Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
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This is the program
that brings you up to
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date news, views, discussion and
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information on religious liberty
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issues that you need to know.
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My name is Lincoln Steed,
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Editor of Liberty Magazine,
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and my guest on the
program is Barry Bussey.
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Welcome Barry. Great to be here.
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We worked over
the years in a number
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of different
situations, but at the moment
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you're, you're working at the
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General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists
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of the headquarters
there with religious
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liberty and you've
done legislative liaison
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and some United
Nations liaison work.
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Right. Since we're
talking about the Seventh-day
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Adventist Church
and, and of course
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3ABN is projecting
Adventist values constantly.
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I think it's worth
telling some of our viewers
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or reiterating to
them, some of the events
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in 2010 that
took place in Atlanta.
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What was that
big event in Atlanta?
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You were there?
Well, yeah that is
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the event where Adventists comes
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from the world over.
We have it's, it's I,
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I refer to it when
people ask me well,
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what's going on
down there? I say it's,
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it's like the
Adventist world parliament
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has come. You know
the church governing
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authority came
together, which it meets every
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five years came
in Atlanta. And there
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of course we
choose church leaders deal
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with church policy
and it's, it is that,
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that meeting, the
delegates which is
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about 22 to 2500
delegates that ultimately
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decide the
teachings and so on of the
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Adventist
Church, it's the highest
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authority in the
church. And, and particularly
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this last General
Conference they elected
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a new General
Conference President.
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President of the Church,
not anything like a Pope.
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No, no. But, but a
chief executive, if you like,
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yeah, who of course
carries a pastoral role
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as well as that, and
it was interesting for me.
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I've got a little
bit of, of personal feel
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as we get older
all of a sort of notice
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that the airline
pilots are getting younger
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and things like
that. And it was a little
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troubling to me not,
not a teenager anymore,
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but to see the
new General Conference
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President was a
classmate of mine
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back in high school.
Yeah. He was always very
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distinguished back
then, but Dr. Ted Wilson,
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yes, yes. His
father once some decades
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ago was General
Conference President
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has been elected to
head of the world body.
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You know I should,
should say Elder Wilson
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is a man of God
who, when I first went
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down to the General
Conference a few years
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ago I, you know,
he was, he instruct me
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as an individual
who was concerned about
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what was
happening in peoples lives,
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and remember he
called me over once
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and had a word of prayer for me,
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help me to find to
just to get settled
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into a new country, a new area
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and it was a neat experience.
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Oh! Yes, he is, he is
a, a great fellow, yeah,
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someone who's worked,
I know in Russia in that
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area, right, he
grew up in, in Egypt,
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he is the son of
the missionary father at
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the time. He has
worked in the publishing
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work where I worked
for a while with the
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Review and
Herald. Now, he is, he is
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well trained. And,
and he has a passion
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for religious
freedom. Exactly, and later on
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in the program I
want to show our viewers
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something that, that
puts that right on the line.
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He did a
wonderful promo recently for
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our Liberty
Magazine that we're sending
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out all across North
America in particular.
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What I want to
mention about that time in,
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in Atlanta was
some of the thing,
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some of the things
that Ted said in his main
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address there on
the, I think it was the
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second Sabbath. I
talked to him afterwards
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when we got back into
the office and I said,
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it's almost like
Adventism has come out of exile.
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And maybe that
was overstating it,
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but I thought it was
inspiring the high notes
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that he hit on the
key points that described
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Seventh-day
Adventism, and the key one that
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he began with was
the Primacy of the Bible.
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Seventh-day
Adventists have long proclaimed
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the principle to
hold the scripture,
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which encloses the
reformation, concept,
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yep, concept. The Bible
is the bases of our faith,
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there is no
question, it can be nothing as
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in that, after he
explained that forcibly
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then he mentioned
a book that you and
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I need to discuss a
little on this program,
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the Great Controversy,
the Great Controversy.
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The story of the
Seventh-day Adventist
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Church I think is
one of a Biblical destiny
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worked out through a
people in the new world,
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restarting the Bible
and the context of a great
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revival in North
America. And then prophetic
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vindication, Ellen
White an early pioneer of the
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Seventh-day
Adventist Church received
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intimations that God
was speaking directly to her
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and Adventist
accepted her as not so much
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of prophet, but a
woman moved, moved
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by God to give various
particular instructions
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to that early church.
And she wrote a book with
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editorial help from a
few Adventists understand
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how it came about. But
with editorial help and,
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and then underscoring
the ideas of the God
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who communicated to
her she wrote a book
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called Great Controversy
that really traces the
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story of the Great
Controversy between
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Satan and Christ,
between Good and Evil
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through the years.
