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Series Code: SSH
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00:13 ♪♪♪ 00:23 ♪♪♪ 00:33 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: Welcome to another edition 00:36 of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:38 It is so good to be able to have you here as you are watching 00:40 online or on various TV channels around the world. 00:45 It is always good to be able to come together here at the 00:47 Granite Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church here in the 00:50 Greater area of Sacramento, California. 00:53 It's always good to be able to have our local visitors as well 00:56 as our regular members that join us from Sabbath to Sabbath as we 00:59 come together to be able to study God's Word. 01:02 Now, today is a big day because today is wrap-up day. 01:05 Today is the last lesson that we'll be looking at in a study 01:09 and quarterly that we've been studying for the last three 01:11 months, and it's entitled, "The Least of These," ministering to 01:15 those in need. 01:16 And this is a great theme that we can find 01:19 throughout the Bible. 01:20 Jesus, of course, lived it in a very powerful way during His 01:23 time, and the early church did as well, and so we look forward 01:26 to being able to study that last wrap-up lesson today entitled, 01:30 "A Community of Servants." 01:32 That's lesson number 13 and so if you have your quarterlies, 01:34 make sure that you open it up and that you can follow along as 01:38 we look at this important subject. 01:41 Before we continue on with our singing and our praise, as we do 01:43 every Sabbath morning, we want to invite you to be able to take 01:47 advantage of a free offer 01:49 that we have for this week. 01:51 Now this week is a DVD. 01:53 Normally, we have a book but sometimes we also have a DVD. 01:55 And so the free offer for today is entitled 01:57 "Opening Our Homes to Christ." 02:00 "Opening Our Homes to Christ." 02:02 And you can just phone in to 1-866-788-3966. 02:08 Again, that's 1-866-788-3966 and ask for offer number 827. 02:16 That's 827. 02:17 Now, we live in a digital age and many of us have smartphones 02:21 and are interested in a download of that digital copy. 02:24 And so today, you can simply text the code "SH132" and you 02:30 want to dial that or text it out to the number 40544. 02:36 And if you do so, you'll find yourself receiving a free 02:38 download, a digital copy, of this particular video and sermon 02:41 presentation by our senior pastor, president of Amazing 02:45 Facts Ministries, Doug Batchelor himself. 02:48 And so please take advantage of that free offer today. 02:51 And we are going to invite our singers out as they lead us in 02:55 praise and worship before we get into our lesson study. 03:02 male: Good morning. 03:04 We're going to be singing song number 492 in the Seventh 03:06 Day Adventist hymnal, it's "Like Jesus." 03:09 "Teach me, Father, what to say. 03:11 Teach me, Father, how to pray. 03:13 Teach me all along the way how to be like Jesus." 03:17 You can all sing with us. 03:19 We're going to do all four verses. 03:20 ♪♪♪ 03:25 ♪ Teach me, Father, what to say. ♪ 03:31 ♪ Teach me, Father, how to pray. ♪ 03:37 ♪ Teach me all along the way ♪ 03:44 ♪ how to be like Jesus. ♪ 03:51 ♪ I would be like Jesus, ♪ 03:57 ♪ I would be like Jesus! ♪ 04:03 ♪ Help me, Lord, to daily grow ♪ 04:09 ♪ more and more like Jesus! ♪ 04:17 ♪ Teach me as the days go by, ♪ 04:23 ♪ teach me not to reason why, ♪ 04:29 ♪ teach me that to do and die, ♪ 04:36 ♪ is to be like Jesus. ♪ 04:44 ♪ I would be like Jesus, ♪ 04:50 ♪ I would be like Jesus! ♪ 04:56 ♪ Help me, Lord, to daily grow more ♪ 05:05 ♪ and more like Jesus! ♪ 05:12 ♪ Teach me that the time is short. ♪ 05:18 ♪ Teach me how to live and work. ♪ 05:25 ♪ Teach me that to never shirk ♪ 05:31 ♪ is to be like Jesus. ♪ 05:38 ♪ I would be like Jesus, ♪ 05:45 ♪ I would be like Jesus! ♪ 05:51 ♪ Help me, Lord, to daily grow more ♪ 06:00 ♪ and more like Jesus! ♪ 06:07 ♪ Teach me how we may be one, ♪ 06:13 ♪ like the Father and the Son; ♪ 06:20 ♪ and when all is overcome, ♪ 06:26 ♪ I will be like Jesus. ♪ 06:34 ♪ I would be like Jesus, ♪ 06:40 ♪ I would be like Jesus! ♪ 06:47 ♪ Help me, Lord, to daily grow ♪ 06:54 ♪ more and more like Jesus! ♪♪ 07:07 Shawn: Father in heaven, as we stop, we ask for Your Holy 07:09 Spirit to bless us. 07:11 We ask that You will be the teacher that You promised to be 07:13 for us and, God, we want to pray that You will help us to be able 07:16 to learn this important subject, Lord, in all ways in which You 07:20 would have us grow and understand and grow as 07:22 Christians, Lord, we want to pray that You will do so. 07:25 We want to pray that You will bless our teacher today as we 07:28 are thankful for his service and his willingness to be able 07:31 to teach us today. 07:32 In Jesus's name we pray, amen. 07:35 It's my privilege to be able to invite and welcome our teacher 07:38 today which is Carlos Munoz. 07:40 Now, Pastor Carlos is the AFCOE leader, the Amazing Facts 07:44 College of Evangelism for Amazing Facts for those of you 07:47 who are not aware. 07:48 God bless you, Carlos. 07:51 Carlos Munoz: All right, Maranatha. 07:54 All right, who remembers what does Maranatha mean? 07:57 Christ is coming, amen? 07:59 All right, so I think eventually we'll get it down. 08:01 So when I say "Maranatha," you say, "Christ is coming," amen? 08:05 Let's practice that again. Maranatha. 08:08 All right, here we go. 08:09 We'll get there, we'll get there. 08:12 Shabbat Shalom, everybody, welcome to another wonderful 08:17 Sabbath School Study Hour. 08:20 I'm excited, sad because we're seeing this lesson--this 08:24 quarterly come to an end. 08:25 Who's enjoyed this quarterly lesson, amen? 08:27 Yes, I think it's been very, very, very, very well written, 08:31 very, very--a lot of information and a good solid foundation 08:37 because I think sometimes we forget about ministering to 08:39 those in needs, amen? 08:41 And so before we start, let's have a word of prayer. 08:46 Heavenly Father, thank You for this opportunity to come 08:48 together and share Your Word again, 08:50 to study and review our lesson. 08:53 We just ask that Your Holy Spirit guide us so that we might 08:56 not only have a theoretical understanding of it but that we 08:58 may also apply this in a practical way 09:00 in our daily lives. 09:01 And so we ask this, Father, we ask this blessing and guidance 09:04 and we ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, amen. 09:07 Amen, so our last lesson for this quarterly is titled, 09:11 "A Community of Servants," right? 09:13 And the memory text is Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23 and 24. 09:18 Let's go ahead and read it. 09:19 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, 09:23 for He who promised is," what? 09:26 "Faithful. 09:27 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love 09:30 and good works." 09:32 Very good. 09:33 So the title of this lesson is "A Community of Servants." 09:37 Now, as I mentioned last time when I did the first--this will 09:40 be my--the second time I actually do Sabbath School so 09:42 I'm starting to get the hang of it again, in English. 09:47 Community of Servants, I always like to look at the title. 09:49 I like words. I really enjoy words. 09:51 I like breaking down words and understanding words and so 09:55 "A Community of Servants" has two very interesting words. 09:57 The first one is "Community," right? 09:59 Community has how many words? 10:01 It's a compound word, right? 10:02 Com-unity, right? 10:04 So unity is a unit. 10:07 Com, a community, right? 10:10 Community means a common unity, a common mission, 10:13 among people, right? 10:15 That's what it's talking about. 10:16 We're a community because we are a unit of people that have what? 10:19 We have a commission, right? 10:21 We have a mission, we have a purpose. 10:23 We're not just here just waiting around, putting our seatbelts on 10:26 and hitting cruise control on the car. 10:28 To wait for the return of Jesus Christ. 