Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200045S
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00:01 Hello, friends. I'm Jill Morikone
00:02 and wanna welcome you to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:05 We're on lesson number six. 00:06 It's hard to believe we're almost 00:08 at the middle of quarter four, 00:09 which of course has been on "Education." 00:12 This lesson, "More Lessons From the Master Teacher" 00:16 I am excited about as we open up 00:18 the Word of God and study together. 00:20 If you don't have your own copy of a quarterly, 00:22 I wanna encourage you, you can always 00:24 visit your local Seventh-day Adventist church 00:26 or you can go to the following website 00:28 ABSG.Adventist.org, that stands for 00:33 AdultBibleStudyGuide .Adventist.org. 00:37 Grab your quarterly, your Bible, 00:39 and a notepad and join us 00:41 for this edition of 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:15 We're so glad that you have joined us 01:17 for More Lessons From the Master Teacher. 01:20 Last week we looked at Jesus as the Master Teacher, 01:23 how Jesus came to reveal the Father's character, 01:27 how He humbled himself 01:29 and what the mind of Christ was all about. 01:31 We talked about how Jesus reconciled us 01:33 back to the Father, 01:35 and then, of course, Christ's first pupils, 01:37 no, not the disciples 01:39 but the shepherds and the wise men. 01:42 I'm excited about this lesson as we unpack the Word of God. 01:47 I wanna introduce to you our family here. 01:49 To my left, Pastor Ryan Day, 01:51 always a privilege to have here. 01:53 It's a blessing to be here, and I'm ready to go. 01:55 Amen. 01:56 Next, sitting next to you my sis, Dr. Yvonne Shelton. 01:59 It's a joy and a privilege to have you here 02:02 on 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 02:03 Oh, thank you. 02:05 I'm so happy to be here with you. 02:06 Amen. A blessing. 02:07 And then another sis, Shelley Quinn, 02:10 and we've been saying this all quarter, 02:11 but we went two whole quarters without her. 02:14 So we're delighted that you're back again. 02:15 Oh, it's exciting. 02:17 I praise God that I can be back. 02:18 Amen. 02:20 And then my pastor, Pastor John Lomacang, 02:22 looking forward to what the Lord 02:24 has through you today. 02:25 Amen. 02:27 You know, it's good to see a good mix. 02:28 Last quarter, we had almost all guys 02:29 almost all the time you were the Lone Ranger. 02:32 I was. 02:33 But the ladies have now leaned 02:35 the fulcrum point the other way. 02:37 It's always good to be here. That's right. 02:39 Before we go any further 02:40 and before we open up the Word of God, 02:41 we wanna go to the Lord in prayer. 02:43 And, Yvonne, would you pray for us? 02:44 Surely. 02:46 Father, God, thank You so very much 02:47 for the privilege of opening and studying Your word. 02:50 What a privilege it is. 02:51 We pray for Your presence with us, 02:53 guide us and direct us, 02:54 we pray in the worthy name of Jesus our Savior. 02:57 Amen. Amen. 02:59 I wanna start with a question here today. 03:01 Have you ever been ashamed of something you did? 03:04 Both my hands would go up. 03:06 Have you ever hoped that maybe nobody would find out? 03:10 Have you ever felt guilty? 03:13 All have sinned and all have wanted to hide 03:17 at some point or another, but God wants to restore. 03:21 He wants to forgive. He wants to cleanse. 03:24 I think of Adam and Eve in the garden, 03:26 and how they ran and hid from the God who had made them. 03:30 I think of Jacob, he ran and hid 03:34 from the father he had deceived. 03:37 I think of Jonah. 03:38 He ran and tried to hide 03:40 from the God he claimed to serve. 03:43 I think of Achan. 03:45 He hid the Babylonian garment and the shackles of gold 03:48 and silver thinking that 03:50 his sin was not going to be found out. 03:53 I think of the woman caught in adultery in John Chapter 8, 03:57 cowering at Jesus feet, wanting to hide, 04:00 wanting to disappear 04:02 when her Savior stood ready to forgive her. 04:05 I think of Ananias and Sapphira, 04:08 hiding their covetousness from the apostles 04:11 and that had life-altering results, 04:13 would you say so? 04:16 The more as I look at society today, 04:20 we are fragmented clearly. 04:22 We are separated by class or caste or culture, by race, 04:28 ethnicity, background, position, power, personalities, 04:32 education, intelligence, economic status, 04:35 but we are all united. 04:37 And the one fact that we are all sinners, 04:40 and we all are in need of a Savior. 04:43 Romans 3:23, Paul says, 04:45 "All have sinned 04:46 and fallen short of the glory of God." 04:49 But I'm thankful it doesn't stop there. 04:51 You go over a couple of chapters 04:52 to Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, 04:55 but the gift of God is eternal life 04:59 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 05:00 Amen. 05:02 I'm so grateful, Romans 5:8, 05:04 "God demonstrated His love for us. 05:07 And that while we were still sinners, 05:09 while we were yet even in our sin, 05:13 Christ died for us." 05:15 Our Memory Text is Mark 10:52. 05:20 Mark 10:52, "Then Jesus said to him, 05:23 'Go your way, 05:24 your faith has made you well.' 05:28 And immediately he received his sight 05:31 and followed Jesus on the road." 05:34 On Sunday's lesson, 05:35 we go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. 05:38 Genesis Chapter 3. 05:40 If you wanna open up your Bibles, 05:41 we're going to Genesis Chapter 3. 05:43 Sunday's lesson is entitled "Instead of Hiding." 05:47 Now if you've been following Sabbath School panel, 05:49 Pastor Ryan, for the entire quarter, 05:51 you'll know that we discussed 05:53 this particular Genesis Chapter 3 05:55 in the temptation in the first lesson, 05:57 but we're going to revisit it again 05:59 with a little different look from the lesson here. 06:02 Genesis Chapter 3, you know, I like lists. 06:06 So we're gonna cover four major points, 06:09 temptation, sin, consequences, 06:13 and God's solution. 06:15 So we start with the temptation, 06:17 then we move to sin, the consequences of that sin, 06:21 and then God's solution. 06:22 So we're in Genesis 3:1, 06:24 the first word of my Bible is now. 06:27 "Now the serpent was more cunning 06:29 than any beast of the field." 06:31 When you start something with now, what does it mean? 06:33 So things coming before, 06:35 something happened before there is a connection 06:38 with what happened in Chapter 2. 06:41 It links the story of the creation account 06:43 with this story of the fall. 06:46 There was a perfect creation story, 06:48 Genesis 1 and 2, what do we see? 06:50 God said, "It was very good." 06:53 God said, "It was very good." 06:55 We get to Genesis 3, 06:57 and we expect another perfect happily ever after story. 07:00 And that's not the case. 07:02 "Now the serpent was more cunning 07:04 than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." 07:08 That word cunning in Hebrew actually 07:10 can be positive or negative. 