Participants: Jill Morikone (Host), Pr. Tom Ferguson, Mollie Steenson, Pr. C.A. Murray, Shelley Quinn
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000015S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:24 Our study today is the Feed My Sheep, 00:27 1 and 2 Peter. 00:31 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:34 We're so glad that you have joined us today. 00:37 As we open up the Word of God, 00:38 as we get into the scriptures and study 00:41 what He has for us today. 00:43 We are on lesson number three, A Royal Priesthood. 00:48 We're studying the quarterly, Feed My Sheep. 00:51 This is 1 and 2 Peter. 00:53 And if you want to follow along, 00:55 we want to encourage you to go to the website and download. 00:58 That is absg.adventist.org. 01:03 And you can download the lessons 01:04 that we are studying here on this panel. 01:07 Once again, that's A-B-S-G. 01:10 That's for Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org. 01:16 And we have the lesson there. 01:18 I want to introduce to you the panel that we have here, 01:21 just to open up and study the Word of God. 01:23 To my left is Pastor Tom Ferguson. 01:25 You are the pastor of 01:27 the Marion Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:28 and a good deal of other churches 01:30 here in Southern Illinois. 01:31 In the district, it's correct. 01:33 And we're so glad to have you here. 01:34 Next to you is Shelley Quinn. 01:35 And, Shelley, I just appreciate your heart for God, 01:38 and your mentorship. 01:40 And Shelley is our 3ABN Program Development Manager, 01:43 and you wear many other hats. 01:45 Pastor CA Murray is to your left. 01:47 You are the General Manager of 3ABN Proclaim, 01:50 student of the Word, 01:52 and you wear many, many hats here at 3ABN. 01:55 And we're just blessed by your presence here in this panel. 01:59 And at the end, last but not least 02:02 is Sister Mollie Steenson who is our boss, 02:05 3ABN Vice President, and General Manager, 02:07 and a woman of the Word, 02:09 and the Sabbath School teacher in your own right. 02:11 So welcome to our panel. 02:12 And we want to welcome you at home. 02:14 Thank you for taking this time to open up the Word of God. 02:17 We want to encourage you to get your Bibles 02:19 and to study along with us 02:21 as we delve into A Royal Priesthood. 02:24 Before we do this week's memory text, 02:27 we want to go to the Lord in prayer. 02:29 And, Pastor Tom, would you open up in prayer for us? 02:32 Dear Heavenly Father, we count it a blessing 02:34 to be able to break bread together. 02:36 We invite Your Spirit to give us understanding. 02:39 Lord, you know the hearts and minds 02:41 of everyone that is listening, 02:43 that is watching this program today. 02:46 Lord, meet us where we are, take us to Yourself. 02:49 And, Lord, I pray that You will speak through our hearts. 02:51 I pray that, Lord, You will, 02:54 through Your Holy Spirit give us guidance 02:57 to bring out the things in Your Word 02:58 that all of us need to hear and to discuss. 03:00 Yes, thank you. 03:02 And it's all to Your glory that we we're here today, 03:05 and we want to give You all the praise, 03:07 in Jesus' precious name, amen. 03:09 Amen. 03:11 Our memory text, and we'll quote it together 03:12 here is 1 Peter 2:9. 03:16 I think this is one of my favorite verses 03:18 in either 1 or 2 Peter. 03:20 And possibly in the entire New Testament, 03:23 I love this verse. 03:24 This is from the New King James Version. 03:27 "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 03:31 a holy nation, His own special people, 03:36 that you may proclaim the praises of Him 03:39 who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 03:44 Amen. 03:45 Now Peter is using covenant language in that verse. 03:51 Chosen generation, royal priesthood, 03:54 holy nation, God's own special people. 03:58 And as we're looking at this week, 04:01 as the panel we'll be discussing. 04:03 We're looking at the responsibility 04:07 of being God's covenant people. 04:10 We're going to look at the things to avoid 04:12 or you could say the negative traits of character. 04:14 And the things that God calls us to do 04:16 as His covenant people. 04:18 We're going to talk about 04:19 becoming a part of God's spiritual building. 04:22 Part of the church of which Jesus Christ 04:24 is the chief cornerstone. 04:26 We'll look at walking in obedience 04:28 to God's covenant promises. 04:30 Exploring how we as New Testament believers 04:33 are still part of God's covenant people. 04:36 And finally, how God calls us as covenant people 04:39 to share the gospel with others. 04:42 So on Sunday, we look at Living as a Christian. 04:45 And we're in 1 Peter 2:1-3. 04:49 1 Peter 2:1-3. 04:52 Here we're looking at the negative traits of character 04:55 or things to avoid as God's covenant people. 04:57 And then we'll look at the things we are to do 05:00 as God's covenant people. 05:02 Verse 1, "Therefore, laying aside all malice, 05:05 all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking..." 05:10 We're going to stop there, 05:11 that's all the negative or the things to put off. 05:14 So you could say put off malice. 05:16 In the Greek, it means evil, wickedness or malice 05:20 but especially, it's an underlying principle of evil 05:24 which is present even when it's not outwardly expressed. 05:28 So in other words, I could be hiding 05:30 under a cloak of Christianity, 05:33 under a guise of everything is looking good, 05:35 but yet I have malice, 05:37 I have evil or wickedness inside. 05:40 And instead of that, 05:41 we are to take on seeking others good. 05:46 Instead of carrying malice toward other people, 05:51 I'm to look for the good in Pastor Tom. 05:53 I'm to look for the good 05:54 and try to seek the good of Shelley, 05:56 or Pastor CA, or of Mollie to seek others good. 05:59 "Lay aside malice and deceit." 06:03 Instead of speaking deceitfully, 06:05 we are called to speak the truth and love. 06:08 Speak with truthfulness and honesty. 06:11 "Lay aside hypocrisy." 06:14 Literally, acting underneath a mask. 06:17 You know when my sister and I, 06:18 there's only two of us in our family. 06:20 And when we were growing up, 06:22 we would go to church but prior to going to church, 06:25 I don't know if Mollie or Shelley, 06:27 you can relate to this. 06:29 We had to spend Friday night 06:30 with our hair up in this awful pink sponge rollers. 06:33 Like you would, my mom... 06:35 Your hair would be wet, 06:36 and you're curling on these pink foam, 06:37 and you'd go to bed, and you'd sleep 06:39 with those curlers in your head 06:41 'cause I don't know why you're supposed to have 06:42 curly hair on the Sabbath, I have no idea. 06:44 But we'd do this every Friday night. 06:46 And so then, you couldn't sleep well because of that, 06:49 and we'd go into church, and we're just little things, 06:52 my sister and I, sitting in the pew. 06:54 I can remember my legs swinging, 06:56 so you're not old enough for your feet to touch the floor. 06:59 And people would walk by and they would say, 07:02 "How are the Penny Angels today?" 