Participants: Lawrence Dorsey
Series Code: UR
Program Code: UR000016
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00:01 Music...
00:57 Good morning Ambassador Church. 00:58 "Good Morning... " 01:00 And Good Morning to all of our Viewers 01:02 who are watching worldwide. 01:04 I'm Henoc Paulicin, 01:05 the Pastor of the Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:08 and we're located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 01:11 We're glad that for the last two weeks, 01:15 we have been able to share the gospel 01:18 throughout the world 01:19 with the partnership with 3ABN and Living Word Ministries 01:24 the Speaker and Director is Pastor Lawrence S. Dorsey. 01:29 This morning we continue our Series: 01:33 Through the Eyes of John: Unfolding the Book of Revelation 01:37 but I have with me today a special guest... 01:40 one of the representatives from the Florida Conference 01:43 and I'd like to invite him to introduce himself. 01:46 Good Morning Ambassador Church. 01:48 "Good Morning... " 01:50 Many of you already know me, my name is Pastor Victor Maddox. 01:53 I'm the Ministerial Field Secretary 01:56 for the Third District of the Florida Conference 01:58 and it is great to be here. 02:00 "Amen. " 02:02 I hear that you are having a fantastic time. 02:04 "Amen. " 02:05 And we just rejoice with you as we see 02:08 the mission of the Florida Conference being, um... 02:12 carried out here at the Ambassador Church. 02:17 One of the things that we want to see 02:18 and we impress this upon every church member 02:21 and every church administration 02:24 is the idea of winning souls for Jesus Christ. 02:28 "Amen. " 02:29 Our goal is to win souls for Jesus Christ 02:31 and introduce them to a system of discipleship 02:35 where they will become 02:37 fully disciple followers of Jesus Christ. 02:41 "Amen. " 02:42 And there is no other place in which that can take... 02:45 than take fruit... than in a congregation 02:48 like the Ambassador Church... 02:50 a Biblical Community which is comprised of people 02:54 who are looking for the soon-coming of Jesus Christ 02:58 and so, I want to praise the Lord 03:01 for what you are doing today 03:02 and it is my joy to be here with you 03:05 and as you continue to move forward... 03:08 reaching this Community for Jesus Christ, 03:10 my prayer is that He will come soon and very soon. 03:14 Let all God's people say, "Amen. " 03:16 "Amen. " 03:17 "And Amen. " 03:25 Piano... 03:30 Piano, 03:34 More piano... 03:37 some more piano... 03:44 more piano... 03:49 some more piano... 03:56 If I could write a letter 04:00 to all the other children of the world 04:06 I'd tell them that I love them 04:09 Jesus said of every boy and girl, 04:15 We'll simply love each other 04:18 then we think the world will understand 04:24 Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. 04:33 We can have a world like this... 04:36 enough to know... our neighbors' names 04:41 and if they don't have enough to eat 04:45 we'll care enough to fill their need... 04:49 fill their need... 04:52 It doesn't matter at all 04:55 the color of your skin, my friend, 04:59 I say, "Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. " 05:08 So why not love the children 05:12 from the world instead 05:18 A child will never make an atom bomb 05:21 and drop it on your head 05:25 'Cause if we love each other 05:29 maybe then the world will understand 05:34 Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. 05:43 We can have a world 05:45 that cares enough to know our neighbors' names 05:52 and if they don't have enough to eat, 05:55 we'll care enough to fill their needs... 05:59 Fill their needs... 06:01 It doesn't matter at all 06:04 the color of your skin, my friend, 06:09 I say, "Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. " 06:17 So why not love the children of the world instead? 06:26 A child will never make an atom bomb 06:30 and drop it on your head. 06:34 'Cause if we love each other 06:37 maybe then the world will understand 06:43 Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. 06:51 We can have a world that cares enough 06:55 to know our neighbors' names 06:59 and if they don't have enough to eat 07:03 we'll care enough to fill their needs... 07:06 Fill their needs... 07:09 It doesn't matter at all 07:11 the color of your skin, my friend, 07:16 I say, "Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again... " 07:26 I say, "Love is the road 07:28 to the Garden of Eden once again. " 07:34 "Amen. " 07:38 Praise God, those words of the young people. 07:44 Love is the road to the Garden of Eden once again. 07:48 "Amen. " 07:50 How many of you want to once again be in the Garden of Eden? 07:52 "Amen. " 07:53 To be there, not only with Adam and Eve 07:56 but Jesus and the Father Himself, 07:59 we'll relocate to Planet Earth 08:02 as it tells in Revelation 20 and 21 08:04 and they will set up their thrones 08:07 and in the midst of that Holy City, 08:09 the New Jerusalem, we will see the Tree of Life 08:13 and we will be able to be with Jesus 08:16 and all the heavenly hosts and all the redeemed 08:20 from all time... in that home for the redeemed 08:24 by the love of Jesus Christ 08:26 let's give our young people another hearty, "Amen. " 08:28 "Amen. " 08:29 We appreciate them. 08:30 We want to get right into our message this morning 08:35 today, I believe that we must understand 08:45 that time is running out 08:47 and we must also understand that we have a part 08:53 in the last drama of earth's history... 08:56 pause... 08:58 and when we contemplate the message today 09:01 "Run for the Ark... 09:04 or can you afford to ignore God?" 09:09 I think that every one of us will have to make 09:14 a special decision this day. 09:17 Shall we pray? 09:19 "Loving Father, again we are thankful 09:22 for your love and mercy and majesty 09:24 we thank you that you love us with a love 09:29 that would not let us go, 09:30 even now we pray that you will flood... 