Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024017S
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00:11 [uplifting music] 00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We are on an incredible journey into an incredible theme, 00:23 that is, "The Great Controversy." 00:26 And this week, as we take a look at lesson number four, 00:29 we are looking at "Standing for the Truth." 00:32 Last week, we looked at what the truth is; 00:34 this week we look at the importance 00:36 of standing for it. 00:38 Let's begin with prayer as we dive into this subject. 00:42 Father, we thank You for being with us through three studies 00:45 already, and we look forward to today's study as well. 00:49 We ask that You will help us to understand the importance 00:51 of standing for the truth once we have discovered it. 00:55 And we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:59 Well, this week, once again, we have with us 01:01 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" study. 01:04 He is author, speaker, evangelist, pastor, 01:08 and much, much more, Pastor Mark Finley. 01:11 Pastor Mark, always great to have you with us. 01:15 >>Mark Finley: It's so good to be with you, Pastor Eric. 01:17 It Is Written has a special place in my heart. 01:21 I spent 14 years as speaker-director there, 01:24 and always to come back to the studio to see many friends, 01:27 to see you and Pastor John and Brother Eddie 01:30 and--it just, it's exciting to participate 01:33 with the It Is Written team, so thank you for inviting me 01:35 to share thoughts in these "Sabbath School" lessons. 01:38 >>Eric: And these lessons are incredible. 01:40 This week is no exception. 01:42 We're looking at "Standing for the Truth," 01:44 and you begin this week's lesson with the story of Polycarp. 01:48 Who was Polycarp, and why is his story such an amazing one? 01:53 >>Mark: Well, Polycarp was an early Christian leader 01:56 living in Smyrna. 01:59 You remember Smyrna was the second of the churches that John 02:04 wrote about from the Island of Patmos of the seven churches-- 02:07 Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, et cetera. 02:11 And so, Polycarp lived there. 02:13 Once a year in the Roman society, 02:18 every citizen had to come and offer incense to the gods. 02:24 They would come to the public marketplace 02:27 or the public square, the forum, 02:30 and they'd offer incense to the gods of Ammit, Demeter, 02:34 and Dionysus, et cetera. 02:36 So, Polycarp refused to offer incense to those gods. 02:42 The soldiers took him, they brought him to that city square, 02:48 and he was taunted, ridiculed, mocked, told to offer 02:54 the incense, and one of the most famous speeches of that time, 02:58 he held out his hands, and he said something like this, 03:01 "Eighty and seven years have I served my Lord, 03:05 "and He has done me no wrong. 03:08 How can I disappoint Him now?" 03:11 And Polycarp was burned at the stake. 03:13 He looked back over his life and, like the modern song says, 03:17 "The goodness of God follows after me." 03:21 He saw, over those 87 years, the goodness of God, 03:25 the greatness of God guiding and directing him. 03:28 And he stood firm; 03:29 he would not yield his conscientious convictions. 03:33 The grace of Christ gave him the strength to stand, 03:37 and the grace of Christ will give us the strength to stand 03:40 today, tomorrow, and in the coming crisis in the future. 03:43 >>Eric: And he was not the only one who went through 03:47 that type of persecution. There were many who did. 03:50 I think of the Middle Ages and God's people, 03:54 those who stuck to His Word, who stuck to the truth, 03:57 and who stuck to Him and would not let Him go, 04:00 they went through persecution; they went through harassment. 04:03 Many of them lost their lives. 04:05 What is it that gave them what they needed to hold on to Him 04:10 during those trying times? 04:13 >>Mark: I think there are two things. 04:15 One, their sense that Christ would never leave them 04:18 or forsake them, that He was there with them 04:21 to strengthen them. 04:22 And second, their sense that there was something at the end, 04:26 a crown of life for them. 04:28 You know, somebody said, "If you have hope for tomorrow, 04:31 you can bear anything today." 04:34 If you believe that tomorrow is going to be better, 04:37 you can go through what you are going through. 