Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190028A
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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 to present yourself 00:16 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." 00:30 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:33 I'm Jill Morikone. 00:34 And we're so glad that you have joined us today 00:37 for a study of the Word of God. 00:39 We're in the third quarter of the second lesson 00:42 on "The Least of These," ministering to those in need. 00:46 This lesson is Blueprint for a Better World. 00:49 And I'm excited about the truth found 00:52 in God's Word that we're going to unpack as it were today 00:56 during our study together. 00:57 Before we go any further, 00:59 I want to introduce to you our panel, 01:01 which we are all friends here, 01:03 brothers and sisters here in the Lord. 01:05 On my left is Pastor Ryan Day, privilege to have you here. 01:08 It's a blessing to be here. Thank you. 01:10 On your left is Pastor John Lomacang, my pastor here. 01:13 Thank you, Pastor John. 01:15 It's good to be on this panel. 01:16 Absolutely. 01:17 And to your left, it's my sister Shelley Quinn. 01:20 Thank you, Shelley. 01:21 It's wonderful to be here with all of you. 01:23 And it's a real privilege to have 01:26 Miss Mollie Sue Steenson back again, 01:28 and we're just so delighted that you could join us 01:31 for a portion of the Sabbath School Panel. 01:33 I am delighted to be here. 01:35 Before we go any further, we want to tell you 01:37 how you can get your own copy 01:40 of the Sabbath School quarterly. 01:41 You can go to ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:46 That stands for 01:47 AdultBibleStudyGuide. Adventist.org. 01:51 You can download your own copy and follow along with us. 01:56 Or we always encourage you 01:57 to visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:00 They would give you a quarterly and they would invite you 02:03 to study along with them. 02:05 Before we go any further 02:07 into Blueprint for a Better World, 02:08 we want to go to the Lord in prayer, 02:10 before we open up His Word. 02:12 And, Ryan, would you pray for us? 02:14 Absolutely. 02:16 Father in heaven, Lord, we just praise You on this day 02:19 and thank You so much for the opportunity 02:21 to share Your Word. 02:23 Lord, we need Your Holy Spirit right now 02:25 that every word, every action, 02:27 every thought will be that of Jesus and that 02:29 may this beautiful lesson go forward 02:31 and bless the hearts 02:32 and minds of Your people. 02:34 Lord, I pray that You will give us 02:36 again the spiritual eyesight, 02:38 and the spiritual hearing, the spiritual mind of Christ 02:41 to be able to rightly divide Your Word at this moment. 02:43 May You draw us closer to You 02:45 and closer to each other in the process. 02:47 We ask this in Jesus' holy name, amen. 02:50 Amen. 02:52 God has always desired connection with His people. 02:55 Our God is a God of relationship. 02:57 I think about Adam and Eve 02:59 and God would come and walk and talk with them 03:02 in the cool of the day. 03:04 The Israelites, what did He say? 03:06 "Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell with them, 03:11 dwell among them." 03:13 Exodus 29:46. 03:14 He said, "They shall know that I am the Lord their God, 03:17 who brought them out of the land of Egypt, 03:19 that I might dwell with them." 03:22 He wants to dwell with us. 03:24 He wants to come down in tabernacle 03:26 and pitch His tent as it were with us. 03:30 1 Kings 6:13. 03:31 He said, "I will dwell among the sons of Israel 03:33 and will not forsake My people Israel." 03:37 Zechariah 2:10, "'Sing for joy and be glad, 03:41 O daughter of Zion. 03:42 I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,' says the Lord." 03:48 We know John 1:14. 03:49 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 03:55 and we beheld His glory." 03:57 And we get all the way to the end of the Bible, 03:59 Revelation 21:3, 04:01 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 04:04 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, 04:07 and He will dwell with them, 04:10 and they shall be His people, 04:13 and God Himself will be with them.'" 04:16 God's always wanted to dwell with us 04:18 to pitch His tent and to settle down 04:21 and take up residence with us. 04:24 He's always had a people 04:25 with whom He had a special relationship. 04:29 I think of Enoch, 04:30 and he had such a special relationship, 04:32 he was translated. 04:33 I think of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 04:37 Joseph, Moses, the list can go on, 04:40 these people that God had a special relationship with, 04:43 and He wants to restore man's broken relationship 04:48 so that we can be restored back 04:50 into right relationship with Him. 04:52 He said that to Abraham, Genesis 12, 04:55 this is part of the blessing, promise that were to Abraham. 04:57 Genesis 12:2-3, 04:59 "I will make you a great nation, 05:00 I will bless you and make your name great, 05:03 you shall be a blessing. 05:06 I will bless those who bless you, 05:08 and I will curse him who curses you. 05:10 And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 05:15 God not only wants to restore 05:17 the broken relationship we have with God, 05:19 but He wants to restore 05:20 our broken relationship with each other 05:23 so that we can dwell with each other as well. 05:26 This week, we look at the laws, the festivals, the practices 05:31 that enable God's people 05:33 to live and receive His blessing, 05:36 and to be able to pour that blessing 05:38 out to other people. 05:40 Our memory text is Leviticus 19:18, 05:44 and this is quoted in the New Testament, 05:46 actually the second half of this verse, Leviticus 19:18. 05:49 "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge 05:53 against the children of your people, 05:54 but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 05:59 I am the Lord." 06:01 On Sunday, we look at the God who hears, 06:04 talking about deliverance 06:06 from Egyptian bondage and slavery. 06:10 You know, God called His people, 06:11 the Israelites, to be His representatives. 06:14 He called Abraham and then his seed by extension. 06:17 And we know Joseph went into Egypt 06:19 and the rest of the family came down into Egypt. 06:23 But after Joseph died, 06:25 they began to increase in number and multiply. 06:28 If you read Exodus 1:7, 06:30 there's five verbs that are mentioned here. 06:34 And they all...reference, you could say, 06:36 the supernatural multiplication of the children of Israel. 06:40 Exodus 1:7 says, "The children of Israel 06:43 were fruitful and increased abundantly, 06:46 multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, 06:50 and the land was filled with them." 06:52 And then the Bible says a new king arose, 06:55 who did not know Joseph, 06:57 and the children of Israel found themselves slaves 07:00 as it were in the land of Egypt. 07:02 They were forced into servitude to make bricks 07:05 and cities and service in the field. 07:08 And then the king decided that wasn't enough, 07:10 and he's going to start killing the baby boys 07:13 who were born. 07:15 They went through 400 years of slavery and bondage there 07:20 before God brought them out through the hand of Moses. 07:23 God promised to deliver them yet they were left as slaves. 07:27 And it almost appeared as if God was being silent. 