Participants: David DeRose MD
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021702A
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00:12 ♪♪♪ 00:22 ♪♪♪ 00:34 Dr. Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:36 Welcome to "Sabbath School Study Hour," 00:38 coming to you here from the Granite Bay 00:39 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:43 A very warm welcome to our friends joining us 00:45 across the country and around the world, 00:47 our extended Sabbath school class. 00:50 Also, I'd like to welcome the members and the visitors 00:52 right here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:55 so good to see you again this morning here ready to study. 00:58 Well, we've been started-- we started studying 01:00 our new lesson quarterly on the Holy Spirit. 01:03 And today, we are on lesson number two, 01:05 entitled "The Holy Spirit: Working Behind the Scenes." 01:08 Now, I hope all of you here have a copy of the lesson quarterly. 01:11 But for our friends who are joining us, if you don't have a 01:14 copy of today's lesson, lesson number two on the Holy Spirit, 01:17 you can download today's lesson at the Amazing Facts website. 01:21 Just amazingfacts.org, and then click on lesson number two, 01:25 and you can study along with us. 01:27 We have a free offer that goes along with our study today, 01:30 it's a book entitled "The Flesh and the Spirit." 01:32 This is our free offer for today. 01:35 If you'd like to receive this, just call our resource 01:37 phone number, and that number is... 01:42 And you can ask for offer number 792. 01:46 Well, before we get to our study, as normal, 01:48 we like to begin by lifting our voices in praise, 01:51 so I'd like to invite our song leaders 01:53 to come and join me on stage. 01:56 Jolyne Simler: Thank you, Pastor Ross. 01:58 As we're studying the Holy Spirit this quarter, 02:01 we're going to sing this morning about 02:03 "Give Me The Bible, Holy Message Shining." 02:07 And it's really what it's about. 02:08 That is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us and God speaks 02:10 to us, through his Word and through prayer. 02:12 So, we're going to sing about that today. 02:14 Hymn 272, "Give Me the Bible." 02:17 We're going to sing all three verses. 02:20 ♪♪♪ 02:30 ♪♪♪ 02:34 ♪ Give me the Bible, star of gladness gleaming ♪ 02:39 ♪ to cheer the wanderer lone and tempest tossed ♪ 02:44 ♪ No storm can hide that peaceful radiance beaming ♪ 02:49 ♪ since Jesus came to seek and save the lost ♪ 02:55 ♪ Give me the Bible, holy message shining ♪ 03:00 ♪ Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way ♪ 03:06 ♪ Precept and promise, law and love combining ♪ 03:11 ♪ 'til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪ 03:17 ♪ Give me the Bible when my heart is broken ♪ 03:23 ♪ when sin and grief have filled my soul with fear ♪ 03:28 ♪ Give me the precious words by Jesus spoken ♪ 03:33 ♪ Hold up faith's lamp to show my Savior near ♪ 03:39 ♪ Give me the Bible, holy message shining ♪ 03:44 ♪ Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way ♪ 03:50 ♪ Precept and promise, law and love combining ♪ 03:55 ♪ 'til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪ 04:02 ♪ Give me the Bible, all my steps enlighten ♪ 04:07 ♪ Teach me the danger of these realms below ♪ 04:13 ♪ That lamp of safety o'er the gloom shall brighten ♪ 04:18 ♪ That light alone the path of peace can show ♪ 04:24 ♪ Give me the Bible, holy message shining ♪ 04:29 ♪ Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way ♪ 04:34 ♪ Precept and promise, law and love combining ♪ 04:40 ♪ 'til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪♪ 04:48 Jolyne: At this time, Pastor Ross will lead us 04:50 in our opening prayer. 04:52 ♪♪♪ 05:02 Dr. Ross: Let us bow our heads for prayer. 05:04 Dear Father in heaven, what a privilege once again 05:06 to be able to gather together to study your Word. 05:08 And as we open up the Scriptures, we ask 05:10 the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and our minds as we study 05:14 about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives. 05:18 So, we pray for your continued guidance, and we pray for divine 05:20 wisdom as we search the Scriptures, 05:23 in Jesus' name, amen. 05:26 Our study this morning is going to be brought to us 05:28 by Dr. David DeRose. 05:30 Thank you. 05:38 Dr. David DeRose: Well, it's good 05:40 to be with you this morning. 05:41 And we're continuing our study that we began last week 05:44 on the Holy Spirit. 05:46 We're on the second lesson, as Pastor Ross introduced us with, 05:50 "The Holy Spirit: Working Behind the Scenes." 05:55 The Holy Spirit working behind the scenes. 06:02 Perhaps, just perhaps you have one of these in your home. 06:07 It's what they call an antique. 06:10 Can you relate to this? 06:12 Maybe it's an antique chair, maybe it's an antique desk. 06:15 Do you have such an article, any of you? 06:18 I see some of you nodding your heads. 06:20 Imagine you've got an antique chair, and it's tucked away in 06:25 some remote place because this chair has been 06:27 in the family for decades. 06:30 And it's really not fit to sit in. 06:34 Maybe it's tucked away in an attic or in a storage shed. 06:37 Are you following along with me? 06:38 And one day, you walk in where that chair is, and you say, 06:42 "You know, it's a shame that this is just in storage. 06:45 I should have it restored, and then we could actually use it." 06:50 And so, you go online, and you find someone 06:54 that restores the antiques. 06:56 By the way, you can't just go to the local hardware store 06:58 and get some screws or nails, and fix an antique chair. 07:02 You know how that works, right? 07:04 I'm not an expert in antiques, but they tell me that will 07:07 dramatically depreciate the value. 07:09 So, you find a master craftsman who does 07:12 restoration of antiques. 07:14 And you know how it works. 07:16 Whenever you're looking for a specialist, 07:17 you've got to drive miles to find such a person. 07:20 Are you following along? 07:22 And so you do that, and you know how your schedule is. 07:24 You're rushed. 07:25 You rush over there, you drop off the chair. 07:27 And because it was put out of the way, you totally forget 07:30 about it until some 3 weeks later, you get a phone call, 07:35 the chair has been restored, but it's the same deal. 07:40 You've got to drive way out of your way, you go to the place 07:43 and you--wow, when you get that chair back, you are-- 07:47 I mean it's--you're just amazed. 