I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello and welcome.
Welcome to Family Worship.
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We are glad that you're here.
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Now the family is complete.
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My name is John Dinzey,
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and it's a joy and a pleasure
to be with you during this hour
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along with part
of the 3ABN family.
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And I would like to introduce
them to you at this time.
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We have Jorge Jaque,
Assistant Production Manager.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for inviting
me, it's always a pleasure
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and is a joy to
participate in this program
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because it's also
reminder of the beautiful time
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that we're about to
enjoy for the next 24 hours.
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That's right.
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And we have Brother Daniel Peek,
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Daniel Peek, Dan
Peek we call him.
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Welcome. Part of
our engineering staff.
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Thank you, thank
you for inviting me.
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You know, I always learn a lot,
get a new perspective on things
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as we sit here and
discuss these in these programs.
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Yes, it's a quite a blessing,
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you know, it's
amazing as we sit together
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and how the Lord
uses each and every person
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to say something
that is an uplifting
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and makes you think,
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maybe to keep
looking into these things.
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And we have part
of our pastoral staff,
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Joe Brien, welcome.
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Welcome, thank
you for inviting me.
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And I really enjoy
these programs also
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because this confusing world
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is less confusing when you
look at the direction book.
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That's right, the
Bible, God's book that is able
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to make us wise unto salvation.
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And I praise the Lord
for the Holy Scriptures.
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And I hope that you have
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a copy of the Bible in your home
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because if you have the Bible,
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then you have a
treasure of knowledge.
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And as we said the Bible will
make you wise unto salvation,
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if you read it,
study it, and apply it.
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Amen.
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Well, we'll like to invite
you to this Family Worship
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because we're either
approaching the Sabbath
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or just probably the
Sabbath in your area.
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And we're going to talk about
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that word "Sabbath" in a moment,
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but first, we'd like
to invite you to pray
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because we want
the Lord to bless
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not only our discussion together
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but our time together with you,
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that we pray it
is a blessing to you.
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So at this time, we
go to the Lord in prayer,
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and I'd like to
ask Pastor Joe Brien
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if you'll pray for us.
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Our Father in heaven,
when the Sabbath begins
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and we have time to
withdraw more from the world
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and draw closer to You,
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and the wisdom
that's in your word.
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We invite your
Holy Spirit to fill us,
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our hearts and our
minds with His presence,
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to give us
wisdom, understanding,
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knowledge, discernment,
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whatever we need, Lord,
pour it out, fill us with that
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so we can hear and
understand the truth
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that will set us free,
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free from the
confusion of the world
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that is trying put upon us.
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And we ask You now to lead
us and guide us in this wisdom,
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and fill us as we feed on Your
Word for the spirit to grow.
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And we thank You.
In Jesus' name, amen.
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Amen. Amen, amen.
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Well, we thank you.
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You know, I asked
one praise to figure out
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what we should talk about
during this time together.
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The word
"Forgiveness" came to my mind,
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and the blessing of forgiveness,
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you know, God for
giving us, we forgiving others,
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it's a blessing to
us to forgive others,
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and it's a blessing
for them to be forgiven.
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So we want to talk
about these things,
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that the Bible shows
as concerning forgiveness
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and how it has
been a blessing to us,
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and how important it is,
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you know, this is something
everyone needs in this world
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because the Bible
says in Romans 3:23,
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"For all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God."
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So we're going to talk
about this in a moment,
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but first, I
want to spend a moment
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to talk about as we said,
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Family Worship, we
talked about the word "Sabbath."
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Where does this
word "Sabbath" come from?
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Sometimes you hear
the Seventh-day Adventist
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use the word "Sabbath,"
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but then someone that's
not a Seventh-day Adventist
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who used the word "Sabbath,"
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but they're talking
about another day of the week,
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the first day of the week.
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But the Bible calls the
seventh day, the Sabbath,
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and this is what we find
in the Book of Exodus 20.
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And so we'd like to read
that to you, Exodus 20:8-11.
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And any one of us
that finds it first
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and would like to
read it, just say,
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"I have it, I'll read it",
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and then we'll go from there.
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Who would like
to read for first?
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I could do that. All right.
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"Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
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Six days shalt thou
labor, and do all thy work.
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But the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
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In it thou
shalt not do any work,
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thou, nor thy son,
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nor thy
daughter, thy manservant,
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nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle,
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nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates.
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For in six days, the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea,
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and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day,
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wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day,
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and hallowed it."
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Amen. Thank you very much.
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And so the first time actually
the word "Sabbath" appears
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in the Bible is in Exodus 16:23.
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But the word "Sabbath," as
you saw there in Exodus 20,
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it identifies the
seventh day as the Sabbath.
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And how do we know
which one is the Seventh-day?
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Well, it's a...
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We used to be able
to say very easily,
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"Go to the calendar."
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In the calendar, you will find
the Sabbath is the seventh day.
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Well, some
calendars are coming now,
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they starts with Sunday,
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because that's the
first day you start working
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or the first day
you go to school.
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Monday. Ah, Monday.
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Yeah, the first
day you go to school.
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So Sunday, yes,
Monday, this time with Monday,
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very good, thank you so much.
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So Monday, that will
make Sunday the seventh day,
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but is that
really the Seventh-day?
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Now you can go
to the dictionary,
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and there you'll
find the word "Saturday"
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or the word "Sabbath,"
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and then you will find
that it is the seventh day.
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And actually the
word comes from the word,
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Hebrew word which means
"Shabbat," which means rest.
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And so it
originates in the Bible,
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and it originates with God.
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And it means, they
rested, the time to rest.
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So I see, you know, Joe would
like to add something to that.
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Well, having come from
a Sunday keeping church,
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I question this, of course.
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And it's like you were
saying a minute ago, Johnny,
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the more we read,
the more we learn,
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the more beautiful it is,
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and the more the truth is
rich, and it's just a blessing.
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So when I looked into this,
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I realized that the
seventh day God rested,
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and He blessed it,
and He hallowed it.
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No other day, He hallowed one,
said six days use your labor
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and do all your
work, the seventh is holy
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because God hallowed it.
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And that's that.
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And then, you go on
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and begin to realize
that was almost 2,000 years
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before there was a Jew.
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That's right.
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The Jewish people
were not in existence yet,
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so this was for all mankind.
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And God says, "I change not.
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I'm the same
yesterday, today, and forever."
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And in Isaiah 66, if you read,
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you'll find that
in the new earth,
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we'll still be
keeping the Sabbath.
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Yes, yes.
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So, I mean, it just
gets more and more beautiful
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as you study it.
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There's little
things in there that I love,
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for example, it
says, "Within thy gates."
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Within thy gates, that means,
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if I have a gas
station on the corner,
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and you have a gas station
across the street from me,
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it's my responsibility
to rest on that day,
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the holy day, the
one and only holy day.
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But it's not for me
to say anything about you
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if you work on that day,
that's your choice not mine.
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My business is within
my gates, not your gates.
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It's just so much
in there, I love it.
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Yes, that's right. Amen, amen.
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You know, it's a blessing,
the Sabbath is a blessing.
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It is God's intention
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that you'll be blessed
during the Sabbath day.
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And you look back
all the way to Genesis,
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it identifies all
the way in Genesis 2
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that the seventh day,
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he set it aside,
he sanctified it.
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He sanctified the day for us,
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it's the
Sabbath was made for us,
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for us to rest, and
for us to connect with God
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on a more deeper level.
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'Cause during the
other days of the week,
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you're doing your activities
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and you're doing this
and you're doing that,
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and you're very, very
busy with the other things
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that call your attention.
00:10:07.04\00:10:08.37
You may pray during
the other days of the week,
00:10:08.40\00:10:11.77
you may stop during some course
of the day to study the Bible.
00:10:11.81\00:10:16.48
But the seventh day, God says,
00:10:16.51\00:10:19.41
"Set this day aside,
00:10:19.45\00:10:20.78
it is
sanctified, connect with Me."
00:10:20.82\00:10:23.52
Because there in the week,
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I'll tell you some
people, if there wasn't a break,
00:10:25.42\00:10:30.26
they would keep
on going week after,
00:10:30.29\00:10:32.49
day after day and day
after day and work for days,
00:10:32.53\00:10:35.36
who knows when those stop.
00:10:35.40\00:10:36.83
Yeah, I might try that.
00:10:36.87\00:10:38.20
You are one of those people.
00:10:38.23\00:10:40.60
I have the guilt.
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One other thing that
occurred to me was that...
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Oh, forgot it, go ahead.
00:10:47.28\00:10:50.38
It will come to you.
00:10:50.41\00:10:51.75
But anyway the seventh day
00:10:51.78\00:10:53.11
is meant to be a blessing to us.
00:10:53.15\00:10:54.55
And this is why we
have the Family Worship,
00:10:54.58\00:10:56.72
and we encourage you to
enter into the Sabbath rest.
00:10:56.75\00:11:00.09
And as it says in Exodus 20,
00:11:00.12\00:11:02.29
stop your work and
dedicate time with the Lord,
00:11:02.32\00:11:06.80
and with your family,
00:11:06.83\00:11:08.26
and really
connect with the Lord.
00:11:08.30\00:11:11.23
So we're going to talk
about the word "Forgiveness."
00:11:11.27\00:11:14.67
Forgiveness, the
blessing of forgiveness.
00:11:14.70\00:11:16.81
So we need to define this thing.
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.04
What in the
world is forgiveness?
00:11:19.07\00:11:21.41
And does anyone want to
share something about that?
00:11:21.44\00:11:24.81
I looked up the definition,
00:11:24.85\00:11:27.18
but I chose the
children's definition
00:11:27.22\00:11:30.19
'cause it's simple.
00:11:30.22\00:11:31.55
It's a little
easier. So I'll share that.
00:11:31.59\00:11:33.46
Better for all of us then.
00:11:33.49\00:11:35.56
The definition of forgiveness
00:11:35.59\00:11:37.63
in that
particular dictionary was,
00:11:37.66\00:11:39.59
"To cease, to feel
resentment against an offender.
