Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP240007S
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00:01 Hello friends, I'm Jill Morikone.
00:02 We just welcome you to another edition of 3ABN Sabbath School 00:05 Panel. 00:06 We're over halfway through our journey of the Book of Psalms. 00:10 We're in lesson number seven, Your Mercy Reaches Unto the 00:13 Heavens. 00:15 If you want your own copy of the quarterly, you can go to 00:17 3ABNsabbathschoolpanel.com. 00:19 That's 3ABNsabbathschoolpanel .com. 00:22 Download the edition and get ready to follow us as we have 00:26 this exciting excursion through the Word of God. 00:58 Hello family, I'm Jill Morricone and we're so glad 01:01 that you have tuned in for another edition of 3ABN Sabbath 01:05 School Panel. 01:06 We're over halfway through the journey of the Book of Psalms 01:10 and this is lesson number seven, Your Mercy Reaches Unto 01:14 the Heavens. 01:15 Last week was a little heavy. 01:17 If you joined us for last week, I will arise. 01:19 This week we have a complete switch in the theme that we are 01:23 looking at. 01:25 I want to introduce my family, your family, on the set here to 01:28 my left, my sister, Shelley Quinn. 01:30 I'm excited to be here. 01:32 I'm excited that I will be presenting, Creating In Me a 01:36 Clean Heart. 01:37 Amen. 01:39 In the middle, Professor Daniel Perrin. 01:40 And I too am excited about my lesson. 01:42 The title is on Tuesday, If You, Lord, Should Mark 01:45 Iniquities. 01:47 Amen. 01:48 To Daniel's left, Pastor John Dinzy. 01:49 It's a blessing to be here. 01:51 I have Wednesday, Your Mercy, Praise to the Majestic and 01:54 Merciful God. 01:56 I almost said the title of the week. 01:57 Well, the title is great. 01:59 We can say it many times. 02:00 Last but not least, Pastor James Rafferty. 02:02 I'm super excited about my lesson too. 02:04 It's Thursday's lesson. 02:06 It's called Forget Not All His Benefits. 02:08 Amen. 02:10 Thank you all for your study of the Word of God. 02:11 I know it takes time to prepare for Sabbath School Panel. 02:13 Thank you for your study and we want to share with you at home 02:16 our notes. 02:18 That's right. 02:19 If you want a copy of the notes to help you in your own study 02:22 of the Word of God, email us, ssp at 3abn.org. 02:28 That's ssp at 3abn.org and we would love to send you our 02:32 notes from week to week. 02:35 Before we go any further, we want to go to the Lord in 02:37 prayer. 02:38 And Daniel, would you pray for us? 02:40 Yes, I will. 02:41 Our loving Heavenly Father, I know that we have in store for 02:43 us today the opportunity to look straight into your heart 02:46 of grace, mercy, and love. 02:49 And I can't wait. 02:51 So Lord, fill us with your presence, your Holy Spirit, and 02:53 guide us through your Word. 02:55 I pray in Jesus' name. 02:57 Amen. 02:58 Amen. 02:59 These are Jill's three points from this week that we're 03:02 studying. 03:04 Your mercy reaches unto the heavens. 03:05 Number one, we are sinful and spiritually bereft. 03:11 We're poor and needy. 03:12 We are in need of forgiveness and grace. 03:16 Number two, our God is faithful. 03:19 His mercy, His has said, loving kindness, covenant love, 03:25 endures forever. 03:26 He is faithful to His covenant with us, His people. 03:29 He forgives. 03:31 He cleanses and restores. 03:33 He keeps covenant with His people He is good and greatly 03:37 to be praised. 03:39 Number three, you and I respond with love and forgiveness, 03:45 repentance. 03:46 We come before Him with repentance and confession of 03:49 sin, with praise and adoration for who He is and what He has 03:55 done for us. 03:56 We worship Him and commit to serve this God who has been so 04:02 faithful to us. 04:04 We serve Him, after all, only out of love. 04:08 Let's read our memory text. 04:10 We're in Psalm 57, verses 9 and 10, Psalm 57, 9 and 10. 04:16 I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples. 04:19 I will sing to you among the nations for your mercy reaches 04:23 unto the heavens and your truth unto the clouds. 04:29 On Sunday's lesson, we look at His mercy endures forever. 04:35 And we're looking at in the Psalms, they have some Psalms 04:37 they call twin Psalms. 04:39 And this is a twin Psalm, Psalm 135 and 136 correspond 04:45 they're kind of mirror Psalms and they correspond together 04:49 they comprise what we call the Great Hallel, which just means 04:53 great praise. 04:55 If you read book five of the Psalms, which is the last book 04:59 of Psalms, you see that we have the Passover Hallel. 05:02 That would be in Psalm 113 to 118. 05:04 You have the final Hallel, which is the very end of the 05:07 book of Psalms, Psalms 146 to 150. 05:10 But this particular Hallel, praise the great Hallel, Psalm 05:15 135 and 136 reviews the history of Israel and God's divine 05:22 kingship. 05:23 And we see that His mercy truly reaches unto the heaven. 05:28 There's kind of an antiphonal refrain line. 05:31 So you may say, what in the world is that? 05:33 Sometimes you might've heard some music where you have a 05:36 choir sing one piece and then an echo comes in. 05:40 In this particular Psalm, we see the refrain of, for His 05:45 mercy has said Shelley, endures forever. 05:49 And it happens every single verse in the Psalm. 05:53 So we're going to say it together. 05:55 We're in Psalm 136. 05:57 And we'll see if you all on the panel. 05:59 When we get to that part, the antiphonal part, the second 06:02 part, this is the refrain we're going to say together, for His 06:05 mercy endures forever. 06:07 So let's take a look at this. 06:09 The beginning verses one through three is really the 06:12 introduction. 06:13 And it just starts out in praise to God. 06:15 Verse one, we're in Psalm 136, verse one. 06:19 Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good 06:22 For His mercy endures forever. 06:26 We praise Him for who He is. 06:29 He is good. 06:30 We don't just praise Him because of what He does for us, 06:33 but He has done incredible things for us. 06:35 But we praise God for who He is. 06:38 Let's read verse two. 06:40 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods for His mercy endures 06:46 forever. 06:47 We praise Him because He is above all. 06:50 Our God is omnipotent. 06:53 He can do anything. 06:54 Our God is omniscient. 06:56 He knows everything. 06:59 Our God is omnipresent. 07:01 He is everywhere at once. 07:04 Our God is eternal from everlasting to everlasting. 07:08 Our God is creator and redeemer. 07:11 He can create something out of nothing. 07:14 I love that. 07:16 Our God is sustainer. 07:17 He sustains all. 07:19 Let's read verse three. 07:21 Oh, give thanks to Lord of lords for His mercy endures 07:26 forever. 07:28 He is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. 07:31 It's interesting in Hebrew, there's an idiom. 