Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180003A
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00:01 Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says to, "Receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word 00:11 which is able to save your souls." 00:13 And to be, "Diligent to present yourself 00:15 approved to God, 00:17 rightly dividing the word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Stewardship, 00:28 Motives of the Heart. 00:32 Hello, friends. 00:33 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Lesson Study. 00:37 Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in, 00:39 an hour that we all enjoy. 00:41 Can we say Amen for that? Amen. 00:43 You might get the idea, I like an Amen, I do. 00:46 It means that's true. 00:47 And our study for the quarter is Stewardship, 00:51 Motives of the Heart. 00:53 We're told and thus far we've studied lessons 00:55 that have shown us clearly that wherever our hearts are 00:59 that's where our desires, our financial plans, 01:06 our aspirations for the future are. 01:08 And I tell you, this lesson that is gonna be covered today, 01:11 God or Mammon is another one, another building block. 01:15 Greg, so good to have you with us. 01:16 Thank you. 01:18 I'll get back to you in just a moment. 01:19 Another building block in this dynamic study about 01:22 how important stewardship is. 01:24 If you like to get a copy of the lesson to follow along, 01:26 go to the following website, ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:32 Download a copy, or if you cannot access a copy, 01:35 you might want to go 01:37 to your local Seventh-day Adventist church 01:38 and you'll find out about that by just simply Google that 01:41 or go to the phone book, or maybe you're already 01:43 aware of where one might be. 01:45 But this study is always more enjoyable 01:47 in a group setting, 01:49 but before we do anything further, 01:50 I'm gonna ask Greg 01:53 who is with us for the first time... 01:54 That's right. 01:55 To have our prayer for us today. 01:57 Sure. Yeah, let's bow our heads. 01:58 Father in Heaven Lord, 02:00 it's a blessing to be able to open and study your Word. 02:03 And, Father, as we go through this 02:05 important lesson for today. 02:08 Lord, we just pray that your Holy Spirit 02:10 would be with us, open our minds. 02:12 And, Lord, it's always easy to say that's 02:15 wonderful but to apply it to our own lives, 02:18 that's what we want. 02:20 And so, Lord, again, we thank you for your word 02:22 and for the time we have of fellowship 02:23 and study together. 02:25 And in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 02:26 Amen. Amen. 02:28 And, Jill, you must be happy today. 02:31 I am, absolutely. Yes. 02:32 It's a privilege to do Sabbath School now with my... 02:33 Yes. 02:35 Always good to have Jill Marconi, Shelley Quinn, 02:37 Greg Marconi. 02:38 You're fortunate half because you're the better half. 02:40 I can take that. 02:42 And then Mollie Steenson, always good to have you 02:43 as our anchor, as well as a woman of spirituality, 02:47 which Shelley also shares the same. 02:49 You're like the Bobbsey twins. 02:50 You both love the Lord together, 02:52 and praise God for all that you do for the ministry. 02:54 But the lesson, God or Mammon 02:57 has been really pulling at our heartstrings, 03:01 helping us to recalibrate. 03:03 And when you begin the year, 03:04 so many people have New Year's resolutions. 03:07 And I hope some of your resolutions 03:09 which can be made any day of the year. 03:11 You don't have to wait till January 1 03:12 or the beginning of the year, 03:15 but a lot of people are sitting down 03:16 counting their credit card debt right now. 03:20 The season of returning gifts have now long gone 03:24 and are behind us, recessed. 03:27 But we think of whether or not 03:29 I could have done without that thing 03:31 that I spent so much money for just a few weeks ago. 03:34 And are my children as happy now 03:37 as they were when Christmas Day came? 03:40 And these questions really catapult us 03:42 into the place of what is really meant 03:45 about our relationship to God or to money. 03:49 Let's begin by looking at our memory text. 03:52 It is on the first lesson, 03:55 and by the way when lesson number three 03:58 and the text is in Philippians 2:9-11 04:00 and we like to customarily read that together. 04:03 And the Bible says, "Therefore God also has 04:06 highly exalted Him and given Him the name 04:10 which is above every name, 04:12 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 04:16 of those in heaven, and of those on earth, 04:19 and of those under the earth, 04:21 and that every tongue should confess 04:24 that Jesus Christ is Lord, 04:26 to the glory of God the Father." 04:29 Amen. Amen. 04:31 You might ask the question 04:33 what does this have to do with stewardship? 04:35 What does bowing, 04:38 declaring that Jesus Christ is the Lord 04:41 to the glory of the Father, 04:42 what does that have to do with stewardship? 04:44 I like the way that the writers of this lesson, 04:47 whether it was done by more than one individual, 04:49 in many cases it is. 04:52 It's a good place to pause and think about 04:54 what we mean about materialism. 04:57 Genesis 1:1 puts it in a beautiful setting. 05:02 Christ the Creator, which is the Sunday lesson, 05:05 if you turned here with me, with us that is... 05:09 Genesis 1:1, and by the way, everything that exist today 05:15 to make digital devices, electronic devices, 05:20 communication devices, it's strange to me 05:23 they all existed in the Garden of Eden. 05:27 Say that again. 05:28 Everything that exists today, 05:30 all the materials that exist today 05:31 to make every electronic device, 05:33 every digital device, existed in the Garden of Eden. 05:36 Yes. 05:37 So the question is 05:39 why did it take so long to make it? 05:41 And that's a question that I could ask 05:44 when I get to the kingdom because I don't really know 05:45 the answer, but I do know 05:47 that one of the signs of the end in which we live, 05:50 the Bible did say in Daniel, "Knowledge will increase." 05:54 And knowledge has not only increased exponentially 05:57 as far as intellectual knowledge is concerned 05:59 or the excuse of saying I don't know is not an excuse 06:03 that we can use in class anymore. 06:05 I know growing up we used to say, 06:06 "Well, I don't have that dictionary 06:08 or like the guy that you would come 06:09 and sell us encyclopedias, 06:11 or we don't have that encyclopedia." 06:13 You remember those days? 06:14 But nowadays we have no such excuse. 06:17 And times of ignorance got winked at. 06:19 But the greatest point 06:22 that we cannot lend to ignorance 06:25 is the knowledge of the reality of Jesus. 06:30 Amen. 06:31 Genesis 1:1, and by the way there are, 06:34 as I say in the Bible there are three Genesises 06:36 if I could use that phrase. 