Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190045A
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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." 00:08 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:31 Hello, and welcome once again to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:34 What a delight, what a privilege 00:37 to be able to come into your home, 00:39 wherever it might be 00:40 that we can spend this hour together in study. 00:44 We're always excited about the thought 00:47 that people are taking the Word of God, 00:49 they're opening it up, 00:51 they're reading it along with us, 00:53 and we hear about it. 00:55 And that's to me, that's just exciting to know 00:57 that God's given opportunities in probation, 00:59 people are finding Jesus in a very special way. 01:02 And so I think that's great to do it. 01:04 And I just hope that you're having 01:05 that just a wonderful day right now. 01:06 And I'll tell you this, 01:08 if you will stay with us this hour, 01:09 I can almost guarantee you that this day will be better 01:12 and it will go better for you. 01:14 I'm Kenny Shelton. 01:16 We've been studying about Ezra and Nehemiah this quarter. 01:20 Might be honest, you know, 01:21 I wonder where some meat was gonna be. 01:24 And, boy, there's a lot of meat in it. 01:26 Yes, yes. 01:27 You know, it's like, you know, we've time we look at something 01:29 we say, "Well, let's not, you know, this." 01:31 It's been how much you wanna dig into it, 01:33 how much you wanna, you know, spend time in it. 01:35 So it's been very, very fruitful, very meaty, 01:39 and praise God for that. 01:41 So again, anyway, we're glad that you're with us. 01:42 We're gonna be on lesson number six. 01:44 And it's about Reading the Word. 01:46 I think that's what's kind of getting me going here 01:47 Reading the Word 01:49 and what it really means to be Reading the Word 01:51 because we're looking at it. 01:53 In this lesson, we're looking at something very important 01:57 if how have Israel now have they come to the point 02:02 that they want to serve God? 02:05 So what are some of the things 02:06 that we can do to maintain a relationship with God? 02:10 And I think some of these things 02:11 will be brought out in this. 02:13 Again, if you wanna follow along, 02:14 and we know that you are and there's many others 02:16 who may like to notify your friends 02:18 and so on, you can do that, 02:19 you can download these study guides, 02:21 I think so very important to have these guides. 02:24 And I'm a stickler on it. 02:25 Personally, I like to have guides, 02:26 I like to have something I can scribble in, 02:28 and color, and so on so forth. 02:31 You can do that. You can download them. 02:33 You can go to ABSG.Adventist.org. 02:37 That's ABSG.Adventist.org. 02:41 And if you do that and download these, 02:43 you're gonna get the study guides. 02:44 They're free, aren't they? I mean, they're just free. 02:46 That's right. 02:47 You know, almost every time I hear somebody say, 02:49 "Free, it's not really free owned," 02:50 but it's free. 02:52 This is good. Can I say free again? 02:53 It's free. Just download them. 02:55 That's all you have to do. 02:56 You have to put before the laver 02:58 if you wanna be blessed. 02:59 Anyway, we're glad you're here. 03:01 We're gonna discover Israel 03:02 and how it's determined to serve God. 03:05 And we got wonderful panel which do that. 03:07 To my left is Sister Shelley Quinn. 03:09 Bless you. 03:11 We're glad you're here always a treat. 03:12 Oh, you know what I love about the Sabbath Panel 03:14 is it does force us to study deeper, 03:16 and I'm always so blessed by my study 03:19 and in the study of others. 03:20 Amen. Good. 03:22 And you have beside you on your left, 03:23 Pastor John Lomacang. 03:25 Good to be here, Pastor Kenny. 03:26 Oh, it's always nice. It's always good. 03:28 We can always expect a word in due season. 03:30 Going below the surface. 03:32 Ooh, glory. 03:33 All right, beside you Sister Jill Morikone. 03:36 Always a pleasure, always a treat, 03:38 always a smile, going through, you know, 03:40 everything goes through get smiles on her faces. 03:42 I like that because we're happy in the Lord. 03:44 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny, 03:45 privilege to be here. 03:47 Yes, you have Sister Mollie Steenson 03:48 on your left. 03:50 And always glad to have Sister Mollie. 03:53 Well, I'm always glad to be here. 03:54 Yeah. Thank you. 03:56 Yeah, yeah. 03:57 And you put in more, you say sometimes 03:58 I put in my two cents, you put in more than two cents. 04:00 Well. You know. 04:01 Thank you. So it's a blessing. 04:03 Yeah, absolutely is good. 04:04 Okay, let's go, real quickly we're gonna have prayer. 04:06 And then we're gonna get right into just a short synopsis 04:09 on the Saturday and then Sunday and just cover what we can. 04:12 And who'd like to have prayer with it? 04:14 We have Pastor John, 04:16 would you like to do that for us today? 04:17 Sure. Good. 04:18 Father, we submit our minds to Your Holy Spirit's molding. 04:21 We submit our voices to your Holy Spirit's... 04:23 Yes. 04:24 May all the glory go to You, we ask in Christ's name. 04:26 Amen. 04:28 Amen. Amen. 04:29 Our memory text quickly is found 04:30 in the Book of Nehemiah 8:8. 04:33 You have your, you know, your study guide, 04:35 you can read along if not, 04:36 maybe you can look at that some somehow. 04:38 Nehemiah 8:8, and it's very short. 04:39 So I'll just read it quickly. 04:41 "So they," notice, 04:42 "they read directly from the book, 04:45 in the Law of God, 04:47 and they gave the sense, 04:49 and helped them to understand." 04:51 How wonderful that was. 04:53 I like that word distinctly from the book. 04:56 That means, they dispersed from the book, 04:58 they declared from the book those things 05:02 that maybe were little difficult to understand 05:03 but those who were there to help them 05:07 to understand what the truth. 05:09 And I think that's beautiful. 05:10 Jerusalem the walls now where they not, 05:12 they were finished we realized that. 05:14 The gates were all installed, they felt secure, they felt... 05:17 Oh, this is, we're doing well, 05:18 we've done what God has asked us to do. 05:21 Israel you could say it had completed a large task 05:25 and those who watched the construction, 05:28 I think there were some personally 05:29 that were changed. 05:31 I think their lives changed for the positive 05:32 because they've seen the impossibility 05:34 become possible through God. 05:36 And so they marvel at it, they said, 05:39 "It's got to be, man couldn't do this 05:41 because too many things against them. 05:43 Only God could do it." 05:44 So then Nehemiah said, 05:46 "Look, okay, let's appoint a governor. 05:48 Let's get this place set up right. 05:49 We're gonna have some people 05:50 be able to be accountable to others." 05:53 And I love this. 05:54 I don't know 05:56 if we're getting further or not, 05:57 it doesn't make any difference because I love this part. 05:59 The part of it is and this is different 06:01 than we do it today we will know 06:03 when you go to elect a governor as it were, 06:06 or an elder maybe in the church or deacon. 06:08 Let's get little closer to home. 06:11 How do we sometime base our decision 06:14 on who we elect? 