Participants:
Series Code: RPM
Program Code: RPM000005
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00:01 Music...
00:07 Some more music... 00:14 Singing... 00:20 More singing... 00:26 Some more singing... 00:36 Nice singing... 00:41 More nice singing... 00:47 Very nice song... 00:53 Some more singing... 00:58 Singing... 01:04 Some more singing, 01:11 More singing... 01:18 Well, we're back and we're live 01:22 right here in Tampa Florida and what a day it's been. 01:24 We have had, fully a fascinating, exciting, 01:27 spiritual, informative, inspirational... 01:30 name the adjectives... they all fit 01:32 and it's been a wonderful weekend and a wonderful day. 01:35 And we had a very fine lunch 01:37 courtesy of the Zephyrhills Florida Hospital. 01:42 Indeed, I think we are well fed 01:44 and I don't want to say, "fairer and fatter" 01:48 but we've done well, we've done sufficiently. 01:51 They had a very fine... nice meal... really good. 01:54 Well, listen, we've got some good things 01:56 happening this afternoon. 01:57 I'm looking forward to the parable 02:00 and I'm looking forward to our Speakers. 02:03 We've got a few surprises, you know, it's good to know, 02:06 we've heard about the Waldenses and the Albigenses 02:11 and the Cathari and the Pasagini... 02:13 we can add another name to that list of Christians 02:16 who fought against the Medieval Church 02:18 and we can add the... the African Christians... 02:21 and we've been fortified with more knowledge now 02:24 we know and understand that there were those even in Africa 02:27 who held the torch high during all those years. 02:29 And it would have been amazing 02:31 that the work would have been even stronger in Africa 02:35 had they not been overcome by Rome 02:39 and stopped from doing things they knew that was right. 02:43 Yes, yes, yes. 02:44 But God always has a Plan B then. 02:46 Indeed He does... indeed He does 02:47 and all of this knowledge has now been on earth 02:50 and will fortify us 02:51 as we come down to the last scenes of earth's history. 02:53 Our speaker this afternoon, 02:55 Russel Staples was actually a professor of mine 02:57 in the Seminary and as I recall, I think he gave me an "A" 03:01 so that makes him high on my list. 03:05 I'll give it to you... if I had gotten an "A" 03:07 I could recall the professors, for sure. 03:09 Laughter... 03:11 But, what was he teaching at that time? 03:14 "Missiology" he is a "missions guy" 03:16 and we learned "missions" from him... so it was a good time. 03:20 So this is... well we're going to hear from him right now. 03:23 Dr. Russel Staples. 03:27 Walking to the stage. 03:30 Thank you for this invitation, 03:32 it's been inspiring to be with you. 03:35 Inspiring indeed... 03:37 when I think back over my lifetime... 03:41 what our Lord has achieved through the Adventist Church, 03:44 I marvel... 03:46 we think of miracles of old but this is a miracle today 03:51 and it's an ongoing miracle. 03:53 I've been asked to make a presentation 03:56 of the fruitage of Adventist Mission 03:58 and there's a sub-title to that 04:02 "The Global Footprint of Adventism and the Sabbath" 04:07 the global footprint. 04:09 The purpose of my presentation is two-fold. 04:14 First, I seek to present the spread... 04:18 not just the growth... the spread over the whole world, 04:23 the global picture of Adventism 04:27 and secondly, the rapid spread in more recent days 04:31 but I'll try to do... 04:35 go a little further and deeper than that... and ask why? 04:40 What makes Adventists so distinctive 04:43 and sets us apart 04:46 and makes it such a powerfully growing movement? 04:50 Something we all need to speak about a great deal. 04:54 The "Adventist Upward Mobility Syndrome" as well 04:58 is a factor of this thing. 05:00 Do you know what I mean when I talk about the 05:03 "Upward Mobility Syndrome?" 05:04 Out of all proportion to our size in the population generally 05:12 Adventists are upwardly mobile both economically 05:15 and also in positions of authority of all kinds... 05:19 I have seen this all around the world, 05:22 it's a wonderful thing... seek to investigate that 05:27 and to think also of how this has all come to be. 05:32 Of course we can find our human reasons 05:35 but as we have heard time again this morning, 05:40 I believe this movement was called into existence 05:45 by our heavenly Father to bear a witness in word, 05:51 to bear a witness by our life 05:53 and to show it by the world 05:56 and to prepare... 05:58 to call a people for the coming of our Lord as they are. 06:03 For a moment, let's think of the 06:06 Adventist world presence as it is. 06:09 Adventists... so the spreading about the world 06:13 really commenced relatively late. 06:15 Who is the person we normally think of 06:20 and what is the event 06:22 when we think of the beginning of this spread? 06:24 Does anyone have a mind here? 06:27 Of course, if one comes from Andrews University, 06:31 one shouldn't have a question. 06:34 We think of sending Andrews University to Europe in 1874. 06:40 That's about a 130 years ago or like that... 06:43 that's the beginning of the world-wide spread. 06:47 Then if we think of the beginning of foreign missions 06:51 and normally the date that we take is 06:55 Solusi, 1894... 