Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200034S
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00:01 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:02 Again, we're glad that you've joined us 00:04 then it's not to say we're thrilled that 00:05 you've joined us, why? 00:07 Because you have a lot of choices 00:08 that you could make, 00:09 but I think you made the right choice today. 00:11 We're gonna be on lesson number eight, 00:13 it's "Ministering Like Jesus," 00:14 and I'm sure it's gonna be quite a blessing to you. 00:16 We wanna encourage you 00:18 if you don't have your study guides, 00:19 you can get those and you can get those free, 00:21 simply go to absg.adventist.org. 00:25 That's absg.adventist.org. 00:28 And you can download those, 00:29 you can get those and study right along with us. 00:31 I know you don't wanna miss this lesson. 00:33 It was such a blessing to me. 00:34 I know it's gonna be a blessing to you. 00:36 So stay tuned right here 00:37 because we're gonna be right back in just a moment. 01:11 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:13 As mentioned before, 01:15 this is, to me it's really exciting lesson. 01:17 None of us wanna miss this 01:19 because we're gonna be talking about 01:20 getting lesson number eight, Ministering Like Jesus. 01:23 Now there's some really wonderful things in this lesson 01:26 that helps us to be, I wanna say soul winner, 01:29 so we don't wanna miss any part of it. 01:31 So again, welcome back to us, get everything that you need 01:33 because we're gonna dive right in to this, 01:35 but first, I wanna just introduce our panel, 01:38 no one really need an introduction, 01:40 but I think it's always good 'cause every once in a while 01:42 we change someone out or something like that, 01:44 but anyhow, you know, 01:46 I wanna go to my left, Pastor John Lomacang, 01:48 always a pleasure, always love to hear 01:50 what God's how He's doing what He's speaking through you. 01:52 Good to sit next to a veteran of the Word. 01:55 In the Lord, good. Praise God. 01:57 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 01:59 You got sitting next to you, 02:00 Sister Jill Morikone, blessings. 02:02 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny, 02:03 privileged to be here and open up God's Word. 02:05 Yeah. 02:06 Isn't I mean, what can person really say 02:07 other than there's such a treat 02:09 and such a blessing to study the Word. 02:11 You have somebody pretty special on your left. 02:13 Don't you, your husband? I do. 02:14 Brother Greg Morikone. Good to be here. 02:16 And it's a blessing always as we're all mentioning 02:18 to study the Word of God 02:19 and to study with you at home, you know, 02:20 'cause this is participation and opening the Word of God 02:23 which is living. 02:24 It's powerful. Oh, it is. Amen. 02:26 And to your left, and we have Brother Ryan Day. 02:29 Pastor Ryan Day, always good, always a thrill. 02:31 Man, I'm excited. I'm ready to go. 02:33 Yeah, we hear you singing in between, right? 02:36 Always. Always. 02:38 And it encourages us to sing right along, 02:39 so praise God for that. 02:41 We're gonna have prayer and then we're gonna dive 02:42 right into this lesson 02:43 'cause again, to me it's exciting. 02:45 I've learned a lot 02:47 and I'm asking God to help me to, 02:48 you know, come in line with what He says in His Word. 02:51 And Brother Greg, how about you since you're here today, 02:54 would you just pray for us please? 02:55 Absolutely. 02:57 Father in heaven, 02:58 what a privilege it is to open Your Word. 03:00 Father, as we studied, 03:01 we just pray for Your Holy Spirit to... 03:05 Will just open to us the treasures 03:07 that You would have us learned for this week. 03:09 Lord, I thank You for our family 03:11 which is joining us, 03:12 Lord, be with them open their minds too 03:14 as we study and open Your Word. 03:16 And in Jesus' name we pray. 03:18 Amen. Amen. 03:19 Praise the Lord. Again, lesson number eight. 03:22 We're gonna go right to the Sabbath 03:25 or the memory text, and then to the Sabbath overview, 03:27 and then go into Sunday's lesson. 03:29 Notice what it says in Matthew 9:36, 03:32 our memory text, says, 03:34 "But when they saw the multitudes, 03:37 He was moved with compassion for them, 03:40 because they were weary and scattered, 03:43 like sheep having no shepherd." 03:47 To me, that's just, it's so powerful 03:49 and so loving when you see that Jesus, 03:53 King of kings and Lord of lords, 03:54 He looked upon the people who were tired and worn out. 03:57 He had compassion on them, and we need to learn 04:00 to have compassion and certainly 04:01 with one with another. 04:02 Sabbath afternoon you go to that part, 04:04 just a couple of thoughts 04:05 I wanna throw out there with you. 04:06 This week's lesson really focuses on, 04:09 at least to me, and brings out 04:11 how much Jesus loves each one of each one of us. 04:15 He ministers to His people, physically, mentally, 04:19 spiritually, in every way possible. 04:21 You know, He saw how much that the people needed 04:26 something that they didn't have. 04:28 And He wanted to draw close to them, 04:30 you know, and as He just, 04:32 I mean, I can picture this in my mind 04:34 as He just walked through the towns or villages, 04:37 there were something special about Jesus, 04:41 that was something that drew people 04:43 and I know was a Spirit of Living God 04:45 living in Him, and it just drew people. 04:48 And they were drawn to Him. 04:50 And I think this is good when we talk about 04:52 Ministering Like Jesus is because if you have 04:54 the Spirit of the Living God inside you coming out, 04:58 people want to listen to what you have to say. 05:02 They're drawn to that and they want to know. 05:05 Ministry of Healing, page 143, makes this comment, 05:09 Christ method. 05:10 I like this, "Christ method will give true success 05:13 in reaching the people." 05:16 Notice, and "Then He bade them, 'Follow Me.'" 05:21 In my notes here I put then, then, then. 05:26 Does that make sense to anybody else, 05:27 is that okay to do that? 05:29 Then, then, then because let's notice, 05:30 Christ's method, right? 05:33 Alone will give true success of reaching the people. 05:37 So when the people are using Christ's method, 05:40 then, then you say Jesus said, "Then follow Me." 05:45 I mean, that's wonderful thing about follow Him. 05:47 So Jesus, generally number one, 05:49 we found our lesson 05:50 He generally cares for His people. 05:51 There's no doubt about it. 05:53 He healed all manner of diseases, 05:56 raised the dead, cast out demons, 05:58 He fed the hungry, 06:00 He met the needs and cared for the needy, 06:02 every aspect He was working in behalf of mankind. 06:06 He never did seem like anything for Himself, 06:08 He is always for someone else. 06:11 And I think something good that will help us 06:13 when we're talking about Ministering Like Jesus 06:15 is that as He, maybe we could use the word mingled, 06:19 as He mingled with the people. 06:22 All of a sudden, He desired, they're good and they knew it. 06:25 They recognized it, that Jesus desired their good. 06:29 And when you're working with other people, 06:30 they need to know that you care about them. 06:33 You could give them all you want of the Bible, 06:35 give them all the truths as you say, as we want, 06:37 but unless they know you really care for them, 06:39 and that you have a love for Jesus, 06:41 they're not really interested, they're not going to accept it. 06:44 Oh, He showed sympathy, and He won their confidence, 06:48 and then He said, you know, then He said, "Follow Me." 06:51 Important point. 06:53 I got this out of the lesson, 06:54 may not get anything else out of it, 06:55 but I sure got this one I thought was really good. 06:58 Jesus recognized in this world 07:01 that there needed to be a demonstration of the gospel, 07:06 a demonstration of a gospel 07:07 as much as the gospel needed to be preached. 07:11 A demonstration, Jesus came to do what? 07:13 To demonstrate, to show us. 07:16 So a life live for others 07:19 is powerful witness to the world. 