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Series Code: ASIC
Program Code: ASIC000013A
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00:20 If you would kindly turn in your Bibles with me to Jeremiah 00:26 chapter 10, we're going to read verses 10 and 11. Jeremiah 10 00:32 verses 10 and 11. But the Lord is the true God. He is the 00:38 living God and an everlasting King. At His wrath the earth 00:43 shall tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide his 00:49 indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, the gods that have 00:54 not made the heavens and the earth even they shall perish 00:59 from the earth and from under these heavens. He hath made the 01:04 earth by his power. He hath established the world by his 01:10 wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His discretion. 01:15 Good morning everyone. It is my pleasure, my distinct pleasure 01:23 to introduce to you the speaker of the hour. It was perhaps 01:29 longer ago than he would care to admit while as a student at 01:34 the University of Victoria, a public university in British 01:39 Columbia, Canada that Sean Boonstra's life was changed. 01:44 Having watched a television program hosted by It Is 01:49 Written's George Vandeman he became anxious to learn more 01:54 about this thing called the Bible. Raised in a church family 01:58 he by this stage of his life was not what he would describe as a 02:02 Christian. After watching an It Is Written broadcast he 02:05 attended an evangelistic series. There he met Jesus and his life 02:10 was changed. Changed to a degree that he had to do something 02:16 about and something with this Jesus he had met. Not content to 02:21 be a pew warmer, not content to be a casual, cultural Christian, 02:27 Sean Boonstra was touched by God and moved by God to enter a life 02:33 of ministry. He's dedicated his life to preaching the three 02:38 angels messages on every continent on the planet with the 02:43 exception of Antarctica and it might be that he has plans for 02:48 Antarctica. He has held evangelistic meetings in 02:51 every corner of the globe. Under his ministry God has led many 02:55 thousands, the number frankly is immaterial, but a large 02:58 number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. He believes in 03:02 sharing Jesus with all of his heart and empowering others to 03:06 to the same, which is why now as the speaker and director of 03:10 It is... of, I beg your pardon, of Voice of Prophecy... 03:15 Too many TV programs. 03:17 I couldn't have done that if I tried. I'm so sorry. As the 03:21 speaker/director of Voice of Prophecy, a media evangelism 03:26 ministry based in Loveland, Colorado, Sean is active in not 03:30 only proclaiming the risen Christ, but in also resourcing 03:34 others and training others that they too can be heralds of the 03:37 everlasting gospel. So in just a moment I ask you to be 03:41 prayerful for and expectant that God will speak through, this 03:45 morning's speaker, Voice of Prophecy's Pastor Sean Boonstra. 03:49 Why don't we bow our heads for prayer. Loving heavenly Father, 03:54 we have come and gathered into your presence. I pray that your 03:58 Holy Spirit will rest upon us and attend Sean as he speaks to 04:02 us your words. In Jesus name, Amen. 04:05 ¤Let not your heart be troubled Ye believe in God and in me. ¤ 04:19 In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a¤ 04:34 ¤place for thee. The Lord is coming, are you ready?¤ 04:45 ¤The Lord is coming are you. ready? Would your heart be¤ 04:55 ¤right if he came tonight? The Lord is coming, are you ready?¤ 05:09 ¤Why will you wait, my brother? Promises of God are all true. ¤ 05:20 ¤Jesus bought your live on Calvary's mountain and soon¤ 05:30 ¤he will come again for you. The Lord is coming are you¤ 05:41 ¤ready? The Lord is coming are you ready? Would your heart¤ 05:53 ¤be right if he came tonight? The Lord is coming, are you¤ 06:06 ¤ready? The Lord is coming, are you ready? Would your heart¤ 06:18 ¤be right if he came tonight? The Lord is coming,¤ 06:34 ¤Are you ready? ¤ 06:44 I love that song, it's one of the first songs I heard after 06:55 becoming a part of the Seventh- day Adventist movement. I was so 07:00 excited I asked if they'd let me join the chorus, but for 25 07:05 years I've been getting a no to that question. Our theme this 07:10 year at ASI is Called, Chosen, Committed so I think this 07:13 morning I want to spend a few minutes with you talking about 07:17 one key aspect of what that means, just one little sliver of 07:21 it. Our text in a moment is going to be 2 Thessalonians 07:25 chapter 2. I know a few of you noticed on the way in, Sean 07:32 you're wearing a tie. Yes I am. Don't get used to it. If they 07:38 hand out ties in heaven, gentlemen, would that be 07:42 disappointing, Yes or no? 2 Thessalonians 2, let's pray. 07:47 Father in heaven, we believe that the Bible is not like every 07:53 other book. This is the voice of our Creator, our God reaching 07:58 through to our sinful world and asking us to take a step in your 08:01 direction. I ask this morning that the world would fade away 08:05 for a moment and we would recognize your voice in these 08:08 words and that when we are done the direction you would have us 08:13 go would be clear. I ask that you forgive my sins and that you 08:18 make me fit to speak this morning. I beg that you would 08:21 take a coal from heaven's altar and anoint my lips with it so 08:25 that what we hear is not human opinion but truth from the 08:28 throne of God. It is our covenant with you this morning 08:32 as always that when you speak we will follow the Lamb wherever 08:38 he goes for that is our prayer in Jesus' name, Amen. 08:43 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 3 Paul writes, Let no one deceive 08:46 you by any means for that day (the second coming of Christ) 08:53 will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man 08:58 of sin is revealed. He's writing in advance about the great 09:03 apostasy that would begin very early on in the Christian church 09:07 The son of perdition, he writes, who opposes and exalts himself 09:10 above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he 09:16 sits as God in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. 