All I have needed
00:00:27.38\00:00:31.70
Thy hand hath provided
00:00:31.73\00:00:37.35
Great is Thy faithfulness!
00:00:37.38\00:00:43.45
Lord unto me!
00:00:43.48\00:00:49.34
We stand and lift up our hands
00:01:05.56\00:01:09.73
For the joy of the
Lord is our strength
00:01:09.76\00:01:16.16
We bow down and worship Him now
00:01:16.19\00:01:20.77
How great, how awesome is He
00:01:20.80\00:01:25.17
And together we sing
00:01:25.20\00:01:31.13
Ev'ryone sing
00:01:31.16\00:01:36.50
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:01:36.53\00:01:42.49
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:01:42.52\00:01:47.51
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:01:47.54\00:01:53.44
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:01:53.47\00:01:58.76
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:01:58.79\00:02:05.13
We stand and lift up our hands
00:02:07.90\00:02:12.15
For the joy of the
Lord is our strength
00:02:12.18\00:02:18.84
We bow down and worship Him now
00:02:18.87\00:02:23.09
How great, how awesome is He
00:02:23.12\00:02:27.65
And together we sing
00:02:27.68\00:02:33.45
Ev'ryone sing
00:02:33.48\00:02:38.64
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:02:38.67\00:02:44.76
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:02:44.79\00:02:49.50
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:02:49.53\00:02:55.57
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:02:55.60\00:03:01.01
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:03:01.04\00:03:08.99
It's rising up all around
00:03:09.02\00:03:14.13
It's the anthem
of the Lord's renown
00:03:14.16\00:03:19.95
It's rising up all around
00:03:19.98\00:03:25.24
It's the anthem
of the Lord's renown
00:03:25.27\00:03:32.50
And together we sing
00:03:32.53\00:03:38.65
Ev'ryone sing
00:03:38.68\00:03:44.03
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:03:44.06\00:03:50.24
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:03:50.27\00:03:55.20
Holy is the Lord, God, Almighty
00:03:55.23\00:04:01.12
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:04:01.15\00:04:06.55
The earth is
filled with His glory
00:04:06.58\00:04:13.30
Amen. You may be seated.
00:04:13.33\00:04:15.86
This next prayer song is
called from the inside out.
00:04:19.93\00:04:23.16
And it's a beautiful
song that describes that,
00:04:23.19\00:04:25.83
no matter how time,
how many times we fail
00:04:25.86\00:04:29.69
our Lord is always there
to pick us up, to rescue us.
00:04:29.72\00:04:34.74
And simply from that we owe Him
00:04:34.77\00:04:38.08
our lives in service.
00:04:38.11\00:04:41.24
Let's sing this song together.
00:04:41.27\00:04:43.37
A thousand times I've failed
00:04:46.72\00:04:50.02
Still your mercy remains
00:04:50.05\00:04:53.90
And should I stumble again
00:04:53.93\00:04:57.28
Still I'm caught in Your grace
00:04:57.31\00:05:01.41
Everlasting
00:05:01.44\00:05:03.53
Your light will
shine when all else fades
00:05:03.56\00:05:08.65
Never-ending
00:05:08.68\00:05:10.79
Your glory goes beyond all fame
00:05:10.82\00:05:18.64
It's a beautiful.
00:05:18.67\00:05:19.71
That's a beautiful chorus.
00:05:19.74\00:05:21.20
Let's sing it one
more time through.
00:05:21.23\00:05:23.66
A thousand times I've failed
but still your mercy remains.
00:05:23.69\00:05:29.73
A thousand times I've failed
00:05:29.76\00:05:33.16
Still Your mercy remains
00:05:33.19\00:05:37.18
And should I stumble again
00:05:37.21\00:05:40.46
Still I'm caught in your grace
00:05:40.49\00:05:44.66
Everlasting
00:05:44.69\00:05:46.81
Your light will
shine when all else fades
00:05:46.84\00:05:51.97
Never-ending
00:05:52.00\00:05:54.18
Your glory goes beyond all fame
00:05:54.21\00:06:01.10
In my heart and my soul Lord,
00:06:01.13\00:06:04.98
I give You control
00:06:05.01\00:06:08.62
Consume me from the inside out,
00:06:08.65\00:06:13.76
Lord Let justice and praise,
00:06:13.79\00:06:19.61
Become my embrace
00:06:19.64\00:06:23.08
To love You from the inside out
00:06:23.11\00:06:27.93
Everlasting
00:06:27.96\00:06:30.23
Your light will
shine when all else fades
00:06:30.26\00:06:35.12
Never-ending
00:06:35.15\00:06:37.40
Your glory goes beyond all fame
00:06:37.43\00:06:42.10
And the cry of my
heart is to bring You praise
00:06:42.13\00:06:49.25
From the inside out, Lord
00:06:49.28\00:06:52.68
My soul cries out, Lord
00:06:52.71\00:06:58.81
Your will above all
else my purpose remains
00:07:10.40\00:07:17.22
The art of losing
myself in bringing You praise
00:07:17.25\00:07:24.37
Everlasting
00:07:24.40\00:07:26.63
Your light will
shine when all else fades
00:07:26.66\00:07:31.31
Never-ending
00:07:31.34\00:07:33.61
Your glory goes beyond all fame
00:07:33.64\00:07:40.68
In My heart, in my soul Lord
00:07:40.71\00:07:44.36
I give You control
00:07:44.39\00:07:47.66
Consume me from
the inside out, Lord
00:07:47.69\00:07:54.58
Let justice and
praise, become my embrace
00:07:54.61\00:08:01.58
To love You from the inside out
00:08:01.61\00:08:06.41
Everlasting
00:08:06.44\00:08:08.59
Your light will
shine when all else fades
00:08:08.62\00:08:13.32
Never-ending
00:08:13.35\00:08:15.53
Your glory goes beyond all fame
00:08:15.56\00:08:20.27
And the cry of my
heart is to bring You praise
00:08:20.30\00:08:27.34
From the inside out, Lord
00:08:27.37\00:08:30.91
My soul cries out, Lord
00:08:30.94\00:08:37.33
Lord, I give You my heart
00:08:43.76\00:08:46.74
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
00:08:46.77\00:08:54.17
Ev'ry breath that I take
00:08:54.20\00:08:57.10
Ev'ry moment I'm awake
00:08:57.13\00:09:00.99
Lord, have Your way in me
00:09:01.02\00:09:05.79
This is my desire.
00:09:11.81\00:09:14.43
This is my desire
00:09:14.46\00:09:18.98
To honor You
00:09:19.01\00:09:24.76
Lord, with all my
heart, I worship You
00:09:24.79\00:09:31.77
All that I have within me
00:09:34.87\00:09:39.54
I give You praise
00:09:39.57\00:09:44.96
All that I adore is in You
00:09:44.99\00:09:52.96
Lord, I give You my
heart, I give You my soul
00:09:56.15\00:10:03.02
I live for You alone
00:10:03.05\00:10:06.82
Ev'ry breath that I take
00:10:06.85\00:10:09.70
Ev'ry moment I'm awake
00:10:09.73\00:10:13.29
Lord, have Your way in me
00:10:13.32\00:10:17.19
Lord, I give You my heart
00:10:17.22\00:10:20.47
I give You my soul
00:10:20.50\00:10:24.05
I live for You alone
00:10:24.08\00:10:27.76
Ev'ry breath that I take
00:10:27.79\00:10:30.75
Ev'ry moment I'm awake
00:10:30.78\00:10:34.49
Lord, have Your way in me
00:10:34.52\00:10:39.34
Wow, beautiful.
00:13:57.47\00:13:58.53
Brass, thank you very
much, Ronald been him.
00:13:58.56\00:14:01.03
Early had been him,
How Sweet are the Tidings.
00:14:01.06\00:14:04.33
Greet the pilgrims here,
00:14:04.36\00:14:05.88
He is coming,
coming, coming soon, I know.
00:14:05.91\00:14:10.13
It's what ignited the hearts.
00:14:10.16\00:14:14.22
Well, the Pioneers, for
whom this church is a memorial,
00:14:14.25\00:14:18.35
Pioneer Memorial Church.
00:14:18.38\00:14:20.89
Before we plunge
into a very unusual story,
00:14:20.92\00:14:24.24
I want to turn to
some red letter words.
00:14:24.27\00:14:26.30
So open your Bible
please to the words of Jesus.
00:14:26.33\00:14:28.98
Sermon on the Mount, Mathew 7.
00:14:29.01\00:14:31.32
I want to read
these words, have a prayer
00:14:31.35\00:14:33.09
and then plunge
into our teaching today.
00:14:33.12\00:14:36.21
Mathew Chapter 7,
Sermon on the Mount,
00:14:36.24\00:14:39.10
words of our Lord Himself.
00:14:39.13\00:14:43.87
If you have red letter Bible,
these words are bright red.
00:14:43.90\00:14:47.21
Mathew Chapter 7,
drop down to verse 15,
00:14:47.24\00:14:52.05
I'm not gonna
put them on screen,
00:14:52.08\00:14:53.48
if-- oh, by the way,
you don't have a Bible,
00:14:53.51\00:14:54.77
grab the pew Bible, let
me give you a page number.
00:14:54.80\00:14:56.86
Pew Bible page
number will be, page 653.