10:30 We have a mission and we are in unity on that mission. 10:33 We are in unity to what our goal is as Christians. 10:36 And so we are community, a common unit, a unit of what? 10:39 Of servants. 10:41 Now, the word "servants," what's the root word of servants? 10:43 To serve, right? To serve. 10:46 Now, we know the word "serve" is very foundational for us, but 10:51 when you go into the Greek and the Hebrew, the word "servant" 10:54 has a deeper understanding than just to serve because we think 10:58 to serve is, you know, when you go to a restaurant, right, you 11:00 have a server or a waiter, they come and they're just attending 11:04 you in what it is you want at that moment or the service that 11:08 you're requesting. 11:09 But in Hebrew the word "servant," right, is an 11:12 interesting word and in Greek, and it has a deeper 11:15 understanding so I want to show you some examples, what the word 11:18 "servant" or "serve" is in the Bible. 11:20 So if you want to join with me, please, go with me to Exodus 11:23 chapter 20, for example. 11:24 Exodus chapter 20. 11:26 I want to share with you some words and I think this is 11:27 important as we establish the foundation for this lesson, 11:31 the "Community of Servants." 11:33 So go with me to Exodus chapter 20. 11:34 We're going to look at an example in both the Hebrew 11:36 Scriptures and in the Greek Scriptures of the word "serve" 11:39 or "servant." 11:41 Exodus chapter 20, we know very well. 11:43 What's in Exodus chapter 20? 11:45 The Ten Commandments, very good. 11:46 So go with me to Exodus chapter 20 and we're going to go to 11:49 verse number 2. 11:51 Verse number 2. 11:53 Everybody there? 11:54 It says: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land 11:56 of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," right. 12:00 That word "bondage" in the English version. 12:02 In Spanish it says that you are slaves, right? 12:06 So the word "servant" really means the word "slave." 12:10 Now what is a slave? 12:11 We'll see the same--we're going to look at it again, 12:13 in the Greek now. 12:15 Then so what it really means to be in bondage, right, 12:17 is to be a servant or a slave to something or to someone. 12:22 In this context, God is telling them, 12:24 "You were slaves in Egypt, right? 12:26 And I have," what? 12:27 "I have liberated you from that servant, from that bondage, that 12:30 you had." 12:32 Why? 12:33 "Because I am a loving God, amen? 12:34 And I want you to," what? 12:36 "I want you to be servants to me." 12:38 Go with me to Romans chapter 6. 12:39 We'll see the same word again. 12:41 Servants. 12:42 The word "servants," we'll go to Romans chapter 6. 12:44 We're looking at the words "servant" so that we can have a 12:48 better understanding of exactly what is God asking us to do. 12:50 Romans chapter 6 and we're going to start on verse number 15. 12:53 Everybody there? 12:55 Romans 6:15, amen? 12:58 I hear the pages twinkling. 13:00 That's a good sound. 13:02 Romans chapter 6, verse 15. 13:03 Look at what Paul says here. 13:05 "What then? 13:06 Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?" 13:09 Right? 13:10 There the idea that because we have been saved by grace now we 13:13 can just continue to--we can trample on the law and--which 13:16 points to sin. 13:18 And Paul says, "Certainly not!" 13:19 He says, "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves 13:22 slaves to," what? 13:24 "To obey, you are the one's slaves whom you obey, whether of 13:27 sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to," what? 13:31 "To righteousness?" 13:33 So understand this. 13:34 We are all slaves to something or someone, right? 13:39 There's no middle ground here where people say, "I don't want 13:41 to serve God," or "I don't want--I don't like the things of 13:44 the enemy, and I want to stay in this neutral ground." 13:46 The Bible says you are either serving God 13:48 or you're serving what? 13:50 You're serving sin which would be under the kingdom 13:51 of our enemy, right? 13:53 And so you have to choose who you're going to serve. 13:57 You're going to have to choose, we have to choose, 13:59 who are we going to be a slave to? 14:01 Now, I know the word "slave" has a negative connotation in our 14:06 vernacular, right, because of in slavery but really, the word 14:09 "slave," the Greek word, what it really means is just to be tied 14:13 down to, right? 14:14 It's actually the Greek word is "doulos," and it means to be 14:17 literally or figuratively both voluntary or involuntary 14:21 subjected to something or someone, right? 14:25 And it comes from--the root word is deo which means to be tied 14:29 to, to be bonded to. 14:31 So you're either bonded to or tied to what? 14:34 Either to God or you're tied to or bonded to what? 14:37 To the flesh. Are you following me? 14:40 And so this is what it's talking about. 14:41 Who are you serving? 14:43 Remember, we're all slaves or servants to something 14:45 or someone. 14:46 You choose who you want to be a servant or a slave to. 14:49 I hope we all choose to be servants or slaves of God, amen? 14:52 And so this is what the lesson is talking about. 14:54 So as a church, we are a group--if we look at the title 14:57 again, "Community of Servants," then, we are a group of people 15:00 who have what? 15:02 Submitted, have tied ourselves or who have enslaved our will 15:06 to God, amen? 15:08 And that's what it means to be a community of servants. 15:10 We have enslaved ourself, we have tied our will 15:13 to the service of God. 15:15 And now God, if you notice, God is always in evangelism mode. 15:19 Have you ever noticed that, right? 15:21 I'm the director for Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism 15:24 so I just actually came back from Puerto Rico. 15:27 We were doing some evangelism training and, as I've continued 15:30 to develop and develop, I've noticed that God is always 15:32 on--He's always on evangelism mode. 15:35 God is always looking and seeking for the lost, amen? 15:39 And so a couple of lessons back, remember, I talked about that if 15:41 we are to be the reflection or the image of God and God is 15:44 always in evangelism mode, that means that us as a community of 15:47 servants, we should always be what? 15:50 We should always have that evangelistic mindset too. 15:53 Remember, evangelism is not an event. 15:54 Evangelism is an attitude and so we should also then, as our God 15:58 is throughout all the Bible in all the stories of the Bible, 16:01 we should also have that same evangelistic mindset of serving, 16:07 reaching out to those that have not known our God. 16:10 Is everybody with me, amen? 16:12 And we see that also with the divine commission, 16:13 Matthew chapter 28, right? 16:15 Again, divine commission. 16:17 Divine meaning it's what? 16:19 It's not human, right? 16:20 It's supernatural. 16:21 And commission, again, compound word. 16:24 Co-mission. 16:26 There is a mission that divinity has given us 16:28 and we are to do what? 16:29 Commission, cooperate with God in this mission, amen? 16:33 And so He says--Jesus says very clearly in Matthew chapter 8, 16:36 when you read it, the Great Commission, He says, 16:39 "I have all authority," where? 16:41 "In heaven and on--" He says, "I have all the power," right? 16:45 He says, "I now have at my disposal all of the angels of 16:48 heaven, I have all of the power of the Holy Spirit, and from 16:51 heaven I'm going to be ministering to you through these 16:54 powers, through the power of the Holy Spirit." 16:56 And He say, "Now go and do," what? 16:58 "Make disciples," amen? 17:00 And to be a disciple, to teach somebody to be a disciple, you 17:03 have to be a disciple, amen? 17:06 And so we're seeing that and then He closes with the 17:09 Commission, says, "Go make disciples by baptizing them and 17:11 by teaching them the things that I have taught you." 17:13 And then He closes the Commission, saying what? 17:15 "And I will be with you," what? 17:16 "Every day." 17:18 So He's telling us, go out, serve. 