Lesson 3: The Everlasting Covenant

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to hope sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the word of god we're getting into a series of studies on present truth in deuteronomy today the everlasting covenant it's an exciting topic it's more than just a legal contract you are invited to become part of the family of god so i'm glad you joined us for hope sabbath school today welcome and welcome to the team and that's our team here in the studio good to see you and we've got some remote team members want to welcome glenny from florida gleny good to see you on hope sabbath school today and jonathan from right here maryland jonathan great to have you with us you know we've got a lot of feedback that the remote participants are a great uh what would you say adjustment because we can bring in puya from hawaii we can bring in china from maine and we're happy to have glenny and jonathan with us today talking about being spread out we've got hope sabbath school members all around the world here's a note from william in kenya we have a lot of hope sabbath school members in kenya i'm taking this opportunity to thank you for your effort and hope in christ and his word as we share the word every week i write to thank you for all the hope sabbath school series they've helped me to understand the bible your in-depth study has also enabled me to be a good teacher in my local church amen god bless you all well william thanks for writing to us from kenya that's our greatest joy when it's multiplied right you can download the outline that we use just go to hopetv.org hope ss tens of thousands of downloads you can make a copy for everyone in your class it's a great way to have an interactive class together oh we've got adriana from british columbia well we don't have anyone from bc on our team today but uh hello hope sabbas school hello adriana writes and says thank you for hope sabbah school my mother and i enjoy watching your program we are encouraged and blessed i am a seventh adventist church member in british columbia and i thank god for your ministry amen well thanks so much for writing to us adriana well here's one of those handwritten notes again this is from a donor in kansas in the united states of america that's kind of the heartland isn't it kansas it says and it's written from from a donor i appreciate your gideon's band well that's our group here right but i look forward to the time when the whole army can participate well you know who you are writing to us you've got also now our remote team members so we've we've expanded and even better when we can gather together at the feet of jesus amen and a donation of five thousand dollars to support the ministry of hope's episcopal amen thank you thank you kansas you know who you are and thanks to each one of you especially at this time of the year you say is there something i can do to make an impact for the kingdom well we want to invite you to be a part of this ministry you can go to hopetv.org donate or just go to our web page you'll see a little button that you can click on and thank you for partnering with us here's a note from lybeh in cameroon lie back and lie bear writes and says my family is blessed every sabbath morning as we study with you by the way what's the primary language in cameroon anybody know is it french it's french that's right sabina i was sure someone was going to say cameroonian or something it's french i am particularly blessed as now i am a sabbath school leader in our church may the lord god bless his word through hope channel to touch others just like it touched me changed my life and made me able to speak about jesus with boldness amen i want to meet that brother i bet thanks for writing to us from cameroon that's exciting that you are now teaching the word of god and you're a firsthand witness for jesus well we've got one last note here from tim writing from california in the united states of america and tim writes and says thank you so much for hope sabbath school watching has been an inspiration to my family i'd written previously about my children jack and holly they loved the scripture songs and now they sing at church jack loves your program and he wants to be a pastor when he grows up amen attached as a picture god bless hope sabbath school well thank you tim for writing to us from california and it's exciting to see little ones who are wanting to be part of the miracle right we're so thankful in fact we need you all to help us right now sing our theme song by the way if you haven't downloaded it you can get the sheet music too go to hopetv.org hope ss you can download the theme song you can download the sheet music it's a short song but powerful for our book on deuteronomy deuteronomy 31 6 be strong and of good courage do not fear or be afraid of them for the lord your god he is the one who goes with you he will not leave you or forsake you let's sing it together be strong and a good courage do not fear nor be afraid of them for the lord your god he is the one who goes with you he will not leave you nor forsake you be strong and of good courage do not fear nor be afraid of them for the lord your god he is the one who goes with you he will not [Music] do not fear nor be afraid of them for the lord your god [Music] let's pray together father in heaven today as we talk about the everlasting covenant as described in the book of deuteronomy i pray you'd help us to see it as so much more than some some kind of legal agreement but an invitation to be a part of your family a part of the royal family of god i pray that we would catch a glimpse of how much you love us and of your desire for us to to be representatives of your kingdom even in this present world so please bless our study today in jesus