Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190036A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says to, "Receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, "The Least of These." 00:32 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 I am Jill Morikone and we are so glad 00:38 that you have joined us as we journey through 00:41 quarter number 3, "The Least of These." 00:43 We're in lesson number 10. 00:45 It's hard to believe, we're getting toward the end 00:47 of the quarter, "Living the Gospel." 00:49 I wanna encourage you, 00:51 you can go to the following website 00:52 and you can download your own quarterly 00:55 so you can follow along with us. 00:57 That website is ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:02 That stands for 01:03 AdultBibleStudyGuide. Adventist.org 01:07 or we always encourage you to visit your local 01:10 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:12 They would welcome you 01:13 and they would give you a quarterly 01:15 and invite you to join a lesson discussion. 01:18 Before we go any further, 01:19 I wanna introduce our panel here. 01:21 Sitting on my left is my boss and friend and mentor, 01:25 Mr. Danny Shelton, 01:26 it's a privilege to have you here. 01:28 Oh, it's good to be here. 01:29 I don't know about the boss part 01:30 but I kind of leave her 01:32 to make those decisions nowadays, 01:33 she and Greg, 01:34 but it is a privilege to be here 01:36 and to be able to study with my brothers and sisters 01:38 and those of you at home too. 01:39 Amen. 01:41 And on your left is Pastor Ryan Day. 01:42 We love having you here as well. 01:44 It's always a blessing to be a part of this panel. 01:45 Amen. 01:47 And on your left is my pastor, Pastor John Lomacang. 01:49 And thank you for your insight in the Word of God. 01:50 Praise the Lord. 01:52 We've been really finding out some new things 01:53 even though new things are not always new, 01:56 but I appreciate the author's approach to this lesson. 01:58 It's a blessing. Amen. 02:00 It's been a wonderful study and at the far end, 02:01 my sister Shelley Quinn. 02:03 And thank you, Shelley, so much for being here as well. 02:05 Oh, it's always a joy to study with you all 02:08 and we're just so glad you at home are joining us. 02:10 Amen. 02:11 Before we go any further and we open up God's Word, 02:13 we want to go to the Lord in prayer. 02:16 And, Pastor John, would you pray for us? 02:19 Gracious Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, 02:21 for the privilege and opportunity 02:24 that You afford us to come into Your presence. 02:27 We pray that as we open the Word, 02:29 You'll open our hearts and pour into us. 02:30 Lord, send Your Holy Spirit to empower us. 02:34 May we make sense and may the words of our mouths 02:37 and the meditations of our hearts 02:39 be acceptable in Your sight. 02:41 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 02:43 Amen. 02:44 Our lesson is "Living the Gospel," 02:47 and I wanna start out with some questions. 02:49 Are we saved by grace or by works? 02:51 Grace. Grace, okay. 02:53 If works don't save us, what role do they play 02:56 in the life of the Christian 02:59 and how do we know if we're becoming legalistic? 03:02 Could we think we're saved by grace 03:05 yet somehow we're still clinging to works 03:08 for salvation? 03:09 Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart's deceitful 03:12 above all things and desperately wicked." 03:14 So that means could we be even self deceived 03:17 as to our assurance of salvation 03:20 and the method of salvation? 03:22 I think of Paul writing to the Galatians believers. 03:24 In Galatians 3:1, he said, "O foolish Galatians!" 03:27 In Greek it means, mindless or stupid. 03:30 That's a pretty strong word. 03:31 Oh, stupid believers 03:33 or brothers and sisters in Christ. 03:35 He says, having begun in the spirit, 03:37 are you now made perfect in the flesh? 03:39 In other words, they began with grace, 03:41 but then they somehow transitioned to believing 03:44 it was all about works. 03:46 Could even this quarter we're talking about 03:49 ministering to the least of these 03:51 and reaching out in service 03:53 to other people. 03:54 Could even our works of mercy and compassion 03:56 become works based instead of grace based? 04:02 I wanna talk just one moment about works versus grace. 04:05 Works say, "What I do has bearing on who I am." 04:10 Grace says, "Who I am has bearing on what I do." 04:14 Works say, "Actions are more important than motive." 04:18 Grace says, "Motive informs my actions." 04:22 Work say, "I am what 04:24 other people perceive me to be." 04:26 Grace says, "I am who God says I am." 04:29 Okay. 04:31 We're all in need of divine grace. 04:32 Isaiah 64:6, 04:34 "All our righteousness is as filthy rags." 04:37 The lesson had a great quote, this is from Faith and Works, 04:40 page 24, "If you would gather together 04:44 everything that is good and holy and noble 04:47 and lovely in man, 04:49 and then present the subject to the angels of God 04:52 as somehow acting a part in the salvation 04:55 of the human soul or in marriage, 04:57 the proposition would be rejected as treason." 05:01 That's how the angels would view 05:03 because our righteousness clearly is as filthy rags. 05:07 Love is the motive, 05:08 love is the reason for our existence. 05:10 It's the reason for service. 05:12 Our memory text, scripture is Ephesians 2:8-10, 05:17 "By grace you've been saved through faith, 05:20 that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. 05:23 Not of works, lest anyone should boast. 05:26 We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 05:29 for good works, 05:30 which God prepared beforehand 05:32 that we should walk in them." 05:35 On Sunday we look at God, for God so loved the world 05:37 and you could quote that scripture along with me. 05:40 We're going to John 3:16, 05:43 "For God so loved the world 05:46 that He gave His only begotten Son, 05:49 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 05:52 but have everlasting life." 05:56 So who's doing the giving? 05:58 In this verse, who does the giving? 06:00 God. God. 06:01 God so loved the world that He gave. 06:03 Often we think Jesus loved us and Jesus died for us. 06:07 But John 16:27 says, "The Father Himself loves you." 06:12 God loved so He gave. 06:14 And who is on the receiving end, 06:17 God is giving Jesus, who's receiving? 06:20 World. The world and we are. 06:23 God so loved the world, 06:26 everyone that whosoever believes in Him 06:30 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 06:33 And the conditions, what are the conditions 06:36 to receiving that everlasting life? 06:38 It is belief, right? 06:39 Whosoever should believe. 06:41 Now in the Greek, it's an interesting twist 06:44 on that word belief 06:45 'cause the verb tense indicates 06:47 those who are continuing to believe. 06:51 It's a constant action over time, 06:54 not at one particular point in time. 06:57 So in other words, we don't believe once 07:00 and we're saved for eternity. 07:02 It's a continual believing in Jesus. 07:06 And the result, whosoever believes in Him, 07:09 we don't perish, but we have everlasting life. 07:12 Now the lesson made a connection here 07:14 between the John 3:16 and Romans 8:20 and 23. 07:19 And let's turn there to Romans Chapter 8. 07:21 I hope that this connection will be clear to you 07:25 at home as well. 07:26 Romans Chapter 8, 07:27 we're going to verses 20 through 23. 