Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210034S
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00:01 Welcome to 3ABN's Sabbath School.
00:02 We're so glad that you're joining us 00:05 and hope you are enjoying this Adult Bible Study 00:09 that is all about Rest in Christ. 00:12 Today on lesson eight, 00:14 we will discuss Free to Rest 00:17 and explore the topic 00:18 of resting from pain and suffering. 00:22 Now if you don't have your study guide, 00:25 you can go to absg.adventist.org 00:31 and download that. 00:32 We encourage courage you to do that, 00:33 so you can follow along, 00:35 and we hope you have your Bible and your pen and pad 00:38 and take plenty of notes. 00:40 Come join us. 01:11 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn 01:13 and, oh, we've got a great study today. 01:16 It is called Free to Rest, 01:18 and we're so glad that you're joining us. 01:21 You know, we spend time studying the Word 01:23 so we can share with you. 01:25 We share with each other, 01:26 and we all benefit from learning 01:29 from one another. 01:30 Let me introduce the rest of your 3ABN family. 01:34 My dear sister, Jill Morikone. 01:36 Glad you're here. Thank you so much, Shelley. 01:38 Privileged to be here 01:39 and open up the Word of God together. 01:41 Amen. And my pastor, John Lomacang. 01:44 You know, not only do we love studying, 01:45 we love studying together. 01:47 And if you haven't gotten that yet, 01:49 we love each other 01:50 and this is just of great privilege. 01:52 Every time we get together to do Sabbath School, 01:54 it's like family all over again. 01:56 It's good to be here. It's fun. 01:58 And we're so glad that both Yvonne and Danny 02:01 are joining us again. 02:02 Yay. Oh, we're happy to be here. 02:04 Yes, great. 02:05 I don't think we've done any of these together, have we? 02:07 Maybe one. One ever. 02:09 It's fun. Yeah, it is. 02:11 Wow, I know you had fun studying together too. 02:13 Oh, we did. I learned from her. 02:15 Oh, no. I do. 02:17 We learn from each other. 02:19 Yvonne, would you like to lead us in prayer please? 02:20 Sure, Sure. 02:22 Dear Lord, we thank You so very much 02:24 for the privilege of coming together 02:26 to study Your Word and to share. 02:28 And we just pray for the presence and power 02:30 and anointing of Your Holy Spirit to be with us. 02:32 You are welcome in this place. 02:34 In Jesus' name we pray. 02:36 Amen. Amen. 02:37 Amen. 02:38 You know, when we think about God coming down 02:42 to be incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. 02:46 He encountered a world 02:48 that was entangled in sin, caused death and sorrow. 02:54 And you know the interesting thing, 02:56 Jesus went from village to village. 02:59 And what He did was talked to people. 03:03 He preached the kingdom of the gospel, 03:05 and He healed them of all of their diseases. 03:09 And the people thronged around Jesus. 03:12 They followed Him and He healed them all. 03:15 Whether they were Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, 03:19 if they were male or female, young or old, 03:22 because the Bible teaches us that God shows no partiality. 03:28 He is not a respecter of persons. 03:32 So what happened, 03:34 Jesus demonstrated His power as God 03:39 over the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm. 03:44 That's good. 03:45 And this week we will explore the topic 03:48 of Pain and Suffering. 03:52 As we consider two very different cases 03:56 where Jesus healed, 03:58 one, the first man's symptoms were quite visible, 04:03 but he couldn't get to Jesus 04:04 without the help of his friends. 04:06 And then the second is a man 04:09 whose internal suffering 04:12 didn't manifest physical symptoms, 04:15 but God healed them both. 04:17 How do we find rest 04:20 when our prayers aren't being answered? 04:24 It's a good question. 04:25 There was a billboard outside of a church 04:31 and it said this, 04:33 "A teacher is always silent during the test." 04:38 The teacher has a close relationship 04:41 with their students 04:43 and they teach them 04:45 and they pour into them and pour into them. 04:47 But when it comes time for the test, 04:50 the teacher has to be silent. 04:51 That's good. 04:53 The memory text is from Psalm 27. 04:57 And I'm going to do something a little unusual. 05:00 In Psalm 27, I want to take a little bit deeper 05:03 because David is talking to himself 05:06 about the privileges of divine protection. 05:12 Then the next conversation 05:14 David is talking to God about his problems. 05:18 And then he ends up talking to himself 05:23 about perseverance. 05:25 So divine privileges, 05:27 the problems, and perseverance. 05:29 Our memory text is Psalm 27:1. 05:34 And here is the privilege of divine protection. 05:37 He said, 05:38 "The Lord is my light and my salvation, 05:42 whom shall I fear? 05:43 The Lord is the strength of my life, 05:46 of whom shall I be afraid?" 05:50 You know, darkness represents danger and fear, 05:54 but light dispels darkness. 05:57 Does it not? 05:59 And I love what Paul had to say, 06:01 "If God is for us, who can be against us?" 06:04 Because He who did not spare His only Son, 06:07 who gave Him up for us all. 06:09 How much more freely will He not give us all things? 06:15 Amen. Amen. 06:16 Now let's look at Psalm 27:5. 06:20 He says, 06:22 "For in the time of trouble, 06:24 He shall hide me in His pavilion. 06:28 In the secret place of His tabernacle, 06:30 He shall hide me. 06:32 He shall set me high on a rock." 06:36 You know, the story of how a mother hen 06:41 brings her chicks in under her wings 06:44 and hides them from danger. 06:47 And I think of the song in the scripture song. 06:51 You are my hiding place oh, Lord. 06:53 That's right. 06:55 You preserve me from trouble 06:56 and You surround me with songs of deliverance. 07:00 Now let's look at verse 7. 07:02 Psalm 27:7. 07:05 David says, 07:07 "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! 07:10 Have mercy also upon me and answer me." 07:15 And then David says, 07:16 "Lord, when you said, 'Seek My face,' 07:19 my heart said to you, 07:21 'Yes, Lord, Your face I will seek.'" 07:24 When we talk about God's face, 07:28 this is his personal presence. 07:32 And I have to tell you, 07:34 I've been through an 18-month ordeal myself, 07:38 and the first 16 months were horrific. 07:43 I found something very helpful. 07:48 When I know someone is in real difficulty, 07:52 I always pray that God will give them 07:54 a divine awareness of His presence. 07:57 He said He would never leave us or forsake us. 08:00 And we can say, "Yeah, I believe God's with me." 08:03 But when He gives a divine awareness, 08:08 it's different. 08:10 And I've always prayed that for everybody else. 08:11 Suddenly, I prayed it for myself 08:14 and it was precious. 08:17 As I would say, 08:18 "Lord, oh, give me 08:19 a divine awareness of Your presence." 08:21 And I felt all day long 08:23 I had this running conversation with Him. 08:26 And I know God lives in me. 08:28 He dwells in me 08:29 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 08:31 but it was as if His presence was tangible. 