06:38 That is Genesis 1:1, there's John 1:1, 06:41 and there's Hebrews 1. 06:43 And Hebrews goes farther back than John 1:1 06:45 and John 1:1 goes farther back than Genesis 1:1, 06:48 because Genesis 1:1 is "In the beginning God created 06:52 the heavens and the earth," our lowly solar system. 06:56 Yeah. 06:57 Our constellation which is defined today 07:00 as the Milky Way. 07:01 But it's important to understand 07:02 and note that in the beginning God created. 07:06 So everything that you may possess, 07:08 everything that you may hold, all of the good things 07:12 that exist were created by God. 07:14 And I want to qualify that because some people might say, 07:17 "Well, did he create alcohol for us to drink? 07:20 Did he create marijuana for us to smoke?" 07:22 These things exist naturally and some of those 07:24 are byproducts of the wrong use of the hops in the barleys 07:30 that the God that we love and serve have created. 07:34 But every good and every perfect gift 07:37 comes from God. 07:39 Amen. 07:40 And so, I kind of broke my lesson down 07:41 into a number of areas. 07:43 And the first thing is Psalms 33:6-9. 07:48 We made the first point, it all began with God. 07:50 And specifically in this case, you'll see, 07:52 it all began with Jesus. 07:55 Somebody tried to make heads or tails out of the statement. 07:59 When the Bible says, 08:01 "No man has seen God at any time." 08:03 And then they simply didn't, who did Adam see?" 08:08 And then, they came to the conclusion 08:10 after studying Gods Word, it was the man Christ Jesus 08:13 who declared the Father. 08:14 Amen. 08:16 We'll look at Psalm 33:6-9. 08:18 Do you have that for us, Shelley? 08:20 Yes. Read that for us. 08:21 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, 08:23 and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 08:27 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap, 08:30 He lays up deep in storehouses. 08:34 Let all the Earth fear the Lord, 08:37 let all the inhabitants of the world 08:39 stand in awe of Him, 08:41 for he spoke, and it was done. 08:44 He commanded, and it stood fast." 08:48 I just can't wait to see creation done all over again. 08:51 Yes. 08:52 Because, by the word of the Lord... 08:57 Can you imagine that you are... 08:59 there is so much power that you speak 09:01 and things happen? 09:02 And I have a friend who is a pathologist. 09:07 And when one day, on a program I said, 09:10 "In the beginning God created," 09:12 and I talked about the man 09:13 being formed of the dust of the ground 09:15 and the breath of life being put into the man's nostrils, 09:18 Adam's nostrils to bring him to life. 09:20 My pathologist friend said, 09:24 "You have no idea what God did." 09:27 Because the levels, epidemiology, 09:29 the study of anthropology and all these, 09:33 all these ologies that help us to understand what man exists 09:38 all the functioning aspects of our human body alone 09:42 could by no means be a coincidence. 09:44 Amen. 09:45 I saw an illustration which was so beautiful, 09:48 and a gentleman walked up to another person who says, 09:50 "Well, I'm an avowed atheist.'" 09:53 And he said, "Well, here's my coloring book. 09:56 Look at that. Here's a picture. 10:00 Look at that and look through that." 10:01 And he said, "Do you like those pictures?" 10:03 And it was a holy... 10:04 He said, "Keep turning the page." 10:05 I kept turning the pages. 10:07 He said, "Now, tell me." 10:08 He said, "Do you think the book created itself?" 10:12 He said, "Absolutely not." Right. 10:14 I mean, he said, "Are you not sure? 10:17 Do you think that the colors just fell out of the sky 10:20 and created that beautiful picture?" 10:22 And the atheist said, "That's ridiculous." 10:24 Right. 10:25 He said, I mean, "What about the binding of the book?" 10:27 I mean, it couldn't have possibly 10:28 have put itself together? 10:30 "No! What are you talking about?" 10:33 He said, "Wait a minute. 10:35 So tell me about your intellect, your wisdom. 10:40 The way that you are made and I am made..." 10:42 "All the things you see around you in nature, 10:45 your capacity to think 10:47 and the different hues of all human nationalities. 10:51 Do you think that happened coincidentally?" 10:53 And he kept on that particular line over and over 10:56 and every atheist he spoke to said, 10:59 "You know, there's got to be a God." 11:02 Amen. Somebody did that. 11:03 He said, "It would be a whole lot easier 11:05 if you just simply said God did that." 11:06 Yeah. 11:08 And often times we don't realize that 11:10 everything we see, every created thing 11:12 animate and inanimate had its origin in the phrase, 11:17 "He spake and it was done." 11:19 Yes. 11:20 "He commanded and it stood fast." 11:22 That's right. 11:23 Unfortunately, what we have done 11:24 with the things that God have created 11:26 have caused the image of God to be distorted, 11:28 but He is the creator of all life. 11:29 And what we've done 11:31 whether we've made out of alloys, 11:32 cars or composites, 11:35 we've made different types of skins for airplanes, 11:39 composite skins, 11:41 they've all existed in the Word, 11:43 He spake and it was done, 11:45 He commanded and it stood fast. 11:46 So when you get locked into materialism, 11:49 just come up with this conclusion, 11:52 you couldn't even have what you have in your hand, 11:55 had it not been for the creative power 11:57 in the voice of God. 11:59 Amen. 12:00 He created and that was done. 12:02 He commanded and it stood fast. 12:03 And not only that and I just have, 12:05 in the short time I have left, I want to walk through, 12:08 you know, because I've met people 12:10 that have said they've studied 12:11 and they don't conclude that there is a God. 12:13 And I think this is what they have done. 12:15 Follow me carefully. 12:16 If all we did is get caught up in the birthplace of Jesus, 12:19 we get caught up in geology. 12:22 If all we study is a beauty of the city 12:24 that he was raised in, we get caught up in topography. 12:28 If we just study the ethnicity of His genealogy, 12:31 we get caught up in anthropology 12:33 and simply genealogy. 12:35 If we look at all the diseases that Jesus healed, 12:37 we get caught up in epidemiology and pathology. 12:41 And if we wonder how He healed them, 12:42 then we got to get caught up in pharmacology. 12:45 If we just simply understand and study his priestly role, 12:49 we get caught up in axiology and methodology. 12:53 If we look at all the citizens 12:55 of the places that Jesus visited 12:57 and the people He communicated in, 12:58 we get caught up in sociology and apologies. 13:02 And if we simply try to break down all the language 13:06 used to describe the ministry of Jesus, 13:08 we get caught up in terminology. 13:11 But Jesus is not about anthropology, 13:13 theology or... 13:15 He's about Christology. Amen. 13:18 So all of the ologies that you're studying 13:20 if it doesn't lead you to Christ 13:21 is of absolutely no value at all 13:24 because nothing exists apart from Jesus. 