Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190027A
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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 00:09 the implanted Word 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent 00:15 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 "The Least of These." 00:31 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:33 My name is John Lomacang, 00:35 thank you for taking the time to tune in. 00:36 We are excited 00:38 that you have paused on this network. 00:40 If this is your first time, 00:42 please put a mark on whatever device you need to 00:44 because we believe that this channel 00:46 has been chosen by God to continue going and growing, 00:49 getting people ready for the coming of the Lord. 00:51 We are beginning a new quarter in our Sabbath School lesson 00:53 about God's right to restore a broken planet, 00:57 a broken society 00:59 and we're talking about servant hood, 01:00 we're talking about the ways that relationships 01:03 play a major role in the development 01:06 and the restoration of humanity. 01:08 So stay tuned with us, 01:10 it's gonna be an exciting study. 01:11 Before I go any further though, 01:13 I'd like to introduce you to our panel. 01:14 To my immediate left, Mollie, good to have you here. 01:17 Thank you. It's a joy to be here. 01:19 That's right, Mollie Steenson for those of you 01:20 who may not know who she is. 01:22 And to her immediate left, Shelley Quinn. 01:24 Good to have you here, Shelley. 01:25 Wonderful to be here. Yes. 01:27 Our Program Director 01:28 and a number of other hats you wear, 01:30 but we're glad to have you here today. 01:32 Pastor Ryan Day, good to see you. 01:34 It's a blessing to be here. That's right. 01:35 You're the... 01:37 not the new kid on the block, but the kid on the block. 01:39 But you are a man of the Word 01:41 and we appreciate that very much. 01:42 Praise the Lord. 01:43 And Jill Morikone. Good to have you here, Jill. 01:45 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 01:46 I'm waiting for those points, those bullet points, 01:49 which you are very well-known for. 01:51 And the ladies are all color today 01:54 and we know that 01:55 this is gonna be a bright program, 01:56 but more than anything else, 01:58 we need prayer before we go any further. 02:00 And I like to ask, Mollie, 02:02 would you have prayer for us today? 02:03 Thank you. 02:04 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 02:06 and we praise You and we thank You, Lord, 02:09 for this Word 02:10 that You've entrusted to us to share. 02:12 Father, as we break this bread of life 02:15 to share with Your people, 02:16 we ask Holy God 02:18 that Your anointing would be upon it, 02:20 that the Word would go forth and it would accomplish 02:22 that which You would want it to accomplish. 02:24 So we commended into your hands, 02:26 in Jesus' name, amen. 02:28 Amen. 02:29 To get a copy of the lesson to follow along with us, 02:32 go to ABSG.Adventist.org. 02:36 That's ABSG.Adventist.org 02:38 and download a copy if you'd like to do that, 02:40 or stop by your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:43 and join them for an exciting study. 02:46 We believe that God is going to really bless you. 02:49 Now I have been given the wonderful opportunity. 02:51 Our memory text, by the way comes from Proverbs 14:31, 02:56 lays the foundation on the topic 02:58 of the lesson for this week, "God Created." 03:02 And we're gonna talk about God's right 03:03 to be the creator. 03:05 The memory text is Proverbs 14:31, 03:08 and the Bible says as follows. 03:10 "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, 03:14 but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy." 03:19 You know, panel, when I read this, 03:22 one of the things that I came up 03:23 with is God's right. 03:26 God's right to the restoration process 03:29 of our planet. 03:30 Only the creator can have the right to restore. 03:33 And the author of this lesson 03:35 drew a picture of giving something 03:37 unbroken to someone 03:39 and then all of a sudden, it breaks 03:41 and it doesn't only afflict the receiver, 03:44 but it saddens the one who gave the gift. 03:47 I mean, can you imagine that 03:49 a great cause of the creation process, 03:50 but then all of a sudden, 03:52 creation is now broken 03:53 and it's been broken for thousands of years, 03:55 but through that process, 03:57 the only one that has the right as creator 04:01 is now the one that's involved in the process of redemption. 04:03 So what I want to do today is look at God's right 04:06 to restore the planet 04:09 from the vantage point of His power as creator. 04:13 I'll begin with Acts 17:28. 04:16 "Everything that we are, do and see 04:18 all our interaction with others life itself 04:20 and how it is best lived, all began with this reality." 04:25 Acts 17:28, do you have it, Jill? 04:27 I do. 04:29 "For in him we live and move and have our being, 04:31 as also some of your own poets have said, 04:34 'For we are also His offspring.'" 04:36 That's right, So everyone on this planet, 04:38 whether they acknowledge God or not, 04:40 as Ryan often says, 04:42 we are brothers from another mother. 04:44 But we all have the same father in the beginning. 04:46 You know, it all began with the phrase, 04:48 "In the beginning 04:49 God created the heavens and the earth." 04:52 And even though His creatorship is challenged, 04:54 and sometimes denied, and sometimes overlooked, 04:57 and people try to substitute His creative ability 05:01 and His right to create, you cannot deny it. 05:04 You know, couple other passages in the Bible, 05:06 consider the power, because the author said, 05:08 if you really pause and think for a moment 05:12 that God spoke the world into existence, 05:15 these are points, Shelley, 05:17 that we can't even begin to imagine. 05:21 I mean, when you look at the detail of creation, 05:22 when you look at the detail in creation, 05:24 just the diversity of plants and flowers, 05:26 and birds and fish, and islands, 05:28 and dialects and languages, 05:30 and the list goes on and on endlessly. 05:32 It's hard to imagine that kind of process 05:35 and everything that the Lord create, 05:38 He gives it the ability to procreate, even plants. 05:41 And so I want to just focus on that, 05:43 considering the power 05:45 behind the creation of the world. 05:47 For example, Genesis 1:3, 05:49 listen to this, it's a powerful... 05:50 and God said, "Let there be." 05:52 Can you imagine, all I've got to do is say, 05:54 let there be and something shows up. 05:58 Let there be and there was, let there be and there was, 06:01 let there be and there wasn't, so that repetitious statement. 06:05 Some call it the Big Bang, I don't believe in the Big Bang 06:07 because they think that something came from nothing, 06:09 it's not possible only if you're God, 06:13 only if you're God, 06:14 you can't throw nuts and bolts inside of a chamber and spin it 06:17 and then blow it up with an atomic bomb 06:19 and out comes a vehicle, 06:20 it's not possible but God in His Word, 06:24 Psalm 33:6, 06:25 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made 06:28 and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." 06:32 Psalm 33:9, "For He spoken it was done, 06:35 He commanded, and it stood fast." 06:38 Only God can do that. 06:40 Another one, Job 26:7, 06:43 "He stretched out the north over empty space, 06:46 He hangs the earth on nothing." 