Participants: Pr. John Dinzey (Host), Jill Morikone, Pr. C.A. Murray, Pr. Tom Ferguson, Shelley Quinn
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000037A
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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 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:35 My name is John Dinzey, 00:36 and I'm glad to be with you during this Bible study. 00:38 And we have a panel that is here with us, 00:40 and I'm gonna present them to you in a moment. 00:42 First, I want to talk to you 00:43 about the Sabbath School Quarterly 00:45 that we are using to study. 00:47 We're on lesson number 12. 00:48 Normally, there are 13 lessons, but this one has 14 lessons. 00:52 And this is a study that you will want to follow 00:56 along with because it's the Book of Galatians 00:58 which has presented a challenge for some people 01:00 to understand this book. 01:02 And we have been studying this book in prayer, 01:05 asking for the Lord to use us. 01:07 And we have seen the Lord bless throughout these 11 studies. 01:12 Now this is number 12, 01:13 and we are counting on the Lord 01:15 to once again bless us with His Holy Spirit 01:18 that we may speak the things that are of truth 01:21 and that will draw people to Jesus Christ. 01:24 And so how can you get a lesson like this? 01:27 You can visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:29 and tell them I would like the Sabbath School Quarterly 01:32 that they're using on 3ABN. 01:35 And they will be able to give you one for free. 01:38 But also you can download one of these 01:41 by going to the Adult Bible Study Guide website 01:44 that's ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:47 I will say that again. 01:49 ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:52 and there you can download a PDF version 01:55 of this study so that you can follow along. 01:59 I would like to now present our panel 02:00 that is here with us, 02:02 Sister Jill Morikone is with us, 02:04 and we thank you for coming. 02:06 It's a privilege and joy to be here, 02:08 open up the Word of God and share. 02:10 Next to her is our beloved Pastor CA Murray. 02:12 Pastor, welcome. 02:14 Good to be here, 02:15 and good to study the Word of God. 02:16 And we have had some exciting studies 02:18 in the Book of Galatians. 02:20 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:21 Next to him is Shelley Quinn who, on previous times, 02:24 only slept two hours, 02:26 but still the Lord carried her through. 02:27 Amen. Welcome. 02:30 If I ever yawned, it wasn't out of boredom. 02:32 Yeah, this is... 02:34 I think this program is probably my favorite one 02:37 in which to participate and we're so glad that 02:40 those of you at home are joining us. 02:41 And we hope that as we are also, 02:44 we learn from one another, 02:46 and we hope you're learning as well. 02:47 Amen. 02:48 And next to her is a face that may be new to some of you. 02:51 It's Pastor Tom Ferguson that is here with us. 02:54 A pastor that is near 3ABN 02:57 and has a district of four or five churches... 03:00 Pastor, help us a little. 03:01 It's a total of six in the district, 03:03 but Marion and Du Quoin are the two largest. 03:05 And the farthest one, which one is it? 03:08 Cairo. Cairo. Very good. 03:10 Thank you for coming 03:12 and we're glad that you're here. 03:13 And we are praying for the Lord 03:14 to bless you as you follow along. 03:17 And to begin with prayer, I'd like to ask, Sister Jill, 03:21 please if you lead us in prayer. 03:23 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 03:26 and we just thank You for the gift of Your Word. 03:29 We ask right now 03:30 that You would give us clean hands 03:32 and a pure heart, 03:33 You would give us an open ear, 03:35 and an open mind and heart to receive the truth 03:39 contained in Your Word. 03:41 And we thank You for Your presence, 03:43 we thank You for Your anointing 03:44 in the precious and holy name of Jesus. 03:47 Amen. Amen. 03:48 Amen. 03:50 And so to begin this lesson, 03:51 this is entitled "Living by the Spirit." 03:54 This is the title of lesson number 12, 03:56 Living by the Spirit. 03:58 And you are going to see a development 04:01 of what we know to be a fact in every person 04:06 that is awakened to the reality 04:08 that there is a great controversy 04:09 between good and evil. 04:11 Every person faces this controversy 04:13 whether to go to the right to do the bad things 04:17 or to go to the left to do the right things, 04:19 whether you say left or right, but either good or evil. 04:23 And so this is a struggle in each person's life 04:26 and the Bible has much to say about that. 04:29 And so we hope that you are blessed 04:31 as we continue this study. 04:32 Let's go right into it. 04:34 And the Bible uses certain terms. 04:37 It uses the flesh and it uses the spirit 04:39 to describe this struggle. 04:41 And so our memory text 04:43 which we're going to ask our illustrious panel 04:46 to read with me is found in Galatians 5:16. 04:51 Galatians 5:16. 04:53 If you're ready, let's do it. 04:54 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, 04:57 and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." 05:02 Wonderful. 05:04 A wonderful text was chosen because it gives us a promise. 05:07 Praise the Lord. 05:08 So let's continue our study here. 05:09 In this study, one of the scriptures 05:13 that we're going to be looking at 05:14 is found in Galatians 5:16. 05:17 And Galatians 5:16, 05:20 Sister Jill, if you'll help me with that one, 05:22 I will appreciate it. 05:24 Absolutely. Galatians 5:16. 05:26 "I say then, walk in the Spirit, 05:29 and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." 05:32 Very good. Thank you so much. 05:34 So this concept of walking in the Spirit 05:37 has to do with a walk of faith. 05:41 And this is not something new in the Bible 05:44 when you read the New Testament. 05:47 It's something that is presented 05:48 also in the Old Testament. 05:50 And one that is very familiar to people is a scripture 05:54 that mentions a man that... 05:57 It's not mentioned much in the Bible, 05:59 but when it mentions him, 06:01 you say, "Who is this guy? I wanna know this guy." 06:03 And his name is Enoch. 06:05 And so we're going to go to the Bible 06:07 and read a little bit about Enoch. 06:09 And this person is a person that walked with Jesus. 06:14 So in the book of Genesis, 06:18 5:23 and 24, 06:24 I would like to ask Pastor CA this time, 06:27 if you'll help me reading Genesis 5:23 and 24. 06:31 I'm reading Genesis 5:23, 06:35 "So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 06:41 And Enoch walked with God, 06:43 and he was not, for God took him." 06:47 Thank you very much. 06:48 So we have here that Enoch walked with God, 06:53 and then eventually says, 06:54 "And he was not, for God took him." 06:56 Now this is a blessing 06:59 that he was able to walk with the Lord, 07:02 his walk or his life, his relationship with the Lord 07:06 was so close that the Lord basically said, 07:10 "Enoch, you have walked with me so close. 