Participants: Adam Ramdin
Series Code: 12GYC
Program Code: 12GYC000003
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00:48 Once to every man and nation
00:54 Comes the moment to decide 01:00 In the strife of truth with falsehood 01:06 For the good or evil side 01:12 Some great cause, God's new Messiah 01:18 Offering each the bloom or blight 01:24 And the choice goes by forever 01:31 Twixt that darkness and that light 01:50 By the light of burning martyrs 01:56 Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track 02:02 Toiling up new Calv'ries ever 02:07 With the cross that turns not back 02:13 New occasions teach new duties 02:19 Time makes ancient good uncouth 02:26 They must upward still and onward 02:32 Who would keep abreast of truth 02:54 Tho' the cause of evil prosper 02:59 Yet the truth alone is strong 03:05 Tho' her portion be the scaffold 03:11 And upon the throne be wrong 03:17 Yet that scaffold sways the future 03:23 And, behind the dim unknown 03:31 Standeth God within the shadow 03:38 Keeping watch above His own 03:56 Above His own! 04:10 Amen! 04:15 For scripture reading this morning, 04:18 please turn with me to 2 Corinthians 3:18. 04:22 2 Corinthians 3:18... 04:30 "But we all, with open face beholding 04:33 as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 04:36 are changed into the same image from glory to glory, 04:39 even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 04:42 Please kneel with me as we pray. 04:54 Dear Father in heaven, 04:56 we are so blessed and humbled to be called 04:59 Your sons and daughters of God. 05:02 And we are so excited about the blessing 05:04 that You have in store for us today 05:07 and I just ask that You be with the speaker, 05:11 please anoint his lips. 05:13 And we invite you to be amongst our presence today. 05:17 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 05:36 Someday the silver cord will break 05:41 And I no more as now shall sing 05:47 But, oh, the joy when I shall wake 05:53 Within the palace of the King! 06:01 And I shall see Him face to face 06:06 And tell the story, Saved by grace 06:11 And I shall see Him face to face 06:16 And tell the story, Saved by grace 06:30 Someday my earthly house will fall 06:36 I cannot tell how soon 'twill be 06:42 But this I know my All in All 06:47 Has now a place in heaven for me 06:53 And I shall see Him face to face 06:58 And tell the story, Saved by grace 07:04 And I shall see Him face to face 07:09 And tell the story, Saved by grace 07:20 Someday, when fades the golden sun 07:25 Beneath the rosy tinted west 07:31 My blessed Lord will say, "Well done!" 07:36 And I will enter into rest 07:44 And I shall see Him face to face 07:49 And tell the story, Saved by grace 07:54 And I shall see Him face to face 07:59 And tell the story 08:02 Saved by grace 08:09 And I shall see Him face to face 08:15 And tell the story, Saved by grace 08:54 Good Morning. Good Morning. 08:56 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. 08:59 It's a privilege to be here with you at GYC... 09:05 2012 here in Seattle, Washington. 09:10 I believe we've been blessed all ready at the start today. 09:14 Wes Peppers, Pastor Wes Peppers, 09:15 I believe gave us a strong word this morning. 09:20 I've known Wes for a few years, 09:21 I had the privilege to attend AFCO with Wes. 09:24 We sat together in class 09:25 and then we became outreach partners 09:27 and it's a privilege to be able to speak here 09:29 at the same event with Pastor Wes Peppers 09:32 amongst many others. 09:39 As we gather together for this service, 09:42 "Acts: The Revolution Continues.'' 09:46 It's my prayer that we will have 09:47 a true revolution in our hearts 09:49 and in our lives this morning and throughout this conference. 09:54 I want to thank those of you 09:55 who have stopped me in the hallway 09:58 or in the lifts or in the corridors 10:01 and said, brother, I am praying for you. 10:06 I appreciate each and every one of those prayers, 10:10 for I believe it's through prayer 10:11 that the Holy Spirit's power will come down 10:13 upon us this morning. 10:17 And I would like to invite you 10:19 to bow your heads for another word of prayer. 10:28 Father in heaven, Lord, we pause for a moment 10:32 to thank You for bringing each and every one of us here 10:38 at this point in our lives to worship You. 10:42 Whether we're here in personal, scattered around this globe, 10:47 we thank You Lord that life is in our body 10:51 and we can praise you this Sabbath morning. 10:56 As we do so, we ask and pray 11:01 that Your Holy Spirit would come into our hearts. 11:04 Lord, I pray that You would speak through me at this time, 11:09 that You would take hold of me, 11:12 that the words that are spoken would be Your words, 11:16 that Your name would be uplifted and glorified, 11:23 and that the character of Jesus, 11:27 our loving Savior may be seen. 11:32 And it's in His name we do pray. 11:35 Amen. 11:39 How many of you think it is a privilege to be here at GYC? 11:45 Amen. 11:46 I believe God has raised up this movement 11:49 and it's a privilege for me to be here, 11:50 it's my ninth GYC that I've been to in a row. 11:54 The first one I went to was in Annaba, Michigan. 11:58 And I've been to each and everyone 11:59 since then and it's amazing to see 12:01 how this movement has grown 12:03 from what it was back then in the second one, 12:05 I think it was 6 or 7 or 800 to being what it is today, 12:09 thousands of people onsite and around the world. 12:12 I believe God is behind the movement of GYC. 12:18 And you heard earlier that this local movement 12:21 that began in California 12:23 and was just really for the United States of America 12:26 has now blossomed and grown 12:28 and it's now a world wide movement. 