08:36 And I really knew that He was with me. 08:39 God's true children 08:41 want to have that intimate fellowship, 08:45 to seek His presence every day 08:48 and to acknowledge His presence. 08:51 Now this is what David says in verse 13. 08:56 He says, 08:58 "I would have lost heart 09:00 unless I had believed that 09:02 I would see the goodness of the Lord 09:03 in the land of the living." 09:05 That land of the living 09:06 is in contrast to the land of the dead, 09:08 the realm of the dead. 09:10 See, David expected God's blessing 09:13 while he was still living. 09:14 He trusted, 09:16 he was confident 09:18 God would get him through the trial. 09:20 Wasn't he? 09:21 And then he says in verse 14. 09:24 This is Psalm 27:14, 09:27 "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, 09:32 and He shall strengthen your heart. 09:34 Wait, I say, on the Lord!" 09:38 It's not always fun to be in God's waiting room, 09:41 but He always shows up. 09:43 He always teaches us something as we wait on Him. 09:47 And the word wait here is... 09:50 It connotes 09:52 either a tense anticipation, 09:58 or an eager and patient anticipation. 10:02 And I think what we have to do is 10:04 pray, seek His face, 10:05 and just trust that He inclines His ear to us 10:09 when we cry out to Him. 10:10 All right, let's go to Sunday real quick. 10:13 Healing Rest is our lesson on Sunday. 10:16 You know, physical rest... 10:18 The cessation of all activities, 10:21 time to relax. 10:22 This is what helps us recover our strength, 10:25 but there's also a mental or spiritual rest 10:29 when we come to the Lord and cast our burdens on Him 10:33 and have a time of refreshing 10:36 either mentally and spiritually, 10:39 recognizing our total dependence upon God. 10:42 Now let me tell you something. 10:44 If you are going through sickness or surgery, 10:48 you've got to have both of those rest 10:50 in order to recover. 10:52 Your immune system cannot if... 10:55 You have to have the physical rest, 10:57 but you've got to have the spiritual and mental rest 11:02 and it's difficult. 11:03 It's difficult not to worry about your medical test 11:07 and what the results are. 11:09 What I found was difficult is when I was immobilized. 11:14 I kept thinking about what I should be doing. 11:17 All day long it was like, 11:18 "Oh, I should be doing this. I should be doing that." 11:21 And I couldn't. 11:22 So what we have to do is 11:25 just learn to lay those things aside 11:27 and rest in Christ. 11:29 In Luke 5:18-19, 11:32 our quarterly reads it from Mark... 11:36 Account from Mark Chapter 2. 11:38 But I want to go to Luke 5:18-19, 11:41 because I want to make a particular point. 11:44 It says, 11:45 "Some men came carrying a paralyzed man 11:48 on a sleeping mat. 11:50 They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 11:53 but they couldn't reach Him because of the crowd. 11:55 So they went up to the roof, 11:57 they took off some of the tiles 11:59 and they lowered the sick man on His mat 12:04 into the crowd right in front of Jesus." 12:10 I know Jill's probably going to talk about 12:12 the cause of physical illness. 12:16 Some people believe that 12:18 this man brought it on upon himself. 12:21 I just want to say, 12:22 let's be careful not to be blaming people 12:26 for this situation that they're in. 12:29 I will tell you though. 12:30 I remember once I was praying for a woman 12:33 who had lung cancer. 12:35 She came up to me and she said, 12:36 "Oh, pray for my healing. I've got lung cancer." 12:39 Oh, boy. I was praying. 12:41 I was claiming the promises of God, 12:44 and I've just prayed with all kinds of fervor 12:47 and all of a sudden, you know what I heard? 12:49 This is what was impressed upon my mind. 12:52 Who is this 12:53 that darkens my counsel with words without wisdom? 12:58 And you talk about stopping you in your track. 13:01 And I said, "What Lord?" 13:03 He said, "Ask her if she's smoking." 13:07 I didn't smell smoke on her. 13:10 I asked this woman, "Are you a smoker?" 13:14 She said, "Yes, three packs a day." 13:17 "Are you still smoking?" 13:19 "Yes." 13:22 And I said, 13:23 "If you are violating the health guidelines 13:26 God lays down, 13:28 if you're making yourself sick, 13:30 how can I pray and ask Him 13:33 to give you a miraculous healing 13:35 if you're not taking care of yourself?" 13:38 So there is disease 13:39 that can be brought on by wrong choices, 13:42 but pain and suffering came into this world 13:44 through the entrance of sin. 13:47 I want to read you something that really helped me. 13:50 Because if you're in a bad place, 13:53 if you have pain and suffering. 13:55 Someone sent this to me when I need like... 13:59 I mean, like the paralytic on the mat. 14:03 I needed stretcher bearers. 14:05 I was having a hard time praying for myself. 14:07 Here's what they sent. 14:09 This comes from Ministry of Healing, 14:11 page 251, verse 5. 14:13 "Often your mind may be clouded because of pain. 14:16 Then do not try to think. 14:18 You know that Jesus loves you. 14:20 He understands your weakness. 14:23 You may do His will by simply resting in His arms." 14:29 Amen. Thank you so much, Shelley. 14:31 What an incredible opening to our lesson, Free to Rest. 14:35 Shelley had the healing of the paralytic part one. 14:38 I have the healing of the paralytic part two. 14:41 When I think about Christ and His healing ministry, 14:45 as Shelley already laid such an incredible foundation. 14:48 Christ went about healing people 14:50 physically, mentally, emotionally, 14:53 but most importantly, 14:55 He was concerned about their internal salvation 14:58 and He healed people spiritually. 15:01 In the synoptic gospels, 15:02 there are 22 accounts of healing. 15:04 Fifteen of the 22 accounts 15:07 are to those marginalized by society. 15:09 Those people we would cast out, those people we might say, 15:13 "We're not sure they should be healed." 15:15 These are women, beggars, lepers, demoniacs, 15:19 those who were discriminated against 15:21 by the Jewish community. 15:24 Nine of those 22 accounts involve faith 15:27 in the healing process, 15:29 and we'll see that in our story here. 15:30 Let's turn to Mark. 15:32 Mark Chapter 2, we pick up the story. 15:34 Now reference before, 15:36 Mark tells us that Jesus had just healed a leper 15:38 just a couple of days before. 15:40 That story was broadcast so far and wide. 15:44 Jesus could no longer even enter the city. 15:47 His fame, as it were, had been broadcast. 15:51 He's very well-known and popular. 15:52 And the house He was in was so crowded 15:54 that the stretcher bearers, 15:56 as Shelley talked about, 15:57 took him up on the roof 15:59 and opened up the roof and let it down 16:01 because the house was too full 16:03 for them to bring the paralyzed man in. 16:07 So in Mark 2:5, 16:08 and I've divided our lesson today into four sections. 16:11 We have number one is the spiritual healing, 16:15 number two is the argument, 16:17 number three is the physical healing, 16:21 and number four is the takeaway lessons 16:23 that we have today. 16:24 So we do the spiritual healing, 16:25 the argument, the physical healing, 16:28 and then the lessons that we can have today. 