20 years later as it was 06:59 and that is relatively recent. 07:02 Adventists entered the foreign mission field 07:06 about a century later than the most mainline churches. 07:11 I think we have grown very rapidly in the years in between. 07:16 First of all, thinking about the spread... 07:21 world-wide spread of Adventism... 07:24 I don't know if you know how distinctive this is, 07:28 I meet with mission groups 07:30 and very often they have a concentration in this place 07:33 or the other place, in this nation or another nation 07:37 but Adventists have a world spread 07:40 and this, of course, is our belief, 07:43 God has called us to bear witness to the world. 07:49 Two events in 1939... stand out in my memory, 07:56 I was 13 years old, 07:58 I remember... in worship 08:03 I can picture the room, the house, the street, 08:06 in Johannesburg, 08:08 my father, at evening worship, 08:10 was reading from the Seventh-day Adventist Review and Herald 08:14 and he announced that the world church had received a membership 08:19 of 500,000... half a million. 08:22 Now, we lived in Johannesburg. 08:26 Johannesburg had just celebrated 50 years, 08:29 it was the largest city in South Africa, 08:33 fifty years of big anniversary celebration 08:36 and a population of half a million 08:39 and we rejoiced, why did I rejoice so much? 08:44 My father had been an evangelist, 08:47 we had moved from little cities to little towns... 08:51 city is not the right word, from town to town, 08:54 he had held evangelistic meetings, 08:57 we had put up tents... holes... all kinds of things... 08:59 we had moved a couple of times a year, 09:03 I attended eight primary schools, 09:07 if some of you think that's the basis of education, 09:10 at least... the experience... 09:13 and there were these tents. 09:15 Where we went... these cities... 09:18 people had never heard about Adventists and the Sabbath, 09:21 it was a strange message, 09:22 and they connected me in these public schools with this... 09:26 and so I was regarded as some sort of a strange little fellow, 09:31 what is all this business about? 09:33 And so... and I grew up like that, 09:35 and now, in Johannesburg, 09:37 our life settled down a little 09:40 and now, for me to think Adventists... 09:44 we weren't just these small groups my father had founded 09:46 churches in these places, 09:48 we weren't just this small church, 09:51 as big as many Adventists as the city of Johannesburg 09:56 oh, we sang with happiness, it just rejoiced my heart. 10:01 Now, another event, 1939... 10:04 my mother was in Australia, 10:07 my father had graduated from Avondale 10:10 but he was a South African, married my mother 10:13 and my mother took us back 10:15 she and the children... we went back to Sydney, Australia, 10:20 to visit her family 10:21 and while we were there, Elder Spicer came on a visit, 10:26 how many here have met Elder Spicer? 10:28 Elder Bradford has, I'm sure, any others? 10:31 I met him twice, once in South Africa 10:35 and in Australia 10:36 and I was sorry to miss him 10:39 when we came back to study at the Seminary at Takoma Park. 10:42 Naturally, all the Adventists gathered together 10:47 in the Sydney City Hall, 10:50 it was a wonderful occasion. 10:52 I had never seen so many, it was a large city hall 10:56 and the singing... everything was wonderful 11:00 and then Elder Spicer preached 11:02 and what he preached about 11:04 was the global spread of the Adventist church, 11:08 I can still see him there, I can hear him saying, 11:12 "If you go to the north of the world... 11:15 in Hammerfest in Norway there are Adventists there, 11:18 if you go to Punta Arenas in South America, 11:21 the southern-most city, there are Adventists there, 11:24 and then he described all over the world 11:27 there are Adventists... 11:29 the spread... and we rejoiced... 11:33 he told of trials... he told of victories... 11:36 and I can remember him saying, 11:38 wherever you go and you and you meet with our fellow... 11:42 our brethren and sisters, 11:44 the Adventist church is a wonderful church to belong to. 11:48 Audience: "Amen. " 11:49 And the warmth of it all. 11:51 When he wanted to close, 11:53 they wouldn't let him, 11:56 they said, "More, more... we want to hear more... 11:58 about our brothers and sisters in every place. " 12:02 This was the most inspiring, informative message, 12:06 he also made an appeal, 12:08 he said, "We are everywhere now 12:11 but the work isn't finished, 12:13 everywhere... much brighter... the witness must carry... 12:18 we must continue with this appeal. " 12:22 When the service was over, 12:24 everybody wanted to speak to Elder Spicer 12:27 and as he waited at the door, my mother wanted to greet him 12:32 and so I stood at a little distance 12:35 and then a little girl came up to Elder Spicer, 12:39 I was 13... she was a little shorter... 