07:33 It really means He is the greatest God. 07:37 Not that there are other gods, but that He is the only God. 07:41 We praise Him because He is everything to us. 07:44 There is nobody else beside Him. 07:47 Now we get into some of Israel's history. 07:50 And first, goes all the way back to creation. 07:52 We're in verse four. 07:55 To Him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy endures 08:00 forever. 08:01 Our God can do anything. 08:03 Verse five. 08:04 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, for His mercy endures 08:09 forever. 08:10 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, for His mercy 08:14 endures forever. 08:15 Our God is our creator. 08:19 Verse seven. 08:20 To Him who made great lights, for His mercy endures forever. 08:25 The sun to rule by day, for His mercy endures forever. 08:29 The moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy endures 08:33 forever. 08:35 Our God is our sustainer. 08:38 He made the earth and then He filled it. 08:42 He set in motion and sustains it by His mighty hand. 08:47 Now we move from creation to the Exodus, going through the 08:52 history of the children of Israel. 08:55 I like on a previous lesson, you can go back and watch it. 08:57 Daniel Perrin talked about the Exodus and how you and I also 09:03 came out of Egypt. 09:04 We all experienced deliverance. 09:07 And Israel's history is not just for the Israelites, but 09:11 it's for you and I. 09:12 It's for Jews and Gentiles. 09:13 It's for anybody who names the name of Jesus because we were 09:17 all delivered from bondage. 09:19 We were all delivered from sin. 09:21 We're in verse 10. 09:22 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy 09:28 endures forever. 09:29 Our God is our defender. 09:31 Imagine being the children of Israel and being slaves, not 09:36 being able to help yourself, not being able to get out from 09:41 under bondage. 09:43 And God arises as your defender. 09:46 Let's read verse 11. 09:47 And brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy 09:51 endures forever. 09:53 Our God is our deliverer. 09:56 He brings you and I out of sin, out of darkness into this 10:01 marvelous light. 10:03 Verse 12. 10:04 With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy 10:08 endures forever. 10:10 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, for His mercy endures 10:14 forever. 10:16 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy 10:19 endures forever. 10:20 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His 10:25 mercy endures forever. 10:27 Our God can work miracles. 10:30 He can divide the Red Sea. 10:31 He can cast out your enemy from before you. 10:35 He can bring you over on the other side on dry ground. 10:40 Now we move from the Exodus to the conquest of the land. 10:44 We're in verse 16. 10:46 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His 10:49 mercy endures forever. 10:51 Our God is our guide. 10:54 He takes you and I through the wilderness. 10:56 There's times we don't know where we're going. 10:58 And He leads us and He guides us brings us out of sin, 11:03 brings us through sickness, sometimes doubt, sometimes 11:06 confusion. 11:08 Our God is our guide. 11:11 Verse 17. 11:12 To Him who struck down great kings, for His mercy endures 11:17 forever. 11:18 Our God fights our battles. 11:22 Oh, praise the Lord. 11:23 Verse 18. 11:25 And slew famous kings, for His mercy endures forever. 11:29 Sihon, King of the Amorites, for His mercy endures forever. 11:33 And Og, King of Bashan, for His mercy endures forever. 11:37 Our God judges the wicked. 11:41 We've talked many times throughout the study and the 11:44 Psalms, the lament. 11:45 How long, oh Lord? 11:47 How long? 11:48 How long will the wicked prosper and the righteous be 11:52 oppressed? 11:54 How long until wrongs are righted? 11:55 How long until you bring judgment? 11:57 Right here, we see our God judges the wicked. 12:02 Verse 21. 12:04 And gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy, endures 12:07 forever. 12:09 A heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy endures 12:12 forever. 12:14 Our God blesses the righteous. 12:17 Now we switch to the last few verses and it switches from 12:20 Israel's history to everyone. 12:22 This is the entire world. 12:24 Verse 23. 12:25 He remembered us in our lowly estate, for His mercy endures 12:29 forever. 12:31 Our God never forgets us. 12:32 He has inscribed us on the palm of His hand. 12:36 You may feel forgotten, but you are never forgotten by God. 12:40 Verse 24. 12:41 And rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy, endures 12:45 forever. 12:46 Our God, your God, can deliver you. 12:49 Verse 25. 12:50 Who gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever. 12:55 Our God provides for us and feeds us. 12:58 And then we come to the conclusion, verse 26. 13:02 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy endures 13:07 forever. 13:09 A couple quick takeaways. 13:11 Number one, our God, your God, never changes. 13:15 Number two, choose to praise Him regardless of your 13:20 circumstances. 13:22 Number three, remember past victories. 13:27 We were encouraged to read this Psalm, Psalm 135 and 136 many 13:32 times, even once a week. 13:34 Why? 13:35 Because we need to remember who our God is. 13:38 We need to remember what He did for us in the past. 13:41 That gives you and I hope and confidence in the future and 13:45 that your God, my God, His mercy, it endures forever. 13:52 Amen. 13:53 Beautiful opening. 13:54 Thank you for letting us participate. 13:56 Thank you all. 13:57 It was fun. 13:59 It was fun. 14:00 I'm Shelley Quinn and Monday's lesson is, created me a clean 14:03 heart. 14:05 If you know anything about the Old Testament, you are probably 14:08 familiar with the story of King David who committed adultery 14:13 with Bathsheba, then plotted to have her husband Uriah killed. 14:19 God sent the prophet Nathan to David to confront him because 14:27 David despised the word of the Lord. 14:30 You know what that means to despise the word of the Lord? 14:33 It means that you have disobeyed God. 14:37 So Nathan pronounces a judgment against him. 14:41 David recognizes he sinned against the Lord. 14:44 Sin is contrary, incompatible to God's government of love and 14:51 it violates his authority. 14:55 So actually all sin is against God. 14:58 Now, in second Samuel 12 and verse 13, listen to what David 15:05 says. 15:06 David tells him, you're the man. 15:08 You're the one who's done this dirty deed. 15:10 Nathan tells him. 15:12 Nathan said this to David. 15:14 Second Samuel 12, 13, David then responds to Nathan saying, 15:21 I have sinned against the Lord. 15:24 And Nathan said to David, the Lord has put away your sin. 15:29 You shall not die. 15:31 Well, I heard a whole sermon over the radio once when we 15:35 were in the car and this pastor saying, see, you don't have to, 15:41 you don't have to repent. 