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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: And good morning to you. 00:37 Welcome to another edition of the Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:39 It is such a nice day to be able to get together, to be able to 00:42 study God's Word. 00:44 I trust that you are having a good day so far, and I know that 00:47 if you invest the next hour with us and with this program, that 00:50 you will be even more blessed, as we continue to study the 00:53 great promise that God has given to us in his overall covenant, 00:57 that he has given throughout history, 00:59 since the fall into sin. 01:01 And then as we also look at the different covenants that God has 01:05 presented that through and to today, looking at lesson number 01:08 six, which is Abraham's seed. 01:12 And so as many of us know, Abraham is the great patriarch 01:15 of the faith. 01:16 He goes back the furthest, as far as one of God's most 01:19 prominent people since the flood, and we are continuing to 01:23 go through a very, very powerful quarterly study, entitled, 01:26 "The Promise: God's Everlasting Covenant." 01:29 If you don't have a copy of the Sabbath School Quarterly, make 01:32 sure that you get a copy. 01:34 If their local Seventh Day Adventist Church is open and go 01:37 and visit that local Seventh Day Adventist Church. 01:39 I know that many of them have them. 01:41 They'll be happy to give you a free copy for you 01:42 to be able to use. 01:44 And if you also go and Google that online--I know that more 01:49 than once I've also found different resources online that 01:52 offer that in a digital format for free. 01:54 So, please take advantage of that, as we look at it here 01:57 again, today. 01:58 Before we look into our worship in song, I also want to offer 02:03 you a free gift offer that we always have available in 02:07 different forms, as we get together to study during the 02:10 Sabbath School Study Hour. 02:12 Today is one of the most powerful classics of the past. 02:15 It's called "Alone in the Crowd," by Pastor Joe Crews. 02:18 And if you'd like to receive a free copy of this, and you are 02:21 in the United States or--in this case actually--in North America, 02:26 you can go ahead and dial 866-788-3966. 02:32 That's 1-866-788-3966 or 1-866-Study-More. 02:38 Now, when you go and dial in for that, the easiest way to be able 02:42 to get this free offer is to ask the servant or agent that will 02:46 be answering there. 02:47 The number is 714. 02:50 That's offer number 714. 02:53 Now, I know that a lot of us are looking for digital copies of 02:57 our different literature today, and we like to read from our 03:00 phone or tablets, our computers and such. 03:02 In that case, go ahead and text the word SH004, and you want to 03:08 text that to the number 40544. 03:12 Now, that is only available in the United States right now. 03:16 If you, again, go to the Amazing Facts website and search around 03:19 a little bit, you can also find that free digital copy 03:22 available, if you're in different countries 03:24 of the world. 03:26 Well, with that being said, before we open up with prayer 03:28 and invite our teacher out here today, we want to invite our 03:31 musicians out, as we worship the Lord in song. 03:37 ♪♪♪ 03:47 ♪♪♪ 03:49 ♪ My heart can sing when I pause to remember. ♪ 04:00 ♪ A heartache here is but a stepping stone. ♪ 04:09 ♪ Along the trail that's winding always upward. ♪ 04:18 ♪ This troubled world is not my final home. ♪ 04:27 ♪ But until then, my heart will go on singing. ♪ 04:37 ♪ Until then, with joy I'll carry on, ♪ 04:45 ♪ until the day my eyes behold the city, ♪ 04:53 ♪ until the day God calls me home. ♪ 05:04 ♪♪♪ 05:06 ♪ The fields of earth will dim and lose their value, ♪ 05:15 ♪ if we recall they're borrowed for just a while. ♪ 05:23 ♪ And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble, ♪ 05:31 ♪ remember there will only bring a smile. ♪ 05:39 ♪ But until then, my heart will go on singing. ♪ 05:47 ♪ Until then, with joy I'll carry on, ♪ 05:54 ♪ until the day my eyes behold the city, ♪ 06:03 ♪ until the day God calls me home. ♪ 06:12 ♪♪♪ 06:15 ♪ But until then, my heart will go on singing. ♪ 06:23 ♪ Until then, with joy I'll carry on, ♪ 06:31 ♪ until the day my eyes behold the city, ♪ 06:39 ♪ until the day ♪ 06:43 ♪ God calls me home. ♪♪ 06:55 Shawn: I want to invite you to close your eyes, as we bow 06:57 our heads and pray. 06:58 Father in heaven, this morning we are thankful to be able 07:00 to come together. 07:02 We are thankful for your Bible, that you give us the Word of 07:05 Truth, that you have not left us to our own, but you desire for 07:09 us to be able to understand the great love and promises 07:12 that you have towards us. 07:14 And God, today, as we come together to open your Bible and 07:17 look at this great promise that you gave to Abraham, that even 07:19 extends to us, want to pray, God, that your Holy Spirit will 07:24 guide us and lead us and help us to understand. 07:28 Please bless our teacher today, as Pastor Rod is going to be 07:30 presenting your Word. 07:32 You know the time that he's spent with you, both on his 07:35 knees and in your Word. 07:37 And Father, we want to pray that all of that hard work in the 07:40 service today will help us to better understand your Word. 07:43 In Jesus' name, we pray these things. 07:45 Amen. 07:49 Rod Thompson: Good morning, everyone. 07:51 Happy Sabbath. 07:54 Have you been blessed by the quarterly that we've been in, 07:59 the promises, the covenants of God, this plan of salvation. 08:05 I have truly been blessed. 08:07 And today, we have an amazing topic to talk about, 08:12 "Abraham's Seed." 08:15 It is a powerful lesson. 08:18 And I don't know about you. 08:21 I don't know if your mind works the way mine does, but when I 08:24 hear that statement, "Abraham's Seed," it immediately comes 08:29 to my mind, "Who is that?" 08:32 Right? Who is Abraham's seed? 08:36 Well, we want to answer that question today. 