13:28 The Psalmist said it beautifully 13:29 but here's another thing that was made clear. 13:32 It was made clear in John 1:3 13:35 which I call the second Genesis. 13:39 John 1:3, and this is a difficult one 13:42 because there are people today, 13:44 and I would haste to even admit, 13:47 amongst us who say, 13:48 "Well, you know, the Holy Spirit 13:49 is just a force, a wind, 13:51 not the byproduct of a divine personages, 13:54 a person." 13:56 But John 1:3, "All things," how many things? 13:59 All things. 14:01 "All things were made through Him or by him, 14:03 and without Him nothing was made that was made" 14:06 which debunks the ideology 14:11 to add another ology in there 14:13 that some Christians have that Jesus 14:16 was created by God way, way, way...` back. 14:20 Yeah. 14:21 No, all things were made by Him, 14:23 and without Him nothing was made 14:25 that was made. 14:28 So when you get caught up in the materialism of the world 14:30 that is around you, 14:31 never forget that you couldn't have anything 14:35 if Jesus is not the creator. 14:38 Notice I didn't say, "was not." 14:40 Jesus always is, He's never, "a was." 14:44 Jill, what do you have for us? 14:46 Oh, that's wonderful, Pastor, I love those ologies. 14:48 I have never heard that before. 14:50 That is beautiful. I like that. 14:53 I have Monday which is, "Son of God, Son of man." 14:57 You know, one of the things, not one of the things 15:00 I should say there is many things, 15:02 in the Word of God that are sometimes hard 15:04 for my finite human understanding to grasp. 15:08 And the fact that Jesus can be fully divine, 15:12 the Son of God and yet fully human, 15:16 the Son of Man, the incarnation. 15:19 The mystery of the incarnation is something that 15:22 I could spend eternity 15:24 wrapping my mind around that concept. 15:27 Yet, we know that Jesus was fully divine 15:30 and fully human at the same time. 15:34 Why did Jesus come to this earth? 15:36 The lesson asks us that question. 15:38 Why he came to this earth? 15:40 And this is just a snippet, 15:42 there is so many that we could say. 15:44 Luke 19, "He came to seek and save the lost." 15:47 Mark 10, "He came to give His life 15:50 as a ransom for many." 15:52 John 3:16, He came because He loved us, 15:55 and He wanted to give us eternal life." 15:58 Romans 5:9, "He came to justify us 16:00 by His blood." 16:02 Romans 5:11, "He came to reconcile us 16:04 back to the Father." 16:06 Matthew 1:21, 16:07 "He came to save us from our sins." 16:09 Amen. 16:10 2 Corinthians 5:1, 16:12 "He came to grant us His righteousness." 16:16 Colossians 1:14, "He came to redeem us 16:18 and forgive us from sin." 16:20 John 10:10, "He came to give us an abundant life." 16:23 Amen. 16:25 Matthew 5:17, "He came to fulfill the law" 16:28 or meet the demands of the law. 16:31 1 John 3:8, "He came to destroy the works of the devil." 16:34 Hebrews 2:14, "He came to free us 16:37 from slavery to death and the devil." 16:38 I like it. Amen. 16:40 John 17:4, "He came to glorify the Father." 16:43 And finally what the lesson brought out is this one, 16:46 John 14:8-9, 16:48 "He came to show us the Father." 16:50 Amen. 16:51 Jesus came to show us the Father. 16:53 Now that is just a few, 16:55 we know there is many more reasons why He came. 16:58 But Satan's goal from the very beginning 17:01 has been to separate us from the Father, 17:04 separate us from God. 17:06 He did that through introducing sin 17:08 because sin automatically brings separation 17:11 from the Father. 17:13 That's right. 17:14 Sin brings fear, guilt, condemnations, 17:17 and one of the ways that he tries to entrap us 17:19 or ensnare us is through covetousness. 17:23 Let's take a look at the story of the rich young ruler. 17:26 We're in Matthew 19. 17:29 Matthew 19:16. 17:35 Now this would have taken place early AD 31, 17:39 so this is actually a short time 17:41 before Jesus was crucified. 17:43 And verse 1, 17:45 it talks about Jesus departing from Galilee 17:48 and coming to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 17:51 Many people followed Him, He healed them. 17:53 Then after that, the Pharisees laid 17:55 some sort of trap for divorce, and then there was 17:58 the blessing of the children that is in verse 13. 18:01 I love that passage. 18:03 Remember the disciples said, "Go away, Jesus is busy." 18:06 Jesus is important and you are not important. 18:09 But Jesus said, 18:11 "Suffer the little ones to come unto me." 18:12 That's right. 18:14 And if you read from Desire of Ages, 18:16 Sister White says that, 18:17 "The rich young ruler watched the interaction of Jesus 18:21 with the children, 18:22 and that awakened in his heart love for Jesus. 18:26 And then we pick up our story here. 18:29 Verse 16, "Now behold, one came and said to Him, 18:34 'Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do 18:36 that I may have eternal life?'" 18:39 Now this story is recorded in three of the Gospels. 18:42 They all say that he is rich or he had many possessions. 18:45 Mark indicates that he ran after Jesus. 18:49 So to me that tells me we're looking at a younger man, 18:53 at least someone who is able to run after Jesus. 18:57 So he said, "What do I have to do 18:59 to inherit eternal life?" 19:00 Jesus said, verse 17, "Jesus said to him, 19:03 'Why do you call me good? 19:05 No one is good but One, that is God. 19:07 But if you want to enter into life, 19:10 keep the commandments.' 19:12 He said to Him..." 19:13 That could be a little confusing, 19:15 but the young ruler said to Jesus, 19:18 "'Which ones?' 19:19 Jesus said, 'You shall not murder. 19:21 You shall not commit adultery. 19:22 You shall not steal. 19:23 You shall not bear false witness. 19:25 Honor your father and mother. 19:26 You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" 19:28 He mentioned quite a few of the commandments there. 19:31 "The young man said to Him," verse 20, "'All these things 19:34 I have kept from my youth,'" I have done all that. 19:37 "'What do I still lack?' 19:41 Jesus said, 'If you want to be perfect, 19:43 go, sell what you have and give to the poor, 19:45 and you will have treasure in heaven, 19:46 and come, follow Me.' 19:49 But when the young man heard that saying, 19:51 he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." 19:57 You know, it's interesting, 19:59 sometimes people might find difficulties 20:01 with some of Jesus' statements. 20:03 The statement in verse 21 where Jesus said, 20:05 "If you would be perfect go and sell what you have," 20:07 Jesus was not saying at all that the gospel 20:09 is based on works or your salvation, 20:12 it's based on your works. 20:14 What He was doing was revealing 20:16 the young man's cherished idol. 20:18 Yes. That was his possessions. 20:20 He was trying to bring it as it were to his attention 20:23 to realize that he loved his possessions 20:25 more than he loved God. Yes. 20:28 And the young man had three difficulties 20:30 when I read this passage. 