15:45 When Nathan tells David, the Lord has put away your sin. 15:49 You shall not die. 15:51 Let me assure you, this is a very compressed, condensed 15:55 story between David recognizing his sin and Nathan announcing 16:02 that God has put away his sin come Psalm 51. 16:08 I'll prove that to you. 16:09 Let's look at Psalm 51. 16:11 This is one of the seven penitential Psalms. 16:14 It's the greatest in my estimation of confession, 16:19 repentance, and conversion by God's grace. 16:21 So when you look at Psalm 51, here's how it starts. 16:26 To the chief musician, a Psalm of David when, written when, 16:34 Nathan the prophet went to him after he'd gone to Bathsheba. 16:38 So here's what happens. 16:43 Nathan confronts David. 16:45 David then goes into this Psalm of repentance. 16:49 Verse one, Psalm 51, one, and oh, if you want to learn how to 16:53 repent, if you don't know how to confess your sin, this is 16:56 such a beautiful example. 16:59 David cries out, have mercy upon me, oh God, according to 17:03 your loving kindness. 17:05 This is that word you mentioned Hassid, it's used 240 times 17:09 in the Old Testament. 17:10 It is my favorite Hebrew word. 17:13 It's a covenant language word and it encapsulates such a 17:19 great meaning that Bible translators have a hard time 17:23 figuring out what to do with it. 17:25 It can be translated grace, kindness, loving-kindness, 17:29 faithfulness. 17:31 This is God's mercy and loyalty. 17:36 It's all combined in that one word. 17:39 So he says, he goes on in Psalm 51, we're still in verse one, 17:44 according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out 17:49 my transgressions. 17:51 David knew that there was a book that God recorded all of 17:56 our lives, because when it comes time for the judgment, he 18:03 wants to judge fairly according to everyone's personal choices. 18:10 So we have to remember that forgiveness is an extraordinary 18:15 gift of God. 18:17 It's according to the multitude of his tender mercies. 18:22 Now listen, verse two, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. 18:27 Oh Lord, wash me thoroughly, cleanse me of my sin. 18:30 I pray it like this. 18:31 Oh, wash me thoroughly in the blood of Jesus Christ, because 18:35 the Bible tells us it's the blood of Christ that cleanses 18:38 us. 18:40 But the word thoroughly there in the Hebrew, it meant 18:44 multiple times. 18:45 Wash me repeatedly, Lord. 18:48 Verse three, for I acknowledge my transgressions. 18:50 My sin is always before me against you. 18:54 You only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight that 18:59 you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you 19:05 judge. 19:07 David had tragically wronged Bathsheba and Uriah. 19:14 Yet he knew, as first John three four tells us, sin is the 19:19 transgression of God's law. 19:22 He knew he had sinned against the authority of God, and 19:25 that's why he is saying this. 19:29 Verse five, behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and 19:32 in sin, my mother conceived me. 19:34 David was not conceived out of wedlock. 19:37 His mother was a virtuous woman. 19:40 She's even called in other scripture a handmaiden of the 19:44 Lord. 19:45 So what does mean here? 19:47 He was born with a fallen human nature and a propensity towards 19:52 sin. 19:53 So he says in verse six, behold, you desire truth in the 19:56 inward parts and in the hidden part you will make me to know 20:01 wisdom. 20:02 Oh, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. 20:06 Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 20:10 In the Levitical law, only hyssop could cleanse someone 20:15 from their defilement of touching a corpse or if they 20:19 had leprosy. 20:20 Ah, David, you know, the lepers were banned from God's, well, 20:25 all unclean people were banned from God's presence. 20:29 So David recognizes the leprosy of sin has defiled him and he 20:35 feels like he's been banned from God's presence and he 20:39 wants to return to God's presence. 20:41 Verse eight, make me hear joy and gladness that the bones you 20:44 have broken, the bones that you have crushed by the weight of 20:48 sin's guilt really may rejoice. 20:51 Hide your sins from me and blot out all of my iniquities. 20:55 What are we promised in first John one nine? 20:57 If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us 21:02 our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 21:07 Verse 10, I love this part. 21:11 David cries out to the Lord, create in me a clean heart, oh 21:18 God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 21:25 In the Hebrew, there are two words for create, yatsar and 21:31 bara. 21:32 Yatsar means it describes human actions to generate, produce or 21:38 establish something from pre - existing elements. 21:44 Bara means to create something out of nothing. 21:47 That's right. 21:48 And it is only used for God. 21:51 Only God can create something out of nothing. 21:54 The interesting thing is in verse 10, creating me a clean 22:00 heart, oh God, the word David used is bara. 22:04 What does that say to you? 22:08 Only God can create a clean heart. 22:12 There's nothing that you can do. 22:15 Our best acts are like filthy rags. 22:18 Our righteousness are like filthy rags before Him only God 22:23 can restore a clean heart. 22:26 You cannot do this on your own, but as you submit to God's 22:30 power, you know what? 22:31 He promises second Corinthians five 17 that he will make you a 22:36 new creation in Christ Jesus and renew that steadfast spirit 22:41 in you as you yield to the Holy Spirit's leading. 22:45 Verse 11, do not cast me away from your presence. 22:50 David says, do not take your Holy Spirit from me. 22:55 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. 23:01 I remember probably 30 years ago, I kind of got off track 23:07 and I forgot about the joy of God's salvation and I remember 23:12 praying this prayer and I was going, oh Lord, restore to me 23:18 the joy of your salvation. 23:20 We can begin to take it for granted, but he says, uphold me 23:24 by your generous spirit. 23:26 Then I will teach transgressors your way. 23:29 Sinners will be converted to you. 23:34 Oh, when we understand the joy of God's salvation, we can't 23:39 help but share when God creates a clean heart in us. 23:43 We can't help but testify that his mercy endures forever. 23:51 Amen. 23:53 Oh, that's powerful, Shelly. 23:54 I love that. 23:55 No matter what you've done, there is forgiveness in Jesus. 23:58 Don't go away. 23:59 We're going to take a short break. 24:01 We'll be right back. 24:05 Ever wish you could study more deeply along with the 3ABN 24:08 Sabbath School Members? 