08:40 But before we can answer that question, we've got to ask 08:43 another question, and that is 08:46 "Who is Israel?" 08:50 Who is Israel? 08:51 Well, you remember that there was a man in the book of 08:54 Genesis, in the Old Testament, by the name of Jacob, and Jacob 08:58 is the son of Isaac, and Isaac is the son of Abraham, 09:03 and Abraham is the father of the Jews. 09:06 And the name Jacob means deceiver. 09:10 I love that the names of the people in the land of Israel, 09:14 that their names have meaning, and Jacob means deceiver. 09:19 And Jacob truly lived up to his name, didn't he? 09:22 He deceived his brother out of his birthright, and then he 09:27 deceived or tricked his father into giving him the blessing. 09:31 Now, Jacob and Esau were brothers. 09:33 They were twins. 09:35 But Esau was the firstborn, and so he was entitled 09:39 to the family blessing. 09:41 He was to receive the rights of the firstborn, but Jacob tricked 09:47 him out of that, deceived him out of that, and then he 09:50 deceived his father, Abraham. 09:53 And you see in the picture there on the screen that Jacob had 09:58 something funny on his hand. 10:00 He took some goat skin, and he put it on his hand, because his 10:05 brother was very hairy. 10:07 And at this point, Isaac was losing his eyesight. 10:11 He couldn't see very well. 10:13 And so the idea was, when his father would feel that, he would 10:17 think that it was Esau and give him the blessing. 10:20 And guess what? 10:22 The trickery worked. 10:24 In fact, in Genesis chapter 27, verse 36, Esau was so mad, 10:30 he said, "Is he not rightly called Jacob?" 10:35 Because Jacob means deceiver. 10:37 Well, the deception cost Jacob a lot, because Jacob had to flee 10:42 from his home, because his brother, Esau, 10:45 was very upset with him. 10:47 He was considering killing him, and so Jacob had to run away, 10:51 and he never got to see his mother alive again. 10:55 But Jacob ran away, and he went to his Uncle Laban, who was a 10:59 bit of a deceiver himself, wasn't he? 11:02 Jacob fell in love with Laban's daughter, and he wanted to marry 11:06 her, but on the wedding day his father-in-law tricked him, 11:11 deceived him, and he married the oldest daughter, Leah. 11:14 And so now he says, "Well, I'll give you Rachel, but you've got 11:19 to give me more years of service." 11:21 And then the two wives ended up giving him a couple of their 11:25 handmaids, and so there was some polygamy going on here, 11:29 and Jacob had many children from them. 11:33 They became a blended family. 11:35 But eventually the time came when Jacob was impressed by God 11:40 to return to the land of his birth and to be reunited with 11:45 his brother Esau. 11:47 And as they are on the journey and going, they get to the point 11:51 where the next day Jacob is going to meet his brother, 11:54 and he is not certain whether or not his brother 11:58 has truly forgiven him. 11:59 And so he's afraid. 12:01 He sends the family ahead, and he is alone by himself one 12:05 night, and he begins wrestling with a man. 12:10 And he thought that this man was one of maybe his brother's men, 12:16 and he was fighting for his life. 12:18 And he began to fight all through the night, 12:22 wrestling with this man. 12:23 The Bible says the angel of the Lord. 12:27 And it came about morning, just when the sun was about to break, 12:32 and the man touched him on his hip, and his hip was immediately 12:36 put out of place, and Jacob realized that he was not 12:40 wrestling with an ordinary man, but he was wrestling 12:44 with the Lord. 12:45 So, now he really began to wrestle, not to get away this 12:48 time, but this time he was holding on. 12:51 Because if this was the Lord, he needed assurance. 12:55 He needed a blessing. 12:57 And so he held on, and he said to the Lord, "I will not let you 13:02 go until or unless you bless me." 13:07 And, in fact, the Lord did bless him, and Jacob received a new 13:12 name, and that new name was Israel, which means overcomer or 13:18 someone who has been victorious. 13:21 And so Israel is the spiritual name that was given to the 13:25 father of the nation of Israel, and Jacob had 12 sons, and they 13:32 became the sons of Israel, and eventually they became the 13:36 fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel that we know as the 13:41 nation of Israel, over there in the Middle East, in Palestine. 13:46 And the Bible says in Genesis 32:28, "Your name shall no 13:51 longer be called Jacob, but Israel." 13:56 Now, the New Testament makes a distinction between Israel 14:01 and his children. 14:03 I want to show you that. 14:05 Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 9, 14:09 Romans chapter 9. 14:12 The Apostle Paul is speaking to the church in Rome. 14:17 He's speaking to us, and notice what he says, 14:20 starting in verse 1. 14:22 Paul says, "I tell you the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my 14:25 conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that 14:28 I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 14:32 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my 14:36 brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh, who are 14:40 Israelites to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the 14:43 covenants, the giving of the Law, the service of God, and the 14:46 promises of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the 14:50 flesh, Christ came, who is over all the eternally 14:53 blessed God, amen. 14:55 But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect, 14:59 for they are not all," what? 15:04 "They are not all Israel, who are of Israel, nor are they all 15:09 children because they are the seed of Abraham, but in Isaac 15:13 your seed shall be called, that is those who 15:16 are the children of the flesh. 15:19 These are not what? 15:22 These are not the children of God, but the children of the 15:26 promise are counted as the seed." 15:31 So, here we see the Apostle Paul telling us that they are not all 15:37 Israel, who are of Israel. 