Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200040S
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00:01 Hello, friends, I'm Jill Morikone.
00:02 And welcome to another edition of Sabbath School Panel. 00:05 We're on the fourth quarter, the first lesson. 00:08 Our topic and theme for this quarter is education. 00:12 I want to encourage you to grab your quarterly 00:14 and follow along with us for this study, 00:16 "Education in the Garden of Eden." 00:19 If you don't have a quarterly, 00:20 you can always go to the following website, 00:22 absg.adventist.org. 00:25 That stands for 00:27 adultbiblestudyguide.adventist. org. 00:31 So grab a friend, grab your Bible and notepad, 00:34 and get ready as we explore God's Word together. 01:09 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:13 Last quarter, we had an incredible study 01:15 written by Pastor Mark Finley, Making Friends for God. 01:18 And I hope that you journeyed with us 01:20 through that third quarter. 01:22 This quarter, we begin entire quarter on education. 01:27 I'm excited about it. 01:28 I was actually trained as a teacher. 01:30 And so this quarter has a special place 01:33 in my heart, you could say. 01:34 Education is so vitally important 01:36 whether we're young and really in school, 01:39 or 50 or 100, we still are being educated 01:43 in that school of Christ. 01:45 I want to introduce our panel to you at this time. 01:48 To my left, Pastor Ryan Day. 01:49 It's a privilege and joy to have you here. 01:50 Amen. 01:52 It's a blessing to be here as always. 01:53 I'm excited. 01:54 Amen. 01:56 You always bring great enthusiasm 01:57 and fire to the study. 01:59 Always, that's the way. 02:00 Speaking of fire, Pastor Kenny Shelton, 02:01 we know he's going to bring that too through 02:03 the power of the Holy Spirit. 02:04 Glad to have you here. 02:05 It's always good to study the Word of God together. 02:07 Look forward to this quarter. 02:08 Amen. 02:10 And there is a face next on the Sabbath School Panel 02:13 which we have not had on the panel for two quarters. 02:16 We are delighted that our sister Shelley Quinn, 02:19 back from surgery and here on the panel. 02:21 So glad you're here. 02:22 Whoo-hoo. 02:24 I can't tell you how excited I am to be back, really. 02:26 Amen. Amen. 02:28 And a new face we're delighted to have here 02:31 on the Sabbath School Panel, Pastor Ronnie Shelton, 02:34 and he is been on previous Sabbath School Panels. 02:36 And so glad to have you here. 02:38 Well, thank you so much for inviting me. 02:39 Amen. 02:41 Before we go any further to our study here 02:43 on Education in the Garden of Eden, 02:45 let's go to the Lord in prayer. 02:47 And, Ryan, would you pray for us? 02:48 Absolutely. 02:49 Our Father in heaven, Lord, we dare not move 02:53 any further without seeking Your guidance, Lord. 02:56 The subject of Education, Lord, is so important. 02:59 So, so important, Lord. 03:00 And we know that we need the power 03:02 of Your Holy Spirit right now to give us wisdom, 03:04 to give us knowledge, to lead and guide us 03:06 through this study that as we rightly divide 03:09 Your Word of truth by Your leadership, Lord. 03:11 May the words come alive, may the message come alive, 03:13 and that may each and every person at home 03:15 and around the world, 03:17 wherever they are watching be blessed. 03:19 We praise and we thank You for being 03:20 our wonderful God of love. 03:22 And we ask this in Jesus' Holy name, amen. 03:24 Amen. Amen. 03:25 Thank you so much. 03:27 Our opening scripture is Proverbs 9:10. 03:29 You want to open up your Bibles there to Proverbs 9:10. 03:33 Last quarter, of course, 03:35 was written by Pastor Mark Finley. 03:36 This quarter was written by... 03:38 It's a compilation. 03:39 It's written by Seventh-day Adventist College professors 03:43 throughout the North American Division. 03:45 So, you could say the great gifted minds 03:48 got together and put together this lesson. 03:51 Proverbs 9:10, 03:53 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 03:57 And the knowledge 03:58 of the Holy One is understanding. 04:00 All true knowledge, all understanding," 04:03 by extension, all education, "begins with God." 04:08 It begins with the knowledge of God. 04:09 It begins with the knowledge of His Word. 04:12 It begins with the understanding provided 04:15 by the Holy Spirit. 04:16 That's why we always pray before we open up 04:19 the Word of God. 04:21 You could say all education begins with God Himself. 04:25 If you don't understand God, 04:26 how do you understand life or science or language or art? 04:32 All true education begins with a knowledge 04:34 of the character of God. 04:37 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. 04:43 God's character is love. 04:45 In fact, in the book Education, this is a little book, 04:48 compilation written by Ellen White, page 16. 04:51 It says, "Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, 04:55 is the basis of true education." 04:58 All true education begins with God, 05:01 a knowledge of the character of God, 05:03 and of course that character is love. 05:06 "All true education focuses on the restoration 05:10 of the character of God in humankind." 05:13 That's right. 05:14 That's the goal and purpose of education. 05:17 Christ came to show us the Father, 05:19 and to restore us 05:21 back to the image of the divine. 05:24 2 Corinthians 5:17, I love this scripture. 05:27 "If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. 05:31 Old things have passed away. 05:33 Behold, all things have become new." 05:37 All true Christian education focuses on doctrine 05:40 and worship, instruction, fellowship, 05:42 evangelism, and service. 05:45 By contrast, education to become rich or famous, 05:50 education to become skeptical or cynical, 05:54 education to become knowledgeable 05:56 just for the sake of knowledge. 05:59 Without a true knowledge of God, it means nothing. 06:03 Jesus said in Mark 8:36, 06:05 "What shall it profit if a man gain the whole world, 06:10 but lose his own soul?" 06:14 Literature, science, medicine, art, economics, 06:18 all of that is important, 06:20 but without an understanding of God, 06:22 without the restoration of the character of God 06:24 in our soul, it profits us nothing. 06:28 So we look at education from the standpoint 06:31 of the Garden of Eden. 06:33 That is our lesson for today. 06:36 The first school, as it were, 06:37 Adam and Eve been the first students 06:40 in the Garden of Eden. 06:41 So let's turn all the way back to Genesis 06:43 and we're going to take a look at that. 06:45 Genesis, I pick it up in Genesis 2. 06:48 But before we do that, we better read our memory text. 06:50 That is Job 36:22. 06:53 And if you have your lesson, 06:55 you can just follow along with us there. 06:57 Job 36:22, "Behold, God is exalted by His power, 07:04 Who teaches like Him?" 07:06 That tells us God is the ultimate teacher. 07:10 It's right. I love that. 07:12 He is the ultimate teacher. 07:14 Who teaches like Him? 07:15 And as we go through this quarter, 07:17 we will discover that Jesus was a master teacher 07:21 when He walked this earth. 07:24 What an incredible teacher He was. 07:25 On Sunday, we look at the first school. 07:29 You know, I like to read, and I love stories. 07:32 And you think, when you read stories, 07:33 there's always what? 07:34 A cast and characters, and you kind of develop 07:37 them as you go through the story. 