Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210048S
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00:01 The Holy Spirit has been lighting fires here
00:03 on the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 00:04 as we're making our way through a study of Present Truth 00:08 in the Book of Deuteronomy. 00:09 And this week lesson number 9, 00:11 we're talking about Turning Their Hearts, 00:14 it's gonna be no different. 00:15 It's gonna be a powerful study. 00:17 And we want to invite you to join us, 00:19 but we want you to have a copy of this study lesson 00:21 so there's a couple of ways we encourage you to do that. 00:23 Obviously, we want you to go 00:25 to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:26 engage in a small group Bible study, 00:28 that's always helpful. 00:30 And ask them for a copy of the lesson 00:31 and tell them that 3ABN sent you 00:33 or you can go and access a digital copy online 00:36 at ABSG.Adventist.org 00:41 And we just want you to get ready, 00:43 buckle up because this week 00:44 we're gonna be diving deeper into the Book of Deuteronomy 00:47 talking about repentance, 00:48 talking about confession, 00:50 and all of the wonderful aspects of the gospel 00:52 that we need for right here 00:53 in these times living in the last days. 01:26 Hello, friends, I'm Ryan Day 01:27 and you are watching the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:30 And we have been making our way 01:32 through the Book of Deuteronomy, 01:33 Present Truth in the Book of Deuteronomy. 01:36 And we've learned indeed that there is present truth 01:39 found in what many consider again, 01:41 an old book, an Old Testament book, 01:44 but it's certainly not old, 01:45 that gospel is found all throughout it. 01:47 And we're gonna continue to study that this week. 01:49 I guess we should introduce this powerful panel, 01:52 my friends, my family, here on the panel. 01:54 We have Miss Jill Morikone. How are you? 01:56 Doing well. Thank you so much. 01:57 Excited about the study. 01:59 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:00 Pastor John Lomacang, 02:02 we know you're locked and loaded and ready to go. 02:04 Yes, I have a very unusual word teshuvah 02:06 and we'll find out what that means in a moment. 02:08 Right. Praise the Lord. 02:10 Of course, our Brother Pastor Kenny Shelton. 02:12 It's always a blessing to have you, Brother. 02:14 Am. So always good to be here. 02:15 Share the Word of God. 02:17 I'm excited about the lesson. 02:18 Amen. 02:19 And, of course, last but not least, 02:21 Miss Shelley Quinn, 02:22 it's always a blessing to have you. 02:23 Thank you. 02:25 It's always a blessing to be here. 02:26 Amen. 02:28 Lesson number 9, Turn Their Hearts, 02:31 isn't that what we need? 02:33 We need our hearts always turn to Jesus Christ, 02:36 we always need to be looking and beholding 02:39 the uplifted Savior. 02:41 And that's what this week's lesson is all about, 02:43 but before we dive into this lesson, 02:46 we need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit. 02:48 So Pastor Lomacang, 02:49 I'm gonna ask you to pray for us, brother. 02:50 Sure. 02:52 Gracious Father and loving Lord. 02:53 Every time we open the Bible, 02:55 we remember that we are entering an ocean 02:59 that has no bottom. 03:01 And, Father, we pray that You will cause us 03:02 by Your Holy Spirit to float on the waves of truth, 03:06 to glean from it 03:08 what You desire to expose to us. 03:10 May we receive it humbly and convey it faithfully. 03:14 And may all the glory go only to You. 03:16 In Jesus' name. 03:18 Amen. 03:19 Amen. Amen. 03:21 Our memory text for this week, 03:23 Turn Their Hearts is found in Deuteronomy 4:29, 03:28 and the Bible says, 03:29 "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, 03:33 and you will find Him 03:35 if you seek Him with all your heart 03:37 and with all your soul." 03:40 I love that. 03:41 It reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11-13, 03:44 which I know one of the panel members 03:46 I'm sure is gonna get to that. 03:48 But, you know, the lesson brings out 03:49 on Sabbath afternoon that it doesn't take much 03:52 anyone who's drawing breath and walking this earth 03:56 is definitely and cannot deny their need of grace, 04:00 their need of a Savior. 04:01 For the Bible reminds us in Romans 3:23-26. 04:05 And I'm just gonna emphasize verse 23 here 04:08 because again, when you wake up in the morning, 04:10 and you're staring at that person, 04:11 that image in that mirror, looking back at you, 04:14 that is someone who has of need of grace, 04:16 someone who needs Jesus. 04:17 Why? 04:18 Because the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, 04:20 "For all have sinned and fallen short 04:24 of the glory of God." 04:25 But I love... Many people stop right there, 04:28 but let's continue reading 04:29 because there's a beautiful hope, 04:30 a beautiful message following this 04:32 in verses 24-26. 04:34 It says, "Being justified freely by His grace 04:38 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 04:42 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, 04:46 through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, 04:50 because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins 04:54 that were previously committed, 04:56 to demonstrate at the present time 04:59 His righteousness, 05:00 that He might be just and the justifier 05:04 of the one who has faith in Jesus." 05:07 Amen! 05:08 The gospel just summed up right there all in those few verses, 05:11 we all have sinned and fallen short 05:13 of the glory of God, 05:14 but Jesus Christ, if our faith is placed in Jesus Christ, 05:18 He is the justifier. 05:20 He is the one who brings righteousness. 05:22 And ultimately, what the lesson leads us 05:24 to on Sunday is a realization 05:27 that in order for that righteousness to come, 05:29 in order for that faith to be established, 05:31 and that righteousness, 05:33 that justification that comes from Christ, 05:35 we must be brought into a state of repentance, 05:39 a realization that I'm broken, I'm fallen, 05:42 I've hit rock bottom, there's nothing that I can add. 05:45 There's nothing that I can do to save myself. 05:48 And that's what Sunday's lesson brings about. 05:50 And it's got quite an interesting title. 05:53 It's a Hebrew word, Mi-Yitten. 05:56 Mi-Yitten. 05:57 And I love what Brother Clifford Goldstein 06:00 has to say here at the beginning, 06:01 just to kind of explain to us this Mi-Yitten in the Hebrew. 06:05 He says, "Biblical Hebrew, like most languages, 06:08 is sprinkled with idioms, 06:10 when specific words are used to mean something different 06:13 from what they actually say. 06:15 One idiom in the Old Testament is and he says, Mi-Yitten, 06:19 which, of course, Mi is the question 'who?' 06:22 and yitten means 'will give.' 06:25 So, literally, Mi-Yitten is 'who will give?' 06:29 And, of course, in the Old Testament, 06:30 however, the phrase expresses the idea of a wish, 06:34 or a strong desire of someone wanting 06:37 something badly." 06:40 And, my friends, isn't that what we experience 06:42 when you behold Jesus Christ on the cross? 06:45 When you spend some time, 06:47 I'm gonna speak sanctuary language here for a moment. 06:49 When you spend some time at that altar of sacrifice, 06:51 as you're in the way of God, 06:53 Thy way, oh, God is in the sanctuary. 