They, struggled for
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truth to assert
itself, Biblical truths to
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assert itself
through the dark ages
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and up through
into United States and,
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and the
Protestant Era and, and then
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little past that to
the very end of time.
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Right, right. Well,
you know the, the thing
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that I find so
exciting about reading the
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Great Controversy.
And you've got a couple
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of your, yeah I
have a copy here.
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This is one of
course that many, many of
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the viewers may see
that as a church we've
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been handing out
various groups young people
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and so forth will be
selling this copy to the
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door-to-door and so
forth, which I even did as a,
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as a young person
in the, the literature
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work, but what
always excited me about
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reading the Great Controversy,
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I love history and
in the sense what, what
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we have is a, is a
book that, that takes the
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reformation and I
mean yes you know,
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it goes you know,
the whole concept between
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the conflict
between Good and Evil,
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but it really goes you
know, this part of the,
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this book deals from
the time that Christ has,
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has resurrected and
so on and send, and sends
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into heaven, but then
as the church develops
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the story of Christendom,
the story of, of the
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Christian church
and of the Christendom.
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And, and one is kind
of like the key nugget
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as it were that
comes out the book is the
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importance of the
individual being able
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to stand for their
conscious and of course
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Luther plays a prominent role in
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this book you
know. Well, I remember
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he stands there
before the, that's right,
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and he says here I
stand, yep, I can do no other.
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I can do no other. And,
and it's a very forceful
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statement, but if you
read the full context,
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he was very humble.
He says, I've written
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these works, I don't
mean to offend anyone
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and he says, if
you can find an error
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in it please
tell me, but he says,
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since I'm convinced
still of what I've wrote,
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and he says, you
know, here I stand
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I can do no
other. Yeah, and I mean
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in that statement
where he says that you know,
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he says look
unless I am convinced by
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sound reason, yeah,
and scripture you know,
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his conscious is
bound to the word of God.
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So, it's, it's
that concept that, that
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understanding of
religious freedom
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for us as
individuals to, to stand for our
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faith as we
understand it through scripture
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you know, that,
that this is what we're
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all about, and as
Seventh-day Adventists.
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We then you know
using the, you know,
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as the Great,
Great Controversy is,
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is kind of what
propels us forward as we,
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as we see the
great dramatic battle
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in the end time as
it were between Good
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and Evil. And it's
going to come down over
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the issue of
worship, that coming down
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to the individual conscience.
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Well, if loyalty to
God, loyalty to God,
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loyalty conscience, absolutely.
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God, has planted His,
His truth in human minds.
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He is, He is made
us free moral agents.
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And it's worth remembering when
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we're talking
about, about Luther that
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he was countering
a medieval concept
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that was really opposed to God,
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that the church authority could,
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could tell you this
is the truth, obey it
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regardless. God
never acted that way,
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even in Sinai, the
Old Testament people
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think is, is fairly
harsh and arbitrate,
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but God says, here
is the commandments
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you know, from
Sinai, He says that in your
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hearts, you, you
can obey these things.
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He appealed to their
reason and their logic,
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it wasn't just arbitrate.
No. And, and Luther was
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objecting to
this and in some ways,
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what he was just
exemplifying was,
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was a, an enlightenment
view point, but we must
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remember that it was,
it was thoroughly Biblical,
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thoroughly God given.
And, and the integrity
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of the individual conscience is
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everything with
God. Now the, throughout
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the story and,
and, we see it you know
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throughout the
story is a reformation
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and so forth. We
got situations where the
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power structure,
the institutions wanna
00:10:09.82\00:10:12.19
maintain control,
wanna maintaining order.
00:10:12.20\00:10:14.87
And there is, a
chapter in the Great
00:10:14.88\00:10:19.21
Controversy called the
Protest of the Princes,
00:10:19.22\00:10:21.13
where the German Princes now are
00:10:21.14\00:10:22.94
being forced into a corner,
00:10:22.95\00:10:24.72
where basically they
are to accept the offer
00:10:24.73\00:10:29.36
that was given by
the Holy Roman Emperor.
00:10:29.37\00:10:31.80
And in some ways, is
a political development
00:10:31.81\00:10:34.63
of the emerging reformation.
00:10:34.64\00:10:36.35
This was the most important.
00:10:36.36\00:10:37.87
Oh! That that was,
that was the key point.
00:10:37.88\00:10:38.98
Luther, it is
very important for him
00:10:38.99\00:10:40.25
personally the
day before the emperor
00:10:40.26\00:10:42.09
and he was snatched away.
