Participants: C. D. Brooks
Series Code: POFCM
Program Code: POFCM000007
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00:39 Live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:42 Welcome to the Pillars of our Faith event. 01:06 If I was more like You, I would change the way I live. 01:23 I'd be so slow to anger, a little quicker to forgive. 01:40 I'd never worry about tomorrow. 01:49 I'd be more thankful for today. 01:57 I'd find the joy among the sorrow; 02:06 and let it carry me away. And if I was less like me, 02:23 I'd find my strength in loving You. 02:31 I'd be as mighty as a river, 02:40 and as gentle as the morning dew. 02:48 And I would walk into the fire, 02:56 though my feet were made of clay, 03:05 I find the path of God's desire; and let it carry me away. 03:56 And in times of desperation, when I'm weary and afraid, 04:13 I would cling to my salvation; and let it carry me away, 04:35 let it carry me away. Amen. 05:05 You may have noticed that we've moved away 05:08 from long and flowery introductions 05:10 during these meetings. 05:12 For a number of reasons. One, because it takes away 05:16 from the time the speaker has. 05:19 But perhaps more importantly 05:20 we are not trying to highlight the messenger. 05:24 We are trying to highlight the message, 05:26 because it is about the Pillars of our Faith. 05:29 Our next speaker is one who really needs no introduction. 05:32 He is best known as Speaker, Director for many years 05:35 for the Breath of Life telecast. 05:36 They are some 13 churches across North America 05:39 that carry that name that he himself 05:41 was used by God to start. 05:43 Elder C.D Brooks has a long and impressive 05:45 record of service in the church of God, 05:47 but more than that he loves the Lord and has been used 05:51 by the Lord, and we are quite certain 05:53 that God will use him again this evening. 05:56 The song that Nathan is going to sing is, 06:00 the language of Canaan, a wonderful song 06:03 the words of Ellen G. White. 06:06 David, would you tell us a little about that? 06:08 The Bible says that we haven't heard, 06:10 we haven't seen, it has even enter our hearts, 06:14 things that God has prepared for us. 06:16 But, God showed Ellen vision, 06:18 Ellen Gould before she was married and became 06:20 Mrs. White, a vision of heaven she got to see it. 06:24 And she was so overwhelmed that she said, 06:27 Oh that I could talk in the language of Canaan, 06:30 I could tell a little of the glory of the better place. 06:33 Nathan Young and then Elder Charles D Brooks. 06:53 Oh that I could talk in the language of Canaan, 07:04 I could tell a little of the glory of the better place. 07:17 Oh that I could talk in the language of Canaan, 07:29 I could tell a little of the glory of a better world. 07:39 Oh, yes. 07:41 Where there is no night And the Lamb is the light 07:54 Where no tear drops fall 08:00 Oh heaven it's not like here at all 08:10 Oh that I could talk in the language of Canaan, 08:22 I could tell a little of the glory of a better world. 08:32 Oh, yes. 08:36 The wonderful things the Lord showed me up heaven, 08:39 I cannot describe. I saw there tables of stone 08:45 in which the names of the multitude of the redeemed 08:48 where engraved in letters of gold. 08:52 After we beheld the glory of the temple, 08:55 we went out, and Jesus left us, and went into the city. 09:00 Soon we heard His lovely voice again, saying: 09:05 "Come, My people, you have come out of great tribulation, 09:10 and done My will; suffered for Me; 09:14 come in to supper, for I Myself will serve you." 09:20 We shouted, "Alleluia! Glory!" And entered into the city. 09:26 And I saw a table of pure silver; 09:30 it was many miles in length, 09:33 yet our eyes could extend over it. 09:36 I saw the fruit of the tree of life, 09:40 the manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, 09:44 grapes, and many other kinds of fruit. 09:48 Then Jesus said, "You must go back to earth again 09:53 and relate to others what I have revealed to you." 09:57 Then an angel bore me gently down to this dark world. 10:03 Sometimes I think I can stay here no longer, 10:09 all things of earth look so dreary. 10:12 I feel very lonely here, for I have seen a better land. 10:19 Oh for wings like a dove so that I could fly away. 10:30 I'd sail across the river Jordan to a better place, oh yes. 10:43 Where there's sweet repose And the living water flow 10:55 And I'll thirst no more O heaven, 11:03 I long to reach your shore, oh yes I do 11:11 Oh that I could talk in the language of Canaan 11:22 I could tell a little of the glory of a better world 11:35 I could tell a little of the glory 11:41 of a better world, oh better world. 