07:39 There's always a setting and a background. 07:41 There's a plotline or a storyline. 07:43 But in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis Chapter 2, 07:46 this is not just a story. 07:47 This really happened. 07:49 And what happened in Genesis Chapter 2 and 3, 07:51 as we will study today, it changed history forever. 07:55 That's right. 07:56 Who are the characters in the story? 07:58 God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, 08:02 all present in creation, all involved as teachers, 08:06 you could say, in this first school. 08:09 Adam and Eve being the first pupils, 08:12 the first students. 08:14 You know, if the teacher made you, 08:15 would you think he understood you? 08:17 That's just a mind-boggling concept to me. 08:20 You know, as educators we're taught, 08:22 understand your students, know your students, 08:24 know their strengths and weaknesses 08:26 and how best to help them. 08:28 Who better understands us than the Lord Jesus Christ? 08:32 That's right. 08:33 The setting for the first school 08:35 was the Garden of Eden. 08:38 There's an article I read, this is from UC, Berkeley. 08:42 They did a study discussing the work of Dr. Ming Kuo, 08:47 and they studied how it helps and benefit students 08:51 to be educated outside. 08:53 Now, isn't that interesting? 08:55 God knew this in the beginning 08:56 because Adam and Eve were in the garden. 08:58 They were outside in their education, 09:00 their entire education. 09:02 Now in this study, 09:03 they did not do the entire education outside. 09:05 They did one class, they took them out 09:06 for the 30-minute period. 09:08 They just sat in the grass, they did nothing special. 09:10 They did their regular schoolwork. 09:12 They didn't even do anything pertaining to outside, 09:15 they just sat outside. 09:17 They found when they came indoors, 09:19 their focus level and their engagement continued 09:24 exponentially through even the entire next class period. 09:31 What a gift Adam and Eve had to be able to study outside. 09:37 So I want to look, you know, I have a list, 09:39 seven principles of true education 09:42 that we find from Genesis 2. 09:44 Seven principles that we find in this first school. 09:48 Principle number one, 09:49 true education centers on Christ. 09:54 Look at Genesis 2:8. 09:56 We're going to actually get our first principles 09:58 from the same verse. 10:00 Genesis 2:8, 10:01 "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. 10:06 And there He put the man whom He had formed. 10:08 The word I want to focus on is garden. 10:11 In Hebrew, it means to be enclosed, 10:14 fenced off, protecting. 10:17 It's a form of temple garden, 10:20 which was later represented by the tabernacle, 10:22 where a man met with God. 10:25 Both the tabernacle that later happened 10:27 with the children of Israel, 10:29 where God would come down with a cloud 10:30 and meet with them, 10:32 and the Garden of Eden in the beginning, 10:35 served as the meeting place, you could say, 10:37 between God and humanity. 10:40 In fact, in Genesis 3, we won't go there. 10:43 But remember, after sin entered, 10:44 God called to Adam, "Where are you?" 10:47 Because He was coming for His regular meeting time 10:51 with His students. 10:53 That would have been Adam and Eve. 10:55 True education centers on Christ. 10:59 Adam and Eve, as the first students, 11:00 had access to their teacher, to God, to Jesus every day. 11:06 Principle number two, 11:08 true education has boundaries and organization. 11:13 The same scripture, we already read it, 11:16 "The Lord God planted the garden in Eden." 11:18 And if you think about that word garden, 11:21 not only is it this tabernacle meeting place with God, 11:24 but if it means to be enclosed, fenced off and protected, 11:27 that shows that there's order, 11:29 that shows that there are boundaries. 11:32 You know, sometimes in education, 11:33 we say we just focus on Jesus and that's it. 11:36 Jesus is incredible and we want to focus on Him. 11:40 But we need some measure of organization 11:44 in that educational structure. 11:46 Principle number three, true education is enjoyable. 11:51 Learning should be enjoyable. 11:54 The same verse, 11:55 "The Lord God planted that garden eastward in Eden." 11:59 The word Eden denotes pleasure and delight. 12:04 Do educators today... 12:05 Now whether you're a teacher, whether you're a pastor, 12:08 you are truly educating in your congregation. 12:11 Whether you are a parent, 12:12 you educate your children every day. 12:15 Whether you are in the workplace, 12:16 you provide education for people around you. 12:19 Your neighbors, you can educate neighbors, 12:21 no matter who they are. 12:23 True education should center on Christ, 12:25 it has boundaries and organization, 12:27 it should be enjoyable. 12:29 Number four, true education involves the teachers' 12:32 knowledge and care for the student. 12:35 The same scripture Genesis 2:8, at the end, it says, 12:38 "He put the man whom He had formed." 12:41 God formed Adam, clearly He understood him. 12:45 Principle number five, 12:46 true education involves teaching right and wrong. 12:50 Verse 9, next verse, "Out of the ground, 12:53 the Lord God made every tree grow 12:54 that is pleasant to the sight and good for fruit. 12:57 The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden 13:00 and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." 13:02 Jump down to verse 16, 13:04 "And the Lord God commanded the man saying, 13:05 'Of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat, 13:08 but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, 13:09 you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it, 13:12 you will surely die.' " 13:14 In today's culture, this is considered extreme 13:16 to teach moral absolutes to teach 13:18 that there is a right and wrong, 13:20 but that is biblical. 13:22 True education involves teaching right from wrong. 13:25 Number six, true education involves work, 13:29 not just book learning, but practical education. 13:33 Verse 15, "The Lord God took the man 13:36 and put him in the Garden of Eden 13:37 to tend it and to keep it." 13:40 Now we think work was a consequence of sin. 13:42 It was not. 13:43 God gave Adam and Eve practical employment work 13:47 before sin ever entered the earth. 13:50 Finally, number seven, true education is not solitary. 13:54 Learning involves companionship. 13:57 We learn in groups together. 14:00 Now this verse, "The Lord God said, 14:02 'It is not good that man should be alone. 14:04 I will make him a helper comparable to him.' " 14:06 Now that refers to marriage, but also in education, 14:09 we can learn together. 14:11 Amen. 14:12 Praise the Lord. Thank you so much, Jill. 14:14 You're always very thorough and I like that. 14:16 Praise the Lord. 14:18 You know, my lesson is Monday's lesson 14:19 and it's got an interesting title "Intrusion." 14:23 Intrusion, which automatically kind of sets a negative 14:25 connotation in your mind. 14:27 What type of intrusion? 14:28 Well, we don't have to go very far 14:30 in the Book of Genesis before the mood changes. 14:33 Genesis Chapter 1 and 2, we see that Adam and Eve 14:36 is placed into the Garden of Eden. 14:39 And Eden simply means pleasure. 14:41 And I love that because we see 14:42 that God is not against pleasure. 14:44 He wants to give us pleasure. 