Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190035A
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00:01 The Bible tells us,
00:02 "In the beginning was the Word, 00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says to, 00:08 "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now 00:22 for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, "The Least of These." 00:33 Hello, friends, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 A panel that if you've been following us by now, 00:39 you know we thoroughly enjoy what the Lord challenges us 00:42 to do every program every week. 00:44 So thank you for taking the time. 00:46 Get your Bibles, your pens, your family, and your friends 00:48 and get ready for a beautiful excursion 00:51 through God's Word together. 00:53 And I am excited because of the people 00:54 that are on the panel. 00:56 There are some here today 00:57 or one particular we have today that we don't always have 00:59 but it's always a pleasure when he does join us. 01:01 But I'll begin with my left, 01:03 Jill Morikone, good to have you here, Jill. 01:05 Thank you, Pastor John. 01:06 You know, we are partners in lists, 01:08 you know, we'd like to have those lists. 01:09 That's right, we got to have them. 01:11 Got to have those lists. 01:12 Danny, good to have you here today. 01:13 Thank you. It's good to be here. 01:15 I'm always humbled to be 01:17 in the midst of all these theologians. 01:20 Oh, no, we need practicality 01:21 and you don't lack any wisdom at all. 01:23 We appreciate you very much. 01:25 I'm happy to be here. 01:26 Shelley, the lady with many hats. 01:27 I'll tell you what, Danny, 01:29 I learned something 01:30 every time we do Sabbath School Panel, 01:32 I just so appreciate 01:33 everyone's study and the insight 01:37 that God gives them and that they share. 01:40 That's right. Amen. 01:41 Ryan, good to have you here, brother. 01:43 The Word of God is incredible. 01:44 It's great to be here to study with you guys. 01:46 Thank you, Pastor, good to have you here. 01:48 And you know, by the way, I just say this realistically, 01:51 none of us would be here if it weren't for Danny. 01:54 So we appreciate the vision God has given to you 01:57 and it kind of fits into this motif today, 02:01 ministry in the New Testament Church. 02:04 Who would think that a guy from Brooklyn, New York 02:07 would be in Thompsonville, 02:10 ministry in a New Testament Church? 02:13 The Lord takes us where He wants us to be 02:15 and develops us for His glory. 02:17 If you'd like to get a copy of the lesson, 02:18 here is where you go to get that. 02:20 Download it at ABSG.Adventist.org. 02:24 That's AdultBibleStudyGuide .Adventist.org. 02:27 Or, better yet, 02:28 go to your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:30 and join a group of believers 02:32 that really allow the Word of God 02:33 to come to life. 02:35 And we surely know you'll be blessed by that. 02:37 Before we go any further though, 02:38 I'd like to invite you to bow your heads with us and, 02:40 Danny, would you have our prayer for us? 02:41 I would. 02:43 Heavenly Father, we thank You 02:44 for Your many wonderful blessings. 02:45 We thank You for life, 02:47 and for health, and for strength, 02:48 and we thank You 02:50 for the opportunity of being alive 02:51 in the closing moments of earth's history. 02:53 And You've given us the opportunity 02:55 to share the good news of salvation 02:57 to a lost and dying world. 02:59 And today, I pray that. You'll anoint each of us 03:01 on the panel and those at home, 03:03 that we will be drawn closer to You 03:06 because of this study today. 03:07 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 03:09 Amen. Amen. 03:11 Lesson nine, is that a hallelujah? 03:14 Lesson nine. 03:16 Every time we get together to start our lesson studies, 03:18 we think 13 lessons, and then we get to nine, 03:22 we say, "Wow, it's been wonderful excursion." 03:25 And I want to thank all the authors 03:26 that have taken the time to put this together 03:27 because we literally, you know, 03:29 that we take the mind of the authors 03:31 and try to communicate 03:33 what God has inspired the individuals 03:34 to write the lessons to be able to communicate. 03:37 But beginning with our text, the memory text is James 1:27 03:42 and the overall theme is ministry 03:45 in the New Testament Church. 03:46 Here's what James the Apostle writes to us, 03:49 "Pure and undefiled religion 03:51 before God and the Father is this 03:55 to visit orphans and widows in their trouble 03:58 and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." 04:01 It's a lot different than we sometimes think ministry is 04:05 because we are all involved in ministry in some degree, 04:08 but it does behoove us to pause and ask ourselves the question, 04:11 how often do we visit 04:13 the orphans and the widows and their trouble. 04:15 And praise God that, I like that third part, 04:18 we always are prayerfully approaching, 04:20 keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, 04:23 but that's just one third of the equation 04:25 because there's so many people that need to be ministered to 04:27 and sometimes we could be locked into our offices 04:30 and think that sometimes coming down 04:32 from the wall could be a subservient process 04:35 but it really isn't. 04:37 What I like about the lesson though 04:38 and I'll dive right into Sunday is a new kind of community. 04:42 One of the statements Jesus made was He said," 04:45 My kingdom is not of this world." 04:48 But even though His kingdom is not of this world, 04:51 He came to establish a kingdom on earth 04:53 to be a prelude to what is to come. 04:56 Look at the prayer in Luke 11:2. 05:02 And wonderful words of Jesus, He said, 05:04 "My kingdom is not of this world, 05:06 but I need to give the world a glimpse 05:07 of what the kingdom is to come." 05:09 So He said to them, 05:10 "When you pray, say our father in heaven, 05:14 hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, 05:18 Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 05:22 So Jesus came to unfold His will on earth 05:25 so that when we get to heaven, it wouldn't be a foreign place. 05:27 Amen. 05:29 I mean, can you imagine saying, 05:30 "Well, we really won't have unity 05:32 till we get to heaven." 05:34 That would be awful. 05:35 Well, we really won't love each other 05:36 till we get to heaven. 05:38 Well, we'll really never overcome sin 05:40 till we get to heaven. 05:41 Well, we'll never really know 05:43 what it means to love our brother 05:44 till we get to heaven. 05:46 The church will be a miserable place. 05:47 Amen. Can you imagine that? 05:49 And so we come to church and say, 05:50 "Look, don't bother me. 05:52 Wait till we get to heaven, we'll talk." 05:53 That's not what God intended. 05:55 And that's not why He sent Jesus. 05:56 So He gave some wonderful examples of the unity 06:00 that could exist among believers 06:02 when Christ is the central focus. 06:04 Go with me to Acts Chapter 2. 06:07 He ascended not just to deliver us from sin, 06:10 but to deliver us from a world 06:13 that keeps us into sin. 06:17 The world has a different character 06:20 than the kind of community that the Lord came to set up. 06:24 He gives us some of the characteristics 06:26 of the kind of world that we could look forward to. 06:29 Look at Acts 2:42-47. 06:32 Jill, walk through that, 06:34 and I'll pause along the way and give some insights. 06:35 Sure, 06:37 "And they continued steadfastly 06:38 in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, 06:41 in the breaking of bread and in prayers. 