Participants: Mark Finley
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR001028
|
01:00 Well, welcome.
01:01 We're so happy that you could join us 01:03 on this beautiful Sabbath morning 01:07 here in west Frankfort, Illinois 01:09 Absolutely, I told you when you moved here, 01:10 he said how's the weather, 01:12 I said it's 70 degrees year around. 01:15 He figured out later, 01:17 he said you're telling the truth, 01:19 it's 100 degrees all summer and 30 all winter 01:23 so that average is 70 degrees so, 01:25 but today it is may be 70 or 80, 01:27 it's beautiful, beautiful sunshiny day. 01:30 Most of all it's our hope in prayer 01:32 that you have sun shine in your hearts today, 01:34 the son of God, Jesus Christ, in your heart today. 01:37 We have an incredible speaker line up 01:40 and behind stage we're actually talking to Mark and Teenie 01:44 and Teenie made a very wonderful statement, 01:47 she said it's not the messengers to message 01:50 and we, Mark and I have always espoused that 01:52 and we tell that everywhere we go 01:54 because people want to say "wow what a great speaker" 01:56 but we can't do anything ourselves 01:59 but through the anointing of the Holy Spirit 02:01 Mark has a ministry and a gift for communications 02:04 like very few people on planet earth. 02:07 He's reached millions and millions 02:09 and millions of people, he and his wife together, 02:12 and only eternity will tell the souls that will come up 02:15 and that's why I think we need eternity, 02:17 people like this will be coming out to folks like Mark 02:19 and say because of your ministry I found Jesus Christ. 02:22 You know, God has given Mark a tremendous gift, 02:26 but he worked awfully hard on this gift as well, 02:30 Teenie, you remember those early sermons and-- 02:34 Don't get her to commit for that on T.V. 02:36 She's nodding her head, but you know something 02:39 when you are dedicated to God, and you give him what you have, 02:44 God multiplies your abilities and your talents 02:49 and I want to tell you something. 02:50 I met Mark and Teenie when day before they got married. 02:54 In fact I've told this before, 02:55 Mark actually got married in my sport coat, 02:59 white sport coat that he wore to get married in. 03:03 I know you're looking at me like you don't believe that, but. 03:06 I didn't say anything. 03:07 It's a truth and I gave it to him not long ago, 03:10 I still had it in a closet. 03:12 I just meant he's taller than you. 03:13 Yeah, right, right. 03:15 I know what you meant, but you know something? 03:20 When we worked in a-- first meeting Mark worked with me 03:23 when was in Sterling, Massachusetts, 03:27 and then the next one was down in Harford. 03:30 And he and Teenie were together in Harford 03:32 they were married by that time, 03:34 and they were the hardest working couple I have ever seen. 03:38 And people asked that, 03:39 you think Mark Finley back in those, 03:41 how you think he is gonna do? 03:43 I said, God will bless them abundantly 03:47 because I have never seen anybody 03:49 that put more of their hard earned energy 03:54 into what they were doing 03:56 than Mark and Teenie and they still do. 03:58 And God has moved him in a incredible position 04:02 within the Adventist Church working so closely 04:04 with Elder Ted Wilson 04:07 and I believe that God has appointed Mark and Ted 04:12 to work together 04:13 for these closing moments of earth's history. 04:15 These are people who love the message, they love people, 04:18 they're committed to getting this undiluted 04:20 Three Angels' Messages into all the world, 04:23 and the leadership that we have, 04:24 we need to pray for the folks there 04:26 at the General Conference North American Division. 04:28 All of our leadership around the world, 04:30 because we know the devil is angry 04:32 and he'd like to destroy but the devil is a defeated foe 04:35 and that's what I like about it. 04:37 Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. 04:39 So we want to encourage you today 04:41 no matter what you're going through, 04:42 you know that Satan you can put him on a run 04:45 by calling out to the name of Jesus, 04:47 says that the name of Jesus 04:48 every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess 04:51 that Jesus Christ is the Lord. 04:53 We are thankful for the ministry of evangelist, 04:55 author, speaker, Pastor Mark Finley, 04:58 his wife who is here Teenie also, 05:00 and today I just look forward to great blessing. 05:03 Oh, I really do, too. 05:04 And this, this week they're gonna be with us 05:07 and do some cooking programs, 05:09 and so we're looking forward to that. 05:12 I know they were shopping yesterday 05:14 and getting all the foods together that they'll have 05:17 and our employees will be lined up at the door 05:20 as soon as they are through to taste all that good food 05:25 that they'll be preparing. 05:27 Well, listen before Pastor Mark comes 05:29 and he is going to pray just before his message 05:33 so we will wait for that, but just before he comes 05:37 Pastor C.A Murray, he is gonna sing for us, 05:41 Is It Any Wonder. 06:02 When I think how Jesus loves me 06:08 How he waited patiently 06:12 Even when I turned my back 06:15 and walked away 06:19 When he knew I wanted everything 06:24 This world could offer me 06:28 Well, I guess he knew the price I'd have to pay 06:34 So he watched me stumble downward 06:38 Saw each compromise I made 06:42 Heard each lie I whispered just to get my way 06:49 Still He waited there to hear me 06:54 When I cry to him and prayed 06:58 Then he saved my soul and that is why I say 07:05 Tell me is it any wonder 07:11 That I love Him 07:16 When you consider 07:18 All He's done for me 07:23 And is it any wonder 07:28 That I long to do HIS will 07:32 And let His light shine out for all to see 07:38 And is it any wonder 07:44 That I praise Him 07:48 Each time I think of how He's made me free 07:55 And is it any wonder 08:00 That I have given Him my heart 08:03 When Jesus freely 08:05 Gave His life for me 08:22 When I think how Jesus loves me 08:28 How he watches patiently 08:32 How His arms are stretched to meet me when I run 08:39 When I'm feeling down and lonely 08:43 How He's there to comfort me 08:47 In the darkness He becomes my morning sun 08:53 When I think of how He's healed me 08:58 How He's touched me in my pain 09:01 How His gentle hands have wiped my tears away 09:08 How He's taken every heartache 09:13 And brought happiness again 09:16 Oh, I want the world to hear me when I say 09:23 Tell me is it any wonder 09:30 That I love Him 09:34 When you consider 09:36 All He's done for me 09:41 And is it any wonder 09:46 That I long to do His will 09:49 And let His light shine out for all to see 09:55 And is it any wonder 10:01 That I praise Him 10:05 Each time I think of how He's made me free 10:13 And is it any wonder 10:17 That I've given Him my heart 10:20 When Jesus freely 10:25 Gave His life for me 10:46 Amen. Amen. 10:49 Good morning, and welcome to the second 10:52 in this three part series, 10:54 when time fades into eternity. 