Hope Sabbath School Lesson 6 Worship the Creator

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to Hope Sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the Word of God we are in the middle of a very practical in fact I might say life-changing series of studies ministering to those in need the least of these Jesus said our topic today worship the Creator you see Derek what does that have to do with ministry to the least of these I believe we'll discover that when we enter into true worship when we reject all forms of idolatry and align with the heart of God we will go out from worship maybe even in worship care for the least of these it's gonna challenge us I'm glad you're here isn't this an amazing series I'm just being so blessed by the Word of God and we're glad that you're a part of this miracle in fact whenever you write to us we share it with the whole team and our media team because it really brings joy to see how lives are being transformed including ours here is a note from Jane in Kenya and Jen right Jane writes it says I am super excited to be able to connect with you I've been a great follower of Hope Sabbath school and I'm always looking forward to the next study allow me to commend you for bring to us participants who are immersed in the Word of God and giving us suggestions that will stir us may the Lord keep this program alive forever well let's do Jesus comes right and reach more and more people in all the world amen well Jane you know we've got team members from Kenya we're glad that you're part of our hopes have a school family and thanks for praying for us to a note from shadrach like Shadrach but Shadrach in Zambia thanks for writing to us we have a lot of hope Sabbath school members in Zambia mm-hmm maybe more than a million of Sabbath School members hope Sabbath school members just wanted to say thanks so very much for the powerful encouragement and inspiration you're giving us through the in-depth interactive study of the Word of God sounds like it's been watch right you've made me understand the Bible in a way which is even for me to share God's word with my class may God continue to bless you as you labor greetings to all Shadrach well Shadrach you bring joy to my heart that you've started a class you can download the outline from our website hope TV org / hope SS and you can use the same outline and I'm sure that God will bless you as you lead the in-depth interactive study of the word of God Angelita writes from Texas in the United States hi I enjoy watching hope Sabbath school every week look forward even to watching as soon as Monday or Tuesday hmm so getting an advance study sometimes there may be a few things I don't get in my own study but I make sure I study with you god bless everyone that's helping in any way or form making hope sabbath-school blessings pray that my husband will want to attend church with me soon amen Angelita yeah our mission field starts at home doesn't it our spouse our children maybe our co-workers or classmates at school so thank you so much for encouraging us and we want to pray Angelita for your family that that the light of Jesus would shine through you here's a note from a donor in it's a real life note from Arizona and the note says hello hope sabbath-school love and enjoy hope Sabbath school you are all very much a blessing for me keep up the good work for our Lord thank you and a gift of $25 amen you know I what's exciting to me I think Jesus says you know he looked like with the woman that gave the Widow's mite you remember he looks at our heart and when we say God I want to join with you in your mission this is donor supported ministry we can all be part of that miracle man and thanks from Arizona for sending that encouraging them to us and right around the world the other side of the planet in Vanuatu terrip writes to us tari p-- writes to us so glad to be following hope sabbath school on the internet so challenging and encouraging please pray for our church family here in Vanuatu in our spiritual walk with the Lord until he comes we're praying for God to bless hope Sabbath school as you give more people hope to meet Jesus when he comes amen well we can tell Therese that you believe in the coming of Jesus was glad that you're part of our hopes and school family let the light of Jesus shine there in Vanuatu and right now we need your help to sing a song with us it's our theme song for the series taken from second Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 5 and 16 word-for-word now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God let's sing it together [Music] [Applause] [Music] your heart [Music] the patient's give you peace always and everywhere Oh [Music] the direct your heart into the [Music] the patience of Christ yourself beauties always [Music] [Music] you know I find myself driving my car going down may the Lord I got to make sure I don't turn the wheel too much while I'm singing but you know that is my prayer especially through this series God direct my heart into the love of God it's gonna be life-changing and today I was asking worshiping the creator why is true worship so important hmm the answer is it aligns our hearts who in the heart of God amen and that will affect the way we treat others who which is what this series is about ministering to the least of these let's pray as we study together today father in heaven there's so much in your word you've told us it is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path you've promised us the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth we pray that that would happen as we study and understand the importance of true worship to align our hearts with your heart this is my prayer for each of us around the world as we gather for hope Sabbath school today in the name of Jesus amen we're going to Mount Sinai not literally but in our Bibles to Exodus chapter 22 the giving of the commandments and we're going to see in the very first part in Haiti I'd like you to begin our study in Exodus 20 verses 1 through 6 that the first part of chapter 20 which records the Ten Commandments really emphasizes the importance of true worship and so let's begin our study there Exodus 20 verses 1 through 6 and then I'll be reading from the New King James Version