Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Ernie Pyle
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000465A
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00:01 Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,
00:03 in 1 Thessalonians 5:13 he said, 00:07 "Now may the God of peace himself Jehovah-Shalom 00:12 sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, 00:15 soul and body be preserved blameless 00:18 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 00:20 He who calls you is faithful and he will also do it. 00:24 Please join us today on Issues and Answers 00:27 as we discuss "Jehovah-Shalom, 00:30 the God of peace." 01:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, 01:02 and we are so glad that you're joining us 01:04 again on Issues and Answers. 01:06 Today we're going to be speaking 01:08 with our special guest Ernie Pyle, 01:09 who is a speaker for the ministries 01:13 called Knowing God Ministries 01:17 and they focus on the names of God. 01:21 Ernie, thank you for joining us once again. 01:24 We have so enjoyed 01:26 as you've been featuring different names of God. 01:30 Well, again I say this, but I sincerely mean it, 01:33 thank you for having me, and giving me this opportunity. 01:36 Well, it's just been beautiful. 01:39 Let's just kind of... 01:41 somebody may be joining us for the first time today, 01:45 just kind of give me a short little recap 01:47 of what your ministry is, 01:49 and why you chose in the idea of knowing God, 01:53 why you chose to feature and focus on the names of God. 01:59 I certainly will. 02:01 We have a home church 02:03 for about eight years in our home on Friday nights, 02:07 we'd have anywhere from 15 to 35 people and... 02:09 And let me ask you this, this is a small group, 02:11 but that didn't mean you were 02:13 still going to church on Sabbath. 02:16 Okay, so you had small group. 02:17 Yeah, exactly, thank you for catching that. 02:19 Yeah, on Friday night and we did a lot of topics, 02:23 we went through the Bible as it's written, 02:26 which is an interesting topic. 02:29 We went through the books of the Bible asking, 02:31 what does it say by God, 02:33 we went verse by verse through Revelation. 02:35 And Rob Shepherd brought to me 02:38 a concept of doing the names of God. 02:41 And that was the one 02:43 that the people really reacted to the most, 02:46 because it meant the most to them. 02:48 Yes. 02:50 We ended up forming a ministry 02:51 and we've been over 70 different places, 02:54 we've done large camp meetings, 02:56 we've done churches that had 20 people in them. 02:59 But we said to God, 03:00 we will go wherever we're asked 03:03 and we would give everything away free. 03:07 So God you must give us the place to go, 03:11 and the funds to go with. 03:13 And so our Sabbath school class 03:15 has funded most of our operation. 03:17 Rob and I obviously take nothing from the ministry 03:20 whatsoever and we've just been blessed. 03:23 The reason that we must go out and share the love of God 03:28 is that if we were to diagram both Rob and myself 03:32 our spiritual journey. 03:35 We would have some real highs, 03:37 but each one of us sad to say has hit the bottom. 03:41 And it was God that brought us back. 03:43 Amen. 03:45 So we have no other choice 03:48 but then to go out and share what God has done for us, 03:52 He will do for other people. 03:54 As Paul says the love of Christ constrain you. 03:57 That's right. 03:58 You just got to tell that message. 04:00 We chose the names of God 04:01 because in our studies this meant the most to us 04:05 because every time God introduced Himself to people, 04:11 it would be a name 04:13 that would give a description of His character and a promise 04:18 of what He would do in their life. 04:21 And we found through the names of God 04:23 that some names appealed to some people, 04:26 other names different people, 04:28 but yet the message is always resonating. 04:31 God loves you, no matter what you've done, 04:35 He wants you to come home to Him 04:37 and His greatest desire 04:39 is for you to spend eternity with Him. 04:42 Amen. 04:43 And that's the basis of our ministry. 04:45 Amen. And it's a beautiful ministry. 04:48 And when do you say that over the last six years, 04:51 God has drawn you closer to Him as you've been sharing this. 04:58 Quite often, this is a true statement, 05:01 I share, I always have, 05:02 we do four seminars in the church 05:04 and I always do the last one. 05:06 And I'll generally end by saying 05:09 when we came to this church, 05:12 Rob and I and our families prayed 05:14 that we would be a blessing to you. 05:18 What has happened is that you have been the blessing to us, 05:22 and for that we're grateful. 