Today, we're gonna be looking
at questions that God ask us.
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Did you know that He ask
us about our Sabbath rest?
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Stay with us,
see where this goes.
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Welcome to "Issues and Answers."
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My name is J.D. Quinn.
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Today, we're gonna have a
wonderful time with the Lord
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and then we're gonna be talking
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about the
questions that God ask us.
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And a person has
done a lot of study
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in this arena is
Pastor Troy Fitzgerald,
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and I just am glad that
you're here with us today,
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we want to welcome
you. Thank you J.D, yeah.
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First thing that
we want to know, Troy,
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is a little bit about yourself,
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is it okay I call you Troy?
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That's fine, that's
what everybody else,
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that's the best thing
that most people call me so.
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Amen, amen. Yes.
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Well, tell us who you are?
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Tell us about your
family, tell us where you live?
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Tell us what your
responsibilities are?
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Just I want to know
something about you.
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All right, well, I am the pastor
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for Youth and Young Adult at
Walla Walla University Church.
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I've been there 12
years and my wife Julia
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and I have been
serving in ministry,
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teaching and pastoral ministry
for almost 20 years now.
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And so I have two boys,
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Cameron, who is about 13,
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and Morgan who's 7 going on 8.
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I guess, they're typical boys.
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They like, they
probably like sports, they--
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They're boys,
all boys, you know,
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we gotta hose them off
outside at the end of the day.
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Amen, amen. Yeah.
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Tell us about your education.
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Well, I started
studying just to be a pastor,
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I thought I wanted to
be a teacher, a pastor.
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I did my Bachelors in Theology
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and then afterwards, you
know, I studied at the Seminary.
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And then I noticed
something that was interesting
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and that was the most of
the work of a pastor had to do
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with teaching and I didn't
know anything about teaching
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and, and teaching and
telling teaching and preaching.
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Learning and
listening are sometimes
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two different experiences
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and so I looked at
Jesus as the master teacher,
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I thought, I need
to learn how to teach.
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And so I got my
masters in education. Okay.
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So I can learn how
to, how to teach and then
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I eventually went on to do
my doctorate in leadership.
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Amen, why leadership?
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Just leaders and leadership
is one of those elements
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of our culture right now that,
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that are pastoring
people thoughts change,
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we need to
understand the fundamentals
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of leading people toward change.
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We live in a
world that's broken.
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Our world has shifted,
the world views of people
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in this world have shifted
and we need to understand
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what it's going to take
to move a group of people
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from this place
into another era.
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And if you're out there
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and thinking now
everything is just fine,
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or let's just do
things the way we used to do.
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Then you probably don't think
leadership is very important.
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But if you're
looking for a new day,
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then leadership is
one of the primary things
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that we need to be thinking
about so, that's why I didn't.
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Amen. Yeah.
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One of the things
that this program is about
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questions that God asks.
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And so in your
opinion, what is one of the most
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important
questions that he ask of us.
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Well that's hard,
because I believe that
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throughout scripture all of
the questions that God asked
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have some sort
of challenge to us
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to either think about
what's going on inside
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of our heart or what
we're doing in our lives.
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Usually when God
asked the question,
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it's usually because
He wants us to respond,
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He wants us to think and stop
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and may be do
something differently to change.
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So throughout and it's
hard to just pick because,
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because so many of the ones
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we have are good and
yet, you try and count.
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I mean, I would ask
the people in their homes
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they just think
about all the questions
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that you can list
that God has asked people
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and there hasn't,
it's hard to come up with.
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But when you scan
through scripture,
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we see God interacting,
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one of the questions
that has meant the most to me,
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that's been perhaps the one
of the harder ones to answer,
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is the question
that Jesus asked people
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in church about Sabbath rest.
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It's one of
those awkward moments
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that Jesus is in church
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and if you're a
pastor, the one thing you hope
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never happens is
somebody stands up
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and causes a scene
and breaks the routine.
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And yet Sabbath
rest should be the most
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important thing to
us because it just,
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because what it means.
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And what does it mean?
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Well, the Sabbath
is given to us because,
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if we don't have Sabbath,
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our brokenness just
turns to dispirit to the point
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where we forget who we are.
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And we're running,
we're a people right now
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that it's running,
we're running so hard.
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And right now, you
know, people are watching
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or listening, you
know, they're exhausted.
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Very few people are
gonna raise their hand and say,
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I just feel so
rested and ready. Amen.
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I am not, you know,
I've got tons of energy
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and I'm ready to go.
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No, that's not it.