06:55 And that beautiful experience begins at the gate, 06:58 your realization that you have need 07:00 of forgiveness of needed repentance, 07:02 and you behold the uplifted lamb, 07:04 the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, 07:06 the Lamb slain from the foundation 07:08 of the world. 07:09 My friends, we see very clearly that in response to that, 07:12 our natural response is that we see something's wrong, 07:16 something's wrong, and we desire badly 07:19 as brought out here Mi-Yitten, 07:20 we wish, we desire, 07:23 and we kind of somewhat come out of that saying, 07:25 who will give righteousness? 07:28 Who will provide righteousness? 07:30 And we desire that righteousness. 07:32 Just some examples that the lesson 07:33 brings out of this Mi-Yitten. 07:36 Exodus 16:3, and this is, 07:39 you know, we've referred these verses many times, 07:41 but you just don't really understand 07:43 the application, the seriousness, 07:45 and the deepness of the application 07:46 of the original Greek 07:48 because it can't really be expressed in English, 07:50 or in the Hebrew, excuse me, 07:51 it can't really be expressed in English to the fullest. 07:54 We do our best to do that though, 07:55 but in the original Hebrew here of Exodus 16:3, 08:00 I'll read the English, but it says here, 08:01 "All that we had died by the hand of the Lord 08:05 in the land of Egypt." 08:06 And it's interesting because that word oh, 08:09 that word oh, you would just pass right over 08:12 in the original Hebrew Mi-Yitten. 08:15 Oh, it's basically means, oh, all that I desire. 08:19 Oh, how badly we desire, how badly we long 08:21 that we should have died 08:23 by the hand of the Lord in Egypt. 08:24 Psalm 14:7. 08:26 Again, the word oh here. 08:28 "Oh, that the salvation of Israel 08:30 would come out of Zion!" 08:32 So again, Mi-Yitten. 08:34 Oh, a strong desire that salvation of Israel 08:37 would come out of Zion. 08:39 Again, Job 6:8, same word again, 08:42 "Oh, that I might have my request." 08:45 Mi-Yitten, a strong desire for that. 08:49 But again, this is expressed once more 08:51 from God Himself in the Book of Deuteronomy. 08:54 We're gonna read Deuteronomy 5:22-29. 08:58 This is huge here. 09:00 We're gonna read the entire passage here, 09:02 but we're gonna emphasize verse 29 09:04 because that's where we find this Mi-Yitten. 09:06 So let's go to Deuteronomy 5:22-29. 09:11 So it says, beginning in verse 22, 09:12 "These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, 09:15 in the mountain from the midst of the fire, 09:17 the cloud, and the thick darkness, 09:19 with a loud voice, and He added no more. 09:23 And He wrote them on the two tablets of stone 09:25 and gave them to me." 09:27 So it's recounting the concept of which God, 09:30 at the time in which God gave him the Ten Commandments, 09:32 but then notice verse 23, and onward. 09:35 "So it was when you heard the voice 09:37 from the midst of the darkness, 09:38 while the mountain was burning with fire, 09:40 that you came near to me, 09:42 all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 09:45 And you said, 'Surely the Lord our God 09:47 has shown us His glory and His greatness, 09:49 and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. 09:54 We have seen this day that God speaks with men, 09:56 yet he still lives. 09:59 Now therefore, why should we die 10:02 for this great fire will consume us, 10:04 if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, 10:06 then we shall die." 10:08 And notice verse 26, 10:10 "For who is there of all flesh 10:12 who has heard the voice of the living God 10:14 speaking from the midst of the fire, 10:16 as we have, and lived? 10:19 You go..." Now they're commissioning 10:20 and they're commissioning, knows it, we don't want. 10:22 We don't want any part of this, 10:24 it's too much, too much thunder, too much. 10:26 It's too much of a scene. You go, Moses. 10:28 So they're saying, "You go near and hear all 10:30 that the Lord our God may say, 10:32 and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, 10:35 and we will hear and do it." 10:37 Verse 28, "Then the Lord heard the voice of your words 10:40 when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, 10:43 I have heard the voice of the words of this people 10:45 which they have spoken to you. 10:47 They are right in all that they have spoken." 10:50 And then here's verse 29. 10:51 Here's the key verse, ye-mitten. 10:54 Here it is. 10:55 I think I said that wrong. Mi-Yitten. 10:57 That's what I knew meant to say. 10:58 Mi-Yitten. 11:00 "Oh, that they had such a heart in them 11:04 that they would fear Me 11:05 and always keep My commandments, 11:08 that it might be well with them 11:10 and with their children forever!" 11:13 This is powerful. 11:15 And well, you could just almost just imagine the emotion 11:18 and the love pouring from the heart of God. 11:20 Oh, that these people would have a heart to follow Me 11:23 and to keep My commandments. 11:24 What an example of the reality of freewill here. 11:27 Notice how God is giving them choice, a freewill. 11:30 Here we see that there are limits 11:32 to what God can do 11:34 in the midst of the Great Controversy. 11:36 God limited Himself because God is love. 11:39 True love requires freedom. 11:41 This use of Mi-Yitten reveals 11:43 that even God can't trample on freewill 11:47 for the moment He did, 11:49 it would no longer be free. 11:51 So God has limits as well, but in this case, 11:53 it's for the salvation of man. 11:55 It's because He is love. 11:57 You know, this is talking about repentance. 11:59 God is drawing these people to repentance. 12:01 He's drawing us, 12:02 He's calling us to have a repentance. 12:04 We need to see our need of Him. 12:06 We need to understand our dependence on Him. 12:09 And as I was reading through this, 12:11 you know, God's saying, "Oh, 12:12 that they would have such a heart." 12:14 You know, it reminded me 12:17 as He's calling out to us, He's calling out to the lost. 12:20 And He, "Says to them: 'As I live, ' says the Lord God, 12:23 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 12:25 but that they turn, 12:26 now that is the wicked turn from his way and live." 12:29 And you can just imagine hear Him crying out, 12:32 "Turn you, turn you from your evil ways! 12:34 For why should you die, O house of Israel?'" 12:37 God is always calling us to repentance. 12:40 It also made me think of Jesus coming out of the temple, 12:44 having that big showdown with the Pharisees 12:45 in the last week prior before going to the cross. 12:48 Matthew 23:37, Jesus cries out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 12:53 the one who kills the prophets and stones 12:55 those who are sent to her! 12:56 How often I wanted to gather your children together, 12:59 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 13:03 but you were not willing!" 13:06 My friends, that's the key. 13:07 Are you willing? 13:09 Are you willing to be drawn by God? 13:11 Are you willing to give your heart to Him? 13:13 Are you willing 13:14 that He increases and you decrease? 13:17 This is essentially what this message is speaking 13:19 of drawing us to repentance. 13:21 2 Peter 3:9. I love this. 13:24 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." 13:27 The Lord doesn't break His promises. 13:29 "He's not slack concerning His promise, 13:31 as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, 13:36 not willing that any should perish 13:38 but that all should come to repentance." 13:41 My friends, had you had a Holy Spirit, 13:43 call a true, genuine, Holy Spirit experience? 13:48 Just like they did on the day of Pentecost. 