12:43 and as she came up to him, 12:46 he stopped speaking to all the big people 12:49 and I said, "What is this? 12:51 Here there are important people that want to speak to him... 12:55 who is this little girl?" 12:57 And I was close enough to hear her say, 13:00 "Elder Spicer, when I grow up, I want to be a missionary, 13:05 I'd like to go to India... " 13:08 and he took out a little notebook from his pocket 13:12 and he said, "What's your name?" 13:14 And he wrote it down... "and your address" 13:17 and "how old are you?" 13:19 Now, he said, "When you finish High School, 13:21 you go to Avondale, and then you write to me 13:24 and I will make sure you go as a missionary. " 13:27 I can ever regret, 13:31 I don't remember the name of that child 13:34 but I think, "What a change 13:36 it must have made in her life" 13:39 as it went on... 13:41 this was the Adventist message around the world, 13:45 the spread... 13:49 but now how rapidly it's growing... the rate... 13:53 that's the second thing I'd like to think of as it is. 13:57 Pause... 14:00 The Adventist church has grown with amazing speed 14:06 and rapidity. 14:07 A few years ago, we were hardly off on the map 14:13 generally speaking. 14:14 A man by the name of David Barrett 14:19 who had gone as a missionary to Africa 14:23 published in 1982... the "World Christian Encyclopedia" 14:31 and in this, he gave a global picture 14:35 of Christianity and other religions 14:38 and he listed Adventists. 14:41 Up to that time... all the handbooks, the tables, 14:47 the encyclopedias... Adventists didn't appear on the map, 14:51 we weren't there, 14:53 I was actually Secretary of a mission association 14:58 to a man who edited one of these 14:59 and I said, "What's the matter, 15:01 why don't you mention Adventists?" 15:03 And he said, "No, no, no... " and he wouldn't do it 15:05 but I was the Secretary for this Professor's Association 15:09 but now, David Barrett's "World Christian Encyclopedia," 15:13 appeared... and I went to the meeting... 15:17 with Professors of Mission 15:19 and the Associate American Society of Missiology 15:21 and everyone wanted to speak to me 15:25 and they said, "We have paged through this, 15:27 we had no idea of the extensity of the Adventist Church. " 15:32 In country after country, Barrett had listed us 15:36 and the size... the numbers... 15:39 they were absolutely surprised. 15:42 The new Encyclopedia has come out 15:46 that was in 1980 figures... 15:50 now, one giving the 2000 figures 15:53 and now I find when people speak to me, 15:57 they say to me at the Society of Missiologists, 16:00 they say to me, "What is it about the Adventist Church, 16:05 why are you growing so rapidly? 16:07 I see you everywhere... in every place, 16:09 how do you account for this? 16:11 These are questions we need to ask 16:17 and we need to ask ourselves, 16:19 "Are we doing as much as we possibly could 16:23 to spread the gospel in every place as it is. " 16:28 If I may mention a few statistics, 16:32 we spoke about rapid growth and spread, 16:36 Adventist world membership in 1940, as I mentioned earlier 16:45 was just over half a million. 16:47 In the next 30 years to 1970, we grew to 2 million, 16:55 in the next 20 years, 16:58 we grew from 2 million to 6.7 million, 17:04 in the next 10 years, from 1990 to 2000, 17:10 we have spread from 6.7 million to 11.7 million 17:16 an increase of 5 million. Audience: "Praise the Lord. " 17:21 In 2006, we had a membership of... 17:25 do you know 2006... 15 million... 17:30 membership is now growing 17:32 at a rate of almost a million a year. 17:35 Audience: "Amen. " 17:36 And so now we don't have... 17:41 the last statistical table we have of the church is 2006, 17:45 2007 will come up very soon 17:47 but we are probably now, 17:49 very close to 17 million worldwide 17:52 and that's why, people ask me when I go to these meetings, 17:58 "What is it about the Adventist Church, 18:00 why is it growing so rapidly?" 18:03 Of course it is because we believe God has inspired us 18:08 with a message to share and to tell others wherever we are 18:13 and as we go. 18:14 Now, there's something very different also 18:20 that I wish to mention, 18:21 where we list membership in the year 2006 as 15 million, 18:30 David Barret's figures for the year... 18:34 statistics of Adventists is 25 million. 18:37 Now why is that? It's quite obvious in one way 18:43 because we, sort of celebrate our membership 18:48 as a believers' church, 18:50 we don't count all the children and unbaptized members, 18:54 Barrett counts families as he does the other churches 18:58 but much more than that and I've spoken to some involved 19:02 in these statistics, 19:03 there are many people in the census reports, 19:07 who list themselves as Adventists 19:10 but they are not... as it were, members of the church yet, 19:15 there are many who may have been Adventists 19:17 but are not now fully-practicing Adventists, 19:20 who consider themselves broadly speaking... Adventists 19:26 and so, the difference is, we list only that year 2000 19:31 not quite 12 million, and Barrett lists 25 million. 19:36 This is an enormous challenge and opportunity for us. 19:43 Are we reaching out to everyone to help them feel 19:46 that they are our brothers and sisters? 19:50 Join with us, let us be full witness 19:54 to the full message of the gospel for all that we have 19:59 and all that we could do. 20:01 This extremely rapid growth 20:04 is taking place more in some countries 20:07 than in some other countries. 