Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180010A
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00:01 The 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 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 00:27 "Stewardship, Motives of the Heart." 00:32 Hello and welcome once again. 00:33 I'm Shelley Quinn 00:35 and we are so excited that you are joining us 00:37 for Sabbath School Panel. 00:39 We're actually in lesson 10 of this quarter. 00:43 And this lesson covers March, the 3rd through the 9th, 00:46 and it is called the Role of Stewardship. 00:50 Now our quarterly, 00:52 Stewardship and the Motives of the Heart, 00:54 if you don't have one of these, 00:55 you can get online 00:57 at ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:03 and you can download one or better yet, 01:05 you can go to your nearest Seventh-day Adventist church, 01:08 get a free copy of this quarterly 01:11 and study along with us. 01:12 Let me introduce our panel, which are... 01:16 When I say panel, 01:18 they're my brothers and sisters in Christ 01:19 and we just love to get around the table 01:21 and study the Word of God together. 01:23 Next to me, I have Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:26 Kenny, so glad to have you here. 01:28 It's good to be here. 01:29 Jill Morikone, 01:31 who always brings us some good points, 01:33 Pastor John Lomacang, my pastor, 01:36 thank you for being here, 01:38 and my precious friend, Mollie Steenson. 01:40 All of you are my friends. 01:42 Mollie and I are sisters in Christ 01:45 as are Jill and I but... 01:47 really close, so just glad to have all of you here. 01:50 We are talking about the Role of Stewardship. 01:54 And stewardship is such a broad topic. 01:58 I mean, everything we own belongs to the Lord, 02:01 and we're merely kind of overseers 02:07 of what God has entrusted to us. 02:09 We need to look at the big picture, 02:11 but don't get overwhelmed with the detail, 02:13 it's really pretty simple. 02:15 And I just wanted to read a quote 02:17 before we read our memory text. 02:19 Let me read this quote, and this is from LeRoy Froom, 02:24 his book, "Stewardship in Its Larger Aspects." 02:28 He says, "It's not a theory nor a philosophy 02:33 but it is a working program. 02:35 It is in verity the Christian law of living. 02:40 It is necessary 02:41 to an adequate understanding of life, 02:44 and essential to a true, vital religious experience. 02:50 It is not simply a matter of mental assent, 02:53 but is an act of the will," amen, 02:57 "and a definite, decisive transaction 03:01 touching the whole perimeter of life." 03:04 So we're going to look at the role of stewardship. 03:08 Our memory text if you'd like to join along with us 03:11 is 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 03:14 we're reading from the NIV version 03:17 and it reads, "For God did not call us to be impure, 03:22 but to live a holy life." 03:25 A life that is sanctified and set apart for Him. 03:29 My lesson for Sunday is Christ as the Center. 03:33 We're going to look 03:35 at the Role of Stewardship in Christian living 03:38 using an interesting analogy 03:40 and that is a chariot wheel. 03:43 So turn to John 5:39. 03:48 You know, Jesus is the living center 03:50 of everything. 03:51 He's the central figure throughout the Bible, 03:54 and we need to see ourselves in relationship to Him. 03:59 Jesus said in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures, 04:05 for you think that you have eternal life... 04:08 For in them you think you have eternal life." 04:12 So He's talking to the Pharisees 04:13 who knew the scriptures, 04:15 but He's saying then to them, 04:18 "These scriptures are they which testify of Me." 04:22 I had a Jewish woman once who was attending a meeting 04:26 and she said, I was talking a lot 04:29 about the covenants of the Lord in the Old Testament, 04:31 and she said, "That's the first time 04:33 that I've ever seen Jesus in the Old Testament. 04:35 I didn't know He was in the Old Testament." 04:38 He's on every page of the Old Testament. 04:41 So what the point is in our lesson today is that 04:46 if Christ is the center of our life, 04:50 He is the heart of the stewardship, 04:53 He's the source of our power, 04:55 and because of Him 04:57 we will produce a life that is worth living. 05:00 Please turn to Colossians 1. 05:05 Colossians 1. 05:07 Let me give you a little background here 05:09 what Paul is going to say to the Colossians. 05:11 The church at Colossae was being disturbed 05:15 by some false teachers. 05:17 In the city of Colossae, 05:18 they worshipped many spiritual beings other than angels, 05:24 and it's very possible 05:26 that the church was being troubled by this. 05:29 This kind of idea was infiltrating, 05:32 the various philosophies were infiltrating 05:35 the worship of angels and other spirits. 05:38 So what Paul does to show the Colossians 05:42 that this is a fake theology 05:46 is that he is now going to present Christ 05:49 as the creator of all things, the whole universe, 05:54 and that leaves no room for the worship 05:57 or adoration of lesser beings. 05:59 So let's look at Colossians 1:16. 06:03 And just notice these prepositions. 06:06 I will kind of emphasize them as I go through them. 06:09 "For by Him..." 06:11 by Christ, "all things were created that are in heaven 06:16 and that are on the earth, visible and invisible," 06:19 so everything has been created by Him, 06:22 "whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers." 06:26 So even the other spirit beings, 06:29 Christ is their Creator. 06:32 "All things were created through Him and for Him." 06:38 So we have a Christocentric universe. 06:41 Christ is the center of everything. 06:43 He's the divine agent, 06:45 the sovereign source who's created. 06:47 And, you know, John says in John 1:3 that, 06:50 "All things were made through Him and without Him, 06:54 nothing was made that was made." 06:56 So only God can be the Creator, right? 07:01 So this is one of the best scriptures 07:05 to affirm the deity of Christ 07:08 because if Christ is Creator, He is God. 07:11 And they were made through Him and for His use in glory. 07:16 It continues in verse 17 saying, 07:19 "He is before all things..." 07:22 He is eternally existent. 07:24 He existed prior to all of creation. 07:26 And then it says, "In Him, all things consist." 07:32 He is the one who personally sustains all things. 07:37 In the beginning was the Word, 07:38 the Word was with God, the Word was God. 07:41 He spoke, and He commanded, 07:44 and it existed, and it steadfast. 07:47 I love Hebrews 1:3 that says, that Jesus is the effluence, 07:54 the out flowing, the exact image, 07:57 a representation of the Father. 08:00 So just as Jesus is, the Father is and vice versa. 08:04 But it goes onto say that He sustains, upholds, 08:08 and maintains all things by His mighty Word of power. 08:15 There's such power in the Word of God. 08:18 So then He says in verse 18, 08:21 "He, Christ, is the head of the body, the church, 08:25 who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 08:29 that in all things He may have the preeminence." 