Participants: John Carter
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000023
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors of Truth,
00:15 live from the Community Adventist Fellowship Church. 00:18 Present Truth with John Carter. 00:22 Well, we're so happy to be with you tonight. 00:24 We're in Los Angeles California, the suburb of Arcadia. 00:29 Beautiful, beautiful place. 00:31 I drove up and down some streets here today. 00:34 And Danny, there wasn't a single house here I could afford. 00:37 I can tell you that. 00:38 I'm not surprised about that. 00:40 But it's a beautiful city and very clean, a wonderful place. 00:45 And what a beautiful headquarters here for 00:49 The Carter Report. 00:50 And this is what we have dubbed, at least C.A. Murray 00:54 is calling, Anchors Away. 00:56 And usually we're back in West Frankfort Illinois. 01:01 But now we are on the road. 01:04 This month, we are here. 01:07 The next Anchors is going to come from Fresno California. 01:10 And then the next from Sacramento California. 01:13 We came from a town of 600. 01:15 The biggest town around West Frankfort is 10,000. 01:18 And people say, "When you get on those California highways, 01:21 people are rude. 01:22 Be careful, they're rude." 01:23 But you know what? 01:24 I found them the most friendly people I've ever seen. 01:27 Everybody was honking at me. 01:28 Yea, alright. 01:30 At home, you honk and wave. 01:31 They wave a little differently out here. 01:33 They wave like this, but hey. 01:35 So I assume that they were, you know, I said, 01:37 "Man, these people are friendly out here." 01:38 I had a lady waving at me yesterday. 01:41 And Camille said, "You pulled out in front of her." 01:43 Well, I didn't realize I had. 01:45 But she was very friendly. 01:48 And it was nice to be greeted. 01:51 But you know, Danny, we just are having a wonderful time 01:55 here with Pastor John. 01:56 And you and Pastor John go back a long way. 01:59 And in a few minutes, we're going to ask you to 02:03 introduce him tonight. 02:04 And so maybe you can talk about some of those things 02:08 and some of the great times that you've had together. 02:11 I count it a privilege to have known Elder Carter and Beverly 02:15 since the beginning almost of 3ABN. 02:17 They were one of the first people when the station was 02:21 being built that called and said, "Look, I want to be 02:23 on 3ABN and I'm already developing programs." 02:27 And we've been great friends ever since. 02:31 Well listen, why don't you lead us in a word of prayer, 02:33 would you. 02:34 Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your many 02:36 wonderful blessings. 02:37 We thank You for life and for health and for strength. 02:40 We thank You for the opportunity of being here 02:42 in the LA area tonight. 02:44 We're thankful for the viewers from literally around the world 02:48 that are watching this program. 02:49 We now invite Your Holy Spirit to rule and reign in everything 02:53 that is said and done. 02:55 The end result, we will all be drawn closer to You. 02:58 Thank You for being here. 03:00 And heavenly Father, thank You for this Sabbath that will be 03:02 beginning here in just a little bit here on the west coast. 03:05 And to think that once a week, especially once a week, 03:09 that You draw so close to us and allow us a time 03:12 to get apart from the world to remember our Creator. 03:16 Thank You again for loving us. 03:17 Thank You for Your great plan of salvation. 03:19 We ask and pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:23 You know Danny, tomorrow is going to be a really big day. 03:26 And I hope that our viewers are planning to be with us. 03:29 At 9:00 am Pacific Daylight Time, that'll be 11:00 o'clock 03:35 Central Daylight Time, and of course noon Eastern, 03:38 I'm just trying to bring some of our folks up to date, 03:41 we will have a worship service right here from this auditorium. 03:45 And then again at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time. 03:51 And then in the evening, the afternoon at 6:00, 03:56 tell us about the concert. 03:58 Well, we're going to do what we call a Pillars concert. 04:01 Not all of the singers are here. 04:03 We're missing Reggie and Ladye Love. 04:04 But we have quite a few of the rest of us. 04:06 We did a Pillars 1 last year, now we've done what we call 04:10 a Pillars Hymns, taking hymns that some of them are 04:13 150 years old that may be kind of forgotten along the way 04:17 and revisited those. 04:19 We brought in together, musicians and singers, 04:21 and strings orchestra, and put together what we believe 04:25 is a very spiritual, and I believe, an album that brings 04:29 honor and glory to God, and brings us back to the 04:32 pillars, the roots or the pillars of our faith. 04:35 Amen, so we'll look forward to that 04:36 at 6:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time. 04:39 And we have some music right now. 04:41 Who do we have? 04:42 I'd like to introduce my sister, Tammy. 04:45 And newly added to this tonight, Tammy was going to sing 04:50 More Than Wonderful, and Pastor John Lomacang, 04:53 that's a song that just requires a duet just about. 04:56 So John is a minuteman. 