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In fact, some of
the more recent survey
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show that the people,
66, 67% of people out there
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describe themselves
as exhausted or drained,
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over 50% of
people have responded
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and said that
they feel overwhelmed.
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And I don't think
it's getting any better.
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So when -- and
maybe it was the same
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back in the days of
Christ, maybe, you know,
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people are just as
tired as they are now.
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But we have things
coming out so fast right now,
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we have the news is on TV,
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we have two
faces up on the screen,
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they're arguing back and forth,
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below there is the weather,
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there is a ticker
tape of the stock market,
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there's scores and highlights
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and there is
what's coming up next.
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It's all coming at
us at once all the time,
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we're exhausted.
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But back in the days
of Christ, it was simple,
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they didn't have that, but
people were still very tired,
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they're not tired
necessarily from lack of sleep
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but they're exhausted by
trying to run their lives
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in their own brokenness,
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being held
captive by their habits
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or by their fears or by
loneliness or isolation,
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I mean, people are exhausted
just based upon the depression
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that's running
through their veins right now.
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So that moment, I
think it's in Luke 13,
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where the story is told.
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Where Jesus walks
into church and He's there
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and the Bible says
that there is a woman
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who had been crippled,
bent over for 18 years.
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Eighteen long years
and, and they're reading
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and they're singing
and they are praying
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and they are doing
the stuff and Jesus
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just has his
visceral reaction to a woman
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that's been broken, bent over.
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I mean all she has seen.
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You talk about
tiring, exhausting,
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all you see are
the cobblestones.
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All you see is the
garbage in the gutters,
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when you walk to and
from home or to the market,
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all you see are the
feet, the dirty feet of people,
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you never ever see the sunshine,
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you don't feel it on your face,
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the wind doesn't
blow on your cheeks,
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you don't look and listen to
the birds singing in the air.
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Those things don't --
aren't a part of your reality,
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you're walking and you're
bent over and you're down.
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And that's the way
you're bent for 18 years
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and Jesus could not stomach it.
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And so He does
something on Sabbath in church
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that well it got the
saints a little riled up.
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And He healed her, He just said
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"Woman, you are set
free from your infirmity."
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And she stood up. Amen.
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She could see
now well, you know,
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how the choir
directors tell us to sing. Amen.
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You have to, you know,
chin up, mouth wide open,
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she's singing. Amen.
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And the leaders, well
they were disrupted by that,
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they didn't like that.
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And Jesus heard them
and one of them actually
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stood up and said, no
there are six days in which
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and you can just
see the fan on six days
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in which you come for
healing but on the Sabbath day,
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no healing and Jesus
is saying, wait a minute,
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I think I gave you
this rule a long time ago
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and it was not, it was,
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it was supposed
to be about freedom,
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do you remember the story.
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And so He says, He
asked the question and I think
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it's a question not just
for that day but for us today.
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He said, isn't it,
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isn't this is what God
wants us to do on the Sabbath?
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He says, "This should
not this child of Abraham,
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his daughter of Abraham be
set free on the Sabbath day."
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Amen.
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And how you are
gonna answer that question
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because He invoked
something very unique there.
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He called her a
daughter of Abraham.
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He says, you are.
They understood that.
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Oh yeah, because he
pointed out, he says,
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don't you know, you
guys not, you untie your dog
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if it's caught
tied up around the tree,
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you won't leave it out there.
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If your ox falls into the ditch,
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you'll pull your ox out,
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a dog, an ox, this is not a dog,
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this is not an ox,
this is not your pet pig,
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this is a daughter. Amen.
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A princess, a daughter of
Abraham and she's bent over
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and you're angry because
we set her free on the Sabbath
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don't you even know about rest?
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That's really Jesus' questions.
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Have you not experienced
the rest of the Sabbath?
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And that applies to
probably a lot of us today.
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You know, a lot of
people are very confused.
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Ask the question to
yourself today. Yeah.
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Are you whole, or
do you feel rested,
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have you experienced
the true Sabbath rest
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and it's Adventist
that's been in our name,
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it's been a part of our
life, our theology for years,
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we know where it came from.
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Well, why is the
Sabbath so important?
00:11:11.77\00:11:13.18
It's because it's given to
us a creation before sin. Amen.
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We have the Sabbath,
00:11:16.83\00:11:17.84
it's not just a part
of God's salvific plan
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this is a part of
who we are as humans.
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It's our birthday.
00:11:24.09\00:11:25.86
Your birthday doesn't
come around once a year,
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it comes every week
where you are reminded
00:11:27.61\00:11:30.74
that you are born
again child of God.
