Participants: Charles E. Bradford
Series Code: 11HC
Program Code: 11HC000006
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00:48 Hello and welcome to Thompsonville, Illinois:
00:51 the biggest little city in the world. 00:54 That's one of my favorite sayings because God has 00:56 chosen this venue to be the place where He sends 01:00 the good news of the gospel into every corner of the world. 01:03 Welcome to also our Fall Camp Meeting here at 3ABN. 01:07 And if you're in the driving vicinity of southern Illinois 01:10 we invite you to come and join us for a spiritual time 01:13 that has been so uplifting we are drawn closer 01:16 into the presence of the Lord. Can you all say "Amen" to that? 01:19 Amen. And the Lord has not disappointed us. 01:22 This morning Pastor Mark Finley challenged us and re-educated us 01:26 and appealed to us to know and understand the power 01:29 of the Spirit of God in our lives. 01:31 But our speaker of the hour is Elder Charles E. Bradford. 01:35 When you think of experience and you think of being prepared 01:39 and you think of a person who has been under the tutelage of 01:42 the Spirit of God for many decades 01:45 the name Elder Charles Bradford comes to mind. 01:48 A man of the Word, a man of experience, 01:51 a man who God has used 01:53 to bring hope and strength and direction to thousands 01:56 of lives. And this morning his message is going to be 01:59 Good Man Lost; Bad Man Saved. 02:04 Something that only God can do. 02:06 Before we introduce him I would like to invite you 02:08 to bow your heads with me as we go to the Lord in prayer. 02:12 Our gracious Father in heaven, what a blessing it is to 02:15 know that today that there are those who are on both sides 02:19 of the page. Some who know You; 02:21 others who are yet to meet You. 02:24 And we do pray that through Your manservant, 02:26 Elder Charles Bradford, You'll bring the message home 02:30 and find the intended soil that the seed may be planted 02:33 and lives may be nourished to eternal life. 02:37 So attend this service, Father, 02:38 that Your name may be honored and glorified. 02:41 In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 02:44 Just before Elder Bradford comes 02:46 I have chosen to share a song I believe that encapsulates 02:50 the title of the sermon: Good Man Lost; Bad Man Saved. 02:54 The difference is because of our wonderful and our merciful 02:58 Savior. 03:12 Wonderful, merciful Savior, 03:18 precious Redeemer and Friend. 03:24 Who would have thought that a Lamb could 03:31 rescue the souls of man? 03:36 Oh, You rescued the souls 03:40 of man. 03:47 Counselor, Comforter, Keeper, 03:53 Spirit we long to embrace. 03:59 You offer hope when our hearts have 04:06 hopelessly lost our way. 04:11 Oh, we've hopelessly lost 04:15 our way. 04:18 You are the One that we praise, 04:25 You are the One we adore. 04:31 You give the healing and grace our 04:37 hearts always hunger for. 04:42 Oh, our hearts always hunger 04:47 for. 04:50 You are the One that I praise, 04:56 You are the One I adore. 05:02 You give the healing and grace my 05:09 heart always hungers for. 05:14 Oh, my heart always 05:17 hungers for. 05:25 Almighty Infinite Father, 05:31 faithfully loving Your own. 05:37 Here in our weakness 05:40 You find us 05:43 falling before Your throne. 05:48 Oh, we're falling before 05:53 Your throne. 05:56 You are the One that we praise, 06:03 You are the One we adore. 06:09 You give the healing and grace our 06:15 hearts always hunger for. 06:20 Oh, our hearts always hunger 06:25 for. 06:28 You are the One that we praise, 06:34 You are the One we adore. 06:40 You give the healing and grace our 06:46 hearts always hunger for. 06:52 Oh, our hearts always hunger 06:56 for. 07:07 Amen. 07:16 I find so much to commend here. 07:20 Everything is in such good shape. 07:25 They plan their work and they work their plan. 07:30 And look at our beautiful mirage... or something... 07:34 you call it like that? No, what is it called then? 07:36 I don't know what you call that. 07:38 Mural! That's the word. 07:40 Look at the beautiful mural. Means something. 07:42 Everything is meaningful 07:44 not just decorative. 07:47 My mother had a little saying for me. 07:49 She said when I was not doing very much whiling away the time, 07:53 fooling around you know, she would say to me: 07:56 "Make yourself more than decorative. " 08:02 And when mother said that you knew she meant get to work. 08:06 So I hope we are here today not just to be decorative 08:11 but to be instrumental in the hands of God. 08:15 I said I'd try to talk on 08:18 Good Man Lost and the Bad Man Saved, 08:22 but I have to refer to the wonderful instruction 08:28 we received from Pastor Finley on the Holy Spirit. 08:31 And he is right. I want to charge you when you go back home 08:37 get up a little conversation with your brethren and sisters 08:43 on the Holy Spirit. 08:45 You remember what it says in Malachi 3:16? 08:49 "Then they that feared the Lord... 08:52 they spake often to one another. " 08:55 Not about politics, baseball, football, all the rest. 08:59 They spoke to each other and the Lord heard it. 09:05 In fact, the Message Bible says that 09:08 "He called for a book and told them to write the minutes. " 09:14 And we need to go back and ask our people 09:16 as Elder Finley has suggested. Go back and say to them: 09:20 "Let's talk about the Holy Spirit. " 09:23 "Let's study the Holy Spirit. " 09:25 Assign each other... you don't have to wait for the preacher. 