07:31 That's what we're gonna talk about today. 07:33 What do we do in the times 07:35 when it appears that God is silent? 07:38 I don't know about you on the panel, 07:40 but I've had times in my own life 07:42 where it almost seems like God is silent right now. 07:46 Job experienced that. 07:48 Job 30:20, he says, "I cry out to you, 07:51 but You do not answer me. 07:53 I stand up and You regard me." 07:57 In the NIV, it says, "I cry out to you, God, 08:00 but you do not answer. 08:02 I stand up, but you merely look at me." 08:05 I'm here to tell you when it seems God is silent, 08:09 He is not absent. 08:11 When it seems God is silent, He is not still. 08:15 When it seems God is silent, He is not finished. 08:19 And that's what we see with the children of Israel 08:21 and what we're gonna see 08:23 in our own lives and hearts with God. 08:25 David cried out the same cry in Psalm 22, 08:28 which is actually what Jesus cried 08:31 when He was on the cross, verses 1-2, 08:34 "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" 08:38 When it seems God is silent, 08:40 we are called to trust the promise, 08:43 not the perception. 08:45 We're called to trust Him in the storm 08:47 as well as in the sunshine. 08:49 We're called to trust Him by faith, not our feelings. 08:54 So, Pastor John, this is for you. 08:55 When God is silent, here are five things 08:58 that God is doing? 09:00 So when it seems God is silent, 09:03 here are five things God is doing. 09:04 I'm gonna tell you the five and then we'll unpack them. 09:07 He hears, He cares, 09:09 He comforts, He accompanies, 09:13 and He delivers, the last one's my favorite. 09:16 So let's start with He hears. 09:18 This is the children of Israel, crying out to God. 09:21 Exodus 2:23, 09:24 "The children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, 09:27 and they cried out, 09:29 and their cry came up to God because of the bondage." 09:32 Verse 24. 09:33 "So God heard their groaning and God remembered 09:38 His covenant with Abraham, 09:40 with Isaac, and with Jacob." 09:43 God heard their groaning there in the land of Egypt. 09:48 Exodus 3:7, "And the Lord said, 'I have surely seen 09:51 the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, 09:54 and I've heard their cry 09:56 because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.'" 09:59 So God hears. 10:01 It might seem like He's silent and you're not hearing 10:04 from Him, but He hears your cry. 10:07 Number two, He cares. 10:10 Not a sparrow falls to the ground 10:13 without the notice and the care and the love 10:17 of our heavenly Father. 10:19 I think it's Psalm 34:18. 10:21 "The Lord is near the broken-hearted 10:24 and He saves those who are crushed in spirit." 10:28 Even though it might seem like He's silent, He cares. 10:32 Number three, He comforts. 10:35 How does He comfort us? 10:36 He comforts us by His Word. 10:38 Psalm 119:49-50. 10:42 "Remember the word to Your servant upon 10:44 which you have caused me to hope. 10:47 This is my comfort in my affliction, 10:49 for Your word has given me life." 10:53 So what was David the Psalmist's comfort 10:55 when he's going through a time of silence? 10:58 What is his comfort? 11:00 God's Word had given him life. 11:03 God comforts us by His word, He comforts us by His Spirit. 11:07 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. 11:10 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 11:13 the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 11:17 who comforts us in all our tribulation 11:19 that we may be able to comfort those 11:21 who are in trouble, with the comfort 11:23 with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 11:26 Now it says the word comfort, Pastor Ryan, 11:28 a whole bunch of times, in those couple of verses. 11:31 But it says God is comforting us and Jesus, 11:33 but the word for comfort, two of those places, 11:36 is a spinoff of parakletos, which we know is the comfort 11:40 that the Holy Spirit brings to us. 11:44 So we're comforted by God the Father 11:46 but also by the Holy Spirit. 11:49 We're also comforted by His presence, 11:51 the Lord's. 11:53 David Psalm, the shepherd Psalm, 11:55 Psalm 23:4, 11:57 "Yea, though I walk through the valley 11:59 of the shadow of death, 12:00 I will fear no evil for You are with me." 12:04 That's His presence bringing us comfort. 12:07 "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." 12:09 Number four, He accompanies us. 12:12 He doesn't just hear, 12:14 He doesn't just care or comfort, 12:16 but He walks with us in the midst 12:19 of the fiery furnace. 12:21 Think of the three Hebrews, 12:22 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 12:24 Christ walked with them in the fire. 12:27 Hebrews 13:5, He said, "I will never leave you, 12:30 I will never forsake you." 12:32 And finally, number five, He delivers. 12:34 He delivers us from bondage. 12:37 Back to Exodus 3:7-8, "The Lord said, 12:41 'I have seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, 12:43 I have heard their cry, and I know their sorrows. 12:47 I have come down to deliver them 12:50 out of the land of the Egyptians.'" 12:52 You might feel like you are in the land 12:54 of the Egyptians, in the land of bondage. 12:56 God can deliver you from bondage. 12:58 God can deliver you from trouble. 13:01 Psalm 34:17, "The righteous cry, 13:03 the Lord hears and delivers them 13:06 from all their troubles." 13:07 God can deliver you from fear. 13:10 Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord, 13:12 and He heard me, and delivered me 13:14 from all my fears." 13:15 That's right. 13:17 Most importantly, God delivers us from sin. 13:20 Matthew 1:21, 13:21 "He shall save His people from their sin." 13:26 God delivers us. 13:27 So the Israelites were not alone. 13:29 It felt like God was silent, 13:30 but He was on His way to deliver them. 13:32 Amen. Wow. 13:34 Beautiful. That is wonderful. Amen. 13:36 Monday's lesson is entitled The Ten Commandments. 13:39 And so when we're considering the topic of, you know, 13:42 "The Least of These," as we're talking about 13:44 "The Least of These," 13:45 you know, embracing, and serving, and loving, 13:47 and ministering to our brothers in need, 13:49 our brothers and sisters in need, 13:51 you know, what better place to point someone 13:54 to then the moral law of God? 13:56 And I'm gonna take 13:57 a little bit of a different approach on this, 13:58 but I'm just gonna do a little bit of a review 14:01 of what many of us may already know, 14:03 but there may be someone watching this show, goes, 14:04 "I've never heard this before," and that is just for them. 14:08 What is sin? 14:10 And the reason why I'm asking that 14:11 is because the one thing 14:12 that's going to really separate us 14:15 as brothers and sisters in Christ, 14:17 and more importantly, separate us from God is sin. 14:20 That Great Controversy, Battle Between Good and Evil, 14:22 of course, is really 14:25 it's all about this sin problem 14:27 and how Christ has overcome the sin of the world. 14:30 But I want to start us in Matthew 22:37-40. 14:36 While you're finding that, I just want to remind us again, 14:38 1 John 3:4 really highlights 14:41 and gives us a nice biblical definition 14:43 of what this sin problem really is. 14:45 1 John 3:4 says, 14:47 "Whosoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, 14:50 and sin is lawlessness." 