Good morning. Happy Sabbath.
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And welcome to
3ABN's Week of Prayer.
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Now I say 3ABN's Week of Prayer,
but it is really the Seventh-day
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Adventist church's
World Week of Prayer.
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In doing this we join with the
worldwide Seventh-day Adventist
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church, tens of thousands
of churches, and millions of
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members in
celebrating the Week of Prayer,
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which takes place each
fall, usually the first week in
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November for the
past several years.
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The Week of Prayer is very, very
much a part of the history of
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the Seventh-day
Adventist church,
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and is as old as
Adventism itself.
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Ellen White speaks about several
very powerful Weeks of Prayer
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in 1901, 1903, and a
particularly strong spiritual
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gathering in 1909.
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We all remember that famous
1888 General Conference in
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Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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The Week of Prayer that
preceded that was one that
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set the tone for our church
wrestling with the righteousness
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of Christ,
righteousness by faith,
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and the
Lordship of Jesus Christ.
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There is a record of a very,
very powerful Week of Prayer
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that took place in 1868.
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Ellen White's personal diary
records on January 12th of 1868
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she talks about a very,
very powerful move of God in a
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Week of Prayer held in
Battle Creek, Michigan.
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At that time the Adventist
Review, our church's paper,
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had a number of employees
who were non-Adventists,
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and others who were in
Adventist in name only.
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They knew who Jesus was, but
they didn't really know Jesus.
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And she says at that particular
Week of Prayer, during those
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meetings the Spirit of
God came down in a mighty way.
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And confessions were
made, testimonies were given,
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and just about the entire Review
staff gave itself to the Lord
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during that
particular Week of Prayer.
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And so the Week of Prayer
is something that is very, very
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intricate, and intimate to the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
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These are the
readings for this year.
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This is the Week of
Prayer readings for this year.
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They come from
the Adventist Review.
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And, of course, every
year these readings come out.
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Our speakers this week
will be following the titles,
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and the general
theme of these readings.
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But each speaker will be
speaking from the depth of their
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experience with God, and
on their own individual basis.
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On tomorrow evening Shelley
Quinn will be speaking from
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this desk, on Monday Jim
Gilley, on Tuesday John Dinzey,
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on Wednesday our
pastor returns, John Lomacang.
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I will be speaking on Thursday.
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And on Friday on
a subject called,
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Singing Through the Scriptures,
Danny Shelton has a very
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special presentation.
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And then next Sabbath the
editor of this Adventist Review,
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Dr. Bill Knott, will be
speaking from this desk.
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The music for this week is
coming from our Pillars Hymns
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project, which was done on this
very stage some one year ago.
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On tomorrow evening the
song, Jesus Is Coming Again,
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will come to us from the choir.
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And, of course, this
is pre-recorded music.
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On Monday, Near
to the Heart of God,
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will be sung by Melody Shelton.
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On Tuesday, In
Christ Alone, Yvonne Lewis.
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On Wednesday, In the Heart
of Jesus, Ladye Love Smith.
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On Thursday, On Christ the Solid
Rock, sung by Reggie Smith.
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And on Friday, of course,
we have the special program.
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And on next Sabbath,
Pastor Lomacang will be singing.
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So we have a
very, very full week.
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Now I'm going to
ask you to do something.
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Weeks of Prayer were designed,
and are designed, to be special
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times with the Lord.
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During this week I've dedicated
to the Lord a couple of things:
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1. I'm going to be
fasting from sweets.
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And if anybody knows me, and
knows my predilection for sugar,
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that is a great
sacrifice to the Lord.
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But it's
something that I want to do.
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And also I'm going to
be fasting from secular TV.
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No secular TV during this week.
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Now I'm doing
these things, not because
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I'm trying to be righteous;
that would make them legalistic.
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What I'm doing is taking that
time that I'd be watching TV,
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or doing other things,
and spending it getting
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closer to the Lord.
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I want to dedicate
that time to the Lord.
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Now, of course, we do
have this little exercise and
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referendum on Tuesday.
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I'll probably be watching that.
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But other than that
we're going to fast from TV.
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And the time I'd be watching
other things, I want to spend
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that in the Bible trying
to get closer to the Lord.
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May I request of you
that you dedicate something
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to the Lord during this week.
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It could be sweets.
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It could be other things;
maybe something you like to do.
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Use that time to get closer
to the Lord, and then dedicate
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to be with us
each and every evening.
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Sacrifice that to the
Lord, and use this time wisely.
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Don't just go through the
week and let the week end as it
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began, but do
something to draw closer to God.
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That's what these Weeks of
Prayer were designed to do.
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We have one every fall.
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In our academies and
colleges there are two.
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There's a fall Week of Prayer,
and a spring Week of Prayer.
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But they are designed
to bring us closer to God.
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And so dedicate something to
God this week; something that
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will draw you closer to
Him, that will renew your walk
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with Him, and encourage,
and increase your faith in Him,
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and allow you to
draw closer to the Lord.
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Each night also we have
a special object of prayer,
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something that we're going
to be praying about collectively
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that is a burden on our hearts,
perhaps a burden on yours.
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Today our prayer is for an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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How many would
like an outpouring
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of the Holy
Spirit in their lives?
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Certainly we all need an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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And why? To fight the
Laodicean tendencies of the
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Seventh-day Adventist church.
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And somebody ought to say Amen.
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And if you can't
say Amen, say Ouch!
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Because we can get
lazy in our Sabbath keeping.
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We can get lazy
in our witnessing.
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We can get lazy in
our walking with the Lord.
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And if you do anything
long enough, and routine enough,
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sometimes you get a
little lazy in doing it.
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And what we want is energy,
and the Holy Spirit to use every
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opportunity, first to
get ourselves right with God,
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and then everybody that falls
within our sphere of influence,
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we want to help them get
right with God too, don't we?
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So that's our prayer for today.
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And if you join me in that
prayer, would you raise your
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hand, and then bow your
head with me as we pray?
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Father God, we truly want an
outpouring of Your Holy Spirit,
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not only during this
day and this service,
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but this entire week.
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We want to be
drawn closer to Jesus.
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We want a fresh
anointing from Jesus.
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We want to walk closer to Jesus.
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We want our words, and
our lives, and our thoughts,
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and our hearts to
beat in sync with Jesus.
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Father give us Your Holy Spirit
so that we can be renewed,
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and
strengthened, and encouraged.
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Help us not to sink
down into Laodicean laziness,
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but to be on fire for the
Lord, so that people seeing us,
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people talking with us,
people conversing with us,
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will not just see us, but that
they will see the Jesus in us.
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Because we want
to be like Christ.
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Oh Father, may during this
week we take one more giant
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step along the road
that leads to glory.
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Take hold of our hand,
Lord, and never let it go.
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Help us to walk with You
each and every day until we walk
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with You through the gates,
and into the eternal city.
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Bless Pastor
Lomacang as he speaks today.
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Give him food for our hearts.
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And we thank You
in Jesus' name, Amen.
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As we mentioned, all of
the music this week will come
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from our Pillars Hymns project,
which was recorded on this
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stage just last year.
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The song that I'm going to
sing was done, written some 130,
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my math says 135 years ago.
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But the words are as
powerful, and as pertinent,
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and as potent 135 years later:
My Faith Has Found a Resting
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Place in Jesus Christ.
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My faith has found a resting
place not in a manmade creed.
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I trust the ever living
One; that He for me will plead.
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I need no other
evidence, I need no other plea.
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It is enough that Jesus
died and rose again for me.
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Enough for me that Jesus saves;
this ends my fear and doubt.
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A sinful soul I come to
Him, He will not cast me out.
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I need no other
evidence, I need no other plea.
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It is enough that Jesus
died and rose again for me.
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The Great
Physician heals the sick,
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the lost He came to save.
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For me His
precious blood He shed,
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for me His life He gave.
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I need no other
evidence, I need no other plea.
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It is enough that Jesus
died, and rose again for me.
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My soul is resting on the
Word, the living Word of God.
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Salvation in my Savior's name,
salvation through His blood.
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I need no other
evidence, I need no other plea.
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It is enough that Jesus
died, and rose again for me.
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Amen! Let us pray.
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Heavenly Father, this
morning as we open Your Word,
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we pray that we open our hearts
with it, and that we hear what
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the Spirit says to us in this
crisis hour of earth's history.
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So take this message,
Lord, and use it as You will.
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In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
00:13:08.82\00:13:12.55
Mark 4:37 reads as follows:
And a great windstorm arose,
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and the waves beat into the ship
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so that it was already filling.
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The message is
entitled, The Perfect Storm,
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The Perfect Storm.
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It was categorized
as the perfect storm,
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and forecasters said that
it could create conditions
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even more deadly than the
storm that inspired the movie
00:13:42.62\00:13:47.79
with the very same name.
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ABC news meteorologist, Dan
Harris, reported the following:
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he said, Hurricane Sandy could
be the storm of the century,
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and for New Yorkers a
once in a lifetime phenomena.
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Dan Harris continued as he said,
Such dire warnings conjure up
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images of disaster, and movies
such as, The Day After Tomorrow,
00:14:10.91\00:14:16.12
or, The Perfect Storm.
