Participants: Jill Morikone (Host), Pr. C.A. Murray, Pr. John Dinzey, Pr. Tom Ferguson, Shelley Quinn
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000036A
|
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 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is the Gospel of Galatians. 00:32 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 My name is Jill Morikone 00:37 and we're so glad that you have taken time to join us. 00:40 As we open up the Word of God and study together. 00:43 We're in the middle of our study 00:45 on the Book of Galatians 00:46 written by the Apostle Paul 00:48 and what an incredible study it has been so far. 00:51 We want to encourage you to get your own copy of the quarterly 00:55 put out by the Seventh-day Adventist church. 00:57 We are studying the gospel in Galatians 00:59 for third quarter. 01:01 And you can get that, you can obtain that 01:03 by going to the website ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:09 That stands for 01:11 Adult Bible Study Guide .Adventist.org. 01:15 You can download it 01:16 and you can follow along with us as we share. 01:19 Or you can always, we want to encourage you 01:21 to check out your local Seventh-day Adventist church 01:24 and join a Bible study class there 01:27 and get involved. 01:28 I want to introduce our panel to you at this time. 01:30 We have to my left Brother John Dinzey, 01:33 and it's a privilege to have you here. 01:34 It's great to be here by God's grace. 01:36 Thank you and next to you is Pastor C.A. Murray, 01:38 and it's always a joy to share with you as well. 01:40 Good to be with you once again. 01:42 And next to you Pastor Tom Ferguson 01:44 of the Marion district, 01:45 and we always love it when you can come to 3ABN 01:47 and join the team here. 01:49 It's great to be here. 01:50 And at the end is Shelley Quinn, 01:52 and it's just a privilege to have you here 01:54 and share from the Word of God as well. 01:55 Thank you. It's my joy. 01:57 So we are so glad not only to have our panel here 02:00 but to have each one of you 02:02 as we open up the Word of God, 02:03 we want to encourage you to grab your Bible 02:06 and a pen and a paper 02:08 and get ready to look up the texts 02:10 and to follow along with us. 02:11 But before we go any farther, 02:13 we want to go to the Lord in prayer, 02:14 and Brother Johnny, would you pray for us? 02:16 Sure. Let's pray together. 02:18 Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You, Lord, 02:21 for Your goodness and mercy to us 02:23 and we approach Your throne of grace in Jesus name. 02:26 We pray, Lord, that You will direct our study, 02:29 guide our study 02:30 and, Lord, having already studied and prayed 02:33 we ask, Lord, that You will bless us 02:35 with Your Holy Spirit that we may speak Your words 02:38 and we ask You for a blessing upon all, 02:40 in Jesus' name, amen. 02:41 Amen. 02:43 We are on lesson number 11. 02:45 And I love the title of this lesson, 02:47 Freedom in Christ. 02:49 And today so many people are in bondage. 02:53 I can think back to my own history 02:55 and times I have been in bondage 02:57 whether you or you could be in prison, 02:59 in bondage physically 03:01 but many times we're in bondage spiritually. 03:04 It could be an addiction of some sort. 03:06 It could be some sort of sin. 03:08 We feel like we're in bondage 03:10 but God wants, He came to set us free. 03:13 John 8:36 says, 03:15 "Whoever the Son sets free is free indeed." 03:18 And God wants to bring us freedom. 03:20 That was Paul's message really to the Galatians church 03:24 because they were in bondage under the law, 03:27 having received justification by faith. 03:32 Now the Judaizers has had come in 03:33 and had said not only it's a justification by faith, 03:36 you need to add works to it. 03:38 And this week as we look at freedom in Christ, 03:41 we're gonna look at it from two different angles. 03:43 If you think of the road, the Christian journey 03:45 that we're called to walk upon, 03:47 on one ditch is the ditch of legalism 03:50 which is what Paul especially addressed 03:52 here in the epistle to the Galatians church. 03:55 Weekend, last week we talked about the bondwoman Hagar 03:59 and how Ishmael was born 04:01 through Abraham's own initiative 04:03 or through self righteousness. 04:05 And we can fall into the ditch of legalism 04:08 thinking that it's righteousness by faith 04:10 plus works. 04:11 But at the same time 04:12 if we don't fall into the ditch of legalism, 04:14 we might fall into the ditch on the other side, 04:17 licentiousness, lacking moral restraints. 04:22 Paul encourages us don't use the liberty, 04:24 the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus 04:27 to as an opportunity to serve the flesh. 04:30 So we're going to look at both of them, 04:32 this week as we discuss freedom in Christ, 04:34 but let's do our memory text 04:36 and then we'll jump into Sunday. 04:38 We'll read our memory text together. 04:39 We're in Galatians 5:13. 04:45 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. 04:49 Only do not use your freedom 04:51 as an opportunity for the flesh, 04:54 but through love serve one another." 04:57 Amen. 04:59 On Sunday's lesson we look at Christ has set us free 05:01 and I want to encourage you to turn the Galatians 5. 05:04 We're gonna start with verse 1. 05:06 Now if you joined us last week, 05:08 we talked all about the two covenants 05:10 in Isaac, in Ishmael. 05:11 Isaac being the son of promise, righteousness by faith, 05:15 and Ishmael being the son under the law 05:18 or self righteousness, 05:20 and right at the end of chapter 4, 05:23 the last verse says, 05:24 "So then brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman..." 05:27 Meaning children of Ishmael, that self righteousness, 05:31 "But of the free..." 05:32 Meaning children of the promise or children of Isaac 05:35 and then we jump into 5:1, 05:38 "Stand fast therefore, 05:41 and the liberty by which Christ has made us free." 05:45 The word for liberty, 05:46 in the Greek literally means freedom or liberty. 05:49 Especially a state of freedom from slavery 05:52 and I think we were all redeemed, 05:54 Christ bought us, 05:56 He redeemed us from sin, 05:58 from the condemnation of the law, 06:00 from slavery. 06:02 "Stand fast therefore in that liberty 06:06 by which Christ has made us free." 06:10 John 8:36, I referenced at the very beginning, 06:12 "Whomever the Son has made free, 06:15 shall be free indeed." 06:17 But it doesn't end there. 06:19 He doesn't just say stand fast in that liberty, 06:21 it continues, 06:22 "Do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." 06:28 Do not be held in snare again. 06:30 On Monday nights for the past several years, 06:33 I had the privilege of going to the women's jail 06:36 at our local jail here in Benton, 06:38 and ministering to the women there. 06:40 And when I read this verse, 06:41 it reminds me especially of one woman, 06:43 I'll call her Sarah, that's not her real name. 06:47 And I remember she was there in our Bible study, 06:49 she came every Monday night 06:51 and she was passionate about following Jesus. 