Participants: Jim Reinking
Series Code: LDS
Program Code: LDS000016
|
00:34 As we look at the apostates, so we went through
00:36 all of the seven identifying characteristics. 00:39 Remember Revelation 13, 00:41 by which we identified the apostate system. 00:45 Well, it's fascinating 00:46 that in the Book of Revelation in particular that we also find 00:50 the identifying characteristics of God's people in the end time. 00:55 And that's what I want to review with you 00:57 before we really get into the heart of our study tonight. 01:00 So God's people in the end time are going to be noted for, 01:03 number one, their faith in Jesus Christ. 01:07 And we would expect that. Jesus is going to be central. 01:10 Jesus is going to be foundational 01:12 to their experience is what we find. 01:15 And number two, we discover from the word of God 01:18 that is particularly from the Book of Revelation. 01:21 It is mentioned specifically twice 01:23 in regards to God's people in the end time. 01:26 They will keep the Commandments of God. 01:30 Not just some of them, but by faith 01:32 through His grace they will seek to keep all ten of them, 01:37 which tells me that they are going to be 01:39 a Sabbath keeping people. 01:42 And number three, as we discover last night in our study 01:46 that God's people would emerge in the end time. 01:50 Out of that period of persecution 01:52 represented by the 1,260 years, 01:54 the earth would, help a woman, remember? 01:56 And they would emerge. 01:58 They would emerge out of oppression 01:59 and persecution in the old world. 02:01 And they would emerge here in the soil of the new world. 02:06 It would take right here, 02:08 and that's exactly what we found out 02:10 as I shared with you, 02:11 the beginnings of the advent moment, those early Adventists. 02:16 And it all began in the early 19th century, 02:19 right on time prophetically. 02:21 And what else did we learned about 02:23 God's people in the end time? 02:24 We also discover that as they emerge 02:28 that the Book of Daniel with his prophecies 02:31 would be unsealed. 02:33 And so that's what we would expect that 02:35 they would have a prophetic/biblical message. 02:41 And there will be a worldwide moment 02:43 because the gospel must go to the whole world 02:45 as a witness through all nations and then the end shall come. 02:48 And so it must be a worldwide moment. 02:52 And Adventists today are preaching this message 02:57 and are established in some 210 countries worldwide. 03:02 That is more than belongs to the United Nations. 03:06 And it is a worldwide moment. 03:10 And again, I would expect that, wouldn't you? 03:13 It's growing tremendously in places like Africa, 03:15 even in India, in some parts of the India, 03:18 Central and South America. 03:20 And, my friend, America is going to have its day. 03:23 At some point it's going to happen. 03:25 I really believe it because I know the prophecy speak of it. 03:29 And there's going to be something 03:30 that's going to disturb, 03:31 I think our sense of security at some point. 03:34 I don't know if it's just current situation, 03:37 I would not presume to make that assumption, 03:39 but at some point 03:40 it's going to be disturbed our sense of security. 03:45 And then the last thing that we discovered last night 03:48 is that they would have the testimony of Jesus. 03:50 So you got to line this up, if you are really interested 03:53 in being associated with God's people in the end time, 03:57 just line it up, starting with Jesus, 03:59 keeping the commandments et cetera, et cetera. 04:02 These are the things that 04:03 that ought to be present among God's people. 04:07 Now as I get into my subject tonight, 04:09 it is on the subject of prophecy, the prophetic word. 04:13 And the question is, will there be a re-emergence 04:17 of the prophetic gift before the coming of Jesus? 04:21 You have the question. 04:23 Will there be a re-emergence of the prophetic gift 04:25 before the coming of Jesus? 04:28 Which leads us to the whole question, why was-- 04:32 Why is the prophetic gift needed anyway? 04:36 Well, my friend, remember in the very beginning, 04:39 God had face to face communion with Adam and Eve. 04:44 That is what He designed life to be 04:48 or something that we would experience, 04:50 we would know God, we would have this privilege 04:53 of being able face to face to talk with God. 04:58 And that's a part of why there's just-- 05:02 If you think about, 05:03 there's just something within us that just is not right. 05:07 There's something that's missing. 05:10 And my friend, the thing that's missing, 05:12 is that the relationship has been broken. 05:15 That's what it really comes down to. 05:18 And I won't tell you people keep filling 05:19 that hole that, you know, that restlessness 05:22 that some go through with so many things, 05:25 and hopefully someday they discover 05:28 that all the time it was so close in hand, 05:31 there's a God that really love them 05:33 and really cares for them. 05:34 So why do we need the prophetic gift? 05:37 I said it the relationship was broken. 05:39 Isaiah 59:2 says, 05:41 "But your iniquities or sins 05:43 have separated you from your God." 05:46 The direct communion, the direct communication 05:49 between God and His people was broken because of sin. 05:52 And sin always does that. 05:54 Sin always separates us, doesn't it? 05:56 That's' the tendency of it. 05:58 It breaks down relationship is what sin does. 06:01 That's what so very deadly about it. 06:03 And relations are being broken down. 06:05 My friend, I mean, that leads us in a horrible state. 06:11 We're not complete and we're not whole 06:15 when the relationship has been broken down. 06:18 And the Gods in the-- 06:21 God has the purpose of repairing the broken relationship, 06:26 that's what He's all about, isn't He? 06:29 So the prophetic gift was given to operate 06:34 while we are in the state of separation. 06:38 It is God's ordain means of communicating His will to us. 06:42 It's what we find as we study the Bible. 06:44 So, you know, it's vital. 06:46 Take your Bibles and turn to 2 Peter 1, 06:48 the New Testament page 183, 183. 06:52 2 Peter 1 and looking at verse 21. 06:57 Back here towards the end of the New Testament 06:59 is where you are going to find 2 Peter. 