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Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH022136S
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00:16 ♪♪♪ 00:38 Carlos Muñoz: [speaking foreign language] 00:40 And happy Sabbath, everyone. 00:41 Welcome to the Granite Bay Hilltop 00:43 Seven Day Adventist Church. 00:44 Welcome for joining us to our Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:47 For those that don't know me, I am Carlos Muñoz, I am the 00:49 Director of the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, 00:52 we're known as AFCOE. 00:53 And so, I'm here to greet you, and for those that are here in 00:56 person, those that are watching online or on television too, if 01:00 you're ever in the Sacramento area, please come and join us 01:04 at Granite Bay for our worship services. 01:06 Before we get started, I want to tell you about a free gift that 01:10 we're giving out today, it's called, 01:12 "How to Keep the Sabbath Holy." 01:14 This is written by Pastor Doug, "How to Keep the Sabbath Holy," 01:17 if you are interested in this, you can call us at 01:19 1-866-788-3966, or 866-Study-More and ask 01:26 for offer number 878. 01:29 If you are in the United States of America and you would like 01:31 a digital copy of this, you can text the code SH148 to number 01:37 40544, and you will receive a digital copy. 01:41 If you're outside of North America, go to our website 01:45 that's stated right there on the bottom of that screen. 01:49 Now, before we get started with our Sabbath School lesson today, 01:53 we're going to have some special music to get the environment 01:55 ready for the study of the Word of God. 01:58 So, I hope you enjoy it. 02:05 ♪♪♪ 02:56 ♪♪♪ 03:32 ♪♪♪ 03:59 ♪♪♪ 04:30 ♪♪♪ 05:07 Carlos: Who says amen to that? 05:08 Praise the Lord. 05:10 So, our lesson study for today is lesson number ten, 05:14 the Sabbath, right? 05:16 Sabbath rest, Shabbat. 05:18 Let's have a word of prayer. 05:20 Heavenly Father, we thank You for this opportunity, we thank 05:22 You for the blessing and the privilege that You have given us 05:24 of having another day of life, of being Your children, of being 05:27 part of this remnant movement, and the blessing, Father, to 05:30 come together and honor and worship You on Your Sabbath day. 05:34 And this is the topic that we're going to be talking about, 05:35 Father, so we thank You again. 05:37 May this be rejoiceful, may we have a deeper understanding and 05:40 a blessing and understand the blessings that come from 05:43 Your Fourth Commandment. 05:45 We thank You, Father, for this opportunity. 05:46 We ask this in Jesus's name, everybody says amen. 05:51 Amen. 05:52 So, Revelation chapter 12, verse 17 tells us that there is a war 05:57 that is being carried out, right? 05:58 It says that the dragon is enraged, who is he enraged with? 06:02 He's enraged with the woman, and the woman represents, what? 06:04 The church, right? 06:06 And it says he's enraged with the church, and he's making war 06:08 on the woman, he's making war with the church, 06:11 on God's people, and the question is why? 06:13 Why is the devil enraged with the woman? 06:15 Why is he enraged with the church? 06:16 Why is he making war on her based on 06:19 Revelation chapter 12, verse 17? 06:21 And it says, because she does what? 06:23 She keeps the commandments of God and has the what? 06:25 The testimony of Jesus Christ, right? 06:27 And so the devil is not happy with those that want to uphold 06:30 and honor God's Ten Commandments, that want to 06:33 uphold and honor Jesus Christ and uphold the testimony of 06:37 Jesus Christ, everybody with me, everybody say amen. 06:40 Amen, now, do we see this playing out not just in the 06:43 Bible, but in daily life? 06:46 Do we see a war against the Ten Commandments, but especially do 06:50 we see a war against the Sabbath day? 06:52 What do you think? 06:53 Oh, I'm going to share with you just a couple of things that 06:55 cross my mind in regards to this. 06:57 You probably can't read this, this is in Spanish, but this is 07:00 called, this is Septimo Dia, this is seventh day in Spanish. 07:05 And this is Cirque du Soleil, I'm sure you've probably heard 07:07 of Cirque du Soleil, it's a famous circus, it's a circus 07:10 without animals, it goes around the world. 07:12 Before I was a Christian I actually went to a few because 07:15 it's pretty impressive, but it's very sensual, right? 07:18 Now I'm understanding as a Christian it's too sensual and, 07:21 you know, you should just stay away from it, 07:23 but here's the point. 07:25 I remember I was in Guatemala, and I saw this on a billboard, 07:29 and it said the seventh day, and notice what it says here, 07:33 "No descansare." 07:35 In other words, on the seventh day I shall not rest. 07:39 Now, this is a song from a famous rock band in Spanish 07:42 called Soda Stereo, very, very famous, very well known, 07:45 and they made this song. 07:46 And so Cirque du Soleil adopted this song and incorporated 07:49 it into this program, into this one part that they did. 07:53 But notice how subtle it is, right? 07:56 I shall not rest, on what? 07:57 On the seventh day. 07:59 Notice how the enemy is starting to condition us, condition 08:02 humanity to reject the seventh day Sabbath. 08:06 Here's something else I'll share with you. 08:08 This is a movie that came out recently, now, I have not 08:11 watched the movie, and I do not advocate that 08:12 you watch it either. 08:14 It is called "The Tomorrow War," right? 08:17 And a friend of mine, the reason I know about this is because 08:19 a friend of mine sent me a small clip from this movie, 08:23 and he said, "Look at this! 08:25 Look at how interesting this is." 08:26 And in the movie, what's happening is it's tied into 08:28 climate change, right, and so as the icebergs are melting and the 08:33 earth is warming up, what happens is that there are these 08:36 creatures that have been frozen in time and they, as the water 08:40 freeze--as the water melts away, these creatures now come forth, 08:44 and they're these flesh eating monsters. 08:46 They're really ugly, I was going to put a picture of it, but that 08:48 would, you would probably not sleep tonight 08:51 because it's really ugly. 08:52 I mean, please don't even go watch it in that sense. 08:54 But the interesting thing is, is that these beasts are now at war 08:58 with humanity, and humanity is battling against these beasts 09:01 that they call white-something, I forgot, interesting. 09:05 But you know what's interesting about these beasts, what pops up 09:07 in the clip that my friend sent me is that they keep 09:09 the Sabbath day. 09:12 So, they're like, "Oh, they keep, they're six days they're 09:14 feasting, but on the seventh day they rest, and these 09:16 are our enemies!" 09:18 Again, conditioning the mind to be like, these things that keep 09:22 the Sabbath are our, what? 09:24 They're our enemies. 09:25 You're seeing how interesting this is, right? 09:28 And so, again, please don't watch it, it's a very violent 09:30 movie, you would not want to watch anything violent, you 09:33 would not want anything sensual with--you know how movies 09:35 are today, and not even movies, TV shows, 09:37 even cartoons today, right? 09:39 But I'm just showing this as an example of how the world 09:41 is conditioning us in this sense. 09:44 And so, that's why I find it very interesting, 09:46 today's lesson. 