20:31 First, he was self-righteous. 20:33 He did not realize his need because remember, 20:36 he said, "All these things I've kept, 20:38 what do I still lack?" 20:39 He didn't even realize his great need. 20:43 Number two, he was unwilling to surrender. 20:47 He wanted to hold onto his cherished idols, 20:50 because it said, "He went away sorrowful 20:53 for he had great possession." 20:55 Number three, 20:57 selfishness reigned in his heart. 21:00 Desire of Ages, page 519, one thing he lacked, 21:05 but that was a vital principle. 21:07 He needed the love of God in the soul. 21:09 That's right. 21:10 By indulgence, selfishness would strengthen 21:13 that he might receive the love of God 21:15 His supreme love of self must be surrendered. 21:21 Many times, I shouldn't say many times, 21:24 I should say my whole life growing up, 21:26 I always believed that idolatry would be something 21:29 that I put above God. 21:31 I don't know if that makes sense, 21:33 you might have several things along here 21:34 that you kind of like, may be God's up here 21:36 but if I have anything above, does that make sense? 21:39 Higher than God. 21:41 I always thought that is idolatry, 21:44 holding something more value 21:46 or clinging to it more than I would to God. 21:50 You know, it's interesting, I read once, 21:52 you should make a list of things in your life 21:55 that you say I can't live without that. 21:57 So what would that list entail? 21:59 It wouldn't be just one thing, I'm sure you'd have many. 22:01 Thinking right now, I would put my husband Greg. 22:04 I didn't even know how I'd live without my husband, 22:06 he's my best friend. 22:08 But I'm sure you can think there's many things 22:09 on that list, 22:11 anything that would be extremely important 22:13 or something that you really want to have. 22:16 If you look at the 1 Commandment, Exodus 20:3, 22:20 "You show have no other gods before me." 22:24 In the Hebrew, "The word for before me 22:26 literally means in the face of. 22:30 So literally, he's saying not just more, 22:33 no other gods are more important than me, 22:35 God is saying, we are to have no other gods 22:37 in his face. 22:38 No other gods in his presence. 22:41 So when I look at that we're just not talking about 22:44 no other gods are more important than God, 22:47 we're saying nothing else besides Jesus, 22:51 nothing else besides Jesus. 22:55 How do I get rid of those idols in my heart 22:57 because we want to be reconnected to Jesus, 22:59 the Son of God? 23:00 We don't want any of that sin or covetousness 23:03 separating us from the Father. 23:06 Three things, real quick, let's look at Ephesians 3, 23:11 Ephesians 3:19. 23:14 How do I get rid of those idols in my life? 23:16 Number one, become filled with God. 23:20 Ephesians 3:19, "To know the love of Christ 23:23 which passes knowledge, that you may be filled 23:27 with all the fullness of God." 23:29 If I'm truly filled 100% to overflow in with God, 23:34 there is room for nothing else. 23:37 I remember when Greg and I were engaged, 23:40 where I worked, I talked about Greg, 23:41 Shelley all the time. 23:43 So I think they got tired of it, 23:44 but he would fill my thoughts entirely. 23:49 So no matter what I was doing 23:50 "Oh, do you know Greg just said? 23:52 Oh, do you know what he...? We're gonna... 23:53 Oh, you know..." 23:55 everything because I was filled, 23:56 nothing else in my heart except for Greg. 23:59 So we are to become filled in the same fashion with God. 24:03 Amen. 24:04 Number two, we're to become satisfied with God. 24:06 Psalm 63. 24:09 Psalm 63:1. 24:19 It says, "O God, You are my God, 24:21 early will I seek You. 24:23 My soul thirsts for You, 24:25 my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land 24:28 where there is no water." 24:30 We are to become satisfied with God, seek him. 24:34 He said, when you search for Me and seek Me, 24:37 you will be fond of Me. 24:39 And then finally, 24:40 we are to experience God's love. 24:42 We don't have time to read that text 24:43 but Romans 8. 24:45 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 24:47 That's right. 24:48 And it goes through a whole list, 24:49 and then it says, "I am persuaded that nothing 24:51 can separate me from Jesus." 24:53 That's right. 24:54 So is there anything before God's face in your life? 24:57 Any idols in your heart, become filled with God, 25:01 become satisfied with Him, and experience 25:03 His love for yourself. Amen. 25:06 Well done. Well done. 25:08 Well, I have Tuesday, Christ the Redeemer. 25:12 Open your Bibles if you will to Hebrews 7. 25:21 Isn't it amazing when, sometimes I feel like 25:26 when I'm looking for something I'm thinking about 25:28 what I'm gonna say, it's like, whereto go. 25:30 I know that happens to me. 25:31 Debt is not a principle of heaven. 25:35 Good. 25:37 But when Adam and Eve sinned, they became a debtor 25:42 to God's justice and God's mercy. 25:46 But the beautiful thing is 25:48 that before the foundation of the earth, 25:51 before He laid the foundation of the world, 25:54 God's love had already put in motion 25:59 or set in motion a plan of salvation for us. 26:03 Amen. 26:04 And Jesus paid the debt that we could never have paid, 26:08 we were totally bankrupt, 26:10 we could never ever have paid that debt. 26:13 And Ephesians 5:2 says that, "Christ's loved us 26:18 and gave himself for us, a slain offering 26:22 and sacrifice to God." 26:25 So the price that He had paid for our redemption 26:29 was never ever seen before 26:32 and never ever will be seen again.` 26:34 It's when you think about that, that's amazing. 26:36 Wow! It is. 26:37 So I was so excited 26:39 that when I looked at our lesson 26:41 and found out that 26:43 one of my texts that I was supposed to look at 26:45 was Hebrews 7:22. 26:50 Now the lesson kind of does this in passing 26:53 but I wanna spend some time on it. 26:56 You know, Jill, Mollie, all of us, we're always saying, 27:01 "Oh, one of my favorite texts, one of my favorite text." 27:05 I finally have a favorite of favorites 27:07 and it is Hebrews 7:22, let's read that. 27:10 He says, "By so much more 27:14 Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant." 27:19 Let me read it to you in amplified. 27:21 "In keeping with the oath's greater strength and force, 27:26 Jesus has become the Guarantee," 27:30 that's that word surety. 27:31 "It's Guarantee of a better, stronger agreement, 27:37 a more excellent and more advantageous covenant. 27:42 The word, guarantee, appears nowhere else 27:45 in the New Testament. 27:47 And outside of the New Testament 27:50 in the Greek language, it was like someone who was, 27:54 it meant that someone was posting your bail, 27:57 if you will, to get you out of jail, 27:59 it was a pledge. 28:01 So Jesus himself provides a guarantee. 