Welcome to 3ABN's
Spring Camp Meeting:
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Live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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This message this morning...
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I would consider it
an intersection message:
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tying us to the past,
preparing us for the future.
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It is entitled
What Happened in 1844?
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And my pastor -
I'm now his pastor -
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we call each
other rabbi and bishop.
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I'm rabbi... he's bishop...
those affectionate terms.
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And he is going to impart
to us a wealth of information.
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He's been in the
ministry for more than 30 years.
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And so handling this
topic I think the only
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difficulty for Pastor
C.A. is what to leave out.
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What Happened in 1844?
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You know him very
well. He's a man of God.
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He's a very strong
staple here at 3ABN, and I know
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that God is going to bless
him as he imparts the Word.
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He said give him a
short introduction.
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And then the Lord has
also... I've also been given
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the opportunity to pave the way.
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And I've chosen the song
God Leads His Dear Children
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because the message of
1844 really was all about
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God leading His children.
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In shady green pastures,
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so rich and so sweet,
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God leads
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His children along;
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Where the water's cool flow
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bathes the weary one's feet,
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God leads
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His dear children along.
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Some thro' the waters,
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and some thro' the flood,
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Some thro' the fire,
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but all thro' His blood;
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Some thro' great sorrow,
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but God gives a song;
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In the night season
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and all
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the day long.
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With sorrows before us
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and Satan oppose,
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God leads His dear children
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along;
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Through faith we will conquer...
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we'll defeat all our foes,
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God leads His children
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along.
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He'll lead some thro' the waters
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and some thro' the flood,
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Some thro' the fire,
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but all
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thro' the blood;
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Some thro' great sorrow,
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yet God gives a song;
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In our night season...
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in our night season
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and all
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the day
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long.
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Amen!
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Thank you Pastor John.
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God leads His
dear children along.
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I want to thank all of
those who have gone before
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for not only have
you informed my message
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but you have relieved
me of the responsibility
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of saying some things because
they've already been said.
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So I then can
enjoy flights of fancy
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and take you into a
realm that perhaps you have not
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thought of before and
suggest some things to you.
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I listened very
closely to what Mollie Steenson
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and Shelley Quinn
had to say on yesterday
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and David Shin and
John Carter on last evening.
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Some detracted from my
burden and some added thereunto.
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So I want to approach 1844
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from perhaps a
slightly different perspective.
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I would ask you to
turn with me if you will
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to Revelation chapter 10
and we will pick up our reading
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at verse 7. I
bought on yesterday
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a brand new Bible.
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I have this Bible
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in a size that
is somewhat smaller
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but I found on yesterday that
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this one is much
larger and much better.
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You know, you wash
these Bibles and they shrink.
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Shall we pray? Father God,
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we importune You now
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and we ask, Lord, that Your Word
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may be made plain
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for the hour is late
and Christ is soon to come.
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Fill us and fit us and feed us
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for we would hear
a word from the Lord.
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And we thank you,
Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Revelation chapter
10 beginning at verse 7.
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The Bible says: "In
the days of the sounding
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of the seventh angel
when he is about to sound
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the mystery of
God would be finished
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as He declared to His
servants the prophets.
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Then the voice which I heard
from heaven spoke to me again
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and said: 'Go
take the little book
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which is opened in the
hand of the angel who stands
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on the sea and on the earth. '
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So I went to the angel
and said to him: 'Give me
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the little book.
' And he said to me:
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'Take and eat it.
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And it will make
your stomach bitter
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but it will be as sweet as honey
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in your mouth. '
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Then I took the little
book out of the angel's hand
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and ate it, and it
was as sweet as honey
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in my mouth but
when I had eaten it
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my stomach became bitter. "
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This text obviously alludes
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to the Great
Disappointment of 1844.
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But there is so
much more to be found
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in this text. There
are parallel scriptures
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in the Old and New Testaments
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aside from what we
see here in Revelation.
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Ezekiel chapter 3 traces the
outlines of the same scenario
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as does Jeremiah 15.
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We see this idea of sweet
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and sour or sweet and bitter.
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These texts all allude to a word
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from the Lord, a
message from the Lord
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that was rapturously pleasant
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and satisfying - sweet
if you will - in the mouth
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when it was
received yet bitter as gall
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when it was accepted,
internalized, and shared.
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But hasn't it always been
that way for the people of God?
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The reality is,
brothers and sisters,
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that our faith,
though characterized
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somewhat by the Great
Disappointment of 1844
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in that scenario, but
that has always been the lot
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of faithful Christians,
of faithful children of God,
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in every age. It was experienced
by the prophets of old.
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The people of God in all ages on
a micro level and a macro level:
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the people of God have
had this sweet and sour,
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sweet and bitter
experience. And I dare say
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before Christ comes we
will taste it yet again.
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How many here have tasted
the sweetness of accepting
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the gospel message
only to have it turn sour
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when you went to share it with
your relatives or your friends
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or even your spouse or
your parents or your siblings
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or your in-laws
or your out-laws?
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You found
something in the Word of God;
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you heard
something in the Word of God;
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you understood
something in the Word of God
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and it was sweet in your mouth.
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And you assumed
since it was good for you
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it would be good for them.
00:12:31.11\00:12:34.02
So you joyously with
great pride and great love
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and great care
shared with others
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what God had given you
only to find out that many times
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not only did they
reject the message... they also
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rejected the messenger. Amen!
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My mom, bless her heart,
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was a Methodist. In fact,
she was an African Methodist
00:12:59.61\00:13:04.25
Episcopal member... an AME.
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And when she became Adventist
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she trotted back
to Toronto, Canada
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to share her
Adventism with her siblings.
00:13:16.93\00:13:22.33
And things were never the same.
00:13:23.97\00:13:25.83
In fact, her brothers
didn't even come to her funeral.
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They rejected the message
and they rejected the messenger.
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It was sweet in her
mouth; turned sour in the belly.
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But God says it
doesn't end there.
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You've gotta prophesy again.
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Whether they accept it or
not you've gotta prophesy again.
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You can't leave
them in their state...
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you've got to prophesy again.
00:14:01.80\00:14:04.11
So what happened in 1844?
00:14:06.34\00:14:08.51
In 1844 time came
to an end for mankind.
00:14:09.11\00:14:14.12
Christ moved within the veil
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from the Holy Place
to the Most Holy Place
00:14:18.42\00:14:23.43
as Pastor Kenny Shelton
so beautifully illustrated
00:14:23.63\00:14:26.13
on yesterday. The
antitypical Day of Atonement
00:14:26.43\00:14:32.33
and when you say antitypical
it's just a long word that means
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the real deal. Amen!
00:14:37.21\00:14:39.34
We moved into the
read deal Day of Atonement.
00:14:41.04\00:14:46.01
Something happened in heaven
and something happened on earth.
00:14:47.35\00:14:52.92
Something happened in the
United States and something
00:14:53.12\00:14:54.96
happened in Europe. And
Ellen White and James White
00:14:55.16\00:14:57.89
and Joseph Bates and S.
S. Snow and George Storrs
00:14:58.09\00:15:01.23
and Hiram Edson and E.