00:10:42.10\00:10:43.22
Luther was the
ideas, this is where it took
00:10:43.23\00:10:45.98
root, that's
right. The German Princes
00:10:45.99\00:10:47.46
and their, their
Augsburg confession,
00:10:47.47\00:10:49.51
right. Laid out the,
the view point or the,
00:10:49.52\00:10:52.74
the principles of Protestantism.
00:10:52.75\00:10:54.79
Oh! Absolutely and,
and what was happening
00:10:54.80\00:10:57.01
was, was the sense
that you don't upset the
00:10:57.02\00:11:01.41
apple cart you
know, because the fear is
00:11:01.42\00:11:03.96
that if we allow
everyone to live in
00:11:03.97\00:11:06.95
accordance with
their conscience then
00:11:06.96\00:11:08.54
who's gonna break down
social and moral order.
00:11:08.55\00:11:11.62
And what was interesting
is one of the observers
00:11:11.63\00:11:18.58
or one of the statements
that was being made by,
00:11:18.59\00:11:21.95
by those who
were wanting to keep
00:11:21.96\00:11:23.36
the institution,
trying to keep the
00:11:23.39\00:11:24.71
church as it was,
as it always was not
00:11:24.72\00:11:26.69
allowing this
Protestant reformation to really
00:11:26.70\00:11:29.56
take root beyond
where it had taken up in
00:11:29.57\00:11:34.52
it's early
years. But there was a
00:11:34.53\00:11:36.40
statement that says
this, "If we must choose
00:11:36.41\00:11:38.61
between the Holy
Scriptures of God and the
00:11:38.62\00:11:41.94
old errors of the
church, we should reject
00:11:41.95\00:11:45.30
the former." In other words,
00:11:45.31\00:11:46.32
reject the scriptures.
And, and keep the old
00:11:46.33\00:11:52.27
errors of the church
because that keeps order.
00:11:52.28\00:11:54.74
Yeah. And so we
were willing to give the,
00:11:54.75\00:11:57.69
it's the, it's the
same struggle that goes on
00:11:57.70\00:12:00.83
often
throughout the world right,
00:12:00.84\00:12:03.59
the idea is that, well
we, we can't allow these
00:12:03.60\00:12:06.07
Christians to come
into this, this society.
00:12:06.08\00:12:11.12
Oh! Once was this,
these people are turning
00:12:11.13\00:12:12.47
the world upside
down, sometimes truth,
00:12:12.48\00:12:14.15
does that. It does, it does.
00:12:14.16\00:12:15.84
We'll be back after
our break and further this
00:12:15.85\00:12:20.05
discussion of the
Great Controversy of the
00:12:20.06\00:12:22.34
primacy of the
Bible and of the very
00:12:24.49\00:12:25.46
central
importance of conscience.
00:12:25.47\00:12:26.57
One hundred years, a
long time to do anything
00:12:36.69\00:12:40.16
much less publish a magazine,
00:12:40.65\00:12:42.10
but this year Liberty,
the Seventh-day Adventist
00:12:42.11\00:12:45.55
voice of religious freedom,
00:12:45.56\00:12:46.84
celebrates one
hundred years of doing what
00:12:47.23\00:12:49.66
it does best,
collecting, analyzing,
00:12:49.67\00:12:52.31
and reporting the
ebb and flow of religious
00:12:52.32\00:12:54.90
expression around the
world. Issue after issue,
00:12:54.91\00:12:58.27
Liberty has taken on
the tough assignments,
00:12:58.28\00:13:00.98
tracking down threats
to religious freedom and
00:13:00.99\00:13:03.32
exposing the work of
the devil in every corner
00:13:03.33\00:13:05.92
of the globe.
Governmental interference,
00:13:05.93\00:13:07.93
personal attacks,
corporate assaults,
00:13:08.39\00:13:10.71
even religious freedom
issues sequestered within
00:13:10.72\00:13:13.15
the church community
itself have been clearly
00:13:13.16\00:13:15.58
and honestly exposed.
Liberty exists for one
00:13:15.59\00:13:19.05
purpose to help God's
people maintain that all
00:13:19.06\00:13:22.65
the important
separation of Church and State,
00:13:22.66\00:13:24.84
while recognizing
the dangers inherent in
00:13:24.85\00:13:27.70
such a struggle.
