The Bible tells us, "In
the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God."
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It says to,
"Receive with meekness
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the implanted Word,
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which is able
to save your souls.
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And to be diligent
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to present
yourself approved to God,
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rightly dividing
the Word of truth."
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today is,
"The Least of These."
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Hello, friends,
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and welcome
again to another week
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of the 3ABN
Sabbath School panel.
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As always, we are so
thankful and grateful
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that you are joining us
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for another
incredible week of Bible study.
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This week's lesson is entitled
"Sabbath, A Day of Freedom."
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And this is our third week.
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You guys having
fun with us? Oh, yes.
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I've really,
really enjoyed this study
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and I know it's gonna continue
to be a blessing for us all.
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Before I go any further
though, I'd like to go ahead
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and introduce this incredible,
awesome, amazing panel,
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and friends, and
colleagues of mine.
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Directly to my left
is Miss Shelley Quinn.
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How are you doing? I
am blessed to be here.
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I don't think anybody realizes
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how much fun we
have doing this together,
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getting together and studying,
and just having a good time.
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That's true.
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I guess they don't
really, really know, huh,
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behind the scenes we
act kind of crazy sometimes,
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but that's okay.
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Also to your left is
Pastor John Lomacang.
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It's good to have you, Pastor.
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Always a blessing
and as Shelley said,
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a joy to be here.
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Wonderful. Praise the Lord.
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And, of course, to your
left is Miss Mollie Steenson.
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It's always good to have you.
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Well, thank you. It
is a joy to be here.
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Praise the Lord.
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And, of course,
Miss Jill Morikone.
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It's a blessing to have
you on the panel as well.
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Thank you so much, Ryan.
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Privilege to
study the Word of God
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with each one of you.
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Amen. Praise the Lord.
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I want to inform you
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of how you can get
a copy of this lesson
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just in case you
might not have one.
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You can go to ABSG.Adventist.org
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and you can access a copy
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of this
incredible study for free.
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Or, of course,
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I would always encourage you
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to go to your local Seventh-day
Adventist Church as well,
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and they will
wonderfully provide you
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a copy of that for free,
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and encourage you
to study with them.
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At least that's what I
encourage everyone to do.
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It's always good to
study in small groups,
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you learn more that way.
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Before we go any further,
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I would like to ask
the Lord to be with us.
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And I'm gonna ask
Miss Mollie Steenson
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to pray for us at this time.
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Thank you.
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Holy Father, we come
before You in the name of Jesus.
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And, Lord, we are so grateful
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for Your presence
that we sense here.
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Father, we ask now
that as we bring before You
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these words
that we have studied,
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we ask Your anointing
upon them and we ask, Father,
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for this Word to go forth
and touch all those hearts
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that you have
prepared to receive Your Word.
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If this Word would
take root, it would grow,
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it would prosper and
we would be conformed
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to your very image and
likeness in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Sabbath afternoon
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is really
setting this up for us.
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We're talking
about the Sabbath day
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and the Sabbath day is one of...
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In my opinion probably
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one of the most
misunderstood topics
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across Christianity today.
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But in light of
what we're discussing
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the least of these,
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that is the title of
this quarterly study.
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This is one of the
most important subjects
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that I find that
each and every person
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needs to come to understand
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the deep
importance of Sabbath keeping
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and the importance
of the day in general
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from a biblical perspective.
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I want to go
directly to our memory text
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which is found in Mark 2:27.
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Notice what the Bible says,
this is again Christ speaking,
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and He says,
"And He said to them,
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'The Sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath.'"
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And I always like
to highlight there,
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the word man
there because again,
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some people think
that only certain men
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apply to this
particular principle,
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maybe only certain
groups but of course,
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the word man here
in the original Greek
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is the word anthropos,
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which simply means
mankind or human being,
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so this Jesus meant for
the Sabbath commandment.
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The blessing of the Sabbath,
the freedom of Sabbath keeping
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to be for every single
person across the globe,
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every created individual.
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And I would like to go
ahead and just jump directly
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into the Sabbath commandment.
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It's always
important to be reminded
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of that great
commandment that God gives us.
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So this is found
in Exodus 20:8-11.
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We know that this is the longest
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of the Ten Commandments.
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It's certainly
not more important
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than any other commandment,
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but you'll notice it
starts with the word "Remember"
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because again, we live
in a civilization today
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where many people have forgotten
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this very commandment.
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So let's be
reminded, Exodus 20:8-11.
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The Bible says,
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"Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
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Six days you shall
labor and do all your work,
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but the seventh
day is the Sabbath
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of the Lord your God.
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In it you shall not do
no work, you, nor your son,
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nor your daughter,
nor your male servant,
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nor your female
servant, nor your cattle,
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nor your stranger
who is within your gates.
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For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth,
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the sea, and
all that in them is,
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and rested the seventh day.
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Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day
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and hallowed it."
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And I liked the one
of the opening paragraphs
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of this particular
lesson on Sabbath afternoon.
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The author says,
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often we talk about the Sabbath,
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the conversation
quickly moves to how to keep it
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and certainly that's important.
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But he goes on to say,
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what are the things
that we should do or not do,
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things like that
come in conversation,
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however important
these questions are,
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we need to
understand the integral role
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that the Sabbath was
designed to play in the world
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and in the lives of God's people
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as a symbol of
God's grace and provision.
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So what was ultimately
the Sabbath given for?
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I think the title of
it really gives it away.
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The Sabbath day, of
course, is a day of freedom.
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It's given for us
to be free in Christ
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and to share the
blessing of the Sabbath.
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And I want to move
on to Sunday's lesson.
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It's entitled, "Manna Enough."
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And I really, really
enjoyed this particular lesson
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because it
highlights a story in the Bible
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that I often highlight
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when I'm out
teaching and preaching
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these beautiful messages.
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You can't leave this story
out because it's so important
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and it has so
many wonderful details
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in regards to the
Sabbath found in it.
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Of course, we know
that the children of Israel
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had been in Egypt
for more than 400 years.
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And, of course, a lot
can be lost and forgotten
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in more than 400 years,
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and we're
talking about, you know,
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multiple generations
that have come and gone.
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And we know the
children of Israel,
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all the many years
that they were in Egypt.
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They kind of lost sight
of many of the principles
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and the commandments,
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and the plan that
God had for their life
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and so here they
are coming out of Egypt,
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and they're
wandering around in the desert.
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And, of course,
it's not too long
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after they find
themselves in the desert,
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wandering around that
they begin complaining,
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and whining, and
griping, saying, you know,
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the Lord's brought
us out here to starve
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and He's brought us
out here to thirst to death
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and, of course, the Bible says
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that the Lord
heard their murmurings
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and
complainings, and He responded.
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He spoke to Moses
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and He gives them
this wonderful plan.
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Now it's interesting,
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He speaks to
Moses and He tells them
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that He's going to rain
bread from heaven to test them.
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You can find
that in Exodus 16:4.
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In fact, I'm getting the story,
if you want to go there now,
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Exodus Chapter 16
you'll notice these are,
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this is four chapters prior
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to the verbal
deliverance from God
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of the Ten Commandments.
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And so we know that
this had been a principle.
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This is a principle
that God had expected
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and wanted His people
to receive and to practice
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and to receive the blessing
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all those years
that they were in Egypt,
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but of course they
were working, working,
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working seven days a week,
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not keeping God's
commandments and, of course,
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that was a major, major,
had played a major impact
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on their morality.
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We see there in
verse 4, that God says,
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"I'm gonna rain bread,
bread from heaven for six days.
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And I'm doing this to test them
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to see whether or
not they will keep
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all of my laws or not."
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And I think
that's noteworthy there
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because He could have chosen
pretty much any commandment
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but He chose the
Sabbath commandment
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to be the test on whether or not
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that He would see whether or not
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they would keep
all of His laws or not.
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And, of course,
there comes day one,
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and that bread rains from heaven
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early in the morning.
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And, of course, the
children of Israel go out
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and they see this
white stuff on the ground
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and they say, "What is it?"
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And that's exactly what
manna means, what is it?
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And then we come to
verses 16 through 18.
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Notice Exodus 16:16-18,
this is what the Bible says.
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"This is the thing
which the Lord has commanded
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'Let every man gather it
according to each one's need,
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one omer for each person,
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according to the
number of persons,
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let every man take it for
those who are in his tent.'"
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Verse 17,
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"Then the children of
Israel did so and gathered,
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some more, some less.
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So when they
measured it by omers,
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he who gathered much
had nothing left over,
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and he who
gathered little had no lack.
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Every man had gathered
according to each one's need."
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And I just want to
highlight that they gathered
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only according to their need.
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In fact, Paul actually responds
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and emphasizes and
references this particular text
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over in 2 Corinthians 8:10-15,
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I encourage you to go read that
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from verses 10 on to
verse 15 in 2 Corinthians,
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but I'm gonna read
verses 13 through to 15.
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Notice what he
says here, he says,
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"For I do not mean
that others should be eased
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and you burdened."
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Okay, so he
said, I'm not meaning
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that others should be
eased and you burdened,
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but He goes on to say,
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"But by an equality,
that now at this time
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your abundance
may supply their lack,
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that their abundance
also may supply your lack,
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that there may be,"
there it is, again, "equality."
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You'll see that that
word keeps coming up.
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"As it is written,
'He who gathered much,"
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and this is where he
is referencing Exodus 16,
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"As it is written,
'He who gathered much
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had nothing left over,
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and he who gathered
little had no lack.'"
00:09:59.19\00:10:01.83
So Paul is emphasizing
the concept of equality
00:10:01.86\00:10:04.87
among the brethren,
among those even in need.
00:10:04.90\00:10:08.04
I like the lesson.
00:10:08.07\00:10:09.40
It says here in one
of the paragraphs here,
00:10:09.44\00:10:11.51
it says the lesson
for the Israelites and us.
00:10:11.54\00:10:14.41
So this is just to us as much
as it was to the Israelites.
00:10:14.44\00:10:17.35
It says was that God
has provided sufficiently
00:10:17.38\00:10:20.42
for His people and His creation.
00:10:20.45\00:10:23.72
If we take only what we need
00:10:23.75\00:10:25.42
and are prepared to
share our excess with others,
00:10:25.45\00:10:29.69
all will be cared
for and provided for.
00:10:29.72\00:10:32.86
Taking only enough for the
day required the people to trust
00:10:32.89\00:10:37.47
that there would be
more the following day,
00:10:37.50\00:10:40.00
oppressed people, such
as the Israelites slaves,
00:10:40.04\00:10:43.27
tend to focus on
their own survival,
00:10:43.30\00:10:45.91
but God wanted to
demonstrate to them a life of
00:10:45.94\00:10:48.24
and here's the key
word, "trust" okay?
00:10:48.28\00:10:50.98
A life of trust,
generosity, and sharing.
00:10:51.01\00:10:54.05
I couldn't help as I was
going through this study,
00:10:54.08\00:10:55.95
and I was
constantly being reminded
00:10:55.98\00:10:58.35
that God is really emphasizing
to the children of Israel,
00:10:58.39\00:11:00.92
trust Me, trust Me.
