Participants: Shakeela Yasuf
Series Code: DOA
Program Code: DOA000013
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00:40 As-Salaam-Alaikum, to our Muslim brother and sisters,
00:44 shalom to our Hebrew cousins 00:47 and peace be upon you our Christian friends. 00:50 Welcome again to "The Descendants of Abraham." 00:53 For our brothers and sisters that were not with us last week, 00:57 let me give you a little recap 00:58 because this is the second part of the two parts series. 01:01 We couldn't cover everything in the one program. 01:05 So the recap it says last week, we saw how Lucifer, 01:10 who was the angel created by God to be the head angel. 01:14 How he became Satan, the fallen angel 01:17 and because of his pride and his lust for power. 01:21 And then we saw how he was cast out of heaven 01:24 and came to the earth to destroy God's creation 01:29 that's you and that's me. 01:31 We learnt that the first war was started in heaven 01:35 between Satan and Michael. 01:40 I would like us to continue now 01:42 to study about the scent of God, Jesus, the scent of God. 01:47 And another name that He uses to identify Himself. 01:51 Also what is His purpose 01:53 in coming to the sinful planet earth? 01:57 Let's start with Moses 01:59 and we're all familiar with Moses at the Burning Bush. 02:02 So let's start with-- let's start there 02:05 where Moses is talking with God at the Burning Bush. 02:09 The first thing that Moses had to do 02:11 when he was approaching that Burning Bush that he saw 02:15 that wasn't even being consumed and he was curious, 02:19 but as he is approaching that bush, 02:21 that first thing he heard was God saying, 02:25 take your shoes off for this is holy ground. 02:32 God then proceeded to tell Moses 02:37 what His purpose was going to be. 02:41 God was sending Moses to the land of Egypt 02:44 to free the Israelites from bondage. 02:50 Let's look in the Torah. 02:51 Let's look at the beginning of this 02:53 in the Torah in Exodus 3:13, 14. 02:59 "Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, 03:02 when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 03:07 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' 03:10 and they say to me, 'What is His name?' 03:14 what shall I say to them?' 03:16 And God said to Moses, "I am who I am." 03:21 Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 03:24 'I am has sent me to you.'" 03:29 Now let's take a look at the later conversation 03:32 that took place between Christ and the Jews 03:36 and it's written in the Injil in the Book of John 8. 03:40 Here Jesus is saying to the Pharisees and the Jews 03:44 in general that they lack understanding 03:47 of who the true God of Abraham is. 03:51 They brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery 03:56 and they brought her to Jesus 03:59 and they said that according to the Law of Moses, 04:03 she should be stoned to death. 04:06 And they were right, according to the Law of Moses 04:09 she should be stoned to death. 04:12 But something else took place. 04:14 These priest and rabbis, first of all were testing Jesus, 04:19 they were testing the Lord. 04:21 They were hoping to discredit Him 04:23 or have Him arrested by Romans at that time the Roman power. 04:28 They wanted Him and His influence 04:31 over the people destroyed. 04:34 He threatened their position and their lust for power. 04:39 Remember last week we talked about how Satan, 04:44 his lust for power is what caused his fall. 04:48 Here it is, we see the priest and the rabbis of their day, 04:53 their lust for power and they are feeling 04:55 threatened for their position. 04:58 They were going to discredit the Lord. 05:01 So when they brought the woman to him, they said to him, 05:08 she has to be stone by the Law of Moses. 05:11 What was this going to do? 05:12 How was this going to affect Jesus? 05:14 How was He gonna answer this? 05:17 You see, if he declared her worth of death, 05:21 He would be reported to the Roman power 05:24 as one who assumed authority belonging only to them. 05:31 And if he acquitted the woman, 05:34 He might be charged with despising the Law of Moses. 05:40 What was He going to do? 05:43 Well, here is what He did. 05:44 First of all when you study it you would see that 05:48 Jesus had pity upon this woman who was caught in the adultery. 05:52 He had pity upon her. 05:55 Let's look at what happened, 05:56 let's read a few verses in the Injil 05:59 in the Book of John 8:3-7, 3-7 let me read that. 06:07 It says, "Then the scribes and Pharisees 06:10 brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. 06:13 And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, 06:18 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 06:23 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us 06:26 that such should be stoned but what do You say?' 06:32 This they said, testing Him, 06:34 that they might have something of which to accuse Him. 06:37 But Jesus stooped down, He bent down 06:42 and He wrote on the ground with His finger, 06:46 as though He did not hear them. 06:49 So when they continued asking Him, 06:52 He raised Himself up and said to them, 06:57 'He who is without sin among you, 07:00 let him throw a stone at her first." 