13:50 When they were all standing there, 13:52 the Holy Spirit have just been poured out. 13:54 Have you had that genuine experience? 13:56 Because having heard the gospel message 13:58 and how their sins nailed Jesus to the cross, 14:01 you know, how the people responded? 14:02 Read Acts 2:37-38. 14:05 It says, "Now when they heard this, 14:07 they were cut to the heart, 14:08 and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 14:10 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' 14:12 Peter said to them, 'Repent, 14:14 let every one of you," there it is, "Repent, 14:16 let every one of you be baptized 14:18 in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 14:21 and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.;" 14:24 My friends, repent, confess your sins to Jesus. 14:27 And we have that promise in 1 John 1:9, 14:29 that He is just to forgive us and to cleanse us 14:32 from all unrighteousness. 14:33 Praise the Lord. Amen. 14:35 Thank you so much, Pastor Ryan. 14:36 I love that, Mi-Yitten. 14:37 I'm gonna remember that. 14:39 I was taking notes in my Bible. 14:40 I have Monday's lesson, which is Seek Me and Find Me. 14:45 And My name is Jill Morikone. 14:47 Turn with me to Deuteronomy Chapter 4. 14:50 We're going to look at a few verses here. 14:53 Verses 22-31 and, Pastor John, 14:55 I have 10 takeaways from these verses here, 14:59 but before we jump in and actually read those verses. 15:02 If you look at Deuteronomy 4:15, 15:04 Moses is cautioning the people, 15:07 you're about ready to enter into the Promised Land. 15:09 Beware, he says in verse 15, "Take heed to yourselves." 15:13 And he's been cautioning them against idolatry. 15:16 Beware, you know that we should not worship idols, 15:19 and be careful when you move forward. 15:22 And then he says, verse 22, 15:25 is where we pick up our passage for today. 15:28 Deuteronomy 4:22, "But I must die in this land, 15:32 I must not cross over the Jordan, 15:36 but you shall cross over and possess the good land." 15:39 So takeaway number one, learn from other's mistakes. 15:43 Moses couldn't cross over the Jordan, 15:45 we're gonna study this in a future lesson. 15:47 What was the sin of Moses 15:49 as far as when he struck the rock 15:51 instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had commanded him. 15:55 And that sin cost him dearly. 15:58 Learn from other's mistakes, sin has consequences. 16:02 Learn what others seek to teach you 16:04 and learn from other people's example. 16:07 If someone speaks into your life or someone, 16:09 you watch someone in an example, 16:11 learn from others mistakes. 16:13 Let's read the next verses, Deuteronomy 4:23-24. 16:18 "Take heed to yourselves, 16:20 lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God 16:24 which He made with you, 16:25 and make for yourselves a carved image," 16:27 He's cautioning them against idolatry, 16:30 "in the form of anything which the Lord 16:32 your God has forbidden you. 16:33 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, 16:36 a jealous God." 16:38 Take away number two, remember the covenant with your God. 16:42 Don't forget. 16:44 The Sinaitic covenant, 16:45 of course, was made in Exodus 19-24, 16:48 the heart of that being the Ten Commandments, 16:51 we see God's proposal of covenant with Israel. 16:54 We see Israel's acceptance of the covenant, 16:57 all that the Lord has said, we will do. 17:00 We see the preparation made to receive the covenant 17:03 and the proclamation of the covenant, 17:05 the heart of that, of course, being God's Ten Commandments, 17:07 the 10 promises of love that He gives to you and to me. 17:12 We see the covenant principles explained, 17:14 and then in Exodus 24, 17:16 the ratification of a covenant with blood. 17:20 We see God's Word and His Ten Commandment law, 17:22 the beginning of it was 17:24 what the caution against idolatry? 17:25 Commandment number one, 17:27 you shall have no other gods before Me. 17:29 Commandment number two, 17:30 you shall not make for yourself, 17:32 any graven image, 17:34 any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 17:37 or That is in the earth beneath, 17:38 or that is in the water under the earth. 17:41 You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, why? 17:45 "For I the Lord your God am a jealous God." 17:49 He told them this at the Ten Commandments 17:51 almost 40 years before, 17:53 and then He reminds them again, 17:56 beware, remember the covenant with the Lord your God. 18:01 Let's read verse 25, Deuteronomy 4:25, 18:04 "When you beget children and grandchildren 18:07 and have grown old in the land," 18:09 so this is moving down generations, 18:12 "and act corruptly." 18:14 So remember before he said, remember the covenant 18:16 and do not step into idol worship, 18:18 and now what's he's saying? 18:20 You're gonna step into idol worship, 18:22 "And you make a carved image in the form of anything, 18:26 and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God 18:28 to provoke Him to anger." 18:31 Takeaway number three, 18:32 foreknowledge does not mitigate free choice. 18:37 So in other words, God knew 18:39 that they were gonna step into idolatry. 18:40 God knew they were gonna forsake the covenant. 18:43 God knew they were gonna to forsake Him. 18:45 But yet they still had free choice, 18:46 they still had the choice 18:48 whether they were gonna step into idolatry or not. 18:50 God knows the future. Yes. 18:52 But He does not force us to choose. 18:55 I think about Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Daniel 8, 18:58 and the rise and fall of kingdoms, Babylon, 19:01 Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome and we see that. 19:05 We see that God had foreknowledge 19:07 of what was going to happen in the future, 19:09 but yet there still is free choice. 19:11 We see Jesus when He walked this earth 19:13 talking to Peter and what did He say? 19:15 Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. 19:19 Now does that mean when it actually happened? 19:21 Did Peter have a choice? 19:22 Of course, he had a choice. 19:23 But foreknowledge does not mitigate free choice. 19:25 Peter still had a choice, but God knew 19:28 what choice Peter was going to make. 19:31 And, of course, I love the scripture 19:33 Ryan referenced this already, 2 Peter 3:9. 19:35 "God is not willing that any should perish, 19:37 but that all should come to repentance." 19:40 God wants to save everyone, 19:42 but yet not everyone won't be saved, 19:43 and why is that? 19:45 Because we all have free choice. 19:48 To make that choice to accept Him, 19:50 come to Him in repentance, 19:52 receive His forgiveness or to refuse them. 19:55 Deuteronomy 4:26, 19:58 "I call heaven and earth 19:59 to witness against you this day, 20:02 that you will soon utterly perish from the land 20:05 which you cross over the Jordan to possess, 20:07 you will not long prolong your days in it, 20:10 but will be utterly destroyed." 20:13 Now this is what we call a rib in the Hebrew. 20:16 Okay, so a rib is a God's covenant lawsuit. 20:21 It's God taking legal action against His people 20:25 because of their failure to keep the covenant. 20:28 There are several ribs in scripture. 20:29 If you read Isaiah Chapter 1, 20:31 you see a rib, God's covenant lawsuit. 20:34 If you read Acts Chapter 7, 20:37 Stephen, right before his stoning, 20:39 he recounts the history of Israel 20:41 and then what happens that he pronounces this rib 20:44 God's lawsuit against the people. 20:47 This is a Jewish nation 20:48 for their failure to keep the covenant. 