Hello, friends,
I'm Jill Morikone.
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We're so glad
that you've tuned in
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for this quarter of
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Hard to believe we're
beginning quarter number two.
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It's all about the
covenants, the promise,
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God's everlasting
covenant of grace.
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I want to encourage you
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to get your own
copy of the quarterly.
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You can go to
the following website
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ABSG.Adventist.org
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That stands for
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AdultBibleStudyGuide
.Adventist.org.
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Make sure you grab your Bibles
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and your pens and
your papers, your notebooks
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to take notes
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as we explore lesson number one,
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what happened.
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Hard to believe that
we're in a brand new quarter.
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We just finished
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if you journeyed
with us last quarter
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through the Book of Isaiah,
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which happens to be
one of my favorite books.
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And we finished
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with the rebirth of planet earth
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in Isaiah Chapter 66.
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Now we jump into this
brand new quarter, the promise,
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God's everlasting covenant.
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The lesson this
quarter is most of it is taken
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from the work of the
late Dr. Gerhard Hasel.
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He's an incredible
student of the Word of God.
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He served as
Professor of Old Testament
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and biblical theology at
the SDA Theological Seminary
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at Andrews University.
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That's a mouthful.
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He was dean of the
seminary and for 27 years,
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he served as director of
their ThD and PhD programs.
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He's a brilliant man.
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And this lesson is amazing.
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So I'm excited
that you have tuned in.
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I want to
introduce our panelists,
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our family to you at this time.
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We're going to be
journeying together
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through the covenants.
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To my left Pastor John Lomacang,
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always a joy to have you here.
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Good to be here, Jill.
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Looking forward
to a wonderful study
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on the covenants.
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Amen. Me too.
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To your left Pastor Ryan Day,
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so glad to have
you here, brother.
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Amen. Always a blessing to
be on Sabbath School panel.
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Amen, to your left
Pastor John Dinzey.
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Always glad to have
you here, Brother Johnny.
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It's a blessing to be here.
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And I encourage our
viewers and listeners to tune in
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because great blessings
are in store in this study.
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Amen.
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And to your left
Sister Shelley Quinn,
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who I call the
queen of the covenants.
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And I know you're
excited about this study.
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My favorite quarterly ever.
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It's wonderful. Amen.
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Before we go any further,
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we want to go to
the Lord in prayer.
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Pastor John,
would you pray for us?
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Sure.
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Loving Father in heaven,
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we thank You for the
privilege and opportunity
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for opening Your Word
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and disseminating
the words of life,
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but we cannot do it
without Your Holy Spirit.
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Connect us with our
viewers and listeners
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and may everything we
do here today, Father,
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communicate the beauty,
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the necessity and the benefit
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of the covenant
You made to save us.
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In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
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Amen.
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Thank you so much.
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God created us to
live in relationship
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with God and with each other.
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We're relational beings
created for that connection
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and that harmony with God,
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but sin brought a
disconnection from God.
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And God desired to
bring His people back
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into relationship with Himself.
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The covenant is all about
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this relationship
between us and our maker God
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and this
arrangement for saving us.
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And for bringing
us back into oneness.
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You could say
it's not a contract.
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It's about a
committed relationship.
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There's two types of covenants
and we will study this further
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as we get into our study.
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One is the
relationship between parties
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and modern day covenants,
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you see this a lot
where both parties are equal,
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and both
parties would set terms.
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Then there's
another type of covenant,
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this biblical covenant
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that we are
studying that is unilateral,
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where God sets the terms
and He makes the promises.
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In this biblical covenant,
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He sets the terms and
makes the promises to me
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as His child.
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Why is that?
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Because He loves me,
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and He created you and I
to be in relationship with Him
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and He wants to save us.
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The covenant is built on love.
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God initiates the
covenant relationship.
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By the promises, His
promises and His actions
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that follow those promises,
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He seeks to woo us
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into covenant
relationship with Him,
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and we surrender to
Him, our fears, our sin,
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our twisted notion
of right and wrong.
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We give him our hearts
in faith and in obedience.
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Although, the Bible speaks
of covenants in the plural,
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I believe there's only one
basic covenant of salvation
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found throughout history.
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The blessings
and salvation of God
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are given by God.
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It's not earned by us.
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We respond in that
faith and obedience.
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And the heart of all
is God's steadfast love.
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The plural covenants, as
you could call them plural,
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simply means that God
advances His saving purpose
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by restating His covenant
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in various ways to
meet the needs of the people
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in different times
and in different settings.
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So we are going to
study this entire quarter,
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the different covenants,
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we're going to start
with the Adamic covenant,
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and we see that
established in Eden with Adam,
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and of course, Christ,
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the seed who would
conquer the evil one,
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we see the Noahic
covenant established with Noah
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and we see, of course,
the promise of the rainbow.
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We see the Abrahamic covenant
established with Abraham.
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And through his seed, we
could say, in particular,
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one seed that's
the Lord Jesus Christ,
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the entire world
would be blessed.
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We see the sign of that covenant
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being circumcision,
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the sign of circumcision
showing showcasing the fact
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that God had
already brought His people
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into right
relationship with Him.
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We see the Sinaitic covenant
established at Mount Sinai,
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the law and
specifically the Sabbath
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given in the context
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of redemption bond
from that bondage in Egypt.
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And we see the
sacrificial system
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and the promises for atonement
and forgiveness of sins.
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And we see, of
course, the new covenant,
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which is first
introduced in Jeremiah 31.
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As the children of Israel's
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breaking of the
Sinaitic covenant,
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brought them into exile.
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So the renewal of the
covenant would preserve them
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and be their
hope for the future.
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Lesson number one, we
look at what happened,
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the perfect
world that God created,
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and how sin entered that world.
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And God's designed
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to bring that
world back to Himself
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through the plan of redemption.
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Our memory text
is Genesis 1:26-27.
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"Then God said,
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'Let Us make
humankind in our image,
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according to our likeness.
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So God created
them in His image,
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in the image of
God He created them,
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male and female
He created them."
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Sunday's lesson is called
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"Turtles All The Way Down, "
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which is kind of a funny title.
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And it comes, Pastor John,
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from interesting story
that the lesson began with.
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There was a scientist
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who was lecturing on the orbit
of the planets around the sun,
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and the orbit of the sun
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around the center of the galaxy.
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And an old lady
stood up in tennis shoes,
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and she said,
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"The earth is
nothing but a flat disk
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sitting on the back of a turtle.
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And the scientists said,
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"Well, what does
that turtle sit on?"
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And the lady said,
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"Another turtle."
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And the scientist said,
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"Well, what does
that turtle sit on?"
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And the lady
said, "Another turtle."
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And the
scientist got ready to say,
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"Wait a minute,
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now what is that
turtle sitting on?"
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And the old lady stood up
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and she wagged her
finger in the scientists face,
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and she said,
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"Save your breath, son,
it's turtles all the way down."
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So as we look at the
origin of the universe,
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I have three questions.
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Question number
one, how did we get here?
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Question number
two, why are we here?
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And number three,
where are we going?
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These are the three
pivotal questions in life.
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How did we get here?
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What's my
purpose or why am I here
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and where am I going?
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For how did we get here,
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the first question
we go to Genesis 1:1,
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"In the beginning,
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God created the
heavens and the earth."
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The existence of
God is simply assumed,
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no explanation for
His existence is given,
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no reason is
given for His origin.
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God is, you could say, a given.
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In the beginning, God created,
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that word
created in Hebrew bara.
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The verb is used only
when God is the subject,
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and it's always linked
to divine creative activity.
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Here it's used of God's ability
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to create
something out of nothing.
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In the beginning, God,
in contrast to atheism,
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created alone in
contrast to polytheism,
00:09:35.44\00:09:39.57
rules over creation,
in contrast to pantheism,
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matter had a beginning,
in contrast to materialism,
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and the ultimate
reality is God and not humanity.
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That's how did we get
here, God created this world,
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and us and
everything that's in it.
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But why are we here?
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Can life have a
purpose besides just survival
00:10:01.63\00:10:05.47
or besides just procreation?
00:10:05.50\00:10:08.54
Or besides just the search
the endless search for wealth
00:10:08.57\00:10:12.97
or for happiness,
00:10:13.01\00:10:14.41
maybe self-development,
influence, wisdom?
00:10:14.44\00:10:17.35
What is the purpose of life?
00:10:17.38\00:10:19.18
In my remaining time,
00:10:19.21\00:10:20.55
I want to give you
seven purposes of life
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that I find
from the Word of God.
00:10:22.52\00:10:25.42
Purpose number one.
00:10:25.45\00:10:27.12
We are here because
00:10:27.16\00:10:28.49
God wants to live in
relationship with us.
00:10:28.52\00:10:32.09
He wants to live in
relationship with us.
00:10:32.13\00:10:34.40
Psalm 100:3,
00:10:34.43\00:10:36.87
"Know that the Lord He is God."
00:10:36.90\00:10:40.34
God is known as
opposed to being hidden.
00:10:40.37\00:10:43.97
It is He who has made
us and not we ourselves.
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God is our Creator as
opposed to synthetic life,
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or scientists
attempting to create life.
00:10:51.85\00:10:56.38
We are His people, and
the sheep of His pasture.
00:10:56.42\00:11:00.62
God calls you and I to live
00:11:00.66\00:11:03.02
in covenant
relationship with Him.
00:11:03.06\00:11:05.89
We are His people.
00:11:05.93\00:11:07.26
So the first purpose
in life is we are here
00:11:07.30\00:11:09.96
because God wants to
live in relationship with us.
00:11:10.00\00:11:13.50
The second person, purpose,
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we are here to
bring glory to God.
00:11:15.64\00:11:18.11
1 Corinthians 10:31,
00:11:18.14\00:11:20.31
"Whether you eat or
drink, or whatever you do,
00:11:20.34\00:11:22.64
do all to the glory of God."
00:11:22.68\00:11:25.55
We are not here to get rich.
00:11:25.58\00:11:27.75
We are not here
to please ourselves.
00:11:27.78\00:11:30.59
We are not here
to do our own thing.
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.62
We are here to
bring glory to God.
00:11:32.65\00:11:35.26
Purpose number three,
00:11:35.29\00:11:36.62
we are here to love one another.
00:11:36.66\00:11:40.23
John 13:34-35.
00:11:40.26\00:11:43.16
"A new
commandment I give to you,
00:11:43.20\00:11:45.07
that you love one
another as I have loved you,
00:11:45.10\00:11:48.24
that you also love one another.
00:11:48.27\00:11:51.04
By this all will know
that you are My disciples,
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if you have love
one for another."
00:11:53.98\00:11:58.41
We are here to love one another.
00:11:58.45\00:12:01.38
Purpose number four,
00:12:01.42\00:12:02.75
we are here to be His witness.
00:12:02.78\00:12:05.89
1 Peter 2:9-10.
00:12:05.92\00:12:07.89
I love this scripture.
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.46
"But you are a
chosen generation,
00:12:09.49\00:12:12.19
a royal
priesthood, a holy nation,
00:12:12.23\00:12:14.83
God's own special people."
00:12:14.86\00:12:16.90
And why are we
called? Why are we chosen?
00:12:16.93\00:12:19.27
Why are we set apart?
00:12:19.30\00:12:21.20
That we would
proclaim the praises of Him
00:12:21.24\00:12:23.07
who called us out of darkness
into His marvelous life.