17:19 Go out and get this mission out. 17:22 Get this message, this gospel, out to the world. 17:23 He says, "I'm with you," right? 17:25 It's like a sandwich. 17:26 The Commission is between--it's sandwiched between Him telling 17:28 you, "I have all the power," and "I am going to be with you every 17:31 day," amen? 17:32 And so this is part of our identity or at least it should 17:35 be part of our identity, right? 17:37 If you want to go with me to page 104, there was an 17:39 interesting quote there I want to share with you. 17:42 Page 104, the second chapter says--this in the first and the 17:49 introduction, it says: "The temptation is that when we get 17:50 together as a church, we become distracted with keeping the 17:55 church itself," what? 17:57 "Going. 17:58 Forgetting that the church exists to serve the world in 18:01 which God has placed it," right? 18:04 Sometimes, I think we get too churchy, right? 18:07 Or we get too religious, right? 18:09 And it's all about the routines and keeping every--and we forget 18:14 that the purpose that we're here for is to serve, right? 18:18 First, we're serving God; second, we're serving who? 18:21 We're serving each other, right? 18:22 We're all ministering to each other here also because amongst 18:25 us, we have brothers and sisters that are what? 18:27 That are suffering, that are down, that have their issues, 18:29 and we're here to what? 18:30 To minister to others, right? 18:32 Today it might be to somebody else, but next week it might be 18:34 to you because next week I might be the one that is struggling, 18:36 that's having--that's down, that's going through battles. 18:38 We are to work together too, amen? 18:41 And especially to serve who? 18:43 The community that we have been placed in, right? 18:45 We're not here out of accident, we're not here out of some 18:49 randomness. 18:50 We have a purpose here, right? 18:52 And especially as we move into our new building, we have a 18:54 purpose to the community that we're going to be serving. 18:56 We have a commission. 18:58 Who says, "Amen"? The Word is exciting, right? 19:00 We're doing it together. We're not by ourselves. 19:02 Not only does God with us and His angels and His Holy Spirit, 19:05 but together, we are working together to get to the mission 19:09 of getting the gospel out to every person 19:12 that lives in our community. 19:13 Can I hear an "amen" for that? 19:15 And so when we look at the first lesson, it talks about being 19:19 agents of--agents of change. 19:22 Now that was a very, very interesting--I mean, this 19:26 specific day caught my attention in a lot of interesting ways 19:30 because if we remember, if you look on it, it talks about being 19:33 agents of change and it gives us a number of examples of 19:37 metaphors that Paul has used to show or portray or to exemplify 19:42 how the church is to be an action to the world, amen? 19:45 And he uses four very specific examples. 19:48 First one is sacrifice, right? 19:51 That means, remember, all of those sacrifices of the lambs 19:54 and the bulls and all of those things, that represents us, 19:57 my loved ones, amen, right? 19:59 Obviously, the Lamb that died on the cross was Jesus Christ but 20:01 when you look at all the multiple types of sacrifices 20:03 that were given, what is that? 20:05 It's talking about us, right? 20:06 And Paul says in Romans chapter 12 that we are what? 20:09 We are sacrifices. We are to sacrifice what? 20:12 Our ego, right? Sacrifice our will again. 20:15 Tie it up, bond it to God, and surrender our own desires, 20:19 our own self, so that what? 20:21 So that the Holy Spirit can use us, amen? 20:23 And so we are also sacrificing as Christ gave the greatest 20:27 sacrifice, we are to sacrifice our own desires, our own will, 20:31 and submit it to the will of God, amen? 20:35 Why? 20:36 It's not just for any reason. God's not being arbitrary. 20:38 He's saying it because He wants to use us, amen? 20:41 And for the Holy Spirit to be able to use me, what? 20:43 I have to put my ego aside and I have to say, "Lord, here I am." 20:48 Didn't Jesus put His ego aside? 20:49 He said, "Father, if this cup can pass, please do it." 20:52 But He says what? 20:53 "Not My will, but Your will be done," amen? 20:57 So we see that moment, the--one of the weakest moment of Jesus 21:00 Christ and yet He still submitted His whole life, 21:03 His whole thought, His will, to the Father, amen? 21:06 And it also talks about we are the body of Christ, right? 21:09 And Paul uses that metaphor that we are, what? 21:11 We are a community, right? 21:13 Some people are the mouth, some people are the eyes, some people 21:16 are the ears, some people are the toes, right? 21:18 Some people are the knees. 21:19 We're all supposed to be what? 21:21 Everybody here in the church has a purpose, amen? 21:24 And so the problem is imagine if everybody wanted to be the eyes, 21:27 or if everybody wanted to be the mouth. 21:29 There would be an issue, right? 21:30 God has--He has distributed His gifts, His talents, among the 21:34 church so that we can use it, what? 21:36 So that we can fulfill the common mission 21:38 that He has given us, amen? 21:40 And so as I surrender my will it's not what do I think 21:44 I should be doing or where should I be placed 21:46 in the church, it's what? 21:48 Where does God want me? 21:49 What is God's purpose, right? 21:50 And as we continue to submit ourselves and as the Holy Spirit 21:54 continues to give us gifts, He'll give us more gifts, right? 21:57 So it's a constant growing and that's one of the things 21:59 as I've been--when I was baptized 11 years ago, 22:02 I've seen that I've consistently--God 22:04 is consistently cycling me into something new, right? 22:07 He doesn't keep me in the same spot. 22:09 He's consistently moving me and moving me, right? 22:11 He's taking me out of my comfort zone because when we get too 22:14 comfortable, that's not a good spot, right? 22:16 So He's consistently doing this and this is what we see Paul 22:19 talking about. 22:20 Paul also talks about ambassadors. 22:22 Whoo, I love that word "ambassadors," right? 22:24 What is an ambassador, right? 22:26 We have--do we have ambassadors in different countries? 22:29 And do other countries have their ambassadors here? 22:32 Where do the ambassadors live? 22:35 Where do they live? 22:36 It's called in--they live in the--or they work 22:38 in the Embassy, right? 22:39 Where is--is God kingdom also have an Embassy here on Earth? 22:44 What's God's Embassies here on Earth? The church. 22:48 Not only at church, your house, your business, 22:52 where you work, right? 22:54 We are ambassadors and I have a question. 22:56 Does an ambassador go to another country to do what? 22:59 To represent his country of origin. 23:02 Are we from this Earth? 23:05 No, right? 23:06 Jesus says, "I'm not from this Earth," right? 23:08 We're not from this Earth. 23:09 We're what? We're strangers, right? 23:11 We're pilgrims in this Earth. We're waiting for what? 23:14 We're waiting for our eternal house, amen? 23:16 For the new heavens and the new Earth, but while we're here 23:18 as ambassadors, what are we to be doing? 23:21 Does the ambassador do and talk and dress how he wants to do 23:24 and dress and talk? 23:25 No, the ambassador has to dress a specific way. 23:29 The ambassador doesn't go up there and say 23:30 what his opinion is. 23:32 An ambassador talks about the opinion of what? 23:33 Of the government that he is representing is, amen? 23:36 He doesn't dress how he wants to dress. 23:38 And so us, as Christian, Paul says we are also what? 23:42 Ambassadors, amen? 23:43 We are ambassadors. 23:45 We are here to send a message from where? 