09:47 Now, you probably say, oh, we've talked about the Sabbath before 09:50 in Sabbath school, and yes, of course we have, but it's always 09:52 good to refresh, to look at different angles 09:54 and different perspectives. 09:56 And I like how this lesson did it specifically, why? 09:58 Because despite this, there are people that are 10:01 searching for truth. 10:03 This very week I had somebody call "Amazing Facts," and they 10:06 passed them over to me, they wanted to speak to a pastor, 10:08 and he wanted to ask questions about the Sabbath. 10:11 This was a Pentecostal brother who was studying his Bible, and 10:15 he came across the Sabbath truth, and he said, "Brother, 10:17 I want you to talk to me about the Sabbath," amen. 10:20 People are searching, people are reading their Bibles, people are 10:23 wanting to know God, and the truth is very evident throughout 10:26 Scripture, and so I was able to share with this brother 10:29 the beautiful Sabbath truth. 10:30 I strengthened him in his belief on the Sabbath day, and then he 10:33 said, "I'm going to go ahead and start those "Amazing Facts" 10:35 online Bible studies," amen. 10:38 So, praise the Lord, so people are searching, and this is 10:40 what the purpose of this lesson is about. 10:42 Despite all the intentions of the enemy of trying to attack 10:46 the Ten Commandments, especially the Sabbath day, despite 10:49 everything that the enemy is trying to do, you cannot 10:52 hide truth, amen. 10:54 No matter how hard you attack it, no matter how hard you try 10:56 to hide it, the truth will always come forth, amen. 11:00 It will always come forth, because it is part of the 11:03 yearning of the human heart to understand and know 11:06 our surroundings. 11:08 So, our memory text for this week was Leviticus 11:11 chapter 23, verse 3. 11:13 "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath 11:16 of solemn rest, the holy convocation. 11:19 You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath 11:21 of the Lord," where? 11:22 In all, "in all your dwellings." 11:24 That is our memory text. 11:26 So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to share with you the 11:28 Sabbath Rest lesson outline. 11:30 I just make an outline, and I'm going to share with you, and 11:33 we're going to go through this lesson and see the blessing 11:35 that it gave us. 11:37 So, first we're going to start with number one, 11:39 the Sabbath and what? 11:41 The Sabbath and creation. 11:44 Is the Sabbath and creation linked in, what do you think, 11:47 yes or no? 11:48 I have a question. 11:50 What is the purpose of the Sabbath? 11:52 The purpose of the Sabbath is to give honor and praise and glory 11:56 to God, amen. 11:58 That's the purpose of the Sabbath, that's the reason for 12:00 the Sabbath, it's to honor God, it's to celebrate God, it's to 12:03 commemorate that God is our God and that we are 12:05 his children, amen. 12:06 Look at this, look at the early church. 12:09 Acts chapter 4, verse 24, "They lifted up their voice to God 12:12 with one accord, and said, 'Lord, thou art God, 12:15 who has," what? 12:16 "Made," or created, "heaven, earth, the sea, 12:20 and all that is in them." 12:22 I have a question, did the early church honor and worship God 12:24 as the creator of the earth, yes or no? 12:28 Yes, it did, very clearly. 12:29 Does heaven, does the universe celebrate and honor and 12:33 commemorate God as the creator, yes or no, what do you think? 12:37 Okay, I'll say that for you, Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, 12:39 and this is in heaven, "Worthy are You, our Lord and God, 12:43 to receive glory and honor and power," why? 12:47 Why is God worthy to receive all the glory, all the honor, 12:51 and all the power? 12:52 For You, what? 12:54 "For You created all things, and by Your will they existed," 12:57 and what? 12:59 "And were created." 13:00 So, the early church worshipped and honored God as the Creator. 13:02 In Heaven the whole universe praises God because God is 13:05 the Creator, but something has happened here in earth. 13:09 It seems that we have forgotten to honor God as our Creator, 13:14 why do I say that? 13:15 Look at what it says in Revelation chapter 14, verse 7. 13:17 "Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment 13:20 has come," and do what? 13:22 "Worship Him," who what? 13:24 "Who made," who created, "the heavens, the earth, the sea 13:27 and the springs of water." 13:29 Notice that there is, in the three angels's message, a part 13:34 in the first angel that says, "Worship Him who made," 13:37 who created, "the earth, the sea, the springs of the water." 13:40 If the angels are telling humans to worship and honor Him as the 13:44 creator of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs 13:45 of water, what does that mean? 13:48 That we have forgotten how to do it, right? 13:51 The very end, the last message, the last warning of God to the 13:54 earth before He puts an end to this earth, the angels are 13:57 saying, listen, humans. 13:59 Remember, remember who is your creator, remember to honor and 14:03 to worship Him as the Creator as the universe does, as the early 14:08 church did, as God's people throughout history, 14:10 remember this. 14:12 So, if He's asking us to--if the angels are telling us to 14:13 remember this, it's because we have forgotten, right? 14:19 Now, the question is, because Revelations 14:7 does not tell 14:22 us how to worship God as the Creator, it just gives us the 14:26 declaration to do it, the question then is how do we 14:30 worship God as our Creator? 14:32 Well, it's not implicit, it's not explicit, I'm sorry, but it 14:37 is implicit that we should go where? 14:39 To creation, right? We should go to creation. 14:41 And so, when we go to creation, we go to Genesis chapter 1, 14:43 verse 1, what does it say? 14:45 In the beginning God created what? 14:50 The heavens, the earth, and everything around them. 14:51 Who says amen to that? 14:53 Notice, the Bible does not begin with a question, does not begin 14:56 with--it begins with a declaration. 14:58 God is the Creator, amen. 15:01 And so, in creation we see then, God then in Exodus chapter when 15:05 we see this beautiful scenario of God saying, "Now I am going 15:08 to create," amen? 15:10 I am going to start creating, and what does God do on the 15:12 first day, what does God do on the first day? 15:14 He does what? He creates what? 15:17 He says, "Let there be light," amen, who says praise 15:20 the Lord for light? 15:21 Amen, let there be light, right? 15:23 The glory of God shining over creation, right? 15:27 The knowledge of God shining over creation, and it says, "And 15:30 this is good." 15:32 But then He leaves, comes back the second day, what does He do? 15:36 He creates what, He creates the skies, the heavens, right? 15:40 And He separates, what? 15:42 He separates the water, how? 15:44 Vertically, right, to create what? 15:46 This atmosphere, this--where we can breathe, right? 15:51 The ozone layer, this first sky or heavens as it's known about 15:53 in the Bible. 15:55 Who wants to thank God for that ozone layer, for that 15:58 first--yes, amen, because that's how we can breathe. 16:01 I don't know about you, but I love breathing. 16:03 I hope you do too, right? 16:05 It's a little difficult nowadays with some of the fires, 16:07 but that's okay. 16:08 And He said, "This is good." 16:10 He left on the third day, and on the third day comes back and 16:13 says, oh, I'm getting excited now, right? 16:15 There's that--this--the heavens, right, the atmosphere, and what 16:18 does He do? 16:20 He now separates the waters, how? 16:22 Horizontally, right? 