Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP220034S
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00:01 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School panel. My name
00:03 is John Lomacang. Thank you for taking the time to join us as we 00:06 continue through this exciting study, In the Crucible With 00:10 Christ. We are on lesson number eight: Seeing the Invisible. 00:15 Now that's a walk of faith. If you'd like to find out more 00:18 about this walk of faith you can join us by downloading a copy of 00:22 the lesson or you can go to 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 00:25 download there or better yet go to a local Seventh-day Adventist 00:28 church and join them for this exciting walk through the word 00:31 of God. This is practical Christianity 101, so stay tuned 00:36 and join us for Seeing the Invisible. 00:39 ♪ ♪ 01:11 Hello. Welcome 3ABN Sabbath School panel. I am John Lomacang 01:14 Thank you for taking the time to join us. Today we're talking 01:17 about things that cannot be seen Seeing the Invisible, Lesson 01:21 number eight in our study of In the Crucible with Christ. All 01:25 you need is well a Bible if you'd like to use that but just 01:30 ears to hear what the Spirit has to say to you today. But with me 01:34 is an illustrious panel family members and I know that if 01:38 you've joined us before you understand that our 3ABN family 01:41 is made up of people whose hearts are sincerely wanting to 01:45 be used by the Lord and to my immediate left is my brother 01:49 from another mother, Pastor John Dinzey. Good to have you here. 01:52 It's a blessing to be here. I have Monday, In the Name of 01:56 Jesus. That's right. You know in just the three of us the 01:59 disciples are represented here. My good brother, Pastor James 02:03 Rafferty. 02:04 Good to be here John. I have Tuesday's lesson which is The 02:06 Power of the Resurrection. 02:08 And my good friend, the lady from Texas, Shelley Quinn. 02:12 The lady with big hair. Mine is To Carry All of Our Worry. 02:19 And one I really admire because of your astute approach to study 02:24 of the Bible. Praise God. The God in you is wonderful. The 02:27 lady with the lists, Jill. 02:29 Thank you, Pastor John. I have Thursday's, Still Faithful When 02:33 God Cannot Be Seen. 02:34 Well and thank you for your leadership here at 3ABN. It's 02:37 really a blessing. Well before we go any further well Pastor 02:40 Dinzey would you have prayer for us this morning. 02:43 Sure. Let us pray together. Our loving heavenly Father, we are 02:47 grateful to you because you love us beyond our understanding. 02:51 And we join in prayer to ask for the blessing of your Holy Spirit 02:55 Lord. We pray that the words will flow through us from your 03:01 throne of grace. Bless each and every person that will be 03:05 joining us in whatever place they may be. Bless them with 03:09 your Holy Spirit that they may understand the message you have 03:12 for them. We pray that all honor and glory be unto your name. We 03:16 ask you in Jesus name, Amen. 03:18 Thank you so much. Our memory text is Hebrews 11 verse 27, 03:24 Hebrews 11 verse 27. By the way if you have your Bibles go to 03:27 the book of Hebrews chapter 11. We're going to spend time in the 03:30 invisible chapter. It's there, but there are certain things in 03:33 it that we cannot see except we walk by faith. Hebrews chapter 03:38 11. We're going to look at the invisible chapter. By the way, 03:41 if you're talking about faith Hebrews chapter 11 is the faith 03:44 chapter but the book of James is the faith book from the 03:48 beginning to the very end. It talks about faith all along the 03:50 way. Hebrews 11 verse 27. Here's what we are told this morning. 03:54 By faith he (that is Moses) forsook Egypt not fearing the 03:59 wrath of the king for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 04:06 I want you to consider that for a moment. How many of us walk 04:09 by sight and not by faith. Now not by faith. You know the Bible 04:15 says we walk by faith and not by sight. But how many of us walk 04:18 by sight and not by faith? It's a very legitimate question in 04:21 the Christian world because many of us after giving our lives to 04:25 Christ, we enter in to what I call the intrepid walk with 04:28 God. We are 04:29 not sure about where God is leading and we want all the 04:32 details before we enter into the journey. We want our ticket paid 04:35 for. We want our seat chosen. We want the details from our 04:39 point of destination, from our point of inception to our point 04:42 of destination and we want God to tell us everything. We walk 04:46 by sight and not by faith. But when you look at the book of 04:50 Hebrews chapter 11, let's start with verse 1 because this entire 04:54 book is an invisible book. Everything outlined in this book 04:59 in this chapter, sorry, is about people who walked by faith and 05:03 not by sight. Now let's look at the answer to the question, What 05:08 is faith? Hebrews 11 verse 1. What does it say, Shelley? 05:11 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of 05:16 things not seen. 05:18 Okay now the evidence; so what we are being told here is in the 05:23 court of Christian veracity faith can convict a Christian. 05:31 In the court of trusting God, faith is sufficient to convict a 05:37 Christian. The Bible says in verse 2: For by it, let's look 05:40 at some of the things, For by it elders obtain a good testimony. 05:45 Verse 3: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by 05:50 the word of God so that the things which are seen were not 05:57 made of by things which are invisible. And that's a very 06:00 powerful statement because how could something that does not 06:03 exist create something that does exist? Let's go to Romans 06:06 chapter 1. And this is important because a lot of times people 06:09 say well I don't really have any accountability to God because 06:14 I don't really believe He exists anyway. Look at Romans chapter 1 06:18 All right starting with verse, hmm, verse 18. Romans 1 verse 18 06:24 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 06:28 ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth 06:34 in unrighteousness. In other words, they could know but they 06:38 decide to suppress what could be revealed to them. That's why 06:41 it's important to realize we are not just accountable for what we 06:44 have read. We are also accountable for we could have 06:48 read. If you remove the High Voltage sign it doesn't change 06:51 the context of the fence. It's still high voltage. We are still 06:54 accountable for we could have known. Verse 19: Because what 06:59 may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to 07:05 them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes 07:11 are what? Clearly seen. Now think about that for a moment. 