Crisis of Identity | Sabbath School Panel by 3ABN - Lesson 1 Q1 2021

hello i'm jill moriconi welcome to a brand new year and a brand new quarter we're studying this quarter one of my favorite books of the bible the book of isaiah comfort my people i want to encourage you if you don't have a copy of the quarterly you can go to the following website [Music] absg.adventist.org that stands for adult bible study guide dot adventist dot o r g so grab your bible your quarterly and pen and paper and get ready to take notes as we study this edition of sabbath school panel crisis of identity [Music] hello we are delighted that you've taken time from your day to join us as we open up the book of isaiah i think isaiah is one of my all-time favorite books of the word of god in addition to romans right pastor john isaiah and romans are two of my favorites i want to introduce to you our panel at this time our family we're going to be journeying through the book of isaiah together to my left pastor ryan day joy to have you here it's a blessing to be here i want to make a note because we can't quite social distance on the set we're wearing masks except for the one who's speaking so you'll notice that here at the beginning to ryan's left is shelley quinn always a joy to have you here always a joy to be here amen to your left pastor john low mccain my pastor looking forward to sharing with you as well yes isaiah is going to be an exciting study yes absolutely last but not least pastor kenny shelton always a joy to study with you it's always a privilege and look forward to the study amen before we go any further in this quarterly isaiah comfort my people it was written by dr roy gaines he is a tremendous hebrew scholar and teacher of old testament at the seventh-day adventist theological seminary at andrews university and he did an amazing job i just have to say that up front i was blessed as i studied this quarterly you can open up to isaiah 1 because we're starting there this lesson will focus on isaiah chapter 1 and isaiah chapter 5. but before we go any further we want to go to the lord in prayer pastor john would you pray for us our loving father we thank you so much for the privilege and opportunity that is always granted to us when we open your word guide our minds and hearts that what is said and what is done will bring glory and honor to you the clarity of this book may it be absorbed into our hearts and to our minds and may those watching and listening find reason to continue to trust god and his word in jesus name we pray amen amen amen thank you so much prayed up and ready to go amen uh before we actually jump into lesson number one i just want to do a brief overview of the book of isaiah saying this is the very first lesson of the quarter and you know i like dividing things into lists so we're going to look at the author we're going to look at the historical setting for the book and the themes or the theology that is developed throughout the book of isaiah that's the author the historical setting and the themes or theology that you find in the book of isaiah of course isaiah 1 1 tells us who the author is that is isaiah the son of amos isaiah is perhaps one of the greatest of the biblical prophets his name means the lord saves and it's fitting for the theme of the book the book is really divided into two sections the first section chapters 1 through 39 is the book of judgment and salvation this is you could say the historical section of the book of isaiah there were two major national crisis that took place in the kingdom of judah during the time of isaiah the first of course in 735 bc we'll study that when we get to isaiah chapter 7. this was the cyro ephramite coalition the nation of israel and the nation of syria coming together against an attacking against the nation of judah that was the first national crisis the second national crisis of course is during the reign of king hezekiah this would be down isaiah 36 37 38 and this is 701 bc remember 185 000 assyrians were slain in one night by the angel of the lord now the second half of the book of isaiah this is chapter 40 through chapter 66 is more prophetic in nature this is the book of comfort the book of restoration the reason i say it's prophetic is isaiah was looking forward to the babylonian captivity and then the time when the exiles would return when the remnant would return some scholars see that two people wrote the book of isaiah but we don't subscribe to that in fact in the qumran you can see there is no if you find the scroll of isaiah there is no chapter break between 39 and 40 there's no division it is all one book the lesson said this even in translation which loses the evocative word plays and alliteration of the hebrew the book of isaiah has few peers in the history of literature whether it's sacred or secular what about the themes of the book we find it is really a book of salvation we find jesus our messiah the suffering servant the messianic king especially isaiah chapter 53 the picture of the messiah is probably revealed more clearly there than anywhere else in the old testament we find of course the book of judgment that judgment does not just come against god's people but other nations babylon and assyrian philistia and moab and syria and israel and ethiopia and egypt and babylon and edom arabia jerusalem tire the entire earth that's the first say 24 chapters of the book of isaiah then of course we find that book of comfort those promises of healing and comfort and deliverance and salvation and forgiveness and restoration we find god's holiness the portrait of god reaches unparalleled heights in the book of isaiah god's holiness is emphasized more in isaiah than probably anywhere else in the word of god we see god's sovereignty that he can predict the future and that he oversees all things we see truth we see god's mercy hessed his goodness and kindness love covenant love with his people we see his covenant all throughout the book of isaiah and that he made a covenant with them and even though they left him they forsook him he did not forsake them we see god's promise when i uh highlight in my bible i always put promises in yellow in the book of isaiah especially the latter half is full of yellow because there's promises of forgiveness and