Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM180004A
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00:41 Welcome to the 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting:
00:44 The Three Angels' Messages. 00:49 Good morning and we welcome you to day #2 00:54 of our Spring Camp Meeting 2018. 00:59 We are so glad that you are here. 01:01 The Holy Spirit is here. His presence is being felt 01:04 already and we expect and are looking forward to 01:07 a grand and glorious session with the Lord this morning. 01:12 God is so very very good, is He not? 01:14 And we are in the house of the Lord among our brothers 01:17 and sisters in Christ. What a wonderful place to be. 01:21 What better place could we be than in this place 01:24 at this time. So we welcome our in-house family 01:27 and welcome to those of you who are watching and listening 01:30 from around the world. You are part of our extended family 01:33 and we are so glad that you are with us. 01:36 We have been dealing with and will continue to deal with 01:39 the three angels' messages 01:42 or you can say the three angel's message 01:45 because they are one message divided into many segments. 01:49 But today our speaker is Pastor Wesley Peppers. 01:53 He comes from the Michigan Conference. 01:55 He is the Associate Ministerial Director 01:59 and Evangelism Coordinator for the Conference. 02:02 He's been here before. 02:03 We first recognized him and met him 02:05 as a GYC speaker. He still considers himself 02:09 a young person, and I must yield to that 02:11 since I am somewhat older than he. 02:15 But by the grace of God he will give us a wonderful word 02:18 this morning as he talks about 02:20 evangelization in these last days. 02:24 Wes is the husband of one wife: Miriam. 02:27 Marian, rather, and she is a wonderful singer. 02:30 He has two children: one of each, a boy and a girl. 02:34 Levi and Leanna. 02:36 Levi is 6; Leanna is 3. 02:39 So he's got a matched set, and we praise the Lord for that. 02:44 And we look forward to his ministry this morning. 02:48 I'm going to ask you now to bow your heads with me 02:50 as we ask and invite and recognize 02:52 God's presence in this place. Father God, 02:56 how we praise You and thank you 02:58 for the Word which is a lamp unto our feet 03:01 and a light on the pathway before us. 03:05 We thank you for the preached word and the word sung in music. 03:08 We thank you for the power of the Word. 03:11 We thank you that You inhabit the praises of Your people. 03:14 We thank you that You've allowed us to wake up to see the beauty 03:17 of a new day which brings us, dear Lord, 03:21 one day closer to the coming of our Lord and Savior 03:25 Jesus Christ. May we make ample preparation 03:29 on this day for that day which is soon to come. 03:34 May You find us ready and working and waiting for you. 03:38 Bless now the speaker. Bless those of us who hear. 03:42 May Christ be glorified. 03:45 And we thank you, dear Father, in Jesus' name, 03:47 Amen. 03:49 Was thinking of and looking for a song 03:51 that would match the message concerning evangelism. 03:57 And it occurred to me that we could do no better 03:59 than singing the song I'll Tell The World 04:02 That I'm A Christian. 04:21 I'll tell the world 04:24 that I'm a Christian. 04:28 I'm not ashamed 04:31 His name to bear. 04:35 I'll tell the world 04:38 that I'm a Christian; 04:42 I'll take Him with me 04:46 everywhere. 04:49 I'll tell the world 04:53 how Jesus saved me 04:56 and how He gave me 05:00 a life brand new. 05:05 And I know 05:07 that if you trust Him 05:11 that all He gave me 05:14 He'll give to you. 05:21 I'll tell the world 05:25 that He's my Savior. 05:29 No other one 05:32 could love me so. 05:36 My life, my all 05:39 is His forever 05:43 and where He leads me 05:47 I will go. 05:54 I'll tell the world 05:58 Jesus is coming. 06:01 And it may be near 06:04 or far far away. 06:08 But we've got to live 06:11 as if that coming 06:15 could be tomorrow 06:19 or today. 06:22 For when He comes 06:26 and life is over 06:29 for those who love Him 06:33 there's more to be. 06:38 Eyes have never seen 06:42 the wonders 06:44 that He's preparing 06:47 for you and me. 06:55 Go tell the world 06:58 that you're a Christian. 07:02 Don't be ashamed 07:05 His name to bear. 07:09 Just tell the world 07:12 that you are a Christian 07:16 and take Him with you 07:20 everywhere. 07:26 I'll tell the world 07:31 how Jesus saved me 07:34 and how He gave me 07:38 a life brand new. 07:42 And I know 07:45 that if you trust Him 07:48 that all He gave to me 07:52 He'll give to you. 08:00 I'll tell the world 08:03 that I'm a Christian. 08:06 And I'm not ashamed 08:10 His name to bear. 08:13 I'll tell the world 08:17 that I'm a Christian. 08:21 I'll take Him with me 08:24 anywhere... 08:28 I'll take Him with me 08:31 anywhere. 08:46 Amen! 08:49 Thank you so much Elder Murray. 08:53 Good morning saints. Good morning! 08:56 How are you today? Doing excellent? 08:59 Are you ready for an exciting 3ABN Camp Meeting? 09:02 Yes! I'm so glad that I got you on the very first 09:06 full day in the morning. 09:07 So I get you... I saw the schedule for the Camp Meeting. 09:10 Sermons almost every hour of the day, 09:12 so I'm glad to get you at the beginning 09:14 before you get worn out. Right? 09:17 And it's good to be with you here today. 09:20 I hope my children are watching. 09:21 They said they were going to be watching 09:23 and they probably were thrilled to hear their names mentioned 09:26 here. But Levi and Leanna... Levi just turned six 09:29 last month and Leanna just turned three 09:33 last week. Actually today is her birthday. 09:36 I said last week, but we celebrated last week 09:38 but today is her birthday so Happy Birthday to my dear 09:42 daughter at home. Well, we are talking about 09:45 at the Camp Meeting the three angels' messages. 09:48 And you know, I travel around a lot of places 09:50 and I hear a lot of people say: "You know, 09:52 we don't hear messages on the three angels' messages 09:56 any more. " And how many of you would agree with that? 09:58 It's very rare. And friends, we do not want to 10:01 lose the importance of this message 10:05 because it is our identity as an Adventist people. 10:08 What do you say? Amen! As a SDA church 10:12 we are prophetic movement, amen? 10:14 We're not just another denomination. 10:16 We're not just another church on the corner 10:19 but we are a prophetic movement that has been revealed to us 10:23 through prophecy - through the book of Revelation. 10:26 If you haven't ever read Revelation chapter 10 10:28 it describes the beautiful rising of the Advent movement. 