09:34 not only this Sanctuary but every place 09:37 where men, women, boys and girls are watching and listening. 09:41 Flood our very atmosphere with heavenly angels 09:45 and the power of the Holy Spirit, 09:48 and allow your will to be said and heard and done in our lives 09:54 and Father, hide me behind the cross of Calvary, 09:58 take this mortal tongue 10:00 and let it speak words of immortality, 10:02 touch our hearts, our minds, draw us to yourself, 10:08 save somebody today 10:10 is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen. " 10:14 Again, the message, "Run for the Ark... 10:18 or can you afford to ignore God?" 10:22 Pause... 10:24 A few years ago, I read an article in the New York Times, 10:29 it was a study that had been done by Zoologists 10:33 that studied primates in the rainforests 10:38 of Central America. 10:40 Pause... 10:41 These Zoologists had been studying 10:44 the language patterns of these primates 10:47 and they noticed three major things, 10:51 when the monkeys were up in the trees... monkeying around... 10:56 that's what monkeys do, 10:59 and a large bird of prey was seen on the horizon, 11:05 a certain sound would be made by one of the lead primates 11:11 and they would all with one accord 11:13 come down from the tops of the trees 11:15 and find themselves hid in the thick underbrush... 11:19 pause... 11:21 they also noticed that when these primates 11:25 were in the thick underbrush hunting for food 11:28 and just monkeying around again, 11:30 and if one of them spotted one of the huge snakes 11:35 that would love to have monkey stew, 11:38 the cry would go out 11:42 and all of the monkeys that were in the underbrush 11:44 would come out of the underbrush and come to a meadow or a field 11:48 or an open ground 11:50 where they could see what was transpiring around them 11:53 different from the second... 11:56 different from the first warning cry, 11:58 pause... 11:59 and then when they were in the open... 12:02 in the meadows... in the fields... 12:04 and one of them spotted one of the big cats lurking around, 12:10 another cry... a third cry would be given 12:14 and all of the monkeys would run not to the thick underbrush 12:18 but run to the trees and climb up as high as they could, 12:22 you see, those monkeys understood 12:26 they could not afford to ignore the warning. 12:32 The Zoologists took it a step further, 12:36 they recorded those certain sounds 12:40 and they played them through loudspeakers 12:44 so the primates could hear them 12:46 and when they played the different distinct sounds, 12:49 the monkeys reacted every single time 12:53 pause... 12:55 in a positive response to the warning that was given. 12:59 They could not afford to not listen... and lose their lives. 13:06 Oh Ladies and Gentlemen, 13:09 we are so much more intelligent than primates... 13:13 we have the ability to reason and understand 13:18 we can look at history and see the things that history... 13:24 and then, we can make decisions for our future, 13:28 Ladies and Gentlemen, 13:29 God has given us a mind... a brain... 13:32 to have a relationship with Him that when we hear His words... 13:37 that certain sound... we should listen and obey. 13:43 "Amen. " 13:44 But Ladies and Gentlemen, 13:46 it does not work that way with us. 13:48 we have been given the ability 13:53 to choose to serve God or to serve Him not... 13:58 and when we don't choose Jesus, disaster is what we will reap. 14:05 You see, my Bible tells me in Romans chapter 15 verse 4, 14:10 "Whatsoever things were written aforetime 14:13 were written for our learning 14:14 that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures... 14:19 that we might have hope. " 14:21 And when we look at the Word of God, 14:24 Ladies and Gentlemen, 14:25 and these things that have been given to us in this Book... 14:28 this book divinely inspired, 14:30 this book which has the accounts that were given to holy men 14:35 as they were moved by the inspiration of God 14:38 and filled with the Holy Spirit... 14:40 this book that was given by God 14:42 as it tells us in 2nd Timothy 3 verse 16 14:45 that it came from God and it's been inspired by God... 14:49 this book that contains the record of God's own handiwork 14:52 when we look at the Ten Commandments 14:55 as listed in Exodus 20:3 through 17 14:58 written by God's own finger, Exodus 31 verse 18, 15:02 this book that has been given to us, 15:05 Ladies and Gentlemen, 15:06 it should be the treasure of every human being 15:08 but by so many people, it's ignored. 15:12 So many people say it's fairy tales, 15:14 so many people say it's not true, 15:17 so many people say that it is something for us... 15:19 as a crutch to just lean on, 15:21 so many people disregard the precepts that are there 15:24 that are able to save us... save us eternally. 15:29 I look at this Book 15:31 and I see the historical accounts that are there for us 15:36 especially for us living in these last days, 15:39 and they have so many warnings, Ladies and Gentlemen, 15:42 to allow us to be able to meet the Lord in peace, 15:45 to be ready for that greatest day of all time, 15:48 to be able to say, 15:49 "Lo, this is our God and we have waited for Him... " 15:51 it's all in here. 15:53 My mind goes back to the days of Noah 16:00 and if you would turn with me to chapter 6 of the book of Genesis 16:05 we see it says in verse 1... 17:17 then Verse 8 gives us hope... Verse 8 says... 17:22 "And Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." 17:27 "Amen. " 17:29 Oh, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a record for you and I 17:31 to know that God means what He says, 17:33 this is a historical account to let us know 17:36 that God will always give warnings 17:39 before He sends judgment, 17:40 this is a record to let us know 17:43 that we should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. 