00:11:30.75\00:11:34.12
You're made in his image. Amen.
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And if you skip
it, if you miss it,
00:11:36.25\00:11:38.20
if you work through
it, if you ignore it,
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if you focus all on
your own stuff through it,
00:11:40.97\00:11:43.55
you're going to
forget who you are.
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And that's one of the
reasons why God gave it.
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And you know the
example I always give is,
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go to the Old Testament
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when God's people
were put into slavery.
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They not only
disobeyed God but they just,
00:11:56.94\00:11:59.37
they just fell
back into the world
00:11:59.38\00:12:01.51
where they were
absorbed by Egypt.
00:12:01.52\00:12:04.63
They started to think like Egypt
00:12:04.64\00:12:06.69
instead of God's children,
00:12:06.70\00:12:08.11
they started to act like
Egypt they worship like Egypt
00:12:08.12\00:12:11.32
until their minds were changed
00:12:11.33\00:12:12.81
and they were Egyptians
in every sense of the word.
00:12:12.82\00:12:16.28
If there was anything in them,
00:12:16.29\00:12:17.81
it was this story
way back in history
00:12:17.82\00:12:20.74
something that
they may be remembered
00:12:20.75\00:12:22.71
that their grandparents
telling them about Yahweh,
00:12:22.72\00:12:26.91
about the God of Israel.
00:12:26.92\00:12:29.52
And when God delivered
them, He brought them out,
00:12:29.53\00:12:33.77
here we have God's people
00:12:33.78\00:12:35.73
out on the sandy
shore of the Red Sea.
00:12:35.74\00:12:39.29
You know, they're
being told, guess what?
00:12:39.30\00:12:42.91
It's time to meet your
God, He's your creator,
00:12:42.92\00:12:45.79
wait a minute, I
thought we were created by a cow
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or this golden emblem over here,
00:12:50.33\00:12:52.03
this animal over here,
but no, it was God. Amen.
00:12:52.04\00:12:57.58
And they are told the story
00:12:57.59\00:12:59.00
and they're given
the laws and the laws,
00:12:59.01\00:13:01.30
six days God created
the heavens and the earth,
00:13:01.31\00:13:04.04
He made you and the
seventh day He rested
00:13:04.05\00:13:07.72
and that's He sanctified
it and He set it aside.
00:13:07.73\00:13:10.75
Not because He
wanted to give us a rule,
00:13:10.76\00:13:12.55
not because we
needed a day go to church,
00:13:12.56\00:13:14.73
not because you know,
00:13:14.74\00:13:16.02
of all these
theological ramifications
00:13:16.03\00:13:18.48
because He knew that if you
didn't celebrate your birthday
00:13:18.49\00:13:22.93
you would forget who you
are and who you belong to?
00:13:22.94\00:13:27.15
And in the end,
where you're going.
00:13:27.16\00:13:29.23
And that's why the law has
given a second time, isn't it?
00:13:29.24\00:13:31.87
Because in Deuteronomy,
00:13:31.88\00:13:33.13
we have the same
reading of the law
00:13:33.14\00:13:34.99
except there is one
little difference to it.
00:13:35.00\00:13:37.75
It says, because I redeemed you,
00:13:37.76\00:13:39.82
because I
delivered you from Egypt,
00:13:39.83\00:13:42.60
that's why you
have the Sabbath day.
00:13:42.61\00:13:45.15
Celebrate the Sabbath,
because don't you know,
00:13:45.16\00:13:47.96
I took you out of Egypt,
well who is he saying that to?
00:13:47.97\00:13:51.02
He's saying that to the people
who are born in the desert,
00:13:51.03\00:13:53.99
Deuteronomy is written to people
00:13:54.00\00:13:55.52
who are born in the desert.
00:13:55.53\00:13:56.64
No one was there in Egypt.
00:13:56.65\00:13:58.22
They don't know
what Egypt looks like?
00:13:58.23\00:14:00.38
They don't know what
the plagues were all about?
00:14:00.39\00:14:03.62
They were in the desert
and he says you're delivered.
00:14:03.63\00:14:07.43
So two places, in
the law that Moses gave,
00:14:07.44\00:14:12.78
you're created by God,
don't forget who you are,
00:14:12.79\00:14:15.46
don't forget that birthday.
00:14:15.47\00:14:17.34
You're delivered, you're saved.
00:14:17.35\00:14:19.80
Even though you are
born here in the desert,
00:14:19.81\00:14:21.25
all you have known is sand
00:14:21.26\00:14:22.38
and all you have heard
about is the Promised Land.