15:41 There's the Israel of the flesh, and then he also speaks of the 15:46 children of promise, and he refers to the children who come 15:52 by Isaac as the children of the promise. 15:55 And I want you to notice something that Jesus says in 15:59 John chapter 8, verse 39. 16:02 He says, "If," and he's talking to the Pharisees that have been 16:07 questioning him. 16:09 He says, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works 16:15 of Abraham. 16:17 In other words, what he is saying to them is, "You must not 16:20 be Abraham's children; because if you were Abraham's children, 16:25 then you would be doing the things, or you would be doing 16:28 the works of Abraham." 16:31 In another place, in John chapter 1, verse 47, when Jesus 16:36 was looking, he saw Nathanael coming and he said, 16:42 "Behold an Israelite indeed." 16:46 Or in other words, an Israelite in truth, or a true Israelite. 16:53 In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 18, Paul says, 16:57 "Observe Israel after the flesh." 17:00 And I ask you the question, why did Paul 17:04 have to qualify his statement? 17:06 Or why did he have to say, "Observe Israel 17:08 after the flesh"? 17:11 Well, I'll tell you why. 17:12 Because there are two Israels. 17:16 Notice in Galatians chapter 6, verse 14 through 16. 17:20 It says, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross 17:24 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been 17:28 crucified to me, and I to the world. 17:32 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision," that's the Jews, 17:36 "nor uncircumcision," that's the Gentiles, "avails anything, but 17:42 a new creation. 17:45 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be 17:48 upon them, and upon," who? 17:52 "Upon the Israel of God," which is a different group of people 17:58 than Israel of the flesh. 18:00 You have the Israel of the flesh, those who are of the 18:04 genealogy, those who are of the heredity of Abraham, and then 18:09 you have the Israel of God, who are the descendants 18:13 of Abraham's faith. 18:16 In other words, both Jew and Gentile, who have faith in Jesus 18:21 Christ, they are the Israel of God. 18:25 And he makes that point in Romans chapter 9, which we just 18:29 read, which says, "For they are not all Israel." 18:33 That is they are not all the Israel of God, who are of the 18:38 nation, the lineage, the flesh of Israel. 18:42 That's pretty revealing, isn't it? 18:45 It says, not everyone who is a descendant of Abraham is 18:50 actually a true Israelite. 18:54 The Bible reveals that there are two Israels. 18:57 Did you catch that? 18:59 Two Israels. 19:00 I want you to notice in Romans 2, verse 28, that it says, "He 19:05 is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision 19:11 that which is outward in the flesh." 19:13 In other words, you are not necessarily an Israelite if you 19:18 have the genes of Abraham, or if you are of the heredity. 19:24 There is the Israel in the flesh, that is those who are of 19:28 the genealogy of Abraham, those over there in the Middle East, 19:32 in the land of Palestine. 19:34 And then Romans 2:28 continues. 19:37 He says, "But he is a Jew who is one," what? 19:41 "--inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart." 19:46 You see, all through the New Testament, Paul reveals that 19:50 there are two Israels. 19:53 There's the Israel of the flesh over there, who believe that 19:57 they receive the promises of God, simply because they were of 20:01 the heredity of Abraham, and then there is Israel of the 20:05 spirit, or spiritual Israel, those who believed like Abraham 20:11 believed, those who have the faith of Abraham, 20:14 not necessarily the genes of Abraham. 20:18 And so I have a question for you. 20:20 To which of the two Israels are the promises of God made? 20:27 To the Israel in the flesh or spiritual Israel? 20:34 Well, in order to answer that question, we need to understand 20:38 a prophecy that is so amazing and so clearly shows that Jesus 20:44 is the Messiah that the Jewish rabbis put a curse on anyone who 20:51 would attempt to determine its meaning. 20:54 Because remember, the Jews do not consider Jesus 20:57 to be the Messiah. 20:59 But this so perfectly addresses the fact that he is, that they 21:04 wrote this in Talmudic law. 21:09 "May the bones of the hands and the bones of the fingers decay 21:12 and decompose of him who turns the pages of the book of Daniel, 21:16 to find out the time of Daniel 9:24-27, and may his memory rot 21:23 from off of the face of the earth forever." 21:26 That's a pretty strong curse, isn't it? 21:28 They don't want anyone looking into Daniel chapter 9, 21:32 verse 24 to 27. 21:35 And you'll remember--you know, I don't believe in coincidences, 21:40 do you? 21:42 I think it's perfect timing, on behalf of God, that we would 21:46 have this study of Abraham's seed today, as we have been 21:51 going through this "Seven Deadly Myths" Bible Study 21:56 with Scott Ritsmah. 21:57 And you'll remember on the first night that he talked 21:59 about this prophecy. 22:02 It's called the 70-week prophecy of Daniel chapter 9. 22:06 And then he talked about it again last night. 22:08 Now, I don't want to go through the whole thing, but I do want 22:11 to do a little bit of a review of this. 22:15 They were given the command to restore and build Jerusalem. 22:21 That was to be the indication of the beginning of the 70-week 22:26 prophecy, which was cut off from the larger 2300-day prophecy. 22:31 And there were actually three decrees that went out. 22:35 You'll remember that Israel was taken captive to Babylon, but 22:39 then Babylon was overtaken by the Medes and the Persians, and 22:43 it was the first king of the Medes and Persians, Cyrus, who 22:48 made the first decree to let them go back to Israel and to 22:52 start building the walls and to rebuild the temple. 22:56 And then the second decree was essentially the same thing 23:00 reiterated by King Darius, and it wasn't until Artexerxes made 23:05 the decree that they could both build and restore, and that was 23:10 when he allowed them to go back and set up magistrates and 23:16 judges to have their own civil government. 