17:47 I look at the myths that are out there, 17:52 these spaffling stories 17:54 that take the Word of God and confound them 17:57 there are individuals that interpret this part of Scripture 18:01 and say that Aliens are the ones 18:03 that came with the children of men, 18:05 it's not talking about that, 18:08 Ladies and Gentlemen, 18:10 when it talks about the sons and daughters of God 18:12 or the sons of God and the daughters of men, 18:14 they're talking about individuals 18:16 that served the living God 18:17 and those who married those individuals 18:21 who did not have a faith or belief in God... 18:24 when we look throughout our Bibles in Galatians chapter 7 18:28 of chapter 4 verse 7, it tells us 18:31 that first we were servants 18:33 but now we have become sons and daughters of God 18:36 because of the blood of Jesus Christ. 18:38 Pause... 18:40 It's letting us know that in that early time of history, 18:43 there were individuals who had a relationship with God, 18:46 who were serving Him with their full heart 18:49 but they compromised their relationship 18:51 and Ladies and Gentlemen, we need to understand 18:54 that you cannot compromise your relationship 18:56 just because somebody makes you feel good. 18:58 "Amen. " 19:00 Or because the way somebody looks. 19:03 A good friend of mine, Walter Rodseis says, 19:06 "God don't like ugly and He's not particular about pretty. " 19:10 Doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, 19:14 it's what's on the inside that counts. 19:18 A relationship with God. 19:20 You can't change anyone 19:23 and so many times 19:25 when people are unequally yoked 19:27 and they're married, they had these great plans 19:30 and I hate to say this 19:31 but most of the time it's the lady thinking... 19:33 she could change the man. 19:34 Ladies, you can't change a man only the Holy Ghost can 19:37 Brethren, you can't change a lady, 19:40 only the Holy Ghost can 19:42 and that is... only if that individual yields 19:46 to the voice and the power of the Holy Spirit 19:50 because again, we are all under this... this banner... 19:54 of making the choices for ourselves 19:57 so if that person truly desires to serve the Lord, 20:01 they will serve Him, but if not, Ladies and Gentlemen, 20:06 there is nothing you can do 20:07 pause... 20:09 and when you find yourself in that relationship... 20:12 that relationship where that person 20:14 has no love for the living God, has no respect for the Bible, 20:18 disregards His Sabbath, 20:21 your life that you thought was going to be so sweet... 20:26 it's going to be pure hell and Bible has told you that. 20:30 Spirit of Prophecy says 20:31 "the shadows will never leave your home... " 20:34 and as I've traveled around the world 20:36 and I speak to our young people, 20:38 so many young ladies have come to me 20:40 and said, "Pastor, wherever you go, 20:42 tell them... let them know that they need to wait and see 20:46 that this person is going to be true to God 20:50 because if they're true to God, then they'll be true to you. " 20:53 "Amen. " 20:54 We see that the compromise began to grow 20:58 and the sons of God and the daughters of men came together 21:01 and the wickedness on the earth became greater and greater 21:05 and it says in verse 5 that God saw 21:07 that the wickedness of man was great on the earth 21:09 and that every imagination of his thoughts and heart 21:12 were only evil continually. 21:14 For us to get an understanding of how evil that was, 21:17 Ladies and Gentlemen, 21:18 we have to look at the longevity of life. 21:22 Pause... 21:24 Now I'm not trying to embarrass anybody 21:26 but think of all the evil you know 21:28 and all the evil we have done even in our short lives 21:33 they say now that the days of a man are threescore and ten 21:36 but because of technology and medicine, 21:38 we're making it to 80... we're making it to 90... 21:41 we might not know we're there but we're still alive. 21:43 Audience laughing... 21:44 pause... 21:46 you went up the stairs... you don't know if you're going 21:50 don't stop... you don't know if you're going up or going down. 21:52 Laughter. 21:54 But these individuals lived for 800 and 900 21:58 and 700 and 600 years and can you imagine 22:02 how much knowledge they had mastered 22:04 and how much wickedness and how many devices... 22:07 some of the things we see on Planet Earth 22:08 that makes us gush and blush and we can't even comprehend it 22:13 can you imagine for 800 and 900 years 22:16 of practicing evil with those noble minds? 22:20 But God is merciful and He gave them a "somebody" 22:27 to bring them a message of hope. 22:31 "Amen. " 22:33 He gave them a period of probation... 22:35 just like you and I have a period of probation 22:38 and that timeframe was 120 years... 22:42 was given unto mankind 22:44 where Noah did exactly what God says, 22:47 Folks, we have to understand 22:48 that if we are truly God's people, 22:51 we have to obey what He says. 22:53 "Amen. " 22:55 We have to do what He says, we have to do it joyfully, 22:58 not begrudgingly but because we love Him, 23:01 because He loves us, because He saved us, 23:04 because He is working with us, because He has forgiven us, 23:07 because He is longsuffering, because He covers us, 23:11 because He's coming back for us. 23:13 "Amen. " 23:14 Folks, we have to understand 23:17 that He doesn't have to save any one of us, 23:19 He could have shut this whole thing down in the Garden of Eden 23:24 with Adam and Eve... when they broke the covenant, 23:27 when they disobeyed, when they listened to a snake 23:31 who hadn't done anything for them... 23:33 pause... 23:35 snake didn't do anything for them... 23:39 and Friends, how many times in our lives 23:43 do we allow people to cause doubt, 23:45 how many times in our lives 23:46 do we allow our emotions to let go of God's hands, 23:50 how many times in our lives... because we don't get our way, 23:53 we get angry at God when we should be angry with ourselves 23:57 and inadvertently, 24:00 we are allowing the snake to tell us to doubt God. 24:05 Pause... 