14:52 Of course, this is the New King James Version, 14:54 King James Version says, 14:55 "Sin is none other than the transgression 14:57 of the law of God." 14:59 And so we have this sin problem, 15:01 it needs to be addressed. 15:03 And it's interesting because in Matthew 22, 15:07 Christ brings about the concept of the law, 15:10 perhaps maybe like nobody had ever described it before, 15:13 at least up to this particular time. 15:14 I can imagine the Pharisees and the Sadducees 15:16 and all the people of His time listening closely 15:19 to what He was saying, in fact, some of them 15:21 would walk away and say, these are hard words, 15:22 these are tough things to hear. 15:24 But He would say things such as... 15:25 we're gonna read here, Matthew 22, 15:27 beginning with verse 37. 15:28 Jesus said to them, 15:30 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 15:33 with all your soul, 15:34 and with all your mind." 15:36 This is the first and great commandment. 15:39 And I can imagine some of them were probably 15:41 a little confused, like, "What do you mean by that?" 15:43 Because that wasn't necessarily the first commandment 15:46 of the Ten Commandments. 15:47 But we'll get to that. Notice verse 39. 15:49 He adds, He says, "And the second is like it, 15:51 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 15:54 On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets." 16:00 And how is that the case? 16:02 Let's jump over to Exodus 20. 16:04 I just want us to do a little bit of review. 16:07 You know, I'm amazed 16:09 by how most people are aware 16:11 or familiar with the Ten Commandments, 16:13 but I'm finding that more and more of us 16:15 need to take a look back at them 16:16 just to be reminded of what God's law really is. 16:19 Exodus 20, of course, 16:21 is where you're gonna find 16:22 the first verbal record of the Ten Commandments 16:25 and the written record 16:26 of the Ten Commandments given in scripture. 16:28 And it's interesting when you review these, 16:30 notice back in Matthew, 16:31 I'm just gonna quote Matthew 22:37-40 again, 16:34 more specifically, verse 40, 16:35 Jesus says, "On these two commandments... 16:37 Love the Lord God 16:38 with all your heart, mind, soul." 16:40 And of course, 16:41 "Love your neighbor as yourself." 16:42 He says, "On these two commandments 16:44 hang all the law and the prophets." 16:46 And it's interesting, when you begin to read 16:48 through these Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, 16:52 you will notice something if you pay close attention. 16:54 The first four commandments are dealing directly 16:57 with our relationship with God. 17:00 So it's not that Christ is necessarily bringing 17:02 a new concept about, 17:04 it's already established in Scripture. 17:06 But the fact that He's bringing our attention back 17:08 to loving the Lord God 17:10 with all our heart, mind, soul, 17:11 if you're keeping the first four commandments 17:14 of the Ten Commandments, then again, as He said, 17:16 "On these two commandments hang all the law," 17:18 you've kept the first four commandments 17:20 if you truly do respond in loving God 17:22 with all your heart, mind, and soul. 17:24 And then, of course, you will notice the last 17:26 six commandments are dealing with our relationship 17:28 with our fellow man, 17:30 our brothers and sisters in Christ. 17:31 And so again, on these two hang all the law. 17:34 If you're keeping the last six commandments 17:36 in totality, then again, you are loving your neighbor 17:39 as yourself, as Jesus Christ puts it there. 17:42 And, you know, I was reading in the lesson, 17:44 and I like how the writer brought this out, 17:46 when you consider the Ten Commandments of God, 17:49 the moral law of God, 17:51 it is really likened unto a constitution. 17:55 The constitution, and so what is the constitution? 17:58 The constitution is a law, 18:00 it's basically a philosophy of governmental laws and rights 18:04 that people live according to and live up to, 18:07 that govern their body and that people stand for, 18:10 especially here in the United States of America, 18:12 we're all about the constitution 18:13 because, again, it protects our rights and our freedoms, 18:16 and establishes that clearly. 18:18 And it's interesting that when you consider 18:20 the Ten Commandments, 18:22 heaven is governed by the law of God. 18:25 In fact, I made a note here, 18:27 unless we learn to allow our lives 18:30 to be governed by God's moral law, 18:33 then we could never be citizens of heaven. 18:36 In fact, we need to be living according to God's character. 18:39 Now we need to allow God to transform us now, 18:41 and when we go to that law, 18:43 it's not just a bunch of set of rules 18:45 and regulations of Thou shalt not 18:47 and Thou shalt and all these, 18:48 you know, do this, do this, don't do that, 18:50 but rather, when we keep the Ten Commandments 18:52 and really approach it according to the principles 18:55 that God meant for them to be, 18:57 we understand that we were actually preparing for heaven. 19:00 Now heaven is governed by these laws. 19:03 In fact, we see this issue come to play in Ezekiel 28. 19:07 I read this scripture last week, 19:08 but I want to read it again. 19:10 Ezekiel 28:15, speaking to Lucifer again, 19:13 this problem began in heaven, 19:14 and Lucifer was actually kicked out of the heaven, 19:19 the kingdom of God 19:20 because he was not obeying or allowing himself 19:24 to be governed by the laws of heaven. 19:26 Notice verse 15 in Ezekiel 28, 19:28 "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, 19:31 till iniquity was found in you." 19:34 And there's no doubt in my mind 19:36 that God pled for Lucifer to repent, 19:38 for Lucifer to change, 19:39 but simply he refused to be governed 19:41 by God's holy law. 19:43 And, of course, he wanted to create his own law. 19:46 So we're talking about the Ten Commandments 19:48 in relation to a constitution. 19:50 This is heaven's constitution, 19:52 and we need to learn to be governed by them now. 19:55 And I found this interesting quote. 19:57 You want to talk about a constitution, 19:59 the United States of America, 20:00 probably more than any other nation 20:03 on the globe 20:04 since human civilizations, 20:07 this nation is more in history likened 20:10 into a Christian nation, 20:12 established on Christian morals and Christian principles. 20:15 In fact, most people or many people 20:16 might disagree with this, 20:18 but again, there's a large body of people 20:19 who believe that even our very own constitution 20:22 was drafted from 20:24 and about from these very Ten Commandments 20:27 that we read here in the Bible. 20:28 And I found this interesting quote by James Madison, 20:31 James Madison was the fourth President 20:33 of the United States, and he is considered 20:35 the Father of the United States' Constitution. 20:38 He wrote much of the United States' Constitution, 20:40 and notice what he says here in this quote, 20:43 he says, "We have staked 20:44 the whole future of American civilization, 20:47 not upon the power of government." 20:50 He says, "Far from it. 20:52 We have staked the future 20:54 of all our political institutions 20:57 upon the capacity of mankind for," 21:00 notice, "self-government, upon the capacity 21:03 of each and all of us to govern ourselves," 21:06 how do we govern ourselves? 21:08 "To control ourselves." 21:09 How do we control ourselves? 21:11 "To sustain ourselves," how? 21:13 And he ends it with, 21:14 "According to the Ten Commandments." 