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.
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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
00:12:59.51\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\00:13:22.26
And things were never the same.
00:13:23.93\00:13:25.77
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.
00:14:01.77\00:14:04.11
So what happened in 1844?
00:14:06.31\00:14:08.48
In 1844 time came
to an end for mankind.
00:14:09.08\00:14:14.12
Christ moved within the veil
00:14:15.18\00:14:18.19
from the Holy Place
to the Most Holy Place
00:14:18.39\00:14:23.43
as Pastor Kenny Shelton
so beautifully illustrated
00:14:23.63\00:14:26.09
on yesterday. The
antitypical Day of Atonement
00:14:26.39\00:14:32.27
and when you say antitypical
it's just a long word that means
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the real deal. Amen!
00:14:37.17\00:14:39.27
We moved into the
read deal Day of Atonement.
00:14:40.98\00:14:45.95
Something happened in heaven
and something happened on earth.
00:14:47.28\00:14:52.85
Something happened in the
United States and something
00:14:53.05\00:14:54.89
happened in Europe. And
Ellen White and James White
00:14:55.09\00:14:57.83
and Joseph Bates and S.
S. Snow and George Storrs
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and Hiram Edson and E.
S. Cottrell and tens of
00:15:01.43\00:15:04.30
thousands of other people who
not only wanted Christ to come
00:15:04.50\00:15:09.20
they genuinely
thought that He WOULD come.
00:15:09.47\00:15:12.77
The first and second angels'
messages had been preached.
00:15:14.58\00:15:18.11
Angel #3 had been
summoned and was taking wing.
00:15:19.45\00:15:23.99
The midnight cry
had been sounded.
00:15:24.95\00:15:27.72
The seventh month movement
had justified the Spring delay
00:15:28.32\00:15:32.76
for you see the
original date was April 2, 1844.
00:15:32.96\00:15:37.43
When that passed by
they settled on October 22,
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1844.
00:15:43.10\00:15:45.21
The message had been trumpeted
from Matthew chapter 25:
00:15:45.91\00:15:49.48
"Behold, the bridegroom cometh!
00:15:49.68\00:15:52.41
Go ye out to meet Him. "
00:15:52.61\00:15:55.05
The 2,300 days were ending.
00:15:56.12\00:15:58.79
The sanctuary
was to be cleansed.
00:15:59.39\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\00:16:12.20
What could possibly be sweeter?
00:16:12.60\00:16:15.94
Jesus is coming back!
00:16:18.54\00:16:20.98
I love Him and He loves me
00:16:21.38\00:16:24.35
and we are going to
get together forever.
00:16:24.55\00:16:27.32
"Behold, the
bridegroom cometh! " SWEET!
00:16:27.52\00:16:31.25
We are going to
be together forever.
00:16:36.29\00:16:38.36
Christ was going to present
His church to His Father.
00:16:40.30\00:16:44.53
No more sin; no more sickness;
00:16:45.63\00:16:50.17
no more sorrow;
no more separation.
00:16:50.57\00:16:54.94
No more... forever.
00:16:55.34\00:16:59.05
And on earth, the scorching
cancerous ridicule of the world
00:17:00.45\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\00:17:17.37
Glory for me! Glory
for me! When by His grace
00:17:17.77\00:17:21.64
I shall look on His face,
Oh! That will be glory for me!
00:17:21.84\00:17:26.14
Amen!
00:17:26.34\00:17:27.98
You see, if you
really love Jesus
00:17:28.18\00:17:31.05
that's the
sweetest news in the world.
00:17:31.25\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\00:17:41.62
I've got this nagging
fear that Adventists -
00:17:41.92\00:17:46.29
some of us - aren't as excited
00:17:46.70\00:17:52.57
about the second
coming as we used to be.
00:17:55.24\00:17:57.87
I mean, some of us have settled
down like the Jews after the
00:17:59.27\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. "
00:18:13.39\00:18:15.32
"We've got jobs; we've got
homes; we've got government
00:18:17.86\00:18:21.16
positions. We're doing
all right here in Babylon.
00:18:21.36\00:18:25.13
We've changed empires...
we're under Medo-Persia now
00:18:25.33\00:18:28.50
but it's not so bad. "
00:18:28.70\00:18:32.17
"Now we've got to "up-group"
and go back! " And I think
00:18:35.78\00:18:40.02
there are some of us
00:18:40.22\00:18:43.69
who've gotten a
little comfortable.
00:18:43.89\00:18:46.76
"I want to go to heaven but
I'd like to get married first. "
00:18:50.13\00:18:54.86
"I want to retire
and kick back first. "
00:18:59.00\00:19:04.04
"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.
00:19:26.83\00:19:32.57
"But be ye transformed. "
00:19:32.97\00:19:35.97
Peter says don't get
"overcharged with surfeiting"
00:19:36.17\00:19:39.91
which is just riotous
living and drunkenness.
00:19:40.18\00:19:42.01
Don't get all caught up
in the stuff that's down here
00:19:42.21\00:19:45.08
so that day slips
in on you unawares.
00:19:46.58\00:19:50.09
Even William Miller, who
did not originate or promulgate
00:19:54.92\00:19:59.69
October 22, but he accepted
it after he was pressured.
00:19:59.89\00:20:03.83
William Miller didn't come out
for October 22 till October 6
00:20:04.03\00:20:07.50
of the same year.
That wasn't his date.
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.67
William Miller said:
"Some time between 1843
00:20:10.07\00:20:14.14
and 1844. " And
it was Samuel Snow
00:20:14.31\00:20:16.91
and George Storrs
that twisted his arm.
00:20:17.11\00:20:20.08
And finally on October 6
of that year he said: "OK,
00:20:20.28\00:20:23.25
I accept it. "
That was never his date.
