Hope Sabbath School Lesson 8 Creation Genesis As Foundation Part 1

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to Hope Sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the word of God this is an amazing series on how to interpret the Bible I'm excited today because we're going to go back to beginnings and see how important an understanding of the Scriptures is to our origin and what happened in the early years of the history of planet Earth so I'm glad you're with us and I'm particularly excited that Trish really is going to be teaching today and we've got a great team and we're glad you're a part of our hopes and school family so thanks for writing to us here are just a few emails but write to us at s/s Hope at hope TV daughter would love to hear from you wherever you are we know a two hundred and twenty six countries where people are watching the program that's a lot of people isn't it some people say didn't know they were even that many countries in the world well one of them is Rwanda and Joel writes and he says as we are waiting for the glorious return of Jesus I would like to express my gratitude to hope channel for the good job you're doing with Hope Sabbath school I use the study since I discovered hope service school and I have been going through the different lessons on YouTube and they are inspired by the Holy Spirit I in August of 2019 I visited one country where I couldn't find a single Church to gather and worship on Sabbath due to the constitution of that country but I found Ho Terrell and that was my Sabbath in my room keep spreading the good news and pray for people who do not have freedom to worship jesus is coming soon well Joel thanks for sharing with us from the country of Rwanda here's a note from Johnny in Scotland maybe I should put on a Scottish accent greetings to you from Dundee City in Scotland I want to thank all of you for impacting many lives around the world through hope Sabbath school I try not to miss your in-depth interactive Bible study each week May God richly bless you and the beautiful families in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen and amen I'd like to meet Johnny please keep up this amazing work for God well Johnny thanks for writing to us from Scotland and it's good to know that you're a witness for Christ there here's a note from a donor in the US it simply says I continue to enjoy hope Sabbath school classes may God bless you and all the hope channel team and a gift of two hundred dollars to help hope samma school god we're all part of a great miracle donors supported ministry thanks for being part of that ministry a donor here in the United States here's a note from me shack in Zambia lots of Hope Sabbath school members in Zambia someone said I think we have a million just in Zambia how are you beloved of God hope Sabbath school studies inspire me ever since I started watching them and I regret missing a single lesson may the good Lord continued blessing you as we wait for the coming of Jesus do you notice that message over and over again these lessons have helped me broaden my understanding of the word of God amen how I pray the good Lord continues using you so that when all is said and done we can all meet before the throne of God hosanna in the highest god bless you well me check thanks for writing to us from Zambia and here's one I think it's a first every once in a while we say I don't think I've got one from the island of rota where is the island of rota Marcus you know I don't know it's somewhere in the sea right because it is part of the Northern Marianas Islands the closest the largest island in that grouping is Saipan it is known as the friendly Island I had to google that it's a part of it it's a u.s. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands wrote us population 3283 in 2000 so there may be 3,500 who knows but it's a small island and some was watching hope Sava school there actually that's not true there's a whole group of people watching hope Sava school but Joe --them writes to us and he says I'm part of a church in the Northern Marianas Islands called rota I just want to say we watch hope Sabbath school every Sabbath here at our church I really like your scripture songs I wish I could donate something to you but I'm only 12 years old thank you for everything Jotham well Jotham thanks for writing to us would you give our greetings to the hope Sabbath school team they're on the island of rota and we're glad they're part of our family are we thanks so much for being with us today and we have a song Jotham we need you to help us sing how old was he ball just floating so that's how Jesus was when he began to understand his mission so we're praying that we can sing together our theme song now let the word of Christ dwell in you let's sing it together [Music] tgd Jiji [Music] spirit [Music] it's [Music] teaching [Music] in Psalms and hymns spiritual songs singing [Music] you know I was singing I was thinking you sound beautiful but even more beautiful is the fact that Jotham on the island of rota in the Northern Marianas Islands with a group of people are singing along the Word of God together amen well it's gonna be a great study officially let's pray and get started amen amen let's bow our heads Heavenly Father we thank you so much for your word we thank you for the journey that you've taken this long to discover truth about who you are may we discover marvelous things from your word to the power of your Holy Spirit in Christ and we pray amen amen we are continuing a study on how to interpret the Bible and today we're going to go right to the beginning we're going to look at Genesis and we're going to study together what we can learn and discover about who we are who God is and why we worship Him as creator amen and so let's get right to it the book of Genesis who wrote it this wrote it he wrote the first five books of the Bible it's important to have a record of what happened in the beginning but what's Moses there at the beginning how was he able to write this account in Genesis divine revelation says by revelation what do we know about the life of Moses Jason we know that there are several different experiences during his life both early middle and late where he had specific encounters with God both verbally and kind of experientially right so it was revealed to Moses by God himself so in account we can trust and one that we can have