16:23 And what happens, what comes forth? 16:26 Dry land, right? 16:28 Not only dry land, but also, what? 16:30 Trees, flowers, amen, God starts to adorn his creation. 16:36 He's making it, He's making it look pretty, because God loves 16:38 beauty, amen. 16:40 And He makes it look pretty and gorgeous and not only that, 16:43 but also, what, the fruits. 16:46 Put the mango there, because that is the greatest 16:48 of all fruits. 16:49 I believe this is the fruit that Eve ate of, because how can you 16:52 resist it, right? 16:54 The fruit--who wants to say, God, thank You for creating dry 16:56 land, thank You for creating these beautiful flowers, 16:59 and who loves fruits? 17:01 Oh, I love the fruits, right? 17:03 And the mango and the grapes and the kiwis and all, such, just 17:07 this delicious environment. 17:08 Then God says, "This is good," and He comes back on the fourth 17:10 day, and what does He do on the fourth day, He creates what? 17:15 The sun, the moon, He starts to adorn our galaxy, right? 17:19 He starts to adorn our galaxy with the stars and the moons and 17:23 the sun, amen, and He says, "This is good." 17:27 Comes back on the fifth day, what does He do on 17:29 the fifth day? 17:31 Just refreshing your creation week, what does He do, 17:34 He makes what? 17:36 He makes first, no, not that one, I'm sorry, this one first. 17:39 The animals of the sea, the dolphin, right, the beautiful 17:43 whales, all of these fascinating animals and fishes 17:46 of all variety. 17:48 He also makes, what, the animals that are flying. 17:51 The parrot, the eagle, these majestic animals, 17:56 God is adorning his earth. 17:57 Who says amen, who wants to thank God for all these 17:59 beautiful animals that we have, right? 18:01 Praise the Lord, and then He says, "It is good," and then He 18:03 comes back on the sixth day, and what does He do on 18:05 the sixth day? 18:06 He creates the land animals, right? 18:09 He creates the land animals, the elephant, the giraffe, all these 18:12 wonderful, majestic beings, but then comes the crown of 18:15 creation, and who is the crown of creation? 18:20 You and me, amen, you and me. 18:25 The purpose of everything that was created was for, what? 18:28 For you and me. 18:29 It was God's gift to humanity. 18:31 God creates Adam and Eve, our first parents, and He creates 18:33 them with, what? 18:35 He creates them to be a blessing to that which He has created, 18:38 and He tells--He marries them, right? 18:40 That sixth day, He marries them on that day, and He says, I want 18:44 you to know something, I have a wedding gift for you. 18:46 And they're like, really, what is the wedding gift? 18:48 He says, all the earth that I have created is your 18:50 wedding gift, amen. 18:52 And so, what does He do? 18:53 After the end of that sixth day, after that marriage ceremony, 18:57 look at what it says. 18:58 Let's go to Exodus--Genesis chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2, 19:03 look at what it says here. 19:04 Well, let's go to chapter 1, verse 31, "After that," look at 19:09 what it says here. 19:11 "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was," 19:13 what? 19:15 "Very good." 19:16 Remember, the previous days it was good, it was good, it was 19:18 good, it was good, it was good, and now it is very good, 19:22 right, why? 19:23 Because the whole reason for creation was, what? 19:26 Was for the blessing of humanity, amen? 19:29 For Adam and Eve to have that intimate relationship with God, 19:32 with themselves, and with everything that God had created. 19:36 And notice what it says on chapter 2, verse 1. 19:38 "Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were 19:40 finished," on what day? 19:43 It said on the sixth day, but then it says, "And on the 19:46 seventh day God ended his work which He had done, and He rested 19:49 on the seventh day from all his work which He had done, then He 19:53 blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He 19:56 rested from all his work which God had created and made." 19:59 Notice it said first that on the sixth day He finished creating 20:01 everything, and then it said on the seventh day He finished 20:04 creating everything. 20:05 That is an apparent contradiction, but we know the 20:07 Bible does not contradict itself. 20:09 So, what is, how can we understand this? 20:11 Well, one of the ways I learned to understand this is through 20:14 the eyes of a painter, amen? 20:16 A painter, right, if you're a painter, how many of you paint, 20:19 how many of you, a painter, any painters around here? 20:21 Woo, lost art, there's my sister, she is, we have one 20:24 painter, right. 20:25 Lost art, I remember in--when I was in--when I was a kid that's 20:27 all we used to do, I used to paint all the time, I loved it. 20:31 Didn't pick it up, but--so what happens? 20:35 What is the first thing a painter needs, besides paint and 20:37 brushes, what do they need? 20:39 A canvas, right? 20:41 So, let's look at the earth as this canvas, this empty canvas 20:44 that God has placed there, and then what does He do? 20:46 He starts to, what, He starts to paint on it, amen? 20:50 He starts to do the light and the skies and the animals and 20:54 the dry land and the flowers and the fruits and the trees and He 20:59 just--animals all galore, and He just adorns this beautiful 21:03 canvas, and then He puts Adam and Eve in this canvas, amen. 21:08 Is everything that Adam and Eve need to live on that canvas, 21:12 yes, or no? 21:14 Yes, was everything that Adam and Eve needed to survive and be 21:16 a--have a blessing, to be a blessing to God, to themselves, 21:20 and to the world, is it created? 21:23 Yes, but there's one thing missing. 21:25 What was missing on that beautiful canvas? 21:28 The signature, the signature that identifies who is the 21:34 Creator of the earth, the heaven, the seas, 21:37 and the springs of water, amen. 21:38 Every portrait has a signature, for example, we see this 21:41 beautiful picture here of the Arc of the Covenant even though 21:43 it's opposite, the poles, but we'll let that one slide. 21:47 And here in the little corner it has a name. 21:49 So, you're looking at this, and you're saying, wow, this is so 21:51 amazing, this is so beautiful, who created this work of art? 21:55 Well, here in the corner it says, I'm thinking it says 21:57 Paul McK, right? 21:59 Wow, so Paul McK is, what? 22:01 He is the creator, so, my loved ones, did God on 22:04 the creation day. 22:06 For six days He created everything, it was good, good, 22:08 good, good, good, until it was very good, and then what 22:10 did He do? 22:11 He put his stamp, his seal, his signature identifying that 22:15 He is, what? 22:16 He is the Creator, and that's why He says, keep it, right, as 22:20 holy, as blessed, as sanctified, set apart, for what? 22:25 To identify that God is our Creator and that we are his 22:28 creation, amen. 22:30 Now, you might say this little slick guy from New York City 22:33 thinks he knows what he's talking about, am I making this 22:35 stuff up? 22:37 Well, let's go to Exodus, let's go to Exodus chapter 20, Exodus 22:40 chapter 20, we want to make sure that we're not making anything 22:41 up, that the Bible says this very clearly. 22:45 Let's go to Exodus chapter 20. 22:47 Notice, my loved ones, when was the Sabbath established? 22:49 Was it established at Mount Sinai? 22:52 No, was it established in the desert? 22:55 No, where was it established, in creation. 22:58 How many Jews were around in creation? 