04:58 He came up and I guess you got to practice it once, so you 05:02 get to practice it again now on worldwide television, John. 05:04 Praise the Lord. 05:06 God bless. 05:24 He promised us that He would be a counselor, 05:30 a Mighty God and the Prince of Peace. 05:38 He promised us that He would be a Father, 05:45 and love us with a love that would not cease. 05:52 I tried Him and I found His promises are true, 05:59 He's everything He said that He would be. 06:07 The finest words I know could not begin to tell 06:14 just what Jesus really means to me. 06:23 For He's more wonderful 06:29 than my mind can conceive, 06:33 He's more wonderful than my heart can believe. 06:40 He goes beyond my highest hopes 06:46 and fondest dreams. 06:54 He's everything that my soul ever longed for, 07:03 everything He's promised and so much more. 07:09 He's more than amazing, more than marvelous, 07:16 more than miraculous could ever be. 07:22 He's more than wonderful, 07:27 that's what Jesus is to me. 07:38 I stand amazed when I think the King of glory 07:45 would come to live within the heart of man. 07:52 And I marvel just to know He really loves me, 07:59 when I think of who He is, and who I am. 08:08 For He's more wonderful 08:15 than my mind can conceive, 08:19 He's more wonderful than my heart can believe. 08:26 He goes beyond my highest hopes 08:32 and fondest dreams. 08:39 He's everything that my soul ever longed for, 08:48 everything He's promised and so much more. 08:54 He's more than amazing, more than marvelous, 09:02 more than miraculous could ever be. 09:08 He's more than wonderful, 09:12 that's what Jesus is to me. 09:22 He's everything that my soul ever longed for, 09:31 everything He's promised and so much more. 09:37 He's more than amazing, more than marvelous, 09:45 more than miraculous could ever be. 09:51 He's more than wonderful, 09:55 more than wonderful, 09:59 that's what Jesus is to me, 10:13 to me. 10:27 Amen. 10:28 Thank you Tammy and thank you John. 10:30 It's my privilege tonight to introduce to the world audience 10:34 of 3ABN, Elder John Carter. 10:37 Elder Carter has been a friend for a long time. 10:40 He and Beverly and David and the children, 10:42 I've known them for many, many years. 10:44 And it's a privilege tonight to have Brother Carter. 10:47 And I'd like to ask him to come up. 10:48 And before he speaks, I want to talk to him just 10:51 a little bit about Russia. 10:52 And now it's been actually 20 years ago 10:57 since I got a phone call. 10:58 Oh, we're hugging? 10:59 Just a little. 11:00 No kissing, just hugging. 11:02 Okay, alright. 11:03 And about 20 years ago, I got a phone call 11:06 from Elder Carter and he said, "I going to be going to Russia 11:09 this coming year. 11:10 Would you like to be a part of it?" 11:11 I had no idea what we were getting into. 11:13 But praise the Lord we did, because Russia has changed 11:17 my life and many millions of people, I'm convinced. 11:21 We saw the power of God. 11:22 We have. 11:23 And today, because of the faith of Danny and his team, 11:30 they have a marvelous production center in Nizhny Novgorod, 11:34 the old city of Gorky. 11:36 And Julia Outkina is right there and you know she's the director. 11:40 And I think she's on, what, about 165 television stations. 11:45 All across Russia. So glory be to God. 11:47 And Danny, it's been a terrific experience knowing you. 11:52 Well, it has been for you and Beverly too. 11:54 And I say that from the bottom of my heart. 11:56 That's a very courageous man. 11:59 We appreciate you, we love you, we respect you. 12:02 Not only do we love you though, we like you. 12:07 Well thank you. 12:08 I can take that right back to you. 12:10 Elder Carter has gone to places that many people wouldn't go. 12:16 And he goes in the time of the year when a lot of 12:18 people wouldn't go. 12:19 But he goes around the world. 12:22 But I have seen firsthand. 12:23 And folks, thank you for your love and your prayers and 12:26 financial support towards The Carter Report 12:28 to go, and literally not only to Russia, but around the 12:31 ex-Soviet Union and around the world. 12:34 I have been there and I've seen 12:35 20,000 people a night, Elder Carter, 12:37 a building that will hold 7,000 people, 12:40 I've seen 20,000 people fighting to get in and 12:44 you having to do meeting after meeting. 12:46 Yes, when the KGB served as the deacons and the ushers. 12:50 Remember that? 12:51 Yeah. 12:53 It's 20 years next year. 12:55 We ought to go back. 12:56 Well, let's do it and we'll talk to Elder Gilley. 12:58 And I think we ought to have a great anniversary there 13:01 with Sister Julia Outkina, the whole crew. 13:04 We have a facility there, it's probably a million square feet. 13:06 But this facility has been home to many, many people; 13:10 training Bible workers and pastors and teachers from 13:13 around all the ex-Soviet Union, producing programming. 13:17 Hundreds, and in fact, thousands of programs 13:19 in the last many years. 13:20 And literally reaching multitudes of people. 13:23 And great quality, outstanding quality. 13:25 They are doing an incredible job. 13:26 Thank you for inviting 3ABN over there. 13:28 Thank you for accepting the invitation. 13:30 It's been my privilege. 13:31 Alright, God bless you tonight. 13:32 God bless you, Danny. 13:34 Thank you for coming. 