Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190046A
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00:01 The Bible tells us,
00:02 "In the beginning was the Word, 00:04 and the Word was with God, 00:05 and the Word was God." 00:08 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 to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:32 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 I'm Jill Morikone. 00:37 And we're so glad that you've taken time 00:39 from your day to join us 00:40 as we journey through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:44 We're on lesson number seven, our forgiving God. 00:50 What an incredible study this week is 00:53 as we explored Nehemiah Chapter 9, 00:55 and I'm excited about it. 00:57 And before we go any further, 00:59 we wanna encourage you that you can visit 01:01 your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:03 they would love to welcome you to a study there. 01:07 Or you can always go online to ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:13 That stands for 01:14 AdultBibleStudyGuide. Adventist.org 01:18 and you can download the study 01:20 and you can follow along with us. 01:22 We wanna introduce our panel to you, 01:24 at this time we've been journeying together 01:27 as it were as family 01:29 through this journey of Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:31 And I'm always blessed by what they share 01:33 from the Word of God. 01:34 To my left my sister, Mollie Sue Steenson. 01:37 Glad to have you here, Miss Mollie. 01:38 Thank you so much. 01:40 To your left Pastor John Lomacang, 01:42 my pastor and it's always a privilege to study with you. 01:44 Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jill. 01:46 To your left my sister again Shelley Quinn. 01:49 And thank you so much for being here, Shelley, 01:51 and for what you bring from the Word of God. 01:53 Oh, what a joy. Amen. 01:55 And last but not least, Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:59 A student of the word as well 02:00 and we just love you and your wife 02:02 and glad to have you here. 02:03 I appreciate. 02:05 God bless you, it's just wonderful being here. 02:06 Yes, it is. Yes. 02:07 Amen. 02:09 Before we go any further, before we open up God's Word, 02:10 we want to go to the Lord in prayer 02:12 because that means nothing without the Holy Spirit 02:15 to illuminate our minds and hearts 02:17 and, Miss Mollie, would you pray for us? 02:19 Absolutely. 02:20 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 02:23 and we praise You and we thank You, 02:25 for Your grace and Your mercy 02:26 that has been extended to all of us. 02:29 And, Father, now, as we bring this word forth, 02:33 we ask that You would quicken us, 02:35 that You would just put in our minds 02:37 what You would have us say. 02:39 And, Father, I pray for everyone that's listening, 02:42 that You would touch their hearts, 02:44 that You would open their hearts 02:45 to receive the implanting of Your word. 02:48 This work would take root, 02:49 it would grow, it would prosper, 02:51 and there would be a bountiful return 02:53 in Jesus' name. 02:54 Amen. Amen. 02:56 Last week we looked at Nehemiah Chapter 8. 02:58 We looked at Ezra reading from the book of the law there 03:02 before the people and their repentance 03:05 and sorrow for the sin that was in their life. 03:08 We saw the joy that they found in forgiveness 03:11 and discovered that the joy of the Lord 03:13 is really our strength. 03:15 Then they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. 03:19 And that's just in commemoration 03:21 as it were of what God had done for the children of Israel, 03:24 bringing them out from Egypt 03:25 and the wandering through the wilderness. 03:27 Nehemiah 8:17, it says, "There was very great gladness. 03:31 They kept the feast for seven days, 03:33 and they read from the book of the law 03:35 and then we jump into Nehemiah Chapter 9. 03:38 This is a couple days after the conclusion 03:40 of the Feast of Tabernacles. 03:42 The people gather again, 03:43 but the spirit this time is very different 03:46 from the end of Chapter 8, 03:48 where there was great joy and gladness. 03:50 We see fasting and sackcloth and dirt 03:54 to express grief for their sins 03:56 and there is the most beautiful prayer 03:59 that is prayed, 04:00 the prayer of confession in Nehemiah Chapter 9, 04:03 the prayer of repentance. 04:07 I liken it too, Ezra Chapter 9 and Daniel Chapter 9. 04:11 To me there's great parallels to be drawn 04:15 between those three prayers, 04:19 leaders interceding on behalf of the people 04:23 and prayers of confession and repentance. 04:26 Sunday's lesson we look at 04:27 fasting and worship before we get there. 04:30 I'm kind of doing an overview 04:31 and then we'll jump into Sunday. 04:33 So they're kind of running together, 04:34 but I wanna make sure we get to our memory text. 04:36 That is Proverbs 28:13. 04:40 "He who covers his sins will not prosper, 04:44 but whoever confesses and forsakes them 04:47 will have mercy." 04:50 I wanna look at six lessons from Nehemiah Chapter 9, 04:53 six lessons regarding true repentance. 04:56 These are kind of broad strokes as it were 04:58 over the Chapter of Nehemiah 9, 05:00 and then we're going to dig into Sunday's lesson as well. 05:03 So lesson number one, 05:05 true repentance acknowledges sin. 05:09 Nehemiah 9 recounts the sins of God's chosen people 05:13 in the face as it were 05:15 of His abundant mercy and grace. 05:19 They weren't just any people. 05:20 They were God's chosen people. 05:22 He didn't choose them and leave them 05:24 and cast them aside. 05:26 He forgave them again and again and again. 05:30 And yet they turned their back on Him, 05:32 and yet when they repented and came back to Him, 05:35 He forgave them again. 05:37 You know, we often compare ourselves 05:39 with someone else. 05:41 You know, many times I read the story 05:42 of the children of Israel, 05:44 and I think, thank God, I'm not doing that or I did. 05:47 I wouldn't complain, but you know what? 05:50 2 Corinthians 10: 12-13, tells us, 05:55 "We dare not class ourselves 05:57 or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. 06:01 But they, measuring themselves by themselves, 06:04 and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise." 06:08 If we compare ourselves with those around us, 06:11 we could easily either be discouraged 06:14 thinking they're way ahead of me 06:15 or think I'm not that bad. 06:18 So true repentance acknowledges sin. 06:21 Number two, true repentance springs 06:25 from the Word of God. 06:27 We need the Word of God 06:30 to reveal the true condition of our heart. 06:34 True repentance springs from the Word of God. 06:37 They read the Word of God in Nehemiah Chapter 8, 06:40 it's very clear. 