24:10 Well, now you can. 24:12 Just send an email request to ssp@3abn.org and we'll email 24:17 you the Sabbath School Panelist notes on a weekly basis to 24:20 enhance your own study of God's Word. 24:22 That address again is ssp@3abn.org. 24:25 We'd love to send you their notes just as they've prepared 24:28 them. 24:29 Thank you for watching and thank you for being part of our 24:32 3ABN Sabbath School Panel family. 24:35 Welcome back to lesson number seven, Your Mercy Reaches Unto 24:39 the Heavens. 24:40 We're going to continue with Tuesday lesson and Daniel 24:42 Perrin. 24:44 Thank you. 24:45 I'm Daniel Perrin with Tuesday and the title is If You, Lord, 24:48 Should Mark Iniquities. 24:50 Now, I am loving this lesson and just so you know, anybody 24:53 who should ever say to you or if you should hear grace comes 24:56 in New Testament. 24:59 Okay, read the book of Psalms. 25:02 I tried to make a list of forgiveness, grace, mercy in 25:05 the Psalms and there's no point in even trying to start a list. 25:08 You just will not get to the end of it. 25:11 The title, If You, Lord, Should Mark Iniquities, comes from a 25:14 very short psalm, Psalm 130, just eight little verses. 25:19 It's one of the Psalms of Ascent. 25:22 Ascent means going up one of the pilgrimage Psalms because 25:26 when you went to Jerusalem, Jerusalem was the city on the 25:29 hill and so you always ascended to Jerusalem. 25:32 So, this is one of those songs that you would sing as you are 25:36 going to the sanctuary and at the sanctuary there is 25:40 forgiveness through the sacrifice which is Jesus. 25:43 So, let's take that title. 25:45 If You, Lord, Should Mark Iniquities and let me just 25:47 restate that a little bit. 25:49 If You, Lord, kept score. I don't know if You like playing games 25:53 where You keep score. 25:55 Some people, they don't want the stress of that. 25:56 No, no, I don't want to keep score. 25:58 Other people, I want to know who wins. 26:00 I want to know who loses. 26:02 Sometimes we might say this. 26:03 If You, Lord, were fair, sometimes we demand God be 26:08 fair. 26:09 If You treated me the way I treat You, if You mark 26:14 iniquities, let's say it this way. 26:17 Lord, if You scrutinized me, if You pulled out the rule book, 26:21 if You conducted an audit of my life, if You, Lord, kept a 26:25 record of all my thoughts, words, and actions, wait, that 26:31 is what's going on. 26:33 God is keeping a record. 26:35 As You mentioned, there is a book and my life is recorded in 26:39 it and so that is why we have statements like this in 26:42 Revelation 6, 17. 26:43 For the great day of His wrath has come and who is able to 26:48 stand? 26:49 Because I know what's written in my book. 26:51 Isaiah 6 verse 5. 26:53 Woe is me for I am undone because I'm a man of unclean 26:58 lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. 27:02 Sometimes we in this life go boldly strutting around as if 27:06 God owes us something and we are entitled to this life like 27:10 we are created it and we set all the rules and we can make 27:14 demands upon God and yet we forget a couple of pivotal 27:18 verses. 27:19 Genesis 2, 17. 27:21 Don't eat the fruit of that tree. 27:24 On the day you eat of it, you will surely or certainly die. 27:30 Okay? 27:31 And then Romans 6, 23. 27:33 The wages of sin is death and I have sinned and so have you. 27:41 Think of what this means. 27:43 The slightest deviation, just the most minuscule 27:47 infinitesimal millimeter deviation, just a little tiny 27:52 bit off of God's perfect plan is off of God's perfect plan 27:57 and it results in death forever and this impresses the absolute 28:03 hopelessness of our situation apart from God's mercy that 28:07 reaches to the heavens. 28:09 One of the criticisms that is leveled against Christian 28:12 churches and pastors or teachers is that they're always 28:16 telling people that they're sinners and there's some 28:20 validity to this because we do need to be guided by the Holy 28:23 Spirit in the way we addressed sin and sinners but implication 28:26 of this criticism is that I'm fine the way I am. 28:31 Don't make me feel bad about ourself, myself. 28:34 Our culture is so wrapped up in self-image and self-respect and 28:39 self -esteem and self-worship that there's a pressure upon us 28:43 to affirm everybody and to only praise them and say what's good 28:48 about them and so we inflate our own goodness like that wise 28:53 proverb then says Proverbs 12 -15 a fool is wise in his own 28:58 eyes and if we're honest we then sometimes accuse God of 29:02 being too judgmental of our sins and so that's part of what 29:07 we're saying when we say I feel like I'm okay. 29:11 Sometimes we hear a preacher talk and he's revealing one of 29:14 those hidden habits of our life we're like oh I don't want to 29:17 hear that yet no no I'm not ready to stop enjoying that 29:21 just yet but give me a little while I'll wait I'm not to be 29:26 the judge, not me I'm not the judge of any person's life but 29:30 I got to tell you that the good news the forgiveness of God the 29:34 good news always starts with the bad news so Psalm 130 29:40 should be our prayer for all of us it starts like this, verse one 29:45 out of the depths, I cry to you Oh Lord, out of the depths I 29:51 was down at the very bottom, no chance of escape. 29:54 This is the sinner shall die for his sins, the wages of sin. 29:58 Out of the depths, I cried, Lord, hear my voice, let your 30:02 ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 30:05 If you Lord should mark iniquities, oh Lord, who could 30:10 stand? 30:11 We find this idea all over in the Psalms 25 verse 7, do not 30:15 remember the sins of my youth. 30:18 Have you ever sorrowed for your sins or for the sins of others, 30:22 for my sins? 30:24 Sometimes we treat sin like an academic concept that we do a 30:27 book review on, not what it truly is. 30:30 Maybe you've spent time in a hospital yourself or observing 30:34 others where somebody gets bad news and they break down in 30:39 sobs and weeping uncontrollably because of the bad news. 30:44 Have you ever cried, wept for your sins because of what 30:48 they've done, not just because of what they've done to you, 30:52 but because of what they do to God? 30:54 If you Lord should mark iniquities, in other words, if 30:59 you should make me bear the weight of my sin, but let's 31:03 turn that around, Lord, you did mark iniquities. 31:07 You go through my life with a fine tooth comb looking for 31:12 every sinful thought or priority or action or glance or 31:18 off-handed remark or exaggeration of the truth or 31:21 selfishness no matter how small and it's hard as we say, Lord, 31:25 mark my iniquities because every iniquity that God marks, 31:30 He removes from us and places on Himself. 31:34 So here, very slowly after that verse 3, if you mark 31:38 iniquities, who can stand? 