Participants: C.D. Brooks
Series Code: 11POFCM
Program Code: 11POFCM000017
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00:47 And what a blessing we have been having here
00:50 in these services from just hour after hour 00:54 of being together. 00:56 And I was talking to a young lady the other day 00:59 who said that she sat through three sermons. 01:03 And she said: "That's the only time in my life 01:07 I've ever sat through three sermons in a row. " 01:09 And she said she never was tired. 01:12 How many of you have sat through 4, 5, 6 sermons in one day 01:16 like Wednesday or Thursday or Friday? 01:18 You did? A lot of you. Some of you more. That's right. 01:21 It's amazing, and who would have thought it, right? 01:24 And... But how can you leave because one after another 01:26 with the speakers and the messages, all that's happening. 01:29 So I guess this really is a prelude to... 01:32 to what heaven will be like - Amen - because up there 01:34 we won't get tired and our chairs won't seem to get harder 01:37 on us and our backs won't be giving us trouble. 01:39 But even with all of that, y'all are sticking through this 01:42 and we are so thankful that you came 01:45 from around the world and America and even 01:48 someone wanted me to mention last night... They said: 01:50 "But you need to tell them specifically Alaska. 01:53 We came all the way from Alaska. " Yes. So we're glad 01:55 that you're here from Alaska, right? 01:57 OK. So we've let that be known. 01:59 And that's almost in the United States. 02:01 Alaska is. Oh wow! OK. 02:04 Well, they brought a box and it had some chocolates in it. 02:08 Says it's chocolate-covered wild berries from Alaska. 02:10 I think it's OK to eat the chocolate as long as it's 02:13 covered with good wild berries. 02:14 Yeah, some people refer to that as carob substitute. 02:19 Chocolate is a carob substitute. OK. 02:26 But we... I will get some mail on that, I can tell you that. 02:32 And we also want to thank you around the world 02:33 for your love, your prayers, financial support of 3ABN 02:37 as we endeavor to take this gospel into all the world. 02:40 I'm especially - or still - excited about our next guest. 02:44 Jim, if you would tell us - oh, yes - about our next speaker. 02:47 Yes. Pastor C.D. Brooks for years 02:50 the speaker for Breath of Life. 02:53 And he is a man that just when he stands 02:58 to present the gospel you feel the power of the Holy Spirit. 03:03 Amen. You really do. 03:05 He really needs no introduction. 03:07 He's been a vice president of the General Conference, 03:09 speaker for the Breath of Life. 03:11 He has also been a pastor, an evangelist, 03:15 and he is well known on 3ABN because he is no stranger 03:20 to us. We often have him as a speaker. 03:23 Of course for years he spoke on 3ABN from Breath of Life. 03:27 And his subject today is going to be The Sabbath. 03:31 And before he comes, Reggie and Ladye Love 03:35 are going to come and sing from the Pillars I the song - 03:39 and I think, and Yvonne - 03:41 another person that was not on my sheet here. 03:44 But Yvonne is going to join 03:46 and they're going to sing Remember the Sabbath. Amen. 07:25 Amen. 07:36 I would like to impress everyone with the fact that 07:39 this is no ordinary morning. Amen. 07:43 This is Sabbath. Amen. 07:45 The Lord's servant says Jesus draws near 07:48 to His people on the Sabbath. 07:52 Something special. And it didn't begin this morning. 07:57 If you were here last night - Amen - 08:01 as I was, as we were, 08:03 you felt the very presence of the Holy Spirit. 08:06 Amen. And I don't have a problem using the word "felt" 08:11 or "feeling. " 08:14 A long time ago in homiletics class 08:17 we were taught in presenting the message, appeal first 08:21 to the intellect then to the emotions... 08:24 and through them both to the will. 08:29 This is Sabbath morning. 08:32 The Lord is here. Amen. 08:36 And you know something? For me and my wife 08:38 it was special just to meet Reggie and Ladye Love Smith. 08:44 It's as though we've known them well because we see them 08:47 so much... but they didn't know us. 08:49 And I discovered they're just as friendly and kind 08:54 as they can be. Amen. 08:56 I've been asked to talk about this subject of The Sabbath - 09:00 The Sabbath - 09:02 and that's what I intend to do. 09:05 I call it God's sweet and precious gift. Amen. 09:10 Sweet and precious gift to His children. 09:16 And you know what, dear ones? Truth... truth is not 09:22 complicated. 