During the past century,
00:13:27.71\00:13:30.18
Liberty has experienced
challenges of its own,
00:13:30.19\00:13:32.64
but it remains on the
job. Thanks to the inspired
00:13:33.08\00:13:36.40
leadership of a
long line of dedicated
00:13:36.41\00:13:38.31
Adventist Editors,
three of whom represent
00:13:38.32\00:13:40.39
almost half of the
publications existence
00:13:40.40\00:13:42.49
and the foresight
of a little woman from
00:13:42.50\00:13:45.23
New England. One hundred years
00:13:45.24\00:13:47.44
of struggle, one hundred
00:13:47.45\00:13:48.89
years of
victories, religious freedom
00:13:48.90\00:13:51.56
isn't just about
political machines and
00:13:51.57\00:13:53.87
cultural prejudices.
It's about people fighting
00:13:53.88\00:13:57.62
for the right to
serve the God they love
00:13:57.63\00:14:00.10
as their hearts and
the Holy Spirit dictate.
00:14:00.11\00:14:03.39
Thanks to the prayers
and generous support of
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.79
Seventh-day
Adventists everywhere.
00:14:05.80\00:14:07.72
Liberty will continue
to accomplish its work
00:14:08.14\00:14:10.42
of providing timely information,
00:14:10.43\00:14:12.04
spirit filled
inspiration, and heaven sent
00:14:12.05\00:14:14.61
encouragement to
all who long to live and
00:14:14.62\00:14:17.87
work in a world
bound together by the God
00:14:17.88\00:14:21.10
ordained bonds of
religious freedom.
00:14:21.11\00:14:24.19
Welcome back to
the Liberty Insider,
00:14:33.08\00:14:34.67
before the break we
were taking about the
00:14:34.68\00:14:36.28
Great Controversy,
Martin Luther and the
00:14:36.29\00:14:39.24
history of
Protestantism and God's dealing
00:14:39.25\00:14:42.12
through the ages
with His people who very
00:14:42.13\00:14:45.08
often and standing
for their believes had to
00:14:45.09\00:14:48.00
pray a price.
Martin Luther, very,
00:14:48.01\00:14:50.57
well he paid a bit of a price,
00:14:52.76\00:14:53.98
he was vilified, oh absolutely,
00:14:53.99\00:14:56.32
by the Roman Catholic
Church at the time, right,
00:14:56.33\00:14:58.03
the Pope put out
a bill against him,
00:14:58.49\00:15:00.81
he was ex-communicated
in that day and time
00:15:01.23\00:15:03.87
that could be
you're cut-off from all
00:15:04.66\00:15:06.20
social contexts,
you could do lose
00:15:06.21\00:15:08.98
your livelihood of
course he left the priesthood
00:15:08.99\00:15:10.91
out of his insistence
on following his conscience
00:15:12.16\00:15:14.76
the reformation
developed. With your indulgence
00:15:14.77\00:15:19.27
and our viewers I
would like to share a present
00:15:19.28\00:15:22.11
day example of someone
who stood for their faith,
00:15:22.12\00:15:25.08
we've just prepared
a promotional video for
00:15:25.91\00:15:28.18
liberty magazine that
we largely distribute to
00:15:28.19\00:15:30.70
Adventist churches
but I would like to show
00:15:30.71\00:15:32.47
our viewing audience
and it features a young man
00:15:32.48\00:15:35.95
called Mike Mudd in his 30s,
00:15:35.96\00:15:39.07
a young man who
stood for his faith,
00:15:39.69\00:15:41.23
lost his job prayed
that God would bless him
00:15:41.24\00:15:44.86
as he remained
inflexible on his position of
00:15:44.87\00:15:48.13
faith against the
requirements of his
00:15:48.14\00:15:50.21
employer and the needs of his,
00:15:50.22\00:15:53.21
to keep his family
alive. And I think its a
00:15:54.47\00:15:56.93
wonderful story.
Let's have a look
00:15:56.94\00:15:58.78
at the video now, okay.
00:15:58.79\00:16:00.07
I believe completely in
my heart that everybody is
00:16:01.74\00:16:04.74
called into ministry,
when I first gave my heart
00:16:04.75\00:16:08.07
to the Lord I
immediately wanted to tell
00:16:08.08\00:16:10.58
everybody about Jesus
00:16:10.59\00:16:11.60
and what He had done for me.
00:16:11.61\00:16:12.99
I had been an atheist
in my whole life and then
00:16:23.36\00:16:25.88
had an experience with the Lord,
00:16:25.89\00:16:28.03
I gave my heart to the
Lord and then found out
00:16:28.04\00:16:30.34
about the Sabbath
became convicted that it was
00:16:30.35\00:16:32.77
important to keep the Sabbath,
00:16:32.78\00:16:33.99
found out that about
the Seventh-Day Adventist
00:16:34.00\00:16:35.76
Church began studying
and I decided to become
00:16:35.77\00:16:39.42
a member and become
baptized into the church.
