Participants: Danny Shelton (Host), C.A. Murray, Jim Gilley
Series Code: SF
Program Code: SF000039
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00:12 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
00:21 There's just something about that name 00:32 Master, Savior, Jesus 00:41 Like the fragrance after the rain 00:52 Jesus, Jesus 00:57 Oh, Jesus 01:01 Let all heaven and earth proclaim 01:12 Kings and kingdoms 01:17 Will all pass away 01:22 But there's something about that name 01:33 He's my Lord 01:39 There is no other one 01:45 Who can calm the storms of life 01:52 Like my Lord 01:59 He'll give rest to the weary 02:05 Give new life to the hopeless 02:11 There's no doubt about it 02:19 He's my Lord 02:27 Jesus, Jesus 02:32 Oh, Jesus 02:36 Let all heaven and earth proclaim 02:48 Kings and kingdoms 02:53 Will all pass away 02:58 But there's something 03:02 About that name 03:13 There is something about the name of Jesus Christ. 03:26 Our Father and our God, 03:29 there is certainly something about the name of Jesus. 03:36 It's that name on which we rely completely for life eternal. 03:44 And, Father, we commit our lives once again to You 03:50 and to the task of proclaiming Jesus to a lost world. 03:56 In His name, amen. 04:02 Comes time, at the end of the year 04:05 and the beginning of a new year to look back 04:09 and also to look forward in commitment, 04:13 we have a task to do. 04:17 Lord said that we have the great commission, 04:19 we should go to all the world and preach the gospel. 04:24 And that we were given that responsibility 04:28 that these are our marching orders 04:32 to accomplish this task. 04:35 He says that He will not leave us, 04:37 that we must not feel that we are alone in doing this, 04:41 that He will be with us. 04:43 Through the power of the Holy Spirit, 04:46 we will see things happen 04:49 that we could never accomplish in our own strength. 04:53 We look back at Joshua when the children Israel 04:57 were ready to enter into the Promised Land. 05:01 You know, we find ourselves 05:03 we feel in that same position, 05:06 waiting to enter the Promised Land. 05:10 We have a message to proclaim. 05:12 We have a task to do and remember that 05:17 Joshua said to the people in Joshua 3:5. 05:24 Joshua said to the people "Sanctify yourselves, 05:30 for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." 05:34 Amen. 05:36 Ordinary people, but God says, 05:38 I am gonna do wonders with you, 05:42 not because you are wonderful people. 05:45 Because if we look at the children of Israel, 05:48 they very much parallel us today 05:51 they were ordinary human beings with frailties, 05:57 with mistakes, with shortcomings. 06:00 But He said, I'm gonna use you 06:02 if you will just commit yourself to me 06:06 and to the task I'm gonna use you to do wonders. 06:11 And He said, you are going to enter the Promised Land. 06:18 When I looked at the sanctification 06:20 that He is speaking about, 06:22 Joshua really points it out in the first chapter 06:27 and this is actually the Lord pointing it out to Joshua, 06:30 "No man should be able to stand before you 06:32 in all the days of your life 06:34 as I was with Moses so I will be with you." 06:38 In other words, as the movement of God, 06:41 we not as individual, 06:44 but as collectively God's people, 06:48 He says, "Nothing will be able to stand before you." 06:53 He said, "I will not leave you nor forsake you." 06:58 Amen. 06:59 Now, knowing that should give us faith. 07:03 Faith. 07:04 Without faith God says it's impossible to please Him. 07:08 And this should be the number one thing 07:12 in sanctifying ourselves 07:14 is that we have faith that we believe that God is. 07:17 The Bible says that He's a rewarder 07:19 of those that believe in Him, and trust in Him. 07:23 And then secondly in verse 6 it says, 07:26 "Be strong and be of good courage." 07:30 You know, you have to act upon your faith. 07:35 James said, "Faith without works is dead." 07:38 What He really meant was faith without action is dead. 07:43 He's not saying you can earn your way to heaven. 