¤
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>> Good morning, Church.
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Happy Sabbath.
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I invite you all to stand
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as we sing what I believe is one
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of the most Adventist songs
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there are.
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I learned that this song
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was commissioned by a general
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conference in the 1960s,
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I believe.
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We're singing
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"We Have This Hope."
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"We Have This Hope."
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Amen. Amen.
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Praise God. Praise God.
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We do have this hope.
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And because we have this hope,
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it does not matter how hard
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our weeks might be,
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how hard our days may be.
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We have hope
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that there is someone
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who's always available for us.
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So in this moment,
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as we sing the next song,
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I invite those of you
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who would like to come forward
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to the foot of the cross
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and bring a special request
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or a special thanks,
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please do so.
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Feel welcome to come forward
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as we sing "Still."
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>> Amen.
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¤
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>> Praise God. Praise God.
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Amen. Hallelujah!
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>> Now it is time
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for our Scripture reading.
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And our Scripture is coming from
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2 Peter 1:16-19.
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It says, "For we did not follow
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cunningly devised fables when we
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made known to you the power and
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coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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but were eyewitnesses of His
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majesty.
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For He received from
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God the Father honor and glory
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when such a voice came to Him
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from the Excellent Glory: 'This
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is My beloved Son, in whom I am
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well-pleased.'
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And we heard this voice which
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came from heaven when we were
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with Him on the holy mountain.
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And so we have the prophetic
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word confirmed, which you do
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well to heed as a light that
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shines in a dark place, until
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the day dawns and the morning
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star rises in your hearts."
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Amen. Amen.
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And as we sing this last song,
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I want us to ponder on this.
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Because when this song
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was brought up in the set list,
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it reminded me
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of one of my favorite passages
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from Isaiah 28:16.
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And it says, "Thus says the
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Lord God, 'Behold,
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I lay in Zion a stone
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for a foundation, a tried stone,
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a precious cornerstone,
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for a foundation.'"
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And he says, "'Whoever believes
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will not act hastily.'"
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I love this.
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We see a messianic
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prophecy here.
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This cornerstone is none other
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than Jesus Christ himself,
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brothers and sisters.
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And God is telling His people
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to trust in this stone, to trust
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and believe in this foundation.
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And He also says to exhibit
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patient faith.
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I don't know what it is that you
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may be going through at this
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very moment,
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brothers and sisters,
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but God is also telling us
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to trust
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and believe in this cornerstone.
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Can I see a show of hands of
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those that are willing to trust
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and believe in our cornerstone?
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Who came and won the victory
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over sin
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and who is also coming back
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again for you and me.
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So we're going to be singing
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this song, "Cornerstone."
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Don't be afraid to lift
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your voice and sing
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to our Savior and our Creator
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if you know the words.
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Amen.
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May you be blessed.
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Thank you, Jesus.
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You guys sound beautiful.
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Amen, amen.
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Let's sing that one more time.
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Let's sing that together.
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Sing it.
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Amen, Church.
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>> Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.
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You may be seated.
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>> We are blessed with
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good music, are we not?
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Amen.
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Thank you to our praise team
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for leading us in worship.
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I appreciate it.
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Imagine that it is
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a beautiful day
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in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
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Not a difficult thing to do.
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It's not always like today, but
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imagine that it was like today
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and that you're walking down
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the sidewalks in Berrien Springs
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that don't exist.
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You're walking down
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next to the road and you get to,
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let's say, about Rite Aid or so.
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And from the gas station there,
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there comes a man swiftly.
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He's in a trench coat
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and he's carrying a briefcase
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and he says,
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"Hold it right there."
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And you stop.
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And he opens the briefcase,
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and there is $1 million in cash.
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Alright?
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Now, this isn't too hard
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to imagine.
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This happens
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all the time in Berrien Springs.
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He opens it up.
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He says, "This can be yours."
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And immediately, your mind
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begins to turn.
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"What could I do with
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$1 million?
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Oh, the things I could do,
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places I could go,
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the people I could help,"
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et cetera.
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And all of these dreams
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are going through your mind.
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He says,
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"But there is a condition.
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You say, "What is it?"
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He said, "I need you to answer
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one question, and you have
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to answer it correctly."
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You say, "What's the question?"
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And he says, "The question is,
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what is the mission of the
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Seventh-Day Adventist Church?"
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Immediately, you're beginning
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to wonder why millionaires
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don't seem to have much
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to do in Berrien Springs
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except to confront people
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on religious questions.
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You're thinking to yourself,
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"Oh, wait.
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I know the answer to this
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question.
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Uh, uh, uh..."
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"I'm sorry it's too late."
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Closes the briefcase and goes
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back to the gas station.
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And let's imagine
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that nine other Adventists
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do the same thing, one by one.
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Briefcase opens.
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"Million dollars.
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It's all yours."
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"Uh, well, I think, uh, uh..."
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So, my experience
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is not with a guy
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with $1 million in a briefcase.
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My experience is,
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is that you just might
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get 10 different answers
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to that question.
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In fact,
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I even go one step further.
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Many times, the question
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has no interest to us.
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Ignorance and apathy sometimes
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go together on that thing.
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What is the mission of the
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Seventh-Day Adventist Church?
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Even if confronted
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with the prospect of $1 million,
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we might be pressed to come up
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with the right answer.
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Now, when I have done
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this -- again, not with
00:19:19.02\00:19:19.72
a briefcase with dollars in it,
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but in maybe a classroom
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setting or something, there's a
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whiteboard or something where
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we're writing down
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the answers that people have,
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eventually people's wheels
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get turned and they say, "Okay,
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um, the mission of the
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Adventist Church is to love
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God."
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Not bad.
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Our Methodist friends
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are nodding their heads and say,
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"Well, that sounds familiar.
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That kind of sounds
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like us, too."
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And someone says, "Well, wait,
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wait.
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I know what the mission
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of the Adventist Church is.
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The mission
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of the Adventist Church
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is to serve other people
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as Jesus would serve them."
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And our Baptist friends
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are like,
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That kind of sounds like
00:19:57.06\00:19:58.16
what we do, too," right?
00:19:58.26\00:19:59.29
And, so, they say, "Oh, wait a
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second, Pastor Shane.
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I know the answer.
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The mission of the
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Adventist Church is to know God
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and make Him known."
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Ooh, sounds good.
00:20:08.00\00:20:11.47
And our Catholic friends
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are saying,
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That kind of sounds like
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what we do, too," right?
00:20:16.28\00:20:17.58
And then someone will get
00:20:17.68\00:20:19.01
a little frustrated and say,
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"Wait a second, Pastor Shane.
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I know what the answer is.
00:20:21.75\00:20:23.42
The answer is,
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the mission of the Seventh-Day
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Adventist Church is to fulfill
00:20:25.72\00:20:27.36
the Great Commission
00:20:27.46\00:20:28.72
of Matthew 28:18-20."
00:20:28.82\00:20:33.16
Now, ladies and gentlemen,
00:20:33.26\00:20:34.00
that's got some horsepower.
00:20:34.10\00:20:34.56
In fact,
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I'd like you to look at that.
00:20:35.30\00:20:35.96
Would you, please?
00:20:36.06\00:20:36.53
Would you open
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your Bible to Matthew 28?
00:20:37.33\00:20:39.03
Beginning with Verse 18.
00:20:39.13\00:20:40.90
In the red pew Bible
00:20:41.00\00:20:41.97
that's somewhere nearby there,
00:20:42.07\00:20:42.74
it's on page 672.
00:20:42.84\00:20:44.64
672. Matthew 28,
00:20:44.74\00:20:47.74
beginning with Verse 18.
00:20:47.84\00:20:50.98
This is the final statement
00:20:51.08\00:20:52.11
that we have of Jesus
00:20:52.21\00:20:53.11
in the entirety
00:20:53.21\00:20:54.05
of the Gospel of Matthew.
00:20:54.15\00:20:55.22
It's obviously said near the end
00:20:55.32\00:20:56.58
of His earthly ministry,
00:20:56.69\00:20:58.29
and it is, indeed,
00:20:58.39\00:20:59.39
quite a statement.
00:20:59.49\00:21:00.79
I can see why someone would say,
00:21:00.89\00:21:02.36
"Hey, check this out.
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Is this the mission?"
00:21:03.56\00:21:05.29
Verse 18, Matthew 28 says,
00:21:05.39\00:21:07.36
"Then Jesus came to them --"
00:21:07.46\00:21:08.46
his disciples -- "and said,
00:21:08.56\00:21:09.80
'All authority
00:21:09.90\00:21:11.30
in heaven and on earth.'"
00:21:11.40\00:21:12.97
How much authority? All of it.
00:21:13.07\00:21:15.00
He says, "'All authority in
00:21:15.10\00:21:16.30
heaven, on earth has been given
00:21:16.40\00:21:17.71
to me.'"
00:21:17.81\00:21:18.47
Pause for just a moment.
00:21:18.57\00:21:19.61
This is the most powerful
00:21:19.71\00:21:20.84
statement that Jesus makes in
00:21:20.94\00:21:22.11
all of his earthly ministry.
00:21:22.21\00:21:24.35
I mean, this is -- I mean,
00:21:24.45\00:21:25.38
what could possibly be better?
00:21:25.48\00:21:26.82
"All authority in heaven and on
00:21:26.92\00:21:28.58
earth has been given to me,
00:21:28.68\00:21:31.32
and now I'm going to do
00:21:31.42\00:21:32.15
something with it.
00:21:32.25\00:21:33.66
I'm going
00:21:33.76\00:21:34.32
to do something powerful
00:21:34.42\00:21:35.22
with all of this authority
00:21:35.32\00:21:36.22
that's been given to me."
00:21:36.32\00:21:37.13
What does Jesus ask us to do
00:21:37.23\00:21:39.06
in response to this?
00:21:39.16\00:21:40.16
Verse 19.
