The Bible tells us...
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today is,
The Gospel of Galatians.
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Hello, and it's my privilege
to welcome you once again
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to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel.
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This is our weekly
walk through the Scriptures
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as we seek to delve
into the Word of God
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and see what it has for
each and every one of us.
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So thank you for joining us.
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Hopefully you have with
you a Bible, a pen, a pencil,
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a typewriter, if
you go back that far,
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iPad, iPhone, idevice, android,
whatever you have to take notes.
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Fire it up even now
so that you can join us.
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And of course, bring your Bible
along, if you have your Bible
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as the Word of God
in classic Scripture.
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If you have it
on a mobile device,
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that's quite alright.
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We just want you to join with us
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and be part of our study
and part of our study family.
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May I encourage you, should
you want to have this lesson
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printed out or downloaded,
would you please go to...
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You can get a copy for yourself.
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If you want to have
something that you can see
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right in front of you, you can
do that and have that for you.
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Also, let me encourage
you to find the nearest
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Seventh-day Adventist church,
you can get a copy of the
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Sabbath school lesson
there, the study guide.
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We call it, the
quarterly, because it comes out
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four times a year covering
three months of study each time.
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And what is fun is that
pretty much all around the world
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in the Adventist community,
some 18 to 20 million strong,
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everybody is
studying the same lesson.
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We are all
together in our study,
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praising God and
studying the same material.
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And that's kind of neat too
that we can all study together
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all around the world.
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On the other side of
the world where it's dark,
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where it is light, they
are studying the same lesson
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as you and I are studying today.
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I have with me my
illustrious panel,
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Pastor Tom Ferguson,
Pastor Johnny Dinzey,
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the lady Shelly
Quinn, and Jill Morikone,
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who are joining us
today for the study.
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And this is a good study.
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We've been looking in
the book of Galatians.
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We've moved well
into the book just now.
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We found out there is
much there for us today
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as Paul wrote to
the Galatian church,
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to the brothers and
sisters there in Galatia,
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who were
undergoing some trying times.
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And Paul, in his burden
to try to address and redress
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those times, wrote this book
and has given us much to study
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and much to chew on,
dare I say, over these
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past several sittings together.
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Lesson number 10 is the
burden of our study today,
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called, The Two Covenants.
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Our scripture
lesson, the memory text...
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In fact, before we go to
that, let's go to prayer.
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We don't want to
begin without prayer.
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Pastor Tom, if you
would pray for us please.
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Yes.
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Dear heavenly Father, we
thank You for the privilege
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of opening your Word,
breaking bread together,
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and hearing from on high.
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We invite Your Holy
Spirit to give us understanding.
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May all that we think,
that we say, and that we do
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here on this panel be
uplifting, glorifying You,
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and edifying the body of Christ.
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And we pray these
things in Jesus' name, amen.
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We have been given
to understand that this
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Sabbath school panel
is one that has developed
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a loyal audience, and we
want you to keep on watching.
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If you have
suggestions or comments, you can
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contact us here at 3ABN.
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We'd be glad to hear them
and take them under advisement.
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We're looking at, The Two
Covenants, lesson number 10.
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The memory text,
let's read it together.
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"But the Jerusalem
that is above is free,
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and she is our mother."
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Now that is a very esoteric
sounding piece of scripture.
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But as we move through the
lesson, I think it will become
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increasingly clear as
we look at the context
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in which it finds itself and the
setting that Paul is addressing.
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The lesson takes
pains to understand.
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This is probably
something that all of us
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have some experience with.
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There are those who
have preached and taught,
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and I remember hearing this
years ago watching television,
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"The Old Testament
was a covenant of works,
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the New Testament
was a covenant of grace.
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The Old Testament
was all about works,
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and the New
Testament all about grace,
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all about Jesus."
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Though simplified, and it
sounds kind of nice to the ear,
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it is incorrect.
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It is an incorrect study
of, an incorrect understanding
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of the Old Testament.
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And other than the
fact that Noah found grace
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in the eyes of the Lord,
there are many other incidences
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or little clues
that help us to know
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that it's always been by grace.
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It's always been by
a working relationship
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with God that
resulted in a grace experience.
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And one of the clues we get is
in the Cain and Abel experience.
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The fact that Cain's
sacrifice was rejected
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says in a sort of
backhand way that there must be
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an acceptable way
and an unacceptable way.
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Now one was a farmer, Abel,
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one was a tiller
of the soil, Cain.
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Cain, we understand,
gave us the best that he had.
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He was a farmer, he
gave the first fruits.
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He gave the best that he had.
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But it was unacceptable.
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Why?
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Because it wasn't
what God asked for.
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Without the shedding of blood
there is no remission of sins.
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So God doesn't ask
for your best, per se.
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He asks for a
sacrifice of faith.
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In other words, if God asks
for "A", and you give Him "B",
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"B" will not be
acceptable because it's not
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what God asked for.
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He asked for something else.
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And you must, in faith,
comply with what God asked for.
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Our righteousness, we
all know, is filthy rags.
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So your best
fruit is filthy rags.
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It's unacceptable.
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So Cain, of course, was
upset, but the Bible says,
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in questioning him God
says, "Well, why are you mad?
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What are you upset at?
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Had you given Me what I wanted,
your sacrifice would have been
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accepted like
your brother's was."
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So that lets me know,
one, that grace is involved.
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Because we give
God what He asks for,
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what is acceptable to Him,
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whether we really
understand it or not.
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It's a matter of faith.
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Everything that
the Lord asks us to do
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is not readily
apparent to us even now.
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Our walk is a walk of
faith, you will agree.
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And a walk of
acceptance into grace.
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And we see that
in the Old Testament
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as we do in the New.
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So the Bible throughout,
and I want to re-emphasize this,
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it's grace, it's
looking forward in grace,
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it's looking at
what Christ has done...
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I'm sorry, forward in faith.
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...and looking at
what Christ has done.
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And one of the things that
makes that so very, very clear
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is the study of
the Sanctuary system.
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Now we don't have time
to go into the Sanctuary.
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But we're looking
forward to a sacrifice
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that is coming in
the Sanctuary system.
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And now we are basking in
the benefits of that sacrifice
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that Christ has already done.
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So it's always been grace.
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And that's very, very important.
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Very very important.
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Because there were rules
given in the Old Testament,
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there were commandments
given in the Old Testament,
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there were laws
given in the Old Testament.
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But you needed just as
much grace and faith to obey
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them then as you do now.
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And nothing has
changed on that wise.
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So with that preamble,
let's flip into Sunday.
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The lesson lets us
know that God dealt with
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His people in the Old Testament
through a series of covenants.
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And going back to the
Sabbath study, one of the things
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that I really like and
appreciate is that the reason
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the covenant language
changed is really because
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of the attitude of the
people more than God Himself.
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God is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
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But the two covenants
are not a matter of time.
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Instead, they are
reflective of human attitude.
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They represent two
different ways of trying to meet
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the requirements of God.
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And this goes back
to the Cain and Abel.
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You can do it trying to do
your own will and your own way
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or you can do it in faith
receiving the grace of God.
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So as we come now
to our Sunday's lesson,
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we see a history of
covenant relationship
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between God and His people.
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God making
covenants with His people.
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And one of the things that I
really like that is touched on
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in the Sunday lesson is
the fact that when we look at
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Jeremiah 31:31 which is a
promise of a new covenant,
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it's given at a
time when God's people
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are at their absolute worst.
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This is the same Jeremiah
that said, "If Moses and Elijah
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came back, you're
still going into captivity."
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You know, things
are just that bad.
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And so on the heels of
that, they're in captivity,
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but what is God's
answer to their failure,
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to their absolute failure?
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God's answer is to promise
them a new and better covenant.
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That shows you the love
of God and the power of God
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to overcome our
weakness and our sin.
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So you've had the Ten
Commandments since Sinai.
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And the truth is,
the history of Israel;
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ten northern kingdoms
in the seven hundreds,
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and then in the six hundreds
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you get the
Babylonian captivity.
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It's a history of failure.
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There were little
times of some success.
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But you've got forty-two
kings. Forty-two kings.
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Take out
Solomon, David, and Saul.
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You've got nineteen
kings of the northern kingdom,
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all of which were evil.
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Over nineteen.
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You've got twenty in
the southern kingdom,
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one of which was a woman.
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Out of the twenty,
you've got eight good.
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It's not a good track record.
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So Israel never really
lived out its full potential.
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So what is God's
answer to a failing people?
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A better covenant.
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A better relationship,
a stronger relationship.
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He says, "Alright, writing it
on tables is not going to work.
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From now on it's
going to be in the heart.
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I'm going to work
from the inside out
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as opposed to the outside in."
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That shows you the
love, the power of the love
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of the God that we serve.
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"I'm not going
to give up on you.
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Even when you're in captivity
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I'm still going
to be beside you."
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But the new covenant
is going to be inside out,
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no longer outside in.
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And that is one of the
wonders of this new covenant.
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Just a couple of things and then
I'll pass it over to Pastor Tom.
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While marriage,
physical labor, and the Sabbath
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were part of the general
provision of the covenant
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of creation, its main
focal point was God's command
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not to eat of
the forbidden tree.
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So starting off, God gave
them a covenant to work with.
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And of course we failed
Him, but He did not fail us.
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And so we see
another covenant statement
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made in Genesis 3:15,
which basically is the promise
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that, "Though things are bad,
I'm going to make them right."
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So you've got a long term
promise, a long term covenant,
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an overarching covenant.
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It is an
explanation or an exposition
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of the everlasting covenant.
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"I will do whatever is
necessary to get you back.
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To redeem you."
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Including the
death of God Himself.
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So you've got that promise
right on the heels of sin.
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Again it shows
how God deals with man
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in covenant relationship,
but also the eternal love of God
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and the affirmation of His
promise to make what we have
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made wrong to
make it right again.