08:33 Now let's take that one apart. 08:35 He's the creator of all things, 08:37 that means He holds the highest rank, does He not? 08:40 His supremacy is absolute over all creatures, 08:45 all created creatures. 08:47 And those local heretics 08:49 worshipped the creatures rather than the creator, 08:52 and I'm not talking about at the church, 08:54 but I'm talking about in the population of Colossae. 08:57 So if Jesus is sovereign over all, 09:01 that means He's over His church too. 09:03 He's the head of the church. 09:05 We're under His authority, 09:06 we should carryout His commands. 09:09 It says, "He was the firstborn from among the dead." 09:13 Well, now wait a minute, the widow of Nain, 09:18 He resurrected her son, Lazarus, He resurrected. 09:24 It is not the firstborn chronologically, 09:28 but He is the first in rank, and we have to say, 09:32 He is the first to be resurrected 09:34 to never die again, right, 09:35 because those others 09:37 that He resurrected were then died. 09:40 But because of His resurrection, 09:42 we can be assured of ours, right? 09:45 Now let's look at Romans 8:21. 09:50 Romans 8:21. 09:53 You know, at the fall of mankind, 09:56 creation was cursed 09:59 and fell from its perfect state. 10:02 God created everything to be perfect, 10:05 no death or decay, but look at Romans 8:28. 10:09 Excuse me, Romans 8:21. 10:11 Paul says, "Because the creation itself 10:15 also will be delivered 10:18 from the bondage of corruption," 10:21 the bondage of death and decay, 10:24 "into the glorious liberty of the children of God." 10:30 One day, Christ will recreate the heavens 10:33 and recreate the earth. 10:35 We'll have a new earth 10:37 and it will be perfect once again. 10:39 We'll be restored to that state of the Garden of Eden, 10:43 but until then, the creation, the earth itself is groaning 10:48 and moaning in eager expectation 10:50 of the resurrection of God's children. 10:53 So now let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:17, 10:56 we're talking about Christ being the center of everything. 11:00 And this is one of my favorite verses. 11:03 It's one that I like to affirm to pray back to the Lord. 11:06 And sometimes I realize that I'm calling things 11:09 that are not as though they already were. 11:11 But Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 11:15 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 11:19 he is a new creation. 11:21 Old things have passed away, 11:23 behold, all things have become new." 11:27 Sometimes we don't feel like that, do we? 11:28 No. 11:30 But you have to understand what it means to be in Christ. 11:33 Paul used that term 11:35 or its equivalent 169 different times. 11:38 He's the one in Christ, in Christ, in Christ. 11:42 So what does it mean? 11:44 It refers to living in a vital union with Jesus, 11:49 joined with Him in His death and His resurrection. 11:54 Amen. 11:55 All of our previous sins are canceled. 11:57 We have recreated a new spiritual life transformation. 12:03 We're endowed with the Holy Spirit in His power. 12:07 And we make a decisive break from the old life 12:11 so that we can live this new life in Christ. 12:16 In Ephesians 1:3, it says that, 12:18 "We have been blessed with all of the spiritual blessings 12:22 in the heavenly realms through Christ Jesus." 12:25 So the point of our lesson is, 12:27 there is no genuine Christian stewardship 12:31 unless Christ is the center of our lives. 12:36 He's the Creator. 12:38 He is the one who has to be in the center 12:41 not only to motivate us, 12:43 but to empower us to give in a sacrificial manner 12:48 as we have talked about in the past. 12:50 So just, what the lesson was saying is just as the... 12:55 If we got a solid wheel and it's providing, 13:00 the axle provides the stability for the wheel, 13:04 and Christ as our center, He's like our axle. 13:07 He is what provides our stability. 13:11 Hebrews 13:8 says, 13:15 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 13:20 So His influence should affect everything 13:24 that we think and do. 13:25 Amen, that's right. 13:27 Everything should be centered around Him 13:28 because without Him, how much can we do? 13:31 Nothing. Nothing. 13:32 So the center of stewardship is not some hollow void, 13:37 but the reality of the living Christ 13:40 who is working in us 13:42 to shape and mold our characters for eternity. 13:47 Make Christ the center of your life, 13:50 and you will find that walking in obedience 13:53 is something He will empower you to do. 13:56 Something you will want to do when you recognize His love, 14:00 you'll want to express your love 14:03 and loyalty to Him by obeying. 14:05 Amen. Amen. 14:07 Amen. Well put, I was blessed. 14:08 Yes, amen, thank the Lord. 14:10 When you think that you put Christ as the center, 14:12 it's got to be good. 14:13 I have the Monday's lesson, I'm talking about 14:16 and one of the subjects I love 14:17 is Sanctuary Doctrine, sanctuary teaching. 14:20 I mean, you learned so much through that 14:22 and you were using the illustration, 14:23 I'll use it again in a moment to just touch on that, 14:26 the wheel and the hub, sanctuary really goes together. 14:29 The Bible says in Hebrews 8:5, 14:33 we'd jot down. 14:34 Notice this, it says that 14:35 "The ministration on the earthly tabernacle 14:38 served unto the example," 14:39 of what, "shadow of heavenly things." 14:43 This is encouragement in the New Testament 14:46 that we have a high priest. 14:48 Praise God for that who is interceding for us. 14:51 And on this lesson here in Evangelism 221, 14:54 it talks about the correct understanding 14:57 'cause we know where is Christ. 14:58 The majority of the world, sad to say, 15:01 they don't know where He's at. 15:02 Yeah. That's right. 15:04 And if they're in the wrong compartment 15:06 as it were or, you know, the first or the second, 15:08 you know, we believe He's in the most holy place, 15:11 don't we? 15:12 And most have not followed Him there in the most holy place, 15:15 so they can't be benefited by the blessings that He gives. 15:18 I mean, that's kind of an awesome thing. 15:20 This is life and death issue, sanctuary. 15:22 Evangelism 221 says, 15:23 "The correct understanding of the ministration," of who? 15:26 "Christ." Jesus Christ. 15:28 "In the heavenly sanctuary 15:30 is the foundation of our faith." 15:33 Think about, this is the foundation of our faith. 15:35 We hear a lot about the sanctuary 15:37 and I praise God for that, 15:38 but this is a good foundation on which to build from. 15:42 The sanctuary here, 15:43 the earthly was the visible center 15:46 of Israel's worship. 15:47 You were talking about being the center, 15:49 Jesus is the center, 15:50 but visually, it's what Israel needed to begin with, 15:53 they needed to see something. 15:55 And He, Christ, had led them, 15:56 "Make Me a sanctuary that I'm made well among them." 15:59 So this is what Israel's eyes were drawn to, 16:03 what they begin to worship. 