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Jëan Ross: Good
morning, friends,
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we'd like to welcome you to
"Sabbath School Study Hour,"
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here at the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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in Sacramento, California.
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You know, we like to mention
where we are because we have
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folks who are
viewing this program,
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and they might be
living right in Sacramento,
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and they don't even know
that we're in Sacramento.
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So I'd like to welcome all of
those who are joining us online
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across the country and around
the world and also those who
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are here in person--
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come a little earlier for
our Sabbath school this morning.
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We're going to be continuing
our study in the book of Isaiah
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today, and we have
such an important study.
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It's lesson number 11.
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If you're following along
with your lesson quarterly,
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it's entitled "Waging Love," and
we're going to be looking at a
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number of very
important passages in Isaiah,
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Isaiah 58, in particular,
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so we're looking
forward to that study.
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Before we get there, we'd like
to let our friends know about
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our free offer for today.
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This is one of the
Amazing Facts study guides.
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It is entitled "A Love that
Transforms," and we'll be happy
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to send this to
anyone who calls and asks.
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The number for
that is 866-788-3966,
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and you can ask
for offer number 710,
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and we'll get that in the mail.
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We'll send it to you.
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If you're
outside of North America,
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we can also provide you
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with a digital
download of the study guide.
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Just text the code
"SH003," to the number 40544.
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Now, I guess you need to be in
North America in order to text
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that code, and we'll
give you a digital download.
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If you're
outside of North America,
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you can read this for free
by simply going to the Amazing
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Facts website.
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So we want to let you
know about that as well.
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Well, before we get to
our lesson this morning,
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we want to begin by
lifting our voices in song.
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Our Sabbath school
hymn is "More About Jesus."
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It's hymn number 245.
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¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ More about
Jesus I would know, ¤
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¤ more of His
grace to others show, ¤
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¤ more of His
saving fullness see, ¤
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¤ more of His
love who died for me. ¤
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¤ More, more about
Jesus, more, more about Jesus, ¤
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¤ more of His
saving fullness see, ¤
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¤ more of His
love who died for me. ¤
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¤ More about
Jesus, in His Word, ¤
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¤ holding
Communion with my Lord. ¤
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¤ Hearing His
voice in every line, ¤
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¤ making each
faithful saying mine. ¤
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¤ More, more about
Jesus, more, more about Jesus, ¤
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¤ more of His
saving fullness see, ¤
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¤ more of His
love who died for me. ¤
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¤ More about
Jesus, on His throne, ¤
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¤ riches in glory all His own, ¤
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¤ more of His
Kingdom's sure increase, ¤
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¤ more of His
coming, Prince of Peace. ¤
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¤ More, more about
Jesus, more, more about Jesus, ¤
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¤ more of His
saving fullness see, ¤
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¤ more of His love
who died for me. ¤¤
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male: Amen.
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Jëan: Let us bow
our heads for prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven,
how grateful we are to be able
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to gather together to open
up Your Word and study such an
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important passage written so
many years ago but so relevant
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for us and for the
time in which we are living.
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Lord, we want to
invite Your presence,
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Your Spirit, in a special way to
be with us as we study together.
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Be with Pastor
Brummund as he leads out in our
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lesson this morning.
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And be with those who are
watching and listening around
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the country and
around the world,
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and we commit this
time in Your keeping,
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in Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson today is going to be
brought to us by our Family Life
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pastor here at Granite
Bay: Pastor Shawn Brummund.
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Shawn Brummund: Jesus once said,
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"The thief does not
come but except to kill,
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and to steal, and destroy,
but I have come that they might
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have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly."
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And friends, I stand here before
you today again to be able to
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testify that life with
Jesus is 100 times better
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than life without Jesus.
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Can I hear a number
of "amens" out there?
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Because you have experienced
that difference as well.
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And I speak from
personal experience.
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When I was
brought up, my parents,
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in the very
early age of my life,
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when I was two or
three, four at the most,
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my parents had decided
to leave whatever limited,
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religious experience in church
that they had been brought up
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with, and they had decided
to raise their family and live
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their life in a secular basis.
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And so my experience up until
the summer that I turned 21,
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as far as my memory goes
back, is nothing but secular,
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and so I had no
knowledge of God.
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I had no knowledge of the Bible.
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I had no knowledge
of the person of Jesus.
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I had no knowledge of church and
how it works and the benefit and
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the blessings
that can come with it.
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And so, that
summer, when I turned 21,
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and I started to be able to
open up the door to my heart,
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as it says in
Revelation 3, in verse 20,
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"Behold, I stand at
the door, and I knock,
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and if anyone opens that door, I
will come in and dine with him,
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and he with Me," and that was my
experience that summer because
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when I began to go
to church on my own,
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when I began to discover God and
pray for the very first time,
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when I began to open the Bible
and look at the gospel records
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and learn about
this person named Jesus,
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when I began to discover this
greatest man that ever lived,
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the Son of God Himself
that not only lived and taught
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the greatest, most powerful
sermons and lessons of truth
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but also died on
the cross for me--
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and what I learned all these
things, God did indeed come
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into my heart, and He began
to dine with me, and I with Him,
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and He began to change me.
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He began to transform
me from the inside out,
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and I've never looked back since
because I know that life with
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Jesus is a hundred times
better than life without Jesus.
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And when we look at
this particular lesson here,
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today, we're looking at
two very powerful chapters
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in the book of Isaiah.
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We're looking at chapter 55,
and we're looking at chapter 58.
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And we're going to
start in chapter 55,
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as the lesson study does, and
when we come to this chapter,
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it's a very powerful chapter.
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In fact, I would say it
is perhaps the most powerful,
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if not at least in the top three
most powerful chapters that we
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can find in the entire book.
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The entire
chapter is a powerful,
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extensive invitation to
the person of Jesus Christ,
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to the person of the maker
of the heavens and the earth.
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It is a personal invitation
to enter into a personal,
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saving, power-filled
relationship with God,
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and so that's what
makes it so powerful.
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We find the gospel
that is found there,
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and it is the unpacking of that
verse that quickly became the
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signature verse for
my experience because it
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was the first verse that
metaphorically, I would say,
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jumped off the pages of the
Bible and just explained this
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new experience that
I had in God because
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again, when I first came
to experience God and put my
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faith in God and
discovered that there was a God,
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I was at ground zero.
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And so my knowledge of the
Bible and of the Bible message,
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and so on, was pretty
close to zero at that point,
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but, when I came
to John chapter 10,
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verse 10, and Jesus says,
"I have come to give them life
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and to give it to them
more abundantly," I said,
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"That's me.
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That's my experience,"
John chapter 10, and verse 10.
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In Matthew chapter 11,
in verses 28 through 29,
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Jesus offers that great
invitation of which many
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of us have responded to, that
great invitation in which Jesus
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cried out to the
crowds that are around Him
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one day in His frustration and
desperation as He looked around
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of all the different religious
man-made traditions and false
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theologies and hypocrisy that
was existing in this nation.
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And in the midst of all that,
he cries out to the crowd around
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Him; He says, "Come unto Me,
all ye who labor and are heavy
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laden, and I will give you rest.
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Take My yoke upon
Me and learn from Me."
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"Learn from--"
who? "Learn from Me."
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You notice how Christ is at
the center of that invitation?
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It says, "Come unto Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden,
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and I will give you rest."
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You see, friends,
the devil comes up with--
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and mankind has invented a
hundred different ways to be
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able to try to find peace, try
to find fulfillment, try to find
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satisfaction with life
and purpose in life outside of
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the person of Christ, but Jesus
says, "Yes, I give you the Bible
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message, and this
is a valuable truth.
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This is what you must base your
life upon and trust implicitly,"
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but, friends, this book is not
worth anything if we do not know
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the person of that book, and
that's the difference between
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all the other pathways and
all the other philosophies,
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all the other self-help courses
and theories and pathways that
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have been invented by mankind.
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They all are relying
upon ourselves or upon
00:10:21.88\00:10:24.15
some philosophy or
some kind of theory,
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but when we come to the Bible,
when we come to the message in
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the Christian experience,
it's all about the person.
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It's centered on the person.
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It's centered on the
God who made the universe,
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and that's why Jesus
says, "Come unto Me."
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Now, He could've
said, "Come unto the Word."
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He sort of could've said, "Come
unto your local rabbi or your
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local pastor or
some local therapist."
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No, friends, it says,
"Come unto Me," Jesus says,
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"and I will give you rest.
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Learn from Me, for I am
lowly and gentle in heart,
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and you shall find
rest for your souls,
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for My yoke is easy,
and My burden is light."
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And when we come
to Isaiah chapter 55,
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we find here that Jesus and His
Father are doing the exact same
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thing in this
chapter, way back in 700,
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approximately 700 B.C.,
during the generation of Isaiah.
00:11:22.18\00:11:26.25
And so, when Jesus made
that invitation that day,
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as recorded in Matthew,
this was not the first time that
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He made that invitation.
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He had already made it
some 700 years before and,
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of course, through other
prophets before that as well.
00:11:36.56\00:11:39.03
And so we come to
verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 55,
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where it says, "Ho,
every one who thirsts,
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come to the waters,
and you who have no money,
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come, buy, and eat.
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Yes, come buy milk
and wine without money
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and without price."
00:11:56.71\00:12:02.15
Now, I just want you to stop
and imagine with me just for
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a moment if we saw in the
newspaper or online or the
00:12:04.39\00:12:09.32
local television station, and it
was advertising a sale at your
00:12:09.36\00:12:12.59
local Costco, and
the sale was this:
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Everything in the
entire store for a day, a week,
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whatever the duration of
the sale is, there's going to be
00:12:18.37\00:12:21.64
a 100% discount on
all the merchandise.