09:25 It's only complicated when we don't want to believe it. 09:29 When it rubs us the wrong way. 09:35 Truth becomes a problem when we don't want to do it. 09:38 We don't want to obey the Lord. 09:44 We don't want to live it... 09:47 then it becomes complicated. 09:53 Lots of debates and arguments. 09:56 My practice in evangelism was simply to present the truth. 10:00 You do what you want to do with it. 10:02 Amen. 10:04 And I'm going to do it and I'm going to pray for you. 10:08 And if the Holy Spirit doesn't win you, you're not won anyhow. 10:11 Amen! 10:13 This word Sabbath. 10:18 There are certain basic things we've always heard 10:22 but in sort of looking around I found a new meaning. 10:26 And it says it comes from a Hebrew word 10:31 which means - essentially - STOP. 10:36 Maybe you have heard that, but I had never read that before. 10:42 STOP. Now I understand that 10:46 and I believe you do too. 10:49 I will not then try to make it complicated. 10:55 I read somewhere that wise men 10:57 have a way of making profound things simple 11:02 and foolish men have a way of making simple things profound. 11:09 So how do we approach this? By the way, 11:12 when I discovered that part 2 comes this afternoon 11:16 then I've got to be conscious of that and not encroach 11:20 because he who brings that message 11:23 is one of my favorite preachers and he makes it clear. 11:29 And so, when I thought how to begin, I thought of creation. 11:33 It seems to me that ought to work. 11:37 When I was a kid I had an older sister who was a senior 11:42 in high school. 11:44 And in that particular class, I believe it was biology, 11:50 in that particular class they had been pouring over 11:54 Darwin and Huxley and all the rest of them 12:01 having drilled into their heads as a legitimate science 12:07 the business of evolution. 12:10 And eventually examination time came. 12:16 And that sister was troubled 12:18 as she came home so serious and told us 12:22 "I know what they want 12:25 but how can I give it? " 12:31 There was one essay question on the test, 12:34 and here is what it said: 12:37 "How did this earth come into existence? " 12:45 Then there was this long sheet of blank paper 12:49 for you to take all the time you wanted 12:51 to produce a lie. 12:58 They wanted these students through intellectual 13:01 regurgitation to simply tell again 13:06 what had been told 13:10 by Darwin and others. 13:16 They wanted these high school students to account 13:20 for uncounted billions of years 13:25 as we slowly evolved to the level 13:29 where we are right now. 13:34 She said to us later she rolled it over in her mind. 13:38 She knew what she believed. She knew what they wanted. 13:42 Could she do both? 13:44 Could she handle it that way? 13:46 She pondered the question 13:49 and then she wrote a terse little gem. 13:56 Wrote it on the paper, folded it, and passed it in. 14:01 That little gem said: 14:03 "In the beginning God 14:07 created the heavens and the earth. " 14:13 The professor was furious. 14:17 Singled out my nice sister 14:22 for mockery. 14:26 The professor hurled her maledictions over the heads 14:29 of the entire senior class intending to humiliate someone 14:35 whom she thought was only trying to be smart. 14:41 There were demeaning declarations 14:43 before the entire class. 14:46 This was a test... a bit of torment. 14:49 Where do you stand now when the chips are down? 14:54 When the pressure is on? 14:58 My sister died at 89 15:04 her faith intact - Amen - 15:09 and leaving behind a tribe of Seventh-day Adventists 15:15 who believe with all their hearts 15:18 that "in the beginning God. " 15:21 I heard it last night - I read it some time ago - 15:24 that even Darwin himself had questions. 15:28 And when he came down to die he wasn't as sure 15:31 as he always appeared to be 15:34 on the subject of evolution. 15:38 I have in my files a cover story from Newsweek 15:42 on the evolution of the evolution. 15:46 They're not sure... They're not sure. 15:53 Oh, forgive this little cute story. 15:55 At least I thought it was cute. 15:57 An atheist wanted his time in court. 16:02 The day came and he showed up. 16:05 And the judge took his seat and said: "Now what exactly 16:08 is it you want us to deal with in this court? " 16:12 He said: "I want a holiday. " 16:15 "What do you mean a holiday? " He said: "Well the Jews have 16:20 theirs... Passover and all the rest of them... Purim. 