07:02 And as I said it's Chapter 1 07:03 and if you move right on down the page, 07:05 you will find verse 21 where it says, 07:08 "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will." 07:15 Let me reassure you, 07:17 that when it came to the prophetic revelations 07:19 that we have contained in the word of God, 07:21 it goes on to say, 07:22 " But men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 07:29 The message comes from God. It was initiated by God. 07:33 And, my friend, the fact that there is harmony 07:37 from the very beginning of the book to the end 07:41 speaks of the divine power by which 07:44 the word of God was established, 07:48 and there is harmony, there is. 07:53 So and then I take you on to Ephesians 4:11 07:56 as we talk about some of the gifts of the Holy spirit, 07:59 it's speaking of Jesus when it says, 08:01 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, 08:06 and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers." 08:10 Please don't forget that one of the gifts 08:12 of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave 08:14 was the gift of evangelist, not always, 08:18 not everyone considers us to be gifts to the church. 08:23 But I am focusing in on the gift of prophets. 08:28 And again Jesus gave these gifts, 08:31 so specifically the gift of prophecy, 08:33 the gift of prophets to operate in His absence. 08:38 Is that why He gave these gifts? 08:40 And, my friend, when we're united with Him, 08:41 we no longer will need these spiritual gifts. 08:45 Again the question is, is there any indication 08:48 that beyond the New Testament 08:49 that the prophetic gift would never rise again? 08:52 I just want you to be thinking about that. 08:55 But I want to as we further into our study, 08:57 I want to do a survey of how the prophetic gift 08:59 has operated in the past, under what circumstances, 09:03 under what historical conditions was the prophetic gift 09:06 operating in the past which will give us a clue 09:09 as we think about the prophetic gift 09:11 as it relates to the end times. 09:14 And, you know, I can just do this only briefly, 09:16 but I began with Noah. 09:19 Did Noah had the prophetic gift? 09:21 Did he receive revelations from God? 09:24 Did he, did he not? Yes, he did. 09:27 He received revelations that the world was coming to an end. 09:31 He was given instructions to build an ark 09:33 and he was given a message, it was a prophetic message 09:36 and he preached that for 120 years. 09:39 By the way, how successful was he? 09:42 Not very successful after 120 years only 09:44 eight, he did save his family. 09:46 That's worth something, isn't it? 09:49 I tell you, if I only save my family, I will save no one. 09:52 But you know what? We have ministry "Save No One." 09:57 It's Jesus that does the saving. 09:59 But anyway, you know, what I am saying here. 10:02 And so, you know, the message was 10:05 the antediluvian world was coming to an end 10:07 and so the prophetic gift was given. 10:09 God gave a warning. He gave an invitation. 10:13 And, my friend, He really longed. 10:15 He longed for them to repent. 10:18 He longed for them to survive, 10:20 but they had the choices like we do. 10:23 Could it be? 10:25 But in the end times, 10:27 knowing the world is going to come to an end 10:29 that Jesus is coming that in a similar fashion, 10:32 the prophetic gift would again be in operation. 10:36 Well, you may have some idea, 10:39 I maybe going somewhere with this. 10:41 And then I think of Moses. 10:42 Moses certainly had the prophetic gift. 10:44 The first five books of the Old Testament 10:46 were written by Moses and most agree 10:49 that he wrote the Book of Job. 10:52 And we think he was given the prophetic gift 10:54 as God was bringing His people out of Egyptian bondage 10:59 that Moses was the instrumentality 11:01 by which he was leading his people 11:03 through the wilderness of their wonderings 11:05 right up to the borders of Canaan, 11:09 The Promise Land. 11:12 And again, in a similar fashion 11:14 we too are in the wilderness of our wonderings 11:17 on this planet, aren't we? 11:20 And we are on the borders of the heavenly Canaan. 11:25 Are there parallels? 11:26 Is that point to the possibility of it in the end time? 11:30 And then I take of the prophet Elijah. 11:33 We've been talking about Elijah this weekend, haven't we? 11:35 Last night, this morning, 11:36 I was talking about Elijah and his message. 11:40 It was not a popular one. 11:41 Jeremiah, I think is another prophet. 11:43 His message-- You know, the people got hated it. 11:47 I tell you, at one point Jeremiah had its long ministry, 11:51 the people of God were in apostasy. 11:53 God said-- I want you to write down 11:54 all of the messages I've given you. 11:56 Look at Jeremiah. It's a long book. 12:00 And He said, put it in he hands of the king. 12:03 And it was being read to the king 12:05 and as it was being read page by page, 12:07 you know what that king was doing? 12:10 He was cutting it up, throwing it into the fire. 12:13 That's what he thought about those prophetic messages. 12:17 He held them in despair. 12:20 And now God said to Jeremiah, write it up again. 12:23 I mean, that was a task. 12:25 And this is by the way pre-computer 12:27 and word processing. 12:29 You know, that was all longhand 12:31 so he wrote it out again. 12:33 But we're taking about Elijah. 12:35 And his was not a popular message. 12:36 It was a message to his people who were locked in apostasy. 12:40 They've been hunting down the prophets to eliminate them. 12:44 They were trying to eliminate 12:45 the prophetic voice among them, it's tragic. 12:51 And, my friend, when we think about it, 12:53 the very fact that there's so much division 12:55 and confusion in the Christian world 12:57 does give some indication that something is wrong. 13:03 That on some level, there maybe 13:05 this represents some kind of apostasy that was so divided. 13:10 And then we can talk about the, you know, 13:12 the Major we talk about the Minor Prophets. 13:14 Minor in the sense that we only have, you know, like Joel. 13:18 It's not a long book that we have, 13:21 written by Joel and Amos, Hosea. 13:23 What is that 12 chapters or something. 13:27 You know all giving messages for God's people. 13:32 God was addressing, God was speaking to His people. 13:36 In the end times, do we need God to be speaking to us? 13:39 Now we do have the advantage 13:40 that we have the testimony of the prophets in the word of God. 13:44 We do, don't we? It's a wonderful advantage. 13:48 And then I moved into the New Testament 13:50 for John the Baptist had the prophetic message. 13:52 By the way, do we have one book 13:54 written by the Prophet John the Baptist? 13:59 No, not one book. 14:01 And but John, he did have the prophetic gift 14:04 in the sense that he had a prophetic message, didn't he? 14:08 And what was his message for his people 14:11 that were again locked in apostasy? 14:14 Repent. 