00:12:21.67\00:12:27.84
Now, how popular do you
think that sale would be?
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All right, we all know
the answer to that, don't we?
00:12:31.61\00:12:34.95
In fact, we would be thought of
as crazy if we didn't take up on
00:12:34.98\00:12:37.95
that offer.
00:12:37.99\00:12:39.32
If we said, "You know what?
I'm going to be busy that day.
00:12:39.35\00:12:41.09
I don't have time to
go to Costco, sorry."
00:12:41.12\00:12:44.09
We would be viewed as crazy,
00:12:44.13\00:12:47.20
and yet, when we come to
the beginning of chapter 55,
00:12:47.23\00:12:50.00
it is introducing
the ultimate sale.
00:12:50.03\00:12:53.37
It is a 100% discount that God
is offering to mankind and to
00:12:53.40\00:12:57.54
Israel during the
generation of Isaiah,
00:12:57.57\00:12:59.61
but not only to Isaiah's
generation but to you and me,
00:12:59.64\00:13:03.41
to the world today.
00:13:03.45\00:13:04.75
It is an ongoing
sale. It is not one day.
00:13:04.78\00:13:07.38
It is not one week, but it's
been going on for 6,000 years
00:13:07.42\00:13:10.69
now, and it will continue on
until the close of probation,
00:13:10.72\00:13:15.62
until Jesus says, "I cannot
let evil and sin go any further
00:13:15.66\00:13:20.30
into time.
00:13:20.33\00:13:23.23
Something is
being offered for free.
00:13:23.26\00:13:27.27
There is no money, there is no
labor to be able to accept this
00:13:27.30\00:13:31.67
gift that God is offering.
00:13:31.71\00:13:33.01
Once again, in
this powerful chapter,
00:13:33.04\00:13:35.91
Ephesians chapter
2, in verses 8 and 9,
00:13:35.94\00:13:37.95
we find the synopsis of Isaiah,
and what he's presenting here is
00:13:37.98\00:13:41.88
God is giving it to him
and through Isaiah in his day,
00:13:41.92\00:13:45.12
but Paul later penned it
some-700 years later when
00:13:45.15\00:13:47.82
he says, "By grace you
have been saved through faith.
00:13:47.86\00:13:53.16
It is not of yourselves.
It is a--it's a gift.
00:13:53.19\00:13:57.13
It's a gift of God.
00:13:57.17\00:13:58.47
It's not of work,
lest anyone should boast."
00:13:58.50\00:14:04.17
And so we find here
that the very basis,
00:14:04.21\00:14:07.11
the foundation of
the Old Covenant that God
00:14:07.14\00:14:09.34
was selling back to Israel,
appealing to them to come
00:14:09.38\00:14:14.55
back to that covenant that
He originally had made with them
00:14:14.58\00:14:17.49
so long ago through His
servant Moses is the exact
00:14:17.52\00:14:22.72
same covenant, or basis of the
covenant, that is offered in the
00:14:22.76\00:14:26.29
New Testament era as well.
00:14:26.33\00:14:29.33
The Old Covenant that points
to Christ on the cross that
00:14:29.36\00:14:32.13
was pointing forward is exactly
the same basis and gift and
00:14:32.17\00:14:36.64
salvation and offer from God
that is found as we look back
00:14:36.67\00:14:40.18
at the cross in
the New Testament era.
00:14:40.21\00:14:43.14
This is pointed out--
00:14:43.18\00:14:44.41
I forget what page it was in our
lesson study, and its 'course--
00:14:44.45\00:14:51.52
it's entitled "Waging Love,"
which is lesson number 11.
00:14:51.55\00:14:56.62
"Waging Love," lesson number 11.
00:14:56.66\00:14:58.59
It's on page 85,
which is Sunday's lesson.
00:14:58.63\00:15:00.83
I'll just go
ahead and read that.
00:15:00.86\00:15:02.53
It's the last
paragraph, and it says,
00:15:02.56\00:15:04.57
"Isaiah encapsulated the
gospel in the Old Testament,
00:15:04.60\00:15:07.80
and it is the same as the
gospel in the New Testament."
00:15:07.84\00:15:11.01
Now, this is a great preview for
our next quarterly study because
00:15:11.04\00:15:14.14
our next quarterly study is
going to be on the covenants
00:15:14.18\00:15:16.31
of the Bible.
00:15:16.34\00:15:19.48
"There is no old covenant
salvation by works, to be
00:15:19.51\00:15:23.42
superseded by new
covenant salvation by grace."
00:15:23.45\00:15:26.45
You see, friends, "Ever since
God's promise of a Deliverer
00:15:26.49\00:15:29.82
to Adam and Eve, there has
only been one way to salvation:
00:15:29.86\00:15:32.19
By grace through faith, 'the
free gift of offer is eternal
00:15:32.23\00:15:35.60
life through
Christ Jesus, our Lord.'"
00:15:35.63\00:15:37.90
And so this is one of the
big reasons why Isaiah has been
00:15:37.93\00:15:40.97
referred to by Christians
through the ages as the
00:15:41.00\00:15:43.17
great Old
Testament gospel preacher.
00:15:43.20\00:15:46.64
It is the Romans
of the Old Testament.
00:15:46.68\00:15:50.91
When we come to the book of
Isaiah and we come to chapter
00:15:50.95\00:15:53.01
55, God makes it clear perhaps
than anywhere else before--
00:15:53.05\00:15:56.35
anywhere else, even
as Ephesians tells us,
00:15:56.38\00:15:58.32
"It is by grace that you
have been saved by faith.
00:15:58.35\00:16:01.36
It is not of yourselves.
00:16:01.39\00:16:02.72
It is a--it is a gift of God."
00:16:02.76\00:16:07.73
And what is that gift
that God offers to us,
00:16:07.76\00:16:09.73
free of charge, a 100%
discount to you and me?
00:16:09.76\00:16:12.93
It is total forgiveness
of our guilt and sins.
00:16:12.97\00:16:18.17
God offers to clean
your slate completely,
00:16:18.21\00:16:20.48
no matter how evil,
no matter how shameful,
00:16:20.51\00:16:22.91
no matter how horrible.
00:16:22.94\00:16:25.68
No matter how destructive
those sins have been,
00:16:25.71\00:16:27.52
God offers to be able to
clean your slate completely,
00:16:27.55\00:16:33.32
complete and utter forgiveness
of all your guilt and your sins,
00:16:33.36\00:16:36.73
and not only that
but it's a package deal.
00:16:36.76\00:16:39.53
It's not only
complete forgiveness
00:16:39.56\00:16:41.16
but it's life for eternity.
00:16:41.20\00:16:45.13
God is offering you the
gift in which you can actually
00:16:45.17\00:16:48.00
live for eternity.
00:16:48.04\00:16:50.21
Your heart will beat without
ever stopping for all time,
00:16:50.24\00:16:55.44
and not only that but He says,
"In that free package also comes
00:16:55.48\00:16:58.98
a way better quality of
life in the here and now.
00:16:59.01\00:17:03.92
The quality of your
life will be paramount,
00:17:03.95\00:17:07.69
will be light years better than
it is without this gift in your
00:17:07.72\00:17:11.89
heart, without
this gift in your life."
00:17:11.93\00:17:15.13
That's why Jesus
so confidently say
00:17:15.16\00:17:17.53
"The thief,"
representing the devil,
00:17:17.57\00:17:19.43
"does not come except to steal
and to kill and to destroy."
00:17:19.47\00:17:21.87
He's only out to be able to drag
you down with him into hell,
00:17:21.90\00:17:27.08
but God says through Jesus
is "I have come that you might
00:17:27.11\00:17:29.58
have life and have
it more abundantly."
00:17:29.61\00:17:31.91
He's talking about
the here and now, amen?
00:17:31.95\00:17:34.88
He's talking about the
life that you and I live,
00:17:34.92\00:17:36.69
from day to day, right now.
00:17:36.72\00:17:39.72
And so the quality of our life
goes up dramatically when we
00:17:39.75\00:17:42.69
have Christ, when we
accept this gift into our life,
00:17:42.72\00:17:45.73
and so the million-dollar
question that so many people
00:17:45.76\00:17:47.93
that have come to
accept Christ in their life,
00:17:47.96\00:17:50.33
accept this free gift and live
under the liberated experience
00:17:50.37\00:17:54.17
of having God's grace as we give
our faith to Him from day to
00:17:54.20\00:17:57.17
day--and it is so exciting--
00:17:57.21\00:17:59.47
the quality of
life is so much better.
00:17:59.51\00:18:01.34
We ask ourselves, "How in
the world are so many around
00:18:01.38\00:18:05.05
me not interested, in fact,
are aggressively pushing back
00:18:05.08\00:18:09.95
against that gift?
00:18:09.98\00:18:12.55
Why is it that only
a few, as Jesus says,
00:18:12.59\00:18:17.43
accept that gift and
walk into eternal life?
00:18:17.46\00:18:23.20
Well, the Bible gives us a
number of different answers.
00:18:23.23\00:18:25.20
I just want to look at
three, three here this morning.
00:18:25.23\00:18:31.01
Now, the reason that
this particular gift that God
00:18:31.04\00:18:33.14
offers to us is so unpopular
is for three key reasons:
00:18:33.17\00:18:38.18
Number one, the devil uses the
world to deceive us the same way
00:18:38.21\00:18:42.15
that he succeeded with Eve
at the tree of the knowledge of
00:18:42.18\00:18:44.79
garden of Eden so long ago,
00:18:44.82\00:18:47.82
the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
00:18:47.86\00:18:52.66
It is there that
not only did he say,
00:18:52.69\00:18:54.10
"You shall not surely die," the
very first lie that he brought
00:18:54.13\00:18:57.00
to mankind, but he followed
up with that lie and said,
00:18:57.03\00:18:59.73
"The only reason that God said
that you shall surely die if
00:18:59.77\00:19:02.10
you at from the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil
00:19:02.14\00:19:04.44
is because He's
trying to threaten you.