00:12:23.10\00:12:26.68
Have you been in darkness?
00:12:26.71\00:12:28.24
Have you walked away from Jesus?
00:12:28.28\00:12:30.18
Have you
experienced what that is like?
00:12:30.21\00:12:32.88
Your purpose is to show forth
His praises to be His witness.
00:12:32.91\00:12:38.22
Purpose number five,
00:12:38.25\00:12:39.62
we are here to
live and walk in unity,
00:12:39.65\00:12:43.22
the same unity as
exemplified by the Father, Son
00:12:43.26\00:12:46.26
and Holy Spirit.
00:12:46.29\00:12:47.63
John 17:21,
00:12:47.66\00:12:50.07
"That they Jesus is praying
that they all may be one,
00:12:50.10\00:12:53.47
as You Father are
in Me and I in You,
00:12:53.50\00:12:56.17
that they may be one in Us
00:12:56.20\00:12:57.67
that the world may believe
and know that You sent Me."
00:12:57.71\00:13:01.98
Purpose number six,
00:13:02.01\00:13:03.51
we are here to bear
fruit for His glory.
00:13:03.55\00:13:07.18
Colossians 1:10,
00:13:07.22\00:13:08.55
"That you would
walk worthy of the Lord,
00:13:08.58\00:13:11.32
fully pleasing Him
00:13:11.35\00:13:12.69
being fruitful
in every good work,
00:13:12.72\00:13:14.62
and increasing in
the knowledge of God."
00:13:14.66\00:13:17.59
And finally,
purpose number seven,
00:13:17.63\00:13:19.19
we are here to
make disciples for Him.
00:13:19.23\00:13:21.83
Matthew 28,
00:13:21.86\00:13:23.37
"All authority has been given Me
00:13:23.40\00:13:25.00
in heaven and earth,
00:13:25.03\00:13:26.37
go therefore
and make disciples."
00:13:26.40\00:13:28.77
So how did we get here?
00:13:28.80\00:13:30.14
We got here
because in the beginning,
00:13:30.17\00:13:31.91
God created us.
00:13:31.94\00:13:33.44
Why are we here?
00:13:33.48\00:13:35.14
We are here because
00:13:35.18\00:13:36.51
He wants to live in
relationship with us.
00:13:36.54\00:13:38.18
And we are here
to bring glory to Him
00:13:38.21\00:13:40.62
and to love one
another and to be His witnesses
00:13:40.65\00:13:43.59
to walk and live in unity,
00:13:43.62\00:13:45.79
to bear fruit for His glory,
and to make disciples for Him.
00:13:45.82\00:13:49.56
And finally, where are we going?
00:13:49.59\00:13:52.03
For that we go to the
Book of Revelation 21,
00:13:52.06\00:13:54.46
"I saw a new
heaven and a new earth,
00:13:54.50\00:13:57.30
for the first heaven
00:13:57.33\00:13:58.67
and the first
earth passed away."
00:13:58.70\00:14:00.20
There was no more sea
and God dwells with us.
00:14:00.24\00:14:03.67
We are going to an eternal home.
00:14:03.71\00:14:05.87
And I definitely
want to be there.
00:14:05.91\00:14:07.64
Amen.
00:14:07.68\00:14:09.64
Thank you, Jill.
00:14:09.68\00:14:11.01
Tell you, when you get started,
00:14:11.05\00:14:13.38
you keep it going,
praise God for that.
00:14:13.42\00:14:14.98
Thank you, Jill,
00:14:15.02\00:14:16.35
for that
introduction to a new quarter.
00:14:16.38\00:14:19.32
And what just happened
00:14:19.35\00:14:20.86
I think is a good way
I could ask the question.
00:14:20.89\00:14:23.73
Praise the Lord
for what just happened.
00:14:23.76\00:14:25.79
God can use each one of
us to reflect His glory.
00:14:25.83\00:14:29.90
And that is a
covenant that He wants to keep,
00:14:29.93\00:14:32.17
we want to reflect His glory.
00:14:32.20\00:14:33.87
Mine is Monday in
the image of the maker.
00:14:33.90\00:14:37.07
Now we live in a world
that loves to make images.
00:14:37.11\00:14:40.91
Hollywood actors
are become images
00:14:40.94\00:14:43.78
to those who are
striving to be like them.
00:14:43.81\00:14:45.95
Musicians become images
00:14:45.98\00:14:47.82
to those who can or cannot sing.
00:14:47.85\00:14:50.62
You find on
social media many people
00:14:50.65\00:14:52.45
that are wanting
to sing that song
00:14:52.49\00:14:54.76
like their famous singer
00:14:54.79\00:14:56.66
or perform like
their famous performer
00:14:56.69\00:14:59.06
or to be in some way
00:14:59.09\00:15:00.60
we buy the jersey
00:15:00.63\00:15:01.96
of our favorite
basketball player,
00:15:02.00\00:15:03.93
or we wear the shoes
of our favorite designer.
00:15:03.97\00:15:06.97
Everyone wants to perform
in some way to communicate that
00:15:07.00\00:15:10.84
I am in some way
00:15:10.87\00:15:12.21
just like the
person that I admire,
00:15:12.24\00:15:13.68
I want to be
that person's image.
00:15:13.71\00:15:15.88
But the beautiful
story is, in Genesis 1:27.
00:15:15.91\00:15:19.45
And Jill brought this
out, but I want to go back.
00:15:19.48\00:15:22.15
It says in the Bible,
00:15:22.18\00:15:24.19
that God intended
from the very beginning
00:15:24.22\00:15:26.19
for every one of us
00:15:26.22\00:15:27.56
to be a reflection of His image.
00:15:27.59\00:15:30.76
And the world
has since that time,
00:15:30.79\00:15:32.39
tried to lower the bar,
00:15:32.43\00:15:34.33
and cause finite and mortal men
00:15:34.36\00:15:37.00
to replace the
infinite and the immortal God.
00:15:37.03\00:15:39.53
The Lord said,
00:15:39.57\00:15:40.90
"So God created
man in his own image,
00:15:40.94\00:15:43.44
in the image of
God He created him,
00:15:43.47\00:15:46.31
male and female
He created them."
00:15:46.34\00:15:49.84
And then the writer,
00:15:49.88\00:15:51.21
Dr. Gerhard Hasel
poses the question,
00:15:51.25\00:15:53.78
what does it mean that
00:15:53.82\00:15:55.15
God created us in His own image.
00:15:55.18\00:15:57.79
And I liked the
way that he put this,
00:15:57.82\00:15:59.15
I want to just go ahead
and communicate what he said.
00:15:59.19\00:16:00.82
He said, Adam was
created in the image of God.
00:16:00.86\00:16:04.63
He had a perfectly developed...
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.73
He was a perfectly
developed organism.
00:16:06.76\00:16:09.06
And that word organism
00:16:09.10\00:16:10.43
doesn't mean an
amoeba or paramecium.
00:16:10.47\00:16:12.07
But when Adam was made
00:16:12.10\00:16:13.70
to communicate
what that meant was,
00:16:13.74\00:16:15.74
when Adam was
questioned about the animals,
00:16:15.77\00:16:18.77
no one told Adam
what the animals were,
00:16:18.81\00:16:21.51
he instantly knew
what every animal was.
00:16:21.54\00:16:24.38
What is that?
That's an elephant.
00:16:24.41\00:16:25.75
What's that? That's a giraffe.
00:16:25.78\00:16:27.12
What's that? That's a lion.
00:16:27.15\00:16:28.48
What's that? That's a cat.
00:16:28.52\00:16:29.85
God created Adam with
perfect, a perfect database
00:16:29.88\00:16:33.56
of everything
that surrounded him.
00:16:33.59\00:16:35.82
All his
faculties were harmonious,
00:16:35.86\00:16:38.69
harmonious with whom?
00:16:38.73\00:16:40.20
With God.
00:16:40.23\00:16:42.36
In all his
emotions, words and actions,
00:16:42.40\00:16:45.33
there was a perfect conformity
to the will of His maker.
00:16:45.37\00:16:51.54
However, there was an asterisk.
00:16:51.57\00:16:53.51
There were some conditions
00:16:53.54\00:16:54.88
to this continued covenant
to reflect the image of God,
00:16:54.91\00:16:57.91
because many of us
00:16:57.95\00:16:59.28
don't understand
about Romans 6:23.
00:16:59.31\00:17:01.92
The Apostle Paul mentions
this thousands of years after
00:17:01.95\00:17:06.82
the Garden of Eden incident,
00:17:06.86\00:17:08.66
but this was true
in the Garden of Eden.
00:17:08.69\00:17:11.29
Notice what the Bible says,
00:17:11.33\00:17:13.13
"For the wages of sin is death,
00:17:13.16\00:17:14.96
but the gift of
God is eternal life
00:17:15.00\00:17:17.50
in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
00:17:17.53\00:17:19.93
Adam was not created immortal.
00:17:19.97\00:17:23.30
Immortality was
to be imparted to him
00:17:23.34\00:17:26.81
on condition of obedience.
00:17:26.84\00:17:28.84
You see the covenant
of God is never a covenant
00:17:28.88\00:17:31.88
without a
requirement of obedience.
00:17:31.91\00:17:34.45
God's covenant,
although kept by Him,
00:17:34.48\00:17:37.39
requires something on
our part, as is the case,
00:17:37.42\00:17:40.62
you know, when you
buy a car or buy a home,
00:17:40.66\00:17:42.56
you signed the contract
00:17:42.59\00:17:43.93
and I'm sure
many of us never read
00:17:43.96\00:17:45.79
the fine print.
00:17:45.83\00:17:47.53
But whenever we
violate the contract,
00:17:47.56\00:17:49.83
we are reminded
in the fine print
00:17:49.86\00:17:51.20
of our obligation.
00:17:51.23\00:17:52.77
In the very same way,
00:17:52.80\00:17:54.14
God gave Adam conditions
00:17:54.17\00:17:57.04
that this reflection of
his image would continue,
00:17:57.07\00:18:00.14
but it was based on the
foundation of obedience.
00:18:00.18\00:18:03.14
Genesis 2:16-17.
00:18:03.18\00:18:06.55
"And the LORD God
commanded the man, saying,
00:18:06.58\00:18:08.38
'Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat,
00:18:08.42\00:18:12.15
but of the tree of the knowledge
00:18:12.19\00:18:14.29
of good and evil
00:18:14.32\00:18:15.66
you shall not eat,
00:18:15.69\00:18:17.89
for in the day
that you eat of it
00:18:17.93\00:18:19.59
you shall surely die."
00:18:19.63\00:18:23.63
So God put man in the garden,
00:18:23.67\00:18:25.43
and then God
gave Adam a helpmeet.
00:18:25.47\00:18:29.17
Now, I want to say to the
men not to help meet bills,
00:18:29.20\00:18:32.57
or help meet expenses,
00:18:32.61\00:18:34.61
but for both of them
in a harmonious unity
00:18:34.64\00:18:37.51
to reflect the character of God.
00:18:37.55\00:18:39.01
And as one writer said,
God gave His maleness to Adam,
00:18:39.05\00:18:43.12
and His femaleness to Eve.
00:18:43.15\00:18:45.25
So when Adam and
Eve came together,
00:18:45.29\00:18:46.99
they completed the image
of God on the human race.
