Hi, my name is C.A. Murray.
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In the late 1800s,
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legislatures in the
states of the United States
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and to some extent
the federal government
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wanted to move this country
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from a
titularly Christian nation
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to a Christian
nation by force of law.
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And Adventists along
with other Jewish version
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many times found themselves
on the wrong side of the law,
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oft times in court paying fines,
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and many times
being sent to jail.
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I think it was during those days
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that Seventh-day
Adventists really took hold of
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and grassed the idea,
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the notion of religious liberty.
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People like Alonzo
T. Jones from California
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stood before the
United States government
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to talk about the
necessity of religious liberty.
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And religious liberty as an idea
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is in the very
fabric of Adventism
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up into this very day,
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perhaps that is why
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the religious liberty
campaign or the Liberty campaign
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is one of the
very first campaigns
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in each calendar year.
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Liberty magazine,
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the push for the understanding
of religious liberty
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has always been
part of our history.
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On today's
program we have a message
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from our General
Conference President
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Elder Ted Wilson,
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talking about religious liberty,
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the need of the
necessity for religious liberty.
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And for Adventists as
well as the Christian community
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to always be awake, aware,
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and alert of the need
to have religious freedom
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in the United States.
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Not just for a Seventh-day
Adventists but for everyone,
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for every religion,
even those religions
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which are anti
Adventists or anti Christian.
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Liberty for one
must be liberty for all.
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And so now, a short message
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from our General
Conference President
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Elder Ted N.C. Wilson.
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As Seventh-day Adventists,
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members of God's remnant church,
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we can live with the assurance
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that as the servant
of the Lord has said
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like the stars
in the vast circuit
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of their appointed path,
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God's purposes know
no haste and no delay.
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As we look at the
developments in the world today
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we have to trust
God's leading just as we do
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in our very own lives.
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The same God who
thousands of years ago
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gave the Prophet Daniel
an outline of world history
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dating way into the
future from his time
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is the same God who is in
control of world events today,
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just before His second coming.
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Of course, there are many
things we don't understand
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about political and
international affairs,
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many things that
just don't make sense
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at least from
our own perspective.
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But it's like that
with many things in life,
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I don't fully understand
how my cell phone works
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or my car ignition works.
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Thus how much more would
it be with the things of God
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especially in something
as involved and complicated
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as politics and last day events.
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Also think of John the Baptist,
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as he sat in the
dungeon waiting to die
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while Jesus was performing
one miracle after another.
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I imagine that John,
this great man of God,
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this man with a special
anointing from heaven itself,
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I imagine that he had a
lot of unanswered questions.
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John the Baptist
even more than we do today
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certainly knew in
principle at least
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what it meant when
the Scripture said,
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"The just shall live by faith."
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Yes, we do have to live
with unanswered questions.
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Nevertheless, the question
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that we do want to try
and answer now is this.
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What does the future hold for us
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at least in terms
of religious liberty?
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Well, we can give two answers.
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The first one,
what does the future
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hold for religious
liberty in the short term?
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We actually really do not know.
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If you read some of the history
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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you'll see that
people often thought
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that specific
events were going to lead
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right to the Final Crisis.
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For instance,
the Blair Amendment,
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basically a
national Sunday law in 1888
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was seen as the
beginning of the very end,
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but the bill didn't
pass and the crisis faded.
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Others were
convinced that events
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with the nation of Turkey
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in the 19th and
early 20th century
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were going to bring the
religious liberty crisis
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of the end time to our doors.
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Many Adventists
thought that World War I
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was the
harbinger of the last days.
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Many thought World War II
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had to be the
beginning of a time of trouble
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such as never was
since there was a nation
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even to that same
time, as Daniel 12:1 says.
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Some thought that
certain political events
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would certainly bring
about the political changes
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that would lead to
the mark of the beast.
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And yet here we are still
enjoying religious freedom,
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still enjoying
religious liberty.
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I think that by now we
should learn our lesson
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about not making predictions
about what's going to happen
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in regards to
the last day events
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and religious liberty
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that are more
specific and detailed
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than what has been
given to us in Revelation.