00:21:40.26\00:21:41.40
"'Therefore --" here it is --
00:21:41.50\00:21:43.50
"Go and make disciples
00:21:43.60\00:21:46.17
of all nations,
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.54
baptizing them in the name
00:21:47.64\00:21:48.70
of the Father and of the Son
00:21:48.80\00:21:49.97
and of the Holy Spirit,
00:21:50.07\00:21:51.17
and teaching them to obey
00:21:51.27\00:21:52.51
everything I have commanded you.
00:21:52.61\00:21:54.31
And surely, I am with you always
00:21:54.41\00:21:55.78
to the very end of the age.'"
00:21:55.88\00:21:59.11
Let it be crystal-clear.
00:21:59.21\00:22:01.55
Any church, including this one,
00:22:01.65\00:22:04.22
that calls itself Christian
00:22:04.32\00:22:06.62
must be about the business
00:22:06.72\00:22:08.46
of fulfilling the
00:22:08.56\00:22:09.56
Great Commission of Matthew 28.
00:22:09.66\00:22:11.03
>> Amen.
00:22:11.13\00:22:13.09
>> Thank you.
00:22:13.19\00:22:13.96
I appreciate it, Sister, for
00:22:14.03\00:22:14.83
responding.
00:22:14.93\00:22:15.50
Yes, the rest of the
00:22:15.60\00:22:16.46
congregation will catch up
00:22:16.56\00:22:17.50
with you momentarily.
00:22:17.60\00:22:18.27
Okay? Alright?
00:22:18.37\00:22:19.87
So, what I said was, any church
00:22:19.97\00:22:21.40
that's going to call itself
00:22:21.50\00:22:22.30
Christian, including this one,
00:22:22.40\00:22:23.54
must be about the business
00:22:23.64\00:22:24.84
of making disciples
00:22:24.94\00:22:25.94
according to the
00:22:26.04\00:22:26.74
Great Commission of Matthew 28.
00:22:26.84\00:22:28.14
>> Amen.
00:22:28.24\00:22:29.04
>> Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:22:29.14\00:22:30.31
And not just any disciples.
00:22:30.41\00:22:31.58
Baptism, like what we saw up
00:22:31.68\00:22:32.81
here today -- that's the
00:22:32.91\00:22:33.95
beginning, not the end.
00:22:34.05\00:22:35.62
It says, "Make these
00:22:35.72\00:22:37.42
fully devoted followers,
00:22:37.52\00:22:38.69
the ones that are taught
00:22:38.79\00:22:40.46
to obey everything
00:22:40.56\00:22:41.72
that Jesus commanded them."
00:22:41.82\00:22:42.56
That's a mature disciple,
00:22:42.66\00:22:43.59
someone who's growing up
00:22:43.69\00:22:44.69
into the fullness of Jesus.
00:22:44.79\00:22:46.06
Baptism is the beginning.
00:22:46.16\00:22:47.40
Now we grow them up by the best
00:22:47.50\00:22:49.56
means possible to help them
00:22:49.66\00:22:50.93
become more and more like Jesus.
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.73
That's what we are called to do
00:22:52.83\00:22:54.94
as a Christian organization.
00:22:55.04\00:22:56.44
Absolutely.
00:22:56.54\00:23:01.11
And...
00:23:01.21\00:23:04.95
if that's all there
00:23:05.05\00:23:07.15
is to our mission,
00:23:07.25\00:23:11.45
then the sooner we lock
00:23:11.55\00:23:12.75
the doors on this building
00:23:12.85\00:23:15.62
and on Ruth Murdoch
00:23:15.72\00:23:17.79
and on Andrews Academy
00:23:17.89\00:23:19.86
and on Andrews University
00:23:19.96\00:23:21.83
and put a "for sale" sign
00:23:21.93\00:23:23.13
on our respective lawns
00:23:23.23\00:23:25.00
and sell the whole place
00:23:25.10\00:23:26.13
and join up with every
00:23:26.23\00:23:28.27
other Christian denomination
00:23:28.37\00:23:29.67
out there, the better, because
00:23:29.77\00:23:32.17
that's their mission, too.
00:23:32.27\00:23:36.04
They say, "Oh, that's great.
00:23:36.14\00:23:36.71
We're all
00:23:36.81\00:23:37.45
about the Great Commission.
00:23:37.55\00:23:38.58
We're here to make disciples.
00:23:38.68\00:23:39.95
Come and join up with us."
00:23:40.05\00:23:43.55
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:23:43.65\00:23:44.25
have you ever stopped to ponder
00:23:44.35\00:23:46.32
the arrogance required
00:23:46.42\00:23:49.59
to have the same mission
00:23:49.69\00:23:50.69
as everybody else and still
00:23:50.79\00:23:52.19
maintain your own buildings,
00:23:52.29\00:23:53.60
your own hospitals,
00:23:53.70\00:23:55.06
your own universities,
00:23:55.16\00:23:56.00
and colleges and elementary
00:23:56.10\00:23:56.93
schools and academies?
00:23:57.03\00:23:58.63
That's just arrogant
00:23:58.73\00:24:01.60
and terribly inefficient.
00:24:01.70\00:24:04.84
But I notice something.
00:24:04.94\00:24:06.78
You're sitting inside
00:24:06.88\00:24:08.11
the building.
00:24:08.21\00:24:09.88
It wasn't locked when you came.
00:24:09.98\00:24:12.01
The doors are still open.
00:24:12.11\00:24:13.11
There's not a "for sale" sign.
00:24:13.21\00:24:14.18
At least there wasn't
00:24:14.28\00:24:15.02
in first service.
00:24:15.12\00:24:15.95
Maybe somebody put something
00:24:16.05\00:24:17.09
up there out during second.
00:24:17.19\00:24:17.95
I don't know.
00:24:18.05\00:24:18.82
There's no "for sale" sign on
00:24:18.92\00:24:20.02
the front lawn, nor is there one
00:24:20.12\00:24:21.19
over at Ruth Murdoch or
00:24:21.29\00:24:22.02
Andrews Academy or
00:24:22.12\00:24:22.86
Andrews University,
00:24:22.96\00:24:23.69
because even though
00:24:23.79\00:24:26.16
we share a great deal
00:24:26.26\00:24:28.30
with other Christian entities,
00:24:28.40\00:24:30.60
even though we participate fully
00:24:30.70\00:24:32.83
and completely with passion
00:24:32.93\00:24:34.00
in the Great Commission
00:24:34.10\00:24:34.80
of Matthew 28:18-20,
00:24:34.90\00:24:36.91
even though all those things
00:24:37.01\00:24:38.17
are true, ultimately,
00:24:38.27\00:24:39.97
our mission is different.
00:24:40.08\00:24:43.55
It is not the same
00:24:43.65\00:24:44.91
as everybody else out there.
00:24:45.01\00:24:48.18
Because we take the
00:24:48.28\00:24:49.02
Great Commission and we take it
00:24:49.12\00:24:51.22
one final step further.
00:24:51.32\00:24:56.49
Would you like to know what
00:24:56.59\00:24:57.49
the mission of the
00:24:57.59\00:24:58.59
Seventh-Day Adventist Church is?
00:24:58.69\00:24:59.86
In fact, I'm going to ask you
00:24:59.96\00:25:00.86
to be bold.
00:25:00.96\00:25:01.70
Raise a hand if you'd like to
00:25:01.80\00:25:02.86
know what the mission of the
00:25:02.96\00:25:04.10
Seventh-Day Adventist Church is.
00:25:04.20\00:25:05.20
Okay?
00:25:05.30\00:25:07.07
Great. Come back next week,
00:25:07.17\00:25:07.94
and I'll tell you.
00:25:08.04\00:25:08.94
[ Laughter ]
00:25:09.04\00:25:09.67
Okay?
00:25:09.77\00:25:10.57
At least I'll begin to tell you.
00:25:10.67\00:25:12.31
This is actually the first --
00:25:12.41\00:25:13.98
This is part one of a four-part
00:25:14.08\00:25:15.41
series entitled
00:25:15.51\00:25:16.41
"Why We Are Here."
00:25:16.51\00:25:18.15
And it's going to be exploring
00:25:18.25\00:25:19.25
the mission of the
00:25:19.35\00:25:20.72
Seventh-Day Adventist Church,
00:25:20.82\00:25:21.82
the unique message and mission
00:25:21.92\00:25:23.22
of the Seventh-Day
00:25:23.32\00:25:23.79
Adventist Church.
00:25:23.89\00:25:25.02
And if you'd like to know
00:25:25.12\00:25:25.65
about those things,
00:25:25.75\00:25:26.49
I encourage you to come back and
00:25:26.59\00:25:27.79
and to listen
00:25:27.89\00:25:28.69
or to watch this online.
00:25:28.79\00:25:30.19
This is really important stuff.
00:25:30.29\00:25:32.63
If we get this wrong,
00:25:32.73\00:25:34.03
it will impact
00:25:34.13\00:25:35.36
millions of people for eternity.
00:25:35.46\00:25:38.40
This is really, really,
00:25:38.50\00:25:39.30
really important.
00:25:39.40\00:25:40.60
Not because I say so,
00:25:40.70\00:25:42.17
but because Christ Himself
00:25:42.27\00:25:43.54
has said so.
00:25:43.64\00:25:45.97
Now, the reason why I'm not just
00:25:46.07\00:25:47.71
diving into explaining what the
00:25:47.81\00:25:49.71
mission of the church is today
00:25:49.81\00:25:51.11
is because there's something
00:25:51.21\00:25:51.78
that we have to
00:25:51.88\00:25:52.31
We need to lay or
00:25:53.05\00:25:54.98
or perhaps revisit a
00:25:55.08\00:25:57.15
foundation that will help us
00:25:57.25\00:26:00.72
to understand what our
00:26:00.82\00:26:02.29
unique message and mission is.