24:06 He could have shut it down... 24:07 He could have sent thunder and lightening, 24:10 He could have just taken their breath away, 24:13 He could have just taken Adam and Eve, 24:16 and destroyed them because we broke the covenant 24:19 but what did He do? 24:20 He came and He made a way for He is the Lamb 24:23 that was slain from the foundation of the world. 24:26 "Amen. " 24:27 And He says unto us, "I'm trying to save you, 24:33 I'm trying to redeem you, 24:35 in your ignorance, I'm going to wink at it 24:38 and then when you knew and you still did what you did, 24:42 I still send my grace and my mercy and my pardon, 24:47 I send my unmerited favor to you again and again and again 24:52 my love and my compassion for you... it's new every morning 24:57 great is my faithfulness, let me save you. 25:01 "Amen. " 25:02 Can we afford to ignore God? 25:08 For 120 years... for 120 years Noah was obedient, 25:16 for 120 years, Noah worked on an ark that God told Him to build 25:24 can you imagine... can you imagine, 25:27 building a giant ship and there's no water around? 25:33 Pause... 25:34 hmmm... hmmm... 25:36 you see, faith is the substance of things hoped for, 25:39 the evidence of things not seen, 25:43 we have to understand that faith means believing God 25:47 when we can't see what God is talking about 25:49 but because God said it, just do it. 25:52 "Amen... amen... " 25:54 Noah is building this ship, 25:57 he's stopping whatever business he has been in 26:00 and he is building this ship on dry land 26:03 and while he is building... he's preaching. 26:06 "Amen. " 26:08 He's telling them, Folks, day in and day out 26:09 morning service... evening service... 26:12 all through the day... with each pounding of the hammer 26:15 on the ark... 26:17 it's saying something that God's servant Noah knows 26:20 something's happening... something's coming... 26:22 get ready, get ready, get ready. 26:25 "Amen. " 26:26 At first... at first it arrested the attention of people, 26:32 at first those lukewarm, compromising individuals 26:37 they thought that maybe Noah had something 26:40 but because judgment does not come 26:43 when you think it should come and Ladies and Gentlemen, 26:46 we find this in our own experience, 26:47 when we do something wrong, we're very nervous, 26:50 oh we're very nervous, 26:53 I remember the first night 26:54 after I had been baptized into the church 26:57 and I had been there a while 26:58 and then I started... you know, when you stop studying... 27:01 you stop reading... you start slipping backwards 27:03 and one of my friends called me and said, 27:06 "Dorsey, I want you to come with me to this party, 27:08 you haven't been with us in a long time, 27:10 you have to come to this party, it's going to be the best party 27:12 that we have had in a long time, 27:15 and I said, "Man, when is it, is it Saturday night?" 27:18 He said, "Man, you know we don't have our parties 27:21 on Saturday night, it's on Friday night. " 27:23 I said, "Man, I can't come it's Sabbath... " 27:26 He said, "Naw, come on man, 27:28 your wife will let you come on Friday night... 27:31 it's just one time... 27:32 you haven't been with the fellows in a long time, 27:34 come on out... " 27:35 So I went to my wife... 27:37 Audience laughing... 27:40 And said, "Honey, you think it's okay if I go to the party?" 27:42 And she just looked at me and she said, 27:44 "What does the 4th Commandment say?" 27:46 And she walked away... she was done with me. 27:49 I said, "Well, listen, I'm the man... 27:51 I can go out when I want to go out 27:53 and I haven't gone out, I've been doing all these things 27:57 this is just a night for me 27:58 I'm going to have some time out myself, 28:01 I'm going out with my friend, Marvin. " 28:04 And she didn't say nothing, she just looked at me, 28:06 closed the bedroom door and just went on inside. 28:08 I know now she was praying. 28:11 I got out... got in my car... 28:14 and started heading over to where the party was, 28:16 I didn't get five blocks away 28:19 when the truck that was in front of me swerved 28:21 and it hit the car that was on the side of me 28:23 missed me by this much and I said, 28:26 "Oh Lord Jesus, I know it's Friday night, 28:30 please... please get me back home safe. " 28:34 Laugher from audience. 28:36 You see how we play with God? 28:39 You see how we plead with God? 28:42 You see how foolish we are? 28:44 And Folks, I went on back home. 28:47 When I got back, boy, I was sweating everything, 28:49 and she looked at me and she said, "Hmmm... " 28:50 Laughter from audience. 28:52 But Folks, I want you to know that fear is not enough... 28:57 near-death experiences are not enough... 28:59 when we really want to do something 29:02 even though God sends warnings and reproof 29:04 and He shows us that He doesn't want us to do this, 29:07 we get bold because nothing happens to us 29:09 because He has protected us and it gets easier and easier 29:14 and easier to violate the commandments of God. 29:17 Audience agreeing. 29:19 And I found myself... no not right then 29:22 but after a while when nothing happened, 29:25 I found that if you did it in little increments, 29:28 it's a little easier. 29:30 You see, you get to the party before sunset... 29:33 hmmm... hmmm... 29:35 Ladies and Gentlemen, 29:38 God is not mocked... 29:42 what we sow, we shall surely reap. 29:48 I look in this sweet book and I see 29:54 in 2nd Peter... 2nd Peter... chapter 3... 29:59 that we have to obey the words of God 30:04 if we would truly find peace of mind 30:09 you see, He's already told us that in our time, 30:12 just like in Noah's time, 30:14 that people are going to be scoffers or unbelievers, 30:17 look at 2nd Peter chapter 3 beginning in verse 3, 30:21 It says... 30:50 Folks, that's there for us... 30:52 pause... 30:54 we need to understand that 30:56 it continues to read... verse 7... 