06:41 And then in Nehemiah 9:3, it says, 06:44 "They stood up in their place and read 06:46 from the Book of the Law 06:47 of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day, 06:51 and for another fourth they confessed 06:54 and worshiped the Lord their God." 06:58 Hebrews 4:12, 06:59 "The word of God is living and powerful, 07:03 sharper than any two-edged sword, 07:05 piercing even to the dividing asunder 07:08 of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, 07:11 and is a discerner of the thoughts 07:13 and intents of the heart." 07:15 True repentance always springs from the Word of God. 07:17 Number three, 07:19 true repentance recognizes our need of a Savior. 07:24 We are always in need of a Savior. 07:27 Amen. That's right. 07:29 Nehemiah 9 could be a mirror to my own heart when I read it, 07:32 or it can be a mirror to your own heart 07:34 when you read it. 07:35 God brought Israel out of slavery. 07:38 And as soon as they hit a trial, 07:40 they wanted to go back. 07:41 God brings us out of so much 07:44 and as soon as we encounter a trial, 07:47 maybe we don't go back 07:48 but we moan or question, why me? 07:50 Why did this happen? 07:52 God gave abundant blessings to His people, 07:56 and yet they became stiff neck as it were 07:58 and walked away from Him. 08:01 God turn them over to their enemies. 08:04 And yet when they cried out to Him, 08:06 He heard them and delivered them. 08:10 Amen. 08:11 Think of Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15. 08:14 This is the end of Paul's life, right? 08:15 He's writing to Timothy right at the end of his life. 08:19 He's walked with God for years. 08:22 1 Timothy 1:15, 08:24 Christ came into the world to save sinners 08:26 of whom I am chief. 08:29 Now, what's interesting to me, 08:30 Paul didn't say of whom I used to be chief. 08:32 In other words, you know, 08:34 he knew he did all these sins in the past. 08:37 We are always in need of a Savior. 08:40 He acknowledged his great need 08:42 even at the end of his illustrious life 08:44 and walk with God, 08:46 he acknowledged his need of a Savior. 08:48 Principle number four, 08:50 true repentance is activated by the goodness of God. 08:55 The goodness of God leads us to repentance. 08:58 That's Romans 2:4. 09:00 As we look at Nehemiah 9, 09:03 it's incredible to me because when I read it, 09:06 I saw that our God 09:07 and we'll discuss this as we go through this week. 09:09 Our God is creator, He is preserver, 09:13 He is a covenant keeper, He is deliverer, and law giver, 09:18 and provider, and forgiver of my sins. 09:22 He is Savior, and guide, and sustainer, promise keeper, 09:27 defender, benefactor. 09:29 He is our judge, and then He is our deliverer. 09:32 That happens three times in Nehemiah 9, 09:35 He judges and then He delivers. 09:37 He judges, they repent and He delivers. 09:39 It happens three times. 09:41 He is our covenant keeper. 09:43 Number five, true repentance 09:45 involves corporate confession and intercession. 09:50 We see that in Nehemiah Chapter 9, 09:54 they mourned and confessed, interestingly to me, 09:57 the sins of their parents or their forefathers. 10:03 Today we only mention the sins of our parents to excuse us, 10:06 you ever noticed that? 10:07 We say that's why I act this way, Miss Mollie. 10:10 That is why, you know, Pastor John, 10:12 the pain my parents inflicted, I'm not saying mine, 10:15 I'm using this as example. 10:16 The abuse I endured 10:18 that caused me to become this way. 10:21 We excuse ourselves by blaming our parents, 10:24 but instead they identified with the sins 10:28 even of their forefathers, Nehemiah 9:33. 10:31 They said, "We have done wickedly." 10:33 They didn't say they've done wickedly. 10:35 We have done wickedly. 10:38 Last principle number six, 10:40 true repentance accepts responsibility for sin, 10:45 and does not blame God. 10:47 Many people blame God for their own sin 10:51 or their own problems. 10:52 Nehemiah 9:33, they said, "However You, meaning God, 10:56 are just in all that has befallen us, 11:00 for You have dealt faithfully with us." 11:04 So they accepted responsibility for their own sin 11:07 and they did not blame God. 11:09 Let's read the first three verses 11:11 of Nehemiah Chapter 9. 11:13 The first three verses, 11:15 we see here and I want to do a comparison very quickly 11:18 between Nehemiah 9, Ezra 9 and Daniel 9. 11:23 "Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month 11:25 the children of Israel were assembled 11:27 with fasting, in sackcloth, 11:29 and with dust on their heads. 11:31 Then those of Israelite lineage 11:33 separated themselves from all foreigners, 11:35 and they stood and confessed their sins 11:37 and the iniquities of their fathers. 11:39 And they stood up in their place 11:41 and read from the Book of the Law 11:43 of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day, 11:45 and for another fourth 11:47 they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God." 11:49 Now you notice they mourned with what? 11:52 Fasting, sackcloth, putting dust on their heads, 11:56 and they also did a separation from the foreigners 11:59 because foreigners didn't have any share 12:01 in the corporate sin of Israel, 12:04 they separated from them. 12:05 The Jewish people knew it was their sins 12:07 and those of their ancestors that needed to be forgiven. 12:10 Then we see the prayer here, 12:12 we see the confession and repentance that took place 12:15 and an identification with the sins of the people. 12:19 Very quickly, Ezra 9:3, 12:24 when Ezra heard about the intermarriage 12:26 of the Israelites with the pagans, 12:28 "He tore his garment and his robe, 12:30 plucked out some of the hairs of his head and beard, 12:33 and sat down astonished." 12:35 And then he prayed before the Lord, 12:37 we have sinned and done wickedly. 12:41 There again, we have mourning, this is Ezra Chapter 9, 12:44 with the tearing of the garment 12:45 pulling out of the hair and beard, 12:47 and being in severe shock, he sat down astonished. 12:50 We also have prayer, 12:52 we also have confession of sin and repentance, 12:55 and an identification with the sins of the people. 12:59 Daniel 9:3. 13:01 Daniel said, "He set his face toward the Lord God 13:04 to make request and supplication 13:06 with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." 13:10 Again, we have mourning with fasting, 13:12 sackcloth and ashes, we have a prayer, 13:15 we have confession of sin and repentance 13:18 and an identification with the sins of the people. 13:22 So going back to Nehemiah Chapter 9, Miss Mollie, 13:25 you have the beginning of the prayer. 13:27 I get to do the beginning of the prayer. 13:29 Okay, now, 13:30 you just clearly defined the situation 13:33 that the children were in. 13:35 They were dressed in sackcloth, they had been fasting, 13:38 and they had dust on their heads. 13:40 And they had to listen to the priest 13:42 reading from the book of the law, 13:45 of the Lord their God for how long? 13:47 One-fourth of the day. 13:51 I don't know if that was from sunup to sundown 13:55 or if it was the whole 24 hours. 