00:19:04.47\00:19:06.07
He's trying to hold you back
from having a much more rounded
00:19:06.11\00:19:10.15
experience in your life.
00:19:10.18\00:19:14.02
The only reason that
He's telling you not to eat of
00:19:14.05\00:19:15.75
the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil is not because
00:19:15.78\00:19:17.55
you'll die.
00:19:17.59\00:19:18.89
You're not going to die.
00:19:18.92\00:19:20.16
No, the fact of the matter is
God knows that you will become
00:19:20.19\00:19:21.96
just like Him, that your
life will be well rounded,
00:19:21.99\00:19:25.53
even as mine and His is, that
you also can have the knowledge
00:19:25.56\00:19:28.36
of the good and
the evil as well."
00:19:28.40\00:19:31.87
In other words,
the devil was saying,
00:19:31.90\00:19:33.23
"Listen, there's not a whole lot
wrong with some of the good that
00:19:33.27\00:19:36.27
you have in your
experience right now,
00:19:36.30\00:19:37.97
but life is going to be a whole
lot more fuller if you also have
00:19:38.01\00:19:40.71
some evil there
to enjoy as well."
00:19:40.74\00:19:45.65
And that is still the
same today, is it not?
00:19:45.68\00:19:47.58
Many people will not come
to Christ because they look at
00:19:47.62\00:19:50.25
Jesus, they look at the
Bible, they look at religion and
00:19:50.29\00:19:52.62
Christianity as nothing
but a giant party pooper,
00:19:52.65\00:19:58.09
isn't that true?
00:19:58.13\00:20:00.20
"I don't want to come to Christ.
00:20:00.23\00:20:01.43
He's going to take this away,
He's going to take this away,
00:20:01.46\00:20:03.13
He's going to take this away,
and He's going to take this
00:20:03.16\00:20:04.77
away," and I believe--
00:20:04.80\00:20:06.80
and I believe the lie
that my life is much fuller.
00:20:06.84\00:20:09.90
"It's much more well rounded,
not only with some good things--
00:20:09.94\00:20:13.11
oh, I have nothing
against doing good and having
00:20:13.14\00:20:15.11
good and love and peace
and all these other things,
00:20:15.14\00:20:17.45
but it's also good
to have sin in my life."
00:20:17.48\00:20:20.58
And so the devil uses
the same deception that works
00:20:20.62\00:20:23.15
so successfully in the garden,
in the garden of Eden at the
00:20:23.18\00:20:25.59
tree, even today with mankind.
00:20:25.62\00:20:28.86
Number two, unlike
shopping at Costco,
00:20:28.89\00:20:34.63
the gift that God offers to
us at 100% discount involves
00:20:34.66\00:20:37.53
a commitment, involves
a relationship to a Person
00:20:37.57\00:20:41.24
with a capital P.
00:20:41.27\00:20:43.34
It involves a relationship and a
commitment to a Person that made
00:20:43.37\00:20:46.81
the heavens and the earth.
00:20:46.84\00:20:48.28
God is saying, "Listen,
when it comes to accepting this
00:20:48.31\00:20:50.55
particular gift, this gift is
something that also involves a
00:20:50.58\00:20:54.18
relationship with Me.
00:20:54.22\00:20:55.55
I'm offering you
Myself," God says.
00:20:55.58\00:21:01.56
And so God tells us that
involves a very real commitment.
00:21:01.59\00:21:08.43
Many of us are not that
excited about committing.
00:21:08.46\00:21:12.03
And the third reason, as
Jesus says, "We love sin."
00:21:12.07\00:21:18.01
There's something about
the human heart that loves sin.
00:21:18.04\00:21:20.08
Our fallen nature, we default
to a love for sin, and we have--
00:21:20.11\00:21:25.51
we love to have the
freedom to pick the sins of our
00:21:25.55\00:21:28.15
choice without judgment from
a God we need to commit to that
00:21:28.18\00:21:32.09
might get in the way.
00:21:32.12\00:21:33.52
And so because of
these three key reasons,
00:21:33.56\00:21:36.49
that observation of mankind, as
well as we can also find in the
00:21:36.52\00:21:39.46
Scriptures, God
reveals to us, indeed,
00:21:39.49\00:21:42.53
some of the key reasons why so
many around us refuse this gift
00:21:42.56\00:21:48.44
in which God has given
to us at such a great cost.
00:21:48.47\00:21:53.07
And so I invite you to
open your Bibles to Isaiah 55,
00:21:53.11\00:21:56.28
if you haven't already.
00:21:56.31\00:21:57.55
I'd just like to look at some
verses here as we just kind of
00:21:57.58\00:22:00.32
spend and keep our
nose in the Bible itself.
00:22:00.35\00:22:02.48
In verse 1, again, we
read, "Ho, everyone who thirsts,
00:22:02.52\00:22:05.85
come to the waters," God says.
00:22:05.89\00:22:08.86
Doesn't that bring back to your
memory when Jesus was at the
00:22:08.89\00:22:11.63
water well, Jacob's well,
when He was a human walking upon
00:22:11.66\00:22:15.73
this planet, and He stopped,
and His disciples were grocery
00:22:15.76\00:22:18.23
shopping in the local city
of Sychar, and He's having this
00:22:18.27\00:22:22.07
conversation with the Samaritan
woman, and He was selling her on
00:22:22.10\00:22:26.01
the very same thing that Isaiah
is selling us on in Isaiah 55,
00:22:26.04\00:22:31.08
and Jesus finally says to her,
"He who drinks of this water,
00:22:31.11\00:22:33.68
which I offer, will become like
a fountain springing up into
00:22:33.72\00:22:37.02
everlasting life."
00:22:37.05\00:22:41.29
Ho, everyone who
thirsts," Jesus says,
00:22:41.32\00:22:43.56
God says, "Come to the waters,
and you who have no money,
00:22:43.59\00:22:47.50
come and buy and eat.
00:22:47.50\00:22:50.23
Yes, come, buy wine
and milk without money
00:22:50.27\00:22:53.40
and without price."
00:22:53.44\00:22:56.37
Verse 2, God
continues to go on and says,
00:22:56.40\00:22:58.34
"Why do you spend money
for that which is not bread,
00:22:58.37\00:23:02.38
and your wages for that
which does not satisfy?"
00:23:02.41\00:23:05.81
God says, "Listen,
you're investing your time,
00:23:05.85\00:23:07.58
your money, your resources
into all the wrong places.
00:23:07.62\00:23:12.42
Jesus stood up
there in his lifetime,
00:23:12.45\00:23:13.86
and He says, "I am
the Bread of Life."
00:23:13.89\00:23:16.49
Do you remember that?
00:23:16.52\00:23:18.23
"I am the Bread of Life."
00:23:18.26\00:23:23.93
Jesus tells us
in John chapter 6,
00:23:23.97\00:23:25.97
in verse 33, "For
the bread of God is He."
00:23:26.00\00:23:29.07
That's with a capital H.
00:23:29.10\00:23:30.41
"For the bread of God
is He, that is Christ,
00:23:30.44\00:23:33.24
who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
00:23:33.27\00:23:37.31
I am the Bread of
Life," Jesus says.
00:23:37.35\00:23:42.48
That's why He says,
"You must eat of Me."
00:23:42.52\00:23:44.52
You must invest your resources
and your life and your energies
00:23:44.55\00:23:49.19
in the person of
Christ, "In Me," Jesus says,
00:23:49.22\00:23:52.86
"and then you will find life.
00:23:52.89\00:23:55.00
Then you will find satisfaction.
00:23:55.03\00:23:57.03
Why do you spend your money
on that which is not bread,
00:23:57.07\00:23:59.17
and your wages for
that which does not satisfy?
00:23:59.20\00:24:02.57
Listen carefully to
Me, and eat what is good,
00:24:02.60\00:24:06.17
and let your soul
delight itself in abundance."
00:24:06.21\00:24:10.51
There's that key
word, "abundance."
00:24:10.55\00:24:12.65
Jesus says, "I have
come that you might have life
00:24:12.68\00:24:14.48
more abundantly."
00:24:14.52\00:24:17.49
This is the same thing.
00:24:17.52\00:24:19.02
You see, almost everything that
Jesus taught during His earthly
00:24:19.05\00:24:22.16
lifetime was simply reiterating,
bring back to life what He had
00:24:22.19\00:24:25.49
already been
speaking to through Isaiah and
00:24:25.53\00:24:27.93
the prophets of the Old.
00:24:27.96\00:24:31.07
In verse 3, it
says, "Incline your ear,
00:24:31.10\00:24:33.27
and come to--come
to Me," Jesus says.
00:24:33.30\00:24:38.17
Again, it's the
Person, isn't it?
00:24:38.21\00:24:40.68
He's not just saying, "Come
to the truth," which is one with
00:24:40.71\00:24:43.55
Jesus, and it's paramount
in importance to Jesus,
00:24:43.58\00:24:47.92
but it is secondary to
the person of Christ and which
00:24:47.95\00:24:50.45
that word comes from.
00:24:50.49\00:24:54.16
"Incline your ear and
come to Me," Jesus says.
00:24:54.19\00:24:57.46
God says, "Hear, and
your soul shall live,
00:24:57.49\00:25:00.36
and I will make an
everlasting covenant with you--
00:25:00.40\00:25:04.50
the sure mercies of David."
00:25:04.53\00:25:07.07
God says, "Listen, I will
offer you the mercies of David."
00:25:07.10\00:25:09.94
Jesus understood that.
