Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210045S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 And it's Sabbath School Panel time. 00:04 We're so glad you're joining us 00:05 because you are the reason we do this. 00:08 We want you to join us today for lesson number six, 00:13 which is, "For What Nation is There So Great." 00:16 And, of course, this quarter, 00:18 we are studying present truth in Deuteronomy. 00:21 How does Deuteronomy speak to us today? 00:24 If you don't have the Adult Bible Study Guide, 00:27 you can go to absg.adventist.org 00:32 and download it or we recommend 00:34 that you go to your nearest church, 00:36 tell them 3ABN School, and they'll give you a copy 00:39 and you can study along with them. 00:42 Thank you for joining us. Stay tuned. 01:15 I am so glad that you're with us 01:17 because this is going to be an exciting lesson. 01:20 We are on lesson number six 01:22 For What Nation is There So Great. 01:25 I'm Shelly Quinn. 01:26 Let me introduce the rest of the family 01:28 that's sitting around the table. 01:29 Next to me is my dear brother, Pastor James Rafferty. 01:32 It's so good to be here. 01:34 And I have been so blessed, 01:35 looking forward to another blessing 01:36 as we continue to study this lesson. 01:38 Amen. 01:39 And then my precious sister, Jill Morikone. 01:41 Thank you, Shelley, looking forward 01:42 to studying and getting into the Word of God. 01:44 Amen. 01:45 And pastor evangelist, Ryan Day. 01:47 Amen. 01:48 I'm excited and love this lesson. 01:49 We're going to be talking about God's people 01:51 and their expectation in these last days. 01:53 Amen. 01:54 And then Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:57 you always bring something good to the table. 01:59 Well, there's two things 02:01 that we're going to study in this lesson, 02:02 at least for me on here is wisdom and understanding. 02:04 I need them both. 02:05 Oh, would you like to start with a prayer for that please? 02:08 Okay, sure. Let's pray, shall we? 02:10 Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege of prayer, 02:12 thank You we can call You our Father. 02:14 We ask in a special way you send thy Holy Spirit. 02:16 How desperately we need the Spirit of the Living God 02:19 to come in our hearts, in our minds, 02:20 and our lives and change us into Your image. 02:22 Thank You for Your love. 02:23 Thank You for Your grace, Your longsuffering. 02:25 Bless us now we pray, every word that said, 02:26 everything that's done may bring honor 02:28 and glory to You and You alone today. 02:31 And thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 02:33 Amen. Thank you for that prayer. 02:35 Okay, our memory text is Deuteronomy 4:8. 02:40 And in Deuteronomy 4:8, 02:43 this is what Moses says, 02:46 "And what great nation is there that 02:49 has such statutes and righteous judgments, 02:53 as are in all this law, 02:56 which I set before you this day?" 02:59 You know what's interesting? 03:01 What Moses thought about 03:03 the law of God was that it made them... 03:07 It elevated everyone 03:09 and it is the law of love that is intended to do that. 03:12 Deuteronomy is a Book of Moses' sermons 03:15 delivered to a generation, 03:18 the second generation of the Hebrews, 03:21 who is physically, 03:23 they're standing at the edge of promise, 03:25 physically ready to enter the Promised Land. 03:28 But Moses want to get them spiritually ready. 03:32 So basically, what he's doing, he starts off in Chapters 1-3, 03:37 giving them a history lesson. 03:40 He's reminding them what happened in the past 03:43 and he's challenging them to holiness. 03:46 He recounts their journey from Mount Horeb. 03:49 And somebody said, 03:50 "Well, I thought they were at Mount Sinai." 03:52 Mount Horeb is the mountain range and Sinai 03:55 is a peak in the mountain range. 03:57 But he's talking about 03:59 what happened through all their walk of wanderings. 04:02 He reminds them of what happened at 04:05 Kadesh Barnea and the rebellion. 04:08 Then he talks about their lack of faith after God 04:12 had delivered them from bondage 04:15 and God's displeasure with that rebellious nation 04:19 who murmured against Him. 04:21 In fact, one of the most somber notes to me 04:25 in the whole Bible is Numbers 14:28, 04:29 where God says to those who are murmuring 04:32 and accusing Him of bad things, He says... 04:35 After the 10th time they murmured against Him, 04:38 He says, "Hey, as you've said in my hearing, 04:41 so I will do to you." 04:43 You know, we got to remember that present truth. 04:47 Don't be talking trash about God. 04:51 So the older generation broke the covenant. 04:54 They couldn't enter the Promised Land. 04:56 They had to wander around. 04:58 This is 38 years after or it was 40 years, 05:01 but they had to have time for the unfaithful to die. 05:06 Now, he traced the travels of Israel through the nations. 05:11 He talked about the problems. 05:12 He talks about all the victories 05:14 that God has given, 05:16 and His gracious presence that went with them. 05:20 And he reminds us, God is a loving God 05:23 and He keeps covenant 05:26 with those who keep covenant with Him. 05:29 What Moses is telling them, 05:30 if you will humbly depend upon your God, 05:33 He's going to show up. 05:35 Now, Deuteronomy 4, 05:38 Moses switches into sermon mode 05:42 and he challenges them. 05:45 The emphasis goes from the past to the present. 05:48 So let's look at Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 05:51 because this is a sermon on obedience. 05:54 And he says, "Now oh Israel." 06:00 So basically, so now 06:02 because Israel what God has done for you. 06:04 Listen, listen to the statutes, and the judgments, 06:10 which I will teach you to observe. 06:14 In other words, you must obey 06:15 the following that you may live and go in 06:19 and possess the land, 06:21 which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. 06:25 If you're a parent at home, well, we all had parents. 06:29 When a parent says to a child, "Listen, listen to me." 06:33 What do they expect? 06:35 There's an anticipation of obedience. 06:38 Oh, yeah. Yes. 06:40 You know, the word listen is Shema. 06:44 It means here, listen, obey, 06:49 and it is repeated throughout Deuteronomy. 06:52 There's whole theme of hear and obey. 06:57 Statutes and ordinances are technical terms. 07:01 Referring to the covenant text, 07:03 the statutes were a civil code that regulated their conduct 07:08 and the judgments were the right decisions 07:12 against those who broke the covenant. 07:14 So Moses calls the people to hear and obey, 07:19 obey God's covenant rules of conduct. 07:23 Submission to God's law 07:25 was necessary for them to have the blessings. 07:28 Then Moses adds a very specific warning 07:31 in Sunday's lesson and Sunday's lesson is, 07:35 "Do not add or take away." 07:38 Let's look at Deuteronomy 4:2, "You shall not add to the word, 07:44 which I command you nor take from it that 07:47 you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, 07:51 which I command you." 07:53 You know, He said again in Deuteronomy 12:32, 07:56 "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. 07:59 You shall not add to it, 08:01 you shall not take away from it." 08:03 We can't add anything to God's law 08:07 or delete anything to God's law. 08:08 God's law is perfect. 08:11 It was given at Sinai, 08:13 the Ten Commandments are perfect. 08:16 And nothing that contradicts God's law, 08:20 and moral code will be tolerated. 08:25 The old covenant that 08:26 God gave to Moses and it's... 08:31 You can read Exodus 24. 08:33 God gave the commandments, He spoke them. 08:36 Then He calls Moses up for 40 days 08:39 and He speaks a bunch of terms 08:42 that are civil codes based on 08:45 the Ten Commandments and ceremonial. 