by In Light Of The Cross

Winning Souls While Suffering

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:10-11 NKJV

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

Last Sabbath morning, I was having my own personal devotion time before meeting with God’s people. As always my favorite devotional book is the Bible itself. I am not opposed to devotional books, It’s just that I love reading the Bible. I have been reading through the New Testament lately, and last Sabbath I came to Mark 15. 

In Mark 15:1-5, I read how the justice system failed Jesus. Yet Jesus never opened His mouth to deliver Himself. Jesus knew, be it ever so wrong that these things were supposed to take place. It has me wondering, if I should ever be wrongly imprisoned would I be protesting or using my injustice as an opportunity to be a missionary to those in prison? Remember when we were studying Ephesians a while back in Sabbath School? Paul referred to himself as a prisoner of the Lord instead of being a prisoner of Rome. Would you be willing to serve a life sentence in prison for a crime you did not commit if it led to just one other prisoner receiving eternal life? 

In Mark 15:6-15 I read about how the people preferred the release of a hardened criminal over the loving and gentle healer. Even today we see the basest of men exalted over those who are righteous and humble. And I am talking about the church as much as the world. When this sort of thing happens today, my friend calls it “the Barrabas syndrome.” 

In Mark 15:16-20 I read about the soldiers mocking and making fun of Jesus. Why such humiliating treatment for the least deserving Person in the whole universe! When a man becomes president of the United States, they have a huge inauguration parade and inauguration ball to honor him. Instead, Jesus got stripped, beaten and mocked. People have gone to prison for doing lesser things to dogs and yet God allowed this happen to His Son! Why? 

In Mark 15:21-37 I read about how Jesus experienced the death of the wicked on the cross. Jesus took the punishment for our sins and died the death that was ours. so we could have the reward of His righteousness and have the life that was His. He took the death we deserve so we could have the life He deserves. Jesus was treated the way we deserve so we may be treated as He deserves. While Jesus was going through all of this the verbal abuse continued from those witnessing the crucifixion, those doing the crucifying, and even those being crucified with Him. Why would God allow His Son to suffer so much? Why would Jesus submit to such suffering?  Then I read verse 39.

So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39 NKJV

Then I paused. Could it be that the way Jesus handled all of this persecution convinced the centurion that He was the Son of God? Satan meant to cast so much mockery and persecution on Jesus so as to convince the world that Jesus definitely was not the Son of God, and yet Jesus used the same evidence Satan provided to convince a witness that He was indeed the Son of God. Though Satan cast so much darkness upon the Savior, the centurion could still see the righteousness of Christ shinning with the blazing glory of the noonday sun. 

Years ago a Bible worker was in a home where he was answering Bible questions from a young college student. Her father kept making fun of the Bible worker’s answers and the Bible. The Bible worker was afraid the father’s mockery was going to make the daughter not believe the Bible worker or even the Bible. However, the Bible worker noticed the young woman was frustrated with her father and was doing her best to tune him out as she kept asking the Bible worker more questions. The Bible Worker noticed the young woman was not even paying any attention to her mocking father and kept talking to him like her father not even there. She was hanging on to every word the Bible worker shared from the Bible, while pretending her mocking father was not even there. While rhe Bible worker was annoyed by the mocking father, he realized in the end it was a very productive Bible study. A study he could have easily ruined had he retaliated against the father. Instead, the Holy Spirit took over the Bible worker and the entire Bible study. The young woman saw through all the darkness her father was spreading and saw the light of the Bible shinning with the blazing glory of the noonday sun. 

Of course we know more than just the centurion believed. One thief repented and I am sure many others did as well that day. Since then, millions and millions have been saved and are being saved. Are you willing to suffer the way Jesus did if it will lead someone to be eternally saved? 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

4: Standing for the Truth-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, April 27, 2024.

Main Theme: By choosing to suffer or die for their faith many have won souls to Christ.

Read in Class: Jude 1:3-4 and Revelation 2:10. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What’s the warning here and how did it apply to the later Christian church? What promise does God give those who are faithful to Him in the face of death itself?

Apply: What encourages you in challenging times? What frightens you? What promises can you claim for those times?

Share: Your friend says, I thought the whole reason for serving Jesus is so that I am always protected and have everlasting life? So how is Jesus protecting me if He lets me die because I serve Him? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Acts 5:28-32, Ephesians 6:10-12, and Revelation 3:11.Point out the common thread here.