14:16 And his purpose was to prepare the way 14:19 for the coming of Jesus in a similar way 14:23 as we anticipate the return of our Lord. 14:26 Could it be that there would be a prophetic message 14:29 that would at work, the prophetic gift 14:32 to prepare a people for the second return of Jesus? 14:37 What do you think? 14:38 Where do you think I'm heading with this? 14:40 Again I ask, do we have any indication that 14:43 the prophetic gift would end with the New Testament? 14:46 And if not, could it be that in the last days 14:49 in the time of the end 14:51 just before the coming of the Jesus 14:52 that the prophetic gift 14:54 would again be present among God's people. 14:58 Well, the Book of Revelation makes this prediction. 15:01 Look at Revelation 12, the New Testament page 195. 15:06 195, Revelation 12 and we're going to be looking at verse 17. 15:10 We were here just last night 15:11 for those of you who were with us. 15:14 And remember, Revelation 12 is describing 15:16 the people of God in a state of conflict, remember that? 15:19 I pointed out in verses 7 and 9 15:21 that it tells us that this conflict began in heaven. 15:27 But the conflict is being carried out upon this planet. 15:30 I share with you whenever we put ourselves 15:33 under the saving grace of Jesus, 15:35 we are setting ourselves up for conflict. 15:39 Conflict within, conflict without in the sense 15:42 that we are in conflict with the principle of evil, 15:47 if you can call evil a principle, okay. 15:52 And remember, we went through this. 15:53 The determination of the evil, 15:55 want to take them down to eliminate them. 15:58 Now God prepared a place for them. 16:00 He nourished them. They have to go in the hiding. 16:03 And how the earth hopped women? 16:05 Remember all of that and we talked about the new world 16:07 and how that, you know, it was all part of God's plan. 16:11 And then we looked at verse 17, verse 17 where it says, 16:17 "So the dragon was enraged with the woman 16:21 and went off to make war with rest of her children 16:23 who keep the commandments of God 16:25 and hold to the testimony of Jesus." 16:28 And again as I did last night, I'm going to share with you 16:31 the King James rendition of this where it says, 16:34 "And the dragon was wroth, he was angry with the woman, 16:36 and went to make war with the remnant." 16:38 Remember? I was wanting to underscore that idea. 16:41 "The remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, 16:44 and the testimony of Jesus Christ." 16:48 And there we have two specific, 16:51 clear identifying characteristics of God's people. 16:55 Keeping the commandments. 16:56 We already went through that, didn't we? 16:58 But they would have the testimony of Jesus. 17:00 But as we talk about the remnant 17:03 and represents God's people in that last remnant of time 17:08 that we call the last days. 17:10 So in the last days, 17:11 they will keep the commandments of God 17:13 and they will have the testimony of Jesus, 17:15 but what is this testimony of Jesus? 17:19 Jesus is speaking to us? 17:22 Jesus is testifying to us, is He? 17:26 And what is that really about? 17:28 Look at Revelation 19, the New Testament page 199, 17:32 comparing scripture with scripture. 17:34 Again taking, out of our concordances, 17:36 you know, to a good biblical study. 17:38 And for looking specifically at the testimony of Jesus, 17:40 we want to find out 17:41 if that is used in any other context, right? 17:44 That's how we use the Bible to interpret itself 17:46 and that's exactly how we can understand biblically 17:50 the true interpretation of what we are talking about. 17:53 In verse 10, we find that John is comforted with an angel. 17:56 It is an overwhelming experience to John. 17:59 For it says, 'Then I fell at his feet to worship him. 18:02 But he said to me, 'Do not do that, 18:04 I am a fellow servant of yours and your brother 18:07 who hold the testimony of Jesus. 18:10 Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus 18:14 is the Spirit of Prophecy.'" 18:19 That is just simply another way to refer to the prophetic gift. 18:25 And so you put these two verses together 18:28 and it speaks of God's remnant people 18:29 who keep the commandments of God, 18:31 having the testimony of Jesus or the Spirit of Prophecy, 18:35 the prophetic gift, it is clear that the Bible indicates 18:40 the prophetic gift would arise again in the end times. 18:46 And it makes sense, 18:47 if you go back to the survey, I shared with you. 18:50 As we looked at the particular historical settings 18:53 under which the prophetic gift has operated in the past. 18:56 And, my friend, if indeed as we believe the Bible teaches, 18:59 the end of time is at hand that Jesus is soon to come, 19:05 it only make sense 19:07 that the prophetic gift would again be in operation. 19:11 So let me introduce you to an individual 19:13 that I believe had the prophetic gift 19:15 in fulfillment of this prophecy of revelation. 19:19 I don't know if this is going to be a new name for you, 19:21 but her name was Ellen G. White. 19:25 I can tell you this. Her background was Methodist. 19:27 Her family were very dedicated Methodists. 19:30 They really loved the Lord. 19:32 And as a young girl when William Miller 19:34 came into her hometown and was preaching these novel 19:39 ideas of prophecy and end times, 19:43 end of the world then the coming of Jesus. 19:45 It was craving to stir in and she and her family were there. 19:50 And they listened to these preachings 19:52 from God's word and they embraced 19:55 the prophetic messages they were hearing. 19:57 They remained Methodist, but they embraced the message 20:03 and in time all of those people through those-- 20:06 They came to be known as those Advent believers 20:08 in the various churches, you know, 20:10 they were all through the established churches 20:14 who believe this message. 20:16 And that's the story itself how that, you know, 20:19 congealed in time into the advent moment, 20:23 the Adventist moment as it exist today, 20:25 but that's the origins of it. 20:26 So they were hearing these messages. 20:29 And let me tell you about Ellen White. 20:30 She was a woman that loved Jesus 20:33 dearly and looked with longing for His return. 20:39 In 1844, at 17 years of age. How old was she? 20:46 Seventeen years of age 20:48 she received her first revelation from God 20:53 that resulted in a 70 year ministry 20:57 that ended with her death in 1915. 21:02 During the course of her life, she received some 2,000 visions. 21:07 Some of them I've seen as long as four hours. 21:11 There were-- Just to give you just some statistics on this. 21:14 There were some 26 books that she wrote. 21:17 There are some 55,000 manuscript pages, 21:20 100 compellations of her writings in English. 