10:57 Last evening we spoke about the topic, 11:00 why the doomsday prophets are wrong. 11:03 And the reason they're wrong 11:04 is because they're looking in the wrong place. 11:06 They're looking what's going on around us 11:08 rather than what's going to happen 11:10 when Jesus Christ breaks through the sky, 11:12 they're looking at what's taking place on earth 11:14 rather than understanding what's going to take place 11:16 when Jesus comes and Jesus returns. 11:19 In our second message we're talking about, 11:20 when all of our questions are answered 11:23 and then our third message, how to survive Armageddon. 11:27 So let's pray as we open God's word this morning. 11:31 Father in heaven, thank you so much 11:34 for the glorious opportunity 11:37 of clinging to the hope of the return of Jesus. 11:41 Thank you for the fact 11:43 that You have not abandoned this world, 11:46 that You have not left this world alone, 11:48 that beyond the play and counter play 11:51 of this world's activities God sits enthroned, 11:55 and that this world is in Your hands 11:58 and one day soon, very, very soon 12:01 You will come and we can see you face to face. 12:06 We thank you for the reality of that promise in Christ name. 12:10 Amen. 12:12 I fly a great deal 12:14 and recently I was leaving New York City 12:18 to come back to the General Conference 12:20 of Seventh-day Adventists 12:21 and as I looked at my ticket that the ticket agent gave me, 12:26 I noticed that I have been upgraded to first class. 12:30 Now some people asked me why do you fly coach, 12:34 why do you fly second class and I tell them 12:36 there's no third or fourth class, 12:38 that's why I fly that particular class. 12:41 So we don't pay for first class tickets 12:44 but when I get upgraded, 12:45 you know, the Apostle Paul says, 12:47 I know how to be a beast and I know how to abound. 12:50 So I was abounding in my first class seat 12:53 when the lady brought me the little cup of nuts 12:56 and my orange juice and I have my Bible next to me, 13:00 which I take on the plane 13:01 and I was going to begin to read, 13:03 and I noticed that a young man was sitting next to me 13:06 and he looked over and he said, is that a Bible? 13:11 As if he had never seen a Bible before. 13:15 And so I wondered about this young man 13:17 and I said, yes that is a Bible, why do you ask? 13:21 Do you read the Bible often? 13:23 He said, "No, I don't." 13:24 I said, are you a religious individual? 13:27 Did you, do you come from a religious background? 13:30 He said, well, I'm a Jew but I'm an atheist. 13:34 And he said, you know, I go to a university here 13:36 in New York City, it only has a few students, 13:39 a 150 or 200 students not too many. 13:42 And in fact this particular university has no tuition. 13:49 Our endowments are so great 13:52 and the university is so wealthy, 13:54 that if you qualify to get in, they pay your tuition. 13:59 And we began to talk together about life, 14:03 about the purpose of life. 14:05 He wondered why anybody who looked like 14:08 they had a semblance of a brain who would be reading 14:11 such an antiquated book called the Bible. 14:14 So we talked about 14:15 the four great questions of life, 14:18 is that philosophers and thinkers 14:21 and educators and theologians down through the centuries 14:25 have tried to answer, but they found unanswerable. 14:29 And we talked about how the Bible presents the answer 14:32 to those four great questions of life, and there are four. 14:37 Down through the centuries 14:39 philosophers have asked these questions, 14:41 down through the centuries 14:43 theologians have raised those questions and educators, 14:47 and down through the centuries 14:48 the common men and women have asked those questions. 14:51 Question number one, what is the purpose of life? 14:56 Is the purpose of life simply to get up every morning, 15:01 jam down a sweet donut and drink a cup of black coffee 15:07 if you don't know the Adventist health message of course. 15:11 We have a cooking school this week with my wife 15:13 and so we are happy to share that, don't miss it on 3ABN. 15:16 But the average American and most people around the world 15:19 get up and jammed out a piece of white toast 15:22 and some kind of donut and drink a cup of coffee 15:23 and go out to work 15:25 and they come home and watch T.V 15:27 or do something else. 15:28 Is that the purpose of life? 15:30 To get up every morning and to go to work 15:32 and to come home and get up the next morning 15:34 and go to work and come home and get up the next-- 15:36 What is the purpose of life? Why do I live? 15:40 It's a philosophical question of life. 15:42 Second great question of life is, 15:44 why do we have so much pain and suffering in the world? 15:47 You look out over the world 15:48 whether you are a believer or unbeliever, 15:50 whether you are committed to God or an atheist, 15:52 you look out over the world, you see pain, 15:54 you see suffering, you see heartache. 15:56 Why do we have that? 15:57 Where does this pain and suffering come from? 15:59 So I talked about this with this young Jewish atheist. 16:02 Third question, why is there so much injustice in the world? 16:05 If there is a God, why is this world so unfair? 16:10 Where does this unfairness come from? 16:12 Where does this injustice come from? 16:14 Why do so many innocent people suffer? 16:16 There had been books written about it by atheists 16:19 and books written about it by theologians, 16:20 trying to figure that whole question out. 16:22 And the fourth question is, 16:25 how can we resolve the riddle of death? 16:28 Science and technology may have increased 16:31 aging by reducing infant mortality 16:34 and by reducing certain diseases, 16:36 but how do you solve the problem of death 16:40 when everybody is gonna die, 16:41 so those are the four great questions of life. 16:44 The question of purpose, the question of pain, 16:46 the question of injustice, and the question of death. 