00:16:39.43\00:16:41.88
I had been working
with the human resources
00:16:42.42\00:16:44.52
manager at that time.
The pastor actually wrote
00:16:44.53\00:16:48.20
a letter to go with me
that I could take to them
00:16:48.21\00:16:50.86
just to show what
our beliefs are and what
00:16:50.87\00:16:53.75
am I asking for and I
just requested that I have
00:16:53.76\00:16:55.89
off on Sabbath.
Everybody with in
00:16:55.90\00:16:58.54
the company was very
supportive at first and so
00:16:58.55\00:17:02.00
they did, you know make an
00:17:02.01\00:17:03.53
accommodation for us,
that lasted until 2007,
00:17:03.54\00:17:07.71
September of 2007
under new management,
00:17:07.72\00:17:10.45
new human resources
manager they told me I was
00:17:10.46\00:17:13.47
gonna have to work on
Saturdays and I refused.
00:17:13.48\00:17:16.51
So, that's, long
story short I was terminated
00:17:16.93\00:17:20.98
because they've
started pointing me for not
00:17:20.99\00:17:22.98
coming to work on Saturdays.
00:17:22.99\00:17:25.01
So I was terminated for
00:17:26.69\00:17:27.66
attendance is what they said.
00:17:27.67\00:17:28.64
There were times
where we didn't know how
00:17:36.00\00:17:37.40
we were gonna
provide food next week,
00:17:37.41\00:17:39.29
you know we went for
making very good money
00:17:39.67\00:17:42.38
to making no
money, they've denied my
00:17:42.39\00:17:44.37
unemployment and so we
were just do anything we
00:17:44.38\00:17:46.87
could do to make
money. I think a lot of
00:17:46.88\00:17:49.39
people with,
especially within our
00:17:49.40\00:17:50.78
family that are not
Adventists at first just
00:17:50.79\00:17:53.22
didn't get it and a lot of my,
00:17:53.23\00:17:55.10
and specifically my brothers and
00:17:55.11\00:17:57.46
sisters thought I was
nuts because you know how
00:17:57.47\00:17:59.89
do you give up a job
like this you just got
00:17:59.90\00:18:01.97
to work on
Saturday. The job market was
00:18:01.98\00:18:04.44
terrible I mean it
was just nobody was
00:18:04.45\00:18:07.17
finding jobs,
businesses were closing
00:18:07.18\00:18:08.89
down and it was a very
hard period of time for
00:18:08.90\00:18:10.74
most of the country.
A friend of mine and a
00:18:10.75\00:18:13.77
church member Mike
Herth, contacted me and said
00:18:13.78\00:18:16.72
that I needed to
contact religious liberty and
00:18:16.73\00:18:19.57
tell them what was
going on that I needed to,
00:18:19.58\00:18:21.83
you know let them take over.
00:18:21.84\00:18:23.73
Because we actually
had a written agreement
00:18:23.74\00:18:26.00
between myself and
the company about the
00:18:26.01\00:18:29.18
accommodation that I was given,
00:18:29.19\00:18:30.46
they actually followed
up with the EEOC and filed
00:18:30.47\00:18:33.30
a charge against the company for
00:18:33.31\00:18:34.76
for religious discrimination.
00:18:34.77\00:18:36.79
I believed completely
in my heart that everybody
00:18:42.98\00:18:45.83
is called into
ministry, when I first gave my
00:18:45.84\00:18:49.03
heart to the Lord I
immediately wanted to tell
00:18:49.04\00:18:51.82
everybody about
Jesus and what he
00:18:51.83\00:18:53.54
had done for me.
Now we were looking
00:18:53.55\00:18:55.16
at that the possibility
of being able to go and
00:18:55.17\00:18:58.52
attend the live
program in Florida and get
00:18:58.53\00:19:01.11
involved in ministry
and you know not really
00:19:01.12\00:19:03.97
having any money to
be able to do that but
00:19:03.98\00:19:06.13
feeling convicted
that's what the Lord was
00:19:06.14\00:19:08.23
calling us to do
right then we get to call
00:19:08.24\00:19:12.40
about the
settlement offered and it's the
00:19:12.41\00:19:14.38
amount that we need
to be able to go and to
00:19:14.39\00:19:17.35
be involved in
ministry. If you're involved in
00:19:17.36\00:19:20.55
a situation and you
are taking a stand for
00:19:20.56\00:19:23.73
the Sabbath for your beliefs,
00:19:23.74\00:19:25.55
then don't hesitate
to contact somebody with
00:19:26.22\00:19:28.84
religious liberty. You know by
00:19:28.85\00:19:30.37
the grace of God
and by the tools that we
00:19:30.38\00:19:32.84
have within religious
liberty they take care of
00:19:32.85\00:19:36.20
it and they do a beautiful job.
