Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210012S
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00:01 Hello, friends.
00:02 We're making a quick approach 00:04 to the last lesson of this study, 00:05 but we're not quite there yet. 00:06 We're studying the Book of Isaiah. 00:08 And this week, we're in lesson number 12, 00:11 entitled "Desire of Nations." 00:13 And of course, it's not too late for you 00:14 to get a copy of the lesson to study right along with us. 00:17 So you can do that in two different ways. 00:18 Of course, we always encourage you 00:20 to go to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:22 where they can provide a copy for free, 00:24 and you get to study with the brethren, 00:25 but if you can't do that, then you can simply 00:27 go to ABSG.Adventist.org 00:33 that stands for Adult Bible Study Guide, 00:36 and you can access a digital copy for free online, 00:39 but hey, don't go anywhere because we're going to be 00:41 diving deep into that lesson number 12, 00:44 which we're going to be talking about sin, 00:45 the effects of sin, and many other things. 00:47 This week, it's gonna be a great blessing. 00:49 We'll see you in just a moment. 01:24 Hello, friends, and welcome always 01:26 to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:28 And we are again are fast approaching 01:30 the end of our study on Isaiah. 01:32 This week we have lesson number 12, 01:34 and then, of course, 01:35 we only have one more after this, 01:37 seems like we've just kind of rocketed through this, 01:39 but it has indeed been a blessing. 01:41 And this week's lesson is entitled "Desire of Nations." 01:46 And, of course, we want to go ahead 01:48 and take the time to 01:49 introduce our panel and get right into our study. 01:52 Pastor Dinzey, how are you? Pastor John Dinzey? 01:54 By God's grace I am doing well. 01:56 And I'm glad to be here part of this panel. 01:58 It's a blessing. Amen. 01:59 It's always a blessing to have you here, brother. 02:01 I appreciate you. 02:02 Miss Jill Morikone, how are you doing? 02:04 It's good to have you? Doing well. 02:05 Excited to be in Isaiah 60, that's what I'm talking about, 02:07 it's one of my favorite passages. 02:08 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:10 And, of course, Pastor John Lomacang. 02:11 Yes. 02:13 And I'm just joyful that I have Isaiah 61, 02:15 one of my most favorite passages 02:17 in the Book of Isaiah. 02:19 All right, praise the Lord. Got a nice little thing. 02:21 You must have your favorite passage too, Shelley. 02:23 Well, mine's the Day of Vengeance. 02:25 But you know what it's gonna be fun to explain. 02:31 All right, I got you on that one. 02:33 Praise the Lord. Well, we have lots to discuss. 02:37 So I'm gonna go ahead and ask Brother Dinzey, 02:40 if you don't mind to have an opening prayer for us. 02:42 And we'll get right into the study. 02:43 Well, let's pray together. 02:46 Our loving Heavenly Father, 02:47 we come before You in Jesus' name. 02:50 We ask You, Lord, to bless us 02:52 with the Holy Spirit that the words 02:54 that come from our lips 02:56 will be from Your throne of grace. 02:58 And Heavenly Father, we pray for Your Holy Spirit 03:00 to impress upon Your children, 03:02 the message that You have for them. 03:04 Each one has a different need, 03:07 perhaps some are needing answers 03:09 to the problems they are facing 03:11 so we pray that You will use us 03:12 according to Your good pleasure. 03:15 We pray that all honor and glory be unto Your name. 03:17 We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. 03:20 Praise the Lord. Thank you so much, brother. 03:23 The Desire of Nations, our memory text this week 03:27 comes from Isaiah Chapter 60, 03:30 which is what Jill's gonna be covering, 03:32 verse 3 and the Bible says, 03:34 "The Gentiles shall come to your light, 03:38 and kings to the brightness of your rising." 03:41 We all have a light. 03:42 We all have a light that God wants us 03:44 to shine before others. 03:45 And, of course, 03:47 it's not a light that we create. 03:48 It's a light that Jesus provides through us. 03:51 It's we're simply reflecting the light of Jesus Christ. 03:53 And that's simply 03:54 what this lesson this week is all about. 03:57 And my actually Sabbath afternoons lesson 03:59 starts with a quote from Ellen White's 04:03 Faith and Works, page 36. 04:06 And I thought this was a phenomenal quote, 04:08 I just want to read through, it's a little lengthy, 04:09 but it really sets the tone 04:11 for what we're studying this week. 04:13 It says, "We must learn in the school of Christ. 04:18 Nothing but His righteousness can entitle us 04:22 to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. 04:26 We have long desired 04:27 and tried to obtain these blessings, 04:30 but have not received them 04:32 because we have cherished the idea 04:34 that we could do something 04:36 to make ourselves worthy of them. 04:39 We have not looked away from ourselves, 04:42 believing that Jesus is a living Savior. 04:46 We must not think that 04:48 our own grace and merits will save us. 04:53 The grace of Christ is our only hope of salvation. 04:58 Through His prophet the Lord promises." 05:00 She quotes Isaiah 55:7. 05:04 She says, "Through His prophet the Lord promises, 05:06 'Let the wicked forsake his way, 05:09 and the unrighteous man his thoughts, 05:11 let him return to the Lord, 05:13 and He will have mercy upon him, 05:15 and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.' 05:20 We must believe the naked promise, 05:24 and not accept feeling for faith. 05:27 We must trust God fully, 05:30 when we rely upon the merits of Jesus 05:32 as a sin-pardoning Savior, 05:35 we shall receive all the help that we can desire." 05:39 I love that. 05:40 I love that, that we need to bring ourselves 05:43 to a point where we understand that 05:45 the gospel is not about what we can do, 05:47 but what Christ has already done, 05:49 and what Christ will do through us, 05:51 if only we will simply allow ourselves to trust in Him 05:54 and exercise as the Bible says, 05:56 the faith of Jesus Christ that is so beautiful. 06:00 And, you know, kind of contrary to that, 06:03 we, it sets us up somewhat of a theme 06:05 for Sunday's lesson, 06:07 which is entitled "The Effects of Sin." 06:09 You know, we live in a life today 06:11 where it seems like more and more, 06:13 we have lost sight 06:14 of the foundational righteousness 06:16 by faith message of the gospel, 06:18 which is that Christ did not come to save you 06:21 to continue to live in your sins, 06:23 but He come to save you from your sins 06:25 to give us complete victory over sin. 06:27 And we know that 06:28 sanctifying process of shaping us 06:30 and molding us into the character of Jesus, 06:32 that's a lifelong process, 06:34 and that each and every day that we get up 06:35 and we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, 06:37 the Lord is going to continue to lead and guide us 06:40 and to show us along the way, 06:41 what it is that He wants us to do 06:43 or not do in order to be 06:45 able to be molded into His like character, 06:49 but the effects of sin are strong. 