07:45 That's not what that's about it all. 07:47 He's saying that without acting upon your faith 07:51 what good does it do. 07:53 And so He says, be strong and of good courage 07:56 for to this people-- 07:57 You shall divide as an inheritance 08:00 and then He says, "Only be strong and very courageous 08:05 that you may observe to do according to all the law." 08:11 Obedience. 08:13 You see, if we have faith 08:15 and we have the courage to act. 08:17 God says, you're going to obey me. 08:19 That does not mean that we are perfect. 08:23 We are obedient as we can be in our own imperfection. 08:29 But we commit to Him. 08:31 We're not rebellious towards Him. 08:33 You remember, George Vandeman 08:35 wrote a book called "The Planet in Rebellion." 08:37 And rebellion is when we say, I'm not going to do God's will. 08:42 But to be able to say, I want to do God's will 08:46 and by His grace I will do His will, 08:48 it's what He asks in our response to Him. 08:53 And then it says, in verse 8 08:55 "The book the law shall not depart from your mouth 08:59 but you shall meditate in it day and night 09:02 that you may observe to do 09:05 according to that which is written." 09:07 And He says, we should be studying His Work. 09:10 So we need faith, we need courage, 09:14 we need obedience, and we need Bible study 09:19 to make us stronger in our faith, 09:25 and in our trust, and in our belief. 09:28 And in this way, He says, you sanctify yourself, 09:32 you prepare yourself for the task that is ahead. 09:37 We have a great task ahead of us, 09:40 to continue to proclaim the message 09:43 as we have never proclaimed it before. 09:46 To reach out in ways 09:48 that we have never reached out before, 09:51 to reach every segment of society 09:54 and this is what we're trying to do 09:56 with 3ABN, 3ABN Latino, 09:59 3ABN Dare to Dream. 10:02 We're reaching out to Russian people, 10:04 the French speaking people, as many groups as we can, 10:09 and not forgetting our children. 10:12 Because the children, my friend, 10:14 we need to reach them first. 10:17 Jesus said, "Suffer little children 10:19 to come unto me, and forbid them not, 10:21 for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 10:24 And we need to be reaching out to our children 10:28 as well as to those who are adults. 10:33 See, God is giving us a great task. 10:36 It's a wonderful task, 10:37 it's a privilege to even be a small part of that. 10:43 Those who are the supporters and viewers of 3ABN 10:47 or our partners in this, we stand together 10:51 because without you there is no way 10:55 that we can accomplish anything. 10:57 The lights would not stay on a single month 11:00 without your support because you stand with us. 11:04 Because your commitment and as we sanctify ourselves 11:09 or set ourselves aside 11:11 at this time for greater service, 11:14 we do so believing that you will do the same 11:20 and that we will reach out together. 11:23 You see, we must be willing to bear any burden. 11:29 We must be willing to pay any price. 11:32 We must be willing to meet any hardship. 11:36 We must support those who teach the truth 11:39 and we must oppose those who would destroy God's cause. 11:45 We need to give all that we have 11:49 to ensure that the undiluted three angels' message 11:53 continues to be preached all over the world. 11:58 The message of revelation 14, 12:01 which is the message of Jesus Christ 12:05 to a world that is in need, 12:10 to a world that is dying. 12:13 It's such a privilege to be a part of that 12:17 and today I would like to rededicate myself 12:22 to that task of reaching out with the gospel, 12:26 praying that God will give us all of the spirit, 12:30 His Spirit, that we need 12:33 in order to proclaim this message. 12:36 Thirty years ago, God laid this message. 12:41 A little over 30 years now the message to Danny Shelton. 12:46 Danny, God has led, hasn't he? 12:49 Absolutely, absolutely, Jim. 12:51 Thank you for talking about faith. 12:53 I get excited when people start talking about faith 12:56 because I've been learning about faith 12:58 for over 30 years now. 13:00 Alan Molloy, you know, you remember when it started. 