16:26 The Christians have Easter and Christmas 16:29 but we atheists don't have anything. " 16:34 The judge thought about it and then pounded his gavel 16:37 and said: "Case dismissed. " 16:40 The atheist jumped up. He said: "How can you? " 16:44 "What do you mean case dismissed? You haven't even 16:46 heard the case yet. " He said: "I don't need to. " 16:49 "Why don't you? " "Because you have a holiday. " 16:52 "What is it? " "April Fools Day! " 17:04 "For the fool hath said in his heart... " 17:07 Amen! 17:11 In the beginning God created. 17:18 Now everything human has a beginning. 17:24 What an appropriate way to introduce 17:30 the Canon... the Word of God. 17:33 Talk about Him in the very first verse: 17:38 the Sovereign Lord of time. 17:42 Way back, and you can look at me and tell I've been around 17:45 a while... Way back in my history 17:49 I either read it or heard it that Jehovah 17:53 is simply a conjugation of the verb to be. 17:57 He was... He is... He shall be. 18:04 Sometimes we who believe what God has said 18:08 the way He said it are considered old-fashioned. 18:11 I like to remind people that God is old-fashioned. 18:15 There never was a time that He wasn't. That's right. 18:22 He is and He shall be. 18:28 Throughout the rolling eons of the coming future 18:32 there will be God. 18:35 There will be God. 18:37 But we cannot think about the beginning. 18:45 Jesus was there. 18:47 John 1... It says: "In the beginning was the Word" - 18:52 the Logos - "and the Word was with God 18:55 and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning 18:58 with God. " 19:01 Whatever you see was made by Him 19:03 and without Him... nothing. 19:07 Jesus was there in the beginning 19:10 and in verse 14 it tells us 19:12 this divine Logos became flesh, 19:15 incarnated, and dwelt amongst us. 19:20 He therefore qualifies to be the Author and the Finisher 19:27 of our faith. 19:29 I don't mind accepting creationism as a theory 19:33 as long as you don't try to present evolution 19:37 as empiric science. 19:39 It is not! It also is a theory... 19:43 a theory that almost lost credibility 19:48 with the man who started it all. 19:52 God is before all else. 19:56 He is the cause of all else. 20:01 He is dependent on nothing else. 20:05 We are talking about God. 20:08 There came a time in the mind of God 20:10 when He stepped out into nothing and said: 20:13 "Let there be something... " and there was! 20:17 Amen. 20:21 That's the God that I serve and believe in Him. 20:26 Have not seen Him... but I believe in Him. Amen. 20:30 Will see Him... so I believe in Him. 20:37 All other is mere speculation. 20:43 Empty, silly, idle, 20:49 thought about with high-faluting poly-syllabic, 20:53 pseudo-scientific babble. 21:01 I hope everybody here has a fixed mind on this. 21:07 But it is a fact that on some of our campuses 21:12 some are beginning to give a kind of hospitality... 21:17 They are choosing a rather dead idea - 21:23 theistic evolution - 21:26 and trying to reconcile that with the Word of God. 21:30 It cannot be done. You've got to make up your mind 21:32 what you believe - Amen! - 21:34 and why you believe it and then stick to it! 21:37 Amen! That shows character. 21:40 We call it faith. Amen. Faith. 21:45 And because of faith, that issue is settled. 21:51 Now you know of the imagery of that preaching. 21:55 I didn't read this in the Spirit of Prophecy. 22:00 But I had time to contemplate Adam being created. 22:06 And now he's finished, and God breathes into his nostrils 22:12 the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. 22:16 What happened next? 22:19 This is not inspired but it's what I thought about. 22:22 I imagine Adam opened his eyes and he is alive. 22:28 That great heart began pounding in his chest 22:31 and the blood began to flow and the brain received its oxygen 22:36 and he looks up and he asks: 22:39 "Who are you? " 22:45 "Why Adam, I am God. " 22:50 "What does that mean? " 22:54 "Adam, I want you to look at everything your eye can behold. 22:59 Everything in perfection and beauty that you see, 23:02 everything that you already appreciate, 23:06 I made it 23:08 and, Adam, I made you. " 23:14 "How long did it take? " 23:19 "Why, Adam, I've been at it for six days. " 23:23 "On the first day light... " and He goes... 23:25 "Well listen, why didn't you create me on the first day 23:28 so I could watch you do all this making 23:31 and then I would believe. " 23:35 "No, my son. You have to accept by faith. 23:40 But you know, I've been studying your circumstances. 23:44 Every bull has his cow; every boar has his sow; 23:48 but you are all by yourself. It's not good 23:52 that man should be alone. 23:54 And so I'm going to make an helpmeet, 23:57 a companion just for you. " 24:02 "That's good! Now I can watch you create her 24:05 and I can believe. " 24:07 "No. Have you ever heard, Adam, of anesthesia? 