restoration and resurrection and eternal life in a new heavens and a new earth peace and strength and mercy and peace and salvation and deliverance and protection and provision holy spirit anointing vindication gospel evangelism all of that's found in the book of isaiah and we also find god's remnant in isaiah a remnant will choose to return to him to seek forgiveness to walk in obedience the other thing we find is god's waiting or really our need to wait on god the problem with god's people in that time is they were trusting the wrong things and the wrong people they were trusting earthly powers they were trusting other gods they were trusting themselves they were trusting unfaithful leaders they were even trusting as we would discover mediums and spirituals but there's a great need to wait on god to trust only and god wait upon him so let's jump into our lesson the memory text is isaiah 1 verse 18. come now let us reason together says the lord though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool the lesson started with a little cute story of a boy who is in a crowded store and you've probably seen this and all of a sudden he loses his mama and he can't find her and he's crying out i need my mama where's my mama now there's a lot of women in the store but the boy knows his mom he recognizes his mom why is that because he knows who he is and he knows whose he is he knows who he belongs to the problem with the children of israel the people in judah right now is that they forgot whose they were they forgot who they belonged to this week we look at how god seeks to restore his people back to himself let's look at isaiah 1 verse 2. isaiah 1 verse 2 the very first part of it it begins with hear o heavens and give ear o earth for the lord has spoken now this is legal vocabulary and if you look at the literary forum this is what we call a reb now you might say what in the world is a reeb this is god bringing a formal indictment against the people of judah arib is god's covenant lawsuit god taking legal action against his people because of their failure to keep his covenant we see a read in acts chapter seven remember the deacon stephen just before he stoned he pronounced a reeb as it were against the people this judgment against them because they had rejected and crucified jesus as the messiah so we see this happening here isaiah begins really the book of isaiah with this read god's covenant lawsuit god's bringing a formal indictment against the people and what are the sins that he identifies i see two sins of course the rest of the panel will discuss more in detail this chapter one first is rebellion and the second is a lack of knowledge and discernment if you look at the second half of verse two it says i have nourished and brought up children and they have what's that word rebelled against me jump down to verse 4 a last sinful nation a people laden with iniquity a brood of evil doers children who are corrupters they have forsaken the lord they have provoked to anger that word in hebrew means to spurn to treat with contempt they have treated the holy one of israel with contempt they have turned away backward they have rebelled against god and we also see they forgot who their master was in verse 3 isaiah 1 verse 3. this is that lack of knowledge and discernment the ox knows it's my owner and the donkey its master's crib like the little boy knew his mama in the store but israel does not know my people do not consider that word consider in hebrew is discern they lacked knowledge and discernment they forgot who their master was there's an interesting comparison in the next two verses verses five and six as i read these verses think about a couple of the verbs that are used here and i want to look at the comparison between the judgment against the people of judah and these same words used where christ took our sin upon him the words are stricken wounds and bruised okay we're going to compare isaiah 1 and isaiah 53. isaiah 1 5 and 6. why should you be stricken again see that word stricken you will revolt more and more the whole head is sick and the whole heart faints from the soul of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it but wounds you see that word and bruises and putrefying swords they have not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment now isaiah 53 verse 5 says he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities and verse 4 says yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by god and afflicted so what i see there that parallel or comparison the people had forsaken god they had gone their own way they had rebelled they did not discern they did not even know who their god was and yet he took their punishment their sin some of the same words used upon himself to redeem them back to himself because god always has a remnant and we see this theme of remnant first introduced in verse 9. it says because verse seven and eight talks about the country is desolate and the city's burned with fire and there's just total devastation verse nine unless the lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant see that word in the beginning right here we would think there's total destruction we would think this book is going to be hopeless but right now it opens the door for hope that god has a remnant and he himself will redeem his people man that was beautiful beautiful setup beautiful setup i have uh monday's lesson which is entitled rotten ritualism well rotten ritualism there's a lot that we can learn from this particular lesson as i was going through and studying the verses for this lesson i just i could just sense the lord's plea his crying his his attitude towards his people in such love but yet sometimes you got to show a little bit of tough love right and that's essentially what god is doing here he has given chance and opportunity and opportunity chance after chance to israel to turn from their wicked ways and now he as jill brought out beautifully he's calling them out for it he is putting them on the stand and he's saying okay now is the time we're going to address this issue so i want to start reading in in in verse 10 so isaiah chapter 1 verse 10 which kind of builds off of verse 9 that you just read jill and so i just want to read verse 9 one more time so that you