23:01 Nobody, right, the Jews don't show up until the end of Genesis 23:04 when you have the tribe of Judah. 23:07 Notice what it says in Exodus chapter 20, verse number 8. 23:10 "Remember," let's stop right there. 23:12 What's the words, how does the Fourth Commandment begin? 23:15 "Remember," so if He says remember, it implies that, what? 23:20 Two things are implied, what's implied? 23:23 One, that they might forget about it, and two, remember 23:28 means that they already knew about it. 23:32 When was the Sabbath established? 23:35 In creation, amen. 23:37 It was in creation, it wasn't on Mount Sinai. 23:39 God just took that code, and He wrote it in, He put it in 23:42 written form because of things that we have talked about, but 23:45 they had it, there was already knowledge about this 23:47 from the forefront. 23:49 Now, look at what it says. 23:51 "Remember the Sabbath day," let's stop there. 23:53 Remember, you think, oh, let me remember it, oh, today is the 23:55 Sabbath day. 23:56 That's not--that's what it says in English, right, but the word 24:00 in Hebrew is zakar, and the word zakar does mean remember the 24:07 Sabbath day, but it also means celebrate, that's what the word 24:11 zakar means, commemorate, right? 24:14 I have a question: were the angels celebrating and 24:16 commemorating that God was the Creator, yes, or no? 24:18 Was the early church celebrating and commemorating the God was 24:21 the Creator, yes, or no? 24:22 Yes, and what does He tell us? 24:24 Celebrate the Sabbath day, rejoice in the Sabbath day, it 24:27 is a day of celebration, it is a feast day, amen, it is a day to 24:31 rejoice that God is our creator, and that we are his 24:34 children, amen. 24:36 To remember that He is our Creator, to put aside our daily 24:38 occupations and to dedicate it to Him and to others, amen. 24:43 Exodus 20:8, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it," what? 24:47 "Holy," separate, apart, different from the 24:50 other six days. 24:51 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh 24:53 day is the Sabbath" of Carlos Muñoz. 24:57 Sorry, I'm getting old. 25:00 The seventh day belongs to who? 25:03 The Sabbath of the Lord, your God, amen. 25:05 I'm sorry my loved ones, but the Sabbath does not belong to you, 25:09 it's God's day. 25:10 He gave us six days, but the seventh day He gave it, as what? 25:14 So we can put aside our daily occupations, our daily 25:16 responsibilities, our daily works, and do what? 25:18 And celebrate and commemorate with God and with our church 25:22 family that, what, that God is our God, amen, that He is our 25:25 Creator, that He is the one that deserves all the honor and all 25:29 the glory and all the praise as the early church established, 25:31 who says amen? 25:33 Now, can we prove it, that that's the case? 25:35 Yes, look at what it says in verse number 11. 25:38 Why does God say to keep the Sabbath holy? 25:41 For in six days the Lord did, what? 25:44 "Made," or created, "the heavens, the earth, the sea, and 25:47 all that is in them, and He rested the seventh day, 25:49 therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and He hallowed," or 25:52 sanctified it. 25:53 Who says amen to that? 25:55 Here it's very clear, why does God tell us to keep the 25:57 Sabbath day? 25:59 Because it is, what, it is a memorial of his creative power, 26:02 it is a memorial that He is God and that we are his creation. 26:05 It is a memorial to celebrate and honor that God, thank You 26:09 for creating us. 26:10 Who wants to celebrate and say, God, thank You for creating me? 26:13 Despite the difficulties and trials and tribulations, I'm 26:15 happy to be alive, amen, and so should you be, because we know 26:20 that we have a blessed hope coming forth, who says amen? 26:23 And so, that's the purpose, my loved ones, of celebrating the 26:26 Sabbath day, is creating and celebrating that God is our 26:30 Creator, but did you know that that's not the only reason that 26:33 we celebrate the Sabbath day? 26:35 Because point number two is that we're celebrating, what? 26:39 Freedom, and you're like, what? 26:41 What do you mean celebrating freedom? 26:42 How is the Sabbath a sign of freedom? 26:44 It's very simple, when you remember back in the story of 26:46 Exodus, God's people were enslaved, right? 26:49 How long were they enslaved there, hundreds of years, how 26:51 many days a week were they working, seven days 26:55 a week, right? 26:56 Now, this slavery that God's people were suffering in Egypt 26:59 is a symbol or a representation of some other type of slavery. 27:04 There's a bigger picture here, you have the literal, local 27:07 application, but you have the spiritual, worldwide application 27:11 in regards to these principles, and what was this slavery 27:13 representative of? 27:15 John chapter 8, verse 34 says, "Most assuredly," Jesus said, "I 27:19 say to you that whoever commits sin," is what? 27:22 "A slave to sin." 27:24 So, the representation of slavery in the Scriptures is a 27:27 representation of our slavery to, what, to sin, right? 27:31 To the burden of sin in that sense, and so when you ask 27:35 yourselves, well, what is sin, 1 John chapter 3, verse 4, 27:39 Romans 3:20, Romans 7:7 all point and say, what? 27:43 What is sin, the transgression of what? 27:46 Of the law, the transgression of the nine commandments. 27:50 No, how many commandments are there? 27:53 Ten commandments, and the fourth one is right smack in the 27:56 middle, are you catching this? 27:58 So, if we choose to dishonor God and not celebrate Him as the 28:03 Creator on his holy day, then what is that called? 28:08 Sin, and Jesus says to those that sin, it is, what? 28:12 You are a slave to sin. 28:14 Woo, tough word, look at what it says in Romans chapter 6, 28:17 verse 16. 28:19 "Did you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to 28:21 obey, you are that one's slave whom you obey. 28:24 Whether of sin leading to death," or of what, "obedience 28:28 leading to righteousness." 28:29 Carlos, you're preaching legalism. 28:32 Legalist, that's what you are, preaching about the Sabbath. 28:35 Really, so let's just go out and have everybody, let's just be 28:40 adulterous, let's just murder each other, let's just lie, 28:43 let's just have idols in our house, let's just all do the 28:45 other nine, right? 28:47 Of course not, that has nothing to do, legalism is when you try 28:49 to keep God's law on your own strength, on your own power, on 28:53 your own accord, and Roman's chapter 8 says that it is 28:56 impossible for the flesh to obey the law of God. 29:00 So, when you see the word obedience, I think I mentioned 29:02 this before, when you see obedience leading to 29:05 righteousness, the word obedience is implicit in the 29:09 Hebrew and the Greek surrender, amen. 29:12 Surrender, God says, and I, when you surrender to Me, I will give 29:16 you the power so you can keep My commandments, amen. 29:19 The commandments really are not a list of dos and don'ts even 29:22 though that's how they appear in English and in Spanish too, but 29:25 they're really in Hebrew ten promises. 29:27 God is promising, I am going to make you, I am going to give you 29:31 the power, the desire and the power to live according to My 29:35 ten principles of righteousness that are detailed and explained 29:38 in the ten commandments, who says amen? 29:41 Now, going back to the story, this is the representation, we 29:43 were born in sin, right? 