07:14 Now it's time for you to know me face to face." 07:17 And the Lord blessed him to able to go to heaven, 07:21 and he's been there ever since 07:23 rejoicing in the blessings of the Lord. 07:26 The very first one to have that privilege. 07:29 So we praise the Lord for Enoch. 07:31 Now this term "walked" we need to look at a little bit 07:34 because it will be mentioned throughout this study. 07:37 And so what does it mean to walk? 07:41 We also read it in Galatians 5:16, 07:45 being exhorted by Paul to "walk in the Spirit," 07:49 and then the promise is, 07:50 "You will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." 07:53 And we're gonna look at this lust of the flesh 07:55 as well as you continue with us. 07:57 And so we want to encourage you to stay with us. 08:01 And also you may want to take notes. 08:04 Now walking is a metaphor drawn from the Old Testament 08:06 as we had just mentioned. 08:08 Paul used this often in his messages, 08:12 and over here, of course, in Galatians 08:14 where the Galatians were departing 08:17 from the ways of the Lord, 08:18 Paul was calling them to walk in the ways of the Lord. 08:22 And so let's go to some examples 08:26 where the word walked is used in the Old Testament. 08:29 I am going to read to you from Deuteronomy 13. 08:35 Deuteronomy 13. 08:38 And I'm going to read two verses that bring this out. 08:43 Deuteronomy 13:4 and 5, this is what we have there. 08:47 "You shall walk after the Lord your God, 08:50 and fear Him, and keep His commandments, 08:52 and obey His voice. 08:54 You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 08:58 But prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, 09:01 shall be put to death because he has spoken 09:03 in order to turn you away from the Lord your God 09:08 who brought you out of the land of Egypt 09:11 and redeemed you from the house of bondage 09:13 to entice you from the way 09:15 in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. 09:18 So shall put away the evil from your midst." 09:22 Now this is an interesting verse. 09:25 These two verses are very interesting 09:26 because it is a little similar 09:28 to what happened to the Galatians. 09:30 People came in and enticed them. 09:33 And Paul uses the word "bewitched them," 09:36 the same thing is being described here 09:38 that false prophets were coming to the people of Israel 09:41 and leading them astray from walking 09:45 in the ways of the Lord. 09:47 I'd like to point out two other scriptures 09:50 from the Old Testament that bring this out. 09:52 And now we're going to go to the Book of Psalms 86. 09:58 Sister Shelley, if you will kindly read Psalms 86. 10:02 And it is only one verse Psalm 86:11. 10:05 Psalms 86:11. All right. 10:07 Has something good to say to us. 10:09 If you're ready... 10:10 Psalms 86:11 is one of my favorites, 10:14 "Teach me Your way, O Lord. 10:16 I will walk in your truth. 10:19 Unite my heart to fear Your name." 10:22 Amen. Thank you so much. 10:23 So as you see these verses, you begin to see 10:28 that they are talking about a walk 10:30 which means a way of life, a way to live, a way to behave, 10:34 a way to really 10:37 have a relationship with the Lord, 10:39 to walk in the ways of the Lord. 10:42 Now we are gonna go to another, 10:45 Psalms 89, Psalms 89:15. 10:50 And, Pastor Tom, 10:53 if you'll read that for us, Psalms 89:15. 10:56 "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound, 10:59 they walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance." 11:02 Praise the Lord. Thank you very much. 11:04 So the people 11:05 that walk in the ways of the Lord are blessed. 11:11 And this is something we want you to have, 11:13 the blessing of the Lord. 11:14 When you walk in the ways of the Lord, 11:15 you're walking in the way that will be blessed. 11:18 And so we want to encourage you to do that. 11:20 Now let's move over to some interesting things 11:22 in the New Testament. 11:24 In the New Testament, 11:27 you have seen this already in different places. 11:31 And, of course, we already mentioned 11:32 Galatians 5:16. 11:36 Interestingly enough, 11:39 when you're talking about walking 11:40 in the Old Testament, 11:42 it uses the word "halak", halak is walk. 11:45 But then there was a term used walking in the Lord, 11:48 which is halaka, 11:51 this means walking in the way of the Lord, 11:53 in the way of going. 11:55 Paul's comments about walking in the Spirit 11:57 are not contrary to the obedience 11:59 of the law however. 12:01 It is really... 12:03 And it's interesting that you see this 12:06 in the Bible because God does not ask us 12:09 to blindly obey His commandments. 12:11 You know, when you're driving down the road 12:14 and you see those speed limits, 12:16 they're not very friendly, are they? 12:19 They just say speed limit, whatever it is, 70. 12:21 That's it. 12:23 No kind words to it, just speed limit. 12:26 But when you look at God's commandments, 12:28 they are promises to us. 12:29 Amen. 12:31 And God doesn't want you to just as a robot do, do, do, 12:35 He wants you to do this because you love Him. 12:39 So this walking with the Lord is a relationship. 12:41 And it's interesting, I remember hearing a person 12:45 during one of the Sabbath School studies 12:47 that we were having. 12:49 And this was Doctor... 12:52 I'm forgetting his name, 12:53 he mentioned he was from India, 12:55 he's from India. 12:56 And he mentioned that in India, they have many gods, 13:02 there are literally millions of gods 13:06 that are plants and other things. 13:08 And the concept of having a relationship 13:11 with God is absent. 13:14 But when you talk about Christianity, 13:16 when you talk about serving the living God, 13:18 He wants you to have a relationship with Him. 13:20 And this is really walking with the Lord. 13:23 So our obedience comes out of a grateful heart 13:27 that loves the Lord 13:29 and wants to walk with the Lord, 13:32 wants to be faithful with the Lord. 13:35 And it's out of a desire to please the Lord 13:38 because you're grateful to the Lord. 13:40 You're grateful for His mercy 13:41 because we really have much to be thankful for. 13:44 And I remember one man that called 3ABN, 13:49 and he said, "What do I have to be thankful for?" 13:52 He caught me a little by surprise. 13:54 And I said, "Well, are you in jail right now?" 13:57 He said, "No." 13:59 "Then you should be thankful for that. 14:01 Are you in a straitjacket by the way? 14:03 Straitjacket, you know?" And he said, "No." 14:05 "Well, you should be thankful to the Lord for that." 14:08 And so we went through different things 14:10 and he realized he did have things 14:12 to be thankful for. 14:14 Every person in this world has been blessed by the Lord 14:17 and it is because of this gratefulness, 14:20 this desire to know this God that so much loves you 14:23 that He's so willing to bless. 