07:50 And as you're driving back with that chair, you're thinking, 07:53 "Wow, where can I put it now? 07:55 This thing has been restored." 08:00 But you know, it's possible if one of your friends ran into you 08:03 and they asked you about the craftsman that restored 08:07 the chair, you wouldn't be able to tell them anything about 08:11 that individual other than that he does great work. 08:16 And I tell you that story because if you'd been living 08:20 some 2,000 years ago, and you'd been in the town of Nazareth or 08:25 in its environs, that master craftsman may have been Jesus. 08:30 Isn't that possible? 08:33 Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13. 08:38 In Matthew chapter 13, we get a glimpse of Jesus. 08:41 And you might be wondering, on a lesson on the Holy Spirit, 08:44 where we're going, but I think we'll see how these 08:47 dots connect before too long. 08:50 I'm in Matthew chapter 13, and I'm going to pick up 08:52 with verse 54, Matthew 13 beginning with verse 54. 08:59 Here we're getting a picture of how Jesus' contemporaries, 09:02 even after he was in his ministry, regarded him. 09:05 He's back in his hometown of Nazareth. 09:09 In Matthew chapter 13, verse 54, we read these words, 09:16 "When he had come to his own country back in Nazareth, 09:21 he taught them in their synagogue so that they 09:24 were astonished and said, 'Where did this man 09:27 get the wisdom and these mighty works? 09:31 Is not this the carpenter's son? 09:33 Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren James, Joses, 09:38 Simon, and Judas? 09:40 And his sisters, are they not all here with us? 09:43 Where did this man get all these things?' 09:46 So they were offended at him. 09:49 But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor 09:52 except in his own country and in his own house.' 09:56 Now, he did not do many mighty works there 10:00 because of their unbelief." 10:05 Now, let's just think about it for a minute. 10:08 Jesus, in his humility, for most of his life was totally 10:14 unrecognized as the divine Son of God. 10:20 Even during his ministry, that's what we just 10:22 read about in Matthew 13. 10:24 Those who had known him in the carpenter shop were still 10:28 struggling with who this was. 10:34 I point that out to you because Jesus was manifested in a way 10:40 that we could, at least humanity could, physically see him, 10:45 could interact with him. 10:47 But in his humility, he was largely unrecognized. 10:52 And the question then is, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, 10:57 how much more is it likely to misperceive the working 11:03 of one who has not manifested himself in human form? 11:09 So, as we're looking at this lesson, it is really 11:12 about the mysterious working of the Holy Spirit. 11:17 It is what actually Christians have struggled with 11:21 over the centuries. 11:23 I would like to suggest to you that this whole quarter 11:27 is an extremely important series of lessons. 11:31 And in fact, those who think the lessons are the least important 11:35 are perhaps the ones who most need the lessons. 11:39 There's only one group who perhaps needs the lessons more. 11:43 And those are those who think they don't need the lessons 11:46 because they already fully comprehend the working 11:50 of the Holy Spirit. 11:54 And I'll try to flesh that out for you before too long. 11:58 Let's spend just a moment looking at what was our memory 12:01 text for this week because this will point us 12:04 in a direction where we need to go. 12:07 It's from John 16, verse 14. 12:11 The lesson has it in the New King James version. 12:14 Why don't we read that all together? 12:17 "He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine 12:24 and declare it to you." 12:28 The Holy Spirit, as we'll see as we study together, 12:31 is often described in terms of what he does. 12:35 And because of that, the Holy Spirit 12:37 has been misapprehended throughout history. 12:41 He has been misperceived. 12:43 Are you aware that many have rejected that there is a member 12:47 of the Godhead known as the Holy Spirit, 12:49 are you aware of that? 12:51 But the Holy Spirit is very much a real person, 12:55 and the Holy Spirit is very much one of the Godhead. 12:59 And we'll see that even in this week's lesson. 13:01 Let's go first to Sunday's lesson, where it speaks 13:05 of the elusiveness of the Holy Spirit, 13:09 the elusiveness of the Holy Spirit. 13:12 And we're going to go first to Ezekiel chapter 37. 13:16 Ezekiel 37 is that famous prophecy of the dry bones. 13:23 Ezekiel, of course, was writing during the time 13:26 of the captivity. 13:28 God's people had been unfaithful, they had been 13:30 brought to Babylon, and Ezekiel was being given messages that 13:35 relate to God's people who seemed that they are without 13:38 life, there's no more hope for the children of Israel. 13:42 You remember that psalm where it spoke of the captors saying, 13:46 "Sing us one of the songs of Israel." 13:49 And they said, "How can we sing the Lord's songs 13:52 in a strange land?" 13:54 This is kind of where Israel is at in their experience. 13:57 And so, in Ezekiel 37, the prophet is brought to a valley. 14:04 And it says that valley in Ezekiel 37, 14:07 verse 1 was full of what? 14:10 Bones, what kind of bones? 14:13 Dry bones. 14:16 Now, for those of you that have some medical background, 14:19 dried bones are totally lifeless. 14:22 There's no marrow, there's no hope in those bones. 14:25 And as you read through the account, we come to verse 4. 14:31 And God is speaking to Ezekiel, he says, "Prophesy to these 14:34 bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, 14:38 hear the Word of the Lord. 14:40 Thus says the Lord God to the bones, to these bones, 14:44 "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you 14:47 and you shall live. 14:49 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, 14:52 cover you with skin, and put breath in you 14:54 and you shall live. 14:56 Then you shall know that I am the Lord."'" 14:59 Now, that word there, "breath," it's from the Hebrew, ruach. 15:04 And ruach is not only breath, 15:06 but it's also accurately translated spirit. 15:11 And so, as we're reading in the Old Testament about the spirit, 15:15 we're reading about this ruach, 15:17 which also can be translated breath. 