00:11:39.63\00:11:44.03
To stop feeling anger or hurt."
00:11:44.07\00:11:47.47
So that's a general idea.
00:11:47.50\00:11:49.14
Very good.
00:11:49.17\00:11:50.51
So is that something we need?
00:11:50.54\00:11:52.27
Oh, definitely.
00:11:52.31\00:11:53.64
In the way that
we see forgiveness
00:11:53.68\00:11:57.01
from our human
perspective is different,
00:11:57.05\00:12:01.18
it's different
from the forgiveness
00:12:01.22\00:12:02.92
that we offer to each other
00:12:02.95\00:12:04.69
here like in a
friendship setting
00:12:04.72\00:12:09.42
is different than the
forgiveness that a judge will
00:12:09.46\00:12:15.23
offer to a person that has
been convicted from a crime.
00:12:15.26\00:12:19.77
And it is also different.
00:12:19.80\00:12:23.57
It's like going in a
different perspective
00:12:23.61\00:12:26.74
from the God's point of view.
00:12:26.78\00:12:29.24
It's so important to
understand being forgiven
00:12:29.28\00:12:35.88
and forgive is part of our
Christian experience every day.
00:12:35.92\00:12:42.42
I like to see
forgiveness like restitution
00:12:42.46\00:12:48.86
because He always...
00:12:48.90\00:12:50.47
It starts from
what God does to us.
00:12:50.50\00:12:53.94
And when God forgive us,
00:12:53.97\00:12:58.07
he give us
something that we had lost.
00:12:58.11\00:13:00.91
We cannot do
that among ourselves.
00:13:00.94\00:13:03.71
Yes.
00:13:03.75\00:13:05.25
If I offend John, he will say,
00:13:05.28\00:13:08.98
"Yes, I forgive
you for what you did."
00:13:09.02\00:13:12.25
But that's the
human's perspective.
00:13:12.29\00:13:15.02
And he will make
me feel really good
00:13:15.06\00:13:18.39
because I am really...
00:13:18.43\00:13:20.16
I feel really bad
for what I did to him.
00:13:20.20\00:13:22.73
He will come back
and say I forgive you,
00:13:22.76\00:13:25.03
but still he cannot
restore me completely.
00:13:25.07\00:13:28.94
God is the only one,
the one who will restore me.
00:13:28.97\00:13:34.18
What I'm
understanding you to say
00:13:34.21\00:13:35.94
is that there's
like carnal forgiveness
00:13:35.98\00:13:38.31
between the people, flesh carnal
00:13:38.35\00:13:41.85
and then there's a
spiritual forgiveness as well.
00:13:41.88\00:13:44.82
Yes, right that's what I think.
00:13:44.85\00:13:47.52
You know, it's very interesting
that I was looking into a verse
00:13:47.56\00:13:50.99
and that is very powerful
00:13:51.03\00:13:55.76
and I'd like to read it
to you is from Psalms 41.
00:13:55.80\00:13:59.30
Psalms 41, it's very interesting
00:13:59.33\00:14:00.84
how David looked at this.
00:14:00.87\00:14:02.90
And it struck me differently,
00:14:02.94\00:14:06.27
I don't know how many
times I read this text before,
00:14:06.31\00:14:08.84
but here it is in Psalms 41:4,
00:14:08.88\00:14:14.68
and these are the words.
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.82
"I said, Lord,
be merciful to me,
00:14:16.85\00:14:19.82
heal my soul, for I
have sinned against You."
00:14:19.85\00:14:25.09
Now it's very
interesting as you look at this,
00:14:25.13\00:14:28.13
the way the
psalmist write to David,
00:14:28.16\00:14:30.17
says, "Heal my soul, for
I have sinned against You."
00:14:30.20\00:14:32.73
So he seems to
have looked at sin
00:14:32.77\00:14:36.30
in some maladies, some sickness,
00:14:36.34\00:14:39.04
something he
needed healing from.
00:14:39.07\00:14:41.78
And as you said, it's only
God that can really forgive us,
00:14:41.81\00:14:47.35
and give us their
healing that we need from sin
00:14:47.38\00:14:50.62
because sin is like a burden.
00:14:50.65\00:14:52.92
It is like a
weight that we carry.
00:14:52.95\00:14:56.32
And I am so grateful to the Lord
00:14:56.36\00:15:00.53
that the Bible presents to us
00:15:00.56\00:15:04.40
a picture of our God,
00:15:04.43\00:15:07.97
the Creator God that is willing
to forgive, wants to forgive.
00:15:08.00\00:15:12.57
And so one of the
scriptures that comes to mind,
00:15:12.61\00:15:15.38
of course, is in Hebrews 4.
00:15:15.41\00:15:20.08
I like this passage of scripture
00:15:20.12\00:15:22.28
because it says so much to us.
00:15:22.32\00:15:26.59
So if anyone will
like to read that.
00:15:26.62\00:15:30.29
Hebrews 4, perhaps
reading in verse 14-16.
00:15:30.33\00:15:35.13
There you go, I have it.
00:15:38.53\00:15:39.93
"Seeing then that we
have a great High Priest
00:15:39.97\00:15:43.61
who has passed
through the heavens,
00:15:43.64\00:15:45.77
Jesus, the Son of God, let
us hold fast our confession.
00:15:45.81\00:15:50.75
For we do not have a High Priest
00:15:50.78\00:15:52.65
who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses,
00:15:52.68\00:15:55.38
but was in all points tempted
as we are yet without sin.
00:15:55.42\00:16:00.96
Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne of grace,
00:16:00.99\00:16:04.63
that we may obtain mercy
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.93
and find grace to
help in time of need."
00:16:06.96\00:16:10.83
Praise the Lord.
00:16:10.87\00:16:12.20
So we have before us a
picture of a throne of grace.
00:16:12.23\00:16:18.74
And it says to come boldly.
00:16:18.77\00:16:20.11
I like to think of the word
00:16:20.14\00:16:22.21
"Confidence" there
instead of the word "Boldly"
00:16:22.24\00:16:24.01
because our
concept of boldly now is,
00:16:24.05\00:16:26.78
you stamp right in
there demanding something.
00:16:26.82\00:16:30.75
But it is with confidence.
00:16:30.79\00:16:32.52
You come with confidence
because the Bible tells us
00:16:32.55\00:16:34.32
that God so loved the world
00:16:34.36\00:16:36.86
that He gave His
only begotten Son,
00:16:36.89\00:16:38.73
that whosoever
believes in Him shall not perish
00:16:38.76\00:16:41.76
but have everlasting life.
00:16:41.80\00:16:43.13
It is God that
loves us, so much,
00:16:43.16\00:16:45.03
so we can come with
confidence that He loves us
00:16:45.07\00:16:48.34
and He's willing to forgive us.
00:16:48.37\00:16:50.77
Yes, yes.
00:16:50.81\00:16:52.14
That thing about His love
really opened up to me one day
00:16:52.17\00:16:56.68
when I was reading that,
the wages of sin is death.
00:16:56.71\00:17:03.22
And God is a just
God who does not change.
00:17:03.25\00:17:09.06
There will be justice.
00:17:09.09\00:17:11.09
And if the
wages of sin is death,
00:17:11.13\00:17:13.16
somebody has to pay.
00:17:13.19\00:17:15.36
That death is
not going to change.
00:17:15.40\00:17:17.60
There's a price.
00:17:17.63\00:17:19.03
And the beauty of it
suddenly occurred to me
00:17:19.07\00:17:21.07
that God Himself,
00:17:21.10\00:17:24.97
in His son having flesh,
00:17:25.01\00:17:28.28
paid that for us.
00:17:28.31\00:17:29.88
Amen. I mean it
wasn't just somebody.
00:17:29.91\00:17:32.38
It wasn't a holy angel,
it was God Himself who said,
00:17:32.41\00:17:37.05
"See Me, I am love.
00:17:37.09\00:17:39.82
I'm doing this
for you, My children."
00:17:39.85\00:17:42.89
And boy, that really
opened up an understanding
00:17:42.92\00:17:45.93
that brought me closer to God
00:17:45.96\00:17:48.50
that He wasn't going to
strike me dead with fire
00:17:48.53\00:17:50.70
and all this other
stuff, burn me in hell forever.
00:17:50.73\00:17:53.44
This was truly a
loving God who said,
00:17:53.47\00:17:57.44
"I'll do this for you."
00:17:57.47\00:17:58.81
Because there's no greater love
00:17:58.84\00:18:00.28
than a man would lay
down his life for a friend.
00:18:00.31\00:18:03.65
That's my God.
00:18:03.68\00:18:05.01
Amen.
00:18:05.05\00:18:06.38
I have some scriptures
here that I like to read,
00:18:06.41\00:18:08.55
I know you have some too.
00:18:08.58\00:18:11.05
One, Luke 19:10,
00:18:11.09\00:18:12.49
"For the Son of
Man has come to seek
00:18:12.52\00:18:15.92
and to save
that which was lost."
00:18:15.96\00:18:18.36
Luke 19:10.
00:18:18.39\00:18:20.16
In 2 Peter 3:9,
00:18:20.20\00:18:22.66
again, it's an
understanding here
00:18:22.70\00:18:26.17
of God's goodness and greatness,
00:18:26.20\00:18:28.17
"The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise,
00:18:28.20\00:18:31.17
as some count slackness,
00:18:31.21\00:18:33.74
but longsuffering toward us,
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.04
not willing that
any should perish
00:18:36.08\00:18:38.71
but that all should
come to repentance."
00:18:38.75\00:18:42.15
And so really when we
come to the realization
00:18:42.18\00:18:46.19
that we have sinned,
00:18:46.22\00:18:47.56
that we have this
sickness of sin in us,
00:18:47.59\00:18:51.09
and we want to
be healed from it,
00:18:51.13\00:18:54.20
it is an evidence
00:18:54.23\00:18:55.56
that the Holy Spirit
is working in our lives
00:18:55.60\00:18:57.07
because the Bible says,
00:18:57.10\00:18:58.43
"It is the goodness of God
that leads us to repentance."