00:25:09.97\00:25:11.47
When He came into this world, He
was the ultimate Son of David,
00:25:11.51\00:25:14.61
was He not?
00:25:14.64\00:25:15.88
That's why they cried out when
He came into the holy capital
00:25:15.91\00:25:18.81
of Jerusalem, just
before He was crucified.
00:25:18.85\00:25:21.02
On that donkey, the great
triumphal entry into Jerusalem
00:25:21.05\00:25:24.45
as the King of
kings and Lord of lords,
00:25:24.49\00:25:26.19
and they cried out
"Hosanna, hosanna, the Son of--"
00:25:26.22\00:25:30.03
the Son of David.
00:25:30.06\00:25:31.36
They understood that
the ultimate Messiah,
00:25:31.39\00:25:33.09
the Promised One, the Prophet
with a capital P, the Great
00:25:33.13\00:25:36.43
Redeemer and Deliverer of the
world would be a descendant of
00:25:36.46\00:25:40.77
David, would be the ultimate and
final David that would sit on
00:25:40.80\00:25:44.27
the throne for all of eternity.
00:25:44.31\00:25:48.41
And God offers the
sure mercies of David,
00:25:48.44\00:25:51.08
the sure mercies of Jesus to the
generation that existed then.
00:25:51.11\00:25:59.39
I'd like to
drop down to verse 6,
00:25:59.42\00:26:01.06
as we pick up on that same vein.
00:26:01.09\00:26:03.22
In verse 6, it says, "Seek
the Lord while He may be found.
00:26:03.26\00:26:06.43
Call upon Him
while He may be near--
00:26:06.46\00:26:08.56
while He is near."
00:26:08.60\00:26:10.00
Jesus, God is
always near, is He not?
00:26:10.03\00:26:13.07
In fact, He's so near, as
we just talked about a little
00:26:13.10\00:26:15.74
bit earlier.
00:26:15.77\00:26:17.07
In Revelation
chapter 3, verse 20,
00:26:17.11\00:26:18.41
Jesus says, "I'm so
near that I'm always there,
00:26:18.44\00:26:20.58
and I'm knocking on
the door of your heart that
00:26:20.61\00:26:26.08
if you open the door, I
will come in and dine with you,
00:26:26.11\00:26:28.08
and you with Me."
00:26:28.12\00:26:29.92
We will enter into a
lifesaving relationship.
00:26:29.95\00:26:34.72
Verse 7, it says, "Let
the wicked forsake his way."
00:26:34.76\00:26:37.96
God calls us to repentance when
we come to Him because He is a
00:26:37.99\00:26:40.60
holy God, is He not?
00:26:40.63\00:26:42.66
And so, when we
invite Him into our heart,
00:26:42.70\00:26:44.70
we're inviting
holiness into our life.
00:26:44.73\00:26:48.84
That's why Paul
says that the Christian,
00:26:48.87\00:26:51.67
a true believer,
that opens the heart,
00:26:51.71\00:26:54.11
opens the door to their heart,
they become instantly a holy
00:26:54.14\00:26:57.08
temple of God because now
the Holy God of the universe is
00:26:57.11\00:27:00.32
residing in your heart.
00:27:00.35\00:27:03.12
And of course, the
heart represents this part of
00:27:03.15\00:27:04.89
our biology, is it not?
00:27:04.92\00:27:06.99
It's the brain.
00:27:07.02\00:27:08.92
It's the mind.
00:27:08.96\00:27:12.03
"Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man
00:27:12.06\00:27:14.30
his thoughts.
00:27:14.30\00:27:15.60
Let him return to the Lord,
and He will have mercy on him,
00:27:15.63\00:27:19.57
and to our God, for He
will abundantly pardon."
00:27:19.60\00:27:23.71
And then, when we
come to verses 12 and 13,
00:27:23.74\00:27:25.97
God then paints
before us, before you and me,
00:27:26.01\00:27:28.31
before that
generation, the great fruits,
00:27:28.34\00:27:30.81
the outcropping,
the abundant life,
00:27:30.85\00:27:33.52
the higher quality of life that
God will inevitably bring into
00:27:33.55\00:27:36.92
your life when you accept Jesus
and respond to this invitation.
00:27:36.95\00:27:40.32
In verse 12, He says,
"For you shall go out with joy,
00:27:40.36\00:27:45.83
and be led out with peace."
00:27:45.86\00:27:48.33
Paul tells us in Galatians
chapter 5 and around verse 20,
00:27:48.36\00:27:51.73
21, 22, he says, "The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace."
00:27:51.77\00:28:01.04
Now, again, friends, Paul
wasn't being original when
00:28:01.08\00:28:03.45
he penned that.
00:28:03.48\00:28:05.91
They're just simply reiterating
what God had been speaking for
00:28:05.95\00:28:08.38
centuries already.
00:28:08.42\00:28:10.79
"For you shall go out with
joy, and be led out with peace.
00:28:10.82\00:28:15.19
The mountains and the hills
shall break forth into singing
00:28:15.22\00:28:18.26
before you, and all the
trees of the field shall
00:28:18.29\00:28:20.53
clap their hands.
00:28:20.56\00:28:22.00
Instead of the thorn
shall come up the cypress tree,
00:28:22.03\00:28:24.80
and instead of the brier
shall come up the myrtle tree,
00:28:24.83\00:28:27.30
and it shall be to
the Lord for a name,
00:28:27.34\00:28:29.54
for an everlasting sign
that shall not be cut off."
00:28:29.57\00:28:33.74
This is the abundant
life that God is selling
00:28:33.78\00:28:35.54
that generation on.
00:28:35.58\00:28:36.88
This is the abundant
life that God is selling on to
00:28:36.91\00:28:39.28
us here today.
00:28:39.31\00:28:41.58
And again, friends, the ultimate
gift that God is offering to us
00:28:41.62\00:28:45.52
is the person of Himself,
and how tragic it is that
00:28:45.55\00:28:51.06
when we read this
passage among dozens of other
00:28:51.09\00:28:53.46
passages throughout the
Scriptures--Old, New alike--
00:28:53.50\00:28:56.83
that God has to work so
hard at selling the greatest
00:28:56.87\00:28:59.90
offering gift to mankind,
especially since He spent
00:28:59.93\00:29:04.77
so much, and it cost Him such
an infinite amount to be able
00:29:04.81\00:29:08.78
to buy that
salvation, free gift for us,
00:29:08.81\00:29:14.12
the eternal Son
of God, suffering,
00:29:14.15\00:29:16.92
beaten beyond recognition, dying
a horrible death on the cross of
00:29:16.95\00:29:20.69
Calvary, taking upon Himself
the guilt of all the world,
00:29:20.72\00:29:24.83
not only of the saved
but also of the unsaved,
00:29:24.86\00:29:27.76
not only those
who go to their grave
00:29:27.76\00:29:29.83
looking for the
resurrection of condemnation
00:29:29.86\00:29:32.07
but He also bore upon himself
the guilt of those who would
00:29:32.10\00:29:34.90
reject Him until
they went into the grave.
00:29:34.94\00:29:38.64
The great cost
that it came to Jesus,
00:29:38.67\00:29:41.44
it is free to you and me, but
that did not come with a cost,
00:29:41.48\00:29:44.31
even as Costco, if it
had 100% discount out of all
00:29:44.35\00:29:47.22
its merchandise, it
would be free to us,
00:29:47.25\00:29:49.55
but it would be a very
expensive price for Costco, yes?
00:29:49.58\00:29:55.29
And it's the
same thing with God.
00:29:55.32\00:29:57.66
It's the same
thing with salvation.
00:29:57.69\00:29:58.99
It's free to you and me,
but God paid a tremendous price,
00:29:59.03\00:30:02.03
and yet He has to work
so hard to sell us on it,
00:30:02.06\00:30:08.47
and yet how amazing the grace
and patience God has and willing
00:30:08.50\00:30:12.04
to go to such lengths to bring
us into His eternal family.
00:30:12.07\00:30:16.64
How true is the
Bible when it says,
00:30:16.68\00:30:18.05
"God is love"?
00:30:18.08\00:30:22.32
That He would actually
endure our stubbornness,
00:30:22.35\00:30:26.99
our persistent resistance
to God's voice, to the greatest
00:30:27.02\00:30:32.66
gift that has ever
been boughten for mankind?
00:30:32.69\00:30:40.87
Well, there's another couple
verses in there that I skipped
00:30:40.90\00:30:42.80
over, but I want to return
to and the lesson study it
00:30:42.84\00:30:45.31
certainly looks at, and that's
verses 8 and 9 and 10 and 11.
00:30:45.34\00:30:50.11
So let's back up to
verses 8 and 9 and 10 and 11,
00:30:50.15\00:30:54.62
and just spend some
time there as well because
00:30:54.65\00:30:57.12
again, 8 and 9 are two verses
that many of us that have been
00:30:57.15\00:31:00.16
in the Christian faith for some
time are very familiar with,
00:31:00.19\00:31:02.86
but let's go
back and revisit it.
00:31:02.89\00:31:05.53
Verses 8 and 9, it says,
"'For My thoughts are not
00:31:05.56\00:31:07.46
your thoughts, nor are your
ways My way,' says the Lord.
00:31:07.50\00:31:12.83
'For as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
00:31:12.87\00:31:15.14
so are My ways
higher than your ways,
00:31:15.17\00:31:17.91
and My thoughts
than your thoughts."
00:31:17.94\00:31:22.28
Now, friends,
when we look at this--
00:31:22.31\00:31:23.98
and most of the time, when we
think of it, we talk about it,
00:31:24.01\00:31:25.88
we apply it.