20:52 And here in Deuteronomy 4:26 is a rib, 20:54 God calling heaven and earth 20:58 as witnesses against the people. 21:01 Now with ancient Near Eastern kings, say, 21:04 a Hittite emperor, 21:06 when they would make a political treaty 21:07 with a lesser ruler, 21:09 they would always invoke their gods, 21:11 as a witness to emphasize that any violation 21:13 of the agreement will be noticed and punished, 21:15 but you notice here God does not invoke any other lesser god 21:18 because our God is the One True God, 21:20 what does he call the King of kings 21:22 and the Lord of Lords? 21:23 He calls heaven and earth as His witness against this. 21:29 And what's takeaway number four from this? 21:31 God means what He says, He's King of kings, 21:35 and He's Lord of lords. 21:36 He's the Creator, the Sustainer, God over all. 21:39 It is not a light thing to enter into covenant 21:42 with Him, meaning, God is love. 21:46 Yes, but God is also just, and it is not a light thing 21:51 to enter into covenant. 21:52 The next verse, we're in Deuteronomy 4:27-28. 21:56 "And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples." 21:58 This is because remember, 21:59 they had broken the covenant or they will, 22:02 this is future, they will break the covenant. 22:04 "The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, 22:06 and you will be left few in number 22:09 among the nations where the Lord would drive you. 22:11 And there you will serve gods the work of men's hands, 22:15 wood and stone, 22:16 which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell." 22:19 Takeaway number five, sin, it has consequences. 22:24 The wages of sin is death, 22:25 but the gift of God is eternal life 22:28 in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 22:29 Their idolatry led to their scattering. 22:33 It's a direct consequence. 22:35 They stepped out in idol worship. 22:36 God said, remember My covenant they said, 22:38 we're doing our own thing. 22:39 They stepped out in idol worship, 22:41 and then what happened? 22:42 They were scattered. 22:44 Their idolatry led to their scattering, 22:45 sin has consequences. 22:47 Takeaway number six, be careful what you wish for, 22:51 for you might receive what you asked. 22:53 They wanted idolatry, 22:55 they stepped into idolatry and what happened? 22:58 They got their wish, abandoned in a foreign country, 23:02 they would have to worship other idols, 23:05 they wanted idols and idols is what they got. 23:08 Verse 29, Deuteronomy 4:29. 23:10 "But from there," this is where they're scattered. 23:12 This is the place of oppression. 23:14 This is the place of judgment. 23:15 This is the place of their consequences. 23:17 "You will seek the Lord your God, 23:20 and you will find Him 23:22 if you seek Him with all your heart 23:24 and with all your soul." 23:25 Takeaway number seven, 23:26 trials work redemptively in our lives. 23:29 If we turn to God through them, so in their place of captivity, 23:32 in their place of need, they turned to God. 23:35 God used that trial 23:37 to work redemptively in their life. 23:38 Takeaway number eight. 23:40 Whenever you seek God, He will be found. 23:43 Jonah sought Him from the belly of a fish. 23:45 Elijah sought Him from the wilderness 23:47 after running from a woman. 23:48 Esther sought Him from the middle of a palace 23:50 scared for her life. 23:52 The thief sought Him as both the sinner and the Savior 23:55 hung upon across. 23:57 The paralytic sought Him from the depths of the bed. 23:59 Nicodemus sought Him by night. 24:01 Zacchaeus sought Him from a tree. 24:02 The woman of Samaria sought Him 24:04 by a well and they all found Him. 24:07 Verse 30, "When you are in distress, 24:09 and all these things come upon you in the latter days, 24:12 when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice, 24:15 He will not forsake you nor destroy you, 24:18 nor forget the covenant He made to your fathers." 24:22 Takeaway number nine, repentance is God given. 24:26 And finally, takeaway number 10, 24:28 our Lord, Jehovah God is merciful and forgiving. 24:33 So they went into captivity, 24:35 they were going to go into captivity 24:37 because of their idolatry, 24:39 but God would redeem them and He's merciful. 24:41 Amen. 24:42 Ten takeaways in 10 minutes, that's talent. 24:46 Praise the Lord. 24:47 Great, great message. 24:48 We're gonna take a break, and we'll be right back. 24:55 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 24:58 again, or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:02 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 25:07 A clean design makes it easy 25:09 to find the program you're looking for. 25:11 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:15 so you can follow along. 25:17 Sharing is easy. 25:18 Just click share 25:19 and choose your favorite social media. 25:21 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:26 Friends, welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 25:29 and we're gonna kick it to Pastor John Lomacang 25:31 for Tuesday's lesson. 25:32 That's right, and I'll have a lesson 25:34 I'm going to say a word 25:35 that you've never heard before, Teshuvah. 25:38 That's a word you'll find out what that means just a moment. 25:41 This is Tuesday's lesson. 25:43 And we have enjoyed the study of the Book of Deuteronomy. 25:46 So what does teshuvah mean? 25:49 In the Hebrew it means return, literally to return. 25:54 But it's also used for the word repentance. 25:58 So teshuvah depending on the context 26:01 of what the story is referring to. 26:04 And in Deuteronomy 30:1-10, 26:07 the Lord is outlining all of the benefits 26:11 to those who return. 26:13 No, it's amazing that we are so paralleled 26:15 and I think you may have talked about this one of the lessons, 26:17 Jill, and I think all of our panelists 26:19 at one point or another mentioned how, 26:22 in a great degree we parallel the children of Israel 26:25 in so many ways. 26:26 As a matter of fact, go to 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. 26:29 This is not a part of my notes, 26:31 but the Lord just tapped me on my forehead 26:34 and gave me this understanding. 26:35 Here 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. 26:37 We read the words of the Apostle Paul, 26:40 and listen to what he says about the children of Israel. 26:43 Here it is. 26:45 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, the Bible says, 26:49 verse 1, "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware 26:53 that all our fathers were under the cloud, 26:55 and all passed through the sea, 26:57 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 27:01 all ate the same spiritual food, 27:03 and all drank the same spiritual drink. 27:06 For they drank of that spiritual Rock 27:08 that follow them, and that Rock was Christ." 27:11 Notice the uniformity, all, all, all, 27:14 they had all things in common. 27:15 If the story stopped, 27:17 there would have been a great story would have said, 27:18 you know, that's what we want to be all of us 27:20 having all things in common. 27:22 Now that may be the ultimate aim 27:24 of the Christian, 27:25 but we've got to get past ourselves. 27:27 Here's a statement I want to make. 27:29 It took one day to get the Israelites out of Egypt. 27:34 It took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel. 27:38 That's the reality of the story. 27:40 So that's what happens. 27:41 You may come to the Lord today and say, 27:43 "I'm so excited, I just got baptized, 27:45 I've joined the church. 