06:52 And that's what Isaiah 59:1-2 highlight here. 06:56 So let's go there, Isaiah 59:1-2. 06:59 And the Bible says here, 07:01 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, 07:05 that it cannot save, 07:07 nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. 07:11 But your iniquities have separated you 07:15 from your God, 07:17 and your sins have hidden His face from you, 07:21 so that He will not hear." 07:24 Now that's not that He will not hear 07:26 because He's saying, you know, I don't want to hear you, 07:28 He will not hear because you have chosen for Him 07:30 not to hear, 07:32 you have chosen to live a life of sin 07:34 over and over and over and over. 07:35 And that's what this passage is talking about. 07:38 When it's talks about the Lord, 07:40 you know, not listening or not hearing, 07:41 it's because you have come to a place 07:43 where you have completely pushed Him away, 07:46 and you no longer want 07:47 the Lord's grace upon your life. 07:49 And that's a very dangerous place 07:50 to be in. 07:52 Isaiah 59 is one of those kind of, 07:53 it's one of those texts that's really eye-opening, 07:56 it really grabs you because when you think 07:58 about being separated from God, 08:00 that's one of the most haunting experiences 08:01 that a person could ever find themselves in. 08:04 And the lesson brings this out, 08:06 and I love this point here it says, 08:07 "Sin can destroy our relationship with the Lord 08:10 and thus lead to our eternal ruin." 08:13 And that's true. 08:15 And he goes on to say, 08:16 "Not because sin drives God away from us, 08:20 but that it drives us away from God." 08:22 I like that. 08:24 Sin does not drive God away from us, 08:26 God doesn't abandon us, like, oh, you're a sinner, 08:29 you've done all these horrible sins, 08:30 you know, I'm going to run far away 08:31 in the opposite direction. 08:33 Good luck finding me. 08:34 That's not how it works. 08:35 But yet sin drives us away from God, 08:37 and God continues to seek us, He continues to seek us. 08:41 And there's times 08:42 when we are completely sold out to our sin, 08:45 we're completely slave to our sin 08:47 that God cannot hear because we won't allow Him 08:50 because we have chosen our master. 08:52 And, of course, the master of sin we know 08:54 is the enemy himself, the devil. 08:57 You know, that same point that 08:58 I just brought out that 08:59 it doesn't drive God away from us, 09:01 but yet sin drives us away from God. 09:03 We see evidence of this in Genesis Chapter 3, 09:06 where Adam and Eve, of course, had sinned, 09:08 and we don't see, you know, Adam and Eve, you know, 09:10 wandering around the garden going, 09:12 God, Lord, you know, where are you? 09:14 And He's ran away, 09:15 and I know we see right, the opposite. 09:16 Notice what Genesis 3:8 says. 09:19 It says, "And they heard the sound 09:20 of the Lord God walking in the garden 09:22 in the cool of the day, 09:23 and Adam and his wife hid themselves 09:25 from the presence of the Lord God 09:27 among the trees of the garden." 09:29 So what do we see here? 09:31 We see God is seeking, we see a seeking God, 09:34 we see that God knows that they have fallen into sin that 09:36 they have had this fallen experience. 09:39 And God goes after them, 09:40 kind of like the prodigal son 09:42 who's in the, he's off in the distance. 09:44 And what does the father do? 09:45 He doesn't sit there and wait, like, 09:47 oh, he got to come, you know, no, no, no, 09:48 he goes and he runs to him. 09:50 God is looking, 09:51 He's seeking to save Adam and Eve, 09:53 but yet they have hid themselves from God 09:55 because of the shame of their iniquity. 09:57 And so this lesson brings out that sin 10:00 has great effects on us, 10:02 detrimental deadly effects on us. 10:04 And I just want to highlight 10:05 in the remaining time that we have, 10:07 I'm gonna highlight Jill, I don't do this often, 10:10 seven ways sin affects us. 10:12 All right, so we're gonna look at 10:14 seven different ways that sin affects. 10:15 And, of course, 10:16 this list is not limited to just this list, 10:18 we can, I could have continued on, 10:19 but for the sake of time, 10:20 we're gonna highlight seven ways 10:22 that sin affects us in a negative way. 10:25 And then, of course, we're gonna provide 10:26 a wonderful promise in the end 10:27 that will kind of, you know, 10:29 reverse or somewhat provide 10:31 a hopeful looking forward to overcoming the sin 10:34 if we simply put our trust in the Lord. 10:36 So seven ways that sin affects us we're looking at... 10:38 Let's start with this. 10:40 Sin is the result of breaking heaven's governing law, okay? 10:43 When we sin, we're simply rebelling 10:45 against God's government. 10:46 And I don't know a single person. 10:48 I have never asked a person I said, 10:49 "Hey, do you want eternal life and do you want to live 10:51 with God forever and eternal pleasure 10:53 and bliss with the Lord forever and ever and ever?" 10:55 I've never met a person that's I know 10:57 that doesn't sound appealing. 10:58 I don't want any part of that. 10:59 I think we all desire 11:01 and want to be in a better place 11:02 where we can have eternal life. 11:04 But yet, in order to have eternal life, 11:06 we must be able to be governed by heaven's law. 11:09 In this case, we're talking about 11:10 the law of God. 11:12 And 1 John 3:4 makes it very clear that, 11:14 "Sin is the result of transgressing God's law." 11:16 4, it says, "Whosoever commits sin 11:18 transgresseth also the law: 11:20 for sin is the transgression of the law." 11:22 So in some way, form or fashion, 11:24 when we sin or continue to live in sin, 11:26 we are continuing to rebel against God's kingdom agenda. 11:30 We are rebelling against the government 11:31 of the Most High 11:33 and if we're ever gonna dwell there 11:34 and live there for eternal, you know, eternally, 11:37 we have to bring ourselves in subjection 11:40 and in harmony with God's will, His character, His law. 11:44 Number two, sin causes us to deny the guidance 11:48 of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 11:50 Matthew 12:31-32 says, "Therefore I say to you, 11:54 every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, 11:56 but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit 11:58 will not be forgiven men. 12:00 Anyone who speaks the word against Son of Man, 12:02 it will be forgiven him, but whoever 12:03 speaks against the Holy Spirit, 12:05 it will not be forgiving him, 12:07 neither in this age or in the age to come." 12:10 And, of course, Ephesians 4:30 12:12 as well as 1 Thessalonians 5:19 12:15 talks about how we should not grieve the Holy Spirit, 12:17 we should not quench the Holy Spirit. 12:19 You see, sin leads us to push away the life source of God. 12:23 It pushes away the source in which God allows us 12:26 to grow and to learn and be brought into harmony 12:28 with His will and with His truth. 12:30 And sin brings about an act 12:33 and existence in which we perpetually 12:35 and continually keep pushing away 12:37 that ultimate power source 12:39 that God provides for us to overcome. 