Participants: C.A. Murray, Jim Ayer
Series Code: 10HC
Program Code: 10HC000009
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00:24 Welcome to 3ABN's Fall Camp Meeting,
00:27 Homecoming 2010, featuring inspired messages 00:31 from your 3ABN family. Along with uplifting 00:36 Christian music, all to prepare your heart 00:38 for the coming of the Lord. 00:45 Well good morning everybody, you know I want 00:46 to tell you, God is doing mighty things around the world. 00:49 It is so exciting to see what's happening. 00:52 Matter of fact Adventist World Radio 00:53 Broadcasting in about 107 languages around Planet Earth 00:57 and God is doing tremendous things. 01:00 In one particular country that I can't really go into 01:03 and share where it is with you for security purposes. 01:07 This young lady accidentally came across our program. 01:10 She began listening and all of a sudden 01:12 one day she thought I hear Jesus about Jesus, 01:16 I've never heard about Jesus before she ran into her bedroom 01:19 locked the door, turned off the light climbed under covers 01:21 and she began listening. Well, she fell in love with Jesus. 01:26 She gave her heart to Jesus and then one day 01:28 a voice says, you need to tell your father, 01:31 tell your father. Oh! But God if I tell my father, 01:34 I could be killed or he kick me out of the house 01:37 at the very least. Tell your father. 01:39 This went on for some weeks and she just didn't know 01:42 what to do. It bothered her so much 01:45 this voice kept saying, tell your father, 01:46 tell your father. Okay God, if I die, that's alright, 01:53 I'll tell my father. She called her father 01:55 and father I've something to tell you, 01:58 please sit down. She began sharing the story 02:01 of what it happened in her life, and how she would fallen 02:03 deeply in love with Jesus Christ, 02:06 and she stands back. And she leaps but she can, 02:10 get the idea she see something funny 02:12 almost the father's lips turning up just a little bit 02:14 and said father, father what's going on father? 02:18 Well honey, he said, I've been listing to same program, 02:21 I too have fallen love with Jesus Christ. 02:25 And I was just scared to tell you. 02:26 God is good, God is good. In the South Pacific, 02:31 a fellow named Max. Max would just as soon kill you 02:34 as he looked at you. He just hated people 02:38 and he hated everything about humanity. 02:40 And one day the police caught Max 02:42 and they threw him into prison. Well Max was in prison 02:46 he wasn't there too long, but while he was in prison 02:48 he noticed, he noticed that everybody 02:52 who went to church on Sunday, they didn't have to work 02:54 on Sunday. He said aha. 02:56 I'm gonna go to church on Sunday. 02:58 Then as he is going to church on Sunday, 03:00 he notices the people who go to church on Saturday 03:02 there in prison, they don't have to what? 03:04 They don't have to work on Saturday. 03:07 So he said aha, I'm going to go to church on Saturday too. 03:10 So, he started going to church Saturday and Sunday, 03:12 but you see he didn't stay there long enough 03:14 for anything to stick or to really hear much 03:16 because he busted out with two buddies. 03:19 Now they hit back up in the mountains 03:21 and these mountains I mean, it's a terrible area. 03:23 It's a vicious area for criminals 03:26 and everything else. Then Max thinks 03:28 you know I've got to have a good alibi, 03:31 the police are gonna catch up to me one of these days, 03:34 I've got to have a good alibi. What do am I going to do? 03:38 Well, you know if I say I'm a particular religious group 03:40 which this whole area was this one religious group 03:43 that won't be a big deal. But he said thinking 03:47 to himself if I say that I'm a Seventh-day Adventist, 03:49 aha! See nobody likes Seventh-day Adventists here. 03:52 So that will be a believable story. 03:55 So, you know I'm a Seventh-day Adventist 03:57 and he built a little sanctuary right up there 03:59 in the mountains with his own hands 04:01 he and his two buddies built this whole little sanctuary. 04:04 And then they put a trapdoor down in the bottom 04:07 and with the tunnel all the way up to the river 04:10 you see that was his escape route 04:11 if the police came. And it was also a good place 04:14 to keep his AK-47 and all of his other automatic weapons. 04:19 Well, the first Sabbath Max, sits there 04:20 he and his two buddies and they think aha! 04:22 Well what are we gonna do here now, 04:24 we'll do church service let's see. 04:25 Well I will do church, you do Sabbath school 04:28 and you do the youth services, there are three of us, 04:30 we got it covered. They sit there for a minute 04:32 and think something is missing. They go out 04:35 and they steal three ties and three Bibles. 04:38 Now they come back they got their ties on 04:40 and they are feeling pretty good now. 04:41 And they are sitting there and they're doing church. 04:44 Well word filters down the valley 04:47 to whether it's a school, it's not an Adventist school, 04:49 but it is a Christian school. And but there's a lot 04:53 of Adventists to go there and then hear about 04:55 these services going on up in the mountains. 04:58 Oh let's go up next Sabbath. All of a sudden 05:02 that next Sabbath, kind of a knock 05:04 at the sanctuary door and Max thinks it's the cops, 05:06 you know. He goes the door and there was 20 young people, 05:10 20 young people and say we've come here to join 05:12 you in church. Max goes gulp. Well, okay, come on in. 05:18 Well you are the guests why don't you do 05:20 services for us. Okay, and they did services 05:24 they came for about three weeks, and then one day 05:28 Max is sitting there with his stolen ties 05:30 and their stolen Bibles and they are waiting 05:32 for church service and with everybody to show up 05:34 and nobody shows up, nobody shows up. 05:38 Well, what's going on? Pretty soon word filters up 05:41 from the valley that the principal of the school 05:44 did not whant anybody to come up to those services anymore. 