12:13 I surely feel that I need a moment after that, amen. 12:19 I'm so thankful for this series that's being done, 12:23 the Pillars of our Faith. And I pray for the effect 12:29 of changing us as a people and then many others through us. 12:36 Readings to you again in the name of Jesus, 12:38 it's good to be here tonight. It has been established 12:45 that sin began with a bright and gifted angel, 12:53 one who stood close to the very throne of God. 12:59 His name was Lucifer, 13:02 a compound word that means light bearer. 13:09 And over the centuries he became the purvey of darkness 13:16 and death and destruction and hatred and bitterness 13:24 and hopelessness and everything else 13:27 that makes life miserable down here. 13:32 Lucifer designed a cue, what he hoped to do 13:38 was unseek God and become 13:41 a leader of the cosmic government. 13:46 This was his purpose, he accused God 13:52 of being arbitrary, of being selfish. 13:57 He said that God could not be loved 14:00 as he claim to be and at the same time be just. 14:04 And if he were just then he could not be loved. 14:11 Lucifer attacked the law of God. 14:16 He said it was harsh and unreasonable. 14:21 God requiring obedience and the penalty 14:24 for disobedience would be death. 14:28 And oh, how he made hay with that one. 14:33 Remember Lucifer had been a covering cherub, 14:38 and one writer had said he was so close 14:42 to the very presence of God, 14:44 he appeared to be lighted with divinity. 14:48 Here an angel with great and marvelous privilege 14:54 and potential in a prefect place, 14:59 a place of glory and peace. 15:03 In a prophetic overview John the revelator wrote, 15:07 there was war in heaven. 15:11 Michael fought and the dragon fought 15:13 and his angels and prevailed not. 15:17 Now I want to pause while you say amen, amen. 15:21 He fought but he lost, I wanna come to that again 15:25 before we are finished here tonight. 15:28 He fought and prevail not, not only that 15:32 but he was expelled from heaven. 15:35 No more could he have access to appear 15:38 before the throne of God. 15:41 He and his angels were cast out into the earth. 15:47 God had already created the earth. 15:51 You know, the power of that story 15:53 where there was nothing, God said let there be something. 16:00 There was light and all the other things were created 16:05 for the good of man, 16:06 for his comfort, for his sustenance. 16:11 But God had also warned man 16:15 about the fall of Lucifer and what he might try to do. 16:21 And man was aware that an enemy was abroad in the land. 16:30 Adam and Eve at the time were perfect. 16:35 We can use that word rather easily, 16:38 but need to think about it they were prefect. 16:42 But, Satan is called the arch deceiver, premier, 16:49 number one, there is nobody like him in the universe. 16:54 And so on an occasion channeling himself through 16:59 a serpent he encountered Eve. Hath not God said 17:06 that you shouldn't eat of the trees of the garden. 17:09 And Eve was quick to come to God's defense, 17:11 no he didn't say that. 17:13 He said of all the trees we may freely eat except one. 17:17 Aha, said the devil, that's the one, 17:21 that's the one that will make you like him, 17:25 that's the one that will give you the biggest thrills, 17:28 that's the one that will open your eyes and you will 17:32 understand things that only God can understand. 17:36 But Eve said God has warned us, 17:39 the day we eat thereof we shall surely die, 17:42 and Satan responded ye shall not surely die, 17:47 the first recorded lie. Ye shall not surely. 17:52 Actually, it's a kind of double talk, 17:54 you're gonna die but not surely. 17:59 And most people on earth today believe 18:01 the dead folk are dead, but not surely. 18:06 That's why they wouldn't walk through 18:07 a graveyard at midnight. 18:11 And some of the laughter I hear is saying to me 18:15 that some of you wouldn't do it either. 18:20 But, Bible says Eve saw the fruit 18:23 that it was pleasant to the eye and to taste. 18:25 Now if she tasted it, she's gone too far. 18:30 Now if you start with pleasant to the eyes, 18:32 it's important to understand that all the trees 18:35 in God's garden were pleasant to the eye. 18:39 No excuse for Eve doing what she did, 18:42 and she ate of it and gave it to her husband 18:45 and he ate of it, and heaven was thrown into shock. 18:51 Trauma reached the very throne room of God. 18:55 Sin had invaded the Garden of Eden 18:59 and had come into the lives of the human family. 19:04 And in the cool of the evening along came God. 19:10 You may do as you like, you may disobey if you want to, 19:14 but sooner or later along comes God. 19:20 And Adam and Eve were hiding from Him, 19:24 but God came seeking them. 19:29 There was something that needed to be done. 19:32 You cannot take wrong and make it right and vice versa, 19:37 but God had another plan. 19:40 First of all they were driven from the garden, 19:43 lest they partake of the tree of life 19:45 and become immortal sinners. 