Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200046S
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00:01 Hello, friends.
00:02 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:04 My name is John Lomacang. 00:05 I wanna thank you for taking the time 00:06 to tune in to join us, 00:08 we always enjoy your participation. 00:10 We are talking about Education for this fourth quarter lesson. 00:13 And today's specifically is Worship and Education, 00:17 what you need to join us as a Bible 00:19 and a Sabbath School lesson. 00:20 If you'd like to get a copy of the lesson 00:22 two ways you can get it. 00:23 One, you can download one at ABSG.Adventist.org. 00:28 That's for the digital copy. 00:29 Or if you prefer a physical copy, 00:32 look for a local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:34 and walk in and join them for an exciting walk 00:37 through the Word of God. 00:38 Education is something we all need 00:40 and worship is the highest offer 00:43 that we can give to the Lord. 00:44 So join us right now 00:46 as we dive in the Word of God together 00:48 on our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:21 Hello, friends. 01:23 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:24 I'm John Lomacang. 01:26 Thank you for taking the time to tune in and join us. 01:29 Today, we're talking about Worship in Education. 01:34 Now worship spans a number of different subcategories, 01:38 but worship is the supreme category 01:40 because every one of us worships something. 01:45 And we're gonna find out today, 01:47 what category you might possibly fit into. 01:50 So all you need is a Bible and some time to join us. 01:53 And thank you for deciding to make us 01:56 the Sabbath School Lesson Study of your choice. 01:58 We do appreciate that. 02:00 Today, I have my family with me again. 02:02 And I know that you, 02:03 if you are a regular you know these names, 02:05 but if you're just joining us, 02:07 I'd like to introduce you to those who are on our panel 02:09 to walk you through. 02:11 To my immediate left is Vice President of 3ABN, 02:14 Jill Morikone. 02:15 Good to have you here, Jill. 02:16 Privilege to be here. Thank you, Pastor John. 02:18 But today you're in a different capacity. 02:19 You're the list lady today. 02:21 Yeah, I think so. 02:23 If you don't know her title, 02:25 that's her subtitle, the list lady. 02:27 And you'll find out 02:28 how much we appreciate those lists. 02:30 Ryan, good to see you here today. 02:31 Man, I'm blessed. Good to be here. 02:34 Pastor and singer in Israel and the newest member, 02:38 it's gonna be a while 02:40 before you're not the newest member, 02:41 but hey, we appreciate you anyway. 02:42 You know, I'm not technically 02:44 the new Jason Bradley's been on here 02:45 and he's kind of the new guy. 02:47 I'm the second newest I guess. 02:48 Okay. All right. 02:49 But that's okay. 02:51 And, Shelley Quinn. 02:52 Good to see you, Shelley. 02:54 It's so good to be here. 02:55 Yes. 02:56 It's always a blessing to open the Word of God 02:58 and to hear what everyone has to share. 03:02 Yes. Okay. 03:04 And, Pastor Dinzey, we share something in common, 03:06 the name, John. 03:08 Yes. Good to have you here. 03:09 Thank you. It's a blessing to be here. 03:11 And I'm looking forward to it. 03:12 He's head of 3ABN Latino who's done an amazing job. 03:14 I think he's the veteran on the panel today. 03:17 He's been here longer than all of us. 03:19 That's right. 03:20 And it's been about 30 years almost? 03:22 Almost 31. Almost 31. Wow. 03:24 Good to have you here today, man of the Word. 03:27 And we thank you for tuning is taking the time. 03:30 Would you have prayer for us today, John? 03:32 Sure. Okay, let's do that. 03:35 Our loving Heavenly Father, we are grateful to You, Lord, 03:38 because You have given us this day of life. 03:41 We are grateful to You, Lord, 03:42 because we can open the scriptures 03:45 with the confidence 03:47 that Your Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. 03:50 So we ask for Your Holy Spirit, 03:52 that You may use us 03:53 according to Your good pleasure. 03:55 We also ask that You will bless everyone that is joining us. 03:57 Help them also to understand and see wonderful things 04:02 in Your scriptures. 04:04 In Jesus' name. Amen. 04:05 Amen. Amen. 04:07 We all worship something. 04:09 Now years ago, I used to say if you wanna find out 04:12 what people worship, look at their checkbook, 04:14 but who use checkbooks anymore? 04:17 Some people still do. 04:19 Once in a while somebody might say to me, 04:22 write me a check. 04:23 And that sends me into a tailspin 04:25 because I'm starting to forget what a checkbook looks like, 04:29 but if you wanna find out what people worship, 04:30 maybe you might look at their credit card statement 04:33 or maybe you might look at their phones 04:36 to see there's a new thing on Apple. 04:39 Many of you probably know about this. 04:41 It's called Screen Time, 04:43 and will tell you how long you've been 04:45 on a particular app on your phone. 04:47 And I would hate to say 04:49 that if you look at some people's phones 04:51 that have that feature turned on 04:53 you'll say, "Ah! 04:55 They've in Facebook 04:57 a lot longer they've been 04:58 in their Bible Ellen White app." 05:01 Something always pulls our attention. 05:03 And it tends to take precedence over the place 05:07 that belongs to the Lord alone. 05:09 Our memory text is in 1 Chronicles 16:29. 05:13 I'll read that in your hearing, if you'd like to join us there. 05:17 This is a beautiful passage. 05:19 The Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 16:29, 05:23 "Give to the Lord the glory due His name, 05:28 bring an offering, and come before Him. 05:32 Oh, worship the Lord in the," what panel? 05:35 Beauty. 05:36 "Beauty of holiness." 05:39 For whatever reason, 05:40 Satan has tried to paint holiness as an ugly thing, 05:43 or worship as a terrible thing. 05:46 Sometimes people approach worship 05:48 as what do I have to give up? 05:50 Well, when you recognize 05:52 that the greatest beauty and greatest joy 05:55 is in the experience of worship, 05:57 it is something you'd wanna haste to, 05:59 something you'd wanna do with an exuberance 06:02 and a joy looking forward to it. 06:05 When you look at the Jewish culture, 06:07 they would prepare for Sabbath worship, 06:09 and they would begin on Wednesday. 06:11 So they wouldn't wait till Friday, 06:13 the preparation day, 06:14 they would be done by the preparation day 06:16 because they literally celebrated 06:19 the Sabbath, Sabbath worship. 06:21 People today tend to decide 06:24 to pick the day they wanna worship, 06:26 but the reality of it is, 06:27 we'll find it in a newer translation 06:30 of a particular book, 06:31 I'll share with you in a moment here, 06:33 that worship is not something 06:34 that happens on a only on a particular day, 06:36 but when you become a Christian, 06:38 you're worshiping the Lord all the time. 06:41 Everything you do is an act of worship 06:42 towards the Lord, 06:44 but I wanna share with you worship in the noun sense 06:47 and in the verb sense. 06:48 In the noun, worship is the feeling 06:51 or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity, 06:56 the freedom the feeling or expression of reverence 06:59 and adoration for a deity. 07:01 And so, yes, it should bring a sense of awe and reverence 07:06 when we are in the presence of the Lord, 07:09 but feeling shouldn't be the primary focus. 