14:46 He loves us so much that He wants us to be happy 14:48 and He wanted to put Adam and Eve in a beautiful, 14:51 perfect atmosphere of love. 14:54 And it's just an amazing thought to know 14:57 that God set them up for perfection. 14:59 I mean, they were in a perfect atmosphere. 15:02 We see that God wanted them to have a pleasurable 15:05 educational experience, learning from, 15:08 as Jill brought out, 15:09 nature as well as the Creator Himself. 15:12 What a blessing to think that we can, you know, 15:14 that we will one day have an opportunity to learn 15:17 from Jesus in person, right? 15:19 This brother and sister had the opportunity to walk 15:22 and talk with God in His very presence. 15:24 And so, I could just imagine how awesome that was. 15:28 But, of course, we know it wasn't long 15:30 before this educational experience was interrupted. 15:34 And so, you look at kind of the layout of Genesis, 15:37 and you kind of would expect 15:39 that there would be a few chapters 15:40 before this great antagonistic figure would approach, 15:43 but I mean, you haven't even had time to open 15:46 the screen door, open the front door, 15:48 come into the foyer or the entrance area 15:50 of the home and kick off your shoes before. 15:53 Here's the enemy already. 15:54 In fact, there's a great shift 15:56 that takes place as we transition 15:57 from Genesis Chapter 2 to Chapter 3. 16:00 It's interesting to note 16:01 that when you're in Genesis 1 and 2, 16:02 you have language, such as, you know, 16:04 words like good and very good and not ashamed and pleasant. 16:10 I mean, you just get this kind of overall feeling 16:12 of everything's just fine and dandy, right? 16:14 But by the time you get to Genesis Chapter 3, 16:17 in the very first verse, it opens with the serpent 16:21 being described as more subtle or cunning than anyone else. 16:27 So definitely a shift in mood from positive to negative. 16:31 So let's go to Genesis Chapter 3, 16:33 and we're going to notice something 16:35 as we get into these first few verses. 16:36 I'm not necessarily going to give 16:38 a kind of a commentary breakdown. 16:41 But I want to look at something that's kind of implied 16:43 and very much clear in these texts, 16:46 if you just read into and look into what is actually there. 16:50 So notice Genesis 3:1, very interesting, 16:53 God's not wasting any time. 16:55 He says, "Now the serpent was more cunning 16:57 than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made." 17:01 And I just want to pause there, 17:02 God is somewhat giving the reader. 17:05 And in this case, it's us, anyone who's studied His Word, 17:08 He was informing. 17:09 Moses, as Moses is writing this down and recording it. 17:11 Let me give you a little bit of an understanding 17:13 into the character 17:15 and the very nature of this enemy. 17:17 Okay? 17:18 Notice how he didn't say he's all powerful, 17:21 or he's just so strong, or he's just so awesome, 17:24 you know, in his power. 17:26 No, no, no. He's described as cunning. 17:29 He's subtle. 17:31 What does that mean? 17:32 What is his strength? 17:34 He's deceptive. Yeah. 17:35 He's crafty. Yeah. 17:37 You know, he's very cunning in nature. 17:41 His strength is thought, thought interruption. 17:46 His strength is altering and changing 17:49 or causing you to alter your thoughts, 17:52 which we're about to see here. 17:53 It's exactly what it's about to take place 17:55 in Genesis Chapter 3. 17:56 So he's more subtle than any beast of the field. 17:59 So up to this point, 18:00 Adam and Eve have had a wonderful opportunity 18:02 to walk and talk with God, right? 18:04 They are learning from Him and about Him, 18:07 which was wonderful. 18:08 However, the image, notice this, 18:10 the image of the character of God 18:12 is about to be put on the stands, 18:14 and challenged by the serpent. 18:16 What have they known about God up to this point? 18:18 God is just loving, He's kind, He's merciful. 18:21 He's just this awesome, all-knowing, all-loving, 18:24 all-powerful God, 18:26 and they're so great to be in His presence. 18:27 But Satan is about to plant a seed into Eve's mind 18:31 to see God in a different light. 18:32 And you say, what do you say here? 18:34 Let's look at this right here. 18:35 So here comes accusation number one 18:36 against the character of God. 18:38 The devil plants the seed in Eve's mind 18:40 that God is not who He says He is. 18:42 So notice Genesis 3:1, this is a continuance 18:45 of what we just read. 18:46 It says, "And he said to the woman, 18:47 'Has God indeed said 18:49 you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' " 18:53 Now, many people would just read right over this. 18:54 But notice here, there's an implied accusation 18:57 against the character of God here. 18:59 Did God tell you that? 19:01 Really, did God tell you? 19:03 Now, look at all these wonderful, 19:04 beautiful trees in the garden. 19:05 And there's one in this garden that He said you can't eat of. 19:07 How unfair is that? 19:10 In other words, accusation number one. 19:11 In fact, there's three accusations 19:13 against the character of God in these opening verses. 19:15 And I want you to see the drastic transition 19:17 from Genesis 1 and 2 19:18 to what we see in Chapter 3 here. 19:20 What he's saying here is, you know, God is unclear. 19:23 Isn't He unreasonable and restrictive? 19:25 Is this the kind of God you want to serve? 19:26 Someone who just won't give you 19:28 everything that you want, right? 19:30 How dare He tell? 19:31 You look at this tree... 19:33 You can just imagine and look at this fruit, Eve! 19:34 Man, doesn't it look so good 19:35 and God's keeping this from you. 19:37 He's restrictive. 19:38 Is that the kind of God you want to serve? 19:40 All right. 19:41 But notice, it continues on. 19:42 The woman clarifies in verse 2, 19:44 "And the woman said to the serpent, 19:45 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 19:47 but of the fruit of the tree 19:48 which is in the midst of the garden,' 19:49 God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, 19:51 neither shall you touch it, lest ye die.' " 19:55 Okay, so notice this. 19:57 Notice how Eve did not emphasize the warning 20:01 the same way that God did in Genesis 2:17. 20:03 That's right. Yeah. 20:04 Okay, so the fact that she is entertaining 20:07 a conversation with this serpent, 20:09 he's already penetrated her thoughts. 20:11 He's already got her confused. 20:13 You know, God had said that you shall surely die. 20:16 And now notice what she says, you know, 20:17 in the day that we eat of it, you know, we shall die. 20:21 But you know, and she even adds a word, 20:23 we can't even touch it, 20:24 even though God didn't say that. 20:25 She's confused because she's entertaining 20:28 this idea or this thought, 20:30 this conversation with the devil. 20:32 And so notice verse 4, the serpent responds, 20:34 "And he says to the woman, 'You will not surely die.' " 20:37 Now notice he added the word surely. 20:39 In Genesis 2:17, God did say, "You shall surely die." 20:42 He says, "No, no, no, no. 20:44 Don't believe that. 20:45 You're not really going to die." 20:47 And so here's accusation number two. 20:50 What is he saying to her? 20:52 God's a liar. 20:53 You can't trust Him. 20:55 He's untrustworthy and He's dishonest. 20:57 So by this, by now I could imagine, Eve, 20:59 she's full fledge, like, 21:01 launched into the state of confusion. 21:02 "Wait a second," 21:04 because she's never heard a lie before. 