Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190026A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says to, "Receive with meekness 00:11 the implanted Word 00:12 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:17 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Family Seasons. 00:33 Hello and welcome again 00:35 to another 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 00:38 We have arrived. 00:40 This is our very last lesson of this quarter, 00:44 lesson number 13, entitled, 00:46 "Turning Hearts in the End Time." 00:48 And, you know 00:50 what a perfect title for this last lesson, 00:53 as we are living in the last days. 00:55 We certainly need more than ever 00:57 hearts turn to Jesus Christ, what do you guys think? 00:59 Amen. Amen. 01:01 Absolutely, 100%. 01:02 And so, we are excited that you have joined us, 01:05 we want to remind you again, 01:06 even though we're on the last quarter here, 01:08 or the last, excuse me, the last lesson, 01:11 we want to remind you of how you can get a copy 01:13 of that lesson. 01:14 Of course, you can go to your local 01:16 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:17 and I'm sure they would love 01:18 to put one in your hands for free, 01:20 as you can study with them, and of course, 01:22 you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:26 and you can access the lesson there for free. 01:30 But I want to take the time now 01:31 to introduce this incredible panel, 01:33 whom I have had the privilege and honor of sharing it with. 01:37 And, directly to my left is Jill Morikone, 01:40 General Manager of 3ABN. 01:42 It's a privilege to be here, Pastor Ryan, 01:44 I love sharing the Word of God. 01:45 Praise the Lord. 01:46 And, Miss Shelley Quinn. 01:48 I'm glad to be here. Amen. 01:49 It's wonderful to have you here always. 01:51 Pastor John Lomacang, it's a blessing to have you. 01:53 We're expecting the Lord to continue to bless us 01:56 and so we can bless others. 01:59 Amen, amen. 02:00 And joining us once again 02:02 is Pastor Tom Ferguson, who is the pastor 02:04 of the Marion Seventh-day Adventist Church District. 02:08 Yes. 02:09 So it's a blessing to have you as well, Brother. 02:10 Thank you. 02:12 Amen, wonderful. 02:13 Before we dive deep into this very powerful study, 02:17 we definitely need to go to the Lord in prayer. 02:19 So, Pastor Tom, 02:20 I'm gonna ask you, if you wouldn't mind 02:22 just to have an opening prayer for us. 02:23 Yes, I would. 02:24 Dear Heavenly Father, thank You 02:26 for the privilege of meeting together 02:28 and once again opening Your Word, 02:30 and hearing from You. 02:32 We invite Your Holy Spirit to guide this study. 02:35 You know each and every one of us intimately, 02:38 and I just pray that You minister to us 02:41 as we study together, in Jesus' name, amen. 02:44 Amen. 02:46 Amen. Amen. 02:47 Turning hearts in the end time, and as I said earlier, 02:49 perhaps no other time, at least in our lifetime, 02:53 and for sure in the past few centuries, 02:56 is there a better time 02:57 than to study this particular lesson, 02:59 because we are living in the last days. 03:01 I think of the time of Noah. 03:03 Jesus spoke of the time of Noah, 03:04 He says that His Second Coming has returned 03:07 that the sins in which the world is in 03:11 at that particular moment, 03:13 is reflecting that of the times of Noah, 03:15 which was a time of judgment. 03:17 And, of course, we know, by careful Bible study, 03:19 we are also living in the last days 03:21 and we are also living in a time of judgment. 03:24 And so, God is screaming to us from, 03:27 with love and with compassion 03:29 from the scriptures pleading for His children 03:32 for their hearts to be turned back. 03:34 And, of course, our... 03:36 I just want to, this is from our lesson, 03:37 I thought this was really, really good. 03:39 "Our lives are lived in stages," 03:42 and we've already established that throughout this lesson, 03:44 throughout each one of these lessons. 03:46 It says, "Sometimes those stages are going well, 03:49 and that's true, sometimes not. 03:52 Sometimes families are intact and strong, 03:54 and sometimes they are fragile, and even shattered. 03:58 Whatever the case may be, we have the promise of... 04:01 We have the promise of God's Word to lean on. 04:04 We must not ever stop depending on the Word of God for, 04:07 obviously, it brings hope and certainty." 04:10 And so that's exactly what we're going 04:11 to continue on doing is going to the Word of God, 04:14 allowing the Word of God to teach us and to tell us 04:16 how it is that we can turn our hearts to Him. 04:19 Our memory text for this particular lesson 04:21 is found in Malachi 4:5-6, 04:26 Malachi 4:5-6. 04:29 I'm going to read that now. 04:31 It says, "Behold, I will send you 04:33 Elijah the prophet 04:35 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 04:39 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, 04:42 and the hearts of the children to their fathers, 04:44 lest I come and strike the earth 04:47 with a curse." 04:48 So he's promising to send Elijah 04:51 and we're gonna see what that means 04:53 in just a few moments. 04:54 And, of course, 04:55 by sending Elijah, this message, 04:58 the sharing of this special message 05:00 is supposed to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, 05:03 and of course, the fathers to the children. 05:06 Now that's an Old Testament. 05:09 In fact, it's the last book of the Old Testament, 05:10 it comes from the Book of Malachi. 05:12 But it's interesting how the same message, 05:14 the same theme continues over into the New Testament. 05:17 And in the lesson, you'll see that 05:18 it gives us four scriptural examples 05:21 of how we can see this theme continue through 05:23 even during the days of Jesus Christ. 05:25 Notice, Matthew 11:14-15. 05:29 Notice the context. 05:30 Here it says, 05:32 "And if you are willing to receive it," 05:33 this is Jesus speaking of John the Baptist. 05:35 He says, "He is Elijah, who is come." 05:39 Now some people find this a little confusing 05:41 because when John himself was asked, are you Elijah? 05:44 What did he say? 05:45 He said, "No, I'm not Elijah." 05:47 And so what is Jesus saying here? 05:48 We'll see in just a few moments but He says, 05:50 "He is Elijah who has come, 05:52 he who has ears to hear, let him hear." 05:54 So he's pleading with the people. 05:56 Please listen to John, 05:57 what he has to say, what he has to share. 05:59 He has come as we're gonna see in the spirit of Elijah 06:02 to share a special message. 06:04 Matthew 17:10, same thing. 06:07 Notice what the Bible says. 06:08 Again, Matthew 17:10 says, 06:11 "And His disciples asking Him, saying, again 06:13 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'" 06:19 So again, there's this theme that carries over. 06:21 This particular text that we just read 06:23 from Malachi 4:5-6 06:26 even still to this day over in Jerusalem, 06:28 the Orthodox Jews for many, many centuries, 06:31 since this has been given, obviously, many millennia, 06:33 we see very clearly 06:35 that they're still waiting for the literal presence, 06:38 the literal arrival of the Prophet Elijah. 06:41 And so Jesus clarified this very clearly 06:43 but, of course, we know 06:45 the Orthodox Jews did not believe 06:46 that Jesus was the literal Son of God 06:48 and really didn't trust His Word very much. 06:50 In fact, they would nail him to a tree eventually. 