13:03 But I was thinking about faith is an action word 13:06 and I know the Lord laid that on your heart, 13:08 Jim and I didn't discuss what were gonna talk about. 13:11 But the Lord impressed me to talk about faith 13:13 for just a few moments. 13:14 So I love it when you know 13:16 that God's in it and there's confirmation. 13:19 But your faith doesn't begin until your side ends 13:22 and that's what I want to encourage you folks at home. 13:24 And I was thinking about the Lord even has to give us, 13:27 we don't have any faith of our own 13:29 but we exercise His faith. 13:31 Actually it's what we do 13:32 when we submit and commit our lives to Him 13:35 and I was thinking about when we stepped out in faith, 13:37 in a cornfield and decided to build a television station 13:40 that would reach the world. 13:41 Now we didn't know where we were going. 13:43 We didn't know where to start. 13:44 The Lord began to bring people into our lives 13:46 and finally we got a satellite system 13:49 shooting signals 22,300 miles to space. 13:53 I thought everybody would be excited about it 13:55 but I talked to folk and they'd say, 13:57 "Well, you got--" 13:58 First, they said you'll never get the signal up, right? 14:01 You'll never get it up, those guys never built that. 14:04 It got built, went up 22,300 miles to space, 14:08 then they said, "It'll never come down, 14:10 won't come down into the homes of people." 14:12 Jim Gulley went in 1979, 14:15 tried to talk to some of the leaders at the church 14:17 about building a television network 14:20 and of course with no experience 14:22 and new technology 14:23 they weren't prepared for that. 14:24 But then in the '80s even once that he heard about 3ABN 14:28 and I talked to him 14:29 and knew the satellite signals was going up. 14:32 He said, "We need to be part of this," 14:34 then they said, "Well, how many people even have big dishes?" 14:37 Well, I think they said about a million. 14:39 And he said, "Well, it's a million people" 14:41 they said, "Well, it's not worth 14:42 all that for a million people." 14:44 But you know what, 14:45 when you go forward, God honors it. 14:47 Because that million end up 14:49 growing into 6 million big dishes. 14:51 Well, that could've been the end of it 14:53 and it reaches North America. 14:54 But we said, "Well, we'll just take 14:55 another little step of faith. 14:56 We'll go forward." 14:57 And meanwhile while God said, 15:00 "Go, ye into all the world." 15:01 We just took one bite a time. 15:03 As you say, one step at a time, went forward. 15:06 All of a sudden, we realized there's other technology 15:08 coming in on the scene. 15:10 And then all of a sudden, I heard about, you know what, 15:13 we can actually get a satellite now and go to Europe. 15:16 So we decided, hey, Mark Finley's 15:18 doing a NET series in the mid '90s, 15:20 let's do that. 15:22 Well, then all of a sudden, 15:23 we heard the FCC is opening windows 15:25 that people can apply for television stations. 15:29 We said, "Wow, we can send signals up to satellite, 15:32 down to television stations 15:34 and it'll rebroadcast those signals 15:36 and people only have to have rabbit ears." 15:38 Well, you don't have to have an expensive 15:40 $2,000 dish now to get it. 15:43 So now we're excited, one more step at a time. 15:46 All of a sudden, 3ABN is going up, 15:48 coming down into 6 million big dishes. 15:50 We start building, we're aggressive 15:52 when it comes to building downlink stations 15:55 we call them and we apply for dozens at a time 15:57 and to our surprise, we're getting them. 16:00 When we wanted to go up, 16:01 they told us it'll take 3 to 5 years, 16:03 thanks to the Lord and Congressman Kenny Grey, 16:06 that license came in 8 months. 16:08 See, when you go forward God will honor your faith. 16:12 God will honor that faith. 16:13 So now we have all these signals going up. 16:15 We got them coming down and downlink stations 16:17 are rebroadcasting the signal. 16:19 We got 6 million people or so with the big dishes 16:22 and just when we think we've just about got there. 16:25 Finally, we're able to go to Europe, 16:26 then, we hear about a little dish. 16:28 This little dish is just 2 to 3 feet. 16:31 Now this dish can be used in subdivisions, 16:34 even in some cities on a network called Sky Angel. 