21:16 So, again, the Father of the American Constitution 21:19 is stating here plainly 21:20 that when he was writing that constitution, 21:22 from his own mind, he was drafting it 21:24 with the Ten Commandments, 21:25 the moral law of God in his mind and in his heart. 21:28 And you might ask, you know, 21:30 "Why the constitution and the Bill of Rights... 21:32 Why were they created?" 21:34 To protect our freedom. 21:36 To protect our freedom. 21:37 In fact, again, 21:38 many people think the Ten Commandments 21:40 is just a bunch of rules and regulations, 21:41 but I see them as a list of freedoms, 21:44 promises and freedoms. 21:46 In fact, one of my favorite verses in all the Bible 21:47 is the beginning of Galatians 5:1, 21:50 notice what it says here, very short, very simple, 21:52 but very profound. 21:54 "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. 21:58 It is for freedom that Christ has set you free." 22:00 Now go back to that list of Ten Commandments 22:02 there in Exodus 20. 22:03 I'm not gonna read all of them, but I want you to notice 22:05 the very first opening scripture of Exodus 20:1. 22:09 Here He says, "I am the Lord your God, 22:11 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 22:13 out of the house of bondage." 22:16 What's the opposite of slavery? 22:17 What's the opposite of bondage? Freedom. 22:19 Freedom. Freedom. 22:20 And so what we find following this opening... 22:22 What I would like believe that thesis statement from the Lord 22:24 and everything that's about to follow 22:26 is he's giving us the ten freedoms. 22:28 He wants to set us free from sins. 22:30 And when we pay very close attention 22:32 or give the proper establishment 22:35 to God's Ten Commandment 22:37 moral law, 22:38 then what we are doing is, 22:40 we're not making it our salvation, 22:41 we're not saved by the Ten Commandments 22:43 but rather because we are saved, 22:44 we keep those. 22:46 And let me tell you something. 22:47 We're talking about ministering to our fellow men 22:49 and our brothers and sisters in Christ, 22:50 what better way can we create a better society 22:53 than obeying the 10 moral laws 22:55 that God established in the beginning? 22:56 Amen. It is powerful. 22:58 You know, this comes from Patriarchs and Prophets, 23:00 page 308 and 309. 23:02 She mentions here just about murder and stealing. 23:05 She says, "You shall not murder," 23:06 summarizes and includes, "all acts of injustice 23:09 that tend to shorten life, 23:10 as well as a selfish neglect of caring 23:12 for the needy or suffering." 23:14 And about the commandment of stealing, 23:16 she says, "Similarly, the prohibition 23:18 against stealing condemns slave-dealing 23:20 and forbids wars of conquest, 23:23 it requires the payment of just debts or wages, 23:26 and as well as prohibiting every attempt to advance 23:30 oneself by ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of others." 23:34 And so when we consider this greatly, 23:35 we know that within the Ten Commandments, 23:38 there is a moral obligation that we have 23:40 to pay very close attention to the character of God, 23:42 which is what we need to replicate 23:43 in these last days. 23:45 Amen! Amen. 23:46 What a powerful study, Ryan. 23:47 I love that, the freedom that we have in Christ. 23:50 We're gonna take a short break. 23:51 We'll be right back. 23:57 Ever wish you could watch 23:58 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 24:01 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:04 Well, you can, 24:05 by visiting 3ABNSabbathSchoolPanel.com. 24:09 A clean design makes it easy 24:11 to find the program you're looking for. 24:13 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide, 24:17 so you can follow along. 24:19 Sharing is easy. 24:20 Just click Share and choose your favorite social media. 24:23 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:29 Welcome back to our study of God's Word, 24:31 Blueprint for a Better World. 24:33 And we're gonna continue our study 24:34 with Tuesday's lesson. 24:36 Pastor John. 24:37 Quite a long title. 24:39 "Slaves, Widows, Fatherless, 24:41 Foreigners." 24:44 Wow, that's a mouthful. 24:46 So let me just go ahead and get started. 24:48 That's why I had you say it. 24:50 This lesson really covers a broad spectrum of the slaves, 24:55 the widows, the fatherless, the foreigners, 24:58 in the context of being released out 25:02 of the land of Egypt, you know? 25:03 I say, our God took Israel out of Egypt, 25:07 but He had a hard time taking Egypt out of Israel. 25:11 And that whole journey that was just a couple of weeks long 25:14 extended for 40 years 25:15 because it didn't take much for them to forget. 25:19 And nothing creates, I shouldn't say nothing, 25:23 but very few things create 25:25 the hindrance of remembering than success. 25:29 When they began to be successful, 25:31 and you'll find in their lives, the Lord had to continually 25:35 remind the Israelites about of remembering. 25:38 Remembering where you were, remember how I brought you out, 25:41 I brought you out with a mighty hand, 25:43 remember that I fought your battles for you, 25:46 remember that I turned the tide in your favor, 25:48 remember that I prevented the Egyptians 25:51 from overtaking you, 25:52 remember that I fed you, 25:54 remember that I kept your shoes from wearing out 25:56 because every time they experience success, 25:59 they would tend to forget. 26:01 One of those examples is found in Deuteronomy 8:11-20. 26:04 And this does as well today to remember this passage 26:07 because very few things hinder appreciation 26:10 like success, 26:11 very few things hinder 26:13 the spirit of appreciation, like success. 26:16 Deuteronomy 8:11-20, 26:18 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 26:22 by not keeping His commandments, 26:24 His judgments, and His statutes, 26:25 which I command you today, 26:27 lest when you have eaten and are full, 26:29 and have built beautiful houses, 26:30 and dwelt in them, and when your herds 26:33 and your flocks multiply, 26:34 and your silver and your gold are multiplied, 26:36 and all that you have is multiplied, 26:39 when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord 26:41 your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 26:44 from the house of bondage, 26:46 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, 26:48 in which were fiery serpents and scorpions, 26:51 and thirsty land, where there was no water, 26:53 who brought water for you out of the flinty rock." 26:55 And when you think of all that God is doing, 26:57 He's saying, "Don't forget all these little details." 26:59 And while there may seem to be just details, 27:01 He's saying, "You tend to forget. 27:03 What seems to be small to you now 27:05 was huge in your journey." 27:07 He goes on, 27:08 "Who fed you in the wilderness with a manna, 27:10 which your father did not know, 27:12 that He might humbled you, and that He might test you, 27:15 to do you good in the end. 27:17 Then you say in your heart," this is the part 27:19 where they lose their connection 27:21 to giving God glory, 27:22 'My power and the might 27:23 of my hand have gained me this wealth.' 27:26 And you shall remember," the opposite of forget is, 27:29 remember, "and you shall remember 27:31 the Lord your God, for it is He 27:33 who gives you power to get wealth." 