31:20 In other words... time is not an issue with God. 31:24 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise... " 31:36 Friends the only reason why Jesus hasn't come yet 31:39 because He's trying to save some of us. 31:41 "Amen. " 31:42 We're still playing church... 31:45 we still think we're Mr. Slick, 31:48 we think that we are the bee's knees and everything else, 31:52 a bag of chips and whatever else you want to add to it, 31:56 we still think we're God's gift to humanity... 31:59 God's gift to man... God's gift to women... 32:02 we still think that we can get away with it 32:04 and our big crocodile... our big smile... 32:07 will... and crocodile tears 32:09 will save us from the fires of hell 32:12 but you are deluding yourself if you believe that. 32:15 Audience agreeing... 32:17 It says in this same book, 2nd Peter... 2nd Peter... 32:21 Ladies and Gentlemen, in chapter 2 verse 4, 32:23 it says, "If God spared not the angels that sinned, 32:27 but cast them down to hell, 32:29 and delivered them into chains of darkness, 32:31 to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, 32:35 but saved Noah the eighth person, 32:37 a preacher of righteousness, 32:39 bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 32:42 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes 32:45 condemned them with an overthrow, 32:48 making them an example unto those 32:51 that after should live ungodly. " 32:54 It is all there for us to see. 32:57 Now Folks, when you look at those people that were there, 33:03 that listened to Noah's preaching, 33:06 at first there was concern and they looked around 33:11 and nothing seemed to change 33:14 they reasoned among themselves 33:17 that the laws of nature were so fixed 33:21 that it couldn't rain... 33:24 "scientifically... " I can see them saying, 33:27 "scientifically we have proven" 33:28 and just like those foolish folks 33:30 that talk about the big bang theory or evolution 33:32 and they say, "Scientifically, the earth is not 6,000 years old 33:36 but it's millions and trillions of years old. " 33:38 Pause... 33:40 That thing just gets me... 33:42 I'll never forget when I was in High School 33:44 and we had to take that... I went to a public school... 33:47 and we had to do that test on evolution 33:50 and I wrote a note on it, I did it... 33:53 I didn't know I was going to be a preacher one day 33:55 but I did it, but I knew some things about the Bible, 33:57 I wasn't a Bible student 33:58 but I knew some things about the Bible 34:00 and I wrote on the regions... 34:02 remember some of you... it was like, 34:04 we had regions we had to take? 34:05 Pause... 34:06 And I wrote on it, "I gave you the answer that you wanted 34:10 but I don't believe any of it, 34:12 the earth was made in six days by the Lord. " 34:16 Audience laughing... 34:18 I didn't come from no monkey, 34:20 I came from John Samson Dorsey Junior... my daddy. 34:25 "Amen. " 34:27 And when you trace that thing back... 34:29 it's the same thing with each and every one of us, 34:32 we will find that we all come from Adam and Eve. 34:35 "Amen. " 34:37 Pause... 34:38 People don't believe it, 34:40 scientists said, 34:42 "It's impossible... it cannot rain. " 34:44 Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, it had never rained before then 34:48 but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. 34:50 You turn in your Bible to Genesis chapter 2, 34:53 Genesis chapter 2, verse 6 and it says... 35:01 In other words... it was like a heavy dew 35:03 that came down every evening 35:05 and that heavy dew was enough to sustain the vegetation, 35:08 the fruit and everything else. 35:10 There was no need for rain at that time. 35:12 Pause... 35:14 They thought that they could limit the Omnipotent God 35:18 by His own rules... 35:20 the rules of nature... 35:22 oh my goodness... can't we see Jesus walking on the water 35:26 like it was plain... plain ground... 35:30 Ladies and Gentlemen, He can... 35:32 He can suspend the laws of nature when He wants to. 35:36 "Amen. " 35:38 He does what He wants... He is God... 35:40 His thoughts... Ladies and Gentlemen... 35:42 became audible and they matriculated into reality 35:46 for at the sound of His voice, 35:48 those words spoke thought into energy 35:51 and animated by the Holy Ghost 35:54 we are here now. 35:56 "Amen. " 35:57 They said... it was impossible for it to rain, 36:02 they said, "God is too merciful to destroy us" 36:06 and Folks, even today... 36:07 even today, people say that God is too good, 36:11 God is too good to destroy Planet Earth, 36:14 "He wouldn't do that... 36:17 He's a merciful God. " 36:19 Folks I want you to know God is a merciful God 36:21 but if you would turn with me to the book of Exodus, 36:24 Exodus chapter 34, it tells us, it lets us know 36:27 that God is merciful 36:29 but He will in no wise clear the guilty. 36:31 Exodus 34 verse 6, 36:33 "And the Lord passed by before Him, and proclaimed, 36:36 The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious 36:39 and longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 36:41 Keeping mercy for thousands, 36:43 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, 36:46 and that will by no means clear the guilty... " 36:49 four things God can't do, He cannot lie, 36:53 come on, He cannot change His Law, 36:56 He cannot... Ladies and Gentlemen, 36:59 justify an unrepentant sinner 37:02 and He can't save a man... a woman... against their will. 37:06 If you don't want to go to heaven, 37:08 He's not going to drag you there kicking and screaming. 