06:54 She had a background of drugs, 06:56 you could say this would be one of those bondage things 06:59 that held her captive, it was an addiction. 07:02 And she had become free in Christ 07:05 and she was so excited about serving God 07:08 and walking the liberty, 07:09 the freedom with which Christ has set her free. 07:12 Well, she got out 07:13 and a few months later guess what happened? 07:15 We're sitting in our Monday night Bible study 07:18 and she showed up. 07:21 And I said, "Sarah, what are you doing here? 07:24 You are free." 07:26 Not only did she become free in Jesus 07:28 while she was in jail, 07:29 but she became physically free 07:30 and she got out. 07:32 But here she is back again in jail 07:34 and she told an incredible story. 07:36 She talked about getting out 07:38 and, you know, those environmental influences, 07:42 those old friends, 07:44 those acquaintances that she had before she got in 07:49 began to pull her back 07:51 or entangle her again in that yoke of bondage. 07:56 She said her cousin died in her arms. 08:02 Oh. 08:03 Drug overdose. 08:05 It wasn't a suicide attempt, 08:07 it was doing drugs 08:08 and she had taken too much 08:10 and it killed her. 08:11 And she said, "I'm holding her and she died. 08:15 And, Jill, and I went right out and I got high again. 08:19 I went right back to the yoke of bondage. 08:24 I went back there." 08:26 And so we talked about 08:27 how Christ can set us free again 08:30 even though she had been entangled again, 08:32 Christ can set us free again. 08:35 And I think that Christ, He sets us free 08:38 and you think about the Galatians, 08:39 back in Galatians 3, 08:41 Paul says, "Oh foolish, Galatians, 08:43 do you think being made set free by the spirit 08:46 now are you perfected in the flesh?" 08:49 And so many times we think I am set free 08:51 and then we go back 08:53 and we become entangled again in that yoke of bondage. 08:58 Paul is really speaking to two groups here 09:00 I think, both the Gentile Christians, 09:03 "Don't go back to your worldly ways, 09:05 prior to being called by God." 09:07 But also to the Jewish Christians, 09:09 "Don't hold on to your view of salvation by works..." 09:12 Which would be by circumcision, 09:14 "Know that it is by grace." 09:16 Ephesians 2, "We're saved by grace through faith." 09:19 And it is a gift of God, 09:21 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 09:24 So how do we keep from being entangled again 09:28 in the yoke of bondage? 09:29 If we're supposed to stand in the liberty 09:31 with which Christ has set us free, 09:33 how do I keep from going back again 09:36 to that yoke of bondage? 09:38 I think first we look away from ourselves. 09:42 Philippians 3, let's turn there. 09:45 Philippians 3, we'll read verse 13 and 14. 09:49 Brother Johnny, do you have that? 09:51 Almost. 09:52 Philippians 3, well, I don't have it either yet. 09:54 Philippians 3. 09:55 What verse? 09:57 Thirteen and fourteen. 09:59 Philippians 3:13, 14, 10:01 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended 10:05 but this one thing I do, 10:06 forgetting those things which are behind, 10:09 and reaching forth unto those things which are before. 10:12 I press toward the mark for the prize 10:15 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 10:18 So I think, Paul's encouraging us, 10:21 exhorting us, 10:22 not to look behind us 10:24 at either past mistakes or past victories. 10:28 Neither do we look around us 10:30 to see how other people are doing, 10:32 we are to look forward 10:33 and to press forward to the mark. 10:36 And I know in my own experience, 10:38 it's easy to become entangled again if I turn inward. 10:42 If I look at myself 10:44 instead of keeping my eyes fixed fully on Jesus, 10:49 not only do we look away from self, 10:52 we're to look away from other people. 10:54 Let's look at 2 Corinthians 10. 10:57 2 Corinthians 10 10:58 and, Pastor C.A., if you want to get that, 11:00 2 Corinthians 10:12? 11:03 "So we dare not class ourselves 11:05 or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves, 11:08 but they measuring themselves by themselves, 11:12 and comparing themselves among themselves, 11:15 are not wise." 11:18 I could look at Brother Johnny or Pastor C.A. 11:22 or Pastor Tom or Shelley and say, 11:24 wow, they're doing better than me in this 11:27 and they're here but that's not my role. 11:30 Or you could look at someone else and say, 11:32 "I think I'm achieving a little better." 11:35 None of that works. 11:36 And when we do that you know what happens, 11:38 it's taking our focus off of Jesus 11:42 and putting it on other people. 11:43 So whether our focus is inward on ourselves 11:46 or whether it's external to other people, 11:50 either way it's taking our focus off of Jesus 11:52 and it makes it easier to become entangled again 11:56 in that yoke of bondage. 11:58 We are to look to Jesus. 11:59 2 Corinthians 3:18, 12:02 this is one of my favorite scriptures 12:04 and I know I say that all the time. 12:06 I love this one. 12:08 Pastor Tom, you have this one? 12:09 2 Corinthians 3:18. 12:12 "We all, with unveiled face, beholding in a mirror, 12:14 the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image 12:17 from glory to glory 12:19 just as by the spirit of the Lord." 12:20 Yes. Amen. 12:21 As we looked to Jesus, 12:24 we become transformed from glory to glory. 12:26 That word in the Greek transform metamorphosed, 12:30 and I love that word 12:31 'cause it shows 12:32 the illustration of the caterpillar 12:34 who crawls on his belly 12:36 and who is not very attractive 12:38 unless you really like bugs and creepy crawly things 12:40 to a butterfly. 12:43 It is a complete radical transformation. 12:46 You couldn't look at a butterfly flying around 12:48 and say, "Oh, I see remnants of the caterpillar." 12:52 Completely different in how they look, 12:54 and how they act, 12:56 and how their mode of transportation, 12:57 how they get around 12:59 and that's what the Lord Jesus wants to do in our lives. 13:01 As we look to Jesus, 13:03 He completely and totally transforms us. 13:06 And finally, how do we not become entangled again 13:10 with the yoke of bondage? 13:11 We need to put on the armor of God. 13:14 Ephesians 6, let's look at Ephesians 6. 13:20 We have just a moment, we'll look quickly. 13:22 There are several components to the armor. 13:24 We won't even read them all. 13:27 Verse 10, "Finally brethren be strong in the Lord 13:29 and in the power of His might, 13:32 put on the whole armor of God." 13:33 I think when God calls us to put on the amour, 13:35 it's not a once in a lifetime experience. 13:38 It's not like at our time of baptism, 13:40 "Okay, I'm putting on the armor. 13:42 I got it, I'm dressed. 13:44 I'm done." 13:46 It is a moment by moment, 13:48 every morning when I wake up putting on the armor of God. 13:52 "For we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, 13:54 but against principalities 13:55 and powers of rulers of the darkness of this age, 13:58 spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places." 