can see the context of what is what god is saying in verse 10. so jill just read in verse 9 it says unless the lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant we would have become like sodom we would have been made like gomorrah right and you think well that's that's that's a strong uh that's a strong application there sodom and gomorrah but then notice what god says in verse 10 isaiah chapter 1 verse 10 the bible says hear the word of the lord but then notice the the the the application he's applying here he says you rulers of sodom give ear to the law of our god you people of gomorrah so there's a little bit of a symbolic language that's being used here to describe the condition how god is now viewing his people the they they have become like the people of sodom and gomorrah in the sense that judah in this context has forgotten god and we're living as if there was no god at all just like the people of sodom and gomorrah you go back and study that god had to deal with that city because they had reached a point in which he couldn't even find 10 righteous people in the entire city and so god had to deal with them strongly and that's essentially what is happening with israel we're moving toward that particular judgment that is coming because they have forgotten god they have forsaken god and of course their actions and their choices have become a reproach to god and so he's calling them out but notice verses 11 through 15 okay this is where an even stronger rebuke comes and god is again uh he's calling them out for their sinful deeds so isaiah chapter 1 verses 11 through 15. the bible says to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me okay so let's keep in mind as we're reading through these verses the title of this lesson is rotten ritualism okay so god is about to bring to their attention that all the things they're just going through the motions they're doing the sacrifices they're holding the services in the temple they're burning the incense they're doing all those things that the covenant people were supposed to be doing but god has a little bit different attitude towards those actions now so he says there in verse 11 to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me says the lord i have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle i do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats when you come to appear before me who has required this from your hand to trample my courts bring no feudal sacrifices incense is an abomination to me the new moons and the sabbaths and the calling of assemblies i cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting and then verse 14 your new moons and your appointed feast my soul hates they are a trouble to me i am weary of bearing them when you spread out your hands i will hide my eyes from you even though you make many prayers i will not hear your hands are full of blood so what is god addressing here it's very clear that they are living in a state of intense apostasy but yet at the same time they're still going through the motions of what god has asked them to do and so essentially what god is doing is he's calling them out he's saying look you know you're doing you're doing all that i've asked you to do as far as the rituals you're going through the motions you're doing the practices you know you're practicing the rights and the ceremonies in the feast and you're doing all the little things that i've asked but guess what it's of no avail it's of no importance to me because your heart is not right that's right and you'll notice here that he said in that last closing text there of verse 15 and these are strong words for for us to hear this from god so for someone to have to hear these words from the creator would be haunting right that you know what i when you lift up your hands and worship and praise you know what i'm going to hide my eyes he says any of you even when you pray to me you know i'm not going to hear it why your hands are full of blood so what was going on here you see these these same hands offered sacrifices but yet even though they were lifted up in prayer the bible says they were full of blood that is that they are guilty of violence and oppression towards others and so what we're seeing is that by mistreating so they're mistreating their own people they're guilty for the murder and the mistreatment of their own people and by mistreating others that is the members of the covenant community they were showing contempt for the protector of all of israel sins against other people were sins against the lord so just as we find those texts in scripture god says you do this to them so you've done it to me that's exactly what was happening here an attack on their own people was an attack on god the rituals were you know and shelley would know this these these rituals these ceremonies these feast days these these ceremonial sabbaths and all the offerings and the sacrifices of an incense all of that god did give to them but only within the context of the covenant but yet they had violated the covenant by oppressing their own people and so what we see here is that essentially their sinful actions had become with the practices of these rituals and simultaneous we see that it was basically a slap in god's face and god says i'm not happening mercy it reminds me of that text over in matthew chapter 15 verse 8 where jesus says to the pharisees it says you draw nine to me with your lips but your heart is far from me so notice the counsel that god gives to them because of these sins of course god always provides a way of escape right he always provides a way to make things right and we see that in verses 16 and 17 in isaiah chapter one so notice what the bible says isaiah 1 16 and 17 god says to them he says wash yourselves make yourselves clean put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes cease to do evil learn to do good yes seek justice rebuke the oppressor defend the fatherless plead for the widow so what is god doing here he's calling them to repentance true genuine repentance and notice that it's a choice i just have to add this in here no one's showing up in the presence of god and say well lord look we can't help it it's our nature that's just what we do we're evil by nature this is a choice god's saying