05:48 And so he kept the students there, 05:49 and Max got so upset. He just couldn't stand this, 05:53 he opened up his trapdoor he got his AK-47 05:56 he starts marching down the hill and he is blowing off 05:59 banana clumps. He is shooting everything 06:01 and then he stops for a second. Oh, I got my tie on, 06:05 this doesn't look good. He goes and takes his tie 06:08 and he sets next to his Bible and he goes back down 06:10 with his AK-47. He is marching down the hill, 06:12 he gets down to the bottom where the school is, 06:14 a big old chain on the door, big old padlock. 06:16 He blows it off. He opens the door 06:19 and said where are you? Where are you? 06:22 Looking for the principal. Where is the principal man? 06:24 He is hiding behind the desk. And pretty soon Max finds him. 06:29 Max sticks the gun in his belly and he says 06:32 where is my congregation? And then he says look, 06:38 if you don't release my congregation 06:40 I will take it that it's a point of doctrinal dispute with you. 06:44 And he said you my not, he said you actually 06:46 you may believe in hell, he says, I don't know 06:50 if I do but I'm gonna tell you what he said I'm gonna send you 06:52 there first and I'll meet you there a little later 06:54 if you don't release my congregation. 06:57 Well, what do you think he did? He released the congregation 07:01 for sure. Well, Max continues on 07:06 and you know after a time they respond or they grew out 07:09 what they call a hand church, five branch Sabbath schools 07:13 came from Max's group up there. 07:16 And then pretty soon the students come to Max, 07:18 said Max, can we have an evangelistic series? 07:20 Well sure, fine, they call up the mission way, 07:25 way, way said please come to this area, 07:28 we would like to do an evangelistic series. 07:32 Well this guy didn't want to come, 07:33 he knew the reputation up there, 07:35 I don't want to come up there. No, no, no, 07:37 Max and his friends said they will be our security. 07:41 Well okay, they came up begin doing an evangelistic series 07:45 and every night they baptized people. 07:49 On the final night, on the final night 07:51 they baptized Max and his two buddies. 07:54 Now they were asked Max, why did you wait till 07:58 the very last night? Max said you know 07:59 he said it just didn't seen why if I had to shoot 08:02 somebody to guard the meetings, that I already baptized, 08:04 so waited till the last night. Now the fun thing too, 08:09 it's down in the town the town didn't like Adventists at all, 08:13 but he said you know we couldn't convert Max, 08:15 but the Adventist church could, they give a peace of land 08:18 to build a church right downtown. 08:21 God is incredibly good, in this one area way up 08:25 far in India, in the kind of that North East of India. 08:31 A young lady heard our program she fell in love with 08:33 Jesus Christ. All these people are animists, 08:35 you know they worship the rocks and the stars 08:38 and the trees and all of these things. 08:41 She heard our program, fell in love with Jesus says, 08:43 I'm going to go to church. Well the only problem 08:45 you see was church was a long ways away from there. 08:48 And she had to take a bus and it take all day long, 08:51 all day long. The neighbor said, you can't go 08:55 because you keep silkworms for the government. 08:58 See, that was a very lucrative business taking care 09:00 of silkworms and silkworms need to be fed fresh mulberry 09:04 leaves four times a day. You can't leave, 09:06 she says I'm going to follow Jesus, 09:08 I've learned about the Sabbath truth 09:09 and Jesus will take care of me, she got in the bus 09:12 and she left. Well now the neighbors think, 09:15 we've got to do something we can't have her 09:18 loose her contracts so we are going to help her. 09:20 They got up early Saturday morning 09:21 they went out and they puck mulberry leaves, 09:23 they chopped them all up finally they sprinkled them 09:25 on the trays and nothing, nothing. 09:29 They went out for the next meal, they gathered 09:30 mulberry leaves, they chopped them up, 09:32 sprinkled them in, nothing, the next meal 09:34 same thing nothing, the fourth meal nothing. 09:37 They've found the worms were asleep, 09:41 they had never heard of silkworm sleeping before 09:44 and they were all asleep. And the lady showed up 09:47 next morning that she got there and she went out 09:50 and cut her leaves and she sprinkled them all over 09:52 the trays, they ate just fine. And every Sabbath 09:54 her worms sleep. God took care of her 09:57 and does take care of each one who will follow him 10:00 and put him first what do you say? 10:02 God is an incredible God. I met Ruben down in Kenya. 10:07 Ruben had been born and raised as a Seventh-day Adventist. 10:10 He said I want nothing else to do with this religion 10:13 and he left. He became a truck driver. 10:15 And he told me Jim, he said I did all the things 10:18 that truck drivers do. He said one day 10:21 he said the company asked me, he said 10:23 vif we take a particular load at night time through this area. 10:27 And you see this area was Tsavo National Park, 10:29 if Google it is T-S-A-V-O. And what will pop 10:34 is the Man Eating Lions of Tsavo. 10:35 He said for that reason we never wanted 10:37 to go through there at night time, never. 10:39 But, in this particular case I talk with my partner 10:42 and we said okay we will go in that area 10:44 because it's well it's so lucrative, 10:48 it's such a good contract that we need to go. 10:50 They are driving long everything just fine, 10:52 putting down the road everything is just wonderful, 10:54 all of the sudden, and the truck quits 10:58 in the middle of the park, in the middle of the night. 11:00 They lost the drive shaft apparently. 11:03 He calls up the company, the company says we will send 11:05 somebody but it will take all night and will be there 11:08 at the next morning. So, they roll up the windows 11:10 and they turn on the radio and on the radio 11:12 was a preacher taking about Jesus Christ. 