00:14:16.15\00:14:17.59
But he also says, Some New
Yorkers said they heard it all
00:14:17.62\00:14:22.46
before, and they
were not just buying it.
00:14:22.49\00:14:26.16
Good Morning America interviewed
New Yorkers that just
00:14:26.19\00:14:29.50
don't believe the hype.
00:14:29.53\00:14:30.93
And the reason is that last year
hurricane Irene did not live
00:14:30.97\00:14:36.57
up to the hype that
they said it would bring,
00:14:36.60\00:14:40.18
even though it did a lot
of damage to the outlying
00:14:40.21\00:14:43.65
areas of New York City.
00:14:43.68\00:14:45.05
The forecast of coming
disasters, meteorologist
00:14:45.08\00:14:49.28
Dan Harris, also said, he
said, It seems so theoretical
00:14:49.32\00:14:53.46
that in the imagination it
could give life to complacency.
00:14:53.49\00:14:57.83
You know,
that's how it often is.
00:14:57.86\00:14:59.36
We see the reporters
standing in the driving rain.
00:14:59.39\00:15:02.93
Can you see that? He's
leaning into the wind while
00:15:02.96\00:15:06.20
gripping his microphone.
00:15:06.23\00:15:07.57
And while he struggles to keep
his balance, he simply yells
00:15:07.60\00:15:10.97
out his news report.
00:15:11.01\00:15:13.27
Big city people tend to
adopt what I call a dismissive
00:15:15.11\00:15:19.25
attitude saying that,
It's all happened before.
00:15:19.28\00:15:22.15
It won't be that bad.
00:15:22.18\00:15:23.52
And, by the way,
with a name like Sandy,
00:15:23.55\00:15:25.62
how could it be that bad anyway?
00:15:25.65\00:15:28.09
After all, this was the
city that bounced back from 911.
00:15:30.03\00:15:34.56
This is the largest
metropolitan area in the
00:15:34.60\00:15:37.63
nation: New York City.
00:15:37.67\00:15:39.17
This is the Big Apple.
00:15:39.20\00:15:41.57
Don't upset us with things that
only happen in little towns,
00:15:41.60\00:15:45.64
one New Yorker said.
00:15:45.67\00:15:47.01
A Battery Park resident also was
quoted as saying, The wind may
00:15:47.04\00:15:51.88
be strong, the noise, the sound,
but I don't really think it's
00:15:51.91\00:15:56.69
going to be as bad
as they say it will be.
00:15:56.72\00:15:58.95
But now let me give
you the Post storm report.
00:15:58.99\00:16:02.72
His perception fell
far short of his reality.
00:16:02.76\00:16:06.43
Battery Park has been
without power and electricity
00:16:06.46\00:16:10.83
since the storm hit, and the
subway systems probably won't
00:16:10.87\00:16:15.64
be up and
running for many months.
00:16:15.67\00:16:17.31
That's what they said
as on the news yesterday.
00:16:17.34\00:16:20.48
Electricity was interrupted from
34th Street to Battery Park.
00:16:20.51\00:16:24.98
And for those of you that
have never been to New York,
00:16:25.01\00:16:27.48
that's midtown
Manhattan down to the waterfront
00:16:27.52\00:16:31.42
in the Wall Street area.
00:16:31.45\00:16:33.25
Standing in front of Bank
America, another New Yorker
00:16:36.22\00:16:39.29
after being interviewed said,
What are we going to do, panic?
00:16:39.33\00:16:43.03
We are just New Yorkers.
00:16:43.06\00:16:44.40
We don't
believe the hype anyway.
00:16:44.43\00:16:46.50
But how quickly some
forget that just a few years ago
00:16:46.53\00:16:50.71
the warnings were not
headed about Hurricane Katrina,
00:16:50.74\00:16:53.48
and it devastated
the Gulf coast in 2005.
00:16:53.51\00:16:57.08
It became one of the five
deadliest storms in US history.
00:16:57.11\00:17:02.68
The perfect storm.
00:17:02.72\00:17:05.39
ABC news continues, as they put
together a headline on Monday
00:17:05.42\00:17:11.56
morning about a
community that I quote.
00:17:11.59\00:17:14.03
They said, They won't go.
00:17:14.06\00:17:15.93
Residents stay put in vulnerable
00:17:15.96\00:17:19.53
New York neighborhood.
00:17:19.57\00:17:21.70
As they continued in the
story, a lady by the name of,
00:17:21.74\00:17:26.31
Mary Lapara, and her
neighbors, ABC news said,
00:17:26.34\00:17:30.08
are defying orders to
evacuate the seaside community
00:17:30.11\00:17:33.78
of Breezy Point in New York.
00:17:33.82\00:17:36.52
She said, We're sticking it out.
00:17:36.55\00:17:39.45
Even if we have to
go up on our roofs,
00:17:39.49\00:17:42.72
that's what we're going to do.
00:17:42.76\00:17:44.09
We're sticking it out.
00:17:44.13\00:17:45.73
We're going to
ride this storm out.
00:17:45.76\00:17:47.66
We are Breezy Point.
00:17:47.70\00:17:49.36
We're been here for
more than 30 to 40 years.
00:17:49.40\00:17:52.23
This is a
tightly knit community.
00:17:52.27\00:17:54.80
I read the article, and
one person said, We've got 35
00:17:54.84\00:17:58.34
people that are going to stay.
00:17:58.37\00:17:59.71
We're going to have a barbeque.
00:17:59.74\00:18:01.08
We're going to roast some
pork, and some vegetables.
00:18:01.11\00:18:03.24
We're going to
ride this storm out.
00:18:03.28\00:18:04.61
We're going to have a good time,
because we are New Yorkers.
00:18:04.65\00:18:08.25
We fear nothing.
But Tuesday morning
00:18:08.28\00:18:12.52
a different story was told.
00:18:12.55\00:18:14.42
ABC news also tells about a man
by the name of Douglas Owens.
00:18:14.46\00:18:18.09
While he was walking along
the beach checking out the surf,
00:18:18.13\00:18:21.33
as the storm was still
250 miles away, he said,
00:18:21.36\00:18:24.53
I am prepared for it, he joked.
00:18:24.57\00:18:26.67
I've got a nice big hoodie on.
00:18:26.70\00:18:29.00
I can ride this
storm out on any day.
00:18:29.04\00:18:32.04
But Tuesday morning the story
was as follows: 80 to 150 homes
00:18:32.07\00:18:37.55
destroyed in
Breezy Point, New York,
00:18:37.58\00:18:40.25
by uncontrollable fire.
00:18:40.28\00:18:44.55
Standing on a podium as if
he had been handcuffed by the
00:18:45.95\00:18:48.86
complacency of his constituents,
Governor Andrew Cuomo said
00:18:48.89\00:18:52.93
that he was troubled
by the psychology of his
00:18:52.96\00:18:56.83
fellow New Yorkers.
00:18:56.87\00:18:58.50
They hear warnings,
but they don't receive
00:18:58.53\00:19:02.74
and heed the warnings.
00:19:02.77\00:19:04.21
This is a big city.
00:19:04.24\00:19:05.87
This is the
metropolis of New York City.
00:19:05.91\00:19:08.31
At a Sunday morning news
conference, Governor Cuomo
00:19:08.34\00:19:10.71
warned, This is not
the time to take a chance.
00:19:10.75\00:19:14.98
Whatever it is,
it's very serious.
00:19:15.02\00:19:18.05
And it's nothing
to be trifled with.
00:19:18.09\00:19:20.16
But ABC news continues.
00:19:20.19\00:19:22.79
They said, Some people
may scoff at the predictions,
00:19:22.82\00:19:26.93
but forecasters are often right.
00:19:26.96\00:19:29.70
That's the sad reality.
00:19:29.73\00:19:31.30
Often times people take
everything that weathermen,
00:19:31.33\00:19:34.34
and weather personnel
say as just a prediction,
00:19:34.37\00:19:39.74
or a speculative statement.
00:19:39.77\00:19:42.64
But often times they are right.
00:19:42.68\00:19:45.01
And what many of them forgot is
the perfect storm was based on
00:19:45.05\00:19:48.05
an actual story that actually
killed people in the northeast.
00:19:48.08\00:19:52.72
In a city of 19 million people,
the question is, What difference
00:19:52.75\00:19:57.19
can the voice of one man
make to his constituents?
00:19:57.23\00:20:01.36
If you've been
following the calendar,
00:20:01.40\00:20:03.87
we are living in the year 2012.
00:20:03.90\00:20:05.67
And according to
the Mayan predictions,
00:20:05.70\00:20:07.64
on December 21,
2012 life as we know it
00:20:07.67\00:20:12.87
is going to be redefined.
00:20:12.91\00:20:15.58
But let me just say
it this way this morning,
00:20:15.61\00:20:18.68
life as we know it is
already being redefined.
00:20:18.71\00:20:21.22
Life altering disasters
have become mile markers
00:20:21.25\00:20:27.39
to remind us that we are
nearing the end of our journey.
00:20:27.42\00:20:32.29
On one side I look up
and say, Thank you, Jesus.
