Participants: Dan Jackson
Series Code: 16ASIC
Program Code: 16ASIC000015A
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00:19 Let's pray as we open this evening.
00:23 Father in heaven, this weekend has come to a whirling end, 00:28 and, Lord, we are inspired. 00:30 But we also recognize the reality that as we return 00:34 to our places of work, our schools, our communities 00:37 everything will grab our attention as it has before. 00:40 So, Lord, unless You make the difference in our hearts 00:44 and fill us with such love for the unreached 00:47 we will go back to life as normal. 00:50 Please let it not be so. 00:51 Please change us more deeply so that when we return 00:55 we will be determined to seek for Your love 00:57 for our neighbors every morning 00:59 and to ask You to put on our hearts Your priorities. 01:02 Lord, as this last evening's meeting is about to begin 01:06 please bless Elder Dan Jackson as he preaches, as he pours 01:10 out his heart. May each of us hear that which You are wanting 01:13 to say and may we walk away with a solid commitment 01:16 of what You want us to do because Your Spirit has spoken 01:20 to us and we have responded. 01:22 Thank you, Father. Finish Your work in us 01:24 and finish it in the world. 01:25 We thank you in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:32 Good evening. I trust that you have been blessed today. 01:37 It's always a blessing to come to ASI 01:40 and hear the wonderful things that God is doing 01:42 all over the world. Kyle and I are happy 01:45 to be here to share some exciting things with you. 01:48 And I'd like to start by sharing 01:50 that you'll be able to take the blessing home with you 01:53 that you got at ASI 01:55 because over the next few days 01:56 all of the meetings that have been... 01:58 that have taken place here including the seminars 02:01 as well as the main sessions 02:02 will all be up on our website at asiministries.org 02:06 So we invite you to invite your friends to watch that. 02:09 Maybe there was a seminar that you really wanted to attend 02:12 and weren't able to because you need to go to another seminar 02:14 or another place. And so all of those which aired will be 02:17 available to you. I also wanted to share 02:21 something that is the first time that we've done. 02:23 I'm kind of an open-source person. 02:25 I don't know... some of you might not understand what that 02:27 means, but I believe in all of us working together. 02:29 I don't understand what that means. You're a tricky guy. 02:31 OK. Well, basically what it means is that as a community 02:35 we can accomplish a lot more than any one of us 02:37 can by ourselves. Amen! Right? Isn't that the ASI spirit? 02:40 Yes it is, yes. And so this year we want to 02:43 give you an invitation. I saw a lot of people 02:46 taking pictures, a lot of people taking video... 02:49 and we want to invite you to share that with us. 02:52 We, of course, had our own official photographer as well 02:55 but we know that we can have a lot more pictures 02:59 by inviting all of you to share yours with us. 03:02 So the best way to do that is to contact me on the website. 03:05 asiministries.org 03:07 And if you go to the contact page and send 03:10 a message to the communications department 03:11 I will get that. And so if you have video, if you have pictures 03:14 we'd love to be able to collaborate. 03:16 We will give you credit for that. We're happy for 03:18 the opportunity to be able to work together in that. 03:21 And Kyle, I think you have some things to tell us 03:23 about membership. Well but first I have a question. 03:26 One more question for you, Wayne. Sure! OK. 03:28 Because we talked a lot about social media. 03:30 I don't know... how many of you remember Jamie came up 03:32 on the first night and she talked about posting 03:34 and hashtags and all those kinds of things. 03:37 We want you to use our hashtag 03:40 and I'm not talking about... You know what I'm talking about, 03:41 right? Those of you that are... OK: pound sign. 03:44 OK. asiministries, Wayne. That's right. 03:47 We want people to use that not only here at convention 03:49 but all throughout the year because we want people to know 03:51 what ASI members are up to. That's right. 03:53 And in fact, what I'm really excited about 03:55 is that this year we kind of started social media 03:58 fairly close to convention, but we're already thinking about 04:01 what we want to do throughout the whole year 04:02 to prepare for next year's convention. 04:04 So please do use the hashtag asiministries 04:07 whenever you post anything about this event 04:10 so that we can all share it together. 04:11 Wayne, I was looking for my phone but I think I dropped it 04:13 back there. But if you have your phone 04:15 I'd encourage you to take it out and like our Facebook page. 04:18 Like the ASI Facebook page. That's right. 04:19 That way you can get updates as we post them 04:21 and you can stay in touch with us throughout the year. 04:23 And you can follow us on Twitter if you'd like as well. 04:25 All right... that's great. 04:27 So: asiministries.org Sound good? 04:29 Amen. OK. I would even encourage you tonight when you go 04:32 to the exhibit hall take some selfies and say 04:34 "I'm here at the exhibit hall at ASI. " 04:36 Actually you and I did one last year. We did! 04:39 I can't remember when that was. Anyway... 04:40 Encourage you to go and take... Here's what: take a picture 04:43 by your favorite booth. How's that sound? 