11:15 And this preacher said you need to accept Jesus now, 11:18 today is the day of salvation. Accept him right now 11:21 and Ruben get reaches over and turns off the radio. 11:23 They don't want to hear anything about Jesus, 11:25 don't want to hear a thing about Jesus. 11:28 Well in the next moment on Ruben side 11:33 and they drive on the opposite side 11:35 that we do so over here on this side pops up 11:37 a big old male lion, right in the window. 11:40 And you know male lion is 450, 500 pounds he took up 11:43 the whole window. And his nose to nose 11:46 with Ruben, now this made him a little bit nervous. 11:50 Now this lion goes out, he walks out in front of them 11:52 and he comes up and he puts his paws right upon the front. 11:56 And he look at, both of them, stares in at them, 11:59 and then he walks back. He walks back 12:02 and he takes a distance back and he sits there 12:05 a while as a mother and some cubs join him. 12:09 They mill around for a minute and then he starts 12:12 coming up just a little bit he stops and then he runs 12:15 and he runs and he runs and he smashes right 12:17 through the windshield. And the windshields 12:18 in those country just break out, they just shattered. 12:21 He reached and he grabbed Ruben's partner 12:23 and ate him right in front of Ruben. 12:25 And that for Ruben was a come to Jesus moment 12:28 I tell you. Ruben said Lord, save me, 12:30 I'll do anything you want; I'll serve you the rest 12:32 of my life just save me Lord, as his partner 12:38 was continually being eaten by the lion. 12:42 He continued to pray Lord help me 12:44 and then when everything is over there the lions comes back up 12:47 and now puts his paws on the inside of the dash 12:50 and looks right at Ruben. Stares at Ruben, 12:55 and Ruben is still praying. Lion backs up again. 13:01 A car drives up from the other side 13:03 with its lights on and doesn't go anywhere Ruben. 13:06 So I thought it was just somebody who was just 13:07 too scared to go on by. The lion backs up, 13:11 backs up and stops for a minute. And then he takes off 13:14 at a dead run he slams his paws upon the dashboard flips upon 13:18 the top of the vehicle where he goes to sleep 13:20 for the entire night. The next morning 13:23 the fellows come to chase off lions 13:25 and Ruben gets out of the truck and a little tiny lady 13:28 who was in this car, little tiny lady 13:30 and Ruben is 6 foot 2 or 6 foot 3 towers over me. 13:34 She gets out, she pokes her finger in Ruben's chest 13:37 and says are you a Christian? Well Ruben said a-a-a yes. 13:42 She says, you need to go home and study and pray 13:45 and she turned and got into her car and left. 13:48 Isn't that an interesting thing to say? 13:51 I asked Ruben, I said Ruben, who do you thing that was? 13:54 Well he says, I kind of think it was my angel. 13:58 I don't know about you but when Ruben was telling me 14:00 that story I thought that very same thing. 14:03 That was his angel that had come to camp around 14:05 about those that fear and deliver them. 14:07 You know the Bible says that the devil 14:10 is as a roaring lion going around seeking whom he may 14:15 devour, whom he made devour. Ruben had a real example 14:19 right in front of him. Ruben came to Jesus 14:22 that day and he's been faithful in the last three years 14:24 now he is serving Jesus as a literature evangelist 14:27 all over Kenya. He was good to his word. 14:29 Brothers and sisters, are you faithful 14:31 to your calling with Jesus, because the devil wants 14:34 to destroy you. Devil wants to destroy you. 14:38 Received a letter from a young lady in a particular 14:41 country says, I never knew, 14:43 she said in all of my life there was any other 14:46 God's other than Hinduism, and Buddhism. 14:48 But, you've introduced me to Jesus Christ. 14:51 Oh she says thank you for allowing me to taste 14:55 the sweetness of God. Oh we get I just can't tell you 15:00 the number of the letters we get 100's 15:02 and 1000's plus letters each year and for these people 15:05 you know just a stamp may cost a week salary or more. 15:07 In some cases, it means life or death 15:10 if they get caught. But it's so precious to them 15:13 what they found and I ask you today, 15:15 is it precious to you what you have found in Jesus Christ? 15:20 We received a letter and basically this idea 15:24 that you know, people are so in love they hear 15:29 the truth for the first time and they will say 15:31 this is the truth. I will follow it even if I die. 15:34 Are you willing to do that today? 15:36 Are you willing to die for Jesus Christ? 15:38 God wants to, God wants to draw you to him to taste 15:42 and see that the Lord is God. 15:43 You see the Lord is good today? 15:45 Amen, God bless you all. Amen 15:48 Anytime you see a pastor particularly 15:50 an Adventist pastor come to the desk with 15:53 an arm load of books and papers. 15:57 You are guaranteed a good presentation, 16:03 or a bad one. There was nothing in the middle, 16:08 it will either be good or bad. 16:13 And I will leave it to the digest of your pure 16:15 minds to determine what our little soldiering 16:18 together is and what camp it falls. 16:20 I brought with me Jack Blanco's Clear Word 16:24 Bible, because it really does a lot to shed 16:29 light on the text we're going to use this morning. 16:32 We've been looking at the book of Romans 16:35 this quarter. And it has been, dare I say, 16:38 an excellent study in the book of Romans, 16:41 though today we talk about commentary. 16:43 But before we move into the lesson study per say, 16:48 I did want to mention that in the next several 16:51 weeks the Seventh-day Adventist church will be 16:54 celebrating the 150th anniversary of our name. 17:03 On October 2 of 1860 the brethren got together, 17:09 the meeting was chaired. I believe by the man 17:12 who was our first real Theologian that is 17:16 Joseph Bates, Uriah Smith was the Secretary, 17:19 James White was there. The meetings began in 17:23 May and they began to deal with a lot of the 17:25 issues that dealt with putting a church together. 