07:07 All of the woman's accusers left, 07:10 they dispersed, they went their way. 07:14 No one could throw the first stone, no one there. 07:19 And that is because they knew that they had all sinned, 07:23 no one was without sin. 07:26 You see when-- I believe that 07:27 when Jesus stooped downed to the ground 07:30 and He wrote in the dust with His finger. 07:34 I believe He exposed the secrets 07:38 and the sins of each person's lives 07:42 that were there to stone this woman 07:45 that were there to condemn her. 07:48 Jesus then looked up and asked the woman, 07:52 "Where are your accusers, 07:55 did anyone remain that condemned you?" 07:59 And she said, "No Lord, no one." 08:02 His answer to her is His answer to you and to me. 08:09 He said, "Neither do I condemn you, 08:13 go and sin no more." 08:17 What a loving, forgiving God. 08:22 He did not condemn this woman, 08:26 He knew that behind the sin was the fallen angel Satan. 08:33 He did not come to this world-- 08:35 Jesus did not come to this world to condemn 08:38 but to save and to rescue from the destroyer. 08:45 The discussion between 08:47 the Jesus and the Pharisees continued 08:49 and you can read more about that in the Book of John. 08:54 It continued for quite a while. 08:56 They rejected Him and His message to them, 09:01 they're not in bondage and they don't sin 09:06 and it was surprising that they thought they weren't in bondage 09:09 because they were under the Roman power at that time, 09:12 they were under Roman rule. 09:14 So they were in bondage to the Romans. 09:19 Jesus tried to encourage them to seek truth 09:22 and if they find truth they will be set free. 09:26 But they chose to hold on to their traditions 09:28 and again if we go to the same Chapter of John 8:33, 09:32 here is what it says, "They answered Him, 09:37 ''We are Abraham's descendants, 09:39 and have never been in bondage to anyone. 09:42 How can you say, You will be made free?" 09:48 They refused to see their need for a sin pardoning Savior. 09:54 Even though throughout their history 09:57 they practiced the sacrificial offering, 10:01 the service in the tabernacle when Moses built the tabernacle 10:06 and they had this sacrificial service. 10:09 Even though their ancestors have practiced 10:11 and they were still practicing it in the temple. 10:15 They lost sightn that, that whole service 10:19 was for the forgiveness of sins. 10:22 They were blind to the full meaning of this practice. 10:27 They can see that they continued to challenge Jesus. 10:31 As we read on in John 8. 10:33 We're gonna look at three verses now, 10:35 John 8:53 and then 56-58, a few verses there. 10:42 Here is what it says, ''Are you greater 10:45 than our father Abraham, who is dead? 10:48 And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself to be? 10:53 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, 10:57 and he saw it and was glad." 11:00 Then the Jews said to Him, 11:02 ''You are not yet fifty years old, 11:04 and have You seen Abraham?' 11:07 And Jesus to them, ''Most assuredly, I say to you, 11:13 before Abraham was, I am." 11:19 There is that name again, I am. 11:21 Remember at the Burning Bush when Moses says, 11:25 but who shall I tell the Israelites sent me 11:28 and He says, "Tell them I am sent you." 11:33 Here is Jesus saying again, before Abraham was, I am. 11:41 Same God, same God in the Torah, 11:45 same God here in the Injil. 11:50 Here is Jesus telling the Jews who again was challenging him. 11:58 "I am the one that was with you and with the father's back then. 12:04 I am here now in human form to help you like I did then." 12:12 But they were--their eyes and their ears were stopped, 12:16 they just couldn't believe that didn't want to believe that. 12:21 Brothers and sisters, in the Torah 12:28 like I said before and last week, 12:29 there are so many references to the God of Abraham 12:34 being the Son of God, being Jesus Christ, 12:39 our Savior, yours and mine. 12:45 We will look again in the Torah, 12:47 in the Torah we can read the story about-- 12:49 and again the Prophet Daniel 12:51 about his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 12:57 And they were taken into captivity 12:59 when King Nebuchadnezzar raided 13:03 or I should say attacked Jerusalem. 13:08 King Nebuchadnezzar, and I'm sure you know 13:11 this was the king of Babylon 13:12 and he attacked Jerusalem and conquered 13:15 and he took a lot of the Jewish people at that time, 13:20 the Israelites back to Babylon. 13:24 Well these three or four young men 13:26 and they were teenagers so as young man they stood out. 13:29 That was Daniel, the prophet Daniel 13:31 and his three friends. 13:33 But we gonna talk about the three young men 13:37 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, right now. 13:40 These men were all, these young boys 13:44 were all very faithful to the God of Abraham. 13:47 They refused to worship any image. 13:51 The king wanted them to bow down 13:53 and worship a gold image he had made. 13:57 And when they refused the king ordered 14:00 that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 14:04 be thrown into a fiery furnace. 