07:22 You know, we talk about the words that we speak. 07:25 So think about it, life live for others. 07:29 How's your life? How's my life today? 07:31 Is it really, we're talking about, you know, 07:32 we're living for other Sunday's lesson quickly? 07:34 Jesus attitude toward people just exactly 07:36 what we were already talking about 07:38 here is attitude toward other. 07:40 What kind of attitude did he have? 07:42 John 8:12. 07:44 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." 07:48 We talk about every lesson 07:49 I think is brought out somewhere along the line, 07:51 that Jesus is the light of the world. 07:53 There is no other light on the world 07:55 as far as we concerned as Christians, 07:56 Jesus is the light, the spiritual light, 07:59 "He that followeth me shall not," I like that, 08:03 "not walk in darkness, 08:04 but shall have the light of life." 08:08 Light shines bright in darkness. 08:13 You know, I really don't appreciate. 08:15 I don't appreciate. 08:16 Okay, I don't appreciate the flashlight until it's dark. 08:20 You know, you have one you'd rather just assume 08:22 as it gets dark what do you say? 08:24 The power goes out, 08:25 which it does quite often around here, right? 08:27 So as soon as it goes out, 08:28 honey, where's the flashlight, why? 08:30 Because I wanna see, because I need light 08:32 because if there's no light there, 08:33 I'm gonna stumble, I'm gonna fall, 08:34 something's going to happen. 08:36 And so, you know, we need that light 08:37 and it doesn't take a whole lot of light, right? 08:41 It takes a light to dispel the darkness. 08:43 We wanna get rid of that darkness. 08:46 And I thought was this. Light does not avoid darkness. 08:51 It's just food for thought, 08:52 light doesn't avoid darkness or separate from darkness. 08:56 Now what's the point spiritually here? 08:58 We have to be careful as Christians 09:00 that we don't avoid the dark places. 09:03 There's people who live in dark places as it were, 09:06 you know, in their heart, in their mind, in their life, 09:07 they need the light. 09:09 Why? 09:10 My Lord and Savior said in Luke 19:10, you know, 09:13 well he said what? 09:14 "He came to seek 09:16 and to save that which was lost." 09:19 He had to deal with darkness, 09:21 things that were going on in the world, 09:23 but when light comes, darkness is, just disappears. 09:28 We are to shine in this dark world, 09:30 I've learned that in this lesson. 09:32 We are to shine. 09:33 Shine like jewel, shine like a light, 09:35 shine like there's a lighthouse. 09:38 Right on the hilltop, that overlooks live sea, 09:42 so we need to be a lighthouse in this old dark world. 09:46 And simply lighthouse is the light, 09:48 we lead others to Jesus Christ is light of the world. 09:51 And Jesus says this in John 1:4, he said, 09:55 "In him was," notice, "life and," what? 09:58 "And the life was the light of men." 10:01 And many times this has been said, 10:03 certainly we talked about light 10:04 who could just pass by Psalms 119:105. 10:07 It has been said many times that 10:09 "The word is," what? 10:10 "Is a lamp unto my feet, and a," what? 10:12 "A light unto my path." 10:14 Jesus was ministering and speaking in Luke 4:18. 10:19 I wanna hit on this because I think 10:21 maybe this applies to all of us. 10:22 I think it should 10:24 because we wanna minister like Jesus, 10:26 and He knew He had a work to do. 10:28 He was sent here for a purpose. There was a reason. 10:31 Luke 4:18, he said, 10:33 "The Spirit of the Lord is," where? 10:35 Upon me. 10:36 He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 10:37 because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel." 10:42 So now what we all should be doing. 10:44 "To the poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 10:49 to preach deliverance to the captives, 10:52 recover the sight," and we're talking about 10:54 spiritual more than anything else and he did both, 10:56 "sight to the blind, to set at liberty," 10:59 notice, "them that are bruised." 11:02 Is there anyone bruise today? Has anyone been bruised? 11:06 You know, how you need special attention. 11:08 Jesus says He came to heal that, 11:10 He came to help you, and to preach 11:12 the acceptable year of the Lord. 11:15 We can turn that I think that to bring it forth 11:18 that we realize that we're in the end of time. 11:20 There's a message we need to be giving. 11:21 There is a time that Jesus is soon to come 11:24 and we need to be letting people in on that 11:26 He soon to come and we need to be 11:28 ready for that. 11:29 You know what a challenge to minister the way that 11:31 Jesus ministered as He passed 11:34 just to and fro upon His mission of mercy. 11:37 This is found in Review and Herald, 11:38 jot it down quickly. 11:40 Review and Herald 9 and 4, 1900. 11:43 "As he Jesus passed by to and fro upon his mission," 11:47 notice this, "a mission of mercy." 11:49 How many of us really feel like 11:50 when we're doing we're a mission of mercy? 11:53 We ought to help someone. 11:55 We're out to be and I'll say, Oh, Lord, bless me, 11:57 but we're out to be a blessing to someone. 12:00 Lord, make me a blessing to someone today. 12:03 His mission was to heal the sick, 12:06 to lift up the depressed, we live in a depressed world. 12:10 We live and a lot of people 12:11 that maybe it's hard for some reason, 12:13 the millions are depressed every day of their life, 12:18 but notice this that Jesus went about to relieve mercy. 12:20 The King of kings and the Lord of lords walk this earth. 12:24 And notice this article said, 12:25 "Scarce a solitary voice 12:29 called him blessed." 12:31 The King of kings walking this earth. 12:36 He came here to bless mankind with His presence 12:39 to show us the right way, the way to heaven. 12:42 Everything He did was with somebody else in mind. 12:45 He gave His life so that you and I could make it 12:47 to the Kingdom of God. 12:49 And yet there was very few 12:50 that recognized Him as Lord and of Savior. 12:54 He was the fountain of life. 12:57 He was that fountain that we need to drink from. 13:00 I believe today, God's looking for people 13:04 who will make a difference in this dark world. 13:07 There's no doubt about it. Are you making the difference? 13:11 Are we ministering the way Jesus ministered? 13:14 People talk about wealth and the importance of wealth, 13:17 but you know what, I think that the true wealth of this world 13:20 is a committed Christian. 13:23 There's nothing more valuable, a committed Christian 13:28 who unselfishly works for the Savior, 13:32 for the service, in the service of other. 13:35 In our lesson uses, 13:36 we don't have time to go into it, 13:37 but it uses the word salt. 13:39 I like that. 13:40 What is about the salt, something using salt 13:41 is to preserve and to flavor food, 13:44 but salt is a symbol of Christ followers 13:47 used to preserve and flavor mankind. 13:52 I feel like I need to be flavored. 13:55 Me too. I need to be salted. 13:58 Jesus said, you're the salt, 13:59 but if you've lost at Matthew 5, 14:01 if you've lost that salt that way somewhat. 14:05 It says right here good. Here's a word good for nothing. 14:08 By the grace of God, 14:09 we don't wanna good for nothing. 14:11 We wanna be followers of Jesus Christ. 14:13 We wanna be the salt of the earth. 14:14 We wanna be the light 14:15 reflecting light of Jesus Christ 14:17 all over the world. 14:18 We wanna minister the way that Jesus ministered. 14:20 We wanna talk to people the way we need to talk to people. 14:23 We wanna respond to people 14:24 the way we need to respond to people. 14:27 We need to have the hunger in our heart and in our soul 14:31 to see if that person is in the kingdom of God. 14:33 Are you ministering like Jesus today? 14:36 Oh, friend, I encourage you to look at the life of Christ, 14:39 and then pattern yourself after Jesus Christ 14:42 and you will minister the way He ministered. 14:44 Amen. Amen. 14:45 Which you gave me a perfect segue, 14:47 which is "Jesus' Treatment of People." 