09:20 I am convinced this morning that that passage that we have just 09:25 read describes the greatest threat that you face between 09:28 this moment this morning in this auditorium and the moment 09:32 that Jesus comes again, but maybe not the way that you think 09:36 We're very used to reading that passage with an external set of 09:40 eyes. We have no problem identifying the son of perdition 09:43 There he is, we know who that is But I want you to look at it 09:45 through new eyes this morning and you might recognize an even 09:49 greater threat buried in what Paul has just written. And to do 09:52 that I want to take you back to the pages of the Old Testament 09:56 and I want you to look at the story of Saul the son of Kish. 09:59 He was a very ordinary, average young man doing something very 10:02 ordinary and average the first time that you meet him. He's out 10:06 looking for his father's missing donkeys. He's like every other 10:09 farm boy who's ever had to go and chase some livestock that 10:12 broke through the fence. He's ordinary and he's average. But 10:16 when you start to read the story of Saul very carefully you 10:20 notice very quickly he is not like every other boy, not even 10:23 close. In some regards, you might want to think about this 10:26 this coming week. In some regard Saul was a lot like Lucifer just 10:30 before he fell. The Bible said he's gifted, he's choice and 10:34 he's very attractive. Easy on the eyes. He's the kind of guy 10:38 who turns the head of every young lady when she walks 10:40 through the room. The kind of guy I hated when I was out 10:43 shopping for a wife because you can't get the attention of 10:46 everybody when Saul the son of Kish walks into the room. 10:49 1 Samuel 9 and verse 2: And he (that's Kish) had a choice and 10:54 handsome son whose name was Saul. How handsome was he? The 10:58 Bible says there was not a more handsome person than he among 11:01 the children of Israel. This is literally the best looking guy 11:05 in the whole country. He's the Brad Pit of his day, Pierce 11:10 Brosnan, the Cary Grant, the Ryan Gosling, the Sean Boo... 11:12 no I'm kidding. He's the best looking guy in the country and 11:19 in addition to being good looking, the Bible says from his 11:21 shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. He's got 11:25 the whole package. He's so amazing he probably doesn't even 11:28 have hair growing out of his ears, this guy. I'm mean not 11:31 that I'm bitter about the way that middle age has turned out 11:34 but this guy's amazing. And one day, according to the story, the 11:38 best looking man in the whole country goes out to find some 11:41 missing donkeys. What stud muffin Saul doesn't realize, at 11:44 least at the beginning of the story is that those donkeys are 11:47 not missing by accident. There's a divine appointment. He's 11:50 supposed to be somewhere. God wants him in a little village 11:53 called Ramah of Benjamin because the elders of Israel have just 11:57 called a meeting with the aging prophet Samuel who shuffles into 12:00 that meeting. Fellows, why would you call a meeting on a 12:04 Wednesday afternoon at 2 p. m. I know you think that all I do 12:08 is preach on Sabbath, but I've got a full agenda. I'm very... 12:11 I hope this is important. And he knows something's up because 12:15 everybody's falls quiet. And finally somebody, working up 12:19 some courage begins to speak nervously. Well, Samuel, ah we, 12:24 we have all, ah, been talking and well we really think that 12:28 you're the best prophet we've every had, we really, really do, 12:33 and ah, you may even be the best prophet since the days of Moses. 12:36 I mean ah guys what do you think You think anybody's ever been 12:39 better than Sam... We're so convinced of it that we actually 12:43 went down to the trophy hut, right there by the post office 12:46 in Ramah and we made you this plaque. Look at what it says 12:49 Samuel. It says for 50 years of faithful service you can hang 12:52 this in your study and every time you look at it you'll know 12:55 how much we love you. Guys, really, you called me in the 12:58 middle of the week to give me a trophy that couldn't wait for 13:01 potluck. You could have done that at potluck. I'm busy. What 13:05 is really on your mind because anybody with experience knows 13:09 that when the world butters you up for no reason the ax is about 13:13 to fall. Well Samuel, there is this one other thing and this 13:17 is not easy to say but we kind of notice that you're not the 13:20 same as you used to be, Samuel. Things have changed. We have 13:23 noticed that at church board meeting the other night, after 13:27 the meeting you went looking for the keys to your ox cart and it 13:29 took you 30 minutes to find them even though they were in your 13:32 hand the whole time. And we notice that even when you are 13:36 sort of able to find your keys, you fall asleep in board meeting 13:39 and when you are awake you can't hear what we're saying and we 13:42 see that things are changing and so we're just kind of thinking 13:44 you know what's going to happen when Samuel the prophet 13:49 is gone? We think that while you're here with us it might be 13:52 time to draft some kind of a succession plan. Oh, a 13:55 succession plan. Guys ah if that's all this is you think I 13:59 don't realize I'm getting up there in years. I've got a plan. 14:02 I've already been training my two boys, Abijah and Joel, I'm 14:05 sure you've noticed these two boys. I've been training them 14:09 and they're going to take my place. More awkward silence. 