08:49 Did you know that when God or Moses came down, 08:53 He speaks to the people then He writes the words 08:56 in what was called The Book of the Covenant, 08:59 then He ratified that covenant. 09:02 And the Ten Commandments were at the heart of it, 09:04 He ratified it with the people. 09:06 This was complete instruction to direct this new nation 09:10 that God had begotten and it's all. 09:13 By the way, the Old Covenant 09:15 is based on the Abrahamic covenant 09:19 because right in the beginning of Exodus, 09:22 when it says that God hears their cries, 09:25 and He remembers His covenant 09:28 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 09:32 So now he's going to include Israel. 09:37 He redeemed them. 09:40 He took them through the Red Sea. 09:42 He saved them. 09:44 They escaped. 09:46 In the Old Covenant, 09:48 they escaped condemnation by sacrifice. 09:52 Somebody's... 09:54 a sacrifice that was instituted. 09:57 Same for us, is it not Jesus Christ? 09:59 Amen. 10:01 But here's the point, all scripture is sacred. 10:03 What is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 say? 10:07 "All scripture is given 10:11 by the inspiration of God. 10:15 It's profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 10:17 instruction and righteousness that we may be complete." 10:21 So, God's Word is authoritative, 10:25 it's perfect and we can't add to it. 10:27 We can't take anything away from it. 10:29 Think about this for a minute. 10:32 The devil in the Garden of Eden, 10:35 he, kind of, subtracted from God's Word, 10:38 tried to make God look like 10:39 He was an intolerant human, I mean an intolerant being. 10:45 Eve added to God's Word 10:47 because God had told them, 10:49 "Don't eat from the tree." 10:50 And she said, "We can't even touch it." 10:52 And any time we take away 10:56 or add to God's Word, it's going to result in sin. 11:01 So what we want to do... 11:05 I'm trying to look at my time. 11:07 Think about this. In Daniel... 11:09 And, boy, you're the one 11:11 that should be talking about this. 11:12 But Daniel 7:25, we see that 11:17 the little horn power is adding to 11:21 and taking away from God's Word. 11:24 "He shall speak pompous words," 11:26 Daniel 7:25, "against the Most High, 11:29 shall persecute the saints of the Most High. 11:31 And shall think or intend 11:34 to change times and law. 11:39 Then the saints are given over into his hand for a while." 11:43 See, it's so amazing that 11:46 this law of love was given to Israel, 11:49 but they just kept 11:51 breaking the covenant, didn't they? 11:55 In Matthew 15:1-9. 12:00 This is what Jesus said to the scribes and the Pharisees. 12:04 They're coming to him in verse 1 and verse 2, 12:08 they say, "Why do you disciples transgress 12:11 the tradition of the elders?" 12:14 And tradition is something 12:16 that's been added to the Word of God. 12:19 "For they do not wash their hands 12:21 when they eat bread." 12:23 You know, this ceremonial hand washing 12:25 is what they're talking about. 12:27 It was very ritualistic, 12:30 very complicated, but here's the interesting thing. 12:34 They could draw water from a troph 12:39 that had cow manure and it would be so filthy that 12:43 cows wouldn't even drink the water 12:45 and they'd still do 12:46 their ritualistic hand washing with it, 12:49 so it wasn't about purity. 12:50 And listen to what Jesus says. 12:53 This is verse 3, Matthew 15:3, 12:57 "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God 13:00 because of your tradition?" 13:03 And then He tells them, 13:05 God says, "Honor your mother and father." 13:07 Hey, you've got a tradition of Corban 13:09 that you can say that the money that should go 13:12 to help your parents 13:14 just give it to the temple, it's Corban. 13:17 And they were circumventing God's law 13:21 through their traditions. 13:24 And Jesus continued in Matthew 15:6, 13:29 and this is the main point I want to get to. 13:31 "Thus you have made the commandment, 13:33 the Word of God, 13:35 of no effect, by your tradition." 13:39 Do we have traditions 13:41 that are nullifying the Word of God? 13:44 He says, "Hypocrites." 13:46 Well, did Isaiah prophesy about, you say, 13:49 "These people draw near to Me with their lips, 13:53 but their hearts are far from Me." 13:56 Teaching as doctrines, the commandments of men, 14:02 traditions of men invalidate God's Word. 14:07 And our worship is meaningless 14:12 if we're following traditions. 14:14 That's right. Wow! 14:15 Amen. Thank you, Shelley. 14:18 Well, I'm Pastor James Rafferty. 14:19 And I have the lesson for Monday, 14:22 which is entitled "Baal Peor." 14:25 Let's just look there in Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 14:27 where we left off with Shelley. 14:30 And there's a lot here 14:31 but what's interesting 14:33 is when you get into Deuteronomy 4:3, 14:36 God talks again, as Shelley shared, 14:39 He's, kind of, rehearsing the history. 14:41 He's, kind of, going back over the history. 14:43 And He talks here about all the things 14:44 He wants His people to do. 14:45 But then in verse 3 He just says this, 14:47 "Your eyes have seen 14:48 what the Lord did because of Baal Peor. 14:53 For all the men that followed Baal Peor, 14:55 the Lord thy God has destroyed them 14:57 from among you." 14:59 And then he goes on. It's kind of like just... 15:01 You know what happened? 15:02 You remember what happened, and he just, kind of, moves on. 15:05 Well, when I read this, 15:06 I guess I don't understand 15:08 or remember all the stories. 15:09 So I'm thinking to myself, 15:11 "What happened to Baal Peor, you know?" 15:12 And so I go back to Numbers Chapters 24 and 25 15:17 or let's see 25 and 26, 24 and 25. 15:21 Thanks, Shelley, 24 and 25. 15:23 Here's something that's so significant that 15:26 God mentions it, 15:27 that Moses mentions it in his, you know, going away, 15:32 farewell address here in Deuteronomy. 15:34 He mentions it, just, you know, 15:36 the history and then he goes on. 15:37 And then he talks about all the things that, you know, 15:39 he wants them to do. 15:40 But he mentions it and we have to go back 15:42 and we have to look at these Chapters to understand 15:44 what actually happened here. 15:45 Now, what happened here 15:47 is a startling transition from perfect obedience 15:51 and righteousness to 15:53 full blown apostasy and wickedness. 15:57 And it's really interesting how this happens in Chapter 24, 16:02 Balaam has been hired to curse Israel, 16:07 and he can't do it. 16:08 And the reason he can't do it is 16:09 because Israel's obedient to God. 16:11 Israel is following... 16:12 I mean, Baal looks out over the cabin, 16:14 he's like, whoa, 16:15 there's not a piece of trash anywhere. 16:18 There's not a peg that's out of line. 16:20 Everything is just perfect. 16:22 These people are amazing. 16:23 There's no way I'm going to be 16:25 able to curse them and he can't. 16:26 He can't curse them 16:27 because God's blessing is upon them 16:29 and they are walking in harmony with God. 16:30 That's Numbers Chapter 24. 16:34 Now, we get to Numbers Chapter 25, 16:38 "And Israel," verse 1, "abode in Shittim, 16:41 and the people began to commit whoredom 16:44 with the daughters of Moab." 16:46 What happened? 16:48 Like what happened? 16:50 This is startling. This is shocking. 16:53 And yet we see it all the time, don't we? 16:55 We see people who look so good, they look so perfectly, 16:58 they look so righteous, 16:59 everything's in place, no one can curse them. 17:01 And all of a sudden, boom, they fall flat on their face. 17:04 Boom, they're gone and you're thinking, 17:06 "What happened? 17:07 What happened?" 