00:14:56.89\00:15:01.34
Well, I like you to
track this, Mathew 7:15,
00:15:01.37\00:15:06.74
Jesus speaking,
"Beware of false prophets,
00:15:06.77\00:15:10.45
who come to you
in sheep's clothing,
00:15:10.48\00:15:12.29
but inwardly they
are ravenous wolves.
00:15:12.32\00:15:15.66
You will know
them by their fruits.
00:15:15.69\00:15:18.56
Do men gather
grapes from thorn bushes
00:15:18.59\00:15:20.90
or figs from thistles."
00:15:20.93\00:15:23.48
Verse 17, "Even so every
good tree bears good fruit,
00:15:23.51\00:15:27.66
but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
00:15:27.69\00:15:29.90
Verse 18,
00:15:29.93\00:15:31.13
"A good tree
cannot bear bad fruits
00:15:31.16\00:15:33.88
nor can a bad
tree bear good fruit.
00:15:33.91\00:15:37.78
Every tree that does not
bear good fruit is cut down,
00:15:37.81\00:15:40.62
and thrown into the fire."
00:15:40.65\00:15:42.36
Punch line, Jesus, verse
20, "Therefore by their fruits,
00:15:42.39\00:15:48.74
by their fruits
you will know them."
00:15:48.77\00:15:52.45
Let's pray.
00:15:52.48\00:15:54.13
Oh, God, trees and fruits.
00:15:56.95\00:16:02.51
By their fruits,
00:16:02.54\00:16:05.47
let today's teaching
be clear to both our minds
00:16:05.50\00:16:10.01
and our hearts,
00:16:10.04\00:16:11.40
as we ponder these
words of Christ, our Lord.
00:16:11.43\00:16:14.89
We pray in His name, amen.
00:16:14.92\00:16:19.30
On November 26, 1827,
in a little rural village,
00:16:19.33\00:16:25.13
not far from Portland, Maine,
00:16:25.16\00:16:29.09
the autumn leaves
already down and brown,
00:16:29.12\00:16:31.94
strewn up on that
cold New England earth.
00:16:31.97\00:16:37.09
Robert and Eunice Harman,
their family already bulging
00:16:37.12\00:16:41.37
with two boys
and four daughters.
00:16:41.40\00:16:45.63
Over night, over night suddenly
00:16:45.66\00:16:49.94
see there
family expanded by two,
00:16:49.97\00:16:53.62
the birth of fraternal twins.
00:16:53.65\00:16:56.84
One they named
Elizabeth and called Lizzie,
00:16:56.87\00:17:00.77
the other they named Ellen.
00:17:00.80\00:17:03.98
Robert Harman, hard
working, New Englander farmer
00:17:04.01\00:17:08.74
trying to make ends
meet, resorted to hat making
00:17:08.77\00:17:11.89
during their frigid months
of those New England winters,
00:17:11.92\00:17:15.36
10 mouths to feed now.
00:17:15.39\00:17:18.73
Let me tell you a bit
about the world that these
00:17:18.76\00:17:22.76
little twins Ellen
and Lizzie grew up in,
00:17:22.79\00:17:24.80
it was a formidable
one and which to survive.
00:17:24.83\00:17:26.67
Let me some statistics to you.
00:17:26.70\00:17:31.42
Statistics from those
years indicate that children,
00:17:31.45\00:17:33.78
listen to this,
children under 10
00:17:33.81\00:17:35.71
often constituted close to
50 percent of deaths in a year.
00:17:35.74\00:17:41.26
That's not counting
still borns by the way.
00:17:41.29\00:17:43.32
Reading on here,
state a differently
00:17:43.35\00:17:44.85
the average age
of death during 1840,
00:17:44.88\00:17:47.06
when the twins were 13,
00:17:47.09\00:17:48.47
average age of
death was 22.6 years.
00:17:48.50\00:17:53.63
Which the advertiser
which is the Portland Newspaper
00:17:53.66\00:17:56.10
claim demonstrated
00:17:56.13\00:17:57.27
"the superior degree of
health enjoyed in Portland."
00:17:57.30\00:18:00.74
Come to our city
00:18:00.77\00:18:01.80
because you live
longer here, 22.6.
00:18:01.83\00:18:05.46
Formidable times, it was
not an easy time to grow up,
00:18:05.49\00:18:08.20
but isn't it fascinating?
00:18:08.23\00:18:11.78
Typhoid fever,
typhus, cholera, measles,
00:18:11.81\00:18:14.70
scarlet fever, consumptions
we know as tuberculosis today.
00:18:14.73\00:18:18.03
Isn't it fascinating,
not one of those diseases
00:18:18.06\00:18:20.82
nearly killed one of the
twins but rather anger itself?
00:18:20.85\00:18:24.40
One Sunday afternoon
the two little girls,
00:18:24.43\00:18:26.92
nine years old,
00:18:26.95\00:18:27.98
with the classmate of theirs
are making their way home.
00:18:28.01\00:18:30.99
When an older student 13,
00:18:31.02\00:18:32.90
with threatening
words follows them,
00:18:32.93\00:18:35.77
they here her threats,
raised by God favoring mother,
00:18:35.80\00:18:41.40
to never retaliate, the
twins hurriedly cross the street
00:18:41.43\00:18:44.37
to the other side.
00:18:44.40\00:18:46.34
And little Ellen
00:18:46.37\00:18:48.02
happened to look back to gauge
the distance to their tormenter
00:18:48.05\00:18:51.36
when in that split second
00:18:51.39\00:18:54.13
a stone that teenager had thrown
00:18:54.16\00:18:57.61
struck Ellen in the
face and she collapsed.
00:18:57.64\00:19:02.68
She writes of what happened.
00:19:02.71\00:19:04.38
I'll Put it on
the screen for you,
00:19:04.41\00:19:05.44
take a look at this.
00:19:05.47\00:19:06.73
"I was stunned by the blow,
00:19:06.76\00:19:08.55
and I felt
senseless to the ground.
00:19:08.58\00:19:10.75
When consciousness returned,
00:19:10.78\00:19:12.25
I found myself in
a merchant's store.
00:19:12.28\00:19:14.19
A kind stranger offered
00:19:14.22\00:19:15.25
to take me home in his carriage,
00:19:15.28\00:19:16.54
but I, not
realizing my weakness,
00:19:16.57\00:19:18.34
told him that I
preferred to walk.
00:19:18.37\00:19:20.31
Those present were not aware
that my injury was so serious,
00:19:20.34\00:19:22.81
and allowed me to go,
00:19:22.84\00:19:23.93
but after
walking only a few rods,
00:19:23.96\00:19:25.98
I grew faint and dizzy.
00:19:26.01\00:19:27.80
My twin sister and my schoolmate
00:19:27.83\00:19:29.22
carried me home.
00:19:29.25\00:19:30.33
I have no
recollection of anything further
00:19:30.36\00:19:33.02
for some time
after the accident.
00:19:33.05\00:19:35.53
My mother said
that I noticed nothing,
00:19:35.56\00:19:37.90
but lay in a
stupor for three weeks.
00:19:37.93\00:19:40.13
No one but herself thought
it possible for me to recover,
00:19:40.16\00:19:43.10
but for some reason
she felt that I would live,
00:19:43.13\00:19:46.22
I was reduced to
almost a skeleton."
00:19:46.25\00:19:51.00
Weeks later, one day
a neighbor lady drops by
00:19:51.03\00:19:53.50
and little Ellen
overhears the neighbor lady say,
00:19:53.53\00:19:56.66
"What a pity, I wouldn't
have even recognized her."
00:19:56.69\00:20:02.45
The tiny invalid call us
for a glass into which to peer.
00:20:02.48\00:20:07.33
She describes her reaction.
00:20:07.36\00:20:11.24
"Every feature of
my face seemed changed.
00:20:11.27\00:20:16.26
The sight was
more than I could bear.
00:20:16.29\00:20:19.25
I did not wish to
live, but I dared not die,
00:20:19.28\00:20:22.20
for I was not prepared."
00:20:22.23\00:20:25.33
I tell you what
ladies and gentlemen,
00:20:25.36\00:20:27.08
in a society
like yours and mine,
00:20:27.11\00:20:28.70
where physical attraction
and beauty is so highly,
00:20:28.73\00:20:35.14
passionately emphasized.
00:20:35.17\00:20:37.13
It isn't hard for
you and me to imagine
00:20:37.16\00:20:39.99
the heart breaking
horror of staring into a mirror
00:20:40.02\00:20:45.04
with that discovery.
00:20:45.07\00:20:46.75
But the most crushing blow came
00:20:46.78\00:20:49.65
when her beloved father,
00:20:49.68\00:20:50.76
away in Georgia in
business at the time of tragedy,
00:20:50.79\00:20:53.50
returned home.
00:20:53.53\00:20:55.09
She describes
that moment as well.
00:20:55.12\00:20:57.05
"When he returned, he
spoke to my brother and sisters,
00:20:57.08\00:20:59.77
and inquired for
me," hey listen, where is,
00:20:59.80\00:21:01.39
where is little Ellen?
00:21:01.42\00:21:02.54
Nice to see you
Lizzie, but where is your sis,
00:21:02.57\00:21:04.07
where is twin?
00:21:04.10\00:21:05.53
Oh, papa, we've
been unable to tell you
00:21:05.56\00:21:08.05
and the story tumbles out
00:21:08.08\00:21:09.64
and father now
walks into the room
00:21:09.67\00:21:12.08
were little Ellen lies.
