Participants: Justin Torossian
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000159A
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00:14 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:16 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:23 Hello friends, welcome to our 3ABN Worship Center 00:26 on this wonderful southern Illinois Sabbath morning. 00:29 We want to great you with a hearty amen. 00:31 Can the people of God say amen? 00:34 So good to join you wherever you're tuning in from. 00:37 You may be in south Florida where it's a lot warmer, 00:40 you may be in Australia where you have summer, 00:43 you may be in Alaska where you may be much colder than us, 00:46 or in Canada. 00:47 But we are here in southern Illinois. 00:49 And as we say here, "If you don't like the weather, 00:51 just wait; it'll possibly change." 00:54 But one thing that has been constant every day 00:57 are the blessings that we have been receiving 00:59 from Pastor Justin Torossian as he's been dealing with 01:02 the topic, Called, Chosen, and Faithful. 01:06 Walking us through the messages from the book of Revelation, 01:11 and primarily he's been focusing on Revelation chapter 3, 01:14 the message to the church of Laodicea. 01:17 As you know, Pastor Justin is a native of California. 01:21 He was raised in the northern California area 01:24 and Pacific Union in the Napa Valley. 01:26 And if you are joining us from the Napa Valley, 01:29 you are already in God's country. 01:32 You know, when I was in the Northern California Conference, 01:35 pastors had a saying, they said, "Any time you get a call to 01:37 northern California, it's a call from God." 01:40 Well, I want to transition that and say a call to the 01:43 Midwest is a call from God. 01:44 Come on, somebody. Amen? 01:46 Now you don't really believe that. 01:48 But we know that Pastor Justin Torossian, not only he began 01:53 in northern California, but right now he's at 01:55 Andrews University where he's finishing up 01:58 his degree in theology, his MDiv. 02:01 And he's a growing young man. 02:03 Very tall. He's still single. 02:06 We're not going to talk about that very much. 02:07 We don't want you to send emails trying to figure out whether 02:09 he's a candidate for marriage. 02:11 But he's a godly young man. 02:12 One that has his mind focused on doing the will of the Lord. 02:17 And every day the messages have really come 02:19 straight from God's Word. 02:21 We began with, The Laodicean Sindrome. 02:24 Then, The Physician's Prescription. 02:26 And last night we were blessed with the one called, 02:29 Wretched, Miserable, but Victorious. 02:31 Amen for that? 02:32 Because it's one thing to know your condition. 02:34 It's something all together different to know that 02:36 there is a remedy to whatever condition you find yourself in. 02:40 And this morning will be the message, What Will It Take. 02:44 And then he finalizes his five part series of, 02:47 Anchors Of Truth, this afternoon with the message, Overcome. 02:51 Every one of us, through the strength of Christ, 02:53 can be an overcomer. 02:55 What do you say? 02:57 What do you say? 02:58 Praise the Lord for that. 03:00 It's not where you are, but it's where you can be. 03:02 That's why now my favorite Scripture in the Bible 03:04 is 1 John chapter 3. 03:07 "It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, 03:10 but when we see the Lord, we're going to be like Him 03:12 for we will see Him as He is." 03:15 So thank you for tuning in. 03:16 Invite your family and friends to sit down 03:18 and hear what the Spirit has to say to the church this morning. 03:23 Now I also have the distinct blessing of 03:26 singing this morning. 03:27 But before we do anything, we're going to bring our hearts 03:29 before the Lord in prayer. 03:31 If you were tuning in a moment ago, 03:32 you just saw our Sabbath school. 03:34 And it was a wonderful blessing. 03:36 Our first in our Anchors Sabbath school, 03:38 and thank the Lord that God blessed all of our presenters 03:41 for bringing forth the wonderful messages found 03:44 in the study in Proverbs. 03:46 But now we're going to turn our hearts to the Lord. 03:48 Let's bow our heads in prayer. 03:50 Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your goodness, 03:53 for Your mercy, and for Your grace. 03:56 Lord Jesus, we know that in our struggles, in our trials, 03:59 in our tribulations, that we can trust the changing world 04:03 and our changing lives to a God who is the same 04:06 yesterday, today, and forever. 04:10 We thank You, Father, for Your deliverance, 04:11 and for the fact that as we look away from ourselves 04:14 for the future, we find that there's a road of hope. 04:16 It may be a narrow path, but it shortens our distance 04:21 from failure to success. 04:23 And so be with us today, Father. 04:24 We pray a blessing on Your manservant, 04:26 Pastor Justin Torossian, 04:29 that You'll anoint his mind again as he brings the Word 04:31 and the bread of life. 04:33 So we give the service to You and our hearts. 04:36 May all that is done bring us that much closer 04:39 to our Lord and Savior. 04:41 In Jesus' precious name we pray, amen. 04:45 Now the song I chose to sing this morning is entitled, 04:47 Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer. 04:50 And if there's ever a time that we need to be drawn 04:53 closer to the Lord is as we listen to the remedy 04:56 that God is speaking to every one of us that is a member 04:59 of the message of the church of Laodicea. 05:01 May God draw you nearer as you hear the 05:04 Spirit's voice this morning. 