06:43 Then fear came upon every soul 06:45 and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 06:49 Now all who believed were together 06:50 and had all things in common, 06:53 and sold their possessions and goods 06:54 and divided them among all as anyone had need. 06:58 So continuing daily, with one accord in the temple 07:01 and breaking bread from house to house. 07:03 They ate their food with gladness 07:04 and simplicity of heart, 07:06 praising God and having favor with all the people. 07:09 And the Lord added to the church daily, 07:12 those who were being saved." 07:14 Now that's before the Protestant Reformation, 07:17 that's before the Dark Ages, 07:19 that's before Satan unleashed his anger against the church 07:22 during the tenure of Roman Emperor Diocletian 07:25 through year 230, that's when things were good. 07:28 That's when the only problem they had 07:30 were people that just wanted to distort the way 07:32 that God wanted them to worship. 07:34 And the Lord rooted that out very quickly 07:36 like Ananias and Sapphira. 07:38 I think I read in the Bible commentaries, 07:40 one of the reasons why the Lord dealt 07:42 with Ananias and Sapphira right away, 07:44 He didn't want the beginning of the church 07:46 to start on the spoiled note. 07:48 He wanted to make it very clear 07:49 that being double minded and making pledges 07:52 that you don't follow through on are not what I appreciate. 07:55 And so, but look at some of the things 07:56 that were brought up in just this passage. 07:59 They built their community on prayer and Bible studies, 08:03 breaking bread, and from house to house 08:06 they did this on a daily basis. 08:08 So when people say, 08:09 I got to insert this, it just came to me. 08:11 And I think the Lord brought it to my mind. 08:13 When people say the reason why we keep Sunday 08:15 is that's the day that the Lord broke bread. 08:18 They broke bread, how many days? 08:20 Every day from house to house, 08:22 every day. 08:23 So Acts 20:7 was not a new institution. 08:26 But it's simply a recognition 08:28 of what they did on a daily basis. 08:30 Not only that, 08:32 when was the last time that we could say 08:33 the believers had all things in common? 08:37 Can you say that now about the Christian church? 08:38 No. 08:39 Farther from the truth. 08:42 The Christian church right now 08:43 is so segmented, it's so broken up 08:45 that the Lord is saying, but this is my ideal approach 08:49 to what I want the church to be. 08:51 The simplicity and the gladness 08:54 that the New Testament Christian shared 08:56 was an amazing revelation of the kingdom 08:59 that the Lord intended 09:01 because sometimes we get bogged down 09:02 with our possessions, 09:05 and they were not bogged down with their possessions. 09:07 They sold what they had 09:09 to make sure the needs of everybody else 09:11 in the community were taken care of. 09:13 And I think 1Timothy 6:16. 09:15 Let's look at that, 1Timothy 6:16. 09:17 If we have that, notice what it points out. 09:20 Jill, could you read that for us? 09:22 Sure, "Who alone has immortality." 09:24 1Timothy 6:6, my mistake. 09:26 Oh, 6:6, 09:27 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." 09:30 That's a powerful short passage. 09:32 He didn't say that 09:34 great gain with contentment is godliness 09:37 or contentment with great gain is godliness. 09:41 He says," Godliness first with contentment 09:44 is great gain." 09:45 It puts the benefit on the godliness 09:48 and not on the great gain. 09:50 Not only that, let's go to Acts 4:32-37. 09:54 Let's look at some other qualities 09:55 that the New Testament believers had, 09:57 the kind of community 09:59 that the Lord was building for them to appreciate. 10:01 And I believe that 10:02 when we begin to build community down here 10:05 and build that camaraderie, that brotherhood, 10:07 that unity, that oneness, that spirit of Koinonia, 10:11 not just friendship, 10:13 we don't go to church for friendship, 10:14 we go to church for fellowship, 10:16 and the friendship comes as a result of that. 10:18 But verse 32-37. 10:20 Ryan, you have that? 10:21 Sure, says now, 10:23 "The multitude of those who believe 10:24 to wear of one heart and one soul, 10:26 neither did anyone say that 10:28 any of the things he possessed was his own. 10:31 But they had all things in common, 10:33 and with great power, the apostles gave witness 10:36 to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, 10:38 and great grace was upon them all 10:41 nor was there anyone among them 10:43 who lacked for all who were possessors 10:45 of lands or houses, sold them 10:47 and brought the proceeds of the things that were sown, 10:51 and laid them at the apostles' feet, 10:53 and they distributed to each as anyone had need." 10:57 Okay, that's good. 10:59 Up to that point it's good. Notice what's happening. 11:01 It says not only were they of one heart and one soul, 11:05 but can you imagine being in a community 11:06 where you just hear your car start up at night 11:09 and somebody said, "Is that your car starting up?" 11:13 "Yeah, it's one of the church members, 11:14 they need to use it." 11:16 And you can just lay down and don't even flinch about it. 11:19 Can you imagine that? 11:20 Or you hear the tractor in the backyard starting up 11:23 and it gets lower and lower in sound and somebody says, 11:26 "Is somebody driving with your tractor?" 11:28 "No, that's my neighbor. he just needs it. 11:30 He'll bring it back." 11:31 I mean, that's deep, 11:33 that's the kind of church they had 11:34 or somebody knock on the door 11:36 and when they knock on the door, 11:37 you just say, "Come on in." 11:39 and they go to the fridge 11:40 and get what they need and slam the door, 11:42 "I'll see you later." 11:43 "Did they just go in your fridge?" 11:45 "Yeah, they did, 11:46 but they just needed something." 11:47 "But is that what you guys do here?" 11:49 "Yeah, that's what we do." 11:51 And people leave your weekend after they said, 11:54 "I just came back from the weirdest place on earth. 11:58 People driving each other's car 11:59 back in each other's tractors out 12:00 without any permission, 12:02 walking into people's house and going in the refrigerator." 12:04 That's the kind of community that they had 12:07 and nobody thought it to be unusual, 12:09 because each person and it says, 12:12 "No one claimed the exclusive right 12:14 to their possessions." 12:16 They sold it and made sure that each person had 12:18 and that's why the Lord was very upset 12:20 with Ananias and Sapphira 12:22 because they wanted to contribute, 12:24 but they kept back part of the price. 12:26 They didn't show by their actions 12:28 that this was their kind of community. 12:30 They said, "Wait a minute, I gave this to God, 12:33 I gave this to God, He blessed it abundantly. 12:35 Now, let's get that car we always wanted 12:37 but don't tell anybody." 12:38 And God rooted out selfishness in the very beginning. 12:41 And then it says here, and there was no lack. 12:44 No lack, each person's needs were met. 12:47 But this is the very same thing in the Old Testament. 12:49 Deuteronomy 15:4. 12:51 Notice what this says, 12:56 "Except when there may be no poor among you, 12:59 for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land, 13:02 which the Lord your God 13:04 has given you to possess as an inheritance." 13:07 And so we clearly see 13:08 that the inheritance that they possess 13:10 was not because they were able to take the land, 13:13 but the Lord gave it to them. 13:15 And so the Canaan on earth, 13:17 the Canaan that they experienced 13:19 by God giving it to them is the very Canaan 13:22 that we're gonna one day be able to inhabit. 13:25 And what's happening? 13:26 They're getting it ready for us right now. 13:28 Amen. Amen. 13:30 Wonderful job, Pastor John. 13:31 Thank you so much. 13:32 What an incredible experience to be part of the early church. 