16:49 The Bible answers every single one of those questions. 16:53 In the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, 16:55 I'm gonna invite you to turn to the Book of Revelation, 16:58 because God provides an answer to the great questions of life, 17:01 the questions that human beings have struggled 17:04 with down through the centuries. 17:06 Revelation, the 21 Chapter beginning with verse 1. 17:10 Our topic is when all of our questions are answered, 17:15 Revelation Chapter 21:1 17:18 "And I saw a new heavens and a new earth" 17:22 John says this is reality, this is not myth, 17:26 this is not fiction, this is not a pipe dream, 17:30 this is not an idle tale, 17:32 John says, "And I saw "he saw it, " 17:36 a new heaven and a new earth 17:38 for the first heaven and the first earth 17:40 had passed away also there was no more sea." 17:43 John on the island of Patmos, that old man, 17:46 hands trembling, hair grayed, deeply edged lines in his face 17:53 and he writes looking out over the great Aegean Sea 17:57 separated from family and friends, 17:59 John says there was no more sea, 18:02 no more separation, no more aching hearts of loneliness 18:07 for those that you love, that you want to embrace. 18:09 John says, "there was no more sea" 18:12 then "I" John "saw the holy city, 18:15 new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 18:19 prepared as a bride adorned for their husband. 18:22 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 18:25 behold the tabernacle of God is with men, 18:27 and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, 18:30 and God himself shall be with them and be their God." 18:33 Now notice carefully the text. 18:36 John says, I looked up into heaven 18:38 and I saw the holy city descending from heaven 18:43 and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 18:47 behold the tabernacle of God is with men. 18:51 Here is a divine announcement 18:54 that the cosmic control center of the universe is moving. 19:00 Today from the tabernacle of God, from the holy city, 19:06 they're millions and trillions of miles in the cosmos. 19:10 God controls the universe. 19:13 We're told by scientists 19:15 that the sun is the center of our solar system 19:19 and planets revolve around that sun, 19:22 but ours is one of only many solar systems. 19:26 You remember the vision of Ezekiel 19:28 of the wheel within the wheel, 19:30 and so our solar system is moving, 19:33 millions of other systems in the universe are moving 19:37 and they're moving around one cosmic control center 19:40 in the throne of God, 19:42 and there from that cosmic control center 19:45 God guides the stars and God guides the planets, 19:50 and God keeps them in orderly fashion, 19:53 God says to the tides of the sea, 19:56 come here and go no further. 19:59 God says to the flowers bloom and they bloom, 20:02 God orders the seasons 20:04 where there is in many countries of the world 20:08 you have spring and winter 20:10 and then on to rather fall and winter 20:14 and then on to spring and summer, 20:15 so God guides the sun, the moon, and the stars 20:18 and all this is done 20:19 from the cosmic control center of the universe. 20:22 10,000 times, 10,000 angels obey his commands. 20:26 But here John says, 20:28 I John saw the holy city descending from heaven, 20:31 I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, 20:34 so here is a voice that announces to the whole universe, 20:37 God is gonna change address, God is gonna move, 20:43 Christ has come, the saints of God 20:46 the believers have been resurrected. 20:48 There's been a 1000 year millennial period 20:51 that Revelation 20 talks about. 20:53 Now in Revelation Chapter 21, this divine announcement, 20:58 God is gonna take this rebel planet, 21:01 this planet rebellion, 21:02 God is gonna take this sin polluted planet, 21:05 God is gonna take this pockmark 21:07 environmentally destroyed planet. 21:10 God is gonna take this sin sick, sickened, diseased planet. 21:14 God is gonna create a new heavens and a new earth. 21:17 The center of the universe is going to move. 21:21 The holy city is going to descend. 21:23 A planet in rebellion will become 21:25 the center of this new cosmos, 21:28 and from here God will command all the universe, 21:31 and we as sons and daughters of God 21:34 as royalty, as prince and princesses of the kingdom 21:38 will reign with Jesus forever, 21:40 and will travel from planet to planet, 21:42 and from star to star, to tell the story of His grace. 21:47 It is too marvelous. 21:48 Somebody said that's too good to be true. 21:50 The truth of the matter is, it is too good not to be true. 21:54 It is too good not to be true. 21:56 Do not sell out your heritage cheap. 21:58 Do not sell out your destiny, 22:00 like Esau for a few messes of pottage, 22:05 people are selling their destiny 22:07 for a shot of heroin in their veins. 22:10 They're selling out their destiny 22:12 for the material things of this world, 22:14 for its money, for its houses, 22:16 they're selling out their destiny for a lust. 22:18 God has a marvelous destiny for you my friend. 22:23 The Bible says "Then I John saw the holy city 22:27 New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, 22:29 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 22:31 Verse 3, Revelation 21, "I heard a loud voice 22:34 from heaven saying, behold the tabernacle of God." 22:36 Now notice when you read the word 'tabernacle'. 22:40 Do we read of any other tabernacle than the Bible? 22:43 Whereabouts do you read that? 22:45 Exodus 25:8 God says to Moses "Let them make me a" what? 22:51 "sanctuary" or tabernacle that I may dwell among them, 22:55 in the center of the tabernacle was the place of Shekinah Glory. 23:00 The tabernacle had three apartments, 23:02 the court where sacrifices were offered, 23:04 the holy place where the priest went each day 23:09 to minister the blood of those sacrifices, 23:11 but once you hear the high priest 23:12 put into the most holy place of that earthly sanctuary. 23:15 That most holy place to manifest the Shekinah Glory of God. 23:19 The key of the tabernacle in the Old Testament 23:21 was that it revealed God's glory, 23:24 it manifest God's presence. 23:27 So here, the tabernacle of God descends from heaven 23:32 and God is present with His people. 23:36 For millenniums God has been separated 23:39 from His people because of sin. 23:41 But notice it says the tabernacle, 23:44 the dwelling place of God, is with men. 23:47 He will dwell with them, they shall be His people 23:52 and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. 