07:11 Sometimes people make feeling the primary focus, 07:14 and they would listen to a message 07:16 that's replete 07:17 with beautiful examples of Christ 07:19 and what we should do, 07:20 but some people say, "Well, I didn't feel that." 07:22 Well, the caution is, 07:24 while the word feeling is included in this definition, 07:27 don't allow feeling to be the primary focus 07:29 of your worship. 07:31 The verb is also to show reverence and adoration 07:35 for a deity through a religious ritual, 07:38 and that ritual will be worship. 07:40 Worship is a part of humanity, 07:41 it's a part of everybody's life. 07:43 It's a part of human nature. 07:45 Everybody has something that naturally draws them, 07:48 but wrongly understood 07:51 it could draw them to something 07:52 that they might consider worship, 07:54 when in fact, it's just an addiction. 07:56 Some people do things out of what they call 07:59 a repetitious clock. 08:00 Some people go to church, because their parents did, 08:02 and their parents, parents did, and so on and so forth, 08:05 but they never make a connection to the one 08:06 that they're supposed to worship. 08:08 So some people know their doctrines back and forth, 08:11 even in our church 28 fundamentals, 08:13 some people can recite them back and forth, 08:15 but they've never come to the place 08:17 where they are beyond intellect 08:19 to where their heart is filled 08:21 with a desire to worship the Lord. 08:23 Worship, another definition is whatever we love the most, 08:27 whatever we focus on the most 08:29 and give our attention to the most, 08:31 whatever we live for that is what we worship, 08:35 but when you look at the Bible worship is mentioned 197 times 08:38 in varying ways of worship, worshiping. 08:40 And I thought, "Wow, that's a lot." 08:42 You find that worship is a very primary thing, 08:45 but go to Genesis 22:5-8, 08:47 and I'll show you 08:48 one of the core truths about worship. 08:50 It's found 08:51 in the very first reference of worship in the Bible, 08:54 one of the first references about worship, 08:57 the core truth about worship is listed here. 09:00 Verse 5 of Genesis 22, 09:02 it speaks about Abraham and Isaac. 09:04 "And Abraham said to his young men, 09:07 'Stay here with the donkey.'" 09:08 By the way, the Lord impressed him 09:10 to go ahead and sacrifice his son Isaac. 09:12 So he's journeying now 09:14 to this place where the Lord told him to go, 09:16 he's going now to the place of sacrifice. 09:19 And the Bible says, 09:21 "The lad and I will go yonder and worship, 09:26 and we will come back to you.' 09:29 So Abraham took the wood and the burnt offering 09:32 and laid it on Isaac his son, 09:35 and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, 09:38 and the two of them went together. 09:40 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 09:43 'My father!' 09:44 And he said, 'Here I am my son.' 09:47 Then he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, 09:50 but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' " 09:54 And I love this. 09:55 "And Abraham said, 09:56 'My Son, God will provide for Himself 10:00 the lamb for a burnt offering.' 10:02 So the two went together.'" 10:05 When I look at this, 10:06 what I discovered and the Lord impressed me 10:09 as I studied this verse. 10:10 Sacrifice always precedes worship. 10:17 Worship that does not have a price 10:20 will not yield any interest. 10:22 Worship that does not cost you something 10:24 will not yield any interest. 10:26 So in this particular story, 10:28 the Lord wanted to see 10:29 how far Abraham was willing to go 10:31 to prove 10:32 that he was willing to worship 10:34 the Lord at any cost. 10:36 And that's the key. 10:38 And this is vital today because a lot of people say, 10:40 "Well, I would worship on the Sabbath, 10:42 but I have to go to work, but I have a class, 10:45 but it's my most convenient day to shop." 10:48 It doesn't cost them anything. 10:50 So what doesn't cost you anything 10:52 brings no interest to you and really no interest to God. 10:56 Worship requires the willingness 10:58 to surrender the thing that is nearest to your heart. 11:01 And that's what the Lord was testing 11:02 Abraham about. 11:04 Look at Luke 14:26-27 11:08 and this is what the Lord meant 11:09 when He said this to His disciples. 11:11 He was measuring their willingness 11:13 to worship Him, it always comes as a cost. 11:18 Luke 14:26-27, 11:20 "If anyone comes to Me 11:21 and does not hate his father and mother, 11:24 wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, 11:27 and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 11:30 And whoever does not bear his cross 11:32 and come after Me cannot be My disciple." 11:35 You know, David Foster said, David Foster Wallace says, 11:39 "If you worship the wrong thing, 11:41 it will eat you alive." 11:44 It's a powerful statement, 11:45 "If you worship the wrong thing, 11:47 it will eat you alive." 11:49 If we worship the wrong thing, it will eat us alive. 11:52 It will be filled with us, it'll ingest and digest us, 11:56 but if we worship the true God, we will be filled with Him. 12:01 There's a difference altogether, 12:03 what you want to be filled with. 12:04 Also worship has to come at the risk 12:07 of even giving away your life. 12:10 Look at Daniel 3:18, 12:12 don't allow anything that wants to rob your worship, 12:16 to penetrate the sphere that belongs only to the Lord. 12:20 When Daniel, 12:21 when the Hebrews were at the most fragile place 12:23 in their worship, 12:25 notice how they responded 12:26 to the king who demanded of them 12:28 to bow and worship an image. 12:30 Daniel 3:18, 12:32 he talked about God is able to deliver us, 12:34 but he said, "But if not, 12:36 but if not, let it be known to you, 12:38 O king, that we do not serve your gods, 12:41 nor will we worship 12:43 the gold image which you have set up." 12:46 And, friends, today, 12:47 something is gonna try to erect itself in your life 12:50 as an image of worship. 12:51 It could be television, it could be media, 12:53 it could be your iPad, some people, 12:55 their phones are a lot closer than their Bibles. 12:57 They grope in the dark for their Bibles, 12:59 but they can grab their phones at an instance. 13:02 And that's why I always recommend 13:03 to put your Bible closer to your bed 13:04 than your phone. 13:06 So when you wake up in the morning, 13:07 and you reach for anything, there it is. 13:09 Get the living Word 13:11 before you get the news of the day, 13:12 the latest gossip and put that as the doorposts, 13:16 put that as the bar 13:18 from all the other things to come in, 13:19 but in the interest of time, I wanna go to Romans 12:1-2, 13:24 worship can only occur within the parameters 13:26 of transformation and not confirmation 13:30 without a renewed mind and heart, 13:32 worship will always elude us. 13:35 I'm reading this in the NIV, 13:36 I love the way it translates it here. 13:38 Romans 12:1-2. 13:40 Paul says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, 13:43 in view of God's mercy, 13:45 to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, " 13:48 same thing Isaac and Abraham learned 13:51 a living sacrifice, 13:52 "holy and pleasing to God," 13:54 I love the way, 13:56 "this is your spiritual act of worship." 