S. Cottrell and tens of
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thousands of other people who
not only wanted Christ to come
00:15:04.53\00:15:09.24
they genuinely
thought that He WOULD come.
00:15:09.50\00:15:12.81
The first and second angels'
messages had been preached.
00:15:14.61\00:15:18.15
Angel #3 had been
summoned and was taking wing.
00:15:19.48\00:15:24.02
The midnight cry
had been sounded.
00:15:24.99\00:15:27.76
The seventh month movement
had justified the Spring delay
00:15:28.36\00:15:32.79
for you see the
original date was April 2, 1844.
00:15:32.99\00:15:37.50
When that passed by
they settled on October 22,
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1844.
00:15:43.17\00:15:45.27
The message had been trumpeted
from Matthew chapter 25:
00:15:45.97\00:15:49.54
"Behold, the bridegroom cometh!
00:15:49.74\00:15:52.48
Go ye out to meet Him. "
00:15:52.68\00:15:55.12
The 2,300 days were ending.
00:15:56.18\00:15:58.85
The sanctuary
was to be cleansed.
00:15:59.45\00:16:01.89
We were entering as I said the
antitypical Day of Atonement.
00:16:03.36\00:16:06.63
Translation: Christ is coming
back to take His children home.
00:16:06.83\00:16:12.23
What could possibly be sweeter?
00:16:12.63\00:16:15.97
Jesus is coming back!
00:16:18.57\00:16:21.01
I love Him and He loves me
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and we are going to
get together forever.
00:16:24.58\00:16:27.35
"Behold, the
bridegroom cometh! " SWEET!
00:16:27.55\00:16:31.29
We are going to
be together forever.
00:16:36.32\00:16:38.39
Christ was going to present
His church to His Father.
00:16:40.33\00:16:44.60
No more sin; no more sickness;
00:16:45.70\00:16:50.21
no more sorrow;
no more separation.
00:16:50.61\00:16:55.01
No more... forever.
00:16:55.41\00:16:59.11
And on earth, the scorching
cancerous ridicule of the world
00:17:00.42\00:17:05.02
and Babylon would
be eternally silent.
00:17:05.42\00:17:09.69
Oh, that would be
glory for me! Amen!
00:17:11.83\00:17:17.40
Glory for me! Glory
for me! When by His grace
00:17:17.80\00:17:21.67
I shall look on His face,
Oh! That will be glory for me!
00:17:21.87\00:17:26.17
Amen!
00:17:26.37\00:17:28.01
You see, if you
really love Jesus
00:17:28.21\00:17:31.08
that's the
sweetest news in the world.
00:17:31.28\00:17:33.52
Amen! You see, my fear is...
00:17:33.72\00:17:37.39
I have this nagging fear
after pastoring for 40+ years:
00:17:37.59\00:17:41.66
I've got this nagging
fear that Adventists -
00:17:41.96\00:17:46.33
some of us - aren't as excited
00:17:46.73\00:17:52.63
about the second
coming as we used to be.
00:17:55.30\00:17:57.94
I mean, some of us have settled
down like the Jews after the
00:17:59.34\00:18:02.38
Babylonian captivity.
When the call came to go back
00:18:02.58\00:18:06.25
and rebuild in Jerusalem
00:18:06.45\00:18:07.95
some folks said: "You know,
00:18:08.15\00:18:10.12
it ain't so bad here. "
00:18:13.36\00:18:15.32
"We've got jobs; we've got
homes; we've got government
00:18:17.86\00:18:21.20
positions. We're doing
all right here in Babylon.
00:18:21.40\00:18:25.17
We've changed empires...
we're under Medo-Persia now
00:18:25.37\00:18:28.54
but it's not so bad. "
00:18:28.74\00:18:32.21
"Now we've got to "up-group"
and go back! " And I think
00:18:35.81\00:18:40.02
there are some of us
00:18:40.22\00:18:43.72
who've gotten a
little comfortable.
00:18:43.92\00:18:46.76
"I want to go to heaven but
I'd like to get married first. "
00:18:50.13\00:18:54.93
"I want to retire
and kick back first. "
00:18:59.07\00:19:04.01
"I want Jesus to
come but I'd like to
00:19:04.47\00:19:07.71
relax a little bit first. "
00:19:07.91\00:19:11.71
And as such we've lost our
zeal and joy for the coming
00:19:14.55\00:19:17.65
of the Lord. The
Bible says, Romans 12:2:
00:19:17.85\00:19:21.99
"And be not...
be not conformed. "
00:19:22.39\00:19:26.56
You know what that means?
Don't get molded by this world.
00:19:26.80\00:19:32.60
"But be ye transformed. "
00:19:33.00\00:19:36.00
Peter says don't get
"overcharged with surfeiting"
00:19:36.20\00:19:39.94
which is just riotous
living and drunkenness.
00:19:40.18\00:19:42.04
Don't get all caught up
in the stuff that's down here
00:19:42.24\00:19:45.11
so that day slips
in on you unawares.
00:19:46.61\00:19:50.09
Even William Miller, who
did not originate or promulgate
00:19:54.96\00:19:59.73
October 22, but he accepted
it after he was pressured.
00:19:59.93\00:20:03.87
William Miller didn't come out
for October 22 till October 6
00:20:04.07\00:20:07.54
of the same year.
That wasn't his date.
00:20:07.74\00:20:09.74
William Miller said:
"Some time between 1843
00:20:10.14\00:20:14.18
and 1844. " And
it was Samuel Snow
00:20:14.38\00:20:16.98
and George Storrs
that twisted his arm.
00:20:17.18\00:20:20.15
And finally on October 6
of that year he said: "OK,
00:20:20.35\00:20:23.32
I accept it. "
That was never his date.
00:20:23.52\00:20:25.72
So under pressure
from Storrs and Hines
00:20:26.42\00:20:28.79
he fell in line. But it was
called The Great Disappointment.
00:20:28.99\00:20:33.90
But many around the
world had been given this idea
00:20:35.90\00:20:41.27
by God. You know, when God
gives you something important
00:20:41.47\00:20:43.10
He rarely gives it
to just one person.
00:20:43.30\00:20:44.64
He usually kind
of shares the wealth.
00:20:44.81\00:20:46.34
They had thought
maybe the Fall of 1843,
00:20:49.31\00:20:51.91
maybe April 2, 1844.
00:20:52.11\00:20:53.82
But when October 22, 1844 came
00:20:54.02\00:20:59.85
and passed and Christ did
not come, the bottom fell out.
00:21:00.06\00:21:05.13
Henry Emmons wrote:
"I waited all forenoon
00:21:06.36\00:21:11.90
on Wednesday and was
well in body as I ever was.
00:21:12.10\00:21:16.57
But after 12 o'clock
I began to feel faint
00:21:16.81\00:21:21.08
and before dark I needed
someone to help me to my bedroom
00:21:22.24\00:21:26.05
as my natural
strength was leaving fast
00:21:26.25\00:21:29.45
and I lay prostrate for two days
00:21:29.65\00:21:32.95
without pain sick
with disappointment. "
00:21:33.15\00:21:37.23
Hiram Edson wrote: "Our
fondest hopes and expectations
00:21:38.69\00:21:42.80
were blasted and such a
spirit of weeping came over us
00:21:43.00\00:21:46.40
as I never experienced
before. It seemed that the loss
00:21:46.60\00:21:50.04
of all earthly friends
could have been no comparison.