it says and God spoke all these words saying I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father's upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my Commandments why do you think it's important for the Lord God to say to the children of Israel don't make any idols why would he mention that there's only ten sayings here right why would that be one of them anybody yes Evelyn well the Israelites came from Egypt where they were surrounded by the Egyptians who were used to worship being idols and other gods so it was easy for them to pick up on and even the lands they were going through there were all kinds of idols in fact there were idols all around them right and it's this very specific command don't make an idol and bow down to it what should we do rather than make an idol and bow down to it worship God the Lord right it's a name Yahweh I am the one that created the eternal one all right creator of the heavens and the earth and you ought to do that remembering that he's the one who's just redeemed you brought you out right and right there in the same book let's go to Exodus 32 Addison if you could read a tragic thing count in Exodus 32 verses 1 through 6 and what's I know there's such an expression that's doubly tragic but what makes it even worse is one of the leaders is exactly participating and leading out in an act of idolatry it wasn't much of a leader but he was in a position of religious authority wasn't it so let's hear the story in Exodus 32 verses one through six and I'm reading from the King James Version and when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the Mount the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him up make us God's which shall go before for as for this Moses the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt we want not what has become of him and Aaron said unto them break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives of your sons and of your daughters and bring them unto me and all the people break the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron and he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf and they said these be thy God's o Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt and when Aaron saw it he built an altar before it and Aaron made Proclamation and said tomorrow is a feast to the Lord and they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings and the people sat down to eat and a drink and rose up to play and by the way that play is talking about sexual promiscuity so they're dancing around this calf and they have the audacity to call it the Lord lor D capital which is in the Hebrew takes the way that they would speak about the name of God they wouldn't even write the name of God but that's the Yahweh they're calling this golden calf Yahweh who and they're dancing naked around why I see you shaking your heads why why would they do that when they when they've been told don't have any gods before me Stephanie they're so entrenched in this mindset of multiple gods would you say they've been affected by the pagan culture around them absolutely but they've also lost their connection to the their true God and so they are susceptible to falling into the practices of those that are around them they they are saying the man brought us out of Egypt that's the disconnection isn't this man Moses did he bring them out of Egypt God Addison well they had grown impatient and they wanted to see results and he'd been gone for several weeks dr. no like he was up there 40 days or something like that and they they wanted to see something they want to see a visible God something they could touch and and see what their own eyes yes Stephanie and I believe we we know from the scripture that also a mixed multitude came out with me so you blame them well I think that their that or do you think they were I think there's that influence there but air is the one that tells them to by the way where did they get all the gold earrings from from their bodies yeah and by the way nothing wrong with that because they would have used that for the tabernacle right this is like the bank accounts right they that's how they wore the the gold that was the bank account and and he later will tell Moses we just kind of threw it in and out came this which is not what you just read what did you read it was a passionate yes ashin it so the influence of the mixed multitude disconnection but that's not the only time in the history of the children of Israel that they fall into idolatry rule can you think of any other times you say why were there so many prophets right Nancy I think of Solomon so his father David spent all his life fighting the and the ammonites and the Philistines and all these people and then his son Solomon marries them and then in marrying them he had 700 wives and 300 concubines these women would raise their children in the ways that they knew didn't even build holy places for them for their gods any other time besides the time of Solomon that you can think of Gary a hab king ahab and jezebel Bale were male worship right Bale was the the god of the earth mm-hmm and they would worship also a fertility ashteroth right huh you say this is so many times Evelyn yes there's a time when Israel is in Moapa in MO and there they also started to commit harlotry but the women from there and they also fall into idolatry right sexual immorality and I think Marduk was one of the gods of the Moabites Marta was the one where they would sacrifice the babies so how can they get so far away by the way there's even one you remember the bronze serpent God told them to make that was not to be an idol right it was to heal yeah point to the Messiah who would deliver them right and look in faith remember the fiery serpents came into the camp do you know that they started to worship that snake they even had a name for it no host done I did make that up really the Bible think what is it about people that they so easily want to make a thing and bow down to it John that's the human disposition that fallen humanity of trying to bring God down and kind of embarks him to our perception and understanding now we're talking about ministering to the least of these so you say Tara what does that have to do with our series and the answer is when we