10:33 And we can be sure that we're in the right place, amen? 10:36 We can be sure that we have the right message. 10:39 We can be sure that we're in the right movement 10:41 because this movement is Biblical. 10:44 Yes? And its message is Biblical. 10:47 It is Christ centered; it is Christ focused; 10:50 and it is Christ filled. 10:51 How many of you are thankful today to be a SDA Christian? 10:54 Friends, if you're not a SDA Christian today - 10:57 and we're not trying to attack the other churches here - 11:01 but we want a Bible- based Christianity, amen? 11:05 We want the full gospel... the whole gospel. 11:08 And we're going to talk a little bit this morning about 11:10 that gospel, but more important- ly we're going to talk about 11:13 proclaiming that gospel and what it means to share our faith 11:18 with others, yes? And so we're going to dive in here. 11:22 We're going to go to the book of Revelation chapter 14. 11:25 If you have your Bibles, please open them to Revelation 11:27 chapter 14. And we're just going to have a word of prayer 11:30 as we begin and then we're going to dive right to it. 11:35 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 11:37 Father in heaven, we thank you so much 11:40 for the great privilege we have 11:41 to be in Your house this morning; 11:43 to be in Your presence; to be assured by Your promises, 11:47 by Your truth. And we pray today that the Holy Spirit 11:52 will be poured out upon us. 11:53 That He would not just simply be in the room 11:57 but that He would be in our hearts. 11:59 And we read in the book of Acts that when the Holy Spirit was 12:02 poured out it shook the very building that they were in. 12:06 And Lord, I pray that it would shake our very souls 12:09 to the depths of our core that we might be fully committed 12:13 to Your call. That our hearts will be turned to You 12:16 completely and totally today... this is our prayer. 12:20 We ask that You would comfort us; 12:22 we ask that You would convict us 12:24 and empower us, Lord, this morning. 12:26 We ask it in Jesus' name - let everyone say - Amen. 12:31 In Revelation chapter 14 12:33 you find three themes that John experiences. 12:38 In the first five verses 12:41 you find a description of the 144,000... correct? 12:45 In the second group of verses, verse 6 through 13, 12:50 you find the three angels' messages, correct? 12:52 Then in the third theme John sees he describes 12:57 the second coming of Jesus. 12:58 How many of you are with me so far? Right? 13:00 Amen. Now I want you to notice something very interesting 13:04 that we find. Look in Revelation 14 verse 1. 13:08 John says... The first three words of that verse says what? 13:12 "Then I looked... " 13:14 Now the word then is always des- cribbing something that happened 13:17 before that, right? So John in chapter 13 13:20 is talking about the mark of the beast and those things. 13:23 So now he's describing the beast and its power 13:26 and then in chapter 14 he's describing the people of God 13:30 standing in His power. 13:32 So he's contrasting the two. Are you with me? 13:35 Then he gives that description 13:36 down through there for the first five verses. 13:38 We're not going to read all of that. 13:40 You can go back and read that. 13:41 But then notice in verse 6 he says: 13:45 "Then I... " What? "saw... " 13:47 So John says first: "Then I looked" 13:50 then he says "Then I saw. " 13:52 And then he sees a description of the message 13:56 that God has called His people to proclaim in the last days. 13:58 Correct? Then in the last passage - verse 14- 14:02 he says again in the first three letters 14:05 "Then I... " What? Looked! "Then I looked... " 14:07 So three themes John is seeing. 14:10 He says: "Then I looked; then I saw; then I looked. " 14:13 So he's seeing three different pictures here 14:16 all connected and close together. 14:19 So in the first picture he sees the people of Christ. 14:24 In the second group he sees the message of Christ. 14:27 And in the third picture he sees the coming of Christ. 14:30 Amen? Now I would propose to you 14:33 this morning that all three of these visions 14:37 or experiences or themes that John sees 14:39 are connected by one common theme. 14:43 One common theme... and that is Revelation 14 verse 12. 14:47 It says: "Here is the patience of the saints. 14:51 Here are those who keep the commandments of God 14:53 and the... " What? "and the faith of Jesus. " 14:56 And that faith of Jesus is the core of the entire message 15:01 because it focuses on the righteousness of Christ 15:05 that God wants to place in each one of our hearts today. Amen? 15:09 The righteousness that Christ possesses 15:12 can be ours as well when we believe in Him by faith. 15:16 And by faith when we put our faith IN Jesus 15:19 it can continue to grow until it actually becomes 15:23 the faith OF Jesus. 15:24 How many can say "Amen" this morning? Amen! 15:26 And so in this picture 15:28 the people of God in verses 1-5 15:31 are possessing the righteousness of Christ. 15:34 They're what? They're possessing the righteousness of Christ. 15:37 In verses 6 through 13 then they are proclaiming 15:42 the righteousness of Christ. 15:44 They're doing what in the second scene? 15:46 They're proclaiming. And then in the third scene 15:48 they see the power of Christ's righteousness 15:52 when He returns in the clouds of heaven. 15:54 Now friends, let me tell you something: 15:56 we have a lot of dissention sometimes in the church 16:01 about the righteousness of Christ. 16:03 But let me tell you what: the righteousness of Christ 16:06 which is the perfection of the life of Jesus Christ 16:09 He wants to give to us as a free gift by faith 16:14 and He wants to replicate it in our lives. 16:17 Not just in our hearts but in the external actions 16:21 of our lives. How many of you can say "Amen" to that today? 16:24 Amen! And it is the revealing of that power, 16:27 the revealing of that righteousness, 16:30 not anything that we do on our own 16:32 but everything that He is doing in us and through us. 16:35 It is that power, that reveal- ing of the character of God, 16:39 that is the drawing power of this message that goes out 16:43 into the world. Are you with me this morning? Yes or no? 16:46 Yes. Without that character of Christ 16:49 the message cannot be proclaimed in the power 16:52 that it was designed to be proclaimed in. 16:55 Do you follow that today? 16:57 And Jesus wants to do that in His people. 17:00 He WILL do it in His people... 17:02 the question will be: which people? 