23:20 So, now this third decree is the one that actually fulfills the 23:24 prophecy, where they could restore to their own government. 23:28 They could be once again a sovereign nation. 23:31 And you go back and you look at Ezra chapter 7, and you'll see 23:36 that decree. 23:37 And you look at history, and you'll see that that was in 457 23:41 BC that that command was given, and it was a 70-week prophecy. 23:46 So, if you take 70 weeks times 7 days in a week, that's 490 days. 23:52 But as Scott was talking about, over the first day and then last 23:56 night in this new Bible series, "Seven Deadly Myths," you saw 24:00 that the days actually, in Bible prophecy, equal a year. 24:07 And he took us into Numbers and Ezekiel. 24:09 And so that's 490 years. 24:12 And the command was that there would be 7 weeks and 62 weeks. 24:17 And then what would happen? 24:20 Messiah the Prince would show up, right? 24:23 So, 69 weeks into the 70-week prophecy, Jesus would show up. 24:30 And it's very interesting that Jesus, at his baptism, he became 24:37 anointed with the Holy Spirit, right? 24:39 That's what Messiah means, the Anointed One. 24:43 And the Bible tells us that it was in the 15th year of the 24:49 reign of Tiberias Caesar. 24:51 And you go back in history and look at that, and you'll see 24:53 that that was 27 AD. 24:56 Friends, Jesus was anointed right on time. 25:01 But that leaves one more week into the prophecy, and that 25:07 prophecy told us in Daniel chapter 9, that in the middle of 25:10 that week, the Messiah would be cut off, but not for himself. 25:15 And we know that 3 1/2 years into that last 7 years, that 25:21 Jesus died on the cross, that he confirmed a covenant with many, 25:26 and he put an end to sacrifices and oblations. 25:31 And so we see that that perfectly fits, that Jesus is, 25:36 in fact, the Messiah. 25:39 But in Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, it says, 25:42 "Know and understand the vision." 25:45 Right? 25:47 That there were 70 weeks determined for you 25:50 and your people. 25:51 Now, Daniel was a Jew, and so this 70-week prophecy 25:57 is a probationary period for the children of Israel. 26:03 And what were they to do in that probationary period? 26:07 They were to finish the transgression. 26:11 They were to make an end of sin. 26:13 They were to make reconciliation for iniquity. 26:16 They were to seal up the vision and prophecy. 26:19 And they were to anoint the most holy place. 26:22 Now, I have a question for you. 26:23 Did they, in fact, fulfill the conditions 26:28 of the 70-week prophecy? 26:31 Did they finish the transgression? 26:33 Did they make an end of sin? 26:36 Well, not as a nation they didn't, right? 26:41 But the 70 weeks were fulfilled in who? 26:46 In Jesus Christ, that's right. 26:48 He finished the transgression. 26:50 He put an end to sin. 26:51 He made reconciliation for iniquity. 26:54 He sealed up the vision and prophecy. 26:57 And when he returned to heaven, he anointed the most holy place. 27:01 The 70-week prophecy was fulfilled in the person of Jesus 27:06 Christ, who became the new Israel, 27:09 the overcomer on our behalf. 27:13 He is the spiritual Father of Israel. 27:16 He is the true Israel and the seed of Abraham, and that's why 27:20 the Bible says in Galatians chapter 3, verse 29, "And if you 27:25 are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed." 27:30 So, I ask you the question again. 27:32 To which of the Israels are the prophecies of the Bible 27:36 pertaining to, and to which Israel are the promises made? 27:41 Literal Israel or spiritual Israel? 27:45 Well, we have already seen, haven't we, that Jesus is the 27:49 only one who fulfilled the conditions. 27:52 Now, let's look for a moment with our spiritual glasses on at 27:57 the nation of Israel. 27:59 When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God raised up a 28:05 man by the name of Moses. 28:07 And you'll remember that Moses killed one of the Egyptians, and 28:10 then he fled into the wilderness, and he was gone 28:12 for 40 years. 28:14 But then you remember in Exodus chapter 4, verse 22, that God 28:19 said to Moses, "You shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, 28:24 Israel is my son, my firstborn.'" 28:29 So, here we see that, "Israel is my son, he is my firstborn." 28:35 In Psalm chapter 80, verse 8, it says, 28:37 "Thou hast brought a," what? 28:41 "--a vine out of Egypt. 28:43 Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it." 28:46 So, here we see that Israel is a vine out of Egypt. 28:50 In Isaiah chapter 49, verse 3, it says, "And he said to me, 28:54 'You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'" 29:00 So, here we see that Israel is called "My servant." 29:06 In Isaiah chapter 42, verse 1, it says, "Behold My Servant, 29:10 whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom my soul delights! 29:15 I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice 29:19 to the Gentiles." 29:20 This is talking about Israel. 29:22 In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 8, it says, "But thou, Israel, art 29:27 My servant; Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed 29:31 of Abraham My friend..." 29:34 Again, we see here that Israel is called my servant, and then 29:38 we see that Israel is also called the seed of Abraham. 29:44 In Hosea chapter 11, it describes how Israel was to be 29:49 brought out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm by God 29:55 via the ten plagues and through the leadership of Moses. 29:59 And it says in verse 1, "When Israel was a child, then 30:03 I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." 30:09 Now, do you remember after being called out of Egypt, 30:13 as the nation of Israel came out, what happened? 30:17 They went to the Red Sea, and then Pharaoh's army 30:22 was coming after them. 30:23 They were trapped. They had nowhere to go. 30:25 And so God parted the Red Sea, and they walked through. 