06:49 Think about that for a moment. 06:50 You know, astronauts know 06:53 and those who have the space shuttle 06:56 and the probes that have all been sent out to space, 07:00 we look back and we see this perfectly spherical ball 07:04 and it's sitting right there, just staying in its orbit, 07:07 but it's hanging on nothing. 07:09 Only God can do that. 07:10 You can't blow something up and put it in perfect order 07:13 and it not collide with the other planets 07:15 that surround it. 07:16 Only God can do that. 07:18 Another text, Psalm 147:4, 07:20 "He counts the number of the stars, 07:22 He calls them all by name." 07:25 That one hurts 'cause in our galaxy alone, 07:28 there are billions and billions and billions. 07:31 But then there are billions of galaxies, 07:33 admittedly by astronomers, 07:34 they're saying there are billions of galaxies 07:36 and they have only come up with that 07:38 by focusing on certain areas of black space, 07:42 billions of galaxies. 07:43 Another text, Psalm 24:1-2, "The earth is the Lord's, 07:47 and the fullness thereof 07:49 of the world and those who dwell in it, 07:51 for He has founded it upon the seas 07:53 and establish it upon the waters." 07:55 Only God has the right to restore what He created. 07:59 And I want to just kind of, for those who may say, 08:01 "Well, how do we know?" 08:03 Let me give you a testimony of a self described agnostic. 08:08 Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, he stated this. 08:13 He said, "The seed of everything 08:14 that has happened in the universe 08:16 was planted in that first instant. 08:19 Even every star, every planet, 08:21 every living creature in the universe 08:23 came into being as a result of the events 08:26 that were set in motion 08:27 in the moment of the cosmic explosion." 08:29 That's his description. 08:31 The universe flashed into being 08:33 and look what he says, an agnostic, 08:35 "And we cannot find out what caused it to happen." 08:39 When you deny God, 08:40 you always try to find a substitute, 08:41 which you can't. 08:43 There's no substitute to create such detail. 08:45 Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner 08:47 for Quantum Electrodynamics, 08:50 he said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery. 08:54 The fact that there are rules at all 08:57 is a kind of miracle." 08:59 Everything in space, 09:00 you know, for eons and eons and century after century, 09:03 you can point to a particular constellation of stars 09:07 and you'll notice that 09:08 they are the same distance apart 09:10 as they were 4000 years ago. 09:12 Mathematically placed immovable, 09:15 and we can, 09:16 they're so reliable that sailors, 09:19 they would use instruments, I don't know the name of it, 09:21 I don't want to slaughter the name, 09:23 but they would navigate the oceans 09:24 by lining stars up 09:26 and even still today telescopes, 09:29 they'll say if you look at certain, 09:30 you know, hazmat and longitude and latitude, 09:34 you can find particular bodies 09:35 that were there for thousands of years, 09:37 this mathematical consistency. 09:40 And not only that, everything created has DNA, 09:44 DNA, all instruction, all teaching and all training 09:47 comes with intent. 09:49 Someone who writes an instruction manual 09:52 does so with purpose, but listen about DNA. 09:55 In every cell of our bodies 09:57 there exist a very detailed instruction code, 10:01 which like a miniature computer, 10:03 programs everything to happen. 10:05 That's not just in our DNA, but in the DNA of animals, 10:09 the DNA of plants, and I forgot who said it, 10:11 but he said, one person who said, 10:12 "If you line up the DNA and it goes to space and back, 10:16 just in our human body." 10:18 So how amazing it is. 10:19 But one of the undeniable facts of God's creatorship, 10:22 to me is how time is kept. 10:25 You know, the day, astronomically, 10:27 we have a 24 hour day or 23 hours and 56 minutes 10:31 defined by the earth's rotation around its axis. 10:33 It takes about 24 hours to complete that process. 10:36 We can find that astronomically. 10:38 Then the month, astronomically we have the cycle 10:41 defined by the moon's orbit around the earth. 10:44 That's where the four conditions, 10:46 the half, I mean, the quarter, the half, 10:48 the three quarter, the full, 10:50 it goes through the cycle on a monthly basis. 10:52 That's found by looking into space. 10:54 Then we have the year, 10:55 the astronomical year which has four seasons, 10:58 defined by the earth's orbit around the sun. 11:00 It takes about 365 days, given the leap year 11:03 to make up the time that is differentiated. 11:07 But what amazes me about God's creative ability 11:11 is there is no astronomical 11:13 or celestial authentication for the week. 11:17 You can't look up in space and find a week in any place. 11:20 The only place you can find a week is in God's Word. 11:24 Amen. Amen. 11:26 Amen. 11:27 So whether a person is atheist, or agnostic, 11:28 or just plugs his ears to deny the very words of God, 11:33 the fact that God 11:35 that we all live in a seven day cycle 11:38 is evidence that God exists, 11:40 because His Word is the only point 11:42 of authentication for a seven day week. 11:44 So the one who creates the world 11:46 doesn't stand back and let it determine 11:49 its own direction but He continues. 11:52 And as Job found out, 11:54 nature can teach us so much about God 11:55 that's unexplainable. 11:57 You know, I remember when Job was in a funk, 12:00 I use that phrase 12:01 and he was angry and complaining. 12:04 He never blamed God for his condition 12:07 but he just got in the funk. 12:08 And I love the way the Lord responded to Job 12:10 in Job 38:4-6, 12:13 the Lord said to Job, 12:15 "Where were you 12:17 when I lay the foundations of the earth? 12:19 Tell me, if you have understanding, 12:22 who determined its measurement? 12:25 Surely, you know!" 12:26 God is working him over. 12:28 And he said, 12:29 "Or who stretched the line upon it? 12:31 To what were its foundations fastened? 12:33 Or who laid its cornerstone?" 12:35 Job, if you so know so much, can you give me the answer? 12:38 And when you read that, 12:40 when you read that response, where Job, 12:41 Job gets to the place where he almost says to God, 12:43 "Okay, enough, enough," and Lord said, 12:44 "No, I'm not done yet." 12:46 And He continues to remind him in his frailty, 12:49 that the heavens declare the glory of God. 12:52 And the firmament shows His handiwork. 12:54 This Psalmist David, Psalm 19:1-6, 12:58 "Day and today they utter speech, 12:59 and night unto night reveals knowledge. 13:01 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 13:05 The line has gone out throughout all earth 13:07 and their words to the end of the world." 13:09 So when you think about that, who can do that except God. 13:13 The heavens declare the glory of God, 13:15 and we have the beautiful privilege 13:17 and the process of the restoration of creation, 13:19 to not only let the heavens glorify God, 13:22 but we have been given the injunction, 13:24 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 13:26 for the hour of His judgment has come." 13:28 So recognize His creative ability 13:31 and His creatorship, and then give Him glory. 13:33 Amen. 13:35 So God created everything, 13:38 everything that was created, God created. 