Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200023S
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00:01 Hello, friends.
00:02 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:04 Thank you for taking the time to join us. 00:05 This entire theme is How to Interpret Scripture. 00:08 Today is lesson number 10, The Bible as History. 00:13 If you'd like to follow along, 00:14 go to the following website to get the lesson, 00:16 absg.Adventist.org 00:19 or go to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:22 and join them for a wonderful time 00:25 through the study of the Word of God. 00:27 To join us, 00:28 take the time sit down with us for this thoughtful hour. 00:30 And we know that God has a blessing 00:32 in store for you. 01:06 Hello, friends. 01:08 Welcome to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:10 Thank you for taking the time to join us. 01:12 We know that the past lessons we believe 01:15 hopefully have been a blessing. 01:16 And today, we enter into another one 01:18 now The Bible and History. 01:20 Now before we go any further, I want you to know 01:22 that we have a wonderful panel today. 01:24 We have the Shelton Brothers again, 01:28 one next to the other one. 01:29 Are you the leader of the pack? 01:31 I'm usually a follower I think. 01:32 I knew you about, but I don't know about that. 01:34 He's leader. He's a little older than me. 01:36 So I just follow after him. 01:37 Hello, Pastor Kenny, good to have you here. 01:39 It's good to be here. 01:40 Fact that you guys clear that up. 01:42 Danny, good to see you. 01:43 Thank you. It's good to be here. 01:44 You've been on more than one of our lesson studies. 01:46 We appreciate you 01:47 being with us more this quarter. 01:48 I enjoy being here. This is great. 01:50 I learned so much from you all. 01:51 Thank you. 01:53 You should have been here when we talked about paganism 01:54 and all these words that Jill could not even... 01:56 Honestly, say it was a great study 01:58 that we've learned a lot. 01:59 I know is I'm struggling with some of these words 02:01 myself today on Daniel, you know. 02:03 We're glad to have you here, Danny. 02:05 Thank you. 02:06 And, Jill, are you ready for the list today? 02:08 I got seven points today. 02:09 Amen. Okay. 02:11 Good to have you. Good to be here, Pastor John. 02:12 And, Pastor Ryan, always good to have you here. 02:14 The historian of the group. 02:15 Oh, no, I don't know about that, 02:16 but we are gonna be talking about faith in history. 02:18 So it seems good. Okay. 02:19 Well, thank you. Thank you. 02:21 Well, Danny, since you're rare on our set, 02:23 why don't you have prayer for us? 02:24 I will. 02:26 Lord, we thank You again for Your blessings. 02:27 We thank You for life, for health, for strength, 02:29 and we thank You for the opportunity 02:32 of being Christians 02:33 and particular here 02:35 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians 02:36 in closing moments of earth's history. 02:38 We thank You that You've given us Your Word, 02:40 as a light and a guide and a path to follow You 02:44 all the way to eternity. 02:45 So today, I pray for each person 02:48 in front of the cameras, those behind the cameras, 02:50 and those and the viewing audiences 02:53 that each of us our minds will be opened, 02:55 be illuminated by the power and anointing 02:57 of the Holy Spirit today, 02:59 in Jesus' name we pray. 03:00 Amen. Amen. 03:01 Amen. 03:03 The Bible in History, 03:04 you know, when we think about the Bible, 03:06 I like to begin with the text in Acts, 03:07 Acts 17:26, 03:11 and then we're gonna go to memory text 03:12 in just a moment, 03:13 but I wanna just kind of lay the foundation 03:15 for the Bible and History 03:18 with a verse in the Book of Acts Chapter 17. 03:20 And we're going to look together at verse 26. 03:24 When you think about this whole genealogy 03:27 of the various nations, 03:28 various languages, people groups, 03:30 and the entire globe of humanity, 03:34 where we've all come from, 03:35 and I think in one of our last lessons 03:37 the many, many, many languages that exist on our planet, 03:41 some of them still don't have a Bible 03:43 in their own tongue, 03:44 this passage kind of centralizes 03:48 where we all came from. 03:49 Acts 17:26 and the Bible says, 03:54 "And He has made from, " how many bloods? 03:56 One blood. 03:58 "One blood every nation of men 04:01 to dwell on all the face of the earth, 04:04 and has determined their preappointed times 04:08 and the boundaries of their habitations." 04:10 You know what that says? 04:11 That means we all have the same father. 04:14 You know, whether you believe it or not, 04:15 we all have the same father. 04:17 That's why, if you think about it, 04:19 when the time comes for a blood transfusion, 04:22 you know, they don't take nationality 04:24 into consideration, 04:25 they go by blood types and antigens. 04:28 So in the dark, 04:30 you cannot tell A, A-positive, B, B-positive, O, 04:34 O-negative whatever the case may be. 04:36 Why is that? 04:37 Because we all come from one blood 04:40 and that is the blood of the Lamb. 04:42 Not only that, the Bible says, 04:43 "Every nation to dwell on the face of all the earth." 04:47 And this next part is significant. 04:49 "And he has determined their preappointed times," 04:52 meaning, you'll notice throughout history, 04:55 civilizations that did not once exist, 04:58 came into being. 05:00 And they began to inhabit certain parts of the globe 05:03 and the Bible says, 05:04 "And also the boundaries of their habitations." 05:08 Why are the Jews where they are? 05:10 And the Caribbean people where they are? 05:12 Why the Asians where they are there? 05:14 There, the boundaries of their habitation. 05:17 But now America is a multi-ethnic country. 05:22 And I think we can say that about most of the world. 05:25 You know, recently a few years ago, 05:26 we were in Jordan. 05:28 And I was amazed to see 05:29 that it's even though it's so close to Israel, 05:33 it's quite segregated by the number of nationalities. 05:37 It's hard to find 05:39 a Jewish establishment in Jordan, 05:41 and vice versa, but in Jerusalem, 05:43 you have a Jewish side of Jerusalem, 05:45 you have a Muslim side of Jerusalem, 05:48 and they're all inhabiting that that city together. 05:51 It's amazing. 05:52 But we begin today by looking at the preappointed times. 05:56 The point of the matter is in the beginning 05:59 when God spoke, life on earth was created. 06:03 Then you find as you look 06:04 at the trek of the Book of Genesis, 06:06 the Lord called Abram, out of the Chaldeans. 06:10 And that was a nation 06:11 that was not of Jewish origin at all, 06:14 but had 06:16 a Babylonian connotation connected to it. 06:20 The Bible says in Genesis 26:5, 06:24 that Abraham kept God's commandments, 06:27 God's statutes, and also God's laws. 06:32 You also find that in the course of time, 06:35 the Lord established the nation of Israel, 06:39 first through the sons of Jacob, 06:43 and then after the famine, 06:45 they began their sojourn in the land of Egypt, 06:48 but you'll find that the Lord had determined 06:50 before they went into Egypt, 06:51 how long they would be there and the Bible says, 06:53 I think in Exodus 12 on the very self-same day, 06:57 the Lord deliver them from the land of Egypt. 06:59 You find the Lord gave them the Ten Commandments, 07:02 and to Israel He sent prophets. 07:04 He also sent judgments to correct them and guide them. 07:08 He called His people to live in to share in His divine law, 07:11 and also to share with the entire world 07:13 the plan of salvation, but they chose not to. 07:17 Ultimately, God sent His Son Jesus 07:19 into the world, 07:21 thus dividing all of human history 07:23 from BC to what? 07:27 AD. 07:28 And so today, though, 07:29 the question is on Sunday's lesson, 07:31 let's peek at that very quickly. 07:33 Sunday's lesson is David, Solomon, and the Monarchy. 07:38 Or however you might say that monarchy or monarchy, 07:41 however you say that? 07:43 We're gonna look at some very significant things 07:44 about this lesson. 