name we pray amen amen deuteronomy chapter 5 is where we're going to start our study today nicole would you begin for us reading in deuteronomy 5 verses 1 through 3. sure the new international version of deuteronomy 5 1-3 says moses summoned all israel and said hear o israel the decrees and laws i declare in your hearing today learn them and be sure to follow them the lord our god made a covenant with us at horeb it was not with our fathers that the lord made this covenant but with us with all of us who are alive here today so deuteronomy has a lot of names its original name is just the words remember the words devarim the words but then uh it was also called what the second giving of the lord giving of the law it's where we get deuteronomy right or the repetition or the repetition of the law thank you that was another way the jews would refer to this book but it's also been called the book of the covenant so as nicole just read here the lord made a covenant and by the way not just with them but with us what covenant is moses talking about there are many covenants in the bible right billy what's the covenant the ten commandments well the ten commandments was part of that time it was the covenant made at mount sinai right yes it was that covenant of agreement that was made at mount sinai how long ago was that from the time when he's speaking to them now for 30 some years 38 years or so because they wandered for a while right and then actually more than 38 years right because they were only three months if it's helped me with the with the the numbers here but i think they were only a few months out of egypt when they got to sinai that's right and that's where the covenant was made so it's almost it's it's almost 40 years right 40 years ago that a covenant has been made stephanie can we read about that in exodus 19 verses 1 through 8 because moses is saying remember that covenant it wasn't just with them 40 years ago but but it's an everlasting it's a covenant for us too and i'll be reading from the new king james version in the third month after the children of israel had gone out of the land of egypt on the same day they came to the wilderness of sinai for they had departed from raphaedem and come to the wilderness of sinai and camped in the wilderness so israel camped there before the mountain and moses went up to god and the lord called to him from the mountains saying thus you shall say to the house of jacob and tell the children of israel you have seen what i did to the egyptians and how i bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant then you shall be a special treasure to me above all the people for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation these are the words which you shall speak to the children of israel so moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words which the lord commanded him then all the people answered together and said all that the lord has spoken we will do so moses brought back the words of the people to the lord so here we are mount sinai and give me another word for covenant or give me a definition of covenant the covenant is agreement agreement a promise that's made between two consenting parties you can you can't make a covenant with a slave for example a person has to be free to be able to make that decision um how does this covenant at sina which is now going to be restated here on the borders of the promised land how does it relate to the covenant made to abraham many generations before yes sabine well abraham what he had received from god in genesis is it 12 genesis 12 was the promise that he was going to be made a great nation and that through his descendancy god was going to bless the entire earth so he i see here a direct correlation because when in god in reviewing this promise he had made to abraham was now passing it through the following generations that come down to moses and all this group of people uh he's just trying to give continuity to the promise he had for established with abraham and even telling them here that also they are going to be a blessing to all nations making of them a priest holy nation to bless others so you're saying it's a it's actually a working out of the promise made jonathan could you read for us from genesis 12 verses one through three maybe someone's watching hope sabbath school today and they said i've kind of heard of abraham but uh let's read that promise can we in genesis 12 verses 1 through 3. sure i'm reading from the english standard version now the lord said to abraham go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that i will show you and i will make you a great nation i will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing i will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you i will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed and of course abraham first called abraham later abraham after he has a child he couldn't have fully comprehended how in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed but how would that happen jesus christ through the messiah right yes through the messiah and remember the family tree of jesus in the gospels takes us back one of them at least to abraham because he is a descendant he is the fulfillment of the promise that is made to abraham so now we are go back to deuteronomy 5 with me now we're in deuteronomy where moses at the end of his life how old is moses now anybody remember glenny how old's moses when he's right on the border of the promised land do you remember 120 yes he's an old man for sure 120 years old he's been with them 40 years and he's going to restate the covenant that was made let's take a look at it together and i'm going to ask billy if you'd read from deuteronomy 5 verses 4 through 11 and then sabine i'm going to ask you to pick