16:30 So let's look at the spiritual healing. 16:32 Mark 2:5, 16:34 "When Jesus saw their faith, 16:36 He said to the paralytic, 16:38 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.'" 16:41 In Matthew 9:2, what does He say? 16:43 "Son, be of good cheer. 16:45 Your sins are forgiven you." 16:48 I see here Jesus' compassion on the paralytic. 16:51 He could have said, 16:53 "How did you get that way? 16:54 What did you do wrong?" 16:56 We might have avoided him. 16:57 We might not have associated with him 16:59 or thought that he deserved healing. 17:01 We might have criticized him, 17:02 but Jesus reaches out and says, 17:05 "Son, be of good cheer. 17:07 Your sins are forgiven you." 17:10 Now whose faith was this? 17:11 In Mark Chapter 2, it says, "When Jesus saw their faith." 17:17 Whose faith is exemplified? 17:19 Is it the paralytic's faith? 17:21 Is it the friend's faith? 17:23 I would submit to you, it's both. 17:25 The friends clearly showed faith 17:28 by bringing their friend to Jesus. 17:31 And the paralytic, 17:32 he clearly expressed faith as well. 17:35 Now, how is healing connected with sin? 17:38 This is an interesting conundrum 17:40 because first he says, 17:42 "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 17:44 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.'" 17:46 Then later 17:47 we see the physical healing take place. 17:50 How is healing connected with sin? 17:52 How is it connected with forgiveness? 17:55 All sin, all sickness, all disease, all death, 17:59 as Shelley already talked about, 18:01 is a clear result of sin. 18:04 This world of sin that we live in, 18:06 it brings pain, it brings suffering, 18:09 it brings sickness, and it can bring death. 18:13 You see, if Jesus can take care of the effects of sin, 18:17 that's the physical healing. 18:18 He can surely take care of the cause of the illness 18:21 by forgiving the sin. 18:23 I think that forgiving sins and healing disease 18:26 are two sides of the same coin. 18:29 And that is the healing ministry of Jesus. 18:31 One side of the coin is healing disease. 18:34 That's physical disease. 18:35 The other side of the coin is that spiritual cleansing 18:39 that we need. 18:41 Jesus announced 18:42 the paralytic's forgiveness of sins 18:44 before he was physically healed, 18:46 before he went and offered a sacrifice in the sanctuary, 18:49 before he said anything. 18:51 It was faith that healed him. 18:55 Now Shelley referenced this about the causes of sickness. 18:59 I would submit to you, 19:00 at least in my study of the Word of God, 19:02 there are three causes of sickness. 19:04 First cause is the person themselves. 19:07 This would be like the smoker 19:08 that Shelley referenced in that story. 19:11 If you smoke, you can develop lung cancer. 19:14 That is a direct cause and effect. 19:17 This would be the... 19:18 What you do eventually works out in consequences. 19:24 The second cause of sickness 19:25 is the result of the world of sin we live in 19:28 and the outworking of the great controversy. 19:32 This would be the example of Job. 19:34 Remember the Bible says he was perfect before the Lord 19:37 and upright in all of his ways. 19:40 And yet there was this incredible sickness 19:42 that came upon him 19:43 and devastation 19:45 that was not necessarily a result of him. 19:48 That was the outworking of the great controversy 19:51 that God allowed. 19:53 The third cause of sickness 19:55 is that God can be glorified. 19:57 We see this in John Chapter 9. 19:59 Remember the man who was born blind. 20:00 And then disciple said, 20:02 "Who sinned? 20:03 Is that this man or was it his parents?" 20:05 And Jesus said, 20:06 "Neither. It's that God could be glorified." 20:11 Now let's look at the argument. 20:12 So Jesus did the spiritual healing. 20:14 He forgave His sins. 20:15 Then we see the argument, we're in Mark 2:6-9, 20:19 some of the scribes were sitting there. 20:21 They're sitting in the house where Jesus just healed 20:24 and reasoning in their hearts, 20:25 "Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? 20:28 Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 20:30 But immediately 20:32 when Jesus perceived in His Spirit 20:34 that they reasoned thus within themselves, 20:36 He said to them, 20:37 "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 20:39 Which is easier to say to the paralytic? 20:42 'Your sins are forgiven you?' 20:43 Or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk.'" 20:46 You see, the issue wasn't 20:48 even whether Jesus could heal the paralytic. 20:50 The issue was whether Jesus had authority to forgive sins. 20:53 That was their sticking point in this whole discussion. 20:57 That would have made him divine 20:59 if He had authority to forgive sins 21:00 and they were not ready to accept that. 21:04 You know what? 21:05 It reminds me I can sit there and say, 21:06 "Well, why didn't they accept that? 21:08 Well, what's wrong with the scribes and Pharisees." 21:09 But it reminds me so many times in life today 21:13 that God does an amazing thing. 21:15 It can be a physical healing. 21:17 It can be a spiritual healing. 21:19 It can be a work of God 21:20 where something happens incredibly 21:23 and we sit on the sidelines and criticize. 21:26 We sit on the sidelines and say, 21:28 "What's going there? 21:29 Well, is that really the work of God? 21:31 I'm not really even sure what's going on." 21:33 So many times 21:35 do we play the part of the scribe or the Pharisee 21:38 and question when God has already showed up. 21:42 And God is working to bring a miracle. 21:46 Now let's look at the physical healing. 21:47 This is icing on the cake. 21:49 After he was spiritually healed, 21:51 his sins were forgiven. 21:53 We see the physical healing in verses 10-12. 21:56 We're in Mark 2:10-12, 21:58 "But that you may know 22:00 that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. 22:03 He said to the paralytic, 22:05 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, 22:07 go to your house.' 22:08 Immediately, he arose, took up the bed, 22:11 and went out in the presence of them all 22:13 so that all were amazed and glorified God saying, 22:16 'We never saw anything like this.'" 22:19 I want to say to you today 22:21 that God, the Creator God 22:22 that you and I serve, He can do anything. 22:25 I love Genesis 1:1. 22:28 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 22:32 That word created is bara in Hebrew. 22:36 And it literally means 22:37 the ability to create something from nothing. 22:40 So when there was nothing, 22:42 when this world was not in existence, 22:44 there was nothing. 22:45 God spoke and it happened. 22:48 The same word, it takes place in Psalm 51:10 22:51 where David says, 22:53 "Create in me a clean heart, oh God." 22:55 That word create, bara. 22:56 God can create 22:58 when your heart is dead and trespasses in sins. 23:00 When you are lost in addiction, 23:02 when you are far from God, He says, 23:04 "I'm gonna bara you. 23:06 I'm going to create in you a new heart. 23:09 And I'm going to renew in you a right spirit." 23:12 Only God can take a heart of stone 23:14 and make it a heart of flesh. 