00:11:00.96\00:11:02.29
In fact, that's
the entire anthem
00:11:02.32\00:11:04.13
of the entire Bible, okay?
00:11:04.16\00:11:05.76
God wants us to
trust Him as our God.
00:11:05.79\00:11:08.40
We are His
people, He is our God.
00:11:08.43\00:11:09.80
He wants us to
trust Him abundantly.
00:11:09.83\00:11:12.23
But the text
that came to my mind
00:11:12.27\00:11:14.47
as I was studying
this was Psalm 23,
00:11:14.50\00:11:17.01
the first couple of verses.
00:11:17.04\00:11:19.14
We often kind of
use it in a poetic way
00:11:19.17\00:11:21.18
when we're
talking about, you know,
00:11:21.21\00:11:22.54
the Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want.
00:11:22.58\00:11:24.28
But yet notice the wording here,
00:11:24.31\00:11:25.81
"The Lord is my
shepherd," Psalm 23:1-2,
00:11:25.85\00:11:30.32
"I shall not want,
00:11:30.35\00:11:32.52
He maketh me lie
down in green pastures,
00:11:32.55\00:11:36.76
He leads me
beside the still waters."
00:11:36.79\00:11:39.89
Now, I did a little bit
of research on this and found
00:11:39.93\00:11:43.26
that our idea of green pastures
00:11:43.30\00:11:46.47
may not be the
idea of green pastures
00:11:46.50\00:11:49.10
that the Psalmist was
actually trying to communicate.
00:11:49.14\00:11:51.87
Most of us read
this particular text
00:11:51.91\00:11:53.61
as well as many
other texts in the Bible
00:11:53.64\00:11:55.38
from a kind of a
Western cultural mindset.
00:11:55.41\00:11:58.05
But if you study this
from a Middle Eastern mindset,
00:11:58.08\00:12:01.12
and you look at the
geography of Jerusalem
00:12:01.15\00:12:03.75
and the
surrounding hills of Jerusalem,
00:12:03.79\00:12:06.19
when David would have
written this particular psalm,
00:12:06.22\00:12:10.33
"I shall not want,
00:12:10.36\00:12:11.69
He maketh me lie
down in green pastures."
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.66
There's actually a hillsides
00:12:13.70\00:12:15.80
around the terrain of Jerusalem,
00:12:15.83\00:12:18.20
known as green pastures.
00:12:18.23\00:12:20.07
And I made a few notes
here, all around Jerusalem
00:12:20.10\00:12:22.07
are mostly dry,
rocky hills, okay?
00:12:22.10\00:12:25.54
Jerusalem only receives about
23 inches of rainfall per year,
00:12:25.57\00:12:29.78
okay, and that's only seasonal.
00:12:29.81\00:12:31.51
Most of the year,
it is a very, very dry.
00:12:31.55\00:12:33.18
And I'm bringing
this out for purpose
00:12:33.21\00:12:34.62
because it's powerful here.
00:12:34.65\00:12:36.18
During the dry seasons,
00:12:36.22\00:12:37.55
the west wind of
the Mediterranean
00:12:37.59\00:12:39.02
blows in just enough moisture
00:12:39.05\00:12:41.16
for small
amounts of condensation
00:12:41.19\00:12:42.89
to gather on the rocks
during the cool of the nights.
00:12:42.92\00:12:46.39
Just enough moisture
for the sprigs of grass
00:12:46.43\00:12:49.16
to grow there here and
there, little here and there.
00:12:49.20\00:12:52.00
And so if you go out
00:12:52.03\00:12:53.37
to what is known
as green pastures
00:12:53.40\00:12:56.07
around Jerusalem,
00:12:56.10\00:12:57.61
you will find the
shepherds leading their flock.
00:12:57.64\00:13:01.38
And it looks like
just dry rocky land,
00:13:01.41\00:13:03.88
but there's a little
sprigs of grass here,
00:13:03.91\00:13:05.38
here and there, here and there,
and he is leading those sheep.
00:13:05.41\00:13:08.68
The sheep are completely
dependent on the shepherd
00:13:08.72\00:13:10.72
to lead them to
the springs of grass
00:13:10.75\00:13:13.79
each step along the way.
00:13:13.82\00:13:15.36
We need to learn to trust
God in the exact same way.
00:13:15.39\00:13:17.69
I think that's
exactly what this is meaning.
00:13:17.73\00:13:19.56
The Sabbath is given to
us as a blessing of freedom,
00:13:19.59\00:13:22.43
but it also teaches us
that in that manna test
00:13:22.46\00:13:25.10
that points to God's law.
00:13:25.13\00:13:26.53
We can trust that not only
is God gonna provide for us,
00:13:26.57\00:13:29.40
but it also
points to the blessing
00:13:29.44\00:13:30.97
of the Sabbath as well.
00:13:31.01\00:13:32.91
Amen and amen.
00:13:32.94\00:13:34.28
Thank you for such a
beautiful opening there.
00:13:34.31\00:13:38.35
I love this lesson
00:13:38.38\00:13:39.71
because Monday is the
two reasons for Sabbath.
00:13:39.75\00:13:45.29
I'm gonna divide it
into three if I may.
00:13:45.32\00:13:47.99
And here's what I believe
you've already brought up
00:13:48.02\00:13:50.76
or someone brought
up in a previous study.
00:13:50.79\00:13:53.50
Sabbath
establishes our weekly cycle.
00:13:53.53\00:13:57.67
It is the only reason
that we have a weekly cycle.
00:13:57.70\00:14:00.54
In Genesis 2:2-3 says,
00:14:00.57\00:14:03.71
"On the seventh day,
00:14:03.74\00:14:05.87
God ended His work
from which He had done."
00:14:05.91\00:14:08.64
This is the creation account.
00:14:08.68\00:14:10.98
"He rested on the seventh day
00:14:11.01\00:14:12.38
from all His work
which He had done.
00:14:12.41\00:14:14.72
Then God blessed the seventh day
00:14:14.75\00:14:18.32
and sanctified it."
00:14:18.35\00:14:19.69
God made it holy, and I
just have to say it here.
00:14:19.72\00:14:25.16
Only God can
make something holy.
00:14:25.19\00:14:29.23
Man cannot make something holy.
00:14:29.26\00:14:31.77
"God blessed the
seventh day and He sanctified it
00:14:31.80\00:14:35.37
because in it He
rested from all His work
00:14:35.40\00:14:38.04
which God had created and made."
00:14:38.07\00:14:40.68
So there are three reasons
00:14:40.71\00:14:43.35
if you don't mind
me expanding this,
00:14:43.38\00:14:46.68
that we have the Sabbath.
00:14:46.72\00:14:48.45
The first reason,
00:14:48.48\00:14:49.82
it is a memorial
of God as our Creator
00:14:49.85\00:14:54.26
and the one who recreates
us in the image of Jesus.
00:14:54.29\00:14:58.69
Secondly,
00:14:58.73\00:15:00.06
it is a memorial of redemption
00:15:00.10\00:15:03.70
and deliverance
that we may remember
00:15:03.73\00:15:07.74
that we are saved
by grace through faith.
00:15:07.77\00:15:11.04
There's nothing we
can do to save ourselves.
00:15:11.07\00:15:14.14
But I would say that that
redemption and deliverance
00:15:14.18\00:15:19.28
is what we would
call justification.
00:15:19.31\00:15:22.88
Now the third
reason for the Sabbath
00:15:22.92\00:15:25.15
is that it is God says
a sign between Him and us
00:15:25.19\00:15:31.19
that He is the
one who sanctifies us.
00:15:31.23\00:15:34.20
Amen.
00:15:34.23\00:15:35.56
So what does that mean?
00:15:35.60\00:15:37.57
Justification is when
00:15:37.60\00:15:39.13
we've come to the
foot of the cross,
00:15:39.17\00:15:41.00
accepted Christ as our Savior,
00:15:41.04\00:15:42.94
all of our past sins
are washed by His blood.
00:15:42.97\00:15:46.78
But sanctification is
that day by day growing process
00:15:46.81\00:15:52.38
that where God
sets us apart from sin
00:15:52.41\00:15:56.58
and that goes on
the rest of our life.
00:15:56.62\00:15:59.22
Listen to this,
00:15:59.25\00:16:00.86
and I just have to
make a mental jump myself
00:16:00.89\00:16:05.09
to look at my notes.
00:16:05.13\00:16:07.46
I grew up believing
the Ten Commandments
00:16:07.50\00:16:10.87
had been nailed to the cross.
00:16:10.90\00:16:12.23
I preached it.
00:16:12.27\00:16:13.60
I preached against the Sabbath.
00:16:13.64\00:16:15.37
I preached why we
should keep the Sabbath
00:16:15.40\00:16:17.94
on the first day
of the week, Sunday
00:16:17.97\00:16:19.77
rather than the
seventh day of the week
00:16:19.81\00:16:21.91
until God got me into
a study on the sanctuary
00:16:21.94\00:16:26.05
and a study on His covenant.
00:16:26.08\00:16:27.98
You see, I mistakenly thought
00:16:28.02\00:16:30.09
that the Old Covenant
was a covenant of works.
00:16:30.12\00:16:33.15
That it somehow
didn't tie in to Abraham
00:16:33.19\00:16:37.06
and this justification by faith,
00:16:37.09\00:16:40.00
righteousness by faith.
00:16:40.03\00:16:41.90
But I want to read
to you Exodus 2:24-25
00:16:41.93\00:16:46.00
to show you that
even the Old Covenant
00:16:46.03\00:16:50.67
is part of salvation
by grace through faith.
00:16:50.71\00:16:53.64
The one thing that is the
unifying theme of Scripture
00:16:53.68\00:16:56.85
is that God is a covenant
maker and a covenant keeper.
00:16:56.88\00:17:00.22
And every one of His covenants,
00:17:00.25\00:17:02.88
or each step it is
building on the process
00:17:02.92\00:17:06.29
of the everlasting covenant.
00:17:06.32\00:17:08.36
And Exodus 2:24-25 when God,
00:17:08.39\00:17:12.39
the Hebrews are
crying out to Him
00:17:12.43\00:17:15.13
to deliver them from slavery.
00:17:15.16\00:17:16.63
It says, "So God
heard their groaning,
00:17:16.67\00:17:19.90
and God remembered His covenant
00:17:19.93\00:17:25.34
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
00:17:25.37\00:17:28.91
So God is now,
it's like, all right,
00:17:28.94\00:17:33.11
this is gonna be a
progression of this covenant
00:17:33.15\00:17:36.65
of salvation by grace.
00:17:36.69\00:17:38.42
And God looked upon
the children of Israel
00:17:38.45\00:17:40.79
and God acknowledged them.
00:17:40.82\00:17:42.89
So even the Old
Covenant is part of the covenant
00:17:42.92\00:17:47.46
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.26
He is just, He is growing it.
00:17:49.30\00:17:51.43
Now, turn to Exodus Chapter 19,
00:17:51.47\00:17:55.27
I want to show you
the covenant love language
00:17:55.30\00:17:58.64
in when...