00:20:23.45\00:20:25.65
So under pressure
from Storrs and Hines
00:20:26.35\00:20:28.72
he fell in line. But it was
called The Great Disappointment.
00:20:28.92\00:20:33.86
But many around the
world had been given this idea
00:20:35.80\00:20:41.17
by God. You know, when God
gives you something important
00:20:41.37\00:20:43.00
He rarely gives it
to just one person.
00:20:43.20\00:20:44.54
He usually kind
of shares the wealth.
00:20:44.71\00:20:46.24
They had thought
maybe the Fall of 1843,
00:20:49.21\00:20:51.81
maybe April 2, 1844.
00:20:52.01\00:20:53.75
But when October 22, 1844 came
00:20:53.95\00:20:59.75
and passed and Christ did
not come, the bottom fell out.
00:21:00.06\00:21:05.09
Henry Emmons wrote:
"I waited all forenoon
00:21:06.33\00:21:11.83
on Wednesday and was
well in body as I ever was.
00:21:12.03\00:21:16.50
But after 12 o'clock
I began to feel faint
00:21:16.77\00:21:21.01
and before dark I needed
someone to help me to my bedroom
00:21:22.11\00:21:25.98
as my natural
strength was leaving fast
00:21:26.18\00:21:29.38
and I lay prostrate for two days
00:21:29.58\00:21:32.89
without pain sick
with disappointment. "
00:21:33.09\00:21:37.19
Hiram Edson wrote: "Our
fondest hopes and expectations
00:21:38.63\00:21:42.70
were blasted and such a
spirit of weeping came over us
00:21:42.90\00:21:46.30
as I never experienced
before. It seemed that the loss
00:21:46.50\00:21:49.94
of all earthly friends
could have been no comparison.
00:21:50.14\00:21:53.14
We wept and wept
until the day dawned.
00:21:53.41\00:21:56.18
If this had proved a
failure, what was the rest of my
00:21:57.58\00:22:02.35
Christian experience worth?
00:22:02.55\00:22:04.62
Had the Bible proved a failure?
00:22:04.82\00:22:07.56
Is there no God, no
heaven, no golden home city,
00:22:07.72\00:22:11.13
no Paradise?
00:22:11.33\00:22:12.79
Is all this but a
cunningly-devised fable? "
00:22:14.20\00:22:19.03
See, the Bible says: "If in
this world alone we have hope
00:22:20.60\00:22:23.47
we are of all
men most miserable. "
00:22:23.97\00:22:28.61
Most... If this, brothers
and sisters, is all there is
00:22:28.81\00:22:33.48
we are in trouble. Amen!
00:22:34.85\00:22:38.05
Is this it?
00:22:38.65\00:22:40.96
Gettin' old,
gettin' sick, and dying.
00:22:41.36\00:22:43.79
Gotta be something
more than this! Amen? Amen!
00:22:47.56\00:22:51.40
Gotta be something better
than this. I was teasing...
00:22:51.60\00:22:53.97
Danny and I are the same age.
I get there a little before him
00:22:54.17\00:22:56.64
but right now
we're the same age...
00:22:56.84\00:22:58.17
so he calls me an old man.
00:22:58.21\00:23:00.18
And I said to him the other
day: "This gettin' old thing
00:23:00.38\00:23:02.01
is gettin' old! "
00:23:02.21\00:23:03.85
I have a friend sitting
right here in the audience.
00:23:08.55\00:23:10.09
I'm not going to look at him
'cause he'll think I'm trying to
00:23:10.29\00:23:12.19
call him out. He said to me:
"I hit 65 and 65 hit me back. "
00:23:12.39\00:23:16.62
If this is all there is,
then we don't have any hope.
00:23:22.60\00:23:27.00
Is there no reality to our
fondest hopes and expectations
00:23:27.20\00:23:30.47
of these things and thus we
had something to grieve and weep
00:23:30.67\00:23:33.64
over, if all our hopes were lost
and as I said: "we wept until
00:23:33.94\00:23:39.88
the day dawned.
" Cried all night!
00:23:40.08\00:23:44.45
Young James White -
still in his 20's - wrote:
00:23:46.02\00:23:48.52
"The thought of turning again
to the cares and perplexities
00:23:48.92\00:23:51.86
and dangers of life
in full view of the jeers
00:23:52.06\00:23:54.93
and reviling's of unbelievers
who now scoffed as never before
00:23:55.10\00:23:59.23
was a terrible trial of
our faith and patience. "
00:23:59.43\00:24:02.94
Later he wrote: "From Maine
00:24:03.57\00:24:07.61
that when Joshua Himes stated
to the brethren that we should
00:24:07.81\00:24:10.95
prepare for another cold winter
00:24:11.15\00:24:13.21
my feelings were
almost uncontrollable.
00:24:13.42\00:24:15.98
I left the place of
meeting and wept like a child. "
00:24:16.38\00:24:22.39
On November 10th of 1844
00:24:24.33\00:24:27.83
William Miller wrote a
letter to Joshua V. Himes,
00:24:28.20\00:24:32.03
his leading publicist
and communications genius,
00:24:32.23\00:24:35.30
explaining his feelings.
00:24:35.50\00:24:38.07
"Although I have been
twice disappointed... "
00:24:38.57\00:24:41.48
April 2, October 22...
00:24:41.68\00:24:43.61
"I am not yet cast
down or discouraged.
00:24:44.01\00:24:47.48
God has been with me in
Spirit and has comforted me.
00:24:48.05\00:24:51.82
I have now much more
evidence than I do to believe
00:24:52.02\00:24:56.69
in God's Word. " Amen!
