Hello, friends,
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here on 3ABN
Sabbath School Panel,
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we are about the truth,
the truth of God's Word.
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And that's what we
do each and every week
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as we study the Word of
God in spirit and in truth.
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We worship the Lord
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as we rightly
divide His Word of Truth.
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And we're making our way
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through a study of
the Book of Isaiah.
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This week, we're on
lesson number eight,
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entitled "Comfort My People."
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And you know what,
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you may be new to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel,
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we want to make sure that
you have a copy of the lesson
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so that you can be
able to study with us.
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So there's two
ways you can do that,
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of course, we encourage you
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to go to your local
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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because there they can provide
a free copy of the lesson
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and you have a
small group to study with.
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Or you can go to
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www.ABSG.Adventist.org
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and you can access a
digital copy of the lesson.
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You can put it on your
iPad, your phone, your computer,
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and you can study
right along with it.
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So again, this week,
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we're excited about
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what we're going to be studying.
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We don't want
you to go anywhere,
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because we're going to come back
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in just a moment.
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And we're going to continue
through our study this week.
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Hello, friends, and welcome
to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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We're making our way
through the Book of Isaiah.
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And we have made it
to lesson number eight.
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I think we can say
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we're a little
over halfway there.
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What do you guys say? Amen.
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Amen. All right. It's
been a wonderful study.
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I've really learned a
lot from the Book of Isaiah,
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even though I've read through
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and I've studied the
Book of Isaiah over the years,
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there's always something else
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that the Lord will
show you along the way.
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And it helps that
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you sit on an incredible
panel full of experts.
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And it's a blessing to be
with each one of you guys.
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Let me introduce our panel.
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We have Miss Shelley Quinn.
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It's a blessing to have you.
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Wonderful to be
here. Praise the Lord.
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And then, Pastor John Lomacang.
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It's always a
blessing to have you, Brother.
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Yeah, Isaiah has
been an eye opener
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and a reminder.
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Praise God for it. Amen.
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Then, to your
left we have Sister...
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I almost called you
Shelley, but you're not Shelley,
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you're Jill Morikone.
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How are you, Jill? Doing well.
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We're getting this to
my favorite part of Isaiah,
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starting with Chapter 40.
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I love this
part. Yeah, absolutely.
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Beautiful chapter.
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And Brother Kenny Shelton,
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you're locked and loaded
and ready to go, Brother?
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I'm just praising the Lord
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for the
opportunity and privilege.
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That's right.
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Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
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Lesson number eight
this week is entitled
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"Comfort My People."
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And a little bit different from
some of the previous lessons
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where we've all kind of had,
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you know, different chapters,
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you know, taking
on multiple chapters,
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we all get to kind of,
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you know, take a
piece of this pie
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of Chapter 40
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as we're studying
that particular chapter
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in this lesson this week.
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Before we go any further
we need to have a prayer,
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and Pastor Lomacang,
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why don't you say a
prayer for us, Brother?
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Sure.
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Our loving Father and our God,
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we thank You for the
privilege of Your Word,
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truly it is a lamp to our
feet and the light of our paths,
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illuminate our minds, Lord,
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that we may
communicate light and truth,
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but may all the glory
and honor go only to You.
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We pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Amen!
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Amen. Praise the Lord.
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Isaiah 40:9 is our memory
text for this week's lesson.
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And again, it says,
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"Get up into the high mountain,
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O Jerusalem, you
who bring good tidings,
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lift up your
voice with strength,
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lift it up, be not afraid,
say to the cities of Judah,
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'Behold your God!' "
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So that's our memory
text and I'm going to open,
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Sabbath afternoon
had a wonderful story
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that kind of sets the foundation
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or sets us up
for Sunday's lesson
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which is entitled
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"Comfort for the Future."
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But this story
says here, it says,
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World War II ended in 1945
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while a Japanese
soldier named Shouichi Yokoi
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was hiding out in the
jungle on the Island of Guam.
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Leaflets dropped
from the US planes
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proclaimed peace of course,
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but Yokoi thought it a trick.
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So he didn't
really believe that,
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you know, he
thought it's a trick.
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He thought the war was ongoing.
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A loyal patriotic
soldier of the Emperor
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he had vowed never to surrender.
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Because he had no
contact with civilization
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he lived on what he
could find in the jungle,
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a sparse, hard existence indeed.
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In 1972,
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27 years after the
end of World War II
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hunters came across
Yokoi while he was fishing.
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And he only learned then
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that the message of
peace had been true,
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27 years after the war.
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What a life!
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While the rest of his people
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had been enjoying
peace for decades,
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Yokoi had been enduring
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decades of probation and stress.
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And, you know, that can
be said for a lot of us.
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For a lot of people,
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there may be someone
watching today that says,
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"You know what,
I just seemed like
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my life has just
been full of anxieties
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and stress and depressions, "
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and whatever it is that
you may be dealing with.
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But the Lord has a message,
He wants to bring comfort,
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He wants us to have peace.
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And that's what Sunday's
lesson is all about entitled,
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Comfort for the Future.
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Of course, this is
in the context of Judah,
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the nation of
Israel at that time,
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the remnant of the Lord,
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who had been through
a lot up to this point.
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And our verses that
kind of set the foundation
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for what we're going to
be studying here this week
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from Isaiah 40.
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I'm going to
start in verses 1 and 2.
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And this is what it
says, "'Comfort, yes,
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comfort My people!'
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says your God
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'Speak comfort to
Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
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that her warfare is ended,
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that her iniquity is pardoned,
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for she has
received from the Lord's hand
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double for all her sins.'"
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And so this is
an interesting text
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because what
we're about to find out
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and studying my lesson
for this week and Sunday,
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it's kind of helping
to set the foundation
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and understanding
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how to rightly
divide these chapters.
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And we've arrived
kind of to a turning point
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in the scripture
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in which all the
way up to this point,
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you know, and I'm referencing
Isaiah Chapters 1 through 39,
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which we've studied so far.
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It emphasizes events
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that are leading
up to the deliverance
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from the Assyrians,
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which of course
happened in 701 BC.
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But, of course, at the
beginning of Chapter 40,
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as the lesson brings out,
and I have to agree with it,
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based on the language
that we're about to study.
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The book kind of leaps ahead
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about a century and a half
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to the end of the
Babylonian captivity,
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where Jerusalem found themselves
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in 70 years of
Babylonian captivity.
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Verse 40 carries us
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beyond to the end of
that captivity to 539 BC,
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of course, when they're
being delivered by Cyrus.
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Cyrus makes the
decree, sends the people home.
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And, of course,
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the Jews returned
shortly thereafter.
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So Isaiah 40:1-2
is within the context.
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And we're talking
about "Comfort My People, "
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it's not coming necessarily
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on the brink of
the ending of the,
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you know, oppression
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that Assyrians were
placing upon Israel,
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but rather
skipping forward to the time
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after the Babylonian captivity.
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And you'll notice there,
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we can clearly prove this
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through the
language of the text.
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You'll notice
here in verses 1 and 2,
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where it says,
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you know, comfort for
Jerusalem and cry out for her,
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that her warfare is ended, okay,
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that her iniquity is pardoned,
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or she has received
from the Lord's hand
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double for all her sins.
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And the lesson
just simply brings out
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and ask the question, what sins?
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What punishment
did she have to endure?
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What is this speaking of?
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This overcoming
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that God has
brought them through,
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this endurance that
they've had to endure,
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what is it speaking of?
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And so basically, we know that
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there was punishment
administered by Assyria,
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of course, Isaiah
Chapter 10 refers to it
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as the rod of God's anger.
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He allowed that
judgment to come upon Israel,
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because of their
lack of commitment
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to the covenant that
He had made with them.
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And so from which
God delivered Judah
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by destroying Sennacherib,
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which we studied in
the previous lessons.
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And, of course,
as I said earlier,
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that happened in 701 BC,
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and you can read about
that in Isaiah Chapter 37,
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which we studied last week.
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Of course, and there
was also the punishment
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administered by other nations,
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against which Isaiah
had given proclamations
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against these
individual nations.
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And you can read
that from Isaiah 14,
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all the way
through to Chapter 23.
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And so you go and read,
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you know, chapters 1 through 39,
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and that takes you
all the way up to the time
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in which God
delivered His people
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from the Assyrian armies.
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But if you jump
right into Chapter 40,
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it almost seems
like it's talking about,
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God's finally going to bring
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comfort and peace to the people
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after He delivered
them from, you know,
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from Sennacherib
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and from what had happened
with the Assyrian oppression.
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But yet the language suggests,
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if you go back and kind
of put some pieces together,
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that actually, you know,
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we've skipped ahead
about a century and a half,
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and God is speaking of a time
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in which Israel would
come out of oppression,
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they would come
out of that captivity
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in Babylon.
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And only at that
point, would God say,
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"Okay, now you can
endure a time of peace.
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I'm going to bring
comfort to My people."
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So that brings me to
the point here where I say
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there was judgment
administered by Babylon,
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okay, which even
though up to this point,
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the text has not
really expounded on that,
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and we haven't been brought
up to that historical point yet.
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This is where Babylon comes in,
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the punishment
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that was administered by Babylon
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which would carry away
goods and people from Judah
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because for two reasons,
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and I'm going to read a
little bit of one reason,
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but we read one last week,
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we studied one
of the reasons why
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Israel would be
carried away to Babylon
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because Hezekiah made a mistake.
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And he had forgotten
what God had done for him.
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And so he, of course,
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displayed his
wealth to the messengers
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of those people that
had come from Babylon.
00:10:03.53\00:10:05.67
And we read that
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from Isaiah
Chapter 39 last week.
00:10:07.07\00:10:09.30
And I agree with you, Jill,
what you had said last week,
00:10:09.34\00:10:11.54
we wish that, you know,
00:10:11.57\00:10:12.91
the message of
scripture in Isaiah,
00:10:12.94\00:10:14.54
as far as, you know,
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the oppression and
all that had happened,
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would have
stopped with Chapter 38.
00:10:17.41\00:10:18.95
But, you know,
well, there's Chapter 39.
00:10:18.98\00:10:21.35
And so it tells the story
of something that is to come
00:10:21.38\00:10:24.05
for the nation of Israel
as they would have to endure,
00:10:24.09\00:10:27.72
you know, again, more captivity,
00:10:27.76\00:10:29.49
more oppression,
00:10:29.52\00:10:30.86
more time of havoc
because of their own sins,
00:10:30.89\00:10:34.56
and because of the
sins of the leadership.
00:10:34.60\00:10:36.40
In fact, I want to
read about that right now,
00:10:36.43\00:10:38.27
just to kind of set the context.
00:10:38.30\00:10:39.97
Let's go to 2
Chronicles Chapter 36
00:10:40.00\00:10:42.90
because I said
there was two reasons
00:10:42.94\00:10:44.64
why they would have to endure
this Babylonian captivity.
00:10:44.67\00:10:47.78
One was based on the part
of Hezekiah's bad decision
00:10:47.81\00:10:51.88
to do what he done
00:10:51.91\00:10:53.25
and not
recognizing who the Lord was,
00:10:53.28\00:10:55.38
and not giving
credit where credit is due.
00:10:55.42\00:10:57.75
He became, you
know, obviously selfish
00:10:57.79\00:10:59.89
and was talking
about all that he was doing
00:10:59.92\00:11:02.26
and all that the
nation of Israel had done
00:11:02.29\00:11:04.16
to gain all this wealth.
00:11:04.19\00:11:05.53
But God has a different message
00:11:05.56\00:11:06.96
also for a
second reason as to why
00:11:07.00\00:11:09.30
they would be carried off
into Babylonian captivity.
00:11:09.33\00:11:11.77
This is set found
in 2 Chronicles 36,
00:11:11.80\00:11:13.90
we're going to read
verses 14 through 21.