07:14 His invisible attributes are clearly seen. Let's go to the 07:19 rest of the verse and see what it means. Being understood by the 07:23 things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead, so 07:28 that they are without excuse because although they knew God 07:32 they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful but became 07:36 futile, or vain, in their imagination, their thoughts, and 07:39 their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves 07:44 to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the 07:47 incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and 07:52 birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. So what is 07:57 being told us by the Apostle Paul is that the invisible 08:02 attributes of God are clearly revealed to us in the 08:06 surrounding creation. The writer poses the question for people 08:12 that don't really trust God and here's one of the statements 08:15 that was included in the lesson. It says: We often say if God 08:19 really loved me He would certainly do such and such for 08:24 me. Have you ever found yourself bargaining with God saying if 08:28 you really are there then do this to prove your presence. 08:33 Do this to prove your existence. And it goes on to say: Many 08:38 times we say I wonder how many times that thought has flickered 08:42 through our minds. We look at our circumstances and then begin 08:47 to wonder whether God really loves us because if He really 08:51 did things would be different. But that's not really in fact 08:55 the case. There are often two rationales that lead us to doubt 08:59 God and God's goodness. First when we have a burning desire in 09:03 our hearts and minds for something that we believe is 09:06 good, the idea that God might want something different for us 09:10 may seem ridiculous. So we say if God doesn't give us what we 09:14 want then really He does not exist. But the Bible didn't say 09:17 that God will give us whatever we want. He says whatsoever you 09:20 ask according to my will I'll provide it. So if it's not 09:24 according to God's will then God is not going to provide it but 09:27 if He is going to provide it He'll provide it when it is 09:31 needed. That's the saying that was very common growing up 09:34 You may not have it when you want it but what? It's always 09:38 right on time. God is the God that provides exactly when we 09:42 need it. The second rationale is we may doubt God's goodness 09:47 because our experience clashes with what we believe. If God 09:52 really exists, why am I facing a fiery furnace? If God really 09:57 exists, why am I facing a night in the lion's den? If God really 10:01 exists why am I chained to a wall to soldiers who are chained 10:05 to a wall? If God really exists, and I've often said sometimes 10:11 God has to allow us to be in circumstances where the 10:14 revelation of God is far mightier than it would have been 10:18 prior to us being in a difficult circumstance. The revelation of 10:23 God...because when we are in difficult circumstances the eye 10:26 of faith begins to really see God when we say no one could 10:30 have extricated me from that circumstance other than God. 10:33 No one could have answered my prayer the way it was answered 10:36 other than God. So the invisible God whom we know by faith exists 10:42 because He's given us evidence in creation often shows Himself 10:46 not in mundane ways but as my lesson says our Father's 10:49 extravagance. God shows himself in extravagant ways. The 10:54 statement continues: If something looks good or feels 10:59 good or sounds good or tastes good, then it must be good. 11:02 That's our rationale and so we get angry with God when we can't 11:08 have it. See God...You know this fits perfectly. I mean this is 11:12 color that I want. This is the job that I need. I have to have 11:16 that promotion. This is the salary that I know I could 11:19 survive on. This is the house that will make me look good in 11:22 my next position. God is saying no, no. You can't take any of 11:26 those things with you. I'm going to put you in a position 11:28 in a situation where your prayer life is going to increase. Have 11:31 you ever had that? And there are circumstances that the invisible 11:35 God allows us to experience not to increase our stuff but to 11:41 increase our faith. Here's one of the answers to that. God 11:43 answers all things according to His will, not according to our 11:47 wishes. 1 John 5 verses 14-15: Now this is the confidence that 11:51 we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will 11:56 He hears us and if we know that He hears us whatever we ask we 12:02 know that we have the petitions that we've asked. I've been in 12:06 situations where people have... just recently as a matter of 12:09 fact, somebody walked into church on Sabbath morning, a 12:14 couple and their baby was going through agony. They said my 12:18 baby's ear is stopped up, her eardrum is perforated and the 12:21 doctors can't do anything for her and she cannot sleep just 12:23 but for a few minutes. And both parents were in tears. And I was 12:26 standing by the sound booth you know in our church and they said 12:29 Pastor, Pastor, you are a man of God. Please pray that our baby 12:33 will be healed. Please pray our baby would be healed. I'm on my 12:37 way to the back to get ready between Sabbath School and 12:40 church and they embraced me. Please pray for my baby to be 12:47 healed. Well I said Lord this is your moment. And prayed. And I 12:52 got a phone call two days later. They said, God, healed our child. 12:57 God healed our child. The doctors don't know what happened 13:02 but God healed our child. Thank you for praying for us. We knew 13:05 that God could speak through you Those are those humbling moments 13:09 that we remember what the Bible says. What is man that you are 13:14 mindful of him, or the son of man that you even visit him. 13:17 Those are those moments but then there are some things that block 13:21 the extravagance of God. Here are a few things. Psalm 66:18 13:26 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear. Proverbs 13:30 28:9: One who turns away from hearing the law, even his prayer 13:35 is an abomination. But then how can we participate in seeing the 13:41 extravagance of the invisible God? Here are a couple of ways 13:44 we can do that. Romans 10 verse Do we know it? What does it 13:49 say? So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word 13:53 of God. And then one more. Malachi 3:10 Here's where you 13:57 can trust God, He says: Prove me now in this, if I will not open 14:01 for you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that 14:04 there will not be room enough to receive it. You think about 14:07 finances. That's the blessing of faith to see the invisible God. 