14:50 You talked about that, 14:52 you talked about salt being flavor, 14:54 but also, salt makes people thirsty 14:58 and we should make people thirsty through Jesus, 15:02 and this lesson fits perfectly the way we treat people. 15:04 Salt should make people thirsty for Christ. 15:07 You know somebody once said you can lead a horse to water, 15:09 but you can't make him drink it. 15:11 Well, nothing is untrue like that. 15:13 You can make him drink. 15:15 If you lead a horse to water 15:16 and just give him one lick of a ball of salt. 15:19 He will drink it. I guarantee you try it. 15:23 If people are standing in front of the water of life 15:25 and they haven't desire to drink it is 15:28 because we have not been the salt 15:30 that the Lord wants us to be. 15:31 Not only to flavor their lives 15:33 and flavor other people's lives, 15:35 but to make them thirsty for Christ. 15:37 This lesson points out the goal of Christ. 15:39 The goal of Christ 15:41 was to bring out the best in people. 15:43 Man, if we live by that principle. 15:46 What kind of world would this be if the Christian, 15:49 even if the Christian church lived with the principle 15:52 of bringing out the best in people? 15:54 How would we communicate differently 15:56 when we gather in our worship services? 15:58 Oh, yeah, wouldn't that be. 15:59 You know, I've had church members that... 16:03 I had one church member 16:04 bought a baseball bat to church. 16:06 And I wish there was a joke 16:08 but I had a person that came to church 16:10 one Sabbath morning very angry 16:12 and she said upon entering the church, not here. 16:15 Do not try to make me happy. 16:17 I'm angry and I'm going to hold on 16:19 to it all services, all service long. 16:21 And I thought to myself, I'm preaching the words of life 16:23 and she's come to church, 16:24 she entered the building determined to hold on 16:26 to her anger the whole service long. 16:29 And I thought to myself did... 16:32 If she was salt, 16:37 that's the kind of salt you throw out. 16:39 I just had to breathe to think about that one. 16:42 But the Gospel of Christ 16:44 was to bring out the best in people. 16:45 Look at Luke's example. 16:47 Luke in John the Baptist and then Jill, 16:50 we're going to bring out six principles 16:52 of how we can bring out the best in people. 16:55 Luke's gospel records the characteristics of Jesus 16:58 and how he was seen by the multitudes. 17:01 Luke 4:22. 17:03 He says, "So all bore witness to Him, 17:06 and marveled at the gracious words 17:10 which proceeded out of His mouth. 17:13 And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" 17:18 Oh, yeah. You know Joseph, is he his son? 17:21 Now I don't know what that says about Joseph 17:24 but maybe a good thing. 17:26 But is this not Joseph's son they wondered, 17:28 but he's just a carpenter. 17:30 How could a carpenter son be so gracious? 17:31 I think that's maybe the parallel, 17:33 because people that's working on furniture 17:35 and building things. 17:36 They probably thought, 17:38 where did he get this eloquence? 17:39 He was not only the son of Joseph, 17:40 but he was the son of God. 17:42 Not only John the Baptist, not only Christ, 17:45 but John the Baptist recognized 17:47 this quality in Jesus on how He treated people. 17:49 Look at John 1:17. John 1:17. 17:54 The Bible says, "For the law was given through Moses, 17:58 but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." 18:02 Grace and truth. 18:04 He is long suffering, He's gracious. 18:07 He is not only the God of truth, 18:09 unwavering truth, but He's the God of grace, 18:11 who when the truth of God's Word 18:13 doesn't change your life, He still gives us grace. 18:16 Grace to me is padding. 18:18 Grace to me is that, you know, 18:20 we have some beavers right now that are determined to cut down 18:24 all the trees on our property. 18:26 And they were on the other side of the lake, 18:28 I thought, well, great cut those trees down 18:29 because I want to cut them down I can't get to them. 18:32 But they came on this side of the property 18:33 and cut down this beautiful large tree. 18:36 And I said, "How can I prevent 18:37 these beavers from cutting my trees down, 18:39 I went on the internet. 18:41 Because they said you have to build 18:42 a nice chicken wire fence around it 18:44 with some padding between the wire and the tree. 18:46 That's God's grace that keeps the world 18:49 from chewing us up. 18:51 God's grace prevents, 18:52 that wire between the world and us, 18:55 God has that padding of grace 18:58 and His approach 18:59 was also not only to treat people kindly 19:01 but to disarm people in their anger 19:03 and their prejudice. 19:05 And you'll see that all through Scripture. 19:06 But Jesus, there are two examples in the Bible. 19:09 One was a Roman centurion, 19:11 and the other one was a Jewish leader, 19:13 two most unlikely people that even 19:16 when they didn't deserve God's grace, 19:18 He showed it to them. 19:20 Look at Matthew Chapter 8. 19:22 Matthew Chapter 8, this was a centurion 19:25 that wanted his daughter to be healed. 19:29 And he was a commander, 19:32 he could tell people to do things and they'll do it. 19:35 But he said to the Lord, 19:37 He said to Jesus, in verse 8, 19:39 "Lord, I am not worthy 19:41 that You should come under my roof. 19:43 But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed." 19:46 And then Jesus commended him in verse 10. 19:49 Jesus said, "Jesus heard and marveled 19:54 and said to those who followed, 19:55 'Assuredly, I say to you, 19:57 I have not found such great faith, 19:59 not even in Israel." 20:01 He commended the man for the way he was. 20:03 And then also a scribe that 20:05 Jesus spoke to when Jesus 20:07 said love your neighbor as yourself. 20:09 The scribe recognize that 20:11 what He's saying is the words of life. 20:12 And He couldn't even get that reaction 20:14 from those who had claimed to be following Him. 20:16 And then Jesus said, 20:18 "You are not far from the kingdom of God." 20:20 He always found a way to bring out the best 20:22 in individual instead of saying, 20:24 you can get closer to the kingdom. 20:25 He said, you are not far. Notice the difference. 20:27 One person once said, 20:29 how you say things make a difference. 20:30 For example, you could say to a young lady, 20:33 you know, you remind me of a kitten, 20:36 or you could say you're just like a cat. 20:39 Now, Jill, was that different? 20:42 If you say, if you say to your wife, 20:43 you know, when I look at you, honey, time stands still. 20:46 She says, that's so nice. 20:47 Well, you could say you have a face that stops the clock. 20:51 Notice the difference. 20:52 I'm just showing you the difference. 20:54 You're saying the same thing, 20:55 but you're saying it differently. 20:56 So now let's transition to six things 20:59 that will show you how important your words are, 21:02 one, Isaiah 42:3. 21:04 Our words are instrumental. 21:06 Jesus said in Isaiah 42:3, 21:09 "A bruised reed He will not break, 21:11 a smoking flax He will not quench; 21:13 He will bring forth justice for truth." 21:15 Our words are first instrumental 21:18 don't break bruised reeds and don't pour water 21:21 with your words on a person 21:23 whose light is just about to die. 21:24 That's right. 21:25 There's some people that have no hope. 21:27 And you know, we say, that's good for you. 21:29 You deserve that. 21:30 That's pouring water on a coal that 21:33 just has no life left in it. 21:34 It's just about to whimper out. 21:36 Your words can bring life back to that individual. 21:38 And I've seen that it's important to be gracious. 21:41 Also, our words are aromatic. 21:43 Colossians 4:5 and 6. 21:45 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, 21:48 meaning those who are not a part of your following, 21:50 redeeming the time. 21:52 Listen to this, verse 6 of Colossians 4. 