30:30 And it tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1, Paul says, 30:35 "All of our fathers were baptized into Moses and into the 30:39 cloud and in the sea." 30:42 And so they were all baptized in the sea. 30:45 And then you remember when they came through the Red Sea, they 30:49 went into the promised land. 30:51 But because of a lack of faith, because of unbelief, they were 30:55 not allowed to go into the promised land, and they had 30:59 to wander in the wilderness for how long? 31:02 For 40 years. That's right. 31:05 So, I ask you the question again. 31:07 Who is Israel? 31:11 Well, Israel is My Son, My Firstborn, a Vine out of Egypt, 31:16 My Servant, the Seed of Abraham. 31:19 They were baptized and then they spent 40 years 31:23 in the wilderness. 31:25 Now let's look at a few more verses. 31:27 In Matthew chapter 2, verse 13, it says this: "The angel of the 31:32 Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise and take 31:37 the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.'" 31:40 Now, who is this talking about? 31:43 Talking about Joseph, right? 31:45 You'll remember that when Jesus--or excuse me. 31:48 It's talking about Jesus, but you'll remember that when Jesus 31:53 was born, that Herod was the king, and he knew about this 31:58 messianic prophecy, some king who was going to come 32:01 and rule all of Egypt. 32:03 He was jealous of that. 32:04 He wanted to continue his rule. 32:06 And so he sent his men, and they went to Bethlehem 32:08 to kill all the baby boys two years and under. 32:14 And so Joseph and Mary and Jesus had to flee down into Egypt. 32:22 Now, I find it very interesting, just on a side note, I find it 32:25 very interesting that in the history of Israel, that there 32:29 was a man by the name of Joseph who was one of the sons of 32:33 Abraham, who was sold by his brothers into slavery, 32:37 into Egypt. 32:39 And now you--and he had dreams, right? 32:41 That's kind of what got him in trouble with his brothers. 32:43 He told them about his dreams. 32:45 And now you have another Joseph who has a dream, and he's told 32:49 to go down into Egypt. 32:52 And Matthew chapter 2 verse 13 continues, though, and it says, 32:56 "That it may be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the 33:00 prophet saying, 'Out of Egypt I have called my son.'" 33:07 Now, hold on a minute. 33:09 What's this saying here? 33:11 This is saying that in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, it 33:16 wasn't going to happen to literal Israel, but it was going 33:21 to happen to who? 33:24 To Jesus. 33:25 That's right, Jesus Christ had to be called out of Egypt. 33:29 It says, "That it might be fulfilled which is spoken of the 33:31 Lord by the prophet saying, 'Out of Egypt I have called my son.'" 33:37 And so Hosea 11, verse 1, was only fulfilled by Jesus. 33:44 In Colossians chapter 1, verse 1, it speaks of Jesus. 33:47 It says, "He is the image of the invisible God," the what? 33:51 "--the firstborn over all creation." 33:56 John chapter 15, verse 1, says, Jesus said, "I am the true vine, 34:01 and My Father is the Vinedresser." 34:04 Matthew chapter 12, verse 16 to 18 says, "He warned them not to 34:08 make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by 34:11 Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'Behold! My Servant.'" 34:17 And do you remember the promise of God to Abraham? 34:21 Genesis chapter 15, verse 5, he said, "Look up at the heavens 34:24 and count the stars-if indeed you can count them...So shall 34:28 your offspring be." 34:31 But then Paul says in Galatians chapter 3, verse 16, "Now to 34:35 Abraham and his Seed were the promises made." 34:40 And I want you to notice that it goes on, and it says, "And he 34:44 does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 34:50 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." 34:54 Now keep following along with me. 34:56 Mark chapter 1, verse 9, it says, "It came to pass in those 34:59 days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was 35:02 baptized by John in the Jordan River." 35:06 Matthew chapter 4, verse 1 and 2 then says, "Then Jesus was led 35:10 by the Spirit into the wilderness where he was 35:12 tempted," for how long? 35:15 For forty days, right? 35:17 So, I ask you the question again, who is Israel? 35:22 Well, Jesus is My Son. 35:26 Jesus is My Firstborn, a Fine out of Egypt, My Servant, 35:30 the Seed of Abraham. 35:32 He was baptized after which time he spent 40 days 35:36 in the wilderness. 35:38 You see, friends, Jesus is the fulfillment of true Israel, and 35:44 that's why the Bible says that, "Those who are Christ's are 35:48 Abraham's Seed and heirs according to the promise, 35:51 because Jesus fulfilled that which was spoken of." 35:55 You see, Jesus is the true Israel, and Jesus is the Seed of 36:02 Abraham. 36:03 And if you believe in Jesus, if you have asked him to come into 36:07 your heart, be your Lord and Savior, forgive you of your 36:09 sins, he has written his law in your mind and in your heart, you 36:14 have the Spirit of God in you. 36:17 You become co-heirs with Christ. 36:20 You become spiritual Israel. 36:23 You become the Seed of Abraham through him. 36:27 The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20, "For all 36:31 the promises of God in him are yes and in him amen, to the 36:36 glory of God through us." 36:38 In Christ, all of the promises of God are yes. 36:42 And Paul says it's not that the Word of God has taken no effect. 36:46 It's that literal Israel has been replaced by spiritual 36:51 Israel, and he is our new spiritual Father, Christ Jesus, 36:56 our righteousness. 36:59 Now let's look at some of the text dealing with Israel as 37:03 God's favored nation. 37:05 Because as Scott was talking about last night, all eyes are 37:08 on Israel today, aren't they? 37:09 They're looking to physical Israel. 37:12 They're looking to the temple being rebuilt. 37:15 But what does the Bible have to say about that? 37:18 Notice in Galatians chapter 3, verse 7. 37:21 It says, "Know ye therefore, that they which are of--" 37:26 The genes of Abraham? 