13:56 I expect it was sunup to sundown, don't you all? 13:59 I can't expect that's what it was. 14:01 So we're looking at either three or six hours 14:04 or somewhere in between 14:06 that had been listening to the word of the Lord. 14:10 And then they spent 14:12 another equal amount of time doing what? 14:15 They were confessing, 14:16 they were repenting and they were worshiping. 14:18 Yes. 14:20 Now, there are two responses that we have 14:25 when we hear the Word of God. 14:27 We can either respond to the Word of God 14:31 or we can harden our hearts. 14:34 Now, in this case, these children 14:37 responded to the Word of the God, 14:39 they responded to the Bible reading 14:44 with a prayer that was more like a sermon, actually. 14:49 So I wanna look at this. 14:51 It's a long prayer, it contrasted 14:54 just how merciful God had always been 14:57 and Israel's repeated faithlessness, unfaithfulness. 15:04 God was always faithful. 15:06 What were His people? 15:08 They were unfaithful, but God was always faithful. 15:13 Now, in Nehemiah, 15:15 I wanna just jump back a little 15:17 to Nehemiah's first prayer that we looked at, 15:20 which was in Chapter 5. 15:23 Remember there were four aspects of his prayer 15:26 and we want to see 15:28 if these aspects were continued as well. 15:30 Nehemiah Chapter 1. 15:31 Chapter 1 verse 5. Okay. Good. 15:33 Yeah, okay. 15:34 Nehemiah, first of all, 15:35 Nehemiah acknowledged how great God He is. 15:40 Next he acknowledge their sinfulness, 15:43 and then he put God in remembrance, 15:46 and last he said, help, God, help. 15:49 Okay, so let's look at this prayer. 15:53 It's Nehemiah, 9:4-5. 15:59 We have a list of the Levi priests 16:03 who stood before the people. 16:05 Now, I'm with the rest of my illustrious panel, 16:10 don't wanna read all these people's names 16:12 because we've commented on this before, 16:16 there was a time when I read the Bible 16:19 it was called God's words are alive, 16:21 I think or something. 16:23 So I read God's word 16:25 and people would come up to me and they say, 16:27 oh, Mollie, finally I know how to pronounce these words 16:30 and I wanna just say you 16:32 that was the blind leading the blind. 16:34 I did the best I could, 16:36 but I cannot always get these names right. 16:39 So verses 4-8 in Nehemiah Chapter 9. 16:44 We're gonna jump down, verse 5. 16:48 And this is what they said to them. 16:52 This is the prayer, 16:53 "Stand up and bless the Lord your God, 16:56 forever and ever! 16:58 Blessed be Your glorious name." 17:00 So are they doing what Nehemiah had taught them? 17:04 Oh, reverence God, speak of who the creator He is, 17:09 which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 17:12 "You alone are the Lord, You have made heaven, 17:16 the heaven of heavens and all their host, 17:19 the earth and everything on it, 17:21 the seas and all that is in them, 17:23 and You preserve them all." 17:25 Underline that in your Bible, 17:27 "You preserve them all, 17:30 the host of heaven worships You. 17:34 You are the Lord God, You chose Abram, 17:38 and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, 17:40 and gave him the name Abraham, 17:43 You found his heart faithful before You, 17:46 and made a covenant with him 17:47 to give the land of the Canaanites, 17:49 the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, 17:54 and all those sites 17:55 to give it to their descendants. 17:58 You have performed Your word, and You are righteous." 18:01 They acknowledged who God is. 18:04 So first of all, they come before God, 18:07 acknowledging who He is. 18:09 Amen. 18:10 That is following that. 18:12 Step number one, 18:14 they are blessing the glorious name 18:17 of the Lord their God. 18:18 Now, in Hebrew culture, 18:21 a name was not just what people call someone, 18:25 but it gave a person, their identity. 18:30 Thus the praise of God's name is significant 18:34 because it demonstrates to the world 18:37 that this is a name worthy of praise and honor. 18:41 This is the name of the creator of the universe. 18:46 In verse 6, they identify all that God has made, 18:50 You made heaven, the heavens of heavens, 18:54 and all their hosts, the earth and everything on it. 18:57 So what was made that God didn't make? 18:59 Nothing. Not a thing. 19:01 Everything that was made, He made it. 19:05 The seas all that is in them, then they acknowledged that, 19:10 and this is what I had told you, 19:11 underline this in your Bible. 19:13 You preserve them all, everything that He created, 19:18 now He preserves. 19:20 The word preserves, 19:23 comes from a Hebrew verb that means to keep alive. 19:26 He keeps everything alive. 19:29 The world, everything in this whole cosmos 19:33 is held together by the word of the living God. 19:37 He preserves it, He keeps it alive. 19:40 Yeah. 19:41 And this great and mighty God, 19:43 the Creator of all the universe, 19:45 you know what He did? 19:47 He interacted with we human beings. 19:51 He came to Abraham, 19:53 who was in the Ur of the Chaldees. 19:55 You know, what Abraham was? 19:57 Was he a mighty man of valor? 20:00 This is what Abraham was, he was a moon worshiper. 20:03 But God saw something in Abraham, 20:05 what He saw in Abraham was He saw a heart, 20:11 or a mind to be faithful. 20:14 In Hebrew, the heart refers to the mind. 20:20 And Abraham had a mind to be faithful. 20:23 It didn't happen overnight. 20:24 Do we see that Abraham made a few mistakes 20:27 along the way? 20:28 Yeah. He did. 20:30 So remember that we can look in God's Word 20:33 and we see all the great exploits 20:35 that all these mighty men of God perform, 20:38 and be so encouraged. 20:40 But sometimes when we see the mistakes they made 20:44 and God just blessed their socks off anyway, 20:47 He forgave them, 20:49 He kept working with them till they got it right, 20:51 doesn't that bring us encouragement? 20:53 Oh, yes. 20:54 He's not gonna just flick us away 20:56 because we make mistakes, Jill. 20:58 He's gonna continue to love us and work with us. 21:01 Thank you, Lord. 21:03 He continue to work with Abraham 21:05 and Abraham, did he do a mighty work for God? 21:08 Is he called the father of us all? 21:10 Yes. 21:12 Yes, he is. Okay. 21:15 So in the beginning, the prayer focuses on God, 21:19 the Creator, the pre server, and the promise keeper. 21:24 With that in mind, faith is strong in our hearts, 21:28 that when we come before Him with a repentant heart, 21:33 He hears and answers our prayers. 21:35 It's hard to say, Almighty God, 21:38 You who created everything in our faithful, 21:40 it's hard to pray that 21:42 and not have faith built in our hearts. 21:46 Now, I want to ask you this, 21:51 what is the purpose of our keeping... 21:54 One of the purposes 21:55 of our keeping the Sabbath every week? 21:58 What does that do, Pastor John? 22:00 Build our relationship with Christ. 22:01 Builds our relationship. 22:03 It reminds us who the Creator He is. 22:06 That's right. 22:07 It reminds us of His faithfulness. 22:10 So here we have set aside this one day each week 22:15 that is to put us in remembrance, 22:18 to build our faith and to strengthen us, 22:21 that's the purpose of the Sabbath. 