14:10 Amen, amen. Praise the Lord. Well we now move to Monday's 14:17 lesson and it is entitled, In the Name of Jesus. My name is 14:21 John Dinzey and I encourage you to follow along because we're 14:23 going to be talking about the name of Jesus. The lesson brings 14:28 out in John chapter 14 verse 14 If you ask anything in my name 14:34 I will do it. This is Jesus speaking at this particular 14:39 moment. Now we have to be careful here because it is not 14:43 a magical abracadabra name the name of Jesus and whatever you 14:48 want there it is. As we go along you will see that we have to 14:53 believe in Jesus and that He is your Savior and He has thoughts 14:58 of doing you good. In the lesson it brings this point out. 15:03 It says: Jesus was not going to be with His disciples much 15:05 longer. The One who had been their support and encouragement 15:09 was going to heaven and the disciples were beginning to feel 15:13 confused and powerless. But though the disciples would not 15:18 be able to see Him physically any longer, Jesus gave them a 15:22 remarkable promise. Now we're going to be taking a look at 15:25 that as we begin in John chapter 14 beginning in verse 1. Jesus 15:31 says: Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, 15:35 believe also in Me. So when we're talking about asking in 15:40 the name of Jesus you must believe in Him that He is able 15:47 to hear you and able to do what you are asking. And belief is 15:53 essential to receive the blessing you are needing. And so 15:57 consider belief like you trust in such a way that if you are 16:03 asking and that you are willing to understand that if what you 16:07 are asking is not best for you you will not receive it. But you 16:12 should ask because this is what you want, this is what you 16:16 desire. Ask believing. You know when you look at the life of Job 16:22 he went through difficult, difficult times. I mean, 16:25 I don't know if 16:26 anybody has gone through 10 percent of the things he went 16:30 through and they're all ready willing to toss the towel and 16:34 say well I don't believe in God. I'm going to walk away. But I 16:38 tell you we can trust in the Lord. Look at what Job said in 16:42 Job chapter 13 verse 15: Though He slay me yet I will trust in 16:50 Him. Are you willing to trust in the Lord that even though you're 16:53 asking for something and you believe with all your heart you 16:56 need it right now that you'll trust Him that perhaps now is 17:00 not the best time. Maybe later is better. Or maybe a no is the 17:04 best thing for you. Trust in the Lord no matter what the answer 17:09 is but trust and believe. In John 14 verse 2 we have the 17:12 following words: In my Father's house are many mansions. If it 17:15 were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for 17:20 you. Now in this moment, he is telling them, look there's room 17:26 enough for you. I am going to prepare a place for you. Believe 17:30 in this. You know it's interesting that as a father you 17:34 begin to learn things about the way God is and that He has our 17:40 best interest in mind. And so He's looking to do us good but 17:46 He has a desire to draw us closer to Him and sometimes He 17:51 will delay in answering your prayer so that you will draw 17:55 closer to Him and you will see the blessing will come. So Jesus 18:01 is telling them heaven is real. I'm going to prepare a place for 18:04 you. That's how much He cares about us. Let's go to verse 3: 18:09 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and 18:14 receive to myself that where I am there you may be also. You 18:19 know, I want to come back to this point that if we're asking 18:22 the Lord for something believe that He has our best interest in 18:26 mind and if it's best for you He will give it to us. As I 18:30 mentioned you know being a father you eventually learn that 18:32 sometimes children ask for things that are not but best for 18:35 them. And I remember, I think our son Samuel was about three 18:40 years old and my wife prepared a birthday cake for him and it was 18:46 delicious so he was eating this cake and I said son be careful 18:49 don't eat too much cake. And he said, I want too much cake, Papi 18:54 I want too much cake. And so... Papi means Daddy in Spanish. So 18:59 he didn't know that eating too much cake was not good for him. 19:03 But having experience I can say to him don't eat too much cake 19:08 because I know it's not good for you. So the Lord knows what's 19:13 best for us. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows the 19:16 end from the beginning and He has our best interest in mind. 19:20 But let's move on quickly because we have a lot to cover 19:23 here. We're going to go to verse 7 at this time: If you had known 19:28 Me you would have known My Father also and from now on you 19:32 know Him and have seen Him. And God is love sent His Son and 19:37 Jesus says I am like the Father. Phillip said to Him, Lord show 19:41 us the Father and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to 19:44 him, Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known 19:48 me Phillip. He who has seen me has seen the Father so how can 19:52 you say, Show us the Father. And so do you not believe that I am 19:57 in the Father and the Father in me. The words that I speak to 20:00 you I do not speak of my own authority, but the Father who 20:03 dwells in me He does the works. Believe me, here's the word 20:09 believe, that I am in the Father and the Father in me or else 20:11 believe me for the works sakes. Now this is where we now get 20:16 into you. Verse 12: Most assuredly I say to you, He who 20:21 believes me the works that I do he will do also and greater 20:27 works that these he will do because I go to My Father. 20:30 There's a lot we could say about this verse but at this point we 20:33 want to bring you into the understanding that when you're 20:37 asking the Lord for things, we should be doing the things that 20:40 Jesus did. Identify with God. Be in harmony with God's principles 20:46 obey his commandments. So it's not just, I believe, I'm going 20:52 mention the name of Jesus and (claps) that's it. You have to 20:57 understand that He will do what is best for us. And at this 21:00 point I just want to mention something. You know we say the 21:03 word Jesus in English, we say Jesus (Hay-sus) in Espanol 21:06 in Portuguese Jesus (Yay-sus) and then you hear Yeshua 21:10 Mashiach. Does it matter really to the Lord, if you pronounce His 21:13 name just correctly and just when you have it correct that's 21:16 when you get your answer? The Lord looks at the heart. The 21:21 Lord looks at your honesty, your sincerity and the intent and the 21:26 reason why you're asking for the things you're asking for. 21:29 And He will give it to you. You know, there are times when the 