13:36 You're a welcomed guest in our church. 13:38 The 3ABN people are about the nicest people you're going to 13:43 meet anywhere on the face of the earth. 13:44 And as you get to know these people, as I said to Danny, 13:49 you don't just love them, but you get to really like them. 13:53 The topic tonight, the title at least, somebody said 13:56 make the title short so we can put it on the DVD covers. 14:00 It's one word. 14:02 The word is, Remember. 14:06 What's the word? 14:08 It's Remember. 14:09 It is a human frailty, it's a human failing, 14:14 that most of seem to remember the things we should forget, 14:19 and we forget the things we should remember. 14:23 Many years ago when I was a boy out of college, 14:26 I was pastoring a little church north of Sidney, 14:31 south of Avondale College. 14:33 And a couple in their 80's came to the meetings. 14:36 80, you know pretty old folks. 14:39 And they asked this boy out of college, 14:43 I was just a skinny boy, 14:46 they asked for marriage counseling from me. 14:50 And you know what they were planning to do? 14:53 They were planning to get a divorce. 14:55 I said, "Folks, you've held on this long, you might as well 14:58 hold on a bit longer." 15:01 But they had this big problem because, I got them together 15:06 and she said, "He made a pass at a woman 60 years ago 15:12 and I've never forgiven him, and I've never forgotten it." 15:20 That's a long grudge. 15:22 And it's a frailty of the human race. 15:25 It's a failing that we have a tendency to hold onto the 15:29 things that we ought to forget, and we forget the things 15:33 that we ought to remember. 15:35 And the topic tonight is, Remember. 15:39 You know, we all need to forgive and forget. 15:42 When we've had things happen to us, bad things, 15:45 we need just to put it under the blood of Jesus. 15:47 Don't you think? 15:49 There are some things to remember that are 15:51 truly worth remembering. 15:53 When I was in Westminster Abbey, and I just love that church. 15:57 People have been worshiping there for more 15:58 than a thousand years. 16:00 There's a great slab of stone on which are the words, 16:04 "Remember Winston Churchill." 16:07 Remember this man who saved the world from the Nazi's 16:12 and saved the world for democracy. 16:15 Down in the state of Texas... 16:17 And Elder James Gilley is a Texan, folks. 16:21 He's not an American, he's a Texan. 16:25 No, he's an American through and through. 16:27 And he's a Texan to the top of his boots 16:32 up to the top of his head. 16:34 Now down in the state of Texas, they have a saying, 16:37 and I've been down there, "Remember..." 16:39 What is it? "Remember the Alamo." 16:42 In Australia, the 25th of April is a very important date. 16:47 It's called, Anzac Day. 16:49 You know what that stands for, don't you. 16:50 Of course, all Americans will know it stand for 16:54 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. 16:57 And it's the memorial of the deaths of thousands 17:00 and thousands of young Australians and New Zealanders 17:05 as they stormed into the Dardanelles and were 17:09 mown down by the machine guns. 17:11 And so before sunrise, on the 25th of April in Australia, 17:17 thousands, tens of thousands of people in little country towns 17:21 and big cities, maybe millions of people, march. 17:25 They come to a memorial place. 17:28 And then they have a chaplain there, a military chaplain, 17:31 it's like a church service. 17:34 And then they sing a hymn, "God of our far flung battlefield," 17:40 lest we forget. 17:42 There are some things we should never, never forget. 17:47 The dying thief said to Jesus, "Remember me." 17:51 The last night Jesus spent with His disciples, He said, 17:54 "Do this in remembrance of Me. Remember Me." 17:58 And so the title of this talk tonight, my dear friends 18:02 watching around the world, is Remember. 18:05 That's the title, and the topic is, 18:08 The Creator and His Forgotten Day. 18:12 I want you to take your Bibles, please, and turn to 18:15 Exodus chapter 20 and verses 8 and onwards. 18:18 We're going to go back to the Ten Commandments. 18:21 And I'm so glad to be here tonight. 18:23 And I'm so glad to see all of you dear folks here 18:26 in the great city of Los Angeles. 18:29 It's a miracle that you folks got here tonight 18:34 at seven o'clock. 18:36 One of my team members, to get to this meeting, 18:39 took two and a half hours in the traffic. 18:43 You know, so I just think you folks have done very well. 18:46 And please look at Exodus 20 verses 8 and onwards, 18:50 dear hearts and gentle people. 18:51 What does it say? 18:53 God says it, "Remember..." 18:56 Well, He says "remember" because we forget. 19:00 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 19:04 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 19:09 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 19:14 On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son 19:20 or your daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, 19:25 nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." 19:28 Now why? 19:30 "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 19:35 the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested 19:38 on the seventh day. 19:40 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." 