Participants: Charles E. Bradford
Series Code: 11HC
Program Code: 11HC000008
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00:48 Well we are looking forward to another service
00:52 to prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord 00:54 because we believe Jesus is coming soon. 00:57 We do. Amen. And we sing about it. 01:00 We pray about it. We preach the message. 01:03 And we believe it with all of our hearts 01:06 that He is coming back very, very soon. 01:10 And you know something? The world is starting to 01:12 get that message. 01:13 A hundred and some odd... fifty years ago 01:17 there was only one small group proclaiming that Christ was 01:20 coming again soon. 01:22 Now you will hear it - maybe different variations of it - 01:26 but you hear that He is coming back. 01:30 And we believe that God wants us to understand 01:33 how He's coming back, understand that He IS coming back, 01:38 that we are living in the time of the end. 01:40 He does caution us that no one knows the day nor the hour. 01:44 So if anybody's predicting that, be careful 01:48 about following that kind of teaching. 01:50 But the Bible is very clear 01:52 about the second coming of Jesus Christ. 01:55 Amen. It surely is. And it gives us the hope. 01:59 I mean, without the second coming there's really no hope, 02:01 right? Because a Creator God... He created us, 02:05 made a place for us, made a plan of salvation, 02:08 prepared a home. And without any of that 02:10 where would we go when we die? Now we have something 02:13 to look for: to live and reign and rule with our Heavenly 02:15 Father forever and ever. God is good, isn't He? 02:18 God is good all the time, right? 02:21 We had a theme song scheduled but right before we came out 02:24 here... John, you missed this. 02:26 Right before we came out maybe when Tim is through... 02:29 We'll have you say a little prayer if you would. Sure. 02:32 But instead of the theme song tonight... 02:34 Tim Parton... of course, we're so thrilled that he's here 02:36 and part of the 3ABN team, but what a lot of folk don't know 02:39 Tim also sings. So I walked over and held a microphone 02:43 and he just sang a song that just put chill bumps. 02:45 I don't know about you... but just God is good. 02:47 So, Tim, I'm going to walk over here with the mic 02:50 and maybe you could sing this song for us. 02:59 Lately I've been looking back 03:02 along this winding road 03:06 to the old familiar markers 03:10 and all the mercies I have known. 03:14 I know it may sound simple 03:18 but it's more than a cliché. 03:21 For there's no better way to tell You 03:26 than to say: 03:31 "God's been good 03:36 in my life, 03:39 and I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams 03:44 when I go to sleep each night. 03:48 And though I've had my share of hard times 03:53 I wouldn't change them if I could. 03:56 For through it all... 04:00 God's been good. " 04:05 You see, God has been my Father, 04:09 my Savior, and my Friend. 04:13 And His love was my beginning 04:17 and His love will be my end. 04:21 Now I could spend forever trying to tell You 04:27 everything He is 04:32 but the best way that I can say it 04:38 is simply this: 04:42 "God's been good 04:49 in my life, 04:52 and I feel so blessed 04:56 beyond my wildest dreams 04:59 when I go to sleep each night. 05:02 And though I've had my share of hard times 05:07 I wouldn't change them if I could. 05:12 For through it all... 05:21 God's been 05:25 good. " 05:35 Amen. Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you. 05:37 That's it right there. 05:40 That was wonderful. Thank you very much, Tim. 05:44 You blessed us. You really, really did. 05:46 Well this is a night of blessing. 05:49 We've had a day of blessing. 05:50 We had a fantastic message to start the day 05:54 by Brenda Walsh. And then Pastor Mark Finley came along 05:58 and led us into a prayer time with the Holy Spirit. 06:02 And then we heard from Pastor Charles Bradford. 06:07 Message about the good man being lost, 06:11 the bad man being saved. 06:13 Great message! 06:14 And we are looking forward. 06:15 And then Shelley Quinn in the afternoon. 06:18 Wow, Shelley! I really appreciated that. 06:20 That was a fantastic message on grace. 06:24 It really was. 06:26 I'm glad that you predicted rain because it was sun shiny 06:29 and beautiful today. He told us last night, 06:32 didn't he, if he predicted rain it'd be sunshine. 06:34 But it was clouding up about 5:30 and I thought 06:37 "Wow, I've got a few more minutes here to be right. " 06:42 You did good; you did good. 06:44 But you know so many times you predict just the opposite 06:47 of what you really want. 06:49 And the Lord couldn't have given us a better day 06:51 than He did today. It was really beautiful. 06:55 It was a day for getting dressed quickly and getting back 06:58 to the meeting. Oh, I tell you... 07:01 That was amazing. I tell you, Brother John 07:05 he made a quick trip... Should I tell them real quick? 07:10 Tell them real quick, John. You know what? Elder Bradford 07:12 was preaching such a good message and I thought: "A man 07:15 with such caliber doesn't need me to sit around and listen. 07:18 I'm going to go home and get comfortable, 07:20 take my suit off, get ready to cut my grass. 07:23 And I was sitting down listening to Elder Bradford 07:26 and about 13 minutes out he said: 07:28 "As I begin to say my final words... " 07:31 And I thought: "He's going to end before the time 07:34 and no one's there to go ahead and come to the stage 07:37 if he does. " That's right. And the Holy Spirit... 