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And then it follows
a series of covenants,
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which you will all talk about,
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a series of covenants
which are the outworking
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of the everlasting covenant.
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They're all part of
an overall umbrella.
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But God has to deal
with, because He's dealing with
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frail human beings, He's
dealing with them in that way.
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And that's what
makes it so beautiful
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as you look at the
overall picture and you see the
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love of God and a God who
will do whatever is necessary
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to reclaim fallen humanity.
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- Amen. - Okay pastor.
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Praise God we serve
a covenant keeping God.
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- Amen. - Amen.
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And you know, you just
made me realize or think about
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something I had
thought about in the past.
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That all covenants are based
on the covenant that God has
00:13:04.48\00:13:08.42
within the Trinity itself.
00:13:08.45\00:13:10.99
And every covenant
that comes out of that
00:13:11.72\00:13:14.29
is a covenant made of love.
00:13:14.32\00:13:18.29
As a matter of fact,
Jesus' sacrifice shows us that
00:13:18.39\00:13:22.43
God's covenant for
us reveals the fact that
00:13:22.46\00:13:25.07
He must have loved us at least
as much as He loves Himself.
00:13:25.10\00:13:29.30
He has to love us
enough to die for us
00:13:29.50\00:13:32.54
and be willing to break up,
00:13:32.57\00:13:34.34
like, "My God, My God,
why have You forsaken Me?"
00:13:35.31\00:13:37.78
For the first time in
eternity Jesus and the Father
00:13:37.81\00:13:40.72
are separated
because of His covenant
00:13:40.78\00:13:43.75
that He had for humanity.
00:13:44.19\00:13:45.62
It just amazes me when I
see how He is so faithful,
00:13:45.72\00:13:50.29
so faithful.
00:13:50.33\00:13:51.66
Let's open our
Bibles to Genesis 12.
00:13:51.69\00:13:55.23
And we're going to take a look
at the Abrahamic covenant here.
00:13:59.77\00:14:04.64
Chapter 12 verses 1-5.
00:14:05.17\00:14:07.88
And as we read
through, we start with verse 1.
00:14:08.94\00:14:15.32
"Now the LORD had said to
Abram, 'Get out of your country,
00:14:15.35\00:14:19.49
from your family and
from your father's house,
00:14:19.52\00:14:21.99
to a land that I will show you.
00:14:22.02\00:14:23.73
I will make you a great nation;
00:14:24.69\00:14:26.03
I will bless you and
make your name great;
00:14:26.06\00:14:28.33
and you shall be a blessing.
00:14:28.36\00:14:29.70
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you;
00:14:29.73\00:14:32.57
and in you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed.'"
00:14:33.00\00:14:36.60
Now the first thing I realize
here is that Abraham has a,
00:14:36.91\00:14:40.18
or Abram at this
point, has a call on his life.
00:14:40.24\00:14:43.41
He says, "I want you to
get out of your country."
00:14:43.61\00:14:46.35
Now if you think of it, he's 75
years old when this call comes
00:14:46.45\00:14:51.02
to leave his homeland.
00:14:51.05\00:14:53.56
How many of us that have
been in an area for a long time,
00:14:54.02\00:14:58.86
maybe 20 or 30
years, let alone 75 years,
00:14:58.89\00:15:01.70
when you sense the
call of God on your life
00:15:01.73\00:15:03.77
are willing to follow
that call, the voice of God,
00:15:03.80\00:15:07.74
over what our desires
might be, our comfort might be?
00:15:07.77\00:15:10.81
I think of anybody that
goes to the mission field
00:15:12.21\00:15:14.44
goes through the
same experience that Abram
00:15:14.54\00:15:17.05
was going through here.
00:15:17.08\00:15:18.41
And He gives
him another promise.
00:15:18.55\00:15:19.88
He says, "I'll give you
this land and I'll make you a
00:15:19.91\00:15:22.68
great nation, and
I will bless you."
00:15:22.72\00:15:24.85
Which was an honor
to have a great nation.
00:15:24.89\00:15:26.96
He's going to
make his name great,
00:15:28.06\00:15:29.79
"and you shall be a blessing."
00:15:29.82\00:15:31.69
I'll tell you what, every
Christian should be a blessing.
00:15:32.16\00:15:35.50
Because the covenant
keeping God has a covenant with
00:15:36.23\00:15:39.27
every one of His children.
00:15:39.30\00:15:41.60
And He wants you
to be a blessing.
00:15:42.67\00:15:45.14
Maybe not exactly
the same way as Abraham,
00:15:46.01\00:15:48.21
but as effective as
your witness can be.
00:15:48.24\00:15:52.61
As He's in you, He wants that
blessing for others through you.
00:15:52.65\00:15:56.42
"I will bless
those who bless you,
00:15:57.19\00:15:58.52
I will curse
those who curse you;
00:15:58.55\00:16:00.29
and all the families of
the earth shall be blessed."
00:16:00.72\00:16:03.86
So I'm going to
ask the question,
00:16:03.96\00:16:05.59
what was Abram's
job in this whole thing?
00:16:05.89\00:16:09.06
What was his responsibility?
00:16:09.10\00:16:10.97
To trust God and follow.
00:16:11.47\00:16:12.93
To trust God and follow.
00:16:13.74\00:16:15.80
A faith that acted.
00:16:15.84\00:16:17.77
He had to have enough
faith that he was willing
00:16:17.87\00:16:20.38
to step out and do what
God was asking him to do.
00:16:20.58\00:16:23.95
That's a key part in God working
in and through our lives,
00:16:25.08\00:16:28.32
as we must be willing
to allow Him to guide us
00:16:28.35\00:16:32.19
step by step.
00:16:32.59\00:16:33.96
He had to have faith
in the promises of God.
00:16:34.82\00:16:37.33
When God promises something,
we have to have faith in it.
00:16:37.36\00:16:40.20
You know, this was not the first
covenant, as has been mentioned.
00:16:40.23\00:16:43.37
But let's turn to Genesis 12:3.
00:16:43.43\00:16:46.94
He's saying here that,
"I will bless those..."
00:16:48.34\00:16:50.21
Yeah, that's
right. We were just there.
00:16:50.27\00:16:51.61
"..and I will curse
those who curse you;
00:16:52.11\00:16:53.48
and all the families of
the earth shall be blessed."
00:16:53.54\00:16:55.54
That part I want us to see.
00:16:55.58\00:16:56.95
Because this is a renewal of
a covenant God made with Adam
00:16:57.01\00:17:00.05
in Genesis 1:28, that
all the world is going to be,
00:17:00.08\00:17:03.25
subdue the earth
and have dominion.
00:17:03.42\00:17:05.49
God's goal for his
people is to have dominion,
00:17:05.92\00:17:09.49
to subdue the
earth and have dominion.
00:17:09.52\00:17:11.33
I think about the
call of Israel to prepare
00:17:11.36\00:17:14.10
the world for their Messiah.
00:17:14.13\00:17:15.73
They were to have dominion,
00:17:16.03\00:17:17.37
they were to subdue the
earth and have dominion.
00:17:17.47\00:17:19.13
That is God's
will for His people.
00:17:19.17\00:17:22.67
And we are to prepare the world
for His second coming as well.
00:17:23.71\00:17:27.18
You know, there's
another point to here.
00:17:27.64\00:17:29.41
To a degree, because of
God having faithful followers,
00:17:29.44\00:17:35.42
sin has been kept in check
because of a covenant keeping
00:17:35.82\00:17:39.45
God and people that are willing
to allow Him to have control
00:17:39.49\00:17:42.26
in their lives.
00:17:42.29\00:17:43.63
And as a result, the four winds
of strife are being held back
00:17:43.73\00:17:48.96
due to the influence of
Christianity in society.
00:17:49.43\00:17:52.30
We also find that Noah
and his sons in Genesis 9:1
00:17:52.73\00:17:56.27
He said the same thing,
that he was to subdue the earth
00:17:56.81\00:17:59.84
and to spread
throughout the earth.
00:18:00.91\00:18:05.65
See, another thing too is, God's
timing is not like our timing.
00:18:05.95\00:18:09.08
If you go to Genesis 12
and you look at verse 2,
00:18:09.12\00:18:12.35
He says, "I will make you a
great nation; I will bless you."
00:18:12.65\00:18:15.09
Now how old is he
again? He's 75 years old.
00:18:15.12\00:18:17.99
"I'm going to make
you a great nation."
00:18:18.39\00:18:20.16
Well, if you go to
verse 7, He says again,
00:18:20.56\00:18:23.97
"Then the LORD
appeared to Abram and said,
00:18:24.00\00:18:25.53
'To your descendants
I will give this land.'
00:18:25.73\00:18:28.10
And there he built
an altar to the LORD..."
00:18:28.77\00:18:30.31
Now I've got to
ask you a question.
00:18:30.41\00:18:31.74
How many children
did he have at this time?
00:18:31.77\00:18:33.38
- Zero. None. - Okay.
00:18:33.41\00:18:35.08
Chapter 13 verse 16.
00:18:36.08\00:18:39.61
"And I will make
your descendants as
00:18:41.32\00:18:43.59
the dust of the earth; so
that if a man could number
00:18:43.62\00:18:47.26
the dust of the
earth, then your descendants
00:18:47.36\00:18:49.16
also could be numbered."
00:18:49.19\00:18:50.93
So again, how many children
does he have at this point?
00:18:51.09\00:18:54.30
He's still there with none.
00:18:54.83\00:18:56.33
Ten years later,
let's go to Genesis 15:1-6,
00:18:56.36\00:19:01.54
"After these things the
word of the LORD came to
00:19:01.84\00:19:04.51
Abram in a vision, saying,
'Do not be afraid, Abram.
00:19:04.54\00:19:07.51
I am your shield, your
exceedingly great reward.'