00:18:47.02\00:18:50.09
That's why the Lord said,
00:18:50.13\00:18:51.46
"It's not good that
man should be alone."
00:18:51.49\00:18:53.26
Adam, was created
in the image of God,
00:18:53.29\00:18:56.53
but God wanted to
enhance that image,
00:18:56.56\00:18:59.50
not that there's
anything wrong with His image,
00:18:59.53\00:19:01.64
but He knew that in creation,
00:19:01.67\00:19:03.00
if there was not a
counterpart to Adam,
00:19:03.04\00:19:05.34
then his image
would not be complete.
00:19:05.37\00:19:07.48
Now, follow that carefully.
00:19:07.51\00:19:08.84
That is why today,
00:19:08.88\00:19:10.38
and I'm going to say
this in complete respect,
00:19:10.41\00:19:12.01
when man unites with man,
00:19:12.05\00:19:14.25
and woman unites with woman,
00:19:14.28\00:19:15.68
it does not
complete the image of God
00:19:15.72\00:19:17.22
on the human race.
00:19:17.25\00:19:18.75
The image of God
was to be completed
00:19:18.79\00:19:20.69
only on the foundation that
00:19:20.72\00:19:22.12
Adam was to be
united with his counterpart,
00:19:22.16\00:19:25.79
one opposite to him, yet
equal in the eyes of God.
00:19:25.83\00:19:28.60
That's why the Lord took
Eve from His rib to be by aside,
00:19:28.63\00:19:31.93
not a bone from his
head nor a bone from his foot
00:19:31.97\00:19:34.04
to be trampled on
00:19:34.07\00:19:35.40
or to dominate
Adam's leadership.
00:19:35.44\00:19:37.37
But notice what the
Bible says in Genesis 3:22-24.
00:19:37.41\00:19:41.28
"Then God said,"
00:19:41.31\00:19:43.55
after Adam sinned,
00:19:43.58\00:19:44.91
"'Behold, the man has
become like one of Us,
00:19:44.95\00:19:47.22
to know good and evil.
00:19:47.25\00:19:48.98
And now, lest
he put out his hand
00:19:49.02\00:19:51.22
and take also of the
tree of life, and eat,
00:19:51.25\00:19:52.99
and live forever,
00:19:53.02\00:19:54.36
therefore the Lord God sent
him out of the Garden of Eden
00:19:54.39\00:19:57.76
to till the ground
from which he was taken.
00:19:57.79\00:20:00.46
So He drove out the man;
00:20:00.50\00:20:01.83
and He placed cherubim
00:20:01.86\00:20:03.30
at the east of
the Garden of Eden,
00:20:03.33\00:20:06.43
and a flaming sword
which turned every way,
00:20:06.47\00:20:09.17
to guard the way
of the tree of life."
00:20:09.20\00:20:12.61
Why would he do that?
00:20:12.64\00:20:13.98
Because if Adam or his
wife Eve partook of the tree,
00:20:14.01\00:20:17.75
the only way that
they were preserved
00:20:17.78\00:20:20.08
on a continuous basis
00:20:20.12\00:20:21.45
was from the tree of life,
00:20:21.48\00:20:22.82
once again, showing that
00:20:22.85\00:20:24.19
they were not
naturally immortal.
00:20:24.22\00:20:26.29
If they were naturally immortal,
00:20:26.32\00:20:28.22
then sin could not
even bring them to an end.
00:20:28.26\00:20:31.49
So God gave them mortality,
00:20:31.53\00:20:34.36
only to give them the
gift of God's eternal life
00:20:34.40\00:20:37.03
in Christ Jesus our Lord,
00:20:37.07\00:20:38.67
only to give this to them,
00:20:38.70\00:20:40.70
if they were
continually obedient.
00:20:40.74\00:20:43.41
1 Timothy 6:15-16 emphasizes
where immortality exists.
00:20:43.44\00:20:49.11
Speaking about Christ,
00:20:49.14\00:20:51.28
which He will
manifest in His own time,
00:20:51.31\00:20:53.31
He who is the
blessed and only Potentate,
00:20:53.35\00:20:56.08
the King of kings
and Lord of lords,
00:20:56.12\00:20:58.12
who alone has immortality,
00:20:58.15\00:21:01.02
dwelling in
unapproachable light,
00:21:01.06\00:21:03.83
whom no man has seen or can see,
00:21:03.86\00:21:05.93
to whom be honor
and everlasting power.
00:21:05.96\00:21:08.60
Amen."
00:21:08.63\00:21:09.96
And as the writer
points out in the lesson,
00:21:10.00\00:21:12.07
although we speak
of God on human terms,
00:21:12.10\00:21:14.17
we must never forget
that God is spiritual.
00:21:14.20\00:21:17.97
God is a spirit,
00:21:18.01\00:21:19.34
and those who worship
God as John 4:24 says,
00:21:19.37\00:21:22.28
must worship Him in
spirit and in truth.
00:21:22.31\00:21:25.01
Another
component of the covenant
00:21:25.05\00:21:26.38
is worship.
00:21:26.41\00:21:28.22
Worship cannot be
excluded from the covenant.
00:21:28.25\00:21:31.02
God has not called
us to occupy space.
00:21:31.05\00:21:33.56
That's why worship was the aim
00:21:33.59\00:21:35.62
and still is the aim
today that Satan wants to usurp,
00:21:35.66\00:21:38.46
because worship is a
part of the covenant.
00:21:38.49\00:21:40.46
The covenant can only go
on, as worship continues,
00:21:40.50\00:21:44.23
and when I say
only go on in our lives,
00:21:44.27\00:21:46.87
and affect us only on the basis
00:21:46.90\00:21:48.44
that we continue worshiping
God in spirit and in truth.
00:21:48.47\00:21:53.48
God is spiritual,
00:21:53.51\00:21:54.84
but because of sin,
00:21:54.88\00:21:56.41
we have to
develop also spirituality.
00:21:56.44\00:21:58.58
It is not a natural thing.
00:21:58.61\00:22:00.15
Look at 1 Corinthians
2:14, look what the Bible says.
00:22:00.18\00:22:04.45
"But the natural man
00:22:04.49\00:22:05.82
does not receive the
things of the Spirit of God,
00:22:05.85\00:22:08.22
for they are foolishness to him,
00:22:08.26\00:22:10.73
nor can he know them,
00:22:10.76\00:22:12.76
because they are
spiritually discerned."
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.66
Now, according to
the Genesis account,
00:22:15.70\00:22:17.87
did the Lord make
anything else in His own image
00:22:17.90\00:22:21.10
other than humankind?
00:22:21.14\00:22:23.27
And the answer is no,
00:22:23.30\00:22:24.64
everything else was
called into creation,
00:22:24.67\00:22:26.84
which says to me,
00:22:26.88\00:22:28.34
that God had a plan for man
far above that of the amoeba,
00:22:28.38\00:22:34.32
the paramecium, the alligator,
00:22:34.35\00:22:36.55
and away with this ideology
00:22:36.58\00:22:38.22
that we are some kind of
00:22:38.25\00:22:39.59
metamorphosized
descendants of an ape
00:22:39.62\00:22:42.26
or some kind of alligator
that crawled out of a cesspool,
00:22:42.29\00:22:45.83
somewhere and developed legs.
00:22:45.86\00:22:47.70
No, God called us
00:22:47.73\00:22:49.06
to reflect His
image continually.
00:22:49.10\00:22:50.97
That's why I like 1 John 3:1-2.
00:22:51.00\00:22:54.27
Notice what the Bible says.
00:22:54.30\00:22:55.90
And this is not anything
that an animal can proclaim.
00:22:55.94\00:22:58.84
The image of God
can only be reflected
00:22:58.87\00:23:01.48
in those who are made
after the similar to the God.
00:23:01.51\00:23:05.31
And when that image was broken,
00:23:05.35\00:23:07.42
the covenant of
God promised that
00:23:07.45\00:23:10.75
if we are obedient,
00:23:10.79\00:23:12.42
the image of God
00:23:12.45\00:23:13.79
would be replicated in us again.
00:23:13.82\00:23:15.62
Here it is.
00:23:15.66\00:23:16.99
"Behold what manner of love
the Father has bestowed on us,
00:23:17.03\00:23:19.89
that we should be
called children of God!
00:23:19.93\00:23:22.43
Therefore the
world does not know us,"
00:23:22.46\00:23:24.33
why?
00:23:24.37\00:23:25.70
"Because it did not know Him."
00:23:25.73\00:23:27.47
This is beautiful,
00:23:27.50\00:23:28.84
"Beloved, now we
are children of God,"
00:23:28.87\00:23:32.67
back to the original standing,
00:23:32.71\00:23:35.48
"and it has not
yet been revealed
00:23:35.51\00:23:37.41
what we shall be, "
00:23:37.45\00:23:38.78
but here's where the covenant
00:23:38.81\00:23:40.15
"that God made will
be fulfilled in eternity,
00:23:40.18\00:23:43.65
but we know that
when He is revealed,
00:23:43.69\00:23:46.79
we shall be like Him,
00:23:46.82\00:23:48.92
for we shall see Him as He is."
00:23:48.96\00:23:52.26
The image that Adam
marred because of sin
00:23:52.29\00:23:54.70
will one day be
completely restored,
00:23:54.73\00:23:57.67
and we shall be like
the God of the covenant,
00:23:57.70\00:24:00.04
for one day we
will be able to see Him
00:24:00.07\00:24:02.67
as He is in all of His glory.
00:24:02.70\00:24:05.01
Because
finally, as human beings,
00:24:05.04\00:24:07.58
we will also
reflect that immortal glory.
00:24:07.61\00:24:10.75
Amen. Amen.
00:24:10.78\00:24:12.55
Thank you so much, Pastor John.
00:24:12.58\00:24:14.08
Incredible, that restoration
of that image of God.
00:24:14.12\00:24:16.89
Amen.
00:24:16.92\00:24:18.25
We're going to
take a short break,
00:24:18.29\00:24:19.62
we'll be right back.
00:24:19.65\00:24:20.99
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Welcome back to our
study what happened,
00:24:55.46\00:24:57.96
that is the title
of our lesson here,
00:24:57.99\00:25:00.40
lesson number one
on God's covenant.
00:25:00.43\00:25:02.46
We're going to pick it
up with Tuesday's lesson
00:25:02.50\00:25:04.03
and Pastor Ryan Day.
00:25:04.07\00:25:05.40
Amen. Praise the Lord.
00:25:05.43\00:25:07.04
I do have Tuesday's lesson,
00:25:07.07\00:25:08.50
and it's entitled
00:25:08.54\00:25:10.07
"God and Humankind Together."
00:25:10.11\00:25:13.81
And there's so
much here to cover,
00:25:13.84\00:25:15.61
I hope I have time to do it.
00:25:15.64\00:25:18.18
But I want to go
directly to the scripture here,
00:25:18.21\00:25:20.12
Pastor done a wonderful job
00:25:20.15\00:25:23.15
on expounding
00:25:23.18\00:25:24.52
on how we were
made in the image of God
00:25:24.55\00:25:26.59
from Genesis 1:27.
00:25:26.62\00:25:29.42
Today's lesson,
Tuesday's lesson,
00:25:29.46\00:25:30.99
of course, has, has us
going into Genesis 1:28-29.