21:33 Lord will answer right away. And there are times there is a delay 21:37 I remember our son telling us a story, Samuel. This is a when he 21:41 was a little older than three years old, he was already in 21:44 high school. And the school went to India and they put the 21:48 students in different places. And he was preaching in this 21:51 place and as the people were sitting there he was telling 21:53 them about God. Some of them had never heard of God. In India 21:57 they have, I think, it's over 50 million types of gods. But 22:00 there's only one true God and Samuel was presenting the 22:04 message that there's one true God who loves you and He will 22:07 hear your prayers. And there was a lady that was sitting in the 22:10 front and every day she would sit there and she would just be 22:13 talking to the people next to her. Didn't appear to be paying 22:17 much attention. And so on this particular day there was rain 22:21 and rain, it was pouring. And then all of a sudden the lady 22:26 says, If your God is so powerful why doesn't he stop the rain 22:30 so people can come to these meetings? And so this was a 22:33 challenge and Samuel said. Now he was working through a 22:37 translator. When he heard the translation he says okay let's 22:40 go to the Lord in prayer. So he got on his knees and he began to 22:46 pray. He's being translated. And Samuel begins to pray, Oh 22:49 Lord, we call upon you to stop the rains so that people can 22:52 come to the meetings. And he was praying. And as he's talking, 22:56 the other one is translating, he began to think, you know, what 23:01 if the Lord decides not to answer my prayer. What if 23:04 there's some reason the rain has to come now? And he said, O Lord 23:11 help my unbelief. And he prayed and asked the Lord to stop the 23:14 rain and when he said Amen Whoooshee(diminishing) the rain 23:19 rain stopped. Everybody was amazed. There was a Wow! And now 23:26 they were paying more attention than before. So when we ask in 23:30 Jesus name we must believe. Jesus said in John 14:13 And 23:36 whatever you ask in my name that I will do that the Father may be 23:42 glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do 23:46 it. Yes, if it's good for you He will do it. I'm reading from 23:49 Steps to Christ, p. 100. Listen to this: Ye shall ask in My name 23:56 and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, 23:59 for the Father Himself loves you I have chosen you that 24:03 whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name He may give it 24:07 to you. And then it says but to pray in the name of Jesus is 24:11 something more than a mere mention of the name in the 24:15 beginning and at the ending of the prayer. It is to pray in the 24:19 mind and spirit of Jesus while we believe His promises, rely 24:24 upon His grace and work His works. (Amen amen) 24:28 Thank you Pastor Dinzey. We're just getting started on seeing 24:31 the invisible, but if you want to see more come right back 24:35 after this short break. 24:36 ♪ ♪ 24:42 Ever wish you could watch the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again? 24:45 Or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Well, you 24:49 can by visiting 3ABNSabbathSchoolPanel.com 24:53 A clean design makes it easy to find the program you're looking 24:57 for. There are also links to the adult Bible study guide so you 25:02 can follow along. Sharing is easy. Just hit Share and choose 25:06 your favorite social media. Share a Link/Save a Life 25:10 for Eternity. 25:12 Welcome back to Lesson Number Eight: Seeing the Invisible and 25:15 now we go to Pastor James Rafferty. 25:17 Thank you, John. I have Tuesday's lesson which is entitled 25:21 The Power of the Resurrection. And we're going to be looking 25:26 at Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18-23. The author of this week's 25:30 lesson says in introducing Tuesday's lesson: 25:34 The resurrection addresses the problem of human powerlessness. 25:37 When we think about the life and the death and the resurrection 25:40 of Jesus he says: We often think about how the death of Jesus was 25:45 the event that made us legally right with God. And that, of 25:48 course is true. He goes on: However, the resurrection adds a 25:52 specific dimension to salvation. The resurrection of Jesus is 25:57 meaningful not just because it shows us that one day we're 25:59 going to be resurrected. The resurrection placed Jesus at the 26:04 right hand of the Father in a position of power and authority. 26:08 Right? (Amen) This resurrection power is the same power that God 26:13 makes available to us today. We have resurrection power. 26:17 In other words, the resurrection insists that we can have life 26:21 in spite of sin's stain of death Sin has killed our hopes, right? 26:26 Our dreams, our relationships, our experiences. But God says 26:31 I can resurrect all that, I can bring life to all of that. You 26:33 can live again. You can have life from the death of sin. So, 26:39 Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18-23. The author is wanting us 26:44 to move through these texts and just bring out the resurrection 26:48 emphasis that is here. So let's start in verse 18 of Ephesians 26:51 chapter 1. Paul is praying that the eyes of your understanding 26:56 be enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His 26:59 calling and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance 27:02 in the saints. Verse 19: What is the exceeding greatness of His 27:06 power to usward who believe according to the working of His 27:10 mightily power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him 27:13 from the dead and set Him on His own right hand in heavenly 27:18 places. Far above all principality and power and might 27:22 and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world 27:28 but also in that which is to come. And has put all things 27:31 under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to 27:35 the church which is His body the fullness of Him that filleth all 27:40 in all. So here in these verses when Paul is talking about how 27:46 God works in our lives. He links that directly to the 27:50 resurrection of Jesus Christ in verse 20...Which He wrought in 27:57 Christ. In other words, Paul is talking about how He works in 27:59 our lives and he says that same power that works in your life He 28:03 also wrought in Christ when He resurrected Him from the dead. 28:07 The resurrection was a vital component of the everlasting 28:10 gospel for God's early church. It was a powerful incentive to 28:15 them to live a different life for Jesus Christ. And it was a 28:19 part of the proclamation of the gospel that they brought to all 28:23 the world in the first generation after Christ's death. 28:27 Of course, God has called us to take this gospel to all the 28:29 world in this last generation just before His second coming. 