31:40 Here comes a verse 4, but there is forgiveness with you that 31:45 you may be feared. 31:47 As a loving parent, God says this, this is going to hurt me 31:52 more than it's going to hurt you, but I've got to find 31:55 everything. 31:57 I've got to get it all. 31:59 Like the surgeon who says, I've got to get every bit of that 32:02 cancer, that sickness out. 32:05 Oh, hey, hold on, can we leave just a little bit of it? 32:07 No, I've got to get it all. 32:09 I've got to find it all. 32:11 Every sin that is a barb in my flesh, Jesus says, that's got 32:15 to be placed in my flesh. 32:17 The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of a soul. 32:22 That story that Shelley referenced, David and 32:24 Bathsheba, I cannot believe that David was having a really 32:27 good prayer life up until that point. 32:29 It was eating him up. 32:31 Oh, it was awful. 32:32 He didn't want to go to the sanctuary. 32:34 He didn't want to come into God's presence because he had 32:35 that in there. 32:37 And then 2 Samuel 12, 13, David confessed to Nathan, I have 32:41 sinned against the Lord. 32:42 And Nathan replied, yes, but the Lord has forgiven you and 32:46 you won't die for your sins. 32:49 I can picture David breaking down in sobs. 32:52 I won't die. 32:54 The Lord has forgiven me. 32:55 Oh, thank you, Lord. 32:58 If you marked my iniquities, Lord, I couldn't stand. 33:02 You have marked them and you've taken them off of me. 33:05 This is why in Psalm 139, right there at the end, verse 23 and 33:09 24, search me, O God, know my heart, try me, and know my 33:15 anxieties and see if there's any wicked way Lord, Lord, 33:19 look, I'll open up, take a look at everything, whatever there 33:22 is, please find it all. 33:24 Mark my iniquities and then we can sing Psalm 32. 33:30 Join me in Psalm 32. 33:32 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. 33:36 I don't know if there's a tune, but I feel like singing, whose 33:38 sin is covered. 33:40 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity 33:44 and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 33:47 Paul quotes this in Romans. 33:49 Blessed is the one who's forgiven. 33:51 When I kept silent, my bones grew old. 33:54 This is a picture of David waiting before he's confronted 33:57 by Nathan. 33:58 Though through my groaning all the day long for day and night, 34:03 your hand was heavy upon me. 34:05 My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. 34:09 I couldn't even go on. 34:11 Oh, I just, every step was torture. 34:13 I could not get it out of my mind. 34:16 And then verse five, I acknowledged my sin to you. 34:20 Lord, mark my iniquities, every one of them, and my iniquity I 34:24 have not hidden. 34:25 I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. 34:29 And you have, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 34:34 This is a great Selah, a pause, peace and rest. 34:38 If you marked iniquity, Lord, for me to pay, then I'd have to 34:43 pay it all. 34:45 And my life would be over. 34:46 But God marks iniquity in a different way. 34:48 Not to show it to us, to show us what we've done wrong, but 34:51 to say, look what the Lord has born for you so that you can be 34:55 free and you can praise the Lord as King David did. 34:59 Amen. 35:00 Amen. 35:02 Praise the Lord. 35:03 We have been to church over and over again as we have been in 35:05 this study. 35:06 My name is John Dinzy. 35:07 This is Wednesday's portion. 35:09 The title is praise to the majestic and merciful God. 35:13 I love that title. 35:14 And this portion of the lesson takes us to Psalm 113 and 123. 35:20 And we're going to take a look at other places as well. 35:23 Psalm 113, beginning in verse one. 35:25 Praise the Lord, praise all servants of the Lord. 35:30 Praise the name of the Lord. 35:34 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and 35:37 forevermore. 35:39 From the rising of the sun to it's going down, the Lord's name 35:43 is to be praised. 35:45 I believe we do not praise the Lord nearly enough. 35:49 And so we should take time to consider the great and 35:53 wonderful things he has done for us. 35:56 I remember a call that came in one time. 35:58 It was a live program. 36:01 And Danny announced if you have something to praise the 36:04 Lord for, give us a phone call wright in. 36:07 And this man called and said, what do I have to be thankful 36:10 to the Lord for? 36:11 Well, this surprised me. 36:13 And I believe the Lord gave him a good few questions. 36:17 Well, are you in prison? 36:18 No, the man said. 36:20 Are you in jail? 36:21 Are you in the hospital? 36:22 No, the man said. 36:24 Are you in insane asylum? 36:25 No, I'm not. 36:27 Did you get to eat anything today? 36:28 Yes, I did. 36:30 I guess I do have things to be thankful for. 36:33 Yes, give those things some thought, I told him. 36:35 And we do have things to be thankful for. 36:38 Every day the Lord brings blessings to us. 36:41 Even the very breath that we take every moment of the day is 36:44 a gift from the Lord. 36:46 So I consider you, I invite you to consider writing down the 36:50 things maybe that you haven't thought of that the Lord has 36:52 been good to you. 36:54 Because it is the Lord that gives us strength and health to 36:57 be able to even work, to be able to put food upon our 37:00 tables. 37:02 The Lord is good to every single one. 37:04 In Luke 17, we see a story of Jesus going to Jerusalem. 37:09 And as he entered a village, ten people full of leprosy came 37:14 to him. 37:15 And Lord, Jesus, the son of David, have mercy upon us. 37:19 And Jesus said, go and show yourself to the priest. 37:22 And on their way, they were all healed. 37:25 And only one, only one came and said thanks to Jesus. 37:31 And I like what it says in Luke 17, 16. 37:34 And he fell down on his face at his feet and gave thanks. 37:38 And he was a Samaritan. 37:41 He said this in a loud voice. 37:43 And Jesus said, well, were there not ten cleansed? 37:46 Why is there only one? 37:48 And so if you pray to the Lord and the Lord answers your 37:52 prayer, thank the Lord. 37:54 Thank the Lord because he is good to you and to me and to 37:58 everyone that's within the hearing of my voice. 38:00 Psalm 113, we now move to verse four. 38:03 Notice the transition that takes place here as we move 38:07 from verse four through six. 38:09 The Lord is high above all nations. 38:14 His glory above the heavens. 38:17 Nothing can compare to our Lord, our creator, our almighty 38:22 God. 38:23 He is high above all. 38:25 Who is like the Lord, our God who dwells on high. 38:30 Now notice verse six, who humbles himself to behold the 38:35 things that are in the heavens and in the earth. 38:40 This is a question. 38:42 God humbles himself just to even look upon us and just to 38:48 even hear our prayer. 38:50 He humbles himself because he is our heavenly father. 