it's conditional you have a choice you can choose me you can repent or you can continue down this path and it's going to lead you nowhere good he cost them notice this in what the text we just read verses 16 and 17 he calls them to take a stand for what is right and to take a stand against the injustices being done to the oppressed do we need to do that sometimes of course does god call us to take a stand for what is right in fact i having recently taken a uh a preaching uh class through my through my seminary program at andrews i learned that after reading this passage here what isaiah is preaching here is he's preaching what is called a prophetic sermon not in the sense that he's preaching prophecy but yet he is declaring he's challenging right here he's addressing the real issues of his day and his message is very counter-cultural and he's challenging the status quo he's calling them out he's saying what you're doing is wrong and he's taking a stand against these evils and so that's what isaiah is is basically god is is using isaiah to preach this message to communicate this message and you know all of this reminds me also of what jesus done likewise when he was speaking to the pharisees in matthew chapter 23 when he was calling out the pharisees yes woe to you scribes and pharisees i'm looking at matthew 23 verses 23-28 i don't have enough time to read it all but i just want to read a few of these words here jesus understood the issues of his day he understood what was going on and that there needed that these issues needed to be addressed no more sugar coating no more watering down sometimes the plain truth of god's word the straight testimony needs to be spoken and of course in love and of course this message god is delivering it in love and of course christ when he spoke to the pharisees woe to you scribes and pharisees hypocrites strong language right if you walked up to someone today and said whoa you hypocrite you know they would say don't you judge me we live in a world of don't judge me but he goes on to say to the pharisees for you pay tithe in mint and ennis and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy and faith these you have ought to have done without leaving others undone blind guides who strain out a net and swallow a camel jesus again to the pharisees he was he was addressing the issues of the day that's what god is doing he's had he's had it up to here with israel and he's finally saying look i love you i'm going to give you another opportunity but we need to address these issues and the same thing applies with us yeah you know like judah and israel you know sometimes we can get caught up in that and we also need to understand that god is calling us to repentance and to stand against those who oppress absolutely amen thank you so much ryan incredible study we're going to take a short break we'll be right back [Music] ever wish you could watch a 3abn sabbah school panel again or share it on facebook instagram or twitter well you can by visiting 3abnsabbaschoolpanel.com a clean design makes it easy to find the program you're looking for there are also links to the adult bible study guide so you can follow along sharing is easy just click share and choose your favorite social media share a link save a life for eternity welcome back to lesson number one a crisis of identity we're going to pick up with tuesday's lesson shelley quinn oh thank you so much i'm excited about tuesday's lessons because it is the argument of forgiveness here are these degenerate judeans had broken covenant with god but his sharp words against them were not a rejection they were an invitation to turn around and as you read in verse 16 he's saying wash yourselves he's he's suggesting reform to the people and this suggests hope you know something that's interesting how many books are there in the bible 66 39 in the old testament 27 in the new interesting that's the division of isaiah 39 in the old are showing people their great need of salvation i mean here's first 39 the last 27 are god's great provision of salvation that's right and that's why isaiah is called the gospel prophet but let's look at um beginning with verse 18 we will see that this is kind of a preview of what the last 27 chapters are that focus on god's grace so isaiah 1 18 which was our memory verse he says this is god come now let us reason together says the lord though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool come this is an invitation to approach god he still gives that invitation today and then he's saying let us reason together he's pleading with them he wants them to receive his correction he wants them to to repent to turn around and come back to him when you look at these two colors crimson which was a scarlet red this was a permanent dye that was it was a deep red diet boy i'll tell you what it was almost impossible to get out and so what he's saying is their hands are stained with this same crimson the blood blood-stained hands this indelible sin and perversity and so this was as permanent as die without the lord only god can remove the stain of our sin but then when he says they shall be white as wool if you come to me repent confess your sins they'll be white as wolf wool is naturally white and white is is portrays what is clean so god's not only offering to forgive them he's offering to transform them hallelujah but it required obedience and repentance so when we look uh i think you're gonna cover that so i'm gonna skip that so what i want to do in the few minutes i have left i want you to get out a pen and a paper well i talk to so many people who don't understand god's forgiveness or they think that god it's only in the new testament that we see forgiveness oh let's look at what the gospel prophet tells us isaiah 43 verses 25 and 26 isaiah 43 25 26 this is god speaking he says i even i am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and i will not remember your sins he says put me in remembrance let me let us contend together state your case that you may be acquitted yeah you know this is a great revelation of grace in the old testament i i love this to not remember your sins means god's not going to act on those sins to to forget it is to hold back from acting if you remember something when it says god remembers