12:32 GYC Europe, I had the privilege to be there this year in July 12:37 where we had over 1,200 young people from around Europe. 12:42 Thirty countries and not just Europe 12:44 but the Middle East and Africa and Asia, 12:46 30 countries coming together 12:48 to hear the word of God preached. 12:51 And it was encouraging to see 12:53 young people going forward for appeals 12:55 and outreach taking place in the city 12:57 as God's word was preached. 12:59 I believe we are living in exciting times. 13:05 How many of you believe it's a privilege 13:07 to be a Seventh-day Adventist? 13:09 Amen. 13:11 You are a member this morning of the fastest growing 13:15 Protestant church in the world 13:20 and the most widespread Protestant church as well. 13:25 It is a privilege to be called the Seventh-day Adventist. 13:28 It's a privilege to be here at GYC. 13:33 When people ask me, I was just in the lift this morning 13:35 and coming down and someone said, 13:37 "Oh, you part of the Generation Youth Christ?" 13:41 I said, "Yes, I am." He said, "What is it?" 13:46 I said, "Oh, it's a Seventh-day Adventist Youth Conference. 13:51 Are you part of it? "He said, "No." 13:53 I said, "You should come." 13:55 He said, "I am here on business." 13:59 But it was a privilege to be able to stand there and say, 14:01 I am part of the Adventist church. 14:06 You may have heard of the old evangelist the Late Joe Crews. 14:12 And I've heard one story about him 14:14 where it was once said that when he would be asked, 14:17 what religion are you, that he would sometimes 14:19 you know straighten his tie and adjust his belt and say, 14:23 I don't mean to boast, I don't mean to boast, 14:30 but I am a Seventh-day Adventist. 14:35 We're blessed to be part of a church 14:36 where we have the writing of Mrs. White, 14:42 where we have prophet who wrote things 14:46 precedent directly to our time. 14:52 We're blessed to be living in a time 14:54 when prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. 14:57 You know, when you read the Bible 14:58 and you read about Daniel and Ezekiel 15:00 and John the Revelator, 15:01 you read about men that wrote things in the Bible 15:04 that are taking place through in our day and age. 15:07 And I believe if those men and women 15:09 could have lived in another age, 15:12 they would have said, I want to live 15:13 in the year 2012 or the year 2013. 15:16 I would like to live at a time when the events 15:19 I prophesied are taking place. 15:22 We are living in exciting times. 15:24 And in this day and age, 15:25 God has given us a particular message 15:28 that we ought to preach, 15:29 it is the Three Angels' Messages. 15:33 Revelation 14. 15:37 I worked in our church as an evangelist. 15:39 You don't need to turn there. 15:40 As an evangelist, as a pastor, as a literature evangelist 15:44 and it's always a privilege to baptize people 15:47 into the Seventh-day Adventist church. 15:51 And we're called to preach to Three Angels' Message. 15:53 It is a very distinctive message 15:55 that we are called to preach in this day and age. 15:57 It's not a soft message so to speak, 15:59 but it points out Jesus Christ 16:02 and it points out what we need to preach today. 16:06 First Angel's Message, 16:07 "Fear God, and give glory to Him, 16:08 for the hour of His judgment has" what? 16:10 "Come!" 16:11 Second Angel's Message says, "Babylon has fallen." 16:17 And the Third Angel's Message says, 16:18 "If any man worship the beast and his image, 16:20 receive his mark in his right hand or in his forehead." 16:25 And he concludes in verse 12, where he says, 16:27 "Here is the patience of the saints, 16:28 here are they who keep the commandments of God, 16:31 and the faith of Jesus." 16:33 It's our privilege today to be able to understand, 16:36 study and preach those Three Angels' Messages. 16:42 And I'm aware that as you preach 16:43 the Three Angels' Message, 16:44 part of the calling of preaching 16:46 the Three Angels' Message is message number two, 16:49 where it says, Babylon has fallen. 16:53 And we link this with Revelation 18 16:55 where the Bible says, Babylon has fallen, 16:57 come out of her, who? 16:59 My people. 17:02 It's an honor to be able to preach 17:04 and call people out of Babylon. 17:06 Babylon means confusion, 17:08 representing religious confusion 17:13 and the reason we call people out 17:15 is because it will not give them 17:17 the correct picture of the character of God 17:21 and therefore call them out 17:22 so they can see the character of God clearly. 17:32 It's not always an easy message to preach. 17:35 In fact I've been to places where I was invited to go 17:37 and preach and do a campaign. 17:39 I've sat down in the living room 17:40 with certain people before 17:42 and I won't name the place or the country or whatever, 17:46 but they said, we don't mind 17:47 you preaching the whole campaign 17:48 but please don't preach on the mark of the beast. 17:52 Please don't preach on Ellen White. 17:55 Preach everything else except that. 17:58 I said would you respect, 18:02 kind of limit the message God has given us to bear? 18:07 And we are called to call people out of Babylon, 18:10 out of religious confusion. 18:14 My question to you this morning is what do we call them into? 18:22 Calling them out is only half of the commission, 18:26 we must call them into something. 18:30 I am aware in Revelation 12, it says that we are-- 18:34 It says, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, 18:36 and went to make war with the remnant of her seed." 18:41 I am aware as a Seventh-day Adventist church 18:43 we are the remnant church. 