Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210025S
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00:01 Oh, it's time for Sabbath School panel again.
00:03 This quarterly is The Promise, God's Everlasting Covenant. 00:07 We're on lesson 12, Covenant Faith. 00:10 Grab your Bible and a pen and your quarterly. 00:13 If you don't already have one, it's not too late. 00:16 Go to ABSG.Adventist.org to get yours 00:21 because it's a wonderful study resource. 00:25 Join us today. 00:56 I hope you're as excited about this Sabbath School quarterly 01:00 as we are today is lesson 12, Covenant Faith. 01:03 Let me introduce our panel. 01:06 John Dinzey? 01:07 It's a blessing to be here. 01:08 We're loving having you here as well. 01:11 Ryan Day? 01:13 Here and accounted for, excited to study. 01:15 Wonderful. And my pastor, John Lomacang? 01:19 Yes, we're looking at Abraham once again. 01:21 He's been the star of this lesson study 01:23 it seems throughout. 01:25 Amen. 01:26 And then my sister and our COO, Vice President, Jill Morikone. 01:31 Excited to share, my topic is resting on the promise. 01:34 Well, praise the Lord. 01:36 Would you like to have our prayer please, Jill? 01:38 Holy Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus, 01:40 grateful for this quarter and this study in Your Word, 01:44 and your spirit and we just ask right now, 01:46 would you open up our minds and hearts to receive 01:49 what you have for us in Jesus' name. 01:52 Amen. Amen. 01:53 Amen. 01:54 Covenant faith, our memory verse is, 01:56 "No man is justified by the law in the sight of God. 02:01 It is evident, for the just shall live by faith." 02:06 That's Galatians 3:11. 02:08 God never intended the law to be 02:12 a means of justification of pardoning you from sin. 02:17 He designed faith, 02:20 that's a heart trust in him for that action. 02:25 And faith brings us into relationship with Jesus, 02:28 with God, with Jesus. 02:30 It's a trusting relationship, 02:32 which is what covenants are all about. 02:35 Revelation 14:6-12, 02:40 is the end time message of the three angels 02:44 that are flying around the earth, 02:46 to go to every tribe, tongue and nation. 02:49 And you know what? 02:50 It's interesting, it is bookended by faith 02:54 in the everlasting gospel. 02:57 When it is introduced, Revelation 14:6 says, 03:00 the angels flying in the midst of heaven 03:04 having the everlasting gospel, 03:07 to preach to every tongue, tribe, and people. 03:12 The everlasting gospel 03:14 was good news of God's salvation, 03:16 by grace through faith, 03:18 and then it ends in Revelation 14:12. 03:22 Talking about covenant faith, 03:24 it says, "Here is the patience of the saints. 03:28 Here are those who keep the commandments of God 03:31 and the faith of Jesus." 03:35 So we've got the message 03:36 and the response to the message 03:40 is an active obedience to God's will, 03:44 to live in covenant relationship with God. 03:49 And if you've been watching, you know that the covenant, 03:54 the everlasting covenant 03:55 was introduced in Revelation 13:8, 03:58 the Lamb slain 04:00 from the foundation of the earth. 04:02 Three things that 04:03 I want to mention about covenant thing. 04:06 It involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. 04:11 Covenant faith, our mind has to understand 04:16 the promises of God's everlasting 04:19 covenant of grace. 04:20 We have to understand the truth 04:22 of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice 04:26 and recognize Him as our only hope of salvation. 04:31 That's the mind, 04:32 the emotions once we embrace this truth, 04:36 we have, it produces a sorrow for our sin, 04:41 and a joy over God's mercy and grace. 04:45 The will, oh, this is so important. 04:48 We have to will to line up our will 04:50 with His to enter 04:52 into covenant relationship with Him 04:56 and live a life dependent totally upon Him, 05:01 and we have to submit to His will. 05:04 And let love and loyalty 05:08 be the motivation for our covenant. 05:12 Obedience by grace is God works 05:14 and is still willing to do His good pleasure. 05:17 Let me tell you, covenant has, 05:20 covenant faith has always been required. 05:23 As a matter of fact, 05:24 when Paul was speaking to Galatians, 05:27 he is quoting Habakkuk 2:4 from the Old Testament, 05:31 "Behold, the proud, his soul is not upright in him, 05:35 but the just shall live by faith." 05:38 And you know, Paul echoed that again. 05:41 In Romans 117, we saw that Noah 05:45 became the heir of righteousness by faith. 05:48 We saw that Abraham was justified our belief, God, 05:54 and it was counted to him as righteous. 05:57 And we know that Ephesians 2 says that 05:59 it's the exceeding riches of God's grace 06:03 is given to us that by grace, 06:05 we are saved through faith, not of works, 06:08 lest any should boast. 06:10 The dynamite power of the gospel is this, 06:14 when Paul is saying, you know, 06:15 the gospel, the power of the gospel, 06:18 and it's from faith to faith. 06:20 The dynamite power of the gospel is that 06:24 it blessed away all, 06:26 self sufficiency and sinful self reliance. 06:31 Now Sunday's lesson is reflections of Calvary. 06:35 I don't want to just focus on the cruelty of Calvary 06:41 and what happened on Calvary. 06:42 Let's focus on the man of Calvary. 06:46 In Philippians 2:6-8 06:48 is probably one of my favorite passages of Scripture. 06:52 Because once I really focused in on this, 06:56 my whole idea in studying the covenants particularly, 07:00 my whole idea of God changed. 07:02 I've always thought of Christ as the Son of God, 07:06 almost in a secondary position. 07:09 But listen to this. 07:10 I mean, as in second of importance to the Father. 07:15 But listen, Ephesians 2:6 says, "Who being in the form of God, 07:20 speaking of Jesus, 07:22 did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 07:24 but made himself of no reputation, 07:27 taking on the form of a bondservant, 07:29 coming in the likeness of men." 07:32 Here is the eternal, exist, 07:36 self existent One who had life un-derived, un-borrowed, 07:42 and He humbled Himself, 07:47 to go from the majesty of heaven, 07:51 to put on our flesh, 07:54 and become a man just so He could save us. 07:58 If you let that soak in, 08:00 the idea of salvation completely changes. 08:03 I praise God every time 08:06 I'm praying, almost every time. 08:08 I will say, God, thank You that You became a man. 08:13 What humility, and it was a permanent change. 08:17 He's the Son of God, 08:18 or Son of man, Son of God, 08:20 He took that flesh back to heaven, 08:23 as the last Adam, the second, 08:26 or the human representative of the earth. 08:31 So then it says, He humbled Himself, 08:34 and He became obedient to the point of death 08:38 on the earth, on the cross. 08:42 He was foreordained as the Lamb of God. 08:47 But He didn't become the Lamb of God 08:49 until His incarnation. 