23:15 Only God can take what was dead and trespasses in sins 23:18 and make it new again. 23:19 Only God can restore in us the image of the divine. 23:23 Only God. 23:25 Look at God. Praise the Lord. 23:27 Now let's look at some lessons in closing. 23:30 Lesson number one, 23:31 don't expect little, 23:32 expect much in answer to the prayer of faith. 23:37 They expected physical healing. 23:38 That would have been incredible miracle, 23:40 but he received the impossible, 23:41 forgiveness of sins coupled with physical healing. 23:46 God can do anything. 23:48 Lesson number two, 23:49 don't try to do everything yourself. 23:51 Let other people bring you to Jesus if need be. 23:55 If you can't find the face of God, 23:57 if you cannot find Jesus, 23:59 let other people around you 24:02 point you back to the face of Jesus. 24:05 Lesson number three, 24:06 don't judge other people in their problems. 24:09 Help them reach out. 24:11 Be the friends of the paralytic and carry them to Jesus. 24:15 Finally, lesson number four, 24:16 don't get stuck on yourself as a leader. 24:19 Learn to recognize God's leading. 24:21 The common people, 24:23 they didn't doubt, they didn't question Jesus. 24:25 They just glorified God. 24:27 It was the religious leaders who doubted, questioned, 24:30 and accused Him. 24:32 So praise God, He can bara. 24:35 Hallelujah. 24:37 That was rich. Two-hander. 24:38 Yeah. 24:40 Praise the Lord. 24:41 You know, I... 24:43 You're an anointed teacher. 24:45 I just appreciate that so much. 24:47 We're gonna take a quick break. 24:48 We'll be right back. 24:54 Ever wish you could watch 24:55 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:58 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:01 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 25:06 A clean design makes it easy 25:08 to find the program you're looking for. 25:10 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:14 so you can follow along. 25:15 Sharing is easy. 25:17 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:20 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:25 And now we're going to continue with Tuesday's lessons 25:28 with Pastor John Lomacang. 25:30 Well, I just... 25:31 I'm just bathing in the joy of what Jill just presented. 25:34 God bless you for your expository gift 25:37 that the Lord obviously gave to you. 25:38 Praise the Lord. 25:39 Praise the Jesus in you, as you would say. 25:42 I'm dealing with one called Running Away. 25:44 And although dear Jill dealt with the New Testament concept 25:49 or New Testament scenario, 25:51 we're going to the Old Testament 25:52 to a man who should have known better. 25:55 His name is Elijah. 25:57 Let's go to 1 Kings 19:1-5. 25:59 Now the context of this is Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel. 26:05 A man who stood firmly 26:07 for everything that God had given him 26:10 courage to communicate. 26:14 What happens the day after your greatest victory? 26:17 This is a story that reminds us 26:19 how we should trust God 26:21 in the mountain experiences as well as in the valley, 26:25 because most of us live in the valley 26:27 most of the time. 26:29 Elijah forgot the God of yesterday. 26:33 That's why his tomorrow was not as secure 26:36 as it could have been. 26:38 Let's look at the picture here in 1 Kings 19:1-5. 26:42 "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, 26:45 also how he had executed 26:47 all the prophets with the sword. 26:49 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 26:53 'So let the gods do to me, and more also, 26:57 if I do not make your life 26:59 as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 27:05 Boy, you know, when a woman threatens you... 27:07 I gonna say, when a woman threatens you... 27:10 You're in trouble. 27:12 You're surrounded right now so... 27:13 I know, I got him... 27:15 You know, guys, when a woman threatens you... 27:17 Like one lady said, 27:19 "I don't say a whole lot, 27:20 but when I speak you better listen." 27:21 Jezebel had that problem. 27:23 I wouldn't even say gift, 27:25 but Jezebel didn't stand for anything. 27:28 But why would the man of God be threatened by a person 27:31 who was not standing with God? 27:34 Look at verse 3 of 1 Kings 19. 27:37 And when he saw that, he got the text. 27:41 "And when he saw that, 27:43 he arose and ran for his life 27:47 and went to Beersheba, 27:48 which belongs to Judah and left his servant there. 27:53 But he himself went a day's journey 27:55 into the wilderness 27:57 and came and sat down under a broom tree. 28:02 And he prayed that he might die and said, 28:05 'It is enough! 28:06 Now, Lord, take my life, 28:08 for I am no better than my fathers!' 28:11 Then he lay and slept under a broom tree. 28:14 Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 28:17 'Arise and eat.'" 28:19 And I like the way the story continues 28:21 because the Lord came... 28:22 And I love the way the King James Version says, 28:25 "What doest thou here? What doest thou here?" 28:30 Now the Lord fed him there, 28:31 but the Lord had to deal with him. 28:33 Elijah was no different than many of us 28:35 who deal with the topic of fear. 28:37 And as you know, there's an acronym, 28:38 false evidence appearing real. 28:40 Elijah ran from what really didn't exist. 28:43 Why would you fear man when God is on your side? 28:46 Paul says, 28:47 "If God before us, who can be against us? 28:50 But Elijah, a man that we all admire for his brilliance, 28:54 for his gifts and communicating strong messages 28:58 to anyone in apostasy, 29:00 yet he failed to stand firmly. 29:02 After... 29:03 Shortly after the greatest victory, 29:05 450 prophets all in apostasy. 29:08 The Lord responded to his humble prayer, 29:11 but he got a text from a woman named Jezebel 29:14 and ran for his life. 29:16 Let's find out what fear does to us. 29:18 Seven points, Jill, about fear. 29:22 One, our thoughts determine our character. 29:26 Ours thoughts shape the way we feel about ourselves. 29:30 Proverbs 23:7, 29:32 for as he thinketh in his heart... 29:34 Together everybody. 29:35 So is he. So is he. 29:37 As we think and know the reason it didn't say, 29:39 "As he thinks in his head." 29:41 By the time something gets from our head to our heart, 29:43 it's a deep-seated affection. 29:44 It's a deep-seated feeling. 29:46 It is burrowed itself into our emotion, 29:48 into our psyche. 29:50 That's why the writer, the wise man, Solomon says, 29:53 "As he thinks in his heart." 29:54 It's a deep-seated condition 29:57 that sometimes begin to take us over. 29:59 And some of you may have been in a place where you said, 30:01 "How did I get here? 30:03 Why am I focusing so much on this?" 30:05 Well, as we think, so we become. 30:09 I did a sermon once called, 30:10 you're not what you think you are, 30:12 but you are what you think. 30:16 Our thoughts determine 30:17 our disposition in our character, 30:19 but let's go further than that. 30:21 Our thoughts create imaginations. 30:24 Our thoughts create imaginations. 30:26 This is insightful. 30:28 This is an insightful point. 30:29 Genesis 6:5. 30:31 "And God saw that the wickedness of man 30:34 was great in the earth. 