18:45 Amen. 18:46 But I'm also aware that when you rewind in Revelation 18:49 a few chapters before that, you come to Revelation 3. 18:56 Well, we are not the church of Smyrna, 18:59 we are not the church of Thyatira, 19:03 we are not the church of Sardis 19:04 or even the church of Philadelphia. 19:07 We are the church of Laodicea. 19:16 Just think about that for a moment. 19:21 We call people from Babylon. 19:26 Are you following me? 19:28 Into Laodicea. 19:35 We call people from confusion into liturgy. 19:42 From Babylon to Laodicea. 19:49 To some of us that causes a little 19:51 consternation in the mind. 19:54 It almost seems like a contradiction of terms 19:57 and it poses us as Seventh-day Adventist, 20:00 almost a little mini dilemma. 20:01 Yes, we should call people out of Babylon. 20:03 Amen. 20:04 And I believe we should continue 20:06 preaching our distinctive message, 20:08 continue to call people out, 20:09 we should continue to do all of that, 20:11 however, while we are doing that 20:14 we are calling them into a church, 20:16 that is in a Laodicean condition. 20:23 Some of you here, 20:24 you're proud to be here at GYC, amen. 20:27 But some of you here at GYC, 20:33 you know the church is in a Laodicean condition. 20:36 'Cause some of us here feel that we can't even 20:40 invite our friends to our home church. 20:42 How many of you know what I'm talking about? 20:45 I'm embarrassed about my church. 20:48 I've got to check the preaching plan to see 20:49 if I can invite someone this Sabbath, or that-- 20:51 oh, can't, can't. Oh, no, no, no, no. 20:53 You know what I'm talking about? 20:58 And it's the sad indictment of who we are as a church. 21:00 There are sometimes we can't even invite 21:02 our friends or family members 21:04 who are not Adventists to the church, 21:06 we go to and worship every Sabbath 21:08 because we say, it's not good enough to invite them to. 21:14 But come to GYC. Amen. 21:19 It's all happening there. 21:23 Within the church the picture of the character of God 21:28 unfortunately has been distorted somewhat. 21:32 We are neither cold nor hot but we are lukewarm. 21:37 And I believe one of signs of being lukewarm 21:41 is that the automatic reaction of many of us 21:44 in this audience this morning 21:45 when I say that we are neither cold nor hot 21:48 but lukewarm, we say, well, I'm not cold. 21:52 And we say I'm not lukewarm either. 21:56 I'm sure many of us I went through 21:58 and I heard I'm not cold and I'm not lukewarm. 22:01 I come to GYC. Amen. 22:06 I paid $800 to get here. 22:09 On top of that I still return my faithful tithe and offerings 22:14 and I give my support to my local church. 22:21 I keep the Sabbath. 22:23 I would never think of doing anything like 22:25 going to a restaurant on the Sabbath day 22:28 and I don't listen to any music with syncopation. 22:32 I am hot. Amen. 22:39 That's what many of us think in our head. 22:43 When I go to Taco Bell 22:44 I asked them to take out the cheese 22:46 and the sour cream and the guacamole. 22:52 I'm a good Seventh-day Adventist. 22:55 Amen. 22:58 And we automatically say I'm not cold, 23:00 I'm not lukewarm, but I am hot. 23:02 And I believe that is one of the signs 23:03 that we're all actually lukewarm. 23:08 I believe as a church we need help. 23:11 How many of you been to General Conference sessions here? 23:15 it's great to go to General Conference, eh? 23:18 See the whole world church got it together 23:20 and you hear the reports from South America 23:22 and all these different places and they talk about 23:24 how many they've baptized and all these type of things 23:27 and it's encouraging to go to the General Conference 23:29 and hear all these stories of the world church 23:31 and how it's growing 23:33 and you hear the off repeated statistic 23:35 that we are baptizing 3,000 people per day. 23:41 But if you check the population growth in the world, 23:44 there are 385,000 people born everyday, 23:47 a 156,000 people die everyday, that's 220,000 growth per day. 23:54 So while the world population is growing by 230,000 per day, 23:58 as a church we are growing by 3,000 per day. 24:02 Do you see how we kind of losing pace 24:05 with the rest of the world 24:06 and all of a sudden a paltry 3,000 24:09 doesn't seem so good after all. 24:13 And it's something that we need to do. 24:15 I'm reminded of the quotation in Great Controversy, page 464, 24:21 where it says, "Before the final visitation 24:25 of God's judgments upon the earth 24:28 there will be a revival of primitive godliness 24:31 as has not been seen since Apostolic times." 24:39 The revival before the end will be one 24:41 that has not been witnessed since Apostolic times. 24:45 So how was it in the early Apostolic Church? 24:48 What was the church like? 24:52 In the Apostolic Church, 24:53 it was a church where there were people there 24:56 who could literally say, I saw Jesus. 25:00 It was a church where people could say, 25:02 I ate the bread he made on the hill by Galilee. 25:07 It was a church where people could say, 25:09 I saw the miracles of Jesus, 25:11 in fact I today am healed because Jesus healed me. 25:17 It was a church full of eyewitnesses. 25:20 It was a church that had seen 25:21 the love of Christ in full detail, 25:24 right before their eyes, people could say, 25:26 I've seen the Son of Man risen. 25:30 I saw Him after His crucifixion, 25:33 I believe in the resurrection. 25:35 It was a church where people could say, 25:37 I saw Him ascended up to heaven. 25:39 Wouldn't you like to be in such a church? 25:46 It was the church as well 25:47 where the Word of God was their foundation. 