21:55 "Let your speech always be with grace, 21:58 seasoned with salt, there you go, 22:00 that you may know 22:01 how you ought to answer each one." 22:05 Be nice to people, you know, 22:06 if people were just nice to folk, 22:08 how different would the world be. 22:09 Amen to that. It is nice, just be nice. 22:12 I mean just be nice. 22:15 Yes, be nice, just be nice. 22:19 Today just be nice to somebody, not because they deserve it 22:22 because you should represent Christ. 22:25 Be nice. 22:27 Thirdly, our words are valuable. 22:29 Our words are valuable. 22:30 They're first instrumental, aromatic, 22:32 but they are valuable. 22:33 Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken 22:37 is like apples of gold in settings of silver." 22:41 How valuable if somebody spoke to you 22:44 or if you spoke to someone, 22:46 and you walked away from someone, 22:48 would you say, "Wow, that was, I needed that." 22:51 And sometimes we could empower someone 22:55 with words that are valuable. 22:57 We could say to that individual, 22:58 I know you didn't have, 23:00 I know you didn't have a great life, 23:01 but you know what? 23:02 You mean everything to Christ. 23:04 I know that the world seems like it's on your back, 23:06 but I'm here to help you lift your burden. 23:08 Make our words valuable. 23:10 Ellen White said 23:11 when people come into our presence, 23:12 they should always leave encouraged. 23:15 Our words are valuable. 23:16 Third, fourthly, our words are decisive. 23:18 Our words are decisive. This is powerful. 23:21 Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 23:27 and those who love it will eat its fruit." 23:29 Now, people often miss what that means. 23:31 If you use your words for death, 23:34 death is going to come upon you in your own words. 23:36 The way you cut, folk, 23:38 you're going to be cut the same way. 23:40 He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword, 23:43 and out of the mouth proceeds that sword. 23:45 So be very careful. 23:47 Fifthly, our words are decisive. 23:50 Sorry, our words are directive. 23:53 Our words are directive. 23:55 Proverbs 15:1, 23:57 "A soft answer turns away wrath, 24:00 but a harsh word stirs up strife." 24:03 You can determine which direction 24:05 that conversation is going to go 24:07 by the next thing you say, husband or wife. 24:11 And lastly, our words are meteorological. 24:15 Wow. 24:17 I tried to say that slowly, because you can make mess, 24:20 you mess your tongue up on that one. 24:22 Our words are meteorological. 24:24 Proverbs 15:23, "A man has joy 24:29 by the answer of his mouth, 24:31 and a word spoken in due season, 24:35 how good it is!" 24:36 Meteorological. 24:38 Here's the principle 24:39 that you must apply when you speak. 24:41 Let the words of my mouth, come on, 24:43 and the meditations on my heart be acceptable in Your sight. 24:47 O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. 24:50 Pastor Kenny. Praise the Lord, Pastor. 24:52 Always thrilling, isn't it to be able to hear 24:54 the Word of God 24:55 and so we're having a good time spiritually, right? 24:58 Getting into the word. I know you are too. 24:59 We're going to take a short break 25:01 and we're going to be right back. 25:02 Don't go away. Amen. 25:08 Ever wish you could watch 25:10 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:12 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:15 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:20 A clean design makes it easy 25:22 to find the program you're looking for. 25:25 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:28 so you can follow along. 25:30 Sharing is easy. 25:31 Just click share 25:33 and choose your favorite social media. 25:34 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:38 Thank you and welcome once again 25:40 to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 25:41 We're glad you're still with us. 25:42 We're going to jump right into 25:44 Tuesday's lesson with Sister Jill Morikone. 25:46 She's going to be talking about a subject 25:47 I think that's going to be really exciting. 25:50 It's about Jesus. And so it's got to be exciting. 25:53 It is, absolutely. 25:54 "Jesus' Healing Ministry: 25:57 Part 1" because Greg has part 2. 25:59 So we're going to take a couple of stories here. 26:01 Thank you both so much, Pastor Kenny and Pastor John. 26:04 So I'm going to remember that 26:06 all day and hopefully all week and all year. 26:08 Be nice. Okay, moving on. 26:11 We're talking about the lesson 26:13 had this incredible statement here. 26:15 It said, Jesus ministered to people's felt needs, 26:18 so that He could ultimately meet their deepest needs. 26:23 What is the felt need? 26:24 It's an area of life where people feel like 26:26 they can't solve their own problems. 26:28 I want to quit smoking, or I want to lose weight 26:31 or exercise more or eat better 26:33 or reduce stress or get the money I need. 26:36 Or I need medical care or food or I'm having marriage problems 26:40 or sickness, disease or cancer. 26:42 Any of these are felt needs where we can meet that need 26:46 in someone else's life, 26:48 leading to the deepest need that they have. 26:51 And what is that? 26:52 We each have a God shaped hole in our heart 26:56 that can only be filled by the Lord Jesus Christ. 27:00 We have a need for assurance of salvation, 27:03 for peace with God, for forgiveness of sins, 27:06 for a relationship with our Creator God 27:09 and Redeemer. 27:11 We each need a reason for existence. 27:13 Jesus' healing ministry, He dealt with physical needs. 27:18 He dealt with mental needs. 27:19 He dealt with emotional needs, 27:21 but they always led to spiritual healing 27:24 'cause Jesus was concerned about the whole person. 27:28 In the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, 27:31 there's 22 accounts of healing described. 27:34 Fifteen of those 22 accounts were 27:37 by those marginalized by society. 27:40 Jesus healed women, beggars, 27:44 lepers, demoniacs, 27:46 people who were discriminated against. 27:50 Those 15 of the 22 healings in the Synoptic Gospels 27:53 were by those who were considered outcasts 27:56 or untouchable or lesser than. 27:59 And 9 of the 22 accounts involved faith 28:03 or specifically mentioned faith 28:05 in the midst of the healing process. 28:07 We know faith was involved in all of them, 28:09 but 9 of the 22 specifically mentioned faith. 28:12 So we're going to look at two different stories, 28:14 two different examples of Jesus' 28:17 healing ministry, the paralytic 28:19 and the woman with the issue of blood. 28:21 So let's start with a paralytic. 28:23 We're going to look at Matthew 9. 28:24 If you want to turn with me, 28:26 we're going to Matthew chapter 9. 28:28 I've divided the story in three sections, the setting, 28:32 the issue, and then the healing. 28:35 So let's look at the setting. 28:37 Matthew 9:1-2, "So He," that's Jesus, "got into a boat, 28:41 crossed over, and came to His own city. 28:44 Then behold, they brought to him 28:46 a paralytic lying on a bed." 28:48 Now let's stop a moment. 28:50 You noticed, it said, he came to His own city. 28:52 What city is that? 28:54 Capernaum, His own city, 28:56 likely He came to Simon Peter's house 28:58 because often he would be there in Simon Peter's house. 29:02 Now in case you're wondering His own city, 29:04 you just made up Capernaum. 29:05 The Gospel of Mark clearly says he came to Capernaum. 29:09 Mark also gives some other details to the story 29:11 that we're missing here in Matthew. 29:14 Mark explains how Jesus had just healed a leper 29:17 just a few days ago. 29:18 And He told the leper, 29:20 "Go show yourself to the priests." 29:21 Now this is important 29:22 because the priests found out about 29:26 Jesus' healing ministry. 29:28 Now He told the leper, Jesus did, 29:30 show yourself to the priests, 29:31 but don't tell other people but the leper didn't listen. 29:33 And he told this story far and wide, 29:36 so much so that Mark says 29:38 Jesus could no longer even enter a city, 29:41 because the people flocked to Him. 29:44 So He went out into like the country, 29:46 and the people would come to Him. 29:47 So at this point, 29:49 Jesus is very well known and popular. 29:51 Mark also tells us that Jesus went into the house 29:54 and there were so many people 29:55 in the house that there was no room 29:57 when the people brought the paralytic. 