13:36 I mean, I just can't imagine 13:38 but we can have that experience again. 13:41 My day on Monday 13:42 is Dorcas's ministry and witness. 13:46 So you are in Acts Chapter 2 and 4, 13:48 we're going to jump over just a couple chapters 13:50 to Acts Chapter 9. 13:51 So turn in your Bibles to Acts Chapter 9 13:54 and we see an incredible miracle 13:57 that takes place here. 13:58 Let's just set some groundwork. 14:00 And then you know, 14:01 Pastor John and I like our lists, 14:02 we're going to talk about 14:04 legacy, loss, and Lord, those three things. 14:08 Acts Chapter 9, 14:09 let's do some background, verses 32-34. 14:13 "Now it came to pass 14:15 as Peter went through all parts of the country, 14:18 that he also came down 14:19 to the saints who dwell in Lydda. 14:21 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, 14:24 who had been bedridden eight years 14:26 and was paralyzed. 14:27 And Peter said to him, " 14:29 Aeneas, Jesus, the Christ heals you, 14:32 Arise and make your bed." 14:34 Then he rose immediately. 14:36 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon 14:38 saw him and turned to the Lord." 14:41 So this miracle of the man 14:42 who was bedridden and paralyzed, 14:44 and then now he could walk 14:46 and he has strengthened his body again. 14:48 This miracle caused many people to turn to the Lord. 14:52 Many people saw that 14:54 and they made a decision 14:55 to follow the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 14:58 Now, we come to this story, 15:01 a few miles away from Lydda 15:02 is the town of Joppa and we see a woman here. 15:06 Let's talk first about the legacy of Tabitha. 15:09 Now she's known as Tabitha or Dorcas. 15:11 I might use the terms interchangeably here, 15:14 but one is an Aramaic and the other ones in Greek, 15:16 but they mean the same thing. 15:18 So verse 36, this is Acts 9:36. 15:23 We're going to look at the legacy of Tabitha, 15:25 then the loss of Tabitha, and then the Lord of Tabitha. 15:30 So the legacy, verse 36, 15:32 "At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, 15:37 which is translated Dorcas." 15:39 Now, this is the only time in the New Testament 15:43 that the word disciple is applied to a woman. 15:46 So that's kind of fascinating to me, 15:48 that means we're gonna see 15:50 what she did for the New Testament Church, 15:52 but she had an important role in the New Testament Church, 15:55 the word disciple being applied to her. 15:58 And it's actually the only time that word for disciple 16:01 is used in the New Testament 16:02 and it literally means a female disciple. 16:06 "This woman was full of good works 16:09 and charitable deeds which she did." 16:12 Now her name, 16:13 Tabitha, means gazelle in Aramaic. 16:17 And Dorcas is the same word for gazelle, 16:21 but it's in Greek and it also means 16:23 an animal with large, bright eyes. 16:25 So I don't know. 16:27 It doesn't tell us anything about what she looks like. 16:28 But I would imagine maybe she had big eyes. 16:30 I don't know, you know, 16:32 maybe they were the type that you know, 16:33 you notice certain people in characteristics, 16:35 and maybe they really stood out and they were really beautiful. 16:38 It says she was full of good works. 16:40 The word in Greek for full, play race, means full, 16:44 abounding and completely occupied with. 16:48 So when I read that, 16:49 I think this woman Tabitha 16:52 was not just occasionally doing good works. 16:55 She was not just saying, 16:57 I'm gonna do a good thing once a week. 16:58 You know, recently Greg and I were in another church. 17:01 And they asked her in Sabbath school, 17:03 they might have done this 17:04 in the States here years ago, I don't know, 17:06 but they still do it in this country. 17:07 They said, 17:08 "Okay, how many good deeds did you do this week?" 17:11 Wow! 17:13 "How many Bible studies did you get this week?" 17:14 This was during the Sabbath school 17:16 and they asked and they wrote it down. 17:18 But this woman would not be saying, 17:19 I did one good week this week, 17:21 one good work, one good deed this week. 17:24 And the Bible says, "She was full and abounding 17:27 in good works, in charitable deeds." 17:30 Jump down to Acts 39, the end of that verse. 17:35 It says, "All the widows stood by him weeping, 17:37 showing the tunics and garments 17:39 which Dorcas had made while she was with them." 17:42 So what were her good works that she did? 17:44 She used her needle and thread, 17:46 and she sewed garments and tunics. 17:50 Tunics been the undergarment 17:51 and the garments being the outer garments. 17:53 So she sewed clothes for the people there, 17:56 especially the widows and the children. 18:00 What was her legacy? 18:02 She saw a need, 18:03 that there were women, that there were children 18:05 who were needing basic necessities, 18:07 lacking things in the church. 18:09 And she worked to fulfill that need. 18:12 She used the gifts that had been given to her 18:15 to help someone else. 18:17 You know, often when we see a need, 18:19 we want someone else, 18:20 Pastor John, to fulfill that need. 18:21 You know, sometimes people call the office and they say, 18:24 "The Lord has laid on me this vision and this ministry, 18:27 and you need to take it up at 3ABN." 18:30 And I say, "No, God has called us 18:31 to proclaim the undiluted three angels' messages. 18:34 If God has given you that ministry, 18:36 you need to take that ministry up 18:38 and you need to run with it." 18:40 So she saw a need and she didn't say 18:41 you know what, Sister Smith, you need to fill that need. 18:44 She stepped in and she felt the need herself. 18:48 She devoted herself completely to the ministry for others. 18:52 James 1:27, 18:54 "Pure and undefiled religion 18:55 before God and the Father is this, 18:57 to visit the orphans and the widows 18:59 in their trouble and to keep yourself 19:01 unspotted from the world." 19:02 So she exemplified this pure and undefiled religion." 19:07 Now what about the loss of Tabitha? 19:09 We'll go back to verse 37-39, 19:11 "It happened in those days that she became sick and died. 19:14 When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room, 19:18 and since Lydda was near Joppa and the disciples had heard 19:20 that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, 19:24 imploring not to delay and coming to them. 19:27 Then Peter arose and went with them. 19:29 When he had come, 19:30 they brought him to the upper room, 19:32 and all the widows stood by him weeping, 19:35 showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made 19:38 while she was with them." 19:39 That is probably ten miles from Joppa. 19:42 And the loss was so devastating 19:47 that they said, "We need to bring Peter in. 19:49 We don't know exactly what he's gonna do, 19:51 but we need to bring Peter in." 19:54 Sometimes I wonder what is the ability 19:56 that God values the most? 19:58 Is it dependability? 20:00 Is it responsibility? 20:02 Is it adaptability? 20:04 Is it accountability? 20:06 Is it reliability or sociability? 20:09 I think it's availability. 20:11 Peter was willing, 20:13 when they came to Peter, what's it say? 20:15 He rose up and he went with them. 20:18 He was willing and available. 20:19 Dorcas was available, 20:22 willing and available while she was alive 20:24 to sew and make those garments for the poor. 20:27 Now, there's not that many resurrections documented 20:31 in the Word of God. 20:32 I don't know a 100%. 20:35 So, but in my study, 20:37 I found at least 10 that are documented. 20:39 There is Elijah, the widow of Zarephath's... 20:42 Elijah resurrected the widow of Zarephath's son. 20:44 Remember when he went there during the drought? 