14:01 There is a battle going on out there. 14:04 So what is the armor? 14:06 We are to stand on. 14:07 I'm at verse 14, 14:09 having ourselves girded about the waste with truth. 14:13 We are to put on 14:14 the breastplate of righteousness. 14:16 Righteousness is a gift from God 14:19 that needs to be freshly accepted and lived. 14:23 Self centeredness 14:25 and prideful confidence leads to destruction. 14:27 We need to put on 14:29 the breastplate of righteousness 14:31 have our feet shod 14:32 with the preparation of the gospel of peace, 14:35 take the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, 14:39 the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God 14:42 and spend time in prayer. 14:43 So Paul's encouraging us to stand in the liberty 14:48 with which Christ has made us free. 14:50 Brother Johnny? 14:52 Thank you, that was a blessing 14:54 and we continue with the Monday's part, 14:58 the nature of Christian freedom. 15:01 In this Monday's part we have an important thing to consider 15:07 and it is that the reason the nature of freedom 15:11 is because Christ, Jesus Christ has set us free. 15:15 And when you are free, He says you are free indeed. 15:20 So part of this has to do 15:22 and you will know the truth 15:23 and the truth shall set you free. 15:25 Christ is our freedom. 15:27 And so in this world of sin, 15:30 we have to understand 15:31 that everyone that walks upon it, 15:33 the Bible says that all have sinned 15:35 and come short of the glory of God 15:37 whether you like it or not. 15:40 Because of sin, 15:42 you have a price on your head 15:44 as they say that if you do not give yourself to Christ, 15:49 you're going to have to pay for your sins. 15:52 In order for you to be freed from the condemnation of sins 15:56 of the things you have done, 15:58 you need to find Jesus. 15:59 You need to give your heart to Jesus. 16:01 You need to find in Him 16:03 the peace that passeth all understanding. 16:05 So in order to do this, God has made the way. 16:09 Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. 16:11 And I just praise the Lord 16:12 because He has given us the scriptures 16:14 that are able to make us wise unto salvation 16:16 because freedom comes through the Lord 16:18 and this is why, 16:20 you know, the first time I heard it, it amazed me. 16:22 You were talking about visiting the prison. 16:25 We used to have United Prison Ministries 16:26 here on 3ABN and they used to, 16:28 one of the prisoners said that they were, 16:32 "I know I'm in jail but I'm free." 16:34 And I go, "What do you mean you're free?" 16:37 It's because he found Jesus. 16:38 Amen. 16:40 And that makes all the difference in the world. 16:41 It doesn't matter where you are, 16:43 what your condition is, 16:44 whether you are poor or rich, 16:46 whether you have sickness or you have health, 16:49 if you have Jesus, you are free. 16:51 And whatever condition you're in, 16:54 you're going to be delivered from. 16:56 Thanks be to God. 16:58 And so we glorify God for that and we praise His name. 17:02 Now let's look into some scriptures. 17:04 When you look at Paul's letters in 1 Corinthians 6:20, 17:07 we have some things to consider. 17:10 If we have a volunteer to read that 17:12 we will be grateful for that. 17:14 1 Corinthians 6:20, who's going to help me? 17:17 "For you were bought at a price, 17:19 therefore glorify God in your body 17:21 and in your spirit which are God's." 17:24 So we see that we are brought with a price 17:28 and how did, how did the Lord purchase us? 17:32 It is through the precious blood 17:34 of Jesus Christ. 17:35 Amen. And that is wonderful. 17:37 When you begin to understand that, 17:40 you began to see that God loves you 17:43 and when you know that God loves you, 17:45 that make all the difference in the world. 17:47 And you can go through trial and tribulation. 17:49 You can go through difficulties knowing God loves you. 17:52 This thing that I'm going through 17:54 is just part of a process 17:56 something that I need to go through 17:58 for my own good for some reason 18:01 or for the good of others. 18:03 Do you believe that you can go through 18:04 some suffering for the good of others 18:06 to bless others? 18:07 Yes, and people have done that. 18:09 And so I would say 18:11 that Joab went through some sufferings. 18:13 I see some good for me, 18:16 he didn't know me 18:17 when he was going through that, 18:18 but his experience has been a blessing to me. 18:22 And so we see that God loves us, 18:26 and so I think that is one of the clues 18:29 to understand living in this world 18:31 although it may be difficult, 18:33 we may face horrible, difficult times, 18:36 but if we know God loves us 18:38 and He has our best interest in mind, 18:40 we need not fear, we need not worry 18:42 because Jesus says, "I have overcome the world." 18:45 I would like to take a look at some other scriptures 18:48 and for this we need to go to 18:52 1 Corinthians 10. 18:55 We are in Corinthians already, so let's go to verse 13 and 14 19:00 and the Bible says, 19:01 "There had no temptation taken you 19:04 but such as is common to man 19:06 but God is faithful. 19:08 Who will not suffer you or allow you to be tempted 19:11 above what you are able 19:13 but will with that temptation 19:16 also make a way to escape 19:17 that you may be able to bear it." 19:19 And I added the next verse it says, 19:21 "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." 19:27 Actually that's part of what the lesson says. 19:29 And so I see here that in this scripture 19:33 we find that God is so caring, so loving 19:36 that He does not allow 19:39 the devil to have his way with us 19:42 because really if the Lord 19:43 allowed the devil to have his way with us, 19:45 who in the world would have freedom? 19:47 Who in the world would have peace? 19:49 And sometimes I think of some of those bugs 19:51 that are out there, the flies, 19:53 and the mosquitoes and those things 19:55 and there's one particular bug that bugs me. 19:58 And that is those that try to get inside your eyeball, 20:01 you know, they try to get inside your eye, 20:03 and you're trying to get away and it's amazing. 20:06 But sometimes I think of that 20:08 and I think, you know, that's how the devil is. 20:10 He tries to annoy you and create problems for you 20:13 but God is there 20:15 and He is measured 20:17 in what He is allowed to do to you 20:22 because otherwise he would just harass us to the degree that, 20:26 you know, you will go crazy. 20:27 But thanks be to God 20:29 that God does not allow him, 20:31 the Satan, Satan to do whatever he may please with you. 20:34 And the Bible says 20:35 that He sets a hedge of protection about you 20:37 and we think of Psalms 34, 20:39 the angel of the Lord encampeth round about you 20:43 and delivers you. 20:44 So we can take courage in God's Word. 20:47 Boy, there are some wonderful scriptures 20:49 to go through here. 20:51 So knowing that we have been bought with a price, 20:54 knowing that Jesus Christ has rescued us, 20:58 we can then understand, Romans 6:6, 21:02 I'm just gonna read some short part of it. 21:04 It says, "We know that our old self 21:07 was crucified with Him..." 21:08 Romans 6:6 and so on this basis, 21:11 on the basis of this fact 21:13 we see that Paul makes another exaltation 21:15 in Romans 6:12 21:17 and this I will ask somebody to read for us, 21:20 Romans 6:12. 