00:21:50.24\00:21:53.24
We wept and wept
until the day dawned.
00:21:53.48\00:21:56.28
If this had proved a
failure, what was the rest of my
00:21:57.65\00:22:02.38
Christian experience worth?
00:22:02.58\00:22:04.65
Had the Bible proved a failure?
00:22:04.85\00:22:07.56
Is there no God, no
heaven, no golden home city,
00:22:07.76\00:22:11.16
no Paradise?
00:22:11.36\00:22:12.83
Is all this but a
cunningly-devised fable? "
00:22:14.20\00:22:19.10
See, the Bible says: "If in
this world alone we have hope
00:22:20.64\00:22:23.51
we are of all
men most miserable. "
00:22:24.01\00:22:28.68
Most... If this, brothers
and sisters, is all there is
00:22:28.88\00:22:33.52
we are in trouble. Amen!
00:22:34.92\00:22:38.12
Is this it?
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.02
Gettin' old,
gettin' sick, and dying.
00:22:41.42\00:22:43.83
Gotta be something
more than this! Amen? Amen!
00:22:47.60\00:22:51.50
Gotta be something better
than this. I was teasing...
00:22:51.70\00:22:54.07
Danny and I are the same age.
I get there a little before him
00:22:54.27\00:22:56.71
but right now
we're the same age...
00:22:56.91\00:22:58.24
so he calls me an old man.
00:22:58.27\00:23:00.18
And I said to him the other
day: "This gettin' old thing
00:23:00.38\00:23:02.04
is gettin' old! "
00:23:02.24\00:23:03.85
I have a friend sitting
right here in the audience.
00:23:08.58\00:23:10.12
I'm not going to look at him
'cause he'll think I'm trying to
00:23:10.32\00:23:12.22
call him out. He said to me:
"I hit 65 and 65 hit me back. "
00:23:12.42\00:23:16.66
If this is all there is,
then we don't have any hope.
00:23:22.66\00:23:27.07
Is there no reality to our
fondest hopes and expectations
00:23:27.27\00:23:30.51
of these things and thus we
had something to grieve and weep
00:23:30.71\00:23:33.68
over, if all our hopes were lost
and as I said: "we wept until
00:23:33.98\00:23:39.95
the day dawned.
" Cried all night!
00:23:40.15\00:23:44.52
Young James White -
still in his 20's - wrote:
00:23:46.09\00:23:48.59
"The thought of turning again
to the cares and perplexities
00:23:48.99\00:23:51.93
and dangers of life
in full view of the jeers
00:23:52.13\00:23:55.00
and reviling's of unbelievers
who now scoffed as never before
00:23:55.20\00:23:59.33
was a terrible trial of
our faith and patience. "
00:23:59.53\00:24:02.97
Later he wrote: "From Maine
00:24:03.61\00:24:07.64
that when Joshua Himes stated
to the brethren that we should
00:24:07.84\00:24:10.98
prepare for another cold winter
00:24:11.18\00:24:13.25
my feelings were
almost uncontrollable.
00:24:13.45\00:24:16.02
I left the place of
meeting and wept like a child. "
00:24:16.42\00:24:22.42
On November 10th of 1844
00:24:24.36\00:24:27.86
William Miller wrote a
letter to Joshua V. Himes,
00:24:28.26\00:24:32.10
his leading publicist
and communications genius,
00:24:32.30\00:24:35.37
explaining his feelings.
00:24:35.57\00:24:38.14
"Although I have been
twice disappointed... "
00:24:38.64\00:24:41.54
April 2, October 22...
00:24:41.74\00:24:43.65
"I am not yet cast
down or discouraged.
00:24:44.05\00:24:47.52
God has been with me in
Spirit and has comforted me.
00:24:48.12\00:24:51.89
I have now much more
evidence than I do to believe
00:24:52.09\00:24:56.73
in God's Word. " Amen!
"And although surrounded with
00:24:56.93\00:25:00.80
enemies and scoffers yet
my mind is perfectly calm. "
00:25:00.96\00:25:04.70
This is William Miller talking.
00:25:04.90\00:25:06.23
"And my hope in the coming
of Christ is as strong as ever.
00:25:06.27\00:25:11.44
I have done only what after
years of sober consideration
00:25:11.84\00:25:15.41
I felt it in my solemn
ability and duty to do.
00:25:15.61\00:25:19.18
If I have erred it
has been on the side of
00:25:19.78\00:25:23.59
charity, the
love of my fellow man,
00:25:23.79\00:25:26.32
and my
conviction of duty to God.
00:25:26.52\00:25:29.16
I have fixed my mind
00:25:30.43\00:25:33.93
on another time... "
Amen! "and here I mean to stand
00:25:34.43\00:25:40.37
until God gives me more light. "
00:25:40.57\00:25:44.64
Amen! "And that
is today, and today,
00:25:44.84\00:25:48.44
and today until He comes
00:25:48.84\00:25:51.71
and I see Him for
whom my soul yearns. "
00:25:51.91\00:25:56.89
It is interesting that
Ellen White in speaking
00:25:57.95\00:26:01.66
of the disappointment
of those believers in 1844
00:26:01.86\00:26:06.46
draws a direct comparison -
and I want you to hold onto this
00:26:07.10\00:26:11.10
now 'cause I'm going to make
a tie up in just a little bit -
00:26:11.30\00:26:12.97
draws a direct comparison with
the disciples' disappointment
00:26:13.84\00:26:19.74
in Jesus at the cross.
00:26:20.18\00:26:22.61
After the triumphal
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
00:26:24.18\00:26:28.42
the disciples fully
expected Jesus to take over:
00:26:30.42\00:26:35.89
to lift them up and
push the Romans down.
00:26:36.73\00:26:40.23
Their hopes were pinned,
were fastened, were fixed
00:26:41.13\00:26:45.67
on Christ
standing up for His people.
00:26:45.87\00:26:48.90
She says: "I saw
the disciples doomed
00:26:50.61\00:26:54.48
to bitter disappointment.
00:26:54.68\00:26:56.68
In a few days they
followed Jesus to Calvary... "
00:26:56.88\00:27:01.15
This is just a couple
days after the triumphal entry.
00:27:01.35\00:27:03.72
"and beheld their
bleeding and mangled Savior
00:27:06.02\00:27:11.63
upon a cruel cross.
Their hopes died with Jesus.
00:27:11.83\00:27:17.60
I saw... " she says...
00:27:18.57\00:27:20.37
"that the disappointment of
those who believed in the coming
00:27:20.57\00:27:24.21
of the Lord in 1844 was
not equal to the disappointment
00:27:24.41\00:27:30.38
of the disciples. "
00:27:30.58\00:27:32.45
That's why in II Peter 1:16
00:27:36.82\00:27:40.26
he follows the lead
of John in John's gospel
00:27:41.16\00:27:44.23
and I, II, and III
John he touches on it
00:27:44.43\00:27:47.10
all four times when he
writes and again in Revelation.