14:25 He wants to rescue you 14:27 from the bondage and slavery of sin 14:30 and the destructive 14:34 and of those that walk in sin, that walk in the ways of evil. 14:39 God loves you and wants the best for you. 14:41 I encourage you to walk with the Lord. 14:43 And now I'll hand the baton over to Sister Jill. 14:46 Thank you so much, Brother John, 14:47 and that was powerful, walk in the ways of the Lord. 14:50 As we continue on to Monday, 14:52 I'm looking at the Christian's conflict. 14:55 And let's look at the very next verse. 14:57 You are in Galatians 5:16, 14:59 we're going to look at the very next verse, 15:02 Galatians 5:17. 15:03 We look at the conflict that we have as Christians. 15:08 "For the flesh lust against the Spirit 15:11 and the Spirit against the flesh, 15:14 and these are contrary to one and other 15:18 so that you do not do the things that you wish." 15:21 I have in front of me here a rope 15:23 that one of the production guys 15:25 Will Warf gave to me this morning. 15:28 When I was a teacher, 15:30 this was before Greg and I got married, 15:32 just out of college, 15:33 20-something, you know, young, 15:35 we had a tug of war and Pastor CA is saying, 15:38 "She's still young." 15:40 Amen, amen. 15:42 So we had a tug of war with the kids, 15:45 and these are academy kids, 15:47 we had some of the teachers join in. 15:48 And, you know, how you do tug of war, 15:50 you're on one side and the other 15:51 and you tug across the line this way 15:53 and then you tug across the line over here, right? 15:56 Well, all of a sudden, 15:58 one of the teachers came out and he was a big guy. 16:02 We would say here maybe like a Dave Everett tall, broad, 16:06 just a big guy. 16:07 And he got at the end of the opposite side of me. 16:12 So he wrapped the rope around his waist 16:15 and, you know, how it hangs out, 16:16 you know, from his waist. 16:18 And then all the kids here, 16:19 and I'm over here with some other teachers. 16:21 Now you can guess what happened, 16:24 all he did was lean, and began to walk backward, 16:28 and we went like this. 16:30 I remember my feet just being dragged in the dirt, 16:33 there was nothing I could do. 16:35 We were pulling as hard as we could this way, 16:38 and there was nothing I could do. 16:39 All of a sudden, we were pulled and yanked that way. 16:42 It reminds me of the battle, 16:44 the war we have between the Spirit 16:47 and the flesh. 16:48 Now you could say he succeeded 16:50 because he had been well-fed and he had grown up 16:54 to be a good-sized gentleman. 16:58 We're not talking here about the work of the Spirit 17:00 or the work of the flesh, that's Pastor CA and Shelley. 17:03 But I believe that whatever we feed 17:07 that that nature grows and will eventually win. 17:10 We're talking about that conflict. 17:12 My sister has four boys, 17:14 and I remember when one of them was about two years old, 17:17 he threw a temper tantrum, 17:19 one of those knock-down temper tantrums, 17:21 on the floor, heels kicking, 17:23 arms flailing, crying, face red, 17:27 screaming at the top of his lungs. 17:29 He was mad 17:30 because his mom had said no to something 17:32 he had wanted. 17:33 So I went over to him, 17:34 he's having this glorious temper tantrum, 17:36 and then I'd listened to what he's saying, 17:38 and, you know, what he said, "Jesus, help me. 17:41 Jesus, I want to be good." 17:44 He's crying in the midst of his tantrum, 17:47 "Jesus, help me." 17:49 And sometimes as Christians, we may not throw down 17:52 and have a kick-down temper tantrum, 17:54 but we feel that same battle, that same conflict, "Help me!" 18:00 The war between the flesh and the Spirit. 18:03 "The flesh lusts against the Spirit." 18:06 The Greek word for flesh can refer 18:09 to the sinless human body of Jesus. 18:11 It refers to different words, but usually in this case, 18:14 and usually, it's referred in the negative sense. 18:18 It would be the carnal nature 18:20 that which proceeds out of the untouched, 18:23 unchanged part of us, 18:25 that which is not transformed by God. 18:28 If you think about the work of the flesh 18:30 or the work of the Spirit, 18:31 the self-centered or flesh-filled living 18:35 is controlled by passion. 18:36 The Spirit-filled living is controlled 18:39 by the Holy Spirit. 18:41 The flesh-centered living is a slave to sin. 18:45 The Spirit-filled living dies to self and to sin. 18:49 The flesh-centered shows the fruit of sin. 18:53 The Spirit-centered shows the fruit of the Spirit. 18:57 The flesh-centered walks in lust. 19:00 The Spirit-centered walks in self-sacrificing love. 19:05 The flesh-centered is an idolater 19:08 or lives for myself. 19:10 The Spirit-centered lives for other people. 19:13 Let's look at Romans 8, 19:17 Romans 8:7. 19:22 And, Brother Johnny, do you have that? 19:24 Do you wanna read that? I have that. 19:26 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, 19:30 for it is not subject to the law of God, 19:32 nor indeed can be." 19:35 We are all born, you could say, 19:37 carnal, right, with a sinful nature, 19:39 sold under sin? 19:40 And I think we're all born really in harmony 19:44 with the works of the flesh. 19:45 And the battle begins as soon as we're born again, 19:51 as soon as we make Jesus Christ the Lord of our life. 19:54 Greg and I were traveling on the Current River 19:56 which is in Missouri taking a canoe trip, 19:58 and, you know, we went downstream first, 20:01 and it was wonderful. 20:03 Paddling, going fast, and it was glorious. 20:07 We turned around and started back 20:09 and you know what happened? 20:11 It was a long way, and I thought, 20:14 "We should be back by now." 20:17 But it seemed much farther 20:18 because we were traveling now against the current. 20:22 It reminds me of Nicodemus when he went to see Jesus. 20:25 John 3, remember he went at night to see Jesus. 20:29 And Jesus said, "You must be born again." 20:31 In John 3:6, Jesus said, 20:34 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh. 20:37 And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 20:40 So as soon as we are born again of the Spirit, 20:44 there arises this conflict 20:46 between the work of the flesh and the work of the Spirit. 20:51 Let's look at John 14, 20:54 jump back to John 14. 20:57 This is very fascinating to me, 20:59 and we don't really have time to get into this aspect. 21:02 But John 14 talks about Jesus, 21:06 and we know that He was truly born again, 21:09 He was sinless, 21:10 He lived the life of the Father, 21:13 He honored the commandments, He lived a perfect life, 21:16 and died that perfect sacrificial death for us. 21:20 But in John 14, we see an interesting thing. 21:23 John 14:30. 21:25 Do you have that, Pastor? I surely do. 21:27 John 14:30, the Bible says, 21:30 "I will no longer talk much with you 21:33 for the ruler of this world is coming, 21:35 and He has nothing in me." 21:38 That's interesting, isn't it? 21:39 Because when he says 21:41 when the ruler of this world meaning Satan, 21:43 the prince of this world at that time is coming, 21:45 He has nothing in me. 21:47 So there was nothing in his fleshly nature 21:50 that would arise in conflict 21:53 to what the Spirit wanted him to do. 21:55 I think He was completely 21:57 and totally crucified his flesh, 22:00 His spirit had been crucified. 