Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210052S
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00:01 Hello, friends, I'm Jill Morikone,
00:02 and welcome to the very last lesson 00:04 of our study, Present Truth in Deuteronomy. 00:07 This particular lesson is The Resurrection of Moses, 00:10 lesson number 13. 00:12 And I want to encourage you, 00:13 if you would like to download the study guide, 00:15 you can look back and study any of the lessons 00:17 we've done before 00:18 or you can get ready for next quarter. 00:20 So you can go to the following website absg.adventist.org 00:26 That stands for 00:27 AdultBibleStudyGuide .Adventist.org 00:30 or we always encourage you to go 00:32 to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:34 tell them 3ABN sent me, 00:37 and they'll be happy to give you 00:39 a copy of the quarterly for yourself. 00:41 So grab your Bible, and your pens, 00:43 and your notepads and get ready for this edition, 00:45 The Resurrection of Moses. 01:18 Hello, friends, it's hard to believe 01:19 we've journeyed through 13 lessons. 01:22 This is lesson number 13 01:24 of our study Present Truth in Deuteronomy. 01:26 I'm Jill Morikone. 01:28 And it's been for myself personally an amazing study, 01:31 and I know I've learned so much, 01:32 and we hope and pray you have as well. 01:34 We have our family with us on the set again. 01:36 To my left Pastor John Lomacang. 01:38 Glad you're here, Pastor. 01:39 Yes, yes, here we are in December, 01:42 winding down a lesson 01:43 that has been just a blessing to all of those 01:45 that have watched and thank you for tuning in. 01:47 Amen. 01:48 To your left Pastor James Rafferty, 01:49 so glad you've been with us this quarter. 01:51 It has been a blessing to be here. 01:52 We're going to be looking on Tuesday's lesson 01:54 at the death of Moses and parallels 01:56 between Moses and Christ. 01:57 Amen. 01:58 My Sister, Shelley Quinn, it's been a wonderful study. 02:01 You know, Deuteronomy is a Book of the Covenant. 02:06 And I love the Book of Deuteronomy 02:08 even more now. 02:09 Amen. Me too, for sure. 02:11 Last but not least, Pastor Ryan Day, 02:14 so glad you're here, Brother. 02:15 I'm glad to be here. 02:17 And we're gonna be talking about 02:18 the resurrection of us all. 02:20 Yay! 02:21 Looking forward to this amazing study. 02:23 But first, we're gonna go to the Lord in prayer. 02:26 And, Pastor James, would you pray for us? 02:27 Yes. 02:29 Let's pray. 02:30 Father, we just want to thank You, 02:32 for each of the viewers and for each of the presenters, 02:34 and most of all, for Your Word for Jesus Christ, 02:37 who is the Word and for the gift 02:39 that He sent to us of the Holy Spirit. 02:41 We ask for that gift now to guide and direct us, 02:44 to speak to our hearts and the hearts of each viewer, 02:46 each that they're hearing these words 02:47 and we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 02:49 Amen. 02:51 We look this week, our lesson title 02:52 is The Resurrection of Moses. 02:54 You know, Moses was one of the central characters 02:56 of the Book of Deuteronomy, was he not? 02:58 His life, his character and his messages 03:01 pervade the book. 03:03 Moses was the messenger called by God 03:06 to communicate God's love, 03:08 God's covenant, God's law to the people, 03:12 and for over 40 years, 03:14 Moses served faithfully, did he not? 03:16 Enduring hardship and privation, 03:19 stress and overwork, 03:22 criticism and open rebellion, discouragements and setback, 03:27 yet on the flip side, for 40 years, 03:31 Moses experienced God's promises, 03:34 and God's presence, open communication with God, 03:38 God's miracles and deliverance, God's Word, 03:42 he experienced God Himself. 03:44 Moses, in fact, was called the friend of God. 03:48 This week we study Moses' death and resurrection, 03:52 and our memory text has to do with Moses' resurrection, 03:56 that is Jude verse 9. 03:58 Jude 9 is our memory text. 04:00 "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, 04:04 when he disputed about the body of Moses, 04:06 dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, 04:10 but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" 04:13 And I think Shelley is going to talk to us more about that. 04:15 On Sunday's lesson we have The Sin of Moses: Part 1. 04:20 Now it's Part 1, and I'm not sure yet 04:22 what Pastor John's gonna share, 04:23 he has The Sin of Moses: Part 2, 04:25 so hopefully I don't step over into your territory with this. 04:28 Okay. 04:30 Last summer, there was the Olympics. 04:32 And Greg and I were watching one of the... 04:34 I forget even which meet it was, 04:36 but it was one of the track meets 04:38 with the female athletes 04:39 and they're running around the track 04:40 and I'll never forget one of them stumbled and fell. 04:43 And what happens usually when you're in a competition 04:45 if someone stumbles and falls? 04:47 They either stay down 04:48 or they might get up and try to finish, 04:50 but they might finish last or fifth or sixth. 04:53 This person, this woman, she felt, 04:56 she stumbled and fell. 04:57 She got up and she won. 04:59 She finished first. 05:01 We were just astounded staring at the television 05:04 just watching as she fell. 05:06 She's behind everybody and she passed everybody up, 05:09 and she won. 05:10 The sin of Moses, 05:12 we look at the stumble of Moses, 05:13 which might look like defeat. 05:16 But guess what happened? 05:17 He won. 05:18 He got up, and he won. 05:22 If you think about men from the Word of God, 05:24 I'm thinking specifically of kings in the Old Testament, 05:27 who stumbled and fell. 05:28 Think about King David. 05:30 He served God faithfully as a king 05:32 until what happened? 05:34 Bathsheba, think about King Solomon, 05:37 he enjoyed unprecedented wisdom and unparalleled prosperity, 05:42 until his wives turned his heart against God, 05:46 or into idolatry. 05:48 Think about good king Azah. 05:50 He did what was good and right in the sight of God, 05:54 until he stripped the silver and gold 05:56 from the temple to have, 05:58 to hire a foreign king to fight against his enemies. 06:02 And when he was confronted with a sin, 06:04 instead of repenting he became angry, 06:06 and he put the prophet in prison. 06:08 Think about King Jehoshaphat, he made many reforms for God, 06:13 until he made an alliance with wicked king Ahab. 06:17 Think about King Joash, 06:18 he repaired the house of the Lord, 06:20 until he turned to idolatry and murdered 06:24 the son of the man who actually raised him. 06:27 Think about King Hezekiah, 06:29 he restored the worship of God in Judah, 06:32 and saw God perform miracles on his behalf, 06:36 until he showed the Babylonians everything 06:38 in his house and in his kingdom. 06:41 You know, the Word of God portrays people, 06:44 works and all, excuse me, expression, 06:47 but it shows our sin, not just ours, 06:50 but these heroes of the Word of God, 06:52 men and women who walked with God, 06:54 and we see sometimes their mistakes. 06:56 And that's what we see today with the sin of Moses. 06:58 The verses are Numbers 20:1-13. 07:02 We're not going to really jump into them, 07:03 but Numbers 20:1-13, 07:05 we see Moses' stumble, we see the sin of Moses. 07:10 Now remember before, 07:11 this is in Exodus 17 at Rephidim. 07:15 I don't know how you pronounce that, Rephidim? 07:17 Rephidim, whatever. 