Participants:
Series Code: SUES
Program Code: SUES000001A
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00:17 Greetings, everyone.
00:18 My name is Kameron De Vasher, 00:20 I am a pastor in the Michigan Conference 00:22 of Seventh-day Adventist. 00:24 Yet today we're coming to you 00:25 from the beautiful state of Hawaii 00:27 on the island of Oahu 00:28 and we're so blessed to be with the friends here 00:31 in this part of the world field. 00:33 And at this time, we're gonna begin a series of messages 00:37 entitled "Equipping the Saints." 00:40 You know, it was Jesus who said in Matthew 24:14, 00:45 "And this gospel of the kingdom 00:47 will be preached in all the world 00:49 as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come." 00:55 Friends, I don't know about you, 00:56 but I am anxious, I am eager, 00:58 I am ready for that end to come. 01:01 But we want to be part of God's team, 01:03 part of God's body and the earth 01:05 to accomplish the work that He's given us to do. 01:08 That is the giving of the gospel to the world 01:10 in this generation. 01:11 So that's what we're looking 01:12 at in this series of presentations 01:14 entitled Equipping the Saints. 01:17 We're gonna look 01:19 from the perspective of the Bible, 01:21 what our responsibility is in God's work of redemption. 01:26 Now, as we go through this series, 01:28 let me outline the flow of the thought. 01:31 We're gonna begin in the courts of heaven 01:33 and roughly through a chronological sequence, 01:35 walk through the history of God's people 01:38 and His expectation for them 01:40 right down to our day today, 01:42 these very last days of earth's history, 01:44 and to see what God wants from us 01:46 and what He has promised 01:47 to provide for us 01:49 in the responsibility of finishing the work 01:52 and hastening the coming of Jesus. 01:54 So we're gonna move from broad principle 01:56 and each time we walk down, 01:58 in the next presentation, 02:00 it'll get a little bit more practical, 02:01 a little bit more practical until we leave here. 02:03 Hopefully not just having some theory, 02:05 but having some practical lessons 02:07 that we can take home to our local communities, 02:10 our local church families, 02:11 and do the work as God gives us the ability. 02:15 So we've got a large task 02:16 and we're gonna start today 02:17 with a message entitled "The Ministry of Angels." 02:22 But before we begin any study of God's Word, 02:24 we always need to begin with a word of prayer. 02:26 Please bow your heads. 02:27 Dear heavenly Father, 02:29 I thank You so much for the life 02:31 that You've given us to live. 02:34 Lord that would be yours, that would be ours, 02:36 even if we spurned Your invitation for salvation 02:40 but more than just this life, 02:43 You've provided eternal life for us in Jesus Christ. 02:47 So, Lord, we're double yours. 02:49 So You have the ownership of our lives 02:51 and You expect from us loving service. 02:56 Help us now as we study Your Word to understand 03:00 Your thoughts, Your plans for Your work 03:03 that we can be part of. 03:05 So bless us now, send the Holy Spirit 03:07 to guide our minds for we pray it in Jesus' name. 03:10 Amen. 03:12 Please take your Bibles out 03:13 since you already have them open, 03:15 hopefully to Matthew 24. 03:16 Let's go to the right to the Book of Revelation. 03:20 The Book of Revelation, we're gonna go to Chapter 4. 03:23 Revelation Chapter 4. 03:26 We're not gonna be studying Bible prophecy from the book, 03:28 but we're gonna learn some practical lessons 03:30 that begin here in the Book of Revelation 03:32 again starting with Chapter 4. 03:35 The Apostle John out on the island of Patmos 03:39 receives a message from the Lord. 03:41 Were recorded here in Revelation 4:1 03:44 it says, "After these things 03:45 I looked, and, behold, a door standing open," 03:49 where? 03:51 "In heaven: 03:52 and the first voice which I heard was like 03:54 a trumpet speaking with me saying, 03:56 'Come up here and I will show you things 03:59 which must take place after this.'" 04:02 Now here's a very practical lesson 04:04 right from the start for any Christian believer. 04:06 Anytime the Lord God calls you from heaven 04:10 and opens the door and says, 04:12 "Come up here," you know, what you should do? 04:14 Go. 04:15 Anytime the Lord wants to take you to heaven, 04:17 go with Him. 04:19 We can talk about Enoch, 04:20 we can talk about Elijah, 04:22 they've got good testimonies. 04:23 Moses raised from the dead and went to the heavens. 04:24 But here the Apostle John, 04:26 in spirit, in vision, 04:29 was invited into the throne room of heaven 04:32 and watch what he writes, Verse 2, 04:33 "Immediately I was in the spirit: 04:36 and behold, a throne set in heaven, 04:40 and one sat on the throne." 04:43 Notice it was not an empty throne, 04:45 it was an occupied throne and one sat there. 04:47 This is God the Father sitting on His throne 04:50 in the courtroom of heaven. 04:52 Verse 3, "And he who sat there was like a jasper 04:54 and a sardine stone in appearance, 04:56 and there was a rainbow around the throne 04:58 and an emerald in appearance like an emerald, 05:00 around the throne were 24 thrones 05:02 and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting 05:05 clothed in white robes 05:06 and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 05:08 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, 05:11 thunderings and voices, 05:12 seven lamps of fire 05:14 were burning before the throne, 05:15 which are the seven Spirits of God." 05:20 Now, you see that it's starting to describe the attendees 05:24 in this courtroom. 05:25 This throne room of God, 05:27 you have the Father Himself sitting on the throne, 05:29 you have the 24 thrones for the 24 elders around there. 05:33 And in verse 5, it describes the seven Spirits of God, 05:37 which is a representation 05:38 symbolically of the Holy Spirit. 05:41 You never see the term Holy Spirit, 05:42 by the way, in the Book of Revelation 05:44 but repeatedly you see the seven Spirits of God 05:47 being a symbolic representation 05:49 for that third person of the Godhead. 05:52 But it goes on in verse 6, 05:53 "Before the throne there was a great sea 05:55 of glass like crystal 05:56 and in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, 05:58 were four living creatures 05:59 full of eyes in front and in back. 06:02 The first living creature was like a lion, 06:03 the second like a calf, 06:04 the third living creature had a face like a man, 06:06 and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 06:09 The four living creatures, 06:10 each having six wings, 06:11 were full of eyes around them within, 06:13 and they do not rest day or night saying, 06:14 Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, 06:17 who was and is and is to come." 06:20 Now if you notice each time, 06:22 it doesn't just say that God was on the throne, 06:24 there was one sat on the throne 06:27 and then there's the 24 thrones, 06:29 and of course, 06:30 there's the seven Spirits of God 06:31 which represents the Holy Spirit, 06:33 that person of the, third person of the Godhead. 