19:46 God says, "Remember." 19:49 Some folks come along and they say, 19:51 "That's the Sabbath of your church." 19:54 I want you to know, this is not the Sabbath of my church. 19:58 It is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. 20:01 And the Lord our God says, "Remember." 20:06 Did you know this, that back in the days of the Bible, 20:10 the very center of the world, the center of the earth, 20:15 was a land by the name of, what? 20:18 Israel. 20:20 The very center of the ancient world. 20:23 The crossroads of civilization. 20:26 And in the center of Israel, there was a city. 20:29 What was it called? 20:30 Jerusalem. 20:32 And in the center of Jerusalem, there was a building. 20:35 What was the building? 20:36 It was a temple. 20:39 And in the center of the temple, there was the Most Holy Place. 20:45 And in the center of the Most Holy Place, 20:47 there was the ark of God. 20:50 And right inside the ark of God, God placed the Ten Commandments. 20:55 Right in the very center of the ark. 20:57 And so right in the very midst of the world, 21:00 you have the Ten Commandments. 21:03 And right in the very center of the Ten Commandments, 21:06 right in the very center, you have the word "remember". 21:12 Remember. 21:14 God placed the Sabbath at the very center of everything, 21:19 because He wants to be the center of our lives, 21:23 because He is the Creator of the universe. 21:27 But some people will say, "Which day is the seventh day?" 21:32 I want you to come over here to Luke chapter 23, please. 21:36 Matthew, Mark, Luke. 21:37 Chapter 23 and verse 50 and onwards. 21:43 "Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, 21:47 a good and upright man, who had not consented to 21:51 their decision and action." 21:53 That was to put Jesus to death. 21:55 Verse 52, "Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. 21:59 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth 22:03 and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which 22:07 no one had yet been laid. 22:09 It was Preparation Day." 22:12 Jesus died on the Preparation Day. 22:16 And the Bible says, this is the new Testament. 22:19 We're not talking here now out of the Old Testament. 22:22 It says that Jesus died on the Preparation Day. 22:27 "And the Sabbath was about to begin. 22:31 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee 22:34 followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His body 22:38 was laid in it. 22:39 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes." 22:43 Now what does your Bible say? 22:45 "But they rested..." Can you tell me? 22:47 "But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience 22:51 to the commandment." 22:53 This is talking about the commandment of God, 22:56 not the commandment of the church. 22:58 Chapter 24 and verse 1 says, "On the first day of the week, 23:02 very early in the morning, the women took the spices 23:06 they had prepared and went to the tomb." 23:08 And glory hallelujah, Jesus had been raised from the dead. 23:15 Now I want to come over once again to my hi-tech blackboards. 23:22 Folks, I want to confess something to the world tonight. 23:26 Here's the confession. 23:28 I don't own a computer. 23:33 I work with folks who do that sort of stuff for me. 23:36 But this is about as hi-tech as I get. 23:40 This is special black light chalk. 23:43 Now here we've got three days. 23:47 I like these blackboards. 23:49 It is true, if you're old fashioned enough, 23:54 long enough, soon you're going to be modern. 23:58 I notice on American television that people are 24:01 copying my blackboards. 24:04 Some politicians, they're writing stuff 24:08 up on the blackboard. 24:09 The Bible tells me that Jesus died on the Preparation Day. 24:15 And we call that day, everybody calls it Good Friday. 24:21 And the Bible tells me that Jesus rose from the dead 24:25 on the first day of the week. 24:27 And we call that day, Sunday. 24:29 And the Holy Bible tells me that the day between Good Friday 24:34 and Sunday is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. 24:40 It is the holy Sabbath. 24:44 An all mighty God, the Creator of the universe, 24:48 came down in fire and splendor upon Mount Sinai. 24:52 And God said... The word, what was it? 24:56 Remember. 24:58 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 25:04 Folks say to me, and they say it kindly, they say, 25:09 "But it's Jewish." 25:12 I say to them, "Even if it were, and it's not, 25:18 remember, Jesus is Jewish. 25:22 And the Bible is a Jewish book. 25:24 And the blessed virgin Mary was Jewish. 25:29 And all of the apostles were Jewish." 25:33 But did you know, and I want to say this tonight to my 25:37 beloved Roman Catholic friends, I want to say tonight to my 25:43 beloved Baptist friends, I want to say to all of my 25:47 brothers and sisters in the great Christian churches, 25:52 we want you to know this; as Adventist Christians, 25:58 we believe in Christ and salvation through Christ, 26:02 and Christ alone. 26:04 We do not believe that we're saved by the 26:06 commandments of God. 26:08 We believe, as I preached last night, that we are saved 26:12 by the blood atonement of Christ on the cross. 