21:05 She's never heard it. 21:06 I mean, she's been in a perfect state 21:08 of just perfection and love and truth and honesty. 21:13 And now she's hearing all this for the first time. 21:15 And then comes the big blow. 21:18 Accusation number three, verse 5. 21:20 Notice what it says here. 21:22 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it, 21:26 your eyes will be opened. 21:28 And you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 21:32 Now we know there's someone in scripture 21:33 that said he wanted to be like God. 21:35 Yes. 21:36 This is the devil sharing his own heart. 21:37 And that's not necessarily the truth, obviously. 21:40 Now we know that, yes, her eyes were gonna be opened, 21:42 their eyes were gonna be opened to see things 21:44 that they had never seen before. 21:46 But notice accusation number three, 21:47 the fact that he's saying, "Oh, you know what? 21:49 God just, He knows that you're gonna be like Him, 21:52 and you're gonna know good from evil. 21:53 You're gonna be educated. 21:56 You're gonna be informed in such a way 21:58 that you've never know, God is withholding information. 22:01 He's withholding a good education from you. 22:04 He's keeping all of this other stuff from you." 22:07 In other words, God is selfish. 22:08 He's only looking out for Himself. 22:10 You are better off without God. 22:13 That's what we're seeing right here. 22:15 The enemy has Eve so confused that she now sees God 22:18 in a completely different way. 22:20 This leads her to distrust His word, 22:23 and be overcome by temptation. 22:25 You know the story. 22:26 There's an intrusion. 22:31 So I heard someone once say, sin is the result, get this, 22:34 sin is the result of a misrepresentation 22:36 of God's character. 22:37 Amen. It's right. 22:38 So why did Eve sin? 22:40 Well, obviously, she conceived that, 22:42 she felt to that temptation. 22:43 But ultimately, she felt to the temptation 22:45 because now she sees God in a completely different way 22:49 than what she did before. 22:50 She has been deceived into believing that God is not 22:54 who He says He is. 22:55 My friends, I have just a little over a minute here 22:56 to make this point very clear. 22:58 Many of us have the same... 23:01 We're entertaining thoughts and ideas of the enemy. 23:04 We're entertaining too much conversation 23:07 and too much time with the enemy 23:08 that he has our thoughts confused. 23:10 Many of us are if-ing and if-ing, 23:12 what-if-ing and questioning and budding God's Word 23:16 too much to the point that we're questioning 23:18 God's Word so much that now we distrust God Himself. 23:21 And when we come to the point to where we see God in a way 23:24 that He is not because we've entertained 23:26 too much conversation and too much time 23:28 with the enemy, then it's going to lead us 23:30 to live a life of sin, because sin is the result 23:33 of a misrepresentation of God's character. 23:35 When you see God for who He is, who He truly is, 23:39 then you will see a God of love. 23:41 You will see a God that's not withholding anything. 23:43 He wants you to be fully educated to the utmost. 23:47 In fact that, you know, you say, 23:48 "Well, but why does the devil keep fighting," right? 23:50 You know, he's still... 23:51 Well, because Revelation 12:12 clearly tells us 23:55 that he knows he has but a short time. 23:58 Okay, he may keep fighting in this battle, 24:00 but Jesus has won the war. 24:02 Bring yourself and put yourself on the side of Jesus, 24:05 become educated by the Master of the Universe, 24:08 and leave that devil alone. 24:10 Amen. 24:11 Praise the Lord. 24:12 Thank you, Ryan. 24:14 We're gonna take a short break. 24:15 We'll be right back. 24:17 Amen. 24:20 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 24:23 again, or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:27 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com, 24:32 a clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:36 you're looking for. 24:37 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:40 so you can follow along. 24:42 Sharing is easy. 24:43 Just click Share and choose your favorite social media. 24:47 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:51 Welcome back to our study as we continue 24:53 Education in the Garden of Eden. 24:54 We pick it up with Tuesday's lesson, Pastor Kenny. 24:57 Oh, I tell you, the foundation which was laid was beautiful. 25:01 So really I'm going to play off of that in Genesis 25:04 what both of you have laid there, 25:05 and maybe just put it down kind of some things 25:07 you might take some notes on and refer back to it later. 25:10 But I want to refer, first of all, 25:12 to one text in Genesis 2:17. 25:15 Genesis 2:17, I'm going to read that. 25:19 Again, there's the purpose in reading this 25:21 is because then we're going to play off of that, 25:23 and see where the confusion 25:24 because we're looking at Tuesday's lesson, 25:26 "Missing the Message." 25:27 You know, how can we miss the message? 25:29 How did Eve miss this message that God gave so clearly? 25:36 And is it possible that maybe 25:37 we are missing a message for today? 25:40 Bible says in Genesis 2:17, 25:42 "But of the tree of the knowledge 25:44 of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it. 25:47 For in the day thou eatest thereof, 25:49 thou shall surely die." 25:51 I know you've read that many, many, many times. 25:54 But still, when I read it, it seems clear. 25:57 Of course, I've read a lot of things in Scripture 25:59 that seem really clear and I found out 26:00 I've done the opposite sometimes. 26:02 So we have to come back. 26:03 So let's look at that. 26:04 About 11 things that I find here 26:07 where Eve missed the mark. 26:10 So we're going to look at, number one we're going to miss. 26:12 As we read the passage of scripture there, 26:14 God's command, number one, was clear. 26:17 I think you brought that out. 26:18 God's command, number one, is very clear. 26:19 We just read how clear that it is. 26:22 And then, notice when she was questioned 26:25 by the serpent, number two, Eve, watered down 26:30 what she had been taught in the garden. 26:33 We had to be very careful, we've been taught 26:35 or the Holy Spirit has taught us certain truths. 26:37 And when we were put under pressure, 26:39 what do we do? 26:41 Water it down. 26:42 And that's a no-no with God. 26:44 God doesn't want us to water it down. 26:45 Look what happened here when she watered it down, 26:47 she got herself in trouble 26:48 and got the whole world in trouble. 26:49 Number three, 26:51 she didn't take God's Word seriously. 26:53 I realized you brought all these things up. 26:55 Because if she had realized how serious God was, 26:59 and the implications of what would happen, 27:02 right, to the world and all that followed after, 27:05 maybe she would have made, you know, a different decision. 27:08 So she didn't take God's Word seriously. 27:09 Number four, she began to repeat the message, 27:13 notice, to the serpent, 27:15 but I think you brought out, not exactly. 27:18 See, sometime, we start repeating 27:20 what we've heard, but not exactly 27:22 because we're afraid of stepping on somebody's toes 27:24 or we don't want any repercussions. 27:26 We don't want any letters written. 27:30 You know what I'm talking about here. 27:32 So we begin to kind of water it just, 27:34 and soften it just a little bit here. 27:35 That's what she did. 27:36 But it got her in trouble. 