07:12 And the Book of Proverbs it's translated prudent, 07:15 which would be a good word, but in this case, 07:18 it's translated in the negative sense meaning 07:21 crafty, shrewd, deceptive, 07:25 "The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field. 07:28 And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 07:31 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?''" 07:35 Now was that really what God had commanded? 07:37 Absolutely not. 07:39 If you look back at Genesis 2:16-17, 07:42 God actually had said, 07:44 "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, 07:47 but at the tree of the knowledge 07:49 of good and evil you shall not eat, 07:51 for in the day that you eat of it 07:52 you shall surely die." 07:53 So what Satan through the serpent 07:55 did was took God's command, 07:57 which was a positive, 07:59 you may freely eat of every tree, 08:00 and turned it into a negative, 08:03 you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. 08:07 Satan took the command and turned it into a plural, 08:11 not just one tree they weren't supposed to eat 08:13 of he made it seem like many trees. 08:16 He changed the meaning of God's directive. 08:18 Verse 2, "And the woman said to the serpent, 08:21 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 08:23 but if the fruit of the tree 08:24 which is in the midst of the garden, 08:26 God has said, 'You should not eat it, 08:28 nor shall you touch it, lest you die.''" 08:32 Eve's very first mistake was what? 08:33 To enter into dialogue with the serpent. 08:38 We take the first step into sin 08:41 when we begin to dally with temptation. 08:45 When we begin to think, "Oh, well, that looks pleasant. 08:49 Oh, I might be able to get away with that. 08:52 Oh, let me think about that for a while 08:55 because I want to dwell on that thought, 08:57 that's not godly." 08:59 We dally in sin in temptation, 09:04 and then we continue in sin, 09:06 by misunderstanding the character of God. 09:09 That's what we see in Genesis Chapter 3, 09:12 Eve actually magnified and change God's command 09:15 she added to it, she made it more restrictive 09:18 than God even had made it. 09:19 God never said anything about touching the tree 09:21 yet she added to it. 09:24 Temptation and sin come from a misunderstanding 09:27 of the character of God. 09:30 You know, saints done a great job of attributing 09:32 his own characteristics to God. 09:35 So when we look at God, 09:36 we think, "Oh, God's not loving. 09:38 God is unjust." No, Satan is unjust. 09:40 "Oh, God is not merciful." 09:42 Satan twists the character of God. 09:46 Ryan did a beautiful job of this in the first lesson, 09:50 the three legs I call it of temptation. 09:52 We're looking at them briefly. 09:55 First he said God is restrictive. 09:57 Second leg, God is a liar. 10:00 And the third leg, God is selfish 10:03 and only looking out for himself. 10:05 It's all centered on that misrepresentation 10:09 of the character of God. 10:11 God is restrictive. 10:12 We're in Genesis 3:1, the second half of the verse, 10:15 "The serpent said to the woman, 'Has got indeed said, 10:18 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?''" 10:20 In other words, he's saying, 10:22 God doesn't care about my happiness. 10:23 He only cares about His rules. 10:25 God is keeping things from you that might you might enjoy. 10:29 God is restrictive. 10:31 We see God is a liar in verse 4, 10:34 "Then the serpent said to the woman, 10:35 'You shall not surely die.'" 10:38 What is he saying? 10:40 God doesn't really mean what he says. 10:41 His commandments aren't really the truth. 10:44 God is dishonest or untrustworthy. 10:47 Like number 3, we see in verse 5, 10:49 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it 10:51 your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 10:55 knowing good and evil." 10:57 What is he saying? 10:58 God doesn't want you to advance. 11:00 God doesn't want you to become better. 11:01 He doesn't want you to experience other things. 11:04 He's selfish and only looking out for Himself. 11:07 Temptation and sin come 11:09 from a misunderstanding of the character of God. 11:13 Now that is temptation. We know temptation is not sin. 11:16 Sin occurred in the next verse, verse 6, 11:18 when she actually reached out, and what happened? 11:21 Took the fruit and ate. 11:23 Verse 6, "When the woman saw that 11:24 the tree was good for food, 11:26 that it was pleasant to the eyes, 11:27 and a tree desirable to make one wise, 11:30 she took of the fruit and ate. 11:32 She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." 11:36 Now what's interesting, it says when the woman saw, 11:39 it reminds me of Genesis 1, 11:41 when Gods saw what he had made and said it was very good. 11:46 This suggests that Eve had usurped 11:49 the creator's role in determining 11:52 what was good. 11:53 Now she's the judge of what was good. 11:55 When she saw that the tree was good for food, 11:58 pleasant to the eyes, and desirable, 12:00 the word desirable is the same word 12:01 as covetousness in the Ten Commandments. 12:05 She coveted the fruit there, she took and eat. 12:09 We know that Eve was clearly deceived 12:11 by the serpent. 12:12 Adam was not so deceived. 12:14 He knowingly took and ate of the fruit. 12:19 And there were consequences. 12:21 Sin brings shame, fear, and guilt. 12:25 We're in next verse, verse 7, 12:27 "The eyes of both of them were opened, 12:29 and they realized they were naked. 12:30 And they sewed fig leaves together 12:32 and covered themselves. 12:34 They heard the sound of the Lord God 12:35 walking in the garden in the cool of the day," 12:37 and what did they do? 12:39 They didn't run to meet Him. 12:40 They ran and hid themselves. Why? 12:43 Because they were afraid 12:45 because the consequences of sin is fear, 12:48 and guilt, and separation from God, 12:51 but I'm so grateful 12:53 that the story doesn't end there. 12:54 That we don't end there that God has a solution. 12:58 And that's the plan of salvation. 12:59 God had in mind from even before 13:02 the world was created this plan of salvation. 13:06 Jesus came, we talked about it last lesson, 13:08 Jesus came to reconcile us back to the Father, 13:13 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "All things of God, 13:17 who has reconciled us 13:19 to Himself through Jesus Christ," 13:21 the blood of Jesus reconciles us back to the Father, 13:25 "and it's given to you and I 13:26 this ministry of reconciliation." 13:30 One more verse, Romans 5, 13:32 we won't read the whole passage. 13:34 You can read it later, Romans 5:10-19. 13:37 Well, let's read verses 18 and 19. 13:39 "Therefore, as through one man's offense," 13:41 that's Adam's sin, "judgment came to all men, 13:45 resulting in condemnation," that's the consequence of sin, 13:49 "even so through one Man's righteous act," 13:51 that's the death of Jesus, "the free gift 13:54 came to all men resulting in justification of life. 13:57 For as by one man's disobedience 13:59 many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience, 14:04 many will be made righteous." 