24:14 I'm going to put you to sleep 24:18 and when you wake up 24:23 the darling of your desires will be standing right there 24:29 by your side. " 24:32 "In the beginning God... " 24:36 This brief Mosaic declaration under inspiration 24:42 for my heart is enough. 24:47 I am satisfied. 24:50 And you are and millions are 24:54 satisfied with this declaration. 24:59 We accept it. Amen. 25:02 Habakkuk said "the just shall live by faith. " 25:05 Not just have faith... you've got to live by it. 25:09 Amen. 25:10 That Paul chose that as his thesis - repeating it 25:15 with power in New Testament times. 25:18 "The just shall live by faith. " Not by logic... 25:24 though faith is logical. 25:27 Not by intellectualism... though God created these brains 25:32 to think. But "the just 25:36 shall live by faith. " 25:40 And it is not required of us 25:45 that we be smarter than or as smart as God. 25:53 I don't even go there in my thinking. 25:57 God is the supreme wisdom... the supreme intellect... 26:04 and we couldn't handle it if we were allowed in 26:09 on His cogitations'. 26:14 Now that is not to encourage us not to use our brains. 26:21 Inspiration does say we only use about 10% of the brain power, 26:28 but look how smart some of us are. 26:33 But the truth is you have to have faith 26:38 in the truth. And you do that by not arrogating your own 26:44 opinions to a level where God declares... 26:48 especially to oppose Him. 26:54 Elohim... in the beginning God. A plural noun. 27:00 And in the next few verses you find plural pronouns: 27:06 Our, Us, etc. 27:10 When God started it all there was no light down here. 27:17 And God said: "Let there be light" 27:21 and then He contemplated it and announced it very good. 27:28 And it still is. 27:31 For when God declared - when God spake and it was done - 27:36 when it happened there had been no light. 27:41 I call light visible energy, 27:47 and God created it. 27:51 And so it is with the shadows fleeing away 27:55 that the shadows of ignorance can be swept away. 27:59 The shadows of dark habits, 28:01 the shadows of gloominess, 28:05 doubts, high-sounding ignorance... 28:10 when the light comes it dissipates. 28:16 No light... no life. 28:20 Light is visible energy. 28:25 I remember very well being moved to Cleveland, Ohio, 28:30 on January 2. 28:34 Nobody should move on January 2 28:39 in the north country. 28:44 But we did... 28:45 and it snowed every day for three weeks. 28:49 Now it didn't snow hard, 28:51 but there was the spitting of snow every day for 3 weeks. 28:55 I decided as a new pastor I had to be about my business 29:00 so I was running around in it. 29:02 And then one day I just felt awfully good. 29:04 So much so that I didn't understand why. 29:09 And then it dawned on me... the sun was out 29:13 and the endorphins were running. 29:16 I was affected physically before my mind 29:19 caught up with it. Light does that. 29:23 It affects the whole person... the whole man. 29:28 The sun had come out. 29:31 "Let there be light. " God spoke His will... 29:35 the universe responds. There WAS light, 29:40 and God said: "That's good. " 29:42 Now He let Adam name the various creatures 29:45 but He named day and night. 29:47 He said: "I will call the light day and the darkness I will 29:52 call night because I'm going to begin measuring time. " 29:56 And the evening and the morning were the first day. 29:59 The evening and the morning... the second day. 30:02 All the way down the line... 30:04 Not incomprehensible ages. 30:09 Not millennium following millennium 30:14 means the day, but 24-hour segments. 30:18 The evening and the morning were the day. 30:24 I read that in the far north scientists 30:30 have found the remains of luxurious tropical gardens. 30:34 What in the world? 30:37 Today there's nothing but extreme cold. 30:42 Ice and snow everywhere. 30:44 Something must have happened. 30:47 Well something did... it's called The Flood. 30:51 And that's why... Dr. Justice told me that's why every time 30:56 you buy a globe it's tilted. 30:59 Off kilter. Off perpendicular. 31:04 When that terrible tsunami struck Japan, they announced 31:08 after a day that it had been moved 8 degrees. 31:11 Now I didn't catch it all 31:13 but here the capricious act of nature 31:18 affects an entire globe. 31:24 Extreme. Eight degrees off normal. 31:29 God divided the waters and set the bounds thereof. 31:34 Of course, He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. 