20:47 Elijah resurrected the Shunammite's son. 20:50 Remember the room on the home that they built. 20:52 Also there was a man resurrected 20:54 who touched Elisha's grave, and then he was resurrected. 20:58 Of course we know Jesus was resurrected, 21:00 and there were many saints who were resurrected with Him 21:03 and we don't know the number of them. 21:05 Moses was resurrected. 21:08 We know the widow of Nain's son was resurrected. 21:10 Lazarus was resurrected after four days in the tomb, 21:13 Jairus's daughter was resurrected. 21:16 And then of course Dorcas here and Eutychus. 21:20 Remember, he fell out of the window and Paul, 21:22 the Lord used Paul to bring him back to life. 21:24 But of all those stories, 21:26 there's only one woman and that's Tabitha. 21:29 The rest are either men or of course 21:32 there's the daughter, Jairus's daughter, 21:33 but he was an important man and a ruler in the synagogue. 21:36 To me, this shows the importance 21:38 of her work there in the church. 21:42 So let's look at the Lord of Tabitha 21:45 in our final moments, 21:46 Acts 9:40-41. 21:50 "Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed 21:53 and turned into the body. 21:54 He said, 'Tabitha arise,' and she opened her eyes 21:57 and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 22:00 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up 22:02 and when he had called the saints and widows, 22:03 he presented her a life.'" 22:07 Amen. Now it's interesting to me. 22:09 Excuse me. 22:11 Jesus said in Luke 6:40, 22:13 "Everyone who was fully trained will be like their teacher. 22:18 Remember when Jesus resurrected Jairus's daughter, 22:21 He put everyone out of the room, 22:23 but He brought with him Peter, James and John. 22:26 And He did the same thing, 22:28 "Little girl, I say to you arise." 22:29 And Peter said what? 22:31 "Tabitha, arise. 22:33 Our Lord can heal the sick, 22:36 he can cast out demons. 22:38 He can raise the dead. 22:40 He can restore broken relationships. 22:43 He can break the bonds of addiction and sin. 22:46 He can transform the sinner." 22:48 And what was the result of Tabitha's resurrection? 22:52 Verses 42 and 43, 22:54 "It became known throughout all Joppa 22:57 and many believed on the Lord." 23:00 It's a miracle, 23:02 many people believed on the Lord 23:03 because of that. 23:04 My takeaways in closing, 23:07 never underestimate the value of service. 23:11 We think preaching is important and it is. 23:13 We think Bible studies are important and it is, 23:15 but service is equally as important. 23:18 Recognize that true faith 23:20 always expresses itself in deeds. 23:24 Use your God given gifts in ministry 23:28 and learn to understand and appreciate the ministry 23:31 that God has given to others. 23:34 Amen. 23:35 Thank you Jill, just before we go to... 23:36 Absolutely beautiful. 23:38 Wow, just before we go to the next lesson, 23:40 we're gonna take a short break and we will be right back. 23:48 Ever wish you could watch 23:50 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:52 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:55 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:00 A clean design makes it easy 24:02 to find the program you're looking for. 24:05 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:08 so you can follow along. 24:10 Sharing is easy. 24:11 Just click share 24:12 and choose your favorite social media. 24:14 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:20 Welcome back to our Sabbath School Panel. 24:22 We'll continue on our Tuesday's lesson 24:24 with Danny Shelton, 24:26 giving as a way of sharing. 24:28 All right, thank you, John and Jill, 24:29 that was beautiful. 24:31 I love talking about the early church 24:33 and the beginning of the Christian church 24:35 and it's amazing to me that, you know, 24:38 we have something we can look back and we say, 24:42 "Wow, I'd like to be a part of that." 24:44 Ryan, wouldn't that be great to be a part of that? 24:46 But you know what? 24:47 God has given us the opportunity today 24:49 to be a part of that, right? 24:51 We're gonna talk about mine at Tuesday 24:53 is giving as a way of sharing. 24:55 After his conversion, 24:56 Paul took up the mission 24:58 to bring the gospel 'to the world. 25:00 But there were some questions that were raised. 25:02 He was very successful, 25:03 but the relationship between his Jewish roots 25:06 and the emerging Christian faith 25:08 and the Gentile followers of Jesus. 25:11 So there was a meeting between the Jewish leaders 25:13 and the new Christians, and about how do we do this? 25:17 How do we combine all of this, 25:19 of course, can be very confusing. 25:21 So they met in Jerusalem. 25:23 And what's neat about it, they got together, 25:26 we call it maybe like conferences, 25:27 getting together and maybe our General Conference session, 25:30 but you know, 25:31 these young folk coming from backgrounds from Jews, 25:34 new Gentile Christians, followers of Jesus 25:38 and so they get together, but Paul says 25:40 and, of course, you can read about it 25:42 in Acts Chapter15, 25:43 but Paul's answer to what happened 25:46 was pretty simple. 25:47 And Galatians 2:10, it says, 25:49 "All they ask was that we should continue 25:52 to remember the poor that I had been eager to do. 25:56 The very thing I had been eager to do all along." 25:59 So after all of these meetings, 26:02 a great emphasis was put on 26:04 what we've termed today as social justice maybe 26:07 and so great emphasis was put on that. 26:09 So I think we can say 26:11 that there are many ways of giving, 26:13 but it's safe to say that the early church, 26:15 and I think the church of today should follow the early church. 26:19 But they put a great emphasis on social justice. 26:23 The question would be is how much of the church's time 26:26 and resources today should be. 26:29 Pastor, you're pastor of this church. 26:31 How much time and resources should be used to feed the poor 26:35 and clothe those who need it and they're hungry? 26:39 And how much time do we put 26:41 versus spiritually that we're feeding them? 26:44 So what we do is we have to look back 26:46 at Jesus's actions while He was on earth. 26:48 And we find that He actually spent 26:50 more time doing what? 26:51 Healing the sick, then He really did 26:56 and preaching and also feeding the poor 27:01 and clothing those who needed it. 27:03 So it's very interesting that Jesus tells us 27:06 to take care of the poor. 27:07 But He didn't seem to put 27:09 a tremendous amount of emphasis on that Himself. 27:13 So from what I can make of it, I just wrote down some notes. 27:17 He used His three and a half years of ministry 27:19 on this earth to do His Father's business 27:21 and that was to carry out the plan 27:23 of being the Savior of the world. 27:26 John 3:16, we can find it. 27:28 While Jesus healed the sick, 27:29 there were many around Him that He did not heal. 27:32 While He raised the dead on occasion, 27:34 when He was at the tomb of Lazarus, 27:36 He said, "Lazarus come forth," 27:38 because had He just said come forth, 27:39 all the graves would have opened, 27:41 and all those that have died would have come forth 27:43 because this is a Creator, who's saying this. 27:46 So while He was there, He raised Lazarus, 27:49 and on occasions others, 27:50 but He didn't spend a lot of time feeding. 27:54 There's no record that I can read. 27:56 Now, we know about the multitudes 27:57 who came to hear Him preaching, 27:58 the five loaves and fishes and all of that. 28:01 But I'm saying in general, 28:03 Jesus didn't go from town to town 28:06 distributing food and clothing the folks who needed it. 28:10 So yet He tells us 28:12 that we're to take care of those. 