07:18 There was no water. 07:20 Remember, Moses followed God's command 07:22 to strike the rock one time, 07:25 and he obeyed God. 07:26 This was, of course, Exodus 17 07:28 before the giving of the Ten Commandments. 07:29 It's early on in the journey of the Israelites. 07:32 That rock we see 07:34 in 1 Corinthians 10 represented who? 07:36 Christ and Christ was stricken 07:38 once to bring forth living water. 07:42 Now in Numbers 20, we come to Kadesh and there, 07:46 again, there's no water. 07:48 In this case, Moses was commanded to what? 07:52 Speak to the rock. 07:54 But instead of speaking to the rock, what happened? 07:58 He struck it not just once, but two times. 08:02 The name Kadesh mean sacred or holy place. 08:04 But at Kadesh, neither Moses nor the people 08:07 acted in a holy manner. 08:08 The people complained bitterly, if only we had died in Egypt, 08:13 why did you bring us out in the wilderness to die? 08:17 Why did you make us come out of Egypt? 08:19 This is probably toward the very end of their journey. 08:22 So we see this at the very beginning 08:23 of the journey, there's no water, 08:24 God performs a miracle. 08:26 Toward the very end of the journey, 08:27 we see again, no water, 08:30 God did perform a miracle 08:31 because water came forth from the rock. 08:34 But Moses didn't have any power. 08:36 Remember what he said, 08:37 must I bring forth water from the rock, 08:39 but he didn't have power to bring forth water, 08:41 it came from God Himself. 08:43 So I want to look at six lessons for leaders 08:49 from this experience of Moses at the rock, the sin of Moses. 08:53 Lesson number one, don't rely on past victories. 08:58 You know, Moses had obeyed before, had he not? 09:01 Many times, he left Egypt under God's direct command. 09:04 He crossed the Red Sea under God's direct command. 09:08 He obtained the water at Rephidim 09:11 under God's direct command. 09:14 Just because we walked with God yesterday, 09:16 just because we had an experience 09:18 with God last week 09:20 does not mean it carries over for today. 09:22 You know, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:31, 09:25 what does he say? 09:26 I die daily, meaning 09:27 we don't just have an experience with God 09:30 when we come to church on Sabbath and we say, 09:31 "Okay, God, I want to follow You. 09:33 I'm going to serve you this week." 09:34 And then we go on our way. 09:36 No, we cannot rely on past victories, 09:38 on experiences, mountaintop experiences 09:41 we've had with God in the past. 09:42 Those are good. Those are well. 09:44 But every day, every moment of every day, 09:48 we need to be connected with God. 09:51 Lesson number two, don't allow other people 09:54 to sway your decisions or your emotions. 09:58 You know, the people grumbled and complained. 10:00 Is that wearing? 10:02 Would that sway how you were affected? 10:06 Would that change how you interact 10:08 with someone else? 10:09 Proverbs 29:25, says, 10:12 "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, 10:15 but trusting in the Lord means safety." 10:18 Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, 10:21 so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." 10:25 You know, it's easy to love people 10:26 if they love you back. 10:27 Is that not true? That's true. 10:29 It's painless to reach out to people 10:30 if they don't have any freckles. 10:31 But the real test comes 10:33 if the loving costs you something, 10:36 if the leadership costs you something, 10:40 when it hurts, 10:41 that is the real test of a leader 10:43 when it's difficult. 10:45 Don't allow other people to sway your decisions. 10:48 Don't say, "Well, my church board 10:49 wants me to move this direction. 10:51 Well, the people around me are saying this. 10:53 Well, the people are grumbling and complaining. 10:55 Well, I'm not really sure. 10:56 And I'm swayed by the opinions of people around me." 11:02 Don't allow other people to sway your emotions 11:05 or your decisions. 11:07 Principle number three, 11:08 go from your critic's presence to the Lord's presence. 11:13 Now Moses did this very well. 11:14 In this situation, he did it very well, 11:17 continue to rely on him because what did he do? 11:19 The people moan and complain. 11:20 They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? 11:22 Why did you do this?" 11:23 And what does the Word of God say? 11:25 Moses and Aaron fell on their face before the Lord. 11:28 So they went straight from the people 11:30 who were under them, 11:31 people who were complaining, people who were murmuring, 11:33 people who were saying all manner of things 11:35 and what did they do? 11:37 They went straight to God. 11:39 They went from their critic's presence 11:42 to God's presence. 11:43 So many times, we go from a critic's presence. 11:47 I've done this. 11:49 And I go straight to someone else and I complain, 11:52 or I sit and I nurse a little bit of self pity, 11:55 or I go internal. 11:57 No, no, no. 11:58 When something comes against you, 12:00 go straight to the face of God and bring it to Him. 12:04 Principle number four, deal with your besetting sin. 12:09 Now Moses, we know the Word of God says 12:11 was the meekest man on all the earth. 12:14 We did see that anger 12:15 was kindled with the Egyptian, right? 12:17 Early in his life, is that not true? 12:19 Forty years later, 12:20 he spends his wandering with the Midianites 12:23 he comes back. 12:24 And in Exodus 11, he left Pharaoh's presence, 12:26 the Bible says in great anger. 12:29 And then we see 40 years later at the very end 12:33 him responding in anger against striking the rock. 12:37 Ask God to reveal 12:39 what your particular besetting sin is. 12:43 We know Hebrews 12, 12:44 we're supposed to lay aside every weight 12:45 and the sin which so easily besets us. 12:48 I don't know about you, 12:49 but this is my opinion for leaders, 12:51 specific besetting sins for leaders, 12:54 pride and selfishness. 12:56 The need for approval or approbation, 13:00 marriage and family problems, 13:02 anger or the lack of forgiveness 13:05 or a need for revenge, 13:07 desire for power. 13:10 The need to be right 13:11 or the inability to listen to people under you. 13:15 Cowardice or lack of leadership 13:18 or the inability to stand for principle, 13:21 deal with your besetting sin. 13:23 Principle number five, look to Jesus. 13:26 We just quoted Hebrews 12:1 13:28 about laying aside those besetting sins. 13:30 Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus, 13:33 the author and finisher of our faith, 13:36 who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 13:38 despising the shame." 13:40 Principle number six, last lesson, 13:42 accept responsibility, but never take credit. 13:48 Give God the glory for all He uses you to accomplish. 13:52 Give God the glory for what God has done. 13:55 And give God the glory for what other people do. 13:57 Don't take the credit, but accept the responsibility 14:01 when the mistake belongs to you. 14:03 Moses made it appear what? 14:05 That he made the water flow out of the rock 14:07 and it confused the people's minds 14:10 did God bring that or did Moses. 14:13 It's neither Paul nor Apollos that brought anything. 14:16 It's neither you or I that do anything, 14:19 God is the one who gives the increase. 14:21 Wow. Thank you, Jill. 14:23 Thank you so much for a wonderful beginning 14:24 to the lesson. 