22:03 Galatians 2:20, what does that say, 22:05 "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless not I live." 22:09 It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 22:12 And the life that I now live, 22:14 I live by faith in the Son of God 22:16 who loved me and gave Himself for me. 22:19 Luke 9, let's turn over to Luke 9:23. 22:24 And, Shelley, we'll see if you wanna read that one. 22:27 Certainly. Luke 9:23. 22:29 Luke 9:23, Jesus says, 22:33 "If any one desires to come after me, 22:36 let him deny himself 22:38 and take up his cross daily and follow me." 22:42 Amen. 22:44 The same principle as we saw in Galatians 2:20, 22:47 being completely dead to self and to my sinful nature. 22:51 You know, and I don't mean this in any disrespectful fashion, 22:55 but if a person has died, 22:58 you could not go up to say to the coffin, 23:00 and I don't mean this disrespectfully, 23:02 but you could not tempt them, Brother Johnny, 23:03 with cigarettes, could you? 23:05 Absolutely not. No way to respond. 23:07 Yes, there is no way to respond. 23:09 You could not tempt them with any addiction 23:12 or anything that's in their life 23:14 because they are completely dead. 23:16 And I think that is the place 23:18 that God wants to bring you and I to 23:21 so that that work to the flesh is completely dead. 23:26 I also think of the work 23:28 when we are dead to self and sin, 23:30 the Holy Spirit can work in our lives. 23:33 Let's look at one more scripture, 23:36 Romans 8:2. Romans 8:2. 23:43 And you talk, Brother Johnny, about walking in the Spirit. 23:46 So let's read verse one because it talks about walking. 23:49 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those 23:53 who are in Christ Jesus 23:54 who do not walk according to the flesh 23:57 but according to the Spirit 23:59 for the law of the Spirit of life 24:01 in Christ Jesus has made me free, 24:04 set me free from the law of sin and death." 24:08 If we walk in the Spirit, 24:10 we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 24:12 Amen. 24:13 So as we look Monday, 24:15 we look at the Christian's conflict, 24:17 and it's a real battle. 24:19 As soon as we make that choice for the Lord Jesus Christ, 24:21 there arises this tug of war 24:24 between the Spirit and the works of the flesh. 24:26 But praise God, He won the victory, 24:29 and He can give us the victory as well. 24:31 Amen. Amen. 24:33 Pastor CA. Amen. 24:34 Thank you so very much. 24:36 My portion, the Tuesday part of the lesson is 24:39 "The works of the flesh." 24:42 And the scripture lesson is from Galatians 5:19-24. 24:48 I want to read them all, 24:50 and I'm gonna read it from the amplified version, 24:52 sometimes when you read in the amplified, 24:54 you get little more culture. 24:55 Yes. Amen. 24:57 You know, I think I have maybe 30, 35 Bibles, 25:00 you know, you're a pastor and people think, 25:02 "Oh, what do we give him for his birthday?" 25:03 "Let's buy him a Bible." 25:05 "What to get him for his one year anniversary?" 25:06 "Let's buy him a Bible." 25:07 "What do we get him for his anniversary?" 25:09 "Let's buy him a Bible." 25:10 So you collect these Bibles 25:11 most of which I've not bought myself, 25:13 you can tell the ones that I buy 25:14 because they have the big print. 25:15 The gifts have the small print. 25:17 But my amplified is a big print Bible. 25:19 And I like what this has to say, 25:21 I'm in Galatians 5 beginning at verse 19. 25:26 The amplified says, "Now the doings, practices," 25:29 that's added, "of the flesh are clear." 25:32 The amplified adds obvious. 25:34 "They are immorality, impurity, 25:36 indecency, idolatry, enmity, 25:41 strife, jealousy, anger." 25:44 Then it adds ill-tempered. 25:46 "Selfishness, selfish divisions." 25:49 The amplified adds dissensions, a party spirit, 25:53 the third part is interesting, a party spirit, 25:56 then it adds factions, sects, 25:58 S- E-C-T-S, not S- E-X, S-E-C-T-S. 26:02 "With peculiar opinions and heresies, 26:05 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. 26:10 I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, 26:14 that those who do such things shall not inherit 26:17 the kingdom of God." 26:20 Continuing, "But the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is," 26:23 this is added, 26:25 "the work which His presence within us accomplishes." 26:28 And I really like that, 26:30 "is love, joy," gladness is added, 26:33 "peace, patience, 26:35 that is an even temper and forbearance, 26:38 kindness, goodness," 26:39 and added is the word benevolence 26:41 which I think is a really good insert there, 26:43 "faithfulness, gentleness." 26:46 After gentleness 26:47 the amplified adds meekness and humility, 26:50 which I think is a good addition there. 26:51 "Self-control" 26:52 and the amplified adds restraint and continence. 26:56 "Against such things there is no law 27:00 that can bring a charge." 27:02 I think that is really, really, really good. 27:07 This idea of making lists, when I was in New York City, 27:10 I had a lot of Jewish friends. 27:12 And even now I'm reading 27:14 the Mishnah for the second time, 27:16 this idea of making lists is a Jewish kind of thing. 27:19 It's something that they do. 27:21 There was at one time my eye doctor, 27:23 Marcus Delevin was Jewish, 27:25 my primary care physician was Jewish, 27:27 my eye surgeon was Jewish, 27:28 I had a podiatrist for a while who was Jewish, 27:31 and I had a good friend Rabbi Ron Goldstein, 27:35 of course Jewish. 27:36 This idea of making lists is a very Jewish thing. 27:40 My eye doctor, we used to have 27:42 some great theological discussions. 27:43 He talked in terms of lists, 27:45 everything was lists, lists, lists. 27:47 And when you read the Mishnah, 27:49 the one I have has the Gemara, has the Targum, 27:52 has all of the extra material, 27:53 there are these lists 27:55 which was particular to the Old Testament. 27:57 Paul being an Old Testament scholar, 28:00 certainly a rabbi of the rabbis, 28:02 Hebrew of the Hebrews who was aware 28:04 of this making of lists, we are sure. 28:06 So he adds to his apologetic 28:11 to the Galatians a list of his own 28:13 because that's culturally acceptable, 28:15 something that he certainly would be familiar with. 28:20 One of the things I want to touch on 28:22 before I go to some of the Old Testament lists 28:24 is that the flesh, in dealing with the flesh, 28:29 the flesh forces things upon us. 28:33 Satan is a cruel master. Amen. 28:35 He takes you further than you want to go 28:37 and he keeps you longer than you intend to stay. 28:42 A story in the last book 28:44 I wrote some years ago of a young lady 28:46 who was a good Christian. 28:49 And she experimented with crack one time, 28:52 just one time, and she was hooked. 28:56 And, you know, the heart of the story... 28:57 It happens so often. 28:59 It happens so often and so fast, 29:00 and you don't... 29:02 "I'll just dip my toe in the water." 