Participants:
Series Code: 16HC
Program Code: 16HC000010A
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00:49 Welcome! Glad you could join us today:
00:52 those of you who are here with us, 00:53 those who are viewing around the world. God bless you! 00:56 Welcome to our Fall 3ABN Camp Meeting. 00:59 We pray that each one's having a blessing. 01:02 It's been a blessing to be here. 01:03 We have been blessed and we pray that each one of you 01:05 have been blessed also. 01:07 Welcome to our Sabbath School class. 01:09 We're going to have a wonderful study today 01:11 and I'm sure that not a one of you will want to miss 01:14 what's going on because this is a subject that we will 01:16 look at: the story of Job. 01:20 And how interesting that is because there's so many 01:22 questions about Job and his life and what he went through. 01:27 And I think some of us can relate to it. 01:29 And there's a lot of things that maybe are left unanswered. 01:32 By the grace of God... We've had prayer; 01:34 we're going to have prayer again in a moment. 01:36 But first, you know, I just want to just introduce our panel. 01:39 Praise God, you know, for those who are willing to show up 01:42 and say: "I want to be God's mouthpiece today. " 01:45 And I believe as you prayed about it God will use you 01:47 to help us on your part of the lesson 01:50 that you've been, I know, earnestly studying for. 01:52 You know, we have Brian. I want to call him pastor all the time. 01:57 I just have that bond and that kin. Even though you're the 01:59 chief financial officer of 3ABN. 02:02 We know that, but I know you have a heart for Jesus 02:05 and you love Jesus. You love the truth and the gospel. 02:08 We're glad to have you today. 02:10 Well thank you Kenny... thank you. And I am a pastor. 02:12 I pastor three churches here in the area... 02:15 only they're in prison. Amen. 02:19 Bless you heart. You know, that takes a special, doesn't it? 02:21 That takes a very special anointing of the Spirit 02:24 to be able to do the work that needs to be done. 02:27 And Sr. Mollie Steenson. 02:29 Praise God! We're glad you're here. 02:30 Always have a nice smile on your face. 02:32 The vice president of 3ABN and I've seen you wear 02:35 an awful lot of different hats 02:37 so I'm not going to go into all the hats that she has on 02:39 but she has to wear a lot of different hats 02:40 and doing a tremendous job for the cause of Christ. 02:43 And we're glad you're here today. 02:44 Thank you very much. It's a joy to be here 02:47 and to see all these lovely people. 02:50 Happy Sabbath everybody. Happy Sabbath! 02:54 You can tell they're excited today, right? They're excited! 02:56 The Holy Spirit's present here. 02:58 And next to her we have Pastor John Lomacang. 03:00 And we realize he's the pastor of the Thompsonville SDA 03:05 church here. And of course he's... I like the newer title, 03:09 pastor, that overwhelms you at times. 03:11 You know, you're the head of world evangelism for 3ABN. 03:14 And every time you say it I get goosebumps. 03:17 I get goosebumps because I've always felt that 3ABN 03:20 is for evangelism. Amen. Well praise the Lord. Happy Sabbath 03:24 everyone and those who are joining us via 03:26 whatever form of media. We welcome you to join us 03:29 in this wonderful time of the study of God's Word. 03:31 Amen. Of course, next is Pastor C.A. Murray. 03:35 Special friend. Anointed of God. A pastor. 03:39 You know, we've grown to love all of you 03:42 and Pastor C.A., you, too. You know, you talk about here 03:45 you're the general manager of 3ABN Proclaim! 03:49 we realize and also you do some production of the Today program. 03:54 So you're a busy man and you travel and you speak 03:56 and you're just involved in every aspect. 03:58 And praise God! We're glad you're here. 04:00 Good to be here. The Lord is kind. 04:02 I see that it is a little cloudy outside, but - 04:06 um-hmm - we always used to sing that whenever Christ shows 04:09 His smiling face there's sunshine in our souls. 04:11 So it's sunshine inside today even though it's a little cloudy 04:15 outside. And God's got a word for us in this Sabbath School 04:18 lesson. Amen. He always has some sunshine 04:21 for us - praise the Lord - and always a nice smile. 04:23 Sr. Shelley... bless your heart. 04:25 We're glad you're here today. Always answer the call... 04:27 answer the bell, right? when God calls. 04:29 And Sr. Shelley is the 3ABN program development manager. 04:34 Could you tell us real quick what that encompasses? 04:37 Mercy. I put it on her... it's all right. 04:41 Basically all of the new programming 04:43 and then we work on other programming. It encompasses 04:47 just coming up with the ideas, the graphic packages, 04:51 the opens... various things. 04:53 So it's a lot of fun, but that's about that much 04:56 of what I do at 3ABN. 04:57 I just want to say Happy Sabbath to you all. 05:00 This is one of my favorite formats - Yes! 05:04 for Sabbath School. Yes! 05:06 Because we all look through the lens of our own experience 05:11 as we're reading the scripture, and it's just so much fun 05:14 to hear different people bring in different aspects 05:18 that maybe you hadn't considered. 05:20 So we hope that you all will enjoy it also. 05:23 Amen. And really you're warmed up right now 05:26 so we need another prayer. Would you pray for us right now 05:29 that the Holy Spirit will help us? Certainly. 05:31 Heavenly Father, once again we come before You in the 05:34 name of Jesus, thanking You that You invite us 05:36 as Your children to come boldly before Your throne. 05:40 Father, we're so grateful to You that You're a God of 05:43 covenant love and that You have given us the gift of Jesus 05:45 Christ, Your Holy Spirit, and Your Word, Lord, 05:49 to change us, Father, and to restore Your image 05:55 within us. And Father, we are grateful 05:58 to You for the Sabbath School quarterly 06:01 published by the Seventh-day Adventist church 06:03 and for the deep study that they provide for us, Lord. 06:08 And we ask in the name of Jesus 06:10 now that You would send Your Holy Spirit. 06:13 Give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit would have to say. 06:17 Let Him be our teacher. Anoint our minds; anoint our tongues. 06:22 Just take a coal from Your altar and place it over our mouth, 06:27 Lord. But we ask in the name of Jesus 06:30 that Christ will be uplifted today 06:33 that He may draw all people unto Himself. 06:36 In Jesus' name we pray, thanking You for the answer 06:40 to the prayer of faith. Amen. 06:42 Amen! Praise the Lord! You'll notice in our lesson... 06:45 Some of you may have it... I know you have your Bible. 06:47 You make sure you want to get those out + a pencil and a pen. 06:50 Jot some of these things down. I thought this was interesting, 06:52 and I hope it's OK to say panel... interesting 06:55 to where we begin a lesson and it says we begin at the end. 06:58 That might be a little confusing. 07:00 Now why would we begin at the end? 07:03 And I think there's a good answer to that. 07:05 We're going to start and we're going to look at the book of Job 07:08 but we're going to look at the end first. 07:10 There's a reason why. You know, if we look at the end 07:13 of Job because it brings up some questions 07:15 that affect your life and my life today 07:19 and also for eternity. 07:21 These are things that we want to address 07:23 and will be addressed. I'm sure there's questions. 07:27 It's been around I think in our lesson. It's a perennial 07:29 question. And people will say: "If there is a God... " 07:34 Have you talked to someone? "If there is a God... " 07:36 And I want the panel to take this to heart because 07:38 I know each one's going to hit on these things. 07:40 "If there is a God and He's so good 07:43 and He's so merciful... He's so kind; He's so loving. " 07:45 And yet the question still comes back: 07:47 "Why is there so much... " What? "suffering? " 07:50 "Why do things go on in this world like they go on 07:53 if He's what the Bible says that He is? " 07:55 And then we find the answers to some of these things 07:58 but not all of them. 08:00 You may have found all the answers... I did not find 08:03 all the answers to this. I still have some questions 08:05 and I'm sure they'll be answered today. 08:07 Job shows us in this lesson... 08:09 This is just a quick overview. Job shows us in this lesson 08:12 how the supernatural and the natural are combined 08:16 together. How important they're linked together 08:18 and how God works in behalf of His people. 08:22 I looked at the account of Job 08:24 and it covers - what we are interested in today - it covers 08:28 not only our own life... it covers our family. 