confidence in Travis I would also like to say that he wasn't that many generations removed you know so there was some stories handed down I'm sure you know that that he could base his writings on amen amen let's start right at the beginning of the book and Marcus would you read for us Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 sure Genesis 1 verse 1 and I'll be reading from the King James Version it reads in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth okay so what important question is answered in the very first sentence of the Bible GLaDOS says in the beginning God created so it doesn't give any room for any other any other interpretation so before we exist in there is God God Shana answers who when and who is God okay the what is created alright and when in the beginning all right what other scriptures give us this bold bold premise this bold assertion a God before everything we see existed and created us any other scriptures we can think of think about John let's turn there John chapter one in the first three verses Laurel would you please read those for us alright I'll be reading from the new American Standard Bible in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he was in the beginning with God all things came into being through him and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being amen amen if we keep reading a little later we'll hear the word became flesh and dwelt among us we understand that is Jesus Christ but let's flip over to Hebrews let's read in Hebrews chapter 1 look at the first two verses of that and there's another record Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 & 2 Alex glados to read that for us sure I'll be reading from the New International Version Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 & 2 in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom also he made the universe and through whom he made the universe what difference does it make for us to know that we were created by God what difference does that make Edison gives us so much meaning and purpose yeah perfect that we're not here by chance we're not here by chance Travis I guess each person that understands this value every person is valuable when you understand that you have a creator he meant a powerful God who existed before time as we know it who chose to make us and later as we read the word of God also loves us what else difference does it make for our lives today Kim knowing that God is my Creator and created me at this specific point in in my life like I could have been born in the 1600s but no he wanted me here today my specific purpose amen amen amen Sammy so I think about when I work with my boss he has about 40 years experience and what it does and every time I go to him for advice I just have my mind open and I'm looking at the Creator who in the beginning like way before anything ever existed so what problem can I have that's we've been learning in this study that the Word of God is inspired by God himself it's our manual to live right and so what better source to understand how to live our lives and the Creator God Himself Shana it's like the idea of something that's handmade versus mass-produced the thing that's handmade is more valuable and like because it was there was more thought put into it versus like just mass-produced it's like cheap I love it handmade let's take a closer look at how this happened now it's beyond our comprehension to understand how God can create all that we see around us from nothing but he did but let's see how this happened in what time period this took place let's continue reading in Genesis chapter 1 we're going to read verses 3 through 5 and I'm gonna ask Jason if you'd read those verses for us I'll be reading here from the New King James Version gen chapter one verses three through five then God said let there be light and there was light and God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness God called the light day and the darkness he called night so the evening and the morning were the first day amen so we know that we're told on this first day God makes what he makes light and we understand when you continue reading in the first chapter of Genesis day by day something else is added to this beautiful picture of Earth that God is creating but how do we know that these are literal 24-hour days how do we know that it took God one two three four five six days to create the earth let's take a look over in the book of Exodus Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 through 11 again we are hearing words that God spoke to Moses who wrote these accounts who also share with us we're looking at the 10th commandment in the Ten Commandments at the fourth commandment specifically and Kim would you please read those verses for us sure I'll be reading from the English standard version Exodus 20 verses 8 through 10 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God on it you shall not do any work you or your son or your daughter your male servant or your female servant or your livestock or the Sedona who is within your gates amen amen so we're looking at the fourth commandment and it's reference referencing back to creation it's telling us to remember the Sabbath day because God created the earth and created us but what specific elements do we see what information is in that fourth commandment that helps us to understand that that creation week those creation days were literal 24-hour days it might be helpful for him to read verse ah Exodus 20 verse 11 sure for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy amen so we're looking specifically at the fourth commandment God referring back to creation what information in that verse in those verses we just read let us understand that those days of creation were literal 24-hour days Gladys oh it says very clearly there in verse 9 it says six days you shall labor and do your work if it was that lip paint a little then we will be working for sixty years or a good point market and in verse 11 as well it says right there for in six days the Lord made heaven the earth the sea and all that in them is and rested on the seventh day and I want to just point out one other thing about this this is where the seal of God is referred to this is the only place in the Ten Commandments and the seal is because it says his name a LORD thy God and then it says the jurisdiction heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is so that's an interesting point as well that in the middle of the Ten Commandments is God's seal of who is who is the author of all amen and that that's important for that reason Eric and it confirms what it says in in the first chapter that you know you know in a literal reason it is that we have and maybe there are some distinctions differences in some kind some different areas of the world but a days that you know there is an evening and then it's then there is a morning right we just read that the evening in the morning was the first day yes and also I went to prefer in the beginning so in Genesis we're with Genesis 1 for the version New King James Version I'm reading here verse 5 because he create the first day once they are there let's turn there Genesis 1 verse 5 yes and say God called the light day and the darkness he called night so the Evan in and the morning were the first day amen amen so there are people who believe that all that we see around us is just so complex so it would be impossible for these things to just come into existence in only 24 hours some people believe that this must be maybe it represents a millennia thousands or thousands of years but how could God ask us to keep a day holy if it's not a day how could we how long would we have to rest for sometimes there are things that are hard for us to understand but when God says he is God and when he says he's the Creator that means he existed before us there are things that he does that might not make sense to us but that's what makes him God I'm thinking if he can create anything yes he can create it in any amount of time that's part of being a great and awesome God amen and we see it even the Ministry of Jesus sometimes he heals people instantly and other times he has him go and wash in a pool or something the miracle is still there and if he can by the power of God perform that miracle he can choose performed like creation in any amount of time that that he determines amen amen we're told that God created everything we see around us in six literal days praise God he's powerful but let's pause for a moment let's talk about what we know from science today contemporary science tells us that the earth is billions of years old that life evolved maybe millions of years ago and that there was a long huge evolutionary process that has taken place and a lot of that is justified by a process called carbon dating does anyone know what that is or can briefly explain what that is carbon dating semi so I think it's it's a scientific method of determining the age of things and in my opinion I don't think they a contradiction per se with that aspect of slides because they they do determine some matters six billion years old etc but the Bible says the earth was without form and void so if any matter that pre-existed the creation of the earth as we know it is taken and dated it could be that old so I don't think there's really a conflict between science and but again I'm not the authority on this and I think these are some of the things where we look forward to having and asking God I had a friend who did a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford and they were studying about genetics and the evolutionist explained how some of these genes that you could see that those were remnants from the process well that's a necklace one explanation and these were obviously intelligent women intelligent men who were through but if you start with the presupposition that there's no God then you have to come up with some explanation yes why we're here right and that takes faith because they weren't there either so we choose to say no the Bible boldly declares and Jesus when he came son of God came into humanity boldly affirmed the creation account as taught in the Bible that we have a lot of questions too right yeah right right this was this man said to me godly man bright bright mind he said I have some questions I'm gonna ask the Creator when we see him yeah right because our minds are fairly limited but but the the scripture gives a bold declaration of the origin of human life amen amen science is always based on assumptions and when we think about carbon dating as a technique it is based on the premise that when a living organism passes away the amount of radioactive carbon will decayed a certain rate that tells you how old that creature has been but there are many assumptions about how old the earth might have been about magnetism on the earth about all sorts of things that if you assume that the earth is billions of years old everything else after that doesn't really hold up so for example there are living organisms freshwater clams that have been carbon-dated 2,000 years old it's not possible because we're looking at them right now you can even carbon date a dinosaur bone that are these are supposed to be billions of millions of years old and so once again when you start off with one assumption and you want that to hold truth doesn't quite work out and so even science takes faith a measure of faith but when we look at what God tells us that he is powerful he is a creator god he made in six days then we must believe that so let's let's think so what what what else did God create this is a interesting question what else that God created after the six days let's think about something about the seventh something about the seventh day let us look at Genesis we're going to flip over to Jason chapter 2 because there's something very special that God creates when he's finished creating all that we see and all of us I will ask Laurel to read for us Genesis chapter table 2 verses 1 through 3 all right I'll be reading from the new American Standard Bible thus the heavens and the earth were complete and all their hosts by the seventh day God completed his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made amen so with God tired why did he rest what does that mean he rested what does that mean that's what it says yeah I think that he was sitting back and just enjoying what he created this masterpiece you know that's what I believed was happening then okay so me so I think there's an object lessons like we we are created then the first thing we do is rest and and and when you look in the Bible when it's talking about the Sabbath it says you I am your God that sanctifies you so the concept of justification by faith that's earlier on in the Bible and