09:28 Nobody said "Amen" so I don't know. 09:34 You don't have to wait for the preacher. 09:36 The Lord has equipped you and you need to get in... 09:41 Take your 3ABN experience 09:46 and share it 09:48 but really focus on the Holy Spirit. 09:54 I have a preacher friend - he just has gone to sleep in Jesus 09:59 a bit ago - but he said all of his life, even when he 10:02 went through college, he didn't understand the working 10:05 of the Holy Spirit. But it came to him one day 10:09 and he said after that his ministry 10:12 was dramatically improved. 10:15 So I'm happy for that good instruction we had 10:19 on the Holy Spirit. Christ... C-H-R-I-S-T... 10:23 you see how he did it? Beautiful. 10:26 And I should have told Dr. Finley that 10:28 this Bible I have here was given to me 10:32 by his predecessor at It Is Written: George Vandeman. 10:37 George gave me a Bible. 10:39 In fact, he gave me two of these Bibles. 10:41 He forgot he gave me the first one 10:43 and he gave me the second one, so... 10:45 But unfortunately, the one that he signed I gave it away 10:50 to somebody. And I feel it keenly 10:54 that I don't have his signature in this Bible. 10:58 Now let's read. 11:02 That's what Adventist preachers must do. 11:06 We don't want to hear all about your experiences travelling. 11:13 I have too much humor that comes to me. 11:16 I have to resist it sometime, you know. 11:20 Kind of the devil... you resist the devil. 11:22 But I have to tell you this one, you know. 11:27 We have a certain group of Adventists, 11:31 a certain communion or community of Adventists, 11:35 in California... northern California. 11:37 Some of you may know where it is. Has a Biblical name 11:40 and all of that. And they have big Camp Meetings 11:42 like you have here. And the missionaries come back 11:45 from overseas and they tell all the stories. 11:48 And there's a heavy German group there. 11:51 Wonderful people. And this dear brother came 11:55 and he was telling one story after another. 11:58 "I rode over here, and I saw this big Taj Mahal. 12:02 And I looked at this one over... and the beautiful waters 12:06 of the Pacific" and so forth. 12:07 And one old dear German brother got up and said: 12:10 "Too much 'vind', brother... too much 'vind'. " 12:13 What he meant: get to the Word of God... 12:16 so that's what I'm going to do right now. 12:18 I'm going to the gospel according to St. Luke. 12:25 And Bro. Finley and I did not get together on this, 12:29 but we've been talking about end time: 12:31 God's end-time people. 12:34 I don't know... Something said to him... 12:36 Once or twice here I started to jump up and say 12:39 "Bro. Finley, you're taking my texts! " 12:43 That's another one that comes to me. I shouldn't say it 12:46 but I've got to say it. They had a Camp Meeting... 12:48 You know, we used to have Camp Meetings and the preacher 12:50 all day long. And this brother had the preacher last Sabbath 12:54 and they were just preaching his sermon. 12:55 Everybody was taking his sermon. 12:57 He was getting ready to preach on John, and another man said: 13:00 "And John... " And he couldn't take it any longer. 13:02 He stood up and said: "Brother, you're taking my texts! " 13:04 He said: "Sit down. There are a whole lot more 13:07 in the Word of God. " 13:10 So I forgive Bro. Finley for taking my text. 13:15 But here it is: 18th chapter of Luke 13:19 verse 9: "And He spake this parable 13:25 unto certain which trusted... " You know, this is 13:29 some kind of a text here. 13:31 Oh Jesus, my Jesus... He knew how to teach. 13:34 Here's a parable about certain people who 13:40 trusted in themselves. 13:42 You don't want to read this one too fast. 13:46 Let it roll over a little bit. 13:48 "that they were righteous. " 13:53 Now you may not leave here so happy with old Bro. Brad today. 13:58 You may have made a mistake to invite me to come here. 14:03 I'm praying that the Lord will help me. 14:05 That's why I try to lighten you up a little bit 14:08 with a bit of you know... whatever. 14:12 I'm going to start it again: "Then He spake a parable... " 14:16 Jesus... "unto certain which trusted in themselves... " 14:22 I can see them going to... Wait, just keep on. 14:24 "that they were righteous and despised others. 14:28 Two men went up to the temple to pray. 14:32 One... a Pharisee. 14:36 The other... a publican. 14:38 The Pharisee stood... " - hear it now, 14:42 every word is important - 14:44 "and prayed thus with himself... " 14:48 That's pretty good, huh? He prayed with himself. 14:50 " 'God I thank Thee 14:53 that I am not as other men are - 14:56 extortioners, unjust, adulterers... 15:00 even this publican. I fast twice a week. 15:05 I give tithes of all I possess. ' 15:07 And the publican, standing afar off, 15:14 would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven 15:19 but smote upon his breast saying: 15:23 'God be merciful to me, a sinner. ' 15:26 I tell you, this man went down to his house 15:32 justified rather than the other 15:36 for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased 15:42 and he that humbleth himself 15:45 shall be exalted. " 15:48 Father God, oh my Savior, 15:54 Jesus, how wonderful is Your teachings. 