29:03 And you don't know you are... 29:04 She talks about a story of being out on Friday night 29:07 trying to score crack from a guy 29:11 and she had no money. 29:13 And she says in her reflection, 29:15 "You know, it's Friday night, its 3 o'clock in the morning, 29:17 I'm gonna be church in a few hours. 29:19 And here I'm in an alley with this guy 29:21 that I only know his name, selling myself to get crack." 29:26 Satan is a cruel master. 29:28 When I was in college, there were guys 29:32 who had to be out on Friday night. 29:33 "It's Friday, we have to go out." 29:34 It didn't occur to me that you have to do anything 29:36 but you have to go out. 29:38 The flesh puts demands on you. 29:40 Why do you have to drink? 29:41 Why do you have to be on the street? 29:43 Why do you have to go out? 29:44 But the flesh puts these unreasonable demands on you, 29:48 it forces you whereas the Spirit produces. 29:53 Produces means that we work together 29:55 and out of our working together something 29:56 just automatically blossoms and comes, 29:59 whereas the flesh forces. 30:00 And Paul alludes to that in this series of statements 30:06 that bespeak what happens in the flesh. 30:10 Let's see Jeremiah 7:9, 30:13 while I'm talking, Pastor, if you could find that for me. 30:15 And, Shelley, may I give you Hosea 4:2. 30:19 And, my lady, Jill, if you would take Mark 7:21. 30:24 Absolutely. Yeah. 30:25 These, again, these are lists. 30:27 And, Johnny, on the converse, 1 Timothy 3:2 and 3. 30:31 1 Timothy 2:2 and 3? 30:33 1 Timothy 3:2 and 3. 30:37 Jeremiah 7:9. Yes, sir. 30:39 "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, 30:42 burn incense to Baal, 30:44 and walk after other gods whom you do not know?" 30:49 See this is Jeremiah. 30:50 And, of course, when you look 30:52 at what sent Israel into captivity, 30:54 if you boil it down the digest really 30:56 was Sabbath-breaking and adultery. 30:58 You know, there were a lot of other little things, 31:00 but especially Sabbath breaking and adultery. 31:02 And again, you've got this list steal, 31:05 murder, commit adultery, 31:06 swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, 31:08 that's adultery, walk after strange gods, 31:11 and then stand before me. 31:13 That's God's complaint and He lists them. 31:17 So the Jewish man, from my talking, 31:20 particularly with my eye doctor who saw those rabbi, 31:23 we had great discussions. 31:24 You are what you do, I don't care what you say, 31:27 I don't care what you think, you are what you do. 31:30 Ellen White says, "Righteousness is right doing." 31:33 Yes. Is right doing. 31:34 That's right. 31:36 So the mindset is true, you are what you do. 31:38 You may say one thing and do another. 31:39 I'm going to what you do more than what you say. 31:42 So you get these lists of dos and don't dos, 31:46 because these dos or don't dos really determine what you do. 31:49 You may say one thing, 31:51 but if you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, 31:53 burn incense to Baal, 31:55 you're not what you say you are, 31:56 you are what you do, and so you get this list. 31:59 Shelley, Hosea? 32:01 Hosea 4:2, 32:04 "By swearing and lying, killing and stealing, 32:07 and committing adultery, 32:09 they break all restraint with bloodshed upon bloodshed." 32:14 When I was younger, I could not understand 32:18 what the big deal was with lying. 32:21 You know, killing, yeah, adultery, yeah, 32:25 even dishonoring you parents. 32:26 But it didn't seem like lying was such a big deal 32:28 because everybody lies. 32:29 But veracity, truthfulness is a big deal with God. 32:34 A huge deal. Yeah. 32:36 God cannot lie. 32:37 And those of us 32:39 who are in Christ should not lie. 32:41 Your yea ought to be yea, your no ought to be no. 32:43 That's right. 32:44 There ought to be this lining up 32:47 with Jesus in your living. 32:48 Yes. 32:50 So that if you tell me so and so, 32:53 I ought to be able to take that to the bank. 32:54 Amen. 32:56 You know, I ought to be able to trust you and say, 32:58 "Well, Jill said so. 33:00 Well, that's got to be because that came out of Jill. 33:02 Jill doesn't lie. Shelley doesn't lie." 33:05 You know, when we were growing up, 33:07 there was the lie of commission but the lie of omission. 33:11 If we didn't tell our mother... 33:12 Yes, yes. Yes. 33:14 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. 33:15 You can lie about what you say, 33:16 and you can lie about what you don't say. 33:18 Absolutely. 33:19 What does Ellen White say, 33:20 "No deviation from strict integrity 33:22 will meet God's approval," in the Desire of Ages. 33:24 Absolutely. 33:25 Either way, you can't add a little 33:27 and you can't take a little away. 33:28 You can't hold back some, you've got to tell the truth, 33:31 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 33:33 Mark 7:21. 33:35 Mark 7:21, "For from within, 33:38 out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, 33:40 adulteries, fornications, murders." 33:44 You want me keep going? Mm-hm. 33:45 "Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, 33:48 an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." 33:52 Have mercy. 33:55 There is an interesting thing on this evil eye that, 33:57 I'm looking at my time, I don't have time to go into, 33:59 but even wickedness where it talks about depravity 34:03 and defiant perversion 34:05 is the understanding in the Greek. 34:07 And there's of much of that going on today, 34:08 defiant perversion. 34:10 Just perversion that almost shakes it fists 34:13 in the face of God. 34:14 Johnny, we got to go to 1 Timothy 3 34:17 to get a little balance here. 34:18 All right, 1 Timothy 3:2 and 3, 34:20 "A bishop then must be blameless, 34:22 the husband of one wife, "Una" temperate, sober-minded, 34:28 of good behavior, hospitable, 34:30 able to teach, not given to wine, 34:33 not violent, not greedy for money, 34:35 but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous." 34:38 Yes, what I like about these lists 34:40 is that they leave no doubt in your mind 34:43 what the Lord is requiring of you. 34:45 You know, the Ephesians 2:10 says, 34:48 God made us for good works. 34:50 Well, you may say, "What is good? 34:51 What does God mean my good?" 34:53 Well, if you go to Micah 6:8, 34:54 "He has shown thee O man what is good 34:56 and what that the Lord require. 34:58 Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with thy God." 35:01 So the Bible makes it plain, 35:04 and I think Paul in dealing with a baby group, 35:08 let's spill it out for you, 35:10 you know, let's put it out there, 35:11 so there's no doubt in your mind 35:12 what I'm talking about. 35:14 This is what you need to avoid, 35:15 and this is what you need to pursue, 35:17 and in doing so, you will be right with God. 35:19 So he's coming down to the point 35:21 where he's saying, you know, 35:22 let's kind of blow away the smoke, 35:24 let's be very, very pragmatic 35:26 about what God wants from you, 35:28 and what will put you in right standing with God 35:31 because, yeah, you are what you say, 35:33 but you really are what you do. 35:35 That's right. Shelley. 