up in verse 12 and read down through verse 22. i'd like you to listen very carefully because it's not exactly the same wording as was given in exodus so let's pick up the story in deuteronomy 5 verses 4 through 11. sure and i'll be reading from the niv the lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain and at that time i stood between the lord in you to declare to you the word of the lord because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain and he said i am the lord your god who brought you out of egypt out of the land of slavery you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below you shall not bow down to them or worship them for i the lord your god am a jealous god punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments you shall not misuse the name of the lord your god for the lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name all right so we've started actually going through the ten commandments right and we got to the third commandment do you see any difference so far between what was said in exodus and what is being re-stated here by moses anybody any changes everybody's looking there aren't changes in the commandments but there are some changes in the the preamble to it right uh he gives a little more explanation of of how they've been delivered okay but but now we're going to go on sabine if you could take us verses 12 through 22 and we are going to see a change in wording okay so i'll be reading from the new king james version deuteronomy 5 from 12 to 22 and the word of the lord says observe the sabbath day to keep it holy as the lord your god commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord your god in it you shall do no work you not your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of egypt and the lord your god brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the lord your god commanded you to keep the sabbath day honor your father and your mother as the lord your god has commanded you that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the lord your god is giving you you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house his field his male servant his female servant his ox his donkey or anything that is your neighbors these words the lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me so do you see any changes there yes yes nicole well in the fourth commandment um in in the prior in exodus it says remember the sabbath day here it says observe the sabbath day so let's just unpack that first if we can does he still want us to remember it yes why do you think he uses a different word to observe or to keep you say i don't know i'm going to ask him jonathan why do you think they changed here moses uses a different word we i've always heard since i was little remember was important because he didn't want us to forget why do you think in the restatement he uses a different word and says observe the sabbath to keep it home yeah yeah because the first time they had been going for centuries and many of them had forgotten as they were in egypt as slaves and so they needed to be reminded to remember whereas now they needed to hold on to it to keep it because they had it but maybe it was easy to let go of it so you don't have any problem with the fact that that he's kind of restating that um in terms of the executives in which they live now yeah no i think he's just uh capturing maybe a deeper meaning for them in the current context and now they're i mean he states because i'm the one who brought you out of egypt so god we rest in him as our savior from egypt from as our creator and just kind of flushing it out for them all right now nicole i interrupted you but but you're going to say something else because in addition to the remember being changed to observe the reason is there for sabbath should i say is different or another reason is given what do you think because it speaks not about for in six days the lord made but it says you were slaves in egypt so what do you think about that billy could we say oh well then obviously this is just for the jews and their descendants who were slaves in egypt and it's not for us yeah i think well i think they've they forgot that they were slaves um and you can say that you know sometimes when you forget your past you know you don't appreciate your present and i think for them uh uh forgetting that they were slaves that takes away from them relating to people who who are slaves and how they treat them so god was recalibrating them that they did they did not come from a rural lineage in the sense where they were daughters and sons of kings but they were slaves and that that they should be humble about their um where they came from so that they can have i guess a better appreciation about those who are less fortunate than them it's interesting in this series we've talked about remembering how god has led us and he did lead them out of slavery right sabina yeah i'm thinking also of your question in um you know verse 3 says uh deuteronomy 5 3 says the lord did not make this covenant with our fathers but with us those who are here today all of us who are alive so i think this makes clear also that the covenant the promise as you were asking was not just for those people in that time he is making clear that it applies also to to the people of this context here so let me come back to is this different uh from remembering our creator or is this showing like many dimensions of of sabbath it's also a sign of our deliverance because we've all been in bondage to something right what do you think nicole i mean i think it's it's not different than remembering our creator but i think for me when i read this text i think it's more of an action word observe the sabbath not only should you rest but your man's servant