13:40 Do you know that it means you and I 13:41 are created by almighty God. 13:43 Now that is just encouraging if you ask me. 13:46 Well, I have a Monday, 13:48 and on Monday we look at a complete world. 13:52 And let me ask you this question, 13:56 I like to teach by asking questions. 13:59 In your opinion, 14:01 when you hear the word a complete world, 14:03 what does that speak to us, a complete world? 14:07 Well, before you jump in, 14:08 let me just give you my observation of this. 14:11 That would be a world that is in harmony with God, 14:16 a world in harmony with God. 14:19 Now, let me ask you this question. 14:21 This is a rhetorical question by the way. 14:24 Is this world in a mess? 14:26 Now we just, pastor just identified, 14:29 clarified so beautifully, 14:31 that this world was created by almighty God. 14:35 And we're gonna look at the condition it was in 14:37 when He got through with creation, 14:38 but right now, today, is this world in a mess? 14:42 And the answer is yes, it is. 14:43 Now I want to look at three aspects. 14:46 One is the natural world, one is the socioeconomic world, 14:50 is that in a mess today, and the spiritual world. 14:55 Now, we look at, now, we've seen on the media, 15:00 all this rioting and all the horrendous attacks 15:05 and so forth that have happened 15:06 not just in these United States, 15:08 but all over the world. 15:10 And we look at that and we say, 15:11 "Oh, the socioeconomic situation 15:13 that is in the world." 15:15 But let me just clarify this from the beginning. 15:18 It's the great controversy being played out, 15:21 it is good versus evil. 15:23 That's right. 15:24 Christ versus Satan, 15:26 it is light versus darkness that we're seeing. 15:28 We're seeing more prevalent now than I think in history, 15:33 the great controversy being played out 15:35 before our very eyes. 15:36 That's what I think we're seeing. 15:38 Does it appear as though 15:40 our world is declining to its end? 15:43 Now, what do we know 15:45 that is going to happen to this world? 15:47 Is it going to be destroyed by fire? 15:51 But then... 15:52 But then, there's a new heaven and a new earth. 15:53 So anytime we see something that we think, 15:57 "Oh, that's painful." 15:58 God always gives us a future and a hope. 16:01 He always speaks hope to us. 16:03 Now, what did God say was the condition of this world 16:10 when He finished on the sixth day of creation, 16:13 that would be Genesis 1:31, He said, it is what? 16:17 Very good. 16:18 He looked at all that He had created, 16:21 this God of creation 16:23 that Pastor Lomacang was talking about. 16:25 He looked at all that He had created, 16:28 not in the universe so much as here. 16:32 He was speaking of this earth, this earth that we live in, 16:37 and He looked at all of His creation, 16:40 and He said, "This is very good." 16:43 So, ladies and gentlemen, 16:46 people, Pastor, Pastor Ryan, 16:51 that is what God created for us to live in. 16:56 That's what He wanted for us. 16:58 That's right. 17:01 It's what He wanted humanity to live in, 17:05 throughout all of our existence here on this earth. 17:09 That is what Adam and Eve experienced in the garden. 17:14 Now in our quarterly, 17:17 the quarterly makes a statement. 17:19 And in it, what the statement is, 17:21 it's easy to feel homesick for Eden. 17:25 Why would we feel homesick for Eden? 17:27 Because this is what God had for us in the beginning. 17:32 This is what He wanted for us. 17:35 We know that is what God intended 17:39 from the very beginning. 17:40 It was both. 17:41 And, Pastor, you touched on a lot of this, 17:43 it was both beautiful and functional. 17:47 It was exquisite in its design. 17:49 It was vibrant with life and color, 17:52 but also filled with everything necessary 17:55 for life to flourish. 17:57 Now, I want to give you some good news. 18:01 Well, first I'm gonna start with the bad news. 18:04 But then I get to give you some good news. 18:06 So here's the bad news. 18:09 Adam and Eve sinned, now remember, 18:12 they were in the Garden of Eden, 18:14 which was created perfect. 18:17 It was very good. 18:19 This is where they were and they sinned, 18:23 and were driven from the Garden of Eden, 18:26 never to return. 18:27 What did I say? Never to return. 18:30 Did Adam and Eve ever get to go back to the garden? 18:32 No, they never returned. 18:33 Sin separated them, separated them from God. 18:39 They fell down. 18:41 Here's how I like to say it, sin separated them from God. 18:44 They fell down, is it called the fall? 18:46 The fall of men. 18:47 They fell down and they could not get back up 18:52 without the intervention, without an intervention. 18:55 Here's the good news, but I'm not there yet. 18:56 Okay. 18:59 They disobeyed God's commandments to them, 19:03 and what was the commandment? 19:05 Not to eat of the fruit 19:07 of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? 19:09 Did they do it? They did it. 19:11 So they sinned, 19:12 they disobeyed God's commandments. 19:15 They did what? 19:17 Disobeyed God's commandments. 19:18 Listen to this. 19:19 They disobeyed God's commandments. 19:21 Are there commandments in place today 19:23 that we're to adhere, to bring our life in alignment? 19:27 Do we want to be on the side of obedience to God 19:31 or as Adam and Eve, disobedience to God? 19:34 They were found guilty 19:37 and a sentence was pronounced on both of them. 19:41 And that sentence fell to all of their descendants. 19:46 That's you and me. 19:48 Are we descendants of Adam and Eve? 19:49 Yes, we are. Okay. 19:51 So here's the good news. 19:52 God sent Jesus to this earth right here. 19:56 Amen to that. 19:58 To bear the penalty of sin, 20:00 to restore us to right relationship with God, 20:04 to bridge that separation. 20:06 Now, what does sin do? 20:07 Sin separates us from God. 20:11 Jesus came into this earth born of a woman 20:14 and his sole purpose, 20:16 the reason He came to this earth 20:19 was to bridge that separation. 20:22 To reached out his hand to Jill Morikone 20:27 and lift her up where she had fallen, 20:32 where she had no way of getting up on her own. 20:36 But, Jill, when you took the hand of God, 20:39 when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 20:43 you were lifted up, 20:45 that separation was bridged 20:48 and you are now in right relationship with God. 20:52 Two, He came to reestablish a complete world, 20:58 a world that is in harmony with God. 21:01 Now, the natural world 21:04 and we've got a beautiful natural world, 21:06 and we'll look at that just for a minute. 21:09 The natural world isn't what was restored. 21:12 The socioeconomic system is not what was restored, 21:16 what was restored? 21:18 Our relationship, that's our spiritual we hated 21:21 is joint into the Lord is what? 21:23 One spirit. 21:24 Our spiritual relationship with God was restored, 21:28 we are brought back into harmony with God, 21:32 just assuredly as Adam and Eve 21:34 were initially in harmony with God, 21:36 we're in harmony with God, 21:38 even in a world that is filled with turmoil, 21:41 we can be in harmony with God, okay. 21:47 Now, let me jump to this. 21:51 Even with the decline and degradation 21:55 we see in our natural world, 21:57 we are still able to see 21:59 much at the grander of God's creation, 22:02 don't want us to overlook this. 22:04 Jesus used the grander of God's creation 22:08 in many of His teachings. 