06:35 And then you have the four living creatures, 06:38 everything is enumerated, everything is quantified, 06:42 that's an interesting thing about this. 06:44 Now, we're gonna find 06:45 why that's particularly interesting. 06:47 But in all of Revelation, Chapter 4 06:49 you see the Father, you see the Spirit, 06:51 you see the 24 elders, 06:53 and you see the four living creatures, 06:54 but there's one member of the Godhead 06:55 who's notably missing and that is Jesus Christ. 06:59 But in Revelation Chapter 5, He joins the scene as well. 07:02 Notice in verse 5, 07:05 "But one of the elders said to me 07:06 do not weep, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, 07:09 the Root of David has prevailed 07:11 to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. 07:14 Verse 6, "And I looked and behold, 07:16 in the midst of the throne, 07:17 and of the four living creatures, 07:19 and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb 07:20 as though it had been slain, 07:22 having seven horns and seven eyes, 07:24 which are the seven Spirits of God 07:26 sent out into all the earth." 07:28 There's so much we can say about this, 07:30 but for our purposes today, 07:32 I just want to highlight the attendees in this room. 07:36 Now we have the Father, 07:37 the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 07:39 all three members of the Godhead. 07:41 You also have the four living creatures 07:44 and the 24 elders. 07:48 And almost every sermon 07:51 I've ever heard on Revelation 4 and 5 07:54 outlines and discusses 07:58 and studies deeper into some aspect 08:01 of those persons we've just described. 08:03 Either it's about the members of the Godhead 08:06 or maybe it's the 24 elders, 08:08 maybe it's the four living creatures. 08:10 But there's one group of individuals 08:12 that is in Revelation 4 and 5 08:14 but somehow we missed them almost every time. 08:17 Stay in Revelation Chapter 5, 08:20 and go down now to verse 11, 08:26 says, "Then I looked and I heard the voice of many," what? 08:30 "Angels around the throne, 08:34 the living creatures and the elders." 08:37 So notice the throne is the headquarters 08:39 of the Godhead. 08:40 And we, of course, we have the living creatures, 08:42 the four living creatures, the 24 elders, 08:44 but beyond that, 08:45 apparently there are many angels. 08:49 And if everything else has been quantified and enumerated, 08:53 we should anticipate the answer to the question, 08:55 well, how many? 08:56 Well, let's keep reading. 08:59 "And the number of them 09:00 was ten thousand times ten thousand, 09:05 and thousands of thousands." 09:09 Now, friends, ten thousand times 09:12 ten thousand is what? 09:14 That's a 100 million 09:18 and beyond that there are thousands of thousands. 09:21 Now I'm not here to debate whether this number is literal 09:25 or symbolic. 09:26 But can we all agree that either way it's really big. 09:31 That there is a vast congregation of angels 09:35 in the heavenly places here. 09:38 And it says here, 09:39 "Saying with a loud voice, 09:41 Worthy is the Lamb 09:42 who was slain to receive power, 09:44 and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 09:45 and honor, and glory, and blessing." 09:46 So they're joining the refrain of praise 09:49 to the God the Father, 09:50 they are in the courts of heaven. 09:53 And one has to ask. 09:56 Well, let's just at least note 09:59 that according to Scripture itself, 10:01 the overwhelming majority 10:04 of heaven's inhabitants 10:07 are not the three members of the Godhead, 10:10 the four living creatures or the 24 elders 10:13 even though they get most of the attention. 10:16 There's this almost innumerable throng 10:21 of angels. 10:23 Now why are we bringing that out today? 10:26 Well, let's find out what the Bible tells us 10:28 is their job description. 10:29 What is it that they do? 10:31 Let's go now to the Book of Hebrews. 10:33 Go back to the left 10:34 because you can't go to the right in Revelation. 10:36 Go back to the left, Hebrews Chapter 1 10:40 and notice what the Apostle Paul 10:42 describes when he's contrasting 10:44 the grand superiority of the ministry of Christ 10:46 over that of any other angel. 10:48 He describes the work of the angels. 10:52 We'll look at verse 7, Hebrews 1:7, 10:56 "And of the angels he says," and now he quote scripture, 11:00 "who makes his angels spirits, 11:03 and his ministers a flame of fire." 11:07 Do you notice there's an equivalence 11:08 there between angels and ministers? 11:12 Look at verse 14 in the same passage. 11:15 Speaking of the angels again, he asked rhetorically, 11:17 "Are they not all ministering spirits 11:21 sent forth to minister 11:23 for those who will inherit salvation." 11:27 According to the Bible, 11:28 what is the job description 11:30 of the typical run of the mill angel in heaven? 11:33 Is to be a ministering spirits sent forth to minister 11:38 to those who will inherit salvation. 11:40 They're not just decorative 11:42 and they're not just onlookers, 11:43 they're actually workers in the cause of God. 11:47 Sometimes we might just read through Revelation and think, 11:49 oh, they're just watching things. 11:50 No, no, friends, apparently the Lord uses them 11:53 as His workers in His field seeking the lost. 11:58 That's a fascinating concept. 12:01 Go now back to the Old Testament 12:02 to the Book of Psalms 12:04 as we study deeper into the ministry of angels. 12:10 The 104th Psalm is exactly 12:15 what Hebrews was quoting from there. 12:18 Psalm 104:1-4 it says, 12:22 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord, my God, 12:25 You are very great. 12:26 You are clothed with honor and majesty. 12:29 Who cover yourself with light as with a garment, 12:31 who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 12:33 He lays the beam of his upper chambers 12:35 in the waters, 12:36 who makes the clouds his chariot, 12:38 who walks on the wings of the wind, 12:40 who makes his angels spirits, 12:42 his ministers a flame of fire." 12:46 So again, that New Testament concept 12:49 was just a quote from the Old Testament, 12:51 Book of Psalms. 12:53 In fact, let's go back even deeper 12:55 into the Old Testament 12:56 as far back as you can to the Book of Genesis. 12:59 We're gonna see that this concept of the angels 13:02 being the ministering spirits of God sent forth to minister 13:05 for those who will inherit salvation 13:08 is not a novel concept, 13:10 it's a one off in one little book 13:12 or you might be able to twist scripture 13:14 and see it this way, 13:15 that this is a theme from literally Genesis 13:18 to Revelation 13:19 of how God operates His work. 13:24 Let's go to Genesis Chapter 28. 