27:38 It's going to get you in trouble 27:39 and get me into trouble. 27:41 Number five, the serpent was already, 27:42 we know this, familiar with God's Word. 27:45 Yes. 27:46 We say, "Oh, don't give him any credit." 27:48 But you know what? 27:49 He knows the Word and he knows that well, 27:51 because he knows what he's going to do with it. 27:54 He knows if you know the Word too. 27:56 Number six, the serpent was well prepared. 27:59 I don't think he used this word, 28:01 Brother Ryan, but he twisted. 28:03 He was ready as soon as the word came out, 28:06 he's ready to twist it. 28:07 As soon as you, you know, get it. 28:09 I want to get this message out to the world. 28:10 He's going to start twisting things around 28:12 and try to twist it around your neck, 28:14 as it were, or around your tongue. 28:16 Yeah, or you got your foot in your mouth. 28:17 So he tries to twist God's Word. 28:20 Number seven, the serpent, notice this. 28:23 I thought it was interesting. 28:24 I sensed in here that the serpent 28:26 preyed on Eve's innocence. 28:29 Yes. Let's think about it. 28:31 He preyed on her. 28:32 You mentioned, all she knew was good, 28:34 wonderful, loving, kind. 28:36 And so he knew she was innocent. 28:37 And just as the enemy tries to prey on our children, 28:42 he starts at a very early age, 28:44 when they're somewhat as it were innocent. 28:46 He begins to twist things in their ears 28:48 and in their mind. 28:49 So we need to be careful that we don't add, 28:53 or we don't subtract from the Word of God, 28:56 Revelation 22:18 and 19 tells us there. 28:59 I mean, our name will be removed, 29:02 so we need to make sure. 29:03 But listen, I'm gonna say something quickly. 29:05 Don't let that stop you from giving the message 29:08 that God has given you. 29:09 I've heard many people say, 29:11 I'm afraid that I might get it wrong. 29:12 And so I'll influence somebody else's life 29:14 and they may be lost to the cause. 29:16 Be praying, studying, know what you know, 29:18 this truth of God's Word. 29:20 Give that truth. 29:21 Get that truth. 29:22 And if you happen, I'll be careful... 29:24 If you happen to make a mistake, right? 29:26 If you happen to, oh, you go back to them, 29:28 and you say, you know what? 29:30 I missed that point right there and I want to make it right. 29:33 But give the Word of God. 29:34 Number eight, serpent said, 29:37 part of the message was incorrect. 29:40 We know that. 29:41 He said part of it. 29:43 He didn't say all of it. 29:44 Basically, insinuation was part of it was incorrect. 29:47 And number nine, upon hearing this, 29:49 Eve could have... 29:51 When he said, "Well, this is not quite correct," 29:54 well, you look at... 29:55 Eve could have said, "Just a moment. 29:57 I'm going to go and I'm going to ask God. 30:00 I'm going to ask the master teacher, 30:03 I'm going to go back to the classroom 30:05 and I'm going to ask God, 30:06 and He will tell me whether it is. 30:08 She didn't do that. 30:10 See, this was part of her education, 30:12 she did not follow through with it. 30:14 She accepted the serpent's message, 30:16 number 10, instead of God's message, 30:19 couldn't we, deceive she accepted 30:21 serpent's message. 30:23 Now, in order to accept the devil's message, 30:26 we have to, number one, doubt. 30:29 So what did he do? 30:30 He began to plant doubt in her mind on her part about God 30:35 and what He had said. 30:36 You hear that a lot, 30:38 don't you when somebody is reading it? 30:39 Well, I know what it says. 30:40 But, well, it seems like now it's different now. 30:42 And so soon as the enemy hears that, 30:45 or he plants that in your mind, doubt, he's got you. 30:48 We never should doubt Scripture. 30:50 We should say, "Well, I don't understand it 30:51 maybe right now, I want to read more, 30:53 and I want to understand it. 30:55 But I'm not going to doubt what God has said." 30:56 So our lesson wants us to examine a little further 30:58 what Brother Ryan read there in Genesis 3:4-6 31:03 in the few moments that we've got left here. 31:05 And I can't say it will be any clearer. 31:07 But we pray that it'll be an addition, 31:09 it can be added on some things. 31:11 We must be very careful that we are not, 31:13 he used the word I think, deceived. 31:16 Even if we think we have some good training, 31:19 even if we think we have a good education, 31:22 even if we think that we are founded 31:24 on the rock, you know, 31:26 of Jesus Christ, we still must be very careful. 31:29 Because again, Adam and Eve, 31:30 you couldn't get any better teacher, 31:32 you just couldn't do it. 31:34 You didn't have to worry about it. 31:35 Sometime when you go with a class 31:37 of different things, now you have to... 31:38 Are they telling the truth, you know, 31:40 is what they're teaching the truth? 31:42 They didn't have to do that. 31:45 And so as we look at it here, 31:47 we must remember that Adam and Eve, again, 31:49 had the very best education in the garden 31:51 was brought out here. 31:52 Genesis 3:4-6, verse 4 said, 31:54 "And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not," 31:56 what, you read it. 31:58 Surely die. "Ye shall not surely die." 32:00 So what does this do? 32:02 Simply Matthew 21:21, you know, it's a good statement here. 32:06 It says, "Jesus speaking to the fruitless fig tree," 32:08 what does he do? 32:10 He plants what? Doubt. 32:11 First thing he does, the devil goes doubt, doubt, 32:13 and pretty soon we get turned. 32:14 "Jesus speaking of the fruitless fig tree, 32:16 He said, if you have faith and doubt," 32:19 I like it, "doubt not, ye shall not only do this, 32:22 which is done to the fig tree, 32:23 but also," then He speaks about the mountain 32:25 you can speak to it and it be cast into the sea. 32:29 Satan's first question was to arouse doubt. 32:32 And he's gonna do it to you 32:34 and he's going to do it to me, arouse. 32:35 You know, I receive letters sometime and people, 32:38 they challenge you on what has been said, 32:39 or what you're teaching or the Advent movement, 32:42 you have to look back and say, "Has God taught this? 32:44 Is it His word?" 32:45 You have to be sure. 32:47 And you have to be strong in that and stay 32:49 with it because you don't know who you're dealing with. 32:51 And people write letters and where they're at in their 32:52 Christian walk or who they are. 32:54 So stay with the Word of God. 32:55 So first question, he did raise doubt. 32:58 Now with this done, what did he do? 33:00 Once he got Eve to doubt, 33:02 automatically that put him in the position of authority. 33:06 He's in charge now, see, 33:08 because he already got her to doubt, 33:11 but he got her to doubt the clear, 33:12 simple command that God said, "Ye shall not surely die." 33:19 Literally, that reads in scripture, 33:21 ye will positively not die. 33:24 You know, no doubt about it. 33:26 Positive, you're not going to die. 33:28 And I'm sure he was persuasive when he said it. 33:30 He already had her under his control. 33:31 Notice that. 33:33 And, of course, Satan is John 8:44, what is he? 33:36 He's a liar and the truth is not him. 33:38 He's a father of lies. 33:40 He's never going to tell the truth because he is a liar. 33:42 Notice that. 33:44 For God, notice this, verse 5. 33:46 It says, notice, "For God doth know 33:48 that in this day ye eat thereof, 33:50 your eyes shall be," you mentioned it, what? 33:52 Opened. 