21:24 Very possibly, she is the most 21:25 translated woman in human history. 21:27 She is certainly the most translated American author 21:32 man or woman for her book, Steps to Christ, 21:36 which I'm going to share with you tonight 21:38 has been translated alone in 135 languages, 21:45 135 languages. 21:48 And, my friend, there is no doubt in my mind 21:50 that in her life of ministry was a fulfillment 21:54 of this prophecy of revelation that 21:56 the Spirit of Prophecy would be present among God's people. 21:59 But how can we really know that? 22:01 We haven't come to this point 22:03 where I'm going to say to you, take my word for it. 22:08 In fact, you'll never hear that spoken up here. 22:12 But let me tell you a little bit about Ellen White. 22:16 Ellen White, 17 years of age, that's young... 22:21 Pretty young. 22:23 And I want to tell you about the character of Ellen White. 22:25 She was not the kind of individual 22:27 that put herself into the forefront 22:30 She was not the kind of a person who wanted attention. 22:34 In fact, when this came to her, 22:36 she begged the Lord to lay it on somebody else. 22:42 She did not feel adequate in anyway for that responsibility. 22:47 And, you know, that's probably why God chose 22:50 to give this woman, young woman these revelations. 22:56 I would be worried, wouldn't you? 22:58 If it was somebody that really wanted to be noticed, 23:02 who wanted attention, 23:05 who wanted to have authority over people. 23:10 Wouldn't you be worried about that 23:12 if that was the kind of person that God chose? 23:15 I don't think God generally chooses 23:16 those kinds of people for that kind of holy mission. 23:19 So you need to know that. 23:20 So how do we know whether there's God or not? 23:22 Well, take your Bibles and turn with me to Isaiah Chapter 8, 23:26 the Old Testament, page 493. 23:31 493, Isaiah 8:20. 23:34 And by the way, on the screen there you'll see her home, 23:37 that's the home where she died in Elmshaven, 23:42 that's up in the Napa Valley area in California. 23:48 That's where she finished her ministry. 23:50 And as I said she died in 1915. 23:54 But notice this principle that we find in Isaiah 8:20. 23:59 How do we know 24:00 where there's something like this is of God or not? 24:03 Well, it tells us here in Isaiah 8:20, 24:05 "To the law and to the testimony! 24:08 If they speak-- If they do not speak 24:10 according to this word, it is because there is no." 24:15 The King James translates it properly. 24:17 "There's no light in them." 24:20 So it must be in keeping with the moral code 24:24 of God's commandments. 24:26 I mean, somebody has revelations 24:28 and they're living a prolific life and immorality 24:31 that first of all that by their fruit you shall know them. 24:34 The Bible says, right? 24:35 By their fruits you shall know them. 24:38 Well, that would be a key. 24:39 And it says, through the testimony. 24:41 And what is the testimony? 24:42 My friend, you're holding it here in your hands. 24:45 It is the testimony of the Holy Spirit to us. 24:49 And the point is, if they do not speak 24:52 in accordance with this word, 24:55 it is because there's no light in them. 24:58 So whatever revelations that supposedly come 25:01 to an individual must be in harmony 25:04 with what the Bible teaches. 25:05 And if it is not, it is not a God. 25:11 This is the final authority. 25:14 This one to the points of faith as you remember 25:16 that we were going through earlier this evening. 25:19 There has to be in point of authority. 25:21 And, my friend, the authority does not reside with you and I. 25:24 You know, I'd smell it, I would sense it. 25:26 And, my friend, you and I can't depend upon that 25:29 but what we can depend upon is the word of God, amen. 25:32 Amen. 25:33 So to me, that's a crucial issue. 25:35 The issue that I must spend most of my time on tonight. 25:38 So how did she relate to the word of God, to the Bible? 25:43 Was her influence in anyway 25:46 undermining the authority of the scriptures? 25:51 And I'm going to quote from her because, 25:53 you know, and that's the best way to do it 25:55 to establish where she stood on this issue. 25:58 So how did she relate to the Bible? 25:59 She made the statement. It's a simple one. 26:01 That is all inclusive because she said at one point, 26:05 "The Bible and the Bible." 26:08 What's the next word? "Alone is our rule of faith." 26:14 She did not say, the Bible and my writings, right? 26:20 She said the Bible and the Bible alone. 26:24 Let me tell you, 26:25 I've been preaching this message for a long time. 26:28 I never have to turn to her writings to say. 26:33 Now let me share with you why we believe this 26:37 and I take you to another seven books. 26:40 Does she bear testimony to the truth? 26:42 Of course, we would expect that if it's of God. 26:46 Does she bear testimony to Jesus in the plan of salvation? 26:49 Of course, she does. 26:51 We would expect that if it was of God, right? 26:54 So we do find truth there, 26:56 but the basis of truth is from the Bible. 27:01 She bears witness is the way I would put it to the truth 27:06 as it is in Jesus, prayers witness to Jesus. 27:10 The Bible and the Babylon. 27:11 In another book, there's one of the books 27:14 I read early in-- Actually back in my college days 27:18 about my sophomore year, 27:19 I grabbed the book Early Writings, page 78. 27:22 She said, "I recommend to you the word of God 27:25 as the rule of your faith and practice. 27:27 By that word we are to be judged. 27:30 God has, in that word, promised to give visions 27:33 for the 'last days,' not for a new rule of faith." 27:36 Let's stop right there. 27:37 Now she's quoting from something here. 27:40 When she says God has in that word 27:42 promise to give visions for the last days. 27:45 Is that true? Is that in the Bible? 27:49 And it's so where? 27:52 Joel 2:27:28. 27:56 And the context is just before the great and terrible day 27:59 of the Lord that is before His coming. 28:02 It indicated that there would be prophetic dreams 28:05 and there would be prophetic visions. 28:09 And, you know, it's supports 28:10 what we just read in revelation about the Spirit of Prophecy. 28:14 Okay, she said, "Not for a new rule of faith, but for--" 28:20 Now this one is the primary reasons that was given, 28:22 "For the comfort of His people." 28:25 And do we need to be comforted? 28:29 I don't know about you. 28:32 I need to be comforted. 28:36 And I want to share something out of my own experience 28:38 about that will illustrate this, but I'm not quite there yet. 28:42 And another reason that was given, 28:43 "And to correct those who err from Bible truth." 