27:34 We couldn't be wealthy, we couldn't have what we have, 27:36 and the word wealth is a byproduct, 27:38 we couldn't be successful without having good health. 27:41 "I'm giving you health to get the success you have. 27:44 Don't forget that." 27:46 And it says, 27:47 "For it is He who gives you power 27:49 to get wealth that He may establish," 27:50 Shelley, "His covenant 27:52 in which He swore to your fathers, 27:54 as it is this day. 27:56 Then it shall be if you by any means 27:58 forget the Lord your God and follow other gods 28:01 and serve them and worship them, 28:02 I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 28:06 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, 28:09 so you shall perish because you would not be 28:12 obedient to the voice of the Lord your God." 28:14 Forget, forget, forget, remember. 28:16 Three times forget was mentioned, once remember. 28:18 Don't forget to remember. 28:20 That's the, in fact, the case. 28:22 So what I want to point out are, Jill, 28:24 five things that the Israelites 28:29 were in danger of doing. 28:31 Five areas that they forgot. 28:34 And I'll lead into that, go to Hebrews 3:7-10. 28:37 But I'll lead into that by saying this, 28:39 people will not be lost because they walk in darkness, 28:43 people will be lost because they neglect light. 28:46 Look at this. 28:48 One of the first things the 2 Genesis, 28:50 I call Hebrews the 2 Genesis, 28:52 it brings us this beautiful illustration 28:54 of the dangers that the Israelites faced. 28:58 The first danger was the danger of hardening their hearts. 29:02 Hebrews 3:7-10. 29:05 Actually, the first one was the danger of neglect. 29:08 Hebrews 2:3, 29:10 "How shall we escape if we neglect 29:12 so greater salvation, 29:14 which are the first began to be spoken by the Lord 29:16 and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him?" 29:19 The danger of neglect. 29:21 Now neglect doesn't mean "I don't want to," 29:23 it just says, "I keep hesitating." 29:26 It just keeps in, I keep putting it off. 29:27 I keep putting it off. 29:29 That's why the Bible says, "Today, if you hear His voice, 29:31 today is the day of salvation, today is the opportunity." 29:35 He doesn't say, "I'll give you time." 29:37 One person once asked me, 29:38 "Pastor, could you give me another week 29:39 before I get baptized?" 29:41 I said, "I can't give you any time at all. 29:42 I can't give you the next 10 seconds. 29:44 If you want to decide to wait, that's up to you, 29:46 but I don't have any authority 29:48 to give you a time credit card." 29:50 So sometimes, people say, "I'll do this, maybe later, 29:55 maybe tomorrow." 29:56 The danger of neglect was one of the first things 29:58 that the writer of Hebrews pointed out. 30:01 And he outlines this entire thing as a reason 30:05 why they were not able to enter the Promised Land. 30:07 Let's go to the second danger, 30:09 the danger of hardening the heart. 30:11 Hebrews 3:7-10, do you have that, Shelley? 30:14 I do. 30:15 Hebrews 3:7, 30:17 "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 30:19 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts 30:23 as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, 30:26 where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, 30:30 and saw My works 40 years. 30:32 Therefore, I was angry with that generation,' 30:35 and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, 30:39 and they have not known my ways.'" 30:41 That's right. 30:43 So the issue of the heart is the heart of the issue. 30:48 It's good. That was the problem. 30:49 The issue of the heart was the heart of the issue. 30:51 They forgot God and it says, 30:52 "They always go astray," where, 30:54 "in their heart." 30:55 It didn't seem to be evident on the outside, 30:58 but the Lord knew the condition of their heart 31:00 for as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. 31:02 The third danger is the danger of not maturing. 31:05 Hebrews 5:12, you have that, Ryan? 31:07 Oh, absolutely. Go, go quickly now. 31:08 Hebrews 5:12. Danger of not maturing. 31:12 "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, 31:15 you need someone to teach you again 31:17 the first principles of the oracles of God, 31:20 and you have come to need milk and not solid food." 31:22 Look at that. 31:24 So is it by now you should be on the good stuff, 31:26 but here I am telling you all over again, 31:29 remember about tithing, remember about the Sabbath, 31:32 remember love your neighbor as yourself, 31:34 should we not be past that already? 31:36 And it says in Hebrews 6:1, 31:38 "Therefore, leading the discussion 31:40 of the elementary principles of Christ, 31:42 let us go on to perfection 31:44 not laying again the foundation of repentance 31:46 from dead works and of faith toward God." 31:49 He said, "Man, that's so elementary, 31:51 but we're not past that yet," the danger of not maturing. 31:54 The third danger, the third one or the fourth one, 31:57 the danger of drawing back. 31:59 Hebrews 10:26, the danger of drawing back. 32:04 It says, "For if we sin willfully, 32:07 after we have received the knowledge of the truth, 32:09 there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." 32:12 Verse 36, 32:14 "For you have need of endurance 32:15 so that after you have done the will of God, 32:18 you may receive the promise." 32:20 And then Verse 39, 32:22 "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition 32:25 but of those who believe to the saving of the soul," 32:28 the danger of drawing back. 32:29 And what you're gonna notice when I get to the last two, 32:32 is you'll find that this is a process. 32:35 Actually, we covered four so far. 32:37 One the danger of neglect, 32:39 the danger of hardening the heart, 32:40 then when the heart is hardening, 32:42 you start maturing, then when you start maturing, 32:45 you're thinking about going back. 32:47 And then finally, the casualty comes, 32:51 the danger of refusing God. 32:54 Hebrews 12:25-26, look at that together. 32:58 "See that you do not refuse him who speaks. 33:01 For if they did not escape 33:02 who refused him who spoke on earth, 33:04 much more shall we not escape 33:06 if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, 33:09 whose voice then shook the earth, 33:10 but now he has promised saying, 'Yet once more, 33:13 I shake not only the earth but also heaven.'" 33:18 So the Bible is saying, in essence here, 33:20 when the shaking comes, 33:21 it's gonna be more furious this time. 33:23 Notice the process, what are those again, 33:26 the first one is neglect, hard heart, 33:29 you cannot mature, 33:31 you start thinking about going back, 33:32 and then when God calls you, you say, 33:34 "No," you refuse God. 33:36 That's a dangerous thing. 33:37 Matter of fact, I did this series, 33:39 not too long ago, 33:40 called the Five Dangers in Hebrews. 33:42 And the danger of forgetting 33:45 what God has done for us 33:48 is summarized in Isaiah 1:19-20. 33:53 Why it's so dangerous to forget? 33:56 Why is it so dangerous to refuse God? 33:59 Verse 19, "If you are willing and obedient, 34:03 you shall eat the good of the land, 34:06 but if you refuse and rebel, 34:10 you shall be devoured by the sword, 34:12 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." 34:16 So when you think of the journey, 34:17 the slaves, the widows, the fatherless, the foreigners, 34:20 in their journey to the land of promise, 34:23 they forgot the God of promise. 