00:19:08.08\00:19:11.21
But Abram said, 'Lord
GOD, what will You give me,
00:19:11.25\00:19:14.62
seeing I go
childless, and the heir of my
00:19:14.65\00:19:16.85
household is Eliezer?"
00:19:16.92\00:19:18.25
He adopted a child because that
was the tradition to do that
00:19:18.29\00:19:20.99
so that there would be an heir.
00:19:21.02\00:19:22.52
He was old enough, he
went through the tradition.
00:19:22.56\00:19:24.79
In verse 3, "Then Abram
said, 'Look, You have given me
00:19:25.26\00:19:29.23
no offspring; indeed one
born in my house is my heir!'"
00:19:29.26\00:19:33.44
Now I've got to ask you,
do you hear in this that maybe
00:19:33.74\00:19:39.57
Abram's faith is being tested?
00:19:39.61\00:19:41.34
That he's
starting to question God.
00:19:42.61\00:19:44.85
Sometimes when God puts
a conviction on your heart
00:19:45.45\00:19:48.42
or He's calling you, and you
don't see Him act right away,
00:19:48.45\00:19:51.29
we start to question God.
00:19:51.55\00:19:53.66
We start to, you
know, it's easy for doubt.
00:19:54.29\00:19:56.73
Doubt and faith; it's
a fine line right there.
00:19:56.76\00:19:58.73
God is stretching Abram.
00:19:58.76\00:20:00.70
He's causing
him to be stretched.
00:20:00.73\00:20:02.53
Well in Genesis 17:12-17
circumcision is instituted,
00:20:03.13\00:20:08.10
Ishmael's been born, as
the sign of the covenant.
00:20:08.14\00:20:10.97
We see that beginning.
00:20:11.01\00:20:12.34
Chapter 18 verse 10,
Sarah shall have a son.
00:20:12.37\00:20:16.21
It's said again.
00:20:16.85\00:20:18.18
And finally, we've got to
go all the way to Genesis 21,
00:20:19.25\00:20:22.85
and we're going to
look at verses 1-5.
00:20:24.79\00:20:26.65
"And the LORD
visited Sarah as He had said,
00:20:26.72\00:20:29.29
and the LORD did for
Sarah as He had spoken.
00:20:29.59\00:20:31.46
"For Sarah conceived and bore
Abraham a son in his old age,
00:20:31.49\00:20:36.53
at the set time of
which God had spoken to him.
00:20:37.00\00:20:39.70
And Abraham called the name
of his son who was born to him,
00:20:39.73\00:20:42.84
whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac."
00:20:43.07\00:20:45.47
Anybody know what Isaac means?
00:20:45.51\00:20:46.84
Laughter.
00:20:46.91\00:20:48.24
In other words, he's a
hundred, verse 5 tells us
00:20:48.48\00:20:51.88
he was a hundred years old.
00:20:51.91\00:20:53.25
It was 25 years
later before he actually
00:20:53.28\00:20:57.05
saw the
beginning of that promise.
00:20:57.15\00:21:00.06
But yet God is a
covenant keeping God.
00:21:00.76\00:21:03.63
And it was something
that He was, I believe,
00:21:04.03\00:21:07.50
stretching Abraham's faith.
00:21:07.60\00:21:09.36
And we know some more
about Abraham's story there.
00:21:09.40\00:21:11.93
But you see that as he relied
on the Lord, we know he also
00:21:12.87\00:21:19.37
had a Cain/Abel experience
where he was salvation by works.
00:21:19.41\00:21:24.15
He tried to make
this happen himself.
00:21:24.21\00:21:27.08
And we have Ishmael.
00:21:27.52\00:21:28.85
We find that it was when he had
that faith, trust in the Lord,
00:21:28.88\00:21:32.89
that He gave him that promised
seed, that promised child.
00:21:32.92\00:21:35.69
And some day Abraham is going
to see all that God had promised
00:21:35.72\00:21:42.00
that has come true.
00:21:42.03\00:21:43.40
And what an amazing experience.
00:21:43.83\00:21:46.00
Hebrews 11:13, you
know the faith chapter,
00:21:46.13\00:21:48.67
it tells us that every
one of these, all of these
00:21:48.77\00:21:50.87
died in faith not
having received the promise.
00:21:50.91\00:21:55.24
So sometimes you and I
hear God promising in our lives,
00:21:55.74\00:21:59.78
if we are faithfully following
Him, He will do these things;
00:21:59.85\00:22:02.65
He will bless, He will
increase our influence,
00:22:02.68\00:22:06.15
and maybe our
descendants will be blessed;
00:22:06.19\00:22:08.46
and we don't see
it, we go to the grave.
00:22:09.06\00:22:11.33
But we serve a
covenant keeping God.
00:22:11.89\00:22:13.90
He asks us to do one thing.
00:22:14.00\00:22:15.40
And that is to
follow Him, be faithful.
00:22:15.43\00:22:17.73
Be someone who trusts
in Him enough to act on
00:22:18.63\00:22:22.27
His word and what
His call is in our life.
00:22:22.30\00:22:24.87
And trust that He will
see it through in His timing
00:22:25.14\00:22:27.54
and in His way.
00:22:27.58\00:22:28.91
And that is truly the call that
He has, not only on Abraham,
00:22:29.54\00:22:33.21
but on every one of us
who loves and serves the Lord.
00:22:33.25\00:22:37.09
- Amen. - Praise the Lord.
00:22:37.15\00:22:38.85
This brings us to Tuesday
which moves on to a little more
00:22:39.62\00:22:45.03
about Abraham,
Sarah, and now Hagar.
00:22:45.06\00:22:47.86
And this is really the title;
Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar.
00:22:48.06\00:22:51.33
Really building up the scene for
what is coming next in Wednesday
00:22:51.70\00:22:57.97
as to what Abraham,
Sarah, and Hagar represent.
00:22:59.11\00:23:02.24
But this brings us
to Galatians 4:21-31.
00:23:02.58\00:23:09.02
And Galatians 4:21-31, we
are going to read a few verses.
00:23:09.55\00:23:17.13
"Tell me, ye that
desire to be under the law,
00:23:20.10\00:23:23.00
do ye not hear the law?
00:23:23.03\00:23:24.70
For it is written
that Abraham had two sons;
00:23:24.80\00:23:27.54
the one by a bondmaid,
the other by a freewoman.
00:23:27.60\00:23:30.61
But he who was of the bondwoman
was born after the flesh;
00:23:30.81\00:23:34.04
but he of the
freewoman was by promise.
00:23:34.08\00:23:37.15
Which things are an allegory..."
00:23:37.61\00:23:39.28
I lost my place here.
00:23:42.35\00:23:43.69
Verse 24, "Which
things are an allegory:
00:23:44.25\00:23:46.05
for these are the two covenants;
the one from the mount Sinai,
00:23:46.09\00:23:50.96
which gendereth to
bondage, which is Agar.
00:23:51.06\00:23:54.13
For this Agar is mount Sinai
in in Arabia, and answereth
00:23:54.46\00:23:57.53
to Jerusalem which now is, and
is in bondage with her children.
00:23:57.57\00:24:02.04
But Jerusalem
which is above is free,
00:24:02.47\00:24:04.64
which is the mother of us all.
00:24:04.67\00:24:06.01
For it is written, 'Rejoice,
thou barren that bearest not;
00:24:06.04\00:24:09.18
break forth and cry,
thou that travailest not:
00:24:09.21\00:24:12.28
for the desolate
hath many more children
00:24:12.31\00:24:15.45
than she which hath an husband.'
00:24:15.55\00:24:18.09
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise."
00:24:18.12\00:24:22.99
Now who is he
talking to at this point?
00:24:23.02\00:24:24.73
Christians.
00:24:24.76\00:24:26.09
He's talking to
Christians. The Galatians.
00:24:26.13\00:24:27.73
"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise.
00:24:28.50\00:24:32.03
But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him
00:24:32.07\00:24:36.60
that was born after the
Spirit, even so it is now.
00:24:36.67\00:24:39.64
Nevertheless what
saith the scripture?
00:24:39.67\00:24:42.98
Cast out the
bondwoman and her son:
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.75
for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir
00:24:44.78\00:24:47.12
with the son of the freewoman.
00:24:47.18\00:24:48.75
So then, brethren, we are
not children of the bondwoman,
00:24:48.78\00:24:51.55
but of the free."
00:24:51.75\00:24:53.09
It's interesting that these
stories in the Old Testament
00:24:53.25\00:24:56.62
that were actually
experiences of God's children
00:24:56.69\00:25:00.13
are really powerful
lessons even for us today.
00:25:01.53\00:25:05.63
And so let's take a look
here at some of these things.
00:25:06.27\00:25:10.91
Pastor Tom asked
several times about Abraham
00:25:12.01\00:25:14.51
and how many children he had.
00:25:14.54\00:25:15.88
And eventually God
comes along in Genesis 17
00:25:16.34\00:25:20.22
and changes
Abram's name to Abraham,
00:25:20.72\00:25:23.69
which means,
father of a multitude.
00:25:23.99\00:25:26.76
And by this time
when his name is changed,
00:25:27.26\00:25:29.72
eventually Ishmael was born.
00:25:29.76\00:25:32.36
And so I can imagine him
coming to a group of people
00:25:32.93\00:25:35.73
and introducing himself,
"Oh, what is your name?"
00:25:35.76\00:25:38.50
"Abraham; which means,
father of a multitude."
00:25:38.73\00:25:41.17
"Wow! Father of a multitude.
00:25:41.34\00:25:42.67
How many children do you have?"
00:25:42.70\00:25:44.11
"One."
00:25:45.01\00:25:46.34
Which was not the
children of the promise.
00:25:46.78\00:25:48.54
But let's look at what happened.
00:25:48.58\00:25:50.45
There was a delay in
the promise being fulfilled.
