Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200029S
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00:01 If you enjoy studying your Bible,
00:02 then you've come to the right place. 00:04 Right here on 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 00:06 we're making our way through our third quarter study 00:09 on "Making Friends for God." 00:12 And, of course, this week we're going to be 00:13 taking on our third week, which the lesson is entitled 00:17 "Seeing People Through Jesus' Eyes." 00:20 And so again, we are so thankful that 00:21 you are joining us and we want to tell you 00:23 how to get a copy of this lesson. 00:25 You can access it for free 00:27 if you go to absg.adventist.org. 00:32 And, of course, you can get a free copy there 00:34 or we simply encourage you to go 00:35 to your local Seventh-Day Adventist Church 00:37 where they can also get you a copy as well. 00:39 So again, grab your pens, your pencils, your notepads, 00:42 your iPads, or anything that you need to study 00:45 and joining us as we go through 00:47 this exciting Bible study adventure. 01:19 Hello and welcome back 01:21 to another edition of 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:23 As always, we're so thankful that 01:25 you are joining us taking time out of your busy day 01:28 wherever you are, to join us in this epic 01:30 Bible study adventure, it is an adventure. 01:33 Anytime we get to open up the Bible, 01:35 we learn new things. 01:36 We learn more about Jesus and His plan for our life. 01:39 And so we're so thankful as always 01:40 that you can join us in this. 01:42 I want to take time to go ahead 01:44 and introduce this magnificent panel 01:46 that we have here. 01:47 To my left, we have Brother Kenny Shelton. 01:49 How are you, brother? 01:50 I'm well and love to be here 01:51 to study the word with you folks. 01:53 Amen. 01:54 And, of course, to your left 01:55 we have Pastor John Dinzey joining us for the first time. 01:57 It's good to have you, brother. 01:58 It's always a blessing to be here 02:00 and participate in this wonderful panel. 02:02 Amen. Of course, Miss Jill Morikone. 02:03 It's a blessing to always have you. 02:05 Thank you. 02:06 Privileged to be here and open up God's Word. 02:08 Amen, and I know you got a list for us. 02:09 Oh, yeah. 02:11 And then my pastor, Pastor John Lomacang, 02:14 it's always, I almost said Dinzey, 02:16 but we've already passed him. 02:17 Pastor John Lomacang, last but not least, 02:19 it's always a blessing to have you here. 02:21 We're brothers from another mother. 02:22 That's right. 02:24 We praise the Lord that His word always has 02:25 good fresh food for us. 02:28 And I'm looking forward to it. Amen. 02:30 I've so been enjoying this study 02:32 that was course was authored by none other than Brother... 02:36 Finley. Mark Finley. That's right. 02:38 I'm almost caught him something else. 02:40 Well, my mind is all over the place. 02:42 But that's because I'm excited to study 02:43 the Word of God. 02:45 And this week's lesson, lesson number three, 02:46 "Seeing People Through Jesus' Eyes." 02:49 This is vitally important as we are learning 02:52 how to be a good witness for God. 02:54 We have to be able to see people through God's eyes. 02:56 Before we go any further though, 02:58 I'm going to ask Brother Dinzey, 03:00 if he would have a prayer for us. 03:01 Sure. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 03:03 Our loving Heavenly Father, 03:05 we are grateful to You for this opportunity, 03:07 Lord, to study together with our friends 03:11 and brothers and sisters from all over the world. 03:13 We ask that you will bless us with Your Holy Spirit. 03:16 Give us the words to speak, 03:18 guide us to the scriptures and the thoughts 03:20 that you know will be a blessing to Your children. 03:23 We thank You, Lord, for this lesson and this study. 03:26 And we pray, Lord, 03:27 that You will continue to bless 3ABN 03:29 to bring light to the world. 03:31 In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. 03:32 Amen. Praise the Lord. 03:35 Our memory verse is taken from Matthew 4:19. 03:40 And it says, "Then He said to them, 03:43 'Follow Me, 03:45 and I will make you fishers of men.'" 03:48 So God doesn't just call us, but He calls us 03:51 and then He wants to equip us to go out and represent Him 03:55 and to take what we have learned 03:56 and what we have shared 03:58 and what we have experienced to others. 03:59 And that's what this entire study is all about. 04:02 I really, really enjoyed Sabbath afternoon's words. 04:05 And as I've said in a previous lesson, 04:07 Pastor Mark Finley has such an eloquent pen, 04:10 a masterful way with words 04:11 and communicating things in a way that even I can't. 04:15 But I'd want to read this 04:16 because I thought just setting this up 04:17 this entire study that we're about to go through, 04:19 it was beautiful what he had to say. 04:21 I want to read this here. 04:23 It says here, "Jesus is the mad master soul winner. 04:27 By watching the way Jesus worked with people, 04:30 we learn how to lead others 04:32 to a knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ. 04:35 Journeying with Him through 04:37 the crowded streets of Jerusalem, 04:39 the dusty paths of Judea 04:41 and the grassy hillsides of Galilee, 04:43 we discover how He revealed 04:45 the principles of the kingdom to seek souls or seeking souls. 04:51 Jesus saw all men and women as winnable for His kingdom. 04:56 He saw each one through the eyes of divine compassion. 05:00 He saw Peter not as a rough, loud mouth fisherman, 05:03 but as a mighty preacher of the gospel. 05:07 He saw James and John 05:08 not as quick tempered, fiery radicals, 05:11 but as enthusiastic proclaimers of His grace. 05:15 He saw the deep yearning for genuine love 05:18 and acceptance in the hearts of Mary Magdalene, 05:21 the Samaritan woman, 05:22 the woman with the issue of blood. 05:25 He saw Thomas not as a cynical doubter, 05:27 but as one with sincere questions, 05:31 whether they were Jew or Gentile, 05:33 male or female, a thief on across, a centurion, 05:36 or a demon possessed madman, 05:38 Jesus saw their God given potential 05:41 and viewed them through salvation's eyes." 05:45 That was so beautifully worded. 05:46 He just kind of paints that picture for you 05:48 through those words. 05:49 I know pastor said this many times. 05:51 We gonna learn to be able to paint a picture with words, 05:53 and I'm learning how to do that, 05:54 masterfully done, 05:56 and that is so amazing because again, 05:57 seeing people through God's eyes. 05:59 You know, you have to be in tune with a sort of Savior, 06:02 to be able to do that. 06:03 You'd have to have a relationship with God 06:05 yourself in order to be 06:06 able to see people as God sees them. 06:08 And so Sunday's lesson is entitled, 06:11 "The Second Touch." 06:13 And actually, we are brought into an interesting story, 06:17 which we've probably read many times in Mark 8:22-26. 06:22 I'm going to give you time to go there, Mark 8:22-26, 06:27 and this is an interesting story 06:29 of Jesus healing a blind man. 06:31 And very, it's a very short story 06:34 in this particular passage but nonetheless, 06:37 it has some details here 06:38 that I believe we can glean and learn from. 06:40 So Mark 8:22-26, and I'm going to begin reading, 06:45 gonna read all the way through it 06:46 and we're going to go back 06:48 and highlight a few important things here. 06:50 So starting in verse 22, the Bible says, 06:53 "Then He came to Bethsaida, 06:55 and they brought a blind man to Him, 06:58 and begged Him to touch him. 07:00 So He took the blind man 07:02 by the hand and led him out of the town. 07:05 And when He had spit on his eyes 07:08 and put His hands on him, 07:10 He asked him if he saw anything. 07:13 And he looked up and said, 07:14 'I see men like trees, walking.' 07:18 Then He put His hands on his eyes again 07:20 and made him look up. 07:23 And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 07:27 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 07:31 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.'" 