13:59 NIV. 14:00 This is your spiritual act of worship, 14:02 presenting your body, your mind, 14:04 your heart to the Lord every day. 14:05 This is your spiritual act of worship, 14:06 and then when you do that, 14:08 "Do not be conform 14:09 any longer to the pattern of this world, 14:12 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 14:15 Then you will be able to test and approve what is God's will, 14:19 His good, pleasing and perfect will." 14:21 That's where worship begins. 14:23 Amen. Jill. 14:24 Thank you, Pastor John, 14:25 what an incredible lesson, worship. 14:27 That's right. 14:29 This entire life is all about worship. 14:32 The conflict at the end is all about worship, 14:34 who will we serve? 14:36 And as parents and grandparents and teachers, 14:40 it's important to teach your children and grandchildren 14:44 who they need to worship. 14:46 That's what my day is about. 14:47 And Declare Them to Their Children 14:51 which is really training your children, 14:53 teaching your children, 14:54 instructing them 14:56 to have a relationship with Jesus, 14:58 teaching them about Jesus. 15:00 Teaching them His Word, 15:01 His law that's what this day is about. 15:04 We're gonna go to Psalms, but before we go there, 15:06 let's look at Deuteronomy 8. 15:09 Deuteronomy, sorry, Deuteronomy 11:18. 15:13 That's where the eight came in, Deuteronomy 11:18, 15:16 and then we'll go to the Psalm, 15:18 which was what we had for our lesson today. 15:20 Deuteronomy 11:18, 15:22 "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine 15:25 in your heart and in your soul, 15:28 and bind them as the sign on your hand, 15:30 and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 15:32 You shall teach them to your children, 15:35 speaking of them when you sit in the house, 15:37 when you walk by the way, when you lie down, 15:39 and when you rise up. 15:41 And you should write them on the doorposts of your house 15:43 and on your gates, 15:44 that your days and the days of your children 15:46 may be multiplied 15:47 in the land of which the Lord swore 15:49 to your fathers to give them, 15:50 like the days of the heavens above the earth." 15:53 We are called, now Greg and I are not parents, 15:56 but parents especially, 15:58 are called or mothers or fathers in Israel, 16:02 who can offer instruction to other young people, 16:06 or older woman instructing the younger, 16:09 or older men instructing the younger 16:10 or teachers, 16:12 we all have people that we have influence over, 16:14 teaching them all day, every day, every opportunity, 16:20 opening up the Word of God to them. 16:23 So the lesson talks about Psalms 16:26 and the importance of Psalms in ancient Israel. 16:29 Psalms, of course, it's just poetry 16:31 that was set to music, 16:33 you could say sacred poems that were meant to be sung 16:37 used often with the children of Israel 16:39 during times of worship, Pastor John. 16:42 There's, of course, 150 Psalms, 16:44 and they were written spanning close to 1,000 years. 16:48 King David wrote most of them, 16:50 but we have several other authors 16:52 in the Book of Psalms as well. 16:54 There's many different Psalm types, 16:56 you could say. 16:57 There's individual and community prayers for help. 17:01 There's individual and community prayers 17:03 of thanksgiving and praise. 17:06 There's hymns honoring God as our Creator and as our King. 17:10 There's songs of trust, and songs of Zion, 17:13 there is royal songs and pilgrimage songs, 17:16 and liturgies or rituals for public worship. 17:20 There is Torah Psalms, 17:22 and the Psalms covers an incredible theme, 17:25 incredible range of themes. 17:28 There's a worthiness of God as our Creator 17:30 and Judge and Savior 17:32 and Redeemer and Sustainer and Healer, 17:34 Refuge and Shepherd. 17:36 There's great cries for deliverance. 17:38 I know when I need that, 17:39 I open up and read something that David wrote, 17:42 these cries for deliverance are vindication. 17:45 There's sorrow for sin and confession of sin, 17:48 discussion of the law, the coming Messiah, 17:50 the righteous and the wicked, the Sabbath, 17:53 the heavenly and earthly sanctuary, 17:55 salvation and suffering, 17:56 the Book of Psalms covers it all, 17:59 but we're going to Psalm Chapter 78. 18:02 Psalm 78, 18:03 and that's the Psalm we're focusing on 18:05 in today's lesson. 18:06 Of course, Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm, 18:09 but 78 is the second longest Psalm. 18:13 And it's written by Asaph, 18:15 who's a contemporary of King David. 18:18 This is really a wisdom Psalm 18:20 that recounts God's mighty acts for His covenant people. 18:25 It starts from Egypt, and the Exodus, 18:28 and it goes all the way down to the time of David. 18:32 We're only gonna focus on the first eight verses, 18:35 which is the call to pass this knowledge, 18:39 this instruction on to future generations. 18:42 That's what 18:43 the first eight verses focus on. 18:45 After that there are some accusations 18:47 against Ephraim or Israel. 18:49 There's this cycle of the wilderness experience 18:52 where they went away from God 18:53 and then God's judgment and mercy. 18:55 That happens twice, and then at the very end, 18:58 it ends with some promises, 19:00 but we're just looking at the first eight verses. 19:03 I call this the call to parents. 19:07 You know, if you think about it, 19:08 in today's society, 19:09 there are many single parent homes, 19:13 and the role of the father is marginalized. 19:17 If you watch any sort of television, 19:19 you look at sitcoms or anything. 19:21 What do you see? 19:23 The father's role is marginalized or made fun of. 19:28 There was a quote I read once, which is horrible, 19:32 but it says this, 19:33 "Fathers are a biological necessity, 19:36 but a psychological absurdity." 19:38 Nothing is further from the truth. 19:42 The role of moms is vitally important, yes, 19:45 but the role of fathers 19:47 is just as important in teaching and educating 19:52 and training children. 19:54 As goes the home so goes the society. 19:58 So the role of parents in the home 20:00 is vitally important. 20:01 So let's look at this call to parents. 20:03 We're in verse 1. 20:04 I divided the call to parents up, 20:06 kind of into three different sections. 20:08 The first section is the invitation to hear 20:11 and understand, 20:12 this is verses 1-3. 20:14 "Give ear, O my people, to my law, 20:17 incline your ears to the words of my mouth." 20:21 Now that word give ear means to hear, 20:23 to listen with understanding, to hearken. 20:27 So pay attention to my law, 20:30 pay attention to what I'm going to share, 20:32 pay attention to the words in the Word of God. 20:36 Now the word incline 20:38 is really interesting in the Hebrew, 20:40 it means to stretch out, to bend or bow, 20:44 literally like a dog or a horse 20:46 that kind of swiveled their ears around 20:48 when you're talking to them, 20:49 you know, they could have their back to you, 20:51 and you call their name at the ear, 20:53 you can tell just the ear turns 20:54 and you think they're listening to me, 20:56 even if they did not turn their head. 20:59 What's it mean? 21:00 We need to lean forward to catch everything 21:04 that God wants to give us. 21:06 Verse 2, "I will open my mouth in a parable, 21:09 I will utter dark sayings of old, 21:12 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." 21:15 Now that word dark sayings 21:17 doesn't literally mean dark sayings, 21:19 but it would be a riddle or a perplexing 21:21 saying or question. 