31:36 All of this He called good. 31:39 And while scientists today create conundrums 31:43 God did His work perfectly - 31:49 I said perfectly. Amen! 31:54 I heard quite a scientific argument not long ago. 31:58 Joshua was fighting and needed time, so God 32:02 held up the coming of evening for Joshua. 32:06 "Ah, " said the critics, "how could that be? 32:10 You can't just drop time out of time. 32:13 You've got to make it up somewhere. " 32:16 Well I read later on that there was a king 32:19 who was told he was going to die. 32:22 And God heard his prayer and extended his life 15 years. 32:26 And like most of us he wanted a sign. 32:30 So the prophet told him to go out into the yard 32:33 and look at the sundial of Ahaz. 32:35 And when you look at it, God will move the shadow 32:39 forward or backward at your discretion. 32:41 God is willing to do whatever it takes 32:44 to establish faith! Amen. 32:47 And so when he looked at it 32:49 he said: "Oh, no, no, no. Optical illusion. 32:53 If the thing moves forward, it's headed that way anyhow. 32:57 I might be fooled. I want it to go backward. " 32:59 And God moved it backward by ten degrees, 33:02 and ten degrees is about a day. 33:06 So there was the time that the critics were all upset about. 33:12 God gave it right back in the days of Hezekiah. 33:18 Day six: land animals... 33:21 created to reproduce after their kind. 33:27 When you get into evolution and ignorance 33:32 you believe anything. 33:36 There are some with such extreme racial ideas 33:39 that you wonder is there any hope for them... 33:43 for that person. 33:45 I have had people speak of certain peoples 33:50 are the result of amalgamation between man and beast. 33:54 God said "they will reproduce after their kind. " 33:58 And to suggest anything else is to accuse God 34:02 and to suggest biological impossibilities. 34:06 It cannot be. 34:10 And then God said: 34:12 "Let Us make man 34:17 in Our image. 34:20 Let's give him preeminence over everything else. 34:26 We'll make him life Us. " 34:28 The Lord's servant says: "Akin to his Maker. " 34:31 And when God had fashioned him He breathed into his nostrils 34:37 the breath of life and man became... became. " 34:41 Didn't say man was given or man had. 34:43 He became. The soul wasn't a little extra being 34:48 sitting on his shoulder 34:49 dictating the course he should take. 34:52 He became a soul... that's what he was. 34:55 He became a living soul by the will of God. 35:01 Male and female... denoting not just difference in sex 35:06 but duality of sex. 35:09 God's plan. And He said to Adam: 35:12 "You may utilize for food and aesthetics 35:16 everything that you see. 35:18 The beautiful trees of the garden, the fruits 35:22 of the trees. " I find it amazing that Satan 35:27 got Eve so easily off kilter. 35:32 He began to talk about that tree. 35:36 "Hath not God said you shouldn't eat? " 35:38 I'm going to stop there deliberately 35:41 because that's the way Satan comes with his extreme ideas. 35:45 "Didn't God say you shouldn't eat of these? " "Oh, no" 35:48 said Eve, running to God's defense. 35:50 I want to tell you God doesn't need a defense. 35:52 He needs a witness. 35:54 Amen. 35:55 "God never said that. 35:57 What He did say was there is one tree in the midst of 36:00 the garden is forbidden 36:02 and the day we eat thereof we'll surely die. " 36:04 "Ah-ha, " said the devil. 36:06 "Well if God had forbidden it because He knows 36:10 the day you eat of it you'll be like Him 36:13 knowing good and evil. 36:16 You're going to be little gods down here 36:19 in the Garden of Eden. " 36:21 You read the sad story, and the Bible says 36:24 when Eve saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eyes. 36:29 Now let me say something profound. 36:32 And remember... profundity is simplicity... 36:37 let me tell you something profound. 36:40 That tree not only bore fruit that was pleasant to the eyes 36:46 but every other tree had fruit pleasant to the eyes. 36:53 We have to be determined Satan is not going to take us 36:56 so easily. 37:01 And the sadness that emanates from that mistake 37:05 is with us to this very day. 37:08 But way back on day six 37:12 God looked at all that He had made including Adam and Eve 37:17 and pronounced it very good. 37:21 And the shadows were bending hard toward the east 37:27 and the sun was westerning 37:31 on the first sixth day of creation week. 37:38 Chapter 2 verse 1. 37:44 "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished 37:48 and all the host of them 37:52 and on the seventh day... " 37:55 I always like to look at words. 