00:20:32.33\00:20:35.50
But on the other hand
I say, Lord have mercy,
00:20:35.53\00:20:37.87
when I look around me at
the complacency in the world,
00:20:37.90\00:20:41.64
and the
complacency even in the church.
00:20:41.67\00:20:44.24
We want Jesus to come, but
there are those that just don't
00:20:44.27\00:20:48.11
believe the
promises of His coming.
00:20:48.14\00:20:50.41
Where is the
promise of His coming?
00:20:50.45\00:20:52.78
For since our fathers fell
asleep, all things continue
00:20:52.81\00:20:56.28
as they were from
the very beginning.
00:20:56.32\00:20:58.72
And we know very well things
are not the way they used to be.
00:20:58.75\00:21:01.22
And Paul the apostle,
as you turn with me to
00:21:01.26\00:21:04.36
I Thessalonians 5, he shouts
words of warning to those that
00:21:04.39\00:21:08.93
may stand by and mock at
the coming perfect storm.
00:21:08.96\00:21:13.00
For he writes in verses 1 to
6 of I Thessalonians 5, he says:
00:21:13.03\00:21:18.94
But concerning the times
and the seasons, brethren,...
00:21:18.97\00:21:22.48
Speaking to the church.
00:21:22.51\00:21:24.68
...you have no need
that I should write to you.
00:21:24.71\00:21:27.68
For you yourselves know
perfectly that the day of the
00:21:27.72\00:21:32.62
Lord so comes as a
thief in the night.
00:21:32.65\00:21:36.62
For when they say, Peace and
safety; then sudden destruction
00:21:36.79\00:21:41.96
comes upon them, as labor
pains upon a pregnant woman;...
00:21:42.00\00:21:46.74
And he continues...
and they shall not escape.
00:21:46.77\00:21:51.21
But you, brethren, are not
in darkness, so that this day
00:21:51.24\00:21:56.28
should overtake you as a thief.
00:21:56.31\00:21:58.21
God has warned His
church of what's to come.
00:21:58.25\00:22:01.48
We are not in darkness.
00:22:01.52\00:22:02.92
We shall not sleep as they do.
00:22:02.95\00:22:05.09
He says, You are all sons
of light, and sons of the day:
00:22:05.12\00:22:09.82
we are not of the
night, nor of darkness.
00:22:09.86\00:22:13.46
Therefore let us
not sleep, as others do;
00:22:13.50\00:22:18.97
but let us watch and be sober.
00:22:19.00\00:22:23.20
In Prophets and Kings, Ellen
White lets us know that not
00:22:25.84\00:22:28.94
everybody is sleeping.
00:22:28.98\00:22:30.31
Not everybody is
taking the reports of the
00:22:30.35\00:22:33.31
coming storm lightly.
00:22:33.35\00:22:34.68
She says, The time is at hand
when there will be sorrow in the
00:22:34.72\00:22:39.92
world that no
human balm can heal.
00:22:39.95\00:22:42.29
And we've arrived at that hour.
00:22:42.32\00:22:44.03
The Spirit of God
is being withdrawn.
00:22:44.06\00:22:47.50
Disasters by sea and land follow
one another in quick succession.
00:22:47.53\00:22:54.34
How frequently we hear of
earthquakes, and tornados of
00:22:54.37\00:22:58.34
destruction by fire
and flood, with great loss
00:22:58.37\00:23:02.34
of life and property.
00:23:02.38\00:23:03.71
Sounds like the headlines
of New York and New Jersey.
00:23:03.75\00:23:07.25
She continues. Apparently
these calamities are capricious
00:23:07.28\00:23:13.32
outbreaks of disorganized,
unregulated forces of nature,
00:23:13.36\00:23:17.89
wholly beyond
the control of man.
00:23:17.93\00:23:20.00
But in them all, she says,
God's purposes may be read.
00:23:20.03\00:23:25.07
They are among the agencies
by which He seeks to arouse men
00:23:25.10\00:23:29.30
and women to a
sense of their danger.
00:23:29.34\00:23:34.01
We are living
in dangerous times.
00:23:34.04\00:23:36.48
We are living in crisis times.
00:23:36.51\00:23:39.25
Being raised in New York City
was one of the reasons why we
00:23:39.28\00:23:43.85
never really took forecasts
of hurricanes seriously.
00:23:43.89\00:23:47.22
After all hurricanes
don't go that far north.
00:23:47.26\00:23:49.96
They're not supposed to.
00:23:49.99\00:23:52.73
But we're living in a time where
things that are not supposed to
00:23:52.76\00:23:57.63
happen, are happening.
00:23:57.67\00:23:59.00
One news reporter said, We're
only supposed to get events like
00:23:59.03\00:24:02.00
this once every 100 years,
but the last 3 years we've had
00:24:02.04\00:24:05.84
hundred year events: major
earthquakes in the Pacific,
00:24:05.87\00:24:10.01
fires and floods, storms
that are beyond our control,
00:24:10.05\00:24:14.88
storms that we
could not predict.
00:24:14.92\00:24:16.89
We're living in crisis
hours of earth's history.
00:24:16.92\00:24:19.39
And those of us who take these
times lightly will fall into the
00:24:19.42\00:24:23.96
category of
those in the northeast;
00:24:23.99\00:24:25.69
not considering the
crisis hour in which we live.
00:24:25.73\00:24:29.50
This morning I want to let you
know that God loves those in the
00:24:29.53\00:24:33.44
cities as much as He
loves those in the country.
00:24:33.47\00:24:36.74
But city life can lull you
to sleep, and make you ignorant
00:24:36.77\00:24:42.31
of the real danger.
00:24:42.34\00:24:43.68
When you're walking down Times
Square, and you see all the
00:24:43.71\00:24:45.78
lights, and when you're housed
in buildings that are 30, 40, 50
00:24:45.81\00:24:49.78
stories high, like this crane
that's still hovering over the
00:24:49.82\00:24:52.72
streets of New York City in the
Upper West Side of Manhattan.
00:24:52.75\00:24:55.46
They were in the midst of
building a penthouse, a 90 story
00:24:55.49\00:25:01.40
tall building; a residence
in the middle of the city.
00:25:01.43\00:25:04.30
When a city is that large,
the only way you can go is up.
00:25:04.33\00:25:07.34
And on the 90th
floor, that penthouse...
00:25:09.77\00:25:13.07
I want you to
hear me very carefully.
00:25:13.11\00:25:14.64
...is going to be
sold, when it's completed,
00:25:14.68\00:25:17.01
for 90 million dollars.
00:25:17.05\00:25:19.11
Building towers to
their own destruction.
00:25:19.15\00:25:23.92
God shows us that even at the
90th floor, we are not beyond
00:25:23.95\00:25:28.62
the reach of the winds of God.
00:25:28.66\00:25:29.99
But the problem in big cities
is Satan has diverted the minds,
00:25:30.03\00:25:35.03
and they don't take the
coming storms very seriously.
00:25:35.06\00:25:38.17
In the cities large
churches are distracted.
00:25:38.20\00:25:41.80
And I've discovered, as a
pastor in a little small town,
00:25:41.84\00:25:44.21
even in small towns
churches can become distracted.
00:25:44.24\00:25:49.34
It is in this distracted
hour that I can see the prophet
00:25:49.38\00:25:53.72
climbing the walls of these
fortified cities with a rams
00:25:53.75\00:25:57.72
horn strapped to his
back, as Joel the prophet is
00:25:57.75\00:26:01.39
commissioned by God to wake up
the church in this crisis hour.
00:26:01.42\00:26:06.36
I read these words in
your hearing in Joel 2:1.
00:26:06.39\00:26:11.63
The Lord commissioned Joel
to, Blow the trumpet in Zion,
00:26:11.67\00:26:15.64
and to sound an alarm in
My holy mountain: let all the
00:26:15.67\00:26:22.11
inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the Lord is
00:26:22.14\00:26:26.72
coming, for it is at hand;...
00:26:26.75\00:26:30.15
In the northeast many
dismissed the approaching storm.
00:26:30.19\00:26:36.89
And I would suggest to you today
that the church is suffering
00:26:36.93\00:26:39.53
from some of the same
complacency that caused those
00:26:39.56\00:26:43.10
in the northeast to
ignore the warnings.
00:26:43.13\00:26:46.33
You see, the church has
gotten used to nature following
00:26:46.37\00:26:50.24
a certain pattern.
00:26:50.27\00:26:52.01
But as those who lived
during the time of Noah,
00:26:52.04\00:26:55.11
they understand that the fact
is that the God of nature is
00:26:55.14\00:26:59.25
above the patterns of nature.
00:26:59.28\00:27:01.75
If God wants a
storm to go north,
00:27:01.78\00:27:04.35
God can send a storm north.
00:27:04.39\00:27:07.19
But allow me to echo the
sentiments of that New Yorker
00:27:07.22\00:27:12.36
that said under a
cloud of false security,
00:27:12.39\00:27:15.90
Why are we going to panic?
00:27:15.93\00:27:18.47
Are we going to panic?
00:27:18.50\00:27:20.04
We're Christians. We
understand the back of the book.