14:07 Well, it wasn't just the stand of fiery furnace, 14:11 it was the one they used but the king ordered 14:15 that it would be heated seven times harder than normal, 14:20 seven times harder than normal, 14:23 and then throw these three young men into it. 14:28 Let's look at Daniel 3:21, it says, 14:33 "Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, 14:37 their turbans, and their other garments, 14:40 and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." 14:48 Because the furnace was so hot at the command of the king 14:53 when the servants took these boys, 14:58 theses three boys to throw them into the furnace 15:02 they were killed because the heat was so tremendous. 15:06 So the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar 15:10 were actually killed. 15:13 But the boys at that time weren't 15:15 and they were thrown into the furnace. 15:19 Here we see how Satan wanted to destroy theses three young men 15:24 because they were loyal and faithful to the God of Abraham. 15:30 We see how he used King Nebuchadnezzar 15:33 to carry out his purposes. 15:36 Always look behind the person brothers and sisters, 15:41 Always look at Satan behind the person. 15:46 But the living God of Abraham intervened 15:49 on behalf of His followers, His faithful young men. 15:53 In Daniel 3:24, 25, here is what we can read. 15:59 It says, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, 16:03 and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, 16:08 "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" 16:13 And they answered and said to the king, "True, O king." 16:18 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, 16:23 walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt, 16:28 and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." 16:36 Brother and sisters, isn't this amazing? 16:39 This is a Prophet Daniel writing this. 16:43 The Son of God, Jesus the Christ 16:47 had not come to the earth yet as a baby. 16:51 Yet here is King Nebuchadnezzar 16:54 looking into that hot furnace 16:57 the three young men were still alive 17:01 and then he sees it forth 17:03 that he recognizes as the Son of God. 17:08 Now how would he recognize the son of God? 17:14 Well, could it be that in all the dreams 17:19 he were given by God that Daniel interpreted for him? 17:25 Could it be that the Son of God 17:28 showed himself to King Nebuchadnezzar? 17:33 He knew and he acknowledged this was the Son of God. 17:41 There is so much proof that Christ, 17:45 Michael our Prince, the Son of God 17:49 existed prior to coming to this earth as a baby. 17:54 Michael the Messiah, the Christ 17:57 fought with the devil in heaven to protect us 18:02 because he created you and he created me 18:07 and we're very very precious to Him, 18:10 very precious in His eyes. 18:13 Let's look at in the Injil, 18:16 the Book of Colossians with the Colossian people. 18:19 The Book of Colossians 1:15-16 and it says, 18:25 "He is the image of the invisible God, 18:29 the firstborn over all creation. 18:32 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven 18:36 and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 18:41 whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 18:47 All things were created through Him and for Him. 18:55 Brothers and sisters, I cannot emphasize this enough 19:00 and I will continue to talk about this. 19:05 Christ always existed with His Father in heaven. 19:09 His name is above all names. 19:12 He is known as Michael, Jesus the Christ, 19:15 archangel, angel of the Lord, 19:18 the great I am, Jehovah-jireh, 19:21 the Lord will provide as Hagar named the place Jehovah-jireh, 19:26 the Lord will provide. 19:28 Because Satan is determined to destroy you and me, 19:32 the Son of the living God had to pay the price for our sins, 19:37 so that we may have eternal life with Him 19:42 and we don't even deserve it, we don't deserve it. 19:47 Here is what the holy book tells us in Romans 6:23. 19:53 "For the wages of sin is death, 19:56 but the gift of God is eternal life 19:59 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 20:04 There is no reason that can be given for sin, none. 20:10 We couldn't keep trying to explain it. 20:13 We can try to give a reason for it 20:16 but we can't, there isn't any. 20:18 It is mysterious to us, 20:20 but we must never defend sin by excusing it. 20:24 The only understanding of sin is given in the word of God 20:29 and that explanation is that 20:31 sin is the transgression of God's law. 20:35 That's all we know about sin. 20:37 It is the transgression of God's law. 20:40 Sin will never be allowed 20:42 to enter into the heavenly kingdom again. 20:47 It was Satan, the father of lies, 20:50 the father of sin that caused King Nebuchadnezzar 20:54 to throw the three young men into hot fiery furnace. 20:58 It was the love of Christ 21:00 for his true followers that saved them. 21:04 Through this example Christ was showing us 21:07 that we are never alone 21:09 even at the hot fiery furnace we're never alone. 21:13 Whatever the circumstances, 21:15 He is always there right beside us. 21:20 It was the sin of adultery 21:22 that almost took the life of the woman by the Pharisees, 21:27 it was the love of Christ for her 21:29 that saved her from the death penalty. 21:34 But he told her, go and sin no more. 21:39 He did not justify her actions 21:41 but He showed her His amazing grace. 