37:10 It has to be our choice, 37:13 He stands on the outside of our hearts 37:16 and He knocks... and He says, 37:18 "Open the door and I will come in. 37:20 When I come in, I will bring peace, 37:22 when I come in, I will bring joy, 37:24 when I come in, I will bring love, 37:26 when I come in, I will bring temperance, 37:28 when I come in I will bring brotherly kindness, 37:31 when I come, I will bring Godliness, 37:33 I will bring these things to you if you let me in 37:36 but if you don't let me in, I will stay out here 37:39 and I will do all that I can to get your attention, 37:42 I will spread my hands wide like I did on Calvary's cross, 37:46 and you will see those arms, 37:48 those hands that were stretched out 37:50 and nailed to the cross for you, 37:52 I will let you look into my eyes... my eyes of love, 37:56 where I have watched you in your mother's womb 37:58 and traced you down through every day of your life, 38:01 the choice is yours, let me in. " 38:04 "Amen... " 38:07 And mankind has the option to let Him in 38:10 or to keep Him on the outside. 38:12 You see, the devil fools us and tells us... 38:14 we can let Jesus in at the last moment 38:16 and everything's going to be okay... 38:18 and he tries to suck up everything in this world, 38:20 but that is a lie... 38:21 He's a liar and the father of lies 38:24 and what He's trying to do is to cut you off 38:26 before you have an opportunity to make up your mind... 38:29 pause... 38:31 those individuals... 38:33 they were outside the ark 38:36 and the reason why I keep going there, 38:37 Ladies and Gentlemen, is because, you see, 38:39 the ark... and that whole scenario 38:41 it's... it's... it's nothing more 38:43 but a mirror of what's going to happen to us in the last days 38:47 if you turn to Luke chapter 17, Luke 17. it says in verse 26... 39:06 Ladies and Gentlemen, it's here for us to see 39:08 that we might through patience 39:10 and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 39:12 It says in verse 28, 39:14 "Likewise also, as it was in the days of Lot; 39:17 they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, 39:20 they planted they built: 39:21 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire 39:25 and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. " 39:27 Verse 30, "Even thus shall it be in the day 39:31 when the Son of man is revealed. " 39:33 Ladies and Gentlemen, 39:36 we are living in a world that is coming to its end, 39:39 we are on the track to destruction... 39:42 if Jesus doesn't come, if Jesus doesn't come... 39:45 if there were no God, we'd be in worse trouble 39:48 because there's no Savior to help us. 39:51 When we look at the world with all of its commotion, 39:54 when we look at the world with all of its pollution, 39:56 when we look at the world with man's inhumanity to man, 39:59 when we look at the world with man's heartlessness 40:02 and criminal minds, 40:04 when we look at the world with its cruelty 40:06 and we see the enslavement of individuals 40:09 the rich trying to get richer and the poor trying to get rich 40:12 and destroying the lives of men and women, boys and girls, 40:16 when we look at the evil and the violence that are in the world, 40:19 when we look at the sensual pleasure 40:21 that is accepted as normal life, 40:23 Ladies and Gentlemen, if there were no God... 40:25 then our children are going to be in for a worse society 40:29 that has ever existed. 40:31 Audience agreeing. 40:32 But there is a God... 40:34 "Amen... " 40:35 There is a God and He's coming 40:37 and He wants us to get ready 40:38 and Ladies and Gentlemen, 40:40 He's telling us that these signs are there for us to see 40:44 and understand to get ready to run for the ark of safety. 40:48 Pause... 40:49 Those individuals, those individuals... 40:53 they watch no one, they listen to no one, 40:56 and then they got bold, 40:58 at first, they were waiting for something to happen 40:59 and nothing happened 41:00 but he already knew that it was going to be a 120 years 41:03 he's preaching his heart out. 41:04 When you look at the genealogy of man, 41:08 you will know that at that time that some of those people 41:11 during that preaching... heard the preaching of Enoch, 41:14 they heard the preaching of Methuselah, 41:17 his name means, 41:19 "when he shall die, then it shall come" 41:21 and then the year that he died is when the flood came, 41:24 the signs were there, Noah preached for 120 years 41:30 and those individuals who helped them, 41:32 some of them who helped them died during that timeframe 41:34 and they were saved 41:35 but those individuals who did not get inside the ark 41:38 I can imagine how much they regretted not getting inside. 41:42 When I look at that, 41:45 I see that God gave a single manifestation 41:50 of His divine power, 41:51 I continue to read in the book of Genesis 41:55 and I see this one thing 41:58 and I'm not talking about these folks, 42:00 but I'm just looking at my own self 42:03 when I read this account of the ark 42:06 and the time that is like our time, 42:09 when I read about chapter 7 verse 1, 42:12 when the Lord said unto Noah, 42:13 "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; 42:15 for I have thee righteous before me in this generation. 42:19 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, 42:22 the male and his female: 42:24 and beasts that are not clean by two, 42:26 the male and his female. 42:28 And of all the fowls of the air by sevens, 42:31 the male and the female; 42:33 to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth... " 42:35 and it says that all of a sudden... 42:38 pause... 42:40 when the ark was finished 42:44 and he had preached his heart out, 42:46 one more time, from the forests, from the fields, 42:51 from the sky... 42:53 I can imagine when Noah heard this declaration from God 42:56 saying that you have to take the clean beasts by pairs of seven 43:01 and the unclean by pairs of two... 43:03 and Folks, let me just stop here for a moment, 43:05 you see, they talked about Noah being particular 43:08 well Folks, in the last days, 43:10 we're supposed to be particular people. 43:11 "Amen. " 43:12 You can't go everywhere, you can't listen to everything, 43:16 you can't watch everything, you can't eat everything, 43:21 you can't drink everything, 43:23 we have to understand 43:25 that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, 43:27 and there was a difference, Ladies and Gentlemen, 43:29 in Noah's time between clean and unclean. 