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Be it in the
Bible first and foremost
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and then in the
Spirit of Prophecy.
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Don't miss the
point here, please.
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We have an urgent prophetic
message to give to the world,
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the three angels'
messages of Revelation 14,
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and included in those messages
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is the warning about worshiping
the beast and his image,
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in Revelation 14:11,
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and the future
event of that happening.
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It is our happy
privilege to proclaim
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the second coming of Jesus,
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the millennium, and
the final end of sin.
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Yes, these are all
future events as well,
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and of course, it is
a joy to proclaim them.
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I enjoy doing it myself
and I hope you do as well.
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However, we get into trouble
when we speculate and, yes,
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I use that word deliberately,
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we get into
trouble when we speculate
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about future events
that have not been revealed
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to us in specific detail.
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When we make predictions
about specific details,
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details about what the
Lord has not revealed to us,
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we often get it wrong.
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Telling the future is not easy
and should be left to the Lord.
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Thus with that
basic principle in mind,
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not to get more specific
than what has been revealed,
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we can say that
in the short term
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we really don't know what is
going to happen specifically.
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From what I
follow of these things
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and from what our
wonderful people in PARL,
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the Public Affairs
and Religious Liberty
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department have told me,
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"Sometimes we
see immediate things
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that are good for
religious freedom,
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sometimes we see
things that aren't so good."
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Thus in the short
term we really don't know.
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But in the long term,
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or it could be better
to say in the longer term,
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because I believe
that we don't have
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a long term for anything,
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in the longer term we
know what is going to happen.
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We know what the Bible,
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specifically the
Book of Revelation
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says about America.
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Revelation 13:11, 12,
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"Then I saw another beast
coming up out of the earth,
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and he had two horns like a lamb
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and spoke like a dragon.
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And he exercises
all the authority
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of the first
beast in his presence,
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and causes the earth
and those who dwell in it
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to worship the first beast,
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whose deadly wound was healed."
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A wonderful book,
the Great Controversy,
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which thousands of
Seventh-day Adventists
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around the world
have been distributing
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by the thousands last
year and will this year,
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it appears to be tremendously
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spread throughout the
world shows that and I quote,
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"The Sabbath will be
the great test of loyalty,
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for it is the point of
truth especially controverted.
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When the final test shall
be brought to bear upon men,
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then the line of distinction
will be drawn between those
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who serve God and
those who serve Him Not.
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While the
observance of the false sabbath
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in compliance with
the law of the state,
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contrary to the
fourth commandment,
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will be an avowal of allegiance
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to a power that is
in opposition to God.
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The keeping of the true Sabbath,
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in obedience to God's law,
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is an evidence of
loyalty to the Creator.
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While one class,
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by accepting the sign of
submission to earthly powers,
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receive the mark of the beast,
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the other choosing
the token of allegiance
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to divine authority,
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receive the seal of God."
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The Great Controversy, page 605.
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No question, in the longer term
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we know what is going to happen
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in regards to religious freedom.
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That's why we as a
church have always had
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a very deep interest
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in the whole issue
of religious freedom.
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Or I should say that it
is just one of the reasons
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that we have had an
interest in religious freedom,
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another reason and maybe
even the most important reason
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has to do with the
essence of the gospel itself,
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the essence of truth itself.
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I'm talking about love
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and the freedom
needed for love to exist.
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Now what do I mean.
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We all know the
story of the scribe
00:10:13.41\00:10:16.38
who came to Jesus and asked him
00:10:16.41\00:10:19.01
what was the
greatest commandment of all,
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and Jesus
answered in Mark 12:29-31,
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"The first of all
the commandments is:
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'Hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God, the Lord is one.
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And you shall
love the Lord your God
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with all your heart,
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with all your
soul, with all your mind,
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and with all your strength.'
00:10:42.34\00:10:45.04
This is the first commandment.
00:10:45.07\00:10:46.81
And the second,
like it, is this:
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'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.'
00:10:49.38\00:10:52.61
There is no other commandment
greater then these.'"
00:10:52.65\00:10:57.69
Now think about this.
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There is a
tension in these verses.
00:10:59.59\00:11:01.76
They talk about
commandments, that is the law.