06:52 But in right here, Matthew 17:10, they're asking, 06:54 why does the scribe said that Elijah must come? 06:56 They're a little confused, 06:58 is this Elijah, is this not Elijah, 06:59 is he to come, is he not to come? 07:01 What are we to believe? 07:02 Mark 6:15. 07:03 Again, the same thing continues. 07:06 "Other said," of course, "it is Elijah.'" 07:10 And others said, 07:11 "It is the prophet or like one of the prophets." 07:13 So we're referring to John the Baptist. 07:15 Again, you can see that 07:16 there was a little bit of a disagreement, 07:17 a contention among the people. 07:19 Is this Elijah, is it not? 07:20 Well, he is Elijah. No, he's just the prophet. 07:23 They were really unsure. 07:24 But obviously this continual theme 07:27 will continue all the way through Israel's history 07:29 because as I said earlier, 07:30 they are still waiting for Elijah to come today. 07:33 And, of course, Luke 1:17 the Bible says, 07:37 "He will also go before Him 07:39 in the spirit and power of Elijah," 07:41 That's the key point there. 07:42 When John was asked, are you Elijah? 07:45 Was he lying when he said no? 07:46 No, he was not the literal person of Elijah, 07:49 that kind of goes into the truth 07:50 about the state of the dead. 07:51 Obviously, when Elijah, obviously, 07:53 when he was translated into heaven, 07:55 he's in heaven, he's not coming back, 07:57 he's not coming back through John the Baptist 07:59 in a spiritualistic form. 08:00 He... 08:02 What it says here is that, 08:03 he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. 08:05 In other words, the same spirit that influenced and encouraged 08:08 and inspired Elijah 08:10 to preach that revival and reformative message 08:13 in his day is the same message 08:15 that John the Baptist came preaching. 08:17 And we'll see what that message is in just a few moments. 08:19 "To turn," notice, here it says, He will also... 08:21 Well, it is right here. 08:22 "He will also go before him 08:23 in the spirit and power of Elijah," 08:25 Luke 1:17 08:26 "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, 08:28 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 08:31 to make ready a people," 08:33 here it is, "prepared for the Lord." 08:35 That is the message. 08:36 A message of reform, a message of grace, 08:39 a message of compassion, the love of God, 08:41 but with that mingled the power of a message of repentance 08:46 and turning away from sin. 08:48 We're coming back to the Lord 08:49 allowing God to transform your life 08:51 before He arrives. 08:52 That's what the Bible says 08:54 that we need to be able to stand confident 08:56 at the appearing of Jesus because we have prepared, 08:58 we have allowed Christ to transform our life. 09:01 Now it's interesting when you go back 09:02 to Malachi Chapter 3. 09:04 Again, we just read from Malachi 4 09:06 a few moments ago. 09:07 In Malachi Chapter 3, very interestingly enough, 09:11 we see the response of Israel 09:12 because God pleaded with His people 09:14 to return to Him. 09:16 But He was met with a very arrogant response. 09:18 Notice what Malachi 3:7 says here. 09:22 It says, "Yet from the days of your fathers, 09:24 you have gone away from My ordinances, 09:26 and have not kept them. 09:29 Return to me, and I will return to you, 09:33 says the Lord of hosts." 09:34 But then notice what it says. 09:36 "But you said," this is God, He's telling the response. 09:38 "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?'" 09:42 You know, I think God is very clear, 09:44 the Bible says that God is not the author of confusion. 09:46 He's very straightforward, He does not change. 09:48 When He delivers a message, it's very clear. 09:51 He's not delivering a confusing message 09:53 or some message that needs to be decrypted of some way. 09:56 These people were, they had their hearts hardened 09:58 and it's almost like a very arrogant response. 10:00 In what really, 10:02 Jesus what way do we need to return to You? 10:04 Very, very serious indeed. 10:05 The Lord would give one last call for revival 10:08 through a heart turning reform. 10:11 God poured out His Spirit 10:12 unto John the Baptist and through him, 10:14 the same reforming message of revival 10:17 would be declared in the days of Elijah. 10:20 And so what does it mean? 10:22 I guess we should address this, what does it mean 10:24 to turn the hearts? 10:26 Oh, that's good. 10:27 What is God saying, you know, 10:28 turn the hearts to the fathers or the fathers to the children. 10:31 In the lesson, 10:33 this lesson suggests that there were 10:34 a few biblical applications we can apply 10:36 as to the meaning of these words. 10:37 And I happen to agree with these 10:39 because they're very, very biblical. 10:41 The first way that we can apply this very clearly 10:44 is that it refers to the reconciliation 10:47 of the people of Israel with the Lord. 10:50 Notice Isaiah 63:16, 10:54 Isaiah 63:16 says, 10:58 "Though Abraham was ignorant of us, 11:00 and Israel does not acknowledge us, 11:03 you, O Lord, are our father." 11:06 And so we have our Holy Father, 11:08 and we had to turn our hearts to Him. 11:10 And so number one, 11:11 it refers to the reconciliation 11:13 of people of Israel with the Lord. 11:16 Number two, it refers to the reconnecting 11:19 of later generations with their faithful ancestors 11:23 through covenant renewal. 11:25 The prophetic call for God's people 11:27 to follow the faith of the patriarchs 11:30 was given repeatedly in the Old Testament. 11:32 You see this theme all the way up, 11:33 all the way through the Old Testament, 11:34 and even actually into the new. 11:36 Remember the message that Stephen delivered. 11:39 He actually was condemning some of the people of... 11:43 Before and, of course, the people of his day 11:45 for stoning and killing the prophets 11:47 that were preaching the true message of God, 11:49 and so He was trying to turn the people back 11:52 to that holy message. 11:53 Notice what Deuteronomy 4:29-31 tells us. 11:58 Again, reconnecting of later generations 12:01 with their faithful ancestors through covenant renewal. 12:05 This is Deuteronomy 4:29-31, the Bible says, 12:09 "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, 12:12 and you will find Him if you seek Him 12:15 with all your heart and with all your soul. 12:18 When you are in distress, 12:20 and all these things come upon you 12:22 in the latter days, 12:23 when you turn to the Lord your God 12:25 and obey His voice, 12:27 for the Lord your God is a merciful God, 12:31 He will not forsake you, nor destroy you, 12:34 nor forget the covenant of your fathers 12:36 which He swore to them." 12:37 So again, this is the Lord, He's turning, 12:40 He's trying to point the children 12:42 back to that wonderful covenant renewal 12:44 that He had established through their ancestors. 12:48 And the third point again that how we can determine 12:50 what this word or these terms are 12:52 or phrase means, turn the hearts. 12:54 Notice what number three is, this is very, very interesting. 12:57 It refers to the restoration 12:59 and renewal of family relationships. 13:03 Again, we're talking about family seasons. 13:05 Parent-child relationships are practical expressions 13:10 of covenant faithfulness with God. 13:13 Here, too, fulfillment of responsibilities 13:16 to parents and children are interwoven 13:19 with continued inheritance of the land and God's blessing. 13:23 That's why Proverbs 2:21 says, 13:25 "For the upright will dwell in the land, 13:27 and the blameless will remain in it." 13:29 Okay, so turning the hearts of the children to the fathers. 