Participants: Pr. Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP030808
|
00:36 It's Sabbath and my rest has arrived
00:42 It's Sabbath, a day God set aside 00:49 It's Sabbath, it's a joy and delight 00:55 It's Sabbath 01:01 O Holy God, this Holy day 01:08 Please purify our lives we pray 01:14 O Holy God, this Holy day 01:21 Please purify our lives we pray 01:27 It's Sabbath, it's a joy and delight 01:34 It's Sabbaths 02:03 We fall down. 02:06 We fall down, we lay our crowns 02:11 At the feet of Jesus 02:17 The greatness of His mercy and love 02:22 At the feet of Jesus 02:27 And we cry holy, holy, holy 02:33 We cry holy, holy, holy 02:39 We cry holy, holy, holy 02:44 Is the Lamb 02:50 And we cry holy, holy, holy 02:56 We cry holy, holy, holy 03:02 We cry holy, holy, holy 03:08 Is the Lamb 03:24 I must tell Jesus 03:29 All of my trials 03:36 I cannot bear 03:40 These burdens alone 03:46 In my distress 03:51 He kindly will help me 04:00 He ever loves 04:04 And cares for His own 04:13 I must tell Jesus! 04:19 I must tell Jesus! 04:24 I cannot bear 04:27 My burdens alone 04:35 I must tell Jesus! 04:40 I must tell Jesus! 04:45 Jesus can help me 04:50 Jesus alone 04:59 I must tell Jesus 05:04 All of my troubles 05:11 He is a kind 05:15 Compassionate Friend 05:22 If I but ask Him 05:29 He will deliver 05:36 Make of my troubles 05:42 Quickly an end 05:51 I must tell Jesus! 05:56 I must tell Jesus! 06:01 I cannot bear 06:05 My burdens alone 06:14 I must tell Jesus! 06:19 I must tell Jesus! 06:24 Jesus can help me 06:30 Jesus can help me 06:35 Jesus can help me 06:44 Jesus alone 07:00 I met Dayv Lounsbury at Walla Walla College 07:04 and have asked him to share just a little bit about 07:06 his story with us this morning. 07:09 Now, Dayv, I understand that 07:13 you haven't always been Adventist, 07:14 you didn't grow up Adventist. 07:15 What made you interested in the Adventist church 07:19 or I guess the Sabbath in particular. 07:23 Well, I wasn't interested. 07:25 I was very uncomfortable 07:27 and relaxed in my religious faith. 07:29 I was a member of a different Christian denomination. 07:32 But a friend at work offered me some Adventist literature 07:37 and some prophecy videos 07:39 and more out of politeness to him 07:40 than anything else, I said okay, I'll take them 07:45 and then I kind of felt guilty, 07:48 if I didn't actually watch it and read it, 07:51 because I knew he'd ask when I returned it to him, 07:53 how did you like it, you know? 07:55 So I watched it and I really as I saw 07:59 the scriptures unfolded, I'd always love the Bible. 08:02 I was taught to believe the Bible 08:04 and the Bible's the foundation of our faith. 08:06 As I saw the scriptures unfold, in the teaching of the Sabbath, 08:10 there wasn't something I'd never thought about before. 08:12 Never felt the desire to look into before, 08:14 didn't think it was important. 08:15 And as I saw and began to see the beauty of it 08:18 and the-- the fullness and richness of it, 08:21 I really felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 08:24 And so I began to talk with my friend at work 08:26 and we spent many a work hour mostly during our breaks 08:29 but not always, talking about the Sabbath. 08:32 Yes, I was paid to study the Sabbath 08:34 even before going to school. 08:36 And I really just felt it 08:38 that was what with the Lord was calling me 08:40 to make a commitment to also follow that commandment 08:44 as the way the Lord has described it. 08:47 Okay, so it started with the guilt trip. 08:50 Can I get a witness, just kidding? 08:52 So this is interesting and I understand that 08:55 you actually had a kind of a trying time. 08:59 You mention that you were a newly wed during that time. 09:02 And I wanted to know what that was like for you? 09:04 What the transition was like for you then? 09:08 There were several challenges along the way, 09:11 not, I don't want to call my marriage a challenge 09:14 but yes, I was studying like 09:16 I said at work and really by myself. 09:19 My wife and I worked at different times 09:21 and so the time did come, we've been married about 09:23 9 months at this time 09:25 when I had to have a little conversation with my wife 09:27 and share with her my convictions. 09:30 In all honesty she did not know anything about it 09:32 and it caught her off guard. 09:34 But we had some discussions and we prayed about it 09:37 and studied and we made some good friends 09:41 who encouraged us during this time 09:43 and she felt the conviction as well. 09:45 She felt that was what the Lord was calling us 09:47 two for us as a married couple and for our family. 09:50 And so we're just very thankful 09:52 that the Lord brought us through that time, 09:54 that it was not something that divided us, 09:56 rather united us. 09:58 Amen. 10:00 Thank you for sharing, Dayv. 10:02 Dayv told me that he was so excited about 10:05 seeing the Sabbath for the first time 10:07 that it was a clear and simple message. 10:11 And that God was with him through the test. 10:14 So thank you so much, Dayv. 10:16 Holy Father, everybody has a testimony. 10:20 You live in this life, there's a story to tell. 10:26 One more piece in this story 10:29 that we've been building 10:31 all this season, last piece. 10:39 Please, make sure... 10:44 that as we go to Holy Scripture, 10:46 it would be clear, not just clear to our minds, 10:49 dear God, but clear to our hearts. 10:51 Somehow you work, you work that partnership 10:55 for the glory of Christ. 10:57 We pray in His name, amen. 11:03 Before I share with you, 11:05 I've news report that stopped me in my tracks. 11:08 I could not believe my ears. 11:16 I need to share something with you here 11:17 at the conclusion of this series. 11:21 I'm gonna risk being misunderstood right now, 11:26 I still need to say this, 11:27 I still need to share this with you. 11:31 And that is I believe 11:36 that the greatest spiritual contest 11:40 in the history of this earth is impending. 11:46 Now, I'm not gonna say, it's just ahead. 11:51 Although I fear and I use that word advisedly, 11:54 I fear that we have no sense... 