07:39 Because see John had brought him on 07:40 and it's the responsibility of the person that brings them on 07:44 to stay around... to stay around and to be the one that 07:47 wraps up. And... And I got in my car... 07:51 The Holy Spirit kicked me when I was on my couch. 07:53 Ran into my room. Jumped into my suit like a fireman. 07:58 Grabbed my belt which I thought was my tie - 08:00 yeah - and I thank the Lord we don't have any police 08:03 in Thompsonville. 08:06 Oh boy... you were somewhere between law and grace. 08:09 That's right... right! 08:11 You would have been all mixed up in Shelley's message 08:14 this afternoon I guarantee you. 08:17 Well, but you made it, and... That's right. 08:19 And it was right on time. You know, it doesn't matter: 08:23 if you're on time, you're on time. 08:25 So you did make it. 08:28 We just love our whole team here. 08:30 I said last night. People say: 'You fellows seem to like 08:33 each other. " We do! If you've ever worked somewhere 08:37 where people didn't like each other, 08:39 you know how important it is to work where they do. 08:42 And it's... It's a real blessing. 08:45 It really is a great blessing. 08:48 Well, when Jim came here... I'll tell you quickly this: 08:50 when Jim came I said: "I wonder if he'll like living in this - 08:54 he's from Dallas, you know - this little area? 08:55 The town here is 600; West Frankfort is about 9,000. 08:59 So I said: "Now what you need to do 09:01 to really fit in if you want to fit in this area - 09:03 West Frankfort Redbirds" - I said: "You need a red truck. " 09:06 I just happened to have one for sale. 09:08 I said: "You need a... you need a red pickup. " 09:11 And he bought it, literally. He bought what I said 09:13 and bought the truck. And now he drives around 09:15 and everybody thinks he's a local 'cause he's representing 09:18 the West Frankfort Redbirds. That's right. 09:20 And if you have a red truck around here, you're in. 09:23 People wave at you with a red truck. 09:26 I tried a white truck first. Didn't work. 09:28 Well the St. Louis Cardinals, see? 09:30 We root most of us here for the St. Louis Cardinals 09:32 plus now the West Frankfort Redbirds. 09:35 So you're in. All right. Well, if that's bein' in, I'm in! 09:41 Well, the message tonight from Elder Bradford is 09:44 "We Are Identified. " 09:47 And he needs no introduction. 09:51 He's been the president of the North American Division. 09:54 Preached all over this country. 09:57 Almost everybody here has listened to Elder Bradford 10:01 and I'm sure a great number of you out there 10:04 watching by television and listening by radio 10:07 have heard him preach before. 10:10 But he is a man of God 10:13 and we are so happy that he is here and is our speaker tonight. 10:19 John, would you lead us in prayer before Reggie and Ladye 10:22 come? Reggie and Ladye... what are they going to sing for us, 10:25 Danny? I think it's He Lifts Me Up. OK. 10:28 You Raise Me Up. It's a beautiful song, incredible song. 10:32 All right. And they do only what Reggie and Ladye can do 10:35 with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 10:37 You know we'll be blessed. Right. OK. Well let's pray. 10:40 Gracious Father in heaven, we just heard 10:42 in such wonderful and melodious tones 10:45 that God's been good. 10:48 Lord, it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. 10:51 It's not Your law; it's not Your rebuke. 10:57 But Father we stand back in the midst of all of those 11:00 necessities and see that truly it is the goodness of God. 11:03 Tonight, Lord, we invite Your Holy Spirit 11:06 to continue to tabernacle with us 11:08 for we are so in need of a constant filling from on high. 11:13 And we pray tonight as Elder Bradford comes 11:16 and speaks from the Word that You will fill him again. 11:18 Lord, we know that experience is a great teacher, 11:23 but a man who has walked with God throughout his ministry 11:26 has come to be the vessel through which You bless us. 11:29 And do not disappoint, Lord. 11:31 And in the process of him blessing us, bless him also. 11:35 Also, anoint Reggie and Ladye Love as they sing this song 11:38 tonight about Jesus, and may we be raised up into His presence. 11:41 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. 12:11 When I am down 12:14 and, oh my soul so weary; 12:18 When troubles come 12:22 and my heart burdened be; 12:27 Then, I am still 12:32 and wait here in the silence, 12:36 Until you come 12:39 and sit awhile with me. 12:44 You raise me up, so I 12:50 can stand on mountains; 12:54 You raise me up, 12:57 to walk on stormy seas; 13:02 and I am strong, 13:07 when I am on your shoulders; 13:13 You raise me up... 13:17 to more than I can be. 13:39 Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh. 13:55 You raise me up, 13:59 so I can stand on mountains; 14:03 You raise me up, 14:06 to walk on stormy seas; 14:11 And I... I am strong, 14:15 when I am on your shoulders; 14:21 You raise me up... 14:23 to more than I can be. 14:32 There is no life - 14:36 no life without its hunger; 14:41 Each restless heart 14:44 beats so imperfectly; 14:49 But then you come 14:52 and I am filled with wonder, 14:58 Sometimes, I think 15:00 I glimpse eternity. 15:05 You raise me up, 15:08 so I can stand on mountains; 15:13 You raise me up, 15:17 to walk on stormy seas; 15:21 And I am strong, 15:24 when I am on your shoulders; 15:31 You raise me up... 15:35 to more than I can be. 15:41 You raise me up... 15:48 to more than I can 15:57 be. 16:09 Amen. 16:21 A blessed Sabbath to you. 16:24 Amen. 16:25 All twenty-four hours. Amen. 16:29 And we'll not break any one of those hours. 16:33 We want to be in close communion with our Savior 16:38 over this weekend and especially on the sacred hours. 