17:30 Our forefathers really didn't want to become a 17:32 denomination. They felt that becoming a 17:35 denomination would make them defect O Babylon. 17:40 They didn't want to be Babylon and Joseph Bates 17:42 fought against that idea. But, the publishing work 17:46 really pushed us into organization because 17:50 James White in leading out the publishing work, 17:52 a lot of the burden fell on him. 17:55 He was chief cook and bottle washer, 17:57 he was owner, operator, he paid the checks, 17:59 he did the writing, he did the editing and 18:01 he really didn't want all of the work and weight. 18:05 And so it became obvious that we are gonna 18:08 have to do something to move towards organization. 18:11 Also, ministers were going out claiming to be 18:15 Seventh-day Adventist ministers and teaching 18:17 all kinds of doctrines, taking money from people 18:20 and a brethren were saying, we are gonna have 18:22 to do something official to credential these guys, 18:25 so that the church would know who is legit and 18:30 who is not. And so we moved towards organization, 18:35 we struggle with that. And I want to give you 18:37 just some of the names that were on the table 18:39 for that particular meeting. 18:43 There in October 2 of 1860. 18:46 The name, Seventh-Day People was proposed, 18:50 Sabbath Keeping Advent Believers was proposed, 18:55 Seventh-Day Brethren, Advent Sabbath Keepers, 18:59 Sabbath Keeping Remnant of Adventists, 19:03 Seventh-Day Evangelists, Seventh-Day Door Shutters. 19:10 You imagine coming to a church. 19:12 We're going to the Seventh-day Door Shutters 19:14 church. They are going to shut the door on us. 19:20 Shut Doors Seventh-Day Sabbath and Annihilationists. 19:26 Now that's a chapter in the Bible, 19:30 Shut Doors Seventh Day Sabbath and Annihilationists. 19:37 And then the one that James White actually liked 19:40 Church of God. He put his weight behind Church 19:45 of God and Ellen White said oh 19:47 no, we are not being called church of God. 19:50 She said it's too general term and you can hide 19:52 too many things behind it and everybody wants 19:54 to be the Church of God. Its non-specific, 19:58 we are not gonna be Church of God. 19:59 So, those of you who thought that Ellen and 20:01 James White always agreed on everything, 20:04 I'm here to tell you they did not. 20:07 Because he really wanted Church of God and 20:09 she really did not. So, she didn't just say 20:13 no way Jose. She massaged the brethren into 20:18 moving away from Church of God. 20:19 And said, you need to go back and pray some more, 20:21 because we are not gonna be called a Church of God. 20:25 And so the brethren began to pray and pray 20:27 and pray, and they put several things together 20:30 that became the eminent for the church, 20:33 we are, praise God for the last 150 years 20:36 Seventh-Day Adventists. Amen. 20:40 And so that's just something to keep in mind. 20:42 The brethren have had to struggle over the 20:43 years for over a number of things and when you 20:49 come together and pray, put yourself aside and 20:52 let the Lord lead, God always leads you in the 20:54 right way, amen, amen. Let's pray, 20:56 father God as we take time now to study your word, 21:00 we ask that you maybe the lamp unto our feet, 21:03 the light unto our path, that we may know the 21:06 truth and walk in the truth and love the truth 21:11 and live the truth. So, that we maybe right 21:15 representatives of yours, but more than that, 21:19 fit citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. 21:22 We thank you in Jesus name, amen. 21:25 I'm going to read our lead passage from the 21:29 Clear Word. I'm in Romans chapter 14 verses 1, 2... 21:38 when I get tired. Romans 14 and you will see how 21:43 the Clear Word, and this is not a commercial for 21:45 Dr. Blanco or his Bible, but he did do a fine job 21:49 and this makes it very clear. 21:51 So, let's got to Romans 14 and I will read just 21:54 the first several verses. The word of God says, 21:59 accept as brothers, your Bile says receive; 22:04 accept as brothers those who don't know as 22:08 much as you do, amen. Regarding their newly 22:15 found faith, and don't argue over non-essentials. 22:25 Some get hung up on the idea that what they eat 22:30 will affect God's love for them. So they eat nothing 22:34 but vegetables. Others think their salvation isn't 22:39 affected at all by what they eat. 22:43 So they eat anything. Don't let those who think 22:48 they can eat anything look down on those who are 22:52 careful about what they eat. 22:55 The reverse is also true. Don't let those who 22:59 are careful about what they eat stand in 23:03 judgment on the eating habits of those who eat 23:08 anything because God accepts both. 23:13 Don't judge other people's employees, 23:17 each employee is responsible to the people 23:20 he works for, not to you. God will help him know 23:25 what is right and do it, amen. 23:29 The same thing applies to religious festivals. 23:32 One person thinks he has to keep every Jewish 23:34 festival; while another thinks those days are no 23:37 different from other days. About non-essentials 23:41 like these, everyone needs to make up his own mind. 23:50 So, the context for this particular passage is 23:57 non-essential. Non-essentials. 24:06 Our lesson today falls under the category the 24:08 heading of commentary. Well preaching is 24:11 commentary. Teaching is commentary. 24:15 Application of what we know in the word of God 24:17 it's all commentary. Even to some extent the 24:19 spirit of prophecy is commentary on the word 24:22 of God. And so, Paul in his last several chapters 24:28 of the book of Romans, this letter, 24:30 moves into commentary on some of the things 24:34 that he has talked about during the first several 24:36 chapters. Paul chooses to comment on things that 24:40 are non-essential. And truly as the 24:44 Clear Word says, sometimes we can get hung up 24:46 as Christians on non-essentials. 