08:30 It covers our friends; it covers our possessions 08:34 that we have or God has given to us. 08:37 It covers difficult situations. 08:40 It covers suffering and even covers death. 08:44 So we talk about death quite a bit in this Job account 08:47 but yet we're talking about a happy ending... 08:51 endings or beginnings and happy endings. 08:54 And how does that happen when there's death 08:55 knocking at the door? 08:57 We're going to talk about restoration. 09:00 So I want the panel to really listen because restoration is... 09:03 Is it partial or is it complete? 09:06 And if it's partial, when? how? why? 09:09 And if it's complete, when does that happen? 09:12 And we need to realize that we live in a world... 09:14 Understand why we live in a world of evil. 09:18 And not only that but how we are to live 09:22 in this world, I think, very very important. 09:24 Two other quick points I think will be discussed on... here 09:28 is progressive revelation. 09:31 What does that really mean? Might be a little bigger word 09:34 but it's really simple. But progressive revelation 09:36 in the cause of Christ. And what is retribution theory? 09:40 Retribution. That could be, we talked about just a moment ago, 09:43 that can be a very dangerous thing if not handled properly 09:48 'cause some people read and they get what they want out of it. 09:51 And all of a sudden they're thinking: "Hmmm, retribution 09:54 theology. " We're going to go to the first part of our lesson 09:57 and I want you to notice with me. 09:59 Just the topics that you have I thought was interesting. 10:03 Yours, Bro. Brian, the first one is Happily Ever After. 10:07 But then the next one goes and says: "Unhappy Endings. " 10:10 The next one says: "Partial Restoration. " 10:13 And then "Final Kingdom and The Resurrection of Life. " 10:16 So how can we get happy over this story of Job? 10:21 Can you help us with that this morning on Happily Ever After? 10:26 OK Pastor Kenny. I'm assuming that 10:28 all of you have faithfully studied your lesson 10:32 and you've read the text here. 10:35 And yes, Bro. Goldstein starts us out at the end of the book 10:39 instead of at the beginning of the book. 10:42 And so we go to the last chapter and we read from verses 10 10:45 on through to the end of the chapter. 10:47 And we find out the Lord restores Job's losses. 10:51 Verse 10: "When he prayed for his friends, indeed, the Lord 10:56 gave Job twice as much as he had before. " 10:59 So he received more donkeys and more camels, 11:02 and more oxen... twice as much. 11:06 He had ten more children... poor Mrs. Job. 11:09 This means 20 in total that she birthed. 11:15 You know, three more daughters renowned for their beauty. 11:19 And he lived a long, full life: 140 years 11:24 and then died. 11:26 Well maybe it's not so happily ever after 11:30 because death is still here, 11:33 you know... and that's the problem, OK? 11:36 So it doesn't end... the story doesn't end with the end of Job. 11:40 There's something more to the story than that. 11:44 And we have to have the rest of the scriptures 11:46 to get the rest of the story. 11:49 Pastor Kenny, I appreciated your giving us some overview 11:53 and I want to take a few minutes to kind of enlarge a couple 11:57 items there. You were talking about the sovereignty of God. 12:00 How can God who is so good 12:03 and yet sovereign over all - I mean, He is the top dog. 12:07 There's' nobody sittin' on top of Him - 12:09 OK. He's on top of everybody. 12:13 So He's sovereign and He's good. 12:15 How does this evil happen? 12:17 Well, the book of Job... it's contribution to us is that 12:21 it pulls back the curtain and we get to see through. 12:25 No, it doesn't answer all the questions 12:29 but it gives us some insight into the dynamics 12:33 of what's going behind the scenes. 12:34 Things that we see that Job never saw. 12:38 Job never understood what it was and why it was 12:42 he was going through what he was going through. 12:44 But we know it... and so it helps us. 12:48 So, the sovereignty of God and human suffering. 12:52 It give us some bit of answers to it. 12:55 But what is interesting to me is 12:58 Job went through this horrendous time of trouble. 13:02 I'm wondering... this is like our good pastor preaches 13:06 to us in the evening. 13:08 I just wonder if there is another time of trouble 13:13 coming such as never was before. 13:18 And pastor, I'm wondering if there will be a people 13:22 who will pass through that time of trouble 13:25 with a horrendous experience like Job 13:28 losing everything. I mean, losing all earthly possessions, 13:34 all earthly securities. 13:36 Even their friends turning against them. 13:39 I mean, fellow Christians talking about them 13:43 as if they're evil people. 13:45 And yet, through it all in Job's case 13:49 he stayed faithful to God. 13:52 He trusted God and kept absolutely loyal to God 13:57 even though he didn't understand why it was 14:01 that in his mind God was doing this to him. 14:04 And in the last days these people will go through 14:07 a darkness so dark that they won't see out the other 14:10 side of it. And yet they stay faithful to God, 14:15 trusting in God, absolutely loyal to God. 14:20 You see? So this gives us some insight 14:24 to what we may face and how we need to pass through it 14:29 successfully. 14:31 When I'm thinking about this, Job faces an experience 14:37 worse than death. You think about it. 14:40 I mean, for Job... he's ready to embrace death 14:44 as merciful to him 14:47 because the experience he's passing through is worse 14:51 than death. Our Savior, 14:54 the Redeemer that Job talked about seeing in the last days, 14:57 our Redeemer, our Savior, faced a death 15:01 that made all human suffering pale in comparison 15:07 so that we wouldn't have to face that second death. Yes! 15:12 So that's interesting. 15:15 When we look at Job we need to be very careful - 15:19 in my mind - very careful about 15:23 not taking everything in the book of Job 15:27 hook, line, and sinker because there's more than one voice 15:30 speaking through the book of Job. 15:33 You have the 3 friends of Job. 15:37 And you think of the very first one - Elphaz - as he 15:40 begins his first speech to Job. 15:43 He says: "I was asleep at night 15:47 in the deepest part of night, the deepest sleep 15:51 and I had this vision. And my bones shook 15:56 and my hair stood on end. Why? Because the spirit, 16:00 spirit being wafted into my bedroom 16:04 and he stood there and was silent and then he spoke. " 16:10 Whoo! What kind of spirit could be wafting in his bedroom 16:15 and speaking? And Elphaz is using 16:18 the speech of that spirit being as truth to present to Job. 16:24 And we need to be careful... that is NOT truth! That's right! 16:28 What that spirit being is telling Elphaz that he's telling 16:32 Job and he's telling us is not the truth. That's right! 16:35 And it has to do with an issue that weaves in all through 16:39 the book of Job, and that is: can man stand before God 16:43 righteous? Now can he? God says: "Yes! " 16:48 And Job says: "Yes. " But that spirit being 16:52 and his friends say "No. " 16:56 I find it interesting that many of our Protestant brothers 17:00 and sisters today say that man can stand DECLARED righteous 17:06 before God but they can never be righteous. 17:11 I'm sorry, but that's the voice of the spirit being. 17:15 Because you see, yes, we stand before God 17:19 declared righteous but at the same time God 17:23 imparts to us - Jesus imparts to us - 17:26 so that we can actually BE righteous before God. 17:31 Go to Job 31. We don't have time this morning 17:34 but go to Job 31 and see all that Job is saying. 17:38 "I wasn't lustful; I was honest; I was benevolent. " 17:42 All the things... he's doing a self-examination 17:45 and he finds no fault for why this is happening to him. 17:49 God's people in the end will be that same way. 17:51 Be that same way. Well anyway 17:53 I find this a fascinating book. 17:56 And, no, he didn't live happily ever after 18:00 but there will be a day 18:02 where there will be a happy ever after. Yes! Amen. 18:05 I wonder if a question could be posed, and anybody 18:08 can kind of answer this. It may be simple. 18:10 I jotted it down; I thought it was interesting. 18:12 So is it, then - after we've heard what you had to say - 18:16 is it realistic in this world to look for happy endings? 18:21 Is it realistic in this world 18:24 to look for happy endings? 18:26 Or should we? Any thoughts? 18:30 No... not in this world. 