00:18:58.47\00:19:01.04
Repentance, what is it that?
00:19:01.07\00:19:03.37
Repentance is sorrow for sin,
00:19:03.41\00:19:06.17
and a desire to
separate yourself from it
00:19:06.21\00:19:11.41
or in other words,
00:19:11.45\00:19:12.78
you don't want to
do that evil anymore.
00:19:12.81\00:19:15.85
And so it's sorrow for sin,
00:19:15.88\00:19:17.85
and a desire to
turn away from sin.
00:19:17.89\00:19:20.56
That's why when you read
about the John The Baptist,
00:19:20.59\00:19:23.22
it says, he's talking
about the scribes and Pharisees
00:19:23.26\00:19:26.76
that were coming to him
00:19:26.80\00:19:28.13
and he said,
"You brood of vipers."
00:19:28.16\00:19:32.07
He says, "Bring forth
fruits, meat for repentance."
00:19:32.10\00:19:36.57
In other words, our
actions have to speak of someone
00:19:36.60\00:19:41.18
that understands
they need forgiveness,
00:19:41.21\00:19:44.25
and understands
that you're coming
00:19:44.28\00:19:46.75
to the Lord to be forgiven.
00:19:46.78\00:19:48.58
Your fruits have to identify.
00:19:48.62\00:19:50.09
Your actions and your words
00:19:50.12\00:19:51.45
should identify with
a desire to be forgiven.
00:19:51.49\00:19:54.82
It is not that, you
know, we used the example of,
00:19:54.86\00:19:58.56
"Oh, you have a
nice little piglet.
00:19:58.59\00:20:00.26
And boy that
little piglet is so dirty.
00:20:00.30\00:20:03.90
Let's go clean him up."
00:20:03.93\00:20:05.27
And you...
00:20:05.30\00:20:06.63
you know, you
get your best soap,
00:20:06.67\00:20:08.00
the best smelling
soap, and you wash him,
00:20:08.04\00:20:10.94
and you put perfume
on this little piglet,
00:20:10.97\00:20:12.97
and you even can put
a nice little bow on it.
00:20:13.01\00:20:16.04
But as soon as you let
him loose, what will happen?
00:20:16.08\00:20:19.68
He's going to go right
back in there into the,
00:20:19.71\00:20:22.08
you know, the mud and all
that that he loves to be in.
00:20:22.12\00:20:25.45
And so that is the difference
00:20:25.49\00:20:28.62
between a person
that is truly repentant,
00:20:28.66\00:20:33.29
that truly
desires to be forgiven,
00:20:33.33\00:20:35.96
and doesn't want
to do that evil again.
00:20:36.00\00:20:38.60
I was reading a little story
00:20:38.63\00:20:40.44
where they were
talking about repentance.
00:20:40.47\00:20:43.04
And the Bible teacher
was talking to the kids
00:20:43.07\00:20:45.94
about repentance and all these,
00:20:45.97\00:20:48.81
and he asked one of the kids,
00:20:48.84\00:20:51.35
"So, little Freddie, do
you understand repentance?
00:20:51.38\00:20:54.88
Are you now willing to
forgive another boy that maybe,
00:20:54.92\00:21:00.46
hit you in the face
00:21:00.49\00:21:01.86
or maybe he said
something to offend you,
00:21:01.89\00:21:03.59
you willing to forgive him?"
00:21:03.63\00:21:05.83
And he thought about
it for a while, he says,
00:21:05.86\00:21:07.23
"Yeah, especially if
he's bigger than me."
00:21:07.26\00:21:11.63
And so in other
words, the idea of...
00:21:11.67\00:21:16.74
Sometimes people
get stuck on the idea,
00:21:16.77\00:21:18.97
"Well, I did commit a sin."
00:21:19.01\00:21:21.24
I better ask God for forgiveness
00:21:21.28\00:21:22.61
because we fear the
punishment, you see.
00:21:22.64\00:21:26.58
And so this little...
00:21:26.61\00:21:27.95
Like the idea of this little boy
00:21:27.98\00:21:29.32
willing to
forgive somebody bigger
00:21:29.35\00:21:30.69
because if I don't, who knows
what he will do to me again.
00:21:30.72\00:21:34.62
So God wants to lead us
to repentance to the point
00:21:34.66\00:21:38.16
of that we don't want
to do the evil anymore.
00:21:38.19\00:21:40.63
So that's why
David says, "Heal me."
00:21:40.66\00:21:43.03
Because healing means
00:21:43.06\00:21:45.03
that you don't have
that disease anymore.
00:21:45.07\00:21:47.27
Healing involves that you're
free from the sickness of sin.
00:21:47.30\00:21:51.97
And so that's what
God wants to do with us.
00:21:52.01\00:21:53.41
I don't know if you
have any comments about that.
00:21:53.44\00:21:54.78
That's why I think
the word "Restoration,"
00:21:54.81\00:22:00.42
it helps you to
understand forgiveness
00:22:00.45\00:22:02.15
because it's like a home...
00:22:02.18\00:22:06.32
When somebody find a home that
is falling apart then he says,
00:22:06.35\00:22:10.33
"I'm going to restore this home.
00:22:10.36\00:22:11.69
I'm going to fix it,
I'm going to fix it up
00:22:11.73\00:22:16.13
so we can or
either live in the home
00:22:16.16\00:22:19.00
or sell it or whatever."
00:22:19.03\00:22:20.57
But then after a while,
that home looks nothing like
00:22:20.60\00:22:23.30
it was in the
condition that it was.
00:22:23.34\00:22:25.54
It's been restored.
00:22:25.57\00:22:27.68
Now if you take
care of your home,
00:22:27.71\00:22:29.64
it can last for
many, many years.
00:22:29.68\00:22:31.71
But if you don't
take care of your home,
00:22:31.75\00:22:33.28
the home that was
nicely restored now
00:22:33.31\00:22:35.22
is again could be falling apart.
00:22:35.25\00:22:37.85
So that's the way God
restore us by forgiving us.
00:22:37.89\00:22:42.79
So that's why again I
think that the forgiveness
00:22:42.82\00:22:47.00
that we do to each
other, which is a mandate,
00:22:47.03\00:22:51.47
which we need to
be able to forgive
00:22:51.50\00:22:54.87
in order to be
forgiven is different
00:22:54.90\00:22:57.51
than the forgiveness from
God 'cause He will store us.
00:22:57.54\00:23:01.24
He can make us new.
00:23:01.28\00:23:04.05
Not only we feel good
about it, but He transform us.
00:23:04.08\00:23:10.12
And the forgiveness
shouldn't stop there.
00:23:10.15\00:23:15.12
A change of
action should follow.
00:23:15.16\00:23:18.73
Amen, amen.
00:23:18.76\00:23:20.10
I have another scripture
that I like to share with you
00:23:20.13\00:23:21.86
and this one is
from the Book of Micah,
00:23:21.90\00:23:24.43
and Micah 7.
00:23:24.47\00:23:27.64
And we're going to
read two verses Micah 7.
00:23:27.67\00:23:33.81
It's this one of those
little tiny books in the Bible.
00:23:33.84\00:23:39.15
So who would like
to read it for us?
00:23:39.18\00:23:40.78
Micah 7:18, 19.
00:23:40.82\00:23:45.95
Somebody?
00:23:45.99\00:23:48.42
We have to find it first.
00:23:48.46\00:23:50.63
Chapter 7 you said.
00:23:50.66\00:23:51.99
Chapter 7 and verse 18, 19.
00:23:52.03\00:23:55.20
Says who...
00:23:55.23\00:23:57.90
18 and 19?
00:23:57.93\00:23:59.27
Yes. Yes.
00:23:59.30\00:24:00.64
"Who is a God like
You, pardoning iniquity
00:24:00.67\00:24:04.14
and passing over
the transgression
00:24:04.17\00:24:06.04
of the remnant of His heritage?
00:24:06.07\00:24:08.78
He does not
retain His anger forever,
00:24:08.81\00:24:11.48
because He delights in mercy.
00:24:11.51\00:24:14.22
He will again
have compassion on us,
00:24:14.25\00:24:16.92
and will subdue our iniquities.
00:24:16.95\00:24:19.65
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea."
00:24:19.69\00:24:24.43
Amen.
00:24:24.46\00:24:25.79
Now that's a lot to
think about right there.
00:24:25.83\00:24:28.86
One, God delights in mercy.
00:24:28.90\00:24:31.77
And, you know,
00:24:31.80\00:24:36.10
when somebody takes out a loan,
00:24:36.14\00:24:39.31
the bank makes out a note,
and he has that against you.
00:24:39.34\00:24:44.85
And as long as you take the pay,
00:24:44.88\00:24:47.25
that note is
still against you there.
00:24:47.28\00:24:50.65
And once you pay it,
you know, they sign this,
00:24:50.69\00:24:54.16
and you can tear it up
if you want to, you can,
00:24:54.19\00:24:57.23
you know, burn
it if you want to.
00:24:57.26\00:24:59.26
But the Bible says
that God delights in mercy.
00:24:59.29\00:25:01.53
But not only that, it
says that to help us understand
00:25:01.56\00:25:07.34
how far He goes, He says,
00:25:07.37\00:25:09.00
"I will cast all your sins
into the depths of the sea."
00:25:09.04\00:25:12.71
That's pretty deep.
00:25:12.74\00:25:14.08
I don't know.
00:25:14.11\00:25:15.44
I think so far man or
woman has not been able to go
00:25:15.48\00:25:21.35
to the deepest part of
the sea without some help.
00:25:21.38\00:25:25.09
I think they have some
little tiny submarines,
00:25:25.12\00:25:27.72
they go way down there
00:25:27.76\00:25:29.22
or some robotic
type of machines.
00:25:29.26\00:25:31.73
And I think I've heard of
the Marine Island somewhere
00:25:31.76\00:25:34.70
that is the
deepest part of the ocean.