16:44 We are here by God's grace. Amen. 16:47 He has certainly protected and guided us. 16:51 The old preachers used to say when they looked over 16:54 an audience like yours... 16:56 They would say: "We see no visible signs 17:00 of God's displeasure here. " 17:03 No visible signs. All of you looking well and healthy. 17:08 Attentive, and ready to worship your Lord and study His Word. 17:16 We Are Identified. 17:18 We can't hide it. 17:21 The apostle Peter tried to hide it one day, didn't he? 17:25 He used the language of the street, 17:30 but nobody believed it because his speech betrayed him. 17:36 This message... this last message 17:39 for a dying world, as we use the phrase... 17:42 does something to a person 17:45 which distinguishes her or him. 17:51 It distinguishes a person. 17:55 Uh, you even learn a new lingo, don't you? 17:59 Since I've been in this truth - 18:02 only the redeemed know what that means, you know? - 18:06 and when we're called to witness for Christ 18:11 those words that we have studied together 18:14 come alive to us, and the Holy Spirit brings them 18:19 to our lips. And we speak what we have seen. 18:25 We testify what we have heard. 18:29 Now we're still talking about God's end-time people. 18:34 They appear on time. 18:39 God has set these... what do we call them? 18:46 We spoke about it today. 18:48 Periods of time... dispensations. 18:51 He has set these dispensations. 18:54 He has marked time off. 19:00 He shows us that one period leads to another. 19:06 Then comes the final time in which we live. 19:10 So we are not really hidden. 19:13 We're here. 19:15 We have not put up any false signs on our churches. 19:20 We have not denied who we are... I hope. 19:25 We have endeavored to let our light shine. 19:29 We are a people zealous of good works. 19:35 We're trying to do something to lift humanity. 19:40 We're doing our best. 19:43 And what did Paul say? Paul said, 19:47 II Timothy 2:19 he said: 19:51 "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure. " 19:58 Aren't you happy you're standing on solid ground? 20:01 Amen. 20:03 Great friend of mine lost his dear wife. 20:06 She stepped off a bus and a truck ran over her. 20:09 Prime of life. 20:12 I called him to bring a little comfort. 20:15 One knows not really what to say. 20:19 And he helped me out. He picked it up. He said: 20:21 "Brad, I tell you: it is tough... a dark time. " 20:25 But he said: "I remember one of those stories 20:27 from Shakespeare or someone over in Europe, 20:29 one of those writers in England who had a man 20:34 falling in a big pond. 20:37 And he was missing for a little bit. 20:40 And then up he came, you know, spouting and coughing 20:45 and saying: 'I have touched bottom and it's solid! ' " 20:51 And so we have touched bottom; it's solid. 20:54 Oh yes, this message is solid! 20:57 Amen. Philadelphia lawyers can't find anything wrong with it. 21:02 Amen. It has been vetted as we say. 21:06 It has been examined; it has been sought out. 21:09 Our pioneers toiled upward in the night. 21:13 Sometimes they disagreed. 21:16 Sometimes they studied all night 21:19 and they prayed, and in the morning light broke through. 21:24 Plank after plank was laid in the foundation. 21:30 Now don't you move a block. 21:32 Don't you stir a pin. 21:34 Let the foundation stand. 21:37 Having the seal... the Lord knoweth them that are His. 21:42 "And let everyone that names the name of Christ 21:46 depart from iniquity. " 21:48 Talking about identifying... identification of a people. 21:54 Well you know, over in Revelation 21:56 we have something that adds to our identity. 22:00 The 7th chapter of Revelation 22:03 where the brethren preach all the time. And it says: 22:06 "And I saw after these things four angels standing on 22:09 the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of strife 22:14 that the wind should not blow on the earth 22:17 nor on the sea nor on any tree. 22:19 And I saw another angel ascending from the East 22:23 having the seal of the living God. 22:26 And he cried with a loud voice 22:29 to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth 22:32 and the sea saying: 'Hurt not the earth 22:35 neither the sea nor the trees 22:37 till we have sealed the servants of our God 22:42 in their foreheads. ' " 22:44 A sealing message, isn't it? 22:46 And by the way, Ellen White said something about 22:51 that sealing message. I tried to jot that down. 22:55 She said: "This seal is a settling in to the truth. " 23:01 Amen. 23:03 I read it: "Just as soon as the people of God 23:07 are sealed in their foreheads... " 23:10 Then a little parentheses, it is not any seal or mark 23:16 that can be seen 23:18 but a settling in to the truth 23:22 both intellectually and spiritually 23:25 so they cannot be moved. Amen! 23:30 And she says: "Just as soon as God's people 23:33 are sealed and prepared for the shaking it will come. 23:38 Indeed it has already begun. 23:41 The judgments of God are now upon the land 23:45 to give us warning that we may know what is coming. " 23:50 Now we are distinctive. 23:54 We can't hide it. 23:56 We can't lose our identity with the crowd 24:01 in the hoi poi of the crowd of people around us. 24:06 We can't help but stand out. 24:08 You're on a job, aren't you? 24:11 Everybody's cussing and swearing, hmmm? 24:14 All kinds of things are going on there. 24:18 I had a brother-in-law, he's passed away now, 24:21 He worked... he was really in a labor union way back. 24:28 And it was one of those tough ones. 24:31 Card carriers... bad boys. 24:35 There he was, the only little Seventh-day Adventist 24:38 around there. He was little but he weighed about 240 lbs. 24:42 And so they noticed he was different. 