14:14 Well, ah, Samuel that, that's the thing. We don't want your 14:20 boys. We're not comfortable with Abijah and Joel. According to 14:24 Bible they kind of had a point at that moment. 1 Samuel 8 and 14:28 verse 3 says that those two boys, Abijah and Joel, did not 14:30 walk in the ways of their father In fact, it says they turned 14:34 aside after dishonest gain, they took bribes and they perverted 14:39 justice. Now that might be perfectly acceptable in 21st 14:43 century north American politics but that is completely 14:47 unacceptable in the camp of Israel, completely, because 14:50 leadership in Israel at it's very beginning didn't actually 14:54 legislate anything. They didn't pass any laws. Samuel didn't 14:58 write new laws, he didn't really make any decisions. The only 15:01 role of human leadership in the camp of Israel was kind of a 15:05 coaching role. They were there to direct the people back to the 15:09 One true ruler they had, the God of Israel. That was it. It's a 15:13 coaching role and if Samuel's boys were morally compromised in 15:17 any way they could never have their father's job. So the old 15:21 prophet has to think for a minute, just like you would if 15:25 you've discovered that you've outlived your usefulness and 15:28 your one legacy, your children nobody wants that to _. 15:32 What are you guys suggesting. Well here's what we think Samuel 15:37 Just hear us out. We've been thinking about this for quite a 15:40 while. I mean, here we are now, we're living in the land of 15:44 Canaan, we're no longer slaves, that's a long time ago and we're 15:48 free and respectable people and we've got a culture now, and we 15:52 have industry now and we have college degrees and we hear 15:54 they're even going to get a symphony orchestra down in city 15:56 of Jerusalem. We are completely different than we used to be and 16:00 we think that now it's been so long and we've grown so much 16:04 that maybe it's time to grow up and become a real country. What 16:07 do you mean a real country? You are a real country. You're 16:10 better than a real country. You are God's chosen nation. No, no 16:13 Samuel that's the point. That's what you're missing. You haven't 16:16 been paying attention. We're not a real country. Have you not 16:19 noticed Samuel that every other country, without exception, has 16:23 a king, and every other respectable religion, every 16:27 other church has a responsible human being, a highly trained 16:30 professional, at the top of the organization. And we're just 16:33 starting to get a little bit embarrassed because after all 16:36 this time we still look like a nation of peasants and we want 16:41 to graduate. We want to graduate from prophet to king. Oh, 16:43 gentlemen, that is not a good idea. That is not what God wants 16:49 Oh listen Samuel you don't understand because you're 16:51 just from another generation. You don't get it. You're out of 16:54 touch with the times. You used to probably watch a little more 16:57 CNN. Maybe Samuel you ought to get a Twitter account so you can 17:01 keep up with what's going on. Talk to a few millennial focus 17:04 groups because they all know that you're in the 12th century. 17:07 Good, professional leadership absolutely requires a king. 17:11 That's how things are done and that's how everybody else is 17:15 doing it. And they were right. That is how everybody else was 17:20 doing it. But everybody else folks is not the kingdom of God. 17:24 Everybody else is not the chosen people. Everybody else was not 17:29 God's remnant church and God's people have never been like 17:33 everybody else nor should they be. It shouldn't happen. God's 17:37 people have always swum upstream God's people have always been 17:40 countercultural and that's why it ought to bother us when 17:44 people are forever looking outside the walls of our own 17:48 movement and coveting what everybody else has. It doesn't 17:51 make sense. Oh sure it makes sense to pay attention to the 17:54 culture, yes it does. That's not what I'm preaching. Yes it makes 17:57 sense to make friends with other churches and know what's going 18:00 on, but that's not what I'm talking about. When we covet 18:03 what others have we're missing the boat. Pastor, have you seen? 18:06 There's a new church in town, have you seen that they do. They 18:09 have 30 trained professionals on staff including a staff 18:11 psychiatrist. They write a best selling book every six months. 18:16 They put a Starbucks in the lobby because everybody wants 18:20 Starbucks and they get 20,000 people every week. Have you seen 18:24 it pastor? Yeah, I have and my reply to that is so what. 18:30 Is that what God asked his remnant church to be? 18:32 But we always, always and forever talk about what other 18:36 churches have and what other churches do, what other churches 18:38 teach and we wish we could be like them and we behave like 18:41 God somehow forgot about the Seventh-day Adventist church and 18:44 short changed us. Then it is high time for God's people to 18:47 open their Bibles and remember that this is not another 18:49 denomination. This is the prophetic movement of God, the 18:52 remnant church of Bible prophecy. We were not called to be like 18:56 everybody else. We were called because we were not to be like 19:00 everybody else. So Samuel we want a king. 1 Samuel 8 verse 19:05 6 says that Samuel's displeased so he prayed and he gets a 19:09 shocking answer from God. Verse The Lord said to Samuel, Heed 19:14 the voice of the people in all that they say to you. Give them 19:18 what they want. What?!. They have not rejected you but they 19:22 rejected me that I should not reign over them. There it is 19:26 again. I don't know if you caught it but that was our 19:28 opening verse again. It's a different context in a different 19:31 age and a different situation but it's still there. There it 19:34 is. The biggest problem you face between now and the second 19:37 coming of Christ. It's