00:25:51.01\00:25:54.18
And we have to keep in
mind that what God promises,
00:25:54.48\00:25:57.85
He is what? Able to fulfill.
00:25:58.22\00:26:00.62
But Abraham and Sarah
saw this delay take place.
00:26:01.16\00:26:05.19
And they decided
that, "We need to help God."
00:26:05.93\00:26:08.83
Sometimes people think that way.
00:26:08.86\00:26:10.27
"We need to help God.
00:26:10.30\00:26:11.63
Apparently He's not
making this thing happen,
00:26:11.67\00:26:13.54
so we need to help God."
00:26:13.57\00:26:14.90
So they do something
that by today's standard
00:26:14.97\00:26:19.24
we look at it and say, "How
in the world can they do that?"
00:26:19.27\00:26:23.45
Let's go to Genesis 16.
00:26:24.55\00:26:27.52
Genesis 16
00:26:28.55\00:26:30.09
And it's very
interesting to me, actually, how
00:26:30.89\00:26:35.26
this also takes place.
00:26:35.29\00:26:37.43
Because it's not Abraham
making the suggestion to Sarah,
00:26:37.89\00:26:43.57
but Sarah, or Sarai at
this point, is the one that
00:26:43.63\00:26:48.04
makes the suggestion.
00:26:48.07\00:26:49.40
Let's look at a few verses here.
00:26:49.44\00:26:50.81
"Now Sarai," Genesis 16...
00:26:50.87\00:26:53.94
Shelley says that's a miracle.
00:26:54.31\00:26:55.64
I know. I'm
saying, I wouldn't do that.
00:26:55.68\00:26:57.35
Jill says she
wouldn't do that either.
00:26:58.05\00:26:59.68
So it's kind of interesting.
00:27:00.25\00:27:01.58
Let's look at it. Genesis 16:1
00:27:01.65\00:27:03.92
"Now Sarai, Abram's
wife, bare him no children.
00:27:03.95\00:27:06.89
And she had an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
00:27:07.12\00:27:10.46
And Sarai said unto Abram,
'Behold now, the LORD hath
00:27:10.69\00:27:14.20
restrained me from bearing.
00:27:14.30\00:27:15.66
I pray thee, go in unto my maid;
00:27:15.86\00:27:17.70
And it may be that I
may obtain children by her.'
00:27:17.93\00:27:21.50
And Abram hearkened
to the voice of Sarai."
00:27:21.54\00:27:25.61
Apparently there was no
big discussion or argument.
00:27:25.64\00:27:28.11
He harkened, it says there.
00:27:29.08\00:27:30.55
"And Sarai, Abram's wife, took
Hagar her maid the Egyptian,
00:27:30.58\00:27:34.68
after Abram had dwelt ten
years in the land of Canaan,
00:27:34.72\00:27:37.72
and gave her to her
husband Abram to be his wife.
00:27:37.75\00:27:40.56
And he went in unto
Hagar, and she conceived.
00:27:40.76\00:27:42.79
And when she saw
that she had conceived,
00:27:42.82\00:27:44.89
her mistress was
despised in her eyes."
00:27:44.93\00:27:47.76
So we see here that
the plan presented by Sarai
00:27:47.96\00:27:53.30
was one that did
not yield good results.
00:27:54.00\00:27:57.31
They thought to help God so
that Abraham could have an heir.
00:27:57.94\00:28:01.41
Somebody that could
pick up the torch after him.
00:28:01.44\00:28:04.58
And unfortunately, it
did not yield good results.
00:28:05.01\00:28:07.85
Because now the new
wife begins to look at
00:28:07.88\00:28:12.89
Sarai with different eyes.
00:28:12.92\00:28:14.29
Like, "I have a
child and you do not."
00:28:14.32\00:28:17.56
And she began to act
differently towards Sarai.
00:28:17.83\00:28:24.47
Reluctantly doing the
things that she was asked to do.
00:28:24.90\00:28:27.24
And so begins this war,
let's say, between them.
00:28:27.44\00:28:30.91
And now Abraham
has to intervene.
00:28:30.94\00:28:33.38
Let's read the next
verse really quick here.
00:28:33.41\00:28:35.88
Verse 5, "And Sarai said unto
Abram, 'My wrong be upon thee.'"
00:28:37.25\00:28:42.32
Now she's
blaming Abraham for this.
00:28:42.62\00:28:44.32
"My wrong be upon thee."
00:28:44.65\00:28:46.02
She's admitting to
some wrong, but she says,
00:28:46.22\00:28:47.96
"My wrong be upon thee.
00:28:47.99\00:28:49.32
I have given my maid into
thy bosom; and when she saw
00:28:49.49\00:28:52.69
that she had conceived,
I was despised in her eyes.
00:28:52.73\00:28:55.26
The LORD judge
between me and thee."
00:28:55.30\00:28:57.37
So now he's put in a position.
00:28:57.60\00:28:59.43
And Abraham
wisely said unto Sarai,
00:28:59.47\00:29:03.07
"'Behold, thy
handmaid is in thy hand;
00:29:03.10\00:29:05.57
do to her as it pleaseth thee.'
00:29:05.61\00:29:07.81
And when Sarai dealt hardly with
her, she fled from her face."
00:29:07.84\00:29:11.71
And we know the
story, how she left
00:29:11.75\00:29:14.38
and the angel came to
the rescue, because she was
00:29:14.42\00:29:16.58
about to let the
child die, Ishmael die.
00:29:16.62\00:29:18.99
But we need to pick up the
story with Abraham and Sarah.
00:29:19.65\00:29:24.09
And Abraham and
Sarah, the Lord came,
00:29:24.16\00:29:27.03
and now he's very, very old.
00:29:27.13\00:29:29.43
And the Lord again
brings the promise to him,
00:29:30.17\00:29:33.54
"You're going to have a son."
00:29:34.04\00:29:35.37
And of course, Sarah is where
when all this is happening?
00:29:35.80\00:29:38.64
She's listening in the tent.
00:29:38.97\00:29:40.58
And she laughs at this idea that
she's going to have a child,
00:29:40.98\00:29:43.85
because in their
understanding it's too late now.
00:29:43.88\00:29:48.28
There's no way
this could happen.
00:29:48.72\00:29:50.59
She's beyond childbearing.
00:29:50.99\00:29:52.39
She's beyond the
childbearing years.
00:29:52.42\00:29:54.49
And of course, Abraham
was already ninety years old.
00:29:54.76\00:29:59.29
So this child is
really a miracle.
00:29:59.76\00:30:02.40
We don't have
enough time to read it.
00:30:02.80\00:30:04.17
I think we may
have to read just one.
00:30:04.23\00:30:05.90
Let's go over to Genesis 17.
00:30:06.00\00:30:11.24
In Genesis 17, we're going to
have to read really quick here
00:30:11.97\00:30:16.14
because time is escaping.
00:30:16.18\00:30:18.01
Genesis 17 let's
read 17. Genesis 17:17
00:30:18.05\00:30:21.75
In Genesis 17:17, "Then Abraham
fell upon his face and laughed,
00:30:22.08\00:30:25.12
and said in his heart,
'Shall a child be born unto him
00:30:25.15\00:30:28.79
that is an hundred years old?
00:30:28.82\00:30:30.29
And shall Sarah, that
is ninety years old, bear?'
00:30:30.33\00:30:33.06
And Abraham said unto
God, 'O that Ishmael might
00:30:33.09\00:30:35.86
live before thee!'"
00:30:35.90\00:30:37.23
Make no mistake,
Abraham loved Ishmael.
00:30:37.30\00:30:40.37
He loved him and he
was hoping that through him
00:30:40.77\00:30:43.34
the covenant
would be established.
00:30:43.87\00:30:45.94
But God promised that it
would be a child by Sarah
00:30:46.04\00:30:50.68
and that this was the way.
00:30:51.08\00:30:52.85
This helps us to understand
that when God marks out
00:30:52.95\00:30:57.69
a path, we are not to
create another path and go down
00:30:57.72\00:31:01.42
another path, because it
will not bring good results.
00:31:01.46\00:31:04.43
And so what we have
in the Scriptures for us,
00:31:04.63\00:31:07.50
we have the same thing happen.
00:31:07.73\00:31:09.23
We have Cain doing
something different.
00:31:09.50\00:31:12.57
Bad results.
00:31:13.10\00:31:14.44
We have Abraham and
Sarah doing something different
00:31:14.47\00:31:17.41
other than what God asked.
00:31:17.47\00:31:18.81
Bad results.
00:31:18.94\00:31:20.28
In the same way
we have things today
00:31:20.34\00:31:22.78
that we have to
look at in the Bible.
00:31:22.81\00:31:24.98
We have Ten Commandments;
and when people choose to do
00:31:25.01\00:31:27.22
something other than
what God requests or tells us,
00:31:27.28\00:31:31.05
commands us, bad
results will take place.
00:31:31.09\00:31:34.62
Because of time, I
now have to go to Hebrews.
00:31:36.09\00:31:39.26
And I want to
read this in Hebrews
00:31:39.29\00:31:40.80
because it is very interesting.
00:31:40.86\00:31:42.20
We think of Abraham as
the father of the faithful.
00:31:42.36\00:31:47.07
But it is very interesting
what happens in Hebrews 11.
00:31:47.47\00:31:52.07
And I think I'm going to ask for
some help in reading this here.
00:31:52.11\00:31:55.58
It's Hebrews 11:10-13, please.
00:31:57.11\00:32:01.18
Who can read it for us?
00:32:01.82\00:32:03.15
"For he waited for the
city which has foundations,
00:32:03.79\00:32:05.85
whose builder and maker is God.
00:32:05.89\00:32:07.66
By faith Sarah herself
also received strength to
00:32:07.92\00:32:10.83
conceive seed, and she bore a
child when she was past the age,
00:32:10.93\00:32:14.30
because she judged Him
faithful who had promised.