07:46 There are three questions that are asked. 07:47 Let's go to the Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 17. 07:50 And the monarchy, 07:53 the writer brought out some very significant points, 07:56 and those were 07:58 what would happen if David and Solomon never existed? 08:04 What would happen? 08:05 What would happen in our world? 08:07 Well, we know just in a summary point, 08:09 that if there was no David, wow, 08:13 there would be no Jesus 08:15 because He came through the lineage of David. 08:19 Now you can see why, in the weaknesses of David, 08:24 Satan sought to thwart the plan of salvation, 08:27 understanding in some degree, 08:30 if I could get David to be a disqualified servant, 08:33 then the Messiah could not come through a disqualified servant, 08:37 but I wanna say something here that encourages me. 08:40 In spite of the lineage of humanity, 08:43 God brought forth His Son into the human race. 08:47 So let's look at 1 Samuel Chapter 17, 08:50 which brings out some of the questions 08:52 and one of those was, 08:54 how does God provide a decisive victory over Israel? 09:00 Without David there would be no Jerusalem. 09:02 I said 1 Samuel? 09:03 Let's go to 2 Samuel. 09:05 So let's go to 2 Samuel 5 09:07 and we're gonna look together at verses 6 to 10. 09:11 Okay, without David there would be no Jerusalem, 09:14 the capital of the nation. 09:16 You'll find also in human history, 09:17 Jerusalem had various names. 09:21 It had various names 09:22 based on the conquest of those who had captured it, 09:26 but the endearing name that was given was Jerusalem, 09:30 which means the city of peace, Shalem defined clearly. 09:35 2 Samuel 5:6-10. 09:38 The Bible says, "And the king of his men went to Jerusalem 09:42 against the Jebusites, 09:44 the inhabitants of the land, 09:46 who spoke to David saying, 09:48 'You shall not come in here, 09:51 but the blind and the lame will repel you,' 09:54 thinking, 'David cannot come in here.' 09:57 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, 10:01 that is the city of David. 10:03 Now David said on that day, 10:05 'Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft 10:09 and defeats the Jebusites, 10:11 the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul, 10:15 he shall be chief and captain.' 10:17 Therefore they say, 10:18 'The blind and the lame shall come not into the house.' 10:22 Then David dwelt in the stronghold, 10:24 and called it, " what did he called it? 10:26 City of David. "The City of David. 10:27 And David built all around from the Milo and inward. 10:33 So David went on and became great, 10:35 and the Lord God of hosts was with him." 10:38 So David had to first capture the city 10:40 for it to become the city of David. 10:43 Not only that, 10:44 without David there would be no temple built 10:46 by his son Solomon. 10:47 Let's go to 1 Kings 8:17-20. 10:51 I'm thwarted by the reality 10:52 that the clock is just racing from me. 10:55 Wow. 10:56 1 Kings 8:17-20. 10:59 Jill, do you have that. Okay. 11:01 "Now it was in the heart of my father David 11:02 to build a temple 11:04 for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 11:06 But the Lord said to my father David, 11:07 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, 11:10 you did well that it was in your heart. 11:12 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, 11:15 but your son who will come from your body, 11:17 he shall build the temple for my name.'" 11:19 Verse 20? 11:20 "So the Lord has fulfilled His word 11:22 which He spoke, 11:23 and I have filled the position of my father David, 11:25 and sit on the throne of Israel, 11:27 as the Lord promised, 11:29 and I have built a temple 11:30 for the name of the Lord God of Israel." 11:32 So without David, 11:33 there will be no temple built by his son, Solomon. 11:37 Now what's being shown by the writer of the lesson is, 11:40 it's showing how David and Solomon 11:43 played a significant role not only in the monarchy, 11:46 but also in the deliverance of the Messiah. 11:50 That's the cadence that the Bible, 11:52 that's the cadence 11:53 that the lesson writers want to point out. 11:55 No David, no Solomon. No Solomon, no temple. 11:58 And you find clearly the temple, 12:00 Jesus made reference to that temple in His day, 12:03 when He was nearing His crucifixion He said, 12:06 "Destroy this temple 12:07 and in three days I will raise it up." 12:09 And they said, it took 40 years to build this temple, 12:11 but they did not know 12:12 He was talking about His body temple. 12:14 The last point brought out 12:15 without David there would be no future Messiah. 12:18 Let's go to Jeremiah 23:5. 12:20 Without David there would be no future Messiah, 12:23 for it is through the line of David 12:25 that the Messiah is promised. 12:28 Jeremiah 23:5, let's look at that together. 12:31 It says, "'Behold, the days are coming,' 12:33 says the Lord, 12:36 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness, 12:42 a king shall reign and prosper, 12:44 and execute judgment and righteousness 12:47 in the earth." 12:49 And finally, Revelation 22:16, look at this. 12:52 Revelation 22:16. 12:54 It says, "I, Jesus have sent My angel 12:57 to testify to you these things in the churches." 13:00 And now he's speaking of himself. 13:02 "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, 13:06 the Bright and the Morning Star.'" 13:09 And so you find 13:10 it was necessary God had to raise up David. 13:13 David had to have Solomon. 13:16 And although Solomon tried his best 13:18 to destroy himself with the 1,000 women, 13:21 the Lord still saw fit to be the seed 13:24 that came through that line from Adam to Jesus 13:29 for 42 generations 13:31 and David and Solomon were in that lineage. 13:34 God provided victory through David as a young man. 13:38 God used David to propel Israel to the victory against Goliath. 13:45 And the question lastly, 13:47 where does the victory come from? 13:49 It was said clearly, the battle belongs to the Lord. 13:54 However, in the battle for our souls, 13:57 in the battle for supremacy over humanity. 14:00 Even though the battle 14:01 and the victory belongs to the Lord, 14:03 God uses frail men like David and Solomon 14:06 to show that He is interested in working through humanity. 14:10 Amen. Praise Lord. Thank you. 14:13 Pastor Kenny. 14:15 Awesome. 14:17 Yeah, praise the Lord for a good foundation on that 14:18 and as we're looking at The Bible as History. 14:20 That's right. 14:22 And I got a couple of quotes here. 14:23 I want to just read 14:24 because I find that they attach well to 14:27 what we're studying here because we're talking about, 14:30 again, The Bible as History. 14:31 I found this in 5 Testimonies, 25. 14:33 It simply says, "The Bible is the most comprehensive, " 14:36 I like that, 14:38 "and the most instructive history which men possess. 14:41 It came forth fresh 14:43 from the fountain of eternal truth, 14:45 and a divine hand has," 14:47 notice this, 14:48 "preserved its purity through all the ages." 14:50 We've had that question a few times and people say, 14:53 "Well, how could it be preserved?" 14:54 Praise God and divine hand, 14:56 but seen it through God has preserved His Word 14:58 for His people. 15:00 That's right. 15:01 2 Timothy 3:17 says, 15:02 "That the man of God, " why did God preserve it? 15:05 Why did God preserve it? Why is it coming fresh? 15:06 Why is it that we need it? 15:08 "That the man of God may be perfect, 15:10 thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 15:14 Another quote I want to 15:15 and hopefully it'll fit right in is 4 Testimonies, 15:18 page 9. 15:20 It says, "The lives recorded in the Bible 15:22 are authentic histories of actual individuals." 15:25 Have you ever wondered 15:26 why sometimes I've had people ask is, 15:29 why did they record everything? It seems. 15:33 You know, the good things and all the bad things, 15:35 all the shortcomings and all the mistakes 15:37 and everything that they made in the choices. 