17:06 Because there's a lot of people in the past 17:09 that He's wanted to do it through but they would not 17:12 soften their hearts. They hardened their hearts 17:14 and they resisted His attempt to do that thing in them. 17:20 The pioneers through the 1888 message resisted. 17:23 Not all of them... but some of them... resisted that. 17:27 And today we're still many times resisting it. 17:30 And so if we do not accept this message, 17:33 if we do not accept the righteousness of Christ 17:36 fully and completely, if our hearts and our lives 17:40 are not surrendered to every purpose in the plan and the will 17:44 of God for our lives, then we also will die in the wilderness 17:48 just like all the generations before us. 17:50 So God is making an invitation to us today 17:54 to full receive... Not just to believe 17:57 in thought and in just philosophy 18:03 but to actually allow the righteousness of Christ 18:06 to transform the core of our hearts 18:09 and the external actions of the person. 18:13 Yes or no this morning? Amen. 18:15 That is what God desires for each of us today. 18:17 Now friends, what that does not mean is that we all need to 18:20 tighten up our belts and become better vegans. 18:24 No, there's nothing wrong with being vegan. I love being vegan. 18:27 Amen? I love the health message. 18:30 But sometimes the health message becomes a plague to us 18:34 because the health message becomes focused on ourselves. 18:38 It becomes focused on us. 18:40 Now that's not its full intention. Its intention is 18:44 that we can have the healthiest minds and bodies 18:47 for what purpose? Just so that we can be 18:49 healthier people on this earth? No! 18:51 So that we can fully reveal the character of Christ 18:54 and proclaim His message. Amen? 18:57 Amen! And so anything that becomes self-focused 18:59 becomes a curse to us. 19:01 And I fear that many times just like ancient Israel 19:04 we are having the same experience 19:06 where in the message of God even we are becoming 19:10 so self-focused and so self-centered 19:13 that God is not able to reach others through us 19:16 but we actually become a stumbling block to those people. 19:21 And dear friends, today God is calling us 19:24 to a life of surrender. Amen? 19:29 God's purpose will be accomplished. 19:33 How many can say "Amen" today? Amen! 19:35 His people are to become like Him and deliver a message. 19:38 And the plan is that all the people on the earth 19:41 would hear and accept, and the product is that 19:45 just more than the church would hear and accept 19:49 and embrace that message. 19:51 How many can say "Amen" this morning? 19:53 But before they can be a public witness of the message 19:56 there must be a personal fitness by the message. 20:00 Amen? Amen. 20:02 Without a fitness there is no witness. What do you say? 20:05 Amen! Turn with me if you would to the book of Acts. 20:08 We're going to take a look at the people that started 20:11 the movement and the people that ended the movement... 20:14 which by the grace of God we hope to be us, don't we? 20:17 In Acts chapter 1... Acts chapter 1 you find 20:22 that Jesus had raised from the dead. Isn't that the core 20:25 of our hope today? That the resurrection of Christ... 20:28 If Christ was not resurrected from the dead and we are still 20:32 in our sins and without hope. 20:34 But Christ did raise. 20:36 Christ raised from the dead and here He's meeting 20:38 with His disciples before He ascends into heaven 20:41 and He's giving them their final and Great Commission. 20:45 If you look in verse 7 20:49 the Bible says in some of His parting words to His disciples: 20:52 "And He said to them: 'It is not for you to know 20:56 times or seasons which the Father has put 20:59 in His own authority but you shall receive power 21:02 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you 21:04 and you shall be witnesses to Me 21:07 in Jerusalem and to all Judea 21:11 and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. ' " 21:14 And so listen, friends: 21:16 before Jesus told the disciples to go out and preach the gospel 21:21 what did He tell them to do? 21:23 Go where? To the upper room for how long? 21:27 For ten days. 21:28 And so before they could be a witness to the world 21:31 they had to be fitted for that work. Yes or no? 21:34 And in those 10 days they had a powerful rich experience. 21:39 A beautiful experience. 21:41 And I'm going to read to you a couple of quotes here that 21:44 kind of describe a little bit that experience that they had. 21:47 Notice this. This comes from the book Acts of the Apostles 21:50 page 37. Says: "As the disciples waited for 21:53 the fulfillment of the promise they humbled their hearts 21:57 in true repentance and confessed their unbelief. 22:01 They reproached themselves for their misapprehension 22:03 of the Savior and like a procession scene after scene 22:07 of His wonderful life passed before them. 22:09 As they meditated upon His pure holy life 22:12 they felt that no toil would be too hard, 22:15 no sacrifice too great, 22:17 if only they could bear witness in their lives 22:20 to the loveliness of Jesus' character. " 22:24 Now friends, that is the fitness 22:26 that must take place in our hearts today 22:28 before we can proclaim a message like they did. 22:31 What was it? It was repentance; it was confession; 22:36 it was reproach; it was search- ing their own hearts to see 22:39 what is in my heart that doesn't look like Jesus? 22:43 That's all it is. 22:44 And friends, when we see... when God reveals those... 22:47 it's not when we see it because we can't even see it 22:50 until God reveals it to us, can we? 22:52 But when God reveals it to us 22:54 He calls us to surrender that thing to Him. 22:58 And in surrendering it to Him we become more like Christ. 23:02 We become more like Christ than we were when we were holding on 23:05 to that thing. And as they thought more and more about 23:08 Jesus they began to remember 23:10 the wonderful life that He lived. 23:13 And they said: "Lord, we want that life to be duplicated 23:17 and replicated in our own life. " 23:19 And they said: "Anything at all in our lives 23:23 that we're hanging on to Lord let us let it go 23:26 so that we can become more like Christ. " Amen! 23:29 And as they did they realized the life that Jesus lived 23:34 was not easy. They realized that He had a hard life of... 23:39 of laboring, of self-sacrifice 23:42 that led Him all the way to the cross. 23:45 And they said: "Lord, if we can just but be like Jesus 23:50 there will be nothing too hard for us - Amen - 23:53 because we'll have His presence and His power within us. " 23:56 And they said... It wasn't just, friends, so that they could... 24:00 that they could have the charac- ter of Christ for themselves. 