22:24 And so we have this mighty God, 22:27 this Creator of the universe, this mighty God 22:30 who keeps everything alive and going, 22:34 and the children of Israel after they heard God's word, 22:37 oh, let this be true for us. 22:40 It didn't harden their hearts. 22:41 Have you ever seen people 22:43 who hear the word of the Lord and they are almost persuaded, 22:49 but when they leave from under the word, 22:53 what happens to their heart? 22:55 It doesn't get softer, it gets harder. 22:58 The children of Israel, 23:00 it softened their hearts and they worshiped 23:02 and they glorified their Creator. 23:05 That's our prayer for all of us today, 23:08 as we're hearing this word, 23:10 that our heart won't be hardened to it, 23:12 but our heart will be valuable in the hands of God, 23:17 we will receive His word 23:19 and we will allow this word 23:20 to penetrate our hearts and to change us 23:23 into the very image and likeness 23:26 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 23:28 Amen. 23:29 Thank you so much, Mollie. 23:31 I'm so grateful that our God is the Creator, the preserver, 23:35 the promise keeper and the covenant keeper. 23:37 Stay with us, we'll be right back. 23:45 Ever wish you could watch 23:47 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:49 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:52 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:57 A clean design makes it easy 23:59 to find the program you're looking for. 24:02 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:05 so you can follow along. 24:07 Sharing is easy. 24:08 Just click share 24:10 and choose your favorite social media. 24:11 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:17 Welcome back, we continue our lesson 24:19 with Tuesday's study, 24:20 lessons from the past with Pastor John Lomacang. 24:22 Thank you, Jill. 24:24 I want to begin by going to 1 Corinthians 10. 24:27 And I wanna look at a verse 24:28 that really is huge in its scope. 24:31 It brings us into a context about the lesson 24:34 we're gonna talk about right now. 24:37 As I read this, 24:39 the framework I'd like to put to it 24:40 is I've heard of many people that say, 24:43 I am a New Testament Christian. 24:45 Well, we know that Antioch was the first place 24:47 that people will call Christians. 24:49 And so in that framework, 24:51 the word Christian didn't even exist 24:52 in the Old Testament. 24:54 However, because we have a record today, 24:56 we don't live by records that don't exist. 25:00 We all exercise our lives 25:02 and live by records that do exist. 25:05 Someone also said, 25:07 the reason why we don't have to line up everything 25:11 by God's Word is because like Abraham, 25:14 he listened for the voice of God. 25:17 I said, but today we have a record now. 25:19 So we don't have to respond the same way. 25:22 If what we hear 25:24 does not line up with God's Word, 25:26 the Word of God is the final measurement. 25:29 And there are many classic and I say acrobatic ways 25:31 that people tend to try to ignore 25:33 the validity and veracity of God's Word. 25:35 But listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, 25:37 1 Corinthians 10:6. 25:41 And then it's going to be repeated again 25:44 in verse 11. 25:45 It says, "Now these things became our examples, 25:50 to the intent that we should not lust 25:53 after evil things as they also lusted." 25:57 And also verse 11, 25:59 "Now all these things happened to them as examples, 26:03 and they were written for our admonition, 26:06 on whom the ends of the ages have come." 26:08 Now, if you only read Matthew to Revelation, 26:11 you'll not know exactly what they're talking about. 26:13 That's right. 26:14 So you have to go from Genesis to Malachi 26:16 and there are Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Haggai, 26:22 when we have been studying, as we've been studying, 26:24 we have been noticing 26:25 that some of the major and minor prophets 26:27 are once again quoted 26:29 in the pages of Nehemiah and Ezra. 26:31 Yes. 26:32 You'd be surprised to see how many contemporaries 26:35 these two faithful men of God have. 26:38 So one of the lessons from the past is about prayer. 26:42 Let's go to Nehemiah Chapter 9. 26:45 And the comparison in Nehemiah Chapter 9 26:48 was when we contrast the prayers that were covered 26:51 from verse 1 to verse 8, 26:54 and then verse 9 comes into play, 26:56 and you see a lot of rejoicing in the earlier passages, 27:00 then you see acknowledgement, 27:02 then you see what's called disappointing, 27:07 a prognosis of disappointment. 27:09 But let's look at some of the contrast. 27:11 And I'll just give a contrast. 27:12 I know this is read earlier. 27:14 But look at Nehemiah 9:6, it says, 27:16 "You alone are the Lord, You have made heaven, 27:19 The heaven of heavens, with all their host, 27:22 the earth and all things on it, 27:25 the seas and all that is in them, 27:27 and You preserve them all. 27:31 The host of heaven worships You." 27:33 It sounds like some of the language 27:34 in Genesis and in Exodus 27:36 acknowledging God as the great creator. 27:39 And then it says, You are the Lord God, 27:41 but then you go down, 27:43 and at the end of verse 8, as Mollie read that, 27:47 it says at the end of verse 8, 27:48 "You have performed Your words, for You are righteous." 27:51 Yes. 27:52 But then now, verse 9, takes it change. 27:56 "You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt. 27:59 Now it's going back. 28:00 It's looking back, and accounting, 28:04 and recounting everything that God did for Israel. 28:08 And it's almost coming to the table with 28:10 after all He's done, why are we this way? 28:13 Yeah. 28:14 Because this is a long list of acknowledgement, 28:16 which I don't think time will allow us to read them all. 28:19 But let me just go and hit a few high points. 28:21 The first one is, 28:23 it is a transition from praising God 28:25 to recounting God's intervention, 28:27 That's verses 9-15, picking at verse 9, 28:30 "You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, 28:32 and heard their cry by the Red Sea. 28:34 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, 28:36 against all his servants, 28:38 and against all the people of his land. 28:41 For You knew that 28:42 they acted proudly against them. 28:46 So You made a name for Yourself, 28:50 as it is this day. 28:53 And You divided the sea before them, 28:55 So that they went through 28:56 the midst of the sea on dry land, 28:59 and their persecutors You threw into the deep, 29:03 as a stone into the mighty waters. 29:05 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, 29:11 and by night with a pillar of fire, 29:14 To give them light on the road which they should travel." 29:18 And then it goes on continually, 29:19 "You gave them, 29:21 You brought them to Mount Sinai, 29:22 You gave them the Sabbath, 29:24 You gave them bread from heaven, 29:25 You brought water out of the rock." 29:27 But now let's go to verse 16. 29:30 But, and you think, wow, 29:34 what a beautiful acknowledgement 29:35 of all God does, then you find that word, but. 29:40 Which is a reversal, a contrast, a stark contrast 29:45 to what was mentioned earlier. 