35:36 And I just... 35:37 To tag on to what you just ended with there, 35:40 the Bible says in 1 John 3:7, 35:44 He says, "Little children..." 35:45 This is the Apostle John writing. 35:47 "Little children, let no one deceive you, 35:51 he who practices righteousness is righteous 35:55 just as Christ is righteous." 35:57 So, you know, we are saved by grace through faith. 36:02 There's nothing we can add for our salvation. 36:04 Amen. 36:05 But it doesn't mean that, 36:07 I mean, it is His righteousness imputed, 36:11 credited to our account, imparted to our heart, 36:14 but as He imparts 36:16 His righteousness into our heart 36:17 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 36:19 He guides us and empowers us 36:21 to put that righteousness into practice. 36:24 And if we're not doing it, 36:25 then we're not belonging to Him. 36:27 Which is why the idea of that the flesh demands, 36:31 the Spirit produces. 36:33 Right. 36:34 So we're gonna continue on with Galatians 5:22 and 23. 36:39 And this is following the... 36:41 As he's talked about the works of the flesh, 36:44 now he's going to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. 36:47 There is only one fruit, 36:49 but there are nine manifestations. 36:51 It's reflecting the glory of God, 36:53 I guess you could say, 36:55 and it's just kind of like a multifaceted diamond. 36:59 If you look at this fruit, there's nine manifestations. 37:02 And it says, 37:04 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace, 37:08 patience, kindness, and goodness, faithfulness, 37:12 gentleness, and self-control against such things," 37:17 Paul tells these Galatians, "there is no law." 37:21 This reminds me of John 15:1-5 where Jesus is saying, 37:26 "I am the vine, you are the branches." 37:29 And He says, 37:30 "If you abide in me and I in you, 37:32 you'll bearing much fruit." 37:35 See the whole thing 37:36 about the fruit of the Spirit is it comes only 37:39 when we're connected to Christ. 37:41 Amen. 37:42 We have to be connected to Christ. 37:43 And what these 37:45 nine manifestations of the fruit are 37:48 is this is the character of Christ 37:50 being worked out in us, really. 37:51 It's His things that reflect His character. 37:57 Now I divide this into three groups of three. 38:03 And I'm not saying that 38:04 this is the absolute correct way. 38:06 Here's how I see it and others may disagree. 38:10 But I see those first three the love, joy, and peace 38:15 as being the inward transformational experience 38:20 that we have when we come to God. 38:23 Love is the foundation of all the rest of the fruits. 38:26 And in the Romans 5:5, when we come to God, 38:29 when we've accepted Christ as our Savior, 38:32 Romans 5:5 says, 38:33 He pours His love into us 38:36 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 38:37 So this is... 38:39 We get that divine self-sacrificing love 38:42 of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. 38:45 And this is what empowers us to love Him 38:48 with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and strength, 38:51 and to love you and others as ourselves. 38:55 Now the joy, 38:56 this is that inner gladness of just knowing God. 39:01 Nehemiah 8:10, 39:02 "The joy of the Lord is your strength." 39:05 This is a rejoicing that is inspired 39:08 by the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives. 39:13 Then when you think of the peace, 39:15 what a beautiful thing the peace of God is. 39:17 And I know people 39:19 who have been looking for peace all of their life, 39:21 but when you come to God, 39:23 Philippians 4:7 says, 39:25 "He will give you a peace 39:26 that transcends all understanding." 39:28 Amen. There's no way. 39:30 Jesus said, 39:31 "Not as the world gives, give I to you, 39:33 but I'm going to give you my peace." 39:37 This is something that the world cannot steal. 39:42 Now I look at the second group, the patience, 39:46 which is our long suffering, the kindness, 39:49 and the goodness as the fruit, 39:52 this is our expression toward others. 39:55 I am patient, even tempered with you as the Holy Spirit 39:59 is working in my life. 40:00 I endure others' behavior. 40:03 In other words, you bear up when you're being reproved, 40:07 you don't worry about 40:08 or even think about retaliating. 40:11 One of the sayings that I dislike 40:14 the most is when somebody says, "I don't get mad, I get even." 40:18 That is such a horrible attitude, 40:22 and it is so un-Christ like, 40:24 I mean, it is an ungodly attitude 40:26 because we shouldn't be considering, 40:29 you know, "I got you. 40:31 I'm gonna retaliate." 40:33 Kindness means that you're gracious 40:35 and helpful to others, 40:37 and goodness, this is love in action. 40:41 Goodness is when you are benevolent 40:44 toward others. 40:45 Now I think of the final three as our attitude toward God. 40:49 This is the consequent behavior of these other fruits. 40:56 When God is working in our life, 40:57 the faithfulness, we're true to God, 41:01 we're true to His principles of righteousness, 41:06 the gentleness, 41:07 which as the amplified explained the Greek, 41:10 I like to think of the gentleness 41:12 as the humility 41:13 because this is where our relationship 41:16 begins with God. 41:19 I think of the definition of humility being, 41:22 you know, when Paul said in Philippians 2:5-7, 41:27 let this mind be in you, 41:28 which was in Christ Jesus, who humbled Himself, 41:32 even to the point of death on the cross." 41:34 I mean, He was God and He didn't think robbery 41:39 to be considered equal with God. 41:41 Yet He came to the earth 41:43 and He was totally dependent upon the Father. 41:46 He was totally dependent upon the Spirit 41:48 just like you and I need to be. 41:50 So in humility, He said, 41:52 "I only do what the Father tells me to do, 41:55 I only speak 41:56 what the Father tells me to speak." 41:58 And I just want to encourage you, 42:00 that's the beginning of our relationship is when... 42:03 And really when you think about 42:05 the new covenant and salvation by grace, 42:08 that's the crux of it. 42:10 All God asks of us 42:12 is that we come before Him in humility and say, 42:16 "Lord, You know better than I. 42:18 I want to surrender control of my life to You. 42:22 Work in me to willing to do Your good pleasure. 42:25 Produce this fruit in me. Let it grow in me. 42:27 I want to be connected to the vine." 42:30 And then self-control, 42:34 I think that self-control 42:38 is listed by Paul last on purpose. 42:43 You know why? 42:45 Love he lists first because it's foundational 42:47 to all the rest of these. 42:49 Self-control he lists last 42:52 because all the works of the flesh 42:55 show a lack of self-control, wouldn't you agree? 42:59 Agreed. Okay. 43:01 So self-control, 43:03 this is just self-restraint through surrender. 43:08 I mean, I cannot... 43:10 They come together. Control myself. 43:12 Right. 43:13 When I've tried to exercise self-control. 