15:19 And so, as you read through Ezekiel 37, 15:22 you could be asking yourself a question. 15:25 Are we reading about God's life-giving breath, 15:28 or are we reading about the Holy Spirit? 15:32 Because the terms used for God's breath 15:36 and the Spirit are identical. 15:39 So, which is being talked about here? 15:42 Well, exegetically from the Bible itself, 15:45 just reading the text, you can't tell. 15:48 You can't tell. 15:52 We're going to go now to John chapter 3. 15:56 And in John chapter 3, we're going to catch a glimpse 16:00 of this interesting wordplay, if you will, that is occurring 16:06 not only in the Old Testament with the word "ruach," 16:09 but also in the New Testament. 16:12 And so, as we come to John 3 and that famous night meeting 16:16 between the teacher, the great teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, 16:21 and the really great teacher of Israel, Jesus, we 16:25 read this very interesting description. 16:27 And as we read from the translations in 16:30 the English language, we miss some of the power 16:34 of what's being shared here. 16:36 So, in John chapter 3, the lesson calls our attention 16:40 to verses 3 through 8. 16:42 Let's look at those together, John chapter 3, 16:46 verses 3 through 8, Jesus speaking to Nicodemus. 16:50 He says to him, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one 16:54 is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 16:58 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? 17:02 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 17:07 Jesus answered him, "Most assuredly I say to you, 17:11 unless one is born of water and the spirit, 17:14 he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 17:16 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, 17:18 that which is born of the spirit is spirit. 17:21 Do not marvel that I say to you you must be born again. 17:24 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, 17:29 but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. 17:32 So is everyone who is born of the spirit." 17:36 Now, if you were to look at verse 8 in the Greek, 17:40 and you were to translate it a little bit more freely, 17:45 we could translate it this way. 17:48 We could actually use the Greek word "pneuma," 17:51 which actually is the word that could be 17:53 translated spirit or breath. 17:55 And it would read something like this. 17:57 "The pneuma pneumas where it wishes. 18:00 You hear the sound of it, you can't tell where it's from. 18:03 So is everyone that's born of the pneuma." 18:06 The pneuma pneumas, so is everyone 18:09 that is born of the pneuma. 18:12 And you might be sitting there scratching your head. 18:15 I mean, what's going on here? 18:17 The wind winds. 18:19 And it says everyone who is born of the wind. 18:22 Now, I think the translations are accurate. 18:24 Jesus is drawing Nicodemus' attention 18:26 to the mysterious working of the wind. 18:29 But the language in both the Old Testament and the New is 18:34 actually blurring, blurring the identity of the Holy Spirit. 18:40 So, it's not like Jesus, who humbled himself and came 18:43 on this earth as a man and was misapprehended. 18:47 The Holy Spirit comes as something that we can't even 18:52 grasp, like the wind, like God's breath? 18:58 And I think it's because of this that many have misinterpreted 19:03 who the Holy Spirit is and the work of the Holy Spirit. 19:08 Now, many would say, "Well, you know, we were just reading from 19:12 Ezekiel, and that starts to--and we're talking about Babylon. 19:18 I mean, do you realize, Dr. DeRose," 19:20 someone might say, "that the whole concept 19:22 of the trinity is a false notion? 19:25 It comes from paganism?" 19:30 Did the pagans believe in a trinity? 19:34 They did, there are pagan beliefs in a trinity. 19:38 So, because the pagans believed in something, 19:41 we should reject it out of hand, what do you think? 19:47 Go to Ezekiel chapter 8 just for a moment since our minds 19:52 were in this historical context in Ezekiel chapter 8. 20:04 There, God is bringing a court case, 20:09 some legal proceedings against his people. 20:12 And he's speaking about the abominations of Israel. 20:16 In Ezekiel 8, we are brought to the sanctuary. 20:20 We'll come again to the sanctuary, God willing, 20:23 before we finish our study today. 20:25 But in Ezekiel 8, we read these words in verse 13 and 14, 20:31 "And he," speaking of God, "said to me," this is Ezekiel writing, 20:35 "'Turn again and you will see greater abominations 20:39 that they are doing.' 20:41 So, he brought me to the door of the north gate 20:44 of the Lord's house. 20:46 And to my dismay, women were sitting there 20:49 weeping for Tammuz." 20:54 Now, who was Tammuz? 20:57 Tammuz was one of the Babylonian trinity. 21:01 He was, in some renditions of the mythology, 21:05 he was the boy king that came to deliver his people, 21:10 and then died and was resurrected. 21:14 Is this starting to sound familiar to some of you? 21:17 So, because the pagans believed in a child king that died and 21:22 was resurrected, we should reject out of hand anything that 21:27 speaks about a boy king who would die and be resurrected, 21:31 what do you think? 21:33 Would this be a good approach? 21:34 You say, "Of course not." 21:37 Are you aware that Satan in his wisdom counterfeits things 21:42 not only that have happened, but things that he knew 21:45 prophetically that God had revealed would happen? 21:49 Is it any surprise? 21:51 And so, the fact that there is a real God head 21:55 with three persons, it should be no surprise 21:58 that there is a false trinity. 22:00 And to say because the Babylonians believed 22:02 in a trinity, therefore we should reject it, 22:05 would be just as erroneous as saying because the Babylonians 22:09 believed in a God that was resurrected, 22:11 we should reject the resurrection of Christ. 22:14 In fact, there were some apparently in Paul's day 22:17 who were not teaching the resurrection, 22:19 considering themselves among the Christian fold, 22:22 and Paul said they are most miserable. 22:26 Do you remember that? 22:32 Some of you I know are engaged in commercial activities. 22:37 Some of you might even run your own business. 22:40 Some of you tuning in can relate to this. 22:43 How many of you are aware they counterfeit $100 bills? 22:47 Are you aware of this? 22:49 They counterfeit $100 bills. 22:51 I've heard that they do not counterfeit $1 bills. 