28:48 It authoritatively bears witness to the truth. 28:54 Did you catch that the meaning of that? 29:00 But the authority by which 29:02 He bears witness to the truth 29:03 is not the basis of the foundations of truth. 29:10 The foundation and truth is biblical, 29:12 but she authoritatively bears witness 29:14 to the truth of scripture. 29:17 One of the functions of the Spirit of Prophecy 29:20 as I just referred to is to affirm Bible truth 29:25 and to apply its teachings 29:27 and its principles through the specific times 29:29 that we're living in, 29:31 it is to help the people of God 29:33 to prepare for the return of Jesus. 29:36 And it has been given to keep us as a people 29:39 from drifting away from the foundations of our faith 29:43 which are scriptural. 29:47 I tell you, we have been tremendously 29:49 been blessed as a people. 29:51 I'm going to tell you honestly, 29:52 I have this deep conviction. 29:54 We've been tremendously blessed by this gift. 29:58 It has kept us on track biblically. 30:00 Had she been misused? Yes. 30:04 Has the Bible ever been misused? Absolutely. 30:08 And, my friend, just because something that's been misused, 30:11 don't let that be a hindrance 30:15 to seeing the God is behind the gift. 30:18 Whether we're talking about the Spirit of Prophecy 30:20 or we're talking about the prophetic gift 30:22 as we have it in the Bible. 30:24 You know, people have misused the cross, you know. 30:28 It was an emblem of the crusade. 30:32 It represented blood shed, 30:34 prosecution and oppression of certain period of time. 30:37 Are we going to reject the cross 30:40 because it has been abused or misused? 30:44 Of course not. 30:46 You know, we need to be mature about this 30:48 and we need to see if what it really is. 30:52 But time again to illustrate the relationship 30:55 between the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible. 30:56 I don't know if you noticed, 30:58 but I discovered this in about 19 years of age. 31:01 I was in college and I was just wonder all the time, 31:04 you know, I was just tired all the time, 31:07 I was home. 31:08 I shared this with my mother and she's an LPN 31:12 and so she put it together and she took me down, 31:15 and have my eyes checked and it was eye strain 31:18 that was just wearing me out. 31:20 I was just tired and sleepy all the time. 31:23 It was all the reading and I didn't realize 31:25 that my eyes were going bad 31:27 and I tell you it was a wonderful thing, 31:29 but you know, when the Lord comes, 31:30 I'm going to get to throw those things away 31:32 as far as I can go 31:33 because I'm not going to need them anymore. 31:36 But for the time being I'm going to keep them 31:39 because let me tell you, without the glasses, 31:45 and I have little stigmatism 31:46 so things kind of going in and out 31:47 and that sort of things. 31:49 I tell you, I really can't pick up hardy a word on the page. 31:55 That's my eyesight, 31:56 but when I put these spectacles on, 31:58 everything comes immediately into sharp focus. 32:02 By the way, I do have bifocal, 32:03 so that helps also. Okay. 32:06 Comes into sharp focus. 32:07 Now did the glasses put the words there? 32:10 No. 32:11 It was there, but I just could not perceive it 32:14 because of the limitations you see. 32:17 But with the aid of those eye glasses 32:20 everything comes into sharp focus. 32:23 A similar illustration, you know, 32:26 with the naked eye we can see some few thousand stars 32:29 out there on the clear night, 32:31 but when you put one of these instruments to your eyes, 32:35 I tell you there, our heavenly bodies 32:37 we could not even began to imagine out there in space. 32:41 Again, the telescope didn't put those bodies out there. 32:44 They were there, but we didn't have 32:45 the capability of, you know, we couldn't see them. 32:51 And so the Spirit of Prophecy bears witness to the truth. 32:55 And then the early experience of the advent moment, 32:59 it was such a fluid period of time, 33:00 that period when Bible study groups 33:03 were happening all through the advent moment. 33:07 People, I mean, this is pre-TV, pre-radio. 33:11 People spent hours in studying of the Bible 33:15 and they've been doing this prayerfully. 33:17 Ellen White was a part of it, 33:19 but she was not there saying, 33:20 "Okay, listen to me, folk. 33:22 Do I have your attention? 33:23 Let me tell you, this is what the word of God is." 33:27 The process was they would be studying. 33:30 She said, "Sometimes I could not follow 33:34 the framework of the arguments 33:35 and the argument of the reasoning 33:38 that was going on in these discussions." 33:41 And sometimes they would be kind of deadlock. 33:44 There were times that God would reveal to us. 33:47 This is the track of truth. 33:50 That's the only time. 33:51 This is not a shortcut for the study of God's word 33:55 is what I'm trying to say. 33:57 Lord did the truths that were discovered in that process 34:02 come out of this is what Ellen White said. 34:06 But she board testimony that this is what the truth is. 34:11 It's not a shortcut for Bible study. 34:13 Never should be that, 34:15 right? 34:16 It should never be a shortcut and when it does, 34:18 we're misusing it. 34:19 In John 14:26, 34:21 Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, 34:24 whom the Father will send in My name, 34:26 He will teach you all things, 34:29 and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." 34:32 And so the Holy Spirit has been promised us 34:35 to lead us into the truth. 34:40 And, my friend, I believe 34:41 the Spirit of Prophecy is a partial fulfillment 34:44 of this promise of the Holy Spirit 34:47 to lead us into the truth. 34:51 And again, as I said it bears witness 34:52 to the truth of scripture. 34:56 It bears witness to the truth of scripture. 34:59 In her prophets to the book Great Controversy. 35:02 This is one of the 700 somewhat page books that she wrote. 35:06 It deals with prophecy and the end times 35:08 and the major issues of the end times. 35:11 The night that I was speaking on the coming of Jesus, 35:13 you may remember I ended with a reading 35:15 that described the coming of Jesus. 35:17 "Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, 35:20 about half the size of a man's hand." 35:21 You may remember that. 35:23 And I chose that because I didn't want just preach the-- 35:26 And that's bolds of what about teaches us 35:28 about the coming of Jesus, 35:29 I wanted a description and it was the best one 35:31 I know of anywhere that's describe that there was-- 35:36 That was my motivation. 35:37 That came out of the book Great Controversy 35:42 specifically her chapter on God's people delivered. 35:45 Beautiful passage. 