28:14 So we, I think we should talk about that 28:16 for just a little bit. 28:18 But let's go, 28:19 so I'm not to say Jesus didn't care. 28:21 I'm trying to make a point. 28:22 And I'll see if I can get to that point. 28:24 The point is this, 28:25 that we today we have a decision, 28:28 how much time do we put as our resources in feeding. 28:32 For instance, if we look around Southern Illinois, 28:35 not a lot of people, 28:36 but there's a lot, let's say 50,000, 60,000, 28:39 40,000 this county. 28:41 If this church, John, your church said, 28:43 we're gonna feed everybody that needs food, 28:46 and we're going to clothe everybody that needs clothes. 28:48 You wouldn't accomplish anything else. 28:50 Right? Because you couldn't do it. 28:53 Yeah, there's a lot of talk about social justice. 28:56 So let's see what Jesus says. 29:00 Jesus says in Matthew 25:35, 29:02 "For I was hungry and you gave Me food. 29:04 I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. 29:07 I was a stranger and you welcomed Me." 29:09 Okay, Isaiah 58:10, 29:11 I'm going to go through these quickly. 29:13 "If you pour yourself out for the hungry 29:15 and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, 29:18 then shall your light rise in the darkness 29:20 and your gloom be as the noon day." 29:23 Now James, we read it earlier, but in James, James 2:14-18, 29:28 "What good is it brothers if someone says, 'He has faith, 29:31 but does not have works,' Can faith save him?' 29:35 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed, 29:37 and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, 29:40 'Go in peace and be warmed and filled 29:42 without giving them the things needed for the body? 29:45 What good is that?" 29:46 So also faith by itself 29:49 if it does not have works is dead. 29:51 But if someone will say 29:53 you have faith, and I have works, 29:55 show me your faith, apart from your works 29:57 and I will show you my faith by my works. 30:00 Quickly Proverbs 28:27, 30:02 "Whoever gives to the poor will not want, 30:05 but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse." 30:08 Last one, 1 John 3:17-18. 30:11 "But if anyone has the world's goods 30:13 and sees his brother in need, 30:15 yet closes his heart against him, 30:17 he does God's. 30:18 It says, how does God's love abide in Him? 30:20 Little children, let us not love 30:23 in word or talk, 30:24 but indeed, and in truth, so in action." 30:27 So as I mentioned earlier today, 30:28 we hear a lot about social justice. 30:31 And it's very important, but many people 30:33 including those who claim to be Christians 30:36 are out proclaiming social justice in a way to me 30:42 that we need to think about 30:43 people get out and they have the signs 30:45 and they're marching, 30:46 and they're trying to put all of this on the government. 30:49 And there's a lot of Christians and a lot of churches, 30:52 even in our own denomination 30:54 who are putting tremendous amount of emphasis 30:56 on social justice, so I'm not belittling that. 30:59 That is our responsibility. 31:01 It's very interesting to see what Jesus says about it. 31:05 But, it's also where's that fine line 31:07 as a church and as a people, 31:09 you know, how to respond to that. 31:11 My thought is that we as Christians 31:13 should take that responsibility. 31:15 We should not put it off 31:17 on the government, on anyone else. 31:18 Now, the government does have some responsibility, 31:21 but I believe that we as Christians should do it. 31:23 How do we relate that to today, 31:25 our church right here in Thompsonville? 31:27 You know, in every church, those of you who are watching, 31:30 I believe that every church should have 31:32 what we used to call the Dorcas society, 31:35 or now we call community services. 31:37 Now, why do we want to do that? 31:39 We won't be able to help everybody. 31:41 But why do we wanna do it? 31:42 We wanna do it because it brings us 31:44 in contact with those in need. 31:47 So community services 31:48 could offer a number of services, 31:50 but one of those of course is clothing that you do. 31:53 I think every church should have a food pantry. 31:58 Because we all can bring 31:59 few cans of food or bring some bread 32:01 or bring something to drink, some water 32:04 that would help people in the community. 32:05 So to me, 32:07 this is an opportunity for the church 32:08 to make contact with those in the community 32:11 and share Jesus with them. 32:13 But the main focus of the church is 32:14 to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world. 32:17 We have an opportunity, I call it to introduce people 32:20 to the Creator, God of the universe, 32:23 where there will be no more starvation, 32:25 no more pain, no more sickness, no more death, 32:28 and all of that for the length of eternity versus here. 32:32 For instance, 32:34 each church should prayerfully consider 32:36 what their mission is, to me, and what is their priorities? 32:39 If this church tried to meet all the physical needs 32:42 that we mentioned while ago, 32:43 John, we wouldn't have room to meet their spiritual needs. 32:47 That's right. 32:48 So I've seen churches in our own denomination 32:50 put so much as I mentioned earlier, 32:52 so much emphasis on the social, we forget the spiritual, 32:56 but I think that each of us right now 32:58 is the time let's look at the early church, 33:00 see what they did, come together in unity, 33:03 come together and say, Lord, what would You have us to do? 33:06 We realize our mission. 33:07 Jesus knew what His mission was on earth. 33:10 It wasn't to try to make it a perfect world 33:11 and then, back then 33:13 it's when He comes back into second coming, 33:15 and sin is done away with once and for all. 33:18 So I think following that lead, let's be conscious. 33:22 Let's help those around us. 33:24 Let's feed, let's clothe, 33:26 but bring these people 33:27 so that we can show them Jesus in more ways than one. 33:30 Johnny comes to church. 33:32 He says, "I'm starving." 33:33 And you say, "Oh, Johnny, I gotta tell you, 33:35 Jesus will supply all your need." 33:37 And you pray for him and send him away. 33:38 What happens to Johnny? 33:40 You think he'll be back next week, Ryan, to church? 33:42 I doubt it. 33:43 We need to give Johnny that food that he needs. 33:45 Then we can talk to him about Jesus 33:48 because he will see Jesus in action. 33:51 So I think, we as a people should get back 33:53 to the early Christian church, 33:55 come together in one accord providing both 33:58 the physical and the spiritual needs, 34:00 but it's gonna be a combination of you 34:02 and the church members saying, 34:03 how much emphasis do we put on each one? 34:06 In the long run, 34:07 our goal is to be a witness to a lost and dying world, 34:10 to let them know that Jesus is coming very soon 34:13 in the clouds of glory, 34:15 and that all the sickness and the pain 34:16 and the lack of things that we have on this earth 34:19 is only temporary. 34:21 Once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life, 34:24 go and tell what He's done for us. 34:26 Very soon we can look up and say, 34:27 "Lo, this is our God, whom we've waited for, 34:29 He has come to save us." 34:31 Amen. Amen. Thank you, Danny. 34:33 That's perfect set up for my lesson, 34:35 which is Wednesday. 34:37 And it is Paul's guide 34:40 to living and loving well. 34:44 I'm going to be focusing on Romans Chapter 12 34:48 and I just have to say this, 34:49 if there were only one book in the entire New Testament, 34:53 Romans would be sufficient. 34:55 Romans is, 34:56 the first 11 Chapters of Romans, 34:58 Paul lays out the doctrine 35:00 of salvation, and justification, 35:03 and righteousness, and sanctification, 35:05 and God's sovereignty. 