22:56 So, what do you think? 22:58 Wouldn't it be safer if you were in business to say 23:00 you only accept $1 bills? 23:03 What would this do to your commercial experience? 23:08 I would suggest you would--it would likely impoverish you. 23:14 Are you following along with the metaphor? 23:18 If we try to avoid anything that has any possibility of 23:21 compromise in the spiritual realm, we will likely impoverish 23:25 ourselves in the spiritual realm as well. 23:29 And so, as we look at the Holy Spirit's work, 23:32 it is a mysterious work. 23:34 Just because the Holy Spirit is hard to pin down, just because 23:38 he seems to be shrouded in mystery in the Bible 23:42 is not a reason to reject his personality. 23:45 We'll be studying that throughout this quarter. 23:48 There's a text that speaks with particular power to us, 23:51 and I think someone actually has that for us. 23:54 We'll look at it in a moment. 23:55 It's from Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 29, 23:59 Deuteronomy 29 and verse 29. 24:03 But before we go there, I want to just point out 24:05 one other thing for you. 24:08 And there's going to be an argument that some people 24:10 will be using as we study this lesson. 24:13 And they'll be saying, "I don't believe in the Holy Spirit 24:16 as a person of the Godhead because the pioneers 24:20 didn't believe in the Holy Spirit." 24:23 Are you aware that back during the great advent movement back 24:28 in the 1830s and 1840s, before there was even 24:32 a Seventh-day Adventist Church, 24:34 when there was a renewed spirit of inquiry 24:36 as far as the Scriptures, many people were throwing off 24:40 these false ideas that had crept into the churches. 24:44 And they just wanted to take the Bible as it read. 24:47 By the way, is that a good thing or not? 24:49 That's a wonderful thing. 24:51 And to that background, the Seventh-day Adventist Church 24:53 traces its roots. 24:56 But in that period of time when they were throwing off 24:59 everything, some good things got placed off to the side. 25:04 And one of them was the truth of the trinity. 25:07 And so, it is true that early in the history of the Advent 25:11 movement, before there even was a Seventh-day Adventist Church, 25:14 many of those who became involved in this movement didn't 25:16 fully realize the full working of the Holy Spirit, 25:21 and that it was indeed God himself, 25:25 one of the three persons of the Godhead. 25:29 Now, I tell you that background because you know throughout 25:32 scriptural history many good people sincerely led by the Lord 25:38 had grievous misconceptions about what God wanted. 25:42 Let me just give you one example, this is one that 25:45 occurs a number of times in the Old Testament. 25:47 Turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 15, 2 Kings 15. 25:57 So, I'm turning to this record of someone who, for much of his 26:02 reign, was one of the great kings of Israel, 2 Kings 15. 26:08 This king known Azariah or Uzziah. 26:12 We read something very interesting about him. 26:16 In 2 Kings 15, we're reading about how he reigned. 26:22 And it gives an interesting commendation to him. 26:27 2 Kings 15, picking up in verse2. 26:31 And again, this is a king called Azariah or Uzziah. 26:37 It said he was 16 years old when he became king, 26:40 and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. 26:44 In verse 3, "He did what was right in the sight of the Lord 26:48 according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 26:52 except that the high places were not removed. 26:57 The people still sacrificed and burned incense 27:01 on those high places." 27:05 Now, here's the question for you. 27:07 This was the same king that ultimately was so blessed by 27:11 God, you read that in Chronicles that he took glory to himself, 27:16 and sought to take the role of the priest, 27:19 and was struck with leprosy. 27:21 You remembering the story? 27:23 But what does it say about him? 27:24 He was doing right in the sight of the Lord, 27:26 but he did not do something, what did he not do? 27:31 He didn't remove the high places, 27:33 these places of false worship. 27:35 How could someone be so blind? 27:40 Are you following along? 27:42 Someone can be led by God, they can be blessed by God, 27:46 but they can have blind spots. 27:48 Don't let any human be your standard of comparison, 27:52 no matter how mightily they are used by God. 27:55 Look to the Word itself. 27:57 As we look to the Word this week and throughout this quarter, 28:00 you're going to see the Holy Spirit as a person, 28:03 as a member of the Godhead. 28:05 And we'll get a glimpse of that in just a moment. 28:07 We have a Scripture right now that is going to be read from 28:11 Deuteronomy 29, verse 29. 28:15 female: The secret things belong unto to the Lord our God, 28:19 but those things which are revealed belong unto us 28:23 and to our children forever, that we may do all the words 28:27 of this law. 28:29 Dr. DeRose:So God, does he reveal everything to us? 28:36 I have to--I had a struggle this week as I was looking at this 28:40 because it struck me that the Holy Spirit was so humble. 28:45 I mean, the Holy Spirit, when we looked last week, 28:47 the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the whole Bible. 28:53 But there's no book that starts out, "Written by John 28:57 under the power of the Holy Spirit." 28:59 The Holy Spirit is very much in the background, 29:01 have you noticed that? 29:03 In fact, so much in the background that we can lose 29:06 sight of the mighty working of the Holy Spirit. 29:09 And the struggle I had is I was starting to ask myself 29:12 a really stupid question. 29:14 And that is, "Who is the most humble among the Godhead?" 29:20 You see, when Jesus was on this earth, he said, 29:24 "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father," right? 29:29 When we see any member of the Godhead, 29:32 we're seeing the personality of the entire triune God. 29:38 And so, the Holy Spirit in its humility. 29:42 I was thinking about this in light of my background. 29:44 As a physician, I had to go to medical school. 29:49 And as I think back on those medical school days, now maybe 29:53 some of my classmates were this way, but I'm just going 29:55 to be honest with you, medical students, 29:57 as I recount my experience, as I recall what I went through, 30:01 they are among the most humble people in the world. 