28:32 So verse 18 talks about justification. That's the hope 28:36 of His calling. We're called to be reconciled to God. Verse 18 28:40 also talks about glorification. That's the riches of His glory 28:43 of the inheritance. We are to inherit eternal life, immortal 28:48 life. Verse 19 talks about sanctification. The exceeding 28:50 greatness of His power, God has the power not only to justify us 28:54 but also to keep us, to sanctify us. It's the power to keep us 28:59 from sin, keep us from the consequences of sin, which is 29:04 also, of course, glorification. And then verse 20, we have this 29:07 same power that resurrected Christ, that set Him on the 29:09 right hand. So when we see Christ on the right hand what a 29:12 reminder of the power that God has in our lives to resurrect us 29:17 from sin's sting, from death. And then in verse 21: Far above 29:21 every name that is in this world and the next, that is Jesus 29:25 Christ is how we name-drop. You know, sometimes we name-drop. 29:29 We know so and so, we know such and such and we're connected 29:32 with this family or this person. Well, the Bible tells us that 29:35 every believer can name-drop. And the name that we need to 29:38 drop is the name of Jesus Christ (Amen) And Jesus Christ happens 29:41 to be on the right hand of the Father. We just need to drop 29:44 that name any time that we need something, any time we feel 29:47 insecure, any time that we have a desire that God wants to 29:52 fulfill we just need to drop the name of Jesus. And in verses 29:55 22 and 23. All things are under Jesus. He happens to be the head 29:59 of the church; in fact, the church is his fullness. Jesus 30:04 fills up the church. That means He fills up every member of the 30:07 church. He fills them with His Holy Spirit. He uses them as 30:12 members to minister, to reach out to the world, we are his 30:16 body. So Jesus fills believers with His presence. Now another 30:20 significant section that the author directs us to regarding 30:23 the resurrection is 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 30:26 In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 we have a summary if you will of 30:31 the gospel verses 1-4. And when we talk about the gospel and we 30:36 as Seventh-day Adventists really believe in emphasizing the 30:38 gospel. We emphasize it in the context of the three angels' 30:41 messages, Revelation chapter 14 verses 6-12. The three angels' 30:44 messages proclaiming the everlasting gospel to all the 30:47 world and of course Matthew 24:14, when this gospel goes to 30:50 all the world. Well in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul 30:53 basically identifies what the gospel is and it's really 30:58 significant because he includes the resurrection as a vital 31:02 component of the gospel. And this is especially true for a 31:06 persecuted church. The early Christian church was a heavily 31:08 persecuted church and in the last days we're going to be 31:12 heavily persecuted. We're going to go through some major 31:14 persecution and God is trying to get us connected with the 31:18 resurrection power because for a lot of us this persecution and 31:22 the idea of well the mark of the beast issue, not being able to 31:25 buy or sell and then the death decree may detour us. God knows 31:29 detour us from being faithful to Him. So God wants us to have 31:34 this resurrection component as part of the everlasting gospel. 31:38 In fact, in verse 19 in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says: 31:41 we are most miserable if in this world alone we have solace, 31:48 because if we don't know and understand the resurrection, 31:51 the power of the resurrection there's some misery there we're 31:55 going to experience and it's interesting because this word 31:57 miserable is only used one other place in the Bible in the New 32:00 Testament. You know where that is? Revelation chapter 3, the 32:06 Laodicean church, they're miserable and the connection 32:09 here tells us that the reason why, one of the reasons why, 32:11 the Laodicean church is miserable is because they've 32:14 lost the resurrection power. They've lost an understanding of 32:17 the significance of the resurrection and they're scared. 32:21 They're afraid and so they're conforming to the world. They're 32:24 lukewarm. They've got this mixture that's taking place. 32:27 They're rich in intellectual knowledge but they don't have 32:29 the faith and the gold of the experience. They don't have that 32:32 relationship with Christ. He's outside the door knocking. He 32:35 wants in. They are most miserable. So when we think 32:39 about resurrection power we're not think of well if you don't 32:41 believe in the resurrection you're most miserable. Enoch 32:43 didn't even know about a resurrection. He had a great 32:45 experience. It's talking about the power of the resurrection 32:48 which is the power of God to transform our lives so that we 32:52 live for Him. You see the resurrection of Jesus from sin's 32:56 sting of death lit up the early church just lit up the early 33:00 church. We're going to persecute we're going to put you in prison 33:03 we're going to kill you. Stop preaching Jesus. No way. No way. 33:07 Why would I do that? The resurrection...death was simply 33:10 a doorway into eternity for the early Christian church, right? 33:14 It lit them up. They knew that they were simply...and by the 33:18 way, when you move from the early Christian church, when you 33:22 move into Revelation chapter 14 and you look at the three angels 33:25 message. You know we talked about it. Revelation chapter 14 33:27 verses 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and then verse 12: Here are they 33:31 that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus 33:33 when you do that we often stop in verse 12. What's the next 33:36 verse, what's verse 13? Blessed are they that die in the Lord 33:40 from henceforth. (Right) Right? That they may rest from their 33:44 labors and their works do follow them. You see the resurrection 33:47 power is right there. It's part of the three angels' messages 33:50 and it has to be, it has to be. Because we've got to get our 33:54 focus on things that are not of this world. We've got to be 33:57 sitting in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. In fact, that word 34:01 miserable is connected to the word mercy. You know we use that 34:04 word sometimes and we think about some terrible experience, 34:07 Oh, mercy! Mercy! you know what a terrible experience. Well 34:10 that's the way we need to look at the Laodicean church. The 34:13 Laodicean condition is a terrible experience. Oh, mercy! 