"And although surrounded with
00:24:56.89\00:25:00.83
enemies and scoffers yet
my mind is perfectly calm. "
00:25:00.96\00:25:04.67
This is William Miller talking.
00:25:04.87\00:25:06.20
"And my hope in the coming
of Christ is as strong as ever.
00:25:06.23\00:25:11.41
I have done only what after
years of sober consideration
00:25:11.81\00:25:15.38
I felt it in my solemn
ability and duty to do.
00:25:15.58\00:25:19.15
If I have erred it
has been on the side of
00:25:19.75\00:25:23.59
charity, the
love of my fellow man,
00:25:23.79\00:25:26.29
and my
conviction of duty to God.
00:25:26.49\00:25:29.12
I have fixed my mind
00:25:30.43\00:25:33.90
on another time... "
Amen! "and here I mean to stand
00:25:34.36\00:25:40.30
until God gives me more light. "
00:25:40.50\00:25:44.57
Amen! "And that
is today, and today,
00:25:44.77\00:25:48.38
and today until He comes
00:25:48.78\00:25:51.65
and I see Him for
whom my soul yearns. "
00:25:51.85\00:25:56.85
It is interesting that
Ellen White in speaking
00:25:57.89\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
00:26:07.13\00:26:11.07
now 'cause I'm going to make
a tie up in just a little bit -
00:26:11.27\00:26:12.93
draws a direct comparison with
the disciples' disappointment
00:26:13.84\00:26:19.71
in Jesus at the cross.
00:26:20.18\00:26:22.58
After the triumphal
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
00:26:24.15\00:26:28.38
the disciples fully
expected Jesus to take over:
00:26:30.39\00:26:35.86
to lift them up and
push the Romans down.
00:26:36.73\00:26:40.20
Their hopes were pinned,
were fastened, were fixed
00:26:41.06\00:26:45.60
on Christ
standing up for His people.
00:26:45.80\00:26:48.84
She says: "I saw
the disciples doomed
00:26:50.57\00:26:54.41
to bitter disappointment.
00:26:54.61\00:26:56.61
In a few days they
followed Jesus to Calvary... "
00:26:56.81\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\00:27:17.57
I saw... " she says...
00:27:18.53\00:27:20.34
"that the disappointment of
those who believed in the coming
00:27:20.54\00:27:24.21
of the Lord in 1844 was
not equal to the disappointment
00:27:24.37\00:27:30.35
of the disciples. "
00:27:30.55\00:27:32.41
That's why in II Peter 1:16
00:27:36.79\00:27:40.26
he follows the lead
of John in John's gospel
00:27:41.12\00:27:44.23
and I, II, and III
John he touches on it
00:27:44.39\00:27:47.10
all four times when he
writes and again in Revelation.
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.66
Paul in Hebrews
says the same thing
00:27:50.73\00:27:53.90
that II Peter 1:16 says:
00:27:54.10\00:27:57.17
"For we did not follow
00:27:57.87\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\00:28:11.02
"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. "
00:28:22.00\00:28:25.90
So then my thesis is this:
00:28:26.10\00:28:27.44
The drama and trauma
00:28:31.44\00:28:35.24
that disappointment causes -
00:28:35.74\00:28:39.05
the drama and trauma
that characterized 1843
00:28:39.25\00:28:43.49
and 1844- were the birth pangs
00:28:43.69\00:28:48.62
of something new that God
was beginning to do. Amen!
00:28:49.02\00:28:53.90
They were the birth pangs of the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:28:54.66\00:28:57.63
And I am theorizing that
any time God is getting ready
00:28:58.93\00:29:04.24
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.
00:29:14.35\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
00:29:28.06\00:29:31.97
He gets saints in
there - hear me now -
00:29:32.80\00:29:37.61
who are ready to
work with God. Amen!
00:29:37.97\00:29:43.65
You can see it over and over
and over in the Word of God.
00:29:43.85\00:29:48.02
Whenever God is
about to do a mighty move -
00:29:48.22\00:29:50.89
that's right - whenever
He's about to do something big,
00:29:51.09\00:29:53.86
whenever He's about
to shake this old earth
00:29:54.06\00:29:56.56
the first thing He's gotta do
is shake out the sloppy saints.
00:29:57.03\00:30:02.80
Amen! Huh!
00:30:03.00\00:30:06.20
Um-hmm.
00:30:06.40\00:30:08.07
He can't have you in there
dragging the program along.
00:30:10.47\00:30:14.91
That's why the Bible says
there is coming a day of shaking
00:30:17.78\00:30:21.88
such as never was.
00:30:22.28\00:30:24.55
Jesus is gettin'
ready to come back
00:30:24.75\00:30:27.69
and there's a lot of
00:30:27.89\00:30:29.99
dross - yes! -
00:30:34.13\00:30:37.00
weeds, tares
00:30:37.90\00:30:42.10
in the church.
00:30:43.07\00:30:44.81
And bless your heart
the defacto setting is
00:30:45.74\00:30:51.31
get right or get out.
00:30:51.51\00:30:54.25
Amen! Praise the Lord!
00:30:54.42\00:30:58.15
So there is a
pattern of sweet and sour,
00:31:03.16\00:31:06.80
and the sweet and sour is
part of the necessary shaking.
00:31:07.00\00:31:09.93
The birth pangs, if you will,
for something that God is...
00:31:10.13\00:31:13.80
is attempting to do.
00:31:14.00\00:31:15.34
And the Great Disappointment
cannot be seen as an isolated
00:31:15.37\00:31:19.37
incident. It must be
seen as a necessary shaking
00:31:19.57\00:31:22.61
of the tree so
that the bad fruit falls
00:31:22.81\00:31:25.98
and the good fruit stays on.