04:46 OK. So tonight, before it's all done, 04:48 go and take a picture. Post it up and say 04:50 "I'm at ASI. I hope you can be here next year. " 04:53 Now at the end of tonight Steve and I are going to talk about 04:56 next year but first I want to just make an invitation. 04:59 I know we mentioned this, Wayne, briefly 05:02 this morning at the beginning of church. 05:04 ASI is a family. 05:06 ASI is a family of supporting ministries, 05:10 of businesses, of professionals who long to see 05:13 the soon return of Jesus. 05:15 And we want you to know that we believe there are many of you 05:18 out here today that would qualify to be members of ASI. 05:21 And we want you to be members! 05:23 And so if you have been... your heart has been touched 05:26 as you've been here this week 05:27 and you'd like to find out more about becoming a member 05:30 of ASI, we want to invite you - 05:32 that graphic will go up right now - 05:34 we want to invite you to send a text message 05:37 to that number that we showed earlier today at church. 05:41 There we go... there it is. They finally got it up there. 05:43 OK! It's 301-844-6035 05:48 Wayne, why is it important to become a member of ASI? 05:50 Well, being a member of ASI just allows us to be able 05:53 to share in the ASI family and allows us to be able to 05:57 exchange ideas with each other. 05:58 It allows us to be able to really offer even services 06:02 between ministries. That's one thing that I've been so blessed 06:05 by is just to see how excited ministries are when we can 06:08 offer something to them and they can offer something to us 06:10 in return. And being part of the ASI family 06:13 is a wonderful way to do that. 06:15 And you know what? People often ask me: 06:16 "What do I get out of being a member? " 06:17 Well there's a lot of things you get out of being a member 06:19 and we could list them in terms of being networked with a family 06:22 of like-minded believers that long to see Jesus come. 06:24 About coming to convention... all the things that are part 06:26 of ASI. But the best thing... 06:29 Honestly, the best thing about being a member of ASI 06:32 is that the spirit of ASI - for all of us that are a part 06:35 of this ministry - is that we want to give. 06:37 We want to give all that we have to see the work of God finished 06:40 in our generation. If that's you, if that resonates 06:44 in your heart, I encourage you to think about becoming a member 06:46 of ASI. And you know what? Whether or not you're a member 06:49 if you are a Seventh-day Adventist we are all part 06:51 of the family and we are all on a mission 06:53 to take this message to the world in our generation. 06:56 And so all of you: consider yourselves part of the family! 06:58 Right, Wayne? That's right. And we encourage you 07:01 to check out ASI membership. 07:04 And we would encourage you to send us that text message 07:08 if you can. God bless you, 07:09 and may the Lord continue to bless us here tonight. 07:19 The more and more I work with teams 07:21 the more I realize that truly together 07:23 everyone does achieve more. 07:25 I've thought about this a lot. I thought about the question 07:28 Why a team? Why doing something bigger than myself? 07:33 Something that I couldn't do on my own. 07:36 And the more I thought about it the more I realized 07:39 that as I join things that are bigger than myself 07:43 I start realizing that I can't do it myself 07:45 and I have to depend on people around me 07:48 to get larger jobs done... 07:50 which really ends up feeding the humility in me 07:54 and killing the selfishness and killing the pride 07:57 which is what Jesus' mission is all about: 08:00 to get rid of me and to fill me up with Him. 08:03 So I think it's awesome to work on a team 08:06 'cause I truly believe that when we work together 08:08 we achieve more and our hearts are made more like Jesus. 08:22 Good evening. 08:24 This evening it's my privilege to introduce 08:27 and also to pay tribute to a very special lady. 08:30 Some of you may not know Helen Eagar. 08:34 But Helen was the co-founder of the ministry Asian Aid. 08:38 And about 47 years ago in Australia 08:41 Helen started shipping clothing to Asia. 08:46 Helen then gave momentum to the growth of an amazing 08:49 ministry that in that period of time 08:53 has grown significantly 08:55 in placing children in need in Adventist schools, 08:59 giving them an education and introducing them to Jesus. 09:03 She's a very modest lady and may I also say 09:06 a stubborn and humble lady. 09:09 Right now there are about 10,000 children 09:13 in Adventist schools in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, 09:17 and Myanmar. We also fund four orphanages 09:22 with a church and a school for the blind and deaf. 09:26 Today I did some calculations 09:28 and it is my estimate that in the 50 years from the momentum 09:33 that Helen gave over 50 to 60 thousand children 09:38 have been given an education in Adventist schools, 09:42 which is a huge figure. 09:44 And today if you travel in those divisions 09:47 those children are playing key roles in the schools, 09:50 in the church, and in business. 09:53 I also estimate that somewhere between 60 and 90 million 09:58 dollars have been given to church mission schools. 10:01 Helen also has been very active in Nepal. 10:04 And early in her day she took a huge care 10:09 and concern for the women of Nepal with prolapse operations. 