24:50 I was told of a church not that far from here, 24:56 that split over vegetarianism versus 25:03 veganism. Not vegetarianism over 25:08 meat eating, but vegetarianism over veganism, 25:13 over label reading. And so when the new 25:16 Adventist pastor came to the church, 25:18 the group that met with him asked him not about 25:23 his doctrinal stands, not about the Sabbath, 25:27 not about his preaching, 25:29 not about his love for God. They wanted to know, 25:33 are you vegan or vegetarian? True story. 25:39 And when he said, I'm vegetarian, 25:43 he lost his vegans. See that's splitting 25:51 hairs over a nonessential, amen. 25:56 Don't give me that look. 26:03 Back in the 1880's a controversy arose 26:07 that threatened to split the Adventist church. 26:11 The brethren were fighting over a number of 26:13 things in the days before the 1888 General Conference. 26:18 And one of the things that brought the most fewer 26:24 was the 10 horns of Daniel chapter 7. 26:28 The church that believed for years 26:30 under the guidance of its preeminent 26:33 scholar Uriah Smith that the 10th horn was the Huns. 26:39 And Alonzo T. Jones in the Ministerial Institute, 26:43 before the General Conference session, 26:45 came up with the idea and proposed the idea 26:49 that the 10th horn was indeed not the Huns, 26:52 but the Alamanni. 26:56 And you wouldn't believe that that little change 27:01 split the brethren into two camps 27:04 in fact the church was so divided, 27:06 We're told from the records that people would run down 27:08 the street and grab an Adventist pastor by the 27:11 tie and say, are you a Hun or an Alamanni? 27:17 And Uriah Smith accused A.T. Jones of ransacking 27:21 history and ripping the church apart. 27:24 He said, we've believed this all our years, 27:28 we're gonna keep on believing it, 27:30 and if we change what we believe, 27:32 it makes us look bad before the world. 27:35 And if you start with the Huns, 27:37 pretty soon you will be working on Sunday. 27:41 And so A.T. Jones said, holding on to something 27:46 simply because we've done in the past is no reason 27:50 to keep holding on to something if it's error. 27:53 It's a good point, what we want is truth. 27:57 And Uriah Smith said, we got truth. 28:00 And the reason I know its truth 28:02 is because we've been believing it for so long. 28:07 A.T. Jones said poppycock. 28:12 If you want to stand good before the theologians, 28:15 you will find truth and you adjust yourself to truth. 28:19 Amen. And so this went on back and forth, 28:23 back and forth, back and forth and somebody said, 28:25 alright, let's go ask Ellen White. 28:28 That will settle the issue. Let's just ask Ellen White. 28:33 And so they ran to Ellen White, 28:36 and the brethren said, settle the issue. 28:39 The church is gonna fall 28:41 if we don't settle this issue, 28:42 we want to know now is it the Huns or the Alamanni? 28:47 And Ellen White stood up, rose to her full height, 28:51 Shelley, of 5 foot 2. And she called the brethren 28:56 over and she said, to the question, 29:01 what do you think about the horns? 29:04 She said too many horns, too much noise. 29:12 That's a quote. "Too many horns too much noise." 29:18 Another words she was saying, no one is going 29:21 to miss out on the Kingdom 29:24 because of the Huns or the Alamanni. 29:27 And do not let this doctrinal 29:31 diversions rip the church apart. 29:35 There are some things that we need to stand on, 29:37 draw a line in the sand 29:38 and say hither to and no further. 29:41 But that's not everything, amen. Amen. 29:45 We ought to keep the essentials, 29:47 the essentials and the non-essentials, 29:50 the non-essentials. The second big thing 29:53 you know well of course with the law in Galatians. 29:56 And if the Alamanni and the Huns was big, 29:59 during the 1888 General Conference 30:01 the law in Galatians, when there was the moral law 30:04 or the ceremonial law really was big. 30:09 And again they ran to Ellen White. 30:11 You know what she said? She said, I don't have a 30:14 position on that, never have, never will. 30:19 She said, my position is this, 30:22 we ought to be Christian 30:25 and loving in all that we do. 30:29 When we have disagreements, 30:32 what I want to see is the love of Christ. Amen. 30:36 Let's not let theological disagreements rip us apart. 30:41 What we need is more Jesus. Amen. 30:46 And Jesus will help us settle these things. 30:48 And do you not know it is my firm belief? 30:50 Shelley Quinn and I have been kicking this around 30:52 the last little bit, that the last, 30:55 one of the last battle fields 30:59 in these last days again will be theology. 31:02 Questions that we thought 31:04 were settled will be re-agitated. 31:07 Things that we thought were at peace and at rest 31:09 will be brought up again. Some of the old battle 31:11 lines will be re-drawn and we will need 31:14 the same love of Jesus in these last days 31:17 that we needed in the former days. 31:19 It's going to come, your faith will be tested. 31:23 What you believe will be tested? 31:25 How do you think will be tested? 31:27 Your love of God will be tested, 31:28 your theological framework is going to be tested. 31:34 And we need to show the love of Jesus. 31:39 And as the good doctor intimated last night, 31:44 keep the main thing, the main thing, 31:48 don't get side tracked, on side issues. 31:52 I like that Dr. Blanco said last night, 31:54 he talked about the Jewish mind, 31:56 and I concur so very hardly that the Jewish mind 32:00 always set a context and then it followed 32:05 that trajectory right through. 32:07 And we get off so many times and are looking 32:10 at the Bible, because we forget the context 32:12 that a particular text falls in. 32:14 Once Paul or any New Testament writer, 32:16 any Old Testament writer sets a context, 32:19 they stay with that context and they let you know 32:22 when they're going to make the left turn. 32:23 So, if you make a left turn without them 32:26 directing you, you've gone off base. 32:31 This particular passage does not deal so much 32:36 with meat eating and festival keeping 32:39 as it does with how Christians are to deal 32:43 with one another when differences arise. 