34:26 He promised them but they chose the things that they preferred 34:31 over the promises of God. 34:33 I really like that statement you made a moment ago, 34:35 Jill, and I reiterate it. 34:37 Trust the promise, not the perception. 34:39 That's beautiful. 34:41 When God promises, don't lean on the perception, 34:43 trust Him and you'll never get to the place where you forget. 34:46 Amen and amen. 34:48 These are wonderful lessons. 34:49 And now everything... 34:51 What I love about the Bible 34:52 is the teaching is so very practical. 34:54 Absolutely. 34:55 And I appreciate everything 34:57 that you've done to set this up. 34:58 Mine's going beyond practical, 35:00 I'm getting ready to get really personal 35:02 because you're gonna feel like 35:04 I'm sticking my hand in your purse. 35:07 My lesson on Wednesday is "Second Tithing." 35:10 If we talk about the tithe 35:12 and before we get to the "Second Tithe," 35:14 let me set this up because some people don't realize 35:16 that the tithe is still part of a Christian experience. 35:22 Typically, if we talk about tithe, 35:24 we think the first verse that comes up is Malachi 3:8-9. 35:29 And this is the Lord speaking. 35:31 He says, "Will a man rob God? 35:33 Yet you have robbed Me. 35:36 But you say, 'In what way have robbed you?' 35:39 In tithes and offerings. 35:41 You're cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, 35:45 even this whole nation." 35:47 Tithing is clearly a biblical principle 35:51 that is laid out, 35:52 we understand it in Leviticus 20. 35:54 It is 10% of your incomings. 35:57 The Lord says, "All the tithe of the land, 35:59 whether of the seed of the land 36:01 or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. 36:04 It is holy to the Lord." 36:06 So that 10%, we don't pay tithe, 36:10 we return what belongs to the Lord, 36:15 and there's no special merit for returning it. 36:18 It's God's, I mean, 36:20 this doesn't help us in our salvation, 36:22 or it doesn't save us any more than any other good deed 36:25 that we were created to do as Christians. 36:28 But there is a promise in Malachi 3:10-11 36:31 continues on. 36:33 God's speaking. 36:34 He says, "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse 36:36 that there may be food in my house, 36:38 try Me in this,' says the Lord, 36:42 'If I will not open the windows of heaven for you 36:46 and pour out, such a blessing 36:48 that there will not be room enough 36:51 to receive it.'" 36:52 So and God goes on to say, 36:54 "I rebuke the devourer for your sakes." 36:57 And I wished I had time 36:59 to talk about our personal testimony of tithing, 37:01 but we have proven this to be a true principle. 37:05 The Christian church is the house of God 37:09 and we tithe to support the minister 37:13 and to evangelism 37:17 and the spiritual needs of others. 37:19 Being faithful in our tithes and offerings 37:24 brings us this physical material blessing, 37:28 but it also brings us a spiritual blessing 37:31 because it helps develop in us 37:34 the unselfish divine love of God. 37:39 As we gain this victory over selfishness 37:44 and covetousness, we become more like Him. 37:47 And we have. 37:48 You know, the Bible says it is the love of money 37:53 that is the root of all evil. 37:54 That's right. 37:56 And we see all the time, 37:57 the inevitable result isn't materialistic philosophy. 38:01 People who love money 38:03 seems like they're never contempt either. 38:06 They always want more, and there's an inner emptiness. 38:10 So the dedication of the tent 38:12 that was sacred to God was recognized as a duty 38:15 before Moses, we see it in the Old Testament, 38:19 Abraham to Melchizedek. 38:21 Jesus upheld it in the New Testament 38:23 when He told the Pharisees, "Yeah, you should tithe 38:26 but don't forsake the other spiritual matters." 38:30 And also we find in Hebrews 7:1-8, 38:33 where it's talking about Melchizedek 38:36 and the tithe that it is such a casual reference, 38:40 you can see that. 38:41 This was a practice 38:42 that was established in the church. 38:44 But here's the point I want to get to, 38:47 10% was just the starting point in the Old Testament. 38:51 Those who gave according 38:53 to the Levitical laws 38:56 contributed at least 25% of their income 39:01 to the Lord's work. 39:03 There was a first tithe, a second tithe, 39:06 and offerings. 39:08 The first tithe was used to support the Levis, 39:11 and this was given to the Levis administered by the Levis. 39:16 The second tithe was to support the annual feast 39:22 and personal charity. 39:24 The second tithe was administered. 39:27 If it's me giving the second tithe, 39:30 my family's the one who administers it. 39:33 So let me give you... 39:34 We won't take time to read this. 39:36 But in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, 39:40 it explains the second tithe 39:42 that was based on a seven-year harvest season, 39:46 the seventh year being the sabbatical year. 39:49 And what happened? 39:50 The first, second, fourth, and fifth, 39:54 there's six years they're giving that. 39:56 So the first, second, fourth, and fifth years, 40:00 on the second tithe, 40:01 they took a tenth of their herds, 40:03 a tenth of their flocks, their grain, their wine, 40:06 their olive oil, 40:08 and they would take it to Jerusalem 40:10 during the feast times 40:12 and they would celebrate with themselves. 40:16 They remembered the Levites. 40:17 This second tithe was used to celebrate the feasts 40:22 and celebrate the blessings of the Lord, 40:25 in the Lord's presence. 40:27 If it was too far to carry, if they live too far away, 40:30 they would sell it, take the monetary value. 40:33 And when they got to Jerusalem to the feast, 40:37 what they would do is buy anything their heart's 40:40 desire to consume, to celebrate the feast. 40:43 God wanted His people 40:46 to enjoy the results of His blessings 40:50 and to celebrate His goodness. 40:52 So they spent those four years, 40:55 that second tithe on themselves, 40:57 their family, 40:58 and then they would remember the Levites. 41:00 But Deuteronomy 14:28-29 tells us 41:05 that on the third and the sixth year 41:10 of that seven-year harvest cycle, 41:13 the second tithe went entirely for the poor. 41:17 Let's read that. 41:18 Deuteronomy 14:28-29. 41:22 "At the end of every third year, 41:25 you shall bring out the tithe 41:26 of your produce of that year 41:28 and store it up within your gates." 41:31 Now remember, 41:32 there was no social security system, 41:34 bad thing for the poor. 41:36 So what they would do is in their own home, 41:40 towns, or cities, they would store this up. 41:43 And it says in verse 29, "And the Levite, 41:46 because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, 41:49 and the stranger and the fatherless 41:51 and the widow who are within your gates 41:53 may come and eat and be satisfied, 41:57 that the Lord your God 41:58 may bless you in all the work of the hand which you do." 42:02 So as I said, 42:03 this was the seven-year sabbatical, 42:06 the seventh year was the sabbatical year. 42:09 But people were to remember how God had blessed them, 42:13 they were to remember 42:14 how He had been merciful to them. 42:17 So on the third 42:19 and the sixth year of that cycle, 42:21 every third year, 42:23 on top of their regular tithe dedicated to the Lord, 42:27 they would put that 10% 42:31 and to show their concern for the poor. 42:36 And, you know, it's interesting. 