22:09 In Matthew 6:26, 22:11 let me read this quickly for you, 22:13 "Look at the birds of the air 22:15 for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, 22:18 yet your heavenly Father feeds them." 22:20 Here, He used these teachings from nature 22:23 as a way to encourage us. 22:25 Look at this, 22:26 and "Are you not more valuable than the birds of the air?" 22:31 God loves us. 22:32 He's done everything to bring us back 22:34 into right relationship with Him. 22:37 While we know that the best is yet to come, 22:40 that heaven is real, 22:42 and we have a future and a hope of eternity in God's presence. 22:48 Do we know that we have that future and a hope? 22:50 We're gonna spend an eternity in the presence of God. 22:53 Here is just a word of encouragement. 22:55 "Let's open our eyes 22:57 and look at the marvels of creation 22:59 that surround us every day. 23:01 The battle between good and evil 23:03 is raging around us constantly. 23:06 We face trial after trial, 23:08 but with our focus on the one who created all things 23:12 and pronounced it as very good. 23:15 Let's walk with an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness 23:19 for His grace and mercy 23:21 that has been so abundantly extended to us. 23:24 One last quote, 23:26 "As Seventh-day Adventists 23:27 those who both celebrate creation 23:29 and anticipate God's coming kingdom, 23:33 we should realize that the beauty, joy, 23:35 and goodness we see and experience in this world 23:38 are glimpses of what our world once was, 23:42 and what it will be again." 23:43 Amen. Thank you. 23:45 Thank you so much, Mollie. 23:46 On that note, we're going to take a break 23:47 and we'll be right back. 23:54 Ever wish you could watch 23:55 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:57 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:00 Well, you can, 24:02 by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:05 A clean design makes it easy 24:08 to find the program you're looking for. 24:10 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:13 so you can follow along. 24:15 Sharing is easy. 24:17 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:20 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:26 Welcome back to our Sabbath School Panel. 24:28 We'll continue on Tuesday's lessons 24:30 with Shelley Quinn, "Stewards of the Earth." 24:33 "Stewards of the Earth," 24:34 you all had set this up very well. 24:35 Thank you so much. 24:37 You know, 24:38 in the Bible's record of creation, 24:40 as you said, Mollie, 24:42 God created everything and it was idyllic. 24:45 There was abundance. 24:47 And in the Hebrew, 24:49 the expression Garden of Eden 24:52 meant the garden of pleasure, the garden of delight, 24:57 this was paradise. 24:58 So let's look at Genesis 1:28, 25:01 because God created this beautiful earth. 25:05 But then He intended to give man, 25:09 He created man with special purpose, 25:11 and He gave man a responsibility. 25:13 Genesis 1:28, it says, then God blessed them, 25:19 God said to them speaking to Adam and Eve, 25:23 "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, 25:28 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 25:30 over the birds of the air, 25:31 and over everything that moves on the earth." 25:36 This is the longest of five blessings 25:38 in the creation account. 25:40 And it is interesting 25:42 because here we see this, be fruitful and multiply. 25:46 That was Him pronouncing a blessing on marriage. 25:50 But I want to point out the word 'subdue it. 25:53 When God said "subdue the earth." 25:56 He was talking about bringing it under control, 26:01 a wise use of the natural resources 26:05 that would enhance 26:07 the experience of filling the earth. 26:10 Now, in Hebrew, the word Rada is dominion. 26:15 God said subdue it, have dominion over it. 26:19 You know what that means? 26:20 It's not, you're just gonna do whatever you want with it. 26:24 Dominion means to take care of it, 26:28 to direct, to manage. 26:31 And God created humankind with a special status. 26:36 And He gave us this responsibility 26:40 to take care of this beautiful creation. 26:43 And what was the first job that God gave to Adam? 26:46 To name the birds and all the animals. 26:49 So in Genesis 2:15, the scripture says, 26:53 "The Lord God took the man put him in the Garden of Eden 26:58 to tend it, to keep it." 27:01 He was to work it and take care of it. 27:04 This is the first command of stewardship, 27:08 the responsibility 27:11 in maintaining the created order 27:13 so that all this life and goodness, 27:16 and fullness and beauty would be there 27:19 for future generations. 27:22 You know, in a fallen world, 27:24 don't you think we have 27:25 even a greater responsibility as Christians 27:28 to be wise stewards of all that God has given us. 27:33 So James 1:17, I love this scripture. 27:36 And I always remember it because my birthday is 1:17. 27:40 James 1:17, 27:43 "Every good and perfect gift is from above." 27:49 "Every good gift, 27:50 every perfect gift is from above, 27:53 and comes down to us from the Father of lights 27:56 with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." 28:00 In other words, God doesn't change, 28:02 but everything that we are, 28:05 everything that we possess belongs to God. 28:09 In 1 Corinthians, you, I think you've... 28:12 John, quoted Psalm 24:1, 28:15 Paul quotes it in 1 Corinthians 10:26, 28:19 he says, "The earth is the Lord's, 28:21 and the fullness thereof." 28:22 He's the rightful owner. 28:25 But I want one of you to look up Psalm 115:15-16. 28:31 And then I'll read the next thing. 28:32 Okay, I have it. 28:33 In Psalm 115, 28:35 God gave dominion over the earth to mankind. 28:37 Would you read that? 28:39 Sure, verse 15 and 16, 28:41 "May you be blessed by the Lord 28:42 who made heaven and earth, the heavens, 28:45 even the heavens are the Lord's, 28:48 but the earth He has given to the children of men." 28:52 Okay, so it says the earth is the Lord's and its fullness, 28:55 but now I'm saying He has given them. 28:57 Let's turn to Matthew 21:33, 29:00 because I think some people find a little tension 29:03 but what do you mean the earth is the Lord's? 29:05 He gave it to man. 29:06 But I think Matthew 21:33 is the perfect explanation 29:11 because Jesus is telling a parable. 29:13 He taught a lot by parables. 29:15 And He's telling the Parable of the Vineyard. 29:18 And it says Matthew 21:33, hear another parable. 29:22 "There was a certain land owner who planted a vineyard, 29:27 set a hedge around it, 29:29 dug a vine precedent and built a tower. 29:32 And he leased it to vine dressers, 29:38 and he went into a far country." 29:40 Here, he's talking about God is a certain landowner 29:44 who had made this beautiful garden, 29:47 then He leased it, 29:48 He created this earth with all of the potential 29:52 to make an iPad, shuttles, you name it. 29:56 The potential was there, 29:58 but He leased it to man to develop it. 30:02 But there is a term or terms of engagement, 30:07 we are to wisely manage these resources. 30:12 And, you know, especially when you think 30:13 about the resources that are non-renewable, 30:17 but we are to lovingly treat the creatures He created. 30:24 So, beginning with Adam and Eve, 30:28 God introduced this concept of stewardship. 30:33 And I want to run through that a little bit 30:35 because sometimes people don't understand 30:37 what we're talking about when we use that word. 30:40 But when God gave man dominion over the earth, 30:44 as caretaker He gave... 30:47 It was to be managed for God's purposes. 