06:15 You know, there's a lot of things 06:17 that could be thrown out there and you did 06:18 but you notice we look at Nehemiah here. 06:22 It says, where he elected, it was not on genealogy, 06:27 in other words... 06:29 Hey, well, Joe, you're next on the list. 06:33 You're next... 06:34 He didn't do that. 06:36 But sometime that's kind of the way that it took place 06:38 whether they were qualified or not. 06:41 So Nehemiah said those who gonna be qualified 06:43 wanted to be governor will be one that loves Jesus 06:47 is gonna be based on his love for Jesus 06:51 and certainly his truthfulness. 06:53 And how much that he was willing to do 06:55 for the cause of Christ. 06:57 In other words, His character was out there. 06:59 And I think that's so wonderful... 07:01 He said, "You will be the governor." 07:04 And I don't know about somebody else 07:06 but I know there's people have been elected office 07:07 just sometimes shouldn't no more be there 07:09 than the man in the moon. 07:11 Now you guys go through that. 07:13 I just, you know, they're elected 07:15 because and it is the truth. 07:16 I've been around long enough 07:18 to know that sometime we do it 07:20 because someone we think should be 07:23 or because someone should have that position 07:25 or because they are such and such to somebody else. 07:29 When we look around like Nehemiah did 07:31 from the Word of God and say, 07:35 "They love Jesus 07:36 so just put them in that position, 07:38 they'll do a good job." 07:39 People gathered together to read the Word, didn't they? 07:41 In Monday's... 07:43 Sunday's lesson, Nehemiah 8:1-2, 07:45 we got five minutes or so. 07:47 It says here, 07:48 it tells the importance of reading the Word of God. 07:50 I like that, very, very important. 07:52 I mean, how many times you're gonna hear this 07:53 before maybe the Lord comes or where we passed away, 07:56 but it'll never get old and always be truthful. 07:59 You know, I love it 08:00 because the people's attitude toward it. 08:03 A lot of times when you say, 08:04 "Oh, kids, it's ready for, you know, sundown worship 08:06 or it's time to go read the Word of God." 08:07 You get long faces 08:09 and people begin to squirm a little bit, 08:10 we got things to do and we're trying to wrap it up. 08:13 Here the people had come to the point 08:15 through all that they had been through 08:17 that said, you know, reading the Word of God 08:19 their attitude was let's do it. 08:22 Let's get together. 08:23 And I said, "Man, how I love to be 08:24 in a place like that all the time, wouldn't you?" 08:27 And I think a lot of time we are 08:28 but, you know, there's times 08:29 that everybody would just say we are loving it, 08:32 the place is jam-packed, standing room only 08:34 because they'd love to hear someone read 08:37 the Word of God and learn from that. 08:40 And the Bible says there in Nehemiah 8:1-2 08:43 and it says, "All." 08:44 And I just take it for granted all, how about you? 08:47 And all, they all came together themselves together 08:50 as one man, not men, into the street. 08:54 Sounds kind of like they came together. 08:56 Listen, Acts Chapter 2, does it not? 08:59 It sounds kind of like the outpouring of the spirit 09:01 where they came together 09:03 and when you come together in unity of heart, 09:05 and mind, and soul, what happens? 09:07 The Spirit of the Living God comes in 09:09 and changes the heart and life. 09:11 Then Paul brings it to the point 09:13 he said that things used to didn't like do, 09:15 man, I love to do. 09:16 You didn't like to read, man, you love to read now. 09:18 You didn't wanna pray, now you wanna... 09:20 Now you wanna spend some time in prayer. 09:22 So that's where the spirit came in 09:23 because the unity there 09:25 and the people begin to work together. 09:27 What a powerful church could be. 09:30 I wrote a little book years ago 09:31 and never did finish it and that's 25 years ago, 09:34 it is entitled, The Church Will Rise If. 09:39 It had a folder on it and had a church on it, 09:42 and it is in the clouds, the church will rise if. 09:45 And certainly, the if would be in lot of different areas, 09:47 but a church would rise if we would do 09:50 what God has said to do and how to do it in His Word. 09:52 It'd be very simple, 09:54 rather than to deviate from that. 09:56 So we see and we won't spend much time 09:58 I think it will be more going down that, 10:00 but the people were coming together 10:02 and they wanted to hear the Word of God 10:04 because they were gonna celebrate the feast 10:07 in remember of the seventh month. 10:08 Man, there were three dandies, 10:10 I mean, I love those three 10:11 what they stand for, if you don't mind me 10:13 going in just a little bit on this. 10:15 Ezra probably had been doing this before, 10:17 certainly at 13 years, 10:19 but people were accustomed to it 10:21 and they wanted to come together. 10:22 Three great feast of that month 10:25 where we realized the blowing of what? 10:27 The blowing of the trumpets and that was just what? 10:32 Really meant preparation for the judgment, right? 10:34 Judgment's coming, get ready for it. 10:36 That was the first day of the seventh month. 10:39 So they were getting ready, says that was a big occasion. 10:42 See, you couldn't be, you knew this was coming up. 10:45 You need to be preparing for it. 10:47 We know... 10:48 Oh, boy, I always get off, you know, like this. 10:52 You know, Pastor, when there's communion, right? 10:55 When there's communion, a lot of times people forget, 10:57 you tell them the week before, not trying to scolding by, 11:00 I'm just thinking about 11:02 because you are to prepare for that. 11:04 Yeah. 11:05 You're not to come in, things are that need 11:06 to be taking care of ours is that true? 11:09 Taking care of ours is not true, 11:10 we can talk about it. 11:12 It's good outside and then when we come in, 11:14 it should be peace and unity 11:16 and the Spirit of God can be there. 11:18 So here the same thing that we should do, 11:20 there was a unity that should be coming together. 11:24 And then you had on the twelfth day of the month, 11:26 the atonement, it was on the tenth day 11:28 of the seventh month. 11:30 And that was the judgment, wasn't it? 11:31 You know, praise God, you know, for that. 11:34 Then you had the feast of what? 11:35 Feast of tabernacle. 11:37 So that was just a remembering God's deliverance from Egypt. 11:42 So there were three big occasions 11:44 that God told them, right? 11:46 To be sure and to celebrate, 11:47 all three of those would be a ceremonial Sabbath, 11:50 would they not be? 11:52 And so they were high days and they were special days. 11:55 That God will say, 11:57 "Now look, remember this, when we come together 11:58 and all the people come 12:00 we are going to be open the Word 12:02 and we are going to read it". 12:04 I think that's good. 12:05 People came asking for instruction. 12:07 How long has it been since somebody 12:09 has come and asked for instructions? 12:12 Could you tell me what this means? 12:14 Would you read this to me? 12:16 I read this, here's what it meant to me. 12:18 I liked that personally. 12:19 People say, you know, honestly that I read it 12:21 and I thought it meant this, what do you think? 12:24 The people were saying, "Come on, let's come, 12:25 lest we're asking for instruction." 