a different generation but it's 19:40 the man of sin problem. It's still about the throne of God. 19:43 It's still about the throne of God. Lord, how could you tell me 19:46 to give them what they want? I don't like it. Samuel, I don't 19:50 like it either; it hurts. But I'm not going to force these 19:54 people into my kingdom. That's not who I am. I don't make 19:57 slaves. If they want slavery, if they want to go back to Pharaoh 20:01 if they want another round of slavery, I'll let them go but 20:03 I'm not going to make them slaves. You realize that's 20:08 exactly what Israel's asking for, they're asking to go back to 20:11 slavery. They want another Pharaoh. It's amazing to me 20:13 what people are willing to do, what they're willing to lose, 20:16 what they're willing to compromise because they cannot 20:18 bring themselves to believe that God might actually know what 20:21 he's doing and he's going to keep his promises, even on the 20:24 days when it doesn't look like it. These people in this story 20:28 have a direct relationship with the Creator God of heaven. They 20:32 have the Spirit of prophecy in their midst and what do they 20:36 want? More slavery under a new Pharaoh. Before we cluck our 20:40 tongues and say Oooo what a bunch of dummies, we should 20:44 probably remember that it is the story of the entire human race 20:49 right down to this day. Garden of Eden, the ideal situation. Have 20:53 everything we need. What do we do. Hand the keys to a fallen 20:57 angel who makes slaves out of us for thousands of years. Moses 21:00 has been up the mountain Aaron for so long we don't know if he's 21:03 ever coming back. Relax guys. You do understand the cloud on 21:06 that mountain is actually the presence of God. I don't think 21:09 there's anything to worry about at all. I know but we don't know 21:12 if he's ever going to come down and that's the problem. We don't 21:15 know how to relate to that cloud We don't know how to go up that 21:18 mountain. We're not allowed near that. That seems so intangible 21:21 we don't know if we have direct leadership anymore. Moses has 21:24 been missing so long. What do you guys suggest? OK well listen 21:28 Aaron. Here's the thing. Just hear the whole thing out. We 21:32 would like to have, and we understand it's not really God, 21:35 but we really would like to have one of those calves we used to 21:38 see in Egypt. We won't treat it exactly the same but we can 21:41 relate to that. That's what we've known for generations and 21:43 it's relatable and we want... God actually brings that story 21:48 up in here when they ask for a king in 1 Samuel 8. He says in 21:51 1 Samuel 8 verse 8 that the request for a king is according 21:54 to all the works which they have done since I brought them out of 21:57 Egypt even to this day with which they have forsaken me 22:02 and served other Gods. Now people have done this again and 22:08 again and again. This is the biggest problem you face before 22:13 the second coming of Christ. It happens when we stop believing 22:18 and we personally behave exactly like the man of sin and we climb 22:22 up on the throne of God and we try to second guess what he says 22:26 and what he promises. That's what happens. And sometimes we 22:29 don't do it permanently. Look Lord, I'll just get up here and 22:31 make one or two decisions, then I'll get off the throne and 22:35 you'll be God again. That's what happens. We can't trust God to 22:40 be the real king in our lives. And you know it never works when 22:44 you take control. The Old Testament's the story of people 22:46 who climb on the throne for five minutes. Jacob, I know how to 22:50 get my inheritance. Abraham, I know how to get a baby. Leads to 22:53 huge disasters every time. And believe me this morning the man 22:58 of sin is the flag ship but he's not the only one who does it. 23:02 The biggest problem you face between now and the second 23:06 coming of Christ, listen to me carefully and don't 23:07 misunderstand what I'm about to say. But the biggest problem you 23:11 face personally is not the little horn power of Daniel 7. 23:14 What are you saying, Pastor? Yes, it's a real problem and you 23:16 should be paying attention, but it's not your biggest problem 23:19 personally. Your biggest problem isn't the rapid decline of 23:22 western civilization even though that should probably concern you 23:25 if you're trying to raise a family in this day and age. 23:27 It's not you biggest personal problem. You're biggest personal 23:31 problem is not another bad decision coming out of the 23:33 Supreme Court, it's not an executive order from the White 23:35 House, it's not another decision coming out of the congress. Your 23:39 biggest problem is not the people who sit beside you in 23:41 church. Your biggest problem is not your wife, it's not your 23:43 wife, it's not your husband, it's not your kids, it's not 23:45 your boss, it's not your parole officer. Gentlemen, it is not 23:50 even your mother-in-law. The biggest problem you face between 23:54 this moment and when Jesus comes again is sitting in the very 23:59 seat you occupy at this moment. It's you. It's this tendency you 24:03 have to try and take control, behave exactly like the man of 24:06 sin. Climb up on the throne of God and pretend you're in charge 24:09 even for a minute. And if you can't get that impulse under 24:12 control, you can't let God be the king of your heart then 24:16 you're headed for a world of hurt. Really. Whatever do you 24:19 think is going to happen when everything that's going on 24:21 around you finally comes to a head. I hope you've been paying 24:25 attention to the world. People driving trucks through the 24:28 crowds of pedestrians in Europe, bombs in the airport, shootings 24:32 in public places, the economy ballooning to an all-time high 24:36 and yet the debt level's the same as it was in 2008. NATO 24:40 started to pile up armies against the Polish border with 24:43 Russia, NATO launched a missile this week over the sea of Japan. 