20:09 Just let me list a few of the figures, 20:12 I can't put a chart on here... as it is. 20:16 In Brazil, the Adventist church has grown 20:20 from about 1 million in 2000... 20:24 to something like 1.4 million at present, 20:28 just in 10 years... 20:31 the church in the Congo has grown 20:35 from something like 300,000 to well over half a million, 20:40 the church in Ghana has doubled 20:44 from a 163,000 to a little more than 350,000. 20:52 Peru... from not quite 400,000 to 771,000. 20:59 Tanzania... from well less than 200,000 to 370,000. 21:08 Zambia... from not quite 300,000 to 530,000. 21:16 And I could continue like this... 21:20 this phenomenal growth that is taking place everywhere 21:24 and coupled with that, 21:27 is this other factor, 21:29 the "Adventist Upward Mobility Syndrome. " 21:32 Now, if one travels to Africa, Adventism is a visible presence 21:41 on a Sabbath morning in many of the cities. 21:45 It's quite fantastic, 21:47 you see people carrying their Bibles and hymnbooks, 21:52 you hear singing in large churches in some cities 21:56 or you hear people singing in parks and groves 21:59 and sometimes in storefronts all over the place 22:03 but I've had a policeman in one site say to me, 22:07 he said, "I don't know what's happened to this city, 22:09 Sunday isn't the day anymore, 22:12 it seems to be Sabbath... everyone comes here. " 22:15 The visible presence of this enormous growth as it is, 22:21 it's clear... it's... but it's a great challenge 22:28 is one thinking about this enough? 22:32 We have a little chart to show you, 22:35 I hope you can see, 22:37 in the year 2006, 36 percent of Adventists 22:43 live in Latin America, 22:45 36,000... 22:46 35,000 live in Sub-Saharan Africa, 22:50 current... 22:52 8 percent in India and Nepal, 22:54 7 percent in North America. 22:57 If we go ahead... there are General Conference projections 23:03 of membership figures in the year... 23:06 20 years down the road... 23:08 and there's a little chart that they have produced 23:12 that shows us these figures very impressively, 23:15 you see it before you. 23:17 That blue figure up on the right to the left is Africa, 23:22 and that is now... that they expect to be 34 percent 23:26 of Adventist world population. 23:30 The top one to the left, that one is South America 23:35 and it will be about 24 percent, 23:37 all those figures they had on the computer. 23:41 The bottom right hand pictured down there 23:45 is Asia... and you can see there... 23:48 almost... well... almost 19 percent 23:52 the bottom left... the blue picture, 23:56 that they list as North America 23:58 but they have included in that figure, 24:02 Inter-America... 24:03 Mexico and that's all put together 24:06 because this is not our Divisions, 24:09 this is sort of a global picture as it is at 19... 24:13 almost 20 percent... 24:15 and then you see the smaller countries. 24:18 Africa... 34 percent of the world membership down the road, 24:27 furthermore, we look forward as we calculate figures 24:32 to the year 2006 24:34 and I don't know whether the figures are on the chart or not 24:37 but I can read them to you, 24:39 if growth in Africa continues at the present rate, 24:44 there will be 10 million Adventists in Africa in 2020. 24:50 If we think of South America, 24:53 there will be 7.3 million at this growth. 24:57 North America... including Inter-America... 25:01 that will be almost 6 million. 25:03 Asia... 5 million... and the total world population, 25:09 we are looking forward to of almost 30 million 25:12 as we count figures. 25:14 Now if Barrett was counting those figures, 25:17 it may well be double that figure... 25:19 at least 60 to 70,000 Adventists... 25:21 pause... 25:26 so now when I go to the mission meetings, 25:28 they are not surprised 25:32 to find Adventists listed in every nation across the country 25:36 the question they ask me now, "How do you account for this?" 25:40 "What is it?" 25:43 "What makes Adventists so distinctive?" 25:45 "Why so many members?" 25:48 I also often ask myself, 25:51 "What if Elder Spicer could see these?" 25:54 "If we could share these statistics with Elder Spicer, 25:57 what would he think?" 25:59 "How would he respond?" 26:01 I can still hear him and see him in the Sydney City Hall in 1939, 26:08 appealing... yes we have reached the world 26:12 but work is needed to be done in every place 26:16 to share the message... 26:18 what would he say now? 26:20 Let me pose the question another way, 26:25 if you were the President of a church in Zambia... 26:29 a Conference in Zambia, 26:31 where the church doubled its membership 26:34 in about 12 years, 26:36 or some countries... 10 years, 26:39 how would you cope, how would you manage? 26:42 How does one keep up with this growth? 26:45 How do we provide leaders and pastors? 26:49 I became a missionary... that was a long time ago... 26:53 but Elder Eva wrote to me from the Division, 26:57 the Southern Africa Division, 26:58 we were studying at the Seminary in Washington... 27:01 still... when it was at... near Takoma Park... 27:04 near the General Conference... 27:05 and he said, "This is a new Africa... 