00:31:26.18\00:31:28.15
So that when the Seventh-day
Adventist church comes
00:31:28.35\00:31:30.95
it starts out with
good food, good fruit:
00:31:31.09\00:31:34.79
pure people who are
on fire for the Lord.
00:31:34.99\00:31:37.49
See, a lot of people
serve the Lord out of fear.
00:31:37.63\00:31:40.86
You know, it's not that you
have this great love for God...
00:31:42.43\00:31:45.17
you're just too old to
boogie and you're afraid!
00:31:45.37\00:31:51.17
Fear is good to get you started
00:31:52.61\00:31:55.41
but you need love to
keep you going. Amen!
00:31:55.81\00:31:59.68
See, my mother got
scared into the church.
00:31:59.95\00:32:01.78
Yeah. Picked up a flyer with
all those dragons and that stuff
00:32:02.62\00:32:04.75
on it. Scared her half to death!
00:32:04.95\00:32:06.29
But the fear evolved into love.
00:32:07.66\00:32:11.63
Amen? Amen!
00:32:11.83\00:32:14.30
So God wants pure hearts,
pure motives in the church.
00:32:15.30\00:32:18.43
You see, William
Miller discovered -
00:32:18.63\00:32:21.04
and we've got to
move along - discovered
00:32:21.24\00:32:25.21
that the scattered flock,
the Sabbatarian Adventists,
00:32:25.41\00:32:28.58
the Seventh-day Adventists
all discovered the same thing.
00:32:28.78\00:32:31.31
That is: if you have
a problem with the Word
00:32:31.51\00:32:34.38
the first thing you
do is go to your knees.
00:32:34.78\00:32:37.85
Amen? Don't go to your neighbor.
00:32:38.05\00:32:40.62
Don't go to your
pastor... go to your knees.
00:32:40.99\00:32:44.69
Amen! That's right.
00:32:44.89\00:32:46.23
Talk to God then
God will send you
00:32:46.26\00:32:50.90
right back to the Word
00:32:51.07\00:32:54.07
for truth and light
and blessed assurance.
00:32:57.04\00:33:00.58
Every now and again God makes
the church have a "check-up
00:33:00.78\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\00:33:08.92
Now the world had just
come out of 1,260 years
00:33:09.85\00:33:13.46
of darkness... extreme darkness.
00:33:13.66\00:33:16.22
Couldn't read the Bible;
00:33:16.42\00:33:17.76
had to listen to
priests and prelates
00:33:17.79\00:33:19.59
and people telling
you how to run your life.
00:33:19.79\00:33:21.56
You see, you don't judge the...
00:33:22.63\00:33:28.60
the Word by the church.
00:33:28.80\00:33:30.77
There's no place that says
when you read something in the
00:33:32.84\00:33:36.01
Bible go to the church
and ask them what that means.
00:33:36.21\00:33:38.58
You don't judge
the Word by the church.
00:33:38.78\00:33:41.32
You judge the
church by the Word. Amen!
00:33:41.52\00:33:44.35
So if you're in a church and
they're not preaching the Word
00:33:46.12\00:33:49.29
you've gotta
find some place to go.
00:33:49.69\00:33:52.09
Amen! That's right.
00:33:52.29\00:33:54.13
So that understood: that if
we've got a problem with our
00:33:55.26\00:33:58.97
understanding of
the Word go to our knees
00:33:59.17\00:34:02.74
and get right back in the Word.
00:34:02.94\00:34:05.44
And let me disabuse you
of an awful and evil rumor
00:34:05.64\00:34:10.55
that's been circulating
in the halls of Christendom.
00:34:10.75\00:34:13.08
We did not get our doctrinal
package from Ellen White.
00:34:13.28\00:34:16.35
Amen!
00:34:16.55\00:34:18.35
Ellen White didn't
give us our doctrine.
00:34:20.76\00:34:22.32
"Y'all got your doctrine from
Ellen White. " No we didn't!
00:34:22.52\00:34:25.03
We got our doctrinal
package from the Word.
00:34:26.70\00:34:30.63
And that's why God
allowed that disappointment.
00:34:30.83\00:34:33.03
So from then on we
didn't listen to William Miller
00:34:33.30\00:34:35.57
or Joshua V. Himes or
Charles Fitch or Josiah Litch.
00:34:35.77\00:34:38.87
We went to the Word.
00:34:39.07\00:34:41.14
Prayed it out; discussed it;
00:34:42.24\00:34:45.48
went to Ellen White and
said: "Does this agree? "
00:34:45.68\00:34:48.58
and she said: "Yeah. "
But it didn't start with her.
00:34:48.78\00:34:52.75
Ended with her...
started with the Word.
00:34:52.95\00:34:55.76
So then God was bringing to
Himself through all that drama
00:34:56.79\00:34:59.96
and trauma and sweet in the
mouth and bitter in the belly
00:35:00.23\00:35:03.00
He was forming a new church
that was based not on the whims
00:35:03.20\00:35:06.74
or will or word of any
man but on the Word of God.
00:35:06.94\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\00:35:21.75
It is the same question that
James and Ellen White asked,
00:35:23.25\00:35:25.99
Josiah Litch
asked, Hiram Edson asked.
00:35:26.19\00:35:28.42
Joshua V. Himes asked,
Samuel Sheffield Snow asked,
00:35:28.62\00:35:31.23
George Storrs, D. R.
L. Crosier, Apollos Hale,
00:35:31.43\00:35:34.30
E. A. Sutherland,
Joseph March, M. C. Clemmons,
00:35:34.40\00:35:36.83
Henry Bayer, Jane
March Parker, William Miller,
00:35:37.03\00:35:40.50
2,000 Adventist preachers
and an estimated 200,000
00:35:40.70\00:35:44.77
to 1 million public
and closet Millerites.
