Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW018017A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 01:11 Hello and welcome. Welcome to Family Worship. 01:14 We are glad that you're here. 01:15 Now the family is complete. 01:17 My name is John Dinzey, 01:18 and it's a joy and a pleasure to be with you during this hour 01:21 along with part of the 3ABN family. 01:24 And I would like to introduce them to you at this time. 01:26 We have Jorge Jaque, Assistant Production Manager. 01:31 Thank you. 01:32 Thank you for inviting me, it's always a pleasure 01:34 and is a joy to participate in this program 01:38 because it's also reminder of the beautiful time 01:42 that we're about to enjoy for the next 24 hours. 01:45 That's right. 01:46 And we have Brother Daniel Peek, 01:48 Daniel Peek, Dan Peek we call him. 01:51 Welcome. Part of our engineering staff. 01:53 Thank you, thank you for inviting me. 01:56 You know, I always learn a lot, get a new perspective on things 02:01 as we sit here and discuss these in these programs. 02:04 Yes, it's a quite a blessing, 02:06 you know, it's amazing as we sit together 02:08 and how the Lord uses each and every person 02:11 to say something that is an uplifting 02:13 and makes you think, 02:14 maybe to keep looking into these things. 02:17 And we have part of our pastoral staff, 02:19 Joe Brien, welcome. 02:20 Welcome, thank you for inviting me. 02:22 And I really enjoy these programs also 02:25 because this confusing world 02:28 is less confusing when you look at the direction book. 02:31 That's right, the Bible, God's book that is able 02:36 to make us wise unto salvation. 02:38 And I praise the Lord for the Holy Scriptures. 02:40 And I hope that you have 02:42 a copy of the Bible in your home 02:44 because if you have the Bible, 02:47 then you have a treasure of knowledge. 02:50 And as we said the Bible will make you wise unto salvation, 02:54 if you read it, study it, and apply it. 02:57 Amen. 02:58 Well, we'll like to invite you to this Family Worship 03:01 because we're either approaching the Sabbath 03:04 or just probably the Sabbath in your area. 03:06 And we're going to talk about 03:07 that word "Sabbath" in a moment, 03:09 but first, we'd like to invite you to pray 03:12 because we want the Lord to bless 03:15 not only our discussion together 03:17 but our time together with you, 03:19 that we pray it is a blessing to you. 03:21 So at this time, we go to the Lord in prayer, 03:23 and I'd like to ask Pastor Joe Brien 03:25 if you'll pray for us. 03:28 Our Father in heaven, when the Sabbath begins 03:31 and we have time to withdraw more from the world 03:35 and draw closer to You, 03:37 and the wisdom that's in your word. 03:41 We invite your Holy Spirit to fill us, 03:44 our hearts and our minds with His presence, 03:47 to give us wisdom, understanding, 03:49 knowledge, discernment, 03:52 whatever we need, Lord, pour it out, fill us with that 03:55 so we can hear and understand the truth 03:58 that will set us free, 04:00 free from the confusion of the world 04:02 that is trying put upon us. 04:05 And we ask You now to lead us and guide us in this wisdom, 04:10 and fill us as we feed on Your Word for the spirit to grow. 04:15 And we thank You. In Jesus' name, amen. 04:17 Amen. Amen, amen. 04:20 Well, we thank you. 04:21 You know, I asked one praise to figure out 04:26 what we should talk about during this time together. 04:29 The word "Forgiveness" came to my mind, 04:32 and the blessing of forgiveness, 04:34 you know, God for giving us, we forgiving others, 04:37 it's a blessing to us to forgive others, 04:38 and it's a blessing for them to be forgiven. 04:42 So we want to talk about these things, 04:45 that the Bible shows as concerning forgiveness 04:47 and how it has been a blessing to us, 04:50 and how important it is, 04:52 you know, this is something everyone needs in this world 04:56 because the Bible says in Romans 3:23, 04:59 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." 05:05 So we're going to talk about this in a moment, 05:06 but first, I want to spend a moment 05:08 to talk about as we said, 05:10 Family Worship, we talked about the word "Sabbath." 05:13 Where does this word "Sabbath" come from? 05:16 Sometimes you hear the Seventh-day Adventist 05:19 use the word "Sabbath," 05:20 but then someone that's not a Seventh-day Adventist 05:22 who used the word "Sabbath," 05:23 but they're talking about another day of the week, 05:26 the first day of the week. 05:27 But the Bible calls the seventh day, the Sabbath, 05:29 and this is what we find in the Book of Exodus 20. 05:36 And so we'd like to read that to you, Exodus 20:8-11. 05:41 And any one of us that finds it first 05:44 and would like to read it, just say, 05:47 "I have it, I'll read it", 05:48 and then we'll go from there. 05:51 Who would like to read for first? 05:54 I could do that. All right. 05:56 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 05:58 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work. 06:01 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 06:04 In it thou shalt not do any work, 06:06 thou, nor thy son, 06:08 nor thy daughter, thy manservant, 06:10 nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, 06:12 nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. 06:14 For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, 06:18 and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, 06:21 wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, 06:23 and hallowed it." 06:25 Amen. Thank you very much. 06:26 And so the first time actually the word "Sabbath" appears 06:30 in the Bible is in Exodus 16:23. 06:34 But the word "Sabbath," as you saw there in Exodus 20, 06:39 it identifies the seventh day as the Sabbath. 06:42 And how do we know which one is the Seventh-day? 06:44 Well, it's a... 06:46 We used to be able to say very easily, 06:48 "Go to the calendar." 06:50 In the calendar, you will find the Sabbath is the seventh day. 06:54 Well, some calendars are coming now, 06:56 they starts with Sunday, 06:57 because that's the first day you start working 06:59 or the first day you go to school. 07:01 Monday. Ah, Monday. 07:03 Yeah, the first day you go to school. 