27:08 things are changing... we need a new ministry" 27:12 and I became involved in Education 27:15 of the ministries in Africa, 27:17 it was a wonderful experience... it was... 27:21 but what would Elder Spicer say now? 27:24 How do they cope doubling the membership in ten years? 27:30 Where do you find leaders enough? 27:32 How do you manage and cope? 27:33 I'm sure if Elder Spicer was speaking to us, 27:37 it would be a great "appeal" 27:39 they need a great deal of assistance, 27:41 they need help... we need to... 27:43 this growth maximizes the work in every place. 27:48 There's another remarkable aspect of this record growth 27:52 and this is what's happening in Adventist universities, 27:57 if you look in David Barrett again... 28:02 his encyclopedia... "World Christianity" 28:08 and you will read in country after country after survey... 28:13 country... he lists Seventh-day Adventists, 28:16 and the words are these: 28:17 "Seventh-day Adventists are heavily involved 28:21 in education, medical work and welfare... " 28:25 ADRA, our hospitals... our schools. 28:28 Actually if one goes back and studies the mission program, 28:33 unlike... say North America and South Africa, 28:37 the great instrumentality of mission in Africa 28:41 would be our schools... 28:42 we planted schools all over the place 28:45 and where the schools were, churches grew up 28:49 and the teachers began to function as the church leaders 28:53 and they... the catechists... they taught the Bible doctrines, 28:57 they just continued... the growth was wonderful 29:01 and in fact the teachers... 29:04 they were some good evangelists in the summer time... 29:07 and in fact in many cases, they became ministers... 29:10 they did so well that... that they left teaching 29:13 and became our ministers. 29:14 Now, today, as a result of this, 29:17 we have Adventist Universities 29:20 and this is a staggering picture about Adventists, 29:25 notice, for instance, 29:27 Babcock University in Nigeria, to give you the illustration, 29:33 ten years ago... they had attendees of little over 500, 29:40 today... they have 5,000 29:43 and I understand from people who've just been there recently, 29:48 our colleagues at Andrews teaching... 29:51 I understand... they say that they could fill it with 20,000 29:55 if they had space... and to accommodate for this... 29:57 this is not alone... 30:00 our church in Brazil 30:02 had something like a little over a 1,000 ten years ago, 30:05 they've got 8,000 now, 30:06 Montemorelos has grown rapidly, 30:10 Sahmyook in Korea has grown from 30:14 something like 3,000 to 5,000 in ten years, 30:18 Solusi from about 500 to over 3,000 30:23 how does one cope and how does one account 30:27 for this extraordinarily rapid growth? 30:30 It's an enormous challenge. 30:33 How does one account for this? 30:35 Is it the Adventist Upward Mobility Syndrome? 30:39 Pause... 30:41 because Adventists are educated to go up 30:45 therefore they need education? 30:47 There are many factors involved but many of those who attend 30:53 are not Adventists... they are not... 30:56 they are members of other churches 30:58 or not even Christians... 31:00 and so this is an enormous challenge. 31:03 Why do they come there? 31:04 Because Adventism is no longer just a Sect 31:08 it's become like a "Folk Church" 31:12 a large well-accepted church... 31:15 and this is a great challenge 31:17 and an opportunity for you, 31:19 for us... in all that we do and say. 31:23 Pause... 31:25 more pause... 31:28 The opportunity and challenge of all of this 31:31 in this Upward Mobility Syndrome as I said earlier, 31:35 out of all proportion to our numbers, 31:38 Adventists become people of significant importance 31:42 wherever they are 31:44 and can be a witness to all they are. 31:47 How does one account for this? 31:49 Quite a few years ago, 31:52 a professor at the University of Oxford, 31:56 Dr. Andrew Walls who was the doyen of scholars 32:01 studying Sects and of course he was interested in Adventists, 32:05 on his own initiative, he came to Andrews in about 1972 32:10 and spent three weeks or something like that there 32:13 with one of the editors from the Oxford University Press 32:16 to read through the Adventist doctrines. 32:19 What had impressed him about Adventists? 32:22 It was this Upward Mobility Syndrome, 32:25 wherever he traveled, he found Adventists all over the world 32:30 in high positions of authority 32:35 and so he wanted to research and find out what is this? 32:40 I think my time is at an end, 32:42 I must just draw this to a close quickly, 32:44 how do we account for this Adventist witness and presence, 32:51 why this distinctive lifestyle? 32:53 It's our belief... it's because Adventists believe 32:57 in Jesus Christ, the incarnation, 33:00 the resurrection of the body, 33:03 living with Christ, 33:04 they love the Eucharist, that's the Lord's celebration, 33:08 I could spend hours telling you about that, 33:12 why? because as they partook of this bread and this wine, 33:17 they thought of Jesus taking our flesh and our body 33:22 and we being with Him at the Messianic Kingdom 33:26 and so, they wanted to take a lot of time 33:29 for the Lord's celebration, the Lord's Supper. 