, we will acknowledge 23:08 our mistakes, but we will learn from them and give glory to God 23:12 and become a real testimony that will inspire people 23:17 to come to God and accept Christ. 23:20 >>Eric: So history is not something that we should shun, 23:23 it's not something that we should cover up. 23:26 Some history is--well, it's unpleasant, it's very dark, 23:31 but if we forget it, if we cover it up, 23:34 if we act like it's not there, we have a higher likelihood 23:38 of going back and doing the same thing again. 23:42 But embracing that history as history 23:45 and saying, "Yes, this happened in the history of Christianity," 23:51 we can say, "Okay, it did happen, but by God's grace, 23:55 "I'm not gonna let it happen in my life 23:58 or on my watch," as it were. 24:01 And we can have encouragement in that. 24:03 So, awareness is very, very important. 24:06 >>Dragoslava: And for that reason, 24:08 God was not ashamed to give all the details 24:13 of His faithful servants, all the shortcomings 24:17 because we're not to cover these things up 24:19 but learn from them and move forward, become better. 24:24 >>Eric: Yeah, and I think we can. 24:26 >>Dragoslava: Yes, yes, yes. >>Eric: David was wonderful. 24:28 He had his shortcomings, you know. 24:30 You look through the Bible--Peter-- 24:32 great guy, had some shortcomings. 24:34 Paul? He had a few shortcomings, too. 24:37 I won't speak for you. 24:40 I have some shortcomings, but, you know, by God's grace, 24:43 if we have shortcomings and others have had shortcomings, 24:47 if they made it through, by His grace, we can, too. 24:50 And that history is very helpful in that. 24:53 Slava, share with me a resource that's available to some people 24:59 who want to learn more about history, 25:00 not so much ancient history, but more recent history 25:05 that could be a benefit. 25:06 >>Dragoslava: Yes, I will gladly share about 25:09 one wonderful resource, 25:11 which is fully online and freely accessible to all. 25:15 It is called the "Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists," 25:20 shortly known by many as "ESDA," or E-S-D-A. 25:25 Well, this wonderful resource has more than 4,000 stories, 25:30 historical stories, which have been fully documented 25:34 with sources, footnotes, and peer reviewed. 25:37 Therefore, they are reliable and authoritative and provide 25:42 insights into the wonderful leadings of God's children 25:47 by God in more recent history. 25:50 Yes, we are not hiding our shortcomings, 25:53 we are learning from them, and we are glorifying God 25:57 who saw His people through these difficulties 26:01 and made us triumphant by this grace. 26:04 So the "Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists," 26:08 more than 4,000 articles, 26:11 more than 12,000 historical images, 26:14 and many, many videos about Adventist missionaries, 26:18 educators, pioneers, various events, articles 26:24 about how Adventist church started in many places 26:29 around the world. 26:30 And when we read more recent history, 26:33 we become more connected to this wonderful 26:37 and grand people of God in history. 26:41 Sometimes, we tend to see, like, a huge gap 26:43 between biblical history and us today, but God has had 26:49 and still has His faithful people throughout 26:53 all these decades and centuries up to this very day. 26:58 And I invite our readers to read and find the encyclopedia 27:04 at encyclopedia.adventist.org. 27:08 One more time: encyclopedia.adventist.org 27:13 and learn about God's wonderful leading 27:16 and His teachings in our recent history, 27:20 a wonderful resource. 27:22 >>Eric: Slava, thank you so much for that resource. 27:25 I hope that you will avail yourself 27:27 of that resource as well. 27:29 It has wonderful articles in there, a lot of history, 27:32 that, as you read it, will help you make it through today 27:36 and, by God's grace, prepare you for the challenges yet to come. 27:40 Speaking of yet to come, we have just a couple more weeks 27:43 left together in this quarter studying the book of Psalms. 27:46 We look forward to having you join us again next week 27:49 as we continue once again here on "Sabbath School," 27:52 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:55 ♪♪♪ 28:23 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-02-28