16:05 In fact, we know the center of the sanctuary is the cross 16:10 if we think about it. 16:11 If we look at the earthly sanctuary, 16:13 it's very interesting 16:15 when you first approach into the sanctuary, 16:17 what do you see? 16:19 It's made inside the sanctuary, there is a cross that is there 16:22 'cause you have the altar of sacrifice, 16:25 then you have the laver, 16:27 then you go into the holy place, 16:28 and you have the table of showbread, 16:30 and the candlestick, altar of incense. 16:33 And then you go to the most holy place, 16:34 what do you find? 16:36 The Ark of the Covenant, 16:37 Ten Commandments that is made in the form of a cross. 16:39 It is the center of our joy, 16:42 it's the center of our happiness, 16:43 and Israel, so they were looking to that. 16:46 In Exodus 29:45 and back then read 43, 16:50 it makes a little more sense that way. 16:53 It says here, God said, 16:54 "I will dwell among the children of Israel." 16:58 You know, I think that's quite a treat, 17:00 quite a joy to think about that God of the universe says, 17:04 "I want to dwell among my people." 17:06 To look at us today 17:07 and so that I want to be with my people, 17:09 I want my people with Me. 17:10 I'm coming back after them. 17:11 But He says, "I'll be among the children of Israel. 17:14 I will be their God 17:16 and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory." 17:20 Sanctified, you know, 17:21 we're talking about purified by His presence 17:24 that's here, that's promised. 17:25 And we look at then, 17:27 God gave Moses what, two tables of stone. 17:30 Written, we know, with God's own fingers, 17:32 the Ten Commandment law, we know that. 17:34 It's a symbol of what, the authority of God 17:37 and also His will for mankind. 17:41 This is what we needed 17:43 and Israel needed to understand, 17:44 we need to understand today. 17:46 But usually, we think about this lesson, 17:48 the Role of Stewardship and the sanctuary, 17:51 you know, where does it come in at? 17:53 Now something has to come in, 17:54 something has to match here 17:56 when we talk about the sanctuary and stewardship, 17:58 where does it match up? 17:59 And we just sometimes 18:00 we don't think about, yet there's link. 18:02 You mentioned the wheel a while ago, Sister Shelley, 18:04 in 1 Kings, you can find that 7:33 18:09 because of all the time, we won't look at all that, 18:11 but 1 Kings 7:33, it describes a chariot wheel, 18:16 and you think about the wheel. 18:18 We can use it to illustrate 18:19 as you talked about a while ago, 18:22 to illustrate the sanctuary doctrine. 18:24 We have a... 18:25 You talk about a hub, 18:27 and the hub is connected to the axle, isn't it? 18:30 And that is the center, Christ is the center, 18:33 the sanctuary would be the center. 18:36 And then notice then, 18:37 what runs out from that axle or that hub, I call it spokes. 18:42 That's right. These are their strength. 18:43 This is a support of the outer ring, 18:46 which is going to always stabilize us 18:47 and makes that wheel 18:49 or the truths that we have today, 18:50 it gives the strength. 18:52 So we can see in 2 Corinthians or 2 Timothy 1:10, 18:56 "Christ is the center of the sanctuary." 18:58 And you say, "How is He the center of the sanctuary?" 19:01 Notice this, "But it is now made manifest," 19:05 2 Timothy 1:10, 19:07 "by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, 19:10 who had abolished death," 19:11 praise God, "had brought life 19:14 and immortality to light through the gospel." 19:17 So how is He the center of the sanctuary 19:19 should be the center of our life 19:21 because of His death 19:22 and His victorious life and resurrection, 19:25 He becomes the center. 19:27 He becomes the foundation of the work in the sanctuary, 19:31 so we have a good foundation as Jesus Christ. 19:33 Hebrews 6:19 and 20. Yes. 19:36 That's a good foundation. 19:38 Tithing is one of those, 19:41 to me, is one of those spokes 19:42 that goes out from the hub of the center. 19:45 And it tells us in our lesson, it brings out several... 19:47 We won't look them all up, I'll go quickly as I can, 19:50 Leviticus 27 talks about, oh, how is tithing and sanctuary? 19:53 Well, notice, Leviticus 27:33-34, 19:56 simply going down, 19:57 it talks about seed that we talked about many times, 20:00 the fruit, the herds, 20:01 all the tithes of the land, what? 20:04 The 1/10th belong to God. It's all His. 20:06 Numbers 18:26 and 28, it says that the Levites, 20:10 the priests, had a right to the tithe as it were, 20:14 that's for their support. 20:15 Hebrews 7:1-2, Abraham paid tithe to, 20:19 we know, we talked about, Melchizedek, right? 20:21 Melchizedek. A 1/10th to that. 20:23 And then Hebrews 6:20, Jesus then is what, 20:26 He's our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, 20:29 we know that. 20:30 John 8:39, I like this passage. 20:33 It says, "If Abraham's children, 20:36 you would do the works of Abraham." 20:38 Right? 20:39 If we say, "Well, we're their children," 20:41 and you would hear that all the time 20:42 and Jews say, "Well, we're the children of..." 20:44 Then it says what, 20:45 "If you are, you will do the work of Abraham." 20:48 And it kind of reminds me like, what the John 14-15, 20:50 Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." 20:54 So I think that's kind of pretty simple right there. 20:56 All these texts tell us about Jesus ministration 20:59 in the sanctuary 21:00 is a question there in our lesson. 21:02 1 John 2:1, simply without reading them at all 21:06 and that's kind of what you're supposed to be doing, 21:08 looking these things up and jotting them down 21:09 'cause it takes a bit time, 21:10 you know, but, anyway, 1 John 2:1 21:12 simply says, "He's our advocate." 21:13 I praise God that we have an advocate. 21:15 That we have not a chance, thank God. 21:18 Hebrews 4:14-16 says, "He's our great High Priest, 21:22 He's without sin." 21:24 We may now come boldly to the throne and find grace, 21:27 you know, in our time of need. 21:29 Those are just beautiful encouraging things 21:30 to someone like me. 21:32 Revelation 14:7, I think Pastor John's 21:34 going to talk more about that a little later, 21:35 so I'm just going to say, 21:37 it talks about here the judgment hour, 21:39 talks about going back and worshipping the creator, 21:42 going back to the beginning, 21:43 and we go back to the beginning, 21:44 we're going to find a Sabbath, 21:46 I'm sure he'll talk more about that as we go along here. 21:48 And I'm going to consider it 21:50 'cause a couple of minutes left, 21:51 the wheel of the sanctuary, just like this. 21:55 I jotted something down 21:56 and just I did it last night that was interesting, 21:58 and now I have a hard time seeing it, 21:59 getting it down here. 22:01 But the wheel, now listen, remember, what this is, 22:05 this is the wheel, 22:06 it's the hub, it's the sanctuary. 22:08 Right there, the sanctuary, 22:10 right here that we have, this is a sanctuary. 22:12 I know they can't see it, I don't expect them to, 22:13 but they can get a good eye 22:15 on what we're talking about here. 22:16 The hub is in sanctuary, and the hub is Jesus Christ. 22:20 Out of the sanctuary, 22:22 we can find all these truths that we hold up dearly. 