23:46 From our headquarters in heaven, amen? 23:48 From our heavenly house where Jesus says He is preparing our 23:51 homes, amen? 23:53 And so if we're worrying too much about our heavenly--our 23:56 earthly homes, it's not wrong to have a house but our focus 23:59 should be what? 24:00 On preparing for eternity, amen? 24:02 And so we should be sharing that message that there is a greater 24:05 hope than the things that we are seeing here. 24:07 As ambassadors, we know this. 24:09 And the world is not aware. 24:11 The Bible says--Revelation says that the whole world 24:13 is deceived. 24:14 So we are the ambassador of God to do what? 24:16 To get this message out to the world, amen? 24:19 To say there is something better than what we're seeing here. 24:22 Death is here, guaranteed, but eternal life is also guaranteed 24:25 through the blood of Jesus Christ, amen? 24:28 And so that's the mission that we're taking. 24:29 That's the message that we have. 24:30 I have a question. 24:32 Is there a greater, more powerful message to the world? 24:35 No, I'm sorry, there isn't. 24:37 There's nothing you can tell--give me here on Earth that 24:39 is going to give me any hope for the afterlife. 24:41 Only the gospel of Jesus Christ, amen? 24:44 And then lastly, he uses the one, and this is a very 24:46 interesting one. 24:47 He uses the one as a perfume, amen? 24:50 A perfume, right? 24:52 How is a perfume--when somebody has a really good perfume and 24:55 they pass by, what happens? 24:56 You're, like, "Mmm." 24:58 And not only that, doesn't perfumes, depending on who uses 25:01 them and when they were used, doesn't there also bring 25:04 memories, right? 25:07 Memories. 25:08 I remember my grandmother used to use a very specific perfume 25:11 and so sometimes when I'm, you know, when I'm out in places, 25:14 I smell that perfume and it reminds me of my--reminds me 25:16 of my grandmother, right? 25:19 So the perfume is we should be a fragrance, right? 25:22 We should be giving a smell, not of course, a literal smell. 25:26 We should bathe always and we should always be, right, 25:28 nice and clean. 25:29 But I'm talking about a spiritualness, right, that when 25:31 people sense, they sense a difference in us. 25:33 There's something about it. You can't explain it. 25:36 You don't even see it sometimes. But other people do, right? 25:39 Like Moses, when he came down from the mountain. 25:41 He didn't realize that he was reflecting the glory of God but 25:45 everybody else did. 25:46 And he was, like, "What's wrong?" 25:47 And he was, like, "Oh!" He had to cover his face, right? 25:50 That's how it should be. 25:51 Go with me to the verse here that it uses. 25:53 I want to read this one. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 25:56 Right there after Romans, 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 25:59 I thought this was a very interesting verse. 26:02 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and let's read 26:03 number--verse number 14. 26:06 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse number 14. 26:11 Everybody there? 26:13 2 Corinthians 2, chapter 2, verse 14, amen? 26:18 It says: "Now thanks be to God who always leaves us 26:21 in triumph in Christ, and through us difficulties 26:26 diffuses the," what? 26:28 I'm sorry, "diffuses the fragrance of," what? 26:31 "Of His knowledge in every place," amen? 26:34 So when we go places we should be what? 26:35 We should be reflecting, we should be giving the fragrance 26:38 of the mind of Christ, amen? 26:39 The way we think, the way we talk, the way we act, the way 26:43 that we represent ourselves. 26:45 It continues to say in verse 15: "For we are to God the fragrance 26:48 of Christ among those who are being saved and 26:51 among those who are perishing." 26:54 Do you smell like Christ, right? 26:55 Not literally. You know what I'm talking about. 26:58 Do I have the fragrance of Christ that when I go around, in 27:00 the same way that you get a reaction from somebody that has 27:03 a very strong perfume or a fragrance, they're like, 27:05 [sniffing] 27:06 "Ooh, is that--" Do we have that same reaction? 27:08 Do we give off that same reaction when we're around 27:10 people? 27:11 Both those that are in church, the Saved, 27:12 and those that are outside of church. 27:14 Are we reflecting something different than what they see 27:17 daily in their regular lives around other people? 27:20 And it closes in verse 16: "To the one we are the aroma of 27:24 death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life 27:29 leading to life," amen? 27:31 And so in the same way I love how Paul uses these different 27:34 metaphors and he's trying to explain to us how we are 27:37 supposed to be standing out, the difference as we are a community 27:40 of servants that is serving, that is giving this commission 27:43 out to the world and showing the world. 27:45 Now, agents of change. 27:47 I have--it's interesting here because today, Christianity, 27:52 especially Christianity and that's not--it's not 27:55 specifically to the United States anymore. 27:56 Now we see it--it's very, very common around the world. 27:59 But Christianity today seems to be trying to be, 28:02 instead of agents of change through character change, 28:05 we seem to be trying to focus in on using the power 28:08 of the state to change, right? 28:11 Can the--can we use the state or the laws of our country 28:15 to change the heart? 28:17 No, right? 28:18 It would just be exterior. 28:19 But we see this phenomenon and, because we study prophecy so 28:22 closely, we know that one of the main issues in the end times, 28:26 what it's going to be, it's going to be the image 28:28 of the beast, right? 28:30 And so I can't avoid tying into prophecy every time 28:32 I'm studying and reading. 28:33 And it's talking to us that we know that in the future our 28:36 country which was founded on these principles, right, the 28:40 Revelation 13 talks about it had horns like a lamb, these 28:42 principles of separations of church and state, the Bible 28:45 tells us that eventually we're going to what? 28:47 We're going to go against those principles and we're going to 28:51 bring church and state together, making an image 28:53 of the beast, right? 28:56 And sadly, my loved ones, what we're seeing today 28:58 and what I see is a lot of Christians, 29:00 well-intentioned, sincere Christians, 29:02 they're more focused on using the power of the state 29:05 to try to impose our beliefs on others. 29:09 Now is that what we are here to do? 29:11 No, right? 29:13 Now, I'm not saying that their, what? 29:15 Their intent is not correct, but when I look in Scripture, 29:18 I don't see Jesus Christ, right? 29:20 He didn't get involved in the politics of His day. 29:23 He didn't get involved in the Roman occupation, no. 29:26 He's like, "No, no, no, I'm not here for that. 29:28 I'm here for a greater purpose. 29:29 I'm here because I'm here to save souls." 29:31 And so what we see, my loved ones, is that we're trying to 29:36 use the power of the state, I'm speaking in a very general term, 29:39 in Christianity in general, to try to show others 29:41 what we believe. 29:43 But that's not going to change the human heart, right? 29:45 That's not going to change the way. 29:47 How is it that people are changed and transformed? 29:50 It's through what? 29:51 It's through the power of the Holy Spirit, amen? 29:53 And so look at this quote. 29:54 I thought this was a very interesting quote on page 110. 29:57 I want to share it with you. 29:58 It really caught my attention. 30:00 Page 110, verse--it was the third quote; 30:05 110, it's the last day, Friday. 30:07 It says: "The love of Christ manifested in unselfish ministry 30:13 will be more effective in reforming the evildoer 30:16 than will," what? 30:18 "The sword or the court of justice. 30:22 Often the heart that hardens under reproof will melt under 30:26 the love of Christ. 30:28 So she's specifically saying in the ministry of healing, right? 30:32 She's saying--she used an ever interesting word: "Reforming the 30:34 evildoer that will--that will will the sword." 30:38 Now, what sword? 30:39 Do you know that the Bible talks about two swords? 30:41 The first sword, obviously, is what? 30:44 The Word of God, a double-edged sword. 