12:27 We desire to hear the Word of God. 12:31 We desire to have a better relationship with God. 12:35 To me, that's just all rings true 12:37 as you do the work that we do here. 12:39 This is what you want to hear. 12:41 This is what you would drive in. 12:43 This is what you would be excited about every day 12:46 that there was actually people who would really say, 12:49 "I desire to know more from God's Word. 12:51 I desire to pray. 12:53 Oh, how can I study the Word of God." 12:54 To me that just that means something. 12:57 And this is the way that was here at this point in time 13:01 and the children of Israel saying, 13:02 "Hey, you know, we want to do this." 13:05 We want to do it. 13:07 And I tell you, 13:08 there was unity there at that time 13:12 that we need in the church today. 13:15 If we have that unity, watch what God will do. 13:17 You think He's doing great things now? 13:20 Absolutely. Right? We're still here. 13:22 But He's doing great things. 13:24 He will do greater things as we unify more 13:27 as we get off all these little side things 13:29 and get on the side of Christ. 13:31 Amen. Amen. 13:32 Thank you for that foundation, Pastor. 13:35 Well, I have Monday's, Reading and Hearing the Law. 13:40 And, boy, I've got so much that I'd like to share 13:44 'cause this is one of my favorite studies 13:46 on the law of God. 13:47 And what I wanna do is 13:49 give you just a little background 13:51 because I grew up 13:52 not understanding the term the law. 13:56 When we see the law in scripture, 13:58 we really have to read carefully in context 14:01 to understand what law is the Bible referring to? 14:06 It can refer to the moral law of God, 14:09 which is the Ten Commandments. 14:10 It can be referring to the book of the law, 14:14 which is the Book of Deuteronomy, 14:15 which is what most scholars believe 14:19 because Deuteronomy means the second law. 14:21 It could be the Law of Moses, 14:24 which is the Torah, the first five books, 14:27 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, 14:30 or if it says the law and the prophets, 14:33 it's referring to the entire Old Testament. 14:36 So let's just consider this for a minute, the moral law, 14:39 the Decalogue ten words written in future tense. 14:43 These were promises of God. 14:46 They were given to Israel 14:48 as the Bill of Rights of the covenant. 14:52 And we see in the first four, 14:54 it's the rights of our covenant Lord, 14:56 in the last six, it's the rights of the... 14:59 Covenant rights of brother to brother, 15:02 written by God on stone, 15:03 put in the most holy place inside the ark 15:07 because that means it was permanent. 15:10 Then interestingly, 15:12 when we talk about the Old Covenant, 15:15 we find the Old Covenant was written 15:18 in something called the Book of the Covenant. 15:22 After God spoke the Ten Commandments, 15:24 Moses goes up the mountain, 15:26 God gives him as it were the constitution 15:30 for the new nation of Israel. 15:33 Moses comes back down. 15:35 And this is the Old Covenant. 15:37 It says in Exodus 24:7-8, you know, 15:42 Moses spoke that God had spoken the Ten Commandments already, 15:48 but now Moses comes down 15:49 and speaks the other words that God told him, 15:52 and it says, "Then he took, he writes them in a book, 15:56 and then he reads to him. 15:57 And he said, "He took the Book of the Covenant," 15:59 that's what I'm trying to show, 16:01 "read it in the hearin of the people. 16:02 And they said, 16:04 'All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.' 16:06 And Moses took the blood, he sprinkled it on the people." 16:10 And Hebrew said, "He sprinkled it on the book. 16:12 And he said, 'This is the blood of the covenant 16:16 which the Lord has made with you 16:17 according to all these words.'" 16:19 So he ratified what was written in the Book of the Covenant. 16:23 And that was a summary of the fundamental principles 16:28 of how God's people were to live. 16:30 And it wasn't a comprehensive book of laws, 16:34 but the book of the law, 16:36 it had a high standard of right doing in purity 16:40 and relationships, etcetera. 16:43 So what happens is 39 years later, 16:47 Moses and the people are now on the plains of Dura, 16:51 he repeats and reinforces the Book of the Covenant. 16:57 And he records it in what is called 17:00 the Book of the Law. 17:01 Deuteronomy means second law. 17:05 So Deuteronomy 31:26 says, 17:10 "Take this Book of the Law, 17:12 and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant, 17:16 that it may be there as a witness against you." 17:20 Because it contained 17:22 not only the blessings of the covenant, 17:25 but the curses of the covenant. 17:28 And since the repair of the temple in 2 Kings 22 17:33 that was the eighteenth year to Josiah's reign. 17:37 The Deuteronomy has been identified by scholars 17:42 and the early church fathers as the Book of the Law. 17:48 So many people confuse these laws 17:52 and in Galatians... 17:54 When Paul says in Galatians 5:18, 17:57 he talks about the law being a tutor 17:59 to bring us to Christ. 18:01 And he says in Galatians 5:18, 18:03 "If you're led by the spirit, you're not under the law." 18:08 Well, what does he mean? 18:09 Is he referring to the moral law of God? 18:11 Heavenly days, no. 18:14 He says in Galatians... 18:16 If you wanna know what Paul's talking about 18:18 in Galatians 5, 18:20 you've got to look, always look in the context. 18:23 And in Galatians 3:10 Paul says, 18:26 "As many as are of the works of the law 18:30 are under a curse, 18:32 for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone 18:33 who does not continue in all the things 18:36 which are written in the Book of the Law, 18:39 to do them. 18:40 That's a direct quote from Deuteronomy 27:26. 18:44 This was the ceremonial laws, the festivals, 18:47 the annual Sabbath days, 18:49 the food and drink offerings, everything that pointed... 18:55 It was a tutor to lead them to Christ. 18:57 It pointed them to Jesus as Savior. 19:01 So when we're reading in Ezra, 19:04 I'm a little confused and I'll tell you why. 19:07 We know the Law of Moses is the first five books. 19:10 The Book of the Law usually is the Book of Deuteronomy 19:13 is what is referring to, 19:15 but in Ezra 8:1, it starts off saying, 19:18 "All the people gathered together 19:20 as one man in the open square 19:21 that was in front of Water Gate." 19:23 You're in Nehemiah. I'm sorry, Nehemiah. 19:25 What did I say? 19:26 Ezra. Yeah. Nehemiah. 19:27 Thank you. Okay, got it. 19:29 Isn't that, it's Ezra reading but it is Nehemiah 8:1. 19:35 "All the people gathered together 19:37 as one man in the open square 19:38 that was in front of the Water Gate, 19:40 they told Ezra the scribe 19:43 to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, 19:48 which the Lord had commanded Israel." 19:51 This could be either the entire Pentateuch 19:56 or the first five books of the Bible. 20:00 Or the Book of the Law could be Deuteronomy. 20:04 So, you know, Ezra had been reading 20:06 the Word of God to these people for 13 years so and so. 20:10 And the word became real to them 20:13 and they had a deeper yearning for God. 20:16 So on this occasion, 20:18 the people are attentive, they're reverent, 20:21 they're eager to hear God's Word. 20:24 Now in verses 2, 7, 9, 13, and 14, 20:27 it's just called the law. 20:30 Then in Nehemiah 8:3 he says, 20:32 "He read from it in the open square 20:35 that was in the front of the Water Gate," 20:38 this is from the Book of the Law, 20:39 "morning until midday, 20:41 before the men and women 20:42 and those who could understand, 20:44 and the ears of all the people were attentive 20:48 to the Book of the Law." 20:51 That could very well be Deuteronomy 20:55 because that is he's reestablishing 20:59 the covenant community. 