22:27 For instances, 22:28 in the sanctuary, you can find the Sabbath. 22:31 In the sanctuary you can find the millennium, 22:33 in the sanctuary 22:35 you can find life only in Christ, 22:37 in the sanctuary you can find order. 22:39 Think about that. 22:40 In the sanctuary you can find baptism, 22:42 you can find Christian education, 22:44 you can find ministration of angels, 22:46 you can find the Lord's supper, 22:48 you can find the Second Coming, 22:49 you can find health reform, you can find the new earth, 22:53 you can find the law of God, you can find repentance, 22:56 you can find the fate of the wicked, 22:59 you can find spiritual gifts, 23:01 you can find dress reform 23:03 if somebody's still with me here. 23:04 Wow. 23:05 So we can look at all this and many more, 23:07 Christian help work and so on and so forth in here. 23:10 And I jot down quite a few passages 23:11 that lead to these, 23:13 but this is why we hold the sanctuary, 23:15 and we should in high-esteem 23:17 because the Bible said that we should 23:19 because it is the center of Adventism. 23:21 It's a pillar, it's a foundation 23:24 in which we build, 23:25 and this is what makes this wheel so strong, 23:29 it's because those spokes that go out 23:32 and is based on the Word of God. 23:33 This is good stuff. 23:35 That we find it here, we advocate these things, 23:38 and we lift them up. 23:40 And bottom line, to me, 23:41 is what you were saying a while ago, 23:43 He is to be the center of our joy. 23:45 He's the center of everything. 23:47 And I tell you this, my brothers and sisters, 23:49 if he's center of your joy, 23:51 the center of your life for today, 23:52 you're going to be happy and healthy, 23:54 and you're going to love Jesus 23:55 and you're going to return back to Him, 23:58 those things were rightfully Him and for His 24:00 and the work will go forward, and it will be finished, 24:02 and Jesus can come, and then we can go home. 24:06 What a wonderful time, everybody, yes. 24:08 You're preaching. 24:09 I love that, I need a copy of this. 24:11 I love that, Pastor Kenny. 24:13 The sanctuary being the center 24:15 and all those doctrines emanating from the center, 24:18 praise the Lord. 24:19 I want to get a copy of that. 24:21 Sure, sure, yeah. Thank you for that. 24:22 I really liked that. I have Tuesday. 24:25 I forgot what day I had. 24:26 I got so excited about the sanctuary. 24:29 I have Tuesday 24:30 which is Christ-Centered Doctrinal Beliefs. 24:34 And if we continue this analogy of the chariot wheel, 24:38 you had a Christ as the axle, Shelley. 24:41 And, Pastor Kenny, 24:42 the sanctuary doctrine being the hub, 24:45 and then all of these doctrines 24:46 as you drew in your analogy there, 24:48 our Christ-centered doctrinal beliefs, 24:51 but coming out from the center of Jesus, 24:54 Christ is seen in each one of the doctrines, 24:57 so just as you talked about 24:59 how the sanctuary is seen in the doctrines, 25:02 we have Jesus Christ 25:03 in the center of each one of those doctrines as well. 25:07 That's what we're going to be looking at. 25:09 Our doctrines all hinge on Jesus, 25:12 His sacrifice for our sins, 25:14 His atonement, His justification, 25:17 His high priestly ministry, 25:20 His sanctification in our lives, 25:22 the sanctuary doctrine, 25:24 everything that we hold 25:25 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 25:27 you can go back to Jesus Christ as the foundation, 25:31 their circumference, everything that they're hinged upon. 25:35 All other doctrines are an outgrowth 25:37 of that one central pillar, 25:39 and that's Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 25:42 Let's look at two foundational verses 25:44 and then I want to look 25:45 at some of these doctrines with Jesus as a center. 25:48 First, we're going to turn to Mark 1:22, Mark 1:22. 25:59 And it says, this is Jesus is in Capernaum on the Sabbath, 26:02 and He is teaching. 26:04 And it says, "They were astonished at His teaching..." 26:08 The word in King James would be doctrine, 26:10 but literally in the Greek 26:12 it means teaching or instruction. 26:14 "For He taught them as one having authority 26:17 and not as the scribes." 26:19 I don't know about you, 26:21 but many times in many churches, 26:23 and I grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist, 26:25 and even as I grew up, 26:27 I believed the doctrines without knowing Jesus. 26:31 I studied the doctrines, 26:34 but I didn't even understand 26:36 how Jesus was at the center of those doctrines. 26:39 So you can hold doctrines and that means nothing... 26:43 If you don't have Jesus as the center. 26:48 Some people say, 26:50 "Well, the doctrines are in opposition to Jesus." 26:52 Now you might have heard that. 26:53 Some people say, "Well, these doctrines 26:55 and that's about the law 26:56 and we're about Jesus and grace." 26:58 But look at John 5:39, it says, "You search the Scriptures, 27:03 for in them you think you have eternal life 27:05 and they are they which testify of Me." 27:08 The Word of God shows us Jesus. 27:12 Now in my remaining time here, 27:13 I want to take a look at some of these doctrines 27:16 that we hold true 27:17 and look at them as we would without Jesus 27:21 and then look at them with Jesus as the center. 27:24 I'm going to ask each one of you 27:25 to help with some Bible verses here. 27:27 Shelley, can you take John 1? Sure. 27:29 John 1:1 and 14. 27:31 Mollie, can you take John 4:42? 27:33 Pastor John, can you take John 14:6? 27:36 And Pastor Kenny, John 1:29. 27:38 So we're going to start with Shelley's verse. 27:40 We're looking at the Word of God. 27:44 And if you look at the Word of God, 27:46 and to me, this is an impossibility, 27:48 but if you were to study the Word of God 27:50 and not look for Jesus 27:52 and think, "I'm going to study the Bible to prove you wrong. 27:56 I'm going to study the Bible to prove a certain point 27:59 or I'm going to study the Bible 28:01 because I have to..." 28:02 It becomes dull or lifeless or combative. 28:07 But what happens if we recognize 28:09 that Jesus is the center? 28:11 Shelley, you have John 1:1 and then... 28:12 John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, 28:15 the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 28:18 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 28:22 and we beheld His glory, 28:23 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 28:26 full of grace and truth." 28:28 So if we understand that instead of me reading the Bible 28:32 to combat something or to combat somebody, 28:35 if I think of... 28:36 And instead of thinking, 28:38 "This was written thousands of years ago, 28:40 and I want something modern." 28:41 If I look at it, this is Jesus. 28:44 Amen. 28:45 Every word here is coming directly from Jesus 28:49 and He loves me with an everlasting love 28:53 and when I read this, 28:55 it's like a love letter from Jesus. 28:57 It makes such a difference 28:59 as I understand the Word of God. 29:01 Now let's look at the plan of salvation. 