15:39 There's a reason for that. Absolutely. 15:40 And God knew these reasons. 15:42 And certainly these things are for us today. 15:44 "But the lives recorded in the Bible 15:45 are authentic histories of actual individuals. 15:47 From Adam down 15:49 through the successive generations, " 15:51 notice, "to the times of the apostles have a plain, 15:54 unvarnished account," 15:55 notice this, 15:57 "of their actual occurring 15:59 and the genuine experience of real character." 16:02 It is one of the best evidences 16:04 of the authenticity of Scripture 16:06 that truth is not lost over 16:09 nor sins of its chief characters 16:12 suppressed. 16:13 That's pretty clear, isn't it? 16:14 And you find when you read this, 16:16 they're not suppressed 16:17 and they're right out there for us to look at. 16:19 Luke 11:28 says, 16:21 "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, 16:23 and," do what? 16:25 "They hear the word of God, and they keep it." 16:27 We're looking here at Monday's lesson in Isaiah, 16:30 Hezekiah, and Sennacherib. 16:32 Now that's a name here, 16:33 but we realize he's the Syrian King, 16:35 is that right? 16:37 And there was a battle that was going on. 16:38 And history is going to the Bible 16:40 as history records this battle. 16:42 And if you haven't read it in a while, 16:43 it's an awesome thing to see 16:45 how God has written down in this word, 16:50 and it comes to pass 16:51 exactly the way God said that it would 16:54 because the king of Syria 16:55 had a different thought in mind. 16:56 There was no doubt about it. 16:58 He had plans of things that he was going to do. 17:00 We'll go over that here in just a little bit. 17:01 So Monday's lesson deals with how, I like this, 17:03 how God continues to deliver His people? 17:07 I like that, you know, in answer to Hezekiah's prayer. 17:09 So we had Hezekiah, he had a sickness, didn't he? 17:12 He was gonna die. 17:14 And this was Hezekiah who was not only praying 17:15 about sickness, 17:16 but he was also praying about, 17:18 you know, he knew 17:19 that some bad things were going to happen. 17:21 So he's praying for his people. 17:22 And so, and God was hearing his prayer. 17:25 Notice, when we pray in faith believing, 17:27 I like this part is God goes into action. 17:30 You know, prayer does what? 17:32 It moves the arm of God, doesn't it? 17:34 Prayer faith moves the arm of God into action. 17:36 So God just not sitting there idle 17:37 by listen to his prayer 17:38 and pray and do nothing about it. 17:40 It moves God into action. 17:41 So if you want things happening in your life, 17:44 be praying, God's gonna hear 17:45 and gonna answer those prayers. 17:48 And again, this year, 17:49 we're talking about The Bible as History, 17:51 it records the, this battle here, 17:53 and what went on, 17:54 what man said was going to happen 17:56 and what God said was going to happen. 17:58 So we like that. 18:00 So hopefully in this lesson that we're looking at here 18:02 through the whole things, we go down the list, 18:04 we can see the same God whom we pray to, 18:07 the same God whom we believe in, 18:10 the same God that we read in Scripture, 18:12 the same God that we rely on, 18:14 the same God that we trust 18:16 is the same God that's dealing right here. 18:18 And He'll do the very same for us. 18:20 He'll work miracles in our life. 18:22 Isaiah Chapter 36. 18:25 Isaiah Chapter 36. 18:26 Just gonna read one verse here 18:28 'cause times really kicking down, 18:29 but I think you'll get it here as what's going on. 18:32 It said, "Now it came to pass," 18:33 in Isaiah 36:1, 18:35 "in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, " 18:38 notice what happened, 18:39 "that Sennacherib, 18:41 the king of Assyria came up against 18:42 all of the defensed cities of Judah," 18:45 and the last part is kind of sad. 18:46 What does it say? "He said he took them." 18:49 Okay. Yeah. 18:50 So in the fourteenth year here, 18:51 there was a battle that was going on, 18:53 and God was gonna get involved with it. 18:55 So we see this. It's a massive battle plan. 18:58 The Assyrians had a campaign against Judah. 19:02 And there's gonna take, this is like, 19:03 almost 700 years right before Christ. 19:06 I call it a battle royale. 19:08 It was planned. 19:09 It's what the devil has always planned to do 19:11 is to get rid of what? 19:13 If God's people. 19:14 And he's still the same plan today 19:15 is to get rid of you, get rid of me, 19:17 anybody that loves Jesus and wants to follow Jesus, 19:19 that's his plan. 19:21 Remember, we serve one greater. Don't worry about that. 19:22 So here's what we know for sure. 19:24 God said in His Word 19:26 and encouraged him through Hezekiah, 19:27 this is not going to happen. 19:29 It's not going to happen, is it? 19:30 But it's interesting. 19:32 There was an attack on Jerusalem. 19:34 There was an attack, 19:36 but it's only for one day, you know. 19:38 Now what would you do? 19:39 What would I do if we heard right from our leader? 19:42 There was prayer that was answered and to say, 19:44 Jerusalem's going to be okay, don't worry about it, 19:47 but then here comes this big army 19:48 and there's an attack for one day. 19:51 How would our faith stand? What would we say? 19:53 That's not what we were told. That's not what we believed. 19:57 It was very interesting how God said, 19:58 I'm gonna take care of this Myself 20:01 and so He takes care of us. 20:02 So as we look at a little bit closer at it here, 20:04 before it takes place in every detail, 20:07 God knows, I like this. 20:08 The Bible said, "He knows the beginning from the end" 20:11 in Revelation 21:6. 20:13 That's always been kind of soothing to me, 20:14 at least encouraging, 20:16 God knows the beginning from the end. 20:17 Man may have another plan, 20:19 but God's plan is gonna go through. 20:20 There are no surprises to Him. 20:22 Holy Spirit impressed men to God, right? 20:24 We've been learning this in these lessons, 20:26 and then God brings them 20:28 about exactly as a way that they were penned down. 20:30 Isaiah 36:1, it said the king did what of Assyria? 20:32 He came against 20:34 all the defensed cities of Judah. 20:37 It seemed like that they were be ready for battle, right? 20:40 That fancies in, this is not going to happen, 20:43 but notice this, 20:44 this is a historical rather than a prophetic, 20:48 you know, this prophecy here? 20:49 The king, actually the king himself, 20:52 gave an account of this battle, 20:54 but he didn't really give a fair account 20:56 'cause he went back to Nineveh after all. 20:57 In fact he, 20:59 that probably we won't have time to go 21:00 all into right here, 21:01 but he was killed by his own sons, his own sons. 21:04 And God said that, he said it back, 21:05 what you're gonna do, 21:06 you're gonna go back the way that you came, 21:09 you know, as you gonna march in, 21:11 you're gonna go back the way you came 21:12 when it come to Jerusalem, it's not going to happen. 21:14 And then, of course, 21:16 the king gave three reasons why? 21:17 Hezekiah, he said, 21:19 "Hezekiah, you refuse to submit to me." 21:22 A lot of times you refuse to submit to certain people, 21:24 there's problems. 21:26 Hezekiah also called upon Egypt and Ethiopia for help. 21:30 And the king said, I don't want that either. 21:32 Number three, 21:34 he had helped others 21:35 in their battle against Assyria. 21:37 So he's already said, "You're already our enemy, 21:39 and you're going to go down with this battle." 21:42 So forty-six of Hezekiah we noticed this, 21:44 "Forty-Six of Hezekiah walled towns 21:47 and villages were conquered." 21:49 So it seemed like people will be depressed. 21:51 A lot of bad things were happening right then, 21:53 but naturally, the Bible goes on 21:55 to say by a miracle of God, 21:57 I like that, Jerusalem was spared 21:59 because God said it would be, you know. 22:01 And here's what the king 22:02 in at least in things that he left, 22:04 you know, for us to go with long historical, 22:07 we know about, he's all, 22:08 he said about he wanted to say more about it, 22:10 but he could not conquer Jerusalem. 