14:25 And I'm going to go over 14:27 some of the ground you've covered 14:29 but thank you for laying it out. 14:30 You touched on it briefly 14:31 in the Book of Numbers Chapter 20. 14:33 But I'm going to go on to a little bit of detail 14:35 about The Sin of Moses: Part 2. 14:39 First, I want to begin by going to the Book of Mark, 14:44 Mark Chapter 9. 14:46 And this is true in our lives 14:49 as well as in the life of Moses. 14:52 Now Moses, 14:53 as it were was a present help to the Israelites. 14:59 But he was more than just a leader. 15:01 Moses was their reference point of the power 15:05 and the reliability of God. 15:07 Moses was the one that people look to 15:10 in the moments of crisis 15:12 when everybody else was stressing. 15:14 Moses didn't really have that option. 15:16 That's why he said, "Why do you cry to me?" 15:19 Even when it came to leadership, 15:21 his father-in-law, Jethro said to Moses, 15:23 "You cannot live your life as a stressful leader, 15:26 divide the responsibilities 15:28 equally among those who can handle it, 15:31 and leave the more difficult cases for yourself." 15:33 So all through his ministry, 15:35 God was taking Moses through three particular phases, 15:38 from his abandonment 15:40 and I identify with Moses on that, 15:42 because what was true about him is true about me. 15:45 I was abandoned at three months old, 15:47 left by my mother, 15:49 to be raised by someone else 15:51 in the fear and admonition of the Lord. 15:54 The benefit of Moses was, 15:55 even though Pharaoh's daughter found 15:57 and his mother still had the blessing of raising him. 15:59 I was the youngest of three, 16:01 and my sister and my brother was in the same order of age. 16:05 So I understand that aspect of it 16:07 being the third of three children. 16:09 The other thing is, 16:11 being the one that God used to call the children of Israel 16:14 and lead them out of Egypt, 16:16 having to overcome the obstacles 16:18 of not really being that great of a speaker. 16:20 As a matter of fact, I look back on my ministry 16:22 and I thought, wow, I've got the strongest 16:24 dynamically strong New York accent. 16:27 And when I went to California, 16:28 they told me your accent is strong. 16:30 I would instead of say foreyard use, 16:32 East Coast was like vestibule. 16:34 And people said, "What is a vestibule?" 16:36 I said, "That's out of what do you guys call this is a foyer." 16:40 And I'd use phrases like we sat on the stoop. 16:42 They say, "What are the stoops?" 16:44 I said, "For you guys, that's the porch." 16:46 And so God had to really take me 16:48 through this long road of refinement, 16:51 which Moses' first four years 16:53 was in the refining schools in Egypt. 16:55 And then his next 40 years was as a shepherd. 16:59 God took him to learn 17:01 that this next phase of your life 17:04 is going to be among some stinky sheep. 17:07 But they're going to have two legs instead of four. 17:09 And Moses had to deal 17:11 with the pucky of adult Christians 17:14 that acted like children. 17:16 And so he had to lead them 17:17 in through all their bends and turns of life, 17:19 and but he did not have the option 17:21 of misrepresenting God. 17:24 And that was what I'm going to talk about today. 17:26 And the reason why Moses' position 17:28 was so significant is because he had to lead a people 17:31 who for 400 years in bondage 17:34 had to learn and relearn about God. 17:37 They had to see God move through the life of Moses. 17:40 And the amazing miracles God performed 17:42 through his obedient servant increased their belief, 17:46 until that experience 17:48 when he decided to veer off course, 17:50 and not exercise belief. 17:51 Now, why is belief so vitally important? 17:54 Mark 9:23. 17:56 Mark 9:23, "If you can believe, 18:02 all things are possible to him who believes." 18:08 Notice it didn't say you're doing, 18:09 it is to simply say you have to be the one to believe. 18:12 And we go to now to the story of Moses 18:16 and his leadership. 18:18 And Jill touched on that, but let's just go through 18:19 some of the details of the story. 18:21 Go to Numbers 20:7. 18:23 And you made it very clear in verse 7, 18:26 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18:29 'Take the rod, 18:31 you and your brother Aaron 18:32 gather the congregation together. 18:34 Speak to the rock," and here's the key, 18:36 "before their eyes." 18:38 It was not just got in the desert 18:39 by yourself and speak to the rock, 18:41 what he was about to do 18:43 in the presence of the people will either say, 18:44 I believe God, or I don't believe Him. 18:47 So his sin wasn't localized. 18:49 It wasn't just between him and God, 18:51 he affected the way the people believed. 18:53 And as a leader, what you do in public will affect the way 18:56 that people believe in God, 18:58 whether or not they believe, 18:59 well, if our pastor doesn't believe God, 19:01 why should we? 19:02 And so in that context, Moses had to represent God. 19:05 And those three words before their eyes 19:08 is the key aspect of the story. 19:10 It goes on. 19:11 "And if you do that before their eyes, 19:13 I will yield its water, and it will yield its water, 19:16 thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock. 19:19 God even gave Moses the credit. 19:22 And so sometimes God does certain things 19:24 that we know He did. 19:26 But the people say, "Good job, Pastor Lomacang," 19:29 and you gonna say, "That wasn't me." 19:31 I was in New York City a few years ago, 19:34 and I preached for a camp meeting, 19:35 people started calling me 19:36 and I was so pleased to hear somebody say, 19:39 "I know that wasn't you. 19:41 Even your voice was different." 19:42 My sister said to my wife, 19:44 "I've heard my brother all my life. 19:46 That was not my brother." 19:47 And Angie's sister call, "You may live with him, 19:50 but I want to tell you that was not your... 19:51 That was not John." 19:53 And so, it was so encouraging 19:54 to let that burden off of my shoulder and say, 19:56 "God, I committed myself to You and that was You." 20:00 We've got to keep in mind anything that is great, 20:02 give the glory to God. 20:04 Anything that causes fumblings and bumblings like I've... 20:06 If I said, "Whatever you hear that's good, 20:08 give it to God, wherever there are falterings, 20:12 contribute that to me, 20:13 because God never makes a mistake." 20:14 What did Moses do? 20:16 Verse 9, he says, "And Moses took the rod 20:19 from before the Lord as He commanded him. 20:22 And Moses and Aaron 20:23 gathered the assembly together before the rock, 20:26 and he said to them, 'Hear now, you rebels!"' 20:30 He was probably upset. 20:31 Don't wake up upset. 20:32 Don't let your anger translate into doing 20:35 what God does not approve. 20:37 "Must we bring for you, water for you out of the rock? 20:41 Then Moses lifted his hand 20:43 and struck the rock twice with his rod, 20:46 and water came out abundantly, 20:48 and the congregation and their animals drank." 20:50 Now, here's something, 20:52 even though he didn't do what God told him to do, 20:56 God did what He said He would. 20:58 Sometimes God works in spite of us, 21:00 not in light of us. 21:02 God said, "I cannot let your foolishness 21:05 hinder the people's blessings. 21:06 So if you're a leader, and you do something foolish, 21:10 and the people still get blessed, 21:11 God is going to deal with you. 21:13 But He's not going to hold, 21:15 withhold His blessings from the people. 