29:05 If we try to do 29:06 what we call the plan of salvation 29:08 without Jesus, 29:11 it becomes all about my own effort, 29:13 it becomes all about my own works, 29:16 me trying to be a better person as it were. 29:20 I think about... 29:21 One of my family members tells me often, 29:25 "Jill, I'm a good person. 29:27 When God looks at judgment, whatever, 29:29 He'll see I've done a lot of good things." 29:31 Does that mean anything? 29:34 Us trying to somehow earn favor with God 29:37 or trying to earn that salvation 29:39 without understanding 29:40 Jesus is at the very center of the plan of salvation 29:44 that means nothing. 29:45 So, Mollie, you have John 4:42. 29:47 John 4:42, "And said unto the woman, 29:51 'Now we believe, not because of thy saying, 29:55 for we have heard Him ourselves 29:57 and know that this is indeed the Christ, 30:00 the Savior of the world.'" 30:01 Jesus is the Savior of the world 30:03 and when we begin to understand that, 30:06 we see He is the very center of the plan of salvation, 30:09 and along those same lines, 30:10 Pastor John, you have John 14:6? 30:13 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, 30:15 the truth, and the life. 30:18 No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" 30:22 So if we're seeking salvation any other way 30:26 except through the Lord Jesus Christ, 30:28 we're seeking in vain. 30:30 Our plan of salvation is centered around Jesus. 30:33 Now let's look at the sanctuary doctrine. 30:36 If we look at the sanctuary and all of these, 30:39 to me, are hard to even think about 30:41 if we don't have Jesus as the center. 30:43 But if you look at it, just the Jews did. 30:46 You know, that the Jews looked at it 30:48 without keeping in mind Jesus, right? 30:51 It degenerated for them into a formalism, 30:54 into a series of rituals 30:56 or rules that they had to follow, 30:59 and they missed entirely John 1:29, 31:01 you want to read that for us, Pastor Kenny? 31:02 Sure, sure. 31:04 It says, "The next day, 31:05 John seeth Jesus coming unto him, 31:07 and saith, 'Behold! The Lamb of God, 31:10 which taketh away the sin of the world.'" 31:13 If we understand that Jesus is the Lamb of God 31:16 and everything in the sanctuary service 31:19 points to the sacrifice, Jesus as the sacrifice. 31:23 Shelley, can you get Hebrews 4:14? 31:25 Mrs. Mollie, 1 Timothy 2:4? 31:28 Pastor John, 1 John 4:8. 31:31 And Shelley, your verse still goes along with this sanctuary. 31:34 Okay. Hebrews 4:14. 31:36 We're going to see Jesus is not only our Lamb of God, 31:39 He is something else within the sanctuary. 31:42 "Seeing at that we have a great High Priest 31:45 who has passed through the heavens, 31:47 Jesus, the Son of God, 31:48 let us hold fast our confession." 31:50 Yes. So Jesus is what? 31:52 Our great High Priest. Praise the God. 31:55 So in the middle of the sanctuary doctrine, 31:57 Jesus is not just the sacrifice, 31:59 the Lamb of God, 32:01 He is also our High Priest, 32:02 and currently, right now, he's interceding for us. 32:07 Mrs. Mollie, you have 1 Timothy 2:5? 32:10 2:5, "For there is one God 32:12 and one Mediator between God and men, 32:15 the Man, Christ Jesus." 32:17 So Jesus is our mediator between God and man. 32:21 Let's take a look at the Ten Commandments. 32:25 Now some people say, "I can keep the Commandments myself, 32:28 and I don't even really need God in the center of that. 32:31 Or those Ten Commandments 32:33 is all about the law and legalism." 32:36 We're going to nail them to the cross, 32:37 we'll put them aside 'cause we follow Jesus. 32:41 Pastor John, you have 1 John 4:8? 32:45 And the Bible says, "He who does not love, 32:47 does not know God for God is love." 32:50 And if you combine that with Romans 13:10, 32:53 which says, "Love is the fulfilling of the law, 32:58 God is love." 33:00 And He is the fulfilling of the law. 33:02 The law is a transcript of the character of Jesus. 33:07 So when we think about the Ten Commandments, 33:09 all it is it shows us who Jesus is. 33:12 I'm almost out of time. 33:14 But the Sabbath, you could look at the Sabbath doctrine 33:17 and say, "It's a bunch of rules and I have to do it." 33:21 But if we understand Mark 2:28, 33:23 that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. 33:28 It changes how we keep the Sabbath. 33:30 It changes everything about it 33:32 because Jesus is the center and circumference. 33:35 We look at the state of the dead, 33:37 we can think about eternally burning torment, 33:39 and all of that stuff. 33:41 We can think, "I might die 33:43 and what's going to happen after that, 33:45 and I'll never be resurrected," 33:47 But John 11:25, Jesus says, 33:50 "I am the resurrection and the life." 33:54 And Jesus is the one who brings us back to life. 33:58 The Second Coming, we could think, 34:00 "I have to be perfect in order before He comes." 34:03 Instead of understanding John 14:1-3, 34:06 "Let not your heart be troubled, 34:07 you believe in God, believe also in Me," 34:09 and He says, "I am going away, but I will come again." 34:13 We could look at sanctification 34:15 and say, "I have to do it by my own works," 34:17 not understanding Hebrews 2:11, 34:19 "Jesus is the one who sanctifies me." 34:22 "He is the one who prepares me and makes me ready for heaven." 34:26 So what an incredible thing 34:28 that the Christ-centered doctrines, 34:30 Jesus is in every doctrine that we hold, 34:32 we just touched on a few 34:34 and those are the spokes coming out 34:35 from the hub and from the axle. 34:37 Amen. Thank you, Jill. 34:39 Thank you, Pastor Kenney. Thank you, Shelley. 34:41 And when I just blessed to be able 34:44 to share the three angels' messages. 34:47 You know, in every age, 34:49 God has had a message for that particular age. 34:52 As I was looking at my notes that I jotted down here today, 34:57 every message was particularly designed for that generation, 35:02 for the people of that generation 35:05 because in every generation the promise of God 35:08 that was communicated to Adam and Eve in the garden, 35:11 "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 35:13 between thy seed and her seed, 35:15 it shall bruise thy head, 35:16 but thou shall bruise His heal." 35:18 That was a promise to every generation 35:21 of the coming Messiah, 35:23 when the Messiah came, 35:24 the cross became the central focus. 35:26 We're looking back to the cross, 35:27 it's what we do, 35:29 but that generation prior to the cross 35:30 looking forward to the cross. 35:32 The cross is the central theme. 35:33 Justification is the only means whereby we are saved 35:37 by grace through faith in Christ alone. 35:40 But saved from what? 35:41 The message to the antediluvians 35:43 was to Noah, come in to lot, get out. 35:50 To the Israelites, come out, 35:52 and then to Elijah, "God is God, all by Himself." 35:57 When Jesus came, 35:59 His message was the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 36:02 He didn't even say the kingdom of God is at hand 36:04 because it was some kind of controversy 36:05 if He spoke about God 36:07 before He established who He is. 36:08 Then they would have thought, 36:10 "Who is this that's talking about God?" 36:11 But He began by saying, 36:12 "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." 