05:13 Jesus, draw me ever nearer 05:21 as I labor through the storm; 05:30 You have called me to this passage, 05:38 and I'll follow though I'm worn. 05:49 May this journey bring a blessing, 05:58 may I rise on wings of faith; 06:07 and at the end of my heart's testing, 06:16 with Your likeness let me wake. 06:30 Jesus, guide me through the tempest, 06:38 keep my spirit staid and sure; 06:47 when the midnight meets the morning, 06:56 let me love You even more. 07:05 May this journey bring a blessing, 07:14 and may I rise on wings of faith; 07:23 at the end of my heart's testing, 07:32 with Your likeness let me wake. 07:45 Let the treasures of the trial 07:54 form within me as I go; 08:03 and at the end of this long passage, 08:12 let me leave them at Your throne. 08:21 May this journey bring a blessing, 08:30 and may I rise on wings of faith; 08:43 at the end of my heart's testing, 08:52 with Your likeness let me wake. 09:24 Thank you, Pastor Lomacang. 09:26 That is to be the prayer of our hearts, amen? 09:29 That in Christ's likeness we would wake. 09:33 That if we are alive and remain until He comes, 09:36 that we'll be transformed into His image 09:38 and be ready to go home for eternity. 09:42 Happy Sabbath to you. 09:44 It's a privilege to be here with you once again. 09:47 It's been a blessing. 09:48 And I'm excited to be sharing today the fourth message 09:51 in our five part series this, Anchors Of Truth, 09:54 Called, Chosen, and Faithful. 09:58 Before we begin, I'd just like to invite you to join me 10:03 in prayer through song as we invite God's presence here. 10:12 Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 10:18 praise Him all creatures here below, 10:25 praise Him above ye heavenly host, 10:32 praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 10:40 Amen. 10:47 Father, we come before You to praise You this morning. 10:50 We want to praise You for Your goodness to us. 10:53 We thank You that Your mercies are new every morning. 10:56 Great is Thy faithfulness. 10:59 Thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings to us. 11:01 And thank You for having spoken to our hearts and minds 11:04 in this year thus far. 11:06 We pray that Your Holy Spirit would be present once again 11:09 to not only help us understand Your Word, 11:12 but to give us the willpower to obey and to follow 11:16 what we are learning. 11:17 May we hear Your voice speaking to each and every 11:20 one of us today. 11:22 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 11:28 I was 10 years old. 11:30 I had watched my friend play a game of baseball that day. 11:34 And I can still remember it vividly. 11:39 In my dream I was there, and the pitcher pitched a fastball. 11:44 And I swung and I connected with it, 11:47 and the ball was sailing out of the park. 11:49 I had crushed it. 11:50 I knew it could be a homerun if I ran fast enough. 11:53 So I ran toward first base. 11:55 I got to first, I rounded it and went towards second. 11:58 And as I was running towards second base, 12:00 I can still see it in my mind, 12:02 the referee who manages second base jumped out and he 12:07 grabbed me and he said, "What are you doing?" 12:09 I thought, what in the world is going on? 12:11 I said, "I'm running to second base." 12:13 What had actually happened was I had jumped off of the 12:17 top bunk of my bed, I had ran straight out into my 12:23 families living room. 12:25 I took a ninety degree turn, and I was running straight 12:28 toward the wall in the living room. 12:30 And my dad jumped up off the couch and grabbed me. 12:33 And he said, "What are you doing? 12:34 What are you doing?" 12:36 And I said, "I'm running to second base. 12:37 I'm running to second base." 12:39 Trying to make my way to that second base. 12:43 Friends, it's all too possible to be fully asleep 12:49 and believe that we're wide awake. 12:53 Have you ever had a dream that was so real that you were 12:57 sure you were there? 12:59 That ever happen to you? 13:03 Friends, this is possible, not only physically, 13:05 but spiritually. 13:07 Let's turn to Romans chapter 13 together. 13:10 Romans 13 starting in verse 11. 13:14 Here, Paul explains this is possible spiritually. 13:29 Friends, it is all too possible for us to be spiritually 13:33 sleepwalking and think that we're wide awake. 13:38 We've been examining together Jesus' message 13:40 to the church of Laodicea. 13:42 And we know that beyond applying to seven local literal churches 13:46 in Asia Minor, Jesus' letters to the seven churches 13:50 were symbolic of the time periods of His church 13:54 down through history until He would come back 13:57 in the clouds of glory. 13:59 We've seen that the last church on the list 14:03 is none other than the church of Laodicea. 14:07 Laodicea is a symbol of God's last day church, 14:11 His last day people. 14:13 We've seen that Jesus' words are bad news. 14:17 The Message to Laodicea is a harsh message, 14:20 it's a strong message, but it's a message of love. 14:23 It's a wake-up call to His people. 14:27 He says that they're lukewarm, wretched, miserable, poor, 14:30 blind, and naked. 14:32 But worse than any of those things, 14:34 they think that they are okay. 14:36 They're deceived. 14:38 Honest in their deception, but they are deceived. 14:42 We've seen that Jesus' message to Laodicea, 14:45 though a strong one and though a bad news message, 14:49 is only bad news so that the gospel can be good news. 14:52 Because Laodicea, Jesus' message to them and to us, 14:55 is a good news gospel message. 14:58 The good news, as we saw in our message on Thursday night 15:03 called, The Physician's Prescription, 15:05 we saw the good news that the heavenly Physician 15:08 offer not only a diagnosis for our spiritual disease, 15:12 but He offers us the spiritual prescription; 15:16 the gold of faith and love, 15:18 the eye salve symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom 15:21 God gives us to understand His Word, 15:23 and the robe of Jesus' righteousness 15:26 in place of our filthy blood-stained 15:29 sinful robes of character. 