18:33 We can find peace in our heart - OK - 18:36 no matter what the outward circumstances are. 18:39 OK... all right. That's what God promises us. 18:41 He says: "A peace I give you... 18:44 not as the world gives give I unto you. " 18:47 But He also says in John 16:33 18:50 "In the world you WILL have tribulation. " 18:53 But He says: "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. " 18:56 So, no, when you look for peace in the world - 19:00 I remember preaching a sermon called Peace 19:02 and I got a lot of flack on it because I said: 19:05 "You can't have peace in a world of tribulation. " 19:08 And so many of my own brethren said: "You CAN have peace. 19:12 There's no peace in this world. " But I said: 19:13 "Well what did Jesus say? " "In Me you will have peace. " 19:16 Yes! And so we focus on peace in the wrong places. 19:19 We focus on peace in our families. We're not going to 19:21 have that. Um-hmm. Well... go on. 19:26 A man's foes will be those of his own household 19:30 the Bible says. You'll betray one another. 19:32 I can tell many of you who come from large families 19:35 you know what I'm talking about. 19:36 Sibling rivalry... that's where that came from. 19:39 But no, we can find peace only as we are abiding in Christ. 19:43 I think we have to look at ultimate realities. 19:47 If in this world alone we have hope, 19:51 we are of all men most miserable. 19:54 And so your... 19:57 And so your peace comes from focusing on ultimate reality. 20:02 If death were the end of all things, 20:06 that would propose one set of circumstances. 20:09 But it is not. It is the cessation of life. 20:12 It is a suspension. But then on the other side of death 20:15 there's some other stuff. So if you keep your heart and your 20:19 mind focused on the other stuff it allows you to deal with 20:22 the stuff you've got to deal with in this world. 20:24 So make it clear: not on the other side of death... 20:27 on the other side of the resurrection. 20:29 Because if you believe that on the other side of death 20:31 there is another reality... But I know what he meant. 20:34 On the other side of the resurrection. Yes. 20:36 Got to make it clear. There is hope, that's right. 20:38 Realistically, right, because we look beyond this world 20:40 to a better world. 20:42 Isaiah 26 verse 3 says that if we keep our eyes focused on 20:46 Him trusting in Him 20:47 He will keep us in perfect peace. 20:49 So it's only as we look to the problem solver 20:52 not the problem that we'll be in peace. 20:54 But could I share two quick thoughts? 20:56 When Brian was talking about being declared righteous 21:00 but people who say we cannot be righteous 21:02 in I John chapter 2 verse 29 21:08 John writes: "If you know that He... " God... "is righteous, 21:13 you know that everyone who practices righteousness 21:16 is born of Him. " So we will definitely... 21:20 God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure 21:23 so we'll definitely practice righteousness. 21:26 But the other thing I wanted to mention... 21:29 we can't go through Job 42 and verse 10 without saying this... 21:32 It says: "The Lord restored Job's losses... " 21:38 When? "when he prayed for his friends. " 21:43 When Job got the focus off of him 21:47 and began praying intercessory prayer for these friends 21:51 who were giving such miserable advice 21:54 he was praying for his enemy... he was loving his enemy 21:59 if you will. And I just want to encourage because 22:01 someone here needs to hear this. 22:03 That if you are going through something, 22:06 if you feel someone is persecuting you, 22:09 pray for them. It is very pleasing to God 22:13 because it shows that you believe God can change 22:17 the situation and that you care enough, you love someone enough, 22:22 to pray for them. Amen. 22:24 I knew I could ask a question that would get them going. 22:27 And it was simple but I... Praise the Lord! 22:29 Getting the thinking caps on so it's all good because we come 22:32 from different perspectives. So I might throw another one out 22:34 before Sr. Mollie gets on here. It's good because we're talking. 22:38 Well I still want to say something about peace. 22:40 Well please do. I just wait for a bite and I have to just 22:42 jump in there. "Great peace have they that 22:46 love Thy law and nothing shall offend them. " 22:49 If something is offending thee, there's some part of God's law 22:52 that you don't love. 22:54 So... bury yourself in God's Word. 22:58 Allow God's Word to drive all that agitation and offense out 23:02 of you. Amen! Covered well... thank you! 23:04 Yes. And thank you Shelley that you brought this up 23:08 and Brian introduced this point about the righteous aspect. 23:11 II Corinthians 5:21: "For He made Him who knew no sin 23:15 to be sin for us so that we might become 23:18 the righteousness of God in Him. " 23:21 So if the character of Christ has done nothing for you 23:25 then we have nothing to offer anybody else. 23:27 That's right... amen. OK... good point! 23:29 And "If we confess our sins He is... " 23:31 "faithful and just to forgive us of our sins... " 23:35 And He goes one step further. What does He do? 23:37 "cleanses us from all unrighteousness. " 23:39 If you're cleansed from all unrighteousness, 23:42 what are you? You're righteous. 23:45 Praise God! How wonderful! That's good! 23:47 Write it down. Yes! Brother Brian mentioned 23:50 about Job... about all the things that were replaced 23:54 and sometimes there's this ques- tion that goes through our mind. 23:58 I wrote it down... I thought it was interesting. 23:59 Is there any danger that we might fall prey 24:03 to materialism or materialistic 24:08 because of what happened to Job? 24:10 That way if something bad happens to us all of a sudden 24:13 we're going to get a whole lot more in return. 24:14 Is this the way that it always works? 24:17 We find that in our lesson... I'm sure it's going to be 24:19 brought out. Is there a danger? 24:24 Somebody say yes... There's always that danger. 24:31 There's always that danger. 24:32 Do you want me to go into unhappy endings? 24:35 Just go. Let's look at unhappy endings. 24:37 How many of you would like for somebody to speak over you 24:41 in all honesty and say: "And they lived happily ever after. " 24:47 Wouldn't you like that? 24:50 And Brian lived happily ever after 24:53 and that meant that... But how many of you know 24:56 that that's not always the way things play out? 25:01 I want to say this at the beginning of my section here. 25:06 If you go to sleep in Christ, 25:09 you will have an eternity that will far exceed 25:13 even the happiest times you will ever have here in this earth. 25:16 Amen! If you go to sleep in Christ, 25:19 there is nothing on this earth to compare 25:23 with what we are going to have for an eternity. 25:27 So we can't... And I'll probably say this again, too: 25:31 we can't be short-sighted. 25:34 This isn't all there is. 25:36 This is just our proving ground. 25:38 This is where we build that character within us 25:43 that will give us... What is the only thing you can take 25:46 with you into the portals of heaven? 25:48 And where do you build your character? 25:50 Where is the integrity placed in your character? 25:53 See, it's on this side of eternity. 25:56 So not everybody is going to live happily ever after. 26:00 And I think of all the testing that Job went through. 26:03 And I want to get to some characters in the Bible 26:06 that didn't live happily ever after. 26:08 But I'm thinking... Some years ago - about 21, 22 years ago - 26:14 I went through one of the most difficult times 26:17 in my life, and I had a Job experience. 26:21 Lost everything. Lost my home, lost my church. 26:24 And I wrote an article about it one time in a 3ABN World 26:29 magazine, so if you want all the gory details 26:31 get the old World magazine and read about it. 26:33 But I lost so much. 26:36 And thank goodness there was a man named Danny Shelton 26:40 that said: "Mollie, when you are to the place 26:43 that you need to there is always a place for you here at 3ABN. " 26:47 And so I came out here 26:51 to 3ABN where I had lost everything. 26:54 But I got to thinking about it. 26:57 Where did God place the most integrity 27:00 or start purifying and perfecting the integrity 27:03 that was in my character? Not when I was on top of 27:06 the world but it's when I was going through those difficult 27:10 times. Unhappy endings... I had an unhappy ending. 27:14 But in the midst of that there was some purifying 27:17 and perfecting that went on. 27:19 Now let me just give you an example. 27:22 When I came out to 3ABN 27:24 I had been the queen of the flock. 27:28 I was first lady. That's a better word for it. 27:33 And so I came out here and you know what I did? 27:36 I was a correspondence secretary. 27:38 And that was fine. I took... 27:40 And someone will tell you that just last week 27:45 we had a commode stopped up at 3ABN 27:48 in the lobby. And they said: "We need a picture of this" 27:51 because I went and unstopped that commode. 