disconnect from the heart of God we disconnect from others we're gonna disconnect from others and certainly the way he would want us to treat others right so let's come back and let's talk about reasons why we should worship God oh maybe I should ask this do we do any idol worship today in France or in the Philippines well are there some places tickets you've lived in the Philippines right yeah padartha baby also back home in in Ethiopia right and some other countries represented around are there some places they still make idols and bow down oh yeah yeah even in churches they bow down to pictures of saints ah and so they they worship the image so he could even creep creep into a Christian a church oh yeah but but also other religions there are places they still make statues what about secular you're part of the Millennial Generation or is there another generation later one you know people a lot of people register themselves as nun now right yeah that's not like a nun with the clothing right but n Oh any like no religion nun de secular people make idols and it's not even just physical idols but we take objects such as our phones or social media or things that distract us from our relationship with God from participating in ministry and we treat those as idols we give it our full attention we're fully engaged and our phones are electronics those become our idols what else could become an idol to contemporary yes Delmas I think to tag on to what she's saying really it's ourselves we are idolizing ourselves essentially and put in worship ourselves yeah basically yeah yeah so so this problem of idolatry whatever it might be I never thought of a phone as an idol certainly you know movie stars or mute erotic stars you know people people worship them and out out Nicole it's not even just bowing down cuz I mean I think I think sometimes you think the physical bowing down is just that like she said it's the distraction from being able to worship Christ okay it can be an idol so anything that we put in front of our relationship with him is because an out of our house our car whatever it is that we put more faith into than we do Christ becomes an idol for us okay Addison if there's anything in our life that we deem like more supreme than God is and that's a that's a that's an idol to we're gonna go and see why we should worship God rather than whatever those bones or a person you could worship a person in a relationship right yeah it it takes the place of God yeah yeah God belongs let's look at some reasons why we should worship the Lord God and again we're always thinking when my heart is truly aligned with God as I come to worship it's going to impact the way that I care for others yes Deuteronomy chapter 10 reasons why we should worship God Nancy do you have chapter 10 of Deuteronomy verses 17 through 21 yes and I'm reading from the New King James Version for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords the great god mighty and awesome who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe he administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger giving him food and clothing therefore love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt you shall fear the Lord your God you shall serve him and to him you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name he is your praise and he is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen do you hear the heart of God reflected there caring for others go down a few generations to David's times Psalm 100 actually gonna look at two Psalms Psalm 100 and some 146 tickets do you have Psalm 100 let's look at verses 4 & 5 together I'll be reading from the New International Version it says enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him and praise His name for the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations we worship the Lord because he's good he's also a life unlike the idols right Psalm 146 verses 5 through 10 Psalm 146 Evelyn if you have that would read verses 5 through 10 for us I will be reading from the New King James Version happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his house whose hope is in the Lord his God who made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them who keeps truth forever who executes justice for the oppressed who gives food to the hungry the Lord gives freedom to the prisoners the Lord opens the eyes of the blind the Lord raises those who are bowed down the Lord loves righteous the righteous the Lord watches over the strangers he relieves the fatherless and wind widowed but the way of the wicked he turns upside down the Lord shall reign forever your God o Zion to all generations praise the Lord Amen that's hallelujah by the way in Hebrew hallelujah it would be enough to say he made the heavens and the earth so worship Him what else did you hear or take a look again at your text what what what are some reasons why we should worship the Lord rather than idols he executes judgment or justice right he cares for us he cares for us he feeds the hungry he feeds the hungry prisoners gives freedom does this remind you of another prophecy I mean this is what Jesus said in his mission statement remember right the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he's anointed me to fulfill this mission of reflecting the beautiful character of God let's go over to another prophet Isaiah Isaiah's living in about 300 years after the writing of the Psalms we just read Isaiah 5 and verse 16 Andre if you have that we read it for us ready for the new King James Version it reads but the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment and God who is holy shall hallow shall be hallowed in righteousness some people worship God out of fear and some religions you know and and even that God may be evil but the description of the one true God the creator of the heavens and the earth it's not just that he's powerful and he's loving compassionate caring but he's also always holy that's right so there's so many reasons one last verse in Isaiah 44 verses 6 through 8 Isaiah 44 John verses 6 through 8 and this is the New King James that says thus says the lord the king of israel and his redeemer the lord of hosts I am the first and I am the last besides me there is no God and who can