15:59 Your words are penetrating. 16:03 Every phrase is enlightening 16:07 as You tell the gospel story. 16:10 Please give us some insight here 16:14 through the Holy Spirit to grasp the truth 16:18 that here lies... uncovered now... so that we may 16:24 be given wisdom to know how 16:28 to go out and to come in. 16:31 Forgive our sins in Jesus' name, Amen. 16:37 Bad man... poor man. 16:41 Well, we like to label people anyway, don't we? 16:44 But it's Jesus' label here that counts. 16:50 The good man comes to the house of God. 16:55 You can tell he's been there before. 16:58 He may even have a pew that he owns. 17:02 And you'd better not sit in that pew, either. 17:06 Not a little short fellow like I am. 17:10 Tall, stately... his robes impressive. 17:15 Now I went to Christ's Object Lessons. 17:19 I told you I was in the computer now. 17:22 So I went to my computer, got Sr. White out, 17:26 and I read all this stuff and I copied it down. 17:29 And now let's... you're going to put a little test on me. 17:33 You're going to test me to see if I got it right. 17:36 So here we are... the Pharisee and the publican. 17:40 They go to the temple, and this big man 17:43 who has been there before wraps his robes around him. 17:47 By the way, the Jews had a prosperity gospel. 17:51 If you're rich, you must be good. 17:54 All the little poor people... kick them away. 17:57 Give them a few crumbs. 17:59 A bone? Throw it at them. 18:01 But we're all impressed with a big rich man. 18:05 I think that has followed on through down until our day. 18:09 Let me get off of that now because 18:11 I will be in trouble with the brethren somewhere else. 18:14 My other brethren... my outside brethren. 18:17 But the Pharisee comes with... Sr. White says... 18:21 he comes walking like it. 18:24 Looking like it; talking like it. 18:28 People: get out of his way... he's holy! 18:31 He's got robes on, hasn't he? 18:34 And they probably drove him up in his carriage. 18:38 And his driver... I just talked to the driver here today... 18:44 you all's driver... his driver drove him up 18:47 and helped him out of the carriage 18:49 and helped him to get to his place. 18:51 And there he stands and he prays. 18:53 "Oh, Lord... " He told the Lord all about it. 18:58 "Oh, Lord... " he said. He said: "I am a good man. 19:02 I help people. 19:04 I do good things. " 19:07 He had a wonderful missionary report to give on Sabbath 19:10 morning, didn't he? 19:12 You don't know anything about those old days 19:15 when they would say: "what did you do this week? " 19:19 "Ah, how many people did you help? " 19:22 That's good. There's nothing wrong with that. 19:24 You didn't initiate that... the people asked you that. 19:28 But he himself... he's the man 19:30 who would almost ask someone to request 19:34 that he should give a solo. 19:37 Please have Dr. so and so - I mean Bro. so and so - 19:41 to sing today. "I thank you, Lord, " he said 19:44 "I'm not like these other men. " 19:47 And the poor little publican... 19:50 I feel sorry for him, don't you? 19:53 He hadn't been to church since he was a little boy 19:56 in Sabbath School. 19:58 In fact, he grew up living by his wits. 20:03 He was a gambler first. 20:06 Then he got a job down at city hall. 20:09 Then he became a hustler. 20:11 I don't mean to use the wrong words... 20:14 He became whatever it was they do... he became that 20:16 and people hated him. 20:19 Everybody hates a tax collector. 20:23 And in the present-day mood of people 20:28 I would get another job. Wouldn't you? 20:31 Than tax collector. 20:34 Terrible man; awful man. 20:37 Bad man, huh? 20:39 I said bad man... terrible man. 20:42 People hated him; children ran away from him. 20:46 But I can imagine as the old preachers that I used to 20:49 listen to many years ago would say 20:51 "I imagined in my mind... " 20:53 I can think of how he began to feel unnecessary. 21:00 He couldn't sleep at night. 21:02 Something was wrong. 21:04 Bro. Finley, the Holy Ghost was on him. 21:06 Come on now and say "Amen" for me. 21:08 Amen. I didn't ask you to say "Amen, " I asked Elder Finley 21:11 to say "Amen. " 21:13 The Holy Spirit was on him. 21:15 He'll bring you conviction. 21:19 And he couldn't take it any longer. 21:22 His wife had been telling him for years: 21:24 "Why don't you go to temple with me some time? 21:27 Mary's husband goes with her. 21:31 How come you can't go with me? " 21:34 "Ah, " he said "I don't have time. I've got to go to 21:37 city hall. I've got to collect these taxes here. 21:39 These people are getting away with it. " By the way, 21:41 the Romans empowered them to take the taxes 21:44 but they had the power to levy on you a little extra. 21:48 That's how they lived. 21:52 And so the poor little man finally... 21:55 I could tell you the long story of it. 21:57 I would imagine a lot of stuff on this. 21:59 I don't think there's anything wrong but it's just my 22:02 imagination, not the Holy Spirit. But 22:05 I can imagine that he had been told: 22:08 "Why don't you go see your shrink? 22:12 People that have these problems, they can straighten you out. 22:17 After all, they have degrees in their profession 22:21 and they can help you. You've got a little mess in your head. 22:26 He can get it out. " No help. 22:29 Even the medical doctor couldn't get him... no help. 22:33 Nobody gave him help, so finally he got up one morning 22:36 and he couldn't take it any longer. 