00:26:02.39\00:26:04.13
It's a foundation which
00:26:04.23\00:26:05.66
has experienced some neglect
00:26:05.76\00:26:07.30
over time, in my opinion.
00:26:07.40\00:26:09.40
And I think if we can recapture
00:26:09.50\00:26:12.90
this, good things can happen.
00:26:13.00\00:26:18.61
Take a look at Revelation 12,
00:26:18.71\00:26:19.57
please.
00:26:19.67\00:26:21.64
Revelation, the 12th chapter,
00:26:21.74\00:26:24.85
beginning with Verse 13.
00:26:24.95\00:26:25.88
It's page 829 in your red pew
00:26:25.98\00:26:28.08
Bible.
00:26:28.18\00:26:28.58
829. Revelation 12,
00:26:28.68\00:26:34.52
beginning with Verse 13.
00:26:34.62\00:26:35.86
Now, I'm going to confess
00:26:35.96\00:26:37.16
something to you here.
00:26:37.26\00:26:38.26
In this series,
00:26:38.36\00:26:39.23
including right now,
00:26:39.33\00:26:41.10
I am going to cut some corners.
00:26:41.20\00:26:43.06
Okay? I'm going to make some
00:26:43.16\00:26:44.90
jumps that I am banking on some
00:26:45.00\00:26:47.00
previous knowledge on your part.
00:26:47.10\00:26:48.27
Now, if you are a guest
00:26:48.37\00:26:48.97
with us today,
00:26:49.07\00:26:49.77
if you're not a Seventh-Day
00:26:49.87\00:26:50.71
Adventist, if you're here
00:26:50.81\00:26:51.67
visiting us today, we are so
00:26:51.77\00:26:52.61
glad that you are here.
00:26:52.71\00:26:53.78
Thank you for coming.
00:26:53.88\00:26:54.91
You're in for a real treat
00:26:55.01\00:26:56.44
today and for the next
00:26:56.54\00:26:57.45
three Sabbaths here.
00:26:57.55\00:26:58.28
Come back anytime.
00:26:58.38\00:26:59.28
We'll save you a seat.
00:26:59.38\00:27:00.65
And it may be that I'm going
00:27:00.75\00:27:01.88
to cut some corners here,
00:27:01.98\00:27:02.98
and you're going to say,
00:27:03.08\00:27:03.95
"Wait a second.
00:27:04.05\00:27:04.85
I saw where he started,
00:27:04.95\00:27:06.02
but I don't know how he got to
00:27:06.12\00:27:07.12
where he ended."
00:27:07.22\00:27:07.92
Come and see me afterwards.
00:27:08.02\00:27:08.82
I'll be up here somewhere
00:27:08.92\00:27:09.52
in the front.
00:27:09.62\00:27:10.06
Come and see me.
00:27:10.16\00:27:10.83
You can call the church,
00:27:10.93\00:27:11.59
make an appointment.
00:27:11.69\00:27:12.36
Love to chat with you
00:27:12.46\00:27:13.06
and study more.
00:27:13.16\00:27:14.40
But in the interest of time,
00:27:14.50\00:27:16.30
they only give me 90 minutes
00:27:16.40\00:27:18.17
for this sermon, okay?
00:27:18.27\00:27:19.80
[ Laughter ]
00:27:21.70\00:27:23.97
That was a joke.
00:27:24.07\00:27:24.97
That's not true. Yeah, okay?
00:27:25.07\00:27:26.11
But I do have to be --
00:27:26.21\00:27:27.21
I have to pick and choose.
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.44
I have to be picky about what
00:27:28.54\00:27:29.74
I cover and what I don't cover.
00:27:29.84\00:27:30.58
So I am going to cut
00:27:30.68\00:27:31.41
some corners and I'm going
00:27:31.51\00:27:32.11
to start right now.
00:27:32.21\00:27:33.42
Those of you that are familiar
00:27:33.52\00:27:34.18
with Revelation 12,
00:27:34.28\00:27:35.68
in the beginning of the chapter,
00:27:35.78\00:27:36.69
there is this pure woman.
00:27:36.79\00:27:38.29
She has sun, moon, and stars
00:27:38.39\00:27:39.79
as her decoration here on her
00:27:39.89\00:27:40.89
head.
00:27:40.99\00:27:41.56
She represents what?
00:27:41.66\00:27:42.52
>> The church.
00:27:42.62\00:27:43.43
>> Okay, the church.
00:27:43.53\00:27:44.39
It represents
00:27:44.49\00:27:45.39
God's people, first of all,
00:27:45.49\00:27:46.43
in the Old Testament,
00:27:46.53\00:27:47.86
the Jewish nation, and then, by
00:27:47.96\00:27:49.13
extension, the Christian church
00:27:49.23\00:27:50.33
in the New Testament,
00:27:50.43\00:27:51.63
in the New Testament era.
00:27:51.73\00:27:52.80
There is a son
00:27:52.90\00:27:54.27
that is born from this woman.
00:27:54.37\00:27:55.50
The son represents...
00:27:55.60\00:27:56.37
>> Jesus.
00:27:56.47\00:27:57.04
>> Jesus. Okay.
00:27:57.14\00:27:57.97
And there is a dragon,
00:27:58.07\00:27:58.91
the villain
00:27:59.01\00:27:59.81
very much in this chapter.
00:27:59.91\00:28:01.04
The dragon represents...
00:28:01.14\00:28:02.54
Satan, okay?
00:28:02.64\00:28:03.18
And the text
00:28:03.28\00:28:04.51
is explicit about that.
00:28:04.61\00:28:05.58
We don't have to guess about it.
00:28:05.68\00:28:06.21
That is who
00:28:06.31\00:28:07.05
the dragon represents.
00:28:07.15\00:28:08.52
When Jesus is crucified, He lies
00:28:08.62\00:28:09.95
in the grave.
00:28:10.05\00:28:10.89
He is resurrected.
00:28:10.99\00:28:12.05
He goes back to heaven
00:28:12.15\00:28:13.22
and is inaugurated
00:28:13.32\00:28:14.66
in the heavenly sanctuary
00:28:14.76\00:28:15.72
as our High Priest.
00:28:15.82\00:28:17.53
When that happens, Satan is cast
00:28:17.63\00:28:19.63
to this planet, and
00:28:19.73\00:28:20.70
that's where we join the story.
00:28:20.80\00:28:21.63
Verse 13 of Revelation 12.
00:28:21.73\00:28:25.43
"When the dragon saw that he had
00:28:25.53\00:28:26.57
been hurled to the earth,
00:28:26.67\00:28:27.84
he pursued the woman who had
00:28:27.94\00:28:29.34
given birth to the male child.
00:28:29.44\00:28:31.47
The woman was given
00:28:31.57\00:28:32.54
the two wings of a great eagle
00:28:32.64\00:28:34.04
so that she might fly to
00:28:34.14\00:28:35.31
the place prepared for her
00:28:35.41\00:28:36.34
in the desert,
00:28:36.44\00:28:37.65
where she would be taken care of
00:28:37.75\00:28:39.31
for a time, times,
00:28:39.41\00:28:41.05
and half a time out
00:28:41.15\00:28:42.38
of the serpent's reach."
00:28:42.48\00:28:44.95
This is a representation of
00:28:45.05\00:28:46.22
a time of terrible persecution.
00:28:46.32\00:28:47.79
It's not the only persecution
00:28:47.89\00:28:49.46
that God's people will
00:28:49.56\00:28:50.29
experience, but it was an
00:28:50.39\00:28:51.39
intense time and it lasted for a
00:28:51.49\00:28:53.19
time, times, and half a time.
00:28:53.29\00:28:54.83
How long is that in years?
00:28:54.93\00:28:57.33
Okay, 1,260 days,
00:28:57.43\00:28:58.87
which equals 1,260 years.
00:28:58.97\00:29:00.20
1,260 years.
00:29:00.30\00:29:01.74
From 538 AD to 1798 AD,
00:29:01.84\00:29:04.81
that was this time of intense
00:29:04.91\00:29:06.07
persecution.
00:29:06.17\00:29:07.61
Now, the story continues here.
00:29:07.71\00:29:08.84
The devil's not done. Verse 15.
00:29:08.94\00:29:10.58
"Then from his mouth, the
00:29:10.68\00:29:11.98
serpent spewed water like a
00:29:12.08\00:29:13.45
river to overtake the woman and
00:29:13.55\00:29:14.88
sweep her away with the torrent.
00:29:14.98\00:29:16.58
But the earth helped the woman
00:29:16.69\00:29:17.49
by opening its mouth
00:29:17.59\00:29:18.59
and swallowing the river
00:29:18.69\00:29:19.95
that the dragon had spewed
00:29:20.06\00:29:21.09
out of his mouth."
00:29:21.19\00:29:21.92
Verse 17.
00:29:22.02\00:29:23.69
"Then the dragon was enraged
00:29:23.79\00:29:26.49
at the woman and went off --"
00:29:26.59\00:29:28.80
notice what happens here --
00:29:28.90\00:29:30.00
"to make war against the rest
00:29:30.10\00:29:33.50
of her offspring."
00:29:33.60\00:29:34.50
Hmm.
00:29:34.60\00:29:35.40
"The rest of her offspring."
00:29:35.50\00:29:36.27
And then it gives
00:29:36.37\00:29:36.81
this descriptor.
00:29:36.91\00:29:37.91
"Those who obey
00:29:38.01\00:29:39.14
God's commandments and hold
00:29:39.24\00:29:42.11
to the testimony of Jesus."
00:29:42.21\00:29:47.15
In the Greek here, the word
00:29:47.25\00:29:49.12
that's translated as "rest" --
00:29:49.22\00:29:50.75
"The rest of her offspring" --
00:29:50.85\00:29:51.82
is loipos.
00:29:51.92\00:29:52.75
That's the Greek word there.