00:27:20.07\00:27:22.24
Often times Danny will
say, Read the back of the book.
00:27:22.27\00:27:24.77
But sometimes, let me
suggest, we need to read
00:27:24.81\00:27:27.28
the rest of the book.
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.64
Because we know how the
story ends, but how the story is
00:27:28.68\00:27:32.71
playing out in our day
to day lives, is what God is
00:27:32.75\00:27:34.78
more concerned about.
00:27:34.82\00:27:36.15
Whether or not we're preparing
for this crisis hour in our own
00:27:36.18\00:27:39.02
lives is what
revival is really all about.
00:27:39.05\00:27:42.16
Knowing how it's going to
end is not going to make any
00:27:42.19\00:27:44.99
difference if I'm not
getting ready for the end.
00:27:45.03\00:27:47.83
And if we don't get
ready for the end at the end,
00:27:47.86\00:27:50.53
we get ready for
the end day by day.
00:27:50.57\00:27:52.73
We get ready for the
end by the way we live our
00:27:52.77\00:27:55.27
lives on a daily basis.
00:27:55.30\00:27:56.64
We get ready for the
end by our devotional life.
00:27:56.67\00:27:59.17
We get ready for the end
by the time we spend in church
00:27:59.21\00:28:02.74
together praying,
and studying together.
00:28:02.78\00:28:05.35
And it would do us
well to really have
00:28:05.38\00:28:08.52
a weeklong of prayer.
00:28:08.55\00:28:10.22
And the church said Amen. Amen!
00:28:10.25\00:28:15.39
One thing you learn about storms
is if you haven't prayed before,
00:28:17.93\00:28:20.73
a storm will make you pray.
00:28:20.76\00:28:22.10
An earthquake
will make you pray.
00:28:22.13\00:28:24.30
Crisis will make you pray.
00:28:24.33\00:28:26.37
Difficulties will make you pray.
00:28:26.40\00:28:30.21
As that person in New York said,
What are we going to do, panic?
00:28:30.24\00:28:33.27
If it starts with panic,
that's what God will use.
00:28:35.31\00:28:39.45
In Amos 6:1 He says: Woe to
those who are ease in Zion,...
00:28:39.48\00:28:44.25
And I'd like to say, as
one who's traveled around the
00:28:44.29\00:28:46.65
world, and seen the Adventist
church from various angles,
00:28:46.69\00:28:49.62
in America the
church is too complacent.
00:28:49.66\00:28:52.03
It is asleep to a large degree.
00:28:52.06\00:28:54.46
The place where the church has
the greatest wealth is the place
00:28:54.50\00:28:57.87
where the church is most
asleep, in North America.
00:28:57.90\00:29:00.44
And I pray for this
Week of Prayer to arouse the
00:29:00.47\00:29:03.71
church in North America.
00:29:03.74\00:29:05.07
When you go to
Africa the church is there.
00:29:05.11\00:29:07.14
The church is alive.
00:29:07.18\00:29:08.51
The church is vibrant.
00:29:08.54\00:29:09.88
You go to Russia
the church is there.
00:29:09.91\00:29:11.25
The church is alive.
00:29:11.28\00:29:12.61
The church is vibrant.
00:29:12.65\00:29:13.98
You go to Asia,
the church is there.
00:29:14.02\00:29:15.35
They're alive
and they're vibrant.
00:29:15.38\00:29:17.05
They'll stand together
under a thatched hut in the
00:29:17.09\00:29:20.76
rain to worship God.
00:29:20.79\00:29:22.12
And we won't come with
these comfortable pews.
00:29:22.16\00:29:24.76
I believe that really it's
North America that needs to be
00:29:24.79\00:29:29.53
awakened to the
crisis hour in which we live.
00:29:29.56\00:29:31.83
But the trumpet is being
blown all around the world.
00:29:31.87\00:29:35.00
And just in case that Scripture
hasn't come home to you,
00:29:35.04\00:29:38.14
God didn't just tell
Joel to blow the trumpet,
00:29:38.17\00:29:40.74
He said, To sound an alarm.
00:29:40.78\00:29:43.45
You think about that.
00:29:43.48\00:29:45.58
Sometimes you can
hear the train blowing its
00:29:45.61\00:29:47.48
horn from miles away.
00:29:47.52\00:29:48.95
But you know that it's
coming your direction when you
00:29:48.98\00:29:51.75
begin to hear the alarm.
00:29:51.79\00:29:53.12
Are you following
me very carefully?
00:29:53.15\00:29:54.49
Those of you that travel through
Benton and West Frankfort,
00:29:54.52\00:29:56.99
you know you can hear the
horn from a long distance.
00:29:57.03\00:30:00.40
You can hear the word of God
way in the backgrounds of your
00:30:00.43\00:30:03.83
life, but when the
alarms begin to sound,
00:30:03.87\00:30:06.53
you know that the event is a
lot closer than it used to be.
00:30:06.57\00:30:12.14
We're living in
the days of the alarm;
00:30:12.17\00:30:14.84
no longer just the trumpet.
00:30:14.88\00:30:16.48
But there's something else about
this significance of blowing
00:30:16.51\00:30:19.85
the trumpet and
sounding the alarm.
00:30:19.88\00:30:21.58
In this judgment hour God
has people all over the world
00:30:21.62\00:30:26.09
that are oppressed by
sin, oppressed by suffering,
00:30:26.12\00:30:29.26
oppressed by worldliness.
00:30:29.29\00:30:31.29
And when Joel blows the trumpet,
when he sounds the alarm
00:30:31.33\00:30:35.06
in God's holy mountain,
there's a purpose for that
00:30:35.10\00:30:38.47
sounding of the alarm.
00:30:38.50\00:30:39.83
There's a purpose for
the blowing of the trumpet.
00:30:39.87\00:30:41.44
Go with me to Numbers 10:9.
00:30:41.47\00:30:43.51
And follow this verse very
carefully; one that you may have
00:30:43.54\00:30:47.01
read before, but it fits
into the context of blowing the
00:30:47.04\00:30:50.68
trumpet, and sounding the
alarm in God's holy mountain.
00:30:50.71\00:30:56.52
Verse 9 in Numbers 10 reads
as follows: When you go to war
00:31:04.23\00:31:10.17
in your land against the
enemy who oppresses you,...
00:31:10.20\00:31:12.70
And I say it again, There are
many today that are oppressed
00:31:12.73\00:31:15.47
by sin, by
suffering, and by worldliness.
00:31:15.50\00:31:19.01
Some voluntarily oppressed.
00:31:19.04\00:31:20.81
But when you go to war in
your land against the enemy
00:31:20.84\00:31:24.21
who oppresses you, when you
shall sound an alarm with the
00:31:24.25\00:31:28.15
trumpets; and you will be
remembered before the Lord
00:31:28.18\00:31:32.25
your God, and you will
be saved from your enemies.
00:31:32.29\00:31:36.62
When the trumpet and the alarms
are blown together by the people
00:31:36.66\00:31:41.13
of God, God
will save His people.
00:31:41.16\00:31:44.10
There should have been
a hardy Amen right there.
00:31:44.13\00:31:46.97
Because there are those
that once walked with God,
00:31:47.00\00:31:49.24
there were those that
were once dedicated to God.
00:31:49.27\00:31:51.71
God wants to bring those
back that once walked with Him.
00:31:51.74\00:31:54.98
God wants to reignite our flame,
that dedication that we had
00:31:55.01\00:31:59.58
right after we were baptized.
00:31:59.61\00:32:00.95
Some of us have
lost that dedication.
00:32:00.98\00:32:02.78
Some of us are not Adventist.
00:32:02.82\00:32:05.29
We forgot the
Christian side to that.
00:32:05.32\00:32:08.02
Some of us are
one day Adventists.
00:32:08.06\00:32:11.53
We ought to be
seven day Adventists.
00:32:11.56\00:32:13.63
Some of us show up, and we
come in at the last minute,
00:32:13.66\00:32:18.13
and leave just
before the closing prayer.
00:32:18.17\00:32:20.57
Some of us leave at the end
of the sermon to run back to the
00:32:20.60\00:32:24.01
complacency of
our comfortable homes.
00:32:24.04\00:32:26.27
That's why God knows if it takes
a storm; sometimes it takes a
00:32:26.31\00:32:30.45
storm for us to know
that we need a shelter.
00:32:30.48\00:32:33.11
Sometimes it takes a
storm for us to know that we
00:32:33.15\00:32:35.42
need a hiding place.
00:32:35.45\00:32:36.79
And I'm going to tell
you this, the Lord our Rock,
00:32:36.82\00:32:38.49
in Him we hide. He's our
shelter in the time of storm.
00:32:38.52\00:32:41.62
We've got to remember, God
doesn't want us to be Adventists
00:32:41.66\00:32:44.96
one day of the week.
00:32:44.99\00:32:46.33
He wants us to be
Adventists every day.
00:32:46.36\00:32:47.70
We ought to be ready for
the coming of the Lord every day
00:32:47.73\00:32:49.50
of the week, not just one day.