00:14:22.39\00:14:25.14
We're going home, we're
going home, we're going home.
00:14:25.15\00:14:27.68
Well, here is why
because someone delivered us.
00:14:27.69\00:14:31.55
And that's why in
the Book of Hebrews
00:14:31.56\00:14:33.23
it talks about Sabbath rest
00:14:33.24\00:14:35.11
and it's
connected with salvation.
00:14:35.12\00:14:37.13
The rest of
salvation for your souls,
00:14:37.14\00:14:39.32
I mean people are tired.
00:14:39.33\00:14:41.70
I love that story,
00:14:41.71\00:14:44.41
I love the story of
this dog named Tattoo. Great.
00:14:44.42\00:14:49.34
It's a story I read in the
Seattle Times I think it was,
00:14:49.35\00:14:53.10
this is owner,
Tattoo's owner, you know,
00:14:53.11\00:14:57.63
got in the car and
backed up but the leash,
00:14:57.64\00:14:59.83
Tattoo's leash got caught
in the door, the back door.
00:14:59.84\00:15:03.44
And Tattoo was
spotted chasing after the car
00:15:03.45\00:15:07.53
and there were down
some of the back streets,
00:15:07.54\00:15:09.17
but Tattoo was having
a hard time keeping up,
00:15:09.18\00:15:12.64
one foot infront of the
other and it's a basset hound,
00:15:12.65\00:15:15.04
you know that,
they don't go very fast
00:15:15.05\00:15:17.60
and they're not
very long legged.
00:15:17.61\00:15:19.45
And Tattoo was trying as
hard as he could to keep up.
00:15:19.46\00:15:22.95
One foot in front
of the other as fast as
00:15:22.96\00:15:25.05
those little
paws could carry him.
00:15:25.06\00:15:27.35
Cop speeds up I think,
00:15:27.36\00:15:28.80
one police saw
what was happening
00:15:28.81\00:15:30.29
and caught the dog
going up to 20 miles an hour,
00:15:30.30\00:15:32.83
25 miles an hour
before he pulled the car
00:15:32.84\00:15:35.90
and the dog over
and Tattoo was tired.
00:15:35.91\00:15:38.34
And I think a lot of people
00:15:38.35\00:15:39.41
out there today
feel that exhausted.
00:15:39.42\00:15:41.64
Like all they can do
is think about one foot
00:15:41.65\00:15:43.76
in front of the
other and they're exhausted
00:15:43.77\00:15:46.53
and they don't have a rest,
they don't have an identity,
00:15:46.54\00:15:49.11
they don't have a
sense of who they are
00:15:49.12\00:15:50.68
and where they're going.
00:15:50.69\00:15:51.81
They don't have that
notion of Promised Land.
00:15:51.82\00:15:54.64
They don't know how
they're gonna get there
00:15:54.65\00:15:56.29
because they
know they're broken.
00:15:56.30\00:15:57.59
They know they're lost.
00:15:57.60\00:15:58.93
And who's gonna save them,
who is gonna be their deliver?
00:15:58.94\00:16:01.99
And so they're just
running as fast as they can
00:16:02.00\00:16:05.51
and they don't know
where they're going.
00:16:05.52\00:16:07.25
They don't know why
they're going there,
00:16:07.26\00:16:08.47
they just know that
they just gotta move that,
00:16:08.48\00:16:10.38
that foot forward
and they're exhausted.
00:16:10.39\00:16:13.64
And that's why
in our world today,
00:16:13.65\00:16:16.40
even as it was back
in the days of Christ,
00:16:16.41\00:16:19.55
we need the Sabbath rest,
00:16:19.56\00:16:22.15
we need to stop and
take a look where we've been.
00:16:22.16\00:16:27.01
And it seems like to me
that I'm beginning to notice
00:16:27.02\00:16:30.10
that lots of people
are beginning to look
00:16:30.11\00:16:35.20
more at the Saturday Sabbath.
00:16:35.21\00:16:37.33
In fact, I know I
thought ten years ago
00:16:37.34\00:16:39.82
I think I picked
up a little journal,
00:16:39.83\00:16:42.78
it's called Discipleship Journal
00:16:42.79\00:16:45.32
and in it was a
whole series on the Sabbath
00:16:45.33\00:16:49.05
and I looked every
word of the article
00:16:49.06\00:16:51.38
all the way down to may
be one sentence at the end.
00:16:51.39\00:16:54.23
It sounded like
something that I would write
00:16:54.24\00:16:56.03
or one of my
professors would write
00:16:56.04\00:16:58.55
or one of my pastors in the
Adventist church would write.