17:09 Now, the lesson quarterly brings out a number of factors, 17:11 you know, that we could look at and we could, 17:13 you know, surmise about. 17:15 It talks about, well, 17:17 they started to mix with, you know, 17:18 the heathen women 17:20 or they got invited to these parties 17:21 and that, kind of, got them going on around track. 17:23 And they started worshiping idols, 17:24 and pretty soon, you know, 17:26 one thing led to another and it was all gone. 17:28 But I'm not sure that 17:30 we want to emphasize that cause. 17:35 And the reason why is because 17:38 it's important for us to remember 17:39 that we are to be in the world but not of the world. 17:44 And if we're too overzealous 17:47 in pulling ourselves out of the world, 17:49 we'll be just like the Pharisees 17:51 were in the New Testament. 17:52 Let's just look there. 17:53 There is a powerful verse here that we to look at. 17:56 It's found in Matthew Chapter 11 18:01 and we're going to look in Matthew 11:19. 18:06 It's going to take me a little bit to get there 18:08 because I'm going on my phone, 18:10 but I'll get there even though everyone else is ahead of me. 18:13 Matthew 11:19 says this, "The Son of Man came..." 18:18 What was he doing? Eating and drinking. 18:20 You know there were doing at Baal Peor, eating and drinking. 18:24 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking..." 18:26 And who was he eating and drinking with? 18:29 He was eating and drinking 18:30 with tax collectors and sinners. 18:33 He came eating and drinking, 18:34 then say, "Behold, a man gluttonous 18:36 and a winebibber 18:37 and a friend of publicans and sinners. 18:38 But wisdom is justified of her children." 18:42 Why could Jesus do it and not Israel of old? 18:46 I mean, it says right there in Numbers that, 18:49 you know, they committed fornication. 18:51 They were unfaithful to God. 18:52 Why could Jesus come and eat and drink, 18:56 feast with publicans and sinners 18:57 and not end up doing the same thing that 19:00 happens to God's people in Numbers Chapter 25? 19:04 Well, that's what we want to get to. 19:06 See, we don't want to be talking about why they did. 19:08 Excuse me. 19:10 We don't want to be talking about 19:11 what they did so much as why they did it. 19:14 Why did they end up doing it? 19:15 Some people could say, "Well, they end up doing it 19:17 because they, you know, hung up with these women. 19:19 Or they end up doing it 19:20 because they went to this feast." 19:22 Well, Jesus hung out with women of ill repute. 19:27 Jesus went to these feasts, 19:29 why didn't He fall into this apostasy? 19:32 The reason why is 19:33 because before He connected with people, 19:37 Jesus connected with God. 19:39 Before Jesus connected with people, 19:42 Jesus connected with God, and that's the key. 19:44 That's what we need. 19:46 You see the Laodicean Church in Revelation Chapter 3 19:49 is the exact epitome of what we've just read 19:52 in Numbers 24 and 25. 19:56 The Laodicean Church is in Numbers 24, perfect camp, 20:00 everything's looking good, 20:01 rich and increase with goods and in need of nothing. 20:04 Everything's perfect, right? 20:05 In Revelation Chapter 3, 20:07 you have this church that needs nothing so they think. 20:10 It's good. 20:11 But in the context, they are actually having 20:13 the experience of Numbers Chapter 25. 20:16 You see, they think they're rich 20:18 and increase with goods and need nothing, 20:19 but they don't know 20:20 they're wretched and they're blind, 20:22 they're miserable, they're poor and they're naked. 20:23 What is the reason why Revelation Chapter 3 20:27 is Laodicean Church is the epitome 20:30 of the experience of God's people? 20:32 Because according to Revelation 3:21, 20:35 Jesus is not inside. 20:39 Jesus is on the outside knocking. 20:40 Jesus wants to come in and sup with the Revelation 3 Church, 20:46 with the Laodicean Church. 20:47 He wants to come in and He wants to sup with them. 20:49 He wants to connect with them 20:50 on a personal relationship level, 20:52 but they are so focused on 20:55 having all their ducks in a row so to speak, right? 20:58 They're so focused on having everything organized 21:00 and everything where it should be 21:01 and how it should be 21:03 and so Moses in Deuteronomy is reminding the people. 21:06 Now listen, it's not good enough 21:08 for you to know, have all this knowledge 21:10 and have all this information and be able to recite 21:14 and reiterate everything that are... 21:16 You need to have relationship with God 21:18 and you need to remember 21:19 where you fail and why you fail. 21:22 You need to recognize 21:23 the significance of this relationship that 21:26 it is going to catapult you into the life of Christ 21:29 into being like Christ. 21:31 And I don't think we can summarize 21:33 this any better than 21:34 in the story that we find in Luke Chapter 10. 21:37 It's a story in Luke Chapter 10 of Christ 21:42 in one of the favorite places He liked to hang out. 21:45 You know where that place was? Mary and Martha. 21:47 Mary and Martha's house. 21:50 Oh, He loved to hang out with Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 21:52 They were just like, you go there, 21:53 you just kick off your shoes, 21:55 and you pull off your tie and you just, 21:57 you know, you just relax. 21:59 And you can tell Him things and talk about things that 22:01 you can't talk with other people 22:03 because they're going to take your words. 22:04 They're going to twist them 22:05 and they're going to use them against you. 22:07 And so Jesus will just relax, He will just kick off His shoes 22:09 and would just talk to Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 22:12 And He's doing that, you know, 22:13 and Mary's just listening to every word 22:15 but Martha is nowhere in sight. 22:16 And pretty soon Jesus sees that she's scurrying back and forth, 22:19 she's running all over the place 22:20 and Jesus is saying that Martha, Martha. 22:22 And she's not listening to Him. 22:24 And finally, you know, as He's talking to Mary, 22:26 Martha comes in and she's exasperated, 22:28 the sweats coming down, you know, 22:29 her forehead and she's just almost worn out. 22:32 She says, "Jesus, don't you care 22:35 that I'm serving all by myself? 22:38 Would you tell Mary to help me? 22:39 Would you just please tell her to help me. 22:41 Please, I need some help in the kitchen." 22:43 And Jesus, you know, He's just full of peace. 22:45 He's just calm, He's just laid back, 22:47 He's just relaxed 22:48 and He's just enjoying this company, 22:50 this interaction with Mary. 22:51 And He says, "Martha, Martha, you are troubled, 22:53 you're worried about so many things. 22:56 But there's only one thing that is needful 22:58 and Mary has chosen that good part. 23:00 And guess what? 23:02 It's not going to be taken away from her. 23:04 I'm not taking it away from her. 23:05 God's not taking it away from her. 23:07 You are not taking it away from her. 23:08 Nothing is going to take away 23:10 the good part that she's chosen." 23:12 And that's the experience God wants us to have. 23:14 When Moses is talking in Deuteronomy... 23:18 Let me just get back here just to close this out. 23:21 When Moses is talking in Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 23:24 he brings a key verse here and the verse is verse 9. 23:28 I don't have it here in my notes. 23:29 But Deuteronomy 4:9, 23:33 let's just look at that verse real quick 23:35 as we close this out. 23:36 Deuteronomy 4:9, 23:38 I actually wrote that down 23:40 while you were talking, Shelley. 23:41 You inspired me to share this thought. 