10:14 And right now we know that over 11,000 women 10:19 have had a prolapse operation because of the vision 10:23 and the need that Helen saw. 10:27 Helen is a special lady. If you've traveled with her, 10:30 she travels on motorcycles, bullock carts, 10:34 fourth-class on the trains in India. 10:37 And if you travel around Indian schools, 10:39 it's not: "How are you? " It's "Where is Mama Eagar? " 10:44 So in the six years that I've been CEO of Asian Aid USA 10:48 I have seen it. And so tonight Helen 10:51 on behalf of Asian Aid USA I just want to pay tribute 10:55 to the momentum that you gave in being a part of starting 10:59 this special organization. It's a real privilege for me... 11:10 It's a real privilege for me to be associated 11:13 with Asian Aid. As I used to travel 11:16 in Bangladesh, India, Nepal 11:19 every place I'd go it's Mama Eagar, Mama Eagar. 11:23 And Helen, it's just a privilege to give you this service 11:26 recognition award. And you know, in heaven 11:30 you're going to have a big reunion with all those children 11:34 that are now in the kingdom as a result of your ministries. 11:38 And we thank you very much. 11:40 Thank you. It's been a privilege to serve. 11:44 And those of you that have supported Asian Aid in any way 11:47 I just want to thank you sincerely. 11:50 And if you've been sponsoring a child, I just wish that 11:52 you could see as I have the difference it makes 11:54 in their lives. So God bless you for caring. 11:58 Thank you. 12:07 Good evening! Happy week! 12:12 Or as they used to say at home when I was growing up 12:16 after vespers: Feliz Amanha! 12:19 All right. I bring you greetings this evening 12:23 from the president of the Pacific Union 12:25 Elder Ricardo Graham. 12:26 And on behalf of Elder Graham and my fellow officers 12:29 we hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed 12:32 visiting beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. 12:35 We even had showers of blessings for you this week. 12:39 I have the privilege tonight of introducing the speaker 12:42 for the final session of the 2016 ASI Internat'l Convention. 12:47 He is Elder Daniel R. Jackson, the president of the North 12:51 American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. 12:53 Having been elected to that position in Atlanta, Georgia, 12:57 in 2010 during a General Conference session 13:00 and re-elected last year in San Antonio, Texas. 13:03 Originally from Canada 13:05 Elder Jackson has served the Seventh-day Adventist church 13:08 as a pastor, educator, author, and administrator. 13:13 He and his lovely wife Donna have three children 13:16 and two grandchildren. 13:18 Now in just a moment Elder Jackson will tell you 13:21 that he is a sinner saved by grace. 13:24 So he has a passion to preach the message of a crucified, 13:28 risen, and soon-coming Savior every time he speaks. 13:32 And he does so with great enthusiasm and conviction. 13:37 You know, as a former youth director and lifetime Pathfinder 13:41 I learned the law and pledge a long time ago 13:44 and I have repeated it hundreds of times. 13:47 The final two statements of the Pathfinder law say 13:51 "Keep a song in my heart; go on God's errands. " 13:55 If you know anything about Elder Jackson, you know that he 13:58 always has a song in his heart. 14:01 In fact, it's not uncommon while he's chairing committees, 14:04 boards, and meetings for him to start singing a hymn 14:07 to call us to order. 14:09 Eventually we all join him 14:11 and the loud chatter becomes a beautiful choir 14:13 as we get ready for the meeting. 14:15 And he has made it his mission to go on God's errands 14:20 as he boldly leads this great North American Division 14:23 in these last days of earth's history. 14:26 So please pray that tonight as Elder Jackson speaks to us 14:30 the Lord will empower him in a mighty way 14:33 as He has done so many times before. 15:28 That glorious day is coming; 15:33 the hour is hastening on. 15:37 It's radiant light is nearing, 15:41 far brighter than the sun! 15:47 In yonder clouds of heaven 15:52 the Savior will appear 15:56 and gather all His chosen 16:00 to meet Him in the air. 16:13 The saints, then all victorious 16:18 will go to meet their Lord. 16:22 And earth both bright and glorious 16:26 will then be their reward; 16:31 And God Himself there reigning, 16:35 will wipe all tears away; 16:39 Nor clouds nor night remaining, 16:43 but one eternal day! 17:08 Oh Christian, keep from sleeping, 17:13 and let your love abound. 17:18 Be watchful, prayerful, faithful 17:22 the trumpet soon will sound. 17:28 O sinner, hear the warning! 17:33 To Jesus quickly fly! 17:37 Then you, in that blest morning, 17:42 May meet Him in the sky! 17:48 Then you, in that blest morning, 17:53 May meet Him in 17:57 the sky! 18:08 Amen! 18:19 Was it something I said? 18:27 Is it not true? 18:31 "With such an army as our youth rightly trained... " 18:37 And praise God for the young people! 18:39 Amen! I was watching on the monitor 18:43 and I actually started to laugh. I said: 18:47 "That young lady shouldn't have all that talent! " 18:51 God has given special gifts to our young people! 18:56 And praise God! We must do all that we can 19:01 to help them dream, to let them dream 19:06 and then to empower them 19:09 and then get out of the way. 19:14 I tell people I am never concerned about the church 19:20 when I am around groups of our dedicated young people. 