12:43 Number three, sin causes us to fall 12:45 into a state of self-deception. 12:48 1 John 1:8. 12:50 "If we say that we have no sin, 12:53 we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 12:57 You see, when we continue to live in sin, 12:59 we bring about a self-deceptive mentality 13:02 that says, "We don't need God, I can make this on my own." 13:04 And that's very, very dangerous. 13:06 Number four, sin leads us 13:07 to deny the sacrifice of Christ. 13:10 Hebrews 10:26 says, "For if we sin willfully 13:13 after we have received the knowledge of the truth, 13:15 there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin." 13:18 Why can there no longer remain a sacrifice for sin? 13:20 Because when you are living 13:22 in a perpetual state of ongoing sin, 13:24 you are recrucifying Christ over and over and over, 13:27 you're denying the fact that 13:28 He died once for all those sins, 13:30 you have made sin your master, 13:32 you're denying the sacrifice of Christ. 13:35 Number five, sin separates us 13:36 from our fellow man, 1 John 2:11. 13:39 "But he who hates his brother 13:41 is in darkness and walks in darkness, 13:42 and does not know whether he is going, 13:44 because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 13:48 Number six, sin separates us from God. 13:52 1 John 3:6, 13:53 "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. 13:56 Whoever sins has neither seen Him 13:58 nor known Him." 13:59 That's talking about an ongoing, 14:01 continual, perpetual, habitual state of sin. 14:05 You cannot, you're denying God when you live in that state. 14:08 And number seven, sin brings death, ultimately. 14:12 Romans 6:23, 14:14 "For the wages of sin is death." 14:17 And you can also go read James 1:14-15. 14:20 That when sin has... 14:21 When that temptation has been conceived, 14:23 and when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death. 14:27 There's good news in this though. 14:29 I love 1 John 1:9 because ultimately 14:32 what it says if you come to the realization 14:34 that you don't want to live in this sin, 14:36 that you don't want to be separated from the Lord, 14:38 that You don't want those negative effects of sin 14:39 on your life 14:41 when you come to the realization 14:42 that Jesus has overcome the world 14:44 and He has overcome the sin in your life. 14:45 Guess what? 14:46 You can go to Him as the Bible says, 14:48 "If we confess our sins, 14:49 He is faithful 14:50 and just to forgive us our sins, 14:53 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 14:56 Amen. 14:57 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 14:59 Well, we move on to Monday's lesson, 15:01 which is entitled, "Who Is Forgiven?" 15:05 Who Is Forgiven? 15:06 Now we move on in Isaiah Chapter 59. 15:10 The beginning of Isaiah Chapter 59 15:12 shows two different kinds of people, 15:16 the wicked and those that are righteous, 15:20 but when we get to verse 15, 15:23 you will notice a statement that the wicked have done 15:29 so wickedly that now 15:31 they are trying to hurt the righteous. 15:34 Isaiah 59:15 says, "So truth fails, 15:38 and he who departs from evil makes himself a pray. 15:43 Then the Lord saw it, 15:44 and it displeased Him that there was no justice." 15:48 So we see that the Lord 15:50 is looking at all times at the earth, 15:53 and His eyes are over the righteous, 15:55 but He also sees the wicked. 15:57 And, of course, He appeals to the wicked to repent 16:01 because it is the Lord's desire 16:03 that all should come to repentance, 16:06 but the wicked that refuse to come to repentance 16:09 will have to suffer for their deeds. 16:13 Now notice in Isaiah Chapter 59, 16:15 we're going to read verse 16 and 17. 16:18 "He saw that there was no man, 16:21 and wondered that there was no intercessor. 16:24 Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him. 16:27 And His own righteousness, it sustained Him." 16:31 Verse 17, "For He put 16:33 on righteousness as a breastplate, 16:36 and a helmet of salvation on His head." 16:39 This is the Lord. 16:40 He puts a helmet of salvation, 16:42 He's coming to the earth to deal 16:43 with the righteous and the wicked. 16:45 That's why he has the helmet of salvation on 16:47 but, "He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, 16:51 and was clad with zeal as a cloak." 16:54 God is coming to deal with the good and the evil. 16:59 You will see some of this in... 17:01 It reminds me I could say of Daniel 12:1, 17:05 take a look at that. 17:07 Daniel 12:1 says, 17:09 "At that time Michael shall stand up, 17:12 the great prince who stands 17:14 watch over the sons of your people, 17:16 and there shall be a time of trouble, 17:19 such as never was since there was a nation, 17:22 even to that time. 17:23 And at that time your people shall be delivered, 17:26 every one who is found written in the book." 17:30 And so God comes to deal 17:32 with the righteous and with the wicked. 17:35 When you get to Isaiah Chapter 16, 17:37 you're gonna see more of that later on, 17:38 you will see that there are the righteous, 17:41 but it says that 17:42 gross darkness cover the people, 17:44 but the righteous will shine. 17:46 You'll see, you'll hear more about that, 17:48 as you continue watching and listening to this program. 17:51 Isaiah 59:18-21. 17:54 We need to move through this quickly 17:55 because time seems to be flying. 17:57 Isaiah Chapter 59, notice, "According to their deeds, 18:01 accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, 18:06 recompense to His enemies, 18:08 the coastlands He will fully repay. 18:10 So shall they fear 18:12 the name of the Lord from the west, 18:13 and His glory from the rising of the sun. 18:16 When the enemy comes in like a flood, 18:18 the Spirit of the Lord will lift up 18:20 a standard against him." 18:23 Now notice, "The Redeemer will come to Zion." 18:27 He is coming also to redeem. 18:29 "And to those who turn 18:31 from transgression in Jacob, says the Lord." 18:33 He's coming to deal 18:34 with the righteous and the wicked. 18:36 And "'As for Me,' says the Lord, 18:37 'this is My covenant with them, My spirit who is upon you, 18:41 and My words which I have put in your mouth, 18:44 shall not depart from your mouth, 18:46 nor from the mouth of your descendants, 18:48 nor from the mouth 18:50 of your descendants' descendants,' 18:51 says the Lord, 'from this time and forevermore.'" 18:53 So the time is coming, when the Lord will deal 18:57 with the righteous and the wicked. 18:59 He's coming with the helmet of salvation, 19:01 but He's also coming with the garments of vengeance. 19:04 On which side do you want to be? 19:06 Do you want the Lord to bring you the salvation 19:09 that He longs to give you? 19:10 Or do you want to be on the side of the wicked 19:12 that will suffer for their wickedness? 19:15 So the question is asked in the lesson, 19:17 who can be forgiven? 19:20 Let's go to Romans 3:23-24. 19:25 Notice, "For all have sinned 19:29 and fall short of the glory of God." 19:31 So what's the difference? 