27:53 But when I came out here 27:55 to 3ABN I got a phone call one Friday 28:00 and I was told: "When you come back Monday 28:05 we want you to work in the mail room. " 28:07 And I'm thinking: "I will not work in that mail room. 28:10 What do they mean putting ME in the mail room? " 28:13 See, I would have told you at that time 28:16 that pride had thoroughly been dealt with in my life. 28:18 Had it? Oh, no... I was "eat up" with it 28:22 and I didn't even know it. Do you know that we can be 28:25 blinded? We can be self-deceived. 28:27 And so that weekend when I went home 28:30 thank goodness I had Sabbath and Sunday 28:34 for God to deal with me. 28:36 Oh, did I have a wake-up call from the Spirit of the Living 28:40 God. You know, when I came in Monday morning 28:42 it's "not my will but Thine be done. I'll do what... " 28:45 But it's because there was stinking pride in me. 28:48 Had I not gone through what I went through 28:50 who's to say where my eternity would be? 28:53 Because pride separates you... pride and vanity 28:56 separate you from God. So there is not always 29:00 a happy ending, but I want you to know this: 29:02 God will work within you every way He can 29:05 to secure you in Him that you will go to sleep in Jesus 29:10 so that you can wake up and have an eternity with Him. 29:13 I'm not sure if I'm out of time. 29:14 When I start gettin' out of time you just snap your 29:16 finger and I'll hush. OK. 29:18 Did? I'm looking at Abel. Did Abel have a happy ending? 29:26 Do you know what I was reading on this? 29:28 It says that Cain took a rock and crushed his head. 29:33 That's not a happy ending. 29:35 And did Abel do anything? No, he was the good one 29:41 and yet he didn't have a happy ending. 29:44 Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, 29:47 do we see where he did anything wrong? 29:50 Did he have a happy ending? No! 29:53 Eli the priest. He was a priest! 29:56 He was the one that trained Samuel! 29:58 And he... But you know what he didn't do? 30:02 He didn't train his own sons. 30:03 Didn't we find that to be the case? 30:06 And so they went to war and they took the ark of the covenant 30:11 unbeknownst to him. And when the runner came back 30:16 to tell Eli or to give a report 30:19 he said: "Both of your sons have been killed. " 30:22 That didn't seem to faze him but when he said 30:26 "and the ark of God has been taken, " you know what happened 30:29 to Eli? Fell over backwards and it broke his neck. 30:33 No... he didn't have a happy ending. 30:35 King Josiah. King Josiah was the youngest king that ever was. 30:40 You know at eight years old he became the king 30:44 and did he do a great thing for his nation? 30:47 They located the book of the law 30:50 and he re-instituted righteousness and holiness 30:54 in the nation. Did he have a happy ending? 30:57 No... he got... John the Baptist! 30:59 How many of you want to have your head whacked off? 31:02 He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ! 31:05 No... he didn't have a happy ending. 31:08 Steven... Preach! Preach! I'm preaching. 31:14 He lets me preach. Preach. OK! 31:19 What happened to righteous Steven? 31:22 He was in a rock fight and he didn't have any rocks. 31:28 In real life: not everybody comes out happy. 31:32 But I am going to tell you this: whether you're a martyr... 31:35 Whether you're martyred for a good cause, 31:37 dying from a horrible disease, 31:40 murdered frivolously, whether you're innocent or guilty 31:44 very few make it out of this world without pain and agony. 31:47 However, this isn't all there is. 31:49 If - I'm going to say it again - you go to sleep in Christ 31:53 you will have an eternity that far exceeds even the 31:57 happiest time you've ever had here in this world. 32:00 Wow! Amen! Praise the Lord! Well done! 32:05 Praise the Lord! Boy, that got Pastor John fired up! 32:08 Shall we have closing prayer? Yeah! 32:11 They don't let me out very often. Ya'll know that. 32:14 Boy, Sr. Mollie really... she really unpacked that. 32:17 You know, the reality of it is we don't deserve a better 32:19 understanding in this world. 32:21 We don't serve God for a better understanding in this world. 32:24 We serve God for the blessed assurance 32:26 of the next world. Amen! 32:28 This world can guarantee you a good funeral; 32:31 only Jesus can guarantee you a better resurrection. Amen! 32:34 So we have to keep in mind that it is not what we get in this 32:37 world but what we get in the next world. See, she got me 32:39 started so... that's all right - you're in trouble. 32:41 Sorry. Loss must always be measured on an eternal scale. 32:47 Amen! We don't measure loss on an eternal scale. 32:50 We often measure loss on a temporary scale. 32:52 We weigh earthly things... We weigh heavenly things 32:57 with an earthly scale. That's the problem. 32:59 And somewhere we've adopted the idea that we need to know 33:02 everything. We don't need to know everything. 33:04 If we knew everything we would be God. 33:07 We would not need God. 33:08 The Bible says in Deuteronomy "the secret things belong unto 33:10 the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed 33:14 belong to us and to our children. " 33:16 So Job did not deserve - even though God declared him 33:20 a righteous man above all that were on the earth at the time - 33:23 he did not deserve the sovereignty that God had. 33:26 I like it when Job got beside himself 33:28 and the Lord flipped the script on him and said: "Now it's my 33:32 turn. " Yes! "Where were you when I laid the foundations 33:36 of the world? Where were you when I told the ocean 33:38 go this far but no farther? " 33:40 "Where were you when I threw the stars in the sky 33:43 and gave them each a name? " And Job said: "That's enough! " 33:45 The Lord said: "No, shut up and take it like a man. " 33:48 Sometimes... Sometimes God comes at us in a way 33:52 that we did not know we could handle. 33:53 But the beauty of God's sovereignty is 33:55 He will never come at us in a way that we cannot bear it. 33:59 So when we go through difficulties 34:01 don't get caught in the struggle. 34:03 Get caught up in the God that allows you to go through 34:06 the struggle. If you really believe that He will not 34:08 allow us to be tempted above which we are able, 34:10 He would not bring burdens to us which we cannot bear 34:13 but with every burden, every trial make a way of escape... 34:16 If you really believe that, then you can go through 34:19 the Asa experience and come out on the other side. 34:22 You know, in Psalm 73- one of the most amazing stories - 34:24 also I Kings and Chronicles Asa is talked about. 34:28 But Asa ran into a wall in his experience with... 34:32 as a man chosen by God. He made the mistake 34:36 of looking at the prosperous wicked people around him. 34:39 My wife and I came back just recently from 34:41 London with the 3ABN team, and we made a mistake 34:44 and went to Harrod's. Uh-oh! 34:47 I can tell you don't travel much. 34:50 Harrod's is a store you don't go into unless you have money. 34:53 Don't ask prices. 34:54 We walked up to the counter in the candy section of Harrod's 34:57 and they had chocolate for 3,450 pounds. 35:02 Not dollars... pounds! 35:04 For a box of chocolate. 35:06 And I asked the lady: "What is in that chocolate? " 35:08 She said: "A slice of gold. " 35:10 And each piece... I said: "Can you eat it? " 35:12 She said: "No, you really can't digest it. " 35:14 "So why do you buy it? " "Just because you can! " 35:17 And we looked at that and said: "Honey, we need to get out 35:19 of this store. " So we bought our little four pieces of 35:21 $7 chocolate and walked out like we had a million bucks. 35:25 On the outside we saw all of these cars and we couldn't even 35:28 mention their names. And we sat in this restaurant 35:30 miserable - didn't even look like we belonged in there - 35:32 could only afford spaghetti. And thought: "Lord, there's 35:36 something wrong with this picture. " 35:37 Amen! Asa had the same problem. Asa said... 35:41 Psalm 73: "Truly God is good to Israel. " 35:44 And I'm not going to go through. When you want to understand 35:47 how you often feel: Psalm 73 verses 1-17. 35:50 I'll just give you a few verses. 35:52 He said: "Truly God is good to Israel 35:53 to such as are pure in heart... BUT 35:56 as for me, my feet almost stumbled. 35:59 My steps nearly slipped for I was envious of the boastful 36:03 when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. " 36:05 Then he goes down and talks about their life and their pain, 36:08 their possessions. He says: "Even in their death 36:10 there is no pain. " Even when they have sorrow. 36:13 He said: "They look at God and question God. " 36:17 And he couldn't understand why they had so much prosperity. 