00:31:25.91\00:31:27.25
We rightly do so,
and we say, "Listen,
00:31:27.28\00:31:28.72
when it comes to trying to
understand the world and all
00:31:28.75\00:31:30.82
the intricacies and the
injustices that sometimes
00:31:30.85\00:31:34.22
prevail and all these different
question marks that come upon
00:31:34.26\00:31:36.83
the world and upon our minds
as we go through this life,
00:31:36.86\00:31:40.86
we remind ourselves that God's
thoughts are much higher than
00:31:40.90\00:31:44.03
our thoughts, that His ways
are much higher than our ways,
00:31:44.07\00:31:46.97
that who are we to question Him
even as God had challenged Job
00:31:47.00\00:31:50.11
towards the end of
his experience as recorded
00:31:50.14\00:31:52.17
in that book of
the Old Testament?
00:31:52.21\00:31:56.34
But friends, I believe that
if we read verses 10 and 11,
00:31:56.38\00:31:58.61
again, we look
at the context here.
00:31:58.65\00:32:01.45
It helps us to understand what
the immediate application is.
00:32:01.48\00:32:05.02
Why is it that God has told
us that His thoughts are higher
00:32:05.05\00:32:08.29
than our thoughts, that His ways
are much higher than our ways?
00:32:08.32\00:32:12.89
In verse 10, He
goes on, and He says,
00:32:12.93\00:32:14.30
"For as the rain comes
down, and the show from heaven,
00:32:14.30\00:32:17.77
and does not return there,
but waters the earth and make it
00:32:17.80\00:32:23.14
bring forth and bud that it may
give seed to the sower and bread
00:32:23.17\00:32:27.34
to the eater, so shall
My word be that goes forth
00:32:27.38\00:32:33.45
from My mouth.
00:32:33.48\00:32:35.25
It shall not return to Me void,
but it shall accomplish what I
00:32:35.28\00:32:39.59
please and shall prosper in
the thing in which it is sent."
00:32:39.62\00:32:44.73
And so, friends, when we look at
the context at verses 10 and 11,
00:32:44.76\00:32:47.50
as God goes on and He expands
on those two verses in the more
00:32:47.50\00:32:52.90
well-known
verses, it tells us that
00:32:52.93\00:32:55.90
when God is talking about His
thoughts being higher than our
00:32:55.94\00:32:58.04
thoughts, His ways
higher than our ways,
00:32:58.07\00:33:00.44
He's talking about the fact that
He's inviting the Israelites and
00:33:00.48\00:33:03.08
you and I to put our implicit
trust in the Word of God that
00:33:03.11\00:33:06.58
comes from the mouth of
the Maker of heaven and earth,
00:33:06.61\00:33:10.72
that God is saying, "Listen,
even if your opinions do not
00:33:10.75\00:33:13.69
align with the opinions
that are recorded in the Bible,
00:33:13.72\00:33:16.49
even if your opinions do not
align with the opinions of God
00:33:16.52\00:33:20.16
Himself, put your opinion aside
and lift up the opinion of God,"
00:33:20.20\00:33:27.04
that God's ways are much higher.
00:33:27.07\00:33:29.07
Put your implicit trust
in what God has told you.
00:33:29.10\00:33:33.48
Friends, I have been in
the Christian faith for about--
00:33:33.51\00:33:35.31
I don't know.
00:33:35.34\00:33:36.75
Denise, how long has it
been? Thirty-three years or so.
00:33:36.78\00:33:41.78
And I've been in the
pastoral ministry for 23 years,
00:33:41.82\00:33:46.89
and, friends, I have
met so many--people that
00:33:46.92\00:33:50.76
so obviously have used their
opinion to trump the opinions
00:33:50.79\00:33:55.63
that God has
revealed in His Word:
00:33:55.66\00:33:59.00
churchgoers, Christians,
non-Seventh-day Adventists,
00:33:59.03\00:34:04.34
Seventh-day Adventists.
00:34:04.37\00:34:08.28
Friends, God is
telling us, "Listen,
00:34:08.31\00:34:09.88
when you are tempted to
lift your opinion and your
00:34:09.91\00:34:13.52
perspective above the
perspective and opinions
00:34:13.55\00:34:16.79
that are in the Word of God,
remember that God's ways are
00:34:16.82\00:34:20.32
much higher than your ways, that
His thoughts are light years
00:34:20.36\00:34:23.29
ahead of your thoughts, and even
though your opinion seems so
00:34:23.32\00:34:26.86
right to you, 'There is a way
that seems right to a man,' the
00:34:26.90\00:34:29.63
Bible says, 'but the way
therein leads to death.'"
00:34:29.66\00:34:35.00
And so we need to lift up
God's opinion above any opinion,
00:34:35.04\00:34:38.61
no matter how--you know, some of
us are so opinionated that God
00:34:38.64\00:34:43.18
has to work double time to be
able to overcome those opinions
00:34:43.21\00:34:46.01
to convince you that His opinion
is actually the right one.
00:34:46.05\00:34:50.45
But that's what
God is saying here.
00:34:50.49\00:34:51.79
That's why He starts
out in verses 8 and 9,
00:34:51.82\00:34:54.82
because it's a precursor.
00:34:54.86\00:34:57.63
It's a precursor to the fruit
that bears when we come to His
00:34:57.66\00:35:02.13
Word and His opinion.
00:35:02.16\00:35:04.87
Even as He brings rain and
snow down upon the water to
00:35:04.90\00:35:07.40
precipitate and feed that which
gives life to the plants that
00:35:07.44\00:35:11.47
then give life to you and me,
so is God's word like a seed.
00:35:11.51\00:35:18.48
It goes forth from His mouth,
and it shall not return to us
00:35:18.51\00:35:21.12
void," but it cannot only return
to Him void when we actually
00:35:21.15\00:35:24.65
accept it, when we submit to God
and we submit to His Word and
00:35:24.69\00:35:30.16
His ways and His thoughts.
00:35:30.19\00:35:34.73
"And then it shall
accomplish what God pleases,
00:35:34.76\00:35:37.17
and it shall prosper in the
thing in which I have sent."
00:35:37.20\00:35:41.10
And so the Word of God is the
key source of sanctification.
00:35:41.14\00:35:45.47
That's why Jesus said in
His last prayer before He
00:35:45.51\00:35:47.81
was arrested and crucified,
He says, "Thy word is truth,
00:35:47.84\00:35:51.11
O Father.
00:35:51.15\00:35:52.45
Sanctify them by Your truth.
00:35:52.48\00:35:55.25
Your word is truth."
00:35:55.28\00:35:57.89
And so Jesus understood
that one of the greatest sources
00:35:57.92\00:36:01.46
of sanctification is to
submit all our perspectives and
00:36:01.49\00:36:05.36
opinions to the Word of
God, and when we do that
00:36:05.39\00:36:09.46
that of course,
with the Holy Spirit,
00:36:09.50\00:36:12.73
and choices
concerning our environment,
00:36:12.77\00:36:15.60
those three sources can
either make us or break us,
00:36:15.64\00:36:19.97
depending on how we handle them.
00:36:20.01\00:36:23.01
Sanctification of God is largely
based upon the Word of God.
00:36:23.04\00:36:26.75
"Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God,"
00:36:26.78\00:36:29.12
it says in Romans, does it not?
00:36:29.15\00:36:33.15
And faith, of course, is part
of the sanctification process.
00:36:33.19\00:36:36.02
Without faith, we cannot be
truly sanctified and transformed
00:36:36.06\00:36:39.39
from the inside out.
00:36:39.43\00:36:48.17
Well, let's go
to chapter 58 now.
00:36:48.20\00:36:51.41
We still have
about 12 minutes, or so,
00:36:51.44\00:36:52.74
to be able to look at
some important things there.
00:36:52.77\00:36:55.04
Chapter 58, of course,
is just loaded as well.
00:36:55.08\00:36:57.41
I've just been so
blessed to be able to be,
00:36:57.45\00:36:59.81
you know, to have the privilege
of being able to teach today's
00:36:59.85\00:37:03.45
lesson because these
are two powerful chapters.
00:37:03.49\00:37:06.12
Now, when we come to chapter
58, we're looking at here God
00:37:06.15\00:37:09.56
is unveiling a very real
trap that can exist for us
00:37:09.59\00:37:15.53
as Christians, especially for
us on the conservative Right,
00:37:15.56\00:37:18.47
in which I count
myself a conservative.
00:37:18.50\00:37:20.67
And so we have
to be very careful,
00:37:20.70\00:37:22.44
and God is helping us and
warning us as we look at this
00:37:22.47\00:37:24.87
particular chapter.
00:37:24.91\00:37:26.27
Now, the irony is that
when we look at verse 1,
00:37:26.31\00:37:29.71
verse 1 has been used as a
directive to point to the open
00:37:29.74\00:37:32.51
sins, the worldliness, of the
Christians and local churches
00:37:32.55\00:37:35.08
that can be found guilty
of erring on the liberal Left.
00:37:35.12\00:37:44.86
But as we look at chapter
58, it reveals that even though
00:37:44.89\00:37:47.36
idolatry was very
prevalent in Israel--
00:37:47.40\00:37:50.63
and that is abundantly clear as
we look at many long passages in
00:37:50.67\00:37:54.30
Isaiah where God goes to great
extensive measures to compare
00:37:54.34\00:37:57.64
Himself to the false
gods and idols in which Israel
00:37:57.67\00:37:59.94
was falling for.
00:38:00.04\00:38:01.44
And so idolatry was
very prevalent in Israel,
00:38:01.48\00:38:06.28
and even though idolatry
was very prevalent in Israel,
00:38:06.31\00:38:08.98
many still found themselves
playing the part in the Jewish
00:38:09.02\00:38:12.19
religious ceremonies,
the feasts, the fasts,
00:38:12.22\00:38:14.99
approaching the temple
during the times of prayer.