35:07 I mean, it is so amazing, 35:09 those first 11 Chapters 35:12 but then what he does, he makes the shift 35:14 when it comes to of the 12th Chapter 35:18 and now he shifts to something 35:20 that's very practical application. 35:22 I mean, he has set God up 35:24 as the covenant making, covenant keeping God. 35:28 But now in verse 12, I mean, Chapter 12, 35:31 he's switching to what our covenant response 35:34 should be as God's children 35:37 'cause God has done everything He can to win our love, 35:41 and He's got something 35:43 that there should be a response to that. 35:46 I wanted to read just one quote 35:49 from the quarterly and it says, 35:54 this is a practical guide 35:56 and he's talking about Romans Chapter 12. 35:58 "To living and loving well, 36:00 based on the grace and love of God 36:02 is revealed in Jesus Christ and the gospel story." 36:07 So here's the deal. 36:09 Paul's gone through all of these 11 Chapters. 36:12 When he gets to that, 36:14 I guess I'd open to Romans Chapter 12. 36:17 When he gets to Romans Chapter 12, 36:20 he starts off with his earnest appeal 36:23 that we're gonna spend most of our time on. 36:26 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 36:29 by the mercies of God, 36:31 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 36:33 holy, acceptable to God, 36:35 which is your reasonable service." 36:38 He goes to this chapter 36:40 and it's talking about the gifts of the Spirit. 36:42 He's talking about having spiritual zeal. 36:46 He's talking about all kinds of things, 36:49 living in peace with people. 36:51 And he ends up with verse 21 of Romans 12, saying, 36:54 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 36:59 Well, it all starts with verse 1. 37:02 And that's where I wanna spend the bulk of our time. 37:05 As I said, 11 Chapters 37:07 Paul's been talking about what God did for us. 37:10 Now, our response to this God of covenant love 37:16 should be one of surrender, 37:19 of submitting and committing our life to Him, 37:21 yielding to His control. 37:23 So let's look at this. 37:24 Romans 12:1, "I beseech you," 37:28 this is an earnest appeal. 37:30 Therefore, now remember what I said, 37:33 I believe last program, 37:34 anytime you see the word therefore, 37:37 it is a bridge. 37:39 It is taking you from the material 37:41 that has been presented before. 37:43 And in this case, 37:45 it's 11 Chapters of doctrinal foundation 37:48 that he has laid out. 37:50 Now he's bridging and he's saying, 37:53 "Because of all of this, I beseech you, brethren, 37:57 by the mercies of God." 37:59 Now, let me just hit a few things real quickly. 38:01 When we're talking about the mercies of God, 38:03 this is the compassionate tender mercies. 38:06 Let me give you a few of the things 38:09 that Paul has already told them. 38:11 In Romans 5:8, 38:12 he said that "God loved them so much, 38:14 He sent His Son to die for them while they were yet a sinner." 38:17 That's right. 38:19 In Romans 6:23, he said, 38:20 "The gift of God is eternal life 38:22 in Christ Jesus." 38:23 He's talked about Jesus redeeming us, 38:25 reconciling us, justifying us freely, 38:28 and that he gave us peace with God 38:31 in Romans 6:18 says that, 38:32 "He freed us from the power of sin." 38:34 Romans 8:1, he said, 38:36 "There is therefore now no condemnation 38:39 for those who are in Christ Jesus." 38:41 He talks about in 8:11, 38:43 "The abiding Holy Spirit that God gives us." 38:47 And then he talks about adopting us, 38:51 he talks about the assurances of His promises. 38:54 So Paul's saying, 38:55 recognize all these great mercies 38:58 and the motivation of your heart 39:01 will be that you want to respond 39:04 to this God of covenant love, 39:07 as you except His free grace, 39:09 that you will therefore present your bodies 39:14 a living sacrifice. 39:18 This present your bodies means you're yielding to God's mercy. 39:23 You're voluntarily handing over your life 39:26 as a gift to Him. 39:28 You say, Lord, You created me, You've done all this for me, 39:31 You've redeemed me. 39:32 This is an act of worship. 39:34 It is the same word when He says to present, 39:40 it's the same word that was used 39:41 when Jesus was presented in the temple. 39:44 And in Romans 6:16, you know what Paul had said, 39:47 "Do you not know that you are a slave 39:52 to whom you present yourselves to obey, 39:55 either slaves to sin leading to death 40:00 or of obedience leading to righteousness." 40:04 So, when Paul says, present yourselves, 40:10 he is saying, 40:12 it's your debt of love that you owe to God, 40:17 consider what He's done for us. 40:19 That's a compelling reason, God, we belong to Him. 40:23 We need to submit to His plan 40:25 and say, Lord, here I am, send me 40:28 and when he talks about your complete life. 40:30 This is more than when he says 40:32 present your bodies a living sacrifice. 40:35 He's not just talking about health. 40:38 He is talking about your mental, your physical, 40:41 and your spiritual self. 40:43 You cannot separate mind, body, and spirit. 40:47 So Paul is saying, "Hey, present it all, 40:50 this is a wholehearted surrender." 40:52 And it's reasonable considering what God's done for us. 40:57 So he goes on, he says that, 40:59 "We are to present ourselves a living sacrifice 41:04 under the old covenant, in the Mosaic Law." 41:08 They had Levitical sacrifices of slain animals, right? 41:14 This was a propitiatory blood sacrifice. 41:19 It was in the physical temple service. 41:22 Under the new covenant, 41:24 Christians are to be a living sacrifice, 41:28 it is not propitiatory. 41:30 And you know, 41:32 when you think about the lamb in the old covenant 41:35 was supposed to be spotless. 41:36 Hey, by faith we are spotless 41:38 because the robe of Jesus Christ covers us, right? 41:41 That's right. 41:42 But this is in the spiritual temple service. 41:46 It is, we lay our lives on the spiritual altar 41:50 and allow God to fill us is what it's all about. 41:53 But I'll tell you what? 41:54 You know what the one problem is with a living sacrifice? 41:57 It's always crawling off the altar. 42:00 You know, it's a day by day surrendering 42:04 is what this takes. 42:05 Because when he says 42:07 present yourselves your bodies a living sacrifice. 42:11 He goes on and he says 42:12 that we are to be holy and acceptable to God. 42:18 Did you realize we are losing track? 42:24 And I say we, 42:26 the Christian community at all around the world. 42:31 Oh, it's so important. 42:32 You know, if you know me at all, 42:34 you know that I'm a preacher of grace. 42:35 I mean, that's all I talk about is God's grace. 42:39 But we cannot be so blindsided as to ignore God's holiness 42:44 and God's got, who God is. 42:47 He expects us to have a holy sanctified life, 42:51 that means to be separated from sin. 42:53 He promises to do it for us. 42:56 That is His promise. 42:58 Justification was an act of God when our sin, 43:02 when Christ died on the cross. 43:04 That was an act of God at the cross. 43:07 And that's over our past sins. 43:09 But sanctification is a work of God 43:13 and it's something He's working in us day by day. 43:16 So if we're gonna be an acceptable sacrifice, 43:20 this means we're worthy of His acceptance. 43:23 And Paul says, 43:24 "Hey, this is your reasonable service." 43:26 This is logican in the Greek, 43:30 it means it's rational, it's intelligent, 43:33 we need to voluntarily make this commitment. 43:37 And when we step forward to put ourselves on the altar, 43:42 this is not what we do to be justified. 43:44 It's what we do to give God permission 43:48 to work in our lives. 