19:33 If all have sinned 19:34 and come short of the glory of God, 19:35 who can be forgiven? 19:37 Only those that desire forgiveness, 19:39 only those who seek that forgiveness 19:41 that God freely offers, just as you heard, 19:45 those that confess their sins, 19:46 God is faithful and just to forgive them 19:48 for their sins, 19:50 and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. 19:51 Verse 24, "Being justified freely 19:56 by His grace through the redemption 19:59 that is in Christ Jesus." 20:01 This is only through Jesus Christ, 20:04 that we can have redemption and righteousness. 20:08 You've heard already what is sin? 20:10 Sin is the transgression of God's law. 20:13 Romans 6:23 brings out what happens 20:16 to those who do not ask for forgiveness, 20:20 who do not ask for Jesus to be their Savior. 20:23 Romans 6:23, 20:25 "For the wages of sin is death." 20:27 That's for the wicked, 20:28 but if you turn from your wickedness, 20:29 if you follow the Lord, 20:31 give your heart to the Lord, what happens? 20:33 But the gift of God 20:34 is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 20:40 This is freely offered to you. It's available today. 20:43 And I encourage you to take advantage of that 20:46 which God wants to give you. 20:48 That's why I turn now to Proverbs Chapter 28. 20:51 Proverbs 28:13 gives us this message, 20:56 "He who covers his sins shall not prosper, 21:01 but whoever confesses and follows 21:05 by forsaking them will have mercy." 21:09 So it's not only that God wants to forgive you, 21:12 He wants to give you 21:14 the capacity to forsake your sins, 21:16 and He will have mercy upon you. 21:20 And you're gonna hear 21:21 some good things as we continue. 21:24 Now when we go to Romans 3:20. 21:28 Romans 3:20, we need to make something perfectly clear. 21:32 And that is, 21:34 "Therefore by the deeds of the law 21:36 no flesh will be justified in His sight, 21:40 for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 21:44 And many people are trying by their own works, 21:48 trying to, "Oh, this is what's going 21:50 to bring me salvation." 21:52 I remember being in Mexico one time, 21:54 and they took us to this place 21:55 because every year, people come on a pilgrimage. 21:59 And they said, from this part right here, 22:03 people on their knees go all the way over there, 22:08 go up the stairs into that church 22:12 because they believe that these types of things, 22:15 gives them the ability to be forgiven, 22:19 they are atoning for their sins. 22:22 And God what He wants you to do is, 22:25 confess your sins and forsake your sins 22:27 and He will have mercy upon you. 22:29 Moving quickly. 22:31 Moving quickly, Isaiah 64:6. 22:35 Isaiah 64:6, 22:38 "But we are all like an unclean thing, 22:42 and all our righteousness are like filthy rags. 22:46 We all fade as a leaf, 22:48 and our iniquities, like the wind, 22:50 have taken us away." 22:52 So please understand that the very best 22:55 that you could possibly do 22:57 before the Lord are as filthy rags, 23:00 they will not count one iota towards salvation 23:04 or towards righteousness. 23:06 So what is it? 23:07 What is the hope? 23:09 Who can be forgiven? 23:11 Romans 8:1 23:15 brings a message to a question to a declaration 23:18 that Paul made in Romans 7:24. 23:23 Let me read Romans 7:24 first. 23:26 Paul says, "O wretched man that I am! 23:29 Who will deliver me from this body of death?" 23:33 The answer for Paul 23:35 and the answer for you and me is Romans 8:1. 23:39 "There is therefore now no condemnation 23:41 to those who are in Christ Jesus, 23:44 who do not walk according to the flesh, 23:47 but according to the Spirit." 23:49 Those that come to the Lord, 23:51 ask for forgiveness of their sins, 23:53 and forsake their sins 23:56 have to walk according to the Spirit. 23:59 And this brings you no condemnation. 24:02 This is why Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, 24:05 let him take up his cross daily and follow Me." 24:08 This is a daily experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 24:12 And you'll see evidence of God calling people to repentance. 24:16 You can go to Isaiah Chapter 1, God says, Come, verse 18, 24:19 "Come now, let us reason together." 24:22 If you go to Jude 1:24, there's only one chapter. 24:25 Let me read this one to wind up here 24:27 because time is gone. 24:30 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 24:33 and to present you faultless 24:35 before the presence of His glory 24:37 with exceeding joy, to God our Savior." 24:40 Verse 25, "Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, 24:44 dominion and power, both now and forever. 24:47 Amen." 24:49 So I encourage you, 24:50 give yourself to the Lord to Jesus Christ 24:53 because only in Him 24:55 you will find that righteousness 24:56 that we all need. 24:59 Praise the Lord. 25:00 Man, that was a powerful lesson, brother. 25:01 Thank you so much, a blessing. 25:03 We're gonna take a short break. 25:05 Don't go anywhere. 25:06 We'll be right back. 25:11 Ever wish you could watch 25:12 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:15 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:18 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:23 A clean design makes it easy 25:25 to find the program you're looking for. 25:27 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:31 so you can follow along. 25:33 Sharing is easy. 25:34 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:37 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:41 Hello, friends. 25:42 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 25:44 We're going to toss it to Jill Morikone 25:47 for Tuesday's lesson entitled, "Universal Appeal." 25:50 Thank you so much, Pastor Ryan and Pastor Johnny. 25:52 What an incredible lesson. 25:54 I love that. Isaiah 59. 25:57 I have the first three verses of Isaiah Chapter 60. 26:01 And you see a shift in the mood from Isaiah 59 to Isaiah 60. 26:05 There is a progression as it were of thought. 26:08 Isaiah 59, we see the effects of sin 26:11 and that judgment, that separation from God. 26:13 We also see the salvation and forgiveness 26:16 that God extends to His people, 26:19 but when we get to Isaiah 60, they're ready to witness. 26:22 They're ready to stand up and shine. 26:25 So let's read our three verses, and then we'll unpack them. 26:29 Isaiah 60:1-3, 26:32 "Arise, shine, for your light is come! 26:37 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 26:41 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 26:44 and deep darkness the people, 26:46 but the Lord will arise over you, 26:49 and His glory will be seen upon you. 26:53 The Gentiles shall come to your light, 26:56 and kings to the brightness of your rising." 27:00 So I have four questions for my lesson today. 27:02 The first one, Pastor John, is what? 27:05 What is the light? 27:06 And what is the darkness? 27:08 The second question is who? 27:10 Who is he speaking to? 27:12 Who is the you referred to in this passage? 27:14 Third question is why? 27:16 Why does it go to the Gentiles? 27:18 And the fourth is how? 27:20 How do we arise? 27:22 How do we share this light? 