28:08 First, that God has provided us with a better covenant, 28:12 a better hope, 28:13 but also ensuring in His own person 28:18 the certainty of the covenant to us 28:21 by becoming responsible for our guilt, 28:25 by sealing the covenant with His blood, 28:28 and by openly being acknowledged 28:31 as the triumphant savior 28:33 when God raised Him from the dead. 28:36 So here's the two ways to look at Jesus 28:39 being our surety, our guarantee. 28:43 He is God's surety to man. 28:48 In other words, in 2 Corinthians 1:20, 28:52 the Bible says that, "All of God's promises 28:56 are yes and Amen, in Christ Jesus." 28:58 And Ephesians 1:11 says that we have been blessed 29:01 with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. 29:05 So Christ is our guarantee from the Father to us 29:11 that everything 29:12 that He promised in the covenant is ours. 29:16 I mean, that's exciting. Wow, that is. 29:18 But now look at the reverse of this, Greg. 29:22 Christ is our guarantee, man's guarantee to God 29:28 that we'll be loyal, faithful, covenant keepers 29:33 because the Bible says in Philippians 2:13 29:37 that He's going to work in us 29:39 to will and to do God's good pleasure. 29:44 In Philippians 1:6 it says that 29:47 He will complete the good work that He has begun in us. 29:51 And so He is God's guarantee to us, 29:54 He's our guarantor to God, 29:58 He's more than just our substitute, 30:00 and that I shouldn't say just but we think of Him 30:03 being our substitute on the cross 30:05 and we get so excited. 30:06 But when I think about Him being my guarantor, my surety, 30:11 I get so excited, I can hardly stand it. 30:13 Amen. Amen. 30:15 So this is how 30:16 He is the mediator between God and man. 30:19 And this is the most... 30:22 Christ is our redeemer, 30:23 that's the most important transaction 30:26 that's ever, ever been made. 30:28 Because of only His sacrifice could accomplish 30:33 paying the required payment that was due. 30:36 I'm going to read according to our lesson. 30:40 It says, read each text and list 30:43 what Christ has saved us from. 30:46 So, John, would you look up Colossians 1:13-14. 30:50 Okay. 30:51 Jill, would you do 1 Thessalonians 1:10. 30:54 Yeah. 30:56 If you will, please, Greg, do 1 Peter 1: 18-19. 31:01 And, Molly, will you do Hebrews 2:14-15. 31:05 So, John, read Colossians 1:13-14, 31:09 and tell us what Christ has saved us from. 31:12 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness 31:17 and translated us 31:19 into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 31:22 in whom we have redemption through His blood, 31:25 the forgiveness of sins." 31:27 Wow, He's delivered us from the power of darkness. 31:30 Amen. 31:31 Not just from darkness but from the power of it. 31:33 Amen. 31:34 'Cause darkness is not just a condition, 31:36 but also a controlling force. 31:37 All right. Jill, would you read 1 Thessalonians 1:10? 31:40 "And to wait for His Son from heaven, 31:42 whom He raised from the dead, 31:44 even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." 31:47 That was an easy one to say what... 31:49 "He delivers us from wrath." 31:50 "He delivers us from the wrath." 31:51 And then, Greg... Yes. 31:53 1 Peter 1:18-19. 31:54 It says, "Forasmuch 31:56 as you know that you were are not redeemed 31:58 with corruptible things, as silver and gold, 32:01 but from your vain conversation 32:03 received by tradition from your fathers, 32:05 but with the precious blood of Christ, 32:08 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 32:11 So he saved us from aimless conduct. 32:14 That's right. Mollie, Hebrews 2:14-15. 32:17 "Forasmuch then as the children 32:19 are partakers of flesh and blood, 32:20 He also Himself likewise took part of the same, 32:24 that through death He might destroy him 32:27 that had the power of death, that is, the devil. 32:30 And deliver them who through fear of death 32:33 were all their lifetime subject to bondage." 32:36 So He saved us from the power and the fear of death. 32:41 Now listen to Galatians 3:13. 32:44 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 32:47 having become a curse for us, for it is written, 32:51 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'" 32:54 So He saves us from the curse of the law 32:56 and then one more, it's Revelation 1:5, it says, 33:01 "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, 33:04 the firstborn from the dead, 33:05 and the ruler over the kings of the earth. 33:09 To Him who loved us and washed us 33:11 from our sins in His own blood." 33:13 So he saved us from our sins. 33:17 Amen. Amen. 33:19 Now I'm going to read something directly from the lesson 33:23 because this is so well written, 33:24 there's no way to improve upon it. 33:26 But it's based on John 19:30 that say's, 33:31 "When Jesus had received the sour wine, 33:34 He said, 'It is finished!' 33:38 And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." 33:42 So here's what our lesson said, 33:44 "The Greek word, Tetelestai, in John 19:30 has been called 33:48 the most important word ever spoken." 33:52 It means, "It is finished." 33:54 It was the last utterance that Jesus made on the cross. 33:59 His final declaration meant that 34:02 His mission on earth was accomplished. 34:06 Our sin-debt was paid in full. 34:09 It wasn't uttered as one without hope, 34:13 but as one who had succeeded in the redemption of the world. 34:18 I mean, this was a victory statement, 34:21 "It is finished." 34:22 Amen. Amen. 34:24 So looking at the cross of redemption, the lesson says, 34:27 reveals a past event 34:30 with the present effect and a future hope. 34:35 God gave His life 34:36 or Jesus gave his life 34:38 to destroy sin, death, 34:40 and the works of the devil, once and for all. 34:43 Ephesians 1:7 says, 34:45 "In Him we have redemption through the blood, 34:47 the forgiveness of sins, 34:49 according to the riches of His Grace." 34:52 Now here's what your quarterly says, 34:55 "To glimpse the wonders of salvation 34:57 is to tread on holy ground." 35:02 That is an amazing statement 35:04 when you think at it about that. 35:07 So what should our response be, in Job 42:5-6. 35:12 Job says, "I have heard of you by the hearing at the ear, 35:15 but now my eyes see You. 35:17 Therefore I abhor myself, 35:19 and repent in sackcloth and ashes." 35:22 Wow! Thank you, Shelly. 35:23 That's powerful. It is. 35:25 Mine is Wednesday in your lesson quarterly 35:29 and it's entitled, A Jealous God. 35:33 Interesting emotion right there, isn't it? 35:35 A Jealous God, it's not one of those things 35:36 that you think of positively, at least, I don't. 35:40 I want to look quickly and then we get into... 35:41 Actually, I want to concentrate a little bit on God 35:43 being a jealous God, it seems kind of interesting. 35:46 Let's go to, this is a well known passage and scripture, 35:50 Exodus 20, it's the Ten Commandments. 35:54 And we can start with verse 4 and go to verse 5. 