19:24 I am never concerned about the future of the church. 19:26 Praise God for that. 19:29 I never start a message any more 19:33 without doing two things, 19:35 but I'm adding one thing tonight. 19:38 I always do a confession 19:41 and then a profession 19:44 and tonight an affirmation. 19:47 The confession is simple: my name is Dan Jackson. 19:53 I am a broken human being. 19:55 I am not saying this to you to demonstrate any kind of 19:59 humility. I am telling you what is the truth. 20:04 I am a broken human being. 20:07 Without the grace of a gracious God 20:11 I would be on a never-ending spiral downward spiritually. 20:17 But because of His grace I have hope. 20:21 But I am a broken human being 20:23 and guess what, folks? He's not finished with me yet. 20:27 And just in case you hadn't noticed 20:31 you're just like me. 20:37 The profession. In the Seventh-day Adventist church 20:42 there is only one true north 20:46 and His name is Jesus. Amen! 20:50 Let Jesus be the center of all that we preach, 20:56 of all that we teach. If we teach the Sabbath 21:00 and Jesus is not in the center of the Sabbath, 21:04 we ought to quit preaching the Sabbath 21:07 until we can put Jesus in the center. Amen! 21:11 If we are preaching the three angels' messages, 21:16 we must put Jesus in the center. 21:19 If we can't see that Jesus... 21:24 "These things I have written to you... " He said... 21:28 It was Jesus... IS Jesus... who is the center of the book. 21:33 If you can't preach the three angels' messages 21:36 without Jesus being in the center, quit preaching the three 21:40 angels' messages until Jesus can be put in the center. 21:45 If you are teaching the health message, then please... 21:51 You know, He is the Water of Life. 21:55 He is the Bread of Life. 21:58 He is the center and the substance of our hope. 22:01 That's the confession. Thirdly, the affirmation. 22:05 I want to praise God for our lay people. 22:09 And I thank ASI for what they have done this week. 22:15 I have great appreciation for Steve Dickman 22:19 and of course for Kyle who works around our office. 22:23 And he came to me and said 22:27 "I hope you don't mind that I called you my boss today. " 22:31 And Elder Bryant was standing with us. He said: 22:34 "What's wrong with that? He is! " 22:38 Kyle is an Israelite in whom there is no guile. 22:43 And praise God that we have young people 22:47 who can assume responsibility. 22:50 I want to go back to a sentence that I quoted this afternoon 22:56 but that Elder Bradshaw quoted this morning. 22:59 Because I believe for Christians 23:02 living in the last gasp of time 23:06 that it is important that you and I 23:09 glean a fundamental under- standing from the Bible and the 23:13 Spirit of Prophecy as to how we ought to be. 23:18 How we ought to witness. 23:20 How we ought to have every member involved. 23:25 You see, if every member is involved 23:27 and we don't have the ingredient that I want to share with you 23:31 tonight, we could have every member involved for the next 23:34 300 years. 23:40 "The church is the repository... " 23:46 and I'm going to botch this up a little bit. 23:48 I've got it written down but I'll just do it by... 23:50 "The church is the repository of the riches of the grace 23:55 of Christ. And through the church 24:01 will eventually be made manifest even to principalities 24:06 and powers in the heavenly places 24:11 the final and the full display 24:16 of the love of God. " 24:19 I want to tell you, friends, 24:21 if you want to talk standards THIS is the standard. 24:26 Jesus said: "By this will all men know 24:30 that you are My disciples in that you have love 24:33 one for the other. " 24:36 The final and the full display 24:39 of the love of God. What IS the Loud Cry? 24:46 It is a demonstration not just in the words but in the lives. 24:52 Now I want to ask you a question 24:57 and I want you to respond. 25:00 For those of you that understand the question. 25:03 You know, I want to do this for you just before you fall 25:06 asleep. Would all the ministers 25:12 in this room please stand up. 25:25 All the ministers in this room please stand up. 25:30 I didn't say all the pastors. 25:34 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. 25:36 You may be seated. 25:41 And for those of you who have accepted Jesus Christ 25:43 as your personal Savior and you didn't stand up 25:47 you need to go back and read the Bible I Peter 2:4-9 25:52 and recognize the reality that the superficial distinction 25:57 that has been imposed on the scripture 26:00 that is identifying clergy 26:02 and laity does not exist in the Bible. 26:07 Pastors have a specific role. 26:09 I'm not demeaning pastors. 26:11 I was a pastor for 25 years 26:15 before I apostasized and became an administrator. 26:22 The role of the pastor... Remind me, folks, from 26:26 Paul's letter to the Ephesians, the role of the pastor 26:30 is to train who? The saints. 26:33 For the work of what? Ministry! 26:38 When you accept Jesus as your personal Savior 26:42 you just signed on to be a minister of the Most High God. 26:46 Paul says: "Don't you know that you yourselves 26:49 are living stones being built together into a spiritual house 26:55 to offer sacrifices acceptable unto God. " 26:59 There is no such thing as a Christian 27:04 who does not serve. 27:09 I did something unique one time as a pastor. 27:15 I was having a baptism. 