it's enlarged and enlarged stasia created the first thing you're doing is resting in His grace instead of working your weight let's read that very verse let's turn over to Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 12 and while we're turning there let's consider this God is God all by himself he needs nothing so if he's creating something extra if he's creating this Sabbath it can't be for him it must be for us that rest must be for us yeah Eric would you please read for us is the key of chapter 20 verse 12 ezekiel chapter 20 verse 12 reading from the New Living Translation and says and I gave them my Sabbath day of rest as a sign between them and me it was to remind them that I am the Lord who had said them about to be holy man Marcus you touched on this earlier as the Sabbath being a sign God gave us this beautiful gift to rest and in my version it says a sign that he is the Lord who sanctifies us who makes us holy a little later on we're going to find out that after this beautiful creation was created we're all living in the the result of sin that we need the Sabbath not just to spend time with God but for him to recreate in us the ideal image of what he wants for us experience a beautiful saving relationship with him but some people believe that Sabbath is something that was really just an old tradition an old tradition maybe just for ancient Hebrews or something that is not to be recognized by modern Christians believers and followers of Jesus but that is not the case let's go over to the New Testament let's see some of what Jesus himself said about the Sabbath day let's turn to mark chapter 2 verses 27 mark chapter 2 verse 27 I am gonna ask Archy if he would read that verse for us I'm reading from the King James Version it says and he said unto them the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath men let's look at Matthew chapter 12 verse 11 and 12 and may I just pause and say first of all you confirmed that God didn't need the Sabbath we did yeah but also it doesn't say the Sabbath was made for the Jews which is what some people say it's made for the human family and long before Abraham God's people were taught from the very beginning remember each week God is their creator and man and these also active in their lives there's the one who sanctifies them there is something good and blessed about the Sabbath that we can all benefit from Addison would you read for us Matthew chapter 12 first eleven twelve sure well just give me a moment we're going to Matthew chapter 12 verse 11 and 12 we're continuing to see what Jesus himself said about this special day yes and I'm reading from the King James Version and he said unto them what man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day will he not lay hold on it and lift it out how much then is a man better than a sheep wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days amen amen so this was in context to some of the religious leaders at the time questioning and challenging Jesus about how he was keeping that day at that time they believed the Sabbath was a time to do nothing to literally rest by doing nothing or at least severely limiting what you were doing or only focusing on religious rites and rituals but God is showing us that it's also a time not just to be blessed by God spiritually but it is also a time that we can let those blessings flow from us to others and in that context Jesus was talking about healing healing and restoring the Sabbath is also important to us when we think about the great controversy be the universal battle between good and evil it's mentioned in the book of Revelation so it's mentioned right at the beginning when God created it but there's also a reference to it and we'll we'll we'll dig it out of this verse it's a reference to it at the end of the story as well let's turn to Revelation chapter 14 verse 7 and I want us to read this verse and think about how is the Sabbath important to us as believers at the end of Earth's history I'm gonna act on you to read for us revelation 14 verse 7 I will read for the Persian New King James saying with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth the sea and springs of water but how do we know what is important what's the significance of Sabbath in this particular message that says to worship God the Creator any thoughts here Travis well it just says worship Him who made the earth to see in the springs of water and so there's a direct reference to the two the fourth commandment it's a direct reference think about it in a time when people are questioning whether God is truly God whether he exists they're questioning did he really create us they're questioning does he deserve to be worshipped when we honor his seventh-day Sabbath we are showing that we believe God is creator we believe he created in six literal days and made the seventh day for us to honor and we're showing that we believe that he is worthy of our praise and so even without saying that word Sabbath we are giving God glory when we honor him by worshiping on that day and acknowledging him as creator of all Travis and and and in that we just referenced it earlier as we recognize in the Sabbath that we have value because we have somebody who thought well of us enough that he would create us specifically as was talked about before detailed took at a time to mold and shape each and every one of them and then you talked about Jesus and the Sabbath doing good and it was made for the whole human family it also tells us in Luke 4 that that he remembered the Sabbath day that was and it's interesting it says as his practice or his custom was but there were many non biblical practices that he dispensed with yeah they criticized him but he says you put your traditions above the commandments of God but when it comes to the Sabbath he doesn't dispose of the Sabbath what he challenges is the way they had distorted the true meaning of this so he's he's remembering this Sabbath that says Luke 4:16 every Sabbath but he challenges their distortion because actually the Sabbath was given for our blessing yes for healing and and that's a beautiful truth that I think many needs to understand amen amen and throw them to act is that I'm just going back to mark chapter 2 verse 27 my version says the Sabbath the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath confirmation of what it is let's go back to Genesis because there's