00:21:12.11\00:21:15.32
"It was hard to make him believe
00:21:15.35\00:21:19.52
that I was his Ellen.
00:21:19.55\00:21:22.38
This cut me to the heart;
00:21:22.41\00:21:24.57
yet I tried to put on an
appearance of cheerfulness,
00:21:24.60\00:21:27.47
when my heart ached."
00:21:27.50\00:21:30.36
Has your heart ever ached
00:21:30.39\00:21:32.10
over how you wished, you looked?
00:21:32.13\00:21:35.89
Some 50 years later,
the grown up Ellen returned
00:21:39.37\00:21:42.57
to visit to her
home town of Portland,
00:21:42.60\00:21:44.62
stood on the spot where
that tragedy took place.
00:21:44.65\00:21:47.76
She writes, "I visited the spot
where I met with the accident
00:21:47.79\00:21:51.51
that has made me a
life-long invalid."
00:21:51.54\00:21:53.80
She never recovered.
00:21:53.83\00:21:55.12
The breathing apparatus
just never fully recovered
00:21:55.15\00:21:58.49
from that tragic accident.
00:21:58.52\00:22:01.03
"I visited the spot
where I met with the accident
00:22:01.06\00:22:02.82
that has made me
a life-long invalid.
00:22:02.85\00:22:04.72
This misfortune, which
for a time seemed so bitter
00:22:04.75\00:22:08.22
and was so hard to bear,
00:22:08.25\00:22:10.23
has proved to be a
blessing in disguise.
00:22:10.26\00:22:12.86
The cruel blow which
blighted the joys of earth,
00:22:12.89\00:22:16.08
was the means of
turning my eyes to heaven.
00:22:16.11\00:22:19.19
I might never have known Jesus,"
00:22:19.22\00:22:23.54
can you believe this?
00:22:23.57\00:22:25.88
"I might never have known Jesus,
00:22:25.91\00:22:28.97
had not the sorrow
that clouded my early years
00:22:29.00\00:22:31.97
led me to seek comfort in him."
00:22:32.00\00:22:35.66
I tell you what
ladies and gentlemen,
00:22:35.69\00:22:36.94
that is quite a
testimony, is it not?
00:22:36.97\00:22:39.09
How does she put it?
00:22:39.12\00:22:40.15
I might never have known Jesus
00:22:40.18\00:22:41.79
had this tragedy
not been, be fallen me?
00:22:41.82\00:22:44.12
How did Jesus put it?
00:22:44.15\00:22:46.27
How did Jesus put it?
00:22:46.30\00:22:48.03
"A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit,
00:22:48.06\00:22:51.54
nor can a bad
tree bear good fruit.
00:22:51.57\00:22:55.25
Therefore by their
fruits you will know,
00:22:55.28\00:23:02.36
you will know them."
00:23:02.39\00:23:04.47
In 1814, an
itinerant Baptist, farmer
00:23:04.50\00:23:07.54
turned preacher
name William Miller
00:23:07.57\00:23:08.87
came into Portland
00:23:08.90\00:23:10.32
and soon held his
audience spell bound
00:23:10.35\00:23:13.23
with the fascinating
Bible prophecy teachings
00:23:13.26\00:23:15.75
that seemed to
suggest that Jesus was soon
00:23:15.78\00:23:18.77
to return to this earth
00:23:18.80\00:23:20.30
and little 13-year-old
Ellen sat on the edge of her pew
00:23:20.33\00:23:24.17
drinking in every single word.
00:23:24.20\00:23:28.08
She'd always had a
heart for spiritual things.
00:23:28.11\00:23:31.62
But theologian and historian,
Herbert Douglass, describes
00:23:31.65\00:23:34.88
what was going on in
that, young 13 years old heart.
00:23:34.91\00:23:38.45
"Her primary
motivation, however,
00:23:38.48\00:23:41.26
her primary motivation was fear,
00:23:41.29\00:23:45.79
fear of not being
ready when Jesus would come,
00:23:45.82\00:23:48.67
fear of failure because
of her limited schooling."
00:23:48.70\00:23:51.26
She never went-- she
never had formal education
00:23:51.29\00:23:52.96
after the third grade.
00:23:52.99\00:23:54.66
She attempted to go to,
00:23:54.69\00:23:55.72
what they called
a female seminary,
00:23:55.75\00:23:57.99
the girl's school, so
dizzy, so unable to focus,
00:23:58.02\00:24:04.03
she had to drop out.
00:24:04.06\00:24:06.64
"The fear of failure
because of her limited schooling
00:24:06.67\00:24:08.45
and weakened body, and
fear that in some way,"
00:24:08.48\00:24:11.02
some of you know this fear,
00:24:11.05\00:24:12.63
"that in some way
God had afflicted her
00:24:12.66\00:24:14.87
with her horrid,
physical burden."
00:24:14.90\00:24:17.98
One day Ellen is pouring
out her fears to her mom,
00:24:19.95\00:24:24.62
and her mother
wisely, instantly says,
00:24:24.65\00:24:26.76
Ellen, you go to our
Pastor Lewis Stockton.
00:24:26.79\00:24:31.21
She goes to the
pastor, pours out her fears,
00:24:31.24\00:24:33.42
the wise man listens
to that little 13-year-old
00:24:33.45\00:24:38.16
and then begins to
tell the story of God
00:24:38.19\00:24:40.15
as reflected in
the life of Jesus.
00:24:40.18\00:24:42.69
Listen to what happened,
Ellen's words on the screen.
00:24:42.72\00:24:46.67
"Faith now took
possession of my heart.
00:24:46.70\00:24:51.23
I felt an
inexpressible love for God,
00:24:51.26\00:24:53.42
and had the
witness of His Spirit
00:24:53.45\00:24:54.59
that my sins were pardoned.
00:24:54.62\00:24:56.09
My views of the
Father were changed.
00:24:56.12\00:24:58.25
I now looked upon Him as
a kind and tender parent,
00:24:58.28\00:25:00.87
rather than a stern tyrant
00:25:00.90\00:25:02.74
compelling men to
a blind obedience.
00:25:02.77\00:25:05.22
My heart went out toward
Him in a deep and fervent love.
00:25:05.25\00:25:08.45
My heart was so
filled with love to God
00:25:08.48\00:25:11.17
and the peace that
passeth understanding,
00:25:11.20\00:25:13.39
that I loved to
meditate and pray."
00:25:13.42\00:25:19.62
Wow.
00:25:19.65\00:25:21.34
Soon young Ellen and her family
00:25:21.37\00:25:22.62
join the tens of
thousands of Americans,
00:25:22.65\00:25:24.65
who will hope for
heart, were hanging on
00:25:24.68\00:25:26.87
to the Bible teachings
of this William Miller.
00:25:26.90\00:25:28.82
As the Millerite
revival swept like fire
00:25:28.85\00:25:32.35
up and down the
eastern seaboard.
00:25:32.38\00:25:34.25
Jesus.
00:25:34.28\00:25:35.31
October 22, pass the
word, 1844, Jesus is coming.
00:25:35.34\00:25:40.74
Sixteen-year-old Ellen
experiences the jubilant
00:25:40.77\00:25:43.24
but sober countdown
00:25:43.27\00:25:45.34
and with the
disappointing Millerites,
00:25:45.37\00:25:48.61
she too wept over hopes dashed.
00:25:48.64\00:25:53.54
Had their hopes been misplaced?
00:25:53.57\00:25:56.56
Did God somehow forgotten them?
00:25:56.59\00:26:01.71
On a December morning in 1844,
00:26:01.74\00:26:03.71
17-year-old Ellen
was at friend's home
00:26:03.74\00:26:05.84
in a prayer circle
with four other women.
00:26:05.87\00:26:09.91
She describes what
happened next this way.
00:26:09.94\00:26:13.80
"While we were praying,
the power of God came upon me
00:26:13.83\00:26:17.67
as I had never felt it before.
00:26:17.70\00:26:21.07
I seemed to be
surrounded with light,
00:26:21.10\00:26:23.55
and to be rising higher
and higher from the earth.
00:26:23.58\00:26:26.93
I turned to look
for the advent people,"
00:26:26.96\00:26:28.71
because that's what
they called each other,
00:26:28.74\00:26:30.10
hoping the soon
coming of Christ,
00:26:30.13\00:26:31.83
"I turned to look for the
advent people in the world,
00:26:31.86\00:26:33.62
but could not find
them," when a voice,
00:26:33.65\00:26:35.95
"when a voice said to me,
00:26:35.98\00:26:37.03
'Look again, and
look a little higher.'
00:26:37.06\00:26:39.68
At this I raised my eyes,
00:26:39.71\00:26:40.86
and I saw a
straight and narrow path,
00:26:40.89\00:26:42.53
cast up high above the world.
00:26:42.56\00:26:44.64
On this path the advent people
were traveling to the city
00:26:44.67\00:26:47.52
which was at the
farther end of the path.
00:26:47.55\00:26:49.97
They had a bright
light set up behind them
00:26:50.00\00:26:51.93
at the beginning of the path,
00:26:51.96\00:26:53.27
which an angel told me
was the 'midnight cry.'
00:26:53.30\00:26:55.95
" That's straight out of
Jesus parable in Matthew 25,
00:26:55.98\00:26:58.27
the 10 virgins remember.