08:52 He was foreordained as the Son of God. 08:57 That's a covenant term, a covenant term used of humans. 09:02 He didn't become the Son of God 09:06 until His incarnation. 09:10 So, when we look at God, 09:15 He became the Son of Man 09:17 in the person of Jesus Christ, 09:18 He became the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ, 09:23 so that He could be our covenant representative. 09:26 And He is our covenant. 09:29 Isaiah 42:6-7. 09:33 This is the servant song. 09:36 There's two different servants in Isaiah, one is talking about 09:39 the people of God as the servants. 09:42 But there are four different servants' songs in Isaiah, 09:46 and this is one of the servant songs, 09:49 speaking of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. 09:54 And he says, in this song "I, 09:57 the Lord have called you in righteousness. 10:00 You the Messiah, Jesus Christ, 10:03 I will hold Your hand, I will keep You capital Y. 10:09 I will give You as a covenant to the people, 10:13 as a light to the Gentiles to open blind eyes 10:15 and bring out prisoners from the prison, 10:18 and those who sit in darkness 10:21 from the prison house. 10:23 Christ is the covenant. 10:26 He is the foundation of the covenant. 10:28 He is the sacrifice of the covenant. 10:30 He is the mediator of the covenant. 10:33 He is the guarantor of the covenant. 10:36 Christ is the everlasting 10:40 covenant of God. 10:43 And when you think about this, 10:47 can you begin to imagine Paul wrote about 10:51 how wide, how long, how deep, 10:54 how high is the love of God? 10:59 If you really let this soak in, 11:01 it will change your life to realize your Creator, 11:06 the majesty of heaven, 11:08 came here to be your substitute. 11:13 He was despised and rejected by religious leaders. 11:16 He was betrayed and abandoned by His own. 11:20 He was oppressed and falsely accused. 11:23 And although He was innocent, He did not defend Himself. 11:27 He was beaten, He was flogged, 11:30 He was spat upon, 11:32 He was mocked with a crown of thorns. 11:36 Then He was nailed to a cross naked. 11:42 Can you imagine the shame 11:45 on the majesty of heaven? 11:50 It's almost unimaginable to think of a love so deep 11:56 for you and for me. 11:58 But here's the thing, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, 12:03 "God made Him, Christ Jesus who knew no sin, 12:07 to be sin for us, that we might become 12:11 the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." 12:16 He put our sins on Him, 12:17 He puts His righteousness to our record. 12:21 Jesus on the cross cried out, "My God, My God, 12:26 why have You forsaken me?" 12:28 This was the first time in His human existence 12:33 that He felt alienated from the God of heaven. 12:38 The One He had spent eternity with. 12:41 He felt abandonment and despair, 12:45 because the outpouring of God's divine 12:48 wrath against sin 12:51 was on Him as our sin bearer, 12:54 but the faith of Jesus, the covenant faith of Jesus. 13:00 I think we find in Isaiah 53:10, 13:04 where it says, 13:05 "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, 13:07 to put Him to grief. 13:09 When you make His soul an offering for sin, 13:13 He shall see His seed." 13:15 Here is Jesus Christ, 13:17 the Seed that was promised in Genesis 3:15. 13:21 This is the Seed of the covenant, 13:23 the covenant Son of Jesus, 13:25 but the faith of Jesus is He knew that once He died, 13:30 He was going to produce many more covenant seed, 13:35 many more covenant sons and daughters of Christ. 13:40 And he says, "He shall see His Seed, 13:44 and He shall know that 13:47 the labor of his soul is satisfying." 13:52 Praise the Lord for covenant faith. 13:56 Amen. Amen. 13:57 Praise the Lord. 13:59 I could continue listening for more, 14:00 but we have to move on now to Monday's portion, 14:04 it is entitled The Covenant and the Sacrifice. 14:08 The Covenant and the Sacrifice. 14:10 This lesson opens with a familiar scripture. 14:13 It is 1 Peter 1:18-19. 14:18 And I want to focus in on a portion of it. 14:21 It says, "Knowing that you were not redeemed 14:24 with corruptible things like silver or gold, 14:27 from your aimless conduct, 14:29 received by tradition from your fathers, 14:32 but with the precious blood of Christ, 14:34 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 14:38 This is a powerful scripture to consider 14:42 and to spend time on. 14:43 And it will be a blessing for you to do so. 14:46 And I encourage you to do so. 14:48 At this point, you have to understand that 14:51 this is giving us a language 14:54 that has to do with the sanctuary. 14:57 And in the sanctuary, 14:58 you had the sacrifices they had to be done. 15:01 Again, shadow of what Jesus would do for us. 15:05 But notice that it says a lamb. 15:07 Why a lamb here? 15:09 Well, of the animals, the lamb is one of the animals 15:13 that is the most... 15:16 How can I say it is the one that 15:17 would least resist what is being done. 15:21 And this is interesting when you consider that 15:25 the sacrifices offered in the sanctuary on earth. 15:31 Every single animal that was chosen 15:33 had to be carefully examined, 15:35 so that they would not have any blemish or spot 15:37 because it represented the pure, 15:41 sinless life of Jesus Christ. 15:44 Now, these animals had no choice in the matter, 15:47 they were simply chosen. 15:50 Jesus willingly came to die for us. 15:54 This in itself is a sacrifice, 15:56 when you consider that He is the very Son of God. 15:58 Angels would bow before Him 16:01 and offer songs of praise, royalty. 16:06 And when you consider Jesus, 16:09 the creator of the world humbling Himself 16:13 to come to this world, where there is nothing 16:16 but really nothing but suffering. 16:19 His life was a life of sacrifice 16:22 for 33 and half years. 16:24 And I probably have heard, you have too, 16:28 some people that thought 16:30 they deserve better treatment, 16:31 they would express things like, "Don't you know who I am?" 16:36 I mean, people didn't really know 16:38 who Jesus was. 16:40 And it's a... 16:42 It's a shocking, shocking thing for them 16:45 to eventually see when they see this. 16:47 This was the very Son of God. 16:49 He was working out my salvation 16:51 and I participated in inflicting suffering upon Him. 16:56 The lesson brings out a thought that 16:59 I would like to read to you. 17:01 Christ, ransomed us from the slavery of sin, 17:05 and its final fruit, which is death, 17:08 but he did it with His precious blood, 17:12 His substitutionary and voluntary death on Calvary. 17:16 See, it's a voluntary death. 17:19 Again, this is the foundation of all the covenant. 17:22 Without it, the covenant becomes null and void, 17:26 because God could not have justly fulfilled 17:30 His end of the deal, 17:31 which is the gift of eternal life 17:33 bestowed upon all who believe. 