27:46 All my old life is behind me." 27:49 Not, the Lord has forgiven your sins. 27:52 That's justification, 27:53 but now you enter into a journey 27:55 called sanctification. 27:56 And sanctification, in short, 27:58 is like being cut off of a tree being put on a sanding block, 28:02 you're gonna be chiseled, axed, cut, saw, 28:05 you're gonna be minced down. 28:06 Now when the product is done, you'll be very expensive. 28:09 You'll be put on display, God will say, 28:12 see what I made out of just a tree. 28:14 You know, the beautiful thing about God, 28:16 He promises that He who has begun 28:17 a good work will complete it. 28:21 And then the Apostle John says, 28:23 "It has not yet been revealed what we shall be." 28:26 But we do know that when He is revealed, 28:28 we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 28:32 Can you imagine a tree becomes a $30,000 desk? 28:36 How does that happen? 28:37 Well, God can take all of us, 28:41 and turn us into saints. 28:44 That can sit on His throne with Him 28:47 and never have to worry about starvation, 28:50 health reform, diet reform, dress reform, 28:53 never have to worry about any reform. 28:55 And we don't have to worry about 28:56 being even put into an institution 28:58 because sometimes the church represents 29:01 an insane asylum. 29:04 But God looks at us and says, 29:06 "If you would just return to Me, 29:10 I could do amazing things, but it's your choice." 29:14 You could continue down the road of destruction, 29:17 but if you simply return to Me, 29:19 if you get back on the pedestal, 29:21 where as the potter, 29:23 I can spin you and even though you are leaking 29:26 in the hand of the potter, 29:27 please let Me keep spinning you 29:29 and I'll close up the gaps in your life 29:32 and make you a masterpiece. 29:34 It's so beautiful in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 29:37 where the Bible talks about when this day is going to come, 29:40 how God is going to present us through Jesus Christ. 29:44 Jesus is going to present to His Father, 29:47 the kingdom from all of those who simply decided to return. 29:51 Here's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 29:54 starting in verse 22. 29:56 "For as in Adam all die, 30:00 even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 30:02 Notice there is no third category. 30:04 Can I say like one of our prior programs, 30:06 no middle ground. 30:08 Okay, there's no third category, 30:10 either you are alive in Christ or you are dead in Adam, 30:13 but until we are alive in Christ, 30:15 we are all a part of, get this, 30:18 The Adam's Family. 30:22 That's who we are. 30:23 We are... 30:25 I don't want to go down that path. 30:27 We could do some of the strangest 30:29 unexplainable things 30:31 before we are touched 30:32 by the transforming grace of Christ. 30:34 And I say transforming grace of Christ 30:36 because only Christ can transform. 30:39 2 Corinthians 5:17. 30:41 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, 30:45 old things have passed away, 30:48 behold, all things have become new." 30:50 Now at the point of new, 30:52 you've heard the phrase new and improved, 30:55 we are new, but the Lord wants to improve 30:57 what He has made new. 30:59 That's where sanctification comes in. 31:00 So as we look at what Paul is going to add 31:05 to what Moses wrote in the Book of Deuteronomy, 31:08 we're gonna see that it's important that 31:10 the decisions we make 31:12 are decisions that we recognize, 31:13 have reciprocal consequences, meaning, 31:16 "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 31:19 You do good, it will come back to you. 31:21 You do evil, it's going to come back to you. 31:23 Never send out something 31:24 that you don't want to come back. 31:26 That's what I've said to people 31:27 that when they get in controversies, 31:28 I say make your words soft and sweet 31:32 because you just might have to eat them. 31:34 So be careful. 31:36 Look at the four things 31:37 that the Lord wants to do for us, 31:38 actually, five, the lessons, 31:42 the blessings of returning to God. 31:43 So my first one, 31:45 I'm going to call it reciprocal return, 31:47 reciprocal return. 31:49 Malachi 3:7, "Return to Me, and I will return to you, 31:54 says the Lord, but you say in what way shall we return?" 31:59 Now let's not focus on the latter part, 32:01 but notice the reciprocal return. 32:03 If you returned to Me, I'll return to you. 32:06 Paul, the Apostle says, "If we draw near to God, 32:09 God will draw near to us." 32:10 There's a reciprocal blessing, 32:12 but notice this, the first step has to be ours. 32:15 The Lord never forces Himself, where He is not invited. 32:20 So the first lesson is reciprocal return. 32:22 Whatever you want God to do for you, 32:25 you must take the action 32:26 and accept the invitation to do what God is promised. 32:30 If you want God to hear your prayers when you speak, 32:33 you got to hear God's voice, when He speaks. 32:35 It's all reciprocal. 32:37 The second one, rejoicing return. 32:39 Isaiah 51:11, "So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, 32:44 and come to Zion with singing, 32:46 with everlasting joy on their heads, 32:49 they shall obtain joy and gladness, 32:51 sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 32:53 Why? Because they returned. 32:55 Sorrow and sighing is gonna flee away, 32:57 they're gonna be rejoicing, 32:58 they're gonna have everlasting joy. 33:00 Why? Because they returned. 33:01 Some people trying to find joy in the world, 33:03 you can't find it there. 33:05 You can try decade after decade to find joy in the world, 33:08 but it's nothing but one disappointment 33:10 after the other. 33:11 When you read the story of Hosea. 33:14 Hosea's wife, she was running, 33:16 she kept running, she kept running. 33:17 And the mercy of God said, 33:19 "I'm gonna make your run difficult. 33:20 I'm gonna put stumbling, 33:22 I'm gonna put things in your path. 33:23 You're gonna stumble. 33:24 I'm not gonna stop you, but I'm gonna make you stumble. 33:26 I'm going to make you go over one hurdle after the other." 33:28 But when you come back, 33:29 and finally realize that your journey is futile, 33:33 you'll say, "I'm gonna go back. 33:35 I'm gonna return. 33:36 I'm gonna teshuvah because it's better with me 33:39 then that it is with me now. 33:41 Takeaway number three, repentant return. 33:46 Jesus said to Peter, "But I have prayed for you 33:49 that your faith should not fail. 33:51 And when you have returned to Me, 33:54 or when you are converted, 33:56 strengthen the brethren." 33:58 Until you return to God, you are no use to anybody else. 34:02 And the fourth one, restorative return. 34:05 1 Peter 2:25, 34:07 "For you were like sheep gone astray, 34:10 but have now returned to the Shepherd 34:12 and Overseer of your soul." 34:15 See, you could be a sheep, 34:16 but a sheep that goes astray is a sheep that's lost. 34:20 But when the sheep returns, and this is beautiful, 34:22 the sheep that went astray has returned. 34:25 Now what's amazing about this 34:27 is sheep don't know the way of going, 34:28 don't know the way back. 34:29 How do they return? 34:31 Because they listen to the voice of the shepherd. 34:32 My sheep hear my voice. 34:34 When you hear God's Word, 34:36 the word you hear is the word 34:38 that's prompting you to return. 34:40 Never violate the invitation of God and expect blessing 34:44 to follow in your path. 34:46 Goodness and mercy shall follow me 34:48 all the days of my life if you return. 