23:44 "Only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, 23:48 lest thou forget the things 23:49 which thine eyes have seen, and lest thou depart 23:52 from thine heart all the days of thy life. 23:55 But teach them to my sons and thy son's sons." 23:58 In other words, stay grounded in the Word. 24:00 Stay grounded in what God has taught you. 24:03 Stay connected with the Lord. 24:05 Don't forget God's teachings. 24:07 Sup with Jesus. 24:09 Do what Mary did, not what Martha did. 24:11 You know, sometimes we can be 24:12 doing good things for the Lord 24:14 and not spend time with Jesus. 24:16 We can be busy for the Lord and not spend time with Jesus. 24:17 That's right. 24:19 And it's not totally wrong for Martha... 24:21 There are Marthas, needs for Marthas in the world 24:25 but sometimes we have a Mary's heart. 24:27 We live in a Martha's world. 24:28 But no matter what you're doing, 24:30 just remember as you said, 24:32 Jesus has to be on the inside and anything else can happen. 24:37 All right, thank you so much for joining us. 24:40 And we're going to take a quick break 24:42 and come right back. 24:44 And then we'll go on to Tuesday's lesson. 24:46 Amen. 24:52 Ever wish you could watch 24:54 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:56 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:59 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 25:04 A clean design makes it easy 25:06 to find the program you're looking for. 25:09 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide, 25:12 so you can follow along. 25:14 Sharing is easy. 25:15 Just click share 25:17 and choose your favorite social media. 25:18 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:23 We're so glad that you stayed with us. 25:24 And now we're going to go to Jill Morikone 25:26 for Tuesday's lesson. 25:28 Thank you so much, Shelley and Pastor James, 25:30 incredible study of the Book of Deuteronomy. 25:32 I love that. 25:34 Tuesday lesson is "Cleave to the Lord Your God." 25:37 And we're going to pick it up just the verse after 25:39 what Pastor James is reading there in Deuteronomy 4. 25:43 Before we do that though, 25:44 you know there's a verse in Matthew. 25:46 Matthew 12:13, Jesus speaking, 25:49 "He who is not with me" is what? 25:52 "Against me. 25:53 And he who does not gather with me scatters abroad." 25:57 You know ever since 25:59 the entrance of sin into this earth, 26:01 when Eve partook of the forbidden fruit. 26:04 She was deceived. 26:05 Adam knowingly stepped into that sin. 26:08 Ever since that happened, 26:10 there's been only two groups of people 26:12 throughout history. 26:13 Now, we like to think there's more than that. 26:15 We say there's many denominations 26:17 and there's many different groups 26:18 and there's many different whatever. 26:20 But truthfully, there's only two groups, 26:22 those who are with Christ and those who push Him away, 26:26 those who gather with Him, and those who scatter abroad. 26:30 You know, in Genesis 6, 26:31 we see the descendants of Seth and the descendants of Cain. 26:35 There again, the righteous and the wicked. 26:38 In Genesis Chapter 7, 26:39 of course, we come to the flood 26:41 and we have those who were in the ark 26:44 who lived and those who were outside the ark, 26:47 who died, two groups of people. 26:50 We come to Numbers 13, 26:51 remember, there were the 12 spies 26:53 who went to spy out the land of Canaan. 26:55 There were the 10 who said, 26:57 "Oh, but we're just grasshoppers 26:59 and they're giants. 27:00 And there's no way we can do it." 27:02 And then there were two who said, "What? 27:04 God will give us the victory. 27:06 Our God is powerful and we can have the victory." 27:10 I think of 1 Kings Chapter 18, this is Elijah on Mount Carmel. 27:14 There were those who thought that the prophets of Baal 27:18 could bring fire that 27:19 the prophets of Baal was the true God. 27:23 But then in the end, everybody discovered that 27:27 there was only one true God, The Lord, He is God. 27:30 In the New Testament, 27:32 we come even after the time of Jesus, 27:33 the early Christian Church, 27:35 those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah 27:37 and those who rejected Him. 27:39 Matthew 25, we have the sheep and the goats. 27:42 At the end of time, 27:43 we will have those who walk in obedience to God's law, 27:47 especially the fourth commandment, 27:50 the Seventh-day Sabbath and those who refuse that. 27:53 We will have those who have the seal of God 27:56 and those who have the mark of the beast. 27:58 And at the very end of time, 28:00 we come to the judgment, Jesus returning. 28:03 And what does He say? 28:04 Revelation 22:11, "He who is unjust, 28:07 let him be unjust still. 28:09 He who's filthy, let him be filthy still. 28:11 He who is righteous, let him be righteous still, 28:14 and he who is holy, let him be holy still." 28:16 So two groups, so even at Baal Peor, 28:19 we see two groups 28:21 and we see that Pastor James read verse 3. 28:23 We're in Deuteronomy 4:3 28:26 and we see what happened 28:28 and all the men who followed Baal Peor. 28:31 But then look at verse 4, 28:33 "But you who held fast to the Lord your God 28:39 our life today every one of you..." 28:42 We see two groups again. 28:43 "Those who follow these women, those who stepped into sin, 28:47 those as Pastor James brought out 28:49 so beautifully were not connected with Jesus 28:52 and so they stepped into sin. 28:55 And those who..." What does it say? 28:57 "Held fast." 28:58 That word literally in Hebrew means to cleave or to cling. 29:05 It's the same root word, 29:06 Hebrew word in Genesis 2:24, 29:08 "A man shall leave his father and mother 29:10 and shall be joined to his wife." 29:12 The same word, that word cleave or cling. 29:16 The same word in Deuteronomy 10:20, 29:19 "You shall fear the Lord your God. 29:20 You shall serve Him 29:22 and to Him you shall hold fast." 29:24 The same word, you shall cleave, 29:25 you shall cling to Him and take oaths in His name. 29:29 It's the same word in Deuteronomy 13:4, 29:32 "You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, 29:35 keep His commandments and obey His voice. 29:37 You shall serve Him and hold fast." 29:40 Here's that word again, cleave or cling to Him. 29:44 Now we clearly that God holds us. 29:46 I'm so grateful for that. 29:48 I'm so grateful that underneath the eternal God is your refuge. 29:53 Shelley quotes this all the time. 29:55 And underneath are the everlasting arms. 29:58 I'm so grateful that God holds us. 30:00 I'm so grateful, He says, 30:01 "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you." 30:04 But yet there is still a time when you and I, 30:07 even though God holds us. 30:08 That is true, but you and I have to make a choice. 30:11 Are we going to cleave to God? 30:13 Are we going to cling to Him, 30:16 especially when we're facing temptations? 30:19 When we're facing those times 30:20 and when we have to make a choice. 30:22 Which camp am I in? 30:23 Which group am I going to reside in, 30:26 those who follow God or those who don't follow God? 30:30 So I want to give you five keys 30:32 to overcoming temptation and really, 30:36 they're all choices. 30:37 So really, there are five choices 30:40 to dealing with temptation. 30:42 The first choice is in Joshua 24, 30:44 so turn there with me. 30:45 Joshua 24:15, first choice, 30:48 "Choose ahead of time who you will serve." 30:53 You know many times 30:54 we wait until the crisis is upon us 30:57 and we wait until the temptation come. 31:00 And then we say, "I'm not sure what to do. 31:02 I'm not really sure," 31:03 because we have not already made our allegiance known. 31:06 We have not already made a choice for Jesus. 31:09 We have not already decided that as for me and my house, 31:12 I'm going to serve the Lord. 31:14 So let's look at that. 31:15 This is Joshua and now, of course, Deuteronomy 31:16 is at the end of Moses life, 31:18 right, looking back reflecting. 