07:06 So Sunday, yes, Monday, this time with Monday, 07:10 very good, thank you so much. 07:11 So Monday, that will make Sunday the seventh day, 07:13 but is that really the Seventh-day? 07:15 Now you can go to the dictionary, 07:16 and there you'll find the word "Saturday" 07:20 or the word "Sabbath," 07:21 and then you will find that it is the seventh day. 07:23 And actually the word comes from the word, 07:25 Hebrew word which means "Shabbat," which means rest. 07:29 And so it originates in the Bible, 07:32 and it originates with God. 07:33 And it means, they rested, the time to rest. 07:37 So I see, you know, Joe would like to add something to that. 07:40 Well, having come from a Sunday keeping church, 07:45 I question this, of course. 07:48 And it's like you were saying a minute ago, Johnny, 07:51 the more we read, the more we learn, 07:54 the more beautiful it is, 07:55 and the more the truth is rich, and it's just a blessing. 08:00 So when I looked into this, 08:03 I realized that the seventh day God rested, 08:09 and He blessed it, and He hallowed it. 08:12 No other day, He hallowed one, said six days use your labor 08:16 and do all your work, the seventh is holy 08:19 because God hallowed it. 08:21 And that's that. 08:22 And then, you go on 08:24 and begin to realize that was almost 2,000 years 08:29 before there was a Jew. 08:30 That's right. 08:32 The Jewish people were not in existence yet, 08:33 so this was for all mankind. 08:36 And God says, "I change not. 08:38 I'm the same yesterday, today, and forever." 08:42 And in Isaiah 66, if you read, 08:44 you'll find that in the new earth, 08:46 we'll still be keeping the Sabbath. 08:48 Yes, yes. 08:49 So, I mean, it just gets more and more beautiful 08:52 as you study it. 08:54 There's little things in there that I love, 08:57 for example, it says, "Within thy gates." 09:00 Within thy gates, that means, 09:03 if I have a gas station on the corner, 09:06 and you have a gas station across the street from me, 09:09 it's my responsibility to rest on that day, 09:13 the holy day, the one and only holy day. 09:17 But it's not for me to say anything about you 09:20 if you work on that day, that's your choice not mine. 09:23 My business is within my gates, not your gates. 09:26 It's just so much in there, I love it. 09:28 Yes, that's right. Amen, amen. 09:30 You know, it's a blessing, the Sabbath is a blessing. 09:35 It is God's intention 09:36 that you'll be blessed during the Sabbath day. 09:38 And you look back all the way to Genesis, 09:42 it identifies all the way in Genesis 2 09:45 that the seventh day, 09:47 he set it aside, he sanctified it. 09:48 He sanctified the day for us, 09:51 it's the Sabbath was made for us, 09:54 for us to rest, and for us to connect with God 09:56 on a more deeper level. 09:58 'Cause during the other days of the week, 10:00 you're doing your activities 10:02 and you're doing this and you're doing that, 10:04 and you're very, very busy with the other things 10:07 that call your attention. 10:08 You may pray during the other days of the week, 10:11 you may stop during some course of the day to study the Bible. 10:16 But the seventh day, God says, 10:19 "Set this day aside, 10:20 it is sanctified, connect with Me." 10:23 Because there in the week, 10:25 I'll tell you some people, if there wasn't a break, 10:30 they would keep on going week after, 10:32 day after day and day after day and work for days, 10:35 who knows when those stop. 10:36 Yeah, I might try that. 10:38 You are one of those people. 10:40 I have the guilt. 10:43 One other thing that occurred to me was that... 10:47 Oh, forgot it, go ahead. 10:50 It will come to you. 10:51 But anyway the seventh day 10:53 is meant to be a blessing to us. 10:54 And this is why we have the Family Worship, 10:56 and we encourage you to enter into the Sabbath rest. 11:00 And as it says in Exodus 20, 11:02 stop your work and dedicate time with the Lord, 11:06 and with your family, 11:08 and really connect with the Lord. 11:11 So we're going to talk about the word "Forgiveness." 11:14 Forgiveness, the blessing of forgiveness. 11:16 So we need to define this thing. 11:19 What in the world is forgiveness? 11:21 And does anyone want to share something about that? 11:24 I looked up the definition, 11:27 but I chose the children's definition 11:30 'cause it's simple. 11:31 It's a little easier. So I'll share that. 11:33 Better for all of us then. 11:35 The definition of forgiveness 11:37 in that particular dictionary was, 11:39 "To cease, to feel resentment against an offender. 11:44 To stop feeling anger or hurt." 11:47 So that's a general idea. 11:49 Very good. 11:50 So is that something we need? 11:52 Oh, definitely. 11:53 In the way that we see forgiveness 11:57 from our human perspective is different, 12:01 it's different from the forgiveness 12:02 that we offer to each other 12:04 here like in a friendship setting 12:09 is different than the forgiveness that a judge will 12:15 offer to a person that has been convicted from a crime. 12:19 And it is also different. 12:23 It's like going in a different perspective 12:26 from the God's point of view. 12:29 It's so important to understand being forgiven 12:35 and forgive is part of our Christian experience every day. 12:42 I like to see forgiveness like restitution 12:48 because He always... 12:50 It starts from what God does to us. 12:53 And when God forgive us, 12:58 he give us something that we had lost. 13:00 We cannot do that among ourselves. 13:03 Yes. 13:05 If I offend John, he will say, 13:09 "Yes, I forgive you for what you did." 13:12 But that's the human's perspective. 13:15 And he will make me feel really good 13:18 because I am really... 13:20 I feel really bad for what I did to him. 13:22 He will come back and say I forgive you, 13:25 but still he cannot restore me completely. 13:28 God is the only one, the one who will restore me. 13:34 What I'm understanding you to say 13:35 is that there's like carnal forgiveness 13:38 between the people, flesh carnal 13:41 and then there's a spiritual forgiveness as well. 13:44 Yes, right that's what I think. 13:47 You know, it's very interesting that I was looking into a verse 13:51 and that is very powerful 13:55 and I'd like to read it to you is from Psalms 41. 13:59 Psalms 41, it's very interesting 14:00 how David looked at this. 14:02 And it struck me differently, 14:06 I don't know how many times I read this text before, 14:08 but here it is in Psalms 41:4, 14:14 and these are the words. 14:16 "I said, Lord, be merciful to me, 14:19 heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." 14:25 Now it's very interesting as you look at this, 14:28 the way the psalmist write to David, 14:30 says, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." 