37:28 Is that what it says? 37:29 No, "they are of the faith, the same are the children 37:33 of Abraham." 37:35 Galatians 3:28, the next verse says, "Therefore, there is 37:39 neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 37:46 It goes on to say, "And if you are Christ's, then you are 37:50 Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." 37:56 The promise is for those who are Christ's. 38:00 There's no special reuniting of the Jews that's required to 38:04 fulfill the promise to Israel, because the promises are 38:08 fulfilled in those who believe in Jesus Christ. 38:12 We are not looking forward to an earthly Canaan. 38:15 Yes, Israel was given the promised land. 38:18 They are the type, but Christ is the anti-type. 38:22 They were pointing forward to him. 38:24 So, we're not looking for an earthly Canaan. 38:26 We are looking to a heavenly Canaan. 38:30 Galatians chapter 4, verse 28 says, "Now we, brethren, 38:33 as Isaac was, are children of promise." 38:38 Friends, God has promised us some pretty amazing things, 38:40 hasn't he? 38:42 He has promised us that he can give us--not only cleanse us, 38:47 wash us as white as snow from our sins, but he can give us the 38:51 Holy Spirit, he can give us the power to overcome 38:54 and to live without sin. 38:57 And God has also promised, "I go to prepare a place for you; and 39:02 if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and 39:05 receive you to myself, that where I am, 39:08 there you may also be." 39:11 Philippians chapter 3, verse 3, says, "We are the circumcision, 39:15 who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and 39:20 have no," what? 39:23 "--no confidence in the flesh." 39:26 The flesh avails nothing, right? 39:30 Well, I'm going to end today by making this appeal to you. 39:34 On the first coming of Jesus, the world was looking for a 39:40 conquering king, and so they missed the suffering servant. 39:45 And I ask you the question--we are on the brink of the second 39:48 coming of Jesus. 39:50 And as the world is looking to physical Israel, are they going 39:55 to miss spiritual Israel? 40:00 You see, Israel received the name Israel because he wrestled 40:05 with God and received a name change. 40:11 Have you received your name change? 40:13 In our study this week, we saw that these people are 40:18 Christians, whether Jew or Gentile, but it called them, in 40:23 our study, the remnant, right? 40:26 Do you remember Elijah had this mountaintop experience on Mount 40:31 Carmel, called down fire from God, killed the prophets of Baal 40:36 and Asherah, but then Jezebel threatened to kill him, 40:40 and he fled. 40:42 He was afraid. 40:44 And at some point, he said to God, "They've killed all the 40:48 other believers." 40:50 He says, "I'm the only one left." 40:53 And do you remember what God said? 40:56 He said, "I have 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal." 41:00 Right? 41:02 God has always had a remnant. 41:05 When Cain killed Abel, there was still a remnant, because then 41:08 Seth was born. 41:10 But then things became corrupted, as the children of 41:14 God, the true Israel began to mingle with physical Israel, if 41:19 you will, and it pulled them away from God. 41:23 And in the days of Noah, there was a great flood, but God had a 41:26 remnant, eight people that survived. 41:29 And God has always had a remnant, even up to this day. 41:34 And even though, as Scott has been showing us, through this 41:36 series, that there is apostasy in the church of God, 41:41 God still has a remnant. 41:43 Amen? 41:44 God still has people who are faithful to him today. 41:48 And all of the promises are to them. 41:51 I want you to notice, if you have your quarterly with me, 41:54 look at Wednesday of this week, as we studied this topic 41:58 of "Abraham's Seed." 42:00 Notice the first paragraph. 42:02 It says, "Although God's plan for ancient Israel was spoiled 42:05 by disobedience, it was never completely frustrated. 42:10 Among the weeds, a few flowers still grew. 42:14 Many of the Old Testament prophets speak of this faithful 42:16 remnant whom God would gather unto himself 42:20 as a lovely bouquet." 42:22 The plan of God has not been frustrated by the attempts of 42:28 the devil. 42:29 Amen? 42:31 God still has a remnant, and he is still working his plan, and 42:34 he's gonna bring that to a place where his people 42:37 are just like him. 42:39 Amen? 42:41 Look at the third paragraph. 42:42 "Thus, no matter how bad the situation became, God always had 42:46 some faithful people, who despite apostasy within the 42:50 ranks of God's chosen people, kept their own calling 42:54 and election sure. 42:56 In short, whatever the failings of the nation as a whole, there 42:59 were still those who tried to keep, as best they could, their 43:03 end of the covenant. 43:05 And though perhaps they suffered with their nation, as a whole, 43:09 such as when exiled from the land, the final and ultimate 43:12 covenant promise will be theirs, that of eternal life. 43:19 And so even though there is this apostasy in the church going on, 43:23 God has a faithful people, and God--and what does it say about 43:27 those people in Revelation chapter 12, verse 17? 43:31 They keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus or 43:37 the testimony of Jesus, right? 43:39 One's 14:12, one's 12:17. 43:41 They have the faith of Jesus. 43:45 I don't know about you, friends, but my faith always fails. 43:48 My faith is weak. 43:49 My faith stumbles, right? 43:51 But the faith of Jesus is powerful. 43:55 The faith of Jesus, he overcame on our behalf, right? 44:00 He is the overcomer. 44:02 He is Israel. 44:03 He is the Seed of Abraham, and we are co-heirs, along with him. 44:10 Notice on Thursday's lesson, first paragraph, "Whatever the 44:15 mistakes and failings of ancient Israel, the Lord was not 44:18 finished with the plan of creating a faithful people to 44:21 serve him. 44:22 In fact, the Old Testament looked forward to a time when 44:25 the Lord would create a spiritual Israel, a faithful 44:28 body of believers, Jews and Gentiles, who would carry on the 44:34 work of preaching the Gospel to the world." 