25:50 It was a church that the Word of God was their foundation. 25:55 It was during the Apostolic time period church 25:58 that the 66 books we have in the Bible 26:01 were the ones they were kind of chosen. 26:06 The Apostolic Church not only had seen Jesus Christ, 26:10 but they were a church 26:12 that was based on the Word of God solely. 26:16 And when the commission was given to the early church 26:18 to go into all the world and preach the gospel, 26:21 they did not ask questions 26:22 as to how much will I get paid in? 26:24 Will my life be in danger when I go? 26:27 No, the commission that drove them 26:29 came from the Word of God 26:30 and they had to live it out in their lives. 26:34 The early Apostolic Church was a powerful church. 26:38 They were Sabbath keepers, 26:39 they were believers in the spirit of prophecy, 26:42 they understood the health message 26:45 and they understood the gospel commission. 26:48 And in the early Christian church, 26:49 I believe the theme of this conference acts, 26:51 the revolution continues is apt for this church. 26:57 You see, the word revolution 26:58 comes from a Latin word revolutio. 27:03 It's revolution without the 'n'. 27:07 And the word revolution from its Latin form 27:10 literally means to turn around. 27:14 That's what it means, turn around. 27:17 Turn around. 27:21 We use it to refer to massive turnarounds 27:25 or changes that take place 27:26 in a relatively short period of time. 27:29 Unfortunately it seems in recent years 27:31 the usage of the word revolution 27:34 has been somewhat, hijacked by, 27:37 some may say negative events. 27:41 So when you think of the French Revolution, 27:45 it doesn't bring you all warm fuzzy feelings, right. 27:50 When you think of the Russian Revolution, 27:54 it doesn't make you feel good, right. 27:57 When you think of, say the Cuban Revolution, 27:59 it doesn't make you feel all happy, right. 28:03 When you think of the American Revolution, 28:07 how does that make you feel? 28:12 I find it kind of ironic that they asked someone 28:15 from England to preach in America 28:19 on the theme of revolution. 28:25 Maybe you guys need to learn 28:27 how to do it properly, I don't know. 28:32 By the word revolution refers to a significant change 28:36 taking place in a short space of time 28:38 and so the Apostolic Church was true. 28:40 They went from being a church that you know, 28:42 that was 12 to being the church 28:48 with thousands in about a few months. 28:52 Is that a revolution, yes or no? 28:54 It is a revolution. 28:55 It was a dramatic change 28:56 in a very, very short period of time. 28:59 Very short period of time. 29:00 The Book of Acts saw the revolution 29:02 was based on the Word of God. 29:03 Turn in your Bibles if you will to Acts Chapter 4, 29:05 just gonna read a few verses quickly. 29:07 Acts 4:4, in Acts 4:4, you see, the revolution 29:14 in early Christian church was a revolution 29:17 that was based on the Word of God, amen. 29:20 what does the Bible say here? 29:24 Acts 4:4, it says, "Howbeit many of them 29:28 which heard the word believed; 29:30 and the number of them was," how many? 29:33 Five thousand. 29:34 Go down to verse 31, in verse 31 it says, 29:37 "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken 29:39 where they were assembled together; 29:40 and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, 29:42 and they spake the Word of God with boldness." 29:46 Acts 6:7, a few pages over, the Bible say, 29:54 "And the word of God increased". 29:58 In Acts 8:4, just the next page over, the Bible says, 30:04 "Therefore they that were scattered abroad 30:07 went every where preaching the word." 30:10 And I could read through about 20 or 30 different verses 30:14 throughout the Book of Acts, 30:15 where it says over and over again the word of God, 30:18 the word of God, the word of God, 30:21 the word of God. 30:22 It was a revolution that was not based, 30:24 listen carefully, on the uniqueness of Jewish 30:27 or Greek culture. 30:29 But it was a revolution that was based on the word of God. 30:32 The word of God was the foundation of this revolution. 30:36 The revolution was based on Revelation 30:41 and thus it produced transformation. 30:47 You see, the picture of God is seen through His word, amen. 30:52 That's why I offer the message today is 30:54 "The Finished Portrait". 30:56 The picture of God is seen through His word. 30:59 When you read the Bible as a scripture reading said, 31:01 "We behold in a mirror the glory of God, 31:03 we change into same image from glory to glory," why? 31:06 Because as we read the Bible, 31:08 it does something to us, it changes of our hearts. 31:11 Now that's a very generic thing to say, 31:12 the word of God reveals Jesus, we all know that. 31:15 But let's narrow it a little bit closer 31:17 and it's really the teachings of the Bible 31:19 or you could even say, 31:21 I know in some circles is considered a dirty word 31:25 but you could say the doctrines of the Bible 31:28 reveal the character of God. 31:31 How is it we know that God is love and just unfair? 31:34 We look at the different teachings 31:36 and doctrines in the Bible and as we are looking at those, 31:39 we're building in our minds 31:41 a picture of the character of God. 31:45 In the early Apostolic Church, I would say, venture to say, 31:49 they had an accurate picture 31:51 of what the character of God look like. 31:55 But unfortunately it was lost. 31:57 In Acts 5:29, the Bible says, 32:00 "We ought to obey God rather than men." 32:02 And unfortunately as the 1st Century 32:04 went into the 2nd Century 32:05 which went into the 3rd Century, 32:07 this picture of God was lost. 32:11 Acts 20:28, 30, the Bible says, 32:14 "The wolf would come into the church in sheep's clothing 32:18 and men would arise to draw disciples away 32:20 after themselves." 