21:22 And what does that one say for us? 21:24 Romans 6:12, does anyone have it? 21:26 "Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body 21:29 that you should obey in its lust, it in its lust." 21:32 Wow, that is, if we look at that, 21:35 we see that when we give ourselves to Christ, 21:38 we also have a choice 21:40 because it says therefore, what? 21:43 What's the next part? "Let not sin..." 21:44 "Let not sin reign in your mortal body." 21:48 In other words, don't let it have dominion over you. 21:50 So we have a choice in this aspect as well. 21:53 And so we must exercise our choice, 21:55 our freedom of choice in the right direction. 21:58 And so freedom in Christ, 22:00 it comes because Christ has delivered us 22:05 and we praise the Lord for that. 22:07 So a lesson has a question and here it is, 22:11 from what has Christ freed us from? 22:14 I will give you the short version. 22:16 There are several scriptures pointed out here. 22:19 The Lord Jesus has made us free from sin. 22:23 That's right. 22:25 And the dominion of sin and what sin will do 22:28 to those that cling to it. 22:30 You know, it's kind of amazing 22:32 that you see things in this world happen. 22:35 People cling to things that are going to hurt them, 22:37 you know, for years 22:39 and I know that this is a struggle for some people, 22:41 but I am gonna mention it anyway 22:43 because we can have victory through Jesus Christ. 22:44 That's right. 22:46 For years they've been putting on the cigarette packs, 22:49 you know, it has been determined 22:51 that this causes cancer, 22:52 it has been determined this is bad for your health 22:54 and yet people continue to do it 22:55 because they are controlled by it. 22:58 And when they give themselves to Christ, 22:59 they can find victory in that. 23:04 The same thing happens with sin. 23:06 You know, sin if you hold on to it, 23:08 will destroy you. 23:10 And we are being asked by Christ, 23:13 let not sin therefore reign or have dominion over you. 23:18 And the only way this can happen is 23:20 if Christ is in you, in us, the hope of glory. 23:24 And so we have that as Christ is in us, 23:27 the hope of glory we can have freedom, 23:30 and it is through Him that we have freedom. 23:32 And I'm going to mention that scripture again 23:34 that we mentioned in another program. 23:36 It says, my little children these things write unto you 23:40 that you sin not, and if any man sin, 23:42 we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, 23:45 the righteous. 23:46 So even though it may be that you may fall, 23:50 we are thankful that we have a faithful high priest 23:53 that is there for us, 23:55 our advocate, the one that sets us free. 23:58 So in Paul's letter you see the sense of freedom 24:01 being used more than 24:03 any other parts of the New Testament, 24:05 and I would like to bring one to you 24:07 because I see that my time is fast departing 24:10 and that is that Galatians 2:20. 24:15 Galatians 2:20 and it says, 24:18 "I have been crucified with Christ." 24:21 Yes. And what else? 24:23 "It is no longer I that lives but Christ liveth in me 24:27 and this life which I now live in the flesh, 24:29 I live by faith in the Son of God 24:32 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 24:35 Amen. 24:36 So Christ lives in us, that is freedom. 24:39 Christ lives in us, that is what gives us victory. 24:42 And the moment we walk away from Christ, 24:44 we are in great danger. 24:46 So our part is to stay in Christ 24:50 and we have freedom. 24:51 Well said, well said. 24:53 Tuesday's lesson seeks to deal with 24:56 and discuss the dangers and consequences of legalism. 25:01 And I think we do well to reanimate 25:05 the definition of what legalism is. 25:10 For me, to me it is an attempt to gain favor 25:13 or to be in right standing with God 25:15 through one's own efforts. 25:17 Just as flat and a simple as one can make it, 25:20 to try to get right with God through your efforts. 25:24 Paul in Galatians 5:2-12 talks about 25:29 and really takes his treatise on circumcision. 25:34 But may I suggest that those circumcision is the issue, 25:40 it's not the only issue. 25:41 That's right. 25:42 The circumcision is the poster child 25:45 for a mindset that says I need to do something 25:49 to get right with God. 25:51 In this issue it's circumcision but the modern day parallel 25:55 could be any number of things 25:57 that we try to do to get right with God. 26:00 Some try to fast their way to righteousness. 26:04 Some try to vegetarian their way to righteousness. 26:07 Some try to vegan their way to righteousness. 26:10 Some tried to no TV their way to righteousness. 26:15 So circumcision then is the stand in 26:19 for anything that we do 26:22 that we think can get us right with God. 26:27 And that will get us into right standing with God 26:31 and as such Paul is very passionate about this. 26:34 You see again that passion sort of leaking through 26:37 in Galatians 5:2-12 here 26:42 because he sees them lapsing back into this idea, 26:46 this mindset of trying to work your way through to God. 26:51 And it's being placed upon them 26:54 by people who do not have their good 26:56 and I don't know, you know, I cannot judge 26:58 the mindset of the Judaizers 27:01 whether they were doing it with a good heart 27:03 thinking maybe they need to do this 27:04 to be part of the club, 27:06 or whether it was a nefarious kind of plot, 27:08 it doesn't really matter. 27:10 The burden is that it was wrong, 27:13 it was putting them back into bondage 27:15 and Paul did not want his Galatian believers 27:18 to fall under that 27:20 because it is the polar opposite 27:23 of what Christ offers us 27:25 as a way, not a way, 27:27 the way to righteousness. 27:31 The lesson says 27:32 in one of the consequences of legalism, 27:36 a little play on words, Christ offered, Christ says, 27:41 that what they were going into will not benefit them, 27:45 opheleia, rather it obligated them, 27:49 opheiletes to the law. 27:52 So there's this little play on words 27:53 that's not gonna help you, 27:55 it's gonna make you a debtor to the law 27:57 and will not help you at all. 28:00 And then if you try to keep one, 28:02 then you've got to try to keep all 28:04 and you really end up trying to, 28:07 you really end up keeping none, 28:08 James 2:10, I have got here says that, 28:11 "If you offend in one point, you offend in all." 28:13 So your relationship to the law is dare I say skewed 28:18 because trying to keep the law 28:22 really kind of gives the law dominion over you 28:24 because you cannot keep it. 28:26 It cannot be done aside from Christ. 