21:23 Psalm 78 is a history 21:25 of God's dealing with His people, 21:29 God's faithfulness, His mercy, His love, His grace, 21:33 His judgment. 21:34 And by contrast, we see Israel's unfaithfulness, 21:38 Israel's stubbornness, and Israel's rebellion. 21:44 It's important that we remember the past, 21:49 not that we repeat the mistakes of the past, 21:52 but that we remember the past. 21:54 There's a quote Ellen White makes, 21:56 this is in Life Sketches, page 196, 21:59 I really liked this quote, 22:00 "We have nothing to fear for the future, 22:02 except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, 22:06 and His teaching in our past history." 22:09 It's important for parents to teach their children. 22:13 This is what God has done in our lives in the past. 22:16 This is the way we had seen Him work. 22:19 And this is how we can have faith 22:20 for how He's going to work in our lives in the future. 22:23 The second section is verses 4-5, 22:26 the invitation to teach the children and grandchildren, 22:30 "We will not hide them from their children, 22:32 telling to the generations 22:34 to come the praises of the Lord, 22:36 and His strength and His wonderful works 22:38 that He has done. 22:40 For He established a testimony in Jacob, 22:42 and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, 22:45 that they should make known to their children." 22:49 It is important to communicate truth, 22:51 especially God's Word to our children 22:54 in succeeding generations. 22:57 Don't hide it. Don't forget to speak of it. 23:00 Don't water it down, 23:01 simply speak the Word of God 23:04 into your children's lives. 23:06 And the third section is verses 6-8, 23:09 this is the goal of this instruction, 23:12 "That the generation to come might know them." 23:14 Why do we teach children? 23:15 Why do we teach grandchildren? Why do we do that? 23:17 So that the generation to come might know them, 23:20 they might know the Lord, 23:21 "The children who would be born, 23:23 that they may arise and declare them 23:25 to their children, 23:27 that they may set their hope in God, 23:29 and not forget the works of God, 23:31 but keep His commandments." 23:32 Don't make the mistakes of the past. 23:35 "And may not be like their fathers, 23:37 a stubborn and rebellious generation, 23:39 a generation that did not set its heart aright, 23:43 whose spirit was not faithful to God." 23:46 Future generations need to know the Word of God. 23:49 Future generations need to understand the mercy, 23:52 grace and kindness of God. 23:55 Future generations need to teach this Word 23:58 continually to their children, 24:00 to remember God's goodness to them and to their parents, 24:03 to trust God and to learn to hearken 24:06 to walk in obedience to God's commands. 24:11 What a call is upon parents, 24:13 especially mothers and fathers 24:15 to teach the Word of God to succeeding generations. 24:20 Wow. Thank you, Jill. Amazing. 24:22 When you look back on your life, 24:24 and I look back on my life, 24:25 I could see the greatest impression 24:27 of who I am today, 24:28 started when my parents taught me 24:30 about the Lord, 24:31 specifically the lady that raised me, 24:33 and that's the responsibility each one of us has as a parent, 24:37 but we're gonna go to In Spirit and In Truth 24:38 right after the break 24:40 is gonna be an exciting portion of the lesson. 24:42 Don't go away. We'll be right back. 24:49 Ever wish you could watch 24:50 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:52 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:55 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:00 A clean design makes it easy 25:03 to find the program you're looking for. 25:05 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:08 so you can follow along. 25:10 Sharing is easy. 25:12 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:15 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:18 So welcome back to our topic, Worship in Education. 25:21 And we are on Tuesday now Pastor Ryan Day 25:24 In Spirit and In Truth, 25:26 I love that title. 25:27 Hey, you got that right, Brother, 25:28 In Spirit and In Truth, 25:30 lots to say little time to say it, 25:31 but we got to go. 25:32 So here's the thing, 25:34 we're gonna be talking about the two legs 25:35 on which true worship stands. 25:37 And that's spirit and in truth, you leave one out, 25:40 that's not true worship. 25:42 So we have a lot of people who worship the Lord 25:43 and what they believe to be in spirit, 25:45 but they don't worship the Lord in truth, 25:47 where you have those people who worship the Lord 25:49 and all the truth that they know 25:50 and all the truth that they have, 25:52 but they're not worshiping Him in spirit. 25:53 So where we find the foundation of this, 25:56 or what we find this reference in Scripture 25:57 is in the story of Jesus conversation 26:00 with the woman at the well. 26:01 And that is found in John 4:7-26. 26:05 We may not read the entire story, 26:08 but I just wanna reference here for those of you 26:09 who may be watching for the first time 26:11 and have never heard the story before. 26:13 Basically, the background of this is Jesus 26:15 and His disciples, 26:16 they're kind of on an evangelistic mission. 26:18 They're kind of going from city to city, 26:19 Jesus is performing miracles, 26:21 Jesus is introducing Himself to the people in the area. 26:24 He's doing a wonderful preaching work 26:26 and sharing the gospel. 26:27 And He ends up in Samaria. 26:29 And so they end up in this particular city. 26:31 And the Bible says 26:32 the disciples go into town to get food, 26:34 okay, they've been traveling, 26:36 and Jesus stops and has a divine appointment 26:38 with this woman at a well. 26:40 And, of course, He tells the woman, 26:41 you know, "Hey, I'm thirsty, 26:43 could you give me some water to drink?" 26:44 And she's caught off guard by this 26:46 because if you know the history 26:47 between the Jews and the Samaritans, 26:49 the Samaritan people were kind of looked 26:50 as a lower class of people from the Jews. 26:53 They were kind of looked at 26:55 as a kind of a much lower class, 26:57 I'll just put it that way. 26:58 And so she's taken off by the fact 27:00 that she's caught off guard by the fact 27:01 that Jesus being a Jew 27:03 is having this conversation with her. 27:04 So she says, "You know, yeah, you would Jew speaking to me?" 27:07 You know, Jesus says, 27:09 "Look, you know, give me a drink of water." 27:11 And she says, surely, you know, 27:12 you know, you surely you can give 27:14 your own self some water 27:15 because, you know, I'm a Samaritan, 27:16 and you're a Jew, 27:18 and it just really doesn't work out, right? 27:20 And just, you could just read into this 27:21 and clearly see 27:23 that this is an awkward encounter 27:25 between her and Jesus, 27:26 but then Jesus begins to tell her 27:28 about this living water. 27:30 He says, "Look because I have a water 27:31 that I can give you, 27:33 that is a living water, you will never thirst again, 27:35 it will change and transform your life." 27:37 And, of course, she begins to inquire 27:39 about this living water. 27:41 And she eventually learns 27:43 that after Jesus reveals Himself to her 27:46 and begins to say things about her life, 27:49 He begins to predict things or not predict things, 27:50 but He begins to tell things about her life, 27:52 then perhaps no one else would know, 27:54 a complete stranger. 