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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Cristian Villegas

Helping Up

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you love us.

We didn't come here today to hear the words of a man.

We want to know you, for that's eternal life.

So please, Lord, help me now to die to self and help your words to be shared today so that you can be glorified.

For your words are spirit, and they are life.

I want to start out today by sharing a story with you.

By the age of 6, she was introduced to tobacco products and unfortunately became a habit that was deeply rooted in her life.

By the time she was a teenager, She was drinking alcohol.

But somewhere along the way, she met the Sabbath-keeping people, and she united with their church.

And for a season, she was able to give up these habits.

But just as suddenly, they crept back into her life again.

But no 1 knew what she was doing in private.

You can imagine the guilt and remorse that just kept building up.

She would hear messages often that we would hear here at Aven Hope about the glorious second return of Jesus.

And they would read passages like 1 John 3, 3, which says, and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

She learned just like we learned here that as we look forward to Jesus's second coming, we would leave off these habits and purify ourselves.

But no matter how hard she tried, She couldn't break free.

And then finally 1 Sabbath morning, she heard a message that cut straight to the heart.

And she felt that deep need to break free.

So she did something she had never done before.

We'll call him Pastor Jim, he was a young pastor.

And she asked him to come over so they could talk about a problem she had.

And he found himself listening to this very story, a story he could have never predicted.

She told him about all the habits that she was involved in, all the different ways that she tried but she couldn't get free, Until the point where she says this, I've now come to the place where I must have victory, and I want you to help me.

He was thinking to himself, this is Alex who has been going to church and been involved in so many different things.

How could she be doing something like this?

So he was honest with her and he said, Alex, I'm not sure how I can help you.

There's an upcoming church board meeting and I will mention it to them and see what they suggest.

They put her to a vote and they disfellowshipped her.

Before we dive deeper into this story and the ramifications of it, I want us to turn to a very important passage of Scripture.

It's arguably the most important passage of Scripture that relates to you and me because We're involved in it.

It's a passage that we're fairly familiar with.

It says, this good news of the kingdom, or the gospel, will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony or witness to all nations and then the end will count.

So Jesus says that 1 of the signs of close to a second coming will be this mass sharing of the gospel.

It's interesting that 1 of the signs that facilitates a second coming is sharing a message that's not new, it's not some strange doctrine or theology, it's the gospel.

In fact, Revelation chapter 14 verse 6 calls it the everlasting gospel, meaning that the gospel is an all-time message.

So I think it would serve us well to better understand what this gospel is and how it relates to you and me and how it applies to Alex.

We're going to do that by studying another story.

So let's go ahead and go to John chapter 8.

So it says, at dawn, he went to the temple complex again, and all the people were coming to him.

Jesus goes to the temple complex and people must be really excited to hear Jesus because they're willing to come at sunrise to hear him teach.

And on top of that, let's back up for a bit.

This is happening after the festival of booths or tabernacles, 1 of the 3 major pilgrimages of the Jewish calendar.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center.

Teacher, they said to him, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.

In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such woman.

They asked us to trap him in order that they might accuse him.

So Jesus is teaching, and then all of a sudden, the religious leaders break through the crowd.

And they bring this disheveled woman right front and center.

In the original language, the word used for bringing the woman is the same word used for how someone treats an animal that's tied up, meaning this is by force.

They're likely dragging her in this case, and they have a charge against her, adultery.

Now, this isn't some charge that's coming by a rumor.

They're witnesses in this case, likely multiple.

And I want you guys to put yourselves in the eyes of the characters of this story.

You might be feeling shocked or horrified at what's happening right in front of you.

Maybe you're feeling embarrassed on behalf of the girl.

Maybe you're feeling angry at what they're doing or how she could be involved in such a thing.

Or you're fearful of what is about to happen, or you're feeling hopeless or lost because there's no way out.

Maybe you're feeling upset that she can be involved in such a thing, or prideful that you finally put Jesus in a pickle that he can't get out of.

It's important that We do thought exercises like this when we study the Bible because we're not reading fables.

These are real stories of real people that go through situations just like you and me that respond in ways that you and me are very well capable of.

It's very easy to get upset at the theorists and say, how dare you for doing such a thing, when in reality we're no different.

I brought a friend who was an Adventist to this very place, and not even 2 months in, he was being criticized for not keeping the Sabbath.

What about the situations where we criticize 1 another behind our backs?

What would your view of religion be if this is what you saw?

Now did the Pharisees really care what happened to the woman?

The Bible says that they were using the situation to trap Jesus.

If they really cared about justice, they would have brought the man.

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Helping Up

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