07:29 Now, you all know Romans is one of 07:31 my personal favorite books of the Bible. 07:34 And I know Shelley and Pastor John 07:35 and maybe some of the rest of you, 07:37 it is yours as well. 07:38 Romans 1 through 4, Chapters 1 through 4 07:41 talks about the great sin of mankind in general, 07:45 and our need for righteousness and justification. 07:50 Romans 5-8, Christ, 07:52 our righteousness and sanctification. 07:55 Amen. 07:56 By the time we get to Romans Chapter 8. 07:57 To me, that's the pinnacle of the entire Book of Romans 08:01 because Romans 7 was all about, 08:02 I can't do it myself, and what am I gonna do, 08:05 but Romans 8 comes in. 08:08 We are powerless to keep the law, 08:10 but the Holy Spirit comes in, in Romans Chapter 8. 08:14 And we see that power 08:15 to keep the law of Christ in us, 08:18 the hope of glory. 08:19 The verses we're going to is verses 20 through 23. 08:22 But before we get there, 08:24 I wanna read verses 14 through 17. 08:26 So in Romans 8:14-17, the two concepts 08:30 that we're gonna be discussing here 08:32 is the context of suffering, and sonship, 08:36 and then the concept of groaning. 08:38 So those two concepts are even a little interrelated. 08:41 So hopefully, we can unpack that. 08:43 The context of suffering, Romans 8:14, 08:47 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, 08:50 these are the sons of God." 08:52 So from that I get that the Spirit of God 08:54 equals the spirit of sonship, 08:57 'cause if we're led by the Spirit of God, 08:59 we are the sons of God. 09:02 "For you to not receive 09:04 the Spirit of bondage again to fear, 09:05 but you receive the Spirit of adoption 09:08 by whom we cry out Abba, Father. 09:10 The Spirit himself bears 09:11 witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 09:14 And if children, then heirs," look at what's coming here, 09:17 "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if, indeed, 09:22 we suffer with him, 09:24 that we may also be glorified together." 09:27 Suffering is a necessary prerequisite 09:30 for entering into that full sonship. 09:33 We are fellow heirs with Christ if we suffer with Him, 09:38 but the benefits of sonship far outweigh 09:41 any price we pay for suffering. 09:43 The next verse, in verse 18, 09:45 "I consider the sufferings of this present time 09:47 are not worthy to be compared with the glory 09:49 which shall be revealed in us." 09:52 Now we transition from the concept of sonship 09:55 and suffering to groaning. 09:58 This is our verses 20 through 23. 10:01 There's three different groanings taking place, 10:04 creation's groaning, the Christian's groaning 10:08 and the Holy Spirit's groaning. 10:11 We're gonna look at all three of them. 10:13 Creation's groaning is in verse 19. 10:15 "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits 10:19 for the revealing of the sons of God." 10:22 Jump down to verse 22, 10:24 "For we know that the whole creation groans 10:26 and labors with birth pangs together until now." 10:30 The groaning of creation is you can say universal. 10:33 All of creation is groaning together, 10:36 the groaning is universal. 10:39 Then we see the Christians groaning in verses 23-25. 10:43 "Not only that, but we also 10:45 who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, 10:48 even we ourselves groan within ourselves, 10:51 eagerly waiting for the adoption, 10:53 the redemption of our body, for we were saved in this hope, 10:57 but hope that is seen is not hope. 10:59 For why does one still hope for what he sees? 11:02 But if we hope for what we see not, 11:04 we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." 11:08 In verse 23, we see that suffering and groaning 11:11 are linked to possessing the Holy Spirit, 11:16 'cause we had the firstfruits of the Spirit, 11:18 that's the Holy Spirit. 11:19 We ourselves also grown within ourselves. 11:23 The spirit within us bears witness 11:25 that we are the sons of God. 11:27 The spirit bears witness that we live, 11:30 the world we live in is not the kingdom of God yet 11:33 'cause we have not seen that. 11:35 Christian suffering and groaning are intensified, 11:38 because we're Christians 11:39 and the Spirit dwells within us. 11:42 Then we see the Holy Spirit's groaning in verse 26. 11:46 "Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. 11:50 For we do not know 11:52 what we should pray for as we ought, 11:54 but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us 11:57 with groaning which cannot be uttered." 12:02 So suffering leads to sonship 12:06 and groaning leads to glory. 12:09 We all experience some sort of pain. 12:12 We all experience some sort of tragedy 12:15 that unites us as brothers and sisters as believers, 12:18 but also just as people in general in the world 12:21 when it said, "God so loved the world." 12:24 That's not just the people we like. 12:27 It's nice to think, Mr. Danny, 12:28 that salvation is for my friends, 12:30 salvation is for my family, salvation is for those 12:33 that I like, but salvation is also for our enemies. 12:37 Salvation is for those people who have hurt us. 12:41 Salvation is for even those people 12:43 who we might be afraid of, that God calls 12:47 He gave His Son Jesus to this world, 12:51 so that you and I, each one of us have the hope 12:54 and the gift of eternal life. 12:58 We'll end with John 3:17, 13:00 "God did not send His Son into the world 13:03 to condemn the world not to judge, 13:06 but that the world through Him might be saved." 13:10 I'm so grateful for the gift of Jesus 13:13 and the gift of salvation not just for me 13:16 or the people that we like, but for the world as a whole. 13:20 Our Monday's lesson is compassion and repentance. 13:23 I may switch it around a little bit to repentance, 13:25 and then compassion because we're gonna be 13:28 looking at the story of man briefly 13:30 and maybe what's expected of us by our Creator God. 13:34 We're all born into a sin sick world. 13:36 Now, while we still bear the image of God, Ryan, 13:39 sin is in our lives. 13:41 It's the same nature as evil. 13:43 So we were born in the image of God, 13:45 but the sin in our lives is the same nature 13:48 as evil that causes so much pain, 13:50 oppression, exploitation all over the world. 13:53 In fact, no one is born perfect. 13:55 Our spiritual nature comes from Christ, 13:57 and we have an earthly or physical tendency 14:00 which is the result of sin. 14:02 Now everybody that I'm talking 14:04 to that has ever lived has dealt with this 14:06 great controversy that's going on 14:08 between good and evil. 14:09 They're good and evil, their powers, 14:12 God Christ on one side, the devil on the other, 14:15 all vying for our souls. 14:17 And so that's why we're tempted so often. 14:20 So what happens, the choice comes to us 14:23 as to where we will spend eternity 14:26 and what we will be able to do that 14:28 Jesus has asked us to do, in order to be a witness 14:31 to those around us. 14:33 No matter how hard we try to live spiritual, 14:35 we will still reap the consequences of sin. 14:38 Now, aging is a constant reminder 14:40 that we're all born 14:41 with a terminal illness called death. 14:43 You can see Ryan and I, 14:44 there's a big difference in our ages and so, 14:47 that's a result of sin. 14:49 Some things maybe I've done and things that's just born 14:51 into this world. 