24:05 But it was so they could allow it to be a witness 24:09 to others. Amen! "The disciples prayed with intense earnestness 24:14 for a fitness to meet men and in their daily intercourse 24:18 to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. " 24:22 You see, friends, as a church we often talk about and focus on 24:26 the desire to be more like Christ. Yes? 24:30 But the reason for that is often self-serving. 24:35 We want to be like Christ because we want to be saved. 24:38 And rightly so. You should desire the righteousness of 24:41 Christ... Amen? But the ultimate purpose 24:45 of possessing the righteousness of Christ 24:47 is not just to possess it for ourselves. 24:50 It is to possess it so it is a drawing power for others 24:54 to the Savior. Amen? 24:56 As people are drawn to us we point them to the Savior. 25:00 Amen! Aren't you thankful for that today? 25:03 Amen! Notice this: 25:06 let me just point out... let me jump ahead here. 25:11 It says: "No longer were they a collection of independent units 25:14 or of discordant and conflicting elements. 25:16 No longer were their hopes set on worldly greatness. 25:20 They were of one accord, of one mind and one soul. 25:25 The advancement of His kingdom was their aim. 25:28 In mind and character they had become like their Master 25:31 and men took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. 25:35 The only ambition of the believers 25:37 was to reveal the likeness of Christ's character 25:41 and to labor for the enlargement of His kingdom. " 25:45 I want you to think about that for just a minute, friends. 25:47 That was their one ambition. 25:50 These people were people of professions. 25:52 They were fishermen; they were farmers. They had jobs 25:55 just like you. You notice it doesn't say 25:58 that the only goal of the pastors was to become 26:01 like Christ. The only goal of the apostles. 26:04 But it says... there's a key word there... 26:05 "The only goal of the believers. " Who is that? 26:09 That's everybody! 26:11 So whatever your profession is... whether you're a physician 26:14 whether you're a lawyer, whether you're a janitor 26:17 or a schoolteacher or whatever it is 26:20 God has called you. Your life's ambition 26:23 is to not just possess the character of Christ 26:27 but to proclaim it. 26:29 Not to just hold it to yourself 26:31 but to reveal the character of God to the world. 26:34 To intentionally witness for Him. 26:37 Not just by a life of silence. 26:39 You know, we've gotten into this terrible habit 26:41 of... we've been so afraid of the bonsai evangelist 26:47 where people go out and they pass out all these extreme books 26:50 and knock on doors. And we say: "Oh, we don't need 26:53 to do that any more. I just need to live my life 26:55 and people will notice. " 26:58 "And so I have a neighbor that I've been neighbors with 27:00 for 30 years and I've talked with him every day 27:04 but I've never spoken to him about spiritual things. 27:08 And I've gone over and I've helped him... 27:10 and we've had meals together 27:13 but I've never talked to him about Christ. 27:15 But I don't need to. You know why? 27:17 Because every Sabbath at 9 o'clock 27:20 my neighbor sees me leaving my house in a suit... " 27:23 or a dress or dress pants, whatever you want to do. 27:27 I'm not getting into all of that. 27:33 "And when I leave my house in my hand, tucked neatly, 27:39 is my Bible. And right on top of my Bible 27:42 is my Sabbath School quarterly. 27:45 And I angle my Sabbath School quarterly 27:48 just so that he can see the SDA church logo 27:51 as he looks out the window to see me. 27:54 And every Sabbath for the last thirty years 27:57 he's seen me leave at 9 o'clock on the dot. 28:00 He knows where I'm going every Sabbath. 28:02 He knows why I don't work on the Sabbath. 28:05 He knows that I don't mow my grass or any of that. 28:07 And if he wants to know anything more 28:10 he'll... " What? "he'll ask. " 28:13 You see, friends, we used to be in the pit of 28:16 of the bonsai evangelist where we would think we should tell 28:19 the whole three angels' message to a person in 5 minutes. 28:22 Now we're on the other end where we don't say a word 28:24 to our neighbor in 30 years. 28:27 And dear friends, that is not revealing the righteousness 28:30 of Christ. Because the Bible says 28:33 that we are not just to possess the character of Christ 28:36 but we are also to what? Proclaim it. 28:40 The Bible says in verse 6 28:42 "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven 28:44 having the everlasting gospel... " To do what? 28:48 "to preach! " And that preaching is not done by just 28:53 the pastors or the preachers. 28:55 In the book of Acts it was done by the deacons. 28:59 It was done by the lay people. 29:01 It was done by every believer. They were preaching. 29:04 They were sharing. They were revealing Christ 29:07 and telling others about His truth. 29:09 And somehow today in this world of specialization... 29:13 You know, we have doctors that are specializing 29:16 in everything... in specific things, rather. 29:19 You have heart doctors and kid- ney doctors and liver doctors. 29:23 And if you ask a doctor - nothing against doctors - 29:26 but if you ask many doctors something outside their field 29:29 they couldn't tell you anything more than a bus driver. 29:34 And somehow we thought that inside the church 29:38 it's that way also. That it's the pastor's job 29:41 to do the work. It's the conference's job to do the work. 29:45 It's 3ABN's job to do the work. 29:48 Well let me tell you what, friends: 3ABN does a wonderful 29:51 work, amen? Amen! Amen? 29:53 But let me tell you: the gospel work will not be finished 29:59 by preachers coming to 3ABN to preach. 30:04 It will be done by that in part 30:08 but it will be primarily done by the lay people 30:11 being filled with the Spirit of God 30:14 and going out to preach and to proclaim the gospel 30:17 and to share their faith with their neighbors. 30:20 Yes or no, friends? Yes! 30:22 Now listen... I want you to see this. 30:26 This was... so there was a fitness by the disciples, yes? 30:30 And then there was a witness. Now listen to this. 30:32 This comes from the book Christ Object Lessons page 120. 30:36 It says: "With great power 30:37 gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus 30:41 and great grace was upon them all. " 30:43 Again, from Education page 95. 30:45 It says: "Then there was such a revelation of the glory 30:48 of Christ as had never before been witnessed by mortal man. " 30:53 And so that was the level of power 30:56 that was taking place through the preaching of the gospel 30:59 by the early church. Not just the apostles 31:01 but all the what? All the believers, yes? 31:04 All the believers. 