23:55 When God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 23:59 it was God's desire that they never be separated. 24:03 Go back to Genesis 1. 24:10 Notice the intimacy of this passage, 24:14 notice the closeness of God and His people, 24:18 in Genesis 1, you're looking there 24:22 at verse 21 and 22. 24:26 When God created Eden, He created it as a sanctuary, 24:30 He created it as tabernacle, He created it as a place 24:34 where He would dwell with His people forever. 24:38 Genesis 1:21 and 22 24:42 "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, 24:45 and he slept, and He God took one of his ribs 24:49 and closed the flesh in its place, 24:51 the rib which the Lord God had taken from man 24:54 he made unto a women, and he brought her to man." 24:57 Can you imagine this scene? 24:59 God holding Eve's hand and in the intimacy of that moment, 25:04 introducing Eve to Adam in the Garden of Eden, 25:10 God had fellowship with Adam and Eve, 25:13 in the Garden of Eden God walked, 25:15 and talked with Adam and Eve. 25:17 It was God's desire that Adam and Eve 25:20 never be separated as the result of sin, 25:25 but sin brings separation, 25:27 so down through the centuries 25:29 there's been a loneliness in our hearts. 25:31 Down through the centuries 25:33 there's been a God shaped vacuum 25:35 that nothing but fellowship with God can provide. 25:39 Down through the centuries there's been this angst, 25:42 this feeling of wondering, 25:45 there is feeling that something is not right, 25:48 this feeling of dissonance. 25:50 You can live in a beautiful home, 25:52 you can have a wonderful marriage, 25:55 you can have everything 25:57 the comforts of this life provides. 25:59 But there is something in our life that's missing. 26:03 There's one thing I know for certain, 26:06 when I look out at the news and I see a chemical attack on Syria 26:12 and I see children being gassed, 26:14 I know there is something wrong with this world. 26:18 When I walk the streets of India and I have orphans come up 26:21 and wrap their arms around my legs, and cry, 26:26 sir, would you give me just a dollar 26:28 so I can buy some food? 26:30 And I look at the dirty faces of those Indian orphans 26:34 and I look at their big brown eyes, 26:36 I know that something is wrong with this world, 26:39 something is just not right. 26:42 When I sense and go to counsel in the inner city of Chicago, 26:46 a woman whose husband is gotten drunk and come home 26:50 and broken her nose and battered her face, 26:52 I know that there is something just not right with this world. 26:57 When I visit in the hospital, a man dying of cancer, 27:01 I say there is something not right with this world. 27:04 Deep within our hearts we know it, 27:06 deep in the fabric of our beings we know it, 27:09 something is wrong. 27:11 One day the tabernacle of God would descend from heaven. 27:14 One day a loud voice for making announcement 27:18 to the whole universe, 27:19 behold the tabernacle of God is with man, 27:22 the dwelling place of God is here again, 27:25 the fellowship lost by sin will be restored, 27:28 if they're sworn out at this meeting, 27:29 somebody will say, amen. Amen. 27:31 The fellowship that we've lost 27:34 as a result of sin will be restored. 27:36 We will walk the grassy hills of Eden again. 27:40 We will drink the pure crystalline brooks of Eden. 27:43 We will pluck the fruit trees of Eden. 27:45 What is the purpose of life? 27:47 The purpose of life is to have fellowship with God. 27:50 The purpose of life is to know God. 27:53 The purpose of life is to reveal 27:55 His love and grace to the universe. 27:57 There is something more than getting up in the morning 28:00 and eating a quick breakfast and running off to work 28:03 and coming home at night half tired 28:05 and doing that again and again and again and again. 28:08 We have hope, the Eden life will be restored. 28:11 We have hope we can see Jesus again. 28:14 We can fellowship with Him again. 28:17 We were made for our maker. 28:19 Can you say that with me today here in the 3ABN audience. 28:22 We were made for our maker, again. 28:25 We were made for our maker. Second phrase. 28:29 We are friends for fellowship. 28:32 We are what? Friends for fellowships. 28:34 Who you made for? Why were you made? 28:38 For fellowship, we were made for our maker 28:40 and we are friends for fellowship. 28:43 What is the purpose of life? 28:45 Philosophers have wrestled with that question 28:48 but one day bathed in His love, satisfied in His presence, 28:53 resting in His care, at peace in Him, 28:56 we shall be fulfilled forever. 28:59 Nothing in this life can fully satisfy. 29:02 Nothing in this life can fully satisfy. 29:05 There is always going to be in this life 29:07 the sense of dissonance, 29:09 the sense that I don't fully belong, 29:12 the sense that this world is not my home. 29:17 Remember reading a story about a preacher 29:18 he is passing through New Orleans 29:20 and he stopped to do little preaching 29:22 on the street corner. 29:23 And as he was preaching a guy walked up 29:25 ripped out a page in his Bible began to mock him 29:27 and poured beer over his head. 29:29 The guy kept preaching. 29:31 Then he began walking away and the man says, 29:33 said to him the drunk man called out to him he said, 29:35 hey preacher where're you going? 29:37 And the preacher said, well, I'm heading for heaven, 29:40 don't know about you. 29:41 I'm just passing through New Orleans. 29:44 That's true. I'm heading for heaven. 29:48 There is a God shaped vacuum in all of our hearts, 29:53 the purpose of life is to know God 29:54 and to prepare for eternity. 29:56 The great philosophers wrestled about the purpose of life 29:59 but in scripture it's clear. 30:00 Now there's a second great question. 30:02 If God is a God of love, 30:03 why is there so much pain and suffering in our world? 30:05 Why is there so much death? 30:08 The Bible does not answer the question 30:12 of why pain comes to one and why suffering comes to one 30:15 and it does not come to another. 30:17 The Bible describes that there's a great controversy 30:19 between good and evil and that Satan is behind all evil, 30:23 but the Bible does not describe 30:24 why a praying committed Christian is in a car, 30:27 a drunk driver hits that car, 30:29 kills the praying committed Christian 30:31 and a drunk driver walks away. 30:33 The Bible does not describe why bombs fall 30:36 in both Christians and non-Christians are killed. 