31:19 This is Joshua toward the end of his life, 31:22 looking back and reflecting. 31:23 Joshua 24:15, "If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 31:28 choose for yourselves this day, 31:31 whom you will serve, whether the gods 31:33 which your father served on the other side of the river, 31:35 or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. 31:38 But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 31:42 You see, we each have a choice to make individually, 31:45 whom we will serve. 31:47 Don't make a choice based on the past 31:49 or what your parents say. 31:50 That's the gods, which our fathers served. 31:53 And don't make a choice on peer pressure 31:55 that's the gods in whose land you dwell, 31:57 those who are around you. 31:59 That's good. 32:00 Make a choice for God for yourself. 32:03 So the key number one or choice number one 32:06 is simply choose ahead of time, whom you will serve. 32:08 Key number two or choice number two 32:11 is choose God versus the feeling 32:15 and passion of the moment. 32:17 So many times, we get swept up in feeling, 32:19 we get swept up in what we feel like doing 32:21 or what we want to do. 32:23 Remember Samson, what did he say? 32:25 "Get her for me for she pleases me." 32:27 That's a decision based on feeling at that moment. 32:31 But the contrast is Joseph. 32:33 In Genesis 39, we look at Joseph, 32:36 making a decision on principle, 32:38 not by how he felt, not by maybe 32:40 what he was attracted to or what he looked at. 32:43 No, he's making his choice based on 32:45 the Word of God. 32:46 Genesis 39:9, we see that Joseph refused. 32:50 Remember his master's wife, 32:51 Potiphar's wife came to him and said, "Lie with me." 32:55 And he said, "How can I?" What did he say? 32:57 "How can I do this great wickedness 32:58 and sin against God?" 33:02 So make a choice for God versus 33:04 how you feel or the feeling of the moment. 33:06 The third key, the third choice, 33:08 choose to cast off the works of darkness 33:12 and choose to put on the armor of light. 33:15 We see this in Romans 13. 33:17 Romans 13:12, "The night is far spent, 33:20 the day is at hand. 33:21 Let us cast off the works of darkness, 33:24 and we put on the armor of light." 33:25 Now in the Greek, the word armor 33:27 is literally an implement 33:28 that's normally use for warfare. 33:30 It's a weapon. 33:31 So we put off the works of darkness 33:33 and we clothe ourselves with the weapons of God. 33:36 And what are those weapons? 33:37 You know those weapons in Ephesians Chapter 6, 33:40 truth and righteousness and our feet are shod 33:42 with the preparation of gospel of peace. 33:44 We carry the shield of faith 33:46 and the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit, 33:48 which is the Word of God. 33:50 Choice number four, 33:51 choose to make no provision for the flesh. 33:55 This is the key verse. 33:56 Romans 13, just a couple of verses down. 33:59 Romans 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ 34:04 and make no provision 34:06 for the flesh to fulfill its lust." 34:08 You know what Jesus did? 34:09 This is in the Sermon on the Mount, Mathew Chapter 5, 34:11 something that we would say is pretty radical. 34:14 "If your eye causes you sin, pluck it out. 34:17 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off." 34:20 Jesus is not promoting self-mutilation. 34:23 He's saying that sin needs to be dealt 34:25 with quickly at any cost. 34:27 Do not explain away sin. 34:29 Do not excuse sin. 34:31 Do not rename sin. 34:32 Do not minimalize sin. 34:35 When drastic action is required, 34:37 you need to take drastic action. 34:40 Beyond the offense, when it comes to sin, 34:42 if your sin is pornography, 34:43 cut off the internet cable or throw out those magazines. 34:47 Make no provision for the flesh to say, 34:50 "I'm strong in Jesus. 34:51 I can keep these things in my home." 34:54 If your sin is greed, 34:55 try giving away some of your paycheck. 34:57 Whatever it is, 34:59 make no provision for the flesh. 35:01 Do what is necessary to remove the temptation 35:03 from your home and your heart. 35:05 Finally, choice number five, 35:07 choose to accept the power of the Holy Spirit. 35:11 Galatians 5:16-17, 35:13 "Walk in the Spirit 35:15 and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." 35:18 You see, we can't change ourselves. 35:20 We can't do that. 35:21 But we can choose 35:23 whose hand we're going to clasp. 35:24 Do I want to clasp the hand of Jesus? 35:27 And He will give you victory. 35:29 Amen. Amen. 35:30 Amen. Beautifully put. 35:33 Thank you so much, Jill, for that. 35:35 My name is Ryan Day. 35:37 And I have Wednesday's lesson, 35:38 which is actually the title of the overall lesson, 35:41 which is "For What Nation is There So Great." 35:44 And up to this point 35:46 we've heard through these three lessons 35:48 so far from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 35:50 all the way through to verse 4. 35:53 But now coming out of this, 35:54 we're going to read verses 5-9. 35:56 And actually the lesson brings out 35:58 and I agree, really verses 5-9 36:01 could actually be a great summation 36:03 of the entire message that we find in Deuteronomy. 36:05 They are that great. 36:07 And so what I want to do is go ahead 36:08 and read verses 5-9 in Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 36:11 and then we're going to bring a few takeaways 36:14 from what we can find in this particular passage. 36:16 So Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 36:18 I'm going to begin with verse 5 36:19 and notice what the Bible says. 36:21 It says, "Surely I have taught you 36:22 statutes and judgments, 36:24 just as the Lord my God commanded me 36:27 that you should act according to them in the land, 36:29 which you go to possess. 36:32 Therefore, be careful to observe them. 36:34 For this is your wisdom 36:36 and your understanding in the sight of the peoples 36:39 who will hear all of these statutes and say, 36:43 surely this great nation is a wise 36:45 and understanding people." 36:48 I can just imagine Moses delivering 36:49 this powerful speech, 36:51 giving this powerful message, 36:52 you know, waking them up 36:53 and helping them to realize who they are. 36:55 Verse 7, it says, 36:57 "For what great nation is there, 36:59 that has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us. 37:03 For whatever reason, we may call upon him 37:06 and what great nation is there that 37:08 has such statutes and righteous judgments, 37:11 as are in this law 37:13 which I sit before you this day?" 37:15 Verse 9. 37:16 "Only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself, 37:20 lest you forget the things 37:22 your eyes have seen, 37:23 unless you depart from your heart 37:26 all the days of your life. 37:28 And teach them to your children and your grandchildren." 37:33 So it's amazing. 37:34 Moses is helping them to see. 37:36 He's amplifying the fact that who are we? 37:39 Do you realize who we are? 37:41 I'll just go back to the title of this lesson, 37:42 for what nation is there so great, 37:44 point to me one. 37:46 What other nation on this planet 37:47 has like God like we have? 37:49 What other nation on this planet 37:50 has a God of love that is so near and dear to us? 37:53 You know when you really put it out there... 37:55 Now, I was born and raised Christian, 37:57 but yet there were times in my life 38:00 where I questioned things. 38:01 Is there really a God? 38:02 Especially, when you get into college, 38:04 I remember my college years there were many professors 38:06 they tried to throw it out there that, you know, 38:08 religions are all the same, 38:10 you know, Christianity, Buddhism, 38:12 you know, Confucius, 38:13 and you know all, Hinduism and Islam. 