34:17 God would not let us be in that experience. The resurrection is 34:22 a powerful motivation for God's church. In fact, Job talked 34:25 about this in all of his misery, all the sorrow he was going 34:28 through Job chapter 14, he said I know! my Redeemer lives and I 34:34 will stand upon the earth, right He focused on that resurrection 34:36 power. And that's what we need. We need that in the church today 34:39 In fact, I believe a lot of believers in these countries 34:42 where they're being persecuted, you know, where they're facing 34:45 death. When I was in Pakistan I traveled there several times, 34:47 the believers there especially converts from Islam who were 34:52 threatened with death because if you convert from Islam in 34:55 Pakistan you die. That's just the way it is. If you become a 34:59 Christian. They will worship God with one hand raised up and the 35:01 other hand on their throat. And that signified that they were 35:04 willing to die, because usually their throats are cut. 35:06 They were willing to die for 35:07 Jesus. That's the way they worship God. And of course, we're 35:11 in awe of that. Well that's amazing. You know these people 35:14 are willing to die for Jesus. Wait a minute, wait a minute. 35:18 What is death but a rest. What is death but a doorway, a 35:21 stepping stone into eternal life. Jesus says whoever believes on 35:24 me will never die, do you believe this? We are to believe 35:27 in the resurrection power. 35:29 Amen. Beautiful lesson. I'm just sitting here not sure I'm ready 35:35 to do mine next. That was very impactful. Thank you, James. 35:41 I'm Shelley Quinn and I have Wednesday's lesson: To Carry All 35:46 Our Worry. We're going to begin in Jeremiah 32 verse 17. 35:51 Jeremiah's speaking to God and he says: Ah, Lord God, behold 35:57 you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power 36:02 and your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. 36:07 Now it's interesting in 10 verses later in Jeremiah 32:27 36:14 God echoes this same thought from heaven saying: Behold I am the 36:25 Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? 36:30 The answer is no. Now I'm going to talk to you about three men. 36:35 You think about this for just a second. What do these three men 36:39 have in common, and I'm going to talk about Joseph, Moses and 36:45 David. Joseph, God gave him a dream and in his dream his 36:50 dream his brothers came and bowed down to him. He was 17 36:54 years old when his brothers sold him into slavery and he 36:58 went from the pit to the prison finally to the palace. Twenty 37:05 years passed before that dream came true. He was 37 years old 37:11 when his brothers came down into Egypt, not recognizing Joseph, 37:17 and had to bow before him. Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh's house 37:24 thinking he was something. He spent 40 years on the back side 37:29 of the desert thinking, he was nothing. Then he spent 40 years 37:34 leading God's people. David was a young teenager tending to his 37:41 flock when God sent the prophet Samuel and said hey anoint this 37:48 young man. And you know what? He faced Goliath. He lived on 37:53 the run and King Saul was constantly after him to kill him. 37:58 So he went under all this persecution. It was nearly 15 38:04 years plus or minus when David actually became King at the age 38:08 of 30. So what did they have in common? They all trusted God. 38:14 They all patiently waited for God's answer and they knew, they 38:22 trusted His promise and they waited. You know, it is not easy 38:28 to endure a long waiting period. Is it. (No) But character is 38:35 forged when we are waiting. In Matthew 6 verse 25 Jesus is 38:44 speaking and He says: Therefore I say to you do not worry about 38:49 life, what you're going to eat, what you're going to drink, what 38:52 you're going to wear. Don't worry about it. And go down to 38:55 verse 33 He said, but, here's what He's telling us to do. 39:01 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all 39:06 these things will be added to you. Therefore do not worry 39:09 about tomorrow. When you're worrying you're actually going 39:13 against Jesus' commandment aren't we? He says don't worry. 39:17 But He says, Tomorrow will worry about its own things. 39:21 Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble. When you are in 39:28 covenant relationship with God guess what? There is a provision 39:33 in the covenant that He's going to provide for you. Romans 8:32 39:37 says, He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for 39:43 us all, while we were yet sinners, I might add, how shall 39:47 He not also freely give us all things. (Amen) See we get to 39:53 that point where we feel like we've got to earn God's favor. 39:57 We all have daily struggles and stresses but if we put our trust 40:03 in God we're not going to worry. But when we don't behave like 40:09 Joseph, Moses and David then it causes us to worry and worry's 40:16 just a lack of trust in God. That's the bottom line. Worry is 40:22 a lack of trust in God. The lesson makes this point. It says 40:28 there's a plaque that some people have in their homes and 40:32 the plaque reads Why pray when you can worry. Now that makes 40:38 us laugh because often instead of coming to God with prayer 40:45 what we do is worry, worry, worry, worry. In 1 Peter 5:15 40:49 5:5 Peter says God resists the proud but exalts the humble. 40:59 See praying shows our humility. When we're ready to cast our 41:06 cares on the Lord and trust Him it shows our humility. Worry 41:11 shows kind of like an independence from God. 41:15 And the more your heart is lifted up trusting in self the 41:20 less grace you get because God resists the proud. And he goes 41:24 on in verse 6, 1 Peter 5:6. He says Therefore humble yourselves 41:29 under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due 41:32 time. And then get this, casting all of your care on Him because 41:40 He cares for you. God cares for you. He loves you. He cares 41:46 about you physical condition, your mental condition, your 41:49 emotional condition and your spiritual condition. He cares 41:53 about your feelings, He cares about your finances, He cares 41:57 about your relationships. God cares about what goes on at work 42:01 He particularly cares about what's going on at home and you 42:05 know some people think that we're too great a sinner and 42:10 that we just...God couldn't possibly care about us but I 42:15 want to tell you something, He still cares and He is a greater 42:19 Savior than you are a sinner. So we need to humble ourselves 42:24 recognize our need and our total dependence on this loving God 42:29 who cares for us because that humble attitude what's it going 42:34 do? It commends us to God. He's looking down here and saying hey 42:39 this is my child. You know three-year-old child doesn't 42:43 know how to rely always on Daddy but when they submit to 42:48 you that makes