30:39 The Bible does not say why, 30:41 but here's what the Bible does say. 30:43 It says that all pain and suffering 30:46 is the result of evil in the universe, 30:48 a planet rebellion against God. 30:50 The Bible also says that nothing can happen to us 30:53 without divine permission and that even in trauma in life 30:57 God can bring some good out of the evil, 31:00 the wickedness and the sadness of life. 31:02 It does not say that, that thing is good, 31:04 but it says God is bigger than that thing 31:06 and He is still in control. 31:07 It also says that no matter how much heartache 31:10 we go through in life, when we go through it, 31:13 God is there to sustain and to strengthen. 31:16 But in Revelation the main point is something bigger 31:19 than all those points. 31:20 Revelation Chapter 21 as we continue our study, 31:23 we go to verse 2, here's what the scripture says about pain, 31:26 here's what the scripture says about suffering. 31:28 It says "Tears and sorrow and death 31:31 and crying are real" but it says 31:33 "one day they will pass away." 31:39 "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 31:43 there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying, 31:46 there shall be no more pain 31:48 for the former things have passed away." 31:50 Here is the Bible's ultimate answer, 31:52 science doesn't have the answer for pain, 31:54 science doesn't have the answer for suffering, 31:57 with all the advanced scientific technology in the world 32:00 there is still pain, 32:01 there is still suffering, there is still disease. 32:04 We thank God for all science 32:06 trying to cure disease and help humanity. 32:10 But we know that the ultimate solution 32:13 to pain, to suffering, to disease 32:16 is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this world. 32:21 Amen! 32:22 You see, what if, what if we had no hope 32:28 of the second coming of the Christ? 32:30 What if this life was all there was? 32:35 I was preaching in Hungary during the time 32:39 that a hundred thousand people 32:40 marched in the street that night. 32:43 Berlin Wall had fallen 32:46 and democracy freedom was coming to Eastern Europe 32:51 and right after the fall of communism in Hungary, 32:54 the universities opened up. 32:56 So I spoke a hundred times in 30 days, 33:01 many times in universities, many times in universities 33:05 that were communist universities, 33:07 because once the universities opened up, 33:09 I was invited to come to speak. 33:11 And I was speaking at one particular university 33:13 it's in a place called Székesfehérvár 33:15 which was the center of Hungarian communism 33:18 was a very, very challenging time. 33:21 And in those times, very often I'd speak for an hour, 33:24 speak for an hour and half about God, about faith, 33:28 about the integrity of the Bible, 33:30 about the truthfulness of Gods word 33:33 and then the students would ask me questions. 33:36 In this particular time I was being 33:38 grilled by these students. 33:41 They were trying to rip apart the Bible, 33:44 and as I was being grilled with them 33:46 I decided to go on the offensive and so I said to the students, 33:51 let me ask you a question. 33:54 Let's suppose your best friend is in a car accident, 34:00 his wife is killed and his two children are killed 34:05 and he's lying in a hospital bed. 34:08 I want you to tell me as an atheist, 34:11 what you're gonna say to him as you go visit at his bedside. 34:17 Are you gonna say, well, oh, that's too bad 34:19 I'm sorry that happened, you'll never see them again. 34:22 Now they're gonna be put in the grave, 34:24 and their bodies are gonna decay, 34:27 and worms are gonna eat their body, 34:30 and you may die too 34:32 and you know, you should be happy 34:35 your child lived for two and half years 34:37 the one that was killed, 34:38 and you know, you had a marriage there 34:40 and but that's really hopeful isn't it? 34:42 I mean that's really encouraging right? 34:45 What kind of encouragement can you give to people 34:48 that are suffering if you're an atheist? 34:51 Can you say God is by your side, He's gonna strengthen you? 34:55 Can you say one day this suffering is over gonna be over 34:59 and Jesus is gonna come again? 35:00 Can you say that one day 35:02 you're gonna see your loved ones again? 35:04 What kind of hope can you give? 35:06 And I will tell you the students were silent, 35:09 they were silent, there was like a dead clam 35:12 in that room and then I opened the Bible 35:14 and I said let me share with you a hopeful message. 35:17 If you have two options in life, and one option says, 35:23 you die and you go into the ground 35:25 and you never come out. 35:28 And this life is all there is, there is pain, 35:30 there is suffering, there is economic privation, 35:33 there is poverty. 35:34 What are you gonna say as an atheist 35:36 to the child in India who is an orphan, 35:38 who's starving and he's near death? 35:40 Are you simply gonna say, oh too bad, too bad 35:43 you're gonna starve and die and that's about it. 35:46 The Christian ethic leads us to do everything 35:50 we can hear for that child. 35:52 Provide food, to provide education 35:54 but it does much more than that. 35:56 It presents them a world 35:58 where pain and suffering is over. 36:01 It presents them with world where tears, 36:03 and tragedy, and heartache is over. 36:06 Here's what 36:09 "God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, 36:13 there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor cry," 36:16 we as Christians have a glorious hope 36:19 that beyond this life there is eternity 36:21 that Jesus is gonna come, 36:23 that one day there'll be a new heavens and a new earth, 36:25 and that one day the holy city will be descending 36:28 and one day every tear will be gone, 36:30 and all sorrow be gone. 36:31 That is something to incredibly rejoice about. 36:35 Four great questions that philosophers and educators 36:37 and theologians have struggled with through the years. 36:39 First, what is the purpose of life? 36:41 Revelation tells us the purpose of life, it is to restore. 36:46 The fellowship with God that was lost by sin, 36:50 it is to know Christ and to long for the day 36:52 that he will come and earth will be made over again 36:56 in Edenic splendor and we can walk with Him 36:59 and talk with Him and fellowship with Him again. 37:01 What is the, what are the four great questions? 37:03 Question number two, where does pain, 37:05 suffering and tragedy come from? 37:07 It comes from the evil one. 37:08 What's the answer to pain, suffering and tragedy? 