07:36 Now, in this very short passage here, 07:39 I believe there's a lot we can learn 07:42 as far as seeing people through God's eyes, 07:44 as far as witnessing and learning 07:45 how to bring someone to Christ 07:47 because that's what this lesson, 07:48 this whole entire study, this quarter is all about, 07:51 a vital important aspect of our relationship with God. 07:55 And so I want to draw our attention back 07:57 to the beginning text of this particular passage, 07:59 because notice how it says, it says here in verse 22, 08:02 "Then he came to Bethsaida, 08:03 and they brought a blind man to him." 08:08 They brought him, that word 08:09 just kind of jumps out in the lesson there. 08:11 The blind man, notice this, 08:13 the blind men did not come on his own. 08:16 His friends saw his need and brought him. 08:19 That's powerful. 08:21 He may not even have, 08:22 may not have even had the faith in 08:24 and of himself but his friends did. 08:27 They believe that Jesus would heal 08:29 this man's blindness. 08:31 So, you know, as I'm reading through this, 08:33 they brought him, 08:34 I also think of the story of the paralytic man 08:37 who was lifted by his friends. 08:39 They went out of their way to make sure that 08:41 this brother was brought to Jesus. 08:43 It was on the faith of these gentlemen 08:46 and his friends, 08:47 that this man was made whole and brought to Jesus Christ. 08:51 When is the last time we brought someone to Jesus? 08:53 Come on. 08:54 When is the last time you allowed your faith 08:57 to be sufficient for someone else? 09:00 Just enough to introduce them to Jesus, 09:03 bringing someone to Christ. 09:05 So notice, first they brought him, 09:06 but then notice what the verse also says. 09:08 If you notice back in verse 22, there, 09:10 it says, "And begged Him to touch him." 09:13 They begged Him. 09:14 Now again, you can kind of see this in your own fashion, 09:18 but I love how Mark Finley worded this. 09:19 He says, it implies a softer, kinder, gentler appeal 09:25 than a loud boisterous demand, right? 09:28 You know, Jesus, you know, save this man, 09:29 I could imagine that they were just pleading, 09:31 Lord Jesus, please save our friend. 09:34 The friends of this man kindly appealed to Jesus, 09:37 believing that He had both the desire 09:40 and the power to help this man. 09:41 Do you have the... 09:43 Do you believe that Christ 09:44 has the desire to make you whole, 09:45 or to make your family whole, or to make your friends whole? 09:47 They believe that Jesus had that desire, 09:50 and so the man may not have had the faith, 09:52 as we've already mentioned, that Jesus could heal him. 09:54 This brother probably didn't, he can't see, he's been blind 09:58 at least the majority of his life. 10:00 And, but, yet we know that 10:02 he probably didn't have the faith. 10:03 Okay, sure, I'll go with you. 10:04 But it was because of the faith of his friends. 10:07 It says his friends had the faith. 10:08 Sometimes, and I love this last line, 10:10 this really set the tone here. 10:12 Sometimes we must carry others 10:14 to Jesus on the wings of our faith. 10:17 I love that. 10:18 You know, I remember, you know, 10:20 it's talking about this begging, 10:22 I've had a personal experience with this myself, 10:25 begging God to save someone. 10:27 Not just physically but spiritually. 10:30 As many may know, I lost my mom last year. 10:35 And while she's laying in that hospital for 53 days, 10:38 I did indeed pray for God to heal her 10:40 but more than anything, me and my brother and sisters, 10:43 and my brother and sister and my father, 10:44 we all wanted to see my mom made holy, 10:47 we wanted to see her spiritually made well. 10:49 She had fallen so far away from the Lord. 10:52 She had lost her faith in God, 10:55 and here she is laying in this hospital bed 10:57 hurting day in and day out, 10:58 but I've never forget 11:00 just to couple of weeks before she passed, 11:01 me and my brother, my brother called me up, 11:03 and we just felt led, you know, let's have an intense prayer. 11:08 And so for two weeks solid, we would, he would call me 11:10 almost every day 11:11 and we would have an intense prayer 11:12 for my mother, and we begged Jesus, 11:14 I begged the Lord in prayer, 11:16 I said, "Father, whatever it takes, 11:18 save my mother. 11:20 Whatever it takes." 11:21 We watched in that last two weeks of her life, 11:24 that stone cold heart be turned into soft flesh. 11:28 We watched a woman who laid there lifeless 11:30 and really not interested in any spiritual things, 11:33 turn into a woman 11:34 who was praising God with lifted hands, 11:37 praising God from her bed, 11:39 singing praises to God and singing psalms and hymns 11:43 and just declaring God's goodness. 11:45 I watched that unclear mind be made a clear mind 11:49 and made whole because I believe it was 11:51 because God heard our prayers. 11:53 It was because of the faith of myself and my brother, 11:55 because what we read in God's Word, Lord, 11:57 we know You can change my mom, 11:59 we know that You can make a difference. 12:01 And we have to believe that with others, 12:03 whether it's family members, 12:04 whether it's friends, whether it's an acquaintance, 12:06 a boss, a co-worker, 12:08 or whatever, if you pray for them, 12:10 and you beg God to change them, 12:11 the Bible has made it clear to us 12:13 that God will answer indeed. 12:15 I love this third point here. 12:17 You'll notice in the Scripture, it says that 12:18 Christ led him out of town. 12:20 That's interesting. 12:22 Jesus could have healed him right there. 12:24 He could have said, you know, let it be done, you know, 12:25 you're healed. 12:26 But that's not what happened. 12:28 He led him by the hand out, 12:29 and then it kind of struck a thought within me that 12:31 sometimes we need to take someone by the hand 12:34 and meet them privately. 12:35 Sometimes we need to pull them away from the larger crowds, 12:37 whether it's in a small group or a private session. 12:40 Sometimes you can bring someone all day long 12:42 to a public evangelistic meeting, 12:44 and they may not ever fully surrender, 12:45 but you break them away privately. 12:47 You spend time in counseling, you spend time in prayer, 12:50 and in leadership and guidance 12:51 and you can watch how God will change that heart. 12:56 It is possible that 12:57 we too do not see people clearly 13:01 as we see here. 13:02 Jesus asked him, "Do you see anything?" 13:04 What did he say? I see men walking like trees? 13:09 Do we sometimes see them more like trees walking, 13:13 in vague shadowy forms rather than as candidates 13:15 for the kingdom of God? 13:18 That's a point that the lesson brought out 13:20 very clearly that I just want to emphasize 13:22 in these closing seconds 13:23 that I have here is that oftentimes 13:26 we choose not to witness to someone. 13:28 We choose not to reach out to someone 13:30 because of our negative 13:32 or twisted perception of that person. 13:35 Sometimes we may look at someone and say, 13:36 Oh, you know, that guy's, you know, 13:37 even if I were to go share the Word of God with him, 13:39 he's not going to listen to me. 13:40 He's not going to come to the Lord. 13:42 He's got this going on. 13:43 He's got that going on his life or he's too hard, you know, 13:45 cold hearted here or there. 13:47 I've tried sharing with him before, 13:48 her before and she won't listen. 13:50 We sometimes have 13:51 a negative perception of someone, 13:53 but we cannot see people the way that we see them, 13:56 the way the flesh wants to see them, 13:58 the way the carnal man wants to see them. 14:00 We have to see that child of God 14:02 through the eyes of God, through Jesus' eyes. 14:05 You know, I have also had experience 14:07 of witnessing to my friend 14:08 as well as my brother and seeing that in a time 14:11 when I thought at one time, 14:13 for instance, my brother Dakota, 14:15 there was one time when, you know, 14:16 he was listening to hardcore hip-hop rap music, 14:19 stuff that was just destroying his mind, his brain, you know, 14:22 he was in a stage in his life where it was like, 14:25 there's nothing that I'm going to be 14:26 able to share with him, 14:28 that's going to bring him to Christ. 