29:46 We were born with a sinful body, and so sin remembers not a 29:49 nature, sin is a choice, who says amen to that? 29:54 And so, because of this sinful nature that we have, we have 29:57 this inclination towards sin, we are predisposed, we have this 30:02 predisposition to be surrendered into temptation and to sin, but 30:06 God promises us victory, who says amen? 30:08 Go with me to Deuteronomy chapter 5, watch this, 30:11 Deuteronomy chapter 5, Deuteronomy chapter 5, and here 30:14 God gives the Ten Commandments the second time. 30:17 Remember, they've been in the desert for 50 years, I'm sorry, 30:19 40 years, and they're about to go in after 40 years, the 30:23 unfaithful, the stubborn should have died away, and now God 30:28 gives them the 10 Commandments again, but when He does this, 30:31 He gives a second reason. 30:33 Deuteronomy chapter 5, who's there, amen? 30:37 Look at what it says in verse number 12, what does it say? 30:43 Observe, right, that word observe in Hebrew is the word 30:46 shamar, it means to protect, to guard, to have in high esteem, 30:52 to honor, that's what it means. 30:54 "Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God 30:57 commanded you. 30:58 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh 31:01 day is the Sabbath of," Carlos Muñoz, sorry, I'm getting old. 31:06 No, it's not, who does the Sabbath belong to? 31:08 It belongs to God. 31:10 Now, notice the reason He gives in Deuteronomy for keeping the 31:13 Sabbath, go please with me to verse number 15, why? 31:17 "And remember that you are," what, "a slave in the land of 31:21 Egypt, a slave to sin in this earth and Babylon, and the Lord 31:26 your God brought you out from there by," what, "by mighty hand 31:30 and by" what, "by outstretched arms." 31:32 This is pointing to the Cross of Calvary, amen, this is 31:36 pointing to God's power to, what, to save us from sin, both 31:39 the penalty of the sin and the power of sin and the presence 31:43 of sin, and how did Jesus Christ do that? 31:46 With outstretched arms on the Cross of Calvary He condemned 31:50 sin in the flesh, amen? 31:52 Woo, so, see, creation, it's, we do not celebrate Sabbath only 31:57 because of creation, but we also celebrate it because of 32:01 redemption, and look at what it says in Galatians chapter 4, 32:04 verse 23 and 31. 32:06 "He who was born of the slave was born according to the flesh, 32:09 and he who was a freeman," through the what? 32:11 "Through the promise," talking about Isaac and Ishmael. 32:14 "So then, brethren, we are not children of the slave," 32:18 but of what? 32:19 "Of the free," why? 32:21 Because Jesus Christ has defeated the enemy, and his 32:25 victory is our victory, amen. 32:27 That's what it says in Revelations chapter 3, verse 21. 32:30 He says that "To those that overcome as I overcame," He's 32:34 telling us My victory over the enemy, My victory over sin is 32:38 your victory too. 32:40 You can be free, you can have freedom, not just from the 32:43 penalty of sin, but from the power of sin, and eventually the 32:46 presence of sin, who says amen? 32:49 And look at what it says in Galatians chapter 5, verse 1. 32:51 Therefore "Stand fast," be firm, persevere, my loved ones. 32:55 "Therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, 32:58 and do not be entangled again with" the what? 33:02 "With the yoke of bondage," amen. 33:04 So, not only has our Lamb, has Jesus Christ given us freedom, 33:08 that stage of atonement, but also through his, what, through 33:11 his high priest ministry. 33:13 He is doing, what, He is ministering this power, He is 33:15 ministering this victory to his church, to his people, amen. 33:20 You should get excited about this, this is fascinating stuff, 33:23 the power, the gospel is now being manifested and ministered 33:27 to those who, what, who accept it, those that enter into the 33:30 new everlasting covenant, amen. 33:33 And can I prove it to you? 33:34 Of course I can, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15 and 16, "For we do 33:37 not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our 33:40 weaknesses," who says amen to that? 33:42 He knows your struggles, He knows your battles, He knows 33:45 what you're going through, amen, and here's 33:48 the interesting thing. 33:49 He knows every single thing, even every bad thing about you 33:53 and me, and yet He still loves us, amen? 33:56 That's wonderful, no condition, the love of God, amen. 33:59 Mercy is conditional, the love of God is not, "For we do not 34:04 have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 34:06 but was in all points tempted as we are," yet, how? 34:10 "Without sin," who says amen to that? 34:12 And why is that important? 34:14 Because our High Priest, "Let us therefore come boldly to the 34:17 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace and 34:20 help in time of need," amen. 34:23 Time of need of what? 34:24 When temptation comes, when the enemy is harassing us, when 34:28 we're being tempted, right, sometimes from within. 34:32 And we can go to God and say, God, I do not want to sin, I do 34:35 not want to give in to temptation, give me the power, 34:39 Christ dwelling in me, Father, is the promise of God, 34:42 of Your victory. 34:43 Help me, Father, to live a righteous life like Jesus 34:46 Christ, does the Father listen to that prayer? 34:49 That is the biggest, quickest prayer that is answered, amen. 34:53 Jesus Christ as our High Priest, who says amen? 34:57 And that's what it says in Exodus 31:13, "Above all you 35:00 shall keep My Sabbath, for this is a" what? 35:03 "A sign," that word in Greek, both in Hebrew and in Greek, a 35:06 sign, a seal, a mark "between Me and you throughout your 35:10 generations, that you may know that I am the Lord that," 35:12 does what? 35:14 "Sanctifies you," in other words, the Sabbath is not just a 35:17 commemoration of creation, it's not just a commemoration of 35:21 redemption, it's also a celebration of what? 35:24 Of sanctification, that we have the Holy Spirit, He is cleansing 35:27 and transforming and making us new creatures, who says amen to 35:31 that, right? 35:33 That's the power, that's the guarantee of our inheritance, it 35:35 says, people, that we are seeing the Spirit work in our hearts, 35:39 and He's changing and transforming us into, what, into 35:42 the image of His Son Jesus Christ. 35:46 Ooh, amazing stuff, my loved ones, and that's what it means 35:49 to have the law written in our hearts and our minds, right? 35:53 The mind of Christ, the character of Christ, the faith 35:56 of Christ that will be--we will need if we are to be able to 35:59 stand in the End Times, who says amen to that? 36:03 But do you know that's not the only reason why we celebrate the 36:05 Sabbath day, there's another reason. 36:07 Really, another one? 36:08 Oh, we could do this all day. 36:11 Look at what it says in Isaiah chapter 66, verse 22 and 23, 36:14 "'As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall 36:17 remain before Me,' says the Lord 'So shall your descendants and 36:19 your name remain.'" 36:20 I have a question, are we in the new 36:22 heavens and the new earth yet? 36:24 We're not there yet, right, we're not there yet, but look at 36:25 what it says in Isaiah chapter 66:22-23. 