00:32:49.53\00:32:51.70
So this week of spiritual
revival, this Week of Prayer,
00:32:51.73\00:32:55.47
we ought to pray like
Pastor C. A. suggested we do.
00:32:55.50\00:32:59.37
Get into it with God, and
understand that what happened
00:32:59.41\00:33:02.78
in New York, what happened in
New Orleans, what happened over
00:33:02.81\00:33:07.12
in Asia, where just a few years
ago over 300 thousand people
00:33:07.15\00:33:10.45
lost their lives on
December 26, can happen
00:33:10.49\00:33:12.99
anywhere in our nation.
00:33:13.02\00:33:14.49
But for the grace of God, 3ABN
would have been destroyed a long
00:33:14.52\00:33:17.76
time ago, but God, I believe,
has a canopy over this ministry.
00:33:17.79\00:33:21.93
How does a ministry
survive without single antenna,
00:33:21.96\00:33:25.53
without a single satellite dish
moving any, not a single inch,
00:33:25.57\00:33:30.21
when a 120 mile an hour winds
are bursting through the land?
00:33:30.24\00:33:33.71
God is in charge.
How do we survive?
00:33:33.74\00:33:37.95
Some of you come with motor
homes, and trailers, and we have
00:33:37.98\00:33:41.12
houses that can barely stand
on their own, and they stand,
00:33:41.15\00:33:44.12
and they survive a
120 mile an hour winds.
00:33:44.15\00:33:47.29
Some of us have homes surrounded
by trees, as is our property,
00:33:47.32\00:33:50.63
more than 100 trees.
00:33:50.66\00:33:51.99
How do you survive with not a
single tree touching your home?
00:33:52.03\00:33:54.66
God has His
hand over His people.
00:33:54.70\00:33:56.67
God has called us to sound
the alarm, blow the trumpet,
00:33:56.70\00:34:00.54
for the Day of God is coming.
00:34:00.57\00:34:01.90
And I want to say
this, that day is coming
00:34:01.94\00:34:03.74
faster than we believed.
00:34:03.77\00:34:05.44
I don't believe the predictions
of the Mayans, but boy it sounds
00:34:05.47\00:34:08.44
like they're getting real close.
00:34:08.48\00:34:09.94
For things that are
happening in this year that
00:34:09.98\00:34:13.01
have never happened.
00:34:13.05\00:34:14.38
As they said in New York City,
in 108 years of the history of
00:34:14.42\00:34:18.95
the transit system in New
York, never have they been
00:34:18.99\00:34:21.52
crippled like this.
00:34:21.56\00:34:22.89
You see the news reports.
00:34:22.92\00:34:25.49
34th Street, water multiple
levels down in the subway.
00:34:25.53\00:34:30.77
They can't turn
the electricity on.
00:34:30.80\00:34:32.17
They'll electrocute
everybody in the city.
00:34:32.20\00:34:33.90
You couldn't go down there.
00:34:33.94\00:34:36.00
Subways are destroyed,
turnstiles are destroyed,
00:34:36.04\00:34:38.94
trains are destroyed,
escalators are destroyed,
00:34:38.97\00:34:42.01
token booths are destroyed.
00:34:42.04\00:34:43.68
And they asked one of the
servicemen to calculate how long
00:34:43.71\00:34:47.78
do you think... CNN asked
them, How long can you estimate
00:34:47.82\00:34:52.32
it will take before this
subway will be up and running?
00:34:52.35\00:34:55.26
He says, I'm not an architect.
00:34:55.29\00:34:57.63
I'll be speculating.
00:34:57.66\00:34:58.99
But on my estimation it
may be months before this
00:34:59.03\00:35:03.83
subway is open again.
00:35:03.87\00:35:05.20
That's just one of the
many subway systems from midtown
00:35:05.23\00:35:08.87
to downtown Manhattan.
00:35:08.90\00:35:11.27
My sister tells me the story.
00:35:11.31\00:35:12.64
She calls me every
day and fills me in.
00:35:12.67\00:35:14.14
Gas lines miles long,
food becoming scarce, water,
00:35:14.18\00:35:20.08
the basic
necessities hard to find.
00:35:20.12\00:35:22.18
In a city like New York,
the city that has everything,
00:35:22.22\00:35:26.29
except the common sense to
be prepared for storms that
00:35:26.32\00:35:30.89
can take their lives.
00:35:30.93\00:35:32.26
But not just New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Boston,
00:35:32.29\00:35:35.36
West Virginia, Washington, D. C.
00:35:35.40\00:35:37.87
The cities of the east seem
impregnable, but when God wants
00:35:37.90\00:35:41.40
to get our attention, God
knows exactly how to do it.
00:35:41.44\00:35:44.21
I also want to say the mission
of Jesus has never been altered,
00:35:48.21\00:35:51.21
has never been abrogated,
and has never been cancelled.
00:35:51.25\00:35:54.42
He says, Call His name Jesus.
00:35:54.45\00:35:56.89
He will save His
people from their sins.
00:35:56.92\00:36:01.22
It's not about how
comfortable our lives are.
00:36:01.26\00:36:05.29
It's about are we
ready to be saved?
00:36:05.33\00:36:06.86
Are we ready
for the crisis hour?
00:36:06.90\00:36:08.53
Are we ready for the salvation
that God is extending to every
00:36:08.56\00:36:12.10
one of us on this
planet? This is the hour.
00:36:12.13\00:36:14.67
In the time of crisis we are to
remember that the most important
00:36:14.70\00:36:18.24
thing still becomes
the most important thing.
00:36:18.27\00:36:20.91
But there are those
that don't like their
00:36:20.94\00:36:22.94
worlds to be disturbed.
00:36:22.98\00:36:24.31
But I tell you what, a
crisis will disturb your world.
00:36:24.35\00:36:28.55
When I considered how asleep
many were in the northeast,
00:36:28.58\00:36:33.49
how many looked at this storm;
1000 mile to 16 hundred miles
00:36:33.52\00:36:37.99
wide, moving at a slow pace of
25 miles an hour, as if to say,
00:36:38.03\00:36:43.87
I'm coming! And we ought to
remember because it takes long
00:36:43.90\00:36:50.01
to get there doesn't
mean it ain't coming.
00:36:50.04\00:36:51.97
Because Jesus is taking
long to get here doesn't
00:36:52.01\00:36:55.14
mean He ain't coming.
00:36:55.18\00:36:56.51
These are signs.
These are harbingers that
00:36:56.54\00:37:01.55
the Lord is coming.
00:37:01.58\00:37:02.92
You've got to look into the
desert and see the smoke rising,
00:37:02.95\00:37:05.35
the approaching
footsteps of judgments.
00:37:05.39\00:37:08.02
It may take long to
come, but it's coming.
00:37:08.06\00:37:10.99
And those of us that know
better ought to be getting ready
00:37:11.03\00:37:14.16
for that crisis hour
that's just ahead of us.
00:37:14.20\00:37:16.30
I discovered that those who fall
asleep are always in danger.
00:37:16.33\00:37:20.10
When Sampson fell asleep he
lost his strength and his sight.
00:37:20.14\00:37:23.51
When Jonah fell asleep
he risked the entire ship,
00:37:23.54\00:37:27.08
because he chose to
sleep at a crisis hour.
00:37:27.11\00:37:30.18
When Uticus fell
asleep he lost his life.
00:37:30.21\00:37:32.08
Thank God somebody restored
that before it was too late.
00:37:32.11\00:37:34.68
But I want to say today,
that if the church is asleep,
00:37:36.05\00:37:38.59
it's about to lose its
strength, and lose its sight.
00:37:38.62\00:37:42.76
When the church is asleep
it endangers the lives of those
00:37:42.79\00:37:46.90
around it like Jonah did.
00:37:46.93\00:37:49.16
When the church members are
asleep, they, like Uticus are in
00:37:49.20\00:37:53.34
danger of spiritual death.
00:37:53.37\00:37:55.97
And the one thing that we
cannot afford is to be asleep
00:37:56.00\00:38:00.58
at this crisis hour.
00:38:00.61\00:38:01.94
So there are four reasons for
calamities; four reasons why God
00:38:01.98\00:38:06.38
allows crises to come.
00:38:06.41\00:38:08.02
Four reasons that I will outline
right now that lets us know
00:38:08.05\00:38:11.02
the reason why
God allowed the storm.
00:38:11.05\00:38:13.56
I've discovered that
God could prevent anything.
00:38:13.59\00:38:16.83
But the question is not
why God didn't prevent it,
00:38:16.86\00:38:19.89
the question is
why did God allow it?
00:38:19.93\00:38:22.20
Reason 1. God allows
calamities to wake us up.
00:38:22.23\00:38:28.00
Romans 13:11, one
of my favorite verses.
00:38:28.04\00:38:31.57
Every time I sign a CD, I
always put this text down.
00:38:31.61\00:38:34.44
Romans 13:11 reads as follows:
And know this, knowing the time,
00:38:34.48\00:38:44.59
that now it is...
What kind of time, church?
00:38:44.62\00:38:47.46
Come on say high time.
00:38:47.49\00:38:49.69
Come on say
high time. High time!