17:36 So Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God 17:39 came to this world to die for us. 17:41 John the Baptist in John 1:29. 17:45 The Bible says, the next day John see Jesus coming unto him, 17:49 and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God, 17:52 which taketh away the sin of the world." 17:55 It would be well for us to take time every day 17:58 to behold the Lamb of God. 18:01 This is time well spent, 18:03 much better spent than sitting down, 18:06 watching hours and hours of shows or movies, 18:09 much better spent than spending hours 18:11 and hours on social media. 18:13 Time with Jesus is worth spending time. 18:18 Now I want to bring out Hebrews 10:4, again, 18:21 we have shared this before during this quarterly. 18:24 But in Hebrews 10:4, it says, 18:26 "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats 18:31 should take away sins." 18:33 If it was possible, then Jesus Christ 18:36 did not have to come and die for us. 18:38 They would just simply say, 18:39 okay, just sacrifice animals for every sin 18:41 that people commit. 18:43 But it had to be the Lamb of God. 18:47 Only the Lamb of God 18:48 could take away the sin of the world. 18:51 I am reading to you from the book Patriarchs 18:53 and Prophets, page 63. 18:56 Notice, since the Divine Law is as sacred as God Himself, 19:03 only one equal with God could make 19:06 atonement for its transgression. 19:08 None but Christ could redeem fallen man 19:10 from the curse of the law 19:12 and bring him again into harmony with heaven. 19:16 Christ will take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin. 19:22 There is guilt and, of course, there's also shame. 19:25 Sin, so offensive to a holy God 19:28 that it must separate the Father and His Son. 19:33 Christ would reach to the depths of misery 19:35 to rescue the ruined race. 19:39 And you know, when you talk about sacrifice, 19:42 we focus on the sacrifice of the Son. 19:46 But there was sacrifice with the Father as well. 19:49 The Father suffered along with the Son every single lash 19:54 He felt just as a father or a mother 19:57 sees their children suffer and they suffer with them. 20:01 They would gladly take their place. 20:04 And the Father not only suffered with the Son, 20:08 but then there's that scripture that says, 20:09 "Awake, O sword, against the shepherd." 20:12 The Father had to inflict the punishment upon His Son. 20:17 There was great sacrifice in all heaven for us. 20:22 Luke 22:44, 20:25 brings an interesting thought to our minds. 20:28 It says, "And being in an agony, 20:31 he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, 20:35 as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." 20:40 This is talking about the moment he's in Gethsemane, 20:44 preparing to go to Calvary, 20:46 and contemplating this suffering 20:50 that He would endure, 20:52 not the physical suffering 20:53 so much as the separation that He will experience. 20:58 It created this agony that we do not fully understand. 21:03 A few months ago, last year, 21:06 a picture was sent to many people. 21:08 And the heading was in this newspaper 21:13 that this woman in Cuba, they said, 21:16 she has the same sickness as Jesus. 21:19 This woman, for some reason, during some times of her life, 21:23 the bloody sweat comes down from her forehead. 21:26 This is a rare condition. 21:28 And they say even Napoleon 21:29 when he was in a certain battle, 21:32 he even had blood come from his forehead. 21:35 But please understand that 21:36 whatever agony these people felt 21:40 or experienced could not be compared 21:41 with the agony that Jesus Christ suffered. 21:45 Why? 21:47 Because Jesus Christ took the sins 21:49 of the whole world upon Him. 21:52 This was a sacrifice. 21:53 And again, at any moment, 21:55 Jesus could say, Jesus could say, 21:57 this is enough. 22:00 This ends right here, I am going back to heaven. 22:03 I don't have to put up with this. 22:05 But He endured every single moment, 22:08 because of the incredible infinite love 22:12 that He has for us, and that He has for you. 22:15 He could have stopped any moment. 22:17 And I want to bring to you 22:19 a particular moment here in Gethsemane in Luke 22:52-53. 22:25 Notice, "Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, 22:28 and captains of the temple, and the elders, 22:29 which were come to him, 22:31 Be ye come out, as against a thief, 22:33 with swords and staves? 22:34 When I was daily with you in the temple, 22:36 ye stretched forth no hands against me: 22:38 but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." 22:41 Jesus placed Himself 22:44 in the hands of the power of darkness, 22:46 not only the wicked people that will do Him harm, 22:49 but in the hands of Satan and the demons. 22:53 You see, there was suffering 22:55 beyond the physical suffering that Jesus endured. 22:59 And the devil was frustrated, for 33 and half years, 23:06 attempted over and over again to tempt Jesus 23:09 to fall into sin. 23:11 So seeing that he was failing, he says, 23:14 I am going to inflict punishment 23:17 upon this man like no one has ever endured, 23:20 and he motivated people 23:21 to bring suffering upon Jesus and punishment, 23:25 physical suffering that we do not fully understand. 23:29 But the agony 23:30 and the suffering inside was even worse. 23:33 Yes, it was a great sacrifice. 23:36 Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for you 23:39 and for me, 23:40 so that you could have eternal life. 23:44 Wow. 23:45 This is something worthy of your consideration 23:48 and worthy of your highest devotion to God. 23:51 And I encourage you to take a look at 23:53 what Jesus had done for you. 23:55 It is much more than you have ever thought. 23:58 Oh, Brother Johnny, that was beautiful. 24:00 Thank you so much. 24:02 And I know we've still got 24:03 three more wonderful lessons coming, 24:05 so stay tuned, we'll be back in 30 seconds. 24:14 Ever wish you could watch 24:15 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:17 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:21 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:26 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:29 you're looking for. 24:30 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:34 so you can follow along. 24:35 Sharing is easy. 24:37 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:40 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:45 Now we return to our study with Ryan Day. 24:48 All right. 24:50 I have Tuesday's lesson, 24:51 which is entitled The Faith of Abraham: 24:54 Part 1, and at this point 24:55 we could call it the faith of Abraham, part 10 24:57 because we talked about him so much 24:59 and rightfully so, right? 25:00 Because as I've said in one of the previous lessons, 25:03 Abraham is one of the most central figures 25:05 in all of Scripture. 