27:25 So what, who, why, and how. 27:29 What? What is the light? 27:30 What is the darkness? 27:31 It says "Arise, shine, for your light has come!" 27:34 What is that light? 27:36 The light is God's holiness. 27:38 Isaiah 62:1, "For Zion's sake 27:42 I will not hold My peace, 27:44 and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, 27:48 until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, 27:52 and her salvation as a lamp that burns." 27:55 Righteousness is connected to brightness. 27:59 Light has to be connected to righteousness and holiness. 28:02 Light is not just God's righteousness 28:04 or holiness. 28:06 It's also God's character. 28:08 We see that in Exodus 34 that glory is represented 28:14 as character in the Word of God. 28:16 Remember, Moses said he wanted to see God and he said, 28:19 "Please show me Your glory." 28:21 And God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock 28:24 and He allowed the back part to pass by. 28:27 And what did he say? 28:28 The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 28:31 long suffering, His character, 28:34 glory is represented as His character. 28:38 Light also is God's presence. 28:42 Revelation 21:23, "The city had no need 28:46 of the sun or the moon to shine in it, 28:48 for the glory of God illuminated it. 28:51 The lamb is its light." 28:55 Light is synonymous with God's presence. 28:58 Isaiah 60:19, this is speaking of the New Jerusalem, 29:02 "The sun shall no longer be your light by day, 29:05 nor for brightness 29:06 shall the moon give light to you, 29:09 but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, 29:13 and your God will be your glory." 29:16 Light equals God's holiness, light equals God's character, 29:20 light equals God's presence, light also equals the gospel. 29:25 2 Corinthians 4:6, 29:28 "For it is the God who commanded light 29:31 to shine out of darkness, 29:33 who has shown in our hearts to give the light 29:36 of the knowledge of the glory of God 29:38 in the face of Jesus Christ." 29:41 This is a dark world, a dark world of sin, 29:45 and God shines His light 29:47 not only the light of His character, 29:48 but the glorious light of His gospel into this world 29:53 into the dark world. 29:54 Isaiah 60:2 says what? 29:56 "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, 29:59 and deep darkness the people." 30:03 That deep darkness and the darkness of sin, 30:06 the darkness of not having a knowledge of God 30:10 or His character. 30:12 Isaiah 9. 30:13 This is a messianic prophecy going back 30:16 quite a few chapters from where we're at. 30:17 Isaiah 9:2, 30:19 "The people who walked in darkness," 30:21 that is spiritual darkness, "had seen a great light." 30:25 That's the Lord Jesus Christ, 30:27 "Those who dwelt 30:28 in the land of the shadow of death, 30:30 upon them the light has shined." 30:33 What about who? 30:35 Who is he speaking to? 30:37 He says, "Your light has come! 30:39 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." 30:42 Now, of course, Isaiah is writing right now 30:44 to the exiles in Babylon 30:46 looking forward to them being released and returned. 30:49 They would the children of Israel, 30:51 once again have that privilege 30:54 of representing Christ to the world. 30:58 That would be the literal fulfillment 31:00 at that time, 31:01 but there's also the fulfillment for you 31:04 and I looking down through the stream of time, 31:07 as the Church of God, as men and women 31:10 who have accepted Christ and claim the name Christian, 31:14 we are called to represent Christ to the world. 31:19 Why? 31:20 Why does the light go to the Gentiles? 31:22 Why is the gospel to be taken to the Gentiles? 31:26 'Cause it says the Gentiles would come to that light, 31:29 and kings to the brightness of that rising. 31:33 Now, of course, in that present day situation, 31:36 and then we'll look at the future application, 31:38 but the present day application, 31:40 the mission of the Jewish people 31:42 was what? 31:44 To share what they had been entrusted with 31:46 that glorious truth of the coming Messiah 31:49 and those truths that they held. 31:51 They were supposed to share that with the world. 31:54 When God called Abraham in Genesis 12, 31:57 and said, "I will make of you a great nation. 32:00 I will bless you and make your name great." 32:02 Was that just because Abraham's lineage 32:05 was supposed to be blessed 32:06 and they were supposed to hold what they had to themselves? 32:08 No, they were called. 32:10 It says in verse 3, Genesis 12:3, 32:13 "I will bless those who bless you, 32:15 and curse him who curses you, 32:17 and in you all the families 32:20 of the earth should be blessed." 32:23 God's purpose was to bless the entire world, 32:27 through His covenant 32:28 with Abraham and the Jewish nation. 32:32 Isaiah is also reminding the children of Israel 32:35 of their destiny, to be God's ambassadors. 32:40 We are called today to share that light, 32:44 the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. 32:48 It is universal. 32:49 Jesus died for everyone. 1 Peter 2:9. 32:52 Now this is referring to us as the Church of God, 32:56 "But you are a chosen generation, 32:59 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 33:02 God's own special people, 33:05 that we may proclaim the praises of Him 33:07 who called us out of darkness," 33:08 that's spiritual darkness of sin, 33:11 "into His marvelous light." 33:14 Who were once not a people, 33:16 but now we are the people of God. 33:19 Who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 33:24 We are called to share 33:25 this glorious gospel of the world. 33:27 That's why the mission of 3ABN, Matthew 28. 33:30 Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, 33:34 teaching, and preaching and baptizing with the world. 33:39 Finally, number four is how? 33:42 How do we arise? 33:43 How do we share this light? 33:45 I would submit to you 33:47 those four ways that we can arise, 33:50 and that we can share this light 33:53 with a dark world. 33:55 Way number one is to allow the Holy Spirit 33:58 to anoint and transform you. 34:01 I think there's a key connection 34:03 between the last verse of Isaiah 59, 34:06 and the first verse of Isaiah 60. 34:09 Isaiah 60 begins with arise and shine, 34:11 but you can't do that unless you see 34:13 what happens in the previous verse. 34:15 In Isaiah 59:21 says, 34:18 "'As for Me,' says the Lord, 34:20 'this is My covenant with them, 34:22 My spirit who is upon you, 34:24 and My words which I have put in your mouth." 34:28 Only after we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, 34:31 can we arise and shine? 34:32 Only after we have been anointed 34:35 and transformed by the Spirit. 34:38 Way number two, be who God has made you to be. 34:42 Don't try to be someone else. 34:44 Don't make special efforts to shine, simply shine. 34:50 I remember Pastor Johnny saying this years ago 34:52 and I always remembered it. 34:54 In Matthew 5:16, when Jesus is talking 34:57 to His disciples and says, 34:58 "Let your light so shine before men." 35:01 He doesn't say strive to shine. 