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00:10 ♪♪♪ 00:20 ♪♪♪ 00:30 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Jean Ross: Hello, friends, welcome to "Sabbath School Study 00:38 Hour" here at the Granite Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:41 I'd like to welcome our friends who are joining us across the 00:44 country and around the world, part of 00:45 our extended Sabbath School class. 00:48 And also our regular Sabbath School members right here, 00:50 and we have some visitors who are joining us today. 00:52 I'd like to welcome all of you to our study time. 00:56 Now, we're on the third lesson of a 13-part series, 01:00 which is our new lesson quarterly dealing with the 01:03 subject of "The Least of These." 01:05 Today, we have a very important lesson, 01:07 it's lesson number three. 01:09 And the title for today's lesson is "The Sabbath: 01:11 A Day of Freedom." 01:14 And that'll be our study for this morning, 01:15 "The Sabbath: A Day of Freedom." 01:17 But before we get to our study, just like to remind our friends 01:19 who are watching online and those on the various networks, 01:23 we do have a free offer that goes along with our study today 01:26 dealing with the Sabbath, it's entitled, 01:28 "The Rest of Your Life." 01:29 And we'll be happy to send this to anybody who calls and asks, 01:32 all you need to do is call our resource phone line at 01:34 866-788-3966 and you can ask for the free offer 01:40 "The Rest of Your Life." 01:42 That is free offer 1--or 813. 01:45 You can also get a digital copy of this free offer by texting 01:49 SH086 to the number 40544. 01:55 And again, you can just ask for our free offer, 01:58 "The Rest of Your Life." 01:59 We'll be happy to send this out to anyone who asks, 02:01 and this is a magazine focused on the Sabbath truth, 02:05 all of the biblical reasons for the Sabbath, 02:07 how one can enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath, 02:09 it's all here in our free offer. 02:12 Well, before we get to our study, 02:14 I'd like to invite our song leaders to come forward, 02:16 and they'll be leading us in a song together, 02:18 and then we'll get ready for our study time. 02:24 male: Good morning and happy Sabbath, everybody. 02:26 Please open your hymnals and joining us in 02:29 singing 338, "Redeemed." 02:31 ♪♪♪ 02:34 ♪ Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. ♪ 02:39 ♪ Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. ♪ 02:43 ♪ Redeemed through His infinite mercy, ♪ 02:47 ♪ His child, and forever, I am. ♪ 02:51 ♪ Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed ♪ 02:57 ♪ by the blood of the Lamb. ♪ 03:00 ♪ Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, ♪ 03:06 ♪ His child and forever I am. ♪ 03:10 ♪ I think of my blessed Redeemer, I think ♪ 03:15 ♪ of Him all the day long. ♪ 03:19 ♪ I sing, for I cannot be silent, His love is ♪ 03:26 ♪ the theme of my song. ♪ 03:29 ♪ Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed, redeemed ♪ 03:35 ♪ by the blood of the Lamb. ♪ 03:37 ♪ Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, ♪ 03:43 ♪ His child and forever I am. ♪ 03:48 ♪ I know I shall see in his beauty the King ♪ 03:54 ♪ in whose law I delight. ♪ 03:57 ♪ Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps, ♪ 04:02 ♪ and giveth me song in the night. ♪ 04:06 ♪ Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the ♪ 04:12 ♪ blood of the Lamb. ♪ 04:15 ♪ Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, ♪ 04:20 ♪ His child and forever I am. ♪♪ 04:26 male: Thank you for singing with us. 04:29 ♪♪♪ 04:37 Jean: Let's bow our heads. 04:39 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 04:41 Dear Father in heaven, we thank You once again that we're able 04:43 to gather together and open up Your Word and study a very 04:45 important subject. 04:47 Matter of fact, we're going to be talking about this special 04:49 day today, talking about the Sabbath. 04:51 And so we do pray that Your Holy Spirit to come and guide 04:54 our hearts and minds. 04:55 And we ask this all in Jesus's name, amen. 04:58 Now, as mentioned, we're going to be studying an important 05:01 subject dealing with the Sabbath today, 05:03 it's lesson number three in our lesson quarterly. 05:05 I'd like to invite Pastor Doug to come forward, 05:07 it's a great subject, and we thought, 05:09 well, let's share teach on our subject of the Sabbath today. 05:13 So, Pastor Doug? 05:15 Doug Batchelor: Amen, thank you, Pastor Ross. 05:16 And welcome, everybody. 05:17 We're glad that you're joining us here. 05:19 Pastor Ross and I have been gone a couple of weeks in Michigan 05:22 taping a new series of programs for kids. 05:26 And we had a great experience while we were there, 05:28 but it's good to be back home. 05:30 Want to welcome those who might be watching on satellite, 05:33 3ABN, Hope Channel, Roku, Facebook, 05:36 and of course our friends here. 05:38 We have an extended church family out there, 05:40 and we're getting into this study of "The Least of These." 05:46 And in particular, our study today is really about some 05:49 different aspects of the Sabbath. 05:51 And if you look in the lesson, 05:55 we have a memory verse, the memory verse comes to us from 05:58 Mark chapter 2, verse 27. 06:00 And you can say this with me, most of us know this, 06:03 Mark chapter 2 verse 27, "The Sabbath--" 06:07 All right, well I mean, let's start all over again. 06:10 We can try to do that together. 06:11 "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man and not 06:17 man for the Sabbath." 06:19 That's a very important verse, and you'll see a little later on 06:22 in our lesson why that's so important. 06:24 You know, Pastor Ross, I thought it might be a good idea to 06:27 establish before we dive into the lesson, 06:29 many people think that the Sabbath is something that God 06:33 created at Mount Sinai and gave to the children of Israel. 06:36 But the Bible tells us the Sabbath appears when first? 06:42 Right, creation. 06:43 But you'd be surprised, people argue, 06:45 they say, "Well, God created the Sabbath back there on the 06:49 seventh day, but he didn't really ask anyone to keep it 06:52 until you get to Genesis." 06:54 Or rather until you get to Exodus chapter 20, 06:57 is that true? 06:59 So, what are the Scriptures that you use to reinforce that? 07:03 Well, got a few here, I don't know if you want 07:05 to dive in with any of them. 07:07 Jean: Sure, absolutely. 07:08 I think one of the key ones is Genesis chapter 2 and verse 3, 07:10 and there we find three very important words 07:13 talking about the Sabbath. 07:15 It says, "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, 07:19 because in it He rested from all the work which 07:22 God had created made." 07:24 So, here we find God blessing a day, 07:26 God sanctifying a day, and God resting on that day, 07:30 setting this day apart from the rest of the days of the week. 07:34 Doug: Now, it's hard to imagine that God has made 07:37 man on what day of the week? 07:40 Sixth day. 07:41 And then after man is made, He makes something for man. 07:45 Now, what was our memory verse? 07:47 The Sabbath was made for the Jews. 07:50 No, see, God makes man, mankind, Adam and Eve. 07:56 And then the next day, He makes a day, 07:58 and he sanctifies that day, makes it holy, 08:01 and God rests that day. 08:03 Wouldn't it be hard to believe that God rests that day, 08:06 He sanctified that day, and He didn't expect 08:09 Adam and Eve to do that with Him? 08:10 Say, 'You guys do whatever you want, I'm resting today. 08:13 I'm going to keep this day holy, but you don't have to." 08:16 But that's actually what some people argue. 08:19 Jean: You know, something else that's interesting, 08:21 if you compare the two institutions that we are first 08:23 introduced to in Genesis chapter 1 verse--chapter 1 and chapter 08:27 2, not only is the Sabbath introduced in the first few 08:30 verses of Genesis chapter 2, but in Genesis chapter 1, 08:34 verse 28, you have marriage that's introduced. 