42:39 What this did was cultivate a spirit of benevolence. 42:45 And we don't see, you know, 42:47 certainly the New Testament doesn't talk to us. 42:50 We know that we no longer are supporting 42:53 with the second tithe, the festivals. 42:58 We don't see a command for a second tithe, 43:02 but we certainly see 43:04 the whole principle of benevolence 43:06 in the New Testament 43:07 over and over. 43:09 The New Testament admonishes us 43:12 to provide financial assistance to those who need it. 43:16 Now when we're talking about tithes and offerings, 43:20 often people will ask me, 43:21 I mean, it's easy to determine a tithe. 43:24 It's 10%, 43:26 that belongs to God, it's not yours. 43:28 So it is God, as you said, who gives us the ability 43:32 and the power to make the wealth, 43:34 and what He... 43:36 It's interesting to me 43:38 that He entrusts the whole 100%, 43:40 when really only 90% is ours. 43:42 But He's teaching us a principal, 43:44 and we return that. 43:46 But what about offerings? 43:49 What is the percentage on offerings? 43:51 I want to just give you two scriptures. 43:54 2 Corinthians 8:12, it says this, 43:59 "If there is first a willing mind, 44:03 it is accepted according to what one has 44:08 and not according to what he does not have." 44:12 So the thing is, 44:13 we don't want to be stingy with God, 44:16 but God understands that we don't always have it. 44:19 And it's the attitude of the heart that's important 44:23 because He goes on in 2 Corinthians, 44:25 in the next chapter. 44:27 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. 44:29 And He gives us a kingdom principle. 44:32 He says, "He who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly. 44:37 He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully." 44:41 And then He says this, 44:42 "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, 44:46 not grudgingly or out of necessity, 44:49 for God loves a cheerful giver, 44:51 and God is able to make all grace abound toward you 44:55 that you always having all sufficiency in all things, 45:00 may have an abundance for every good work." 45:03 Amen and amen. Amen. 45:05 You know, I think about this, 45:06 and people that have much wealth, 45:10 of course, you expect them to tithe, 45:12 but I'm thinking about the some of us 45:14 that have very little. 45:16 And you're thinking, "Oh, but I can't do that. 45:19 I can't give to benevolence. 45:20 I can't give offerings. 45:22 It's hard for me to even tithe." 45:24 And I just want to tell you, it's not equal giving, 45:27 it's equal sacrifice. 45:29 And so when you understand that, 45:31 then you may think, 45:32 "I can only give $2 to this cause." 45:35 If that's a sacrifice for you, remember, the widow's mite. 45:39 And it says, 45:41 Jesus was watching and He saw it. 45:43 And He said, 45:44 "This woman has given all that she had," 45:47 and although was such a small amount, 45:49 the blessing was great on her. 45:50 So don't ever think you're too poor. 45:54 You have too little to be a blessing 45:56 to the kingdom of God. 45:57 No, that's not true. 45:59 And I'm thinking about this tithing principle, 46:01 the purpose of it was peace and harmony 46:04 and provision for God's people. 46:07 And I'm looking at Thursday, which is "The Year of Jubilee." 46:11 And something 46:12 I see about this is the same identical principle, 46:15 what God's purpose for His children, 46:18 He has for every one of us, is that we live in peace, 46:21 we live in harmony, and we have provision. 46:25 Everything God does, He does for us, 46:28 to make our lives better. 46:30 Now let me ask you this 46:31 before we look at "The Year of Jubilee." 46:33 What was the purpose that God wanted for His people 46:38 from the very beginning? 46:40 For them to be a bright, shining light in their world, 46:44 for nations to look at them and say, 46:47 "Oh, look what their God does for them. 46:49 We want to serve their God," and all people would be drawn. 46:54 Now, did the children of Israel live that out? 46:57 No. No, they didn't. 46:58 Okay, now, seeing you're Abraham's seed, 47:01 and so whose responsibility is it now 47:04 for us to be such a shining light 47:06 in the world that people are... 47:08 That's every one of us, people are drawn to Christ. 47:11 So "The Year of Jubilee." 47:13 After delivering His people from Egypt, 47:17 where they had been slaves for over 400 years 47:22 and then they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. 47:24 And Pastor Lomacang showed us, 47:26 they could have got there in how long? 47:28 Couple of weeks. Couple of weeks. 47:30 It took them 40 years. 47:31 And why did you say 47:33 they had to wander in the wilderness 47:34 those 40 years? 47:35 To get Egypt out of them. 47:37 It was not just to get them out of Egypt, 47:39 but it was to get Egypt out of them. 47:41 Think of their mindset. 47:42 After 400 years, all they knew was bondage and slavery. 47:47 And I'm going to look at that a little later. 47:50 So here they had been, 400 years in bondage actually, 47:54 it could be a little longer than 400 years. 47:56 Four hundred and thirty, 47:58 and then forty years in the wilderness, 48:01 so all this time they had been wandering. 48:04 And here was a people and they had no home, no land. 48:10 What is so important? 48:12 Have any of you ever read 48:13 the history of what lead out to 1948? 48:17 What happened in 1948? 48:19 Israel was reestablished as a nation. 48:22 It had a homeland again. 48:23 It had lost it somewhere. 48:25 I read the history of that, 48:26 how vitally important it was 48:29 for the people to have their own home. 48:31 And all of you, I don't know if you all own your own home. 48:34 Helen and I had owned our home for years. 48:38 Now we don't own our own home, 48:40 we're leasing but that's because we feel like 48:42 it's the economically feasible intelligent thing for us to do 48:47 at this age in our life. 48:49 But you know what, I miss not owning my own home, 48:52 I want my own digs, you know. 48:54 And so that's been a hard thing for me to get a grip on. 49:00 But here's a people 49:01 who have had no home of their own 49:03 for nearly 500 years. 49:07 And God saw fit to give them a land, 49:11 and what kind of land was it? 49:13 it was flowing with... 49:14 Milk and honey. 49:16 I mean, He didn't just give them the dregs, 49:17 He gave them the best. 49:19 God knew the importance 49:21 that the land would take on 49:22 as they established their new home in Canaan. 49:26 Under the leadership of Joshua, 49:28 God oversaw an orderly distribution of the land, 49:32 by tribe and by family group. 49:35 He equally distributed this wonderful land 49:40 flowing with milk and honey. 49:43 But God also knew that over time, 49:46 the wealth and resources 49:49 that were connected with landholding 49:51 would tend to become concentrated 49:54 in the hands of a few. 49:56 Is that true today? Okay. 49:58 Now we live in the heartland. 50:01 And I was raised on a farm in Alabama. 50:05 Now something we have seen the heartland which is known 50:09 as the breadbasket of the world, 50:11 am I saying that right? 50:12 This is where we've got all the grain, 50:14 and the farmers are vitally important. 50:17 But something we have seen over the last several years 50:21 as that some of these landowners, 50:24 these people, these farmers 50:26 that have had the land in their family 50:29 for generations, 50:31 what has happened? 