26:15 I want you all to know this. 26:17 We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. 26:24 But listen carefully because this is important. 26:28 And maybe you just haven't thought about that. 26:31 And I'm going to tell you this. 26:34 The Sabbath commandment... 26:36 And I want to say this to all of my brothers and sisters 26:39 in my church. 26:40 The Sabbath commandment is the only commandment, 26:43 it's the only one of the ten that points us 26:49 to the gospel of Christ. 26:52 Did you know that? 26:54 I want to say that to the Baptist tonight. 26:59 You want Christ? 27:02 Then let me tell you folks something tonight. 27:04 The Sabbath commandment is the only one 27:06 of the ten commandments, 27:09 it's the only one that points us to the gospel of Christ. 27:15 You say, "How do you know?" 27:18 Because the New Testament tells me so. 27:20 I want you to come over here to Hebrews chapter 4. 27:23 Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 4. 27:32 The Bible says, "For somewhere He has spoken about the 27:37 seventh day in these words; 'And on the seventh day 27:41 God rested from all His work.'" 27:44 Now this is talking plainly about the seventh day Sabbath. 27:50 Now come down to verse, let me see now, 27:53 verse 9 and onwards. 27:58 "There remains then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; 28:05 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, 28:11 just as God did from His. 28:13 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, 28:19 so that no one will fall by following their 28:22 example of disobedience." 28:26 Now this is not my private theology. 28:31 The Bible makes it plain that the seventh day Sabbath, 28:37 as God gave it to us in the bliss of the garden of Eden, 28:44 is a type of the rest that we have in Christ 28:50 through the gospel. 28:53 Now when I was a poor boy at Avondale College 28:56 a few years ago, I was working on a big printing press 29:02 in this great factory that is owned by our church. 29:07 And the nights were long and cold. 29:10 And I was just a brand new Christian, a boy from the bush. 29:16 I'd just come to know Christ. 29:19 And I started to memorize scripture. 29:22 And I will never the text that I memorized, 29:25 possibly for the first time, when our blessed Lord said, 29:29 "Come unto me all you who labor..." 29:32 In my King James version, "...all ye who labor 29:36 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29:40 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 29:43 for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find 29:46 rest unto your souls. 29:49 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 29:53 I've never gotten those words out of my mind. 29:58 And when I came to Christ as a boy of seventeen, 30:04 I discovered that only Christ could fill the void in my soul. 30:09 And He continues to fill it. 30:11 Saint Augustine, the great Roman Catholic theologian, said: 30:24 And the seventh day Sabbath, the Bible says, is a type 30:30 of the rest that we have in Christ. 30:33 It is full of Christ. 30:37 And that is why it is called in scripture, the Lord's Day. 30:42 The Sabbath tells me you cannot be saved by your own works. 30:48 Christ has redeemed you with His own blood. 30:51 Come to Christ and enter into God's rest. 30:55 And I would remind all of my wonderful Christian friends 30:59 who do not see the significance of the Sabbath, 31:02 Jesus kept the Sabbath in life and in death. 31:09 He rested on the Sabbath. 31:12 The holy Sabbath breathes the spirit of the 31:15 gospel of grace alone. 31:18 I do not believe in legalism. 31:22 What is legalism? 31:24 Man's attempt to earn salvation by his own good works. 31:29 Christ has saved me by His good works. 31:33 I am saved by works; His works. 31:37 The works He did for me on the cross. 31:39 You say, "How do you know?" 31:41 Because the Bible says so. 31:43 When the Son of God hung up on the cross, He cried out, 31:47 "It is finished." 31:52 And when I come to Christ, I enter into the gospel rest. 31:57 And the Bible says that the Sabbath, remember, 32:03 the Sabbath is the only commandment of the ten 32:07 that points me to the gospel rest. 32:10 It is full of Christ. 32:14 Did you know the Sabbath is of such great significance 32:20 that Jesus, our blessed Lord, risked His life and mission 32:26 to rescue the gospel commandment from the 32:30 legalistic traditions of the Jews. 32:37 This is a truth that is overlooked. 32:40 Seven miracles are recorded that our Lord worked on the Sabbath. 32:46 Seven. 32:49 And if you read the New Testament, 32:51 you will find that when Jesus worked these miracles 32:55 on the Sabbath, He brought upon Himself the wrath 32:59 of the Pharisees. 33:01 Did you know that? 33:02 Come to a text. 33:04 Look at Matthew 12 verses 13 and 14. 33:10 In the sovereignty of God, He risked His life and His mission 33:14 to rescue the Sabbath from bondage, to restore it. 33:19 He did not abolish it, He restored it. 33:26 The Bible says, "Then He said to the man, 33:29 'Stretch out your hand.' 33:32 So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, 33:35 just as sound as the other. 33:37 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how 33:41 they might kill Jesus." 33:43 Listen to me. 33:45 Jesus did not come and abolish the Sabbath. 