33:53 "Your eyes shall be opened." 33:55 Notice this, don't fear about dying, 33:57 because you're not going to die. 33:58 Don't worry about that. 34:00 You know, to fear, think about fear God, 34:01 you will become, notice this, don't fear God, 34:04 maybe God's afraid that you're going 34:05 to be a rival, maybe God's fearing here that maybe 34:08 you're going to try to be an equal. 34:10 Maybe God is going to feel threatened, you see, 34:13 if you do this thing, you're a competition. 34:16 Then you notice what he said. 34:17 He said he charged God then with doing, what? 34:21 With lying. 34:22 It was mentioned, he charged God with lying. 34:23 And you can go through all that, 34:25 we don't have time to look through all of that. 34:26 I want to read something on the very end here 34:27 in a few seconds that we have, 34:29 I thought was very, very interesting here. 34:32 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 56, notice what it says. 34:35 "Adam understood that his companion 34:36 had transgressed the command of God 34:39 and disregarded the only prohibition laid upon him. 34:42 As a test of the fidelity and love, 34:44 there was a terrible struggle in the mind. 34:47 He mourned that he had permitted 34:48 Eve to wander from his side, but now the deed was done. 34:52 He must be separated from her whose society was a real joy." 34:57 You know, he had to make a choice 34:59 and we have to make a choice today. 35:01 Amen and amen. 35:03 Well, I have Wednesday's lesson 35:06 which is "Regaining What Was Lost." 35:10 So here we have Adam and Eve, they are in the Garden of Eden, 35:14 in the classroom with God. 35:17 They are learning about His character. 35:19 They're learning about His love in such an intimate way. 35:23 Can you imagine having God come alongside of you to teach, 35:27 but they hear the distortion of the truth, 35:31 they hear the twisting of God's Word. 35:36 And what did they do? 35:38 She chooses to accept that. 35:40 And I want to submit to you, 35:42 I think part of that was because Satan, 35:46 the serpent appealed to her ego. 35:49 Yeah. Sure. "What? 35:51 You're gonna let God tell you... 35:53 I mean, he said, you can eat of any tree in the garden, 35:56 just not from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 36:01 What is God saying?" 36:03 It's not up to you to decide what's good for you. 36:06 It's not up to you to decide what's bad for you. 36:09 I'm your Creator. 36:11 I'm going to put you in these protective boundaries. 36:14 So don't eat there. 36:15 But Satan convinces her. 36:19 "You can be like God." 36:20 How many people nowadays are trying to decide, 36:24 as you said, Jill, no absolute truth, you know, 36:27 what's good for me, I decide. 36:29 What's bad for me, I decide. 36:31 They don't go to the Word of God. 36:33 So what's happened now, 36:35 they were banished from the garden, 36:38 they are suffering the consequences of sin. 36:43 And more than ever, remedial education is required. 36:49 You've heard of remedial English, 36:51 that means it's a remedy, it's a cure. 36:54 So the way education, much of Christian education, 36:58 it's pointing back to Jesus, it is to teach 37:03 how he can restore because we see Eden lost, 37:07 we see the fall of mankind, 37:09 they fell under the influence of Satan. 37:12 But now the God's whole purpose is to restore His image in us. 37:18 It is to restore the Garden of Eden, 37:21 which is what's going to happen at the very last. 37:24 We're going to regain what was lost. 37:27 So let's turn to 2 Peter Chapter 1. 37:31 I love this verse. 37:32 This is one of my favorite passages. 37:35 Education is more than gaining knowledge. 37:40 Education is developing character. 37:44 And the good news is that God provides everything 37:47 we need for salvation and restoration. 37:50 So let's look at 2 Peter 1:3 and 4. 37:55 I'm going to read it briefly, 37:57 then I'll go through and break it down. 37:59 2 Peter 1:3-4, 38:02 "As His divine power has given to us all things 38:06 that pertain to life and godliness, 38:10 through the knowledge of Him, 38:11 who called us by glory and virtue, 38:15 by which have been given to us exceedingly great 38:18 and precious promises that, through these, 38:21 you may be partakers of the divine nature 38:25 having escaped the corruption 38:27 that is in the world through lust." 38:29 Wow, that's a mouthful. 38:31 Let's go back and take it apart. 38:33 Verse 2 or verse 3, 38:37 "His divine power, His grace is sufficient." 38:42 He is our sufficiency. 38:45 It's not our power. 38:46 It is His divine power has given to us, 38:50 well, how much? 38:52 All things, every spiritual resource. 38:56 Ephesians 1:11 says that every spiritual blessing 38:59 in the heavenly realms 39:00 is already yours in Christ Jesus. 39:03 So He's given us all things that pertain to life. 39:08 That word is Zoe in the Greek, this is eternal life. 39:12 We're not talking about just life on earth, 39:15 everything that pertains to eternal life 39:18 and to godliness. 39:20 What does that mean, godliness? 39:23 It means godly living, living in obedience to God. 39:27 We're loyal. 39:29 We're expressing our love and loyalty through obedience, 39:34 through the knowledge of Him... 39:37 Listen, this is an intimate knowledge of Him. 39:41 When you think Jesus said in John 17:3 39:46 that this is eternal life that you may know Him 39:52 and the one who He sent. 39:54 So it is through our intimate relationship with Lord 39:59 that we really get to know Him and can draw on His power. 40:04 He says, "Who," speaking of God, 40:08 "call this by glory and virtue, 40:11 by which," by what? 40:15 By His glory, His character and His virtue, 40:19 His moral excellence, through His character, 40:24 moral excellence "had been given to us 40:27 exceedingly great and precious promises. 40:31 And the covenant," the prince of the covenant, 40:35 the mediator of our covenant is Jesus Christ. 40:38 And 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, 40:41 "All of God's promises are ours in Christ Jesus." 40:45 Hallelujah. 40:46 So he says, "Had been given to us exceedingly great 40:51 and precious promises, that through these," 40:55 through what? 40:56 "Through His promises, 40:59 you may be partakers of His divine nature." 41:04 His character, His moral excellence, 41:08 we get to His righteousness that is imparted to us. 41:13 We're born again. 41:14 We're made anew. 41:16 Hallelujah. 41:18 The Holy Spirit indwells us. 41:22 And we have... 41:23 You know, when Adam and Eve fell, 41:26 I believe there was a spiritual DNA change. 41:31 The DNA was the devil's nature acquired. 41:35 But now we get to have partake of the new, 41:40 His divine nature. 41:43 So it is God's divine nature acquired, DNA, 41:49 having escaped the corruption, 41:52 that's the decomposition of the world 41:55 that's through lust. 41:58 And when it says that we escaped, 42:00 it means that we repent, we flee from it. 42:04 But now let's quickly, if I've got time, 42:06 go over the next verses. 42:09 Because once we accept, 42:11 "Hey, all of these promises are ours. 42:14 All God's promises are yours," 42:17 then there's some action that's required on our part. 42:20 He's giving us His divine nature. 42:22 He's giving us all of this promises. 42:25 But listen to this, verse 5, "But also for this reason, 42:29 because of all of His amazing grace," 42:31 everything we've just looked at, "giving all diligence," 42:36 you've got to dedicate yourself, 42:38 you've got to make a maximum effort to honor God. 42:43 Add to your faith virtue." 