05:24 So many times, Shelley, we walk away, 05:27 we're the ones blessed. 05:29 Because as we preach what God can do for them, 05:33 it reminds us of what God has done already for us, 05:36 and we do come away 05:38 with the greater appreciation of Him. 05:40 Sometimes people ask me, well, 05:41 why do you travel so much Shelley 05:43 and go places to speak. 05:45 And it's different just to teach to a camera 05:50 than it is to be out. 05:53 First of all there is, you're more at liberty to... 05:57 I mean you're not so buttoned up 05:58 when you're not on camera. 05:59 That's right. 06:01 But the idea of having that exchange 06:03 when I go out to speak at a church, 06:06 I'm always far more blessed. 06:08 I mean it's just something that it invigorates you. 06:13 One of the things it's kind of unique 06:15 about our ministry, just our style, 06:18 we never preach from the pulpit, 06:21 we preach down on the floor. 06:23 And because we like to be close to those people. 06:26 Amen. 06:27 You know, and they're sitting right there, 06:29 and I'm kind of wanderer anyway. 06:31 But we know we're close to the people, 06:33 when you're up in the pulpit, 06:34 it seems like there is that divide, 06:36 and so we love to be among the people 06:39 and the Lord just blessed us, 06:41 but we give Him all the praise and glory. 06:44 Okay, so in the names of God, 06:47 some of the things that mean a lot to me, Jehovah-Rapha, 06:52 the lord who heals you, 06:54 Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord, God your provider. 06:58 What are... 06:59 you mentioned though and I didn't, 07:01 I wasn't aware of where it was introduced. 07:03 You mentioned something unexpected 07:07 in the Book of Judges 07:08 that a name of God comes up 07:11 amidst all of this violence, 07:16 all the problems that the Israelites were having. 07:19 What was the name of God 07:21 that came up in the Book of Judges? 07:23 We have to set, 07:24 the setting for the Book of Judges 07:27 to appreciate this name. 07:29 First of all, I can never remember in family devotion 07:34 reading from the Book of Judges. 07:36 I don't think so. 07:38 Maybe except for Barak and Deborah. 07:42 I can't remember the last time 07:43 the quarterlies come out on the Book of Judges, 07:46 because from just looking at it and reading through it, 07:49 that was a very bloody book. 07:51 And here's the story of judges, 07:54 it's repeated seven times the cycle 07:58 that the children of Israel goes through. 08:01 The children of Israel start out 08:02 and they're worshiping God, 08:05 and because they're close to him, they are blessed. 08:10 Idolatry comes in to the nation. 08:13 They began to follow idolatry, they leave God. 08:19 The next thing that happens, 08:21 in comes a foreign nation makes servants of them, 08:26 that generation begins to call upon God 08:31 help us, help us, and God comes in 08:35 and the children of Israel, cycle two, 08:39 they start believing in worshiping God. 08:42 Then they turn around and get into that. 08:45 And this is seven times, 08:47 every cycle they get lower and lower 08:52 and further and further away from God. 08:54 Judges 1 starts out 08:57 with the children of Israel praying, 09:00 Lord which of our tribes can go into the enemy's land 09:07 and have the honor of displacing them. 09:10 That's their prayer in Judges 1. 09:13 At the end of Judges, 09:15 they have sunk so low that their prayer is, Lord, 09:20 which one of our tribes can go up and kill our brother. 09:26 That's what sin does, just takes you lower and lower. 09:31 Well, God's not going to put up with that. 09:34 And so in this bloody book, 09:38 where there is a story that it get so bad, 09:40 that they take a woman, cut her into 12 parts, 09:43 mail the different parts to each tribe. 09:47 God comes in and he says hello, 09:52 my name is Shalom, 09:55 I'm the God of peace. 09:59 Now, when I come across that concept, it blew my mind. 10:06 I could think of other additives 10:08 that god could used to describe, 10:09 but I'm the God of peace. 10:14 And what it says in the Book of Judges, 10:17 can you imagine the sadness 10:20 that as God watched that cycle and that spin downward 10:26 that His children were going through. 10:29 Again we go to Jeremiah, 10:30 where he says my eyes well up in tears 10:33 and they run down my cheek. 10:35 Isaiah 49, how can you let, I can't let you go. 10:39 All of these feelings He had and yet He says, 10:42 I'm the God of peace. 10:46 And one of the outstanding stories, 10:48 remember you didn't grow up an Adventist 10:51 but you grew up in church. 10:52 Did you have flannelgraph stories? 10:54 No, we didn't. 10:55 You don't remember flannelgraph stories. 