33:49 Jesus came to rescue the Sabbath from the bondage of man. 33:55 Now listen, you don't restore a house to burn it down. 34:02 You get it? 34:03 People tell me, when Jesus died, he burned the house down. 34:09 People tell me, when Jesus died, he abolished the Sabbath. 34:13 He risked His life to restore the Sabbath. 34:17 You do not restore a house and then burn it down. 34:23 It is the Lord's Day. 34:24 And that is why the Bible says, God says, "Remember." 34:30 Quickly, I've got so much material. 34:35 The miracles He performed on that day show us the spiritual 34:39 significance of the Sabbath. 34:41 I want you to think of this as you've never 34:43 thought of it before. 34:46 There are seven miracles recorded that our blessed Lord 34:50 did on the Sabbath. 34:53 Don't look up these texts because we don't have time. 34:57 But the first miracle was the one when He healed 35:00 the man who had demons. 35:03 Then there was the woman with a fever. 35:05 Then there was a man with a withered hand. 35:09 Then there was a bent over woman in the church. 35:14 Then there was the man with dropsy, fluid in the tissue, 35:19 most likely caused by heart failure or even cancer. 35:25 Then there was the crippled man. 35:27 Then there was the blind man. 35:31 All of these physical maladies that our blessed Lord 35:36 healed on the Sabbath were symptomatic 35:41 of the sins of the world. 35:46 Demon possession, 35:51 withered hands, crippled souls, 35:56 people with the cancer of sin. 36:02 And so, when Jesus was doing these miracles 36:05 on the Sabbath day, He was trying to teach people 36:08 that the Sabbath was given for the restoration 36:12 of the human race. 36:15 We need the Sabbath. 36:20 We need the Sabbath because God has given us the Lord's Day, 36:25 and it is different from the Lord's hour. 36:31 It doesn't say, remember the Lord's hour and then 36:34 go and play golf. 36:37 God has given us 24 hours of holy time for God to heal us 36:41 from the results of sin as typified by these diseases. 36:47 The gospel of Christ heals every day, but the Sabbath 36:50 is a 24 hour period when we come apart from the mad rush 36:55 of the world and commune with our Maker. 36:57 The Sabbath is a holiday with God. 37:02 The world and the church desperately need the Sabbath. 37:08 That is the only commandment that points to the gospel. 37:15 And only a person, I want to remind you, 37:17 only a person who knows Christ and has the rest 37:21 of the gospel in his soul can keep the Sabbath. 37:27 You've got to be saved. 37:31 The bell of the church steeple must ring out every Sabbath, 37:36 "Come to church, come to worship, come hear the gospel, 37:43 come enter into rest, come and be healed." 37:47 What society needs today is the rest of the gospel 37:52 as found in the Sabbath. 37:55 Never say, never say it is a yoke of bondage. 37:59 It is a yoke of bondage to the person 38:02 who doesn't have the gospel. 38:06 Karl Barth, who most people say was the greatest theologian 38:10 of the 20th century, quotes another theologian. 38:14 And if my memory is working at all tonight, 38:16 I think the other theologian was De Quervain. 38:21 I said it fast in case I was saying it wrong. 38:27 And De Quervain, quoted by Karl Barth, said this, 38:32 and Karl Barth has quoted him in his dogmatics: 38:47 Here it is again, "When the holy day becomes the day of man, 38:51 society and humanity wither away and the demons rule." 38:56 Let me tell you folks something. 38:58 May it sink down into the molecules of your mind. 39:01 The demons are ruling in society today. 39:07 The world is becoming a crazy place. 39:12 Not becoming. It is. 39:14 Every crime you see on television, 39:17 every sexual perversion. 39:22 The Spirit of God is leaving the earth. 39:27 And one of the reasons we have for the collapse of society 39:31 is because men and women have forgotten the words, 39:34 the word, "Remember." 39:40 The Sabbath day was made by a loving Creator 39:43 to recreate us in His own image. 39:46 It is the day of healing and restoration. 39:51 Come with me to Genesis 2:1-3. 39:54 Genesis chapter 2 verses 1-3. 39:58 I want to follow Christ in this matter, don't you. 40:03 Can you say, amen? 40:05 I want to follow Christ in this matter. 40:08 I don't want to follow some church. 40:10 I don't want to follow some preacher. 40:12 I want to follow the Christ of the Sabbath. 40:16 "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed 40:18 in all their vast array. 40:21 By the seventh day God had finished the work 40:24 He had been doing; 40:25 so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. 40:29 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, 40:33 because on it He rested from all the work of creating 40:38 that He had done." 40:39 The Sabbath day... 40:40 Let me put it up here on the hi-tech blackboards 40:44 with the hi-tech chalk. 40:51 The Sabbath is the rest day. 40:57 God rested as an example. 40:59 It's the rest day. 41:01 It is also, pardon the spelling, it is the blessed day. 41:08 And that makes it the best day. 41:15 You see, it is the rest day, it is the blessed day, 41:18 it is the best day. 41:20 Now these glasses here contain Los Angeles water. 