00:25:34.73\00:25:36.40
I didn't look to
see how deep it is,
00:25:36.43\00:25:38.40
but nobody can go down there.
00:25:38.43\00:25:40.37
It's so, so deep.
00:25:40.40\00:25:41.80
And God wants to
help us to tell us,
00:25:41.84\00:25:43.61
you know, that's how far
00:25:43.64\00:25:45.14
away from you I'm
going to put these things.
00:25:45.17\00:25:47.11
Away from you.
00:25:47.14\00:25:48.48
And that's a marvelous,
marvelous picture to consider.
00:25:48.51\00:25:50.11
Yeah, I can see
how God feels though
00:25:50.15\00:25:52.28
if we don't accept
that when we ask for it.
00:25:52.31\00:25:54.78
Oh, that's a good thought.
00:25:54.82\00:25:56.58
Give us a little more.
00:25:56.62\00:25:58.15
Well, God says, "Hey, I'm going
00:25:58.19\00:26:01.39
to cast your
sins away, you know.
00:26:01.42\00:26:03.46
I'm faithful and
just forgive those sins."
00:26:03.49\00:26:06.16
In so many ways,
He says, "I do this.
00:26:06.19\00:26:08.56
Let Me do it, let Me do it."
00:26:08.60\00:26:09.93
So we come to Him and say,
"Lord, you know, I've sinned,
00:26:09.96\00:26:13.67
I've said something
bad, I've done something bad,
00:26:13.70\00:26:16.20
I've looked at something bad."
00:26:16.24\00:26:20.54
So tomorrow we
come and then say,
00:26:20.58\00:26:21.94
"Lord, you know, I'm
still feeling bad about this.
00:26:21.98\00:26:24.58
I've said, done,
seen, whatever it was,
00:26:24.61\00:26:29.88
could you forgive me again?"
00:26:29.92\00:26:31.25
And then the next week, we do
the same thing, the same thing.
00:26:31.29\00:26:33.32
God says, "But I
forgave you. I give you My son."
00:26:33.36\00:26:36.42
And God says,
"It's My good pleasure."
00:26:36.46\00:26:38.83
Jesus said, "The
Father loves you."
00:26:38.86\00:26:41.00
I was just reading that
this morning in my devotions.
00:26:41.03\00:26:44.47
It's the Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom.
00:26:44.50\00:26:46.33
He wants to do these things.
00:26:46.37\00:26:48.44
Amen.
00:26:48.47\00:26:49.80
And, you know,
sometimes I know I went through,
00:26:49.84\00:26:52.51
you know, in my journey,
00:26:52.54\00:26:54.31
times where I would
confess the same thing again,
00:26:54.34\00:26:56.71
and again, and again, and
then one day, I discovered,
00:26:56.75\00:26:58.28
you know, this is
hostility against God.
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.98
This is what He
says He's going to do,
00:27:01.02\00:27:02.45
now you don't
trust Him to do that.
00:27:02.48\00:27:05.02
That is interesting.
00:27:05.05\00:27:06.39
Yes.
00:27:06.42\00:27:07.99
That's a real war
00:27:08.02\00:27:11.76
raging between Satan
00:27:11.79\00:27:15.30
trying to pull us away from God
00:27:15.33\00:27:18.30
where we have
doubt, lack of faith,
00:27:18.33\00:27:21.30
impossible to
please God without faith,
00:27:21.34\00:27:24.31
and we say, "Okay, I've
asked forgiveness for this sin.
00:27:24.34\00:27:28.18
And I keep thinking about
it over the weeks and months.
00:27:28.21\00:27:33.48
I think about that sin again,
and it worries me, bothers me,
00:27:33.52\00:27:37.82
whatever, you know."
00:27:37.85\00:27:39.45
And the fact that we keep
thinking back on a sinner,
00:27:39.49\00:27:43.19
a group of sins is
like saying to God,
00:27:43.22\00:27:48.86
"You're a liar.
00:27:48.90\00:27:50.57
I don't feel forgiven.
00:27:50.60\00:27:52.97
I still have guilt."
00:27:53.00\00:27:55.50
And Satan is using
that guilt as a weapon,
00:27:55.54\00:27:58.74
as a tool to separate
us from God like a wedge.
00:27:58.77\00:28:03.75
He doesn't want us to feel
comfortable in God's sight.
00:28:03.78\00:28:05.95
Yeah, even
00:28:05.98\00:28:07.32
if we do the same
thing to a friend,
00:28:07.35\00:28:08.68
you know, if I
accidentally hurt you
00:28:08.72\00:28:10.89
or even spare the
thought to do something
00:28:10.92\00:28:14.12
that I really know
I shouldn't have done,
00:28:14.16\00:28:16.42
and I said Joe,
00:28:16.46\00:28:17.79
you know, I made a
mistake, I'm really sorry,
00:28:17.83\00:28:21.93
I offended you or
hurt you whatever I did.
00:28:21.96\00:28:24.90
And I come to
you again next week,
00:28:24.93\00:28:26.27
Joe, I'm really
sorry. Joe, I'm really sorry.
00:28:26.30\00:28:30.21
Come on, Dan, I forgave you.
00:28:30.24\00:28:32.34
A lot of that. Yeah, exactly.
00:28:32.37\00:28:33.71
This is getting
annoying. Exactly.
00:28:33.74\00:28:35.74
So we have to be careful
00:28:35.78\00:28:37.68
because guilt
can actually put you
00:28:37.71\00:28:41.75
in a frame of mind
that can cause illness.
00:28:41.78\00:28:44.65
Yes. Remember, illness?
00:28:44.69\00:28:46.19
Sin and illness, the physical
00:28:46.22\00:28:47.79
and the spiritual
are tied together.
00:28:47.82\00:28:50.69
You remember, I
think it's in Mark.
00:28:50.73\00:28:55.16
Somewhere in Mark
00:28:55.20\00:28:56.53
probably chapter
2, where Jesus'...
00:28:56.56\00:28:59.53
A fellow comes down
through the ceiling, okay,
00:28:59.57\00:29:01.40
he comes through the roof,
and they're going to heal him.
00:29:01.44\00:29:04.31
And I mean Jesus is thinking
about how to go about it.
00:29:04.34\00:29:08.18
And this time He
does it different.
00:29:08.21\00:29:10.35
Instead of saying you're healed,
00:29:10.38\00:29:12.15
pick up your bed and go, He
says your sins are forgiven.
00:29:12.18\00:29:16.69
Yes.
00:29:16.72\00:29:18.05
And he knew
00:29:18.09\00:29:19.42
that that
individual got his sickness
00:29:19.45\00:29:23.89
as the result of sin,
00:29:23.93\00:29:25.26
and knew that
the sin was on him,
00:29:25.29\00:29:27.20
and he was
burdened with that sin.
00:29:27.23\00:29:30.00
And Jesus was healing
him where he needed it.
00:29:30.03\00:29:34.54
Forget the sin is forgiven.
00:29:34.57\00:29:36.10
I forgive you, your sin is gone.
00:29:36.14\00:29:38.77
And then there was healing
of the flesh of the body.
00:29:38.81\00:29:43.85
And that's why we
have the laying on of hands
00:29:43.88\00:29:46.21
and anointing with oil
00:29:46.25\00:29:48.02
because there is
a connection there.
00:29:48.05\00:29:52.09
And it's a package.
00:29:52.12\00:29:54.69
And so when we
don't let go of one,
00:29:54.72\00:29:56.96
the other seems to hang around.
00:29:56.99\00:29:59.73
That's right, that's right.
00:29:59.76\00:30:01.70
You know, it's
something powerful to think
00:30:01.73\00:30:05.10
about the God is
willing to forgive us that way,
00:30:05.13\00:30:07.97
to cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
00:30:08.00\00:30:10.51
And what we understand
from the sanctuary service
00:30:10.54\00:30:13.54
is that eventually
they will be blotted out,
00:30:13.58\00:30:16.21
completely erased to the point.
00:30:16.24\00:30:19.45
We do have in this
world, while we are here,
00:30:19.48\00:30:22.35
this memory that we have
and Satan does play with that.
00:30:22.38\00:30:28.16
He seems to want to
bring to our attention,
00:30:28.19\00:30:32.29
"You are really bad.
00:30:32.33\00:30:33.66
Don't you remember what you did?
00:30:33.70\00:30:35.33
And remember what you said?"
00:30:35.36\00:30:37.83
Not only that,
00:30:37.87\00:30:40.04
and we'll talk
about that in a moment.
00:30:40.07\00:30:41.40
He says, "Here comes so and so,
00:30:41.44\00:30:43.61
remember what he
or she did to you?"
00:30:43.64\00:30:46.21
So he really worsen
our minds to that point.
00:30:46.24\00:30:49.34
But you are saying
00:30:49.38\00:30:52.31
that when we ask
God for forgiveness,
00:30:52.35\00:30:56.18
we should accept
that forgiveness.
00:30:56.22\00:30:58.65
And somebody here
quoted the scripture
00:30:58.69\00:31:00.42
or seemed to have quoted that,
00:31:00.46\00:31:01.79
"He is faithful,
00:31:01.82\00:31:03.16
and just to
forgive us for our sins,
00:31:03.19\00:31:05.29
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
00:31:05.33\00:31:07.10
So he's faithful to do this,
00:31:07.13\00:31:09.20
then we must do
our part to accept that
00:31:09.23\00:31:11.03
because if we
keep coming to Him,
00:31:11.07\00:31:12.80
asking for forgiveness
00:31:12.83\00:31:14.20
for the same sin
over and over again,
00:31:14.24\00:31:16.20
the same sin which
we already asked for,
00:31:16.24\00:31:19.84
then we're not really believing
that He's forgiving us.
00:31:19.87\00:31:22.34
And you're saying that's...
00:31:22.38\00:31:24.78
What was...
00:31:24.81\00:31:26.15
Hostility.
Hostility against God.
00:31:26.18\00:31:28.18
That's a really strong word.