00:29:52.85\00:29:54.12
It's where we get our English
00:29:54.22\00:29:55.39
word remnant from, okay?
00:29:55.49\00:29:57.73
"That which remains."
00:29:57.83\00:29:58.63
That's what the Greek word
00:29:58.73\00:29:59.76
loipos -- that's what it means.
00:29:59.86\00:30:00.86
That which remains of the
00:30:00.96\00:30:02.10
woman's seed.
00:30:02.20\00:30:03.26
In other words, this is the last
00:30:03.37\00:30:05.40
group of God's people on earth
00:30:05.50\00:30:07.27
just prior to the
00:30:07.37\00:30:08.67
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:30:08.77\00:30:10.84
And if we would say,
00:30:10.94\00:30:11.37
I want to know more about it.
00:30:12.47\00:30:13.38
How could you identify them?"
00:30:13.48\00:30:14.54
You can identify them by
00:30:14.64\00:30:15.44
at least these two
00:30:15.54\00:30:16.54
characteristics that are given.
00:30:16.64\00:30:17.58
Number one, they keep the
00:30:17.68\00:30:18.75
commandments of God.
00:30:18.85\00:30:20.38
And secondly, they have
00:30:20.48\00:30:21.52
this thing.
00:30:21.62\00:30:22.38
What's it called?
00:30:22.48\00:30:23.52
What's the second one?
00:30:23.62\00:30:25.92
The testimony of Jesus.
00:30:26.02\00:30:28.16
Well, I wonder what that is.
00:30:28.26\00:30:29.12
Well, we don't actually
00:30:29.22\00:30:29.79
have to wonder too much.
00:30:29.89\00:30:31.16
If you look at Revelation 19:10,
00:30:31.26\00:30:33.53
the testimony of Jesus is
00:30:33.63\00:30:35.10
the spirit of prophecy, right?
00:30:35.20\00:30:37.90
It's very easy to find these
00:30:38.00\00:30:38.97
answers there.
00:30:39.07\00:30:40.40
The spirit of prophecy.
00:30:40.50\00:30:41.44
In other words,
00:30:41.54\00:30:42.67
if we want to identify
00:30:42.77\00:30:44.01
this last group of God's people,
00:30:44.11\00:30:45.34
we need to look for a group,
00:30:45.44\00:30:46.37
at the bare minimum,
00:30:46.47\00:30:47.58
that, number one, takes all
00:30:47.68\00:30:48.88
of God's commandments seriously
00:30:48.98\00:30:50.75
and, number two, that takes
00:30:50.85\00:30:51.71
prophecy seriously.
00:30:51.81\00:30:53.82
Has the spirit of prophecy,
00:30:53.92\00:30:55.25
that has the gift of
00:30:55.35\00:30:56.65
prophecy expressed within them,
00:30:56.75\00:30:58.59
that takes Bible prophecy
00:30:58.69\00:30:59.95
in the Old Testament seriously,
00:31:00.12\00:31:01.32
that takes Bible prophecy
00:31:01.42\00:31:02.82
in the New Testament seriously,
00:31:02.92\00:31:04.26
that teaches
00:31:04.36\00:31:05.13
and preaches Bible prophecy
00:31:05.23\00:31:06.63
and that appreciates it.
00:31:06.73\00:31:10.40
That is God's remnant people.
00:31:10.50\00:31:13.94
Well, wouldn't you know?
00:31:14.04\00:31:16.37
In the middle of the 1800s,
00:31:16.47\00:31:19.24
there came a group of people,
00:31:19.34\00:31:21.91
headed by a retired sea captain
00:31:22.01\00:31:23.68
named Joseph Bates
00:31:23.78\00:31:25.48
and matched with a young married
00:31:25.58\00:31:27.25
couple, James and Ellen White.
00:31:27.35\00:31:30.45
And along with other leaders,
00:31:30.55\00:31:31.32
this tiny group
00:31:31.42\00:31:32.92
began to slowly grow,
00:31:33.02\00:31:34.39
and humbly and fearfully,
00:31:34.49\00:31:35.92
they came to see themselves
00:31:36.02\00:31:37.76
as a direct fulfillment
00:31:37.86\00:31:39.43
of Bible prophecy,
00:31:39.53\00:31:40.83
including, ultimately, the
00:31:40.93\00:31:42.43
prophecy of Revelation 12:17
00:31:42.53\00:31:45.00
that we just read.
00:31:45.10\00:31:46.70
They came to see themselves
00:31:46.80\00:31:47.77
as a group of people called
00:31:47.87\00:31:49.14
into existence by God Himself,
00:31:49.24\00:31:51.11
confirmed with miraculous
00:31:51.21\00:31:52.51
visions and other divine
00:31:52.61\00:31:54.04
phenomenon, commanded to prepare
00:31:54.14\00:31:55.68
the world not for the
00:31:55.78\00:31:57.05
First Coming of Jesus, but for
00:31:57.15\00:31:58.71
the Second Coming of Christ.
00:31:58.81\00:32:02.08
I'll tell you what -- that task
00:32:02.18\00:32:03.32
must have seemed impossible.
00:32:03.42\00:32:05.09
I mean, just a handful of people
00:32:05.19\00:32:06.62
to reach the world
00:32:06.72\00:32:08.06
for Jesus Christ,
00:32:08.16\00:32:08.92
to prepare the world
00:32:09.02\00:32:10.13
for the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:32:10.23\00:32:10.96
What a job.
00:32:11.06\00:32:14.03
And as impossible as it may
00:32:14.13\00:32:15.26
have seemed, as it turns out,
00:32:15.36\00:32:16.67
from that handful of people,
00:32:16.77\00:32:18.80
the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
00:32:18.90\00:32:20.44
today now numbers
00:32:20.54\00:32:21.97
more than 21 million
00:32:22.07\00:32:24.34
people around the world.
00:32:24.44\00:32:25.44
Someone say "Amen."
00:32:25.54\00:32:26.51
>> Amen.
00:32:26.61\00:32:27.41
>> That's incredible.
00:32:27.51\00:32:28.81
From so small a beginning to
00:32:28.91\00:32:30.38
21-plus million people.
00:32:30.48\00:32:31.91
You know, Ellen White has become
00:32:32.01\00:32:33.68
the most published female
00:32:33.78\00:32:35.05
author on religious topics
00:32:35.15\00:32:36.45
in the history of the world.
00:32:36.55\00:32:38.59
She was so influential,
00:32:38.69\00:32:40.09
even to this day, that in 2014,
00:32:40.19\00:32:41.59
Smithsonian Magazine
00:32:41.69\00:32:42.76
named her one of the top-100
00:32:42.86\00:32:44.26
most influential Americans
00:32:44.36\00:32:45.89
of all time.
00:32:45.99\00:32:48.30
And thanks to her commitment
00:32:48.40\00:32:50.13
and that of countless others,
00:32:50.23\00:32:51.63
the Adventist Church today
00:32:51.73\00:32:52.87
has the largest Protestant
00:32:52.97\00:32:54.04
school system in the world.
00:32:54.14\00:32:55.54
We also have the largest
00:32:55.64\00:32:56.27
Protestant
00:32:56.37\00:32:57.04
health system in the world,
00:32:57.14\00:32:58.07
with more than 500 institutions
00:32:58.17\00:32:59.57
in 65 different countries.
00:32:59.67\00:33:01.41
Our church membership --
00:33:01.51\00:33:03.01
on the ground, local churches --
00:33:03.11\00:33:04.35
it is growing by leaps
00:33:04.45\00:33:05.58
and bounds globally,
00:33:05.68\00:33:06.75
going strong, and meeting
00:33:06.85\00:33:08.12
with fantastic success.
00:33:08.22\00:33:10.02
Except in the Global West.
00:33:15.66\00:33:19.23
Yeah. That's us.
00:33:19.33\00:33:23.23
It's the United States, Europe,
00:33:23.33\00:33:24.70
England, UK, Australia.
00:33:24.80\00:33:28.30
In the West,
00:33:28.40\00:33:29.07
we're not quite keeping up
00:33:29.17\00:33:31.04
with the rest of the world.
00:33:31.14\00:33:32.91
In fact,
00:33:33.01\00:33:33.54
It's not that we're not growing.
00:33:34.74\00:33:35.54
In fact,
00:33:35.64\00:33:36.14
if you look at the stats,
00:33:36.24\00:33:37.28
we're actually ahead
00:33:37.38\00:33:38.65
of almost everybody else,
00:33:38.75\00:33:40.08
but the bar is pretty low.
00:33:40.18\00:33:42.15
Okay? And that same fire
00:33:42.25\00:33:45.32
and that same vigor
00:33:45.42\00:33:47.46
that is still running strong
00:33:47.56\00:33:48.96
in so many parts of the world,
00:33:49.06\00:33:50.49
and the Advent movement
00:33:50.59\00:33:51.49
isn't running so strong here.
00:33:51.59\00:33:57.03
And I wonder...
00:33:57.13\00:33:59.60
I wonder if we might benefit, in
00:33:59.70\00:34:03.44
the West, from a reminder,
00:34:03.54\00:34:08.44
from a refresher course
00:34:08.54\00:34:10.55
on what it means to be
00:34:10.65\00:34:11.88
a prophetic movement.
00:34:11.98\00:34:16.72
For if we can recapture
00:34:16.82\00:34:18.15
the Christ-centered passion
00:34:18.25\00:34:19.95
for our prophetic mission
00:34:20.06\00:34:22.06
that our foremothers
00:34:22.16\00:34:22.86
and forefathers had
00:34:22.96\00:34:24.39
and if we allow God's Spirit
00:34:24.49\00:34:25.93
to have His way in our lives,
00:34:26.03\00:34:27.73
revival will come,
00:34:27.83\00:34:30.20
we will be changed,
00:34:30.30\00:34:31.80
and, ultimately, the work
00:34:31.90\00:34:33.23
will be finished
00:34:33.34\00:34:34.60
and we can, at last, go home.