04:40 So, for example, in Revelation, chapter 3 here and in verse 10, 04:46 in Revelation 3, verse 10, 04:49 it says, "Because you have kept my command [and preserved], 04:54 "I...will keep you from the...trial 04:57 "which shall come on the whole world, 04:59 "to test those who dwell on the earth. 05:02 Behold"--verse 11-- "I [come] quickly! 05:05 Hold fast what you have, that no [man] may take your crown." 05:09 So, what Jesus is saying to His church is that 05:13 He's gonna preserve us, He's gonna keep us today, 05:16 but keep looking beyond what is to what will be. 05:20 Keep looking beyond today to tomorrow, know that there's 05:24 a crown of life, a kingly glorious crown for you, 05:29 the victor's crown, and know Jesus says, 05:32 "You can be victorious over the principalities and powers 05:36 of hell, that try to crush you, through my strength." 05:39 >>Eric: I think there's a tendency for us, 05:43 as human beings, to have a horizontal look at the world 05:47 and focus on what's happening here 05:48 rather than a vertical look. 05:50 And here we see that Jesus is encouraging us to look up 05:55 rather than just to look around at what's going on, 05:58 and I think that's powerful encouragement for us today. 06:01 I want to go to the book of Jude for just a moment, Pastor Mark. 06:05 There is an appeal that is made in the book of Jude that was 06:10 made to both early Christians and, I think, to us today. 06:15 What is that appeal? 06:16 Why is it important for us to grasp and to hold today? 06:22 >>Mark: Well, Jude is only 20-some odd verses, 25 verses, 06:27 just one chapter, and Jude was looking forward to the 2nd, 3rd, 06:36 4th century when compromises would come into the church. 06:39 Those compromises already had begun coming into the church, 06:42 compromises like substituting human reason 06:45 for the Word of God, 06:47 like pagan idols being-- coming into the church, 06:50 being renamed as saints, Sunday worship coming in, 06:54 false concept of the immortality of the soul, 06:57 the idea of the soul lives on. 06:59 So, Jude forecast those things; he saw the embryonic form 07:04 of them happening in his day. 07:06 So, Jude says in Jude, 1 chapter, verse 3, "Beloved, 07:10 "while I was very diligent to write to you concerning 07:13 "our common salvation, I have found it necessary 07:17 to write to you [and exhort] you"--that is, 07:19 to exhort is to urge, to encourage-- 07:22 "to contend earnestly for the [saint]"--for the "faith 07:27 which was once...delivered to the saints." 07:29 In other words, never give up the truths of the Word of God 07:34 that were given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 07:37 Stand firm, stand fast, 07:40 stand true for the truths of God's Word. 07:44 Contend for those truths earnestly, "for the faith... 07:50 once...delivered to the saints." 07:52 In other words, don't let culture shape you 07:55 or squeeze you into its mold. 07:57 Continue to go back to the book; 07:58 continue to go back to the Word of God. 08:00 It is the inerrant revelation of God's will. 08:05 >>Eric: And it is something that has stood the test of time. 08:08 People have staked their lives, their eternal salvation on it, 08:14 and they will not be disappointed in that day 08:16 when Jesus comes back; they will have put their faith 08:19 in the right place. 08:21 Let's jump over to Revelation, chapter 2 and verse 10 now. 08:25 In Revelation, chapter 2, verse 10, John writes 08:30 these words; he's writing the words of Jesus here. 08:33 Revelation 2, verse 10, Jesus says, "Do not fear 08:36 "any of those things which you are about to suffer. 08:40 "Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, 08:44 "that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. 08:48 "Be faithful [unto] death, 08:49 and I will give you the crown of life." 08:53 Just an incredible encouragement for us 08:56 to keep focused on the right things. 08:58 >>Mark: It is. You know, 09:00 some people wonder about those 10 days. 09:02 In Bible prophecy, one prophetic day equals one literal year. 09:07 And so, there were 10 years of very fierce persecution 09:12 during this period of time, about 303 to 313 AD 09:17 under the emperor Diocletian, 09:20 10 very vicious years of persecution. 09:24 And Jesus says, "When this persecution comes, hang on." 09:27 And it's interesting, you find it in Revelation 2:10-- 09:30 you find it in Revelation 3:10 and 11, 09:33 particularly, the crown of life. 09:36 In other words, there's something for you 09:39 that's beyond the trials, the sufferings, 09:42 disappointments of earth. 