00:11:13.94\00:11:16.67
Starting with the
verse 14, it says,
00:11:16.71\00:11:18.04
"Moreover all the
leaders of the priests
00:11:18.07\00:11:20.01
and the people
transgressed more and more,
00:11:20.04\00:11:23.04
according to
all the abominations
00:11:23.08\00:11:24.55
of the nations,
00:11:24.58\00:11:25.91
and defiled the
house of the Lord
00:11:25.95\00:11:27.55
which He had
consecrated in Jerusalem."
00:11:27.58\00:11:30.59
So again, this
is after Hezekiah,
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.52
Hezekiah did
point the people to God.
00:11:32.55\00:11:34.86
He did allow them
to worship the Lord.
00:11:34.89\00:11:36.46
And he was, as the Bible said,
00:11:36.49\00:11:38.03
he did right in
the sight of the Lord
00:11:38.06\00:11:39.49
for the most part,
00:11:39.53\00:11:40.86
but after him there was a slew,
00:11:40.90\00:11:42.23
a string of kings
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.60
that did horrible things
00:11:43.63\00:11:45.03
and launched Israel
into pagan worship into,
00:11:45.07\00:11:48.30
you know, worshipping sun gods
00:11:48.34\00:11:49.84
and completely
defiling the house of the Lord.
00:11:49.87\00:11:52.14
And that's what we're
seeing here in record.
00:11:52.17\00:11:54.08
It goes on to say in verse 15,
00:11:54.11\00:11:55.44
"And the Lord
God of their fathers
00:11:55.48\00:11:56.81
sent warnings to them,
00:11:56.85\00:11:58.25
by His messengers,"
00:11:58.28\00:11:59.61
of course, we know
this to be the prophets,
00:11:59.65\00:12:01.88
"rising up early
and sending them," why?
00:12:01.92\00:12:04.59
"Because He had
compassion on His people, "
00:12:04.62\00:12:07.89
even amongst all this apostasy,
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.86
God had
compassion on His people,
00:12:09.89\00:12:12.46
"and on His dwelling place."
00:12:12.49\00:12:13.86
Verse 16,
00:12:13.90\00:12:15.23
"But they mocked
the messengers of God,
00:12:15.26\00:12:16.77
despised His words,
00:12:16.80\00:12:18.13
and scoffed at His prophets,
00:12:18.17\00:12:19.50
until the wrath of the
Lord arose against His people,
00:12:19.53\00:12:21.74
till there was no remedy."
00:12:21.77\00:12:23.67
And so what was
the response to that?
00:12:23.71\00:12:25.91
Let's read in verse
17 and onwards, it says,
00:12:25.94\00:12:27.68
"Therefore He
brought against them
00:12:27.71\00:12:29.44
the king of the Chaldeans,
00:12:29.48\00:12:31.38
who killed their
young men with the sword
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.72
in the house of their sanctuary,
00:12:33.75\00:12:35.58
and had no compassion
on young man or virgin,
00:12:35.62\00:12:38.42
on the aged or the weak,
00:12:38.45\00:12:40.19
he gave them all into his hand.
00:12:40.22\00:12:42.86
And all the
articles of the house of God,
00:12:42.89\00:12:44.56
great and small,
00:12:44.59\00:12:45.93
and the treasures of
the house of the Lord
00:12:45.96\00:12:47.30
and the treasures of
the king of the leaders,
00:12:47.33\00:12:49.20
all these he took to Babylon."
00:12:49.23\00:12:51.53
So those treasures
that Hezekiah was all,
00:12:51.57\00:12:54.30
you know, bragging about,
00:12:54.34\00:12:55.67
"Look, what I've done,
look what I have here,"
00:12:55.70\00:12:57.61
Babylon came back for
it as a judgment on Israel.
00:12:57.64\00:13:00.08
Verse 19,
00:13:00.11\00:13:01.44
"Then they
burned the house of God,
00:13:01.48\00:13:02.81
broke down the
wall of Jerusalem,
00:13:02.84\00:13:04.18
burned all its
palaces with fire,
00:13:04.21\00:13:06.35
and destroyed all of
its precious possessions.
00:13:06.38\00:13:08.38
And those who escaped the sword
he carried away to Babylon,
00:13:08.42\00:13:11.72
where they
became servants to him
00:13:11.75\00:13:13.76
and his sons until the
rule of the king of Persia,
00:13:13.79\00:13:16.52
to fulfill the word of the
Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,
00:13:16.56\00:13:19.19
until the land had
enjoyed her Sabbath.
00:13:19.23\00:13:21.13
As long as she lay
desolate she kept Sabbath,
00:13:21.16\00:13:23.87
to fulfill seventy years."
00:13:23.90\00:13:25.80
Of course, this is speaking
00:13:25.83\00:13:27.17
of the 70 years of
Babylonian captivity.
00:13:27.20\00:13:29.00
We say all of this,
00:13:29.04\00:13:30.47
because I'm not going to go into
00:13:30.51\00:13:32.21
'cause we don't
have enough time.
00:13:32.24\00:13:33.64
But if you go back
and read Isaiah 14:1-4,
00:13:33.68\00:13:38.28
there's language
connecting this passage
00:13:38.31\00:13:40.92
to the first two
verses of Isaiah 40
00:13:40.95\00:13:44.22
that we just read
earlier, where God says,
00:13:44.25\00:13:45.69
"Comfort My People,
00:13:45.72\00:13:47.06
tell them that
because of all of this,
00:13:47.09\00:13:48.42
you know what,
I've forgiven them,
00:13:48.46\00:13:49.79
I've pardoned them.
00:13:49.82\00:13:51.16
Now I'm going to allow
them to endure a time of peace."
00:13:51.19\00:13:53.73
So you'll see here, if
you go read Isaiah 14:1-4,
00:13:53.76\00:13:57.77
and I'll just read
verse 3 here, it says,
00:13:57.80\00:13:59.40
"It shall come to
pass in the day of the Lord
00:13:59.43\00:14:01.07
gives you rest
from your sorrow,"
00:14:01.10\00:14:03.34
there it is,
00:14:03.37\00:14:04.71
"and from your fear
and the hard bondage
00:14:04.74\00:14:07.04
of which you have
made, you were made to serve,
00:14:07.08\00:14:09.24
that you will
take up this proverb
00:14:09.28\00:14:10.75
against the king
of Babylon, and say,
00:14:10.78\00:14:12.55
'How the oppressor has ceased,
00:14:12.58\00:14:14.35
the Golden City ceased!' "
00:14:14.38\00:14:15.78
So again, that language
00:14:15.82\00:14:17.15
is almost the exact
same language in context,
00:14:17.19\00:14:19.59
what we find in
Isaiah 40:1-2, when God says,
00:14:19.62\00:14:22.42
you know what?
00:14:22.46\00:14:23.79
I'm giving you a time of peace,
00:14:23.83\00:14:25.16
all those hardships
and all of the hard things
00:14:25.19\00:14:28.40
you've had to endure
because of your decisions,
00:14:28.43\00:14:30.57
you have paid for those sins.
00:14:30.60\00:14:31.93
You have paid, you
have done your time,
00:14:31.97\00:14:33.90
okay, you've spent
your time in prison.
00:14:33.94\00:14:35.94
Now I'm going to have
compassion on you once more,
00:14:35.97\00:14:38.57
and I'm going to allow you
00:14:38.61\00:14:39.94
to endure and
have a time of peace.
00:14:39.97\00:14:41.31
Praise God for that.
00:14:41.34\00:14:42.68
Don't we need peace in our life?
00:14:42.71\00:14:44.05
Should we be able
to also glean from this
00:14:44.08\00:14:45.68
that we need to trust in
the promises of God's Word.
00:14:45.71\00:14:47.68
That right now,
00:14:47.72\00:14:49.05
many of us may be dealing
with hardships in our lives.
00:14:49.08\00:14:51.45
We may be dealing
with stresses and anxiety,
00:14:51.49\00:14:53.59
but God is for His people.
00:14:53.62\00:14:55.42
He says, "Hang in
there, trust in My promises,
00:14:55.46\00:14:58.39
because I'm coming back.
00:14:58.43\00:14:59.76
And when I come back,
00:14:59.79\00:15:01.13
I'm going to give you a
never ending time of peace."
00:15:01.16\00:15:04.37
Hallelujah!
00:15:04.40\00:15:05.73
Thank you for that!
00:15:05.77\00:15:07.10
Oops.
00:15:07.14\00:15:08.47
My assignment is Monday
00:15:08.50\00:15:12.17
and it is called God's Presence,
00:15:12.21\00:15:15.21
or it says,
00:15:15.24\00:15:16.58
"Presence, Word, and Roadwork."
00:15:16.61\00:15:17.95
So let me just,
00:15:17.98\00:15:19.31
I'm going to get to
the cut to the chase here.
00:15:19.35\00:15:22.62
God's presence and God's Word
00:15:22.65\00:15:26.76
are covenant promises.
00:15:26.79\00:15:30.79
God's presence, God's Word
was delivered to the people
00:15:30.83\00:15:34.03
at Mount Sinai.
00:15:34.06\00:15:35.73
But guess what?
00:15:35.76\00:15:37.10
They rejected it.
00:15:37.13\00:15:38.47
They rejected His Word.
00:15:38.50\00:15:39.83
They rejected Him, all
throughout their apostasy.
00:15:39.87\00:15:43.91
So sin had broken this covenant
between God and His people
00:15:43.94\00:15:49.78
and the road work
00:15:49.81\00:15:51.25
we're going to
see is repentance.
00:15:51.28\00:15:54.45
It is a turning away from sin
00:15:54.48\00:15:57.55
in order to receive
00:15:57.59\00:16:00.06
the comfort of God's
forgiveness and peace.
00:16:00.09\00:16:02.66
So once again,
Isaiah 40, verse what?
00:16:02.69\00:16:06.16
Verse 1,
00:16:06.19\00:16:07.53
"Comfort, yes,
comfort My people,"
00:16:07.56\00:16:11.60
says your God.
00:16:11.63\00:16:13.00
So Isaiah is
instructed to prophesy
00:16:13.03\00:16:17.27
as though the
Babylonian captivity
00:16:17.31\00:16:20.58
were already a present reality.
00:16:20.61\00:16:23.65
You know, this
is a dramatic shift,
00:16:23.68\00:16:25.58
instead of proclaiming
the judgment and the doom,
00:16:25.61\00:16:30.69
he's talking about the exile,
00:16:30.72\00:16:32.72
but it's still 100
years in the future
00:16:32.75\00:16:35.46
before Jerusalem's fall,
00:16:35.49\00:16:36.99
then they were going to
spend 70 years in captivity.
00:16:37.03\00:16:41.10
But Isaiah, God
says, speak to my people,
00:16:41.13\00:16:45.47
tenderly bring
words of comfort to them,
00:16:45.50\00:16:49.04
a hope of a blessed future.
00:16:49.07\00:16:51.44
So we always have to remember
00:16:51.47\00:16:53.88
that God has this plan
for His covenant people.
00:16:53.91\00:16:57.55
So verse 2, He says,
00:16:57.58\00:16:58.91
"Speak comfort to
Jerusalem, cry out to her,
00:16:58.95\00:17:01.78
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
00:17:01.82\00:17:05.19
for she is received
from the Lord's hand
00:17:05.22\00:17:09.02
double for all of her sins."
00:17:09.06\00:17:12.46
Now, the cruel assault
00:17:12.49\00:17:14.56
and the captivity
of the Babylonians
00:17:14.60\00:17:16.90
was the double payment.
00:17:16.93\00:17:18.97
And that mean that
all of their sins...
00:17:19.00\00:17:21.97
And it's so amazing
00:17:22.00\00:17:23.41
how God would rescue His people,
00:17:23.44\00:17:25.37
they turn away from Him.
00:17:25.41\00:17:26.74
God would rescue His
people, they turn away from Him.
00:17:26.78\00:17:29.51
I think that happens
too much today as well.