it means he's going to act on it but when he says i'm going to forget i'm going to hold back on acting on it so now look at verse isaiah 44 and verse 22. just write that down isaiah 44 22. again this is god speaking i have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions and like a cloud your sins return to me for i have redeemed you see god provided for redemption even before the cross but it was based on the cross alone the sacrificial system that he instituted the forgiveness by the blood of the animals it was symbolic it all pointed to the lamb of god who was slain from the foundation of the earth and what happened when jesus died his death validated those old testament sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin now look at isaiah 53 verse 6 all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way all have sinned all have sinned but he says and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all doesn't that remind you of second corinthians 5 21 when it says that god made him jesus who knew no sin amen to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of god in christ jesus so when you accept christ when christ went to the cross all of our sins were on him but when you accept christ when you ask for forgiveness his righteousness is credited to your account hallelujah and he says to us in revelation 1 5 it is to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and you know what even that washing is even for the people of the old covenant listen hebrews 9 15 for this reason christ is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death get this for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant yes you know that's very important that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance i got to get to these because these are good isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. isaiah 55 6-7 will you talk about a yellow highlighter for promises jill these are these are worthy seek the lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near god is calling to you today are you at home he's calling to me he's calling to you god is calling it's an invitation to you he is saying seek me call upon me let the wicked forsake his way and the righteous man his thoughts let him return to the lord and he will have mercy on him and to our god he will abundantly pardon god is ready to forgive you and i've just got to get this one in i'm just out of time but listen to this david when david confessed his sin you know he was guilty of murder with bathsheba and her husband he was guilty of adultery guilty of murder but when he went to the lord and confessed his sin and he says oh wash me wash me purge me with hyssop wash me and i'll be whiter than snow if you want to see a great way to repent just read psalm 51 that's where that's from but later david said in the psalms he says as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us and here's proof of that in first kings 14 8 just write this down god tells the prophet you sin the prophet's wife go tell jeroboam he says i've torn the kingdom away from the house of david i gave it to you and yet you have not been as my servant david this is god speaking who kept my commandments and who followed me with all of his heart to do only what was right in my eyes what david was guilty of all kinds of sin but he repented and when he did god's mercy was bestowed upon him and god is saying as far as i'm concerned it's current concerns me i forgot i'm not acting on that sin hallelujah you talk about grace in the old testament amen okay wow wow well i'm taking my mask off praise the lord i think you're on fire all right i'm not sure if that's what it is but thank you for warming that lesson up amen to eat or be eaten well i like the way that the writer uses that phrase to eat or be eaten when in fact the text talks about being devoured i want to begin wednesday's lesson by reading verses 19 to 31 because sometimes it's important to get the context so that we won't end up in pretext verse 19 if i want you to notice these words as we go through if you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land but if you refuse and rebel you shall be devoured that's where the other word eat by the sword for the mouth of the lord has spoken how the faithful city has become a harlot it was full of justice righteousness lodged in it but now murderers your silver has become dross your wine mixed with water your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves everyone loves bribes and follow after rewards they do not defend the fatherless nor does the cause nor does the cause of the widow come before them therefore the lord says the lord of hosts the mighty one of israel ah i will rid myself of my adversaries and take vengeance on my enemies i will turn my hand against you and thoroughly purge away your dross and take away all your alloy i will restore your judges as at the first and your counselors as at the beginning afterwards you shall be called the city of righteousness the faithful city zion shall be redeemed with justice and her penitence with righteousness the destruction of transgression and of sinners shall be together and those who forsake the lord shall be consumed for they shall be ashamed of the terebith tree which you have desired and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen for you shall be as a terabith whose leaves whose leaf fades and as a garden that has no water the strong shall be as tinder and the work of it as a spark both will burn together and no one shall quench them am i well god is really as shelley pointed out and as we built up to this point god is trying his best to get their attention yes but the writer asked the question what theme appears here that is seen throughout the bible now what we're going to do is we're going to unpack the theme that is found in isaiah because it begins in verse 19 and 20 if you are willing if you refuse what we have to come to discover is the promises and the blessings of god are always conditional always conditional god always leaves the choice of obedience up to us now when you think about it and i think that's how parents are they say if you clean your room then i will if you behave yourself i will give you the car keys we do not reward disobedience