36:14 The other thing is the New Testament church, 36:16 the message He gave to them was to preach Christ, 36:19 Paul says, "I desire to know nothing 36:21 but Christ and Him crucified." 36:23 That was the message 36:24 the entire New Testament church had to preach 36:26 because it came at a time where many, many Gods, 36:29 unknown Gods were being worshipped, 36:31 and Jesus had to establish His Messiahship 36:35 even among His own, 36:36 "I came to My own, and they did not receive me." 36:38 So the whole juxtaposition of trying 36:40 to establish His identity 36:41 was what the New Testament church 36:43 from the commission to go into all the world 36:46 until the message began to transition 36:49 from the ministry of Christ and the holy 36:52 to the ministry of Christ and the most holy, 36:54 the message transitioned to the next level, 36:58 and we find that that transition 37:00 took place around about 1844. 37:03 When the message of the judgment hour 37:05 came to be the central focus, 37:07 now we know Jesus is ministering in our behalf. 37:10 So what is He ministering for? 37:11 As the earthly high priest ministered 37:13 in preparation for the day of judgment, 37:16 the day of atonement, 37:17 Jesus is ministering preparing for the day of judgment, 37:20 the day of atonement to bring us at one with Him again. 37:23 So He gave His church to commission 37:25 to proclaim this message, 37:26 and that's the three angels' messages, 37:28 "Fear God and give glory to Him 37:30 for the hour of His judgment has come, 37:32 and worship Him that made the heavens, 37:33 and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water." 37:35 And where are those found? 37:36 That's Revelation 14, let's look at that. 37:38 Thank you so much, Shelley. 37:39 Revelation 14:6, let's go all down to verse 12. 37:43 These three messages, 37:45 these messages are not arbitrary messages by the way. 37:48 These messages are designed for the entire world. 37:51 Now I go back to say that for a particular reason. 37:54 Noah spoke to the antediluvian world, 37:58 but each generation had a particular message. 38:00 Lot spoke to the generation of his age, 38:02 Elijah spoke to the generation of his age, 38:05 and amazingly enough, 38:06 when Ahab was looking to kill Elijah, 38:09 and Elijah did not run, 38:11 he said to Ahab who accused him of troubling Israel, 38:14 notice what he said, 38:16 "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your household, 38:18 and that you have forsaken the commandments of God." 38:21 That's Old Testament. 38:22 How amazing the three angles' messages 38:24 are bringing us back to commandments of God. 38:26 Because if the judgment hour is coming, 38:28 this is very important, if the judgment hour is coming, 38:31 what is the standard of the judgment? 38:33 Yes. That's good. 38:36 It's not about Christianity 38:38 because anybody can sing a Christian song, 38:39 anybody can go to church, 38:41 but how am I going to know that those who proclaim to know me, 38:45 really do know me. 38:47 1 Peter 4:17. 38:49 Look at that very quickly. 38:50 And this is why the Lord said this. 38:52 Not only is the gospel important 38:54 for the entire world as Matthew 24:14 says, 38:56 it's imperative that the entire world 38:58 hears it before Jesus comes again. 39:00 When the gospel is preached in all the world, 39:03 the gospel of the righteousness of Christ is justifying power. 39:06 When the message has been given to the entire world, 39:09 and they receive an opportunity 39:11 to either reject it or to receive it, 39:13 then we either have... 39:14 We only have two categories, 39:16 those who accept Jesus and those who don't. 39:19 But 1 Peter 4:17, let's look at, first of all, 39:21 those who say they know Jesus. 39:24 1 Peter 4:17, do you have it, Jill? 39:27 Read it for us. 39:28 "For the time has come for judgment 39:30 to begin at the house of God, 39:31 and if it begins with us first, 39:33 what will be the end of those 39:34 who do not obey the gospel of God?" 39:36 And verse 18. 39:37 "Now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, 39:39 where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 39:42 Well, we know that the ungodly and sinner as Psalm 1 says, 39:45 will not be able to stand in the judgment. 39:48 They will not be able to stand but the judgment begins 39:51 with those who claim to know Christ 39:52 because if I lost my keys, 39:54 I wouldn't go to the neighbor and ask for them first. 39:57 If something was missing in my house, 39:59 and I had a houseful of children, 40:00 I wouldn't say, "Oh, man, go to the neighbors 40:03 and see if their children stole my money." 40:04 I would begin with those 40:06 who claim to have a relationship with me. 40:08 So the judgment hour message 40:11 begins with an examination of God's people, 40:13 thus Revelation 7. 40:16 Examine the people of God, Ezekiel 9, 40:18 go and begin with the elders, 40:19 examine the kind of life they live. 40:21 And often times, we teach that 40:23 the Sabbath has the seal of God, 40:26 but the Sabbath is not the seal of God solely 40:29 because if the Sabbath was solely the seal of God, 40:32 then the Jews who rejected Jesus 40:33 would have been sealed because they honor the Sabbath. 40:35 Yes. That's good. That's deep. 40:39 The righteousness of Christ 40:41 along with obedience to His message is the seal. 40:45 The Holy Spirit, Paul says, 40:47 "God knows those who are His for He seals them." 40:51 What message did Paul preach? 40:53 Paul preached the righteousness of Christ. 40:54 We know the Book of Romans, our favorite book. 40:57 Amen. I love Romans. 40:58 It's so deep that I still didn't understand, 41:00 but I love it. Yes. 41:01 It's so deep, every time I read it, 41:03 something new comes out. 41:04 But going back to that, so when we accept the Sabbath, 41:08 that's when the Bible says, Matthew 2... 41:11 Mark 2:27 and 28, 41:12 "Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath." 41:14 Yes, He is. Not just the Sabbath. 41:16 If you keep the day, but don't know the man, 41:17 you're just as lost as those who reject the day. 41:20 Absolutely. That's right. 41:21 The Jews accepted the day, but they rejected the man. 41:24 So you keep the commandments of God 41:26 and have the testimony of Jesus. 41:28 Come on now. 41:30 That's the context of the messages. 41:31 So let's look very quickly at the three angels' messages. 41:34 The first one is warning the world 41:35 of the judgment hour to come. 41:37 You know, judgment precedes reward, 41:41 the investigation precedes the reward. 41:45 Any court setting, 41:46 before a person is convicted or let free, 41:50 there has to be an investigation 41:51 of that individual's life. 41:53 So we're living in the time of the investigative judgment. 41:56 Yes. Then you have the verdict. 41:58 Unjust, stay that way, righteous, stay that way, 42:01 holy, stay that way, filthy, stay that way. 42:03 That's the verdict. 42:05 And then Revelation 22:12, 42:07 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me." 42:10 Then you have the implementation, 42:12 the phase for the wicked is the penal phase, 42:16 for the righteous, it's the reward phase. 