proclaim as I do then let him declare it and set it in order for me since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming and shall come let them show these to them do not fear nor be afraid have I not told you from that that time and declared it you are my witnesses is there a god besides me indeed there is no other rock I know not why any men sometimes when we hear expression he's the god of gods we think oh there are many gods but he's like the great God but here he makes it clear that all the other gods are just false gods who idols they made it rock stone now we know from a study of the Bible that behind those might be spiritual forces but they are not spiritual forces of light the spiritual forces of darkness yes but here very clearly there is no other God right just one no other one and he is worthy of our worship so I want to just say that when we catch a glimpse of the awesomeness of God our spontaneous reaction is worship mm-hmm okay and I want to take us to the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt they're taken out God God parts the waters through the rod this Moses place is over the Red Sea they come through and once somewhat to read for us from Exodus 14 the last few verses in the beginning of chapter 15 because there is a deliverance and a spontaneous worship as they catch a glimpse of his character someone have Exodus chapter 14 Stephanie you could start in verse 30 and read through chapter 15 verse 2 and I'll be reading from the King James Version thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore and Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses chapter 15 verse 1 then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea the Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation he is my god and I will prepare him and habitation my father's God and I will exalt him it's just I wish I could hear the tune you know because they sang right my wife you know likes to write scripture songs so I can memorize the Bible I wish I knew the originals I'm gonna ask some of the psalmist when I get I might say well I like my wife's tune better they just sang praises to God as they caught a glimpse of the character of God I'd like to give you an opportunity to share a time when you entered into worship and you just kind of caught a glimpse of the beauty of God and it really impacted you that's quite different from did you go to church today whoo that's that's entering into true worship and I suppose it might not necessarily be in a building but it could be entered into true worship and caught a glimpse of the beauty of the character of God I would like to share it biggest for me it was in marriage because when you get married you get married for better or worse and especially in the beginning of your marriage you are trying to learn each other and you need to give you know you need to be merciful and I remember one day just bowing down before God and said thank you God for being so patient with me thank you God for being so patient with Who I am and it revealed to me how God was patient and so loving until I came back to him you know so a marriage taught me the love of God even more okay and and and your response was to worship God for his for his goodness and patience goodness and patience just as you needed it in your marriage patient's anyone else a time when in worship you just caught a glimpse of the goodness and the mercy of God yes Nancy yeah just a couple of days ago it's just amazing to me how God works in our lives he's just he's able to turn everything upside-down flip things from right from from wrong to right and I like I was just in awe of how he was able to do that and I just fell on my knees and and I just thanked him for his goodness and his love and his ability to to fix everything I remember one time I wanted to watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon now those of you that are not from the United States of America the Grand Canyon is a huge Rift Valley right is a huge Canyon chasm I don't know how what the altitude drop is from 7,000 feet down to where the Columbia River is that right or Colorado thank you for helping me with my geography I was born on a different location in the UK and I wanted to watch the Sun Rise and I was just wanting to praise God so I was running on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and I was trying to beat the sunrise so I'm running through the woods and there's like the year standing over here and other animals just stand this is a national park and I get there and and just as the Sun is about to rise on the other side looking toward the sunrise in the east in this huge ball of fire the Sun begins to rise and I'm thinking God you are so awesome and then I look and I see a little hummingbird hmm just kind of flying on the side of the canyon you know and and it was like God said you can see me in the big things hmm but you can also see my handiwork in the little things and just kind of caught my attention and I said you're awesome God amen now what is it gonna take to get us from all these distractions that we talked about so that we can enter into true worship and really align our heart with the heart of God what's it gonna take Haiti for me it means like disconnecting from everything that disconnects me from God and being intentional about it so on a day-to-day basis I try to have a lot of sermons on lesson commentaries I'm listening to several different ones including hopes at school and just filling myself with God if you surround yourself with godly things like it changes your attitude you know the days that I don't do that I can tell a difference and then on the Sabbath when I can sometimes for us it becomes a very busy day but when I can and I'm able to have a garden of gethsemane moment and step back then I'm able to come to the Lord a little more intently in prayer in Bible study and him true worship and open my heart to him and it just connects me with him and I get a glimpse of him it's beautiful it gives me peace it's interesting because earlier I think Nicole you mentioned or maybe Stephanie to that that the children of Israel was surrounded by all of the idols and all of the paganism and Hades saying I want to surround myself with all of the things of my Great