31:06 Now I want you to see this, dear friends. 31:09 From Christ Object Lessons page 21 31:11 notice this powerful statement. 31:14 Talking about the scenes of the early church 31:17 this is what it says: 31:18 "These scenes are to be repeated. " 31:22 They're to be what? Repeated. Repeated! 31:26 "And with... " It doesn't even say as much power, but it 31:29 says: "with greater power. " With what kind of power? 31:31 Greater. Greater power! 31:33 So the great manifestation of power that took place 31:37 in the early church is to be repeated again 31:41 with even greater power. 31:43 When and where do you suppose that that's going to take place? 31:47 In the fulfillment of Revelation chapter 14. 31:54 It says: "The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day 31:56 of Pentecost was the former rain 31:58 but the latter rain will be more abundant. 32:01 The Spirit awaits our demand and reception. 32:04 Christ is again to be revealed in His fullness 32:08 by the Holy Spirit's power. " 32:11 So friend, this is something that God wants repeated again 32:16 but with greater power in your life and in my life today. 32:20 He wants our churches to come alive. Amen! 32:24 He wants our churches to be living lights in the 32:26 communities. He wants His people to be 32:29 little candles of light wherever they go, pointing people to the 32:33 greatest light of Jesus. Amen! 32:36 Friend, today we are sitting in our churches 32:39 looking and waiting for the pastor do to the work 32:42 that God has called you and I to do. 32:45 We're sitting around waiting for someone else 32:47 to do the work. We sit in churches of 40, 50 people 32:52 or sometimes 700 or 800 people... 32:55 the church I just pastored. 32:56 And people will sit and look around and they'll think: 32:59 "Man, I see this big sea of people here. 33:02 Surely SOMEBODY will do the work. " 33:06 "Surely somebody's going to be at that outreach. " 33:09 You just look at 800 people in a congregation 33:12 and just by statistics they ought to have enough people 33:15 "they don't need me. " Listen friends: God needs you. 33:20 God wants you... He wants to fill you with His power. 33:23 You don't have to have a church office. to do the work of God. 33:26 You don't have to be a deacon or an elder 33:29 to do the work of God. They have specific work, 33:32 but we are... It's insane what we're doing in our churches 33:37 is that we are... The elders are doing... 33:41 I'm sorry... the elders are doing the work of the deacons 33:47 and the deacons are doing the work of the members. 33:49 And the pastor is doing the work of the elders. 33:52 And then we hire a Bible worker to do the work of the pastor. 33:56 If everybody was doing what they should be doing, 33:59 you wouldn't need Bible workers 34:01 and you wouldn't even need pastors. Amen! 34:04 Are you with me? Amen! 34:07 Because God's people are called... deacons are called 34:10 to do more than just open doors and take up offerings. 34:15 Elders are called to do more than read the scripture 34:19 and call for the offering. 34:21 They are called to preach. 34:23 Deacons are called to preach. 34:25 We're called to do the work of personal laboring ministry. 34:29 And we have sat on our "cans" long enough 34:32 looking and waiting for the pastor to do it. 34:35 Let me tell you something, friends: I was in 34:38 a few years ago at a NAD Pastor's Convention. 34:41 There were 5,000 pastors at that convention. 34:46 And I thought about that. I said: "You know, what is the 34:48 population of Houston where the convention was taking place? " 34:51 It was about 7 million. 34:54 And I said: "With all the pastors of North America 34:57 and many from around the world here at this convention - 35:00 5,000- it would still mean that each person 35:04 would have to reach about 1,500 people. " 35:06 Just in one city. 35:09 Now friends, do you think the pastors are going to finish 35:11 that work? No! No, they're not going to finish that work. 35:14 It's up to you. There must be a fitness, 35:16 and the fitness comes when we're on our knees 35:19 pleading with God to do something great in our lives. 35:22 When we're on our knees pleasing with God to transform 35:24 our churches, to change our lives, to change our churches, 35:28 to change our pastors, to change our elders and deacons. 35:31 But it starts with ourselves! 35:34 It starts with getting up every morning and going to that 35:36 closet with God. It starts with gathering our families around 35:40 and having family worship together... 35:42 teaching and training our children. People say: "Well, 35:45 we can't go out and do this work because 35:48 we've gotta have family time. " 35:51 How about if you spent family time baking some bread together 35:55 to take to your neighbors? Amen! 35:57 How about spending family time as a family 36:00 inviting another family over to have a Bible study 36:03 on a Tuesday night? 36:04 How about spending family time in the mission work of God 36:08 so that we can train our children to be missionaries 36:13 rather than worldlings? 36:18 So God calls His people: Revelation 14:12. 36:22 "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those that keep 36:24 the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. " 36:26 God calls His people to the same experience 36:30 that the early disciples had. 36:32 And there must be a fitness for this proclamation 36:36 before there can be a witness of it... yes or no? 36:39 And we need to be on our knees, friends, 36:41 searching our hearts. Saying: "Lord, prepare me. 36:44 Here I am... send me. " 36:46 Some people say: "Well it may take me 20 years 36:48 to be ready. " No... it takes you 20 seconds 36:50 when you're on your knees asking the Lord Jesus 36:53 to do something in your life. 36:54 Amen! You can go home today 36:56 and begin doing something for the Savior. 36:59 The faith of Jesus is what we need, friends. Amen! 37:03 There were three things, quickly, that made up 37:06 the faith of Jesus. Number 1: Jesus was in God. 37:11 He was what? He was in God. 37:14 What does that mean? It means that Jesus had total 37:16 dependence upon His Father. 37:20 Even though He was divinity veiled in humanity 37:23 it was also true that He was humanity 37:26 enshrined in divinity. 37:29 And all that He needed in humanity 37:31 the Father would dwell in Him because He emptied Himself 37:35 and He would work it out through Him. 37:37 Are you with me today? Yes! 37:39 And listen, friends, the reason I tell you this 37:41 is because that is the same experience 37:44 that God wants to give you today. 