19:48 I read this somewhere, I couldn't find the reference, 19:51 but it says God and man belong together 19:56 and the universe will not know perfect bliss 19:59 until God and man are reunited. 20:04 Therefore I marvel at the patience of God 20:08 over these thousands of years, but something else 20:13 dreadful took place that day. 20:16 Isaiah 59:2 your iniquities have hidden the face of God from you, 20:24 they have separated you from God. 20:27 We all know that man in his present condition 20:31 cannot look on the face of God and live, cannot. 20:38 Showing mercy God had to withdraw from his creatures, 20:43 but God appeared desperate to communicate with man. 20:49 No longer face to face as He did with Adam and Eve, 20:53 but he wants to communicate with man. 20:57 They are things that man needs to know. 21:01 Man needs to know in his guilt and his shame 21:07 that there is something in God's plan called salvation. 21:12 Man needs to know of repentance and restoration. 21:19 He needs to know about immortality. 21:22 He needs to know about a coming Messiah, 21:26 one who is as God becoming flesh and going to a cross to die 21:33 for what Adam and Eve had just done. 21:37 He needed to know all of that. 21:40 To be honest with you He needed to know John 3:16, 21:44 For God so loved the world, 21:46 that He gave His only begotten Son. 21:48 Because Christ was given before the foundations 21:51 of the earth were laid. Adam needed to know. 21:57 In the book of Amos Chapter 3 and verse 7, 22:00 we read that God would do nothing without revealing 22:05 His secrets to his servants, the prophets. 22:09 I picture it this way in my imagination, 22:12 there is golden lion that runs from Adam and Eve 22:16 in Eden all the way down to the very end of the world, 22:20 and God has placed true prophets all along the way 22:25 giving to human beings the gift of prophecy. 22:30 And one of the evidences that it is coming straight 22:33 from God, it always agrees with the Bible, 22:36 it always happens as God said 22:39 and usually it happens right on time. 22:43 Here is a gift of love given to an unlovely group of people. 22:52 How long shall it be amongst us? 22:55 The Bible says till we all come into the unity of a faith. 23:00 Now there is an imagined problem here, 23:04 God in communicating can only use the truth. 23:09 But, the devil can take truth, mix it with error, 23:14 create a concoction to deceive. God cannot do that. 23:21 Whatever He says is always the truth. 23:26 So as God placed prophets along the way 23:29 the devil caused false prophets to proliferate. 23:34 They are purposed to thwart God's truth to alter it, 23:37 to rest it, to confuse it, to turn it against itself, 23:43 to make right seem wrong and wrong seem right, 23:48 and out of this comes a malaise of confusion. 23:52 And the Bible says God is not the author of confusion. 23:59 In Ezekiel 22, you read of some of these false prophets. 24:04 The Bible says they put no difference 24:07 between the Holy and the profane. 24:10 Know any difference between the clean and the unclean. 24:14 False prophets are always available. 24:16 They love to dispute truth, they love to argue, 24:21 they love to get angry over the word of God, 24:25 they are desperate people to embarrass heaven. 24:29 But a true prophet always agrees with the Bible, 24:33 he has no problem. 24:36 I remember the first evangelist campaign 24:38 I ever conducted was in a small town, 24:42 and one day after preaching a week or two. 24:44 In those days we had long meeting. 24:46 Someone came to me and said you ought to know 24:49 that at such and such a place, 24:51 there is a learned pastor and he spends his time 24:57 refuting what you're teaching. 25:01 I smiled at that, he said wait a minute, 25:05 doesn't that frighten you a little. 25:07 I said not really. 25:08 He said why doesn't it frighten you? 25:11 I said because I don't have to make mine up. 25:17 And if you tell people what God said, 25:19 you are telling them the truth, amen, amen. 25:23 So there was no need to worry about 25:26 that sort of thing at all. 25:29 Now God in mercy could not contend for the truth in person. 25:35 We've already established that. 25:37 His presence would destroy those who wanted to hear. 25:42 So walk with me down the centuries. 25:45 We can't touch everybody, but I like to began with Enoch. 25:48 The Bible says he was a seventh from Adam and he prophesied 25:52 concerning the second coming of Christ way back there. 25:57 The message is consistent, it doesn't change. 26:01 Then later on God sent Noah 26:06 and Noah had an awesome prophecy, 26:08 a 120 years and then will come a flood. 26:12 And the people crowded around what's the flood? 