10:56 Well, we grew up with flannelgraph stories, 11:00 and it was kind of interesting 11:01 because the same guy that was Moses, 11:04 the next week he was David, 11:06 you know but one of the flannelgraph stories 11:08 was Gideon and he says oh, what a man of faith. 11:13 Well, writing a Book of Judges 11:16 is that God of peace that wants to bring healing 11:21 to his family. 11:24 And we find Gideon, 11:27 he is in a pit playing with the weed 11:32 and he was in a pit, because he was hiding. 11:35 His knees were knocking. That's right. 11:37 You could just imagine, you know, 11:39 throwing that weed up and then looking around to see 11:41 if anybody, and all of a sudden, 11:44 He hears a season, he hears a person 11:46 that says Gideon 11:48 you mighty valiant warrior. 11:54 And here is Gideon scared to death. 11:56 And yet God says to him 11:58 you're a mighty valiant warrior. 12:01 Shelley, the beauty of God is He sees in us what we can be, 12:07 not what we are. 12:09 And He calls things that are not as though 12:12 they are already were. 12:13 That's right. 12:14 So, here He is talking to this guy 12:16 scared to death hiding, you mighty valiant warrior. 12:22 Gideon says, me, you must be talking to me. 12:25 And we know the story. 12:27 Gideon finally, he says, well, how do I know it's you Lord, 12:32 so I'm going to run a little test. 12:35 And can you imagine how patient God is. 12:39 Yeah. 12:40 He says, now let's see Gideon I just talk to you, 12:43 I've just made you some promises, 12:45 but yet you want to check me out, 12:48 but God says okay. 12:49 So He does exactly what Gideon say. 12:52 He wakes up the next morning, 12:54 remember this is the man of faith. 12:55 Yeah. 12:56 Wakes up the next morning and he says, 12:59 man that could have been a coincidence. 13:01 The fleece and the dew. Yeah. 13:03 So God let's reverse it. 13:07 And again look how patient God is. 13:12 So Gideon decides he's gonna go fight for God, 13:16 and he creates a big army. 13:19 God's comes along, God of peace and says too big, 13:23 I don't need all these people, Gideon. 13:27 And we all know the story how he got down to three, 13:29 they didn't need to do anything, 13:31 bunch of lights and a bunch of pitchers 13:33 and a bunch of hollering 13:34 and that his enemy is destroyed. 13:37 So in the midst of one of the worst times 13:40 of the children of Israel 13:42 over many generations spiraling down 13:45 seven different times with the same reaction, 13:49 trust in God, taking on idols, 13:53 being captured, being servants, praying for God 13:57 all through the Book of Judges is the God of peace, 14:02 because all God ever wants to do 14:05 no matter what our affliction, our trials, 14:07 our situation is to bring peace, 14:12 and peace is knowing God. 14:16 And you know, as I teased to the program today, 14:20 one of my favorite scriptures on the God of the peace 14:25 is 1 Thessalonians 5:23 where he says, 14:29 "Now may the God of peace himself 14:31 sanctify you completely." 14:34 You know God is the one, as the God of peace, 14:37 it's not just that He doesn't want us 14:39 warring among each other, 14:40 but He is the one who sent His Son to die for us 14:43 while we were yet sinners to reconcile us to Him. 14:46 He wanted the peace between us 14:49 and Him and He is in the salvation business. 14:53 He is the one who will sanctify us. 14:56 Paul goes on to say, 14:57 he's gonna sanctify your spirit, soul, and body, 14:59 keep you blameless at the coming of our Lord 15:01 and Savior Jesus Christ 15:03 and He who promises is faithful. 15:06 So when I think of the God of peace, 15:08 this is the scripture I think of is that 15:11 He is the one who died for me, 15:15 to reconcile me to Himself and that He is faithful, 15:19 He is gonna complete the good work He's began in me. 15:22 That's to me is the most exciting thing 15:24 about the God of peace. 15:26 One of the definitions of sin 15:29 which I really like 15:30 if you look back in the Hebrew language 15:33 is restlessness. 15:35 Yes. 15:37 Stop and think when things aren't going good, 15:40 not doing the right things, 15:42 there is no peace, there is restlessness. 15:45 And that's what happens when we separate from God, 15:47 we become restless. 15:49 God comes along and says, my child, 15:52 I don't want that for you, I want to give you my peace. 15:58 And that's why Jesus came along in the New Testament and said, 16:02 if you got heavy burdens, bring them to me. 16:07 Come on to me all ye 16:09 that are heavy-laden and I'll give you peace. 16:14 So the name of Shalom 16:16 found in the most unlikely book of the Bible, 16:20 but isn't that just like God, 16:23 He shows up a different way than we perceiving 16:28 because He cares enough for us to meet us where we're at. 16:33 And so I'm just amazed that what a beautiful word, 16:37 a beautiful name found right there in the Book of Judges, 16:41 the God of peace. 