37:58 You don't have an indefinite article 38:03 "a, " you have a definite article "the. " 38:06 "And on THE seventh day... " Not "a" seventh day 38:12 of your... any day of your choosing... 38:15 but on "THE seventh day God ended His work 38:18 which He had created and made. " 38:21 Remember that definition of Sabbath? STOP! 38:25 God has finished it now and He stops. 38:28 "And on the seventh day God ended His work. " 38:34 And God rested, and God blessed it, 38:39 and God sanctified it or hallowed it... 38:44 which means He set it apart 38:46 for special sacred use. 38:51 That was the beginning of the Sabbath. 38:55 And I thought it important to start right there 38:59 and answer some questions. 39:02 Did God rest because He was tired? 39:06 No, no. The Bible tells us He neither slumbers nor sleeps. 39:11 To suggest exhaustion, fatigue, would be incredible on our part. 39:17 It was simply a rhythm being established in the beginning. 39:22 One, two, three, four, five, six, STOP! 39:26 One, two, three, four, five, six, STOP! 39:32 A rhythm of life. 39:36 A rhythm for life. 39:41 And if man had always remembered the Sabbath 39:47 there would never be an atheist. Amen. 39:51 Never an idol worshiper. Amen. 39:54 Never an agnostic. 39:56 Never a deist. 39:59 Never a Communist. 40:03 Not one in all the earth if man had remembered 40:08 one, two, three, four, five, six, STOP! 40:18 I can't go too much further in that direction. 40:21 Don't want to preempt anything that I expect this afternoon, 40:25 but the point is if man had remembered that 40:30 we'd all be one. 40:33 Amen. 40:34 And we'd all worship God in the same way. 40:39 Once every week we celebrate His creatorship 40:45 and His deity. 40:48 His God-hood. 40:51 Every week. 40:53 One, two, three, four, five, six, STOP! 40:59 and consider God. 41:03 Wise man said: "Remember now thy Creator 41:06 in the days of thy youth. " 41:08 I have a translation that says 41:10 "Remember now thy Creator before you get any older 41:15 or while you are as young as you are. " 41:20 It's time to line up with God and stop looking for excuses 41:27 to live in disobedience. 41:29 God set this up when? In the beginning. 41:34 Who did it? God... and not Moses. 41:37 Amen. 41:41 Isn't that clear? Amen. 41:43 That's so clear even I understand it. 41:46 God did it. Why did He do it? 41:49 As a sign between Himself and His creatures 41:54 that He is recognized as the God who in six days 41:59 created the heavens and the earth. 42:01 He is, therefore, the only true God. 42:04 There is no God beside Him! 42:08 And Sabbath keeping is to store that in our heads 42:12 and keep it front and center 42:15 as we go through life's six days shalt thou labor 42:19 but on the seventh day STOP! 42:22 while you're as young as you are 42:25 and contemplate God. 42:30 He gives us a reason for observance. 42:33 The reason is found in the commandment itself. 42:37 When you read it, it goes into these words: 42:41 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. " 42:42 But then it goes into these words: 42:44 "For... " Here's why. 42:46 "For in six days 42:49 the Lord created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and 42:52 all that in them is AND RESTED... " 42:55 He wasn't tired. 42:57 He was setting a divine precedent. 42:59 "He rested on the seventh day. " 43:02 He blessed it - not just the rest - 43:06 and set an example for mankind. 43:08 But He blessed it. 43:11 Nowhere do read He ever did that to another day. 43:17 Nowhere. 43:19 It never happened. 43:22 And then He sanctified it 43:24 meaning He took it and set it apart for sacred use. 43:28 That's why we keep the Sabbath. 43:32 It is a sign between our souls and God 43:36 that He is the true God 43:38 and we are willing to listen to Him above all others. 43:43 We are willing to pay attention when He wants our attention. 43:49 We are willing to go where He wants us to go 43:51 and do what He wants us to do. 43:55 And it's a sign between us. 43:58 Now, I was once young, 44:02 and in my late 20's I got an invitation to speak 44:08 at General Conference session. 44:11 What? General Conference session. 44:15 Now I pastored a big church 44:18 and I have spoken to large crowds, 44:22 but they told me then to expect between 35 and 40 thousand 44:27 in the audience. 44:29 Now that's heavy 44:32 and unless you are made of steel 44:34 it's going to affect you a little. 