38:54 He's concerned about each and every one of us. 38:57 Many of you perhaps are married. 38:59 Have you taken time to number the hairs of the head of your 39:02 spouse? 39:03 It might be an easy task for my wife, but listen, we don't even 39:07 take time to look at things that God looks into our lives. 39:11 He is concerned about every single aspect of our lives. 39:15 Now concerning God humbling himself, the greatest 39:19 manifestation of his humility is found through Jesus. 39:24 And that's why I moved to Philippians chapter two 39:26 beginning in verse five. 39:28 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who 39:33 being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be 39:38 equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, 39:43 taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of 39:48 men. 39:49 Imagine Jesus was high above the angels, high as the heavens 39:54 above the angels, surpassing anything the angels can ever 39:58 come to. 39:59 And then the Bible says in Hebrews chapter two, that he 40:02 became lower than the angels and became a man. 40:08 And even not only that he become a man, we have to 40:11 consider that he became a man after about 4,000 years of sin. 40:17 Wow! 40:19 And then it says here in verse eight, and being found in 40:23 appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to 40:28 the point of death, even the death of the cross. 40:33 And you're wondering if you should humble yourself before 40:36 God. 40:37 Consider how much Jesus humbled himself and even to take your 40:42 sins upon him who was spotless, holy, blameless, undefiled, 40:49 took your filthy sins, my filthy sins upon him. 40:54 This is amazing. 40:55 This should humble us to understand God's great love and 40:59 how much he is willing to humble himself for us. 41:04 Psalms 113 continues in verse seven. 41:08 Notice, he raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy 41:14 out of the ash heap, that he may seat him with princess and 41:18 with the princess of his people. 41:20 He grants the barren woman a home like a joyful mother of 41:24 children. 41:25 Praise the Lord, unto you I lift up my eyes, all you who 41:29 dwell in the heavens. 41:31 You know, God continues to do these types of things. 41:35 He brings people from the ground, from the dust, and he 41:39 places them according to what he knows is best, where they 41:43 need to be. 41:44 But our part is to humble ourselves and serve the Lord 41:48 with all of our hearts. 41:50 We are told also to compare Psalms 123, considering God's 41:57 merciful and majesty and holiness. 42:01 In verse one, it says, notice, unto you, I lift up my eyes, all 42:08 you who dwell in the heavens. 42:11 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their 42:15 masters, as of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our 42:21 eyes look to the Lord our God until he has mercy on us. 42:27 You know, sometimes we're pleading to the Lord for 42:30 something and we give up so soon or too soon to see the 42:35 answer he wants to give us. 42:37 When we have a situation we're praying to the Lord for, it's 42:41 an opportunity to get even closer to the Lord, present our 42:45 need. 42:46 But some of us too soon give up and too soon, I say, well, 42:49 walking away and you look for answers where there are no good 42:53 answers. 42:55 As we move to verse three in Psalms 123, there is a change 42:58 that takes place. 43:00 Remember, we started in verse one where it says, unto you I 43:05 lift up my eyes. 43:06 Now notice verse three, have mercy on us. 43:09 Now it's plural because he is also considering his people. 43:14 And this is something that we can take from the lesson even 43:17 of Samuel. 43:18 He says, how can I sin in ceasing to pray for you, for 43:22 the people? 43:24 We need to identify with God's family on this earth and not 43:27 only pray for ourselves, our family. 43:30 We need to pray for God's people all over the world. 43:33 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. 43:36 For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 43:39 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are 43:42 at ease with the contempt of the proud. 43:46 In the little time that we have, we take a look at some of 43:49 the things here. 43:50 There is a change to the plural. 43:52 And this idea being, notice how it says, he's exceedingly 43:57 filled with contempt, not just filled with contempt, 43:59 exceedingly. 44:00 This is a condition where calling upon the Lord to have 44:04 mercy, especially because of the situation that they are 44:08 facing. 44:10 And notice how it also says, exceedingly filled with scorn 44:14 of those who are at ease with the contempt of the proud. 44:16 Sometimes we face situations where we see the wicked that 44:19 seem to be triumphing over the righteous. 44:22 And we may get discouraged as we see this and we call upon 44:26 the Lord to help us. 44:28 And in our condition, we must understand that Psalms 103, 44:33 verse 10 and 11, he has not dealt with us according to our 44:38 sins nor punished us according to our iniquities. 44:41 Whereas the heavens are high above the earth, so great is 44:46 his mercy toward those who fear him. 44:49 Asking the Lord for mercy, his ears are attentive. 44:52 You're asking me for mercy because he is a merciful God 44:55 and he understands your situation and he will look for 45:00 ways where you cannot even imagine to help you in your 45:03 situation and lift you up and lift up your countenance. 45:07 But there's something that we must remember as we're asking 45:11 for the Lord for mercy because he will work on our behalf and 45:15 work out the best for us. 45:17 But we must remember to thank the Lord for his goodness and 45:21 his mercy. 45:22 Amen. 45:24 Amen. 45:25 Amen. 45:27 Thank you, John. 45:28 You just picked up or left off where I'm supposed to pick up. 45:29 Psalm 103, Psalm 103. 45:31 That's what I have for the lesson here. 45:32 Forget not all his benefits. 45:33 My name is James Rafferty. 45:35 I really am thankful, Jill, for you reminding us that God's 45:37 mercy endures forever and Shelley reminding us that only 45:40 God can create a clean heart and Daniel reminding us that 45:44 God wants every bit of our sin cancer and John for reminding 45:48 us that God humbled himself and took our sins. 45:52 The question is asked by the lesson quarterly for Thursday 45:56 is how is God's mercy portrayed here in Psalm 103? 46:00 Verse one says, Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is 46:02 within me. 46:04 Bless his holy name. 46:05 Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits. 46:07 That's what we're going to land on. 46:09 Forget not all his benefits. 46:10 We need to learn how to remember all God's benefits and 46:14 the way we do that is very practical. 