00:38:49.72\00:38:52.99
And now it is high
time to awake out of sleep:
00:38:53.03\00:38:58.10
for now our salvation is nearer
than when we first believed.
00:38:58.13\00:39:04.07
My salvation is a
lot nearer today, Jim.
00:39:04.11\00:39:07.08
And when I first gave
my life to the Lord...
00:39:08.11\00:39:10.25
I'm always encouraged by
people that get newly baptized.
00:39:10.28\00:39:13.52
They come to everything.
00:39:13.55\00:39:14.88
You know they come to
Wednesday night prayer meeting.
00:39:14.92\00:39:16.95
They come to Vespers.
00:39:16.99\00:39:19.09
They come to Sabbath
School, for Bible studies.
00:39:19.12\00:39:22.12
They are excited about
their new found spiritual faith.
00:39:22.16\00:39:25.93
But like one pastor said to
an elder that stood by a door,
00:39:25.96\00:39:29.30
and he watched one
of those very excited
00:39:29.33\00:39:31.27
newly baptized church members.
00:39:31.30\00:39:33.07
The pastor said to
the elders standing by,
00:39:33.10\00:39:36.57
Just give it some
time. They'll cool down.
00:39:36.60\00:39:39.04
But I'm praying that the
people of God don't cool down.
00:39:39.07\00:39:42.74
I'm praying that
we'd warm up. Amen!
00:39:42.78\00:39:44.91
God doesn't need
a lukewarm church.
00:39:44.95\00:39:47.98
He wants us to be hot or cold.
00:39:48.02\00:39:50.35
Decide, like one of my favorite
preachers who's now deceased,
00:39:50.39\00:39:53.86
he said, If all your religion
is is lukewarm you might as well
00:39:53.89\00:39:59.03
leave the church
and enjoy the world,
00:39:59.06\00:40:00.60
if you're going
to be lost anyhow.
00:40:00.63\00:40:01.96
Don't make sense to not enjoy
the world, and not enjoy the
00:40:02.00\00:40:05.00
church, and be lost anyhow.
00:40:05.03\00:40:06.37
But if you're going to
enjoy what God has called you
00:40:06.40\00:40:09.50
to experience; this
Christian walk with Him.
00:40:09.54\00:40:11.77
If you want to enjoy that,
you've got to jump into that
00:40:11.81\00:40:14.08
heart, and soul,
and mind, and body.
00:40:14.11\00:40:17.28
Can the church say Amen? Amen!
00:40:17.31\00:40:19.31
It's like standing around
a beautifully cool pool on a
00:40:19.35\00:40:21.98
115 degree day,
wondering why everybody on the
00:40:22.02\00:40:24.89
inside is so excited.
00:40:24.92\00:40:26.25
You've got to dive in!
00:40:26.29\00:40:27.62
You've got to put your entire
self, immerse yourself in the
00:40:27.66\00:40:31.53
experience of what it means
to be a Christian Seventh-day
00:40:31.56\00:40:35.16
Adventist in this crisis hour.
00:40:35.20\00:40:36.80
Those that don't dive in don't
understand what gets us excited.
00:40:36.83\00:40:40.84
But I want to remind
you of something that
00:40:40.87\00:40:43.20
Governor Cuomo said.
00:40:43.24\00:40:44.57
He said, just a few days ago
he said, This is the new normal.
00:40:44.61\00:40:48.88
This: storms,
strategies, crises where
00:40:48.91\00:40:53.92
they should not happen.
00:40:53.95\00:40:55.28
This is the new normal.
00:40:55.32\00:40:56.92
You believe... See political
leaders know that there's a
00:40:56.95\00:40:59.65
paradigm shift
taking place in nature.
00:40:59.69\00:41:02.49
They know that
something's occurring.
00:41:02.52\00:41:04.23
They know better
than they tell us.
00:41:04.26\00:41:05.86
You know, like on the heels
of 911 they said, Let's just go
00:41:07.86\00:41:10.50
back to life as it used to be.
00:41:10.53\00:41:14.14
They've got gas
masks in Congress,
00:41:14.17\00:41:16.14
but let's just go back
to life as it used to be.
00:41:16.17\00:41:18.47
But God's servant, Ellen
White, understood these times,
00:41:22.91\00:41:26.75
and God gave her a statement
that spells the climate
00:41:26.78\00:41:31.02
in our world today.
00:41:31.05\00:41:32.39
Listen to what she says in
the book, Education, page 179.
00:41:33.32\00:41:36.79
She said, The present is a
time of overwhelming interest to
00:41:36.83\00:41:42.60
all living. Is it not?
00:41:42.63\00:41:44.33
Rulers and statesmen, men
who occupy positions of trust
00:41:44.37\00:41:50.61
and authority, thinking men and
women of all classes have their
00:41:50.64\00:41:57.28
attention fixed upon the
events taking place about us.
00:41:57.31\00:42:01.98
They are watching the
strained, restless relations
00:42:02.02\00:42:06.22
that exist among the nations.
00:42:06.25\00:42:07.86
They observe, listen carefully,
the intensity that is taking
00:42:07.89\00:42:12.49
possession of every earthly
element, and they recognize
00:42:12.53\00:42:17.77
that something great, and
decisive is about to take place,
00:42:17.80\00:42:21.77
and that the world is on the
verge of a stupendous crisis.
00:42:21.80\00:42:26.31
That's why it's too late for
us to hang our security on just
00:42:27.94\00:42:30.68
our name, Seventh-day Adventist.
00:42:30.71\00:42:32.18
Our security is found
in Jesus and His Word.
00:42:32.21\00:42:34.85
Can the church say Amen? Amen!
00:42:34.88\00:42:36.38
We've got to find security
in His name, not in our name.
00:42:36.42\00:42:39.72
So the first reason
why God sends calamity
00:42:39.75\00:42:43.02
is He wants us to wake up.
00:42:43.06\00:42:44.39
But there's a second
reason why God sends calamity.
00:42:44.43\00:42:46.80
He doesn't want us just to wake
up, He wants us to stand up.
00:42:46.83\00:42:50.27
Ezekiel 37:10, when Ezekiel
preached to the dry bones.
00:42:50.30\00:42:56.04
The Bible says, So I prophesied.
00:42:56.07\00:42:58.37
I preached as I was commanded,
and breath came into them
00:42:58.41\00:43:02.38
and they lived, and
stood up upon their feet,
00:43:02.41\00:43:07.65
an exceedingly great army.
00:43:07.68\00:43:10.85
Let me make application.
00:43:10.89\00:43:12.22
The church that wakes up ought
to be the church that stands up.
00:43:12.25\00:43:17.56
Since waking up and sitting
down, when told Ezekiel to pray
00:43:19.49\00:43:24.60
that they wake up, he also
said pray that they stand up.
00:43:24.63\00:43:28.74
God does not need
Christians on the bench.
00:43:28.77\00:43:33.17
He needs us on the field.
00:43:33.21\00:43:35.24
God wants us to stand up.
00:43:35.28\00:43:37.75
When they were getting ready
for the deliverance in Egypt
00:43:37.78\00:43:41.25
the Lord didn't say, Sit
down and eat the Passover.
00:43:41.28\00:43:43.82
He says, Stand up and eat it,
for in a few short hours your
00:43:43.85\00:43:49.56
deliverance would come.
00:43:49.59\00:43:50.93
If we believe that our
deliverance is on the way,
00:43:50.96\00:43:52.76
we've got to stand up.
00:43:52.79\00:43:54.76
Why do we have to stand up?
00:43:54.80\00:43:57.57
It was not until Peter stood
up for the Lord that he was able
00:43:57.60\00:44:04.24
to stand with the Lord.
00:44:04.27\00:44:05.77
You see, when we
stand with the Lord,
00:44:05.81\00:44:07.68
then we can stand for the Lord.
00:44:07.71\00:44:09.81
The church that does not stand
with the Lord is the church that
00:44:09.84\00:44:13.38
cannot stand for the Lord.
00:44:13.42\00:44:14.82
If we're going to stand
for the Lord we've got to stand
00:44:14.85\00:44:17.15
with the Lord every
moment of every day.
00:44:17.19\00:44:19.42
The third reason that God allows
calamities is described in the
00:44:21.59\00:44:25.96
post crisis following the storm.
00:44:25.99\00:44:28.30
This post crisis that is
now gripping New York teaches us
00:44:28.33\00:44:32.03
about the importance
of the third reason why
00:44:32.07\00:44:34.10
God allows calamities;
third reason why He allows it.
00:44:34.14\00:44:38.31
First reason is to wake us up.
00:44:38.34\00:44:39.91
Second reason is to stand us up.
00:44:39.94\00:44:42.21
The third reason
is to fill us up.
00:44:42.24\00:44:44.68
My sister told me how difficult
it is to find fuel in New York.
00:44:44.71\00:44:49.02
There's a lack of fuel.
00:44:49.05\00:44:50.62
There's a lack of water.
00:44:50.65\00:44:52.19
And there's a lack of food.
00:44:52.22\00:44:53.56
In a city like New York
how could there possibly
00:44:53.59\00:44:57.83
be a lack of
food, a lack of fuel?