44:37 And then it goes on to say, "Welcome to the early church." 44:41 Right? 44:42 Probation had closed for Israel. 44:44 They did not do what they were called to do in that probation, 44:49 but Jesus did. 44:50 Remember when Jesus first went into the temple, when he began 44:54 his ministry, he said, "This is my Father's house, but you have 44:58 made it a den of thieves." 45:00 And then the last time he went in, at the end of his ministry, 45:04 he said, "Behold, your house is left to you," what? 45:09 Desolate, right? 45:11 God had left the sanctuary. 45:13 God was no longer with him. 45:15 They were no longer the chosen people of God. 45:19 And I liked how last night that Scott was talking about, you 45:23 know, some people seem to think that God has one plan for Israel 45:26 and another plan for the Gentiles. 45:28 But we see that God is the only one who can bring both Jew and 45:33 Gentile together and create a people who truly will keep his 45:40 commandments, who love him enough to do all 45:43 that he has asked. 45:45 And so here we see the spiritual Israel. 45:50 And friends, we want to be a part of that group, don't we? 45:53 We want to be a part of spiritual Israel. 45:57 We want to be those who don't necessarily have the genes of 46:01 Abraham, but have the faith of Abraham. 46:05 And this is the Israel that God has made all of the promises to. 46:11 And I ask you the question, have you received a name change?" 46:15 Are you a new person? 46:19 Paul said--or excuse me--Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be 46:22 born again, right?" 46:26 You must have the Spirit of God in you, not only to cleanse you 46:32 from the inside-out, but to empower you to keep the 46:36 commandments of God. 46:38 And that's why Paul says that at the end of time, there is going 46:40 to be a group of people who call themselves Christians, who have 46:44 a form of godliness, but deny its power. 46:48 Only those who are the remnant, only those who truly have 46:54 surrendered their life to Jesus Christ, it's only those who 46:57 the promises are given to. 47:01 I'm looking forward to eternal life. 47:04 How about you? 47:06 Amen. 47:07 You know, there's so much that we could talk about in this 47:09 lesson, and I just really appreciate it. 47:12 Let me read one more. 47:13 Look at the last paragraph on Thursday's lesson. 47:16 "As a son of Abraham, Christ became, in a special sense, heir 47:21 to the covenant promises. 47:22 By baptism, we acquire kinship to Christ and through him 47:26 acquire the right to participate in the promises made to Abraham. 47:30 Thus, all that God promised Abraham is found in Christ, and 47:35 the promises become ours, not because of nationality, race, or 47:41 gender, but through grace, which God bestows upon those through 47:47 faith. 47:49 That's us, isn't it? 47:50 He has given those promises to us. 47:53 Well, friends, we are out of time, so let's close with a word 47:57 of prayer. 47:59 Oh, loving Father, we are so grateful and thankful that you 48:07 love this world so much. 48:09 You loved us, that you gave your only begotten Son, that he came 48:13 to this earth, took on the form of a man, and he went to the 48:18 cross and died for us. 48:21 He overcame the deceptions of the devil to save us. 48:27 Lord, you have great plans for us and great plans for the 48:30 nation of Israel. 48:32 It's not that they can't be saved now. 48:34 They can be grafted in, just like we are. 48:37 And so, Lord, our prayer is that you would 48:41 open our eyes to this truth. 48:43 Help us to fall in love with the truth. 48:46 And Lord, help us to surrender our heart to you 48:49 more and more each day. 48:52 Lord, we want to be the children of promise. 48:57 We want that heavenly Canaan. 49:00 But more importantly, Lord, we want you. 49:04 As you said to Abraham, "I am your exceedingly great reward." 49:09 Lord, we look forward to the time when we will be with you. 49:15 We will no longer live by faith, but we will live by sight. 49:19 And Lord, our prayer is that you will do that work in us, that we 49:24 cannot do in ourselves. 49:27 And Lord, the things that we can do, we pray that you would send 49:31 your angels to come and minister to us and that, Lord, they would 49:35 help us to do those things that we can do; because the things we 49:40 can do, you won't do. 49:42 But the things we can't, you come alongside, 49:45 and you do those things for us. 49:46 You are our overcomer. 49:49 You are Israel. 49:51 You are the Seed of Abraham. 49:54 And Lord, we want to be co-heirs with you. 49:58 And we ask it all in Jesus' name, amen. 50:03 God bless you. 50:07 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 50:09 free resource. 50:10 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 50:13 download a digital copy straight to your computer or mobile 50:15 device. 50:17 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 50:20 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 50:24 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 50:27 download option on the request page. 50:30 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 50:33 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want, and most 50:37 important, to share it with others. 50:41 ♪♪♪ 50:43 announcer: "Amazing Facts, Changed Lives." 50:47 ♪♪♪ 50:52 male: Well, I actually grew up in a loving home. 50:55 I had no religious background. 50:56 My parents were completely secular. 50:59 I had questions in my life like most young people do. 51:02 What does my future hold for me, and what is my purpose in even 51:04 being here? 51:06 They were questions that my parents couldn't answer. 51:09 Because of moving around a lot, I found it kind of hard to 51:12 adjust at times. 51:14 By the time I made it into high school, my grades were really 51:16 terrible, and I had a problem with authority. 51:20 I started smoking at the age of 14 and drinking 51:22 by the age of 15. 