12:04 on how near this event may in fact turn out to be. 12:12 The greatest spiritual crises in earth impending 12:14 and I'm convinced from my study 12:17 that it will the locus 12:20 the focus of that contest 12:26 will be between two religious communities. 12:34 One will lead the vast majority of this world 12:36 and championing what has been her historic position 12:41 from the beginning. 12:44 And the other will lead 12:45 as it were the minority opposition to the hegemony, 12:49 to the dominance of that first power. 12:52 But make no mistake about it, ladies and gentlemen, 12:55 there will be only two positions, 12:59 two ideologies, two camps, 13:01 there is no third option. 13:08 I realized how peculiar this may sound to some of you, 13:12 to suggest that the whole world, 13:13 I'm talking about every nation, every tribe, 13:15 every religion, every culture, every society 13:19 will be divided into only two camps. 13:24 And I'm gonna tell you in advance, 13:27 if you want to make the easiest choice, 13:30 then it'll be a piece of cake. 13:32 Just go with the overwhelming majority. 13:39 But I need to hasten to also add the other community, 13:45 the other community will not be a nondescript ragtag band 13:48 of earth's rejects, in fact I believe... 13:56 some of the most influential thought leaders 14:00 in society, in theology, 14:04 in politics, in the media 14:07 will chose to align themselves with the moral stance 14:11 and biblical position of the minority community. 14:17 I believe that by the tens of thousands 14:19 citizens of this earth 14:21 will switch allegiances. 14:29 And they will join themselves 14:32 to the spiritual movement because in the end, 14:34 would you please get this straight in the end. 14:37 I must tell you, it will be a movement 14:41 and not an institution. 14:43 It will be a spiritual community 14:44 and not a denominational body, make no mistake about it. 14:50 At the risk of being misunderstood, 14:52 I repeat, the final spiritual contest on earth 14:55 will be led by this David and Goliath mismatch. 15:01 So that everybody on this planet 15:03 at last will have the opportunity 15:06 to declare loyalty to the creator 15:10 God of this universe, Adonai, Adonai. 15:24 This past September, when Pope Benedict XVI 15:29 was making his first trip of his pontificate to Austria. 15:36 He celebrated Mass in Vienna 15:39 in the beautiful St. Stephen's Cathedral, 15:41 I have seen that edifice My, oh, my. 15:46 The news reported it 15:49 and when I heard the report of his homily, 15:52 I could not believe my ears. 15:55 I said, I got it wrong, that assertion, 15:58 probably I just didn't hear it right. 16:01 So I went online and downloaded 16:04 the verbatim text of the pope's homily. 16:09 I come to find out I had heard it right. 16:15 I could not believe. 16:17 I'm gonna share it with you right now. 16:19 Take out your study guide please 16:21 in today's worship bulletin. 16:24 Some were there and all the papers and hymnals 16:26 and Bibles that you have around you, 16:27 pull out today's study guide. 16:30 You got it ushers. 16:31 Thank you right now, for making sure 16:33 that every here has that study guide. 16:35 Hold your hand up. 16:36 Hold your hand up, you'll see the words 16:38 for yourself in the study guide. 16:40 Websites will all be there, you check it out, 16:42 you say I don't know about that Dwight guy, 16:45 you go check it out, huh. 16:46 You check it out. 16:48 Hold your hand up, all the way to the back up in the balcony. 16:51 I want to make sure everybody in the choir you got it. 16:54 All right, take the study guide out 16:56 and by the way, while they're doing that, 16:57 those of you who are watching on TV, 16:58 we're delighted to have you. 17:00 Let me give you a website, you go to our website, 17:01 you'll get the same study guide. 17:02 I put it on the screen for you. 17:04 www.pmchurch.tv that's our website. 17:08 Go to the website, you are looking 17:09 for the teaching entitled ''The Sabbath." 17:11 By the way this is it, this is the final piece 17:14 in this 6 part series, so you're looking 17:16 for this particular teaching with the name 17:19 "A Test Very Simple and Highly Visible." 17:22 When you see that it'll say study guide right beside it, 17:24 you click there, 17:25 you'll have the identical study guide we have, 17:28 and it begins with the words of Benedict 17:31 the XVI his homily on September 7th last year 17:35 at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. 17:37 I'm sorry that is September 9, the study guide 17:40 will make that correction you'll see it 17:41 right there, it's September 9. 17:43 All right, these are the words of enedict the XVI. 17:48 The early Christians, I'm reading now, 17:49 you're following in your study guide. 17:50 "The early Christians celebrated 17:52 the first day of the week as the Lord's day, 17:55 because it was the day of the resurrection." 17:58 I'm willing to give that line to the pope. 18:02 If by early Christians, he's talking about 18:03 second century, third century, fourth and fifth centuries, 18:06 fine, the pope is a brilliant mind 18:09 and he-- I don't believe he means early first century, 18:13 he knows not first century. 18:15 There is no evidence in the Book of Acts, 18:16 there's no evidence in the New Testament 18:19 that the Christian church 18:22 celebrated on the first day of the week. 18:24 No evidence, pope knows that. 18:26 All right, second sentence, "Yet very soon..." 18:29 And he's right here, in the second century. 18:31 "The Church also came to realize 18:33 that the first day of the week is the day 18:35 of the dawning of creation, 18:37 the day on which God said: "Let there be light.' 18:39 " Now here's the line that caught me 18:40 when I heard it on the radio. 18:41 "Therefore Sunday is also the Church's 18:44 weekly feast of creation. 18:46 The feast of thanksgiving and joy over God's creation." 18:49 Hey wait a minute, time, hold it, hold, time out, 18:51 would you run that last sentence 18:53 by me again please, I don't think I heard it. 18:55 Are you suggesting 18:57 that Sunday is a Church's weekly feast of creation. 19:01 And that the feast of thanksgiving 19:02 and joy over God's creation is the first day of the week. 19:06 I mean I understand about having a feast. 