with a blessing and neither does god human nature is sinful as we are we don't say to the rebellious we're giving you more rope we're giving you more money we're giving criminals more access to banks and all the things that they do we don't do that but why do why don't we do that because god doesn't do that but you'll find that what is talked about in isaiah is how god has always been we find this in deuteronomy in the writings of moses deuteronomy 30 and verse 19 i call heaven and earth as a witness today against you that i have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live that you may love the lord your god that you may obey his voice yeah and that you may cling to him for he is your life and the length of your days and that you may dwell in the land which the lord swore to your fathers to abraham isaac and jacob to give them god's blessings and promises are always conditional so i have three things jill three things three lists that are compounded in a few statements god is an if god not an iffy god okay god is an if god but god is not a niffy god god's requirements are non-negotiable but always conditional non-negotiable but the conditions are up to us look at the let's first look at the non-negotiable part of god god never asks more than he requires and he never requires more than he has that's right now think about that that's deep god never asked more more than he requires and he never requires more than he asks god said here's what i'm going to give you but here are the conditions he'll never ask for more but he'll never take less we find that from the very beginning between cain and abel cain gave god what he god never required god never accepted it and we know what happened with abel let's look at the conditional side i will do what i promise if you do what i require that's the non-negotiable part of god but the conditional side of it you know the fact of the matter is many people forfeit the blessings and the promises of god because they live a conditional christian life and i was looking at that uh panel i was looking at that when we think about today the world we're living in we have 30 000 plus denominations ryan that's 30 000 different denominations all coming with this idea that well that's your interpretation of the text well that's not what the problem is the problem is not our interpretation the problem is the human heart many people refuse to comply with god's requirements and then they want god to comply with their requests and it just doesn't work that way and that's why the majority of christianity is more critical than compliant to god for god's requirements they criticize well that's god wants me to keep the sabbath i don't want to keep that because and then they say well take this instead no god is not that kind of god but what is the problem the problem is not god's requirements it's the human heart that's right romans eight verse six to eight for to be carnally minded is death look at the comparisons just like deuteronomy just like isaiah for to be carnally minded as death but to be spiritually minded as life and peace because the carnal mind is enmity against god for it is not subject to the law of god neither any of its requirements nor indeed can be so then those who are in the flesh cannot please god notice the contrast god's law is not the problem it's the carnal heart here's another example of god's non-negotiable requirements coupled with the promise of his conditional blessings let's look at first kings chapter 22 verse 43 this is another example in scripture it talked about the leaders of god but notice something was left it speaks about asa and he walked in all the ways of his father asa he did not turn aside from them doing what was right in the eyes of the lord but look at this nevertheless the high places were not taken away for the people offered sacrifices and burn incense on the high places you can do what's right in god's sight up to a certain point but still there are things in your life that needs to be torn down example the lord says if you love me keep my commandments but notice those are the those are the requirements but here's the blessing and i will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever we want the help but we want the spirit of god but we don't want to keep his commandments christians don't let any pastor tell you that the commandments of god are not requirements that's a lie i don't even tiptoe through that come on you're asking for the spirit of god without following the commandments of god if you love me the condition i'll send you another comforter that's why the apostles said in acts 5 32 and we are his witnesses of these things and so also is the holy spirit whom god has given to those who obey him if you are willing and obedient that's where the blessing comes that's why the lord says god is not seduced by christian substitutes but he is moved by loving obedience for samuel 15 22 but samuel replied does the lord delight in burn offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the lord no to obey is better than to sacrifice and to heed us better than the fat of rams let's go to number two god is a god of choice yes he does not force our hands what about the choice we read that and if it seems evil to serve the lord choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve if it seems if it seems evil you've got to make a choice still and the third one god is a particular god what is the particularness about god if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land why is there no middle ground with god because there's no such thing as a partial blessing it's either a full blessing or none at all now god is not an iffy god that's right but god definitely is an if god amen amen praise the lord maybe he should keep his mask off a little longer and i keep mine on praise god for that but we can move uh smartly right on to thursday's lesson uh this was a little bit challenging for me a lot of things that covered in here i found you know my own heart and life needs to be some changes i don't know about you but thursday's lesson that sounds ominous love song so i thought you know go to the dictionary ominous let's make sure we get it because i'm looking at love song i'm looking something love and then it simply means