35:47 Put that the memory in my 20s. 35:49 It's the same book. 35:50 And this is in the prophets 35:52 and she's writing about this matter of inspiration. 35:56 She says, "In His word, 35:57 God has committed to men 35:59 the knowledge necessary for salvation." 36:01 And you know, I would say, 36:02 yes. Amen. That's the truth. 36:05 "The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted 36:07 as an authoritative, infallible," is the word, 36:11 "Infallible revelation of His will. 36:13 They are the standard of character, 36:14 the revealer of doctrines," 36:16 and this we often felt overlooked. 36:19 "And the test of experience. 36:23 Yet the fact that God has revealed 36:24 His will to men through His word, 36:26 has not rendered needless 36:28 the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. 36:31 On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Savior, 36:35 to open the word to His servants, 36:38 to illuminate and apply its teachings." 36:42 And we have been depending upon the Holy Spirit 36:44 from day one my on down to this point. 36:48 I tell you, I never dare to stand up here to preach 36:52 without prayerfully asking. 36:56 And first of all, I've dedicated every meeting. 37:01 I've dedicated every meeting to the Lord. 37:04 And there's not one night 37:05 I don't ask for the presence of Jesus 37:09 and asks for the presence of the Holy Spirit 37:12 to open our hearts and to lead us to the truth. 37:18 I'm bearing witness to the truth, 37:21 but that is not sufficient enough 37:23 without the Holy Spirit. 37:25 "The Spirit was promised by our Savior, 37:26 to open the word to His servants, 37:28 to illuminate and apply its teachings. 37:32 And since it was the Spirit of God 37:34 that inspired the Bible, 37:35 it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit 37:39 should ever be contrary to that of the word." 37:42 Would you believe that? 37:45 We know that that book is inspired. 37:49 Any revelation that comes must be in coherence 37:55 with the teachings of that book, 37:58 of the light that has preceded it. 38:01 And if it is not in the coherence 38:03 with the teachings of the book, 38:05 we know it is not a God. 38:08 "The Spirit was not given-- nor can it ever be bestowed-- 38:11 to supersede the Bible, 38:12 for the Scriptures explicitly state 38:15 that the word of God is the standard by which 38:17 all teaching and experience must be tested." 38:22 She recognized that as it related to her gift, 38:28 that it must be in subjection 38:29 to the teachings of the word of God. 38:32 That is the final authority. 38:34 The fact that our approach these four weeks, 38:36 and it will be true to the every end. 38:38 The fact that our approach has been so very biblical 38:41 is a testimony to the influence 38:43 that Ellen White has had upon this church. 38:47 And if her influence in anyway undermines 38:49 the place of scripture, my friend, 38:51 you wouldn't have this experience. 38:55 Think about it. 39:01 If anything I found greater appreciation from-- 39:03 for the Bible from her writings. 39:05 Absolutely, 39:06 I have. 39:09 And I never found them in conflict. 39:14 You know, I'm so growing, 39:15 I don't have all knowledge. 39:18 The others have all knowledge. 39:19 You know, we've learned some things through the years, 39:23 but you know, 39:28 I have just never found them in conflict. 39:33 Since my college days, 39:34 I've made it my practice to make the Bible 39:37 the focal point of my study, 39:40 and secondarily, the study, 39:43 the writings of the Ellen White, 39:45 The Spirit of Prophecy. 39:47 We've got to get away 39:48 from the human instrument in all of this. 39:51 People get hung up with the human instrument. 39:55 We have to look at what's behind the human instrument, 39:59 right? 40:00 That's true, any of the prophets. 40:05 We honor them, but she's not a God 40:10 and she's not a saint in the sense 40:12 that some people think of saints. 40:15 She is a human being. 40:17 Did she? 40:18 You know, 40:19 did she have struggles? Yes, she did. 40:25 I can tell you more stories about that, 40:26 but let me share with you some warnings 40:28 about false prophets. 40:29 I think that is appropriate in our study. 40:31 Matthew 24, the New Testament, page 21. 40:34 Page 21, Matthew 24. 40:37 Jesus, as He's talking about the end times, 40:41 talks about false prophets here. 40:43 In fact, He gives us a very clear warning, 40:46 and it is in the context of the last days 40:49 that we find in here Matthew 24 and looking at verses 24 and 25 40:54 where Jesus says, 40:55 "For false Christ and false prophets will arise." 40:59 They will arise, 41:00 He says. 41:01 "And will show great signs and wonders." 41:04 False prophets giving out powerful signs, 41:09 doing tremendous wonders. 41:11 My friend, that itself even miracles of itself 41:16 is not a guarantee that something is of God. 41:20 We've got to go deeper than that. 41:22 That could be pretty shallow, that kind of stuff. 41:26 Anyway, "For false Christ and false prophets 41:28 showing great signs and wonders. 41:30 So as to mislead, it possible even the elect. 41:33 Behold, I've told you in advance." 41:36 And when He says, "Behold, I've told you in advance." 41:38 He says, "I warned you. 41:40 There's going to be false Christ and false prophets." 41:43 Now Jesus did not say, 41:46 beware of anybody who in these days, 41:49 the last days professes to be a prophet 41:51 for there will be none. 41:53 He could have just settled the whole issue. 41:57 The fact that He warns us of the false prophets 41:59 indicate that there must be true prophets 42:01 to distinguish the false farm. 42:04 But if you're like me, if I hear about 42:06 somebody else said, how is revelation. 42:08 I almost have knee-jerk reaction, please. 42:11 You know, spare me. 42:14 You know, there is so-- 42:16 We must not reject the true manifestation of the spirit 42:18 because there are so many various manifestations 42:22 that are going on and there are plenty out there, 42:25 they are. 42:27 Scotty, I'm going to tell you the story about Scotty. 42:31 She was a mother of a good friend of mine. 42:33 Predicted my seventh and eight grade years 42:35 as I was the Moses like Washington. 42:37 She was not raised as Seventh-day Adventist. 42:38 I don't even remember what her religious background was, 42:41 but she became one. 42:42 She shared with me sometime ago how, 42:45 you know, she had been 42:47 a part of the Adventist Church for some 20 years. 