29:59 They had to go up on the roof and open it up. 30:02 These are his four friends, 30:04 and let him down through the roof into the room 30:08 so that he could be brought to Jesus. 30:11 I love that. 30:13 When you can't get to Jesus by yourself, 30:16 let your friends carry you. 30:20 And if you have other people 30:26 in your life, carry them to Jesus. 30:30 You have people that are lacking in faith, 30:32 people who are paralytic, people who need Jesus. 30:35 You'd be the one to bring them to Jesus. 30:40 Now Luke also talks about the story in Luke 5. 30:42 And there's an interesting piece 30:44 that's added to this 30:45 that's missing in Matthew and Mark's version. 30:48 Luke says that the Pharisees 30:51 and the teachers of the law were present. 30:53 Now other one say that too, but in Luke 5:16, it says that, 30:55 "The Pharisees and teachers of the law 30:57 had come from every town of Galilee, 31:01 Judea and Jerusalem." 31:03 Now, I don't know but if the... 31:06 You know, Jesus healed the leper just before this. 31:08 It's possible that 31:11 when the leper went to show himself to the priests, 31:13 they kind of held a little meeting 31:14 with the leaders of the church 31:16 and all the priests and all the Pharisees 31:18 and all the scribes began to say, 31:20 "Okay, we got to keep an eye on this Jesus." 31:22 So they came from every single town. 31:25 They were there present in that home. 31:28 So what's, that's the setting. Let's look at the issue. 31:30 What is the issue? 31:31 The issue was not even really 31:33 whether Jesus could heal the paralytic, 31:35 the issue was whether Jesus had authority to forgive sins. 31:39 How is healing connected with sin? 31:42 How is healing connected with forgiveness? 31:44 How is healing connected with sin, sickness, suffering, 31:47 disease, pain and death? 31:49 We know that all sickness, all disease, 31:52 all death is the result of sin, 31:54 because the wages of sin is death. 31:56 We know that sin brought fear and guilt. 31:58 Sin brought a separation from the Father. 32:01 Now our sins specifically don't always cause that. 32:05 I want to be clear there. 32:06 There are times, say if you few smoke, 32:08 okay, their cancer can be a direct correlation, 32:11 you could say to that smoking. 32:13 There's other times like in Job 32:15 where it's just an outworking of the great controversy of sin 32:19 in general. 32:21 But if Jesus can take care of the effects of sin, 32:23 that's physical healing, surely, 32:26 He can take care of the cause 32:27 of the illness by forgiving the sin. 32:29 So forgiving sins and healing diseases 32:32 is these two sides of the coin, 32:35 but it's really the same mission of Jesus. 32:38 We see the healing here in verse 2. 32:40 They brought him the paralytic, he's on the bed. 32:42 Jesus said, "Son be of good cheer. 32:45 Your sins are forgiven you." 32:47 Now we might have sat there 32:49 and wondered how he got that way, 32:50 we might have avoided him. 32:51 We might have not associated with him 32:53 or thought he deserved this 32:55 or we might have criticized him. 32:57 But Jesus said, "Son, be of good cheer. 33:00 Your sins are forgiven you." 33:02 Jesus announced the forgiveness of the sins 33:04 before he was healed, before he went 33:06 and offered a sacrifice in the sanctuary. 33:08 Before he said anything, 33:10 it was the faith that saved him. 33:12 So then we see, all of a sudden 33:14 all these scribes and Pharisees get worked up 33:17 and they start talking amongst themselves. 33:19 This man is blaspheming. 33:22 But Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 33:23 "Why do you think evil in your hearts, 33:25 for which is easier to say your sins are forgiven 33:28 or arise and walk, but that you may know that 33:31 the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. 33:34 Then he said to the paralytic, 33:36 "Arise, take up your bed and go to your house. 33:39 And he arose and departed to his house." 33:42 So we see Jesus saying, 33:43 "Your sins are forgiven, rise, take up your bed and walk." 33:46 And Jesus had authority and power to forgive sins. 33:50 Now, let's look just briefly at the woman 33:53 with the issue of blood. 33:54 What was her problem? 33:56 She'd had an issue for 12 years. 33:57 She'd been to physician after physician 33:59 with no cure and no hope. 34:02 In their culture, if she had this issue of blood, 34:05 she would have been considered unclean. 34:07 She would have been prohibited from entering the temple. 34:09 She could not come in contact with people or things, 34:12 it would be similar to a leper. 34:14 She was an outcast and untouchable. 34:17 And yet, when she heard about Jesus, 34:20 Matthew 5:27, Matthew 5:27, 34:24 "She came behind Him in the crowd 34:26 and touched His garment. 34:28 For she said, 'If I may only touch His clothes, 34:31 I shall be made well.'" 34:34 Now that word well is from the root word, 34:36 we get salvation. 34:37 It's the same word in Matthew 1:21 34:40 when it says Jesus will save His people 34:43 from their sins, the same word save. 34:45 So this means the woman when she's reaching out 34:47 if I may just touch His garment, 34:49 she's not just talking about physical healing, 34:51 but this is spiritual healing as well. 34:54 Her faith and courage and hope to press 34:57 through the crowd 34:59 and touch His garment is remarkable. 35:02 The revealing and Jesus said, what did He say? 35:04 "Who touched Me?" Yeah. 35:06 And the disciples thought it was rather funny. 35:07 What are you saying who touched me. 35:10 Why did He asked who touched Me? 35:13 Because it gave her an opportunity 35:16 to testify of what the Lord had done in her life. 35:22 It gave her an opportunity to witness. 35:25 It gave Him an opportunity to express that 35:27 it was not the physical touching 35:29 that had healed. 35:31 Clear up any misconception in that. 35:33 Our Lord stopped the woman also, 35:35 so other people would know. 35:36 So that now she could be looked upon as clean 35:39 and associate with others. 35:41 And He also stopped 35:42 so that the greater miracle could occur. 35:45 Jairus' daughter, remember He was on His way 35:47 to Jairus' daughter 35:49 that she wouldn't just be healed, 35:50 now she would literally be raised from the dead. 35:53 Mercy. Amen. 35:55 Thank you very much, Sweetie. 35:56 Blessing to sit next to you on Sabbath School Panel. 35:58 Sure. 35:59 I have "Jesus' Healing Ministry: Part 2." 36:03 And I wanted to start with Matthew 9:35. 36:08 I actually want to look 36:10 at a three-fold ministry of Christ 36:12 while here on this earth. 36:13 One of those being healing, Jill looked at part one, 36:16 I'm looking at part two. 36:18 Matthew 9:35 says, "Then Jesus went about 36:23 all the cities and villages," 36:24 number one, "teaching in their synagogues," 36:27 number two, 36:28 "preaching the gospel of the kingdom," 36:30 and number three, "healing every sickness 36:33 and every disease among the people." 36:37 Now I was homeschooled by my mother, 36:40 so I appreciate my mother. 36:41 She was my teacher. 36:43 I have sat under many different pastors 36:46 and ministers is my growing up right now our pastor, 36:49 my pastor for probably the last 20 years 36:51 or close to that is Pastor John Lomacang, 36:53 a very powerful speaker of the Word. 36:56 I was very sick at one time and I was in a foreign country, 37:01 I couldn't even walk, 37:02 they had to carry me into the emergency room 37:05 and the doctors were able to get me better. 37:08 They healed me, but nothing against my mother. 37:11 Nothing against Pastor John Lomacang 37:13 or all the other pastors or the doctors that healed me. 37:16 Can you imagine to be under the teacher, 37:18 Jesus Christ, to be under the healer, 37:20 Jesus Christ, 37:22 or under the preacher of Jesus Christ, 37:23 as He walked on this earth had been absolutely phenomenal. 37:27 So I want to just briefly look at the three aspects of Christ. 