07:05 Now Penny is our maiden name. 07:07 How are the Penny Angels today? 07:09 And we would look up with these cherubic smiles and say, 07:13 "We're doing well." 07:14 And as soon as the person turned their back, 07:17 my sister would kick me underneath the pew 07:20 or maybe I would elbow her in the ribs. 07:22 And our private little argument 07:24 would continue until the next person came up and said, 07:28 "How are the Penny Angels today?" 07:31 And we'd say, "Oh, we're fine." 07:33 And then this time, I would kick my sister. 07:36 That is hypocrisy. 07:39 Having a cloak of godliness, right? 07:42 Looking like everything's fine but inside not doing so well. 07:46 Instead of hypocrisy, God calls us to be open, 07:49 transparent in our words 07:52 and in our actions toward other people. 07:54 We're to lay off malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy. 08:00 Envy is being glad when someone else experiences pain. 08:06 Envy is displeasure when someone else 08:09 experiences something good. 08:12 It is instead of longing to raise myself 08:16 to the level of someone that you wish you were, 08:18 it's trying to pull them down to my own level. 08:23 We call that the crab mentality, 08:25 you know, those little crabs that scuttle about. 08:27 I don't like crabs, but Greg likes crabs. 08:30 And so we were in Texas, 08:32 and they had all these little crabs by the ocean, 08:35 and they're just everywhere. 08:36 And I told, "Greg, ooh." 08:38 He said, "Oh, let's just watch them 08:39 come out of their home." 08:41 So you can see them come out... 08:42 But if you were to collect crabs, 08:43 and you stick them in a bucket, you know, 08:45 you don't have to put a lid on the bucket, 08:47 and why is that? 08:48 Because when one crab sticks up a little icky pincer, 08:52 I think they're icky and tries to pull, you know, crawl up, 08:55 another one pulls his pincer up and pulls him back down. 08:59 They call that the crab mentality. 09:02 If I can't get out of the bucket, 09:04 you ain't getting out of the bucket either. 09:06 Pulling someone else down, envy. 09:08 The last negative is evil speaking. 09:13 Instead of speaking evil of other people, 09:15 God calls us to speak kindly. 09:18 Be kindly affectionate to one to another 09:20 in love preferring each other. 09:22 Now, let's look at the things as God's covenant people, 09:24 we're supposed to put on. 09:26 Verse 2, "As new born babes, 09:28 desire the pure milk of the Word, 09:31 that you may grow thereby, 09:33 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 09:38 Desire the pure milk of the Word. 09:40 In the Greek the word desire means to long for, 09:44 strain after, desire greatly. 09:49 You know, I like to eat... Can I say that? 09:52 Sure. I like to eat. 09:54 So when I get up in the morning, 09:55 what do I'm thinking about? 09:58 "I got toast coming, 09:59 or I'm going to eat some granola 10:01 or I'm going to," you know, "have some fried potatoes." 10:04 Right, you want to eat, but God says, 10:07 "Not desiring stuff like that, desire most earnestly, 10:11 long after the Word of God." 10:15 Desire the Word of God. 10:17 The Word of God helps us grow in Jesus. 10:20 It shows us Jesus. It transforms our character. 10:23 And I think in a special way, 10:24 the Word of God pushes out the negative aspects. 10:28 All these negatives in verse 1, and fills us with Jesus. 10:31 Now, I have a little experiment here, hopefully, 10:34 it's going to work. 10:35 So in this glass, you know, what I have in my glass? 10:39 Cranberry juice. 10:41 It looks like cranberry juice, it's actually grape juice 10:42 but it's probably diluted grape juice, 10:44 but it looks like cranberry juice. 10:46 I have my grape juice or my cranberry juice here. 10:49 So imagine this is your mind or my mind 10:53 filled with passion, lust, 10:59 malice, deceit, hypocrisy, 11:03 all the things of the world. 11:04 The things that Satan wants to put in our character 11:07 and in our heart. 11:09 And when I get up in the morning, 11:11 I'm going to take the Word of God. 11:14 And I'm going to immerse myself in the Word of God. 11:17 I'm going to start taking the Word of God in. 11:19 So if I just pour a little bit of the Word of God in here, 11:22 what happens to my cranberry juice 11:23 or my grape juice? 11:25 It's a little diluted. It dilutes it, right? Okay. 11:27 There is some of God in here, some of the Word of God, 11:30 some of the fruits of the Spirit, 11:32 the attributes of God, 11:34 but I still got some junk sitting here. 11:36 Now what happens if I keep pouring? 11:38 Now it's going to overflow, right? 11:40 But what if I keep pouring? 11:45 Now I'm not sure if we're at that point yet, 11:47 we'll try and see, because it reflects from off here. 11:49 If I pick that up, is that clear? 11:51 It's pretty clear. It's pretty clear? 11:53 It's getting there. Let's do a little more and see. 12:00 That's clear. You see that? 12:02 Yes. 12:03 So when we put, fill our minds with the Word of God, 12:07 it automatically pushes out the sin, 12:12 the selfishness, the pride, the negative things. 12:16 So as we desire to be, let me move this over, 12:19 God's covenant people, He wants to transform us. 12:25 He wants to make us into His image. 12:27 I think of Romans 12. 12:30 Romans 12:2. 12:32 I think we have time to turn there real fast, 12:34 and then I'll pass it to you, Pastor Tom. 12:36 Romans 12:2. 12:42 "Do not be conformed to this world, 12:45 but be ye transformed..." 12:48 Or the Greek is metamorphosed like the butterfly. 12:52 "Transformed by the renewing of your mind, 12:56 that you may prove what is that good 12:57 and acceptable and perfect will of God." 13:00 So as God's covenant keeping people, 13:03 He wants to transform us into the image of Jesus. 13:06 Now, Pastor Tom, you have Monday 13:09 about God calling us the living stone. 13:12 Yes, right. 13:13 Yeah, and I just think about what you just shared 13:15 where He wants to transform us. 13:20 We need to behold to have that transformation. 13:23 And He calls us into, 13:24 as you continue through chapter 2:4, 13:28 it says that we are to be coming to Him 13:30 as to a living stone. 13:32 And when I was reading into that, 13:33 I realized that isn't just coming to Him one time, 13:36 that isn't just having a distant memory, 13:38 that is actually a continually coming to God. 13:43 And for that transformation to be taking place 13:46 'cause He is a living stone, which tells me 13:48 that it has a transformational effect on my life. 13:54 "And He is rejected by men, 13:57 but chosen by God and precious, 14:00 you also as living stones 14:03 are being built up a spiritual house, 14:06 a holy priesthood..." 14:08 Now when I think about a spiritual house, 14:11 in the old covenant 14:13 the spiritual house was the sanctuary. 14:16 And my mind went to the idea that Jesus said, 14:20 "This house will be torn down and be built up in three days." 14:24 And it's interesting too 14:26 because when you go to Isaiah 8:14, it says, 14:29 "He will be a sanctuary." 14:33 So it's a dwelling place is what Christ will be 14:36 when the Messiah comes. 