19:08 I understand about a memorial to creation 19:10 but the word sound familiar 19:12 but all that I can recollect for the life of me, 19:16 is the Holy Scripture in the fourth commandment 19:19 and the gift of the seventh-day Sabbath, 19:22 not the first day of the week, not Sunday. 19:25 Are you sure? 19:27 Let me put the fourth commandment 19:28 on the screen for you. 19:29 Exodus 20:8-11." 19:31 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 19:33 Whole world knows this is the fourth commandment. 19:36 "For in six days the Lord made the heavens 19:37 and the earth, the sea, 19:38 and all that is in them, and rested..." 19:40 Would you write it in please? 19:41 "Rested the seventh day." 19:44 The Holy Scriptures teach that God's festival, 19:46 if you want to call it a festival, 19:47 God celebration, God's memorial of creation 19:50 is the seventh-day Sabbath. 19:52 But the Holy Father teaches 19:54 that the church teaches that she has changed 19:57 that festival of creation from the Sabbath day 19:58 to the venerated day of the sun. 20:01 And thus in a single paragraph, in one homily in Vienna, 20:05 the pope reminds his listeners that the church has co-opted 20:09 not only God's Seventh-day Sabbath, 20:11 but the very meaning of the Seventh-day Sabbath 20:14 as a memorial of creation. 20:17 I read it and read it, and so the Benedict XVI 20:22 declared to the world last September, 20:24 Sunday is a memorial festival of the divine creation. 20:32 I cannot believe my ears. I look at that known. 20:36 Sure, I've read and known of Rome's renewed claims 20:39 particularly over this last century 20:41 to change God's day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. 20:45 In fact in 1910, a priest named Peter Geiermann 20:48 received Pope Pius X apostolic blessing for his new book, 20:52 "The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine." 20:54 This little Q&A exchange takes place in that catechism. 20:57 You see there in your study guide. 20:59 Question- why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? 21:01 "Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday 21:04 because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea 21:06 (A.D. 336), transferred the solemnity 21:13 from Saturday to Sunday." 21:16 The church did it and so we do it. 21:19 Ladies and gentlemen, there is no question 21:20 among historians and theologians 21:22 of all phase today that the Church of Rome 21:25 has claimed from the beginning 21:26 to change the day of worship from the biblical Sabbath 21:28 to the day of the sun or the Sunday. 21:32 One of the most popular American prelates 21:35 James Cardinal Gibbons was author of the book 21:39 "The Faith of Our Fathers" 21:40 which went through over 110 editions. 21:43 In that book, I want to underline 21:45 and so you have the website right there. 21:47 The book is there in facsimile, 21:48 I looked at that page, and sure enough there it is. 21:51 Here's the sentence, Cardinal Gibbons writing, 21:53 "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, 21:56 and you will not find a single line 21:58 authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. 22:02 The Scriptures enforce the religious observance 22:04 of Saturday, a day which we, Rome, never sanctify." 22:12 Much closer to home, the popular priest 22:14 and professor and writer John A. 22:16 O'Brien who ended his illustrious teaching career 22:19 right down the road at Notre Dame University. 22:21 In fact died there in 1980. 22:23 He wrote the best seller book, the Faith of Millions, 22:27 I went on to the Notre Dame archive online 22:29 and discovered that this book not only became a best seller 22:31 but was reprinted in 27 editions 22:33 and translated into 10 languages. 22:36 So O'Brien, father O'Brien makes the starling observation. 22:41 You see it there in your study guide. 22:42 "But since Saturday, not Sunday, 22:45 is specified in the Bible, isn't it curious 22:48 that non-Catholics, read Protestants, 22:51 who profess to take their religion 22:52 directly from the Bible and not from the Church, 22:55 observe Sunday instead of Saturday? 22:58 Yes, of course..." 22:59 He writes and this is his word, "It is inconsistent.' 23:05 It is inconsistent. 23:06 But this change was made about fifteen centuries 23:08 before Protestantism was born, 23:10 and by that time the custom was universally observed. 23:14 They have, Protestants, have continued the custom, 23:16 worshiping on Sunday, 23:17 even though it rests upon the authority 23:19 of the Catholic Church and not..." 23:22 That's not my word, that's his word 23:23 "And not upon an explicit text in the Bible. 23:27 That observance remains as a reminder 23:29 of the Mother Church 23:30 from which the non-Catholic sects broke away, 23:33 like a boy running away from home 23:36 but still carrying in his pocket 23:37 a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair." 23:44 You Protestants, you are runaway boys, 23:48 but you can't forget your mother 23:50 and you still carry her picture in your pocket. 23:54 How well can you explain it? 23:56 The priest writes and you know what? 23:58 He's absolutely right. 24:00 How did he put it here, isn't it curious? 24:04 Isn't it inconsistent? 24:06 For the Protestants to say they follow the Bible 24:09 and the Bible only are taking their queues only from Rome 24:13 when it comes to the day of worship. 24:15 I have to tell you, I agree with John A. O'Brien. 24:20 Isn't it curious? Isn't it inconsistent? 24:26 So what I'm telling you is that 24:27 when I heard Benedict the XVI back in September declare that 24:33 Sunday now is the festival of God's creation. 24:36 I was astounded. 24:37 You may have known that all your life 24:38 for that had been the church's position 24:39 but for me somehow to hear a pope articulate it 24:42 and to hear the news media pick it up. 24:44 I said, wait a minute, wait, time out again, please. 24:48 Is anybody gonna say anything here? 24:52 You're telling me that the media are just gonna hook, 24:54 line and sinker say, well, that's a-- 24:56 Well, of course, so it is a memorial of creation. 24:58 Is all of Christendom believing that? 25:01 The whole world believes it? You've got to be kidding me. 25:05 Somebody raise the question. 