14:32 So he seems to have looked at sin 14:36 in some maladies, some sickness, 14:39 something he needed healing from. 14:41 And as you said, it's only God that can really forgive us, 14:47 and give us their healing that we need from sin 14:50 because sin is like a burden. 14:52 It is like a weight that we carry. 14:56 And I am so grateful to the Lord 15:00 that the Bible presents to us 15:04 a picture of our God, 15:08 the Creator God that is willing to forgive, wants to forgive. 15:12 And so one of the scriptures that comes to mind, 15:15 of course, is in Hebrews 4. 15:20 I like this passage of scripture 15:22 because it says so much to us. 15:26 So if anyone will like to read that. 15:30 Hebrews 4, perhaps reading in verse 14-16. 15:38 There you go, I have it. 15:39 "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest 15:43 who has passed through the heavens, 15:45 Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15:50 For we do not have a High Priest 15:52 who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 15:55 but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. 16:00 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, 16:04 that we may obtain mercy 16:06 and find grace to help in time of need." 16:10 Praise the Lord. 16:12 So we have before us a picture of a throne of grace. 16:18 And it says to come boldly. 16:20 I like to think of the word 16:22 "Confidence" there instead of the word "Boldly" 16:24 because our concept of boldly now is, 16:26 you stamp right in there demanding something. 16:30 But it is with confidence. 16:32 You come with confidence because the Bible tells us 16:34 that God so loved the world 16:36 that He gave His only begotten Son, 16:38 that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish 16:41 but have everlasting life. 16:43 It is God that loves us, so much, 16:45 so we can come with confidence that He loves us 16:48 and He's willing to forgive us. 16:50 Yes, yes. 16:52 That thing about His love really opened up to me one day 16:56 when I was reading that, the wages of sin is death. 17:03 And God is a just God who does not change. 17:09 There will be justice. 17:11 And if the wages of sin is death, 17:13 somebody has to pay. 17:15 That death is not going to change. 17:17 There's a price. 17:19 And the beauty of it suddenly occurred to me 17:21 that God Himself, 17:25 in His son having flesh, 17:28 paid that for us. 17:29 Amen. I mean it wasn't just somebody. 17:32 It wasn't a holy angel, it was God Himself who said, 17:37 "See Me, I am love. 17:39 I'm doing this for you, My children." 17:42 And boy, that really opened up an understanding 17:45 that brought me closer to God 17:48 that He wasn't going to strike me dead with fire 17:50 and all this other stuff, burn me in hell forever. 17:53 This was truly a loving God who said, 17:57 "I'll do this for you." 17:58 Because there's no greater love 18:00 than a man would lay down his life for a friend. 18:03 That's my God. 18:05 Amen. 18:06 I have some scriptures here that I like to read, 18:08 I know you have some too. 18:11 One, Luke 19:10, 18:12 "For the Son of Man has come to seek 18:15 and to save that which was lost." 18:18 Luke 19:10. 18:20 In 2 Peter 3:9, 18:22 again, it's an understanding here 18:26 of God's goodness and greatness, 18:28 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 18:31 as some count slackness, 18:33 but longsuffering toward us, 18:36 not willing that any should perish 18:38 but that all should come to repentance." 18:42 And so really when we come to the realization 18:46 that we have sinned, 18:47 that we have this sickness of sin in us, 18:51 and we want to be healed from it, 18:54 it is an evidence 18:55 that the Holy Spirit is working in our lives 18:57 because the Bible says, 18:58 "It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance." 19:01 Repentance, what is it that? 19:03 Repentance is sorrow for sin, 19:06 and a desire to separate yourself from it 19:11 or in other words, 19:12 you don't want to do that evil anymore. 19:15 And so it's sorrow for sin, 19:17 and a desire to turn away from sin. 19:20 That's why when you read about the John The Baptist, 19:23 it says, he's talking about the scribes and Pharisees 19:26 that were coming to him 19:28 and he said, "You brood of vipers." 19:32 He says, "Bring forth fruits, meat for repentance." 19:36 In other words, our actions have to speak of someone 19:41 that understands they need forgiveness, 19:44 and understands that you're coming 19:46 to the Lord to be forgiven. 19:48 Your fruits have to identify. 19:50 Your actions and your words 19:51 should identify with a desire to be forgiven. 19:54 It is not that, you know, we used the example of, 19:58 "Oh, you have a nice little piglet. 20:00 And boy that little piglet is so dirty. 20:03 Let's go clean him up." 20:05 And you... 20:06 you know, you get your best soap, 20:08 the best smelling soap, and you wash him, 20:10 and you put perfume on this little piglet, 20:13 and you even can put a nice little bow on it. 20:16 But as soon as you let him loose, what will happen? 20:19 He's going to go right back in there into the, 20:22 you know, the mud and all that that he loves to be in. 20:25 And so that is the difference 20:28 between a person that is truly repentant, 20:33 that truly desires to be forgiven, 20:36 and doesn't want to do that evil again. 20:38 I was reading a little story 20:40 where they were talking about repentance. 20:43 And the Bible teacher was talking to the kids 20:45 about repentance and all these, 20:48 and he asked one of the kids, 20:51 "So, little Freddie, do you understand repentance? 20:54 Are you now willing to forgive another boy that maybe, 21:00 hit you in the face 21:01 or maybe he said something to offend you, 21:03 you willing to forgive him?" 21:05 And he thought about it for a while, he says, 21:07 "Yeah, especially if he's bigger than me." 21:11 And so in other words, the idea of... 21:16 Sometimes people get stuck on the idea, 21:19 "Well, I did commit a sin." 21:21 I better ask God for forgiveness 21:22 because we fear the punishment, you see. 21:26 And so this little... 21:27 Like the idea of this little boy 21:29 willing to forgive somebody bigger 21:30 because if I don't, who knows what he will do to me again. 21:34 So God wants to lead us to repentance to the point 21:38 of that we don't want to do the evil anymore. 