24:49 People getting beheaded and burned alive on U-Tube. We're 24:52 finally figuring out that our highest public officials have 24:55 been lying to us and the system actually might be rotten to the 24:58 core. When all of that comes to a head, and it will, when it 25:01 finally blows up and it feels like the Spirit of God has been 25:03 lifted from the earth and Moses might never come back down from 25:06 that mountain, then at that moment when this earth is 25:10 plunged into midnight, how are you going to react. Because if 25:12 you have not yet given up your claim to God's throne, you're 25:15 going to find it very hard to resist the first person who 25:17 comes along and offers a little bit of peace and security. And 25:20 he's going to be very convincing because the Bible says he will 25:23 bring fire down from heaven in the sight of men. If you're 25:27 still trying to run the show at that point you're going to 25:31 stumble. Listen carefully because the next few verses in 25:35 this story have shaped world history since the moment it 25:39 happened and it's one of the most important keys to 25:41 understanding the book of Daniel what's about to happen. Now 25:44 before we read it I want to give you a refresher course from high 25:47 school history, because if you were like me, you slept through 25:50 some of high school history or maybe were even absent. 25:55 My kids aren't here. In 1517 Luther nailed the 95 Theses to 26:00 the church door. We're all aware of that. And then the reformers 26:03 began to think about everything that happened since that awful 26:06 moment in the fourth century when we invited the Roman 26:08 emperor Constantine to be the king of the church. What we did 26:11 in the fourth century is a direct parallel with what Israel 26:14 did with Samuel in 1 Samuel chapter 8; we invited a king 26:17 into the church. So Constantine brings peace. He ends the 26:20 Diocletian persecution, just brings it to an end and he looks 26:23 at the Christians; he said this will be the glue that holds my 26:26 empire together. They were so united under persecution. They 26:29 will hold my empire together. He should have gone to a church 26:34 board meeting before he came to that conclusion. Two crises 26:38 emerge immediately, the Donatist controversy in North 26:41 Africa over readmitting apostates and the Arian 26:44 controversy on the nature of Christ. And the church can't 26:47 solve those disputes themselves so you know what they did? They 26:50 made a direct appeal to Constantine. Hey, you like 26:52 Christians, solve this for us. But he's so busy with the 26:55 affairs of the empire that he appoints the Bishop of Rome to 26:57 take over the whole matter and for the first time in history 27:01 the Bishop of Rome becomes first among equals. He rises in 27:04 influence. So are you with me this morning. What we did, it 27:07 wasn't the outside pushing it's way in. It was the inside asking 27:11 the outside to come. We begged the emperor to take over the 27:16 church. That's what we did. And once the government sets foot in 27:21 your church you will never get rid of it. That model was not 27:26 what Jesus established. He expected us to live directly 27:29 beneath God the Israel was supposed to. How do I know? 27:31 Luke 22: He says to his disciples the kings of the 27:34 Gentiles exercise lordship over them but not so among you. 27:37 I don't want a king for the church. But we did it. We 27:40 married Roman politics and Christian faith that gave us 27:43 more than a thousand years of darkness complete with burning 27:47 people at the stake. The reformers opened their Bibles 27:54 and they realized what we had done in the fourth century and 27:57 so they set about the work of freeing themselves from the 28:00 biggest mistake we have every made. Now the reformation was 28:03 about all kinds of things. Yes it was doctrinal; sola fide, 28:06 sola scriptura. It was very doctrinal but at the very core 28:09 of it the reformation was really an attempt to undo the king we 28:13 brought into the church. That's what it was. Suddenly over in 28:16 England Henry VIII is watching what's going on and he thinks 28:19 I like this. The German princes are free from the Bishop of Rome 28:22 I would like to be free from the Bishop of Rome. That would be 28:26 great because he can't get an annulment. So he establishes 28:29 the Church of England and of course all across Britain 28:33 faithful Bible-believing Christians are saying whoo we're 28:36 going to be free. They weren't. Mmm-mm. It doesn't happen 28:39 because Henry's church is built for the wrong reasons and by the 28:43 1600s it's in trouble. By the 1600s the church is telling the 28:45 British, Look you can believe in your head whatever you want 28:48 Go ahead, believe the Sabbath. That was there in the 1600s. 28:51 Believe up here in emersion baptism, but when it comes time 28:55 to worship everybody does the same thing. You will be 28:57 following the Book of Common Prayer. By 1600 there's no real 29:00 freedom anymore and so to avoid going to jail some of the 29:03 dissenters, the British dissenters, actually start to 29:06 leave the country; people like the early Baptists and the 29:09 barrowists (?) and the fifth monarchists and the Puritans and 29:11 the Quakers and the Sabbath keepers, all these people who 29:14 eventually hand down their beliefs to God's last day 29:16 remnant church. These are our spiritual grandparents. That's 29:19 who they are. Where did they go? Some of them flee, I'm proud to 29:22 say as a Dutch kid, flee to the Dutch Republic, which was the 29:25 freest nation of its day. And when they get there they run 29:29 into another group that's fleeing persecution too. The 29:32 Jews are fleeing Spain to get away from the Inquisition and 29:35 they meet up in the Netherlands. And they begin to talk to each 29:38 and study together and Christians begin to read the Old 29:42 Testament in the original Hebrew for the first time in centuries. 