00:19:36.21\00:19:37.41
Mike's story shows
how easily our religious
00:19:41.13\00:19:44.00
convictions can
negatively impact even
00:19:44.01\00:19:46.10
our livelihood. You know the day
00:19:46.11\00:19:47.94
is coming when the
mark of the beast will
00:19:47.95\00:19:50.21
determine whether
or not we can buy or
00:19:50.22\00:19:51.96
sell and survive. I
would like you to hear
00:19:51.97\00:19:55.52
these comments from
our General Conference
00:19:55.53\00:19:57.48
president Elder Ted
Wilson on the importance
00:19:57.49\00:20:00.46
of religious
liberty and what you can
00:20:00.47\00:20:02.44
do to maintain
religious freedom.
00:20:02.45\00:20:04.31
By looking through the
pages of Liberty Magazine
00:20:07.60\00:20:09.93
and if you haven't
seen it you need to.
00:20:09.94\00:20:11.62
You will find some of
the great points that will
00:20:11.63\00:20:16.54
be made very
plain to civic leaders,
00:20:16.55\00:20:19.26
government leaders to
religious leaders and to
00:20:19.27\00:20:23.43
yourselves as to
why religious freedom is
00:20:23.44\00:20:26.58
so important. God will bless you
00:20:26.59\00:20:29.15
as you bless others
through liberty magazine.
00:20:29.16\00:20:32.11
Remember, religious
liberty is one of the most
00:20:32.72\00:20:34.95
important areas of
our understanding of how
00:20:34.96\00:20:38.46
to relate to people
and how to relate to God
00:20:38.47\00:20:40.48
and I urge you each of
you to support not only
00:20:40.49\00:20:45.26
religious liberty but
Liberty Magazine itself,
00:20:45.27\00:20:48.64
God will bless you
and the world for that.
00:20:49.22\00:20:52.70
Well how's that for an
explanation of someone's
00:21:00.93\00:21:03.01
commitment to their
faiths stands regardless and
00:21:03.02\00:21:06.48
of course he was
vindicated much more,
00:21:06.49\00:21:07.70
was vindicated.
And I would like to,
00:21:07.71\00:21:10.52
it's powerful, the
new General Conference
00:21:10.53\00:21:12.30
president Ted Wilson's
ringing affirmation of the
00:21:12.31\00:21:14.99
importance of religious liberty.
00:21:15.00\00:21:16.37
You know across
this country everyday we
00:21:16.55\00:21:19.80
find individuals who
are willing to make that
00:21:19.81\00:21:22.87
personal stand and
really I think that's the
00:21:22.88\00:21:27.26
genius as it were of
our emphasis in this church
00:21:27.27\00:21:30.74
on religious
freedom issues I mean we're
00:21:30.75\00:21:33.79
actually carrying
on the reformation
00:21:33.80\00:21:36.18
right now,
exactly. You know the whole
00:21:36.19\00:21:39.19
purpose of religious
freedom but not only for
00:21:39.20\00:21:41.66
us but also for others as well.
00:21:41.67\00:21:42.72
And there are many
people, there's thousands of
00:21:42.73\00:21:45.78
people especially
in the time of economic
00:21:45.79\00:21:48.47
downturn, they are facing that
00:21:48.48\00:21:50.73
question their
religious commitment,
00:21:50.74\00:21:52.73
their faith
commitment or their job, yep.
00:21:52.74\00:21:55.43
And I admire these
people that are willing
00:21:55.44\00:21:57.56
to sacrifice whatever
is necessary to remain,
00:21:57.57\00:22:00.90
to maintain their integrity.
00:22:02.08\00:22:03.41
It's not easy and I'm
telling you I've talked to
00:22:03.71\00:22:05.92
a lot of people
over the years who go
00:22:05.93\00:22:08.26
through this
struggle, not only the struggle
00:22:08.27\00:22:10.20
of you know Sabbath
accommodation but then
00:22:10.21\00:22:12.91
there are those who
want to be exempt from labor
00:22:12.92\00:22:15.84
unions and then
having to deal with you know
00:22:15.85\00:22:18.68
the peer
pressure in the workplace.
00:22:18.69\00:22:20.26
I mean there is a lot
of pressure on our people.
00:22:20.61\00:22:23.53
It's severe even
though the laws in the
00:22:23.54\00:22:24.91
Unites States that are
quite clear that you are
00:22:24.92\00:22:28.40
not to be discriminated
against on the basis
00:22:28.41\00:22:30.16
of among other things
your religious commitment.