08:37 And it's interesting to note that God blessed not only the 08:40 Sabbath, but he also blessed marriage. 08:42 Same word in the original Hebrew, 08:44 blessed for marriage and blessed for the Sabbath. 08:47 And I don't think anyone would argue that marriage is just, 08:50 you know, for the Jew or that somehow marriage blessing came 08:54 to an end when sin entered. 08:57 Thus the Sabbath is not just for a particular group of people, 09:00 it is really for mankind. 09:02 Same blessing, same word used is used for both 09:05 the Sabbath and marriage. 09:07 Doug: Amen. 09:08 So, we read that the Sabbath was made for man 09:10 way back in the Garden of Eden. 09:12 Can someone think of something else that was made for man? 09:16 Woman, it is not good that a man should be alone. 09:19 So, if you think we no longer need the Sabbath, 09:21 we probably also no longer need women. 09:23 They were both part of God's original plan, 09:26 isn't that right? 09:27 For man. 09:29 And you know, while we're on that subject, 09:31 as Pastor Ross mentioned, these are two 09:33 sacred institutions from Eden. 09:35 Is God working to destroy those sacred institutions 09:39 in the last days? 09:41 Is God attacking marriage? 09:43 No, no, no, it's Satan. 09:45 It's Satan attacking marriage. 09:48 Yeah, so Satan is attacking the institutions of God, 09:50 marriage and what else? 09:53 The Sabbath in the last days. 09:55 And so that--it shouldn't surprise us that you're 09:56 going to see that. 09:58 And one other thing is when you say the Sabbath was made 10:00 for man, the word "man" there is the word 10:03 "Anthropos," and it means humanity, mankind. 10:07 That's why the Bible says, "Even the sons of the stranger that 10:11 join themselves to the Lord that keep the Sabbath from polluting 10:14 it, I'll make them joyful in my house of prayer." 10:17 And so, this is something that's for all people and all time. 10:20 You want to read Genesis 26, Pastor Ross? 10:25 Jean: Yes, Genesis chapter--are you referring to Genesis-- 10:30 Doug: Twenty-six, verse five. It's the second verse in-- 10:33 Jean: Oh, there it is. I see it right in my notes. 10:35 Talking about Abraham, it says, "Because Abraham obeyed My 10:37 voice and kept My charge, My commandments, 10:39 My Statutes, and My laws." 10:42 So, we're going from creation with Adam and Eve, 10:44 moving forward in history, and now we're coming to Abraham. 10:46 And here it tells us specifically that Abraham obeyed 10:49 God and kept His commandments. 10:52 Well, the commandments must've been known to Abraham in order 10:55 for him to obey them. 10:57 Doug: Yeah, people think that the commandments and the laws 10:59 and the statutes all came from Moses. 11:03 Who lived first, Abraham or Moses? 11:06 So, God evidently had statutes, commandments, 11:09 and laws that predated. 11:11 Now what--we know what the commandments are, 11:13 Ten Commandments. 11:15 Was it--was murder a sin before Mount Sinai, 11:18 before the Ten Commandments were given? 11:20 Where do we see that? 11:22 Cain and Abel, God said, "Sin is at your door." 11:25 Was adultery a sin before the Ten Commandments were given? 11:30 Where do we see that? 11:32 Joseph, remember he said, "How can I sin, 11:35 take my master's wife?" 11:37 Adultery, they knew adultery was a sin. 11:38 And the Sabbath was also still there, 11:40 but we've got to look at some other verses that 11:43 I think help illustrate that. 11:44 If you go for instance to Exodus 5. 11:47 Well, I'm going to start with Exodus 4. 11:50 So, this is after the call of Moses to bring the children 11:54 of Israel out of Egypt, and God says, 11:57 "Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered--" This is Exodus 4:29, 12:02 "Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders 12:05 of the children of Israel, and Aaron spoke all the words that 12:08 the Lord had spoken to Moses." 12:11 Now, why does Aaron speak and not Moses? 12:14 Moses has been away. 12:16 What language are the Israelites speaking in Egypt? 12:21 Probably Egyptian and Hebrew. 12:24 And so, what's happened to Moses's Egyptian after 40 years 12:29 of not speaking it? 12:31 Probably a little rusty. 12:32 And so, that's why he said, "I'm slow of tongue." 12:34 God said, "Well, don't worry, your brother, 12:37 he'll speak for you." 12:38 And so, this is why Aaron is being the spokesman 12:40 now to the people. 12:41 He's saying, "All the words the Lord had spoken to Moses. 12:44 Then he did the signs in the sight of all the people." 12:46 What else do you think they probably did there? 12:48 They said, "God is going to move in your behalf. 12:51 He's going to act for you. 12:53 You need to humble yourself, return to the Lord, 12:54 stop worshipping the gods of the Egyptians, 12:56 worship Jehovah." 12:58 And part of that would've included the Sabbath. 13:00 Now, how do we know that? 13:02 Pastor Ross, why don't you share with them what 13:04 happens in Exodus 5? 13:06 Jean: Reading from Exodus chapter 5 beginning verse 4, 13:08 it says, "Then the king of Egypt said to them, 13:10 'Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? 13:14 Get back to your labor.' 13:16 And Pharaoh said, 'Look, the people of the land are many 13:21 now, and you make them rest from their labors.'" 13:25 So, that's of course Pharaoh now complaining because Moses 13:28 and Aaron, they've spoken to the people, 13:30 and evidently the people are choosing to rest. 13:33 Well, that kind of ties in with the Sabbath. 13:35 Doug: Yeah, matter of fact, the word there--I don't know if 13:38 any of you have interlinear Bibles or you might be reading 13:41 your Bible on iPad or phone, you click on that word "rest" there 13:45 and it is the word "Shabbat." 13:47 So, specifically what the Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, 13:50 "You are making the people Sabbath. 13:54 And tell them to get back to work." 13:56 And so, it's pretty clear that they had returned to this. 14:01 Now, if that's not enough for you, 14:04 get your credit cards out 'cause we're going 14:06 to double your offer. 14:07 If you go to Exodus chapter 16, and this is under the section 14:10 where it says manna enough. 14:13 What chapter are the Ten Commandments given? 14:16 Exodus 20. 14:18 So, before you ever get to Exodus 20, 14:19 you read this in Exodus 16, verse 18. 14:22 It says that God told them, "Look, they're hungry. 14:26 I'll rain bread down from heaven for you. 14:28 I will do it six days a week. 14:30 You can get twice as much on the Sabbath." 14:32 And he says in verse 18, "So when they measured it by--" 14:37 Exodus 16, verse 18. 14:39 So yeah, they got twice as much on the preparation day. 14:43 "So when they measured it by omers, 14:46 he who had gathered much had nothing left over, 14:48 and he who had gathered a little had no lack. 14:51 Every man had gathered according to each one's need." 14:53 So, before we get into the manna in detail, 14:56 just notice the placement of this, it's Exodus 16. 14:58 And when they continued going out and looking for food, 15:02 God said, "How long will you break My commandments?" 15:07 And so, it was a commandment of God before they got to--and he 15:10 didn't say, "How long will you break your commandments?" 15:12 It's not a Jewish law, it says, "My commandments." 15:14 Notice it's not called the Sabbath of the Jews, 15:17 it's called the Sabbath of the Lord. 15:19 And then further evidence that the Sabbath existed before Mount 15:23 Sinai, what's the first few words of the 15:26 Sabbath commandment, Exodus 20, verse 8? 15:30 Remember. 15:31 Why would God tell them to remember something that 15:33 had never existed prior? 15:34 Why would God tell them to keep something that 15:38 had never existed prior? 15:40 He said, "Look, I made it holy, keep it holy." 15:42 And he's pointing back to when he made it holy right in the 15:45 commandment, he goes back to Genesis, creation. 