35:03 He doesn't say work to shine. 35:05 Simply, we allow God to use us. 35:09 Let your light shine. 35:11 Way number three is to study His Word. 35:13 Psalm 119:105, 35:15 "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." 35:20 Do you need light? 35:22 Study the Word of God. 35:23 Do you want to share light with someone else? 35:25 Study the Word of God. 35:27 And finally, number four, 35:28 make a choice for God and His way. 35:32 Romans 13:12, 35:33 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. 35:36 Let us cast off the works of darkness, 35:38 make a choice to leave the way of Satan behind 35:41 and put on the armor of light." 35:45 Everyday make a choice for Jesus. 35:48 Amen. Thank you, Jill. 35:50 Very good. 35:51 Jill talk about every day making a choice for Jesus, 35:54 mine is talking about "The Year of the Lord's Favor." 35:57 Not only something that's done daily, 36:00 but something that we commit to yearly. 36:02 We begin in Isaiah 61, 36:05 the writer talks about the year of the Lord's favor. 36:08 This is very significant because from the time 36:10 that sin entered the world, Satan was given a notice. 36:16 He was told in Genesis 3:15, 36:18 "I will put enmity between you and the woman, 36:20 between your seed and her Seed." 36:22 He was given a notice. 36:24 And it was his determination 36:26 to prevent the year of the Lord's favor. 36:29 He knew was coming. 36:31 So from generation to generation, 36:32 he gauged not receiving the hidden knowledge of God. 36:36 He looked intently 36:38 into when could this year possibly come 36:40 and through the Jewish economy, 36:42 through the Jewish system of sacrifices, 36:45 he knew every year. 36:47 The Day of Atonement was a yearly reminder 36:49 that God's plan is continuing to march on. 36:52 It always left men in the year of the Lord's favor 36:56 if they provided a sacrifice in time 37:00 for the Day of Atonement service to blot out their sin. 37:03 And when the sin was blotted out, 37:04 it was a continual reminder to Satan himself, 37:07 that you cannot prevent God from blotting out man's sin. 37:10 Every year, not only was there 37:12 a continual reminder of man's fault, 37:15 but there was always a continual reminder 37:17 of the year of the Lord's favor. 37:19 So Isaiah 61 begins with these words, 37:22 the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me 37:24 because the Lord has anointed me 37:26 to preach good tidings to the poor. 37:29 He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 37:32 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 37:35 and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. 37:37 Not only does this talk about the Messiah, 37:40 but the writer says, 37:41 either this is the Messiah or this is a Messiah. 37:45 Well, praise the Lord, it was not a Messiah. 37:47 Praise God, it was the Messiah, 37:49 because the Spirit of the Lord is obviously being anointed 37:54 upon a particular person. 37:56 And Isaiah proclaimed this 700 plus years 37:59 before this anointing actually took place. 38:02 Acts 10:38, 38:03 when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost, 38:05 on the day of His baptism, a reminder that 38:09 the anointed one means the Messiah 38:11 or the Messiah means the anointed one. 38:13 So let's see the fulfillment of these words, 38:16 in the Book of Luke. 38:17 Luke 4:16-22. 38:20 This statement was made by the Anointed One, 38:22 the incarnate God, the pre-existent one, Jesus. 38:28 Luke 4:16, "So He came to Nazareth, 38:31 where He had been brought up. 38:32 And as His custom was, 38:34 He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, 38:36 and stood up to read." 38:38 Another reason why we should emulate Christ to what he did. 38:41 "And He was handed the book of the Prophet Isaiah. 38:45 And when He had opened the book, 38:47 He found the place where it is written." 38:49 It's amazing. 38:50 It's humbling to me, a panel that 38:52 what we're reading is what Jesus read. 38:55 I mean, that's amazing. I think about that. 38:57 And the verse 18 says, 38:58 He started repeating what we just read, 39:00 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, 39:03 because He has anointed Me 39:04 to preach the gospel to the poor, 39:06 He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 39:09 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 39:11 and recovery of sight to the blind, 39:14 to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 39:16 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 39:21 What happened? 39:23 "Then he closed the book, 39:24 and gave it back to the attendant 39:26 and sat down. 39:27 And the eyes of all 39:29 who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him." 39:30 In other words, why would he keep saying me? 39:36 Who is this young man that keeps saying me? 39:40 And the Bible goes on, "He began to say to them, 39:43 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' 39:47 So all bore witness to Him, 39:49 and marveled at the gracious words 39:52 which proceeded out of His mouth. 39:54 And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'" 39:59 Who is this kid? 40:00 How can you say these words of Isaiah 40:03 our Prophet is fulfilled, he's too young. 40:05 Where could he possibly be coming from. 40:07 But let's go back to Isaiah 42:1-8. 40:11 So Isaiah or the writer as who does sound like? 40:14 Here we go. 40:15 Isaiah 42:1-8, "Behold, My Servant whom I uphold, 40:20 My Elect One in whom My soul delights! 40:23 I have put My Spirit upon Him. 40:25 He will bring forth the justice to the Gentiles." 40:27 And Jill talked about that the message to the Gentiles. 40:31 And it says, "He will not cry out, 40:34 nor raise His voice, 40:35 nor cause His voice to be heard in the street." 40:37 And then he says, 40:39 "A bruised reed He will not break, 40:41 and a smoking flax He will not quench. 40:43 He will bring forth justice for truth. 40:46 He will not fail nor be discouraged, 40:49 till He has established justice in the earth, 40:51 and the coastlands shall wait for His law.' 40:55 Thus says God the Lord, 40:56 who created the heavens and stretched them out, 40:59 who spread forth the earth 41:02 and that which comes from it, 41:03 who gives breath to the people on it, 41:06 and Spirit to those who walk on it." 41:09 And now look at the identity. 41:11 "I, the Lord have called You in righteousness," 41:14 the Father calling the Son in righteousness, 41:18 "and will hold Your hand. 41:21 I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people." 41:24 This was an agreement between the Father and the Son, 41:27 the covenant was not decided by one individual. 41:30 And as we're going to study 41:31 in the future lesson on covenants, 41:33 there needs to be two people to make a covenant, 41:36 but one who is committed can overshadow the one 41:39 who's not able to be committed. 41:41 However, in this case, what the beauty is here, 41:44 the Father and the Son are both committed, 41:46 and the Father and the Son 41:47 are able to keep the covenant ratified. 