43:32 "Amen. " 43:34 And when people say, they're serving the Lord 43:35 and they say they can eat everything, 43:37 that's not Biblical. 43:39 Pause... 43:40 They said, "Well, the Lord had this vision 43:42 and He gave it to His messenger 43:45 and His messenger said that he could eat anything 43:47 because the Lord was telling him... " 43:49 He was talking about Cornelius... a person. 43:52 Audience agreeing. 43:53 He was saying, "God showed me not to call any man 'unclean'" 43:58 He wasn't talking about food, 43:59 way back there in the beginning before there was a Jew, 44:03 before there was a kosher deli, Ladies and Gentlemen, 44:06 there was a difference between clean and unclean. 44:09 "Amen. " 44:11 Can you imagine the scene, 44:13 can you imagine the scene, Brothers and Sisters... 44:16 all of a sudden, you see the sky darkened 44:20 by birds coming in pairs of seven clean... 44:24 and pairs of two unclean... flying into the ark, 44:27 just coming on in... coming through the door 44:31 and coming through the window, 44:33 can you imagine the scene? 44:35 Pause... 44:37 And then they hear some rumbling and grumbling... 44:40 and they look on the edge from the forest... 44:42 and here, everyone of God's creatures clean and unclean... 44:47 clean by pairs of seven, unclean by pairs of two, 44:51 coming into the ark, just lining up 44:54 in perfect order, 44:55 lions and tigers and bears. 44:57 Oh my... 45:00 Audience laughing... 45:02 lambs and chipmunks and squirrels, 45:04 all of these creatures... 45:06 God's creatures... made by His own hand... 45:09 lining up and going into their place... into their spot 45:13 led by angels, Ladies and Gentlemen, 45:15 led by angels, it is there to let us know 45:19 that God has His hand on this planet, 45:22 even if we don't think His hand is on this planet 45:24 and that's the same God that we serve today, 45:27 Ladies and Gentlemen, so you have to stand firm, 45:30 you have to be particular, you have to be peculiar, 45:33 you have to be obedient, 45:35 you have to trust Him even when you can't see Him, 45:38 you have to do what He has asked us to do, 45:41 He says, "If you love me, keep my commandments. " 45:46 "Amen... amen... " 45:48 And they come into the ark... and friends, 45:53 how all those animals came at that particular time? 45:57 It is only a divine act. 46:00 "Amen. " 46:01 Pause... 46:03 Now if there was ever a day 46:04 that I would have changed my mind if I were there... 46:06 I would have been, "what?" I wouldn't even pack... 46:10 I'd say, "Let me get inside that ark 46:14 because something's about to happen in here... " 46:16 I mean, something's going to happen. 46:18 Audience agreeing. 46:20 The servant of the Lord said 46:22 that when they first looked at that, 46:25 their hearts began to flutter and they looked at that 46:28 and they said, 46:29 "Maybe something is about to happen... 46:31 maybe Noah's on to something... " 46:33 But then in the stillness 46:35 when the conviction and power of the Holy Spirit 46:37 was trying to work on peoples' minds... 46:39 somebody said, "Look at Noah's zoo... his zoo" 46:44 and they started making fun of it, 46:48 and they said, 46:50 "Oh, Noah boy, you're really going to have something... 46:52 you don't have any room for people 46:54 but that place is sure going to stink... 46:56 all these animals in there... " 46:58 and they begin to laugh it off... 47:00 and because... they would not accept that power 47:04 that the living God had been trying to come into their hearts 47:08 to help them change their minds, 47:10 to help them get inside the ark, 47:13 they just stood back and watched. 47:15 Pause... 47:17 Friends, Genesis 6 verse 3 says, 47:20 "My spirit will not always strive with man... " 47:24 in our time, Ladies and Gentlemen, 47:27 He says, "Fear God and give glory to Him; 47:29 for the hour of His judgment is come. " Revelation 14 verse 7 47:33 "and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea, 47:36 and fountains of waters... " 47:38 that is our cry... that is our call... 47:40 that is our desire to let men, women, boys and girls know 47:44 that we must come back and worship the true God, 47:47 our Creator... to receive the Seal of the Living God 47:50 which is the fourth commandment 47:51 that has His name, His title and His territory 47:54 and when we understand that and we live it, 47:56 when we say, "If you love me, keep my commandments" 47:59 and we say, "Lord I will do it, not in my own strength 48:01 but in the power of the Holy Spirit, 48:03 and then when we see, Ephesians 4 verse 30 telling us 48:06 to grieve not the Holy Spirit, 48:08 whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption... 48:11 we see ourselves locking in on the very ark of our lives 48:17 hid in Jesus today. 48:20 "Amen. " 48:22 Pause... 48:24 And then the Bible tells me the angel closed the door. 48:28 Hmmm... 48:29 They all came in... him and his family... 48:32 they came in... 48:34 they went inside and the Lord closed the door... 48:37 He sent an angel to close the door, 48:39 he couldn't do it himself, it was too heavy for him 48:43 and then the strangest thing happened, 48:47 for seven days... nothing happened. 48:51 See that number seven again, 48:54 complete probation... 48:56 probation for the world... 120 years... 48:59 probation for Noah... he had seven days to think about it, 49:03 to see if he really believed what God said. 49:06 I can imagine, when he first went in, 49:08 he was waiting for something to happen, 49:10 nothing happened on the first day, 49:12 nothing happened on the second day, 49:14 nothing happened on the third day... fourth day... 49:17 fifth day... sixth day... nothing happened... 49:19 seventh day... nothing happened. 