43:49 And then you know what? 43:52 As we surrender day by day, He says, 43:57 "Do not be conformed to this world, 43:59 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 44:02 that you may prove what is that good 44:04 and acceptable and perfect will of God." 44:06 And see the purpose of daily surrender 44:10 is spiritual transformation, 44:12 and when we are spiritually transformed, 44:15 guess what? 44:16 We're gonna be doing what you talked about. 44:18 We're gonna be ministering to the poor. 44:20 We're gonna be filled with the love of God, 44:23 and have such a love for people, 44:25 that God's compassionate heart will be ours. 44:29 Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. 44:31 This has been such an eye opening study. 44:34 And Thursday's lesson does not leave us shorthanded, 44:38 it takes us into the Book of James. 44:41 So the title of Thursday's lesson 44:42 is James the Just. 44:44 And the Book of James is an interesting book. 44:48 It's actually one of my favorite books 44:50 in all of the Bible. 44:51 In fact, I've actually, 44:53 we know that the gospel is kind of a threefold process 44:57 in the sense that we know 44:59 that the process in which a person should walk, 45:02 that salvational walk of faith. 45:05 You know, God takes us from justification 45:07 to sanctification and eventually glorification. 45:10 And I've heard ministers say this while I know 45:12 that Paul, all of his writings completely encapsulate 45:16 all of the gospel. 45:18 I've heard people, minister say 45:19 where Paul's writings 45:21 communicates the justification aspect of the gospel. 45:25 By the time you get to the Book of James, 45:26 now, James opens up a big can of sanctification 45:30 and he's communicating it to us in a very deep way. 45:33 And so, James the Just, just a fantastic book 45:38 and Thursday's lesson actually highlights the fact 45:41 that Christian tradition suggests that James, 45:45 the brother or step brother of Jesus 45:48 became a leader 45:49 of the early church in Jerusalem 45:51 and was the James. who acted as chairman 45:55 of the Jerusalem Council 45:56 and you can find this in Acts Chapter 15, 45:58 Galatians 1, and also Galatians 2. 46:01 If so, it is likely that he was the author of the letter 46:05 preserved in the Bible as the Book of James. 46:09 And so James was a very common name 46:12 during the Bible times, 46:13 but if these were the same person, 46:16 of course, the two James is, 46:17 obviously if this was the same person, 46:19 he may also have been the church leader 46:21 known as James, the Just, 46:23 which suggests a wiser leader 46:26 who properly prioritized his treatment of others 46:29 and cared for those often forgotten, 46:32 or downtrodden. 46:33 And so in this proverbial book and you know the Book of James 46:37 is almost like a New Testament Proverbs 46:39 and so he's given us much, much knowledge 46:42 and wisdom in this book. 46:43 James reminds us not to just merely listen to the word 46:46 as we have brought out many times, 46:48 but to do what it says. 46:50 And so we noticed this 46:51 as we start reading in James Chapter 1. 46:53 I'm gonna take us to James Chapter 1, 46:55 beginning with verse 22-27. 46:59 Notice what the Bible tells us. 47:02 It says, "But be doers of the word 47:04 and not hears only deceiving yourselves." 47:08 And I just wanna pause and just highlight that, 47:11 because I think that is a great thesis 47:13 for this entire message that we're covering here 47:15 is that many people like to listen to a good sermon, 47:18 they like to hear someone preach the Word of God. 47:21 They like to even read it themselves 47:22 and discuss it and talk about it. 47:24 But do you follow its councils. 47:26 Do you allow the reality of the Word of God 47:29 to be a reality in your own life 47:31 by following and doing exactly what it says? 47:33 Otherwise you deceive yourself according to James. 47:36 Verse 23 continues on to say, 47:37 "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 47:41 he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, 47:45 for he observes himself goes away 47:47 and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 47:50 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, 47:54 and continues in it..." 47:55 Notice how, 47:56 I just wanna highlight for a moment, 47:58 throughout these entire studies over the past few weeks 48:00 as we've been discussing, you know those in need, 48:03 the least of these, 48:05 notice how the law of God keeps coming back up 48:07 and I can't highlight enough or emphasize enough, 48:10 we recognize that we are not saved by works. 48:12 We do not, we are not saved or do not gain our salvation 48:16 by the keeping of the law. 48:18 But rather that is the response of someone 48:20 who is saved by Jesus, 48:22 but I want you to notice how that keeps coming back up 48:24 because a person who does not meet the needs 48:27 of their brother or their sisters in Christ 48:29 is more than likely someone 48:30 who is rejecting the moral law and the moral character of God. 48:33 And we see that right here, as James is highlighting that, 48:36 he goes to say, 48:37 "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty 48:39 and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer, 48:42 but a doer of the work. 48:43 This one will be blessed in what he does." 48:47 And then verses 26 and 27. 48:49 He says, "If anyone among you thinks 48:50 he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, 48:53 but deceives his own heart, 48:55 this one's religion is useless, 48:57 pure and undefiled religion 48:59 before God and the Father is this," 49:01 and here it is 49:02 "to visit orphans and widows in their trouble 49:06 and keep one's self unspotted from the world." 49:10 So basically, James, 49:11 in this particular passage here, 49:13 he shares his very different, 49:15 yet inspired thoughts on the subject of the rich 49:18 as compared to the poor. 49:20 And he holds a very different attitude 49:23 towards riches compared to those of the world. 49:26 And if you go on to James Chapter 2, 49:28 he really highlights this 49:29 as he gets kind of personal with the church. 49:31 He's writing to the saints and he's saying, 49:33 "Look, I got something to say to you." 49:34 Let's go to James Chapter 2, and read verses 1-9. 49:38 Notice what the Bible tells us here. 49:40 He says, "My brethren, do not hold the faith 49:42 of our Lord Jesus Christ, 49:44 the Lord of Glory, with partiality. 49:47 For if there should come into your assembly 49:50 a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, 49:53 and there should also come in 49:57 poor man in filthy clothes. 50:00 And you pay attention 50:02 to the one wearing the fine clothes 50:04 and say to him, 50:05 you sit here in a good place 50:06 and say to the poor man, 50:08 you stand there or sit here at my footstool." 50:10 In other words, you're making a difference. 50:12 You're being partial. 50:13 You're uplifting and paying much respect 50:15 to that of the rich man. 50:17 But you know, not much attention 50:18 or neglecting that of the poor. 50:19 He says, "Have you not shown partiality among yourselves 50:22 and become judges with evil thoughts?" 50:25 Verse 5 says, "Listen, my beloved brethren, 50:28 has God not chosen the poor 50:30 of this world to be rich in faith, 50:33 and heirs of the kingdom 50:34 which he promised to those who love Him. 50:37 But you have dishonored the poor man? 50:40 Do not the riches oppress you and drag you into the courts? 50:44 Do they not blaspheme that noble name 50:46 which you are called, 50:49 if you really fulfill the royal law, 50:51 there it is, again, that law comes back up, 50:53 if you really fulfill the royal law 50:55 according to the Scriptures, 50:56 you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 50:59 You do well, but if you show partiality, 51:02 you commit sin and are convicted 51:03 by the law as transgressors." 