27:56 And she recognizes 27:57 that this surely you are a prophet, she says, 28:00 a prophet of Israel, 28:02 but interesting that she quickly diverts 28:04 the conversation to worship. 28:06 And this is the meat of our conversation. 28:08 And I really just went through, 28:10 if you wanna read this story a little bit more clearly, 28:12 go to John Chapter 4 and read from verses 7 28:14 all the way through to about verse 18. 28:16 And that'll kind of give you the background 28:18 of what we're about to talk about, 28:20 but in verse 19, let's pick up there, John 4:19, 28:25 the Bible says, "The woman said to Him, 28:26 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 28:29 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, 28:31 and you Jews say 28:32 that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.' 28:35 Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, 28:37 the hour is coming 28:39 when you will neither on this mountain, 28:40 nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 28:43 You worship what you do not know, 28:45 we know what we worship, 28:46 for salvation is of the Jews." 28:48 Now it kind of sounds like 28:50 Jesus as being a little kind of little selfish, 28:52 a little proud, proud here, that's not the case. 28:54 This is a divine appointment, 28:56 He knows exactly what's happening. 28:57 And He's got a special, special message 28:59 He wants to share with her. 29:01 So notice what happens in verse 23. 29:03 He says, "But the hour is coming, 29:05 and now is, 29:07 when the true worshipers will worship 29:09 the Father in spirit and truth, 29:12 for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." 29:14 And then here's the verse, verse 24, "God is Spirit, 29:17 and those who worship Him 29:19 must worship in spirit and in truth." 29:23 So let's first get this out of the way. 29:26 We have to understand the difference 29:27 between worship and actions of worship. 29:30 Of course, there are actions of worship, 29:32 there are expressions of worship, 29:34 but then there's a little bit more of a formal name for 29:36 and that would be the liturgy. 29:37 Many people go to church, 29:39 and they do things and they call it worship, 29:42 raising of the hands, clapping, singing songs, 29:44 those are the actions 29:45 which are expressive of worship, 29:47 but worship is 29:49 as Pastor John brought up beautifully, 29:50 and I'm just gonna kind of add this, 29:51 that worship is the attitude of the heart. 29:54 It's a state of being, okay? 29:56 You worship God in your actions and in your choices 29:59 and in your very attitude towards God each and every day. 30:03 And so when we worship God, 30:04 we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. 30:06 So what does that mean? 30:08 I'm gonna start with the Spirit aspect 30:10 'cause this is the one 30:11 that usually most people don't fully understand. 30:13 I'm gonna read a quote here from Desire of Ages, page 189. 30:16 Notice what she says here 30:17 about this worshiping God in spirit. 30:20 "Since the religion that comes from God 30:22 is the only religion that will lead to God. 30:25 In order to serve Him aright, 30:27 we must be born of the Divine Spirit." 30:31 Keep that in mind. "Born of the Divine Spirit. 30:33 This will purify the heart and renew the mind, 30:37 giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. 30:40 It will give us a willing obedience 30:43 to all His requirements." 30:45 Okay, notice this. 30:46 It goes on to say, 30:47 "This is true worship in spirit. 30:51 It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit." 30:55 Okay, so I'm gonna reference this really quickly 30:58 worshiping in spirit, if you just go back a chapter, 31:00 we just read the meeting 31:02 between Jesus and the woman at the well, 31:04 in John Chapter 4, 31:05 but if you go back a chapter to John Chapter 3, 31:07 Jesus had already explained this spiritual transformation. 31:11 If you're gonna worship the Lord in spirit, okay? 31:14 Don't miss this point. 31:15 You have to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. 31:18 You have to have 31:19 a spiritual transformation from Christ. 31:22 And it has to be an ongoing experience 31:24 in which you are led by the Spirit of God 31:26 into an obedient relationship with Him. 31:29 Therefore, it puts you 31:31 in a constant state of worshiping Him in spirit, 31:35 referencing John Chapter 3 31:36 when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, okay? 31:39 Nicodemus says, 31:40 "You're telling me to go back into my mother's womb 31:42 and be born again." 31:43 He's like, "Nah, man, you missing it, 31:44 you missing it either. 31:46 What's of the flesh is of the flesh, 31:47 but what is a born of the spirit is spirit." 31:49 And then he gives an example. 31:51 He says, "You don't take into consideration the wind." 31:53 He goes, "You know, you feel its effects, 31:55 you can hear it, 31:56 but you can't see 31:57 where it's going so is the spirit." 31:59 In other words, he's like, "It's a spiritual thing. 32:00 You need to be born of the Spirit." 32:03 And at any time that can happen, 32:04 but here's what you got to do. 32:06 And I'm going to reference this. 32:07 This is John 3:14, Jesus says, 32:09 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 32:11 even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." 32:14 And so how can we have 32:15 this constant ongoing worshiping 32:17 in spirit 32:19 in which we are being renewed by the spirit 32:20 and the Holy Spirit blows through our heart 32:22 and transforms our life, 32:24 you have to be constantly looking 32:27 to the uplifted Savior. 32:28 You have to put Jesus in the forefront 32:31 and constantly keep your eyes on Him. 32:33 Now I'm speaking spiritually here. 32:34 Obviously, we have lives, but spiritually speaking, 32:37 Christ should always be at the center of our lives. 32:40 When we lift up the Savior 32:42 and we behold the uplifted Savior, 32:44 all the time, we will be renewed day by day. 32:48 The Holy Spirit as the Bible teaches us 32:49 in John Chapter 14 and John Chapter 16. 32:52 He teaches us all things, 32:54 he will bring all things to our memory, 32:56 he will reprove the world of sin, 32:57 he will guide you into all truth, 32:59 and he will always glorify Christ 33:02 by revealing his character to you. 33:04 Again, that's John 14, and John 16, and John 14:26, 33:08 and John 16:8, 13, and 14, I'm going pretty fast here, 33:13 but you can go to YouTube and rewatch it and pause it. 33:16 Let's move on. 33:17 So being transformed by the Holy Spirit, 33:19 being led by the Holy Spirit 33:21 to live an obedient, faith-filled life in Christ 33:25 that's worshiping God in spirit, 33:26 but what about truth, okay? 33:28 Worshiping God in truth, you see, at the same time, 33:30 we must worship in truth, 33:32 we must have some correct knowledge of God, 33:36 but we also need to know that we need to know 33:38 His requirements for us. 33:39 In other words, 33:40 this is where doctrine comes in. 33:42 Many people wanna worship the Lord in spirit. 33:43 In other words, 33:45 I've been to churches and grew up, 33:46 you know, in certain churches 33:47 where it was all about the feelings 33:49 and the emotions, 33:50 but there was no truth. 33:51 You have to pair the two. 33:53 Jesus said in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Thy truth. 33:58 Thy word is truth." 33:59 How are we sanctified? 