14:06 Adam sinned and we were separated 14:08 from God seemingly forever, but Jesus came 14:11 that we would be reconciled back to the Father. 14:14 Ryan. Amen. Praise the Lord. 14:16 That sets up perfectly for Monday's lesson, 14:18 which is entitled, "On the Run." 14:20 And much like Adam and Eve, I can throw Jonah in there, 14:24 I can even throw the disciples in there, 14:26 the night that Jesus was arrested, 14:28 they all scattered, 14:29 and they were on the run away from God, 14:32 you know, many of us, we're on the run. 14:36 We're running away from God rather than running to God, 14:38 but God is still a merciful God. 14:40 And on Monday's lesson entitled, On the Run, 14:43 we're gonna see that a particular story in Scripture 14:47 is used to illustrate this point. 14:50 And I think there's something 14:51 that we can be educated on this issue. 14:54 So let's go to Genesis 28:10-17. 14:57 Genesis Chapter 28, 14:59 we're gonna begin reading in verse 10. 15:01 This is a story that many of us have heard many times. 15:04 It's one of those that many, many sermons have been 15:07 written about, but there's always something 15:09 that I believe we can glean from the story. 15:12 Verse 10, again, Genesis 28, beginning with verse 10. 15:16 It says, "Now Jacob went out from Beersheba 15:19 and went towards Haran. 15:21 Now he came to a certain place and stayed there all night 15:26 because the sun had set." 15:28 So I just wanna pause there for a moment, 15:30 it just kind of set the record 15:31 as to where we are in this story 15:34 because obviously, up to this point, 15:36 Jacob has already committed his sin. 15:39 He has deceived his father and his family, trying to... 15:44 And we're gonna say, 15:46 trying to climb up a different ladder, 15:48 we're gonna say, to get success, 15:50 but now he is on the run. 15:52 He's on his way to Uncle Laban's place, 15:54 but he's isolated, he's alone, he's scared, he's fearful. 15:58 And so now we see her in verse 11. 16:00 It says, "He came out to a certain place 16:02 and stayed there all night," he's on his way there, 16:05 "because the sun had set. 16:07 And he took one of the stones of that place 16:11 and put it at his head, 16:13 and he lay down in that place to sleep." 16:16 That must have been a uncomfortable sleeping night, 16:20 laying your head up on a rock, but we're gonna see 16:23 there's a powerful lesson in that. 16:24 It says, "Then he dreamed," notice verse 12 here, 16:26 "Then he dreamed, behold, 16:27 a ladder was set up on the earth, 16:30 and its top reached to the heaven, 16:32 and there was angels of God 16:34 that were ascending and descending on it." 16:37 Verse 13, "And behold, 16:38 the Lord stood above it and said, 16:41 'I am the Lord God of Abraham your father 16:43 and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, 16:48 I will give you and your descendants. 16:51 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, 16:54 you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, 16:57 to the north and the south, 16:58 and in you and in your seed 17:00 all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" 17:04 Verse 15, "'Behold, I am with you, 17:07 and will keep you wherever you go,' he says, 17:10 'and will bring you back to this land, 17:12 for I will not leave you until I have done 17:14 what I have spoken to you.' 17:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 17:18 'Surely the Lord is in this place, 17:22 and I did not know it.' 17:24 And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! 17:28 This is none other than the house of God, 17:32 and this is the gate of heaven!'" 17:36 Now I know it's a lengthy passage, 17:38 but as I'm reading through that, 17:39 I took a few notes on this. 17:41 First of all, notice God's mercy 17:43 and patience for this brother. 17:46 This dude is a liar and a deceiver, right? 17:49 Most of us would already cast judgment, 17:51 say he don't deserve anything good, 17:52 but it seems like coming out 17:54 of this deceptive lying situation, 17:56 you would think God would say, "Hey, oh, well, 17:58 you're on the run, you need to make up, 18:01 you need to be good for what you've just done, 18:02 you need to pay for what you've done." 18:04 That's how a lot of people view God, 18:05 but out the front here we see that 18:08 God is a merciful God, he's a patient God. 18:11 You see, God knows that he can still transform 18:14 and use this man, 18:15 even in the problems in the sense 18:17 that he has committed he knows the heart, 18:18 I think of the disciples, 18:20 the disciples were not even converted 18:22 the entire three years that they were with Jesus, 18:24 but God still had patience. 18:25 Jesus still had patience 18:27 with these men who were sinners. 18:29 They were selfish, selfish thoughts, 18:32 and always presenting themselves 18:33 in a very haughty, proudful way, 18:35 but God has patience for us. 18:37 Notice, you know, 18:38 Jacob has messed up at this point, 18:40 feeling all alone and completely isolated, 18:43 but God still shows up to educate this young man. 18:46 He's like, "Man, 18:47 I'm not through with you, brother." 18:49 I've got a plan for you. Listen up. 18:51 See all this land that you're there, 18:52 right where you are. 18:54 I'm gonna give it to you. 18:55 As far as your eye can see, you know, 18:56 I'm going to honor that promise. 18:59 I'm gonna complete that promise, 19:01 and then notice that it says, 19:02 "That Jacob leaned his head 19:05 on a rock to rest." 19:09 Don't miss that. That's good. 19:11 He leaned his head on a rock. 19:15 Okay, don't miss this, my friends, 19:17 Matthew 21:42 and 44. 19:19 I got to make this point 19:20 because many of us are on the run 19:22 away from Christ in the wrong direction 19:25 when really we just need to be leaning on Jesus. 19:26 Come on. Come on. 19:28 "Lean on me." Come on. 19:30 Come on "When you're not strong, 19:33 I'll be your friend. 19:35 I'll help you carry on lean on me." 19:37 We know that song, right? 19:39 Notice what Jesus says here, Matthew 21:42 and 44. 19:42 Jesus said to the Pharisees, he said, 19:43 "Have you never read in the Scriptures, 19:45 'The stone which the builders rejected 19:47 has become the chief cornerstone." 19:49 I just got to make this point, powerful point here. 19:52 "This was the Lord's doing 19:53 and it is marvelous in our eyes." 19:56 And notice what verse 44 says, 19:58 speaking of that stone Jesus referring to himself 20:01 as the stone he says, 20:02 "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, 20:06 but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." 20:10 Got to make this point, okay, lean on the rock. 20:13 Rest your head, Jesus said, "Oh, 20:16 come to Me all you who labor 20:18 and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." 20:20 I think there's a spiritual point here, 20:22 this great promise, 20:23 this great transition in Jacob's situation cane 20:28 because he leaned his head upon a rock to take a rest. 20:31 Okay? So don't miss that point. 