36:20 Have you ever been there? Come on... have you ever been there? 36:22 Watchin' Oprah: she gives people cars 36:25 and you wonder why you didn't get invited to that show. 36:27 Come on... am I talking the truth? Yes! 36:29 Folk paying for other people's houses, buying people cars 36:32 for the rest of their lives. Why is nobody calling me? 36:35 Don't worry about it. We've got a mansion somewhere! 36:38 And so Asa, stumbling over this misunderstanding, 36:43 said... finally he said: 36:45 "When I thought... " Psalm 73 verse 6: 36:48 "When I thought how to understand this 36:50 it was too painful for me 36:53 until I went into the sanctuary of God. 36:56 Then I understood therein. " 36:58 We spend so little time in the presence of God 37:01 trying to find understanding in our own human presence. 37:03 If you get into the presence of God, you'll begin to understand 37:06 things that God never made available in a human setting. 37:09 You've got to also understand this. He says: "I've got 37:12 a thought about... " You know when you think... 37:13 what is God thinking about us right now? 37:15 You want to know what God is thinking about us all right... 37:17 You know what God is think- ing about all of us right now? 37:19 Here's what He's thinking. He told me to tell you today 37:21 what He's thinking. Jeremiah 29:11. 37:25 "For I know the thoughts I think towards you says 37:28 the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil 37:30 to give you a future and a hope. " 37:32 Let me wind it up on this point 37:33 so Pastor C.A. can keep the fire going. 37:35 I know Shelley's going to explode. 37:38 I can hear her horse right there just tryin' to break out of 37:41 the stall. But I tell you: if you know that God 37:46 thinks peace about you and He only wants to give you 37:50 a future and a hope, consider hope in a broader sense. 37:54 The Bible says... If we are saved in this hope, 37:58 hope that is seen is not hope. That's right! 38:02 Why do we hope for what we already see? 38:04 If you've seen it, don't hope for it 38:06 because what you haven't seen is really hope. 38:09 He says: "Now hope does not disappoint... " 38:12 If He's going to give you a future and a hope, 38:14 hope will not disappoint. When you see what God has in store 38:17 for you, you will forget. 38:19 "The former things will not be remembered 38:21 nor come into mind. " So finally the point I want to make is this 38:26 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 38:29 we are of all men... " What? "most miserable. " 38:31 Here's where misery comes from: 38:33 when we insist on finding answers where God does not 38:37 give answers we arrive at a place called misery. 38:40 But when we trust God we live in a place called hope. 38:44 Hope does not disappoint. If in this life only 38:48 we have hope in Christ... I'll speak to those 38:50 who've lost loved ones. I've lost loved ones. Go on. 38:54 We're going to still lose loved ones. Yes! 38:55 But remember what the faithful did. They didn't serve God 39:00 for a better funeral. They said they did not accept 39:05 deliverance... Hebrews 11:35... "did not accept deliverance 39:09 that they might obtain a better resurrection. " 39:12 Yes... Job did die. 39:14 Yes, all of his life he probably mourned the loss 39:18 of his children. As we said in the green room: 39:21 a mother could have 12 children, lose one and go for the rest 39:24 of her life mourning the loss of one. 39:26 Can you imagine how Job felt? All the kids he had were gone. 39:28 God gave them all. He probably said... 39:31 called the new ones by the name of the old ones. 39:34 Never mind... And all of his life 39:38 he thought about all the kids he'd lost. 39:39 Job is going to come forth in the resurrection 39:41 and meet those kids again. Amen! 39:43 So let's not focus on this life 39:45 where there is no real understanding. 39:47 Give the understanding that... accept what God has revealed 39:52 and leave what He hasn't revealed in His own hands. Amen. 39:55 So would we say? What you've covered here that 39:58 not all suffering, right? All suffering that happens in this 40:02 world is going to be restored on this earth. 40:04 No! No, not at all! 40:06 What was really the restoration of Job? 40:08 Was it more of the heart? 40:10 Ah... it was partial restoration. Partial. 40:13 You see, we are all... Every one of us has a broken place. 40:16 Don't we all have a broken place? Yes. 40:18 The Lord mends us at the broken places 40:21 until He removes the broken places. 40:23 Amen! We are all broken at some point. 40:26 So we are mended at the broken places 40:28 until we are completely restored. 40:30 Excuse me. That's what breakfast does to you. 40:33 Sorry about that. Go ahead Pastor C.A. - 40:35 take it away. We are mended. 40:37 The final kingdom. What does that really mean? 40:41 Is there good news here or is there bad news? 40:43 Oh there's always good news when you're in Christ Jesus. 40:46 When I was pastoring the Ephesus church I preached 40:48 117 funerals in seven years. 40:51 I averaged one funeral every 18 days... 40:53 sometimes I had three, four funerals a week. 40:55 And every one of those funerals I said the following: 40:57 "Death in Christ is not such a bad thing. 41:01 Better to die in Jesus than live without Him. " 41:04 That's right! Amen! And that's the ultimate reality. 41:07 I'd rather go to sleep in Christ - Amen - 41:10 than live on without Him. 41:12 Because those who die in Jesus have the promise 41:15 that they will live forever. Yes. 41:17 So Daniel chapter 2 verse 44 the Bible says: 41:21 "In the days of these kings... " That's our day; 41:24 that's these days... 41:25 "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom 41:28 which shall NEVER be destroyed. 41:31 And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. 41:34 It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms 41:38 and it shall stand forever. " 41:41 So that's the ultimate promise. That even if you get... 41:44 and I use this term "dealt a bad hand" in this life... 41:47 there is coming another life, there is coming another kingdom 41:52 and that kingdom will indeed stand forever. 41:55 Back in the 1860's the Adventist church was wrestling with - 41:58 we weren't the Adventist church yet - 42:00 we were wrestling with what do we call ourselves. 42:02 And there were various factions and various groups. 42:05 And James White was with a group that said: 42:08 "We ought to be called the Church of God. " 42:11 And they said: "That's a good title... Church of God. " 42:14 "We are godly people; we ought to be the Church of God. " 42:16 And they took it to Ellen White 42:18 and probably said: "We want to be called the Church of God. " 42:21 And she said: "No... un-umm. " 42:26 She says: "Not enough. " 42:28 She said: "Really the Church of God hides more 42:30 than it reveals. You can hide a lot under the Church of God. 42:33 We need something with a little more punch, 42:36 with a little more statement, with a little more authority, 42:39 with a little more anointing. " 42:41 So they went back to times of prayer and they came up with 42:43 Seventh-day Adventist church 42:46 because it highlights the two salient doctrines of our church! 42:50 We keep the seventh day and we are looking for the advent, 42:54 the coming of Jesus Christ. 42:55 It's all about the advent. 42:57 If there were no advent, then you and I are wasting our time. 43:01 What are we doing here if Christ is not coming back? 43:03 "If Christ be not risen... " 43:06 our preaching is in vain. We ought to kick up our heels 43:09 and find some club and go out and party 43:12 and live for now because there's nothing more. 43:14 But the Bible says there IS something more! 43:16 Amen! That the kingdoms of this earth 43:19 are going to be become the kingdoms of our Lord 43:21 and of His Christ. The first coming of Jesus 43:24 was a global event with global ramifications. 43:29 The second coming of Jesus is a cosmic event 43:34 with cosmic ramifications. That's right. 43:36 At that time sin and sinners will be suspended. 43:40 The third coming of Christ is a universal event 43:45 with universal ramifications. 43:48 At that time sin and sinners will be destroyed 43:53 and we will live forever and forever. 43:55 I want to read something very quickly. 43:57 Shelley, if you'll hold my sword here for a second. 43:59 I want to thank you. 44:05 Ta, ta, ta: "Thy Word I have hid in my iPad. " 44:10 This is actually from the Great Controversy 44:13 the last chapter: The Controversy Ended. 44:15 I'll read the first paragraph and then I'll read the last. 44:18 "At the close of the thousand years 44:21 Christ returns to the earth. " This is the third coming. 