30:45 But do you know that there's another sword in the Bible? 30:47 It's in Romans chapter 13. 30:49 You can write it down and you can study it when you get back. 30:51 If you start reading in Romans chapter 13, Paul's talking about 30:54 the sword but he's making reference to the political 30:57 sword, right? 30:58 And he's saying that we are to obey the civil laws of our 31:01 country, amen? 31:02 As Christians, we are to obey the laws of our nation as long 31:06 as those laws do not conflict with what? 31:09 With God's principles, right? 31:10 That's why we have the Ten Commandments. 31:12 The Ten Commandments. 31:13 How many tablets? 31:15 Two tablets. Why two tablets? 31:18 Why two? 31:19 Did God run out of space when He was writing the first one? 31:20 "Give Me another tablet so I can finish." 31:22 No, we know very specifically, first tablet has to do with 31:24 what? 31:25 Our first--the four commandments that have to do with our 31:27 relationship with--second tablet, the other six 31:30 commandment have to do with our relationship towards--have you 31:33 ever noticed that the Ten Commandments, 31:35 the first tablet is God's priority? 31:37 Do you know that God gives the state the jurisdiction 31:41 over the second tablet? 31:42 Have you ever studied that, right? 31:44 The second tablet does--so let's say, for example, honor your 31:47 mother and your father. 31:48 If you abuse of an elderly person or if you abuse of your 31:50 mother and your father, are there laws against that? 31:52 Yes. "Thou shall not kill." 31:53 Are there laws against that? Yes. 31:54 "Thou shall not steal," "Thou shall not commit adultery," 31:56 all of the laws of the second tablet are under 31:59 the jurisdiction of who? 32:01 Of the state, right? 32:04 Except which one? 32:05 The tenth commandment. 32:07 What's the tenth commandment say? 32:08 "Thou shall not--" That's the only one that's not legislative 32:12 here on the earthly kings. 32:13 You know why? 32:15 'Cause if it--if we were to legislate covenants, 32:17 the capitalist system would fall apart. 32:19 It's an economic joke for those of you that like economics, 32:21 right? 32:23 I'm just joking. But are you selling me? 32:25 And so we are to follow the laws of our nation as long as those 32:27 laws do not conflict with what? 32:29 With the law of God. Did we see this in Daniel? 32:32 Yes, Daniel was what? 32:33 One of the high--where he was in the--in Nebuchadnezzar's cabinet 32:37 but what happened to Daniel? 32:39 The law--the king got out of his jurisdiction. 32:41 He went into the first table, the first tablet, 32:43 and he tried to what? 32:45 To impose worship and what did Daniel say? 32:46 "Uh-uh," right? 32:48 So what I'm saying here, my loved ones, and what Sister 32:50 White is saying here very clearly is that to win the 32:52 hearts over, we're not to use the state. 32:54 We're not to use the power of the state. 32:56 We're to use what? 32:58 Love, amen? 32:59 We're to win people over. 33:01 I was recently see--I saw a documentary that was this gay 33:05 parade and there was this group of Christians that show up to 33:07 every gay, you know, parade or manifestation and these 33:10 Christians show up and guess what they have? 33:12 They have these posters, right? 33:15 And they say: "Oh, God hates you. 33:17 You're going to burn in hell." 33:20 And I'm, like, "Is that the way we're supposed to 33:23 win them over?" 33:25 No, right? 33:26 And they say, "Oh, we're just telling truth how it is. 33:28 We're just saying it so that they know what's coming." 33:31 I'm, like, "The Bible says that we're to be a light 33:33 to the world," amen? 33:35 That it's through our works that people are to see the light, 33:37 the beauty, of it. 33:39 I'm saying if we're screaming at them and yelling at them, 33:41 they're not going to want anything to do with us, right? 33:43 They're not going to listen to us. 33:44 And so we--what we see in this--what we see in this world, 33:47 my loved ones, is that understanding that there are 33:49 things that are wrong, but as agents of change, we're supposed 33:52 to be changers of what? 33:54 We're supposed to be changers through the power of Jesus 33:56 Christ, amen? 33:57 That our character transformation is to witness. 33:59 That's why it says in Matthew 24:14, Jesus says that this 34:02 gospel shall be preached to world, to the what? 34:05 To the whole--to the world who--how? 34:08 Through testimony, right? 34:10 It's through our witness, it's through our testimony, that we 34:14 are to win people over, amen? 34:16 It's by subduing the heart. 34:18 That's what she says in that quote. 34:19 It's by them seeing our mercy, right? 34:23 How we reflect the mercy of God, the love of God, 34:25 the patience of God. 34:27 That's how we are to win people over to Christ. 34:29 It's not bashing them over the head with the Bible. 34:32 And actually, the Bible is not to bash people over the head, 34:34 in case you didn't know. 34:36 The Bible is to bash myself over my head, and to me show that and 34:40 to win them over, I know, it's uncomfortable and some of the 34:44 things in the practices and the things we see, but it's through 34:47 love that we are to conquer, amen? 34:49 It is not through hate and so, as we are agents of change, 34:52 my loved ones, and the Bible says we are the remnant, right? 34:56 Revelation chapter 12, verse 17, what does it say? 34:59 "And the devil did," what? 35:00 "He was enraged with the woman." 35:02 And what did he do? 35:04 "He went to make war on her," and who is the woman? 35:06 "The remnant of the seed." 35:08 Who is the seed? Christ. 35:11 The woman is the church and there shall be a remnant, right, 35:15 that last stage of the woman, the last remnant, the last part 35:19 of God's people on earth, and they shall do what? 35:21 They shall be keeping what? 35:23 The commandments of God and have what else? 35:25 The testimony of Jesus Christ. 35:27 Now, if you want to summarize what is the testimony of Jesus 35:30 Christ, this is it, amen? 35:32 It's the Word of God. 35:34 It's the Holy Spirit speaking through His servants, through 35:36 His prophets, as what? 35:37 As testimony, as witness. 35:39 And you and I are what? 35:41 We are pages in God's Word, amen? 35:44 We are a testimony, we are a fragrance. 35:47 People are to see the power of God to transform our lives and 35:51 they will want to participate also of this, amen? 35:54 And we see this when the lesson talks about Exodus chapter 32 35:59 with Moses, right? 36:01 It says Moses--what happened with Moses? 36:03 We saw the--Moses was interceding on behalf of all 36:08 these people that they--God had just told them about His law, He 36:11 went up to give them the commandments and, as Moses was 36:14 up, he hears this rowding, right? 36:16 And then he comes down and Joshua says, "There's--it looks 36:18 like there's war down there." 36:20 And Moses says, "No, that's not war," right? 36:22 There was dancing and celebrating, right? 36:24 And so what does God do? 36:26 God says, "I'm going to finish with all of them." 36:27 And what does Moses do? 36:30 He intercedes. 36:32 I have a question, my loved ones. 36:34 We, knowing the things that we know, knowing that our high 36:37 priest Jesus Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary and He is 36:41 ministering and very soon His work is going to come to an end, 36:44 as Moses did, what should we be doing here on Earth? 36:49 We should be interceding also on behalf of who? 36:52 Of those that are doing what? 36:53 That are worshiping the calf, amen? 36:56 In the same way, I'm talking about both Christians and 36:58 non-Christians, we are supposed to be the difference here to the 37:02 rest of the world, to the rest of Christianity, to intercede on 37:07 God's part and Moses said, "I'd prefer to die," right? 