00:11:01.79\00:11:05.29
They talk about what
we are ordered to do,
00:11:05.33\00:11:09.00
commandments are just
that, they are commandments,
00:11:09.03\00:11:12.40
they're not
suggestions, advice or counsel,
00:11:12.43\00:11:15.64
they are commandments.
00:11:15.67\00:11:18.27
In this case,
commandments to do what?
00:11:18.31\00:11:21.84
To love, to love God
and love your neighbor,
00:11:21.88\00:11:25.55
but love by its nature
as love is not something
00:11:25.58\00:11:31.55
that we think of
as being commanded,
00:11:31.59\00:11:35.26
it's not a big deal
00:11:35.29\00:11:36.62
that someone would
say to you, I order you,
00:11:36.66\00:11:39.36
I command you not to
cross this line right here,
00:11:39.39\00:11:43.13
or I command you to
stop right where you are.
00:11:43.16\00:11:46.63
You know, that
kind of makes sense,
00:11:46.67\00:11:48.67
but to say I
command you to love me,
00:11:48.70\00:11:52.84
well, that just sounds a
little strange, doesn't it?
00:11:52.87\00:11:55.98
And that's because
love is not something
00:11:56.01\00:11:57.98
that we generally
think of as being commanded.
00:11:58.01\00:12:02.52
And yet, Jesus said that
the two greatest commandments
00:12:02.55\00:12:05.25
are to love.
00:12:05.29\00:12:08.16
How do we reconcile this?
00:12:08.19\00:12:10.06
Well, listen to
this beautiful quote
00:12:10.09\00:12:12.06
from the book the
Desire of Ages, page 22.
00:12:12.09\00:12:17.07
"The earth was dark
through misapprehension of God.
00:12:17.10\00:12:21.67
That the gloomy
shadows might be lightened,
00:12:21.70\00:12:24.57
that the world might
be brought back to God,
00:12:24.61\00:12:27.41
Satan's deceptive
power was to be broken.
00:12:27.44\00:12:31.11
This could not be done by force.
00:12:31.15\00:12:33.95
The exercise of
force is contrary
00:12:33.98\00:12:37.02
to the principles
of God's government;
00:12:37.05\00:12:39.52
He desires only
the service of love
00:12:39.55\00:12:42.62
and love cannot be commanded,
00:12:42.66\00:12:45.49
it cannot be won
by force or authority.
00:12:45.53\00:12:49.46
Only by love is love awakened.
00:12:49.50\00:12:52.93
To know God is to love Him."
00:12:52.97\00:12:57.14
Notice that Ellen
White in this marvelous
00:12:57.17\00:13:00.44
Spirit of Prophecy
quotation on the life of Christ,
00:13:00.48\00:13:04.65
and I hope you're enjoying
00:13:04.68\00:13:06.01
reading various volumes
of The Spirit of Prophecy,
00:13:06.05\00:13:08.15
one of the finest gifts
00:13:08.18\00:13:10.29
given to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:13:10.32\00:13:12.75
and to you, and to me.
00:13:12.79\00:13:15.26
Well, the Spirit of
Prophecy said it so well,
00:13:15.29\00:13:18.39
love cannot be commanded
00:13:18.43\00:13:20.76
and yet we are
commanded to love.
00:13:20.80\00:13:24.50
How do we resolve this tension?
00:13:24.53\00:13:26.84
I think that the key
is found in the other line
00:13:26.87\00:13:29.67
where it says that to
know God is to love Him.
00:13:29.70\00:13:35.41
We love God because
we know what God is like,
00:13:35.44\00:13:40.92
we know His love, and
as a response to that love
00:13:40.95\00:13:43.89
we love Him back.
00:13:43.92\00:13:45.62
This love cannot be forced.
00:13:45.65\00:13:48.49
Now we can be
commanded to do it, yes.
00:13:48.52\00:13:51.39
But we can only do it,
only out of free choice,
00:13:51.43\00:13:54.86
out of free will.
00:13:54.90\00:13:56.56
Certainly God
commands us to love
00:13:56.60\00:13:58.50
but He can't force us to.