22:41 He said: "Oh, Lord, what shall I do? " 22:43 His wife said: "I've been trying to tell you what to do. " 22:46 He said: "I'm going today... 22:48 I'm going to the temple today to pray. " 22:51 So he's gotta have prayer, doesn't he? Huh? 22:54 He hasn't prayed in years. 22:57 His wife did all his praying. 23:00 So he had to get a prayer. 23:03 Now down South where I used to preach you would have 23:07 gotten a prayer like this: "Oh, Lord, 23:09 here we come this morning. Oh, Lord. " 23:12 You know how they prayed. "And I got, Lord, and here 23:15 we come and You know where we are. Oh, Lord. " 23:17 He had it all ready like Deacon so and so prayed. 23:21 He said that thing all the way to himself 23:24 to the temple. He said it over and over again. 23:26 And he gets in there and sees this big man 23:29 and he hears him pray his gorgeous prayer. 23:34 Baritone voice. 23:37 And he says: "Lord, I'm glad I'm not like that fellow 23:43 that just come in. " And his feathers fell. 23:48 He forgot uncle's prayer. 23:52 He didn't know what to say. 23:54 He wouldn't even go any closer; He didn't feel worthy 23:58 to come into the sight of the people of God. 24:01 He didn't have any idea that it would turn out like this. 24:07 "What's happening? " he says. "I come to pray and look what 24:11 happens. I don't know what to say... I feel so bad. " 24:16 As Ellen White said he didn't find anything in himself... 24:21 I got all of this out of Christ's Object Lessons. 24:23 He couldn't find anything in himself to commend to God. 24:28 Any by the way, that's not a bad place to be, is it friend? 24:34 Nothing in my hand I bring... 24:39 simply to Thy cross I cling. 24:43 And he cried out in his despair: "Oh, Lord, 24:46 have mercy on me, a sinner. " 24:50 And what did Jesus say? 24:53 The good man went down unjustified. 24:59 The bad man went down 25:03 saved by grace. Amen. 25:08 Good man? Lost. Bad man? Saved! 25:14 Now I'm getting a little more 25:19 audacity here today. 25:22 I'm getting a little tough here today. 25:28 I'm getting beside myself here today. 25:31 I don't know what's the matter with me here today. 25:33 I almost called this a sermon 25:37 for Adventists... 25:42 and other sinners. 25:48 And it speaks to my heart. It says to me 25:52 as He said here: "He that humbleth himself 25:56 shall be exalted. " 25:59 Now this is the toughest sermon really on a preacher. 26:05 Preacher has a hard time with this 26:09 because he spends his life talking about goodness. 26:15 He spends his life talking about all these wonderful things 26:19 of God. And every Sabbath 26:26 he stands at the door... shakes your hand. 26:32 And you have been trained by Grandma 26:35 to say something nice to the preacher. 26:38 "Oh, preacher, I've been blessed today. " 26:42 "You're such a wonderful preacher. " 26:44 And he goes home, and he has to struggle with himself 26:48 not to believe all of that. 26:50 In fact, one preacher - when they would commend him 26:55 a little too much and say "you had a wonderful sermon" - 26:57 he said: "The devil told me that already. " 27:05 "He that humbleth himself... " 27:08 I had a friend who was proud of his humility. 27:13 You didn't catch that one. 27:16 Proud... "I'm so proud, Lord, that I'm humble. " 27:21 But it's for us... it IS for us. 27:25 We are here, my brother and sister, with the greatest 27:29 message in the world's history. 27:33 I want to be a little careful because I'm not supposed to 27:36 preach like I used to in those old, feisty days. 27:40 But when you think about us, it's almost like... 27:43 it's almost like Muhammad Ali. 27:46 My wife Ethel and I were in Louisville the other day 27:49 preaching in Muhammad Ali's city. 27:51 And I thought about what he used to say. 27:54 Muhammad said: "It's hard to be humble 27:59 when you're as good as I am. " 28:02 And I feel that way sometimes. 28:06 When I go to preach this message 28:08 I've got it. The brethren taught me. 28:13 I can stand up against any of them. 28:15 If we had a debate, they wouldn't have a chance 28:20 against us Adventist preachers. 28:22 We know what's going to be said before they say it. 28:25 We've got it all prepared. It's hard to be humble 28:30 when you've got a message like we have. 28:33 But we, the people of God - the end-time people of God - 28:38 must come to the place where we say: "Not I, but Christ... " 28:43 Amen. 28:45 "Be honored, loved, exalted. Not I, but Christ 28:49 be seen, be heard, be felt. 28:53 Christ, only Christ. " 28:56 If we as a people 28:59 would learn that lesson of humility, 29:03 then God could trust us with more of the Holy Spirit. 29:10 And I... you and I... 29:13 must come to the place where we realize 29:18 that we, with all our message and truth, 29:23 are not the only ones in Christ. 29:30 Hmmm? 29:32 Now this one I didn't get. I want to go back 29:34 and pick this up. I just saw it. 29:36 It says... Christ's Object Lessons, 150. 29:39 You've got to get... you've got to read Christ's Object Lessons. 29:42 Ellen White wrote that to raise funds for our schools... 29:47 our educational work. 29:50 She is talking about us now: 29:53 "He's full of self-praise. 29:55 He looks it; he walks it. 29:59 He prays it... 30:02 drawing apart from others as if to say: 30:04 'Come not near me for I am holier than thou. ' 30:08 He stands and prays with himself. 