20:33 Many of us are running away from Jesus, 20:35 when we need to turn around 20:36 and go back in the direction of Jesus 20:38 and we need to lean on the rock, 20:39 but many of us are gonna run away from Him, 20:41 we're on the run, we're gonna remain on the run 20:43 and the rock's gonna come and fall on us. 20:45 And that's something 20:47 we need to take in consideration 20:48 when you lean on Jesus the rock, 20:51 amazing things happen. 20:52 And that's exactly what we see this great vision 20:55 that he has of the ladder, 20:57 we know that this ladder represents Jesus Himself. 20:59 In fact, we're quoting Acts of the Apostles. 21:02 The lesson brings out that Ellen White wrote this 21:04 of how Paul even Paul himself much later, 21:07 referring to Acts of the Apostles, page 512. 21:10 This is a quote from there it says, 21:11 "Behold the ladder of Jacob's vision, 21:14 representing Christ, 21:15 who has connected earth with heaven, 21:18 and finite man with the infinite God. 21:22 His faith is strengthened as he calls to mind 21:25 how patriarchs and prophets have relied 21:28 upon the One who is his support and consolation 21:32 and for whom He is giving His life." 21:36 That's powerful. 21:38 We see Jacob was trying to climb the ladder of success 21:41 by deceiving his own family to get there. 21:43 He was just climbing the wrong ladder. 21:47 When we remove Christ from the equation, my friends, 21:49 there can be no true success. 21:51 You know, and we think of this in the world today, 21:53 we think of like celebrities, you know, 21:54 the rich and they're miserable. 21:56 We think that that's true success. 21:58 They're climbing the wrong ladder of success, 22:00 you know, wealthy business leaders 22:02 that are rich, but they're empty. 22:04 Money made by them the world, but they lose out on their soul 22:07 and they lose their souls 22:08 in the process just to gain the world 22:10 they lose out on their salvation. 22:11 People today chasing careers. This is a major point. 22:14 I wish I had more time to really expound on this, 22:16 but we live in a world today 22:17 where people are chasing careers 22:19 because they're trying to climb the ladder of success. 22:23 Spending precious time, money, and talents to impress men 22:26 become something in the world, 22:28 and end up losing out on the eternal life. 22:30 I'm not saying that having a career is a bad thing. 22:32 All of us need to be successful inasmuch as we can, 22:35 but not lose out on our salvation in the process 22:38 because we're given too much of our time, 22:40 our efforts, and our resources to the world 22:42 to become something for the world and for man 22:44 but we lose out on Jesus Christ. 22:45 And in relation to our education topic, 22:48 we have fathers and mothers on this same note, 22:50 who instead of spending more time 22:52 educating and nurturing their children 22:53 in the way of the Lord. 22:55 We dump our kids off on the world, 22:57 to be raised by the world, to be educated by men, 23:00 to be educated by systems and things... 23:02 And I'm not even gonna go into the fact, 23:04 I recognize that 23:05 there's certain situations that that, 23:07 you know, you can't avoid, you know, 23:09 we have to put our kids here or there, 23:11 but at the end of the day, we have become so, so, 23:14 so drowned and just wrapped up in this career mindedness. 23:18 This trying to climb the ladder of success to become someone, 23:23 chasing a career making more and more and more money 23:25 because we're never ever satisfied. 23:27 And this is what ultimately led Jacob 23:30 for a time in isolation. 23:32 He was willing to deceive to get what he wanted, 23:34 but Jacob was climbing the wrong ladder. 23:38 All to climb the ladder of success 23:40 and achieve a successful career and notification of the world. 23:44 My advice would be just to get a different ladder. 23:47 Go to Jesus Christ, the true ladder, 23:49 like the prodigal son, many are on the run. 23:53 We just need to stop and turn around 23:56 and see Jesus is not too far behind us 23:58 because He's running at us. 23:59 He's chasing us because He wants to save us. 24:03 Jesus is that ladder, my friends, Jesus is that rock. 24:07 Lean on Jesus now, that's the message. 24:10 Lean on Jesus now 24:12 so that we can be truly successful 24:14 and be saved and redeemed in the end. 24:16 Amen. Thank you so much, Ryan. 24:18 We've had church all ready, there's more to come. 24:21 We're gonna take a short break. We'll be right back. 24:28 Ever wish you could watch 24:29 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 24:31 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:35 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com, 24:40 a clean design makes it easy 24:42 to find the program you're looking for. 24:44 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:48 so you can follow along. 24:49 Sharing is easy. 24:51 Just click Share 24:52 and choose your favorite social media. 24:54 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:58 Welcome back to our study lesson number six 25:00 More Lessons From the Master Teacher. 25:02 We're gonna pick it up with Tuesday, and Yvonne. 25:05 First of all, this has been just amazing. 25:08 I feel like I've been to church already. 25:09 I just want to shout. It's just so exciting. 25:12 When you hear about 25:14 how God just has intervened and the Rock, tsur, 25:17 in Hebrew, the rock, 25:19 He is the rock of our salvation. 25:21 So that's so powerful. 25:23 Anyway, I have Tuesday's lesson, 25:25 "Rabbi Jesus." 25:27 And the word Rabbi in Hebrew means my teacher or my master. 25:32 And in Judaism, 25:34 it was a person that was qualified 25:35 by academic studies 25:37 of the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, 25:39 to act as a spiritual leader and religious teacher 25:42 of a Jewish community or congregation. 25:45 So of course, Jesus was qualified, 25:47 more than qualified to teach. 25:50 And so our Sabbath School lesson 25:53 refers to John 1:1 as... 25:56 Well, John 1:1-14, 25:58 but I just kind of wanna break down John 1:1 26:01 because it's really, really powerful. 26:04 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 26:10 and the Word was God." 26:11 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 26:14 and the Word was God." 26:16 In the beginning, 26:18 the word beginning that 26:19 John used to in the Greek was Archee, 26:24 A-R-C-H-E-E. 26:26 And it's a word that reflects that Jesus Christ 26:29 was the cause of the beginning, not the first fruit, 26:33 but He was the cause of the beginning. 26:37 And so it reflects that he was not the result of it, 26:43 in the beginning was the word 26:46 and so it really correctly translated should be, 26:50 before there was a beginning, 26:53 the Word had been, before there was a beginning... 26:58 That is so rich. 26:59 Is that rich? Hallelujah. 27:02 That is so rich. 27:03 Before there was even a beginning. 27:05 So it reflects the eternity of Jesus Christ, 27:09 the Pre-Incarnate Jesus. 27:12 The was in that phrase is EEN, 27:16 it's a verb that's in the derivative 27:18 in perfect tense. 