21:01 This was the Old Covenant. 21:05 Verse 8 calls it the Law of God, 21:07 verse 18, the Book of the Law of God, 9 and 3, 21:11 the Book of the Law of the Lord their God. 21:14 I don't know if he was reading to them 21:16 from morning to midday 21:18 from Deuteronomy and their covenant terms 21:21 or if he was reading from the Torah, 21:22 I cannot tell you. 21:24 But he does say in verse 10:29 that, 21:28 "These joined with their brethren, 21:29 their nobles, and entered into a curse 21:32 and an oath to walk in God's Law, 21:35 which was given by Moses the servant of God, 21:38 to observe and do all the commandments 21:40 of the Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes." 21:44 So what did he read? 21:46 Could have been the Torah? 21:48 But in my mind, I believe, and this is a personal opinion. 21:52 I believe he was reading 21:54 the temporary covenant of the nation as they are, 21:58 you know, reinstituting things. 22:00 He's reviewing the covenant terms, 22:02 but it's important for us 22:06 to look at their attention 22:10 and look at how they interacted with the Word of God. 22:14 It says in verse 3, 22:16 they sat there from morning to midday. 22:20 And they were attentive to the Book of the Law. 22:24 Deuteronomy 4:1, I love this scripture, says. 22:30 And this is from the Book of the Law. 22:33 "Now, O Israel, 22:34 listen to the statutes and the judgments 22:37 which I teach you to observe, 22:39 that you may live, and go in and possess the land 22:41 which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you." 22:45 So he said, "Listen, and learn." 22:48 And that's what we need to do today, 22:50 not to the Old Covenant, 22:51 I'm not saying that, 22:53 but to the New Covenant principles, 22:55 which I have to say this, 22:58 the Ten Commandments 22:59 were at the heart of the Old Covenant. 23:02 And then it had civil laws and ceremonial laws. 23:06 But the Ten Commandments 23:07 are also at the heart of the New Covenant. 23:11 When we look at Hebrews 8:8-10, 23:13 God says, I'm gonna write the commandments on your heart. 23:18 So the law is important. 23:21 God's moral law is eternal. 23:24 And we see as we go through Scripture that, 23:29 you know, we're to delight in the Law of God, 23:32 receive it and be wise, and the law... 23:36 Remember, when Ezekiel talks about 23:40 breeding spiritual life into dry bones, 23:43 it's by hearing the Word of the Lord. 23:46 So if you're going through spiritual dryness today, 23:50 get into God's Word, and He will revive you. 23:54 Amen. Praise the Lord. 23:56 And, you know, that's wonderful lesson. 23:57 That starts getting deep, and I'm glad it's getting deep 24:00 because I'm agreeing with you kind of it's very important 24:03 but then in there that the Deuteronomic Law, 24:05 and also a special laws, and also the Torah. 24:08 As those words are translated Torah 24:10 in the book and in Hebrews at Chapter 8 there. 24:14 So it covers also how wonderful it is, 24:16 right that we can go with the Word of God 24:18 and it certainly comes back to us as truth 24:20 and we need that truth. 24:22 We're gonna take a short break, we'll be right back. 24:30 Ever wish you could watch 24:31 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:33 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:36 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:41 A clean design makes it easy 24:44 to find the program you're looking for. 24:46 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:49 so you can follow along. 24:51 Sharing is easy. 24:53 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:56 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:02 Welcome back. We're glad you stayed with us. 25:04 We're gonna go to Tuesday's lesson right now 25:07 with Pastor John Lomacang. 25:08 Talking about Reading 25:10 and Interpreting the Word of God. 25:12 Amen. Thank you. 25:14 Nehemiah brings to the forefront 25:16 something that's an issue still today. 25:19 reading and interpreting the Word, you know, 25:22 you wouldn't think of it but in 2 Timothy Chapter 4, 25:27 the Apostle Paul, 25:28 I wanna begin by looking at that 25:29 the Apostle Paul emphasizes to his younger understudy, 25:34 the importance of reading and interpreting the Word. 25:39 You wouldn't think that this would have been an issue, 25:42 but what happened in their day was a precursor 25:46 to what's taking place in our day. 25:48 Let me get there. 25:49 Here it is, 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 25:54 And here's what we are told. 25:56 And I'm gonna start with verse 1. 26:00 "I charge you therefore before God 26:03 and the Lord Jesus Christ," 26:04 so this is surely a commission and a charge, 26:07 "who will judge the living and the dead 26:10 at His appearing and His kingdom." 26:12 Notice what it says. 26:13 "Preach the word!" 26:15 Yes. 26:16 "Be ready." 26:18 I like the word instant in King James instant. 26:20 "Be ready, be instant, in season, out of season." 26:24 You know what is being said by the Apostle Paul to Timothy, 26:27 he says that word instant, 26:28 I like instant instead of ready 26:30 because you know we live in this Instant age. 26:33 Somebody wants to if we put instant coffee 26:35 in a microwave, will you go back in time? 26:38 Think about that, Shelley. 26:40 Instant that means you're always ready. 26:43 It's like a fire hose that's just under pressure. 26:46 The moment you slightly release that nozzle, it's coming out. 26:49 And we should be as servants of God 26:51 be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. 26:54 Be instant, I was talking to some young men 26:57 in Nakuru, Africa some young men, 27:00 they're still taking theology at school and I said, 27:03 "Pastor, we haven't come in up 27:06 and let them us an overview 27:08 what they're gonna talk about tomorrow 27:10 not to give any seminars, 27:12 just tell us what you're gonna present tomorrow." 27:15 And the first thing this young guy said, 27:16 when he came before, "I wasn't ready to share 27:19 what I was gonna talk about tomorrow." 27:20 And I said to him afterward, 27:22 "Don't ever say you're not ready. 27:24 You are a servant of the Lord. 27:25 There's never a time you're not ready. 27:27 You must be ready in season, out of season." 27:29 Amen. Yeah. 27:30 Said what you'll learn as the servant of the Lord, 27:32 we should be ready to give an answer at any time. 27:35 And so Paul is saying the importance of reading 27:38 and interpreting the Word is here. 27:42 This is the reason why, "Preach the word! 27:44 Be ready in season, out of season. 27:46 Convince, rebuke, exhort, 27:48 with all longsuffering and doctrine or teaching." 27:50 And here's the reason, this happened in his day. 27:53 This was also an issue 27:55 in Nehemiah's day, in Ezra's day. 27:58 "For the time will come 27:59 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 28:01 but according to their own desires, 28:03 or according to their own lusts, 28:06 because they have itching ears, 28:09 they will heap up for themselves teachers, 28:12 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, 28:15 and be turned aside fables. 