35:57 It says, "Thou shall not make unto thee, any graven image, 36:00 or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, 36:03 or that is in the earth beneath, 36:05 or that is in the water under the earth. 36:07 Thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. 36:11 For I the Lord thy God..." 36:13 And what? A jealous God. 36:16 "I'm a jealous God, 36:17 visiting the iniquity of the fathers 36:19 upon the children unto the third, 36:20 fourth generation of them that hate me. 36:23 Now it's interesting... Oh, finish the next too. 36:25 Oh, that's right. 36:26 "And showing..." "Mercy..." 36:27 Thank you, Shelly. Yeah. 36:29 Praise the lord for that, right? 36:30 Yes. Amen. Thank you. 36:32 Verse 6, "Shewing mercy unto thousands of them 36:35 that love me, and keep my commandments. 36:37 Amen. That's a very good point. 36:39 Add that on to the end. 36:41 You know, jealous is a Hebrew word 36:44 and I don't know how to pronounce this 36:46 but it spelled Q-A-N-N-A. 36:49 Shelley, how do you spell? Qannan. 36:51 Qannan? Close. 36:52 Okay. 36:54 It's used six times in the Bible, that word, 36:57 and it's referring to God being jealous. 37:01 Now we talked about jealousy 37:02 not really being a real positive emotional trait, 37:07 you know, for sure. 37:08 And we know that the Bible, I want to look there quickly. 37:10 I'm getting somewhere here on this. 37:12 In Proverbs, let's turn to Proverbs, 37:16 see Proverbs 14, 37:20 Proverbs 14:30. 37:25 It definitely has some negative things 37:26 to say about being jealous. 37:29 Proverbs 14:30 says, 37:31 "A sound heart is the life of the flesh, 37:34 but envy or jealousy, the rottenness of the bones." 37:38 Now there's multiple scriptures in the Bible 37:40 that talks about jealousy not being a good thing. 37:43 So for the lesson to say A Jealous God, 37:45 for scriptures to say, for God to say, 37:49 I'm a jealous God, 37:51 doesn't seem, seems strange, doesn't it? 37:52 Doesn't it seem in character with God? 37:55 What I wanted to look at is, you know, jealousy... 38:02 Jealousy the way we look at as human beings is, 38:04 I looked up in the dictionary, it says, 38:07 It's a feeling or showing of envy of someone 38:12 or their achievements and their advantages, 38:16 definitely not positive. 38:17 So I know that God in the Bible, 38:19 it's not contradicting itself. 38:21 They kept the same word there, same word for jealous as this. 38:26 And, no, it's different. Okay. 38:28 So it's different. They're different words. 38:30 Thank you for clarifying that. 38:31 Yeah, I know, there are different words. 38:33 So for God to say, "I'm jealous." 38:36 But yet in Proverbs, in other verses, He says, 38:38 "Jealousy is not good." 38:40 There's something to it that isn't there. 38:42 And the definition that I have here 38:44 because this is definitely not description of God 38:46 being jealous and envious of others 38:49 and that sort of thing is, 38:50 "God is jealous when we give to another, 38:55 what rightly belongs to Him or God." 39:00 Okay, my wife is sitting right down here from me. 39:03 So I married her 15 years ago, 39:06 we took a vow to each other, 39:09 we took a vow to God, 39:12 we signed a marriage license. 39:15 We're husband and wife. 39:18 Certain man, I don't know, there is none 39:20 but someone comes to Jill and starts to flirt with her. 39:25 My response is I'm gonna have 39:27 some righteous jealousy, right there. 39:29 Why is that? Because, she's rightfully mine. 39:33 That's right. She's mine. 39:35 Southern Illinois, we have a lot of farms 39:38 and there is a lot of pickup trucks. 39:40 And for those of you that like nice looking pickup trucks, 39:44 let's say your neighbor gets a nice truck, 39:46 brand new crew cab that means it has four doors. 39:49 It may be jacked up just a little bit, 39:50 has a nice rumble to the engine. 39:53 I don't have that, it's my neighbors. 39:55 I started looking at that truck and say, 39:57 "Boy, I kind of like that truck. 39:58 I like that truck." 40:00 I started to envy. I wish that I had his truck. 40:03 Is that truck rightfully mine? Not at all. 40:07 We could go to the marriage thing as well. 40:09 I look, I haven't, 40:11 but I could look at another woman 40:13 that someone else's wife, she's not mine. 40:17 He has a right to be jealous over her 40:18 because she is his spouse. 40:21 Jill is my spouse, right? 40:24 So for God to be jealous, what's he jealous of? 40:30 Our... Us, right? 40:32 Who we're giving our homage to? 40:34 I want to look at... 40:36 It's an affectionate love, isn't it? 40:38 God's jealousy is an affectionate love of us 40:43 as His possession. 40:44 That's a good point. Yes, Pastor. 40:46 He is jealous for us. Yes. 40:49 That's a good point. Not of us. 40:51 That's a good point. There is a difference. 40:53 Completely, completely jealous of us 40:56 as a human sinful trait, 40:58 jealous for us is a divine trait. 41:01 Yes. Jealous for what of us? 41:03 Our worship? 41:04 He doesn't want to share us with anyone. 41:06 In the same way when He says, 41:08 "He's not willing that any should perish." 41:10 That's a jealousy for He wants all of us to be saved. 41:13 Amen. That's correct. 41:14 That's a love jealousy, not a jealous of any 41:18 'cause we can't do anything that God can't do. 41:20 No, that's true. Except sin. 41:22 That's true. That's a good point. 41:24 Yeah, that's correct. Just throw it in there. 41:25 No, yeah, that's good. 41:26 Yeah, 'cause I think of going all the way back 41:29 to Genesis and the creation. 41:32 We're created in whose image? God's. 41:35 His image. In His image. 41:36 We're created by who? By Christ, right? 41:38 He did. He's the creator. 41:40 He's the creator of each one of us. 41:42 We're also purchased with a price. 41:45 Amen. 41:46 Boy, I tell you, time gets away in a hurry, doesn't it? 41:48 This is my first time on the Sabbath School Panel 41:49 and I have three minutes left, four minutes left. 41:51 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "We are bought with a price." 41:54 What is that price that was paid? 41:55 Precious life, blood of the Jesus. 41:57 Amen. Yes. 41:59 We talked about being in His image. 42:00 I like created in His image. 42:04 Isaiah 43:1 says, 42:06 "You are mine, I have called you?" 42:09 "By your name." By a name. Yeah. 42:11 So we're His. Yeah. 42:12 So He is jealous for us, 42:15 and I think that's a precious thing. 42:16 And I look at that as love, like you mentioned. 42:20 It is love that He cares that much for each one of us. 42:24 Joshua 24: 15, let's actually turn there. 42:26 Joshua 24:15. 42:31 Joshua 24:15, 42:38 and I'm going to read the whole passage. 42:39 It's a great verse. 42:41 Joshua 24:15 says, "And it seems..." 42:44 This is Joshua. 42:45 And it says, "And if it seems evil unto you 42:47 to serve the Lord, choose you, this day whom you will serve," 42:52 either God or Satan? 42:54 "Whether the gods which your fathers served 42:56 that were on the other side of the flood, 42:58 or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you will dwell." 