44:37 And that precious wife of mine came back 44:41 to bring assurance. And she said to me: "Honey, 44:46 when you come out on the rostrum 44:49 and this host is seated before you 44:52 I want you to find me. I'm going to try to be in the front area. 44:55 When you do and our eyes meet 45:01 I'm going to wink like that. 45:05 That means I'm praying for you, 45:08 God is here, and everything will be all right. " 45:12 Amen. 45:14 So I walked out on that stage 45:16 and it had its effect... they were everywhere. 45:19 All of these people... but I'm not looking for them. 45:23 I sat in my chair and I tried to be real cool about it. 45:27 I turned this way and I looked and then I cast my eyes 45:33 into the center and then another center row, and I saw her! 45:37 And she saw me and she winked. 45:41 Now that was a sign between herself and me. 45:47 Amen! Didn't mean a thing to anybody else. 45:53 Another person watching her wink would have thought she simply 45:56 got something in her eye. 45:59 Or even worse, maybe she was flirting. 46:05 But I want to tell you, it meant something to me 46:08 and it had the effect of settling me right down. 46:11 And the Lord was there that night. 46:16 It's a sign between Me and thee. 46:20 If you want to seek some good company in Sabbath keeping, 46:24 start with Adam and Eve. 46:26 They lived almost 1,000 years. 46:30 Then you've got Abel and Seth. Methuselah lived the longest. 46:39 He kept Sabbath. 46:42 Then there was Noah. 46:45 Abraham. I made a mistake. 46:48 I don't know if you caught it or not, but I just made it 46:50 and immediately I became conscious of it. 46:52 I said Methuselah lived the longest. 46:55 Isn't that what you thought? 46:57 That's not true. 47:00 Methuselah was the oldest man that ever died. 47:04 His Daddy was the oldest man that ever lived 47:07 'cause he's still living! Amen. 47:09 He was translated without seeing death. 47:13 But that isn't my point. These men kept the Sabbath, 47:16 and every Sabbath day they contemplated the true 47:20 and living God who in six days 47:23 created the heavens and the earth. Amen! 47:28 Abraham and Isaac 47:33 and Jacob. 47:35 And Jacob's sons were slaves in Egypt. 47:41 I know something about slavery, 47:44 and I like to see people's foreheads wrinkle 47:47 when I tell them my people were never slaves... 47:51 they were enslaved. 47:55 And that is a comment on the wicked people who did it. 48:02 Four hundred years enslaved... in bondage. 48:06 And while they were there in bondage, bondage became cruel. 48:14 No respect; no love. 48:17 Especially no respect for your religion. 48:20 As a matter of fact, the Egyptians thought 48:22 that's part of what tees us off. 48:27 And so they forbade the Jews 48:30 to keep Sabbath. 48:32 Had to keep on working. 48:35 One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. 48:38 One, two... And it went on for so long 48:42 that when God sent Moses down... 48:44 I want you to catch this. Moses went in before Pharaoh 48:47 and said: "Thus saith the Lord: 48:49 let My people go 48:51 that they might worship Me in the desert. " 48:52 And Pharaoh looked at Moses incredulously 48:57 and said: "Who is God? 49:00 Or who does He think He is? " 49:03 But you know what? The Jews asked the same question. 49:08 When Moses went to them they wanted to know 49:10 "Well who is the God that said you were going to deliver us? " 49:15 And Moses had to unload: "I AM 49:19 is the God who sent me for you. " 49:22 If you stop keeping the Sabbath, you forget God. 49:29 You might call on His name; 49:30 you might put up a front; you might do a lot of things... 49:34 but you forget God. And that's why Sabbath is important. 49:39 That's why I teach the Sabbath the way I do. 49:44 And one of the main excuses you get is: 49:48 "the Sabbath is Jewish. " 49:51 I just told you: 49:54 one, two, three, four, five, six... 50:00 and He made man and woman. 50:04 If you understand that, say "Amen. " 50:06 Amen! Now that's simple, isn't it? 50:08 Amen. And I want to ask you a serious question: 50:11 when God the next day created the Sabbath 50:17 how many Jews were in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve? 50:26 There were only two people alive: Adam and Eve! 50:31 2,300 years later 50:34 would come Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Jews. 50:39 Two thousand plus years! 50:42 You've got to get past the patriarchal age. 50:45 You've got to get past Noah 50:47 and the re-population of the earth. 50:49 You've got to get all the way down to Abraham... 50:54 sometimes called a Jew. 50:56 But Israel was a name given to Jacob, 51:00 and his sons became the Jews. 51:07 Confusion? 51:10 A famous television personality said the other day 51:15 to everybody listening: "There are those who say 51:18 that we should keep Saturday holy. " 51:22 Now he's talking to his own congregation. 