37:30 When He came here, John 10:10, I don't want to miss this. 37:33 "Jesus came, that they may have life, 37:36 and that they may have it more abundantly." 37:38 So Christ's mission on this earth, 37:40 of course, was for salvation, but to seek 37:42 and to save that which was lost, 37:44 teaching Christ as our teacher. 37:46 Basically, when you look at the Greek word, 37:48 it means to literally teach, 37:49 to impart knowledge, to disseminate information. 37:52 There's about 45 times in the scriptures 37:54 that Christ is referred to as the teacher. 37:58 So I just wrote down some different, 38:00 I know time it just always seemed like 38:01 we're trying to cram so much in these 10 minutes. 38:03 But Jesus taught with power. 38:06 You can look these up, Matthew 4:23 and 24. 38:10 Jesus teaching was unique, or he amazed others. 38:14 They were astonished at His teaching. 38:17 Matthew 7:28. 38:20 Jesus taught at various places to various people. 38:23 He went about many different villages, 38:25 many different towns and cities. 38:27 But He also talked to the scholars, 38:29 and he talked to the little children, 38:30 I think that's just beautiful. 38:32 Jesus taught with compassion, Mark 6:34. 38:36 I just want to read this scripture, 38:38 because to me, it's just, 38:39 it's just a beautiful passage in the Word of God. 38:41 Mark 6:34 says, "And Jesus went, 38:44 and when he came out, saw many people, 38:47 and he was moved with compassion toward them, 38:51 because they were a sheep not having a shepherd. 38:54 And he began to teach them many things." 38:57 Number five, like I just mentioned 38:59 a little bit ago is He could talk to scholars 39:02 were just astonished that the people who said, 39:04 He didn't go to our schools. 39:06 How is this possible, Pastor Kenny, 39:08 that you can just dumbfound us? 39:10 We don't even have answers. He asks us a question. 39:12 We're not sure how to even answer these questions 39:14 so He could communicate with the elite, 39:17 so to speak of His time. 39:18 Jesus taught by placing other people first. 39:23 Luke 13:10-17. 39:25 This is the woman 39:26 with the infirmary for 18 years. 39:28 And how Jesus healed her on the Sabbath day. 39:30 He was criticized, wasn't He? 39:32 Why are You healing her on the Sabbath day? 39:33 And then He says, "Well, 39:35 wouldn't you pull your ox out of the ditch, 39:37 why wouldn't I heal this woman?" 39:39 So again, He puts the scholar's kind of like, 39:41 wow, what do we say now? 39:42 But He taught people or He placed people first. 39:46 Number seven, He taught with authority and power. 39:50 He again talked to the scribes and the elders, 39:51 I have Luke 20:1-8. 39:54 And then Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, 39:57 and I think that's a beautiful part too. 39:59 Luke 11:1 says, "And it came to pass, 40:01 that, as he was praying in a certain place, 40:04 when he stopped, 40:06 one of his disciples said unto him, 40:08 Lord, teach us to pray, 40:10 as John also taught his disciples." 40:13 So we're looking at Christ as teacher, 40:15 Christ is preaching, or as a pastor, 40:17 it's interesting to think of that. 40:19 The Greek word means to preach, 40:21 to announce a message publicly 40:23 and I like this, with conviction 40:25 and with persuasion. 40:28 There's about 13 times in the Bible 40:29 where Christ is referred to as preaching. 40:32 And I just have three points here. 40:34 Jesus applied the scriptures to the lives of His hearers. 40:40 I think that's beautiful, 40:41 He made it very relevant to them, 40:43 especially in the parables and the things that 40:45 He said they could understand 40:47 what He was saying, so He applied it to them. 40:50 This is Luke 4:16-20. 40:54 And during this passage, Christ mentions Isaiah 40:59 and is referring to Isaiah Chapter 61. 41:03 And the part here it says, "And he came to Nazareth," 41:06 verse 16, "where he had been brought up. 41:09 And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue 41:11 on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. 41:14 And there was delivered unto Him 41:16 the book of the Prophet Isaiah. 41:18 And when He had opened the book, 41:20 He found the place where it was written." 41:22 Verse 18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." 41:24 This goes back to your scripture, 41:26 Pastor Kenny, "Because he hath anointed me 41:29 to preach the gospel to the poor. 41:32 He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 41:36 to preach deliverance to the captives, 41:39 and recovering of sight to the blind, 41:42 and to set at liberty those that are bruised." 41:46 Again, Christ applied the scriptures to His hearers, 41:50 but He also, I think this is just powerful. 41:52 He spoke directly to the human condition, 41:55 so He was mentioning a lot of points 41:57 you're brokenhearted, captives, bruised. 42:00 And I think that's just the Lord 42:02 and God that we serve cares about us 42:05 on an intimate level. 42:07 And the third point is He shared His mission, 42:09 we can again go right back to this passage here, 42:12 Luke 4:18, where He shared His mission 42:15 and that was to preach to the poor, 42:18 to heal, to deliver, to give eyesight, 42:23 and to set free those that are in bondage. 42:25 I mean, that's just beautiful. 42:26 So Christ, as the preacher, Christ as our healer. 42:30 And that is to, 42:31 the Greek means to physically restore 42:34 to from someone 42:35 from their illness or infirmity. 42:37 There's 22 stories, as Jill mentioned, 42:39 in the Synoptic Gospels of Christ's healing. 42:43 And Mark 1:32-39. 42:47 This is from the lesson and I won't read all of that 42:50 but going down to basically 42:53 what's happening here is Jesus has been preaching 42:56 and then that evening which is interesting to me, 42:59 there are people that are coming to be healed, 43:01 so after sundown, Christ heals many people. 43:05 Then He goes to sleep somewhere in that time period, 43:07 because then it says He gets up a great 43:09 while before daybreak. 43:10 So He's healing people to who knows what hour. 43:13 Then He gets up and He goes to pray. 43:15 And His disciples come to Him and say, 43:17 "There's lots of people already coming, 43:18 they want to be healed." 43:19 And Jesus says to them, "Let us go into the next towns 43:23 that I may preach there, also for therefore, 43:26 that's why I came. 43:27 And He preached in the synagogues 43:29 throughout all Galilee and cast out devils. 43:32 So yeah, Christ, definitely busy, 43:34 but He cared for others, and He physically healed them, 43:36 but His main purpose and this comes 43:38 from the lesson if you have your quarterly 43:40 with you can see this quote. 43:42 It says, "Jesus was not merely 43:44 some spectacular miracle worker. 43:47 He was the divine Son of God, 43:49 who came in a redemptive mission. 43:51 His mission was to bring eternal life to others." 43:55 And again, Luke 19:10 says, 43:57 "For the Son of Man has come to seek 43:58 and to save that which was lost." 44:01 Again another quote from the lesson, 44:03 "Each act of healing was an opportunity 44:05 to reveal God's character, 44:08 relieve suffering and provide an opportunity 44:11 for eternal life. 44:14 "You know, I think of Christ's healing ministry on this earth, 44:19 I think of a Savior that cares for me. 44:23 I think of a Savior 44:25 that's concerned with my worries, 44:28 my concerns, what's going on in my life, 44:30 the necessities, the things that I need on a daily basis. 44:34 And you know, Jesus is our example, right? 44:36 He's that perfect example for us. 44:38 So we're to emulate 44:40 that example here on this earth. 44:42 There is an old children's song that probably all of us, 44:46 probably you at home have sung as well. 44:48 And it's called a sermon in shoes and it says, 44:51 "Do you know O Christian, you're a sermon in shoes. 44:56 Do you know, O Christian, you're a sermon in shoes." 45:00 Jesus calls upon you to spread the gospel news. 45:04 So walk it, and talk it, live it and give it, 45:09 teach it and preach it, know it and show it, 45:14 a sermon in shoes. 