25:06 And in my opinion, 25:08 probably the most central figure 25:09 in all of Scripture, 25:11 of course, other than Jesus Christ Himself. 25:12 But for, I think for a good reason, 25:14 because Abraham truly was a man of faith. 25:16 This was before the time 25:18 in which there was written scrolls 25:20 with Scripture that for him to go by, 25:21 this brother had to depend upon the Word of the Lord, 25:25 the voice of God speaking to him. 25:27 And that's exactly 25:28 what our opening scripture here is all about 25:30 our main scripture here, which is Genesis 15:6. 25:33 And we've quoted this many times, 25:35 but we're just going to kind of 25:37 just hit the zoom button and dial in our focus 25:40 during this lesson on the faith of Abraham. 25:43 Of course, I'm doing part one, 25:44 Pastor Lomacang will be following up with part two. 25:47 But Genesis 15:6, notice what the Bible says. 25:51 It says, "And he believed in the Lord, 25:53 and He accounted it to him for righteousness." 25:57 That is, Abraham believed and God accounted it 26:00 to Abraham for righteousness. 26:02 And the, based on that verse, 26:05 the lesson brings this out, 26:06 it says the immediate context 26:07 of this verse helps us understand 26:09 just how great Abraham's faith was. 26:12 Believing in God's promise of the Son, 26:14 despite all the physical evidence 26:16 that would seem to make the promise impossible. 26:20 It is the kind of faith, 26:21 it is the kind of faith that realizes 26:24 its own utter helplessness, 26:25 the kind of faith that demands a complete surrender to self, 26:30 the kind of faith that requires a total submission to the Lord, 26:33 the kind of faith that results in obedience, the faith, 26:38 or this was the faith of Abraham, 26:40 and it was accounted to him, 26:41 as the scripture says, as righteousness. 26:44 And I loved as I was studying through this, 26:46 I'm thinking of just placing myself, 26:49 I'm a very visual person, 26:51 I like to think of things in kind of a big picture. 26:53 But I also like to really focus 26:54 in on the analytics of something 26:56 really get down deep. 26:57 And to me I'm placing myself in Abraham's position. 27:00 And again, there's nothing to go on as far as scripture, 27:03 there's nothing that 27:04 there's not any foretold, you know, 27:07 other than maybe some word of mouth stories 27:10 based on Noah and maybe Job 27:12 and some people who had come before him. 27:14 But at this point, 27:15 he's literally having to believe 27:17 and go off of just the voice of the Lord. 27:19 And me, if anybody knows me, I like to ask questions. 27:21 I would, I could not have been probably in Abraham situation. 27:24 Not that I would not have been able to have faith in the Lord. 27:27 But I've been asking a lot of questions. 27:29 I've been like, okay, Lord, 27:30 you're gonna do, you're gonna do what? 27:32 And when's this gonna happen? 27:33 And how are you going to go about doing this? 27:35 Wait a second, I gotta log this stuff down. 27:37 All right, so about what timeframe 27:38 is this gonna happen? 27:40 No, no, I'm sure Abraham had questions. 27:42 But the Bible says that he believed in the Lord, 27:44 he trusted in the Lord. 27:46 When it says he believed, I might just clarify that, 27:48 we're not talking about belief in, 27:49 you know, oh, you know that. 27:51 I just believe that this God is real 27:53 and this is, you know, that. 27:54 It says he believed in the sense that 27:56 he trusted not just a mental acceptance, 27:59 but rather he truly trusted in the Lord. 28:01 The Bible says that the demons believe, 28:04 and they tremble, right? 28:06 So we need to learn like Abraham to trust in the Lord, 28:09 believe on His Word. 28:10 And that's exactly what Paul 28:12 is bringing out here in Romans Chapter 4. 28:14 Let's go to Romans 4 here, 28:15 because Paul brings this back up, 28:17 he brings up Abraham once again, 28:20 and he's discussing how faithful Abraham was 28:22 and why this was indeed 28:24 accounted to him as righteousness. 28:26 So Romans Chapter 4, I'm going to begin in verse 1. 28:29 And so the Bible says, "What then shall we say that 28:31 Abraham our father 28:33 has found according to the flesh? 28:35 For if Abraham was justified by works, 28:38 he has something to boast about, 28:39 but not before God. 28:41 For what does the Scripture say? 28:44 'Abraham believed God, 28:45 and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'" 28:49 And then verse 4 says, "Now to him who works, 28:51 the wages are not counted as grace but as debt." 28:56 Now, for the sake of time here, 28:57 I want to skip down to verse 19, 29:00 'cause he's going through, he's describing Abraham's faith 29:03 and all that he is going through. 29:04 Notice verse 19, it says, "And not being weak in faith, 29:08 he did not consider his own body, 29:11 already dead 29:12 since he was about a hundred years old, 29:14 and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 29:17 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, 29:20 but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God." 29:24 And so check out verse 21, because obviously, 29:28 we're talking about the faith of Abraham, right? 29:30 And so this next part of verse 21 29:32 really sticks out to me and says, 29:34 "And being fully convinced that 29:38 what He had promised He was able to perform." 29:41 Now earlier, we just read that 29:43 within the context of Abraham's overall faith, 29:46 throughout the span of his relationship with God. 29:48 I mean, Paul brings out clearly here that 29:51 he was about even 100 years old 29:53 while he's going through these experiences. 29:55 He's an old man, right? 29:56 You and I would consider him to be an old man, 29:58 you know, 100 years old. 30:00 But yet, even through all of it, 30:01 when God is saying, I'm going to do this, 30:03 I'm going to do this, I'm going to help you do this, 30:04 I'm going to make you this. 30:06 I'm going to bless you with all this. 30:07 Even through all of it, even at an old age, 30:09 he was fully convinced that what God had said, 30:12 what God had promised, He was able to perform. 30:15 That's the kind of faith I want to have. 30:17 You don't want to be looking at yourself 30:19 and looking at all of the humanistic errors 30:22 and thoughts that you have to go, 30:23 oh, Lord, you can't use me because I'm this way, 30:26 or Lord, surely, you're not going to be 30:28 able to do that in my life, 30:29 because I'm this way, or I'm this old or, 30:31 oh, no, I'm way past my prime. 30:33 If it's the Lord, He can do anything. 30:36 And Abraham believed that, he never questioned it one bit. 30:39 And he goes on to say in verse 22, 30:41 "And therefore," because of all of this, 30:43 as we have repeated many times, 30:44 "it was accounted to him for righteousness." 