27:19 And I went to my head deacon 27:21 and he had two beautiful wing chairs in his living room. 27:26 And I said to him: "Hey! 27:28 Would you bring your wing chairs to church on Sabbath with you? " 27:33 And he looked at me and said: "Why? " I said: 27:36 "Because I want to interview the candidates for baptism. 27:40 And I want to sit in one chair and I want them to sit in 27:44 the other chair. And I want to ask them in front of the church 27:48 'Why are you going to be baptized today? 27:51 "What made you make a life commitment to the church? ' " 27:57 I will never forget one young woman. 28:00 She... I asked her the question: "Why in the world are you 28:04 becoming a Seventh-day Adventist? " 28:06 And she told this story. She had some background 28:10 but she told this story. She said: 28:12 "At first I would just bring my children to Sabbath School 28:17 then I'd get lost. And then at the end of Sabbath School 28:20 I would come pick them up and take them home. 28:23 But every single Sabbath 28:27 there was a man at the door who greeted me so warmly. 28:34 Who was so kind and gracious to me 28:39 that I decided that I needed what he had 28:44 and I joined the church. " Now let me tell you this: 28:47 this brother never ever spoke publicly. 28:53 Didn't give Bible studies. 28:55 Didn't preach. 28:58 But he had an attitude of gratitude 29:02 that just emanated from him. 29:05 He was the kind of deacon that would clean under the carpet 29:10 because there must not be dirt in the Lord's house. 29:14 You see, I believe that Jesus is coming soon. 29:18 So do you. 29:20 He's coming... I want to go home! 29:26 The time has come for us - for you and for me... 29:30 all Seventh-day Adventists - to intensify our beliefs 29:34 so that we can serve God and bring glory to Him 29:38 and to His name in all that we do. 29:41 Whether it is a family relationship, 29:43 a school matter, a hospital, 29:46 wherever we are in the workplace 29:49 we must consistently be bringing glory to God. 29:53 That has become your role. 29:57 I want to look at this with you, and I want to 30:00 reference a Bible passage tonight. 30:03 Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7. 30:05 You might say: "Well this is a rather odd passage. " 30:08 But it reads like this: "Be anxious for nothing 30:12 but in everything by your prayer and supplication 30:16 with thanksgiving let your request be made known 30:20 to God, and the peace of God 30:22 which surpasses all understanding 30:25 will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. " 30:29 What do people see in you and me 30:33 as they watch us? 30:36 That's a telling question, friends. 30:38 What do they see in us? 30:40 Is our silent life testimony so powerful 30:45 and compelling that those watching us 30:48 would make a lifetime commitment to Jesus 30:51 because of what they saw? 30:53 You see, we are preoccupied in the North American Division 30:56 with the dream of reaching every community 31:00 in this land. Our homes, our schools, 31:04 our business places, our churches. Everything we have 31:09 must be dedicated to the furtherance of God's cause 31:13 on this planet. We have a dream 31:16 that every single member of the church in North America 31:20 will read the scriptures, will be impressed by the Holy Spirit, 31:24 and will become involved in God's great evangelistic 31:29 thrust on this earth before Jesus comes. 31:31 It is a splendid vision. 31:34 However, let me say that if we do not personally 31:38 demonstrate our connection with Jesus 31:41 then all other systems fail. 31:45 Allow me to share a very powerful statement 31:48 with you. As a matter of fact, for those of you who want to 31:51 engage in soul-winning activities 31:55 I have a key for you tonight. 31:58 A very powerful key, and it comes from the book 32:01 Christ Object Lessons pages 299 and 300. 32:05 And this is what it says: "We are to show the world 32:09 and all the heavenly intelligences 32:12 that we appreciate the wonderful love of God 32:15 for fallen humanity 32:17 and that we are expecting larger and yet larger 32:21 blessings from His infinite fullness... " 32:24 Then she goes on: "far more than we do 32:28 we need to speak of the precious chapters of our experience. 32:31 These exercises do three things... " she says. 32:35 Number one: "Drive back the power of Satan. " 32:38 Number two: "They expel the spirit of murmuring 32:44 and complaint and the Tempter loses ground. " 32:47 And number three: "They cultivate those attributes 32:52 of character which will fit the dwellers on earth 32:56 for the heavenly mansions. " 32:58 Whoa! 33:00 That's quite a statement. 33:02 She says that rehearsing in our own mind 33:09 the goodness and the grace of God 33:11 as it relates not only to the world but to me. 33:15 Listen to how she ends the statement. 33:18 She says: "Such a testimony will have an influence upon others. 33:24 No more effective means can be employed 33:30 for the winning of souls to Christ. " 33:34 "No more effective means 33:38 can be employed for winning souls to Christ. " 33:42 So here's a question tonight: 33:44 how do I become like that? 33:48 What Paul tells us in his powerful statement in 33:50 Philippians chapter 4 is that lasting peace 33:53 and happiness come to those who put their trust and faith 33:59 in God. That is, they allow their lives 34:02 to be preoccupied with God 34:06 and then things begin to happen. 