26:15 Rain is gonna come down, and drown all of the enemies of God. 26:21 What's rain? Now remember it had never rained before. 26:27 And when the word got out 26:29 concerning the prophecies of Noah, 26:32 the false prophets had a field day. 26:35 I can imagine them saying that them with old man 26:39 has sold all of his holding which were considerable. 26:43 He sold his place and every dime 26:46 he got was put into wood and tar for making an ark. 26:51 Can you imagine a great big boat being built on dry land? 26:58 Not only that, but on a hill to boot and they laughed 27:03 and they mocked and they carried on. 27:07 But the Bible tells us something about those days. 27:10 The morals of the people were totally corrupt. 27:14 Every imagination was possessed, 27:17 corruption was everywhere normalized, 27:20 truth was marginalized. 27:23 This is the way it was, that was no way therefore 27:28 for them to understand how disgusting sin is to God. 27:35 God came to the point, He repented 27:37 He had made man in the first place. 27:41 At the same time He told His prophet to prepare an ark, 27:46 an ark of salvation. Noah just kept on preaching. 27:52 When it was all over only about eight people made it, 27:55 there were eight as a matter of fact. 27:57 They were on the ark, but actually there were more, 28:00 many of them had worked on it chief amongst them 28:02 was Methuselah who died just before the flood came, 28:08 but remember it had never rained before and the intellectuals 28:14 amongst the people laughed at the notion. 28:17 They spent time reveling near the ark. 28:21 And one day they saw something they had never seen before. 28:25 They saw animals coming, and in orderly manner, 28:30 a parade right down main street 28:33 and they were headed straight to the ark. 28:38 Now I have said this before but it seems to me, 28:44 if I had been amongst the unbelievers it seems to me. 28:50 Then if I saw two lions walking behind seven sheep. 29:01 And two wolves marching behind cattle. 29:07 It seems to me it would have made an impression, 29:09 but you can go too far. 29:11 Ellen White says through repeated transgression 29:15 you can come to the place where you cannot see. 29:21 It's dangerous to keep knocking what God has declared, 29:28 dangerous to come to the place, all you know to do, 29:31 is fight against the Spirit of Prophecy, it's dangerous. 29:36 You came to the place where you cannot see. 29:42 And then after Noah was shut up in that ark for awhile 29:47 and it seem nothing was going to happen, 29:49 they resumed their mocking and they're picnicking 29:53 near the ark to laugh at the old man, 29:56 shut up in that thing with only one window and no AC. 30:03 But one day they looked and saw something else, 30:06 dark clouds began to march 30:09 across the horizon and confederate. 30:13 Lighting flashed the thread of God's vengeance, 30:16 they had never seen this either. 30:19 And all of a sudden they heard it coming 30:22 from the distance like dried peas 30:24 on a summer threshing floor, the advancing columns of rain. 30:29 Then the spiritual says didn't it rain, 30:33 rained all night long 40 days 30:38 without stopping, didn't it rain. 30:44 Now let's look at another by the name of Moses, a great prophet. 30:49 He and God were so closely communed face to face, 30:53 meaning God was veiled, 30:54 but he was able to talk to Moses one on one. 30:58 And Moses wanted a privilege, 31:00 he asked God to allow him to see Him. 31:03 And God said, no if you look at Me, you cannot live. 31:09 So I'm going to hide you in the cleft of the rock 31:13 and pass by and you will see the back of me. 31:19 The act to glory one writer said. 31:23 After God is safely moved out of range that was an effulgence 31:28 that remained and that's what Moses saw. 31:33 But I want to tell you that what he heard 31:35 was worth more than what he saw. 31:38 For he heard God describe His own character. 31:42 I'm God, showing mercy, I'm God, forgiving sins, 31:47 I'm God, who is compassionate 31:50 and yet I will not clear the guilty. 31:56 And Moses wrote that down, if he had only seen something, 32:00 it would have been for him, but this is written down 32:03 for you and for me like character of God. 32:10 Oh praise His name. 32:12 I love to hear myself say God never lies. 32:17 So matter of fact the Bible says it's impossible for God to lie. 32:22 The Bible says that the devil is a liar, and the father of it. 32:27 And so we've got that straight, haven't we? 32:31 But, I'm also convinced that some people enjoy being lied to. 32:39 Otherwise how could false prophets 32:42 prosper as they seem to do? 32:47 Some people enjoy being lied to. 32:50 Now I have a sympathetic heart, you lose a loved one, 32:53 but you cannot comfort me if I lose one by telling me a lie. 32:59 You cannot comfort me by telling me my loved one 33:02 has shot right straight of to heaven. 