25:13 And If I'm really honest with you, 25:16 I'm gonna confess, as I reflected 25:21 on that declaration, I brood it in my heart. 25:24 I wonder thinking of my own community of faith. 25:28 I wonder how many even within my community of faith 25:32 have an inkling as to the divine credentials 25:35 for the Seventh-day Sabbath. 25:38 Or it's just, have we raised a generation. 25:41 Oh, well, hey, for some it's this, 25:45 for some it's that, who cares. 25:49 I wonder, do they have a clue 25:55 that this very issue is silently being shape 25:57 by mysterious hands into the final spiritual 26:00 showdown of earth's history. 26:03 Do they have a clue? 26:06 Open your Bible with me, please, to the Apocalypse, 26:07 the Bible's last book, the Book of Revelation. 26:10 Find Revelation 14, Revelation 14, 26:14 and while you are finding Revelation 14, 26:16 I want to do something with you. 26:18 It is kind of this famous multitasking 26:21 that you're good at, Revelation 14 26:23 while you are finding Revelation 14, 26:24 I need to draw you attention to a stain glass window 26:27 that is high over my head right now, right up there. 26:30 We call it here in Pioneer, we call it the rose window. 26:33 I want you to read the piece of apocalypse 26:37 that inspired the artist 26:38 who designed this stained glass window. 26:40 It's high stained glass window in the Pioneer Memorial Church. 26:43 All right, so you see the picture. 26:44 Do you see Jesus? Yep. 26:46 You see Him on a cloud? 26:47 Do you see a crown on His head? Yes. 26:49 And what do you see in His hand? 26:50 what do you see in His hand? 26:52 He has a sickle, He has a sickle. 26:54 Where did an artist come up with such a thought as that. 26:57 I'll show you, Revelation 14, 27:00 now we're going to the Bible, Revelation 14, 27:01 here are the words that inspired the rose window 27:04 here in the Pioneer Memorial Church. 27:06 Revelation 14:14. 27:07 By the way, you didn't bring your Bible, 27:08 grab the pew Bible right in front of you. 27:10 Pew Bible right in front of you. 27:11 What's the page number here? Page 830, Bible's last book. 27:15 Take a look at this. 27:16 Revelation 14:14, " Then I looked, 27:19 and behold, a white cloud, 27:21 and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, 27:23 having on His head a golden crown, 27:24 and in His hand a sharp sickle." 27:28 That's the picture, isn't it? 27:29 Yep. 27:30 "And another angel came out of the temple, 27:32 crying with a loud voice." 27:33 Now in the Greek, megale phone, 27:35 two words in the Greek, crying out what we would say 27:37 in English, crying out with a megaphone. 27:39 This isn't a whimper, this isn't a little whisper, 27:42 this is a booming cry. 27:45 "And another angel came out of the temple, 27:46 crying with a loud voice to Him, 27:48 to Jesus, who sat on the cloud, 27:50 "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, 27:51 for the time has come for You to reap, 27:53 for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 27:55 So verse 16, "He who sat on the cloud 27:57 thrust in His sickle on the earth, 27:59 and the earth was reaped." 28:02 We have just read ladies and gentlemen 28:03 an apocalyptic description of the second coming of Christ. 28:07 It's the end of the world. 28:09 You say, well, what's the big deal, Dwight. 28:10 I tell you what the big deal is. 28:12 This is a key time marker. 28:15 We need to know that what precedes 28:17 the second coming of Christ, 28:21 precedes it, very much precedes it, 28:24 as the preceding verses will show us. 28:26 What we read in the preceding verses, 28:28 we need to lock this in our minds, 28:29 ah, that's just before Jesus returns, all right. 28:33 So let's look at the preceding verses. 28:34 Take a look at this. 28:36 Just before Christ return, there will be a message 28:38 that goes to the entire planet. 28:42 A message that describes a final contest 28:44 between these two religious communities, 28:46 these two ideologies, these two camps 28:48 and I want to warn you what you are about to read. 28:50 In all of the scripture you will not find a more 28:53 in your face, divine urgent warning to the human race. 28:58 This is the most strident warning 29:00 in all of Holy Scripture. 29:02 All right, take a look at it. 29:03 Revelation 14, you're already there, 29:05 go back to verse 6, three angels, 29:08 it picture this three angels, is it a global message? 29:11 You'll see that immediately, verse 6. 29:12 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, 29:15 having the everlasting gospel..." 29:16 By the way, at the heart of this message 29:18 is the glorious good news of the kingdom of heaven 29:22 and that is, the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ, 29:27 in the salvation of the human race, 29:29 so that's the everlasting gospel, 29:31 so he says, "I saw another angel flying 29:32 in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel 29:34 to preach to those who dwell on the earth, 29:36 to every nation, tribe, tongue, 29:37 and people, saying with a loud voice." 29:39 There it is again, megale phone, 29:41 say booming it out, 29:42 this has to go to the entire civilization 29:45 saying with the loud voice, verse 7, 29:46 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 29:48 for the hour of His judgment has come..." 29:52 Oh, oh, we're running out of time. 29:53 "And worship Him who made heaven and earth, 29:56 the sea and the springs of water." 29:59 Would you jot this down, ladies and gentlemen? 30:01 "Just before the return of Christ, 30:03 there will go forth an urgent 30:04 and final appeal to the human race 30:07 to return to the Creator..." 30:10 Unmistakably clear, return to the Creator, 30:15 the one who made heaven and earth, 30:16 the sea and the springs of waters. 30:18 "And worship him." 30:20 Please note, and worship Him, worship. 30:23 Keep your pen moving, The Greek of Revelation 14:7 30:26 is identical to the Greek of the Fourth Commandment 30:29 in the Ten Commandments, the Greek version 30:31 of the Ten Commandments are called the Septuagint. 30:33 LXX, that means 70 translators collaborated 30:36 to put that Greek translation of the Old Testament together. 30:38 The Greek words are identical. 30:41 There is no question the linkage here 30:43 is intentional and it is clear. 