22:12 He could not. 22:14 And he said right here, "As for Hezekiah the Judean, " 22:17 notice he said, 22:18 "I shut him up in his city like a bird in a cage." 22:22 Got to admit it, 22:23 he couldn't say I conquered him. 22:25 He just simply say what? 22:26 I said his men couldn't do anything about it 22:28 because God had what? 22:29 Had surrounded that city as the word of God 22:31 was protecting it. 22:32 Jerusalem was attack. 22:33 Remember we said for only one day. 22:35 I don't know if this, Pastor, but any of you sitting on here, 22:38 but, you know, as we look at it here, 22:39 the Bible says here 22:41 than an angel of the Lord deliver Jerusalem, 22:44 an angel of the Lord, 22:46 but what did the angel of the Lord do? 22:47 These men meet were serious in battle. 22:50 They were going to kill God's people, 22:52 but notice this angel here of the Lord. 22:56 I'm gonna say in the best way I can 22:58 killed 185,000 troops in one night. 23:04 When they got up in the morning, 23:06 there's 185,000 bodies. 23:09 It's amazing. How would you feel? 23:11 How would I feel? 23:12 God allowed that to happen that was in God's plan 23:15 because they were going to attack Jerusalem. 23:16 He said, "That's not going to happen." 23:18 "Therefore saith the Lord," 23:19 notice this, 23:21 "concerning the king of Assyria, 23:22 he shall not come into the city, 23:24 nor shoot an arrow there, 23:26 nor come before it was a shields, 23:28 nor cast a bank against it." 23:29 Verse 34, notice this, 23:31 "By the way he came, the same shall he return, 23:35 and shall not come into the city, saith God." 23:37 Verse 35, 23:38 "For I will defend the city and save it for mine sake, " 23:42 and what you were talking about, 23:44 "and for my servant, David's sake." 23:47 When God says He's going to save something, 23:49 when God said, "I'm gonna take care of it." 23:50 When God says, "I'm going to defend it." 23:53 When God says, "I'm going to fight," what? 23:55 "Your battles for you." 23:56 He means business, whatever it takes. 24:00 He knows the beginning from the end. 24:02 We can rest assured that we serve a God who cares. 24:05 When you lift up your prayer like Hezekiah. 24:06 Hey, you may be at 15 years like he was, 24:09 or your city may be saved, trust in God. 24:11 Wow. Thank you, Pastor Kenny. 24:12 That was amazing. 24:14 God fights our battles, does He not? 24:15 It's amazing. 24:16 He did all that for David, 185,000 men, 24:18 a foreshadowing of what's gonna happen 24:20 when the New Jerusalem is going to be attacked. 24:23 All those on the outside. 24:25 Well, friends, we've gotten off to a wonderful start, 24:28 but don't go away. 24:29 We'll be right back. 24:35 Ever wish you could watch 24:36 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:38 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:41 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:46 A clean design makes it easy 24:49 to find the program you're looking for. 24:51 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:54 so you can follow along. 24:56 Sharing is easy. 24:58 Just click share 24:59 and choose your favorite social media. 25:01 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:09 Welcome back to our Bible study. 25:11 We're gonna continue now on Tuesday's lesson with Danny, 25:15 Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and Babylon. 25:17 All right. Absolutely. 25:19 The problem with this lesson, 25:20 you just can't get through it all. 25:22 So I know y'all are fighting that too. 25:24 But I'm just gonna start out 25:26 with the question that quarterly asked, 25:28 "How do the early decisions of Daniel 25:31 correspond with the acts of God 25:33 and using him as His servant and prophet 25:35 to impact millions of people throughout history?" 25:39 Well, in order to find out 25:41 we should find out what Daniel did? 25:43 All right. So let's go to Daniel 1:8. 25:45 And it says, 25:46 "But Daniel purposed in his heart." 25:47 What did he do? 25:49 "Purposed in his heart 25:50 that he would not defile himself 25:52 with the portion of the king's meat, 25:54 nor with the wine which he drank, 25:56 therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs 26:00 that he might not defile himself." 26:02 Now I'm gonna skip on up to Daniel 1:15. 26:06 "At the end of the ten days," they let him do it. 26:08 "At the end of the ten days 26:09 their countenances appeared, " what? 26:11 "Fairer and fatter in the flesh than all the children 26:15 which did eat the portion of the king's meat." 26:18 Now up to verses 19 and 20, 26:20 "And the king communed with them, 26:23 among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, 26:27 Mishael, Azariah," 26:28 who later was Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, 26:31 "therefore they stood before the king. 26:33 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, 26:36 that the king enquired of them, he found them, " 26:38 how many times? 26:40 "Ten times," isn't that amazing? 26:42 "Better than all the magicians, all the astrologers, 26:44 the wise men that were in all his realm." 26:48 Now, these good habits formed early in his experience 26:51 became the pattern 26:52 that would give him strength for his long life. 26:55 The result was clear thinking, wisdom, 26:58 and understanding 26:59 which we all need that, of course, 27:01 and it all came from God on high. 27:03 This was recognized by several kings 27:06 under Nebuchadnezzar, 27:07 Belshazzar and Darius 27:10 so that he was elevated 27:12 to the highest positions in the kingdom. 27:14 Now, this is not a guy 27:16 who was born with a spoon in his mouth, right? 27:17 Silver spoon. 27:19 He was captive 27:20 who came from a Hebrew family 27:23 that literally came was in captive to Babylon. 27:28 Now, of all the places in the world, 27:30 we know what Babylon is, 27:31 last place you wanna be involved 27:33 spiritually, maybe physically is Babylon 27:35 because it represents what? 27:37 Confusion. 27:38 So to me, this is an amazing thing 27:40 that Daniel could come as a young person, 27:43 and yet he purposed in his heart. 27:45 So the question was, what is it that Daniel did? 27:49 We need to find out what this did for Daniel? 27:51 So I've written down a few things. 27:54 I put what Daniel did? 27:55 Here's what we can learn from Daniel's commitment to God 27:58 throughout the action and of his lifestyle. 28:01 Number one, 28:02 stick to God's plan for your life. 28:05 Do not compromise biblical principles 28:08 to please others. 28:09 Daniel didn't compromise. Did he? 28:10 No. 28:12 Also Daniel was a leader, not a follower. 28:14 Had he been a follower, 28:15 he would have been out there with everybody else 28:17 in Babylon confused and lost, 28:20 but indeed he chose to put into practice 28:23 everything that he had been taught 28:25 as a young Hebrew lad. 28:27 Now, number three, 28:28 he made a commitment to serve God at all cost, 28:31 again purposed in his heart, 28:32 Daniel was a commandment keeper. 28:35 Daniel kept the law of God. 28:37 It's important 28:38 that we go beyond the point 28:39 of being a verbal commitment Christian, 28:41 right? 28:43 And to be go to a Go Ye Christian, right? 28:45 In other words, we have to have 28:47 a plan of action like he did. 28:49 Matthew 28:18-20 is a great one for us today. 28:52 Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world," 28:55 right? 28:56 Number four, Daniel did everything 28:58 to the glory of God, 28:59 including taking care of his body 29:02 by the way he ate, 29:03 the way he drank, his lifestyle. 29:06 Now, no doubt the king's meat 29:08 and the king's wine probably tasted good. 29:11 I mean, a lot of people were involved in it. 29:13 In fact, for Belshazzar, 29:15 that was his downfall, as you know, 29:17 but I'm sure it could have been tempting. 