49:20 "Oh Noah, 49:22 if you could have looked down the corridors of time, 49:24 you would see and know that God does things in seven, 49:26 that's His completion... " 49:27 I see the children of Israel walking around... 49:30 somebody tell me... 49:31 walking around the walls of Jericho, 49:33 seven days... come on now... 49:34 and on the seventh day, 49:36 they walked around the seventh time, 49:37 and they had seven priests with seven trumpets 49:40 and when they blew the trumpet, the walls came tumbling down. 49:44 I see Naaman in that dirty water of the Jordan 49:47 and he went down one time... two times... 49:50 three times... four times... 49:51 the fifth time... he said I got to go home, 49:53 I don't need all of this, 49:55 and they said, "Namaan hold on... 49:56 and just obey the Lord, do exactly what He said. " 49:59 He went down the sixth time 50:01 still thinking something was going to happen, 50:04 but nothing happened until he came on down the seventh time, 50:07 and the song says, when he came up... 50:10 he came up shouting... perfect healing... 50:12 I see Elijah on Mount Carmel and he's praying for the rain 50:17 and the first time... second time... third time... 50:19 still no rain... fourth time... fifth time... 50:21 even though the Lord had answered His prayer immediately 50:24 when fire came down and consumed the sacrifice 50:27 but Ladies and Gentlemen, the servant of the Lord said 50:30 that if it could have come immediately 50:31 when Elijah began to pray, 50:34 it would have been to him as though he had done it 50:37 and the Lord knows... we need to linger and pray with Him 50:40 and then when he prayed the seventh time 50:43 rain came down... 50:44 "Amen. " 50:46 And thus the heaven and earth were finished 50:49 and all the host of them and on the seventh day, 50:54 God completed the work, God made everything 50:59 and God had the celebration. 51:02 Ladies and Gentlemen, 51:04 it says over and over in the Spirit of Prophecy, 51:06 that at the end of the 6,000 years 51:09 the controversy between Christ and Satan will be over 51:12 and Friends, if you look at human history, Biblically... 51:16 years something has happened. 51:19 The first 2,000 years have the flood, 51:23 the second 2,000 years have the cross, 51:27 and Folks, we are now living at that age 51:30 of the last 2,000 years 51:33 and we're looking forward to the King. 51:35 "Amen... " 51:37 Noah is inside the ark, his family is inside the ark, 51:44 the animals are getting a little antsy 51:47 but they know that something's happening and they are there, 51:50 the lion doesn't reach over and snatch up a chicken, 51:53 there's none of that... 51:55 they're all there... 51:58 they're all under the power of the Holy Spirit. 52:00 "Amen. " 52:01 Noah is tested, will he stay in or will he get out? 52:04 Had he been deluded as they said... was he fanatical? 52:08 No, Noah knew that we have to wait on the Lord 52:11 and church, we need to know it here today 52:14 that we have to wait on the Lord, 52:16 He might not come when you want Him 52:18 but He comes when you need Him, 52:20 when we give Him that authority 52:23 to give us what we need when we want it, 52:26 it might not come in on time 52:28 but it will come... right on time, 52:30 Ladies and Gentlemen, 52:32 Noah's there now... 52:34 it's the 8th day... the golden glory of the sun does not appear 52:40 on the eastern horizon, 52:42 something is very, very wrong, 52:45 instead of the brightness of the sun, 52:49 there is a new phenomenon in the sky... 52:53 dark heavy clouds that are getting blacker by the moment 52:58 are covering everything... 53:01 in the background there is the sound of muttering thunder... 53:08 this strange new sound that they had never heard, 53:13 men's hearts... who had been partying 53:16 for seven days around the ark saying, 53:18 "Noah, where is your flood... where is your flood, 53:20 where's your rain... where's your praying... 53:22 where is your God?" 53:23 They are all hushed now... they are looking around in terror 53:26 and then the power of lightening splits the sky, 53:30 it hits their idols and knocks down some trees 53:34 and they all scream in terror. 53:36 Pause... 53:39 But there is more to come 53:40 and then the heavens open up 53:44 and rain... 53:47 rain drops begin to fall... 53:52 they begin to come down harder and harder and the wind... 53:57 Ladies and Gentlemen, begins to whirl and twirl... 54:00 and blow... and lightening is striking and destroying 54:03 and thunder is booming and men, women everywhere 54:07 see the rivers starting to overflood... 54:10 and the rain is coming down 54:12 and over the cry of beast and man screaming... 54:15 you hear someone say, "Run for the ark... " 54:18 but it's too late... my Friends... 54:23 it's too late... too late for salvation... 54:29 I look at this... 54:32 and I see the formula 54:35 that too many of us are following... 54:39 that we can just wait and then all of a sudden 54:43 turn on to be Christians in our own strength. 54:48 That cannot happen, my Friends, 54:51 now is the time... now is the day... 54:56 this is the opportunity 54:58 that God has given and extended to us 55:02 to get right with God 55:05 because His Son, Jesus, is soon to come. 55:09 Are you ready to meet Him? 55:15 The theme of the Bible 55:21 is Jesus... 55:27 and how He died to save men, 55:37 The plan of Salvation 55:42 assures us 55:47 He's coming back again... 55:55 Are you ready 56:01 for Jesus to come? 56:06 Are you faithful in all that you do? 56:15 Have you fought a good fight? 56:21 Have you stood for the right? 56:28 Have others seen Jesus in you? 56:35 Are you ready for Jesus to stand for your faith? 56:39 Pastor: If you're not ready, it's time to get ready 56:43 and you can be ready by just giving Him your heart. 56:47 He loves you... He loves me... 56:50 He died to save us... 56:53 let Him have His way in our lives... 56:55 and we'll be saved. 56:58 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-05-03