00:17:58.67\00:18:00.44
Here the Israelites
had been feeding the manna,
00:18:00.48\00:18:03.21
they've been
delivered, they were saved.
00:18:03.24\00:18:06.82
He parted the Red Sea.
00:18:06.85\00:18:08.85
They've been
baptized into Moses,
00:18:08.88\00:18:10.52
they had been
delivered from bondage,
00:18:10.55\00:18:13.39
they were saved.
00:18:13.42\00:18:14.82
Listen to this right before
He speaks the Ten Commandments,
00:18:14.86\00:18:18.69
Exodus 19:4-9, this is
covenant love language.
00:18:18.73\00:18:23.23
God is saying to them,
00:18:23.26\00:18:24.77
"You have seen what
I did to the Egyptians,
00:18:24.80\00:18:27.27
and how I bore
you on eagles' wings
00:18:27.30\00:18:31.37
and brought you to Myself."
00:18:31.41\00:18:33.81
This is their Redeemer,
00:18:33.84\00:18:35.24
this is God, their
lover of their souls.
00:18:35.28\00:18:38.11
"Now therefore,
00:18:38.15\00:18:39.48
if you will indeed obey My voice
00:18:39.51\00:18:40.85
and keep My covenant,
00:18:40.88\00:18:42.22
then you shall be a
special treasure to Me
00:18:42.25\00:18:44.32
above all the people,
for all the earth is Mine.
00:18:44.35\00:18:46.99
And you shall be to
Me a kingdom of priests
00:18:47.02\00:18:50.06
and a holy nation."
00:18:50.09\00:18:52.26
These are the words Moses
00:18:52.29\00:18:54.16
that I want you to go
tell the children of Israel.
00:18:54.20\00:18:57.03
So Moses goes down and
says, "Hey, God loves you.
00:18:57.07\00:19:00.04
He brought to you
00:19:00.07\00:19:01.40
on these wings of
eagles to Himself,
00:19:01.44\00:19:04.07
and He wants you to
be a special people,
00:19:04.11\00:19:06.41
a special treasure,
a kingdom of priests."
00:19:06.44\00:19:09.54
And, you know what they say?
00:19:09.58\00:19:11.31
They say, all that the
Lord has said we will do.
00:19:11.35\00:19:15.68
So now He hadn't even
spoken the Ten Commandments yet,
00:19:15.72\00:19:19.09
but they're
entering into covenant.
00:19:19.12\00:19:20.86
He'd already saved them,
they're entering into covenant.
00:19:20.89\00:19:24.23
So now let's look
again at the Ten Commandments
00:19:24.26\00:19:27.36
because you cannot
leave off first one
00:19:27.40\00:19:31.27
as you are reading in Exodus 20.
00:19:31.30\00:19:34.14
Verse 1 is the
preamble to their constitution
00:19:34.17\00:19:37.34
of the Ten Commandments.
00:19:37.37\00:19:39.14
And Exodus 20:1 says this,
"God spoke all these words."
00:19:39.17\00:19:44.95
He speaks the Ten
Commandments first
00:19:44.98\00:19:49.02
and then He's actually
gonna speak the Old Covenant
00:19:49.05\00:19:51.95
that Moses is gonna
write down in a book.
00:19:51.99\00:19:54.62
And then He gives
Moses the Ten Commandments,
00:19:54.66\00:19:56.73
but He's written
with His own finger.
00:19:56.76\00:20:00.00
But listen to this.
00:20:00.03\00:20:02.00
"God spoke all
these words saying,
00:20:02.03\00:20:04.63
'I am the Lord your God,
00:20:04.67\00:20:07.40
who brought you out
of the land of Egypt,
00:20:07.44\00:20:11.21
out of the house of bondage.'"
00:20:11.24\00:20:12.91
I'm the God who has saved you.
00:20:12.94\00:20:14.84
I'm your Redeemer.
00:20:14.88\00:20:16.61
And then He
launches into speaking
00:20:16.64\00:20:19.11
the Ten Commandments.
00:20:19.15\00:20:20.55
And I want to read once
again, the fourth commandment,
00:20:20.58\00:20:23.45
Exodus 20:8-11.
00:20:23.49\00:20:26.49
He goes through the first three,
00:20:26.52\00:20:28.06
"You shall have no
other gods before me.
00:20:28.09\00:20:29.82
You shall not take
my, or bow down to idols.
00:20:29.86\00:20:32.63
You shall not
take my name in vain."
00:20:32.66\00:20:35.00
Then He says to them,
00:20:35.03\00:20:36.67
"Remember the Sabbath
day, six days you shall labor
00:20:36.70\00:20:40.64
and do all your
work, but the seventh day
00:20:40.67\00:20:42.20
is the Sabbath of
the Lord your God.
00:20:42.24\00:20:44.64
In it you shall do no
work, you nor your son,
00:20:44.67\00:20:47.34
nor your daughter,
nor your male servant,
00:20:47.38\00:20:49.84
nor your female
servant, nor your cattle,
00:20:49.88\00:20:51.61
nor your stranger who
is within your gates."
00:20:51.65\00:20:53.62
In other words,
00:20:53.65\00:20:54.98
everybody gets to enjoy
the state of rest and freedom,
00:20:55.02\00:21:00.02
even the
foreigners, even the slaves.
00:21:00.06\00:21:03.19
And then here in Exodus 20,
00:21:03.22\00:21:05.59
we see how it is a
memorial of creation
00:21:05.63\00:21:09.30
because here's what
they're to be remembering.
00:21:09.33\00:21:11.67
"For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth
00:21:11.70\00:21:14.10
and the sea and
all that is in them,
00:21:14.14\00:21:16.04
and rested on the seventh day.
00:21:16.07\00:21:17.64
Therefore, the Lord
blessed the seventh day,
00:21:17.67\00:21:21.18
and He hallowed
it, He made it holy."
00:21:21.21\00:21:25.11
So this is the one that
reveals God is our Creator
00:21:25.15\00:21:29.05
and the one
who's gonna recreate us
00:21:29.08\00:21:30.69
in the image of
Jesus most clearly.
00:21:30.72\00:21:33.72
And he...
00:21:33.76\00:21:35.09
What God is asking of us,
is that we'd remember this day
00:21:35.12\00:21:38.73
because He wants to reestablish
a relationship with us.
00:21:38.76\00:21:42.23
That's right.
00:21:42.26\00:21:43.60
And, boy, we can get
so busy even in ministry,
00:21:43.63\00:21:45.40
we can get so
busy doing good things
00:21:45.43\00:21:47.94
even in ministry,
that we kind of put God,
00:21:47.97\00:21:54.31
we give Him leftovers
sometimes at the end of the day.
00:21:54.34\00:21:57.18
You know what I'm saying.
00:21:57.21\00:21:58.58
But the Sabbath is
something that we get to come
00:21:58.61\00:22:01.85
and spend that entire
time with Him and be blessed.
00:22:01.88\00:22:05.12
Now, in Deuteronomy 5
and I've got to hurry.
00:22:05.15\00:22:09.89
Deuteronomy 5,
00:22:09.92\00:22:12.16
it focuses on God as
the Rescuer and Redeemer.
00:22:12.19\00:22:17.70
Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
00:22:17.73\00:22:20.97
He says,
"Observe the Sabbath day,
00:22:21.00\00:22:22.54
to keep it holy,
00:22:22.57\00:22:24.01
as the Lord your
God commanded you."
00:22:24.04\00:22:26.01
And it goes on, in the six
days this is what you shall do.
00:22:26.04\00:22:29.21
And verse 15 says,
00:22:29.24\00:22:30.58
"Remember that you were a
slave in the land of Egypt,
00:22:30.61\00:22:34.28
and the Lord your
God brought you out
00:22:34.32\00:22:36.92
from there by a mighty
hand and by an outstretched arm,
00:22:36.95\00:22:41.89
therefore the Lord
your God commanded you
00:22:41.92\00:22:43.76
to keep that Sabbath day."
00:22:43.79\00:22:45.56
So this is the focus
on God as our Redeemer.
00:22:45.59\00:22:49.46
But here's my
favorite scripture,
00:22:49.50\00:22:51.53
Exodus 31:13.
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.94
God is speaking and He says,
00:22:53.97\00:22:56.71
"Speak also to the
children of Israel, saying,
00:22:56.74\00:22:59.61
'Surely My
Sabbaths you shall keep,
00:22:59.64\00:23:02.48
for it is a sign
between Me and you
00:23:02.51\00:23:06.35
throughout your generations,
00:23:06.38\00:23:08.22
that you may know
00:23:08.25\00:23:10.65
I am the Lord
who sanctifies you.'"
00:23:10.69\00:23:13.86
I'm the Lord who
sets you apart from evil.
00:23:13.89\00:23:16.62
This is all about
restoring relationship.
00:23:16.66\00:23:20.26
And it helps me from
Sabbath to Sabbath to remember,
00:23:20.30\00:23:24.23
it's God.
00:23:24.27\00:23:25.90
Salvation belongs to God.
00:23:25.93\00:23:27.37
There's nothing I
can do to save myself.
00:23:27.40\00:23:30.04
He is the one as I just say,
00:23:30.07\00:23:32.74
Lord, I yield to You,
I submit to Your will,
00:23:32.77\00:23:36.21
do with me as You want.
00:23:36.24\00:23:38.38
He's the one
who's gonna sanctify me.
00:23:38.41\00:23:41.08
All right. Praise the Lord.
00:23:41.12\00:23:42.55
That was such a blessing.
00:23:42.58\00:23:44.02
We're gonna take a short
break and we'll be right back.
00:23:44.05\00:23:46.12
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Hello and welcome back
00:24:24.09\00:24:25.43
to the 3ABN
Sabbath School Panel.
00:24:25.46\00:24:26.86
We're gonna kick it over
00:24:26.90\00:24:28.23
to Pastor John
Lomacang at this time
00:24:28.26\00:24:30.07
with Tuesday's lesson
entitled, "A Day of Equality."
00:24:30.10\00:24:33.30
Thank you, Ryan.
00:24:33.34\00:24:34.87
A day of equality once again
00:24:34.90\00:24:36.40
is another
component of the Sabbath
00:24:36.44\00:24:38.84
and the way that God
intended this Sabbath to be.
00:24:38.87\00:24:41.68
I'd like to
sometimes take my mind back
00:24:41.71\00:24:44.18
to when there was no division,
00:24:44.21\00:24:46.35
there was nothing but harmony.
00:24:46.38\00:24:48.82
Everything was in
complete cadence with God,
00:24:48.85\00:24:51.99
man had not sinned,
00:24:52.02\00:24:53.72
there was no deception
yet entering the world.
00:24:53.76\00:24:56.42
And if we would go back to that
00:24:56.46\00:24:58.23
and put the context of
the Sabbath back in it,
00:24:58.26\00:25:01.10
it would say that the prayer
00:25:01.13\00:25:02.46
that Jesus prayed
eventually in John 17:20
00:25:02.50\00:25:07.14
was that we will be one.
00:25:07.17\00:25:08.57
Actually John 17:21
00:25:08.60\00:25:10.57
a whole thing from 20
all the way down to 26.