24:45 So they came to the meeting one night. 24:46 They were electing officers. Now this something... 24:50 Don't tell the brethren about this. 24:51 He... he stood there and some of them grabbed him 24:55 and said: "You're the only... " 24:59 They gave him another word, you know, little adjectives 25:03 to it... "You're the only one in the bunch that 25:05 we can trust. Here, you be the president of our union. " 25:10 I don't know the rest of it. I can't tell you all of it. 25:13 You can put your own end to it if you want to. 25:16 But the point I'm trying to make is that they looked at the man 25:20 and they saw something in him. Amen. 25:22 They saw that he was different. 25:24 Distinctive. Now you know what Peter calls it. 25:28 Peter said something about us. People like to grin about it 25:31 and laugh and make fun of us and say: 25:34 "Yes, you are a peculiar people. " And Peter said 25:37 something like this. He said: 25:39 "You're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 25:41 a holy nation, a peculiar people 25:44 that you should show forth the praises of Him who 25:47 hath called you out of darkness into the marvelous light. " 25:50 Now peculiar doesn't mean queer and strange. 25:57 Uh, someone gave me a little word from Martin Marty. 26:01 He's a great church theologian up there in Chicago... 26:05 University of Chicago. And he says... this is what Marty says. 26:08 He's writing a foreword in a book written by 26:11 an Adventist author. 26:13 So Dr. Marty, the greatest of historians in his class, 26:16 he writes and he says about Adventists: 26:19 "Peculiar means distinctive. " Amen! 26:23 That's one of our, you know... not enemies, 26:26 but one of our friendly critics. 26:28 "And Adventists certainly are that. " 26:31 He says: "Peculiar also means unusual... 26:36 maybe eccentric or odd, and most outsiders 26:40 to Adventism looking in from their own margins 26:44 have classified it and do classify 26:48 peculiar in that sense. " 26:50 Difference... there is a difference. 26:54 And Elder Gilley and I were just talking about this 26:58 word I am trying to speak here tonight. 27:01 We... I said to him: 27:03 "They claim we don't know who Adventists are. 27:05 We don't know anything about you. " 27:08 Now let me give you a little test. 27:11 No, I'm not going to tell you to do this. 27:13 But if you make a big mistake 27:17 and you are found eating a huge pork chop, 27:21 your neighbor will say: "Oh, I didn't think you ate that! " 27:25 But he doesn't know you. 27:27 Don't let him fool you. 27:30 He's watching you all the time. 27:32 Watching you all the time. 27:34 Now of course we all believe that the most notable mark 27:38 of distinction on us as a people 27:43 is the Sabbath. The Sabbath keeps us in sync. 27:49 I learn all these words from my children 27:52 and young people. Keeps us in sync with God. 27:58 I heard an old evangelist say years ago 28:02 that God is a great symphony conductor. 28:06 And He conducts His universe 28:11 on 6/7 time. 28:14 Now I don't know if there's really any such time 28:17 by musicians, but I'm going to tell you musicians something 28:20 here tonight: God does have a time with which He directs 28:24 the universe and that time, I say, is 6/7 time. 28:29 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, rest. 28:37 Huh? I'll say it again: 28:39 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, rest. 28:44 And so I'm happy... I don't want to talk too loud. 28:48 You know, people tell me "Brother Bradford, 28:49 you preach too loud. " Well I want to get it down 28:52 a little bit... another two or three decibels. 28:56 But I'm happy... I'm so happy 28:59 to be a part of a people who are in sync with God 29:03 and who know 6/7 time. Amen! 29:07 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, rest. 29:11 And doesn't that keep us marching to the drum 29:14 of another drummer up yonder? He keeps us in time. 29:21 Well, Ellen White says, and by the way, I'll read the text. 29:24 I'll read the text first. 29:26 Ellen White... After this text I'll read Ellen White. 29:29 But the text is Ezekiel 20. 29:35 That's great stuff in Ezekiel 20 and in verse 12. 29:39 Also 20:20 also. 29:41 He says... Ezekiel: "Moreover also 29:45 I gave them My Sabbaths 29:49 to be a sign between Me and them 29:52 that they might know 29:55 that I am the Lord that sanctifies them. " 29:58 Amen. 29:59 It's the way He knows us and the way we know Him 30:03 is the Sabbath. 30:04 Then he goes on to say, this man Ezekiel goes on to say: 30:08 "And hallow My Sabbaths. " 30:11 "Hallow My Sabbaths... " this is verse 20. 30:15 And verse 20 goes on and it says: 30:17 "Hallow My Sabbaths and they shall be a sign 30:20 between Me and you 30:22 that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. " Amen! 30:27 So it's a common sign between us and Him. 30:30 It identifies us. 30:33 As a little tyke living in New Rochelle, New York, 30:38 my father was a pastor at the church there 30:41 back in the 30's, 30:44 I was a little tyke 30:46 and our friend, the minister, lived next door. 30:50 When he wanted to kid me a little bit, 30:55 he wanted to make a little fun of me, he said: 30:57 "You are keeping Saturday and you think it's Sunday. " 31:04 Now I remember this. This is many, many years ago. 31:07 And I said: "No! " You know how a little Adventist kid is. 31:10 He said: "No. " I said: "No, you are keeping 31:13 Sunday and think it's the Sabbath. " 31:17 He said: "Well young man... " 31:20 He got on me then, you know. I was a little too impudent 31:22 for him, and I challenged him even more. 31:25 I said: "You show me in the Bible. " 31:27 He said: "I can show you in the Bible... " 31:29 but he never has. 31:33 Now here... this is what I wanted to read from Sr. White. 