32:21 And so this took place in the second 32:23 and third and fourth century 32:25 where men would draw people after themselves 32:28 and not the word of God. 32:29 And so what happened is the picture of God 32:33 that is painted through the scriptures was distorted, 32:36 it was mod, it was faded. 32:40 The Sabbath became Sunday, grace became license... 32:48 and so on, so on and so forth. 32:51 Christianity was corrupted, 32:53 the picture of God was distorted 32:55 and the world was plunged into the abyss known 32:58 as the Dark Ages. 33:00 Dark because God's word was not read, 33:02 Dark because the little bit that was read 33:04 and taught by the pulpits, 33:07 spoke of a God who was vindictive, 33:09 a God who was mean, a God who was harsh 33:11 and a God who was unloving. 33:15 And so the picture had been distorted 33:18 and there were the need for the reformation to arise, 33:20 the reformation to arise to redraw, 33:24 resketch the picture of God. 33:29 Martin Luther rose up and he rediscovered 33:36 that we're saved by grace through faith. 33:40 And so with the single blow 33:41 he smashed the era of purgatory, 33:46 indulgences, sacraments and taught once again 33:50 that we serve a loving God. 33:55 The Anabaptist came along 33:56 and they rediscover the truth about baptism 33:59 that God is interested not just in our birth 34:03 but He's interested in our complete whole rebirth. 34:10 And one by one different teachings were rediscovered. 34:14 The revolution was on the way, amen. 34:18 It was not a revolution based on Western European culture. 34:22 It was not a revolution based on Anglo-Saxon, French, Swiss, 34:26 or Germanic cultures, it was a revolution 34:29 that was based wholly, not on societal changes 34:33 that the church was adapting to, 34:35 but it was a revolution 34:37 that was based 100% on revelation. 34:40 Amen. 34:42 And thus in the heart of Christianity 34:45 it began to produce a transformation. 34:49 It was a revolution you could die for. 34:52 Many hundreds of thousands of people died 34:56 for the faith they had. 34:58 They were not dying for their love of a country. 35:04 They were not dying to protect anything 35:10 other than the word of God 35:14 and their love for Jesus Christ. 35:22 You know, the reformers John Wycliffe is one of the-- 35:27 one of them that got it going. 35:29 It says in the book Great Controversy, page 88, 35:31 "In giving the Bible to his countrymen 35:35 he did more to liberate 35:38 the minds of those in his country 35:40 than was obtained by the most brilliant victories 35:42 on the fields of battle." 35:45 John Hus was asked one time while in prison 35:48 to retract what he had said. 35:49 And he said, "Prove to me from the Holy Scriptures 35:53 that I'm in error and I will retract." 35:57 They could not prove to him 35:58 and so we went to a Mathis dead. 36:01 Hus, you may have read about him in Great Controversy. 36:04 He said these words, he said, it's the job of the preacher, 36:08 he saw this vision or dream 36:11 where he saw the picture of Christ. 36:14 And he says it's the job of the preacher 36:16 to paint in the minds of the listeners, 36:20 the image of Christ which is never going to be marked. 36:24 And he said the image of Christ 36:25 is gonna stand from now until eternity. 36:29 William Tyndale was asked, how can we distinguish 36:31 between right and wrong. 36:33 And he said by nothing other than the word of God. 36:38 Martin Luther, I've already mentioned him. 36:44 Martin Luther was before the Diet in Worms. 36:51 And I love that famous quotation where he was asked, 36:55 will you or will you not retract. 37:00 And he answered and I'll read, he says, 37:02 "Since your most serene majesty and high mightinesses 37:06 require from me a clear, simple, and precise answer, 37:09 I will give you one, and it is this: 37:11 I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or the councils, 37:15 because it's clear as the day that they have frequently erred 37:18 and contradicted each other. 37:19 Unless therefore I'm convinced by the testimony of Scripture 37:23 or by the clearest reasoning, 37:26 unless I'm persuaded by means of the passages 37:28 I have quoted, and unless they thus render 37:30 my conscience bound to the word of God. 37:32 I cannot and will not retract, 37:34 for it is unsafe for a Christian 37:36 to speak against his conscience. 37:38 Here I stand, I can do no other; 37:42 may God help me." 37:44 These were men who stood 37:46 and based their lives on the word of God. 37:49 John Knox when standing before Queen Mary, she said to him, 37:52 "you interpret the Bible this way 37:54 and they interpret that way. 37:56 Whom should I believe?" And he said, believe God. 38:04 He said, the Scriptures never contradict each other, 38:07 except for those who obstinately remain ignorant. 38:11 The Holy Scriptures, he said, the Holy Spirit 38:14 through the Scriptures will explain himself. 38:23 And so Martin Luther rediscovered 38:26 grace through faith, John and Charles Wesley 38:28 the founders of the Methodist Church, 38:30 they discover the importance of daily Bible study prayer 38:33 and witnessing in the Christian experience. 38:36 The Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church, 38:38 all these churches that rose rediscovering 38:41 some element of the picture of the face of God, 38:44 it was all good but not complete. 