33:31 I can remember going to a village once 33:34 because I knew they were going to celebrate the Lord's Supper 33:37 and when they saw me coming, 33:39 I saw them taking the dishes away, 33:40 they thought I was coming to preach, 33:42 and what they wanted for the Lord's Supper 33:45 was time to talk and think... 33:47 we Westerners are driven by the clock 33:50 but no... we spent several hours beautifully 33:55 and I would listen to their testimony 33:58 as they ate this bread... 34:00 this life on this earth... 34:01 they were connecting with the Kingdom above. 34:03 I can remember one old man who had become... 34:09 as an old man... an elderly man... 34:11 had moved from African traditional religion 34:13 to Christianity... 34:14 at one of these celebrations 34:16 he testified... 34:19 this was at Solusi... with a large group 34:22 and with tears in his eyes he said, 34:25 "As I partake of this bread... 34:28 and think of that feast in that Kingdom with our Lord, 34:33 living with Him and He with us... " 34:35 and he said, "there are tears in my eyes 34:40 because I love my Lord, but when we get there, 34:44 He will wipe the tears from our eyes... 34:49 He won't use his sleeve, He won't use a handkerchief, 34:53 like a mother with her little child, 34:55 He will take His finger 34:57 and He will wipe the tears from our eyes 35:00 and we will be with Him... 35:02 living with Christ in His presence. " 35:07 My time is up, 35:09 if Elder Spicer were here, he would challenge us... 35:13 this enormous growth... this enormous opportunity... 35:18 what would my father think? 35:20 Could he hardly believe 35:22 that we have grown to a church of this size, 35:25 with this significance, 35:27 to become a major church in country after country, 35:30 but the work is not finished. 35:33 We need to live this message 35:36 and to support all of our brothers and sisters 35:39 in every place and finish the work of God, 35:42 live with joyful triumphantness in our lives 35:45 and bear witness in all that we do. 35:47 May God bless each of us and bless you here in this place 35:52 maybe I should close, 35:54 I'll begin to read a little piece from Jenkins 35:56 and he said... in this American society 35:59 where the mainline church are losing members 36:02 but in some... are gaining... 36:04 and he lists Adventists among this group 36:07 we have great work to do here and in every place, 36:10 may God bless us all. 36:12 Jesus often spoke in parables, 36:16 He did so that those who wished to know... may indeed know 36:21 but those who did not wish to know the truth 36:24 would not know. 36:25 "He that hath an ear to hear, 36:28 let him hear what says this parable. " 36:32 Walking away from stage. 36:37 During one of Pastor C.E. Bradford's trips 36:40 to Africa... as part of an Annual Council Meeting 36:43 of the African Mid-Eastern Division, 36:46 a missionary friend, Pastor M.E. Lunt of Norway 36:50 told the following story at a Morning Devotional. 36:54 This story told by a young lad graphically illustrates 37:00 how the originally Sabbath was changed 37:01 by the European Evangel... Ecclessiastical Establishment. 37:06 The story shows a keen perception 37:09 of a young fellow and his ability 37:12 to articulate the salient points 37:14 of the African story in African terms. 37:17 He told this story to a Church of England Pastor. 37:21 Aloni Mahinwa, who was on his way 37:25 from his home village to Kampala... the big city, 37:28 to visit with his family, 37:30 as was the custom of the African people, 37:33 he stopped along the way to greet friends always enquiring, 37:39 "How is your father? Your mother?" 37:42 "Oh Sister, how is your family?" 37:46 Making sure to include all members of the family, 37:50 it was a very hot day... and the Pastor was quite thirsty 37:56 so he stopped at a little confectionary store 38:00 to buy a bottle of mineral water 38:03 he sat on a crate to rest awhile 38:06 and refresh himself with a cool drink, 38:09 a young lad about 12 years of age, 38:11 approached the Pastor and said timidly, 38:14 "Hello Sir, it's a hot day, you mind if I tell you a story?" 38:18 Pastor Aloni really didn't want to be disturbed 38:23 but he decided to humor the boy 38:25 who seemed to be quite a bright, well-spoken young fellow. 38:29 "All right, all right, I'll hear your story. " 38:33 Boy: "Thank you Sir. " 38:35 Boy sitting down... 38:38 A group of people coming to the stage... 38:48 "Well, once upon a time, 38:50 there was a great and powerful king 38:52 and one day this King decided to go on a journey. 38:55 He had ten sons, 38:56 so he called all ten of them up before him, 38:58 he also called the Prime Minister 39:00 then, he hugged each of his sons and said... " 39:06 King: "Oh my son, my son... oh my son, my son 39:12 my son... my son, 39:18 my son, my son, 39:23 my son, my son... 39:29 oh my son... my son... " 39:34 Boy: "After declaring his love to all ten of his sons, 39:38 he turned to the Prime Minister and said... " 39:40 "Prime Minister, I am going away on a long journey, 39:46 I do not know how long I will be... 39:49 but while I am gone... I am leaving my sons in your care, 39:56 see to it... that they receive the treatment they deserve, 40:02 I am entrusting their welfare to you. " 40:06 The King pats the Prime Minister... 