00:25:10.61\00:25:12.44
That oneness, that unity
that He prayed for later on
00:25:12.47\00:25:16.04
was what we had in
the very beginning.
00:25:16.08\00:25:18.15
He would not have
to have prayed for that
00:25:18.18\00:25:20.52
if sin had not
entered the world.
00:25:20.55\00:25:22.08
That's true.
00:25:22.12\00:25:23.45
So he wouldn't pray for
something that was a part
00:25:23.49\00:25:25.25
of the whole
package of creation.
00:25:25.29\00:25:27.32
When God finished,
everything was very good,
00:25:27.36\00:25:29.99
relationships were very
good, everyone was equal.
00:25:30.03\00:25:33.26
There was no, no one was
subservient to the other.
00:25:33.29\00:25:36.56
Everyone was on the
same plane, God was Supreme,
00:25:36.60\00:25:38.77
and everyone was
under His lordship.
00:25:38.80\00:25:41.54
And there was no jealousy,
00:25:41.57\00:25:44.31
there was no division at all
that had entered into creation,
00:25:44.34\00:25:48.64
even though there
was a war in heaven.
00:25:48.68\00:25:50.45
It had not yet
come into creation.
00:25:50.48\00:25:52.81
But we think now in the context
00:25:52.85\00:25:55.32
of how can God be the one
00:25:55.35\00:26:00.19
who could restore this equality?
00:26:00.22\00:26:02.69
And I believe the
Sabbath is not just a day
00:26:02.72\00:26:04.49
to recognize His lordship,
00:26:04.53\00:26:07.33
but it's a day now to
restore this equality,
00:26:07.36\00:26:10.53
because right now
in Christianity today
00:26:10.57\00:26:13.07
there's anything but equality.
00:26:13.10\00:26:14.80
There's contention,
there's division, there is...
00:26:14.84\00:26:19.14
There are internal fights,
00:26:19.17\00:26:21.14
each one claiming
to be above the other.
00:26:21.18\00:26:24.81
But if we would all
simply follow God's blueprint
00:26:24.85\00:26:27.25
in His Sabbath command,
00:26:27.28\00:26:29.18
we'll find that that
equality that was missing
00:26:29.22\00:26:31.69
can be easily restored.
00:26:31.72\00:26:33.49
So I'm gonna bring
out about six points
00:26:33.52\00:26:38.23
as to why I believe
Jill has affected my life,
00:26:38.26\00:26:42.30
as to why I believe the
Sabbath is so important,
00:26:42.33\00:26:45.00
and how it effectively
brings back this equality.
00:26:45.03\00:26:49.50
One of the things we
have to keep in mind is
00:26:49.54\00:26:51.87
the Sabbath command
starts with a simple word
00:26:51.91\00:26:54.44
that has profound impact.
00:26:54.48\00:26:56.21
Remember, I always,
00:26:56.24\00:26:58.58
whenever I get a chance
to talk about the Sabbath,
00:26:58.61\00:27:00.72
I always bring two
other people into the mix,
00:27:00.75\00:27:03.39
Dr. Luke and Solomon
are the wise men who says,
00:27:03.42\00:27:07.36
remember now the Creator
in the days of your youth.
00:27:07.39\00:27:10.23
I can't find a pastor, Mollie,
that would argue with that.
00:27:10.26\00:27:13.66
The young people
need to know the Lord
00:27:13.70\00:27:15.33
while they're young.
00:27:15.36\00:27:16.80
Dr. Luke, who now
remember Lot's wife,
00:27:16.83\00:27:19.10
three small words, great impact.
00:27:19.13\00:27:21.20
I can't find a pastor
that would argue with that.
00:27:21.24\00:27:23.51
When God calls you
out, don't go back.
00:27:23.54\00:27:25.64
That's simply the lesson there.
00:27:25.67\00:27:27.18
But it amazes me that
when God says remember,
00:27:27.21\00:27:30.11
I could find a lot of
pastors to argue with that.
00:27:30.15\00:27:33.11
Isn't that amazing? Yes.
00:27:33.15\00:27:34.48
Is that an ironic thing? Yes.
00:27:34.52\00:27:35.85
That's true.
00:27:35.88\00:27:37.22
They won't argue
with man on either point.
00:27:37.25\00:27:38.59
Remember the
Creator while you're young,
00:27:38.62\00:27:40.22
don't do what Lot's wife
did, remember Lot's wife.
00:27:40.26\00:27:43.32
But God says
remember, and they said,
00:27:43.36\00:27:45.66
okay, on this one,
00:27:45.69\00:27:48.53
you could forget
that because I don't know.
00:27:48.56\00:27:52.73
It sounds like the
devil saying the same thing.
00:27:52.77\00:27:54.60
Did God say, you
get it? Has God said?
00:27:54.64\00:27:58.01
Remember, yes, He did.
00:27:58.04\00:27:59.37
And somehow men clothed
in ecclesiastical garments
00:27:59.41\00:28:02.94
have now found a way to dismiss
00:28:02.98\00:28:05.08
what God has
said we must remember.
00:28:05.11\00:28:06.82
So let's look at
some of these points.
00:28:06.85\00:28:08.18
Let's go to Exodus 20:11.
00:28:08.22\00:28:10.72
First of all, the
first one is Exodus 20:11,
00:28:10.75\00:28:14.69
the Bible says, first of all,
00:28:14.72\00:28:16.06
the Sabbath command is a
directive for all creation
00:28:16.09\00:28:20.53
to recognize its Creator.
00:28:20.56\00:28:22.53
It's a directive.
00:28:22.56\00:28:24.07
"For in six days,
00:28:24.10\00:28:25.53
the Lord made the
heavens and the earth,"
00:28:25.57\00:28:28.10
that's the directive,
00:28:28.14\00:28:29.47
"the sea, and
all that is in them,
00:28:29.50\00:28:31.14
and rested the seventh day.
00:28:31.17\00:28:32.51
Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day
00:28:32.54\00:28:34.14
and hallowed it."
00:28:34.18\00:28:35.51
The directive there,
00:28:35.54\00:28:36.88
it's a command that is
directive to all creation.
00:28:36.91\00:28:40.38
It's not an optional thing.
00:28:40.42\00:28:42.08
It's not a suggestion,
it's a directive, saying,
00:28:42.12\00:28:45.79
if we follow this directive,
00:28:45.82\00:28:47.39
then all creation will be
in harmony with its Creator.
00:28:47.42\00:28:50.49
So what gives God the right?
00:28:50.53\00:28:52.16
He is the Creator.
00:28:52.19\00:28:53.53
He's the one that
made heaven and earth.
00:28:53.56\00:28:55.06
And it really troubles me
sometimes that we give men,
00:28:55.10\00:28:58.30
men that are finite,
men that are temporary,
00:28:58.33\00:29:00.87
we give them more recognition
in areas of authority.
00:29:00.90\00:29:03.67
Because really,
what preacher can say
00:29:03.71\00:29:06.37
that you should forget
what God told you to remember,
00:29:06.41\00:29:09.21
and you choose to
listen to the preacher
00:29:09.24\00:29:10.88
over the Creator.
00:29:10.91\00:29:12.71
That means they
put man above God,
00:29:12.75\00:29:15.08
the very thing that
causes 666 to replace 777
00:29:15.12\00:29:20.59
is six is the number of man,
00:29:20.62\00:29:22.36
a repetitious or
recognition of man's authority
00:29:22.39\00:29:25.19
over God's authority really,
00:29:25.23\00:29:26.70
to me is what the mark
of the beast is all about.
00:29:26.73\00:29:28.96
Putting man's authority
where God's authority should be.
00:29:29.00\00:29:31.03
That's right.
00:29:31.07\00:29:32.40
The second one, the Sabbath
day is a day of recognition,
00:29:32.43\00:29:34.90
calling all creation
to glorify its maker.
00:29:34.94\00:29:38.47
Genesis 2:3
actually, I'll go there,
00:29:38.51\00:29:41.01
then God blessed the seventh day
00:29:41.04\00:29:43.65
and sanctified it.
00:29:43.68\00:29:45.91
Because in it, He
rested from all His work
00:29:45.95\00:29:48.38
which God had created and made.
00:29:48.42\00:29:50.79
You'll find during the Dark Ages
00:29:50.82\00:29:52.15
that was chiseled
away at very gradually,
00:29:52.19\00:29:54.42
but eventually,
00:29:54.46\00:29:55.79
it was not a day
that men chose to rest
00:29:55.82\00:29:58.93
because Sunday was
instituted in there.
00:29:58.96\00:30:02.63
And as, I'm glad
you pointed that out
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.10
that the Sabbath is
a day of celebration.
00:30:04.13\00:30:06.37
It's not a boring day,
00:30:06.40\00:30:08.00
it's not a day
where I can't do this,
00:30:08.04\00:30:09.74
and I can't do that.
00:30:09.77\00:30:11.11
It's a day, where
if you love the Lord,
00:30:11.14\00:30:12.71
you don't want
to do anything else.
00:30:12.74\00:30:14.64
You want to spend time with Him,
00:30:14.68\00:30:16.08
the lover of your soul,
00:30:16.11\00:30:18.01
the one who
alone can redeem you.
00:30:18.05\00:30:20.12
And so when the Bible says
00:30:20.15\00:30:21.48
the Lord rested
from all His work,
00:30:21.52\00:30:22.85
is in essence saying to us,
00:30:22.88\00:30:24.22
as creation rest
from all your work,
00:30:24.25\00:30:27.66
and Jesus
exemplified that in His life.
00:30:27.69\00:30:30.13
Luke 4:16,
00:30:30.16\00:30:31.66
so it's a
recognition calling all creation
00:30:31.69\00:30:33.40
to glorify its maker.
00:30:33.43\00:30:34.93
Thirdly, the Sabbath
is a day of contemplation
00:30:34.96\00:30:37.77
that life is unsustainable
without the Supreme Sustainer.
00:30:37.80\00:30:43.61
It is a day of contemplation
that life is unsustainable
00:30:43.64\00:30:47.08
without a Sustainer.
00:30:47.11\00:30:49.44
I give a different
application to Acts 17:28,
00:30:49.48\00:30:53.68
"For in Him we live and
move and have our being."
00:30:53.72\00:30:58.52
In Him we live and
move and have our being.
00:30:58.55\00:31:00.69
How can we live and
move without the Creator,
00:31:00.72\00:31:03.46
who is not only
the giver of life,
00:31:03.49\00:31:05.46
but He is the sustainer of life.
00:31:05.49\00:31:07.80
If you choose not to
recognize the very person
00:31:07.83\00:31:09.93
that sustained you,
is like, a car saying,
00:31:09.96\00:31:13.23
I don't need any gas stations,
I got an engine, I got tires,
00:31:13.27\00:31:17.57
I got everything I
need, I got a nice radio,
00:31:17.61\00:31:19.41
I don't need
anything to sustain me.
00:31:19.44\00:31:21.34
It's just a matter of
time before we run out of gas.
00:31:21.38\00:31:23.91
The Lord is our only sustainer,
00:31:23.95\00:31:25.85
in Him we live and
move and we have our being.