it's evil it can be threatening and sinister that's kind of interesting thought compared with with the love thing so isaiah chapter 5 read the first seven verses isaiah chapter 5 1-7 again gives us foundation here now it says now will i sing to my well-beloved a song and of my beloved touching uh his vineyard my well-beloved hatha vineyard and his very fruitful hill and he fenced it and gathered it out of the stones that and planted it with the choices vine built a tower in the midst of it also made a notice he made something a wine press in the midst of it thereof and he looked that it should bring forth grapes uh-oh and it brought forth wild grapes and now o have inhabitants of jerusalem and men of judea judge i pray you betwixt me and my vineyard i love this verse i always have it says what could have been done more to my vineyard that i have not done to it wherefore therefore when i looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wild grapes verse 5 and now go to and i tell you what i will do to my vineyard i will take away the hedge thereof it shall be eaten up break down the wall thereof and it shall be trodden down and i will lay at waste it shall not be pruned nor digged but there shall come briers and thorns i will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it verse 7 for the vineyard of the lord of hosts is the house of israel the men of judah is pleasant plant he looked for judgment but behold oppression for righteousness but behold a cry i know it's a lot of information and probably pastor here and somebody else can get several sermons just out of one or two verses of that but i think it's good to look at because i'm i'm looking at a question would have to be asked as we read this what's the meaning of it i think it'd be fair to say this parable what was the meaning of it if we don't get that we're not going to get what we're talking about here and and if you've read along with us verse 7 really gives you that so take time to read that again now god uses parables to help people to look at themself number one honestly and to do it objectively and how many of us really are honest and objective when it comes to our self or even to our own kids you know to our own religion it's very hard sometimes to look at something and be really objective like god would have us do is to look through certainly through his eyes but the bible does say as i read in there in second chronicles 13 5 he says we need to uh examine ourselves so this is very scriptural here that we need to look and examine ourself that and be honest with ourself whether we're really in the faith or not and a lot of times we say that we are in the faith but maybe you know we need some changes to take place i think the book i say is just beautiful when you get into it because i'm seeing already brought out love the love of god the love of god has for us his mercy his grace is coming back and no matter how far you wander away you can haul you know that song i wandered far away from god but now i'm coming home that's the beauty of we can come home to him when we confess our sins we come he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins he wants us to see i think at least in this part and thursday's lesson to see our true condition god calls this interesting a a love song i'm saying love song what it's it's revealed from the beginning of isaiah in fact through the whole scripture that number one bible says that god is what first john 4 8 god is love isn't he he that loveth not knoweth not god for god is love interesting love then to me is an attribute of heaven not not love like goes on in the world today in what we call love man it's messed up as far as i'm concerned but only i know what love and try to comprehend just a little bit of it is when i behold christ or i behold calvary that says love to me it helps me to understand it better god then he gives all of this stuff it sews in this parable it's beautiful how he bestows everything upon us and all he wants interesting all he wants in return is love that's all he wants from us is love there's nothing we have that he really needs he just wants love and he says i i gave you the good grapes and my my my if you didn't give me the the wild grapes and you know that's translated stinking yeah the stinking grapes see sometimes these words we just have to look at and look because it's well it gave me wild grape no stinking grapes is the way heaven looks out of here it's not good grapes youth instructor i like this in 113 18 19 1898 this was written it says where love exists please if we get nothing out of these lessons where love exists there is power and truth if love exists in the church if love exists in your heart and my heart your heart here then we're going to see that there's there's power there there's truth there in our life and notice love oh i loved it years ago i read it and i shouted it says love does good and nothing but good on the other hand i had to take myself a little whipping because it says true love love true love does nothing right good and nothing but good and so sometimes we see things not so good maybe come out but praise god we can go back and those who have love bears what bears fruit is what this parable is about into everlasting life now why would this parable put into a song well you know you can make it well it'll make it a little bit more thrilling if it if it's a song or it might have a different effect upon somebody else in our minds or whatever or could it be that god said this here because in a song we can learn it more easily we can commit it to memory more easily so god again once is looking out for us god has many ways to try to wake us up as sinners think about that he has many ways in which to try to wake us up and i'm praying daily he'll help me to wake up and see things for what it really is and changes i need to make in my own life and i guarantee there's so many that we don't even realize but i ask you to keep praying that so god will reveal these things to us and again to be sorry for our sin we come we repent and we're sorry for our sins second corinthians 7 10 says for godly sorrow you know well what this is repentance yeah leads to repentance right that's what godly sorrow is if we're really sorrow for our sins so here in chapter