29:20 But Daniel made a what? 29:21 He purposed in his heart, he made a commitment, 29:24 he would not be a part of it. 29:26 So many Christians today accused Seventh-day Adventist 29:31 of trying to work our way into heaven 29:33 because we choose not to eat the king's meat, 29:36 choose not to drink the king's wine. 29:39 Anybody with me? 29:40 So many of us accuses us of saying, 29:43 "Well, you believe you don't salvation by works 29:46 because you keep the seventh-day Sabbath 29:48 and you don't eat this or that, and you do all these things, 29:52 but in fact, I have a friend and he said to me once, 29:54 he said, "You know, I'm not part of this. 29:58 What you guys do, I'm not into it." 29:59 He said, "You're very legalist." 30:02 He said, "I'm saved by grace." 30:04 And you all feel like you're saved by works. 30:06 And I said, "No, not really." I said, "How do you figure it?" 30:09 He said, "I'm not in bondage to the commandments of God, 30:12 including the fourth commandment, 30:14 like the Sabbath commandment." 30:16 He said, "I'm not in bondage to that." 30:18 And he said, 30:19 "I don't have to go to church every Sabbath." 30:21 And I said, "That's interesting to me, 30:22 you would say that 30:24 because I noticed that every Sunday, 30:26 you get up with your family, 30:27 and you all get ready 30:29 and you go to church every Sunday morning, 30:30 and every Sunday evening. 30:32 Are you in bondage to that? Is that legalistic? 30:34 I mean, if I'm that way, I mean, how do you do it?" 30:38 In other words, 30:39 it's interesting what people accuse you of. 30:41 Now, by the way, we are saved by grace, 30:45 but we're saved by grace 30:47 through the blood of Jesus Christ 30:48 when we come to Him, 30:50 and ask Him to be Lord and Savior of our life, 30:52 and then once we are, we're to do something, 30:55 we're to be hearers of the word, 30:57 James 1:22 says, "Be you doers of the word, 31:00 and not hearers only, deceiving your own self." 31:04 So Daniel decided and purposed in his heart as a young man. 31:08 I'm gonna be a doer. 31:09 I'm gonna do whatever God calls me to do 31:12 at whatever cost. 31:13 You see, an action, 31:16 it's the devil's greater sleeper hold. 31:17 Anybody know anything about wrestling? 31:19 There's a sleeper hold, you put people to sleep. 31:22 So in action by saying, 31:23 "Oh, well, I'm just saved by grace. 31:25 I don't have to do anything." 31:26 No, this says 31:28 be ye doers of the word and Daniel did that. 31:30 Not only hearers deceiving your own self 31:33 and action again as the devil's 31:35 I wrote down greater sleeper hold 31:36 that he puts on Christians. 31:38 So how many of us today are willing to be doers 31:41 and not just hearers only? 31:43 Daniel, number four, 31:45 God had given Daniel wisdom beyond his years, why? 31:48 Because Daniel refused to become part of Babylon. 31:52 He would not be confused. 31:53 Today, how much are we confused, 31:56 Seventh-day Adventist Christians? 31:59 I'm surprised how many people watching? 32:01 And I go to church and they say, 32:03 oh, I watch this program, that program, 32:05 have nothing to do with truth. 32:06 I mean, somebody may be a great speaker, 32:09 but that they'll say, 32:10 'Oh, I watched such and such and I won't give the name, 32:12 some televangelists has 30,000 people. 32:15 Isn't he great? 32:16 Isn't he the greatest preacher?" 32:18 I said, "No, not if he's not telling the truth." 32:19 You know, I don't care. 32:21 He may have great delivery, 32:22 but he's not a great preacher unless he's telling the truth. 32:25 Daniel knew how to come apart and be a separated person. 32:29 And he kept his eyes on the Lord 32:31 and wasn't caught up in Babylon. 32:33 Number five. 32:35 Daniel was faithful to his God, his faith was real, 32:38 even to the point of facing the lions' den. 32:41 He was willing to go to that, 32:43 he didn't go kicking and screaming. 32:45 He was willing to sacrifice so under, 32:47 Daniel under several kings, if we go to Nebuchadnezzar, 32:51 we go to Belshazzar, 32:53 we got to Darius and we look at those kings, 32:57 Daniel serve these, 32:58 but God put him 32:59 in great positions of authority. 33:02 You know, we have modern day Daniels. 33:04 Are you a modern day Daniel or modern day Joseph? 33:07 I know one name Ambassador Bien Tejano 33:09 in the Philippine. 33:11 Ambassador Tejano 33:12 has served under numerous presidents 33:15 in the country. 33:16 I remember I had the privilege of flying there to Manila. 33:19 I had no idea, 33:20 but the ambassador and number of people 33:22 got me at the airport 33:23 took me straight to the White House, 33:27 we'll call it there in the Philippines, 33:29 and they said, 33:30 "You're gonna meet the President 33:32 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo." 33:34 And I said, "Why I didn't know I was." 33:37 They said, "Oh, she wanted to meet you. 33:38 She watched this 3ABN." 33:40 And I remember sitting at breakfast with her. 33:43 And here's what I said to her. 33:46 I said, "Madam President, 33:48 may I ask you being Tejano Ambassador Tejano 33:52 he was the ambassador for the previous administration 33:56 and the previous one and the previous one 33:59 and they all are different parties. 34:01 Why did you pick Ambassador Tejano to be your ambassador? 34:06 And answer one other question first, 34:07 how many ambassadors 34:09 did you replace around the world?" 34:10 She said, "All of them." 34:12 All of them except Ambassador Tejano. 34:15 I said, "Why?" 34:16 And I'll never forget what she said, 34:18 President of the Philippines. 34:20 She said, "Because we all know that Ambassador Tejano 34:25 is true to his God. 34:27 If Ambassador Tejano is true to his God, 34:30 he'll be true to me. 34:32 He'll be true to my cause. 34:33 He disagrees with me, he'll let me know. 34:36 He won't do anything behind his back." 34:38 How many of us today can have the people around us 34:41 that we know that we work with, 34:44 our neighbors, people in the community 34:46 that we do business with Pastor John can say, 34:49 you know, I trust him 34:51 because he believes in God and serves his God. 34:56 Therefore, I know he's gonna serve me 34:58 with love and compassion. 35:00 So it's my hope and prayer today 35:02 that each of us can be Daniels, 35:04 we can be Josephs, 35:05 we can be Ambassador Tejanos 35:08 to make an imprint to the world 35:11 about Jesus Christ and His soon coming and His... 35:14 I'm so thankful 35:15 He was crucified on the cross of Calvary, 35:17 giving His life for ours. 35:19 Amen. Thank you so much, Danny. 35:21 What an incredible study of the life of Daniel. 35:24 And then we see modern day Daniels as well 35:27 who are true to God. 35:28 On Wednesday, I have Wednesday's lesson, 35:31 The Historical Jesus. 35:34 We look at the historical reliability 35:36 of Jesus. 35:38 You know, this quarter, 35:39 we have studied the Word of God, 35:41 have we not? 35:42 We have studied the authenticity, the validity, 35:45 the inspiration of the Word of God. 35:48 We've studied that the Bible 35:49 is to be trusted over tradition, 35:51 over experience, over culture, over reason, 35:56 but yet some people, Pastor Ryan, 35:58 still questioned the validity of the Word of God. 36:03 Some people even questioned 36:06 the historical accuracy of Jesus Christ. 36:10 Dr. Robert Price is an atheist and a mythicist. 36:16 He said, "Which is more likely, 36:18 that a man walked on water, glowed like the sun, 36:21 rose from the dead, 36:23 or that someone has rewritten 36:25 a bunch of well-known miracle stories?" 36:29 Historian Bart Ehrman, he is not a Christian, 36:33 he rejects Jesus as the Son of God. 36:36 Yet he counters that Jesus. 36:39 He says those who deny the historicity of Jesus 36:43 are simply choosing to disregard clear evidence." 36:46 Now that's from someone who's not even a Christian. 36:49 We're looking today at evidences 36:51 of the historical validity of Jesus Christ. 36:55 The fact that Jesus 36:56 really existed as a historical person. 36:59 We're gonna look at six evidences, 37:02 and then there's a number seven. 37:03 So I'm gonna tell you them upfront 37:04 and then we'll talk about them. 37:06 First evidence is the gospels. 