40:11 A guard comes and bows to him and then they leave the stage. 40:19 Narrator: By this time, the Pastor refreshed from 40:24 enjoying his drink in the shade 40:26 was becoming intrigued with the story 40:28 and urged the lad to continue, "Tell me more son, go on. " 40:33 "Well, soon after the King had left, 40:36 the Prime Minister called all ten of the sons 40:39 back for their inspection. " 40:40 All ten of the sons back for their inspection. 40:48 Sons walking on stage... 40:50 Sons and Prime Minister coming on stage. 40:54 "The Prime Minister looked at all three of the sons 40:59 and found them pleasing in all aspects 41:02 but when he got to the fourth son, 41:06 a frown came over his face. " 41:07 Prime Minister: "You do not look like a real son to me, 41:12 I will send you to the field to work with the slaves 41:15 and I will put my son in your place. " 41:17 Boy: "So he took the fourth son out of the line. " 41:23 Prime Minister: "Guard, bring in my son... " 41:24 Boy: "And sent him to the field to work with the slaves 41:28 then he put his own son in the King's son's place. " 41:32 Prime Minister is putting the robes on his own son... 41:36 and continues putting the robe... 41:41 puts his son in the place of the 4th son... 41:44 straightens his son's robe... 41:47 Prime Minister continues inspecting other sons... 41:54 continues... 42:00 Audience: Laughing... 42:03 Boy and Pastor sitting in the shop... 42:09 Sons leaving the stage... 42:15 Pastor: "Continue, I want to hear the rest of the story. " 42:18 Boy: "Finally, the day came when the King returns, 42:21 so he called the Prime Minister into his royal chambers 42:24 to give an account 42:26 as to how he had taken care of all ten of his sons... " 42:28 King comes and sits on stage... 42:33 King: "Guard, bring in the Prime Minister. " 42:37 Guard goes and gets the Prime Minister... 42:40 brings the Prime Minister... 42:45 The Prime Minister bows... 42:49 King: "Prime Minister, how have you cared for my sons?" 42:53 Prime Minister: "Oh King, live forever, 42:56 I have taken great care of your sons 42:59 and given them the honor and respect they are due... 43:03 their station as sons of the King. " 43:06 King: "Bring me my sons. " 43:09 Prime Minister bowing to the sons and ushering them in. 43:17 Sons coming to the stage. 43:26 Narrator: As he had done when he had departed for his journey, 43:30 the King embraced each one of his sons. 43:36 The first... the second... the third... 43:41 until he came to the fourth... 43:43 and then a look of displeasure came across his face of the King 43:47 King: "Who is this? 43:50 This is not my son... he's an imposter... 43:57 what have you done? 43:59 Where is my son?" 44:01 Prime Minister: "Oh King, live forever, 44:04 huh... he did not look like a real son to me... 44:08 he didn't have the same bearing as the others 44:12 so I removed him and put my son in his place, 44:15 surely, you can see my son looks like the real son. " 44:17 King: "What audacity... 44:20 who gave you permission to do this? 44:24 Where is my son?" 44:25 Prime Minister: "He's in the field your Majesty, 44:28 working with the slaves... " 44:30 Narrator: This made the king very angry. 44:32 King: "You... 44:37 you and your son are banished from this place. " 44:42 King removes robes from the counterfeit son. 44:48 Guard escorts the Prime Minister and counterfeit son out... 44:51 King: "Bring in my son... " 44:56 Guard brings in the real son. 45:00 King puts the robes on his real son. 45:06 King: "Son, take your rightful place. " 45:11 Audience: "Amen. " 45:18 King hugs is sons... 45:24 hugs his sons... 45:29 continues hugging... 45:34 Narrator: When the story was over, 45:35 the lad made as if to leave 45:38 but Pastor Aloni fairly shouted, 45:40 "What is the meaning of this story?" 45:43 Narrator: In the African culture 45:45 every story must have some teaching value 45:47 and the Pastor, knowing this, 45:50 wanted to know the meaning of the story. 45:53 Boy: "Well, you see, Sir, The King is God... 45:55 the ten sons are the Ten Commandments 45:58 and the fourth son is the fourth commandment which says, 46:01 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy... ' 46:03 the Prime Minister is the Church... 46:06 the people that God left in charge 46:07 of these commandments and the day of rest... 46:09 are the church to which the day of rest 46:11 was a day of its own choosing 46:13 but the King is coming back. " 46:14 Audience: "Amen. " 46:19 Audience clapping. 46:23 Narrator: And how skillfully 46:26 this lad placed the Biblical text 46:28 and to an African setting, 46:30 that spoke powerfully to the African mind 46:32 and to all who have ears to hear. 46:35 When the Pastor heard the conclusion of the story, 46:38 he said to the lad... 46:40 Pastor: "Where did you learn that?" 46:42 Boy: "At the Kireka Mission Sir. " 46:44 Pastor: "Where is this mission?" 46:45 Boy: "It's over the top of the hill. " 46:47 Pastor: "Take me there. " Boy: "Follow me. " 46:48 Narrator: What a sight, 46:51 the young lad leading the Pastor up to the hill 46:54 to the Adventist Mission, 46:56 you see, Pastor Aloni had been pondering the Sabbath 47:01 and questioning for many years... 