14:39 So here we have, you know, 14:40 these different word analogies that are used in Scripture, 14:45 we are His children, we are family, 14:47 brothers, and sisters in Christ, 14:49 but here we are living stones. 14:51 And the only reason there's life in us 14:54 is because of the chief cornerstone 14:57 who is the living stone that we keep coming to. 15:00 We must keep coming to Him in order to experience that. 15:04 And the other things here is a spiritual house. 15:08 You know, when I think about it, 15:10 oftentimes we think church 15:11 is the place in which we worship. 15:13 It is in one sense, 15:15 and it's not the sense of that building, 15:16 it is actually when the stones, 15:18 the living stones all come together in worship. 15:24 This is where we have the building, 15:26 the spiritual house of God. 15:28 It also mentions in there that we are a holy priesthood. 15:33 You know, in the old covenant, we used to have to go, 15:36 if you were Jewish, you would have to go, 15:38 take your best lamb, 15:40 lay your sins symbolic on the head of that lamb, 15:43 and slit its throat, 15:45 and then it would go from there 15:47 that the high priest would take that. 15:50 We couldn't go directly to God. 15:51 We had to go through the priestly system. 15:54 But what we see here is that we are all 15:58 a part of the holy priesthood. 16:00 And meaning, as a living stone 16:02 the Holy Spirit is dwelling in all of us, 16:05 and we can boldly go before the throne of grace 16:08 because of our high priest who is interceding for us 16:12 in the heavenly sanctuary. 16:14 So we're to offer up spiritual sacrifices. 16:18 And when I looked into that, 16:19 what are these spiritual sacrifices? 16:22 It is actually thoughts and deeds of love, 16:27 loving thoughts and deeds 16:28 that only God can produce in us. 16:32 It's the place which we are called to be. 16:35 Now oftentimes people, 16:37 they say, "I want be a Christian, 16:38 but I don't want to go to church, 16:40 I don't want to be around Christians." 16:42 And that is not the community that God is attempting to build 16:47 because like each one of us on the panel 16:49 and each one of us in every church together, 16:53 we're all the living stones 16:54 in which God is working uniquely through, 16:57 knit together by Him, 16:59 for Him to minister to each one of us, 17:04 to the community at large, and to the church as a whole. 17:09 So spiritual sacrifice is something 17:11 that He is calling us to. 17:12 Acceptable to God, 17:15 and it's only done through Jesus. 17:20 It's too often we attempt this journey 17:23 without Christ doing it through us. 17:27 That's right. That's the truth. 17:28 We know what we want to do, we want to accomplish, 17:31 we want do the right thing but in our own strength 17:35 we're never going to be a living stone apart from Him. 17:39 So, "Spiritual sacrifices 17:40 acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 17:42 And it's the only way. There is no human priest. 17:46 We can go directly to our intercessor. 17:48 You know, when I think about the sanctuary, 17:51 I often think about the altar of incense which is the, 17:55 I think, the center of all of this 17:57 where our prayers are mingled with the Holy Spirit 18:01 as we studied in our last quarter 18:03 which are mingled with Christ's 18:06 which are seen as acceptable before God, 18:09 and we'd stay in that communion on a daily basis. 18:13 Now that's where the spiritual life comes from. 18:17 And here we have, as we continue to read, 18:19 there's a quote from Isaiah 28:16, it says, 18:23 "Behold, I lay in Zion," which is an affectionate, 18:27 loving name for God's people, Jerusalem. 18:30 "I lay in Zion," 18:32 clear evidence to anyone 18:34 who is a Jewish descendant to see that this is indeed 18:38 the Messiah that He's speaking about 18:40 was given to them specifically. 18:42 What did He give? A chief cornerstone. 18:45 Now when you think of a chief cornerstone 18:48 which is also elect or chosen, 18:51 this chief cornerstone has been chosen by God 18:56 to come out of Jerusalem for the sake of His, 19:03 well, His church, His sanctuary that He is to be, 19:06 His living stones, and Himself being the chief corner. 19:10 A chief cornerstone also was responsible in a building 19:13 for making sure that the foundation is laid properly, 19:17 making sure that the walls are attached correctly. 19:20 The chief cornerstone is that which everything else 19:23 has to be built on. 19:25 "And He is the chosen, precious, 19:28 and he who believes in Him 19:30 will by no means be put to shame. 19:32 Therefore, to you who believe, 19:33 He is precious but to those who are disobedient 19:38 the stone which the builders rejected 19:40 has become the chief cornerstone." 19:43 You know, it's interesting the stone 19:45 which the builders rejected is a quote from Psalm 118:22. 19:49 And in Acts 4:11, we read the stone 19:55 which you builders rejected, 19:58 instead of something that is a distant from them, 20:01 it was present tense, 20:03 this is something where Peter is wanting to make sure 20:06 they knew that they are that stone that was rejected. 20:09 Here we find... 20:10 Excuse me, the builders rejected the stone. 20:12 The stone which the builders rejected 20:14 has become the chief cornerstone. 20:17 And it has become, verse 8, "A stone of stumbling." 20:24 You know, if you reject the gift, 20:28 the gift, according to what we read here, 20:30 becomes a stone of stumbling. 20:33 And then I started to look a little deeper, 20:34 and I was wondering exactly in what way 20:37 is it a stone of stumbling. 20:41 How is Jesus the stone of stumbling? 20:44 And as I read, I started to realize 20:46 what this is talking about. 20:48 The thing they stumbled on, 20:50 and this is where the church today 20:51 needs to catch the same thing, is righteousness by faith. 20:56 It's good. 20:57 That is what they were stumbling on. 21:01 If they don't accept this cornerstone 21:05 which is the building is to be built around, 21:09 and it's the source of the foundation strength, 21:11 it will be a stumbling block. 21:14 Interesting too because it's all sort of like a step up, 21:17 you know, sometimes we... 21:19 I don't know if you've ever done this like I have, 21:21 where you don't realize there's another step up, 21:24 and you trip on it instead of somehow stepping up. 21:29 Well, that's really in one sense 21:31 what this is saying that God was taking 21:33 the Israelites to a new place, 21:36 and He was wanting them 21:37 to accept this chief cornerstone 21:39 that He had chosen Himself to build His church on, 21:44 and it will become a stone of stumbling, 21:47 a rock of offense. 21:51 And they stumbled, being disobedient, to what? 21:56 The word, to which they also were appointed. 22:01 Wow! 22:02 And I look at what that's saying right there 22:06 God's people stumbled 22:11 at being arbiters of this truth 22:14 that God wanted to share to the entire world. 