16:38 So on this network called Sky Angel 16:40 there was a number of other religious networks 16:43 and all of a sudden that added 16:44 several hundred thousand more people, 16:46 but these people were special. 16:48 Because these are people 16:49 who already are spiritually minded. 16:51 Because you know when you get Sky Angel 16:54 you want to watch religious programming 16:56 because that's just about all that was there. 16:58 It took me back to a dream that I had 17:00 when before 3ABN was built, 17:03 the Lord impressed me to build a station to reach the world. 17:06 That's fine, it didn't have a name, 17:08 didn't know what to call the station. 17:09 So I had a dream one night, 17:11 and in my dream I saw it look like 17:13 I was looking out at stars 17:14 but one of them became closer and closer 17:18 and I saw it had color on it, didn't look like a star 17:21 and then I saw three angels flying 17:23 around the earth blowing the three trumpets. 17:26 I said, that's the name of it 3 Angels Broadcasting Network. 17:29 I was so excited I started going to churches, 17:32 anybody that would let me go to church. 17:34 So I ended up going to churches 17:36 and I would tell the people 17:37 "We're building a television station to counteract. 17:40 We're gonna counteract 17:42 the Jim and Tammy Bakker's programs 17:44 because they're not telling all the truth. 17:46 And we're gonna counteract to Jimmy Swaggart. 17:50 And we're gonna counteract some of these evangelicals. 17:52 We're so excited about this we weren't even on the air. 17:56 It's a dream of doing it. 17:58 Few days later, I had another dream 18:00 and all of a sudden I was in a huge apple orchard. 18:03 As far as the eyes could see, 18:05 all I saw was apple trees 18:07 heavy laden with beautiful red ripe apples 18:11 that were hanging down. 18:12 I didn't have to get a ladder to get up. 18:14 I could just reach out and pluck 18:16 these red ripe apples. 18:18 And I was talking to the Lord. 18:19 I didn't see Him, but I said, 18:21 "Lord, why am I here and what do all of these 18:24 beautiful big red ripe apples represent?" 18:28 And He said, "Your fight is not against these other ministries. 18:32 They're not your enemy. The devil is your enemy. 18:35 These ripe red apples represent people 18:39 who have come to the knowledge of Christ 18:41 through all these ministries that you've been talking about. 18:44 My Word will not return in me voy." 18:46 It's not about the messenger it's about the message. 18:50 So the Lord said, "These are ready to be plucked 18:53 as they hear the truth of the three angels' messages. 18:56 Suddenly, Sky Angel is on the air 18:57 and we began to get these letters 18:59 from all over America and North America. 19:02 Soon we're into Europe then we take advantage 19:04 of other satellites literally going around the world. 19:09 And technology continues to increase. 19:12 Moses Primo comes way back 19:14 and he starts teaching us things 19:15 that we had no idea, no ways, 19:17 had no idea how to get this message to the world. 19:20 But suddenly something came 19:21 on the scene called the internet. 19:24 Anybody ever heard the internet? 19:25 And all of a sudden, 19:26 anybody could use the internet and people can watch it 19:30 literally all around the world. 19:32 The walls of communism fell. 19:34 This is all since 3ABN started. 19:36 Eastern European countries: 19:38 Russia, Romania, East Germany, 19:41 all these countries we could've never dreamed 19:43 we could get in. 19:44 Suddenly, the gospel is going, 3ABN goes to Russia. 19:47 We end up going to New Guinea, 3ABN goes to the Philippines. 19:51 God continues to open doors, new technology 19:54 then we get down to even things lately like the Roku Box, 19:58 Mo, that people can get it in a small box now 20:01 it's a little thumbnail that you can literally 20:03 stick in the back of your television. 20:05 And all of a sudden here comes smartphones 20:07 and within smartphones 20:09 millions and millions of people can watch 3ABN 20:11 anywhere in the world. 