00:13:58.53\00:14:00.30
He can force us
not to commit adultery,
00:14:00.34\00:14:03.10
or not to steal,
00:14:03.14\00:14:04.47
but He can't
force us to love Him.
00:14:04.51\00:14:06.24
That's what's so
amazing about love,
00:14:06.27\00:14:08.64
for love to exist
freedom has to as well.
00:14:08.68\00:14:13.52
That's in many ways freedom
00:14:13.55\00:14:15.52
as the beautiful
proclamation from God
00:14:15.55\00:14:18.79
is the heart of the gospel.
00:14:18.82\00:14:20.92
God created us as
free moral human beings,
00:14:20.96\00:14:25.69
and He commands us to
love Him and our neighbor,
00:14:25.73\00:14:29.20
but He can't
force us to love either.
00:14:29.23\00:14:33.64
To truly love we
have to truly be free,
00:14:33.67\00:14:37.41
freedom in reality,
00:14:37.44\00:14:39.61
religious freedom is at the
heart and soul of the gospel.
00:14:39.64\00:14:43.95
It is at that soul of
our relationship with God.
00:14:43.98\00:14:49.35
Of course, we defend
religious liberty because,
00:14:49.38\00:14:51.75
well, let's face it, we
are Seventh-day Adventists
00:14:51.79\00:14:54.72
and we keep the
seventh day Sabbath
00:14:54.76\00:14:56.86
when the vast
majority of the Christian world
00:14:56.89\00:14:59.39
observes another day.
00:14:59.43\00:15:01.90
And when at times
governments have used the force
00:15:01.93\00:15:05.03
and power of the
law to enforce Sunday,
00:15:05.07\00:15:08.70
we have found ourselves in
rather difficult situations.
00:15:08.74\00:15:13.14
Thus we have had an
interest in religious liberty
00:15:13.17\00:15:15.71
for very practical reasons.
00:15:15.74\00:15:18.45
Seventh-day
Adventists have suffered
00:15:18.48\00:15:19.98
and some still do suffer
00:15:20.02\00:15:22.08
because of our adherence
to the seventh day Sabbath
00:15:22.12\00:15:25.45
and thus our religious liberty
department works tirelessly,
00:15:25.49\00:15:29.89
not only here in the
North American division
00:15:29.92\00:15:32.33
but around the world to
help defend the principles
00:15:32.36\00:15:36.20
of religious freedom.
00:15:36.23\00:15:38.73
But at a deep, deeper level,
00:15:38.77\00:15:41.17
when we as
Seventh-day Adventists
00:15:41.20\00:15:43.71
advocate for religious liberty,
00:15:43.74\00:15:46.61
for freedom of conscience,
we are promoting a principle,
00:15:46.64\00:15:51.11
a foundation, and a pillar
that underpins the gospel.
00:15:51.15\00:15:56.82
If there were no freedom,
00:15:56.85\00:15:58.42
there would be no
need of the gospel
00:15:58.45\00:16:00.92
or no need of
the plan of salvation
00:16:00.96\00:16:03.49
because there
would have been no sin.
00:16:03.53\00:16:08.93
And there would have been no sin
00:16:08.96\00:16:10.37
because God would have
created automatons or robots.
00:16:10.40\00:16:14.87
Robots cannot love or
have a real loving relationship
00:16:14.90\00:16:19.04
with God or with each other.
00:16:19.07\00:16:21.74
If God wanted
to force obedience,
00:16:21.78\00:16:24.45
He could have created a
race of computers, not humans.
00:16:24.48\00:16:28.28
You tell a computer what to
do and if it's working properly
00:16:28.32\00:16:31.59
it automatically does
it, no questions asked.
00:16:31.62\00:16:34.92
I use my computer a
lot as you may as well,
00:16:34.96\00:16:38.39
but I don't have any kind of
00:16:38.43\00:16:39.89
strong emotional
attachment to it.
00:16:39.93\00:16:43.80
You can have a deeper attachment
00:16:43.83\00:16:45.23
even to a household
pet than to a computer,
00:16:45.27\00:16:48.64
because even a
pet has an autonomy
00:16:48.67\00:16:52.17
that is completely
lacking in a computer.