15:49 Jean: Now, talking about the manna situation, 15:51 every day manna rained down, they would 15:52 gather it in the morning. 15:54 But then God of course told them they wouldn't get manna on the 15:57 Sabbath, they'd have to get a double portion Friday. 16:00 And you read in Exodus chapter 16 that there was some in the 16:03 camp of Israel that for some reason thought that God was 16:07 joking and they didn't get double supply on Friday, 16:09 and they wandered out of the camp on Sabbath to try and 16:13 gather up manna, and there was no manna available. 16:17 And then God said some rather interesting things 16:19 to the children of Israel through Moses. 16:21 This is of course before Exodus 20, 16:23 before those Ten Commandments, before the fourth commandment 16:26 is actually mentioned. 16:28 It talks about how God is saying that they do not keep My laws. 16:30 So, they were aware of the Sabbath even before Mount Sinai. 16:35 Doug: Mm-hmm, absolutely. 16:36 Now, I don't want to rush past the manna section without 16:38 reminding you, what time of day did the manna fall? 16:44 Early in the morning. 16:45 And what happened if they failed to go out and get it? 16:49 The sun came up and it sort of melted. 16:52 What does that manna represent? 16:57 Jesus said that "Moses gave you not that bread, 16:59 but I am the bread that came down from heaven." 17:01 The Word of God is that bread. 17:03 "Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word." 17:04 What about morning devotions? 17:08 What happens if we wait until the troubles of 17:10 the day crowd in on us? 17:13 Can we lose that time to feed our souls in the morning? 17:17 There's a precious time I think early in the day to commit 17:19 yourself to the Lord and eat that manna. 17:24 A great while before it was day, Jesus rose up 17:28 and he went out to pray. 17:29 I think it's important to take--to gather the manna. 17:31 And something else that's in the lesson I think is interesting, 17:34 we briefly mentioned 'cause it's talking about manna enough. 17:37 He told them how much to gather. 17:42 Some of them, they thought, 17:43 "Well, we don't know if it's going to go away. 17:45 We better gather more." 17:46 It seemed like no matter what God said, 17:47 there was always somebody that didn't really 17:50 believe what Moses said. 17:52 And so they said, "Oh, we're not going to have enough," 17:54 so they gathered extra. 17:56 The Bible says but when they finally meted it out, 17:58 they didn't have any extra. 17:59 Some thought, "Well, I'll leave more for others because I don't 18:01 want to take too much." 18:03 They had the same amount. 18:04 That's where it said, "He who gathered less had nothing over. 18:07 He who had gathered little had no lack. 18:09 Every man had gathered according to one's need." 18:12 Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 13. 18:17 He's talking about sharing. 18:21 And he says, "For I do not mean that others should be eased 18:25 and you burdened." 18:27 I'm not saying you should work real hard and others just are 18:29 taken care of by the church. 18:30 "But there be an equality, that now at this time, 18:34 your abundance might supply their lack, 18:36 that their abundance may also supply your lack, 18:39 that there might be an equality. 18:41 As it is written, he who gathered much had nothing left 18:44 over, and he who gathered little had no gains." 18:46 So, here Paul is quoting from Exodus 16 in this passage. 18:51 But on Friday, what happened? 18:56 They were supposed to gather what we call the preparation 18:58 date, twice as much. 19:00 Every other day of the week if they hoarded it, 19:02 what happened the next day? 19:05 It stunk. 19:06 Now, you notice first of all God told them not to gather too 19:09 much, they didn't listen, some gathered too much. 19:11 Then God said, "Now, don't keep it overly, nothing--" 19:13 They didn't listen, some kept it over and it stunk. 19:16 Then God said, "Don't go out Sabbath looking for it," but 19:19 some went out looking for it. 19:22 And he said, "How long will you refuse to keep My commandments?" 19:25 One more thing, Pastor Ross, about the people who went out. 19:28 Now, I just mention this because, 19:30 you know, there are a few doctrines of devils out there. 19:33 And I've even heard some Sabbath-keeping ministers tell 19:37 people, they quote this phrase if you look in Exodus chapter 16 19:41 and in verse 29, he says, "See, the Lord has given you the 19:46 Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth 19:48 day bread for two days. 19:50 Let every man remain in his place, 19:52 let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." 19:55 I've heard pastors take that verse and say you're not 19:58 supposed to go to church. 19:59 It says, "No man is supposed to go out of his place 20:01 on the seventh day." 20:03 That's not at all what it's talking about. 20:05 They were going out and gathering wood and they were 20:08 going out looking for manna. 20:10 He said, "Don't go out foraging on the Sabbath looking for manna 20:13 or looking for wood to build a fire. 20:14 You're supposed to have kindled your fire before sundown." 20:17 You notice it was not a sin for them to have a fire. 20:21 You could have a fire. 20:22 They were not to kindle a fire 'cause there was a lot of work 20:24 involved back then in kindling a fire. 20:26 Well, now you turn a knob. 20:28 He said get your fire going, don't kindle a fire. 20:30 They weren't told that they had to shiver all through the 20:32 Sabbath those cold winters in the desert. 20:35 They weren't to be kindling it. 20:38 And so, in our house in the wintertime, 20:40 we get the fire going before Sabbath. 20:41 We keep it going through the Sabbath, you understand? 20:46 That's very important. 20:47 So, you're going to hear people say, 20:49 I've actually heard it, you're not supposed to go out of your 20:51 home on the Sabbath, you just keep it at home. 20:53 Now, most of our Sabbath-keepers know better, 20:55 but I've actually heard that twisted. 20:58 And I've heard people say it's a sin to have a fire on a Sabbath. 21:04 And I remember hearing Jimmy Swaggart saying, 21:05 "Everybody who tries to keep the Sabbath when they drive to 21:08 church, they're hypocrites 'cause every time your spark 21:11 plug fires in your engine, you're kindling a 21:12 fire on the Sabbath day. 21:14 You are breaking the Sabbath when you drive to church." 21:17 So, you hear some really strange things on the range out there. 21:21 Jean: And of course, there's all kinds of traditions that 21:23 came with time, and Jesus addressed these when he was on 21:25 the earth because the Pharisees added all of these manmade 21:29 traditions and regulations to the Sabbath where it really 21:32 became a burden to the people. 21:34 That's not what the Sabbath is about. 21:36 It's not manmade traditions or regulations, 21:38 it's simply taking the Word of God as it is. 21:41 It's interesting to note at the end of that experience, 21:43 where God speaks to Moses about the children of Israel going out 21:45 to gather manna on the Sabbath, finally it 21:47 says they learnt their lesson. 21:49 This is verse 30 of Exodus chapter 16, 21:52 it says, "So the people rested on the seventh day." 21:55 They have learned sort of the hard way. 21:57 First of all, they went out to gather manna or some of them 21:59 went out to try and get, you know, 22:02 twice as much during the week and not on Friday, 22:05 and finally they learnt the lesson. 22:07 "All right, God means what He says. 22:09 Sabbath is indeed a blessing." 22:11 Now, there's a number of miracles associated with the 22:13 Sabbath and manna. 22:14 What happened if they got manna twice as much during the other 22:18 days of the week other than Friday morning? 22:21 It spoiled. 