00:22:30.17\00:22:33.46
The law is one
thing and it stands,
00:22:34.11\00:22:36.23
but in the subtleties
of the workplace where
00:22:36.24\00:22:39.09
there's prejudice
that can some times work
00:22:39.10\00:22:40.95
around legal
requirements people have to pay
00:22:40.96\00:22:43.97
a price. Yep. But our church in
00:22:43.98\00:22:46.63
you've been involved
in this is very consistent
00:22:46.64\00:22:48.95
in upholding their
rights and their freedoms.
00:22:48.96\00:22:51.31
We spend money, we
hire lawyers to defend them,
00:22:52.20\00:22:54.88
some of the money is
that on that video refer
00:22:55.74\00:22:59.38
they are the people supporting
00:22:59.39\00:23:00.38
what we are doing,
the Liberty Magazine,
00:23:00.39\00:23:01.80
right, and our
religious liberty work,
00:23:01.81\00:23:02.87
but we take some of
that money and put it
00:23:02.88\00:23:04.68
aside for a litigation fund.
00:23:04.69\00:23:06.57
We want to be able to
defend people even though
00:23:06.96\00:23:10.95
the ultimate defense is
faith in the Lord and the
00:23:10.96\00:23:13.77
security that he
promises in a benign system like
00:23:13.78\00:23:17.19
the United
States where the laws do
00:23:17.20\00:23:19.98
guarantee religious freedom;
00:23:19.99\00:23:21.17
we want to use those laws.
00:23:21.18\00:23:22.55
Although, there is
still a lot of work needs
00:23:22.56\00:23:24.47
to be done in the
world, a lot of work and in
00:23:24.48\00:23:26.08
another program
we'll talk about that,
00:23:26.09\00:23:27.38
but you know the
thing is, is that as we see
00:23:27.83\00:23:32.00
individuals who take
these stands not only do
00:23:32.01\00:23:36.14
they need the practical
help like that we provide
00:23:36.15\00:23:38.30
but also it's
important for us to be able to
00:23:38.31\00:23:41.50
reach out to the
thought leaders in this country
00:23:41.51\00:23:44.07
and that's where
Liberty Magazine makes an
00:23:44.45\00:23:47.55
important advance,
we cannot underestimate
00:23:47.56\00:23:52.06
the power of ideas
and you know under your
00:23:52.07\00:23:55.73
leadership with
Liberty Magazine getting the
00:23:55.74\00:23:58.46
ideas to those
people who are making these
00:23:58.47\00:24:01.38
decisions is extremely
important. We think so,
00:24:01.39\00:24:05.91
and it's not an instant fix, no,
00:24:05.92\00:24:08.64
but we know in the
long term these leaders
00:24:08.65\00:24:11.44
and we send to all of
the political leadership
00:24:11.45\00:24:14.00
with the state and
the federal level and in
00:24:14.01\00:24:16.76
Canada too, and
in the provincial
00:24:16.77\00:24:19.15
level they are all getting it,
00:24:19.16\00:24:20.26
and they don't
necessarily read every issue and
00:24:20.73\00:24:23.17
every article but in
the long hold we know
00:24:23.18\00:24:24.99
that these thought
leaders as we class them are
00:24:25.00\00:24:28.21
reading, they are
aware of these things,
00:24:28.22\00:24:30.09
we get feedback.
And we know that in
00:24:30.10\00:24:32.76
many occasions it has
directly influenced their,
00:24:32.77\00:24:35.78
their actions as
they legislate on
00:24:35.79\00:24:37.85
important
things. Get back to Great
00:24:37.86\00:24:39.68
Controversy
little time we've left,
00:24:39.69\00:24:41.23
yes sure okay. I
know you had some
00:24:41.24\00:24:42.30
wonderful nuggets
here to share with
00:24:42.31\00:24:45.24
the viewers, we
only have a couple
00:24:45.25\00:24:46.32
of minutes left.
Okay well one of the
00:24:46.33\00:24:48.49
things that I found
very interesting again it's
00:24:48.50\00:24:50.33
in that chapter on the
protest of the princes,
00:24:50.34\00:24:52.50
but there's a note here
and it says this and it's
00:24:53.11\00:24:56.33
on page 111 if those
viewers at home would
00:24:56.34\00:24:59.40
like to look it up and
it says from the secret
00:24:59.41\00:25:02.02
place of prayer came
the power that shook the
00:25:02.03\00:25:05.25
world in the great
reformation and I think
00:25:05.26\00:25:07.90
it's that, that emphasis on
00:25:07.91\00:25:09.86
prayer so often we
think okay you know
00:25:09.87\00:25:13.77
we got to hold up the
flag of religious freedom
00:25:13.78\00:25:15.80
and all the rest but
it's the flag as it were
00:25:15.81\00:25:19.54
are all of, all of us who are
00:25:19.55\00:25:23.47
getting down on our knees,
00:25:23.48\00:25:25.23
who are praying and
say, God lead us, direct us,
00:25:25.24\00:25:28.41
give us the strength we
need because the society
00:25:28.42\00:25:32.32
around us is not
with us on this program.