38:16 All of them all, 38:18 all the major religions of the world 38:19 is the same, but yet they're not. 38:20 And that's the point that Moses 38:22 is proving here in these passages. 38:23 He says, "Point to me another nation 38:25 or another god, 38:26 where their god is as close to them, 38:28 who cares for them, 38:29 who has given them a long statutes, 38:30 who has blessed them." 38:32 And so Moses is trying to open up 38:33 their eyes to the fact that 38:35 God has chosen them that they were not 38:37 just some little mealy-nealy little church or some group 38:40 on the corner street of some country somewhere. 38:43 We are God's chosen people, 38:45 who are supposed to be 38:47 a blessing to the rest of the world. 38:48 In fact, I'm just going to take 38:50 just a few things that we want to 38:51 take away from this passage. 38:52 Again, there's a whole lot more than 38:54 I can talk about. 38:55 I don't have enough time to do so. 38:56 But I just want to highlight two or three things 38:58 that we pull from this, sort of, very, very important 38:59 that not only what God wanted it to be 39:01 for the nation of Israel as His people, as His church. 39:05 But also for us here in these last days 39:08 as God's remnant people, as God's chosen people, 39:10 to be a light, to be a beacon of light 39:12 to the rest of the world. 39:14 Obviously, the first thing we want to pull away 39:15 from is that God wanted this nation 39:17 to not only be blessed, 39:19 to be a blessing to the rest of the world. 39:22 And we obviously get this very clearly 39:24 from Genesis 12:2-3. 39:26 This was God's plan for Israel from the beginning. 39:28 Genesis 12:2-3 as he's opening this up to Abraham, 39:32 He's telling him, 39:33 "I will make you a great nation. 39:35 I will bless you and make your name great 39:38 and you shall be a blessing." 39:39 I love this. 39:41 So not only are you going to be blessed, 39:42 but you're going to be a blessing, right? 39:44 "I will bless those who bless you 39:46 and I will curse him who curses you and you 39:49 and all your families of the earth shall be blessed." 39:53 I love that. 39:54 We see that four times here, bless, you are a blessing, 39:57 a blessed and those who shall be blessed. 40:00 God is telling us over and over, 40:01 you shall be a blessing to the rest of the world 40:03 if we are part of God's chosen people. 40:05 If we are chosen for such a time as this, 40:08 to be that special light to the rest of the world, 40:10 not only is God going to bless us 40:11 but He's promised, 40:13 "Look, you're not just going to be 40:14 just any old kind of people. 40:15 Wake up and smell the roses. 40:17 I want you to be a blessing to the rest of the world 40:19 that when people see you kind of like Balaam 40:22 saw this beautiful, 40:24 perfect group out there on the plain looking at them, 40:26 "Wow, 40:27 who are these people? 40:28 They're blessed. They are a blessing. 40:31 It's very clear that God is working among them." 40:34 We are to reflect the light of Christ to the world. 40:36 That's what God's intentions were for Israel. 40:39 They were to be a beacon of light 40:41 to the rest of this dark, sinful world around them. 40:44 Isaiah 49:6 expresses this beautifully 40:47 as we see the words there. 40:49 In Isaiah 49:6, notice what it says here. 40:52 It says, "Indeed, he says, 40:54 it is too small a thing that you should be my servant 40:58 to raise up the tribes of Jacob 41:00 and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. 41:02 I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles 41:07 that you should be my salvation 41:09 to the ends of the earth." 41:11 Can we say amen? Amen. 41:13 Like that's powerful right there that 41:14 the God of the universe sees His church, 41:17 sees His people and says, "You know what? 41:19 You're going to be my salvation. 41:21 You're going to be a light to the rest of this world. 41:23 You're going to light this world up," 41:24 because obviously we know that light does not come in 41:27 and of ourselves, right? 41:28 We can't create this light. 41:29 It's, kind of, like the beautiful relationship 41:31 between the sun and the moon. 41:32 God is the light, 41:33 but yet we are to reflect His light. 41:35 And that's essentially what Christ was saying 41:37 there in the Sermon on the Mount 41:38 in Matthew Chapter 5, 41:40 when He said, "I am the light of the world," 41:41 referring to Himself. 41:42 But He also says in Matthew 5:14-16, 41:46 He says, "You are the light of the world. 41:48 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden 41:50 nor do they light a lamp and put it into a basket 41:52 but on a lampstand and it gives light to 41:55 who are in the house. 41:56 Let your light so shine before men 41:58 that you may see your good works 41:59 and glorify... 42:01 that they may see your good works 42:02 and glorify your Father in heaven." 42:05 Who's going to light up this dark world? 42:07 And that's the thing that 42:08 what also Isaiah is writing there 42:10 and God is inspiring Isaiah 42:11 to write there in Isaiah 60:1-3. 42:14 Essentially it's what the message is. 42:16 "Arise and shine," it says, 42:17 "for your light has come and the glory of the Lord 42:19 has risen upon you. 42:21 For behold the darkness shall cover the earth 42:23 and deep darkness the people." 42:24 That's exactly what was happening 42:26 in the days of Israel. 42:27 The rest of the world was covered in darkness, 42:29 covered in apostasy, covered in false worship, 42:32 covered in pagan practices. 42:34 But yet God says here, He says, 42:35 "But the Lord will arise over you 42:37 and His glory will be seen upon you." 42:39 I love this. 42:41 "The Gentiles shall come to your light 42:43 and kings to the brightness of your rising." 42:46 Each and every night and I'll step outside the door, 42:49 I always keep my light at the end of the house 42:51 on near my vehicles to try to keep critters 42:54 and people, you know, stray, 42:55 try to encourage them not to come. 42:57 But yet you stepped out of that door 42:58 and as soon as I stepped out into that light, 43:00 I promise you it seems like 43:02 every bug in the county is right to that light 43:05 and they're flying all over me. 43:06 Guess what? 43:08 The Gentiles are going to be like 43:09 those beautiful bugs coming to our light. 43:11 That's what God said. 43:12 That's what we're seeing right here 43:14 in this beautiful passage 43:15 that Moses is telling the people saying, 43:18 "You're not just some ordinary people. 43:21 God has chose you. 43:23 You're God's special people." 43:24 What's the title of this again? 43:26 For what nation is there so great, 43:28 point to one, He says, 43:29 "Tell me, which other nation is so great?" 43:32 Not only this 43:33 but they were also to be a people to bring 43:36 about the knowledge of the one true God, right? 43:40 They would be a blessing, 43:41 they would be a beacon of light, 43:42 but in the process of all of this light shining 43:44 that they're doing that 43:45 as they were called by God to do so. 43:47 They were also to bring about the knowledge 43:49 and the reality that while they're all serving 43:51 this false pagan gods, Israel was serving the one true God. 43:55 Israel was worshiping and serving God 43:57 who created the cosmos, 43:58 the Lord of the heavens and the earth. 44:00 But the pagans right here worshiping rocks 44:01 and stones and wood and demons. 44:03 And we can read that there in Deuteronomy 32:17, 44:06 Psalm 106:37, it literally says, 44:09 "They are worshiping demons. 44:11 They were sacrificing their kids to demons." 