22:17 When I think of the role of Israel in the first coming, 22:21 it was to prepare the world 22:22 for this chief cornerstone's arrival 22:26 and to accept Him by faith. 22:28 That is a very same thing the church is called to today. 22:31 Amen. Oh, that's good. 22:32 And either we're going to accept His righteousness, 22:36 we're going to accept the gift, or we will stumble. 22:40 Amen. 22:42 That very thing that we're supposed to embrace 22:44 will be the very thing that will be our demise 22:46 'cause we reject that gift. 22:49 Amen. Amen. 22:51 That's exciting. Thank you, Pastor Tom. 22:52 You know, I'm just so excited, I have Tuesday, 22:56 and I love what you said about that they stumbled 22:59 over the stumbling stone 23:00 with the righteousness by faith. 23:02 But I'm glad that in this quarter 23:05 they included the teaching on covenant. 23:08 So that is Tuesday's lesson, God's Covenant People. 23:12 What is a covenant? 23:13 A covenant is a contract or an agreement 23:17 between two parties, its oath-bound promises, 23:20 and in the Bible you see covenants between individuals, 23:23 you see covenants between 23:25 say a king and his people or two kings. 23:28 But it's all based on the unifying theme of Scripture 23:32 is that God is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. 23:38 I mean, that's what it's all about. 23:40 And when you think of this, 23:43 when they cut a covenant 23:45 is what they called it in the Old Testament, 23:47 when they would cut a covenant 23:50 that was to ratify it with blood, 23:53 which meant that the solemnity of this was that... 23:56 There is a promise of death, I mean, 23:58 this is some thing that you're making 24:01 a solemn pledge on the oath of pain of death, really. 24:05 But in the Bible, 24:08 we see God's covenants as the unfolding revelation, 24:13 the progression of His revelation 24:17 of salvation by grace, 24:19 and it's always been by grace. 24:22 So He starts, you know, 24:23 right there when Adam and Eve sinned, 24:26 He goes and He kills this little lamb, right? 24:29 And then, He clothes them with His lamb. 24:33 So right then He's putting in this whole idea 24:37 of a substitutionary or vicarious death, 24:40 something to cover your sin. 24:43 And then, when they made the old covenant, 24:47 He ratified that, you know, 24:49 Moses ratified that with the blood, 24:51 He sprinkled the Book of the Covenant to people. 24:54 But the new covenant's ratified by the blood of Jesus, 24:57 so it's really, really exciting. 24:59 I just want to say because if you look at Isaiah 64:6, 25:04 it says that all of our righteousness 25:06 is as filthy rags before the Lord. 25:09 So this whole idea of salvation, 25:12 righteousness by faith 25:14 was planted way back in the Old Testament. 25:17 I mean, Jeremiah 33:16, he talks about the Lord, 25:21 our righteousness, 25:23 so it's always been this everlasting covenant of grace, 25:27 God's promise to sinful humanity 25:29 through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 25:32 And sometimes in a covenant, we see that, like, 25:36 God made some covenants that they were unilateral, 25:40 like, when He made a covenant with Noah, 25:42 nobody had to do anything, He just said, 25:44 "Hey, I'm never going to flood the earth again." 25:46 He give the rainbow as a covenant sign. 25:49 But then there were other covenants 25:51 that it required an expression of loyalty. 25:56 He's looking for something back from them. 26:00 And so the one thing I want to bring out, 26:03 and I'm just kind of going all over the place 26:05 because I've got so much I'd like to say, 26:07 but this covenant, 26:10 this everlasting covenant as the Bible calls it, 26:14 was promised before time began. 26:17 Revelation 13:8 says, 26:19 "The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world." 26:24 So here we see God is just, you know, 26:27 when you would study the sanctuary, 26:29 that's theology in physical form. 26:32 And it was the study of the sanctuary 26:33 and then going back and looking at God's covenants 26:36 that He started in Eden in Genesis 3:15, where he says, 26:42 "I'm going to put enmity between you and the serpent, 26:46 and you'll bruise his heel, he'll crush your head." 26:50 He's talking about the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. 26:52 So Jesus is right there in Genesis 3:15. 26:56 And then I want you to turn with me 26:58 because people don't always see this. 27:00 I want you to turn with me if you will to Exodus 19:46. 27:06 And let me set this up. 27:08 I'm kind of jumping ahead 'cause I've got too much 27:10 here to talk about. 27:12 Why are you going there? 27:14 Let me just say this, He made a covenant of grace 27:17 with Abraham, right, before we get to Exodus, 27:22 He makes His covenant of grace with Abraham, 27:25 but then listen to this, 27:29 when He renewed Abraham's covenant with Isaac... 27:33 Let's look at Genesis 26 before we go to Exodus 27:35 because this is so important to understand. 27:38 God makes this covenant of grace saying, 27:41 "Abraham, you're going to be the father of many, 27:44 you are going to... 27:46 You know, Paul in Galatians talks about 27:48 that Abraham was justified by faith alone, 27:51 not by works, and then received the Holy Spirit. 27:54 But when God comes time, when Abraham has passed, 27:57 He's going to renew this covenant of grace, 28:01 justified by faith, with Isaac. 28:05 Look at Genesis 26:4, 5. He's talking to Isaac now. 28:10 And God says, "I will make your descendants multiply 28:12 as the stars of the heavens, 28:14 I will give to your descendants all these lands, 28:16 and in your seed 28:17 all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." 28:19 Is that not exactly what He told his father? 28:22 But now look what God says. 28:24 There's a little qualifier on here. 28:26 He says, "Because," in other words, 28:29 "I'm renewing this covenant with you 28:33 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, 28:39 My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." 28:41 So here is a covenant of grace justified by faith, 28:46 but it's still based on obedience, isn't it? 28:50 So during the course, 28:51 now let's go and turn to Exodus 19. 28:54 So what happens is, 28:56 He's got this covenant with Abraham, 29:00 and Abraham knew... 29:01 If you look through Genesis, they knew every law of God. 29:04 I mean, every one of the Ten Commandments 29:06 comes out in Genesis. 29:08 So Abraham obeyed but now the people go into Egypt, 29:14 they end up there four centuries, 29:16 they're in slavery, they're in bondage, 29:18 they don't get to worship as prescribed by God, 29:21 and they over the generations begin to forget. 29:23 So God then hears their cry, 29:26 and He remembers His covenant that He had with Abraham. 29:29 He calls them out. 29:30 And look at Exodus 19 because He saved... 29:35 Let me ask you, did He save them by grace 29:37 before He established a covenant with them? 29:40 I'm going to say yes because He parted the Red Sea, 29:44 they went through, they were saved, 29:46 brought out of bondage, 29:47 and they didn't have to meet 29:49 His moral standards to be saved. 