34:01 By the Word of God. 34:02 Jesus Himself said 34:04 that if you're gonna be sanctified, 34:05 which by the way means to be set apart, for a holy use, 34:07 God wants to set us apart for a holy use. 34:10 He wants us to worship Him in spirit, but also in truth. 34:15 That's why in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, 34:17 Paul talks about, 34:19 you know, those who do not have the love of the truth, 34:22 this is 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 34:24 talks about those in the last day, 34:25 they don't have a love for the truth. 34:27 And therefore he says, 34:28 "For this reason 34:30 God will send them strong delusion, 34:31 that they will continue to believe a lie, 34:33 that they may be condemned 34:34 who did not believe the truth." 34:37 My friends, you can think 34:38 you're having a spiritual experience. 34:40 You can think that you're having 34:42 this great, amazing, emotional spiritual experience, 34:45 but if you are rejecting 34:47 the truth of God's Word, my friends, 34:49 that's where Jesus says they worship Me in vain. 34:53 Jesus talks about being worship. 34:54 That's why Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, 34:57 "Preach the word! 34:58 Preach the word, be instant, in season and out of season. 35:01 Reprove, rebuke 35:02 with all longsuffering and doctrine." 35:04 They don't save us, but they lead us to the Savior. 35:07 "For the time will come," he says, 35:08 "when they will not endure sound doctrine, 35:10 and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, 35:12 and shall be turned into fables." 35:14 So, my friends, I wanna end with this. 35:16 This is John 8:31, it says, 35:19 "Then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on Him, 35:21 'If you continue in My word, 35:23 then you are My disciples indeed. 35:24 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall, " 35:27 not set you free, but, "make you free." 35:30 Be free in Jesus, 35:31 worship Him in spirit and in truth. 35:33 Amen. Hallelujah. 35:34 So far, I think this is my favorite lesson now 35:36 if we turn back. 35:38 I have Wednesday, 35:39 which is The Beauty of Holiness. 35:41 If you open your Bibles to 1 Chronicle 16, 35:46 we're going to spend some time in 1 Chronicles 16. 35:50 I wanna start off with verse 29 because this is the topic. 35:55 It says, "Give to the Lord the glory due His name, 35:58 bring an offering, and come before Him. 36:02 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" 36:07 How do we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness? 36:10 We're concentrating on His purity, His perfection, 36:14 His power, His purpose, His plan, 36:18 but there's more than that, 36:20 you know, as we concentrate on the Lord, 36:24 it draws our hearts to thanksgiving and praise, 36:28 but there's more and you hit that 36:31 is that we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, 36:34 when we are living our lives, 36:37 according to His plan 36:40 when we are set apart for His purposes. 36:43 Obedience is the highest expression 36:47 of worship 36:48 when you think about that. 36:50 So let's look at 1 Chronicles. 36:52 Well, let me just set this up. 36:55 1 Chronicles Chapter 16, 36:58 has one of the most beautiful psalms in it. 37:02 And this is the, 37:04 at the dedication of the tabernacle, 37:07 in Mount Zion. 37:09 And what had happened is, 37:11 the Philistines had stolen the ark, 37:16 then it was returned to Israel, 37:19 and it rested at the house of Abinadab. 37:24 Aren't you glad your name is not Abinadab, 37:28 but it was there for 20 years. 37:29 Now he had two sons, 37:33 one son was Eleazar, the priest, 37:37 but also Uzzah was his son. 37:40 So King David prepares this tabernacle in Jerusalem. 37:44 And, you know what, I love about the tabernacle, 37:46 it is theology in physical form. 37:52 It all pointed to Jesus, 37:54 it was all about the plan of Jesus, 37:56 and worship, we need worship in education, 38:00 we need to let the plan of salvation, 38:04 the love of Jesus be the center, 38:07 but so what he has done is he's built this tabernacle. 38:13 And, you know, they would go there 38:15 and they'd give burnt offerings, 38:17 which that was to indicate 38:20 their total commitment to the Lord. 38:23 They would give fellowship offerings 38:25 that was to indicate 38:26 the covenant relationship with the Lord, 38:28 but they go... 38:30 Oh, David also made music an intrical part, 38:34 you know, he appointed the musicians, 38:36 and I'm telling you, 38:38 they had the trumpeting priest, they had the string ensembles, 38:41 and clanging cymbals. 38:43 This was pretty good step, 38:45 but they go down to get the ark, 38:48 that is at Abinadab's. 38:52 And they move it 38:53 not according to God's instructions. 38:56 So Uzzah is struck dead. 38:58 And they have to leave the ark at Obed-Edom's house. 39:04 Now the interesting thing is, he's a Philistine, 39:07 but he was loyal to David and Israel, 39:11 but Obed-Edom and he's got it for three months at his house, 39:14 and he's unusually blessed, while the ark is there. 39:20 So now the second attempt, 39:21 they bring the ark to Jerusalem. 39:25 And they transported it this time, 39:27 according to the prescribed Old Testament law, 39:31 but what I love if you look in 1 Chronicles 15, 39:34 I know that we can't base our worship on feeling, 39:39 but I don't, I mean, feelings alone, 39:41 but you can't really worship without feelings. 39:44 You've got to let have feelings in your heart 39:46 that love for the Lord. 39:48 David was so excited to think 39:49 that the ark was gonna come to rest 39:52 in a permanent place 39:54 that his house would be blessed from here on out. 39:57 He's so excited that as they're proceeding. 40:01 He's dancing before the Lord in the procession going there. 40:05 He remember 40:06 and he writes this beautiful song 40:10 that he's remembering, and recounting 40:13 and rejoicing in God's works for his covenant people. 40:18 So let's look at this. 40:20 1 Chronicles verses, 40:22 it is 1 Chronicles 16:8-13. 40:27 He's exhorting the people to recall and proclaim 40:32 what God has done in the past. 40:35 You know what, that's what praise is about, 40:37 as we're praising God for what He's done and listen, 40:40 oh, listen what he says, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord! 40:44 Call upon His name. 40:46 Make known His deeds among the peoples! 40:49 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him, 40:51 talk of His wondrous works! 40:54 Glory in His holy name, 40:56 let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 41:01 Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face forevermore! 41:07 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, 41:10 His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 41:14 O seed of Israel His servant, 41:16 you children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 41:19 Woo! 41:21 I'm already worshiping when you're reading that, 41:23 just gives me chills. 41:24 Now verses 14-22. 41:27 David rehearses the Abrahamic covenant 41:31 that was renewed with Isaac and Jacob 41:35 talking about the land that they're going to get, 41:38 that the Messiah is going to come 41:40 from these progenitors 41:41 and talking about the everlasting justification 41:47 by faith in verse 23 and 24. 41:51 He adds an evangelistic thrust 41:55 that all the world should learn about the God of Israel. 