31:36 She says: "I saw that the holy Sabbath 31:42 is and will be the separating wall between the true Israel 31:47 of God and unbelievers 31:50 and that the Sabbath is the great question 31:55 to unite the hearts of God's dear children. " 31:58 Waiting saints. "I saw that God had children 32:05 who do not keep the Sabbath. 32:09 They have not rejected the light upon it 32:12 and at the commencement 32:16 of the time of trouble 32:19 we were filled with the Holy Ghost 32:22 as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. " 32:28 I have latched onto that word 32:32 because we are on the eve of a great time of trouble. 32:38 We've already had our little times of trouble. 32:41 We're getting ready for the great fourth-quarter 32:45 time of trouble. 32:47 And we must proclaim, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 32:53 more fully 32:55 this great gem that God has given us so freely 33:01 for our own benefit and for our identification. 33:06 So please, ma'am, sir, 33:08 don't do one thing to hide this Sabbath. 33:13 Of course, you have to be discreet. 33:15 I was up at Graysville the other day. 33:18 Graysville, Tennessee. 33:19 Graysville had a sanitarium, a little mountain sanitarium. 33:24 Had a little school there. 33:26 It preceded Southern Adventist University. 33:30 Ellen White used to visit Graysville. 33:32 Read the Testimonies, you can hear her say 33:34 "We were at Graysville. " 33:36 But at Graysville we had some early Adventists there 33:41 who believed in proclaiming the Sabbath. 33:43 In fact, when the blue laws were passed 33:47 and they said "no working on Sunday" 33:50 some of our people were so defiant 33:53 they went out and started washing, hanging up clothes, 33:56 and working in the garden on Sunday. 33:59 And do you know? Several of their young men were arrested 34:03 and put in prison. 34:05 Now they may have been a little, you know, 34:08 they might not have been as "cool" as you are, 34:12 but nobody can argue when people keep the Sabbath 34:18 with their whole heart. 34:20 Ellen White had to say to them: "Now, be careful. 34:22 You don't want to work too much on Sunday. 34:25 You give Bible studies then... that's the work you do. 34:28 And visit the churches... preach for the churches. " 34:31 I love to preach in the churches of my brethren 34:34 in other denominations. 34:37 And you know? They treat me fine sometimes. 34:39 They even give me a gift at times. 34:42 When I preach I don't refuse it. 34:44 I don't want to insult them. 34:45 I accept it and put it in the Sabbath School. 34:49 But at any rate, we have something here. 34:52 It will stand fast. 34:54 And if we lose that distinctive mark, 34:59 we will be confused. 35:02 And I started to tell you: the angels won't know you 35:05 when they come back 35:07 because the seal will not be fully upon you. 35:11 It's a settling into the truth. 35:13 It's a complete dependence upon our Lord Jesus Christ. 35:19 You know we are often confused with Mormons? 35:22 I'm not mad at Mormons. 35:25 I'm so happy that I've grown up a little bit. 35:29 You should have seen me 40 years ago. 35:34 I was a tyrant on everybody. 35:36 I tell you, brethren, I put that Word of God on them, 35:41 I burned them. 35:42 I talked about 'em bad. 35:45 I was zealous... without knowledge. 35:52 But we are often mixed up with Jehovah's Witnesses 35:56 and Mormons. 35:58 I had a gentleman friend and his wife in Springhill 36:01 where we retired... Springhill, Florida. 36:04 We studied the Bible together. 36:06 We went out for walks together. 36:08 And I forced him, I almost took him by the collar 36:12 and brought him to our church two or three times. 36:14 He enjoyed it. 36:15 He was there. He had studied for the priesthood and so forth 36:18 and so on. And after all my study with this man 36:22 he was: "Oh, yes. You're the Mormons, aren't you? " 36:25 "The Jehovah's Witnesses? " 36:27 Once or twice I got mad with him. 36:29 And I said: "I can't do that. " 36:32 And so I had to mask my, you know... "ignorance. " 36:37 And we continued to be friends. Do you know 36:41 that gentleman and his wife I believe were preparing 36:45 for joining this church because everybody treated them so nice 36:50 but they both died within a month of each other. 36:53 That's only in the Lord's hands. 36:56 And now here I want to ask you... I want to look... 37:01 I want you to look with me and help me here. 37:04 Uh, surveys that our people do... 37:07 We have people doing surveys. 37:10 Now I was in the North American Division. 37:13 I had to work with all these very brilliant people. 37:16 And they were brilliant! Fine people. 37:20 They wanted to know how the public... what the public 37:23 thinks of us. 37:25 Uh, what do you call these things in politics? Polls. 37:30 They took a poll, 37:32 and only a small percentage of people 37:36 even admitted they had heard the name Seventh-day Adventist. 37:43 Now, don't let 'em fool you. 37:46 Don't let 'em fool you. 37:48 They may know more than they let you know 37:51 and in a certain time they may bring it out. 37:54 So I don't believe all these surveys. 37:57 Generally speaking, when the Seventh-day Adventist movement 38:02 was growing up in New England - 38:05 hmmm, up in New England - 38:07 and people were studying and coming together 38:11 and they were rejoicing in the light that came to them 38:15 through the Word of God, the religious establishment - 38:19 they were up there with Harvard and Yale 38:21 and all those great universities - 38:24 and they ignored us. 38:26 Paid us no attention, generally speaking. 