47:03 as a child in Primary School 47:05 up through his training to be a Pastor 47:08 but he was always turned away with a stark answer, 47:11 "That is part of the old law, 47:14 it was changed by Jesus and His apostles... " 47:17 now, hear the rest of the story. 47:20 The Pastor stayed at the mission for seven days 47:24 where the missionaries studied with him around the clock, 47:27 eventually he returned to his village. 47:31 Pastor Aloni never made the visit to his family... 47:34 instead... he quickly retraced his steps. 47:38 The next Sunday, when he took the pulpit, 47:41 he made the startling statement, 47:44 "This is the last Sunday I will be your Pastor 47:49 from now on... I will be a Seventh-day Adventist. " 47:55 Pastor Aloni Mahinwa became a Seventh-day Adventist Minister, 48:01 he founded the Seventh-day Adventist church in a village 48:04 and it is there... until this day. 48:07 "Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep: 48:10 for it is a sign between me and you 48:13 throughout your generations; that you may know 48:16 that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. " 48:20 Exodus 31:13. 48:23 Audience: Clapping. 48:28 Walking to stage... 48:32 Isn't that something? 48:36 Audience: "Amen. " 48:38 I tell you, that gets the point across 48:41 about as well as anything I've ever seen. 48:44 You know, in the early Adventism, 48:47 one of the great publications early on 48:49 was the "The Midnight Cry" 48:52 I love that very title, "The Midnight Cry" 48:57 I wish we still had a publication by that name 49:01 but I will tell you that 49:04 the midnight cry continues around the world 49:08 and we're closer to midnight than ever before. 49:12 It's right at the edge of midnight. 49:17 Scott Cameron and this beautiful choir 49:21 is going to sing for us, "The Midnight Cry. " 49:27 Midnight Cry... 49:30 Audience: Clapping. 49:34 Music... 49:41 More music... 49:45 Some more music... 49:54 I hear the sound 49:59 of a mighty rushing wind 50:04 music... 50:09 and it's closer now 50:13 than it's ever been 50:18 I can almost 50:23 hear the trumpet 50:27 music... 50:30 As Gabriel sounds the chord. 50:40 Music... 50:42 At the midnight cry 50:49 we'll be going 50:55 home. 51:00 I look around me 51:06 I see prophecies fulfilled... 51:12 Every day 51:17 The signs of the times... 51:23 They're appearing everywhere 51:28 Oh... 51:30 I can almost see the Father 51:38 As He says, "Son, go get my children" 51:46 at the midnight cry 51:51 the Bride of Christ 51:56 will rise. 52:01 When Jesus steps out 52:08 On a cloud to call His children... 52:12 To call His Children 52:16 The dead in Christ shall rise 52:23 To meet Him in the air... 52:29 And then those that remain 52:35 those that remain... 52:38 Shall be quickly changed... 52:46 At the midnight cry 52:50 At the midnight cry, 52:54 We'll be going home. 52:58 Humming... 53:03 I look around me, 53:07 I see prophecies fulfilled, 53:13 everywhere... 53:17 And signs of the times, 53:21 They're appearing everywhere, 53:29 Oh, I can almost see the Father 53:37 as he says, "Son, go get my children," 53:45 Oh and at the midnight cry 53:53 The Bride of Christ will rise. 54:00 When Jesus steps out, 54:07 On a cloud to call His children, 54:11 To call His children, 54:15 The dead in Christ shall rise 54:22 To meet Him in the air, 54:29 And then those that remain... 54:33 those that remain... 54:37 Shall be quickly changed, 54:44 At the midnight cry, 54:48 at the midnight cry... 54:51 Oh... at the midnight cry... 54:58 Hmmm... 55:01 At the midnight cry... 55:05 When Jesus... 55:07 When Jesus steps out... 55:12 On a cloud to call His children 55:18 O the dead in Christ shall rise 55:25 shall rise... 55:27 To meet Him in the air. 55:34 And then those that remain, 55:40 those that remain... 55:43 Shall be quickly changed. 55:47 Shall be changed... 55:51 And at the midnight cry... 55:55 At the midnight cry, 55:58 At the midnight cry... 56:02 At the midnight cry 56:05 Yes, at the midnight cry, 56:09 At the midnight cry. 56:14 We'll be going home. 56:17 We'll be going home... 56:20 Going home... 56:24 home... 56:29 Audience: Clapping. 56:35 "Hallelujah... amen... 56:41 thank you... 56:44 Thank you choir... " 56:46 Thank you so very much, 56:48 sometimes, I'm so proud to be a Seventh-day Adventist 56:52 it actually hurts... 56:53 and am so proud of a God that we serve. 56:57 God has given us a great mission and a great message 57:02 the question is not, 57:05 "Can we trust God?" 57:07 The question is: "Can God trust us?" 57:10 Can God trust us to be faithful? 57:13 Can God trust us to lift up the name of Jesus? 57:18 Can God trust us to hold on and keep on holding on 57:22 until He calls us from labor to reward 57:26 for yet, in a little while, 57:29 He that shall come... 57:31 will come... 57:33 and will not tarry. 57:37 My prayer for you is that when He does come, 57:40 He will find faith in all the earth, can we say, "Amen. " 57:45 Audience: "Amen. " 57:46 Shall we close in prayer. 57:48 "Heavenly Father, 57:49 we thank you for this day of days, 57:50 we thank you for the message, 57:53 we thank you for the call 57:54 that brought us from darkness to light... |
Revised 2017-03-20