Study: What basic principle is found in these texts?

Apply: How can we, reflecting the light of Christ, shine in our own community? Do we?

Share: Your friend is a public school teacher. She says she wants to share Jesus with her students but it is against the law. She asks you if she should go ahead and share Jesus even though its against the law and she may lose her job? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 19:7-11 and Jeremiah 15:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What similar attitudes did David and Jeremiah have toward the Word of God that were, really, the cornerstone of the Reformation?

Apply: What advice did Paul give Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-3 and how should we apply that advice to our own situations?

Share: Your friend says he is not one for preaching and teaching like Paul and Timothy. He would rather not have to talk about the Bible. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Hebrews 2:14-15, John 5:24, John 11:25-26, and 1 John 5:11-13. Define the common threads of these passages.

Study: How did believers in the Middle Ages experience the reality of the great controversy? What assurances do these promises give you personally? How do they help us in the trials of life?

Apply: What might it mean to lose everything for Christ? What, in the end, do you really lose? (See Mark 8:36 .) What lessons can we learn from the Waldenses and the Reformers that can sustain us in earth’s final conflict?

Share: A friend asks if your suffering for the Gospel has ever led someone to accept Jesus as their Savior? What do you tell your friend? See Winning Souls While Suffering.

by In Light Of The Cross

Truth or Popularity?

And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. Revelation 13:8 NLT

Sadly many put their confidence in popular opinion, while the Bible tells us the vast majority of the world will worship the beast.

Interestingly while Jesus claimed to be God, the majority accused Him of blasphemy and had Him crucified for making such a claim. Later the beast claims to be God, but, instead of accusing him of blasphemy, the majority worships him. Truth is clearly not a popularity contest.

Occasionally, at church or the Adventist school where I teach Bible and evangelism, someone will ask me, “What do we believe about such and such?” My response has always been, “I don’t know what you believe, but here is what I and many Seventh-day Adventists believe,” and I show them in the Bible what I believe and why. I am not going to tell someone what they believe. That is not teaching. That’s brainwashing. Besides truth is not truth just because everyone in the Adventist church believes it. Truth is not a popularity contest in the church or the world. Truth is truth only if the Bible supports it.

During the Dark Ages, when people did not have access to the Bible, people trusted their priests to tell them what they believed, and because of that there was a lot of brainwashing going on.

Even before the Dark Ages, priests abused their authority, and tried to brainwash people into believing whatever they believed. This happened in Jesus’ day when those in “authority” were trying to capture Jesus.

When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

“We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? John 7:45-48 NLT

The guards experienced and heard the Word of God speaking to them and believed. Since the Pharisees did not want to believe, they mocked at this. In John 7 the Pharisees misconstrued Scripture to try and prove their point, but amazingly, instead of hanging their hat on Scripture, they hung it on the fact that none of the rulers or leaders believed. Is truth a popularity contest? If everyone else believes something is it right, and if no one else believes it, then is it wrong? Is that how it works?

The number of people who believe something simply because everyone else believes it is staggering. Take the state of the dead for example. Years ago I attended the funeral of a dear Adventist saint. Her family believed in the immortality of the soul and asked the Adventist preacher doing her funeral to “put her in heaven now.” The pastor replied that he could not do that since it simply is not true. However he told them he believed in liberty of conscience and freedom of speech so if one of them wanted to stand up and say she was in heaven, they could. So one of the family members stood up and talked about how her grandmother was now in heaven. I remember she kept saying “we cling to this!” Very emphatically, yet she gave no Scriptural reference other than that is what everyone believes. So I am not sure exactly what it was she was clinging to other than popular belief. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul tells us to “comfort each other with these words” about the resurrection. Sadly instead of comforting each other with the words Paul told us to use to comfort each other, many people use phrases about going straight to heaven when you die that are nowhere in the Bible and Paul nor anyone else ever suggested that we use. Sadly those phrases have been used so often that people believe it because they have heard it so many times.

When it comes to Sabbath keeping, I have heard so many people say that Sunday must be the true day because the whole world can’t be wrong. They forget that at the time of the flood only 8 people were right! Truth is not a popularity contest.