00:16:58.56\00:17:02.58
What's going on out right here?
00:17:02.59\00:17:04.05
Book after book after
book has been released now
00:17:04.06\00:17:07.92
and that has to
do with the Sabbath.
00:17:07.93\00:17:11.28
And it's not just the Adventist,
00:17:11.29\00:17:12.71
they're talking about it,
00:17:12.72\00:17:14.00
we've been talking
about for over 150 years
00:17:14.01\00:17:16.44
and we are just going
back through history, you know,
00:17:16.45\00:17:20.08
through the 17, 15, 16,
1700s Sabbath was being kept.
00:17:20.09\00:17:23.49
And going back even
through the middle ages
00:17:23.50\00:17:25.00
God has had people
to be the commandment
00:17:25.01\00:17:27.03
keeping people and
have always responded,
00:17:27.04\00:17:29.19
there always been
someone staying connected
00:17:29.20\00:17:32.05
to who they are,
and where they're going.
00:17:32.06\00:17:34.99
That identity going all the
way back to the time of Christ,
00:17:35.00\00:17:38.59
the New Testament Church.
00:17:38.60\00:17:40.87
But of late, I don't
know what's causing it?
00:17:40.88\00:17:45.09
And I don't know
what the resurgence is,
00:17:45.10\00:17:47.23
all about but I think
it has to do with the fact
00:17:47.24\00:17:50.31
that humanity has
come to need Sabbath
00:17:50.32\00:17:55.57
from an
experiential point of view.
00:17:55.58\00:17:58.42
Theology has been
out there for a long time
00:17:58.43\00:18:00.80
but now we just feel tired.
00:18:00.81\00:18:03.82
We feel empty. We
feel disconnected.
00:18:03.83\00:18:08.50
We feel like we don't
know where we came from.
00:18:08.51\00:18:12.38
We don't know why we matter?
00:18:12.39\00:18:14.95
Why it makes a difference?
00:18:14.96\00:18:16.89
We don't know where we're going.
00:18:16.90\00:18:19.35
We just know
that's it's uncertain
00:18:19.36\00:18:20.69
and it's scary
for a lot of people.
00:18:20.70\00:18:23.65
And the beauty of that
one truth of the Sabbath
00:18:23.66\00:18:27.54
takes us and
wraps us up together
00:18:27.55\00:18:29.72
and binds us to God and
unmistakable to turn away.
00:18:29.73\00:18:33.89
I just don't want to let go.
00:18:33.90\00:18:34.87
I want to answer that question.
00:18:34.88\00:18:36.40
Why should not we be free,
00:18:36.41\00:18:38.97
set free on the
Sabbath, why not?
00:18:38.98\00:18:42.32
Why not celebrate it.
00:18:42.33\00:18:44.45
So that's just
one of those questions
00:18:44.46\00:18:46.34
that from week to
week I have to ask. Amen.
00:18:46.35\00:18:49.53
And so as one of these
youths would come up to you
00:18:49.54\00:18:52.33
and they ask this question
00:18:52.34\00:18:53.51
and I imagine it's
gonna become asked more often.
00:18:53.52\00:18:57.55
Yeah. Because people are looking
00:18:57.56\00:18:59.24
for truths right now. Oh.
00:18:59.25\00:19:01.19
So how do handle them,
00:19:01.20\00:19:02.17
they will say what do
you do on the Sabbath?
00:19:02.18\00:19:03.68
I mean how can I
keep the Sabbath?
00:19:03.69\00:19:05.24
That's true, you
know in Deuteronomy,
00:19:05.25\00:19:07.01
it's not just today but in
Deuteronomy Chapter 6 verses,
00:19:07.02\00:19:09.77
"Love the Lord your
God with all your heart,
00:19:09.78\00:19:11.23
and all your soul,
all your strength."
00:19:11.24\00:19:13.14
It says in verse 20,
00:19:13.15\00:19:14.62
just read on through
that chapter and verse 20,
00:19:14.63\00:19:17.11
in verse 20 it says,
that one of these days
00:19:17.12\00:19:19.72
your children are you gonna
come up to you and say to you,
00:19:19.73\00:19:22.28
hey, what's up with all
these rules and regulations
00:19:22.29\00:19:25.82
and why we have to do this?
00:19:25.83\00:19:27.11
And why can't I do
that and why do I do that?
00:19:27.12\00:19:29.62
And you can say,
00:19:29.63\00:19:32.27
'cause the Bible says
so, or 'cause God says so.