you feel proud as a parent. So we've got to 42:52 submit to God's authority and line up with His will. And you 42:58 know something? When we do this we understand and trust and 43:03 submit, we're not going to be impatient about God's timing 43:07 God's timing is always perfect. It's never too early, never too 43:15 late. So I want to make a point. Submitting to God does not mean 43:22 that you just become passive. You know I always say everything 43:26 is all by grace. Grace writes the check, faith takes it to the 43:32 bank. What we've got to do, the balance of Christian living, God 43:36 gives us the Holy Spirit. We have to do what God enables us 43:42 to do. It's not that we just passively sit back but we do 43:47 what God enables us to do in the meantime casting all of your 43:53 discouragements, all of your despair and discontentedness 43:57 all of your anxieties on Him and you know what when you do 44:01 that...I love Psalm 3:3- God will become the lifter of your 44:09 head. You can be all downcast... I was praying for someone, this 44:14 happened years, oh, 30, 40 years ago. I was praying for my friend 44:18 and I said Oh Lord just cup your hand under her chin and lift her 44:25 face upward, and she just began giggling. And when we finished 44:30 praying she said it was so amazing because she's boo-hooing 44:34 and she said, just as you said that I just felt a pressure 44:39 under my chin and I looked up and she said I just felt the 44:42 presence of the Lord. So 1 Peter 5:7 is actually very simple. 44:47 when it says cast your cares, throw them off as you would a 44:51 blanket. It's pride that causes us to hold on to our problems 44:59 and I have to share this real quick. I'm not going get through 45:02 this but here's what I want to share. If you have trouble 45:05 releasing your problems to God you need a God box. What am I 45:10 saying? Get you a little box. When you pray for God and you 45:15 pray something write that prayer request out, pray it, and give 45:20 that problem to God. You put your problem, that prayer, in 45:23 your God box. And the minute you find yourself worrying about it 45:27 guess what. Go take it out of the God box and put it in your 45:31 pocket because when you're worrying about it you're 45:35 carrying it yourself. You're not casting it on the Lord. 45:38 Amen, what a practical thought Shelley. I love that. Thank you 45:42 so much Shelley, Pastor James, Pastor Johnny and Pastor John. 45:46 What a great lesson. Seeing The Invisible. My name's 45:50 Jill Morikone. On Thursday's lesson we look at 45:53 Still Faithful When Got Cannot Be Seen. 45:56 And for this lesson, we go to one of my favorite Old Testament 46:02 books. What is that? It's the book of Isaiah. We're going to 46:05 Isaiah chapter 40. We studied Isaiah a few quarters ago and if 46:09 you recall Isaiah's really divided up into two books. We 46:13 have book one which is the book of judgment, chapters 1-39. 46:18 This would be present-day Isaiah time. Then we have book two 46:22 which is the book of comfort. This is Isaiah 40-66 and this is 46:27 actually prophetic, looking forward to the future to when 46:31 the children of Judah, Israel, would be released from that 46:36 Babylonian captivity and this is the crux really of Isaiah 46:40 chapter 40. We see the main argument in this chapter is that 46:45 God can do it, He can make the second exodus happen. That's the 46:49 release, the return after Babylonian captivity. He can end 46:55 the exile. He can defeat the oppressors. The theme of the 46:59 passage: We see the mercy of God God wants to save His people our 47:05 God is a merciful God and we see the power of God. Our God can 47:10 save us because He is able. Let's look just a little bit at 47:16 that mercy of God and the power of God and then we'll get into 47:20 the meat of the lesson which is my favorite part. The mercy of 47:25 God, we see that in verse 1, Isaiah 40 verse 1: Comfort, this 47:27 comfort, Yes comfort my people says your God. Speak comfort to 47:32 Jerusalem and cry to her, her warfare is ended. Her iniquity 47:36 is pardoned. She has received from the Lord's hand double for 47:39 all her sins. What's happening? Judah's time of judgment is over 47:44 The 70 years of Babylonian exile that time of judgment is over. 47:49 God's extending mercy and comfort toward His people. 47:52 Then we see His deliverance and power. You see that in verse 3: 47:56 The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Now this is 47:59 prophetic, looking forward to John the Baptist. Prepare the 48:02 way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our 48:06 God. Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill 48:10 brought low. Does that sound like a God of power? A God who 48:13 can bring the mountains low, a God who can exalt the valleys. 48:17 Then in verse 9 again we see God's mercy. O Zion, you who 48:21 bring good tidings. Lift up your voice with strength, lift it up 48:24 Do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God 48:29 Verse 11 we see mercy again. He will feed his flock like a 48:33 shepherd, He will gather the lambs with his arm. You see the 48:37 exile is over. The time of judgment has ended. The second 48:41 exodus can now occur and the people can come home. God keeps 48:46 His promises. His word is reliable (Amen) Then we see 48:51 God's deliverance and power in verse 10. We kind of skipped it. 48:54 It was right between 9 and 11. Verse 10: Behold the Lord God 48:58 comes with...what's that word... a strong hand. His arm shall 49:03 rule for Him. His reward is with Him and His work before Him. 49:08 Now, who is this God? Who is this God of mercy? Who is this God of 49:13 power? Let's look at this God. Verse 12: This God, your God, 49:19 our God is omnipotent. Verse 12: Who has measured the waters in 49:26 the hollow of His hand? Now let's stop right there. We're 49:29 talking about the ocean, the ocean measured in the hollow of 49:34 His hand? God's hand literally can measure the ocean. Who has 49:40 measured the waters in the hollow of His hand? Measured 49:43 heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth 49:47 in a measure. Seriously! The dust of the earth. The grains of 49:52 the sand on the seashore. Our God, your God, can measure that. 49:58 Who has weighed the mountains in scales. Literally the mountains 50:03 You think of Mt. Everest. How big is Mt. Everest? How big are 50:07 the mountains around the world. God takes that, puts it into a 50:12 scale. Our God is omnipotent. Let's read the next verse, 50:15 verse 13: 50:17 Our God is omniscient. Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord? 50:22 Or as His counselor has taught Him. Seriously! Who taught Him? 50:27 Who needs to teach God because our God, He knows everything. 