22:22 Whereas on Friday, a miracle occurred that the food not only 22:26 lasted on Friday, but it also lasted through the Sabbath. 22:28 And then another miracle on Sabbath, 22:30 there was no manna. 22:32 So, God made it pretty clear to the children of Israel which day 22:35 of the week was his day, and that day was a day of worship, 22:38 a day of rest, a day of blessing. 22:40 Doug: Amen. 22:41 While we're diffusing some of the misconceptions, 22:44 the idea that you're just supposed to stay in your tent. 22:47 Now, someone's going to read for me a verse in Leviticus 23:3, 22:50 is that you, Vicky? 22:52 All right, why don't you get ready for that? 22:54 I'm going to read to you Ezekiel 44:24, 22:57 "And they shall keep My laws, My statutes, 23:00 and all My appointed meetings, and they 23:05 shall hallow My Sabbaths." 23:06 So, is staying home on the Sabbath day keeping 23:10 the Sabbath day? 23:12 What does he call it? A meeting. 23:15 And you go ahead read your verse, 23:16 this I think will help nail that truth down. 23:18 Vicky: Leviticus 23:3, "Six days shall your work be done, 23:23 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest, 23:27 a holy convocation. 23:28 You shall do no work on it. 23:30 It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." 23:32 Doug: That word "convocation" means assembly. 23:37 It was a time for them to convene. 23:40 It's where we get convention. 23:41 They were to come together and worship. 23:43 And I just read to you Ezekiel. 23:45 He said, "My appointed meetings." 23:46 They were to meet together before the Lord. 23:49 Of course, Jesus went to the synagogue. 23:51 You know what the synagogue means? 23:52 The gathering. 23:53 They would gather together. 23:55 He stood up to read the Scriptures. 23:56 So, I say that because Sabbath is a day for recreation, 24:01 some rest, but I know a lot of people that say, 24:04 "Instead of going to church and gathering together in worship," 24:06 they say, "I'm going to spend it, 24:08 you know, in my RV up by the lake." 24:10 And they say, "I'm going to spend it--you know, 24:13 I'm just going to camp by myself and be one with God." 24:15 And you know, I'm not trying to condemn people that do that, 24:18 but technically part of the Sabbath command is a holy 24:20 convocation, it is a time for us, 24:24 yes, to go to church, to come together, 24:26 to worship him. 24:28 There's something that happens when we 24:29 corporately come together. 24:31 Jean: And even in the New Testament, 24:32 we find that same principle where Paul writes the believers 24:34 and says, "Let us not forsake the assembling 24:37 of ourselves together." 24:38 And says, "Especially as we see that day approaching." 24:41 So, it's pretty clear that there was a gathering of believers 24:44 and that would be on the Sabbath to worship, 24:46 even in the New Testament. 24:48 That Paul is encouraging believers together 24:49 to gather to worship. 24:51 Doug: Now, they didn't have to gather. 24:52 I mean, you could gather days other than the Sabbath, 24:54 but certainly if there was an appointed day, 24:56 it would've been the holy day. 24:58 Thank you very much. 24:59 And I think--why don't we move on to the second here, 25:02 where it talks about two reasons for the Sabbath. 25:04 And Pastor Ross, you want to read the verses 25:07 there in Ezekiel? 25:09 Jean: Yes, Ezekiel chapter 20, 25:10 beginning in verse 12. 25:11 We're looking for reasons for keeping the Sabbath. 25:13 It says, "Moreover, so I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign 25:17 between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord 25:20 that sanctifies them." 25:22 Now, it seems to note that the word used here 25:24 in Ezekiel 20:12 is sanctify. 25:27 The word used in Genesis chapter 2 with referencing the Sabbath 25:31 also is sanctified, means to set apart for a holy use. 25:35 So, the Sabbath is set apart from the rest of the week 25:39 for a special holy use. 25:41 Likewise the believer in Christ is to be set apart from the rest 25:45 of the world, those who don't believe. 25:48 We are set apart for a holy use. 25:50 Thus the Sabbath becomes a sign that we are set apart for God. 25:54 We are Christians, we believe the 25:56 Bible; we are following Christ. 25:58 Doug: Amen, now, someone is going to read 26:00 for us in just a moment Exodus 31:17. 26:03 Here's where we're talking about what does it mean about a sign? 26:08 I'm going to read first Deuteronomy 6, 26:11 verse 8, speaking of the commandments. 26:14 Now, God gives the Ten Commandments, 26:16 two chapters they're given in their entirety. 26:17 You know where they are? 26:21 Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. 26:25 In the New Testament, Jesus gives half of the 26:28 Ten Commandments in one utterance when the 26:30 rich young ruler comes to Him. 26:32 But you don't have anywhere in the New Testament where they're 26:34 given all ten in sequence. 26:36 Here it says, "You shall bind them for a sign on your hand. 26:40 They will be frontlets between your eyes." 26:43 Where does the mark of a beast--the beast appear? 26:47 The hand and in the forehead. 26:49 Well, here it makes it sound that is the law of God 26:52 the mark of the beast? 26:54 Where's the seal of God appear? Forehead. 26:59 In Ezekiel 9, it talks about God will put a mark in the foreheads 27:04 of those who sigh and cry for all the sins, 27:06 and they're the saved. 27:07 In Ezekiel 9, the ones with the mark are the saved. 27:10 Just keep in mind in the forehead and in the hand means 27:12 in your thoughts and in your actions. 27:16 In the Hebrew mind, it--and the people who do not have the law 27:19 of God in their hands and in their head in the last days will 27:22 have the mark of the beast in their hands and their head. 27:24 But it was a sign. 27:26 And so, one of those signs in the middle of God's law, 27:28 I always like to illustrate this point, 27:32 I think it's very valid. 27:34 Sabbath is unique from the other Ten Commandments. 27:38 It is unique in that it is the longest of the Ten Commandments. 27:42 It's unique in that it is in the middle of the law. 27:45 It's unique in that it is dealing with the 27:48 dimension of time. 27:50 It is a commandment that says what you are to do 27:53 and you're not to do. 27:55 Some commandments simply say, "Thou shalt not." 27:57 The Sabbath says, "Thou shalt work. 27:59 Thou shalt not work on this day." 28:04 It's also unique in that it's the only commandment where you 28:07 find the word "holy." 28:09 And I think that's interesting because the temple in the Holy 28:13 Land, in the holy city, on the holy mount, 28:16 in the Holy of Holies, in the holy ark has the word "holy" one 28:19 time and it's the Sabbath command. 28:22 In the Sabbath command, you've got the seal of God. 28:24 A seal had the name, the title, the territory. 28:27 In this command, it says, "The Lord created heavens and earth." 28:32 His name, His title, creator, His territory, 28:35 heaven and earth. 28:37 It's a unique command that the devil especially hates. 28:40 And it's a sign. 28:42 Jean: Just to add to that sign, 28:43 not only is it a sign that it is the Lord that sanctifies us as 28:46 we're reading Ezekiel chapter 20, 28:48 verse 12, in Ezekiel 20:20 it tells us that not only is the 28:52 Sabbath a sign that the Lord sanctifies us, 28:54 but it's also a sign that God created us. 28:57 So, the Sabbath serves as a sign not only that we are God's, 29:00 but it also reminds us that God made us. 29:03 We are made in His image. 29:04 The true joy and happiness that a person can have is when we 29:07 recognize that God is our creator and 29:09 we worship Him as such. 29:11 The big issue in the last days if you read the book 29:13 of Revelation revolves around worship. 29:15 Who do we worship? 29:17 Do we worship the beast power of the last days, 29:19 or do we worship the creator? 29:21 Depending upon who we worship, well, 29:23 that depends whether we get the seal of God 29:25 or the mark of the beast. 