37:46 Everything that Jesus experienced on the earth 37:50 all the elements of faith... of God written in Him 37:55 we're told that God will do the same thing for us. 37:58 And I've seen it! I've seen stories of people 38:02 in all kinds of places in all kinds of ministries 38:05 where God worked absolutely impossible miracles 38:09 for them and He'll do it for us today! 38:12 Amen! 38:13 The second thing is that Christ's life was with God. 38:18 It was what? With God. 38:20 He was in God because He was totally dependent 38:23 upon the Father. If we're totally dependent upon God, 38:27 do you suppose that God would do something great for us? 38:29 What do you think? 38:30 Do you suppose that He'll just leave us hanging today? 38:33 The problem is we're not totally dependent upon Him... 38:35 we're mostly dependent upon ourselves. 38:37 That's our problem today. 38:39 That's the whole problem of Laodicea: we're rich 38:42 and increased with goods... we don't need anything! 38:45 Not even the Holy Spirit. 38:48 Christ's life was with God because He had a special 38:52 communion and fellowship with Him. 38:56 He received from God what He gave to the world 38:59 and He was totally empty and dependent upon Him. 39:02 And then lastly: Christ's life was for God. 39:05 First He was in God because He was totally dependent. 39:09 Secondly He was with God because He communed with Him 39:12 and received the power which He needed to share with others. 39:15 And then thirdly: His life was FOR God. 39:18 Christ spent His whole life in service to His Father. 39:23 His whole life. 39:25 All the strength... Day by day He walked up and down 39:28 the streets ministering to the people, 39:30 pouring Himself out to them. 39:33 And then He poured Himself out completely 39:36 upon the cross. All the strength He received from the Father 39:41 in hours of prayer went to ministry. 39:43 He kept nothing back for His own benefit, OK? 39:46 How many can say "Amen" to that? 39:47 How many of you are thankful today that we have such 39:50 an example as Jesus? 39:52 We have such a Savior who would hold nothing back 39:54 to save you and save me. 39:56 Amen! But He doesn't just want to save you and me 39:59 even though He would if we were the only ones. 40:01 But He wants to save many others - countless others - 40:04 who are your neighbors and your friends. 40:06 And so this was the faith of Jesus that we find in 40:10 Revelation 14:12. 40:12 That in His total dependence upon God 40:15 He had a life in God. 40:17 And now having a life in God He maintained it 40:20 by fellowship with God 40:22 and the power He gained was spent in a life for God. 40:26 How many of you can say "Amen" today? Amen! 40:29 Aren't you thankful for that? 40:31 Now a question for you: is the message of the 3 angels 40:35 intended to be received by all who haven't heard it? 40:38 Yes or no? I mean it's a simple answer. 40:41 Yes! Then wouldn't it be given by all who have heard it? 40:48 Who's that? Us. Not just us, but I want you 40:53 to say it singularly. Me...ME. 40:56 And Isaiah said... Because when we say us we tend to think 41:00 "Yeah us... but that means that person over there. " 41:03 "Not even way over there but just the person next to me, 41:06 Lord... send them! " 41:08 No, no, no... God says... Isaiah says: "Here I am 41:11 send... " Who? "send me. " 41:14 Send you specifically 41:16 to do a personal work for someone 41:19 that no one else can do. 41:21 Is this a message to be given just by the pastors? 41:24 What do you think? No. No! 41:26 We've heard so many messages that we are in overload 41:30 of information. We don't need more information; 41:34 we need transformation that leads to proclamation. 41:37 What do you think? Amen! 41:40 Revelation 14:6 says preaching will continue to be the method 41:44 that God uses until the end of time. 41:46 Aren't you thankful for that? Yes! 41:48 We need not just a proclamation but a demonstration. Amen! 41:52 And that only comes by God's people 41:55 being totally and completely surrendered to His cause 41:59 and His purposes. Listen friends; 42:01 if we could give as many Bible studies 42:06 as the number of sermons we have heard in our life 42:11 I think we'd have been in heaven a long time ago. 42:13 Amen! You might have been in heaven before 1980 42:17 when I was born. I'm thankful to be born, amen? 42:21 In some ways selfishly I'm thankful the work is delayed 42:24 so I could be born, right? 42:27 But we want the work to end. Amen? 42:29 And I'm praying and I'm counting on you 42:31 that the Lord will come before my children get too old 42:34 to experience the foolishness of this world. Amen? 42:37 That's what I'm praying for. 42:39 Well listen: God is not looking for just mundane members 42:42 but devoted disciples and mighty missionaries today. 42:48 Do we think that God's purpose for us is just simply 42:51 fill the pews each week? 42:55 Is that what we bring people into the church for? 42:57 Just to have more members because we don't want those 43:00 seats to be empty? No friends. 43:03 It is active personal labor that increases our faith 43:08 day by day so that our faith in Jesus 43:11 becomes the faith of Jesus 43:14 so that we will have a life that is in God... 43:17 totally dependent upon Him. 43:19 That we will have a life that is with God 43:21 and beautiful communion and fellowship with Him. 43:25 And it is the faith of Jesus that will allow our lives 43:28 to be lived completely and totally for God's purpose. 43:32 And listen friends... what I'm telling you today is this: 43:35 that service that I'm talking about is not writing bigger 43:40 checks to the church. All right! 43:45 There ain't nothin' wrong with doin' that by the way. 43:48 Nothing wrong with giving that offering at 3ABN. Amen? 43:52 That's right! Because they are doing a wonderful work. 43:55 But it is a call to active labor to get out of our comfort zones. 44:01 Amen! To be actively engaged. 44:03 To be face to face with people not just hiding behind checks 44:08 and hiding behind support. All those things are good. 44:11 Don't stop those things! 44:14 But to actually be a part of the work - Amen - 44:17 that God has called us to. 44:19 If you go with me to Luke chapter 12 44:22 I want to tell a real quick story. 44:24 and then I'm going to tell one more story 44:27 and then we're going to be done. Luke chapter 12. 44:32 The cure for spiritual apathy is soul-winning activity, amen? 44:39 Amen. Luke chapter 12 44:44 verse 16: "Then He spoke a parable to them saying: 44:48 'The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully 44:50 and he thought within himself saying: what shall I do 44:54 since I have no room to store my crops? 