13:33 All in all, we know ultimately, 13:35 that it's God trying to unite the families. 13:38 Turn the children to their earthly fathers 13:40 and their earthly fathers to their children. 13:42 And, of course, us back to the original message 13:45 that God had given through the ancestors, 13:47 through the patriarchs, 13:48 through the Old Testament prophets, 13:50 and through the New Testament prophets as well. 13:52 One must seek to restore their relationship with God 13:56 before they seek to restore relationship with family. 13:59 One must precede the other. 14:01 And we know we need restoration with family but, my friends, 14:04 I want to appeal this to you in closing, 14:06 turn to the Lord now, turn to His truth. 14:08 Because once you establish 14:09 that beautiful relationship with the Lord 14:11 and you are walking in His ways, 14:13 then the family will follow. 14:15 Amen. 14:17 Thank you so much, Pastor Ryan, what an incredible job. 14:20 I love to hear each person on the panel 14:22 because everyone shares from their perspective 14:24 and their walk with God. 14:26 What a beautiful picture 14:27 of turning our hearts back to God, 14:30 returning to Him. 14:31 Thank you for that. 14:32 On Monday, I have family reunion, 14:35 and I want to invite you to turn with me to 1 Kings. 14:38 We're gonna spend our time in 1 Kings Chapter 16 and 17. 14:42 This is really a contrast of two leaders. 14:46 We're gonna look at two different leaders, 14:48 two different lists. 14:49 You know, this is the last lesson of the quarter, 14:51 I got to get my lesson. 14:52 Two different lists. 14:54 One leader seeks to turn people's heart 14:57 away from God, 14:59 the other leader 15:00 seeks to turn people's heart toward God, 15:03 so we're gonna take a look at that. 15:05 First, we're going to look at the negative. 15:07 Turning hearts away from God, this leader is King Ahab. 15:11 So we're in 1 Kings 16. 15:14 This is six keys that I found in this passage 15:17 for turning hearts away from God. 15:18 Number one, key number one is that leaders have influence, 15:23 they can either work their influence 15:26 for or against God. 15:28 In Ahab's case, it worked against God. 15:31 1 Kings 16:29-30, 15:34 "In the thirty-eighth year of As a king of Judah, 15:37 Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel, 15:40 and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel 15:42 in Samaria twenty-two years. 15:45 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil 15:47 in the sight of the Lord, more than," 15:50 what's that word, "all who were before him." 15:53 Now you see this throughout the history 15:55 of the children of Israel, 15:56 that every time there was a king who served God 15:59 that there were a form or a measure of repentance 16:02 that people began to break away from idol worship, 16:04 they began to return to worship the true God. 16:07 But every time there was a king who walked away from God, 16:11 the people followed. 16:13 The influence of Ahab's leadership 16:16 turning people away from God. 16:18 Number two, we see that evil is progressive. 16:21 1 Kings 16:25-26, 16:25 "Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord," 16:27 now who is Omri? 16:29 He's Ahab's dad. 16:31 So Ahab's dad did evil in the eyes of the Lord 16:33 "and did worse than all who were before him. 16:35 He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 16:38 and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, 16:41 provoking the Lord God of Israel 16:42 to anger with their idols." 16:44 So what does the Bible say? 16:46 Ahab's dad was worse than everyone before him. 16:49 But then what does it say about Ahab? 16:50 Ahab was worse than everyone before him, 16:52 so that tells us evil is progressive. 16:55 They thought Ahab's dad was bad, 16:57 but you get to Ahab and it gets even worse. 17:01 Number three, 17:02 whom we marry impacts our future 17:05 and that of the people underneath us. 17:07 That's right. 17:09 We know Ahab marry Jezebel. 17:10 1 Kings 16:31, it says, "It came to pass, 17:14 as though it had been a trivial thing 17:16 for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 17:18 that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, 17:23 king of the Sidonians, 17:24 and he went and served Baal and worshiped him." 17:27 Now, Jezebel's name is related 17:29 to one of the titles given to Baal, 17:31 who was the God of rain 17:33 or they considered the God of rain. 17:35 And her dad was king of Tyre and Sidon, 17:38 and many sources say 17:39 he was a priest of this idol worship there. 17:43 Jezebel convinced Ahab to plunge into idolatrous 17:47 and immoral worship of Baal. 17:51 1 Kings 21:25, 17:53 "There was no one like Ahab who sold himself 17:56 to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, 17:58 because Jezebel his wife stirred him up." 18:01 So whom we marry impacts our future. 18:04 Number four, 18:05 Ahab we see lead in idol worship. 18:08 1 Kings 16, we're back to 1 Kings 16:31, it says, 18:12 "Ahab went and served Baal and worshiped him." 18:16 He also built a temple and an altar in Samaria 18:19 for this pagan god 18:21 and encouraged the people to worship Baal. 18:24 Number five, 18:26 Ahab allowed a man to rebuild the walls 18:27 and gates of Jericho 18:29 in direct defiance of God's Word. 18:32 Now it's interesting, 18:34 we will read all that but in Ahab's days, 18:37 while he was king, 18:38 there was a certain man who rebuilt Jericho. 18:41 Now you think that's not a big deal. 18:43 But if you go back to Joshua, look it up later, Joshua 6:26. 18:47 Joshua had said, 18:49 "Cursed is the man who builds the city Jericho." 18:53 He shall lay its foundation with his firstborn 18:56 and with his youngest, 18:57 he shall set up the gates 18:58 and that's exactly what happened. 19:01 The man who built Jericho, his firstborn, died 19:03 when they laid the foundation 19:05 and his youngest son died when they finished 19:07 and put the gates in. 19:10 So Ahab knew this prophecy back in Joshua, 19:12 and yet he openly allowed them 19:14 to go against the direct command of God. 19:16 Number six, even with such open sin 19:19 and leading other people to sin because that's what Ahab did. 19:22 He openly sinned and he let his people to sin. 19:25 God is so merciful 19:27 and He still calls us to repentance. 19:30 1 Kings 21:27-29, 19:34 "When Ahab heard these words, 19:36 he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, 19:40 and fasted and lay in sackcloth, 19:41 and went about mourning. 19:43 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 19:46 'See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? 19:48 Because he has humbled, 19:50 I will not bring the calamity in his days.'" 19:54 So I don't know about you, but if it were me, I'd be like, 19:57 he did a great deal of evil. 19:58 We're done with him. 20:00 But yet God said, 20:01 "I am going to extend that judgment 20:03 until after his death." 20:06 That was mercy. 20:07 Now let's look at a leader 20:09 who turned people's hearts toward God. 20:11 That is the prophet Elijah. 20:13 We're in 1 Kings Chapter 17. 20:16 Again, we see point number one, the influence of a leader 20:19 but in this case it's the influence of a leader 20:21 who turned people's hearts back toward God. 20:25 Elijah, I look it as a Martin Luther 20:28 of the Old Testament. 20:29 He single-handedly challenged the whole priesthood 20:32 of state religion and all the people of the realm 20:35 to a decisive test at Mount Carmel 20:37 which Shelley will look at. 20:39 Elijah is mentioned in the New Testament 20:41 more than any other Old Testament prophet. 