00:17:29.54\00:17:32.51
But you know what
this reminds me of,
00:17:32.55\00:17:34.72
here's God, He's
anticipating their questions.
00:17:34.75\00:17:40.59
And He's giving
them hope for a future.
00:17:40.62\00:17:43.63
It reminds me of Isaiah 65:24,
00:17:43.66\00:17:46.63
"Before they
call, I will answer."
00:17:46.66\00:17:50.70
So God is
prophesying through Isaiah,
00:17:50.73\00:17:54.24
before it ever happens,
00:17:54.27\00:17:55.74
so that the people
will know in advance
00:17:55.77\00:17:58.97
that they have reason for hope.
00:17:59.01\00:18:02.34
And actually,
00:18:02.38\00:18:03.75
this is not just the deliverance
00:18:03.78\00:18:06.08
from Babylonian
captivity, or by Cyrus,
00:18:06.11\00:18:10.69
it's also the future,
00:18:10.72\00:18:13.99
deliverance from the
future system of Babylon
00:18:14.02\00:18:18.46
that we read
about in Revelation,
00:18:18.49\00:18:20.96
because the ultimate fulfillment
00:18:21.00\00:18:23.06
we're going to see
00:18:23.10\00:18:24.80
is the ultimate
fulfillment of this deliverance
00:18:24.83\00:18:27.90
comes in Jesus Christ.
00:18:27.94\00:18:29.27
So Isaiah 40:3,
00:18:29.30\00:18:32.61
"The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, "
00:18:32.64\00:18:35.04
so here's an unnamed herald,
00:18:35.08\00:18:37.28
"prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert,
00:18:37.31\00:18:39.88
a highway for our God.
00:18:39.91\00:18:41.85
Every valley shall be exalted,
00:18:41.88\00:18:44.05
every mountain
and hill brought low,
00:18:44.09\00:18:46.55
then crooked places
shall be made straight,
00:18:46.59\00:18:49.62
and the rough
places made smooth."
00:18:49.66\00:18:52.63
You know, it was
customary for Eastern monarchs,
00:18:52.66\00:18:56.26
they would send their
heralds out before them
00:18:56.30\00:19:00.24
to clear the path,
00:19:00.27\00:19:01.94
to make it a
level road for them.
00:19:01.97\00:19:04.47
But we know that
00:19:04.51\00:19:07.21
this prophecy is not
speaking of the physical realm,
00:19:07.24\00:19:11.68
because if you look at
Israel in the wilderness
00:19:11.71\00:19:15.28
and their deep bodies,
and their high mountains,
00:19:15.32\00:19:18.59
boy, I mean, you'd have to
have a bulldozer and dynamite,
00:19:18.62\00:19:21.89
and it still would
be a daunting task,
00:19:21.92\00:19:23.63
wouldn't it?
00:19:23.66\00:19:24.99
So he's speaking of
the spiritual realm.
00:19:25.03\00:19:27.90
And actually
Isaiah 42:16 tells us,
00:19:27.93\00:19:32.07
only God can
achieve this true roadwork.
00:19:32.10\00:19:35.67
Listen to what He says,
00:19:35.70\00:19:37.07
"I will bring the blind
by a way they did not know.
00:19:37.11\00:19:40.38
I will lead them in
paths they have not known.
00:19:40.41\00:19:43.61
I will make
darkness light before them,
00:19:43.65\00:19:46.98
and crooked places straight.
00:19:47.02\00:19:50.12
These things I will do for
them and not forsake them."
00:19:50.15\00:19:54.56
So God is the one
00:19:54.59\00:19:57.06
as I believe it's
Acts 5:32 that says,
00:19:57.09\00:19:59.89
He grants us
repentance through Jesus Christ.
00:19:59.93\00:20:04.10
But what God was
telling His people is,
00:20:04.13\00:20:07.64
"Watch for My restoration."
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.54
There's going to come a
day that you will repent.
00:20:09.57\00:20:13.01
And the New Testament
00:20:13.04\00:20:15.34
explicitly applies
this to repentance.
00:20:15.38\00:20:18.61
So let's look at that,
00:20:18.65\00:20:20.08
John the Baptist, Matthew 3:1-3.
00:20:20.12\00:20:24.99
I think of him as the
last Old Testament prophet,
00:20:25.02\00:20:28.62
even though he didn't
show up till the New Testament.
00:20:28.66\00:20:31.29
I mean, he's the one
that is preparing the way,
00:20:31.33\00:20:33.53
he's the ordained
forerunner for the Messiah.
00:20:33.56\00:20:37.00
So He challenges the
people through repentance.
00:20:37.03\00:20:40.24
Matthew 3,
00:20:40.27\00:20:41.60
"In those days,
00:20:41.64\00:20:42.97
John the Baptist came preaching
00:20:43.00\00:20:44.34
in the wilderness
of Judea, and saying,
00:20:44.37\00:20:46.91
'Repent.'"
00:20:46.94\00:20:49.21
I can hear that
echoing, can you not?
00:20:49.24\00:20:53.42
From all those years back
00:20:53.45\00:20:55.05
when he said
this, I hear that echo.
00:20:55.08\00:20:58.52
And I hope that
resonates with your heart,
00:20:58.55\00:21:02.89
that God is always
calling us to repentance.
00:21:02.92\00:21:06.43
And we need to say,
00:21:06.46\00:21:07.80
"Lord, not only am
I confessing my sins,
00:21:07.83\00:21:10.53
but grant me
repentance, turn me around,
00:21:10.57\00:21:14.87
turn me away
from this sin, Lord."
00:21:14.90\00:21:17.27
Okay.
00:21:17.31\00:21:18.64
So Matthew 3:2,
00:21:18.67\00:21:20.24
"Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven
00:21:20.28\00:21:22.54
is at hand."
00:21:22.58\00:21:23.91
And then verse 3 says,
00:21:23.95\00:21:25.28
"This is he
00:21:25.31\00:21:26.65
who is spoken of by
the prophet Isaiah, saying,
00:21:26.68\00:21:28.92
'The voice of one
crying in the wilderness,
00:21:28.95\00:21:31.15
prepare the way of the
Lord, make His path straight.'"
00:21:31.19\00:21:36.36
So that's the roadwork,
00:21:36.39\00:21:39.83
the remnant of Israel.
00:21:39.86\00:21:43.16
It says in Mark 1
00:21:43.20\00:21:44.53
that John kept
baptizing in the wilderness,
00:21:44.57\00:21:46.57
preaching a
baptism of repentance
00:21:46.60\00:21:50.97
for the remission of sins.
00:21:51.01\00:21:53.48
This is the only way
00:21:53.51\00:21:54.84
that he could
get their attention
00:21:54.88\00:21:56.21
and prepare their hearts,
clearing the way for an end.
00:21:56.24\00:22:01.72
You know, I think of confession,
00:22:01.75\00:22:04.62
as the clearing
house of the conscience.
00:22:04.65\00:22:07.66
You know, when you
are feeling guilty,
00:22:07.69\00:22:13.50
just go before the
Lord and confess your sin.
00:22:13.53\00:22:16.80
And you know what?
00:22:16.83\00:22:18.17
He takes all that guilt
and condemnation away from you.
00:22:18.20\00:22:21.87
And you know that
when you confess your sin,
00:22:21.90\00:22:24.57
He's faithful and just,
00:22:24.61\00:22:26.07
1 John 1:9 says,
00:22:26.11\00:22:27.61
to cleanse, I mean,
not only to forgive you
00:22:27.64\00:22:30.01
but to cleanse you
of all unrighteousness.
00:22:30.05\00:22:33.28
Hallelujah!
00:22:33.31\00:22:34.65
So what happens?
00:22:34.68\00:22:36.85
Isaiah 40:5,
00:22:36.89\00:22:38.49
"The glory of the
Lord shall be revealed,
00:22:38.52\00:22:41.26
all flesh shall see it together,
00:22:41.29\00:22:44.76
for the mouth of
the Lord has spoken."
00:22:44.79\00:22:48.60
So this prophecy is
looking beyond their punishment.
00:22:48.63\00:22:53.60
It's looking to the
return of God's glory,
00:22:53.64\00:22:57.21
when He would bring them
00:22:57.24\00:22:58.84
comfort and
deliverance and hope.
00:22:58.87\00:23:01.68
And their misery,
00:23:01.71\00:23:04.11
God's going to wipe it away
00:23:04.15\00:23:05.48
and His glory is
going to replace it.
00:23:05.51\00:23:07.52
So what happens is,
00:23:07.55\00:23:10.59
they're going to
receive the favor
00:23:10.62\00:23:12.19
that they rejected
for all of those years,
00:23:12.22\00:23:14.36
isn't that amazing?
00:23:14.39\00:23:15.79
So His presence and
His Word would be restored.
00:23:15.82\00:23:19.69
Isaiah 40:6,
another voice proclaims,
00:23:19.73\00:23:24.50
"This voice said, 'Cry out!'
00:23:24.53\00:23:26.94
And he said, 'What shall I cry?'
00:23:26.97\00:23:29.37
'All flesh is grass
00:23:29.40\00:23:31.34
and all its loveliness is
like the flower of the field.
00:23:31.37\00:23:35.34
The grass
withers, the flower fades,
00:23:35.38\00:23:38.11
because the breath
the Lord blows upon it.
00:23:38.15\00:23:41.22
Surely the people are grass.'"
00:23:41.25\00:23:44.19
But and then it
says, I love verse 8,
00:23:44.22\00:23:47.02
"The grass
withers, the flower fades,
00:23:47.06\00:23:52.46
but the word of our
Lord stands forever."
00:23:52.49\00:23:59.07
We are like the
flower and the grass.
00:23:59.10\00:24:03.94
Short-lived.
00:24:03.97\00:24:05.37
We fade.
00:24:05.41\00:24:06.74
We're here today
and gone tomorrow.
00:24:06.78\00:24:08.71
You know, humanity is mortal.
00:24:08.74\00:24:12.05
Yeah, 1 Timothy
6:16, Paul explains,
00:24:12.08\00:24:16.79
right now only God is immortal.
00:24:16.82\00:24:18.65
And in 1 Corinthians
15: 52-54 tells us that
00:24:18.69\00:24:25.63
we don't put on immortality
00:24:25.66\00:24:27.46
until the last
trumpet when Christ returns.
00:24:27.50\00:24:30.30
So we're just grass,
00:24:30.33\00:24:32.33
but God's Word is permanent
00:24:32.37\00:24:36.64
and it guarantees that
00:24:36.67\00:24:39.17
there'll be no
deviation from His plan.
00:24:39.21\00:24:43.65
The eternal word is dependable.
00:24:43.68\00:24:46.18
It brings
comfort, encouragement,
00:24:46.21\00:24:49.28
even in the face of adversity.
00:24:49.32\00:24:52.99
I just want to encourage you.
00:24:53.02\00:24:55.52
God wrote this word
00:24:55.56\00:24:57.69
to give you a
hope for the future.
00:24:57.73\00:25:01.33
Get into the Bible today,
00:25:01.36\00:25:03.73
ask for God's
presence in His Word
00:25:03.77\00:25:05.90
to be restored in your life.
00:25:05.93\00:25:08.40
Amen.
00:25:08.44\00:25:10.07
Praise the Lord. I love that.
00:25:10.11\00:25:11.64
Praise the Lord
for forgiveness, right?
00:25:11.67\00:25:13.51
And I love that scripture
in Acts that you quoted,
00:25:13.54\00:25:15.98
I think it's Acts 5:31,
00:25:16.01\00:25:17.78
which says, you know,
00:25:17.81\00:25:19.15
God has given us Christ
00:25:19.18\00:25:20.58
so that we might
have forgiveness of sins.
00:25:20.62\00:25:23.28
We're going to
take a short break
00:25:23.32\00:25:24.65
and we'll be
right back in a moment.
00:25:24.69\00:25:26.02
Amen.