00:35:44.97\00:35:48.11
They asked
themselves the question.
00:35:48.51\00:35:50.91
After the tears had dried
00:35:52.51\00:35:54.48
and after the weeping had ended
00:35:54.68\00:35:57.25
they asked themselves
all the same question.
00:35:57.45\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\00:36:08.80
on the road to Emmaus.
00:36:09.00\00:36:10.77
Anyone who has ever suffered
or sacrificed for Jesus,
00:36:11.80\00:36:15.24
anyone who has ever
lost a job or lost friends,
00:36:15.44\00:36:19.77
or lost family, or
lost their reputation,
00:36:19.97\00:36:23.01
or suffered for
the cause of Christ,
00:36:23.21\00:36:25.85
anyone or anything that has
ever been sacrificed for Jesus
00:36:26.05\00:36:29.85
any one of you that has
ever had someone laugh at you
00:36:30.09\00:36:33.22
or lie on you or make fun of you
00:36:33.46\00:36:36.19
or call you stupid or a fool
00:36:36.39\00:36:38.73
or mock your faith
or hurt your feelings...
00:36:38.93\00:36:41.26
Anyone that the devil has
used to try to discourage you
00:36:41.46\00:36:44.40
on your way to heaven,
anyone who has accused you
00:36:44.60\00:36:47.94
and rubbed in your face
your own sin and shortcomings
00:36:48.14\00:36:51.57
when your only sin was
really that you were trying to
00:36:51.77\00:36:54.04
serve Jesus has had to
wrestle with this same question.
00:36:54.24\00:36:57.61
And you've had to ask it
early in your gospel experience:
00:36:57.95\00:37:04.02
"Is Christ worth it? "
00:37:05.89\00:37:10.76
Somewhere, some time, some place
00:37:13.16\00:37:16.33
you've had to answer
that question for yourself.
00:37:16.53\00:37:19.73
Wife can't help you;
husband can't help you.
00:37:19.93\00:37:22.20
Family can't help you;
preacher can't help you.
00:37:22.40\00:37:24.74
Everybody's got to
drop on their knees
00:37:24.94\00:37:27.18
and say: "Christ, I know
You've given everything for me.
00:37:27.38\00:37:31.68
What am I going to give to You?
00:37:32.65\00:37:36.89
And how much? " And how
you answer that question
00:37:37.85\00:37:42.26
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\00:37:49.13
Are you going to sell out
to God or are you going to
00:37:49.33\00:37:51.30
hold back a little for yourself?
00:37:51.50\00:37:52.97
And unless you answer that
question you can never grow
00:37:54.77\00:37:57.47
in the Word. I Corinthians 9:26:
00:37:57.64\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\00:38:22.40
I love the Clear Word Bible.
00:38:22.60\00:38:24.43
I don't use it for doctrine
but it is an inspirational book.
00:38:25.40\00:38:28.07
He says: "I don't
run the gospel race
00:38:28.47\00:38:32.71
aimlessly as if I don't
know where the finish line is. "
00:38:32.91\00:38:38.38
I like that. "I'm not
just out there running.
00:38:39.48\00:38:42.05
I'm running some place. "
00:38:43.89\00:38:45.82
"I don't run like I just
don't know where I'm going.
00:38:46.92\00:38:49.52
I know where the
finish line is. "
00:38:49.72\00:38:51.13
"I don't fight by
boxing at shadows.
00:38:51.33\00:38:54.10
I try to make
every punch count. "
00:38:54.50\00:38:58.63
I like that.
00:39:00.67\00:39:02.00
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.
00:39:15.08\00:39:17.72
Yet I am not
ashamed because I know
00:39:17.92\00:39:20.19
whom I have believed
00:39:20.39\00:39:23.56
and I am
persuaded... " I'm convinced...
00:39:24.39\00:39:26.16
"that He is able to guard
what I have entrusted to Him
00:39:26.36\00:39:28.96
against that day. "
Paul is saying: "When I give
00:39:29.16\00:39:32.17
my heart to Jesus, when I
put my life in Jesus' hands,
00:39:32.37\00:39:35.37
I know Jesus is
not going to drop it.
00:39:35.77\00:39:38.07
He's not going to break
it; He's not going to lose it.
00:39:38.47\00:39:41.24
He's not going to
leave it out in the rain;
00:39:41.44\00:39:43.35
He's not going to
give it to somebody.
00:39:43.65\00:39:45.31
He's not going to
let anybody steal it.
00:39:45.51\00:39:47.12
Jesus will keep it safe
until I see Him face to face. "
00:39:47.32\00:39:52.92
So every now and
again, brothers and sisters,
00:39:54.66\00:39:57.43
every now and again
God sends us through
00:39:57.76\00:40:02.33
a time of sweet in the
mouth and bitter in the belly
00:40:02.53\00:40:06.30
because He is forcing
the church to examine itself
00:40:06.70\00:40:10.57
and to make sure where it is.
00:40:11.67\00:40:14.44
If it was all
sweet in the mouth,
00:40:14.64\00:40:16.91
the churches would be much
more crowded than they are now.
00:40:18.05\00:40:22.35
But you know what happens
when you eat sugar all the time?
00:40:24.05\00:40:27.12
There's no
nutritional value in sugar.
00:40:30.96\00:40:32.76
Makes you sick!
00:40:32.96\00:40:34.60
The Lord sends
some broccoli in there
00:40:35.70\00:40:40.47
and kale...
00:40:45.17\00:40:47.11
so we can examine ourselves.