43:15 But it's like I have to be totally surrendered, 43:18 and any time I'm not exercising self-control, I realize, "Oops! 43:23 Okay, Lord, I need to be surrendered to you." 43:26 Because God works that out in me 43:28 where myself has to be submitted, 43:32 as Danny always says, committed and submitted. 43:34 I have to be in submission to the Lord. 43:37 So, you know, if you think about this, I think that... 43:41 Let's quickly, we've just got a couple of minutes, 43:43 let's read Matthew 5:21 and 22. 43:47 Jill, if you could read that for us. 43:49 And, Johnny, would you like to read Matthew 5:27 and 28? 43:55 We'll need to do this quickly. Matthew 5:21 and 22. 43:59 "You have heard that it was said 44:01 to those of old, you shall not murder, 44:03 and whoever murders 44:05 will be in danger of the judgment. 44:07 But I say to you that whoever is angry 44:10 with his brother without a cause 44:12 shall be in danger of the judgment. 44:14 And whoever says to his brother, Raca, 44:16 shall be in danger of council. 44:19 But whoever says, 44:20 you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." 44:23 Right. 44:24 So, you know, Isaiah 42:21 said 44:27 that the Lord was well pleased for his righteousness' sake 44:29 and He was sending Christ to exalt the law, 44:33 to magnify the law and make it honorable. 44:36 And what we see here, 44:38 there was the letter of the law, 44:40 but now Jesus is showing the spirit of the law, 44:43 and you see the fruit of the Spirit. 44:45 You've got to have love, and patience, and kindness, 44:47 and goodness, and self-control. 44:49 Even to Jesus, 44:51 the hatred was the sin, 44:56 murder was the fruit of the sin. 44:57 And we won't have time. 44:59 Johnny, I'll just mention it. 45:00 He goes on in Matthew 5:27 saying adultery 45:06 is not just adultery, guys. 45:07 It's that heart lust, you know, 45:12 the attitude I would if I could. 45:14 You know, the mental adultery, that was the sin. 45:18 The other, the physical adultery 45:20 was the outworking of that. 45:23 So when we have a Spirit-filled life, 45:26 we're gonna live harmoniously, 45:28 we're gonna live in harmony with the law of God. 45:32 We're gonna fulfill the law of God 45:36 because the Spirit will control our thoughts and actions. 45:39 It's not about doing, it's not about behaving, 45:44 and controlling ourselves, 45:46 it's about surrendering to the Lord 45:48 and knowing that He then can... 45:51 If we've got the fruit of the Spirit 45:53 being produced in us, 45:54 we're naturally gonna keep the Ten Commandments. 45:56 Amen. Amen. 45:58 Amen. 45:59 Well, on Thursday, I want us to read together. 46:03 We have the first paragraph it says, 46:06 "Although an inward conflict 46:07 between the flesh and the Spirit... 46:10 This is in Thursday's lesson, "The way to victory," 46:13 the top paragraph. 46:15 "Although an inward conflict 46:16 between the flesh and the Spirit 46:18 always will rage in the heart of every believer, 46:21 the Christian life does not have 46:23 to be dominated by defeat, failure, and sin." 46:26 Amen. 46:28 Too often, we feel defeated that way, don't we? 46:30 And dominated. 46:32 And the solution is found in Proverbs 23:26. 46:37 That's where God says, "Give me your heart." 46:43 What an interesting book to find that verse in, 46:46 but really that sums it up. 46:47 That's the crux of it. 46:49 I wanna give you a little personal example 46:52 of how it's harder to disobey than it is to obey 46:57 when you do that very thing. 46:59 There was a young lady that I was very madly in love with 47:03 and actually we were engaged, 47:06 and we ended up having a fight, a feud. 47:11 I'm sure no one else engaged ever went through that. 47:14 And as a matter fact, I went home, I was speeding, 47:19 I ended up in a car accident, somebody turned in front of me, 47:22 and totaled my car. 47:26 My wife, excuse me, my girlfriend at the time, 47:28 father's mother was dying. 47:31 And his way of resolving the issue, 47:35 he just wanted me to not be around 47:38 for three months. 47:41 And it was a serious situation in his mind. 47:45 And as I looked at that, I thought, 47:46 "Well, what would we do?" 47:48 Well, he was allowing phone calls on Sundays, 47:51 and that was it, 47:53 and it was gonna be month by month 47:55 as his mother was dying of cancer. 47:58 And so we honored his wishes, and so what I would do is 48:02 I would drive to their town because I didn't have the money 48:05 to pay for the long distance for the calls, 48:06 so I would drive to their town, go to a phone booth. 48:08 This is back in the '70s, late '70s. 48:11 And I would, on a Sunday morning, 48:13 go the convenience store phone booth, stand there. 48:15 Sometimes the staff would go in, 48:17 do their eight hours and come out later on, 48:20 and I was still standing in that phone booth 48:22 talking to my girlfriend. 48:24 Eight to twelve hours, as a matter of fact, 48:26 I started doing this in March, early March in New England. 48:29 Anybody knows Massachusetts in early March, 48:31 it was actually 30s and 40s for a high. 48:35 Well, after a few weeks of doing this, 48:37 I was feeling a little foolish 48:38 because everybody watched me standing in this phone booth. 48:41 So I went to the local airport in town 48:44 and they had a phone booth, 48:45 and I stood in that phone booth. 48:47 After three months of doing this on Sundays, 48:49 on top of that, I had a week's vacation, 48:52 so what I would is every Thursday 48:54 while she was between classes, I would drive 48:56 to Framingham State College 48:57 and we'd spend two hours together every Thursday. 49:00 That's how I spend my vacation. 49:01 It was harder for me to disobey or abandon that relationship 49:06 than it was to be in it 49:08 because she was the passion of my life. 49:10 Well, the long and the short of it is she is my wife. 49:13 We've been married more than 37 years as a result. 49:15 Praise the Lord. 49:17 And I know it was driving me, it was harder for me 49:21 to not be engaged this way than it was to be engaged. 49:25 So I'm gonna make a pretty radical claim here 49:27 that obedience is a gift. 49:31 Amen. It's by grace. 49:33 Amen. Amen. 49:34 It is a gift because faith is a gift. 49:36 Galatians 5:22, obedience is a gift 49:38 because the nature of mankind. 49:41 Romans 5:12, our hearts are evil, 49:43 we cannot change them. 49:44 Steps to Christ, page 18, obedience is a gift 49:47 because surrender is a gift. 49:49 Romans 9:31 and 32 and Galatians 2:20 and onward. 49:53 Obedience is a gift because God is in control. 49:56 Philippians 2:13, And obedience is a gift 50:00 because repentance is a gift. 50:03 Amen. 50:04 and 2 Corinthians 7:10. 50:07 Obedience is a gift because fruit is a gift. 50:11 John 15. 50:13 And Desire of Ages page 677 says, 50:16 "Yet the Savior does not bid the disciples to bear fruit. 50:19 He tells them to abide in Him." 50:23 That is the solution. 50:25 "Obedience is the fruit of faith," 50:28 Steps to Christ, page 61, 50:29 "since fruit is gift, obedience is a gift." 50:31 Amen. Yes. 50:33 "Obedience is a gift 50:34 because of the example of Jesus." 50:37 John 5:30. 