30:47 In fact, jot it down, Clearly the Sabbath, 30:49 the memorial of the Creator, 30:50 is central to God's final appeal..." 30:53 Just before Jesus comes, his final appeal 30:56 to the human race will be, come back to the Creator, 30:58 worship the one who made heaven and earth, 31:00 straight out of the Fourth Commandment. 31:03 All right, but there are three angels. 31:04 Take a look at this second, angel, wow, 31:06 this would be verse 8, "And another angel followed, 31:09 saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, 31:13 because she has made all nations drink 31:16 of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 31:18 Would you jot this down as well, 31:20 Babylon is the apocalyptic symbol of an end time 31:24 geo-religio-political confederacy, 31:27 a confederacy against the Creator God. 31:31 Clearly in the apocalypse, 31:33 it is this union opposing the Creator God. 31:37 Two angels down, one to go. 31:39 Here comes number three, verse 9, 31:40 "Then a third angel followed them, 31:43 saying with a loud voice..." 31:44 There it is again, megaphone, booming out. 31:46 This voice has to go the entire civilization, 31:49 saying with a loud voice. 31:50 Now, this is the most strident. 31:52 This is the in your face part. 31:56 "Saying with a loud voice, 31:57 "If anyone worships the beast and his image, 32:01 and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand. 32:04 Verse 10, "He himself shall also drink 32:06 of the wine of the wrath of God, 32:08 which is poured out full strength 32:10 into the cup of His indignation. 32:12 He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 32:14 in the presence of the holy angels 32:16 and in the presence of the Lamb." 32:19 Would you jot this down please, 32:20 God warns the world not to receive. 32:23 Look at every American knows about the mark of the beast, 32:25 if you go to a super market 32:26 and you just scan the headlines of those tabloids. 32:29 You will see a headline, yet ahead, 32:31 that every three months they re-circulate it. 32:33 What is the mark of the beast? 32:36 Please, know, God is warning the world 32:37 not to receive the mark of the beast. 32:39 What is that? That's the sign. 32:41 That is the sign of Babylon's claim to global authority. 32:46 Hey look, if Babylon is this final 32:48 end time confederacy against the Creator God, 32:52 and remember it is clear, there are only two camps, 32:55 two ideologies, two positions, 32:57 if Babylon is one of those camps, 32:59 who pray tell would be in that other camp? 33:02 Who else? Who else? 33:05 John will not leave us wondering. 33:06 Look at verse 12, 33:10 "Here is the patience of the saints..." 33:11 Here's the other camp. 33:12 "Here is the patience of the saints, 33:16 here are those who keep the commandments of God, 33:20 and the faith of Jesus." 33:22 Would you write it down please, 33:23 the "saints" that's code word 33:25 for God's loyal friends on earth at the end of time. 33:27 "The saints are those who keep the commandments, 33:30 the commandments of God." 33:32 Which by the way would include the Sabbath 33:34 or fourth commandment. 33:35 Now wouldn't it? 33:36 They keep the commandments of God 33:38 and they hold fast to the faith of Jesus. 33:39 Who is Jesus? 33:41 He is both the Lord of salvation 33:42 and the Lord of the Sabbath. 33:44 Who are these? 33:46 In other words, keep your pen moving. 33:48 "The final spiritual contest before Christ returns 33:50 will be a David-and-Goliath showdown 33:53 between the mighty power of Babylon 33:55 and the obedient followers of the Creator God." 34:01 A contest by the way that will threaten their very lives. 34:06 Just turn back one page, come on, one page. 34:08 Back to Revelation 13, you're already in 14 34:10 go back to 13, take a look at this, will you? 34:16 This is the more graphic depiction 34:17 of that final showdown, 34:18 that final contest just before Christ comes. 34:21 Okay, Revelation 13, let's pick it up in verse 15, 34:24 "He was granted power 34:26 to give breath to the image of the beast..." 34:27 Now, hold, time out, time out, right there. 34:29 Who is this he? 34:30 Well, that's a whole another study. 34:32 It is clear however from what we are reading 34:35 that this he is a global superpower 34:37 that has to be clear, for he will command, 34:40 whoever this he represents, 34:41 he will command the entire earth 34:43 and the earth will obey, he becomes a partner 34:46 with this Babylon confederacy, 34:48 he becomes a partner in leading the world, 34:51 to embrace the authority of the Babylon confederacy. 34:55 That's all you need to know right now, verse 15, 34:57 "He was granted power to give breath 35:00 to the image of the beast..." 35:01 So there is some kind of replication of this beast. 35:04 And by the way, the beast is another apocalyptic symbol, 35:06 twin symbol to Babylon, so it's just confederacy. 35:09 So he makes this, he makes this image of the beast, 35:13 "That the image of the beast should both speak 35:17 and cause as many as would not worship..." 35:20 Key word. 35:21 "As may as would not worship the image 35:23 of the beast to be killed." 35:24 Verse 16, "He causes all, both small and great, 35:27 rich and poor, free and slave, 35:29 to receive a mark on their right hand 35:30 or on their foreheads." 35:32 And verse 17, "That no one may buy 35:34 or sell except one who has the mark 35:36 or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." 35:39 Verse 18, "Here is wisdom. 35:41 Let him who has understanding 35:42 calculate the number of the beast, 35:43 for it is the number of a man: and his number is 666." 35:49 Would you jot it down please? 35:51 It is clear here. 35:52 It is crystal clear that this final showdown, 35:56 this spiritual crises just before Christ return 35:59 is a crises over worship. 36:01 Would you right that down, please? 36:03 It is worship that will define the final 36:06 moral battle between the two camps. 36:09 Worship, worship, worship. 36:12 Three angels are crying out don't worship anyone 36:16 but the Creator God. 36:17 And this other power says, you will worship 36:20 the image that I have set up. 36:24 Now I need to remind you, 36:26 from your study of the apocalypse 36:30 that nearly every line in the book of Revelation 36:35 is borrowed from the Old Testament, 36:36 which means... 