36:29 "And it shall come to pass that," in the new heavens and 36:31 the new earth, "From month to month and from Sabbath to 36:34 Sabbath, all Jews shall come to worship before Me." 36:39 No, who? 36:40 "All flesh," amen. 36:42 That means that for the rest of eternity in the new heavens and 36:45 the new earth we're going to be, what, we're going to be 36:48 celebrating, commemorating the Sabbath day, who says 36:51 amen to that? 36:53 You're not going to come late, you're not going to fall asleep, 36:58 because every Sabbath day we're going to come to praise and 37:00 honor the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He's going to be 37:02 preaching every Sabbath day, amen? 37:04 So, you're not going to have to be, like, who's preaching today? 37:06 I'm not going to go to church today. 37:08 That's not going to happen, so start getting those minds ready 37:12 for this eternity where we will be celebrating the Sabbath day, 37:16 who says, amen, praise the Lord for that? 37:18 And that's, my loved ones, the Sabbath is what, a celebration 37:22 of what, of creation, of redemption, of sanctification, 37:25 and of glorification, who says praise the Lord? 37:28 But it also says in the lesson outline that the Sabbath rest is 37:33 for who? 37:34 For the strangers, where? 37:36 In your gates. 37:38 And so, when Sabbath was created, my loved ones, what was 37:41 the purpose of the Sabbath? 37:43 What was only for God's people? 37:46 What was only for those that chose to follow God? 37:49 No, of course not, it says in Mark 2:27 and 28, "And Jesus 37:52 said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for,'" who? 37:55 "'For mankind,'" the Greek word anthropos, where we get mankind, 37:58 human beings, or anthropology, right? 38:01 The Sabbath was made for humanity, wasn't that the case 38:04 in Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2? 38:06 Yes, it was created for everybody, it was to be a 38:08 delight, a rejoicing, a celebration, that was God's 38:11 ideal, but what happened? 38:14 People have forgotten about the Sabbath day, the enemy has made 38:17 war on the Sabbath day, and so we see very clearly in Exodus 38:21 chapter 20, verse 10 that "The seventh day is the Sabbath of 38:24 the LORD your God. 38:26 In it you shall do no work: nor you, nor your son, nor your 38:28 daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor 38:30 your cattle, nor your stranger," no whoever is what? 38:33 "Within your gates," my loved ones, the Sabbath was 38:35 for everyone. 38:37 The Sabbath, my loved ones, it says in Isaiah also that the 38:41 Sabbath was for the foreigners too, for the Enochs, it was 38:44 everybody that wanted to accept the Lord, right? 38:46 He said, come, receive this blessing and you will be blessed 38:50 in My holy mountains, amen. 38:53 Now, sometimes it's not only for those that are in our doors and 38:56 among our homes, but it's also towards other people, 39:00 what do I mean? 39:02 I used to, when I began to keep the Sabbath, I was a little 39:04 loose with the Sabbath, right? 39:06 And so, sometimes when I was living in New York City, one 39:09 time I remember I was coming out of this youth service, we had 39:11 youth services on Friday when Sabbath began, and so one day 39:14 I'm coming home, and I did not prepare, 39:17 and so I'm hungry, right? 39:18 Mmm, God is not going to want me not to eat, so across from my 39:23 apartment building there was a little Chinese spot, so I go 39:25 there and I ask for a nice order of fried rice. 39:29 And as I'm standing there waiting for my order of fried 39:31 rice, thinking, you know, it's the Sabbath day, it's okay, I'm 39:34 hungry, God understands, right there it clicked. 39:38 I saw this Asian dude sweating like a madman getting 39:43 my food ready. 39:45 And he's, [sizzling noises], and it clicked. 39:51 God said, "Hypocrite!', why? 39:55 Because I don't work on the Sabbath day, but I put other 39:58 people to work for me, are you catching this? 40:03 That's when it clicked, it's, and I know this because in New 40:07 York City the Jews are all over the place, they won't even touch 40:09 an elevator button, but they'll have other people do things for 40:12 them on the Sabbath day. 40:14 Not all of them, not all of them, but this is how it works, 40:18 everybody in New York City knows how it works around them. 40:21 This is hypocrisy, because I'm resting, but I'm making somebody 40:24 else work for me. 40:26 Oh, well, you know, it's their job that--we're supposed to be 40:28 showing them something different, amen. 40:31 We're not--we're supposed to be revealing something new to them, 40:33 something different. 40:35 And some people say, well--I had recently a couple come up to me, 40:40 says, listen, my kid is grown up now, and, you know, they don't 40:44 want to keep the Sabbath, they don't want to honor the Sabbath 40:48 in our homes, what do we do, do we compromise? 40:50 I'm like, no, you don't compromise. 40:52 It's like, no matter how old they are, if they are living 40:55 under your roof, they're your responsibility 40:57 and they're your rules. 40:58 Oh, but if we put the rules too tight, they'll leave. 41:01 I'm going to say something that might hurt, but if they choose 41:05 not to respect and honor the rules in your house what are 41:07 based on the Word of God, then let them leave, let them leave. 41:12 Now, you might say that's a little rough, and I'll tell you, 41:14 I'll give you an example. 41:16 What did they do, I said, if you compromise with your beliefs and 41:19 let them, and break what is said here in Exodus chapter 20 and 41:23 let them do what they want to do under your roof--and I'm talking 41:26 about once they're 18 and over, because if it's 18 and under 41:28 this should not even be in discussion. 41:31 Then, if you compromise with them, what you're telling them 41:35 is that the principles of God can be compromised with, that's 41:39 what you're telling them. 41:40 Mommy and daddy compromised with truth, and the example you're 41:43 setting for the other ones, also, that are watching, 41:46 you can't do that. 41:48 And I had a couple that they did that, they stayed firm with 41:52 their daughter, and the little ones were watching, she wanted 41:55 to do whatever she wanted on the Sabbath, and they said, we're 41:57 sorry, we cannot let you, you're going to live under this roof, 42:00 you're going to honor the principles of the Kingdom that 42:02 are established in this home, and she left. 42:05 She left when she was 18, and she living la vida loca, right? 42:11 But guess what? 42:14 When you go living la vida loca, the living la vida loca beats 42:16 you up, and she came running back. 42:19 But you know what, she, not only to her, but to the little ones, 42:22 the other children, they were, she was showing their parents, 42:25 we don't compromise with truth, we don't compromise with God 42:28 principles, amen. 42:29 There are places to compromise, but not in the principles of 42:31 God, who says amen to that? 42:33 And so, I know it's not easy, I know it's difficult, but we have 42:37 to stay firm and trust in the Word of God, because had they 42:40 compromised, then the little ones would have all thought, oh, 42:43 truth can be compromised, there are limits to the principles 42:47 of God. 42:48 No, my loved ones, God is very clear. 42:51 And then we have point number four, serving others 42:53 honors, what? 42:55 Honors God's Sabbath, who says amen? 42:57 Do we see Jesus Christ healing on the Sabbath day? 43:00 Do we see Jesus healing on the Sabbath day? 43:03 That was one of the main issues that was happening during his 43:06 time, it was the healing, and they were always the first, 43:09 these were always trying to point at Him. 43:11 Jesus was trying to bless these people that were sick, these 43:14 people that had these burdens, and they were wanting to keep 43:17 them under that burden. 