27:19 EEN speaks of a time before the beginning of things. 27:23 It has in it the concept of eternity, no beginning, 27:29 no ending, just eternity. 27:32 The word logos, logos is a very powerful word 27:37 because it has two meanings. 27:41 It means speech, primarily speech 27:45 that is uttered by mouth, so it's different from -lalia, 27:47 like glossolalia 27:49 or if an animal utters a sound, no, 27:53 this speech is speech 27:54 that is backed up with thought and reason. 27:58 So logos is the word from which we get logic and logical. 28:02 And so speech is the first meaning 28:05 the second meaning is reason and intelligence. 28:08 And John was conveying the idea 28:10 that Jesus Christ was the speech of God. 28:13 And in that speech, 28:15 there's reason and intelligence. 28:18 Logos, again, reflects the idea 28:22 of intelligence personified, 28:25 there's a quote here that 28:27 I'd like to share with you that I got from this book 28:29 that is just really powerful, it's called, 28:31 Was Christ God by a guy 28:34 whose last name was the Zodhiates, Greek guy. 28:36 And he said, "Jesus Christ was not merely a logos, 28:42 but the logos. 28:43 He was the intelligence 28:45 behind everything that was created, 28:47 He is the person responsible for the creation of the world. 28:50 That is why the definite article, 28:53 the definite article, 28:56 is used before the word logos, 28:59 He's the mastermind of all creation, 29:01 so to speak, let us never make the mistake 29:03 of classifying Jesus Christ as one of many intelligences, 29:08 or as one of many spirits. 29:10 He is the intelligence, the reason, the spirit, 29:14 above beyond and responsible for all creation, 29:18 He is the logos, there can be no one like him, 29:23 He is absolutely unique." 29:27 He is the intelligence. 29:29 You know, a lot of times people are trying to say, 29:31 "Oh, He was a God." 29:33 In fact, there's one denomination 29:35 that says that, 29:36 you know, in the beginning was the Word 29:38 and the Word was with God and the Word was a God. 29:41 It uses in an indefinite article, 29:43 no, the definite article whole logos is there. 29:47 He was the God. 29:49 Give me a shout up in here He is God. 29:53 So what does John 1:1-14 29:57 tell us about Jesus as a teacher. 29:58 Number one, Jesus is eternal. 30:01 He had a pre-incarnate existence 30:03 and is the source of creation. 30:05 Number two, 30:06 Jesus is the revelation of God to man. 30:09 Number three, 30:10 Jesus is intelligence personified. 30:14 He's the intelligence 30:15 behind everything that's been created. 30:18 Number four, Jesus became flesh and lived among us. 30:22 As humans, as a human being He lived among us. 30:26 And, you know, when we talk about him 30:28 being God's speech, 30:31 he brought the thoughts of God to man, 30:34 and talk to us in our language. 30:37 That's who Jesus is. 30:39 He talked to us, in our language, 30:41 the ultimate teacher, the ultimate communicator. 30:46 Why is this relevant to our lesson? 30:49 Number one, the creator of the universe, 30:52 became flesh and taught us Himself. 30:55 Who wouldn't want the inventor 30:56 of computer to teach us personally about 30:59 how to use a computer? 31:01 We have the creator of the universe to teach us 31:05 how to worship, how to live among men, 31:07 how to function in this world. 31:10 We have the ultimate teacher, Jesus. 31:14 He left us lessons on how to treat our fellow men 31:17 and from Him, we can learn about God's ways, 31:20 and His will because Jesus was God. 31:23 What qualities make a good teacher? 31:26 A good teacher is a strong communicator. 31:30 Jesus was a powerful communicator, 31:32 Matthew 7:28-29. 31:35 He says, "When Jesus had finished 31:37 saying these things the crowds were amazed 31:40 at His teaching because He taught as 31:42 one who had authority 31:44 and not as their teachers of the law." 31:47 Of course, He had authority. Right? 31:51 I mean, He had authority 31:53 because He was the originator of the law. 31:57 A good teacher, number two, listens well. 32:00 Jesus stayed in the moment as He ministered to people. 32:04 No, where do we read about 32:05 His mind wandering all over the place 32:07 like mine does sometimes. 32:09 He was focused. 32:10 He focused His mind 32:12 and He was in the moment with people 32:15 as He talked to them. 32:17 Number three, a good teacher is engaging. 32:20 Jesus would look at them, He touched them. 32:23 He touched the lepers 32:24 when they were considered unclean. 32:26 He touched the buyer of the widow, 32:30 He touched, He touched people. 32:34 He reached out to them. 32:35 He was engaging. 32:39 A good teacher shows empathy and caring and concern. 32:43 When we're tired, He says, "Come to me, 32:45 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 32:47 and I will give you rest. 32:48 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 32:51 for I am meek and lowly in heart, 32:53 and you will find rest unto your souls." 32:56 We can have rest in Jesus, we can rest in Him. 33:00 Number five, a good teacher has patience. 33:03 There was no greater demonstration 33:05 of the patience of Christ, 33:07 or any human as in the scenes 33:09 leading up to the crucifixion, from the garden of Gethsemane 33:13 when the disciples fell asleep, 33:15 and He went to them 33:17 and ask them where they sleep 33:18 from that time to the cross of Calvary. 33:22 The Savior demonstrated amazing, amazing patience. 33:27 Number six, a good teacher makes you think. 33:31 Jesus will go beyond the surface. 33:34 He didn't just deal superficially. 33:36 You know, He said, 33:38 for example, in Matthew 5:27-28, 33:40 "You have heard it said to those of old, 33:43 'You shall not commit adultery. 33:45 But I say to you that 33:46 whoever looks at a woman to lust for her 33:49 has already committed adultery with her in his heart." 33:53 Number seven, a good teacher is adaptable. 33:56 When Jesus was with fishermen, He talked about fishing. 34:00 When He was with farmers, He talked about farming, 34:03 the seeds, the soil, the wheat, the tears. 34:06 He was always flexible in His methods, 34:11 but not His message. 34:13 The message was consistent. 34:16 The methods were adaptable, adapted to His audience. 34:21 And a good teacher is creative. 34:23 Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe, 34:27 often used parables to teach those around Him 34:30 the parable of the workers in Matthew 20, 34:33 the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21, 34:36 He used parables because He was creative in the way 34:41 He presented truth. 34:43 We can trust our Rabbi Jesus. 34:46 He is the ultimate. 34:48 He is the ultimate teacher 34:50 because He is the Creator of all things. 34:52 We can trust Him 34:54 because we know that in the beginning was the Word 34:59 and the Word was With God, 35:01 and the Word was God 35:02 the same was in the beginning with God. 35:04 All things were made by Him. 35:06 And without Him was not anything 35:08 made that was made. 35:10 We can trust Jesus, the consummate teacher. 