00:16:52.21\00:16:55.74
A pet can to some
degree love you back,
00:16:55.78\00:16:59.21
you can have
more of a relationship
00:16:59.25\00:17:01.48
with a goldfish
than with a laptop.
00:17:01.52\00:17:05.02
There's no computer that even
00:17:05.05\00:17:06.45
comes close to
anything like human love,
00:17:06.49\00:17:09.49
and frankly it's hard to imagine
00:17:09.52\00:17:11.79
one ever being able to,
00:17:11.83\00:17:14.36
yet that's what
God wanted with us,
00:17:14.40\00:17:16.36
He wanted free moral beings
00:17:16.40\00:17:19.00
who could freely
of their own will
00:17:19.03\00:17:21.40
choose to love and serve Him,
00:17:21.44\00:17:23.57
beings with whom
00:17:23.61\00:17:24.94
He could have a
reciprocal relationship of love.
00:17:24.97\00:17:29.68
And to do this, He
had to create us free.
00:17:29.71\00:17:34.18
All through the Bible
we see this principle,
00:17:34.22\00:17:36.65
the principle of human freewill,
00:17:36.69\00:17:39.19
the principle of
religious liberty.
00:17:39.22\00:17:41.89
And that's very important,
00:17:41.92\00:17:43.26
because if God
Himself doesn't force us
00:17:43.29\00:17:48.20
to bring religious
conformity into our lives,
00:17:48.23\00:17:52.53
what a terrible aberration
and abuse of power occurs
00:17:52.57\00:17:55.74
when fallen human institutions
00:17:55.77\00:17:58.01
such as governments try to do
what God Himself refuses to do.
00:17:58.04\00:18:03.61
When Satan tried to
play the role of God,
00:18:03.65\00:18:06.01
disaster occurred for him
and for heaven and for earth,
00:18:06.05\00:18:10.75
when humans
following the dictates of Satan
00:18:10.79\00:18:14.39
try to do the same,
disaster results as well.
00:18:14.42\00:18:18.33
History is littered
with stories of what happened
00:18:18.36\00:18:20.93
when
governments or even churches
00:18:20.96\00:18:22.73
tried to play God.
00:18:22.76\00:18:24.80
In fact that's
precisely what the Bible says
00:18:24.83\00:18:27.50
and warns about
concerning the man of sin.
00:18:27.54\00:18:31.77
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 tell us,
00:18:31.81\00:18:36.54
"Let no one
deceive you by any means,
00:18:36.58\00:18:39.98
for that Day will not come
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.92
unless the
falling away comes first,
00:18:41.95\00:18:44.65
and the man of sin is
revealed, the son of perdition,
00:18:44.69\00:18:48.72
who opposes and exalts himself
00:18:48.76\00:18:50.89
above all that is called
God or that is worshiped,
00:18:50.93\00:18:54.70
so that he sits as
God in the temple of God,
00:18:54.73\00:18:58.03
showing himself that he is God."
00:18:58.07\00:19:02.40
That is very clear.
00:19:02.44\00:19:05.57
Now it's one thing to
yield our consciences to God,
00:19:05.61\00:19:09.21
that's what the
Christian life is all about,
00:19:09.24\00:19:12.85
surrendering our
wills to the Lord.
00:19:12.88\00:19:16.02
But to surrender
them to any human
00:19:16.05\00:19:19.42
or any human institution
or institutions that may be
00:19:19.45\00:19:24.36
trying to take the place of God,
00:19:24.39\00:19:26.13
or trying to fit the
role that belongs only to God,
00:19:26.16\00:19:29.43
now that's a
disaster waiting to happen.
00:19:29.46\00:19:32.87
And those disasters
have happened in the past
00:19:32.90\00:19:35.20
and unfortunately as
we know from prophecy,
00:19:35.24\00:19:38.37
something like that
is going to happen again.
00:19:38.41\00:19:42.88
In contrast, our
Lord allows us freedom,
00:19:42.91\00:19:47.28
even if that freedom led
to sin and sin led our Lord
00:19:47.32\00:19:51.92
to the cross.