14:29 But something, little voice in my head, 14:30 the Holy Spirit, I know, that's what it was. 14:32 It kept saying, just keep trying, keep trying, 14:33 keep trying, and praise the Lord, 14:35 the Word of God 14:37 and the life transforming power of the Holy Spirit 14:39 was able to break through his heart. 14:41 And now today, 14:42 he's an evangelist for the Lord. 14:43 He preaches and teaches the Word of God. 14:45 So the moral of all this lesson 14:47 that I just shared is don't ever give up. 14:49 Look through Christ eyes to see a person 14:52 who needs Jesus today. 14:54 Amen. Praise the Lord. 14:55 I liked that personal testimony. 14:57 That's what we've been talking about 14:59 this whole quarter and we'll continue to talk. 15:00 And I thank God 15:02 for those personal testimonies deep in your heart, 15:04 in your mind. 15:05 And it changed not only others, but it changes us. 15:07 So it helps us change me, as I hear these things. 15:10 And you mentioned before, 15:12 I think everybody on the panel 15:13 has been mentioning that these lessons are so good. 15:15 They are written by Brother Mark Finley. 15:17 It just remind me something quickly 15:19 so you can kind of take it 15:20 with a grain of salt and go on. 15:21 I was talking to a graduate the other day, no, 15:23 this was good, it was all good. 15:24 He just simply said, you know, we love Brother Mark Finley. 15:27 I said, "Yeah, absolutely." 15:29 You know, man of God, 15:30 we're not trying to elevate but just a man of God. 15:32 He said, "Well, Brother Kenny," 15:33 I'm just saying this what he said, 15:34 "Brother Kenny, we love you too. 15:36 But you know, you're just not polished like he is." 15:41 I think that's all of us. Anyhow, you know what? 15:45 I just agreed 100%. 15:47 And I said, "I'm just rough around the edges," 15:49 and like to tell it like it is some time 15:51 but I praise God that He can use us. 15:53 He can use us where we are at 15:55 and the way that we are, you know. 15:57 So anyway, we'll go to lesson here Monday's lesson. 16:00 I liked it, "A Lesson Of Acceptance." 16:03 And the first thing that popped in my mind was Matthew 11:28. 16:06 Because how does God accept us? 16:09 This is what it's all about 16:10 and we're to follow His example. 16:12 Are we not? Absolutely. 16:13 Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "Come," what? 16:17 "Unto me," how many? 16:18 We talked about it, 16:20 "all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 16:23 and I will give you rest." 16:24 I like that. 16:26 Jesus simply says, just come to Me. 16:28 So I'm encouraging you today 16:29 as you've been through this lesson, 16:31 and you will be going through more with us. 16:32 I'm sure. 16:34 Jesus loves to have us to come to Him 16:36 just the way that we are. 16:38 I mean, that, to me, 16:40 that's just so heavy duty and so loving and so wonderful. 16:44 Because you know, you look at my own life 16:45 and you may look at yours or maybe in the past, 16:47 whatever is, come to Him the way we are, oh my. 16:50 But Jesus loves for us 16:51 to come just the way that we are. 16:53 And remember, when you come in the presence of Christ, 16:55 you won't, you know, 16:56 you come dirty and bring all this stuff, 16:58 you won't stay that way. 16:59 We can't stay that way 17:01 in the presence of Jesus Christ. 17:02 He loves for us. 17:03 I like the little book Steps to Christ. 17:05 It brings that out on page about 55. 17:07 Jesus loves for us to come to Him 17:10 just the way that we are. 17:12 What's that? 17:13 How is that just the way we are? 17:14 As sinful, that's helpless, that's dependent, and you know, 17:18 I come as a sinner saved by grace, 17:21 I come to Him because I need Him, I'm helpless. 17:23 I can't do a thing without Him. I want to be depended upon Him. 17:28 And so we can come bringing all of our weaknesses, 17:31 all of our folly, our sinfulness 17:33 and simply it encourages us to fall at His feet in penance, 17:37 asking for forgiveness of sin. 17:39 Now, to take it a step farther, you know, 17:41 to me it's very important is because none are so sinful. 17:46 None are so sinful that they cannot find strength 17:49 and purity and help in our time of need. 17:52 So I'm encouraging. 17:53 You may say, "I'm too sinful, I can't come to Him. 17:55 I've done too much. 17:56 I've been out in the world all my life." 17:58 Come as you are what He says right here. 18:00 Come unto Me all you that are heavy laden labor, 18:01 and I'll give you rest. 18:03 Praise God for that. 18:04 None are so sinful 18:05 that we can't find help in Jesus Christ. 18:07 I want that to be an encouragement to you. 18:09 And it's certainly an encouragement to me today. 18:10 Jesus says, you know, come to Me and live. 18:13 Why will you die? 18:15 Isn't that wonderful, come to Jesus and live. 18:18 And why will you die? 18:19 So Monday's lesson is very important 18:21 as we see how Jesus taught the disciples. 18:23 You mentioned it beautifully how we are to see people 18:26 through heaven's eyes. 18:27 That's right. 18:29 Not through our eyes because it would be brutal. 18:31 As we look at people, we lot of times are judgmental, 18:34 a lot of times we don't read things right. 18:36 And that's not for us to be doing the reading. 18:37 But we look to an individual 18:39 and I'm learning to do that by the grace of God, 18:41 I have not always done that, but I'm trying to learn. 18:43 I know I'm brutally honest some time, 18:45 but that's the way it is, I talk about myself is 18:47 because I want to see people through heaven's eyes. 18:50 Every time I look at a person no matter what they're doing, 18:52 where they're at. 18:53 I see a person to be saved in the kingdom. 18:56 I read it from the Word of God. 18:58 That's what Jesus did, 19:00 every time He looked out, you know, 19:01 every time He saw somebody, 19:03 it was somebody to be saved in the kingdom. 19:04 So it's not how we think 19:06 they are or maybe how we, you know, 19:08 we think that they are but how, 19:09 how that we by the grace of God can look and use heaven's eyes, 19:13 heaven's ears of Jesus, the mind of Christ, 19:15 and to see people because Jesus set the tone for us 19:18 that He always treated people with love, 19:21 respect, and dignity. 19:23 Never one time did He ever treat anyone 19:25 different than other, no matter what they've done, 19:26 no matter where they were at in their walk. 19:29 His disciples were shocked many times 19:32 the way that Jesus dealt with people. 19:35 They looked upon, someone mentioned her before, 19:37 the disciples looked upon them, you are hopeless. 19:41 There's no use to try to help them. 19:43 There is no way that anything can be done. 19:45 So they said, you are a... 19:46 And I've heard this people say, you're a lost cause. 19:49 There are no lost causes long as there's life, right? 19:52 There's hope. In the breath there's hope. 19:54 That's right. 19:56 But see, disciples were looking at these people, say, 19:57 they were lost cause, Lord, 19:59 just don't waste Your time on them. 20:01 So we're looking through the eyes of Jesus right here. 20:04 We learn there was a big, some big differences 20:06 between the Samaritans and the Judeans, 20:08 there's no doubt about it, which talking about the woman 20:11 here at Samaria and Jesus stopping at the well. 20:14 A couple quick points I want to try to make 20:15 before our time runs out here. 20:17 You remember they had a general dislike 20:19 and I think I'm putting it nice, 20:21 General dislike for one another, 20:22 then I'll just leave at that. 20:24 Jesus' disciples that 20:25 they started out to go to Galilee, 20:28 but there could be a closer road, 20:29 they didn't have to go to the Samaritans but Jesus, 20:31 what did Jesus say? 20:33 I want to go by the way of the Samaritans. 20:34 They're thinking, you've got to be kidding. 20:36 Why in the world would you want to do that? 20:38 Has anybody ever said that 20:39 maybe to you, why are you doing that? 20:42 Why are you going this way 20:43 when you could go another way, be less trouble? 