51:24 I really started getting involved with crime, break and 51:26 enter, selling drugs, stealing cars. 51:29 ♪♪♪ 51:31 male: At one point, I had overdosed on ecstasy, and I was 51:33 doing anything I could just to find some sort of excitement or 51:36 something that reflected some version of happiness in my life. 51:41 Didn't want to be alone, and I was looking for some 51:44 sort of a relationship. 51:47 I had found myself in Australia, and I met a girl down there who 51:50 was a Christian girl, and we really started to hit it off. 51:53 We ended up in a long, fairly long relationship. 51:55 We were together for about seven years. 51:57 Neither one of us were having a relationship with God. 51:59 We kind of excluded him out of what we were doing, and we were 52:02 just trying to do everything on our own. 52:06 When we came out of that relationship, I ended up in a 52:08 really deep depression. 52:10 I was so depressed that I was coming home; and as soon as the 52:13 door would close behind me, I would drop down to my knees 52:15 and just start crying. 52:18 I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. 52:20 I tried to take my life at one point with pills, and it wasn't 52:23 because I wanted to die. 52:25 I just didn't want to feel this way anymore. 52:26 It hurt so bad, and I'd never felt so lonely. 52:32 I would end up in my bedroom, and I was praying for hours each 52:34 day, and that was kind of my life. 52:36 I was alone and unhappy, and I really needed answers. 52:43 I had started studying the Bible and found "Amazing Facts" online 52:48 and was watching hours of sermons each day. 52:52 Spending more time with Pastor Doug Batchelor and really 52:54 getting a lot of the answers to the questions that I was seeking 52:57 out, I felt that there was hope that was coming through that, 53:01 and that was kind of pulling me out of--gradually pulling me out 53:06 of the darkness that I was in. 53:08 So, eventually, I decided I was going to church. 53:12 I would drive to the church, and I would sit in the parking lot 53:14 for about half an hour, and then I would drive home. 53:19 Eventually, I found myself inside the church. 53:21 They were all quite amazed that I kind of found 53:23 my own way there. 53:25 I started building relationships with people there, and my life 53:27 really started changing. 53:29 Eventually, I was baptized. 53:31 I still, I couldn't get enough. 53:32 I wanted to read more, I wanted to study more, and all these new 53:34 things that I was learning, it all made sense to me. 53:39 I had prayed to God specifically for two things at this point. 53:42 I prayed for a new job, and I prayed for an opportunity 53:45 in my life, some direction. 53:47 And within one week, he had answered the prayer. 53:49 I got a new job, and I was going to be starting right away. 53:53 But he had also answered the other prayer. 53:56 Two ladies in my church came up to me and offered to send me 53:59 to go to AFCOE. 54:02 My life has changed so much since I started following 54:05 God's path for me. 54:07 I'm just so much happier in my life, and I realize that there's 54:09 so much more in this world that I can do to help others, 54:12 and I look forward to a life of service to God. 54:15 ♪♪♪ 54:29 male: I grew up in a church-going family. 54:32 I mean, we were at every meeting. 54:34 I sang in four of the choirs there. 54:36 I directed three. 54:38 Very involved, very active. 54:41 It almost seemed like busy work sometimes, you know. 54:44 I went to Sunday School. 54:46 I knew about God, I knew about Jesus, but I didn't have a 54:51 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 54:55 My senior year in high school, I got the news that my father 55:00 had been murdered. 55:03 I played it off well. 55:05 No one really saw that I was struggling with it. 55:07 ♪♪♪ 55:12 male: it just really felt like there was a hole that 55:14 needed to be filled, and I tried to fill it with drugs, 55:18 alcohol, with partying. 55:21 After college, I just stopped going to church altogether. 55:24 ♪♪♪ 55:27 male: One day, on a Sunday--because I didn't feel 55:29 like going to church with my mom--I thought, you know, 55:34 "I should get a little bit of Word." 55:36 She had the satellite system hooked up, and I'm flipping 55:39 through channels. 55:41 And then the logo pops across, "Amazing Facts Presents." 55:45 I've listened to a lot of different ministers, but this 55:47 was the first time that he's actually saying something where 55:51 I had to grab my Bible and actually pick it up. 55:53 And I've never heard this before. 55:55 Let me look through and find this. 55:57 I went through all the historicals, I went through all 56:00 the study guides, and I just couldn't get enough. 56:02 And then the Sabbath came up, and he's going through the 56:05 appeal, and I'm just going, "Lord, I hear you. 56:09 I have to go to church. 56:11 So, I show up. 56:12 It was funny. 56:14 I didn't feel like I was gonna be judged, anything judgmental, 56:17 anything. 56:18 And I walked in the door, and I just felt at home. 56:21 But there's still a problem. 56:24 I'm still partying. 56:26 I was still going out to the bars. 56:28 At this time, I was selling cocaine to pay my rent. 56:33 Sixteen days later, I find myself in a life 56:36 or death situation. 56:38 I had just came back from a liquor store, and I grabbed 56:40 a bottle of vodka. 56:43 And there I am, high off cocaine, with my Bible in hand, 56:48 trying to do a Bible study. 56:51 And I heard an audible voice. 56:54 "Just look at yourself." 56:58 And I did, and I was like, "What am I doing?" 57:03 And I got on my knees and I said, "Lord, if you do not take 57:07 this away from me now, I'm going to kill myself." 57:12 I was going to continue this lifestyle, and I was gonna end 57:15 up overdosing, having a heart attack, whatever it was. 57:20 "You have to take this away, all of it." 57:26 And that day, he lifted all of it away from me. 57:31 It was all gone. 57:32 When God does something in your life, he does it complete. 57:37 ♪♪♪ 57:46 ♪♪♪ 57:58 ♪♪♪ 58:08 ♪♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2021-04-29