41:50 Praise God for that. 41:52 He says, "I will keep You and give You 41:54 as a covenant to the people, 41:55 as a light to the Gentiles," to do what? 41:59 "To open blind eyes, 42:01 to bring out prisoners from the prison, 42:02 those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 42:05 I am the Lord, that is My name. 42:07 And My glory I will not give to another, 42:10 nor My praise to carved images." 42:12 Friends, as you're listening to this, 42:13 I want to pause right here and say, 42:15 the only reason why we can have hope today 42:16 in this dark world 42:18 because the Lord has committed Himself 42:20 to bring out of prison, 42:22 those who are held prisoners, 42:24 and also to those who sit in darkness, 42:26 meaning those who don't know God's Word, 42:29 He is the only one that can turn that light on. 42:32 His word is a lamp unto our feet 42:34 and a light into our paths. 42:36 And He says, I'm the one that's committed to do that. 42:38 I am the Lord and My glory, I will not give to another. 42:42 But what about the acceptable year of the Lord 42:44 that Isaiah 61 talked about? 42:46 Let's look at that. 42:48 Leviticus 25:10 talks about this acceptable year. 42:53 What year was the acceptable year? 42:55 And he brings this down back to 42:58 a law that's not only religious, 43:00 but agricultural. 43:01 We find the merging of two of them together 43:04 because every year, there was a time, 43:07 every seven years the land was to rest 43:10 every seventh year, 43:11 but then you had seven sevens, 43:13 and then you had the 50th year 43:14 or the year of jubilee was talked about. 43:17 So we find in Leviticus 25:10, 43:21 this 50th year is referred to. 43:24 And this is a reflection of the year of liberation, 43:26 how amazing the timing is. 43:28 It says, "And you shall consecrate the," 43:31 what year? 43:33 "The fiftieth year, 43:34 and proclaim liberty throughout all the land 43:37 to all its inhabitants. 43:39 It shall be a Jubilee for you. 43:42 And each of you shall return to his possessions, 43:45 and each of you shall return to his family." 43:48 You know, when somebody was forced to sell their land, 43:52 or sold their land for hardship, 43:53 the one who purchased that land had the obligation 43:56 under the Jewish law to give it back 43:58 in the year of jubilee. 44:00 And also every seventh year, 44:02 the Lord had given them an agricultural rule 44:04 for the land to rest, 44:05 so that it will replenish itself, 44:07 but it happened on the 50th year, 44:11 but notice something. 44:12 There's an association with the 50th year 44:14 and the Day of Pentecost because that's the 50th day. 44:18 Let's look at Acts 2:1, what happened there? 44:21 Acts 2:1, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, 44:25 they were all with one accord in one place." 44:28 In other words, 44:29 there was a bringing back together, 44:31 when that year of acceptance was fulfilled. 44:33 And the Lord said, 44:34 "I'm gonna do something in this year." 44:36 The very spirit that was poured out on Jesus, 44:39 in His year of acceptance is poured out 44:42 on those who are waiting for the Holy Spirit 44:45 on the day of acceptance, the year of the Lord. 44:48 So three very quick points. 44:51 One, Acts 1:4, we must wait and prepare 44:54 for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, 44:57 as the apostles did before the Day of Pentecost. 45:00 "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them 45:02 not to depart from Jerusalem, 45:04 but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 45:06 which He has said, 'You have heard from Me.'" 45:09 Number two, we must work toward unity 45:12 as the apostles were on the Day of Pentecost. 45:15 Acts 2:1, "When the Day of Pentecost 45:17 had fully come, 45:19 they were all with one accord in one place." 45:22 And finally, number three, 45:24 we must make ourselves available for the Spirit of God 45:29 to reveal His power to us on the acceptable day. 45:33 Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power 45:37 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 45:39 and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 45:43 and in all Judea and Samaria, 45:46 and to the ends of the earth 45:48 in the acceptable year of the Lord." 45:50 Amen. Amen. 45:52 Wow! It's a such a great study. 45:55 And I'm so excited. 45:57 I've got one verse. 46:01 Isaiah 61:2, 46:03 in the midst of all of this good news, 46:06 here's what he says, 46:07 "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, 46:11 and the day of vengeance of our God. 46:14 To comfort all who mourn." 46:16 So Thursday's lesson is 46:18 "The Day of Vengeance of Our God." 46:21 So let me just back up here. 46:23 Jesus, after His temptation in the desert, 46:28 He comes out in the power of the Spirit, 46:30 He's going around all the region, 46:33 preaching in the synagogues and doing amazing things. 46:36 And boy, all the region was buzzing 46:40 with reports about Him, and He goes back to Nazareth. 46:45 And when He gets to His hometown of Nazareth, 46:48 man that on that Sabbath, 46:51 everybody is at the synagogue, 46:53 they want to see this young man they watch grow up, 46:58 what's all these reports about Him? 47:01 So they all are gathered around, 47:03 He walks in, 47:04 He walks down front, they hand Him the scroll, 47:07 He opens it up, right to this very place 47:10 of everything you just said in Isaiah 61:2, 47:14 and I'm gonna read this again because this is amazing. 47:16 He says in Luke 4:18-19, 47:20 "'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, 47:22 because He has anointed Me 47:24 to preach the gospel to the poor. 47:25 He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 47:28 to proclaim liberty to the captives 47:31 and recovery of the sight to the blind, 47:33 to set it liberty those who are oppressed, 47:37 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'" 47:40 And He stops. 47:44 He stops abruptly. 47:46 He doesn't read, 47:49 and the day of vengeance of our God. 47:53 He doesn't say that, He stops. 47:56 And I bet the people noticed. 47:57 I mean, they were familiar with Isaiah. 48:00 So when He stops in the midst of this reading, 48:03 and He goes and He hands Isaiah, 48:06 I mean, the scroll to the attendant, 48:08 He goes and sits down. 48:09 Then He says, 48:10 today these things been fulfilled 48:13 before your very eyes. 48:15 So what is... 48:18 Can you imagine 48:19 what a electrifying moment that must have been? 48:22 I mean, people must have been so excited, 48:25 but He is proclaiming His mission. 48:29 And He stops because that's all that 48:34 had been fulfilled at that point. 48:36 The day of the vengeance of our Lord is still to come. 48:40 So Isaiah's prophecy would have been 48:43 seen through the lens 48:47 of Babylonian exile. 48:49 They would think of the restoration 48:52 of the remnant, and that, you know, 48:54 when they're gonna rebuild Jerusalem, 48:56 but Jesus takes it to an infinitely higher level 49:01 because what He is coming to destroy 49:05 is Satan and the works of the devil. 