00:19:32.28\00:19:34.54
Yeah, that answer's too
cheap. It's not good enough.
00:19:34.55\00:19:38.75
We have to answer it more fully.
00:19:38.76\00:19:40.36
And the answer that we're
told to give in Deuteronomy is
00:19:40.37\00:19:43.14
tell them that you
were a slave in Egypt
00:19:43.15\00:19:47.50
and God brought you
out with a mighty hand.
00:19:47.51\00:19:49.73
Tell them that,
that God delivered you
00:19:49.74\00:19:53.63
as He landed the
plagues on Pharaoh.
00:19:53.64\00:19:55.70
Tell them about
how the Red Sea parted
00:19:55.71\00:19:58.21
and you walked
there on that soft sand
00:19:58.22\00:20:00.43
looking at the fishes,
like walls along side of glass.
00:20:00.44\00:20:04.34
Tell them the
story of your redemption.
00:20:04.35\00:20:07.56
So when they do ask,
that's what scripture tells us,
00:20:07.57\00:20:11.02
tell about the story of
your history, your past,
00:20:11.03\00:20:15.24
how you're
redeemed, how you were born.
00:20:15.25\00:20:17.35
And then they came up to me
00:20:17.36\00:20:18.87
and I was studying
the Bible with them.
00:20:18.88\00:20:21.12
As I was saying, Jeremiah,
00:20:21.13\00:20:24.69
you know, do have any
questions about the Sabbath,
00:20:24.70\00:20:27.25
and this young person
is very devoted to God.
00:20:27.26\00:20:30.97
But he's very sequential,
00:20:30.98\00:20:32.14
he wants to know exactly
00:20:32.15\00:20:33.65
what there is to
do and what not to do.
00:20:33.66\00:20:35.70
And I'm trying to
get through to him,
00:20:35.71\00:20:36.68
and said, this is
about who you are.
00:20:36.69\00:20:39.75
You get to take
what God has said
00:20:39.76\00:20:43.00
and you flesh this out
in the best way you can,
00:20:43.01\00:20:45.15
I told him, do good, save lives,
00:20:45.16\00:20:47.86
go and worship,
share the gospel,
00:20:47.87\00:20:50.23
there are a million things
that Jesus did on the Sabbath.
00:20:50.24\00:20:52.75
Walk through the grain
fields with your friends
00:20:52.76\00:20:54.65
and talk about the kingdom,
00:20:54.66\00:20:56.55
be with the
people but give yourself,
00:20:56.56\00:20:59.33
liberate people on the
Sabbath of their brokenness,
00:20:59.34\00:21:02.23
whatever it may be with a
song or a gift of kindness,
00:21:02.24\00:21:05.46
or a word of encouragement.
00:21:05.47\00:21:06.62
It might be a prayer
that you pray on their behalf,
00:21:06.63\00:21:08.81
lift them up and they said,
00:21:08.82\00:21:10.25
but, I don't, I want
to know what not to do.
00:21:10.26\00:21:14.75
I have to admit I got
kind of frustrated with him.
00:21:14.76\00:21:17.94
On my desk there as we were
studying, I gave him my best.
00:21:17.95\00:21:21.97
And I said, Jeremiah,
grab that bottle of water
00:21:21.98\00:21:24.75
that's sitting there in front
of you, and he picked it up.
00:21:24.76\00:21:28.62
And I said, I
want you to tell me.
00:21:28.63\00:21:30.74
I'll tell you
exactly what not to do,
00:21:30.75\00:21:33.09
I'll give you the longest list
00:21:33.10\00:21:34.54
that you've ever
asked for, a long one.
00:21:34.55\00:21:38.03
He said, if you tell me
00:21:38.04\00:21:39.01
what's not in
that bottle of water.
00:21:39.02\00:21:42.31
And he looked at me and I said,
00:21:42.32\00:21:44.94
well go ahead and get
started, what's not in there?
00:21:44.95\00:21:47.96
Ketchup, chilli. No, no.
00:21:47.97\00:21:50.89
Bread, is there you know,
is there lettuce in water.
00:21:50.90\00:21:57.63
Go ahead, let's
just start making a list.
00:21:57.64\00:21:59.90
And he threw his head back,
00:21:59.91\00:22:00.90
he says that would take forever.
00:22:00.91\00:22:03.63
I said, I think that's
what Jesus was getting at.
00:22:03.64\00:22:06.58
There are a million
things that you can focus on
00:22:06.59\00:22:09.59
about what not to
do on the Sabbath,
00:22:09.60\00:22:11.80
that's not why he, he gave
you the Sabbath to avoid things.