00:25:32.33\00:25:35.89
Well God will help.
We have to believe that
00:25:35.90\00:25:37.25
there is divine
intervention in this
00:25:37.26\00:25:38.92
way and we can
call upon divine path.
00:25:38.93\00:25:40.63
There has been a
lot of talk lately about
00:25:40.64\00:25:42.41
American
Exceptionalism and so on.
00:25:42.42\00:25:44.61
And we're not
exceptional in any regard unless
00:25:44.62\00:25:47.59
God answers our
exceptional prayers
00:25:47.60\00:25:50.65
we are not
inherently you know due any
00:25:50.91\00:25:54.16
special favors.
But I think in the
00:25:54.17\00:25:56.82
reformation and
right up to the present,
00:25:56.83\00:25:58.50
people of faith and
prayer have leaned on God
00:25:58.51\00:26:01.60
and He's rewarded
their faith with their
00:26:01.61\00:26:03.40
special voice. I
mean Luther himself
00:26:03.41\00:26:05.03
said that unless he's
spent at least three hours
00:26:05.04\00:26:07.79
every day in prayer
I mean he felt like he
00:26:07.80\00:26:10.73
hadn't had a prayer
life and I don't know
00:26:10.74\00:26:11.99
about you but I don't
get to have three hours a
00:26:12.00\00:26:14.89
day but that's,
that's the kind of
00:26:14.90\00:26:16.73
personal religiosity as
it were that we need and
00:26:16.74\00:26:21.79
as we look at our own
lives being willing to
00:26:21.80\00:26:25.88
stand up for
our faith and being,
00:26:25.89\00:26:28.67
in order to have that
strength we need to be
00:26:29.52\00:26:32.48
filled personally in
our personal walk with God
00:26:32.49\00:26:36.94
and I pray for our
viewers that you will take
00:26:36.95\00:26:39.49
that time get to know
your God and be an example
00:26:39.50\00:26:43.46
be a strength for
those that they will see that
00:26:43.47\00:26:46.51
there's religious
freedom in this country.
00:26:46.52\00:26:48.11
One of the greatest
works of literature in the
00:26:50.30\00:26:52.49
English language is
written by John Milton.
00:26:52.50\00:26:56.50
His two part series
or two part work Paradise
00:26:57.49\00:27:02.06
Lost and Paradise
Regained tells what
00:27:02.07\00:27:05.15
I like to think of as
the Great Controversy.
00:27:05.16\00:27:08.60
The great battle
between good and evil,
00:27:09.30\00:27:11.29
the plan that God
had to create man,
00:27:11.86\00:27:14.23
man's subsequent fall
and then his reinstatement
00:27:15.00\00:27:18.89
to at least the
possibility of salvation
00:27:19.41\00:27:21.51
because of the life
of ministry of Jesus
00:27:21.52\00:27:23.98
the Son of God. As a
Seventh-day Adventist
00:27:23.99\00:27:26.74
I know that there is
another very important
00:27:26.75\00:27:29.38
book written by
church pioneer Ellen White
00:27:29.39\00:27:31.70
called the Great Controversy.
00:27:31.71\00:27:33.86
The new president of
the General Conference
00:27:34.64\00:27:36.85
Ted Wilson has taken it
as a special challenge to
00:27:36.86\00:27:40.01
distribute this book
to many of our contexts,
00:27:40.02\00:27:42.96
to help them to
understand church
00:27:42.97\00:27:44.90
history as well as the
theological promise in the
00:27:44.91\00:27:49.89
Bible of a plan of
redemption to solve
00:27:49.90\00:27:53.20
The Great Controversy.
They could be no greater
00:27:53.21\00:27:57.26
efforts for us
to be involved in,
00:27:57.27\00:27:58.82
then to be soldiers
in this battle between
00:27:59.54\00:28:01.91
good and evil. The battle in
00:28:01.92\00:28:03.51
which good will be victorious.
00:28:03.52\00:28:05.44
This is Lincoln
Steed for Liberty Insider.
00:28:06.78\00:28:10.02