29:47 "But they and our fathers acted proudly, 29:52 hardened their necks, 29:54 and did not heed Your commandments. 29:57 They refused to obey, 29:59 and they were not mindful of Your wonders 30:03 that You did among them. 30:04 But they hardened their necks, 30:07 and in their rebellion they appointed a leader 30:09 to return to their bondage. 30:12 But You are God, ready to pardon, 30:15 gracious and merciful, slow to anger..." 30:19 Can we get amen somewhere? 30:21 "Abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them." 30:24 Lord have mercy. 30:26 I'm so glad that's in there. That's right. 30:28 Because it's not just talking about them, 30:30 it's talking about us. 30:32 Because how many of us don't fall into that category? 30:34 Yes. 30:35 When you think of all that God has done for us. 30:37 Amen. 30:39 Just let me give you this very quick passage. 30:42 Go with me to the Book of Lamentations. 30:45 Lamentations 3:22-26, 30:48 that's one of those verses you can easily find. 30:50 Lamentations Chapter 3 starting in verse 23. 30:54 You got it there, Shelley? 30:55 Hit it for me real quickly. 30:57 Starting with verse 20? Verse 20. 30:58 "My soul still remembers and sinks within me. 31:01 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 31:07 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, 31:10 because His compassions fail not. 31:12 They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness." 31:17 Verse 24. 31:18 "The Lord is my portion, says my soul, 31:20 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" 31:23 And verse 25, 31:24 "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, 31:27 to the soul who seeks Him. 31:29 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly 31:31 for the salvation of the Lord." 31:33 Amen. 31:34 You know, oh, man, I tell you, 31:37 we have learned so much about 31:39 the rebellious nature of the Israelites, 31:41 but then again, 31:43 we have learned so much about our rebellious nature. 31:45 Amen. Yes, that's right. 31:46 And when we look at this, and we ask ourselves, 31:48 I could recount my own life. 31:49 I could go back over my childhood, 31:52 I could go back over my youthful years, 31:54 I could go back to my early married years, 31:56 I can go back to the growth of as a pastor, 32:00 and I could see that God... 32:02 I'm still here because God is gracious and merciful. 32:04 Amen. 32:06 He is slow to anger, 32:07 abundant in kindness and does not forsake us. 32:11 Thank you. 32:12 Even and... 32:14 And it goes, it exacerbates the picture. 32:17 Verse 18, "Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, 32:21 and said, 'This is your god 32:23 that brought you up out of Egypt,' 32:25 and worked great provocations, yet..." 32:28 Look at that. Yes, that's right. 32:29 "Yet in Your manifold mercies 32:32 You did not forsake them in the wilderness.'" 32:34 And it goes on. 32:37 It says, You did not forsake them, 32:38 the pillar of the cloud did not depart 32:40 from them by day, 32:41 to lead them on the road, 32:42 nor the pillar of fire by night, 32:44 to show them light, and the way they should go. 32:47 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, 32:51 and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth." 32:54 Can we go on? Amen. Yes. 32:55 It says, "And gave them water for their thirst. 32:58 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, 33:01 so that they lacked nothing, 33:03 their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell." 33:07 And it goes on and I tell you, at the end of verse 22, 33:10 "Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, 33:13 and divided them into districts. 33:16 So they took possession of the land of Sihon, 33:20 the land of the king of Heshbon, 33:23 and the land of Og king of Bashan." 33:26 He's talking about all of God's mercies. 33:28 If I could summarize, 33:29 if I could summarize the beauty of it, 33:31 is God's mercies, God's compassion. 33:36 I was gonna put a list together, Jill, 33:37 but I couldn't even get to the list, 33:39 because I just had to pause and think how good God is. 33:43 Amen. 33:44 So there's somebody watching this program. 33:45 I'm just so impressed to do this. 33:47 There's somebody watching or listening 33:48 to this program saying, 33:49 I don't know what my life is going to be. 33:51 Remember, you may be fainting within 33:54 but recall to mind 33:55 that God's mercies are new every morning. 33:57 Yes. 33:58 And His faithfulness is great. 34:00 There's no depth to which you have sunk, 34:02 that He cannot lift you up. 34:03 There's no sin that you have committed 34:04 that He cannot forgive. 34:06 That's right. 34:07 As Mollie said in one of our programs, 34:08 I don't remember which one it was, 34:10 when He cleanses you from all unrighteous, 34:11 all unrighteousness by His grace, 34:14 you become righteous. 34:15 Praise the Lord. Amen. 34:17 Amen. Amen. 34:18 You know, I love this 34:20 because if we understand 34:22 the character of God, God is love. 34:25 and God is a forgiving God. 34:27 He is a covenant keeping God, 34:29 so mine, 34:31 my day is called the law and the prophets. 34:33 I think if I had titled this, 34:36 I would have titled it the manifold mercies of God. 34:39 It's just so amazing. 34:41 Here we see that the leadership has confessed 34:42 their transgressions against God. 34:45 Recognizing the cycle of sin, 34:47 how Israel would cast away God's law, 34:50 they persecute the prophets, 34:52 but now they recognized that 34:55 if they're going to have a godly nation, 35:00 essential to the development of a godly nation 35:04 is to accept and follow God's love. 35:08 So what we're seeing here 35:10 there's a synopsis of God 35:13 fulfilling His covenant promises to them. 35:16 And this is primarily, 35:18 this is account 35:19 is just almost primarily all of it 35:23 is coming from Moses' account 35:25 in the Book of Deuteronomy. 35:28 So it's the battles that are waged 35:30 and one is they crossed over the Jordan 35:33 and entered Canaan. 35:35 And each victory was because of God. 35:38 So let's look at Nehemiah 9:23 is where we'll begin. 35:44 And he goes on as he's recounting God's mercy. 35:47 He says, "You also multiply the children 35:50 as the stars of heaven and brought them into the land 35:54 which you had told their fathers 35:55 to go in and possess." 35:57 This is God's fulfillment 36:00 of His covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac and Joseph. 36:04 You know, only 70 of Jacob's descendants 36:08 went down into Egypt. 36:11 When He was there, millions came out, 36:16 it was a miraculous multiplication. 36:20 And although those who came out, 36:24 remember when He sent the 12, 36:28 when they, and there's 12 spies into Canaan, 36:31 you know, sadly 10 of them 36:33 had a grasshopper identity syndrome. 36:36 They were going like, oh, wow, these guys are giants, 36:39 we're just like grasshoppers in their sight. 36:43 They didn't trust God's promises. 