30:11 Wholly satisfied, he thinks that God and men 30:15 regard him with the same complacency. " 30:20 So I've got to be careful. It really is difficult. 30:25 And don't we have a message to preach to the world? 30:29 We are light... here I'm boasting almost again. 30:33 We are light years ahead of anyone else. 30:37 But I thank God that there are some who are 30:40 somewhat catching up with us. 30:43 I heard Billy Graham's daughter 30:47 the other day speaking about the end times. 30:54 I almost started to say: "Listen, that's our message 30:56 you're preaching. " 30:59 And she gave it clearly, brethren and sisters... 31:03 and convincingly. 31:06 And I have got to realize - 31:09 this is what I really came here to tell you today - 31:12 all the other is prelude. 31:14 All the other comes before. 31:17 This is what I really came to tell you today. 31:20 I read it... Ellen White gave it to us. 31:24 I read it, and this is what I want to give you. 31:28 She says that there are... 31:32 I want to get this next one here... 31:35 She says that: 31:38 "The Lord has jewels in every church. " 31:45 That's why I prayed so hard 31:48 before bringing this message to you. 31:53 "Jewels in all the churches 31:57 and it is not for us to make 32:01 sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world. " 32:05 Amen. So the Lord sat me down, said: 32:08 "Bro. Bradford, sit down. Charles, sit down. 32:11 Let me tell you I have sheep that are not of this fold. " 32:15 Somebody ought to say "Amen. " Amen. 32:19 "I have sheep that are not of this fold. " 32:23 Listen to this... Now that's Bible Commentary vol. 4, 1184. 32:29 Listen to this one: "The Lord has His representatives in 32:33 all the churches. " Amen. 32:38 "These persons have not had the special testing truths 32:42 for these last days presented to them 32:45 under circumstances that brought conviction 32:48 to heart and mind. Therefore, 32:51 they have not by rejecting light severed their connection 32:55 with God. " God didn't throw them away! 33:00 We lived in New York, my dear wife, next to a family 33:06 two maiden ladies up in age and their brother who was a 33:12 octogenarian like myself. 33:14 But every morning you could rise 33:18 by their driving their old 1939 Dodge 33:24 out of the garage. 33:26 They were going to Mass. 33:30 And some Sabbaths I may have been a little late 33:33 to Sabbath School, huh? 33:36 But they never were late. We stayed there 5 years, 33:42 and every day they were there. 33:46 Oh, yes, we tried to give them Bible studies. 33:48 Yes, we tried to witness. 33:50 Yes, we talked about the Sabbath and all of that. 33:52 I don't know... we'll have to leave that with God. 33:57 And our evangelist friends can tell you - especially 34:00 in the old days when Billy Graham and others were great, 34:04 you know, in their great crusades. 34:06 Some people would say: "What about Billy Graham? 34:09 You think he's right? " 34:11 I said: "Not my business. " 34:14 Hmmm? All right, now. 34:16 It's not my business... I am not a judge. 34:21 Of course, I am a fruit inspector... 34:27 but not a judge. 34:28 I don't know who is. She says: "Among the Catholics 34:32 there are many who are most conscientious Christians 34:35 and who walk in all the light that shines upon them. 34:38 And God will work in their behalf. " 34:40 That's why you have 3ABN. 34:43 Amen. 34:45 Reaching out to all these people. 34:48 Then she goes on to say in the 18th chapter 34:51 of the Revelation: "The people of God are called upon 34:54 to come out of Babylon. 34:56 According to this scripture, many of God's people 34:58 must still be in Babylon. " This is Ellen White now talking. 35:01 I got this from Great Controversy, 383: 35:04 "And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the 35:10 followers of Christ now to be found? 35:13 Without doubt in the various churches professing 35:19 the Protestant faith. " 35:21 I remember now... Kids don't pay much attention to their parents 35:25 as much as they should. But my dad was an evangelist, 35:29 and old-time one with his charts and all of that. 35:32 But I remember now that Papa would always say 35:36 in his tent meetings - his evangelistic meetings - 35:39 he would say: "Christian friends. " 35:41 Ninety percent of the people there were not Seventh-day 35:44 Adventists, but Pop had enough sense to say 35:47 "Christian friends. " 35:49 He would always say it: "Christian friends, 35:52 I want the Lord to help me to be able to say 35:56 with a straight face to anyone: Baptist, Methodist, 35:59 Catholic, Presbyterian, 36:02 Apostolic Christian friends. 36:05 Anyone that names the name of Christ 36:09 I ought to accept as a brother, a sister. " 36:14 And then she goes on to say: 36:18 "Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness and alienation 36:24 from God that exists in the churches which constitute 36:28 Babylon, the great body of Christ's true followers 36:34 are still to be found in their communion. " 36:40 And so I want to come down off my high horse. 36:47 I want to be able to have fellowship with people 36:51 who love Jesus but don't know what I know. 36:55 And I have to take the attitude 36:58 that I am their servant! 37:01 I am not here to tell them they're wrong and I'm right. 37:07 I'm here to let my light shine. 