34:52 And the last one, reverential return, 34:56 we had reciprocal return, rejoicing return, 34:59 repentant return, restorative return, 35:02 and reverential return. 35:04 Luke 17:18, "When the Lord healed all the lepers, 35:08 He says, 'Where are the nine? 35:11 Were there not any found who returned 35:14 to give glory to God except this foreigner?'" 35:17 Yes. 35:18 When the foreigner returned, he turned to give glory to God, 35:22 he worshipped God, 35:24 he rejoiced because God had redeemed him. 35:26 Friends, you can have a teshuvah experience, 35:29 if you simply hear the voice 35:31 of the one extending the invitation. 35:34 Praise the Lord. 35:36 That's good stuff, Pastor. 35:37 I appreciate that very much. 35:39 I'm Kenny Shelton and have Wednesday's lesson. 35:42 I like it because it talks about With All Your Heart. 35:45 I think that's probably what we've all agreed 35:46 on the Sabbath School Panel. 35:48 What are we do in all of your hand find, 35:49 do it with all your mind. 35:51 This is what we give, 35:52 make a commitment to Jesus Christ. 35:54 It's got to be with all of our heart, which is, 35:57 you know, use on with the mind too. 35:59 So we've got to go all the way with Jesus. 36:02 Pastor John mentioned, I think Deuteronomy 30:1-10. 36:06 So I'm not gonna go through that 36:07 because he gave three beautiful points 36:09 was that repentance, returning, and what's required. 36:14 Praise God for that. 36:15 So as I studied this lesson on Wednesday's lesson, 36:18 With All Your Heart, 36:19 I see something to me is very important. 36:22 It reveals the grace, the knowledge, and the wisdom, 36:26 the goodness of God toward backsliders, 36:30 or sinners. 36:31 How He's so willing to take us back into the fold, 36:35 to love us, and to treat us when we truly repent, 36:38 treat us as though we've never sinned. 36:40 That was always just something just got me so excited. 36:43 I couldn't hardly stand it. 36:45 When God does something, He does it right. 36:48 Deuteronomy is bringing all this out 36:50 because God is still, He's calling 36:51 after all that they did, after all that we've done. 36:55 When He calls us back, 36:57 He puts His arms around us and it's like, 36:59 this never happened, 37:01 you know, in the human family sometime we're saying, 37:04 dad will say, now remember what you did, 37:06 you know, remember what... 37:08 Well, God doesn't do us that way. 37:10 It's just as though we've never sinned. 37:12 And I love that. 37:14 Romans 2:4, "Knowing that the goodness of God." 37:16 So we're talking about the grace and the goodness 37:18 of the Lord to backsliders and sinners. 37:21 "Knowing that the goodness of God 37:24 leadeth us to repentance?" 37:27 My, is that good? 37:28 Just think about Calvary. 37:29 Just think about all that God has done 37:31 and is doing and will do for us. 37:34 My how unworthy that we are, 37:35 but knowing that goodness does lead us to repentance, 37:39 want to be part of the family of God. 37:41 Repentance is the, you know, for sin 37:44 is the first fruits of the working 37:47 of the Holy Spirit in the life. 37:49 So there's fruits 37:51 when the Holy Spirit really comes in, 37:53 really begins to work, 37:54 you know, I think probably Israel 37:58 and I think about Israel, and maybe, 37:59 and I will say this in the right way, 38:01 at least we can understand that they were, 38:03 they were chastised more than they were praised. 38:06 Right. 38:08 Not that we need praise, but you follow what I mean, 38:10 it was in the constant, you know, relationship 38:13 what God had to continue to work with them, 38:14 continue to draw them back 38:16 because they chose their own way 38:17 brought out well here by everyone, 38:19 that we have that freedom to choose to do 38:21 what we would want to do. 38:23 Despite all that God had done, despite all that they had seen, 38:27 involved with right there, they chose to go against 38:31 what God had said in His Word. 38:33 And I can't look at them and say, 38:35 "Oh, well, that was them back then." 38:36 I look at it now and say, "You know what, 38:38 probably maybe we've all done it 38:39 since we've all sinned and come short 38:40 of the glory of God." 38:43 We knew better. 38:44 And sometimes we went ahead anyway, 38:46 but praise God, He's there for us. 38:48 Deuteronomy 4:7, it says, "Go back and look at that. 38:52 And we've all kind of read that, 38:54 I think in the lesson, and I think it's good. 38:56 It's good to go back. 38:57 And we will read it here in just a second. 38:59 But I thought how interesting. 39:00 Chapter 4 of Deuteronomy, 39:02 "God's people are encouraged once again, to do what? 39:05 Be obedient. 39:07 Do right. 39:08 Now I read one time, it says, do right because it's right. 39:11 Well, even a simple mind like me, I can get that. 39:14 I can get that. 39:15 Do right because it's right. 39:17 That's right. 39:19 Hard to understand those old theological argument 39:21 that we can get into about this, 39:23 yes, I've kind of heard that myself, 39:24 can you do right because it's right. 39:25 So it's the right thing to do. 39:27 Exercise just to make right decisions, 39:30 cleave unto the Lord's what the Bible tells us. 39:33 I want to read just a little something here 39:35 from Letter 112, written in 1909. 39:38 It says this, "We need to study, 39:40 I thought so interesting. 39:42 Since we're going through this study of Deuteronomy, 39:43 it says we need to study 39:45 and take time on Chapters 4 through 8, 39:47 interesting 4 through 5 in Deuteronomy, 39:50 that you may understand 39:51 what God requires of His ancient people, 39:55 that we might be holy people unto Himself. 40:00 If we believe the message God has given us, 40:03 you know, and, you know, I heard one guy say, 40:05 what is it Matthew 5:48, "Be you holy, 40:08 as your Father which are in heaven is holy." 40:13 And I heard a preacher say that, he said, 40:14 but that doesn't mean what he says. 40:17 It does mean what it says. 40:19 It does mean what it says here. 40:22 God had said, He wants us to be a holy people unto Himself. 40:27 In other words, do right because it's right. 40:30 And only the do writers 40:32 will make it into the kingdom of God. 40:34 So that's pretty simple. 40:35 We can all get that we want to do right. 40:37 You know, let's come to the point 40:38 I think sometime... 40:40 I love it when you're talking about the sheep, 40:41 the sheep hear the voice. 40:42 You know, the shepherd, they recognize it. 40:45 And they can tell a difference, 40:46 but it's coming to the point sometime, 40:48 I heard some guy saying this. 40:49 I don't know how long it's been, 40:51 but I don't want to be out of line here, 40:52 but I want to think about it. 40:54 It's come to the point here was that it's like the clown 40:59 is speaking to the goats. 41:01 Now some of you won't get that till tomorrow, 41:02 but write it down. 41:05 The clowns are speaking to the goats, 41:07 Jesus is speaking to the sheep. 41:10 All right. It takes a little while. 41:11 Okay, we'll get it. All right. 41:13 It takes a little bit, but kind of dissect it a little bit, 41:15 it makes us think, what's really taking place. 41:18 At least it does to me. 41:19 All right. 41:21 The word cleave we talked about here quickly, 41:22 word cleave used in Genesis 2:24 41:26 is talking about man and wife 41:27 and how God brought them together and said, 41:29 "I want you to cleave one to another." 41:32 And I found it just one liner, 41:34 I love in Steps to Christ, page 100. 