00:32:14.66\00:32:18.13
Therefore from one man,
and him as good as dead,
00:32:18.43\00:32:22.47
were born as many as the
stars of the sky in multitude,
00:32:22.50\00:32:26.68
innumerable as the sand
which is by the seashore."
00:32:26.74\00:32:30.11
Amen. Praise the Lord.
00:32:30.15\00:32:31.55
So we think of Abraham as
the father of the faithful,
00:32:31.58\00:32:33.72
but he also had a wife
that was faithful, had faith.
00:32:33.78\00:32:37.62
Because it says here
that, "By faith Sarah herself
00:32:37.65\00:32:42.66
received
strength to conceive seed,
00:32:42.69\00:32:44.69
and was delivered of a
child when she was past age."
00:32:44.79\00:32:47.13
It was a miracle
that Isaac was born.
00:32:47.23\00:32:51.03
And these things are important.
00:32:51.07\00:32:52.53
And Shelley will
tell us about that.
00:32:52.57\00:32:53.90
Oh, amen.
00:32:53.97\00:32:55.30
Thank you for
that. That was very good.
00:32:55.50\00:32:57.47
We're going to be
looking on Wednesday at,
00:32:57.74\00:33:01.01
Hagar and Mount Sinai.
00:33:01.21\00:33:03.65
And I'm so excited that I have
the opportunity to present this.
00:33:04.05\00:33:08.25
Our question that is
asked in the quarterly is,
00:33:08.48\00:33:11.15
what type of covenant
did God want to establish
00:33:11.25\00:33:16.56
with His people at Sinai?
00:33:16.59\00:33:17.93
So let's turn to Genesis 12.
00:33:17.96\00:33:20.96
And we're going to look at the
similarities with the covenant
00:33:21.00\00:33:26.13
with Abraham, we're going
to look at the similarities
00:33:26.17\00:33:29.40
with the covenant with Exodus.
00:33:30.07\00:33:32.07
So Genesis 12:1-3.
00:33:32.11\00:33:34.14
For the sake of time,
I'm going to do the reading.
00:33:34.18\00:33:36.11
"Now the LORD had said to
Abram, 'Get out of your country,
00:33:36.58\00:33:39.91
from your family and
from your father's house,
00:33:39.98\00:33:42.08
to a land that I will show you.
00:33:42.38\00:33:44.49
I will make you a great nation;
00:33:44.75\00:33:46.65
I will bless you and
make your name great;
00:33:46.72\00:33:49.22
and you shall be a blessing.
00:33:49.32\00:33:51.63
I will bless
those who bless you,
00:33:51.66\00:33:53.56
and I will curse
him who curses you.
00:33:53.60\00:33:55.80
And in you all the families
of the earth will be blessed.'"
00:33:56.06\00:33:59.47
So because of God's
promised covenant blessings,
00:34:00.04\00:34:04.94
as you said, Tom,
Abraham heard, he believed,
00:34:05.21\00:34:10.45
and he followed.
00:34:10.75\00:34:12.08
I think that's
called obedience, isn't it?
00:34:12.11\00:34:13.62
Hebrews 8:11 says that
by faith Abraham obeyed.
00:34:13.92\00:34:19.09
He left his
country, he left his kindred,
00:34:19.12\00:34:21.72
and he maintained a
covenant loyalty to God.
00:34:21.76\00:34:25.93
He walked in obedience to
God as an expression of his
00:34:25.96\00:34:29.46
appreciation for everything
that God had promised.
00:34:29.50\00:34:32.07
So now let's
look at Genesis 26:5.
00:34:32.57\00:34:36.60
A lot of people will say,
"Well, the covenant with Abraham
00:34:37.07\00:34:41.64
had nothing to
do with obedience."
00:34:42.74\00:34:45.75
And I disagree with
that, because first of all
00:34:46.21\00:34:48.75
God's covenant was unilateral.
00:34:50.59\00:34:53.25
It was only God who
was making the promises.
00:34:53.32\00:34:56.16
But there was a
condition to the covenant.
00:34:56.19\00:34:58.86
And that was, "You
walk by faith before Me,
00:34:58.89\00:35:03.57
and you obey by faith."
00:35:03.87\00:35:05.83
And then if we
look at Genesis 26:5,
00:35:05.87\00:35:10.01
it says, when God here
is renewing the covenant
00:35:11.31\00:35:15.21
with Isaac, He says
He's doing it because...
00:35:15.24\00:35:18.21
Why? "...because
Abraham obeyed My voice,
00:35:18.61\00:35:23.79
he kept My
charge, My commandments,
00:35:23.99\00:35:25.95
My statutes, and My laws."
00:35:25.99\00:35:29.56
This covenant was diatheke.
00:35:30.19\00:35:33.06
It was a unilateral
covenant for certain.
00:35:33.09\00:35:35.73
That's the Greek
in the Septuagint.
00:35:35.76\00:35:38.40
They translated
this as diatheke.
00:35:38.43\00:35:41.54
It means it was a will.
00:35:41.57\00:35:43.20
It was God's will.
00:35:43.41\00:35:45.04
And it would be like, Tom,
if your last will and testament
00:35:45.37\00:35:48.88
you wrote this out.
00:35:48.91\00:35:50.25
But obedience was not...
00:35:50.35\00:35:54.35
It was
conditioned upon obedience.
00:35:55.82\00:35:58.32
I'll put it that way.
00:35:58.35\00:35:59.69
There was a
condition of obedience.
00:35:59.72\00:36:01.49
If Abraham
hadn't left his country,
00:36:01.52\00:36:04.16
if Abraham didn't trust God,
00:36:04.19\00:36:06.59
he'd still be in Haran.
00:36:06.93\00:36:08.76
So now this is the same
kind of covenant relationship
00:36:09.30\00:36:14.14
that God wants to share
with the children of Israel.
00:36:14.17\00:36:17.61
Turn to Exodus chapter 6.
00:36:17.64\00:36:20.18
God has made all
the promises to Abraham.
00:36:20.68\00:36:24.15
He doesn't ask
Abraham to promise anything.
00:36:24.78\00:36:27.95
He just says, "It's going
to be conditioned upon your
00:36:27.98\00:36:32.65
trusting Me and following Me."
00:36:32.69\00:36:34.59
So now in Exodus 6,
God is speaking to Moses.
00:36:34.82\00:36:39.36
And here's what He says.
00:36:39.63\00:36:40.96
"I am the Lord, I am Jehovah.
00:36:40.96\00:36:44.30
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, as God Almighty."
00:36:44.43\00:36:48.97
Which is El Shaddai.
00:36:49.00\00:36:50.61
He appeared to
them as El Shaddai.
00:36:51.11\00:36:54.34
"...but by My name LORD..."
00:36:54.81\00:36:57.75
"By My name Jehovah."
00:36:58.08\00:37:00.45
Which, by the way, is
His covenant keeping name.
00:37:00.48\00:37:04.85
He says, "By My name LORD,
00:37:05.29\00:37:08.29
Jehovah, My
covenant keeping name,
00:37:08.32\00:37:10.56
I was not known to them."
00:37:10.59\00:37:12.43
And then He said, "I have
also established My covenant
00:37:12.96\00:37:15.46
with them, to give them..."
00:37:15.50\00:37:16.87
This with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
00:37:16.90\00:37:20.24
"...to give them
the land of Canaan,
00:37:20.44\00:37:22.34
the land of their pilgrimage,
in which they were strangers."
00:37:22.37\00:37:25.87
Now He tells
Moses, "And I have heard
00:37:26.07\00:37:30.15
also the groaning of
the children of Israel
00:37:30.25\00:37:32.61
whom the
Egyptians keep in bondage,
00:37:32.81\00:37:35.05
and I have
remembered My covenant."
00:37:35.08\00:37:40.66
God is saying, "I'm
remembering My covenant
00:37:40.99\00:37:45.06
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
00:37:45.09\00:37:47.40
"Therefore say to the children
of Israel, 'I am the LORD;
00:37:47.50\00:37:52.00
Jehovah, I am the
covenant keeping God.
00:37:52.03\00:37:54.20
I will bring you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians,
00:37:54.60\00:37:57.07
I will rescue you from
their bondage, I will redeem you
00:37:57.11\00:38:00.41
with an outstretched arm
and with great judgments.'"
00:38:00.51\00:38:04.08
A gracious loving-kindness,
the checed of God.
00:38:04.28\00:38:08.35
God is going to
powerfully redeem Israel.
00:38:09.45\00:38:14.82
He's going to bring
great judgments on Egypt.
00:38:14.96\00:38:17.76
And they're going to
be His covenant people.
00:38:17.96\00:38:21.20
He would save them
before they walked in obedience
00:38:21.30\00:38:25.93
to His love.
00:38:25.97\00:38:27.34
They'd been in
400 years of bondage.
00:38:27.64\00:38:30.71
So before they could even enjoy
the blessings of His inheritance
00:38:31.07\00:38:36.95
with His covenant with Abraham,
He delivers them through the
00:38:37.25\00:38:40.82
Red Sea and brings
them to Mount Sinai.
00:38:40.85\00:38:43.79
Now let's look, we've just read
what God said in Genesis 12:1-3
00:38:43.99\00:38:49.66
to Abraham, now let's
look at the similarities
00:38:49.92\00:38:55.23
of God's word in Exodus
verse 19 what He tells Moses
00:38:55.46\00:39:00.47
to tell the children and how
similar it is to the covenant
00:39:00.50\00:39:04.54
words that He gave to Abraham.
00:39:04.57\00:39:08.34
Is this chapter 19?
00:39:08.38\00:39:09.71
Exodus chapter 19,
we'll look at verses 3-6.
00:39:09.74\00:39:12.68
And this kind of
matches up with Genesis 12:1-3
00:39:14.35\00:39:18.22
when God said, "Okay Abraham,
get out of your country.