00:25:26.05\00:25:27.39
Ever wish you could watch
00:25:31.53\00:25:32.86
a 3ABN Sabbath
School Panel again,
00:25:32.89\00:25:34.96
or share it on
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00:25:35.00\00:25:38.13
Well, you can by visiting
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00:25:38.17\00:25:42.94
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00:25:42.97\00:25:45.61
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00:25:45.64\00:25:47.74
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00:25:47.78\00:25:51.15
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00:25:51.18\00:25:52.95
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00:25:57.52\00:26:01.79
Welcome back, friends, to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:26:01.82\00:26:04.13
We're going to toss it
over to Pastor John Lomacang
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.80
for Tuesday's lesson.
00:26:06.83\00:26:08.26
I like the title of Tuesday,
"The Birth of Evangelism."
00:26:08.30\00:26:12.87
The Birth of Evangelism,
00:26:12.90\00:26:14.64
would God be so kind
to give me that title?
00:26:14.67\00:26:17.24
There you go. The
Birth of Evangelism.
00:26:17.27\00:26:19.61
You know, when we
read Isaiah 40:9-11,
00:26:19.64\00:26:23.04
I like to begin there.
00:26:23.08\00:26:25.35
And the writer, I
love the transition, Jill.
00:26:25.38\00:26:28.38
We're now starting to get
into the lighter side of Isaiah,
00:26:28.42\00:26:32.82
the side which has
chapters and prophecies
00:26:32.85\00:26:37.23
that bring brighter news.
00:26:37.26\00:26:39.49
You know, we saw the carnage
00:26:39.53\00:26:40.86
and the military
exploits in the wars.
00:26:40.90\00:26:44.50
And just a number of,
00:26:44.53\00:26:47.97
I would say depressing pictures.
00:26:48.00\00:26:50.24
But the good news out of
all of that depression is that
00:26:50.27\00:26:52.84
God still sustains His people.
00:26:52.87\00:26:56.04
He's still the
one that's in charge
00:26:56.08\00:26:57.41
of the outcome of the story.
00:26:57.45\00:26:59.35
So we have all
that bad news behind us.
00:26:59.38\00:27:02.02
And the Lord now
through the Prophet Isaiah
00:27:02.05\00:27:05.05
starts to forecast the
perpetuity of good news.
00:27:05.09\00:27:08.96
Look at Isaiah
40:9-11, we'll begin there.
00:27:08.99\00:27:13.23
"O Zion, you who
bring good tidings,
00:27:13.26\00:27:19.10
get up into the high
mountains, O Jerusalem, "
00:27:19.13\00:27:22.10
that's the place of proclamation
00:27:22.14\00:27:23.54
where the message can
resonate over the hillsides,
00:27:23.57\00:27:27.14
"you who bring good tidings,
00:27:27.18\00:27:28.98
lift up your
voice with strength,"
00:27:29.01\00:27:33.05
it sound three angels'
messages with a loud voice,
00:27:33.08\00:27:36.42
"lift it up, be not afraid,
00:27:36.45\00:27:38.85
say to the cities of Judah,
00:27:38.89\00:27:41.89
'Behold your God!' "
00:27:41.92\00:27:44.16
Verse 10,
00:27:44.19\00:27:45.53
"Behold, the Lord shall
come with a strong hand,
00:27:45.56\00:27:49.40
and His arm shall rule for Him.
00:27:49.43\00:27:52.00
Behold, His reward is with Him,"
00:27:52.03\00:27:55.27
Revelation
22:12, so much in there,
00:27:55.30\00:27:58.57
"and his work before him.
00:27:58.61\00:28:00.68
He will feed His
flock like a shepherd."
00:28:00.71\00:28:03.65
John Chapter 10,
00:28:03.68\00:28:05.21
all this imagery is in there,
00:28:05.25\00:28:07.15
"He will gather
the lambs with His arm,
00:28:07.18\00:28:09.78
and carry them in His bosom,"
00:28:09.82\00:28:11.85
the lost sheep,
00:28:11.89\00:28:13.86
"and gently lead
those who are with young."
00:28:13.89\00:28:18.56
There's so much
imagery in that passage,
00:28:18.59\00:28:21.50
that we begin to find
that Isaiah the prophet,
00:28:21.53\00:28:24.33
what I love about the Bible,
00:28:24.37\00:28:26.20
which is showing the
deep inspiration of it,
00:28:26.23\00:28:28.47
is what's
forecasted 700 years before
00:28:28.50\00:28:32.74
starts to be metered
00:28:32.77\00:28:34.41
into the lives of the
writers of the New Testament,
00:28:34.44\00:28:37.28
which shows that there's no way,
00:28:37.31\00:28:38.65
they were not even around.
00:28:38.68\00:28:40.18
And these records were not
freely proliferated among them.
00:28:40.22\00:28:44.42
So God, the same inspiration
00:28:44.45\00:28:46.29
that spoke to
Isaiah the Prophet,
00:28:46.32\00:28:47.99
and Ezekiel and Jeremiah
00:28:48.02\00:28:49.76
is the same one that begins
to inspire the minds of those
00:28:49.79\00:28:53.09
who begin to lay the
foundation of evangelism.
00:28:53.13\00:28:56.33
And I find also,
00:28:56.36\00:28:57.70
when we talk about
the mission of Christ,
00:28:57.73\00:28:59.17
because clearly,
00:28:59.20\00:29:00.54
the ultimate
evangelist is Jesus.
00:29:00.57\00:29:02.64
But I want to just make a
few points about evangelism,
00:29:02.67\00:29:05.31
because the mission of Christ
00:29:05.34\00:29:06.74
is being revealed
in these two verses.
00:29:06.78\00:29:09.84
But there are those who
are forerunners of Christ
00:29:09.88\00:29:12.55
that are also
going to be revealed.
00:29:12.58\00:29:13.92
We'll talk about
that in a moment.
00:29:13.95\00:29:15.28
But four very quick points
about the mission of Jesus,
00:29:15.32\00:29:18.12
that is foretold in the verses.
00:29:18.15\00:29:19.85
A Jesus based evangelism,
00:29:19.89\00:29:22.32
there should be no
other kind of evangelism.
00:29:22.36\00:29:25.53
You know,
evangelists, we know, I mean,
00:29:25.56\00:29:28.96
those of us who
love studying Revelation,
00:29:29.00\00:29:30.97
we all love the
depth of the book.
00:29:31.00\00:29:34.10
But sometimes we get so
locked into the imagery,
00:29:34.14\00:29:36.71
that we forget
00:29:36.74\00:29:38.07
it's the
Revelation of Jesus Christ.
00:29:38.11\00:29:39.84
And people are not
going to be converted
00:29:39.87\00:29:41.31
on the veracity of the
viciousness of a beast,
00:29:41.34\00:29:45.98
but they will be converted
on the goodness of God.
00:29:46.01\00:29:49.25
And the beautiful
news of Revelation
00:29:49.28\00:29:51.45
is Jesus based evangelism
is not based on information,
00:29:51.49\00:29:55.39
but it's focused
on transformation.
00:29:55.42\00:29:57.83
So that's what the
prophet is talking about here.
00:29:57.86\00:30:00.10
Jesus centered
evangelism is not a new thought,
00:30:00.13\00:30:03.63
but a new life.
00:30:03.67\00:30:05.60
The focus never
needs to be changed.
00:30:05.63\00:30:07.67
Jesus driven evangelism
is not aimed at membership
00:30:07.70\00:30:12.27
but discipleship.
00:30:12.31\00:30:14.08
Members, I said so many,
00:30:14.11\00:30:15.44
you could do
whatever you want as a member,
00:30:15.48\00:30:17.01
but you can't do
whatever you want as a disciple,
00:30:17.05\00:30:19.05
because it
requires denial of oneself.
00:30:19.08\00:30:21.35
So you might think about,
00:30:21.38\00:30:22.72
"Well, what does it take..."
00:30:22.75\00:30:24.09
And people have asked me,
00:30:24.12\00:30:25.45
"What does it take to be
a member of your church?"
00:30:25.49\00:30:26.82
I've changed my answer.
00:30:26.86\00:30:28.52
I said, "I don't want
members. I want disciples."
00:30:28.56\00:30:33.53
Because the Lord never said,
00:30:33.56\00:30:34.90
Go therefore to make
members of all nations.
00:30:34.93\00:30:36.90
He said, "Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations."
00:30:36.93\00:30:39.97
We've got too much membership
and not enough disciples.
00:30:40.00\00:30:43.00
Can I touch you?
00:30:43.04\00:30:44.37
We just broke our
COVID-19 protocol.
00:30:44.41\00:30:45.74
Oh, yeah, but that's too good.
00:30:45.77\00:30:47.91
We got too much members
and not enough disciples.
00:30:47.94\00:30:51.18
So Jesus based evangelism
is, go make disciples,
00:30:51.21\00:30:55.62
stop settling for membership.
00:30:55.65\00:30:57.75
Membership dries up the pews,
discipleship fills up the pews.
00:30:57.79\00:31:03.19
And so we have to
be Jesus motivated.
00:31:03.22\00:31:05.53
Jesus motivated
evangelism is not group,
00:31:05.56\00:31:09.10
but individual focus.
00:31:09.13\00:31:10.47
And so when you look
at the message of Jesus,
00:31:10.50\00:31:12.97
His message was so powerful.
00:31:13.00\00:31:14.64
Look at all the individual
stories in evangelism.
00:31:14.67\00:31:17.21
Most of the outreach of
Jesus was not to groups,
00:31:17.24\00:31:20.21
it was to individuals.
00:31:20.24\00:31:21.58
The lost sheep, the
lost coin, the lost son,
00:31:21.61\00:31:24.88
the woman at the well,
00:31:24.91\00:31:26.25
the man at the pool of Bethesda,
00:31:26.28\00:31:27.62
the demoniac.
00:31:27.65\00:31:28.98
Jesus focused on the individual,
00:31:29.02\00:31:31.25
the woman with
an issue of blood,
00:31:31.29\00:31:33.25
blind Bartimaeus,
00:31:33.29\00:31:34.62
Jesus focused on the individual.
00:31:34.66\00:31:36.52
And so often, we get
excited when we have crowds.
00:31:36.56\00:31:38.99
But I remember the story about
a person who was preaching,
00:31:39.03\00:31:42.20
I forgot where it was,
00:31:42.23\00:31:43.57
but the story is
nonetheless valid.
00:31:43.60\00:31:45.97
He was in South America,
00:31:46.00\00:31:48.24
in a town where
Catholicism was so strong
00:31:48.27\00:31:51.04
that the priests
sent out a letter
00:31:51.07\00:31:53.17
prohibiting anyone
to go to his evangelism.
00:31:53.21\00:31:57.55
On the night that
the meetings open,
00:31:57.58\00:31:58.95
there was not a single
person sitting in that church.
00:31:58.98\00:32:01.82
He preached for the whole week.
00:32:01.85\00:32:03.59
He just decided,
00:32:03.62\00:32:04.95
"Well, nobody here
I'm just going to do."
00:32:04.99\00:32:07.56
And he opened the windows.
00:32:07.59\00:32:09.79
And he preached for whole week.
00:32:09.82\00:32:11.53
And at the end of
the week, he said,
00:32:11.56\00:32:12.89
"You know, this is ridiculous.
Nobody's showing up."
00:32:12.93\00:32:15.50
And he heard somebody
outside in the trees, said,
00:32:15.53\00:32:18.13
"Keep preaching,
we're listening."
00:32:18.17\00:32:20.84
They didn't want the
priests to let them know
00:32:20.87\00:32:22.70
that they were in the building,
00:32:22.74\00:32:24.61
but they were
hiding in the trees
00:32:24.64\00:32:26.04
outside of the church.
00:32:26.07\00:32:28.84
So we have to be
evangelism focused,
00:32:28.88\00:32:32.61
never worry about the numbers.