21:46 And if you follow her journey she did not disappoint him, 21:51 oh she fell a few more times 21:54 but eventually she overcame by the power 21:57 and the strength given to her by Jesus. 22:02 She began to worship the true God of Abraham. 22:06 She loved the God of Abraham, 22:08 the God that did not condemn her but forgave her 22:13 and told her, go and sin no more. 22:17 Here in the words of Jesus Himself, 22:19 he tells us in John 14:6. 22:23 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. 22:27 No one comes to the Father except through Me." 22:32 For Jesus to say these things about Himself, 22:36 well, we always believe He is a great prophet 22:41 and if we believe He is a great prophet 22:43 then for Him to say, I'm the way, the truth and life 22:48 no one comes to the Father except through Me 22:51 then either He is who He says He is 22:56 or He is a mad man, He is crazy. 23:00 But we can't say He is a great prophet 23:04 and then say he is lying. 23:08 Who He says He is, is what He is. 23:16 Let's look at what God Himself says of Jesus. 23:19 This story begins with John known as the Baptist 23:23 who was at the Jordan River 23:25 calling people to repent of their sins 23:27 and be baptized in the water 23:29 but his reaction to the ruling men 23:31 of his day was not positive. 23:33 Let's look at Mathew again in the Injil, 23:36 the first book in the Injil, Mathew 3:7-9. 23:40 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees 23:42 and Sadducees coming to his baptism, 23:45 he said to them, "Brood of vipers! 23:48 Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 23:50 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 23:53 and do not think to say to yourselves, 23:56 'We have Abraham as our father.' 23:58 For I say to you that God is able to raise up children 24:01 to Abraham from these stones." 24:05 But when a young man about 30 years of age 24:08 came walk into the Jordan River 24:11 to be baptized by John the Baptist. 24:15 The Baptist refused, John refused 24:17 because he recognized him and he said to him, 24:20 I'm not worthy to baptize you I should be baptized by you. 24:25 You know why he said that because he recognized 24:28 this 30 year old young man as the Son of God, the Christ. 24:35 Eventually he agreed to baptize Jesus 24:38 as Jesus requested. 24:40 And here is what happened in Mathew 3:16, 17, we read, 24:46 "When He had been baptized, 24:48 Jesus came up immediately from the water 24:51 and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, 24:54 and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove 24:57 and alighting upon Him. 25:00 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 25:04 "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 25:10 In another passage God again confirms to us 25:13 that Jesus the Christ is His son. 25:17 Let us read the scripture in Mathew 17:1-5. 25:21 It says, "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, 25:25 James, and John his brother, 25:27 led them up on a high mountain by themselves, 25:31 and He was transfigured before them. 25:33 His face shone like the sun, 25:35 and His clothes became as white as the light. 25:38 And behold, Moses and Elijah 25:40 appeared to them, talking with Him. 25:43 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 25:45 "Lord, it is good for us to be here, 25:47 if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles, 25:50 one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 25:54 While he was still speaking, behold, 25:56 a bright cloud overshadowed them, 25:58 and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 26:03 "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 26:09 God the Father tells us hear Him, 26:12 hear Him, hear Jesus, hear His Son. 26:15 He tells us here and listen to what He is saying to You. 26:19 I have sent him to the earth as a witness of who I'm 26:23 He is my son, He knows me, He is me, 26:27 He is the one that will save you 26:29 from the destroyer Satan, hear Him. 26:34 I pray that you will hear Him today. 26:38 When you get to the Descendants of Abraham, 26:40 you can be sure that you're lighting the way for all 26:43 in search of the Creator God 26:46 and His message of love and forgiveness to all nations. 26:49 Thank you for your support and for your prayers. 26:53 All contributions are tax deductible. 26:55 Please visit us online today at www.descendantsofabraham.org 27:01 or write to us at the address you see listed on your screen. 27:04 All correspondence will be kept confidential. 27:08 My brothers and sister, I would like you to know 27:12 that whatever sin you've committed 27:16 whether it's adultery, whether it's murder, 27:21 whether you have killed someone deliberately, by accident, 27:26 there is no sin that cannot be forgiven 27:30 and this is the God, the Creator God, 27:33 the God that Abraham served. 27:36 He will forgive you, no matter what you have done 27:40 and all you have to do is ask Him 27:43 wherever you are right now, 27:46 that's all we have to do is to say Jesus, forgive me, 27:52 forgive me, help me to follow You. 27:55 Give me truth. Guide me into truth. 28:00 And I pray that You will take this time to ask Him, 28:05 He will forgive you. |
Revised 2014-12-17