should rest also and i think it gives more um more body to the commandment that says it's not just remembering your creator but bring others around you into the creation also of the sabbath and enjoy it with them all right stephanie you want to add to that what about the person who says well clearly here the sabbath is to remember when you and your forefathers were slaves in egypt that's speaking about the children of of abraham isaac and jacob so it's obviously not for us so i would parallel that slave in egypt with those of us who have been enslaved to sin and each of us have had that in our experience and i just think of it made me think of first peter 2 where um he's speaking sometimes you at one time you were disobedient um would you like to read that first apparently the holy spirit led you there so where are you going to read from first peter chapter two okay and um verse nine okay first peter two verse nine this is the verse ten right yes nine and ten nine and ten all right first peter chapter two verses nine and ten right and i'll be reading from the new king james version but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light who once were not a people but are now the people of god who had not who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy and i i think of this as maybe being re the first version in exodus was remember it was the creation story but now we're looking at recreation so we've been in darkness that's we've been in a life of sin and he's called us out of the darkness he's recreated us okay i i definitely want to hold on to the fact that this restatement of another reason why the sabbath is so precious it's a symbol of salvation it doesn't mean it's not a symbol of creation correct because actually that goes all the way back to genesis right exactly so it's for all of us travis i would i was just going to basically say the same point is as paul in the new testament uses this um this theology this kind of a uh idea that we become a new creation when we're in christ jesus and that we're we're no longer slaves to sin and so so the sabbath has become to me this um time to remember and to observe because god is the one who sanctifies me ezekiel 20 12 i gave it to you that you might know that i'm the lord who sanctifies you being cleansed from sin being a new creation in jesus even king david said create in me a clean heart because all of us need to be become a new creation in jesus so now we're going to come to moses and glenny i'm going to ask you to read from deuteronomy 29 9-15 we're on the borders of the promised land as we said earlier moses is 120. he's not going to go in but these are the words right these are the final words he's going to share with them and he's reminding them about the covenant that god made and it's not just for them but it's for us it's for us why does he restate it lenny let's let's hear uh moses words in deuteronomy 29 verses 9 through 15. i'll be reading from the new king james version where it says therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them that you may prosper in all that you do all of you stand today before the lord your god your leaders and your tribes and your elder your officers all the men your little ones and your wives also the strangers who is in your camp from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water then you may enter in the coven into the covenant with the lord your god and into his oath which the lord your god makes with you today that he may establish you today as the people for himself that he may be god to you just as he has spoken to you and just as he has sworn to your fathers to abraham isaac and jacob i made this covenant and this oath not with you alone but with him who stands here with us today before the lord our god as well as with him was not here with us today so how would you summarize why why is he repeating it what's what's the burden on his heart he wants them that they keep it is it just that they would keep it what what what's driving him jonathan what's driving him to say don't forget this think he's trying to really um invest in them the importance of this and how much it means to him as he is established with the generations before them and means to bless the world that in order for them to do that they need to make it themselves their own covenant and so that god can use them as this kingdom of priests and this witness and an invitation to the rest of the world to look to the god of heaven i think that's the second half of it jonathan and it's important but i'd like to take the word bless which you talked about to bless the world travis can you finish my sentence you're under bless them he wanted to bless them he's saying to them like we heard in a previous study where they turn back don't miss out on the blessing that i want to give you yes and and and again i sense the passion in his heart because of a couple of verses um glenni could you read for us uh from what was the verse came to mind deuteronomy 4 verse 9 and then travis could you read deuteronomy 4 verse 23 um is this there's this sense of urgency in this aged prophet's heart like i don't want you to miss the blessing lenny what do you read in deuteronomy 4 verse 9. only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself lest you forget the things your eyes have seen unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life and teach them to your children and your grandchildren and then travis same chapter 4 verse 23 verse 23 and i'm reading from the new king james version take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the lord your god which he made with you and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the lord your god has forbidden you so you say derek he already said take heed that you don't forget and