44:24 "He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed 44:27 and attended by a retinue of angels. 44:30 As He descends in terrific majesty 44:33 He bids the wicked dead rise to receive their doom. 44:38 They come forth a mighty host 44:41 numberless as the sands of the sea. 44:44 What a contrast to those who are raised 44:47 in the first resurrection. The righteous were clothed 44:51 with immortal youth and beauty. " 44:54 That's us. Amen! 44:56 I said "Amen. " AMEN! 44:58 "The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. " 45:03 Now I go down to the very last paragraph 45:05 of this wonderful book: 45:08 "Every creature which is in heaven and on earth 45:12 and under the earth and such as are in the sea 45:16 and all that are in them heard I saying: 'Blessing 45:20 and honor and glory and power 45:24 be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne 45:27 and unto the Lamb forever and ever. " 45:30 And then that last wonderful paragraph: 45:32 "The great controversy is ended! 45:36 Sin and sinners are no more. 45:40 The entire universe is clean. " 45:43 You see, there's just one little black spot in the whole 45:46 universe; one little blot on the escutcheon of heaven. 45:50 One little cloud floating out there, and that's this planet 45:54 earth. But, "the entire universe is now clean. 45:58 One pulse of harmony and gladness 46:01 beats through the vast creation. 46:04 From Him who created all 46:07 flow life and light and gladness 46:10 throughout the realms of illimitable... " 46:14 illimitable... illimitable, Shelley... Yes... 46:17 "illimitable space. 46:20 From the minutest atom 46:23 to the greatest world 46:25 all things - animate and inanimate... " 46:30 That's people and rocks and trees and flowers... 46:34 "animate and inanimate in their unshadowed beauty 46:39 and perfect joy declare 46:42 that God is love. " 46:46 Amen! Amen? Amen! And amen. 46:49 That's what keeps you going in the night season when you're 46:52 all alone. Amen! That's what keeps you going 46:55 when the doctor says: "That's cancer. " All right. 47:01 That's what keeps you going when you go into work 47:02 on Monday and they tell you your job has been downsized. 47:08 Umm? All right; all right. That's what keeps you going 47:11 when your husband or wife says: "I'm tired of this. 47:16 I'm gone... I'm leaving. " 47:19 So you don't find the nearest bar or the nearest cliff. 47:23 You bow to your knees and you go to Jesus, 47:27 who's right where you left Him the last time you spoke to Him. 47:30 He hasn't moved. Because you're not looking 47:34 at the here and now... you're looking at eternity. 47:38 Amen! You know that one day 47:41 and one day soon sin and sinners will be gone. 47:47 Amen! So you don't have to lay awake nights 47:49 thinking of ways to try to get back at those 47:51 who've done stuff to you. Amen? 47:54 You just keep on doin' right, 47:57 keep on serving Jesus, 47:59 and let God take care of the rest BECAUSE 48:01 one day the kingdoms of this earth 48:04 are going to become the kingdoms of our Lord 48:06 and of His Christ. Amen? 48:09 Hebrews chapter 13 five and six and then I'm done, 48:11 leaving it with Shelley. All right. 48:13 Paul says to the Hebrews: 48:16 "Live your life without covetousness. " 48:19 "Don't look on other peoples' plates. 48:21 Keep your eye on your own plate. " 48:23 My wife and I have this running joke when we go to Panama. 48:26 Whenever we get food at a restaurant I always say: 48:29 "How come she got more than me? " 48:32 It's kind of a running joke, and there's a certain restaurant 48:35 we go to. And they know when they put the food down 48:37 that I will say that. And sometimes they will double mine 48:41 just - you know - because they know us. 48:44 And even if it's double I will say: 48:46 "How come she got more than me? 48:48 Hers is bigger than mine. " 48:50 Well Paul says: "Keep your eyes on your own plate. " Amen! 48:53 Because you don't know what's behind that smile 48:56 of the person sitting next to you. 48:58 You don't know what they've gone through. 49:00 You don't know what they've done. 49:02 You don't know what they've been through. 49:04 I like to tell the story and I'll tell it real quick. 49:06 There was a lady at a certain church 49:08 who was praising the Lord too much. 49:10 She was just praising the Lord too much. 49:12 Right in the middle of the sermon she would get up and say: 49:14 "Praise the Lord... praise the Lord. God bless you. " 49:17 She would walk right up to the pulpit: "God bless you; 49:18 praise the Lord! " And the elders got together 49:20 and the elders said: "You know, we've got to hush 49:23 that woman up 'cause she's disturbing our service. " 49:27 And she was a big person. 49:30 Take Shelley Quinn and put about 150 pounds on her 49:33 then you've got this woman. 49:34 About six foot... big girl. Thank you. 49:38 She was a big person like Shelley Quinn. 49:44 So... Have the sword back... in the... 49:46 in the elders' meeting the brethren said: 49:49 "Before we determine who's going to go 49:52 let me tell you the story about that woman. " 49:54 They said: "That woman has just gotten out of prison. 49:58 She's been in prison 25 years. " Ooh! 50:01 So they asked: "What's she been in prison for? " 50:06 And they said: "Killing her husband. " 50:11 True story. He was abusive... 50:16 he beat her; he mistreated her. 50:19 But in prison she found Jesus 50:21 and she was such a model prisoner 50:24 that they cut her sentence short. 50:26 Amen! But in prison she said 50:30 "Lord, I make You two promises: 50:34 1. I will praise You wherever I go. " Amen! 50:40 " I will never stop praising You. 50:42 And 2. I will never take any stuff from any man. " 50:49 The elder said: "OK, armed with that information 50:51 which one of ya'll are going to tell her to stop praising God? " 50:58 So you don't know what's behind that smile. 51:02 So Paul says: "Let your life be without covetousness. " 51:05 Why? "Covetousness. " Why? 51:07 Because God has said He will never leave you 51:10 nor forsake you. So it doesn't matter what your problem is 51:13 because the answer to all the problems is the same. 51:16 The reason doctors diagnose stuff is 51:19 so they know how to treat it. 51:20 'Cause you can't treat a hangnail like you can cancer. 51:24 But when you have a common cure, it doesn't matter 51:28 what your disease is. Amen! 51:31 So you don't need to sit around and talk about your disease. 51:34 I've got stuff... you've got stuff. 51:37 All God's children got stuff! 51:41 But who cares about your stuff? 51:43 Why should we discuss your stuff? 51:46 'Cause you've got your stuff... I've got my stuff. 51:49 And the answer to all of our stuff is the same. It's Jesus! 51:54 So let's stop talkin' about the "stuff" 51:57 and talk about Jesus. Amen? Amen! 51:59 So He has promised: "I will never leave you 52:01 nor forsake you, so what can man do to me? " 52:04 Yes... cool him down. 52:06 Ain't nothin' on you - yes - 'cause you've got Jesus. 52:09 So one day soon the kingdoms of this world 52:14 are going to become the kingdoms of our Lord 52:17 and of our... " And you'd better stop. 52:20 See, I used to be his pastor. 52:23 and now... This is Sabbath school; he's preaching! 52:27 You know, I lean on Sr. Mollie. I said: "See what you got 52:31 started? " Holy Spirit fell down on Sabbath School. 52:34 Praise God! Keep on. Wind up 'cause Shelley's gotta go, 52:37 you know. I know. OK. You're taking my time. Yeah. 52:47 Jesus is coming soon. Amen? 52:50 So hold on because in a little while 52:54 He that shall come will come 52:57 and will not tarry. So we can hold on a little while. 53:01 We can handle it because one day the kingdoms of this earth 53:05 are going to be the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ 53:08 and He shall reign forever. Amen! Praise the Lord! 53:13 That's a good word in due season, wasn't it? 53:16 Praise the Lord for that. We still have about 19 minutes 53:19 or so, so Sr. Shelley will have some good time. 53:21 I don't know... You don't want to follow that, right? 53:25 I'm sure, but you know you have... it's a good topic. 53:27 I have to tell you something that's so funny. 53:29 When John got started while ago I thought you were just 53:32 commenting on Mollie's lesson. I didn't realize 53:34 you were on your day. And I thought: "There'll not be 53:36 any time left! " Could I add something to 53:42 what Mollie was saying because this thought 53:45 occurred to me. I've been talking with someone 53:48 who's living in constant pain. 53:49 I know people - I know several people - 53:52 too many people who live in excruciating and constant pain. 53:57 And some people are able to 54:00 still praise the Lord in the midst of it. 54:02 Sometimes people get so weary. We need to... we need to be 54:06 sure when someone is going through these circumstances... 