38:47 the Bible says, 38:52 "But the sun it shines ever bright 38:54 to unto the perfect day." 38:57 The truth was beginning to shine in the world 38:59 and it was coming bit-by-bit, step-by-step, 39:02 one truth at a time, it was all good 39:05 but it was not complete, 39:07 the picture had not been fully repainted. 39:12 Because the greatest movement yet had yet to arise. 39:20 William Miller, 39:25 from New York studying his Bible, 39:31 when he stumbled across the truth of the 2300 days, 39:37 second coming he put them all together. 39:40 And so it grew this movement called 39:42 the Great Advent Movement. 39:46 A movement which had hundreds of thousands of people in it 39:50 and it blossomed and grew and eventually gave birth 39:54 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 39:58 You see, the Adventist Church came along 40:01 and completed the picture of the face of God. 40:08 As a church we rediscovered 40:11 what you can find in Revelation Chapter 1 40:14 seven edifices, seven pillars of the Adventist Church. 40:20 The belief that the Scriptures 40:22 are the foundation of all our beliefs, amen. 40:26 1 Timothy 4:16 says, 40:28 "For all scriptures given by inspiration of God 40:31 and is profitable for doctrine, for approve, for correction, 40:34 for instruction in righteousness." 40:36 As a church we rediscovered the correct 40:39 and complete view of the plan of salvation. 40:43 Not once saved always saved, not forensic justification 40:50 but a correct view of justification, 40:52 sanctification and glorification 40:54 that shows the love, the mercy, the grace 40:58 and the justice of God all rolled up into one. 41:04 As a church we discovered, 41:07 rediscovered the teaching of the second coming, 41:11 not one with false dates before it, 41:14 not one setting times, 41:15 not one with funny time prophecies around it, no. 41:20 But one that taught how the heart of God yearns 41:23 to be reunited with His people again. 41:25 We rediscover the Sabbath in His beauty, amen. 41:28 The sanctuary message showing 41:31 how the salvation of man began on the cross 41:33 and continues in the heavenly sanctuary for us 41:36 as God lives to make intercession for His people. 41:39 The State of the Dead, the Spirit of Prophecy 41:41 all of these were founded by our church pioneers 41:47 and they made and built our church. 41:51 You see, though our church was founded in America. 41:56 We are in a church today that has gone 41:58 to over 200 countries around this world. 42:03 And the reason why it's gone 42:04 to over 200 countries around this world, 42:07 sorry to let you know is not 42:08 because the world wants to be American, amen. 42:14 It's not the uniqueness of American culture 42:17 that has driven our church that was founded in America? 42:21 It is the word of God that drove our church 42:23 and propelled it around the world. 42:28 You know, when the Adventist Church 42:29 was started in late 1800s 42:31 there was a group of Christians from different denominations 42:33 that came together 42:34 and they said to the Adventist church, 42:36 this is the Anglicans, the Presbyterians, 42:38 the Methodists and so on. 42:39 They said, listen, the world is too big 42:42 and you know we can't get to the whole world 42:44 you know, it's easier if say, the Anglicans we take Africa 42:49 and the Presbyterians take Asia 42:51 and the Adventists you take here and so on, 42:53 let's divide the world like a map. 42:57 The Adventist Church, 42:58 it's a very common sense approach 42:59 and you would think it would make sense. 43:01 The Adventist Church said, no way. 43:06 Though we are only a few thousand members, 43:09 we have a message unique from the pen of inspiration 43:12 in the Book of Revelation 43:13 that must go to the whole world 43:15 and sorry, we like your idea 43:17 but we're gonna go on our own. 43:20 And as Adventist Church 43:21 we are now the most widespread Protestant denomination 43:24 that there is. 43:28 Our church was founded on the mountain 43:30 of evidence of the Scriptures, 43:32 it was not founded on a smoking gun, amen. 43:37 It was not just one text here or one text there, 43:39 one text taken out of the context 43:42 that it was written on, 43:43 but the doctrines were formed 43:44 and based on a mountain of evidence in the word of God. 43:50 And it's interesting, 43:52 when you read Revelation Chapter 3 43:54 and you read about the Laodicean Church 43:55 which we are, amen. 43:59 Does Laodicea receive any praise, yes or no? 44:03 No praise. 44:04 Does it receive a rebuke, yes or no? 44:08 Plenty of rebuke, 44:10 but when you read the rebuke to Laodicea 44:13 as you reading through the rebuke 44:15 it does not receive any doctrinal rebuke. 44:22 Other churches it said, 44:24 you have the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. 44:27 Other churches they said, 44:28 you have the doctrine of Balaam and Balak. 44:31 Other churches it says, 44:33 you have the synagogue of Satan 44:35 or you suffer the woman Jezebel, 44:38 but Laodicea, it doesn't mention 44:40 any of those things to Laodicea, why? 44:43 Because the issue with Laodicea is not our message. 44:46 Our message is pure, it is complete, 44:49 it has redrawn the picture of the face of God. 44:53 It is the condition of our hearts 44:55 that needs to be changed. 44:59 That's why in Christ's Object Lessons, page 69, 45:04 don't miss this quote. 45:05 Christ Object Lessons, page 69. 45:12 Ellen White writes 45:15 and fit in aptly with our message 45:17 this morning she writes, 45:19 "When the character of Christ shall be 45:21 reflected in His people then the end will," what? 45:28 "Come." 45:30 You see, we have redrawn the picture 45:32 of the image of God on paper. 