30:36 And that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 30:40 was only evil continually." 30:42 Now let's not run past that familiar passage. 30:44 It didn't say that the things they did 30:46 were only evil continually. 30:48 It says their imaginations, their thoughts. 30:51 They were thinking evil, they were imagining evil. 30:55 It didn't say they perpetrated it. 30:57 It said their thoughts and their imaginations. 30:59 Can you imagine a person getting to the place 31:02 where their imaginations and thoughts 31:04 are only evil continually? 31:06 That's a complete disconnect from God. 31:09 Our thoughts create also our imaginations. 31:13 The third part is our focus. 31:16 The focus of our thoughts transform us. 31:19 Look at 2 Corinthians 3:18. 31:22 The focus of our thoughts transform us. 31:25 You'll be amazed when people... 31:28 You know, you see nowadays... 31:29 And, Danny, you know, on the sports page, 31:31 people go buy a Magic Johnson shirt 31:33 and they all of a sudden think they're Magic Johnson. 31:35 Well, the shirt doesn't transform you 31:37 to be anybody other than who you are. 31:39 And today we are so unique 31:41 that we look like everybody else. 31:43 But look at this. 31:45 The focus of our thoughts transform us. 31:46 2 Corinthians 3:18. 31:49 But we all with open face beholding as in a glass, 31:53 the glory of the Lord are changed 31:55 into the same image. 31:56 We are what? Changed. 31:58 Changed into the same image from glory to glory, 32:01 even as by the spirit of God. 32:03 And we know what that means. 32:05 By beholding, we become change. 32:07 You become what you focus on. 32:10 You become what consumes your imaginations 32:13 and your thoughts. 32:14 It is impossible to think like the world all week long 32:17 and think like Jesus on Sabbath morning. 32:19 It just doesn't happen that way 32:21 because there's something that happens psychologically. 32:23 There's something that happen in the neurons of your brains, 32:26 in the chemical transferences in your mind. 32:29 You start thinking worldly all week long. 32:31 You cannot turn that chemical off 32:33 and turn on the religious chemical 32:35 on Sabbath morning. 32:36 Watch out what you behold from Sunday to Friday, 32:39 so that you could behold Jesus on Sabbath. 32:43 Amen. 32:45 Y'all fell for that? 32:46 If you don't behold Jesus every day, 32:48 you're not gonna behold Him on Sabbath. 32:49 I didn't mean to do that to you all. 32:51 Oh, you tricked us. I tricked you. 32:53 You gotta behold Jesus every day 32:55 to behold Him on Sabbath, right? 32:56 Right. 32:57 Because on Sabbath morning 32:59 if you're not seeing Him every day, 33:00 Sabbath morning, who is he? 33:01 When folks are getting excited singing to God be the glory, 33:04 God who? 33:05 Because the thoughts that you create during the week 33:08 will follow you to church on Sabbath. 33:10 Okay. 33:11 Number four, I didn't mean to do that by. 33:13 Forgive me. You're good. 33:14 But it was just your imagination. 33:17 Number four, 33:19 injurious imaginations and thoughts can be defeated. 33:21 Let's look at the other side of that. 33:23 They can be defeated. 33:24 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, 33:27 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 33:30 but mighty through God 33:31 to the pulling down of strongholds." 33:33 What? 33:35 "Casting down imaginations." 33:38 New King James, arguments. 33:40 "And every high thing 33:41 that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." 33:45 Those imaginations can be brought down. 33:46 Praise the Lord. 33:48 "And bringing into captivity how many thoughts?" 33:50 Every thought. 33:51 "Every thought to the obedience of Christ 33:53 and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience 33:59 when our obedience is fulfilled." 34:01 So those imaginations can be brought down 34:03 by bringing those imaginations and thoughts into the obedience 34:07 that is found only in Christ. 34:09 Number five, 34:11 ask God to reveal your thoughts and anxieties. 34:15 Don't try to find them. God will reveal them. 34:17 Psalm 139:23-24, 34:19 "Search me, oh God, and know my thoughts. 34:22 Try me and know my anxieties or my thoughts 34:24 and see if there be any wicked way in me and do," what? 34:28 "Lead me in the way everlasting." 34:31 The last two, 34:32 we have to consciously and repetitively 34:35 choose to leave the past behind. 34:40 Philippians 3:12. 34:42 Not that I have already attained, 34:44 or I am already perfected, 34:45 but I press on that I may lay hold of that 34:48 which for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 34:52 I press on... 34:54 Sorry. 34:56 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, 34:59 but one thing I do, 35:01 forgetting those things which we are where? 35:02 Behind. 35:04 Behind, reaching forward to those things 35:05 which are ahead. 35:07 I press toward the goal 35:08 for the prize of the upward call of God 35:10 in Christ Jesus. 35:12 And finally, 35:13 we have to consciously and repetitively choose 35:15 to refocus our thoughts, 35:17 whatsoever things are 35:18 true, honest, just, pure, lovely, 35:23 of a good report. 35:24 If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, 35:27 Philippians 4:8 says, 35:28 "Think on these things." 35:30 Amen. Amen. 35:33 It's a blessing. Thank you so much. 35:35 This is so rich, isn't it? 35:37 Well, I have Wednesday's lesson, 35:40 Too Tired to Run. 35:43 It opens with the statement. 35:45 "Elijah is too tired to run anymore. 35:50 He's now in the throes of depression. 35:53 He just wants to die. 35:54 So let's do a recap of this part of his journey. 35:59 First of all, Elijah was a courageous man. 36:02 He didn't normally run from conflict. 36:05 In fact, when given instructions by God to do so, 36:08 he would run into it. 36:10 He challenged Ahab three times. 36:13 His first challenge is found in 1 Kings 17:1, 36:17 where Elijah confronts Ahab 36:19 and pronounces a drought over the land. 36:22 This was a message of God's judgment, 36:24 and of Ahab and Israel 36:26 for their apostasy, and idolatry. 36:29 After proclaiming the drought, 36:31 the Lord told Elijah to get out of there 36:34 and hide by the Book of Cherith. 36:36 It was there that the Lord sent ravens 36:38 with food to sustain him, 36:41 and he had water from the brook to refresh him. 36:44 The second challenge is found in 1 Kings 18:1 36:48 where the Lord told Elijah 36:50 to present himself again to Ahab, 36:52 and he would send rain to end the drought. 36:54 This was three and a half years later. 36:56 So Elijah did just that. 36:59 On his way, he ran into Obadiah, 37:03 the one in charge of Ahab's house, 37:06 and a servant of the Lord. 37:07 Elijah told Obadiah to let Ahab know where he was. 37:11 So it was a kind of come and get me message. 37:15 Obadiah's response was basically, 37:17 "What have I done to deserve this, 37:19 if I tell Ahab where you are, 37:21 the Holy Spirit could come and whisk you away, 37:23 and Ahab will kill me." 37:25 He goes on to tell Elijah 37:27 that Ahab has been hunting for him everywhere. 