51:06 So again, James is speaking 51:08 very plainly, very directly he's saying, 51:09 "Look, if you do this, I don't care 51:11 what kind of Christian you may think you are. 51:13 I don't care what type of religious experience 51:16 or worship you think you're giving to the Lord. 51:18 At the end of the day he likens it unto sin, 51:20 you are sinning against God, 51:21 you are violating and transgressing God's law 51:24 by neglecting those who are in need." 51:26 James doesn't seem to regard the rich, 51:28 the rich in a positive light. 51:31 That is not to say that all rich people 51:33 are doomed to eternal judgment. 51:34 However, clearly we know that James is rebuking the very idea 51:38 that such a worldly mentality of riches 51:41 would contaminate our mind. 51:43 We have heard, 51:44 have you ever heard the expression? 51:45 Money makes the world go round? 51:47 I've heard that many, many times. 51:49 You know, this almost seems to be true in a negative sense 51:52 because of the world that we live in today. 51:54 I'm thinking of, you know, 51:55 Hollywood movies and music industry 51:57 and the food industry and the health industry. 51:59 You start looking at all 52:01 of the major aspects of this life. 52:02 And you see that it all hinges on the making of a dollar, 52:07 or the progression of someone's riches, 52:09 putting more and more money into pockets of men 52:12 who need Jesus abundantly. 52:15 And much of this, much of the immorality today 52:17 is driven by the strong desire to be rich and wealthy, 52:21 and abundant in things of the world. 52:23 In fact, we shouldn't be surprised by this 52:25 because we know that the counsel given to us 52:27 in 1 Timothy 6:10, 52:30 reminds us and tells us 52:31 that the desire or the love of money 52:34 is the root of all evil, 52:36 and you can pretty much just trace that 52:38 all the way back to its origin, 52:39 and you will find that much of the sin of today's world 52:42 is driven by someone's desire 52:44 or love for more, and more, and more, and more. 52:48 I wanna go to James 5:1-5 here in closing, 52:52 and I wanna to read these five verses 52:54 because they're very, very powerful. 52:55 He says, "Come now you rich, 52:58 weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. 53:03 Your riches are corrupted 53:04 and your garments are moth eaten, 53:06 your gold and silver are corroded, 53:08 and their corrosions will be a witness against you 53:11 and will eat your flesh like fire. 53:14 So he's not speaking positively. 53:16 He says, "You have heaped up treasure 53:18 in these last days. 53:19 Indeed the wages of your labors who mowed your, 53:22 laborers who mowed your fields, 53:23 which you kept back by fraud cry out, 53:26 and the cries of the reapers 53:28 have reached the ears of the lord of Sabaoth." 53:31 He goes on to say, 53:33 "You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury, 53:36 you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter, 53:40 you have condemned, you have murdered the just, 53:44 he does not resist you. 53:45 So basically, you know, if we consider 53:47 the world we live in today that 53:49 that the rich and the wealthy of the world today, 53:50 they seem to have, you know, 53:52 all these people who gain riches, 53:53 but there's some of the most miserable people 53:55 in depression and always wanting more, 53:57 and more, and more. 53:59 And he actually is condemning, 54:00 perhaps these are the miseries 54:02 and spoken of there in James 5:1, 54:04 the miseries that James is speaking of 54:06 is this curse that comes upon those 54:08 who seek after these things, 54:09 but neglect those who are in need. 54:12 And so I wanna end here with James 2:14-17, he says, 54:16 "What does it profit, my brethren, 54:18 if someone says He has faith but does not have works, 54:23 Can faith save him? 54:24 If a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food, 54:28 and one of you says to them, depart in peace, 54:30 be warmed and filled, 54:32 but you do not give them the things 54:33 which are needed for the body? 54:35 What does it profit of? 54:37 He says, 'That's also faith by itself, 54:39 if it does not have works, it's dead,' 54:41 we have a moral obligation to live as Christ lived.'" 54:44 Amen. Wow. Very good. 54:47 I'm sitting here listening to a gospel 54:49 that's kind of foreign in a great sense 54:51 all the putting self aside, 54:54 allowing the work of God 54:55 to be permeated through our lives. 54:56 Thank you each one of you. 54:58 Jill, I give you an opportunity to recap because I know you, 55:01 people might not remember all that you said, 55:03 just recap what you covered. 55:05 What really touched me about the life of Dorcas 55:07 and as I've been hearing each one of you share, 55:09 is that motive matters. 55:11 We can think it's enough 55:13 to believe in the doctrines of the church 55:15 and that's a good thing, we wanna believe in that 55:17 or it's enough to quote scripture 55:20 and we want to quote the Word of God. 55:22 But what really matters is our experience. 55:26 Have we experienced Jesus for ourselves? 55:30 And do we get out of ourselves and focus on the needs 55:33 of other people like Dorcas did? 55:37 Amen. Danny? 55:38 Well, once we become Christians and give our life to Jesus, 55:42 it's so important that we share what God has given us 55:47 and that's to be able to help people both mentally, 55:50 physically, spiritually, 55:52 and be there for them representing Christ, 55:55 to know that there's a better day ahead. 55:57 Amen and amen. 55:58 I just think back to you know, 56:00 my love for the Book of Romans and Paul's writings, 56:02 but Paul was so clear 56:04 about justification by faith, righteousness by faith. 56:08 He was a great preacher of sanctification 56:10 and I just want to give you this one quick promise. 56:13 A, Paul wrote later to the Thessalonians, 56:15 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 56:16 "May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, 56:20 remove you from sin, and may your whole spirit, 56:24 soul, and body can't be separated, 56:26 be preserved blameless 56:27 at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 56:30 He who calls you is faithful who will also do it. 56:35 Amen. 56:36 The Bible says that God is love. 56:38 And if we take His name, 56:42 if we are representatives of Him, you know, 56:44 this whole conversation of service, you know, 56:47 we should just be reeking of God's love, 56:49 and it shouldn't even be a question to us. 56:51 It just should be a natural response. 56:53 I think of 1 John 4:20-21. 56:57 It says, "If someone says I love God, 56:59 and hates his brother, he is a liar. 57:02 For he who does not love his brother, 57:04 whom he has seen, 57:06 how can he love God whom he has not seen?" 57:09 And this commandment we have from him, 57:12 that he who loves God must love his brother, also. 57:17 A short saying, I'll leave with you. 57:19 We live in deeds, not ears and thoughts, 57:22 not breaths and actions, not figures on a dial. 57:27 We should count time by heartthrobs. 57:32 He who loves most, thinks most, feels most, 57:36 and acts the best. 57:38 And Lord has given us a great responsibility 57:40 in every aspect of our lives to reflect a character 57:43 that is really not of this world 57:45 and we pray that you will also embrace the power 57:48 that can make the kingdom life available to you 57:50 and real to you even before the Lord returns. 57:54 Join us next time for the topic, 57:55 "Living the Gospel." 57:58 Until we see you the next time 57:59 may the Lord bless you 58:00 and may you experience the kingdom life now. |
Revised 2019-08-29