20:44 His name means Jehovah is my God 20:47 or the Lord is my God. 20:49 Number two, when God calls you, 20:52 speak for Him despite the consequences. 20:55 1 Kings 17:1, 20:57 "Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, 20:59 said to Ahab, 'As the Lord God of Israel lives, 21:03 before whom I stand, 21:04 there shall not be dew nor rain these years, 21:07 except at my word.'" 21:08 Now if I were Elijah, I'd be little afraid. 21:10 Ahab is the powerful man and he's an evil man, 21:12 married to an even more wicked wife. 21:16 And yet he spoke the word of the Lord. 21:19 He was obedient, 21:21 despite the consequences that might have come. 21:24 Number three, 21:25 walk in obedience to His commands. 21:27 So God told Elijah, go hide yourself, remember, 21:30 by the brook Cherith 21:31 and there God provided food and water for him. 21:34 And then later the brook dried up 21:36 and God said, go find refuge in Zarephath, 21:40 and Elijah, what does it say? 21:41 He got up and he went, 21:43 he was obedient to God's commands. 21:46 Number four, be willing to trust 21:48 until God shows you what to do next. 21:50 You know, when the water dried up and well, 21:54 I mean, if was Elijah you are sitting there 21:56 by the brook and saying, where am I supposed to go? 21:58 But what happened? 22:00 God instructed him at the right time 22:02 where he was to go. 22:04 Number five, 22:06 the safest place in the world is where God wants you to be. 22:10 That's the safest place to be. 22:12 Why go to Zarephath? 22:13 I've often wondered that. 22:14 Why not to a widow in Israel? 22:16 Why was Elijah sent to Zarephath? 22:20 We know Zarephath is located in Phoenicia, 22:22 it's the very heart of Baal country 22:24 or idol worship. 22:26 Here God shows he's gonna defeat Baal 22:29 in his own territory. 22:31 God's people will fare better than Baal's. 22:36 The main purpose of this narrative 22:37 is to demonstrate on Phoenician soil, 22:40 where Baal is worshipped that God has power 22:43 over things in which Baal has failed. 22:47 Number six, God's servants are easily recognized. 22:50 Remember when he gets to Zarephath, 22:52 there's a widow woman there. 22:54 1 Kings 17:12, "She says, 22:57 'As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, 22:59 only a handful of flour and I'm going to eat that 23:02 and then we're gonna die.'" 23:04 You notice she said, as the Lord your God lives, 23:07 in the next chapter Obadiah 23:08 who was a prophet of God said to Elijah, 23:12 as the Lord your God lives. 23:13 So that indicates she recognized him 23:16 as a man of God. 23:18 She recognized, wow, he's a prophet. 23:21 Number seven, 23:22 our upbringing and our past do not determine our destiny. 23:28 1 Kings 17:15, 23:30 she was raised heathen woman following worshipping Baal. 23:34 And yet what did she do? 23:36 She chose to go away 23:37 and do according to the word of Elijah. 23:40 And she and her household ate many days. 23:42 She made a choice to obey 23:45 what Elijah and the God of Israel 23:47 were telling her to do. 23:49 Number eight, some things are unexplainable, 23:52 but we can still trust. 23:55 Her son died and she said, 23:57 "I don't even know what is happening 23:58 and why did my son die?" 24:01 And then God through Elijah brought her son back to life. 24:06 Some things are unexplainable in life, 24:08 but we can still trust. 24:09 And finally, experiencing God at work 24:11 is way more powerful than reading about it. 24:14 At the very end of experiencing, 24:16 God raised her son back to life. 24:18 She said, "By this I know you are a man of God, 24:22 and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth." 24:26 Well, Praise the Lord. 24:27 I hope to be a last day Elijah. 24:29 I hope to have the Spirit of the Lord 24:31 and be able to declare that message the way he did. 24:33 Praise the Lord. 24:34 We're gonna take a short break, we'll be right back. 24:42 Ever wish you could watch 24:43 a 3ABN Sabbath School panel again 24:45 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:48 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:53 A clean design makes it easy 24:56 to find the program you're looking for. 24:58 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:01 so you can follow along. 25:03 Sharing is easy. 25:05 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:08 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:15 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 25:17 We're gonna continue on with Tuesday's lesson 25:19 with Miss Shelley Quinn, turning hearts at the altar. 25:22 You know, this is so interesting. 25:24 And thank you for setting this up so well, Jill, 25:26 because I'm not sure 25:28 where I'm going with this lesson. 25:29 In our Sabbath School's quarterly it said, 25:32 read 1 Kings 18:23-45. 25:36 And though the context is totally different, 25:39 how can the principles seen in this story 25:42 apply to family life? 25:44 Well, I don't know about you, 25:45 but I don't often think about the prophets of Baal, 25:48 and Ahab, and Elijah. 25:51 On top of Mount Carmel 25:52 is having anything to do with family life. 25:54 So let's take a quick look at this. 25:56 First of all, as has been set up, 25:59 you know, in Deuteronomy, God told him, He told us, 26:02 people don't turn to the left or the right 26:05 to follow after other gods. 26:07 But here you've got wicked King Ahab. 26:10 He is idolatrous and he hates the Prophet Elijah. 26:15 Because the Prophet Elijah tells the truth, 26:18 he's not worried about what he's saying. 26:21 Ahab is supporting pagan prophets, 26:24 who were politically correct. 26:27 Their message was what the king wanted to hear. 26:31 And so now what happens is, 26:34 God has shut up the rain at Elijah's request 26:38 for three and a half years. 26:40 And Ahab is saying, calling Elijah, 26:43 the troubler of Israel. 26:46 He is upset with him. 26:49 So now we're getting ready to have a showdown if you will, 26:54 between the deities, these pagan deities, 26:58 and the true God. 27:00 And Ahab invites all of the people of Israel, 27:04 850 pagan prophets are invited. 27:07 Now only the 450 prophets of Baal show up, 27:12 the 400 prophets of Asherah do not, 27:14 and that too Queen Jezebel supported. 27:18 But now we're about to have the showdown 27:22 between Yahweh and Baal. 27:24 In 1 Kings 18:20. 27:27 Let's look at that. 27:29 Elijah came to all the people and... 27:32 Let me tell you, he had a heart that wanted these people 27:36 to turn back to the faith of their fathers. 27:39 He wanted covenant renewal. 27:41 And what he says to the people is, 27:43 how long will you falter between two opinions? 27:49 If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal follow him. 27:55 But the people answered him not a word. 27:59 Isn't this kind of reminiscent of Joshua's challenge, 28:03 choose you this day 28:04 whom you're going to serve, right? 