00:26:58.30\00:26:59.74
The bride grooms
delay, they all fall asleep
00:26:59.77\00:27:01.68
and then in the
midnight a cry goes out,
00:27:01.71\00:27:03.63
"behold, the bridegroom cometh."
00:27:03.66\00:27:05.98
So that they called that moment
00:27:06.01\00:27:07.88
the midnight cry moment.
00:27:07.91\00:27:09.63
The angel said that bright light
00:27:09.66\00:27:12.74
was amidnight cry at
the beginning at the path.
00:27:12.77\00:27:16.31
Go on reading, "This
light shone all along the path,
00:27:16.34\00:27:19.43
and gave light for their feet,
00:27:19.46\00:27:21.17
so that they might not stumble."
00:27:21.20\00:27:23.17
Now notice, "If they kept
their eyes fixed on Jesus,
00:27:23.20\00:27:27.13
who was just before
them, leading them to the city,
00:27:27.16\00:27:30.62
they were safe."
00:27:30.65\00:27:34.07
Isn't that amazing?
00:27:34.10\00:27:35.30
If they kept
their eyes on Jesus,
00:27:35.33\00:27:38.30
that was the admonition
00:27:38.33\00:27:39.36
of the 17-year-old teenage girl,
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.13
who relate to the four
women gathered in prayer,
00:27:41.16\00:27:43.45
what she had just seen.
00:27:43.48\00:27:46.02
Little did she know,
00:27:46.05\00:27:47.98
it was the
beginning of a life ministry
00:27:48.01\00:27:49.89
70 years long?
00:27:49.92\00:27:52.66
A ministry woven with over
2,000 other visions and dreams.
00:27:52.69\00:27:57.43
A life ministry ever focused
00:27:57.46\00:27:59.37
on that first
visions admonition.
00:27:59.40\00:28:01.94
If we keep our eyes on
Jesus, we will be safe.
00:28:01.97\00:28:09.25
That point is so critical
00:28:09.28\00:28:10.31
I need you to
write it down, right now.
00:28:10.34\00:28:11.62
Come on, reach into
that worship bulletin,
00:28:11.65\00:28:13.13
pull out your
study guide for today.
00:28:13.16\00:28:15.24
Jot it down, will you?
00:28:15.27\00:28:16.76
Brand new study guide sitting
there in the worship bulletin.
00:28:16.79\00:28:18.99
Ushers, let's do
this real quickly please.
00:28:19.02\00:28:20.77
Just hold your hand up, you
want to get these quotations,
00:28:20.80\00:28:23.08
hold your hand up,
they're coming your way
00:28:23.11\00:28:24.37
if you didn't get a
study guide, up in the balcony,
00:28:24.40\00:28:26.80
the same for you, those
of you sitting in overflow,
00:28:26.83\00:28:29.09
the same for you.
00:28:29.12\00:28:30.52
And I want to
say that those of you
00:28:30.55\00:28:31.64
who are watching right
now, I'm delighted you're here.
00:28:31.67\00:28:34.45
Join us, you need
the same study guide
00:28:34.48\00:28:36.47
so let me put our
website on the screen for you
00:28:36.50\00:28:38.31
and then you can
go to your computer,
00:28:38.34\00:28:40.22
get the identical study guide,
there you see it on your screen
00:28:40.25\00:28:43.27
www.pmchurch.tv
that's our website.
00:28:43.30\00:28:49.80
You're looking for the
teaching series, The Gift.
00:28:49.83\00:28:54.44
This actually is
part six of this series.
00:28:54.47\00:28:56.59
And so today's teaching
is entitled Ellen White,
00:28:56.62\00:28:59.11
What Was She Really Like?
00:28:59.14\00:29:01.63
When you see that teaching
title you'll say study guide,
00:29:01.66\00:29:04.19
you click on, you'll
have the same quotations,
00:29:04.22\00:29:06.13
you'll have the same study guide
00:29:06.16\00:29:07.51
and I'll hope
you'll take a moment
00:29:07.54\00:29:08.82
and get that study
guide and fill it out with us.
00:29:08.85\00:29:12.25
You see, this is a
series of Bible teachings
00:29:12.28\00:29:14.48
in which we were
examining God's gift of prophecy
00:29:14.51\00:29:16.76
from the gates of in
00:29:16.79\00:29:17.85
all the way to
the end of Revelation.
00:29:17.88\00:29:22.02
We're looking at
this gift of prophecy.
00:29:22.05\00:29:24.84
By the way, if you've
missed one of the teachings
00:29:24.87\00:29:26.34
along the way they're
all building together.
00:29:26.37\00:29:28.57
You can go back to that website,
00:29:28.60\00:29:29.73
you can get the podcast.
00:29:29.76\00:29:30.79
You listen to
it at your leisure.
00:29:30.82\00:29:32.19
You get the study guide, you
fill them out in your own time.
00:29:32.22\00:29:36.69
But today now, we are ready now,
00:29:36.72\00:29:38.76
in this series we are
gonna move deeper now.
00:29:38.79\00:29:41.81
We're gonna focus.
00:29:41.84\00:29:43.17
Today's
teaching, Ellen White was--
00:29:43.20\00:29:45.81
what was she really like?
00:29:45.84\00:29:47.48
Forty-- four of
these are coming now.
00:29:47.51\00:29:49.10
Ellen White, what was
She Really Like, next week.
00:29:49.13\00:29:51.28
Ellen White, How
Did It Really Work?
00:29:51.31\00:29:54.35
Third week Ellen White,
But What About Those Critics?
00:29:54.38\00:29:59.58
And finally Ellen White, Taste
Them Again for the First Time.
00:29:59.61\00:30:02.11
Four teachings,
we're moving deep now.
00:30:02.14\00:30:07.26
But just as surely as
I have the opportunity
00:30:07.29\00:30:08.89
to teach and preach around
the world, people will ask me,
00:30:08.92\00:30:11.33
I can just promise you
this, yo, Dwight, what is--
00:30:11.36\00:30:14.46
what's up with
this Ellen White person
00:30:14.49\00:30:18.37
that you have in
your community of faith?
00:30:18.40\00:30:20.31
What can you tell me about
her for the next four weeks?
00:30:20.34\00:30:22.25
I want to tell you, I
want to answer that question
00:30:22.28\00:30:24.15
for the next four weeks don't
miss it, share the journey.
00:30:24.18\00:30:28.28
But I wish to begin
today, with that line
00:30:28.31\00:30:30.11
straight out her
recounting of that first vision,
00:30:30.14\00:30:33.09
if they kept their
eyes fixed on Jesus,
00:30:33.12\00:30:35.45
who was just before them,
00:30:35.48\00:30:36.51
leading them to the
city they were safe.
00:30:36.54\00:30:38.99
As it turns out ladies and
gentlemen, that single life,
00:30:39.02\00:30:41.94
that single line
rather becomes the life focus
00:30:41.97\00:30:46.50
of Ellen White's 70 year life
in ministry that single line,
00:30:46.53\00:30:50.44
I want to put it
in the present tense
00:30:50.47\00:30:51.55
that way we won't forget it.
00:30:51.58\00:30:52.61
So, let's put it on the screen,
00:30:52.64\00:30:53.67
this is the first
line in your study guide,
00:30:53.70\00:30:55.42
fill it in please,
"If we keep our eyes"
00:30:55.45\00:30:58.95
all of scripture is
replete with this line.
00:30:58.98\00:31:02.20
"If we keep our eyes
fixed on Jesus, we are safe."
00:31:02.23\00:31:08.09
The ringing appeal
of God in His word.
00:31:08.12\00:31:10.75
And it was the dominant node
in the ensuing 70 year ministry
00:31:10.78\00:31:14.05
of this 17-year-old girl,
this teenager, named Ellen.
00:31:14.08\00:31:20.05
How did Jesus put it?
00:31:20.08\00:31:22.19
Let's look at it
again, Sermon on the Mount,
00:31:22.22\00:31:23.79
"A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit,
00:31:23.82\00:31:25.45
nor can a bad
tree bear good fruit.
00:31:25.48\00:31:27.86
Therefore," Jesus
says, "by their fruits
00:31:27.89\00:31:31.57
you will know them."
00:31:31.60\00:31:33.79
All right, so
here is the question.
00:31:33.82\00:31:35.72
What kind of a
woman was she really?
00:31:35.75\00:31:37.37
I mean, come on, please.
00:31:37.40\00:31:38.88
What kind of
woman was she really?
00:31:38.91\00:31:41.57
This woman, who
at 19 fell in love
00:31:41.60\00:31:43.55
and married a 25 year
old itinerant preacher
00:31:43.58\00:31:45.65
named James White and at
20, listen to this ladies,
00:31:45.68\00:31:48.38
and at 20 became the
mother of the first of their--
00:31:48.41\00:31:51.26
their four boys.
00:31:51.29\00:31:53.29
Wife, mother,
homemaker, visionary,
00:31:53.32\00:32:01.20
church leader, public
speaker, interpret traveler,
00:32:01.23\00:32:03.70
institutional builder,
published best selling author,
00:32:03.73\00:32:06.85
what was she really like?
00:32:06.88\00:32:08.98
A friend of
mine, named Horace Shaw
00:32:09.01\00:32:11.17
and some of you remember him,
00:32:11.20\00:32:13.64
he used to be
at this university.