14:53 No one escapes death on their own 14:55 as death is caused by sin. 14:58 And sin is what? 14:59 It's the transgression of the law of God, 15:01 which separates us from our Creator God. 15:04 So the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is? 15:08 Eternal life. 15:09 Eternal life through Christ, Jesus, our Lord. 15:12 So once we repent, when we realize that 15:15 we're sinners and we get to certain age, 15:18 and we understand who Jesus is, and we say, 15:22 "I don't wanna live an evil life, 15:24 I wanna accept, I'm doing basic things here. 15:27 I wanna accept Jesus." 15:28 Now, some churches, they say, they get saved, 15:32 and we see young children, you know, from early ages, 15:35 sometimes they sprinkle. 15:36 You know, sometimes they baptize, 15:38 they do whatever. 15:39 But I think when we get to a certain age, 15:42 I know in my life, 15:43 I can go back to the time saying, 15:44 "Wow, I really want Jesus to be Lord of my life." 15:48 So each and every one of us 15:51 make that decision at some point. 15:52 When we do, we see that sin causes death 15:56 and as we just mentioned, but now we want eternal life. 16:00 So the Bible says in 1 John 1:9, 16:02 "If we confess our sins, 16:04 He is faithful and just to forgive us 16:07 from our sins and to cleanse us 16:08 from some of our unrighteousness." 16:10 All! 16:11 Okay, now, once this happens, Jesus says we should go 16:15 and tell what He's done for us. 16:17 But the Christian, 16:19 it should make a big difference. 16:20 Okay, the Bible says the rain falls 16:22 on the just as well as the unjust. 16:25 So that means if I go outside in a big storm, 16:29 now that I've just became a Christian 16:30 and got saved if some people want to use that term, 16:33 am I still gonna get wet? 16:35 Yes. Yeah, I'm gonna get wet. 16:36 Why? 16:38 Because I live, still live in a sinful world 16:40 because we are still separated from God by sin. 16:45 So we'll still go through the same storms of life, 16:47 but the difference is we'll have peace 16:49 in the midst of that storm. 16:51 If you're no longer taking it by yourself, 16:54 you're no longer facing that storm by yourself. 16:57 When I had open heart surgery this past year, 17:00 did a quadruple bypass, I was amazed that the piece 17:04 that I found when I was there, I didn't know how, 17:06 you know, no one knows how you'll act 17:08 and so when you're getting right to go into the surgery, 17:12 and you know, there's a team waiting 17:14 to basically take your heart out, 17:15 cut you open. 17:17 Ryan, that's not a very pretty feeling. 17:19 But I didn't know what I would do. 17:22 I just said, "Well, Lord, 17:23 we will take it one day at a time." 17:25 When I got up that morning, I said, 17:26 "This may be the last time that I did put 17:29 on these clothes on this earth." 17:30 But I decided you know what, I win either way, 17:33 because when I wake up, let's say that 17:36 I died during a surgery, 17:37 when I wake up the first face 17:39 that I see is that of Jesus Christ. 17:41 Amen. Amen. 17:42 Now that's a win, right? 17:43 We've read the back of the book. 17:45 It says they overcame him by the blood of the lamb 17:47 and the word of their testimony. 17:48 I didn't do it, 17:49 but Christ's righteousness in me and through me, 17:52 but we each have to allow Him to work in our lives, 17:56 to give us that hope of glory, that salvation and all we do 18:00 is accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life. 18:03 Then I've thought, well, if I die, you know, 18:06 I go to heaven when Jesus comes into second coming, 18:09 but if I live, hey, I get to stay here 18:11 and be with my wife and family and, John, 18:13 maybe even end up back on the basketball court again. 18:16 That's right. 18:17 So, once this happens, and we accept Jesus Christ, 18:20 Jesus says in Matthew 28:18-20, "Go ye into all the world." 18:25 So take the gospel to literally to all the world, 18:28 but the problem that we're finding today 18:30 in many churches and many of our own lives, 18:32 I've been there, maybe you're there now. 18:34 You can't share what you don't have. 18:36 That's right. 18:37 So that's why it's important to develop 18:39 that love relationship with Jesus Christ, 18:41 so we can be vessels of honor for Him. 18:43 So getting saved is not a onetime process, 18:46 when we get saved and then we live like the devil 18:48 the rest of our lives and always go back on to point, 18:51 "Well, hey, I was saved when I was nine years old 18:53 or eight years old." 18:55 Being saved is a process of sanctification, 18:58 that during our life, we endeavor, 19:01 as we talked about on other programs, 19:03 to do more than just talk. 19:04 So faith without works is dead, but we do our part. 19:08 There's nothing good in us. 19:09 But we endeavor to do our best to become Christlike, 19:12 then let God do the rest. 19:14 All I can do is say, "Lord, You take me the sinful 19:17 and human agent that I am. 19:19 And You help me as I grow from day to day to day, 19:23 getting closer to Lord Jesus Christ." 19:26 So sanctification is the work of a lifetime. 19:29 It's the act of perfecting our character, 19:31 of God perfecting our character 19:33 over a period of life here on earth, 19:35 so we can be more like Jesus. 19:38 Now, we talked about our greatest asset, 19:40 Ellen White says, 19:42 "it's our own personal testimony." 19:43 I think maybe Satan's greatest assets 19:46 are his advocates sitting in the church 19:48 pews every Sabbath and every Sunday. 19:51 Unconverted Christians do more harm 19:53 to the gospel than an atheist ever could. 19:56 This is a person 19:58 who am I talking about the unconverted Christian, 20:00 we've all been there. 20:01 So I'm not pointing fingers at those of you, 20:03 I've been sitting in the pew, there's been times in my life 20:06 where I'll admit, I've been in the pew not converted, 20:10 going to church every Sabbath, but not really converted. 20:13 Thank God for His love 20:14 and His compassion on all of us. 20:17 But this is a person who finds fault with everything 20:19 that anyone does in the church, 20:21 quick to oppose evangelism outreach 20:23 because he doesn't wanna drain the money 20:26 in the coffers, church coffers. 20:27 He is quick to condemn others on how they eat, 20:31 and how they dress, and how they act. 20:34 And yet he's slow to show love and compassion for the lost. 20:39 So I can tell you that some of the meanest 20:43 un-Christ like phone calls 20:44 we've ever gotten hasn't been coming from the Muslims, 20:47 and the Buddhists, and the atheists, 20:49 it's been coming from people who sat in church pews. 20:53 My time is slowly going, so I'm gonna jump up 20:56 to the part about compassion. 20:57 Once we submit and commit our lives to Jesus, 21:00 we continue to study and to pray, 21:02 then our responsibility, and our joy, 21:06 and our privilege is to show love 21:08 and compassion for a lost 21:09 and dying world just as Jesus did us, 21:12 because without John 3:16, we would have no future. 21:16 So it's our responsibility as Christians to love the lost 21:19 with compassion just as Jesus did. 21:21 We cannot rightly represent Jesus, 21:24 I wrote here, to a lost and dying world 21:26 if we don't have compassion for our fellowman. 21:29 Selfishness, greed, meanness, prejudice, 21:31 ignorance and carelessness, all it says all are at the root 21:36 of the world's evil. 21:37 I mean, all of these things, and justice, poverty, 21:40 oppression, confessing our sinfulness 21:42 is the first step in addressing this evil 21:45 as well as the first step 21:46 towards allowing the love of God 21:48 to take its rightful place in our hearts. 