37:08 Second, Roman historians. 37:11 Third, Paul's writings. 37:13 Fourth, archaeological evidence. 37:16 Fifth, experiential evidence. 37:19 Six, prophetic evidence. 37:23 And when we get to number seven, 37:24 it's up to us. 37:25 It's our choice 37:27 whether we're going to accept Jesus or not. 37:29 So let's look at number one, the gospels. 37:32 Scholars have criticized the gospels 37:34 as being legendary in nature, rather than being historical. 37:39 And they base that on many things, 37:41 but we're gonna pick on two. 37:42 One is the timeframe 37:44 for when the gospels were written. 37:45 And the second is some alleged contradictions 37:48 that they seem to find within the gospels. 37:52 If you look at the timeframe of the gospels, 37:54 and you study that. 37:56 Mark is probably the first gospel 37:57 written. 37:58 Matthew, Mark, and Luke were all written 38:01 during the time when people who walked and talk to Jesus, 38:04 people who were eyewitnesses of Jesus, 38:07 people who heard His miracles, 38:09 people who witnessed the crucifixion 38:12 or witnessed or, you know, the resurrection, 38:15 all of that, eyewitnesses of Him. 38:17 They were contemporaries of when Matthew, Mark, 38:20 and Luke were written. 38:22 That means they were eyewitnesses of that. 38:25 Now, of course, we know John was written in much later, 38:27 but Matthew, Mark, and Luke was clearly written 38:30 when the eyewitnesses of Jesus' ministry were alive. 38:34 You look at these apparent or alleged contradictions 38:38 that you find in the gospels. 38:40 The apparent small disparities in some of the gospels 38:43 are really proof of its accuracy 38:46 because if they were identical, that would show collaboration. 38:51 In other words, if I were writing something 38:53 I would tell Danny behind everybody else's back. 38:55 Well, Danny, we're gonna agree on this point. 38:57 Pastor Ryan, we're gonna agree on this point. 38:59 Pastor Kenny, we better all say the same thing. 39:02 So then when we come out with it, 39:03 our stories appear to match. 39:06 You know, you think about it. 39:08 The four gospels are complimentary, 39:11 not contradictory. 39:13 You think if someone were to write, say, 39:16 someone were to write a book about, say, the life of James, 39:19 whoever James is, 39:20 and what if the biography about James 39:23 is written by his son, by his father, 39:26 by a co-worker, and by a friend. 39:29 Now the son would write about James 39:31 from the aspect of this is who he is, as a father. 39:35 The father of James would write about him 39:37 from the aspect of this is James as the son. 39:39 The co-worker would just say, 39:40 "Well, this is him as an acquaintance." 39:42 And the friend would say, 39:43 "Oh, these are the intimate details 39:45 of James' life 39:46 because I really know James." 39:49 So they would have different perspectives, 39:51 but you would see a unity. 39:54 That's the historical evidence 39:55 for the validity of Jesus Christ, 39:57 number one, the gospels. 39:58 Number two, Roman historians. We're gonna look at two. 40:02 First is Josephus and the second is Tacitus. 40:05 Now Josephus was a Jewish politician, 40:08 soldier, and historian. 40:10 He probably lived from around AD 37 to 100. 40:13 He's born in Jerusalem 40:15 shortly after Christ's crucifixion. 40:17 His father was a highly respected priest. 40:20 So his family would have been well aware of Jesus 40:23 and His followers. 40:25 Josephus is considered 40:27 the single most important Jewish historian 40:29 of the ancient world. 40:31 He wrote a book Antiquities 40:32 and in it he talks about the death of James. 40:35 This is James in the Book of Acts, 40:37 New Testament James. 40:39 Josephus calls James the brother of Jesus 40:41 who was called Christ. 40:44 Now Josephus, 40:46 we already established was Jewish, 40:47 he was not a Christian, 40:49 but this is a non-Christian attestation 40:51 of as it were, of the historicity of Jesus. 40:55 Then we also see Josephus writing about Caiaphas. 40:58 He says, this is in 41:00 Josephus Complete Works, book 18." 41:02 He says, "Besides which he also deprived Joseph, 41:05 who was called Caiaphas of the high priesthood, 41:08 and appointed Jonathan, the son of Ananus, 41:09 the former high priests, to succeed him." 41:12 Now we look at Tacitus. Now Tacitus was not a Jew. 41:15 He's a Roman historian. 41:17 He lived probably between AD 56 and 120. 41:20 Modern historian say, 41:21 his book Annals 41:23 is the best source of information 41:24 about this period in Roman history. 41:26 Now Tacitus discusses Nero, the Emperor Nero, 41:30 and how he blamed this devastating fire in Rome, 41:34 on the Christians. 41:35 He says this, 41:37 "To squelch the rumor, Nero created scapegoats 41:40 and subjected to the most refined tortures 41:43 those whom the common people called 'Christians, ' 41:45 hated for their abominable crimes. 41:48 Their names come from Christ, 41:50 who, during the reign of Tiberius, 41:52 had been executed 41:53 by the procurator Pontius Pilate." 41:56 So this is a Roman historian 41:57 who acknowledges the validity of Pontius Pilate, 42:00 the validity of Tiberius and the validity of Christ. 42:05 Now we look at Paul's writings. 42:06 Paul's writings 42:07 are the earliest Christian documents we have 42:09 authenticity, the validity, 42:11 and historical proof 42:13 of the existence of Jesus Christ. 42:15 Now you think about it. 42:16 Paul taught on the crucifixion of Jesus, 42:19 and that was not the most popular thing. 42:22 Why was it not so popular? 42:23 The Jewish people believed anybody 42:26 who was crucified on a cross was blasphemous, 42:30 was cursed from the law. 42:32 Paul tells us that in Galatians 3:13, 42:34 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 42:37 having become a curse for us," 42:38 because it is written, 42:40 "'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'" 42:42 Now that comes from Deuteronomy 20:1, 42:44 where the Jewish people believed 42:45 whoever hung on a tree, 42:47 whoever was crucified in that way, 42:48 was cursed for blasphemy. 42:50 So when Paul preaches Jesus crucified, 42:53 that's why he says in 1 Corinthians 1:23. 42:56 1 Corinthians 1:23-25, 42:59 "We preach Christ crucified, 43:00 to the Jews a stumbling block, " 43:02 because to them it was like he committed blasphemy, 43:05 he died and he was crucified, 43:08 "to the Jews it's a stumbling block, 43:10 to the Greeks it's foolishness, 43:12 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, 43:15 Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 43:19 Let's look at number four, archaeological evidence. 43:23 In 1990, 43:25 a family tomb was discovered south of Jerusalem 43:28 that contained 12 different bone boxes, 43:32 and the most ornate one had a name Joseph, 43:36 son of Caiaphas. 43:38 Now before that time, scholars had said, 43:40 "Well, Caiaphas didn't even exist." 43:41 Even though the Roman historian had said that he did. 43:45 However, here's some archaeological evidence 43:47 that he existed. 43:49 And in 1961, of course, they found that stone 43:51 with the inscription for Pontius Pilate. 43:54 We see experiential evidence 43:56 and this is probably the reason 43:58 I chose to accept Jesus into my heart 44:01 and to follow Him. 44:02 That Psalm 34:8, 44:04 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." 44:08 If you have tried Jesus, 44:10 I mean that 44:12 in the most respectful way possible. 44:14 If you have experienced Him for yourself, 44:17 you will know that He's real. 44:20 Number six, prophetic evidence. 44:23 We see numerous evidences in the Word of God 44:26 of the prophecies being fulfilled 44:29 exactly as they were predicted. 44:32 And finally it comes down to at the end. 44:34 It's a choice for us. 44:37 Comes down to our choice. 44:38 We can look, "Okay, yes, 44:39 the gospels prove the validity of Jesus." 44:42 The Roman historians validate it, 44:44 archaeology validates it, Paul's writings too. 44:49 I can experience Him. 44:51 Prophetic evidence does, 44:52 but what are you going to do with Jesus? 