20:45 Well, in John 4:3-34. 20:49 In my math, it's not very good, 20:50 but that's 31 verses so I'm not going to try to read 20:52 all those in four minutes 20:54 or so left, so I'm not going to. 20:55 If you just allow me to, 20:56 there's three things I think we'll look at quickly. 20:58 We find account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. 21:02 Now notice, three questions I think it'd be fair to ask. 21:05 What was her response to Christ conversation? 21:10 Number two, what was the disciple's response? 21:14 Three, how did the Jesus broaden their vision? 21:17 I think our whole core lesson is, 21:19 Lord, help me to broaden my vision to be like Yours, 21:22 like heaven is looking at us today. 21:24 Signs of the Times June 20, 1892, says this. 21:27 June 20, 1892, kind of sums up here. 21:31 Those who have the Spirit of Christ, 21:32 so I'm inviting you, challenging you. 21:34 I'm challenging myself. 21:36 If we have the Spirit of Christ, 21:37 we see all men through the eyes of divine compassion. 21:42 Now have we always done that? 21:44 No, I have not always done that. 21:45 But I know I need to and I'm praying daily that 21:47 God will help me to see each soul, 21:49 a candidate for heaven. 21:50 And I guarantee you, you look at them differently 21:53 if you're thinking about eternal salvation. 21:55 John 4:4 simply starts out quickly with, 21:57 "He must need to go to Samaria." 21:59 I wonder if in your Christian experience 22:01 or in evangelism that you've ever felt 22:02 like you need to go somewhere where you think 22:04 maybe you don't really want to go, 22:06 things are not just really like, 22:08 I want to avoid this, but God sends you. 22:11 You know, I never say we need to go to listen to air 22:13 but, you know, sometimes God will send us 22:15 in the midst of air to get a message. 22:17 And we need to listen to God and we need to respond to that. 22:20 We're gonna have to go through this world, 22:22 we're in part of this world right here. 22:24 But notice, Christ must go through Samaria. 22:27 Why does He want to go through that 22:28 because He had a good work to do. 22:30 There's a time that God sends us places that we, 22:31 again, don't want to, 22:33 but there's a good work for us to do. 22:34 So the road that Christ traveled here, 22:36 and these verses that we go down here, 22:38 gave Him an opportunity called to the Samaritan lady. 22:41 Ezekiel 16:6, the Bible says, "When I passed by thee, 22:46 I said unto thee," I love this, "live." 22:49 When I passed by... 22:50 Everywhere Jesus went, what did He say? 22:52 Wherever He passed, He's looking at you and said, 22:54 you know, basically look to me live, 22:57 certainly not to die. 22:58 John 4:7-15, go quickly here. 23:01 Notice the conversation is about water. 23:04 What about water? 23:05 Well, number one, she came to draw water, right? 23:08 The lady, she came to draw water. 23:10 Jesus was a weary traveler and he wanted a drink of water. 23:13 He was thirsty. 23:14 And number three, He asked her, give me to drink. 23:17 Christ, for our sakes became poor. 23:20 Now listen carefully. 23:21 Listen, my mind is giving me goosebumps 23:23 just about make you want to shed tears 23:25 and realize it says here for our sakes He became poor 23:27 but for her sake, He became a beggar. 23:31 Think about it. 23:33 For her sake, He became a beggar 23:35 because He said, "I need a drink. 23:37 Can you give me a drink?" 23:38 Well, he knew that this would buy time. 23:41 He knew that would buy time 23:42 so that He could get more familiar 23:43 and He could give her some words of life. 23:45 Jesus was willing to do 23:48 whatever it took to get her attention 23:51 and to bring her to Him. 23:53 What a God that we serve. That's example for me. 23:56 Whatever it takes, that song, 23:58 whatever it takes for my will to break, you know, 24:01 it comes to that point in our life. 24:03 She didn't deny the request quickly. 24:05 She didn't deny it. 24:06 And she simply said, "Hey, we don't get along. 24:09 Jews and we just don't get along." 24:11 Jesus just completely... And we need to do this. 24:13 This is important. We need to... 24:14 This was a contentious thing maybe to be said. 24:18 Jesus didn't even approach that, 24:19 He just let it go. 24:21 And he got right down to the meed 24:22 of the word right here. 24:24 He gives her some divine things. 24:26 You know, she didn't have the insight that 24:27 some others had there about Jesus. 24:29 And Jesus said, "You know what, if You know me, if You knew me, 24:32 You would ask me to give the drink, 24:34 and I'd give you the Holy Spirit, 24:36 I'd give you the words of life." 24:37 Just ask. And Jesus says He'll give. 24:40 If you lack the Spirit of the Living God. 24:41 If you lack direction in your heart 24:44 and in your life, just ask because you know 24:46 what if you know Him, you will ask 24:49 and He will give you water to drink, 24:50 He will give you everlasting life. 24:52 He is a well that springs up, you know, to everlasting life. 24:55 He'll give you the Holy Spirit. 24:56 May God help each one of us 24:58 to ask for that Spirit of the Living God. 25:00 Absolutely. Praise the Lord. 25:02 You know, I think we all can use a little, 25:04 a few more lessons of acceptance 25:06 in these last days. 25:08 It was a powerful study. 25:09 Hey, we're gonna take a short break. 25:10 Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. 25:18 Ever wish you could watch 25:19 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:22 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:25 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com, 25:30 a clean design makes it easy 25:32 to find the program you're looking for. 25:34 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:38 so you can follow along. 25:39 Sharing is easy. 25:41 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:44 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:49 Hello and welcome back 25:50 to our study on seeing people through Jesus eyes. 25:53 We're gonna kick it over to pastor John Dinzey 25:55 for Tuesday's lesson. 25:57 Thank you so much. Thank you so much. 25:59 Tuesday's lesson is entitled 26:00 Begin Where You Are, Begin Where You Are 26:03 very important message. 26:05 And I have to say something 26:06 that as you were presenting your lesson, 26:09 both of you, a song came to mind entitled 26:11 In Heaven's Eyes, and I kept looking, 26:14 I found that it was written by Sandi Patty. 26:17 And I'm just going to read the chorus 26:19 and it's called in heavens eyes there are no losers, 26:22 in heavens eyes there is no hopeless 26:24 cause only people like you with feelings like me 26:28 amazed by the grace we can find in heaven's eyes. 26:32 And I just praise the Lord, you know, 26:34 remembering the words of Jesus, 26:37 "He that comes unto me, I will in no wise is cast out." 26:40 So every single person is a candidate for salvation, 26:46 to be a child of God. 26:48 So every single person. 26:49 And so the lesson begins with Acts 1:8, 26:53 and this is a passage well known. 26:56 Acts 1:8 and the words of Jesus, 26:59 He says, But you shall receive power 27:04 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 27:08 and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 27:12 and in all Judea and Samaria, 27:15 and to the end of the earth." 27:19 So the first place to begin was Jerusalem for them, 27:22 the place where Jesus Christ was crucified. 27:26 That was fresh in the minds of the people. 27:29 So the disciples their first missionary endeavor 27:33 was right there while Jesus was crucified 27:35 to bring the message to the people. 27:37 But here I begin 27:39 where you are is a message for us as well 27:41 because really the first missionary field 27:44 for us is home is our home. 27:49 And so that's where you begin. 27:51 Now this, of course, 27:55 brings upon us a great responsibility, 27:57 especially parents 27:58 they have to help their children 28:00 become how can you say that 28:04 they will fall in love with the Lord, 28:06 fall in love with the message of God, 28:08 fall in love with the gospel, 28:10 not in a romantic sense, lovesick type of thing, 28:13 but the love of God is powerful. 