30:05 Now, it seems ironic because doctors have a reputation 30:10 for anything but humility, don't they? 30:13 But as medical students, really they seem very humble. 30:17 Now, I guess, you know, in certain circles, they could've 30:19 been arrogant that they were admitted into medical school 30:22 or--but there's just something totally humbling 30:26 about the experience. 30:28 I remember one day sitting in my room, 30:29 I think I was studying microbiology. 30:32 And you have to realize if you got into medical school, 30:35 you had a history of mastering your classes when you 30:37 were in college, okay? 30:39 You know, you got a finite amount of material to learn, 30:41 and you would master that, do well on the test. 30:44 And those are the kind of people who typically got 30:45 into medical school. 30:47 But in medical school, I was sitting there with microbiology. 30:53 I mean, I'd never heard of naegleria fowleri, 30:56 or you know, citrobacter, or pseudomonas. 31:01 I mean, these are all these strange--and I'm looking 31:04 at this, and I looked at my notes, and I looked 31:06 at all these textbooks, and I looked at my watch. 31:11 And really, really, I said, 31:13 "There is absolutely no way I could learn this." 31:17 And I just--I just got so discouraged, 31:19 I couldn't even study really. 31:22 There was just too much material, it was impossible. 31:25 The National Boards could test you on any aspect 31:28 of microbiology, and biochemistry, and anatomy. 31:31 How could anyone learn it all? 31:36 Fortunately, the Lord said, 31:40 "David, you don't have to learn it all. 31:42 Just learn something in the hour that you have." 31:46 I think that was the next day that I came to that realization. 31:50 And I tell you that story because, to me, 31:54 it strikes me a lot of how the Holy Spirit is. 31:57 We can learn about the Holy Spirit, but it seems 32:00 like God has never fully revealed all we'd like to know. 32:06 So, instead of me feeling like, "I've mastered the Holy Spirit. 32:09 Oh, I'm so glad I'm here at the Granite Bay Church 32:11 'cause they've mastered the Holy Spirit here. 32:14 And we're just going to come, and in a quarter, we're going 32:17 to--you know, we're just going to know everything 32:19 about the Holy Spirit. 32:20 And then the whole church will have to come to us 32:22 because we know all about the Holy Spirit." 32:26 But the Holy Spirit is shrouded in mystery. 32:28 And I believe it's partly because the only way we can 32:31 fully receive the Holy Spirit is if we realize how needy we are. 32:39 We have to come humbly. 32:42 So, the study of the Holy Spirit doesn't increase my sense 32:48 of how much I know, but it increases the sense of my need. 32:55 And so, God does not reveal all the details about the Spirit, 33:00 but we see glimpses in how he works. 33:04 Let's look at Monday's lesson as the Holy Spirit first appears 33:08 upon the scene of the canon. 33:11 As the Bible is being given, the very first book of the Torah, 33:16 the book of Genesis, we are introduced to the Holy Spirit. 33:21 In Genesis chapter 1, as we read the creation account, 33:25 it's a fascinating account missed by many 33:28 who read the account in the English. 33:31 But we're going to read it in the English anyway, 33:34 and we'll try to draw out some of the Hebrew nuances. 33:38 The history of creation, it begins in Genesis 1, verse 1. 33:42 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 33:47 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was 33:50 on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering 33:55 over the face of the waters." 33:58 Now, what we don't pick up in the English is that 34:02 the God of Genesis 1 is introduced differently 34:05 as the God of Genesis 2. 34:08 In Genesis 1, the name for God, the Hebrew term for God 34:12 in Genesis 1 is Elohim, as opposed to the perhaps 34:16 more familiar term for God that we'll usually translate 34:20 into the English as Jehovah or Yahweh. 34:25 So, Jehovah or Yahweh, that's self-existent, 34:27 eternal God, the I Am. 34:30 On the other hand, in Genesis 1, it's Elohim. 34:33 Elohim is a plural, it is a plural term for God. 34:39 In fact, the very name used for God in Genesis 1 is telling us, 34:43 it's giving us a clue that God is only understood in plurality. 34:49 And so, we see in this plurality that God is creating. 34:55 And not only as we read through Scripture do we see that Jesus 35:00 is often displayed as the active agent of creation, we find that 35:05 in places like Colossians 1, but we also see in the very 35:10 beginning that something is hovering over the waters. 35:15 Who is that? 35:18 it's the Spirit, it's the ruach, it's the breath of God. 35:22 And so, as we're reading that, our mind might be going 35:26 in several directions, but we want to just focus 35:29 on this creation account a little longer. 35:32 Because if you haven't looked at this in a while, 35:34 if you're missing the plurality of God in the account, 35:37 look at verse 26 of Genesis 1. 35:43 Because it says there, "Then God said," again Elohim, 35:47 this plural God, "let us make men in our image, 35:54 according to our likeness." 35:57 Verse 27, "So God created man in his own image, 36:00 in the image of God he created him. 36:03 Male and female he created them." 36:07 So, when God is creating in his image, he must create in what? 36:11 In plurality. 36:13 And so, man and woman are created to--you say, 36:16 "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." 36:19 You know, this isn't really advanced math. 36:21 You've got man and woman, that's how many? 36:24 Two. 36:26 And we've got the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 36:28 that's three. 36:30 So, why does God create two if we're being made 36:34 in his image and he's three?" 36:39 Okay, I see a number of you have the answer, 36:41 and I'm glad you got it all straightened out 36:44 because I'm not sure I understand 36:46 all the dimensions of that. 36:48 But here's the point, here's the point. 36:50 From the very language of Genesis 1, 36:54 God is creating in plurality. 36:56 There is something interesting, and maybe I should mention it 36:59 because this has been misunderstood 37:00 about the creation. 37:02 Some of you may be thinking of one of the beautiful poems 37:04 in American history that speaks of God being lonely and saying, 37:11 "Therefore I will create a world." 