46:18 Who forgives all our iniquities, who heals all our 46:20 diseases. 46:21 Psalm 32, one and two. 46:23 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, 46:25 whose sin is covered. 46:26 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth, not 46:28 iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 46:32 God imputed iniquity unto Christ in second Corinthians 46:34 chapter five, verses 17 through 21. 46:37 So that he could not count our sins against us. 46:40 And this is something we see outlined in the great chapter 46:44 of Isaiah 53. 46:46 Verse 12, we'll just look at that one verse. 46:47 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great and he 46:50 shall divide the spoiled with the strong because he has 46:52 poured out his soul unto death. 46:54 He was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the 46:57 sin of many and made intercession for the 47:00 transgressors. 47:01 As Shelley said, David was praying against thee and the 47:04 only have I sinned because according to Isaiah 53, 12, 47:07 only Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate price for our sins. 47:11 No human being has paid that ultimate price. 47:13 We sin against humans, but only God has taken upon himself the 47:17 ultimate consequence of those sins. 47:19 And so one Psalm 103 verse four goes on to say, and I love 47:22 this, this whole Psalm is just so powerful. 47:25 Who redeems thy life from destruction, who crowns thee 47:28 with loving kindness and tender mercies. 47:30 There it is. 47:31 There's the practical part. 47:33 If we're crowned with loving kindness and tender mercies, 47:34 what's that going to look like in our lives? 47:37 Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that thy youth 47:40 is renewed like the egos are. 47:42 Our mouths are satisfied with good things. 47:44 So that means nothing bad is going to come out of our mouth 47:46 if God is satisfying our mouth with good things. 47:49 The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are 47:52 oppressed. 47:53 So God wants to work through us through his loving kindness to 47:55 exercise judgment and righteousness for all those who 47:58 are oppressed. 47:59 He made known his ways unto Moses his acts unto the 48:01 children of Israel. 48:02 The Lord is merciful and gracious, low to anger and 48:05 plenteous in mercy. 48:07 He will not always chide. 48:08 Neither will he keep his anger forever. 48:09 He has not dealt with us after our sins nor awarded us 48:13 according to our iniquities. 48:14 Praise God. 48:16 He has not marked our sins against us. 48:18 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so is his great 48:20 mercy toward them that fear him. 48:22 As far as the East is from the West, so far as he removed our 48:25 transgressions from us. 48:27 Like a father pities his children, so the Lord pities 48:29 them that fear him. 48:31 For he knows our frame. 48:32 He remembers we are dust. 48:34 How many ways can this be said? 48:36 How many ways can God communicate the Gospel to us in 48:40 the Psalms? 48:42 For as for man his days are as grass as a flower of the field 48:45 so he flourishes. 48:46 For the wind passes over it and it is gone and the place 48:49 thereof shall know it no more. 48:51 But the mercy of the Lord, the mercy of the Lord, it's not 48:54 like that. 48:56 It doesn't come and go. 48:57 The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon 48:59 them that fear him and his righteousness unto the children 49:04 of men. 49:05 The lesson says, how then should people respond to God's 49:08 loving-kindness? 49:09 Well, first by blessing the Lord, Psalm 103, 1 and 2. 49:12 And blessing is generally understood as an act of 49:14 bestowing material and spiritual benefits upon 49:17 someone, according to Genesis 49, 25, and Psalm 512. 49:21 The lesson goes on to say that because God is the source of 49:24 all blessings, how can human beings bless God? 49:27 How can an inferior bless a superior, right? 49:31 Well, we know how it looked in David's life, right? 49:35 David wanted to bless the Lord through his soul by forgetting 49:40 not all of his benefits. 49:41 And when we remember God's benefits, the number one way we 49:45 remember God's benefits are to remember God's forgiveness 49:49 toward us, right? 49:51 We see this in the life of David in relationship to Saul. 49:54 Saul mistreated David. 49:55 He hounded him, tried to kill him, take him out. 49:58 But David remembered all of God's benefits, all of God's 50:01 blessings, right? 50:03 And so David said, I'm not going to put forth my hand 50:04 against the Lord's anointed because I'm dwelling, I'm 50:07 basking in the benefits of the Lord, right? 50:10 And then what about Shimei? 50:11 Shimei was cursing David, you know, oh, you bloody man, you 50:15 bloody man. 50:16 And David's men said, hey, just say the word will take that guy 50:18 out. 50:19 No, no, no, no. 50:20 God will reward him for what he's doing today that he's in 50:22 God's hands. 50:23 I don't want to forget God's benefits. 50:25 I don't want to forget God's blessings. 50:26 I don't want to forget all that God has showered me with. 50:28 What about Absalom? 50:29 Absalom tried to kill his own father and take the kingdom. 50:31 Oh, no, no, don't do any hurt to the lad. 50:34 I mean, if we're going to err, we got to err on the side of 50:37 mercy. 50:38 I think he was erring. 50:40 I think he was erring on the side of mercy, but he was 50:41 erring, right? 50:42 He was reminded of that. 50:44 And so we see this in David's life. 50:47 We see the way that David remembered all of God's 50:50 benefits. 50:51 You know, in 2 Peter chapter 1, we're told about this ladder 50:55 that God wants us to climb through his great and precious 50:59 promises, right? 51:00 Adding faith and virtue to knowledge and knowledge to 51:05 temperance and temperance, patience and patience, 51:07 godliness and godliness, brotherly kindness and 51:09 brotherly kindness, kindliness, kindliness, charity, or love, 51:13 right? 51:15 For if all these things be in you and abound, they make that 51:17 you shall neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of 51:20 our Lord Jesus Christ. 51:21 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 8, verse 9, but he that lacks 51:25 these things is blind. 51:27 He cannot see afar off and he has forgotten. 51:31 He has forgotten, right? 51:32 What has he forgotten? 51:33 What is it that we're supposed to remember? 51:35 What is it that we forget? 51:36 He's forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 51:39 We've forgotten how God has forgiven us. 51:41 When we get that Laodicean blindness and feel like we're 51:45 rich and increased with goods, we've forgotten how God... 51:47 So wherefore, verse 10 says, wherefore the rather brethren 51:50 give diligence to make your calling and election sure. 51:52 For if you do these things, you will never fall. 51:55 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly 51:58 into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus 52:00 Christ. 