41:29 And this is the first day, there is no blessing in it. 41:34 You may say, "But I will have my Sabbath on any day." 41:39 You have the right to choose what you want to do. 41:44 But the blessing was not placed in the first day, 41:48 or the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth 41:51 or the Preparation Day. 41:52 It was placed in the Sabbath. 41:59 You think I'm going to drink some, don't you. 42:02 I will not disappoint you. 42:06 There is a blessing in the Sabbath. 42:10 The church can say, "I'm going to put a blessing there." 42:13 It doesn't count for anything. 42:16 Only God can bless. 42:18 You see? 42:19 And what God has blessed, you cannot take 42:22 the blessing out of it. 42:24 And so God says it is the rest day, it is the blessed day, 42:29 it is the best day. 42:32 Therefore, remember the Sabbath day. 42:38 Not only is it the rest day, the blessed day, and the best day, 42:42 it is also the test day. 42:47 Would you come over here to Ezekiel chapter 20. 42:50 Come over here to Ezekiel. 42:52 I've still got a lot of stuff to give you. 42:54 I've got too much stuff, but that's okay. 42:57 Ezekiel 20. 42:58 I'm going to be preaching to you at 9:00 o'clock in the morning. 43:01 I hope you folks are out of bed. 43:03 Anybody watching the telecast, just remember to be here 43:08 at 9:00 o'clock in the morning. 43:09 Don't be late. 43:11 Ezekiel 20 verse 12. 43:15 "Also I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, 43:22 so they would know that I, the Lord, made them holy." 43:25 Verse 20, "Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be 43:29 a sign between us. 43:31 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God." 43:36 And so, my friend, the Bible tells me 43:39 it is the rest day, it is the blessed day, it is the best day. 43:44 And the Bible says it is the test day, 43:48 because the Bible says it is the sign. 43:54 It's like the little old lady in the American Civil war 43:58 who started out with a broom stick to the front. 44:03 And they said, "Granny, you're not going to do any good 44:06 with a broom stick." 44:07 She said, "They'll know what side I'm on." 44:13 I want people to know what side I'm on. 44:18 And when a person saved by the grace of God 44:21 under the blood of Jesus, justified by the precious 44:26 blood of Christ, when that person enters into rest 44:29 and keeps the Sabbath, he shows he's on God's side. 44:36 And the Bible talks about... 44:37 We don't have time to look it up. 44:38 In Revelation, it talks about the Lord's Day. 44:42 John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." 44:46 People say, "Well, every day is the Lord's Day." 44:49 No, no, no. 44:51 It talks about the Lord's supper. 44:54 Every supper is not the Lord's supper. 44:57 Every house is not the Lord's house. 45:00 It is the day that the Lord has blessed. 45:05 It's the Lord's Day. 45:06 It says in the gospel prophet Isaiah, "Keep the Sabbath. 45:11 And if you keep the Sabbath, My holy day." 45:16 It says, "If you keep My day holy, honorable, 45:21 don't do your own things, then I'm going to bless you." 45:26 I want every person watching this telecast around the world 45:30 to know that we're talking here about the commandment 45:34 that represents the gospel. 45:36 We're talking here about the Day of Christ. 45:42 That's why God said... 45:45 What did He say? 45:46 Remember. 45:47 Are you going to remember? 45:50 Remember. 45:53 De Quervain says, "When the holy day becomes the day of man, 45:59 society and humanity wither away and the demons rule." 46:07 When people give up the Sabbath, marriage goes, 46:12 society goes downhill. 46:15 Everything falls apart. 46:18 The center cannot hold and people are 46:21 driven to desperation. 46:22 And they ask the question, "What's happened 46:24 to the human race?" 46:28 It's because they forgot the Lord their God. 46:33 Remember. 46:34 It is a test day, because the apostate church 46:39 hundreds of years after Christ, changed the day. 46:43 Now I love the Baptists. 46:46 Some of my best friends are Baptists. 46:49 But I'm going to quote, now, a Baptist. 46:53 So my Baptist friends who are watching, 46:55 don't get mad with me over this point. 46:57 You can get mad with me over some other point. 47:00 But not this one. 47:01 Because I'm going to quote to you the author 47:05 of the Baptist Manual. 47:08 He says: 47:38 So my friends, he's telling the truth. 48:18 If this is true, and it is the truth, 48:23 then this issue is not a trivial issue. 48:26 It is the rest day, the blessed day, the best day. 48:30 But the test day, 48:34 because the day was changed as a mark of impiety. 48:41 My beloved friends in the Roman Catholic Church, 48:44 let me quote you. 48:46 Stephen Keenan. 48:48 Now I love Roman Catholics. 48:50 My father was a Roman Catholic. 48:53 If it hadn't been for the sovereign will of God, 48:56 I could have ended up a Catholic Priest. 48:59 Maybe a Bishop even. 49:02 Though I would have had my eye on being a Cardinal. 49:05 Certainly not the Pope. 49:06 I don't think I would have gotten that high. 49:08 Okay, let me read to you from my beloved Catholic friends. 49:47 Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism. 49:50 I've got the book. 50:16 Therefore, on the basis of the truth of the Bible, 50:20 and the basis of these great statements, 50:23 I say to you tonight, remember. 