37:14 Now here's another one I received from Christ's Object 37:19 Lessons... no, this is Great Controversy once again. 37:24 "There is nothing so offensive to God 37:30 or is so dangerous to the human soul as pride 37:35 and self-sufficiency. " 37:37 Now actually I'm just preaching this to myself... 37:40 you can listen in. 37:43 I'm just talking to Bro. Bradford here. 37:45 He says to Bro. Bradford: "Bro. Bradford, 37:48 son, Charles, 37:51 there is nothing so offensive to God 37:55 or so dangerous to the human soul 37:58 as pride and self-sufficiency. 38:01 Of all sins it is the most hopeless... 38:08 the most incurable. " 38:13 I tremble... I tremble when I think that I 38:18 could be smitten with a little tincture of pride 38:23 and look at my neighbors - hmmm? - 38:29 little, pathetic people. They don't know what it's all about. 38:33 We know God. 38:36 We understand; we have the third angel's message. 38:39 I do believe we have it, 38:42 and I believe I'm willing to die for the message. 38:47 But bless your heart, brothers and sisters, 38:50 if I do so... if I preach it with pride in myself, 38:56 then I am no more than a sounding brass 39:01 or a tinkling cymbal. 39:05 Don't you think we, the people of God, 39:08 ought to take God's message seriously? 39:12 Examine ourselves? 39:15 Do I have this problem? 39:19 Am I looking down 39:25 on neighbor and friend? 39:29 Am I rearing myself up... 39:34 self up to lofty heights 39:36 and look down on all these other people? 39:39 And then I am chagrined when I think about my Savior 39:45 who went to a wedding - Huh? - 39:50 and just drank a little wine with them. 39:53 I know it was all right what He did, what He drank. 39:57 I think of Him as getting a time of fellowship 40:03 with Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 40:06 What a Savior He must have been! 40:08 And the preacher said today: "Wouldn't it be wonderful 40:10 if He could come in here today? " 40:13 Well, I feel that He's here now! 40:15 Amen. And he said the same thing "by His Spirit. " 40:18 He said: "Where two or three of you are gathered 40:21 in My name, that's where I am! " 40:25 And I want you to help me a little bit, pray for me. 40:28 Right now I have been for several years 40:33 doing my own intensive study 40:38 on what the church really is. 40:42 What is the church? 40:45 I don't want to cause any stir. 40:49 I want to be very careful in my speech. 40:54 My demeanor, even... the way I give it. 40:58 But let me tell you, my friends, the only definition 41:02 that Jesus ever gave of the church 41:05 is when He told His disciples in Caesarea-Philippi 41:09 "upon this rock I build My church 41:12 and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. " 41:15 He goes on to tell them finally in the next two chapters 41:18 that "I tell you... " In one of the versions said 41:22 "Listen carefully... " 41:24 He said: "Listen carefully, I tell you 41:27 that wherever two or three of you are gathered 41:31 in My name, there I am" - 41:33 Amen - "in the midst of you. " 41:36 And so Ellen White tells us if you are worshiping in a 41:40 little church somewhere in the dale 41:43 and nobody thinks much of you, 41:46 you can look upon Jesus coming in there 41:49 and say: "This is the place we ought to be. " 41:52 Jesus is there. Every time, He's there! 41:55 Now I've got a little new light for you. 41:58 Because the brethren get on me when I get a little new light, 42:02 you know. You heard about new light? 42:06 I've got to watch that new light. 42:08 But I have some new light here today... new light. 42:11 I noticed when I say that everybody woke up. 42:13 That's wonderful... I'll do that all the time now. 42:17 New light... new light. Well, you remember 42:20 Jesus said: "Where two or three are" What? "Gathered in My name 42:23 I'm there. " He didn't say "I come late. " 42:27 "I'll straggle in between Sabbath School 42:29 and 11 o'clock. " "I'm there! " 42:31 I'm getting a little sassy now, so don't get angry with me. 42:35 But... and Sabbath School is it. 42:38 If you're a Seventh-day Adventist, you've got to be 42:41 in Sabbath School. Amen! 42:43 And I'm talking to the preacher and everybody else. 42:46 Whoo, I'm getting a little tough here today. 42:49 I'm going to get in trouble. 42:50 But even though I haven't finished up my sermon 42:56 I don't need to sit and study and finish it up. 42:58 Now go to Sabbath School, and the Lord'll give you something 43:01 better. Come on, now. Amen! 43:03 Sabbath School 43:05 is where they spake often one to another! 43:09 That's what happens in Sabbath School. 43:12 I was in Sabbath School a couple weeks ago; great Sabbath School. 43:15 They put us in class, and we all talked together. 43:18 And you know, they stimulated me and I had to do a little bit 43:21 of talking. Said: "Oh, wait a minute; I'm supposed to preach. 43:23 I don't need to get in... you know to. " But 43:25 let the people talk, brethren. Have the people to speak 43:29 one to another. 43:32 And by the way, when you call together a group of people 43:36 and give them the opportunity to talk, 43:38 you'll find out you're not the smartest one anyway. 43:44 You need it. Sabbath School... 2 or 3. 43:47 But I'm going back now to my new light. 43:49 My new light is this: you know 43:52 on that day He's risen but they're in an upper room. 43:58 They're commiserating with each other. 