44:56 Joshua 24:15. 44:59 Joshua says, 45:00 "If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 45:02 choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, 45:06 whether the gods your fathers served 45:08 on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites. 45:11 But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 45:15 We have made a decision here at 3ABN, 45:17 we will serve the Lord, 45:19 and we just wanna appeal to you, 45:20 make a decision to follow the Christ. 45:23 Amen. That's right. 45:24 Praise the Lord. That was so powerful. 45:28 I was hoping 45:29 that she was gonna get through it all 45:31 because you had fellowship... 45:32 I was hoping too. 45:34 Flipping through pages over here, 45:35 but she did a fantastic job. 45:36 Praise the Lord. 45:38 I mean, I have Thursday's lesson 45:39 which is entitled Faith and History. 45:41 And we're going to be looking in this particular lesson 45:44 at the historical count of multiple individuals 45:48 who we see in history are prime examples 45:51 of what it means to have faith in God 45:53 or to exercise a faith in God. 45:55 This is the foundation of Christianity. 45:58 The Bible makes it clear that, you know, 45:59 that we are saved by grace through faith 46:02 and not of works, lest anyone should boast. 46:04 So we need to be clear 46:05 as to what faith is and what does it look like. 46:08 And we have a great biblical historical account 46:11 as to what that looks like. 46:13 And so I love the way Thursday's lesson opens up. 46:15 It says, "We do not live in vacuums. 46:18 Our choices influence not just ourselves, 46:21 but others, as well. 46:23 In the same way, 46:24 the lives of many of God's ancient people 46:26 have had a great impact on the future 46:29 of others besides themselves." 46:31 It goes on to say, "In Hebrews 11, 46:34 that well-known 'faith' chapter, 46:35 we see in summary 46:36 the influence 46:38 of many of these ancient heroes of faith." 46:40 And that's what we're actually gonna go 46:41 so you wanna go ahead and slide over 46:43 to Hebrews Chapter 11. 46:44 We're gonna spend some time in this chapter 46:47 for the remainder of the time that we have, 46:48 but, man, I tell you, 46:50 this is one of my favorite chapters 46:51 because it reminds me of these great men 46:53 and women of faith, 46:55 who I mean, 46:56 you look at the circumstances that were set before them 47:00 and what they had to go through the experiences 47:02 that they had to go through. 47:03 I mean, we know, we all have experiences. 47:06 We all have trials and tribulations in our life. 47:08 When you look at the trials and tribulations 47:10 that these people went through in the old days, 47:12 it's like, "Man, 47:13 how did they have the faith to get through that?" 47:16 And we see that these are powerful men 47:17 and women from faith. 47:19 And we can learn from that. 47:20 Before we actually dive into that though, I wanna just, 47:22 I just wanna highlight and emphasize 47:25 the correct meaning of what faith is? 47:28 We wanna kind of look at a definition of faith. 47:30 Now we know that the Bible gives us 47:32 a clear definition of faith. 47:33 And we're gonna read that in just a few moments here 47:35 at the beginning of Hebrews Chapter 11. 47:37 But I was doing some research and I decided 47:39 you don't wanna just kind of see 47:41 what some of these other, 47:42 you know, Bible dictionaries, how they define faith. 47:45 And I found this particular one 47:46 that I found was most true and in harmony 47:49 with what the Bible teaches is faith. 47:51 And this is, 47:52 it comes from the Easton's Bible Dictionary. 47:54 And here's the definition that they give. 47:56 "Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind 47:59 that a certain statement is true." 48:01 And then they give some biblical text here, 48:03 Philippians 1:27, 48:04 as well as 2 Thessalonians 2:13. 48:06 And they go on to say, "Its primary idea is trust." 48:11 Okay, don't miss that 48:12 because faith's primary idea is trust. 48:16 "A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. 48:20 It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, 48:24 in accordance with the evidence on which it rests." 48:27 Okay, I'll read that last line one more time. 48:29 "It admits of many degrees 48:30 up to the full assurance of faith, 48:32 in accordance with the evidence on which it rests." 48:36 Now we come to the biblical, 48:38 probably the most clear biblical definition 48:40 that we have in Scripture as to what faith is. 48:42 Now it's not limited to this one text, 48:44 but certainly gives us a nice indication 48:47 of how Scripture was inspired and how in this case, 48:50 we believe the author was Paul, 48:52 even though it doesn't state that clearly 48:54 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 48:56 this is what the Scripture says faith is. 48:59 Hebrews 11:1, 49:01 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 49:04 the evidence of things not seen." 49:07 In other words, 49:09 if you could take all of those words, 49:11 and you could sum them up into one word, 49:14 what would it probably be? 49:16 Trust. 49:18 A faith, foundation of faith is trust, 49:22 trusting in someone or something 49:24 that you may not necessarily know all about, 49:27 but you have put faith in. 49:29 You have put trust into that person 49:31 or that something. 49:32 Verse 2 says, 49:33 "For by it the elders obtain a good testimony." 49:37 Verse 3, says, 49:38 "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed 49:40 by the word of God." 49:42 I love that 49:43 'cause we've been talking in previous lessons 49:45 about the creation account in Genesis 49:46 and we have to take that stuff by faith. 49:49 We weren't there when God said, 49:50 let there be a mountain over there. 49:51 Poof! 49:53 And there was a mountain, you know, 49:54 we believe that it happened that way 49:56 because of God's Word. 49:57 We put faith in God's Word. 49:58 So by faith, we understand the worlds 50:00 were framed by the Word of God, 50:02 so that the things which are seen 50:03 were not made of things which are visible. 50:07 You know, I have not 50:08 at least I don't think I have visibly seen God, 50:12 but I believe in Him, I trust in Him, 50:15 I put my faith in Him because He is God Almighty. 50:18 And I know, I know that He exists. 50:21 I know deep down in my bones, I have that faith. 50:23 And I've had people question me on that, 50:25 how could you believe in something 50:26 that you haven't seen, haven't heard, haven't felt, 50:29 you know, that tangibility aspect? 50:31 If it's not tangible, the people of the world 50:33 that we live in today in this Babylonian era 50:35 that we live in, 50:37 if it's not tangible, if you can't see it, hear it, 50:39 if it's not real to their senses, 50:42 and they can't perceive it according to their senses, 50:44 then it must not be there, 50:45 but we know that that is the case 50:47 while we see evidences of God. 50:49 We have to exercise faith that this God really does exist 50:51 and works through us. 50:53 We see 50:54 wonderful historical examples of faith 50:56 throughout the historicity of Scripture. 51:00 I've mentioned this in one of my previous lessons. 51:03 So I'm not gonna go through this entire chapter, 51:05 but just listing a few here 51:06 that is mentioned in this particular chapter. 51:08 For instance, verse 4 in Hebrews 11 51:10 talks about how Abel offered to God 51:13 a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. 51:15 That was by faith, right? 51:16 He had to exercise that by faith. 51:19 He had to believe in trusting God's Word 51:21 when God said, "Do that, and I'll bless you." 51:22 Right? 51:23 That, you know, he had to exercise faith. 51:25 Of course, Enoch was a man of faith. 51:27 The Bible says he walked and talked with God. 51:29 Okay, so that being said, 51:31 he still had to trust in God's Word 51:34 that when God said He was gonna do something 51:35 that He was gonna do it, right? 