51:25 And he said: "I want to make an announcement. " 51:27 Not the same words, but then... 51:29 He said: "I keep Saturday holy. " 51:33 And everything got quiet. 51:35 Now they're shaking. Wonder? 51:39 He said: "I keep Saturday holy" 51:42 and he paused 51:45 "and Sunday and Monday 51:51 and Tuesday. " When he got to Wednesday 51:56 everybody relaxed. 52:00 That isn't what God told us to do. 52:03 Amen. He said: "Remember THE seventh day. 52:08 Keep IT... " Just one... "Keep IT holy. 52:13 That'll be a sign between us that I am your God. " 52:18 He was not at all interested in confusing us. 52:25 Now there are some lazy people who would have loved 52:27 what the minister said on TV. 52:29 They don't want to work any day. 52:34 What they'd rather do is live off somebody else 52:39 or steal or rob or sell drugs. 52:42 There are people who have an aversion to working. 52:46 God finished His work. 52:49 Work is good for us. Amen. 52:52 He did it in six days 52:54 and then on the seventh He told us to keep it holy. 52:58 Now I need to add a thing or two 53:00 and I'm watching my time. 53:02 And the thing I want to add right now is 53:04 you don't keep Sabbath the way people keep Sunday. 53:07 You can go to church on Sunday 53:09 and you can sit there watching your watch while the preacher 53:13 preaches too long. And as soon as you get out 53:15 you can go watch the NFL or baseball 53:19 or you can watch soccer or you can go swimming 53:23 or you can cook dinner. 53:30 When God was trying to get His people into rhythm 53:34 with the manna metronome, 53:37 when God was trying to get them into sync, 53:41 He told them: "On Friday gather enough manna 53:44 for Sabbath. It will not spoil. 53:47 And seethe that which you... or boil 53:50 that which you must boil. Stew... but do it on the 53:54 Preparation Day. " 53:57 Sabbath is not kept the way people keep Sunday. 54:00 And I want to tell you something 54:02 and I hope you will understand me, 54:04 Sabbath is not a holiday. 54:07 Amen. It is a HOLY DAY! 54:10 And the Bible says it is to be a day of convocation. 54:15 What does that mean? It means a day to gather together 54:19 with those of like precious faith and worship together. 54:23 And the Bible says: "So much the more 54:26 as you see the day approaching. " Amen. 54:31 Sabbath is a day of assembly. 54:36 Sabbath to me is not a problem 54:40 it's a privilege. 54:42 Amen. Sabbath to me is not a burden. 54:46 It's a blessing. Amen. Always has been. 54:51 What? Have you thought of this? 54:54 They did a study on the West Coast and discovered 54:57 that Sabbath keepers and vegetarians 55:00 live an average of 6-10 years longer than the average 55:04 other American. 55:05 You mean Sabbath keeping helps that? Yes! 55:09 It releases tension. 55:11 You don't have to worry about those bills you don't have 55:13 enough money to pay. You can at least have a day off! 55:19 And when the tension goes out your health is improved. 55:25 And now I want to just tell you something wonderful. 55:31 It will not interfere with he who shall come after me. 55:35 And that is: 55:37 God's going to create a new heaven 55:42 and a new earth 55:44 wherein dwelleth righteousness. 55:48 We are candidates. We can live in God's new earth. 55:53 Now when we get to heaven there's no night there. 55:56 We've got a thousand years. And Ellen White says 55:59 you will neither desire nor require repose. 56:03 Won't even get sleepy up in glory. 56:08 But when the new earth comes down, there is a "resumation" 56:12 of God's original plan. And the Bible says in Isaiah 56:16 chapter 66 that "from one new moon to another... " 56:19 Moon... month... "From one new moon 56:23 to another and from one Sabbath to another 56:27 shall all flesh come to worship before Me saith the Lord. " 56:33 Amen! Somebody said to me 56:35 "How on earth can you keep the Sabbath on a round world? " 56:39 And I thought about that just as I was coming to church today. 56:42 And I thought in order to get out here 56:46 I had to leave Chicago on a train 56:49 at 4 something PM. 56:52 Now when I got aboard that train I wasn't worried about 56:56 those in Homewood and Kankakee 56:59 and Gilman and Rantoul 57:03 and Champaign and Mattoon. 57:07 If they're coming this way, they get on the train 57:10 when it reaches them. 57:11 But for me, it was Chicago. 57:18 Isn't that clear? 57:20 Let us pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, 57:23 thank you for a sweet and precious gift: 57:28 the gift of the Sabbath 57:30 and for those who accept and believe... |
Revised 2014-12-17