21:40 So that's why David says, "Heal me." 21:43 Because healing means 21:45 that you don't have that disease anymore. 21:47 Healing involves that you're free from the sickness of sin. 21:52 And so that's what God wants to do with us. 21:53 I don't know if you have any comments about that. 21:54 That's why I think the word "Restoration," 22:00 it helps you to understand forgiveness 22:02 because it's like a home... 22:06 When somebody find a home that is falling apart then he says, 22:10 "I'm going to restore this home. 22:11 I'm going to fix it, I'm going to fix it up 22:16 so we can or either live in the home 22:19 or sell it or whatever." 22:20 But then after a while, that home looks nothing like 22:23 it was in the condition that it was. 22:25 It's been restored. 22:27 Now if you take care of your home, 22:29 it can last for many, many years. 22:31 But if you don't take care of your home, 22:33 the home that was nicely restored now 22:35 is again could be falling apart. 22:37 So that's the way God restore us by forgiving us. 22:42 So that's why again I think that the forgiveness 22:47 that we do to each other, which is a mandate, 22:51 which we need to be able to forgive 22:54 in order to be forgiven is different 22:57 than the forgiveness from God 'cause He will store us. 23:01 He can make us new. 23:04 Not only we feel good about it, but He transform us. 23:10 And the forgiveness shouldn't stop there. 23:15 A change of action should follow. 23:18 Amen, amen. 23:20 I have another scripture that I like to share with you 23:21 and this one is from the Book of Micah, 23:24 and Micah 7. 23:27 And we're going to read two verses Micah 7. 23:33 It's this one of those little tiny books in the Bible. 23:39 So who would like to read it for us? 23:40 Micah 7:18, 19. 23:45 Somebody? 23:48 We have to find it first. 23:50 Chapter 7 you said. 23:52 Chapter 7 and verse 18, 19. 23:55 Says who... 23:57 18 and 19? 23:59 Yes. Yes. 24:00 "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity 24:04 and passing over the transgression 24:06 of the remnant of His heritage? 24:08 He does not retain His anger forever, 24:11 because He delights in mercy. 24:14 He will again have compassion on us, 24:16 and will subdue our iniquities. 24:19 You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." 24:24 Amen. 24:25 Now that's a lot to think about right there. 24:28 One, God delights in mercy. 24:31 And, you know, 24:36 when somebody takes out a loan, 24:39 the bank makes out a note, and he has that against you. 24:44 And as long as you take the pay, 24:47 that note is still against you there. 24:50 And once you pay it, you know, they sign this, 24:54 and you can tear it up if you want to, you can, 24:57 you know, burn it if you want to. 24:59 But the Bible says that God delights in mercy. 25:01 But not only that, it says that to help us understand 25:07 how far He goes, He says, 25:09 "I will cast all your sins into the depths of the sea." 25:12 That's pretty deep. 25:14 I don't know. 25:15 I think so far man or woman has not been able to go 25:21 to the deepest part of the sea without some help. 25:25 I think they have some little tiny submarines, 25:27 they go way down there 25:29 or some robotic type of machines. 25:31 And I think I've heard of the Marine Island somewhere 25:34 that is the deepest part of the ocean. 25:36 I didn't look to see how deep it is, 25:38 but nobody can go down there. 25:40 It's so, so deep. 25:41 And God wants to help us to tell us, 25:43 you know, that's how far 25:45 away from you I'm going to put these things. 25:47 Away from you. 25:48 And that's a marvelous, marvelous picture to consider. 25:50 Yeah, I can see how God feels though 25:52 if we don't accept that when we ask for it. 25:54 Oh, that's a good thought. 25:56 Give us a little more. 25:58 Well, God says, "Hey, I'm going 26:01 to cast your sins away, you know. 26:03 I'm faithful and just forgive those sins." 26:06 In so many ways, He says, "I do this. 26:08 Let Me do it, let Me do it." 26:09 So we come to Him and say, "Lord, you know, I've sinned, 26:13 I've said something bad, I've done something bad, 26:16 I've looked at something bad." 26:20 So tomorrow we come and then say, 26:21 "Lord, you know, I'm still feeling bad about this. 26:24 I've said, done, seen, whatever it was, 26:29 could you forgive me again?" 26:31 And then the next week, we do the same thing, the same thing. 26:33 God says, "But I forgave you. I give you My son." 26:36 And God says, "It's My good pleasure." 26:38 Jesus said, "The Father loves you." 26:41 I was just reading that this morning in my devotions. 26:44 It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 26:46 He wants to do these things. 26:48 Amen. 26:49 And, you know, sometimes I know I went through, 26:52 you know, in my journey, 26:54 times where I would confess the same thing again, 26:56 and again, and again, and then one day, I discovered, 26:58 you know, this is hostility against God. 27:01 This is what He says He's going to do, 27:02 now you don't trust Him to do that. 27:05 That is interesting. 27:06 Yes. 27:08 That's a real war 27:11 raging between Satan 27:15 trying to pull us away from God 27:18 where we have doubt, lack of faith, 27:21 impossible to please God without faith, 27:24 and we say, "Okay, I've asked forgiveness for this sin. 27:28 And I keep thinking about it over the weeks and months. 27:33 I think about that sin again, and it worries me, bothers me, 27:37 whatever, you know." 27:39 And the fact that we keep thinking back on a sinner, 27:43 a group of sins is like saying to God, 27:48 "You're a liar. 27:50 I don't feel forgiven. 27:53 I still have guilt." 27:55 And Satan is using that guilt as a weapon, 27:58 as a tool to separate us from God like a wedge. 28:03 He doesn't want us to feel comfortable in God's sight. 28:05 Yeah, even 28:07 if we do the same thing to a friend, 28:08 you know, if I accidentally hurt you 28:10 or even spare the thought to do something 28:14 that I really know I shouldn't have done, 28:16 and I said Joe, 28:17 you know, I made a mistake, I'm really sorry, 28:21 I offended you or hurt you whatever I did. 28:24 And I come to you again next week, 28:26 Joe, I'm really sorry. Joe, I'm really sorry. 28:30 Come on, Dan, I forgave you. 28:32 A lot of that. Yeah, exactly. 28:33 This is getting annoying. Exactly. 28:35 So we have to be careful 28:37 because guilt can actually put you 28:41 in a frame of mind that can cause illness. 