45:33 How many of you've been to those touristy places 45:35 where they have artists to draw pictures of you. 45:39 I was in Rome once 45:40 and I was there looking at Rome, 45:41 the Colosseum, the Forum 45:43 and all the places in the city of Rome, 45:44 an amazing city to go to. 45:47 And there's a place there in Rome called Spanish Steps. 45:50 I don't know why they call it Spanish Steps. 45:53 But at the top there were some artists 45:55 and I says that I'm kind of, you know 45:56 I would like to have a drawing and he says 45:57 okay 40, I said, no, 10. 46:01 He said, okay, 35, I said 10. He said 30, I said 10. 46:05 25, I eventually got him down to about 18. 46:09 But he drew this picture of me. 46:11 It wasn't one of those caricatures 46:13 with big cheeks and nose and all that kind of stuff. 46:16 It was just a normal drawing. 46:18 But it was just a pencil drawing. 46:22 There was no paint on the page. 46:26 No paint on the page. 46:31 It's almost if as the church 46:35 we have drawn the outline of the face of God 46:40 on paper with the pencil. 46:45 But we have yet to apply the paint to the page 46:51 because the paint on the page is not a new doctrine, 46:57 the paint on the page is as we read 47:00 when the character of Christ is reflected in His people, 47:03 then the Lord will come, 47:04 when the drawing comes to life through the lives of you and I. 47:09 Living a victorious life, then it will happen. 47:15 However, I believe there are some things 47:17 that are blocking us. 47:18 There are some things that are stopping us. 47:19 There are some things preventing this 47:21 from becoming a reality. 47:23 Some of these are collective and some of these are personal 47:26 and some of these we see on a daily 47:28 or a weekly or a Sabbath basis, week in, week out. 47:33 Amongst our churches, amongst our people, 47:35 amongst our congregations, unfortunately the result too 47:40 often a lack of genuine brotherly love. 47:45 There is a lack of Christian courtesy 47:47 amongst us as a people. 47:51 And so when we talk on theological issues, 47:54 when we discuss righteousness by faith, 48:00 righteousness by what? 48:02 Faith. 48:03 When we discuss these subjects, 48:04 I've sometimes seen more sparks fly 48:08 discussing the righteousness of Christ. 48:12 How ironic than anything else. 48:16 When there's someone who disagrees with you, 48:18 how do you treat them? 48:20 How do you esteem them in your mind? 48:24 What is your view of them? 48:28 A heretic, an apostate 48:31 who is pulling our church apart? 48:36 How often we're willing to shed Christian demeanor 48:39 to malign slander or put down our brothers and sisters. 48:44 Another thing I believe that is rampant in our church 48:47 that is affecting and preventing 48:48 the character of God being reflected in His people. 48:54 It's something that affects us from church, 48:55 local church department, church board, 49:01 conference committee, union constituents, 49:04 division, general conference, conference work, 49:09 self supporting work, supporting work, 49:11 whatever you want to call it. 49:14 And that's the scourge in our church of politics. 49:21 Who's who? My agenda. 49:26 Human politics are always based on human passions 49:29 and human passions are selfish. 49:34 How many young people, how many people in general 49:37 have been turned off from involvement in church 49:40 or even attendance to church by the behavior of those 49:43 with more experience than themselves? 49:47 When sometimes we see and the facade 49:50 of religious activity is stripped away 49:52 and people can sometimes see the church 49:54 for what it can be a political animal. 49:58 And they're turned off and I say, 50:00 if that's church I want nothing to do with it. 50:05 As a pastor I sometimes call people up 50:07 in nominating committee time and say, 50:08 hi, my name is you know. 50:09 Hi, this is Pastor Adam calling. 50:13 Calling on behalf of the nominating committee. 50:15 Okay, and you always hear that pause, bit of silence. 50:21 I'm calling on behalf of the nominating committee 50:22 and they're wondering 50:23 if you're willing to serve in x position. 50:27 Sometime they say yes, sometime they say no. 50:31 And what often happens, and I thought 50:32 this is unique to my church. 50:34 People say, I don't mind being an assistant 50:37 but I don't want to be the leader. 50:40 You know what I'm talking about. 50:43 And it may be for various reasons 50:45 but often time I believe the reason 50:46 why they say it is this 50:47 because I know the leader sits on the church board 50:49 and I don't want to be there. 50:51 I don't want to see that. 50:53 I don't want my view of church to be clouded 50:55 by what takes place in the chambers. 51:03 Even here at GYC I'm sure there's politics going on, 51:06 behind-the-scene drama. 51:15 Another thing that effects the church 51:17 is our motivation for service. 51:19 All too often as the church, 51:21 we have a desire only to be served 51:23 if we are seen by others. 51:27 Serving for the praise or the accolades or not serving 51:31 because we're scared of failure. 51:34 I don't want to fail therefore I won't serve. 51:37 If the church in Acts had been scared of failure, 51:40 they would have done nothing. 51:44 The church in Acts that will go and preach to a place 51:46 we've never been before, will preach in the place 51:48 where we don't even know the language 51:50 but we will still go because our commission drives us. 51:53 Some of us are scared of failure. 51:55 Some of us unfortunately are even scared of success. 51:58 What if I succeed, what would I do then? 52:07 I believe we need to serve God anyhow. 