49:09 In John 8, He says, You shall, this is John 8:32, Jesus said, 49:13 "You shall know the truth, 49:14 and the truth shall make you free." 49:18 Verse 34, "Most assuredly, 49:20 I say to you, 49:21 whoever commits sin is a slave to sin." 49:24 But verse 36 says, 49:26 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, 49:29 you are free indeed." 49:31 So everything about that 49:34 first portion of Isaiah 61 49:38 had been fulfilled, 49:40 but not the day of the vengeance. 49:42 And, you know, Jesus predicted you can see 49:45 in Matthew 24, Luke 13, 49:48 or Mark 13, Luke 21, 49:50 Jesus predicted these things are coming. 49:54 There's a judgment that's coming. 49:56 So here's what I've got to get to. 50:01 Christ is gonna come again to liberate planet earth. 50:04 And you're gonna look in Revelation 19. 50:07 It's describing His return 50:09 with the angelic hosts of heaven, 50:13 when He returns to slay all the sinners 50:16 with the sword of His Word. 50:18 Look at Revelation 19:15, 50:22 it says, "Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, 50:24 that with it He should strike the nations." 50:27 Didn't Jesus say, hey, 50:29 it's My word that's going to judge you in the end." 50:32 And He Himself will rule over them 50:34 with a rod of iron. 50:36 He Himself treads the winepress 50:38 of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God." 50:41 So how do we 50:46 reconcile the notion 50:49 that God is God of love? 50:50 Yet He's got a day of a vengeance that's coming. 50:55 Does that seem reconcilable to you used to me, 50:59 but you know what I've learned, 51:01 you have got to remember that God's essence is love, 51:07 God is holy, just righteous, pure. 51:10 That is the essence of His being is love, 51:15 and character is derived 51:19 from your nature. 51:22 So it is God's love that makes Him holy, 51:25 righteous, pure. 51:27 It is God's nature of love 51:31 that we can count on, 51:34 but character wise 51:36 God is completely separated from sin, totally. 51:40 His nature is totally opposed to sin, 51:44 and sin and love are as opposite 51:48 on the sides of the pole as you can make them. 51:51 So when you think of God's response to anger, 51:56 response to sin, 51:58 God has a visceral response to sin. 52:03 It's an abomination to Him. 52:05 He knows He's grieved 52:09 how man has used free will. 52:12 God has given us free will, 52:14 but man misuses it to oppress others. 52:19 See, God's government is ruled by the power of love. 52:24 Man's government's the love of power, is it not? 52:27 So do we get upset 52:30 when we see someone hurting someone else? 52:34 We just had a little girl in our area, 52:37 who was stabbed to death a little girl, 52:40 by I think it was her mother or aunt, 52:43 but, you know, you look at that and you think, 52:46 how did this happen? 52:47 And we get upset. 52:49 Why would we not think that God gets upset 52:52 with humanity sins against the other? 52:55 But you have to understand that God's wrath 53:01 is rooted in His nature of love. 53:05 It's His response to something that He didn't create. 53:09 God didn't create sin. 53:11 So He is going to confront sin in a holy love, 53:17 a holy anger, and a holy judgment. 53:22 God's wrath is the expression 53:26 of love's perfect justice. 53:30 And you know what? 53:32 His wrath is not permanent. 53:34 No sin, no wrath. 53:36 You know, so, but thankfully, God is patient. 53:40 In Nahum 1:3, just as when you mentioned, 53:45 I think when Moses said, "Show me Your glory." 53:49 God lists His character. 53:51 But Nahum 1:3 says, 53:52 "The Lord is slow to anger great in power, 53:56 and will not at all acquit the wicked." 54:01 You know, that's good news. 54:03 It's good news that there's love's perfect justice 54:07 is gonna do away with sin and sinners. 54:10 That's good news. 54:12 Ezekiel 33:11. 54:14 Listen to the heart of a loving God. 54:16 He says, "I have no pleasure 54:20 in the death of the wicked." 54:21 This is God's speaking, 54:23 "But that the wicked would turn from his way and live. 54:28 Turn, turn from your evil ways! 54:31 For why should you die?" 54:34 See, the wages of sin is death. 54:38 God has always said that's what's going to happen. 54:42 And even though we talk about 54:45 a God of love, of perfect love, 54:48 hate doesn't just blindly ignore our sins and say, 54:53 oh, too bad you murdered so and so, 54:56 too bad you committed adultery, too bad you did this. 54:59 No, rather from the depth of His love, 55:04 God gave us His righteous covenant 55:09 Son Jesus Christ. 55:11 From the depths of His love, 55:13 God paid the penalty 55:16 that He knew we could never pay, 55:19 and He died on the cross so that we might be saved. 55:24 So when we look at the day of vengeance of our Lord, 55:30 it is right to talk about the love of God, 55:33 we talk about the love of God often, 55:35 but it's also right to warn, 55:38 that there will come a day when that too is fulfilled. 55:43 Praise the Lord. 55:45 Ah, man, I find myself going over here, 55:46 I'm on fire over here looking at all these verses 55:50 that are going along with everyone's messages. 55:51 And it's just a powerful lesson. 55:53 It is. 55:54 Let's go with the time we have left, 55:56 let's get some final thoughts. 55:57 Yes, this is a reality that we all need righteousness. 56:03 And so we cannot get it without Christ. 56:06 I'm quoting to you from Christ's Object Lessons, 56:08 page 311. 56:10 "This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, 56:14 has in it not one thread of human devising. 56:19 Christ in His humanity 56:21 wrought out a perfect character, 56:24 and this character He offers to impart to us." 56:27 It is up to us to receive it. Amen. 56:30 Isaiah 62:2, 56:34 "The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, 56:37 and all kings your glory. 56:39 You shall be called by a new name, 56:42 which the mouth of the Lord will name. 56:44 You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord." 56:47 What a privilege is ours as Christians. 56:50 Amen. 56:52 And mine was The Year of the Lord's Favor. 56:54 Well, 2 Corinthians 6:2 brings this to fruition. 56:58 When the Apostle Paul says, 57:01 "For He says, 'In an acceptable time 57:04 I have heard you, 57:06 and in the day of salvation I have helped you.'" 57:08 When is that acceptable time? 57:10 "Behold, now is the acceptable time, 57:13 behold, now is the day of salvation." 57:15 Amen and amen. 57:17 Same scripture I was gonna go to, 57:19 but God does not want to condemn, 57:23 but to save humanity. 57:25 That is His purpose. 57:26 That's why He died on the cross for us. 57:29 And anyone who's in Christ 57:31 can be at peace with God, 57:33 but please understand one thing, 57:36 we have to give a warning, the day of the Lord is coming. 57:40 The day of the Lord, 57:43 the vengeance of our Lord is coming. 57:46 Don't get caught. Praise the Lord. 57:48 The Desire of all Nations, of course, is Jesus Christ 57:52 and has been made clear in lesson number 12. 57:55 Hey, we want you to come back next week 57:57 because we're going to be diving into our last lesson 57:59 of our study on Isaiah, 58:00 entitled "Rebirth of Planet Earth," 58:03 lesson number 13. 58:05 See you next week. |
Revised 2021-03-22