00:34:34.70\00:34:36.14
Would you like to see that
00:34:36.24\00:34:37.34
happen?
00:34:37.44\00:34:37.91
>> Amen.
00:34:38.01\00:34:38.84
>> I would love to see that
00:34:38.94\00:34:40.04
happen.
00:34:40.14\00:34:40.84
I -- Why live in this
00:34:40.94\00:34:42.51
neighborhood any longer
00:34:42.61\00:34:44.25
than you have to, right?
00:34:44.35\00:34:45.91
This corner of the galaxy
00:34:46.01\00:34:46.98
isn't so friendly.
00:34:47.08\00:34:48.35
It's time to go home.
00:34:48.45\00:34:51.85
So, if that's going to happen
00:34:51.95\00:34:54.12
and if that revival and
00:34:54.22\00:34:55.42
reformation that is prophesied
00:34:55.52\00:34:56.62
is going to come to pass,
00:34:56.73\00:34:58.69
I would suggest that we can move
00:34:58.79\00:34:59.96
in that direction by asking
00:35:00.13\00:35:01.20
and answering at least
00:35:01.30\00:35:02.73
one simple question --
00:35:02.83\00:35:04.53
what does it mean
00:35:04.63\00:35:06.74
to be a prophet for God?
00:35:06.84\00:35:11.67
Let that sink in.
00:35:11.77\00:35:12.77
What does it mean to be
00:35:12.87\00:35:14.71
a prophet for God?
00:35:14.81\00:35:17.91
You see, we are a prophetic
00:35:18.01\00:35:19.18
movement of God,
00:35:19.28\00:35:21.65
and if we can study
00:35:21.75\00:35:22.62
how God led the individual
00:35:22.72\00:35:23.95
prophets in the Bible,
00:35:24.05\00:35:25.42
we will gain a better
00:35:25.52\00:35:26.62
understanding of how we, as
00:35:26.72\00:35:27.79
a prophetic movement,
00:35:27.89\00:35:29.39
can function best.
00:35:29.49\00:35:31.59
All of which,
00:35:31.69\00:35:32.63
to my way of thinking,
00:35:32.73\00:35:33.56
is absolutely essential
00:35:33.66\00:35:34.83
when we begin, next week,
00:35:34.93\00:35:36.13
to look at the unique message
00:35:36.23\00:35:37.03
and mission of the
00:35:37.13\00:35:38.00
Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
00:35:38.10\00:35:40.54
So, let's get to it.
00:35:40.64\00:35:42.07
Three lessons on prophets
00:35:42.17\00:35:45.37
and prophetic movements.
00:35:45.47\00:35:46.41
Lesson number one --
00:35:46.51\00:35:47.71
Jeremiah 23, please, Verse 16.
00:35:47.81\00:35:50.25
Jeremiah 23,
00:35:50.35\00:35:52.85
beginning with Verse 16.
00:35:52.95\00:35:53.92
It's on page 525 in your red pew
00:35:54.02\00:35:55.22
Bible.
00:35:55.32\00:35:56.95
525. Jeremiah Chapter 23,
00:35:57.05\00:35:59.59
beginning with Verse 16.
00:35:59.69\00:36:01.52
Let me just set the stage here.
00:36:01.62\00:36:02.92
In this particular story,
00:36:03.02\00:36:04.13
Israel is in apostasy.
00:36:04.23\00:36:05.73
God has sent them prophets
00:36:05.83\00:36:07.76
to help bring them back to Him.
00:36:07.86\00:36:09.73
In this case, the prophet
00:36:09.83\00:36:10.83
in question is Jeremiah.
00:36:10.93\00:36:13.00
At the same time that God
00:36:13.10\00:36:15.24
is sending a true prophet,
00:36:15.34\00:36:16.40
Jeremiah, to Israel, Satan
00:36:16.50\00:36:18.51
is generating false prophets,
00:36:18.61\00:36:20.04
and they outnumber
00:36:20.14\00:36:20.81
Jeremiah easily.
00:36:20.91\00:36:21.74
I mean, if you read
00:36:21.84\00:36:22.84
the details of the story,
00:36:22.94\00:36:24.21
there are false prophets galore,
00:36:24.31\00:36:25.35
and they're saying things,
00:36:25.45\00:36:26.35
et cetera, et cetera.
00:36:26.45\00:36:27.22
God intervenes in this
00:36:27.32\00:36:30.12
situation.
00:36:30.22\00:36:31.59
Here's what he says. Verse 16.
00:36:31.69\00:36:33.15
"This is what
00:36:33.25\00:36:33.82
the Lord Almighty says.
00:36:33.92\00:36:35.89
'Do not listen
00:36:35.99\00:36:37.26
to what the prophets --'"
00:36:37.36\00:36:39.23
these are the false prophets --
00:36:39.33\00:36:41.33
"'are prophesying to you.
00:36:41.43\00:36:43.57
They fill you with false hopes.
00:36:43.67\00:36:46.10
They speak visions from
00:36:46.20\00:36:47.34
their own minds,
00:36:47.44\00:36:48.97
not from the mouth of the Lord.
00:36:49.07\00:36:50.77
They keep saying to those
00:36:50.87\00:36:52.24
who despise me, "The Lord says,
00:36:52.34\00:36:54.01
you will have peace."
00:36:54.11\00:36:55.58
And to all who follow
00:36:55.68\00:36:56.34
the stubbornness
00:36:56.44\00:36:57.11
of their hearts, they say,
00:36:57.21\00:36:58.41
"No harm will come to you."
00:36:58.51\00:37:01.18
But which of them has stood
00:37:01.28\00:37:02.62
in the council of the Lord
00:37:02.72\00:37:04.35
to see or hear His word?
00:37:04.45\00:37:05.75
Who has listened
00:37:05.85\00:37:06.55
and heard His word?
00:37:06.65\00:37:08.92
See, the storm of the Lord
00:37:09.02\00:37:10.89
will burst out in wrath,
00:37:10.99\00:37:12.66
a whirlwind swirling down
00:37:12.76\00:37:13.90
on the heads of the wicked.
00:37:14.00\00:37:14.83
The anger of the Lord will not
00:37:14.93\00:37:15.76
turn back
00:37:15.86\00:37:16.53
until he fully accomplishes
00:37:16.63\00:37:17.73
the purposes of His heart.
00:37:17.83\00:37:18.90
In days to come,
00:37:19.00\00:37:20.27
you will understand it clearly.
00:37:20.37\00:37:22.20
I did not send these prophets,
00:37:22.30\00:37:26.51
yet they have run
00:37:26.61\00:37:27.71
with their message.
00:37:27.81\00:37:29.51
I did not speak to them,
00:37:29.61\00:37:31.01
yet they have prophesied.'"
00:37:31.11\00:37:32.61
Verse 22.
00:37:32.71\00:37:34.72
"'But if they had stood
00:37:34.82\00:37:37.19
in my counsel,
00:37:37.29\00:37:39.72
they would have proclaimed
00:37:39.82\00:37:41.82
my words to my people
00:37:41.92\00:37:45.13
and would have turned them
00:37:45.23\00:37:46.09
from their evil ways
00:37:46.19\00:37:47.23
and from their evil deeds.'"
00:37:47.30\00:37:52.27
Lesson number one
00:37:52.37\00:37:55.37
about being a prophet of God
00:37:55.47\00:37:56.94
and a prophetic movement of God
00:37:57.04\00:37:58.07
is this.
00:37:58.17\00:37:59.71
Prophets are to do and say what
00:37:59.81\00:38:03.71
God commands them to do and say.
00:38:03.81\00:38:07.02
Now, you may have been
00:38:10.92\00:38:12.72
expecting something
00:38:12.82\00:38:13.72
a little bit more ethereal.
00:38:13.82\00:38:15.19
Sorry for the practicality.
00:38:15.29\00:38:17.46
This is what it says.
00:38:17.56\00:38:18.53
This is what God,
00:38:18.63\00:38:19.69
through Jeremiah,
00:38:19.79\00:38:20.40
This is the crux of the problem.
00:38:21.90\00:38:23.00
There are prophets --
00:38:23.10\00:38:23.93
"prophets" --
00:38:24.03\00:38:25.70
but they are not speaking
00:38:25.80\00:38:27.04
what God has asked to be spoken.
00:38:27.14\00:38:29.70
The message here
00:38:29.80\00:38:30.44
is crystal-clear.
00:38:30.54\00:38:31.54
The agenda of a true prophet
00:38:31.64\00:38:33.51
of God is not up to the prophet.
00:38:33.61\00:38:36.64
It's not up to a committee.
00:38:36.75\00:38:37.91
It's not up to
00:38:38.01\00:38:39.21
a group of people to sit down
00:38:39.31\00:38:40.48
and decide, "Well, here's
00:38:40.58\00:38:41.55
what we think God's prophets
00:38:41.65\00:38:42.65
or God's prophetic movements
00:38:42.75\00:38:43.55
ought to say."
00:38:43.65\00:38:44.49
No. The agenda of a true prophet
00:38:44.59\00:38:46.69
of God is not up to the prophet.
00:38:46.79\00:38:48.06
It's up to God.
00:38:48.16\00:38:49.52
And what was true for the
00:38:49.62\00:38:51.53
Old and New Testament prophet
00:38:51.63\00:38:53.19
is just as true today
00:38:53.29\00:38:54.46
for prophetic movements.
00:38:54.56\00:38:55.73
We must be faithful
00:38:55.83\00:38:58.63
to the specific charge
00:38:58.73\00:39:00.24
that God has given to us.