00:39:18.25\00:39:20.79
Go do this; I'm going to make
you a great nation, etcetera."
00:39:20.82\00:39:24.09
So Exodus 19:3.
00:39:24.63\00:39:26.86
"Moses went up to God,
and the LORD called to him
00:39:27.23\00:39:30.47
from the mountain, saying,
'Thus you shall say to the
00:39:30.57\00:39:33.64
house of Jacob, and tell
the children of Israel...'"
00:39:33.67\00:39:36.07
So they're there at Mount Sinai.
00:39:36.24\00:39:37.81
And God's now
going to give Moses
00:39:37.91\00:39:39.27
instructions on what to say.
00:39:39.31\00:39:40.88
Listen.
00:39:41.14\00:39:42.54
"You have seen what I did to
the Egyptians, how I bore you
00:39:42.58\00:39:47.12
on eagles' wings and
brought you to Myself."
00:39:47.15\00:39:50.59
This is covenant love language.
00:39:50.62\00:39:53.46
God is saying, "I
have redeemed you.
00:39:53.49\00:39:56.46
You are Mine; I bore
you on the wings of eagles.
00:39:56.49\00:39:59.29
I brought you to Myself."
00:39:59.33\00:40:00.96
"Now therefore, if
you will indeed obey..."
00:40:01.20\00:40:04.37
And it's interesting, in
the Hebrew the word is, "hear."
00:40:04.40\00:40:07.44
To hear.
00:40:07.54\00:40:08.87
God is saying, "If
you will hear My voice,
00:40:08.90\00:40:12.07
and keep My covenant, then
you shall be a special treasure
00:40:12.27\00:40:16.01
to Me above all the people;
for all the earth is Mine.
00:40:16.04\00:40:18.65
You shall be to Me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation.
00:40:18.68\00:40:21.42
These are the words
which you shall speak
00:40:21.55\00:40:23.59
to the children of Israel."
00:40:23.65\00:40:24.99
See how much, I mean,
God's remembering His covenant.
00:40:25.15\00:40:28.19
He's getting ready to renew
His covenant, the same covenant
00:40:28.32\00:40:31.63
He had with Abraham.
00:40:31.66\00:40:33.76
It's beautiful.
00:40:33.96\00:40:35.26
So now in the next
verse, Exodus 19:7,
00:40:35.30\00:40:38.63
"Moses came and called
for the elders of the people,
00:40:38.87\00:40:40.97
he laid before
them all these words
00:40:41.00\00:40:43.97
which the LORD commanded him."
00:40:44.07\00:40:47.71
It's what God commanded
Moses to tell the people,
00:40:47.84\00:40:50.58
in other words.
00:40:50.61\00:40:51.95
"I'm the One.
00:40:51.98\00:40:53.35
I'm your Redeemer, I've
saved you in covenant love,
00:40:53.38\00:40:55.58
I've brought you out
on the wings of eagles."
00:40:55.62\00:40:58.12
And to say that if they
responded with covenant loyalty
00:40:58.22\00:41:01.96
by listening to His
voice and walking in His laws,
00:41:01.99\00:41:04.53
they're going to be
His special treasure,
00:41:04.63\00:41:06.43
they're going to be
a kingdom of priests.
00:41:06.46\00:41:08.40
"So then all the people
answer together and they say,
00:41:08.76\00:41:12.47
'All that the LORD
has said we will do.'"
00:41:12.50\00:41:14.67
Now they're pledging covenant
loyalty, which was good,
00:41:15.00\00:41:17.91
but they were misguided because
there was reliance on self.
00:41:17.94\00:41:21.68
Let's go forward.
00:41:21.71\00:41:23.04
So now Moses returns to God,
00:41:23.24\00:41:24.98
he expresses the
people's decision.
00:41:25.01\00:41:26.92
God asks them to
consecrate themselves
00:41:27.02\00:41:29.22
before He
appears on the mountain.
00:41:29.25\00:41:31.09
Because He needs to remind
them that He is a holy God,
00:41:31.52\00:41:35.96
that He is an
awesome and powerful God.
00:41:35.99\00:41:37.76
They have forgotten this.
00:41:37.79\00:41:39.13
So now God begins His
shock and awe campaign.
00:41:39.39\00:41:43.20
Thunder and lightning.
00:41:43.43\00:41:44.77
I mean, pyrotechnics, you know.
00:41:44.80\00:41:46.57
The mountains quacking and the
trumpet sounds loud and long.
00:41:46.77\00:41:51.51
And the people are like,
"Oh, you be our mediator, Moses.
00:41:51.64\00:41:55.44
You go talk to Him after this."
00:41:55.48\00:41:57.38
He speaks the commandments.
00:41:57.71\00:42:00.12
And He begins, as He just
speaks the Ten Commandments,
00:42:00.15\00:42:03.05
He begins like this:
00:42:03.08\00:42:04.49
"I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of
00:42:04.69\00:42:06.35
the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage.
00:42:06.39\00:42:08.49
I'm your loving
Redeemer who saved you."
00:42:08.52\00:42:11.29
Then He tells them
the Ten Commandments.
00:42:11.39\00:42:13.13
Which, by the way, are
spoken in future tense.
00:42:13.16\00:42:16.87
Meaning, these are promises.
00:42:16.93\00:42:18.60
This is what it will be like.
00:42:18.63\00:42:20.14
"This is promises
of My law of love.
00:42:20.30\00:42:23.20
This is what it's going
to be like if you walk in
00:42:23.24\00:42:26.07
relationship with Me."
00:42:26.11\00:42:27.48
And the people say in
verse 20:20, "Do not..."
00:42:27.54\00:42:31.81
Oh, the people are afraid.
00:42:31.85\00:42:33.38
And Moses says,
"Oh, don't be afraid.
00:42:33.42\00:42:35.22
God's just testing you, that
His fear may be before you..."
00:42:35.25\00:42:39.55
I'm going to take one
extra minute, if I may.
00:42:39.65\00:42:41.72
So after centuries in
captivity, God is about to make
00:42:43.12\00:42:47.60
a special covenant with them.
00:42:47.60\00:42:48.93
Moses goes up the mountain.
00:42:48.96\00:42:50.30
God gives him civil law.
00:42:50.33\00:42:52.97
I mean, he's about to...
00:42:53.00\00:42:54.37
This is kind of like the
institution, or constitution
00:42:54.57\00:42:59.44
for Israel as a nation.
00:42:59.54\00:43:01.48
Moses gives them civil laws
that are based on His moral law.
00:43:01.64\00:43:04.48
He gives them
the whole Sanctuary.
00:43:04.71\00:43:06.61
The very sacrificial system
He began with Cain and Abel
00:43:06.72\00:43:10.99
now He is expanding on that.
00:43:11.29\00:43:12.95
Because this is all
pointing to Jesus Christ.
00:43:12.99\00:43:16.39
And so then Moses, in Exodus
24, let's look down at verse 6,
00:43:16.73\00:43:22.20
Moses has repeated
everything that God said.
00:43:22.46\00:43:26.33
And in the heart are the
Ten Commandments God just spoke,
00:43:26.37\00:43:30.51
in the heart of this covenant.
00:43:30.57\00:43:31.91
So the people then say,
"Yes, everything God said
00:43:31.94\00:43:35.74
we're going to do."
00:43:35.78\00:43:37.15
And now they're really
entering into covenant.
00:43:37.21\00:43:39.21
Because Moses builds the altar.
00:43:39.31\00:43:41.05
And in verse 6 it
says, he makes a sacrifice,
00:43:41.08\00:43:43.99
and verse 6 says he "took half
the blood and put it in basins,
00:43:44.05\00:43:47.92
half the blood he
sprinkled on the altar.
00:43:47.96\00:43:50.53
Then he took the
Book of the Covenant,"
00:43:50.59\00:43:53.96
which is also
called, the Book of the Law,
00:43:54.03\00:43:56.50
reading it once
again to the people.
00:43:56.80\00:43:59.13
And they say, "Yes,
everything He said we'll do."
00:43:59.17\00:44:02.30
So the point that I
want to make is this.
00:44:02.54\00:44:05.27
Why Paul compares this...
00:44:06.54\00:44:10.75
This was supposed to
be a progression of the
00:44:10.85\00:44:13.62
Abrahamic covenant of grace.
00:44:13.72\00:44:16.02
You've seen
everything that God has said.
00:44:16.38\00:44:18.92
Why Paul compares this
to the negative experience
00:44:20.16\00:44:24.03
of Hagar is because,
just like Abraham and Sarah,
00:44:24.13\00:44:28.70
the people make it about doing.
00:44:30.07\00:44:32.20
So they're going to try to
help God fulfill His promises.
00:44:32.77\00:44:38.27
And so the Israelites
turned this covenant of grace
00:44:38.51\00:44:43.55
into a covenant of works.
00:44:43.61\00:44:45.81
So Hagar symbolizes
Sinai in that both reveal
00:44:45.85\00:44:51.02
human attempts at
salvation by works.
00:44:51.29\00:44:54.39
And I've got to stop.
00:44:54.42\00:44:55.76
Amen. That's powerful, Shelley.
00:44:56.02\00:44:57.39
You are excited about that.
00:44:57.43\00:44:58.76
I was.
00:44:58.79\00:45:00.26
But it's a wonderful
topic because that's what Paul
00:45:00.33\00:45:03.26
wanted to communicate
to the Galatian church,
00:45:03.37\00:45:05.80
the Galatian believers.
00:45:05.83\00:45:07.24
That salvation is justification
by faith, not faith plus works,
00:45:07.27\00:45:11.74
but where
justified by faith alone.
00:45:11.77\00:45:14.18
And when I think about
that, you think about Ishmael
00:45:14.28\00:45:16.54
being the child of
Abraham's initiative,
00:45:16.58\00:45:19.65
while Isaac is the child of
the initiative and act of God.