36:37 Would you jot this down, please? 36:39 Which means that this narrative comes straight 36:40 out of Daniel 3, right in Daniel 3. 36:43 Everybody knows the story of Daniel 3. 36:45 It's a story that-- bold monarch, 36:49 Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire. 36:52 Acknowledges the supremacy of God 36:54 and yet in a moment of insane pride. 36:56 You remember the story, insane pride, 36:58 he says I need the world worshipping me 36:59 and Daniel 3 is the story of him erecting 37:01 this massive golden image and the command goes out 37:04 and you'll look at the word sometime in Daniel 3, 37:06 it is a command to the whole world, 37:08 I want the whole world to bow down at this image. 37:10 Bow down at the image. 37:13 The worship image, whole world bow down, 37:18 that linkage is clear, isn't it? 37:20 Revelation 13, Revelation 13, Daniel 3, 37:22 the linkage is clear. 37:24 But you remember the story, they were three young, 37:27 young adults, they were Hebrews, 37:30 three young Hebrew men. 37:33 And when the command went out, 37:35 the whole world bowed down, those three would not budge. 37:40 And you have it in your study guide, 37:41 a direct quote here from Daniel 3:18. 37:43 What did they say to the king? 37:44 "Let it be known to you, O king, 37:47 that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship..." 37:50 Keyword see, worship 37:51 "Nor we will worship the gold image 37:53 which you have set up." 37:55 Remember the king was so infuriated 37:58 that he throws them into the fiery furnace, 38:01 which they miraculously survive. 38:04 Jot it down, ladies and gentlemen, 38:06 Revelation 13's linkage to Daniel 3, what is it? 38:08 What is it teaching us? 38:09 It declares that worship, worship is at the heart 38:12 of the final spiritual crisis on earth: 38:14 What's this crises over? 38:15 The human command to worship versus 38:18 the divine commandment to worship. 38:22 You have a showdown between authorities. 38:27 Keep your pen moving. 38:28 The divine day of worship, 38:30 every scholar on earth is clear that is the Sabbath. 38:34 The human day of worship, every historian is clear 38:37 that became Sunday. 38:41 And in the end, keep writing, 38:43 the whole world will have to choose 38:45 whose authority they will accept, 38:47 the authority of the divine or the authority of the human. 38:50 You chose two camps, two ideologies 38:53 there is no third option. 38:55 Sakae Kubo, is absolutely right in his book God Meets Man. 39:00 Jot this down. 39:01 "In one sense, the Sabbath, 39:02 is somewhat of an arbitrary day. 39:05 Ultimately the keeping of the Sabbath 39:07 on the seventh day is an act of obedient 39:10 and self-renouncing faith 39:12 in the recognition of God's sovereignty." 39:15 That's what it is, ultimately, 39:17 it's just, well, God has the authority to tell me what 39:19 He would like for me. 39:21 It's a recognition of God's sovereignty over us. 39:23 One day, ladies and gentlemen, you and I will have the choice 39:26 in no uncertain terms. 39:29 It will be the choice between two days of worship. 39:33 It will be the choice between the sovereignty 39:35 of the Most High God who claims to have given the day 39:38 or the choice of the sovereignty 39:39 of the church that claims to have change that day. 39:41 There is no third choice. 39:42 It comes down to sovereignty and authority, 39:46 two competing authorities, two competing days. 39:50 And I know what you're saying. 39:52 You're saying, Dwight, please pastor. 39:55 This is way too simple. 39:57 This is so elementary, you can't tell me, 40:00 that the human race comes down to this. 40:02 Oh, my friend be careful about 40:04 dismissing something so elementary, 40:05 has it ever occurred to you 40:07 that every test God gives is elementary. 40:11 Every test. 40:13 Marvin Moore in his provocative new book 40:15 Could It Really Happen? 40:17 observes that whenever God-- Jot this down. 40:19 Whenever God has given a test in sacred history, 40:21 the test has always been defined 40:23 by these two characteristics. 40:24 Jot it down. Very simple and highly visible. 40:30 Everybody sees, everybody knows, 40:33 I mean just, let's just run, 40:35 let's just run to the list Garden of Eden, 40:37 very simple, there's a tree 40:39 and I don't want you to touch that, 40:40 I don't want you to take a fruit from that tree. 40:43 So simple, highly visible, we'll know if you go. 40:48 It's just very simple and highly visible. 40:49 How about the giving of the manna? 40:51 When God gives a manna to the children of Israel 40:54 in the wilderness, this is going to be very simple guys, 40:57 you got manna 6 days of the week 40:58 but on my Holy Sabbath there will be no manna, 41:00 you go out, you'll look for it, 41:01 you'll find nothing and everybody will see you. 41:05 Very simple and highly visible. 41:07 How about the plain of-- the plains of Babylon 41:10 that golden image, 41:11 I mean how could you get more simple than that. 41:13 You either stand or you fall. 41:14 You either bow down or you stay standing. 41:16 Very simple and highly visible. 41:18 By the way if you're a young man 41:20 and there are only three of you 41:21 in the masses that are bowing down 41:23 and the three of you are standing, it is highly visible. 41:27 God's tests are always very simple and highly visible. 41:29 Take Daniel the Persian king who, says, hey, Daniel, 41:32 guess what I got a law for 30 days 41:34 and nobody prays to anybody but me. 41:37 And what does Daniel do? 41:38 Very simple, throws, open the shades to his window, 41:41 gets down so the whole world can see him, 41:43 he kneels down, very simple and highly visible. 41:46 I will pray to nobody but the Creator God. 41:49 Ladies and gentlemen, God's test have always been 41:51 very simple and highly visible. 41:54 At the end of time it will be very simple and highly visible. 41:56 Sabbath or Sunday, my authority 42:00 or their authority, you chose, It's that simple, you choose, 42:05 very simple and highly visible. 42:10 You're saying, come on, Dwight, please. 42:13 America? 