16:42 So here we've got the God of peace, 16:47 but there is also Jehovah-Nissi, 16:50 not too many people know about that name. 16:53 Tell us about? 16:55 Jehovah-Nissi is only found one time in the Bible. 17:00 And it's one of the topics I like, 17:03 because I get to quote the great Bob Dylan. 17:10 In fact that's one of my teasers on Friday night 17:13 is be here Sabbath afternoon 17:15 'cause I'm going to be able to quote Bob Dylan. 17:19 Jehovah-Nissi is God 17:23 is my banner. 17:28 Here's reality. 17:31 We're either marching under the adversary's banner, 17:36 or we're marching under God's banner. 17:39 Amen. 17:41 There is no in between. 17:45 And we're a people of kind of in between. 17:50 You know Jesus said in Revelation, 17:52 I wish he was hot and warm, I can't take this lukewarm, 17:54 you see, or hot and cold can take this. 17:57 See, lot of people think 17:59 that they're going to ride the fence right in the middle, 18:03 but God comes along and says 18:04 you're for Me or you are against Me. 18:07 We even march under the adversary's banner, 18:11 or we march under God's banner. 18:13 Now even the great Bob Dylan understood that, 18:17 because one of his songs, 18:19 he wrote during his religious experience 18:22 was you got to serve somebody, 18:26 it might be the devil, or it might be the Lord, 18:29 but you got to serve somebody. 18:32 So even he recognized 18:35 that you have to march under one or the other banner. 18:38 Amen. 18:40 Now Jehovah-Nissi comes from the book 18:44 where the Israelites 18:47 are fighting the old Amalekites 18:50 and Moses is up over a mountain 18:52 and he has Hur and Aaron with him. 18:56 And they began to notice something 18:58 that when Moses' hands are raised, 19:00 what happened, Shelley? 19:02 They were winning. They were winning. 19:03 When his hands go down, what happens? 19:05 They were losing. They're losing. 19:07 Well, they're pretty smart guys, 19:08 so they figured out, 19:10 just keep Moses' hand up 19:12 and that's exactly what they done 19:14 and they won a great victory. 19:17 And so Moses was so impressed 19:20 that he called upon Jehovah-Nissi, 19:23 God is our banner. 19:26 Amen. 19:28 Now, Shelley, can I talk to you about two other banners 19:31 that were raised up. 19:32 Yes, please. Okay. 19:34 This one just makes me, just can't understand it. 19:40 Children of Israel in the desert wandering around. 19:44 We like to make fun of those people, 19:46 say how stupid can they be, how dumb could they be, 19:50 but kind of think every once a while I see 19:53 my name in there, Shelley. 19:55 So here's the children of Israel, 19:58 they have all the food they want, 20:00 they have air conditioning during the day with a cloud, 20:04 they have fire at night to keep them warm, 20:06 have water and they're complaining, 20:10 they're saying we ought have stayed in Egypt, 20:12 while we were better off in Egypt. 20:14 In the desert there had always been poisonous snakes, 20:18 but God had protected His people. 20:21 Their clothes were never tattered, 20:23 their feet were never bruised. 20:25 Shoes. Yeah. 20:26 That's the way God worked. 20:28 All of a sudden the serpents come into the camp 20:32 and some of them begin to die the people. 20:35 And Moses does what Moses does the best. 20:39 He comes to God and says I know you're not like this, 20:43 please do something to save my people. 20:48 And God stays right in the middle of the camp 20:51 take a pole, put a brazen serpent on it, 20:57 and whoever looks will live. 21:04 Now, I've read that passage, I've studied that passage, 21:06 he didn't say whoever keeps the right day 21:11 and looks will live, 21:13 whoever pays the right amount of tithe 21:16 and looks will live, 21:18 whoever eats the right vege burger 21:21 looks and lives, 21:24 he just simply said look and you will live. 21:30 Now here is what amazes me. 21:33 There were some people that were so stubborn, 21:38 so sad against God, 21:41 that they refused to look, and they died. 21:46 You know, Shelley, 21:47 you would think just as they were collapsing, 21:50 falling to the ground, had their head down, 21:53 they would just take a quick glance 21:56 had nothing to lose, but we cannot explain sin. 22:00 We cannot explain the separation from God, 22:03 we cannot explain leaving God. 22:06 And there are those people 22:09 who looked and live but some refused, 22:14 then I go to another banner, 22:17 the greatest banner of all, on Calvary. 22:23 And in my talk I won't take the time here, 22:25 we don't have time, 22:27 I talk about four people's lives 22:29 that were changed that Friday. 