44:13 And this is the type of culture, 44:15 this is the type of religion 44:17 but yet the God of Israel, 44:19 the Christian God that 44:20 we serve is set apart 44:22 from all of those false pagan gods, 44:23 which we know who's behind all that demon sacrifice? 44:26 It's the devil himself, right? 44:28 Deuteronomy... 44:29 Excuse me, let's go on down here to John 17:3. 44:32 We've read this many times. 44:33 Jesus makes it clear, 44:35 "And this is eternal life that they may know you, 44:37 the only true God and Jesus Christ, 44:40 whom You have sent." 44:41 Why has God placed His people in this world? 44:43 What type of light are we supposed to be? 44:45 We're supposed to be a reflection of that light. 44:49 We are supposed to show forth 44:50 who the one true God really is and that's the ultimate goal. 44:54 This is eternal life. 44:56 Colossians 1:27, "To them God 44:58 will to make known," 45:00 I love this, "what are the riches of the glory 45:03 of this mystery among the Gentiles? 45:05 What is the mystery among the Gentiles?" 45:07 It's no longer a mystery. Why? 45:09 Because it says, which is Christ in you, 45:12 the hope of glory. 45:13 It becomes clear in us, God's people, 45:15 that's what God wanted Israel to be. 45:17 That's what Moses is saying in verses 5-9 45:20 of Deuteronomy Chapter 4. 45:21 You know what? 45:23 I go back to the title, 45:24 For What Nation is There So Great? 45:26 And I want to say for us today, what people are there so great? 45:30 Seventh-day Adventists, 45:31 Christians all across this world 45:33 who profess the name and character of Jesus Christ. 45:36 Are you living up to that light? 45:37 Are you being that light to those around you? 45:40 There's still time. 45:41 Jesus is coming soon, 45:42 be that light today for someone. 45:44 Amen. 45:46 Praise the Lord, awesome study as far as I'm concern, 45:49 a lot of things is coming out here 45:50 to really help me to understand. 45:52 Thursday's lesson here talks about 45:54 "Your Wisdom and Your Understanding." 45:56 It encouraged us to go back to Deuteronomy 4 45:59 and read verses 1-9. 46:01 Well each one has been covered here. 46:03 I jotted it down, 46:05 each one have four, five verses. 46:06 You had, you had, right? 46:07 Brother James Rafferty had several there. 46:10 Shelley had a couple... It's all good. 46:12 If you don't mind, I'm going to highlight, 46:13 I'm gonna take a couple of words. 46:15 Just couple out of... 46:17 instead to read all one through nine. 46:19 Verse 1 Deuteronomy 4, 46:20 says this, "I will give you statues 46:22 and judgments, which I teach you 46:24 and to do them." 46:26 Look at the principal, to do them. 46:27 That's right. 46:29 Verse 2, "That ye may keep 46:30 the commandments of the Lord your God, 46:31 I command you." 46:33 Notice that. 46:34 Skip down to 5, "Behold, 46:35 I have taught you statutes and judgments and notice that 46:38 you should do them in the land whether you go to possess it." 46:42 Verse 6, "Keep therefore and do them." 46:44 You know that's your wisdom and understanding. 46:47 And if you go down to verse 9, 46:48 it quickly says, "Only take heed to thyself 46:50 and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget these things. 46:53 Teach them to thy sons and thy son's sons." 46:56 So I mean, that really 46:58 just tells us right there real quickly 46:59 what God purposed He has for us. 47:02 So we're challenged with this that we examine. 47:05 And really I think it can be boiled down 47:06 to just some real simple words here, 47:08 three things that God would have us simply to do. 47:11 He wants us to number one, 47:12 is to obey and to follow and to do. 47:16 So if we want to do at simplicity 47:18 that's what we want to do, obey, follow and to do. 47:22 First God's promises to us... 47:24 I know it's, kind of, interesting. 47:26 If we obey, right? 47:27 All the promises God has made are on conditional 47:30 if we are obedient, no one likes that word. 47:33 I kind of like that word personally. 47:35 If we obey God said, 47:36 "I'm going to bless you for it." 47:38 And we realized 1 Samuel, 47:39 probably one of the passage you probably memorize 47:42 or you heard growing up there. 47:43 1 Samuel 15:22, "To obey is better than to sacrifice." 47:49 And so as we look this over, 47:50 I'm going to give you a couple of verses here, 47:52 just go over it, jot them down as quickly 47:54 as you can there, 1 Samuel 15:22. 47:58 I think we just did that one there. 47:59 Yeah, Jeremiah 7:23, about obey, it says, 48:01 "Obey my voice and I will be your God." 48:05 Now, do you notice what it says? 48:07 "Obey my voice and then," what? 48:09 "Then I will be your God." Obey and I will be your God. 48:14 There's something there that's tied together. 48:16 1 Peter 1:22, it says here, 48:19 "Purify your souls in obeying the truth." 48:22 Again, I'm associating, 48:23 I'm looking, "Purify your souls in what? 48:26 And again obeying." 48:28 Souls become purified by obeying what is truth. 48:32 There's an importance to know what truth is. 48:34 People are like, "We all have truth. 48:35 We have truth." 48:37 The Bible is clear what truth is. 48:38 We need to find it out. 48:39 First of all, we remember the truth is Jesus Christ, 48:41 isn't that wonderful by beholding Him. 48:42 Now, there's so much that needs to be as we talked about being 48:46 obedient to God. 48:48 And then if you're obedient to God, 48:50 then you're willing to follow Him. 48:52 You know, where He says, "Deny self, 48:53 take up the cross and follow Him." 48:55 If you don't deny yourself, 48:57 you're not about to take up the cross. 48:59 You're not about to follow Him until self is dead. 49:02 Isn't that right? 49:03 I mean, deny self is the first thing 49:05 and then we're willing to follow Him. 49:06 Then notice about being 1 Peter or yeah, Matthew 8:22. 49:12 Sorry, Matthew 8:22, He says, "Jesus said unto him..." 49:15 I like that. It's just a word. 49:16 I'm picking out a couple of words here. 49:18 It says, "Follow Me." 49:19 Now, what would we do right, 49:21 if Jesus comes to us and He says, "Follow Me?" 49:24 I mean, there's a lot of situations 49:25 that went on that Jesus just came up to the man 49:27 and He said, "Follow Me," and they obeyed. 49:29 Are we obeying God today? Just follow Him. 49:31 John 12:26, He says, notice this 49:35 "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me." 49:39 So for serving Jesus today, we must be... 49:42 We have to follow Him 49:44 in order to really to serve Him. 49:46 2 Timothy 2:22, it says, 49:48 "Follow righteousness, faith, and charity." 49:53 Are we really doing that today by the grace of God? 49:55 It's all about this word. 49:57 It just seem like 49:58 it's one of the word that 50:00 Jesus just kept putting out there all the time was, 50:01 "Follow Me, follow Me." 50:04 Walk the way He walked. 50:06 If we do it we can't go wrong. We follow Him. 50:08 We walked away that He walked, we're going to be all right, 50:11 based upon the Word of God. 50:12 Luke 5:11 says, "They forsook all," 50:16 and what did they do? 50:17 "And they followed Him. 50:19 We had to be willing to do what? 50:20 Forsake all and then we will follow Him. 50:23 So obey, follow and then do, the third thing is to do. 50:28 Doers, James says what? 50:29 1:22, "Be ye doers of the word and not," what? 50:32 "Hearers only." 50:33 Yes, we have lot of hearers, 50:35 we got a lot of hearers out there, 50:37 right, and very few doers of the Word. 50:39 But Jesus says, 50:40 "I want you to be a doer of the Word 50:42 and not hearers only." 50:44 3 John 3:11, again, just try to just jot them down, 50:46 we're going quickly with them. 50:48 3 John 3:11 says, "He that doeth good is of God." 50:51 So now we can tell the difference here. 50:54 Don't just be any kind of a doer 50:55 but if you're doing good, 50:57 notice that, then you are what? 50:59 It is... 51:01 The good that comes can't be from us, 51:02 it's got to be from God who lives in us. 51:04 I think that's what the children of Israel, 51:06 somebody brought out here, is we need to have Him within. 