21:51 There are untold millions, untold millions people 21:54 looking for peace and joy that only Jesus can bring. 21:58 That's right. 21:59 They just don't know how to find it. 22:01 So how about your church? 22:03 When people come to your church, 22:04 will they find love and compassion for the lost? 22:07 Will you greet them in a way that they wanna come back, 22:11 they wanna be around you. 22:12 That's our response. We're here in Sabbath School. 22:14 It's our responsibility and privilege 22:17 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians 22:19 and maybe whatever church you go to, 22:21 that we show compassion and love for the lost. 22:26 Jesus was moved with compassion, 22:28 Matthew 9:36, so it's only following Christ. 22:31 Matthew 14:14, and John 11:35, where Jesus wept. 22:35 And so that's what we wanna be able to do. 22:37 I'm gonna go to the close. 22:39 I wrote a song some time ago, in compassion and love, 22:41 God looked down to earth, 22:43 then He sent His son born of a virgin birth. 22:45 He knew from creation what was to be 22:48 so with great love for man, He planned Calvary. 22:53 It's my hope and prayer that each one of us 22:55 can show love and compassion to those around us, 22:59 just as Jesus has us. 23:01 Amen, thank you so much Mr. Danny, 23:03 what a wonderful job. 23:06 God calls us to reach out in compassion to a lost 23:09 and dying world, I love that. 23:11 We're gonna take a short break, we'll be right back. 23:18 Ever wish you could watch 23:19 at 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:22 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:25 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:30 A clean design makes it easy 23:32 to find the program you're looking for. 23:34 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 23:38 so you can follow along. 23:39 Sharing is easy. 23:41 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 23:44 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 23:51 Welcome back to our study of Living the Gospel. 23:54 We're gonna pick it up 23:55 with Pastor Ryan Day on Tuesday, 23:57 "Grace and Good Works." 23:58 Thank you so much. 24:00 It was fantastic, Danny and Jill, 24:02 as always, I appreciate your insight. 24:05 We are going to be discussing the relationship 24:07 between grace and good works. 24:09 And this is probably maybe not so much 24:12 within the Adventist Church, 24:14 although it could be to certain extent, 24:15 but with throughout 24:17 the Christian world in its entirety, 24:18 this is probably one of the most controversial topics, 24:23 just because there's so many 24:24 different versions of the gospel 24:26 floating around in the Christian world today. 24:28 But we wanna set the record straight. 24:30 We wanna go to the Bible and let the Bible tell us 24:32 exactly what the proper relationship 24:34 between grace and good work should be. 24:37 And so I like how this lesson begins 24:39 because it gets right into it. 24:41 In fact, I put it right here in my notes. 24:42 The very first words of this lesson 24:44 is summarize Ephesians 2:8-10 in your own words 24:50 and then it goes on to say, what do these verses tell us 24:52 about the relationship between grace and good work? 24:54 So we're gonna begin in Ephesians 2:8-10. 25:00 And actually how I'm gonna approach this topic 25:02 is I'm going to basically very quickly 25:04 early on in my particular segment, 25:06 I'm going to identify from a biblical perspective 25:10 exactly what this relationship 25:11 between grace and good works is. 25:13 And then the remainder of the time I'm gonna use 25:15 just to further establish 25:16 through different biblical authors 25:18 and servants of the Lord within scripture. 25:21 What they have to say on the subject 25:22 just to further confirm exactly what the Bible teaches. 25:25 So Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us, 25:30 "For by grace, you have been saved through faith," 25:33 and I just want to pause there. 25:35 What does the Bible teach us on how we are saved? 25:38 We are saved by? Grace. 25:39 We are saved by grace through faith, 25:42 and I like what it continues to say, 25:44 "And not that of yourselves," 25:45 because we can't save ourselves. 25:47 We know the Bible teaches that. 25:48 It is the gift of God. 25:50 Grace, the salvation that comes by grace 25:53 from God is a gift. 25:55 And he goes on to say in verse 9, 25:57 "Not of works, lest anyone should boast." 25:59 So can we work our way to heaven? 26:01 No. 26:02 Do we take that works approach to salvation? 26:04 Absolutely not, for we are saved by grace 26:06 again and again. 26:08 It goes on in verse 10, to say, notice, 26:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 26:15 for good works, 26:16 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 26:21 And I just wanna pause there. 26:22 Many people remember and are very quick 26:25 to memorize Ephesians 2:8-9, 26:30 but they don't follow up with verse 10. 26:32 Verse 10 is the response 26:34 to what Paul says in verses 8 and 9. 26:36 Many people are quick to say, oh, no, no, 26:37 we're not saved by the law. 26:39 We're saved by grace through faith alone but yet, 26:42 when you go through on to verse 10, 26:45 we understand that there still is a major aspect 26:48 of works that plays a major role 26:51 in the salvation experience 26:52 and in the Christian experience on a daily basis. 26:55 We know that we are not saved by the works 26:58 but yet the works are result from us, 27:00 or of us being saved by God. 27:02 In fact, there's another text that I have very rarely heard 27:05 ever any minister really preach on 27:08 or mention in reference to this particular subject 27:11 and that's found in the opening verses 27:13 of Romans Chapter 1. 27:14 We've spoken a lot about the Book of Romans. 27:16 And I like how Paul, he isn't, he's not messing around. 27:19 He just gets, he just cuts right to the chase early on 27:22 in the Book of Romans. 27:23 And I'm gonna start with verse 3, 27:25 and work my way to verse 5. 27:28 Notice what the Bible says, Romans 1:3-5, 27:31 "Concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, 27:34 who was born of the seed of David, 27:36 according to the flesh, 27:38 and declared to be the Son of God 27:40 with power according to the Spirit 27:42 of holiness, 27:43 by the resurrection from the dead." 27:45 Notice verse 5 though, this is the key verse. 27:48 "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship." 27:54 Why? How? Obedience. 27:56 "For obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 28:01 among whom you are called, 28:03 are they called of Jesus Christ." 28:05 So we are, notice here, it says, "Through Him, 28:08 we have received grace, we are saved by grace." 28:12 But why does God bestow that salvation or grace upon us 28:15 for what he says? 28:16 For obedience to the faith. 28:18 So does works play a major role in the Christian experience? 28:23 Absolutely. 28:24 And what we wanna establish 28:25 is what is that proper relationship 28:27 and I think that, I think we have kind of 28:29 already answered that question. 