00:25:31.03\00:25:37.43
So let's go ahead and
go there and read that.
00:25:37.47\00:25:39.40
And this is those
texts that you usually have,
00:25:39.43\00:25:41.90
that you've kind
of just read through,
00:25:41.94\00:25:43.71
you just kind
of skim through it,
00:25:43.74\00:25:45.07
because it seems like
it's not much information
00:25:45.11\00:25:47.64
or much substance there.
00:25:47.68\00:25:49.01
But I'm going to argue
00:25:49.04\00:25:50.38
for the sake of the conversation
00:25:50.41\00:25:51.75
of the covenant
00:25:51.78\00:25:53.11
that there is lots
of information here
00:25:53.15\00:25:54.48
that is very helpful
and understanding further
00:25:54.52\00:25:57.79
the depth of the covenant,
00:25:57.82\00:25:59.15
this covenant relationship
that we have with the Lord.
00:25:59.19\00:26:01.62
And so I'm going to
read here, Genesis 1:28-29.
00:26:01.66\00:26:05.09
Notice what the Bible says.
00:26:05.13\00:26:06.46
It says,
00:26:06.49\00:26:07.83
"Then God blessed
them, and God said to them,
00:26:07.86\00:26:10.83
'Be fruitful and multiply,
fill the earth and subdue it,
00:26:10.87\00:26:14.87
have dominion over
the fish of the sea,
00:26:14.90\00:26:17.67
over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing
00:26:17.71\00:26:20.88
that moves on the earth.'"
00:26:20.91\00:26:23.24
Verse 29 says,
00:26:23.28\00:26:24.61
"And God said,
00:26:24.65\00:26:25.98
'See, I have given you
every herb that yields seed
00:26:26.01\00:26:28.92
which is on the
face of all the earth,
00:26:28.95\00:26:31.12
and every tree
whose fruit yields seed,
00:26:31.15\00:26:34.16
to you it shall be for food."
00:26:34.19\00:26:38.03
Now there's several lessons
00:26:38.06\00:26:40.30
within just these
couple of verses here,
00:26:40.33\00:26:42.46
of much of which
we're not going to be able
00:26:42.50\00:26:43.97
to get into for
the sake of time,
00:26:44.00\00:26:45.33
but we're talking
about the covenant.
00:26:45.37\00:26:47.24
How does these two verses
00:26:47.27\00:26:49.24
and the
information that we find here
00:26:49.27\00:26:51.11
relate to the covenant?
00:26:51.14\00:26:53.61
Well, I kind of
break it down into sections
00:26:53.64\00:26:55.81
to help us to kind of dissect it
00:26:55.84\00:26:57.95
and compare it and connect
it to this covenant relationship
00:26:57.98\00:27:01.45
that God wants to
establish with man.
00:27:01.48\00:27:02.95
So He's just
created man in His image.
00:27:02.98\00:27:06.52
He says it was very good, right?
00:27:06.55\00:27:08.89
And now they're created,
He has breathed into Adam,
00:27:08.92\00:27:12.36
the breath of life,
He's now created Eve.
00:27:12.39\00:27:15.06
And notice what it
first says here, it says,
00:27:15.10\00:27:17.17
"And God blessed them."
00:27:17.20\00:27:19.87
The very first thing
that God did to His creation,
00:27:19.90\00:27:22.97
in this case, mankind
is that He blessed them.
00:27:23.00\00:27:26.07
And that's awesome.
00:27:26.11\00:27:27.44
The fact that, you know,
He just breathes, you know,
00:27:27.48\00:27:29.31
He breathes into
Adam, Adam wakes up,
00:27:29.34\00:27:31.85
of course,
there's some time later,
00:27:31.88\00:27:33.21
of course, we know that
00:27:33.25\00:27:34.58
He makes Adam fall back asleep,
00:27:34.62\00:27:35.98
He pulls the rib, He
creates Adam and Eve.
00:27:36.02\00:27:38.32
But then the very first
thing He does to them together,
00:27:38.35\00:27:41.72
once they're
together, He blesses them.
00:27:41.76\00:27:44.66
And I love that
because it draws my attention
00:27:44.69\00:27:47.00
back to the fact that
God wants to bless us.
00:27:47.03\00:27:49.53
He doesn't want to
withhold a blessing from us,
00:27:49.56\00:27:51.57
He wants us to be blessed.
00:27:51.60\00:27:53.30
And my mind went
to Numbers Chapter 6,
00:27:53.34\00:27:55.57
that, of course,
we're skipping forward
00:27:55.60\00:27:57.67
just a little bit here
for the sake of illustration,
00:27:57.71\00:28:00.34
in the sense that,
00:28:00.38\00:28:01.71
you know, we see a record
all the way through scripture
00:28:01.74\00:28:03.61
where God is always
blessing His people.
00:28:03.65\00:28:05.45
He wants to bestow
00:28:05.48\00:28:06.82
a blessing upon
His chosen people.
00:28:06.85\00:28:08.52
And we see this even
with Israel as a nation,
00:28:08.55\00:28:11.15
when He called His people
00:28:11.19\00:28:12.52
into covenant
relationship with them.
00:28:12.55\00:28:14.62
One of the
first things He did is
00:28:14.66\00:28:15.99
He drawn Moses, Aaron together,
00:28:16.02\00:28:17.89
He said, Moses, tell Aaron,
00:28:17.93\00:28:19.26
that these are the words
00:28:19.29\00:28:20.63
that He ought to have
to bestow upon the people
00:28:20.66\00:28:22.80
as a blessing upon them.
00:28:22.83\00:28:24.17
And so we see this
in Numbers 6:22-27.
00:28:24.20\00:28:27.50
Of course, we've
read this many times,
00:28:27.54\00:28:28.87
we've heard this many times
00:28:28.90\00:28:30.57
in sermons or at
the end of a sermon.
00:28:30.61\00:28:32.77
It says this very
clearly, Numbers 6:22-27.
00:28:32.81\00:28:36.54
It says,
00:28:36.58\00:28:37.91
"And the Lord
spoke to Moses saying,
00:28:37.95\00:28:39.28
'Speak to Aaron and
his sons, saying, that
00:28:39.31\00:28:40.88
'This is the way
00:28:40.92\00:28:42.25
which you shall bless
the children of Israel.
00:28:42.28\00:28:43.82
Saying to them:
00:28:43.85\00:28:45.19
'The Lord bless
you and keep you,
00:28:45.22\00:28:47.69
the Lord make His
face shine upon you,
00:28:47.72\00:28:50.73
and be gracious to you,
00:28:50.76\00:28:52.66
the Lord lift up His
countenance upon you,
00:28:52.69\00:28:54.96
and give you peace.
00:28:55.00\00:28:57.17
So they shall put My name
on the children of Israel,
00:28:57.20\00:29:00.27
and I will bless them."
00:29:00.30\00:29:02.64
And this is the
perpetual message
00:29:02.67\00:29:05.37
all throughout the Bible,
00:29:05.41\00:29:06.74
a God desiring to
draw close to His people
00:29:06.78\00:29:09.28
to bless them,
00:29:09.31\00:29:10.65
because He indeed
wants us to be happy.
00:29:10.68\00:29:12.41
He wants us to have good things,
00:29:12.45\00:29:13.95
He wants us
indeed to be blessed.
00:29:13.98\00:29:16.45
In fact, it reminds me
of that beautiful scripture
00:29:16.48\00:29:18.55
in 1 John 4:19,
00:29:18.59\00:29:20.59
that, you know, we love
Him because He first loved us.
00:29:20.62\00:29:24.49
In this case, we bless God
because He first blessed us.
00:29:24.53\00:29:28.23
So I just wanted
to highlight that
00:29:28.26\00:29:30.00
because it starts
off with God bless them,
00:29:30.03\00:29:31.90
but then notice
00:29:31.93\00:29:33.27
what the next
part of verse 28 says.
00:29:33.30\00:29:35.04
It says that he told them,
00:29:35.07\00:29:37.21
"Be fruitful and multiply,
00:29:37.24\00:29:39.24
fill the earth and subdue it."
00:29:39.27\00:29:41.11
Now there's,
00:29:41.14\00:29:42.48
I'm going to spend the
bulk of my time on this one
00:29:42.51\00:29:43.85
because it's just has
something beautiful here.
00:29:43.88\00:29:46.41
Many people are going
to read that text and go,
00:29:46.45\00:29:48.12
oh, you know, God
told him to just go
00:29:48.15\00:29:49.88
make a bunch of little babies,
00:29:49.92\00:29:51.25
you know, just go out there
and be fruitful and multiply
00:29:51.29\00:29:53.02
and make a bunch
of little babies.
00:29:53.05\00:29:54.39
But I believe that
there are two main reasons
00:29:54.42\00:29:55.96
why God gave this command.
00:29:55.99\00:29:57.39
In fact, this is
the very first command
00:29:57.43\00:29:58.86
God gave them
00:29:58.89\00:30:00.23
and it's interesting,
00:30:00.26\00:30:01.60
I'm going to
give you the first one
00:30:01.63\00:30:02.96
that I think is an
awesome point to make.
00:30:03.00\00:30:04.50
And then the second one,
00:30:04.53\00:30:05.87
we're going to expound
a little bit deeper in.
00:30:05.90\00:30:07.34
And so I found this quote
00:30:07.37\00:30:08.70
from the Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary,
00:30:08.74\00:30:10.91
volume one, page 1082.
00:30:10.94\00:30:12.94
And this kind of
explains one of the reasons
00:30:12.97\00:30:14.81
why God immediately told them,
00:30:14.84\00:30:16.18
"Hey, go be
fruitful and multiply."
00:30:16.21\00:30:18.21
In other words, go make others,
00:30:18.25\00:30:19.71
go and make
others like yourself.
00:30:19.75\00:30:22.05
Notice what it says here.
00:30:22.08\00:30:23.45
God, again this comes
00:30:23.49\00:30:24.82
from Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary,
00:30:24.85\00:30:26.32
volume one, page 1082.
00:30:26.35\00:30:28.62
God created man
for His own glory,
00:30:28.66\00:30:31.93
that after test and trial,
00:30:31.96\00:30:34.00
the human family might become
00:30:34.03\00:30:35.60
one with the
heavenly family, okay.
00:30:35.63\00:30:39.10
It was God's
purpose to repopulate heaven
00:30:39.13\00:30:43.07
with the human family.
00:30:43.10\00:30:44.64
So I love that the fact
that God created mankind
00:30:44.67\00:30:47.24
because again,
the fall in heaven,
00:30:47.28\00:30:48.74
Lucifer, the
angels, the war in heaven,
00:30:48.78\00:30:50.65
God had to
basically banish Lucifer
00:30:50.68\00:30:52.81
and those fallen angels,
00:30:52.85\00:30:54.18
where He wanted
to repopulate heaven.
00:30:54.22\00:30:55.95
And so, of course,
mankind fit into that plan.
00:30:55.98\00:30:58.45
So that's one
reason why God said,
00:30:58.49\00:31:00.02
"Look, go out there and
make some others, right?
00:31:00.06\00:31:01.92
Be fruitful and multiply."
00:31:01.96\00:31:03.46
His plan is to repopulate heaven
00:31:03.49\00:31:05.53
with good people.