37:29 And now he Obadiah 37:31 would be contributing to the wild goose chase? 37:34 No way. 37:36 But Elijah made a solemn oath, 37:38 that he wouldn't leave that spot. 37:40 And he honored his word. That's right. 37:42 So Elijah had Ahab come to him. 37:45 And then he verbally laid it on him 37:47 about his spiritual condition. 37:50 He goes on to tell Ahab to gather all of Israel 37:53 and the prophets of Baal, 450 of them, 37:56 and Asherah, 400 of them. 37:58 So there were 850 false prophets 38:01 who were provided for by Ahab's wife, Jezebel, 38:05 and he had them gathered on Mount Carmel. 38:08 It was there that the third challenge was given. 38:12 This time it was to Ahab and all of Israel. 38:17 And so, Elijah said, 38:20 "How long will you falter between two opinions. 38:23 If the Lord is God, follow Him, 38:26 but if Baal, follow him." 38:28 It's good. 38:29 He then went on to challenge 38:30 the prophets to let them attempt 38:32 to prove Baal sovereignty over that of YHWH, 38:37 whichever God brought fire down to consume the sacrifice, 38:41 that would be the true God. 38:43 The people were in agreement with that test. 38:46 Now, of course, we know how that test went. 38:49 The pagan priests were dancing around 38:51 calling on their god, 38:52 cutting themselves yelling and hollering 38:55 and nothing happened. 38:57 And then after a whole day of no results, 39:01 Elijah called the people to gather around him. 39:04 He built up the Lord's broken altar, 39:06 built an altar with 12 stones, 39:08 each one representing the 12 tribes of Israel. 39:11 He put the wood in order, 39:13 he cut up the bull that was being sacrificed, 39:16 doused it with water three times. 39:19 And then he made a trench around the altar 39:22 and filled it with water. 39:24 He then pray to the God of heaven and earth, 39:26 that He YHWH would manifest Himself 39:30 as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, 39:33 and that he Elijah was his servant. 39:36 Did God show up? 39:38 You bet He did. 39:39 He did. 39:41 And in 1 Kings 18:38, 39:45 it says, 39:48 "Then the fire of the Lord fell 39:51 and consumed, the burnt sacrifice, 39:54 and the wood and the stones and the dust. 39:56 And it licked up the water that was in the trench." 40:00 I mean, the Lord had control of the situation. 40:05 The people acknowledge that God is certainly God. 40:09 Elijah then order the prophets of Baal 40:11 to be seized and executed. 40:13 And Ahab said nothing. 40:17 Now, Elijah was now in the driver's seat. 40:20 And he told Ahab to go home and eat and drink 40:25 because the rain was coming. 40:27 Elijah was now in control. 40:29 That's right. Right? 40:31 So here's where a lot of the running 40:32 in our lesson begins. 40:34 The Spirit of the Lord fell on Elijah 40:36 and he ran ahead of Ahab's horses, 40:39 from Mount Carmel to Jezreel, 40:41 17 miles of running ahead of the horses. 40:47 Ahab goes home and tells Jezebel, 40:49 and you mentioned this pastor. 40:51 Ahab goes home tells Jezebel all that Elijah had done 40:55 and she went ballistic. 40:57 She sends a message to Elijah, 40:59 then in 24 hours, he's a dead man. 41:02 Now let me just say this. 41:04 Jezebel like to play head games. 41:06 She was a manipulative, conniving, headstrong woman 41:10 who was determined to get whatever she wanted. 41:12 And she didn't care how she got it. 41:15 She could have just sent someone to tell Elijah. 41:17 Yeah. 41:19 That, you know, that she was angry with him. 41:20 But no, she preferred to try to get him into a tailspin 41:25 by giving him a deadline. 41:28 So Elijah ran again. 41:31 And this time it was to Beersheba. 41:33 90 miles south of Jezreel. 41:35 He left his servant in Beersheba. 41:37 And then went a day's journey into the wilderness, 41:40 where he had a meltdown. 41:43 It was there that he told the Lord 41:45 that he just wanted to die. 41:47 He felt like a failure. 41:49 And if we look at Numbers 11:15, 41:52 we see that Moses had a similar situation. 41:56 He was overwhelmed 41:57 by the task of caring for the children of Israel. 42:00 They were complaining to God 42:01 about not having any meat, just manna, 42:04 and Moses was fed up with the whole situation. 42:07 He asked God to just let him die. 42:11 I guess both Moses and Elijah felt as though if dead, 42:15 they would be relieved of the dire circumstances 42:17 that seemed to swallow them up. 42:19 But interestingly enough, 42:21 both were taken to be with the Lord. 42:23 Moses died 40 years, 42:25 after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, 42:28 and he was resurrected. 42:29 But Elijah never died. 42:31 He was translated. Wow! 42:34 Isn't it interesting 42:36 that God will meet us at our weakest point? 42:40 He's there in the midst of our darkest hours 42:43 with strength and refreshment, 42:45 both physical and spiritual, as Jill had said, 42:48 YHWH sent an angel to Elijah who was sleeping. 42:53 Sometimes when you're depressed, 42:54 you just want to sleep it off, right? 42:57 Elijah was sleeping, 42:58 and the angel had prepared a cake 43:01 baked on coals and a jar of water. 43:03 Elijah ate and drank and lay down again. 43:06 The angel of the Lord came back a second time 43:09 and touched Elijah and said, 43:11 "Arise and eat 43:12 because the journey is too great for you." 43:15 I have three takeaways from this. 43:17 First of all, the Lord anticipates our needs 43:20 and orchestrates opportunities to meet them. 43:23 He sent the angel twice with food and water to Elijah. 43:27 The Lord Jesus Himself, 43:29 in John 21, after His crucifixion, 43:32 appeared to seven of His disciples. 43:35 They'd been fishing all night, hadn't caught anything. 43:37 And by the morning, 43:38 they were exhausted and hungry. 43:40 And they saw someone on the shore 43:41 who said to them, 43:43 "Children, do you have any food?" 43:45 They answered, "No." 43:47 And so then He told them to cast their nets out 43:50 on the right side of the boat, and they would find some, 43:53 they obeyed, and the net filled up with fish. 43:56 John, recognize 43:57 that it was Jesus who was talking to them 43:59 and Peter jumped into the water to swim to shore. 44:02 The Bible states in John 21:9, it says, 44:07 "Then, as soon as they had come to land, 44:10 they saw a fire of coals there, 44:13 and fish laid on it, and bread." 44:16 And then in verse 12, Jesus says, 44:18 "Come and eat breakfast." 44:21 Point number two. 44:23 The Lord knows what we need 44:24 in order to sustain us 44:26 in times of weakness and despair. 44:29 We need a touch from God to make it through. 44:32 And number three, 44:33 the Lord knows 44:35 when the journey is too great for you. 44:37 And He sends angels to help you. 44:40 From Beersheba, 44:41 Elijah went another 40 days and 40 nights 44:44 to Mount Sinai, 44:45 which would have been another 160 to 220 map miles 44:50 over rugged terrain. 44:52 It would be 20 days of ordinary walking 44:54 and climbing 7000 feet 44:56 to the jagged peak of Mount Sinai. 44:59 It took 40 days averaging 10 miles per day. 45:03 The food and water that Elijah received from the angels 45:06 sustained him for the duration of this journey. 