28:32 We are not saved by works, 28:34 but we were saved by grace through faith 28:36 but once you have been saved by grace, 28:39 and God has shown His divine favor upon you, 28:42 and He has justified you in His side 28:44 because you have received 28:45 Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 28:47 Now, the natural response of a Christian should be 28:50 that you show forth a life of good works 28:54 because you have been saved in Jesus Christ. 28:56 Now what I want to do is, I want to go through 28:58 and highlight a few Bible characters, 29:00 Bible writers that actually support exactly 29:03 what we have just said. 29:04 Let's consider James, of course, we can't 29:06 talk about this subject without considering what James, 29:10 the beloved brother or half brother of Jesus 29:12 says in this subject. 29:13 So I'm finding myself in James 2:14-17, 29:18 we've read this many times I think throughout the series, 29:20 but I just wanna highlight it again. 29:22 In verse 14, James says, "What does it profit my brother 29:25 and if someone says, he has faith, 29:28 but does not have works?" 29:30 Can faith save him? 29:32 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 29:36 and one of you says to them, 29:38 'Depart in peace be warmed and filled,' 29:41 but you do not give them 29:42 the things which are needed for the body, 29:44 what does it profit." 29:46 And then verse 17, "Thus also faith by itself, 29:50 if it does not have works, is dead." 29:53 So what is James saying here? 29:54 Is he's saying that, you know, just toss faith aside 29:56 that it's not important? 29:58 No, no, what he's saying here is he saying, 29:59 "Look, you can tell me all day long 30:01 that you are a saved Christian, 30:03 because you've been saved by grace through faith." 30:05 He says, "But I'm not going to know that 30:07 I'm not going to believe that until I see 30:09 the fruit of a Christian." 30:10 And that you can go out and point to a tree and say 30:12 that's an apple tree, Danny. 30:13 But until I see that there's apples growing on, 30:15 and I'm not going to believe that it's an apple tree. 30:17 The same thing applies to a Christian. 30:19 We show forth the life and the salvation 30:23 that Christ has bestowed upon us 30:24 because and we want to follow through 30:27 with those good works because He has saved us. 30:30 What better person to go to on this subject 30:34 than the Creator Himself, Jesus Christ. 30:36 Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21. 30:40 He says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', 30:42 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 30:44 but he who, notice, 30:46 does the will of my Father in heaven." 30:49 So there is a doing factor that Christ 30:52 absolutely is looking forward to. 30:53 In fact, we know in Revelation, 30:55 He tells us that He is coming back 30:57 and He's going to bring the reward of the wicked 30:59 according to their works. 31:01 So again, we are judged by our works, 31:03 because the works tell the story of the faith 31:06 that is within us and the salvation 31:08 that God has bestowed upon us if we've received it, 31:10 or we have not properly received it. 31:12 Notice again, John Chapter 14. 31:15 And I'm gonna be looking at verses 15, verse 21, 23 and 24 31:19 within the 14th Chapter of John. 31:21 So we know what John 14:15 says, 31:23 it's that famous verse we often quote, Jesus says, 31:26 "If you love Me, keep my...?" 31:28 "Commandments." 31:30 Okay, so the obedience factor is there 31:31 and notice how Christ automatically applies 31:34 that this is a love issue. 31:36 It's not necessarily, you're keeping the commandments 31:39 because you're working your way to heaven. 31:40 Christ says, "Look, I know that you love Me, 31:43 if you're obedient to Me, if you keep My commandments." 31:45 And then in verse 21, He says, "He who has My commandments 31:48 and keeps them it is he who loves Me, 31:51 and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, 31:54 and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 31:57 So again, that love factor. 31:58 It's all about love, if you love Him 32:00 you will follow through in obedience. 32:02 Verse 23-24, He says, 32:05 "Jesus answered and said to them, 32:06 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word 32:09 and My Father will love him, 32:10 and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 32:13 He who does not love Me does not keep My words 32:16 and the word which you hear is not of mine, 32:18 but the Father who sent me." 32:20 So again, Christ confirms that, yes, 32:22 while you are saved by His love and grace, 32:24 He still expects us to follow 32:26 through in obedience in the faith 32:28 by following through with those good works. 32:30 How about John, 32:32 the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ? 32:35 1 John 4:19 again confirms this whole love connection 32:39 and obedience to God. 32:40 He says, "We love him" 32:42 in verse 19 of Chapter 4 of 1 John, he says, 32:45 "We love Him because He first..." 32:47 "Loved us." But how would we know that? 32:49 He died for us. 32:51 Jesus could show up all day long, 32:52 God could show up to humanity to say, 32:53 Oh, I love you. 32:55 But how did He show us that love? 32:56 How did He bestow upon us that love? 32:58 Notice verses 7-11, He says, 33:00 "Beloved, let us love one another, 33:02 for love is of God and everyone who loves 33:05 is born of God and knows God. 33:07 He who does not love does not know God, 33:09 for God is love." 33:11 And then notice what it continues to say. 33:13 "In this, the love of God was manifest towards us, 33:17 that God has sent His only begotten Son 33:20 into the world that we might live through Him 33:23 and this is love not that we loved God, 33:25 but that He loved us and sent His Son 33:28 to be the propitiation for our sins. 33:31 Beloved, if God so loved us, 33:33 we also ought to love one another." 33:35 So to put the cherry or the cap on this whole thing. 33:39 This relationship between grace and works, 33:44 it's like a hand and the glove. 33:45 You can't have one without the other. 33:47 God has bestowed His divine loving favor upon you 33:49 and He has saved you by His love and grace. 33:52 But now in response to that, 33:54 He wants us to go work in the world. 33:56 He wants us to show forth that love from us 33:59 to others by working the good work 34:01 that Christ worked while He was here. 34:03 Amen. Amen. 34:04 Thank you, Ryan, thank you so much. 34:06 There's so much in here that we can grab from it. 34:08 And in some sense, some of the lessons cover 34:11 in a similar approach to what we're talking about. 34:16 Mine is Wednesday, "Our Common Humanity." 34:24 What I've noticed in this is what the writer approaches 34:27 and what the writer addresses is, 34:30 are the obstacles that often prevent the community 34:34 from having a common connection 34:37 and that's something that you find in the gospels, 34:39 you find that a couple of examples, 34:42 I'll go to one particular instance, 34:45 when Jesus met the woman at the well. 34:48 The obstacle was, He sent His disciples away 34:51 because He knew that they would be an obstacle 34:54 to reaching out to the Samaritan. 34:56 We talked about the hierarchy of the way 34:59 that the people viewed each other and the Samaritans, 35:04 if you look at John 4:9, when Jesus asked, 35:07 you know, give me something to drink. 35:10 She says in verse 9, 35:12 "Then the woman of Samaria said to him, 35:16 'How is it that you being a Jew.'" 35:19 By the way, she points out His ethnicity, 35:21 His nationality, ask a drink from me, 35:24 a Samaritan woman, "for the Jews 35:27 have no dealings with the Samaritans." 