00:38:15.02\00:38:17.76
They were walking the walk as
far as the religious ceremonies
00:38:17.79\00:38:20.96
and rites goes, as God
had directed through Moses,
00:38:21.00\00:38:23.87
as well as some others
that perhaps had been developed
00:38:23.90\00:38:26.43
by the local rabbis, as we so
often make the mistake of doing.
00:38:26.47\00:38:35.78
But coming back
to verse 1, verse 1,
00:38:35.81\00:38:38.11
"Lift up the trumpet. Spare not.
00:38:38.15\00:38:40.15
Cry aloud." Have
you heard that before?
00:38:40.18\00:38:43.35
I've heard that.
00:38:43.39\00:38:44.69
In fact, it was just-- I
was just barely baptized.
00:38:44.72\00:38:46.02
Denise and I
were baptized in 1992,
00:38:46.05\00:38:47.76
joined the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:38:47.79\00:38:49.72
and a dear saint, a elderly lady
came to our door unexpectedly
00:38:49.76\00:38:52.83
and knocked on
the door and says,
00:38:52.86\00:38:54.13
"You need to see these tapes."
00:38:54.20\00:38:56.56
So we looked at these tapes, and
our eyes got about this big as
00:38:56.60\00:38:58.67
we watched it, and he
was showing videos of these
00:38:58.70\00:39:01.24
liberal churches and the open
rebellion and spirit that was
00:39:01.27\00:39:07.28
found in these, and
we discovered later that
00:39:07.31\00:39:10.08
a lot of them weren't even in
Seventh-day Adventist Churches.
00:39:10.11\00:39:12.95
They were filmed in
non-Adventist churches,
00:39:12.98\00:39:15.85
but it was in independent
ministry that was calling
00:39:15.88\00:39:18.49
people out of Babylon, calling
people out of the Seventh-day
00:39:18.52\00:39:20.76
Adventist Church.
00:39:20.79\00:39:25.03
And the key verse that that
particular person in ministry
00:39:25.06\00:39:28.43
was capitalizing
on was "Cry aloud.
00:39:28.46\00:39:30.93
Spare not. Lift up the trumpet."
00:39:30.97\00:39:36.14
Many years ago, when I began to
study this verse in the context
00:39:36.17\00:39:38.77
of the entire chapter, I was
surprised to discover that it
00:39:38.81\00:39:40.94
was actually addressing
Jews who were erring on
00:39:40.98\00:39:43.08
the religious, conservative
Right, not on the Left.
00:39:43.11\00:39:49.78
And so, friends, God
is speaking to us here.
00:39:49.82\00:39:51.85
It says there are plenty of
Bible passages that addresses
00:39:51.89\00:39:54.62
the liberal, openly
compromised churches.
00:39:54.66\00:39:58.59
You can find them
all over the Bible.
00:39:58.63\00:40:00.16
So God does not stop in speaking
to those who are liberally,
00:40:00.20\00:40:04.37
openly compromising their faith.
00:40:04.40\00:40:07.24
But this particular verse and
chapter is actually revealing
00:40:07.27\00:40:10.27
that we could also fall into a
trap on the Right ditch as well,
00:40:10.31\00:40:13.68
and so God is saying
we also must be careful.
00:40:13.71\00:40:17.98
And so, friends, being on the
conservative Right doesn't mean
00:40:18.01\00:40:20.32
that we're immune to
the deceptions and traps of
00:40:20.35\00:40:23.18
the devil.
00:40:23.22\00:40:24.52
The devil just
simply switches gears.
00:40:24.55\00:40:25.85
He works in a different way.
00:40:25.89\00:40:27.19
His methods are different,
but the end is still the same.
00:40:27.22\00:40:30.49
It is severing a
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:40:30.53\00:40:35.50
Now, friends, we have a movement
that has been growing here in
00:40:35.53\00:40:37.67
America called
the religious Right,
00:40:37.70\00:40:39.43
outside of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:40:39.47\00:40:41.70
in evangelical Christianity,
00:40:41.74\00:40:43.47
and many of them are
very sincere Christians.
00:40:43.51\00:40:46.04
This is not a
judgment call on any of them.
00:40:46.07\00:40:47.84
God knows that
there are many sincere,
00:40:47.88\00:40:50.05
saved followers of
Christ in every church, amen?
00:40:50.08\00:40:54.32
So that's important
for us to understand,
00:40:54.35\00:40:55.85
but, friends, there is a
very real and live danger
00:40:55.88\00:40:59.25
that exists and a predicament
which prophesy tells us will
00:40:59.29\00:41:02.66
lay the foundation for
establishing a religious
00:41:02.69\00:41:06.23
system across this land and
across the world before Jesus
00:41:06.26\00:41:09.23
comes that will be very
much like the religious Right.
00:41:09.26\00:41:17.54
And if we are not
aware of the devil's methods,
00:41:17.57\00:41:19.44
we can be deceived here as well.
00:41:19.47\00:41:21.41
He tempts believers to develop
what we call a double life,
00:41:21.44\00:41:27.45
and this double
life looks like this:
00:41:27.48\00:41:29.18
On the outside, we can appear
and act like we are the most
00:41:29.22\00:41:32.05
zealous followers
of God that there is.
00:41:32.09\00:41:36.86
We go to church, and we go to
church for Seventh-day Adventist
00:41:36.89\00:41:40.50
even on the right day.
00:41:40.53\00:41:43.13
We faithfully go
to prayer meeting.
00:41:43.16\00:41:44.90
We find ourselves involved
in different worship services.
00:41:44.93\00:41:49.60
We like to go to Bible studies.
00:41:49.64\00:41:52.24
That's what's being described
here in this verse that is so
00:41:52.27\00:41:54.54
famous: "Lift up
the trumpet, spare not.
00:41:54.58\00:41:58.51
Lift up your voice."
00:41:58.55\00:41:59.85
Let's read it
together in verse 1.
00:41:59.88\00:42:01.28
You read it silently.
I'll read it out loud.
00:42:01.32\00:42:03.45
Verse 1, it says,
"Cry aloud and spare not.
00:42:03.49\00:42:05.55
Lift up your
voice like a trumpet.
00:42:05.59\00:42:06.89
Tell My people
their transgression,
00:42:06.92\00:42:08.52
and the house of
Jacob their sins."
00:42:08.56\00:42:11.16
Friends, these are not
open, rebellious, liberal sins.
00:42:11.19\00:42:13.70
He's talking about
hidden, conservative sins.
00:42:13.73\00:42:17.57
In verse 2, it
makes it abundantly clear.
00:42:17.60\00:42:19.13
He says, "Yet they
seek Me--" how often?
00:42:19.17\00:42:22.74
"They seek Me daily."
00:42:22.77\00:42:25.31
Now, this is almost inevitably
referring to the different hours
00:42:25.34\00:42:28.44
of prayer that the religious
Jews had developed in Israel.
00:42:28.48\00:42:32.61
There were certain times of the
day in which the rabbis and the
00:42:32.65\00:42:35.58
different religious
leaders offered times of prayer,
00:42:35.62\00:42:37.79
both of the temple and
of the different synagogues,
00:42:37.82\00:42:40.09
and so they
would seek God daily.
00:42:40.12\00:42:45.06
"And delight to know my ways."
00:42:45.09\00:42:46.80
These are people that are
interested in Bible studies.
00:42:46.83\00:42:50.03
These are people that
show up to Bible studies.
00:42:50.07\00:42:52.27
And so showing
up to Bible studies,
00:42:52.30\00:42:53.74
going to church
on a regular basis,
00:42:53.77\00:42:55.74
going to the hours of prayer
and prayer meetings does not
00:42:55.77\00:42:58.51
guarantee that we have
not fallen for the deception
00:42:58.54\00:43:01.64
that we are here
being exposed to.
00:43:01.68\00:43:09.15
"They delight to know My ways."
00:43:09.18\00:43:10.72
They are into Bible study.
00:43:10.75\00:43:12.55
"As a nation that
did righteousness."
00:43:12.59\00:43:14.99
In other words,
they're saying, "Listen, they
00:43:15.02\00:43:16.39
do all the right
things on the outside,
00:43:16.42\00:43:18.43
as if they were a nation that
did righteousness and did not
00:43:18.46\00:43:21.90
forsake the
ordinances of their God.
00:43:21.93\00:43:23.80
They ask of Me the
ordinances of justice.
00:43:23.83\00:43:26.17
They take delight
in approaching God."
00:43:26.20\00:43:31.27
They're even approaching
church with a smile on.
00:43:31.31\00:43:33.48
And so we could come to
a church with a smile on,
00:43:33.51\00:43:35.61
delight to approach God,
delight to come to church,
00:43:35.64\00:43:38.08
delight in Bible studies,
and still not have a saving
00:43:38.11\00:43:40.72
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:43:40.75\00:43:46.76
There seems to be a predicament
in conservative Christianity
00:43:49.82\00:43:52.49
today in America, and that
predicament looks something
00:43:52.53\00:43:56.00
like this: As long as you are
openly opposed to abortion and
00:43:56.03\00:44:02.94
a couple of other
socially moral issues--
00:44:02.97\00:44:06.54
and certainly, the
Bible does speak very clearly
00:44:06.57\00:44:08.34
against abortion.
00:44:08.38\00:44:09.68
Don't get me wrong.
00:44:09.71\00:44:11.01
But as long as you sign up on
one or two of these trendy kind
00:44:11.05\00:44:14.98
of moral issues in
evangelical Christian--
00:44:15.02\00:44:18.85
in conservative
Christianity today,
00:44:18.89\00:44:21.39
that's all that's necessary,
00:44:21.42\00:44:25.53
and we have them
all around us, friends.