00:19:51.95\00:19:53.86
Look at some of these
examples from the Bible
00:19:53.89\00:19:55.96
about just how
real our freedom is.
00:19:55.99\00:19:59.29
Adam and Eve in Eden,
00:19:59.33\00:20:01.40
ate from the forbidden tree
00:20:01.43\00:20:02.76
because they had
the moral freedom
00:20:02.80\00:20:05.37
to make the wrong choices.
00:20:05.40\00:20:07.87
The Lord told
them, "Don't eat of it,"
00:20:07.90\00:20:10.84
but He didn't force them not to.
00:20:10.87\00:20:13.91
He could have but then,
00:20:13.94\00:20:15.48
what would their
"obedience" have meant.
00:20:15.51\00:20:20.32
Nothing at all.
00:20:20.35\00:20:22.25
Think about the
story of Noah and the Ark,
00:20:22.28\00:20:24.85
neither the Bible nor
the Spirit of Prophecy
00:20:24.89\00:20:27.42
ever said anything
about even one person
00:20:27.46\00:20:30.73
who was forced
to get into the ark.
00:20:30.76\00:20:34.03
They had free
choice, one way or another.
00:20:34.06\00:20:37.60
We don't usually go to
the Israelite theocracy
00:20:37.63\00:20:40.50
as an example of
religious liberty
00:20:40.54\00:20:42.80
at least as we
understand it today,
00:20:42.84\00:20:45.11
and that's because, of
course, it was a theocracy,
00:20:45.14\00:20:48.48
a nation ruled directly by God.
00:20:48.51\00:20:51.45
What scary in fact,
00:20:51.48\00:20:53.21
are those groups who look
to the Israelite theocracy
00:20:53.25\00:20:56.69
as a model for
current government.
00:20:56.72\00:21:01.12
I wouldn't mind
living in a theocracy
00:21:01.16\00:21:02.96
run by the Lord Jesus
Christ, it would be perfect,
00:21:02.99\00:21:06.36
it would be wonderful.
00:21:06.39\00:21:07.86
I know the kindness, the love,
00:21:07.90\00:21:09.43
the grace and mercy of our Lord.
00:21:09.46\00:21:11.20
I look forward to
the theocracy in heaven
00:21:11.23\00:21:14.07
so to speak, but a
so called theocracy,
00:21:14.10\00:21:18.41
when sinful human beings
with absolute political power
00:21:18.44\00:21:22.38
playing the role
that God Himself had,
00:21:22.41\00:21:26.18
well, you're really just
looking for a lot of trouble.
00:21:26.21\00:21:31.05
Nevertheless, I love
these words from Joshua,
00:21:31.09\00:21:34.72
to the children of
Israel found in Joshua 24:15
00:21:34.76\00:21:39.23
because I believe
that they represent
00:21:39.26\00:21:41.56
a crucial
principle about freedom,
00:21:41.60\00:21:45.13
quoting now from that verse
00:21:45.17\00:21:46.90
"And if it seems evil
to you to serve the Lord,
00:21:46.94\00:21:50.57
choose for yourselves
this day whom you will serve,
00:21:50.61\00:21:54.88
whether the gods
which yours fathers
00:21:54.91\00:21:56.58
served that were on the
other side of the River,
00:21:56.61\00:21:59.25
or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you dwell.
00:21:59.28\00:22:03.45
But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord."
00:22:03.49\00:22:09.69
"Choose this day
whom you will serve,"
00:22:11.06\00:22:13.66
those words make
no sense apart from
00:22:13.70\00:22:16.13
the reality of human
autonomy, human free will.
00:22:16.16\00:22:20.74
Then we have the entire example
00:22:20.77\00:22:23.41
of Jesus'
ministry here on earth,
00:22:23.44\00:22:25.64
here He was our
Lord in the flesh
00:22:25.67\00:22:28.38
and all around Him He
had to deal with human beings
00:22:28.41\00:22:31.31
who using the freedom He
had originally given them
00:22:31.35\00:22:35.82
were making one bad
choice after another.
00:22:35.85\00:22:39.52
Look at how some of the scribes
and Pharisees treated Jesus.