00:31:28.22\00:31:30.55
What would you say about that?
00:31:30.59\00:31:31.92
One thing that I dealt
00:31:31.95\00:31:33.69
with was when I'd
hear the statements,
00:31:33.72\00:31:37.13
"He throws our sins
in the depths of the sea,
00:31:37.16\00:31:39.46
and He removes our sins
00:31:39.49\00:31:41.76
as far as the
east is from the west."
00:31:41.80\00:31:44.17
I thought about that
and I kind of like it
00:31:44.20\00:31:46.77
because no matter
where you stand on Earth,
00:31:46.80\00:31:50.91
if you start going and east,
00:31:50.94\00:31:53.48
you're going to go
clear around the earth
00:31:53.51\00:31:55.04
and there's more east to go.
00:31:55.08\00:31:57.15
Yes.
00:31:57.18\00:31:58.51
So you're going to go forever
and never ever get fully east
00:31:58.55\00:32:01.88
because there's
always more to go.
00:32:01.92\00:32:03.59
So I'm thinking
00:32:03.62\00:32:04.95
that's how You're
removing my sins from me.
00:32:04.99\00:32:07.86
Then I put it
in to my own terms,
00:32:07.89\00:32:09.39
which helped me feel comfortable
00:32:09.42\00:32:11.29
to understand it more
clearly, and that was this.
00:32:11.33\00:32:14.13
I said, okay, I'm
seeing at this way.
00:32:14.16\00:32:17.50
When I ask forgiveness,
00:32:17.53\00:32:19.43
those sins that
have been committed,
00:32:19.47\00:32:23.81
if there's a person involved,
they may not forgive me,
00:32:23.84\00:32:26.31
that's irrelevant to me,
that's their problem with God.
00:32:26.34\00:32:31.01
I have to put
these in a file cabinet,
00:32:31.05\00:32:34.38
close the drawer,
00:32:34.42\00:32:36.45
turn the lock to leave it
there in the depths of the sea,
00:32:36.48\00:32:41.76
and then I walk away,
and I look to the future.
00:32:41.79\00:32:44.63
And in the future,
there is no sin yet
00:32:44.66\00:32:47.40
because it hasn't
had time to get here yet,
00:32:47.43\00:32:49.96
I haven't blemished it yet.
00:32:50.00\00:32:51.80
Now should I and I know I will
because Satan will see to it.
00:32:51.83\00:32:55.34
Should I look back
on the past and think,
00:32:55.37\00:32:58.94
"Well, there's a
drawer full of stuff,
00:32:58.97\00:33:00.94
I'm not going to be specific
and keep blaming myself about,
00:33:00.98\00:33:03.04
'Well, it was
this way, and that way,
00:33:03.08\00:33:04.41
and some other way.'"
00:33:04.45\00:33:05.78
Forget all that.
00:33:05.81\00:33:07.15
I just know
00:33:07.18\00:33:08.52
there's a
drawer full of garbage.
00:33:08.55\00:33:10.09
And here's the
key that helped me,
00:33:10.12\00:33:13.32
if I go back there,
00:33:13.36\00:33:16.73
it's history, I can't change it.
00:33:16.76\00:33:19.89
So just leave it,
quit worrying about it
00:33:19.93\00:33:23.06
'cause you can't
go back and fix it,
00:33:23.10\00:33:25.30
just go forward and do better.
00:33:25.33\00:33:28.37
And that helped me. Amen, amen.
00:33:28.40\00:33:31.64
Now that is
something that we must all come
00:33:31.67\00:33:36.24
to the point of
accepting that, you know.
00:33:36.28\00:33:40.35
That is a fact, when we sin,
00:33:40.38\00:33:42.75
let's say we've committed
a sin against somebody else,
00:33:42.78\00:33:47.59
you remember and
I will call some,
00:33:47.62\00:33:50.36
a man of little stature.
00:33:50.39\00:33:52.63
And he invited
Jesus to his home.
00:33:52.66\00:33:55.66
And while He was there,
00:33:55.70\00:33:57.93
there's no
record of Jesus saying,
00:33:57.97\00:34:00.47
"Now, Zachariahs,
00:34:00.50\00:34:01.84
you really have to
confess your sins."
00:34:01.87\00:34:04.34
But He decided,
00:34:04.37\00:34:07.44
"Lord," I'm making a change,
00:34:07.48\00:34:11.68
basically I'm paraphrasing,
I'm making a change.
00:34:11.71\00:34:14.35
"I am going to give back
that which I have stolen,
00:34:14.38\00:34:18.69
and to them I will
give it", how much was it?
00:34:18.72\00:34:22.96
Four fold, four times
00:34:22.99\00:34:25.36
what he had taken from somebody.
00:34:25.39\00:34:26.80
So he was willing to make amends
00:34:26.83\00:34:30.77
and to give back let's say,
00:34:30.80\00:34:34.97
give back four times
00:34:35.00\00:34:37.11
that which he took
from somebody without,
00:34:37.14\00:34:40.41
I mean, actually not fairly,
00:34:40.44\00:34:43.55
not what was the
right thing to do.
00:34:43.58\00:34:46.82
There is a scripture
that helps us with this.
00:34:46.85\00:34:50.39
And this is Ezekiel
33, I'm going to read.
00:34:50.42\00:34:54.72
Let's see here, let
me see if I should read.
00:34:54.76\00:34:58.73
Here we go, verse 15.
00:34:58.76\00:35:00.10
"If the wicked
restores the pledge,
00:35:00.13\00:35:03.70
gives back what he has stolen,
00:35:03.73\00:35:07.00
and walks in
the statutes of life
00:35:07.04\00:35:09.90
without committing iniquity,
00:35:09.94\00:35:12.07
he shall surely
live, he shall not die."
00:35:12.11\00:35:14.54
There's this aspect
again of repentance.
00:35:14.58\00:35:17.81
You don't want to
do the evil any more.
00:35:17.85\00:35:19.41
You give back what you stole,
00:35:19.45\00:35:22.35
and you walk in the right way,
00:35:22.38\00:35:25.32
you walk in the
ways of the Lord.
00:35:25.35\00:35:27.16
He says, what happens?
00:35:27.19\00:35:28.52
You will live
you, you will not die.
00:35:28.56\00:35:29.92
The wages of sin is death.
00:35:29.96\00:35:31.29
God is going to forgive
you because you have restored.
00:35:31.33\00:35:35.50
So what we're
trying to say here is
00:35:35.53\00:35:38.80
you cannot take
the attitude of...
00:35:38.83\00:35:40.74
I'm going to use
robbery as an example.
00:35:40.77\00:35:44.94
Let's say, you know,
your neighbor has things
00:35:44.97\00:35:49.34
and you want them,
00:35:49.38\00:35:52.45
so every week you go
into your neighbor's house
00:35:52.48\00:35:55.18
when he's not there,
and you take up $1,000,
00:35:55.22\00:35:57.39
and you take it to your house,
and you say, "Lord, forgive me.
00:35:57.42\00:36:00.42
I took a $1,000
from the neighbor."
00:36:00.46\00:36:03.12
And you keep it.
00:36:03.16\00:36:05.39
Next week, you again,
and you take another $1,000.
00:36:05.43\00:36:08.16
"Lord, forgive me,
00:36:08.20\00:36:09.53
I took a $1,000
from the neighbor."
00:36:09.56\00:36:11.27
And again you keep it,
you don't give it back.
00:36:11.30\00:36:13.94
So there's this aspect of,
00:36:13.97\00:36:16.74
"You must restore
in so much as possible,
00:36:16.77\00:36:19.64
make amends for
the wrong you have done
00:36:19.67\00:36:22.61
in so much as possible."
00:36:22.64\00:36:24.08
Make amends for the
wrong you have done.
00:36:24.11\00:36:26.08
And so this is something
that the Bible brings out,
00:36:26.11\00:36:29.38
that's why Zechariahs
was reacting this way.
00:36:29.42\00:36:32.05
And so this is an aspect
of asking God for forgiveness,
00:36:32.09\00:36:36.26
that there's a
responsibility in our part.
00:36:36.29\00:36:39.09
We've done wrong to somebody,
in so much as possible,
00:36:39.13\00:36:43.03
go to the person and say,
00:36:43.06\00:36:45.23
"I have done you wrong
00:36:45.27\00:36:47.20
and I'm asking
for your forgiveness."
00:36:47.24\00:36:50.04
So if the person
chooses not to forgive you,
00:36:50.07\00:36:53.81
if he forgave you, wonderful,
you've restored a friendship.
00:36:53.84\00:36:57.61
But if he chooses
not to forgive you
00:36:57.65\00:36:59.71
then what happens?
00:36:59.75\00:37:01.08
You're saying what?
00:37:01.12\00:37:03.18
You already said this.
You put it in a drawer.
00:37:03.22\00:37:05.89
And you lock it up.
00:37:05.92\00:37:07.26
In other words,
you're not supposed
00:37:07.29\00:37:08.62
to take it out anymore.
00:37:08.66\00:37:09.99
You're not
supposed to dwell on it,
00:37:10.03\00:37:11.36
you're not
supposed to suffer for it
00:37:11.39\00:37:12.73
because you've asked
the Lord to forgive you,
00:37:12.76\00:37:15.06
and the Lord has forgiven you.
00:37:15.10\00:37:17.37
And there may be
some repercussions
00:37:17.40\00:37:21.10
because that
person may not trust you
00:37:21.14\00:37:22.77
as he used to trust anymore.
00:37:22.80\00:37:25.41
Yes.
00:37:25.44\00:37:28.78
Scripture says,
"For if we sin willfully
00:37:28.81\00:37:31.95
after that we have received
the knowledge of the truth,
00:37:31.98\00:37:35.38
there remains no more
sacrifice for those sins."
00:37:35.42\00:37:39.22
So to take a thousand every
so often and ask forgiveness...
00:37:39.25\00:37:43.26
And keep it. It's futile.