35:30 So He had to send His disciples away because He knew that 35:34 if His disciples were there, 35:36 it would be a roadblock to reaching this woman 35:38 with the gospel because they had this mindset 35:41 that carried on throughout even the time that 35:43 Jesus was working with him, 35:45 this mindset still needed to be addressed. 35:49 They had to get away from the idea. 35:52 And that's why they had to get away 35:54 from the idea that other nations 35:55 was subservient to the Jewish culture, 35:58 that other nations were beneath them 36:00 and that's one of the roadblocks 36:01 in the Old Testament why the Jews 36:03 really never reached out to other nations. 36:05 The Lord gave them the responsibility 36:07 of carrying the gospel, 36:09 but they believed that the gospel belong to them. 36:10 Right. 36:12 So I want to say, to clarify something, 36:14 we don't have the truth, the truth has us. 36:17 That's good. 36:18 All together, we don't have the truth, 36:20 the truth has us. 36:21 It's like saying, well, that's my plane. 36:23 No, we're in, the plane is carrying us, 36:25 we are not carrying the plane. 36:27 It is the gospel that's carrying us, 36:29 we're not carrying the gospel. 36:31 It's the power of Christ that's carrying us, 36:33 we're not carrying the power of Christ. 36:34 That's right. And you find that when... 36:36 I forgot the name of the gentleman 36:38 that saw the power of the apostles, and he said, 36:41 "How much is it gonna cost me?" 36:43 And the devil turned him inside out, 36:48 because he tried to buy the gospel. 36:50 But one of the roadblocks that you find clearly 36:53 that was pointed out in the lesson is that, 36:56 and I'll read the introduction of the lesson here, 36:58 by his ministry and His teachings, 37:00 Jesus urged a radical inclusiveness. 37:03 And that's something that was very difficult 37:05 because you're telling the New Testament believers 37:07 now to be inclusive. 37:08 And they're thinking, "Does that mean?" 37:12 And then the gospel began to go throughout the whole world. 37:14 Jesus showed the inclusiveness of it, 37:17 even by sending Stephen, 37:22 Philip to join himself to the Ethiopian eunuch. 37:26 Philip means a lover of horses, and who better would have been 37:29 excited about seeing a royal Steve than Philip. 37:32 He said, "What a beautiful horse. 37:34 Oh, by the way, what are you reading?" 37:35 And the gospel went to Ethiopia 37:37 and outside of the Jewish nation, 37:39 they've kept the Sabbath almost as long 37:41 because the gospel went to them 37:43 broke down that era of inclusiveness, 37:46 I mean exclusiveness and made it inclusive. 37:48 Right. 37:50 Another example you find is the Book of Acts Chapter 10. 37:53 Let's go there, Acts Chapter 10, 37:55 the Lord had to, Peter had so many obstacles 37:59 in his life to overcome. 38:01 It was just, you know, you kind of saying to Peter, 38:04 "Peter, would you just stop talking? 38:06 Peter, would you listen for a moment?" 38:08 And the Lord had to, what I liked about the Lord 38:11 is that He continually addressed Peter 38:14 in those weak moments of his life 38:15 because He already planned for Peter to be the speaker 38:19 on the day of Pentecost. 38:21 You think about that. 38:22 Peter was the one that preached on the day of Pentecost, 38:24 what did he preach? 38:25 Repent. 38:27 And be converted. 38:28 And be converted, which is exactly 38:29 what he experienced not too long before that, 38:31 repentance and conversion. 38:33 From that point on, the Lord still had 38:35 one more obstacle in Peter's life, 38:37 and it's addressed in Acts 10:9, 38:40 "The next day as they went on their journey 38:42 and drew near the city, 38:44 Peter went up on the house top to pray 38:45 about the sixth hour, and then he became very hungry 38:48 and wanted to eat. 38:50 While they made ready, he fell into a trance 38:51 and saw heaven open and an object like 38:54 a great sheet down at four corners descending to him 38:57 and let down to the earth. 38:59 In it were all kinds of 39:01 four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, 39:04 creeping things and birds of the air." 39:06 And by the way, let me pause right there. 39:07 And remember one of the instances 39:09 where a woman that was not a Jew 39:10 came to Jesus and they said to Him, 39:13 "Why are you gonna cast your pearls to the swine? 39:16 Why are you going to give your food to the dogs?" 39:18 They continually looked at non Jews 39:20 or Gentiles as not even worthy of the gospel. 39:23 So the Lord says, 39:24 "I got to get it out of your head 39:25 because we got to use you on a broader scale." 39:27 That's right. So he says, on verse 12. 39:32 I read verse 12 now, verse 13, "And a voice came to him, 39:35 'Rise, Peter, kill and eat.' 39:37 And Peter said, 'Not so Lord, 39:39 for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.' 39:43 And the voice spoke to him again the second time, 39:46 'What God has cleansed, you must not call common.'" 39:48 We have to make it 39:50 an evangelistic plug right here. 39:51 This was not the lifting of dietary restrictions 39:54 on unclean foods. 39:55 That's right. 39:57 This is not saying if it crawls, 39:58 hit it with a hammer and eat it. 40:00 That's right. That's not what it was saying. 40:01 What this was saying is not about 40:03 what you're eating, it's about what's eating you. 40:05 That's right. 40:06 It's not what's going into your stomach, 40:08 what's coming out of your mouth. 40:10 It's not your dietary restrictions 40:13 Peter that I'm concerned, 40:14 it's about your racial discrimination. 40:17 And Peter had to get past that. 40:19 Even the Jewish leaders, they were so bent out 40:21 of shape by Peter saying, "I got to go see Cornelius." 40:24 They sent a contingency just to prove 40:27 that he was not going to this Gentile's house 40:30 for distorted reasons. 40:32 Him going to the Gentile's house, 40:34 so the vision continues. 40:36 Verse 16, "This was done three times 40:38 and the object was taken up into heaven again. 40:40 Now while Peter wonder within himself 40:42 what this vision which he had seen meant, 40:44 behold, a man who been sent from Cornelius had made 40:47 inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate, 40:50 and they called and asked whether Simon 40:52 whose surname was Peter was lodging there. 40:54 While Peter thought about division, 40:56 the Spirit said, 'And behold, 40:57 three men are seeking you, arise, 40:59 therefore go down and go with him 41:01 doubting nothing for I have sent you.'" 41:03 And later on, when he got to Cornelius's house, 41:06 we find the crux of the verse in 28. 41:09 Then he said to them, because the Jews had 41:11 a really difficult time, 41:12 "You know how unlawful it is 41:14 for a Jewish man to keep company or to go 41:16 to one of another nation. 41:18 But God has shown me that I should not call 41:21 any man common or unclean." 41:24 That's right. 41:26 And so this inclusiveness for the inclusiveness to work, 41:30 the Lord had to break down barriers and today, 41:32 what has the devil done? 41:33 He's made denominational barriers, 41:35 which can be broken down, 41:38 if we let the gospel be the focus 41:40 and not the denominational tag. 41:43 Oh, you're Baptist, you're Pentecostal, 41:44 you're Methodist, you're Presbyterian. 