13:27 Genesis Chapter 28. 13:31 We'll start with verse 10. 13:33 This is the story of Jacob 13:36 as he's fleeing, 13:38 and he's having a night there off by himself, 13:41 and he goes to sleep. 13:42 It says in Genesis 28:10, 13:45 "Now Jacob went out from Beersheba 13:47 and went toward Haran. 13:49 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, 13:52 because the sun had set. 13:53 And he took one of the stones of that place 13:55 and put it at his head, 13:57 and he lay down in that place to sleep." 13:59 Now the crucial verse is verse 12. 14:02 "Then he dreamed, and behold, 14:06 a ladder was set up on the earth, 14:09 and its top reached to heaven." 14:14 So there's a ladder that he dreamed. 14:16 He saw in his dream 14:17 and it went all the way down to the earth 14:20 and he extended all the way up into heaven. 14:23 Please note it didn't sit on the earth 14:25 and get halfway to heaven 14:27 or didn't dangle down from heaven 14:28 and not make it all the way down to the earth. 14:30 It extended all the way down and it went all the way up. 14:35 And then it adds this, 14:37 "And there the angels of God 14:41 were ascending and descending on it." 14:47 So ascending means going up, right? 14:50 Descending means coming down. 14:52 So apparently they are both going up and down 14:54 on this ladder, 14:56 so I imagine it's a wide ladder, 14:57 you've got an up lane and a down lane, right? 14:59 But there's angels going back and forth, up and down 15:02 between earth and heaven 15:03 on this ladder. 15:09 Now that's basically the end of the dream, 15:11 it leads to its principal parts. 15:18 And what's fascinating to me is 15:20 there is almost zero commentary 15:22 in the rest of the Scripture about this mysterious ladder. 15:27 He just dreamed about a ladder. 15:29 The Lord gave him reassurance that He was still with him 15:33 and there were angels going up and down on this ladder. 15:37 Dream over. 15:40 In fact, it's not until we go all the way 15:42 to the New Testament Gospel of John, 15:45 do we see the biblical interpretation, 15:49 the explanation of this mysterious ladder? 15:54 Matthew, Mark, Luke, then John Chapter 1, 15:59 the very beginning of Jesus' ministry. 16:03 John Chapter 1. 16:04 We're gonna begin in Verse 43. 16:07 Here Jesus is just beginning His ministry, 16:10 He's gathering some of His first disciples to Him. 16:14 And it says here in verse 43, 16:15 "The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, 16:18 and he found Philip and said to him, 16:20 'Follow me.' 16:23 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 16:28 Philip found Nathanael 16:30 and said to him, we have found him, 16:32 of whom Moses in the law, 16:34 and also the prophets wrote, 16:35 Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 16:41 And Nathanael said to him, 16:43 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'" 16:49 Now, let's put a little context here. 16:51 Philip was called by Jesus directly. 16:55 Jesus said, come follow Me and he obeys. 16:58 But notice that the first response of anybody 17:01 who comes to Jesus is to find someone else to bring to Jesus. 17:04 So Philip goes in search of Nathanael 17:07 who he knows apparently to be a devoted 17:09 student of the Word of God, 17:10 eager to see the Messiah come in his lifetime. 17:13 And now he eagerly goes back, 17:15 he joyously reports that we have found him 17:18 of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote. 17:20 And I'm guessing at that point, 17:22 Nathanael's heart was beating excited. 17:24 Oh, yes, tell me, tell me who it is? 17:25 And he said of, "It's Jesus of Nazareth." 17:34 And automatically, Nathanael thinks 17:38 whang, whang, whang. 17:44 You had me there at first 17:45 but then you, come on, Nazareth, really? 17:50 It's a response can anything good 17:52 come out of Nazareth. 17:57 I love Philip's response. 17:59 It was not argumentative, it was not harsh, 18:02 it was not cutting or cruel. 18:03 He simply said, "Come and see." 18:08 You come see for yourself. 18:10 Now, let's lay the foundation again. 18:13 Is Nathanael genuinely seeking the Messiah? 18:16 Yes. 18:18 Is he been studying the scriptures of Moses 18:20 and the writings of the law? 18:21 Of course, but he has some doubt, 18:24 does he not? 18:25 Yes, he's skeptical about the identity 18:27 of this individual being the Messiah. 18:31 So Philip says, come and see. 18:32 Verse 47, "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him 18:35 and said of him, 18:37 Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit." 18:43 Now we don't have record of him saying 18:45 anything that affirmative 18:46 and positive about any of the other disciples 18:48 who he called, He just said, "Come follow me," 18:49 and they said, "Okay." 18:51 But He takes a different approach with Nathanael. 18:53 Why? 18:54 Because Nathanael has some skepticism, 18:57 and so the Lord is breaking down 18:59 those walls of suspicion and doubt, 19:04 and He makes this interesting pronouncement, 19:06 Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no deceit. 19:10 That caught Nathanael's interest. 19:13 Verse 48, 19:14 Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? 19:20 And look at one of the tiniest little slivers of a miracle 19:23 in all the Bible is right here. 19:26 "Jesus answered and said to him, 19:28 'Before Philip called you, 19:32 when you were under the fig tree, 19:35 I saw you.'" 19:41 Now, I don't know the topography 19:43 and the geography of that land exactly where they were. 19:46 I don't know if the fig tree was far, far away, 19:48 was around the corner or down a hill 19:51 or some sort of obscuring thing, 19:52 but apparently the fact 19:54 that Jesus before Philip even talked to him 19:57 had knowledge of where he was and what he was doing. 20:01 That little bit of a flash of divine insight 20:05 was enough to melt all of Nathanael's doubts. 20:12 Watch his response, Verse 49 20:14 "Nathanael answered and said to him, 20:16 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, 20:18 you are the king of Israel.'" 20:22 And I look at that and I think, 20:23 I wonder if Jesus thought, wow! 20:25 That was easy. 20:27 I hope the rest of My ministry go so swimmingly well. 20:34 In fact, look at verse 15, 20:35 "Jesus answered and said to him, 20:38 'Because I said to you, 20:39 I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?" 20:43 Like that's it. 20:46 "You will see greater things than these.'" 20:50 Now pause right here. 20:51 What are the things 20:52 that He's gonna see that are greater 20:54 than these he had just seen? 20:56 Clearly, He's talking about miracles, right? 21:00 Because it was a miraculous, 21:02 it was a divine, it was a superhuman thing 21:04 for Christ to have been able to identify Nathanael 21:07 before Philip had even spoken to him, right? 