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.73
Paul in Hebrews
says the same thing
00:27:50.77\00:27:53.94
that II Peter 1:16 says:
00:27:54.14\00:27:57.21
"For we did not follow
00:27:57.94\00:28:01.64
cunningly-devised fables
00:28:02.44\00:28:05.38
when we made known to you
00:28:05.78\00:28:08.25
the power and coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. "
00:28:08.45\00:28:10.99
"We were not
kidding; we were not joking.
00:28:11.12\00:28:15.56
We were not playing. This
is real and Christ is real. "
00:28:15.76\00:28:20.73
"But we were eyewitnesses of
His majesty and of His glory. "
00:28:22.03\00:28:25.93
So then my thesis is this:
00:28:26.13\00:28:27.47
The drama and trauma
00:28:31.47\00:28:35.28
that disappointment causes -
00:28:35.78\00:28:39.08
the drama and trauma
that characterized 1843
00:28:39.28\00:28:43.49
and 1844- were the birth pangs
00:28:43.69\00:28:48.66
of something new that God
was beginning to do. Amen!
00:28:49.06\00:28:53.90
They were the birth pangs of the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:28:54.73\00:28:57.70
And I am theorizing that
any time God is getting ready
00:28:59.00\00:29:04.21
to make a mighty
move in the earth
00:29:04.41\00:29:06.91
He takes His church
through drama and trauma
00:29:07.41\00:29:13.35
sweet in the mouth,
bitter in the belly.
00:29:14.32\00:29:17.92
And that drama and trauma
00:29:18.32\00:29:21.92
is necessary housecleaning
00:29:22.12\00:29:25.29
so that when God
does His new thing
00:29:28.10\00:29:32.00
He gets saints in
there - hear me now -
00:29:32.83\00:29:37.61
who are ready to
work with God. Amen!
00:29:38.01\00:29:43.65
You can see it over and over
and over in the Word of God.
00:29:43.85\00:29:48.05
Whenever God is
about to do a mighty move -
00:29:48.25\00:29:50.92
that's right - whenever
He's about to do something big,
00:29:51.12\00:29:53.86
whenever He's about
to shake this old earth
00:29:54.06\00:29:56.59
the first thing He's gotta do
is shake out the sloppy saints.
00:29:57.03\00:30:02.86
Amen! Huh!
00:30:03.06\00:30:06.27
Um-hmm.
00:30:06.47\00:30:08.14
He can't have you in there
dragging the program along.
00:30:10.51\00:30:14.98
That's why the Bible says
there is coming a day of shaking
00:30:17.85\00:30:21.95
such as never was.
00:30:22.35\00:30:24.62
Jesus is gettin'
ready to come back
00:30:24.82\00:30:27.76
and there's a lot of
00:30:27.96\00:30:30.03
dross - yes! -
00:30:34.23\00:30:37.07
weeds, tares
00:30:38.00\00:30:42.20
in the church.
00:30:43.17\00:30:44.91
And bless your heart
the defacto setting is
00:30:45.87\00:30:51.41
get right or get out.
00:30:51.61\00:30:54.32
Amen! Praise the Lord!
00:30:54.52\00:30:58.25
So there is a
pattern of sweet and sour,
00:31:03.19\00:31:06.83
and the sweet and sour is
part of the necessary shaking.
00:31:07.03\00:31:10.00
The birth pangs, if you will,
for something that God is...
00:31:10.20\00:31:13.84
is attempting to do.
00:31:14.04\00:31:15.37
And the Great Disappointment
cannot be seen as an isolated
00:31:15.40\00:31:19.44
incident. It must be
seen as a necessary shaking
00:31:19.64\00:31:22.68
of the tree so
that the bad fruit falls
00:31:22.88\00:31:26.05
and the good fruit stays on.
00:31:26.25\00:31:28.22
So that when the Seventh-day
Adventist church comes
00:31:28.42\00:31:30.99
it starts out with
good food, good fruit:
00:31:31.15\00:31:34.86
pure people who are
on fire for the Lord.
00:31:35.06\00:31:37.53
See, a lot of people
serve the Lord out of fear.
00:31:37.69\00:31:40.90
You know, it's not that you
have this great love for God...
00:31:42.53\00:31:45.27
you're just too old to
boogie and you're afraid!
00:31:45.47\00:31:51.27
Fear is good to get you started
00:31:52.71\00:31:55.51
but you need love to
keep you going. Amen!
00:31:55.91\00:31:59.78
See, my mother got
scared into the church.
00:32:00.02\00:32:01.82
Yeah. Picked up a flyer with
all those dragons and that stuff
00:32:02.65\00:32:04.79
on it. Scared her half to death!
00:32:04.99\00:32:06.32
But the fear evolved into love.
00:32:07.66\00:32:11.66
Amen? Amen!
00:32:11.86\00:32:14.36
So God wants pure hearts,
pure motives in the church.
00:32:15.36\00:32:18.50
You see, William
Miller discovered -
00:32:18.70\00:32:21.10
and we've got to
move along - discovered
00:32:21.30\00:32:25.27
that the scattered flock,
the Sabbatarian Adventists,
00:32:25.47\00:32:28.64
the Seventh-day Adventists
all discovered the same thing.
00:32:28.84\00:32:31.38
That is: if you have
a problem with the Word
00:32:31.58\00:32:34.45
the first thing you
do is go to your knees.
00:32:34.85\00:32:37.92
Amen? Don't go to your neighbor.
00:32:38.12\00:32:40.66
Don't go to your
pastor... go to your knees.
00:32:41.06\00:32:44.76
Amen! That's right.
00:32:44.96\00:32:46.29
Talk to God then
God will send you
00:32:46.33\00:32:50.97
right back to the Word
00:32:51.17\00:32:54.14
for truth and light
and blessed assurance.
00:32:57.14\00:33:00.61
Every now and again God makes
the church have a "check-up
00:33:00.81\00:33:04.05
from the neck up" and
you've gotta make sure
00:33:04.25\00:33:06.72
that you are in the Word.
00:33:06.92\00:33:08.95
Now the world had just
come out of 1,260 years
00:33:09.88\00:33:13.46
of darkness... extreme darkness.
00:33:13.66\00:33:16.26
Couldn't read the Bible;
00:33:16.46\00:33:17.79
had to listen to
priests and prelates
00:33:17.83\00:33:19.63
and people telling
you how to run your life.
00:33:19.83\00:33:21.63
You see, you don't judge the...
00:33:22.70\00:33:28.67
the Word by the church.
00:33:28.87\00:33:30.84
There's no place that says
when you read something in the
00:33:32.91\00:33:36.08
Bible go to the church
and ask them what that means.
00:33:36.28\00:33:38.65
You don't judge
the Word by the church.
00:33:38.85\00:33:41.38
You judge the
church by the Word. Amen!
00:33:41.58\00:33:44.42
So if you're in a church and
they're not preaching the Word
00:33:46.19\00:33:49.36
you've gotta
find some place to go.