51:37 Absolutely. 51:38 We'll also see Noah, this is a wonderful example. 51:40 Verse 7 here, notice Hebrews 11:7, 51:44 "By faith Noah, 51:46 being divinely warned of things not yet seen." 51:50 That's powerful. There it is. 51:52 "Moved with godly fear, 51:53 prepared an ark for the saving of his household, 51:56 by which he condemned the world 51:58 and became heir of the righteousness 52:00 which is according to faith." 52:02 Noah acted in faith when he built the ark, 52:06 trusting in the Word of God over experience and reason. 52:10 You see experience and reason up to that point, 52:13 he could have easily said, "Wait a second, what's rain?" 52:16 God says, "It's gonna rain." What's that? 52:18 'Cause it did never rain before, right? 52:20 So reason and experience said, 52:21 there is no rain coming even though he says it is. 52:24 No, he trusted in God's Word. 52:25 And he acted on it, he built that ark. 52:27 And because of that he saved, you know, 52:29 the human race was able to be survived. 52:31 Faith, I think of faithful Abraham. 52:34 He's probably one of the foundational examples. 52:36 It says, "By faith Abraham obeyed 52:38 when he was called to go up to the place 52:40 in which he would receive an inheritance. 52:42 And he went out, 52:43 not knowing where he was going." 52:45 Verse 9. 52:47 It says, "By faith he dwelt in the land of promise 52:50 as in a foreign country, 52:52 dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, 52:54 the heirs with him of the same promise." 52:57 Abraham was called out of Mesopotamia, 53:00 out of Ur, which is probably the most sophisticated city 53:03 on the planet at that particular time, 53:05 especially that particular region 53:07 called out into the sticks. 53:09 I mean, we're talking about the driest, rockiest, 53:12 desolate place on the planet. 53:14 And the Lord says, 53:15 "That's the land flowing with milk and honey, 53:16 I'm sending you over there." 53:18 That took faith, right? 53:19 He had the extra... 53:20 He had the trust in the Word of God. 53:23 Beautiful example. I love that. 53:25 Also Moses. 53:26 Now let's skip down to verse 23. 53:28 Here it says, "By faith Moses, when he was born, 53:30 was hidden three months by his parents, 53:32 because they saw he was a beautiful child, 53:34 and they were not afraid of the king's command." 53:37 And then let's skip down there to verse 27. 53:40 It says, "By faith," speaking of Moses, 53:42 "he forsook Egypt, 53:44 not fearing the wrath of the king, 53:45 for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." 53:49 Notice that. 53:50 "By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, 53:53 lest he who destroyed 53:55 the firstborn should touch him." 53:56 By faith, Moses chose to become a shepherd 53:59 leading God's people 54:01 to the Promised Land 54:02 rather than to become the king over Egypt. 54:04 He had that opportunity, he could have chosen, 54:07 at that time Egypt probably was the most sophisticated city 54:11 or at least one of the most sophisticated cities 54:12 on the planet. 54:13 He left that to go to the sticks. 54:16 He caught him out of the city into the country 54:18 where he had an encounter with the Lord. 54:20 He trusted in that voice that he heard coming 54:22 from that burning bush. 54:23 You will see the common theme 54:25 all the way through this chapter 54:27 is trusting in God's Word. 54:29 He trusted in God's Word. She trusted in God's Word. 54:32 Rahab trusted in the testimony that was given her 54:35 that there was a God that loved His people 54:37 and protected His people. 54:38 All of these people are wonderful examples. 54:40 I think of Daniel. Daniel is a prime example. 54:42 This brother went to a lions' den. 54:45 He was willing to say, you know what? 54:46 And even his three companions let's just, 54:48 I would rather be burned up than to disobey my God. 54:51 They put trust in God's Word 54:53 that even if he wouldn't deliver them, 54:55 Daniel going into that lions' den, 54:57 I would rather get eat up by hungry lions 54:59 and put my faith in God's Word than to disobey my God. 55:02 What does that say about us in these last days? 55:06 What does that say about us, we should be people of faith, 55:08 we should look at the circumstances 55:11 and the historical record 55:12 of those who came before us and say, 55:13 "Lord, if they can trust in Your Word, 55:16 if you have delivered them and work through them, 55:18 then I also will put my trust in You. 55:20 May we put our trust in God's Word. 55:22 May we trust in the same God that led Abraham, Isaac, 55:26 and Jacob and all the others. 55:27 May we come to the Lord in faith." 55:29 Amen. 55:30 Thank you, Ryan. Praise God. 55:32 Well, Pastor Kenny, 55:33 I'm gonna bounce the ball back to you. 55:34 Give us some closing thoughts? 55:36 Well, God answers prayers, 55:37 once again is through passage scripture 55:39 very, Hebrews 7:25, says, 55:41 "God is able to save to the uttermost all 55:44 that come to him, 55:45 seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for us." 55:48 That's an answer to prayer. 55:49 Okay. Amen. 55:51 Danny? 55:52 Well, I was thinking back to my childhood 55:54 and one of the first songs 55:55 that I ever was taught by my Aunt Wanda 55:58 who used to teach Sabbath School. 55:59 Kenny will remember, Dare to be a Daniel, 56:03 Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm, 56:06 Dare to make it known. 56:08 Amen. Thank you. 56:09 Thank you. That's wonderful. That's great song. 56:11 I remember that song too. Wow. 56:13 Isaiah 1:18, God speaking to us, 56:16 "'Come now, and let us reason together.' 56:18 Though your sins are like scarlet, 56:20 they shall be as white as snow, 56:22 though they are red like crimson, 56:24 they shall be as wool." 56:25 So our God is a God of faith, but a God of reason. 56:29 He invites us to come to Him to study, to learn of Him, 56:33 and your life will forever be changed. 56:35 Amen. Amen. 56:36 You know, considering the faith in history, 56:38 all of these people we just recently mentioned. 56:41 You know, I think of one other person, 56:43 Joseph. 56:44 Oh, yeah. Joseph. 56:45 I mean, he wasn't a perfect person, 56:47 but he certainly he went through a lot. 56:49 And for this brother to be several years in prison, 56:51 I'm sure he would have thought at some point. 56:53 Surely, the Lord has forsaken me. 56:55 Surely, the Lord has given up on me. 56:56 That voice that I heard that once guided me 56:58 that gave me visions and dreams, 57:00 surely he has gone from me, 57:01 but he never ever swayed from the Word of God. 57:04 And I wanna be like a Joseph 57:06 who went on to be a great man 57:08 and gathering bread 57:09 for his people in the last days, 57:11 we need to be gathering bread. 57:12 May we start to gather the bread of the Word of God 57:13 in these last days 57:15 that we may exercise faith also. 57:17 Amen. Amen. 57:18 Well, we enjoyed that lesson, 57:19 we covered quite a bit by genealogies as it were, 57:23 the three of us, 57:24 and the historical Jesus, then faith and trust, 57:27 and all those things are necessary. 57:29 We've covered amazing aspects of the Word of God. 57:32 And now Matthew 1:17 summarizing, 57:34 I think what we talked about in genealogies 57:36 and in David and all the generations, 57:38 the Bible says in Matthew 1:17, 57:40 "So all the generations from Adam to David 57:42 are fourteen generations, 57:44 from David until the captivity in Babylon 57:46 are fourteen generations, 57:47 from the captivity in Babylon 57:49 until the Christ are fourteen generations. 57:51 Do you have the family line, and the genealogy? 57:54 Coming up next in our lesson, study number 11. 57:56 Join us again, The Bible and Prophecy. 58:00 We're gonna dive back into prophecy. 58:01 We hope that you've been blessed 58:03 by this lesson study we have. 58:04 So look forward for the next lesson 58:06 and we know that God has another blessing 58:08 in store for you. 58:10 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2020-06-11