28:44 Yes. Remember, illness? 28:46 Sin and illness, the physical 28:47 and the spiritual are tied together. 28:50 You remember, I think it's in Mark. 28:55 Somewhere in Mark 28:56 probably chapter 2, where Jesus'... 28:59 A fellow comes down through the ceiling, okay, 29:01 he comes through the roof, and they're going to heal him. 29:04 And I mean Jesus is thinking about how to go about it. 29:08 And this time He does it different. 29:10 Instead of saying you're healed, 29:12 pick up your bed and go, He says your sins are forgiven. 29:16 Yes. 29:18 And he knew 29:19 that that individual got his sickness 29:23 as the result of sin, 29:25 and knew that the sin was on him, 29:27 and he was burdened with that sin. 29:30 And Jesus was healing him where he needed it. 29:34 Forget the sin is forgiven. 29:36 I forgive you, your sin is gone. 29:38 And then there was healing of the flesh of the body. 29:43 And that's why we have the laying on of hands 29:46 and anointing with oil 29:48 because there is a connection there. 29:52 And it's a package. 29:54 And so when we don't let go of one, 29:56 the other seems to hang around. 29:59 That's right, that's right. 30:01 You know, it's something powerful to think 30:05 about the God is willing to forgive us that way, 30:08 to cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 30:10 And what we understand from the sanctuary service 30:13 is that eventually they will be blotted out, 30:16 completely erased to the point. 30:19 We do have in this world, while we are here, 30:22 this memory that we have and Satan does play with that. 30:28 He seems to want to bring to our attention, 30:32 "You are really bad. 30:33 Don't you remember what you did? 30:35 And remember what you said?" 30:37 Not only that, 30:40 and we'll talk about that in a moment. 30:41 He says, "Here comes so and so, 30:43 remember what he or she did to you?" 30:46 So he really worsen our minds to that point. 30:49 But you are saying 30:52 that when we ask God for forgiveness, 30:56 we should accept that forgiveness. 30:58 And somebody here quoted the scripture 31:00 or seemed to have quoted that, 31:01 "He is faithful, 31:03 and just to forgive us for our sins, 31:05 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 31:07 So he's faithful to do this, 31:09 then we must do our part to accept that 31:11 because if we keep coming to Him, 31:12 asking for forgiveness 31:14 for the same sin over and over again, 31:16 the same sin which we already asked for, 31:19 then we're not really believing that He's forgiving us. 31:22 And you're saying that's... 31:24 What was... 31:26 Hostility. Hostility against God. 31:28 That's a really strong word. 31:30 What would you say about that? 31:31 One thing that I dealt 31:33 with was when I'd hear the statements, 31:37 "He throws our sins in the depths of the sea, 31:39 and He removes our sins 31:41 as far as the east is from the west." 31:44 I thought about that and I kind of like it 31:46 because no matter where you stand on Earth, 31:50 if you start going and east, 31:53 you're going to go clear around the earth 31:55 and there's more east to go. 31:57 Yes. 31:58 So you're going to go forever and never ever get fully east 32:01 because there's always more to go. 32:03 So I'm thinking 32:04 that's how You're removing my sins from me. 32:07 Then I put it in to my own terms, 32:09 which helped me feel comfortable 32:11 to understand it more clearly, and that was this. 32:14 I said, okay, I'm seeing at this way. 32:17 When I ask forgiveness, 32:19 those sins that have been committed, 32:23 if there's a person involved, they may not forgive me, 32:26 that's irrelevant to me, that's their problem with God. 32:31 I have to put these in a file cabinet, 32:34 close the drawer, 32:36 turn the lock to leave it there in the depths of the sea, 32:41 and then I walk away, and I look to the future. 32:44 And in the future, there is no sin yet 32:47 because it hasn't had time to get here yet, 32:50 I haven't blemished it yet. 32:51 Now should I and I know I will because Satan will see to it. 32:55 Should I look back on the past and think, 32:58 "Well, there's a drawer full of stuff, 33:00 I'm not going to be specific and keep blaming myself about, 33:03 'Well, it was this way, and that way, 33:04 and some other way.'" 33:05 Forget all that. 33:07 I just know 33:08 there's a drawer full of garbage. 33:10 And here's the key that helped me, 33:13 if I go back there, 33:16 it's history, I can't change it. 33:19 So just leave it, quit worrying about it 33:23 'cause you can't go back and fix it, 33:25 just go forward and do better. 33:28 And that helped me. Amen, amen. 33:31 Now that is something that we must all come 33:36 to the point of accepting that, you know. 33:40 That is a fact, when we sin, 33:42 let's say we've committed a sin against somebody else, 33:47 you remember and I will call some, 33:50 a man of little stature. 33:52 And he invited Jesus to his home. 33:55 And while He was there, 33:57 there's no record of Jesus saying, 34:00 "Now, Zachariahs, 34:01 you really have to confess your sins." 34:04 But He decided, 34:07 "Lord," I'm making a change, 34:11 basically I'm paraphrasing, I'm making a change. 34:14 "I am going to give back that which I have stolen, 34:18 and to them I will give it", how much was it? 34:22 Four fold, four times 34:25 what he had taken from somebody. 34:26 So he was willing to make amends 34:30 and to give back let's say, 34:35 give back four times 34:37 that which he took from somebody without, 34:40 I mean, actually not fairly, 34:43 not what was the right thing to do. 34:46 There is a scripture that helps us with this. 34:50 And this is Ezekiel 33, I'm going to read. 34:54 Let's see here, let me see if I should read. 34:58 Here we go, verse 15. 35:00 "If the wicked restores the pledge, 35:03 gives back what he has stolen, 35:07 and walks in the statutes of life 35:09 without committing iniquity, 35:12 he shall surely live, he shall not die." 35:14 There's this aspect again of repentance. 35:17 You don't want to do the evil any more. 35:19 You give back what you stole, 35:22 and you walk in the right way, 35:25 you walk in the ways of the Lord. 35:27 He says, what happens? 35:28 You will live you, you will not die. 35:29 The wages of sin is death. 35:31 God is going to forgive you because you have restored. 35:35 So what we're trying to say here is 35:38 you cannot take the attitude of... 35:40 I'm going to use robbery as an example. 