00:33:49.76\00:33:52.16
Amen! That's right.
00:33:52.36\00:33:54.20
So that understood: that if
we've got a problem with our
00:33:55.36\00:33:59.07
understanding of
the Word go to our knees
00:33:59.27\00:34:02.77
and get right back in the Word.
00:34:02.97\00:34:05.47
And let me disabuse you
of an awful and evil rumor
00:34:05.67\00:34:10.58
that's been circulating
in the halls of Christendom.
00:34:10.78\00:34:13.11
We did not get our doctrinal
package from Ellen White.
00:34:13.31\00:34:16.38
Amen!
00:34:16.58\00:34:18.39
Ellen White didn't
give us our doctrine.
00:34:20.76\00:34:22.36
"Y'all got your doctrine from
Ellen White. " No we didn't!
00:34:22.56\00:34:25.06
We got our doctrinal
package from the Word.
00:34:26.70\00:34:30.67
And that's why God
allowed that disappointment.
00:34:30.87\00:34:33.10
So from then on we
didn't listen to William Miller
00:34:33.34\00:34:35.64
or Joshua V. Himes or
Charles Fitch or Josiah Litch.
00:34:35.84\00:34:38.94
We went to the Word.
00:34:39.14\00:34:41.21
Prayed it out; discussed it;
00:34:42.31\00:34:45.55
went to Ellen White and
said: "Does this agree? "
00:34:45.75\00:34:48.65
and she said: "Yeah. "
But it didn't start with her.
00:34:48.85\00:34:52.82
Ended with her...
started with the Word.
00:34:53.02\00:34:55.82
So then God was bringing to
Himself through all that drama
00:34:56.83\00:35:00.00
and trauma and sweet in the
mouth and bitter in the belly
00:35:00.20\00:35:03.03
He was forming a new church
that was based not on the whims
00:35:03.23\00:35:06.77
or will or word of any
man but on the Word of God.
00:35:06.97\00:35:10.01
Amen!
00:35:10.21\00:35:11.54
There is a question that each
of us have to ask ourselves.
00:35:17.45\00:35:21.78
It is the same question that
James and Ellen White asked,
00:35:23.28\00:35:26.02
Josiah Litch
asked, Hiram Edson asked.
00:35:26.22\00:35:28.46
Joshua V. Himes asked,
Samuel Sheffield Snow asked,
00:35:28.66\00:35:31.26
George Storrs, D. R.
L. Crosier, Apollos Hale,
00:35:31.46\00:35:34.30
E. A. Sutherland,
Joseph March, M. C. Clemmons,
00:35:34.46\00:35:36.87
Henry Bayer, Jane
March Parker, William Miller,
00:35:37.07\00:35:40.54
2,000 Adventist preachers
and an estimated 200,000
00:35:40.74\00:35:44.84
to 1 million public
and closet Millerites.
00:35:45.04\00:35:48.18
They asked
themselves the question.
00:35:48.58\00:35:50.95
After the tears had dried
00:35:52.58\00:35:54.55
and after the weeping had ended
00:35:54.75\00:35:57.32
they asked themselves
all the same question.
00:35:57.52\00:36:00.79
It is a question that has been
asked down through the ages.
00:36:02.09\00:36:05.26
Cleopas and his friend
asked themselves that question
00:36:05.46\00:36:08.83
on the road to Emmaus.
00:36:09.03\00:36:10.77
Anyone who has ever suffered
or sacrificed for Jesus,
00:36:11.83\00:36:15.27
anyone who has ever
lost a job or lost friends,
00:36:15.47\00:36:19.81
or lost family, or
lost their reputation,
00:36:20.01\00:36:23.04
or suffered for
the cause of Christ,
00:36:23.24\00:36:25.88
anyone or anything that has
ever been sacrificed for Jesus
00:36:26.08\00:36:29.88
any one of you that has
ever had someone laugh at you
00:36:30.09\00:36:33.25
or lie on you or make fun of you
00:36:33.46\00:36:36.22
or call you stupid or a fool
00:36:36.42\00:36:38.76
or mock your faith
or hurt your feelings...
00:36:38.96\00:36:41.33
Anyone that the devil has
used to try to discourage you
00:36:41.53\00:36:44.47
on your way to heaven,
anyone who has accused you
00:36:44.67\00:36:48.00
and rubbed in your face
your own sin and shortcomings
00:36:48.20\00:36:51.64
when your only sin was
really that you were trying to
00:36:51.84\00:36:54.08
serve Jesus has had to
wrestle with this same question.
00:36:54.28\00:36:57.65
And you've had to ask it
early in your gospel experience:
00:36:58.01\00:37:03.99
"Is Christ worth it? "
00:37:05.89\00:37:10.73
Somewhere, some time, some place
00:37:13.16\00:37:16.36
you've had to answer
that question for yourself.
00:37:16.56\00:37:19.77
Wife can't help you;
husband can't help you.
00:37:19.97\00:37:22.24
Family can't help you;
preacher can't help you.
00:37:22.44\00:37:24.77
Everybody's got to
drop on their knees
00:37:24.97\00:37:27.21
and say: "Christ, I know
You've given everything for me.
00:37:27.41\00:37:31.71
What am I going to give to You?
00:37:32.68\00:37:36.89
And how much? " And how
you answer that question
00:37:37.95\00:37:42.29
impacts or impedes
your growth in Jesus.
00:37:43.43\00:37:47.00
You've gotta be
honest with yourself.
00:37:47.40\00:37:49.20
Are you going to sell out
to God or are you going to
00:37:49.40\00:37:51.37
hold back a little for yourself?
00:37:51.57\00:37:53.03
And unless you answer that
question you can never grow
00:37:54.84\00:37:57.51
in the Word. I Corinthians 9:26:
00:37:57.71\00:38:01.38
"I run like this... " Paul
says... "not with uncertainty.
00:38:01.58\00:38:05.81
I fight not as one
who beats the air. "
00:38:06.01\00:38:08.58
Paul says: "I've
already determined
00:38:09.58\00:38:12.62
that Jesus is real. "
00:38:12.82\00:38:14.36
"I've already determined
that I can trust my life
00:38:14.96\00:38:18.36
in His hands. " I like how
the Clear Word translates this.
00:38:18.56\00:38:22.43
I love the Clear Word Bible.
00:38:22.63\00:38:24.47
I don't use it for doctrine
but it is an inspirational book.
00:38:25.43\00:38:28.10
He says: "I don't
run the gospel race
00:38:28.50\00:38:32.74
aimlessly as if I don't
know where the finish line is. "
00:38:32.94\00:38:38.41
I like that. "I'm not
just out there running.
00:38:39.51\00:38:42.08
I'm running some place. "
00:38:43.89\00:38:45.85
"I don't run like I just
don't know where I'm going.
00:38:46.99\00:38:49.56
I know where the
finish line is. "
00:38:49.76\00:38:51.16
"I don't fight by
boxing at shadows.
00:38:51.36\00:38:54.10
I try to make
every punch count. "
00:38:54.56\00:38:58.70
I like that.