30:47 Notice what verse 23 says, 30:49 "Now it was not written for his sake alone, 30:51 that it was imputed to Him, but also for us." 30:56 Okay, I love this. 30:57 Let me read that one more time. 30:58 Now it was not written for his sake alone, 31:01 that it was imputed to Him, but also for who? 31:04 For us. 31:06 It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him, 31:09 who raised up Jesus, our Lord from the dead, 31:13 who was delivered up because of our offences, 31:16 and was raised because of our justification. 31:20 I love that, the fact that 31:22 the same God that worked through Abraham, 31:24 the same God that Abraham had unwavering faith 31:28 and you and I can have that same faith 31:30 and believe that that same powerful Almighty God 31:33 can work through us that 31:34 it is already accounted to us righteousness, 31:37 if we just have that same believing trust, 31:40 that same unwavering faith that Abraham had in the Lord. 31:44 Now, I just want to touch on something really quickly, 31:46 because I want to talk about the balance in this, 31:48 because a lot of people, 31:50 they're gonna find themselves in one extreme 31:51 or the other either, I believe in God, 31:53 and therefore its accounted to me 31:54 as righteousness, 31:56 therefore, I don't have to do any works. 31:57 I don't have to follow through with any works. 31:59 Keep in mind, while Abraham did believe, 32:02 and it was accounted to him for righteousness, God saw that 32:05 that unwavering faith was genuine 32:08 because of his works, 32:09 because he saw him follow through with 32:11 what it was that He told him to do. 32:13 So notice, Roman, excuse me, 32:14 Revelation 22:12, I got to just bring this out. 32:18 This is that scripture where Jesus says, 32:19 "And behold, I come quickly, 32:21 and my reward is with Me 32:23 to give every man according to his works." 32:27 Wait, what is it saying according to his faith? 32:29 Because aren't we saved by grace through faith? 32:31 And aren't we talking about 32:32 the unwavering faith of Abraham? 32:34 Wait, what is works fall into this? 32:36 I just want to touch briefly on the couple of minutes 32:37 I have left on the balance of works at grace or excuse me, 32:41 faith and works, 32:42 because while it was accounted to him righteousness 32:44 because of his faith, 32:46 my friends, the good, righteous, 32:48 genuine faith produces works. 32:51 That is the natural response. 32:52 I know it kind of seems like a broken record, 32:54 we keep repeating that. 32:55 But again, we have many people 32:57 that seem to be a little confused 32:59 as to how that fits in or how that balances 33:02 and works together. 33:03 Jesus did say to 33:04 all of the churches of Asia Minor, 33:06 I know your works, I know your works. 33:09 We are judged according to our works, 33:11 but we're only judged according to our works 33:13 based on the faith 33:14 and whether it is genuine or non genuine. 33:17 For instance, I consider people like, 33:19 you know, Judas and Saul, and Ananias and Sapphira. 33:22 All of these people were people who they believed, right? 33:25 They mentally believe, you can't convince me that 33:27 Ananias and Sapphira didn't believe 33:29 that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. 33:30 They believed mentally, 33:32 they accepted mentally that Jesus was the Messiah. 33:35 But yet we know that their works were otherwise. 33:37 In other words, their faith was not genuine. 33:39 Same thing for someone like Judas, 33:41 who walked with Jesus, 33:42 who saw the miracles, who saw all of, 33:44 and just was able to walk and talk with Jesus, 33:46 but yet his faith was not genuine. 33:49 We need to make sure that 33:50 we have a balanced approach to this 33:51 and not have a works approached mentality, 33:55 like many people do. 33:56 We need to make sure that we need to keep this in check. 33:58 Remember what Paul says in Philippians 3:8. 34:02 Philippians 3:8, I want to go there right quick 34:03 in the closing time I have. 34:05 So Philippians 3:8, 34:06 this is one of the most powerful. 34:07 Paul's talking about all of his accolades, 34:09 all the things that he's done, 34:11 and how he's the greatest of this, 34:12 and he was the greatest Pharisee, 34:14 he was a man of the law. 34:15 But then notice what he says in Philippians 3:8, 34:17 "Yet indeed I also count all things loss 34:19 for the excellence of the knowing, 34:21 notice, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, 34:24 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 34:27 and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ." 34:31 In other words, Paul is saying, all of my do, all of my deeds, 34:35 all of my work cannot amount up 34:37 to all that I have put into Christ 34:40 because Christ is the one in my life. 34:42 Christ is the reason for my faith. 34:44 And so make sure that you have a genuine faith that, 34:47 of course, produces good works. 34:48 We're not saved by works. 34:50 We're judged by our works based on 34:52 that unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. 34:56 Thank you, Ryan. Thank you so much. 34:58 And as Ryan said, 34:59 I have the faith of Abraham, Part 2. 35:02 And I think he also said, 35:04 we've been talking about Abraham as a central theme. 35:07 Make it known that Abraham's life 35:10 was to be a parlay, 35:11 a comparison to the works 35:14 that Christ would do after He came. 35:17 But Abraham, as was the case 35:19 about John the Baptist, 35:20 Abraham was to decrease, Christ was to increase. 35:25 We find in Genesis 15:6. 35:28 And this is a passage that 35:30 has been repeated a number of times, 35:32 because the writer of this lesson doesn't fail 35:35 to bring out the comparisons. 35:38 And I'm going to read what he talked about 35:39 in just a moment. 35:40 But Genesis 15:6, speaking about Abraham, 35:45 "And he believed in the Lord, 35:48 and He accounted it to him for righteousness." 35:53 Now the writer, 35:55 in this second part of the faith of Abraham, 35:58 is now focusing on the word accounted. 36:01 He asked the question, what does accounted mean? 36:04 How does obedience, which is works, 36:07 get credited to us as righteousness? 36:10 And that's one of the questions you just lead into, 36:12 which is a perfect segue. 36:14 When you look at the word there in Genesis Chapter 15, 36:17 is hasab which in the Hebrew means, 36:20 reckoned, credited. 36:22 In the NIV they use the word accounted. 36:24 The same term is employed 36:26 in other texts in the books of Moses. 36:28 In other words, a person or a thing is reckoned 36:31 or regarded as something that person or thing is not. 36:36 I want to say that again. 36:39 Abraham is not righteous in and of himself. 36:43 So when the Bible says it was accounted to him, 36:47 God is crediting Abraham with something that Abraham 36:50 is not inherently. 36:52 This is a powerful comparison here. 36:54 Because when we look at salvation, 36:57 praise God for this, 36:58 he is giving us what we don't deserve, 37:02 and what we can never buy our works accomplish. 