00:37:43.29\00:37:45.49
Because every
time we break that law,
00:37:45.53\00:37:48.36
we're sacrificing Christ again.
00:37:48.40\00:37:50.17
He has to pay the
price of that sin again,
00:37:50.20\00:37:52.47
and again, and again.
00:37:52.50\00:37:54.07
It's good advice right there.
00:37:54.10\00:37:58.41
If we know the truth, we
need to walk in the truth,
00:37:58.44\00:38:01.38
and grow up, and mature,
00:38:01.41\00:38:03.28
come into the
fullness of Christ.
00:38:03.31\00:38:05.21
We have to remember that,
00:38:05.25\00:38:06.68
in the beginning,
the Father, the Son,
00:38:06.72\00:38:09.02
and the Holy Ghost said,
00:38:09.05\00:38:11.05
"Let us, make man in Our image."
00:38:11.09\00:38:15.09
God's image was
holy, and sinless,
00:38:15.12\00:38:18.69
and so were Adam and Eve.
00:38:18.73\00:38:20.63
That's how we were made. Yes.
00:38:20.66\00:38:22.56
That's how we were
supposed to spend eternity.
00:38:22.60\00:38:25.93
Satan snitched it away.
00:38:25.97\00:38:28.00
And what's happening
is God is simply saying,
00:38:28.04\00:38:33.04
"I paid the ultimate
price to redeem you, come home.
00:38:33.07\00:38:36.71
Quit sinning, come
back." Amen. Amen to that.
00:38:36.75\00:38:39.65
All right.
00:38:39.68\00:38:41.02
It's interesting in
the 2 Chronicles 7:14
00:38:41.05\00:38:45.85
and some other verses down.
00:38:45.89\00:38:48.59
It shows the same thing
that we're being talking about,
00:38:48.62\00:38:51.19
the restoration of
what God expects from us
00:38:51.23\00:38:55.66
when he ask for His forgiveness.
00:38:55.70\00:38:58.20
This has happened
00:38:58.23\00:38:59.57
after Solomon
dedicated the temple.
00:38:59.60\00:39:02.64
Some of a high point
00:39:02.67\00:39:04.87
in Israel's, life.
00:39:04.91\00:39:09.41
He just finishes sacrifice,
and fire came from heaven.
00:39:09.44\00:39:14.82
And they saw these,
the people saw this event.
00:39:14.85\00:39:19.29
It was magnificent
00:39:19.32\00:39:21.16
and everybody was
so willing to obey
00:39:21.19\00:39:25.66
and to go back and
distort their waste.
00:39:25.69\00:39:29.40
And so God says,
00:39:29.43\00:39:33.60
"If my people..."
00:39:33.64\00:39:34.97
This is chapter 7:14.
00:39:35.00\00:39:37.67
"If My people who are called by
My name will humble themselves
00:39:37.71\00:39:43.28
and pray and seek My face
00:39:43.31\00:39:45.28
and turn from their wicked ways,
00:39:45.31\00:39:48.05
then I will hear from heaven,
00:39:48.08\00:39:49.75
I will forgive their
sin and heal their land."
00:39:49.78\00:39:53.96
And this is a beautiful passage
00:39:53.99\00:39:56.83
because it shows all
the aspects of their life,
00:39:56.86\00:40:01.20
our life, our daily life.
00:40:01.23\00:40:04.57
It will improve
00:40:04.60\00:40:06.53
if we give our heart to the Lord
00:40:06.57\00:40:10.31
and then and we
accept His forgiveness.
00:40:10.34\00:40:13.58
"If my people, who
are called by My name,
00:40:13.61\00:40:15.74
will humble themselves and pray,
00:40:15.78\00:40:17.48
and seek my face
00:40:17.51\00:40:18.85
and turn from their wicked ways,
00:40:18.88\00:40:20.52
then I would from heaven,
00:40:20.55\00:40:22.78
and I will forgive their
sin, and heal their land."
00:40:22.82\00:40:25.95
Amen, amen.
00:40:25.99\00:40:27.72
So again, there is the
aspect of turning away from sins
00:40:27.76\00:40:31.93
and seeking the Lord.
00:40:31.96\00:40:36.63
Powerful, very powerful.
00:40:36.67\00:40:38.43
And so we should do this again
but with some ladies present.
00:40:38.47\00:40:44.84
But there's this aspect of...
00:40:44.87\00:40:48.11
At least it's in my mind,
00:40:48.14\00:40:49.48
I don't know if it's
in your mind that way.
00:40:49.51\00:40:51.18
And that is that it seems to be,
00:40:51.21\00:40:52.98
especially in
certain relationships,
00:40:53.01\00:40:57.85
brother and sisters,
00:40:57.89\00:40:59.22
and I've heard among men
and women, marital issues,
00:40:59.25\00:41:04.13
that seems to be
harder for the man to say,
00:41:04.16\00:41:07.50
"I am really sorry.
00:41:07.53\00:41:09.10
I have said
something I shouldn't have said
00:41:09.13\00:41:10.77
or I have done
something I shouldn't have done.
00:41:10.80\00:41:12.93
And it seems to be
harder for the man.
00:41:12.97\00:41:14.74
Why would this be the
case? Why do you think that is?
00:41:14.77\00:41:17.91
Or is it that way or am I wrong?
00:41:17.94\00:41:19.51
Well, women are
really nice people.
00:41:24.48\00:41:27.15
They forgive.
00:41:27.18\00:41:28.52
They forgive
automatically, don't they?
00:41:28.55\00:41:31.65
Yes, that's right.
00:41:31.69\00:41:33.09
Well, you know, it's interesting
00:41:33.12\00:41:34.89
because when I was
little and you have the...
00:41:34.92\00:41:38.89
You have issues with
brothers and sisters,
00:41:38.93\00:41:43.13
there seemed to be a
point in some time of our age
00:41:43.16\00:41:46.17
where it was like the
first one to say I'm sorry,
00:41:46.20\00:41:49.74
you feel like you
were the one at fault.
00:41:49.77\00:41:52.24
And so there was this idea of,
00:41:52.27\00:41:54.84
"I'm not doing it first,
you know, he started it."
00:41:54.88\00:41:59.91
You know, this
type of idea seems to go
00:41:59.95\00:42:03.18
into the adult life.
00:42:03.22\00:42:04.55
And man thinking, you
know, pride or whatever,
00:42:04.59\00:42:09.42
something gets in the way,
00:42:09.46\00:42:10.93
and it seems that
Satan works in the minds,
00:42:10.96\00:42:12.86
whether men or women, to say,
00:42:12.89\00:42:15.76
you know, to
suggest in your mind,
00:42:15.80\00:42:19.17
"Let that person
humble themselves.
00:42:19.20\00:42:21.74
Let that person come to me."
00:42:21.77\00:42:24.17
And that becomes
a barrier for you
00:42:24.21\00:42:28.98
to be delivered from
the weight that is there,
00:42:29.01\00:42:32.31
from the healing that you need.
00:42:32.35\00:42:34.38
You create this
obstacle. The pride does this.
00:42:34.42\00:42:38.72
"Oh, no, they
have to come to me.
00:42:38.75\00:42:41.32
They need to come to me, not I."
00:42:41.36\00:42:44.63
But that's not the
way the Bible points out.
00:42:44.66\00:42:49.80
I think I remember
a scripture that says,
00:42:49.83\00:42:51.77
"If you're at the altar
00:42:51.80\00:42:54.60
and you're offering
your gift at the altar
00:42:54.64\00:42:56.54
and you remember
00:42:56.57\00:42:58.07
that your brother has
something against you,
00:42:58.11\00:43:01.21
oh, leave your
gift at the altar,
00:43:01.24\00:43:03.41
first be
reconciled to your brother,
00:43:03.45\00:43:06.05
and then come
00:43:06.08\00:43:07.42
and offer your
gift at the altar."
00:43:07.45\00:43:08.78
See there's this
barrier again that we place
00:43:08.82\00:43:12.25
or something
happens in the relationship.
00:43:12.29\00:43:15.16
So maybe we can transition
00:43:15.19\00:43:16.89
a little bit into
us forgiving others
00:43:16.93\00:43:21.06
and we forgiving them.
00:43:21.10\00:43:23.47
Who would like to
start with that one?
00:43:23.50\00:43:25.63
Well, that's been
on my mind just now.
00:43:25.67\00:43:30.47
For people that
have offended you
00:43:30.51\00:43:33.17
that don't realize it.
00:43:33.21\00:43:34.54
That's true, that's true.
00:43:34.58\00:43:35.91
I mean, there
are a lot of people
00:43:35.94\00:43:37.28
who, you know, have...
00:43:37.31\00:43:40.45
I probably offended,
maybe I should turn it around,
00:43:40.48\00:43:44.85
that, you know, I
didn't even realize that,
00:43:44.89\00:43:46.69
I didn't really intend to,
00:43:46.72\00:43:48.32
maybe, you
know, I'm thinking of,
00:43:48.36\00:43:52.69
you know, some instances in life
00:43:52.73\00:43:54.46
where there are people
00:43:54.50\00:43:55.83
that I still have to
come in contact with or work
00:43:55.86\00:44:00.14
with or even
perhaps live with that,
00:44:00.17\00:44:04.24
you know, have done
something to offend me greatly.
00:44:04.27\00:44:07.08
And now, you
know, I have to maintain
00:44:07.11\00:44:10.98
that forgiveness every day.
00:44:11.01\00:44:14.28
Let's say you're at
work, and for some reason,
00:44:14.32\00:44:19.55
your number comes up,
you have to be laid off,
00:44:19.59\00:44:22.82
and you don't feel
00:44:22.86\00:44:25.79
that you're
particularly at fault,
00:44:25.83\00:44:27.63
but nonetheless,
somebody else does.
00:44:27.66\00:44:30.10
These are still
people that you work with.
00:44:30.13\00:44:34.54
You know, you weren't
just a number at the company,
00:44:34.57\00:44:36.91
you were part of a team
00:44:36.94\00:44:39.71
and they let you
go and yet you still,
00:44:39.74\00:44:41.94
you know, have
to come in contact
00:44:41.98\00:44:43.31
with these people every day.