00:22:11.81\00:22:15.84
The Sabbath in Mark
2 verse 26, 27 says,
00:22:15.85\00:22:20.58
"The Sabbath is a
gift for you." Amen.
00:22:20.59\00:22:24.50
So remember who you
are, where you come from.
00:22:24.51\00:22:28.38
You're not made to keep this,
that's not why I created you.
00:22:28.39\00:22:32.57
The Sabbath came
after I made you,
00:22:32.58\00:22:34.71
it's the present,
it's your birthday cake.
00:22:34.72\00:22:37.86
This is the thing that
you embrace and experience
00:22:37.87\00:22:40.97
so that you never ever,
never forget who you are,
00:22:40.98\00:22:47.60
who you belong to
and where you're going.
00:22:47.61\00:22:50.89
And--How did he respond?
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.90
Well, it took a while
but he started to get it.
00:22:53.91\00:22:57.66
And I have to admit later
I just, as I talked with him,
00:22:57.67\00:23:01.03
I baptized Jeremiah and he's
a full on believer in Christ.
00:23:01.04\00:23:05.95
But one of the
things that he's doing
00:23:05.96\00:23:07.20
and he's gonna have to do.
00:23:07.21\00:23:08.93
And he's gonna have
to answer the question.
00:23:08.94\00:23:11.82
So how should I
live this day out?
00:23:11.83\00:23:16.94
How should I be and who
should I be about on this day?
00:23:16.95\00:23:20.76
One of the things
that Christ would tell us
00:23:20.77\00:23:23.15
I'm just by his
example in scripture.
00:23:23.16\00:23:27.19
Is to be about doing good
00:23:27.20\00:23:30.95
Be about giving what Jesus
00:23:30.96\00:23:34.02
calls a cup of
cool water to someone.
00:23:34.03\00:23:36.13
You want to experience rest,
00:23:36.14\00:23:38.18
release people
from their bondage.
00:23:38.19\00:23:41.56
We get, we get thrown
into bondage lots of ways,
00:23:41.57\00:23:44.49
there are people who
are just fully depressed
00:23:44.50\00:23:47.16
and they're out there,
00:23:47.17\00:23:48.44
many of them are
gonna be watching
00:23:48.45\00:23:50.62
and they need to know
that there's freedom. Amen.
00:23:50.63\00:23:54.46
There is a rest,
00:23:54.47\00:23:56.22
there is a rest from
your loneliness because if,
00:23:56.23\00:23:58.80
if you're alone you'll be
kept up awake all the time.
00:23:58.81\00:24:03.47
And it eats away
and pulls at you.
00:24:03.48\00:24:06.50
There's a rest
from your loneliness,
00:24:06.51\00:24:08.20
there is a God
who remembers you,
00:24:08.21\00:24:10.36
who knows you, who
wants to abide with you.
00:24:10.37\00:24:13.41
And if you get so busy
during the course of the week,
00:24:13.42\00:24:16.36
He is giving you a day to
stop and have a piece of cake.
00:24:16.37\00:24:22.33
Have a birthday,
remember who you belong to.
00:24:22.34\00:24:26.00
And there are people
who are just going through
00:24:26.01\00:24:27.98
unthinkable
tragedy and uncertainty.
00:24:27.99\00:24:32.64
They don't know where the,
00:24:32.65\00:24:34.47
the next check
is gonna come from.
00:24:34.48\00:24:35.87
They don't know how they're
gonna keep the lights on.
00:24:35.88\00:24:38.57
There are people around
the world that don't know
00:24:38.58\00:24:40.71
where their next
meal is coming from.
00:24:40.72\00:24:43.88
They're worried
about family and friends.
00:24:43.89\00:24:46.79
They are many out
there today who just worry
00:24:46.80\00:24:51.92
about all of their
lost friends and family.
00:24:51.93\00:24:56.03
And there's so much uncertainty,
00:24:56.04\00:24:57.88
they need the rest, we all do.
00:24:57.89\00:25:02.43
And there are those people
00:25:02.44\00:25:03.85
who are just
working day and night,
00:25:03.86\00:25:05.73
whether it be for the
gospel or for their own cause.
00:25:05.74\00:25:08.63
And that was one of the reasons
00:25:08.64\00:25:09.74
why I think God
gave us the Sabbath,
00:25:09.75\00:25:12.42
it's because He
made us to be workers.