37:05 For by grace are we saved through faith, 37:07 that not of yourselves, 37:09 it is a gift of God not of works, 37:11 lest anyone should boast. 37:12 So for God to impose upon us, 37:14 or impute or impart to us righteousness, 37:18 it is totally by the faith 37:19 and the merit of Christ, for God did for Abraham 37:23 was to set up through Abraham, 37:25 a cadence to say, all of the children of Abraham 37:30 are now accessible, they have access 37:33 to the same righteousness by faith that 37:35 I imparted to Abraham, regardless of his humanity. 37:40 Now let's look at the life of Abraham. 37:42 Abraham was a man of faith, 37:43 but he was also a man of impatience. 37:46 Right? 37:47 He was a man that was impatient. 37:49 He wanted to help God. 37:51 And we know that many of us today 37:52 are still looking at the residual benefit 37:55 or the residual impact of him not waiting on God. 38:00 And now we have two nations 38:01 that are continually at odds with each other. 38:03 When we had a chance to go to the Middle East. 38:06 We were in Jordan, 38:07 in a predominantly Muslim country. 38:09 And we said, "Well, where's the Jewish provinces?" 38:12 Well, there are no Jewish provinces in Jordan. 38:14 Well, we went to Jerusalem, and we were in Jerusalem, 38:17 and there's predominantly Jewish provinces, 38:20 and these countries are just side by side, 38:22 but still at odds with each other 38:24 because of the impatience of Abraham. 38:26 But the Bible now gives another example of 38:28 what it means to be accounted. 38:29 Let's go to Genesis 31:15. 38:33 And he says, for instance, the same term is employed 38:36 in another text in the Book of Moses. 38:38 For instance, in Genesis 31:15, 38:40 Rachel and Leah affirm 38:42 that their father reckons them as strangers, 38:45 although they are his daughters. 38:47 Now that's a reverse. 38:48 God reckons Abraham as righteous, 38:50 although he's not. 38:51 And the father of Rachel and Leah, 38:54 Laban recognize them not as his children, 38:57 although they are. 38:58 So in any case, 39:00 it's based on the human preposition 39:02 or the divine preposition. 39:04 Do I want to give you something that is rightfully yours? 39:07 Or do I want to take something 39:08 from you that is not rightfully yours? 39:10 Listen to that very effectively, 39:12 God gave Abraham something that was not rightfully his. 39:17 But Laban took from Rachel and Leah 39:18 something that was rightfully theirs, 39:20 their heirship. 39:21 And we find in Genesis 31:15, 39:24 "Are we not counted strangers by him? 39:27 For he has sold us, 39:29 and also completely consumed our money." 39:32 What we know from there, Laban was a... 39:35 Laban was a money hungry man. 39:37 We find also that 39:38 he was a seller of different gods. 39:40 When Rachel and Jacob got married. 39:43 You may be familiar with the story. 39:45 She tried to bring gods into their home. 39:47 And in Genesis 35, 39:48 the Lord made it very, very clear. 39:50 No, no, no, I cannot bless your family 39:52 until you get rid of the strange gods 39:54 that are among you 39:55 and change your garments and what did they do? 39:57 They took up their earrings and bury them 39:58 and all the strange gods in their hands. 40:00 But Laban was a man that was just concerned 40:02 about the bottom line, the financial line, 40:04 and he disinherited his daughters, 40:07 just to gain access to their monies. 40:09 Let's look at another one, Numbers 18:27. 40:12 This word regarded or accounted, 40:14 and I'll bring this to head in a moment. 40:15 It also comes down 40:17 to the tithe of the Levi is reckoned 40:19 or accounted as though 40:21 it were the corn of the threshing floor, 40:23 although it is obviously not corn, okay? 40:27 Numbers 18:27, "And your heave offering 40:30 shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain 40:34 of the threshing floor 40:36 and as the fruitfulness of the winepress." 40:38 If you get the cadence what's happening here is God, 40:41 God is using comparisons or analogies 40:44 to let us know unequivocally, 40:46 that when God imparts to you 40:48 when He accounts us as righteous. 40:51 He is saying, did you get 40:52 from the cadences through the Bible, 40:54 Abraham, Rachel, Leah, 40:56 and the offering of the Levites? 40:58 Did you get all that? 41:00 Nothing that they did was 41:01 the actual purpose for reckoning to them, 41:03 I gave them accountable. 41:05 In other words, I credited to them something 41:07 that they didn't naturally have. 41:10 And we're seeing that clear. 41:11 Look at Numbers 18:30, again, 41:14 "Therefore you shall say to them, 41:16 when you have lifted up the best of it, 41:19 then the rest shall be accounted 41:22 to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor, 41:26 and as the produce of the winepress." 41:30 We find the comparisons there. 41:31 But now we're going to take a different turn here. 41:34 Let's go now to the Book of Leviticus 7:1-4, 41:37 because the question is, 41:39 how was the idea of reckoning expressed 41:41 in the context of sacrifices. 41:44 This is powerful. 41:45 Leviticus 7:1-4, 41:47 "Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering, 41:50 it is most holy: 41:52 In the place where they kill the burnt offering 41:55 they shall kill the trespass offering. 41:58 And its blood he shall sprinkle all around on the altar. 42:01 He shall offer from it all its fat. 42:05 The fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, 42:08 the two kidneys 42:09 and the fat that is on them by the flanks, 42:12 and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidney, 42:16 he shall remove." 42:17 What's happening here 42:19 is every aspect of the sacrifice 42:21 was to be accounted for the removal of sin. 42:24 Well, what does that say to us? 42:26 Every aspect of the broken body in the shed blood of Jesus 42:32 was accounted to us for the removal of our sin. 42:36 Amen to that. 42:38 Nothing was to be left out. 42:39 That's what we find. 42:40 Now on the part of the receiver, 42:43 there has to be a reciprocal aspect. 42:45 And what is that? 42:46 Now salvation is available to everyone. 42:48 But here's the reciprocal aspect of it. 42:50 You got to be willing to receive it. 42:52 It's available, everybody could be saved, 42:55 but are you willing to receive it? 42:56 Isaiah 1:19, now talks about 42:58 the reciprocal aspect that God cannot force upon you. 43:02 He made every provision, 43:04 but you have to be willing to receive it. 43:05 Isaiah 1:19, "If you are willing and obedient, 43:10 you shall eat the good of the land." 43:13 Are you willing? 43:14 All the provision for salvation has been made. 43:16 But the question is, are you willing? 43:18 We don't get just get saved because of what Jesus did. 43:21 Salvation is only on the reciprocal end. 43:23 Are you willing? 