42:46 What's a virtue? 42:47 Moral excellence. 42:49 To your virtue, add knowledge, 42:50 that's a diligent study of God's Word 42:54 as you try to comprehend and apply His truth. 42:58 You know, the quarterly I wanted to read this 43:00 one little paragraph said, 43:01 "True education will lead to true knowledge, 43:06 the knowledge of Christ, and that's not only 43:10 will we become more like Him, but we may also stand 43:15 and share our knowledge in Him with others. 43:18 Hallelujah. 43:19 Then the scripture goes on. 43:21 2 Peter 1:6 says, 43:23 "Add to your knowledge self control." 43:28 Hey, self restrain, self discipline. 43:32 God does not control us. 43:34 He is not in the controlling business. 43:37 He granted you free will. 43:40 So, you know, it's actually wrong. 43:43 I used to say, "Well, you know, 43:45 let the Holy Spirit surrender and let Him control." 43:49 No, it is a moment by moment decision. 43:51 He is never in control. 43:54 We always have to be submitting to Him. 43:56 So there's that self-discipline, 43:58 to self control perseverance. 44:01 That's patient endurance as we apply the promises 44:04 of God's Word, to perseverance at godliness, 44:09 to godliness brotherly kindness, 44:12 to brotherly kindness love. 44:14 Now listen to what he says, 44:16 "For these things are yours and abound, 44:18 you will neither be barren or unfruitful. 44:22 But he who lacks these things is short sighted 44:26 even to blindness, 44:28 and is forgotten that he was cleansed 44:30 from his old sins." 44:33 Some people are suffering spiritual amnesia. 44:35 That's right. 44:37 We don't remember Christ's sacrifice for our sins. 44:40 Therefore, Brethren, be even more diligent to make 44:43 your call an election sure, 44:46 pursuing these spiritual guidelines. 44:50 And in so doing, verse 11, says, 44:53 "An entrance will be supplied to you abundantly 44:57 into the everlasting kingdom 45:00 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 45:02 Amen. 45:03 Amen. Amen. 45:05 Praise the Lord. Yes. 45:06 As we continue in our study of school 45:10 and education, I've got Thursday's part, 45:14 "The Despisers of Authority." 45:17 You know, that is so common now, 45:19 the despisers of authority. 45:20 It seems like it's everywhere we look, 45:22 somebody despises the authority that is in charge. 45:26 Now, as we talked about the Garden of Eden and school, 45:29 we know that... 45:30 It makes me think back to my school days. 45:32 There was always some kids in the class who seemed like 45:36 they just got it right off the bat, you know. 45:38 They make good grades, 45:40 they didn't have to take the books home. 45:41 You know, I wasn't one of those fortunately. 45:44 Unfortunately, 45:45 I was one who had to take books home and study. 45:49 But we find that there are those 45:51 who are blessed with that, as I said, 45:53 I wasn't one of those. 45:55 And as we get into our study today, 45:58 we're going to find out as Shelley was bringing out 46:00 in 1 Peter Chapter 1, 46:02 God just revealed a bunch of the blessings 46:05 that He has for us. 46:07 Yes. 46:08 But now I have Chapter 2, 46:10 and we're kind of going the different direction now, 46:13 as the adversary always gets in, 46:15 you know, he gets in his blows. 46:18 And Chapter 2, in my Bible, 46:21 it's listed under destructive doctrines, 46:24 destructive doctrines. 46:25 As we look at Chapter 2, 46:27 the question in the quarterly says, 46:30 what powerful condemning words is Peter saying here? 46:33 And that is in 2 Peter 2:1-17, 46:36 we don't have time to look at all of those. 46:38 But I want to touch on a few of those things. 46:41 Peter warns us of destructive doctrines. 46:44 Notice a few of them. 46:46 In verse 1, first of all, 46:48 he warns the false prophets and false teachers. 46:53 False prophets and false teachers among you. 46:57 You know, teachers of spiritual matters, 47:00 as well as teachers in the public school system 47:03 have a great responsibility. 47:05 A great responsibility, because they are forming lives. 47:09 The people in their class are there to learn, 47:12 and to bring it into their way of life. 47:15 And so he says that there are spiritual teachers 47:19 that are false teachers. 47:22 They have a huge responsibility to preach truth, 47:24 even in our public schools, you know. 47:27 And we find in our public schools, 47:29 there are a number of wonderful 47:30 Christian teachers, in our public schools, 47:34 who will compromise 47:35 when it comes to the origin of man. 47:38 And we think... 47:40 I don't quite understand that, you know, 47:41 the Word of God says that God created man 47:43 in His image. 47:45 And yet we have good Christian people, 47:47 some, not all, in the public schools 47:51 that will water down the truth to make it easier, you know. 47:57 Each student is being formed in the image of God, 48:00 or in the image of the world. 48:03 And you know, we can put parents 48:07 into the category of teachers. 48:08 That's right. Can't we? 48:10 That's right. 48:11 Parents have much more influence than the teachers do. 48:12 Because how many hours of the day, you know, 48:14 are the kids at home with the parents 48:17 rather than in the school. 48:18 So teachers are not just teachers 48:22 influenced the children, but parents even more so 48:25 because children are impacted. 48:28 You know, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:6, he says, 48:31 "Train up a child in the way that he should go, 48:34 and when he is old," what? 48:35 "He will depart from it." 48:37 You know, we need to unpack that just a little bit. 48:40 Proverbs 22:6 sometimes feels like a hammer, 48:44 and beats down the already broken-hearted people 48:47 who have watched their children leave the church, 48:50 leave the faith. 48:52 And yet they're claiming the promise of Proverbs 22:6. 48:57 So sometimes, you know, we've seen good, honest, 49:00 faithful parents bring up their children in the nurture 49:03 and admonition of the Lord. 49:05 And yet when the children became of age, 49:07 and even earlier, and decided to go another path. 49:11 And so we think, well, is that not true? 49:13 I've struggled with the understanding 49:15 of that passage myself. 49:17 On the surface, 49:18 it does seem that there is a promise 49:20 they will not depart. 49:22 That's what it says. 49:23 On the other hand, 49:25 there seems to be clear exceptions to the rules. 49:27 We all know that and maybe it's even happened 49:29 in our own families, 49:31 that there seems to be an exception to the rule, 49:34 and that it means pretty much the opposite 49:36 of what we've taken it to mean. 49:39 And let me explain that a little bit. 49:41 It is not necessarily a promise to good parents, 49:45 but a warning to bad parents 49:47 who would shirk their responsibilities, 49:50 shirk their responsibilities to guide their children, 49:52 especially teenage children in the ways of the Lord. 49:57 This verse is meant to be a warning 50:00 about bad results of permissive parenting, 50:04 a failing to set boundaries and give guidance 50:08 to adolescence, you know, 50:10 their characters are being developed 50:11 that will form the rest of their lives. 50:15 And so we have to be so responsible. 