21:10 And that little bit of a miracle 21:12 was all that Nathanael needed to say, 21:14 You're the king of Israel, you're the Son of God. 21:17 And Jesus comes back, like, really, that's all. 21:22 What you're gonna see next is gonna knock your socks off. 21:26 The blind are gonna see, 21:28 the deaf are gonna hear, 21:29 the lame are gonna walk, the dead will live again. 21:32 And you're here because of the fig tree thing, 21:35 has nothing. 21:37 And then he adds this one interesting sentence. 21:40 Verse 51 21:41 "And he said to him, most assuredly, 21:46 I say to you 21:47 here after you shall see heaven open, 21:49 and the angels of God 21:52 ascending and descending upon," 21:55 and he doesn't say the ladder. 21:57 He says, "The Son of Man." 22:01 Jesus interprets the ladder of Jacob 22:07 and he says that ladder is Me. 22:12 Jesus is the one who comes down to the earth 22:14 and takes our experience, 22:16 our humanity as His own and yet, 22:19 He remains His divinity 22:20 linking heaven with earth, right? 22:23 And notice that in the dream, the ladder is a fixed thing. 22:28 It does not go up and down every time there's a need. 22:30 It remains planted on the earth and it extends into heaven. 22:34 What are the moving parts of the ladder? 22:36 It's not the ladder itself. 22:38 It is the angels moving up and down upon the ladder. 22:42 Does that make sense? 22:44 So every time something happens, 22:46 Jesus is talking about miracles here, by the way, 22:49 and he doesn't say that I'm gonna do this. 22:51 He says the angels are gonna go up and down 22:53 through the conduit, through the ladder that I am. 22:57 Jesus connects heaven with earth, 23:00 but His ministering spirits are the angels. 23:06 And if you start looking through Scripture 23:09 with this lens in mind, 23:11 it actually is quite eye opening. 23:14 Genesis Chapter 19. 23:18 Two angels visited Lot. 23:21 In Daniel Chapter 9 angels give messages. 23:25 By the way, the same Gabriel in Daniel Chapter 9 23:28 shows up 500 years later in Luke Chapter 1 23:31 to speak to Zachariah, 23:32 the father of John, the Baptist. 23:36 Go to Daniel Chapter 6. 23:38 Let's give an example of this. 23:39 We could look at so many of them, 23:40 I just want to highlight one or two. 23:42 In Daniel Chapter 6 23:45 when Daniel faced persecution for his faith. 23:50 Verse 18, 23:51 "Now the king went to his palace 23:52 and spent the night fasting 23:54 and no musicians were brought before him." 23:55 You remember the context of course this is King Darius 23:58 who was tricked into enforcing a law 24:00 that would punish his good friend Daniel. 24:03 And he spent all day trying to look for a loophole 24:06 in that law to save his friend from this sentence, 24:09 but he had sealed it with the signet ring. 24:11 It was the law of the Medes and Persians. 24:13 It could not be changed. 24:14 There was no loophole, 24:16 and Daniel went into lions' den. 24:18 But all that night King Darius was troubled. 24:21 It says here also, "his sleep went from him." 24:23 Verse 19, 24:24 "Then the king arose very early in the morning 24:26 and went in haste to the den of lions, 24:28 and when he came to the den, 24:30 he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. 24:32 The king spoke to Daniel saying, 24:33 'Daniel, servant of the living God, 24:36 has your God whom you serve continually 24:39 been able to deliver you from the lions." 24:42 He says, "Did God save you?" 24:46 Verse 21, "Then Daniel said to the king, 24:49 O King, live forever." 24:51 By the way, what a great example 24:53 for Christians in persecution. 24:54 Even from the midst of a lions' den 24:57 to the man who threw him in, 24:59 he was respectable. 25:00 Oh, good morning, King. 25:01 I hope you slept well, live forever. 25:07 Then he adds, verse 22, "How he's still alive. 25:11 My God sent his" what? 25:14 "Angel and shut the lions' mouth, 25:17 so that they have not hurt me 25:19 because I was found innocent before him and also, 25:21 O King, I have done no wrong before you." 25:24 By the way the reason that Daniel would come out, 25:26 he lifts him out because apparently 25:28 there was no what do you do after you throw them in, 25:30 the law presume that once you went in, 25:33 you never come out. 25:34 So there was no like exit strategy for the lions' den, 25:37 you go in and it's a one way trip. 25:39 But Daniel survived the trip into the lions' den 25:42 so Darius was still within the law 25:44 to bring him back out 25:45 because he'd executed faithfully the written code. 25:48 So Daniel can come back out and by the way, 25:50 a replacement was found and they filled that... 25:52 We won't get into that right now. 25:54 But Daniel does say that God saved him 25:56 but he says, how did God save him? 25:59 Did he say God himself came down? 26:01 No, he said he sent His angel. 26:06 Go to Psalm 91. 26:08 This principle is laid out of how God operates 26:12 from His throne room in heaven 26:14 that He Himself does not go 26:16 up and down, up and down 26:17 between heaven and earth every time 26:19 there's an emergency. 26:20 But He works through His ministering spirits, 26:23 the angels. 26:25 Look at Psalm 91:10-12, 26:28 it says, "No evil shall befall you, 26:30 nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, 26:33 for he shall give his," what? 26:35 "Angels charge over you 26:37 to keep you in all your way." 26:39 So you notice that God 26:40 is the one caring for them, 26:41 but He gives the responsibility 26:43 to His angels to take care of people. 26:47 He shall give His angels charge over you 26:49 to keep you in all your ways. 26:50 "In their hands they shall bear you up, 26:54 lest you dash your foot against a stone." 26:57 So God's protective care of His people. 26:59 His watch care over his own 27:01 is of course personal with Him, 27:03 but He doesn't directly do it, 27:05 He sends His agent, His angel to execute His care. 27:09 Does that make sense? 27:11 This is how God operates. 27:13 Go to Matthew Chapter 4. 27:14 Jesus Himself was a recipient of this angel care. 27:20 When Jesus was wrestling 27:22 in the wilderness of temptation, 27:26 three times He was tempted by the devil 27:29 and each time He responded with a confident 27:31 thus saith the Lord, it is written, 27:35 and through that power of the Word of God, 27:37 He was able to repel the devil. 27:39 But after 40 days of not eating and drinking, 27:42 and after three rounds of hand to hand 27:44 spiritual combat with the devil, 27:46 you can imagine that Christ 27:47 was completely worn out. 27:49 And that is an understatement. 27:51 Apparently, He was near the point of death. 27:54 Look at Chapter 4 verse 11, 27:58 "Then the devil left him 27:59 and behold," what happened? 28:01 "Angels came and ministered to Him." 28:06 By the way, that happened 28:07 at the beginning of His ministry, 28:09 it also happened at the end of His ministry 28:10 in the Garden of Gethsemane, 28:12 when He was near death again, 28:13 this time spiritual death, leading to His physical death. 