44:56 So he said "I will do this: 44:58 I will pull down my barns and build greater 45:01 and there I will store all my crops and my goods. " 45:03 And I will say to my soul: "Soul, you have many goods 45:07 laid up for many years. Take your ease... 45:10 eat, drink, and be merry. " ' " 45:12 Friends, I honestly believe that this parable is speaking 45:16 about our generation today. Amen! 45:18 It's speaking about the Laodicean church 45:21 that God wants to wake up. 45:24 Because when He says: "The ground of a certain rich man 45:28 yielded plentifully... " This man was a farmer. 45:32 He was called to sow the seed. 45:34 We are called to sow the seed. 45:36 God gave him an abundant harvest. 45:39 God has richly blessed the SDA church, yes or no? 45:43 Yes. He has given us a wealth of spiritual truth. 45:46 He has blessed us spiritually as a people; 45:49 He has blessed us physically as a people. 45:51 We have many people that are very successful in the world 45:55 through the medical work and through business 45:57 and through other things. He's blessed us in every way. 46:00 He's given a plentiful harvest 46:02 to his people just like He blessed ancient Israel. 46:05 Yes? We're spiritual Israel today. 46:07 He's blessed us. Amen! 46:10 And this man was called to do something special 46:15 with that blessing. You know, sometimes 46:17 we think about God tempting us. Not tempting us but trying us. 46:23 When we think of trials we think of... Well, let me just say: 46:28 we think that God is testing us we think of trials, right? 46:31 But sometimes God gives us blessings 46:35 to see what we're going to do with it. 46:37 Because He wants faithful people who will be not just a blessing 46:41 to themselves but a blessing to others. Yes? 46:44 So this man is here and he has all this produce. 46:48 He says: "What am I going to do? " 46:50 So notice what it says: 46:53 It says, verse 17: "And he thought within himself... " 46:56 Who did this man counsel with? 46:59 He counseled with himself; he didn't' counsel with God. 47:02 He didn't counsel with a godly person. 47:04 He counseled with himself. 47:06 And the worst thing that you can do when it comes to the 47:09 work of God is counsel with yourself 47:12 because yourself will tell you every time to be selfish. 47:16 Yourself will say: "Oh, you know, what if somebody slams 47:19 the door in your face? " 47:21 "What if instead of that blessing 47:23 financially you could leave to the church 47:25 you could buy this new boat or this new piece of property? " 47:28 Yourself will always teach you to be selfish. 47:31 Don't consult yourself. Consult the Lord of the work. Amen? 47:35 And He'll tell you what to do with your money, with your time, 47:38 with your talents, and with your resources. 47:42 The man decides to tear down his barns. 47:46 Now listen to this: is a barn worth a lot of money? Yes or no? 47:49 I have a barn at my house. It's a little pole barn 47:52 and it's about the most basic barn you could have. 47:56 It has posts, it has trusses, 48:00 it has tin all around it, and it has a mud floor. 48:03 That's it. I moved into the house 48:06 I put electricity into it. None- theless, the insurance company 48:09 said: "If something comes and destroys that barn, 48:12 they will write me a check for $30,000 to replace it. 48:17 So are barns cheap. Yes or no? 48:19 No they're not cheap. Anybody that's built a barn 48:21 knows. Even if you build it yourself it costs you some money 48:23 right? And so this man built his barn 48:28 and he's actually going to tear it down to build a bigger one 48:32 just to minister to his own comfort. 48:37 The man had to actually spend money just to be selfish! 48:42 Think about that. 48:45 Now friends, reflect on your own lives today 48:48 and ask yourself the question: 48:50 "Have I ever done the same thing? " 48:53 Now I'm not just talking about money. 48:56 I'm talking about time. 48:58 Some of you ain't got a dime to you name but you've got 49:00 a lot of time. Some of you ain't got any time 49:03 but you've got a lot of money. 49:04 Some of you have got a lot of talents; 49:06 some of you have got a few talents. 49:08 It doesn't matter... Jesus covers them all. 49:10 He covers the one with 1 talent, 5 talents, and 10 talents! 49:14 Amen! He covers it all. 49:16 And He says: "Whatever I've given to you 49:18 I'm calling you to use it faithfully for My work. " 49:21 Amen. Amen? 49:23 So this man... In the book Christ Object Lessons 49:26 it describes him. It says: "He did not think of God 49:30 from whom all his mercies had come. 49:32 He did not realize that God had made him a steward of His goods 49:35 that he might help the needy. " 49:37 So this man you could say was like an Adventist atheist. 49:41 He was a Jew so he proclaimed God 49:44 but his life said something different. 49:46 This man lived as if there was no God. 49:50 And today, dear friends, I fear that there are a lot 49:52 of Adventist atheists among us. 49:55 That we proclaim one thing that we are not living. 49:58 We proclaim a message that we do not carry to others. 50:01 We proclaim a message that we keep to ourselves 50:04 and we're not telling others of the beautiful richness. 50:07 Now listen to this, friends: "The situation of the poor, 50:10 the orphan, the widow, the suffering, the afflicted 50:13 was brought to the rich man's attention. 50:15 There were many places in which to bestow his goods. " 50:18 So he knew that there were people in his community 50:21 that had a need. He knew that there were people in his 50:24 community that needed to know and be comforted 50:28 and to be strengthened and to be encouraged. 50:30 But this man decided to close his heart to those things. 50:35 Listen to this: "The Lord had heard the prayers 50:39 of the needy. " So these people had been praying: 50:41 "Lord, please provide for our needs. " 50:44 "My children are hungry, Lord. My children have no clothing. " 50:47 "My children have needs that I cannot supply. " 50:50 "Lord please, hear my prayer and do something about it! " 50:53 The man had known this. God heard those prayers 50:58 and He actually blessed that man 51:01 so that he would be able to share with others. 51:04 Right now today there are people in your community 51:07 praying that God would show them the truth. 51:09 There are people in your community praying that God 51:13 would help meet their needs. 51:14 There are people today praying in the community: "God, is there 51:17 anyone in the world that has a care for my life? " 51:21 "God, do You have a purpose for me? " 51:23 There are people... might even be your next-door neighbor. 