36:46 But we know there were two who did. 36:50 And God's faithfulness, 36:52 even though the people rebelled, 36:55 God remained faithful to His covenant 36:57 and He multiplied, 36:59 He did not let that generation, 37:01 the faithless generation 37:02 did not get to enter into Canaan. 37:05 But He multiplied their sons 37:07 while they were wandering in the desert, 37:09 and took the next generation in. 37:12 Verse 24, 37:13 "So the people went in and possessed the land, 37:16 You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, 37:21 the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, 37:24 with their kings and the people of the land, 37:27 that they might do with them as they wished." 37:31 We see here, God was not only their king, 37:35 but He was their military leader, 37:38 and He lead them to have success 37:42 and victory over the Canaanites. 37:44 Verse 25, 37:46 "And they took strong cities and a rich land, 37:48 and possessed houses full of all goods," 37:52 isn't that interesting? 37:54 "Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, 37:58 and fruit trees in abundance. 38:02 So when God brought them in there, 38:04 it's kind of like 38:06 buying a house that's fully furnished. 38:07 It's already landscaped, what He gave them, 38:12 they got the best of the best with everything. 38:15 But listen to this. 38:17 "They ate and were filled 38:21 and grew fat, 38:24 and delighted themselves in Your great goodness." 38:30 You know, anytime you see growth fat in the Bible, 38:36 this is a negative expression. 38:40 What he is saying 38:42 is that the people 38:45 as they inherited all the good things 38:47 of the land, 38:50 their focus was on the gift, 38:53 not on the giver. 38:55 This was a fatal deception. 38:58 They were living good life, 39:01 and the good life became a stumbling block. 39:04 It led them in the opposite direction 39:08 where they were less devoted to God. 39:11 In Deuteronomy 6:10-12, Moses had warned them, 39:17 listen to what he said. 39:18 So it should be... 39:20 Deuteronomy 6:10, "So it shall be, 39:23 when the Lord your God brings you into the land 39:25 of which He swore to your fathers, 39:27 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 39:29 to give you large and beautiful cities 39:31 which you did not build, 39:33 houses full of all the good things, 39:35 which you did not fill, 39:37 hewn-out wells which you did not dig, 39:40 vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, 39:44 when you have eaten and are full, then beware, 39:49 lest you forget the Lord 39:52 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 39:55 from the house of bondage." 39:59 We've got to be so careful 40:02 that as we're enjoying the blessings. 40:05 You know, I bet half of my prayer every day, 40:12 half of my prayer is thanksgiving. 40:16 And I recount my blessings 40:17 because I always wanna remember where my blessings came from. 40:20 That's right. 40:22 So you've got to keep your focus 40:25 on the giver, and not on the gift 40:27 because I've seen people who had it all and lost it all. 40:32 Yet they had that relationship with the Lord 40:35 and it was just a blip on the radar, 40:37 they went through it, and were successful again. 40:41 So we can't get our eyes on the gifts but on the giver. 40:45 That's right. 40:47 Now as we go forward with verses 26-31 of Chapter 9, 40:52 this is summarizing the time from the judges 40:56 to the Assyrian deportation and the Babylonian exile. 41:01 Verse 26, 41:03 "Nevertheless they were disobedient 41:06 and rebelled against You, 41:08 they cast Your law behind their backs, 41:11 they killed Your prophets, 41:13 who testified against them." 41:15 I mean, God had given them everything. 41:17 And he said, 41:19 "These prophets had testified against them 41:22 to turn them to Yourself, 41:23 and they worked great provocations." 41:27 These are awful blasphemies. 41:30 So, once again, God's faithfulness, 41:34 God's abundant generosity 41:38 in the gift of the land was met with the same predictable cycle 41:44 of casting God's law out and persecuted the prophets. 41:48 It was just disobedience and rebellion all over again 41:52 that led to divine judgment. 41:54 But let's look at verse 27, 41:57 "Therefore," 41:58 and the therefore means 41:59 because of their wickedness and their violence. 42:01 "You delivered them into the hand of your enemies, 42:03 who oppressed them, 42:05 and in the time of their trouble, 42:06 when they cried to You, You heard from heaven, 42:10 and according to Your abundant mercies 42:14 You gave them deliverers 42:16 who saved them from the hand of their enemies." 42:20 God is your father. 42:22 A father doesn't want to see or hear His child suffer. 42:26 But if a child is being punished 42:29 and put in the corner, 42:30 as soon as that child cries out, 42:31 says, "Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry, I won't do it again." 42:34 He is over there again, isn't He? 42:37 So God's abundant mercies, 42:40 He hadn't allowed the enemies to oppress them, 42:44 because He hoped to wake up to their need of Him. 42:50 But He never departed from them, 42:52 He never drew back, in this relationship. 42:57 He send deliverers, 42:58 as you see in the Book of Judges, 43:00 when the people would repent. 43:02 And verse 28, it says, "But after they had rest, 43:06 they again did evil before You. 43:10 Therefore You left them in the hands of their enemies, 43:15 so that they had dominion over them, 43:17 yet when they returned and cried out to You, 43:19 You heard from heaven, 43:23 and many times You delivered them 43:26 according to Your mercies." 43:30 Mercies. Praise God. 43:31 So despite their persistent, repeated failure, 43:36 God didn't destroy and abandoned them. 43:38 That's right. 43:40 Verse 29, "And testified against them, 43:43 that You might bring them back to Your law. 43:46 Yet they acted proudly, did not heed Your commandments, 43:50 but sinned against Your judgments, 43:52 'Which if a man does, he shall live by them.' 43:55 And they shrugged their shoulders, 43:57 stiffened their necks, and would not hear." 44:01 So the rebellion grows in intensity, 44:03 they throw their shoulders back in pride and arrogance. 44:07 But verse 30, says, 44:08 "Yet You had patience with them." 44:11 Verse 31, says, "In Your great mercy 44:14 You did not utterly consume them 44:18 nor forsake them, for You are God, 44:22 gracious and merciful." 44:24 Amen. Isn't that amazing? 44:25 Amen. 44:27 And He is. 44:28 Amen. 44:29 The Word is good, isn't it? Amen. 44:31 But, you know, it's kind of like 44:32 in this lesson we've been studying 44:34 is kind of like a ball 44:35 going back and forth across the net, 44:37 like ping pong if I can say that. 44:40 Israel's on fire, they're ready to go, 44:43 and then the next moment is they need some help 44:45 and they need some encouragement. 