32:48 Ellen White said, back in the 1800s 32:51 that the Adventist ministry had fallen into a pattern of 32:55 preaching sermons that were Christ-less, 32:59 dry, and argumentative. 33:04 Now, you may not know precisely what she meant, 33:08 but I submit to you, if you ever had to sit 33:11 under a sermon that was Christ-less, 33:12 draw an argumentative, you know 33:14 one when you hear one. Amen. 33:18 And she said, we had begun to deal 33:21 with our brothers that way. 33:23 Christ-less, dry and argumentative. 33:30 By this all men know that we are, 33:32 you are my disciples, if you have? Love. 33:35 Particularly, particularly, when we have different 33:40 disagreements, because Adventists 33:43 do have disagreements, agreements, don't they? 33:46 We don't agree with anything. 33:48 You know, I have a sermon on how to argue with God. 33:54 Yeah, I do. And one of the first things I say, 33:58 is that when you're arguing with somebody 34:01 your most important goal or task is to completely 34:06 understand the other person's point of you. 34:10 Now, say amen. Amen. And if you can't say amen, 34:13 say ouch. Yeah, when you argue with someone, 34:18 your first task is to understand 34:21 the other person's point of view. 34:23 Now, why is that your first task? 34:26 Well, because you already know your point of you, 34:30 amen. Amen. That's why we have an argument. 34:34 So, that means one of us is going to have to, 34:38 now I need to find a nice Christian word for shut up. 34:44 Cease and desist are the gelatinous ad-verbiage. 34:52 Long enough for the other person to make their point, 34:57 amen. Amen. Yeah. There are two reasons 35:01 why people argue, one is to get clarity, 35:04 the other is to win, amen. 35:09 So when you're dealing with God, 35:13 and you have an apposing point of view, 35:16 your first task is to thoroughly and completely 35:20 understand God's point of view, amen. 35:24 And I'll submit to you, if you take the time 35:27 to understand God's point of view, 35:29 you will come around to God's point of view, 35:32 because His ways are better than your ways, amen. 35:40 And so this text in Romans chapter 14 35:44 deals specifically with how do we dispute, 35:51 how do we deal with people who differ 35:54 in their views from us. How do we accept them, 35:59 how do we treat them, how are we to deal with 36:02 things particularly when they are non essential, 36:08 when they are non essential. And so on Sunday, 36:11 we talk about a weak brother. 36:13 Now this is one of those gold mine texts, 36:16 that folk will toss up at Adventists and others, 36:19 because that first glance it looks like it saying 36:23 you can eat anything, you can drink anything, 36:29 and there are no rules as far as 36:32 the New Testament is concerned. 36:33 I remember, I had a talk show on another 36:37 Non-Adventist television station for a number of 36:39 years and the folk knew that I was Adventist 36:43 and every night and again they would send in a ringer 36:45 to try to challenge me, and every night and again, 36:48 they'd slip somebody in who came in with an agenda, 36:50 I've had it three times I can remember, 36:52 one tried to hit me on the Sabbath, 36:54 and that was fairly easy to do. 36:55 And then a fellow came in and we were talking 36:57 about a totally different subject, and he said, 36:59 besides, God doesn't care 37:03 if I have a big old plate of shrimp. 37:09 And I said, oh yes He does. 37:15 And they have told me on my producer said to me, 37:19 now this is not meet the press. 37:21 And when a guest says something that you don't 37:24 agree with because I knew you're Adventist. 37:27 You have to find a nice way to just 37:31 try to change the subject. But that particular 37:34 Thursday morning I wasn't in a change the subject mood. 37:40 First of all I thought he was trying to ambush me, 37:43 because we're talking about something, 37:45 and he goes to shrimp of all things. 37:48 And so I said, oh yes he does. 37:51 He said once Christ died everything 37:57 is okay for the Christian. And so I said, so you mean 38:00 to tell me Jesus died to save shrimp. 38:08 So, I took him to Acts chapter 10 verse 14, 38:13 and I showed him where Peter said to the Lord, 38:18 I have never eat anything unclean. 38:24 So, I said in the New Testament post Christ 38:28 there was still a differentiation 38:31 between clean and unclean. 38:36 And then I had to know because 38:37 he was going on another, that text really doesn't 38:39 have anything to do about food, 38:40 it has to do with people. But clean and unclean 38:44 is mentioned there. Then we followed a 38:48 number of things in the New Testament 38:50 to let him know that God cares 38:55 about every aspect of your life. 38:57 There is nothing about your life that doesn't 38:59 concern the Lord. He is concerned 39:02 about every aspect of life, which by the way 39:04 let me say this, obiter dictum, 39:06 is why we need as Christians to be thoroughly 39:09 surrendered to Jesus, amen. Because don't you know 39:12 being a Seventh-day Adventist 39:13 is tough work unless you really love the Lord, amen. 39:17 It is, Jesus inserts himself first into your lifestyle, 39:23 you have to change what you do. 39:26 Then he goes into your wallet, amen. 39:33 And he is in your wallet every Sabbath, amen. 39:37 Then he goes into your refrigerator, 39:42 amen, or ouch, and he cleans that out. 39:47 Then he goes into your guest book. 39:52 Then he goes into your DVD and CD closet, amen. 39:59 He even spends a little time in your clothes closet, 40:03 amen. Goes into your jewelry box, amen. 40:09 And depending on where you work 40:10 and what you do he goes to your job. 40:15 So, being a Seventh-day Adventist Christian 40:17 is hard work, unless you really love the Lord, amen. 40:23 And if you love Him, it's not so tough keeping 40:26 His commandments, amen, amen. 40:30 And, so I took him to Acts and Colossians, 40:33 I even took him to the writings of Josephus 40:36 to let him know that everything that 40:39 touches you, touches God. 40:41 Everything that concerns you, concerns God. 40:47 And so the Hebrew mind as Dr. Blanco said last night, 40:51 puts first things first. And Paul is saying 40:55 lets not fight over doubtful things. 