38:32 But Ellen White said - listen to this: 38:35 "Our people have been regarded as too insignificant 38:40 to be worthy of notice... " 38:43 Well hear what Sr. White says: 38:46 "but a change will come. " 38:48 Did you hear what I said? 38:50 "A change will come. The Christian world is now 38:55 making movements which will necessarily bring 38:59 commandment-keeping people into prominence. " 39:02 Testimonies volume 5 page 546. 39:07 Well, go on back to Isaiah. 39:10 We always have to go back to Isaiah, the gospel prophet. 39:13 And Isaiah says in the 66th chapter 39:16 and verse 8 he says: 39:18 "Who hath heard such a thing? 39:21 Who hath seen such things? 39:24 Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day 39:27 or shall a nation be born at once? 39:30 For as soon as Zion travails 39:34 she brought forth her children. " 39:37 When we are ready... I'm talking a little earthly talk now... 39:42 when we are ready for the main bout, 39:46 when we are ready for our international debut, 39:51 the Lord will set it up Himself. 39:58 He says in Romans 9:28: 40:01 "He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness. " 40:07 Because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 40:11 I wrote a little book some years ago called Sabbath Roots: 40:16 the African Connection 40:19 taking off on Ellen White's statements in Great Controversy 40:22 page 63 and 577 about the Sabbath in Africa. 40:26 Well, it was circulated around. 40:28 We sent 6,000 copies of it to African pastors. 40:31 And it was on display at one of the big theological conventions. 40:37 And people passed by, and we had an Adventist table there. 40:42 And my book was there on the table there. 40:46 And one young theologian looked at it and said: 40:48 "I'm interested in that. " 40:50 And so they hooked me up with this young man 40:53 on the Internet. You see, you are laughing. 40:57 I must rebuke you. 41:00 You laughed at me when I talked about being computer elite. 41:06 You laughed at me. 41:08 "Oh, that old man doesn't know anything. " 41:10 And you're just about right. But anyway... 41:13 Anyway, they put me on e-mail with this young man 41:17 and we e-mailed back and forth. 41:21 One Friday he e-mailed me and said: 41:24 "Do Seventh-day Adventists use e-mail on Sabbath? " 41:27 Well that was just a little bit... 41:31 After while this scholar said: 41:34 "I am a Sabbath keeper. " Amen! 41:39 He's at the great theological seminary. 41:42 He wrote a book on New Testament survey 41:47 and it sold 400,000 copies. 41:52 His name is related to some of the greatest scholars 41:56 in the world. He's a little humble fellow. 41:59 He's not boasting about anything. 42:02 He's a prayerful person. 42:04 He has a little tinge of charismatic stuff in him 42:08 but he said: "Yes, I am a Sabbath keeper. " 42:12 I said: "How can you do that? 42:13 How can you say that? " 42:15 He said: "It's in the Bible, isn't it? " 42:19 Now you don't know... I heard somebody say 42:25 "I have 7,000 who have not bowed their knees to Baal. " 42:31 And you don't know and I don't know. 42:34 And Ellen White said: "Let no man attempt 42:37 to number Israel. " 42:40 She said: "The only thing you need is a heart of flesh 42:43 that will reach out and cry over the people 42:46 who don't know this truth yet. " 42:50 Who have heard such a thing? He can do it in a day. 42:53 He'll do it in a moment. 42:56 He said: "I will cut it short in righteousness. " 43:00 Now, we cry. We are not well known, 43:03 but you know God can make you well known overnight, can't He? 43:08 And by the way, it may be that He doesn't want us 43:11 to be too well known right now. 43:15 Hidden a little bit, you know? 43:18 But when the time comes... 43:20 The rabbis had a statement that they used to make. 43:26 "If Israel kept the whole law for one day, 43:30 Messiah would come. " 43:34 If Israel kept the whole law for one day. 43:37 I want to call your attention now to Israel 43:41 as they came out of captivity. 43:44 They were in captivity... You know, 43:47 it was pre- and post. Pre-captivity, 43:51 pre-exile, Israel was aping the world. 43:56 They wanted to do everything their neighbors did 43:59 in the nations around them. They wanted a king, didn't they? 44:02 Huh? They wanted to be just like them. 44:06 And when they came to see Hezekiah, what'd he do? 44:09 He showed them everything he had in his house to impress them. 44:13 They came back and took it, too. Didn't they? Later. 44:16 But there they were before the exile. 44:19 They wanted to be just like the heathen nations around them. 44:23 Now they were there 70 years, 44:26 and when they came out, you would think they would be cured. 44:30 They were in a certain sense. 44:32 But they swung the pendulum from one extreme to the other. 44:37 I had an old preacher that used to tell me: 44:40 "Son, stay in the middle of the stream. 44:44 Avoid the extreme. " 44:47 And when they got back to Israel, they settled down. 44:53 The prophet said: "Woe to you who are settled on your leas. " 45:00 They were in the message like we are, huh? 45:03 They were enjoying themselves. 45:06 They had good Sabbath School lessons. 45:09 They had preachers. They had music and organs 45:12 and all the rest of that but they were settled down. 45:16 They were enjoying everything. 45:19 They didn't want anything to disturb their smooth and 45:24 calm sailing on the sea of life. 45:28 Am I preaching to you right now? 45:30 Are you listening to what I have to say? 45:32 They had their televisions. They had their fine homes. 