29:27 So, worship is an important thing, 29:29 and the Sabbath is connected to worship. 29:32 Doug: Yeah, amen. 29:33 So, it's a sign of him creating us or recreating 29:36 us and sanctifying. 29:39 All of us need to be recreated, that's the new heart. 29:42 Old things are passed away, all things are made new. 29:45 And it's a sign that He can sanctify us. 29:49 He takes what is once sinful and He makes us holy. 29:52 Every Sabbath, we remember that. 29:54 Would we have the same problems we have in our culture today 29:57 with people believing that we've all evolved with no purpose if 30:00 we had been keeping the Sabbath? 30:04 I think the neglect of the Sabbath has made people forget 30:11 that He's the creator. 30:12 Says, "Keep the Sabbath, for in six days the Lord created." 30:17 He wants us to remember that. 30:18 All right, we're going to go on now with the day--Sabbath 30:22 is a day of equality. 30:25 And it starts out here, Pastor Ross, 30:28 I don't know if you want to read Deuteronomy 5, 30:29 verse 12 and 15 and-- 30:31 Jean: Yes, Deuteronomy chapter 5, beginning in verse 12, 30:34 it says, "Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord 30:38 God commanded you. 30:39 Six days you should labor and do all your work, 30:42 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 30:45 In it, you should do no work, you, 30:47 nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, 30:51 nor your female servant, nor your ox, 30:53 nor your donkey, nor your cattle, 30:56 nor the stranger who is within your gates, 30:58 that your male servant and your female servant 31:00 may rest as well as you. 31:03 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, 31:06 and the Lord Your God brought you out from there by a mighty 31:09 hand and by an outstretched arm. 31:12 Therefore the Lord Your God commanded you to keep 31:14 the Sabbath day." 31:16 Doug: Now, some read the Sabbath commandment 31:19 in Deuteronomy 5 and they say, "See, 31:21 this proves the Sabbath was only for the Jews." 31:23 He said, "See, I'm commanding you to keep it because 31:25 you were a slave." 31:27 Do you notice there's a difference between the rendering 31:29 of the Sabbath commandment in Deuteronomy from 31:32 what you find in Exodus? 31:34 In Deuteronomy, Moses is--the whole book of Deuteronomy is 31:37 Moses's closing sermon before he dies to the people of Israel. 31:41 It's sort of his last appeal. 31:43 He's paraphrasing and expounding on their experience. 31:47 So, here he stops and he expounds on the Sabbath. 31:49 He's not adding to it, he's telling them why it's especially 31:54 important for them to let their servants rest. 31:57 He said, "Don't forget you were a slave. 32:01 You need to let your servants rest." 32:03 And not only was it a day for equality for the servants, 32:07 he said, "Your children shall rest." 32:11 You know, one thing before I leave the idea of the servants, 32:15 any of you been to Israel? 32:18 Some of you have. 32:19 Did you notice that some of the elevators are 32:21 called Shabbat elevators? 32:23 In some of the hotels and places you stay, 32:25 they got what they call an elevator and then they 32:27 got a Shabbat elevator. 32:28 You know why? 32:30 Because for the Orthodox Jews, it was so important to them, 32:33 they don't want to even push a button. 32:36 They've got automated lights on the Sabbath. 32:38 If they go into an elevator and it's not a Sabbath elevator, 32:44 they will stand there and wait for a Gentile to come in 32:47 and push a floor. 32:49 Sabbath elevators, as soon as you go in, 32:51 it stops on every floor. 32:53 How many of you know what I'm saying is true? 32:55 When I first heard that, I thought, 32:56 "You're kidding me." 32:58 So they thought, "Push the button, that's work." 33:01 That to me was-- 33:03 Jean: But the irony in that, Pastor Doug, 33:04 is you could wait for a Gentile to come and press the button, 33:07 you'd be okay, but you're not supposed to press the button. 33:10 Whereas the Sabbath commandment says not only are you to rest on 33:13 the Sabbath, but your servants are to rest and even the 33:16 stranger that is within your gates. 33:18 So, that would be the Gentiles. 33:20 So, in their manmade traditions, even today they still to some 33:23 degree set aside the commandments given by God. 33:26 Doug: Yeah, and if your servant is supposed to rest, 33:28 with that in mind, what does that say about Sabbath-keepers 33:32 that decide, "We're not going to prepare our food in advance, 33:35 we're just going to all go out to dinner"? 33:38 Aren't you kind of like hiring someone to cook 33:40 for you and serve you? 33:42 Because you didn't for whatever reason want to make 33:45 preparations in advance. 33:46 So, I'd have a problem with that. 33:48 But it's not only servants that are protected in this 33:50 commandment, what else? 33:52 Your animals. 33:54 It says that your ox and your donkey, 33:57 and now is an ox a clean animal? 34:01 Yes, is a donkey a clean animal? 34:03 So, it's basically saying male, female, 34:06 son, daughter, male servant, female servant, 34:08 animals, clean animals, unclean animal, 34:12 any beast of burden. 34:14 Now, keep in mind back in Bible times, 34:15 some of those animals, they were--they were burdened down 34:20 with loads, they were pulling plows. 34:22 And God said they even must rest. 34:26 Now, there's some exceptions. 34:28 You know, in the early days of our church, 34:32 if you wanted to get to church, you had to either walk 20 miles 34:35 or you had to hook up the buggy to the horse and ride. 34:40 And so, you know, there--sometimes there 34:42 was the practicality of it. 34:43 But as far as possible, the regular beasts of burden were 34:46 being told that they should rest on the Sabbath day. 34:50 And someone's going to read a verse for us about that. 34:53 Proverbs 12:10, and just reminds us that--and it's not only 35:01 the--your son and your daughter and your servants 35:04 and your animals. 35:05 It says, "And the stranger within your gates." 35:08 Now, within your gates means within your home, 35:11 within your whatever your dominion is, 35:13 they should be resting and keeping it. 35:15 But go ahead, read Proverbs for us please. 35:17 female: Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man regards the life 35:20 of his animal, but the tender mercies of 35:23 the wicked are cruel." 35:24 Doug: I'll tell you a quick story. 35:29 Years ago, a pastor was riding through Scotland, 35:32 this is in the 1800s, and he was doing some work in the area 35:36 for a few months. 35:37 And he noticed that every Sunday, 35:39 he saw all these donkeys in this field, 35:41 but they were disappearing the rest of the week, 35:43 he never saw them. 35:44 But Sunday, they were in the field. 35:46 And he finally stopped when he saw a man was there feeding the 35:49 donkey, he says, "I'm just curious," says, 35:50 "These donkeys are here every Sunday, 35:53 but they're gone the rest of the week. 35:55 What's with that?" 35:56 He said, "Well, these donkeys work down in the coal mines, 35:59 and of course Sunday we don't work, 36:02 but we have to bring them up. 36:04 Because," he says, "if they're in the dark of the mine all week 36:07 long, they go blind from never using their eyes." 36:11 Said, "They need to come up in the light at least once a week 36:14 or they go blind." 36:16 I think it's important that we also are exposed to the light 36:20 every Sabbath day. 36:22 And so it's a sign--when he says, 36:24 "It's a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever," is 36:27 it just the sign for the children of Israel? 36:29 Or does the Bible say, "If you are Christ's," 36:32 what's the rest of that? 36:35 "Then you are Abraham's seed. 36:37 He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, 36:39 but he is a Jew which is one inwardly." 