41:46 As one pastor said to me and once he said, 41:47 "I got my verses to back up." 41:49 What I believe you have your verses to back up 41:51 what you believe. 41:53 I said to him, Pastor, 41:54 "I don't have any verses and neither do you 41:56 and the Bible doesn't back up opposing views." 41:58 If we let God's Word speak, 42:00 then God's Word will be our guide. 42:01 Amen. 42:03 And so today, 42:04 the Lord talks about this inclusiveness. 42:06 Another example you found in Acts Chapter 13, 42:09 let's go there quickly, verse 42-46. 42:13 "The gospel was being proclaimed with tenacity. 42:16 And what I'm addressing here is the very issue 42:18 that the Jews had. 42:20 So when the Jews went out Paul and Barnabas preaching, 42:23 the Gentiles begged that these words might be 42:25 preached to them the next Sabbath. 42:27 Now when the congregation had broken up, 42:28 many of the Jews and devout proselytize, 42:30 as converts follow Paul and Barnabas, 42:32 who's speaking to them, persuaded them 42:34 to continue in the grace of God." 42:35 Good sermon, Ryan? 42:36 What a message Amen. 42:38 Danny, what a powerful song you sang. 42:41 On the next Sabbath, Ryan and Danny 42:43 did the same thing but a different reaction. 42:45 On the next Sabbath, almost the whole city 42:48 came together to hear the Word of God, 42:50 but when the Jews saw the multitudes 42:52 they were filled with envy 42:54 and contradicting and blaspheming. 42:56 They oppose the things spoken by Paul. 43:00 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, 43:03 "It was necessary that the Word of God 43:05 should be spoken to you first. 43:07 But seeing you rejected and judge yourselves 43:09 unworthy of everlasting life, 43:10 behold, we turn to the Gentiles." 43:12 In the next verse. That's right. 43:14 "So the Lord has commanded us, 43:16 I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, 43:19 you should be for salvation to the end of the earth." 43:22 And what did the Gentiles do? 43:24 It says, "Now when the Gentiles heard this, 43:26 they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, 43:29 and as many head as had been appointed 43:31 to the eternal life, believed." 43:33 So here's the key, if we walk in the light, 43:35 this is where fellowship begins. 43:37 Fellowship is not an international thing, 43:39 fellowship is internationally exclusive. 43:42 Fellowship includes everyone but here are the parameters. 43:44 Are you ready? 43:45 The parameters are this, 1 John 1:6-7. 43:50 Actually, I'll just do verse 7. 43:52 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 43:57 we have fellowship with one another 44:00 and the blood of Jesus Christ 44:01 His Son cleanses us from all sin." 44:04 You got to walk in the light 44:05 and the fellowship will be the gift. 44:08 Amen. 44:09 You know, I love having Thursday's lesson 44:11 because I get to build on everybody else 44:13 and it's been so great. 44:14 You're gleaning now. 44:16 I'm gleaning, yes, okay. 44:17 Thursday's is the everlasting gospel 44:21 and I first have to say that Malachi 3:6, 44:24 "The Lord says, 'I am the Lord, I changed not.'" 44:28 Then Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus is the same yesterday, 44:33 today and forever. 44:34 He is an unchanging God with an unchanging gospel." 44:39 We're going to look at Revelation Chapter 14, 44:43 Revelation 14:6-7. 44:48 And this is the three angels' messages. 44:52 This is where this network got its name. 44:55 It's from Revelation 14 and verse 6 says, 44:59 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven," 45:03 having what? 45:04 "The everlasting gospel to preach to those 45:07 who dwell on the earth, 45:09 to every nation, tribe, tongue 45:10 and people saying with a loud voice, 45:13 'Fear God and give glory to Him, 45:16 for the hour of His judgment has come 45:19 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 45:22 the sea and the springs of water.'" 45:25 What is the everlasting gospel? 45:30 We're not gonna take time to turn there 45:31 but Revelation 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ was the Lamb 45:37 who was slain 45:38 from the foundation of the earth 45:40 before time ever began, before God created this earth. 45:45 He had the Calvary plan in mind, 45:50 this was His salvation. 45:52 Hebrews 13:26 says that, 45:55 "Jesus' blood is the blood of the everlasting covenant." 45:59 He says, Hebrews 13:20, "Now may the God of peace, 46:03 who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, 46:06 that great shepherd of the sheep, 46:08 through the blood 46:10 of the everlasting covenant." 46:15 The covenant of grace was established by God 46:21 for redemption before time ever began. 46:25 It has never been salvation by works. 46:28 You know, some people think that the Old Testament 46:30 was salvation by works. 46:32 That is not the truth. 46:34 The everlasting Gospel of Revelation 14:6 46:38 was preached to Adam and Eve in the Garden in Genesis 3:15, 46:43 "When God came, and he said to them, 46:46 and said to the serpent after they fell, he said, 46:48 "I will put enmity between you and the woman, 46:52 between your seed and her seed." 46:55 "He shall bruise your head, 46:58 and you shall bruise his heel." 47:01 "See, do you remember 47:03 when Jesus said it's in John 8:56." 47:07 He told the Pharisees, your father Abraham 47:12 saw my day and he was glad. 47:15 Ah, they were so upset. 47:16 It was like Jesus is calling Himself. 47:19 You know, you're 33 years old. 47:22 You're saying that You've seen Abraham 47:24 and Abraham has seen your day. 47:27 In Genesis 15, is when God put Abraham 47:32 into a deep sleep, remember? 47:34 And he had the animal's chaff and God was the only one 47:38 that passed between these chaffs. 47:40 He was creating a covenant of grace. 47:42 And we know that Abraham, 47:44 the salvation and righteousness, 47:48 justification by faith was made with Abraham. 47:53 And when Genesis 22:8, 47:57 when Abraham took his son Isaac 48:03 to Mount Moriah and God said, "Offer him up as a sacrifice." 48:08 You know, I believe, Abraham had already seen 48:12 God's day, I mean Christ's day. 48:14 And Hebrews Chapter 11 tells us that Abraham reckoned, 48:19 well, even if He kills him, He's gonna bring him, 48:22 He's gonna resurrect him. 48:23 So Abraham knew 48:25 that he knew and he told his son, 48:28 he said, "My Son, God will provide Himself 48:32 the lamb for a burnt offering." 48:35 Everything you see throughout the New or Old Testament, 48:38 we see the story of Abraham, 48:40 it's all salvation by grace through faith. 48:42 When you see the sanctuary, you know, it's salvation 48:46 by grace through faith, 48:48 and that was theology in physical form. 48:51 So what God did is every one of His covenants 48:55 is just an unfolding revelation, 48:58 a progression of understanding 49:01 of salvation by grace through faith. 49:04 Jeremiah 33:16. 49:07 Jeremiah said, "The Lord, our righteousness, 49:10 he knew it was salvation by grace through faith." 49:13 Isaiah 64:6 says, 49:15 "That the best you and I can do, 49:17 our righteousness is like filthy rags. 49:20 It's always been righteousness by faith." 49:23 Salvation, the Bible says 49:26 both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, 49:29 salvation belongs to the Lord. 49:31 That's the everlasting gospel. 