now in just a few seconds later he's saying it again what do you hear please please he's still freaking right it's kind of like highlighting in a yellow highlighter right sabina and in a sense it's a recognition that they had choices to be done you know they have chosen for death and now they had to choose for life and i see moses trying to encourage them to propel them as close as possible to the right choice he cannot choose for them god cannot choose choose for us either but he can inform them that they are going to prosper they're going to be blessed they're going to be a blessing so i find that in this repetition he just wanted to inculcate in them and to help them in the moment when the decision comes that they are going to be inclined to do right and to choose life and like travis said he wants to bless them and like billy said he wants to bless others through them and if god wants to bless us as his children and bless others through us what might cause us to forget because if it wasn't a danger he wouldn't be saying don't forget don't forget what are some things that might cause us to forget the covenant that god's made not just with them but also with us right let's think of some nicole our own desires and ambitions that are separate from what god wants for us so we were like well this is god's plan but this is my plan and sometimes we try to be religious and say god this is my plan please bless it right and the angels go where did you get that right that's that's not the plan right right okay so my own desires billy what else could cause us to forget sometimes the need to look like other people to assimilate to other people we don't like to be different and god was calling them to be different for a special purpose to to bless them but they were uncomfortable with that they wanted to look like the other nation so at least there was that threat to look like the other nations so that could have been a reason where where moses had to encourage them not to forget and an example of that would be in exodus is at 32 why did they make a golden calf of the at the base of mount sinai and dance naked around it what was that all about that's what they learned from that's what they'd seen happening back in pagan egypt so yeah this pressure to um fit in with the new culture yes sabine and i'm thinking of the fact that now they have been wandering in the desert for those many years eventually they are going to pass the promised land and they were going to have new interactions with people that were again like they had interactions in egypt they had other gods that they were worshiping so i see also just going along with billy was saying that god was concerned with that potentially they are going to make bad associations and again they would fall in the same scene they had fallen before sure gleny i think another issue is being comfortable sometimes when we're in the in our comfort zone we forget uh to be connected with god like you'd see the church was thriving often during persecution or even the israelites whenever something bad happened that someday like god we'll do whatever you want us to do but when thanks for you know getting stabilized they just forgot that god was in the picture i think we'll find you right in deuteronomy that he talks about when you come into the land and you you prosper yes take care unless you forget stephanie i was thinking about those things that we see and we hear because that seems so tangible to us that it could override the reality of who god is and so our feelings and emotions take over instead of the reality of who god is travis in a previous study you said i want to choose to believe god's word rather than the words of people around me right i was just thinking of peter when jesus told him that he'd prayed that his faithfulness would not fail and he said lord i'm ready he was overconfident and then later on in the garden of gethsemane jesus said watch and pray because he said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak so i'm thinking of the children of israel that that's what he's saying watch be diligent [Music] because there's a there's a devil out there there's an adversary and he's going to try to lead you away from the the covenant promises of god as soon as travis said oh you know um peter not going to bow down i i thought of the children of israel saying well everything you said will do you know without without recognizing how intense the conflict would be to compromise and to try to fit in sabine yeah and one other element i'm thinking pastor derek it's impatience we see that these people here they were impatient various moments while they were wandering in the desert so i think this can also drawn us away from god's covenant because his timing is usually different than ours and we need to bear with that and wait upon his rescue and sometimes we're just not eager not really not open and part of this covenant this uh everlasting covenant was not just their salvation but what god wanted to do through them so jonathan could you take us to deuteronomy chapter 18 and look at verse 9 and then verses 10 through 14. i'll have you read all of those but if you could stop after verse 9 and we'll comment and then look at 10 through 14 for us all right i'll be reading from the english standard version verse 9 when you come into the land that the lord your god is giving you you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations so why not well you say it's obvious but help me out i want you people of god to be different from the people around you why glenny why does he want us to be different he's like oh god why do i have to be you know to use peter right a peculiar people right why well you see the people that are that were around the pagans were doing sacrificing children doing