15:32 As we saw last night, through the perfect life that 15:35 Jesus lived and through His death and resurrection, 15:38 He offers to us the solution to our bondage to sin 15:43 and the fate of inevitable death. 15:46 He offers us victory over sin and death 15:49 when our lives have been united with His through the beautiful 15:53 symbol of baptism. 15:56 Praise God for victory in Jesus. 15:59 Tonight our message is entitled, What Will It Take? 16:03 What Will It Take? 16:05 This morning, rather. This Sabbath morning. 16:08 What Will It Take? 16:10 I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to 16:12 1 Corinthians 10:11. 16:16 1 Corinthians 10:11 16:18 Here, the Bible explains to us in one of many places 16:23 that it's important for us as a people, as God's people, 16:28 to understand our history. 16:29 Because God communicates with us and to us messages 16:34 when we look back at our history and understand how He has 16:36 led us in the past. 16:39 Paul is directing the Christian believers to their history 16:44 as God's people, Israel, down through time. 16:47 And in verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 10 it says, 16:50 "Now all these things happened to them as examples, 16:54 and they were written for our admonition, 16:56 upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 17:02 Friends, the Bible encourages us to study history. 17:06 You know, until I gave my life to the Lord, 17:08 I wasn't big on history. 17:10 But when I fell in love with the study of the Bible, 17:13 when I came to love Bible prophecy, 17:15 I came to love history. 17:17 Because history is just that. 17:20 It's His story. 17:22 It's God's story of how He has led and blessed in the 17:25 lives of His people in the past. 17:27 And when we look at history, we can take courage for the 17:30 present that God is going to lead us into the future 17:33 into His kingdom when He comes. 17:36 Today we're going to take a look at history. 17:40 And we're going to look at Adventist history together 17:42 to understand better Jesus' message to Laodicea, 17:45 and to know what God would have us do today. 17:50 The year was 1856. 17:53 It was after the great disappointment of 1844, 17:55 12 years later, and the little group of believers 17:59 who had held onto the faith in Jesus' soon return 18:02 had not given up their faith, and had really grown. 18:06 This group from all different denominational backgrounds 18:09 had gathered together, they'd studied God's Word 18:12 and earnestly sought to know and understand the truth. 18:16 They had come to a knowledge of the truth 18:18 on a number of topics: 18:20 what happens when we die; 18:22 what baptism is and what form of baptism God would have us do; 18:26 the truth of the seventh day Sabbath. 18:28 And this group of little believers at first 18:31 had grown now into a living healthy growing church. 18:37 Now this body of believers held to the position 18:39 that they were symbolized by the church of Philadelphia, 18:43 not Laodicea. 18:45 They were actually believing and sharing that 18:49 they were symbolized by the church of Philadelphia, 18:51 the sixth church on the list that Jesus writes a letter to 18:55 in the book of Revelation. 18:58 Now why would they want to believe that they 19:01 were Philadelphia? 19:04 I want to invite you to turn with me in your Bible 19:06 to Revelation chapter 3. 19:07 We're going to start in verse 7 and read together 19:09 Jesus' letter to the church of Philadelphia. 19:12 We're going to find our answer. 19:15 Revelation chapter 3 starting in verse 7. 19:18 It should also be mentioned that the church of Philadelphia 19:20 was symbolic of God's people until the time of 1844, 19:25 the time of the great disappointment. 19:27 Another reason why it was logical for them to still think 19:29 that they were Philadelphia. 19:31 But more than that, it has to do, I believe, with the 19:34 description of Philadelphia. 19:36 Let's listen to Jesus' words, and read them together as well. 21:07 Beautiful. 21:09 Now let me ask, did you hear one negative thing 21:13 in that beautiful message from Jesus to Philadelphia? 21:17 There was not one single negative thing that 21:19 Jesus said in this message. 21:22 On the contrary, to the opposite, Laodicea 21:25 had absolutely nothing positive said about it. 21:29 So which would you rather be, Philadelphia or Laodicea? 21:32 Philadelphia, of course. 21:34 And remember, we're all too often prone to think that 21:38 a message of stern correction applies to others 21:42 and not to ourselves. 21:44 This is exactly what the church was experiencing then. 21:47 They were actually believing and teaching that 21:49 they were symbolized by Philadelphia, 21:51 and at the same time the other Christian churches 21:54 were symbolized by Laodicea. 22:00 Now this movement of Christians, this church, would officially 22:04 receive the name, Seventh-day Adventist, 22:06 seven years later in 1863. 22:10 But at this point in 1856, some of the ministers of the church 22:14 started to wonder as they looked around them. 22:17 They started to see people living double lives, 22:22 living with double standards, and they wondered, 22:24 "Are we really symbolized by Philadelphia? 22:28 Or might we be symbolized by Laodicea?" 22:32 James White specifically began to study and to pray. 22:36 And you know, he agonized over this because 22:38 this had been the position of the church for 12 years now. 22:43 Could they change direction? 22:46 Were they really Laodicea, not symbolized by Philadelphia? 22:51 Could it be that they were spiritually sleepwalking 22:54 all of this time? 22:58 Now they had held to this position for 12 years, but 23:02 James White was a man of integrity. 23:04 There's an old proverb that says, "No matter how far 23:07 you've gone down the wrong road, turn around." 