36:42 And so, every Christian is grafted into these promises 36:45 where it's a sign between God and spiritual Israel as well 36:50 as literal Israel forever. 36:53 Jean: I'd also like to mention there where it says, 36:55 "And rest and be refreshed." 36:58 We need spiritually to be refreshed once a week. 37:01 We do it every day when we have our own worships, 37:04 but there's something special, there's a double portion of a 37:07 blessing that we find on the Sabbath spiritually speaking, 37:10 where we can be refreshed. 37:12 You know, Pastor Doug, I don't know what I'd do 37:14 if it wasn't for the Sabbath. 37:15 It seems like our whole lives revolve around getting ready for 37:18 the Sabbath, and then we look forward to the Sabbath during 37:21 the busyness of the week. 37:22 And not to have the Sabbath would just be a, 37:24 you know, when do you rest? 37:26 When do you take a break? 37:27 When do you walk away from all of the busyness that seems 37:30 to crowd you all week long and just spend time 37:32 meditating with God and worshipping? 37:35 It's so important for every Christian to 37:37 have that special time. 37:39 Doug: You know, it's almost like reading "Moby Dick" 37:41 where you don't have chapters frequently enough. 37:44 You know what I'm talking about? 37:46 We need chapters where you say, "I'm going to pause here." 37:50 And every week, God says, "Okay, closing the 37:52 chapter of that week. 37:53 You can rest before you delve into another chapter." 37:55 Some of you I can hear laughing, you read "Moby Dick." 37:57 All right, why don't you read, now we're going to go into 38:00 days of healing. 38:01 And there is some disputes about this, 38:02 but the Sabbath is a time for healing. 38:04 You want to read Matthew, Pastor Ross? 38:06 Jean: Yes, so in Matthew chapter 12, 38:07 beginning in verse 9, we have an incident that occurred on 38:09 the Sabbath with Jesus. 38:11 It says starting verse 9, "Now, when He had departed from there, 38:14 He went to their synagogue, and behold, 38:16 there was a man who had a withered hand. 38:18 And they asked Him saying, 'Is it lawful 38:21 to heal on the Sabbath?' 38:22 that they might accuse Him. 38:24 Then He said to them, 'What man is there among you who has one 38:27 sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not lay 38:32 hold of it and lift it out? 38:34 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? 38:38 Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.' 38:41 Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' 38:44 And he stretched it out 38:45 and it was restored as whole as the other." 38:49 Doug: Now, some people say, 38:50 "Well, you know, Jesus healed on the Sabbath, 38:52 and so He said, 'As long as you're doing good, that's okay. 38:57 You can do whatever you think is good.'" 39:00 Now, some people have taken the ox in the 39:02 ditch and they've abused that principle. 39:05 Jesus is saying if a person is physically sick and you can heal 39:08 them, obviously you should heal them. 39:11 I know a good Sabbath-keeping dentist, 39:13 and every now and then he'll get a call from someone who wakes 39:15 up in excruciating pain with a toothache, 39:17 and they say, "Oh, can you help me?" 39:19 He says, "Absolutely." 39:20 He won't charge them, but he'll open up his dentist lab, 39:23 he'll bring them in, and try and take care of whatever 39:26 the immediate pain is. 39:27 He might have to say, "Look, this will help you relieve the 39:29 pain until I can have my crew here and we can, 39:32 you know, do a procedure, operate on another day." 39:35 But he sees that these people are suffering, 39:37 and of course Jesus would relieve their suffering if 39:39 He had it in His power. 39:41 That's different than saying, "You know, 39:43 we're going to go out on Sabbath and do service 39:45 for our neighbors. 39:47 We're going to rake their leaves." 39:49 Is that the ox in the ditch? 39:51 I hear sometimes that people say, 39:53 "Well, we're going to take the kids out doing community service 39:55 on Sabbath 'cause it's better to do good. 39:57 So, we're going to wash our neighbor's windows." 39:59 I think that's abusing what the principle is, 40:03 you know what I'm saying? 40:04 And so, I think we need to just know Jesus. 40:07 Did Jesus heal people on the Sabbath? 40:10 Was He ever in the carpenter shop on the Sabbath? 40:14 But isn't making chairs good? 40:17 See, people couldn't abuse that word 40:19 "good" 'cause everything's good. 40:20 That's not what Christ is talking about. 40:23 We have another example of healing, 40:25 now did Jesus heal people on Sabbath? 40:28 Was that to say the Sabbath should not be kept, 40:31 or were the disputes about how the Sabbath should be kept? 40:35 Jesus had a lot of disputes about how the 40:38 Sabbath should be kept. 40:39 Never did He say it should no longer be kept. 40:42 That's a very important point. 40:44 You're going to find where people are arguing, 40:46 "Well, Jesus had to--He had to fight of all the legalistic 40:49 Pharisees who were trying to make people keep the Sabbath" 40:52 No, He was fighting off the legalism of keeping it 40:54 improperly or for the wrong reasons. 40:57 We have another one, Pastor Ross, in Luke. 40:59 Jean: Luke chapter 13, verse 10, 41:01 we have another Sabbath occurrence with Christ that 41:04 says, "Now He was teaching in one of the Synagogues on the 41:06 Sabbath, and behold, there was a woman who had a spirit 41:08 of infirmity for 18 years. 41:11 And she was bent over and could in no wise raise herself up. 41:14 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to 41:19 her, 'Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.' 41:22 And He laid his hand upon her, and immediately 41:24 she was made straight and glorified God. 41:27 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation 41:30 because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. 41:32 And he said to the crowd, 'There are six days on which a man 41:36 ought to work, therefore come and be healed on them, 41:41 and do not on the Sabbath day.' 41:43 Then the Lord then answered him and said, 'Hypocrite! 41:47 Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey 41:51 from the stall and lead it away to water it? 41:53 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham who Satan 41:58 has bound,'" think of it, "for 18 years be loosed from this 42:02 bond on the Sabbath?" 42:05 Doug: Yeah, Sabbath day is a day of blessings. 42:07 And you know, what a great day for a person to be set free is 42:11 what Jesus is saying. 42:13 And so, again you could just look--I mean, 42:16 it's hard for me to imagine the ruler of the synagogue, 42:19 how coldhearted he could be. 42:21 This woman is all bent over, she's hunched over, 42:23 maybe severe osteoporosis, I don't know what it was. 42:26 And in the presence of them all, Jesus does a mighty miracle. 42:29 They all knew her, she had had this problem 18 years, 42:31 she went to the same synagogue. 42:33 And they saw her hobble in, looking at the ground 'cause she 42:36 couldn't stand up, Jesus touches her, 42:37 and a miracle happens. 42:39 And instead of everybody just exploding in joy, 42:42 the ruler of the synagogue is wringing his hands and going, 42:45 "This is the Sabbath. 42:47 You shouldn't do this." 42:48 If I see a miracle like that, I'd just say, "Praise God." 42:50 God does miracles, He did it, and so you got to take 42:54 it up with the Lord. 42:55 But yeah, you know, the devil exposes. 42:59 And then we have what--now, there's a lot of examples, 43:02 we only have time for three. 43:04 We have another one in John 9, you want to read that? 43:08 Jean: Yes, another Sabbath miracle that Jesus performed, 43:10 it says, John chapter 9, beginning verse 14 if you're 43:12 following in your Bibles, "Now it was the Sabbath when 43:15 Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 43:17 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received 43:20 his sight, and he said to them, 'He put clay on my 43:22 eyes, and I washed and I see.' 43:24 Therefore, some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God 43:28 because He does not keep the Sabbath.'" 