00:39:00.34\00:39:03.14
We must say and do the things
00:39:03.24\00:39:05.04
that God would have us to say
00:39:05.14\00:39:06.81
and do, regardless of the cost,
00:39:06.91\00:39:10.18
regardless of the difficulty,
00:39:10.28\00:39:13.11
and regardless of -- listen
00:39:13.21\00:39:14.72
carefully -- of the awkwardness
00:39:14.82\00:39:16.69
that can sometimes bring.
00:39:16.79\00:39:20.99
Which brings us
00:39:21.09\00:39:21.92
to lesson number two.
00:39:22.02\00:39:23.06
Lesson number two is built
00:39:23.16\00:39:24.23
squarely on lesson number one.
00:39:24.33\00:39:25.83
I want to put a series of texts
00:39:25.93\00:39:27.30
up here on the screen for you.
00:39:27.40\00:39:28.40
And who knows?
00:39:28.50\00:39:29.16
Maybe by the end
00:39:29.26\00:39:30.20
of it, you will already know
00:39:30.30\00:39:31.77
what lesson number two is.
00:39:31.87\00:39:34.90
Isaiah chapter 20:1-4.
00:39:35.00\00:39:37.27
Isaiah's a prophet.
00:39:46.61\00:39:47.98
Ezekiel 5:1-3.
00:40:17.41\00:40:20.92
This is God speaking to Ezekiel.
00:40:21.02\00:40:22.48
A few strands of hair
00:40:53.25\00:40:54.68
as a remnant.
00:40:54.78\00:40:56.32
Hmm. Jesus, the greatest
00:40:56.42\00:40:58.99
of all the prophets.
00:40:59.09\00:40:59.92
Mark 8:22-23.
00:41:00.09\00:41:02.46
"Then He --" What did He do?
00:41:11.30\00:41:14.00
I didn't hear you. What'd He do?
00:41:14.10\00:41:15.07
>> Spit.
00:41:15.17\00:41:15.64
>> He spit.
00:41:15.74\00:41:16.30
Ooh! Aah! Mm!
00:41:16.40\00:41:18.64
If your optometrist
00:41:24.15\00:41:25.28
is doing this to you,
00:41:25.38\00:41:26.01
find another doctor, okay?
00:41:26.11\00:41:28.32
Acts 21. Last one here.
00:41:28.42\00:41:30.05
Verses 10 and 11.
00:41:30.15\00:41:31.72
Can you see lesson number two?
00:41:50.91\00:41:53.01
It's practically shouting
00:41:53.11\00:41:53.81
out to you, okay?
00:41:53.91\00:41:56.01
Lesson number one was
00:41:56.11\00:41:57.08
that prophets are to say
00:41:57.18\00:41:58.35
and do what God commands them
00:41:58.45\00:41:59.38
to say and do.
00:41:59.48\00:42:00.68
Lesson number two -- God
00:42:00.78\00:42:02.48
often commands prophets to say
00:42:02.58\00:42:04.09
and do strange things.
00:42:04.19\00:42:05.59
That's almost not debatable,
00:42:10.89\00:42:11.73
isn't it?
00:42:11.83\00:42:12.49
I mean, we just read the
00:42:12.59\00:42:13.36
evidence.
00:42:13.46\00:42:14.23
There's more, by the way, where
00:42:14.36\00:42:15.33
that came from.
00:42:15.43\00:42:16.33
We left the line on one side,
00:42:16.43\00:42:17.37
you know, for --
00:42:17.47\00:42:18.27
We left all that out.
00:42:18.37\00:42:19.37
There's much more out there,
00:42:19.47\00:42:20.24
right?
00:42:20.34\00:42:21.70
God often commands prophets to
00:42:21.80\00:42:23.57
say and to do strange things.
00:42:23.67\00:42:26.84
The life of a prophet, of a true
00:42:26.94\00:42:29.01
prophet of God, is not normal.
00:42:29.11\00:42:31.65
This has driven many
00:42:31.75\00:42:33.01
a theological scholar to
00:42:33.11\00:42:34.52
their wits' ends trying to
00:42:34.62\00:42:35.68
figure out how the rules apply
00:42:35.78\00:42:37.05
with prophets, because it seems
00:42:37.15\00:42:38.59
that there are some different
00:42:38.69\00:42:39.32
rules for prophets.
00:42:39.42\00:42:40.69
I mean, you see the average
00:42:40.79\00:42:41.59
person who's following God
00:42:41.69\00:42:42.86
throughout salvation history,
00:42:42.96\00:42:44.13
and then you come to a prophet.
00:42:44.23\00:42:45.76
And the average day
00:42:45.86\00:42:46.49
at the office is shaving
00:42:46.59\00:42:47.50
your head with a sword
00:42:47.60\00:42:48.46
and weighing it on a scale?
00:42:48.56\00:42:49.76
I mean, how does that work,
00:42:49.86\00:42:51.23
right?
00:42:51.33\00:42:52.87
Being a prophet of God
00:42:52.97\00:42:54.34
is not a normal thing.
00:42:54.44\00:42:57.27
Sometimes, they get asked to do
00:42:57.37\00:42:58.97
and say strange things.
00:42:59.07\00:43:03.18
Now, I want to be clear
00:43:03.28\00:43:04.21
about something.
00:43:04.31\00:43:06.28
Just because God sometimes
00:43:06.38\00:43:08.42
calls a prophetic movement
00:43:08.52\00:43:10.45
to say strange things
00:43:10.55\00:43:11.89
doesn't mean that we embrace
00:43:11.99\00:43:13.59
everything that is strange.
00:43:13.69\00:43:16.32
You follow me? Right?
00:43:16.42\00:43:18.49
And, furthermore, nor does
00:43:18.59\00:43:20.20
it mean that everything we say
00:43:20.30\00:43:21.80
or do must be strange
00:43:21.90\00:43:23.60
in order to be from God.
00:43:23.70\00:43:26.00
Alright? So we're not looking
00:43:26.10\00:43:27.37
to be fools out there unless
00:43:27.47\00:43:28.80
it's absolutely necessary.
00:43:28.90\00:43:31.17
Right?
00:43:31.27\00:43:33.84
But sometimes, make no mistake,
00:43:33.94\00:43:36.71
God asks prophets
00:43:36.81\00:43:38.38
and prophetic movements to say
00:43:38.48\00:43:40.48
some apparently strange things.
00:43:40.58\00:43:44.49
You know, honestly here,
00:43:44.59\00:43:45.79
the Adventist Church,
00:43:45.89\00:43:46.89
we've had it pretty easy
00:43:46.99\00:43:47.82
compared to others.
00:43:47.92\00:43:48.92
I mean, I've never been asked
00:43:49.02\00:43:49.82
to shave my head by God.
00:43:49.92\00:43:51.03
I'm guessing you haven't either.
00:43:51.13\00:43:52.76
We're not spitting in
00:43:52.86\00:43:53.66
people's faces, praise the Lord.
00:43:53.76\00:43:54.83
I'm a fan of not doing that.
00:43:54.93\00:43:56.00
I think that's a nice thing,
00:43:56.10\00:43:56.56
alright?
00:43:56.67\00:43:57.80
And, yet, there
00:43:57.90\00:43:59.70
are some voices in the church
00:43:59.80\00:44:01.50
that have nonetheless been
00:44:01.60\00:44:02.97
made sufficiently uncomfortable
00:44:03.07\00:44:04.84
by what God has asked the church
00:44:04.94\00:44:06.88
to say and do
00:44:06.98\00:44:08.64
that they have become quite
00:44:08.74\00:44:10.01
creative in finding excuses
00:44:10.11\00:44:11.98
to avoid saying and doing it.
00:44:12.08\00:44:14.95
For instance,
00:44:15.05\00:44:16.69
some have said that
00:44:16.79\00:44:18.82
while the founders of the Advent
00:44:18.92\00:44:20.36
movement were correct in their
00:44:20.46\00:44:21.92
understanding of Bible prophecy,
00:44:22.02\00:44:23.89
they ultimately only had
00:44:23.99\00:44:25.56
a message for their time.
00:44:25.66\00:44:29.33
"We have grown up now,"
00:44:29.43\00:44:30.83
such critics, in essence, say.
00:44:30.93\00:44:32.17
"We no longer have need
00:44:32.27\00:44:33.34
of dealing with the
00:44:33.44\00:44:34.54
sometimes-challenging nature
00:44:34.64\00:44:35.80
of Bible prophecy.
00:44:35.90\00:44:37.34
We've matured beyond that."
00:44:37.44\00:44:41.48
Others offer a slightly
00:44:41.58\00:44:42.48
different excuse, in essence
00:44:42.58\00:44:43.48
saying something like this.
00:44:43.58\00:44:44.61
"It's been 160, 170,
00:44:44.71\00:44:46.35
180 years since Adventism
00:44:46.45\00:44:48.18
started talking about
00:44:48.28\00:44:49.25
Bible prophecy being fulfilled.
00:44:49.35\00:44:50.99
Obviously, anything that takes
00:44:51.09\00:44:52.55
that long to fulfill
00:44:52.65\00:44:53.72
is past its use-by date.
00:44:53.82\00:44:56.56
It's time to start talking about
00:44:56.66\00:44:57.93
and focusing on something else
00:44:58.03\00:44:59.16
more relevant to our time."
00:44:59.26\00:45:01.06
To these critiques, I would
00:45:07.64\00:45:10.41
gently offer the following.
00:45:10.51\00:45:14.44
The last prophecy in the Bible,
00:45:14.54\00:45:16.31
the Book of Revelation,
00:45:16.41\00:45:17.78
dates from the end
00:45:17.88\00:45:18.68
of the 1st century AD --
00:45:18.78\00:45:20.02
It's about AD 90, AD 92,
00:45:20.12\00:45:21.82
somewhere in that range,
00:45:21.92\00:45:22.72
is when John the Revelator
00:45:22.82\00:45:23.99
finished the Book of Revelation.
00:45:24.09\00:45:26.45
The prophecies of Daniel were
00:45:26.55\00:45:28.42
written in the 6th century BC.