00:32:13.67\00:32:16.91
He wrote his
doctoral dissertation
00:32:16.94\00:32:18.14
up at Michigan State
University in East Lasing,
00:32:18.17\00:32:20.24
and in this dissertation,
fascinating he focused
00:32:20.27\00:32:22.45
on the rhetorical analysis
of Ellen White's speaking style,
00:32:22.48\00:32:26.58
since she was widely
acclaimed as a public speaker.
00:32:26.61\00:32:28.58
By the way, she could speak
to a crowd of 20,000 people.
00:32:28.61\00:32:31.29
They counted
them, 20,000 people.
00:32:31.32\00:32:33.14
No PA and they could
hear her as clear as a bell.
00:32:33.17\00:32:37.61
So he is studying, I am not
interested in his conclusions
00:32:37.64\00:32:39.75
about her
rhetorical style but I am--
00:32:39.78\00:32:42.40
what's
fascinating is he was able,
00:32:42.43\00:32:44.98
this dissertation was
written at the end of the 50's,
00:32:45.01\00:32:48.33
he was able to find 366
people and interview them
00:32:48.36\00:32:52.41
who would
actually heard her speak.
00:32:52.44\00:32:55.01
And what's intriguing
is there actually emerges
00:32:55.04\00:32:57.30
a physical
description of Ellen White
00:32:57.33\00:33:00.57
and I want to
share that with you.
00:33:00.60\00:33:01.63
I'm not interested in
their rhetorical analysis.
00:33:01.66\00:33:04.59
Here's what we know
from those interviews,
00:33:04.62\00:33:06.55
get this, she was
a short woman, 5'2".
00:33:06.58\00:33:09.24
Any body here
5'2", be proud of it.
00:33:09.27\00:33:12.48
We can't see you
but be proud of it.
00:33:12.51\00:33:15.24
We know you're here,
raise your hand, all right.
00:33:15.27\00:33:18.97
She is a short
woman, 5'2", all right.
00:33:19.00\00:33:25.45
Interestingly enough it was
her face that was remembered
00:33:25.48\00:33:28.66
the longest by
these, these interviewees.
00:33:28.69\00:33:31.72
Hear some of the
comments about her face.
00:33:31.75\00:33:33.89
Features round and full,
00:33:33.92\00:33:36.62
sweetest smile
broke out occasionally,
00:33:36.65\00:33:38.75
face seem to light up.
00:33:38.78\00:33:41.20
Then they spoke of her
eyes, beautiful brown eyes
00:33:41.23\00:33:44.46
and far way look,
her eyes were large
00:33:44.49\00:33:46.73
and became larger if she
was in earnest or excited,
00:33:46.76\00:33:48.94
and grew
smaller when she smiled.
00:33:48.97\00:33:51.47
Her hair, plain hairstyle,
hair dark and always parted
00:33:51.50\00:33:55.81
and combed back
simply to a braded knot
00:33:55.84\00:33:58.88
in the back of her neck.
00:33:58.91\00:34:01.25
Her dress, black velvet
or silk, two piece garment,
00:34:01.28\00:34:04.26
white cuffs and collars as
accent, gold watched chain,
00:34:04.29\00:34:07.37
silver watch in her
pocket and the silver brooch.
00:34:07.40\00:34:11.20
We found of no black
and white picture of her
00:34:11.23\00:34:12.91
and want to take a
look at it, there it is.
00:34:12.94\00:34:15.00
Isn't that something?
What do you think she did?
00:34:15.03\00:34:18.00
What do you think of her?
00:34:18.03\00:34:19.46
He thought she's gonna walk
off the cover Vogue magazine?
00:34:19.49\00:34:22.92
No, she is a Victorian woman.
That's what she look like.
00:34:22.95\00:34:27.79
Now when I say Victorian women
00:34:27.82\00:34:28.98
because you, you have
to be a Victorian woman
00:34:29.01\00:34:30.58
when you living in 1800's.
00:34:30.61\00:34:31.96
I do not wish to suggest that
she was some sort of proved.
00:34:31.99\00:34:35.33
Let me tell you another story.
00:34:35.36\00:34:37.57
On one occasion she
attended the wedding
00:34:37.60\00:34:39.95
of a young
preacher name Daniel Bardou,
00:34:39.98\00:34:42.12
who for three years,
some of you guys know
00:34:42.15\00:34:44.40
what this is like, who
for three years have been
00:34:44.43\00:34:46.30
searching for a wife, all right.
00:34:46.33\00:34:49.47
Finally he found one.
00:34:49.50\00:34:51.49
And James White appreciated
at the private home wedding.
00:34:51.52\00:34:54.95
Now, because the
service was late in the day
00:34:54.98\00:34:57.19
the newly weds accepted
the invitation of their host
00:34:57.22\00:34:59.64
to spend their first
night in the host home
00:34:59.67\00:35:01.94
and the White's
were also invited
00:35:01.97\00:35:03.94
to stay as house guests.
00:35:03.97\00:35:06.39
So, Herbert Douglass,
now the Theologian historian,
00:35:06.42\00:35:09.52
recounts that moment.
00:35:09.55\00:35:10.62
I'll put it on
the screen for you,
00:35:10.65\00:35:12.16
"When Ellen White, who by
the way, she is 33 years old.
00:35:12.19\00:35:15.21
At this moment.
00:35:15.24\00:35:16.41
"When Ellen White
went upstairs to retire,
00:35:16.44\00:35:19.66
she saw a very nervous
young man pacing back and forth
00:35:19.69\00:35:23.56
in front of a
closed bedroom door.
00:35:23.59\00:35:27.78
She suspected a problem.
00:35:27.81\00:35:30.61
Gently she said to the
young bridegroom, as the bride
00:35:30.64\00:35:33.91
later quoted her husband's
recital of the incident,"
00:35:33.94\00:35:35.90
so the bride
told about it later.
00:35:35.93\00:35:38.23
"'Daniel, inside that room
is a frightened young woman
00:35:38.26\00:35:44.16
in bed petrified with fear.
00:35:44.19\00:35:48.43
Now you go into her right now,
00:35:48.46\00:35:50.54
and you love her,
and you comfort her.
00:35:50.57\00:35:52.60
And Daniel, you
treat her tenderly,
00:35:52.63\00:35:55.23
and you treat her lovingly.
00:35:55.26\00:35:56.88
It will do her good.'
00:35:56.91\00:35:59.00
And then she added,
00:35:59.03\00:36:00.08
'hey, Daniel, it
will do you good, too!'"
00:36:00.11\00:36:04.82
Oh, my.
00:36:04.85\00:36:07.27
What was she like
as a wife and a mother?
00:36:07.30\00:36:11.35
In letter she wrote to James,
00:36:11.38\00:36:12.73
two days after he is
on a preaching itinerary.
00:36:12.76\00:36:16.30
We have the
letter, I'll put a portion
00:36:16.33\00:36:17.88
of the letter on
the screen for you.
00:36:17.91\00:36:19.46
"We are all well as usual."
00:36:19.49\00:36:21.95
She came here to bout a creek,
that's where he was headed.
00:36:21.98\00:36:24.18
"We are all well as usual.
00:36:24.21\00:36:25.44
It takes a little
time to get settled down
00:36:25.47\00:36:27.01
from the
excitement of your going.
00:36:27.04\00:36:28.92
You may be assured we miss you.
00:36:28.95\00:36:30.87
Especially do we feel
the loss of your society
00:36:30.90\00:36:33.71
when we gather about
the fireside evenings.
00:36:33.74\00:36:36.88
We feel your absence when we
sit around the social board,"
00:36:36.91\00:36:40.23
that would be the
dining room table.
00:36:40.26\00:36:42.53
Then a couple of weeks later,
he's still on the same trip,
00:36:42.56\00:36:44.25
she writes an another
letter, "I had written you
00:36:44.28\00:36:47.61
quite a lengthy
letter last night
00:36:47.64\00:36:49.02
but the ink was spilled upon it,
00:36:49.05\00:36:50.87
making an unsightly
blotch, and I will not send it.
00:36:50.90\00:36:54.44
We received," oh,
oh, listen to this,
00:36:54.47\00:36:56.06
"We received your few words
last night on a postal card."
00:36:56.09\00:36:59.11
So that's a post card.
00:36:59.14\00:37:00.17
He sent a post card,
she quotes everything
00:37:00.20\00:37:01.91
on the post card
now in this letter.
00:37:01.94\00:37:03.68
This is James White's post card
home, "Battle Creek, April 11.
00:37:03.71\00:37:07.99
No letters from
you for two days.
00:37:08.02\00:37:09.66
Sign, James White."
00:37:09.69\00:37:15.36
She goes on now having quoted
his post card back to him.
00:37:15.39\00:37:19.13
"This lengthy letter
was written by yourself.
00:37:19.16\00:37:22.84
Thank you, for we
know you are living.
00:37:22.87\00:37:27.31
I will write every
morning. Will you do the same?"
00:37:27.34\00:37:32.66
She loved her
boys, her four boys
00:37:32.69\00:37:34.22
just as much as
young mother did,
00:37:34.25\00:37:38.73
which is why it broke her heart
00:37:38.76\00:37:39.93
when little John Herbert
died at three months of age.
00:37:39.96\00:37:43.90
The 33-year-old mother
would later describe that loss.
00:37:43.93\00:37:48.56
"My babe was worse.