28:06 It's important that we take a stand for the Lord. 28:11 You know, 28:13 a lot of people worship the God of self. 28:16 And that's why they don't stand for the Lord. 28:18 So let me just kind of, 28:19 I'm gonna pull this together here with a recap, if you will. 28:26 What happens, I mean, Elijah says, 28:30 okay, prophets of Baal, you build your sacrifice here, 28:36 I'm gonna build it over here, 28:38 and the God who reigns down fire 28:40 and consumes the sacrifices, that's who's the true God. 28:44 Well, the prophets of Baal think hey, this is really good. 28:47 And Ahab says, 28:49 I'm gonna call on the name of the Lord. 28:53 And so the interesting thing is Baal was a deity of... 28:59 I've read they said he was a deity of fertility, 29:02 but he was the deity of storm, of lightning and wind, 29:07 and all of this. 29:08 So, boy, his prophets think, our deities got this, you know, 29:14 they were absolutely convinced he was gonna do it. 29:18 But they build their altar 29:20 and he says don't light a fire under it. 29:22 And it's nice and dry and the prophets of Baal 29:26 build up their sacrifice. 29:29 And then they're leaping about the altar. 29:33 Ahab, I keep saying that, Elijah makes fun of them. 29:37 He actually mocks them. 29:39 I mean, they're calling on Baal and he says, 29:43 well, maybe he's gone away for a little bit. 29:45 Maybe he's out to lunch. 29:47 Then they begin to cut themselves 29:49 the prophets of Baal until the blood 29:52 is flowing freely 29:56 and still from morning to night nothing, 30:01 so the heathen priests failure 30:05 after they have their failure with their sacrifice, 30:08 it's Elijah's turn. 30:10 Look at verse 30, 30:11 "Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me.' 30:15 And the people came near, 30:16 and he repaired the altar of the Lord 30:20 that was broken down.'" 30:21 Verse 32 says, 30:23 "He built an altar in the name of the Lord." 30:26 And look at verse 36, "It came to pass, 30:30 at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice." 30:34 Ooh, what does this bring to mind? 30:38 I mean that now we're looking at sanctuary language, 30:41 are we not? 30:42 This is a time of day that drew the attention to them. 30:45 So in verse 37, he cries out, 30:49 he says, "Hear me, O Lord, 30:50 hear me that this people may know 30:53 that You are the Lord God, 30:56 and that You have turned their heart 30:59 back to You again." 31:03 Oh, you know what? 31:05 This is so amazing. 31:06 We cannot turn anyone's heart back to God. 31:09 We can't even turn our own heart back to the Lord. 31:12 It is God, Acts 5:31-32 says, 31:15 it's God who grants forgiveness and repentance. 31:19 It's a gift. 31:20 So we've got to call 31:21 on the name of the Lord for that. 31:23 Now, Elijah is praying for a miraculous sign 31:27 so that the people will know it's God 31:30 and he is praying that God... 31:32 Oh, I forgot to say this. 31:34 Once he sets up his, he tells them, 31:37 okay, build this little trough around, 31:39 now fill the trough with four water pots of water, 31:42 not once, not twice, but three times. 31:45 He's drowning his sacrifice, right? 31:49 I mean, it's wet, 31:50 and it's got a trough of water around it. 31:53 Elijah prays and what happens? 31:56 Boy, the true God, 31:58 Yahweh shows up with His power 32:01 and He consumes all of the sacrifice 32:06 and all of the altar. 32:08 There's no way 32:09 this was just a lightning strike. 32:11 It was a powerful thing. 32:12 All consuming fire falls, and you know what? 32:16 The people, 32:18 they fall on their faces and they're going, 32:20 oh, Lord, He is God the Lord, He is God. 32:24 So just confession in praise burst forward from their lips. 32:30 So let's look real quickly in my remaining time. 32:33 If you are a parent, and you were worried 32:36 like Elijah was about the people, 32:39 if you're worried about a wayward child, 32:42 what we have to remember is that, 32:44 it is God who's constantly drawing 32:47 the wayward toward us. 32:49 Elijah focused on rebuilding the altar. 32:52 He was very intentional and this is equivalent to us. 32:57 Having, say, a family devotional time, 33:01 what we need to do is be intentional. 33:04 Take this opportunity to talk to God, 33:06 speak to one another about the Lord 33:09 and receive a new, 33:11 every day His free gift of salvation, 33:14 His grace and know that He is the Lord 33:16 who sanctifies you. 33:19 The invitation when he said come near to me, 33:22 doesn't that remind you of what the Savior, 33:26 how He welcomes sinners. 33:28 In Matthew 11:28-29, 33:31 He says, 'Come near to me 33:33 all ye who labor and are heavy laden." 33:36 And what's gonna happen? 33:38 "I will give you rest. 33:39 Take My yoke upon Me, learn from Me, 33:42 for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 33:44 and you will find rest for your souls." 33:47 So, as we're praying for our family members, 33:52 God's response may not be 33:54 as dramatic as it was to Elijah. 33:59 But He will give us the courage to stand 34:02 for truth in our homes, 34:04 He will give us the wisdom 34:06 and to help, you know, 34:09 He always helps anyone in need, 34:11 anyone who's calling on His name. 34:13 And like Elijah, 34:15 we can have faith 34:17 that whatever God commands us to do, 34:20 He's going to provide us the resources to do it, right? 34:23 So there's so much more that we can do with this story. 34:28 I actually had 14 pages of notes 34:30 and had to reduce it to four, 34:33 but this is such a wonderful story. 34:36 I want you to look at this story afterwards 34:39 and look at more ways 34:41 that you can apply this to your home. 34:44 Amen. Thank you, Shelley. 34:47 Wow, I can't believe we're down to the last two. 34:49 Pastor Tom, you're gonna be the last shot 34:51 heard over the bow 34:53 and we're praising God for that. 34:54 But this has been an exciting lesson 34:55 through this quarter 34:57 and coming out of Revelation 34:58 and coming into this about relationships. 35:00 Hey, it was somewhat of a challenge, 35:02 but we have learn to appreciate the content 35:05 and thank the author for giving us 35:07 a lot to work with 35:09 because it did require a lot of homework 35:10 and we hope we're blessing you because of that, 35:12 turning hearts at the Jordan. 35:14 June 26, I hope you follow me with that. 35:17 Now this lesson talked about, 35:19 it led out by talking about the prediction 35:21 of the coming of John the Baptist. 35:24 And what that said to me is, as there is always the case, 35:30 the king doesn't come except he is preceded 35:34 by a call that he is coming. 35:38 We are in fact, today, spiritual John the Baptist. 35:42 We are in fact today in the spirit 35:44 and power of Elijah. 35:47 The message that Elijah board to Ahab and Jezebel 35:51 is that they had forsaken the commandments of the Lord. 35:54 We are in fact today 35:56 in a setting that's just like the days of Elijah. 36:02 Elijah was a man raised up to lead Israel, God's people. 36:06 There are many ministries today 36:09 who are called to lead God's people. 36:11 But the unfortunate 36:13 and I'm gonna be candid about this. 36:15 The unfortunate mixture is 36:19 they have link themselves to a woman, 36:22 symbolic of a church, 36:23 whose allegiance is not to God 36:26 but to other gods. 36:28 Because there's no way that in the Christian world today 36:30 the teachings could exist, 36:32 that are not supported by scripture 36:35 except another woman is speaking to the man of God. 36:39 They're getting these teachings from a woman 36:41 that God has not called, 36:42 thus the picture of Revelation. 36:45 There's that woman that is Jezebel 36:48 who has seduced my prophets. 36:50 The message of Revelation 36:51 that we talked about last quarter, 36:53 this is a prime example of what happened. 