28:28 Now, the Judaizers were trying to get 28:31 these new Christians 28:33 to entertain something which was comfortable for them. 28:39 This idea of circumcision was something given to Abraham 28:42 as a sign of a covenant relationship. 28:46 So I'm thinking their mindset 28:48 was surely if it was so important 28:51 that God gave it to Abraham as a sign 28:54 and it has been a sign all these years, 28:56 then surely must be a sign to the new Christians. 28:59 So we better get them to keep this truth 29:02 and get them to understand that this is necessary. 29:06 This thing of circumcision was so important 29:09 that in Jeremiah 9:25 and 26, 29:14 I discovered that there were some other people, 29:17 other nations that were doing circumcision 29:20 not as a religious right 29:22 but the Jews were not the only one practicing it. 29:24 And yet, to the Jewish mind 29:26 the dividing line was circumcised, uncircumcised, 29:30 even for those nations that were keeping, 29:32 that were doing circumcision. 29:34 They were still class to the Jewish mind 29:36 as uncircumcised 29:38 because it was not a sign of covenant with them. 29:40 You were covenant circumcised and everybody else 29:43 whether you're keeping, 29:44 whether you're doing practicing circumcision or not 29:46 was uncircumcised. 29:48 So in their mind it loomed very, very large. 29:51 It was something that they had a modicum of pride in, 29:54 it distinguished them from other nations. 29:56 It was the sign given to Father Abraham 29:58 and carried down with only short lapses 30:03 in the practice for generations. 30:07 So their thinking is, 30:09 well, surely this is got to be a requisite 30:13 for these new believers. 30:17 And of course, it must have come up 30:19 at the Jerusalem counsel 30:20 because a number of infractions did 30:22 and of course, you know, James sort of digested down, 30:25 we can't do all of these things, 30:27 we've got to really settle in morality, 30:33 things strangled which wasn't a new were offer to idols 30:36 rather which was a sort of a New Testament dust up, 30:38 there was some problems with that. 30:40 But all of these other Jewish things 30:42 no longer held sway. 30:45 Now it's all about Jesus and that was ratified 30:48 and the brethren began to preach 30:50 and proclaim that I want to go through 30:52 what Paul writes 30:55 as the dangerous consequences of legalism. 30:58 The first one is trying to earn 31:01 God's favor by submitting to circumcision 31:04 and all of that it obliges a person to do 31:06 in respect to the law and has had before, 31:09 in this issue it was circumcision 31:10 but you could plug really any practice in there... 31:12 That's true. 31:14 And turn it into a legalistic requirement 31:19 that would take you away 31:20 from what Christ is trying to give you. 31:22 Secondly, the person will be cut off from Christ. 31:25 He's saying if you do these things, 31:29 you are really cutting off the flow of, 31:34 you know, I keep want to come back to grace pipeline. 31:36 But you're cutting off the flow 31:39 of blessings and grace from Jesus Christ 31:43 because now you're working, 31:44 you're sweating, you're thriving, 31:46 you're trying to do it on your own 31:48 and you simply cannot do it. 31:50 An unrighteous person 31:52 cannot keep a righteous holy law 31:53 without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit 31:56 and the work of a holy God in his heart. 32:00 So you've cut yourself off, you're trying to do something 32:05 and you've cut yourself off from the source of strength 32:07 that will enable you to do something, 32:09 so you're actually working against yourself. 32:11 Yeah, He says you've fallen from grace. 32:12 You've fallen from grace, precisely. 32:14 Yeah, you've fallen from grace. Wow. 32:17 Which is strong, that's strong 32:19 'cause, you've fallen from grace. 32:22 Paul's third objection to circumcision 32:24 is that it hinders spiritual growth. 32:26 It does. 32:27 Spiritual growth comes from abiding in Jesus. 32:30 The whole John 15 32:33 and not just an occasional assent to Jesus 32:36 but abiding in Jesus, 32:37 staying in Jesus, staying with Jesus, 32:39 relying on Jesus, receiving from Jesus. 32:42 And if you're working on your own, 32:45 how can you grow? 32:47 How can you grow? 32:48 How can a plant grow unless it is in soil 32:51 and getting water and getting nutrients? 32:53 If you cut a pair of a set of flowers, 32:57 the other day my wife was away and I bought her 33:00 three dozen roses at the airport, you know... 33:03 Oh, very nice. And she was rather impressed. 33:06 Lucky Irma, that's very nice. 33:08 And then just few days later 33:10 she thrown them out because there's not, you know, 33:13 you put them in water and you put the little powder 33:14 and that's supposed to extend their life, 33:16 but they're going to die, you know, they're going to die. 33:19 All is that in same way, 33:20 if you're cut off from the vine, 33:23 the branch is not gonna be able to succeed. 33:25 And so if you're working on your own 33:27 and not receiving the goodness, the grace of Christ, 33:31 you're going to die spiritually. 33:33 And so that's what he's trying to say here. 33:35 If you're trying to do it on your own 33:37 sooner or later you're going to run out of spiritual gas 33:40 and you are going to die. 33:42 Finally, circumcision removes the offense of the cross. 33:46 How? 33:48 The lesson as the message of circumcision implies 33:51 that you can save yourself 33:53 as such it is a flatter, 33:56 it is flattering to human pride. 34:01 It's nice to have this 34:04 pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality. 34:07 You know, but you can't pull yourself 34:10 up to the kingdom of God. 34:13 You can't. 34:14 You can't do that, you need Jesus. 34:16 And there are some people 34:18 whose personality sort of bristles at the idea 34:22 that I've got to depend on somebody else. 34:24 Yes, it's very humbling. 34:26 It is very humbling, and of course, in this world, 34:29 people will let you down. 34:32 But God will never let you down, 34:34 and that's why I love 34:36 the sentiment of Hebrews 13:5-6, 34:38 we can boldly say God is our helper. 34:41 You know, we can boldly say that God is our helper. 34:44 And we need Him and we depend on Him. 34:47 And you know, there are times in our life 34:48 when God puts you in something and when you get through, 34:51 you know, it had to be God, it was not you. 34:53 Well, if you live your life like that, 34:56 it makes you dependent upon God, 34:57 but it also makes you grateful that you serve a God 34:59 who loves you so much that He will never leave you, 35:02 and never forsake you, and always by your side. 35:05 So it removes you from those dangers 35:07 that are inherent in trying 35:09 to be self righteous and get righteousness 35:11 of by through your own efforts. 35:14 It makes you dependent upon a God 35:16 who loves you and will always be with you 35:19 and has made provision for your success. 