45:10 So you need to know when you're too tired to run, 45:14 YHWH, the self existent one will come through for you. 45:18 You need to know that El Gibbor Milchamah, 45:21 the Lord God mighty in battle will fight the battle for you. 45:25 You need to know that Ha'El hanne'eman, 45:28 the faithful God will be faithful to you. 45:31 You need to know that El Shaddai, the Almighty God 45:34 who is mighty in every way 45:36 to carry out everything that He promises. 45:40 He will be there for you. 45:41 You need to know that El Yeshuati, 45:44 the God of my salvation will save you. 45:48 When we're too tired to run, God will carry us. 45:51 Amen. Praise the Lord. 45:53 I'm glad you ended it that way. 45:55 Because I was getting worn out 45:56 just listening to all the running 45:58 that Elijah was doing. 46:00 He would have been a great triathlete, John. 46:02 Yeah. 46:04 Absolutely. 46:05 Well, my part to end here is, Rest and More. 46:07 So it's kind of an overview. 46:09 And my first takeaway from this lesson is 46:11 God, I've always said from the beginning, 46:13 3ABN and God uses us in spite of us. 46:16 That's right. 46:17 But now as I look closer 46:19 at all these great leaders in the Bible, like Elijah, 46:23 I'd say, it's wonder He uses any of them, 46:25 including His fellows, 46:27 I mean, for crying out loud. 46:28 Here's a guy that's on top of the world, right? 46:31 And he's literally doing all these things. 46:34 And then what's he do? He runs. 46:35 Yes. 46:37 When it comes to him, he was okay. 46:38 We're like putting God out there. 46:39 But then when it came, "I'm threatened," 46:41 you know, my life, I'm getting out of here. 46:43 So it's interesting. 46:45 But the beauty of this is 46:46 discoveries that God's willing to use 46:48 any of us frail human agents. 46:49 All we have to do is 46:51 submit and commit our lives to God 46:53 and then simply say, Lord, here I am, send me. 46:56 God wants to do, use you in great and mighty areas. 47:00 The Bible says the fields of harvest 47:02 there are wide unto harvest, 47:04 but the reapers, where are they? 47:06 So there's plenty of room, you don't have to worry about, 47:08 well, maybe there's not enough room, 47:10 there's nothings I can do. 47:12 No, God has a great work for you. 47:14 Now, getting back to Elijah, 47:16 God knows that all the running had made Elijah tired, 47:19 you have gone over that. 47:21 He knows more than being physically tired. 47:24 Elijah was emotionally, he was, he was drained. 47:26 Yes. 47:27 And I mean, he was carrying 47:28 a tremendous load of guilt also, 47:30 'cause he has to know he felt like a failure. 47:32 God, you know, I did all this stuff for you. 47:35 And now I failed everybody. 47:37 So you know, like Jesus would do for the paralytic, 47:40 many years later, 47:42 God wipes the slate clean and provides rest for Elijah. 47:46 Isn't that just like a loving God? 47:48 He can wipe our slate clean no matter what it is. 47:51 So he can really, now Elijah can sleep, 47:54 he can be refreshed. 47:56 We would expect this to be 47:57 the kind of maybe the end of the story, 47:59 but it isn't. 48:01 You know why? Because God still has work. 48:02 You may be thinking, 48:04 "Well, I'm older now I'm past my prime. 48:07 You know, I don't know if God can use me anymore or not." 48:10 But I want to tell you something. 48:11 As long as there's breath, there's hope, God can use you. 48:14 Now, the devil may have told him 48:16 that he had failed God 48:17 and he was past his prime. 48:19 But the devil knows, 48:20 when you are mentally and physically worn out, 48:23 you don't think straight. 48:25 So what he does? 48:26 He tries to get us and those of us in ministry, 48:29 we can do that. 48:30 We can run ourselves silly, right? 48:32 Going here and there and doing all that we can do. 48:35 And then suddenly we don't think straight, 48:37 so we're easy prey for the devil. 48:39 So we have to learn to rest in Jesus 48:43 emotionally, physically, other in all ways actually. 48:48 So he will tell you, the devil will tell you. 48:50 You've past your prime, you're too old. 48:52 You're talentless to work for the Lord, 48:55 but don't believe it. 48:56 It's all a lie. 48:57 As long as there's breathe in us, 48:59 there's hope, right? 49:00 There's something for us to do. 49:02 I put here at 70 I may be past my prime in a number of things. 49:05 But I refuse to let the devil tell me 49:07 that I'm past my prime 49:09 when it comes to serving the Lord. 49:10 How about you? Amen. 49:11 That's right. All right. 49:13 so now when I was much younger, and in fact into my 50s, 49:16 I could do backward handsprings. 49:18 I could go do a round off 49:20 and do three backward handsprings. 49:21 I used to do to the kids over here in the gym 49:23 and they loved. 49:25 Walk on my hands all the way across the, 49:26 which I can still do a little bit of that 49:28 to gym floor, 49:29 I could just stand still and do backward flips. 49:32 That's all past. I don't need that. 49:34 But working for the Lord, 49:35 I'm excited that God's willing to use any of us 49:39 willing to be used. 49:40 Now I hit, used to be the young man dream dreams 49:42 and the old man visions. 49:44 I don't know where it is, 49:45 Yvonne, I mean, you're busier, 49:47 seems like that we've ever been for the cause of God, 49:49 and I want you to know that God wants to use you 49:52 in great and mighty and marvelous ways. 49:54 We don't have to sit under that tree and say, 49:56 "Oh, Lord, I've messed up." 49:58 Yeah, you've messed up. 50:00 I guarantee you have, I don't know you. 50:01 But I know you messed up. 50:03 Everybody in these great Bible characters 50:05 all messed up. 50:06 But you know what? 50:07 God is willing to clean our slate also. 50:09 Isn't that beautiful? Amen. 50:11 Yes. I'll tell you what? 50:12 I'm so thrilled when I read this. 50:14 I see all the deficiencies. 50:16 But I see that we serve a God 50:19 who supplies every need, who heals every problem, 50:23 and who gives us rest. 50:25 We can go to Him. It's no accident. 50:26 He said, every seventh day come aside, take a rest. 50:29 He knows physically, mentally and spiritually, we need that. 50:34 So it's interesting that 50:36 after everything Elijah had seen God do 50:38 to prove He's the only true God 50:40 that he would actually lose his faith. 50:42 You say, how can you do it? 50:43 But some of you brought out, hey, don't judge, right? 50:46 We shouldn't be judging somebody else. 50:48 And, Yvonne, you covered his long trek, 50:50 it wore me out. 50:52 Hearing how this guy was running 50:54 and he was too weak to continue. 50:56 The angels had to feed him and all of that. 50:59 And so somewhere down here, I put, you know what? 51:01 If you're going to run, don't run away from God, 51:04 run into His sheltering arms. 51:06 Yes. 51:07 That's what we need to be in the sheltering arms of God. 51:09 Because if you're running away, 51:10 you're headed towards the devil, right? 51:12 So we don't, we don't want to do that. 51:14 Ellen White says, in Patriarchs and Prophets, 51:19 of Prophets and Kings, I'm sorry, 51:21 "Elijah should not have fled from his post of duty, 51:24 he should have met the threat of Jezebel 51:27 with an appeal for protection 51:29 to the one who had commissioned him 51:30 to vindicate the honor of Jehovah. 