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. Acts 17:11 NLT

Like the temple guards, the Bereans were interested in new ideas as long as they were found in Scripture. They didn’t believe something because Paul and Silas believed it or because a ruler did. On their own they searched the Scriptures daily to find truth.

I have heard Seventh-day Adventists telling their Baptist and Methodist friends to search the Bible for themselves because their pastors could be wrong. I have watched some of the same Seventh-day Adventists listening to their own favorite Adventist preachers, without bothering to search the Scriptures, because, after all, their pastor is Adventist, so he is automatically right, right? Wrong! We all make mistakes, as we all continue to learn and grow.

Let’s not be like the foolish Pharisees in John 7, who hung their hats on how many people believed or did not believe something. Truth is not a popularity contest. Let’s search the Scriptures ourselves to find truth.

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

3: Light in the Darkness-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, April 20, 2024.

Main Theme: God’s grace and the Holy Spirit empower us to stay faithful amidst the most difficult situations. 

Read in Class: John 8:44 and John 17:17. Define what these passages are contrasting.

Study: Where do we find truth? Where do lies come from? 

Apply: In what ways has Satan tried to make you doubt God’s Word? How did you overcome these illusions and temptations to doubt God’s Word?

Share: Your friend says her dead husband visited her last night and talked about things only the two of them knew about. She was able to hug and hold him, so she knew it was really him because she both saw him and felt him. What do you tell your friend? See Every Word of God Proves True. 

Read in Class: Acts 20:27-32. Define the main idea of this passage. 

Study: What specific warnings did the apostle Paul give to the church leaders from Ephesus regarding the coming apostasy?

Apply: Read 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12. How does the apostle Paul describe the coming apostasy? What characteristics should believers look for? See also Pray to Have a Love for the Truth. 

Share: Your friend asks, “What kind of compromises do we see entering the church today? More importantly, what compromises might you be making? Is it sometimes by blending truth and error?” What do you tell your friend?  

Read in Class: John 17:15-17 and Acts 20:32. Define the common thread in these passages. 

Study: What insights do Jesus and the apostle Paul give us regarding protection from the deceptions of Satan?

Apply: Read Psalms 119:105; Psalms 119:116; Psalms 119:130; Psalms 119:133, and Psalms 119:160. What insights does the psalmist give us regarding the significance of God’s Word in the plan of salvation?

Share:  Your friend argues that” the Bible is just the writings of kings, shepherds, fishermen, priests, poets, and others who shared their understandings and conceptions of God, of nature, and of reality the best that they, in their time and place, understood them. So why should we, living today in the twenty-first century, really care about what these people thought, much less make what they thought the foundation for our hope of eternity?” What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:25, and 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these passages warn us against Satan’s schemes and our own human reasoning? 

Apply: Why is the human mind without the aid of the Holy Spirit incapable of discovering divine truth? Discuss the relationship between human reason and divine revelation. How does reason actually help us understand divine revelation? For example, look at Daniel 2:1-49, a prophecy that covers world history from the time of Babylon to the Second Coming. How does a prophecy like this powerfully appeal to human reason?

Share: Do you know someone who has questions about the authenticity of the Bible? Can you give them a Bible study on how to know if God’s Word is true or not? See The Scriptures in Light of the Cross. 

by In Light Of The Cross

Winning the Great Controversy in Everyday Life

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Back in my literature evangelism days, I was sitting in the Oklahoma Adventist conference president’s office along with 4 or 5 other literature evangelists. We were discussing what one book, in addition to the Bible, we should be promoting for these last days. One person said we should be promoting books warning people about the mark of the beast. I suggested if we promoted books like The Desire of Ages, and encouraged people to fall in love with Jesus, then when the mark of the beast becomes an issue, people will make the obvious choice and follow Jesus. A few of them agreed.

Several years later I was in a vespers service at my church, where the group doing the presentations were telling us that instead of preaching the three angels’ message, we should be preaching the gospel. Apparently they did not understand the three angels message is the gospel. The first angel has the everlasting gospel which prepares us for judgment. The second angel warns us against choosing man-made religions instead of God. The third angel warns us against trusting in our own works to save us instead of resting on God’s Sabbath and letting Him save us. 