00:31:05.56\00:31:07.00
But then I'm going
to submit something
00:31:07.03\00:31:08.36
for the purpose of
covenant conversation,
00:31:08.40\00:31:10.70
that God also told them
00:31:10.73\00:31:12.70
to be fruitful and
multiply for another reason.
00:31:12.73\00:31:15.77
Consider the fact that
Adam and Eve was created
00:31:15.80\00:31:18.44
in the image of God.
00:31:18.47\00:31:19.81
Okay.
00:31:19.84\00:31:21.18
And, Pastor, you
did a beautiful job
00:31:21.21\00:31:22.54
expounding on that.
00:31:22.58\00:31:23.91
I want to take it just a
little step further here.
00:31:23.95\00:31:25.58
The Bible says that God is love.
00:31:25.61\00:31:29.18
Not that He's just mere loving,
00:31:29.22\00:31:31.45
describing an action or
something that He expresses
00:31:31.49\00:31:34.02
which we know God is that.
00:31:34.06\00:31:35.39
But He's much more than that.
00:31:35.42\00:31:36.76
The very
principle of His character
00:31:36.79\00:31:38.29
is that God is love.
00:31:38.33\00:31:40.66
And we have a
beautiful description
00:31:40.70\00:31:42.30
of what love is in
principle and in character.
00:31:42.33\00:31:44.93
If you go over
to 1 Corinthians 13
00:31:44.97\00:31:47.24
and we read that
beautiful passages there
00:31:47.27\00:31:49.07
where it describes love,
00:31:49.10\00:31:50.44
you know, love
suffers long and is kind.
00:31:50.47\00:31:51.91
Love does not envy,
love does not parade itself,
00:31:51.94\00:31:54.81
is not puffed up, it
does not behave rudely,
00:31:54.84\00:31:57.38
but right in the midst of
that beautiful message there
00:31:57.41\00:31:59.85
in 1 Corinthians 13,
00:31:59.88\00:32:01.42
something catches my eye here.
00:32:01.45\00:32:03.45
Love does not seek its own.
00:32:03.49\00:32:07.42
Love does not seek its own.
00:32:07.46\00:32:09.06
God does not seek His own.
00:32:09.09\00:32:11.86
In other words, God is giving.
00:32:11.89\00:32:15.33
He's not self-centered.
00:32:15.36\00:32:17.00
The very nature, the
very character of God
00:32:17.03\00:32:19.00
is that He prefers others,
He puts others before Himself.
00:32:19.03\00:32:22.27
For God so loved the
world that He gave, right?
00:32:22.30\00:32:26.04
And I love this, we see that
in true biblical godly love,
00:32:26.07\00:32:30.75
we see an others centeredness.
00:32:30.78\00:32:32.75
Amen.
00:32:32.78\00:32:34.12
Okay, so we're
getting the point here,
00:32:34.15\00:32:35.48
be fruitful and multiply.
00:32:35.52\00:32:36.85
Okay, there's a reason,
00:32:36.89\00:32:38.22
I believe another reason
why God gave that command.
00:32:38.25\00:32:39.99
You see, Paul often uses
the phrase in his writings
00:32:40.02\00:32:42.39
that Jesus gave Himself, right?
00:32:42.42\00:32:46.06
Husbands love your wives
00:32:46.09\00:32:47.43
just as Christ
also loved the church
00:32:47.46\00:32:48.80
and He gave Himself for her.
00:32:48.83\00:32:50.80
Again, this others centeredness.
00:32:50.83\00:32:53.74
So definitionally, if
you are going to have love,
00:32:53.77\00:32:57.21
then you need more than one.
00:32:57.24\00:33:00.34
And I'm going to submit to you
00:33:00.38\00:33:01.71
and I love this quote,
I'm about to read here,
00:33:01.74\00:33:03.08
not just more than
one, more than two.
00:33:03.11\00:33:04.75
Okay, notice this.
00:33:04.78\00:33:06.41
Ty Gibson, I brought
this quote from Ty Gibson,
00:33:06.45\00:33:08.88
I think it's
beautifully described here.
00:33:08.92\00:33:10.25
And I think it's based on
fundamental biblical principle.
00:33:10.29\00:33:13.19
This is this from
a God named desire.
00:33:13.22\00:33:14.89
He said, three is the
essential numeric value of love.
00:33:14.92\00:33:18.29
Whether there is
only one person love
00:33:18.33\00:33:19.89
cannot occur.
00:33:19.93\00:33:22.46
Where there are two,
00:33:22.50\00:33:23.83
each is of the sole recipient
of the other's attention,
00:33:23.87\00:33:26.60
giving place
for self-absorption.
00:33:26.63\00:33:28.60
But the moment there
are three, each recipient,
00:33:28.64\00:33:32.07
each recipient of one's love
00:33:32.11\00:33:33.81
much must also humbly defer
attention to the third party,
00:33:33.84\00:33:36.95
and each one is the
third party to the other two.
00:33:36.98\00:33:40.35
Pure selflessness
00:33:40.38\00:33:41.72
can now occur by
virtue of the fact
00:33:41.75\00:33:43.28
that each one
must love and be loved
00:33:43.32\00:33:45.79
with both an exclusive
and a divided interest.
00:33:45.82\00:33:49.02
So what we see that
our God is triune, right?
00:33:49.06\00:33:51.59
Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, that's a family.
00:33:51.63\00:33:54.36
So when God
created Adam and Eve,
00:33:54.40\00:33:55.73
what did He do?
00:33:55.76\00:33:57.10
What was His first command?
00:33:57.13\00:33:58.60
Go make another,
00:33:58.63\00:33:59.97
go make another
just like yourself.
00:34:00.00\00:34:01.34
I love that
00:34:01.37\00:34:02.70
because it shows
00:34:02.74\00:34:04.07
that when God did
indeed create Him in His image,
00:34:04.11\00:34:05.67
He created a family,
00:34:05.71\00:34:07.31
it was His purpose
that they have a family.
00:34:07.34\00:34:10.38
We go on to see that God said,
00:34:10.41\00:34:11.75
have dominion over
the fish of the sea,
00:34:11.78\00:34:13.28
over the birds of the air,
00:34:13.31\00:34:14.65
and over every living thing
that moves up on the earth,
00:34:14.68\00:34:17.22
okay?
00:34:17.25\00:34:18.59
And God even went on to say,
00:34:18.62\00:34:19.95
"See that I've given you
every herb that you'll see them
00:34:19.99\00:34:21.86
which is on all the
face upon the earth,
00:34:21.89\00:34:23.69
and every tree whose
fruit's yield see to you
00:34:23.73\00:34:26.33
It shall be for food."
00:34:26.36\00:34:27.96
What we're seeing here is God
00:34:28.00\00:34:30.50
is basically showing His
love by gifting the earth
00:34:30.53\00:34:34.24
and its creatures
and everything on it,
00:34:34.27\00:34:36.14
the food He gives,
00:34:36.17\00:34:37.51
He gifts the
perfect garden diet to them
00:34:37.54\00:34:40.28
all for the
purpose of establishing
00:34:40.31\00:34:42.78
covenant relationship with them.
00:34:42.81\00:34:44.65
This is basically
stewardship one on one.
00:34:44.68\00:34:47.02
God creates it and He says,
00:34:47.05\00:34:49.02
"Look, I created it.
00:34:49.05\00:34:50.39
It's mine, but
I'm giving it to you.
00:34:50.42\00:34:51.75
It's all yours.
00:34:51.79\00:34:53.12
I loved you. I've blessed you.
00:34:53.15\00:34:54.96
I've created you in my image.
00:34:54.99\00:34:56.66
All of this is for you."
00:34:56.69\00:34:59.23
God puts Himself out there,
00:34:59.26\00:35:00.76
He makes, He puts
Himself out there for man
00:35:00.80\00:35:03.33
to show them that
He indeed loves them.
00:35:03.37\00:35:05.00
And now we're going to
find out that that covenant,
00:35:05.03\00:35:06.87
we need to reciprocate that.
00:35:06.90\00:35:08.24
And that's what
we're going to learn
00:35:08.27\00:35:09.60
throughout these lessons.
00:35:09.64\00:35:10.97
Amen. Thank you, Ryan.
00:35:11.01\00:35:12.34
Amen.
00:35:12.37\00:35:13.71
Amen and amen.
00:35:13.74\00:35:15.08
So we have here
00:35:15.11\00:35:16.44
the continuation into Wednesday,
00:35:16.48\00:35:19.71
which is, the
title for this part is
00:35:19.75\00:35:21.72
"At the Tree."
00:35:21.75\00:35:24.45
You know, as
Pastor Ryan was talking,
00:35:24.49\00:35:26.86
I was reminded of a quote from,
00:35:26.89\00:35:29.89
I believe it's the book
Education by Ellen G. White,
00:35:29.92\00:35:31.86
where it says
that it was God's ideal
00:35:31.89\00:35:35.86
that as the longer a man lived,
00:35:35.90\00:35:38.27
the more fully
00:35:38.30\00:35:39.63
will he reflect
the Creator's glory,
00:35:39.67\00:35:41.94
the character of God.
00:35:41.97\00:35:43.57
And so this
relationship was essential
00:35:43.61\00:35:46.17
to maintain this
relationship with God.
00:35:46.21\00:35:48.44
And so as we move
into Wednesday's lesson,
00:35:48.48\00:35:52.88
we go into two
specific scriptures
00:35:52.91\00:35:55.52
that are Genesis 2:16-17.
00:35:55.55\00:35:59.95
But this will be our focus.
00:35:59.99\00:36:01.32
But I want to
start in Genesis 2:7-9,
00:36:01.36\00:36:04.69
because I want to
set up a foundation here.
00:36:04.73\00:36:06.90
And it says,
00:36:06.93\00:36:08.26
"And the Lord God formed
man of the dust of the ground,
00:36:08.30\00:36:11.03
and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life,
00:36:11.07\00:36:14.07
and man became a living soul."
00:36:14.10\00:36:17.14
So we have here
from the beginning,
00:36:17.17\00:36:18.77
that not only is man
created in the image of God,
00:36:18.81\00:36:21.18
but he has the very
breath of God in him.
00:36:21.21\00:36:24.21
"And the Lord
God planted a garden
00:36:24.25\00:36:26.01
eastward in Eden,
00:36:26.05\00:36:27.38
and there He put the
man whom He had formed.
00:36:27.42\00:36:29.72
And out of the
ground made the Lord God
00:36:29.75\00:36:32.52
to grow every tree
00:36:32.55\00:36:34.72
that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food,
00:36:34.76\00:36:38.69
the tree of life also
in the midst of the garden,
00:36:38.73\00:36:40.90
and the tree of
knowledge of good and evil."
00:36:40.93\00:36:44.47
So we have here this,
00:36:44.50\00:36:45.97
this foundation for Adam and Eve
00:36:46.00\00:36:48.50
to follow that,
00:36:48.54\00:36:49.87
God bless them with hundreds,
00:36:49.90\00:36:51.67
I don't know,
thousands of trees.
00:36:51.71\00:36:53.84
And remember,
00:36:53.88\00:36:55.21
there's a
scripture that reveals that
00:36:55.24\00:36:57.28
everything that
God made was very good.
00:36:57.31\00:36:59.41
Genesis 1:31,
00:36:59.45\00:37:00.78
"And God saw
everything that He had made,
00:37:00.82\00:37:03.75
and behold, it was very good.