37:10 He put his life on the line. 37:13 Are we willing to do that? 37:15 Or do we look at people that don't have our--don't share our 37:17 common beliefs and our common doctrines and we're pointing 37:20 fingers, "Oh, look at what they do on this thing and look at how 37:22 they do and look at the way that they sing and look at the way 37:25 that they have their worship service." 37:26 And we're pointing fingers when we should be what? 37:29 Interceding, praying, say, "Lord, help me. 37:32 How can I be an influence to them? 37:34 How can I be an influence to my neighbor who loves You sincerely 37:39 but the things that they're doing is not the way that you 37:41 have taught us," right? 37:43 The truths that we have, my loved ones, 37:44 we should be interceding. 37:46 First, Lord, have mercy on them. Have mercy on me. 37:48 And help me to be an instrument of change in their lives 37:52 and to show them, right? 37:54 Not by going over their house and saying, "You know what? 37:57 The way that you worship at your church, that's wrong. 38:00 That's--it's not wrong, that stuff's--" No, it's about what? 38:04 It's about love, amen? 38:06 It's going over there, ministering to their needs, 38:09 ministering to them and seeing the things that they want and 38:11 that's how we are supposed to be reaching souls. 38:14 And so the lesson talks about in this context of this is the 38:17 purpose that we're here for, right? 38:19 We're to be ambassadors, we're to be perfume, we're to be 38:22 agents of change, we're to be ministering to the needs of 38:24 those around us, and sometimes we get caught up. 38:27 The lesson talks about reaching the soul, right? 38:29 How do we reach the souls? 38:31 And the lesson talks about how sometimes we get caught up 38:34 between ministering to the commune--I think the--it 38:38 specifically says: "Social work or gospel work, charity or 38:42 witnessing, justice or evangelism." 38:45 And so my question is why do they have to be mutually 38:48 exclusive, right? 38:51 It's the same thing. 38:53 When we are talking about ministering, when we are talking 38:56 about--when we're talking about reaching out to our community 38:58 with the truth as well, amen? 39:00 But how did Jesus reach people with the truth? 39:03 He didn't go up to them and say, "You know what? 39:04 You Samaritans, you know, you're just horrible." 39:07 No, He did what? 39:08 He ministered to their needs. 39:10 And so the way that we draw people in, the way that we catch 39:14 people's attention is through ministering 39:16 to their needs, right? 39:19 As AFCOE director, right, I teach the evangelism cycle. 39:22 We don't just go straight into evangelism 39:24 and public evangelism. 39:25 We do what? 39:27 There's a whole work that is supposed to be built up before 39:29 we get to the public preaching of the truth, which is what? 39:32 Is first is through personal preparation, right? 39:35 Revival and reformation in my own life, preparing to be open 39:38 so that the Spirit can use me so how I can reach X and Y person, 39:42 my neighbor, my friend, because the Bible doesn't say, "Carlos, 39:45 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, at the gas station there's going 39:47 to be a person there called John and I want you to minister to 39:50 him because he's feeling depressed." 39:52 The Bible doesn't tell me that but the Holy Spirit will. 39:56 And so I need to be connected to the Holy Spirit so that the 39:58 Spirit can tell me and guide me who are the people that I need 40:01 to minster to, amen? 40:02 And so once we've got that connection to God, 40:05 then it's what? 40:07 It's about gaining their confidence, right? 40:09 Winning them over. Through what? 40:11 Through ministering to their needs. 40:12 How do--how can I minister to somebody's needs 40:14 if I don't know their needs? 40:16 I have to have contact with people, I have to connect, and 40:20 so once I know their needs, I start ministering to their needs 40:23 and when their needs are met, whether it be physical, whether 40:26 it be social, whether it be emotional, whatever their need, 40:29 everybody has a need, you know how I know? 40:31 Because we all have needs too, and I have needs too. 40:33 We're all battling and struggling here. 40:35 But we are to be agents of this change, amen, and to bring 40:40 people this hope. 40:42 And when we do that, guess what? 40:43 We've gained their confidence, we win them over, and then what? 40:46 And then we start sharing the Word, amen? 40:49 Sometimes what I've noticed too also is that sometimes a lot of 40:52 ministries do a lot of great work, right? 40:54 And I've seen churches that they have this community outreach 40:57 program and it's just great. 40:59 It's, you know, feeding the poor and ministering to the community 41:03 and doing all of this, but they forget about what? 41:06 The whole purpose is just not to minister to minister, right? 41:09 It's like if we're trying to appease our conscience, 41:12 you know, "Ooh, I did my Christian work today," right? 41:15 Ah, I gave up a plate of food to a homeless person. 41:18 Yeah, good, I'm good to go now. 41:20 That's not what it's about, my loved ones. 41:23 That is part of it but the part of that is to connect with them 41:25 so that we can reach them with Christ, because we can serve, 41:29 we can minister to somebody's needs but at the end of the day 41:31 they're still going to what? 41:32 They're still going to die. 41:34 But when we use that as a tool, right, the ministering and the 41:40 sharing and the reaching out to the community is not the end; 41:43 it's the means. 41:45 The end is who? 41:47 Christ. 41:48 So we're using this to reach the soul, 41:50 to reach out to them, right? 41:51 And so these two things are not mutually exclusive, 41:54 my loved ones. 41:55 They're the same and one. 41:57 That's why it says it's through testimony that this gospel shall 41:59 be preached to the whole world, amen? 42:02 It's through our witnessing and what does our witnessing 42:03 represent? 42:05 If we are witnessing because we have been--we are being 42:06 transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit, 42:09 then we should be reflecting what? 42:10 The character of God. 42:11 And the character of God is what? 42:13 God is always on what? 42:14 He's always in evangelism mode, amen? 42:16 He's always seeking, looking, open, trying to reach the heart. 42:20 That should be our mentality too. 42:22 That should be what we should be doing then, right? 42:25 Because at the end of the day, this is not our hope. 42:28 We know this is going to end up. 42:29 We should be looking and what? 42:31 We should be looking to reach the heart of people, ministering 42:33 them so that they can what? 42:34 So that they can also be part of this great community that God 42:36 has, amen? 42:37 Join in with us and do what? And go and reach more souls. 42:42 So if we are not participating, if we are not working together, 42:46 my loved ones, as this community of servants, 42:48 then there is something that--there's a disconnect 42:51 between us and God, right? 42:53 If we don't have that passion, if we don't have that desire 42:57 to want to minister to our neighbors, to our friends, 43:00 to our co-workers, to our family, to the community 43:03 that we live in, then that means we are disconnected somehow 43:06 in some way from God and so what is the first thing we need? 43:08 We need revival and reformation, right? 43:11 We need to connect with God again so that what? 43:13 So that we can have that. 43:15 I remember one of my favorite preachers, 43:16 he's a--he speaks in Spanish. 43:19 He says--he said a phrase one time that I never forget. 43:21 He said, "Those that do not have the missionary, the evangelistic 43:26 spirit, do not have the Spirit of God." 43:30 Hoo, and that hit me hard. 43:32 I was, like, "Wow." 43:34 He said, "If you don't have that spirit to reach out and to--you 43:36 don't have the Spirit of God." 43:38 Because that was the spirit that led Christ. 43:41 He reached out, He touched the leper, He saved, He healed, 43:44 He ministered to everybody. 