22:32 One of them was a foreigner named Simon. 22:35 He just happened to be there. 22:38 He was coming to visit his sons, 22:40 and he sees a procession, 22:42 he doesn't know what's going on, 22:45 he sees Jesus, he sees two thieves, 22:48 but it's Jesus that catches his eye. 22:52 And we don't know exactly what happened, 22:54 but he must have cried out or he must have felt empathy, 22:57 or he must have said oh, my anyway, 23:00 the soldier heard Simon. 23:02 And he stopped him and said, if you have pity for this man, 23:06 then you take up his cross and you carry up that hill. 23:11 Just think, Shelley, 23:13 a foreigner in Jerusalem 23:16 started out that Friday morning, 23:18 just a day to visit with his son 23:20 and he is carrying the cross of the creator of the universe. 23:26 Another man started out that morning, 23:28 and it was his last day on earth. 23:31 He was a thief, 23:34 must have been a long history of being a crook or criminal 23:39 because they just didn't crucify thieves 23:42 right off the bat. 23:43 So he starts out this Friday morning 23:45 knowing that's his last day on earth. 23:48 Oh, he's crying, somebody save me, unfair, 23:53 this isn't right, 23:54 he fights the soldiers, he does everything, 23:57 but as he's on that cross 24:00 he hears the man in the middle say, 24:04 John, take care of my mother. 24:09 And then he hears him say, Father forgive them, 24:15 they don't know what they're doing. 24:18 Now the thief on the other side was yelling, 24:21 hey you, king of the Jews, 24:23 get us out of here, do something. 24:28 And he was mocking Him. Yes. 24:30 And our thief finally says, paraphrasing, shut up. 24:37 We are getting what we deserve, but he is not guilty. 24:43 And then, Shelley, he turns his head 24:48 and just asked to be remembered, 24:52 and Jesus does what He does best. 24:56 He's saving even while He's dying. 25:01 Third man that day 25:03 when that banner was raised high, 25:07 his Friday morning started out as a work day, 25:11 because he was a centurion, probably had his lunch, 25:15 told his wife maybe we can do something this weekend, 25:18 I got a crucifixion I got to take care of. 25:21 He'd been battle worn soldier, 25:24 he'd seen blood, people dying, nothing to him. 25:27 But this Friday he's taken away. 25:31 Because he's never seen anybody like that third man. 25:35 The man in the middle. That's right. 25:37 And he hears him say, John, take care of my mother. 25:42 He hears, Father, forgive them, 25:45 he hears to the thief 25:47 you will be with me in paradise. 25:51 And then when Jesus dies, nature has lost its creator, 25:55 there are earthquakes, dark clouds, thunder, 26:01 and you know, Shelley, 26:03 as anybody who will look at the cross of Christ 26:08 with an open heart will come to the same conclusion 26:12 as that centurion did. 26:14 Surely, this is the Son of God. 26:18 Amen, Amen. 26:21 And then I point out 26:22 that I said that there were four people 26:26 and I kind of play with the audience a little bit, 26:29 I kind of act like I forgot the fourth person. 26:33 And one time I've even said, Sue, do you have my notes, 26:36 and you can see the people are just uncomfortable, 26:40 you know they feel sorry for me. 26:41 Then all of a sudden I say 26:43 I know who the fourth person is. 26:46 It's you, it's you, 26:51 it's me and, Shelley, it's you. 26:53 Amen. 26:55 We stand at the cross of Calvary. 26:56 Amen. 26:58 We see that held high. 27:02 The question is what do we do. 27:08 And so Jehovah-Nissi such a short paragraph, 27:13 such a short name used one time, 27:17 but yet the symbolic of it 27:19 is we all march under the banner of Christ 27:24 or we march around the banner of the adversary. 27:27 You know a scripture that really sums that up 27:29 which banner you're serving under is Romans 6:16 27:34 where Paul said, do you not know 27:37 that we have a choice of masters 27:38 this what he's saying, 27:39 "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves 27:41 as slaves to obey, you are that one slaves 27:43 whom you obey whether it's sin leading to death, 27:46 or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 27:49 So we have right here those two. 27:54 Thank you so much. 27:55 This has been so special, Ernie. 27:56 Thank you. Thank you for being here. 27:58 And we want you to... 28:00 You can check out the ministry go to knowinggodministries.com 28:05 and we just want you to know 28:07 that our hearts have been filled, 28:09 we pray that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 28:13 the love of the Father, 28:14 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 28:16 would be with you always. 28:18 Serve under Jehovah-Nissi's banner. 28:22 God bless. |
Revised 2016-09-13