23:11 And friends, no matter how far we've gone down the wrong road, 23:14 if we're in an ungodly relationship, 23:16 turn around. 23:18 If you have been hanging out with a group of friends 23:20 and you're realizing that they're pulling you down, 23:22 and you're realizing that rather than helping them 23:26 they are pulling you down connecting you to the 23:30 things of this earth, friend, if you recognize that, turn around. 23:33 Do the right thing. 23:34 No matter how far we've gone down the wrong road, 23:37 we should turn around. 23:39 And this is exactly what James White did. 23:43 He wrote an article in, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 23:46 the churches paper then, on October 9, 1856, 23:50 and this article had a number of questions. 23:54 And I want to read just a few of them briefly to you. 23:57 Think about this and listen to the logic here. 24:00 Question number one, he asked... 24:25 And what was the answer? 24:27 Well, yes. Number two... 24:36 That makes perfect sense, doesn't it? 24:38 If the seven churches are symbolic of seven time periods, 24:41 how can two different time periods exist at the same time? 24:45 They can't. 24:46 He continued asking a number of questions. 24:48 And I'll just share a few of them with you briefly. 25:05 The answer was yes. 25:06 Moving on later down, the question was... 25:30 The light bulbs began going on in people's minds. 25:35 The last question was this... 25:48 Now, he ends it by appealing to them and saying, 25:54 "Should we not heed the words of the True Witness 25:56 to the Laodiceans?" 25:58 And he quoted the words of Jesus there from Revelation chapter 3. 26:02 Now friends, back then the Review and Herald was 26:04 very different than it is today. 26:07 The Review and Herald was the hub of all church communication. 26:11 And it was different in the sense that many, many different 26:14 members would write in to the church, and their articles 26:18 and responses would be included in the Review. 26:21 The Review and Herald was really the pulse of the church, 26:25 if you will. 26:26 And you could think of it this way: 26:28 that to understand or to find the churches pulse in the past, 26:32 all you have to do is go to the Review. 26:35 It's one of the best historical resources to understand 26:38 the state of God's church. 26:41 Now the Review and Herald, in the next Review, 26:43 what was the churches response to this? 26:46 Review and Herald, November 6, 1856, 26:48 two men responded. 26:50 One of them was S.N. Haskell. 26:51 And he said, "You know, I've been thinking along these lines 26:53 for some time now." 26:55 Another man, David Hewitt, called the most honest man 26:58 in town in Battle Creek, said, "Dear brethren and sisters, 27:02 can we not see from the nature of the petition..." 27:23 What was the reaction of the lay people? 27:26 What was the reaction? 27:28 Was it just ministers of the gospel that were writing in, 27:31 that were saying, "You know what, we are Laodicea. 27:33 This does apply to us." 27:35 Or were the members saying that they agreed as well? 27:39 I want to share these interesting statistics with you. 27:42 Now, the response from the church was this: 27:45 Sixteen of the articles that appeared... 27:47 There was a total of 348 items in the Review. 27:51 Sixteen of those were from James White 27:53 and other editorial writers. 27:55 Seventy were from ministers. 27:57 But 262 of them were from lay members. 28:01 The members were saying, "This applies to us. 28:05 I am Laodicean. 28:07 This applies to me." 28:10 Friends, it worked a revival in God's church. 28:15 It began a strong revival. 28:17 Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 119:107. 28:23 Psalm 119:107 28:26 One of the many verses in Psalm 119 where David 28:29 prays to be revived. 28:32 Psalm 119:107, he says, "I am afflicted very much." 28:38 No doubt they read the message to Laodicea 28:40 and they realized, "Wow, we are wretched and miserable." 28:43 They felt afflicted. 28:45 "I am afflicted very much." 28:47 But then he prays, "Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word." 28:53 God began to revive His people. 28:57 He caused a revival to begin to take place. 29:00 I want to share with you briefly just a few of the reports 29:02 of the people so we can get a taste of what was actually 29:06 going on, what the people were thinking and feeling 29:08 during this time. 29:10 A.S Hutchins, one of the ministers, reported what was 29:14 happening in the church as this message was being preached. 29:17 January 8, 1857, Review and Herald, he said, 29:20 "I wish here to add that a happy change is 29:23 taking place among us..." 29:33 Now friends, when God speaks a message to us, 29:36 the time to act is right now. 29:39 If you've heard God speaking to you over the last few nights, 29:42 friend, act in that very moment. 29:45 Act right now. 29:46 Don't hesitate, don't put it off. 29:48 God always calls us to action. 29:50 When He does, it's right now. 29:52 Not to give our lives to Him tomorrow, 29:54 but to commit ourselves to Him now completely. 29:57 He says, "Now, behold, now is the day of salvation." 30:02 This is what was happening. 30:04 The message was causing a revival amongst God's people. 30:09 It was a personal reform. 30:11 Listen to this quote from A.S. Hutchins again. 30:14 It wasn't just something where people were pointing 30:16 the finger at each other. No. 30:17 They realized it applied to them. 30:49 Friends, this man, A.S. Hutchins, was saying, 30:51 "I have made mistakes. I have been impatient. 30:54 I've been harsh in my treating and the way I've spoken 30:58 to people and about people." 31:00 And he said, "I need God's forgiveness." 31:01 And then he said, "Would you forgive me also?" 31:05 This worked a reform in people's hearts and lives. 31:09 The Laodicean message was causing a revival. 