43:45 I believe that when we go in--when we go back to heaven 43:48 because we're all going to be there, amen? 43:50 We're going to see that Jesus touched the life of every single 43:54 person that lived in Palestine, in Galilee, and all that region. 43:58 Every single person that lived in that area was one way 44:02 directly or indirectly touched through 44:04 the power of Jesus Christ. 44:06 I believe that and that's our influence too, amen? 44:09 We should also--this lesson is talking about us being agents 44:11 of change, us ministering, reaching out to the hearts 44:14 and souls of those that around us. 44:16 Not just to put a check box on the Christian and say, 44:18 "Boop, there it is. 44:20 I did my mission work. 44:22 I gave out a pamphlet. 44:23 I gave out a magazine." 44:25 Those things are good too, don't get me wrong, 44:27 but our purpose is to what? 44:29 Is to minister to the needs of those, to win their confidence, 44:33 and then be able to give them the everlasting gospel, amen? 44:35 A gospel that has--that nobody else on this Earth has, that 44:39 nobody else is preaching, amen? 44:42 And so part of what the lesson is talking about is also 44:46 encouraging each other in this work, amen? 44:50 Working together, right? 44:51 This is what we are. We are a community of servants. 44:53 God has called us to be different, 44:56 to be unique, to be special. 44:58 Not to think that we're better. 45:00 And so our mission field is not also reaching out 45:03 but we need to do this together. 45:06 This is what we're here for. 45:07 We're here as we come together on Sabbath day, 45:09 right, because why? 45:11 We want to worship God and say thank You, God, right? 45:13 Thank You for being my creator. 45:14 Thank You for being my redeemer. 45:15 Thank You for sanctifying me every day. 45:18 Thank You for this. 45:19 That's what we come here Sabbath morning to congregate and give 45:21 honor and glory to our God, amen, as His Word says. 45:25 But that's not should be it, right? 45:28 We're together. 45:29 We should be co-missioned, right? 45:31 We're on a mission together. 45:32 We're a unity of people that are what? 45:34 That have a mission to go and reach out to our community, 45:37 to reach out. 45:38 And so I'm going to challenge you this week. 45:41 I'm going to challenge you that maybe 45:43 you haven't had that spirit. 45:45 Maybe you've been here, "No, I'm fine here. 45:47 I don't mess around with anybody." 45:49 Yeah, but you don't influence anybody either. 45:52 You're just in your little capsule, 45:53 you're in your little bubble. 45:55 It's time to get out of that bubble. 45:57 It's time to start what? 45:59 And the only way to do it is, Lord, I don't have that heart to 46:02 minister out to the others. 46:03 That's all right, there's no problem with that because Jesus 46:05 says in Matthew chapter 7, verse 7, what does He say? 46:08 "Ask and you shall--knock and you shall--" 46:12 What--how does it say? 46:14 I'm reading in Spanish. 46:15 "Ask and you shall--" And then, "Knock and--" amen. 46:21 So what should we be doing? 46:23 Lord, give me a missionary heart. 46:27 Give me an evangelistic heart, right? 46:29 You don't have to go to China, you don't have to go to Africa 46:32 to minister to people's needs. 46:33 There are people all around us that are desperately 46:36 needing the gospel. 46:38 And so our job is to take them the gospel and the gospel is not 46:41 just some theory. 46:42 The gospel is not just a doctrine. 46:44 The gospel is Jesus Christ, and it is our opportunity to share 46:48 this, to give these people hope, to give them healing. 46:51 That's what we're called to do and I think that's what this 46:53 lesson in general is talking about, is how we are to be 46:57 this--God's unique special people on the Earth to show them 47:00 that there's something different, to show them that 47:02 there's something better, to reach out to them, 47:06 and things will happen. 47:08 So what's my challenge for you this week? 47:10 My challenge for you this week is this. 47:12 And the Holy Spirit's going to remind you. 47:15 You--I want you to go out to your neighbor that you haven't 47:19 talked to, that maybe you don't even know, right? 47:22 If you know the neighbor next to you, go them to--and I want you 47:24 to go and pray for them, amen? 47:27 What are you going to do? 47:29 Just pray for them. 47:30 Just go to your neighbor and say, "Hey, neighbor." 47:32 If you know them, amen. 47:33 If you don't, go, "Hey, I'm--" Because I just got two neighbors 47:36 that go in so I'm going to do this too, that just moved into 47:39 my apartment complex. 47:40 And just go up to them and say, "Hey, my name is Carlos. 47:43 I'm here from apartment. 47:45 I just wanted to greet you. 47:46 I just want to say I'm--I want to pray for you. 47:48 That's all I want to do. 47:49 I just want to say hi and to pray for you. 47:50 Can you tell me what are your needs? 47:52 Anything that you would like me to pray for you," and watch out 47:55 because they're going to start telling. 47:56 And once they open up to their needs, then the Holy Spirit is 47:59 going to use you as an instrument, as an agent of 48:01 change, to minister to those needs that they have, amen? 48:04 Whatever it may be, and start praying, 48:05 and just pray with them. 48:07 And that's how you're going to, little by little, gain 48:08 confidence and watch how this Holy Spirit works because He's 48:11 going to give you more and more opportunities to interact 48:13 with your neighbors, with your co-workers, 48:16 with your family members. 48:17 You maybe have some strained relationships. 48:19 That's okay, that's okay, I understand that. 48:22 Work on them now, pray, and start reaching out. 48:25 Minister to their needs, and then we're like, 48:27 "Oh, my neighbor asked me what church do I go to. 48:30 What do I do now?" 48:31 Come to me, come to Pastor Shawn, come to Pastor Doug, come 48:33 to Pastor Luccas, or any of the elders here and say, 48:36 "My neighbor wants to know a little bit. 48:38 What do I do?" 48:39 Amen, we'll start doing some Bible studies, amen? 48:42 But that's what we're here for. 48:44 We're here to be agents of change and so as we look at the 48:47 lesson I want to just to read the last quote in the--in 48:51 today's lesson. 48:52 Go with me to page 110, 110. 48:57 It was a very interesting quote. 48:58 It was from A.G. 49:00 Daniels in regards to Ellen White's funeral. 49:03 He said something very interesting. 49:05 It says, the last paragraph on page 110, he says: "Slavery, the 49:08 cast system, unjust racial prejudice, the oppression of the 49:12 poor, the neglect of the unfortunate, these all are set 49:15 forth as unChristian and a serious menace to the wellbeing 49:19 of the human race. 49:20 And as evils which the church of Christ is appointed by her 49:23 Lord," to do what? 49:24 "To overthrow." 49:26 Now, ministering to those problems isn't the end, 49:28 my loved ones. 49:29 It's the means to a greater thing and it's to what? 49:31 To minister them to Jesus Christ, amen? 49:33 So we are here with this purpose: to be different, to be 49:36 special, to be unique, to show the world something 49:38 that they're not seeing. 49:40 And if we're trying to do what everybody else is doing, 49:42 then we're not being any unique in that, right? 49:44 We have a special unique message and this lesson points to we're 49:48 here to minister to their needs with what purpose? 49:50 To take them to Christ, amen? 49:52 To reach them out to Christ. 49:54 And so I hope that this quarterly lesson--I know it's 49:55 really reinforced in me too, that I have to have my spiritual 49:59 eyes and ears open because I'm--I am an ambassador all over 50:04 wherever I go and I need to be to ministering 50:05 to those that are around me. 50:07 Can I hear an "Amen"? 