44:01 "Oh it's a terrible day... our Savior's in the tomb. 44:05 Terrible, terrible. " 44:06 A little bit earlier in that day there were a couple of men, 44:09 Cleopas was one, I don't know if we have the other man's name, 44:11 but they were walking along the road to Emmaus 44:14 and oh, they were so terribly down in the mouth as it were. 44:20 "Our Savior's gone. We thought, we trusted in God 44:25 that He would deliver us. Now He's gone. 44:27 What shall we do? " It was an awful time for them... 44:29 a terrible time... and they didn't even recognize 44:33 the man... a stranger from Galilee... 44:36 as He joined them as they walked along. 44:39 And they couldn't pay attention to Him for weeping and crying 44:43 and commiserating. And finally 44:46 He had to tell them a few things from the Word. 44:49 He went back to Moses and all the prophets. 44:52 Spoke about the Savior to come. They still didn't get it. 44:55 And then finally they said: "Let's go to this little inn 44:57 here, little place to get something to eat. " 45:00 And He took some bread 45:03 and broke it as only He can. 45:04 "Ah, it's Jesus! " Well, He'd been with them all the time, 45:07 hadn't He? "Where two or... " What? 45:09 "three are gathered in My name I'm there. " 45:12 And so the brethren - big apostles - they're in the 45:16 upper room. They're weeping; they're crying. 45:18 They don't know what's going to happen. And finally 45:21 somebody said: "There's a fellow in here; we don't know him. " 45:25 And He stood up and it was Jesus! 45:27 Now my preaching prior to my new light was 45:30 that they all got settled down and then Jesus came 45:34 and came on through the wall, you know, 45:36 and came in with them. I've got new light for you: 45:39 He was already there. He walked in with them. 45:42 In all their afflictions He was afflicted. 45:44 He never left them. 45:46 When they went into the building Jesus was... 45:48 They didn't see Him, but He came in with them. 45:51 "Where two or three are... " What? 45:52 "gathered in My name. " 45:54 So I've got these last few words. 45:57 I've got a word to leave with you to think about. 46:01 Something to think about. 46:03 Entitlement. 46:07 Entitlement. Make a mental notation of that, folks. 46:12 It doesn't belong to you. 46:16 It doesn't belong to me. 46:19 It doesn't belong because my family's been here 46:21 for thirty years, hmmm? 46:24 Doesn't belong to me because I graduated from the Seminary 46:28 with whatever they give up there. 46:30 Doesn't matter how many people you baptized. 46:35 Doesn't matter how much tithe you paid. 46:39 The one that comes in the last hour of the last day 46:44 will receive the same pay as you. 46:48 You ought to say "Amen" to that. 46:50 This is the driest church I ever preached to over here. 46:52 No it isn't, either. I'm just trying to stir you up... 46:54 that's all I'm doing. 46:56 There's no such thing as entitlement... 46:59 doesn't to me. It's His. 47:03 I don't care if you paid $1,000 on one pew. 47:08 It's not yours. 47:11 And the second one I have is self-sufficient. 47:16 Self-sufficiency. 47:18 Self-sufficiency. 47:21 I have no sufficiency in myself. 47:25 And after... I think I was baptized about... 47:31 I guess about almost eighty years ago. 47:34 I was nine when I was baptized. 47:37 I've been serving Him all these years. 47:39 Now life for me ain't been no crystal stair. 47:42 I've been climbing and falling and climbing and falling. 47:45 But I have this to tell you my brothers and sisters: 47:48 I've been with Him a long time and I ain't got weary yet. 47:52 Amen! I'm still trying and I'm still repenting. 47:58 And the last prayer I pray in this life will be 48:03 "God, be merciful to me, a sinner. " 48:08 No self-sufficiency here. And the last little phrase is 48:13 "let us here and now... " - 48:14 you know, as the preachers like to say sometimes - 48:17 "let the word go forth. " 48:19 Sounds, you know... real nice ring. 48:22 We must here and now... Let us here and now 48:25 declare a declaration of dependence 48:31 and not independence. 48:33 Nobody heard me but I preach on anyway. 48:36 Amen. 48:38 I go on anyhow... I must preach the Word. 48:41 I'm not worthy; I'm not independent. 48:46 I'm on that water where Peter was. 48:51 "Come to Me, " the Savior said. 48:54 The big fisherman steps out on the water. 48:58 It congeals under his feet... 49:01 becomes almost like a highway. 49:04 He's moving toward the Savior, isn't he? 49:06 Oh, he's feeling good. 49:09 Has any other man done this before? 49:13 "I'm walking on water. Look at me, John. " 49:17 "The rest of you boys, I'm walking on water. " 49:22 And you know, the preachers like to tell us that one 49:24 of those great waves came and blocked his view 49:29 of the Savior and immediately he began to sink 49:35 and cried out: "Lord, save me. " 49:40 So I stand before you today. I don't want you to... 49:44 I'd like for you to pray for me. 49:46 I'm glad. I have my limitations and I know it. 49:50 You don't need to tell me about those either. 49:53 I know it already. I've been talking to the Lord. 49:56 He showed me these things I must overcome, 50:00 but I would hope that we - you, I, all the rest of us - 50:03 would leave this place trusting God, 50:07 loving one another, and having a bonding 50:14 with all of God's people. 