50:18 And we have to teach our children to recognize 50:20 the authority of the Word of God, 50:23 the authority of the Word of God. 50:25 We must teach the children to respect the authority 50:28 of the Word of God, to believe it, 50:30 to embrace it, and to live it. 50:32 Yes. 50:34 I'm talking about eternal life and eternal death 50:36 in these matters. 50:38 The responsibilities on every teacher, every parent, 50:41 I would say, you have the influence 50:43 over your students, 50:45 you have the influence over your children, 50:47 over your grandchildren even, regardless of their age. 50:52 And as we go down to 2 Peter 2:3, 50:56 Peter tells us that there are false teachers 50:58 will exploit you with deceptive words. 51:03 Well, verses 4-8, God tells us of the doom of false teachers. 51:09 And in verse 6, he talks about Sodom and Gomorrah. 51:12 And I want to look at that with me 51:13 in your Bible in 2 Peter 2:6. 51:18 It says, "In turning the cities 51:20 of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, 51:22 condemn them to destruction, 51:24 making them an example 51:27 to those who afterward would live ungodly." 51:33 We have such a responsibility to teach right. 51:38 And you know, even though sin is in the world so strongly, 51:42 there is a limit to God's patience. 51:43 That's right. True. 51:45 And I have a quote here 51:46 from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 162. 51:49 And it is entitled Limits to Sinning. 51:52 The flames that consume the cities of plain shed 51:55 their warning light down even to our time. 51:59 We are taught the fearful and solemn blessing 52:01 that while God's mercy bears long with the transgressor, 52:06 there is a limit beyond which men may not go and sin. 52:10 When that limit is reached, 52:12 then the offers of mercy are withdrawn, 52:15 and the ministration of judgment begins. 52:19 So, well, that is heavy. 52:20 That's right, there is a limit to God's mercy. 52:23 Let's continue now in verse 9 52:27 of that same chapter, Chapter 2. 52:29 "Then the Lord knows 52:31 how to deliver the godly out of temptation." 52:33 Thank you, Lord. 52:34 "And to reserve the unjust 52:37 under punishment for the Day of Judgment." 52:40 And then it continues, 52:42 "And especially those who walk according to the flesh 52:44 and the lust of uncleanness, 52:46 and despise authority, 52:49 they are presumptuous self-willed, 52:52 they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. 52:55 And this was a really eye opener, 52:58 whereas angels who are greater in power 53:00 and might do not bring a reviling accusation 53:03 against them before the Lord." 53:06 That's fairly strong itself. 53:09 If you notice that sharp rebuke that Peter talks about 53:13 those who despise authority in verse 10, 53:18 he writes about it, then, as if it were us now. 53:21 It's like he's writing today's news, 53:23 even back then, it was the same. 53:25 There are those who despise authority 53:27 that dates all the way back to heaven itself. 53:31 I think Brother Ryan mentioned something about this. 53:34 The Bible tells us that there was an angel, 53:37 by the name of Lucifer, 53:39 and he despised the authority of God, 53:42 he despised the authority of God. 53:44 And as a result, he was cast out of heaven. 53:47 You can read about that in Ezekiel 28, 53:50 and Revelation 12. 53:52 And then as we bring that down to our church 53:54 situations now, we as a church body must work 53:59 in the assumption of certain levels of authority 54:03 even in the church. 54:06 I want to look at Hebrews Chapter 13, 54:10 just for a second, and I want you to see 54:12 where I'm coming from on this. 54:16 Hebrews 13:7 says, 54:18 "Remember those who rule over you 54:21 who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow, 54:25 considering the outcome of their conduct." 54:28 Again, he mentions those in 17, verse 17, 54:31 "Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, 54:35 and that they watch out for your souls as those 54:38 who must give an account. 54:40 Let them do so with joy, and not with grief, 54:44 for that would be unprofitable for you." 54:46 And then again in verse 24, 54:48 "Greet all of those who rule over you 54:51 and all of the saints. 54:54 So we find that no man is an island unto himself. 54:58 That's right. 54:59 You know, each one of us in the structure 55:01 of our present environment, 55:03 we all have someone that is over us. 55:06 And we have to learn the authority that they have, 55:10 and find our place in that and be submissive to that. 55:14 We are called to submit and obey those in authority. 55:18 Yes. 55:20 To the degree that one is being faithful 55:23 to the Lord Himself. 55:24 Now you think about that. 55:26 There are those who resist authority 55:28 in every group, in every church, 55:30 there is also those 55:37 that are resisting in every group, everywhere. 55:41 And we find that we have to give to authority. 55:44 We are not the final word, any one of us. 55:46 Amen. Amen. 55:47 Amen. 55:49 Thank you so much, Pastor Ronnie Shelton, 55:50 Pastor Kenny, Pastor Ryan, what an amazing launch, 55:53 you could say, to fourth quarter. 55:55 We just have a few moments left and give you each a moment 55:58 to share about your day or about the lesson. 55:59 That's right. 56:00 It's very simple from my perspective, 56:02 be educated by Jesus, leave that devil alone. 56:05 Very simple, very simple. 56:08 1 Corinthians 10:11 and 12 quickly, 56:10 "Now all things happen unto us for," what? 56:12 "They're examples, and they are written 56:15 for our admonition upon 56:16 whom the ends of the earth are come. 56:17 Wherefore let him that thinketh 56:19 he standeth take heed lest he fall." 56:21 Well, mine would be simply this, 56:23 that God is a God of restoration. 56:26 And He intends to restore the image of Jesus 56:30 and as we open the Bible in Genesis, 56:33 Eden lost, Revelation, Eden restored. 56:35 Amen. 56:37 My closing summation 56:38 would be without proper authority in place, 56:40 the world would be in havoc, wouldn't it? 56:42 What wouldn't it though? 56:43 Oh, wouldn't it be a mess? That's right. 56:45 But we are thankful that God 56:46 is still on His throne of authority. 56:49 And He's still in charge. 56:50 That's right. Praise the Lord. 56:52 Amen. 56:53 What an incredible study. 56:54 I'm looking forward to the rest of the lessons here 56:56 as we study together. 56:58 I want to leave you with this closing scripture. 57:00 This is 2 Timothy, this is Paul's, you could say, 57:04 at the end of his life, 57:05 he's in prison writing to his son in the faith, 57:09 parting words. 57:10 This is 2 Timothy 2:15. 57:14 New King James says, 57:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God." 57:19 Now King James says what, Pastor Kenny? 57:21 Study. 57:22 Study to show thyself approved unto God. 57:26 A workman who does not need to be ashamed, 57:29 rightly dividing the word of truth. 57:32 That is what the goal of all education is, 57:35 that we need to study to know the character of God, 57:39 know who God is, 57:41 and then have that character be restored in us, 57:46 as Shelley brought out so beautifully, 57:48 that reconciliation or restoration 57:50 back to the Father. 57:52 That is the goal when Jesus came 57:55 and died on the cross and that is His goal 57:57 for each one of us to be restored 57:58 into the image of the Father. 58:01 Join us next week, we're going to be picking up 58:04 with lesson number two, The Family. |
Revised 2020-10-04