28:18 It's a drawing power what Jesus Christ has done 28:21 on the cross for us 28:22 has a power to melt the hardest of hearts. 28:27 But we must begin at home 28:28 and so we must be examples at home 28:32 because we are to be the light of the world 28:35 but also the light at home. 28:37 And I've heard, you know, 28:39 stories of people that they say, 28:43 "Well, he's a great person in church 28:46 but at home, you know..." 28:48 You should not be that. 28:50 We shouldn't have two face Christians. 28:51 That's right. 28:53 We'll be Christians at home 28:54 and Christians in the community, 28:56 Christians at work, Christians in school that... 29:00 It's not like a hat you put on and take off, 29:02 today I wear this hat, tomorrow I wear that hat. 29:03 No. 29:05 You're a Christian all the time. 29:07 And so the lesson brings out some very important points. 29:10 We have to see through 29:11 the divine eyes, the people that we know. 29:15 So, you know, begin where you are, 29:17 begin with people that you know, 29:19 and help them to see Jesus. 29:22 Maybe they seen you make mistakes. 29:24 Maybe they seen you commit 29:26 some grave error but let them know 29:30 that you have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ, 29:34 and that you have their interest, 29:36 their salvation in mind, and that you are willing 29:41 to help them in this endeavor. 29:43 So let's see some example. 29:47 John 1, in John 1, we see an example of someone 29:53 that learned of Jesus, and right away, 29:56 he went to talk to somebody that he knew. 29:59 So I'd like to ask... 30:01 Let's see, Sister Jill, 30:02 can you read John 1: 40, 41 for us? 30:05 John 1:40 and 41. 30:08 "One of the two who heard John speak, 30:10 and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, 30:13 He first found his own brother Simon, 30:15 and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' 30:18 which is translated, the Christ." 30:20 Thank you so much. So he went to his own brother. 30:24 And the lesson brings out 30:25 Andrews experience speaks volumes to us. 30:29 He began with his own family, 30:31 and we should have a desire 30:34 to see our family in the kingdom. 30:36 I know that some people are hard to love. 30:39 I'm not talking about our family. 30:40 Some people are hard to love. 30:41 You know, you mentioned 30:43 some people that are rough characters. 30:44 I know that I've met some people 30:45 in my life and you say, 30:47 "I don't think I want to be around that person." 30:49 Because their way of being is one that you say, 30:53 "Okay, I don't want to be around that person." 30:55 And so we must through God's grace 30:58 find a way to those hearts, you know, 31:00 ask the Lord, "Lord, this is a hard person to reach. 31:02 Help me to know how to reach this person." 31:05 And God will help us, God will show us way. 31:08 And there's one thing that should never fail 31:11 and that is kindness 31:13 and showing love to other people. 31:15 I want to read to you from our OFC 36 31:21 whether you take up the duty... 31:25 "Whenever you take up the duty 31:26 that lies nearest you, then God will bless you, 31:30 and hear your prayers. 31:32 There are too many doing outside missionary work, 31:36 while their own households 31:38 are left destitute of any such efforts, 31:41 going to ruin through neglect... 31:43 The first missionary work is to see that love, light, 31:47 and joy come into the home circle. 31:50 Let us not be looking for some great temperance 31:52 or missionary work to do 31:54 until we have first done the duties at home. 31:57 Every morning we should think, 32:01 'What kind act can I do today? 32:06 What tender word can I speak?' 32:08 Kind words at home are blessed sunshine. 32:11 The husband needs them, the wife needs them, 32:14 the children need them. 32:16 It ought to be the desire of every heart to make 32:18 as much heaven below as possible. 32:22 A soul saved in your own family circle 32:25 or in your own neighborhood, 32:27 by your patient, painstaking labor, 32:30 will bring as much honor to the name of Christ, 32:32 and will shine as brightly 32:35 in your crown as if you had found that soul 32:38 in China or India. 32:40 That's Our Father Cares. 32:42 Our Father Cares, yes, that's right. 32:43 Couldn't think of it for that moment. 32:44 Thank you very much. 32:46 And so Our Father Cares page 36 32:48 you'll find this wonderful message. 32:50 So let's go quickly to Matthew 5, in Matthew 5, 32:54 another very well-known passage, Matthew 5. 32:59 And I am going read, beginning in verse 14, 33:03 Matthew 5, beginning in verse 14. 33:07 Turning there now and it says, 33:09 "You are the light of the world. 33:12 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 33:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, 33:19 but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all 33:22 who are in the house. 33:24 Let your light so shine before men, 33:27 that they may see your good works 33:29 and glorify your Father in heaven." 33:33 Praise the Lord. 33:34 So this is what we are to do 33:37 wherever you are, let your light so shine 33:39 that they may see your good works 33:40 and glorify your Father in heaven. 33:43 So, you know, it's interesting 33:45 but a little candle that has a little light 33:49 can light another candle. 33:51 And that can light another candle. 33:52 You can like many candles with one little candle. 33:55 And this can continue and continue. 33:57 In other words, 33:58 you can share the gospel with one person, 34:00 in a few, in the circle that you have, 34:03 and they keep sharing the gospel 34:05 until you can reach hundreds and thousands, 34:08 beginning that way. 34:09 You know, I heard that it was an evangelistic campaign 34:13 and the person that the only person baptized was... 34:18 He is a big... I'm saying a big evangelist. 34:21 There's a well-known evangelist in New York. 34:24 And he used to be a gang member. 34:27 I think Pastor Lomacang might... 34:28 Ron Halvorsen. Ron Halvorsen. 34:30 He used to be a gang member. 34:31 I mean, somebody in the street that you say, 34:32 "Oh, no, there's no hope for that guy." 34:35 But he went to the evangelistic campaign, 34:36 he was baptized, 34:38 and he became an evangelist for the Lord. 34:40 And one by God's grace hundreds of people. 34:43 So you can be a light for one person 34:46 and that one person can be a light for many. 34:49 So do what you can by God's grace. 34:53 And Colossians 4:6 really quickly, 34:55 "Let your speech always be with grace, 34:58 seasoned with salt, that you may know 35:00 how you ought to answer each one." 35:03 So then my beloved brother, let every man be swift to hear, 35:07 slow to speak, slow to wrath." 35:10 That's James 1:9. 35:12 These are principles 35:14 that we should put into practice. 35:16 And really every one of us 35:19 has a circle of influence, family, friends, 35:22 people that you know and let your behavior, 35:25 your words, and the way you live your life be a light, 35:30 be a message, be a message of hope 35:33 for other people. 35:34 And so by this way, you are witnessing to others. 35:38 This is part of witnessing, this is the way... 35:40 The way we live our life is witnessing as well. 35:42 Amen. 35:44 Thank you so much, Pastor Johnny, 35:45 what an incredible blessing. 35:47 I have Wednesday, 35:48 which is dealing with difficult people. 35:52 We won't look to the right or to the left. 35:54 Now all of these people are very good to work with. 35:57 So the lesson says Jesus was a master at dealing 36:02 with difficult people. 36:04 I don't know about you, but I've known 36:05 a few difficult people in my life and maybe 36:09 I'm ashamed to admit this, 36:10 I might have been a difficult person 36:13 in someone else's life. 36:16 For Jesus, no one was beyond the reach of the gospel. 36:20 There was no person too difficult 36:22 that the gospel could not reach their heart and their life. 36:26 Desire of Ages page 258. 