00:44:57.86\00:45:00.60
She called me last night
just before we went to bed.
00:45:00.63\00:45:04.53
Whenever it's past 11:00
o'clock I know it's my sister.
00:45:04.57\00:45:07.74
She likes to call me late.
00:45:07.77\00:45:10.31
She always likes to
call me right before
00:45:10.34\00:45:12.41
prayer meeting begins.
00:45:12.44\00:45:13.78
Sometimes I'm at church and
I forget to turn my phone off,
00:45:13.81\00:45:16.61
and it's my sister calling me.
00:45:16.64\00:45:17.98
But she called me last night.
00:45:18.01\00:45:20.02
She works for the
Police Department,
00:45:20.05\00:45:21.38
and works for
the Fire Department.
00:45:21.42\00:45:22.75
She said last night
that there was a line upwards
00:45:22.78\00:45:29.49
of five miles long.
00:45:29.52\00:45:31.69
People sitting in their cars
with their engines turned off.
00:45:31.73\00:45:35.90
Not filling up their cars, but
waiting for fuel to be delivered
00:45:35.93\00:45:40.84
at 1:00 o'clock in
the morning, to hope
00:45:40.87\00:45:43.71
to fill up their vehicles.
00:45:43.74\00:45:45.07
And you've seen the
pictures in New York City.
00:45:45.11\00:45:47.48
I'm talking about New York City.
00:45:47.51\00:45:48.91
People standing
with their red gas cans.
00:45:48.94\00:45:51.01
People losing their
temper; patience running thin.
00:45:51.05\00:45:54.15
One man was arrested
yesterday for pulling out
00:45:54.18\00:45:56.69
a gun on somebody.
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.05
His temper got the best of him.
00:45:58.09\00:45:59.62
That's the crisis hour.
00:45:59.65\00:46:01.39
Men are in
perplexity with anguish,
00:46:01.42\00:46:03.93
wondering what to do next.
00:46:03.96\00:46:06.23
But it's in this crisis hour
that God does not just want us
00:46:06.26\00:46:09.66
to wake up, and to stand up, but
God wants us to be filled up.
00:46:09.70\00:46:15.07
What do you say?
Because in God's economy there
00:46:15.10\00:46:18.87
is no lack of power.
00:46:18.91\00:46:20.64
There's no lack of fuel.
00:46:20.68\00:46:22.24
There's no lack of water.
00:46:22.28\00:46:23.75
And there's no
lack of spiritual food.
00:46:23.78\00:46:25.65
Can the church say Amen?
00:46:25.68\00:46:27.02
God wants us to be filled up.
00:46:27.05\00:46:28.68
There is no lack of Holy Spirit.
00:46:28.72\00:46:30.55
There is no lack
of Spiritual food.
00:46:30.59\00:46:32.65
There is no lack of
the refreshing water of the
00:46:32.69\00:46:35.09
relationship with Jesus
Christ, the Water of Life.
00:46:35.12\00:46:37.59
There is no lack. But the one
thing you discover in a crisis
00:46:37.63\00:46:41.53
is this: basic provisions that
were abundant before the storm
00:46:41.56\00:46:46.50
became scarce
right after the storm.
00:46:46.53\00:46:49.40
And the tragedy of the
Northeast is just a glimpse
00:46:49.44\00:46:53.51
of what's on the horizon.
00:46:53.54\00:46:54.88
Go with me to Amos
8:11-13, Amos 8:11-13.
00:46:54.91\00:47:03.75
And notice, there's another
storm coming even greater than
00:47:03.79\00:47:08.69
Hurricane Sandy, even
greater than Hurricane Irene.
00:47:08.72\00:47:15.10
Behold, the days are coming,
says the Lord,... Amos 8:11...
00:47:15.13\00:47:19.93
that I will send a famine on
the land, not a famine of bread,
00:47:19.97\00:47:27.14
nor a thirst for water, but of
hearing the words of the Lord.
00:47:27.18\00:47:32.35
And look at the
climate as you read this.
00:47:32.38\00:47:34.68
This is what's happening in
New York City for physical food,
00:47:34.72\00:47:36.99
for physical
water, for actual fuel.
00:47:37.02\00:47:39.89
They shall wonder from sea
to sea, and from north to east,
00:47:39.92\00:47:46.96
they shall run to and fro...
00:47:47.00\00:47:50.13
That's what's happening
in the cities right now.
00:47:50.17\00:47:51.87
But in this crises...
seeking the word of the Lord,
00:47:51.90\00:47:56.10
but shall not find it.
00:47:56.14\00:47:58.17
In that day the fair
virgins and strong men
00:47:58.21\00:48:02.58
shall faint from thirst.
00:48:02.61\00:48:05.21
There are people right now
having to get their water from
00:48:05.25\00:48:08.08
hydrants in the city.
00:48:08.12\00:48:09.45
Boiling water; I
would never have imagined.
00:48:09.48\00:48:11.62
I'm a New Yorker. I was born
and raised in New York City.
00:48:11.65\00:48:13.66
I understand the hydrant system.
00:48:13.69\00:48:15.02
I understand the subways,
and the buses, and the taxis.
00:48:15.06\00:48:17.46
It's just, it's beyond my
comprehension, if I'm not there,
00:48:17.49\00:48:20.83
to imagine that this
is happening to my city.
00:48:20.86\00:48:24.37
They survived 9/11.
00:48:27.37\00:48:29.20
But this far outweighs
9/11 in scope, and in duration.
00:48:31.44\00:48:35.41
A lot less lives are lost, but
the impact financially on that
00:48:37.31\00:48:43.55
city is incalculable.
00:48:43.59\00:48:46.62
When I look upon the climate
in which we live, I understand a
00:48:48.59\00:48:52.03
couple of things that this is
not as bad as it's going to get.
00:48:52.06\00:48:54.93
Because as we sit here this
morning, God is still holding
00:48:54.96\00:48:58.67
back the winds of strife.
00:48:58.70\00:49:00.37
His angels are still holding
on as their knuckles are red,
00:49:00.40\00:49:04.71
they're holding on.
00:49:04.74\00:49:06.07
And by God's grace they're
holding on that somebody else
00:49:06.11\00:49:09.24
may be revived,
and may be saved.
00:49:09.28\00:49:11.45
They're holding at the
north end, and the east end,
00:49:11.48\00:49:16.18
and the south
end, and the west end.
00:49:16.22\00:49:18.89
And Ellen White says
angels are now restraining
00:49:18.92\00:49:22.52
the winds of strife that they
may not blow until the world
00:49:22.56\00:49:28.40
has been warned
of its coming doom.
00:49:28.43\00:49:30.97
But a storm is gathering,
ready to burst upon the earth.
00:49:31.00\00:49:35.20
And when God shall bid
His angels to loose the winds,
00:49:35.24\00:49:40.34
there will be such a scene
of strife as no pen can picture.
00:49:40.38\00:49:46.35
Education, 179, paragraph 6.
00:49:46.38\00:49:50.69
That's the coming
storm. It's not Irene.
00:49:50.75\00:49:53.82
It's not just going to effect
the northeast, but it's going to
00:49:53.86\00:49:56.49
effect the south, and the west.
00:49:56.52\00:49:58.43
It's going to
effect the Caribbean.
00:49:58.46\00:50:00.30
It's going to affect Asia.
00:50:00.33\00:50:01.66
It's going to effect
the islands of the sea.
00:50:01.70\00:50:03.83
It's going to affect
large and small alike.
00:50:03.87\00:50:05.93
That's the crisis. That's why
I am so glad that God has chosen
00:50:05.97\00:50:09.87
to impact this church.
00:50:09.90\00:50:11.24
We should be praying
for a week when we see
00:50:11.27\00:50:13.27
what's on the horizon.
00:50:13.31\00:50:14.64
One of the prayers
that we should be praying is
00:50:14.68\00:50:17.21
found in Zachariah 10:1.
00:50:17.25\00:50:18.75
Ask the Lord for rain in
the time of the latter rain.
00:50:18.78\00:50:23.39
There's a whole lot of rain.
00:50:23.45\00:50:24.79
People in the northeast
don't want to see rain,
00:50:24.82\00:50:26.55
but there's another nor-easter
heading up there right now;
00:50:26.62\00:50:29.02
10 to 50 mile an hour
winds, people without homes,
00:50:29.09\00:50:34.30
no heat, no water. They're
saying it's not a hurricane.
00:50:34.33\00:50:37.70
But you don't want to see
any more rain when you already
00:50:37.73\00:50:41.10
have the rain
that you already had.
00:50:41.14\00:50:42.84
When you have no place to lay
your head, no roof under which
00:50:42.87\00:50:47.71
to be secure, the last thing you
want to see is another storm.
00:50:47.74\00:50:52.38
But in the midst of the storm
the Lord says, In the time of
00:50:52.41\00:50:57.05
the latter rain
ask the Lord for rain.
00:50:57.09\00:50:59.42
And the Lord will
make flashing clouds.
00:50:59.45\00:51:01.76
He will give
them showers of rain,
00:51:01.79\00:51:04.83
grass in the field for everyone.