37:11 One day it will be done away with forever. 37:14 Third question, what about the injustice in our world? 37:23 Look at Revelation 21:6, 37:28 Revelation provides the answer, verse 5, verse 6 37:32 to the problem of injustice. 37:35 It says in Revelation 21:5 37:38 'Then he who sat on the throne said, 37:41 'behold I make all things new.' 37:43 And He said to me, 37:45 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.'" 37:47 Now notice, it says he that sat upon the throne said, 37:51 I make all things new. 37:53 Jesus will take every wrong and make it right. 37:57 He will take every injustice and turn it around. 38:02 Life is not fair but God is, 38:06 and when God sits on the throne 38:10 with the new heavens and the new earth, 38:12 justice and righteousness will reign forever. 38:15 I love Daniel Chapter 7, take your Bible 38:17 and go back to Daniel Chapter 7. 38:21 I've had people say to me well life is fair. 38:24 They just don't know life. Life is not fair but God is. 38:29 Is it fair for children to be starving to death 38:34 through no choice of their own? 38:36 Is it fair for a child to be born with HIV positive 38:43 because of choices their parent has made? 38:47 Is it fair for bombs to drop 38:50 and thousands of innocent people to be killed? 38:53 Is it fair for a tornado to rip through a city 38:56 killing the righteous and the unrighteous at times? 39:00 Is life always fair? It is not. 39:04 Is it fair for a Christian 39:08 to be shot to death in a school 39:12 in new town Connecticut where a deranged young man 39:16 walks in and start shooting, and he doesn't look and say, 39:18 well, that's a Christian child I won't shoot him 39:20 but that's a non Christian child I will shoot him. 39:24 Is life always fair, yes or no? 39:26 No! 39:27 Is God always fair? Yes! 39:29 Life may not be always fair, but in the unfairness 39:35 and in the inequity of life God ministers His spirit 39:39 to give us hope and encouragement 39:41 and one day righteousness will reign 39:44 and to the proportion that we have had 39:46 injustice in this world, God will make it up in eternity. 39:51 To the degree with which 39:52 you have suffered pain and heartache, 39:56 you will experience joy and gladness in all eternity. 40:00 Notice what it says in Daniel 7th chapter, 40:06 Daniel Chapter 7 speaks about the great empires Babylon, 40:09 Medo-Persian, Greece and Rome. 40:11 It speaks about the break up of the Roman Empire. 40:14 It speaks about a church state power 40:17 that rises try to persecute Gods people. 40:20 And Daniel Chapter 7 comes to the end 40:22 and it talks about God's people oppressed in Babylon, 40:25 injustice, unfairness. 40:27 God's people oppressed in Medo-Persian 40:29 they've been treated unjustly. 40:31 God's people oppressed with Greece and Rome. 40:35 God's people facing tribulation, facing persecution, 40:39 death decree, nobody can buy or sell. 40:41 That's not fair. 40:43 Some martyrs that's not fair, God uses it certainly. 40:46 But He talks about the injustice. 40:48 Was Jesus always treated fairly? 40:50 Was He? No. 40:52 Was Jesus treated fairly at the trial with Pilate? 40:55 Was He treated fairly with Herod? 40:59 Was He treated fairly when they nailed Him to the cross? 41:02 Not at all. 41:03 This was very unfair, very unjust 41:05 but the Jesus take the pain of a cross 41:07 and turned it into salvation for the human race. 41:10 So Jesus can take injustice and unfairness, 41:13 but after Daniel 7 talks about all that, 41:16 here's what Daniel 7 says, Daniel 7, you look there, 41:19 verse 26 and 27, 41:22 "But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away 41:26 his dominion to consume and destroy it forever." 41:30 The dominion of evil will be destroyed forever, 41:34 "righteousness will reign through eternity, 41:38 then the kingdom and dominion, 41:39 and the greatness of the kingdoms 41:41 under the whole heaven shall be given to the people 41:44 of the saints of the most high, 41:46 his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom 41:49 and dominion shall serve and reign and obey him." 41:52 One day righteousness will reign. 41:54 One day Jesus will sit upon his throne. 41:57 One day injustice will be gone forever. 42:01 I had just walked out of a evangelistic meeting 42:03 in Kigali, Rwanda. 42:05 I rounded a corner 42:06 in the darkness of the African night 42:09 and I heard steps running toward me. 42:12 I looked up and there are large group of orphan children. 42:15 Now you'll recall in the early 1990s, 42:18 there was a horrible genocide in Rwanda. 42:21 A number of years ago I was in Rwanda 42:23 on numerous occasions 42:25 preaching about the Hutus and the Tutsis 42:27 traveling to Tutsi village and Hutu villages. 42:30 This was one of the most 42:31 terrible genocides in all the world. 42:33 In six months Hutu militants 42:37 killed over one million, 42:42 about a million died in the genocide. 42:44 In fact the Tutsis tended to be small slender 42:48 and taller than a Hutus. 42:49 Hutus tended to be shorter and with square jaws. 42:52 And over the radio one day 42:55 the announcement came cut down the tall trees, 42:59 young people by the hundreds were given machetes, 43:02 they brought in machetes by the truckloads 43:04 and they were given these machetes 43:06 and they were trained to kill, trained to cut the throats 43:09 and there was killing on both sides 43:11 and it was a just a terrible time of slaughter. 43:14 But when the-- is a demonstration in fact 43:17 and I shared this of what Satan does when he gets full control. 43:21 It was bitterness and hate and anger and resentment. 43:23 And so the announcement came forth 43:26 cut down the tall trees. 43:27 That was the signal for the Hutu youth 43:29 to go out with their machetes and kill. 43:31 So they began to hack and kill and kill by the hundreds. 43:34 And the bodies were couldn't even be buried, 43:37 there were large bodies stacked in the streets 43:38 and dogs came and ate them. 43:40 Bodies were thrown in the river, the rivers were like blood, 43:43 bodies floating down the river. 43:44 It was terrible, terrible during that period of time. 43:48 As result to that there were many orphans. 43:50 You would see many people in Rwanda, 43:52 in the years that I went there for two or three years 43:55 with people with one arm because their arm was hacked up, 43:57 people with one leg they were maimed. 