00:37:03.79\00:37:07.62
And the evening and the morning,
00:37:07.66\00:37:09.02
were the sixth day."
00:37:09.06\00:37:10.39
So everything was very good,
00:37:10.43\00:37:11.76
including the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.
00:37:11.79\00:37:15.53
It was not a bad
tree, it was a good tree.
00:37:15.56\00:37:19.03
It was just the God said,
00:37:19.07\00:37:21.04
"Don't eat of
that particular tree."
00:37:21.07\00:37:23.84
So when we look at Genesis 2:15,
00:37:23.87\00:37:28.88
notice what it says here,
00:37:28.91\00:37:30.25
then we already had a
little repeating of this
00:37:30.28\00:37:32.55
in Genesis 2:7-9,
00:37:32.58\00:37:34.82
"Then the Lord God took the man
00:37:34.85\00:37:36.38
and put him in
the Garden of Eden,
00:37:36.42\00:37:38.65
to tend and to keep it."
00:37:38.69\00:37:40.12
So this garden
00:37:40.16\00:37:41.49
God made a special
home for Adam and Eve.
00:37:41.52\00:37:44.73
And this, this shows
the relationship they had
00:37:44.76\00:37:48.46
showed him all the
trees of the garden.
00:37:48.50\00:37:50.27
And now let's move to verse 16.
00:37:50.30\00:37:52.23
"And the Lord God
commanded the man saying,
00:37:52.27\00:37:55.50
'Of every tree of the
garden, you may freely eat,
00:37:55.54\00:38:01.51
but of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil,
00:38:01.54\00:38:04.11
you shall not eat,
00:38:04.15\00:38:05.51
for in the day
that you eat of it,
00:38:05.55\00:38:07.52
you shall surely die."
00:38:07.55\00:38:09.65
So we have here,
00:38:09.68\00:38:11.15
the scriptures that
revealed to Adam and Eve
00:38:11.19\00:38:13.46
that there was just one
thing they could not do,
00:38:13.49\00:38:16.52
one tree that
they could not eat.
00:38:16.56\00:38:18.59
And I can imagine
having Adam and Eve talking,
00:38:18.63\00:38:21.30
can you believe it, we
can eat all these trees,
00:38:21.33\00:38:24.80
so many trees,
00:38:24.83\00:38:26.20
they could live for a long time
00:38:26.23\00:38:28.04
without having to
repeat their meal.
00:38:28.07\00:38:32.07
You know, I
remember we had a dog
00:38:32.11\00:38:33.48
and this dog made me laugh,
00:38:33.51\00:38:35.88
because I will
give the dog food,
00:38:35.91\00:38:38.11
we buy a bag of food,
00:38:38.15\00:38:40.05
and I will bring
the food to the dog
00:38:40.08\00:38:41.78
and I will just after,
00:38:41.82\00:38:43.42
after a while of eating
this for five, six days.
00:38:43.45\00:38:46.29
He just, I felt bad for the dog
00:38:46.32\00:38:48.09
because he will look at the food
00:38:48.12\00:38:50.16
and look at me like
I had this yesterday,
00:38:50.19\00:38:54.20
the day before.
00:38:54.23\00:38:56.00
Don't you have anything
else, you know it's like...
00:38:56.03\00:38:57.97
But Adam and Eve had a variety
00:38:58.00\00:38:59.83
just like we
have a variety today.
00:38:59.87\00:39:01.20
But their variety was greater
00:39:01.24\00:39:02.90
because sin has
affected the earth.
00:39:02.94\00:39:04.87
Now, remember that
God commanded them saying,
00:39:04.91\00:39:08.41
"Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat."
00:39:08.44\00:39:10.11
God gave Adam and Eve
00:39:10.15\00:39:11.61
the blessing of
freedom of choice.
00:39:11.65\00:39:14.98
They were not robots to do,
00:39:15.02\00:39:17.05
"Yes, Lord I'll do this, yes."
00:39:17.09\00:39:19.05
No, they were given
the privilege to choose.
00:39:19.09\00:39:23.36
This is why they
say you may freely eat.
00:39:23.39\00:39:27.00
They had a choice.
00:39:27.03\00:39:28.36
And I would like to
bring us some scripture
00:39:28.40\00:39:29.96
that is very similar to this
00:39:30.00\00:39:31.80
in the Book of
Deuteronomy Chapter 30.
00:39:31.83\00:39:34.00
I'm going to read verses 11-15
00:39:34.04\00:39:38.17
because it reveals something
00:39:38.21\00:39:40.31
concerning the people of Israel
00:39:40.34\00:39:41.68
it's very similar to
00:39:41.71\00:39:43.61
or you can say that what
God said to Adam and Eve.
00:39:43.65\00:39:45.75
Notice,
beginning Deuteronomy 30,
00:39:45.78\00:39:48.48
beginning in verse 11,
00:39:48.52\00:39:49.85
"For this commandment
00:39:49.88\00:39:51.22
which I command you today
00:39:51.25\00:39:52.59
is not too mysterious
for you, nor is it far off.
00:39:52.62\00:39:57.66
It is not in
heaven, that you should say,
00:39:57.69\00:39:59.56
'Who will ascend
into heaven for us
00:39:59.59\00:40:01.10
and bring it to us,
00:40:01.13\00:40:02.46
that we may hear it and do it?'
00:40:02.50\00:40:05.60
Nor is it beyond the
sea, that you should say,
00:40:05.63\00:40:07.57
'Who will go over the sea for us
00:40:07.60\00:40:09.27
and bring it to us,
00:40:09.30\00:40:10.64
that we may hear it and do it?'
00:40:10.67\00:40:12.54
But the word is very near you,
00:40:12.57\00:40:14.91
in your mouth and in your heart,
00:40:14.94\00:40:16.88
that you may do it.
00:40:16.91\00:40:18.85
See, I have set before thee
00:40:18.88\00:40:21.55
this day life and
good, death and evil."
00:40:21.58\00:40:24.45
It was not
something out of this world
00:40:24.49\00:40:26.72
that Adam and
Eve were asked to do.
00:40:26.76\00:40:28.96
They were asked,
00:40:28.99\00:40:30.33
"Don't eat of
this particular tree."
00:40:30.36\00:40:32.23
In this you see
God's great love for them.
00:40:32.26\00:40:35.60
Because He is saying to them,
00:40:35.63\00:40:36.97
"If you love Me,
keep My commandments."
00:40:37.00\00:40:40.00
And it was not difficult.
00:40:40.04\00:40:42.17
It was not hard.
00:40:42.20\00:40:43.71
It was not something
00:40:43.74\00:40:45.14
that was crushing
them their life out.
00:40:45.17\00:40:48.14
You know, oh no, we
can't eat of that tree.
00:40:48.18\00:40:50.45
There is that tree again.
00:40:50.48\00:40:51.81
Oh, no, again, no,
they had so many choices to,
00:40:51.85\00:40:55.02
so many things to choose from.
00:40:55.05\00:40:56.42
And I would say that
their love for their Creator,
00:40:56.45\00:41:01.59
made them obey.
00:41:01.62\00:41:03.49
They were moved
to obey the Creator.
00:41:03.53\00:41:06.43
When you know God,
00:41:06.46\00:41:08.23
and you see all
that He has done for you,
00:41:08.26\00:41:11.13
your love for Him grows.
00:41:11.17\00:41:12.53
This is why it's very important
for us to read the scriptures,
00:41:12.57\00:41:15.37
become acquainted with God.
00:41:15.40\00:41:17.41
Because as we
spend time with God,
00:41:17.44\00:41:18.94
we will love Him more.
00:41:18.97\00:41:20.31
And Adam and Eve
had the privilege
00:41:20.34\00:41:21.68
of spending time with God.
00:41:21.71\00:41:23.24
Now, let's go back
00:41:23.28\00:41:25.11
to the
consequences of disobedience
00:41:25.15\00:41:27.92
which is death.
00:41:27.95\00:41:29.98
Genesis 2:17,
I'll read that again.
00:41:30.02\00:41:32.95
But the tree of
knowledge of good and evil
00:41:32.99\00:41:34.56
you shall not eat,
00:41:34.59\00:41:36.16
for in the day
that you eat of it,
00:41:36.19\00:41:39.43
you shall surely die."
00:41:39.46\00:41:42.53
And this, this scripture,
00:41:42.56\00:41:45.07
this message from the Lord
00:41:45.10\00:41:48.64
led them to understand
that their freedom will be gone,
00:41:48.67\00:41:52.97
their joy will be gone,
00:41:53.01\00:41:54.84
their happiness would be gone.
00:41:54.88\00:41:58.11
And, of course,
00:41:58.15\00:42:00.88
the Bible declares
in the Book of Romans,
00:42:00.92\00:42:03.28
that one, by one
man's disobedience
00:42:03.32\00:42:05.62
death came upon all.
00:42:05.65\00:42:08.76
Not only is it talking
here about the first death,
00:42:08.79\00:42:11.13
but there's also the
death that the Bible says
00:42:11.16\00:42:14.40
that was in Romans 6:23,
for the wages of sin is death.
00:42:14.43\00:42:19.77
Eventually,
00:42:19.80\00:42:21.14
the gift that God
gave to Adam and Eve
00:42:21.17\00:42:24.14
would be taken from
them, and that is life.
00:42:24.17\00:42:27.34
And instead of life,
they would have death.
00:42:27.38\00:42:31.85
Now this tree of
knowledge of good and evil,
00:42:31.88\00:42:35.48
is not that it was
a tree that was evil,
00:42:35.52\00:42:41.59
it's that the tree,
00:42:41.62\00:42:43.86
by taking off the tree,
00:42:43.89\00:42:45.49
you will have a knowledge of sin
00:42:45.53\00:42:47.23
and a knowledge of sin
00:42:47.26\00:42:49.06
will bring them
unnecessary suffering.
00:42:49.10\00:42:53.47
The knowledge
that God did not want
00:42:53.50\00:42:55.50
our first parents to have
is the knowledge of guilt.
00:42:55.54\00:42:59.44
And we all know
00:42:59.47\00:43:02.01
that guilt is something
that is not good to have.
00:43:02.04\00:43:06.45
Nobody likes
to, nobody likes it.
00:43:06.48\00:43:08.18
But sin created the problem
00:43:08.22\00:43:11.79
that brought this world
in the condition that is in.
00:43:11.82\00:43:14.16
You're going to hear
more about this in a moment.
00:43:14.19\00:43:16.69
So Adam and Eve
were given the choice,
00:43:16.73\00:43:20.00
the choice to have life
00:43:20.03\00:43:22.36
by continuing in
obedience to God,
00:43:22.40\00:43:24.27
if you love Me,
keep My commandments.
00:43:24.30\00:43:26.20
In essence, God was
saying this to them,
00:43:26.23\00:43:28.77
I want to share with you
00:43:28.80\00:43:31.84
what, what we have
here in the choices
00:43:31.87\00:43:37.38
that they have, they were given.
00:43:37.41\00:43:40.48
Moses when he was
talking to the people of Israel,
00:43:40.52\00:43:43.59
he said this to
them in Genesis Chapter,
00:43:43.62\00:43:47.16
in Deuteronomy Chapter 30.