36:57 Elijah was called to say to a man 37:00 that God had called and I want to say this, 37:04 and this came out of one of my sermons up. 37:07 Wow. 37:08 Ahab was attracted to Jezebel, 37:11 not because of how she walked 37:13 but because of how he refused to walk. 37:16 That's good. 37:18 Amen. 37:19 Ahab was not, 37:21 Jezebel was not attracted 37:23 to the scent of Ahab's cologne, 37:28 but he was attracted to the scent of her sin. 37:33 And a man that refuses to walk with his God 37:37 will eventually walk with another god. 37:40 And what happened on Mount Carmel 37:42 was the showdown to reclaim the people of God. 37:45 So Ahab was a man that God had called. 37:48 And the mixture today, 37:50 which is sadly in the Christian world, 37:52 is we are listening to and we see doctrines 37:56 that God has never 37:58 put in the mouth of many of those men 38:01 that are claiming allegiance to God. 38:04 How can you test whether or not there is an allegiance? 38:07 Elijah said it, "Well, 38:09 I'm not the one that troubles Israel, 38:10 but you are the one and that you have forsaken 38:13 the commandments of the Lord." 38:16 Go with me to 1 John Chapter 2. 38:18 And then we're gonna end on the points of repentance. 38:20 What does repentance do 38:21 because Elijah called for repentance? 38:23 He called for repentance, but how can you tell 38:25 whether or not a man is connected to the Lord? 38:28 That's a very key issue. 38:29 How can you tell whether or not the man 38:31 that claims his connection to God 38:32 is connected to God? 38:35 1 John 2:3-4, Jill, read that for us. 38:38 "Now by this we know that we know Him, 38:40 if we keep His commandments. 38:42 He who says, 'I know Him,' 38:43 and does not keep His commandments, 38:45 is a liar, and the truth is not in him.'" 38:48 That's exactly what Elijah said to Ahab. 38:52 I have not troubled Israel, 38:54 I have stood firm on the commandments of the Lord, 38:56 but you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord. 38:59 And there are many leaders today 39:01 claiming a connection with God. 39:02 But God is saying based on the acid test, 39:05 I don't know you, I don't know you. 39:07 They claim to be connected 39:09 but He says, I don't know you 39:10 because you're not keeping My commandments. 39:11 If you are a part of a fellowship, 39:13 I say this with all humility, 39:15 look at the commandments of God, 39:16 not the 640 laws of the Old Testament, 39:19 but the Ten Commandments of God, 39:20 of which Jesus is a reflection 39:22 of the character of God's divinity. 39:25 Look at the commandments of God and ask yourself the question, 39:27 is there something there, 39:28 specifically, that is not being upheld in my congregation, 39:31 in my place of worship. 39:33 I can give you one right off the bat. 39:34 The Sabbath is totally ignored 39:37 in so many walks 39:38 of denominations and congregations. 39:40 And although it may be just one instance, 39:43 it is the sign between us and God 39:45 that we might know 39:46 that He's the God that sanctifies us. 39:47 Amen. 39:49 Ezekiel 20:12-20, 39:50 it's a sign that we might know 39:52 that He's the one that's sanctifies us, 39:54 so you cannot get rid of the sign 39:56 as an any sign in a world. 39:58 You cannot get rid of every sign 39:59 in the traffic circle 40:01 and expect to have a safe journey. 40:03 So to get rid of the sign, 40:04 God has called us to put the sign back. 40:08 So I'm gonna say in this particular presentation, 40:11 one thing that repentance does, 40:13 it doesn't just give you a new message, 40:15 it changes the way you walk 40:17 and whatever has been removed, it puts it back. 40:20 Repentance calls for those things 40:23 that will remove to be put back. 40:25 And that's why 1 Kings 18:30, 40:28 one of the first things Elijah did was... 40:31 Look at what he did. 40:32 One of the first things he did, 40:34 whoever gets there first, read it for me. 40:35 One of the first things he did, 1 Kings 18:30. 40:38 Okay, Jill, you have it. Thirty or thirty one? 40:40 Verse 30. 40:41 "Then Elijah said to all the people, 40:43 'Come near to me.' 40:44 So all the people came near to him. 40:46 And he repaired the altar of the Lord 40:47 that was broken down.'" 40:48 What did Elijah do? 40:50 He repaired the altar of the Lord 40:52 that was broken down and is it amazing? 40:57 Go to Isaiah 58. 40:59 Is it is amazing how, 41:01 whatever is broken down needs to be repaired. 41:05 What specifically has the Lord told us to repair? 41:08 And I'm gonna, I want to read it 41:10 from the King James Version. 41:11 Okay, go ahead. 41:12 Go ahead, Shelley. 41:14 Start with verse 12. 41:15 Okay. 41:17 Isaiah 58:12, "Those from among you 41:21 shall build the old waste places, 41:24 you shall raise up 41:25 the foundations of many generations, 41:27 and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, 41:31 the Restorer of Streets to Dwell in. 41:34 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, 41:38 from doing your pleasure on My holy day, 41:41 and call the Sabbath a delight, 41:44 the holy day of the Lord honorable, 41:47 and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, 41:50 nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, 41:54 then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, 41:57 and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, 42:01 and feed you 42:02 with the heritage of Jacob your father. 42:04 The mouth of the Lord has spoken." 42:08 Repair, restore, raise up, rebuild. 42:12 Repair, restore, raise up, rebuild, 42:15 one of the first things that repentance calls us to do 42:18 is to repair the altar of the Lord 42:20 that has been broken down. 42:22 You see, Christian leaders today, 42:24 my challenge is not just to people 42:25 watching this program or listen to the program, 42:28 but to Christian leaders. 42:29 If you want to be the man 42:31 that God can use in an effective manner 42:32 to lead a revolution of reformation in Christianity 42:36 'cause that's very needed. 42:37 I mean, Christianity today 42:39 has become in a great degree an entertainment industry. 42:42 But it has to go back to the word industry 42:45 built on God's Word and His truth. 42:47 Repair the altar of the Lord that was broken down 42:50 and specifically, Shelley pointed out 42:52 the foundations of many generations 42:54 that have been broken down in Christendom today 42:57 is the Lord's Day. 42:58 The Sabbath has been broken down and strangely enough, 43:02 when the Lord says, 43:03 "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy." 43:05 And a religious leader tells you to forget it. 43:08 Something is suspect. Yes. 43:10 You have to get to the place Christian, 43:12 you have to get to the place 43:13 where you are more desirous of honoring the voice of God. 43:16 Remember, than the voice of a religious leader 43:19 that says, forget 43:20 because that's exactly what happened to Ahab. 43:22 Jezebel and Ahab lead the people to forget, 43:25 but Elijah led the people to remember 43:27 and he repaired the altar that was broken down. 43:30 So what is repentance does? 43:32 Very quickly, repentance changes your heart. 43:35 Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 43:36 Matthew 3:2, 43:38 "Repentance produces righteous fruit, 43:41 bear fruit worthy of repentance." 43:43 Matthew 3:8, 43:45 "Repentance brings rebuke," as John made it clear. 43:48 It is not lawful for you to have her stern rebuke. 43:51 John made that very clear when he saw what was wrong, 43:54 he called it out. 43:55 Repentance is also the step to removing sin. 43:58 John says, 44:00 "Repent for the remission of your sin." 44:03 Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sin. 44:06 You cannot repent and leave baptism out. 44:10 You have to wash away that past, 44:11 you have to bury that past. 44:13 Repentance should also produce fruit, 44:16 bear fruit worthy of repentance. 