31:11 It was creating change. 31:14 In the words of E.R. Seaman, 31:17 from the Review and Herald as well, he says... 31:48 What happened? 31:51 You know, I'm sad to say that this story takes 31:55 an unfortunate turn. 31:57 The message, although it caused a revival, 32:01 people didn't persevere, they didn't continue on 32:03 after they received this message from Jesus. 32:06 They allowed the fire to grow dim in their hearts. 32:09 And friends, it's easy for us to enjoy great blessings and 32:13 mountain top experiences like camp meetings or 32:16 Anchors Of Truth, and go from them and not continue 32:20 in our personal daily devotions, and for the fire of God's love 32:24 to grow dim in our hearts. 32:26 Friends, God wants us to continue walking with Him. 32:29 Amen? 32:30 The mountain top, you can remember it this way, 32:32 is for inspiration, but the valley floor is for 32:36 character reformation. 32:38 Christ wants to walk with us. 32:40 And as we go from those mountain top experiences, 32:43 to carry the fire of His love burning strong in our hearts 32:47 as we continue in connection with Him through our 32:50 personal devotional life. 32:54 In the words of James White, as he explains in 1857 32:59 after the fire had died out, he said... 33:16 God's people, like the disciples who couldn't keep themselves 33:19 awake to pray with Jesus and for Jesus in the 33:22 garden of Gethsemane, fell back to sleep. 33:26 The sleepiness of their sins. 33:30 And friends, we're often guilty of the same. 33:34 But by God's grace, now that He has woken many of us up 33:39 to our condition, the depravity of our own hearts, 33:43 moment by moment we'll say, "Lord, I need You." 33:47 The words of the hymnal say, "I need Thee, 33:49 O I need Thee. 33:50 Every hour I need Thee. 33:52 O bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee." 33:56 Moment by moment He wants us to recognize our desperate 33:59 need of Him, to be in connection with Christ. 34:03 Christ, who is our only hope. 34:07 Friends, they did not persevere with this message. 34:12 But if they had, the revival that God had caused 34:15 in His church would have caused a revival across the world. 34:20 It would have led them to take the three angels' message, 34:22 the everlasting gospel, to the entire world. 34:25 And Jesus would have returned. 34:28 The work would have been finished and 34:30 Christ would have come back. 34:33 And you may be thinking, "Well that's a bold statement 34:35 if I've ever heard one. 34:36 How does this guy know with such confidence that 34:38 the loud cry would have continued and ushered in 34:41 Jesus' return?" 34:42 Well before I explain, remember that the Laodicean message, 34:46 like the three angel's message, can be summed up in the phrase, 34:49 "Righteousness by faith." 34:52 It's the everlasting gospel. 34:55 And friends, this was the message that God was 34:57 preparing the world to receive in 1857. 35:01 I want to show you from history. 35:03 But first of all, God gave Ellen White a vision 35:06 in which He outlined His full plan for giving the Laodicean 35:09 emphasis in the church right through the subsequent 35:12 issues and events of the gospel being spread to the world 35:15 and ending with Jesus' second coming. 35:18 You can study and read the whole thing if you'd like 35:20 in, Testimonies to the Church, volume 1. 35:24 But I want to read for you just one sentence from it 35:27 on page 186. 35:30 Ellen White says this, "And this message affected the heart. 35:34 It led to deep humility before God. 35:37 Angels were sent in every direction to prepare 35:40 unbelieving hearts for the truth. 35:43 The cause of God began to rise, and His people were acquainted 35:47 with their position." 35:48 You know, friends, history shows us that this is exactly 35:51 what happened, though historians can't really explain it, 35:54 as we're going to see. 35:56 Angels were sent in every direction to prepare people's 35:58 hearts and minds to receive the everlasting gospel 36:02 of the three angels' message. 36:04 It is no coincidence that just a year before this 36:09 God had revealed the truth of the Laodicean message 36:11 to His remnant church so that they could wake up to the fact 36:14 that they were spiritually lukewarm, catch fire for Jesus, 36:18 and give the final call, the three angels' message, 36:20 to humanity. 36:23 I want to share with you a few quotes from history 36:28 that sheds some light on what was happening, 36:31 and that angels were sent out. 36:34 Listen to this, Frank Beardsley, in his book, 36:36 Religious Progress Through Religious Revivals, page 39. 36:53 So the churches, many of the churches in America, 36:56 by and large, most of them were spiritually dead. 36:59 But something changed. 37:01 Warren Candler, in his book, says, 37:03 "And now that the wheels of industry stood still..." 37:06 There was a financial collapse. 37:08 There was a financial challenge. 37:10 And when this happened, people could finally hear 37:12 the voice of God. 37:14 He says in his book... 37:32 Friends, there was a national revival called, 37:35 the revival of a million converts, in 1857. 37:38 And in this revival, many many people were converted. 37:42 More than thirty percent of the United States population 37:46 at the time was converted and gave their lives 37:49 to Jesus Christ. 37:51 Now listen to this amazing statement that explains to us 37:56 that this was the result of angels being sent out 37:59 to prepare the world for the three angels' message. 38:02 Warren Candler, in his book, 38:03 Great Revivals and the Great Republic, page 189... 38:19 Notice, friends, he says this was different. 38:22 This revival of a million converts of 1857, 38:26 it was different in the sense that there wasn't some 38:29 long neglected doctrine of grace that was discovered 38:33 and being preached. 