crazy things like this and god wanted god wasn't showing partiality some people think oh this is some partiality thing he's saying but he entrusted them with truths so they can be an example of what it looks like to be a to be a child of god to the rest of the world so it was a big responsibility they had well let's keep reading jonathan if you would verses 10 through 14 of deuteronomy 18. he's used the word abominable so we get the idea there's some bad things out there right uh read on for us if you would in deuteronomy 18 verses 10 through 14 all right there shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead for whoever does these things is an abomination to the lord and because of these abominations the lord your god is driving them out before you you shall be blameless before the lord your god for these nations which are you are about to dispossess listen to fortune tellers and to diviners but as for you the lord your god has not allowed you to do this well i'm listening to that thank you jonathan i'm saying well god didn't leave it up to their imagination what was abominable right true very specific i mean really do you think that they could have degenerated to trying to talk to the dead and you really think that that could happen to them yes can you think of someone in the history of the children of israel that that happened to nicole king saul king saul goes talking to a witch even though the bible's clear that when we die we sleep until the resurrection he wants to try to talk to a dead and some lying spirit comes up claiming to be samuel the prophet right so how in the world is it possible that knowing all the truth that they could fall into the abominations of the nations around them how can that happen anybody what do you think nicole well sabina used a word earlier that i think is very key it's impatience we as humans get very impatient with god and so we try and find ways to get answers to things before we need to know them so that's why i can see you falling into sorcery and and truth tellers and all this other stuff because we just don't want to wait on the lord to lead our path the way that he wants us to go all right so we might be impatient instead of waiting on god's word we try to take it from someone else sabine pastor derek i've been recently doing my devotionals in the book of john and one thing that i've noted you know when jesus was being questioned by the pharisees and there is an event in which nicodemus who had already had a conversation with jesus and who happened to be a pharisee he turns to the others and say hey instead of being so prompt in judging why don't you observe what they are doing what he's doing and also what he's saying and you know just knowing things or saying things is not enough we need also to have them in practice and that's uh and that's something that we see recurring again with jesus in the new testament and here i can turn back to this event and think the same it's not enough to know they may have as much knowledge as they can but conversion is a a heart issue it's not just a mental issue it's important to have the knowledge it will help you in your development of your relationship and your walk with god but if you are truly not surrendered in your heart it's it's useless so let's say that covenant relationship was not just for the people of sinai and not just for the people about to enter the promised land but it's a covenant relationship with us too and god wants us to be distinct from the pagan culture around us yes or no yes yes now we're not talking about salvation here we're saved by grace through faith right you can't earn the love of god you can accept his saving love right but but this holiness is for what reason to glorify god is to glorify god and point people to him right so let's get very practical now what we may get into trouble but what are some compromises that we may feel pushed to make in our secular atheistic or even anti-theistic culture to just kind of fit in and and moses would be saying don't forget the covenant you are a chosen people right you're to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness your creator and your redeemer what what are some areas we might be pressured to compromise billy i think well if you're a student you might be pressured to cheat everybody's cheating yeah because everybody's cheating so you feel like well you know that's one way to get ahead um if you if you're in the workforce you might be tempted to bribe because everybody's bribing then i need to bribe and that that yeah that's not right basically because the value is put on self-preservation instead of um glorifying god so i want to ask you a question glenny as a young adult young young just getting started with your professional life what are some pressures that you feel that might be in the culture around you that could push you away from saying no i'm i'm a peculiar treasurer i'm i'm i have a covenant relationship with god that maybe people around me don't even understand you know i mean at least in the context of my life right now i see that often in the christian circles it feels like it's it's a good thing to be busy and doing good things and often we don't have that relation that one-on-one connection with god so at the expense of having that communion with personal relationship with god we do a lot of ministry and good stuff but i don't know if that can answer your question or if that makes sense um well i think it does because it's easy to have a secondhand relationship with god when what we need is a personal experience with god right exactly yeah yeah yeah so there's like a form of godliness you know outside you seem to be um godly and all the innocent that but not really having that true conviction or true connection with god i think that's