00:43:47.19\00:43:48.69
Notice what he
says in verse 19 and 20,
00:43:48.72\00:43:51.69
"I call heaven and earth to
record this day against you,
00:43:51.73\00:43:56.23
that I have set
before you life and death,
00:43:56.26\00:43:59.90
blessing and cursing:
00:43:59.93\00:44:02.14
therefore choose life,
00:44:02.17\00:44:03.84
that both thou
and thy seed may live,
00:44:03.87\00:44:06.88
that thou mayest
love the Lord thy God,
00:44:06.91\00:44:10.41
and that thou
mayest obey his voice,
00:44:10.45\00:44:13.01
and that thou
mayest cleave unto him:
00:44:13.05\00:44:15.65
for he is thy life,
00:44:15.68\00:44:18.02
and the length of thy days:
00:44:18.05\00:44:19.95
that thou mayest
dwell in the land
00:44:19.99\00:44:21.82
which the Lord
sware unto thy fathers,
00:44:21.86\00:44:24.93
to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, to give them."
00:44:24.96\00:44:27.93
So before Adam and Eve was life,
00:44:27.96\00:44:32.23
and before Adam
and Eve was also death.
00:44:32.27\00:44:36.67
They were to choose life
if they chose life, it says,
00:44:36.71\00:44:40.68
that thou mayest love thy God,
00:44:40.71\00:44:43.11
and that you may obey His voice,
00:44:43.14\00:44:44.98
and that you may cleave to God
00:44:45.01\00:44:46.45
and in cleaving to that
00:44:46.48\00:44:48.28
in maintaining that
relationship with God,
00:44:48.32\00:44:50.79
that would be their life.
00:44:50.82\00:44:52.89
So for you and for I,
we also have a choice.
00:44:52.92\00:44:56.22
We have a choice to choose
life through Jesus Christ.
00:44:56.26\00:45:00.10
And it is wonderful
00:45:00.13\00:45:01.60
that God gave His
only begotten Son,
00:45:01.63\00:45:04.43
that whoever believes
in Him will not perish,
00:45:04.47\00:45:07.14
but have everlasting life.
00:45:07.17\00:45:08.80
Before you is life and death,
00:45:08.84\00:45:11.17
choose life,
choose Jesus Christ.
00:45:11.21\00:45:13.78
Amen.
00:45:13.81\00:45:15.14
Thank you, Johnny.
00:45:15.18\00:45:16.51
That was, whoops, I've
got a two part mask here.
00:45:16.54\00:45:20.38
I have Thursday's lesson,
00:45:20.42\00:45:22.85
"Breaking the Relationship."
00:45:22.88\00:45:26.15
This is rather sad.
00:45:26.19\00:45:28.92
Let's begin with
Genesis Chapter 3.
00:45:28.96\00:45:32.63
Genesis 3:1.
00:45:32.66\00:45:34.76
"Now the
serpent was more cunning
00:45:34.80\00:45:36.46
than any beast of the field
00:45:36.50\00:45:38.73
which the Lord God had made.
00:45:38.77\00:45:40.70
And he said to the woman,
00:45:40.74\00:45:42.70
"Has God indeed said,
00:45:42.74\00:45:46.17
'You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden?' "
00:45:46.21\00:45:49.81
So here, in my mind, I see,
00:45:49.84\00:45:52.98
Eve is walking
through the garden,
00:45:53.01\00:45:55.08
just taken her little walk,
00:45:55.12\00:45:57.09
and she stops and
she's gazing in curiosity,
00:45:57.12\00:46:00.66
on the only tree
that is prohibited.
00:46:00.69\00:46:05.46
And she sees this
fascinating creature
00:46:05.49\00:46:08.86
at the serpent.
00:46:08.90\00:46:10.23
And you know,
00:46:10.27\00:46:11.60
he wasn't
slithering on his belly
00:46:11.63\00:46:13.17
before the curves.
00:46:13.20\00:46:14.64
Actually, in Ezekiel 28,
00:46:14.67\00:46:17.11
it talks of Satan
having a dazzling beauty
00:46:17.14\00:46:21.38
when he was in heaven.
00:46:21.41\00:46:23.61
So now this serpent is Satan.
00:46:23.65\00:46:26.75
And let me prove that to you,
00:46:26.78\00:46:28.12
because both Paul and
John describe him as Satan.
00:46:28.15\00:46:32.75
And we know that
Satan can disguise himself
00:46:32.79\00:46:36.39
as an angel of light.
00:46:36.42\00:46:38.43
In Revelation 12:9
00:46:38.46\00:46:42.10
and Revelation 20:2,
00:46:42.13\00:46:45.37
John writes,
00:46:45.40\00:46:46.74
"The dragon,
that serpent of old, "
00:46:46.77\00:46:52.07
he's going back to Genesis here,
00:46:52.11\00:46:54.64
"who is the devil and Satan."
00:46:54.68\00:46:57.08
Actually, dragon is based
on the Greek word dracone,
00:46:57.11\00:47:03.28
which can also mean serpent.
00:47:03.32\00:47:06.25
And the devil comes
from the verb to slander
00:47:06.29\00:47:09.09
or falsely accused.
00:47:09.12\00:47:10.46
So the Satan is our
adversary and our enemy.
00:47:10.49\00:47:15.60
Naturally, Eve has
been walking with Adam,
00:47:15.63\00:47:20.04
she's been walking
with God in the garden,
00:47:20.07\00:47:22.64
you would think instinctively,
00:47:22.67\00:47:24.54
she would mistrust the stranger.
00:47:24.57\00:47:27.54
But you know what's interesting?
00:47:27.58\00:47:29.98
The cunningness, the
deceitfulness of Satan,
00:47:30.01\00:47:35.15
is that he bypassed
her natural defenses.
00:47:35.18\00:47:39.65
And what does he do?
00:47:39.69\00:47:41.22
He engages her
in a conversation,
00:47:41.26\00:47:44.76
he baits her with a
conversation about God.
00:47:44.79\00:47:49.13
But he twist God's word,
he knows it's got truth in it,
00:47:49.16\00:47:52.83
but he twist to sow confusion.
00:47:52.87\00:47:55.17
Verse 2,
00:47:55.20\00:47:56.60
"The woman answers the serpent.
00:47:56.64\00:47:59.21
And she says,
00:47:59.24\00:48:00.58
'Oh, no, we may eat the fruit
00:48:00.61\00:48:03.04
of the trees of the garden,
00:48:03.08\00:48:05.41
but of the tree,
the fruit of the tree
00:48:05.45\00:48:08.12
which is in the
midst of the garden,"
00:48:08.15\00:48:10.42
that's the tree of the knowledge
00:48:10.45\00:48:11.79
of good and evil,
00:48:11.82\00:48:13.15
God has said,
00:48:13.19\00:48:14.52
"'You shall not eat
it, nor shall you touch it,
00:48:14.56\00:48:16.73
lest you die.'"
00:48:16.76\00:48:18.09
Well, first thing I noticed,
00:48:18.13\00:48:20.00
this is beyond God's
recorded message to them.
00:48:20.03\00:48:23.97
Of course, Eve,
00:48:24.00\00:48:25.33
when the recorded
message was given to Adam,
00:48:25.37\00:48:27.97
it was right
before Eve was created.
00:48:28.00\00:48:30.21
So perhaps Adam had
told her when he told her,
00:48:30.24\00:48:34.51
don't touch it, honey,
00:48:34.54\00:48:36.24
don't even touch it, you'll die.
00:48:36.28\00:48:38.58
But what this shows me is that
00:48:38.61\00:48:42.25
adding anything
to the Word of God
00:48:42.28\00:48:44.79
can sow confusion.
00:48:44.82\00:48:47.29
We've got to be so careful.
00:48:47.32\00:48:49.52
It needs to be Sola scriptura,
00:48:49.56\00:48:52.33
we cannot,
00:48:52.36\00:48:55.16
if we start
adding to God's Word,
00:48:55.20\00:48:57.07
it's gonna cause trouble.
00:48:57.10\00:48:58.43
If it's something that's I mean,
00:48:58.47\00:49:00.00
there's writers we know
this, who are explaining it,
00:49:00.04\00:49:02.84
but we got to be careful,
00:49:02.87\00:49:04.21
we don't add any
new concepts to it.
00:49:04.24\00:49:06.27
So the serpent
recognizes her confusion.
00:49:06.31\00:49:09.98
And you know what?
00:49:10.01\00:49:11.35
Adam's not there to protect her.
00:49:11.38\00:49:12.91
So the serpent strikes.
00:49:12.95\00:49:14.28
Verse 4,
00:49:14.32\00:49:15.65
"The serpent said to the woman,
00:49:15.68\00:49:17.22
'No, you will not surely die.
00:49:17.25\00:49:21.39
For God knows that in
the day you eat of it,
00:49:21.42\00:49:24.49
your eyes will be opened
and you will be like God,
00:49:24.53\00:49:26.66
knowing good and evil.'"
00:49:26.70\00:49:29.43
As Pastor John
already has shown,
00:49:29.46\00:49:33.67
humanity was created mortal.
00:49:33.70\00:49:37.57
The only thing that gave
Adam and Eve continued life
00:49:37.61\00:49:40.51
was access to the tree of life.
00:49:40.54\00:49:43.85
And we saw in 1
Timothy 6:16, Paul says,
00:49:43.88\00:49:48.15
God alone has
immortality at this time,
00:49:48.18\00:49:52.82
you know, that's
that lie of the devil
00:49:52.85\00:49:56.19
you shall surely not
die is being passed around
00:49:56.22\00:49:58.69
because there's a lot of people
00:49:58.73\00:50:00.20
that act like we are immortal.
00:50:00.23\00:50:03.16
But one of Satan's mission
is to get us to doubt God,
00:50:03.20\00:50:07.57
to distrust His message.
00:50:07.60\00:50:10.31
So he contradicts her report
00:50:10.34\00:50:14.74
of God's command.
00:50:14.78\00:50:17.55
And he distorts
God's characters and said,
00:50:17.58\00:50:20.55
"Hey, God knows if you eat this,
00:50:20.58\00:50:22.58
you're going to be like Him."
00:50:22.62\00:50:24.25
He challenges God's authority.
00:50:24.29\00:50:26.02
But this is what's interesting.
00:50:26.05\00:50:29.69
Eve, the Bible
says, was deceived,
00:50:29.72\00:50:33.83
so perhaps, she thought,
00:50:33.86\00:50:36.67
"Well, maybe
this guy knows what,
00:50:36.70\00:50:38.83
this serpent knows
what he's talking about.
00:50:38.87\00:50:40.87
Maybe I misunderstood,
00:50:40.90\00:50:42.90
or maybe the
interpretation of the command
00:50:42.94\00:50:45.61
was wrong.
00:50:45.64\00:50:47.01
So now she's
entertaining his word,
00:50:47.04\00:50:49.58
she's fully deceived.
00:50:49.61\00:50:52.28
And guess what?
00:50:52.31\00:50:53.65
If she's deceived,
00:50:53.68\00:50:55.02
it means she decided that
Satan was telling the truth.
00:50:55.05\00:50:58.19
How many people
are doing that today?
00:50:58.22\00:51:00.86
How many people
00:51:00.89\00:51:03.06
are
misunderstanding God's intent
00:51:03.09\00:51:05.39
because Satan has twisted
it and they're being deceived.