another gift that God gives us I remember we're thinking about what do we learn about the foundations of who we are who God is why we worship Him he gave us a South as a gift but he also gave Adam and Eve something very special too he gave them marriage let's read a series of verses and let's see what we can understand there is something important about the character of God we were made in His image we're told there's something important about the character of God that's reflected in family life that's reflected in the bond between a husband and a wife that's reflected in the way we interact with each other and that's under attack today but let's see what we can learn about what God originally instituted the the second gift that he gave Adam and Eve let's read a series of verses I'm gonna ask him if you read for us Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 and 28 I will ask Gladys to then read Genesis chapter 2 verse 18 and then I will ask Sammy so to continue reading Genesis chapter 2 verses 21 through 24 so we'll begin with you I'll be reading from the English standard version then God said let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so God created man in his own image and the image of God he created him male and female he created them and God blessed them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth okay so God creates Adam and Eve we understand that we are made in His image and we reflect that by being human but a little bit there's some differences men are not women women are not men right so we are reflecting the image of God by being one human family but by reflecting different characteristics different aspects of the maleness or femaleness that we know and experience whichever side you're on you know what it's like spirit horn what what do you think that means about who God is because we we don't we don't refer to him as a female we understand that we actually refer to him with a male pronoun I think it's just how our language works but what do you think that means about who God is the aspects of being one family but having different aspects of being one you know just struck me especially that it's beautiful while God finished his creative work the creation is not finished and there's something beautiful about our Creator saying I'm gonna give you as a human family the privilege of participating in this amazing creation no I'm sure that you know as the Bible will recall that Adam and Eve have children yes they're not going to take that those children ago we did this right right they're gonna say God is an awesome creator and yet they were participating in that and to me that's a picture of a loving God who experienced joy in the creation of his beautiful world with with people but then said I want you to participate Marcus any thoughts on what do we see about understand about God and creating male and female well first of all when a child is born they see their parents and so by seeing their parents who are one because of marriage they see different aspects of God's character maybe in the in the father maybe a little bit more direct maybe a little bit more bold or sometimes even could be harsh and then the mother maybe is a little bit softer maybe a little bit more tender maybe a little bit more nurturing those are different aspects of God's character that are revealed through the parents so the child sees the image of God reflected in his or her parents and that is how God is able to give humankind participation in creating beautiful so certainly there are things about God that we just don't understand and we will discover more when we are you know reunited face to face you know when he returns at his second coming but sometimes I like to think about God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit different and distinct and yet one but they'll certainly be more that we have to understand Gladys would you continue reading for us yes I'm reading from the New International Version Genesis chapter 2 verse 18 then the Lord God said it is not good for the man to be alone I will make a helper suitable for him okay it's not good so far if you rethink Genesis chapter 1 everything is good and very good everything is perfect and here we're told it's not good that Adam was by himself God had a special plan for Adam and Eve she realized it yet she wasn't but there was a special plan coming to me so please continue reading for us Genesis 2 verse 21 to 24 I'm reading from the New International Version say so the Lord caused the man to fall into deep sleep and while he was sleeping he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man and he brought her to the man the man's fate this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be cold woman for she was taken out of the man with this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become they will become one flesh and they are able to participate in that creative blessing that God gave to humankind beautiful but we understand that there are a variety of views today not just today even in Jesus time there are different views on the family relationships commitment and what marriage really looks like let's take a view on some of Jesus Jesus's own words on the topic let's look at Matthew chapter 19 Matthew chapter 19 verses 3 through 6 I'm gonna Acts Archy to read those verses for us and again as so often happened to Jesus he's being challenged his views are being challenged and he's going to respond to those critics and challengers I'm reading from the King James Version says the Pharisees also came unto Him tempting him and saying unto Him it is is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause and he answered and said unto them have you not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female and he said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh wherefore they are no more Twain but one flesh what therefore God has joined together let no man put asunder amen so here Jesus is referencing back to this creation account saying it is still relevant not only is it still relevant but God never intended for there to be division in these in this critical family unit and in the marriage he never intended for this to happen I love that Jesus says what God has joined together let not man separate and when I hear that I think about all the different ways that we try to separate marriage some people say it's not relevant I can