42:18 Yes. Yeah. 42:19 But what does this center on, the second message? 42:23 First one is fear God, give glory to Him then worship. 42:25 Go back to worshipping the Creator. 42:27 Yes, yes. 42:28 How can you worship the Creator 42:30 who ordained and blessed the Sabbath 42:32 in the very beginning 42:33 and ignored the Sabbath 42:34 and claim to be worshipping the creator? 42:36 It's an oxymoron. 42:37 I cannot worship the creator 42:39 and ignore the day He blessed in creation. 42:41 That's right. It's not possible. 42:43 So to say, "I know the Lord..." 42:44 1 John 2:3 and 4, 42:47 "He who says I know Him 42:48 and does not keep his commandments is a liar 42:50 and the truth is not in him." 42:52 You cannot claim to know Jesus and ignore His commandments, 42:55 and the central one, 42:57 which is the only one identifying us to Him, 42:59 the Sabbath is a sign between me and God, 43:01 Ezekiel 20:12 and 20. 43:03 It's a sign between me and God that we may know 43:05 that He is the one that sanctifies us. 43:06 Amen. 43:07 How can I be sanctified 43:09 and ignore the very sign of my sanctification? 43:11 That's right. 43:12 It's not possible. 43:14 But there are many sincere Christians 43:15 that don't know, 43:16 but once you become aware of the truth of God 43:18 and then reject it, 43:19 you take your side on the side of those 43:21 who reject the conditions of the sanctifying relationship. 43:24 The Sabbath, as we said, 43:26 and the tithing, which is sanctified in holy. 43:28 Amen. Yes, it is. 43:29 Let's go to the next one. Babylon has fallen. 43:32 Babylon represents a system of old, 43:34 one of the oldest and most prosperous systems 43:36 ever established. 43:38 When Babylon fell, something preceded it, 43:41 the confusion of tongues. 43:43 And today, the entire system of the misrepresentation 43:45 of the tongues in the Bible 43:47 is an indication of where Babylon is. 43:49 The confusion that exist 43:51 that does not identify with the true God, 43:53 Babylon fell 43:54 because it's system of support dried up. 43:57 Read that in Daniel, 43:58 it's a system of support and Daniel 6, dried up, 44:01 the Euphrates dried and Babylon fell. 44:04 But the third one is, 44:06 don't worship the beast and his image. 44:07 To understand what his image is, 44:09 you have to know who the beast is. 44:10 The system of Catholicism has been clearly identified 44:13 as a system of the beast. True. 44:15 What have they established as their sign, 44:17 the honoring of Sunday. 44:19 But the Lord says, 44:20 "The Sabbath is the sign between Me and My people." 44:22 "Don't worship the beast or his image." 44:24 Either Catholicism and its false doctrines, 44:26 and I have family that's catholic, 44:28 so this is a clear message. 44:29 Or the sign of their authority 44:31 which is the establishment of Sunday worship. 44:34 And then the Lord says, "Come out of her, My people." 44:36 So the three angels' message is simply a proclamation 44:39 calling the people of God out of darkness 44:42 into this marvelous light. 44:44 And how do you know? 44:45 They keep the commandments of God 44:47 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 44:49 That's right. Amen. 44:50 Well, I guarantee. 44:52 I don't know anybody else that could've done that 44:53 in 10 minutes. 44:55 That was powerful. 44:56 Amen. Thank you. 44:57 Pastor Lomacang, you are a good steward of the gift 45:00 and God has graced you in. Amen. 45:01 That's right. Praise the Lord. 45:02 Here to tell you that. And I have 1 Thursday. 45:04 Mollie, Mollie, can I just get 10 seconds to say one thing. 45:06 Yeah, please. 45:07 I'm so sorry, but I just have to say this, 45:09 the Lord just impressed my heart. 45:11 Let me say this clearly, John 10:16, 45:13 the purpose of this message is to call his sheep out 45:16 from where they are. Yes. 45:17 "Other sheep I have..." 45:18 John 10:6, "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, 45:22 them also, I must bring them, and they will hear my voice, 45:25 and there will be one fold and one shepherd." 45:27 That's the purpose behind the three angels' messages. 45:29 Amen. Amen and amen. 45:31 Thank you. 45:32 Thursday in stewardship 45:34 and I have to follow him, but all of the Word is good. 45:37 That's wonderful. Praise the Lord. 45:39 I want to give you a definition of stewardship 45:42 because if we don't, if we're not good stewards, 45:46 we're not going to be in right relationship with God 45:49 when He returns 45:51 and we can understand all of the precepts, 45:53 principles, and doctrines, 45:56 but if you ask, 45:58 every one of you have made so clear, 45:59 if you aren't in right relationship with God, 46:02 all you've got is knowledge. 46:04 If you don't have a converted heart, 46:06 then there is no hope. 46:08 Steward, a good steward, definition of a steward, 46:12 it's utilizing and managing 46:14 all resources God has provided you with. 46:17 Utilizing and managing, so I was thinking about that. 46:21 You know, I don't have to utilize 46:25 and manage musical ability. 46:28 Pastor Lomacang has to utilize and manage his, 46:32 not only can this man preach and teach, 46:35 but God has graced him with musical ability. 46:38 Jill, He's graced you with musical ability. 46:41 But you know what Pastor Lomacang doesn't have to 46:45 utilize and manage? 46:46 Secretarial skills. 46:48 Amen. Amen. 46:51 God graced me with secretarial skills. 46:54 We all have gifts, skills, and abilities 46:58 that God has graced us with. That's right. 47:01 And He's graced us with these skills and abilities 47:06 to be instrumental in establishing this kingdom, 47:10 so others will be ready for His soon appearing. 47:14 Ephesians 5:1, 47:16 let me just lay this kind of as a foundational scripture, 47:21 "Therefore be imitators of..." Christ. 47:24 "Of Christ." 47:26 The King James says, "Of God as dear children." 47:30 As God's dear children, we are to imitate Him, 47:34 His life illustrates what we are to be like. 47:39 Now 1 Thessalonians 4:7 tells us, 47:42 "For God did not call us to be impure, 47:46 but to live," what kind of a life... 47:48 Pure. "A holy life." 47:50 Yes. His life, God's life. 47:52 Now remember, we're to be imitators of God 47:56 as dear children. 47:57 God's life imitates or illustrates holiness 48:03 and what stewardship should look like is holy. 48:08 And I wanted us to look at... 48:11 Well, let me just read this out of the quarterly, 48:13 our quarterly is written so well, 48:17 "Christ wants us to live holy lives. 48:21 His life illustrates "Holiness" 48:24 and what ultimate stewardship should look like. 48:28 We should manage our lives 48:31 in a way that is pleasing to God, 48:34 including how we manage 48:36 all that has been entrusted to us. 48:39 Stewardship is an expression of that holiness." 48:44 And 1 Peter 1:15-16. 