38:35 Yet there was this revival. 38:36 Friends, do you know why? 38:38 That long neglected doctrine of grace, 38:41 that piece of the puzzle that was missing, 38:42 was the three angels' message. 38:45 The three angels' message of Revelation 14. 38:48 And it's no coincidence that God had just woken His people up 38:51 so they could carry this message to this country, 38:54 and this country could be a light sending ambassadors 38:56 and missionaries across the world sharing with them 39:00 the message of the everlasting gospel. 39:03 Friends, it was the three angels' message: 39:05 the message that we are to worship God as our Creator, 39:09 the message that we are living in the judgment hour 39:10 of earth's history, 39:12 the message of the seventh day Sabbath, 39:14 the message to come out of Babylon, 39:16 and the warning not to take the mark of the beast. 39:19 The message of the everlasting gospel. 39:22 This was the message that God sent angels 39:25 to prepare people to receive. 39:29 And we missed it. 39:32 We dropped the ball. 39:34 We missed our opportunity. 39:38 Time went on. 39:40 Time went on, and God's church continued. 39:44 The preaching in many of the churches became dry as the 39:47 hills of Gilboa, we're told. 39:49 There was an emphasis often, and especially the 1880's 39:53 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, on the law. 39:55 And friends, you know, Jesus says in John 5:39, 39:59 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think 40:01 you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." 40:06 Friends, the Bible is all about Jesus Christ, 40:08 and God's law is centered in Christ. 40:10 Amen? 40:11 You know, one of my favorite quotes says... 40:15 Sometimes people say, 40:16 "Well, let's not preach about doctrines. 40:18 Let's just preach Jesus." 40:20 But friends, every true and biblical doctrine... 40:22 And doctrine just means teaching. 40:23 Every true biblical doctrine has Christ at the center. 40:28 Every last one of them. 40:30 And you cannot preach truth without preaching Jesus. 40:33 You may preach the form of it, but if it's missing Christ, 40:36 friends, it's dry and it's empty. 40:39 But true doctrine, true teaching, always has Christ 40:42 at the very center. 40:46 Christ was not at the center of the preaching 40:49 in many places for some time. 40:52 And God sent the message of righteousness by faith 40:55 again to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888 40:59 in Minneapolis at the General Conference. 41:02 Revivals again took place in different pockets of the 41:05 Seventh-day Adventist Church, but by and large 41:08 the message was not received by many. 41:12 Now many revivals started to take place in little places, 41:16 but as these revivals took place, months later 41:20 they did not persevere. 41:22 And once again, once again, the fire in their hearts 41:28 died out. 41:29 It started burning dimmer and dimmer. 41:34 You know, God gave Ellen White a vision 41:36 after the General Conference session in 1901. 41:41 And in this vision... 41:43 By the way, you know, the team here at 3ABN 41:46 has decided to air it. 41:47 And to my knowledge, it's the first time this is ever being 41:49 aired on satellite television. 41:52 This is a powerful re-enactment that the General Conference 41:55 of Seventh-day Adventists has just put out of this vision. 41:59 And don't miss it. 42:00 It's going to be on right after this message. 42:03 And it could change the direction of your life. 42:06 Friends, it's powerful. 42:09 Now this GC session in 1901 took place. 42:12 And afterward, Ellen White received this vision. 42:15 And in this vision, she was there in the 42:17 General Conference meeting. 42:19 And as someone was preaching, a brother stood up 42:22 and he said, "You know, I understand and recognize 42:28 that the Laodicean message is for me. 42:31 I've been lukewarm. 42:33 I have been unkind. 42:35 I have been unchristian to my brother." 42:37 And he went to his brother and he said, 42:40 "Would you forgive me for speaking bad about you 42:43 behind your back, and even being harsh to you?" 42:46 The brother took his hand and he embraced him and gave him a hug. 42:49 And he said, "I have been wrong too. 42:52 Forgive me." 42:53 Friends, this started to take place all over. 42:56 Different people started standing up 42:58 and going to each other, making things right, 43:00 mending broken relationships. 43:03 It was a beautiful time. 43:04 The Holy Spirit was poured out. 43:07 And the work was being prepared to be finished. 43:11 God's church was, they were right with each other. 43:14 They were in unity, that unity that Jesus prayed for 43:16 in truth and in love. 43:18 And they were ready to take this message to the world. 43:21 And then Ellen White came out of vision. 43:25 The angel told her, "No, this didn't really happen. 43:30 All of this might have been. 43:33 All of this might have been." 43:35 But friends, people did not actually humble their hearts 43:38 at that meeting and confess their wrongs to each other. 43:43 You know, this upcoming General Conference session, 43:45 some major decisions are being made. 43:48 At every theological crossroad in God's church, 43:53 it's more than a test of theology. 43:55 It's a test of character. 43:58 If we disagree with someone, how do we treat them? 44:01 If they have taken a different position to us, 44:03 do we do our best to speak kindly to them 44:05 and kindly about them? 44:07 You know, on this very issue, here in this very building 44:13 a few years ago, I saw the beautiful example 44:15 of two preachers, men of God, who hold different 44:20 positions on this specific topic that's going to be addressed 44:24 at this General Conference session. 44:26 And they embraced each other. 