51:25 Might be the co-worker you've worked beside for 20 years. 51:27 They're praying: "God... where are You? " 51:31 And God says: "I'm going to show myself to you 51:36 through them. " Through you! 51:38 This man had that opportunity but notice what happens. 51:42 "Abundant provision was made by the rich man but he closed 51:45 his heart and he decided 'I will pull down my barns 51:48 and build greater. ' " So when the man decided 51:51 to indulge himself rather than use that blessing 51:55 to meet the needs of others 51:57 the prayers of those people seemed to go what? 52:02 Unanswered. And in their hearts 52:06 their faith waned because they said: "I prayed this prayer 52:11 to God and He did not answer me. " 52:16 And let me tell you friends of the SDA movement 52:19 there are people praying to know the message that we know! 52:25 And if we do not sacrifice all we have 52:28 and all that we are as Jesus did 52:32 for that message - for those people - 52:34 their prayers will appear to have gone unanswered. 52:38 And those prayers we will be faced with 52:40 in the judgment of God. 52:43 Dear friends, I don't say that to scare you 52:47 or to overwhelm you. 52:49 But it is the reality that we are called to live 52:52 as Jesus lived. We are called to live the faith of Jesus. 52:56 Yes or no today? Amen! 52:58 I'm going to tell you a closing story. 53:01 I was in South Africa just a few months ago 53:04 preaching a series on a public university. 53:07 26,000 students: the most secular place I've ever been to. 53:11 And there were actually posters where they would have meetings 53:14 that were specifically anti-Christian. 53:18 That was the purpose of the meeting. 53:19 So I preached the meetings and on the way home 53:22 I was on the flight to come back to Atlanta 53:25 and the flight was cancelled because of engine failure. 53:28 And I would like to tell you more of the details 53:31 but I'll just cut to the point. 53:33 And so they were going to put us up in a hotel. 53:35 And I had to actually stay two nights 53:38 because the night they wanted us to fly was on a Friday night 53:41 and I said: "I'm not going to fly on the Sabbath 53:42 because I'm not going to spend my time on a plane 53:46 when I need to be in church. " Amen? 53:48 That's where I wanted to be. 53:50 So there was a man that I met in line. I noticed 53:52 that all the workers were hovering over this man. 53:55 And they were meeting him and attending to him. 54:01 And finally we ended up in line together 54:03 and we began to talk. And he asked me about 54:04 my son, my 5-year-old - he was five at that time - 54:07 was with me and he was getting tired. 54:09 And he said: "You know, I have the greatest concern for your 54:12 son. " This very humble man, very kind. 54:15 So when we get to the hotel I'm in line with him again 54:19 and I'm talking with him again. 54:21 The next morning I go to breakfast. 54:24 This was Friday morning, and I'm on the phone with my wife 54:28 so I'm in and out of the line. 54:31 Finally I get back in the line 54:34 and guess who I'm behind. 54:35 I'm behind this man, right? 54:37 So we start talking again and the waiter says: 54:40 "Would you guys like to sit together and have breakfast? " 54:42 And we said: "Sure. " So we went and got our food 54:45 and we came back and sat down. 54:46 And here's the bottom line: 54:48 I was sitting with a man who was a king in the country of Ghana 54:54 in Africa. Wow! This man was also a Christian. 54:57 He has three Ph.D.'s. He's the chancellor of two universities. 55:02 He knows Ben Carson. He knows many Adventist public figures. 55:07 And he had received some awards from the president. 55:11 He actually lives in N. Carolina and flies back and forth 55:15 to do his kingly duties. He was showing me pictures 55:18 of him on his throne. Pictures of military welcomes 55:22 from various countries and all these different things. 55:25 And I was just blown away. I said: "Lord, 55:26 I'm in the presence of the king... of a king! " 55:29 Not THE king... well, the king but the king of Ghana 55:32 but not the King of Kings. Amen? 55:34 We're always in His presence, yes? 55:35 And so as he was talking to me I was just blown away. 55:40 This man is not just a king but he's also a pastor. 55:43 He said: "I have pastored a net- work of about 2,000 churches 55:46 all across the world. " 55:48 He says: "But I gave it all up and now I'm just the pastor 55:50 of one church of about 800 members. " 55:53 And he says: "Now, I want you to tell me about you. " 55:56 I said: "Well... " I just perked up 56:00 and I said: "Well, sir, I'm a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. " 56:04 And I just smiled because I love to say that to people. 56:07 And he says: "Really? " He says: 56:09 "You're a SDA pastor? " I said: "Yes! " 56:11 He says: "Listen... " He says: "I used to think that 56:14 you people were a cult! " 56:17 He says: "But I began to study your message" 56:20 and he says: "I believe what you believe. " 56:22 He says: "I believe in the Sabbath. " 56:24 "I believe in the health message; I don't eat any unclean 56:27 foods. " "I believe in all these things that you believe. " 56:30 He says: "In fact, many times when I travel 56:34 I go to an Adventist church if I can't go to another church 56:38 if my travel is interrupted. " 56:39 He says "I love Adventist people; 56:41 they're wonderful people... 56:42 some of the best people I've met on the earth. " 56:45 And I said: "Well you know... " Being the pastor I said: 56:47 "Well, why don't you become an Adventist? " 56:50 And he says; "Well, I've actually thought about it. " 56:53 And he said: "I'm actually in the process of considering it. " 56:58 And he says: "If I become an Adventist, 57:00 all the people that follow me, my churches, 57:04 they'll probably come too. " 57:06 He says: "But I have one problem with your church. " 57:09 I said: "Oh, no, here it comes. What is it? What could it be? " 57:12 And this is what he said: "I have one problem with your 57:14 church: that you are not LOUD enough. " 57:19 He said: "You people have the message of truth 57:21 and you're too quiet! " 57:23 He said: "You don't proclaim this message. " 57:26 He says: "Nobody knows who an Adventist is. " 57:28 He says: "Who are you people? " 57:30 He says: "With the message that you have you ought to be 57:33 proclaiming it into all the world! " 57:36 He says... Friends, I'm telling today 57:39 I'm appealing to you: preach the message of Christ. 57:44 Jesus has promised us 57:47 His power. He's promised us His presence 57:52 and He's given us a book full of promises. |
Revised 2018-07-16