00:45:28.52\00:45:31.66
Now, the reason I mention that
00:45:31.76\00:45:32.63
is because the Advent movement,
00:45:32.73\00:45:33.80
in the beginning,
00:45:33.90\00:45:34.83
was built upon those two books.
00:45:34.93\00:45:36.20
I mean, yes, we pay attention
00:45:36.30\00:45:37.33
to the entire corpus
00:45:37.43\00:45:38.40
of Scripture, absolutely.
00:45:38.50\00:45:39.67
And Daniel and Revelation
00:45:39.77\00:45:41.14
figured most prominently
00:45:41.24\00:45:42.70
in our understanding
00:45:42.80\00:45:43.87
of our identity and our calling.
00:45:43.97\00:45:45.04
No question about it.
00:45:45.14\00:45:47.34
Most people, furthermore,
00:45:47.44\00:45:49.18
in the church today
00:45:49.28\00:45:50.85
agree that those prophecies
00:45:50.95\00:45:52.48
were relevant when the Adventist
00:45:52.58\00:45:54.35
Church was getting started.
00:45:54.45\00:45:55.62
In other words -- do the math --
00:45:55.72\00:45:58.05
for more than two millennia,
00:45:58.15\00:45:59.62
the prophecies didn't go stale.
00:45:59.72\00:46:03.32
2,000 years.
00:46:03.43\00:46:04.69
That's a pretty good shelf life.
00:46:04.79\00:46:08.70
But then, magically, in the last
00:46:08.80\00:46:10.80
mere 170-or-so years,
00:46:10.90\00:46:14.84
they've gone stale?
00:46:14.94\00:46:17.64
Really? How does that work?
00:46:17.74\00:46:21.41
When did that happen exactly?
00:46:21.51\00:46:23.91
Did we go to bed one day
00:46:24.01\00:46:25.45
and they were relevant,
00:46:25.55\00:46:26.38
and the next day, they weren't?
00:46:26.48\00:46:29.18
At what point does a
00:46:29.28\00:46:30.39
not-yet-fulfilled prophecy
00:46:30.49\00:46:31.79
become not a prophecy at all?
00:46:31.89\00:46:34.76
And this notion that we have
00:46:34.86\00:46:36.22
become so advanced now,
00:46:36.32\00:46:37.66
so sophisticated that we no
00:46:37.76\00:46:39.13
longer need Bible prophecy --
00:46:39.23\00:46:42.20
Boy, I tell you what.
00:46:42.30\00:46:43.37
Every time I open a news site
00:46:43.47\00:46:45.60
on the web, I learn exactly how
00:46:45.70\00:46:48.30
mature and sophisticated
00:46:48.40\00:46:49.80
we really are as a society.
00:46:49.90\00:46:52.81
How's that working out for you?
00:46:52.91\00:46:55.48
Not so well.
00:46:55.58\00:46:58.45
You know, our iPhones
00:46:58.55\00:46:59.61
and our iPads and our
00:46:59.71\00:47:01.28
modern procedures
00:47:01.38\00:47:02.32
and advanced modes of travel,
00:47:02.42\00:47:03.55
et cetera -- they have not
00:47:03.65\00:47:05.29
brought us to heaven.
00:47:05.39\00:47:08.16
We have not evolved to a point
00:47:08.26\00:47:10.39
where we no longer need
00:47:10.49\00:47:11.73
the prophetic Word of God.
00:47:11.83\00:47:12.79
Far from it.
00:47:12.89\00:47:13.73
We need it now more than ever.
00:47:13.83\00:47:17.17
And I would even add this.
00:47:17.27\00:47:18.70
I would gently assert
00:47:18.80\00:47:19.97
that the question of
00:47:20.07\00:47:21.30
the relevance of prophecy,
00:47:21.40\00:47:22.44
et cetera is not one of time
00:47:22.54\00:47:24.94
that has elapsed since 1844,
00:47:25.04\00:47:27.28
1863, when we adopted
00:47:27.38\00:47:29.21
the name Seventh-Day Adventist.
00:47:29.31\00:47:30.71
It's not a matter of technology.
00:47:30.81\00:47:32.21
It is, instead, a question
00:47:32.31\00:47:33.62
of respect for and loyalty
00:47:33.72\00:47:35.62
to God's calling, God's power,
00:47:35.72\00:47:37.32
and His promises.
00:47:37.42\00:47:38.69
You see, when we're
00:47:38.79\00:47:40.32
dealing with a human promise,
00:47:40.42\00:47:42.49
you can take it or leave it.
00:47:42.59\00:47:43.53
Who knows if it will last?
00:47:43.63\00:47:44.76
But when God promises something,
00:47:44.86\00:47:46.53
it's going to stay.
00:47:46.63\00:47:48.30
It's going to happen.
00:47:48.40\00:47:49.40
And, again,
00:47:49.50\00:47:50.47
this is not because I say so.
00:47:50.57\00:47:52.17
This type of accusation
00:47:52.27\00:47:53.67
against Bible prophecy has been
00:47:53.77\00:47:54.74
around for a long time.
00:47:54.84\00:47:56.10
Even the disciples had to deal
00:47:56.20\00:47:57.04
with it.
00:47:57.14\00:47:57.84
Let me show you what I mean.
00:47:57.94\00:47:59.01
Peter, in 2 Peter 3, had this to
00:47:59.11\00:48:01.94
say about this very thing
00:48:02.04\00:48:03.14
we're talking about.
00:48:03.24\00:48:04.21
He says, "Beloved,
00:48:04.31\00:48:05.38
this is now my second
00:48:05.48\00:48:06.45
letter to you.
00:48:06.55\00:48:07.52
Both of them are reminders
00:48:07.62\00:48:09.55
to stir you to --" What kind of
00:48:09.65\00:48:11.05
thinking does it say?
00:48:11.15\00:48:12.29
"Wholesome thinking."
00:48:12.39\00:48:13.66
The word here means to maturity,
00:48:13.76\00:48:15.36
to goodness, this totality of
00:48:15.46\00:48:16.89
God and His goodness.
00:48:16.99\00:48:18.36
This is what Peter is trying to
00:48:18.46\00:48:19.33
spur people on to.
00:48:19.43\00:48:20.50
How do we get there?
00:48:20.60\00:48:22.70
"By recalling what was foretold
00:48:22.80\00:48:25.50
by the holy --" Who?
00:48:25.60\00:48:26.74
>> Prophets.
00:48:26.84\00:48:27.80
>> Ah! Interesting.
00:48:27.90\00:48:29.27
How old were the holy prophets
00:48:29.37\00:48:30.54
when Peter said that?
00:48:30.64\00:48:33.11
400 years? 500 years?
00:48:33.21\00:48:35.34
Still very relevant,
00:48:35.44\00:48:36.51
obviously relevant.
00:48:36.61\00:48:37.28
The Spirit of God
00:48:37.38\00:48:38.18
inspires Peter to say, "Hey,
00:48:38.28\00:48:39.35
point the people back to this."
00:48:39.45\00:48:40.98
What's old is new, huh?
00:49:03.20\00:49:04.71
Translation --
00:49:23.16\00:49:24.76
when God says something is going
00:49:24.86\00:49:26.49
to happen, it's going to happen.
00:49:26.59\00:49:28.43
How do we know?
00:49:28.53\00:49:29.30
Because there's still ground
00:49:29.40\00:49:30.47
for us to stand on.
00:49:30.57\00:49:31.80
The earth is here.
00:49:31.90\00:49:32.90
God spoke, and the world
00:49:33.00\00:49:34.07
came into existence.
00:49:34.17\00:49:34.90
The stars, the universe --
00:49:35.00\00:49:36.24
it was all created by His hand.
00:49:36.34\00:49:38.01
Ladies and gentlemen, that is
00:49:38.11\00:49:38.91
power on an unfathomable scale.
00:49:39.01\00:49:41.51
You cannot match that.
00:49:41.61\00:49:42.54
I cannot match that.
00:49:42.64\00:49:43.65
All the nuclear bombs in the
00:49:43.75\00:49:44.75
world, if exploded at once,
00:49:44.85\00:49:46.08
God would say, "Did something
00:49:46.18\00:49:47.55
happen?"
00:49:47.65\00:49:48.72
You know, because His power
00:49:48.82\00:49:50.79
dwarfs all, and that same power
00:49:50.89\00:49:52.45
is the one that said,
00:49:52.55\00:49:53.72
"Behold, I am coming soon."
00:49:53.82\00:49:55.99
God's promise will stand.
00:49:56.09\00:49:58.89
Every other one He's made
00:49:58.99\00:50:00.53
has been fulfilled on time,
00:50:00.63\00:50:02.16
exactly in the way that
00:50:02.26\00:50:03.67
He said it would be fulfilled.
00:50:03.77\00:50:05.07
And the promises
00:50:05.17\00:50:05.80
of the Second Coming
00:50:05.90\00:50:06.70
and the unfulfilled prophecies
00:50:06.80\00:50:07.87
of this time,
00:50:07.97\00:50:09.20
they will all come to pass,
00:50:09.30\00:50:12.04
just as certainly as God is God
00:50:12.14\00:50:13.51
and still sitting on His throne.
00:50:13.61\00:50:15.91
Peter finishes with this.
00:50:16.01\00:50:17.31
Unless the Lord
00:50:30.19\00:50:30.79
specifically says so,
00:50:30.89\00:50:31.99
there is no expiration date
00:50:32.09\00:50:34.20
on unfulfilled prophecy.
00:50:34.30\00:50:36.26
It will come to pass.
00:50:36.36\00:50:39.63
So I want to be clear here,
00:50:39.73\00:50:41.27
and I'm not trying to spook
00:50:41.37\00:50:42.27
anyone or drive anyone off.
00:50:42.37\00:50:43.94
I'm just telling you the truth.