just live with someone and love them and still show that I care or that it's not for me I don't need to be a part of this or that families can somehow look different than what God intended and here we see we read two accounts of Jesus upholding the Sabbath it is still relevant upholding the family structure in the family unit it is still relevant just like back in Eden we'll we'll read soon that our first parents were given the power to choose and today we have the power to choose whether to follow God's ideal for us or not but truly we can see that when we follow God's plan things end up well not just for us but even for society's families as the backbone for society loving each other as God intended I think the key there is was read what God has joined together yeah because you know I remember hearing someone's marriage vow I promise to be faithful to you as long as I love you and you go and that person wasn't claiming to be a Christian that was just their vow and when they got tired they'd move on so I think to experience the the fulfillment and the security of a marriage relationship is God and intended you ask God to join their lives together and you keep God at the center right amen you've got at the center because you know even think of Adam and Eve they had some rough days you know they faced challenges and and they had to say God fill us with your love because they could have had a reason to say I think I'd rather live by myself but marriage is keeping God at the center asking his love to be in the center a madman quickly what would you say to someone that views traditional marriage is out-of-date old-fashioned unnecessary what advice would you give to them hmm I'm going to look at some of our married individual well my father always says that the marriage is part of God's pure transformation get to to really get to the level of living with a person that that you just become your better self and your worst self at the same time and if Christ is in the center you are both left it into another dimension that you will not be able to learn it in the other way all right Jason I would say let the evidence speak for itself you have a lot of different types of marriage and just look at society and see which ones are better for families for children which ones produce better outcome there's there's no you know perfect marriage but if you just look at the evidence you can see which ones are better overall amen praise God so so far looking at Genesis we have received a we're looking at one way that we can relate to God the Sabbath a time to dedicate to building and strengthening in our relationship with him we also see the gift of marriage an opportunity to build and strengthen families how we relate to each other it's interesting right at the start of the book God is giving us a blueprint on how to love him and how to love each other yes but something goes terribly wrong something goes terribly wrong we are all living the in the affects of that and Genesis also tells us where did sin come from how did it enter the world and this is important because many people who are critical of the Christian view are critical of God they struggle try to understand how could a loving God allow all this sin hurt and pain let's go right back to the source of the account and let's read what we learn about on the or at least the house in entered world's I'm gonna ask Laurel to read for us Genesis chapter 3 verses 1 through 8 alright I'll be reading from the new American Standard Bible now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and he said to the woman indeed has God said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden the woman said to the serpent from the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden God has said you shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die the serpent said to the woman you will surely not die for God knows that in the day you eat up from the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil when the women saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desirable to make one wise she took from its fruit and ate and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they suit and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden hmm let's continue reading verses 9 through 21 and I will act Travis to read those verses for us and I'll be reading from the New King James Version then the Lord called to Adam and said to him where are you so he said I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself and he said who told you that you were naked have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat the man said the woman whom you gave to be with me she gave me of the tree and I ate and the Lord said to the woman what is this you have done the woman said the serpent deceived me and I ain't so the Lord God said to the serpent because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field on your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel to the woman he said I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception in pain you shall bring forth children your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you then to Adam he said because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you saying you shall not eat of it cursed is the ground for your sake in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat of the herb of the field in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken and for dust you are and dust you shall return an Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living also for Adam and his wife the Lord made tunics of skin and clothed them sad story a perfect environment changes so quickly on one decision Eve makes a choice then Adam makes a choice we learned that the ground is cursed we learned that both of them are cursed through toil and and and the pain of childbearing even at that moment they couldn't really see all the results of what would happen but we're living it today violence anger jealousies all the terrible things death that we associate with sin let's take a quick look prior to this and understand how could God allow this to happen Jason wait for us verses of Genesis chapter 2 verses 15 and 17 how could God allow this to happen if he knew what was going to happen how could he allow this to happen I'll be reading from the New King James Version Genesis chapter 2 verses 15 through 17 