42:50 And really had not taking the time 42:52 to really study out these writing, 42:54 she never therefore had accepted them, 42:56 but she heard somebody preaching about it 42:58 and she decide, you know, 43:00 I really should find out about this. 43:02 So she hunt around, she found out, 43:04 you know, yeah, 43:05 I do, I have the Book Desire of Ages, 43:07 written by Ellen White. 43:08 The Book of Desire of Ages, 43:09 who do you think the Desire of Ages is? 43:13 It's on the life of Jesus. 43:15 His life and teachings, 43:17 His crucifixion. 43:18 I tell you, those chapters are so powerful 43:21 that describe those closing scenes of Jesus' life 43:25 and His crucifixion, 43:27 His resurrection. 43:29 They are powerful. 43:30 She read through the whole book. 43:32 This is among the 700 to 800 page books 43:34 that she wrote on the life of Jesus. 43:37 And she came out and she said, 43:39 "You know-- its just all put together. 43:41 And then she read the book Steps to Christ 43:43 and reaffirm the growing convection, 43:45 you know, that there was something here 43:49 that was of a divine origin. 43:52 And so again, you know, 43:54 we can only find out for ourselves 43:56 as we take the time to study it 43:59 and discover what the Bible teaches. 44:02 There has been a study that has been done 44:06 in regards to the influence of the Spirit of Prophecy. 44:09 We call the Spirit of Prophecy. 44:11 Actually I have become 44:13 somewhat interested in Revelation 12:17. 44:17 In fact, that is referred to as the testimony of Jesus. 44:22 Testimony of Jesus or from Jesus 44:25 or of testimony, of a reference to Jesus. 44:29 There's, you know, couple of ways 44:30 that you can actually interpret it, 44:32 but the center point, the focal point 44:35 is Jesus no matter how you interpret that text, 44:38 right? 44:40 But anyway there has been the study that has been done 44:42 by Dr. Roger Dudley and Desmond Cummings, 44:46 they studied 8,200 individuals within the church. 44:49 This is study that's been done some years ago. 44:53 And this is what they found 44:54 as they looked at these 8,200 people. 44:56 They've found that 82% of those 44:59 who were readers of her writings, 45:03 reported an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ 45:07 compare to 50% who were not studying her writings. 45:11 So there was an experiential correlation 45:14 that seemed to be indicated in the study. 45:16 Furthermore, 82% of those who read her writings reported 45:20 assurance which is a wonderful thing, 45:23 assurance of being right with God. 45:26 Well, 59% of those 45:27 who did not read reported assurance. 45:31 Fascinating to me. 45:32 24% more of those who were reading 45:35 were involved in Christian service 45:37 compare to those who were non-readers. 45:39 So there are ways to measure this. 45:41 Again, 82% of those 45:42 who were readers reported daily 45:45 personal Bible study compared to 47% 45:47 who did not read her writings. 45:49 So those are more active devotional life 45:52 as what we find. 45:53 I want to take yo to 1 Thessalonians 5, 45:58 the New Testament page 161, another warning 46:03 that we find in scripture. 46:05 This one by Paul. 46:07 Again, it's 1 Thessalonians 5 46:08 and we're looking at verses 19-21, 19-21, 46:15 where Paul says, "Do not quench the spirit, 46:17 do not despise prophetic utterances 46:21 but examine everything carefully." 46:24 So do not despise prophetic utterances. 46:27 Paul instructs us, 46:28 but what's the council? 46:30 "Examine everything carefully." 46:34 And, my friend, if you've never heard of Ellen White, 46:36 if you've never read a word that she has written. 46:39 Let me tell you this presentation 46:41 does not represent a careful examination. 46:45 It represents an introduction. 46:48 And that's why we do not expect people 46:51 when they decide to become a member 46:53 of the Adventist church, this church. 46:55 We do not require people to embrace 46:59 and to accept her and the prophetic gift 47:03 that we believe that she had. 47:05 We do not require that. 47:07 She herself gave us that council 47:09 that it should not be made 47:10 a test of fellowship to the church. 47:13 I tell you what some tests are. 47:15 Actually we're going through some of them 47:17 in looking at the principles of faith. 47:19 The first one is, once person connect with Jesus Christ 47:23 is one of the fundamental tests of formal fellowship 47:26 and membership of the church there ought to be, 47:29 right? 47:31 Now got to deal with the issue that God used a women. 47:35 God will use whoever He will, man or woman. 47:39 Ladies, the women all said... 47:43 One man said amen. 47:45 Oh, I don't know where you ladies are at, 47:46 but anyway I believe it. 47:48 In Exodus 15:20-21, 47:51 Moses' sister prophesied. 47:54 It says in Judges 4:4-5, 47:57 one of the Judges Gabriel had the prophetic gift. 48:02 2 Kings 22:14, Huldah was a prophet. 48:07 In Isaiah 8:3, Isaiah's wife also prophesied. 48:11 So we have the husband and wife team here. 48:13 And in the New Testament Luke 23:6, 48:17 it tells us that Anna was a prophetess, 48:20 when she saw Jesus, 48:22 when he came as a little baby to the temple there. 48:26 And in Acts 21:9, Phillip's four daughters prophesy. 48:33 So there we have chapter and verse 48:35 that shows that God does used women. 48:39 And women bring certain advantages 48:40 to the table in a lot of church. 48:42 I tell you, men sometimes tend to be territorial, 48:46 often times women tend to be, 48:48 you know, let's get everybody together. 48:50 Women tend to-- I didn't mean to really get into this, 48:54 but I do, I appreciate women 48:56 because often they're deal on feeling levels 48:59 when we men as I said 49:02 tend to be territorial about things. 49:06 Right, guys? 49:07 It's not that we can't feel, 49:09 but when certain issue comes up, you know. 49:12 I was in seminary. 49:14 I've gone through four years 49:15 of undergraduate work in theology, 49:17 two years in internship. 49:18 I am in seminary, 49:19 so two years course. It's intensive. 49:22 And I, you know, 49:23 I reach a point of discouragement. 49:25 They just seem like my prayers were bouncing off the ceiling. 49:28 I was, I was on a state of discouragement. 49:30 And I tell you honestly what was going on. 49:33 I really believed that god had called me into the ministry, 49:35 but I was coming face to face as a young man 49:38 in my 20's with the fact of my-- 49:40 I was coming face to face with my humanity 49:44 and I was feeling so unworthy 49:49 'cause I knew I have these struggles in my life 49:52 and I was in-- As I said a state of a discouragement. 49:55 I did something that I made a practiced to do ever since. 50:00 I grab this book, Step to Christ written by Ellen White 50:04 and I read through it and it re-assured me. 50:09 There's something powerful in my life. 50:12 And I want to share just a couple of things. 