50:28 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 50:33 Do not make light of this, my friend. 50:38 Do not turn off the television. 50:40 Do not walk away and say, "Nobody cares." 50:45 Because God does. 50:47 The God who made you in His own image, 50:51 who made you with His own fingers, 50:53 and breathed into your nostrils the breath of life, 50:56 this God says, not the Adventist Church and not some 51:01 poor preacher, God says, "Remember." 51:11 It is the test day because during the last days, 51:14 it assumes special significance. 51:18 Let me say that again. 51:20 I sometimes get my words mixed up. 51:22 Do you know why? 51:24 Oh, I get excited. 51:27 When I was up to 8 years of age, I couldn't talk at all. 51:31 So my parents took me along to a place in Australia 51:35 because they thought I would never speak. 51:39 They didn't have much to worry about. 51:41 But they said, they checked me out and they said, 51:45 "No, he's got everything that he needs to speak. 51:49 He is a lazy boy." 51:53 But even today, I have to struggle with some words 51:58 because I have a lazy tongue. 52:06 Never the less, I tell you tonight, remember. 52:11 And the Bible says, in the last days the Sabbath is going to 52:15 have particular significance. 52:18 Now come to the last book in the Bible, 52:20 and now I'm flying, Revelation chapter 14. 52:23 And I'm not going to prove all these points now, 52:26 I'm just going to fly through. 52:29 Revelation 14, this is the last message, 52:32 the last message to a dying world. 52:36 Revelation 14 verse 6, "Then I saw another angel 52:39 flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel..." 52:43 We preached on it last night. 52:45 "...to proclaim to those who live on the earth; 52:47 to every nation, tribe, language and people. 52:49 He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give Him glory, 52:53 because the hour of His judgment has come. 52:55 Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, 52:58 and the springs of water.'" 52:59 This is a quotation from the fourth commandment. 53:02 And God says in the last message to the world, "Remember." 53:08 Then if you come down to verse 9, "A third angel 53:11 followed them and said in a loud voice; 'If anyone worships 53:14 the beast and his image and receives his mark on the 53:18 forehead or on the hand, he too will drink of the 53:21 wine of God's fury.'" 53:22 Some people tell me, "Don't preach that." 53:26 The devil doesn't want it preached. 53:29 But God says it will be preached. 53:34 In stark contrast to the mark of the beast, you have verse 12. 53:39 "This calls for patient endurance on the 53:41 part of the saints who obey God's commandments 53:45 and remain faithful to Jesus." 53:50 In the last days... 53:51 I do not have time to talk about it. 53:52 ...you're going to have the mark of the beast 53:57 and creature worship. 53:58 And on the other side of the spectrum, you are going to have 54:03 the commandments of God. 54:05 And the only commandment that points to the holy gospel; 54:10 the Sabbath. 54:12 Therefore, remember. 54:17 In the last days, there is going to come a 54:22 polarization in the world. 54:26 The world is going to be divided into two camps; 54:29 those who follow human tradition and go the way of the crowd, 54:35 and those who say, "As for me and my house, 54:39 we will serve the Lord." 54:41 Now listen to me. 54:43 We are now in the United States of America, 54:45 and God bless America. 54:48 She needs all the blessing she can get at this time. 54:51 Here is the American flag. 54:54 We call her, Old Glory. 54:58 I'm proud to stand beside the flag. 55:04 The flag, in itself, has no significance. 55:07 It is only made of cloth. 55:10 It is what it stands for. 55:13 And what does the flag stand for? 55:17 I will tell you what the American flag stands for. 55:20 It stands for decency, honesty, the American Constitution, 55:27 and liberty for all men. 55:29 It stands for freedom to worship God and freedom of speech. 55:39 The flag is a symbol. 55:43 And the seventh day Sabbath which is the rest day, 55:47 the blessed day, the best day, the test day, 55:50 the only one of the commandments that points 55:52 to the gospel, is a symbol. 56:00 The Sabbath stands for the Creator. 56:03 When people have given up on Him, and they curse Him, 56:07 and they blaspheme His name, the Sabbath says, 56:09 "I believe in the Creator." 56:13 And the Sabbath stands for Christ. 56:20 Because it was He who flung the stars in space, 56:27 who made us and who gave us the Sabbath, 56:31 who risked His life to keep the Sabbath, 56:35 and to show us how it ought to be kept. 56:38 Therefore, my message to you tonight is summed up 56:43 in one word, remember. 56:47 Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. 56:54 And I say with the man in the Bible, 56:57 "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and be obedient." 57:06 Amen, and amen. 57:10 Who will raise their hand tonight and say, 57:12 "I will follow my Christ." 57:15 I will follow... 57:16 Lift up your hands and say tonight, 57:18 "I will follow my Christ." 57:21 And I appeal to those watching on the television screen, 57:25 say tonight, "I will follow my Christ." |
Revised 2014-12-17