44:19 Repentance, remove the focus from self. 44:23 If somebody has two tunics, and he wants the other one, 44:26 give it to him, don't make self the focus. 44:29 God calls you to give up something, 44:31 give it up for the glory of God. 44:33 And finally, repentance points everyone to Christ. 44:37 Behold, the Lamb of God, 44:40 which taketh away the sin of the world. 44:42 Our only hope is to repair what has been broken down 44:45 and point people to Christ. 44:47 Amen. 44:49 Amen. 44:50 You know, when you went to where you did there 44:52 made me think of a text out of Isaiah 4:1. 44:56 Isaiah 4:1. 44:59 And in the immediate context, 45:01 it's talking about the result of Israel. 45:04 But I look at this in a prophetic sense. 45:06 And it says, "In that day, 45:07 seven women shall take hold of one man, 45:10 saying, 'We will eat our own food, 45:11 wear our own apparel. 45:13 Only let us be called by your name, 45:15 to take away our reproach." 45:16 You know, we think about not only was it Elijah, 45:19 but it's also like what Noah had to preach. 45:22 Every time there's judgment that's happening, 45:25 it seems as if the enemy has infiltrated 45:27 God's people in His church. 45:29 And here in these last days, 45:31 we've had the influence of 1260 years of darkness... 45:35 That's right. 45:37 An attempted reformation out of that, 45:38 confusion in our midst, and as a result, 45:42 there are many people that are not hearing the truth. 45:45 And so I was asking myself, 45:47 I said, "What is the mission 45:49 or the call of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 45:51 in these last days?" 45:53 And just this morning, 45:55 I opened up the book Last Day Events, 45:57 these are some of the compilation of writings 45:59 of E.G. White, 46:01 that I found these powerful quotes 46:03 that I want to share, 46:04 because I actually found the answer to my own question. 46:06 The distinctive mission of Seventh-day Adventist 46:10 is what this is the category. 46:12 It's on page 45 of that book, if you're interested. 46:15 "The Lord has made us the depositories of His law. 46:19 He has committed to us the sacred and eternal truth, 46:22 which is to be given to others in faithful warnings, 46:25 reproofs, and encouragement." 46:27 Now, this next one. 46:28 "Seventh-day Adventist have been chosen by God 46:30 as a peculiar people, separate from the world. 46:34 By the great cleaver of His truth 46:36 He has cut them out from the quarry of the world, 46:40 and brought them into connection with Himself. 46:42 He has made them His representatives 46:44 and has called them to be ambassadors for Him 46:47 in the last work of salvation. 46:50 The greatest wealth of truth," 46:51 this is the one that really hit me, 46:53 "the greatest wealth of truth ever entrusted to mortals, 46:56 the most solemn and fearful warnings 46:58 ever sent by God to man, 47:00 have been committed to them to be given to the world." 47:05 So we're talking about a holistic approach 47:08 to a message that God is pleading with the world. 47:11 And when you think of Elijah, 47:13 and you think of the population of the world today 47:15 and think of the calling, it is a huge calling, 47:17 and also all the deceptions 47:18 that had been set into even the church. 47:21 The last one I wanna share is, 47:23 "In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists 47:24 have been set in the world as watchmen, as light bearers. 47:28 To them has been entrusted the last warning 47:31 for a perishing world. 47:33 On them is shining wonderful light 47:35 from the Word of God. 47:37 They have been given a work of the most solemn import, 47:40 the proclamation of the first, second, 47:42 and third angels' messages. 47:44 There is no other work of so great importance. 47:47 They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention." 47:52 And too often, we're trying so hard to be relevant 47:55 in these last days, 47:57 that we're forgetting our mission. 47:59 And we're finding ourselves attempting to become like that 48:02 which is around us, 48:03 because somehow we find people are drawn to it. 48:05 And as you mentioned, Pastor Lomacang, 48:08 sometimes it's just an entertainment event. 48:11 And so we find that really, 48:14 I was also looking at the actual Elijah, 48:17 what the name Elijah means, 48:18 it was mentioned earlier. 48:19 But the Lord is my God. 48:22 Anyone who is sharing 48:23 the Elijah message in the last days 48:25 will be someone who has the Lord as their God. 48:29 And I want us to go to a text and went to earlier 48:31 but look a little bit earlier than that, 48:32 go to Luke Chapter 1, 48:34 and not just verse 17, 48:35 but I was intrigued with verses 15 and 16, 48:39 as well, 48:40 because we're looking at John the Baptist here 48:42 and the special calling that God had on his life. 48:45 And I want you to know, if you think about 48:47 with 7.5 billion people on this planet, 48:49 and for you to be part 48:50 of a small movement in this world. 48:54 For God to give you this message, 48:56 He has entrusted it for purpose, 48:58 and that is for you to share it with those 48:59 that you know and love. 49:01 And here we find in verse 15, 49:03 it says, "For he will be great," 49:04 this is speaking of John the Baptist, 49:06 "in the sight of the Lord, 49:07 and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink." 49:10 So interesting because uniquely almost, 49:13 the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a health message 49:16 that you're not finding necessarily 49:18 in the rest of Christendom. 49:20 And it is a special calling, 49:22 you think about the Elijah message. 49:23 that's one of the characteristics 49:25 or identifying marks. 49:26 The other one is, 49:27 "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit." 49:29 We think about Revelation 18:4, 49:31 after the three angels' messages, 49:33 the difference is the same message 49:35 with Holy Spirit outpouring happening. 49:38 But the message is always the same. 49:40 And the other thing we have to keep in mind. 49:42 When I think about Elijah, 49:44 it was not a message of popularity, 49:45 it was a message that actually brought 49:48 judgment and divide 49:50 in the hearts and lives of people, 49:52 because they either have allegiance to that 49:53 which they followed, or they have allegiance 49:55 to the Word of God. 49:56 And that messenger oftentimes 49:58 goes through persecution of some sense. 50:00 So if it's your family, 50:01 sometimes you're gonna be standing up for right, 50:03 and you're gonna find immense forces against that. 50:07 When we think about the prophets of Baal 50:09 and bringing in the foreign gods, 50:10 oftentimes, 50:12 the strongest Christian in the home is not leading, 50:15 and someone else, 50:17 others are bringing in influences from the world 50:20 and contaminating the atmosphere in that home. 50:23 It's not just who you marry, 50:24 but it's also what you're allowing 50:27 of the enemy's food to be taking over 50:30 because he's working relentlessly for those 50:33 that are not following him 50:34 to bring that influence into the homes. 50:36 That's right. 50:37 And I also think about, 50:38 it was a spirit of Jezebel that entered the church 50:40 during this 1260 days, 50:43 or years, I should say, 50:45 but God is calling His children home. 50:47 And I like what this says here in our lesson, 50:50 it's on Thursday, on the bottom of the page. 50:52 It says, "The Heavenly Father 50:53 has turned the hearts of His children 50:55 back to Himself 50:56 and it's turned the hearts of His children to each other 50:59 through the cross of Christ." 