00:32:32.65\00:32:35.52
Jesus always tell, one waters,
one plants another waters,
00:32:35.55\00:32:38.95
but God gives the increase.
00:32:38.99\00:32:40.52
So evangelism is not just a
presentation of good message,
00:32:40.56\00:32:44.36
but the
presentation of a good God.
00:32:44.39\00:32:47.10
Romans 2:4,
00:32:47.13\00:32:49.23
"Or do you despise the
riches of His goodness,
00:32:49.26\00:32:51.90
forbearance, and long suffering,
00:32:51.93\00:32:53.70
not knowing that
00:32:53.74\00:32:55.07
the goodness of God
leads to repentance?"
00:32:55.10\00:32:57.81
And I know, I mean,
00:32:57.84\00:32:59.17
I've been rebuked
in this particular way,
00:32:59.21\00:33:00.54
in my own self,
00:33:00.58\00:33:01.91
because I've become so
wrapped up in my early days,
00:33:01.94\00:33:05.51
you know, defining the horns.
00:33:05.55\00:33:08.02
And not that any
of that is irrelevant,
00:33:08.05\00:33:09.68
it's so extremely irrelevant.
00:33:09.72\00:33:12.02
But don't let the
horns eclipse the Christ.
00:33:12.05\00:33:15.99
Don't let the
beast eclipse the lamb.
00:33:16.02\00:33:19.03
And so that's why
Jesus said in John 12:32,
00:33:19.06\00:33:21.50
"If I am lifted up,
00:33:21.53\00:33:23.10
I will draw all
people to Myself."
00:33:23.13\00:33:25.77
So let's go ahead and
talk about evangelism.
00:33:25.80\00:33:27.54
How did evangelism get started?
00:33:27.57\00:33:29.67
Now, Shelley, you
took Matthew Chapter 3,
00:33:29.70\00:33:31.74
so I'm going to leave that,
00:33:31.77\00:33:33.11
how John the
Baptist was a forerunner.
00:33:33.14\00:33:35.74
But the birth of Evangelism
is the focus of our story.
00:33:35.78\00:33:39.35
Let's go to the
Book of Luke 2:34-35,
00:33:39.38\00:33:42.98
the birth of Evangelism.
00:33:43.02\00:33:44.85
You know, John
was the forerunner,
00:33:44.89\00:33:47.16
he had a responsibility,
his life was short lived,
00:33:47.19\00:33:50.19
but his life was fulfilled.
00:33:50.23\00:33:52.33
The length of the life
00:33:52.36\00:33:53.90
is not the thing that
we should gripe about,
00:33:53.93\00:33:56.56
but the
fulfillment of our purpose
00:33:56.60\00:33:58.33
is the major focus.
00:33:58.37\00:34:00.07
John's life was short,
but he fulfilled the purpose.
00:34:00.10\00:34:02.60
Let's look at two
very powerful stories.
00:34:02.64\00:34:05.21
The confirmation
of John the Baptist
00:34:05.24\00:34:06.94
and his mission.
00:34:06.98\00:34:08.44
Verse 34,
00:34:08.48\00:34:09.81
"Then Simeon blessed them, "
00:34:09.84\00:34:11.18
this is now the child being...
00:34:11.21\00:34:14.18
Where are we, Luke 3?
00:34:14.22\00:34:15.58
Luke 2:34.
00:34:15.62\00:34:17.25
2:34. Okay.
00:34:17.29\00:34:19.19
"Then Simeon blessed them
and said to Mary His mother,
00:34:19.22\00:34:22.99
'Behold, this child is destined
00:34:23.02\00:34:25.09
for the fall and
rising of many in Israel,'"
00:34:25.13\00:34:27.33
speaking about Christ,
00:34:27.36\00:34:28.73
"'and for a sign which
will be spoken against.
00:34:28.76\00:34:32.27
Yes, a sword will pierce
through your own soul also, '"
00:34:32.30\00:34:36.20
that is when Jesus is crucified,
00:34:36.24\00:34:38.64
"'that the
thoughts of many hearts
00:34:38.67\00:34:41.31
may be revealed.'"
00:34:41.34\00:34:42.68
Now let's look
at verse 36 and 38.
00:34:42.71\00:34:44.91
Let's see where
public evangelism started.
00:34:44.95\00:34:48.35
"Now there was
one, Anna, a prophetess,
00:34:48.38\00:34:51.92
the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
00:34:51.95\00:34:55.92
She was of great age
00:34:55.96\00:34:58.49
and had lived with a husband
seven years from her virginity,
00:34:58.53\00:35:02.66
and this woman was a widow
of about eighty-four years,
00:35:02.70\00:35:06.60
who did not
depart from the temple,
00:35:06.63\00:35:08.50
but served God with fasting
and prayers night and day.
00:35:08.54\00:35:12.64
And coming in that instance
she gave thanks to the Lord,
00:35:12.67\00:35:17.15
and spoke of him to all those
00:35:17.18\00:35:19.15
who looked for
redemption in Jerusalem."
00:35:19.18\00:35:21.72
Public evangelism
00:35:21.75\00:35:23.25
was first
proclaimed through a woman.
00:35:23.28\00:35:26.15
Amen, Shelley? Amen.
00:35:26.19\00:35:27.52
Praise the Lord.
00:35:27.56\00:35:28.89
And then it continued,
00:35:28.92\00:35:30.26
public evangelism
continued through a woman.
00:35:30.29\00:35:32.89
John 20:17,
00:35:32.93\00:35:34.83
"Jesus said to her,
'Do not cling to Me,
00:35:34.86\00:35:36.77
for I have not yet ascended,'"
00:35:36.80\00:35:38.13
this is Mary in the garden,
00:35:38.17\00:35:39.50
"'but go to My
brethren and I say to them,
00:35:39.53\00:35:41.20
'I am ascending to My
Father and your Father,
00:35:41.24\00:35:44.21
and to My God and your God.'
00:35:44.24\00:35:46.07
Mary Magdalene came
and told the disciples
00:35:46.11\00:35:48.84
that she had seen the Lord
00:35:48.88\00:35:50.55
and that she had
spoken of these things.'"
00:35:50.58\00:35:52.21
And then finally, the Lord said.
00:35:52.25\00:35:54.65
1, Matthew 26:13,
00:35:54.68\00:35:56.95
"Assuredly, I say to you,
00:35:56.99\00:35:58.75
wherever this gospel is preached
00:35:58.79\00:36:00.56
in the whole world,
00:36:00.59\00:36:01.92
what this woman has done
00:36:01.96\00:36:03.53
will also be told
as a memorial to her."
00:36:03.56\00:36:06.49
Evangelism
publicly began with a woman.
00:36:06.53\00:36:11.20
Amen. Thank you
so much, Pastor John.
00:36:11.23\00:36:13.64
We're having church.
00:36:13.67\00:36:16.24
You're on fire.
That's powerful. I love that.
00:36:16.27\00:36:19.07
We got to Wednesday's lesson,
which is "Merciful Creator."
00:36:19.11\00:36:22.44
So turn from the New Testament,
back to Isaiah Chapter 40.
00:36:22.48\00:36:26.78
And we'll look at a few verses
there in Isaiah Chapter 40.
00:36:26.82\00:36:29.75
The theme of this passage,
Isaiah 40, is the mercy of God,
00:36:29.78\00:36:34.26
the power of God,
the deliverance of God.
00:36:34.29\00:36:38.03
We see the mercy of God,
00:36:38.06\00:36:39.39
God wants to save His people
because He is mercy, merciful.
00:36:39.43\00:36:44.73
The power of God,
00:36:44.77\00:36:46.10
He's able to save them
because He is powerful.
00:36:46.13\00:36:49.37
And the deliverance of God,
00:36:49.40\00:36:51.04
God is able to deliver
them from their enemies,
00:36:51.07\00:36:54.28
from the gods of their enemies.
00:36:54.31\00:36:59.48
We look at the main argument
here is that God can do it.
00:36:59.51\00:37:03.25
He can make the
second Exodus happen,
00:37:03.28\00:37:05.82
which is that deliverance
from the Babylonian captivity.
00:37:05.85\00:37:10.23
He can end the exile. He
can defeat the oppressors.
00:37:10.26\00:37:13.40
He can liberate His people.
00:37:13.43\00:37:16.33
We see this blending
of God's mercy and power.
00:37:16.36\00:37:18.63
The lesson brought it out.
00:37:18.67\00:37:20.00
It was really neat
before we get into my verses.
00:37:20.04\00:37:22.90
We see God's
mercy in verses 1 and 2.
00:37:22.94\00:37:25.17
Ryan already covered that,
00:37:25.21\00:37:26.54
"Comfort My
People' says your God,
00:37:26.57\00:37:28.61
'Speak comfort to
Jerusalem, cry out to her,
00:37:28.64\00:37:31.51
her warfare is ended.'"
00:37:31.55\00:37:33.01
That is God's mercy.
00:37:33.05\00:37:34.88
We see His deliverance and power
00:37:34.92\00:37:36.72
in verses 3 through
5 that Shelley covered.
00:37:36.75\00:37:39.09
"The voice of one
crying in the wilderness,
00:37:39.12\00:37:42.52
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
00:37:42.56\00:37:43.96
make straight in the
desert, a highway for our God.'"
00:37:43.99\00:37:48.23
We see God's mercy in verse 9,
00:37:48.26\00:37:50.10
Pastor John, that you read,
00:37:50.13\00:37:51.73
"O Zion, you who
bring good tidings,
00:37:51.77\00:37:53.70
lift up your
voice with strength,
00:37:53.74\00:37:55.17
lifted up, be not afraid."
00:37:55.20\00:37:57.97
We see God's deliverance
and power in verse 10.
00:37:58.01\00:38:01.58
"Behold, the Lord God
comes with a strong hand,
00:38:01.61\00:38:05.51
and His arm shall rule for Him."
00:38:05.55\00:38:07.75
We see God's
mercy again in verse 11
00:38:07.78\00:38:10.42
as He feeds the
flock like a shepherd,
00:38:10.45\00:38:13.29
and gathers the
lambs with His arms.
00:38:13.32\00:38:16.29
We see God's deliverance
and power in verses 12
00:38:16.32\00:38:20.06
all the way through verse 26.
00:38:20.10\00:38:22.56
As we talk
about who this God is,
00:38:22.60\00:38:25.43
and that He is the
incomparable creator,
00:38:25.47\00:38:29.34
and then it ends with
the mercy of God again.
00:38:29.37\00:38:32.17
The very last verse is verse
27 through 31 of the chapter.
00:38:32.21\00:38:36.95
As our Creator, He
gives power to the weak,
00:38:36.98\00:38:39.95
to the downtrodden,
to those who are faint,
00:38:39.98\00:38:42.88
He increases their strength.
00:38:42.92\00:38:45.85
So let's look
at who is this God.
00:38:45.89\00:38:48.32
As we see this, this
God, our God is omnipotent.
00:38:48.36\00:38:52.53
Verse 12, we're in Isaiah 40:12.
00:38:52.56\00:38:55.43
Omnipotent just simply
means He is all powerful.
00:38:55.46\00:38:59.37
His power, it's limitless.
00:38:59.40\00:39:01.37
Verse 12,
00:39:01.40\00:39:02.74
"Who has measured the waters
in the hollow of His hand,"
00:39:02.77\00:39:05.94
can you imagine the oceans
00:39:05.97\00:39:07.34
and everything
God just measures it?
00:39:07.38\00:39:09.74
"And the hollow of His hand,
00:39:09.78\00:39:11.48
measures that heaven with a span
00:39:11.51\00:39:13.98
and calculated
the dust of the earth
00:39:14.02\00:39:16.52
in a measure?"
00:39:16.55\00:39:17.89
The dust of the entire earth
00:39:17.92\00:39:19.65
just calculated it in a measure.