35:22 Amen. 35:23 As I'm sitting here, I'm thinking about, 35:27 really we're striving to see clearly as sinners 35:31 which are self centered by nature 35:34 is instead of the kingdom of this earth 35:36 which we've always known pre-Christian, 35:39 pre-conversion, the kingdom of heaven 35:43 which is selflessness and all righteousness 35:46 comes by God before the fall, 35:50 after the fall, and now. 35:52 And we are the ones 35:54 that are struggling trying to figure that out 35:56 because we have to die to self, die to self, die to self... 35:59 Yes. 36:00 And that journey, 36:01 we can go into many ditches 36:03 because we struggle to understand it. 36:05 It's an amazing thing that our nature, 36:08 our natural self is at war 36:09 with what God is trying to teach us all. 36:13 I was probably about six months into my first district, 36:15 my first pastorate 36:17 and it was 4:30 in the morning 36:19 and I received the phone call. 36:21 And though the woman shared her name 36:25 and I had only met one other individual 36:27 in the district by that name 36:29 so in my stupor I thought I'm listening 36:31 to this other individual. 36:32 And she was crying and she was telling me 36:36 that my husband is a faithful member, 36:39 but I am in the wrong place. 36:40 I am, where I know I shouldn't be, 36:43 I have left the church. 36:45 I have gone to another church. 36:47 She'd gone to a Pentecostal church, 36:49 an independent Pentecostal church 36:51 and she says, 36:52 "I know that if I don't go back to where God wants me, 36:55 then I'm gonna be lost." 36:57 And it wasn't until later on that I figured out 36:59 who I was actually speaking with 37:01 someone I had never met, 37:02 you know, when you're the pastor, 37:04 you expect that you're supposed to know who this is 37:06 and I couldn't figure it out the whole time. 37:09 Well, this individual, bless her heart, 37:11 she came into the faith, 37:12 she became active in the church, 37:14 and then she wanted to talk to me. 37:16 And she said, "Pastor, I'm having a problem." 37:18 She said, "In that other church that I was in, 37:22 they told you how long your dress had to be, 37:25 they told you what it need to be made of, 37:26 they told you how you're supposed to keep your hair. 37:28 The pastor micromanaged us 37:32 and now that I don't have that..." 37:35 She said, 37:36 "I don't know what to do with this freedom I have. 37:40 Look all of a sudden, 37:41 you see our topic for today 37:43 and Wednesday's is liberty not licentiousness." 37:46 Which she struggled 37:47 with is that she went from bondage 37:49 to licentiousness 37:50 and didn't experience that freedom. 37:52 Let's go to 37:55 Galatians 5:13. 38:05 And it says, "For you brethren, have been called to liberty, 38:09 only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh 38:12 but through love serve one another." 38:16 Do not use liberty. 38:17 So really what are we at liberty from? 38:19 We are actually, we are, well, we're saved from sins penalty. 38:24 That's the liberty we receive, 38:27 but we're also receive freedom from something else, 38:30 it's found in 38:31 Galatians 2:17-21. 38:42 "But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, 38:47 we ourselves are also found sinners, 38:49 is Christ therefore a minister of sin, 38:50 certainly not. 38:52 For if I build again those things 38:53 which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor, 38:57 for I through the law died to the law 38:59 that I might live to God. 39:01 I have been crucified with Christ, 39:03 it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me." 39:07 Amen. 39:08 "And the life which I now live in the flesh, 39:10 I live by faith in the Son of God 39:11 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 39:15 Amen. 39:16 And then verse 21, 39:18 "I do not set aside the grace of God, 39:20 for if righteousness comes through the law, 39:22 then Christ died in vain." 39:25 So we see that we have this freedom in Christ, 39:27 and you know I was thinking, 39:29 well, how do we 39:32 not go into that ditch of licentiousness? 39:35 And my mind went to John 15 39:37 and something we have to all keep in mind 39:40 because the freedom is in Christ, 39:41 I am crucified. 39:44 It is Him that is living in me 39:46 and we can say it over and over again, 39:48 we can think it, we can be resolute about it, 39:51 but at the same time 39:53 we often fall out of that experience. 39:56 But in John 15:4-5, 40:00 "Abide in me and I and you 40:02 as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself 40:04 unless it abides in the vine, 40:05 neither can you unless you abide in me." 40:07 Amen. I am the vine. 40:08 We have to remember Jesus is the source of life, 40:11 of spiritual life. 40:12 Amen. 40:14 And you are the branches, 40:15 He who abides in me and I in Him 40:17 bears much fruit 40:18 for without me you can do nothing. 40:20 Amen. 40:21 Now I think about it, oh, what is the fruit? 40:23 You go to Galatians 5, back to Galatians. 40:29 You know, this very thing that we're talking about, 40:31 we were mentioning people are struggling 40:34 with Paul's gospel. 40:36 Paul's gospel was one that, 40:37 you know, I guess he was like the Morris Venden of his day, 40:40 was radical thinking, 40:41 righteousness by faith, what is this? 40:43 We have to do, 40:44 we can do that plus the law 40:46 and then we'll be good and everything. 40:47 And I think as an Adventists, 40:49 we struggle with the same thing. 40:50 Absolutely. 40:51 Christians struggle with that, any Christian will struggle. 40:53 But we find that, you know, 40:55 there are things that are removed 40:56 when you're walking in the spirit, 40:58 but the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 says, 41:01 "Is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, 41:05 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, 41:07 against such there is no law..." 41:10 So here we have empowering grace. 41:14 So that is the law of liberty living in us 41:16 and this is the result of it. 41:18 But what happens is sometimes people find themselves 41:21 in verse 19 and onward, 41:24 "In the works of the flesh, 41:26 there is the adultery, the fornication, 41:28 the uncleanness, 41:29 and this doesn't have to be an action, 41:30 this could be in thought, 41:32 this could be in their inner thought life, 41:34 in their who they are. 41:36 Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, 41:38 outbursts, or wrath, selfish, ambitions, dissensions, 41:41 heresies, envy, murders, and drunkenness, revelries." 41:44 So here we find this is what we come to Christ with 41:49 but He exchanges that for what we read 41:52 and when we read the fruit of the spirit. 41:57 But it is no longer I living, 41:58 it is Christ in me 42:00 and that's something that each one of us 42:02 needs to experience. 42:04 There's something else it says here 42:05 in that verse Galatians 5:13, 42:08 it says, "But through love serve one another. 42:13 So an antidote for serving the flesh 42:17 is to serve others. 42:18 Yes. 42:20 I think that it's an important ingredient 42:21 in a Christian's walk 42:23 and there are too many Christians 42:24 that don't experience the serving others. 