21:17 So I want to bring out four particular points 21:19 that I saw on the story. 21:20 There's so much more, 21:22 but I was thankful that Jill covered a lot of that. 21:23 But let me talk about four things. 21:25 I think the infractions of Moses 21:28 can be broken down to these four areas. 21:30 Let's go to Hebrews 11:6. 21:33 Hebrews 11:6. 21:34 Now, the Israelites did a lot of things 21:36 that anybody would get upset with. 21:39 But Moses as a leader 21:40 didn't have the luxury of allowing his anger 21:43 to be displayed publicly. 21:45 And you know what? 21:46 I've worked hard on that for the years 21:48 I've been here at 3ABN. 21:49 There are some people that have seen me angry, 21:51 but I never allow that anger to pour into the pulpit. 21:53 I've come in and had private conversations 21:55 to allow God to work with me 21:57 through it with other leaders, 21:59 but I've not allowed my leadership 22:00 to go ahead and affect the congregation. 22:01 So, you know, I'm done with you guys. 22:03 I'm out of here. 22:04 You know, what do you do? 22:06 Because I know that if the shepherd is stricken, 22:09 the sheep would scatter. 22:11 The first one, Hebrews 11:6, what happened? 22:14 A lack of faith? 22:15 Why is it so important? 22:16 "But without faith 22:18 it is impossible to please Him." 22:19 Moses had to exercise faith to please God. 22:22 "For he who comes to God must believe that He is, 22:25 and that He is a rewarder of those 22:27 who diligently seek Him." 22:29 Moses should have sought God in that moment 22:31 when it would affect other people 22:32 by simply doing what God said. 22:34 The second one was lack of faith. 22:36 And I just shared that in Hebrews 11:6. 22:39 I actually read that one, let's go to disobedience, 22:42 James 4:17, the second one, disobedience. 22:45 "Therefore, to him who knows to do good 22:49 and does not do it, to him it is sin." 22:53 What I do wrong may not be a sin for James or for Jill, 22:56 because God didn't call them to do it. 22:57 If God has called me to do something, 22:59 and I choose not to do it, 23:00 it affects my relationship with God. 23:02 He said, "You know, I told you to speak to the rock. 23:04 I didn't tell Jill to do it. 23:05 I didn't tell James to do it or anybody else. 23:07 I told you to speak to the rock. 23:09 You can't tell Jill to speak the rock 23:11 because I didn't call Jill to do that. 23:12 Even if she speaks, I'm not going to respond 23:14 because I told you to do it." 23:15 Never pass off your responsibility 23:18 when God has called you personally. 23:20 Third one, obedience, James. 23:22 Third one, don't seek to excuse your behavior. 23:25 Ecclesiastes 5:6, "Do not let your mouth 23:30 cause your flesh to sin, 23:32 nor say before the messenger of God 23:34 that it was an error. 23:36 Why should God be angry at your excuse 23:38 and destroy the works of your hands?" 23:40 Moses lost a lot that day. 23:43 In a moment, he could have gained a lot. 23:46 He could have gained more than he lost 23:48 if he had only been obedient in that slice of a moment. 23:52 And lastly, Hebrews 3:12, 23:54 and this is what happened to Israel, 23:56 his unbelief affected them. 23:58 And notice the end of the story. 24:00 Unbelief is an external testament against God. 24:03 Hebrews 3:12, "Beware, brethren, 24:06 lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief 24:11 in departing from the living God." 24:13 In that moment of unbelief, 24:15 Moses withdrew himself from God. 24:17 And 40 years later, the Bible says 24:20 they didn't even enter in because of unbelief. 24:23 Amen. 24:24 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 24:26 Don't go away. We'll be right back. 24:32 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 24:35 again, or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:39 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:44 A clean design makes it easy 24:46 to find the program you're looking for. 24:49 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:52 so you can follow along. 24:54 Sharing is easy. 24:55 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:58 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:02 Welcome back to lesson number 13, 25:04 The Resurrection of Moses. 25:06 And we're going to toss it 25:07 over to Pastor James in Tuesday's lesson. 25:08 All right. 25:10 I have today's lesson, and that is The Death of Moses. 25:12 My name is James Rafferty, 25:14 and we're going to get right into the lesson. 25:15 Basically, it's a summary or excuse me, 25:18 basically, we're looking in this week's lesson 25:20 at Deuteronomy Chapter 34. 25:22 And just to summarize it, 25:23 it's actually the shortest chapter 25:25 in the entire Book of Deuteronomy. 25:26 And it's talking about 25:28 the death of this giant of a man, 25:29 which tells us how much God, 25:31 how much time God really wants to spend on death, 25:33 not very much. 25:34 He wants to talk about life, 25:36 he wants to talk about goodness and happiness, 25:38 and a future and a hope, not about death. 25:40 But this chapter is full of lessons for us. 25:45 It's powerful when you think about it, 25:46 because you, you look at this chapter, 25:49 these 12 verses here, 25:50 and you just think about the parallels 25:53 between Moses and the life of Christ, 25:56 because in many ways, Moses was a type of Christ. 25:59 And we see that all through the Bible, 26:01 we see a lot of people that are types of Christ, 26:02 but I think more than any other person... 26:04 Explain what that word means because we had a viewer ask. 26:07 Oh, okay, it's, the word type means 26:10 he is an example or illustration of Christ. 26:14 He is representing Christ in the way that he either lived 26:19 or died or walked or talked 26:21 or so that when you look at Moses, 26:23 you see Jesus, you see things that Jesus did, 26:26 or the way Jesus experienced life. 26:28 And we're going to see that, for example, 26:31 in relation to what happens in Chapter 34, 26:35 when Moses is taken up into the mount, 26:37 Mount Pisgah, is where he ends up, 26:39 and God shows him the entire Promised Land, 26:43 He shows him everything. 26:44 And then He tells him, "You know, you can't go in, 26:46 but I'm just going to show this to you. 26:48 Because of your sin, 26:50 you're going to have to die on this side of it." 26:51 And now we know that, 26:53 that Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration 26:56 was shown all that his death would accomplish. 27:00 He was glorified, He had Moses on one side, 27:03 Elijah on the other side, 27:04 so He's given this picture up in the mountains, 27:05 He's given this picture 27:07 of what His death was accomplished. 27:08 Moses was given a picture of all that his life 27:11 had accomplished for his people even though, 27:13 of course, Moses couldn't go in, we know Christ, 27:15 of course, is going to be with us in heaven. 27:16 Of course, Moses is gonna be with us in heaven. 27:18 Okay, I'm getting off track here, 27:20 but let me get back on track. 27:21 Another interesting insight about Moses is his death age. 27:26 When he died, he was 120 years old. 27:30 He, his... 27:32 It says, the Bible says his eyes were not dim. 27:34 That is He didn't need glasses, right? 27:36 His eyes weren't dim. 27:37 He didn't need glasses to read the fine print. 27:39 And his vital force was not abated or diminished. 