then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it and the Lord God commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die people read this account and they feel as though it's like a like a bad setup like God knew that this eating this tree would result in all the horrors that we see today but he still puts the tree there and then tells them this command and we know what happens how does how do we understand a loving God's decision to allow this I don't want to call it an experiment I don't call it a test but how do we understand a loving God's decision to allow this tree to exist in the middle of paradise glados well God doesn't want to force us to love him so if there is everything is good and nothing will tempt you to do something different it would be like okay God didn't give me a choice everything is about choice he said this is my command this is what I want you to do so it was a test of obedience so if there got otherwise it will be like a force serve as a force love okay one of the principles we've learned in this whole series about how to interpret the Bible is you have to look at the context God created and the Bible says in Chapter 1 it was very good yeah God has not created booby traps mm-hmm it was very good but as you've reinforced recently he gave us freedom to choose because only if we have freedom to choose can we choose to love yeah used to love him choose to love each other we have to have freedom but remember in our study we've talked about not just the immediate context when we interpret the Bible but the broader come on Roderick Arnett you go to Genesis 22 where God tells Abraham the Lord will provide but then I have to look at the whole Bible mm-hmm where God so loved the world that He gave His only Son I need to look at the broad context and I also need to understand who is this really a talking snake in Chapter three or does the Bible tell us who this enemy is breaking into this new creation so I think it's a great case study of realizing the importance in interpreting the Bible of looking at the rest of Scripture in order to come to a correct understanding of the character of God and also God's plan to rescue from this terrible tragedy sometimes it can feel as though maybe God's decisions feel like a booby trap or might seem arbitrary but there is always a bigger context remember in the beginning which means God existed before there was earth before there was us yeah so we can hyperspace let's go over to Revelation quickly read quickly read before the earth existed before we even came on the scene there is the context that pastor is talking about Revelation chapter 12 I'm going to ask Travis to read for us quickly verses 7 through 12 there is a bigger context that demands the freedom of choice that God gives to us now be reading from the New King James Version and war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought with the Dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they did not prevail nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer so the Great Dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world he was cast to earth and his angels were cast out with him then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now salvation and strength and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down and they overcame them by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives till death therefore rejoice o heavens and you who dwell in them woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time before this earth was created there was this war in heaven right this cosmic conflict between good and evil that our little planet got caught in the middle of but God wants us to choose what side we are on we have the opportunity through the revelation he's given to us through His Holy Spirit to choose right there are always consequences for wrong but God offers us hope and even in this account we read here in Revelation chapter 12 we're told that that enemies time is short that enemies time is short as we wrap up our study let's look back at Genesis chapter 3 and where do we see the hope there where do we see the hope that our first parents received I mean everything beautiful around them was changing from that first decision to to be the seed to follow the enemy but where do we see the hope fast you know you were reading here they overcame by the blood of the Lamb yes so we have a savior yeah it's a good news here's the baby er back to Genesis and it says the Lord God clothed them skin that was not just you need something to wear you can make your own thing God is saying even there I will provide salvation for you the covering of the those lambs reminds them of the Savior used to come and to me that's a great story and that's why when we interpret the Bible we need to look at the whole picture because the whole picture tells us a God who loves us with an immeasurable and unfailing love thank you so much this is just the foundation and there's so much more in Genesis that we that tells about who we are who God is why we worship Him as creator and the promise that he has to save us so I thank you for studying with me and I look forward to continuing to study on how to interpret Scripture thanks so much Tricia Lee what a great study you know what an amazing thought we're not just here by accident you say Derrick I still have questions well I'm and and that's what we're gonna talk to our Creator God you might even wonder well how is it right that that someone else should suffer in my place and pay for my sin and yet God in His unfailing love says I'll provide a way for you to bring you back into fellowship with me what an amazing God we serve let's pray father in heaven thank you that you are not only the Great Creator God but the great Saviour God Father Son and Holy Spirit please continue to guide us as we interpret Scripture that we may as jesus promised be led into all truth and that we may know you Jesus the way the truth and the life event in Jesus name Amen well thanks for joining us for hope service school officially said the journey continues learn how much God loves you and then go out and be a blessing to those around you [Music] [Applause] [Applause]

Channel: HopeSabbathSchool

Views: 39,560

Rating: 4.743772 out of 5

Keywords: hope sabbath school, Derek Morris, Seventh-Day Adventist

Id: EEGrdO9xuk8

Length: 58min 17sec (3497 seconds)

Published: Mon May 18 2020