34:09 Paul is attempting to tell the Philippians 34:13 that they needed to be ever concerned with this. 34:17 But what we're talking about here 34:20 is successful transcendent daily spiritual living. 34:26 That's where we need to be, friends. 34:29 The next time I am tempted to be angry 34:35 and... You know, I do have to tell you, 34:39 I've already told you I was broken, but I do 34:41 have to tell you I was a sinner. 34:43 I am a sinner. 34:45 I said this once at a Camp Meeting, and a lady came up 34:47 to me and said: "You are a president! 34:51 You must never tell people that you are a sinner. " 34:55 And I said to her: "Thank you so much. 34:58 From now on I'll just lie. " 35:04 The next time we're tempted to be angry 35:07 we need to think about the goodness of God. 35:11 I want to suggest there are three things 35:14 that can turn us into dynamos for Jesus Christ. 35:20 Three ideas the emerge out of the scripture. 35:23 Number one: the recognition that the love of God 35:27 desires only good for us. 35:32 We've got to settle that in our mind. 35:35 He is not some kind of eternal ogre looking to pounce on us. 35:39 The love of God desires only good for us. 35:45 I walked into his office - and if you've heard me tell this 35:50 story before I'm tellin' it again. 35:54 I walked into his office. 35:57 This man: the president of the Rwandan Union. 36:03 He had left his home in the early 90's 36:07 to go out and do a weekend of preaching. 36:11 And when he returned home 120 days later 36:16 he discovered that his wife, three children, 36:20 and 9 grandchildren had been slaughtered in the genocide. 36:27 I walked into his office and I said to him: 36:29 "Brother Amon, I know 36:35 that a person's pain is something very personal 36:38 to them, and for somebody to come walking into your 36:41 life and say 'tell me about it' 36:43 can not only be rude by it's just inappropriate. 36:47 I know that is like holy ground but I want to ask you 36:52 'how did you survive that? ' " 36:55 This was his answer. 36:58 He said: "I want you to know 37:01 that God has been good to me from the very beginning. " 37:07 He went on to say: "I know the people who 37:10 killed my family. They live not too far from here. 37:16 I see them from time to time 37:20 but I pray for them every day. " 37:23 Let me tell you something, friends: 37:25 that is not natural! 37:29 That is supernatural! 37:32 That is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. 37:36 His life went on because he knew in his heart 37:40 that God was good... eternally good... 37:44 and that the love of God only desires that which is 37:48 best for us. David wrote it this way. 37:50 He said: "Shout to the Lord all the earth; 37:53 serve the Lord with joy; come before Him with singing. 37:56 Know that the Lord is God. 37:59 He made us and we belong to Him. 38:01 We are the people, the sheep He tends. 38:03 Come into His city with songs of thanksgiving 38:06 and into His courtyard with songs of praise. 38:09 Thank Him and praise His name. " 38:11 And why does David say all this? 38:13 He winds up in verse 5 of Psalm 100 38:17 by saying: "The Lord is good! 38:19 His love is forever 38:21 and His loyalty goes on and on! " 38:27 I walked into her hospital room 38:32 in a very awkward situation for a man with a woman. 38:39 This dear sister had had a radical mastectomy. 38:46 I do want to say just exactly how much does a man 38:49 have to say to a woman at that point. 38:52 If it's your wife, that's one thing 38:55 but in any other circumstance... 38:56 But you know, I had a philosophy as a pastor 38:58 and that is unless there was some very serious problem 39:03 when I went into a hospital room and they're sleeping 39:05 I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder. 39:08 And so I did. I gently touched her shoulder 39:10 with my hand, and this dear sister opened up her eyes 39:15 and looked into my face beaming and said: 39:19 "Pastor, God has been so good to me. " 39:24 The next part wasn't quite that good. 39:28 She said: "Do you want to see what they did to me? " 39:30 And she started to pull the sheets down. 39:32 I was halfway down the hall... 39:38 Christianity is demonstrated in the crucible of life. 39:45 If I want to be a part of the last-day movement, 39:50 then I must become a part of 39:55 the final and the full display of the love of God. 40:00 Need to recognize... need to recognize that God is good 40:05 and that His will for me is always good. 40:09 Point number two: 40:13 the wisdom of God always knows best. 40:20 Jeremiah wrote, quoting God: "For I know the 40:25 plans I have for you declares the Lord: 40:28 plans to prosper you and not to harm you; 40:31 plans to give you a hope and a future. " 40:34 You know, we so often question God. 40:40 I remember seeing a church member one time 40:44 I was sitting on the dock of the ocean 40:48 and he came into the dock with his boat 40:52 and he was angry at God because he hadn't caught any fish. 40:57 Sometimes we don't understand how things can happen. 41:03 But we do know that if we place our hand, or rather our life 41:07 in the hand of God, the wisdom of God always knows best 41:11 even when things look like they are ridiculous to us. 41:16 In 1980 I received a phone call late one night. 41:20 It says I have 5 minutes and 29 seconds left. 41:24 Good luck. 41:28 Every technician has said: "Well good for you, buddy. 41:32 We're just turning you off in 5 minutes and 16 seconds. " 41:35 Go for it. 41:40 Got a call from the General Conference. 