00:44:25.56\00:44:27.76
Very vocal about abortion, very
vocal about a couple of other
00:44:27.83\00:44:32.00
issues, and my mind is not
able to recall what they are,
00:44:32.03\00:44:35.07
but there's only
two or three in total,
00:44:35.10\00:44:37.44
including abortion.
00:44:37.47\00:44:38.77
As long as you're openly
vocally opposed to those three,
00:44:38.81\00:44:41.81
two or three issues,
then you're in good stead,
00:44:41.84\00:44:44.08
but, friends, the
Bible doesn't tell us that.
00:44:44.11\00:44:45.71
It says you need to be opposed
to those three immoral issues
00:44:45.75\00:44:48.22
and every other immoral issue
that God reveals in His Word,
00:44:48.25\00:44:52.42
including the Sabbath,
including being honest,
00:44:52.45\00:44:58.09
including not coveting,
including not using God's
00:44:58.13\00:45:04.00
name in vain.
00:45:04.03\00:45:06.00
All of them.
00:45:06.03\00:45:08.84
You see,
friends, there was a trap.
00:45:08.87\00:45:10.91
There was a predicament that
I believe that is very real and
00:45:10.94\00:45:13.81
alive today, and God is
revealing it in a very real way,
00:45:13.84\00:45:16.31
even in these two powerful
verses that we're looking
00:45:16.34\00:45:18.28
at here today.
00:45:18.31\00:45:20.98
And so it's important for
us to be able to see that,
00:45:21.02\00:45:23.62
that we might know
the methods of the devil,
00:45:23.65\00:45:25.82
both on the Left as
well as on the Right,
00:45:25.85\00:45:29.86
that we might not find
ourselves falling into,
00:45:29.89\00:45:32.46
and it doesn't happen overnight,
00:45:32.49\00:45:33.80
but we can fall
into a double life.
00:45:33.83\00:45:39.30
On the outside, we can appear
like we're the most zealous
00:45:39.33\00:45:41.64
followers of God,
but at the same time,
00:45:41.67\00:45:43.47
we are not following.
00:45:43.51\00:45:44.81
We're not truly
connecting with God at all.
00:45:44.84\00:45:53.08
Now, as we read
the following verses,
00:45:53.11\00:45:54.48
verses 3, onward, it says,
when God doesn't respond in
00:45:54.52\00:45:57.02
a positive way, they
then complain to Him for not
00:45:57.05\00:45:59.25
acknowledging their religious
zeal, their faithfulness.
00:45:59.29\00:46:02.26
They're saying, "Why
are You not blessing us?
00:46:02.29\00:46:03.86
Why are You not acknowledging
our great piety and this great
00:46:03.89\00:46:07.30
show that we are bringing?"
00:46:07.36\00:46:08.70
Because God knows
that it has simply--
00:46:08.73\00:46:10.33
has been reduced to an act.
00:46:10.37\00:46:13.13
There is no serious, genuine,
heart-pouring prayer life in a
00:46:13.17\00:46:17.51
life of these Israelites.
00:46:17.54\00:46:20.74
They are not on their
knees on a regular basis,
00:46:20.78\00:46:22.68
saying, "Lord, have
mercy upon me, a sinner.
00:46:22.71\00:46:26.31
Give me Your Holy Spirit that
You might be able to give me
00:46:26.35\00:46:28.75
that abundant, high
quality of life again today,
00:46:28.78\00:46:32.15
that I might be able
to resist temptation,
00:46:32.19\00:46:34.39
that I might be able
to live the life that You
00:46:34.42\00:46:36.19
have designed for me.
00:46:36.22\00:46:37.59
Help me to be able to follow
in all of Your ways and not just
00:46:37.63\00:46:39.83
the popular ones."
00:46:39.86\00:46:45.83
And so verse 3, it says, "'Why
have we fasted,' and they say,
00:46:52.44\00:46:54.94
'You have not seen?'
00:46:54.98\00:46:56.48
'Why have we
afflicted our souls,
00:46:56.51\00:46:57.98
and You take no notice?'"
00:46:58.01\00:46:59.31
God responds very quickly.
00:46:59.35\00:47:00.72
He says, "In
fact, in other words,
00:47:00.75\00:47:02.05
the fact of the matter is
that in the day of your fast,
00:47:02.08\00:47:04.92
you find pleasure and
exploit all your laborers.
00:47:04.95\00:47:07.69
Indeed you fast for
strife and for debate,
00:47:07.72\00:47:10.16
and to strike with
the fist of wickedness."
00:47:10.19\00:47:12.16
He's saying, "Look at
the fruits of your fast
00:47:12.19\00:47:13.83
in religious experience."
00:47:13.86\00:47:15.30
It's empty.
00:47:15.33\00:47:16.63
It's
conservative, but it's empty.
00:47:16.67\00:47:22.04
And so God is speaking to me,
as I count myself a conservative
00:47:22.07\00:47:26.88
Christian, and He says, "Listen,
when you decide to fast,"
00:47:26.91\00:47:31.51
whatever the fast is, and I know
the quarterly is proposing that
00:47:31.55\00:47:34.55
it's the Day of Atonement
fast, and it very well could be,
00:47:34.58\00:47:36.69
but I don't think
it's a airtight argument.
00:47:36.72\00:47:38.75
In fact, I would
think that there's evidence
00:47:38.79\00:47:40.26
that say the opposite.
00:47:40.29\00:47:41.52
I think that it is a man-made
fast as the Pharisees stood up
00:47:41.56\00:47:44.23
in the temple that
Jesus taught, and he said,
00:47:44.26\00:47:46.19
"I fast twice a week, and
I tithe of all my income,"
00:47:46.23\00:47:51.97
and so we have most
likely here a man-made fast.
00:47:52.00\00:47:57.24
In the religious zeal, they're
putting on a show for extra show
00:47:57.27\00:48:01.11
to be able to extra-convince
themselves and, hopefully,
00:48:01.14\00:48:03.48
God that they are
leading a literal double life
00:48:03.51\00:48:07.05
that they don't want nobody
to know about or find out,
00:48:07.08\00:48:09.92
but it actually says,
"In fact, in the day of your
00:48:09.95\00:48:11.95
fast you find pleasure."
00:48:11.99\00:48:13.29
He says, "Listen,
while you're fasting,
00:48:13.32\00:48:15.42
you're also
looking for pleasure."
00:48:15.46\00:48:18.89
And so they made the mistake
of believing that fasting was
00:48:18.93\00:48:20.83
simply a show, it
was holiness of itself.
00:48:20.86\00:48:24.17
You see, fasting
itself is not holiness.
00:48:24.20\00:48:26.57
Fasting is a way and a
means to find holiness.
00:48:26.60\00:48:31.24
Prayer in
itself is not holiness.
00:48:31.27\00:48:33.24
Prayer is your connection
to the God who is holy,
00:48:33.27\00:48:36.34
that you can find holiness.
00:48:36.38\00:48:39.28
The devil has convinced too many
of us through the centuries,
00:48:39.31\00:48:41.55
the aesthetic
movement, the monasteries,
00:48:41.58\00:48:43.35
the convents, and so on,
that the movement of the nuns
00:48:43.39\00:48:46.82
and the monks and the--
00:48:46.86\00:48:50.76
I'm forgetting the other fellows
that used to run around during
00:48:50.79\00:48:52.99
the Middle Ages and--
00:48:53.03\00:48:56.33
but, you know, and they started
to believe that the prayer
00:48:56.36\00:48:59.07
itself and the
fasting itself was holiness.
00:48:59.10\00:49:01.44
And so, if I pray all day long,
then I'll even be holier because
00:49:01.47\00:49:05.01
I'm practicing
holiness all day long,
00:49:05.04\00:49:07.28
but in spite of that, they
still led a very unholy life.
00:49:07.31\00:49:11.98
And the same with fasting.
00:49:12.01\00:49:13.31
Fasting itself is
a means to holiness.
00:49:13.35\00:49:15.65
And so fasting is a practical
means to put aside your cooking,
00:49:15.68\00:49:18.85
your cleaning, your eating, and
the digestive energies that are
00:49:18.89\00:49:22.09
there so that
you can focus all--
00:49:22.12\00:49:24.16
so much more energy on God,
the source of your holiness.
00:49:24.19\00:49:30.63
But they understood
that it was simply an act.
00:49:30.67\00:49:32.97
It was something that
you just went through,
00:49:33.00\00:49:34.34
and so at the same
time, to distract you from the
00:49:34.37\00:49:37.37
displeasure of having
your stomach a little bit more
00:49:37.41\00:49:40.14
hungry than normal, why
you would find other pleasures.
00:49:40.18\00:49:43.68
And so you'd go out and you'd
watch a show or you'd go to a
00:49:43.71\00:49:46.28
party or you
would find yourself,
00:49:46.31\00:49:49.05
you know, with your
friends, or whatever it was
00:49:49.08\00:49:52.82
or skiing or whatever it was,
00:49:52.85\00:49:55.66
and God says, "No, the
fasting in itself is not--
00:49:55.69\00:49:58.16
it's a means."
00:49:58.19\00:49:59.53
And so He's saying,
"You missed the whole point.
00:49:59.56\00:50:01.33
This is just a show.
You exploit your laborers--"
00:50:01.36\00:50:05.20
and I'm out of time.
00:50:05.23\00:50:07.70
And of course,
verse 6, then God goes on.
00:50:07.74\00:50:09.44
It says, "Is this not
the fast that I have chosen,
00:50:09.47\00:50:12.07
to loose the bonds of wickedness
and to undo the heavy burdens,
00:50:12.11\00:50:15.38
to let the oppressed go free?"
00:50:15.41\00:50:16.71
It's the opposite, friends.
00:50:16.75\00:50:18.05
God then paints this beautiful
picture of the fruits of the
00:50:18.08\00:50:20.55
true, abundant life
that is found in Jesus.