41:36 It said something like this 41:38 "Relations between God and each soul 41:43 is distinct and full." 41:46 Oh, I love that, makes me want to get a hanky. 41:49 But really think about it. 41:51 Who are we? 41:52 Who are we that God can look down and He says, 41:54 "I want this relationship with you, 41:56 with your soul. 41:58 And I want it's so distinct and it's so full." 42:01 Because He knows me. 42:04 Have mercy. 42:05 And still yet, what's that song say? 42:07 He knows me but yet He loves me. 42:10 So Deuteronomy 4:7, "What nation is there so great, 42:13 who God has so nigh unto them, 42:15 and as our Lord our God is in all things 42:18 that were called upon him for?" 42:21 Well, is God great? 42:23 What nation is there so great? 42:26 What people are so great, none of us are good, 42:28 no, not one, but God says, 42:30 "I see a finished product and this is going to be good." 42:33 Patriarchs and Prophets, 465 says this. 42:36 It says, "Moses called their attention 42:38 to the 'day when they stood us 42:39 before the Lord on Mount Horeb.' 42:41 And they," notice that, 42:43 "and challenged the Hebrew host.'" 42:45 I don't know if you've been challenged 42:46 Hebrew hosts were challenged in covenant relationship 42:49 with God, He gave them the law. 42:52 And we're challenged today. 42:53 He's given us these laws. 42:55 He's given us those things to protect us 42:57 if we just simply obey His voice. 43:00 God, help us to obey Your voice 43:02 and not that of a stranger's voice, 43:04 if you know what I'm talking about. 43:06 So today, the challenge maybe is kind of like Israel, 43:09 you know, I think it's going to be repeated today. 43:12 You know, the ancient people, we think about, 43:14 you know, what God gives, 43:15 what God gives us to perfect us 43:17 and to prepare us for heaven is wiser, 43:20 and it's better and it's more humane 43:22 than any of the civilized nation 43:24 can write down on the books today 43:25 of all the laws of rule regulation to protect millions. 43:28 God just puts it down in little simple 10. 43:31 Now God's law bears the stamp of divinity. 43:34 I like this here. 43:35 So I'm gonna read, since I like it, 43:36 I'm gonna read it to you and maybe you'll like it too. 43:38 Okay, Manuscript 21, 1891 says this. 43:43 I've got to count on this. 43:44 It says, "The sinner may err," right? 43:47 The sinner... You've read it many times. 43:49 "The sinner may err, 43:50 but he's not cast off without mercy." 43:54 How many of us, many of us really operate 43:56 that way with one another in our own humaneness. 44:00 We may err, 44:01 but we're not cast off without mercy. 44:04 "His only hope, however," notice this, 44:07 "is repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ." 44:11 It's simple, the message doesn't change. 44:13 It's always the same. Praise God. 44:15 And as we talked about here. We have a choice. 44:18 And I'm gonna encourage you in the last minute 44:20 or so I have here to make the right choice. 44:22 Make that decision. 44:23 Do it today. 44:25 Today's the day of salvation. 44:26 That's the Book of Deuteronomy pointing out here. 44:30 We've strayed, God is calling us back, says, 44:33 "I love you with an everlasting love. 44:35 I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not gonna forsake you. 44:37 I'm there for you, 44:38 but you're gonna have to choose." 44:40 You're gonna have to choose which leader is going to be 44:42 because you're gonna fit under one or the other. 44:44 That's the only two, isn't that right, 44:46 the enemy or Christ and I choose 44:48 by the grace of God to get under Him. 44:49 I want to get my heart, my mind. 44:51 And my heart and my mind is right, 44:52 my actions will be right. 44:54 Every time if you get it in tune with the Word of God, 44:58 then our actions, our choices will be right. 45:00 God said before that many times 45:02 the blessings for being obedient 45:05 and he also set the curses out there 45:07 for the disobedience. 45:09 I always, I love that in the Word of God. 45:12 Some people said, "Well, that's too hard, 45:13 that's too difficult." 45:14 I'm glad that God made it plain, 45:16 so that I can know to make the right choice. 45:19 And then He says, "Kenny, 45:20 you can't really do it without me. 45:22 I can help you make that right choice. 45:24 I'll give you the strength. 45:25 I'll give you the courage and wish to do it." 45:26 It may seem overwhelming at times, 45:28 but I'm gonna to be with it always 45:30 because you know what? 45:31 I'd rather empty heaven 45:33 than have you to go down the tomb. 45:34 He feels that way about you today. 45:35 I know you feel that way about Him. 45:37 I love Deuteronomy. 45:39 Got it. All right, go for it... 45:41 And you know what so did Jesus. 45:43 He quoted Deuteronomy more than any other book. 45:47 I'm Shelley Quinn, and I have Thursday's lesson, 45:51 Repent and Be Converted. 45:54 You may never have accepted Christ as your Savior. 45:58 You may have been in the church for years, 46:01 but you find your backsliding 46:03 or you may just be having a rough day and you realize 46:07 I'm not surrender to the Lord, 46:10 Repent and Be Converted. 46:13 The word repent means to change your mind. 46:18 Think differently, and we're changing our mind 46:22 about the way we think about sin. 46:25 And the word converted means 46:29 turning away. 46:31 We turn away from sin, 46:35 and we turn toward God in faith. 46:39 So you put both of these together 46:42 and the Repent and Be Converted. 46:44 That's what repentance is. 46:46 It's a combination of the two. 46:48 It's a radical heart change. 46:52 And it's something that we are either turning to, 46:57 or returning to God. 47:00 In 2 Corinthians 7:10, 47:03 Paul writes to the Corinthians and he says, 47:05 "Godly sorrow produces repentance." 47:11 What is repentance? 47:12 You're gonna change the way you think about sin 47:15 leading to salvation, 47:17 not to be regretted, 47:19 but the sorrow of the world produces death. 47:22 So repentance, 47:25 if we have true godly sorrow, 47:31 godly sorrow brings hope for a change. 47:34 Isn't that true? 47:36 And we yearn when once we change our mind, 47:41 we're yearning to have that relationship 47:44 with the Lord, or to have it restored worldly sorrow. 47:49 What does that do? 47:50 It brings guilt. 47:51 It brings shame, sometimes self-pity, 47:55 and depression. 47:56 It brings wounded pride. 47:59 We repent, 48:01 when we initially accept Christ as their Savior. 48:05 But I'm just gonna tell you I find, 48:06 I'm repentant daily. 48:08 I have mean, and really, we have to continually repent 48:14 because it is so easy. 48:17 And I've even done it this week, 48:19 where I kind of turned... 48:23 Well, I didn't turn my back on the Lord, 48:25 but it turned my head away. 48:26 And I wasn't doing exactly 48:28 what was right and I had to repent. 48:30 So when we think 48:34 of repentance, 48:37 to me, that's how we maintain 48:39 the joy of our relationship with the Lord. 48:42 And I think, David, oh, Psalm 51 48:45 if you want to learn how to repent, 48:46 just go to Psalm 51. 48:47 And it's such a beautiful Psalms repentance. 48:51 And in Psalm 51:12-13, 48:55 after David has been saying, 48:57 "Oh, wash me thoroughly, and repeatedly." 48:59 And, you know, and I say in the blood of Jesus, 49:02 but he says in Psalm 51:12, 49:05 "Oh, Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation, 49:11 uphold me by Your generous Spirit." 49:16 Say that's, it does restore joy when we return. 