Creator God so there's this idea of you know what is it osmosis is where you absorb you know it just kind of sinks in to you you absorb what's around you but what you're doing is you're choosing to create that environment guided by the Spirit of God anybody else can relate to that Patricia yeah I think we need to be intentional about seeking God and making time for him in our busy schedules just just being there at the mood of the Cross so it's not whatever radio station or whatever TV station comes up but you're choosing intentionally yeah I know some of you have little ones you have to choose it for your children do right Stephanie the verse that comes to my mind is be still and know that I'm gone and I love the beach especially in the early morning hours and when there's something that's heavy on my mind or that I need to talk to God about it's going out in the quietness and listening to the waves and just letting God speak while you're saying that I'm thinking of Jesus mark 1 where it says a long while before dawn mm-hmm he went to a solitary place and there we prayed he connected with God with the heart of God of his father right so there's something very intentional about that we're talking about how when we reject any form of idolatry and and come into true worship wherever I've heard many people talk about a church service bill there may be some that when we align our heart with the heart of God it will impact the way we care for others yes Tommy I think when we are worshiping our idols we put ourselves higher but when we remember that God is the creator it humbles us I'm thinking about like when I look at the stars in the sky at night that humbles you you realize I'm just a tiny little speck in this universe so there's really no point trying to elevate myself and but when we look at God it elevates our mind helps us to remember that God is balance of justice and mercy and it challenges us to rise above our simple cell and the other thing is that also I think reminding out all these stories it reminds us of that we can't depend on ourselves we are such small beans but we can depend on an infinite creator the one who created us and he gives us so much more that allows us I think to be able to then care for those who were less than because we don't really have to we're not trying to elevate ourselves we're not trying to protect our status or our power because we can give it away we realize that our power of meaning is all observe I've because it our Creator Amen that's beautiful here's the challenge there are systems and individuals of power trying to hinder us yeah I'm entering it to true worship uh-huh yes now I'm not a conspiracy theorist I'm just gonna read the Bible mm-hm because it will tell us of people who are getting in the way of helping intentionally as you mentioned Patricia to intentionally create that environment Haiti that you talked about let's take a look at that and then let's say how do we help people how do we help each other to get past those hindrances we're looking in Amos again chapter 8 verses 4 through 6 and Andre if you could read that for us it's talking about religious oppressors people who get in the way of experiencing that true worship with God I'll be reading from Amos chapter 8 verses 4 through 6 and 11 through 12 from the New King James Version and it reads here this you who swallow up the needy and make the poor of the land fail saying when will the new moon be passed that we may sell grain and the Sabbath that we may trade wheat making the ephah 'the small and the shekel large falsifying the scales by deceit that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals even sell the bad wheat now verse 11 and 12 behold the days are coming say the Lord God that I will send a famine on the land not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the word of the Lord they shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east they shall run to and fro seeking the word of the Lord but shall not find it why is taking the Word of God away from people a form of religious oppression remember Berta who wrote understand realize the real hunger was I needed the Word of God why is taking the Word of God John away from people a form of religious oppression the Word of God brings liberty into a person's life a person's soul and it gives us the picture of who God is and to take that away distorts in one's mind who got it is how do you find out if you've taken the Word of God away Gary yeah if you take the Word of God away you're you're under the bonds of whoever's telling you who God is ah whatever picture of God whatever they choose to share Thomas do you mind if I go to Matthew 23 I'd like to just share this this just reminds me of not just how they not only hid the scripture but also the religious establishment also distorted and sure what chapter with Matthew 23 and verse first I'm looking at specifically 27 23 verse 27 okay give us just a moment Matthew 23 verse 27 do you think this parallels what we owe ya I mean in fact if you look at the whole chapter Jesus is talking about the woes to the Pharisees and hypocrites and he's basically talking about how these people are just persecuting and oppressing the people by adding so many burdensome rules and traditions that just it's just not very helpful to people and then he says in this verse it says in first listen New King James Version it says in verse 27 woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outward ly but inside are full of dead man's bone cleanliness mmm I think it's a perfect illustration of how people can look really good on the outside and be really righteous looking but inside you're just dead hmm and the reason why you can see that is because of all the traditions and how they've lost touch with people and I think when we truly are in touch with the heart of God like you're talking about we're going to be considerate of the people who are under our care and we're gonna be caring for the least of these basically and let's go to another passage that parallels what you just read in Mark's Gospel chapter 12 there you've got whitewash which means it looks good on the outside right definitely if you could look in mark 12 verses 38 to 40 looks good on the outside but inside it's dead and unfortunately