43:20 Look at what I wrote here, many times we, as the Pharisees did, 43:25 place holy things over human needs, thus losing sight that 43:30 the purpose of the holy things are for the human need, amen. 43:37 So, sometimes we put, oh, this just belong to God, and we push 43:40 aside when known understanding that the purpose of everything 43:43 that God has done is to be a blessing to humanity, amen. 43:47 It's to be a blessing for you and me, and so we see this, and 43:50 this is one thing that really came out in the lesson. 43:53 Go with me please to Matthew chapter 12, I want to share 43:55 something with you, Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12. 44:00 There's one very interesting healing on the Sabbath day, 44:04 Matthew chapter 12, verse number 9. 44:08 In verse number 1 through 8 you have the issue with the bread, 44:11 right, eating on the Sabbath day. 44:13 And, of course, that has to do with the human needs. 44:14 Again, they're placing the holiness of the Sabbath over the 44:18 human need, which in that moment was about the need of the 44:23 physical need, but also the spiritual need. 44:25 Look at what it says in Matthew chapter 12, verse number 9, "Now 44:29 when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue and 44:32 behold there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked 44:35 Him, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath,' that they 44:38 might accuse Him. 44:40 Jesus said, 'What man is there among you who has one sheep, and 44:43 if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not lay hold of it 44:47 and lift it out. 44:48 Of how much more value then, is a man than a sheep? 44:51 Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.' 44:55 Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand,' and he 44:57 stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the others, 45:00 and then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him 45:03 how they might destroy Him." 45:06 This story is very interesting, why do I say that? 45:10 This man had two hands, one hand, the right hand, was 45:15 withered, the left hand was normal. 45:18 I believe, and I'm just going to share this with you, from what I 45:22 have understood in the study about the Sabbath day, that 45:25 there are two main components to the Sabbath day. 45:28 It is the things that we do and the things that we 45:31 don't do, right? 45:34 Now, the part that we have and works good and we know are the 45:37 things that we don't do. 45:38 You don't do this, you don't do this, you don't do this, you 45:40 don't do this, you don't do this, we're experts at that. 45:44 But the withered hand of this young, of this man representing 45:47 the Sabbath day is what we have forgotten to do, 45:50 and it is, what? 45:52 It is what needs healing, and what Jesus healed here is 45:53 about, what? 45:55 The things that we should be doing, not just what we should 45:58 not be doing and make it a do not, do not, do not, do not, do 46:00 not, do not, do not, but what should we be doing? 46:04 Because when you focus on the do nots, like focusing on sin, then 46:07 that's what you're going to fall into. 46:09 But when you focus on righteousness, when you focus on 46:11 the do things that we should be doing, that's when you should be 46:14 focusing, then, on the goodness of God, amen. 46:17 And so, what does this represent? 46:19 I believe that this story represents how we have the list 46:22 of do nots on the Sabbath, but we have to restore the dos. 46:25 What do you do on the Sabbath, what is the purpose 46:27 of the Sabbath? 46:29 Jesus says, it's for healing, it's for ministering to others, 46:31 it's for going to do good to others. 46:33 If you're tired, yes, you need some physical rest, go rest. 46:36 Do you want to go take a nature walk? 46:37 Go ahead and take your nature walk, amen for that, right, 46:39 spend time in nature. 46:41 But there is also needs to be a time on the Sabbath where you 46:44 are ministering, why? 46:47 Well, I do it during the week, amen for that, we all have our 46:49 personal ministries, but the Sabbath is different because on 46:52 the Sabbath day, nobody's working. 46:55 We all have our time, and so it is our opportunity as a 46:57 congregation, as a church, to go out and, what? 47:02 To go out and show our community, our neighbors 47:05 that we're here. 47:06 Together as a family to go minister to them, amen. 47:10 That's the purpose of the Sabbath day, to heal, to be a 47:12 blessing, to pray, to do these things with other people. 47:16 That's why I love what it said on the lesson on this day, it 47:18 says, human agendas are not part of God's Sabbath ideal. 47:22 Rather, we are invited to look out for those who struggle, who 47:26 are captives, who are hungry and naked and walk in darkness, and 47:29 whose names no one seems to remember. 47:31 More than any other day of the week, the Sabbath should take us 47:34 out of ourselves and our own selfishness and cause us to 47:38 think more about others and others's needs than about 47:42 ourselves and our needs. 47:45 You thought I was making this up. 47:48 You want to spend time, do what you need to do, but take every 47:51 Sabbath, take a period of time and serve somebody. 47:55 Go serve others, and especially serve somebody that maybe they 47:57 cannot serve themself, amen. 48:00 Look at what it says in the book "Living by Faith" about the 48:02 healing power on the Sabbath. 48:04 "God gave to Jesus 'power over all flesh, that He should give 48:08 eternal life' to all who come to Him. 48:10 By the power which He had to deliver the bodies of men from 48:13 disease, He showed power to release their souls from sin. 48:17 'For whether is easier, to say, thy sins be forgiven thee,'" 48:20 or that, what? 48:22 "Or say, Arise, and walk." 48:23 What was easier, what was easier? 48:25 To say your sins are forgiven as He says, to show that I am the 48:27 Lord of the Sabbath, stand up and rise up, amen. 48:31 Showing that the power behind the power of redemption is the 48:35 same power of creation, to restore humanity back again into 48:38 his presence. 48:39 "In performing these miracles on the Sabbath day, Jesus was 48:42 showing that the Sabbath is to free man from bondage, and not 48:48 to be a bondage to them. 48:51 It commemorates creative power, by which all who believe are 48:54 made new creatures in Christ," amen. 48:57 "'For we which have believed do enter into rest,' even God's 49:02 rest," and look at how this quote finishes. 49:05 "By these miracles Christ teaches us that the Sabbath is 49:08 the crowning glory of the Gospel. 49:10 Kept as God has given it to us, it enables us to see Christ as 49:14 both Redeemer and Creator." 49:17 And look at this sentence. 49:19 "His Redeeming power is," what, "is His creative power," amen. 49:23 "The Sabbath of the Lord, the memorial of creation, reminds us 49:27 of the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes." 49:31 Who says hallelujah, amen to that. 49:33 That, my loved ones, is the goal of what Jesus was trying to show 49:37 when He was healing on the Sabbath, that in the same way He 49:40 had power to heal from infirmities and leper and all 49:44 these other sicknesses is the same power He has to heal us 49:46 from the bondage of sin and the consequences of sin and to 49:50 restore his righteousness in us, who says amen? 49:54 And we finish with the last point, the sign that we 49:57 belong to God. 49:58 Did you know that? 50:00 That was the thing that identified, one of the main 50:02 things that identified God's people. 