09:44 Jesus says, "I have for you eternal life. 09:48 "One day you'll sit with me on my throne. 09:52 "One day you'll wear the royal robe of my righteousness. 09:55 "One day you will wear the crown of, diadem of eternal life, 10:01 of the glory. One day you'll reign with me on high." 10:04 And the Bible says, in fact, Revelation 1, it says 10:08 we are "kings and priests unto God," 10:10 redeemed by the blood of Christ. 10:11 So, in other words, there's royal blood 10:14 running in our veins. 10:15 Don't sell out cheap. Don't sell your salvation cheap. 10:18 There's too much to gain...to lose. 10:23 >>Eric: And we look at these New Testament Christians who 10:26 went through that persecution, and they were willing to, 10:30 they were able to hold on to these precious promises, 10:34 to this hope, 10:35 and it got them through some terrible, terrible times. 10:39 That's something that we can do as well, isn't it? 10:41 >>Mark: It really is. 10:43 You know, this idea of hope, the hope of God's Word 10:46 that inspires you, that keeps you going. 10:49 In fact, I've counseled with people who have gone 10:52 through the trauma of a divorce, 10:54 horrible situations that they've gone through. 10:56 Women have felt so lonely and disappointed, 10:59 but they've had the hope of Jesus' love, 11:02 the hope of Jesus' compassion and kindness upon them. 11:06 I've counseled with people that have lost loved ones; 11:09 they've had the hope of the resurrection, 11:11 of seeing those loved ones again. 11:13 Counseled with people that are-- had stage four cancer and dying, 11:17 and they've had the hope of eternal life. 11:19 There's something about the hope of eternity, the hope of living 11:24 with Christ forever, the hope of the second coming of Christ. 11:28 In fact, the Bible calls it in Titus 2, verse 11 and 12, 11:32 "the blessed hope." 11:33 It is hope that buoys up our hearts, encourages our spirits, 11:37 prepares us for the return of Jesus, 11:40 and keeps us going in this life. 11:42 >>Eric: And that hope should give us encouragement 11:44 today as well. 11:46 In fact, if you would like more hope, 11:48 if you're facing some challenges, 11:50 some difficulties in life, 11:52 I want to recommend a resource to you. 11:54 That book is called "The War Between Good and Evil." 11:59 It is a supplement, a complement, 12:01 a companion to the study 12:04 that we are doing during the course of these 13 lessons. 12:08 It will help you to dive more deeply into the subject 12:12 of the Great Controversy and to help you understand 12:15 the difference between truth and error, 12:17 to discern right from wrong, 12:19 and to be able to make a decision for the right 12:23 with that hope that Pastor Mark was just describing. 12:26 This book is very easy to find, very easy to get. 12:30 It is, of course, written by Pastor Mark Finley, 12:33 and you can find it at itiswritten.shop. 12:36 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 12:39 So, if you are looking for some encouragement, 12:41 if you're looking for some hope, if you are looking for a way 12:44 that you can stand when it seems like everything and everyone 12:49 are against you, your hope, your strength, 12:53 your faith needs to be uplifted. 12:56 Pick up this book, "The War Between Good and Evil," 12:59 at itiswritten.shop, and you will get more from these lessons 13:03 that we're studying each week, 13:05 and your faith will be buoyed up. 13:08 We're going to come back in just a moment as we continue looking 13:10 at "Standing for the Truth" here on "Sabbath School," 13:13 brought to you by It Is Written. 13:15 [uplifting music] 13:20 >>Announcer: If you'd like to deepen your understanding 13:21 of the powerful themes brought out in this program, 13:24 we invite you to explore the book 13:26 "The Great Controversy." 13:27 For more information, simply text the code "GC24" to 71392. 13:33 This book delves into critical end-time themes, 13:35 offering profound insights into historical events, 13:38 Bible prophecy, and spiritual preparation 13:41 essential for today's unique challenges. 13:43 Discover how "The Great Controversy" 13:45 can illuminate your path in these uncertain times. 13:50 >>John Bradshaw: Disease, terrorism, pandemics, suicide. 