33:04 If that happened then all of us will go out of here 33:07 and try to get killed tonight. 33:13 It would be a lot better being in heaven 33:17 then even being here at 3ABN. 33:25 But ladies and gentlemen, false prophets have proliferated 33:31 throughout the enter world and they have a battery of lies. 33:40 And people eat it up and pay for it out of their weekly checks. 33:47 One of the lies is that God is to good to destroy this world. 33:52 My answer is, He's too good not to. 33:55 Some things got to put an end to this mess 33:58 and Jesus is going to make 33:59 that kind of adjustment when He comes. 34:04 Another lie is that God doesn't care how you worship? 34:09 What kind of slip shot God is that? 34:14 And then there, He doesn't care which day you worship Him on. 34:22 The law is done away with. 34:27 May I stop to tell you true prophets 34:30 have never been very popular, did you hear what I said? 34:36 And if you're running a popularity contest 34:38 and you are the entrant, you're in bad shape. 34:46 True prophets have never been very popular. 34:50 False prophets have the run of a palace 34:53 in the days of Ahab and Jezebel. 34:56 They loused wearing semi royal robes, 35:01 they ate food paid for by the taxpayers, 35:06 the false prophets. 35:08 But there was one true prophet, was he at the palace? 35:12 No, he was out in the wilderness running and hiding, 35:16 trying to stay alive, that God had to send him 35:20 food to eat by ravens. 35:25 False prophets are popular, 35:28 true prophets seemingly never are. 35:33 Then we speak of the major prophets, 35:36 Isaiah, the gospel prophet, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, 35:42 weeping at the destruction of his beloved temple 35:45 and a city of Jerusalem. 35:48 And after him there was Ezekiel 35:52 with his clarion call to repentance. 35:55 He wanted people to know that if you will 35:57 turn God will forgive, but they ignored him. 36:02 Then there was Daniel who was shown 36:05 the span of years all way down to the end of the world, 36:10 but most importantly to the coming of Messiah 36:15 and the offering of himself in the midst of the weak. 36:22 Daniel actually told the people when to expect the Lord to come. 36:30 Then they talk about minor prophets, 36:33 these were regional prophets, they had special messages 36:36 for special occasions and special groups of people 36:40 from Hosea to Malachi. 36:42 There were certain explosive truths 36:45 that God revealed to his servants. 36:47 They were written down to a blast sophistry, 36:52 falsehoods, false Gods and false worship 36:58 and at the same time to sustain God's true people. 37:04 This was what the prophets did. 37:07 Now no true prophet it seems did any writings 37:14 between the 400 silent years of the of two testaments, 37:18 Old and New. 37:20 All of that time and no worthy prophet. 37:26 Chapter after chapter in the Old Testament, 37:29 the Bible says Israel did that which was evil 37:32 in the sight of the Lord, what's wrong with us. 37:38 And so here comes this long period 37:41 when God didn't honor them with a true prophet. 37:45 When Jesus came later he said you killed the prophets, 37:50 the true ones, you hated them, you disliked them, 37:55 but during that 400 year period tradition rose to the top. 38:01 For 400 years they were taught 38:03 by learned men in sassy doodle robes and glittering jewels. 38:08 They made such an impression that Israel was fractured 38:12 and split off in many directions for all of that time. 38:19 And tradition was exalted above truth. 38:25 Tradition became more important than the truth of God. 38:32 And created even for those who didn't wanna go along with it, 38:36 a burden of confusion with man made extraneous nonsense. 38:43 Proclaim from desks like this in synagogues everywhere, 38:49 nonsense, tradition. 38:53 God's plan and God's will were set in character 39:00 and people thought very little of God. 39:03 Men were dying, facing eternity without hope 39:09 and listening to foolishness 39:12 where truth was supposed to be proclaimed. 39:14 In the fullness of time Jesus was born. 39:19 They were not ready to receive him at all, why? 39:23 Because the prophets had warned them, 39:27 the prophets had told them 39:29 that a virgin would conceive and bare a son. 39:32 Michael even told them the town he would be born in, 39:36 the little town of Bethlehem. 39:39 Now you know how we humans think, I thought to myself. 39:43 If God is gonna stick his neck out and name a town, 39:49 then it seems to me that he would go 39:52 to that town to find the virgin. 39:55 Now I cannot believe they were no virgins in Bethlehem. 40:01 I will tell you what, there was a jealous king 40:05 who would order little ones slain. 40:10 God knew what he was doing. 