five the great blessing he's given to his people notice this was no what those says he just get all he wanted in return is just love he just wanted us to commit ourself to him let's look at just a few things real quickly here quickly i think great things that god did for his people number one there's five of them so if we get through number five they were so praise god they were his particular people this just jumped out and get you i mean so you just you have to jot them down isn't that right he notices we are his peculiar people means his purchase isn't that right where his purchased possession and that notice this and he acknowledged them as his own he acknowledges us as his own you talk about an awesome thing god can look down from glory and look at you and look at me and look inside read your heart read your mind read everything about you know where you're headed know what you've been thinking know what you've been doing and yet he can look down he said they're my people they're my people because he looks at me and he sees a finished product if i'll let him come in and finish it aren't you glad if you look down and see the mess they are just maybe turn around and say well we'll look for somebody else okay number number two his vineyard had extraordinary soil and this peril after other words he's making everything to where we can bear fruit right see you're my special people i'm going to do special things for you the soil that you're going to plant in is where it's going to be extraordinary i'm going to do great things so we can produce a crop three he fenced it in did you notice that he fenced it in a fence can do what it serves as a protector does it not inside and outside sometimes but it's a protector and so no one can get in to hurt them because the eyes of the lord are honest constantly and notice what happened he built the fence he gave us all these things but what happened we tore the fence down by our action by our lifestyle we tore it down and then the enemy came in not four he gathered the stones even out of the ground first thing you do you go to plow you go to disk stones you pick up all those things that's going to hamper you and i look at those stones as the weights hebrews talks about those weights that so easily beset us the things that discourages sometimes these obstacles god said i'm going to take those out of the way so that you when you sow there's going to be a harvest i like that number five he planted notice that he planted it with the best vine and i said to myself who is the vine that's right john 15 says jesus is the vine he said i'm the vine he gave us the law he gave us the the holy spirit he's given us you know we look at things today truth and light and john 16 13 lead us into all truth and i like this in john 15 women get close to being done but praise god john 15 verse 16 i like this he says ye oh he said you you have not i like it i like it i don't like it i love it because it says ye have not chosen me that's right but what but i have chosen you i've ordained you to do what to bear fruit that's the bottom line oh no okay amen thank you all so much what an incredible study oh mercy praise the lord that there is hope yes there is condemnation as in conviction satan brings condemnation the holy spirit brings conviction there's conviction to our heart but there is hope in jesus praise the lord for that i want to give each one of you a moment to share something about your day pastor ryan absolutely uh you know my lesson is just bringing out the fact that the lesson i gleaned from it is that god is calling us all to repentance and so uh we're living in a time where we need now more than ever to take self-inventory uh to do some self-examination and that's exactly what god was calling israel to do here in this first chapter of isaiah as he's pleading with them come on that they turn return to him amen and forsake self so i think that's the message we need to glean from tuesday amen amen and then if we think of what he said in isaiah 1 18 when god said come let us reason together though your sins are like scarlet they'll be white as snow reminds me of first john 1 9 when he says if you confess your sins before him god is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness hallelujah that's right i said god is not an iffy god but he surely is an if god amen we find in proverbs 1 verse 23 look at the conditions of god but look at the promises of god he says turn at my rebuke surely i will pour out my spirit on you i will make my words known to you what's the condition turn and then i will do i will pour out my spirit on you may you not be an iffy christian but may you take hold of the if of god and be blessed glory second peter 2 verse 21 pull this thing down this says for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness then after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them verse 22 has something god's called you out he's cleansing us right he's calling us into a wonderful new relationship with him and we need to make sure we don't do verse 22 where the dog is turned to his own vomit thank you all so much pastor kenny pastor john shelley and pastor ryan just thank you for opening up the word of god and for sharing from your heart i am excited about this study and the journey that we're going to take together thank you for joining us uh this scripture jumped out at me as pastor kenny was talking this is isaiah chapter 5 but this is verse 20 woe to those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter i think the call in this entire first chapter is who are we this crisis of identity to recognize our need of a savior we need jesus to come in and transform our lives make sure you join us next week lesson number two we look at crisis of leadership isaiah chapter 6. [Music] you

Channel: Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN)

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Keywords: 3ABN, Three Angels Broadcasting Network, yt:quality=high, 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, Isaiah, Book of Isaiah, Bible Study, God, Jesus, Hope, Promise, God is with us, Gospel Prophet, Prophecy

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Length: 59min 8sec (3548 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 27 2020