28:17 But you be watchful in all things, 28:19 endure affliction, 28:20 and do the work of an evangelist, 28:22 fulfill or make full proof of your ministry." 28:24 Now why this is so vitally important is 28:26 we have come down to an age. 28:28 And I'll bring back into the context in a moment. 28:30 We have arrived at the age 28:32 where people, Christians, pastors, 28:37 people that you would expect more from 28:39 would look at a simple text like, 28:41 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 28:42 And they'll say, "That's your interpretation." 28:46 And I think to myself, am I reading a book 28:50 or am I just reading maybe nine... 28:52 If you love Me, keep My commandments, 28:55 eight words, and somebody will say, 28:57 "Well, that's your interpretation." 28:59 I had a pastor send me a letter once and said, 29:01 "I have my scriptures to back up what I believe, 29:03 you have your scriptures to back up what you believe." 29:05 And I said my brother, 29:07 "I don't have any scriptures and neither do you 29:08 and God's Word does not support two opposing views." 29:11 But we have arrived at an age 29:12 where people are complete Christians. 29:15 This is the thing the irony of it Christians. 29:19 Avowed Christians are comfortable 29:22 to settle on issues 29:25 that are not scripturally supported 29:27 and say, "God knows my heart." 29:30 And I have heard excuse after excuse after excuse. 29:34 Well, that's what your church teaches. 29:35 Well, that's what you believe. 29:37 When I say let the Word of God be the guide of my mind 29:41 because we will not be judge by opinions or ecclesiastical, 29:46 I got to say this in honor of CA, obiter dictum, 29:50 but we will be judged by a thus saith the Lord. 29:53 And that was the issue in Nehemiah's day and so, 29:56 when you look at the setting of Nehemiah's day, 29:58 they didn't have just one person reading, 30:00 they went for confluence 30:01 and consistencies and continuity. 30:04 That's why when you look at Nehemiah 8:4-8, 30:07 I am by now means 30:09 going to spend time on all those names. 30:11 I think you all know who they are. 30:13 You haven't met any of these guys, 30:14 I recommend you do so. 30:17 But I'm gonna start with the verse 4. 30:18 "So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood 30:22 which they had made for the purpose, 30:25 and beside him, at his right hand, 30:28 stood thirteen other people." 30:30 In verse 5, but actually the end of verse 4, 30:32 "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, 30:36 for he was standing above the people, 30:39 and when he opened it, all the people," are like this? 30:42 Stood up. "Stood up." 30:43 That sometimes, sometimes 30:45 it's good to have Scripture reading and say, 30:46 stand with me as we do Scripture reading. 30:48 It's a good reset that people stood up. 30:50 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. 30:54 Then all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' 30:57 while lifting up their hands. 31:00 And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord 31:02 with their faces to the ground. 31:04 And also the other 13," 31:06 I'm not gonna read all their names, 31:08 "and the people stood in their place." 31:10 Verse 8, 31:12 "So they read distinctly from the book, 31:14 in the law of God, and they gave the sense, 31:19 and help them to understand the reading." 31:21 Understanding is everything. 31:24 Revelation 1:1-3 starts with these very words. 31:29 Revelation, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 31:31 which God gave Him to show His servants, 31:34 things which must shortly take place. 31:37 And He sent and signified it," that is symbols, 31:41 "by His angel to his servant John, 31:44 who bore witness of the Word of God, 31:46 and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, 31:49 to all things that he saw." 31:51 What did he say? 31:52 Verse 3, "Blessed is he who reads 31:55 and those who hear the words of this prophecy, 31:58 and keep those things which are written in it, 32:00 for the time is at hand." 32:02 The blessing was first on the reader 32:04 because they didn't have many trans... 32:05 They didn't have... 32:07 Well, open your Bible with me. 32:08 No, it was a scroll being unfolded 32:09 or tablet or parchment, 32:12 and the one who stood have had that honor. 32:14 And so even Jesus is talked about 32:17 when He went into the temple, 32:18 He stood up to read on the Sabbath day. 32:20 The honor was to stand 32:22 before the Word of God and read. 32:24 And because it was so scarce and so hard to find, 32:28 and there were not many copies of it. 32:30 The one who was reading 32:32 got all the attention of the listeners, 32:35 they peeled their ears to listen 32:38 to every word of God 32:40 because the blessing was not just reading and hearing, 32:43 but keeping those things that are written in there. 32:47 And that's why we find this track also 32:49 in the New Testament, Paul and Silas to the Bereans. 32:52 Acts 17:10-11. 32:56 And this is a consistency, when you're studying it, 32:59 when your desire is not to just hear God's Word 33:01 but to understand God's Word. 33:03 That's where the blessing comes. 33:04 And don't get stuck on denominational jargon 33:08 because the Lord is not gonna ask you 33:09 what your denomination taught. 33:11 He's going to say, "What did My Word say?" 33:12 That's right. 33:13 And don't check your pastor's intellect based on you. 33:15 Don't put your salvation on your pastor's intellect. 33:17 If he disagrees with God's Word, 33:19 follow God's Word. 33:21 Then Acts 17:10, 33:24 "Then the brethren immediately sent 33:26 Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. 33:29 When they arrived, 33:30 they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 33:32 These were more fair-minded or more noble 33:35 than those in Thessalonica, 33:37 in that they received the word with, what? 33:40 "All readiness, and searched the scriptures daily 33:43 to find out whether these things were so." 33:47 If that would happen today, 33:49 there will be less deception and more enlightenment. 33:52 Yeah. 33:53 Search the scriptures. 33:54 I've had people say, "Well, let me ask my pastor." 33:57 I said, "Ask him." 33:58 And so what I've done, I've cut to the chase, I said, 34:00 I'll be glad to sit down with your pastor. 34:03 You ask him questions, you ask me questions, 34:05 we'll both answer you from the Word. 34:07 And you decide who's telling the truth. 34:09 I've challenged pastors in denominations 34:10 and no one has accepted the challenge 34:13 because the Word of God 34:14 does not back up opposing views. 34:16 Here's another example. 34:18 Acts 11:25-26, 34:20 "Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 34:24 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 34:27 So it was that for a whole year 34:31 the people assembled with the church 34:33 and taught a great many people. 34:36 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." 34:41 They were teaching, they were teaching, 34:43 and the other example 34:45 quickly the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30. 