43:59 Well, I had come out of the meeting one night 44:01 and I rounded a corner and as I did, 44:04 this group of young people ran to me. 44:06 They were children probably 44:07 anywhere from four to nine years old, 44:10 15 of them, 18 of them and one boy bolted 44:13 from these crowd and he grabbed me around the legs 44:17 and he looked up at me. 44:18 He was just crying and all these other kids gathered around 44:20 and I knelt down there in the African night 44:23 and this little boy at my legs and he said to me, 44:27 Mister, I don't have any daddy, he was killed. 44:32 Will you be my daddy? 44:34 Mister, I don't have any daddy. 44:36 And I looked at all those orphans 44:38 and it was the same story 44:40 and I knew it was no possibility because for those 15 orphans 44:43 there were another thousand, another 5,000 another 100,000. 44:49 So I sat on the ground in the dirt in the African night 44:52 holding a young crying boy with other boys around us 44:57 and I said, son, what happened to you is not fair, 45:00 it is not fair, it's horrible. 45:02 He could understand, he was nine years old. 45:05 I said, what happened to you is horrible 45:06 but I want to tell you two things. 45:08 God has a plan for your life, God has a plan for your life, 45:12 you just hang on, don't give up, know that Jesus has a plan. 45:16 Then I said to him sitting there in the African night 45:18 looking up at the stars that sparkle 45:20 like diamonds in the sky, 45:22 I said, boy, look, look there, look there beyond the stars. 45:26 You don't understand what I'm telling you now, 45:28 but there is a God that sits on a throne 45:31 and one day Jesus is gonna come, 45:33 and one day all the tears are gonna be wiped away, 45:36 and one day there's gonna be no sorrow or death, 45:38 and one day there will be no injustice. 45:41 What happened to you wasn't fair. 45:42 Never give up, children, never give up 45:45 because there is a king who reigns in righteousness, 45:48 that one day will come 45:50 and all of your sorrows will be gone 45:52 and all of the heartache will be over. 45:54 And I sat in that night talking about the goodness of God, 45:57 the greatness of God, about the majesty of God 46:00 when Jesus comes again 46:01 four great philosophical questions 46:02 that this world cannot answer. 46:04 What is the ultimate purpose of life? 46:06 Is it merely getting up in the morning 46:07 and going to work and dying? 46:09 No, the purpose of life is knowing God 46:10 and preparing for the day 46:11 that I shall see Him face to face. 46:14 When will pain be over? 46:15 One day every tear will be wiped away from our eyes. 46:18 What about injustice? Life is unfair. 46:20 Yes, but God is just, He strengthens us 46:23 and we face injustice here, and one day He will come again. 46:26 Amen! 46:27 And Revelation Chapter 21, that final question, 46:31 what is the answer to the riddle of death? 46:35 What is the answer to the riddle of death? 46:39 Revelation Chapter 21 46:42 and notice in the midst of the text 46:44 that we read previously, 46:48 "God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, 46:52 there shall be no more death." 46:55 One day death will be gone forever. 46:59 One day there will be no more funeral trends. 47:03 One day there will be no more organs 47:07 playing at funeral services their solemn songs. 47:13 One day there will be no more cascades. 47:16 One day there will be no more morgues. 47:18 One day there will be no more cemeteries 47:22 because the graves will be opened and Jesus will come 47:25 and death will be a thing in a past. 47:28 In the last few years, 47:30 I preached two of the most difficult sermons in my life. 47:35 I preached my mothers funeral sermon 47:41 about few years back now, 47:45 and then just this last year in the month of June 47:47 my father at 89 years old died 47:50 and I preached dads funeral sermon. 47:54 And I can't tell you the times that I have thought about it. 47:59 What if I had no hope? 48:03 What if I thought mother was lying in the ground 48:05 that I would never see her again? 48:08 What if I thought I'd never see dad again? 48:10 You know it's something strange, 48:12 you know my--about this relationship of parent to child. 48:18 My father has died in this last June, 48:22 but I find myself driving in the car, 48:26 warning to pull over to the side of the road 48:28 and get on my cell phone and call him. 48:32 You see when I was 17 years old, 48:35 I was raised in a home where my mother was a catholic 48:38 and my father later became a Seventh-day Adventist 48:41 after he married my mother. 48:43 My father promised the priest 48:46 that he would bring the children up catholic. 48:50 In those days a protestant and catholic could not marry 48:53 in the Catholic Church. 48:55 So my parents were married in the rectory 48:58 in the side of the church. 49:00 My father was a protestant not an Adventist, 49:02 my mother a catholic. 49:03 My father had to promise 49:05 the children that-- promise the priest 49:07 that he would bring the children up catholic 49:09 and so all of us, myself and my sisters 49:11 went to catholic schools. My father kept that promise. 49:14 When I was 17 years old, 49:16 my father had become an Adventist a few years before, 49:20 and when I was 17 my father said to me, 49:23 son I promised the priest 49:24 I'd bring you up in the catholic church 49:27 and I fulfilled that now I brought you up, 49:29 I want to share some things with you. 49:31 And he began to share with me 49:32 the marvelous truths of the Bible 49:34 and it was my father that led me 49:35 ultimately to become a Seventh-day Adventist. 49:39 All through my ministry I'd be preaching in evangelism 49:41 and I'd see dad walk in and sit in the meeting 49:44 from the time to time, from place to place. 49:47 I'd be traveling all over the world 49:49 and I get out my cell phone, 49:51 I remember walking down the streets of many European cities 49:54 and I'd call dad, dad I'm in England, 49:56 dad I'm in Norway, dad I'm in Russia today, 50:00 dad I'm on this island today preaching. 50:02 He would say son, I am praying for you. 50:05 Son, your mother and I are praying for you. 50:10 It's a wonderful thing to have a father that's praying for you. 50:12 It's a wonderful thing to have a mother that's praying for you. 50:15 But you know, I find myself now, 50:18 going into a meeting 50:20 wanting to grab my cell phone to call my dad. 50:23 There is this loneliness in the heart 50:28 that is never ultimately fulfilled. 50:32 But think about it, think about it. 50:35 As I stood there looking at my father in that casket, 50:40 I had the glorious joy of knowing 50:43 that one day I would see him again. 