41:59 Listen, verse 24, 42:01 "Declare His glory among the nations, 42:06 His wonders among all people." 42:09 You know, the whole purpose, 42:12 if we look in Deuteronomy, where Moses said, 42:16 "The Rock, your Rock begot you." 42:21 You are begotten of God, Israel, 42:24 which that term means to be set apart 42:26 for unique covenant purpose. 42:28 The whole reason he chose these people, 42:31 is that the world would understand 42:34 through their experience, 42:36 how wonderful God was, 42:38 and understand the plan of redemption. 42:41 Now in verse... 42:43 We're still in 1 Chronicles 16:25-27 is 42:48 He's the only true God, worship Him as Creator. 42:51 Verse 28 and 29, this is interesting. 42:55 Worship Him with offerings, and let me tell you something. 43:00 Praise is an offering to God, we're supposed to. 43:04 God's works should motivate us 43:07 to service and part of that is praise. 43:10 Verse 28, "Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, 43:16 give to the Lord glory and strength." 43:19 It's saying 43:20 ascribe these attributes to Him. 43:23 Let your mouth worship Him for this. 43:26 "Give to the Lord the glory due His name, 43:31 bring an offering, come before Him. 43:35 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" 43:40 When is the last time you worship the Lord 43:43 in the beauty of holiness. 43:47 Now he goes on 43:48 and just I wanna get here verses 30-33. 43:52 He talks about the power of God as Creator is recognized 43:57 and that we're to testify of His glory. 44:00 But he ends with the need to rely on God for salvation. 44:04 Let's look at 1 Chronicles 16:34. 44:07 "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 44:10 For His mercy endures forever. 44:13 And say, 'Save us, O God of our salvation, 44:17 gather us together, 44:18 deliver us from the Gentiles, 44:20 to give thanks to Your holy name, 44:23 to triumph in Your praise.' 44:25 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel 44:28 from everlasting to everlasting!" 44:32 He's talking about 44:33 God's eternal unchanging nature. 44:36 "And all the people said," what? 44:38 "'Amen!' " 44:40 So bottom line is what God has done, 44:43 deserves our praise and worship, 44:47 when you think of the sacrificial system, 44:51 and how God became a man 44:55 and was our substitute on the cross, 44:59 this gives us hope for eternal life, 45:02 but we should worship Him in the beauty of holiness. 45:07 And I just want to encourage you. 45:11 I make praise, at least 50% of my prayer, 45:15 I always begin with praise and thanksgiving. 45:18 It's probably 50 to 70% of my prayer 45:22 because then I am reminded 45:26 of the beauty of the holiness of God 45:28 in everything that comes after that the supplications, 45:33 even the intercession, 45:35 it's based on knowing the God who's going to answer. 45:39 Amen. 45:40 Could you mention the scripture you read last one 45:43 because I think you said 45:44 Corinthians while you meant something else? 45:46 1 Chronicles. Okay. 45:47 Did I say Corinthians, isn't that funny? 45:49 How we do that? 45:50 1 Chronicles 16. 45:51 Thank you. Thank you very much. 45:53 Well, God's blessings continue 45:55 as we go into the next day's lesson. 45:57 Now I wanna read some of the titles 45:59 that we went through 46:00 because the title of this lesson 46:01 is Worship in Education then we heard, 46:05 we all worship something, the next one, 46:08 And Declare Them to Their Children, 46:11 the next one In Spirit and In Truth, 46:13 and then you just heard The Beauty of Holiness, 46:15 this one is entitled Idolatry in Education. 46:18 Why? 46:19 Because we are facing a great controversy 46:22 between good and evil. 46:25 And you see this even in education. 46:27 So when we look at the word idolatry, 46:30 and you look it up in the dictionary, 46:32 one from Merriam Webster says, 46:34 "The worship of a physical object as God, 46:37 also a moderate attachment or devotion to something." 46:42 And I will add or someone 46:45 because people worship people, people worship celebrities, 46:49 some people worship singers, which are also celebrities, 46:53 some people worship presidents or kings, 46:56 but the only one worthy of worship is God 46:59 and God alone. 47:00 Now the word in the Greek 47:02 is very similar to the way it sounds in Spanish, 47:05 idolatria, which means also, 47:08 when you look it up, is image worship, as well. 47:13 So we need to be extremely careful with this 47:16 because we are facing a great controversy 47:19 between good and evil. 47:20 I will read to you from Revelation 13:15-17, 47:24 to remind you that we are living in times 47:27 when we are going to see this. 47:29 "He was granted power 47:32 to give breath to the image of the beast, 47:36 that the image of the beast should both speak and cause 47:40 as many as would not worship the image of the beast 47:43 to be killed." 47:45 This is coming. 47:46 "He causes all, both small and great, 47:48 rich and poor, free and slave, 47:51 to receive a mark on their right hand 47:53 or on their foreheads, 47:56 and that no one may buy or sell 47:58 except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, 48:02 or the number of his name." 48:04 So this is idolatry. 48:06 And you may think today, 48:08 "Well, people don't worship images as they used to, 48:11 but yes, they do." 48:13 I can tell you that. 48:14 Every week, some people bow before images. 48:18 You may know in some countries, they do worship things, 48:21 from rocks to plants, 48:23 and different things of this nature. 48:26 It's not a secret, you can go to India. 48:28 I remember our son was in India, 48:30 preaching over there. 48:32 And as he was walking by, he says, 48:34 "Oh, look at this beautiful plant." 48:35 "Don't touch it." 48:36 He was told, "That's a god here." 48:39 It was a plant. 48:40 And so people worship different things. 48:42 Satan has worked hard 48:45 to put something else in front of people 48:48 so that people will worship something else instead of God, 48:51 but he is the one that wants worship. 48:54 Notice what he said to Jesus, when he tempted him in person, 48:59 there in Matthew Chapter 4, I'm going to read verses 8-10. 49:03 "Again, the devil took Him up 49:06 on an exceedingly high mountain, 49:08 and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." 49:13 Verse 9, "And he said to Him, 49:15 'All these things I will give You 49:17 if You will fall down and worship me.'" 49:20 This is what the devil wants. 49:22 He wants worship. 49:24 And if you won't worship him directly, 49:26 he wants you to worship something else or someone else, 49:30 but Jesus said in verse 10, "Then Jesus said to him, 49:33 'Away with you," I like that, 49:34 'Away with you, Satan! 49:37 For it is written, 49:38 'You shall worship the Lord your God, 49:40 and Him only you shall worship.'" 49:45 Praise be to God, that's whom we shall worship, 49:48 the only one worthy of our worship. 49:50 And I encourage you to consider your life. 49:52 You may have something 49:53 that you're worshiping in your house. 49:55 And what could that be? 49:57 Pray, God will reveal it to you. 49:59 If God is not the one that you're worshiping. 50:02 Stop today and worship the only true God, 50:05 our Creator. 50:07 Now the lesson brings Mark 7:1-13 50:11 because we have some principles here 50:13 that we need to highlight 50:15 because we're talking about Idolatry in Education. 