00:45:19.68\00:45:24.42
The promise, that's right.
00:45:25.12\00:45:26.45
Ishmael is, you could say,
the child of self-righteousness.
00:45:26.49\00:45:30.13
Or if we follow underneath
Ishmael, we would be thinking
00:45:30.16\00:45:33.50
we're relying on self or
my own works to keep the law.
00:45:33.53\00:45:38.43
While Isaac is faith and
love and Christ's righteousness.
00:45:38.47\00:45:43.04
Reliance on Him.
00:45:43.24\00:45:44.77
Ishmael is, trying
to make things happen;
00:45:45.57\00:45:49.04
Isaac is, trusting in God
to bring about His purpose.
00:45:49.08\00:45:53.58
Ishmael is self-dependence;
00:45:53.92\00:45:56.35
trying to fulfill
God's promises myself.
00:45:56.58\00:45:59.79
Isaac is
self-surrendered obedience.
00:45:59.82\00:46:04.09
Because by His power and grace
He works in me and through me
00:46:04.16\00:46:08.50
both to will and to
do of His good pleasure.
00:46:08.53\00:46:10.57
Ishmael is, do it yourself
religion, as we would say.
00:46:11.23\00:46:14.74
And Isaac is, completely
surrendered and trust God
00:46:14.94\00:46:19.11
for that, for the promise.
00:46:19.31\00:46:21.18
Paul's opponents
believed that they were the true
00:46:21.48\00:46:25.28
descendants of Abraham.
00:46:25.31\00:46:26.72
We've talked about
the Judaizers who came in
00:46:26.75\00:46:28.78
to the Galatian church,
and who, you could almost say,
00:46:28.82\00:46:32.19
corrupted the gospel that
Paul had once preached to them.
00:46:32.22\00:46:35.19
They believed they were the
true descendants of Abraham,
00:46:35.39\00:46:38.49
that Jerusalem was the center
of Christianity and the law,
00:46:38.53\00:46:42.06
and that the Gentiles
were the illegitimate children.
00:46:42.30\00:46:45.57
The Gentiles were like the
children of Hagar, were Ishmael,
00:46:45.77\00:46:49.57
and that they had to become sons
of Abraham by being circumcised.
00:46:49.60\00:46:52.97
The truth,
actually, was the opposite.
00:46:53.14\00:46:55.18
The truth was that
Paul's opponents, who were
00:46:55.21\00:46:57.81
the legalists, they were the
illegitimate sons, like Ishmael,
00:46:57.85\00:47:03.18
because they trusted in
circumcision and relied on
00:47:03.22\00:47:06.09
the flesh instead of
trusting in the promise.
00:47:06.12\00:47:09.29
And that the Gentiles, instead
of being the illegitimate
00:47:09.32\00:47:12.23
children, they
could be sons of Abraham
00:47:12.26\00:47:14.46
by supernatural
descent, just like Isaac.
00:47:14.56\00:47:17.57
So that's the beautiful thing.
00:47:17.60\00:47:18.93
We're in Galatians.
00:47:18.97\00:47:20.34
Let's look at Galatians 4.
00:47:20.44\00:47:22.27
And we've read
this passage already.
00:47:22.87\00:47:24.34
I think, brother Johnny, you
read that, but I just want to
00:47:24.37\00:47:26.41
look at a couple of verses
right toward the end here.
00:47:26.44\00:47:28.48
And then we'll
jump back to Genesis.
00:47:28.51\00:47:30.25
Galatians 4:28
00:47:31.05\00:47:33.72
"Now we, brethren, as Isaac
was, are children of promise."
00:47:33.82\00:47:38.52
We're not children of
the old covenant or by
00:47:38.55\00:47:40.86
Abraham's own initiative.
00:47:40.89\00:47:42.22
We are by the initiative
and act of God by the promise.
00:47:42.26\00:47:44.99
"But, as he who was
born according to the flesh,"
00:47:45.23\00:47:48.16
that would be
Ishmael, "then persecuted him
00:47:48.20\00:47:51.83
who was born according to
the Spirit, even so it is now."
00:47:52.03\00:47:57.17
He's referencing back.
00:47:57.21\00:47:58.54
We've talked about this,
but let's look at Genesis 21.
00:47:58.57\00:48:02.74
This is after Abraham went
into Sarah and he had Ishmael,
00:48:03.01\00:48:09.25
and then those years later
when God fulfilled the promise
00:48:09.62\00:48:14.39
and Isaac was born.
00:48:14.42\00:48:15.76
And then when Isaac
grew up and he was weaned,
00:48:15.89\00:48:19.39
and they think maybe he's about
three years old at this time
00:48:19.43\00:48:22.53
when this took place,
we're in Genesis 21:8.
00:48:22.90\00:48:28.24
"So the child grew,"
meaning Isaac, "and was weaned.
00:48:28.77\00:48:32.21
And Abraham made a
great feast on the same day
00:48:32.24\00:48:35.01
that Isaac was weaned.
00:48:35.04\00:48:36.41
And Sarah saw the son
of Hagar the Egyptian,
00:48:36.44\00:48:40.52
whom she had borne
to Abraham, scoffing."
00:48:40.72\00:48:44.29
Now interestingly
that word for, "scoffing,"
00:48:44.32\00:48:47.06
is actually, "laugh."
00:48:47.09\00:48:49.36
And it's been
used before in Genesis,
00:48:49.49\00:48:51.59
but it could have
two different meanings.
00:48:51.63\00:48:53.03
It could mean
just simple laughter
00:48:53.06\00:48:54.76
or it could mean to make
jest or to make sport at.
00:48:54.83\00:48:58.93
And that's what he's doing here.
00:48:58.97\00:49:00.90
He is making sport, he's making
fun of the child of promise.
00:49:00.97\00:49:05.67
And we talked about
already what took place and how
00:49:05.71\00:49:09.14
Sarah and
Abraham sent Hagar away.
00:49:10.28\00:49:15.95
That's what I was trying to
say, Abraham sent Hagar away.
00:49:15.98\00:49:18.25
So the question in our lesson,
we know the true descendants
00:49:18.52\00:49:22.12
of Abraham, meaning
the child of promise;
00:49:22.16\00:49:24.63
those who believe in
justification by faith
00:49:24.73\00:49:27.36
instead of the
works of the flesh,
00:49:27.40\00:49:29.00
that there will be persecution,
00:49:29.30\00:49:31.67
as there is
persecution here from Ishmael,
00:49:31.70\00:49:34.87
the illegitimate child,
to Isaac, the son of promise.
00:49:34.90\00:49:38.67
And what are we
suppose to do with that?
00:49:38.91\00:49:41.78
How are we supposed to deal with
that tension, you could say.
00:49:41.81\00:49:45.21
Whether there is tension
in the church or else wise.
00:49:45.25\00:49:49.18
Between those who
believe in salvation by works
00:49:49.22\00:49:52.72
and those who believe
in justification by faith
00:49:52.75\00:49:55.62
in Christ alone.
00:49:55.66\00:49:57.03
And there's three things in our
time here I wanted to mention.
00:49:57.23\00:50:00.30
First is to expect it.
00:50:00.40\00:50:02.63
Let's look at John 15.
00:50:03.47\00:50:04.97
John 15, we'll read verse 18-20.
00:50:05.77\00:50:10.47
That Jesus predicted
that this was going to happen.
00:50:10.51\00:50:13.88
And Shelley, if you have
that, you want to read that?
00:50:14.38\00:50:16.11
John 15:18-20
00:50:16.14\00:50:22.05
"If the world hates
you, you know that it hated
00:50:22.22\00:50:24.59
Me before it hated you.
00:50:24.62\00:50:26.25
If you were of the world,
the world would love its own.
00:50:26.35\00:50:28.72
Yet because you are not
of the world, but I chose you
00:50:28.82\00:50:32.23
out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.
00:50:32.26\00:50:35.66
Remember the word
that I have said to you,
00:50:35.76\00:50:37.80
'A servant is not
greater than his master.'
00:50:38.00\00:50:40.37
If they persecuted Me,
they will also persecute you.
00:50:40.40\00:50:44.94
If they kept My word,
they will keep yours also."
00:50:45.14\00:50:49.18
So whether the persecution,
in this case specifically
00:50:49.21\00:50:51.41
talks about
coming from the world,
00:50:51.45\00:50:52.85
maybe those who
are outside the church,
00:50:52.88\00:50:54.85
whether it comes from that or
within, either way we expect it.
00:50:54.88\00:50:58.82
Know that Jesus predicted
it and they persecuted Him,
00:50:58.92\00:51:02.02
and they will
persecute us as well.
00:51:02.06\00:51:04.53
2 Timothy 3:12, "All that
live godly in Christ Jesus
00:51:04.63\00:51:08.20
shall suffer persecution."
00:51:08.23\00:51:10.07
First, we expect it.
00:51:10.17\00:51:11.50
Second, don't
let it destroy you.
00:51:11.53\00:51:14.57
Let's look at 2 Corinthians.
00:51:14.94\00:51:16.47
2 Corinthians, this is
one of my favorite passages.
00:51:16.71\00:51:20.08
And I know I
have said that before.
00:51:20.14\00:51:21.81
But I have so many,
Shelley, that I just love
00:51:21.84\00:51:24.31
from the Word of God.
00:51:24.35\00:51:25.68
2 Corinthians 4
00:51:25.95\00:51:27.52
And it seems like every
time you open God's Word,
00:51:27.58\00:51:29.98
you discover something new.
00:51:30.09\00:51:32.02
Something that I
had never seen before.
00:51:32.22\00:51:34.96
We're in 2 Corinthians 4, and
we're going to start at verse 7.