00:31:25.88\00:31:28.72
Not only the
Sabbath is an example
00:31:28.75\00:31:32.42
of recognizing our
Sustainer, but the Sabbath
00:31:32.45\00:31:36.46
does not exclude any
class or race or people.
00:31:36.49\00:31:40.20
Amen.
00:31:40.23\00:31:41.56
Revelation 14:6-7.
00:31:41.60\00:31:43.90
We know it.
00:31:43.93\00:31:46.17
"I saw another angel
flying in the midst of heaven,
00:31:46.20\00:31:48.40
having the
everlasting gospel to preach
00:31:48.44\00:31:50.21
to those who dwell on the earth
00:31:50.24\00:31:51.97
to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people
00:31:52.01\00:31:56.38
saying with a loud voice,
00:31:56.41\00:31:57.78
'Fear God and give glory to Him,
00:31:57.81\00:31:59.98
for the hour of
His judgment has come,
00:32:00.02\00:32:02.05
and worship Him who
made heaven and earth,
00:32:02.08\00:32:05.15
the sea and the
springs of water.'"
00:32:05.19\00:32:06.92
Revelation is
calling people back.
00:32:06.96\00:32:08.92
And I believe
that one of the reasons
00:32:08.96\00:32:10.29
why Revelation
is so looked down on
00:32:10.33\00:32:12.09
is because
Revelation is reminding
00:32:12.13\00:32:13.76
the last generation
00:32:13.80\00:32:15.20
with the first
generation for God.
00:32:15.23\00:32:16.67
Yes. Amen.
00:32:16.70\00:32:18.03
It's good. It's right.
00:32:18.07\00:32:19.40
Revelation is saying,
00:32:19.43\00:32:20.77
it may have
been 6,000 years ago,
00:32:20.80\00:32:22.14
but it still applies.
00:32:22.17\00:32:23.51
That's right.
00:32:23.54\00:32:24.87
So the generation
throughout the ages,
00:32:24.91\00:32:26.24
as we saw, I think
Ryan brought this up
00:32:26.27\00:32:27.74
before the children of Israel
00:32:27.78\00:32:29.11
got to get the
written commandments
00:32:29.14\00:32:31.01
on tables of stone.
00:32:31.05\00:32:32.38
One of the first
test was the Sabbath,
00:32:32.41\00:32:34.15
how long will you
refuse to keep My commandments,
00:32:34.18\00:32:36.22
My statutes and My laws?
00:32:36.25\00:32:37.72
How long are you gonna
refuse to honor My Sabbath?
00:32:37.75\00:32:40.26
And He did it by testing them
00:32:40.29\00:32:42.06
on something as simple as manna.
00:32:42.09\00:32:44.23
Oh, the manna
that He rained down.
00:32:44.26\00:32:46.09
So once again,
00:32:46.13\00:32:47.46
the Sabbath does
not exclude any class,
00:32:47.50\00:32:49.76
any race, or people.
00:32:49.80\00:32:51.13
And there is no
ecclesiastical person
00:32:51.17\00:32:52.87
that can say otherwise.
00:32:52.90\00:32:54.94
But the other thing
and I want to reiterate
00:32:54.97\00:32:56.77
what Shelley brought
out here a moment ago,
00:32:56.81\00:33:00.08
the Sabbath is
not a day of drudgery,
00:33:00.11\00:33:02.14
but the Sabbath
is a day of what?
00:33:02.18\00:33:03.88
Joy. Celebrate.
00:33:03.91\00:33:05.35
And celebration. That's right.
00:33:05.38\00:33:06.72
Leviticus 23:32
from evening to evening
00:33:06.75\00:33:09.08
you shall celebrate the Sabbath.
00:33:09.12\00:33:11.02
From evening to evening
00:33:11.05\00:33:12.39
you shall
celebrate your Sabbath.
00:33:12.42\00:33:14.19
And you get the point
00:33:14.22\00:33:15.72
that the Sabbath is
a point of celebration.
00:33:15.76\00:33:18.73
In light of the
Sabbath we all are equal,
00:33:18.76\00:33:21.63
because the Sabbath is
made for how many of us?
00:33:21.66\00:33:24.30
The Sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath.
00:33:24.33\00:33:28.10
Mark 2:28.
00:33:28.14\00:33:29.90
An employer during the week
00:33:29.94\00:33:33.74
has no authority
to make employees
00:33:33.78\00:33:36.14
work on the Sabbath.
00:33:36.18\00:33:39.85
I just want to
plug that in there.
00:33:39.88\00:33:41.52
If your employer is saying,
00:33:41.55\00:33:42.88
you have to work on the Sabbath,
00:33:42.92\00:33:44.55
ask him who said?
00:33:44.59\00:33:46.62
Oh, you said, I
remember one pastor once said,
00:33:46.65\00:33:49.76
the store owner said,
00:33:49.79\00:33:51.46
what would you do if I fire you
for not working on the Sabbath?
00:33:51.49\00:33:54.53
He said that's okay.
00:33:54.56\00:33:56.03
The same God who
got me a job here
00:33:56.06\00:33:58.37
will get me a
job somewhere else.
00:33:58.40\00:34:00.40
So fear no man, be
obedient to God alone.
00:34:00.44\00:34:03.71
And what God has done
00:34:03.74\00:34:05.17
at the end of creation week
is not modifiable by anyone.
00:34:05.21\00:34:08.54
Keep that in mind.
00:34:08.58\00:34:09.91
Nobody can take away
00:34:09.94\00:34:13.52
from what God has
given us the injunction
00:34:13.55\00:34:16.08
and the privilege to experience.
00:34:16.12\00:34:18.65
And you know, we
work so harder on here,
00:34:18.69\00:34:20.32
thank God, there's a Sabbath.
00:34:20.36\00:34:22.16
I mean, even though
we are Sabbath observers,
00:34:22.19\00:34:24.49
we look forward to the Sabbath.
00:34:24.53\00:34:26.33
Our bodies begin to shut down
00:34:26.36\00:34:27.90
at the very thought
that what time is it?
00:34:27.93\00:34:30.47
Thank you, Lord,
the Sabbath is coming.
00:34:30.50\00:34:32.60
And why is the
Sabbath most important?
00:34:32.63\00:34:34.97
John 13:15,
00:34:35.00\00:34:36.34
"I've given you an example,
00:34:36.37\00:34:38.14
that you should
do as I have done."
00:34:38.17\00:34:40.04
Amen.
00:34:40.08\00:34:41.51
Amen. Mollie.
00:34:41.54\00:34:42.88
Amen and amen.
00:34:42.91\00:34:44.25
Well, I'm looking
at Wednesday, which is,
00:34:44.28\00:34:47.45
again about the
Sabbath as a day of healing.
00:34:47.48\00:34:50.72
And when I teach on the Sabbath,
00:34:50.75\00:34:52.12
I want to teach you
about the joy, and the liberty,
00:34:52.15\00:34:55.19
and the celebration.
00:34:55.22\00:34:57.13
But you know, it's
also a day of healing
00:34:57.16\00:34:59.13
and I never really seen
it from this perspective.
00:34:59.16\00:35:02.03
And it's a beautiful teaching,
00:35:02.06\00:35:03.57
Ryan, as you brought out
00:35:03.60\00:35:06.17
on Sunday's lesson
00:35:06.20\00:35:07.54
after being slaves
for over 400 years,
00:35:07.57\00:35:10.71
and with Saul maybe 430 years
and 40 years in the wilderness.
00:35:10.74\00:35:14.88
We're closing in on
500, closer to 500 years.
00:35:14.91\00:35:18.88
God's people had
suffered degradation
00:35:18.91\00:35:21.98
as an oppressed people.
00:35:22.02\00:35:24.75
That is all they knew.
00:35:24.79\00:35:28.46
They were in need of a
better concept of living
00:35:28.49\00:35:31.89
and by giving them
laws and instruction
00:35:31.93\00:35:34.86
for a better way
of life, a better way
00:35:34.90\00:35:37.70
of conducting their daily lives,
00:35:37.73\00:35:39.97
God was changing their mindset.
00:35:40.00\00:35:43.10
Are we all in need
of a little attitude
00:35:43.14\00:35:45.54
adjustment at
time, a mindset change?
00:35:45.57\00:35:48.64
If that wasn't changed,
00:35:48.68\00:35:51.35
when they come
into the Promised Land,
00:35:51.38\00:35:53.92
they would
emulate in their new home
00:35:53.95\00:35:56.79
what they knew in Egypt.
00:35:56.82\00:35:59.35
Abnormal is normal to you
00:35:59.39\00:36:02.12
if that's all you've ever known.
00:36:02.16\00:36:03.73
Yes. It's true. Good point.
00:36:03.76\00:36:05.09
So the nation of
Israel that went into Egypt
00:36:05.13\00:36:11.63
was not the
same nation of Israel
00:36:11.67\00:36:14.67
that came out of Egypt.
00:36:14.70\00:36:16.20
That's very good. Okay.
00:36:16.24\00:36:18.11
How many people went into Egypt?
00:36:18.14\00:36:21.44
Just a family, primarily. Yeah.
00:36:21.48\00:36:23.21
Okay, about how many?
00:36:23.24\00:36:25.05
I think it's about... Thirty.
00:36:25.08\00:36:26.75
Thirty, Shelley is saying.
00:36:26.78\00:36:28.75
Okay, how many came out?
00:36:28.78\00:36:31.72
One million.
00:36:31.75\00:36:33.56
So we have got
generation after generation
00:36:33.59\00:36:37.13
after generation of separation
00:36:37.16\00:36:39.06
from those that were walking it.
00:36:39.09\00:36:41.76
And so we've got a
people that God has to...
00:36:41.80\00:36:45.20
Pastor Lomacang, you
said it in earlier teaching,
00:36:45.23\00:36:48.70
God had to get
Egypt out of these people.
00:36:48.74\00:36:51.44
Okay.
00:36:51.47\00:36:52.81
The original vision God gave
to His people for daily living,
00:36:52.84\00:36:57.41
most especially the Sabbath
00:36:57.45\00:36:59.51
and Sabbath keeping
was broad and inclusive.
00:36:59.55\00:37:04.95
As we have learned today,
00:37:04.99\00:37:06.49
it was to be a
blessing to everyone,
00:37:06.52\00:37:08.92
including slaves,
servants, and even animals,
00:37:08.96\00:37:13.03
very clear.
00:37:13.06\00:37:14.40
When God gives you instruction,
00:37:14.43\00:37:16.13
it's clear, it's
concise and easy to follow.
00:37:16.16\00:37:19.70
However, by the
time Jesus came to earth,
00:37:19.73\00:37:22.94
the Sabbath had become
something quite different
00:37:22.97\00:37:27.21
for many of the
religious leaders.
00:37:27.24\00:37:30.28
Instead of a day of
freedom and that word, equality,
00:37:30.31\00:37:35.68
Sabbath had become
00:37:35.72\00:37:37.12
a day of human traditional
rules and regulations.