36:29 It says, "None have fallen so low, 36:32 none are so vile, 36:34 but that they can find deliverance in Christ." 36:38 So you might be at home saying, "I'm a difficult person, 36:40 Jesus cannot reach me." 36:42 That is not true. 36:43 There's nothing that we could have done. 36:45 There's nowhere that we could have been 36:47 that we cannot find deliverance in Christ. 36:51 Now if I were writing the lesson, 36:54 I would say now who are difficult people 36:56 and how did Jesus witness to difficult people, 36:58 Pastor John, maybe I put the Pharisees and Scribes 37:01 right up there at the top, maybe the demoniac, right? 37:04 That would be a difficult person 37:05 to witness to. 37:07 But there's three different examples 37:09 that Pastor Finley has put here, 37:10 and they're great examples, we're going to look at them. 37:13 The call of the disciples, 37:16 and appeal to an unnamed scribe, 37:20 and then the thief on the cross. 37:23 Those are the three examples that we're going to look at. 37:25 So let's look at the call of Peter and Andrew. 37:27 Go with me to Matthew 4. 37:29 Matthew 4, now we know in verse 18, 37:32 and we're going to get there. 37:33 Remember, Jesus said, "Follow me 37:35 and I'll make you fishers of men." 37:36 That is in verse 19, Matthew 4:19. 37:39 And immediately they left their nets, 37:41 and they followed him. 37:42 Now if you just read that you think, 37:44 "Wow, that's amazing." 37:45 But this is not their first contact with Jesus. 37:48 If you go back to John 1, you see the first contact, 37:52 you see that Andrew and Peter were brothers, 37:55 you see that John the Baptist had said, 37:57 "Behold the Lamb of God." 37:59 You see that Andrew was interested 38:02 and Andrew went and, as Pastor Johnny already read, 38:05 brought his brother Peter to Jesus. 38:07 So if you look at the timeline, at that point, you could say 38:11 they started to become disciples of Jesus. 38:14 Now if we go over to Matthew 4, we were just reading Matthew 4, 38:17 Matthew 4:11 is the end of the temptations of Jesus. 38:23 It says, "The devil left him and behold, 38:25 angels came and ministered to him." 38:27 Now when you read the Word of God, 38:28 you read the next verse and you say, okay, 38:30 verse 12, says, "When Jesus heard that 38:32 John had been put in prison," 38:34 and you think no time elapsed probably a year has passed. 38:38 So from the time when Peter 38:40 and Andrew first became disciples 38:42 first started to follow Jesus over a year has passed already 38:46 and during this time, 38:47 they've clearly listened to Jesus. 38:49 They've clearly been with Jesus. 38:50 Now they have not forsaken all and followed Him, 38:53 they have not given up their occupation, 38:55 but they at this time were still listening to Jesus. 39:00 So we picked this up Matthew 4:18-20. 39:03 "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, 39:05 He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, 39:08 and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, 39:11 for they were fishermen. 39:12 Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, 39:15 and I will make you fishers of men.' 39:17 They immediately left their nets 39:21 and followed Him." 39:22 So how did Jesus seek to reach Peter and Andrew 39:26 and James and John with the gospel? 39:29 I saw four ways here just in what we've just read here. 39:32 Number one, allow the Holy Spirit 39:35 to lay the groundwork. 39:37 That is we read in John 1 or we discussed and John 1, 39:41 the ministry of John the Baptist in their life, 39:45 and then the ministry of them following Jesus for this time. 39:49 Sometimes we push the Holy Spirit. 39:51 What if Jesus had come up to them 39:52 at the baptism and said, "Follow me, 39:54 and I'll make you fishers of men." 39:55 Sometimes we push the Holy Spirit 39:58 or we push people 39:59 before the Holy Spirit has even drawn them. 40:03 So Jesus knew the right time to extend the call, 40:07 He allowed the Holy Spirit to lay the groundwork. 40:09 Number two, disciple as they are willing to follow. 40:15 We already discussed 40:16 how there's a whole year from when they first started 40:18 being disciples of Jesus to this calling. 40:21 Jesus taught, He ministered to them during that interlude. 40:25 He taught as much as they were able to handle 40:27 yet there was not a direct call to them at that time. 40:31 Sometimes we expect people 40:32 to make decisions before they are ready. 40:37 Number three, make a direct call 40:39 at the right time. 40:41 Now here's the call that we read. 40:42 He said, "Follow me, 40:43 and I'll make you fishers of men." 40:45 Sometimes we're afraid to make an appeal 40:49 for fear of what people think or maybe fear of being rejected 40:53 and that the call is not going to be answered. 40:55 So we put off making a direct appeal for salvation. 41:00 So sometimes we have to wait and let the Holy Spirit 41:03 and sometimes we need to make 41:05 the direct call at the right time. 41:08 Number four, offer a choice. 41:11 That's really what Jesus did, 41:12 to either follow Him or to hold on to their past. 41:16 You see, following Jesus is all or nothing. 41:18 We have to choose between 41:21 what we want to do between our past 41:23 or giving ourselves 100% to the Lord Jesus Christ. 41:29 Sometimes when we make a call as an evangelist, 41:31 we would hesitate at making the call 41:34 for Jesus appear to be all or nothing. 41:36 We make it seem like, "Okay, you can bring along 41:38 some of your little cherished sins along with you," 41:41 instead of making that direct choice. 41:44 Let's look at the second, 41:46 first was the call for the disciples. 41:47 Second is the appeal to be unnamed scribe. 41:51 This is in Mark 12. 41:52 So let's turn over to Mark 12. 41:55 And we'll get a couple lessons 41:57 from this as well how Jesus appealed to Him. 42:00 Mark 12. 42:01 We're beginning in verse 28, "Then one of the scribes came," 42:05 you see he's unnamed, we don't know his name, 42:07 "and having heard them reasoning together, 42:09 perceiving that He had answered them well, 42:11 asked Him, 42:12 'Which is the first commandment of all?'" 42:15 Now if you read previously to this in Mark 12, 42:18 Jesus had just answered 42:20 the Sadducees about resurrection. 42:22 So this scribe might have even liked Jesus answer, 42:25 and it piqued his interest 42:26 and so he asked the question to Jesus, 42:28 "Which is the first commandment of all?" 42:30 Now the Jewish rabbis had counted 613 commandments 42:35 in the first 5 books of the Old Testament, 42:39 there were 248 positive commandments, 42:42 and 365 prohibitions. 42:45 So the Scribe here is saying, okay, 42:46 which is the first one of all of these 613. 42:50 So Jesus answered in verse 29. 42:53 the first of all the commandments is this, 42:55 "Hear O' Israel, 42:56 the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 42:59 And you shall love the Lord your God 43:01 with all your heart, with all your soul, 43:02 with all your mind, with all your strength. 43:05 This is the first commandment. 43:07 And the second is like unto it, 43:09 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 43:11 There is no other commandment greater than these." 43:13 Now the way Jesus answered the scribe, 43:16 he began with hear O Israel, 43:19 that is the opening words 43:20 of the Jewish confession of faith 43:23 called the Shema. 43:24 I'm not sure how to pronounce. Shema. 43:26 Shema. 43:27 That is in Deuteronomy 6:4, the pious Jew would have 43:29 repeated this every morning and evening, 43:31 affirming his belief in the one true God. 43:34 So Jesus took that text 43:36 and then He expanded it 43:38 and added something 43:39 that was not there in the original. 43:41 You see he added mind. 43:42 They had heart, soul, and strength, 43:44 and he added mind, 43:45 and then he said, we're called to love God, 43:47 our neighbor, and our self. 43:50 "So the scribe said to Him," we're in verse 32. 43:53 "Well said, Teacher. 43:54 You have spoken the truth, 43:56 for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 43:58 And to love Him with all the heart, 43:59 with all the understanding, 44:00 with the soul, with the strength 44:02 to love one's neighbor as oneself, 44:03 is more than the whole 44:05 of burnt offerings and sacrifices. 