00:22:39.55\00:22:43.12
Think about the
story of the boy in John 9,
00:22:43.16\00:22:47.66
who had been blind from birth.
00:22:47.70\00:22:50.87
Jesus just gave a powerful,
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.10
powerful demonstration
of His divine power,
00:22:53.13\00:22:56.07
a boy blind from birth
who suddenly could now see?
00:22:56.10\00:23:00.44
What more evidence
could the Lord have
00:23:00.48\00:23:02.24
given these people
and yet what happened?
00:23:02.28\00:23:06.25
After the young
man blind from birth
00:23:06.28\00:23:08.22
but now seeing gave
his testimony to them,
00:23:08.25\00:23:11.32
what followed?
00:23:11.35\00:23:13.36
John 9:28 and 29 says,
00:23:13.39\00:23:16.69
then they reviled him and said,
00:23:16.73\00:23:20.73
"You are his disciple,
but we are Moses' disciples.
00:23:20.76\00:23:25.43
We know that God spoke to Moses,
00:23:25.47\00:23:27.77
as for this fellow,
00:23:27.80\00:23:29.37
we do not know
where He is from."
00:23:29.40\00:23:34.68
Talk about an abuse of freedom.
00:23:34.71\00:23:37.58
I mean, I know that
Jesus love these men,
00:23:37.61\00:23:39.45
I know that Jesus
wanted them to be saved.
00:23:39.48\00:23:42.05
Jesus would soon die
for them and for all of us.
00:23:42.08\00:23:46.39
What a temptation it
might have been to Him,
00:23:46.42\00:23:49.32
to have somehow
forced these people
00:23:49.36\00:23:52.23
to not act so detrimentally
00:23:52.26\00:23:55.30
to their own eternal life.
00:23:55.33\00:23:59.40
Have you ever seen
someone and I'm sure you have,
00:23:59.43\00:24:02.94
who was doing
something that you knew
00:24:02.97\00:24:04.47
was going to lead to ruin
00:24:04.51\00:24:05.84
and yet you couldn't
do anything about it?
00:24:05.87\00:24:09.18
Jesus couldn't force them,
00:24:09.21\00:24:10.88
that is He couldn't
and at the same time
00:24:10.91\00:24:13.08
be true to the
principle of love and freedom,
00:24:13.11\00:24:15.62
that is at the
foundation of His government.
00:24:15.65\00:24:18.75
Again let me quote
from that beautiful book,
00:24:18.79\00:24:20.96
The Desire of Ages,
00:24:20.99\00:24:22.79
"The exercise of force
00:24:22.82\00:24:24.53
is contrary to the
principles of God's government,
00:24:24.56\00:24:28.13
He desires only
the service of love,
00:24:28.16\00:24:31.03
and love cannot be commanded,
00:24:31.07\00:24:33.77
it cannot be won by
force or authority."
00:24:33.80\00:24:38.11
All through the gospels,
all through the New Testament,
00:24:38.14\00:24:40.78
we see the unfortunate results
00:24:40.81\00:24:42.74
of those who have
abused the freedom
00:24:42.78\00:24:45.18
that's inherent
in love, the freedom
00:24:45.21\00:24:47.58
that is at the
foundation of God's government,
00:24:47.62\00:24:51.35
the freedom, the
religious liberty
00:24:51.39\00:24:53.62
that God has
granted to each of us.
00:24:53.66\00:24:58.06
That's why I'm so
thankful for our Public Affairs
00:24:58.09\00:25:00.83
and Religious Liberty department
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.80
and the work that they do.
00:25:02.83\00:25:05.10
I'm glad that for
more than 100 years,
00:25:05.13\00:25:08.20
Liberty magazine has been
promoting these principles
00:25:08.24\00:25:11.71
in the halls of power in
the North American division
00:25:11.74\00:25:14.71
and elsewhere,
00:25:14.74\00:25:16.34
that's why I urge
you to give generously
00:25:16.38\00:25:19.31
for the Liberty offering.
00:25:19.35\00:25:21.72
Religious liberty
matters, it really does.