44:47 It seems like every time 44:48 that the God's goodness is realized, recognized 44:53 and they come to Him, as you, everyone has mentioned here, 44:56 God comes back in such a wonderful way. 44:59 But, you know, 45:00 the question always has to go out, 45:01 will He always do that? 45:03 You know, there'll come a time, 45:06 you see, there'll come a time 45:08 that our probation as it were, it ended. 45:11 But until then, God is merciful and God is kind, 45:14 and He does inhabit our praises. 45:16 I have a lesson and Thursdays lesson 45:19 and it's called praise and petition. 45:21 So it kind of goes 45:22 to what everybody's been talking about here. 45:25 There's couple of passage and I like to just read 45:26 in the Book of Psalms, 45:28 if you have your Bible and you're jotting things down, 45:30 it's Psalms 33:1. 45:33 The Bible says, 45:34 "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: 45:38 for praise is comely for the upright." 45:42 You know, it looks good. 45:47 It sounds good, right? 45:48 It looks good, it sounds good on the righteous 45:51 when it's coming from a heart 45:52 that's been touched by the Holy Spirit. 45:54 And in Psalms 34:1, 45:57 just across the page there possibly in your Bible. 46:00 It says, "I will bless the Lord at all times:" 46:04 you know this one, 46:05 "His praise shall continually be in my mouth." 46:09 We could all learn from this 46:10 regardless of how many times that we have heard this 46:13 or have quoted or used it in messages, 46:16 we need to hear it on a consistent way, 46:19 bless the Lord at all times. 46:21 To me, that means in the bad times 46:23 as well as in the good times. 46:25 I find it more difficult to praise in the bad times. 46:28 It's easy to praise in the good times, 46:31 is that the humanists? 46:32 Sometimes we have a tendency, sometimes to kind of like Lord, 46:36 whoa, boy, we don't need all this at once. 46:39 I've been known to say that, Lord, 46:40 I don't want let that happen, but not all at once. 46:43 And then right quick, the Lord reminds us what, 46:47 He knows exactly what He's doing, 46:49 He knows what I'm in need of. 46:51 He has me on His mind 46:52 as well as you on your mind 46:54 and He's working out our salvation. 46:55 So we're committing our life to Him. 46:57 And so we need to learn to praise Him in these times 46:59 and thank Him for it. 47:01 Psalms 145, I had just another passage here 47:04 before I get into this... 47:05 I love all of these 47:07 because you can go through Psalms, 47:08 and we can just be praising the whole time. 47:10 We can just take this whole hour right now, 47:12 each one was just go through and you don't have to worry, 47:14 stay, you just start praising and you just start singing. 47:17 And pretty soon some of us might even cut down on song. 47:19 You just never know. 47:21 If you're praising Him long enough, 47:22 I guarantee people who sing, they start singing. 47:25 They may be reading the Word, 47:27 but eventually a song 47:29 comes into their heart, into their mind 47:31 because they're just happy inside, 47:33 and it needs to come out. 47:34 Psalms 145:2, the Bible says, "Every day will I bless thee, 47:40 I will praise thy name forever and ever." 47:44 You know, we find it in the Word of God, 47:47 we can read it all over it, 47:48 just Psalms 19:17, Jesus said, 47:52 "So thou will enter into the kingdom of life." 47:54 If you're gonna do it, do what? 47:56 Simply keep the commandments. 47:58 This was the problem, 48:00 it seems like Israel being faithful, 48:02 turning their back on God. 48:04 And then so today maybe we have the same problem, 48:06 maybe in the church and maybe in our own life 48:09 that we're on fire, we're happy, 48:13 we're zealous for a while 48:14 and all of a sudden something happens, 48:16 and then we turn, we get little discouraged, 48:18 and we discourage other folks. 48:20 If we would just keep 48:22 what I've been hearing here today, 48:23 if we just keep tuned in to God, 48:26 regardless of all these things, 48:27 they say it's like water that runs off a duck's back, 48:30 you know, this passage that God gives us 48:32 because you feel it, 48:35 but you're able to deal with it. 48:36 And that's what God wants us to be able to do. 48:39 We're gonna have problems, 48:41 they're gonna come from every direction. 48:42 And some of us going to get, you know, worse, 48:46 but we need Nehemiah 9:7, 48:48 going back to Nehemiah verse 37. 48:52 It was interesting because now 48:53 they described their experience 48:56 as in great distress. 48:59 You see, how they bounce back, oh, they are they so joyful, 49:01 they couldn't wait to come together, 49:02 couldn't wait to do 49:03 and now they're in great distress. 49:06 And that word really means, they are at the breaking point. 49:10 I don't know if any of you 49:12 have ever been at a breaking point 49:14 or near a breaking point? 49:16 You know, I assumed many people 49:19 who've been around very long you've been to that point, 49:21 sometime you almost feel like 49:23 you can break, you're very fragile. 49:26 And it doesn't take a whole lot to finish or snap you, 49:29 and you're done for. 49:31 This is where the folk were at right now, 49:33 they were in great distress, at their breaking point. 49:36 They felt like they were already, 49:37 they're back into captivity again. 49:40 You see, they went back to Egypt. 49:43 And so God was going to try to help them 49:45 and get a hold of them, even though, 49:48 may I say this nicely. 49:50 What happened to them, they deserved it. 49:54 They asked for it. 49:56 God didn't wanna do it to them. 49:57 He didn't want to put them in captivity, 49:58 He didn't want to go through hard times, 50:00 but they really asked for it. 50:02 I always say for myself, if I'm not in the kingdom, 50:04 I don't make it to heaven. 50:06 I've asked to be lost evidently. 50:10 I make that choice myself 50:11 because He's prepared a way for me. 50:14 He's prepared. 50:15 I always say, there's my ticket, 50:18 my ticket to heaven. 50:19 I think about, I get excited. 50:21 My ticket to heaven, is that what we'll call window. 50:24 It really is. It's there. 50:26 All I have to do by faith is go pick it up 50:29 because the price has been paid for. 50:31 Everything is just there so easy for you and for me, 50:35 just go pick it up by faith and heaven gonna be our home. 50:39 You know, like the... 50:41 Israel hadn't been faithful, 50:43 I know they hadn't been and they knew they hadn't been. 50:46 But you know what? 50:47 They were still thankful for God's grace 50:50 and for God's mercy that was shown to them 50:53 as I am every day. 50:55 They relied on God's grace and God's mercy. 50:58 They no longer relied upon ancestry, 51:01 they no longer relied upon, you know, 51:06 the works and so on so forth. 51:07 They simply relied upon the grace of God. 51:11 And I just wonder if maybe 51:13 that's where we need to come ourselves, 51:15 it's not to worry about our maybe position 51:18 or what we might have or what we might work out 51:20 or what we're doing for God, 51:21 simply we're relying on the grace of God 51:26 which is abundant. 