35:44 Let's say, you know, your neighbor has things 35:49 and you want them, 35:52 so every week you go into your neighbor's house 35:55 when he's not there, and you take up $1,000, 35:57 and you take it to your house, and you say, "Lord, forgive me. 36:00 I took a $1,000 from the neighbor." 36:03 And you keep it. 36:05 Next week, you again, and you take another $1,000. 36:08 "Lord, forgive me, 36:09 I took a $1,000 from the neighbor." 36:11 And again you keep it, you don't give it back. 36:13 So there's this aspect of, 36:16 "You must restore in so much as possible, 36:19 make amends for the wrong you have done 36:22 in so much as possible." 36:24 Make amends for the wrong you have done. 36:26 And so this is something that the Bible brings out, 36:29 that's why Zechariahs was reacting this way. 36:32 And so this is an aspect of asking God for forgiveness, 36:36 that there's a responsibility in our part. 36:39 We've done wrong to somebody, in so much as possible, 36:43 go to the person and say, 36:45 "I have done you wrong 36:47 and I'm asking for your forgiveness." 36:50 So if the person chooses not to forgive you, 36:53 if he forgave you, wonderful, you've restored a friendship. 36:57 But if he chooses not to forgive you 36:59 then what happens? 37:01 You're saying what? 37:03 You already said this. You put it in a drawer. 37:05 And you lock it up. 37:07 In other words, you're not supposed 37:08 to take it out anymore. 37:10 You're not supposed to dwell on it, 37:11 you're not supposed to suffer for it 37:12 because you've asked the Lord to forgive you, 37:15 and the Lord has forgiven you. 37:17 And there may be some repercussions 37:21 because that person may not trust you 37:22 as he used to trust anymore. 37:25 Yes. 37:28 Scripture says, "For if we sin willfully 37:31 after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, 37:35 there remains no more sacrifice for those sins." 37:39 So to take a thousand every so often and ask forgiveness... 37:43 And keep it. It's futile. 37:45 Because every time we break that law, 37:48 we're sacrificing Christ again. 37:50 He has to pay the price of that sin again, 37:52 and again, and again. 37:54 It's good advice right there. 37:58 If we know the truth, we need to walk in the truth, 38:01 and grow up, and mature, 38:03 come into the fullness of Christ. 38:05 We have to remember that, 38:06 in the beginning, the Father, the Son, 38:09 and the Holy Ghost said, 38:11 "Let us, make man in Our image." 38:15 God's image was holy, and sinless, 38:18 and so were Adam and Eve. 38:20 That's how we were made. Yes. 38:22 That's how we were supposed to spend eternity. 38:25 Satan snitched it away. 38:28 And what's happening is God is simply saying, 38:33 "I paid the ultimate price to redeem you, come home. 38:36 Quit sinning, come back." Amen. Amen to that. 38:39 All right. 38:41 It's interesting in the 2 Chronicles 7:14 38:45 and some other verses down. 38:48 It shows the same thing that we're being talking about, 38:51 the restoration of what God expects from us 38:55 when he ask for His forgiveness. 38:58 This has happened 38:59 after Solomon dedicated the temple. 39:02 Some of a high point 39:04 in Israel's, life. 39:09 He just finishes sacrifice, and fire came from heaven. 39:14 And they saw these, the people saw this event. 39:19 It was magnificent 39:21 and everybody was so willing to obey 39:25 and to go back and distort their waste. 39:29 And so God says, 39:33 "If my people..." 39:35 This is chapter 7:14. 39:37 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves 39:43 and pray and seek My face 39:45 and turn from their wicked ways, 39:48 then I will hear from heaven, 39:49 I will forgive their sin and heal their land." 39:53 And this is a beautiful passage 39:56 because it shows all the aspects of their life, 40:01 our life, our daily life. 40:04 It will improve 40:06 if we give our heart to the Lord 40:10 and then and we accept His forgiveness. 40:13 "If my people, who are called by My name, 40:15 will humble themselves and pray, 40:17 and seek my face 40:18 and turn from their wicked ways, 40:20 then I would from heaven, 40:22 and I will forgive their sin, and heal their land." 40:25 Amen, amen. 40:27 So again, there is the aspect of turning away from sins 40:31 and seeking the Lord. 40:36 Powerful, very powerful. 40:38 And so we should do this again but with some ladies present. 40:44 But there's this aspect of... 40:48 At least it's in my mind, 40:49 I don't know if it's in your mind that way. 40:51 And that is that it seems to be, 40:53 especially in certain relationships, 40:57 brother and sisters, 40:59 and I've heard among men and women, marital issues, 41:04 that seems to be harder for the man to say, 41:07 "I am really sorry. 41:09 I have said something I shouldn't have said 41:10 or I have done something I shouldn't have done. 41:12 And it seems to be harder for the man. 41:14 Why would this be the case? Why do you think that is? 41:17 Or is it that way or am I wrong? 41:24 Well, women are really nice people. 41:27 They forgive. 41:28 They forgive automatically, don't they? 41:31 Yes, that's right. 41:33 Well, you know, it's interesting 41:34 because when I was little and you have the... 41:38 You have issues with brothers and sisters, 41:43 there seemed to be a point in some time of our age 41:46 where it was like the first one to say I'm sorry, 41:49 you feel like you were the one at fault. 41:52 And so there was this idea of, 41:54 "I'm not doing it first, you know, he started it." 41:59 You know, this type of idea seems to go 42:03 into the adult life. 42:04 And man thinking, you know, pride or whatever, 42:09 something gets in the way, 42:10 and it seems that Satan works in the minds, 42:12 whether men or women, to say, 42:15 you know, to suggest in your mind, 42:19 "Let that person humble themselves. 42:21 Let that person come to me." 42:24 And that becomes a barrier for you 42:29 to be delivered from the weight that is there, 42:32 from the healing that you need. 42:34 You create this obstacle. The pride does this. 42:38 "Oh, no, they have to come to me. 42:41 They need to come to me, not I." 42:44 But that's not the way the Bible points out. 42:49 I think I remember a scripture that says, 42:51 "If you're at the altar 42:54 and you're offering your gift at the altar 42:56 and you remember 42:58 that your brother has something against you, 43:01 oh, leave your gift at the altar, 43:03 first be reconciled to your brother, 43:06 and then come 43:07 and offer your gift at the altar." 