40:58 Let us not even in these last days major in minors, 41:04 because there is a work to be done. 41:06 And let me say this, let's keep our guns trained 41:09 on the real enemy, amen. Your enemy is not sitting 41:16 in a seat next to you right now, 41:18 that's not your enemy. Let's keep our guns 41:22 trained on the real enemy in these last days 41:24 and fight together, amen. 41:27 Because the battle is coming, a battle is coming. 41:32 Alright, here is the argument, 41:36 that meat was offered to an idol, I'm a Christian, 41:43 that meat is unsuitable for Christian consumption, 41:49 that's argument A. Argument B, 41:56 idols don't exist, they are not real. 42:03 Somebody carves a piece of wood, 42:06 or a piece of stone, makes a statue, 42:11 puts a stake in front of it, 42:14 then it takes that steak up and sells it. 42:19 That piece of wood or block of stone 42:25 is an anemic carving, it means absolutely nothing. 42:32 I can buy that steak and eat it, 42:37 what's the problem. Those are the two camps, 42:43 and that is the focus of this particular issue. 42:48 What's the problem? It's not real, 42:53 and yet there are those who are saying 42:55 it was offered to an idol. And Paul is saying 43:00 if you got someone who really has a problem 43:05 with that, you have a moral responsibility 43:13 to conduct yourself in a way that doesn't provide a 43:21 stumbling block for that individual. 43:25 That means you are to an extent 43:30 your brother's keeper, amen. 43:34 You're responsible for your witness, 43:37 and you're responsible for those kinds of things 43:40 that you do that maybe misinterpreted by a fellow, 43:46 and as such make them stumble. 43:49 We used to have a woman in our church, 43:52 I'll name her Jean McNeil, bless her heart was a 43:54 leading in gather, you folk remember in gathering? 43:57 Amen, you don't much do that anymore, 44:00 but back in the day we did. 44:02 And she was the leading in gather 44:04 in the Emmanuel Temple Seventh-day Adventist 44:06 church in Buffalo, New York, 44:07 and where she got her money? In a bar. 44:10 In a bar, a pub, a tavern. That's where she got 44:16 her money. She would go and set up the camp, 44:18 sometimes she'd stay in there. 44:24 And she would make maybe $40, $50 a night, 44:29 and someone of the brethren said, 44:33 somebody is going to see you in that bar, 44:37 and they're going to stumble at you in that bar. 44:41 And there were those who were looking 44:44 at the financial gain and saying, 44:45 forget about the brethren, you are making money. 44:49 And you know I remember as a child 44:51 that become a big issue in the Emmanuel Temple 44:53 Seventh-day Adventist church to the extent 44:56 that a church business meeting was called. 44:59 And the brethren divided themselves into, 45:02 look at the cash, and another was saying 45:07 look at the witness. And you know 45:10 Jean McNeil said, I will stop, I won't go in 45:15 a bar anymore, because I don't want anybody 45:19 to stumble over me. And so she never went into 45:23 a bar again. But the Bible says we're wise a 45:26 serpent, harmless as a dove, she simply 45:29 pandered herself outside the bar, 45:33 and never went in, stayed outside, amen. 45:43 And so Paul is saying if your brother has an issue 45:47 and honest issue, don't do things that are going 45:51 to cause him to stumble, amen. 46:01 I've got a text, Romans chapter 12 verse 10, 46:05 the Bible says: Be kindly affectionate one to 46:10 another, with brotherly love, in honor giving 46:15 preference to one another. That's from the 46:17 New King James. King James says, 46:20 preferring one and another, so I did a little 46:22 word study on the word preference in the Greek. 46:26 Played with it a little bit last night, 46:28 the word is proegeomai. And it means to clear 46:32 the way, like a pathfinder. And so the Bible is 46:37 saying in Romans 12:10, Be kindly affectionate 46:40 to one another with brotherly love and honor, 46:44 clear the way for your brethren. 46:47 Take out the sticks and the thorns, 46:49 and those things that will make them trip, 46:51 clear the way for them. So that there is nothing 46:54 in the path that will make them fall. 46:57 Clear out the way for your brothers and sisters. 47:00 And if you see something there that would trip 47:02 them up, then clear it out. Now, here is the 47:09 inevitable question, anytime you talk about 47:15 changing your lifestyle for your brothers or 47:17 your sisters, here is the question that must be 47:21 asked. How much do I have to tap dance for you? 47:39 How many hoops do I've to go through to keep 47:44 you happy? Where is the line as respect my, 47:54 adjusting my lifestyle to make sure that you don't 47:59 stumble. Because I think you've realized in this 48:05 world, you cannot please everybody, you can't. 48:13 You can try, and try, and try, you can't do it. 48:19 There is an old joke that we used to hear in 48:20 the seminary, pastor said, I got a 100 percent 48:23 of my church working, everybody in my church 48:25 is up and working, 50% is working for me. 48:39 No one is going to get a 100 percent, 48:42 you are not going to get a 100 percent. 48:44 So where is the line? How much adjusting do 48:47 I've to do of my lifestyle to accommodate you? 48:50 To fulfill this dictum of preference. 