00:25:21.75\00:25:26.49
Yes, we are interested
00:25:26.52\00:25:28.06
in protecting
the religious freedom
00:25:28.09\00:25:29.66
of our church members.
00:25:29.69\00:25:31.26
However, we are
equally interested
00:25:31.29\00:25:33.66
in protecting the
religious freedom of all people.
00:25:33.70\00:25:37.33
We defend the
religious liberty of others
00:25:37.37\00:25:39.87
for a deeper principle.
00:25:39.90\00:25:42.17
We defend it
because this principle
00:25:42.20\00:25:44.44
is so sacred to how
God runs the universe
00:25:44.47\00:25:47.58
that He granted
this freedom to us
00:25:47.61\00:25:50.05
even knowing that it
would lead Him to the cross.
00:25:50.08\00:25:54.42
I would humbly
suggest that the cross
00:25:54.45\00:25:56.75
is by far the greatest example
00:25:56.79\00:25:59.85
of just how
basic religious freedom
00:25:59.89\00:26:02.59
is to God's government,
00:26:02.62\00:26:05.36
rather than deny as that freedom
00:26:05.39\00:26:07.26
Jesus endured the cross,
talk about a sacred principle.
00:26:07.30\00:26:13.50
So in the short term,
00:26:13.54\00:26:15.40
we don't know exactly
what's in store for us
00:26:15.44\00:26:17.81
in the area of
religious liberty.
00:26:17.84\00:26:20.34
However, we know
that sooner or later
00:26:20.38\00:26:23.75
there will be a time of trouble
00:26:23.78\00:26:26.21
such as never was
as Daniel tells us.
00:26:26.25\00:26:30.02
In the long term,
we know what is coming
00:26:30.05\00:26:32.79
and that's what really counts.
00:26:32.82\00:26:35.49
On the last page of
the Great Controversy,
00:26:35.52\00:26:38.06
page 678, it says the following.
00:26:38.09\00:26:42.13
It says, "The great
controversy is ended.
00:26:42.16\00:26:45.93
Sin and sinners are no more.
00:26:45.97\00:26:49.34
The entire universe is clean.
00:26:49.37\00:26:52.41
One pulse of
harmony and gladness
00:26:52.44\00:26:54.98
beats through the vast creation.
00:26:55.01\00:26:57.45
From Him who created all,
00:26:57.48\00:26:59.81
flow life and
light and gladness,
00:26:59.85\00:27:03.22
throughout the
realms of illimitable space.
00:27:03.25\00:27:06.89
From the minutest
atom to the greatest world,
00:27:06.92\00:27:10.86
all things,
animate and inanimate,
00:27:10.89\00:27:14.46
in their unshadowed
beauty and perfect joy,
00:27:14.50\00:27:18.27
declare that God is love."
00:27:18.30\00:27:23.74
God is love, and
because He loves us,
00:27:23.77\00:27:26.37
we love Him back.
00:27:26.41\00:27:28.04
And at the heart of
that love is freedom.
00:27:28.08\00:27:31.71
May we never forget
that beautiful sacred truth.
00:27:31.75\00:27:36.48
May we proclaim the
three angels' messages
00:27:36.52\00:27:39.05
with Holy Spirit power?
00:27:39.09\00:27:41.12
Those three angels
messages point to a loving God
00:27:41.16\00:27:44.56
who provided a
loving plan of salvation
00:27:44.59\00:27:47.43
through the
righteousness of Christ
00:27:47.46\00:27:49.73
and His death, His life,
00:27:49.76\00:27:52.33
and His ministry
in the most holy place
00:27:52.37\00:27:55.10
of the heavenly
sanctuary just for us.
00:27:55.14\00:27:59.17
Let us use the
wonderful religious liberty
00:27:59.21\00:28:01.81
that we have and
lift up the life of Christ
00:28:01.84\00:28:06.01
in all that we do proclaiming
His soon second coming.
00:28:06.05\00:28:10.05
When God's love
00:28:10.09\00:28:11.59
will be vindicated
throughout the universe,
00:28:11.62\00:28:15.12
what a privilege to serve
such a loving and powerful God
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who gave us the gift
of freedom of conscience
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and religious liberty,
let's use it to His glory.
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