27:44 Okay, that's verse 7 of Deuteronomy Chapter 34. 27:46 So, if that's the case, how did Moses die? 27:50 I mean, evidently, Moses was laid to rest 27:53 by the hand of God. 27:54 The Romans and the Jews killed the body of Christ, 27:59 but how did Christ die? 28:01 Christ was laid to rest by the hand of God. 28:04 So both of them were laid to rest by the hand of God. 28:07 Christ, it says, was forsaken by the hand of God. 28:10 Now, number three, point number three. 28:11 In fact, the word Pisgah actually means 28:14 where Moses died actually comes from the Hebrew root word, 28:17 which means to cut off, to cut off. 28:20 And Christ who became a sin for us 28:22 was also cut off, Psalm 88 tells us. 28:25 Number four, why did Moses die? 28:28 And why did Christ die? 28:30 Both Moses and Christ died 28:31 because sin could not be excused. 28:35 Number five, Moses died for the sin he committed 28:39 because of the people and Christ died 28:41 for the sin we committed. 28:43 He also died because of the people. 28:47 Number six, why did Moses die? 28:48 Because he sinned. 28:50 Why did Christ die? 28:51 Because we sinned and he according to the Bible, 28:54 2 Corinthians 5:21, Jill, He became sin for us. 28:58 That's right. 29:00 So number seven, why was Moses death necessary? 29:04 Well, because God cannot compromise with sin. 29:06 Why was Christ's death necessary? 29:08 Because God cannot compromise. 29:11 Number eight, why did Moses... What did Moses' death prove? 29:15 Moses' death prove that God is just. 29:18 What did Christ's death prove? 29:19 Christ's death prove that God is just. 29:23 Number nine, Moses and Christ died because of sin. 29:26 And therefore the devil 29:28 contended over the body of Moses, 29:31 and the devil contended over the body of Christ, 29:35 put a Roman guard there, sealed up the tomb, 29:37 tried to stop Him from being resurrected. 29:39 Number 10, despite the devil's devices, 29:41 both Moses and Christ were resurrected 29:44 and both encouraged God's people 29:47 after their resurrection. 29:48 I'm sure someone else 29:50 is gonna talk a little bit more about this. 29:51 But Moses, of course, encouraged God's people 29:53 at the Transfiguration, 29:55 and Christ, of course, was there with His people 29:58 for 40 days after His resurrection. 29:59 Number 11, Moses and Christ 30:01 both walked to their death alone. 30:04 Moses by himself to Mount Pisgah, 30:06 Christ whose disciples slept 30:09 and then deserted Him in the last hours of His life. 30:12 Number 12, Moses pleaded with God 30:14 to let him live on and go into the Promised Land. 30:17 But ultimately, 30:19 Moses surrendered to God's will. 30:21 Three times Christ prayed, you're ahead of me there, 30:25 three times Christ... 30:27 Okay, I'm handing this to Ryan, 30:28 three times Christ prayed 30:29 to let the cup of death pass from him. 30:31 But ultimately, 30:32 Christ surrendered to God's will. 30:35 Number 13, both were sorely tried by the people 30:37 they sought to help. 30:39 They were threatened. 30:41 But was being stoned to death, Moses and Jesus caught, 30:44 the people were constantly murmuring against them, right? 30:46 Number 14, both Moses and Jesus 30:48 willingly stepped away from glory, 30:51 away from honor, 30:52 away from the riches 30:55 that they had each one of them in their own right, 30:58 and they chose a life of hardship, 31:00 a life of affliction, 31:01 so that they could deliver God's people. 31:04 Number 15, both face betrayal 31:06 from those that were closest to them, 31:07 Miriam and Aaron, Christ's disciples. 31:09 Number 16, both were highly exalted 31:12 by the people after they were gone. 31:14 People who brought them so much grief 31:16 during their lives, right? 31:18 Number 17, Moses laid his hand on Joshua, 31:22 and the Spirit of God that Moses possessed 31:24 was passed on to Joshua at Moses' death. 31:27 Jesus breathed upon His disciples 31:30 and the Spirit of God that Christ possessed, 31:32 was passed on to His disciples 31:33 after His death. 31:35 Number 16, 31:36 both Moses and Christ knew the Lord face to face. 31:40 That was number 18, not number 16. 31:42 Number 19, both Moses and Christ 31:44 were willing to have their own lives blotted out, 31:47 so the rebellious people could be forgiven. 31:50 And finally, number 20, 31:52 the life and the death and the resurrection experience 31:55 of both Moses and Christ reveals the very essence 31:59 of the everlasting gospel, 32:01 and it will be the praise and the song 32:03 of the redeemed throughout all eternity. 32:05 Let's look at the verses there in Revelation Chapter 15. 32:08 Revelation 15:2, 32:10 "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire." 32:13 Whoo, glass in fire, 32:14 that sounds kind of scary. 32:16 "And them that had gotten the victory over the beast, 32:18 and over his image, and over his mark, 32:20 and over the number of his name, 32:21 stand on the sea of glass, mingled with fire, 32:24 having the harps of God. 32:27 And they sing the song of Moses and the Lamb," verse 3, 32:30 "the servant of God," excuse me, 32:32 "and they sing the song of Moses 32:33 the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, 32:35 saying, 'Great and marvelous are thy works, 32:37 Lord God Almighty.'" 32:38 That's what John was sharing with us. 32:40 "Just and true are thy ways, thy King of saints." 32:42 They figured this out now, right, verse 4, 32:44 "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? 32:48 For thou only art holy: 32:50 for all nations shall come and worship before thee, 32:53 for thy judgments are made manifest." 32:56 You know, we can't help but notice 32:58 in this previous stanza 33:00 of the song of Moses and the Lamb, 33:03 a reflection of the experience 33:05 of the everlasting gospel, right? 33:07 It's proclaimed in the previous chapter, 33:08 Chapter 14, where it says, "Fear God, 33:11 give glory to him, 33:12 for the hour of his judgment is come and worship him 33:14 that made heaven and earth and the seas 33:16 and the fountains of waters." 33:18 That's right. 33:19 And that's exactly what we see taking place 33:20 in the song of Moses and this needs to be our song. 33:23 I want to share something, 33:25 from what I considered to be my opinion, 33:26 inspired commentary on the Bible. 33:29 This is a book called Patriarchs and Prophets. 33:31 And this statement is found on page 470. 33:34 It's talking about Moses, it says, 33:36 "That very day there came to Moses the command, 33:38 'Get thee up unto the Mount Nebo, 33:40 and behold the land of Canaan, 33:42 which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 33:45 and die in the mount whither thou goest up, 33:48 and be gathered unto thy people.' 33:50 Moses had left the camp, 33:52 in obedience to the divine summons, 33:54 to commune with God, 33:56 excuse me, Moses had often left the camp, 33:59 in obedience to the divine summons, 34:01 to commune with God, 34:03 but he was now to depart 34:04 on a new and mysterious errand. 34:07 He must go forth to resign his life 34:09 into the hands of his Creator. 34:17 Moses knew that he was to die alone, 34:20 no earthly friend would be permitted to minister to him 34:23 in the last hours. 34:26 There was a mystery and awfulness 34:28 about the scene before him, 34:29 from which his heart shrank. 34:31 The severest trial was his separation 34:33 from the people of his care and love, 34:34 the people with whom his interest and his life 34:36 had so long been united. 