00:44:43.35\00:44:46.51
They don't feel
any need on their part
00:44:46.55\00:44:50.69
to ask your forgiveness.
00:44:50.72\00:44:53.29
After all, that was their
right to terminate you for,
00:44:53.32\00:44:57.39
whether it was a
layoff or fired or whatever,
00:44:57.43\00:45:01.43
but you still have to
go to church with them,
00:45:01.46\00:45:04.10
you still see them
in the grocery store,
00:45:04.13\00:45:07.97
you know, and you realize that,
00:45:08.00\00:45:09.50
"Yes, that was their right to do
00:45:09.54\00:45:10.87
what they did,
00:45:10.91\00:45:12.24
but I still feel
offended by that."
00:45:12.27\00:45:15.71
So dealing with that is,
you know, I've discovered
00:45:15.74\00:45:17.98
that that's a challenge in life.
00:45:18.01\00:45:21.58
It is. It is.
00:45:21.62\00:45:22.95
It's a challenge.
00:45:22.98\00:45:24.32
I remember...
00:45:24.35\00:45:25.69
I don't know if
anyone wants to comment about
00:45:25.72\00:45:27.06
that particular issue.
00:45:27.09\00:45:29.22
I remember, many years ago,
00:45:29.26\00:45:31.73
little over 20 years
ago, a friend of mine,
00:45:31.76\00:45:34.86
I noticed that he was
being very short with me
00:45:34.90\00:45:38.60
and seemed to be angry.
00:45:38.63\00:45:41.80
And I said, "Oh, I
wonder why he's so angry.
00:45:41.84\00:45:43.84
Maybe he's having a bad day."
00:45:43.87\00:45:45.57
So I kind of
gave him some space.
00:45:45.61\00:45:47.91
And the next day at work,
the same type of reaction.
00:45:47.94\00:45:51.78
So I realized
00:45:51.81\00:45:53.15
that he must be
angry about something.
00:45:53.18\00:45:54.95
So I had to ask him, you know,
00:45:54.98\00:45:58.92
"Craig, you seem to be upset.
00:45:58.95\00:46:02.99
I'm sorry, is there
something I did wrong?"
00:46:03.02\00:46:05.69
You know what you did.
00:46:05.73\00:46:08.43
He was really upset,
00:46:08.46\00:46:10.03
and I had to
stop and ask myself,
00:46:10.07\00:46:12.67
"What did I do?"
00:46:12.70\00:46:14.04
I couldn't think of anything.
00:46:14.07\00:46:15.40
So I said, "Could
you please help me out
00:46:15.44\00:46:16.77
because I don't
know what it was?"
00:46:16.81\00:46:19.27
And eventually, he said,
"Well, you said this and this.
00:46:19.31\00:46:24.85
And that means
this and this to me."
00:46:24.88\00:46:27.68
I said, "Oh, I'm
really sorry. I had no idea.
00:46:27.72\00:46:32.55
I didn't intend to
offend you in any way."
00:46:32.59\00:46:35.66
You know, I had to say I'm sorry
00:46:35.69\00:46:38.09
because things like that happen.
00:46:38.13\00:46:41.00
You may offend
somebody by something you said
00:46:41.03\00:46:44.40
and people have histories,
00:46:44.43\00:46:46.67
you know, people have histories,
00:46:46.70\00:46:48.24
things that have
happened to them.
00:46:48.27\00:46:50.01
I know there are people
00:46:50.04\00:46:51.37
that maybe when
they were younger,
00:46:51.41\00:46:52.74
they were made fun
of for certain reasons
00:46:52.77\00:46:56.04
and you may say something
00:46:56.08\00:46:57.41
that may trigger those memories.
00:46:57.45\00:46:59.45
So many different
things could happen
00:46:59.48\00:47:01.48
that you may,
00:47:01.52\00:47:03.08
as you say
inadvertently, offend someone.
00:47:03.12\00:47:06.12
And at that point,
00:47:06.15\00:47:09.16
there needs to
be some restoration
00:47:09.19\00:47:10.56
and reconciliation taking place.
00:47:10.59\00:47:13.06
And I find in 1 Corinthians...
00:47:13.09\00:47:17.10
No, 2 Corinthians 5
that we have been given
00:47:17.13\00:47:19.67
the ministry of reconciliation.
00:47:19.70\00:47:21.87
Oh, that's a good one. Yes.
00:47:21.90\00:47:24.07
And there's another
aspect of this sometimes.
00:47:24.11\00:47:27.98
We may think
00:47:28.01\00:47:31.11
that we are such good people,
00:47:31.15\00:47:34.12
"Why would I
need to be forgiven?"
00:47:34.15\00:47:36.05
And especially when we
talk about forgiveness from God.
00:47:36.08\00:47:38.52
And I know that, Joe,
you're going to present us
00:47:38.55\00:47:40.96
a very good point,
00:47:40.99\00:47:42.42
maybe going to
the other extreme,
00:47:42.46\00:47:44.99
but sometimes many people say,
00:47:45.03\00:47:48.53
"I am basically a
good person," right?
00:47:48.56\00:47:51.07
Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:51.10\00:47:52.77
"Why do I need
forgiveness from God?
00:47:52.80\00:47:54.77
I haven't done anything wrong."
00:47:54.80\00:47:57.14
But the truth of the
matter is that we have all...
00:47:57.17\00:48:00.11
the Bible says that
all of us have sinned.
00:48:00.14\00:48:03.11
That's right.
00:48:03.14\00:48:04.48
And we're deprived
from the glory of God,
00:48:04.51\00:48:10.32
from being on God's side.
00:48:10.35\00:48:14.26
So it's good to go back and read
00:48:14.29\00:48:18.49
and find in the Bible
the most important reason
00:48:18.53\00:48:23.97
why we really, really
need God's forgiveness.
00:48:24.00\00:48:28.17
I met...
00:48:28.20\00:48:29.54
When I first came
into the Adventist church,
00:48:29.57\00:48:32.57
there was an
elder, who was a teacher,
00:48:32.61\00:48:35.18
who was teaching the
adult Sabbath school class.
00:48:35.21\00:48:39.58
And per chance, one morning
00:48:39.61\00:48:42.72
he said that he
was a pretty good guy,
00:48:42.75\00:48:47.59
that he had never
committed any major sins that,
00:48:47.62\00:48:50.79
you know, just little things.
00:48:50.83\00:48:54.13
And so I rambled
with that a little bit
00:48:54.16\00:48:56.77
and I came to the conclusion
00:48:56.80\00:48:58.47
that if nobody on
earth ever sinned except him,
00:48:58.50\00:49:03.37
and it was a tiny sin,
00:49:03.41\00:49:06.01
Jesus would have had
to die to pay for it.
00:49:06.04\00:49:08.04
That's right. Wow, yes.
00:49:08.08\00:49:09.54
That's powerful.
Very powerful, yes.
00:49:09.58\00:49:12.05
And that reminds
me of something else
00:49:12.08\00:49:14.48
that I think is kind
of important to consider,
00:49:14.52\00:49:16.72
and that is the
unforgivable sin.
00:49:16.75\00:49:20.32
You've heard that.
00:49:20.36\00:49:21.69
And of course, there are
people I've talked with that
00:49:21.72\00:49:25.46
are just convinced
00:49:25.49\00:49:27.16
they've committed
the unforgivable sin
00:49:27.20\00:49:29.96
and they're done,
they might as well go out
00:49:30.00\00:49:32.33
and just terrorize the world
00:49:32.37\00:49:34.27
because it makes no difference.
00:49:34.30\00:49:36.81
And so I took a
close look in the gospel,
00:49:36.84\00:49:39.27
you know, there
are several places
00:49:39.31\00:49:40.64
in the gospels
where it's mentioned.
00:49:40.68\00:49:43.08
And this particular
one is Mark 3:28, 29.
00:49:43.11\00:49:48.48
If you want to turn
there. This is interesting.
00:49:48.52\00:49:50.29
If you break it down,
if you listen carefully
00:49:50.32\00:49:52.69
to the little words,
00:49:52.72\00:49:54.62
it's all there,
it answers itself.
00:49:54.66\00:49:58.19
And I needed to know this.
00:49:58.23\00:50:01.30
And it says,
"Verily I say unto you..."
00:50:01.33\00:50:03.83
God is speaking, He says,
00:50:03.87\00:50:05.20
"Verily I say unto you,
00:50:05.23\00:50:06.57
All sin shall be forgiven."
00:50:06.60\00:50:11.27
Now if we go a
little further, it says,
00:50:11.31\00:50:13.11
"All sin and blasphemies,"
00:50:13.14\00:50:16.38
and it says plural, blasphemies.
00:50:16.41\00:50:19.51
"All sin and all
blasphemies where with so ever."
00:50:19.55\00:50:24.99
I don't care who,
where, when, or how, so ever.
00:50:25.02\00:50:28.42
You're reading
from Mark? Mark 3:28.
00:50:28.46\00:50:32.89
Okay, thank you.
00:50:32.93\00:50:34.73
And it's talking
about all possibilities.
00:50:34.76\00:50:37.93
It says, "I say unto you,
all sin shall be forgiven."
00:50:37.97\00:50:43.34
Sin, blasphemies,
00:50:43.37\00:50:46.41
no matter what
kind they shall be.
00:50:46.44\00:50:49.94
Now in the next
verse, listen to this.
00:50:49.98\00:50:52.91
It says, "But he
that shall blaspheme
00:50:52.95\00:50:56.28
against the Holy Ghost
hath never forgiveness."
00:50:56.32\00:50:59.65
In other words, never.
00:50:59.69\00:51:03.12
You will not be forgiven.
00:51:03.16\00:51:04.76
Now that sounds
like God's confused.
00:51:04.79\00:51:08.00
You know, He's saying
one thing in one verse
00:51:08.03\00:51:09.56
and something
else in another verse.