00:37:37.15\00:37:42.12
The original instruction
from God to His people again,
00:37:42.16\00:37:45.59
was concise and
easily understood.
00:37:45.63\00:37:48.63
However, the Jewish
leaders broadened God's law
00:37:48.66\00:37:53.47
by making hundreds
00:37:53.50\00:37:54.84
and I think we were
discussing this earlier
00:37:54.87\00:37:57.97
600 some said 640.
00:37:58.01\00:38:00.51
Ryan, I think you said 623.
00:38:00.54\00:38:02.94
Six hundred and thirteenish.
00:38:02.98\00:38:04.45
Okay, that many more
rules and regulations were added
00:38:04.48\00:38:09.48
on top of God's
concise, easily understood law.
00:38:09.52\00:38:14.29
It had so confused things
00:38:18.36\00:38:23.43
till the Sabbath keeping
00:38:23.47\00:38:26.23
particularly had become
a day of great restriction.
00:38:26.27\00:38:31.21
So Jesus stood up
against such attitudes,
00:38:31.24\00:38:36.85
especially as they
were imposed on others.
00:38:36.88\00:38:40.22
One of the ways He did this
00:38:40.25\00:38:41.85
was concerning
healing on the Sabbath.
00:38:41.88\00:38:44.52
It seems that He intentionally
performed many miracles
00:38:44.55\00:38:49.62
on the Sabbath as
supposed to other days
00:38:49.66\00:38:52.36
to demonstrate
something important
00:38:52.39\00:38:54.43
about what the
Sabbath should be.
00:38:54.46\00:38:57.30
Now the religious leaders
00:38:57.33\00:38:59.30
didn't like Him
healing on the Sabbath.
00:38:59.33\00:39:01.84
They didn't take kindly to that,
00:39:01.87\00:39:04.74
not because it flew
in the face of God's law.
00:39:04.77\00:39:09.04
What did it fly in
the face of? Man's made...
00:39:09.08\00:39:11.25
Those man-made laws.
00:39:11.28\00:39:15.18
And so I wanted to
give us a few examples,
00:39:15.22\00:39:17.75
turn to Mark 3:1-6.
00:39:17.79\00:39:21.62
And let's look at
some of the examples
00:39:21.66\00:39:25.13
of Jesus healing on the Sabbath.
00:39:25.16\00:39:28.36
Mark 3:1-6,
00:39:28.40\00:39:31.73
"And He entered
the synagogue again,
00:39:31.77\00:39:34.17
and a man was there
who had a withered hand.
00:39:34.20\00:39:37.54
So they," who are they?
00:39:37.57\00:39:39.87
The religious leaders.
00:39:39.91\00:39:42.38
"Watched Him closely,
00:39:42.41\00:39:44.31
whether He would
heal him on the Sabbath,
00:39:44.35\00:39:46.92
so that they might," do what?
00:39:46.95\00:39:48.58
Accuse.
00:39:48.62\00:39:49.95
"Might accuse Him."
00:39:49.98\00:39:51.32
"And He said to the man
who had the withered hand,
00:39:51.35\00:39:53.32
'Step forward.'
00:39:53.36\00:39:54.69
Then He said to them,
00:39:54.72\00:39:56.32
'Is it lawful on the Sabbath
to do good or to do evil,
00:39:56.36\00:40:01.13
to save life or to kill?'
00:40:01.16\00:40:04.20
"But they kept silent.
00:40:04.23\00:40:05.90
And when He had looked
around at them with anger,
00:40:05.93\00:40:09.70
being grieved by the," what?
00:40:09.74\00:40:11.87
"Hardness of their
hearts, He said to the man,
00:40:11.91\00:40:15.08
'Stretch out your hand.'
00:40:15.11\00:40:16.44
And he stretched it out,
00:40:16.48\00:40:18.11
and his hand was restored
as whole as the other.'"
00:40:18.15\00:40:22.25
Now, isn't that you
see a miracle from God
00:40:22.28\00:40:25.39
right before your eyes,
00:40:25.42\00:40:26.76
shouldn't you be
rejoicing and celebrating?
00:40:26.79\00:40:30.56
"Then the Pharisees went
out and immediately plotted
00:40:30.59\00:40:34.40
with the Herodians against
Him, how they might," do what?
00:40:34.43\00:40:38.13
"How they might destroy Him."
00:40:38.17\00:40:40.54
See, Jesus was setting straight
00:40:40.57\00:40:44.21
the spirit of the
law that God had given.
00:40:44.24\00:40:47.98
Flying in the face of all these
man-made rules and regulations
00:40:48.01\00:40:51.88
that were meant
for nothing more than
00:40:51.91\00:40:53.85
to bring God's
people into bondage.
00:40:53.88\00:40:57.69
And Jesus said, "I
have come to set you free."
00:40:57.72\00:41:00.69
Thank you, Lord.
00:41:00.72\00:41:02.06
John 9:1-7.
00:41:02.09\00:41:03.43
Let's look at that, John 9:1-7,
00:41:03.46\00:41:07.83
"Now as Jesus passed by,
00:41:07.86\00:41:10.10
He saw a man who
was blind from birth.
00:41:10.13\00:41:12.70
And His disciples
asked Him, saying,
00:41:12.73\00:41:15.57
'Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents,
00:41:15.60\00:41:20.08
that he was born blind?'
00:41:20.11\00:41:22.01
Jesus answered,
00:41:22.04\00:41:23.65
'Neither this man
nor his parents sinned,
00:41:23.68\00:41:26.15
but that the works of God
should be revealed in him.
00:41:26.18\00:41:29.58
I must work the works of
Him who sent Me while it is day,
00:41:29.62\00:41:35.56
the night is coming
when no one can work.
00:41:35.59\00:41:38.06
As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world.'
00:41:38.09\00:41:42.66
When He had seen these things,
00:41:42.70\00:41:44.87
He spat on the ground and
made clay with the saliva,
00:41:44.90\00:41:48.67
and He anointed the eyes
of the blind man with clay.
00:41:48.70\00:41:53.31
And He said to him,
00:41:53.34\00:41:54.68
'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam'
00:41:54.71\00:41:57.21
which is translated, Sent.
00:41:57.25\00:41:59.05
So he went and
washed, and came back," what?
00:41:59.08\00:42:02.38
"Seeing." He came back seeing.
00:42:02.42\00:42:05.52
Now the rest of this
story is very interesting, Jill.
00:42:05.55\00:42:09.72
Because the
Pharisees renounced to Jesus
00:42:09.76\00:42:14.03
because He healed
the blind man when?
00:42:14.06\00:42:16.26
On the Sabbath.
00:42:16.30\00:42:17.63
On the Sabbath day,
that it just amazes me,
00:42:17.67\00:42:21.77
that they didn't rejoice
that the blinds are seeing
00:42:21.80\00:42:25.11
rather they
renounced the very one
00:42:25.14\00:42:29.21
that healing came through.
00:42:29.24\00:42:31.01
And when the former blind
man wouldn't renounce Jesus,
00:42:31.05\00:42:35.58
what did the religious
leaders do to the blind man?
00:42:35.62\00:42:40.56
They excommunicated
him and excommunication
00:42:40.59\00:42:44.39
was a very serious thing.
00:42:44.43\00:42:47.10
That meant that
you were separate,
00:42:47.13\00:42:49.13
is like being shunned.
00:42:49.16\00:42:50.50
Any of you have any
experience with being shunned?
00:42:50.53\00:42:54.17
I've had
experience with a shunning.
00:42:54.20\00:42:57.24
It's an evil thing.
00:42:57.27\00:43:00.78
They don't allow you to talk
00:43:00.81\00:43:02.98
with your family,
with your friends.
00:43:03.01\00:43:04.55
Everybody shuns you,
and you can't go to church,
00:43:04.58\00:43:07.48
you can't attend the church.
00:43:07.52\00:43:09.48
It's vitally important that
00:43:09.52\00:43:11.02
we put boundaries
around the Sabbath.
00:43:11.05\00:43:14.26
It's not that we shouldn't
do that, of course, we could.
00:43:14.29\00:43:17.26
But around the Sabbath
there is God intended it,
00:43:17.29\00:43:20.23
not man-made
rules and regulations.
00:43:20.26\00:43:23.50
It's a time to
keep in a special.
00:43:23.53\00:43:26.84
It's a time to
draw closer to God.
00:43:26.87\00:43:28.80
Amen.
00:43:28.84\00:43:30.17
But Sabbath keeping
shouldn't be selfish.
00:43:30.21\00:43:33.71
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:12.
00:43:33.74\00:43:37.25
"It is lawful
to do," what? Good.
00:43:37.28\00:43:40.08
"To do good on the Sabbath."
00:43:40.12\00:43:42.65
We are to relieve the suffering
of others at every opportunity.
00:43:42.68\00:43:46.96
Sister White tells us
work self-mercy and benevolence
00:43:46.99\00:43:51.53
were in accordance with
the purpose of the Lord,
00:43:51.56\00:43:54.63
to relieve the afflicted
to confront the sorrowing
00:43:54.66\00:43:57.80
is a labor of love
00:43:57.83\00:43:59.50
that does honor
to God's holy day.
00:43:59.53\00:44:01.90
Now, I've got just a
minute I wanted to share this.
00:44:01.94\00:44:04.34
I recall a time
00:44:04.37\00:44:05.94
when on the
Sabbath morning we got up.
00:44:05.97\00:44:08.54
There had been a tornado
00:44:08.58\00:44:10.25
that have come through our area.
00:44:10.28\00:44:12.28
And you know what, some
of the men in our church,
00:44:12.31\00:44:14.88
dear Pastor
Lomacang, took chainsaws out
00:44:14.92\00:44:18.59
and help clear the
debris off of driveway,
00:44:18.62\00:44:21.86
so people could get.
00:44:21.89\00:44:23.32
What were they doing?
00:44:23.36\00:44:24.69
Were they
dishonoring the Sabbath?
00:44:24.73\00:44:26.66
No, they were doing
good on the Sabbath.
00:44:26.70\00:44:30.50
The Desire of Ages said,
00:44:30.53\00:44:31.87
"The sickness must be cared for,
00:44:31.90\00:44:33.34
the wants of the
needy must be supplied.
00:44:33.37\00:44:36.37
He will not be held guiltless
00:44:36.40\00:44:38.21
who neglects to
release suffering
00:44:38.24\00:44:41.44
on the Sabbath."
00:44:41.48\00:44:42.81
Amen, what a
wonderful study, Mollie.
00:44:42.84\00:44:46.78
I love the Sabbath.
00:44:46.82\00:44:48.22
What a privilege to
spend time with Jesus.
00:44:48.25\00:44:51.79
What a privilege to
learn more about Him
00:44:51.82\00:44:55.09
and to celebrate the
gift that He's given to us
00:44:55.12\00:44:59.49
through creation,
redemption and sanctification.
00:44:59.53\00:45:02.86
I love that, Shelley,
I'm gonna remember that.
00:45:02.90\00:45:05.23
On Thursday we
take a little shift,
00:45:05.27\00:45:07.54
it's still the Sabbath.
00:45:07.57\00:45:08.94
Thursday's title is
"Sabbath rest for the land."