30:51 Stewardship is our duty to acknowledge God 30:55 as our provider, 30:58 and it's our responsibility to manage 31:02 all of our God given resources for His glory. 31:06 In the Bible, I want to look at two examples of stewards. 31:11 A steward was a manager of an estate. 31:15 Now think about Joseph, Joseph was Jacob's son. 31:19 He was sold into slavery. 31:21 And what happened after when he was... 31:24 Went to Egypt, they took him down to Egypt. 31:27 Joseph gained favor with a man named Potiphar 31:31 and he was really Potiphar's slave, 31:33 but Potiphar saw such excellence in Joseph, 31:38 he made him a steward. 31:41 Joseph had dominion 31:44 over all of Potiphar's property, 31:47 he was the overseer. 31:49 You find that story in Genesis 39. 31:52 So all that was owned 31:54 was put under Joseph's authority, 31:57 but another word for steward, in the Old Testament, 32:02 is one who will inherit my estate. 32:06 So it's not just a manager of an estate, 32:09 but one who will inherit, 32:12 who will be the heir of My house. 32:15 And I think of Eliezer, 32:17 who was Abram's servant, 32:20 Abram, who became... 32:21 His name was changed to Abraham. 32:23 But Eliezer, 32:24 if Abraham had not had a male child 32:28 to whom he could pass on his estate, 32:33 Eliezer was in line 32:36 as one to inherit the estate. 32:38 So you think about us, 32:40 as children of God 32:42 we play both roles. 32:44 We're managers of God's estate, 32:47 and we are to inherit God's estate. 32:50 Romans 8:7, says that "We are heirs of Christ 32:54 and joint heirs, 32:55 or heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." 32:59 So we must manage and use everything 33:04 that God has given us for His glory. 33:07 We should seek His will on every decision we make, 33:12 that it will be wise, that it will be unselfish. 33:17 You know, God expects us to use everything 33:21 that He has given us 33:23 in a manner that will be pleasing to Him. 33:26 And guess what? 33:27 When we do that, 33:29 we can count on his fatherly generosity 33:32 because God took loving care in how He created the earth. 33:38 Oh, He made it special for you and me. 33:41 But humankind, He gave us that responsibility 33:45 that we would, likewise, 33:48 manage what the beauty that He had created 33:52 for the benefit of all, even the least of these. 33:56 That's right. Amen. 33:57 Praise the Lord. 33:59 That was very, very well put, Shelley. 34:01 I'm gonna move on to Wednesday's lesson entitled, 34:04 "A Broken World." 34:06 And, you know, when I first read this particular title, 34:09 "A Broken World," 34:11 what came to my mind was a gentleman 34:13 I had went to church with years ago, 34:15 one of my good friends, 34:16 but I remember often when I would, 34:18 when I would deliver a sermon, 34:19 or I would have a Bible study with him or with a small group, 34:22 and he was in the group. 34:24 You know, when we would talk 34:25 about sin and some of the negative aspects 34:27 of the reality of this world and in scripture, 34:31 he would often tell me, 34:32 he'd say, "You know, just don't talk 34:34 about the negative stuff, 34:35 talk about the good stuff, 34:36 you know, talk about 34:38 the positive aspects of scripture, 34:39 you know, the grace and the mercy 34:41 and the love that God has bestowed upon us." 34:43 And, and so, you know, coming from, 34:45 you know, that situation, 34:47 having dealt with that particular individual, 34:48 I've dealt with a lot of individuals 34:50 that have that particular mindset, 34:51 when you want to start talking about the negative aspects 34:54 and the negative realities of scripture in the world 34:56 that we live in today. 34:58 Some people just kind of turn their brain off, 35:00 they don't want to listen to it. 35:01 But the fact of the matter 35:02 is we have to deal with the reality 35:04 that we live in today. 35:05 And that is that we live in a broken world. 35:08 In fact, you know, 35:09 I'm a whole Bible believing Christian. 35:12 And that means every single aspect of this Bible, 35:15 from Genesis to Revelation, 35:16 I want to put my faith and trust in. 35:18 And, you know, I've done this illustration many times. 35:20 I've seen it 35:21 in an evangelist series one time. 35:22 If you go through the front door of the Bible, 35:25 you mean just you go through 35:26 the first two chapters of Genesis, 35:27 what do you see? 35:29 You see this beautiful creative power 35:30 as it has been put on display here already, 35:33 the beautiful, creative work of God, 35:35 so God creating man, 35:37 placing him in the garden of pleasure, 35:38 that's what Eden means, garden of pleasure, 35:40 in a paradise in which you see a perfect 35:43 uninterrupted communion between God and man, 35:45 just as God intended it to be. 35:47 All right, now you go to the back door of the Bible, 35:48 you come to the Book of Revelation. 35:50 What do you find happening in the latter chapters 35:51 of the Book of Revelation? 35:53 We see again, God restoring or recreating 35:57 back again to what He had intended to be, 35:59 but the reality is from Genesis Chapter 3, 36:03 all the way through to the end of the Bible, 36:05 the bulk of scripture is we see that 36:08 the majority of scripture is this conflict, 36:10 this great conflict and covenant issue 36:13 that we see this great controversy battle 36:15 between good and evil. 36:16 And it very much puts on display 36:18 the broken world that we live in. 36:19 And so as we consider this particular topic, 36:22 Wednesday's lesson, "A Broken World," 36:25 this is here for us to better understand 36:27 and come to understand why we live in a broken world. 36:30 And, you know, the negative aspect 36:32 of the tone of that language also communicates to us 36:35 as we continue to go through God's Word. 36:37 We know that God has something amazing in store for us. 36:39 And so I want to start 36:41 with the opening paragraph of today's lesson. 36:44 I really liked how it was worded. 36:45 So I want to read it, 36:47 just to kind of set the tone for what we're talking about. 36:49 It says, "One thing God gave Adam and Eve 36:51 that He didn't give anything else on earth 36:54 was moral freedom. 36:56 They were moral beings in ways that plants, 36:59 animals and trees could never be. 37:02 God valued this moral freedom so much 37:04 that He allowed the possibility 37:06 that His people would choose to disobey. 37:09 And so we know that's the very reality. 37:12 In doing so, get this, 37:13 He risked all that He had created 37:16 for the larger goal of a relationship 37:18 with His human creatures based on love, and free will. 37:23 And that's the bulk of this message. 37:25 I want to go into conversation about this concept of freedom 37:30 and free will and why we live in a broken world. 37:33 CS Lewis, the popular Christian author 37:37 had this to say in his writings. 37:38 You can study his writings 37:40 and he talks about this multiple times. 37:42 And while I don't agree with everything he says, 37:44 I thought this was a very, very good point that he makes here. 37:47 He says the greatest of all mysteries, 37:49 I think that's a very interesting, 37:51 the greatest of all mysteries 37:52 found in scripture from his perspective, 37:55 is that the almighty of the universe 37:57 would create men in His own image 38:00 and invest the created with the free will 38:05 to resist and reject the Creator. 