49:21 And God can only guide us 49:24 and uphold us by His Holy Spirit. 49:27 So we need to ask Him for that. 49:30 But look what He says in verse 13. 49:32 "Then I will teach transgressors 49:38 Your ways, 49:39 and sinners shall be 49:42 converted to You." 49:46 In the Hebrew this is shub. 49:49 It's spelled S-H-U-B, but it's pronounced shub. 49:53 And shub means to be turned around. 49:56 So they're gonna turn away from sin 50:00 and they're gonna turn to God 50:02 because they see the joy that you are experiencing. 50:06 One thing I love about the Old Testament, 50:09 we talk about a patient God, 50:11 the God of hesed, the God of grace, 50:15 and love, and mercy. 50:18 He is constantly pleading 50:21 in the Old Testament. 50:24 Turn to Me, or return to Me, return to Me. 50:28 Zechariah 1:3 says, '"Return to Me, ' 50:31 says the Lord of hosts, 'and I will return to you, ' 50:36 says the lord of hosts.'" 50:37 And John's already pointed out this New Testament equivalent, 50:41 but I want to repeat it 50:44 because it's a beautiful promise. 50:47 In James 4:8, James says, 50:50 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." 50:56 You know, my husband used to say that 51:00 what he wanted was a Damascun road experience. 51:06 He wanted God to prove that He was God, 51:09 he expected that light to shine down, 51:11 knock him off his high horse. 51:14 And it wasn't until he was studying on James 4:8. 51:18 It was like, "Oh, I need to turn to God." 51:23 That's when He's gonna come to me. 51:25 "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 51:27 and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 51:30 See, God wants us to want, 51:34 the same thing He does. 51:35 And that is an intimate love relationship with us. 51:38 He wants us to draw near 51:42 and depend on Him in a humble way, 51:47 throughout the New Testament, not just the Old Testament, 51:50 but throughout the New Testament, 51:52 this idea of repentance is constantly repeated. 51:56 Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4, 51:59 "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you be converted," 52:03 let's turn around, 52:06 "and become as little children." 52:08 What? 52:10 See, God's we're taught, 52:15 the whole purpose of bringing up a child 52:17 is to teach him to be independent. 52:20 And then, when it comes to the Lord, He's saying, 52:24 "My whole plan of salvation 52:26 is that you're totally dependent upon Me." 52:28 So Jesus said, "You've got to be 52:30 converted like a little child." 52:32 Turning to God in absolute dependence 52:36 on Him as your father. 52:39 And he says, "Unless you turn and be converted, 52:43 or convert and become as little children, 52:45 you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 52:49 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child 52:54 is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 52:58 Humility, let me explain now. 53:02 We see in Philippians 2:5-8, let this mind be in you, 53:07 which was in Christ Jesus. 53:09 And it goes on explaining, He was God, 53:13 He came down and took on the flesh, 53:15 but He totally depended upon the Father. 53:21 See, that's what humility is, it's prideful when we think. 53:26 Oh, I don't need to pray about that. 53:27 I know what I need to do. 53:29 It's prideful when we decide to have our own way. 53:31 What's humility is to be depending upon the Father, 53:35 but the joy of repentance, listen to this. 53:38 Acts 3:19, "Repent therefore," 53:43 which means change your mind, "be converted, 53:46 turn away from sin, turn toward God." 53:50 So that here's the purpose, 53:52 why do we repent and be converted? 53:55 So that your sins may be blotted out like you said, 54:00 He's casting them, He's remembering them no more. 54:03 "So that times of refreshing 54:06 may come from the presence of the Lord." 54:09 When I do something wrong, 54:12 boy, it eats at me, nearly eats at me. 54:16 And I have to, you know, I don't want 54:18 to hurt somebody's feelings. 54:19 I don't want to do something wrong. 54:21 And when I realize I have, 54:23 it just eats me up inside until I repent, 54:27 till I confess my sin, and repent, 54:31 and that's when the time of refreshing comes. 54:35 John the Baptist had a ministry of repentance in Matthew 3 54:39 we see he saying, 54:40 "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 54:43 And he was the voice of the one crying 54:46 in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord. 54:49 And you know what? 54:50 All the little people are coming out there 54:53 and they got baptized, 54:55 but then all of a sudden John verse 7 says, 54:58 "He looks up, He sees the Pharisees 55:02 and Sadducees are coming. 55:04 And, you know, it says to them, 'Brood of vipers! 55:07 Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'" 55:10 See, the Pharisees were rigid legalist 55:13 and they counted on the traditions of man 55:16 that nullified the Word of God. 55:18 Whereas the Sadducees were liberal compromisers 55:23 and they controlled the temple in the days of Jesus. 55:27 But both sects thought, hey, we're children of Abraham. 55:32 We don't need to repent. 55:34 And so Matthew 3:8, 55:38 John the Baptist continues, 55:41 after he calls them deadly snakes. 55:42 He says, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance." 55:47 See, true repentance Acts 5:31 says, 55:50 is granted by God, even that is not our work. 55:56 It's something God does in our heart, 55:58 but when we truly repent, 56:00 you'll see the fruits of repentance. 56:02 Amen. Amen. 56:03 Praise the Lord. 56:05 Well, let's get some closing thoughts 56:06 for today's lesson. 56:07 My lesson was Seek Me and Find Me. 56:09 Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, 56:12 call upon Him while He is near." 56:15 So call upon the Lord today. 56:16 Amen. 56:17 When we return to God, Zechariah 9:12 says, 56:20 "The Lord will restore double to us." 56:24 And Israel, we're talking about here 56:25 the people mourn because of their sin 56:28 brought suffering upon themselves 56:29 and what everyone's brought out here. 56:31 True repentance is more than sorrow for sin. 56:34 It is a resolute turning from evil. 56:36 Absolutely. 56:38 We repent, change our mind, confess our sins, 56:40 He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. 56:42 And then we're converted, we turn toward Him. 56:45 And we get that time of refreshing. 56:47 Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:48 It's been an exciting study, lots of information. 56:50 I learned today that you want to steer clear of the circus 56:53 'cause apparently clowns feed the goats. 56:56 Steer clear of the circus of the carnal world, 56:58 my friends, turn to your Shepherd, 57:01 Jesus Christ, can be a good sheep 57:03 that hears His voice. 57:05 Clown speak to goats. 57:07 That's good. 57:08 My friends, we thank you so much for joining us. 57:11 We're just making our way 57:12 through the Book of Deuteronomy. 57:13 We hope that you've been blessed. 57:15 I know I've been blessed. 57:16 And next week you definitely want to join us 57:18 because we're gonna be jumping into lesson number 10 57:21 which is entitled Remember, Do Not Forget. 57:24 That's the title, Remember, Do Not Forget. 57:27 And we want you to remember and not forget to join us 57:29 right back here next week for 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:33 Until then, God bless you. 57:35 Thank you for watching, 57:37 and we'll see you right back here next week. 57:38 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2021-11-29