50:39 And Desire of Ages page 208 says this, 50:43 "So utterly was Christ emptied of self 50:45 that He made no plans for Himself. 50:48 He accepted God's plans for Him, 50:50 and day by day, the Father unfolded His plans. 50:55 So should we depend on God that our lives may be 51:00 the simple outworking of His will." 51:04 Amen. That's right. 51:05 You know, it's interesting, John 5:30 is a powerful verse, 51:10 but when you read the Desire of Ages with it, 51:11 it just puts into context and is beautiful. 51:14 Let's go to John 5:30. 51:16 I do have a minute to do that. 51:18 John 5. 51:24 And I think the idea that obedience being a gift 51:26 is probably a challenge for some that are listening. 51:30 Jill, would you be so kind as to read that? 51:33 "I can of myself do nothing. 51:35 As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous 51:39 because I do not seek my own will 51:42 but the will of the Father who sent me." 51:44 "And so should we depend on God that our lives may be 51:47 a simple outworking of His will." 51:50 If you the Remnant Study Bible, 51:51 you actually have that quote underneath that verse. 51:55 And I wanted to share one other quote 51:58 from one of my favorite authors that I believe is very inspired 52:04 in the ministry that God has given to this church. 52:07 It's found on Desire of Ages page 68. 52:11 And this kind of sums up 52:12 what happens when we give God our heart. 52:15 Last week I had mentioned I'm passing that 52:20 we're struggling trying to figure out as sinners 52:23 what God is calling us to, 52:25 what He's really expecting of us, 52:27 what He wants to see in us, where He is taking us. 52:31 But before there was sin, what I'm about to share, 52:34 was the existence of every being, 52:36 after there is sin, this will be 52:37 the experience of every being. 52:39 It's driven by a love that is as powerful 52:42 if not more powerful than the love that drove me 52:45 to stand in a phone booth for 8 to 12 hours 52:47 every Sunday in the cold. 52:50 And that was an interesting journey 52:51 I'll never forget. 52:53 Some of the people that saw me there 52:54 probably won't forget either. 52:57 I'm gonna read this, Desire of Ages 668. 52:59 "All true obedience comes from the heart. 53:03 It was heart work with Christ. 53:06 And if we consent, He will identify Himself 53:09 with our thoughts and aims, 53:12 so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, 53:16 that when obeying Him we shall be 53:19 but carrying out our own impulses." 53:22 Amen. Isn't that something? 53:24 Our own impulses when we're obeying God. 53:27 That's why when Jesus says, "If you love me..." 53:30 "Keep my command." 53:31 And he actually in some of other versions says 53:32 you will keep my commandments because obeying Him 53:35 is the outworking of our own impulses. 53:38 "The will, refined and sanctified 53:40 will find its highest delight in doing His service." 53:44 Amen. Be harder not to. 53:47 "When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him," 53:50 this is the powerful line for me, 53:52 "our life will be a life of continual obedience." 53:57 Amen. Amen. 53:58 And this is something that He is producing in us 54:01 as a result of a surrendered heart. 54:03 We've given Him our heart, 54:05 we're being refined and sanctified. 54:07 This is where God is calling us to. 54:09 "Through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us." 54:12 That's the reason for the others. 54:15 So when you look at this, what is our job? 54:18 Surrender. I mean, that was it. 54:20 I wanted you to underscore, you said it came 54:23 even though obedience is a gift, 54:25 it begins with a choice. 54:28 You said it is a result of our surrender, 54:30 so it has to be that point where we're saying, 54:33 "Lord, not my will but Yours be done." 54:35 And then that obedience comes by grace 54:38 as He works in us willing to do. 54:40 Now how do we maintain that though? 54:43 My job is to behold Him. 54:46 That's the work. Yes. 54:48 That's the work 54:49 because He knows what I'm needing 54:51 and He's gonna take me where I need to be. 54:53 And when He has completed His work, this is the result. 54:59 But He has to have full control. 55:01 My struggle, and the struggle for every other Christian, 55:04 is allowing that control. 55:07 Yes. 55:08 So that, you know, when you think about it, 55:11 what you bind in earth will be bound in heaven, 55:13 what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 55:15 It's this experience that will produce that. 55:18 And we try to manufacture anything else, 55:21 we try to come up with another way to do it, 55:23 we try to... 55:24 A lot of times what we're doing is 55:26 maybe we were a religious person 55:28 and we tried to add Jesus to what we already have, 55:31 and we're trying to make it that way, 55:33 and the other thing is maybe we have Christ, 55:35 but we're trying to add other things to hold us 55:38 where we need to be. 55:39 But the call is to fully seek Him 55:44 and that's why, that's why devotion is so important. 55:46 That's why the things that maybe you heard 55:49 over and over again in church are so important 55:51 because that is your lifeline in order to experience 55:55 what we see in Desire of Ages page 668. 55:57 Johnny, just very quickly, when you go to the supermarket, 56:00 the vegetables and the fruits are called produce, 56:02 and we've all used the same term 56:04 that if you stick a plant in the ground, and you water, 56:07 and you feed it, and it's connected, 56:09 it's going to produce something. 56:11 So it's not a demand to produce the fruit, 56:14 if you abide in Christ, you will produce. 56:17 Amen. He will produce. 56:19 He will produce. That's right. 56:20 Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:23 And, you know, I think I'm gonna take the rope. 56:25 Perhaps, this will be an interesting... 56:28 You know, before we come to Christ, 56:33 there is this pull 56:34 and we can't do anything about it, 56:35 we're going in that direction, 56:37 and we can't do anything about it. 56:38 But once you give yourself to Christ 56:41 and you put your will on His side, 56:44 God takes control and you're not pulled. 56:46 Greater is He who is in you. Amen. 56:48 You can still have a choice. 56:49 You still have a choice and the choice 56:51 should be always to follow Jesus. 56:53 Amen. 56:54 The next lesson will be Lesson number 12, actually... 56:59 Thirteen. Thirteen. 57:01 That's right. Sowing and Reaping. 57:03 Once again, you can get the Bible Study Guide 57:06 by visiting ABSG.Adventist.org. 57:10 ABSG.Adventist.org. 57:12 It has been our pleasure to be with you. 57:14 Once again, we want to thank Pastor Tom Ferguson 57:17 for being with us, Shelley Quinn, 57:20 Pastor CA Murray, and Sister Jill Morikone. 57:23 And we all thank you for being with us. 57:25 And we encourage you to continue following Jesus, 57:28 walking in the Spirit 57:30 because when you walk in the Spirit, 57:32 you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 57:34 Thank you for being with us. 57:35 God bless you. Amen. |
Revised 2024-07-02