35:14 Amen. Amen. 35:15 Yeah, that was wonderful. Thank you. Praise the lord. 35:18 I'm gonna go Church, we just wanted the seminary. 35:21 I love everybody's studies their lesson 35:25 and brings so much. 35:27 I have Wednesday. 35:29 And the title is A Woman Talks Back. 35:33 So let's turn to Matthew Chapter 15. 35:37 Matthew 15. 35:39 We're going to begin with verse 21. 35:42 That's Matthew 15:21. 35:46 "So Jesus went out there 35:47 and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 35:51 Now let me set this up. 35:53 This region was a region of ethnic tension 35:59 between the Jews and the Gentiles. 36:02 I mean, the tension was just bristling there. 36:05 John the Baptist had been beheaded. 36:08 And Jesus was facing the dangers of His mission. 36:12 So when he was feeling tired 36:15 and straying, he went here, 36:19 looking for some rest. 36:20 I mean, the Jewish leaders were trying to do amen. 36:23 They were pouring on the pressure. 36:25 And it says it in Mark 7, 36:30 which is the parallel account. 36:32 Jesus didn't want anybody to know that He was there. 36:35 He was wanting to pull away, 36:37 get some rest and teach His disciples 36:39 a little more before His crucifixion. 36:42 So verse 22, Matthew 15:22, here's what happens. 36:47 "Behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region, 36:51 and cried out to Him, saying, 36:54 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! 36:58 My daughter is severely demon-possessed.'" 37:03 Canaanites, with the most notable enemies of Israel, 37:08 these were pagan enemies, they were notorious, 37:13 but she calls him Son of David. 37:18 She recognized she knew the covenant 37:22 Sonship progression should go this way. 37:25 That, David, part of the covenant was, 37:29 when God made the covenant with David, 37:31 you will have someone who's on the throne forever. 37:36 So she's recognizing Jesus 37:38 by calling him Son of David as the Messiah. 37:43 Now what's interesting, it says in verse 23, 37:47 "He answered her not a word. 37:50 And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 37:54 'Send her away, she cries out after us.'" 37:58 It was culturally unacceptable for a woman to assert herself. 38:03 And you can tell that, 38:05 I mean, she had the further disadvantage 38:07 of being a Gentile, 38:08 there was some prejudice here, 38:10 so the disciples are dismissive, 38:12 they're impatient with her, and they're just like, 38:14 "Oh, Lord, get rid of this woman." 38:17 And, you know, Jesus was not ignoring her. 38:23 We're gonna see that in the lesson 38:25 'cause what He wanted to do is master teacher 38:28 was not only teach her something, 38:31 but teach His disciples. 38:32 He says in verse 24, "He answered the woman, 38:37 and He said, 'I was not sent 38:41 except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'" 38:44 Now let me just do a little sidebar, 38:47 in Matthew 10, 38:49 Jesus had sent the 12 out, commanding them 38:52 don't go into the way of the Gentiles go, 38:56 don't enter into the senate city 38:58 of the Samaritans. 38:59 He didn't tell them, 39:01 they couldn't teach Gentiles or Samaritans, 39:03 but He was saying go 39:05 to the lost sheep of Israel first 39:07 is basically what he was saying. 39:09 So as the covenant son, 39:14 he had a covenant mission, 39:17 and that was to reach the children, 39:21 the covenant children of God first, 39:24 we might say today, 39:26 he was preaching to the choir, but, you know, 39:27 what sometimes choir needs a little preaching. 39:30 I mean, if they're singing off tune, 39:33 if they're singing off tune, 39:34 they're not going to anybody come join him 39:36 because it's not very attractive, 39:38 but also because the children of the covenant 39:42 had been taken advantage of by their spiritual leaders. 39:48 So what he does then verse 25, 39:52 he's trying, you know, Romans 1:16 39:55 says the power of the gospel 39:56 was first for the Jews and also for the Gentiles. 40:00 Verse 25, the woman, it says, "Then she came," 40:06 and what did she do? 40:07 Worshiped Him. "She worshiped Him." 40:10 I can see her on her knees in front of Jesus. 40:15 And she says, "'Lord, help me!' 40:20 But He answered and said," this is interesting. 40:22 Here's coming our lesson. 40:24 "It is not good to take the children's bread 40:27 and throw it to the little dogs." 40:32 The parallel passage of Matthew 7, 40:37 add something, here's what it says. 40:39 Mark 7. Mark 7. 40:42 Thank you. 40:43 What Mark 7 says, Jesus says, 40:48 "Let the little children be filled first." 40:52 So that was the top price already, 40:55 but it also implied, 40:57 hey, Gentiles, you're gonna have your turn. 41:01 And then He went on and said, 41:03 "It's not good to take the children's bread 41:04 and throw it to the little dogs." 41:06 Now I wanna point out when Jesus used this term, 41:11 little dogs, this wasn't a racial slur. 41:14 In fact, it was a term of endearment. 41:17 The little dogs were belonged to the wealthy people. 41:21 They were the lap. 41:23 The little pets, they were lap dogs. 41:26 Now the Jews when they referred to the Canaanites, 41:31 they use different words to call them dogs 41:33 like they were ferocious mongrels, 41:37 but what he's implying here 41:40 is that at that time, 41:44 Gentiles didn't have the same place 41:46 in God's household. 41:48 He had to reach the covenant children first. 41:51 And when he's talking about the bread 41:53 that was the covenant blessings 41:55 that were offered to the Jews, so verse 27, 41:58 she says, "Yes, Lord, 42:02 yet even to the little dogs eat the crumbs 42:07 which fall from their master's table." 42:11 I think that's precious 42:13 because she did not get offended. 42:16 She didn't... 42:17 There was no spirit of pride in her. 42:19 In fact, her answer shows total humility. 42:24 You know, the little dogs that little pets get to eat, 42:29 from the crumbs that are falling 42:31 from their master's table. 42:33 So her humble faith, her worshipful attitude, 42:39 she in the lesson it says, she's the woman who talkback. 42:43 Well, let me tell you something. 42:44 So am I. 42:47 I can't tell you how many times I talk back to the Lord. 42:50 I remember when the Lord told me that piece 42:55 I was in a really miserable time. 42:58 It had been a year of severe illness. 43:01 And the Lord said to me, 43:04 I set before you life and death, choose life. 43:07 And I was in no shape to figure it out. 43:11 And I told the Lord, I said, Lord, you know, my condition, 43:16 I have chosen like Jesus Christ is my Savior. 43:19 If you mean anything more than that, 43:22 you've got to explain it to me. 43:24 I can't figure it out. 43:26 And He said to me, "My word is life to you. 43:31 If you choose My Word, you've chosen life." 43:35 Let me tell you something. 43:37 God knows what you're thinking. 43:39 And you can... 43:40 It's not being taught. 43:42 I wasn't talking back disrespectfully. 43:45 I wasn't being prideful. 43:47 I was crying out to the Lord 43:49 like this woman was, helped me, Lord, understand. 