51:33 Had he remained where he was, 51:35 had he made God his refuge and strength, 51:39 standing steadfast for truth, 51:41 he would have been shielded from all these harm. 51:44 So here, you said earlier, 51:46 we bring on a lot of our own problems, 51:49 because lack of trust. 51:51 So just look at all the wear and tear 51:53 mentally and physically on Elijah's body. 51:56 And all of that running 51:57 you describe could have been hundreds of miles. 51:59 He did it all into order to protect 52:01 or defend themselves, 52:03 instead of allowing the Lord to be his shield and buckler. 52:06 We all do it. It's all the same. 52:08 But somehow, it's encouraging to me 52:11 that we can look at these Bible characters 52:13 and in spite of all their frailties, 52:15 God used them time and time again. 52:17 So when you fail, when I fail, I come... 52:20 I'm not here today setting 30, nearly 37 years later, 52:23 because I've succeeded. 52:25 I've done great things. 52:27 I have failed miserably many times. 52:28 But you know, what? 52:29 What's the options? 52:31 Your option is I can quit 52:32 or I can say, Lord, please forgive me. 52:34 Create in me a new heart, mind, 52:36 give me a new vision, and go forward. 52:38 Now I promise you 52:40 God wants to do that for you today. 52:41 You know why? 52:43 Heaven is not heaven till God's children are there. 52:45 And so the Lord is waiting on us 52:47 to perfect His character within our lives. 52:50 So He can come back for a purified bride, 52:52 and a purified children. 52:54 I'm getting all excited about here 52:55 and I'm getting away from my, 52:57 getting away from my notes here. 53:01 But here's another statement I want to read. 53:03 I couldn't leave this out. 53:04 Prophets and Kings, 53:06 "Not in mighty manifestations of power, 53:09 but by a still small voice, 53:11 did God choose to reveal himself 53:13 to His servant." 53:14 So many times, we want this big outward sign, 53:18 you know, Lord came in an earthquake 53:20 or the earthquake came, the Lord was in it. 53:22 The fire came and the Lord was in it. 53:24 You know, all this hurricane or the wind, He was in it. 53:28 So it reminded me honestly many churches 53:31 that I've been in the past. 53:33 Not Adventist churches, 53:34 but you go there, 53:35 and the whole service 53:37 is nothing but loud bang, and clap and shouting, 53:39 you know, bringing all of their stuff. 53:41 And sometimes I wonder, 53:42 where's the Lord in all of that. 53:43 What he says is be still, be quiet once in a while. 53:47 How are we going to know God's will in our life, 53:50 we can't know by telling Him by talking all the time 53:52 by looking for great signs and wonders, 53:55 that still small voice and that's what He listened. 53:58 So she says, 53:59 Not in mighty manifestations of divine power, 54:02 but by a still small voice, 54:04 did God choose to reveal himself to His servant. 54:08 He desired to teach Elijah, 54:10 that it is not always the work 54:11 that makes the greatest demonstration 54:13 that is most successful in accomplishing His purpose, 54:16 not by eloquence, or logic or man's hearts reached, 54:20 but by the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit. 54:24 Isn't that beautiful? 54:25 Which operate quietly, yet surely in transforming 54:29 and developing character. 54:31 We should not always look for big signs 54:33 to know that God is with us. 54:35 Let's listen and see what God has for us to do. 54:39 He says, 54:40 "Go ye into all the world. All power is given Me." 54:43 Matthew 20:18-20. 54:45 I've said it for years, Go ye therefore. 54:47 And that's exactly our Ellen White says 54:49 our greatest asset is our own personal testimony 54:53 of what God has done for us. 54:55 Don't be discouraged. 54:56 Never give up. 54:58 In fact, I'll close with this several years ago, 55:00 a few years ago, I wrote this song. 55:02 And it's called 55:03 "Don't give up, heaven's on your side, 55:04 when your burden seems so heavy, 55:06 that you struggle 55:08 just to make it through the day. 55:09 And when it seems the world's against you, 55:11 and there's no one to defend you. 55:13 And you're tempted to give up and walk away. 55:16 Chorus says, don't give up, heaven's on your side. 55:19 Jesus shed His blood and for you He died. 55:22 Now He's ever interceding at God's mercy seat and throne. 55:25 Don't give up, heaven's on your side. 55:28 Oh, there's joy in real salvation. 55:29 And you can cope with situations 55:31 that come your way, 55:33 for God knows the pain you're feeling 55:36 and He knows your broken heart. 55:38 He is healing, He's healing 55:39 and you have the strength to face another day. 55:42 For God's love is everlasting. 55:44 He'll not leave you or forsake you along the way. 55:47 You can trust in His salvation. 55:48 You can go through tribulation, 55:50 with the peace and joy that follows come what may. 55:53 Don't give up, heaven's on your side. 55:55 Jesus shed His blood for you, He died. 55:57 Now He's ever interceding at God's mercy seat in throne. 56:01 Don't give up. 56:02 Heaven's on your side. 56:04 Amen. 56:05 Thank you all so much for beautiful lessons. 56:07 We only have about a minute and a half 56:09 for a short closing comment. 56:11 Just want to say if you feel paralyzed, 56:13 if you feel helpless, 56:15 come to Jesus, and He can restore you. 56:18 On the flip side, 56:19 if you have friends who are paralyzed, 56:21 bring them to Jesus. 56:23 Amen. And that's right. 56:24 If you're gonna run come boldly before the throne of grace 56:27 that you may obtain mercy 56:30 and find grace to help in God's time of need. 56:34 And when you're too tired to run, 56:36 and when you feel as though 56:38 you just can't make it another step, 56:40 cast your cares upon Jesus 56:41 because He cares so much for you. 56:45 Jesus is there waiting for you with open arms. 56:48 And all we have to do is 56:49 accept Him as Lord and Savior of our life 56:52 by admitting that we're sinners. 56:53 Say yes, Lord, I'm a sinner. 56:55 Ask Him to forgive you from your sins. 56:57 He says, He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 57:01 We have a great future ahead. 57:03 Don't be discouraged. 57:04 Heaven's on your side. 57:06 Amen and amen. 57:07 Thank you all for the, 57:09 your investment of time in this study 57:11 and just for following the guidance of the Lord. 57:14 We hope that you have been blessed at home. 57:18 Next week we will be studying lesson 9 57:21 Rhythms of Rest. 57:24 My thought that I want to leave you with is this. 57:28 Maybe you're in God's waiting room. 57:30 Maybe you're in pain or suffering. 57:32 Just remember how much Jesus loves you. 57:36 Just remember 57:37 that He understands you are but does. 57:40 He knows everything about you. 57:43 And when your mind is clouded with pain, 57:45 whether it's physical or emotional pain, 57:49 you can just calm lay your head on His chest 57:53 and rest in His everlasting arms. 57:56 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2021-08-19