43:08 See there's this barrier again that we place 43:12 or something happens in the relationship. 43:15 So maybe we can transition 43:16 a little bit into us forgiving others 43:21 and we forgiving them. 43:23 Who would like to start with that one? 43:25 Well, that's been on my mind just now. 43:30 For people that have offended you 43:33 that don't realize it. 43:34 That's true, that's true. 43:35 I mean, there are a lot of people 43:37 who, you know, have... 43:40 I probably offended, maybe I should turn it around, 43:44 that, you know, I didn't even realize that, 43:46 I didn't really intend to, 43:48 maybe, you know, I'm thinking of, 43:52 you know, some instances in life 43:54 where there are people 43:55 that I still have to come in contact with or work 44:00 with or even perhaps live with that, 44:04 you know, have done something to offend me greatly. 44:07 And now, you know, I have to maintain 44:11 that forgiveness every day. 44:14 Let's say you're at work, and for some reason, 44:19 your number comes up, you have to be laid off, 44:22 and you don't feel 44:25 that you're particularly at fault, 44:27 but nonetheless, somebody else does. 44:30 These are still people that you work with. 44:34 You know, you weren't just a number at the company, 44:36 you were part of a team 44:39 and they let you go and yet you still, 44:41 you know, have to come in contact 44:43 with these people every day. 44:46 They don't feel any need on their part 44:50 to ask your forgiveness. 44:53 After all, that was their right to terminate you for, 44:57 whether it was a layoff or fired or whatever, 45:01 but you still have to go to church with them, 45:04 you still see them in the grocery store, 45:08 you know, and you realize that, 45:09 "Yes, that was their right to do 45:10 what they did, 45:12 but I still feel offended by that." 45:15 So dealing with that is, you know, I've discovered 45:18 that that's a challenge in life. 45:21 It is. It is. 45:22 It's a challenge. 45:24 I remember... 45:25 I don't know if anyone wants to comment about 45:27 that particular issue. 45:29 I remember, many years ago, 45:31 little over 20 years ago, a friend of mine, 45:34 I noticed that he was being very short with me 45:38 and seemed to be angry. 45:41 And I said, "Oh, I wonder why he's so angry. 45:43 Maybe he's having a bad day." 45:45 So I kind of gave him some space. 45:47 And the next day at work, the same type of reaction. 45:51 So I realized 45:53 that he must be angry about something. 45:54 So I had to ask him, you know, 45:58 "Craig, you seem to be upset. 46:03 I'm sorry, is there something I did wrong?" 46:05 You know what you did. 46:08 He was really upset, 46:10 and I had to stop and ask myself, 46:12 "What did I do?" 46:14 I couldn't think of anything. 46:15 So I said, "Could you please help me out 46:16 because I don't know what it was?" 46:19 And eventually, he said, "Well, you said this and this. 46:24 And that means this and this to me." 46:27 I said, "Oh, I'm really sorry. I had no idea. 46:32 I didn't intend to offend you in any way." 46:35 You know, I had to say I'm sorry 46:38 because things like that happen. 46:41 You may offend somebody by something you said 46:44 and people have histories, 46:46 you know, people have histories, 46:48 things that have happened to them. 46:50 I know there are people 46:51 that maybe when they were younger, 46:52 they were made fun of for certain reasons 46:56 and you may say something 46:57 that may trigger those memories. 46:59 So many different things could happen 47:01 that you may, 47:03 as you say inadvertently, offend someone. 47:06 And at that point, 47:09 there needs to be some restoration 47:10 and reconciliation taking place. 47:13 And I find in 1 Corinthians... 47:17 No, 2 Corinthians 5 that we have been given 47:19 the ministry of reconciliation. 47:21 Oh, that's a good one. Yes. 47:24 And there's another aspect of this sometimes. 47:28 We may think 47:31 that we are such good people, 47:34 "Why would I need to be forgiven?" 47:36 And especially when we talk about forgiveness from God. 47:38 And I know that, Joe, you're going to present us 47:40 a very good point, 47:42 maybe going to the other extreme, 47:45 but sometimes many people say, 47:48 "I am basically a good person," right? 47:51 Yeah. Yeah. 47:52 "Why do I need forgiveness from God? 47:54 I haven't done anything wrong." 47:57 But the truth of the matter is that we have all... 48:00 the Bible says that all of us have sinned. 48:03 That's right. 48:04 And we're deprived from the glory of God, 48:10 from being on God's side. 48:14 So it's good to go back and read 48:18 and find in the Bible the most important reason 48:24 why we really, really need God's forgiveness. 48:28 I met... 48:29 When I first came into the Adventist church, 48:32 there was an elder, who was a teacher, 48:35 who was teaching the adult Sabbath school class. 48:39 And per chance, one morning 48:42 he said that he was a pretty good guy, 48:47 that he had never committed any major sins that, 48:50 you know, just little things. 48:54 And so I rambled with that a little bit 48:56 and I came to the conclusion 48:58 that if nobody on earth ever sinned except him, 49:03 and it was a tiny sin, 49:06 Jesus would have had to die to pay for it. 49:08 That's right. Wow, yes. 49:09 That's powerful. Very powerful, yes. 49:12 And that reminds me of something else 49:14 that I think is kind of important to consider, 49:16 and that is the unforgivable sin. 49:20 You've heard that. 49:21 And of course, there are people I've talked with that 49:25 are just convinced 49:27 they've committed the unforgivable sin 49:30 and they're done, they might as well go out 49:32 and just terrorize the world 49:34 because it makes no difference. 49:36 And so I took a close look in the gospel, 49:39 you know, there are several places 49:40 in the gospels where it's mentioned. 49:43 And this particular one is Mark 3:28, 29. 49:48 If you want to turn there. This is interesting. 49:50 If you break it down, if you listen carefully 49:52 to the little words, 49:54 it's all there, it answers itself. 49:58 And I needed to know this. 50:01 And it says, "Verily I say unto you..." 50:03 God is speaking, He says, 50:05 "Verily I say unto you, 50:06 All sin shall be forgiven." 50:11 Now if we go a little further, it says, 50:13 "All sin and blasphemies," 50:16 and it says plural, blasphemies. 