45:36 They had nice furniture. 45:38 And by the way, when you accept this message 45:41 the Lord does bless you also financially. 45:43 I'm going to deny that you were hurt all that bad. 45:47 When you came in, you may have had a little something 45:50 but the Lord blessed what you had terrifically. 45:54 And when you teach a person to render his tithe 45:58 you know you make that person a financier. 46:03 He begins... she begins to take better care of the 9/10, huh? 46:08 And the Lord multiples that. And I've never 46:12 seen the righteous forsaken 46:15 or seen begging bread. 46:18 I told you that we came through the greatest of depressions 46:21 and the Lord blessed us and we never missed a meal. 46:27 My father retired early because of illness. 46:31 He was a sick man. 46:32 He tried to preach and he couldn't finish it hardly. 46:35 We had to take and put him in the bed and all of that. 46:37 So the brethren said: "Bro. Bradford, take time off. 46:40 We'll put you on sick retirement. " 46:42 And we moved into a little country place 46:44 up in New Jersey called Mizpah, New Jersey. 46:48 We got a little house there 46:49 and my dad and mother were there with us. 46:53 And the grandchildren came along 46:55 and we just had a marvelous time. 46:57 But we didn't know a thing about the country. 46:59 We didn't even have a stove. 47:01 We came out of the city of Philadelphia. 47:04 Who has wood stoves in Philadelphia? 47:06 Or a coal stove? We didn't have a thing that we needed 47:09 and we had no garden yet. We moved down there 47:12 but we had nothing at all. And my poor little dad 47:15 he had very little money because the brethren didn't send him 47:18 money on time. It got mixed up some kind of way... the check. 47:22 And there we were having fear and trembling. 47:26 But we didn't need to have fear and trembling. 47:29 We were destitute... hardly had a dime. 47:32 My dear little mother went to the grocery and said: 47:35 "Please, sir, give us a little, you know, credit. " 47:39 He said: "Well, lady, madam, " he says: 47:42 "people who have bills can't pay them. " 47:45 But do you know, before mom got out of that store 47:48 he said: "Madam, come back. 47:50 I'm going to give you five dollars a week. " 47:52 Now you think that's nothing, but $5 a week in the 1930's 47:56 could feed a while army almost, you know, in those days. 48:01 And then a man came and knocked at our door. 48:03 He said: "I notice you've just come here from the big city. 48:06 and I don't want to embarrass you or insult you. " 48:09 But he said "I have a stove that I won't need any more. 48:12 You can take it. " And then another one - 48:16 just like Job in reverse, one came after the other. 48:18 Another one came and he said: "You know what? 48:20 I have a garden and I've got to go back to the city. 48:23 I will not be able to harvest that garden. 48:25 Would you take care of it? It'll all be yours. " 48:27 Are you listening to me out there? 48:29 I've never seen the righteous forsaken. 48:31 And then after that another right away. 48:33 My brother and my sister older than I 48:35 could drive the car, and so they drove. 48:37 Sometimes they only had a teaspoonful of gas and it would 48:40 keep it going on fumes, you know. And there they were 48:42 working, picking tomatoes and so forth and so on in south Jersey. 48:46 And one day coming back from their work 48:49 they saw a laundry bag in the middle of the road. 48:54 What is it? They jumped out and looked at it. 48:58 When they untied it, it was a bag full of bread. 49:03 Not one loaf of white bread... 49:06 all rye, whole wheat, 49:12 etc. And none of it had any cover on it. 49:17 It was bread that... "bread shall be given you 49:21 and your water shall be sure. " 49:23 We never lost a meal. Amen. 49:28 I began my ministry in a very poor poor conference 49:32 in a poor poor time. They were struggling along. 49:36 Hard to pay the workers. 49:38 I don't know how me made it. 49:40 My poor little wife could make something out of nothing. 49:43 She would get in there and stir and stir. 49:46 And when she got through and put it on the plate 49:48 you would have thought I was in the greatest restaurant 49:51 in New York City. 49:53 Never seen the righteous forsaken 49:55 nor seen begging bread. 49:58 Now these people after the captivity 50:02 they just settled down. 50:04 Now I wrote a little note to myself 50:06 and I said, writing this note to myself 50:08 that they came back from Babylon 50:11 but they still had the smell of Babylon in their garments. 50:16 Like cigarette smoke. You can't get rid of it, can you? 50:19 You just need a new garment, don't you friend? 50:21 We're often, my friends, trembling and weeping and crying 50:26 about hard times. But I can tell you, my friend, 50:29 I can tell you that the Lord has proved Himself 50:32 over and over again to be sufficient for all our needs. 50:36 Amen. 50:38 You can worry about something else but don't worry about God 50:41 taking care of you. 50:43 Well, in the book of Malachi... What book did I say? 50:47 In the book of Malachi 50:50 the Lord is speaking to these people. 50:53 They came back; He's speaking to them. 50:55 He's having a conversation with them. 50:58 They're talking to God. 51:00 And you know what they're saying in this conversation? 51:02 They're saying to Him: "Oh Lord, 51:04 we're back here, but does it pay to serve God? " 51:10 Now is that an echo? 51:15 Some of us say: "It doesn't make much difference. " 51:19 Do you know there is a different spirit in the church today? 51:23 There is not so much great opposition to truth. 