40:12 He kept Mary up there in Nazareth. 40:14 Now I was over there and I said 40:15 how far is it from here to Bethlehem. 40:18 And my interpreter said roughly 75 miles as the cool fly. 40:24 Okay, after six months we were down there, no, 40:28 seventh month, no, eighth month, no. 40:30 She was great with child where her husband decided 40:34 under the instruction of God they head down to Bethlehem. 40:38 Now what man in his right mind would take his wife 40:41 expecting a baby at any time, 75 miles on a donkey. 40:44 Well he had to travel slowly, others passed him by. 40:48 When he got their, there was no room in the end, 40:51 went away in a manger, no crib for his bed, 40:54 the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet hand in Bethlehem, 40:59 would you say amen out there. Amen. 41:01 It had to come to pass or there would be, 41:06 there would be in scripture a falsehood. 41:09 One day, a rough and ready preacher emerged from the desert 41:13 where he had been educated, his name was John. 41:18 When he had broken in on the scene he attracted 41:22 great masses of people including prophets and priests, 41:26 who came out to see the spectacle, a true prophet. 41:33 A man who didn't sound like the others, 41:37 a man who didn't dress like the others, 41:40 a man who didn't eat like the others. 41:44 Are you getting it? 41:47 And finally let me say 41:49 one who didn't preach like all the others. 41:55 But, it was clear to everybody who came 41:57 with an ear short that the power of God 42:00 rested upon him to such an extent that the people 42:03 crowed around after service to ask questions. 42:06 Are you the Messiah? No. 42:08 Are you Elijah risen from the dead? No. 42:11 Then who in the world are you? 42:13 I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 42:16 prepare ye the way of the Lord. 42:18 Not only that, but this humble man said one comes after me, 42:23 whose shoes I'm not worthy to unlatch. 42:28 And then one day as he was surveying the crowd, 42:32 he saw someone coming. 42:35 Recognized him immediately and he cried out behold. 42:39 You ever stop with words like that, 42:41 what do you mean behold? 42:42 It means hey look, everybody look, 42:46 behold here he comes, that's right, 42:49 the Lamb of God which taketh away 42:52 the sins of the world, amen. 42:55 That was John, and the Lord said 43:00 there was never a greater prophet than John. 43:04 I wanted to throw that in right there, 43:06 because some people think that the only true prophets 43:09 are those who have books of the Bible named after them. 43:13 There is no book called John the Baptist. 43:16 And there are some others I could name right now. 43:20 Oh my friends, we must accept God's word from God's people. 43:28 No matter what happens to us, John ended his career 43:32 with his head chopped off and placed on a platter 43:36 and delivered to a voluptuous adulteress. 43:41 But, Jesus said there was never a greater prophet than this one. 43:47 Prophets had told about Christ, about the place of his birth. 43:51 They also told about his arrest, the torture he would endure, 43:56 the whipping that would come from strong men 43:59 with their cats of nine tails and even his crying I thirst. 44:05 Where that is written the Bible says 44:07 that the scripture might be fulfill, he cried I thirst. 44:12 And when they offered him the wrong thing, 44:15 he simply turned away dropped his head 44:19 in the hall of his own shoulder and died. 44:23 Jesus the son of God, the devil hastily called 44:27 a conference with his demons and all those humans 44:31 who cooperate with him, they got to do one thing. 44:33 They got to do one thing, at all cost, 44:36 they've got to do one thing. 44:38 They got to keep Him in the tomb at least four days. 44:43 Why four? 44:44 Because he has said after the third I'm gonna arrive, 44:48 oh I love a God you can count on. 44:52 Even the true God in death could be counted on 44:57 for divinity never dies, 44:58 would you say amen out there? Amen. 45:00 As a matter of fact Jesus said, 45:02 I laid on my life and I take it up, 45:04 nobody takes it from me. 45:07 But all of them were conspiring to keep Christ in the tomb, 45:12 but on Sunday morning the earth quirked and shook, 45:16 what's going on? An angel had touched down. 45:22 That angel rolled the stone away, 45:26 and Jesus walked out of there. 45:30 The great king of the universe 45:32 had rested a hard fought victory over death and hell. 45:38 I've been to both spots, 45:40 the traditional one over which they built a church 45:43 and the one Elder HMS Richards told me is the one. 45:47 I've been to both, we even did television at that one. 45:51 And I remember the first day I walked in 45:53 and I was so amazed to look around at a roughly hewn tomb. 45:59 And the man in charge said, 46:00 if you've come here seeking Jesus, He is not here. 46:06 He has risen, I turn and nearly jumped up in the air 46:10 I said man that's what I believe, 46:13 that's what I believe with all my heart. 