48:53 How much do I have to tweak of my life? 48:57 And many are saying, well I'm not going to 48:58 change my life for them. I'm going to live the way 49:01 I want to live. The question then that really must 49:06 be asked and that is alluded to this particular 49:09 chapter is, how much do you love your brother 49:12 and sister. How much is their peace and safety 49:18 worth to you. How much do you care about the 49:22 person sitting in the pew next to you, 49:25 or who is looking at you on your job, 49:29 or who is living across the street from you? 49:34 How much is their soul worth to you? 49:37 Is it worth adjusting some of the things you do, 49:42 so that they can see Jesus in you? 49:46 You see that's a question that cannot be answered 49:48 in the Bible, that no preacher can answer, 49:51 that no pastor can answer; you've got to answer 49:53 that question for yourself. How much is a soul 49:58 worth? Do you know that my parents said this 50:02 last Sabbath, never fought in front of us? 50:06 Ever. I never saw my parents fight. 50:10 Did they fight? Of course they did. 50:14 But they chose when things got hot to go in 50:17 the room and close the door. Of course we would 50:20 taped to door to listen. But they never fought 50:26 in front of us. That was the decision that they 50:29 made. And even when my dad got a little hot my 50:33 mother was so British and so Canadian and so 50:36 Teflon, she would never let it get like that. 50:38 I remember one time my father said you know what, 50:41 you are getting on my nerve at the dinner table. 50:44 And my mother had an iron clad rule, 50:45 we do not argue at the dinner table. 50:48 So my dad said, you are getting on my nerve. 50:51 And my mother said Oh! that's too bad pass 50:53 the sugar. Made a decision, not gonna fight 51:02 in front of the kids. So I never saw a heated 51:04 argument, never, not one in my home, 51:10 growing up. And so the question is, 51:14 how much is a soul worth to you? 51:18 Is it worth changing of some of those things that 51:21 maybe questionable, so that those who are new 51:27 in the faith or young in the faith will not stumble 51:31 or fall. Ellen White's famous statement from 9th 51:36 volume of testimonies page 189. 51:40 If we were kind, tenderhearted, 51:46 pitiful and loving, we would see one hundred 51:52 conversions to the truth, where now we see only 51:58 one. It's a powerful statement. 52:02 And in the way condemns those of us who named 52:05 the name of Jesus, if we were kind, 52:09 tenderhearted, pitiful. We would see one hundred 52:15 conversions to the truth where now we see only 52:19 one. But I read on, next paragraph. 52:23 But those professing to be converted, 52:27 but though rather professing to be converted 52:30 we carry around with us a bundle of self that 52:38 we regard as altogether too precious to be 52:41 given up, bundle of self, these are God's people. 52:46 It is our privilege to lay this burden at the feet 52:48 of Christ. And in its place take the character and 52:53 similitude of the Savior. Our Lord is waiting for us 53:01 to do this. You can love people into the church. 53:08 Love them into the church, love them into Jesus 53:13 Christ. Let me say this, people don't join churches 53:16 anymore simply because you say we are the 53:18 remnant. We have present truth. 53:23 First of all, that's advents speak, most folk don't 53:26 know what that means. And even if they're 53:31 impressed by the doctrines of the church, 53:34 by watching 3ABN or some other entity, 53:39 when they come, you got six weeks to disciple 53:45 them in love. Six weeks. If they don't make a 53:50 friend, if nobody invites them to dinner, 53:54 if nobody shows them the love of Jesus, 53:57 if you don't put as they say pants on the gospel. 54:02 They're gonna turn around unless they're 54:11 It's love that keeps the people. Sure they love the 54:15 doctrinal premise, they love the Sabbath, 54:17 they love those things. But you know it's better 54:20 when you come to church and you got a friend to 54:22 talk to you. You got somebody to go home to 54:26 dinner with. When I was a child in the Adventist 54:29 Church I joined, I was 10 years old. 54:32 I'd go home to my non-Adventist family, 54:34 have to go through three TVs, three separate 54:37 football games. To go to my room and close the 54:39 door I envy those who would go home to Sabbath 54:42 dinner. I thought it was the most wonderful thing, 54:45 because when I came home my dad was watching 54:46 football in the living room, my sister was watching 54:48 football in the dining room. And I had to go all the 54:53 way through all of that, to get to my bedroom 54:55 and close the door. And I envied new Adventists 54:58 who grew up in an Adventist home. 55:01 And so it is society and the love of Jesus that 55:04 keeps fueling church. I've got to go quicker, 55:06 my time is slipping away, just a couple more things 55:08 and then I'm done. Paul says, lets pursue those 55:16 areas which make for peace, which make for 55:20 peace. Let's concentrate on those things that 55:26 allow us to work together. You know I heard 55:32 someone say years ago that no, Dr. Blackwell 55:35 that no meat eater would ever go to heaven. 55:39 And they say also in the Spirit of Prophecy. 55:41 Ellen White gets so much blame. 55:44 And I doubted that. One, because I never seen 55:46 it myself, and two, because that elevates meat 55:51 eating to salvation. It's making something that 55:57 is very, very important but not salvific, 56:02 part of salvation. The Bible doesn't say believe on 56:05 the Lord Jesus Christ and eat no meat, 56:08 thou shall be saved. It says believe on the Lord 56:12 Jesus Christ. Now is vegetarianism is the better 56:15 way? Of course it is. Is that what we ought to 56:18 preach, teach and ascribe to? 56:20 Of course it is. But let's not elevate to the level 56:25 of salvation, those things which are a matter 56:29 of choice and which are part of our growth 56:32 experience in the Lord. You got to start somewhere 56:37 and then grow in Jesus. Amen. Amen. 56:41 And as you grow you get victory over some of 56:43 these things as you get a clear understanding, 56:46 but let's not put a lot of weight on people who 56:49 are not prepared to carry it. That's what that 56:50 whole discourse in Acts chapter 15 when the 56:54 Jewish from council came together, 56:56 they said listen just love the Lord, 56:58 keep yourself clean and serve him. 57:01 That's the basic gospel, all the rest is common. |
Revised 2014-12-17