43:32 Doug: Another example of the same misbalanced legalism, 43:38 where--and you know, finally they end up kicking this man 43:41 who's got his eyes open. 43:43 He's blind from birth, had never seen before, 43:46 he's healed, he can see, and the religious leaders even bring 43:51 in his parents, they said, "This is too--we can't 43:53 believe, this is too much. 43:54 Is this actually your son?" "This is our son." 43:56 "He was born blind?" "He was born blind." 43:58 "Well, how does he see?" 44:00 They said, "Well, don't ask us, ask him." 44:01 'Cause they were afraid to get kicked out of 44:02 the synagogue, excommunicated. 44:04 And the young man's got very good perception, 44:07 he said, "This is amazing to me that you're asking 44:10 who this man is from. 44:13 God hears the prayers of the righteous through the Lord. 44:18 Through the power of God, He has opened my eyes. 44:21 It's never been heard of since the history of man, 44:23 someone born blind should have their sight restored." 44:26 And he finally says, "Look, how He did it, 44:28 I can't tell you everything about it. 44:30 All I know is I was blind and now I see." 44:34 And they got upset at him and they ended up kicking him out 44:36 of the synagogue. 44:38 Jean: I like what he says, Pastor Doug, 44:39 they ask him again, "Now tell us, 44:41 how did this happen?" 44:42 And he says, "Well, I told you already. 44:44 Do you want me to tell you again so you can be disciples?" 44:46 Oh, they got very upset. 44:48 Doug: Yeah, that's when they kicked him out of the synagogue. 44:50 Jean: You know, it's interesting to note that the 44:53 Bible, at least in the gospels, we have seven occurrences 44:55 of Sabbath miracles that Jesus performed. 44:57 It's always nice when these things come in sevens, 45:00 the perfect number. 45:01 But the Bible records for us seven Sabbath miracles. 45:04 We've looked at a few of them, but there's some other very 45:06 significant Sabbath miracles. 45:08 It's an interesting study sometime to look up all of the 45:10 miracles Jesus performed on the Sabbath. 45:12 Doug: And this is one of the reasons Christ made that 45:14 statement that the Sabbath was made for man, 45:16 not man for the Sabbath. 45:18 God did not create the Sabbath day and then 45:20 create man to observe it. 45:22 God created man, and then created the Sabbath day 45:25 for it to be a blessing for man. 45:27 And so, they had turned the Sabbath day into a burden, 45:30 where it's supposed to be a blessing. 45:31 And He says, "You've got the whole point of it backwards." 45:35 Last section, we'll probably just have a couple minutes 45:37 to get some of this, Sabbath rest even for the land. 45:40 And maybe you want to read Leviticus 25:1 45:44 to 7 there for us. 45:45 Jean: Leviticus chapter 25, beginning in verse 1, 45:47 it says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, 45:49 saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 45:52 "When you come into the land that I will give you, 45:54 then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 45:58 Six years you should sow your field, 46:01 six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit. 46:04 But the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for 46:08 the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. 46:10 You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 46:14 What grows of its own according to the harvest you may not reap, 46:18 nor gather the grapes of your unintended vine, 46:22 for it is a year of rest for the land. 46:24 And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you, 46:27 for you and for your male servants, 46:30 female servants, for your hired men, 46:32 for the stranger who dwells with you, 46:34 for your livestock and for the beast that are in the land. 46:37 All its produce shall be their food."'" 46:41 Doug: Now, you know, there's no record that I can think of, 46:44 you might correct me, where it shows 46:46 them actually observing this. 46:48 Most of the time, they neglected it. 46:50 They would go out and harvest. 46:52 They would were afraid God was saying, 46:53 "I want you to live by faith that year. 46:55 Whatever grows volunteer, you can eat. 46:59 Don't go harvest it, but it's for everybody, 47:01 the man, your servants, your animals. 47:02 But you're going to rest that year from the farming. 47:05 Just trust Me." 47:07 And most years, they neglected that commandment. 47:12 The reason you know that is you look in 2 Chronicles and it says 47:16 in verse 19, I'll start with 2 Chronicles chapter 36, 47:20 verse 19, "Then they burned the house of God, 47:23 they broke down the wall of Jerusalem, 47:25 they burned all its palaces with fire, 47:27 they destroyed all its precious possessions. 47:29 And those who escaped from the sortie carried away to Babylon, 47:32 where they were to be servants to him and his sons until the 47:35 rule of the king of Persia to fulfill the Word of the Lord by 47:38 the mouth of Jeremiah until the land has enjoyed her Sabbaths. 47:43 As long as she laid desolate, she kept Sabbath 47:47 to fulfill 70 years." 47:48 So, God was saying, "Look, you would not let 47:51 the land keep Sabbath. 47:52 It's going to have an enforced Sabbath for 70 years." 47:56 Something else I think is interesting here is while the 47:59 land was desolate, it was keeping Sabbath. 48:02 What's the condition of the world when Jesus comes 48:05 back for the 1,000 years? 48:07 It's desolate, and so, the earth is keeping a 1,000 year, 48:11 a millennial Sabbath while we are living and reigning 48:13 with Christ in heaven. 48:16 Now, they also had that same law for servants as well, 48:20 Pastor Ross, in Exodus 21. 48:21 Jean: Exodus chapter 21, beginning in verse 1, 48:23 it says, "Now these are the judgments which 48:26 shall set before them. 48:27 You shall buy--if you shall buy a Hebrew servant, 48:30 he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall 48:33 go out free and pay nothing." 48:36 Doug: Yeah, and so, you know, all through the Bible we see 48:39 these patterns of six you work, one you rest. 48:43 They not only have a Sabbath every seventh year, 48:46 but after seven sevens, they have a special Sabbath year that 48:52 was called the year of what? 48:53 Jubilee, and so, their whole economy was 48:57 based upon believing that God would supply. 49:00 And that was a time, the Jubilee, 49:02 when they would not only release slaves, 49:03 they would forgive debts. 49:05 And all of these I think are pointing to the ultimate 49:08 Sabbath, when Jesus comes. 49:09 Now, we don't know the date of Christ's coming, 49:14 but we do know when the time is near, 49:16 and you can see a pattern in the Bible where a day with the Lord 49:20 is like 1,000 years and 1,000 years like a day. 49:23 And for 6,000 years from the time of Adam, 49:28 you add up the ages, it's approximately 6,000 years, 49:32 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham, 49:36 the age of the patriarchs, 2,000 years from Abraham to Christ was 49:40 the age of Israel, the Jews, 2,000 years from Christ to our 49:43 present day is the age of the church or spiritual Israel. 49:46 Then 1,000 years like a Sabbath we live and reign with the Lord. 49:50 We're living right about Friday afternoon right now. 49:55 But do you notice the pattern? 49:57 Six days you would--six years you would farm your land, 50:00 the seventh you'd let it rest. 50:01 For 6,000 years, Jesus sowed the seed of the gospel. 50:04 How is he pictured coming in Revelation? 50:06 To harvest. He's got a sickle. 50:09 And at the--after six years, you'd let your servant go free. 50:13 When Jesus comes, those who've been captive to the devil, 50:15 they get their glorified bodies, there's a liberation, 50:18 so all these things almost find their fulfillment in a picture 50:21 of the Second Coming. 