50:19 "All sin and all blasphemies where with so ever." 50:25 I don't care who, where, when, or how, so ever. 50:28 You're reading from Mark? Mark 3:28. 50:32 Okay, thank you. 50:34 And it's talking about all possibilities. 50:37 It says, "I say unto you, all sin shall be forgiven." 50:43 Sin, blasphemies, 50:46 no matter what kind they shall be. 50:49 Now in the next verse, listen to this. 50:52 It says, "But he that shall blaspheme 50:56 against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness." 50:59 In other words, never. 51:03 You will not be forgiven. 51:04 Now that sounds like God's confused. 51:08 You know, He's saying one thing in one verse 51:09 and something else in another verse. 51:11 But I found long ago 51:13 that if God says both, He means both. 51:16 And we have to figure it out. 51:19 It says, "If you blaspheme against the Holy Ghost," 51:22 this is verse 29 now, 51:24 "If you blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath 51:26 never forgiveness, but is in danger of..." 51:30 Now if you look at those three words "in danger of," 51:35 that doesn't mean it's a sealed deal. 51:38 You're in danger, 51:40 you might have eternal damnation. 51:43 But it doesn't say "you have to." 51:46 "In danger of." 51:48 So now if you consider the definition of blasphemy, 51:53 listen to this now... 51:56 Blasphemy is speech injurious is to divine majesty, 52:00 speaking evil of God. 52:02 And it says blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is regarded 52:05 as a continued 52:08 and obstinate rejection of the gospel of salvation 52:12 through Christ 52:14 and hence is an unpardonable sin simply 52:18 because as long 52:20 as a sinner remains in unbelief 52:24 that he can be forgiven, 52:26 he voluntarily excludes himself from pardon. 52:30 If you deny God, if you deny Jesus, 52:32 if you deny sin, if you deny forgiveness, 52:35 then you don't get it. 52:37 And the easiest way 52:38 I can explain that would be with... 52:41 If I offer you, Johnny, a $50 bill. 52:44 And I say, "Johnny, if you take this from my hand, 52:46 you own it, it's yours. 52:47 I don't want it back." That's forgiveness. 52:51 And you say, "I don't believe you. 52:53 I don't want it." 52:54 And so I walk away with my $50 bill 52:56 and you rejected forgiveness. 52:58 You rejected the $50 bill. 53:00 I don't get the benefit of the $50. 53:01 That's right. 53:02 But I tell you, it's always available 53:04 if you should decide you want it. 53:07 So a week later, you come back and you say, 53:09 "Hey, Joe, that $50 bill still available to me?" 53:13 All of a sudden, the unforgivable sin, 53:16 because you changed your mind, 53:20 is now forgivable and you can have it. 53:24 So it is an unforgivable sin 53:25 as long as you don't want forgiveness, 53:28 you are not going to have any. 53:31 Now does that make sense 'cause it does to me? 53:34 Thank you very much. 53:36 You want to say something, add something? 53:37 It's a new perspective on that, 53:39 I guess, others that I've heard. 53:45 A new explanation maybe I should say. 53:47 Not really a perspective but clarification. 53:51 And so you have heard 53:53 then that it is a persistent rejection 53:58 over and over and over again to the Holy Spirit's call 54:01 to repent and ask God for forgiveness. 54:03 I guess you wanted to... 54:05 That came from Greek. I looked it up. 54:06 The original words "blasphemy" and the definition of it. 54:09 So that's what I got. Okay, very good. 54:11 So the person that continues to reject God's call to repent, 54:18 then he cannot be forgiven 54:20 because he never asks for forgiveness. 54:22 And with the time we have remaining, 54:25 perhaps we can share what has God... 54:29 First question, what does God's forgiveness means to you? 54:32 And then, what can you say to somebody 54:35 so they will ask the Lord to forgive them? 54:38 We'll start with Joe. 54:40 You have to be brief because we have short time. 54:44 Go to the foot of the cross and see the love. 54:47 The wages of sin is death, and He said, "Let me pay it." 54:51 All we have to do is believe it and accept it and thank Him. 54:55 Amen, amen. Dan? 54:58 Well, forgiveness is the opportunity for me 55:01 to exchange my guilt, 55:03 which we've already said can cause physical sickness, 55:07 disease, ailments, 55:11 just general unhappy life for happiness, and health, 55:16 and confidence in God. 55:20 Amen 55:22 And... 55:23 Yes. 55:24 I keep saying this, but the idea 55:27 of when you receive forgiveness, 55:31 you receive this new paintjob, this new... 55:35 this restoration of your house. 55:38 And it looks so good, why don't you keep it? 55:40 Why don't we keep it? Why don't we keep it that way? 55:43 And that's why I like 55:45 that verse from 2 Chronicles, 55:49 "If my people call my name, 55:53 I'll restore them." 55:56 That's is our goal, to keep that restoration work alive. 56:01 Amen. Amen. 56:03 Well, I'd like to finish with Isaiah 55, 56:07 and going to read verse 6 and 7. 56:09 And the Bible tells us, it's a message from the Lord, 56:12 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, 56:15 call upon Him while He is near. 56:19 Let the wicked forsake his way, 56:21 and the unrighteous man his thoughts, 56:25 and let him return to the Lord, 56:28 and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, 56:31 For He will abundantly pardon." 56:34 Isaiah 55:6, 7. 56:37 And so I would like to encourage you 56:40 to seek the Lord while He may be found, 56:42 call upon Him while He is near. 56:44 And this is a message that we want to leave with you. 56:47 God is near, God wants to forgive you. 56:49 If you are carrying a load of guilt 56:51 because you look at your life 56:53 and there's a stain with sin, horrific sin, 56:57 terrible things you have done 56:59 or said to injure yourself or someone, 57:02 God is saying, 57:04 "Come to Me, ask forgiveness, and I will forgive you." 57:08 And it says here, "He will abundantly pardon." 57:10 So I encourage you, 57:11 take this opportunity to go to the Lord 57:14 and leave the weight of guilt there 57:17 because Jesus died on the cross 57:20 to make possible forgiveness of all your sins. 57:24 So I encourage you to do that. 57:26 And when you do this, 57:27 you will begin to have peace and happiness 57:30 that begins in this world and continues forever. 57:33 Happy Sabbath. God bless you. 57:34 Amen. |
Revised 2018-06-18