Over the years I have heard people say Seventh-day Adventists should not be preaching about every-day living but should be warning people about last day events. I hope those of you who have been following my my ministry over the last 30 years have found it to be balanced. I have done my best to stay Jesus-focused, and present our Bible teachings and crucial themes like the great controversy and the three angels’ message in the light of the cross. Here is why I believe we need to have a balanced blend of the cross in all our teachings, especially about last day events.

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 NKJV

Notice first, our repentance does not lead to God’s goodness. God’s goodness leads us to repentance. Therefore, if we want the world to repent and prepare for the judgment, shouldn’t we be preaching about God’s grace and goodness? The Conflict of the Ages series, which covers the great controversy from start to finish, begins Volume 1 (Patriarchs and Prophets) of that series with one sentence. That same sentence is the very last sentence in the last book of the series. That one sentence is not “Sunday is the false Sabbath.”  The author of this series well knew Sunday was not the Sabbath, but that is not the main focus of her Conflict of the Ages series. That one sentence is not, “The Ten Commandments can be obeyed.” Again she well knew that, by God’s grace, we can live in harmony with God’s law. These are important aspects to consider in the great controversy, but the opening and closing sentences in the entire Conflict of the Ages series is, “God is love.”  The  number one reason the Seventh-day Adventist church was brought into existence is to proclaim the unadulterated truth about Jesus. Jesus came to show us the true character of the Father.

God is love! 

  • The first angel has the everlasting gospel. Jesus is the everlasting Gospel. John 3:14-17. John 19:17-36. 
  • The first angel reminds us about the creation Sabbath. Jesus came to give us rest and gave us an example of Sabbath-keeping, demonstrating God’s love and mercy. Matthew 11:28-30. Matthew 12:1-8. 
  • The first angel also tells us about the judgment.  Jesus showed us how to prepare for the judgment by loving God first and others second. Matthew 5:17-19, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 25:34-40, 1 John 4:17. 
  • The second angel warns us not to follow man-made religions instead of God.  Jesus showed us how to trust God instead of man-made systems of worship. Matthew 4:8-10, Matthew 15:3-9. John 3:14-17. 
  • The third angel assures us that only God’s grace can save us. If we trust our own works and ability to do work, – doing business buying and selling in order to put bread on our family’s table – then we have rejected what Jesus did for us on the cross, and we will thus have to drink the bitter cup ourselves that Jesus already drank for us in Gethsemane. (See Luke 22:41-44.) Jesus teaches us that we can trust God’s grace instead of our own work to put bread on our family’s table. Matthew 6:25-33

When we properly  share the three angels’ message and great controversy themes with our friends and neighbors, we are sharing the gospel. The seventh-day Adventist Church was brought into existence to help others see the gospel more clearly. Our Bible teachings about the Sabbath, judgment, the great controversy and the three angels’ messages help us to see God’s love more clearly in a world full of deceptions and lies about God’s loving character. 

This is why I believe that, if people see the love of God in all His glory, they will be so in love with Jesus that when the test of the mark of the beast comes, they will not take that mark. Maybe they knew it was coming, maybe they didn’t, but either way, they will love Jesus so much they will not fall for it. After all, throughout earth’s history, people have been tested in various ways. The Sabbath is not always the test that is given. Perhaps on the Titanic people passed the test by putting others first and giving up their place on a lifeboat for someone else. Isn’t that what the gospel is all about? 

Knowing that it is God’s goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), how important it must be to show God’s goodness in everyday life. After all, consider this, 

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:31-40 NKJV

Consider that in the judgment Jesus did not reward people for what they preached but by what they did to show His love for others. The most crucial theme in the great controversy is if God is love or not. While Satan is busy telling all kinds of lies about God’s character, the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be showing the mercy and goodness of God with those in need. This goodness will lead people to repent from believing Satan’s lies about God’s character. This goodness will also keep people from believing Satan’s lies about Seventh-day Adventists themselves. The great controversy won’t be won by preaching behind the pulpit. It will be won by everyday Adventists  loving their neighbors in everyday life. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

2: The Central Issue: Love or Selfishness?-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, April 13, 2024. 

Main Theme: By patiently sharing the love of Christ even amidst persecution, we help God win the great controversy between good and evil. 

Read in Class: Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 23:37-38, John 5:40. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses tell you about Jesus’ attitude toward His people and their response to His loving invitation of grace and mercy? What revelation of God’s character do you see?