42:16 It never happened in America, 42:17 it will never happen in the west, 42:18 it will never happen on this planet, 42:21 commanding people to worship. 42:23 Oh, Marvin Moore quotes a social scientist 42:27 by the name of Michael Barkin 42:29 who teaches at the University of New York in Buffalo 42:31 and who wrote the book Disasters and the Millennium, 42:34 this is in your study guide, I run three statements 42:36 from that book on the screen for you. 42:38 You see what you think. 42:39 Statement number one, "Disaster creates conditions 42:43 peculiarly fitted to the rapid 42:46 alteration of belief systems." 42:51 When the disaster happens, I can change over a night, 42:54 if I have to. 42:55 All right that's sentence number one. 42:57 Here comes sentence number two, on the screen. 42:58 "Disaster produces the questioning, 43:00 the anxiety and the suggestibility 43:03 that are required for change, 43:05 only in its wake are people moved 43:08 to abandon old values of the past." 43:14 Let me have your attention for a minute. 43:16 I remember reading three days after that tragedy 43:18 called September 11, 2001 Twin Towers, Pentagon, 43:23 a field in Pennsylvania. 43:25 Three days afterwards, 43:26 they released a poll of Americans 43:29 and get this, 57% of Americans said, you know what? 43:33 I'm willing to give up civil liberties 43:35 for the sake of security. 43:38 Disaster can shift a paradigm overnight 43:42 and what you would never embrace, 43:43 I would, I would never, 43:45 I would never go with the law like that, 43:47 I would never bow down. 43:50 Over night, over night crisis. 43:57 Reverse yourself, one last line, 43:59 the third line, put it on the screen here, 44:00 as it go, "Belief systems which under non-disaster 44:04 conditions might be dismissed, 44:06 now in a disaster we see sympathetic consideration." 44:11 I'm willing to entertain that-- well, I wouldn't have thought, 44:12 I would have never done that before, but you know what? 44:15 We got to do something to protect ourselves. 44:20 Don't kid yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, 44:23 what we say could never happened 44:25 in the land of the free could happen literally 44:29 overnight with a debilitating crisis or disaster. 44:34 So before warned about your tendency 44:39 to just dismiss Revelation 13 44:44 too quickly before warned. 44:53 Several months ago I received a phone call, 44:56 in the dark of the night. 44:58 Sounds mysterious, doesn't it? 45:00 It was. 45:06 Gentleman on the other end of the line 45:07 introduced himself to me, I've never heard of him before, 45:11 I had not met him then, I have not met him now. 45:15 But he told me, that there was going to be 45:18 a meeting behind closed doors in the nation's capital. 45:22 And that he was going to be in that meeting. 45:26 He named the organizations that were being convened 45:30 in that closed door meeting. 45:32 I got to tell you, it was so preposterous to me 45:38 that this man would be invited to a meeting like that, 45:41 that I just hung up and forgot all about it. 45:47 Very recently a report came to my attention 45:55 that describes what took place 45:57 in that meeting behind closed doors. 46:01 I've worked hard to verify this. 46:04 I've been on the phone, 46:05 I have talked to people, I've listened to attorney. 46:11 I must tell you that I cannot verify the veracity 46:15 of this report of who was there, 46:19 whether this was in fact the conversation last November 46:24 And that in fact in just a few weeks, 46:27 one of very influential spiritual leader 46:29 comes to this nation, 46:32 there will be reconvening of this group. 46:34 I have no way, no way 46:37 to verify that report. 46:43 But you know what ladies and gentlemen, forget it. 46:45 Who needs a report? We don't need adrenaline. 46:47 We don't need adrenaline 46:51 to help us understand that it is not beyond, 46:54 it is not beyond creeds to imagine 47:01 that there may be forces one day 47:04 working behind hundred closed doors, 47:06 if you want to have it that way. 47:10 Who will be quietly shaping 47:15 what this book declares 47:17 will indeed be the final crisis. 47:25 We don't need adrenaline, you know, we need-- 47:28 we need the spirit of Jesus to give us 47:29 the heart of those three Hebrews 47:32 just a stand, you know I want to be found standing, 47:33 I don't know how the saints gonna 47:35 shake down in all the details. 47:36 I just know this, I want to be found standing 47:39 just like those three boys. 47:41 I want to be found standing. 47:47 The words of James Lowell. 47:50 "Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, 47:55 In the strife of truth with falsehood, 47:59 for the good or evil side." 48:01 There will come a moment, ladies and gentlemen. 48:03 There will come a moment, but you know what? 48:07 I don't want to wait till that moment please. 48:10 The reality is, truth, the sooner truth is embraced, 48:13 the deeper it goes into the very heart and soul 48:16 of the one who says I'll stand. 48:19 Those three boys didn't stand that day 48:21 because they suddenly got a little idea in their brains 48:23 and hey, why do you say we stand today? 48:26 Those boys are grown up in it. 48:29 Those boys are grown up in it and it stuck. 48:36 People may have laughed at out of them, 48:38 tried to do, 48:39 people may have tried to say you know what? 48:40 If you are really sophisticated 48:41 and bright like me, you won't believe this. 48:45 But those boys said you know what? 48:48 I was taught this way, 48:50 I believe Holy Scripture verifies this position. 48:55 And I'm not going to change my mind now 48:58 that the crisis has come. 49:05 I understand that for some of you 49:06 who have been tracking the series for the last, 49:09 must be six times now, I understand that 49:12 some of this is new that you are saying, 49:14 wow, I heard of the Bible and Seventh-day Sabbath. 49:20 For others perhaps it's been a review, 49:21 but the fact of the matter 49:23 is whether this has been a review 49:24 or first time encountered, the reality is we-- 49:27 every truth gives us an opportunity to respond. 49:34 So I need to end a day with a very simple appeal. 49:39 You know what the bottom-line is to the Bible teaching about 49:41 the Seventh-day Sabbath. 