46:17 Christ spent 40 days with his beloved church, 46:20 told them to wait on the Holy Spirit, 46:21 then go out to preach the gospel in all the world. 46:25 And the message that is preached in truth 46:29 to the worldly wicked is boring.. 46:32 That message to the immoral is threatening. 46:36 That message to the power hungry is irrelevant. 46:41 That message to revelers is foolishness, 46:46 but let me tell you to honest soul seeking a savior, 46:51 it is hope to those who are insatiably thirsty. 46:57 It is the water of light to those 46:59 who are starving for spiritual bread, 47:02 it is the bread of life 47:05 to lost men everywhere, it is salvation. 47:10 And to those who are abound in sin 47:14 and can't see him to ever break loose. 47:17 The message that God delivers through His prophets 47:22 is a message of freedom, that's right. 47:25 God can set you free. 47:28 Now he told His disciples, 47:29 I'm gonna go away and I will come again. 47:31 Ellen White says they wanted him to come quickly. 47:35 They really did, and by the way, 47:37 people still say my Lord delayeth his coming. 47:41 And one day I wanted to deal with that 47:43 and I read from the Lord servant. 47:45 She said that never was a time, 47:48 that that message should not have presented with urgency. 47:53 So we are correct in making the message urgent. 47:59 The business of when he will come is upto Him, 48:02 but Paul wrote a letter to the church at Thessalonica. 48:06 And He said let no man deceive you, 48:07 that day will not come except that come a falling away first 48:11 and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who apposed 48:15 and exalted themselves above all that is called God. 48:18 So that he has God sited in the temple of God 48:21 showing himself that He is God. 48:24 And when Paul wrote those words to the church, 48:28 whether he intended to do so or not. 48:31 He was predicting the dark ages a 1260 year period, 48:39 when mean would feud the true prophets all together. 48:45 A time when tradition would come in, and replace truth, 48:50 a time when rank and raw paganism 48:54 would be baptized in the church. 48:58 A time when the saints of God 49:00 would yield their lives as martyrs for the truth, 49:06 by the millions, by the millions. 49:12 And so, John wrote, try the spirits whether they be of God. 49:19 Why should we do that? 49:21 Because many false prophets are going out into the world. 49:27 But that came after the dark ages a reformation, 49:30 light was coming again, 49:33 Martin Luther was called to Worms. 49:36 He thought to debate what his thesis was all about. 49:40 But, instead he was brought down before rulers 49:43 and urged and commanded to recant. 49:47 Luther asked for time, went into a room, 49:50 this bright man went into a room, 49:52 I read all by himself and prayed to God. 49:56 He said I'm but a child, 49:58 not knowing how to go out and come in. 50:00 Before John Act he was a consummate terror, 50:03 but before God I'm just a child. 50:05 When he came back out 50:07 and Charles Firth asked him if he would recant, 50:09 he said it is dangerous to go against conscience, 50:12 I cannot, I will not recant. 50:16 Lord, have mercy on me, here I stand. 50:21 He went home without attendance, 50:23 but Duke Frederick of Saxony kidnapped him, 50:26 took him to one of his palaces 50:29 and when Luther understood that he was free, 50:32 he not only wrote a mighty fortuities of God, 50:35 but he began to write the word of God 50:38 from the Latin to the German. 50:40 And when he got it ready, another German 50:42 by the name of Gutenberg had a printing press ready 50:46 and the word is now being scatted everywhere. 50:49 The lights have come on again 50:51 after the dark ages all over the world, amen. 50:55 There are things that I wanted to tell you 50:57 and I'm abound by the tyranny of the clock. 51:02 But peoples minds were darkened, 51:07 they were folk who killed in the name of God. 51:09 They thought they were doing God's service. 51:12 They were people who had no understanding of truth 51:16 and what true prophets had already said. 51:19 But then almost immediately God pointed these 51:23 who now have light, to the Three Angels Messages, amen. 51:27 The first one of them was that you must fear God 51:30 and give glory to Him 51:31 for the obvious judgment is come and worship Him. 51:34 What do you mean worship Him? 51:35 You have been worshiping a man 51:37 sitting on a throne calling himself God, 51:40 but now that you are free 51:41 and the word has returned worship Him, amen. 51:45 Well who is him? 51:47 He that made the heavens, the earth, 51:49 the sea and the fountains of water. 