00:37:48.59\00:37:50.29
I listened to his
labored breathing,
00:37:50.32\00:37:52.27
and I felt his pulseless wrist.
00:37:52.30\00:37:54.38
I knew that he must die.
00:37:54.41\00:37:56.30
That was an hour
of anguish for me.
00:37:56.33\00:38:00.69
I fainted at the funeral.
00:38:00.72\00:38:04.07
My heart ached as
though it would break,
00:38:04.10\00:38:06.92
yet I could not shed a tear."
00:38:06.95\00:38:09.48
Some of you know
a grief that deep
00:38:09.51\00:38:13.33
that not even a tear will come.
00:38:13.36\00:38:18.46
Three years later
her first born son Henry,
00:38:18.49\00:38:20.64
died at the age of 16.
00:38:20.67\00:38:22.94
They were
living in Battle Creek,
00:38:22.97\00:38:24.10
not far from us here
00:38:24.13\00:38:25.27
and Henry was
known he is working
00:38:25.30\00:38:26.71
in the Review and
Herald publishing house
00:38:26.74\00:38:28.56
and he was known
as a sweet singer,
00:38:28.59\00:38:30.33
he just had
this melodious voice.
00:38:30.36\00:38:33.35
What happened was in November
that year he got a cold,
00:38:33.38\00:38:38.12
and then the cold
turn into Pneumonia
00:38:38.15\00:38:39.70
and the toxic drug
concoctions used in the day
00:38:39.73\00:38:41.90
exacerbated his condition
00:38:41.93\00:38:43.44
and his last words to
his mother were these,
00:38:43.47\00:38:48.05
mother, I shall
meet you in heaven
00:38:48.08\00:38:50.70
in the morning
of the resurrection.
00:38:50.73\00:38:52.85
For I know you'll be there.
00:38:52.88\00:38:55.10
He then back into his
brothers and parents and friends
00:38:55.13\00:38:57.32
and gave them all a
parting kiss after which
00:38:57.35\00:38:59.57
he pointed upward and
whispered, heaven is sweet.
00:38:59.60\00:39:04.21
Those were his last words.
00:39:04.24\00:39:06.66
I tell you what
ladies and gentlemen,
00:39:06.69\00:39:08.43
it doesn't matter, it does
not matter your life calling.
00:39:08.46\00:39:12.72
If you are a mother and
two of your four boys die,
00:39:12.75\00:39:18.28
you are cut to the quick
and your heart is broken,
00:39:18.31\00:39:22.21
no matter what you do
or don't do for a living.
00:39:22.24\00:39:29.42
But how about
some cheerful, Dwight?
00:39:29.45\00:39:31.61
Glad you asked. I
got some cheerful.
00:39:31.64\00:39:34.92
So about three
or four weeks ago,
00:39:34.95\00:39:36.16
you heard David Benner up
here talking about Paul Sanchez
00:39:36.19\00:39:38.28
who used to be our pastor
for Finance and Stewardship.
00:39:38.31\00:39:40.76
So Paul and I are on the
phone, three or four weeks ago
00:39:40.79\00:39:42.63
one evening and
we're talk together
00:39:42.66\00:39:44.41
and then we, the
talk turned to fishing,
00:39:44.44\00:39:46.51
if he talk with Paul long,
it always turns to fishing.
00:39:46.54\00:39:49.69
Paul taught Kirk, my
son and me how to fish.
00:39:49.72\00:39:53.69
So we're talking about
fishing and he said, Dwight,
00:39:53.72\00:39:55.80
I got a letter
you have got to read.
00:39:55.83\00:39:58.62
So I got a hold of the
letter. He made sure I got it.
00:39:58.65\00:40:02.49
It's a letter Ellen
White writes to her family.
00:40:02.52\00:40:04.84
She's just dropped them
off in the Rockies of Colorado.
00:40:04.87\00:40:08.88
It's her turn to be
on a preaching itinerary.
00:40:08.91\00:40:10.92
So she is leaving the
family for some honor,
00:40:10.95\00:40:13.36
some vacation in the Rockies
00:40:13.39\00:40:15.42
and she writes a letter to them,
00:40:15.45\00:40:17.00
after she's left them there
in those beautiful rugged peaks.
00:40:17.03\00:40:20.90
So I'll put the letter on the
screen, portion of the letter.
00:40:20.93\00:40:23.57
She is writing, Father, she's
writing to James, of course.
00:40:23.60\00:40:25.99
"Father, our writing,"
they were both prolific writers,
00:40:26.02\00:40:29.73
"our writing can
be done in the winter.
00:40:29.76\00:40:31.57
Lay it aside now.
00:40:31.60\00:40:32.82
Throw off every burden,
and be a carefree boy again.
00:40:32.85\00:40:35.61
I like that, "Will and Mary,
if they stay in the mountains
00:40:35.64\00:40:38.75
a few weeks longer,
should neither study nor write."
00:40:38.78\00:40:41.26
Don't make the
kids study, all right.
00:40:41.29\00:40:44.02
"They should be made
happy for this season,
00:40:44.05\00:40:47.21
that they maybe able
to look back to this time
00:40:47.24\00:40:49.10
as a season of
unalloyed pleasure."
00:40:49.13\00:40:53.62
Oh, in "The few days you
now have together, improve.
00:40:53.65\00:40:56.28
Roam about, camp out, fish,"
00:40:56.31\00:40:59.33
and when Paul Sanchez
saw that he is saying, yes.
00:40:59.36\00:41:04.08
Isn't that good? I like that.
00:41:04.11\00:41:05.91
"Roam about,
camp out, fish, hunt,
00:41:05.94\00:41:09.99
go to places that
you have not seen,
00:41:10.02\00:41:11.80
rest as you go,
and enjoy everything.
00:41:11.83\00:41:13.66
Then come back to your
work fresh and vigorous.
00:41:13.69\00:41:16.53
Father needs to be a boy again."
00:41:16.56\00:41:19.19
Every man needs to
hear that in his life.
00:41:19.22\00:41:22.18
Father needs to be a
boy again. "Roam all around.
00:41:22.21\00:41:24.94
Climb the mountain
steeps. Ride horseback.
00:41:24.97\00:41:27.01
Find something new
each day to see and enjoy.
00:41:27.04\00:41:29.03
This will be for, this
will be for Father's health.
00:41:29.06\00:41:31.50
Do not spend any
anxious thought on me.
00:41:31.53\00:41:33.39
You will see how
well I will appear
00:41:33.42\00:41:35.07
after the camp
meetings are over."
00:41:35.10\00:41:38.11
Ladies and gentlemen, she
started to have experience
00:41:38.14\00:41:40.28
the buoyant and the best of life
00:41:40.31\00:41:43.52
and then she asked
others to do the same.
00:41:43.55\00:41:49.73
But what was the spark?
00:41:49.76\00:41:51.61
What was the spark that
ignited the mind and heart
00:41:51.64\00:41:57.16
and soul of this woman, in
her 70 years life ministry?
00:41:57.19\00:42:03.81
I've read Ellen White
for years, you know that.
00:42:03.84\00:42:08.14
I have discovered
00:42:08.17\00:42:11.12
that her ministry was
ignited by three passions,
00:42:11.15\00:42:15.99
get into anything
she wrote and before long
00:42:16.02\00:42:19.30
you are head long
into these three passions
00:42:19.33\00:42:23.05
and I want you to
jot them down right now.
00:42:23.08\00:42:24.47
From here on out
you're writing the whole way.
00:42:24.50\00:42:26.34
Let's go.
00:42:26.37\00:42:27.48
Three passions, jot them down.
00:42:27.51\00:42:29.31
Passion number one, that
ignited life and ministry.
00:42:29.34\00:42:32.16
A passion for the Savior.
00:42:32.19\00:42:34.43
Would you fill that in please?
A passion for the Savior.
00:42:34.46\00:42:38.13
So I go on my CD-ROM
that has the entire collection
00:42:38.16\00:42:40.77
of her writings,
letters everything.
00:42:40.80\00:42:42.29
I go on my CD-ROM.
00:42:42.32\00:42:43.72
What do I discover? Jot it down.
00:42:43.75\00:42:45.77
I discover that she
writes of Jesus 37,038 times.
00:42:45.80\00:42:51.51
My computer counted
them in a split second.
00:42:51.54\00:42:54.26
I discovered that she
writes of Christ 69,277 times,
00:42:54.29\00:43:00.83
and then I found
out that she referred
00:43:00.86\00:43:02.29
to the Savior 11,583 times.
00:43:02.32\00:43:07.75
A passion, a
passion for the Savior.
00:43:07.78\00:43:11.28
In that little
spiritual classical of hers,
00:43:11.31\00:43:13.39
by the way,
translated into more languages
00:43:13.42\00:43:15.74
than anything
else she ever wrote.
00:43:15.77\00:43:17.21
The little book
'Steps to Christ',
00:43:17.24\00:43:18.46
here are these words,
00:43:18.49\00:43:19.55
you have them in
your study guide,
00:43:19.58\00:43:20.65
I'll put them on the screen.
00:43:20.68\00:43:21.95
Ellen White writing, "You
are not to look to yourself,
00:43:21.98\00:43:26.12
not to let the mind dwell
upon self, but look to Christ.
00:43:26.15\00:43:30.34
Let the mind dwell upon
His love, upon the beauty,
00:43:30.37\00:43:33.62
the perfection,
of His character.