00:51:09.60\00:51:11.93
But I found long ago
00:51:11.97\00:51:13.44
that if God says
both, He means both.
00:51:13.47\00:51:16.84
And we have to figure it out.
00:51:16.87\00:51:19.07
It says, "If you blaspheme
against the Holy Ghost,"
00:51:19.11\00:51:22.94
this is verse 29 now,
00:51:22.98\00:51:24.31
"If you blaspheme
against the Holy Ghost hath
00:51:24.35\00:51:26.05
never forgiveness,
but is in danger of..."
00:51:26.08\00:51:30.89
Now if you look at those
three words "in danger of,"
00:51:30.92\00:51:35.26
that doesn't mean
it's a sealed deal.
00:51:35.29\00:51:38.69
You're in danger,
00:51:38.73\00:51:40.06
you might have
eternal damnation.
00:51:40.10\00:51:43.80
But it doesn't
say "you have to."
00:51:43.83\00:51:46.57
"In danger of."
00:51:46.60\00:51:48.94
So now if you consider
the definition of blasphemy,
00:51:48.97\00:51:53.94
listen to this now...
00:51:53.98\00:51:56.24
Blasphemy is speech
injurious is to divine majesty,
00:51:56.28\00:51:59.98
speaking evil of God.
00:52:00.02\00:52:02.18
And it says blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost is regarded
00:52:02.22\00:52:05.95
as a continued
00:52:05.99\00:52:08.22
and obstinate rejection
of the gospel of salvation
00:52:08.26\00:52:12.96
through Christ
00:52:12.99\00:52:14.33
and hence is an
unpardonable sin simply
00:52:14.36\00:52:18.07
because as long
00:52:18.10\00:52:20.64
as a sinner remains in unbelief
00:52:20.67\00:52:24.27
that he can be forgiven,
00:52:24.31\00:52:26.14
he voluntarily
excludes himself from pardon.
00:52:26.17\00:52:30.58
If you deny God,
if you deny Jesus,
00:52:30.61\00:52:32.81
if you deny sin, if
you deny forgiveness,
00:52:32.85\00:52:35.68
then you don't get it.
00:52:35.72\00:52:37.49
And the easiest way
00:52:37.52\00:52:38.85
I can explain
that would be with...
00:52:38.89\00:52:41.62
If I offer you,
Johnny, a $50 bill.
00:52:41.66\00:52:44.03
And I say, "Johnny, if
you take this from my hand,
00:52:44.06\00:52:46.23
you own it, it's yours.
00:52:46.26\00:52:47.70
I don't want it
back." That's forgiveness.
00:52:47.73\00:52:51.00
And you say, "I
don't believe you.
00:52:51.03\00:52:53.10
I don't want it."
00:52:53.13\00:52:54.47
And so I walk
away with my $50 bill
00:52:54.50\00:52:56.37
and you rejected forgiveness.
00:52:56.40\00:52:58.24
You rejected the $50 bill.
00:52:58.27\00:53:00.14
I don't get the
benefit of the $50.
00:53:00.18\00:53:01.51
That's right.
00:53:01.54\00:53:02.88
But I tell you,
it's always available
00:53:02.91\00:53:04.28
if you should
decide you want it.
00:53:04.31\00:53:07.52
So a week later, you
come back and you say,
00:53:07.55\00:53:09.22
"Hey, Joe, that $50
bill still available to me?"
00:53:09.25\00:53:13.72
All of a sudden,
the unforgivable sin,
00:53:13.76\00:53:16.96
because you changed your mind,
00:53:16.99\00:53:20.53
is now forgivable
and you can have it.
00:53:20.56\00:53:24.13
So it is an unforgivable sin
00:53:24.17\00:53:25.83
as long as you
don't want forgiveness,
00:53:25.87\00:53:28.00
you are not going to have any.
00:53:28.04\00:53:31.11
Now does that make
sense 'cause it does to me?
00:53:31.14\00:53:33.98
Thank you very much.
00:53:34.01\00:53:36.08
You want to say
something, add something?
00:53:36.11\00:53:37.75
It's a new perspective on that,
00:53:37.78\00:53:39.95
I guess, others that I've heard.
00:53:39.98\00:53:45.05
A new explanation
maybe I should say.
00:53:45.09\00:53:47.22
Not really a
perspective but clarification.
00:53:47.26\00:53:51.76
And so you have heard
00:53:51.79\00:53:53.23
then that it is a
persistent rejection
00:53:53.26\00:53:58.03
over and over and over
again to the Holy Spirit's call
00:53:58.07\00:54:01.87
to repent and ask
God for forgiveness.
00:54:01.90\00:54:03.74
I guess you wanted to...
00:54:03.77\00:54:05.11
That came from
Greek. I looked it up.
00:54:05.14\00:54:06.57
The original words "blasphemy"
and the definition of it.
00:54:06.61\00:54:09.11
So that's what I
got. Okay, very good.
00:54:09.14\00:54:11.71
So the person that continues
to reject God's call to repent,
00:54:11.75\00:54:18.25
then he cannot be forgiven
00:54:18.29\00:54:20.02
because he never
asks for forgiveness.
00:54:20.06\00:54:22.42
And with the time
we have remaining,
00:54:22.46\00:54:25.63
perhaps we can
share what has God...
00:54:25.66\00:54:29.16
First question, what does
God's forgiveness means to you?
00:54:29.20\00:54:32.87
And then, what can
you say to somebody
00:54:32.90\00:54:35.67
so they will ask the
Lord to forgive them?
00:54:35.70\00:54:38.64
We'll start with Joe.
00:54:38.67\00:54:40.01
You have to be brief
because we have short time.
00:54:40.04\00:54:44.15
Go to the foot of the
cross and see the love.
00:54:44.18\00:54:47.08
The wages of sin is death,
and He said, "Let me pay it."
00:54:47.12\00:54:50.99
All we have to do is believe
it and accept it and thank Him.
00:54:51.02\00:54:55.06
Amen, amen. Dan?
00:54:55.09\00:54:58.43
Well, forgiveness is
the opportunity for me
00:54:58.46\00:55:01.66
to exchange my guilt,
00:55:01.70\00:55:03.33
which we've already said
can cause physical sickness,
00:55:03.37\00:55:07.67
disease, ailments,
00:55:07.70\00:55:11.11
just general unhappy life
for happiness, and health,
00:55:11.14\00:55:16.91
and confidence in God.
00:55:16.95\00:55:20.72
Amen
00:55:20.75\00:55:22.08
And...
00:55:22.12\00:55:23.45
Yes.
00:55:23.49\00:55:24.82
I keep saying this, but the idea
00:55:24.85\00:55:27.79
of when you receive forgiveness,
00:55:27.82\00:55:31.09
you receive this new
paintjob, this new...
00:55:31.13\00:55:35.76
this restoration of your house.
00:55:35.80\00:55:38.43
And it looks so good,
why don't you keep it?
00:55:38.47\00:55:40.64
Why don't we keep it? Why
don't we keep it that way?
00:55:40.67\00:55:43.57
And that's why I like
00:55:43.61\00:55:45.67
that verse from 2 Chronicles,
00:55:45.71\00:55:49.44
"If my people call my name,
00:55:49.48\00:55:53.52
I'll restore them."
00:55:53.55\00:55:56.05
That's is our goal, to keep
that restoration work alive.
00:55:56.08\00:56:01.32
Amen. Amen.
00:56:01.36\00:56:03.22
Well, I'd like to
finish with Isaiah 55,
00:56:03.26\00:56:07.10
and going to read verse 6 and 7.
00:56:07.13\00:56:09.86
And the Bible tells us,
it's a message from the Lord,
00:56:09.90\00:56:12.30
"Seek the Lord
while He may be found,
00:56:12.33\00:56:15.80
call upon Him while He is near.
00:56:15.84\00:56:19.37
Let the wicked forsake his way,
00:56:19.41\00:56:21.88
and the
unrighteous man his thoughts,
00:56:21.91\00:56:25.61
and let him return to the Lord,
00:56:25.65\00:56:28.05
and He will have mercy
on him, and to our God,
00:56:28.08\00:56:31.05
For He will abundantly pardon."
00:56:31.09\00:56:34.52
Isaiah 55:6, 7.
00:56:34.56\00:56:37.33
And so I would
like to encourage you
00:56:37.36\00:56:39.96
to seek the Lord
while He may be found,
00:56:40.00\00:56:42.00
call upon Him while He is near.
00:56:42.03\00:56:44.13
And this is a message
that we want to leave with you.
00:56:44.17\00:56:47.04
God is near, God
wants to forgive you.
00:56:47.07\00:56:49.64
If you are
carrying a load of guilt
00:56:49.67\00:56:51.64
because you look at your life
00:56:51.67\00:56:53.01
and there's a stain
with sin, horrific sin,
00:56:53.04\00:56:57.75
terrible things you have done
00:56:57.78\00:56:59.15
or said to injure
yourself or someone,
00:56:59.18\00:57:02.52
God is saying,
00:57:02.55\00:57:04.19
"Come to Me, ask forgiveness,
and I will forgive you."
00:57:04.22\00:57:08.19
And it says here, "He
will abundantly pardon."
00:57:08.22\00:57:10.36
So I encourage you,
00:57:10.39\00:57:11.79
take this
opportunity to go to the Lord
00:57:11.83\00:57:14.66
and leave the
weight of guilt there
00:57:14.70\00:57:17.87
because Jesus died on the cross
00:57:17.90\00:57:20.04
to make possible
forgiveness of all your sins.
00:57:20.07\00:57:24.94
So I encourage you to do that.
00:57:24.97\00:57:26.31
And when you do this,
00:57:26.34\00:57:27.68
you will begin to
have peace and happiness
00:57:27.71\00:57:30.15
that begins in this
world and continues forever.
00:57:30.18\00:57:33.08
Happy Sabbath. God bless you.
00:57:33.11\00:57:34.85
Amen.
00:57:34.88\00:57:36.22