34:38 But he had learned to trust God, 34:40 and with unquestioning faith 34:43 he committed himself and his people 34:46 to God's love and mercy. 34:49 That's right. 34:51 So, dear listeners, it's our hope, 34:53 as we're closing out this amazing 34:56 Sabbath School lesson on the Book of Deuteronomy, 34:58 that the song of Moses and the Lamb 35:00 will be the song of our own experience, 35:03 the experience of putting our faith 35:05 and our trust in a God who truly, 35:07 truly loves us. 35:09 That's right. Amen. 35:10 Amen. Thank you. 35:12 Thank you. 35:13 I'm Shelley Quinn. 35:16 And my lesson is Wednesday, 35:20 The Resurrection of Moses. 35:23 So we see as the Bible said, 35:26 Moses was the meekest man on earth and meek, 35:31 it means he was humble. 35:32 He was... Humility is to depend on God. 35:38 But what happened? 35:39 He got angry. 35:41 He acted presumptuously. 35:44 And he disobeyed God. 35:46 Now that's a warning to us. Yes. 35:48 In Romans 12:21. 35:50 Paul says, "Do not be overcome by evil, 35:55 but overcome evil with good." 35:58 And he told the Ephesians in 4:26, he said, 36:03 "Hey, be angry, do not say, 36:06 don't let the sun go down on your wrath." 36:10 So as Jill was talking about, 36:13 we need to understand our area of weakness 36:18 because here's Moses, 36:20 His faithful servant of God, 36:23 who now has disobeyed in a moment of craziness. 36:28 And I know God forgave him, 36:30 but there were consequences of the sin. 36:32 He died up on Mount Nebo at the top of to Pisgah 36:38 without entering the Promised Land. 36:40 Deuteronomy 34:5-6, 36:43 here is this amazing servant of God. 36:46 And here's what it says, Deuteronomy 34:5 says, 36:50 "Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, 36:55 according to the word of the Lord." 36:57 Verse 6, "And he, the Lord, 37:00 buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, 37:05 opposite Beth Peor, 37:07 but no one knows his grave to this day." 37:12 Have you heard 37:14 of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 37:16 that is in Arlington National Cemetery? 37:19 It's across the Potomac from Washington DC. 37:22 This is just the opposite. 37:24 This is the tomb of 37:30 and I would say it's the unknown burial plot 37:34 or the unknown tomb 37:35 of the most known soldier of God. 37:39 He was secretly buried by God 37:42 in a place that no man knew. 37:45 And here's the thing. 37:47 He died, God buried him. 37:50 The people wept 30 days and life went on. 37:56 But if you're old enough to remember Paul Harvey, 37:59 the radio host and personality. 38:04 His famous line was, 38:06 "Stay tuned for the rest of the story." 38:09 And Moses' death was not the final chapter 38:14 of Moses' life. 38:16 We see him on the Mount of Transfiguration. 38:19 He's alive and well. 38:21 He's come down to Jesus to encourage him. 38:25 In Matthew 17:1-3, "Jesus took Peter, 38:29 James and John up on a high mountain 38:31 by themselves, 38:32 and He was transfigured." 38:34 There was a transformation there right before their eyes. 38:38 And it says, "His face shone like the sun, 38:41 and his clothes became as white as the light." 38:44 And verse 3 says, "Behold, 38:47 Moses and Elijah appeared to them, 38:52 talking to Jesus." 38:54 Now, we can explain Elijah's presence 38:58 on the Mount of Transfiguration 39:00 because 2 Kings 2:11-12, says, 39:04 "Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, 39:08 he was translated." 39:10 That means he didn't die before he went to heaven. 39:15 There was the chariots of fire came down, 39:18 they got him and they escorted him 39:21 to heaven. 39:23 So how do we account for Moses' presence? 39:28 Well, you know, the Bible teaches 39:30 that the dead know nothing. 39:32 The Bible teaches that we rest in our grave, 39:36 until the resurrection. 39:38 1 Corinthians 15:52-54, we covered it 39:42 during the last lesson, we do not put on immortality. 39:46 We said, God alone is immortal right now, 39:49 that's what the Bible says. 39:51 But we don't put on immortality till Christ returns. 39:56 So Moses is dead and buried. 40:01 What happened? 40:02 Well, on the Mount of Transfiguration, 40:05 Elijah represented all those people 40:08 who will be alive when Jesus comes in, 40:11 they're translated to heaven. 40:13 And Moses was there to represent all those 40:16 who are resurrected at the Second Coming 40:20 because Moses was resurrected by Jesus Christ. 40:23 That's right. 40:24 Jude 1:9 says, "Yet Michael the archangel, 40:28 in contending with the devil, 40:29 when he disputed about the body of Moses, 40:37 Michael dared not bring against him 40:40 a reviling accusation, 40:42 but he said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" 40:47 You know, doesn't that remind you of Zechariah 3 40:49 where it says, The Lord's, 40:52 the Lord speaks to the devil and says, 40:55 "The Lord rebuke you." 40:57 Now, I have to tell you this. 41:00 And if you don't know this, 41:02 I just want to say please trust me, 41:06 go listen to a sermon. 41:08 I did a sermon called, I think they titled it 41:10 Erasing Popular Belief 41:12 about Heaven's Archangel. 41:15 But this is my point. 41:18 Michael is another title for Jesus Christ Himself. 41:22 Now you, if you don't know that you're going, 41:24 "What did you say?" 41:26 But in the Hebrew, in the Greek, 41:28 the word angel signifies a messenger. 41:33 In the Old Testament, it's you, 41:34 well, both Testaments is used of men, 41:38 who are called angels as messengers of God, 41:42 and it is used of spiritual beings. 41:47 So angel is not a term 41:50 that denotes the nature of a being, 41:54 but rather the office. 41:56 It's the position of the authority and serve 42:00 and the service of being a messenger sent forth 42:04 to execute God's purposes. 42:07 Now, if you are a Protestant pastor, 42:10 I'm just almost going to guess somewhere in your library, 42:13 you have Matthew Henry's commentary. 42:16 Can we read this real quick? 42:18 Commentary of Malachi 3:1, this is Matthew Henry, 42:22 the famous Bible Commentary. 42:25 He is the Messenger of the covenant, 42:26 speaking of Jesus or the angel of the covenant, 42:29 that blessed one that was sent from heaven 42:31 to negotiate a peace, 42:33 and settle a correspondence, between God and man. 42:36 He is the angel, the archangel, the Lord of the angels, 42:40 who received commission from the Father 42:42 to bring man home to God by a covenant of grace." 42:46 See, the word ark 42:48 in the original language means chief, 42:51 principal, greatest, highest. 42:53 So Jesus is the highest of all of God's messengers. 42:58 He's the captain of the host. 43:00 He is over all the angels 43:02 not because He's a created being, 43:04 He is God, our Creator God, 43:08 but He disputed with the devil 43:11 over the resurrection of Moses. 43:15 And why did they have this dispute? 43:19 Well, let's see. 43:21 Was Moses a sinner? 43:22 Yep. 43:24 And when you're a sinner, 43:25 you're under the power of Satan, aren't you? 43:28 He become a lawful captive of death. 43:33 But they dispute over his body, 43:35 Christ was now claiming for Moses, 43:41 the promised resurrection. 43:43 Here's what Clifford Goldstein, 43:46 the author of our Adult Bible Study says, 43:51 "How could God do that for a sinner? 