13:55 Around the world, 65 million people die each year. 13:58 That's 120 human lives ending every minute. 14:02 Death is a problem, a problem humanity can't solve. 14:06 Many have tried, and while people are living longer 14:09 these days, everyone still dies. 14:13 But even though we cannot solve the problem of death, 14:16 there is a solution; there is hope. 14:19 The Bible shows us a vivid picture 14:21 of how this world is going to end, 14:24 but it also gives us a view of what will come next. 14:27 A world where death is destroyed, where pain, 14:31 suffering, and injustice will be behind us. 14:34 And through the death and resurrection of Jesus, 14:37 God has provided a way for anyone who chooses Him 14:40 to receive eternal life. 14:42 Join me for "The Blessed Hope," 14:45 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:50 [uplifting music] 14:54 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:56 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:58 We're looking at "Standing for the Truth" 15:00 and the importance of that. 15:02 Pastor Mark, when we talk about standing for the truth, 15:05 a lot of times our minds, 15:07 our memories go back to the reformers. 15:10 These are individuals who were willing to stand for the truth, 15:13 regardless of the cost. 15:15 What was the reformer's attitude toward the Word of God? 15:20 >>Mark: During the Middle Ages, which is a long period of time, 15:25 1,260 years, during that time-- during, for example, 15:33 600, 700, 800, 900, 1,000, 1,100, 1,200, 15:36 which we call the pre-Reformation, 15:39 pre-Reformation about 1300--but the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, 15:44 during that time, very few had access to the Bible. 15:47 The Bible was chained in monasteries, it certainly 15:51 was not in the language of the people, 15:53 but the church tradition overshadowed the Word of God. 16:00 The church declined into a very, very, very dark place, 16:08 and as it did, 16:09 truth was compromised; errors flooded into the church. 16:14 The Christian church--I use the term "Christian" very loosely 16:18 because it wasn't anything like Christian 16:20 during those Dark Ages; it was really the papal system, 16:24 the medieval church dominated the state powers. 16:29 There were those, though, that began to study the Word of God. 16:33 The Waldenses studied the Word of God. 16:36 In fact, the Waldenses' young people copied the Word of God 16:40 by hand and took it down to the cities of Europe 16:44 and gave out, selectively, 16:47 those hand copies in universities and marketplaces, 16:52 as the Holy Spirit impressed them. 16:54 In addition to that, you had people like Martin Luther, 16:57 Catholic priest, who at one time began to study--he found 17:01 a copy of the Word of God in a monastery, began to read it, 17:04 and as he held the Bible in his hands, he said, 17:07 "Oh, that I would have a book like this for myself." 17:10 And he listened to the voice of God speaking to him 17:13 through the Word of God. 17:14 And you find that with these great reformers, 17:17 their attitude was, this is the Word of the living God, 17:21 the divine revelation of truth. 17:24 They found such a refreshing experience 17:28 as they accepted Christ, 17:30 such a refreshing experience to know that their sins 17:33 were forgiven, that they were free from condemnation, 17:37 that the--and as the power of Christ came into their life, 17:40 they wanted to get this out to the masses. 17:44 So, Bibles were translated into the English language, 17:49 into the German language, into multiple languages 17:53 from the original languages. 17:55 So, their attitude to the Word of God was, it's precious; 17:58 it's valuable; it is the Word, the divine revelation of truth. 18:04 >>Eric: You know, speaking of the Word of God being valuable, 18:07 there are several Bible verses 18:09 that you draw our attention to here. 18:11 I want to read a couple of them. 18:12 Psalm 119, verse 162 is a powerful verse. 18:17 It says, "I rejoice at Your word 18:20 as one who finds great treasure." 18:23 So, here the psalmist records this, 18:26 the Word of God as treasure. 18:28 And over in Jeremiah, chapter 15 in verse number 16 he says, 18:33 "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word 18:37 was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart." 18:41 So, here we find that the Bible writers, their view 18:44 of the Word of God was like a treasure, a joy, a rejoicing. 