Apply:Read Matthew 24:15-20. What instruction did Jesus give to His people to save them from the coming destruction of Jerusalem? 

Share: Your friend says, “There is so much persecution of Christians in the early church, and today there is so much persecution, needless bloodshed, heartache, and sorrow. How can you possibly see God’s love in all this pain and suffering?” What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Hebrews 11:35-38, Revelation 2:10 and Acts 2:41, and Acts 5:42. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these passages tell us about the reality of the challenges facing the early church, and how it continued to grow despite those challenges? 

Apply: What can we learn from the early church that could help us, the end-time church?

Share: Your friend asks why God allows the church to be persecuted? What value does it serve? What does it accomplish? What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Read Acts 2:44-47; Acts 3:6-9; Acts 6:1-7. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: Although circumstances vary, what principles can we learn from these passages about authentic Christianity?

Apply: How do the ways your church serves the community help prove that Satan’s accusations about God and His church are wrong? In other words, how does your church let the community see the love of God in practical day to day living? 

Share: Your friend says that the pathfinders in her church are helping to care for the lawns of widows in the neighborhood, and that some of the deacons helped a farmer build a new barn after his old one burned down. However your friend thinks in these times of earth’s history we should just be spending our time warning people about the mark of the beast instead of just helping people with their daily living.  What do you tell your friend? In what ways might the pathfinders and deacons be preparing the community for the mark of the beast or the seal of God? See Winning the Great Controversy in Every-day Life.

Read in Class: John 13:35 and 1 John 4:21. Define the common thread of these passages. 

Study:  What do these passages reveal about Satan’s challenge against the government of God in the great controversy? What do they tell us about the essence of genuine Christianity?

Apply: What is the obvious message for us here? How do we learn to die to self so that we, too, can manifest this same selfless spirit? It’s not easy, is it? 

Share: What are some practical ways your Sabbath School class and/or family can reach out to your community this week to let them know God is love? 

by In Light Of The Cross

Why Satan has to Gaslight you Before he can Deceive you

Monday’s section of this week’s lesson asks how we can keep from being deceived by Satan? Satan is a narcissist. Narcissists gaslight their victims by creating illusions that appear to defy what is true. Satan tempts us by creating illusions that appear to defy what is true. He has to make us doubt Bible truth before he can deceive. There is no need to fear or be deceived if we believe the Bible even when Satan’s illusions contradict it. Let’s look at how the serpent decieved Eve. 

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:2-5 NKJV

The sperpent  so sublty and casually called God a liar when he said, “You will not surely die.” In order to decieve Eve Satan had to make her doubt God’s Word. If we believe God’s Word we will not be tricked into sin. We barely left Pslams but if we can go back again for another quick visit we will see,

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 NKJV

The Bible, which is God’s Word protects us from deception. It concerns me when people will say that Science or archeology has proven the Bible to be true. Why does this concern me? Because when we make the Bible appear to rely on science or archeology for validation then we are giving science and archeology authority over and above the Bible. If I am in traffice court, and the police officer is assuring the judge that my testimony is true then that must mean the police officer has more authority and merit than I do, because I am relying on his or her validation. The Word of God does not seek to be validated by man. Mankind, human phillosphy, science and archeology hold no authority over the Bible and are not qualified to declare God’s Word valid or invalid. The Bible stands on its own merit and gives but does not receive validation. 

A few years ago I was grading some 7th grade math papers, when a 7th grade math whiz came up to me to ask me if I had graded his paper yet. He wanted to know if he had missed any answers. This 7th grade math whiz was so good, I told him, “Are you kidding me? I use your paper to see if the answer book is right or not!” Of course I was using a little humor in telling this student how great he was at math. If I am letting the student decide if the answer book is right or not it must mean I think more of the student than the answer book. If I let an archeologist or scientist tell me if the BIble is right or not it must mean I think more of the archeologist or scientist than  I do the Bible. However, I do not let Scientists and archeologists tell me if the Bible is right. I let the Bible tell me if the scientists and archelogists are right or not. 