29:45 And they'd have access to some very old Hebrew Commentaries and 29:49 they suddenly stumbled across our story for today, I Samuel 8 29:52 verse 11. This will be the behavior of the king who will 29:55 reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for 29:59 his own chariots. King's going to make you work for him, it 30:02 says. Verse 12, He'll appoint captains over his thousands. 30:05 They'll be military conscription Verse 14: He'll take the best 30:08 of your fields. There'll be confiscation and taxes to pay, 30:12 and the reformers are reading this, the dissenters are reading 30:15 this and they say Ahhh this might be the trouble we still 30:17 have, this might be the reason we still have trouble with 30:19 human kings 2900 years later and based on this story, they began 30:24 to dream of a place that wouldn't have a king. Began to 30:27 dream of a place you could live directly beneath God. It's the 30:30 hottest topic of debate in the 17th and 18th centuries. William 30:33 Blythe, Thomas Hobbs, John Milton, John Locke, John Bunyan 30:36 who's in prison for his beliefs. They're all discussing this. We 30:39 got rid of the Bishop of Rome, maybe we could get rid of the 30:41 king and they pray for a place and while they're praying over 30:44 this issue they suddenly discovered Deuteronomy chapter 30:47 17 where God anticipates the request for a king and he says 30:50 Okay, one day you'll ask for a king when you get to the 30:53 promised land but here are the conditions. Deuteronomy 7:15: 30:58 He must be one from among your brethren. He has to be a 31:01 commoner. You may not set a foreigner over you. He can't be 31:04 foreign born. Neither shall he multiply silver and gold for 31:07 himself. Verse 17. There were checks and balances to prevent 31:11 corruption. I'm hoping this is starting to ring some bells. 31:14 Also it shall be, (here's the big one) when he sits on the 31:17 throne of his kingdom he shall write for himself a copy of this 31:21 law and this book and be careful to observe all the words of this 31:26 law. The supreme written law. Let me ask you a question. We're 31:30 now in the 1700s. Have you ever heard of a republic where the 31:34 chief executive has to be a commoner, he's not allowed to be 31:37 foreign born, not allowed to get rich off the public purse and 31:40 be subject to the supreme written law of the land. Ever 31:44 heard of such a place emerging in the 1700s? It is not a 31:47 coincidence that the American constitution describes a 31:50 republic without a king and that it guarantees things like 31:53 religious liberty under a supreme written law. Where did 31:56 they get that idea. Every single one of those founding fathers 31:59 even though they were not all Christian had been reading the 32:02 works of the English political philosophers and the English 32:05 dissenters and they used those writings to literally build the 32:08 United States of America. But they did not... I mean they 32:12 weren't all, some were deists but they got the building blocks 32:15 from the reformation. That's why Ellen White in Testimonies 32:18 volume 5, calls the American constitution a protestant 32:22 document. Because there's an unbroken chain of thought 32:25 leading directly from the reformation to the birth of 32:28 America. That's why the Bible describes America the way that 32:31 it does. Revelation 12 says that the earth would open up to give 32:34 the persecuted masses a place to go. Revelation 13 says this 32:38 brand new nation would be Christ like, lamb like, and it doesn't 32:41 even have crowns on its horns like the first beast because 32:45 there wouldn't be a king. The founding fathers of this nation 32:49 knew exactly what they were building, I can prove it. 1787 32:53 constitutional convention, big debate on the floor over state 32:57 representation, I know saints it's hard to imagine a 32:59 convention where the delegates disagree but it happened. And it 33:04 nearly broke apart. This nation came this close to not being a 33:08 nation. When suddenly Ben Franklin stands up and suggests 33:13 everybody takes a break and go spend the day they disagree with 33:16 Then he quotes the Bible by memory for two minutes off the 33:20 top of his head, even though he's a deist. Fourteen 33:23 references, something like that in two minutes and then he makes 33:26 a radical suggestion. Before I sit down, he said, I suggest Mr. 33:29 President, (the chair of that meeting) that propriety of 33:33 nominating and appointing before we separate a chaplain to the 33:36 convention whose duty it shall be uniformly to introduce the 33:38 business of each day by an address to the Creator of the 33:41 Universe and the governor of all nations. You tell me. Who did 33:46 these people believe was the real king of all nations. If 33:49 America wasn't going to have a human king it's because those 33:52 founding fathers knew there was already one in this universe. 33:56 And he wanted people to account directly to him. Newport, Rhode 34:00 Island, 1790, a Jewish synagogue is panicking because they know 34:03 that America has been born as a Christian nation. Not the way 34:07 Christians in this century think of it but in the original sense. 34:10 And they panic. What's going to happen to us. In the old world 34:13 we were persecuted because we were in a Christian nation and 34:16 George Washington hears about it and he writes them a reassuring 34:18 letter. Listen, he says, you can rest in peace. You're going to 34:21 be fine. You're going to be free in this nation and then he says 34:24 this, this is his letter: May the children of the stalk of 34:27 Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the 34:31 good will of the other inhabitants. While everyone 34:34 shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there 34:37 shall be none to make them afraid. That's a direct quote 34:40 from Micah chapter 4 where God describes his ideal kingdom. 