a seeker after God might look at that and go that's dead right but it could also hinder us from aligning herself with the heart of God let's see what Jesus says in mark chapter 12 38 to 40 and the King James Version says and he said unto them in his doctrine beware of the scribes which love to go in long clothing and love salutations in the marketplaces and the chief seats in the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feasts which devour widows houses and for a pretence make long prayers these shall receive greater damnation mm-hmm now lest we think they were all bad there were some of the religious leaders who were seeking God all right can you think of some Nicodemus is one Joseph of Arimathea was another one many priests later became obedient to the faith so they got past those hindrances that held them back there's another story which we've read before but I'd like to look at again in John 2 during the Ministry of Jesus where there was religious oppression and it was all to do with the buying of sacrifices that they were supposed to have and transferring from currency to temple currency and let's see what the story tells us in John chapter 2 Nancy could you read verses 13 through 16 yes this is from the New King James Version now the Passover of the Jews was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business 15 through verse 16 flees when he had made up a whip of cords he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers money and over turned the tables and he said to those who sold doves take these things away do not make my father's house a house of merchandise now we've talked in a previous study about how the prophets had some pretty strong language right but this is intense too isn't it tipping over tables he makes a whip I don't know that he ever hit anyone but they were gone before you know it was the glory of God being revealed in challenging this system so have you ever found yourself in a place like that oh boy this is a dangerous question to answer where you felt like the system was hindering you from aligning your heart with the heart of God I'd like to say how do we avoid acting like them too but but you just felt like the system was hindering you if you haven't used my favorite Hebrew word which is yeah but maybe there's someone maybe you're watching I hope Sabbath school today and say dear God I've been in a system like that I just there were there were reformers who got up from places and said this isn't right right mm-hmm have you ever felt like like it was the system or people were getting in the way of your heart aligning with the heart of God anybody that's wonderful if you haven't because it does happen and I'm thinking of reports for example and I want to be very sensitive here but we're people in religious positions abuse people mm-hmm and you go if that's what this is about huh right Thomas yeah no I was just gonna say I think I I haven't I'm looking at people who have experienced that oppression and there was people based on their gender the race their social class people who are oppressed because of who they are and I don't think that leaves a good positive image of who our God is God loves all people regardless of where we're from and yeah so how can we avoid making the same mistake Stephanie I think we have to be connected to God and I think of John 15 okay back to the vine and that's who that's gone and make sure that moment by moment we are in connection with him is there any value in having accountability like within a community of faith both both in a positive way well John there that really looked like Jesus to me hmm I'm not trying to brag or no brag but flattered right that really looked like Jesus to me and my response your response will be praise God praise God right but also to say that doesn't look like Jesus to me or for you to tell me Derek I think you meant well but that didn't look like Jesus to me mm-hmm that didn't reflect the way that God cares for all of his children maybe that's part of the function of church yeah yeah so you're saying the way we avoid that is our relationship with God okay which it comes back to making sure we're connected so that we can connect with so how does the community help with that too or is it just like me and God mm-hmm what do you think I mean we're here in a group here we're working together I think we're having a more significant in-depth interactive studying than if it was just me and and Gary right how does the community help us to say you know for example your testimony about creating an environment did anybody think that's good that what's important yeah you know we learn from each other you have a community that helps you with that yeah yeah I mean it no man is an island and and there are several versus you know iron sharpens iron or a three-fold cord is not easily broken and yes you and God are a majority but it helps to have physical people around you that you can interact with that can build each other up notify one another yeah I need to move on to our last section which is that when we do experience true worship mm-hmm when we align our heart with the heart of God and it may be out in nature it may be in a worship service where one of my favorite choirs singing and I just go that is awesome God praise you you know that that alignment with the heart of God will result in caring for those in need let's look at a couple of verses one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament in Isaiah chapter 58 this is a chapter we read in a previous study but we're impressed to read it again maybe someone's hearing it for the first time and then a famous parable a teaching of Jesus that it gives us the title for this series the least of these so let's start with Isaiah and Stephanie could you read that for us starting in verse 1 of chapter 58 and I'll be reading from the King James Version cry aloud spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God they asked of me the orden tsa's of justice they take delight in approaching to God wherefore have we fasted say they and thou see us not wherefore have we afflicted our soul and thou take us no knowledge behold in the day of your fast we find pleasure and exact all your Labor's behold you fast for strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness you shall not fast as you do this day to make your voice to be heard on high is it such a fast that I have chosen a day for a man to afflict his soul is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord is not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poor that was cast out to thy house when thou see us the naked that thou cover him and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh then shall thy light break forth as the morning and nine house shall spring forth speedily and thy righteousness shall go before thee the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer thou shalt cry and he shall say Here I am if they'll take away from the midst of thee the yoke the putting forth of the finger and speaking vanity with those thoughts in mind go over to Matthew with me and hear the word of Jesus in Matthew chapter 25 Thomas do you have that term verses 31 to 40 we're just gonna read the first part see how they parallel and then we're going to bring it together as we close this new King James Version when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides a sheep from the goats and he will set the sheep on his right hand but two goats on the left then the king will say to those on his right hand come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you took me in I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me then the righteous will answer him saying Lord when did you when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you a drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothed you or when did we see you sick or in prison or come to you and the king will answer and say to them assuredly I say to you and as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me now we know we're not saved by feeding the hungry our clothing the naked we're saved by God's grace but what is he saying your heart is aligned with my heart your heart is aligned with the heart of God now I want to tell you if you're willing to live that life which I believe can change families and can change communities people will criticize you mm-hmm did you know that Luke 15 Jesus meets with sinners mm-hmm you know he he comes because God cares for how many oh and the religious leaders criticize him this man welcomes sinners and eats with them so how do we handle the opposition we we prayerfully help create an environment where we align our heart with the heart of God hopefully it happens in worship as a community but also in our own homes how do we handle the opposition when people criticize us when a heart is aligned with the heart of God Andre I was gonna let Nancy go cuz that a she was gonna give a story but okay how do I handle that opposition well we say that we're being like Jesus so that would be your answer to the people yeah I mean he he hung out with sinners he you know caring for those right that's how we show that we're on line for you too I'm just following Jesus anybody else how would you handle the opposition Stephanie I would use the phrase of like one of my teachers press Ilan press on do you do what you know God is leading you to do and and let him deal with those things so you would would you just ignore it would you say just ignore the opposition and just keep doing what God is asking you to do yes with compassion for those people too right okay because God's trying to reach them as well so you would be like Jesus with the woman caught in the act of adultery that you show compassion to her and to the people who set her up by God's grace yes by God's grace but not stop doing what he's called you to do anyone have a testimony we've just got a couple of minutes left Haiti you had a comment you're gonna keep pressing on even though some people will criticize you or oppose you yeah I was just gonna say just based on looking at the Scriptures I see that Jeremiah became discouraged Elijah became discouraged and it's okay we're human beings we have emotions it's okay to go and take that to the Lord when people you know say mean things about us it does hurt our feelings when they criticize us and just take it to him so keep doing what he's asked you to do tell them you're trying to follow Jesus but also take that burden to the Lord blessed are you when people persecute you and say all manner of evil against you for myself falsely for my sake rejoice in that day I say Lord that's not that easy we're so persecuted they the prophets who were before you and come back to worship right come back to aligning your heart with the heart of God God gives us to do here what we will not have to do in heaven because there won't be hunger there won't be the the upon the oppressed but it seems like we cannot enter heaven without that experience in that spirit of service loving service and it is not the way of salvation but it is an evidence of that kind of ityou in your worship to say why are you worshiping today not well that's all I supposed to do I do it every week no say I came to worship to align my heart with the heart of God so that I can go out a different person I can go out filled with the compassion of God filled with the holiness of God who cares for the oppressed that my life could in some marvelous way reflect the beauty of God's character let's pray that miracle can happen even in our broken lives by His grace Father in heaven we know that we are not perfect we know that we could never earn your favor but you've saved us by your grace and you've called us to go out and to make a difference in our communities that as we worship you in spirit and truth we truly can align our heart with your heart that you can be working your work through us to bless all of your children Lord we know our hurting world needs that more than ever today so let that miracle happen by your grace we pray in the name of Jesus amen amen well thanks for joining us for hope Sabbath school I don't think I'm gonna come to worship the same God align my heart with your heart that your love would flow through me to bless your children go out be a blessing to those around you [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: HopeSabbathSchool

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Length: 58min 14sec (3494 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 04 2019