that's an obstacle as well besides the obvious things like cheating and uh which is bad as well and promiscuity and uh pornography on the internet and uh what do what is it when you're addicted to stuff work well i see hoarding things yeah hoarding things you know buying things we don't need realism with money we don't have to impress people we don't like you know and and we can buy into the same culture even though we know as children of the king that we're not going to take any of that stuff with us yeah right it's so easy to be affected and god's calling his covenant people not just back then at china not just as they're about to enter the promised land but but today to be distinctive yeah from the secular world sabine i think there is great temptation to be pursuing and just chasing after material things you know pastor derek we are in this world where everything is about image about what you possess about um not who you are in your heart but what you can show in your outward appearance so i think in everywhere in the choice of the work you're going to do how you're going to be enjoying you know your free hours everything is calling people just to to show off right to show an image in social media show an image of who they are not truly in their hearts and i think there is a temptation to value more the superficial things than the things that matter to god uh and to be under this agenda of death instead of the agenda of life eternal of things that are going to be eternal that are not going to perish uh so just image materialism yeah jonathan yeah i think there's there's a temptation to let some of the lack of a better world political things affect our uh [Music] witness our authenticity in our relationship with god and maybe pull us to something other than truly relying on him and truly being um yeah authentically fully committed and reliant upon god's power rather than man's power so how do we avoid that we go boy those children of israel you know moses really needed to remind them and we're saying today billy he needs to remind us too right remember that you're a covenant people of god you are to use peter's words a chosen generation royal priesthood right a holy nation to declare his praises how do billy how do we avoid that you know one person called it creeping compromise creeping you know it just kind of sneaks up on you yeah and pretty soon we can talk dress eat socialize entertain like people who don't even know there's a god in heaven right well i think it starts with first acknowledging that we can get to that point um if anything that psalm 51 when david was confessing his sin was acknowledging that you know he was born in sin so he had those tendencies so that's he is human so he has those tendencies but the second thing is um i i don't know where in the bible it says that but it it says by beholding we become changed so i think having that constant presence of god and constantly looking at him and um you know the bible you know use it as a good um the book let's see to to keep on beholding the image of of christ and the things that he does so that we can become change it's almost like every time you open up the bible and you read about the story of jesus you know it chisels away this um our character is that that you know we're born into sin but now we're being transformed into the likeness of christ and fixing our eyes on jesus the author and finisher of our faith which comes back to what glenn you said about that personal relationship because ultimately it is that personal relationship with christ that informs us to say uh skip buying that piece of clothing right we are not to micromanage each other you know bypass that movie right um bypass that invitation to that party um allowing the holy spirit to say you're i want you to be distinctive to declare my praises in in the world in which you're living sabina i'm thinking also pastor derek about the importance of developing good habits you know our nature is inclined to things that are not always the best things right so including our devotional which is prayer spending time in the word of god but also good habits like you know exercising drinking water staying outside in nature all those things they contribute for we not to drawn away from from god's purpose and meaning for our life so more than just something super big that will be one key event in your life i think you need to develop good habits habitually like daily come to god and do what's good so i want to close in our last section this covenant relationship is not just to save us or to bless others it's actually inviting us into the family of god it's really i know you said we don't have kings and queens as our ancestors and that may be true we were born in sin slaves and whatever but we're invited into the family of god let's look at a few bible verses that capture that uh beautiful promise and i'm going to ask lenny if you'd read the first one for us in deuteronomy 8 and verse 5. and i'll be reading from the new king james version you should know in your heart that is a man chastens his son so the lord your god chastens you you see the family language there what about deuteronomy 14 and verse 1. billy if you have that would read it for us deuteronomy 14 and verse 1. okay i'll be reading from the niv you are the children of the lord your god do not cut yourselves or shave the or shave the front of your heads for the dead so again but that's interesting it got specific too didn't it you know and people today of course cut themselves you know self-mutilation for all kinds of reasons don't they some because of pain on the inside but other because of occult practices and he's saying don't do that don't you remember the priests of baal when elijah's praying they're cutting themselves with knives he says