18:49 I wonder how frequently we think-- 18:52 "we" I use collectively here-- 18:55 we, in our day, think of the Word of God like that. 18:58 >>Mark: You know, it's just amazing. 19:00 When you look at the reformers, you look at the Bible writers, 19:03 to them this was not some heavy-handed, legalistic 19:08 requirement that God said, "You have to read this." 19:11 To them, it was--Jeremiah said, "Your word was found," 19:15 and to me it "was the joy and rejoicing of my heart." 19:18 It brought joy; it brought new peace; it brought new hope. 19:23 And I love what Psalm 119:162 says, 19:28 that God's Word is a treasure, and it is. 19:33 As Jesus said, it's the "pearl of great price." 19:36 Why is God's Word such a treasure? Well, 19:39 John 5, verse 39 says that, "You search 19:42 "the scriptures, [and] in them you think you have eternal life; 19:45 [but they] are they [that] testify of me." 19:49 The Old Testament points forward to Christ. 19:52 The New Testament reveals the Christ that has already come. 19:56 And when you study the Bible from the lens of Jesus 20:00 and you see Jesus, the Rock of Ages, 20:04 Jesus the Bright and Morning Star, 20:07 Jesus the Rose of Sharon, Jesus the Water of Life, 20:11 Jesus the Bread of Life, 20:13 when you see Jesus in, throughout Scripture, 20:16 it inspires your heart; it encourages you. 20:21 >>Eric: You know, that picture of Jesus got very muddied, 20:24 very dark, and very obscured down during those ages 20:28 that you've spoken of, the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. 20:31 Over time, that light began to shine again 20:34 as a result of the Reformation. 20:39 Speak, for just a moment, on the idea of progressive light. 20:42 What is progressive light? 20:45 Why doesn't God just flood darkness with brilliant light? 20:50 Why did He allow light to kind of gradually come back again? 20:55 >>Mark: Well, you know, it took from about the end 20:57 of the first century when John died, 20:59 the last of the living apostles, in the 90s, 21:04 it took about 400 years 21:07 for the church to go into full apostasy and darkness. 21:10 It didn't happen all at once. 21:12 Gradually, pagan practices came into the church. 21:15 And then, through those Middle Ages, the darkness deepened 21:19 as the pomp and ceremonies of the church, 21:22 traditions of the church were united. 21:25 All this was united with pagan practices, and under the name 21:29 of Christianity, and the church went into deep darkness. 21:33 So, if you look at about 1300 to 1700, 1800, 21:37 the church is coming out of that darkness. 21:39 God is raising up one person after the other. 21:42 And it's kind of like this; the church didn't go 21:47 into darkness overnight, and it didn't come out overnight. 21:52 And it kind of reminds me when God has the sun rise 21:57 on our planet, He doesn't throw a cosmic switch and it's 22:01 the brightness of noonday, because that would blind us. 22:04 If you ever walk out of a dark room--I've done that, pastor-- 22:07 you probably have, too-- 22:08 you walk out of a dark room sometime 22:10 into this brilliant light, and it kind of stuns you. 22:12 And that's why Jesus, in Proverbs, chapter 4, 22:17 through the wise man, points out how He reveals light in truth. 22:23 Proverbs 4, verse 18: "The path of the just"--that's the paths 22:27 to the righteous man-- "is like the shining sun, 22:30 "that shines [even] brighter unto the perfect day. 22:34 "The way of the wicked is like darkness; 22:35 they do not know what makes them stumble." 22:37 So, the path of the righteous person, just like sun rises 22:41 gradually in the natural world, so God reveals respectfully, 22:47 lovingly, kindly the light of His truth to us gradually 22:51 so that we're not overwhelmed 22:53 and blinded by everything at once. 22:55 And so, He led the church out of these dark ages 22:59 over this gradual period of 400 years, 23:02 restoring first the Bible 23:04 and the Bible only as the source of truth, then Jesus Christ 23:08 and Christ alone as the source of our salvation, 23:11 and then the power of Christ to change our lives, 23:14 and He began to reveal, like, the truth about Bible baptism-- 23:17 that by immersion, not sprinkling-- 23:19 and then the importance of living a godly lifestyle 23:22 of the standards of life 23:25 and living in harmony with God's will. 23:28 Then, of course, the truth about the Second Coming, 23:31 that Jesus would come, and every eye would see Him, 23:33 and every ear would hear Him, 23:34 a literal Second Coming, and the imminence, 23:37 the importance of His coming, and then the truth 23:39 about the Sabbath, the truth about death. 