50:16 Now my future couple of talks I want to go to the book of 50:19 Malachi. 50:24 Sister White says Malachi was preaching 50:28 the Laodicean message in the last book of the Old Testament. 50:33 I want to talk about Malachi. 50:36 I want to give us a little sketch of how 50:41 that writing of Malachi is like a rear-view mirror... 50:45 we can see. 50:47 I want to say to you like the preachers say sometimes 50:50 it's not so much we who read the Bible 50:52 but it's the Bible who reads us. 50:54 But in Malachi I have to say the Bible sees us 51:00 and gives us the kind of instruction that we need 51:05 to meet the dangers of our time. 51:10 But here, to close off this message, oh how I love Jesus 51:14 because He first loved me. 51:19 I do not want to prevail on Him to forgive me when I haven't 51:24 confessed. I want to meet all the terms of the agreement. 51:30 You and I cannot be saved on our terms of agreement. 51:34 He is the One that gives the covenant 51:39 and I sign in to it. 51:42 But you know, I am convinced 51:46 that He is able to save to the uttermost. 51:51 Amen. And in the book of Malachi 51:53 some of them were crying and the Lord said: 51:55 "I don't like you to cover the altar with tears. " 51:59 "I don't want you to weep and moan. " 52:05 Jesus is risen, 52:09 and He is with us 52:12 even when we only have two or three gathered together. 52:19 "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. " Do you want to do that? 52:22 If I could sing, I would sing it, elder. 52:26 'Tis so sweet 52:30 to trust in Jesus, 52:34 just to take Him at His Word. 52:39 just to rest upon His promise, 52:45 just to know "thus saith the Lord. " Sing it out everybody 52:51 now: Jesus, Jesus, 52:55 how I trust Him. 52:58 how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. 53:04 Jesus, Jesus, 53:07 precious Jesus. 53:11 Oh for grace 53:14 to trust Him more. 53:17 Heavenly Father, Jesus our Savior, 53:22 Holy Spirit our Comforter, 53:25 abide with us now. Prepare our hearts for the Sabbath. 53:30 Give us peace with each other 53:33 and peace with heaven and peace within our own souls. 53:39 Help us to be able to say "Shalom, Shalom. " 53:43 Great peace have they which love Your law... 53:46 nothing shall offend them. 53:49 Forgive our sins and make us that blessing 53:52 that the world needs to see. 53:55 In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 54:00 Amen. 54:02 Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. 54:07 Can we say "Amen" again? Amen! God bless you, Elder Bradford. 54:12 You know, that song is so wonderful: 54:14 that song Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. 54:18 Oh for grace to trust Him more. 54:22 Were you blessed? Amen! 54:25 I know those of you who are watching and listening, 54:27 some on the Internet, some watching on television, 54:31 how wonderful it is. That was such a timely message. 54:34 As I was sitting down listening to that and Elder Bradford said 54:39 "I'm getting to the place where I want to become a little 54:43 bit more radical here and say that this message 54:45 is for Adventists. " 54:48 And I thought: "I wonder if he's talking to me? " 54:51 Those of you who know and understand the truth: 54:54 this is the hour to be more humble than we've ever been 54:58 before. What do you say? 54:59 This is the hour to remember that God has given us 55:03 light... not to burn other people with 55:07 but to illuminate the way to Jesus. 55:10 And I'm thankful that a person who has been proclaiming this 55:13 message with a trumpet of certainty for more than 60 years 55:18 has not forgotten that the only glory that 55:23 is ever to shine is the glory that comes as a result of 55:28 Jesus residing in our lives. 55:30 So those of you who have come this afternoon... 55:33 we have so much more Camp Meeting left. 55:36 We have messages later on in our day. 55:39 We have wonderful programs this evening. 55:42 But let me challenge you with this particular thought: 55:46 how wonderful it is to gather together on occasions like this 55:50 and remember all the lessons we've learned 55:53 at the feet of Jesus. 55:55 But how tragic it would be to learn all these lessons 55:58 at the feet of Jesus and not sit at the welcome table 56:01 with Jesus when He comes. 56:03 Getting back to the title, seems ironic: 56:06 Good Man Lost; Bad Man Saved. 56:10 Remember the words of Jesus: 56:12 "There is only One good and that is God. " 56:14 And so as we keep ourselves under the tutelage of His 56:18 Holy Spirit, as we walk on the path that still has miles 56:23 ahead of us, let's remember that it is God's grace 56:28 that will keep us, God's grace that will save us, 56:32 God's grace that will continue to guide us. 56:34 Let us pray for our preachers 56:37 on all the continents of this world and all the pulpits 56:40 of this world. Let's also pray for those sincere Christians 56:44 that love the Lord that are in various denominations 56:47 around the world that when Jesus does come 56:50 there will be one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 56:55 and one church triumphant. What do you say? Amen. 56:58 And so good man, bad man... it's really for the Lord to decide. 57:04 But as you keep your life in the hand of the Lord 57:06 remember that He and He alone can transform us 57:10 from who we were to who we can be in Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17