28:16 He was literally bleeding drops of blood, 28:18 and He was calling out and what happened? 28:20 Angels ministered to Him. 28:22 Every time God wants to help His people, 28:25 He sends His angel messengers. 28:27 That's how He accomplishes His work. 28:30 God has a method of working. 28:33 And we're not anywhere near the application for today. 28:36 But let me tell you something, friends, 28:37 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 28:39 has been given a message to give to the world. 28:42 We find it right in Scripture. 28:45 But let me tell you something else. 28:46 Seventh-day Adventist Church also has a method 28:49 of giving that message 28:51 and it's also found in Scripture. 28:53 Let's keep studying. 28:56 Let me lay out this framework. 28:58 Most of the things, 29:01 most of the things God does, 29:06 God doesn't do personally, 29:11 God delegates. 29:14 Okay. 29:15 Most of the work that God does, 29:18 He does not do Himself directly or personally, 29:23 He does it through an agent, 29:24 He delegate someone else to do this. 29:27 I mean, you think of the great works of God. 29:30 For example, the inspiration of Scripture itself. 29:34 The Bible is the Word of God. Amen? 29:37 But did God come down, 29:39 take out a blank piece of paper 29:40 and physically take a pen and ink and write out the Word? 29:42 Of course not, how did He do it? 29:46 He inspired the authors and they wrote down, right? 29:50 He sent His agent, 29:51 He worked through the middleman, 29:53 that's how He worked. 29:54 It's fascinating. 29:55 Let's get some other examples. 29:57 Go back to the Book of Genesis Chapter 4. 30:00 Maybe some that we haven't thought of before 30:01 and there will be a little bit of eye opener here. 30:06 Genesis 4:4 says, 30:11 "Abel also brought of the firstborn of the flock 30:14 and their fat. 30:16 And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 30:18 but he did not respect Cain and his offering. 30:20 And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 30:24 So the Lord said to Cain..." 30:26 Pause right there, timeout. 30:30 What? 30:33 Well, I thought that 30:34 after the fall of our first parents 30:36 in the Garden of Eden 30:38 and their separation from God 30:40 that our sins have separated from God, right? 30:44 Is God here speaking with rebellious Cain, 30:49 face to face directly? 30:51 What does it mean when it says, "The Lord said to Cain." 30:55 Why are you angry 30:57 and why is your countenance fallen? 30:58 Did he just have a voice from heaven, 31:00 what happened here? 31:02 He counseled in verse 7, "If you do well, 31:05 will you not be accepted? 31:06 And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. 31:08 And its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it." 31:14 But notice this 31:15 from the book Patriarchs and Prophets, page 74. 31:17 A direct commentary on what we just read 31:19 from Scripture. 31:21 Sister White writes, "Through an angel messenger 31:26 the divine warning was conveyed: 31:28 'If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? 31:31 If thou does not do well, sin lieth at the door.'" 31:35 How did the Lord speak? 31:37 Through an angel messenger. 31:40 Fascinating. 31:41 Let's go to the Book of Genesis Chapter 11. 31:43 We're just with a few examples from the Bible here. 31:46 Genesis Chapter 11. 31:49 Here at the building of the Tower of Babel. 31:54 When the people start rebelling 31:56 against God shortly after the flood, 31:58 once again, verse 5 says, "But the Lord came down to see 32:01 the city and the tower 32:03 which the sons of men had built. 32:04 And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one 32:07 and they all have one language 32:09 and this is what they begin to do. 32:10 Now nothing they propose 32:13 to do will be withheld for them. 32:14 Come let us go down 32:16 and there confound their language, 32:18 or confused their language, that they may not understand 32:21 one another's speech.' 32:22 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face 32:26 of all the earth 32:27 and they ceased building the city.'" 32:32 There's a lot of the Lord doing thing, 32:33 the Lord saw, the Lord went down, 32:35 the Lord confused, the Lord scattered, 32:38 there's a lot of action verbs 32:39 that are credited directly to God. 32:42 But now notice this Story of Redemption, page 73. 32:45 How did He actually execute that plan of confusing 32:48 and scattering the people? 32:49 Story of Redemption, page 73, "As the word was passing 32:54 from one to another and its descent, 32:56 the angels confounded their language, 33:00 and when the word reached the workmen upon the ground, 33:02 material was called for which had not been required." 33:05 So how did God execute His plan of confusion and scattering? 33:09 He sent His angel messengers to do His bidding. 33:13 The Lord always has a message and He has a method 33:16 that is consistent from heaven to earth 33:18 to our time today. 33:21 Perhaps no better example of this is found 33:23 than in the Matthew account 33:26 of one of the encounters of Jesus. 33:27 Matthew Chapter 8, 33:35 starting with verse 5. 33:41 During the ministry of Jesus, 33:43 this principle is clearly outlined. 33:47 Matthew Chapter 8 starting with verse 5, 33:50 says, "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, 33:55 a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 33:58 saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, 34:01 dreadfully tormented.' 34:05 And Jesus said to him, 34:07 'I will come and heal him.'" 34:12 Now that seems like a pretty typical interaction 34:14 for the day in life of Jesus. 34:16 Someone comes, makes an appeal, Christ graciously responds 34:19 and said, "I will come." 34:21 But what changed in the situation make it quite 34:23 unusual is what happened in verse 8 34:27 "The centurion answered and said, 34:28 'Lord, I am not worthy 34:31 that You should come under my roof.'" 34:34 So Jesus Christ has heard about the man's need, 34:38 offers himself to come directly to his house 34:41 and the centurion bids Him no. 34:45 He says, Lord and He gives two reasons. 34:46 What was the first one? 34:48 Lord, first of all, I am not worthy 34:51 that You should come under my roof. 34:53 He recognized the divinity of Christ and say, 34:56 woe, woe, woe, woe am I, 34:58 woe is me that I'm a man of unclean lips, 35:00 quoting from Isaiah. 35:01 He says, I'm not worthy to have You come in my house. 35:05 But then he adds a second more intriguing idea. 35:10 "I'm not worthy that You should 35:12 come under my roof. 35:13 But only speak a word, 35:16 and my servant will be healed." 35:19 Now notice this, Christ was willing to go 35:21 directly to the house and perform this act 35:24 right then and there. 35:26 And this centurion said, 35:27 please don't come for two reasons. 