00:50:44.04\00:50:45.91
If you are looking
00:50:46.01\00:50:47.24
for a denomination
00:50:47.34\00:50:48.88
that is guaranteed to never make
00:50:48.98\00:50:50.81
you or others uncomfortable,
00:50:50.91\00:50:53.11
don't join a prophetic movement.
00:50:53.21\00:50:55.88
Don't do it.
00:50:55.98\00:50:57.02
Save yourself the trouble.
00:50:57.12\00:50:59.59
If you're looking for a
00:50:59.69\00:51:00.56
denomination that is always
00:51:00.66\00:51:02.02
mainstream or eternally cool
00:51:02.12\00:51:03.86
by the world's standard,
00:51:03.96\00:51:05.19
don't join a prophetic movement.
00:51:05.29\00:51:07.93
Just save yourself the trouble.
00:51:08.00\00:51:10.67
But...
00:51:10.77\00:51:12.67
on the other hand, if you have
00:51:12.77\00:51:14.77
grown weary of a picture of God
00:51:14.87\00:51:16.60
who supposedly accepts
00:51:16.71\00:51:17.81
everything and stands for
00:51:17.91\00:51:18.91
nothing, if you're tired of
00:51:19.01\00:51:21.04
hearing that God and the Bible
00:51:21.14\00:51:22.31
are nebulous abstractions
00:51:22.41\00:51:24.05
rather than tangible realities,
00:51:24.15\00:51:25.95
if you're hungering
00:51:26.05\00:51:27.08
for a spiritual adventure
00:51:27.18\00:51:28.22
that will stretch you
00:51:28.32\00:51:28.88
to the nth degree
00:51:28.98\00:51:29.98
and lead you to a life
00:51:30.09\00:51:31.25
where love and justice and mercy
00:51:31.35\00:51:33.05
and faith are real experiences,
00:51:33.15\00:51:35.09
where you really do walk hand
00:51:35.19\00:51:36.49
in hand with Jesus Christ
00:51:36.59\00:51:37.73
in the final days
00:51:37.83\00:51:38.66
of Earth's history,
00:51:38.76\00:51:39.83
then maybe you're ready to join
00:51:39.93\00:51:41.40
a prophetic movement.
00:51:41.50\00:51:45.60
Which brings us to lesson
00:51:45.70\00:51:46.30
number three.
00:51:46.40\00:51:48.00
Mark 1, please, Verse 14.
00:51:48.10\00:51:50.44
Page 673 in your red Bible.
00:51:50.54\00:51:53.48
Page 673. Mark 1:14.
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And we'll read, also, Verse 15.
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The scene is this.
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This is
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very early in Jesus' ministry.
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In the previous verses,
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if we were to read,
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Jesus has been baptized.
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He's wandered in the wilderness
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and now He's beginning
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His public ministry.
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Verse 14 -- it says,
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"After John was put in prison,
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Jesus went into Galilee
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proclaiming
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the good news of God."
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And notice what he says here --
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Verse 15.
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"'The time is fulfilled,'
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He said.
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'The time is fulfilled.
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The kingdom of God is near.
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Repent and believe
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the good news.'"
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Now, some of your translations
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may say, "The time has come."
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It's an acceptable translation.
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But the thrust
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of the language here is that
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prophecy has been fulfilled.
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Do you remember what happened
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when Jesus was baptized?
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Jesus baptized --
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He comes up out of the water.
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What comes down out of heaven?
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Okay, the dove.
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It's the Holy Spirit, in the
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form of a dove, anointing him.
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He is now
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officially the Anointed One.
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It is the fulfillment
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of 490 years of prophecy.
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You know, 457 BC to 27 AD.
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Right on time.
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Jesus, the Son of God,
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the Messiah, is anointed
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as such, and He begins
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His public ministry.
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This is what Jesus is saying,
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the greatest of the prophets.
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This is what He is saying.
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It says, "'The time is
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fulfilled,' He said.
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'The kingdom of God is near.
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Repent and believe the good
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news.'"
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Lesson number one for a prophet
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is, the prophets are to say
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and do what God commands them
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to say and do.
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Number two,
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God often commands prophets
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to say and do strange things.
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And lesson number three --
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prophets say and do strange
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things because God is trying to
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rescue people from disaster.
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This is what Jesus is saying.
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You know, "The prophecy has been
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fulfilled, so repent
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and believe the good news.
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I've come here to save you,"
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Jesus says.
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You know, we didn't
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sit down in a committee --
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God did not have
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a special meeting.
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"Gabriel, I'm bored here
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at the end of time.
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Couldn't we come up with
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something that was interesting
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so I could have a reason to get
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out of bed in the morning?
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I know, let's start a remnant
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prophetic movement."
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No, that's not what happened.
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That's not what happened.
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Instead, God is deadly
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serious about this.
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God looks at the world
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in these last days,
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and He said, "You know what?
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I've got some good sons
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and daughters down there,
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and they're doing
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some good things,
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but there are millions upon
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millions of people that aren't
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ready for my son to return.
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I've got to do something
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different.
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I've got to do something
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that will get their attention.
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I need to raise up a prophetic
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movement that will do
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what I ask them to do and say
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what I ask them to say,
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because only then will there
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be many, many, many people
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that will end up in my kingdom."
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The peculiarness has a point.
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Now, ladies and gentlemen,
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this job is not easy.
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This is not something
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that we can do on our own steam.
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And some people look at
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prophecy, and if they take it
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seriously, they look at what the
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Bible has to say about what the
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times just ahead of us are going
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to be like.
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You know what?
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There's going to be some
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incredible successes.
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We're going to exceed
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what happened at Pentecost.
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There's going to be thousands
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of people
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I mean, we're going to be
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on our 20th worship service by
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10:00 p.m. on Sabbath evening.
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I mean, great things
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are going to happen.
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And make no mistake -- in part
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because of those great things,
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there will be great opposition.
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And if you are signing up
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to be a part
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of this prophetic movement,
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there will be pushback.
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It's going to be difficult.
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So I want you to know something.
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Let's be crystal-clear.
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We do not despair
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about that future,
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because the finest hour of God's
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church lies just before us.
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The finest hour.
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We are not going to cave to
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pressure.
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We're not going to give in to
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theological fads or fashions.
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We are going to stand firm
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by the blood of Jesus Christ and
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the power of His Holy Spirit.
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We will stand firm.
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We will do
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what God has asked us to do.
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We will say
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what God has asked us to say.
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And by the power of His
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Holy Spirit working through us,
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the work will be finished.
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The finest hour of the church
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lies just before us.
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And I'll tell you what -- when
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I look at that and I remember
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what God has said, that, indeed,
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we do have the sure word
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of the prophets,
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confirmed by Christ Himself,
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and when I think that we will
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pay attention to it as to a lamp
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shining in a dark place,
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I remember that the day
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will dawn and that morning star,
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Jesus Christ, will rise in our
00:56:22.14\00:56:24.15
hearts and ultimately in that
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sky out there,
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may that day be soon.
00:56:29.25\00:56:30.75
Amen.
00:56:30.85\00:56:32.95
[ Cheers and applause ]
00:56:33.05\00:56:34.39
>> Have you ever wondered
00:56:43.53\00:56:44.23
what Jesus was like
00:56:44.33\00:56:45.70
when He walked on this planet
00:56:45.80\00:56:46.67
2,000 years ago?
00:56:46.77\00:56:48.87
Have you ever wondered where
00:56:48.97\00:56:50.24
He traveled, who He talked to,
00:56:50.34\00:56:52.07
who His friends were,
00:56:52.17\00:56:53.17
what His family was like?
00:56:53.27\00:56:54.98
Or have you heard about
00:56:55.08\00:56:55.74
the astonishing miracles
00:56:55.84\00:56:56.95
that Jesus did,
00:56:57.05\00:56:58.41
like feeding 5,000 people
00:56:58.51\00:57:00.08
with just five loaves of bread
00:57:00.18\00:57:01.32
and a couple of fish
00:57:01.42\00:57:02.68
or giving sight back to a man
00:57:02.78\00:57:04.25
born blind?
00:57:04.35\00:57:05.99
What would it have been like
00:57:06.09\00:57:07.79
to be there with Jesus
00:57:07.89\00:57:09.32
in those unprecedented days?
00:57:09.42\00:57:12.23
I hold in my hands a free book
00:57:12.33\00:57:13.93
that I'd like to give to you.
00:57:14.00\00:57:14.83
It's called
00:57:14.93\00:57:15.63
"The Desire of Ages,"
00:57:15.73\00:57:17.50
and it's one of the finest
00:57:17.60\00:57:18.33
biographies of Christ
00:57:18.43\00:57:19.33
ever produced.
00:57:19.43\00:57:20.97
It goes into incredible detail
00:57:21.07\00:57:22.34
of who Jesus was,
00:57:22.44\00:57:23.74
what His life was like,
00:57:23.84\00:57:25.27
who His enemies were, and what
00:57:25.37\00:57:26.54
His followers were like,
00:57:26.64\00:57:28.34
and, of course, ultimately how
00:57:28.44\00:57:29.98
He died on the cross and rose
00:57:30.08\00:57:31.58
from the grave to give freedom
00:57:31.68\00:57:33.31
to people just like you and me.
00:57:33.42\00:57:35.45
"The Desire of Ages" can be
00:57:35.55\00:57:37.35
yours for free by calling
00:57:37.45\00:57:38.99
877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:39.09\00:57:41.22
That's 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:41.32\00:57:44.39
Jesus is the most influential
00:57:44.49\00:57:46.19
person in all of human history.
00:57:46.29\00:57:48.56
You owe it to yourself
00:57:48.66\00:57:50.17
and those you love to find out
00:57:50.27\00:57:52.10
who he really was.
00:57:52.20\00:57:53.37
¤
00:57:59.51\00:58:00.71