00:43:33.65\00:43:35.73
Christ in His self-denial,
Christ in His humiliation,"
00:43:35.76\00:43:39.15
Calvary, "Christ in
His purity and holiness,
00:43:39.18\00:43:42.17
Christ in His matchless love--
00:43:42.20\00:43:44.25
this is the subject for
the soul's contemplation.
00:43:44.28\00:43:47.29
It is by loving
Him, copying Him,
00:43:47.32\00:43:50.10
depending wholly upon Him,
00:43:50.13\00:43:51.75
that you are to be
transformed into His likeness."
00:43:51.78\00:43:55.36
She had a passion for Christ.
00:43:55.39\00:44:00.33
What was that first
line from her first vision,
00:44:00.36\00:44:04.03
"If we will keep
our eyes fixed on Jesus
00:44:04.06\00:44:06.41
we will be safe."
00:44:06.44\00:44:08.74
I read widely, I
think you know that.
00:44:08.77\00:44:11.50
And I can testify I have never
in all my reading encountered
00:44:11.53\00:44:16.48
a more crystal centric
writer than Ellen White.
00:44:16.51\00:44:21.77
She had three passions.
00:44:21.80\00:44:22.84
Passion number one,
the passion for the Savior.
00:44:22.87\00:44:24.50
Passion number two, jot it down,
00:44:24.53\00:44:25.85
a passion for the Word of God,
a passion for Holy Scripture.
00:44:25.88\00:44:32.65
Pick up anyone of her
books they will have in the back
00:44:32.68\00:44:34.96
something
called scripture index.
00:44:34.99\00:44:37.38
All the verses that she quotes
in that writing, in that book.
00:44:37.41\00:44:40.87
She is replic-- she is
saturated with Holy Scripture.
00:44:40.90\00:44:48.33
These words I've
written in my brand new Bible
00:44:48.36\00:44:49.93
right here Andrew's study Bible.
00:44:49.96\00:44:51.65
I put these words in
the cover of this Bible.
00:44:51.68\00:44:54.16
And you have it now
in your study guide,
00:44:54.19\00:44:56.28
I'll put them up on the screen.
00:44:56.31\00:44:57.34
She wrote these words,
00:44:57.37\00:44:58.44
"The Bible is God's
voice speaking to us,
00:44:58.47\00:45:01.33
just as surely as though we
could here it with our ears."
00:45:01.36\00:45:05.84
Hey, listen guys,
here is her point.
00:45:05.87\00:45:07.87
"If we realized this, with what
awe would we open God's word,
00:45:07.90\00:45:13.79
and with what earnestness
would we search its precepts!
00:45:13.82\00:45:17.67
The reading and
contemplation of the Scriptures
00:45:17.70\00:45:20.22
would be regarded as an audience
00:45:20.25\00:45:22.45
with the Infinite One."
00:45:22.48\00:45:25.83
Amazing.
00:45:25.86\00:45:28.21
Three passions,
fire for her soul,
00:45:28.24\00:45:31.15
for her 70 year a life ministry.
00:45:31.18\00:45:33.37
Passion number one,
the passion for the Savior.
00:45:33.40\00:45:35.34
Passion number two, a
passion for the Word of God.
00:45:35.37\00:45:37.79
And finally
passion number three,
00:45:37.82\00:45:39.29
a passion for the
salvation of the lost.
00:45:39.32\00:45:42.25
Write that down please.
00:45:42.28\00:45:46.57
A passion for the
salvation of the lost.
00:45:46.60\00:45:49.22
I have never read any
author more passionate
00:45:49.25\00:45:52.34
about saving lost people
for Christ than Ellen White.
00:45:52.37\00:45:56.17
I scribble these words
down in my Bible as well,
00:45:56.20\00:45:58.30
I'll put them on
the screen for you,
00:45:58.33\00:45:59.44
"Recently in the night
season I was awakened from sleep
00:45:59.47\00:46:03.59
and given a view of the
sufferings of Christ for men.
00:46:03.62\00:46:06.37
His sacrifice, the
mockery and derision
00:46:06.40\00:46:08.82
He received at the
hands of wicked men,
00:46:08.85\00:46:11.17
His agony in the
Garden of the Gethsemane,
00:46:11.20\00:46:13.34
His betrayal and crucifixion
00:46:13.37\00:46:15.17
all were vividly
portrayed before me.
00:46:15.20\00:46:18.15
As I have thought
of that cup trembling
00:46:18.18\00:46:20.41
in the hands of Christ in
the Garden of the Gethsemane,
00:46:20.44\00:46:22.92
as I have realized that He
might have refused to drink,
00:46:22.95\00:46:27.26
and left the world
to perish in its sin,
00:46:27.29\00:46:30.69
I have pledged that
every energy of my life
00:46:30.72\00:46:33.84
should be devoted to the
work of winning souls to Him."
00:46:33.87\00:46:39.67
Mercy.
00:46:39.70\00:46:42.21
Three passions
00:46:42.24\00:46:44.69
and she was faithful to
all three through all her life.
00:46:44.72\00:46:50.10
Called by God at the age of 17
00:46:50.13\00:46:52.69
and gifted with the
spiritual gift of prophecy,
00:46:52.72\00:46:55.09
Ellen White lived her 70
prolific years of ministry
00:46:55.12\00:46:58.90
ignited by these three.
00:46:58.93\00:47:01.26
No wonder the fruit
that ensued was so bountiful,
00:47:01.29\00:47:06.30
now your pen will never
start moving here we go.
00:47:06.33\00:47:09.66
Look up just and
long enough to get it,
00:47:09.69\00:47:12.03
"She is considered
today", write this down,
00:47:12.06\00:47:14.05
will you please,
"she is considered today
00:47:14.08\00:47:16.56
the third most translated author
00:47:16.59\00:47:19.13
in history of all literature.
00:47:19.16\00:47:21.41
Number three,
00:47:21.44\00:47:23.64
third grade education
was just far as she could go.
00:47:23.67\00:47:26.94
The third most translated,
keep your pen moving,
00:47:26.97\00:47:30.19
she is the most
translated American author,
00:47:30.22\00:47:32.94
male or female.
00:47:32.97\00:47:36.12
Keep your pen going.
00:47:36.15\00:47:38.17
Her literary productions
totaled approximately
00:47:38.20\00:47:40.81
100,000 pages,
00:47:40.84\00:47:44.26
the equivalent
of 25 million words.
00:47:44.29\00:47:47.80
A decade ago 128 titles
were in print bearing her name,
00:47:51.13\00:47:56.66
including books
that are compilations."
00:47:56.69\00:48:00.04
Now just listen
to this, humbly now
00:48:00.07\00:48:03.11
I read these for
you in your study guide.
00:48:03.14\00:48:06.51
As fruit of her ministry, fruit
of her ministry and leadership
00:48:06.54\00:48:13.79
God raised up the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:48:13.82\00:48:16.83
to become the largest protestant
00:48:16.86\00:48:19.01
educational system
in the world today.
00:48:19.04\00:48:23.50
And we are sitting
in the heart of its
00:48:23.53\00:48:26.62
major flagship
institution, Andrews University.
00:48:26.65\00:48:31.71
Raised up because of our
humble, little 5'2" woman,
00:48:31.74\00:48:37.31
used mightily by God.
00:48:37.34\00:48:39.71
Keep going, as a fruit of
her ministry and leadership
00:48:39.74\00:48:42.20
God raised up the Seventh-day
Adventist Church today
00:48:42.23\00:48:44.44
to become the largest protestant
00:48:44.47\00:48:46.14
health system
in the world today.
00:48:46.17\00:48:50.01
Loma Linda
University Medical School,
00:48:50.04\00:48:53.32
making headlines with science.
00:48:53.35\00:48:56.30
Keep going, as a fruit of
her ministry and leadership
00:48:56.33\00:48:58.26
God raised up this church
to become a largest Protestant
00:48:58.29\00:49:01.64
publishing
enterprise in the world today.
00:49:01.67\00:49:06.39
And there is one more,
00:49:06.42\00:49:08.89
as if fruit of her
ministry and leadership
00:49:08.92\00:49:12.14
God raised up the Seventh-day
Adventist Church to become
00:49:12.17\00:49:14.55
the most expensive
Protestant missions outreach
00:49:14.58\00:49:17.66
in the world today, with
the Seventh Day Adventist Church
00:49:17.69\00:49:20.21
in more countries than
any other denomination.
00:49:20.24\00:49:26.54
How did Jesus put it?
What did Jesus tell us?
00:49:26.57\00:49:31.41
"A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit."
00:49:31.44\00:49:35.67
But I want you to get
the second half of that,
00:49:35.70\00:49:38.84
"A bad tree cannot
bear a good fruit."
00:49:38.87\00:49:42.21
You've got to get that one.
00:49:42.24\00:49:44.61
And in three
weeks, I'll tell you why,
00:49:44.64\00:49:47.46
a good tree
cannot bear bad fruit
00:49:47.49\00:49:49.03
nor can a bad
tree bear a good fruit.
00:49:49.06\00:49:50.93
Therefore by their
fruits you will evaluate them."
00:49:50.96\00:49:56.73
You will come to
conclusions about them,
00:49:56.76\00:49:58.76
by their fruits
you will know them.
00:49:58.79\00:50:05.68
Which is why I
want to conclude today
00:50:05.71\00:50:06.88
with a personal testimony.