35:30 Number one, I'm not worthy of Your presence in my house, 35:34 and number two, You don't need to come, 35:37 all You have to do is speak a word. 35:40 Now, when I was growing up, and I heard this story, 35:44 what I had in my mind is that God had the ability 35:49 which of course He does through the power 35:51 of His Word to do things directly. 35:53 Now let's be clear, there are some things God 35:55 does directly. 35:57 For instance, when He says let there be light, 35:59 He didn't say, angel, go make light. 36:01 And angel can do that. 36:02 God makes a light out of darkness. 36:04 Amen? 36:05 He makes something out of nothing. 36:07 When God wanted to write down and articulate for the people 36:11 His own law, He sent Himself, right? 36:14 To speak the Ten Commandments 36:15 and to write with His own finger, 36:17 the tablets of stone. 36:18 There are occasions where God Himself 36:20 does things directly, 36:22 but for most of the things He does, He sends an agent. 36:24 And here I had the impression well, 36:26 this must be one of the things 36:27 Jesus will just dig into that bag of divinity 36:29 and speak this powerful word. 36:34 But watch very carefully, 36:36 that is not what the centurion had in mind. 36:39 He explains what he means. 36:41 Look at the text again. 36:42 After he says but only speak a word 36:44 and my servant will be healed, 36:45 He goes on in verse 9 to explain. 36:47 "For..." Here's his explanation. 36:49 "For I also," 36:53 now think about that, I also means, 36:55 I just like you, 37:00 "am a man under authority." 37:04 What an interesting concept. 37:07 He says, I'm under authority just like you are. 37:10 He recognizes that in the work of Christ, 37:12 there is a chain of command and being a military man 37:15 he recognizes that for himself. 37:17 He says, "I also am a man under authority." 37:20 And then he explains what he means by that. 37:22 Having soldiers" where? 37:25 Under me. 37:28 So this man was an centurion, you got to know 37:30 he's got to have a general or a boss or some sort of, 37:32 you know, commend on above him. 37:35 But in his chain of command, 37:36 he also has soldiers underneath him. 37:39 And he explains how he uses them. 37:41 "I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, 37:44 and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, 37:46 and to my servant 'Do this,' 37:48 and he does it.'" 37:55 Think about the power of this. 37:56 He says, I have this structure just like You do, Jesus. 38:03 And notice, it almost took Jesus by surprise, 38:06 if something can be taken by surprise by Jesus. 38:09 Look at verse 10, "When Jesus heard it, 38:12 He," what does it say? 38:14 "Marveled." 38:18 Now, friends, there are a lot of occasions 38:21 in Scripture where people marveled at what Jesus said, 38:25 but there are very few indeed 38:26 where Jesus marveled at what they said. 38:30 But Jesus heard this centurion, this Gentile, by the way, 38:35 saying, please don't come to my house, I'm not worthy. 38:39 Look at that humility, and beyond the humility, 38:43 the wisdom of understanding how my ministry works. 38:48 He says in verse 10, this is from Jesus' own lips. 38:50 "When Jesus heard it, He marveled and said 38:52 to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, 38:55 I have not found such great faith, 38:57 not even in Israel!'" 38:59 Everywhere I go in Israel, if I get an invitation home, 39:02 they're like, yeah, come on in. 39:05 But this man won't even have me 39:07 and besides that he knows how I work. 39:12 It's fascinating. 39:14 Now, we're gonna take this chapter that we just read, 39:18 and we'd look at the second account of the same story, 39:20 this time from the Gospel of Luke. 39:23 And you will very quickly notice some, 39:26 I'm not gonna say discrepancies, 39:29 but some distinctions between the two accounts. 39:32 Go to Luke now, Matthew, Mark, Luke Chapter 7. 39:37 And I want you to notice something. 39:40 Luke 7:2 says, 39:45 "And a certain centurion's servant, 39:48 who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 39:51 So when he heard about Jesus, 39:54 he sent elders of the Jews to Him, 39:58 pleading with Him to come and heal his servant." 40:02 Wait a minute. 40:04 Leave your finger there. Go back to Matthew Chapter 8. 40:07 What is the first thing you notice? 40:09 In Matthew 8:5, when it talks about this example, it said, 40:15 "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, 40:17 a centurion came to Him." 40:20 Luke Chapter 7 does not say that the centurion came. 40:26 It's saying the centurion sent people to go to Jesus. 40:30 By the way, let's think about the strategy. 40:32 Why would you send elders of the Jews to Jesus? 40:36 He's a Gentile, right? 40:39 And He's got a need 40:40 and he's being very strategic here. 40:41 He's like, you know what? 40:43 I don't know this Jewish Messiah. 40:46 I believe in Him, but He doesn't know me 40:48 and there's a pretty big rift between the Jews 40:50 and the Gentiles, you understand? 40:51 So my best move is to send someone 40:56 who will be sympathetic to my cause. 40:58 And by the way, why are they sympathetic? 41:00 Well, let's just keep reading. 41:01 Luke 7:3, 41:04 "So when he heard about Jesus, 41:06 he sent elders of the Jews to Him, 41:07 pleading with Him to come and heal his servant." 41:09 Verse 4, "And when they came to Jesus, 41:12 they begged Him earnestly, 41:14 saying that the one for whom He should do this 41:16 was deserving, for he loves our nation, 41:19 and has built us a synagogue.'" 41:22 Isn't that so kind of these Jewish leaders 41:25 to embrace this Gentile friend? 41:30 How honestly unexpected of them. 41:35 But why were they in favor of this particular Gentile? 41:39 Because he loves our nation and has demonstrated 41:41 it by building us a synagogue. 41:44 He's worthy because he's given us money. 41:49 Now I'm in verse 6, "Then Jesus went with them. 41:56 And when He was already not far from the house, 41:59 the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 42:04 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, I am not worthy 42:06 that You should enter under my roof. 42:08 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You.'" 42:12 He specifically says, 42:14 I'm trying not to come talk to You. 42:18 "But say the word, and my servant will be healed." 42:22 "For I also am a man placed under authority, 42:24 having soldiers under me. 42:26 And I say, 'Go,' 42:27 and this one goes and to another, 'Come,' 42:28 and he comes and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.'" 42:35 Now first of all, let's talk about this. 42:37 What do you do when you find 42:38 what appears to be a discrepancy in the scripture? 42:44 Two different accounts of one story, 42:47 but the details are quite different. 42:51 Do you do as the non believer and say, Ah-huh, 42:54 riddled with inconsistencies, sits contradictory. 42:58 It's a man made document. 