41:43 They said: "We would like you and your family 41:45 to relocate to Sri Lanka. " 41:49 First question: "Where in the world is Sri Lanka? " 41:53 When I was a kit it was Ceylon. 41:55 The pearl of the Indian Ocean. 41:57 I didn't know. I said: "We'll pray about it. " 42:02 Had to do something in town. Went to town. 42:06 Came back; typed out a letter, you know. 42:09 Anybody under 45 know what a typewriter is? 42:12 Anyway... typed out a letter. 42:16 It said: "Dear brethren, 42:19 thank you so much for considering my name 42:22 but I will not be able to go to Sri Lanka. " 42:25 And I began to list a number of reasons. 42:29 Then I again was interrupted. I had to go. 42:32 When I came back my dear wife 42:35 wrote a letter for me. It read like this: 42:38 "Dear brethren, I'm so sorry I can't go to Sri Lanka 42:43 because they don't have motels over there 42:46 or big green Glad garbage bags 42:49 etc., etc., etc. " And I went to her and I said: 42:52 "Are you mocking the servant of the Lord? " 42:57 I did not want to go. 43:00 I did NOT want to go to Sri Lanka. 43:03 I was happy in Canada. 43:05 But I made the mistake of praying. 43:08 It wasn't a mistake... but I began to pray. 43:13 And the more I prayed the more God worked in my mind 43:17 and He told me two things. 43:19 "You cannot draw a geographical circle 43:23 around where you will serve God. " 43:25 Secondly: "You cannot or ought not to draw 43:29 a circle of convenience around where you will serve God. " 43:34 I wrestled with that for two weeks 43:37 and finally in conclusion I phoned the brethren. 43:41 Now the voice who had called me initially 43:45 had been happy and cheery. But when I phoned them this time 43:47 I said: "Hi, this is Dan Jackson calling. 43:50 My family and I have prayed about this 43:53 and we've decided to accept the invitation. " 43:57 And the voice on the other end wasn't nearly so cheery. 44:00 The voice on the other end said: "We're sorry. 44:03 We've already filled that call. " 44:06 Now one would think one would be sad 44:08 but on my end of the phone I was doing this. 44:11 "Yes! Yes! Yes! " 44:14 And I went and found my wife. 44:16 I drove to the school that she was teaching at. 44:20 I found her, and when I saw her I said to her these words: 44:24 "It was a test... it was only a test 44:26 and we passed the test! " 44:29 Then I said these words that were almost fatal words. 44:33 I said to her: "Now I can finish the basement! " 44:37 Of course every pastor... that's the role, right? 44:40 Finishing the basement. 44:45 We had something to do that day. I actually had a funeral 44:47 to conduct. Went out and conducted the funeral. 44:49 Came home. Eating supper... the phone rang. 44:53 It was that crazy woman from the General Conference 44:56 and she had her cheery voice on again. 45:00 She said: "Are you still willing to go to Sri Lanka? " 45:07 And I said: "The conditions that led me to say yes 45:12 the first time are still there. 45:15 We will go to Sri Lanka. " 45:17 Let me tell you something, friends, 45:19 I did not want to go to Sri Lanka. 45:23 But what I have told people since 45:26 is that it was not always pleasurable 45:29 but it was always beneficial. " 45:31 The wisdom of God knows best. 45:36 If we put our lives into His hands, 45:40 He will bring us off more than conquerors. 45:45 Finally, the third point, and I'm skipping through this 45:49 quickly as I can, 45:51 the third element that can make your witness and mine 45:55 more effective for Jesus 45:58 is the power of God... the power of God 46:03 that can bring about our requests. 46:07 I... before I went overseas 46:12 I sold a house. We had just bought a house 46:15 and I had sold a house. 46:17 You know, this will sound like a dream 46:20 but the house was a brand-new home. 46:22 It was about 1,100 square feet. 46:24 Bought it for $50,000 46:28 and eleven months later I sold it for $80.000. 46:31 We paid our tithe, 46:33 we did a number of other things. 46:35 We had $20,000 and my wife and I agreed: 46:39 we'll take that money and we'll put it aside 46:42 for our children's education 46:44 because by the way, kids cost a lot of money. 46:52 And we went to Sri Lanka. I actually bought a 5-acre 46:55 piece of land. We took off, went to Sri Lanka. 46:58 From there we went to India. 46:59 About five years later, you know, we were not exactly 47:02 the long-term missionaries... we were more like tourists. 47:05 But had a wonderful time... it was a blessing from God. 47:11 When we came we couldn't sell the land. 47:14 Couldn't sell the land. 47:16 We prayed about it; we tried to sell it. 47:18 I'd put that little investment of $20,000- which then was a 47:22 pretty good chunk. 47:24 Couldn't sell the land... not at all. 47:27 But you know what happened? 47:30 Clock went to zero. 47:33 What happened was this: after the last one of our children 47:40 had finished we got a phone call. 47:46 "Someone wants to buy your land. 47:48 They've offered $7,000. " 47:50 I said: "Send the check immediately! " 47:54 We took it and we used it, but you see 47:58 all along God didn't need my money. 48:02 He didn't need my plan. 48:05 My children were provided for. 48:07 They got their education because of the power of God. 48:12 Listen friends, I'm going to close, 48:15 but I'm going to close by reading a statement 48:19 that is a wonderful statement from Desire of Ages page 331. 