44:07 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, 44:09 He said to him, 'You are not far 44:11 from the kingdom of God.'" 44:13 So how did Jesus approached 44:14 this unnamed scribe with the gospel? 44:18 Very quickly, number one, 44:19 wait until the person asks a question. 44:21 Now that's a revolutionary idea. 44:23 Jesus didn't come and preach to him, 44:25 he waited till the scribe came and asked him a question. 44:28 Sometimes we push 44:29 when people aren't ready to hear it. 44:31 Number two find a shared biblical truth. 44:33 He began with something that the scribe knew and understood. 44:37 Sometimes it is helpful 44:38 to begin with biblical truth that you hold in common. 44:41 Number three, 44:42 expand on the truth already known. 44:45 Sometimes we need to expand 44:46 on someone's knowledge of the word. 44:48 Don't be afraid to teach the entire truth. 44:51 Number four, simplify the truth 44:53 from all those 613 commandments so that Jesus is central. 44:57 Sometimes we complicate truth instead of keeping Jesus 45:00 as the center of the Word of God. 45:02 Number five, know that 45:04 intellectual understanding is not enough. 45:07 Jesus said the scribe 45:08 was not far from the kingdom of God, 45:10 He intellectually understood, 45:11 but he had not yet accepted Jesus as his Messiah. 45:15 And in my last 30 seconds, 45:17 the experience of the thief on the cross. 45:20 We see here that Jesus led by example. 45:24 He didn't go to the person. 45:26 He didn't explain anything doctrinal. 45:28 He didn't ask him a question. All He did was live his life. 45:33 He said, "Father, forgive them, 45:35 for they know not what they do." 45:37 He did not murmur, He did not complain. 45:40 There was no retaliation 45:42 when he was mocked, spat upon, or unjustly treated. 45:45 Sometimes when you witness 45:47 you do not even have to say a word 45:48 simply let your life do the evangelism. 45:52 That's right. Thank you, Jill. 45:54 Which leads us right now 45:56 to when the Lord lays the foundation. 45:59 You need to sense the providential opportunities. 46:03 You need to sense the providential opportunities. 46:05 I can tell you how many times 46:08 I've been in situations where I knew, 46:10 wow, this is an opening. 46:12 The Lord just gave me an opportunity. 46:14 And you know, when I've seized 46:16 on the promptings of the Spirit of God, 46:18 I have, in many cases, my wife can tell you this, 46:21 after I've sat there, 46:23 lost my physical appetite it was so filled 46:26 that I just didn't even think about food. 46:28 I went home and said, I wish I recorded that. 46:32 Because I presented things that I never even thought about, 46:35 which is the unseen component in any opportunity. 46:38 When God opens the door, 46:39 He not only opens the door, 46:41 but He walks through the door with You. 46:42 That's right. 46:44 And He sends His Holy Spirit, 46:45 He gives you words to say, and I had opportunities 46:46 where I said, "Wow." 46:48 My wife said, "You never said that before." 46:50 I said, "Honey, that's how I know it wasn't me." 46:53 And that's what God does. 46:54 And so when we look at the Book of Acts, 46:57 I think the Book of Acts is called Acts of the apostles. 47:00 I'd like to retitle it, 47:04 the Acts of God through the apostle. 47:07 Okay, so I'll give you four reasons 47:08 why I say it's the acts of God through the apostles. 47:12 Hebrews 13 look at verse 20 and 21. 47:15 The acts of God, when we get to the place 47:18 where we think it's us, we are in danger. 47:20 When we get to the place where we think that 47:22 we are skilled enough to handle this situation, 47:24 to communicate words of life 47:26 without the one who gave life 47:28 without the one who gave inspiration, 47:30 even opening your Bible to study 47:31 without prayer is a danger, 47:33 you're going into a book that's too deep for you 47:35 to even dive it to the bottom of it 47:38 with the best scuba gear. 47:40 And some of you, as you know, there are submarines 47:44 that have never made it to the bottom of the ocean. 47:46 We will never make it to the bottom of God's Word. 47:49 We discover every time it's deeper than we thought 47:52 it was the last time in inspiration. 47:54 But look what the Bible says in Hebrews 13:20, 21, 47:57 the opportunities of God, 47:59 "Now may the God of peace who brought up 48:02 our Lord Jesus from the dead, 48:04 that great Shepherd of the sheep, 48:06 through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 48:08 make you complete 48:10 in every good work to do His will," 48:12 watch this, "working in you 48:14 what is well pleasing in His sight, 48:17 through Jesus Christ, 48:19 to whom be glory forever and ever." 48:21 Never. Here's my first principle. 48:23 I didn't write it down, but it came right now. 48:25 Never use God's gifts to rob God of His glory. 48:30 He's the one. 48:32 To Him be glory forever and ever. 48:34 I never say 48:35 what a great Bible study I gave and always say you did, 48:39 do the next one. 48:40 And you know the Battle of Aphek 48:42 where the Israelites thought, 48:43 "We beat the Philistines really well. 48:45 This is a little town we can handle this." 48:46 And those little guys 48:47 that hardly have any strength at all, 48:49 turned the Israelites 48:50 and made them run for their lives. 48:52 Don't ever go into a Bible study 48:53 without Christ, first trouble. 48:54 Secondly, how do we know that God is behind it? 48:57 Philippians 1:6, 48:59 "Being confident of this very thing, 49:02 that He who has begun 49:03 a good work in you will complete it." 49:05 You'll never finish a Bible study 49:07 that makes sense without the Lord working in you. 49:10 Third one Philippians 2:13, 49:12 "For it is God who works in you both to will 49:15 and to do for His good pleasure." 49:17 And Romans 9:28, 49:19 "For He will finish the work 49:21 and cut it short in righteousness 49:24 because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth." 49:30 Who's doing it? The Lord. 49:32 But He uses human instrumentalities. 49:34 You know, I love it. 49:36 Angels that never fell could never be 49:38 a part of those proclaiming the gospel. 49:40 Because you have to understand the power of redemption 49:43 in order to be able to describe what God has done for you. 49:45 If you've never been at the place 49:46 where you need to be redeemed, 49:48 you will never experience the joy of being redeemed. 49:51 Angels that never fell as one songwriter said 49:53 they love to tell our story, 49:55 but they can't because they did not experience 49:57 the redemption story. 49:59 Do you know that one day, we already have tickets paid 50:03 to go to all the unfallen worlds, 50:05 we're going to travel first class, 50:07 courtesy of the righteousness of Jesus. 50:10 And they're going to be multitudes awaiting says, 50:12 "Tell us what was it like to be redeemed? 50:15 Tell us what was it like to be delivered in that moment?" 50:18 And I'm going to say, "Father, 50:20 could you give us DVD number 645 50:22 on January 5, 1981. 50:25 Plug it in, we're going to see God's handiwork." 50:27 Because the Lord has saved us more times than 50:29 we can ever even account for. 50:32 So let me get back to the story. 50:34 How does God work? 50:35 Nehemiah 6:15, 50:37 we are laborers together with God. 50:39 I'm going to use an unusual passage 50:41 to illustrate this because, you know, 50:43 when Nehemiah was sent back to help the brethren 50:46 who had lost all faith in finishing the work, 50:49 and they decided... 50:50 Nehemiah said, "We can do this, we can do this. 50:53 We got to do it God's way. 50:54 One hand the work another hand on the sword. 50:57 We got to do a God's way. 50:59 We cannot let the sword down while we're laboring." 51:01 Don't ever put your Bible down 51:03 to participate in temporal activity, 51:06 make the Word of God, 51:07 your coequipment in every avenue of activity. 