42:27 Amen. 42:28 Yeah, I remember one time a pastor said to me, 42:30 this is before it was pastoring. 42:31 He said, 42:33 "You know, there's a reason I'm a full time pastor." 42:34 I said, "What's that?" 42:36 And he said, 42:37 "Because without it, I'd be lost." 42:38 Wow. 42:40 "I need full time ministry to keep me 42:43 in a saved condition." 42:45 I thought wow. 42:46 Well, you know, I realize that 42:48 if God calls you to full time ministry, 42:50 you know, He wants you to bless others 42:51 but He also wants to transform your life, 42:54 it's what you need and He's more interested 42:57 in our salvation than our ministry. 42:59 That's true. 43:01 And when I look at this, I think wow, 43:03 "Serving others in love 43:05 is what we need to do only through death to self 43:08 is that possible." 43:11 And that is the way the kingdom of heaven operates. 43:15 The very thing that we are trying to grasp, 43:17 a hold of and get figure out 43:19 what this is really all about as a Christian, 43:20 because if you think about it, 43:22 when we close our eyes and sleep or Jesus comes, 43:25 we are going to enter into that transformed state. 43:28 The only thing we're taking with us is character. 43:30 Character. 43:31 And it's being developed now, 43:33 and now is the time to learn this very thing. 43:36 Well said. 43:37 And I think about the Three Angels' messages, 43:39 we're not really sharing them unless it's infused 43:43 with righteousness by faith. 43:45 It's got to be Christ's message not mine. 43:48 I'm not the one that's right, 43:49 I'm as lost as the other person. 43:51 And if it were not for this message, 43:52 I'd have nothing to share. 43:55 And what a privilege it is 43:56 because as we serve others and by the way, 44:00 until you love God 44:02 with all your heart, mind, and soul 44:03 and love your neighbor as yourself, 44:05 you cannot be serving others. 44:07 It's maybe more self serving. It's good. 44:08 Yeah. 44:09 Some people are so busy, 44:11 but they're really not in Christ, 44:12 they're just busy. 44:14 But as we serve others 44:16 then it has a transforming effect 44:18 and a holding effect. 44:19 So we don't fall into that trap 44:23 of licentiousness 44:25 that so easily befalls God's people. 44:29 So that is the goal that God has for every one of us 44:33 is for us to live in liberty. 44:37 By the way, His law, 44:38 the moral law is the law of liberty. 44:40 That's right. 44:42 And it's freedom from sin, it's freedom from its penalty, 44:45 and the victory could be ours. 44:48 You know, if we knew Him as we could, 44:51 as we have the opportunity to know Him, 44:53 we'd have the victory all the time. 44:55 And I think of that very thought, 44:58 Christ was our example in all things, 45:00 it's in Christ that there is victory, 45:02 His spirit in us. 45:04 And serving others is a way to not only behold Him 45:08 but to be a co-laborer with Him, 45:12 ministering to the needs of others. 45:13 Absolutely, thank you very much, 45:15 that was good. 45:17 Thursday's lesson, we're going to be talking Paul 45:20 is talking about fulfilling the whole law. 45:23 It's interesting throughout all of Paul's writings 45:27 when he writes about doing the law, 45:30 it's always in a negative way. 45:33 You know, he writes negatively about doing the law, 45:36 but he writes very positively about fulfilling the law. 45:41 So what we're going to do is try to reconcile 45:42 these two statements in this lesson. 45:45 And there's a sharp contrast, so let's look at this. 45:48 In Galatians 5:3-4, 45:55 and this is a wake up call for anybody 45:58 who thinks that what you are doing 46:02 can add to your salvation. 46:03 If you don't accept the salvation of Jesus Christ 46:07 by faith alone, by God's grace, 46:10 if you're doing anything 46:12 to make yourself right before God 46:15 to give you to, bring your righteousness, 46:17 you need to listen to this. 46:18 Galatians 5:3-4. 46:20 Paul writes, 46:22 "And I testify again to every man 46:24 who has become circumcised..." 46:25 As you said this is the poster topic 46:28 but doesn't mean just circumcision. 46:31 "To every man has become circumcised 46:33 that he is a debtor, 46:35 he has assumed an obligation 46:38 because he's coming 46:40 under the law for justification. 46:42 He's a debtor to do or to keep do the whole law." 46:48 So you're obligated, 46:49 if you're gonna try to be saved by the law, 46:52 you are obligated to keep the perfect obedience 46:56 to the entire law which we know is impossible. 46:59 But listen to verse 4, 47:01 "You have become estranged from Christ..." 47:05 Wow, you've been separated, you're a stranger to Him. 47:08 "Now you who attempt to be justified by law..." 47:13 Whether it's dietary law or any other law, 47:16 "You who attempt to be justified by law, 47:19 you have fallen from grace." 47:23 Remember, what Jesus wrote in Revelation, 47:25 remember how far you have fallen. 47:29 Oh, so Jesus is no longer your first love because self, 47:34 you're inserting self a savior. 47:36 So in Galatians 3:10, let's read that one. 47:43 Why is he saying you becoming a debtor? 47:45 In Galatians 3:10, 47:47 he said for as many as are of the works of the law, 47:51 now he's talking about the Mosaic covenant here. 47:53 He's gonna make it clear 47:55 because He's going to quote from it in just a second. 47:57 "For as many as are of the works of the law 48:02 under this Mosaic law are under a curse, 48:07 for it is written cursed is every one 48:11 who does not continue in all things 48:14 which are written in the book of the law to do them." 48:18 So salvation 48:21 by doing works, 48:25 by trying to save ourselves 48:26 separates us from Jesus Christ. 48:30 It doesn't imply though 48:31 that we have no need of obedience 48:33 and that's what we really want to look at 48:36 but rather that as Hebrews 7:22, 48:41 I believe says, 48:42 "Jesus is the surety of the covenant." 48:45 And it goes on in 7:25 saying 48:48 that He is therefore able to save to the utter most 48:52 all those to come to God through Him, 48:55 because He lives to make intercession for us. 48:59 So the surety of the covenant, 49:02 He is making sure that, 49:05 He's telling us, okay, through me, 49:07 all of God's promises are yours, 49:08 yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 49:11 But he is also assuring God, all right, 49:14 Lord, through Me working in Him 49:16 to will and to do His good pleasure. 49:19 As I work in C.A. 49:21 to will and to, I promise Lord, 49:24 I will keep, 49:26 I will perfect the work that I have begun in Him. 49:29 That's right. 49:30 So obedience to fulfill the law, 49:35 if you look at the word in the Greek, 49:37 it's like if you had a yard here 49:40 and then it suddenly got this dip, 49:42 this hollow place, 49:44 fulfilling it would be to come in 49:47 and fill it over, making it leveled out. 49:51 So let's look at Romans 8:3-4. 49:57 Romans 8:3-4. 50:02 What does Paul mean it? 50:04 We're gonna be fulfilling the law. 50:05 Romans 8:3-4. 