51:27 So that brings us back to Nehemiah 9:32-38, 51:31 we can't read all of those verses, 51:33 there's a lot of them. 51:34 It says, where and when we pray, 51:38 it leads to praising. 51:40 And I'm sure that it always does, 51:42 you know, it does this, why? 51:44 Because we're praising for His goodness toward us. 51:46 Yes. 51:48 We have a song we sing a lot of times, 51:49 the blessings are refreshing. 51:51 A little lady wrote it, you know, in the church, 51:54 and she actually lives here in Thompsonville. 51:57 And to me, it's a simple but beautiful song. 52:00 Blessings are refreshing along this pilgrim way. 52:03 Blessings are refreshing, they help us every day. 52:06 Why? 52:08 Because God is our joy and our comfort. 52:10 You see, this is what it's all about 52:11 that God is our joy and our comfort. 52:13 And so when we recognize that, 52:15 then blessings come and one verse goes in, 52:17 we need to count our blessings every day. 52:19 Amen. 52:21 We're counting our blessings. 52:22 I don't have time to gripe 52:23 and complain about all the things that went wrong. 52:25 When I'm happy and I'm laughing, 52:26 I don't have time to be sad. 52:28 You see, when our mind is stayed upon Christ, 52:30 happy is that man, 52:32 but his mind stays certainly upon Christ. 52:34 We can find these things that we look in scripture. 52:37 But, you know, 52:38 God sends warning after warning, 52:41 I know He's sending warning after warning now 52:43 in the hour that we live 52:44 in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, 52:47 what they went through, I can hardly fathom. 52:50 What stuff that we read here's what we really know about it. 52:53 They had to be true men and women of God 52:56 and those who endure, those who did the right thing. 52:59 We are getting ready to enter into that time. 53:01 There's no doubt about it, we are there. 53:04 How will we stand? 53:05 It's easy to look at these individuals and say, 53:07 they wafted back and forth like I started out, 53:10 like ping pong ball. 53:11 But how will we... 53:13 How is our relationship with Christ? 53:14 Spirit of Prophecy makes it very, very clear 53:17 that many of us, right? 53:18 We need an experience that most of us don't have 53:21 to see us through this time. 53:23 That made me stop and think, how is my experience? 53:26 And I ask you, how is your experience? 53:29 It's so important right now 53:30 that your experience with Christ be tight. 53:32 That experience that you have with Him 53:34 is one that you can hold on 53:36 when everything seems to be against you. 53:38 Everyone's coming against you. 53:40 People are talking about you, people just, you know, 53:42 they can't find anything else to do. 53:45 And do you know what? 53:46 You hold on to Jesus Christ, 53:47 get into the Word, let the Word, right, 53:49 guide your feet into the right path. 53:52 And I tell you right now, God is gonna have people, 53:56 He's gonna have a people prepare, 53:57 He's gonna have a people that are ready and I think, 53:59 it's part of it is from some of the things 54:02 that we've been going over in here 54:04 that we can give praise and honor and glory 54:07 to Him, and to Him alone. 54:09 This is where we're at in earth's history 54:11 that is soon coming to an end. 54:13 Probation is closing, 54:15 it closed all through the people 54:16 we see in the Word of God. 54:18 How we gonna stand on that great day? 54:21 Are we gonna be what He wants us to be? 54:23 Are we going to be praising Him 54:25 in the good time and the bad time? 54:27 One thing for sure, He will never leave you, 54:29 and He'll never forsake you 54:31 because He promises in His Word. 54:32 So I wanna stay with Him, there's where the victory's at. 54:35 I stay with Christ. 54:37 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny, each one of you, 54:40 my heart is full right now. 54:42 Amen. Good. 54:43 With the goodness of God, 54:46 and the mercy of God extended toward each one of us, 54:49 and I am so grateful that we serve a God like that. 54:53 I wanna give each one of you 54:55 a moment to share about your day 54:57 or something else about this lesson. 54:58 Miss Mollie? 55:00 You know, in looking at this prayer 55:02 that is more like a sermon, it recounts the history. 55:06 And, Kenny, likened it to a ping pong ball. 55:09 The children of Israel would repent 55:12 and God would restore them. 55:13 Yes. 55:15 Then they would go out, 55:16 apostatizing, get away from God, 55:19 and then judgment would have to fall upon them. 55:22 And so it made me think of this nation 55:25 that we're living in today 55:26 in this world that we're living in today. 55:28 And I just thought of a scripture 55:30 that I thought I would just read. 55:32 And it's 2 Chronicles 7:14. 55:37 "If my people," or you God's people? 55:40 "If my people who are called by My name, 55:42 will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, 55:46 and turn from their wicked ways, 55:48 then I will hear from heaven, 55:50 and will forgive their sins, and heal their land." 55:53 Oh, God, let this happen in the world today. 55:55 Amen. 55:57 Amen. 55:58 My favorite passage, 1 John 3:1-2, 56:04 "Behold, what manner of love 56:06 the Father hath bestowed upon us, 56:08 that we should be called children of God." 56:11 Verse 2, "Beloved, now we are children of God, 56:15 and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be: 56:17 but we know that when He's revealed, 56:20 we shall be like Him, 56:22 for we shall see Him as He is." 56:24 That's why He's merciful. Amen. 56:26 He's making us to be like Him. 56:28 Amen. 56:29 And you know, you think about this cycle of sin. 56:31 We go through it as well, but first, 1 John 1:9, says, 56:35 "If we confess our sins, 56:37 He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins 56:39 and cleanse us of all unrighteousness." 56:42 Remember this, confession is the clearing house 56:45 of the conscience. 56:46 As you confess your sins, 56:47 you can go before the Lord with a clear conscience. 56:50 But when He does bless you, 56:53 keep your eyes on a giver, not on the gift. 56:57 Amen. Amen. Good thought. 56:59 I put down here our assurance, our evidence is God's Word. 57:02 And after we have asked Him, 57:04 we must believe 57:06 without doubting, and trust God. 57:08 Amen. 57:09 Thank you all so much for your study 57:11 and for your heart for the Word of God 57:13 and for the Lord Jesus Christ. 57:15 I wanna close with this scripture, 57:17 Isaiah 49:14-16. 57:19 And you might feel that you're there. 57:21 You're here right now. 57:23 "But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me, 57:26 and my Lord has forgotten me.' 57:29 Can a woman forget her nursing child, 57:33 and not have compassion on the son of her womb? 57:36 Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. 57:40 I have engraved you on the palm of my hand." 57:44 The Lord Jesus has your name 57:46 inscribed on the palms of His hands and on His heart. 57:50 He loves you, and He wants you 57:52 to come back to Him in repentance. 57:55 Join us again next week for God and the covenant. 58:00 God bless you. Amen. |
Revised 2024-09-04