49:42 The bottom-line, this is the bottom-line. 49:44 It's that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, that's it. 49:48 That's the truth. 49:50 So you see when you make a decision about 49:52 the Bible Sabbath, it's not about a decision 49:54 between you and your spouse. 49:55 It's not a decision between you and your family, 49:57 or you and your friends, or you and your church, 49:59 or you and your pastor or priest. 50:01 Listen, it's a decision about you and Jesus. 50:05 And I need to tell you something else. 50:07 I'm not talking right now, 50:09 I'm not talking about switching churches, 50:13 leaving one church or joining another. 50:15 That's not what I'm saying at all. 50:17 Here's what I'm saying. 50:18 If this has been something new for you 50:21 and there is something deep in your mind 50:23 and heart that has said, you know, brothers, 50:27 this makes sense, 50:29 if so my friend here's my invitation 50:32 why don't you begin, 50:34 why don't you begin setting aside 50:36 God's Seventh-day Sabbath and honoring Him 50:39 and experiencing what He's always hope 50:42 you would experience in the gift of that day. 50:45 You don't have to make a big deal about it. 50:46 You don't have to run to work and tell everybody. 50:49 You can just begin test it for yourself, 50:52 see, in fact this divine gift from the garden 50:58 isn't the right gift for your life right now. 51:01 This much I'm gonna tell you, 51:02 I got good news for you in this regard 51:05 and that is, when the teacher is your friend, 51:11 you have nothing to fear about a test in the end. 51:16 Just stay with your friend, 51:18 stay close, embrace your savior. 51:21 Call him Lord, call Him Lord of the Sabbath, 51:24 call him Lord of salvation, follow Him. 51:27 In fact that's it. 51:30 It's a simple test, remember very simple and highly visible. 51:33 This test is so simple. The final test is so simple. 51:36 It has only question on it, final exam, 51:40 one question Jesus saying to you, 51:44 will you follow Me? 51:49 That's it, that's it guys. 51:52 Everything comes down to Jesus. 51:54 Will you follow Me? 51:58 We got a great quintet on this campus 52:01 and I've invited them to lead us 52:06 in an old gospel hymn, come on take that hymnal out, 52:08 you're not used to sing it now from the hymnal, are you? 52:10 Well, get used to it. 52:12 Hymn 623, there's an old gospel hymn, 623. 52:18 I will follow Thee, my Savior 52:20 Wheresoe'er my lot may be 52:21 Where thou goest I will follow 52:24 Yes, my Lord, I'll follow Thee 52:26 So here's what we're gonna do, guys, 52:27 I've asked that quartet to sing that first stanza 52:31 and then I'll like to invite you and me to join them 52:32 and sing stanza 2 and then stanza 3. 52:35 We're gonna sing 3 stanzas of this, all right. 52:38 Let's be standing while we're listening to the quartet. 52:41 Listen to what they're saying 52:42 and then we'll join 'em in stanza 2 and in stanza 3. 52:50 I will follow Thee 52:53 My Savior, 52:56 Wheresoe'er my lot may be. 53:02 Where thou goest I will follow, 53:09 Yes, my Lord, I'll follow Thee. 53:15 I will follow Thee, my Savior 53:21 Thou didst shed Thy blood for me 53:28 And though all men should forsake Thee 53:35 By Thy grace I'll follow Thee 53:45 Though the road be rough and thorny 53:51 Trackless as the foaming sea 53:58 Thou hast trod this way before me 54:04 And I'll gladly follow Thee 54:11 I will follow Thee, my Savior 54:18 Thou didst shed Thy blood for me 54:25 And though all men should forsake Thee 54:32 By Thy grace I'll follow Thee 54:42 Though I meet with tribulations 54:48 Sorely tempted though I be 54:55 I remember Thou wast tempted 55:02 And rejoice to follow Thee 55:09 I will follow Thee, my Savior 55:16 Thou didst shed Thy blood for me 55:23 And though all men should forsake Thee 55:30 By Thy grace I'll follow Thee 55:41 So Holy Father we sing, we sing a prayer 55:46 and that is our choice, we want to follow You. 55:50 This final exam has one question on it, 55:52 will you follow me. 55:53 What we're saying is yes by Your grace. 55:57 We will follow our Lord and Savior. 56:00 I have no idea Father, what lies ahead for any of us. 56:03 The sun is still shinning. 56:05 The thought of a crisis 56:06 is the farthest thing from our minds. 56:10 But especially now then, 56:12 oh, God take this quiet decision, 56:16 lock it into our hearts, seal it upon our minds 56:23 and in a day that shall yet come, 56:28 when all the world will bow down to an image, 56:33 Holy Father like those three Hebrew worthies, 56:37 grant us Your courage and Your grace to stay standing 56:44 for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 56:48 Let all the people say, amen. 56:54 I wanted to take one more moment here 56:56 at the end of the telecast to let you know 56:58 how grateful I'm for your journey with us, 57:01 with our New Perceptions Ministry. 57:03 You may think that New Perceptions 57:04 is only about television, 57:06 but I need to tell you we do have a website 57:08 which is more than just the study guide. 57:10 I know we go to the study guide every week 57:12 but if you go to our website, 57:13 let me put the address on the screen again, 57:14 www.pmchurch.tv, 57:19 you will find at that website a blog. 57:21 I write every Wednesday, I sit down on my laptop 57:23 and write up a blog something as commenting on world events, 57:26 something local, something national, 57:27 you get the blog. 57:29 You want archive, previous teachings 57:31 from here in the Pioneer pulpit, 57:32 you go to that annotated archive, 57:35 you can pick out a message, it will be sent to you. 57:37 You want to get into the podcast business, 57:41 I'm not real hi-techy on this but if you click podcast, 57:44 you will be able to connect 57:45 instantly with every new teaching 57:46 that comes from the Pioneer pulpit. 57:48 The point is we're trying to connect 57:50 with the generation on the move, on the go. 57:53 Thanks for being a part of it. 57:54 Thanks for your prayer partnership. 57:55 We have got to connect with this generation 57:57 at this time in earth's history 58:00 and I'm grateful you and I are sharing the mission. 58:02 God bless you, until next time. |
Revised 2015-04-09