Some people think they are smart to question God’s Word. However the Plsamist says,

Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever. Psalm 131:1-3 NKJV

When the Bible presents ideas too great for us to understand, Satan suggests the ideas are actually foolish, when in reality they are just beyond our human comprehension. Human pride loves to cast aside as foolish the things it can’t explain or comprehend. Instead of becoming skeptics of God’s Word when we find something we don’t understand, it is wiser to be like David and trust God’s Word like a small child trusts its mother. After all, we will never be able to explain everything about God. If we could understand and explain everything about God He would cease to be God and would be just like us. When I was a child my parents did a lot of things I could not understand until I became older and grew up to be like them. While I can grow up like my parents did, I can never grow up to undersand and explain everyting about God and His Word. If I could be like God He would not be much of a God. The fact that scientists and archeologists cannot explain everything or even validare everything in God’s word is what makes it so divine. If scientists and archeolgists could valdiate the Bible then the Bible wouldn’t be any more inspired than the scientists and archeolgists validating it. As Paul exclaims regarding the greatness of God,

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! Romans 11:33 NKJV 

Peter tells us some people think they are being smart when trying to bring the Bible down to their own level when in reality they are twisting it to their own destruction. 

…….which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 2 Peter 3:16 NKJV

While we cannot explain everything about God, He gives us plenty of evidence to believe in His Word. First of all, going back to the Garden of Eden, as you well know Adam and Eve did die because of thier disobedience. God’s Word in time proved to be true. Daniel 2 contains a prophecy spanning well over a thousand years and so far every detail of that prophecy has proven true. Even the part that says, 

As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. Daniel 2:43 NKJV

In thi s prophecy the Bible says Europe will never be united into another one world empire. During World War II many thought Hitler would form another one world empire, but they were wrong and God’s Word proved true. As I have illustrated in a previous article, Every Word of God Proves True. If what we see, hear or feel contradicts what God’s Word says, we can be sure what we see, hear or feel is wrong. This is why we cannot afford to give more merit to skeptics, philosophers, scientists or archeologists than we do the Word of God. Instead we must,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

In order for me to make you believe 1+1=3 I must make you doubt the math answer book. If  I can make you doubt your math textbook I may be able to deceive you. Narcissists all know in order to make you believe their lies, they have to first gaslight you, causing you to doubt what is actually true. Narcissists gaslight their victims by creating illusions that appear to defy what is true. Satan tempts us by creating illusions that appear to defy what is true. He has to make us doubt Bible truth before he can deceive. There is no need to fear or be deceived if we believe the Bible even when Satan’s illusions contradict it. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

1: The War Behind All Wars-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Gabe Garza on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, April 6,2024.

Main Theme: Love cannot be forced. Only by love can love be awakened. Love will overcome all evil and reign forever.

Read in Class: Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:7-9, Isaiah 14:12-14, and Ezekiel 28:12-15. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these passage reveal about the freedom existing in heaven and the origin of evil? When Lucifer rebelled, in what ways could God have responded? What went on in the mind of this angelic being called Lucifer that led to his rebellion?

Apply: What tactics and weapons do you think Lucifer used in his “war of the minds” in heaven? What methods of gaslighting, narcissism or maybe even flattery have people tried to use with you that Lucifer may have used in heaven?

Share: Your friend says, “God could have allowed Lucifer to have free choice but then just destroyed him the minute he rebelled before things got so bad?  Or, since God knows the end from the beginning, He could have not created Lucifer at all. God can give free choice and  then only create people who will choose to serve Him” Do you agree with your friend? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 3:1-8, Genesis 3:16-19,Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What tactics did Lucifer use to get Adam and Eve to disobey God, and what were the results of their disobedience?

Apply: What tactics do you see the serpent using with Adam and Eve that Lucifer may have used with the angels in heaven?

Share: Your friend asks, “why such a harsh penalty for such a small sin?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:21, John 1:29, and John 3:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What was God’s solution for the sin problem?

Apply: How does Jesus’ death on the cross not only pay the penalty for your sins, but also expose all of Satan’s lies about God in the war between good and evil? How does the cross keep you from falling for Satan’s lies and temptations now?

Share: Your friend asks you to share the plan of salvation. What do you tell your friend? Need help? See Salvation in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Hebrews 4:15-16 and Hebrews 7:25. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these verses give us assurance in a world of temptation, suffering, disease, and death?

Apply: According to John 17:24-26, what is Christ’s longing desire in the great controversy between good and evil?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why did Christ have to sacrifice Himself in order to save us?” What do you tell your friend?