00:40:49.11\00:40:50.88
If you look at the
history of God's people -
00:40:51.45\00:40:52.91
now I've got to move on
quickly - If you look at the
00:40:53.11\00:40:54.45
history of God's
people in all ages,
00:40:54.65\00:40:56.28
God periodically enjoins
the church, forces the church to
00:40:56.48\00:41:00.26
examine itself and do some
necessary internal auditing.
00:41:00.46\00:41:04.66
And it is warranted that
we make course correction.
00:41:07.40\00:41:11.03
God says before we
prepare to ascend to the clouds
00:41:11.23\00:41:14.84
we need to re-examine our
foundation, our underpinnings,
00:41:15.04\00:41:18.57
and make sure that
we are in the faith.
00:41:18.77\00:41:21.18
Is there anyone here
that thinks for a moment
00:41:22.34\00:41:26.58
that God is going to
sanction a lazy, lukewarm,
00:41:27.82\00:41:33.82
lackluster, lollygagging,
00:41:34.02\00:41:36.69
limping, lame, Laodicean church?
00:41:36.89\00:41:39.56
God's not going to bless that!
00:41:43.70\00:41:45.33
He will not allow the
church to remain in the state of
00:41:48.54\00:41:52.04
spiritual atrophy.
00:41:52.24\00:41:54.11
So God makes us - forces
us - to examine ourselves
00:41:55.08\00:41:59.68
by following the sweetness
of the gospel with some tough
00:41:59.95\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.
00:42:08.16\00:42:12.26
But that
bitter-in-the-belly experience
00:42:13.03\00:42:15.66
can be the birth pang of a
brand new spiritual reality.
00:42:15.86\00:42:21.80
"Abraham, you are an old man
00:42:22.54\00:42:25.07
but I am going to bless you
00:42:27.14\00:42:30.91
to go into your
bedchamber with your wife.
00:42:31.31\00:42:35.92
And you are going to have a son
00:42:36.32\00:42:39.59
out of whom I will
make many nations. "
00:42:40.02\00:42:45.63
Sweet!
00:42:45.83\00:42:47.93
But then one day
the call to Moriah came.
00:42:52.57\00:42:55.10
"Take a knife, take some wood,
00:42:56.64\00:43:00.38
and take your son.
00:43:01.34\00:43:02.68
And that sacrifice
will be your salvation. "
00:43:04.35\00:43:09.75
Now why was that necessary?
00:43:09.95\00:43:11.32
See, we call Abraham
the father of the faithful.
00:43:11.72\00:43:14.06
But if you look at his life,
00:43:15.06\00:43:17.03
Abraham had a
little, tiny problem.
00:43:17.33\00:43:20.80
Whenever he got into a pinch
00:43:21.93\00:43:24.23
he became
estranged from the truth.
00:43:26.33\00:43:29.70
He flat out lied! That's right!
00:43:31.11\00:43:33.94
And before God could
trust Abraham with fathering
00:43:34.88\00:43:39.21
many nations that sweet message
00:43:39.41\00:43:44.05
had to be followed by a
testing time. You hear me?
00:43:44.25\00:43:47.22
Sweet in the mouth:
"You're going to have a child!
00:43:47.62\00:43:49.69
Now take that
child and kill it. "
00:43:52.53\00:43:54.83
Bitter... but it had to happen
00:43:55.20\00:43:59.87
so that Abraham
could be purified.
00:44:00.34\00:44:02.77
So that Abraham
could learn and understand
00:44:02.97\00:44:05.77
that his trust was in God
and his salvation was in God
00:44:05.97\00:44:11.48
and God alone. You
can see that man's life.
00:44:11.68\00:44:14.02
Girlfriend says...
well, wife #2 says: "OK,
00:44:14.22\00:44:17.82
I'm old and this
thing is taking too slow.
00:44:18.02\00:44:22.46
Take her...
have a baby with her.
00:44:23.12\00:44:26.39
Help God out. "
00:44:26.59\00:44:27.93
Well hello... God
doesn't need your help.
00:44:28.10\00:44:30.83
God needs your
cooperation and your surrender.
00:44:35.34\00:44:40.14
And we've got an
ontological mess to this day
00:44:41.98\00:44:46.88
because Abraham
couldn't wait on God!
00:44:49.82\00:44:53.12
So God had to send him through
a sweet/bitter experience
00:44:56.69\00:45:00.53
to cleanse him and get him
ready for what God wanted to do.
00:45:00.73\00:45:05.97
"Children of Israel:
I'm going to give you a land
00:45:08.20\00:45:12.34
flowing with milk
and honey. " Sweet!
00:45:12.54\00:45:16.34
"But before you do get that
00:45:19.85\00:45:24.39
I need to let you know that
that land is inhabited by giants
00:45:25.42\00:45:29.32
and when you look at them
you will look like grasshoppers
00:45:33.60\00:45:36.50
in your own eyes. "
00:45:36.73\00:45:38.07
But it was necessary
00:45:44.81\00:45:46.84
for Israel to be
established as a nation.
00:45:47.04\00:45:48.88
You see the pattern?
00:45:49.08\00:45:50.41
Before God is ready to do
something big through you,
00:45:50.61\00:45:53.88
with you, to you, for you
00:45:54.08\00:45:55.45
He's gotta test you.
He's got to make sure
00:45:55.65\00:45:57.55
that your trust is in Him and
not in yourself. That's right!
00:45:57.69\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.
00:46:09.40\00:46:14.40
Slaves to their own opinions
about what was going to happen.
00:46:14.80\00:46:18.57
Setting themselves up
for bitter disappointment.