00:39:00.64\00:39:01.97
Paul says: "I know what I'm
doing; I know where I'm going
00:39:02.80\00:39:06.81
and I know whose side I am on. "
00:39:07.01\00:39:10.78
Paul later told young
Timothy in II Timothy 1:12:
00:39:11.18\00:39:14.25
"That is why I am
suffering as I am.
00:39:15.12\00:39:17.72
Yet I am not
ashamed because I know
00:39:17.92\00:39:20.16
whom I have believed
00:39:20.36\00:39:23.56
and I am
persuaded... " I'm convinced...
00:39:24.46\00:39:26.16
"that He is able to guard
what I have entrusted to Him
00:39:26.36\00:39:29.00
against that day. "
Paul is saying: "When I give
00:39:29.20\00:39:32.20
my heart to Jesus, when I
put my life in Jesus' hands,
00:39:32.40\00:39:35.40
I know Jesus is
not going to drop it.
00:39:35.80\00:39:38.11
He's not going to break
it; He's not going to lose it.
00:39:38.51\00:39:41.28
He's not going to
leave it out in the rain;
00:39:41.48\00:39:43.38
He's not going to
give it to somebody.
00:39:43.68\00:39:45.35
He's not going to
let anybody steal it.
00:39:45.55\00:39:47.12
Jesus will keep it safe
until I see Him face to face. "
00:39:47.32\00:39:52.95
So every now and
again, brothers and sisters,
00:39:54.69\00:39:57.43
every now and again
God sends us through
00:39:57.79\00:40:02.40
a time of sweet in the
mouth and bitter in the belly
00:40:02.60\00:40:06.37
because He is forcing
the church to examine itself
00:40:06.77\00:40:10.61
and to make sure where it is.
00:40:11.74\00:40:14.51
If it was all
sweet in the mouth,
00:40:14.71\00:40:16.98
the churches would be much
more crowded than they are now.
00:40:18.18\00:40:22.42
But you know what happens
when you eat sugar all the time?
00:40:24.09\00:40:27.16
There's no
nutritional value in sugar.
00:40:31.03\00:40:32.83
Makes you sick!
00:40:33.03\00:40:34.70
The Lord sends
some broccoli in there
00:40:35.80\00:40:40.57
and kale...
00:40:45.27\00:40:47.21
so we can examine ourselves.
00:40:49.21\00:40:50.98
If you look at the
history of God's people -
00:40:51.55\00:40:53.01
now I've got to move on
quickly - If you look at the
00:40:53.21\00:40:54.55
history of God's
people in all ages,
00:40:54.75\00:40:56.38
God periodically enjoins
the church, forces the church to
00:40:56.58\00:41:00.26
examine itself and do some
necessary internal auditing.
00:41:00.46\00:41:04.69
And it is warranted that
we make course correction.
00:41:07.40\00:41:11.10
God says before we
prepare to ascend to the clouds
00:41:11.30\00:41:14.90
we need to re-examine our
foundation, our underpinnings,
00:41:15.10\00:41:18.64
and make sure that
we are in the faith.
00:41:18.84\00:41:21.24
Is there anyone here
that thinks for a moment
00:41:22.41\00:41:26.65
that God is going to
sanction a lazy, lukewarm,
00:41:27.88\00:41:33.86
lackluster, lollygagging,
00:41:34.06\00:41:36.73
limping, lame, Laodicean church?
00:41:36.93\00:41:39.63
God's not going to bless that!
00:41:43.77\00:41:45.43
He will not allow the
church to remain in the state of
00:41:48.64\00:41:52.14
spiritual atrophy.
00:41:52.34\00:41:54.18
So God makes us - forces
us - to examine ourselves
00:41:55.18\00:41:59.78
by following the sweetness
of the gospel with some tough
00:42:00.02\00:42:03.49
times so that we can
make sure we're in the faith.
00:42:03.69\00:42:07.46
And that re-examination
can often be traumatizing.
00:42:08.19\00:42:12.29
But that
bitter-in-the-belly experience
00:42:13.06\00:42:15.73
can be the birth pang of a
brand new spiritual reality.
00:42:15.93\00:42:21.87
"Abraham, you are an old man
00:42:22.60\00:42:25.14
but I am going to bless you
00:42:27.18\00:42:30.98
to go into your
bedchamber with your wife.
00:42:31.38\00:42:35.98
And you are going to have a son
00:42:36.38\00:42:39.65
out of whom I will
make many nations. "
00:42:40.06\00:42:45.69
Sweet!
00:42:45.89\00:42:48.00
But then one day
the call to Moriah came.
00:42:52.67\00:42:55.20
"Take a knife, take some wood,
00:42:56.71\00:43:00.38
and take your son.
00:43:01.38\00:43:02.71
And that sacrifice
will be your salvation. "
00:43:04.38\00:43:09.78
Now why was that necessary?
00:43:09.98\00:43:11.35
See, we call Abraham
the father of the faithful.
00:43:11.75\00:43:14.09
But if you look at his life,
00:43:15.09\00:43:17.06
Abraham had a
little, tiny problem.
00:43:17.36\00:43:20.80
Whenever he got into a pinch
00:43:22.00\00:43:24.30
he became
estranged from the truth.
00:43:26.40\00:43:29.77
He flat out lied! That's right!
00:43:31.17\00:43:33.98
And before God could
trust Abraham with fathering
00:43:34.94\00:43:39.28
many nations that sweet message
00:43:39.48\00:43:44.09
had to be followed by a
testing time. You hear me?
00:43:44.29\00:43:47.26
Sweet in the mouth:
"You're going to have a child!
00:43:47.66\00:43:49.76
Now take that
child and kill it. "
00:43:52.59\00:43:54.90
Bitter... but it had to happen
00:43:55.30\00:43:59.97
so that Abraham
could be purified.
00:44:00.37\00:44:02.80
So that Abraham
could learn and understand
00:44:03.00\00:44:05.81
that his trust was in God
and his salvation was in God
00:44:06.01\00:44:11.51
and God alone. You
can see that man's life.
00:44:11.71\00:44:14.02
Girlfriend says...
well, wife #2 says: "OK,
00:44:14.22\00:44:17.85
I'm old and this
thing is taking too slow.
00:44:18.05\00:44:22.49
Take her...
have a baby with her.
00:44:23.16\00:44:26.43
Help God out. "
00:44:26.63\00:44:27.96
Well hello... God
doesn't need your help.
00:44:28.16\00:44:30.90
God needs your
cooperation and your surrender.
00:44:35.40\00:44:40.18
And we've got an
ontological mess to this day
00:44:42.04\00:44:46.95
because Abraham
couldn't wait on God!
00:44:49.88\00:44:53.19
So God had to send him through
a sweet/bitter experience
00:44:56.73\00:45:00.50
to cleanse him and get him
ready for what God wanted to do.
00:45:00.70\00:45:06.00
"Children of Israel:
I'm going to give you a land
00:45:08.24\00:45:12.37
flowing with milk
and honey. " Sweet!