50:23 Jean: Absolutely, we'd like to remind our friends, those 50:25 who are watching as we 50:26 near the end of our time, about our free offer for today. 50:28 It's a magazine talking about the Sabbath, 50:30 it's called "The Rest of Your Life," just one of our most 50:34 useful resources that Amazing Facts has put together on the 50:36 subject of the Sabbath. 50:38 If you'd like to receive this free offer, 50:40 the number to call is... 50:44 And you can ask for offer number 813. 50:46 Or you could text the following code, 50:49 text the code SH086 to the number 40544, 50:55 and you'll be able to receive a free download of this great 50:58 magazine called "The Rest of Your Life," 51:00 all about the Sabbath. 51:02 Doug: Amen, thank you very much. 51:04 God willing, friends, we'll study his Word together again 51:05 next week, and God bless you. 51:09 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's 51:11 life-changing free resource. 51:12 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 51:15 you can download a digital copy straight to your 51:17 computer or mobile device. 51:18 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 51:21 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544, 51:26 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 51:28 And be sure to select the digital download 51:30 option on the request page. 51:32 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 51:35 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 51:38 and most important to share it with others. 51:43 ♪♪♪ 51:55 [speaking foreign language] 52:05 [speaking foreign language] 52:09 Doug: We are all part of the family of God. 52:11 This is what you've heard each of our friends just say. 52:13 Hi, we're here in Papua New Guinea, 52:16 where the people speak over 800 different languages. 52:19 In fact, this is the most language diverse place 52:22 in the entire world. 52:24 The reason for that is because of the topography of this 52:28 country with the tall mountains, steep ravines, 52:31 deep gorges, and rushing rivers. 52:32 Over the millennia as the country was settled, 52:36 the different people and tribes were isolated by the terrain. 52:39 So, they evolved their own very distinct languages. 52:42 When people cannot communicate, sometimes 52:45 it causes misunderstandings. 52:46 So, the people in New Guinea have overcome that by speaking 52:49 a common pigeon English. 52:51 [speaking foreign language] 52:55 Doug: It's a very beautiful dialect that combines some 52:57 German, some English words, and some of the tribal words. 53:01 [speaking foreign language] 53:06 Doug: You can read in the Bible in Genesis chapter 11 53:08 there was once a time when all the world spoke one language, 53:12 but then men began to rebel against God. 53:14 They started to build a tower as a monument to manmade salvation 53:18 and manmade worship. 53:20 It's better known as the Tower of Babel. 53:22 Matter of fact, after God confused the languages, 53:25 people started babbling, which is where we get the word. 53:28 For thousands of years, this confusion of tongues caused all 53:32 kinds of problems in communication, 53:34 even wars were fought. 53:36 But then in Acts chapter 2 in the upper room, 53:39 God did something extraordinary to reverse the curse of the 53:42 confusion of tongues. 53:44 He poured out the Holy Spirit and Jesus did what he promised. 53:47 He said, "You will speak with other tongues." 53:50 Mark chapter 16, the disciples were supernaturally given the 53:54 ability to communicate in many different tongues 53:57 the good news of God. 53:58 Throughout the Bible, we learn that sin causes division. 54:01 On the other hand, God is love, and so when we're filled with 54:05 the Spirit of God, we naturally have love for one another. 54:08 This is the big command in the Bible that we 54:10 should love one another. 54:12 Jesus's prayer for his people in John 17 is, 54:14 "Father, that they may love each other and be 54:17 one even as We are one." 54:19 Paul says in the book of 1 Corinthians that we're many 54:22 different parts, but we are one body. 54:25 And so this is God's plan, that we might all be one and speak 54:29 the language of heaven. 54:31 So, if we have the Spirit of God, 54:33 we will have the love of God because love is the language 54:36 of God, and we will all be of one family. 54:40 all: God loves you! 54:41 ♪♪♪ 54:51 ♪♪♪ 54:55 Diana Dixon: My name is Diana Dixon, 54:56 I'm a professional truck driver. 54:59 And August the 4th, 2011, I stopped to help in an accident. 55:03 male: Diana Dixon also tried to help. 55:05 She parked her semi, jumped out, and headed toward the pickup. 55:08 That's when she saw vehicles barreling toward her, 55:12 so she reacted by jumping off 475 to a road below. 55:16 Diana: Well, a pickup had clipped a semi, 55:18 and I stopped to help. 55:19 And I saw it in the mirror. 55:20 So, I walked back, gentleman told me, 55:22 he says, "Hey, you know, everything's okay. 55:23 They called 911." 55:25 And I looked over at the pickup and there was a black pickup 55:27 over there and he was okay. 55:29 And about that time, I don't know how far I walked, 55:31 but I walked far enough and a semi hit him, and it imploded. 55:37 I knew it was going to hit me. 55:38 I had 30 seconds to decide, and I decided to jump. 55:42 Diana: Yeah, I jumped off the bridge, my back's broken. 55:46 male: Where are you at? Diana: I don't know. 55:50 Diana: Fractured my pelvis in 24 places, 55:52 5 broken ribs, C5 neck fracture. 55:55 I had a collapsed lung, I had a lacerated bladder, 55:59 I was bleeding internally. 56:01 I had no marks on the outside of me at all, 56:03 but a scrape where my arm had scraped the concrete. 56:06 From the chest down, I was on fire. 56:08 I was a dispatcher for a year after the accident. 56:11 And I went back, finished my degree, 56:13 and I went to Pittsburg, threw a backpack over my back, 56:17 walked like all the other students, 56:19 I ran a marathon. 56:21 And I'm--since then, I've been back to truck driving. 56:25 There was a gentleman I worked with, 56:27 and one day he was walking in, and he walked up to my desk 56:29 and I was reading my Bible. 56:31 And he says, "Are you a believer?" 56:33 And I said, "Yes." 56:35 And he gave me some Amazing Facts study guides. 56:38 And it just--it was an eye-opening experience for me. 56:42 I mean, I started reading them and I had a bunch of questions 56:44 to ask him, so I got online and I got on the 56:47 Amazing Facts webpage. 56:50 And I just found information just that I'd never known. 56:54 I went back to work as a truck driver because 56:56 that was my ministry. 56:58 It was my ministry before the accident. 57:00 And I was driving down the road and I just needed a connection, 57:04 and I was flipping through, and somehow I ended up on YouTube. 57:07 And next thing I know, Amazing Facts, 57:10 one of those things would come up there, 57:12 and I'd listen to it. 57:13 I'm driving down the road, I got--I got 11 hours of driving. 57:16 So, I listen to one, I listen to another one. 57:20 And the more I listen to him, everything that I thought in my 57:23 heart, I'd just click on one of his YouTubes and there he was 57:26 giving me the answer. 57:27 I walked in the Seventh Day Adventist Church for the first 57:29 time and I felt at home. 57:32 I was baptized in the Seventh Day Adventist Church because 57:35 I had found the truth that I just was searching for 57:39 and I'd been praying about. 57:41 Amazing Facts has been such an inspiration and important for my 57:44 coming back into ministry that I want to be able to give back 57:49 to anyone that I can. 57:51 And Amazing Facts is the backbone of my ministry. 57:56 My name is Diana Dixon. 57:58 Thank you for changing my life. 58:02 ♪♪♪ 58:12 ♪♪♪ 58:22 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-07-17