37:13 But in the triune God, there was perfect fellowship and harmony. 37:18 God didn't create out of need, in a sense. 37:22 He created out of love, his desire to share the fullness 37:26 that was already in the Godhead. 37:28 So yes, there's a certain sense in which God needs each one 37:33 of us, he loves each one of us as individuals. 37:35 But there's also a sense in which God doesn't create 37:38 out of need, he creates out of abundance. 37:41 And so, I believe that that's what that triune God 37:45 expresses to us. 37:47 But let's look a little bit more about this imagery of 37:49 the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters. 37:54 I appreciate this comment in the lesson. 37:57 You find it there in Monday's lesson. 38:00 And it brings us back to the Hebrew for hovering. 38:05 It says it's the very same word that is used in 38:08 Deuteronomy 32:11, where God is compared to an eagle hovering 38:14 over the nest of young. 38:17 So, this terminology that's used is that the Spirit is actively 38:22 engaged, even though it's not a--it doesn't appear 38:25 to be a hands-on engagement. 38:28 Now, if you think that settles the question, someone is going 38:30 to be reading for us from Psalms 8 in just a moment. 38:34 But before we go to Psalms 8, we want to go to a New Testament 38:38 illustration that's going to give us some insight 38:41 into this very topic. 38:43 And the New Testament, if you turn with me 38:45 to Matthew chapter 12, we're going to Matthew chapter 12 38:50 for a few reasons. 38:52 Matthew chapter 12. 38:56 I can remember when I was back in--well, I won't tell you 39:00 where I was so as not to implicate anyone, 39:04 but I was in a place where there's a very strong group 39:09 of Bible believers who rejected any notion of a Holy Spirit 39:16 that was really a person. 39:18 And in fact, instead of strengthening their ministry, it 39:21 seemed to only undermine it. 39:25 And I read these very sobering words, Jesus' words 39:28 in Matthew 12, verses 31 and 32. 39:31 Jesus said that he did his great works through 39:34 the power of the Holy Spirit. 39:37 And so, here he says in verse 31, 39:39 "Therefore I say to you every sin and blasphemy 39:43 will be forgiven man, but the blasphemy 39:45 against the Spirit will not be forgiven man. 39:48 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, 39:51 it will be forgiven him. 39:53 But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, 39:56 it will not be forgiven him, 39:57 either in this age or in the age to come." 40:01 And of course, we usually apply this terminology of the sin 40:04 against the Holy Spirit to a sin of totally rejecting the work of 40:08 the Holy Spirit on the heart, rejecting God's wooing of us, 40:14 closing the doors to repentance. 40:16 And I think that's very accurate. 40:18 But as we think about the work of the Holy Spirit, what was 40:21 really happening in Jesus' day is the work of the Holy Spirit 40:25 was being undermined. 40:27 What was being done by the Holy Spirit was being said 40:30 to be done by an unholy spirit. 40:34 Now, look just a few verses above that in verse 28. 40:40 Jesus was being accused of casting out demons by demons. 40:44 He said in verse 28, "But if I casted out demons," by what? 40:48 "By the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God 40:53 has come upon you." 40:56 Now, when we're reading the gospels, I don't know if you 40:59 have this habit, it's a valuable one if you've not developed it, 41:02 but look at the parallel passages 41:05 in the other gospel writers. 41:07 Have you done that? 41:09 in the old days, we used to have to have a book, 41:11 I have one on my shelf, 41:12 it's called "The Harmony of the Gospels." 41:15 And it would put side by side what Matthew said about 41:18 an account, and what Mark said, and what Luke said, 41:22 for example, okay? 41:24 All side by side, and you can read and compare them. 41:27 Let's do that right now. 41:28 You may not have a "Harmony of the Gospels" with you, 41:30 I don't either, but I'm going to turn in my Bible 41:32 to a parallel account. 41:34 And I'm going to guess where? 41:37 Luke chapter 11, verse 20. 41:40 Some of you have study Bibles, and it told you that 41:43 that parallel account is found in Luke 11. 41:47 And in Luke 11, we're going to find something very interesting 41:51 about the language that Luke recorded. 41:55 And we might make a comment or two about that. 41:58 Luke 11, verse 20, very same account, Jesus being 42:02 accused of casting out demons through Satan's power. 42:07 And look what he says in verse 20, "But if I cast out demons," 42:12 what did it say in Matthew, do you remember? 42:14 By the Spirit of God or by the Holy Spirit. 42:18 Here he says, "If I cast out demons with the finger of God, 42:26 surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." 42:30 Now, we're going to go to Psalms chapter 8, verse 3 and 4, 42:36 Psalms 8, 3 and 4. 42:38 Listen carefully to the words. 42:40 male: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy 42:44 fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, 42:48 what is man that thou art mindful of him, 42:52 and the Son of Man that thou visitest him?" 42:56 Dr. DeRose: Very interesting, isn't it? 42:58 God in Psalms 8 creates how? With his finger. 43:04 Did God write anything with his finger? 43:08 He wrote the 10 Commandments, it says, with his own finger. 43:13 The Holy Spirit inspires the Word to be written. 43:17 The Holy Spirit is active in creation. 43:20 And then we read about God's finger creating the world. 43:25 We say, "Well, wait, but he created everything 43:27 by the breath of his mouth." 43:29 Have you read that too? That's the Spirit. 43:32 Do you see? 43:33 As we study about the great acts of creation and then we'll see 43:38 in salvation, we see the Spirit kind of blurred in his identity, 43:44 but we catch these glimpses throughout the Bible of God 43:48 having an active agency, the Godhead working 43:51 through the Spirit. 43:54 Let's hasten on as we look at Tuesday's lesson, 43:58 "The Holy Spirit and the Sanctuary," 44:01 the Holy Spirit and the sanctuary. 44:06 And the key text there is found at the beginning of that day's 44:10 study, where it says, "Let them make me a sanctuary, 44:14 that I may dwell among them." 44:16 By the way, what is a sanctuary? 44:21 Where does it come from? 44:22 Where does the word even come from in English? 