00:39:19.69\00:39:21.69
"Weighted the
mountains in scales
00:39:21.72\00:39:23.32
and the hills in a balance?"
00:39:23.36\00:39:25.59
What is he saying?
00:39:25.63\00:39:26.96
God is omnipotent.
00:39:27.00\00:39:28.33
He is all powerful.
00:39:28.36\00:39:30.83
God is omniscient,
00:39:30.87\00:39:32.60
that just means
He is all knowing.
00:39:32.63\00:39:36.10
The next verse, verse 13 and 14,
00:39:36.14\00:39:39.07
"Who has directed
the Spirit of the Lord,
00:39:39.11\00:39:41.41
or as His
counselor has taught Him?"
00:39:41.44\00:39:44.01
He knows.
00:39:44.05\00:39:45.38
"With whom did He take counsel,
00:39:45.41\00:39:46.88
and who instructed Him
00:39:46.92\00:39:48.25
and taught Him in
the path of justice?
00:39:48.28\00:39:50.55
Who taught Him knowledge
00:39:50.59\00:39:51.92
and showed Him the
way of understanding?"
00:39:51.95\00:39:53.86
God knows everything.
00:39:53.89\00:39:56.39
He is omniscient.
He is all knowing.
00:39:56.42\00:39:59.69
We're the students,
00:39:59.73\00:40:01.06
we're the ones
who learn from Him.
00:40:01.10\00:40:03.77
God is sovereign.
00:40:03.80\00:40:06.07
His authority is absolute.
00:40:06.10\00:40:09.04
Let's read verses 15 through 17,
00:40:09.07\00:40:11.37
"Behold, the nations
are as a drop in a bucket,
00:40:11.41\00:40:15.18
and are counted as the
small dust on the scales.
00:40:15.21\00:40:18.75
Look, He lifts up the
isles is a very little thing.
00:40:18.78\00:40:22.12
And Lebanon is
not sufficient to burn
00:40:22.15\00:40:24.39
nor its beasts
sufficient for a burnt offering.
00:40:24.42\00:40:27.19
All nations
before Him are," what?
00:40:27.22\00:40:30.13
"Nothing.
00:40:30.16\00:40:31.49
They are counted by Him
00:40:31.53\00:40:32.86
less than
nothing and worthless."
00:40:32.89\00:40:36.46
If you jumped down
to verse 23, it says,
00:40:36.50\00:40:38.33
"He brings the
princes to nothing.
00:40:38.37\00:40:41.60
He makes the judges
of the earth useless."
00:40:41.64\00:40:45.11
What does that say?
00:40:45.14\00:40:46.47
God's authority is
absolute over this entire earth.
00:40:46.51\00:40:51.31
We see in verses 18 through 20,
00:40:51.35\00:40:53.01
that he is, Pastor
Kenny, without compare.
00:40:53.05\00:40:57.19
"To whom then
will you liken God?"
00:40:57.22\00:40:58.99
We've just gone through
this, God is omnipotent,
00:40:59.02\00:41:01.09
and He is
omniscient and He is sovereign,
00:41:01.12\00:41:03.89
and His power is limitless.
00:41:03.93\00:41:07.03
Who will you compare God to?
00:41:07.06\00:41:08.40
The answer is nobody.
00:41:08.43\00:41:09.76
Nobody!
00:41:09.80\00:41:11.13
No one compares to God.
00:41:11.17\00:41:13.37
"Or what likeness
will you compare to Him?
00:41:13.40\00:41:16.47
The workman molds an image,"
00:41:16.50\00:41:18.47
this is talking about idols,
00:41:18.51\00:41:19.84
"the goldsmith over
spreads it with gold, "
00:41:19.87\00:41:22.01
or those who do
work with their hands,
00:41:22.04\00:41:25.01
"the silversmith
casts silver chains.
00:41:25.05\00:41:27.35
Whoever is too impoverished
for such a contribution
00:41:27.38\00:41:29.95
chooses a tree
that will not rot.
00:41:29.98\00:41:31.89
He seeks for
himself a skillful workman
00:41:31.92\00:41:34.42
to prepare a carved
image that will not totter."
00:41:34.46\00:41:38.19
But who will you liken God to?
00:41:38.23\00:41:40.63
God is without compare.
00:41:40.66\00:41:43.67
Not only that, not
only is God omnipotent
00:41:43.70\00:41:46.17
and omniscient and sovereign
00:41:46.20\00:41:47.74
and without
compare, He is our Creator.
00:41:47.77\00:41:51.64
Let's see verse 21 and 22,
00:41:51.67\00:41:54.68
"Have you not
known? Have you not heard?
00:41:54.71\00:41:58.51
Has it not been told
you from the beginning?"
00:41:58.55\00:42:01.82
Where have you been?
Where have you not known?
00:42:01.85\00:42:05.45
"Have you not understood
00:42:05.49\00:42:06.82
from the
foundations of the earth?
00:42:06.86\00:42:08.62
It is He,"
00:42:08.66\00:42:09.99
that's God, our
omnipotent, omniscient God,
00:42:10.03\00:42:12.69
"who sits above the
circle of the earth,
00:42:12.73\00:42:15.36
and its inhabitants,
they're like grasshoppers,
00:42:15.40\00:42:18.33
who stretches out the
heavens like a curtain
00:42:18.37\00:42:20.87
and spreads them out
like a tent to dwell in."
00:42:20.90\00:42:24.47
Verse 24,
00:42:24.51\00:42:25.84
"Scarcely shall they be planted,
00:42:25.87\00:42:27.41
scarcely shall they be sown,
00:42:27.44\00:42:28.84
scarcely shall their
stock take root in the earth,
00:42:28.88\00:42:31.91
when he will also blow on
them, and they will wither,
00:42:31.95\00:42:34.75
and the whirlwind
00:42:34.78\00:42:36.12
will take them
away like stubble.
00:42:36.15\00:42:38.29
'To whom then will you liken Me,
00:42:38.32\00:42:40.76
or to whom shall I be
equal?' says the Holy One."
00:42:40.79\00:42:44.49
It's amazing.
00:42:44.53\00:42:45.99
Lessons learned in
our remaining moments,
00:42:46.03\00:42:49.03
four lessons that I take away.
00:42:49.06\00:42:51.13
Look at your problems
00:42:51.17\00:42:52.50
against the backdrop
of your incomparable God,
00:42:52.53\00:42:56.44
not the other way around.
00:42:56.47\00:42:59.11
How often we
look at our problems,
00:42:59.14\00:43:00.51
we put our back to God?
00:43:00.54\00:43:01.91
Our God who's omnipotent,
our God who's omniscient,
00:43:01.94\00:43:04.61
our God, who is the Creator,
00:43:04.65\00:43:06.48
our God, nobody
can compare with Him,
00:43:06.51\00:43:08.32
and we put our back to Him.
00:43:08.35\00:43:09.82
Now all we do is we
focus on the problem.
00:43:09.85\00:43:11.69
And we say, "Wow, that's huge!"
00:43:11.72\00:43:14.06
But if you turned around,
and you look at the problem,
00:43:14.09\00:43:17.09
in focus of God
behind that problem,
00:43:17.13\00:43:19.56
that problem is
nothing in response to Him.
00:43:19.59\00:43:23.33
Look at your problems
00:43:23.37\00:43:24.70
against the
backdrop of who your God is.
00:43:24.73\00:43:28.30
Lesson number two,
00:43:28.34\00:43:29.67
change your focus to God,
00:43:29.70\00:43:32.21
instead of
complaining about the present.
00:43:32.24\00:43:37.15
Isaiah 40:27,
00:43:37.18\00:43:39.11
jumped down to verse 27,
00:43:39.15\00:43:41.25
"Why do you say, O
Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
00:43:41.28\00:43:44.59
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
00:43:44.62\00:43:47.02
and my just claim is
passed over by my God?' "
00:43:47.06\00:43:51.99
Why do we
complain about the present?
00:43:52.03\00:43:54.03
Instead, we should
change our focus to God.
00:43:54.06\00:43:57.60
Job did this in
Job 19: 7, he said,
00:43:57.63\00:44:00.74
"I cry out help
but no one answers me.
00:44:00.77\00:44:03.77
I protest, but
there is no justice."
00:44:03.81\00:44:06.51
Instead of complaining
00:44:06.54\00:44:07.88
about what is going on
in our lives right now,
00:44:07.91\00:44:11.55
change your focus to God.
00:44:11.58\00:44:13.72
Lesson number three,
00:44:13.75\00:44:15.08
our almighty omnipotent God
00:44:15.12\00:44:18.89
reaches down to
equip, to empower,
00:44:18.92\00:44:22.19
and to strengthen us.
00:44:22.22\00:44:23.86
The God who rules the universe,
the God who knows everything,
00:44:23.89\00:44:27.96
the God who sees everything,
00:44:28.00\00:44:30.27
the God who holds
this world is like a speck
00:44:30.30\00:44:34.14
in the palm of His hand.
00:44:34.17\00:44:35.90
He reaches down
00:44:35.94\00:44:37.27
because He
knows we are but dust.
00:44:37.31\00:44:40.24
He knows our frame.
00:44:40.28\00:44:42.74
And He wants to
equip and empower us.
00:44:42.78\00:44:44.68
Verse 28,
00:44:44.71\00:44:46.45
"Have you not
known? Have you not heard?
00:44:46.48\00:44:50.29
The everlasting God,
00:44:50.32\00:44:51.79
the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth,
00:44:51.82\00:44:55.12
He neither faints nor is weary.
00:44:55.16\00:44:57.89
His understanding,
it is unsearchable."
00:44:57.93\00:45:01.60
Here it comes.
00:45:01.63\00:45:02.96
"He gives power to the weak,
00:45:03.00\00:45:05.53
and to those who have no
might He increases strength."
00:45:05.57\00:45:10.97
You need strength.
00:45:11.01\00:45:12.34
Do you need bite?
00:45:12.37\00:45:13.78
Do you need victory?
00:45:13.81\00:45:15.61
Do you need
deliverance in your life today?
00:45:15.64\00:45:18.95
Turn your eyes to your
Almighty omnipotent Creator God
00:45:18.98\00:45:23.45
who's reaching
down just now and says,
00:45:23.49\00:45:26.15
"I will equip you,
I will stand you up,
00:45:26.19\00:45:29.39
I will give you strength."
00:45:29.42\00:45:31.29
Finally, lesson number four,
00:45:31.33\00:45:33.03
waiting on God
00:45:33.06\00:45:34.46
increases your
power and strength.
00:45:34.50\00:45:37.40
Verse 30,
00:45:37.43\00:45:38.90
"Even the youths
shall faint and be weary,
00:45:38.93\00:45:42.10
the young men,
they're going to fall.
00:45:42.14\00:45:44.11
But those who wait on the
Lord will renew their strength.
00:45:44.14\00:45:50.25
They will mount up
with wings like eagles,
00:45:50.28\00:45:53.72
they shall run and not be weary,
00:45:53.75\00:45:55.92
they shall walk and not faint."
00:45:55.95\00:45:58.22
Today, I want to encourage you
00:45:58.25\00:45:59.59
to turn your attention
00:45:59.62\00:46:01.69
to your omnipotent creator, God,
00:46:01.72\00:46:04.89
your omniscient God
00:46:04.93\00:46:06.39
who knows and sees
and who can do everything.
00:46:06.43\00:46:09.40
And He will lift
you up from the dust
00:46:09.43\00:46:11.63
and set you up
and strengthen you
00:46:11.67\00:46:13.84
for what He's called you to do.
00:46:13.87\00:46:16.24
Amen. Well, praise the Lord!
00:46:16.27\00:46:17.61
I feel like I've had church,
00:46:17.64\00:46:19.64
and this way we should
when we study the Word of God.
00:46:19.67\00:46:21.54
So that's
certainly an encouragement
00:46:21.58\00:46:22.91
for each and every one of you.