45:16 So I just want to encourage you today 45:19 to be the hands and the feet of Christ. 45:23 He had His healing ministry here on this earth is teaching 45:25 and preaching, you may not be able to heal 45:27 as Jesus did. 45:29 But you can still go and touch somebody for Him. 45:32 So I want to encourage 45:33 you today to be that sermon in shoes 45:35 by our affections, our attitudes, 45:38 and our actions. 45:40 Amen. Thank you so much, Brother. 45:42 Wow, that was powerful, the healing ministry of Jesus, 45:45 where would we be without it? That's right. 45:47 In bottomless pit, in fact, 45:49 we've made this point many times, 45:50 as you guys clearly alluded to the fact that you know, 45:54 much of the gospel records Jesus healing 45:56 more than He actually preached 45:58 and so we can see there clearly not only 46:00 does He care about our physical well-being, 46:02 but as you guys brought out our spiritual 46:04 well-being as well, which sets us up wonderfully 46:06 for Thursday's lesson 46:08 which is entitled, "What Matters to Jesus." 46:12 What matters to Jesus, 46:13 I suspect that there's a lot that matters to Jesus. 46:17 But I love how Pastor Mark Finley 46:20 lines out this particular lesson 46:21 because he brings it 46:23 from the perspective of three parables 46:25 that Jesus told in His last week 46:28 before He would go to the cross. 46:30 In fact, to kind of set this up, 46:32 we're talking about the Olivet Discourse. 46:35 We're talking about Jesus coming 46:36 had just come out of the temple, 46:38 in the latter parts of Matthew 23. 46:40 So we see there 46:42 in the opening verses of Matthew 24, 46:44 the disciples and Jesus are coming out 46:45 of the temple and they say to Jesus, 46:47 Lord, you know, look at the temple, 46:49 look how beautiful it is because Jesus just had 46:50 a showdown in the temple, right? 46:52 He just turned over the tables. 46:53 He's let them know you have defiled My Father's house, 46:57 and I'm not going to stand for this. 46:58 And so, Jesus expressed a righteous indignant anger 47:02 against the defiling of His temple. 47:04 And so that you can imagine that the disciples 47:06 are just kind of trying to calm Him down, 47:07 Oh, Jesus, look at the beautiful temple 47:09 and the buildings. 47:10 And it's so magnificent, isn't it? 47:12 And then Jesus says to them, you know, there's coming a time 47:14 when there will not be one stone left upon another. 47:18 And the Bible says that He and the disciples 47:20 went away privately atop the Mount of Olives. 47:22 And He began to unfold to them, 47:24 the things that would happen in the last days. 47:26 And we see that clearly in the signs of the times, 47:29 the latter events that will happen there 47:31 as recorded in Matthew 24. 47:33 But many people don't consider that 47:34 Matthew 25 is an extension of that discourse. 47:37 And I wanted to start with the opening parable 47:40 here in the opening verses of Matthew 25. 47:43 It's one that we are often familiar with, 47:45 it is the parable of the ten virgins, and again, 47:48 we're talking about what matters to Jesus. 47:50 And I can tell you no other parable 47:52 that would clearly communicate 47:53 if we had three of these parables here, 47:55 if you would, we're going to talk about one 47:57 that would really clearly show what it is that we must have, 48:01 what it is that we must experience 48:03 in these last days in order to prepare 48:04 for the kingdom of God. 48:06 I believe the answer is found within this parable. 48:08 So we're going to do our best with the time given 48:09 to address these three parables. 48:11 But I want to start with verse 1 Matthew Chapter 25. 48:15 Here it is, it says, "Jesus is the kingdom of heaven 48:17 shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps 48:20 and went out to meet the bridegroom." 48:23 Now, just to kind of give you a heads up 48:24 for those of you who might not be 48:25 familiar with this parable. 48:27 This is a parable. 48:28 Obviously, Jesus is using a short story 48:30 to teach a moral lesson here. 48:32 But obviously, this is a highly symbolic, 48:35 prophetic parable as well. 48:37 We're going to deal with some symbols here. 48:38 So we see right in the opening sentence here, 48:40 the opening verse, these ten virgins, 48:42 these are obviously ten women, and He's liking them 48:45 unto the kingdom of God. 48:47 And it's interesting that in the Bible, 48:49 we're told that a woman represents what? 48:52 Church. 48:53 The church, so we're dealing with God's people, His church, 48:56 in this particular parable, and then notice verse 2. 48:59 It says, "Now five of them were wise, 49:02 and five were foolish." 49:04 Now I want to kind of back up again 49:05 to verse 1 and extend into verse 2 here. 49:07 It says, "They took their lamps 49:09 and they went out to meet the bridegroom." 49:10 So we know that we have God's Church, 49:12 these women, they have their lamps. 49:14 And we've learned in our study 49:15 so far, that the Word of God according to Psalms119:105, 49:21 "Remember thy word is a lamp unto my feet 49:23 and a light unto my path." 49:24 So they have their lamps, they have their lamps, 49:27 they put their trust in God's Word, 49:29 in the promises of God's Word that the bridegroom 49:32 and we know this bridegroom, 49:33 none other represents Jesus Christ, 49:35 the bridegroom, they have put their trust 49:38 in the power of this lamp, 49:40 which promises them that Jesus will return. 49:42 So they've went out, they're expressing faith 49:45 in the Word of God, all ten of these virgins. 49:47 They go out to meet the bridegroom. 49:49 But it reminds us here in verse 2 that 49:51 five are wise and five are foolish, 49:53 and we'll see why that is the case here. 49:54 Those who are foolish took their lamps 49:57 and took no oil with them. 50:01 But the wise took oil 50:02 in their vessels with their lamps. 50:04 Okay, so obviously if you do an in-depth study 50:06 of God's Word, 50:07 oil in the Bible is a representation 50:10 of the Spirit of God. 50:11 And that goes to show us, my friends, 50:13 that you can have your lamps, 50:15 you can know this word, you can be smart, intelligent, 50:18 you can have the verses memorized, 50:20 you can know it from cover to cover, 50:22 you can know it front to back. 50:23 But if you do not have the power 50:25 that activates the light of this lamp in you, 50:28 dwelling in you and through you and working through you, 50:31 the oil of the Holy Spirit, then it is of no avail to us. 50:34 It does not serve its purpose. 50:36 And so these five foolish 50:38 while they're going out to meet Christ, 50:40 while they put their trust in God's Word, 50:42 they don't have the Holy Spirit in their life. 50:44 They need the Holy Spirit so that they can press forward 50:47 to get through the times 50:49 that they are about to endure before the bridegroom 50:51 but before the bridegroom comes and retrieves them. 50:54 And so we go on to read here very quickly. 50:56 Then all those virgins arose and trim their lamps, okay. 50:59 Actually go back to verse 6. 51:00 I actually I skipped a couple of verses here. 51:03 Verse 5. 51:04 "While the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept." 51:07 And I think we've experienced 51:08 a little bit of that in these last days. 51:09 It seems like the church has been a little stagnant, 51:11 maybe a little bit complacent in their work, 51:13 but you know what? 51:14 God still has people. 51:16 God still has people 51:17 and even while those five wives were sleeping, 51:20 notice verse 6, at midnight, a cry was heard, 51:23 "Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. 51:26 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 51:30 And the foolish said to the wise, 51:31 give us some of your oil, 51:32 for our lamps are going out. 51:35 But the wise answered and said, 51:36 "No less, there should not be enough for you and us, 51:38 but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves." 51:42 Now, this is vitally important. 51:44 They don't have enough oil. 51:46 They look to the human sources to supply their oil needs. 