23:41 So, God gradually revealed that truth. 23:45 He let humanity grasp one aspect of that truth, 23:49 and He built upon that and built upon that and built upon that. 23:52 Seventh-day Adventists believe that we have built on 23:57 the shoulders of these reformers and that God has restored 24:02 His end-time truth to this people 24:05 who love Jesus and who keep His commandments. 24:08 >>Eric: Pastor Mark, speaking of truth and this gradual 24:11 lightening of the world in that truth, we have to be careful of 24:16 new light that comes, or supposed new light, 24:20 that it doesn't contradict the light 24:22 that's already been given. 24:24 How can we discern a genuine light from, 24:27 maybe, a false light? >>Mark: Sure. 24:29 There are a lot of people that come and say to me, as I travel, 24:33 "Pastor, I've got new light. I've got new light." 24:35 Well, there's a couple of things. 24:37 One, God has given us enough light and truth in His Word 24:42 to last a lifetime. 24:44 Two, that any new light does not contradict, as you have said, 24:50 pastor, old light. 24:52 A new light is not--is light; it's not darkness. 24:56 So, God does not give you a new revelation 25:00 that contradicts the truth that He has already revealed. 25:05 Thirdly, one of the ways that we can know truth is, 25:09 first, to have an honest heart, pray, but the Bible says, 25:13 "In the multitude of counselors there is [wisdom]." 25:16 So, if we believe God has given us some revelation of truth, 25:21 we can present it to men, women of God, 25:24 discuss it with them, 25:26 and there may be some facet of truth that we see 25:29 that we haven't seen before, some gem of truth, but it never, 25:34 never obscures old truth, never destroys old truth. 25:40 Truth is truth, and new truth is not going to destroy that, 25:43 but there may be new facets of truth, new gems of truth, 25:48 new aspects of truth. 25:51 And the Bible says, as "iron sharpeneth iron," 25:54 so a friend sharpens a friend. 25:56 So, we share that with others, we go to respected leaders, 26:00 and share what we've discovered, and we take counsel. 26:04 I think that's one of the ways that we can be sure, and, 26:07 of course, you measure everything by the Word of God. 26:10 If I have supposed new truth, 26:12 and it's not in harmony with the Word of God, 26:14 I know it's not new truth at all. 26:16 >>Eric: Very well said. 26:17 The truth, as we've said before, is objective. 26:20 Now, bearing that in mind, we live in different cultures 26:23 around the world. 26:24 How do we keep from getting--from straying away 26:28 from the truth, the objective truth of God's Word, 26:30 and getting it confused with culture? 26:34 >>Mark: Culture will shape our understanding. 26:38 People that are born in India 26:40 and people that are born in Africa 26:42 and people that are born in Australia 26:44 and the United States, 26:46 they may see facets of truth differently, 26:50 but the culture around them is superseded by faithfulness 26:57 to the Word of God. 26:58 Faithfulness to the Word of God lifts us 27:01 above the culture around us. 27:03 We're all products of our culture, but that culture 27:07 does not dominate our thinking; it does not shape our mind; 27:11 it does not control who we are. 27:13 The Spirit, working through the Word, 27:16 guides us in every culture. 27:18 >>Eric: Pastor Mark, thank you very much for making this 27:21 much more clear, how we can walk in the truth, 27:24 walk in the light that we have been given. 27:27 We trust that you have enjoyed and learned from 27:30 and grown from our study today. 27:34 The good news is this is not the end of the journey. 27:37 In fact, we have quite a distance yet to go 27:40 as we continue learning about the great controversy and how 27:44 it applies to you and to me and to everyone on earth today. 27:48 We're going to continue our study, and we invite you 27:51 to join us when we get together again next time here 27:54 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by "It Is Written." 27:57 [uplifting music] 28:23 [uplifting music] 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-04-17