34:49 "So Philip ran to him, 34:51 and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, 34:52 and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' 34:55 And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?'" 34:58 And we know the end of the story, he guided him, 35:00 and the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized. 35:02 Understanding is the key 35:05 to your relationship with Christ. 35:06 Amen. 35:07 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 35:09 Are you grateful for the Word of God? 35:11 Are you thankful for teachers and preachers 35:15 who will stand up and share the Word of God? 35:19 For those 13 who stood by to help interpret. 35:22 I'm so grateful. 35:24 I have the People's Response Wednesday's lesson, 35:28 Nehemiah 8:9-12, which we'll read here. 35:33 How were the people responded already? 35:35 You already referenced it in that 35:37 when Ezra opened up the Word of God 35:39 when he started, the people stood, 35:42 I love that reverence for the Word of God. 35:46 After he read the people said, "Amen." 35:48 You talked about that 35:50 while lifting up their hands to heaven. 35:52 And then they bowed their heads 35:53 and worshiped with their faces to the ground. 35:55 Now we pick it up in verse 9, 35:57 "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, 35:59 Ezra the priest and scribe," 36:01 incidentally, this puts Ezra and Nehemiah 36:04 in the same place at the same time. 36:06 You know, we know that Ezra had come to 13 years before, 36:09 but this puts them there together, 36:11 leading the people. 36:13 "And the Levites who taught the people 36:14 said to all the people, 36:16 'This day is holy to the Lord your God, 36:19 do not mourn or weep.'" 36:23 That's our first indication that there's tears, 36:25 that there's crying going on right now. 36:27 It says, "For all the people wept, 36:29 when they heard the words of the law." 36:33 Why did the people weep? 36:35 You know, I remember, this is not meant, 36:39 it's not a good and the best analogy, 36:41 but I remember going to a school board meeting. 36:45 This was years ago, 36:47 and I sat for two hours at the school board meeting. 36:50 And when we were done, I thought, 36:51 I'm gonna use the restroom before I go home, Pastor John, 36:53 so I went in the restroom 36:55 and walked in front of the mirror 36:56 and there was something green stuck in my teeth. 36:58 And I thought you mean, 37:00 I sat through a two-hour board meeting 37:03 and all those people at the table around me, 37:07 nobody said anything. 37:09 Nobody held up a mirror 37:13 and said Jill, this is really what's going on in your teeth. 37:16 This is what's going on inside. 37:17 The Law of God is a mirror. 37:21 When we read the Word of God, 37:25 the Holy Spirit uses it to bring conviction of sin. 37:30 And I think that's why the people were weeping. 37:33 Sorrow for sin, realization of their own sins, 37:37 their own weakness. 37:40 2 Corinthians 7:8-10, 37:43 talks about the sorrow for even if Paul's writing, 37:46 "Even if I made you sorry with my letter, 37:49 I don't regret it, though I did regret it. 37:52 For I perceive that the same epistle may do sorry, 37:56 though only for a while. 37:57 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, 38:02 but that your sorrow led to repentance." 38:06 And this is what needed to happen 38:07 with the people here in Nehemiah Chapter 8. 38:10 "For you were made sorry in a godly manner, 38:12 that you might suffer loss from us and nothing. 38:15 For godly sorrow produces repentance 38:17 leading to salvation, not to be regretted, 38:21 but the sorrow of the world produces death." 38:24 Now it's very interesting 38:25 when you read that, that indicates 38:27 that there's two types of sorrow, Miss Mollie, 38:29 there's a godly sorrow, which leads to repentance. 38:33 And then there's a worldly sorrow 38:34 or a different type of sorrow that leads to death. 38:38 So I wanna pause just a moment before we go on. 38:41 Talk about five reasons for godly sorrow or five things 38:45 that godly sorrow achieves in our life. 38:50 Think about Luke Chapter 7, we won't turn there, 38:52 but this is the story of Jesus at the feast, 38:55 the banquet at Simon's house, 38:57 the Pharisee Simon's house, 38:59 and remember, Mary came in 39:00 and washed His feet with her tears 39:03 and dry them with her hair, remember, 39:06 and then anointed his feet with that expensive ointment. 39:10 That was godly sorrow. 39:13 Godly sorrow number one draws me to Jesus. 39:17 We know that it's the goodness of God 39:19 that leads us to repentance. 39:21 We can't even repent without Jesus, without Him, 39:24 His Holy Spirit draw in us. 39:27 But godly sorrow draws me to Jesus. 39:29 It doesn't push me away from Him. 39:31 So if you're feeling sorry, and you feel far from Jesus, 39:33 that's not a godly sorrow 39:35 'cause godly sorrow brings us to Jesus. 39:39 Number two, godly sorrow is driven by faith. 39:43 Sorrow doesn't save us. 39:45 Our own efforts don't save us. 39:47 But faith does. 39:49 Godly sorrow is driven by faith. 39:51 Number three, godly sorrow expresses itself externally. 39:56 In other words, genuine repentance 39:57 is always evident in someone's life. 40:00 It doesn't just stay inside 40:01 and all blocked up there inside, 40:03 genuine repentance comes out, spills out, 40:07 it's always evident externally in someone's life. 40:11 Number four, godly sorrow increases my love for Christ. 40:17 And you might say, "Why is that?" 40:18 How does biblical repentance deepen my love for Jesus? 40:23 'Cause I realize what I did and my sin 40:28 and how it cost the life of my Savior, 40:32 and His love for me, 40:33 godly sorrow increases my love for Christ. 40:36 And finally, number five, 40:38 godly sorrow produces the assurance of forgiveness. 40:42 We see this in Luke 7:48. 40:44 This is after the woman had wiped Jesus' feet 40:48 and had anointed them and "He said to her, 40:50 'Your sins are forgiven.'" 40:53 And then in verse 50, 40:55 "He said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you. 40:57 Go in peace.'" 40:59 Godly sorrow produces the assurance of forgiveness. 41:02 So let's see what happens next, Nehemiah 8:10. 41:05 The people were weeping because of their sorrow. 41:08 They saw the mirror, 41:10 the law had been held up 41:11 against their own unworthiness and their own sin 41:15 and they had realized that and what happens next? 41:18 Nehemiah 8:10, 41:19 "Then he said, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, 41:23 and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, 41:27 for this day is holy to our Lord. 41:30 Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'" 41:36 So we do not live in godly sorrow. 41:37 We do not live, we do repent, 41:40 but then we are to go forward 41:42 in the joy of forgiveness. 41:45 That's right. 41:47 Why do we rejoice? Why is He great? 41:48 Because He forgives us, because He restores us, 41:51 because He leads us 41:53 into repentance in the first place, 41:54 because He encourages us, 41:56 because He is not just the law giver, 42:00 He is my Savior. 42:02 He is your Savior at home. 42:05 This joy is meant to be shared. 42:07 They were to eat and drink together. 42:10 They were to rejoice together in the forgiveness 42:13 and what God had done in their life. 42:15 And what do we share? 