38:09 In other words, 38:10 and also the fact that God 38:12 would allow this to happen, 38:14 the greatest He said, 38:15 surely this is the greatest of all mysteries. 38:17 And I would have to agree when you really begin 38:19 to contemplate the fact that God, 38:21 perfect love, would create beings 38:24 but yet create them with the free will 38:26 and the free choice to reject His love, 38:28 to reject Him as individual. 38:30 It is definitely a mystery 38:31 that none of us can possibly begin to fathom. 38:33 But I think there is an answer to this as to why, 38:36 why would God allow that? 38:37 And I think it really sums up, 38:39 you could sum this up in just three little words. 38:41 It's found in 1 John 4:8, 38:43 I'm gonna read the entire text, 38:45 but the three words 38:46 that I'm speaking of is found at the end of this text, 38:48 one of the shortest text in scripture, 38:50 but very profound. 38:51 1 John 4:8, the Bible says, 38:53 "He who does not love 38:55 does not know God for..." 38:57 And here's those three words 38:58 "God is love." 39:01 And I always like to just remind everyone, 39:03 when we read that text, notice what it's not saying. 39:06 It's not saying that God is loving, 39:07 you know, we can all be loving, 39:09 we can express emotions and feelings, 39:11 and actions and love. 39:13 But this particular text says that God is love. 39:15 It's describing His character, 39:16 it's describing His very nature. 39:19 God is a loving being 39:20 just as we can be loving, 39:21 but God is love. 39:24 So why do we live in a broken world? 39:25 And why did God create us with this free will 39:28 to be able to reject Him and His love? 39:31 It just simply bows down to the fact that He is love. 39:34 I found this, I heard a minister 39:35 bring this out one time 39:37 and I have to bring this out at the moment 39:38 because it really describes the very nature, 39:41 the very aspect of the conversation 39:42 that we're having here about this free will. 39:44 You see true godly love requires freedom, 39:50 true godly love. 39:51 If God were to create us all as little robots 39:53 that just done every single aspect 39:55 of everything that He said to do. 39:57 Well, there's not real true godly love involved in that. 40:00 So true love, we're talking about biblical godly love 40:03 requires freedom and of course, 40:05 freedom involves risk. 40:08 Okay, so when you bestow freedom upon anyone 40:10 and I believe, 40:12 I can't necessarily speak to this myself, 40:14 but parents more than anyone can understand this 40:17 because when you have a child 40:18 and you bestow that freedom upon the child, 40:20 that free will to choose, 40:22 you know, to live and to make choices on their own, 40:25 there's risk involved in that. 40:27 The risk of the fact 40:28 that they're gonna choose not to do 40:30 what you taught them to do, 40:31 or the risk that they're going reject you 40:32 as their parent or not, listen to you. 40:34 Of course, freedom involves risk. 40:36 Number three, risk entails responsibility, 40:40 so when we have... 40:41 with that risk comes the responsibility 40:43 on each and every one of us 40:45 that we have in making better decisions 40:48 and following through with the plan that God gave us. 40:50 And number four, last one, responsibility enables growth, 40:53 okay. 40:55 So you put all this together, true love requires freedom, 40:56 freedom involves risk, 40:58 risk entails responsibility, 41:00 and responsibility enables growth, 41:02 that spells out the very nature, God is love. 41:05 He had to bestow that upon us 41:06 in order to be able to rightly receive 41:10 and see a replication of that love in us, 41:13 in order for us to choose freely to love him 41:16 that had been bestowed upon us. 41:18 The perfect, uninterrupted communion 41:22 between God and creation 41:24 had actually been interrupted some time before 41:27 the creation of earth and man. 41:29 And I just want to back up here 41:30 and read Ezekiel 28:14-15, 41:33 because sometimes we get so focused on, 41:35 you know, what's actually happening here on earth, 41:37 and the root of this actually happened in heaven, 41:40 where God actually speaking of Lucifer, 41:42 He says there in verse 15, 41:44 "You were perfect in your ways, 41:45 from the day that you were created, 41:46 till iniquity was found in you." 41:49 So this, you know, when God created the angels 41:51 that were in heaven, 41:53 He bestowed this free willingness, 41:54 free power to choose upon them as well 41:57 and Lucifer of course, 41:58 with that risk he was not responsible 42:01 and he actually, of course, saw in himself, 42:03 his own beauty, his own love, 42:05 his own love for self 42:06 more than a love for God. 42:08 And, of course, that contaminated aspect 42:12 would continue on into creation. 42:14 We see it in Genesis 3:1-5, 42:19 I'm not gonna read all of this, 42:21 but I just want to highlight here. 42:22 In this particular chapter, 42:24 we see a direct attack against God's character. 42:28 And we can see how man was affected 42:31 and how this broken world would come about. 42:33 Because we see here that as we're told right in verse 1, 42:36 that the serpent who again is cunning, 42:38 he's crafty, he's sly, he's tricky, 42:40 he comes and he begins 42:41 to have a conversation with Eve. 42:43 And, of course, he goes on to say, 42:44 has God indeed said 42:46 "You shall not eat of every tree" 42:47 as if God is unfair? 42:49 In other words, God is really unclear, 42:50 he's unreasonable and restricted 42:52 that was attack against God's character 42:54 and in applying that question, 42:55 he's attacking God's character 42:56 and saying, you know, God's unclearly, 42:58 He's done reasonable, He's restricted, 42:59 did He really tell you 43:01 "You can't eat of every tree in the garden?" 43:03 And, of course, there's two more implied accusations 43:05 as you go on to read this text. 43:07 It goes on to say, you know, "You shall not eat, 43:09 we shall not eat of it, 43:10 neither shall we touch it, lest we die." 43:12 But notice what Satan response is in verse 4, 43:14 "Then the serpent said to the woman, 43:16 'You shall not surely die.'" 43:18 So again, God is dishonest now, 43:20 He's untrustworthy, He's lying to you, 43:22 He's not really telling you the truth 43:23 and then He goes on to say, 43:24 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it, 43:26 your eyes will be open, 43:27 and you will be like God, knowing good from evil." 43:29 The last accusation here against the character of God, 43:32 they're basically, 43:33 he's basically communicating to Eve 43:34 that God is selfish, 43:36 he's only looking out for himself. 43:37 You are better off without God. 43:38 Now why would I say all of this in closing here, 43:40 I just want to communicate. 43:42 This broken world that we live in is the result 43:45 of a misunderstanding 43:46 and a misrepresentation of God's character 43:48 and God's love. 43:50 And when we come to as people 43:51 because now we have a responsibility. 