50:14 I want to give you the sense 50:16 by which you'll find in part in her writings. 50:20 And I'm going to share with you. 50:21 Oh, I love this chapter on faith and acceptance. 50:24 It's beautiful. 50:26 And in that chapter, actually it's-- Yeah, 50:29 chapter on faith and acceptance. 50:32 This statement grabbed me. 50:36 It's on page 34, if you want it. 50:40 This is what really spoke to me. 50:42 She wrote Psalm seem to appeal 50:44 that they must be on probation. 50:46 "They must prove to the Lord 50:47 that they are reformed, 50:49 before they can claim His promise, His blessing." 50:52 It's this idea. I've got to get my life straighten out 50:56 before I can claim His blessing. 50:57 I've got to get all of these things worked out 50:59 before I come to Jesus. 51:02 That's what she's addressing. 51:03 Some seem to feel that they have to do that, 51:05 but she says, "But they may claim 51:07 the blessing of God even now. 51:10 They must have His grace, 51:11 the Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, 51:13 or they cannot resist evil." 51:16 It's impossible. 51:17 And then this is the coronal of that 51:18 that really grabbed me. 51:21 She goes on to say, 51:23 "Jesus loves, Jesus loves to have us come to Him 51:27 just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent." 51:33 Oh, I want to tell you, that was good news to this sinner. 51:37 Didn't know that Jesus wasn't holding me off at arms length 51:40 and tell you He just got all of these things straighten out, 51:43 but Jesus didn't just tolerate me, 51:46 Jesus loved to have me come to Him just as I am, 51:51 the sinner that I am. 51:54 Helpless and dependant as I still am. 51:58 And as it changed, I'll tie you. 52:00 I still am helpless and dependant. 52:04 And, my friend immediately I realize, 52:06 I can take a mask off. 52:08 You know, we wear mask in church. 52:11 I can get down from that pedestal 52:13 that often we put ministers on. 52:16 I could be real with myself 52:19 and I can be real with people, 52:22 you know. I too struggle. 52:26 You know, when we enter the ministry guild, 52:27 that's not generally the way that it was presented. 52:30 You've got to be the example. 52:31 You don't emit weakness, You don't emit failure. 52:36 And, my friend, it made us a ministry apostate 52:38 and are real and it's so free. 52:41 And I know Gill has found that, too. 52:43 It's so free to be able to be real. 52:45 I'm not going to lay out all of my pr0oblems 52:47 before you because I don't want that 52:48 to become the issue of my ministry, you know. 52:52 But let me tell you, 52:53 I have found Jesus as a sinner-- Anyway, 52:58 "He loves to have us come to Him." 52:59 Then it goes on to say, 53:01 "We may come with all our weakness, 53:03 our folly, folly, folly." 53:06 His, I do better, 53:09 but I really blew it. 53:12 How foolish can you be? 53:14 Well, that's been me at certain times in life. 53:18 "So we may come with all our weakness, 53:19 our folly, our sinfulness, 53:21 and fall at His feet in penitence. 53:24 It is His glory to encircle us in the arms of His love 53:29 and to bind up our wounds, 53:30 to cleanse us from all impurity." 53:33 And I tell you as I was reading this book, 53:35 as I was reading this kind of passages. 53:37 And let me ask you the question. 53:39 Is this something new? 53:41 Is this something that we wouldn't find in the Bible? 53:44 Well, maybe not quite in these words, 53:45 but this is the gospel, 53:47 isn't it? 53:49 So this is not an addition to. 53:51 It's a new melody in the gospel. 53:55 And I tell you as I went through this 53:57 and as began to grasp this personally, 54:00 I began to feel those arms of Jesus encircling me 54:04 and the joy and the peace that came in Jesus. 54:10 I still feel that. 54:14 One other statement I'll share with you, 54:16 just one other. Page 42 in this edition. 54:23 And this again really spoke to me. 54:24 Of course, it spoke to me 54:25 because I'm sharing it with you. 54:27 It says, "There are those who have known 54:29 the pardoning love of Christ, 54:30 and who really desire to be children of God, 54:33 yet they realize that their character is imperfect, 54:36 their life faulty, and the are ready to doubt 54:38 whether their hearts have been 54:39 renewed by the Holy Spirit." 54:43 And I can relate to that. 54:46 I've been through that experience 54:47 and some of you can relate to that, 54:49 I know that. But she goes on to say, 54:52 "To such I would say, do not draw back in despair." 54:58 Because of your short-comings and mistakes. 55:01 "We shall often have to bow down 55:03 and weep at the feet of Jesus 55:05 because of our short-comings and mistakes, 55:07 but we are not to be discouraged." 55:10 Why? 55:12 "Even if we are overcome by the enemy, 55:16 we are not cast off, 55:19 not forsaken and rejected of God." 55:23 And, my friend, from that moment 55:25 when I read those words with new meaning to my life, 55:30 it gave me assurance that I never had before 55:36 that I am His. 55:38 Short of choosing another master 55:41 which we are free to do, 55:43 but stumbling and falling into sin 55:45 is not of itself choosing another master. 55:50 Before I had this in and out of Christ experience. 55:52 In Christ when things were going well, 55:55 out of Christ when thing did not go well 55:58 until I got on my knees and make confession 56:00 and repentant and I knew I was forgiven 56:02 and then I got up and then I was back in His arms. 56:05 It was in and out. 56:07 There's no peace in this in and out. 56:11 The moment we come to Jesus we are His. 56:15 And when I became a parent, 56:16 I understood it even better. 56:18 My-- I love my boys, my young men, my sons. 56:22 I love them deeply, but they made mistakes. 56:25 But let me tell you this. 56:27 Whatever mistakes they've made, 56:29 I am still their father. 56:32 They are still my sons, my children 56:35 and they are welcome in my home. 56:39 And if I can have that kind of love 56:41 and acceptance of my children, 56:44 how about our heavenly father and we as His children. 56:50 My friend, it is not in and out of Christ, 56:53 it is not. It is assurance and Jesus. 56:59 And I just pray to God as I look out on you tonight 57:03 that every one of you have found this. 57:08 It is the pearl of great price and centered in Jesus, 57:12 isn't it? 57:15 It's everything and it's joy. 57:19 I can just go on and on talking about. 57:21 The joy that comes out of that, 57:22 the satisfaction, the assurance, 57:24 the reassurance that comes out of it. 57:28 It's a wonderful thing. 57:30 Thank you, Jesus. 57:32 Thank you for loving me that way. |
Revised 2014-12-17