42:17 We share what He has done for us. 42:18 I wanna spend the balance of my time the rest of it, 42:21 talking about the power of praise. 42:24 Praise is incredible in the life of a Christian. 42:30 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 42:32 Paul says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing. 42:37 In everything give thanks, 42:39 for this is the will of God 42:40 in Christ Jesus, concerning you. 42:43 Giving thanks isn't for God, it's for me. 42:46 And what does giving thanks? 42:47 What does praise affect in the life of a Christian? 42:51 Number one, it takes the focus off of me, 42:54 and it turns it outward on to God. 42:57 Psalm 35:28, 42:59 "My tongue shall speak of Your righteousness 43:01 and of your praise all the day long." 43:04 If I'm focused on God and praising Him all day, 43:07 I have much less time to think about myself. 43:10 So praise takes the focus off of me 43:11 and it turns outward to God. 43:13 Number two, praise makes the enemy flee. 43:16 Think about Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles Chapter 20. 43:20 The Moabites and the Ammonites 43:21 are coming against the children of Israel, 43:24 and they are so terrified, 43:26 and they're no match for the enemy. 43:28 And what happened? 43:30 Verse 22, "When they began to sing and to praise, 43:33 the Lord set ambushes 43:35 against them, and deliver them," 43:37 and how did that deliverance come about? 43:39 Because they praised. 43:41 Number three, Miss Mollie. 43:43 Praise especially, 43:44 united praise invites God's presence. 43:48 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, 43:51 "Indeed it came to pass, 43:52 when the trumpeters and singers were as one." 43:57 Then the whole temple was filled with a cloud, 44:01 the glory of God, the presence of God, 44:04 and it was so thick 44:05 that they could not even continue ministering. 44:08 So praise brought the presence of God. 44:11 Number four, praise gives us joy. 44:14 Psalm 16:11, 44:16 "You will show me the path of life, 44:17 in Your presence is fullness of joy." 44:20 So if praise invites the presence of God, 44:24 then the presence of God brings me joy. 44:27 Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 44:29 Number four, praise gives me strength. 44:32 Nehemiah 8:10, 44:34 "The joy of the Lord is your strength." 44:37 If we have praise, when we praise, 44:39 we get the presence of God. 44:41 When we have the presence of God, 44:43 then we have joy and when we abide in his joy 44:46 that gives us strength. 44:49 So do you want strength? Do you want joy? 44:51 Do you need a change in your life? 44:54 Choose to praise. 44:56 Amen and amen. 44:57 Miss Jill, I get to talk about this joy of the Lord, 45:01 guess what scripture I was gonna start with? 45:04 Psalm 16:11, 45:05 "In your presence is fullness of joy." 45:09 And that is what is so encouraging to me 45:12 that these lessons just take us 45:14 from one level of joy and encouragement to the next. 45:19 Well, I start with Nehemiah 8:10. 45:24 Jill, read it. I'll read it again. 45:26 "Then He said to them, 45:27 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, 45:30 and send portions to those 45:32 for whom nothing is prepared, 45:33 for this day is holy to our Lord. 45:36 Do not sorrow, 45:38 for the joy of the Lord is your strength." 45:41 This reminds us that once we have repented, 45:46 God has heard us 45:48 and now it's time to rejoice, why? 45:52 Because we are forgiven. 45:54 Jill, I get to talk about 1 John 1:9. 45:57 Every lesson I think somewhere 46:00 we should talk about 1 John 1:9. 46:02 What does 1 John 1:9 say? 46:05 "If we confess our sins, 46:08 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins," 46:12 and He goes one step further. 46:14 We're forgiven, but then He cleanses us. 46:17 Thank God for the forgiveness and the cleansing of our sins. 46:21 Now, let me ask you this, it says cleanses us from all, 46:25 of what, Pastor Lomacang? 46:27 Unrighteousness. 46:28 So let me ask you this. 46:30 If you are cleansed from all unrighteousness, 46:34 you're standing before God. 46:36 You've repented and you've been cleansed 46:39 from all unrighteousness. 46:40 What does that make you? 46:42 Righteous. Righteous. 46:43 See, that is so hard, Pastor Kenny, 46:45 for us to accept that we can be righteous. 46:49 Oh, I know, it's the righteousness of God. 46:52 But He says, He has made us the righteousness of God where? 46:57 In Christ Jesus. 46:58 Amen. 47:00 Confessing, now the prerequisite 47:03 to any of this is confessing before a holy God 47:07 who loves us so much that what did He do for us? 47:11 Send His only Son to die. 47:14 And I got to... 47:16 I've just, I can say this I guess, 47:19 I'm always saying stuff and this is what I want to say, 47:22 don't meddle your mouth around with your confessions. 47:26 If it's black, don't try to make it gray 47:29 because God knows anyway. 47:31 And I was just thinking 47:35 that there are areas sometimes 47:39 that we don't want to just come right out and say, 47:41 "Lord help me with this." 47:44 And I'll give you for instance, 47:48 let's talk about unholy thoughts. 47:51 Do you know, can people see your own unholy thoughts? 47:54 Nobody knows those are unholy thoughts but you. 47:58 That's fantasizing about things you shouldn't even think about. 48:02 Do you know that we can do that? 48:05 Don't ask God to forgive you for this little weakness 48:08 that you have repent of the sin. 48:11 Honey, that's a sin. 48:12 If you repent to some extent, Pastor Lomacang, 48:15 are you safe to some degree? 48:17 No. 48:18 Yeah, that's good. 48:20 No. 48:21 No, it's black or it's white. 48:23 Be honest with God, He already knows and remember, 48:28 He doesn't just forgive you, He cleanses you as well. 48:33 And you know the beauty of it. 48:35 This fountain of forgiveness 48:38 it flows freely from God. 48:41 It's not just for today. 48:44 It's not just one time a day. 48:46 How often, Pastor Kenny, 48:48 can you go to that fountain of forgiveness? 48:51 We can go minute by minute as often as you need to, 48:54 if we confess our sins, 48:57 then He forgives us and He cleanses us. 49:02 So we've come before God, 49:04 we're dirty and we're bathed down, 49:07 and we've confessed our sins. 49:09 He's forgivened us, and He's cleansed us, 49:12 and He's lifted us up. 49:14 And now we stand before God, righteous, 49:18 clothed in His righteousness. 49:21 And it's time to rejoice, 49:23 and be filled with the joy of the Lord. 49:26 And what does the joy of the Lord do for us? 49:29 It strengthens us. 49:31 The joy of the Lord is our what? 49:34 Our strength. 49:35 It strengthens us for whatever the day may bring. 49:40 So that's just encouragement for us. 49:41 But let's go back to these captives 49:44 that had returned from Jerusalem. 49:47 Some of them had been in captivity all their lives. 49:52 Did you know that? 49:54 It was 70 years but some of them had 49:57 during that time they've been born. 49:59 Some of this remnant that returned. 50:02 So they weren't well versed in the Word of God. 50:04 Ezra's purpose was to teach them from God's Law. 50:08 Shelley covered the law. 50:11 And they had been doing, Shelley, 50:12 you share this with us to for how long? 50:15 Thirteen years, Ezra had been teaching them. 50:17 Now he didn't just teach them the word of the law. 50:22 Ezra went to the very root of the problem. 