43:53 As you continue to study the lesson, 43:55 you see, we have a responsibility on ourselves 43:58 to replicate and to reflect that of the nature 44:01 and the loving character of God. 44:03 And when we do that, 44:04 when we come to do that, 44:05 people around the world in their need, 44:08 they see Jesus and His love in us. 44:10 And then everything begins to balance out, 44:12 they begin to seek God in you. 44:14 And I believe that's our ultimate goal. 44:15 Amen. Well done. 44:17 Ryan, thank you so much. 44:18 Each one of you set the stage 44:20 as we think about the entrance of sin into this world. 44:24 Are you thankful that there is a solution? 44:26 Are you thankful that there is a redeemer, 44:30 that God gave that promise 44:31 to Adam and Eve there in the Garden of Eden, 44:34 and that promise extends down to you and to me, 44:36 so even though this world is marred, 44:39 and creation is marred 44:40 and it's broken by sin, 44:42 that there is a solution. 44:43 When we sin, 44:44 we often think we shall obtain the maximum amount of pleasure 44:48 at the minimum penalty, 44:51 but it never works that way. 44:53 Sin brings devastation 44:54 and destruction and separation from God 44:57 as you brought out, Mollie, 44:59 and each other as brothers and sisters 45:01 that bring separation from each other. 45:03 It brings loneliness, and grief, 45:05 and anxiety, and fear, and frustration, 45:07 and anger, and jealousy, and envy, 45:10 misunderstandings and evil surmising, 45:13 rebellion, and death. 45:16 Thursday's lesson which I have 45:18 is the "Family Web of Humanity." 45:22 We are our brother's keeper. 45:25 Turn with me to Genesis Chapter 4. 45:28 Ryan did a beautiful job explaining the entrance of sin, 45:32 not only in heaven, 45:33 but then here on this earth with Adam and Eve. 45:38 And we know they were banished from the garden. 45:40 And then we get to Genesis Chapter 4, 45:42 and they start having kids 45:44 and Cain, their eldest and Abel, 45:47 when they grew up to be young men, 45:49 they took their offerings before the Lord. 45:52 Now, Abel offered the sacrifice 45:54 that was accepted. 45:56 The sacrifice of righteousness, representing the righteousness 45:59 of Christ character 46:00 and the coming lamb, the Messiah, Jesus, 46:04 who would be slain for our sins, 46:07 but Abel brought the fruit of his own works. 46:09 He brought literally the fruit from the harvest. 46:14 And God accepted Abel's sacrifice 46:16 and did not accept Cain's sacrifice. 46:20 Cain got kind of mad about it. 46:22 He got very mad about it, 46:23 and he disgusted with his brother. 46:26 And the first murder takes place 46:27 in Genesis Chapter 4. 46:29 I mean, this is just one chapter 46:31 after the entrance of sin here in this world. 46:35 Verse 9, we're in Genesis 4:9, 46:37 "Then the Lord said to Cain, 46:38 'Where is Abel, your brother?' 46:42 And he said, 'I do not know. 46:44 Am I my brother's keeper?'" 46:48 Are we our brother's keeper? 46:50 Are we spiritually responsible for other people, 46:55 for this web of humanity 46:57 that we're talking about here on Thursday, 46:59 you know, at work, we're... 47:01 It seems like we're always busy here at 3ABN 47:04 and my husband, Greg, when... 47:07 This was several years ago, people would come in my office 47:09 and they'd say, "Where's Greg?" 47:11 And I'd say, "Am I my husband's keeper?" 47:13 So it was kind of a joke, 47:15 you know, we would begin as joke. 47:17 And then if he goes to another building, 47:20 and we work in the production building, 47:21 if he comes to the worship center, 47:22 he'd say, Jilly, I'm heading to this building, 47:24 or I'm leaving the building. 47:26 But if he's in the main building, 47:27 he could be in a meeting, 47:29 he could be upstairs, he could be in a control room, 47:31 there's many different places where he could be. 47:35 Are we spiritually responsible? 47:37 Are we to be our brothers and sisters' keeper? 47:41 Romans 14:7, 47:43 this talks about the influence 47:45 that each of us have on each other. 47:48 Romans 14:7, 47:50 "For none of us lives to himself, 47:54 and no one dies to himself." 47:57 We each have an influence on those around us. 48:01 Ephesians 2:6, 48:03 "We are called to sit together in heavenly places." 48:08 We are all connected through creation, 48:10 all connected, all the way back from Adam and Eve. 48:13 We are all brothers and sisters, 48:15 and there's consequences to being connected. 48:19 1 Corinthians 12:26, 48:21 "If one member suffers, all the members," what? 48:25 "Suffer with him." 48:29 There's three ways I think 48:30 that we're our brother's keeper 48:32 and then we'll get to the four points Pastor John, 48:34 about being our brother's keeper. 48:36 But before we get to that, 48:37 I think we are spiritually our brother's keeper, 48:41 and physically, and emotionally. 48:43 Let's look at the spiritual aspect first. 48:46 Turn with me to Hebrews. 48:48 Hebrews 10:24-25, 48:52 Hebrews 10:24-25. 48:56 "Let us consider one another in order to stir up 48:59 love and good works." 49:01 So that's talking about spiritual application here 49:04 with each other as brothers and sisters, 49:06 love and good works, 49:08 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together 49:11 as this is the manner of some, 49:13 but exhorting one another, 49:15 and so much more as you see the day approaching." 49:18 We're called to encourage each other, 49:21 we're called to spiritually lift each other up 49:24 and to exhort each other to love 49:26 and to good works. 49:28 Now physically, 49:29 we're called to help our brothers and sisters 49:31 when they are in need. 49:33 James Chapter 2, James 2:15-17, 49:37 James says, "If your brother or sister is naked 49:39 and destitute of daily food, 49:42 and one of you says to them, 49:43 depart in peace, 49:44 be warmed and filled, 49:46 but you do not give them the things 49:47 which are needed for the body. 49:49 What does it profit? 49:51 Does also faith by itself 49:52 if it does not have works is dead, 49:54 and many times we can spiritualize religion. 49:57 What I mean by that is we say 49:59 "We're all about the Word of God 50:00 and we are as Seventh-day Adventist Christians 50:03 about the Word of God. 50:04 At the same time God calls us to get out of ourselves, 50:08 and to see the physical needs 50:11 of our brothers and sisters, 50:13 and that's a great focus of the lesson this quarter. 50:17 Then emotionally, 50:18 we're called in Galatians 6:2, 50:21 "Emotionally we are called to support 50:25 and help each other." 50:27 Galatians 6:2 says, 50:28 "Bear one another's burdens, 50:31 and so fulfill the law of Christ." 50:35 If someone is struggling, 50:37 if someone's having a hard time, 50:38 we're called to pray with each other, 50:39 we're called to reach in and support them. 50:43 Now here's my four takeaways, Pastor John, 50:45 four ways to provide assistance practically 50:48 to our brothers and sisters to be our brother's keeper. 50:51 Number one, offer assistance and help. 50:56 I was at Walmart in Marion 50:57 and the mall is just next to Walmart in Marion 51:00 and I drove by, and there was a gentleman, 51:02 older gentleman holding a cardboard sign. 51:05 And it said, veteran, 51:07 anything you can give will help. 51:09 And I drove right by. 51:11 And then the Lord convicted my heart. 51:13 And I turned around, 51:14 you know, how you play these games with yourself? 51:16 Okay, what's he going to use it for? 51:18 Is this really legit, is it, 51:20 you know, all those things but the Lord convicted me 51:22 "Jill, he's your brother." 51:23 So I turned around, 51:24 all I had Ryan was $20 cash, that's it. 51:27 So I rolled the window down. 51:29 I gave him the $20. 