52:01 Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in 52:04 remembrance of these things, how you were forgiven, that 52:07 though you know them, that you may be established in the 52:11 present truth. 52:12 The only place in the Bible that that phrase is used, the 52:14 present truth. 52:16 And here's the present truth. 52:17 We think the present truth is all kinds of stuff. 52:18 Well, here's the present truth. 52:20 Don't forget how God has forgiven you and you go ahead 52:23 and forgive others the way that God has forgiven you. 52:25 That's the present truth. 52:26 Amen. 52:27 That's good. 52:29 And this beautiful picture is summed up in the story of a man 52:32 by the name of Stockbridge Howland. 52:34 Have you ever heard of the story of Stockbridge Howland? 52:37 Well, let me tell you the story of Stockbridge Howland. 52:39 Years ago, when the company of believers in the soon coming of 52:41 Christ was very small, the Sabbath keepers in Thompson and 52:45 May met for worship in a large kitchen in the home of Brother 52:49 Stockbridge Howland. 52:50 One Sabbath morning, Brother Howland was absent. 52:52 We were surprised at this because he was always so 52:54 punctual, kind of like me, right? 52:57 Soon he came in with his face aglow, shining with the glory 53:01 of God. 53:02 Brethren, he said, I have found it. 53:04 I have found that we can pursue a course of action regarding 53:07 the which the guarantee of God's word is, you shall never 53:10 fall. 53:12 He's quoting from 2 Peter. 53:13 You shall never fall. 53:14 And I'm going to tell you about it. 53:16 He told us then that he had noticed that one brother, a 53:18 poor fisherman had been feeling that he was not as 53:21 highly respected as he ought to be. 53:23 And the Brother Howland and others thought themselves above 53:25 him. 53:27 Now, this was not true, but it seemed true to him. 53:29 And for several weeks, he had not attended the meetings. 53:31 So Brother Howland went to his house and knelt before him 53:34 saying, my brother, forgive me. 53:38 What is it that I have done? 53:40 The man took him by the arm and tried to raise him to his feet. 53:43 No, Brother Howland said, what have you against me? 53:47 Oh, I have nothing against you, but you must have said, Brother 53:50 Howland because once we could speak to one another, but now 53:53 you do not speak to me at all. 53:55 And I want to know what is the matter. 53:58 Get up, Brother Howland, he said. 54:00 No, said Brother Howland. 54:01 I will not. 54:04 Then I must get down, he said. 54:07 And he fell on his knees and confessed how childish he had 54:10 been and how many evil surmises he had cherished. 54:13 And now he said, I will put them all the way. 54:16 As Brother Howland told the story, his face shone with the 54:19 glory of God. 54:20 Just as he had finished, the fisherman and his family came 54:22 in and we had an excellent meeting in Brother Stockbridge, 54:27 Howland's kitchen. 54:28 Now, suppose that some of us should follow that course 54:30 pursued by Brother Howland. 54:32 If when our brethren surmise evil, we would go to them 54:34 saying, forgive me. 54:36 If I have done anything to harm you, we might break the spell 54:39 of Satan and set our brethren free from their temptations. 54:43 Do not let anything interpose between you and your brethren. 54:47 If there's anything that you can do by sacrifice to clear 54:49 away the rubbish of suspicion, do it. 54:52 God wants us to love one another as brethren. 54:54 He wants us to be pitiful and courteous. 54:57 He wants us to educate ourselves, to believe that our 55:01 brethren love us and to believe that Christ loves us because 55:05 love begets love. 55:07 And that's Testimony Vol. 55:09 9, page 192. 55:11 God is calling us to humble ourselves as Christ humbled 55:14 himself, not to mark people's iniquities against us, to let 55:18 him create in us a clean heart, to remember his mercies that 55:23 endure forever and to remember that in the way that we are 55:28 merciful and gracious toward others. 55:30 Amen. 55:32 Thank you so much, Pastor James and Pastor Johnny and Daniel 55:34 and Shelly. 55:36 What an incredible lesson. 55:37 Your mercy reaches unto the heavens. 55:40 I want to give each one of you an opportunity to share a 55:42 closing thought. 55:44 My closing thought is this. 55:45 Every day I tell the Lord that I hunger and thirst for his 55:51 righteousness and ask him to fill me. 55:53 I ask him to forgive me of my sins, cleanse me of all 55:57 unrighteousness and I claim Psalm 51, verse 10 and say, 56:03 Lord, I know only you can create the clean heart in me 56:06 and I thank you that you will complete the good work you've 56:10 begun. 56:11 Forget not all his benefits. 56:13 One of those benefits is Psalm 51, verse 11. 56:17 Take not your Holy Spirit from me. 56:19 God gives us the Holy Spirit which then in turn reveals our 56:23 sin which you would think is a bad thing but that is a 56:26 wonderful thing because then that brings us to the God. 56:30 Psalm 86, 5. 56:31 For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant 56:36 in mercy to all those who call upon you. 56:39 God's ready to forgive today. 56:41 Amen. 56:43 I also want to encourage you to make a list of the wonderful 56:45 things God has done for you today and also if you need 56:49 mercy I read to you Psalms 40, verse 11. 56:52 Do not withhold your tender mercies from me, O Lord. 56:55 Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve 56:59 me. 57:00 Bring this to the Lord and ask for his mercy. 57:03 Amen. 57:04 And if there's anyone that you know of that could use a little 57:07 bit of that forgiveness, that grace, that mercy that you 57:11 could reach out to that you could even humble yourself 57:13 before grab a hold of them and encourage them to make the 57:18 heart right to reconcile the relationship with you if 57:21 necessary, if need be but primarily with God. 57:24 Do it. 57:26 Pray about it and do it. 57:27 Amen. 57:28 Thank you all so much and we thank you for joining us as 57:30 well our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:32 We started our memory text with Psalm 57, 10 which says your 57:36 mercy reaches onto the heavens and your truth to the clouds. 57:41 Pastor James ended with Psalm 103 or in his lesson he talked 57:45 about who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender 57:50 mercies. 57:51 You see God has mercy which he imparts to us and once we are 57:55 forgiven we are to extend that mercy to someone else. 58:00 So go out and love on someone today. 58:03 Join us next week Wisdom for Righteous Living. |
Revised 2024-01-23