50:25 Do you know that he gathered up all the copies of the law 50:29 that he could find, he had them translated, 50:32 and then he put them in the hands of the people. 50:34 So not only were they hearing it, 50:36 they were reading it for themselves. 50:39 And what does Romans 10:17 say? 50:41 Who can read it? 50:42 Faith comes by hearing... 50:44 "Faith comes by hearing, 50:45 and hearing by the word of God." 50:46 And what did hearing this word say, 50:48 "Oh, we've looked at this already." 50:51 When they heard the word 50:52 they went in mourning and sadness 50:55 because the word had convicted them 50:58 of their sinfulness 51:00 but in their mourning and in their sadness, 51:02 what were they doing? 51:03 They were repenting. 51:06 And in that repentance, 51:08 they were in that mourning and their bad day and state, 51:13 Ezra tells them don't mourn it, stand up, 51:16 rise up and rejoice, and being joyful, 51:20 for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 51:23 Now Ezra continued reading them the Word. 51:26 And, Pastor Kenny, 51:27 you were talking about the Feast of Tabernacles. 51:29 And how Ezra mentioned to them 51:32 the importance of keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. 51:36 And so what was the Feast of Tabernacles? 51:39 It was that final feast 51:41 where they made tabernacles, 51:44 and they went out into the... 51:46 Went out from the comforts of their home 51:50 and in acknowledgement of the Exodus 51:53 and the children of Israel that camped in the wilderness. 51:58 It was a reenactment of that for them 52:01 to understand the hardships that they suffered. 52:03 Now you know what this did? 52:05 This also gave them an identity with Ezra reading the Word 52:10 and sharing the Word 52:11 and identity with their forefathers made. 52:15 And do you know how important it is 52:17 for us to know our ancestors, to know our roots, 52:21 to know where we came from 52:23 because in the Book of the Law, 52:25 it gave all the history and that was their history, 52:30 even if they were born in Babylon. 52:32 It was still their history, their ancestral history. 52:36 It gave them self identity is that important? 52:40 That is so vitally important. 52:43 So the children of Israel had heard what God's Word 52:47 and as Ezra was reading, 52:50 He says, that the children from the Book of the Law 52:53 that the children of Israel should dwell in booths, 52:59 during the feast of the seventh month 53:01 this was and it is written. 53:05 And how did the children of Israel 53:07 that were hearing this, 53:09 how did they respond to and it is written, 53:12 this is what they said. 53:15 They said that they're gonna do 53:18 what the Book of the Law tells them 53:19 that they're gonna do what this it is written says. 53:22 And it says they did it with what kind of gladness? 53:27 Great gladness 53:28 they would gonna do what the Word. 53:30 Oh, isn't it exciting? 53:32 When we get with great gladness, 53:35 we receive God's Word. 53:37 What did being obedient to God's Word do? 53:41 It brought them great gladness. 53:43 So I kind of wanted to lose on this point. 53:47 If any of us are feeling sad, and down, or desponded, 53:54 there's a cure for all of our calamities. 53:58 There's a cure for that. 54:00 We are to go before God and confess our sins. 54:06 What happens when we confess our sins? 54:09 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, 54:12 to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 54:15 And then we can stand before God 54:19 in a righteous state. 54:22 And in that righteous state, there's no time for mourning. 54:26 That is time for what? 54:28 Time for rejoicing. 54:31 We receive His forgiveness and His cleansing, we rejoice. 54:36 And then the joy of the Lord is what? 54:40 The joy of the Lord is our strength. 54:41 It will strengthen us to carry out anything 54:45 that the Lord calls us to do. 54:47 It will give us strength 54:48 for every problem you're gonna face today. 54:52 Amen. Praise the Lord. 54:54 Oh, well, well covered. 54:56 Yeah, what a lesson. 54:57 I'll tell you, 54:58 it's given me encouragement, hope, and strength. 55:00 And we praise it's been working in your heart 55:03 and your life too. 55:04 We have a couple of minutes to be good what we always do, 55:07 a wrap up I think it's good in case the Lord 55:10 has put something on your heart 55:12 that you want to share, that could be a blessing. 55:14 You know, Holy Spirit can do that. 55:15 Somebody out there suffering with something, 55:18 a word of clarity they might need. 55:20 The Holy Spirit can impress your heart and your mind. 55:22 So let's just go around the table, shall we? 55:24 Just take a few seconds. 55:27 I'm just going to reiterate that 55:28 in Nehemiah Chapter 8, 55:31 when it's talking about reading from the Book of the Law 55:34 from morning till evening or midday. 55:37 They were not referring to the Ten Commandments. 55:40 Remember, when you see the law, 55:43 the Book of the Law, 55:46 or the Law of Moses, they can mean different things. 55:49 So we always have to read in context 55:52 and just know that the law of the Lord is perfect. 55:55 And what brings us great joy as we obey what Jesus said, 56:02 "If you love Me, obey My commandments." 56:05 Amen. That's right. 56:07 2 Timothy 2:15, "In this age of compromise, 56:10 and in this age of diluted Christianity, 56:16 study to show yourself approved unto God, 56:20 a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 56:23 rightly dividing the word of truth." 56:27 May your commitment be between you and your Lord, 56:30 between His word and your heart, no one else. 56:32 Amen. Amen. 56:34 Maybe you're feeling today, 56:35 like you're stuck in that sadness, 56:37 and you're struggling with that, 56:38 but know that the Lord 56:40 does not want you to remain there, 56:42 that He will forgive, He will cleanse, 56:45 and then you can go forward in His joy. 56:49 And I just want to remind all of us 56:51 that God can only forgive those sins 56:54 that we repent off. 56:56 And so this would be a good time 56:58 maybe for us to ask the Lord, 57:00 search me, O God, and know my heart, 57:02 try me and know my thoughts. 57:04 See, if there be any evil way in me 57:05 and leading in the path that is everlasting. 57:08 God, if there's anything unlovely 57:10 and unlike you in my heart, 57:11 bring it to the surface that I can repent of it 57:14 that I can stand before You pure and clean. 57:17 And then and only then 57:19 will the joy of the Lord be our strength. 57:21 Amen. That's good. 57:23 Desire of Ages, pages 490 says, 57:25 "Our condemnation in the judgment 57:27 will not be the result from the fact 57:29 that we have been in error, 57:31 but from the fact that we have neglected 57:35 heaven-sent opportunities for learning what is truth." 57:40 You know, that's pretty heavy duty 57:42 when you look at 57:43 'cause we usually tilt at the other direction. 57:45 And don't forget, I encourage that many, 57:47 don't forget the assembling of yourselves together 57:49 as you see the day approaching to hear the Word of God, 57:52 Hebrews 10:25. 57:54 We enjoy spending this time with you. 57:55 It's been a real delight for us. 57:57 We praise God for each and every one of you, 57:58 those who are making decisions right now. 58:00 We love you and we'll see you next time. |
Revised 2024-09-04