00:45:12.57\00:45:16.38
"But before you do get that
00:45:19.88\00:45:24.42
I need to let you know that
that land is inhabited by giants
00:45:25.45\00:45:29.36
and when you look at them
you will look like grasshoppers
00:45:33.60\00:45:36.56
in your own eyes. "
00:45:36.77\00:45:38.10
But it was necessary
00:45:44.87\00:45:46.91
for Israel to be
established as a nation.
00:45:47.11\00:45:48.94
You see the pattern?
00:45:49.14\00:45:50.48
Before God is ready to do
something big through you,
00:45:50.65\00:45:53.92
with you, to you, for you
00:45:54.12\00:45:55.52
He's gotta test you.
He's got to make sure
00:45:55.72\00:45:57.59
that your trust is in Him and
not in yourself. That's right!
00:45:57.75\00:46:01.76
So He'll give
you the sweet message
00:46:02.26\00:46:04.16
then He'll prove you.
00:46:04.36\00:46:05.96
Those poor disciples
with Jesus 3-1/2 years.
00:46:09.43\00:46:14.44
Slaves to their own opinions
about what was going to happen.
00:46:14.84\00:46:18.61
Setting themselves up
for bitter disappointment.
00:46:19.01\00:46:22.68
Christ said: "I have come
that you might have life. "
00:46:24.25\00:46:26.58
Sweet! Then you've got to
watch His broken, bruised,
00:46:26.82\00:46:32.19
bleeding, mangled
body hanging on a tree.
00:46:32.39\00:46:35.59
Then that's followed by
the sweetness of the Upper Room
00:46:40.20\00:46:43.67
followed by the untimely
death of every one of them.
00:46:45.97\00:46:50.34
Yet that was the beginning,
the birth pangs, of the
00:46:52.04\00:46:54.81
Christian church.
00:46:55.01\00:46:56.34
So some 14 centuries later
00:46:57.48\00:46:59.48
the light and truth of
the gospel has all but faded.
00:46:59.68\00:47:03.28
The memory of God
alone has faded from view
00:47:04.65\00:47:09.16
and from mind. The white
horse has become the red horse
00:47:09.36\00:47:12.66
has become the black
horse and finally the pale horse
00:47:12.86\00:47:16.03
of death and hell. The
Dark Ages have descended.
00:47:16.23\00:47:19.20
The image of
truth and a loving God
00:47:19.40\00:47:21.80
and Christ's work in the
Holy Place is all but lost!
00:47:22.00\00:47:26.07
And in Germany there's
a sincere Catholic monk
00:47:27.58\00:47:33.15
who wanted so desperately,
so badly to know God.
00:47:34.52\00:47:38.92
He just wanted to
feel the presence of God.
00:47:39.32\00:47:42.12
He just wanted to feel
like God knew who he was
00:47:42.32\00:47:44.76
and that God cared about him.
00:47:44.96\00:47:47.50
He had been taught many things,
00:47:47.63\00:47:49.60
and so he did
what he was taught.
00:47:49.80\00:47:51.60
He suffered
because someone told him
00:47:51.80\00:47:54.97
"the only way to get
God's attention, the only way to
00:47:55.17\00:47:57.61
appease God is to suffer. "
00:47:57.77\00:47:59.51
So he starved
himself; he punished himself.
00:48:00.01\00:48:03.75
He beat himself;
he prostrated himself.
00:48:03.95\00:48:06.55
He lacerated his own flesh.
00:48:06.75\00:48:09.15
He starved himself.
He tried to work himself
00:48:09.35\00:48:12.49
into God's favor
and fervor and presence.
00:48:12.69\00:48:15.79
He crawled on
his hands and knees.
00:48:15.99\00:48:18.43
He made himself
bleed... all this to please God.
00:48:18.63\00:48:22.30
But somehow... it
just wasn't working.
00:48:24.37\00:48:28.77
He didn't feel
any closer to God.
00:48:29.64\00:48:31.61
He didn't feel
like God loved him.
00:48:31.81\00:48:34.48
He didn't feel God's presence.
00:48:34.88\00:48:36.64
He didn't feel God's power.
00:48:36.85\00:48:38.18
And so his only recourse
was to do more of the same!
00:48:38.58\00:48:43.52
So he took pilgrimages to Rome.
00:48:44.89\00:48:47.06
And when he got to Rome he
was disillusioned and depressed.
00:48:47.26\00:48:50.63
He saw very little of Christ
in Christ's purported church
00:48:51.43\00:48:55.76
so he didn't know what to do.
00:48:58.87\00:49:00.74
One day God sent him
to an obscure little book
00:49:02.37\00:49:07.88
called Habakkuk. And
he saw something there
00:49:08.08\00:49:12.35
in Habakkuk 2:4. And he
read on a little further
00:49:12.55\00:49:16.99
and he saw it
again in Romans 1:17
00:49:17.29\00:49:20.29
and he saw it
again in Galatians 3:11.
00:49:21.16\00:49:24.33
And he saw it again
in the book of Romans.
00:49:24.53\00:49:27.83
And after so many years
of self-imposed suffering,
00:49:28.23\00:49:32.83
of
self-abnegation, of self-denial
00:49:33.03\00:49:36.14
the holy Word of God
was telling Martin Luther
00:49:36.34\00:49:40.58
"Man... get up off your knees.
00:49:40.78\00:49:43.35
Stop trying to work
your way into My favor.
00:49:43.75\00:49:46.72
Jesus has already
done that for you.
00:49:46.92\00:49:50.19
Jesus has torn down the wall
of perdition and Christ is now
00:49:50.39\00:49:54.96
the propitiation of our faith.
" And as I said last night
00:49:55.16\00:49:57.96
I love that word because
propitiation is a big old, long
00:49:58.16\00:50:00.80
$25 word which simply
means that God is leaning
00:50:00.96\00:50:04.67
in your direction. Amen!
00:50:04.87\00:50:07.44
So when you come to Him
He's not standing back like
00:50:07.64\00:50:09.87
you've got AIDS or the plague.
00:50:10.11\00:50:11.44
He's already
leaning towards you. Amen!
00:50:11.61\00:50:14.38
And Martin Luther stumbled
on that or God led him to that.
00:50:14.58\00:50:18.45
And he found out for
the first time in his life
00:50:18.65\00:50:21.48
that "the just shall
live by faith. " SWEET!
00:50:21.78\00:50:27.72
And then he went to tell his
brethren in the church of Rome
00:50:32.23\00:50:37.57
and he nailed his 95 conclusions
to the door of the Catholic
00:50:38.73\00:50:42.07
church at Wittenberg...
00:50:42.27\00:50:44.21
and it all turned bitter.
00:50:45.34\00:50:48.58
And he was hounded for the rest
of his relatively-short life.
00:50:51.05\00:50:55.15
That experience was
repeated by Wycliffe and Tyndale
00:50:56.99\00:51:00.06
and Hus and Zwingli and the
Cathari's and the Albigenses
00:51:00.26\00:51:03.83
and the... and the ...
00:51:04.13\00:51:10.10
and the
Waldenses and the Huguenots
00:51:10.30\00:51:12.47
and the men of God. The truth
of God and the truth of the
00:51:12.67\00:51:18.11
gospel is sweet, but
the rejection of the church
00:51:18.31\00:51:24.28
and the world is bitter.