48:24 Reads like this: 48:25 "Those who take Christ at His word 48:28 and surrender their souls to His keeping, 48:32 their lives to His ordering, 48:35 will find peace and quietude. In perfect acquiescence 48:39 there is perfect rest. 48:41 Our lives may seem to be a tangle 48:45 but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Builder 48:49 He will bring out the pattern of life and character 48:52 that will be to His own glory. " 48:59 The love of God, the wisdom of God, 49:02 the power of God. Friends, we need to rehearse 49:06 those moments in time where those elements 49:10 have been experienced in our lives. 49:12 And then we'll become master soul winners 49:18 for Jesus. 49:20 We are living in the final gasp of earth's history. 49:25 We are! You know, you used to be able to say 49:29 "Well, yeah, but there's... " You can't say that "Yeah, 49:33 well" anymore, can you? 49:35 The events transpiring in our world 49:38 are so tragic and so breathtaking 49:42 that one says: "Oh dear Lord, not another one. " 49:46 "Not another shooting. " 49:48 "Not another terrorist attack. " 49:52 "Not another phoney-baloney politician... whatever. " 49:56 By the way, I'm not a Republican and I'm not a Democrat. 49:59 Amen! Amen... that's right, whoever said amen. 50:03 I'm a Canadian... I don't vote. 50:07 I do want to tell you that Canada, not too long ago, 50:11 elected a 16-year-old prime minister, but I'd better not 50:14 say that. For all you Canadians 50:18 you can take the word back. 50:20 Here's how I want to conclude. 50:23 Many years ago I built a house. 50:27 Actually had an arrangement with the conference 50:29 as I was transferring from one conference to another. 50:32 It was the only way I could get into housing... 50:34 I'd build a house. Smartest thing I did 50:38 was to hire a contractor 50:40 to put the foundation in under that house. 50:46 By the time I arrived on the site it was there, it was good. 50:50 It looked good. I put up sub floors and all the rest 50:53 and put up the walls. It wasn't that big a deal. 50:56 It was a pre-fab house. 50:58 The walls were sheeted and the windows were in the walls. 51:01 But nonetheless I put it up. 51:04 One day I was framing walls on the inside of the house 51:07 when the building inspector showed up. 51:10 And you have to know, friends, that when a building inspector 51:13 shows up at your building site and he gets out of his car 51:16 and his arms are like this 51:18 he is either a Pentecostal who just got ecstatic utterances 51:23 or something is really wrong. 51:26 And he did! He got out of his car; threw his arms up like this 51:29 and said: "You have built your house on the wrong lot! " 51:37 I knew it could happen because the man who lived just across 51:41 the street put himself in a swimming pool. 51:44 And when his new next-door neighbor arrived from the 51:48 Northwest Territories to occupy that lot 51:50 he went to the man who built the swimming pool 51:53 and he said: "I have never received such a gracious 51:56 welcoming gift as a swimming pool before. 51:58 You built your swimming pool right on my lot. 52:02 But I'm going to put a double fence around it... 52:04 and I mean, I'm going to put a fence around it and a double 52:07 gate on your side 52:09 so you can use my swimming pool any time you want to. " 52:13 So I knew it was possible, but I looked at that building 52:16 contractor... I mean, that inspector 52:20 and I did this. I said: "I have NOT 52:24 built my house on the wrong lot 52:28 because John Hanks put the foundation in 52:31 under this house. And if John Hanks 52:35 put it on this lot it's on the right lot! " 52:41 And he looked at me and he said: "Well if John Hanks 52:46 put the foundation in under your house 52:49 it's on the right lot. " 52:51 And then he tucked his pro- verbial tail between his legs, 52:55 got into his car and drove off into the sunset. 52:58 And then it was my turn. 53:02 Praise the Lord! 53:06 Here's the point: 53:09 we know who the Builder is. 53:14 We know who the Foundation is. 53:17 His name is Jesus. 53:21 Friends, we must become engaged. 53:26 We cannot live our lives believing that the pastor 53:32 or the star literature ministries person 53:38 or the person who does whatever they do 53:41 is going to finish the work. 53:43 God wants you and He wants me. 53:47 We build upon the foundation of Jesus 53:51 and then He will take care of the results. 53:56 And we will have not only joy 53:58 but we will have peace as we serve Him in gladness. 54:04 Amen. 54:22 Abide with me... 54:27 fast falls 54:30 the even tide. 54:36 The darkness deepens... 54:43 Lord, with me abide. 54:49 When other 54:53 helpers 54:56 fail and comforts flee... 55:03 help of the helpless 55:08 O abide 55:13 with me! 55:41 Swift to its close 55:46 ebbs out 55:49 life's little day. 55:54 Earth's joys grow dim... 56:00 it's glories 56:03 pass away. 56:08 Change and decay 56:13 in all around 56:17 I see... 56:21 O, Thou who changest not 56:27 abide with me! 56:46 I need Thy presence 56:52 ev'ry passing hour... 56:58 what but Thy grace 57:03 can foil the Tempter's pow'r? 57:10 Who like Thyself 57:15 my guide and stay can be? 57:22 Thru cloud and sunshine, 57:26 O abide 57:30 with me! 57:47 I fear no foe 57:52 with Thee at hand to bless, 57:58 Ills have no weight 58:03 and tears no bitterness; 58:10 Where is death's sting? 58:14 Where grave thy victory? 58:21 I triumph still 58:25 if Thou abide 58:29 with me! |
Revised 2017-07-24