00:46:22.94\00:46:24.28
Thank you.
00:46:24.31\00:46:25.65
And we need to continue
on with Thursday's lesson.
00:46:25.68\00:46:29.15
And again,
00:46:29.18\00:46:30.52
all the beauty of building
up and lifting up Jesus,
00:46:30.55\00:46:32.75
it's wonderful.
00:46:32.79\00:46:34.12
But sometime we
go back to the...
00:46:34.16\00:46:35.49
It's caused by the
problem with idolatry.
00:46:35.52\00:46:37.69
There's these lessons.
00:46:37.73\00:46:39.06
So there is a problem
here that we have to deal with.
00:46:39.09\00:46:41.03
I see a God in this
lesson, I see a God of justice,
00:46:41.06\00:46:43.37
I see a God of
judgment, I see a God of mercy.
00:46:43.40\00:46:46.13
I'm hearing God of
love and a God, you know,
00:46:46.17\00:46:48.37
teachings and
rebukes and counsel,
00:46:48.40\00:46:50.61
but also idolatry ruins
our relationship with Christ.
00:46:50.64\00:46:54.74
So it's something, sometime
that we have to, you know,
00:46:54.78\00:46:56.75
you stick in there
00:46:56.78\00:46:58.11
among all this
beautiful evangelism
00:46:58.15\00:46:59.68
and winning souls for Christ
00:46:59.71\00:47:01.08
and the love of
God is wonderful.
00:47:01.12\00:47:02.82
But we need to realize idolatry,
00:47:02.85\00:47:04.85
because it's prevalent today.
00:47:04.89\00:47:06.72
And it's in and around
and among God's people.
00:47:06.76\00:47:09.12
It's Thursday's
lesson, What is idolatry?
00:47:09.16\00:47:11.13
I looked in
Webster's just simply said,
00:47:11.16\00:47:13.36
to worship of
idol, excessive devotion,
00:47:13.40\00:47:17.07
or reverence to
some person or thing.
00:47:17.10\00:47:21.10
Now notice what is an idol?
00:47:21.14\00:47:23.67
An image of something,
even of a God, notice this,
00:47:23.71\00:47:26.88
used as an object of worship,
applied to any heathen deity,
00:47:26.91\00:47:32.15
something given
excessive devotion.
00:47:32.18\00:47:35.52
And so certainly we go back,
where does all this come from,
00:47:35.55\00:47:38.15
we come back to Exodus 20:4-5.
00:47:38.19\00:47:40.76
Notice what the Bible says,
00:47:40.79\00:47:42.12
"Thou shall not
make into the, " what?
00:47:42.16\00:47:44.36
"Any graven image, or
any likeness of anything
00:47:44.39\00:47:47.26
that is in heaven above,
00:47:47.30\00:47:48.66
that is in the earth beneath
00:47:48.70\00:47:50.17
or that is in the
water underneath the earth."
00:47:50.20\00:47:52.87
Verse 5,
00:47:52.90\00:47:54.64
"Thou shall not bow
down thyself to them."
00:47:54.67\00:47:57.71
Here's where it gets
in. Now it gets heavy.
00:47:57.74\00:47:59.67
"Nor serve them,
for I the Lord God,
00:47:59.71\00:48:01.84
am a jealous God,
00:48:01.88\00:48:04.28
visiting the
iniquity of the fathers,"
00:48:04.31\00:48:05.98
notice this,
00:48:06.01\00:48:07.35
"upon the children
00:48:07.38\00:48:08.72
and the third and
the fourth generation
00:48:08.75\00:48:10.45
that hate me."
00:48:10.49\00:48:11.82
Now remember,
idolatry does what?
00:48:11.85\00:48:13.66
It destroys our
personal relationship
00:48:13.69\00:48:15.96
or intimate
relationship with God
00:48:15.99\00:48:18.73
that's been established here
00:48:18.76\00:48:20.10
that we need an
intimate relationship with Him.
00:48:20.13\00:48:22.93
But by idol worship,
00:48:22.96\00:48:24.50
then we're trying to replace God
00:48:24.53\00:48:26.37
with something else.
00:48:26.40\00:48:27.74
The prophet, you know,
00:48:27.77\00:48:29.10
we talked about
that referred to idol
00:48:29.14\00:48:30.47
as spiritual adultery.
00:48:30.51\00:48:33.27
This is pretty
heavy duty, is it not?
00:48:33.31\00:48:34.71
Jeremiah 3:6-9,
00:48:34.74\00:48:36.48
and we'll just kind of
hit the highlights of this
00:48:36.51\00:48:38.38
because of our time.
00:48:38.41\00:48:39.75
Jeremiah 3:6-9, the Bible says,
00:48:39.78\00:48:42.25
"Thou has seen that
00:48:42.28\00:48:43.62
which backsliding
Israel hath done?"
00:48:43.65\00:48:46.52
Remember, we're
not just talking about,
00:48:46.55\00:48:47.89
not just I put this in,
00:48:47.92\00:48:49.26
we're not just
talking about the world
00:48:49.29\00:48:50.63
and the things
that are in the world
00:48:50.66\00:48:51.99
and what the world is doing.
00:48:52.03\00:48:53.36
We're talking
about daughters of Zion.
00:48:53.40\00:48:55.36
We're talking
about God's people.
00:48:55.40\00:48:57.17
These things are
in prevalent among us,
00:48:57.20\00:48:58.67
we might do all the other things
00:48:58.70\00:49:00.04
you're saying is
wonderful and good,
00:49:00.07\00:49:01.40
but we have to follow up.
00:49:01.44\00:49:02.77
We have to get ourselves in line
00:49:02.80\00:49:04.14
with the Word of God
00:49:04.17\00:49:05.51
even in things as little
may be distasteful to someone.
00:49:05.54\00:49:07.74
We don't want to hear it.
00:49:07.78\00:49:09.24
Notice backsliding Israel.
00:49:09.28\00:49:10.61
She played, notice it,
Israel played the harlot.
00:49:10.65\00:49:13.48
She committed adultery
with stones and with stocks.
00:49:13.52\00:49:16.52
Interesting.
00:49:16.55\00:49:17.89
Ezekiel comes by.
00:49:17.92\00:49:19.25
Ezekiel 16:15-19
00:49:19.29\00:49:21.02
simply put it
this way, simply put.
00:49:21.06\00:49:22.99
God's people played,
once again the harlot,
00:49:23.02\00:49:25.69
she decked herself, notice this,
00:49:25.73\00:49:27.53
with colors, with
jewels, and with gold,
00:49:27.56\00:49:31.07
and made images of what?
00:49:31.10\00:49:33.00
Of man
00:49:33.03\00:49:34.37
and this commit
whoredom with them.
00:49:34.40\00:49:36.30
That sounds heavy duty to me.
00:49:36.34\00:49:38.07
Isaiah 41:29 says,
00:49:38.11\00:49:40.44
"Behold, they are all vanity,
00:49:40.48\00:49:43.21
their works are nothing,
their molted images are, "
00:49:43.24\00:49:46.98
notice this,
"wind of confusion."
00:49:47.02\00:49:49.98
To worship an idol
is to break the what?
00:49:50.02\00:49:52.95
The first
commandment, is that not right?
00:49:52.99\00:49:55.39
"Thou shall have no
other gods before Me."
00:49:55.42\00:49:59.36
So if an idol is intended
to represent the true God.
00:49:59.39\00:50:03.26
And let's think back
like, let's say the golden calf,
00:50:03.30\00:50:06.10
you remember
that in Exodus 32:4-5.
00:50:06.13\00:50:09.44
Said the Lord rejects it
as a likeness of himself.
00:50:09.47\00:50:13.41
Deuteronomy 4:15-19
tells us these verses.
00:50:13.44\00:50:17.21
Now don't corrupt yourself,
00:50:17.25\00:50:19.75
don't get involved in this
by making it graven images.
00:50:19.78\00:50:23.25
Notice this, not of God,
00:50:23.28\00:50:24.85
men and women,
beast, the Bible says,
00:50:24.89\00:50:27.26
or fowl, fish,
00:50:27.29\00:50:29.29
anything that
creepeth upon the ground,
00:50:29.32\00:50:31.56
this gets pretty
personal, we'll get, hopefully,
00:50:31.59\00:50:33.29
a little bit clearer
here in just a moment.
00:50:33.33\00:50:34.96
Notice, of the sun or
the moon, or the stars
00:50:35.00\00:50:37.73
don't do any of
that kind of stuff.
00:50:37.77\00:50:40.04
The problem God
says is be careful that
00:50:40.07\00:50:42.00
you do not worship
them, or you do not what?
00:50:42.04\00:50:46.24
Serve them. Deuteronomy 4:19.
00:50:46.27\00:50:49.84
So what kind of idolatry
we could say do we face in,
00:50:49.88\00:50:53.95
maybe, in our
church today or do we?
00:50:53.98\00:50:56.62
I think it's a
legitimate question.
00:50:56.65\00:50:58.49
Signs of the Times 126,
in 1882 makes this statement,
00:50:58.52\00:51:03.02
"Many who bear
the name of Christians
00:51:03.06\00:51:04.99
are serving other gods.
00:51:05.03\00:51:07.06
Besides the Lord,
00:51:07.10\00:51:08.70
our Creator demands
our supreme devotion,
00:51:08.73\00:51:12.80
and our first allegiance.
00:51:12.83\00:51:14.90
Anything thus trends
to abate our love for God
00:51:14.94\00:51:18.57
or to interfere
with His service due him,
00:51:18.61\00:51:22.34
oh, my, notice it,
becomes therefore an idol.
00:51:22.38\00:51:26.28
It's just that simple.
00:51:26.31\00:51:27.72
We know that it's simple,
00:51:27.75\00:51:29.08
but you know,
you have to have milk
00:51:29.12\00:51:30.45
and then you'll be
able to chew on the meat.
00:51:30.49\00:51:32.19
So we got to get to it
so we can understand it.
00:51:32.22\00:51:34.72
Several forms of idolatry,
and then, you know what?
00:51:34.76\00:51:38.19
It could be
money, houses and land
00:51:38.23\00:51:39.56
or anything we put before God,
00:51:39.59\00:51:40.93
we've got that
00:51:40.96\00:51:42.30
and the
council's on stewardship.
00:51:42.33\00:51:45.53
Notice this, it says, 2:23,
00:51:45.57\00:51:47.70
just make some
statements here talking about,
00:51:47.74\00:51:49.70
notice this, demon worship,
00:51:49.74\00:51:51.87
so we're looking at
several things that could be,
00:51:51.91\00:51:53.61
demon what?
00:51:53.64\00:51:54.98
Demon worship.
00:51:55.01\00:51:56.34
It's in here is
very, very important,
00:51:56.38\00:51:57.71
that we look at and say,
00:51:57.75\00:51:59.08
"You know what?
00:51:59.11\00:52:00.45
We don't want anything
to do with that at all."
00:52:00.48\00:52:02.12
Covetousness is a form of what?
00:52:02.15\00:52:04.82
Of idolatry.
00:52:04.85\00:52:07.66
We're talking
about demon worship,
00:52:07.69\00:52:09.02
and we're talking about,
you know, we're thinking,
00:52:09.06\00:52:10.69
we're
communicating with the dead.
00:52:10.73\00:52:12.23
We have to be
very careful with that.
00:52:12.26\00:52:14.46
Disregarding the fourth precept
of the Decalogue results in
00:52:14.50\00:52:19.90
and you read that
in prophecy, Kings 182.
00:52:19.93\00:52:22.94
This gets to things
people don't want to hear.
00:52:22.97\00:52:24.51
It's about, we
gamble, we do horse racing
00:52:24.54\00:52:27.04
and different things like that,
00:52:27.08\00:52:28.41
it says right here
00:52:28.44\00:52:29.78
is a species of
Fundamental of Education 312,
00:52:29.81\00:52:35.72
and goes on to say,
00:52:35.75\00:52:37.09
much more importance
is placed on holidays.