51:11 The Bible says in verse 15 of Nehemiah 6, 51:14 "So the wall was finished 51:15 on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, 51:17 in fifty-two days. 51:19 And it happened," I love this, "when our enemies heard of it, 51:23 and all the nations around us saw these things." 51:26 They saw what the people had done. 51:28 Look at their conclusion. 51:30 "That they were very disheartened 51:32 in their own eyes," why, "for they perceived 51:36 that this work was done by our God." 51:40 When people see souls coming to Christ, 51:41 Pastor Finley, 51:43 Pastor Ron Halvorsen, all of us, 51:45 Kenny, all of us here, Jill, 51:47 whenever somebody... 51:49 When Jill preaches, we make altar calls. 51:51 When we go around the world, we make altar calls, 51:53 and we recognize that that moment, 51:54 that is an unbroken, unhindered conduit 51:57 we become the vacuum cleaner 52:00 through which the Holy Spirit 52:02 draws the individuals from their seats. 52:05 I've stood there sometimes, 52:06 and I've felt that I want to end 52:07 because I'm saying humanly, this has taken too long. 52:10 But the Lord said, "No, no, no, no, no, not yet. 52:11 No, no, not yet. Somebody else is coming." 52:14 And I've said there's somebody else 52:16 that God is calling. 52:17 And all of a sudden, I've seen people coming out, 52:20 straightening their jackets, wiping their tears, 52:22 and I said, "Yes, Father." 52:24 And I said, "I stand like Moses today. 52:26 I stand like John the Baptist. 52:28 I feel like Elijah saying, 'Is there one more?'" 52:30 And when it was done, 52:32 I go back and I fall to my knees and say, 52:33 "Father, thank You for allowing me 52:35 to listen to Your voice." 52:36 Don't ever think that the work you do 52:37 is something that's humanly devised 52:40 or skillfully attained or strategically planned out 52:44 because God does what humanity can never do. 52:47 Look at the opportunities Gods made. 52:49 Paul's opportunity made by God. 52:51 2 Corinthians 2:12 and 13. 52:54 The Lord is the one 52:55 that makes opportunities the witnessing available to us. 52:58 We just have to respond. 53:00 2 Corinthians 2:12 and 13. 53:02 Jill, you have it? Read that for me. 53:04 "Furthermore, when I came to Troas 53:06 to preach Christ's gospel, 53:08 and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 53:10 I had no rest in my spirit 53:12 because I did not find Titus my brother, 53:14 but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia." 53:17 Notice who opened the door, 53:18 and the door was open to me by the Lord. 53:20 And when God opens the door, notice what happened. 53:22 I had no rest in my spirit. I got to go through this door. 53:26 There were times I know this when I said, 53:29 "Lord, okay, I know, I know, I got it, I hear it." 53:32 And my wife say, "Who are you talking to?" 53:33 I said, "The Lord." 53:35 She said, "I knew something was going on." 53:37 I said, "The Lord is putting 53:39 something on my heart, and I cannot ignore it. 53:40 I'll be back." 53:41 And you know, I know what it's like 53:43 when the Lord opens the door for you 53:44 and He places that strain on you, 53:47 you cannot rest 53:48 until you depart to go where God is sending you. 53:51 Look at Philips opportunity in the Book of Acts 26. 53:54 Acts 8:26-30, in the interest of time, 53:57 I'll read this. 53:59 "Now an angel 54:00 of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, 54:02 'Arise and go toward the south along the road 54:04 which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' 54:06 This is desert. So he arose and went. 54:09 And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority 54:13 under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians." 54:15 The rest of the story is amazing. 54:17 Philip, you know why the Lord sent Philip. 54:19 This is an amazing thing. 54:20 Philip means in Greek, a lover of horses. 54:23 And Philip was sent by the Lord, 54:26 Holy Spirit took him there when the job was done 54:28 the Holy Spirit left him, I mean, 54:29 took him away, gone. 54:32 But he saw this royal steed 54:34 and this Ethiopian on his way back 54:36 with the business of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. 54:39 Do you know what happened as a result? 54:42 The only other place in the... 54:43 Only other continent or country in the world 54:46 where the Sabbath was kept longer than in Jerusalem 54:48 was in Ethiopia. 54:50 And I can tell you that was the turning point 54:52 in the life of the Ethiopians. 54:53 To this very day, they call the Sabbath Kwami's Day. 54:57 The Day of the Lord, Kwami's day. 55:00 And I would say realistically when the missionaries... 55:02 And I'm going to do this in the right "context" 55:03 respectfully, when the white missionaries 55:05 came later on, 55:07 and tried to change it from Kwami's day, 55:09 to the first day of the week, 55:11 they called it the white man's day 55:13 with all due respect. 55:14 Because the Ethiopians got this message from Philip, 55:18 and took it down there 55:20 and they knew this was all scripturally based, 55:22 and no change could shake their foundation 55:24 from following Kwami's day. 55:26 That was the Lord. So how does God do it? 55:31 Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man 55:36 are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." 55:41 The steps of a good man. 55:42 If you want your steps to be led by God, 55:46 be good by His grace and His character 55:49 and He will order your steps to witness to His grace. 55:52 Amen. Praise the Lord. 55:54 Praise the Lord. That was wonderful. 55:56 All right, so we're coming down 55:57 to the last couple minutes here on which you give 56:00 a final thought. 56:01 You know, just a good thought here 56:02 what each one have been saying here, 56:04 you know, God's knocking at the door of your heart. 56:07 And, you know, at least by the grace of God, 56:09 open the door, see who it is, 56:12 and you respond when you see Jesus respond to that. 56:15 That could be your last call. It could be my last call. 56:17 So respond to Him today, 56:19 you won't be sorry that you did. 56:20 Amen, amen. 56:22 God is waiting anxiously for us 56:27 to give Him 100% of ourselves 56:30 so that we can really be a light. 56:34 There's a song, you may know it. 56:36 "Do you know, Oh Christian, you're a sermon in shoes? 56:38 Do you know, Oh Christian, you're a sermon in shoes? 56:41 Jesus counts upon you, to spread the gospel news. 56:44 So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. 56:46 So live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. 56:49 So teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. 56:52 And this is what by God's grace, we should. 56:54 Amen. 56:56 Wednesday's lesson was dealing with difficult people 56:58 and you might just be feeling 57:00 like you're trying to witness to someone 57:01 who's difficult in your own life. 57:03 I want to encourage you, don't give up. 57:06 So Lord wants to save them. Amen. 57:08 And be like Samuel every morning. 57:10 When you hear that small voice says, 57:12 "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears." 57:14 Ellen White says in Steps to Christ page 70, 57:16 "Each morning consecrate yourself 57:18 to God for that day. 57:19 Surrender all your plans to Him, 57:20 to be carried out or given up 57:22 as His providence shall indicate." 57:24 Amen. Praise the Lord. 57:26 Thank you, guys, so much. 57:27 Speaking of a song, you know, 57:28 I was thinking of a song myself that 57:30 I sing in my concerts entitled, From Heaven's Point of View, 57:33 and it goes into the chorus it says, 57:36 "What once looked like a mountain 57:37 is just a hill from heaven's point of view." 57:39 If we could just see the world, and as this lesson said, 57:42 see people through Jesus eyes. 57:44 Man, what powerful work 57:46 we would be able to do in these last days. 57:48 We thank you so much for joining us 57:50 here on the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel this week. 57:52 We hope to see you again next week 57:54 for the fourth lesson entitled Prayer Power 57:58 Interceding for Others. 58:00 So we thank you so much. 58:01 See you next week. God bless. |
Revised 2020-07-17