49:33 So when we get to Revelation 14:6-7, 49:37 and it says that this angel comes forth 49:41 with the everlasting gospel, and unchanging God 49:45 has an unchanging message and unchanging gospel, 49:49 and it will give assurance 49:51 of salvation to all who receive it. 49:56 What I love about the gospel is 49:58 it reveals the unchanging love of God 50:02 and everyone needs to have a chance to hear this. 50:05 That's right. 50:07 You know, I just want to take this moment. 50:09 And I don't do this on this program. 50:11 But thank you for those of you who support 3ABN. 50:16 We are taking the everlasting gospel into the world. 50:20 And we see the fruit of it every day, 50:23 it comes with letters, emails, prisoners, phone calls, 50:28 people who are joining the church, 50:30 people returned to the church, 50:32 people who are accepting Christ for the first time and you, 50:37 your support makes this possible 50:40 to take this message. 50:42 In Ephesians 1:4-5, 50:46 I love this and it's something 50:49 that's so interesting, He says, "He chose us in Him." 50:53 This is Ephesians 1:4-5, 50:57 "Before the foundation of the world 51:01 that we should be holy and without blame before Him 51:04 in love having predestined us," 51:09 Do we believe in predestination not in the sense 51:12 that God is saying, 51:14 okay, 1, 2, 3, 4, you're saved, 1, 2, 3, 4, you're saved. 51:18 No, but He predestined us to be conformed 51:22 to the image of His son, 51:24 and to adoptions as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, 51:28 according to the good pleasure 51:32 of His will. 51:35 He chose us before we were ever born, 51:40 that anyone who would accept His Son 51:43 and oh, his heart is that all would accept His son 51:46 that this act of salvation that He was pouring out 51:50 that we could be called the children of God. 51:54 You know, he tells us in 2 Timothy 1:9 51:58 that this salvation was before time began. 52:03 You know that they have proven 52:06 and I'm trying to think of the branch of science, 52:08 I'm too sleepy. Who is it? 52:13 Okay, not a chemist but a... 52:16 Physicist? Not a biologist. 52:18 Thank you. 52:20 Physicists have proven time did not exist 52:24 before our world was created. 52:27 Now, ain't that fascinating? 52:29 So there's several times that the Bible tells 52:32 before time began, before time began. 52:34 The Bible always said that time didn't begin until our world, 52:38 but God had this plan for us 52:43 before time began. 52:45 Our lesson points out a couple of interesting points 52:49 that I want to hit. 52:50 Revelation 14:7, it says, 52:53 brings together three key elements 52:56 that we've already studied about concerning God's feelings 53:01 about evil, poverty, oppression and throughout the Bible story. 53:05 This one, Revelation 14:7 is bringing out judgment, 53:09 the appeal for judgment for justice to be done. 53:12 There's still the blood. 53:15 This is metaphorically speaking the blood 53:17 of the saints crying out, 53:19 how long, oh Lord, before You bring us justice. 53:23 We see it's coming. 53:25 The second thing that Revelation 14:7 brings out 53:29 is worship, and we've been studying that worship 53:34 that God desires most are the acts of kindness 53:38 and love for the poor 53:40 and the needy and then creation. 53:44 I'll read this very quickly. 53:46 God's call for justice is the common family 53:50 of humanity that we are created in His image 53:54 and love by Him 53:55 that we all have value in His sight 53:57 that no one should be exploited or expressed 54:00 for the unjust gain and greed of another. 54:03 It seems clear that this in time proclamation 54:06 of the gospel is a broad and far reaching call 54:11 to accept the rescue, redemption, 54:14 and restoration that God wants for fallen humanity. 54:20 Amen. 54:21 Thank you so much, Shelley, each one of you, 54:23 what an incredible job. 54:24 I love seeing the gospel from Genesis 3:15, 54:28 that first messianic promise all the way to Revelation, 54:32 and you see it interwoven throughout the entire Bible. 54:35 We have a few moments, 54:37 we actually have a few extra moments I think 54:39 so feel free to take time and share a closing thought. 54:42 Well, I would just like to say, I'm so thankful for John 3:16, 54:46 for God so loved the world. 54:48 You can say it with me there in the audience and here too, 54:50 "For God so loved the world 54:52 that He gave His only begotten Son, 54:55 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 54:59 but have an everlasting life." 55:01 Amen. What a great promise. 55:03 Thank you, Jesus. 55:04 Amen. Praise the Lord. 55:05 Pertaining to my particular day, 55:07 grace and works, 55:08 I found this incredibly powerful quote 55:11 in the book Faith and Works, 55:14 and this is what it says, 55:15 "God's promises are all made upon conditions. 55:18 If we do His will, if we walk in truth, 55:21 then we may ask what we will 55:23 and it shall be done unto us 55:25 while we earnestly endeavor to be obedient, 55:28 God will hear our petitions, 55:30 but He will not bless us in disobedience. 55:33 If we choose to disobey His commandments, we may cry, 55:36 faith, faith only have faith and the response will come back 55:41 from the sure word of God. 55:42 Faith without works is dead. 55:45 Such faith will only be as sounding brass 55:48 and as tinkling cymbal in order to have the benefits 55:51 of God's grace, we must do our part. 55:53 We must faithfully work and bring forth fruits 55:56 meet for repentance." 55:57 Amen. 55:58 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit," 56:01 talking about common community, 56:03 "we were all baptized into one body, 56:05 whether Jew or Greek, whether slave or free, 56:08 all have been made to drink into one Spirit." 56:11 We are not united by a common proxy 56:13 but by divine provision. 56:17 Oh, that's good. 56:18 Amen. 56:21 I guess all I could say is this. 56:25 Do you have any idea how much God loves you? 56:28 You are worth nothing less to Him than the price 56:31 that He paid for you 56:32 with the precious blood of His Son, 56:35 Jesus Christ. 56:36 And He wants more than anything to adopt you as His child, 56:41 to have you spend eternity with Him. 56:45 And it is all salvation is by grace through faith. 56:50 But obedience is by grace too. 56:53 It is as God works in us to will and to do His good 56:56 pleasure by the power of His Holy Spirit 56:59 that He will complete the good work 57:01 He has begun in us. 57:03 Amen. Amen. 57:04 Thank you all so much. Thank you, Danny. 57:05 Thank you, Pastor Ryan, Pastor John, and Shelley, 57:08 thank you for sharing your heart 57:10 and the Word of God with each one of us. 57:12 And we thank you for joining us as well. 57:14 I wanna leave you with a closing scripture. 57:16 This is from the Sermon on the Mount. 57:18 Matthew 5:16, Jesus speaking, 57:22 "Let your light so shine before men, 57:25 that they may see your good works 57:27 and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 57:30 'We talk a great deal about preaching the gospel 57:33 and that is vitally important that we proclaim 57:36 an undiluted three angels' messages. 57:39 That's what this station is all about. 57:41 But at the same time, 57:43 we are called to live the gospel. 57:45 We're called to show forth the praises of Him 57:48 who called us out of darkness into this marvelous light. 57:52 We thank you so much for joining us here 57:55 on 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 57:57 Join us next week for Living the Advent Hope. |
Revised 2019-09-10