43:54 Moses, someone who had violated the law, 43:57 the answer, of course, could only be the cross, 44:01 just as all the animal sacrifices 44:05 pointed to Christ's death, 44:07 all of this substitutionary sacrificial system, 44:10 it pointed to Christ's death. 44:13 So obviously, the Lord now looking ahead to the cross, 44:18 claimed the body of Moses 44:22 to be resurrected. 44:25 You know, my, my favorite thought on this. 44:31 Moses followed the Lord. 44:35 Oh, the last 40 years of his life were glorious. 44:39 What a man of God he was, a friend of God. 44:44 His sin had consequences. 44:46 It kept him from crossing over 44:49 into the Promised Land on earth. 44:52 But God doesn't look at one sin that we did and say, 44:57 oops, I'm looking for a reason 44:59 to take you out of the Book of Life. 45:01 No, no, no. 45:03 God looks at the record of our life. 45:07 And He knew Moses was His man. 45:10 And so Moses' sin did not keep him 45:15 out of the Promised Land of heaven. 45:19 His life record followed him. 45:22 Amen. All right. 45:24 Well, you've set me up perfectly 45:25 for Thursday's lesson. 45:28 In case you're wondering, my name is Ryan Day. 45:30 And I have Thursday's lesson entitled, 45:32 The Resurrection of Us All, which is exciting. 45:36 So if I get a little excited here, 45:38 you'll just have to deal with it. 45:41 Moses was the first recorded resurrection 45:44 in Scripture as far as being 45:46 one of the first people ever resurrected. 45:47 Obviously, we just read that from Jude and pastor also, 45:52 Pastor James Rafferty referenced the sermon, 45:55 or excuse me, not the sermon, but the Transfiguration. 45:58 I'll get there one day Transfiguration on the Mount. 46:01 But, you know, Thursday's lesson 46:03 actually brings out the fact that, 46:05 you know, Moses was able to be resurrected 46:08 because of Christ. 46:09 And really our ultimate example 46:11 in all resurrections is Jesus Christ 46:13 being the Bible makes it very clear 46:15 that He holds the keys to death. 46:17 And that's exactly the point that Paul is making 46:20 in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 46:22 So let's go there. 46:23 Let's go to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 46:25 Now, most of the time, when we go to 1 Corinthians 15, 46:28 we focus in on verses 51 to about 54. 46:31 We are going to, if we have time, 46:33 we are going to read those texts. 46:35 But I'm actually going to focus in on verses 12 through 22. 46:39 It's a lengthy passage, but it's powerful 46:41 when you consider the fact 46:42 that we have the promise all of us, 46:44 not just Moses, not just certain people in Scripture, 46:47 not just the prophets or those notable ones 46:49 mentioned in the Bible, but all of us have 46:52 the beautiful promise of resurrection 46:54 because of Jesus Christ. 46:56 So 1 Corinthians 15:12-22. 47:00 Notice what the Bible says. 47:01 It says, "Now if Christ is preached 47:03 that He has been raised from the dead, 47:06 how do some among you say that 47:08 there is no resurrection of the dead?" 47:10 And he's writing this letter to the Church of Corinth. 47:13 Obviously, there were some believers at Corinth, 47:15 where Paul had to, he had to confront the issue. 47:18 He had to correct them, because obviously, 47:19 there was a belief floating around, 47:21 yeah, nobody's gonna be resurrected. 47:23 He's like, "Look, if Christ has been raised from the dead. 47:26 And how can any of you say 47:27 there is no resurrection of the dead?" 47:28 Verse 13 and onward, it says, 47:30 "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 47:32 then Christ is not risen. 47:34 And if Christ is not risen, 47:35 then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 47:40 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, 47:43 because we have testified of God 47:45 that He raised up Christ, 47:47 of whom He did not raise up, 47:49 if in fact the dead do not rise." 47:52 I love this. 47:53 He says, "For if the dead do not rise, 47:55 then Christ is not risen. 47:57 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, 48:00 you are still in your sins! 48:02 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 48:07 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 48:10 we are of all men the most pitiable." 48:14 And then he goes on to verse 20, verse 20-22, 48:17 he says, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, 48:21 and has become the firstfruits of those 48:23 who have fallen asleep. 48:25 For since by man came death, 48:29 by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 48:35 For as in Adam all die, 48:36 even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 48:40 My friends, we can look unto Jesus, 48:42 the author, the finisher of our faith, 48:43 and know that because He has risen, 48:46 He has overcome the world, 48:48 He has overcome sin, 48:49 in the promise of His resurrection, 48:51 we also can be resurrected and be made whole. 48:55 Of course, the Bible makes it clear 48:56 that there are two different types of resurrections. 48:58 And we need to make sure we wake up in the right one. 49:03 John 5:28-29, Jesus says these words, He says," 49:07 Do not marvel at this, 49:08 for the hour is coming in 49:09 which all that are in the graves 49:11 will hear His voice and come forth, 49:14 those who have done good, 49:15 unto the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, 49:18 unto the resurrection of condemnation." 49:21 My friend, you're going to find yourself 49:22 in one or two resurrections, 49:25 there's no middle ground in the story. 49:28 I want to make sure 49:29 I'm waking up in the right resurrection. 49:31 If I perish before Jesus returns, 49:33 I want to make sure that I'm waking up 49:35 in that first resurrection. 49:36 In fact, we may, Jesus goes on to make it even more clear 49:39 through the revelation given to John, 49:41 and we see that Revelation 20:6 49:44 and also I'm going to go back and read verse 5, 49:46 after we read verse 6, 49:47 because verse 6 of Revelation 20 says this, 49:49 "Blessed and holy is he who has part 49:51 in the first resurrection. 49:53 Over such the second death has no power, 49:56 but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 49:58 and shall reign with Him a thousand years." 50:01 So there's a, there's that group 50:02 that is resurrected in the first resurrection 50:05 at the Second Coming of Jesus. 50:06 Because remember, the Bible teaches 50:08 that if people die 50:09 before the Second Coming of Jesus, 50:11 they're not going immediately to heaven. 50:12 The Bible makes it clear 50:14 that they will remain in the grave asleep 50:16 until Jesus Christ comes at a Second Coming, 50:19 which, of course, brings about 50:20 and necessitates the resurrection 50:22 at the Second Coming of Christ. 50:24 That's the first resurrection over such the second death. 50:27 You see, all of us at some point, 50:29 in some way experienced the first death 50:31 in this lifetime. 50:32 What we want to make sure 50:34 we have no part of is that second death, 50:35 and those who are resurrected in the second resurrection 50:38 at the end of that thousand years. 50:40 And, of course, that's what Revelation 20:5 50:43 is referencing when it says, 50:44 "But the rest of the dead did not live again 50:46 until the thousand years were finished." 50:49 We're talking about a group of people 50:50 who rejected Jesus as Savior. 50:52 They rejected the truth of God's Word. 50:54 They lived carnally 50:56 according to their own heart and their own desires. 