29:52 But then, here's what He says to them, 29:54 before He ever speaks the Ten Commandments, 29:56 before He's reminding them. 29:57 In Exodus 19, He says, 30:00 "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 30:03 and how I bore you on eagles' wings 30:06 and brought you to Myself." 30:08 This is covenant love language. 30:11 God is saying, "I saved you, I love you. 30:13 And He says, "Now therefore, 30:15 if you will indeed obey My voice 30:17 and keep My covenant, then you shall be 30:19 a special treasure to Me above all people, 30:22 for all the earth is Mine. 30:23 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests," 30:27 this is what we're talking about here, 30:29 "and a holy nation." 30:30 And these are the words He's telling Moses 30:32 that you need to go tell the people. 30:35 And guess what? 30:37 He's not even spoken the Ten Commandments yet. 30:39 So Moses goes and tells the people, and the people say, 30:41 "Oh, yes, we want to be in covenant relationship. 30:44 Whatever He says we'll do." 30:46 So now God speaks the Ten Commandments, 30:50 but then Moses goes up the mountain, 30:52 He dictates to Moses, 30:53 who writes this Book of the Covenant. 30:56 Moses comes down and he writes the Book of the Covenant 30:59 and that's what he ratifies, sprinkling the book, 31:02 sprinkling the people. 31:04 The Ten Commandments were the heart of that covenant. 31:08 He takes that covenant... 31:10 He tells Moses, 31:11 "Put it on the side of the ark in the pocket." 31:14 This is going to be a witness against you. 31:16 It contained all the blessings, 31:18 all of the curses because the covenant promises 31:23 were conditional. 31:25 God wanted a response of 31:27 covenant loyalty from His people, 31:30 that they would obey 31:31 as an expression of love and loyalty to Him. 31:35 So He said, "Here's the blessings if you do it, 31:37 here's the curses if you don't." 31:39 So now then after that, now Moses goes back up, 31:43 gets the sanctuary... 31:45 I mean, instructions to build the sanctuary. 31:47 Now he gets the Ten Commandments, 31:50 brings it down, God says, "Put them inside the ark." 31:54 And over the ark, what was over... 31:57 What was inside the ark? The mercy seat. 31:59 The mercy seat. Hallelujah. 32:01 So the mercy was over his Ten Commandments 32:04 but the commandments were placed there 32:06 as something permanent. 32:08 So this covenant, you just keep seeing it unfolding, 32:11 and unfolding, and unfolding. 32:12 Now, let's look at... 32:15 Because when you think of covenant, 32:19 it is based upon, 32:21 that it's conditioned upon this obedience. 32:25 Obedience is the pathway to covenant blessing. 32:27 So now let's just jump forward Jesus... 32:31 God says in Isaiah 42:6, 32:33 "I'm going to give you as a covenant to the people." 32:36 Nice. Jesus is our covenant. 32:39 And now so, is this covenant... 32:41 Let's read Hebrews 8, 32:42 I'm gonna be over just a couple of seconds here. 32:44 But let's read. 32:46 Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's purposes 32:50 of the covenant of grace. 32:52 But are these Ten Commandments 32:54 that were the heart of the old covenant, 32:56 still the heart of the new covenant? 32:58 In Hebrews 8:8-10, 33:03 "Because finding fault with them, 33:04 He says, 'Behold, the days are coming,' 33:05 says the Lord, 33:07 'when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel, 33:08 with the house of Judah not according to the covenant 33:11 that I made with their fathers in the day 33:12 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt 33:15 because they did not continue in My covenant.'" 33:18 You know, the Bible says that God keeps covenant 33:20 with those who keep covenant with Him. 33:23 They're the ones that broke the covenant. 33:25 "For this is the covenant that I will make, 33:26 this is the new covenant that I will make after those days,' 33:29 says the Lord, 33:30 'I'll put My laws in their heart, 33:35 write them on their mind, and in their hearts, 33:36 and I'll be their God, and they shall be My people.'" 33:40 That's why Jesus said, 33:41 "If you love Me, keep My commandments, 33:44 and I will pray the Father to give you another Helper." 33:49 So this idea of covenant is a special relationship 33:54 that we have to God. 33:56 It is one that He expects us to obey out of love, 34:01 and He also expects us to be loyal to Him. 34:06 Amen. In a nutshell. 34:11 You know, I think it's interesting that, 34:13 that old covenant lasted less than two months. 34:16 Yeah. 34:17 One thing about covenant relationship is that, 34:19 it's all about Christ. 34:20 Yes, amen. 34:22 If you say, "All that thou hast said 34:23 we will do and be obedient," that's in Christ Jesus. 34:25 Because you simply cannot do it by yourself. 34:29 In re-reading Exodus 19. 34:31 I just want to re-read because what is interesting 34:33 is that we're dealing with a short passage of scripture, 34:35 little, I reckon about 10 verses long. 34:37 And so many things are coming out of these 34:39 10 very pregnant verses. 34:43 So we want to establish this idea of a royal priesthood. 34:46 Now therefore, I'm in Exodus 19:5, 34:49 "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, 34:52 then you shall be a special treasure to Me 34:56 above all the people, for all the earth is Mine. 35:00 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests 35:04 and a holy nation. 35:06 These are the words which you shall speak 35:08 to the children of Israel." 35:10 What is interesting? 35:11 Is that it has always been... 35:13 It was then is now was in the New Testament times, 35:17 God's desire to have a special people. 35:21 To have a special people not so that they could say, 35:24 "We're God's special people." 35:26 But a people through whom God 35:29 can show His love to a fallen world. 35:30 That's always been His desire. 35:35 The ancient Jews got caught up on the special people part, 35:37 they kind of put a period there, 35:39 and it's supposed to be a colon or a semi-colon 35:42 because there's some other stuff 35:43 that comes behind that. 35:45 So He wants a special people 35:47 to be a royal priesthood to Him. 35:49 I like the word ministry 35:51 because ministry is one of those words 35:52 which is a noun and a verb. 35:54 Is that a gerund or is that a verb used as noun. 35:56 It's a noun and a verb. 35:57 Ministry or minister rather. 36:00 Minister. 36:02 A person is a minister, but you can also minister. 36:06 So it is a noun and a verb, 36:07 and I think that's the sense 36:08 in which God wanted His people to function. 36:11 To minister as ministers. Amen, that's good. 36:16 And they never really got a hold of that. 36:18 God wanted a special people to be priests to Him 36:23 so that they could perform the functions of a priest. 36:26 Now what does a priest do, anciently? 36:28 Well, one, he's called of God and recognized of men. 36:33 And he serves on behalf of men. 36:36 He's not a static person. 36:38 He just doesn't sit in a room and say I'm a priest. 36:42 He's out there functioning. 36:43 Doing things for God 36:45 and that's what God wants His people. 