50:45 That's why the Apostle Paul says, 50:47 that we sorrow not as others who have no what? 50:51 Hope. 50:52 The Lord Himself here descends from heaven from with a shout, 50:55 with a voice of the archangel, 50:57 and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 51:00 And we which are alive and remain 51:02 shall be caught up together with them 51:04 to meet the Lord, where? 51:05 In the air, and ever we will be with the Lord. 51:09 Isn't that incredible good news? 51:11 That is good news. 51:13 Death will not have the last word, God will. 51:17 The grave will not have the last word, God will. 51:20 The tomb will not have the last word, God will. 51:23 Because Jesus will cry forth, 'my child come forth' 51:27 and the grave will open and new life will corse 51:30 through these bodies of ours 51:32 and mortality will be swallowed up with immortality 51:35 and Jesus Christ will come. 51:37 Human beings cannot solve 51:39 the problem of death but God can, God can. 51:44 The life giver can give life again. 51:47 The one who has immortality 51:49 can give immortality to those who are mortal. 51:52 The one who is life can give us life. 51:55 This is incredible, good news. 51:59 Amen! 52:00 Recently, I attended a funeral 52:05 of Howard Faigao's wife. 52:08 Howard Faigao is the publish-- 52:10 the publishing director of the General Conference. 52:13 It was a particularly difficult funeral for me 52:16 and I'll explain to you why. 52:18 Howard's wife had been diagnosed 52:21 with multiple myeloma seven years ago. 52:26 She fought a gallant battle that I'll share with you, 52:30 and died of multiple myeloma. 52:32 At that time I had just been to the doctor 52:37 and been diagnosed 52:38 with the possibility of multiple myemola. 52:40 Now let me share with you that I'm so thankful 52:43 that the diagnosis is better today. 52:45 My doctor tells me that to have stage one multiple myeloma 52:49 you need about ten percent myeloma cells. 52:54 My body has five to ten percent. 52:56 So I'm at what they've called pre-myeloma 52:58 which is treatable and which is very-- 53:02 my prognosis is very good. 53:04 But anyways that I'm just praising God. 53:06 I thank God for the-- for the prayers. 53:08 Initially we thought it was stage one myeloma 53:10 but today there are people that have pre-myloma 53:13 and it stays there for the rest of their life. 53:15 So I am just thankful to God my energy is good, 53:18 I am preaching and I'm living my life with joy in Jesus 53:22 knowing that He is in control and desiring to glorify Him. 53:26 But when I went to this particular funeral, 53:29 I sat there thinking about the uncertainty in my own life. 53:34 Ana Faigao struggled with multiple myeloma 53:38 for seven years. 53:39 Toward the end of her life she recognized 53:43 that her life was going to come to an end 53:46 that unless God worked a miracle 53:49 and she decided to do something. 53:51 About two years ago she said, 53:55 I may die but I'm gonna leave a legacy for my children. 54:00 And so she decided that she would take the Bible, 54:02 read it from Genesis to Revelation, 54:05 mark key passages, 54:07 write notes of hope and encouragement 54:10 and present that Bible to her daughter. 54:13 It took her about six months, and here this woman 54:17 struggling in the throws of a death crippling disease, 54:23 took Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus read it, underlined, 54:28 thought about passing on the legacy of faith 54:30 to her daughter. 54:32 When she gave the daughter the Bible, 54:34 in fact at the funeral her daughter stood up 54:36 and held the Bible that her mother gave her 54:37 and she said, this is one of my most precious possessions. 54:41 Ana then did that a second time for son 54:44 and read the Bible through a second time for her son 54:47 and gave that Bible to her son. 54:51 She did a third one, and gave that Bible away. 54:55 She then started taking Desire of Ages 54:58 and would read Desire of Ages underline it, 55:02 write notes in the margin and give the book 55:05 to Desire of Ages on the life of Christ to her friends. 55:09 You see, how could Ana do this? 55:14 Cancer did not conquer her she conquered it. 55:17 Amen! 55:18 Disease did not triumph over her, 55:21 she triumphed over it. 55:25 Because she knew that we hold 55:29 this treasure of Christ in earthen vessels. 55:33 She knew that our bodies are perishable and frail 55:37 but she come to the hope 55:39 that one day Jesus Christ will return. 55:42 There will be a time, 55:44 when every desire will be fulfilled, 55:47 Jesus will come. 55:48 There will be a time when every longing will be met, 55:52 Jesus will come. 55:54 There will be a time that every question will be answered, 55:56 every need satisfied. 55:58 There will be a time that every disease will be healed 56:01 and every pain subside and every tear dried 56:03 and every heart healed. 56:05 There will be a time that every relationship will mended 56:07 and every tragedy be over. 56:10 There will be a time that every disaster will be gone. 56:13 This is incredible good news. 56:17 You can triumph, you can overcome. 56:19 You can overcome worry. You can overcome fear. 56:22 You can overcome disease. You can overcome disaster. 56:25 You can overcome anything that the devil's gonna throw at you. 56:28 Why? 56:29 Because at the end Jesus is gonna win, 56:33 and Satan is gonna lose. 56:34 Amen! You can be an overcomer, why? 56:36 Because at the end the holy city will descend, 56:39 at the end the earth will be made new, 56:41 at the end God will dwell with his people again, 56:44 at the end His presence will fill your life, 56:47 at the end you'll be embraced by God. 56:49 He'll whisper in your ears. 56:51 Well done good and faithful servant. 56:53 You can triumph at last, why? 56:55 Because at the end every tear will be wiped away, 56:57 every sorrow will be gone, pain will be gone, 56:59 injustice will be gone, death will be gone, 57:02 and we will live with Him throughout whole eternity. 57:05 Praise His holy name. 57:07 Let's pray. Amen. 57:08 Father in heaven, thank You, that there is purpose in life. 57:12 Thank You that suffering and pain will be gone forever. 57:15 Thank You, that injustice will be gone. 57:17 Thank You, that Jesus will come. 57:19 Thank You, that death will be over. 57:21 Thank You, that we can rejoice today 57:25 because we have hope for tomorrow. 57:27 In Christ name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17