00:25:12.43\00:25:14.67
And the whole idea of
work came before sin too,
00:25:14.68\00:25:17.67
you know, work this
earth, you gotta struggle with,
00:25:17.68\00:25:20.31
you're gonna, you're
gonna plant and it's gonna grow,
00:25:20.32\00:25:22.49
then you have to work it
out, you're gonna be tired,
00:25:22.50\00:25:25.44
He made us that way.
00:25:25.45\00:25:28.14
But the one thing I think
God must have been afraid of
00:25:28.15\00:25:32.33
is that one day, if
we forget who we are,
00:25:32.34\00:25:36.33
we'll define
ourselves by what we do?
00:25:36.34\00:25:40.18
And there is nothing better than
00:25:40.19\00:25:41.53
going to a birthday
party because it's always fun.
00:25:41.54\00:25:44.65
And if we could have a
birthday party once a week,
00:25:44.66\00:25:47.15
if we can truly
get that concept down
00:25:47.16\00:25:50.23
that we're with our
brothers and our sisters,
00:25:50.24\00:25:52.06
we're with our
favorite people. Yeah.
00:25:52.07\00:25:54.41
And we're getting to
share something special.
00:25:54.42\00:25:57.00
And there is this
celebration of who you are.
00:25:57.01\00:26:01.45
And there is no
narratorial thing
00:26:01.46\00:26:03.30
going on in a birthday party,
00:26:03.31\00:26:04.83
we don't standup and
list off the achievements
00:26:04.84\00:26:08.98
of our six-year-old daughter.
00:26:08.99\00:26:11.15
You did this and you did that,
00:26:11.16\00:26:12.95
what do we
remember at the birthday?
00:26:12.96\00:26:16.83
Remember, we think about them
or we'll bring out pictures.
00:26:16.84\00:26:20.80
And when we fold
our hands and we pray
00:26:20.81\00:26:23.04
whether is cake in
presence and food and friends
00:26:23.05\00:26:25.82
and hats and candles
and all kinds of things.
00:26:25.83\00:26:28.35
We stop and we pray the prayer.
00:26:28.36\00:26:31.47
God, thank you that
Susan was born. Amen.
00:26:31.48\00:26:36.92
That we received this gift
from you, this gift of life.
00:26:36.93\00:26:41.83
And that's what
we pray for. Amen.
00:26:41.84\00:26:44.50
And that's what we pray about,
think about that, you know,
00:26:44.51\00:26:47.14
we don't go down the
badges and the trophies,
00:26:47.15\00:26:49.73
the
accomplishments, you were born.
00:26:49.74\00:26:52.17
The same is true
for God's people,
00:26:52.18\00:26:53.73
we're born of God in His
image, created after Him,
00:26:53.74\00:26:59.21
intended for a purpose.
00:26:59.22\00:27:01.34
Go in a
direction, we got off track,
00:27:01.35\00:27:03.77
Sabbath is meant to
keep us back on track
00:27:03.78\00:27:06.05
to who we were and who we--
00:27:06.06\00:27:08.28
where we belong
and where we're going.
00:27:08.29\00:27:10.42
And I would just invite people
today to answer that question.
00:27:10.43\00:27:16.26
Is it not for you, does
Jesus not say to you today,
00:27:16.27\00:27:21.38
you were made for
something greater.
00:27:21.39\00:27:24.25
Don't you want to be set free?
00:27:24.26\00:27:26.38
Don't you want to
have that Sabbath rest?
00:27:26.39\00:27:28.64
Amen, amen,
well, as you can see,
00:27:28.65\00:27:33.33
we're running out of time again.
00:27:33.34\00:27:36.73
This is such a wonderful,
such a wonderful topic
00:27:36.74\00:27:40.77
because we all
need that rest and yes,
00:27:40.78\00:27:43.63
indeed, we're
all running so fast.
00:27:43.64\00:27:46.06
But I just want to thank
you for being here today,
00:27:46.07\00:27:49.22
'cause this is just,
00:27:49.23\00:27:50.71
you've got a good
grasp of this. Thank you.
00:27:50.72\00:27:52.67
And I know that if
I had been a youth,
00:27:52.68\00:27:54.73
I would love to had a
youth pastor like you.
00:27:54.74\00:27:57.62
Thank you, that's kind.
00:27:57.63\00:27:59.69
I just want to
thank each one of you
00:27:59.70\00:28:01.37
for being with us today
on "Issues and Answers."
00:28:01.38\00:28:04.18
You know how special
you are to us here at 3ABN.
00:28:04.19\00:28:06.91
We love each
and every one of you
00:28:06.92\00:28:08.85
and we wish you only the best.
00:28:08.86\00:28:10.44