54:10 You know, if you are physically depressed you can get 54:13 emotionally depressed and then get spiritually depressed 54:16 and begin to doubt God even in saying: "Why would God allow 54:20 me to go through this? " 54:21 And I just wanted to read something 54:24 that came to my mind when Mollie was speaking. 54:27 And this is in Romans 8. I'm going to begin with verse 15. 54:31 It says: "You did not receive the spirit of bondage again 54:35 to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption 54:39 by whom we cry out 'Abba. ' " Oh Papa... Father. 54:44 The God of covenant love who loved you so much that 54:48 He sent His Son to die for you while you were yet sinners. 54:50 And then he says: "The Spirit Himself bears 54:54 witness with our spirit that we are children of God. " 54:57 Do you think our suffering escapes a God of love? 55:02 Do you think God in any way enjoys watching His children 55:07 suffer? But he says: "And if children, then heirs... 55:11 heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. " 55:15 If... here's a condition... 55:18 we're heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, 55:22 "if indeed we suffer with Him 55:28 that we may also be glorified together. " 55:32 See, I think sometimes we think 55:35 that when we become Christians 55:37 everything is going to be happily ever after 55:39 because we have such a marvelous Savior 55:42 and He's all-powerful. 55:44 But we forget how much He suffered. 55:47 And as Mollie brought out suffering is sometimes 55:51 the only way that God can reach us 55:55 and deal with our pride... deal with issues in our life. 55:59 But because you're suffering doesn't mean you're prideful. 56:03 You know, it is a result of sin in this earth. 56:07 Not your sin necessarily but the curse of sin upon the earth. 56:11 So... we will suffer 56:13 but I've got the blessing of doing Thursday's 56:17 lesson... which is about the Resurrection and the Life. 56:22 First of all, let me ask you: how many of you would say to God 56:28 "Oh, Lord... that You would hide me in hell. " 56:34 Let's read this... Job 14. 56:36 We're going to read verses 12 through 15. 56:39 Actually we'll begin with verse 13. 56:41 Job 14 and verse 13. 56:45 First of all, understand Job did not know about this 56:50 conference between Satan and God. That's right. 56:55 Job loved God; he trusted God. 56:59 And he was confused as to why all of these bad things 57:04 were happening. He even felt that God was for some reason 57:08 trying to chastise him. And he couldn't even figure 57:11 why he was being chastised. 57:13 But he begins in Job 14 verse 13 57:17 "Oh that You would hide me in the grave. 57:22 That You would conceal me until Your wrath has passed. 57:25 That You would appoint me a set time and remember me. " 57:30 In the Old Testament the word he is using here 57:33 for grave is sheol. 57:36 It is translated grave 31 times; 57:41 it's translated hell 31 times 57:45 and pit 3 times. 57:48 So this word sheol was hell... was grave. 57:52 And I just bring that up because even in the New Testament 57:55 the word Hades 10 times is used. 57:59 They both have the same meaning. It is the place of the departed. 58:03 Whether you're good or bad. 58:06 Sheol, Hades, hell... was the place of the departed. 58:11 And here is Job saying: "Oh Lord, hide me in 58:15 the grave until Your wrath is passed. " 58:18 Until that strange act that You have to do is passed. 58:23 "Appoint me a set time; remember me, O Lord. " 58:26 Then he goes on in verse 14: 58:28 "If a man dies, shall he live again? " 58:31 Now some people think... I've read scholars who said 58:34 that, you know, Job wasn't really very sure about this. 58:38 That he wasn't sure... he's speaking in despondency. 58:44 I think they're wrong, and I'm going to show you why 58:47 I think they're wrong. I think this is a rhetorical question. 58:50 Job says: "If a man die, shall he live again? " 58:54 "All the days of my hard service I will wait... " 58:59 And that word wait means: "I will hope... 59:02 I will eagerly expect. " 59:04 "till my change comes. " What change is he talking about? 59:08 This word is renewal... it is replacement. 59:13 He's talking about the change of putting on immortality. 59:17 He said: "You shall call... " This is when Jesus said 59:21 "Don't think it's strange. Everyone that is in the grave 59:24 in Hades, in sheol, 59:27 everyone will hear My voice. 59:30 Some will come forward to the resurrection of righteousness, 59:33 others to the resurrection of condemnation. " 59:35 And Job trusted he was coming forth to the resurrection 59:39 of righteousness. He said: 59:41 "You shall call and I will answer You 59:44 when I hear Your voice saying 'Come up out of the grave' 59:47 Lord, I will answer. " 59:49 But look what he says: "You shall desire 59:53 the work of Your hands. " 59:56 Job knew God as a God of covenant love. 59:59 He is saying: "You are my Creator. 01:00:01 You are my Maker. You desire me, Lord. 01:00:05 You love me so much You made me in Your image. 01:00:08 You're going to desire me... You want... " He knew! 01:00:12 He understood that God created us 01:00:14 so that we could live with Him for eternity. 01:00:17 So hallelujah! When he's talking about "my change" 01:00:20 when does this change come? 01:00:22 Turn to I Corinthians chapter 15 01:00:25 and we're going to look beginning with verse 51. 01:00:28 Job is asking God: "Hide me in the grave; 01:00:33 hide me in hell, in sheol. " 01:00:35 "I'm going to wait there Lord till my change comes 01:00:39 when You call me. " 01:00:40 And here's when our change comes: I Corinthians 15:51. 01:00:47 You know, some people think we die and we're changed 01:00:50 because there is a doctrine of immortal life that has been 01:00:54 introduced to our church - to the Christian church - 01:00:57 by a pagan philosopher who converted to Christianity. 01:01:01 His name was Tertullian 01:01:02 and he was a philosopher... he followed Socrates and Plato 01:01:08 who both taught that man was immortal. 01:01:12 Now that's not what the early apostolic fathers taught. 01:01:17 For the first century and 3/4... nearly two centuries 01:01:21 they taught there were only two ways: 01:01:23 the way of life, the way of death 01:01:25 and that man was mortal... 01:01:28 because the Bible says man is mortal. 01:01:30 So this doctrine of immortality that has come into the church 01:01:35 when I Timothy 3:16 says "only God is immortal. " 01:01:38 This doctrine of immortality has put... people read 01:01:43 the scriptures with a different lens 01:01:45 and they come up with the strangest things. 01:01:47 And so we hear people saying, you know: 01:01:49 "Mama's in heaven looking down on me. " Really? 01:01:53 Then when Jesus comes to resurrect her, 01:01:56 what's going to happen? 01:01:57 But listen to I Corinthians 15:51. 01:02:01 Paul says: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: 01:02:04 we shall not all sleep... " which is a metaphor for death 01:02:07 in the New Testament and in the Bible... 01:02:10 "We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed 01:02:14 in a moment... in the twinkling of an eye... " 01:02:17 Just like that! 01:02:19 When? "at the last trumpet, 01:02:23 for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised 01:02:26 incorruptible and we shall be changed. " 01:02:29 We can have that same hope that Job had 01:02:33 that we are waiting for the Lord, waiting for our change. 01:02:37 And it goes on in verse 53 to say: 01:02:40 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption; 01:02:45 this mortal... " mortal man... "must put on 01:02:50 immortality. " When? At the last trumpet. 01:02:53 "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption 01:02:56 and this mortal has put on immortality 01:02:59 THEN shall come to pass the saying that is written 01:03:04 'death is swallowed up in victory! ' 01:03:07 O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? " 01:03:13 That's the happily ever after part of our lives. 01:03:18 See, Job could endure his present struggle 01:03:22 because he had hope in a God of covenant love. 01:03:26 He had hope that he would have eternal fellowship 01:03:30 and communion with God. 01:03:33 You know, Jesus promised... In John 14:19 He said 01:03:38 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more 01:03:43 but you will see Me. 01:03:46 Because I live you will live also. " Amen! 01:03:51 That's God's promise that we're holding on to. 01:03:53 Now turn to Job 19 because I want to show you 01:03:58 Job knew. See, the Hebrew nation really didn't have 01:04:02 a well-developed doctrine on resurrection 01:04:06 until Job's time. I mean, Job encapsulates it all. 01:04:10 I love what Job has to say! 01:04:13 Job 19 verse 25- all right - 01:04:16 Job 19 and verse 25. 