50:32 He created knowledge. With whom did he take counsel? Who 50:37 instructed Him and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught 50:42 Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding. The 50:47 scribes and the Pharisees got just a little glimpse of the 50:50 knowledge of Jesus when He was 12 years old and He was in the 50:54 temple and they were like, who taught this boy? And that's what 50:59 Isaiah's saying. Who taught God? Nobody because our God knows 51:06 everything. He's omniscient. Let's read verse 15: Behold the 51:09 nations are a drop in a bucket. This is our God is sovereign. 51:13 His authority is absolute. They are counted as dust on the scale 51:17 the nations of Russia and China and the United States of America 51:21 The nations we think are super powers in the world today, 51:25 they're nothing, they're a drop in the bucket. Look, He lifts up 51:28 the isles as a very little thing. Lebanon is not sufficient to 51:32 burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All 51:35 nations before Him are nothing. They are counted by Him less 51:39 that nothing and worthless. Let's look at verse 18. Our God 51:44 is without compare. To whom will you liken God? How do you 51:49 even compare God. To whom what likeness will you compare to Him 51:52 Certainly not to idols of gold! Certainly not to idols of silver 51:57 Our God is without compare. Verse 21: Our God is greater. 52:04 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Where have you been? Has 52:09 it not been told you from the beginning, have you not 52:13 understood from the foundation of the earth, from the very 52:17 creation. It is He who sits above the circle of the earth. 52:20 This represents God's dominion, God's power over all. It's 52:26 inhabitants, we're just grasshoppers. He stretches out 52:29 the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to 52:34 dwell in. So what do we learn from this? Number one: Look at 52:38 your problems against the backdrop of your incomparable 52:44 In other words, imagine God is here, this is just for 52:47 illustrative purposes and your problems are here and you know 52:51 what I do so many times, I step in between. Remember God's here, 52:56 I'm here. I step here and I turn my back to God and all I see is 53:00 the problem. All I see seems huge and looming and 53:05 insurmountable. But what if I stepped out from between here 53:09 and I stepped on this side and now when I look at the problem 53:13 I look at the problem against the backdrop of my 53:17 insurmountable God and you know what I discover. The things I 53:21 worry about, the things I think are such a big deal, are nothing 53:26 in comparison with who my God is Number two: Change your focus to 53:35 God instead of complaining about the present. You know what did 53:40 Job say? I cry out help but no one answers me. This is Job 19:7 53:45 I protest but there is no justice. And Isaiah said in 53:50 verse 27: Why do you say, O Jacob and speak O Israel, my way is 53:54 hidden from the Lord and my just claim has been passed over by my 54:00 God. You know so many times all we see is the problem. We focus 54:04 on that instead of turning our attention to God. Don't complain 54:09 about what's going on around you Look at your Savior. Number 54:15 three: Our almighty, our omnipotent God reaches down to 54:20 you and I who are but dust and wants to equip and strengthen us 54:24 for what we endure. Verse 28: Have you now known, have you not 54:30 heard the everlasting God the Lord...this is the God who 54:33 reigns over all, this is the God who's omnipotent, this is the 54:36 God who holds the ocean in the palm of His hand, this is the 54:40 God who measured the sand of the sea and guess what...He does not 54:44 faint, He is not weary, He gives power to you, right now. Are you 54:49 weak? Are you in need of an omnipotent, omniscient God. 54:53 He'll give you power. To those who have no might He will 54:58 increase your strength. And finally number four: Waiting on 55:04 God will increase your power and strength. Verse 30: Even the 55:07 youth they faint and be weary. The young men are going to fall 55:11 But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they 55:17 will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not be 55:23 weary, they will walk and not faint. Do you feel like God does 55:28 not see you. Do you feel like God does not see the problems 55:31 and the situation you are in? Your God sees, your God knows 55:38 and your God is going to deliver 55:41 Amen. Lot of distance between the end of the table and here 55:47 but I could feel the conviction. Thank you, Jill. Thank you. 55:50 Praise the Lord for that. Isaiah 40 is a powerful passage. It 55:56 just takes Psalms and Job and puts it all together. I love 55:58 what it says, Have you not known Okay let me not get into the 56:02 sermon right now but John it's your final thoughts. This is a 56:07 lesson that's hard to let go of. 56:08 Indeed, indeed. (Wow!) About praying in Christ's name, I'm 56:12 reading to you from the Desire of Ages, p. 668: To pray in 56:18 Christ's name means much. It means that we are to accept His 56:22 character, manifest His Spirit and work His works. The Savior's 56:26 promise is given on condition, if you love me, He says, keep my 56:31 commandments. He saves men not in sin but from sin and those 56:35 who love Him will show their love by obedience. (Amen) 56:40 Lesson Quarterly for Tuesday, the author says that we should 56:43 make a list of the areas in our lives that need the power of the 56:47 resurrected Jesus. When we finish that list, pray about 56:51 this power and pray that it will be applied to all these areas 56:54 of need. 56:56 Amen, amen. You know in the Bahamas they say, Don't worry, 56:59 Be happy. If you are a Christian you can cast all of your cares 57:04 on the Lord. But if you're still worrying, you haven't thrown 57:07 that off and what you need to do is get you that God Box, put 57:12 that prayer request in there and remember you can't carry it 57:16 yourself. 57:18 Amen. I would just encourage you to spend time in the word of God 57:21 for there you discover who your God really is. 57:24 Mm-huh. Well thank you, Johnny, James, Shelley, Jill. Wow if you 57:29 haven't seen the invisible God in this program then we pray for 57:32 your faith to increase. I'd like to leave this words with you. 57:36 Romans 8 verse 32. When you think about that invisible God 57:40 that we all explained. Thank you so much Jill for that unfolding 57:43 of Isaiah chapter 40. Remember these words, Romans 8:32: He who 57:48 did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how 57:51 shall He not with Him also freely give us all things. 57:56 Well join us next week for lesson number nine: A Life of 58:01 Praise. We look forward to seeing you then. 58:06 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2022-10-06