43:24 Are you going to receive all the provision I've made? 43:27 I build mansions for you, 43:29 but are you willing to become sons 43:31 and daughters of God? 43:32 The willingness is the part you play. 43:34 That's why 2 Corinthians 11:12, 43:36 and by the way, 43:37 your willingness does not require perfection. 43:40 2 Corinthians 8:12, 43:43 "For if there is first a willing mind, 43:46 it is accepted according to one has, 43:50 and not according to what he does not have." 43:52 So you may fall short, but the Lord is saying, 43:54 I'm not looking for perfection. 43:56 I'm looking for those who are willing. 43:57 If you are willing, 43:59 My abundance will supply your lack 44:02 as the next two verses point out. 44:04 Jesus is abundance today, supplies are lack. 44:07 Praise the Lord for that. 44:08 And that's why let's go now to the last part 44:10 which I left for the last 45 seconds. 44:13 Abraham is wonderful, 44:15 but I want to make it very clear today. 44:16 John 8:58. 44:17 Let's not get lost in Abraham because Jesus said in the time 44:21 where everyone questioned the veracity 44:24 and the sufficiency of Abraham, Jesus says, 44:26 "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." 44:30 Matthew 22:32, "I am the God of Abraham, 44:33 the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. 44:36 God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 44:39 And Abraham's faith was imputed to him for righteousness, 44:43 because Abraham was looking 44:44 forward to the sacrifice of Jesus. 44:47 He was looking forward to the accountability 44:49 and the sufficiency of the Lamb 44:51 that he knew would come because of his seed. 44:54 Praise God, that Lamb 44:55 is available not only for Abraham, 44:57 but also for you. 44:58 Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor John. 45:02 I love that, that word reckon in that study and that 45:05 it is available for me, for you here today. 45:08 On Thursday, it goes perfectly 45:10 with what we're talking about Thursday, 45:11 which is Resting on those Promises. 45:15 We know in 2 Corinthians 1:20, 45:17 the Word of God says, "All of God's promises are yes 45:20 and amen in Christ Jesus." 45:23 Do you trust His word? 45:24 Do you trust that what He says in the Word, 45:27 He is able to do in your life? 45:31 If you were facing the end of your life, 45:32 or you were encountering a trial 45:35 or a certain circumstance, 45:37 where all the important things in life 45:39 somehow come back into focus? 45:42 Would you have assurance of salvation? 45:45 Would you know that 45:46 the imputed righteousness of Christ 45:49 that it covers you? 45:50 I want to talk for just a moment 45:52 about some statistics. 45:53 They did a Gallup poll in 2017. 45:55 Now, this is for America, not the global, 45:57 not the whole world. 45:59 They said that 87% of Americans said they believed in God. 46:03 But when they were pushed a bit, 46:05 only 60% were convinced that God exists. 46:09 So that's even a disparity there. 46:11 In 2018, a Pew Research said that 46:14 56% of Americans believe in God, 46:19 as described in the Bible. 46:21 And yet a study in 2020 from the Barna Group said that 46:25 only 9% of United States adults read the Bible every day. 46:31 Nine percent. 46:32 So if you look at that, 46:35 56% say they believe in the God of the Bible, 46:38 but only 9% actually read that Bible every day. 46:44 The lesson had an illustration of a person 46:46 who lay dying and their entire life 46:48 they had fought against justification by faith. 46:51 We know that there are certain church groups, 46:54 the Roman Catholic Church for one believing in rights, 46:57 believing in other things 46:59 that would equate salvation 47:01 instead of faith in Christ alone, 47:03 the merits of Christ. 47:04 But you can be a Protestant and still think that 47:07 somehow you're getting to heaven through 47:09 some effort of yourself. 47:11 This person lay dying and they fought 47:13 against justification by faith their whole life. 47:16 And at the end of their life, 47:18 they were trying to comfort them and they said, 47:20 all I want now is to be 47:22 able to trust in the merits of Christ. 47:24 You know, when you face that moment in your life, 47:28 we all need assurance, we need to rest on the promises 47:32 and the Word of God. 47:33 So I have seven keys, Pastor John, 47:35 for strengthening your covenant relationship with God. 47:39 Key number one, experience Him for yourself. 47:42 Let's go to Psalm 34:7, I love this scripture. 47:45 Psalm 34:7, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. 47:50 Blessed is the man or woman who trusts in Him." 47:54 Don't take someone else's word that God is good. 47:58 Don't rest on your parent's recommendation 48:00 or your teacher's recommendation 48:02 or your spouse's recommendation, 48:04 experience Him for yourself. 48:07 This verse actually, 48:09 it's very powerful in my own life, 48:11 because it's the reason I chose to follow Jesus. 48:15 I was 13 years old, 48:16 and I had made a choice to walk away from Him. 48:19 I had in my own inexperience, my own whatever. 48:24 I didn't see that Christianity was real. 48:26 I had read in the Bible, 48:28 okay, God walked on water and God could do miracles. 48:32 And why am I not seeing that lived out today? 48:34 And I thought it was fake. 48:36 And I said, "God, I'm done with you." 48:38 And I remember specifically writing that in my journal, 48:40 I'm done with you. 48:42 Six months went by. 48:44 And for whatever reason, this verse God brought to me, 48:47 taste and see that the Lord is good. 48:49 And God said, "Would you test Me? 48:50 Would you experience me? 48:52 Would you try Me for yourself?" 48:55 And because of that verse, 48:57 I said, "God, I'll give You two weeks 48:59 to prove Yourself to me." 49:01 And so I did. I said, "I want two weeks." 49:04 And in those two weeks, I recognized and realized 49:07 and understood that He was real. 49:09 Why? 49:10 Not because I had experienced God through my parents, 49:12 not because I had experienced God through someone else, 49:14 I experienced God for myself. 49:16 So the first key if you want to strengthen your relationship 49:20 with God is to experience Him for yourself. 49:23 Key number two, choose Him as your master. 49:26 Joshua 24:15, 49:30 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 49:33 choose for yourselves," 49:35 this is Joshua appealing to the children of Israel, 49:39 "choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, 49:41 whether the gods which your father served 49:43 that were on the other side of the river, 49:45 or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land do dwell, 49:48 but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 49:53 First, experience God for yourself. 