44:26 Just like in the Hebrew, it comes from a root 44:29 that refers to holy. 44:31 If you sanctify something, you make it holy. 44:35 So, the sanctuary is literally a holy place, a holy thing. 44:40 So, God is asking for a holy place that just happened 44:44 to have a special holy place in it, 44:46 and then a most holy place within it. 44:49 Are you following along? 44:50 And so, God is revealing that all that 44:53 has to do with him is holy. 44:55 And so, one of the themes in the sanctuary 44:57 is holiness to the Lord. 44:59 What is the name for the Spirit? 45:01 What is the name given to the Spirit? 45:03 The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit. 45:08 Could people be possessed by unclean spirits 45:12 in the Old Testament? 45:16 We won't look at examples, I think they immediately 45:18 come to mind. 45:20 Were these unclean spirits, did they have personalities? 45:24 Or was it just an ethereal evil power? 45:27 No, sometimes the unclean spirits even spoke, right? 45:31 And they gave their names, at least on one account. 45:34 "We're Legion." 45:37 So, why should it be surprising that the Holy Spirit would be 45:41 a person that could take possession of those who are 45:46 surrendered to his working? 45:49 Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 57. 45:53 Isaiah 57, a very interesting Scripture that ties together 45:58 some of these themes of humility and God's Spirit filling work. 46:08 Isaiah 57, verse 15. 46:12 Isaiah 57, verse 15, "For thus says the high and lofty one, 46:19 who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, 46:24 'I dwell in the high and holy place,'" 46:28 we could say the sanctuary, "with him who has a contrite 46:32 and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble 46:37 and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." 46:41 God is showing us the qualifications for us 46:44 to be his sanctuary. 46:46 And so, when John in chapter 1 is speaking of Jesus coming 46:49 to the earth, it says he came and dwelt among us. 46:53 It's literally he tabernacled among us. 46:56 He made his sanctuary among us. 46:59 He made his holy place among us. 47:04 So, the Holy Spirit is revealed, if you will, in the sanctuary. 47:08 And the Holy Spirit, if you had a chance to study Exodus 31, 47:13 is the individual who gives skill in the construction 47:18 of the sanctuary. 47:20 Very interesting connections. 47:23 Go with me now to Wednesday and Thursday as we really focus 47:28 on the most powerful manifestation of the Spirit. 47:32 Now, one of the things that we have to do in medical circles, 47:37 and you may be aware of this, sometimes this is not a noble 47:40 characteristic of physicians, but we're taught to be very 47:43 critical in our thinking. 47:45 And if we're not--if we don't do that, we can miss diagnoses. 47:49 Just this week, a patient came to me with a diagnosis that they 47:53 had self-diagnosed themselves with, and we always have to be 47:57 very careful that we don't just go down the path 48:00 of what the patient thinks they have. 48:03 We don't just dismiss that, I don't, but we listen 48:06 and we try to analyze things. 48:08 So, we have to think critically. 48:10 Sometimes that's a bad thing because we get overly critical 48:13 about things we shouldn't be critical of. 48:15 And if you need to remind me of that sometime, 48:17 you have perfect permission to do that, okay? 48:20 Okay. 48:22 But here it makes a statement. 48:25 In Wednesday's lesson, it says the Holy Spirit 48:29 was active during Old Testament times. 48:32 I'm reading from the very beginning of that lesson study. 48:36 Though it does not appear that his work was as extensive 48:40 as in the New Testament era. 48:43 And so, I was asking myself the questions, is this right? 48:45 Was the Holy Spirit less active in the Old Testament 48:48 than the New? 48:50 Well, you can say at least as far as the volume of revelation, 48:53 as far as the amount of Scripture we have, 48:55 the Old Testament is longer than the New, right? 48:59 But now granted, the Old Testament was written over 49:01 a whole lot longer period of time than the New Testament. 49:06 But the bottom line is the Holy Spirit was active in both, 49:09 the Old and the New Testament. 49:12 But the Holy Spirit takes front and center stage 49:15 when we see the ministry of Jesus. 49:18 And in Thursday's lesson, it calls our attention to some 49:21 of these details in Jesus' life and ministry. 49:26 Go with me first to Luke chapter 1 as we're going to get there 49:31 a glimpse of the origins of Jesus. 49:38 In Luke chapter 1, we're going to start with verse 34. 49:43 Luke 1, verse 34. 49:45 So, the Holy Spirit may have been taking what seems like 49:48 more of a back seat, more of a less visible role 49:52 in the Old Testament, but you can't avoid 49:56 the work of the Holy Spirit, 49:58 especially in the writings of one who was trained and perhaps 50:01 some skepticism if he was trained like me, 50:04 and that's Luke, who also, you know, was a physician. 50:07 It is interesting to point out that Luke had some of 50:10 the clearest descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit not only 50:14 in his gospel, but in the book of Acts. 50:16 And if anyone would be questioning the Holy Spirit 50:19 of the gospel writers, I would suggest that Luke's background 50:22 as a Greek and as a physician would have made him the one most 50:27 likely from a human perspective to question the work 50:31 of the Holy Spirit. 50:32 And in fact, he's the one who, in some respects, 50:34 most illuminates the working of the Holy Spirit, which I think 50:37 is relevant as we study this quarter together. 50:40 So, in Luke chapter 1, beginning with verse 34, 50:45 we have this account of the origins of Jesus. 50:49 The angel speaking to Mary has already told her that she 50:53 is going to be the mother, if you will, of the Messiah, 50:57 the Savior Jesus. 50:59 In verse 34, "Mary says to the angel, 'How can this be 51:02 since I do not know a man? 51:04 I've not--I'm a virgin.'" 51:06 Verse 35, "And the angel answered and said to her, 51:09 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, 51:12 and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, 51:16 therefore also that holy one who is to be born 51:21 will be called the Son of God.'" 51:24 That holy one, like the holy sanctuary, this place where God 51:29 meets with his people in the Old Testament. 