00:52:37.12\00:52:39.69
Now we were entering
that season so, you know,
00:52:39.72\00:52:41.59
importance of holidays here
00:52:41.62\00:52:42.96
Fundamental of
Education says here,
00:52:42.99\00:52:44.33
we have to be...
00:52:44.36\00:52:45.69
Now remember, it's
not saying holiday,
00:52:45.73\00:52:47.06
it said too much
importance upon that.
00:52:47.10\00:52:49.20
Ornaments, as a species.
00:52:49.23\00:52:51.30
That's kind of,
00:52:51.33\00:52:52.67
you don't think about
ornaments as a species of it,
00:52:52.70\00:52:55.10
and we're talking about jewelry,
00:52:55.14\00:52:56.54
and we're talking
about idols, we're talking...
00:52:56.57\00:52:58.54
You know, in fact, the
Bible talks about jewelry,
00:52:58.57\00:53:00.71
it talks about, it
says it calls it filth.
00:53:00.74\00:53:03.71
Now most people
don't want to hear that,
00:53:03.75\00:53:05.18
but I just say it,
well, we need to hear it
00:53:05.21\00:53:06.61
because we have
to make a decision.
00:53:06.65\00:53:07.98
If the Bible says it's
filth, then it's filth.
00:53:08.02\00:53:10.22
The Bible says
that it's an idol,
00:53:10.25\00:53:12.22
then it's an idol.
00:53:12.25\00:53:13.59
If it's called a
strange God in the Word of God,
00:53:13.62\00:53:15.69
Isaiah Chapter 3,
00:53:15.72\00:53:17.06
you can look at
that for sure, 3 and 4.
00:53:17.09\00:53:18.79
You can look at it in
Jeremiah Chapter 4, read it.
00:53:18.83\00:53:21.13
Hosea 2:13,
00:53:21.16\00:53:22.96
you can read
about it there also.
00:53:23.00\00:53:24.63
Revelation 17:4, you
can read about there.
00:53:24.67\00:53:27.44
You can read
about it in 1 Timothy,
00:53:27.47\00:53:29.10
what is it, 2:9-10,
you can read it there.
00:53:29.14\00:53:31.31
You can read in 1 Peter 3:1-4.
00:53:31.34\00:53:33.48
I know that's a lot.
00:53:33.51\00:53:34.84
So I hope
you're jotting it down.
00:53:34.88\00:53:36.21
It has a lot to
say about these things.
00:53:36.24\00:53:37.88
And I'll go a
little bit deeper with it,
00:53:37.91\00:53:39.31
because we're talking about...
00:53:39.35\00:53:41.12
And I'm glad everybody built up.
00:53:41.15\00:53:42.75
And we looked at name of Jesus,
00:53:42.78\00:53:44.12
but we're looking
at something here.
00:53:44.15\00:53:45.49
Sunday observance,
00:53:45.52\00:53:46.86
after light has
come on the true Sabbath,
00:53:46.89\00:53:49.99
it's a form of idolatry.
00:53:50.03\00:53:51.79
Fundamentals of Education 287.
00:53:51.83\00:53:54.03
Now quickly, picture taking,
00:53:54.06\00:53:55.63
I hear about a lot
about that picture taking,
00:53:55.66\00:53:59.37
it's a species of
00:53:59.40\00:54:00.84
and that's the
Council's Stewardship,
00:54:00.87\00:54:03.20
Message to Young People, 316.
00:54:03.24\00:54:06.21
Picture taking is
carried to extravagant.
00:54:06.24\00:54:08.61
Now here, length and encourages
a species of idolatry.
00:54:08.64\00:54:12.38
I know anybody
don't want to hear that
00:54:12.41\00:54:13.75
because that's all we do.
00:54:13.78\00:54:15.12
A lot of time we go
around, we're taking pictures.
00:54:15.15\00:54:16.79
We're letting saying,
you know, blah-blah...
00:54:16.82\00:54:18.79
Didn't say anything
was wrong with that,
00:54:18.82\00:54:20.16
it's talking about overdone.
00:54:20.19\00:54:21.52
Is that okay to say that?
00:54:21.56\00:54:22.89
When it's overdone,
it's a species of idolatry.
00:54:22.92\00:54:25.76
Whether we say that is
or not God's Word has said,
00:54:25.79\00:54:27.90
and Spirit of Prophecy
makes it very, very clear.
00:54:27.93\00:54:30.23
All this means
00:54:30.27\00:54:31.60
that we are
invested in publications,
00:54:31.63\00:54:33.54
notice this, which would
direct the souls of Christ
00:54:33.57\00:54:37.37
and away from Him.
00:54:37.41\00:54:39.34
We don't want to do that.
00:54:39.37\00:54:40.71
I know we don't.
00:54:40.74\00:54:42.08
Our time's running out now here.
00:54:42.11\00:54:43.45
But let's just, a
couple more here real quick
00:54:43.48\00:54:45.05
'cause I want you
to study these things
00:54:45.08\00:54:46.85
because it's very important.
00:54:46.88\00:54:48.22
It'd be nice, Pastor
John mentioned lot of times,
00:54:48.25\00:54:49.98
it's nice to
know about the horns.
00:54:50.02\00:54:51.35
It's nice to
know about the beast.
00:54:51.39\00:54:52.72
It's nice to know
about the mark of the beast.
00:54:52.75\00:54:54.09
It's nice to know
about the image of the beast
00:54:54.12\00:54:55.46
and all these things here.
00:54:55.49\00:54:56.89
But if we don't understand this,
00:54:56.93\00:54:58.26
is it possible we could be lost,
00:54:58.29\00:55:00.43
any truth that's
in the Word of God
00:55:00.46\00:55:02.26
once we understand,
00:55:02.30\00:55:03.63
what the Bible has to say about?
00:55:03.67\00:55:05.07
Absolutely,
it's a testing truth,
00:55:05.10\00:55:06.57
there's no doubt about it.
00:55:06.60\00:55:08.40
Self-dependence is idolatry.
00:55:08.44\00:55:11.34
Trusting in self for
salvation is idolatry.
00:55:11.37\00:55:14.61
A false concept of God is what?
00:55:14.64\00:55:17.15
Is idolatry.
00:55:17.18\00:55:20.02
If we worship Jehovah
or Baal, the living God,
00:55:20.05\00:55:23.08
or would you worship an idol?
00:55:23.12\00:55:25.42
Millions know
00:55:25.45\00:55:26.79
and we need to know
the attributes of God.
00:55:26.82\00:55:28.49
And we've been
learning this on this panel.
00:55:28.52\00:55:31.13
This quote quickly deals
00:55:31.16\00:55:32.59
with the second
commandment and pictures,
00:55:32.63\00:55:34.80
Historical Sketches
of SDA Missions, it says,
00:55:34.83\00:55:37.10
"A few condemned pictures
00:55:37.13\00:55:38.67
urging that they are prohibited
by the second commandment."
00:55:38.70\00:55:41.70
I hear a lot of this
going on all the time.
00:55:41.74\00:55:43.30
But notice,
what it says here is,
00:55:43.34\00:55:45.47
"The second commandment
prohibits image worship, "
00:55:45.51\00:55:47.94
example, but, notice
this, Ellen White said,
00:55:47.98\00:55:50.28
"But God Himself
employed pictures and symbols
00:55:50.31\00:55:53.48
to represent to
the prophets lessons,
00:55:53.52\00:55:55.85
which he would have them to give
00:55:55.88\00:55:57.62
to the people, which then,"
00:55:57.65\00:55:58.99
notice this,
00:55:59.02\00:56:00.36
"could be better understood
00:56:00.39\00:56:01.72
than if given in any other way."
00:56:01.76\00:56:04.43
I want to balance it.
00:56:04.46\00:56:05.79
I like to bounce in
the Word of God here,
00:56:05.83\00:56:07.16
example, quickly, said,
00:56:07.20\00:56:09.36
prophetic history
presented by Daniel and John,
00:56:09.40\00:56:12.73
they did it in symbols
00:56:12.77\00:56:14.10
that we who read
might understand it.
00:56:14.14\00:56:16.94
And I think that's what
we need a little bit today.
00:56:16.97\00:56:18.47
Dig in the Word of God.
00:56:18.51\00:56:20.24
Amen.
00:56:20.28\00:56:21.91
Praise the Lord.
00:56:21.94\00:56:23.28
Got to be careful
about the selfies.
00:56:23.31\00:56:24.71
We got to watch out
from the selfies, right?
00:56:24.75\00:56:27.68
Let's get some final thoughts
as we're preparing to close.
00:56:27.72\00:56:31.35
I don't even think
about that I was engrossed.
00:56:31.39\00:56:34.32
I guess that
00:56:34.36\00:56:35.69
what I just want to think about
is God's presence, God's Word
00:56:35.72\00:56:40.83
is part of His
covenant promises to us.
00:56:40.86\00:56:44.70
So do your roadwork.
00:56:44.73\00:56:47.07
That's repentance.
00:56:47.10\00:56:48.44
And God will be
restored in your life.
00:56:48.47\00:56:50.97
I think the heart of
evangelism is Romans 10:14-17.
00:56:51.01\00:56:55.24
I love the way
that Paul says it.
00:56:55.28\00:56:57.25
"How then shall they call on Him
00:56:57.28\00:56:59.15
in whom they have not believed?
00:56:59.18\00:57:00.52
And how shall
they believe in Him
00:57:00.55\00:57:02.32
of whom they have not heard?
00:57:02.35\00:57:03.69
And how shall they
hear without a preacher?
00:57:03.72\00:57:05.62
And how shall they
preach unless they are sent?
00:57:05.65\00:57:07.92
As it is written,
00:57:07.96\00:57:09.29
'How beautiful
are the feet of those
00:57:09.32\00:57:10.86
who preach the gospel of peace,
00:57:10.89\00:57:12.83
who bring glad
tidings of good news!'
00:57:12.86\00:57:15.16
But they have not
all obeyed the gospel.
00:57:15.20\00:57:17.03
For Isaiah says,
00:57:17.07\00:57:19.33
'The Lord, who has
believed our report?' "
00:57:19.37\00:57:23.04
So then faith comes by hearing,
00:57:23.07\00:57:25.31
and hearing by the word of God.
00:57:25.34\00:57:26.84
Amen.
00:57:26.88\00:57:28.21
Isaiah 41:10,
00:57:28.24\00:57:29.58
"Fear not, I am with you.
00:57:29.61\00:57:30.95
Be not dismayed, I am your God."
00:57:30.98\00:57:32.71
God wants to strengthen
and help you just now.
00:57:32.75\00:57:35.28
Quickly.
00:57:35.32\00:57:36.65
It says our
choice will be the same
00:57:36.69\00:57:38.02
as it was in the days of Israel,
00:57:38.05\00:57:39.49
for in the end, we
always worship something.
00:57:39.52\00:57:43.29
Praise the Lord!
00:57:43.32\00:57:44.66
I have to call
the fire department.
00:57:44.69\00:57:46.29
Getting hot on this
panel. Praise the Lord.
00:57:46.33\00:57:48.13
We hope that you have
enjoyed this study today.
00:57:48.16\00:57:50.47
I know I have.
00:57:50.50\00:57:51.83
And I can't wait to,
00:57:51.87\00:57:53.20
we mount up like
eagle's wings, right,
00:57:53.23\00:57:55.30
and fly off into the
comfort of Jesus Christ.
00:57:55.34\00:57:58.04
We thank you all
so much for joining us
00:57:58.07\00:57:59.91
each and every week.
00:57:59.94\00:58:01.28
Come back next week,
00:58:01.31\00:58:02.64
we're going to be
diving into lesson number nine.
00:58:02.68\00:58:06.01
We'll see you
right back here again.
00:58:06.05\00:58:07.62
God bless.
00:58:07.65\00:58:08.98