51:30 And he said, 51:32 "God bless you, my little sister." 51:34 And then he went back. 51:35 We are called to offer assistance and help. 51:39 Remember the sheep and the goats? 51:40 Matthew 25:37-40, 51:44 what did Jesus say to the righteous? 51:46 Or what did the righteous say when Jesus commanded them? 51:49 And the righteous said "When did we see you hungry? 51:51 And when did we feed you 51:52 or thirsty and give you a drink? 51:53 When did we see you a stranger 51:55 and take you in or naked and cloth you? 51:57 When did we see you sick 51:58 or in prison and come to you 52:00 and the king shall say in as much as you've done it 52:03 to the least of these, my brethren, 52:05 you have done it unto me. 52:07 We're called the feed the hungry, 52:08 to clothe the naked, to visit those in hospitals, 52:13 those who are sick, 52:14 those who are in prison and to offer, 52:16 open up our home even to strangers. 52:18 Number two, 52:20 recognize that we are all brothers and sisters. 52:25 We are all part of creation 52:27 and we're all brothers and sisters. 52:28 Galatians 3:26-28. 52:31 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 52:35 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ 52:37 have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, 52:40 there is neither male nor female, 52:42 there's neither slave nor free, 52:44 for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 52:47 Relationship status changes when we're in Christ. 52:50 There's no racial distinction, 52:52 there's no economic or social caste system, 52:56 there's no gender distinction, 52:58 we're all one in Christ Jesus. 52:59 Number three, 53:01 we are called to react in love. 53:04 Romans 13:10 says 53:05 "Love does no harm to a neighbor. 53:07 Love is the fulfilling of the law." 53:12 Many times I want to react and maybe frustration 53:16 or irritation, or even fear 53:19 to someone that you don't understand 53:21 or someone who seems different from you. 53:23 We're called to react in love 53:25 and finally, 53:26 God calls us to encourage each other, encourage others. 53:30 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 53:34 "Therefore comfort each other 53:36 and edify one another just as you also are doing." 53:40 The word edifying Greek literally means to build up. 53:44 We are called to build up our brothers and sisters. 53:47 So you might be saying, 53:48 "Okay, am I really my brother's keeper 53:50 and what can I do about that?" 53:52 You can offer assistance and help. 53:54 You can recognize that each person 53:56 that comes across your path 53:58 is truly your brother and sister, 54:01 because we are all part of God's creation. 54:04 You can react in love 54:06 instead of maybe how our carnal nature 54:08 wants to react, 54:09 but ask God for the infilling 54:11 of His Holy Spirit and His love. 54:13 And we can encourage each other. 54:15 We encourage others by practicing stewardship, 54:18 by extending friendship, 54:20 by developing leadership in other people 54:22 and by seeking to heal relationships. 54:25 Amen. 54:27 We've been gifted with a little extra time today. 54:29 And I want to give each one of you an opportunity 54:31 to just revisit what you just talked about, 54:35 just in case somebody missed it, Mollie? 54:37 Well, I look to add a complete world, 54:39 a world in harmony with God. 54:42 And so I think the point that I would like to stress is, 54:46 you know, God sent Jesus to this world 54:50 to restore us 54:51 into right relationship with Him, 54:53 so as we accept 54:55 what Christ brought out for us at Calvary. 54:58 When we accept His sacrifice, 55:00 when we accept Him as our Lord and our Savior, 55:04 we are brought 55:05 into right relationship with God. 55:06 We are in harmony with God. 55:09 We are living in a complete world. 55:13 Not that our environment is all in turmoil, 55:17 but we are standing in a complete 55:21 and happy relationship with God. 55:23 So make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, 55:26 and you will have that world in harmony with God. 55:29 Amen and amen. 55:30 Well, mine was on stewardship, and I just want to go back 55:34 and say that 55:36 there's two examples of stewardship 55:38 or two meanings for stewardship 55:40 in the Old Testament. 55:41 One is to be a manager of someone else's estate 55:45 and we know that God has leased this world to us, 55:48 and He created us to be special, 55:52 in His image He created us 55:55 to manage this estate for His glory, 55:59 but the other meaning was to be one 56:02 who inherited the estate. 56:05 And so we are not only 56:07 to manage to pass on to our children, 56:10 but to know that we are heirs of God 56:13 and joint heirs of Christ. 56:14 Amen. Amen. 56:17 Considering the overall title of this entire study 56:20 of the least of these, 56:21 when you're thinking of people in this world today 56:22 that are in need, 56:24 I think one of the best things 56:25 that we can do in the broken world 56:27 that we're living in, 56:28 and that was the title of my lesson, 56:29 "A Broken World," 56:31 is that we need to extend 56:33 a major dose of the reality that God is with these people. 56:38 He still is alive today, He still exists, 56:40 and He's still doing a powerful work 56:43 of transformation in this world today. 56:45 And I think one of the best ways 56:46 that we can do that to minister to others needs 56:48 is first we need, we need a transformation 56:52 and so we need to accept our responsibility 56:54 to vindicate the name and holy character of God 56:57 before the world and before all of creation. 57:00 Amen. 57:01 This is a quote from Ministry of Healing, 57:03 page 345, 57:04 it was in my day on a lesson, but I really liked it. 57:07 It says "We are all woven together, 57:10 in the web of humanity. 57:12 The evil that befalls any part 57:15 of the great human brotherhood 57:17 brings peril to all. 57:19 So we're all part of that web of humanity, 57:22 because we're all created in the image of God. 57:25 And God calls us to get out of our own selves. 57:28 And what we naturally tend to look at 57:30 which is me, myself and I, 57:32 focus on the needs of other people 57:35 and get involved in their lives and help them. 57:37 Amen. 57:39 Thank all, thank you all for a wonderful catapult 57:42 into a new lesson 57:44 that is talking about a broken world 57:46 in the process of restoration. 57:49 It's beautiful to see that one day, 57:51 everything that we see now that's fractured, 57:53 that's broken, that brings sadness, 57:55 that brings, takes, robs our joy 57:58 and takes away our hope 57:59 is one day not even gonna be factor. 58:01 And it's hard to imagine 58:02 what a perfect world is going to be. 58:04 You know, Lord says, 58:05 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 58:07 so are my ways higher than yours 58:09 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 58:11 Isaiah 55:9. 58:13 That's where we're headed to, a higher world, a better world. 58:16 And think about this thought as I leave you. 58:18 Our next lesson study is gonna be blueprint 58:20 for a better world. 58:22 We're looking forward to that very next study. 58:24 But here's the thought I'd like to leave with you. 58:26 How do you define God? 58:28 A fool can count seeds in an apple, 58:31 but only God can count the apples gonna seed. 58:35 May that thought permeate your heart 58:36 until we see you again. |
Revised 2019-07-05