44:28 And they said, "You know, I appreciate 44:30 your ministry, brother." 44:32 And the other said, "I appreciate yours too. 44:33 Praise God for what He is doing through you." 44:36 And friends, every theological crossroad is more than 44:40 a test of theology. 44:41 Theology is important, God's Word is very important, 44:45 but it's a test of character. 44:47 Always remember, most of the sinning that we do 44:50 is when we think we're in the right, 44:52 or when we are in the right. 44:53 Because we think that we can say something... 44:57 And think about this in your family relationships. 44:59 When you're convinced that you're right 45:01 and your spouse is wrong, you feel like you have 45:03 the right to say it how ever you want to 45:05 to get the point across. 45:07 Much of the sinning that we do is when we are in the right. 45:10 But God wants us to have right theology and a right spirit. 45:15 That is God's desire for His people. 45:19 After this General Conference session in 1901, 45:22 God gave us another glimpse of how He wants to take 45:24 the everlasting gospel to the world through His church. 45:28 There was a Welsh Revival of 1904. 45:31 And I want to share with you what God did in this revival. 45:34 It was incredible. 45:35 Quoting from the book, Adventism's Greatest Need, 45:37 chapter 5, and this is amazing, listen to this... 45:55 "...not a case to try; no robberies, no burglaries, 45:59 no rapes, no murders, no embezzlements. 46:01 Crime had simply stopped..." 46:33 Friends, it had been a tremendous revival. 46:36 Listen to this, "In Wales, one of every ten citizens..." 46:57 Friends, God again wanted the three angels' message 47:00 to go across the entire world. 47:02 This was one of the greatest revivals in the history 47:05 of the English speaking world. 47:09 And God wanted to use it to take it to the entire world. 47:14 The question comes sometimes, how are we going to reach 47:18 everyone on the planet? 47:20 Did you realize that 4.45 people are born every second 47:25 on average worldwide? 47:27 And an average of 1.8 people die every second. 47:30 And that averages out to 2.65 more people on planet earth 47:34 every second. 47:39 We have ten more people on the planet than we did 47:41 when I started snapping. 47:43 The population is growing incredibly. 47:45 So when people say, "How are we going to share the gospel 47:49 with the entire world; how is it possible?" 47:51 And friends, it is humanly impossible. 47:53 But with God, all things are possible. 47:57 And it will happen. 47:59 Friends, when the latter rain begins falling in its fullness, 48:02 all those precious seeds of truth that have been sown 48:05 into receptive hearts are going to come to fruition. 48:08 All those tracts that have been handed out, 48:10 the sermons that people have listened to and shared, 48:13 downloaded, the prayers that have been sent up 48:15 for loved ones, many of them will bear precious fruit. 48:19 And God will bring to fruition the seed that He has sown 48:23 in our hearts and people's hearts. 48:25 Friends, thousands will be joining God's movement 48:28 in a single day. 48:30 We wonder, "How is the gospel going to go into these countries 48:32 that are closed to Christianity?" 48:34 Friends, when the Holy Spirit falls in the fullness of 48:37 the latter rain, God will do things more miraculous 48:40 than we have ever imagined. 48:42 In Acts 8:26 and onward, we read this story of the 48:45 Ethiopian eunuch who Philip baptized. 48:48 The Bible says that after they went down into the water, 48:50 after the eunuch was baptized, he came up from the water 48:54 and Philip had disappeared. 48:57 The Bible says the Holy Spirit caught him away 48:59 and he was found at Azotus, which is about 10 miles away. 49:03 Friends, the Holy Spirit transported Philip. 49:06 And in the last days, we know that the latter rain 49:08 will be even greater than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 49:10 in the early rain of the New Testament church in Acts. 49:14 Friends, God will finish the work with miraculous power. 49:19 And we're already seeing it happen. 49:22 We are seeing the drops of the latter rain. 49:25 Not far from here in a state nearby, not long ago, 49:30 there was a family who were an immigrant family 49:34 from a Muslim country. 49:36 And they had their children, because of a scholarship 49:40 that this conference had set up, they were able to 49:42 send their children for free for the first year 49:45 to a Seventh-day Adventist school. 49:48 And this family was asked by two ladies of the church, 49:51 the parents, if they were interested in 49:52 having Bible studies. 49:54 And this family of a Muslim background said, "Well, yes. 49:57 We'd be happy to." 49:59 So the first day the ladies said, "Well, what should 50:01 we study with them?" 50:02 And they said, "What about Daniel chapter 2?" 50:04 And they said, "Well, no, that story of the statue, 50:07 it's got a story of a king, an angry king, from Babylon, 50:12 which is the Middle East. 50:13 Let's start with something like prayer." 50:16 And so they go to the house and they knock on the door, 50:19 and the husband answers. 50:21 And he looks really upset for some reason. 50:23 And he said, "Oh, come in, come in." 50:27 And he invited them to have a seat. 50:29 And then he said, "You know, last night I had this dream. 50:33 And as I was in my dream, I was standing there. 50:37 And in the distance I saw this large stone 50:41 flying through the air. 50:42 And it was coming closer and closer. 50:44 And it was about to strike me on my feet. 50:46 And then I woke up. 50:48 Can you tell me what my dream means?" 50:52 Friends, they opened up to Daniel chapter 2 50:54 and they said, "Let's study together." 