50:19 How can idolatry get into education you may ask? 50:23 Well, this is more of something you may see, 50:26 you may see it in Christian schools, 50:27 but you'll see it most definitely 50:29 in the secular educational system. 50:33 So let's look, 50:35 we don't have time to read the whole Mark 7:1-13. 50:40 I encourage you to do so, 50:41 but here's the scene where the Pharisees and scribes 50:43 came to attack Jesus, 50:46 let's say attacking Jesus, 50:48 finding a way to cause Him to stumble 50:52 to have something to accuse Him. 50:54 So they're in Mark Chapter 7 50:56 and I'll just read verses 5 maybe through 9. 50:59 And this is what the Bible says. 51:01 "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, 51:03 'Why do Your disciples not walk 51:05 according to the tradition of the elders, 51:09 but eat bread with unwashed hands?' 51:12 He answered and said to them, 51:13 'Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites," 51:17 now this is strong language, 51:19 but this is what they were, 51:20 "as it is written, 51:22 'This people honors me with their lips, 51:25 but their heart is far from Me." 51:29 You see, if you're just worshiping God, 51:31 from your lips, but your heart is far from God, 51:34 then you're not really worshiping God. 51:36 Like it was already said 51:38 we must worship God in spirit and in truth. 51:40 And to do this, you must do so with all of your heart. 51:43 Notice, "And in vain they worship Me, 51:47 teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." 51:52 Notice what they do. 51:53 "For laying aside the commandment of God, 51:56 you hold the tradition of men, 51:59 the washing of pitchers and cups, 52:01 and many other such things you do.' 52:04 He said to them, 52:05 'All too well you reject the commandment of God, 52:08 that you may keep your tradition.'" 52:11 Be careful with tradition, 52:13 if what you do is not found in the Word of God, 52:17 it is a tradition 52:19 and should not be put above God's Word. 52:23 Now, what happens when you do this? 52:26 Verse 13 is the highlight of this, 52:31 it says, "Making the Word of God 52:33 of no effect through your tradition 52:36 which you have handed down. 52:37 And many such things you do." 52:39 So when you put something else above God, 52:43 then you are putting aside God and the Word of God 52:48 and you are worshiping that becomes an idol. 52:52 Now I wanna say something to you 52:54 because there's a great, great danger 52:57 in the school systems. 53:00 And that is the children are presented ideas 53:04 that are contradictory to scriptures, 53:07 and I'm gonna mention one of them 53:08 that is easy to see, evolution. 53:12 Now evolution is an idea that is not founded 53:15 on the Word of God. 53:16 It puts God aside and say we came from nothing, 53:21 basically from nothing, but God created us. 53:24 We are created in His image, Praise be to God. 53:27 Now I want to mention something to you 53:29 about the illusion of truth effect. 53:32 Wow, I don't have enough time to do this, 53:35 but the illusion of truth effect, 53:38 the validity effect, 53:40 truth effect or reiteration effect 53:42 is something that has been proven 53:46 by studies, by universities, what it is? 53:48 The repetition of an idea, 53:50 even if it's a false idea that you know, it's false, 53:55 but you keep hearing it over and over again, 53:58 your mind it becomes familiar in your mind, 54:01 and you then look at that as a truth. 54:04 So consider these children 54:06 that come into the kindergarten, 54:09 first grade, 54:10 and all the way through college. 54:12 They tell you, evolution, evolution, evolution, 54:16 this can have a devastating effect 54:18 on people they begin to question 54:20 and they begin to accept these things as truth. 54:24 In a 2015 study, 54:27 researchers discovered 54:28 that familiarity can overpower rationality, 54:32 and that repetitively hearing that a certain fact is wrong 54:37 can affect the hearer's beliefs. 54:40 Researchers attributed the illusory of truth effects 54:47 impact on participants 54:48 who knew the correct answers to begin with, 54:51 but were persuaded to believe otherwise, 54:54 through the repetition of a falsehood 54:57 to a processing fluency, very dangerous. 55:02 And I encourage you to consider it, 55:04 you know, your children are going to public school, 55:06 some people can't afford to pay, 55:07 but you must hold these family worships, 55:11 and keep continuing to present to them the truth, 55:15 the truth of God's Word, 55:17 to counteract the things 55:19 that may lead them away from the Lord. 55:22 So, and I encourage you to consider Psalms 16:11, 55:27 "Thy will show me the path of life, 55:29 in Thy presence is fullness of joy, 55:32 at Thy right hand 55:33 there are pleasures forevermore." 55:35 Let's worship the only true God. 55:37 He alone is worthy of our worship. 55:39 Amen. Amen. Amen. 55:41 Wow. What a powerful lesson. 55:42 I mean, this has been a beautiful lesson. 55:44 We were laying foundation. 55:46 We can't say for the last six lessons, 55:48 but surely this was one of our favorite ones. 55:51 Education is coming up next, 55:53 Education and Redemption is gonna be the next one 55:55 we're talking about. 55:57 If you notice the entire core is about education. 55:59 So, Jill, why don't you summarize 56:00 what you cover today? 56:02 I had declare them to their children. 56:05 Revelation 14:12. 56:07 "Here is the patience of the saints, 56:08 here are those who keep the commandments of God 56:10 and the faith of Jesus." 56:12 So the goal of education, 56:14 the goal of parenting is to teach children, 56:18 young people to know understand God's law, 56:21 and to love Jesus. 56:23 Amen. 56:24 Jesus says in John Chapter 16 56:27 that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. 56:31 And so if you worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, 56:34 you're kind of getting an all encompassing deal. 56:36 So to worship God in spirit and truth 56:38 means to submit yourself to the Holy Spirit, 56:40 that He may constantly lead you into truth, 56:43 and to worship and serve God always. 56:45 Amen and amen. 56:46 Mine was the Beauty of Holiness. 56:48 And I would just say this, that central to all worship, 56:52 and all worship education is the plan of salvation. 56:56 Teach your children how much God loves them, 56:59 and what He stand for them. 57:01 Amen. Amen. 57:03 I want to highlight a song very well-known, 57:08 God and God Alone. 57:09 God and God alone 57:11 created all these things we call our own, 57:13 from the mighty to the small, 57:14 the glory in them all is God's and God's alone. 57:17 God and God alone 57:19 is fit to take the universe's throne. 57:21 Let everything, everything that lives 57:23 reserve its truest praise for God and God alone. 57:27 That's right. 57:29 And my thought is before the spirit of worship 57:31 is expressed in your actions, 57:33 the truth of God's Word must be embraced in your heart. 57:38 Education and Redemption is gonna be the next quarter. 57:41 We were blessed by the study, haven't? 57:43 But the next lesson, lesson number eight, 57:45 and we are encouraging you to join us then, 57:48 but remember what we said today, 57:50 if you're not worshiping the Lord, 57:52 your worship is in vain. 57:54 Find out where that roadblock is, 57:56 and remove it and put the Lord on the altar of your heart. 58:00 Join us next time for an exciting study. 58:03 God bless you until we see you again. 58:04 Amen. |
Revised 2020-11-12