49:55 Second, make a choice to serve the Lord. 49:58 Third, surrender to Him. 50:00 Romans 6:6, Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, 50:05 that our old man was crucified with him, 50:08 that the body of sin it might be done away with, 50:11 that we should no longer be slaves to sin." 50:14 Now look at verse 7, "For he who has died, 50:18 has been freed from sin." 50:21 Now, I do not mean this in any disrespectful way. 50:24 But if you've ever been to a funeral, 50:26 and you'll see someone who's dead, 50:28 who's laying out in the casket, 50:31 you could not come up to them and tempt them with cigarettes, 50:33 or with alcohol. 50:35 You could not come up and tempt them 50:36 with watching something that 50:38 they shouldn't be watching or looking at somebody that 50:40 they shouldn't be looking at. 50:41 You couldn't tempt them to gossip about someone 50:44 or to murder someone or to even hate someone. 50:47 Why? Because they are dead. 50:49 We say that's ludicrous. 50:51 But in the Christian life, 50:53 He who is dead to the old way of life, 50:56 the old manner of living has been what? 50:59 Set free from sin. 51:02 Key number four, walk with Him in service. 51:07 Matthew 11 is that appeal, I love that appeal Jesus made, 51:10 it extends down the stream of time 51:12 from his time to our time. 51:14 Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, 51:17 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 51:20 and I will give you rest." 51:22 This is the gospel invitation, 51:24 the appeal to those who are weak, 51:26 the appeal to those who are weary, 51:28 the appeal to come to Him heavy laden with our sins, 51:32 with our burden of guilt, 51:34 knowing that we find mercy, grace and pardon. 51:38 "Take my yoke upon me and learn of Me, 51:42 for I am gentle or meek and lowly in heart, 51:46 you will find rest for your souls. 51:48 For my yoke is easy, and my burden it is light. 51:52 We are called you and I 51:53 to yoke up in service with the master. 51:58 It's really a call Jesus made at that time to exchange yokes. 52:01 You know, the people were wearing the pharisaical yoke, 52:05 and that was a heavy yoke. 52:06 And he said, "Take that yoke off of you 52:09 and instead yoke up in service with Me." 52:12 You know, a man wrote an experience once he said 52:15 he was driving and he saw two oxen plowing the field. 52:18 One was really big ox and a really strong 52:20 and really powerful 52:21 and there was a little itty bitty one with him. 52:24 And he said, he watched that. 52:25 And then he said to his companion, he said, 52:27 "Why did the farmer put unequal animals together?" 52:31 And the man said, 52:32 "See the way the traces are hooked to the yoke. 52:35 The large ox is pulling all the weight. 52:39 The little one is being broken into the yoke. 52:43 He's not pulling any weight." 52:46 You see when we're yoked with Jesus Christ, 52:49 He bears the load. 52:51 And we who are yoked with Him are learning 52:55 how to walk with Him. 52:56 And we share in the joy 52:58 and the accomplishment of the labor 53:01 that He accomplishes without us 53:04 carrying the heavy burden of the yoke. 53:07 Key number five, abide in Him if you want to bear fruit. 53:12 John 15:4, "Abide in me and I in you, 53:16 as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself 53:18 unless it abides in the vine. 53:20 No more can you unless you abide in Me." 53:24 We wear the yoke, then we abide in Him 53:28 so that we can bear that fruit. 53:30 Key number six. 53:32 This one's a hard one, rejoice in the pruning process. 53:37 We're in John 15, because the pruning process 53:40 makes us more like Jesus. 53:43 John 15:2, "Every branch in Me 53:45 that does not bear fruit, He takes it away. 53:48 And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it," 53:51 or King James says, 53:53 "He purges it, that it may bear more fruit." 53:57 Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:11, "No chastening," 54:01 or you can say no trial, 54:02 "it does not seem joyful for the present, 54:05 but it is painful. 54:06 Nevertheless, afterward, 54:08 it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness 54:11 to those who have been trained by it." 54:15 So rejoice in the pruning process. 54:18 And key number seven, study Christ and His word. 54:22 Hebrews 4:12, "The Word of God is living, 54:24 it's alive and powerful, it's quick, 54:26 and sharper than any two edged sword, 54:29 piercing even to the division of soul and spirit 54:31 and joint and marrow 54:32 and as a discerner of the thoughts 54:34 and intents of the heart." 54:36 God's Word is alive, it is powerful, 54:38 it is life transformational. 54:41 Study Jesus, study Him in His Word. 54:45 And as you behold Him as you study His Word, 54:47 you will be changed into His character. 54:51 So let's run over those keys real quick. 54:54 Experienced Him for yourself, choose Him, surrender, 54:57 walk in service, bear fruit, rejoice in the pruning process, 55:01 and study His Word. 55:03 Amen. Amen. 55:05 Thank you all. 55:06 Just such a beautiful study, 55:09 want to give you each just a moment to 55:11 add a little punctuation mark to your day. 55:14 Well, I like to share Hebrews 12:2, 55:20 "Looking unto Jesus, 55:23 the author and finisher of our faith 55:25 who for the joy that was set before him 55:27 endured the cross, despising the shame 55:30 and is set down at the right hand 55:32 of the throne of God." 55:33 What joy was there in enduring the cross? 55:36 The joy that you will accept His sacrifice, 55:38 and have salvation through Him. 55:41 Praise the Lord. 55:42 I just want to bring out Romans 4:23-24, 55:45 which is, "Now it was not written 55:47 for his sake alone, 55:49 that it was imputed to him, but also for us. 55:51 It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him 55:54 who raised up Jesus, our Lord from the dead." 55:57 Hebrews 11:8, the Bible says, 55:59 "And Abraham went out not knowing 56:01 where he was going." 56:02 My wife and I look back at where we are today. 56:04 If you're willing to follow God, 56:06 you don't have to know where you're going. 56:08 He knows it and your life will be blessed 56:11 through the faith of Abraham 56:12 and the works of Christ. 56:13 I want to reiterate that Psalm that meant so much to me, 56:16 and I think I quoted it wrong before, 56:18 it's Psalm 34:8, 56:20 "Taste and see that the Lord is good, 56:22 experience Him for yourself." 56:24 Amen and amen. 56:26 What a great study this has been on covenant faith. 56:30 You know, in James Chapter 2, 56:34 I thought maybe you all would be going there. 56:36 James talks about Abraham being justified by faith 56:39 and that he was a friend of God. 56:42 But he said, without works, faith is dead. 56:47 When we come to Jesus, 56:50 we accept His faith and His ability to keep going. 56:55 And we thank you so much for joining us. 56:57 Join us next time for our final lesson. 57:02 Amen. |
Revised 2021-06-22