51:28 Nobody's fighting. I don't think no one, 51:30 but most are not fighting a heavy theological battle. 51:34 They're not fighting and getting mad 51:36 and pulling out guns and all the rest of that. 51:38 But what's happening today? They just don't care. 51:42 All right, I'm talking to you. 51:44 If you're listening, give me your ear. 51:46 Amen. They don't care. They don't have enough 51:49 to fight against anything that happens. 51:52 They've got what they want almost and they don't need 51:56 to get into it. And most say 51:57 "I don't like to rock the boat. " 51:59 They don't want to be into any theological controversies. 52:02 Dr. Fritz Guy out there told me 52:06 or he said in a meeting and I picked it up. 52:08 He said: "Some years ago when college students 52:11 would leave the message they would leave angry. 52:14 They would leave the church altogether, 52:17 and they many of them never belonged to any 52:21 religious organization and some denied the existence of God. " 52:28 But he said: "Today 52:29 these same students... they leave the church 52:32 but they're not angry with anybody. 52:34 And they go and join another church. " 52:37 I don't want to say the wrong thing; don't want to be mean 52:40 but I want to be truthful. 52:42 One of our dear brothers who was a fine - we thought - 52:47 young man in ministry. He said: "Well I've been looking 52:49 at the Catholic church. I think I can go join there too. " 52:52 He never fought; he never got mad or anything. 52:56 And I see here something in Israel's post-exilic experience 53:02 after they came from captivity 53:04 I see here how that they grew LAZY. 53:12 Doing nothing. Oh I'm so sorry that I must preach here 53:18 tonight. The Lord is loosening my tongue 53:22 so I can speak tonight. 53:25 You are encouraging me because you believe what I am saying. 53:29 But in so many of our churches as Sr. White used to say 53:33 they are coming and going just like a door on its hinges. 53:38 They're not giving any real thought to it. 53:40 If they do go to church 53:41 they are just there and looking and not paying much attention. 53:45 Thinking about the ball game 53:48 or work or my romantic escapades or whatever. 53:54 All of that comes to them. And they are polite 53:56 and all the rest of that but you know: 53:58 I heard an old Baptist preacher preach a sermon. 54:01 He said: "When the eagle stirs her nest. " 54:05 The little eaglets are there. They're just eating... 54:08 taking it down. And finally mama eagle says: 54:12 "time for you to get out of here. " 54:13 And so she stirs the nest. 54:16 She takes up a little eaglet and throws it out! 54:18 You've heard about it, haven't you? 54:20 Throws that little eaglet out and it's scrambling. 54:23 And as they come to... she will scoop them up. 54:26 But finally they will learn how to fly. 54:29 Somebody needs to get in our churches 54:32 and let the eagle stir the nest. 54:35 And some of us need to be thrown out on our own. 54:37 Some of us need to face hard times and trials 54:41 and be driven to our knees and we'll say: 54:43 "Oh Lord, help me! " 54:45 And He said: "I've been waiting to hear you say that 54:47 all your life. " Amen. 54:49 Now I hope that's not too hard. 54:51 I don't want to be difficult with people 54:54 but these are the last days 54:57 and we are God's end-time people. 55:01 And so we go over to Revelation, and by the way 55:04 in Malachi the people said: 55:06 "Well does it pay to serve God? " 55:08 He said: "Our neighbors don't think about God and they're 55:12 blessed... we think. " 55:14 Read it. Go through that and read it carefully: 55:18 the conversation between God and His people. 55:21 And some of them said: "Well, they don't have any 55:24 problems like we have. 55:26 They are doing OK. They are paying no attention to God 55:30 but it seems as if everything is OK with them. " 55:34 But now I call you to attention. 55:37 You, Seventh-day Adventist member, 55:41 are God's boots on the ground. 55:44 Nobody heard what I said. 55:47 God's boots on the ground. 55:51 He puts you there as sentry. 55:54 He puts you there as a foot soldier. 55:57 He puts you there in the Army, the Air Force, or the Marines 56:00 or the Navy. He put you there and He gave you an armor. 56:04 Paul said put the whole armor on. 56:07 This is no play time. 56:09 This is no time for prolonged infancy. 56:12 That's what he says in Ephesians. 56:13 You shouldn't be babies all your life. 56:16 We should grow in grace! 56:19 Daddy used to... Daddy... Oh, I'm through here already. 56:22 Daddy... Daddy... Listen, let me say this very quickly. 56:26 Daddy used to take his son and mark him on the wall. 56:29 You did that, Daddy, as your son grew. 56:30 He's growing and growing. Finally the son turned to Daddy 56:34 and he said: "Daddy, how much have you grown? " 56:38 Huh? How much have you grown? 56:41 So I am examining my life today. 56:44 How much have I grown? 56:47 And finally, I am off now but you are here. 56:51 Finally the young artist decided 56:57 as his graduation project 57:01 to paint a picture of Jesus. 57:06 The old master said: "Go ahead. " 57:09 Finally the young man said: "I'm through. " 57:11 The old master took the picture that he'd painted 57:14 and studied it. Seemed nice to everybody. 57:17 He studied it. The next morning the young artist 57:21 said to the old master: "How did you like it? " 57:24 He said, listen to me, he said: 57:28 "If you loved Him more, you would have painted Him better. " 57:33 So I say to you here today 57:38 and tonight: "If I loved Him more 57:42 I would have modeled Him better. " |
Revised 2014-12-17