50:32 Had to sell. They've had to sell. 50:34 They've lost their land. 50:35 Now there were different reasons 50:38 that they would lose their land. 50:40 Some was through family difficulties, 50:44 ill health, poor choices, 50:46 and misfortune as they lost their land. 50:49 Now God, looking down through eternity, 50:52 He knew that this was going to happen to us, 50:55 but He also knew that it was something 50:59 that would happen in this land, 51:01 this new land, that He had given to His people. 51:05 But God had a solution. That's right. 51:07 Okay. God and His solution. 51:10 For those who found themselves in this unfortunate situation, 51:15 and why did He have a solution? 51:18 Because of His great love for His people. 51:21 Remember, everything God does is because He loves us. 51:25 He wants us to have peace, 51:27 and harmony, and live in provision. 51:30 Okay. 51:31 He had foresight to protect not only those 51:35 who lost their land 51:37 but also to protect those who obtained the land. 51:41 That protection was a coin that had two sides. 51:45 God's solution. 51:46 Here's what the solution was, 51:48 it was a decree that land could never be sold, 51:52 absolutely. 51:53 That's right. 51:55 Instead, land would be sold only 51:57 until the next year of jubilee, 52:01 at which time the land would revert 52:04 to its allotted family 52:06 and any land sold could be redeemed by the seller 52:11 or other member of the seller's family 52:13 at any time. 52:15 Now here's what God says in Leviticus 25:23. 52:20 "The land must not be sold permanently 52:24 because the land is," whose? 52:26 "The land is mine and you reside in my land 52:31 as foreigners and strangers." 52:34 So although God gave this land to the nation of Israel, 52:38 who does He say it actually belongs to? 52:41 To Him. He said, "It's mine." 52:43 So if it's His land, He can do with it 52:45 what He wants to, can't He? 52:47 Okay, now in Leviticus 25:8-23, God lays out in details, 52:52 what is to happen during the year of jubilee. 52:55 Doesn't just pertain to land, it pertains to their assets 53:01 or aspects of the nation of Israel. 53:05 But let me read this to you in Leviticus 25:8-11. 53:09 "And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, 53:12 seven times seven years, 53:14 and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years 53:17 shall be to you forty-nine years. 53:19 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee 53:21 to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month 53:23 on the Day of Atonement, 53:25 and you shall make the trumpet 53:26 to sound throughout all your land. 53:28 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year 53:34 and proclaim liberty throughout all the land 53:37 to all its inhabitants. 53:39 It shall be a jubilee for you, 53:41 and each of you shall return to his possession, 53:43 and each of you shall return to his family. 53:45 That fiftieth year shall be," of what, 53:48 "it shall be a jubilee to you." 53:53 Okay, here's what Ellen White says, 53:56 in Patriarchs and Prophets, 534, 54:00 "The regulations that God established 54:02 was designed to promote social equality." 54:06 The rich had no more standing before God than the poor. 54:10 And that's still the truth today. 54:12 God is not a respecter of persons. 54:14 "The provisions at the sabbatical year 54:17 and the jubilee would, in a great measure, 54:20 set right that which during the interval had gone wrong, 54:23 in the social and political economy of the nation." 54:26 She goes on to say, 54:27 "These regulations were designed to bless the rich 54:31 no less than the poor. 54:33 In God's great love for us, He sets out to protect us 54:37 from ourselves." 54:38 Now that's encouraging, isn't it? 54:40 The whole purpose of all God's instruction 54:42 in the Bible is to bring, I've said it before, 54:45 peace and harmony to His people, 54:48 that we would be that shining light 54:51 in this dark hurting world that all people are drawn to. 54:55 Our memory text was, 54:57 "You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge 55:00 against the children of your people, 55:01 but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 55:04 I am the Lord." 55:05 And that is God's purpose for every one of us. 55:08 He wants to love us and He commands us. 55:11 Love God with all your heart. 55:13 One of you said it, I think it was you. 55:15 Love God with all your heart 55:16 and love your neighbor as yourself. 55:17 Neighbor as yourself. 55:19 Therefore, you fulfill the whole law 55:22 and the commandments of God. 55:24 Thank you so much, Mollie, each one of you. 55:26 What an incredible lesson study. 55:28 Our God is a God of love, 55:30 and our God is a God of freedom. 55:32 And the Ten Commandments 55:34 and each one of these ordinances 55:36 that He put in place is for the betterment of us 55:38 as humans, as society. 55:41 I want to give each one of you a moment 55:42 to share something in closing about your day 55:44 or something else about this lesson in particular. 55:46 Sure. Absolutely. 55:47 So my day was entitled, "The Ten Commandments." 55:50 And anytime I'm talking about the Ten Commandments, 55:53 I cannot forget this particular text, 55:56 one of my favorite text, 1 John 5:3. 55:59 "For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments. 56:02 And His commandments are not burdensome." 56:04 I pray that you will keep the commandments in faith, 56:07 and that it's not a burden to you 56:09 but you will be fulfilled in God's love. 56:12 And mine is about remembering. 56:14 When we remember God, He will not forget us. 56:18 It's so important to remember that blessings are not one way, 56:21 it's not, "Give me, give me." 56:22 God is not a supermarket 56:24 but God is a source of all of our blessings. 56:26 Therefore, He should be the focus 56:27 of all of our prayers. 56:29 Amen. Amen. 56:30 And mine was on the second tithe. 56:32 I think the most important thing about it is that 56:36 to see how God always cared for the people 56:41 who were poor and needy, and He instilled that in us, 56:45 so in Deuteronomy 14, you can read about that. 56:49 In the third and sixth year of the seven-year cycle, 56:53 they'd put that tenth away inside their cities 56:56 to make sure the poor and needy had plenty. 56:58 Amen. 56:59 And all the instructions 57:01 that God gives us is for one purpose, 57:03 and that is for us to be happy, healthy, 57:06 godly men and women 57:08 that we live in peace and harmony 57:09 with one another, that we love one another, 57:12 and they were just good to each other. 57:13 Amen. Amen. 57:14 Amen, amen. 57:16 Thank you so much, Pastor Ryan, Pastor John, Shelley, 57:18 and Mollie, for opening up the Word of God to us. 57:21 What an incredible study. 57:23 And we thank you for joining us as well. 57:25 I want to leave you with this scripture. 57:27 This is 1 Peter 2:9. 57:30 "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 57:33 a holy nation, God's own special people, 57:37 that you may proclaim the praises of Him 57:39 who called you out of darkness into this marvelous light." 57:43 That's what God wanted to do 57:45 with the children of Israel 57:47 when He called them from slavery 57:48 and bondage in Egypt. 57:50 That's what He wants to do with you and with me 57:54 when He calls us from slavery and bondage 57:56 in sin 57:57 into his marvelous light. 58:00 Join us next week for our study of the Sabbath, 58:03 "A Day of Freedom." |
Revised 2019-07-12