43:01 Of course not. 43:03 Listen to this. 43:05 From the introduction to the Great Controversy, 43:06 we find this explanation, "Written in different ages, 43:11 by men who differed widely in rank and occupation, 43:14 and in mental and spiritual endowments, 43:16 the books of the Bible present a wide contrast in style, 43:20 as well as the diversity in the nature 43:22 of the subjects unfolded." 43:23 We understand how inspiration works, 43:25 that God did not pick up their hand and make them write. 43:27 So it's the dictated Word of God 43:29 from Genesis to Revelation. 43:30 He inspired the individual and they wrote 43:32 from their perspective in their language 43:34 with their own experience, right? 43:35 That's why the style of writing is different 43:38 from Moses to the Apostle Paul, or Luke and Matthew 43:42 might have two different ways of expressing the same thing 43:45 or perspectives on the same event. 43:47 She continues, "Different forms of expression 43:50 are employed by different writers, 43:52 often the same truth is more strikingly presented 43:55 by one than by another." 43:58 So for instance, the fact that the foot washing of Jesus, 44:01 where He washed His disciples' feet 44:02 is only found in John Chapter 13. 44:04 Does that mean that Matthew disagreed? 44:06 No, it just means he didn't record it, right? 44:10 She goes on, 44:12 "And as several writers present a subject under 44:15 varied aspects and relations, 44:17 there may appear to the superficial, 44:20 careless, or prejudiced reader, 44:22 to be discrepancy or contradiction, 44:25 where the thoughtful reverent student 44:27 with clearer insight discerns 44:29 the underlying harmony." 44:32 So somehow Matthew Chapter 8 44:35 and Luke Chapter 7 are saying the exact same event 44:38 but from two different perspectives 44:40 or two different emphases. 44:43 Let me ask you a question. 44:44 Did the centurion come to Jesus? 44:50 I love this room. 44:51 It's so full of honesty. 44:53 I have heads going like this and heads going like this. 44:56 Well, you're both right. 44:58 In a sense, did he come? 45:00 Yes, He directed his agents to go speak. 45:04 But did he personally show up? 45:06 No. 45:08 Could you write the same thing 45:10 and say apparently contradictory things 45:12 but mean the same thing? 45:14 Sure, you can. 45:15 Let me give you an illustration, 45:17 it's from my own life. 45:18 When I was first in ministry, 45:19 I lived out in the great state of Idaho and I built a house. 45:23 I did, it was a wonderful little house. 45:26 I wish I had a picture I could show you. 45:27 It's a cute little house, I was very proud of it. 45:29 And I was happy that the price was right 45:30 and I got to pick out the location 45:32 and the style of the house 45:34 and although the finances all that kind of stuff, 45:35 it worked it all out and I got to live in it. 45:38 I built a house. 45:41 But when that process was done, 45:46 I could claim rightfully that I built that house but, 45:48 you know, one thing I never did. 45:52 I never built that house. 45:56 Now what do I mean? 45:59 Never one time in that whole process 46:01 did I pick up a hammer. 46:03 I didn't saw a board, I didn't lay a tile, 46:06 I didn't put a shingle on the roof, 46:08 I didn't do any of the plumbing. 46:09 I didn't do any of the concrete work, 46:11 nor the landscaping, 46:12 not one bit of the first hand frontline labor did I do. 46:17 But at the end of the day, 46:18 I get to claim that I built a house. 46:22 What right do I had to do that? 46:26 Because I chose it. 46:27 By the way, I funded it. 46:31 I built the house, but I didn't go down 46:33 with a hammer and nails. 46:35 I hired a contractor and, by the way, 46:38 you know what the contractor did? 46:40 He didn't do the work either. 46:42 He hired sub-contractors for each part of it. 46:44 And you know what they did? They hired laborers. 46:46 So at the end of the day, my house was built 46:48 by some 16 year old kid that I'll never meet, 46:50 you know, but I still get to say 46:53 I built the house. 46:57 This is how Jesus operates, 46:58 this is how God operates from the throne room of heaven. 47:03 Notice what the Desire of Ages, 47:05 going back to our centurion illustration, 47:06 Desire of Ages, page 316 speaking first person 47:10 from the perspective of the centurion, 47:13 Sister White gives us this insight. 47:15 Desire of Ages, 316, 47:17 "As I represent the power of Rome, 47:21 and my soldiers recognize my authority as supreme, 47:26 so dost Thou represent the power of the Infinite God, 47:30 and all created things obey Thy word. 47:35 Thou canst command the disease to depart, 47:39 and it shall obey Thy voice." 47:41 What was one option Christ had with His voice? 47:43 Could He command the disease directly 47:45 through the power of divinity 47:46 that He had at His command? 47:47 Of course, He could. 47:54 But then she adds, "Thou canst summon 47:56 Thy heavenly messengers, 47:59 and they shall impart healing virtue." 48:03 Which is clearly what he meant in the text. 48:06 Speak but the word and my servant shall be healed. 48:15 So I started thinking, you telling me that not just 48:17 from God on the throne, but even when Christ was here 48:20 on the earth that most of what He did, 48:24 He didn't do directly, He even used 48:26 the ministry of angels in His own work. 48:31 Yes. 48:33 Let me give you some inspiration 48:35 to back this up. 48:36 Anytime I say something even remotely controversial. 48:38 I want to hide behind inspiration, okay? 48:42 Desire of Ages, page 143. 48:44 Listen carefully. 48:48 "The angels of God are ever passing 48:52 from earth to heaven, 48:53 and from heaven to earth." 48:56 Remember that's a reference to the ladder, right? 48:59 She goes on, "The miracles of Christ 49:04 for the afflicted and suffering were wrought 49:07 by the power of God 49:10 through the ministration of the angels. 49:14 And it is through Christ, by the administration 49:16 of his heavenly messengers, 49:18 that every blessing comes from God to us." 49:22 That's a powerful thought. 49:27 In fact, you can find for the deep scholar 49:30 if you'd like to look at the original context, 49:32 because the Desire of Ages actually pulled 49:34 that from a previous writing. 49:37 You can find in the Review and Herald, January 21, 1873, 49:42 also the second volume of the Spirit of Prophecy, 49:44 page 67, it's word for word identical 49:48 from what we find in the Desire of Ages with one change. 49:54 It says instead of saying the miracles 49:56 of Christ for the afflicted and suffering were wrought, 50:00 it adds this one word, 50:01 three letters at the beginning. 50:02 It says, all the miracles of Christ, for the afflicted 50:08 and suffering were wrought by the power of God 50:11 through the ministration of the angels. 50:14 That everything God does, through Christ's ministry 50:19 on earth even was through the agency 50:22 of those ministering spirits sent forth to minister 50:26 for those who will inherit salvation. 