43:02 And this is Joshua stating here, 43:04 "But you, but as for me and my house," 43:07 what does it say? 43:09 "We will serve the Lord." "We will serve the Lord." 43:11 It comes down to our choice, doesn't it? 43:13 Who we will serve? 43:14 And I like this, Shelley, 43:16 you were mentioning right out of the lesson, 43:17 I wanted to read this. 43:19 It says, and if you want to look along in your quarterly, 43:21 it is there on Wednesday. 43:23 It says, "When we look at all that God is, 43:26 all that He possesses, and all that He does, 43:30 it's remarkable that He could have competitors. 43:32 And yet He does, 43:34 in the sense 43:35 that He has to compete for human love and affection. 43:38 Maybe that's why He says that He is a jealous God. 43:41 God created humans to be free, 43:44 which means we have the option 43:46 to serve Him or to serve anything else. 43:50 This has been, in many ways, the essential human problem, 43:53 choosing to serve other gods, 43:55 regardless of what form they come in, 43:57 as opposed to serving the only God worth serving, 44:00 the One who created and possesses all the universe. 44:03 That's why He is indeed a jealous God." 44:06 Amen. 44:08 So I know many times we like to ride on the fence, 44:11 I have done this sometimes. 44:13 We like to have 44:14 one leg on God's side and one leg on Satan's side. 44:20 2 Corinthians 6:14 says 44:22 "Light and darkness can't be together." 44:24 Fellowship. Yeah, no fellowship. 44:26 Light dispels darkness, darkness cannot exist in light. 44:31 And yet, God wants us to have a full heart surrender to him. 44:35 Matthew 6:24 says, "No man can serve two masters. 44:40 It's either God or it's either Satan." 44:45 And I think, you know, in my own life 44:46 what is competing in my life for God, 44:50 I don't want anything. 44:52 I want God to be supreme, and hopefully in your life, 44:54 you want the same as well. 44:56 In closing, to me 44:57 it's incredible thought that God's jealous for me 45:00 because He wants me, He desires me, 45:03 He cares for me, He loves me. 45:07 He doesn't want me to leave Him. 45:10 And again, going back to Joshua 24:15, 45:13 "Choose you this day whom you will serve. 45:16 As for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord." 45:19 I hope that you choose 45:20 Jesus as your lord and Savior of your life. 45:23 Amen. Amen. 45:24 Greg, you just did an incredible job. 45:26 Thank you. Yes. 45:27 It might be the first time 45:29 you've spoke this Sabbath school Panel, 45:30 but you are a very good teacher. 45:32 Thank you so much. Praise the Lord. 45:33 You made the, God being a jealous God so clear. 45:37 Well, I appreciate the support 45:39 and it's a blessing to work with you guys. 45:40 Well, I've got Thursday, and it's, True ownership. 45:45 So I'll make a statement here. 45:48 We belong to God 45:49 both by creation and by redemption. 45:54 Not only do we belong to God, 45:57 but passed along McCain, 45:58 all of those gadgets you have belong to God as well. 46:02 In other words, 46:04 all of our possessions belong to God. 46:07 The only thing we humans can own is our own choice. 46:13 God has given us free choice. That's right. 46:17 But what we don't have is freedom to choose 46:21 the consequences of the choices we make. 46:25 That's right. 46:26 We get to make the choices, God gives us free will. 46:29 Oh, but He's the one that gets to make the choice 46:34 as to what those consequences of our choice will be, 46:38 that's a sobering thought, to tell you the truth, it is. 46:41 Okay. 46:43 We really can't take our possessions with us. 46:45 I think we've spoken to this one. 46:47 We really can't. 46:49 And it's 1 Timothy 6:7, 46:52 "For we brought nothing into this world..." 46:55 "And it is certain we can carry nothing out." 47:00 So as you came into this world with your little hands empty, 47:03 we will go out of this world with our little hands empty. 47:05 Empty. 47:07 All we have is, and I like this terminology, 47:11 we are temporary stewards. 47:13 Yes. 47:15 And that's just why we're here, we are temporary stewards. 47:18 And even then there are conditions for us 47:21 to be able to keep our possessions 47:23 while we're here. 47:25 Okay, what happens if you miss a few car payments? 47:28 That has... They come and get it. 47:29 That car that you say it's yours? 47:31 They'll repossess it. What's gonna happen? 47:33 They're going to come take that car away from you, okay. 47:36 You can have your house paid for, 47:39 your property paid for, 47:41 and all your furnishings paid for 47:43 but just try not paying your taxes for a few years 47:47 and see what happens to that house. 47:51 God tells us, in Leviticus 25:23, 47:56 "The land shall not be sold into perpetual ownership. 48:02 For the land is mine, 48:04 you are only strangers and temporary residence." 48:07 That's that terminology, we are temporary stewards, 48:12 we have temporary residence, but God owns. 48:17 Do you know God owns everything? 48:19 We're going to look at those scriptures. 48:21 We can become trapped 48:23 by our possessions enslaved 48:25 in our attempts to amass more things 48:28 or to hold on to things. 48:30 Do you know there are some people 48:32 who have to work their every waking hour 48:36 just to make enough money 48:38 to make their payments for all their stuff? 48:41 Yeah. 48:42 They work so much 48:44 that they can enjoy all that stuff. 48:48 That is enslavement to things. 48:53 Understanding that all our possessions 48:55 belong to God is very liberating. 48:58 Then you realize they're not yours, 49:01 God's just giving you 49:03 a temporary stewardship of them. 49:05 Now I have owned a house, do I own that house? I do. 49:09 One house almost completely on the bank 49:11 doesn't even own any of it. 49:13 But, you know, the house that I live in is very old. 49:17 When I moved into it about 17 years ago, 49:20 it was 130 years old. 49:22 That means it's closing in on 150 years old now. 49:26 And so I say it's my house, I've got a deed and, 49:31 you know, all that sort of thing, 49:33 just think how many people 49:37 owned that house, lived in that house, 49:40 and took care of that house and cleaned that house 49:43 for those first 130 years before I moved into it. 49:46 Yeah. Wow. 49:47 Now this is a certainty. 49:50 Just as they were temporary, 49:52 I know that when I am long gone, 49:56 there will be somebody that owns that house... 49:59 Yeah. 50:00 Lives in that house and has to clean that house 50:04 because my ownership is just temporary ownership. 50:08 Nothing that we have are we gonna get to take with us. 50:12 The only thing you get to take into heaven is what? 50:15 Your character. Your character. 50:18 We cannot be short-sighted. 50:19 The only place we can build that character 50:23 and have character fitting 50:25 for heavenly dwelling is here on this side of eternity. 50:28 Don't be short-sighted. 