43:52 And so when you are reading the Word of God, 43:56 I encourage you to pray 43:58 and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand. 44:01 And when you don't tell Him what I don't understand, 44:05 show me. 44:06 So listen to Jesus' reaction to this woman. 44:10 Verse 28. 44:12 "Jesus answered to her after she said, "Hey, 44:15 even the little dogs get to eat the crumbs 44:18 that dropped from their master's table." 44:20 He says that I could see with a big smile. 44:23 "'O woman, great is your faith! 44:26 Let it be to you as you desire.' 44:30 And her daughter was healed at that very moment." 44:34 You know, He commands her 44:36 and we know He wasn't trying to hold back from the Gentiles. 44:40 He had already healed the Centurion's Servant. 44:44 And He commended the Centurion saying 44:48 what greater faith I haven't found 44:50 anywhere in Israel. 44:52 And so now He's telling her the same thing, 44:57 but Luke 18:8, he says, "I tell you," 45:01 when he's talking about the widow and the judge, 45:04 he says, as the widows crying out, 45:07 I tell you that, "God will avenge speedily. 45:12 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, 45:14 will He find faith on the earth?" 45:17 We have to be persistent 45:19 and come before Him in true faith. 45:23 Amen. Amen. Thank you, Shelley. 45:25 You guys have really lit a bonfire here. 45:28 So I'm down here down winning the smoke. 45:32 Appreciate all of that you've, but mine is a Thursday, 45:35 The Student Who Gets It. 45:38 Now this is important to me because growing up as a... 45:42 Grown up in a Seventh-day Adventist home, 45:44 I didn't get it most of my life, 45:46 but when I got it, it got me. 45:48 That's the difference here. 45:50 We're gonna go and look at something 45:51 The Student Who Gets It turned to Mark Chapter 10 45:56 as you go there, verse 46-52. 45:59 This is a story about a blind man 46:02 who receives his sight which is far deeper than 46:05 just receiving sight 46:07 because when you when you look at the truth, 46:09 when you see the truth as it is in Jesus, 46:12 it is not always apparent because truth is revelatory. 46:17 You're gonna see that in just a moment. 46:19 When we hear the truth as it is in Jesus, 46:22 we don't always see it 46:25 because truth is revelatory Notice this. 46:29 "Now," verse 46, "they came to Jericho. 46:33 As He went out of Jericho with His disciples 46:35 and a great multitude, 46:37 blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, 46:39 sat by the road begging. 46:43 And when he heard that it was Jesus," first of all, 46:45 he heard that it was, "Jesus of Nazareth, 46:48 he began to cry out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, 46:52 have mercy on me!' 46:54 Then many warned him to be quiet, 46:56 but he crowded all the more, 'Son of David, 46:59 have mercy on me!' 47:01 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. 47:05 Then they call the blind man's saying to him, 47:08 'Be of good cheer. 47:09 Rise, He is calling you.' 47:13 And throwing aside his garment," 47:15 spiritual change from our righteousness to His. 47:20 "He rose," you can't sit down when Jesus calls, 47:23 "and came to Him." 47:24 You can't run away from Him. 47:26 All these are actions of transformation on the way. 47:30 "So Jesus answered and said to him," I love this. 47:33 When you are willing to get rid of your garment 47:37 and rise up at the word of Christ 47:41 and come to Him, 47:43 only then can you answer the question, 47:46 "What would you have Me do for you?" 47:48 So he said, "The blind man said to Him, 47:52 'Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.' 47:54 Then Jesus said to him, 'Go your way, 47:58 your faith has made you well.' 48:00 And immediately he received his sight 48:03 and followed Jesus on the road." 48:06 As I studied the story, I say, 48:08 I came to a conclusion 48:09 that the formerly blind man follow Jesus, 48:11 not because of physical restoration, 48:14 but of spiritual alteration. 48:17 There's a difference. 48:19 A lot of people have physical restoration, 48:21 but can't see. 48:23 A lot of people have perfectly good eyes, 48:25 but they never come to the point of following Jesus 48:28 because the physical restoration 48:30 doesn't always mean the physical restoration 48:34 doesn't always equate to spiritual alteration. 48:36 He had an altering moment with Christ. 48:38 That's why when they said to him, "Shh..." 48:40 He said, "No!" 48:42 And he raised his voice because this was his moment. 48:45 Some of you never have a spiritual alteration 48:47 because you don't take advantage of the moment. 48:51 They didn't take advantage of the moment. 48:52 So when you look at the story, 48:53 the revelatory nature of Jesus is expressed in the story. 48:57 Revelatory, meaning what? 48:58 Enlightening, not just physical but spiritually enlightening, 49:02 also illuminating. 49:04 He saw something physical, 49:06 but he saw something even deeper spiritually that 49:09 he had never understood before. 49:10 I'm convinced that we decided to follow Jesus, 49:13 not because we understand something 49:15 but because we embrace it. 49:17 Now follow what I mean by that 49:19 because not only is truth revelatory, 49:22 it has an enlightening component 49:23 and an illuminating component, 49:25 and edifying component and advisory component, 49:28 but it also has an elucidative component. 49:32 Now follow what that means. 49:33 Elucidative means truth is not become truth 49:36 because you understand it. 49:38 Truth becomes truth because you embrace it, 49:43 meaning it's truth before it's clear to you, 49:46 but elucidative means progressively clear. 49:49 See, when you embrace what Jesus' Word says, 49:53 then one day the light will come on. 49:56 But if you don't embrace it as it is, 49:58 then the light will never come on. 50:00 It's like buying a brand new toy, 50:02 you don't know how to use it, but the more you play with it, 50:06 you get excited because you learn the features. 50:08 Now those features are already there, 50:11 but if you repulse the toy, if you put away the object, 50:15 if you don't study the manual, the instructional book, 50:20 something that you purchase, 50:21 you will never get to the depth of its usage. 50:24 You see this blind man, one is something more. 50:27 I believe that when Jesus affects us spiritually, 50:31 then we have no other choice but to follow Him. 50:35 Those who are following Jesus are affected spiritually, 50:40 they're not affected physically. 50:42 Physical manifestation 50:43 is a lot of what Christianity is today, 50:45 physical manifestation. 50:47 That's why in this COVID-19 environment, 50:49 a lot of people are affected negatively 50:51 because they can't show their relationship physically. 50:55 What I want to tell you, brethren, 50:58 the emotion of religion 51:00 can never replace the elucidative aspects of it, 51:06 the clarity of it, once again, 51:08 truth does not become truth because you understand it. 51:13 It becomes, it is already truth, 51:16 when it becomes clear to you. 51:17 I got it. 51:19 And how many times have you studied something? 