50:59 And, of course, they never fully surrendered 51:00 to the leading, guiding power 51:02 of the Holy Spirit in their life, 51:03 which is why not only do 51:04 they experience the first death, 51:06 not only even if those wicked 51:07 who are alive at the Second Coming of Jesus, 51:09 we see there in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, 51:12 that the wicked will be consumed 51:14 by the brightness of Christ's coming, 51:15 but then all the wicked will be resurrected at the end 51:18 of that thousand year millennial period. 51:20 And they will experience 51:22 what the Bible calls the second death. 51:23 My friends, you want to make sure 51:25 you're in the right resurrection. 51:27 I want to make sure I'm in the right resurrection. 51:29 This is what Paul was counseling. 51:31 Also, the Church of Thessalonica about, 51:34 not only did he talk about this to Corinth, 51:36 but he also talked to the Church of Thessalonica 51:39 about this very same subject, 51:41 because many of the Christians were concerned, 51:42 they were saying, "Look, 51:44 you talk about Christ coming back, 51:45 you talk about Christ coming and gathering 51:46 His people who are alive, 51:48 and we'll meet Him in the air. 51:49 But what about all of those believers 51:51 who have died and been buried in the grave? 51:53 What about them? 51:54 Is God just gonna let them perish 51:55 and be left behind, 51:57 and they never have any hope?" 51:58 And so Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4, 52:01 beginning with verse 13. 52:02 Notice what he says, he says, 52:04 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, 52:06 brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep," 52:09 referring to death, he says, 52:11 "lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 52:15 Who in the world is going to have no hope, my friends? 52:17 It's those people who have not put their trust 52:20 and who have not been sanctified 52:22 by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 52:23 who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ 52:26 as Lord and Savior. 52:27 It's those people who have no hope 52:29 if they had went to the grave, 52:30 but he's saying, look, you know what? 52:32 I want to give you some hope. 52:33 So verse 14, he says, for if we believers, 52:36 notice, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 52:40 even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus." 52:44 Now he's not talking about, 52:45 you know, dead people, 52:46 that their spirits and souls are in heaven coming back 52:48 as this has been erroneously manipulated 52:51 and twisted to believe that 52:53 people are coming back with Jesus 52:54 at His Second Coming. 52:55 There's only angels coming back 52:57 with Jesus at His Second Coming. 52:58 But, my friends, what he's talking about 53:00 is those people who are in the graves, 53:01 they're going to be resurrected. 53:03 And God is going to bring those people 53:05 with everyone else back to heaven with Him. 53:08 Notice verse 15, 53:09 "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 53:11 that we who are alive and remain 53:13 until the coming of the Lord will by no means, 53:16 notice, precede those who are asleep." 53:18 No one gets to go to heaven before us. 53:21 We don't get to go to heaven before them. 53:22 Why? 53:24 Keep reading the text, 53:25 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and onward, 53:27 it says, "For the Lord Himself 53:28 will descend from heaven with a shout, 53:30 with the voice of the archangel, 53:32 with the trumpet of God. 53:33 And the dead in Christ will rise first. 53:36 Then we who are alive and remain 53:39 shall be caught up together with them 53:41 in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 53:44 And thus shall we always be with the Lord." 53:47 And you know what? Many times we stop there. 53:49 I'm gonna read the last verse, 53:50 because Paul says, you know what? 53:52 Everything that I just said 53:54 about those who have died and went to sleep, 53:56 those who are going to be resurrected, 53:57 and how everyone's going to be, 53:58 you know, all the righteous are going to go together 54:01 to heaven with Christ all together. 54:03 My mom died a couple of years ago. 54:04 Mama Day doesn't get to step on the heaven shore 54:07 before I do. 54:08 I don't need to step on heaven shore 54:09 before she does. 54:11 We're all going to be caught up together with Jesus. 54:13 And he says there in verse 18, "Therefore, 54:15 comfort one another with these words." 54:19 That's right. Hallelujah. 54:20 Amen. 54:22 And then so shall we always be with the Lord. 54:24 You know, every time I get on this subject, 54:26 I can hear those words of one of my favorite hymns. 54:32 Could we but stand 54:35 Where Moses stood 54:38 And view the landscape o'er 54:42 Not all this world's 54:45 pretended good 54:48 Could ever charm us more 54:53 We're traveling to Immanuel's land 54:58 We soon shall hear the trumpet sound 55:03 And soon 55:05 we shall with Jesus reign 55:10 And never, never part again 55:15 I love that. And they say what! 55:17 Never part again? 55:18 And then we say, no, never part again 55:22 They would say what! 55:23 Never part again? 55:25 I say no, never part again 55:28 And soon we shall with Jesus reign 55:34 And never, never part again 55:37 Amen. Amen. 55:40 Beautiful, I love that song. 55:41 Praise the Lord. I'm so grateful. 55:43 What an incredible lesson for all the way at the end. 55:46 So I want to give each one of my brothers and sisters, 55:49 saints of God, 55:51 a moment to share a final thought? 55:52 You know, Moses, one sin may have kept him 55:56 out of the earthly Promised Land. 55:59 But Jesus' one sacrifice opened the door 56:03 for the heavenly Promised Land. 56:06 Don't be discouraged by your sin, 56:08 be encouraged by the righteousness of Christ. 56:12 You know, Moses reminds us 56:14 as the Samson and thief on the cross 56:16 that men and women may die 56:19 as a consequence of their sin on this earth, 56:22 but that doesn't mean that they're eternally lost. 56:25 Absolutely not. 56:26 I just want to say, 56:28 I hope you've enjoyed this quarter 56:30 as much as we have. 56:31 It is such a blessing and looking forward to that day 56:36 when are we see our Savior returning in the clouds. 56:40 Amen. 56:41 Beautiful promise in 1 Corinthians 15. 56:43 It says, "So when this corruptible..." 56:45 This is verse 54. 56:46 When this corruptible has put on incorruption, 56:49 this mortal has put on immortality, 56:51 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 56:54 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 56:57 O Death, where is your sting? 56:58 O Grave, where is your victory?'" 57:00 Amen. 57:02 Thank you, Pastor Ryan, my sister Shelley. 57:04 Thank you, Pastor James and Pastor John, 57:06 for your study of the Word. 57:07 It's been an amazing quarter together, 57:09 and we're grateful you joined us every week 57:12 as we opened up the Word of God and sought treasures. 57:16 Ask God to teach us 57:17 to convict our hearts and show us 57:19 where we're not in harmony with the Word 57:22 and where He wants to bring us back, 57:24 reconcile us back 57:26 into right relationship with Him. 57:28 I want to remind you join us. 57:30 Next week, we start a brand new quarter. 57:32 We study the Book of Hebrews. |
Revised 2021-12-23