51:32 Now, God is meeting in the person of Jesus. 51:34 And the Holy Spirit is the one 51:36 who is bringing this to fruition. 51:38 Just like he was active in the creation, 51:40 just like he was active in the building 51:42 of the Old Testament sanctuary, he's now active 51:45 in the very origins of the humanity of Jesus. 51:50 And what's interesting to me, the application for us is, 51:53 you know, sometimes we might be saying, 51:55 "Well, this seems all so theoretical. 51:56 How is this practical? 51:58 What difference does it make for us?" 51:59 As we study through this lesson, one of the great texts 52:03 about the Holy Spirit is this. 52:07 And it's this idea that why does it make a difference whether 52:10 the Holy Spirit is an individual or the Holy Spirit is a power? 52:15 And the answer is given if the Holy Spirit is just a power, 52:18 it's just a force, then our focus becomes on trying 52:21 to possess more of this power. 52:24 Whereas if we realize the Holy Spirit is an individual, 52:28 our focus becomes being surrendered so that 52:33 the Holy Spirit will fill us, so that we will be possessed 52:37 of the Holy Spirit, not that we will possess a power. 52:41 Do you see the difference? 52:43 So, instead of an infusion of the Holy Spirit being some kind 52:47 of ethereal power that gives us standing in the Christian 52:50 church, the ones who have the largest measure 52:53 of the Holy Spirit are the ones who are like Mary. 52:56 What was Mary's qualification? 53:00 Look at verse 38, Luke 1. 53:03 Mary says, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord. 53:08 Let it be to me according to your Word." 53:12 What allows us to have the Holy Spirit is humility 53:17 and surrender, humility and surrender. 53:20 And I love verse 37. 53:23 If some of you are struggling right now with things 53:25 in your life, verse 37, "For with God," what? 53:31 "Nothing will be impossible." 53:33 With God, nothing is impossible. 53:36 And how does he bring the impossible, 53:38 the humanly impossible to fruition? 53:43 It's through the Holy Spirit. 53:45 We're going to look at another text, 53:47 and this text is found in John 14. 53:49 Someone has for us John 14:16 through 17. 53:53 And as we're preparing to go there, Jesus spent some 53:57 of his longest personal instruction with the disciples, 54:01 some would even say his longest concentrated instruction, 54:04 in John, end of John 13 through John 16, the end of John 16, 54:10 speaking to the disciples about what would happen 54:13 after his departure. 54:15 And he talked about them getting a special blessing. 54:19 But it wasn't just a blessing, it was a special personality. 54:23 So, John chapter 14, verses 16 and 17. 54:28 female: "And I will ask the Father, 54:30 and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, 54:33 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive 54:37 because it neither sees him nor knows him. 54:40 You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you." 54:44 Dr. DeRose: So, the Holy Spirit was working during the ministry 54:48 of Jesus, but the disciples even didn't fully appreciate the work 54:53 of the Spirit until Jesus left. 54:55 The Holy Spirit, his name in the Greek, Parakletos. 55:00 Para, alongside of; kletos, to call. 55:03 Comes from the root to call. 55:05 It's the one called alongside of us. 55:07 Are you looking for encouragement today? 55:10 Do you need God's guidance? 55:12 The Holy Spirit is a real person. 55:16 The Holy Spirit worked throughout history. 55:19 And that creative power, that power that infused Jesus 55:24 with power for his ministry is the same Holy Spirit 55:27 that wants to work in my life and your life today. 55:31 If you want more on the subject of the work of the Spirit, 55:35 our special offer is "The Flesh and the Spirit." 55:39 Anyone in North America can request this free of charge. 55:42 It's offer 792, 792, and you can get it simply 55:46 by calling... 55:55 Next week, by God's grace, we'll continue our study 55:58 of the Holy Spirit. 56:00 I would encourage you to continue to dive into 56:03 understanding more of something I don't think we'll ever fully 56:08 grasp, but that God wants us to more fully recognize our need 56:11 for because he longs to fill us with more of his Spirit. 56:17 female: "Amazing Facts" has impacted my life. 56:20 male: And I just praise God for "Amazing Facts." 56:22 male: "Amazing Facts" actually did have an impact 56:23 on my life. 56:25 male: This whole process, getting to where I am today, 56:27 I feel good about that. 56:29 I did feel good at the end. 56:30 female: I began reading the Bible. 56:34 male: I realized that there had to be more to life. 56:36 male: God is really doing this. 56:38 male: The life that he's given me. 56:39 male: This message was so powerful. 56:42 male announcer: "Amazing Facts," 56:44 more than 45 years of proclaiming God's message 56:47 around the world. 56:49 male: And then the logo pops across, 56:51 "Amazing Facts Presents." 56:53 I've listened to a lot of different ministers, but this 56:56 was the first time that he's actually saying something 56:58 where I had to grab my Bible and actually pick it up, 57:01 and, "I never heard this before. 57:03 Let me look through and find this." 57:05 Then I just couldn't get enough. 57:07 male: And so, I started doing Bible studies. 57:09 Every single one of these guys started being changed, 57:12 including myself. 57:14 female: My question was, why did that happen to me, God? 57:17 The Lord was able to reach out, and I actually saw him 57:20 as a Father. 57:22 female: I lost everything. 57:24 And that was when I realized that it was God missing 57:26 in my life. 57:28 male: I went to a prophecy seminar, which knocked me out. 57:31 This message was so powerful and so irrefutable, 57:34 and I just went, "This is real. 57:36 This is--this is amazing." 57:40 male announcer: Can't get enough "Amazing Facts" 57:42 Bible study? 57:43 You don't have to wait until next week to enjoy 57:45 more truth-filled programming. 57:48 Visit the "Amazing Facts" media library at aftv.org. 57:52 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations, 57:57 as well as printed material, all free of charge 24 hours a day, 58:02 7 days a week, right from your computer or mobile device. 58:06 Visit aftv.org. 58:10 ♪♪♪ 58:20 ♪♪♪ 58:24 CC BY ABERDEEN CAPTIONING 1-800-688-6621 WWW.ABERCAP.COM |
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