00:46:18.97\00:46:22.64
Christ said: "I have come
that you might have life. "
00:46:24.25\00:46:26.55
Sweet! Then you've got to
watch His broken, bruised,
00:46:26.82\00:46:32.15
bleeding, mangled
body hanging on a tree.
00:46:32.35\00:46:35.56
Then that's followed by
the sweetness of the Upper Room
00:46:40.20\00:46:43.63
followed by the untimely
death of every one of them.
00:46:45.90\00:46:50.27
Yet that was the beginning,
the birth pangs, of the
00:46:51.97\00:46:54.74
Christian church.
00:46:54.94\00:46:56.28
So some 14 centuries later
00:46:57.41\00:46:59.41
the light and truth of
the gospel has all but faded.
00:46:59.61\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\00:47:16.00
of death and hell. The
Dark Ages have descended.
00:47:16.20\00:47:19.17
The image of
truth and a loving God
00:47:19.37\00:47:21.77
and Christ's work in the
Holy Place is all but lost!
00:47:21.97\00:47:26.04
And in Germany there's
a sincere Catholic monk
00:47:27.58\00:47:33.11
who wanted so desperately,
so badly to know God.
00:47:34.48\00:47:38.89
He just wanted to
feel the presence of God.
00:47:39.29\00:47:42.09
He just wanted to feel
like God knew who he was
00:47:42.29\00:47:44.73
and that God cared about him.
00:47:44.93\00:47:47.50
He had been taught many things,
00:47:47.60\00:47:49.53
and so he did
what he was taught.
00:47:49.73\00:47:51.53
He suffered
because someone told him
00:47:51.73\00:47:54.90
"the only way to get
God's attention, the only way to
00:47:55.10\00:47:57.57
appease God is to suffer. "
00:47:57.71\00:47:59.44
So he starved
himself; he punished himself.
00:47:59.94\00:48:03.78
He beat himself;
he prostrated himself.
00:48:03.98\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\00:48:22.26
But somehow... it
just wasn't working.
00:48:24.33\00:48:28.74
He didn't feel
any closer to God.
00:48:29.60\00:48:31.57
He didn't feel
like God loved him.
00:48:31.77\00:48:34.44
He didn't feel God's presence.
00:48:34.84\00:48:36.61
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!
00:48:38.55\00:48:43.49
So he took pilgrimages to Rome.
00:48:44.85\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
00:48:51.39\00:48:55.70
so he didn't know what to do.
00:48:58.80\00:49:00.77
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\00:49:17.02
and he saw it
again in Romans 1:17
00:49:17.32\00:49:20.29
and he saw it
again in Galatians 3:11.
00:49:21.09\00:49:24.36
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,
00:49:28.20\00:49:32.80
of
self-abnegation, of self-denial
00:49:33.00\00:49:36.10
the holy Word of God
was telling Martin Luther
00:49:36.30\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\00:49:54.92
the propitiation of our faith.
" And as I said last night
00:49:55.12\00:49:57.93
I love that word because
propitiation is a big old, long
00:49:58.13\00:50:00.80
$25 word which simply
means that God is leaning
00:50:00.93\00:50:04.60
in your direction. Amen!
00:50:04.80\00:50:07.40
So when you come to Him
He's not standing back like
00:50:07.60\00:50:09.80
you've got AIDS or the plague.
00:50:10.07\00:50:11.41
He's already
leaning towards you. Amen!
00:50:11.54\00:50:14.31
And Martin Luther stumbled
on that or God led him to that.
00:50:14.51\00:50:18.38
And he found out for
the first time in his life
00:50:18.58\00:50:21.42
that "the just shall
live by faith. " SWEET!
00:50:21.72\00:50:27.66
And then he went to tell his
brethren in the church of Rome
00:50:32.16\00:50:37.50
and he nailed his 95 conclusions
to the door of the Catholic
00:50:38.63\00:50:41.97
church at Wittenberg...
00:50:42.17\00:50:44.14
and it all turned bitter.
00:50:45.24\00:50:48.48
And he was hounded for the rest
of his relatively-short life.
00:50:50.95\00:50:55.05
That experience was
repeated by Wycliffe and Tyndale
00:50:56.92\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\00:51:10.03
and the
Waldenses and the Huguenots
00:51:10.23\00:51:12.40
and the men of God. The truth
of God and the truth of the
00:51:12.60\00:51:18.04
gospel is sweet, but
the rejection of the church
00:51:18.24\00:51:24.21
and the world is bitter.
00:51:24.51\00:51:26.98
But it was necessary
00:51:27.38\00:51:30.65
for God to bring about
a new reality that we call
00:51:31.09\00:51:33.19
the Protestant
Reformation. Amen!
00:51:33.42\00:51:36.19
That "bitter in the belly"
experience again the birth pangs
00:51:36.69\00:51:41.00
of a new thing that
God was trying to do.
00:51:41.20\00:51:43.90
God was "resetting the pylons"
00:51:44.80\00:51:47.37
for a movement that
would sweep away the darkness
00:51:47.57\00:51:50.44
of the Middle Ages
00:51:50.64\00:51:51.97
and bring in the new
light of the old story
00:51:52.01\00:51:56.31
of Jesus and His love.
And now three centuries later
00:51:56.51\00:52:00.12
in the days of the
deadly wound when it is healed
00:52:01.15\00:52:03.69
the 2,300 day
prophecy has ended.
00:52:04.79\00:52:07.36
And Daniel 12:4 shall speak.
00:52:07.56\00:52:10.73
Prophecy is unsealed.
00:52:11.59\00:52:14.73
Knowledge is increased and
men are running to and fro.
00:52:15.10\00:52:18.13
And God brings
about another reality...