50:57 The next week they knocked on the door. 50:59 And the wife answered, the husband wasn't home. 51:02 And this woman invited them in and they sat down, 51:06 and she said, "You know, last night I had a dream that was 51:08 so real, I was so scared. 51:11 ISIS was coming and our house was next. 51:13 And I knew it, and I was so afraid. 51:17 And then I looked to my right and I saw a man. 51:20 A tall man with white hair and a white beard, 51:24 and the whitest white robe I've ever seen. 51:28 And he smiled at me and he said, 'Don't be afraid. 51:31 I'll give you my robe and it will cover you. 51:34 And when it does, you'll be safe. 51:36 They won't be able to see you.'" 51:38 She said she, in the dream, took his hands and she 51:42 looked and saw that there were holes in the top of his hands. 51:45 She turned them over and saw that these holes went 51:47 all the way through. 51:48 And she said, she told these ladies, "Can you tell me 51:52 who that man in my dream was?" 51:56 They opened up to Revelation 1 and they told this woman 51:59 about Jesus. 52:00 Friends, we're seeing the beginning. 52:02 God is going to finish the work. 52:06 People who are earnestly seeking truth with all of their hearts 52:10 are hearing the truth of the gospel. 52:11 God is doing everything He can to win the world to Himself, 52:16 so the work can be done, so Jesus can take us home. 52:22 Friends, the gospel is going to go forth to all the world. 52:28 What will it take? 52:31 What will it take? 52:33 It's going to take all that we have and all that we are. 52:39 Friends, nothing but a complete surrender will do. 52:43 God wants to use us who have been changed by the 52:46 everlasting gospel to take it to the dying world around us. 52:52 Friends, we've been called, we have been chosen. 52:56 Will we be faithful? 52:59 If not us, then who? 53:04 If not now, then when? 53:09 You know, we say we want Jesus to return. 53:12 Do you want Jesus to return? 53:14 Amen. So do I. 53:16 But often times we say, you know, "I want Jesus to return. 53:18 Lord, I want you to come back. 53:20 But let me finish college first, and get a job 53:23 and work for a little while, and then come back." 53:26 And then we think, "You know, Lord, I've been working 53:29 for a little while, I really want you to return, 53:31 but I just want to find that special someone first 53:34 and get married. 53:36 And then You can come back, Lord Jesus." 53:39 And then it's, "Lord, I just want to have a child, just one. 53:43 And then You can come back." 53:46 And eventually it becomes, "Lord, I'm almost to retirement. 53:50 Just let me get there, and then come back, Lord Jesus." 53:55 "Lord, just one grandchild, and then come back." 53:59 Friends, I want to say something strong. 54:01 And the Lord brought this home to my heart. 54:05 Aside for the reason of loved ones who are not 54:08 ready for His return, if we do not want Jesus to come back 54:14 right now, we don't really want Him to come back. 54:19 Unless we've come to the point where we want Jesus 54:22 to come back more than anything, we want to spend eternity 54:25 with our precious Lord and Savior more than anything 54:28 that this world has to offer, even the good things, 54:31 unless we want that more, 54:34 we have to ask ourselves, "Do I really want Him to come back?" 54:38 What will it take? 54:41 What will it take so He can return? 54:44 It's going to take us committing all that we have 54:48 and all that we are. 54:53 Today the Lord has spoken to your hearts. 54:58 And you've recognized, you know, "There's someone in my life 55:02 who I need to reconcile with. 55:04 There's someone who I have hurt." 55:07 Or maybe someone who has hurt you 55:08 and you feel they owe you an apology, 55:10 and you need to forgive them. 55:13 Friend, if there's someone you know you need to reconcile with, 55:16 and you want to say in this moment, "Lord, I want nothing 55:19 to be between my soul and the Savior. 55:22 I want there to be nothing between myself and my 55:24 brother or sister in Christ." 55:27 And you want to commit right now to say, "Lord, in Your strength, 55:31 by Your grace, I will make things right with that person." 55:36 I want to invite you to raise your hands. 55:38 Amen, this is a pledge to the Lord to say, 55:40 "God, I'm surrendering. 55:42 I need Your help to do this. 55:44 But I know You'll give me strength." 55:46 Amen. Amen. 55:50 Friend, if you have a close family member or friend 55:54 who you know, you want Jesus to come back, but 55:57 you know that were He to come back right now, 56:00 they would not be saved, 56:04 and you want to say a special prayer for them, 56:07 I want to invite you to stand where you are right now. 56:10 We're going to have a special prayer time here together 56:12 for those who God has brought into our lives 56:14 who are not ready for His return. 56:17 Praise the Lord. 56:20 We want to pray that God will bring them to Himself, 56:24 that they'll be ready to go home for eternity with Christ, 56:29 they'll give their hearts to Him. 56:30 Friends, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. 56:34 Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wants. 56:38 God can answer those prayers. 56:43 Would you like to say, "Lord, I'm going to pray for others, 56:46 but here I am. 56:48 I've not given everything to You. 56:51 There's something still in my life that has not been 56:55 completely surrendered." 56:56 And you want to say, "God, here is all of me." 57:00 I want to invite you to raise your hand where you are. 57:03 Amen. 57:04 Let's pray together. 57:08 Our Father and our God, thank You that Your patience, 57:14 Your delay is for our salvation, the salvation of those we love. 57:19 Come soon, Lord Jesus. 57:21 Take this beautiful gospel, the life transforming 57:23 powerful gospel, to all the world 57:27 so that Jesus can come soon and we can go home. 57:30 In Jesus name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2016-01-12