50:08 He said, "For what the law could not do 50:10 and that it was weak through the flesh..." 50:12 In other words nobody can keep the law, 50:15 that Mosaic law was impossible. 50:17 "God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh 50:23 on account of sin. 50:25 He condemned sin in the flesh..." 50:28 Amen. 50:29 Now here comes the purpose statement. 50:31 "So that, he condemns sin in the flesh by dying for us 50:37 so that the righteous requirement of the law 50:40 might be fulfilled in us 50:43 who do not walk according to the flesh 50:45 but according to the spirit." 50:47 Hallelujah. Amen. 50:49 So when He ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit. 50:56 And now Ephesians 3:16-20, 51:01 it's talking about Paul writes and says, 51:04 "You know I prayed that you will be strengthened 51:06 with might, or due to my power, 51:09 through the Spirit in your inner man 51:11 so it's through the Holy Spirit, 51:13 so that Christ might live in your heart 51:15 by face so that you can be rooted, 51:17 grounded, and love 51:19 and come into the full stature of Christ. 51:21 So now as the spirit lives in us, 51:24 Christ lives in us by faith, 51:26 and it's just so exciting to know 51:29 that Christian behavior 51:31 is more than a mere outward obedience, 51:35 he changes our heart, that's right, 51:37 that's the new covenant promises 51:39 that He gives us a new heart 51:42 and we fulfill the requirements of the moral law 51:48 because He's working His character out in us. 51:51 Amen. 51:52 It's just because, we love Him and we want to keep that. 51:56 Romans 13-8. 52:00 Paul writes to the Romans and he says, 52:02 "Owe no one anything except to love one another, 52:06 for he who has loved one another 52:09 has fulfilled the law. 52:12 You know, when the young ruler came to Jesus 52:16 and said one of the most important commandments 52:18 in Mark 12:30-31, 52:20 Jesus said this is it, 52:22 love the Lord your God with all your heart, 52:23 all your soul, all your mind, 52:25 all your strength love your neighbor 52:27 as yourself, right? 52:30 So this was actually not the rich young ruler 52:32 This was the scribes and Pharisees 52:34 who came to Him. 52:35 So what we have to look at 52:41 is that 52:42 that's the bottom line to Christianity, 52:44 He tells us, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22, 52:49 I'm gonna read, let me quickly read this. 52:53 This is where a man comes to me 52:55 and says, teacher, what's the greatest commandment 52:57 of the law, and Jesus once again says, 53:00 "Love the Lord your God 53:01 with all your heart, soul, mind, 53:03 this is the first and greatest commandment 53:06 and the second is like this, is like it. 53:09 You should love neighbor as yourself. 53:12 On these two commandments, 53:14 hang all the law and the prophets. 53:19 All the writings of the Old Testament 53:21 are hanging on those two commandments. 53:22 Amen 53:24 Now. Why? 53:27 Without love the law is empty 53:33 and it's cold. 53:34 I have met some people who are law keep person... 53:39 Empty and cold. 53:40 And they're empty and cold. 53:41 I mean they were, you know, you just feel like 53:43 you've been slapped up against the cheek 53:46 with a cold fish. 53:48 But without the law, love has no direction. 53:53 True. 53:54 So I want to send you to my favorite scripture 53:58 one of my favorites I'd like to. 54:00 Let's look at 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13. 54:03 Because when Christ is living in our heart 54:07 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 54:09 you see we can even love God 54:11 with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength 54:12 and love our neighbor by our self, 54:14 not in our own strength, Romans 5:5 says, 54:16 "God is the one who pours His love 54:18 into our hearts 54:19 by the power of the Holy Spirit." 54:22 And 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, Paul writes and he says, 54:26 "May the Lord make you increase 54:29 in the bound of love to one another 54:31 and to all just as we do to you." 54:34 'Cause this is how you're going to fulfill the law. 54:38 He says, but what is the reason, 54:40 why does he want God to do this in us? 54:43 To make us abound in love, to make us grow in love. 54:47 Here's his purpose statement, 54:48 so that he may establish 54:51 your heart's blameless and holiness 54:54 before our God and Father 54:55 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 54:57 with all His saints. 55:00 What's he saying? 55:02 As God causes us to grow in love, 55:06 we grow in holiness 55:08 because the essence of God is love. 55:13 He pours that essence into us and it is love 55:18 that makes us want to obey God to follow His voice, 55:22 to listen to Him. 55:23 It is love that self-sacrificing love, 55:27 I'm not talking syrupy sweet, this is... 55:29 I'm talking about that self sacrificing love 55:33 that makes us serve others. 55:34 Amen. 55:35 Amen, beautifully said, Shelley, 55:37 what an incredible blessing. 55:38 To me this is practical Christianity 55:41 lived down in action. 55:43 This is the gospel 55:44 and how it applies to my own life. 55:47 You talked about love, 55:48 I wrote it down, I love what you said, 55:50 "Without love the law is empty and cold, 55:54 but without the law, love has no direction." 55:58 And love truly as our memory text, 56:00 love is the fulfilling of the law. 56:02 Both Pastor C.A. 56:04 and Pastor Tom, you both referenced John 15. 56:08 One from the angle of keeping us 56:09 from legalism and one from the angle of keeping us 56:12 from licentiousness, 56:14 and you think if we are to have Christ love, 56:17 if love is truly the fulfilling of the law, 56:20 if we are to have Christ formed within the hope of glory, 56:24 we have got to abide in the vine. 56:26 Amen. We have got to abide in Christ. 56:30 I think about Greg when he was young 56:33 and had a great vine swing. 56:36 And they cut the grapevine off at the root 56:38 and they swung out over the valley 56:40 and came back and swung out over the valley 56:43 and came back and they did this for weeks and months. 56:47 And then one day someone came to visit 56:49 and he was a kid 56:51 and he jumped on the grapevine swing 56:53 and he swung out over the valley 56:54 and you know what happened? 56:55 It broke. 56:57 And he went flying and landed, 56:58 but he was okay, praise the Lord. 57:00 But the reason it broke is it was disconnected 57:05 from its life source. 57:06 So as we incorporate these principles of walking 57:11 by faith know that 57:14 we have to remain connected to the vine, 57:17 that is the most important thing, 57:19 Jesus, life giving sap flowing through us. 57:22 Thank you Shelley Quinn, Pastor Tom Ferguson, 57:24 Pastor C.A. Murray, and John Dinzey, 57:26 and we thank you for joining us as well 57:29 for 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:31 We want to encourage you to be connected to Christ 57:34 and stay connected this week. 57:36 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2024-06-25