00:51:34.99\00:51:38.89
But verse 6, just
setting the stage,
00:51:38.93\00:51:41.16
it's talking about,
"God commanded light,"
00:51:41.20\00:51:43.13
that's the
gospel of Jesus Christ,
00:51:43.20\00:51:45.07
"to shine out of darkness..."
00:51:45.10\00:51:46.70
We are in a dark world.
00:51:46.77\00:51:48.57
And He shone the light of
His gospel into our hearts,
00:51:48.60\00:51:51.97
that's you and that's me,
00:51:52.07\00:51:53.61
"to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God
00:51:53.71\00:51:55.98
in the face of Jesus Christ."
00:51:56.01\00:51:57.38
Now we're in verse 7.
00:51:57.41\00:51:58.75
"We have this treasure..."
00:51:59.21\00:52:01.15
That's the gospel, the
glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:52:01.25\00:52:05.29
"...in earthen vessels..."
00:52:05.32\00:52:07.26
The New Living Translation
says, "in jars of clay."
00:52:07.46\00:52:11.29
"...that the
excellence of the power may be
00:52:11.73\00:52:14.66
of God and not of us."
00:52:14.73\00:52:16.03
God commits the gospel.
00:52:16.06\00:52:17.43
Which is incredible to me.
00:52:17.47\00:52:19.00
He could have given
it angels to proclaim.
00:52:19.03\00:52:21.37
He gave it to you and to me.
00:52:21.77\00:52:23.37
Because the
excellency of the power.
00:52:23.81\00:52:26.64
We can never take credit.
00:52:26.68\00:52:28.01
We can never say,
"I'm a good vessel here,
00:52:28.04\00:52:30.45
and I'm proclaiming the gospel."
00:52:30.51\00:52:31.95
We are simply jars of clay;
00:52:31.98\00:52:34.02
but that Jesus
Christ could be lifted up
00:52:34.22\00:52:37.29
and honored and glorified.
00:52:37.35\00:52:38.69
And now verse 7, this is
the part I was talking about:
00:52:38.72\00:52:41.59
don't let it destroy you.
00:52:41.62\00:52:42.96
Verse 7, "We
are hard-pressed..."
00:52:42.99\00:52:46.39
- Verse 8. - I'm
sorry. Thank you.
00:52:46.43\00:52:47.96
Verse 8, "We are hard-pressed
on every side, yet not crushed."
00:52:48.00\00:52:54.54
Hard-pressed means
literally to press, afflict,
00:52:54.74\00:52:58.21
press upon, or persecute.
00:52:58.54\00:53:00.68
Maybe you feel today,
"I'm being pressed upon.
00:53:00.71\00:53:03.65
I'm feeling persecuted."
00:53:03.75\00:53:05.85
Yet, we don't
have to be crushed.
00:53:05.98\00:53:08.35
"We are perplexed,
but not in despair."
00:53:08.78\00:53:12.79
Perplexed means we're at a loss.
00:53:12.82\00:53:14.96
"...yet not in despair."
00:53:15.59\00:53:17.13
Not utterly
crushed or in despair.
00:53:17.16\00:53:20.70
"We are persecuted,"
verse 9, "but not forsaken."
00:53:20.93\00:53:26.07
We can be harassed
and troubled, persecuted,
00:53:26.10\00:53:29.34
but we are not abandoned.
00:53:29.60\00:53:31.47
We are not
deserted or left alone.
00:53:31.51\00:53:34.18
"Struck down,
but not destroyed."
00:53:35.34\00:53:37.91
Struck down literally
means to throw to the ground
00:53:37.95\00:53:41.05
or made prostrate.
00:53:41.08\00:53:42.75
And I know I can
speak of my own experience,
00:53:42.85\00:53:45.45
but I'm sure each one
of you can speak from that.
00:53:45.49\00:53:47.79
And I'm sure you've
experienced it at home too.
00:53:47.82\00:53:50.23
Sometimes you might
feel utterly crushed down
00:53:50.43\00:53:53.90
and thrown to the ground,
but we are not destroyed.
00:53:53.96\00:53:58.17
Praise the Lord for that.
00:53:58.67\00:54:00.34
So first, we can expect it.
00:54:00.37\00:54:02.10
Second, don't
let it destroy you.
00:54:02.14\00:54:04.11
Because the Lord Jesus
walks with you in the furnace.
00:54:04.14\00:54:06.98
Just like He did with the three
Hebrews on the plain of Dura.
00:54:07.18\00:54:10.15
And finally, react with joy.
00:54:10.25\00:54:12.55
And that's not
our natural response.
00:54:12.58\00:54:15.45
Matthew 5, the
sermon on the mount.
00:54:16.18\00:54:18.15
Jesus talks about,
"Rejoice and be glad;
00:54:18.19\00:54:22.12
for so persecuted those the
prophets who were before you."
00:54:22.16\00:54:25.96
And 1 Peter 4
talks about rejoicing
00:54:26.29\00:54:28.83
with Christ in His suffering.
00:54:28.86\00:54:31.03
So I think God calls us,
we're talking about Ishmael
00:54:31.23\00:54:33.70
and Isaac today, God calls us
to be children of the promise.
00:54:33.74\00:54:37.01
Children who believe and
claim righteousness by faith.
00:54:37.11\00:54:41.14
Not righteousness plus works,
00:54:41.18\00:54:43.04
but righteousness by
faith in Christ alone.
00:54:43.08\00:54:45.88
We are saved by
grace through faith.
00:54:45.91\00:54:47.98
And when we claim
that, when we walk in that,
00:54:48.02\00:54:51.25
whether people say
something or whether they don't,
00:54:51.29\00:54:54.06
we just follow
along with the Lord Jesus.
00:54:54.29\00:54:57.43
Knowing that other people
were persecuted before us,
00:54:57.49\00:55:00.36
that Jesus was,
and then that's okay.
00:55:00.43\00:55:02.66
We can walk with joy in that.
00:55:02.70\00:55:04.60
- Amen. - Well done, well said.
00:55:04.63\00:55:07.44
You know, as we
look at the history,
00:55:07.64\00:55:10.91
how interesting it is
that we find ratification of
00:55:11.21\00:55:16.34
what is in Galatians all the
way back in the book of Genesis.
00:55:16.38\00:55:19.51
The lesson says in
its thought section,
00:55:21.58\00:55:24.49
it talks about the pyrotechnics,
I think you used the term,
00:55:24.95\00:55:28.22
that happened at Sinai.
00:55:28.26\00:55:29.66
And when the
original covenant was ratified
00:55:30.53\00:55:33.03
with Abraham, there was
no need for pyrotechnics,
00:55:33.06\00:55:35.76
for he had his
pyrotechnics; a little baby boy.
00:55:35.80\00:55:38.50
Doesn't get any
better than that.
00:55:38.53\00:55:39.93
But by the time we come
to the Sinai experience,
00:55:41.74\00:55:45.44
they had pretty much
lost sight of who God was
00:55:45.64\00:55:48.78
and were not in
covenant relationship, because
00:55:48.81\00:55:51.21
400 years of
slavery will do that to you.
00:55:51.58\00:55:53.62
So God now reiterates,
if I can use that term...
00:55:53.72\00:55:57.19
Because it's one covenant.
00:55:57.25\00:55:58.59
But there are these
iterations and reiterations
00:55:58.62\00:56:01.32
of that covenant.
00:56:01.36\00:56:02.69
And you know, there's kind of
a progressive unfolding as well.
00:56:02.72\00:56:05.26
Indeed, indeed.
00:56:05.29\00:56:06.63
Yeah, and there's a
little bit more with each one.
00:56:06.66\00:56:09.70
Having said that, He
re-inaugurates, He reiterates,
00:56:09.90\00:56:14.64
He brings it
back with a big show.
00:56:14.67\00:56:16.91
Showing His power,
His might, and His glory.
00:56:16.94\00:56:18.74
What occurs to me is that
if you look at the history of
00:56:18.84\00:56:23.55
God's dealings with His
people through covenant language
00:56:23.58\00:56:27.32
and covenant reality, you
will never miss the fact of
00:56:27.35\00:56:30.19
the consistency of God.
00:56:30.22\00:56:31.92
You will never see God
as a harsh, unyielding,
00:56:31.95\00:56:34.89
law-giving in the Old
Testament, and as unforgiving.
00:56:35.12\00:56:37.76
You will see a golden cord of
faith and grace that runs from
00:56:37.96\00:56:43.87
Seth, through
Abraham, through His people,
00:56:44.07\00:56:47.60
through the Davidic covenant,
through Christ, to us today.
00:56:48.54\00:56:52.17
So the same golden
cord that was let down
00:56:52.21\00:56:55.31
for Seth is the same cord that
we hold onto today in faith.
00:56:55.58\00:56:58.91
But on the other end
of that cord there's a
00:56:58.95\00:57:00.58
God who's sustaining us.
00:57:00.65\00:57:01.98
And we can hold onto that cord.
00:57:02.08\00:57:04.22
It's a beautiful
thing, but it's not something
00:57:04.32\00:57:07.09
that sits on the surface.
00:57:07.12\00:57:08.46
You've got to take
your golden shovel and
00:57:08.62\00:57:09.99
dig down a little bit to see it.
00:57:10.06\00:57:11.39
But if you do, you come forth
with something really that will
00:57:11.43\00:57:14.93
keep you and will help
you, and something that you can
00:57:14.96\00:57:18.17
treasure and you can
see the loving hand of God
00:57:18.20\00:57:20.97
from the days of Adam
right down to this very day.
00:57:21.00\00:57:24.31
And it is a wonderful thing.
00:57:24.34\00:57:25.67
So thank you so
very much for joining us
00:57:25.71\00:57:27.38
for this edition of
the Sabbath School Panel.
00:57:27.48\00:57:30.15
Hope you've been
blessed. We have been.
00:57:30.18\00:57:32.15
We'll see you again next time.
00:57:32.18\00:57:33.52