51:08 That's our hope 51:10 and that changes can take place. 51:12 And it says again, read Deuteronomy 4:6, 51:15 I'm just going to read that one verse here 51:16 because it says an awful lot. 51:18 What does it say about wisdom and understanding? 51:20 I need wisdom, I need understanding 51:22 and again you go Bible definitions of it. 51:24 But notice what this says there in Deuteronomy 4:6, 51:27 "Keep therefore, and do them 51:29 for this is your wisdom and your understanding." 51:33 So what's our wisdom and what's our understanding? 51:36 Those things that God has left keep them and do them. 51:39 What God has left in His law for us, do them. 51:42 "In the sight of the nations, which shall hear" notice this, 51:45 "all these statutes, and say, 51:47 surely this great nation is wise 51:50 and understanding people." 51:51 I like that because He's talking about here 51:54 wisdom and understanding. 51:56 You know, we need wisdom. 51:58 I need wisdom. I need the understanding. 52:00 The Lord taught them statutes and He taught them judgments 52:04 and He said, "But wisdom and understanding 52:08 would come by keeping them." 52:09 Right? By keeping it. 52:11 Do we really keep them the way of God? 52:12 By obeying them. 52:14 Obedience is our wisdom and our understanding. 52:19 You know, Israel had God-given system of laws, 52:23 probably the best right ever. 52:24 I mean they really had 52:26 a lot of them in there, in fact. 52:27 But what good with all of them 52:29 if Israel didn't do or follow them? 52:32 They were to live out 52:33 these truths in their heart and their lives. 52:34 They were to show it, you know, 52:36 in their lifestyle, talking to other nations and, you know. 52:39 Let those truths be lived out in our lives. 52:42 Not so much all the time. 52:44 People say, "Well, let's get down. 52:45 We'll study what the Word of God says." 52:47 Let Him come into our hearts. Let Him come into our lives. 52:48 You don't have to say anything about it, 52:51 people's going to see that Christ lives in you, 52:53 which is our hope of glory. 52:55 God had given Israel we talk about them a place, et cetera. 53:00 I'm going to give you a place, 53:01 be forever if you're willing to obey, listen to My voice. 53:04 He gave us laws. 53:06 He gave us symbols in the Bible, 53:07 we know that, He gave us prophecy. 53:09 They all pointed to the Savior, but notice, but you know, 53:12 that they were all taught Jesus Christ, 53:14 but what when Jesus came, what happened? 53:17 They didn't even recognize Him, right? 53:18 They missed the whole thing when Jesus came to his own, 53:21 He says, the Bible said there in Isaiah 53. 53:24 "He was like a root in," what? 53:27 "In dry ground. 53:28 They said they saw him, 53:30 they saw no beauty in Him that they should desire Him 53:33 and so they desired Him not." 53:35 John 1:11. 53:37 You know, I think, probably, what people need to see, 53:39 don't you think, is more of Jesus in us, 53:42 really living out in us. 53:44 Not so much of words 53:46 and not all the laws and all the rules, 53:47 not all the regularity, 53:49 but is Jesus really living in our hearts and in our lives? 53:53 I think that's so important to hear. 53:56 You know, as we look at this, and we come down 53:57 to the end of this lesson right here, 54:00 we know that God sent prophets, 54:01 we know that God sent messengers, 54:04 then most time they didn't listen. 54:06 I'm just wondering today, 54:08 are we really listening to the Word of God? 54:11 Are we really listening to His messengers today 54:14 because I like it? 54:15 Most of you have pointed it out here that this... 54:18 Our faith is not just an ordinary faith. 54:20 The message we have to give 54:21 is not an ordinary message at all. 54:24 It's a life-saving message. 54:26 It's a message to go into all the world. 54:28 It's a testing truth for this hour 54:30 that we are living in. 54:32 And we cannot just take it like it's just any other message. 54:35 It's special. 54:37 And so God gives us the grace 54:38 and strength to be able to see that, 54:40 that we have not depart from the commandments of God 54:43 and follow the ways of the heathen, 54:46 but follow the ways of God. 54:48 And so I believe that God's 54:50 going to do great things for this movement. 54:52 I know that He is 54:53 and there's greater things on the horizon. 54:55 I just want to be ready and I know each one of you do 54:57 and those of you at home. 54:58 I know you want to be ready 55:00 so that God can use you in a very special way to do 55:03 what He would have you do 55:05 is to get this message out to the world, 55:07 warn them that He's coming soon, 55:08 so that we can spend eternity with Him. 55:10 That excites me to think about, 55:12 there's something better than what this world has to offer. 55:15 And I need that right now. 55:17 I don't know about each one of you, 55:18 but I need that assurance. 55:20 I need salvation on the Word of God. 55:21 There's something better that He has for us. 55:24 And we're not to follow after the world 55:25 or things in the world, but we'll follow Jesus Christ. 55:29 Don't lose sight of that. 55:30 Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ 55:32 because I believe with all my heart, 55:34 He's coming soon. 55:35 And we need to be ready for that 55:36 great wonderful day 55:38 when He should come in the clouds of glory. 55:39 And that we need to what? 55:41 To obey is to better than to sacrifice. 55:44 Amen. 55:46 Thank you to each one of you, great study. 55:48 Let me give you each few seconds 55:50 for a closing thought. 55:52 Wow, I wasn't ready for that. 55:54 I was just sowing across. 55:57 There's so many thoughts here 55:58 that have come out of the lesson, 56:00 but I was really thinking about 56:02 I'll just have to go on 56:04 the keep, keep, keep, keep, keep 56:06 and blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed 56:08 and be a blessing and be a blessing. 56:09 And you can't keep something that 56:10 hasn't been given to you first. 56:12 So God wants to give it to us, 56:13 so we can be a blessing so we can give it. 56:15 I know I'm still a little bit there 56:16 but I'm just going... 56:17 That's where my mind is right now. 56:19 Amen. 56:20 On Tuesday we talked about cleave to the Lord your God, 56:22 and what an incredible privilege we have. 56:25 No matter what you're going through, 56:26 no matter what storm you're in, 56:27 no matter what temptation you're facing, 56:29 reach out and grasp the hand of God. 56:31 Amen. 56:33 Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai 56:37 Eloheinu Adonai E ad. 56:41 The Lord our God is one, 56:44 and if we will allow Him to be our God, 56:46 He will set us apart from the rest of the world 56:48 to be a beacon of light for Him. 56:50 Amen. That's a beautiful. 56:51 I'm thinking of Matthew 5:13-16, 56:54 I'm not going to read all the verses, 56:55 just a couple highlights quickly. 56:56 "Ye are the salt of the earth." Right? 56:59 "Ye are the light of the world. 57:00 Don't hide that light. 57:02 Let your light shine before men that you may glorify God." 57:06 Amen and amen. 57:07 And I just want to remind you 57:09 that we all have family traditions we love, 57:12 but if we have religious traditions, 57:17 they nullify the Word of God. 57:20 They don't honor God, 57:22 so don't add to or take away from God's Word. 57:24 Join us next week. 57:26 We are going to discuss Law and Grace. 57:31 Bye-bye. Amen. |
Revised 2021-11-04