48:48 This is a scripture that we all know 48:51 and didn't always understand, 48:53 but I think God has opened up our understanding to it, 48:56 Pastor Kenney. Amen. 48:58 It says, "But as He who called you is holy, 49:02 you also be holy in your conduct, 49:06 because it is written, 'Be holy for I am holy.'" 49:10 And Hebrews 12:14, 49:13 "Pursue peace with all people, 49:16 and holiness, 49:18 without which no one will see the Lord." 49:22 Now listen to that. 49:24 That's heavy. Yes, it is. 49:26 You know, it makes it a salvational issue. 49:29 Absolute. 49:30 "Pursue peace with all people and holiness." 49:34 Why is it a salvational issue? 49:36 The scripture plainly tells us, 49:38 "Without which no one will see the Lord." 49:43 When we realize that our stewardship 49:46 or our utilizing and managing the resources 49:50 God has provided for us 49:53 is an expression of holiness, 49:56 and that without holiness, we won't see the Lord. 50:00 Our responsibility to be a good steward 50:04 becomes very serious. 50:06 It's very serious 50:08 that we manage our gifts, abilities, and resources. 50:13 And so it's important that we ask ourselves, 50:17 "What gifts, abilities, and resources 50:20 has God given us?" 50:23 1 Peter 4:10, 50:25 "As each one has received a gift, 50:29 minister it to one another, 50:31 as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 50:35 So in this is the scripture clearly telling us 50:39 that everyone has received a gift. 50:41 That's right. 50:43 As each one has received a gift. 50:45 So every one of us has a gift, a talent, 50:48 an ability that God, 50:50 that is used in the kingdom of God 50:54 to establish the kingdom, to build up the kingdom. 50:57 And what do we use these gifts for? 50:59 It says, "Minister it to one another." 51:02 Now these gifts are given 51:06 to minister to one another 51:08 and everybody has been given gifts. 51:10 Amen. 51:12 This reminds me of a little lady, 51:16 who was in a congregation 51:19 when the pastor preached of being a faithful steward 51:24 of your gifts 51:26 using 1 Peter 14, 51:29 the scripture we just read, 51:31 He said, "Everyone had a gift or gifts, 51:36 and everyone has something they need to be doing for God." 51:42 And he said, 51:43 "For those of you that don't know 51:45 what your giftings and abilities are, 51:48 what you need to do is pray 51:50 and ask God what gift you have." 51:54 Well, this little lady went home. 51:56 She was so despondent. 51:58 She felt she had absolutely nothing she could do. 52:03 She couldn't sing, she couldn't play the piano, 52:07 she was way too shy 52:08 to stand before people and teach, 52:11 she just felt like a total bust that she was of no good to God, 52:17 but she did what that preacher told her to do. 52:19 What did he told her to do? Pray. 52:21 Pray. 52:22 She prayed as the preacher had instructed her. 52:26 You know, she got up from praying, 52:29 and she still didn't know what she could do, 52:32 but she felt impressed. 52:34 Now when you feel impressed after you've prayed, 52:36 hey, I think you're onto something. 52:39 She felt impressed to pick up the phonebook 52:42 and just randomly pick out 100 names. 52:46 She wrote the 100 names down, 52:48 and she started to pray for them. 52:52 You know, prayer ministry 52:54 is one of the most powerful ministries in the church. 52:56 Absolutely. Yes, it is. 52:57 She faithfully prayed each day for two years. 53:03 She was able to attend church every Sabbath. 53:06 But one Sabbath when she was able to, 53:09 there was a baptismal service. 53:11 She felt to herself 53:13 that the name of the person being baptized 53:16 sounded familiar. 53:18 After checking her list, she found that name. 53:22 She told her pastor about her prayer list, 53:26 and he asked to see it. 53:28 When he looked at the prayer list, 53:31 do you know what he soon realized? 53:33 That he had baptized many of those 53:37 over the last two years. 53:39 So this little lady 53:41 didn't think she had a thing to offer God. 53:44 She had nothing she could do, but she prayed 53:48 and when she prayed, 53:50 God impressed upon her heart what she was to do. 53:53 You know what she became? 53:55 She became a good steward of the giftings 53:59 that God had given her. 54:01 And as a good steward, 54:04 she was exhibiting the attributes of holiness, 54:07 and without holiness, you won't see God. 54:11 She was an imitator of God and holiness. 54:15 Our stewardship, 54:17 this is just something we need to take to heart. 54:20 Our stewardship is a witness of our conduct 54:25 of a life that is well-managed. 54:27 So my encouragement to all of us is that 54:31 we determine what those gifts and callings are 54:35 and then make yourself available to God 54:38 and be a good steward 54:41 of all the gracings that God has given you. 54:44 Oh, amen and amen. Amen. 54:46 That's right. That's good. Thank you, Mollie. 54:47 You know, as we're looking at this role of stewardship, 54:51 I have to just say this. 54:52 Kenney, you may or may not know this, 54:54 but when it came to the... 54:57 We've been talking today about Christ 54:59 as a center of everything, 55:00 and you so eloquently spoke on the sanctuary, 55:04 it was, when I accepted God's call to ministry, 55:08 He impressed upon my heart 55:11 to forget what I thought I knew. 55:13 Come sit at His feet, He'd teach me, 55:15 and He started me on a study of the sanctuary, 55:19 and I found out that the sanctuary 55:23 was the theology of grace 55:28 in a physical form. 55:29 It was all about Jesus. 55:31 And it totally changed the way I looked at God 55:36 as a covenant God, and it was an amazing thing. 55:40 Jill, I so appreciated how you brought in 55:46 some really wonderful examples 55:48 of Christ being the center of our theology 55:52 when we're studying the Word of salvation, 55:55 the sanctuary doctrine, the Ten Commandments, 55:57 the Sabbath, the Second Coming, 55:59 state of the dead or sanctification. 56:01 And, John, thank you so much for talking about 56:05 the present truth of each generation. 56:08 We know that those 56:11 who are keeping the commandments of God 56:13 and have the testimony of Jesus, 56:15 at the end, 56:17 they will be calling others out. 56:19 We will have present truth of Revelation 14 56:23 which is where we find the three angels' messages, 56:26 some people... 56:28 Did you know that there is somebody 56:29 here locally that thought the reason 56:30 Three Angels Broadcasting Network 56:33 was called Three Angels Broadcasting Network 56:36 is 'cause it was you and Danny and your brother 56:39 being the three angels? 56:41 They didn't even know about Revelation 14. 56:45 And, Mollie, thank you so much 56:46 for your message on stewardship being holy 56:49 which just means to be set apart for God's purposes, 56:53 and it is God, 56:55 holiness and sanctification are synonymous. 57:00 And it's God who will make you holy, 57:02 it is God who will sanctify you 57:04 and set you apart for His purposes. 57:08 What a blessing this study is. 57:10 We are studying Stewardship, Motives of the Heart. 57:14 We pray that you will join us again next week 57:18 as we continue. 57:20 And I think, next week, we've got just what, 57:24 a few more weeks left, 57:25 so we'll be looking at lesson 11 next week. 57:29 Thank you so much for joining us. |
Revised 2018-05-17