00:52:19.17\00:52:22.10
another bitter/sweet experience
00:52:22.50\00:52:26.37
or sweet/bitter experience
00:52:26.64\00:52:29.04
because He's got
one more movement,
00:52:29.74\00:52:33.15
one more - dare I say
- "trick up His sleeve"
00:52:34.08\00:52:39.59
before Jesus comes again.
00:52:40.72\00:52:42.59
And He wants the decks cleared
00:52:43.39\00:52:45.76
and He wants His
folk in the Word.
00:52:46.16\00:52:49.06
And He wants those now who
will make this new movement
00:52:49.26\00:52:53.77
to be a people of the book
00:52:53.97\00:52:57.54
who will test
everything and everyone
00:52:59.17\00:53:02.44
by the Word of God.
00:53:02.64\00:53:04.75
So He called men like
Joseph Wolff in Europe.
00:53:06.55\00:53:09.25
Manuel de Lacunza,
00:53:09.45\00:53:11.39
Neal Joshua Josaphat
Ben-Ezra in South America.
00:53:11.79\00:53:16.52
And William Miller in the
United States and a couple dozen
00:53:16.73\00:53:19.73
other men and He
gave them a truth
00:53:20.00\00:53:22.26
that after 2,300 days
00:53:22.66\00:53:26.00
the sanctuary would be cleansed
00:53:26.20\00:53:28.60
and that Christ would move
His work from the Holy Place
00:53:29.00\00:53:32.74
to the Holy of Holies.
00:53:32.94\00:53:34.94
That is sweet! What
a sweet eventuality.
00:53:36.01\00:53:40.68
Some sold their goods;
some sold their possessions;
00:53:41.05\00:53:44.29
some quit their jobs
and they waited for a Jesus
00:53:44.49\00:53:48.02
that never came.
00:53:48.42\00:53:50.39
The truth is He
never said He would.
00:53:51.49\00:53:56.03
They had made a mistake.
00:53:58.47\00:54:00.24
They had gotten it wrong.
00:54:00.94\00:54:02.80
But it was a
bitter/sweet experience.
00:54:03.20\00:54:07.18
Again it made for
a Bible-based church:
00:54:09.78\00:54:13.28
a church based
on the Word of God.
00:54:13.82\00:54:16.12
And let me say in closing:
the Lord didn't let us wander
00:54:16.32\00:54:19.19
in the maze of
confusion too long.
00:54:19.39\00:54:22.49
The next morning
- the next morning -
00:54:22.69\00:54:26.26
Wednesday, October 23rd, 1844,
00:54:26.46\00:54:30.97
a couple of men had
just come from prayer
00:54:32.13\00:54:34.37
and they were
walking across a field
00:54:34.57\00:54:37.17
to go encourage
some of the brethren:
00:54:38.27\00:54:40.24
Hiram Edson, O. R. L. Crosier.
00:54:40.64\00:54:44.71
And all of a
sudden Hiram Edson stopped
00:54:45.58\00:54:48.48
and in his own words:
"It was as though I could see
00:54:48.88\00:54:52.42
into the very gates of heaven.
00:54:52.62\00:54:54.66
I saw... I saw
that Christ was moving
00:54:55.86\00:55:00.83
from the Holy Place
00:55:01.60\00:55:04.63
to the Most Holy Place
00:55:05.03\00:55:08.37
to begin the work of
the pre-advent judgment. "
00:55:08.57\00:55:14.08
Amen! Now did they take the word
00:55:14.28\00:55:16.54
of this sincere
former Methodist preacher?
00:55:16.75\00:55:19.78
Oh no! That night
00:55:20.02\00:55:23.05
Hiram Edson, Apollos
Hale, O. R. L. Crosier,
00:55:23.95\00:55:28.89
and many others
went back to the Word
00:55:29.09\00:55:34.93
beginning with Matthew 25
00:55:36.50\00:55:39.33
going through the
entire New Testament:
00:55:39.73\00:55:42.47
just the Word, the concordance,
and the Holy Spirit.
00:55:42.67\00:55:46.47
And God showed them in the Word
00:55:47.34\00:55:49.78
Christ is now in the
antitypical Day of Atonement.
00:55:50.21\00:55:54.55
Amen! He is deciding
the cases of every man,
00:55:54.75\00:55:58.15
woman, boy, or girl. And
one day soon and very soon
00:55:58.35\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\00:56:09.50
And "This same Jesus
00:56:10.17\00:56:13.64
which you saw go into heaven
00:56:14.67\00:56:17.51
shall so come
back in like manner
00:56:18.17\00:56:21.14
as you have seen
Him go into heaven. "
00:56:21.34\00:56:23.85
Amen! This time
not as a little baby.
00:56:24.05\00:56:26.82
Not as a suppliant.
00:56:27.72\00:56:29.82
Not as a beggar.
00:56:30.22\00:56:32.19
Not as one who is
in any way encumbered
00:56:32.99\00:56:36.62
or hindered or affected by sin.
00:56:36.83\00:56:40.00
"And the dead in
Christ will rise first" -
00:56:41.93\00:56:44.13
Amen - "then we
which are alive and remain
00:56:44.27\00:56:48.84
shall be caught up to
meet the Lord in the air
00:56:49.97\00:56:55.88
and so... " I said:
"and so... " Praise the Lord!
00:56:58.11\00:57:03.42
Amen! "and so... " Yes! Yes!
00:57:03.62\00:57:08.09
"and so shall we
00:57:10.46\00:57:16.06
ever... "
00:57:16.40\00:57:18.43
ever and ever and ever
and ever and ever and ever
00:57:18.63\00:57:21.64
and ever... "be
with the Lord. " Amen!
00:57:21.84\00:57:27.28
Amen?
00:57:27.48\00:57:29.24