00:45:08.97\00:45:13.01
This is not to be
confused with the weekly Sabbath
00:45:13.04\00:45:16.85
that we have been
discussing through the panel.
00:45:16.88\00:45:19.38
But there's still
lessons that we can learn
00:45:19.41\00:45:22.48
and some of the same
similar concepts found here.
00:45:22.52\00:45:26.12
So turn with me to
Leviticus Chapter 25.
00:45:26.15\00:45:28.76
We're gonna spend our time here
00:45:28.79\00:45:30.13
at the Sabbath
rest for the land.
00:45:30.16\00:45:34.00
First, I want to talk about
the importance of the land,
00:45:34.03\00:45:37.60
then we'll look
at the nuts and bolts
00:45:37.63\00:45:39.30
of what it really meant
00:45:39.33\00:45:40.67
for the Sabbath
rest for the land.
00:45:40.70\00:45:43.10
And then the
lessons that we can learn
00:45:43.14\00:45:46.61
from this experience,
00:45:46.64\00:45:48.04
so first of all, the
importance of the land.
00:45:48.08\00:45:50.98
The land of Canaan,
00:45:51.01\00:45:52.58
this would be the
land of the Israelites
00:45:52.61\00:45:54.68
was consistently
viewed in the Old Testament
00:45:54.72\00:45:57.69
as the place of
God's promise and blessing.
00:45:57.72\00:46:01.22
You think all the
way back at creation,
00:46:01.26\00:46:03.32
the Garden of Eden, God created
00:46:03.36\00:46:05.83
this is Genesis
Chapter 2 and Genesis 3.
00:46:05.86\00:46:08.06
Adam and Eve were placed
in the garden to dress it,
00:46:08.10\00:46:12.37
to keep it, to watch over.
00:46:12.40\00:46:14.84
There were blessings to be found
00:46:14.87\00:46:17.01
for them there in that land.
00:46:17.04\00:46:19.74
What were the blessings?
00:46:19.77\00:46:21.11
God would walk with
them in the cool of the day.
00:46:21.14\00:46:24.71
They received everlasting life
from Eden of the tree of life.
00:46:24.75\00:46:30.72
But there was a condition,
00:46:30.75\00:46:32.09
there was
actually only one condition
00:46:32.12\00:46:33.72
for them there in that land.
00:46:33.76\00:46:36.02
Don't eat of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.
00:46:36.06\00:46:40.90
We know that they
did eat of the tree.
00:46:40.93\00:46:43.26
And what were the consequences?
00:46:43.30\00:46:44.70
They were
expelled from that land,
00:46:44.73\00:46:47.80
removed from the Garden of Eden,
00:46:47.84\00:46:50.64
and they were kept from
eating that tree of life.
00:46:50.67\00:46:54.14
Those are some
of the consequences
00:46:54.18\00:46:55.84
that took place.
00:46:55.88\00:46:57.31
We come down to
the time of Abraham.
00:46:57.35\00:46:59.55
God called Abraham
from Ur of the Chaldees
00:46:59.58\00:47:02.12
where he lived to a place a land
00:47:02.15\00:47:05.45
that God would show him.
00:47:05.49\00:47:08.12
Now what were
some of the blessings
00:47:08.16\00:47:09.69
of the Abraham at covenant?
00:47:09.72\00:47:11.66
There was land included in that,
00:47:11.69\00:47:13.96
there was a seed or we could say
00:47:14.00\00:47:16.80
through his
lineage would come Messiah,
00:47:16.83\00:47:20.10
Christ the deliverer.
00:47:20.14\00:47:22.00
There were blessings
to be found from that.
00:47:22.04\00:47:24.34
The blessings of the covenant
00:47:24.37\00:47:25.81
were really
inseparable from the land.
00:47:25.84\00:47:28.78
We have Jacob.
00:47:28.81\00:47:30.15
He was driven from the land,
00:47:30.18\00:47:32.65
but he was given
a dream, remember,
00:47:32.68\00:47:34.85
and the ladder ascended
up to heaven and the angels
00:47:34.88\00:47:38.22
were climbing the ladder
ascending and descending.
00:47:38.25\00:47:41.89
And he was given a promise
00:47:41.92\00:47:43.86
that he would be able
to come back to this land
00:47:43.89\00:47:47.23
and that God would bless him.
00:47:47.26\00:47:49.16
There was Joseph,
he went into Egypt,
00:47:49.20\00:47:51.57
but what did he
tell his sons when I die?
00:47:51.60\00:47:54.37
Take up my bones, take my bones
00:47:54.40\00:47:56.77
and carry them with you
back to the land of Promise.
00:47:56.81\00:48:01.18
The Israelites, Leviticus 26.
00:48:01.21\00:48:03.24
God promised to bless
the people and the land.
00:48:03.28\00:48:06.82
And then in Deuteronomy 28,
00:48:06.85\00:48:08.28
we have the law of
blessing and cursing,
00:48:08.32\00:48:10.29
and a lot of those laws,
00:48:10.32\00:48:12.15
the blessings and the cursings
were associated with land.
00:48:12.19\00:48:15.79
Not all of it, of course,
00:48:15.82\00:48:17.46
but many of them
are1 associated with land.
00:48:17.49\00:48:20.13
Ruth the Moabitess woman,
00:48:20.16\00:48:21.56
she found rest in
the land of Israel's God.
00:48:21.60\00:48:26.70
So we look at that significance
00:48:26.74\00:48:28.90
to the children of
Israel of the land.
00:48:28.94\00:48:30.47
And now we look at the
Sabbath rest for the land.
00:48:30.51\00:48:33.17
We're in Leviticus Chapter 25.
00:48:33.21\00:48:36.91
We're gonna look at,
00:48:36.95\00:48:38.28
this is the Sabbath rest
which is every seventh year,
00:48:38.31\00:48:42.02
so every seventh
year this was to occur,
00:48:42.05\00:48:44.32
will look at the condition
of the land every seventh year,
00:48:44.35\00:48:47.99
the condition of the
slaves every seventh year,
00:48:48.02\00:48:51.33
and the condition of the debtors
00:48:51.36\00:48:53.63
every seventh year.
00:48:53.66\00:48:55.23
So let's look at the land.
00:48:55.26\00:48:56.60
Leviticus 25:1-4,
00:48:56.63\00:49:00.27
"And the Lord spoke to
Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
00:49:00.30\00:49:02.77
'Speak to the
children of Israel,
00:49:02.80\00:49:04.31
and say to them.
00:49:04.34\00:49:05.67
When you come into
the land which I give you,
00:49:05.71\00:49:07.78
then the land shall
keep a Sabbath to the Lord.'"
00:49:07.81\00:49:11.18
Now we've been
talking this whole week
00:49:11.21\00:49:14.45
on us as people, right?
00:49:14.48\00:49:17.19
Observing,
celebrating the Sabbath,
00:49:17.22\00:49:20.12
the weekly
Sabbath on the seventh day
00:49:20.16\00:49:22.09
that God has given to us.
00:49:22.12\00:49:23.66
And this is
talking about the land
00:49:23.69\00:49:26.16
keeping a Sabbath for the Lord.
00:49:26.19\00:49:28.40
"Six years you
shall sow your field,
00:49:28.43\00:49:30.87
six years you shall
prune your vineyard,
00:49:30.90\00:49:33.00
and gather its fruit,
00:49:33.03\00:49:34.57
but in the seventh year
00:49:34.60\00:49:36.60
there shall be a Sabbath
of solemn rest for the land,
00:49:36.64\00:49:39.51
a Sabbath to the Lord.
00:49:39.54\00:49:41.24
You shall neither sow your field
00:49:41.28\00:49:43.35
nor prune your vineyard."
00:49:43.38\00:49:46.08
So on the seventh year,
the land must lie fallow,
00:49:46.11\00:49:50.29
it must be given its
Sabbath rest as it were.
00:49:50.32\00:49:54.69
The crops were not to be planted
00:49:54.72\00:49:57.93
and permanent
crops could not be pruned
00:49:57.96\00:50:00.76
or cared for as another year,
00:50:00.80\00:50:02.90
so this would be like
maybe the vineyards, the grapes,
00:50:02.93\00:50:06.17
they weren't
supposed to prune them
00:50:06.20\00:50:07.87
on that seventh year.
00:50:07.90\00:50:09.27
It said in verse 4,
00:50:09.30\00:50:10.64
"You shall
neither sow your field
00:50:10.67\00:50:12.27
nor prune your vineyard."
00:50:12.31\00:50:14.41
Now, of course, annual
crops would receive themselves
00:50:14.44\00:50:17.11
and perennial plants
would still bear fruit.
00:50:17.15\00:50:20.75
Verse 5,
00:50:20.78\00:50:22.12
"What grows of
its own accord..."
00:50:22.15\00:50:23.49
Now this is just the things
00:50:23.52\00:50:24.85
that would naturally spring up,"
00:50:24.89\00:50:26.25
What grows of its own accord
00:50:26.29\00:50:27.66
of your harvest
you shall not reap,
00:50:27.69\00:50:30.59
nor gather the grapes
of your untended vine,
00:50:30.63\00:50:33.26
for it is a year
of rest for the land."
00:50:33.29\00:50:37.10
So no harvests were
allowed during this Sabbath year
00:50:37.13\00:50:41.40
or I would say,
harvest for sale,
00:50:41.44\00:50:43.97
like you're harvesting your food
00:50:44.01\00:50:45.64
and then you're gonna
sell it and make a profit.
00:50:45.67\00:50:47.94
But they were allowed to eat
00:50:47.98\00:50:49.91
from the produce from that year.
00:50:49.94\00:50:51.68
We see that in
the next two verses,
00:50:51.71\00:50:53.88
verses 6 and 7,
00:50:53.92\00:50:55.62
"And the Sabbath
produce of the land."
00:50:55.65\00:50:57.49
That's the produce that
just naturally receives itself
00:50:57.52\00:51:01.29
or the things
that naturally grow
00:51:01.32\00:51:02.89
on that seventh year.
00:51:02.92\00:51:04.89
"The Sabbath produce of the land
00:51:04.93\00:51:06.26
shall be food for you,
00:51:06.29\00:51:07.80
for you, your male
and female servants,
00:51:07.83\00:51:09.76
your hired man,
00:51:09.80\00:51:11.13
and the stranger
who dwells with you,
00:51:11.17\00:51:12.63
for your
livestock and the beasts
00:51:12.67\00:51:14.00
that are in your land
00:51:14.04\00:51:15.37
all its produce
shall be for food."
00:51:15.40\00:51:17.74
So basically everyone,
the slave, the servant,
00:51:17.77\00:51:20.48
the strangers, the animals,
00:51:20.51\00:51:22.28
everybody was allowed to
glean and to eat from the field.
00:51:22.31\00:51:27.25
You know, in other years,
00:51:27.28\00:51:28.62
they were allowed to glean
maybe a quarter of the fields.
00:51:28.65\00:51:31.12
Now the gleaners could come in,
00:51:31.15\00:51:32.62
but here they're
allowed free access.