36:46 So what you see the ancient priests doing, 36:48 God wanted His people to do, 36:49 never got it right so now God calls us to do that. 36:53 To pick up that same function. 36:56 Second, to show by word and deed the people their sins. 36:59 By word and deed. 37:02 So you speak against sin, 37:04 and you live righteously 37:05 so that your life speaks against sin, 37:07 by word and deed. 37:09 Then you don't just tell people about their sins, 37:12 you intercede for them. 37:13 Yes, amen. Yeah. 37:14 It's not, "Shelley, you're wrong." 37:17 Well, what gives me the right to say you're wrong? 37:20 'Cause I'm praying for you. 37:23 Because if I just say you're wrong, you know, 37:25 you don't want just be beat down all the time. 37:28 I'd rather take it from a person who says, 37:30 "Hey, man, I know you've got a problem, 37:32 but I'm praying for you." 37:34 As opposed to, "Hey, man, you've got a problem." 37:36 I want a little more than that. 37:39 So show the people their sin but intercede with them 37:42 and then to show the benefits of covenant relationship. 37:48 God does something for me, and I accept that, 37:50 and I respond to that. 37:53 It was always God's purpose, 37:55 always God's plan for His people 37:57 to share what they had with others. 38:01 Ellen White says of this little girl 38:02 that was taken in the Syrian raid by Naaman 38:05 that she was doing what the nation should've done. 38:09 Yeah. 38:10 God forced her to go, but she took the Lord with her. 38:15 See God can find you in Damascus, 38:16 just like He can in Jerusalem, 38:18 He doesn't lose you because you cross borders. 38:20 It was His design for the nation to do that. 38:23 So now we come into a relationship with God 38:25 through Jesus Christ's, through sacrifice 38:27 that same burden rests upon us today 38:30 to take the name of Jesus with you. 38:32 And sometimes God asks you to go to some strange places 38:34 and do some strange stuff. 38:36 But God can find you in that strange place 38:39 just like He can find you here in Thompsonville, 38:41 or in your church, or in your home, 38:42 or in your bed. 38:44 And so He is calling for a ministry, 38:47 a royal priesthood who can show forth the praises. 38:50 Doesn't stop with priesthood, priesthood to do what? 38:53 Show forth the praises of Him, 38:55 who's called us out of darkness, 38:56 and what a high and holy calling that is. 38:59 Has there ever been given to the failing, and feeble, 39:02 and frail hands of man a higher duty, 39:05 a higher calling than lifting up the name of Jesus? 39:07 There's nothing better than that. 39:09 And so, God created us, I mean, 39:12 that's Ephesians 2:10 created for good works, you know, 39:16 you're made for good works. 39:17 And if you're made for good works 39:19 when you are re-created, 39:20 you surely are re-created for good works. 39:22 But what are good works? 39:23 Micah 5 and 6, 39:25 "He has shown you, O man, what is good. 39:26 And what does the Lord require of thee, do justly, 39:31 love mercy, walk humbly with thy God." 39:34 That's what God, and if we would do that, 39:37 if we would do just be fair to every body, 39:40 be honest on your job, punch in when you punch in, 39:42 punch out when you punch out, you know? 39:43 Give your employer a fair day's work. 39:45 Love mercy, 39:46 not just tolerate, but love mercy. 39:48 Someone does something bad to you, 39:50 extend to them the same mercy you would seek from God 39:54 when you make a mistake. 39:56 And then walk humbly with your God. 39:57 That's your priestly function. 40:00 Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. 40:04 And if God's people would do that consistently, 40:07 we would be 40:08 a visible manifestation of the love of God. 40:11 And the churches would be packed. 40:12 That's you already said. 40:14 And, of course, we have that statement 40:16 from the inspired pen that there would be 40:18 100 where now there's 1 40:19 if God's people were just kind, tenderhearted, and pitiful, 40:25 that's a compelling way to live. 40:26 That's a compelling way to address your life. 40:30 And that's what God wants from all of us 40:33 to be ministers who minister, 40:37 and when ministers minister, 40:40 then the name of Jesus is glorified, 40:44 and men and women see not us but they see Christ in us. 40:48 And that's the royal priesthood 40:50 that He wants from us. 40:53 We have been called out not to just say, 40:55 "Hey, we're out, and you're still in. 40:57 We're called out to go get people 40:59 and bring them back, 41:00 and bring them out also 41:02 so that the kingdom can be enlarged. 41:05 And the coffers as it were, 41:08 the spiritual coffers of God can be made full. 41:10 There's one line I just want to and then I'll be done. 41:14 Yes, through Jesus Gentiles too 41:18 can claim to be children of Abraham." 41:20 That's what that whole thing in Galatians 3 41:22 is about heirs according to the promise. 41:24 We get the same promise as they do. 41:28 "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, 41:32 and heirs according to the promise. 41:34 Through Christ everyone, regardless of birth, 41:36 can become part of this royal priesthood." 41:40 So we are called to minister to a darkened world. 41:43 We who are ministers are called to minister, 41:46 and you'll find when you minister to others, 41:49 the truth is you are ministering to yourself. 41:51 Oh, absolutely. 41:52 And you are made strong as you seek to make others strong. 41:55 That's the priesthood 41:56 that God wants from each and every one of us. 41:58 Amen. Amen. 42:01 It's the goodness of God that draws people to salvation. 42:07 And that's what we were called to do. 42:11 Mine and your lesson, 42:12 they kind of dovetail together here. 42:15 Proclaiming the praises that's Thursday. 42:19 And the parallels of the Old Testament 42:22 and the New Testament doesn't end 42:24 with just salvation 42:27 or are being called out and chosen by God. 42:29 The question is, called out and chosen for what? 42:33 How many of you are sitting on this panel, 42:35 and I'm speaking to all of you at home, 42:37 do you truly believe that you are a chosen generation? 42:42 What does that mean? 42:45 A species of beings that never before existed. 42:48 You know, that's what happened to you 42:50 when you came out of darkness and into light. 42:53 You became a Christian, 42:55 a species of being that never before existed. 42:58 A chosen generation, a royal priesthood. 43:02 And, CA, you covered that so beautifully, a holy nation. 43:06 We are part of a huge group of believing people, 43:10 and His own special people. 43:12 Now I like this in the King James a little better. 43:15 What does it call you? 43:16 A peculiar person. 43:19 And that's just means called out, you know, 43:21 that's what that means. 43:22 But I think peculiar fits most of us pretty well. 43:25 But now, my question was called out and chosen for what? 43:30 And it goes on to say, 43:31 "That you may proclaim the praises of Him 43:36 who called you out of darkness and into His glorious light." 