00:51:24.58\00:51:27.02
But it was necessary
00:51:27.42\00:51:30.69
for God to bring about
a new reality that we call
00:51:31.15\00:51:33.25
the Protestant
Reformation. Amen!
00:51:33.46\00:51:36.26
That "bitter in the belly"
experience again the birth pangs
00:51:36.73\00:51:41.10
of a new thing that
God was trying to do.
00:51:41.30\00:51:44.00
God was "resetting the pylons"
00:51:44.90\00:51:47.44
for a movement that
would sweep away the darkness
00:51:47.64\00:51:50.54
of the Middle Ages
00:51:50.74\00:51:52.07
and bring in the new
light of the old story
00:51:52.11\00:51:56.41
of Jesus and His love.
And now three centuries later
00:51:56.61\00:52:00.12
in the days of the
deadly wound when it is healed
00:52:01.22\00:52:03.69
the 2,300 day
prophecy has ended.
00:52:04.82\00:52:07.39
And Daniel 12:4 shall speak.
00:52:07.59\00:52:10.73
Prophecy is unsealed.
00:52:11.63\00:52:14.76
Knowledge is increased and
men are running to and fro.
00:52:15.16\00:52:18.20
And God brings
about another reality...
00:52:19.23\00:52:22.17
another bitter/sweet experience
00:52:22.57\00:52:26.44
or sweet/bitter experience
00:52:26.68\00:52:29.11
because He's got
one more movement,
00:52:29.81\00:52:33.21
one more - dare I say
- "trick up His sleeve"
00:52:34.12\00:52:39.65
before Jesus comes again.
00:52:40.76\00:52:42.66
And He wants the decks cleared
00:52:43.43\00:52:45.83
and He wants His
folk in the Word.
00:52:46.23\00:52:49.16
And He wants those now who
will make this new movement
00:52:49.36\00:52:53.87
to be a people of the book
00:52:54.07\00:52:57.64
who will test
everything and everyone
00:52:59.27\00:53:02.48
by the Word of God.
00:53:02.68\00:53:04.78
So He called men like
Joseph Wolff in Europe.
00:53:06.58\00:53:09.28
Manuel de Lacunza,
00:53:09.48\00:53:11.42
Neal Joshua Josaphat
Ben-Ezra in South America.
00:53:11.82\00:53:16.56
And William Miller in the
United States and a couple dozen
00:53:16.76\00:53:19.76
other men and He
gave them a truth
00:53:20.00\00:53:22.33
that after 2,300 days
00:53:22.73\00:53:26.07
the sanctuary would be cleansed
00:53:26.27\00:53:28.67
and that Christ would move
His work from the Holy Place
00:53:29.07\00:53:32.81
to the Holy of Holies.
00:53:33.01\00:53:35.01
That is sweet! What
a sweet eventuality.
00:53:36.08\00:53:40.72
Some sold their goods;
some sold their possessions;
00:53:41.12\00:53:44.35
some quit their jobs
and they waited for a Jesus
00:53:44.55\00:53:48.09
that never came.
00:53:48.49\00:53:50.46
The truth is He
never said He would.
00:53:51.56\00:53:56.13
They had made a mistake.
00:53:58.57\00:54:00.24
They had gotten it wrong.
00:54:00.97\00:54:02.84
But it was a
bitter/sweet experience.
00:54:03.24\00:54:07.18
Again it made for
a Bible-based church:
00:54:09.81\00:54:13.31
a church based
on the Word of God.
00:54:13.82\00:54:16.15
And let me say in closing:
the Lord didn't let us wander
00:54:16.35\00:54:19.22
in the maze of
confusion too long.
00:54:19.42\00:54:22.52
The next morning
- the next morning -
00:54:22.72\00:54:26.29
Wednesday, October 23rd, 1844,
00:54:26.49\00:54:31.03
a couple of men had
just come from prayer
00:54:32.20\00:54:34.44
and they were
walking across a field
00:54:34.64\00:54:37.24
to go encourage
some of the brethren:
00:54:38.34\00:54:40.28
Hiram Edson, O. R. L. Crosier.
00:54:40.68\00:54:44.78
And all of a
sudden Hiram Edson stopped
00:54:45.65\00:54:48.55
and in his own words:
"It was as though I could see
00:54:48.95\00:54:52.49
into the very gates of heaven.
00:54:52.69\00:54:54.72
I saw... I saw
that Christ was moving
00:54:55.92\00:55:00.80
from the Holy Place
00:55:01.63\00:55:04.67
to the Most Holy Place
00:55:05.07\00:55:08.40
to begin the work of
the pre-advent judgment. "
00:55:08.60\00:55:14.08
Amen! Now did they take the word
00:55:14.28\00:55:16.58
of this sincere
former Methodist preacher?
00:55:16.78\00:55:19.81
Oh no! That night
00:55:20.02\00:55:23.08
Hiram Edson, Apollos
Hale, O. R. L. Crosier,
00:55:23.99\00:55:28.92
and many others
went back to the Word
00:55:29.12\00:55:35.00
beginning with Matthew 25
00:55:36.56\00:55:39.40
going through the
entire New Testament:
00:55:39.80\00:55:42.54
just the Word, the concordance,
and the Holy Spirit.
00:55:42.74\00:55:46.54
And God showed them in the Word
00:55:47.41\00:55:49.84
Christ is now in the
antitypical Day of Atonement.
00:55:50.25\00:55:54.62
Amen! He is deciding
the cases of every man,
00:55:54.82\00:55:58.22
woman, boy, or girl. And
one day soon and very soon
00:55:58.42\00:56:02.46
He's going to put
down that priestly robe
00:56:02.66\00:56:05.53
and He's going to
put on His kingly robe.
00:56:06.59\00:56:09.53
And "This same Jesus
00:56:10.17\00:56:13.67
which you saw go into heaven
00:56:14.70\00:56:17.51
shall so come
back in like manner
00:56:18.21\00:56:21.18
as you have seen
Him go into heaven. "
00:56:21.38\00:56:23.85
Amen! This time
not as a little baby.
00:56:24.05\00:56:26.82
Not as a suppliant.
00:56:27.75\00:56:29.85
Not as a beggar.
00:56:30.29\00:56:32.22
Not as one who is
in any way encumbered
00:56:33.02\00:56:36.66
or hindered or affected by sin.
00:56:36.86\00:56:40.03
"And the dead in
Christ will rise first" -
00:56:42.00\00:56:44.17
Amen - "then we
which are alive and remain
00:56:44.33\00:56:48.90
shall be caught up to
meet the Lord in the air
00:56:50.01\00:56:55.94
and so... " I said:
"and so... " Praise the Lord!
00:56:58.18\00:57:03.39
Amen! "and so... " Yes! Yes!
00:57:03.59\00:57:08.09
"and so shall we
00:57:10.43\00:57:16.10
ever... "
00:57:16.50\00:57:18.47
ever and ever and ever
and ever and ever and ever
00:57:18.67\00:57:21.67
and ever... "be
with the Lord. " Amen!
00:57:21.87\00:57:27.28
Amen?
00:57:27.48\00:57:29.28