50:29 That God has a ministry of angels, 50:34 and that's how He operates His government in heaven. 50:39 Is that making sense? 50:41 Now let's go a little bit deeper. 50:46 Go to Luke Chapter 11. 50:55 Luke Chapter 11. 51:00 Jesus is praying to His Father, 51:03 and His disciples catch Him in the act. 51:09 Verse 1, "Now it came to pass 51:11 as he was praying in a certain place, 51:14 when He ceased that one of His disciples said to Him, 51:19 'Lord, teach us to pray, 51:22 as John also taught his disciples." 51:25 Now there's a lot we can say about prayer. 51:27 But clearly Christ lived His life 51:32 through prayer 51:34 and that connection with His heavenly Father. 51:37 And as He was starting His morning that day, 51:39 He was praying to His Father and apparently 51:41 he was so poignantly praying that His disciples came 51:46 upon Him took note and step back, 51:47 they didn't interrupt Him, 51:48 they didn't peck on His shoulder 51:50 they waited till He was done. 51:51 Christ, you look at the Spirit of Prophecy will even tells us 51:53 that He was praying out loud and they were just listening 51:55 in eavesdropping on this personal time 51:58 between Christ and His Father. 52:01 And whatever it was about His prayer, 52:03 they looked at that and they said, 52:04 "Lord, teach us to pray." 52:05 Now does that mean 52:07 that they had never prayed before? 52:08 Of course not, 52:10 but there is something qualitative 52:11 about that prayer life of Jesus that He thought 52:14 that they thought we must have that. 52:18 And they said, "Lord, teach us to pray." 52:23 And don't we serve a good God whenever we ask? 52:25 He answers. 52:27 Look at verse 2, "So He said to them, 52:29 'When you pray, say, 52:34 Our Father in heaven, 52:37 hallowed be Your name." 52:40 Now listen carefully, "Your kingdom come, 52:43 Your will be done on earth, as it is," where? 52:49 "In heaven." 52:55 I don't know what your experience was growing up. 52:56 That was just words that we said. 52:59 Ironically, when Jesus other times 53:01 would teach them how to pray, 53:02 He would say make sure 53:04 you don't pray in vain repetitions, right? 53:06 That you think you'll be thought, 53:07 you'll be heard for your many words. 53:09 And then He says, 53:11 "When you pray, pray like this." 53:12 And, you know what people have done? 53:14 Have taken that model prayer 53:15 and turn it into a vain repetition. 53:21 But Christ was not saying these are the magic words 53:23 that if you pray, your prayer will get answered. 53:25 You must say it like this in this way. 53:26 No, no, He was teaching them how to pray, right? 53:28 He was giving the template for prayer. 53:30 Think these thoughts, think along these lines, 53:32 communicate in this style. 53:34 Does that make sense? 53:35 So when he says, Our Father in heaven, 53:38 hallowed be Your name. 53:39 He's saying this is how you approach 53:41 He's not just God on the throne, 53:42 He's Your Father in heaven. 53:44 Address Him familiarly, but still with reverence. 53:47 Amen? 53:49 That's that hallowed be Your name, 53:51 recognize the character 53:52 of the one to whom you're addressing 53:54 and remember to reverence His name. 53:57 So after you address Him as your Father 54:01 and you recognize His character of love and justice. 54:05 Your first appeal should be your kingdom come, 54:09 Your will be done. 54:12 And then it specifies how we should expect 54:15 that will to be accomplished. 54:17 It should be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 54:23 Friends, we just spent the better part of an hour 54:25 looking at the biblical basis for how heaven operates, 54:30 how God's system of governance runs. 54:33 And we recognize that there is structure 54:36 that there's a hierarchy, there's a chain of command, 54:39 and then when God says, 54:41 'Go,' He doesn't come Himself 54:42 but He sends the angel messengers, 54:44 He sends His agents, 54:45 He sends His people to do His bidding. 54:50 So when we pray Your will be done, 54:54 we should want the earth to operate like heaven. 55:05 In the Desire of Ages, page 297, 55:10 we find these powerful words 55:13 as we come to our close today. 55:23 "With almost impatient eagerness..." 55:27 That's interesting. 55:29 It's not impatient. 55:31 Angels don't sin, but they're almost impatient. 55:37 "With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait 55:41 for our co-operation, 55:44 for man must be the channel 55:48 to communicate with man. 55:51 When we give ourselves 55:52 to Christ in whole-hearted devotion, 55:54 angels rejoice that we may speak, 55:58 that they may speak 56:00 through our voices to reveal God's love." 56:04 And so let me tell you something. 56:08 The Seventh-day Adventist Church 56:09 has been raised up by God not to be just 56:12 another denomination, 56:13 but to be a movement to finish the work in this generation. 56:18 We have a message, 56:19 we have the three angels' messages, 56:21 but you know what we lack? 56:23 Are the three angels messengers? 56:27 God has a message that He wants to give 56:30 to the world and He wants to use angels 56:32 but He said, wait, wait, 56:33 I'm not gonna let the angels go, 56:35 now we need man to co-operate with the angels. 56:37 Now I want to use you just as the angels are used in heaven. 56:41 We need man's co-operation on earth. 56:42 We want the Father's will to be done on earth 56:45 as it is in heaven. 56:51 As we go through the rest of the series, 56:53 we're gonna be taking a look at what it means 56:55 to do God's work on earth the way it is done in heaven. 57:00 That if God has His ministering spirits sent forth to minister 57:03 for those who will inherit salvation 57:05 in the courts of heaven, 57:06 He needs ministering spirits down here as well. 57:09 God's looking for three angels' messengers, 57:12 and He's calling each one to play our part. 57:14 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 57:16 Heavenly Father, we want to thank You so much 57:17 today that You give us not only the great joy, 57:23 but the responsibility of being co-laborers with You. 57:29 Lord, help us to study more deeply, 57:31 not only the message You have to give, 57:34 but the method You want to use in giving 57:38 that warning to the world. 57:40 We know that You have raised up the Seventh-day Adventist 57:43 movement at this time in earth's history 57:45 to give that gospel message 57:47 to the world and then the end will come. 57:51 But, Lord, help us not to be 57:53 merely satisfied being watchers, 57:54 but help us to be workers in Your cause. 57:57 Forgive us if we've been merely mission members 58:00 of a church instead of missionaries of the gospel. 58:04 Lord, transform us into ministering spirits 58:07 so that Your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. 58:11 For we pray it in Jesus' name. 58:13 Amen. |
Revised 2019-07-05