50:08 Does everybody here want to say, "Lord, I want to be a faithful 50:10 ambassador too. 50:11 I want to be a faithful witness to the Lord," amen? 50:13 Stand up if it's your desire today to say, 50:15 "Lord, You know what? 50:17 I've been a little bit neglect--I've neglected my call 50:20 to action, my call to mission," and I'm the first one here to 50:24 admit, you know, sometimes, I pass by the person that I know 50:28 is in need and--because it's not--I don't have the time 50:30 right now or I have to do this. 50:32 I'm the first one to recognize, my loved ones, but I want to be 50:35 sure that I am connected to God every day through 50:38 study and prayer, why? 50:39 So that the Holy Spirit can reach me, 50:41 so that I can reach others, amen? 50:43 So I can be this powerful influence that God wants us to 50:45 be to the community. 50:47 I think that would be the focus of what this lesson was about, 50:49 is that we're here not to be in our bubble, put our seatbelt on 50:52 and hit cruise control and wait for Jesus to show up. 50:54 No, my loved ones, we're to get out of the car and to go 50:57 minister out to the needs of the community, right? 51:00 And you are in your mission field, where you live, 51:03 your friends, your family, your neighbors. 51:05 That's your mission field. 51:07 And God has you there for a purpose. 51:08 He wants you to reach out to them and to minister to their 51:11 needs and then what? 51:12 When you gain their confidence, then you can present them the 51:14 greatest need of the human heart which is Jesus Christ, amen? 51:18 Amen, so before we close, I have a word of prayer. 51:22 I wanted to remind you of the gift that we have. 51:26 It's called--it's a DVD, "Opening Our Hearts," right? 51:30 And you can do this by a number of ways. 51:32 You can call 1-866-788-3966 and offer number 827 51:40 or you can also text, right? 51:42 In the digital world, we can also text the code, "SH132," 51:47 and text number 40544. 51:50 And this goes right in line with what we're talking about, 51:52 opening our homes to Christ. 51:53 Our homes are what? 51:54 Our embassies, amen? 51:56 They're embassies and they should be a light shining to our 51:58 community to come in and so that we can be able 52:01 to share Christ with them. 52:02 Who says "Amen" for that? 52:04 Amen, so we want to thank everybody that was with us on 52:05 watching our lesson today and we hope to see you next week. 52:09 God bless. 52:11 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 52:14 free resource. 52:15 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 52:17 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 52:20 or mobile device. 52:21 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 52:24 the key word on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 52:29 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 52:32 download option on the request page. 52:34 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 52:38 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want and most 52:41 important, to share it with others. 52:44 ♪♪♪ 52:55 Doug Batchelor: Today's smartphones are a virtual 52:56 universe of information that fits in the palm of your hand. 53:00 It's a good thing we have opposable thumbs. 53:02 With it, you can buy your groceries, take care of your 53:06 exercise regime, watch a video, listen to music, you can surf 53:10 the international worldwide web which may not always 53:13 be a good thing. 53:15 And you know, there is more computer processing technology 53:18 and power in a little smartphone today than was used by NASA to 53:22 put a man on the moon. 53:23 And I almost forgot, you can also use these 53:25 to make a phone call. 53:27 But who does that anymore? 53:29 Today, communication is not in complete sentences. 53:31 It's all about short message servicing, or SMS texting. 53:37 That's right, there are about 2.5 billion people in the world 53:41 today that are communicating with their fellow humans in 53:43 short bytes called texting. 53:46 That's more data that is being used than those who are surfing 53:48 the web or even playing video games. 53:51 And, friends, nowhere is this more true than right here in the 53:53 Philippines. 53:55 Even though the Philippines has about 100 million people, they 53:58 are responsible for the largest number of text messages of 54:01 anywhere in the world. 54:03 They're the 12th largest country, but they send 400 54:06 million text messages every day. 54:09 Wow, that's a lot of finger fatigue. 54:13 Even though the greatest number of texters is here 54:14 in the Philippines, the record for the fastest texter 54:17 in the world is from Brazil. 54:19 A young man by the name of Marcel Fernandes Filho. 54:22 He was able to text 25 very complicated words in a little 54:25 more than 18 seconds. 54:27 Wow, it takes me longer than that to just say, "I love you," 54:30 to my wife and press "Send." 54:33 All thumbs. 54:35 One of the neat things about texting is you can text just 54:37 about anywhere. 54:38 If you're surrounded with people, you want to send a 54:40 personal message, you text. 54:41 You're in a crowded subway or an airport, you can text. 54:44 If you're surrounded by noise or nosy people, you can text. 54:48 Just don't text while you're driving. 54:51 That's what's so wonderful, friends. 54:52 You can always text God a message 54:54 of prayer from your heart. 54:56 When you're wondering what school do I go to? 54:58 What job do I take? 55:00 Who am I supposed to date that may be a future life partner? 55:03 Your prayers don't have to be long. 55:04 The shortest prayer in the Bible is three words, when Peter 55:07 prayed, "Lord, save me," and Jesus answered his prayer. 55:11 And it doesn't matter how fast you can text when 55:13 you're talking to God. 55:14 He'll know what you're asking for and hear your prayer before 55:17 you have a chance to say, "Amen," 55:19 and press the "Send" button. 55:20 In fact, friends, you'll bring joy to God when you send Him 55:23 regular messages from your heart to His. 55:26 So why don't you talk to Him right now? 55:29 ♪♪♪ 55:43 announcer: "Amazing Facts Changed Lives." 55:52 male: I had a lot of pressure as a pastor's kid to perform. 55:57 They're not allowed to make the same mistakes as everyone else. 56:01 Not only are people looking at you, but they're judging your 56:05 father according to what they see in you. 56:09 After a while, you get tired of carrying that load as a child. 56:13 By the time it got time for me to leave home, 56:17 I was pretty much finished with all that. 56:20 I just--I wasn't good enough and I didn't belong in there. 56:24 So when I left home, I went to the world, at a dead run. 56:30 You know, I partied and went to work and, you know, was living 56:33 my life as the way I wanted to. 56:36 And I just wanted to be left alone. 56:39 One day, I was driving my motorcycle with 56:41 some buddies of mine. 56:43 All of a sudden, I had oil running everywhere, all up and 56:45 down my arm and across my legs, and rippling down the 56:48 tank in the wind. 56:50 And we loaded it up on a trailer and sent it to the 56:53 shop to have it fixed. 56:55 So I went to pick it up and mechanic came out. 56:57 He said, "You know," he said, "we got your front end rebuilt." 57:00 He said, "That wasn't the bad part." 57:03 He said, "The bad part was the only thing holding the front 57:05 tire on was the weight of the motorcycle." 57:08 So all I would have had to have done was accelerate quickly and 57:12 front tire would have came off. 57:14 And it got my attention, it got me to thinking, "You know, you 57:17 hear a lot of people talking about, you know, the 57:20 relationship that they have with Jesus and all that, and I didn't 57:24 even know what that was supposed to look like. 57:26 It began to work on my mind. 57:28 I think God was beginning to speak to me. 57:31 I believe that you can say I may be a poster child 57:34 for the shepherd lost sheep story 57:37 because I wasn't looking for God. 57:40 I didn't really care. 57:42 But He cared about me. 57:46 And He came and got me. 57:49 ♪♪♪ 57:57 announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel much farther 58:00 than ever before. 58:02 Thank you for your support. 58:04 ♪♪♪ 58:09 ♪♪♪ 58:19 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-09-23