51:01 And really the heart of the gospel is in second, 51:03 let's go to 2 Corinthians Chapter 5. 51:08 2 Corinthians 5. 51:10 And we're gonna take a look at verses 18 through 21. 51:15 "Now all things are of God 51:16 who has reconciled us to Himself 51:18 through Jesus Christ and has given us 51:20 the ministry of reconciliation." 51:23 So he must be the center of the message. 51:25 You think about the three angels' messages 51:27 given in Revelation 14:6, 51:28 it is the everlasting gospel, is the forefront message. 51:33 "That is that God was in Christ 51:35 reconciling the world to Himself 51:36 not imputing to trespass it to them 51:38 and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 51:41 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, 51:43 as though God were pleading through us, 51:46 we implore you on Christ's behalf, 51:48 be reconciled to God. 51:49 For He made Him 51:52 who knew no sin to be sin for so we might become 51:55 the righteousness of God in Him." 51:57 In essence, this is really the mission 51:59 that God has given us. 52:00 That is the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14:6. 52:04 You know, 52:05 those in your world are the ones 52:07 that God has called you to call. 52:10 As matter of fact, they have another quote here 52:11 on our lesson here, 52:13 on Thursday's lesson, 52:14 I wanna share, it's been jumped right into another sentence. 52:16 We must remember that the message 52:19 we have for the world is also for ourselves. 52:22 Until the principles of gospel, the unity of love, 52:26 of self-sacrifice are made manifest among us, 52:28 especially in our own families, 52:30 we will be powerless 52:32 to share this message with others. 52:35 So how do we find that power? 52:37 "Christ in you is the hope of glory," 52:38 Colossians 1:27. 52:40 "I can do all things through Christ 52:41 who strengthens me," Philippians 4:13. 52:44 So we are called first 52:45 and foremost to be disciples of Jesus 52:48 that is the first and foremost calling for us. 52:50 But those who were to be called the disciples 52:53 that are also making disciples. 52:55 That's good. That's right. 52:56 And God wants to through us 52:58 share a message that no one else is sharing. 53:00 This Advent movement has a unique calling 53:03 and unique insight. 53:05 And as we saw, 53:06 we're entrusted with the most truth 53:08 that needs to be shared 53:09 at this very hour of earth's history. 53:11 That's right. 53:12 You know, when I think about Revelation 18:4, 53:14 let's go there together. 53:15 This is something some of us know very well. 53:21 But even when you go to verse 1, 53:25 Revelation 18:1, says, "After these things, 53:27 I saw another angel coming down from heaven, 53:28 having a great authority, 53:30 and the earth was illuminated with his glory." 53:32 First and foremost, 53:33 the Holy Spirit is driving this 53:36 and we find verse 4, it says, 53:37 "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 53:39 'Come out of her, My people, 53:41 lest you share in her sins, 53:43 and lest you receive of her plagues.'" 53:45 That right there is Elijah's showdown. 53:48 That is it, right there, 53:49 happening again in modern terms. 53:52 It is told to us, 53:53 so this is exactly the way it's going to be happening. 53:56 We're living at the last hours of earth's history. 54:00 And God has blessed us to be alive here and now, 54:04 and He has a purpose for us. 54:06 As a matter of fact, 54:08 Ellen White when she was in vision, 54:10 she saw sincere Christians holding their Bibles open 54:15 with tears in their eyes, 54:17 pleading with the people 54:19 that this is the way, walk ye in it, 54:21 which shows me that they had love for God 54:23 supremely, they had love for others 54:25 that were in their world. 54:27 One thing we have to always remember is every one of us 54:30 that's viewing this or listening to this program 54:32 is gonna be meetings people 54:34 that no one else in your world will ever know. 54:37 And God has ordained that opportunity for you 54:39 to actually systematically through His power. 54:43 He knows where the people are. He's working on their hearts. 54:46 Call them into His glorious light 54:48 while there's still time. 54:50 And before that ark is saved, right now, 54:52 as I was thinking as the others are speaking, 54:53 there is an open door. 54:56 Let's take advantage of that time 54:57 that God has gifted us. 54:59 Amen. Praise the Lord. 55:00 Wow! 55:02 This lesson has really opened my heart and mind 55:04 to a lot of things. 55:06 It's really stirred my heart. 55:08 And I praise God for that. 55:09 Why don't we take the last few minutes we have 55:11 and just go back through the panel 55:13 and let you guys open your heart 55:15 and share something for the Lord? 55:16 Thank you, Ryan. 55:17 As I think about this quarter, it's all about families. 55:19 And we could talk self-help, 55:21 we could say these, these are steps, 55:23 this is what you can do to help your family. 55:25 But it means nothing 55:27 unless you make the Lord Jesus Christ 55:28 as the center of your heart, 55:30 your home and your family. 55:32 2 Corinthians 6:16, 55:35 he says, "I will dwell in them, 55:38 walk among them, 55:40 I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 55:43 That's God's desire for each one of us. 55:46 Amen. 55:47 I just think this thought 55:49 that hit me the greatest was 1 Kings 18:37, 55:54 when Elijah's calling on God, and He says, 55:57 "O Lord, hear me 55:59 that people may know that You are God, 56:02 and that You have turned their hearts 56:05 back to You again." 56:07 I think that anytime 56:08 we're trying to turn hearts back at the altar, 56:12 what we need to do is pray earnestly 56:15 and know that it is God who gives the change of heart. 56:19 All we have to do is reflect His love 56:22 and His light in His Word. 56:24 And finally, 2 Timothy 4:2, 56:26 "Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. 56:29 Convince, reprove, rebuke, exhort 56:31 with all long suffering." 56:33 And that's what God has called us to do. 56:34 If there's gonna be any reformation or any change, 56:36 we have to uphold the Word in our family, 56:39 uphold it in society, 56:41 uphold it in the church family, 56:43 and uphold it before the world, 56:44 so that reformation and revival can occur. 56:47 That's right. 56:48 And if you're living in a home 56:50 where the influence of the enemy has infiltrated, 56:54 get on your knees, open your Bible, 56:57 and claim this promise, "I can do all things 56:59 through Christ who strengthens me," 57:01 and invite His Spirit and His Word 57:04 to rule in your house. 57:06 Amen. Wow! 57:08 Well, friends, we certainly appreciate you 57:10 joining us week after week studying with us. 57:13 But we're gonna start a new quarter next week, 57:15 and we encourage you to join us. 57:17 That's quarter number three, 57:19 and we're gonna be dealing with the subject of 57:20 "Ministering to Those In Need." 57:23 And I hope that God continues to bless you 57:25 and Holy Spirit continues to lead and guide you. 57:29 Listen to the Spirit, 57:30 go to the Word of God 57:32 and allow God to transform your life. 57:34 Until next time, 57:35 we appreciate you joining us here 57:37 at the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:39 Amen. |
Revised 2019-06-28