01:04:19 And he says: 01:04:21 "For I KNOW that my Redeemer lives... " That's right! 01:04:26 "I know that my Redeemer... " 01:04:29 What was a redeemer? In the time of ancient Israel 01:04:33 a redeemer was a close relative 01:04:36 who would purchase you back from slavery. 01:04:39 And so this is something... This redeemer would purchase your 01:04:45 freedom. Remember Ruth and Boaz? 01:04:47 Boaz was one of her relatives and he redeemed her. 01:04:52 So he says: "I know that my Redeemer lives 01:04:55 and He shall stand at last on the earth. 01:04:58 And after my skin is destroyed... " Come on... 01:05:01 after He's been hiding me in hell, in sheol, in the grave... 01:05:06 "after I have decayed this I know: 01:05:11 that in my flesh I shall see God. " 01:05:15 Amen! He knew that he would be restored 01:05:18 with a glorified body. 01:05:20 He knew that when God called him up from the grave 01:05:24 that he would be restored ultimately, totally, completely. 01:05:29 And then he says: "Whom I shall see for myself 01:05:33 and my eyes shall behold and not another. 01:05:38 How my heart yearns within me! " 01:05:41 Even though he's experiencing... Job was going through hell 01:05:45 on earth, was he not? Amen! 01:05:48 But even still in the midst of this 01:05:52 he knew love's justice would be brought to him. 01:05:57 You know, he doubted God... yes. 01:06:00 And let's be honest: how many of us have ever been there 01:06:03 where we're like "Why me, God? " Yes! "Why me? " 01:06:08 "Lord, what... what have You against me? " 01:06:12 "Why am I suffering this? " 01:06:14 But in the midst of this his faith broke through 01:06:18 just like the sun breaks through on a cloudy day 01:06:21 and he is talking about personally seeing God. 01:06:26 You know, Jesus said in John 11:25 01:06:31 He said to the sister of Lazarus 01:06:37 "I am the Resurrection and the Life. 01:06:41 He who believes in Me though he dies... 01:06:44 though he may die he shall live. " 01:06:48 In the Greek this is a strong double negative when He says 01:06:52 "though he may die he shall live. " 01:06:57 It means "he shall not die forever. " 01:07:01 If you believe in Jesus Christ, you're not going to suffer 01:07:06 the second, eternal death that Revelation speaks of 01:07:11 on four different occasions. 01:07:13 You're going to live forever. 01:07:16 And when you have that hope because of the resurrection - 01:07:20 the death and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior 01:07:23 Jesus Christ - you know what? You can endure anything. 01:07:28 He suffered so much for us. 01:07:31 And He humiliate... I mean, when He came down from heaven 01:07:35 to earth... You know scholars don't talk about 01:07:39 Him being humble. They talk about it being the humiliation 01:07:43 of Christ. God became one of us. 01:07:47 Mercy! Now I have to read this paragraph 01:07:50 from the Sabbath School quarterly because I thought it 01:07:54 was so beautiful. Says: "The New Testament teaches that 01:07:57 Christ has defeated death - Come on - 01:08:00 mankind's bitterest foe - and that God will raise the dead 01:08:04 to a final judgment. But this doctrine becomes 01:08:08 central to Biblical faith that after the resurrection 01:08:12 of Christ that it gained its validation in Christ's triumph 01:08:17 over death. " So we have this hope - 01:08:22 this Blessed Hope - that we shall see Christ, 01:08:28 we shall see God face to blessed face. 01:08:32 That we will live eternally with Him 01:08:35 and with those who are our family 01:08:38 including our church family 01:08:41 who have died, resting in the grave until He returns... 01:08:46 who have died in Christ Jesus. 01:08:48 That we will be I know looking for eons of ages 01:08:53 throughout eternity we are going to be trying to understand 01:08:57 God's covenant love and this whole process 01:09:01 of salvation that Job so beautifully and poetically 01:09:07 speaks. And I have that hope... I hope you do, too. 01:09:11 "For I know that my Redeemer lives! " 01:09:15 You know, just a quick... I just want to say very, very 01:09:17 quickly. Shelley touched on something there very fast 01:09:20 when Christ said: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. " 01:09:22 Mary and Martha. Martha... Ellen White says had a very 01:09:25 positive personality. She was... Martha was kind of hard core. 01:09:28 So when Christ came and Lazarus was in the grave 01:09:31 the only thing she said to Him was: "If You had been here! " 01:09:34 She had her finger in His face: "If You had been here! " 01:09:36 Christ says to Martha: "You're going to see your brother 01:09:39 again. " She says: "I know that. " 01:09:40 "Please... I know the resurrec- tion. I know the theology of 01:09:43 the resurrection. I know the ec- clesiology of the resurrection. 01:09:45 I know all about the resurrection. " 01:09:47 And Christ stopped her and said: "What I'm trying to tell you is 01:09:49 I AM the Resurrection 01:09:52 so when I say you're going to see him again I'm guaranteeing 01:09:55 you that because I am the Resurrection! 01:09:57 Death has been defeated. " And that's what we've got to 01:09:59 hold on to. Even in the face of death 01:10:01 Jesus IS the Resurrection. And if you've got Jesus, 01:10:04 the Bible says you've "got life. " Amen! 01:10:07 Now you know why... You know, we often apply this text 01:10:10 to the time of trouble ahead of us 01:10:12 but it applies to today. "He that shall endure 01:10:15 unto the end... the same shall be saved. " 01:10:18 Many will find their end before the time of trouble. 01:10:20 We are called to endure every day: 01:10:22 endure suffering, endure misunderstanding, 01:10:25 endure the dark moments. Endure when God seems 01:10:27 like He has disconnected your phone number. 01:10:30 We are called to endure the moments where God seems 01:10:33 absent. "He that shall endure. " 01:10:36 Remember... don't ever forget this. 01:10:37 And I went through... I could tell you my wife and I have been 01:10:39 through trials in our lives, in our relationship, 01:10:41 in our ministry that the devil came at us in so many ways 01:10:45 that it was times the trials would last for six months. 01:10:48 And one day I pulled along the side of the highway 01:10:50 and I just broke down in great tears from the difficulty. 01:10:53 And one Camp Meeting I stood in front of the church here 01:10:56 on a Wednesday night as Camp Meeting was beginning 01:10:58 and I said: "Do you ever feel like you want to drive past 01:11:01 the church? " I said: "I'm the pastor, and that's 01:11:03 how I feel today. " I didn't even want to stop here. 01:11:07 And it was six months I went through a difficulty. 01:11:09 God brought us through and I learned 01:11:11 that the silence of God does not equal the absence of God. 01:11:15 Amen! What a wonderful study! 01:11:18 We have just about a minute left. Anybody have a quick 01:11:20 thought? We want to have prayer before we end. 01:11:22 I've enjoyed this study... how about you? 01:11:25 What a blessing it's been for those I know for those who are 01:11:27 watching and those listening. The Holy Spirit has brought out 01:11:29 some beautiful beautiful things and thoughts. 01:11:31 I know truth is progressive. 01:11:34 I know that we have more light than Job had on this subject 01:11:37 but yet I still have a lot of questions. 01:11:39 So this... Answered bye and bye. It's going to be answered 01:11:41 bye and bye. The Lord's going to have a time to sit down 01:11:43 He's going to answer all the questions that you have 01:11:45 in the kingdom. He's going to have all the time 01:11:47 in the world for you. 01:11:49 Make sure we're there! 01:11:51 Any final thoughts? We've have, probably got 38 seconds left. 01:11:53 Maybe we should just have prayer. Sr. Mollie: 01:11:55 how about you? Would you close with prayer, please? 01:11:57 I would love to. OK. 01:11:58 Holy Father, we praise You and thank you 01:12:00 for the power of Your Word that's gone forth. 01:12:02 I thank you now for every heart 01:12:04 that has been under... able to listen and to 01:12:08 receive this word. Father, I pray that that word 01:12:11 goes deep within our hearts. That it effects a change 01:12:14 in us. Father, our heart's cry is that we won't be conformed 01:12:18 to this world but we will be transformed 01:12:21 by the renewing of our mind, Father. That we will be 01:12:24 conformed to the very image and likeness of our Lord and Savior 01:12:27 Jesus Christ. We give You our lives; 01:12:30 we ask You to direct our steps 01:12:32 and use us today as vessels of honor in Your kingdom. 01:12:35 In Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2017-06-05