51:21 I know you've been studying the names of God, 51:23 but you just lit us up today on that, I appreciate that. 51:25 Praise the Lord. 51:26 But what happens, it's what you studied 51:28 became elucidative, 51:30 clear, I love when you said, Jesus... 51:34 Creation is the effect of His reality. 51:38 I'm kind of paraphrasing it. 51:40 He is. 51:42 So therefore He does not He becomes but He is. 51:47 I am not I was or I will be, I am the reality of God. 51:51 So when you look at this, you find also in John 9:7 51:55 look at the elucidative process here, 51:58 embracing truth and going on it 52:01 and something happens when you embrace it. 52:03 Look at this, John 9:7, "And He said to him, 52:06 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, 52:09 which is translated sent. 52:11 So he went and washed, and came back seeing." 52:16 The elucidative quality what he didn't understand, 52:20 he didn't wait till it was clear 52:22 before he started walking, 52:23 he started walking in darkness, 52:25 but came back in light. 52:27 So when you embrace truth, while you're in darkness, 52:30 you will come back in light, elucidative qualities. 52:34 And when you look at this whole aspect of sin, 52:35 and we talked about that earlier, 52:37 you'll notice sin was introduced 52:39 by Satan appealing to each side. 52:42 He said, "Your eyes will be opened." 52:45 He was saying to her, 52:47 "You can have a physical alteration." 52:50 What she didn't know was Jesus 52:51 had already given her a spiritual illumination. 52:55 When you reject spiritual illumination 52:57 for physical alteration, then you go in darkness. 53:01 That's the difference. 53:02 She was looking for something she already had. 53:04 Don't look for something you already had. 53:06 That's what sin does. 53:07 It promises you something can never give you 53:10 and it takes away something you already have. 53:13 Going to the next aspect, 53:15 Satan introduced sin by appealing to physical sight, 53:19 but Jesus introduces righteousness 53:21 by appealing to spiritual sight. 53:23 He says in Revelation 3:18, "Buy of me white, 53:28 anoint my eyes with eyes salve that I may see." 53:33 The spiritual transformation is elucidative. 53:37 Your eyesight benefits 53:40 from what is already truth when Jesus said, 53:43 "I am the way, the truth and the life." 53:45 He's not saying I'm gonna become truth, 53:46 I am truth. 53:48 If you embrace me, your eyes will be opened. 53:51 And you see that what happened with him. 53:52 And I think that Jill quite brought this out. 53:55 The eyes of them both were opened. 53:57 And they rejected the quality that they already had. 54:01 And they embraced something that they didn't want. 54:04 You see, you may see. 54:06 And I wanna bring this out. 54:07 I wrote this down here, 54:08 disobedience may placate your physical vision, 54:11 but impede your spiritual vision. 54:14 You may see something you never saw, 54:17 but when you see it, you say, "I wish I never did." 54:19 That's what sin does. 54:21 You'll notice the impact 54:23 and the spiritual alteration that Jesus wants to bring 54:26 the spiritual refreshment 54:27 always has to do with spiritual insight. 54:30 There are people that reject the law of God, you know why? 54:32 Because they have not asked 54:33 for the law of God to be revealed to them. 54:35 David asked, "Open my eyes, 54:38 that I may behold wonderful things from your law." 54:40 People reject the law of God 54:42 because they don't say, "Lord, open my eyes." 54:44 They're looking physically 54:46 and rejecting something physically 54:48 that can only be seen at the request the blind man. 54:52 What would you have me do restore my site? 54:55 Let me make a recommendation. 54:57 If the law of God is unappealing to you, 54:59 do what the blind man did. 55:01 Restore my sight because David made it clear, 55:04 "Open my eyes that I may see 55:07 wonderful things from your law." 55:09 And finally, the Lord said the reason 55:11 why the world is in the condition 55:13 that isn't today 55:15 is because seeing they do not see, 55:18 hearing they do not hear. 55:19 And therefore their understanding 55:21 is not fruitful. 55:22 Pray the prayer of the blind man, 55:23 open my eyes, 55:25 and you'll see the truth as it is in Jesus. 55:27 Amen. 55:28 Thank you so much. 55:30 What an incredible study. Praise the Lord. 55:33 Thank you, Pastor John, 55:34 and Shelley, and Yvonne, and Pastor Ryan. 55:36 I hope you have been as blessed as we have been just sitting 55:39 and soaking in what the Lord has for us through His Word. 55:42 I wanna give each one of you a moment 55:44 to share something about your day. 55:45 Yeah, absolutely. 55:46 You know, mine is simple, 55:48 I think we just need to reassess where we are, 55:50 which ladder we're climbing, 55:52 make sure you're not climbing the ladder of the world, 55:54 make sure you're climbing the ladder of Jesus Christ 55:56 because that's what brings true success. 55:59 All of us have had teachers 56:01 who have impacted our lives 56:02 but none as profoundly as Jesus Christ. 56:06 So we just need to take the lessons 56:08 that we learned from Him, absorb them, 56:10 and then share them with others. 56:13 Amen. And amen. 56:14 I would just say that like the woman 56:16 who talked back to the Lord, I've never really thought about 56:19 it as being talking back, but I just ask you that 56:23 when you're praying or when you're reading 56:25 and you don't understand, 56:27 just cry out to the Lord, say, "Lord, 56:28 You're gonna have to explain this to me." 56:30 Because He does give us the mind of Christ 56:33 through the Word and the Holy Spirit. 56:37 Talking about the elucidative of benefits of truth, 56:41 since the creation of the world, 56:44 the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen. 56:48 So why have they not been understood? 56:51 Because faith is the substance of things hoped for. 56:55 The evidence of things, not seen, not gonna alter, 56:59 not yet seen. 57:01 If you pray that prayer, you'll see it. 57:04 Amen. What an amazing study. 57:06 You know, after this study, I want lesson three, 57:09 the next lesson to be More Extra More Lessons 57:12 From the Master Teacher. 57:14 We already had some on the master teacher. 57:16 We made another one. 57:17 Our Closing Scripture, John 1:14. 57:19 Yvonne already unpacked this, 57:21 but I just wanna reference it again. 57:22 John 1:14, "And the Word Jesus Christ 57:27 became flesh and dwelt among us, 57:31 and we beheld His glory, 57:32 the glory as of the only begotten 57:34 of the Father, full of grace and truth." 57:37 I love that word for dwelt in Greek meaning 57:40 to set up one's tent. 57:42 Jesus literally came to this earth 57:45 and tabernacles with us, dwelt with us. 57:48 And He not only did that then, 57:51 He wants to dwell in your heart and in mine, 57:54 by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. 57:57 Join us next week, lesson number seven, 58:00 as we discuss Worship in Education. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-11-09