43:40 The whole purpose is for us to praise God. 43:44 To bring praises to Him. Amen. 43:46 Everything in our lives. 43:48 Our work, our play, our rest, it's done to praise God. 43:53 That's what we're created to do is to praise God. 43:55 Now, when we think of praising, 43:58 we may think in a church service 44:00 where we're singing praise songs 44:02 and that is praise coming out of our hearts 44:06 worshipping God, that's praise. 44:08 But and the scripture says, and I love this Psalms 150:6, 44:14 "Let everything that has breath," do what? 44:17 "Praise the Lord." Praise you the Lord. 44:19 But it's not just... 44:21 I mean, if praising was predetermined 44:25 by our great singing ability, I would get a F minus. 44:32 But praising God isn't just in our singing, 44:36 although that's part of it, it's also in our actions, 44:41 and in our speech. 44:43 It's how we conduct our lives. 44:44 CA, integrity of character, you know what that is, 44:48 doing right 'cause it's right to do right. 44:51 You don't have to go and think, "Now do I steal today?" 44:54 No, you've got integrity built in your character. 44:57 You're doing right, your speech, 44:59 your actions are all a praise unto God. 45:04 And, you know, you praise that which you love. 45:08 Now think about this. 45:09 Have you ever been around a new bride? 45:11 Oh, you ought to have seen Greg and Jill 45:14 when they first got married... 45:16 It was just such a blessing to be around them. 45:19 They would just look at each other, 45:20 their little eyes would just... 45:22 As a matter of fact Jill, they still do. 45:24 But when you're around a new bride or a new groom, 45:28 oh, they're so in love and that's all they talk about. 45:31 Or a new mother, this got that new baby, 45:35 what is she describing that stuff, 45:37 or worst yet us, grandmothers. 45:40 All you want to talk about that which you love 45:43 that which is near and dear to your heart. 45:45 And as a matter of fact my husband just got a puppy. 45:49 Well, I actually got it about five months ago. 45:52 It has been so interesting, he loves that little puppy, 45:55 and that little puppy loves him. 45:56 Well, I love the puppy too. 45:58 Never thought I was a dog person. 45:59 I'm doing stuff now I used to make fun of people 46:02 for doing where their animals are concerned. 46:06 But we can be visiting people, 46:10 and they'll pull out pictures of their grandchildren. 46:13 You know what Hal is telling me to do? 46:15 Show them pictures of baby... 46:17 He loves that dog, 46:19 that's what he wants to talk about. 46:20 What is in our hearts, 46:22 that's what we want to talk about. 46:24 And, you know, if you're around somebody 46:28 for any length of time, 46:30 you can gauge by the words that come out of their mouth, 46:34 their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 46:37 Have you ever noticed that? 46:38 Because what's in you 46:39 is what's going to come out of you, 46:41 and if you have a love relationship with the Lord, 46:43 you're going to talk about that which you love. 46:46 You're going to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. 46:49 Now I liked what you were saying about, 46:52 what was God originally intended 46:56 for the nation of Israel 46:57 to be a shining light in a dark world. 47:02 A treasure, a candle, 47:06 not under a bushel 47:07 but held high that would draw all people... 47:11 And that was their purpose. 47:13 And they took the gospel that they were supposed to be 47:16 sharing with the whole world and put it under a bushel. 47:19 In effect, this is mine they grasp it. 47:22 And so they didn't fulfill what God had called them to do. 47:27 They were God's that word you all were using, 47:30 God's covenant people, and did they fail miserably? 47:34 They failed. 47:36 They didn't accomplish what God called them to do. 47:39 Now, I want to show you this in Deuteronomy. 47:42 You used Exodus 19:5, but it says the same thing. 47:46 Deuteronomy 26:18-19. 47:50 "God called ancient Israel to be a witness 47:53 to the whole world around Him." 47:55 He wanted the other nations 47:57 to look at the nation of Israel, 47:59 all the blessings that He had blessed that nation with 48:03 and want to be a part of that nation 48:08 because of the God they served. 48:10 Look at this. Deuteronomy 26:18-19. 48:13 "Also today 48:15 the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special," 48:17 there's that word again," 48:19 people just as He promised you, 48:21 that you should keep all His commandments, 48:24 and that He will set you high above all nations," 48:27 Is that where we want to be, 48:29 "which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, 48:32 and that you may be 48:33 a holy people to the Lord Your God, 48:36 just as He has spoken." 48:37 His original purpose for them to be a holy nation to God. 48:41 Then in Isaiah 60:1-3. 48:44 "Arise, shine. For your light has come! 48:47 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." 48:50 Where's the glory of the Lord? It's risen upon. 48:53 In this case, he's talking about God's covenant people. 48:56 Now, I'm going somewhere with this. 48:58 "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 49:01 and deep darkness the people. 49:04 But the Lord will arise over you," 49:08 CA. Murray, Shelley Quinn, Pastor Ferguson, and Jill, 49:12 and everyone that is listening. 49:14 "The Lord shall arise over you 49:17 and His glory will be seen upon you." 49:19 Look at this verse 3, 49:22 "The Gentiles shall come to your light, 49:25 and kings to the brightness of your rising." 49:28 Why did He bless the nation of Israel 49:31 so magnificently, so mightily? 49:34 It was so that those that were in darkness 49:37 would come to the shining light 49:40 because of what God had placed within them. 49:44 Zechariah 8:23, "Thus says the Lord of hosts. 49:47 'In those days 49:51 ten men from every language of nations 49:54 shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man,'" 49:57 we can say in this place, a covenant keeping man, 50:01 "saying, 'let us go with you, 50:03 for we have heard that God is with you.'" 50:07 Looking for God, that's Zechariah 8:23. 50:11 Ancient Israel is God's covenant people 50:13 had a mission to reach the world with the gospel. 50:17 So y'all already know where I'm going with this? 50:19 How many of you are part of God's covenant people? 50:23 A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 50:26 a special people, that's what every one of you are. 50:29 The glory of the Lord has risen upon you, 50:32 and now the same directive 50:35 that was placed on ancient Israel 50:38 is placed upon us. 50:41 We've read 1 Peter 2:9. Let's read 2:10. 50:46 "Who once were not a people, talking about us, 50:49 were not a people but are now the people of God," 50:52 we are, you are the people of God, 50:55 "and had not obtained mercy 50:56 but thank God we have now obtained mercy." 51:00 Was ancient Israel's mission 51:04 any different from our mission today? 51:07 No. Are we still very responsible? 