don't do that what about deuteronomy 32 stephanie and verse six the new king james version says do you thus deal with the lord o foolish and unwise people is he not your father who bought you has he not made you and established you so you hear words like father children does that remind you of of any words of jesus uh speaking about not just hey we've got a contract i'll save you if you trust me as your savior but of being being part of of a family together anybody think of any new testament references well let's take a look at a few together john chapter 20 and verse 17 john 20 and verse 17. stephanie looks like you have that and the new king james version says jesus said to her do not cling to me for i have not yet ascended to my father but go to my brethren and say to them i am ascending to my father and your father and to my god and your god where's the family language there it's all over it isn't it yes tell my brethren my father your father it's all there isn't it what about matthew 28 and verse 10. lenny could you read that for us matthew 28 and verse 10. then jesus said to them do not be afraid go and tell my brethren to go to galilee and there they will see me by the way these are the ones who've all been hiding uh but he had and fighting over who'll be the greatest before everything fell apart but he still calls them right brother my brothers all right one last john 14 23 this one's my favorite travis john 14 23 how does it read and i'll be reading from the new king james version jesus answered and said to him if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and he will come to him and make our home with him is that beautiful we will come to him and make our home with him so there is that family language right that we're invited to be part of the family of god well that's not just in the words of jesus as we close we're going to look at two last verses jonathan it's one that we've quoted in first peter 2 9 but i'd like you to read it i think you have the english standard version there first peter 2 9 let's hear what the apostle peter under inspiration says all right it says but you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation of people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light that was interesting language of people of his possession is that what it said it's like i guess i would say in my language a people purchase who belong to me or we might say those are my people right yeah those are my people it's very much family language and uh nicole could you read first john three verses one to three uh it's saturated not just uh there in deuteronomy but throughout scripture that this new covenant this everlasting covenant relationship is is more than just a legal contract i'll save you you trust me it's being part of his family the new international version says how great is the love the father has lavished on us that we should be called children of god and that is what we are the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him dear friends now we are children of god and what we will be has not yet been known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure well that's interesting because that answers the question how does knowing that we're part of the family effect the way we live and you got it in that last phrase didn't you yes holy living right to honor god but let's talk about how do you feel um sabine almighty god father son and holy spirit looks down and says there's my daughter sabina mr derek i feel loved i feel very much loved billy what's it do for you how does it when you realize it's more than just like a a negotiation agreement but it's actually really being adopted into the family of god yeah it feels very genuine because i think in my life i've met a lot of people who are not genuine they'll say something but actually don't mean it but you see that you know the purpose of god saving us is not so that you know we can populate heaven but it's because he wants us to be part of his family he wants he wants us as his own not for wanting other purposes but to be his family stephanie yeah i think it places value and it gives purpose that the world does not have it cannot give us only the blood of jesus can give us that eternal value eternal value this covenant relationship and moses is saying on the border of the promised land don't forget the god who saved you don't forget your creator and your redeemer and that's powerful lesson for us today well i just want to appeal to you there's so much more we're going to learn in our journey present truth in deuteronomy but i would appeal to you don't forget what god has revealed don't forget what he's shown you not just in your life as important as that is but what he's shown you through his holy word don't forget how precious you are to him and how much he wants to spend eternity with you you're not just there to populate heaven he loves you and wants to spend eternity with you let's pray father in heaven we stand in awe because we live in a world that discards people that are no longer useful we live in a world that wants you to fit a certain mold or you're not accepted but you're welcoming us because we're your precious children you love us with an everlasting love and and yes you have a purpose for us too to share the truth about you with those around us we want to just accept your love and rest in your family and thank you in jesus name amen well thanks for joining us for hope sabbath school oh you're a daughter a son of the king hallelujah my favorite word go out and share that good news with those around you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: HopeSabbathSchool

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Length: 58min 30sec (3510 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 10 2021