50:29 This isn't all there is, this is just our time. 50:33 While we are temporary stewards 50:36 of all that God has made available to us, 50:39 this is where we form our character. 50:41 Okay, Deuteronomy 10:14, 50:44 I want to still look at some scriptures. 50:47 Deuteronomy 10:14, 50:50 "Behold, the heavens 50:53 and the heaven of heavens belong to" who? 50:56 "The Lord your God." "Belong to the Lord your God." 50:59 The heaven and the heaven of heavens, 51:01 the earth, also and all that is in it, 51:06 and all that is on it. 51:07 Who owns everything? God. 51:09 See, God owns everything. 51:12 Even our apple critters but I decided 51:15 I probably shouldn't use that word "critters"? 51:18 Even our animals. 51:19 See Helen and I were never critter people, 51:23 until we got little puppy. 51:24 You know, now we're critter people. 51:26 Okay, Psalm 50:10 says, 51:31 "For every beast of the forest is mine," 51:34 do you know what that means? 51:35 That little dog that we named baby, 51:38 belongs to God. 51:39 Yes. 51:41 "Every beast of the forest is mine, 51:43 and the cattle on a thousand hills." 51:45 Amen. 51:46 And what about these bodies that we have, 51:48 surely this body is mine. 51:50 Yes. 51:51 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20. 51:56 "Or do you not know that your body 51:59 is the temple of the Holy Spirit 52:01 who is in you, whom you have from God, 52:05 and you are not your own? 52:07 For you were bought with a price." 52:10 "Therefore glorify God in your body 52:13 and in your spirit, which are God's." 52:17 Amen. That's right. 52:18 Even these vessels, 52:20 He has just loaned us these vessels. 52:22 What's gonna happen to this vessel, 52:24 it is not this outer dwelling 52:28 that we're housed in that has any value, 52:31 what's going to happen to these vessels? 52:33 Dust, from dust you came and the dust you will return. 52:37 The only thing of any value 52:40 is what is accomplished inside these vessels. 52:44 And again, don't be short-sighted, 52:47 now is the time for us to develop that character. 52:50 The only thing that we can take with us 52:54 because nothing you want, 52:55 you can be the richest person in the world 52:59 and or the poorest person in the world, 53:02 and you will both go to the grave 53:04 with identically the same thing, 53:07 sobering thoughts. 53:08 Remember all of those pharaohs and things, 53:10 they tried to take things with them, 53:12 you know, they would have these big tombs 53:15 and they would have all of these treasures in them, 53:18 what happened to all of these treasures 53:19 that we're supposed to go into the after life? 53:21 Grave robbers. 53:22 The grave robbers got them. That's right. 53:24 Okay, we are even dependent on God for our next breath, 53:30 that's Acts 17: 25. 53:32 "Neither is He served by human hands, 53:35 as though He liked anything, 53:38 for it is He himself who gives life, and breath, 53:42 and all things to all people." 53:45 We're just temporary stewards. 53:48 God's ownership 53:50 and our stewardship mandate a relationship. 53:54 He's the owner, we're the stewards. 53:57 We're in relationship. 53:59 God is the owner, we're the stewards. 54:01 However, we will be called upon 54:04 to give an account for our stewardship. 54:07 Were we generous with our possessions 54:10 and helpful to our fellow man 54:12 or were we selfish and self serving? 54:16 So with the realization that all we have is a gift 54:20 which God has graciously allowed us to use 54:23 while we're here. 54:25 There is no room for pride in our possessions. 54:28 I wanna do one quote. 54:29 I think I've got time, "All things belong to God. 54:34 Men may ignore His claims 54:36 while He bountifully bestows His blessings upon them, 54:40 they may use His gifts 54:43 for their own selfish gratification 54:45 but they will be called to give an account 54:48 for their stewardship." 54:50 So as for me and my house, we want to serve God... 54:54 And we want to use all of these possessions 54:58 that God has granted us and blessed us 55:01 with to bless others. 55:03 You can't take pride in your possessions, 55:07 they're not yours in the first place. 55:08 Okay, here is the question. 55:11 Am I a faithful steward? 55:13 And that's my prayer for every one of us. 55:15 Amen. We will be faithful stewards. 55:19 Pastor Lomacang? Wow. 55:20 Wow. Fantastic. 55:21 You guys have really lit the fire here today. 55:24 I like the fact that the author of this lesson 55:26 or the authors of this lesson 55:28 took sometime to recalibrate our thoughts on God, 55:31 on the One who owns everything, 55:33 the One who possesses everything, 55:34 and the One who doesn't want anything 55:36 He created to possess us except His Holy Spirit. 55:41 Yeah, oh, that's good. You see? 55:42 The possession aspect of it and, Jill, I like how you, 55:45 you had a wonderful run, 55:47 there are those 10 or 12 points 55:48 you started preaching for me 55:49 and I was starting to feel bad for Shelley. 55:51 I was thinking Hallelujah. 55:53 And so if I knew I had a Hebrew 7:22... 55:55 Yeah, just really run me through that list 55:58 without stating each one of them, 55:59 just kind of what in that list 56:01 jumps out at you more than any other thing. 56:04 Can I give you the choice to choose one up? 56:06 I don't even know if I can choose one. 56:08 I love that He came to reconcile us to the Father. 56:10 You know, because sin separated us 56:12 from the Father, but Jesus came, 56:14 and by His blood, 56:16 you know, bridged that gap between us and God. 56:18 Wow, Shelley, you talked about the power of, 56:20 He didn't just save us 56:21 but give me something that stood out 56:23 as the apex of your lesson? 56:24 Well, it is just my favorite scripture that, 56:27 "He is not just our substitute but He is our surety, 56:30 our guarantor from God to us and us to him." 56:32 That's right. 56:34 And I'm so glad that Greg is here, 56:36 what a lesson to start with about jealousy. 56:38 Yeah. 56:39 And you used some wonderful illustrations discovering 56:42 what's it out about the jealousy aspect of the God. 56:45 Well, the God is jealous for us 56:47 and that we are rightfully His, that's powerful. 56:50 That's right. 56:51 And, Molly Sue, you're always on fire. 56:53 Well, true ownership, we own nothing, 56:55 He owns everything. 56:57 And that is just liberating, 56:59 hat stuff that we have 57:01 that can't have a hold on us any longer. 57:04 I like the way you said ownership plus stewardship 57:07 should engender relationship. 57:09 And while we're always indebted to our God, 57:12 we are also environmental stores. 57:14 I don't know if they'll cover that 57:16 in a lesson sooner or later, 57:17 but environmental stewardship, 57:18 how does your existence in the world 57:20 make a difference in nature and in the world around us, 57:23 in our community, and in our place of worship. 57:25 We pray that you take your stewardship to the place 57:28 where it'll be an honor to the God we serve. |
Revised 2018-01-10