00:50:20.58\00:50:23.18
Well, friends, it was good to
be able to study with you here
00:50:23.22\00:50:25.25
again this week, and
don't forget to take advantage
00:50:25.29\00:50:28.52
of the free offer that we
talked about at the beginning,
00:50:28.56\00:50:32.26
and I don't have it on
the pulpit with me here today,
00:50:32.29\00:50:34.63
but be sure go
to AmazingFacts.org,
00:50:34.66\00:50:38.47
and you can find
that and the information,
00:50:38.50\00:50:40.57
of course, is also on
the screen as we speak.
00:50:40.60\00:50:42.44
And so please
take advantage of that.
00:50:42.47\00:50:44.27
Until we come
together next week,
00:50:44.31\00:50:45.67
may God bless you.
00:50:45.71\00:50:47.04
male announcer: Don't
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00:50:49.64\00:50:51.01
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00:51:09.00\00:51:11.37
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00:51:19.24\00:51:22.68
¤¤¤
00:51:23.04\00:51:27.65
Casey: I would go out and
go drinking, and I would--
00:51:27.68\00:51:30.09
just wanted to have fun.
00:51:30.12\00:51:31.55
I was working a lot at the time,
going to school and just wasn't
00:51:31.59\00:51:36.26
really interested in
really following God.
00:51:36.29\00:51:39.56
I would have people tell me,
"Why don't you just have faith?"
00:51:39.59\00:51:41.90
if I was going through some
type of trial during my life.
00:51:41.93\00:51:45.43
I didn't
understand what that meant.
00:51:45.47\00:51:47.30
I would pray, but I didn't
feel any less stressed about
00:51:47.34\00:51:53.11
or worried about a situation.
00:51:53.14\00:51:54.71
I didn't understand God's Word.
00:51:54.74\00:51:57.01
It seemed like it
contradicted itself,
00:51:57.05\00:52:00.08
and so I
struggled with that a lot.
00:52:00.12\00:52:03.12
My ex-husband and I,
we had--began dating,
00:52:03.15\00:52:06.92
and within seven
months we got married,
00:52:06.96\00:52:10.26
which was really fast.
00:52:10.29\00:52:11.83
After we got married,
he was very disrespectful,
00:52:11.86\00:52:15.73
and he was cheating a lot.
00:52:15.76\00:52:20.90
I found out he was
cheating when I was pregnant
00:52:20.94\00:52:22.24
with my first son.
00:52:22.27\00:52:24.24
I tried to get him help, and he
checked himself out of rehab a
00:52:24.27\00:52:27.94
week later, living
homeless in our hometown.
00:52:27.98\00:52:31.61
He was saying and doing things
that he shouldn't be doing.
00:52:31.65\00:52:35.15
He was committing crimes.
00:52:35.18\00:52:37.72
It always started with alcohol,
and then pot, or marijuana,
00:52:37.75\00:52:41.62
and then he
would go to the meth.
00:52:41.66\00:52:43.93
So it's just a
really ugly chain of things,
00:52:43.96\00:52:47.40
and that's when I
moved in with my sister.
00:52:47.46\00:52:50.43
We were staying
with her and her husband,
00:52:50.47\00:52:54.84
and I started doing
studies with my sister.
00:52:54.87\00:52:59.11
She was studying
with some people,
00:52:59.14\00:53:00.81
and I joined the studies,
and I learned a lot of different
00:53:00.84\00:53:05.71
things that I had
never known about the Bible,
00:53:05.75\00:53:07.92
and it started opening
up to me and making sense.
00:53:07.95\00:53:11.75
So my sister had
installed the satellite,
00:53:11.79\00:53:15.62
and I found "Amazing Facts."
00:53:15.66\00:53:18.23
The one thing I love about Doug
Batchelor is he uses his own
00:53:18.26\00:53:22.06
life situations, and he uses
really good stories to connect
00:53:22.10\00:53:28.64
stories from the
Bible or teachings.
00:53:28.67\00:53:32.31
I didn't understand why he was
always bringing up the Sabbath
00:53:32.34\00:53:34.91
and why it was so important,
and I was asking my sister,
00:53:34.94\00:53:37.25
"Why does he keep
talking about the Sabbath?"
00:53:37.28\00:53:40.92
And later on I found out through
studying more and listening to
00:53:40.95\00:53:46.12
his teachings about it,
the truth about the Sabbath.
00:53:46.15\00:53:50.06
I know that I
started changing as a person.
00:53:50.09\00:53:52.13
I wanted to follow the truth.
00:53:52.16\00:53:53.96
I wanted to have a
closer relationship with Christ
00:53:54.00\00:53:58.80
and be closer to God.
00:53:58.83\00:54:00.34
So after doing the studies and
learning the truths that I had
00:54:00.37\00:54:03.91
been learning, I decided to take
that next step and give my life
00:54:03.94\00:54:08.54
to Christ through baptism.
00:54:08.58\00:54:10.95
Besides learning these messages,
these truths about the Bible
00:54:10.98\00:54:15.48
through Amazing Facts, all
of these wonderful people from
00:54:15.52\00:54:19.92
Amazing Facts, the way
they've reached out to me,
00:54:19.95\00:54:22.59
they really show me
that they have caring hearts,
00:54:22.62\00:54:25.99
that they're Christlike, 'cause
that's what a Christian is.
00:54:26.03\00:54:30.17
My name is Casey. Thank
you for changing my life.
00:54:30.20\00:54:33.57
¤¤¤
00:54:33.60\00:54:40.94
male announcer:
Amazing Facts, changed lives.
00:54:44.18\00:54:49.12
Dan: One particular evening,
we're searching through the
00:54:51.69\00:54:55.12
channels and happened to find
a program called "Amazing Facts
00:54:55.16\00:55:00.20
with Pastor Doug Batchelor."
00:55:00.23\00:55:03.06
Some of the things that he
was talking about were very
00:55:03.10\00:55:06.57
interesting and intrigued me.
00:55:06.60\00:55:08.50
female: As Dan
began to continue to watch
00:55:08.54\00:55:10.71
"Amazing Facts" with this Doug
Batchelor, this caveman that had
00:55:10.74\00:55:15.24
an incredible story, my
world is beginning to change.
00:55:15.28\00:55:19.05
It's been turned upside down.
00:55:19.08\00:55:21.28
I was resistant.
00:55:21.32\00:55:23.08
I think hit me was really
the testimony of Pastor Doug.
00:55:23.12\00:55:26.69
This was a real person with
a real story that had had some
00:55:26.72\00:55:30.43
things in his lifetime
that maybe I didn't experience,
00:55:30.46\00:55:34.40
but he was real.
00:55:34.46\00:55:35.73
His journey was real.
00:55:35.76\00:55:37.00
He was honest about wanting to
share and giving that light to
00:55:37.03\00:55:40.24
other people so they,
too, could have more light.
00:55:40.27\00:55:44.24
That's when we got
the cancer diagnosis,
00:55:44.27\00:55:46.37
and nobody wants that C word,
"cancer," and then to find out
00:55:46.41\00:55:51.61
that it's aggressive,
and sometimes people get to
00:55:51.65\00:55:54.35
wait with prostate cancer, but
we didn't have that opportunity.
00:55:54.38\00:55:58.45
He's in surgery,
and doctor comes out,
00:55:58.49\00:56:01.06
and I knew something was wrong.
00:56:01.09\00:56:03.22
Come find out that my
husband has had a stroke.
00:56:03.26\00:56:09.70
So we go about
midnight and have an MRI,
00:56:09.73\00:56:13.00
and they confirmed
that it truly was a stroke,
00:56:13.03\00:56:15.37
and he was going to be okay.
00:56:15.40\00:56:18.67
Dan: Within one year and a half,
00:56:18.71\00:56:20.84
I had a major
heart attack, cancer--
00:56:20.88\00:56:24.21
aggressive cancer-- now stroke.
00:56:24.25\00:56:26.58
I really was at
the lowest point.
00:56:26.61\00:56:30.85
I didn't know
what I was going to do.
00:56:30.89\00:56:33.69
We had rehabs scheduled after I
was dismissed from the hospital.
00:56:33.72\00:56:41.90
female: And I watched him
walk out of a facility with
00:56:41.93\00:56:45.40
a cane that two weeks before,
he couldn't even walk into.
00:56:45.43\00:56:49.90
Dan: God knew ahead of time
that I was going to be going
00:56:49.94\00:56:52.64
through all of this, and I truly
believe that it was His hand
00:56:52.67\00:56:56.58
that brought the Amazing Facts
and the additional light that
00:56:56.61\00:57:01.48
I was getting, that it
helped take my mind off
00:57:01.52\00:57:06.15
of the circumstances at the time
and in a way that I don't think
00:57:06.19\00:57:10.83
anything else could.
00:57:10.86\00:57:12.23
female: It's so comforting
to know that we have a Christ
00:57:12.26\00:57:18.50
that loves us so much
and will always hold us.
00:57:18.53\00:57:23.20
Dan: I cannot thank the
people enough who support
00:57:23.24\00:57:29.24
ministries like this.
00:57:29.28\00:57:33.72
Because of them, I am
one of those lives that
00:57:33.75\00:57:39.49
have been changed.
00:57:39.52\00:57:40.92
¤¤¤
00:57:40.96\00:57:44.46
Dan: And I can only thank
God for leading me through
00:57:44.49\00:57:47.46
His providence to that program.
00:57:47.50\00:57:52.97
My name is Dan.
00:57:53.00\00:57:54.84
Thank you for changing my life.
00:57:54.87\00:57:56.37
¤¤¤
00:57:56.40\00:58:06.31
¤¤¤
00:58:06.35\00:58:16.32
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00:58:16.36\00:58:20.46
CC by Aberdeen Captioning
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