51:53 And the protestant reformation came to a screeching halt 51:56 and they began to divide themselves according to creeds. 52:00 So the second angel went and said 52:04 Babylon is fallen, is fallen. 52:08 You wonder why it is said twice, I read one suggestion, 52:11 it referred not only to the beast, but the false prophets, 52:15 not only to them but to Protestants who did not protest. 52:21 And finally, out of that God saw a group 52:25 which he calls the remnant, 52:28 the dragon was wroth with a woman 52:30 and went to make war with the remnant. 52:32 The remnant means those who remain, the last ones. 52:36 The devil has declared war on these, the remnant. 52:42 That was a great disappointment in 1844, 52:45 don't have time to develop it, but you know it. 52:47 But, that wasn't the first nor the last. 52:50 The greatest disappointment of all 52:52 was when the Lord was hanged on a cross. 52:56 And church thinking he was the deliverer, 52:59 beheld the God dying on the cross, 53:04 that was a greater disappointment, 53:06 but now here comes one. 53:08 I understand there were up to 53:10 500,000 believers in the Advent of Christ, 53:14 not Seventh-day Adventist Advent of Christ 500,000. 53:19 After October 22, 1844 they were quickly 53:23 scaled down to about 5000 53:27 and in various little knots they met 53:30 and they prayed sometimes all night long 53:33 and finally they express to God 53:35 their everlasting confidence in Him, you are the truth. 53:40 We made a mistake not you, 53:42 and all we want you to is reveal to us what we should do 53:47 and we are willing to do it anything 53:50 and I could imagine God saying, anything? 53:53 Yes, Lord anything, will you keep 53:55 My commandments instead of man. 53:57 Yes, Lord. 53:59 If I show you further truth will you do that? Yes, Lord. 54:03 I believe they were willing to do anything, anything. 54:11 Now there is something 54:12 I hope you've caught that maybe you haven't. 54:15 During all this period true prophets 54:19 showed up to help God's true believers. 54:24 And where people are committed to full obedience to God, 54:27 He sends a prophet and so as they prayed for light, 54:34 God called a young woman, her name was Ellen Harmon, 54:40 she was reluctant to do this and I don't blame her, 54:44 because she understood somewhat what it meant. 54:47 She never called herself a prophet, 54:49 she called herself a messenger of the Lord. 54:52 She had been tested by doctors 54:54 like Daniel sometimes without air, 54:57 without breath coming from her body, 55:00 God chose her and God used her. 55:05 And as soon as this happened along came the counterfeits 55:09 and I will not take time to go into all of that. 55:12 But, people were coming claiming to be true prophets of God. 55:17 But the one God had chosen 55:18 he knew and he give special wisdom to, 55:21 and that one became co-founder of this church. 55:25 And that one guided this church 55:28 into its health program, hospitals around the world. 55:32 It's educational program, 55:33 a chain of universities, colleges, academies 55:36 and great schools around the face of the earth. 55:40 Family life, God made it clear that pornography, 55:44 even masturbation is out of harmony with his will. 55:48 He told her and she told the church, publishing houses, 55:53 temperance work everywhere her writings edify, 55:57 keep the church on focus, on point God chose well, 56:05 when he chose this woman to be his servant. 56:10 And God said I will never leave you nor forsake you, amen. 56:14 When our church at my home made a decision 56:19 that they would save my mother from Sabbath keeping. 56:24 A committee was chosen they came, 56:26 and mother wouldn't argue, 56:29 but she'd ask questions and confounded the committee. 56:33 And when they went back, 56:35 the head deacon turned and handed her a package. 56:38 He said I think you like this and when he handed it to her, 56:42 she give me scissors, I cut it open and inside 56:45 was the Great Controversy by Ellen White. 56:47 We had never heard of Seventh-day Adventist. 56:51 We had no books, we had no teachers, nothing 56:54 and the Methodist deacon brought us the Great Controversy. 56:58 Now, I want to read the last paragraph 57:01 and it is one of most comforting things I have ever read. 57:05 It says the Great Controversy is ended, amen. 57:10 Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. 57:17 One pulse of harmony and gladness 57:20 beats through the vast creation. 57:22 From Him who created all, 57:24 flow life and light and gladness, 57:26 throughout the realms of illimitable space. 57:29 From the minutest atom to the greatest world, 57:31 all things, animate and inanimate, 57:33 in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, 57:36 declare that God is love. |
Revised 2014-12-17