00:51:04.86\00:51:07.83
You see on one end the
time of rain brings destruction
00:51:07.86\00:51:12.13
for those that are not ready.
00:51:12.17\00:51:13.50
But for those that heed
the warning the rain that comes
00:51:13.54\00:51:16.37
becomes showers of blessings.
00:51:16.40\00:51:18.44
God's people need to be ready.
00:51:18.47\00:51:20.51
The hour is crisis hour.
00:51:20.54\00:51:22.14
And the last reason why
God allows calamities is this:
00:51:22.18\00:51:25.21
He doesn't just want us to wake
up, He doesn't just want us to
00:51:25.25\00:51:31.65
stand up, He doesn't just want
us to fill up, but He wants us
00:51:31.72\00:51:38.09
to speak up. Can you say Amen?
00:51:38.13\00:51:40.66
God doesn't need a quiet church.
00:51:40.70\00:51:43.13
You see, it is during bad news
that people need the good news
00:51:43.16\00:51:47.24
and God has called us to join
with Christ in proclaiming the
00:51:47.27\00:51:51.14
last bit of good news that
the world is ever going to hear.
00:51:51.17\00:51:54.94
I want to tell you, in the midst
of bad news the gospel is still
00:51:54.98\00:51:58.18
good news. What do you say?
00:51:58.21\00:51:59.95
Salvation is still good news.
00:52:00.02\00:52:03.15
Deliverance is still good news.
00:52:03.18\00:52:06.29
That's why revival and the word;
it calls for a change in focus,
00:52:06.32\00:52:11.73
and a change in direction.
00:52:11.76\00:52:13.76
We have to stand up, wake
up, fill up, and speak up.
00:52:13.80\00:52:18.93
You see the message
began with a great storm.
00:52:18.97\00:52:22.20
But I want to end the
message today with a great calm.
00:52:22.27\00:52:25.74
For it's not how it
begins that brings me concern,
00:52:25.77\00:52:29.21
but it's how it
ends that brings me joy.
00:52:29.24\00:52:31.85
I know how it's going to end.
00:52:31.91\00:52:33.31
It's going to end good.
00:52:33.35\00:52:34.68
What do you say church?
00:52:34.72\00:52:36.05
But it's going to get
bad before it gets better.
00:52:36.08\00:52:39.15
As we see the small cloud on
the horizon, it's going to get
00:52:41.29\00:52:45.39
worse, Karen,
before it gets better.
00:52:45.43\00:52:47.36
That storm is just a foretaste,
and it was barely a Category 1.
00:52:49.36\00:52:53.17
I can only imagine
what would have happened
00:52:53.20\00:52:56.17
if it were a Category 3.
00:52:56.20\00:52:57.61
This crisis began
with a great wind storm.
00:52:57.64\00:53:02.48
But as I read God's word in
Mark 4:39, no matter how bad the
00:53:02.51\00:53:06.88
storm is, Jesus can calm
every storm. What do you say?
00:53:06.92\00:53:10.85
Then he arose in
the middle of a storm.
00:53:10.89\00:53:13.52
He arose with His
disciples, in the boat.
00:53:13.56\00:53:16.12
He arose on the Sea of Galilee.
00:53:16.16\00:53:18.26
And the Bible says in Mark
4:39, He did not just arise,
00:53:18.29\00:53:22.56
He didn't just stand
up, but He rebuked the wind,
00:53:22.60\00:53:26.43
and He said to the
sea, Peace, be still.
00:53:26.47\00:53:30.84
And the wind ceased,
and there was a great calm.
00:53:30.87\00:53:35.78
There are a lot of great storms,
but like the songwriter says,
00:53:35.81\00:53:41.65
The Lord our
rock, in Him we hide.
00:53:41.68\00:53:44.19
A shelter in the time of storm.
00:53:44.25\00:53:46.22
Come on and say Amen, somebody.
00:53:46.25\00:53:48.16
Secure whatever may betide,
a shelter in the time of storm.
00:53:48.19\00:53:53.96
Mighty rock in a
weary land, cooling shade
00:53:54.00\00:53:58.57
on the burning sand, Faithful
guide for the pilgrim band.
00:53:58.63\00:54:03.91
Jesus is our shelter
in the time of storm.
00:54:03.94\00:54:07.74
And so I've got a
message as a New Yorker.
00:54:07.81\00:54:11.61
You know, I was born
and raised in New York City.
00:54:11.65\00:54:15.12
and I got to tell the governors
there of the city of New York,
00:54:15.15\00:54:18.92
Governor Christie, and Governor
Cuomo there's some good news.
00:54:18.95\00:54:22.66
Because the world is not
in the hands of the governors
00:54:22.69\00:54:25.56
of New York, but the
world is in the hand of God.
00:54:25.59\00:54:29.06
The government
is on His shoulders.
00:54:29.13\00:54:31.37
God can hold it together
when it's falling apart.
00:54:31.40\00:54:33.80
What do you say? I was made
in New York, but I've discovered
00:54:33.84\00:54:38.31
the good news; I'm
made for the New Jerusalem.
00:54:38.37\00:54:40.18
I'm not going
back, I'm going forward.
00:54:40.21\00:54:43.45
I thank God for the
efforts of the Red Cross.
00:54:43.48\00:54:46.11
But I want to tell you
today, I thank God even more for
00:54:46.15\00:54:48.95
the old rugged cross.
00:54:48.98\00:54:50.32
The storms are taking toll.
00:54:50.35\00:54:53.36
They're taking lives.
00:54:53.39\00:54:54.99
They're battering homes.
00:54:55.02\00:54:56.59
They're battering lives.
00:54:56.62\00:54:58.13
But no matter how perfect
the storm, Jesus Christ is still
00:54:58.16\00:55:02.80
our shelter in
the time of storm.
00:55:02.83\00:55:06.53
So today we begin this week of
prayer by letting the world know
00:55:07.84\00:55:12.77
that relief
efforts are on the way.
00:55:12.81\00:55:14.84
The angels are polishing
their wings getting ready to
00:55:14.88\00:55:18.81
come and take us home.
00:55:18.85\00:55:20.18
The Lord is about to take
off His ministry robe and put on
00:55:20.22\00:55:23.49
that final warriors robe, to
do that final battle with Satan
00:55:23.52\00:55:27.49
to deliver His people
from this planet of storms.
00:55:27.52\00:55:30.73
It's in this crisis hour that
the people of God need to wake
00:55:30.83\00:55:34.66
up, and stand up, and
fill up, and speak up.
00:55:34.70\00:55:41.34
But we also
have to be prayed up.
00:55:42.94\00:55:45.27
So right now I want to ask
you to bow your heads with me
00:55:45.31\00:55:48.98
that in the time of this
storm, we can have wisdom enough
00:55:49.01\00:55:52.68
to turn to a God who
asks us to turn away from man,
00:55:52.71\00:55:56.72
and turn our hearts to Him in
the time of the perfect storm.
00:55:56.75\00:56:00.96
Our Heavenly Father, we look
to You in this very crisis hour.
00:56:00.99\00:56:05.16
And our hearts go out
to those in the northeast,
00:56:05.19\00:56:08.30
not just in New York and
New Jersey, but in Connecticut,
00:56:08.36\00:56:12.07
and in Boston, and in
Virginia, and in Maryland.
00:56:12.10\00:56:15.57
And, Lord, we look at
how helpless man really is.
00:56:15.60\00:56:18.97
How exposed they become
when nature shows us how out of
00:56:19.01\00:56:25.25
control we really are.
00:56:25.28\00:56:27.42
We understand that the
cities are places of sin.
00:56:27.45\00:56:30.09
But, Lord, there are many that
You love that are still in these
00:56:30.12\00:56:32.79
major cities whose lives
are yet to be snatched from
00:56:32.85\00:56:37.86
the hand of the wicked one.
00:56:37.89\00:56:39.23
And so as we begin this
week of spiritual emphasis,
00:56:39.26\00:56:43.57
as we begin this week of
refocus, we pray that we not
00:56:43.60\00:56:47.94
just be stimulated, but that
we truly wake up, we stand up,
00:56:47.97\00:56:53.58
we pray to be filled
up, and we pray that You'll
00:56:53.61\00:56:57.21
cause us to speak up.
00:56:57.25\00:56:58.71
And, Father, right now as we
pray for our leaders that are
00:56:58.75\00:57:03.12
speaking in various
pulpits around the world.
00:57:03.15\00:57:05.42
We pray that we can also
know that because of the storms
00:57:05.45\00:57:08.96
one day we will be able to look
up and say, Lo this is our God.
00:57:08.99\00:57:14.06
We have waited for
Him, and He will save us.
00:57:14.10\00:57:18.10
May that be our
desire is my prayer.
00:57:18.13\00:57:21.30
In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
00:57:21.34\00:57:24.67
May the Lord bless you
as we continue this week,
00:57:24.71\00:57:28.28
in the presence of God,
and in spiritual emphasis.
00:57:28.31\00:57:31.81
God bless you. Amen? Amen!
00:57:31.85\00:57:35.35
One down, eight to go.
00:57:35.38\00:57:37.05