51:12 As the people of God and the children of God, 51:17 that's an extraordinarily high status 51:21 that God has placed on us. 51:22 With that high status, 51:26 part and parcel of that 51:28 is extraordinarily high responsibility. 51:31 God has entrusted, particularly, 51:34 this group of people with an in-time message 51:38 that we are to share with the world. 51:40 That's our responsibility. 51:42 There is a dark world out there 51:45 with people that are hurting and hopeless. 51:48 We've got hope and what God has given us, 51:51 He is our responsibility. 51:54 Do you all like that word? 51:55 It's our responsibility to share that hope. 51:59 To whom much is given, much is required. 52:03 What are we chosen to do? To show forth His praises. 52:07 You show forth His praises by letting that 52:10 which is foremost in you come out 52:14 and reach the need of all of those 52:16 that are around you. 52:17 We are a chosen generation. Amen. 52:19 Amen, well said. I love that. 52:21 We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 52:24 a holy nation, God's own special people. 52:27 Why do you think... 52:28 This is a question for the panel here. 52:30 We are called to proclaim the gospel 52:31 to a lost and dying world. 52:33 We are called as God's covenant people at the end of time 52:36 to show forth the praises of Him 52:39 who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. 52:41 What do you think we have to share that is so appealing? 52:47 As God's covenant people here at the end of time, 52:49 what do we have to share that will draw people in? 52:52 Hope. We're the only ones with hope. 52:56 We've got hope. 52:57 Amen, I like that. To me it would be love. 53:00 Covenant has always been about a love relationship. 53:05 It was to be an intimate relationship 53:08 that's how He defined and established 53:10 His relationship with men. 53:12 And that's why He expects us to have the loyalty, 53:16 our expression of obedience, 53:18 it's just expressing our love back to Him. 53:20 But I think that there are so many people in the world 53:23 who never felt totally loved or accepted by anyone. 53:28 And I think if we really understand 53:31 what covenant is all about and how... 53:34 You know, when I was talking about obedience, even... 53:37 And said this is covenant is how I understood grace. 53:42 Even obedience is by grace for Philippians 2:13, 53:46 it's God who works in you to will 53:47 and to do His good pleasure. 53:49 I mean, repeatedly both Paul and Peter have said that, 53:53 it's God who keeps us by His power, 53:56 it's God who's going to make us spotless, 53:58 God who is going to make us blameless. 54:00 So I think if people understood 54:02 the love of the Heavenly Father, 54:04 and if they could come to Him, 54:06 and that He's going to bring them 54:07 into this covenant relationship with them 54:10 that He's made oath-bound promises. 54:13 "If you just be part of My people, 54:16 here's what I'm going do for you." 54:19 It's just mercy. 54:20 Who wouldn't want it? Pastor Tom? 54:22 You know, Seventh-day Adventists, 54:23 we are called... 54:25 I am compelled to share the good news, 54:28 the gospel of this hour, 54:31 which is in the Three Angels' messages. 54:33 And I think about that, and I realize 54:36 that so many people have a skewed view of God 54:39 that are out of the church and that are in the church. 54:42 And maybe those in this panel are in a certain place, 54:45 maybe some people studying and watching today 54:47 at a certain place, 54:49 but you're coming across someone 54:50 that maybe other than the name of Jesus, 54:53 they don't know Him at all. 54:54 They have stayed away from the church for years 54:57 because of maybe an experience they've had in life 55:01 or the fact that nobody has led them to Christ. 55:04 So we have the good news to share for this hour, 55:08 and I'm so thankful that God 55:10 is choosing to work through someone such as I. 55:14 Amen. Amen. 55:16 I said this in a sermon the other day. 55:18 It's either God or I don't know. 55:22 Say that again. 55:23 It's either God or I don't know. 55:25 If you look at where did we come from 55:28 God or I don't know. 55:30 Where are we going? God or I don't know. 55:33 If we came from God, we're going back to God. 55:36 If you don't know where you came from, 55:37 you don't know where you're going. 55:39 So I don't know where I came from, 55:40 I don't know where I'm going. 55:41 So we have hope, and we have love to share, 55:44 which gives us answers, 55:46 so we're not like a ping pong ball 55:47 bouncing all over the place. 55:49 I know where I came from, I know where I'm going. 55:52 So I've got hope 'cause I know how it's going to end. 55:56 And that's the greatest message in the world to share. 55:59 That there's somebody who is guiding all of this, 56:01 it's not random, it's not just bouncing all over. 56:04 There's a God who got it started, 56:06 and Jesus Christ is going to finish it. 56:08 And I came from God, and I'm going back to God. 56:11 And that's a great message. 56:13 You know, when you're in a covenant relationship with Him, 56:16 all of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 56:19 Amen. Amen. 56:22 There's some great promises in the Bible. 56:24 Amen, there are. I love that. 56:25 And to me even the commands in the Bible are a promise. 56:29 And we look at the Ten Commandments, that's right. 56:31 It enables us. 56:33 We look at it and think, 56:34 "Uh, I can't measure up or the covenant." 56:35 I can't, but you're right. 56:37 I love what each one of you had to share today on the panel. 56:40 Thank you for sharing from your experience, 56:42 from the Word of God, and from your own walk with God 56:45 because that gives us tools to move forward 56:49 as we study God's Word. 56:50 We thank you for joining us as well. 56:52 We want to encourage you. 56:54 I like what you just said Pastor Tom. 56:55 I encourage you whether you 56:57 have been in the church for years 56:59 and maybe never knew Jesus. 57:01 That's possible. 57:03 To walk in the church, 57:04 to be part of a community of believers 57:07 and not even know who Jesus is. 57:09 We want to encourage you to find out 57:11 who He is for yourself. 57:13 He says in Psalm, 57:14 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." 57:18 So try Jesus. 57:20 And I don't mean that in any disrespectful way, He said it, 57:23 taste and see that I am good. 57:24 So spend time in the Word of God, 57:27 know that He is a covenant keeping God. 57:30 It's not up to us to say, 57:32 "Oh, that the Lord has said we will do and we keep." 57:35 All we do is submit and commit our lives to Him and allow Him, 57:39 by the power of His grace, 57:41 to flow into us and to change us. 57:43 That He keeps His end of the bargain and that covenant. 57:47 We thank you for joining us today 57:49 for 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:52 Next week, we want to encourage you to tune in. 57:56 Next week, we'll be talking about social relationships, 57:59 still looking at the epistles of 1 and 2 Peter. 58:01 You know that we love you, and we pray for you. 58:03 We'll see you next time. |
Revised 2024-05-31