34:43 That's what it is. Listen to me carefully: The founding fathers 34:47 were building a Christian nation in the original Biblical sense. 34:50 What they were trying to do is rewind the clock to one day 34:54 before Saul, before the biggest mistake we've ever made. What's 34:57 really interesting is the way that Saul kind of foreshadows 35:01 the whole fate of America. I mean in the beginning he's 35:04 Christ like, he's lamb like. Look at the story. The Bible 35:07 says Samuel anoints him in private. He doesn't get the 35:10 crown till he proves himself on the battlefield. Jesus is 35:13 anointed the day he goes to heaven, Acts chapter 2 verse 33. 35:15 But he doesn't really get his inheritance until after the 35:19 judgment is complete. There's a parallel. The Bible says Saul 35:22 was filled with the Holy Spirit and became another man, 1 Samuel 35:25 chapter 10. And of course Jesus was anointed by the Spirit at 35:28 the beginning of his ministry and he also became someone else, 35:31 he because one of us. There's no question in the beginning 35:35 Saul is lamb like but you know he's not a type of Christ, 35:39 because as he continues down the story you discover he's really 35:41 a type of the United States of America. He even is ultimately 35:46 replaced by a messianic king who sits on David's throne. Two 35:49 years into his reign Saul wants to go to the battlefield against 35:53 the Philistines and he wants to have a sacrifice but Samuel is 35:56 delayed, seven days, the perfect delay it's the language of the 36:00 second coming and he decides I'll bring fire on the altar 36:04 myself if Samuel doesn't come, which is exactly what the second 36:10 beast does. He brings fire down from heaven on the earth in the 36:15 sight of men. This nation here was born exactly on time for the 36:19 appearance of the remnant church lamb like in the beginning. But 36:23 over the course of the 20th 36:24 over the course of the 20th century as we rejected the light 36:25 of the third angel's message the whole character of America 36:28 began to change all through the 20th century and now we see the 36:32 heartbeat for midnight. And the constitution is under attack. 36:36 Why should that matter to Adventists. Testimonies volume 5 36:39 Ellen White says when our country shall repudiate every 36:43 principle of its constitution as a protestant and republican 36:45 government, then we may know that the time has come for the 36:49 marvelous working of Satan and the end is near. You been paying 36:53 attention for the last 15 years? You know the government listens 36:57 to your phone calls because I know when I say things to see 37:01 if I can hear a click on the line. They force people to 37:04 participate in religious ceremonies, take your business 37:08 if you won't. Forcing people to buy things they don't want to 37:11 buy. Silencing people who say the wrong things on a college 37:14 campus or on U-tube. That's just the last 15 years and that's 37:19 just the warmup. We have already seen Caesar stand in the 37:24 American Congress invited over to speak because we've run out 37:27 of human answers. The Bishop of Rome at the podium of God's last 37:35 day republic. Let me say this. Everybody had an opinion last 37:41 year in 2016, rough year at the ballot box. But it didn't matter 37:46 who won that election. Doesn't matter because no human being 37:51 is the answer you're looking for At the end of his life Saul has 37:55 to kill himself because if you want to run the show you have 37:58 to provide your own problems. The Philistines find his body, 38:01 cut his head off. He's no longer head and shoulders taller than 38:03 everybody else because in the end he is not your king and 38:07 nobody likes Saul as your king. But you move forward 1200 years 38:10 in history, you will find your king writhing in agony on the 38:14 cross we made for him. We spit in his face and we mocked his 38:17 dignity and yet he pleads for you, Father forgive them, they 38:23 don't know what they're doing. That's your king. When I was a 38:28 younger man, 18, I used to hang out at the legislative assembly 38:33 in British Columbia because it was so much more fun than going 38:37 to school. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon they had a question 38:40 and answer period. Question time they called it, question period. 38:43 where the loyal opposition, Her Majesty's loyal opposition got 38:46 to ask questions of the government and embarrass them. 38:48 And you weren't allowed to insult each other but they made 38:50 an art form out of it. Mr. Speaker, would it be okay if I 38:54 called my loyal opponent an idiot No that's not okay. But he 38:58 got it done anyway. I came down one day out of the visitors' 39:01 gallery and I walked out into the rotunda and there in a 39:05 storm of hostile reporters is the Premier of British Columbia, 39:09 Bill Vander Zalm at that time. Some of you know who Bill Vander 39:13 Zalm was. Now if you're an American, he's kind of like the 39:17 governor but not really because we have a fused executive and 39:20 legislative function, different matter. He looks up and sees me. 39:25 I've got ripped jeans and a tattered tee shirt and he says 39:27 hey it's good to see you. I know he doesn't know me but he's 39:30 trying to use me to get away from those reporters. And he 39:32 comes over and puts his arm around me, let's go for a walk. 39:35 We walked down the hallway, the premier of British Columbia, 39:38 walking down the hallway, out the door, out into a breeze way, 39:41 into his executive offices and as we step into his offices 39:44 there are people sitting there that I have only ever seen on 39:47 the news and they rise to their feet. Mr. Premier, so good to 39:50 see you. Gentlemen, sit down, I'll be with you in a minute. 