00:51:05.43\00:51:10.20
So verse 6,
00:51:10.23\00:51:11.57
"So the woman saw
that tree was good for food
00:51:11.60\00:51:13.97
that it was
pleasant to the eyes,
00:51:14.00\00:51:15.57
and a tree
desirable to make one wise,
00:51:15.60\00:51:17.91
she took off its fruit and ate.
00:51:17.94\00:51:20.58
And she also gave to
her husband with her."
00:51:20.61\00:51:26.01
I don't believe he
was there at the moment.
00:51:26.05\00:51:28.18
This is a little later,
00:51:28.22\00:51:29.65
and he ate and
I'll tell you what?
00:51:29.68\00:51:32.42
The fruit appealed
to her taste, her eye
00:51:32.45\00:51:35.22
and her desire to know more.
00:51:35.26\00:51:37.53
So seduction and
deception convinced her
00:51:37.56\00:51:43.10
what she was doing was okay.
00:51:43.13\00:51:45.97
So it's not like
she went to her husband,
00:51:46.00\00:51:49.30
to seduce or deceive him
because Adam was not deceived.
00:51:49.34\00:51:53.58
Let me show you
that, will go on.
00:51:53.61\00:51:55.44
Genesis 3.
00:51:55.48\00:51:57.18
They do both eat.
00:51:57.21\00:51:59.18
And Genesis 3:7 says,
00:51:59.21\00:52:00.92
"Then the eyes of
both of them were opened."
00:52:00.95\00:52:04.09
They're thinking they're
going to have greater knowledge.
00:52:04.12\00:52:07.82
They knew that they were naked,
00:52:07.86\00:52:09.19
they sewed fig leaves together,
00:52:09.22\00:52:10.76
they made themselves covering
00:52:10.79\00:52:12.59
so instead of
receiving godlike power,
00:52:12.63\00:52:16.60
it produced a sense
of human inadequacy,
00:52:16.63\00:52:20.04
and fear and shame.
00:52:20.07\00:52:21.94
And 1 Timothy 2:14, says,
00:52:21.97\00:52:24.11
Adam was not
deceived, Paul writes.
00:52:24.14\00:52:28.31
But the woman being deceived
fell into transgression.
00:52:28.34\00:52:31.71
Adam was not beguiled by Satan.
00:52:31.75\00:52:34.85
He had full
knowledge of what he was doing.
00:52:34.88\00:52:37.65
He voluntarily
misused his act of free will.
00:52:37.69\00:52:43.39
I guess I don't know.
00:52:43.43\00:52:45.39
But maybe he decided,
00:52:45.43\00:52:46.76
well, if she's going
to get the punishment,
00:52:46.80\00:52:48.73
I want to do it
too, because I want her.
00:52:48.76\00:52:50.83
I don't know why he did.
00:52:50.87\00:52:52.47
But he deliberately
turned away from God.
00:52:52.50\00:52:55.04
He rejected the truth.
00:52:55.07\00:52:56.50
And guess what?
00:52:56.54\00:52:57.87
The cosmic conflict over love,
00:52:57.91\00:53:02.24
the cosmic conflict
over God's government of love
00:53:02.28\00:53:07.02
was introduced to the world,
00:53:07.05\00:53:08.52
right then and there.
00:53:08.55\00:53:10.65
Now listen to this.
00:53:10.69\00:53:12.15
Oh, by the way,
let me answer this,
00:53:12.19\00:53:14.76
God gave dominion.
00:53:14.79\00:53:16.83
But as soon as
Adam quit obeying God,
00:53:16.86\00:53:20.73
he handed over
dominion temporarily
00:53:20.76\00:53:24.17
to Satan of this earth.
00:53:24.20\00:53:26.94
And God's allowing that
00:53:26.97\00:53:28.30
to play out for a
set period of time.
00:53:28.34\00:53:30.57
Let me read from the lesson.
00:53:30.61\00:53:32.97
And it's from the Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary
00:53:33.01\00:53:36.31
Volume one, page 231.
00:53:36.34\00:53:38.78
Deplorable as was
Eve's transgression
00:53:38.81\00:53:41.28
and fraud as it was
with the potential vow
00:53:41.32\00:53:43.28
for the human family.
00:53:43.32\00:53:45.22
Her choice did not
necessarily involve the race
00:53:45.25\00:53:47.79
and the penalty
for her transgression.
00:53:47.82\00:53:51.09
It was the
deliberate choice of Adam,
00:53:51.13\00:53:54.43
in the full understanding
of an express command of God,
00:53:54.46\00:53:58.33
rather than hers
00:53:58.37\00:53:59.70
that made sin
and death inevitable
00:53:59.73\00:54:02.77
before the lot of mankind.
00:54:02.80\00:54:05.24
Eve was deceived, Adam was not.
00:54:05.27\00:54:07.61
Let me explain is...
00:54:07.64\00:54:09.81
There's never enough time.
00:54:09.84\00:54:13.58
Luke 3:38
00:54:13.62\00:54:15.95
talks about Adam
being the son of God.
00:54:15.98\00:54:20.69
He was the first
covenant Son of God.
00:54:20.72\00:54:26.06
Adam was the
representative of all humanity,
00:54:26.09\00:54:29.73
all humanity.
00:54:29.76\00:54:31.10
So when Adam
rejected God's truth,
00:54:31.13\00:54:33.94
and went
against the commandment,
00:54:33.97\00:54:35.67
he sinned,
00:54:35.70\00:54:37.44
and all humanity
now has a fallen nature.
00:54:37.47\00:54:41.38
We know the everlasting gospel,
00:54:41.41\00:54:46.31
the everlasting covenant,
00:54:46.35\00:54:47.75
let me tell you, you know,
00:54:47.78\00:54:49.28
Revelation 14:6 talks about
it, the everlasting gospel.
00:54:49.32\00:54:54.16
This is it, Revelation 13:8,
00:54:54.19\00:54:56.99
the Lamb who was slain
00:54:57.03\00:54:59.13
from the
foundation of the earth.
00:54:59.16\00:55:00.93
And as bad as this
was in Genesis 3:15,
00:55:00.96\00:55:04.83
God comes and
says to the serpent,
00:55:04.87\00:55:07.80
"I'll put enmity
between you and the woman,
00:55:07.84\00:55:09.77
between your seed and her seed.
00:55:09.80\00:55:12.81
He shall bruise your
head, you will bruise his heel."
00:55:12.84\00:55:16.04
God introduces His everlasting
covenant on the earth
00:55:16.08\00:55:21.98
as soon as man sinned.
00:55:22.02\00:55:24.05
Amen.
00:55:24.09\00:55:25.42
Thank you so much
Shelley and Pastor Johnny,
00:55:25.45\00:55:27.46
Pastor Ryan, Pastor John.
00:55:27.49\00:55:28.82
What an amazing kickoff
00:55:28.86\00:55:30.53
to our entire
quarter on the covenants.
00:55:30.56\00:55:33.09
I want to give
each one of you a moment
00:55:33.13\00:55:34.46
to share
something about the lesson.
00:55:34.50\00:55:36.43
Sure, we can never find
outside of God's covenant,
00:55:36.46\00:55:40.94
that which God only
placed within His covenant.
00:55:40.97\00:55:44.37
And David the
Psalmist says in Psalms 89:34,
00:55:44.41\00:55:47.08
"My covenant I will not break,
00:55:47.11\00:55:49.48
nor alter the word that
has gone out of my lips."
00:55:49.51\00:55:53.88
Amen.
00:55:53.92\00:55:55.25
We love Him
because He first loved us.
00:55:55.28\00:55:57.15
That's really what
the covenant is all about.
00:55:57.19\00:55:58.99
God puts Himself out there.
00:55:59.02\00:56:00.49
And He wants us
00:56:00.52\00:56:01.86
to be in covenant
relationship with Him.
00:56:01.89\00:56:03.22
So I encourage
you to seek the Lord
00:56:03.26\00:56:04.99
and allow Him
to work through you
00:56:05.03\00:56:06.73
to reciprocate that love.
00:56:06.76\00:56:08.40
Amen. Amen.
00:56:08.43\00:56:10.77
When we look at
Genesis Chapter 2,
00:56:10.80\00:56:12.57
and we see the one prohibition
that God gave to Adam and Eve,
00:56:12.60\00:56:16.14
we see a God that
is willing to show us
00:56:16.17\00:56:19.91
that there is life and death.
00:56:19.94\00:56:22.64
We have the
choice of life and death.
00:56:22.68\00:56:24.75
And in doing what
God requires of us,
00:56:24.78\00:56:27.72
what God is asking us to do,
00:56:27.75\00:56:29.45
we live in peace,
00:56:29.48\00:56:30.82
and we live in harmony with God.
00:56:30.85\00:56:33.22
And if we don't,
00:56:33.25\00:56:34.59
then we're going to have
to suffer the consequences.
00:56:34.62\00:56:36.42
Choose life. Amen.
00:56:36.46\00:56:37.99
The seed that was
spoken of in Genesis 3:15,
00:56:38.03\00:56:42.10
is the last act of Jesus Christ.
00:56:42.13\00:56:45.03
Let me read real quick.
00:56:45.07\00:56:46.40
1 Corinthians 15:22, 21 and 22,
00:56:46.43\00:56:49.60
"For since by man came death,"
00:56:49.64\00:56:53.04
is speaking of Adam,
00:56:53.07\00:56:54.48
"by man, " with a
capital M, speaking of God,
00:56:54.51\00:56:57.08
in the person of Jesus Christ,
00:56:57.11\00:56:58.78
"came the
resurrection of the dead,
00:56:58.81\00:57:00.82
for as in Adam all die,
00:57:00.85\00:57:03.22
even so in Christ,
all shall be made alive."
00:57:03.25\00:57:08.12
One point, in Genesis,
00:57:08.16\00:57:11.19
after they sinned, what happens?
00:57:11.23\00:57:13.33
God comes down, He's
walking around, says,
00:57:13.36\00:57:15.96
"Where are you?"
00:57:16.00\00:57:17.33
He knew where they were.
00:57:17.37\00:57:18.70
This is God's
first call to humanity.
00:57:18.73\00:57:22.20
And He's encouraged them
00:57:22.24\00:57:24.27
to return to Him face their sin.
00:57:24.31\00:57:26.41
That's what the
rest of Scripture
00:57:26.44\00:57:27.94
is all about.
00:57:27.98\00:57:29.31
Amen. Thank you so much.
00:57:29.34\00:57:30.88
We're so glad
that you have joined us
00:57:30.91\00:57:32.71
for this edition of
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:57:32.75\00:57:35.22
God created us to be
in relationship with Him.
00:57:35.25\00:57:39.09
Sin severed that relationship,
and then we see the entrance.
00:57:39.12\00:57:43.66
This one of my
favorite scriptures,
00:57:43.69\00:57:45.16
the entrance of Jesus, the
promise of the coming seed.
00:57:45.19\00:57:49.03
We see this in Romans 5:8,
00:57:49.06\00:57:50.67
God demonstrated His love for us
00:57:50.70\00:57:53.17
in that while we
were yet sinners,
00:57:53.20\00:57:56.30
He died for us
00:57:56.34\00:57:58.24
to reconcile us
back to the Father
00:57:58.27\00:58:00.08
and to restore that
covenant relationship.
00:58:00.11\00:58:03.21
Join us next week
for Covenant Primer.
00:58:03.24\00:58:05.58