52:11 Some of you will leave here 52:12 and go back to your local churches 52:13 and you will plan an evangelism training seminar 52:16 and you put 20, 30 hours into the preparation 52:18 for your seminar for the church 52:20 and you'll be all fired up 52:22 and then on the Monday night or the Sabbath evening 52:24 when everyone's supposed to come 52:25 only two people will show up. 52:29 This is what happens. 52:32 Do the training anyhow. Amen. 52:36 Some of you will go back to your university campuses 52:38 where there's 20,000 students and you'll put signs up to say 52:42 we're having a Bible study in this room, 52:45 at this time and you will gather there in the room 52:47 with your Bible study all prepared 52:49 and only four or five students will show up. 52:52 Do the Bible study anyhow. 52:55 Some of you do evangelistic series in your home church 52:58 where they may be 50,000 non-Adventists in the city 53:02 and you'll stand up on opening night 53:03 and there will only be ten non-Adventists. 53:06 Preach your hearts out anyhow. 53:09 I remember we had peace graduate 53:12 evangelism school in England 53:14 and he went to a campaign in a small town 53:16 where they were just a few people 53:18 let alone Adventists. 53:21 I remember talking to them after opening night. 53:23 So how did it go, he said well. 53:25 We had the member the old farm, he came. 53:27 My mom was there, my dad was there. 53:31 There was one of the person 53:33 and there was two members from the community. 53:39 The church only had five people. 53:42 I said preach anyway. Preach anyway. 53:48 By the end of the campaign I had five or six decisions 53:50 for baptism, the attendance grew. 53:58 We need a revolution that is based 54:01 on the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 54:05 A revolution that is founded on Revelation 54:08 and a revolution that produces transformation. 54:14 Because we need our hearts to be transformed, 54:17 we need our hearts to be changed 54:19 and this revolution must be founded 54:21 on the Revelation of Jesus in His word 54:23 in order for it to produce the transformation of character 54:26 that it needs to happen. 54:29 Unfortunately all too often in our church 54:31 there is revolutions taking place 54:32 that are not based on Revelation. 54:37 And thus they produce fragmentation. 54:43 We should have revolution based on Revelation 54:46 when the Bible is clear as crystal. 54:52 That our hearts gonna be transformed, 54:53 that the church can be transformed 54:55 and changed from top to bottom, from inside and outwards. 55:01 So the revolution can change us personally 55:04 that it can be a complete turnaround, 55:05 a complete change in us. 55:07 The Scripture reading that we read 55:09 was 2 Corinthians 3 and verse what? 55:11 18. 55:13 Verses "As we behold in a mirror 55:17 or a glass the glory of God, 55:19 we are changed into the same image from glory to glory." 55:23 As we behold Christ in his word 55:25 and we see His character reveal to the teachings 55:28 and the stories and the doctrines of the Bible 55:31 as we see that, our hearts are changed into that same image. 55:39 We need the latter rain to be poured out upon His church. 55:43 To put away the things that are blocking us, 55:46 politics, desire for success, 55:49 the secret sins that hold us back 55:51 and the pencil drawing needs to become 55:54 a full painted picture of Christ in us. 56:00 The character of God needs to be reflected in us 56:04 and then the Lord can come. 56:07 The portrait needs to be finished 56:09 in your life and my life 56:11 and as we gathered here at GYC 56:13 I pray that your lives may be changed 56:15 not just another Youth Conference, 56:17 not just a place to get more phone numbers 56:20 and network with different people, 56:22 but a place where we experience true revival 56:26 and the issues that we need revival on, 56:28 the transcend culture and geography, 56:30 the fruits of the spirit God wants to pour upon us. 56:39 Our revolution must be based on a Revelation of Jesus Christ 56:43 to produce the transformation of character that we need. 56:46 Jesus wants to pour out His Spirit 56:48 just like an artist wants to the paint a page. 56:51 Now some of us this morning as we come to church, 56:53 as we come to Sabbath we see the issues 56:55 that we may be struggling with, 56:56 the heart that we know that needs to be cleansed up. 56:59 Yes, we know the doctrine. 57:01 Yes, we know why we're Seventh-day Adventist. 57:03 Yes, we know some of these things, 57:04 well, may be you don't but you should. 57:07 And you see all these things you know that 57:09 and get your life, our life sometime seems at odds 57:12 or distorted from what we see on paper 57:15 and God says I want to bring this picture to life. 57:18 In the life of my church I want my people to be ready 57:22 that I can come home. 57:26 How many of you today want 57:27 Revelation of Jesus in your life? 57:32 How many of you today want a revolution 57:35 in your personal life? 57:38 How many of you today want to say, 57:39 I want the picture of the image of Christ to be redrawn 57:45 and painted in my life, that Christ can be seen in me. 57:52 That you want to lay all on the altar. 57:55 That you want your heart to be changed. 57:57 Your inner desires to be changed. 58:04 When the character of Christ is reflected in His people, 58:07 then the end will come. 58:10 We need our hearts to be searched. 58:13 And as we come to the end of our service today, 58:17 we need our hearts to be changed. 58:20 We need our hearts to be refined. 58:22 We need our hearts to be purified. 58:28 We need Christ to come and dwell in us, 58:32 that the picture can be redrawn in our lives. |
Revised 2015-02-05