00:50:06.91\00:50:08.63
The reason I'm so deeply
convicted about the divine
00:50:13.71\00:50:15.81
of the authentic, Ellen
White's prophetic ministry
00:50:15.84\00:50:18.96
is because of what
the Holy Spirit has done
00:50:18.99\00:50:20.83
in my own part and
life through her writings.
00:50:20.86\00:50:24.75
I was a graduate student,
00:50:24.78\00:50:26.19
a few years ago here
at Andrews University,
00:50:26.22\00:50:28.13
enrolled in the
theological seminary.
00:50:28.16\00:50:29.85
One day our
professor, in class teaching
00:50:29.88\00:50:32.76
from Psalm 139 announced
to us that we ought to follow
00:50:32.79\00:50:36.66
David's example and
ask God to reveal to us,
00:50:36.69\00:50:39.30
ours in aid sinfulness.
00:50:39.33\00:50:42.95
So one night before going to bed
00:50:42.98\00:50:44.59
I decided to give it a whirl.
00:50:44.62\00:50:46.88
After all I was a
fifth generation Adventist,
00:50:46.91\00:50:48.73
fourth generation preacher
00:50:48.76\00:50:50.56
there is nothing
God could show me.
00:50:50.59\00:50:54.54
Nothing happened
after I prayed it.
00:50:54.57\00:50:57.06
Until three weeks later,
00:50:57.09\00:50:59.10
when all hell
broke loose spiritually,
00:50:59.13\00:51:03.19
as I was suddenly overwhelmed
00:51:03.22\00:51:04.62
with a sense of my
own desperate guilt,
00:51:04.65\00:51:07.47
little sins that I had
laughed often my youth,
00:51:07.50\00:51:10.26
suddenly with a
vengeance returned,
00:51:10.29\00:51:11.93
I'm frantically trying
to purge them out of my mind
00:51:11.96\00:51:14.29
and my memories but I cannot.
00:51:14.32\00:51:17.26
And so I say, I'll
go back to the professor
00:51:17.29\00:51:19.42
who told us to do this, it
was his idea in the first place.
00:51:19.45\00:51:23.49
And I went back to
him but he was old school
00:51:23.52\00:51:26.84
and all he said to
me in the stairwell,
00:51:26.87\00:51:29.64
in that building was,
00:51:29.67\00:51:31.89
go read Steps to
Christ, go read Steps to Christ.
00:51:31.92\00:51:35.67
I stumbled back to
our little apartment,
00:51:35.70\00:51:37.66
in the Maplewood
apartments here on campus.
00:51:37.69\00:51:41.29
And I pulled down from my shelf,
00:51:41.32\00:51:43.07
my army, navy
edition of Steps to Christ
00:51:43.10\00:51:46.30
that I've been
given as a boy in Japan.
00:51:46.33\00:51:49.53
I pulled that book out
and I began to turn the pages.
00:51:49.56\00:51:55.82
I read about
God's love from man.
00:51:55.85\00:52:00.70
And then I read about
the sinner's need of Christ.
00:52:00.73\00:52:05.36
And then I come to a
chapter called Repentance,
00:52:05.39\00:52:09.87
then Confession,
then Consecration,
00:52:09.90\00:52:15.95
then here's the chapter I
read Faith and Acceptance.
00:52:15.98\00:52:20.10
And then another one,
The Test of Discipleship.
00:52:20.13\00:52:24.17
Then another chapter,
Growing up into Christ.
00:52:24.20\00:52:26.57
Wow.
00:52:26.60\00:52:28.02
And then, the Work and the Life
00:52:29.70\00:52:33.06
and then a
chapter, A Knowledge of God.
00:52:33.09\00:52:37.09
The Privilege of
Prayer, another chapter.
00:52:37.12\00:52:40.09
And finally the last chapter,
now the next last chapter,
00:52:40.12\00:52:44.16
What to Do with Doubt
and then the last chapter,
00:52:44.19\00:52:46.90
Rejoicing in the Lord.
00:52:46.93\00:52:48.61
I read the little books through.
00:52:48.64\00:52:50.19
I had to read it to get
baptized in the eighth grade.
00:52:50.22\00:52:54.09
I'm standing here
today ladies and gentlemen,
00:52:54.12\00:52:56.89
to personally testify to
you that this little classic,
00:52:56.92\00:53:01.04
the title of this classic became
00:53:01.07\00:53:02.91
a self fulfilling
prophecy in my life
00:53:02.94\00:53:05.89
and I found the steps
back to Christ right here.
00:53:05.92\00:53:12.23
Right here.
00:53:12.26\00:53:14.56
I'm telling you, I
have tasted of the fruit,
00:53:14.59\00:53:20.36
there is absolutely no
equivocation in my mind.
00:53:20.39\00:53:24.69
The Christ anointed,
blessed, in filled this woman
00:53:24.72\00:53:31.27
with a prophetic ministry,
for such a time as this.
00:53:31.30\00:53:38.11
I have found the truth
and I invite you please
00:53:40.19\00:53:47.49
to discover the
same truth for yourself.
00:53:47.52\00:53:53.47
How did Jesus put it,
come on. What did He say?
00:53:53.50\00:53:56.32
"Therefore a good
tree cannot bear bad fruit,
00:53:56.35\00:54:01.12
nor can a bad
tree bear good fruit."
00:54:01.15\00:54:04.16
So I'm telling you Jesus
says, therefore, by their fruits
00:54:04.19\00:54:11.52
you will know, you will know.
00:54:11.55\00:54:16.55
By their fruits you
will know the truth.
00:54:16.58\00:54:24.27
Stand with me, will you?
00:54:24.30\00:54:25.97
I want to sing that old chorus,
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,
00:54:26.00\00:54:29.58
that line out of
that first visions
00:54:29.61\00:54:31.58
captured in
that familiar chorus.
00:54:31.61\00:54:34.17
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
00:54:34.20\00:54:35.76
Look full in His wonderful face
00:54:35.79\00:54:38.59
And the things of
earth will grow strangely dim
00:54:38.62\00:54:43.27
In the light of
His glory and His grace
00:54:43.30\00:54:46.76
Let's sing that together.
00:54:46.79\00:54:48.45
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
00:54:56.75\00:55:01.61
Look full in His wonderful face
00:55:05.68\00:55:10.68
And the things of
earth will grow strangely dim
00:55:14.57\00:55:22.35
In the light of
His glory and grace
00:55:25.36\00:55:32.58
Now, let's sing it even quieter.
00:55:37.38\00:55:39.53
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
00:55:39.56\00:55:47.51
Look full in His wonderful face
00:55:50.17\00:55:57.01
And the things of
earth will grow strangely dim
00:56:00.89\00:56:08.46
In the light of
His glory and grace
00:56:13.89\00:56:18.89
And so Holy
Father, we do taking a cue
00:56:26.67\00:56:29.92
from this friend of yours,
we turn our eyes to Jesus.
00:56:29.95\00:56:37.54
If you keep your eyes on
Him you'll always be safe.
00:56:37.57\00:56:43.41
It's still true,
hold our gaze dear God,
00:56:43.44\00:56:48.24
hold our gaze until Jesus comes.
00:56:48.27\00:56:54.99
And now may the
love of the Father,
00:56:55.02\00:56:57.58
and the grace of His
Son, and the communion
00:56:57.61\00:57:02.21
of the Holy Spirit
abide with you and me, amen.
00:57:02.24\00:57:07.81
This little classic
was a God sent to me
00:57:11.17\00:57:12.95
when I hit rock
bottom spiritually
00:57:12.98\00:57:15.03
as a graduated student
on this campus years ago.
00:57:15.06\00:57:17.90
The title became
itself fulfilling prophecy,
00:57:17.93\00:57:20.23
Steps to Christ.
00:57:20.26\00:57:22.53
Because that's precisely
what I discovered in the short
00:57:22.56\00:57:24.89
but inspiring and
for me life changing book
00:57:24.92\00:57:28.05
and I'd love for you
to experience the same
00:57:28.08\00:57:30.45
which is why we're setting aside
00:57:30.48\00:57:31.58
a few of this books
for our viewing friends.
00:57:31.61\00:57:33.75
If you'd like your own
copy of Steps to Christ
00:57:33.78\00:57:35.98
call our toll free
number 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:36.01\00:57:39.23
Just punch those two words,
HIS-WILL on your keyboard,
00:57:39.26\00:57:41.78
877-HIS-WILL and
ask for the book.
00:57:41.81\00:57:44.34
If you want it in
Spanish, ask for it.
00:57:44.37\00:57:46.20
It's one of the most
translated books in the world.
00:57:46.23\00:57:48.69
Our friendly operators are
standing by 24x7 to assist you
00:57:48.72\00:57:51.90
and will get the book
to you as soon as possible
00:57:51.93\00:57:53.58
straight to your address.
00:57:53.61\00:57:55.10
So why not go to the phone
right now, and see if your walk
00:57:55.13\00:57:57.57
with Jesus is deepen
by the spiritual classic.
00:57:57.60\00:58:00.72
It's our gift to you.
00:58:00.75\00:58:02.55
Until I see you again
next time may you sense
00:58:02.58\00:58:05.24
the living Christ
walking beside of you
00:58:05.27\00:58:08.33
every step of the way.
00:58:08.36\00:58:10.20