00:51:32.65\00:51:34.56
That's the condition of the land
00:51:34.59\00:51:36.06
on the Sabbath rest.
00:51:36.09\00:51:37.43
The condition of the
slaves, we won't read this,
00:51:37.46\00:51:40.26
but in Exodus 21,
you can look it up.
00:51:40.30\00:51:42.56
Exodus 21:1-11.
00:51:42.60\00:51:45.13
It talks about in the event,
00:51:45.17\00:51:46.84
any Israelite was
indebted as a slave,
00:51:46.87\00:51:49.60
they're to be freed
in the seventh year.
00:51:49.64\00:51:52.81
Exodus 21:2-11 says,
00:51:52.84\00:51:54.81
"If you buy a Hebrew servant,
00:51:54.84\00:51:56.24
he shall serve six
years and in the seventh
00:51:56.28\00:51:59.75
he shall go out
free and pay nothing."
00:51:59.78\00:52:02.08
There's also the
condition of the debtors
00:52:02.12\00:52:03.95
on this seventh year.
00:52:03.99\00:52:06.09
Deuteronomy 15:1-11 talks about
00:52:06.12\00:52:09.16
any outstanding
debts to be cancelled
00:52:09.19\00:52:12.19
at the end of seven years.
00:52:12.23\00:52:14.36
So what are the
lessons that we can learn
00:52:14.40\00:52:17.40
from the rest of
this Sabbath year,
00:52:17.43\00:52:20.40
the seventh year?
00:52:20.44\00:52:22.24
I think there's
a lesson number one
00:52:22.27\00:52:23.94
of trust in God.
00:52:23.97\00:52:26.37
The manna you
talked about, Ryan,
00:52:26.41\00:52:27.88
that the Israelites received,
00:52:27.91\00:52:29.24
that's an act of trust in God
that He's gonna provide me food
00:52:29.28\00:52:33.18
for every day that I can eat.
00:52:33.21\00:52:35.45
In this case,
00:52:35.48\00:52:36.82
if you're not planting
crops on the seventh year,
00:52:36.85\00:52:40.06
it's an act of
trust that God is the one
00:52:40.09\00:52:42.89
who's gonna
provide food for year,
00:52:42.92\00:52:45.49
Food for you to
eat for that year.
00:52:45.53\00:52:48.10
Number two, we're
called to extend mercy
00:52:48.13\00:52:51.27
to those who are less fortunate.
00:52:51.30\00:52:54.24
The release of the
slaves in the seventh year
00:52:54.27\00:52:56.47
is an act of mercy toward others
00:52:56.50\00:52:58.24
and it's also an act to trust
00:52:58.27\00:52:59.61
that God's gonna
provide for your needs.
00:52:59.64\00:53:01.68
Canceling those
debts in the seventh year
00:53:01.71\00:53:04.15
is an act of mercy
toward those less fortunate.
00:53:04.18\00:53:07.32
I think as we
extend mercy toward others,
00:53:07.35\00:53:10.52
God works to
remove the selfishness
00:53:10.55\00:53:14.72
from our hearts.
00:53:14.76\00:53:16.36
It's a way to
remove that selfishness.
00:53:16.39\00:53:18.59
Number three,
00:53:18.63\00:53:19.96
we remember that God
owns everything we have
00:53:20.00\00:53:23.57
and everything we possess.
00:53:23.60\00:53:26.50
God is the owner and
we are simply stewards
00:53:26.53\00:53:30.67
of what He has entrusted to us.
00:53:30.71\00:53:33.51
So this practice
of the Sabbath year
00:53:33.54\00:53:35.51
of letting the land lie fallow
00:53:35.54\00:53:38.11
for that seventh year
reminded the people of the fact
00:53:38.15\00:53:42.32
that God really owned their land
00:53:42.35\00:53:44.39
and that they were
brought into this land
00:53:44.42\00:53:46.25
as a result of
the blessings of God.
00:53:46.29\00:53:49.16
It's the same with the principle
00:53:49.19\00:53:50.53
of tithing today.
00:53:50.56\00:53:51.89
We don't practice the
principle of the seventh year
00:53:51.93\00:53:54.30
of Sabbath rest today.
00:53:54.33\00:53:56.43
But we do practice
the principle of tithing.
00:53:56.46\00:53:58.97
It's the same principle
00:53:59.00\00:54:00.34
that God is the owner
of everything we possess.
00:54:00.37\00:54:04.04
And finally number four,
00:54:04.07\00:54:06.01
we are called
the lesson I learned
00:54:06.04\00:54:07.64
from this is to
walk in obedience.
00:54:07.68\00:54:11.38
The Sabbath year
is a test as it were,
00:54:11.41\00:54:14.42
of whether we're gonna walk
in obedience to His command,
00:54:14.45\00:54:17.42
because it definitely took faith
00:54:17.45\00:54:19.05
to obey this and to do this,
00:54:19.09\00:54:21.22
and it definitely took
some unselfishness, Mollie.
00:54:21.26\00:54:25.03
The Sabbath year was
almost designed as it were
00:54:25.06\00:54:27.56
to keep materialism in check.
00:54:27.60\00:54:31.77
I see the example
of Boaz in closing,
00:54:31.80\00:54:34.97
the laws of the land
when he offered to Ruth,
00:54:35.00\00:54:38.77
not just to glean in the corner,
00:54:38.81\00:54:40.38
but you can glean further
00:54:40.41\00:54:41.74
and I'm gonna
give you gleanings,
00:54:41.78\00:54:44.61
I'm gonna give you wheat.
00:54:44.65\00:54:46.45
The laws of the land
were something too high
00:54:46.48\00:54:48.68
to be striven for.
00:54:48.72\00:54:50.19
They were instead
viewed as a minimum
00:54:50.22\00:54:52.75
that were called to surpass.
00:54:52.79\00:54:54.56
That's just what Jesus said,
00:54:54.59\00:54:55.92
the spirit of the
law goes way deeper
00:54:55.96\00:54:58.23
than the actual
letter of the law.
00:54:58.26\00:55:00.23
That's right. Wow.
00:55:00.26\00:55:01.60
Powerful, thank you so much
to each and every one of you.
00:55:01.63\00:55:03.87
Why don't we take the
few remaining minutes we have
00:55:03.90\00:55:06.87
and just go back through
00:55:06.90\00:55:08.24
and if you have any last
comments or share with us?
00:55:08.27\00:55:11.54
Three things or
reasons for the Sabbath,
00:55:11.57\00:55:14.08
it is a day to
celebrate God as our Creator
00:55:14.11\00:55:20.32
and the one who recreates us
00:55:20.35\00:55:21.68
in the name of
Jesus the image of Jesus,
00:55:21.72\00:55:25.19
it is our
celebrating God as our redeemer
00:55:25.22\00:55:30.33
and the one who has saved us
and he also says Exodus 31:30
00:55:30.36\00:55:37.07
that the Sabbath is a
sign that He sanctifies us.
00:55:37.10\00:55:40.57
All right.
00:55:40.60\00:55:41.94
Equality can only be
accomplished in obedience,
00:55:41.97\00:55:46.71
cannot be
accomplished in disobedience.
00:55:46.74\00:55:49.71
The Sabbath is not a suggestion,
00:55:49.74\00:55:52.11
it's a command.
00:55:52.15\00:55:53.65
Honoring that command we
will find unity in Christ.
00:55:53.68\00:55:57.32
Amen. It's good.
00:55:57.35\00:55:59.12
And rather than allowing
people to subject us to laws,
00:55:59.15\00:56:04.79
we are to celebrate
the spirit of the Sabbath
00:56:04.83\00:56:08.80
and know in our heart,
what the Lord said is true,
00:56:08.83\00:56:12.03
"It is lawful to do
good on the Sabbath."
00:56:12.07\00:56:14.90
That's right.
00:56:14.94\00:56:16.27
I think every
principle that God gives us
00:56:16.30\00:56:18.47
in His Word is for a purpose.
00:56:18.51\00:56:21.44
And what He calls us to
do is to study His Word,
00:56:21.48\00:56:25.25
to learn to trust Him,
00:56:25.28\00:56:28.05
whether we understand or not,
whether we even agree or not,
00:56:28.08\00:56:32.65
but to walk by faith
and to walk by obedience
00:56:32.69\00:56:36.66
to the things that
He has called us to do.
00:56:36.69\00:56:39.63
Wow! Praise the Lord.
00:56:39.66\00:56:41.03
You know, when I think
of the Sabbath commandment
00:56:41.06\00:56:43.57
and the beauty
of Sabbath keeping,
00:56:43.60\00:56:45.90
my mind goes to the sanctuary
00:56:45.93\00:56:48.34
because in the most holy place,
00:56:48.37\00:56:49.70
you have the
Ark of the Covenant,
00:56:49.74\00:56:51.07
inside the Ark of
the Covenant were,
00:56:51.11\00:56:53.17
there were three articles.
00:56:53.21\00:56:54.54
But one of those
articles of course,
00:56:54.58\00:56:55.91
with the Ten Commandments
was the part of manna,
00:56:55.94\00:56:57.61
which was on my day,
00:56:57.65\00:56:58.98
I was talking
about manna enough.
00:56:59.01\00:57:01.92
But that part of manna
not only does it show us
00:57:01.95\00:57:04.95
and remind us of
the wonderful trust
00:57:04.99\00:57:07.72
that we should have
in God to provide for us
00:57:07.76\00:57:10.03
and the promise we have
from God to provide for us,
00:57:10.06\00:57:12.43
but also when I think
of that part of manna,
00:57:12.46\00:57:14.80
I think of the promise
and the gift of freedom
00:57:14.83\00:57:18.17
that the Sabbath gives us
if we would just honor it.
00:57:18.20\00:57:21.14
And I just want to leave
you with these couple of texts
00:57:21.17\00:57:23.37
in Ezekiel 20:12-20.
00:57:23.41\00:57:27.14
Verse 12 says,
00:57:27.18\00:57:28.51
"Moreover I also
gave them My Sabbaths,
00:57:28.54\00:57:30.65
to be a sign
between them and Me,
00:57:30.68\00:57:32.75
that they might know
00:57:32.78\00:57:34.12
that I am the Lord
who sanctifies them."
00:57:34.15\00:57:36.18
And of course, verse 20
00:57:36.22\00:57:37.55
in Ezekiel Chapter 20 also says,
00:57:37.59\00:57:40.19
"Hallow My Sabbaths,
00:57:40.22\00:57:41.62
that they will be a
sign between Me and you,
00:57:41.66\00:57:43.89
that you may know that
I am the Lord your God."
00:57:43.93\00:57:45.96
That is
relationship wording there,
00:57:45.99\00:57:48.80
is relationship terminology.
00:57:48.83\00:57:51.10
We are so blessed
that you have been able
00:57:51.13\00:57:52.63
to join us this week
for an incredible study.
00:57:52.67\00:57:55.40
We hope that you can
join us next week again
00:57:55.44\00:57:58.57
for another incredible study.
00:57:58.61\00:58:00.18
We hope you have a blessed
day and we shall see you soon.
00:58:00.21\00:58:03.35