39:53 He walks me into his office, closes the door, has me take a 39:56 seat. He says, just hang out with me for a minute. I don't 40:01 want to talk to those guys. Ahhhh. He asked me what do you 40:05 do? I go to school up at the University of Victoria. What do 40:08 you take? Political science. Oh that's a good degree. Only a 40:13 politician ever says that's a good degree. So he talked a 40:17 little bit. He asked me about my dreams, hopes and fears and then 40:20 10 minutes later escorts me out the door, sends me on my way. 40:25 And I slaved for that guy until he left office for free. Why! 40:30 Because he took the absolute nobody and walked me into the 40:36 halls of power and sat me down like I mattered. I slaved for 40:45 him. So here we are. I'm not 18 anymore, neither are you. 40:53 If you're not sure, look around. But at this moment in the last 41:01 gasp of this world's history God has let us try everything on. 41:08 You want kings? Okay. The kings of Israel became so wicked that 41:14 they caused the abomination of desolation, the temple desolated 41:19 They were offering babies to Molech. We've never had self 41:25 government again, we've never been back. After that Babylon, 41:31 Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, little horn power and then 41:38 something that almost, almost got it right. Second beast. But 41:46 it fails too. And in this moment the rightful king of this 41:51 universe has just slipped his arm around your shoulder and 41:56 said let's go for a walk. Here's what he says, Revelation 3 verse 42:02 20. Listen carefully to this. If anyone hears my voice and opens 42:06 the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with 42:10 me and him who overcomes (here it comes, listen) to him who 42:16 overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne. All this 42:20 time you're trying to seize it, just for a minute here, just for 42:23 a minute there. All this time you've been trying to plan your 42:27 own life and run your own world and all this time the Son of God 42:32 has been planning to share his throne with you anyway. Are we 42:36 going to trust him? The only thing that stands in the way 42:40 between now, this moment right here and that moment then is you 42:46 So when are you going to let go? What are you still clinging to? 42:52 I'll be honest this morning. I'm concerned about a lot of things 42:58 we let distract us as a church. We were only asked to do one 43:07 thing, one thing. God says get down off that throne. Never 43:14 belonged to you in the first place. I asked you to go get my 43:20 children and bring them home. I've searched my Bible for years 43:24 now. It's the only job he gave us. Testimonies volume 5 after 43:35 she describes the undoing of the American constitution how it's 43:40 a warning. She writes this: It is no time now to allow our 43:45 minds to be engrossed with things of minor importance. 43:51 While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging matters so 43:56 that the Lord's people may not have mercy or justice. 43:59 The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. 44:03 That was a long time ago and we went through a whole cycle. 44:07 And if I'm looking at the prophetic landscape and I'm 44:12 watching the news correctly the cycle is repeating and we're 44:16 there again. I know it's fun to get caught up in all kinds of 44:22 things but we do not have time to get distracted. And it is 44:29 time to get off the throne and believe the promises of God and 44:35 get back to the one and only thing He ever asked us to do. 44:46 And His promise to you is, I will share my throne with you. 44:54 It's His. Let Him have it. Maybe you've tried to run your life 45:01 your own way. I have. I'll admit I pull an Abraham once in a 45:07 while. Who and how to make this happen. God's promises are good. 45:12 If I read my Bible correctly He says that the crowd that makes 45:17 it is so big no man can number it. Our work does not peter out, 45:22 it does not fizzle out, it does not whimper or go into the 45:24 darkness. It ends Revelation 18 with the whole world lighting up 45:30 with the glory of Jesus Christ with a mighty shout and until we 45:36 let go and believe God's promise that's not going to happen. 45:42 Father, it's Your throne and we believe we don't belong on 45:48 it and You do. And we will trust Your promises and get the work 45:53 done so that we can stand in glory with the one who gave His 45:58 life to buy us eternity. In Jesus' name, Amen. 46:05 ¤ ¤ 46:25 ¤All to Jesus I surrender, All to him I freely give. ¤ 46:41 ¤I will ever love and trust him In his presence daily live. ¤ 47:01 ¤I surrender all, I surrender all. ¤ 47:19 ¤All to thee my blessed savior I surrender all. ¤ 47:38 ¤All to Jesus I surrender Make me Savior wholly thine. ¤ 47:56 ¤Fill me with thy love and power Know that thou art truly mine. ¤ 48:14 ¤I surrender all, I surrender all. ¤ 48:36 ¤All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all. ¤ 48:52 ¤All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame. ¤ 49:12 ¤Oh the joy of full salvation Glory, glory to his name. ¤ 49:32 ¤I surrender all, I surrender all. ¤ 49:49 ¤All to thee my blessed Savior I surrender all. ¤ 50:31 Let's bow our heads for prayer. Our Father in heaven, we pray 50:39 in a special sense for your Holy Spirit to fill our hearts 50:46 and to prepare our lives for the very soon coming of Jesus and 50:52 for the events that are soon to take place upon the earth that 50:58 we will be prepared, but that we will not only be prepared 51:03 but that we will have a great company of others that will be 51:10 prepared. Oh our Father, we believe that Jesus is coming 51:16 soon. The world is in darkness. The world needs only that which 51:24 you can give and we pray that you will help us. You told us 51:30 that a revival of primitive godliness is our greatest and 51:37 most urgent of all needs. Lord help us I pray. |
Revised 2018-03-13