50:04 Ezequiel 20:19 and 20, "I am the LORD your God; walk in My 50:07 statutes, and be careful to obey My rules, and keep My Sabbath 50:11 holy that they might be a," what, "a sign," a seal, "between 50:15 Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." 50:20 Who wants to say, God, I want You to be my God, I want You to 50:21 be my Lord? 50:23 Then He says, what? 50:25 "Then honor My Sabbath day," amen. 50:26 Hold My Sabbath day up, and notice that the Sabbath as this 50:28 seal or sign, it says in Romans 4:11, "He Abraham received the 50:33 sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith 50:37 which he had while still uncircumcised that he might be 50:39 the father of all those who believe, though they are 50:42 uncircumcised that righteousness by Me," what, 50:46 "imputed to them also." 50:49 What does it mean? 50:50 Circumcision was the external sign, of what, of the faith that 50:54 they had, right? 50:56 The faith that was inside, the circumcision of the heart, the 50:59 new heart that was the evidence, when they would circumcise 51:02 themselves what they were supposed to be reflecting 51:04 off of the heart. 51:05 And in the same way, my loved ones, today the sign or the seal 51:08 of righteousness of God is, what? 51:10 When we surrender, and when we say, God, I want to honor You in 51:14 all ways, upholding Your righteous law, upholding Your 51:17 principles, and that's how the Sabbath becomes this seal of 51:20 righteousness too, not because in it is righteousness, but 51:24 because God through Christ dwelling in us is restoring and 51:29 giving us, manifesting the righteousness of Christ. 51:32 And so, we don't keep the Sabbath, we don't honor 51:34 the Sabbath to be saved, to be justified. 51:37 It is because we have been justified, it is because we have 51:40 been forgiven, it is because we have been redeemed, my loved 51:42 ones, that we say, Lord, I want to honor and uphold Your Sabbath 51:46 day, which is a commemoration and a celebration that You are 51:50 our God and we are Your children, who says amen to that? 51:53 Woo, my loved ones, my time is over. 51:56 It was--there's so much, we could do this all day, keep on 51:59 studying, keep on rejoicing, and know that God wants to give us 52:01 that rest. 52:03 Not just rest, physical rest, but rest from the ways of the 52:06 world, rest from the burdens of the world, and rest from our own 52:09 works trying to live up in harmony with God's law. 52:14 He is the one that promises to do the work in us, we just have 52:16 to let Him do what He promised to do, and we will see his power 52:20 and his glory manifested in our lives, amen. 52:23 Who wants to say this morning, I want the rest that comes with 52:26 Jesus Christ, amen. 52:28 Let's pray, Father, we thank You for this opportunity, we thank 52:30 You for the blessing of studying Your lesson today and just 52:33 touching and dabbling, Father, in some of these principles in 52:36 regard to the Sabbath. 52:38 Father, hopefully there is somebody that is watching that 52:40 has never heard this truth before, that is starting to 52:44 learn about this. 52:45 We ask that Your Spirit continue to work in that heart, that they 52:48 can go by the Word and the Word only, not custom, not tradition, 52:51 not popularity. 52:53 What does the Word say, live by the Word. 52:55 And that we who have accepted this wonderful truth may be 52:59 ready and prepared to share and to expound and to deepen the 53:03 understanding in regards to this wonderful truth of Your 53:06 Sabbath, of Your law, of Your righteousness, 53:08 of Your own heart. 53:10 We thank You, Father, for this blessing, and we ask this in 53:12 Jesus's name, amen. 53:14 Happy Sabbath, everyone. 53:18 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life 53:20 changing, free resource. 53:22 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 53:24 download a digital copy straight to your computer 53:27 or mobile device. 53:28 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 53:31 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 53:36 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 53:39 download option on the request page. 53:41 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 53:45 "Amazing Facts" wherever and whenever you want, and most 53:48 important, to share it with others. 53:56 announcer: "Amazing Facts" changed lives. 54:04 female: Well, my conversion story is, when I was 54:08 in the Philippines I just graduated as a nurse, and 54:13 afterwards I did not have any religion. 54:18 And one time I found myself inside a small church, 54:21 Catholic church in Manilla, and before a big cross. 54:27 And I was kneeling before, and I could hear Jesus telling me to 54:33 enter the convent, save myself and also my family. 54:37 And I said, Lord, I would like to follow You all the way. 54:40 At that point I seemed to be happy externally, but because 54:45 inside the convent we don't read the Bible, we don't study about 54:49 the Word of God. 54:52 We prayed the rosaries, we also at the same time studied the 54:55 lives of the Saints and also our founders, and the encyclicals of 55:00 the Pope, and the Virgin Mary. 55:04 And so, I do not know the truth, and I had this torture of 55:07 conscience, the guilty feelings that cannot be resolved. 55:11 So, I would confess to the priest in the confessional box, 55:15 saying, "Father, forgive me, since my last confession was 55:19 last week, since then I have committed the following sin, 55:23 including the root cause, why am I falling and falling in that 55:27 same sin over and over again?" 55:31 And still, for 21 long years I struggle and I struggle 55:36 and I struggle. 55:38 I realized that I was totally empty, I was totally helpless 55:43 and hopeless, and so depressed, and so desperate that I would 55:48 like already to end my life. 55:51 I was working for five years as dean of the University of 55:55 St. Augustine College of Nursing in Iloilo City, one of 55:59 the islands in the Philippines. 56:02 After five years I received my commission from my parents to 56:07 help my sister, who is being a battered woman. 56:11 This is one of the reasons why I came over to United States, 56:16 it is because my sister needs my help. 56:20 As I was working in the hospital in New York, my boss, Seraphin, 56:24 he was so gracious enough to give me an invitation to the 56:28 Millennium Prophecy. 56:30 As I was listening to Pastor Doug Batchelor's presentation my 56:35 heart, really, was beating so fast, and my mind, I'm able to 56:40 grasp the truth that this is the truth that I have been longing 56:46 to hear all my life, that I have been seeking for so long. 56:51 My personal relationship with Jesus, I can see Jesus as my 56:56 personal Savior. 56:58 He is not only the Savior of the whole world, but He is my 57:02 personal Savior. 57:04 He was the one who delivered me mightily from the depths of sin 57:10 from the mighty clay. 57:12 Pastor Doug Batchelor has been used by the Lord in my 57:16 conversion, the "Amazing Facts," I owe to them. 57:21 The Lord really blessed this ministry, and I'm so proud I was 57:25 able to attend this Millennium Prophecy. 57:29 My life has never been the same, it has given me that peace, that 57:34 joy that never--I have never tasted in my life, and now I am 57:41 set free to be able to work for Him and to follow Him. 57:48 ♪♪♪ 57:58 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-08-25