51:51 And there's a lot of people today 51:53 that are looking unto man, and they're saying, 51:55 you know, share with us your experience, 51:57 are looking into man to lead them 51:58 and to guide them when really they need to be 52:00 going to Him who is selling. 52:02 And in this case, 52:03 it's interesting that in Revelation 3, 52:04 we see Jesus, Jesus Christ, He's selling, He says, 52:07 "I counsel you to buy from me," right? 52:10 Jesus wants to give us His righteousness. 52:12 He wants to give us the oil of the spirit. 52:14 But, of course, right here, they go to other agents. 52:17 And that's why in 1 John 4:1, 52:20 it says, beloved, believe not every spirit 52:23 but test the spirits, 52:24 whether they are of God or not, 52:26 because they go and they find oil. 52:28 They go away and they find their oil. 52:29 They go and find their source because they come back later, 52:32 as you continue to read, and they knock on that door 52:34 thinking that they're going to get in 52:36 after the bridegroom has already come, 52:38 and they are turned away by the most haunting words 52:41 that a person could possibly 52:42 ever hear coming out of the mouth of their Savior. 52:45 "I do not know you." 52:48 My friends, what does this parable teach us? 52:50 I know I wanted to go through it all and read it all. 52:51 We just don't have time. 52:53 But the parable of the ten virgins 52:54 emphasizes the importance of a genuine, 52:58 authentic spirit filled life. 53:01 What matters to Christ most? 53:02 A genuine, authentic, spirit filled life. 53:07 You can know about Jesus, 53:08 you can be a cheerleader 53:10 on the sidelines cheering Jesus on. 53:12 But if you're not engaged in the work with Christ, 53:15 if you're not actually following Him, 53:17 and being led by the Spirit of God, 53:18 my friends, we are in a dangerous spot. 53:21 And He continues to communicate 53:23 this same need for Christ in a spirit filled life 53:27 when He goes on to tell us the next parable, 53:29 which I'm not going to spend a lot of time in, 53:30 but it's the parable of the talents. 53:32 We've already referenced this parable of the talents. 53:34 Of course, it says there in verse 15, 53:36 that he gave five talents to one, another two 53:39 and of course, he gave one to another, 53:40 and of course, the one that gets 53:42 the one talent, you know, 53:44 and I love Jill, how you brought that out 53:46 in a previous lesson. 53:47 You talked about these talents 53:48 and how we often sometimes 53:50 we become kind of 53:51 tunnel visioned on other people. 53:54 You know, we're looking at the horizontal, 53:55 we're not focused on the vertical 53:56 and we're looking at each other 53:58 and we're comparing ourselves to each other. 54:00 Why does that brother or sister have more than me, Lord? 54:02 Why is that You're blessing that person more than me? 54:04 Why did you equip that person more than me, 54:06 you know, I would love to be able to preach the gospel 54:08 like Pastor John Lomacang. 54:10 But that still don't change the fact 54:11 that while God may have given Him, 54:13 let's say, five talents and me one, 54:15 He still looks at Ryan and says, 54:17 you know what, 54:18 "I've given you the one, do something with the ones. 54:19 Stop focus on the brother that I've given five to, 54:22 because when I come back, I want to see that you've taken 54:24 what I've given you 54:25 and you've used it for My kingdom." 54:27 The parable of the ten talents underlines 54:29 the importance of faithfully using the gifts 54:32 that God has given to each one of us. 54:34 And, of course, 54:35 last and the minute I have left here, 54:37 our last parable, which I'm not going to be 54:39 able to go in detail, 54:40 but it's the parable of the sheep and the goats. 54:42 And we see there that God says, "Look, at the end of time, 54:45 I'm going to have my sheep on my right side. 54:47 I'm going to have the goats on my left," 54:49 much like the parable of the wheat and the tares 54:50 we see in Matthew 13. 54:52 He says, "Look, I'm coming back and guess what? 54:53 There's going to be some wheat, 54:55 there's going to be some tares." 54:56 And let me tell you something, my brothers and sisters, 54:58 Jesus is coming back for a Holy church, 55:01 He's not coming back to this process, refine, 55:04 he wants us to be spirit filled and transform 55:07 from the inside out. 55:09 And so what we're seeing 55:10 in this separation of the sheeps and the goats, 55:12 you can't hide anything from God. 55:14 He knows if you are a genuine Christian 55:16 or if you are not. 55:18 And so what does this parable teach us? 55:19 The parable of the sheep and the goats reveals 55:21 that genuine Christianity truly ministers 55:24 to the needs of those God brings 55:26 into our lives each day. 55:28 These sheep are the ones 55:29 who go out and they feed the needy, 55:31 they clothed the needy, 55:33 they go and visit those and they preach in the gospel. 55:36 They're not only meeting the physical needs, 55:38 but they're also meeting 55:39 the spiritual needs of those as well. 55:41 My friends, as I said, 55:43 He's coming back for a Holy church. 55:45 Are you in that fold? 55:46 Are you going to be a part of that sheep? 55:48 That He is going to say, "Well done, welcome, 55:51 My good and faithful servant." 55:53 Amen. Praise the Lord. 55:55 You talk about wrapping it up. Praise God. 55:57 Thank you for all of those thoughts 55:59 from everyone of you and, you know, 56:01 as we always do at the end, 56:03 we go around and ask some thoughts. 56:05 And sometimes people say that's not important. 56:07 But I believe that Holy Spirit puts things 56:08 on each of your heart and your life 56:10 that He could use. 56:11 So, Pastor John, through this lesson, 56:12 what did God lay on your heart? 56:14 Now I gave six points of what our words are. 56:16 And the seventh one, 56:17 our words are also determinative, 56:19 determinative. 56:21 Matthew 12:37, "For by your words, 56:25 you will be judged, and by your words, 56:28 you will be condemned. 56:30 Our words are determinative." 56:32 Amen. Absolutely. 56:33 I talked about the healing ministry of Jesus, 56:35 the second healing example 56:36 we talked about the woman with the issue of blood. 56:39 I want to read the final verse from that, that's Mark 5:34. 56:43 "And Jesus said to her, 56:45 'Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace, 56:49 and be healed of your affliction." 56:51 And that's what Jesus says to you today. 56:53 Your faith has made you whole. 56:55 Yes. Amen. 56:57 You know, Pastor Kenny, at the beginning 56:59 of this lesson you mentioned this 57:00 and I like this a lot. 57:01 Jesus came to demonstrate the gospel. 57:04 So I just pray that in my own life 57:06 and hopefully yours as well 57:08 that we would demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ 57:11 and the love that He has for us that 57:12 we would put that out and demonstrate that to others. 57:14 Amen. 57:16 Beautiful quote from Pastor Mark Finley 57:17 here in the Thursday's lesson, 57:19 in reference to the sheep and the goat's parable. 57:21 And he says in the parable, "Those who give their lives 57:24 for something more than themselves 57:27 are commended by their Lord and welcomed into eternity." 57:30 And so with the Spirit of the Lord transforming us, 57:33 we can indeed have the promise 57:34 that we will be welcomed into eternity. 57:37 Amen, I've just really thoroughly enjoyed 57:39 this lesson ministering the way 57:41 that Jesus wants us to minister. 57:43 So a lot of good points 57:44 and we pray that's been a blessing to you. 57:46 And we want to make sure that you tune in next week 57:48 because we be on lesson number nine 57:50 is talking about developing a winning attitude. 57:53 That's right. 57:54 All of us like to be on winning side, 57:56 get on the side of Christ, 57:57 and you're going to be on that winning side. 57:59 Again, we've enjoyed spending this time with you. 58:01 We look forward to spending with you next week. 58:03 May God bless you and we'll see you then. |
Revised 2020-08-28