20:12 Download the app, you get 3ABN on your iPhone, 20:15 your android, your tablets, your iPads. 20:19 God is in the business of creating miracles. 20:21 I want to tell you that, when you step out in faith, 20:23 I can tell you, 30 years ago 20:25 when we took our first little steps 20:28 we had no idea that 30 years later 20:32 that God would do what He had told us He would do, 20:35 but we had no idea how it would happen. 20:37 That literally hundreds of millions of people 20:40 can watch 3ABN at anytime 24x7 around the world. 20:44 We're going to Latino, then we go into 3ABN Radio. 20:48 Jay, now you have hundreds of radio stations 20:51 down linking and rebroadcasting. 20:53 We go into Dare to Dream. 20:55 We go into all these different networks, 20:57 now we have six different networks. 20:59 Molly, our Russian network, 21:01 our proclaimed network CA, we have our children's network. 21:05 God is in the business of creating beautiful things. 21:10 And when the Lord says go, 21:12 "He said go ye into all the world" 21:14 and I want to encourage you today 21:16 that we're either on the side of go or stop. 21:18 The Lord says go and the devil says stop. 21:21 So we have to make up minds. 21:22 Which side do we want to be on? 21:24 What do we want to do and I want to tell you today 21:26 when you step out in faith your whole life will change 21:29 because when your sight ends your faith begins 21:32 and I believe that God-- Jim, you've said this before, 21:36 we haven't seen anything yet. 21:38 For those of you here at 3ABN, those of you at home, 21:40 I don't think we've seen anything yet. 21:42 What we have seen recently 21:44 in this huge surge of knowledge and increased technology, 21:49 I think it's just the beginning. 21:51 Jesus wants to come back. 21:54 We're not waiting on Him, 21:55 He's waiting to come back for a purified bride, 21:58 a purified church, and today I want to rededicate my life. 22:03 We're here rededicating the ministry 22:06 of 3 Angels Broadcasting Network 22:08 and for those of you at home, thank you for joining with us 22:11 as we continue to take this gospel of the kingdom 22:14 and to all the world and we want you to participate 22:17 in this communion service with us 22:20 in honor of the Lord, Jesus Christ 22:23 who cared enough to make a plan of salvation. 22:25 He could have done away this. 22:26 Made a plan of salvation, decided to come down, 22:29 be born in a lowly manger, 22:32 give his life on the cross of Calvary. 22:35 The song He gave me recently "Calvary says Love to Me" 22:39 and that's really what it is. 22:40 It's an action. 22:41 The Lord showed us how much he loves us. 22:43 But this time very soon, 22:45 He's coming back not as that babe 22:47 in swaddling clothes in a manger in a Bethlehem. 22:50 He's coming back as King of kings 22:52 and Lord of lords and it's our prayer 22:55 that each of us will make it to see Jesus come back 22:58 and we can look up and say, 23:00 "Lo, this is our God whom we've waited for. 23:02 He has come to save us." 23:11 For you that would like to dedicate 23:14 and consecrate your life, 23:15 a fresh and new, for this upcoming year, 23:19 if you can bow your knee, 23:21 but if you can't bow your knee, bow your heart. 23:31 Holy Father, we come before you 23:33 in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ 23:36 and we thank you, Father, for the way 23:38 You've led us in the past. 23:40 Thank you, Father, for this past year, 23:43 for the times we've seen Your hand of provision, 23:46 Your hand of health, Your hand of comfort, 23:51 Your hand, Lord, that has guided us this past year. 23:55 Thank you for that, oh, Father. 23:57 Now, Father, we give You our upcoming year. 24:00 We ask, Lord, that You take every one of us. 24:03 Take our hearts, oh, Lord. 24:05 Father, search us if there be areas in our lives 24:09 that aren't consecrated and committed to You. 24:11 We ask, oh, Father, that You would open our eyes 24:14 to those areas, search us, oh, God, 24:16 and know our hearts, try us and know our thoughts, 24:19 see if there be anyway in us that is unlovely 24:23 and unlike You and, Father, we ask 24:25 that You would lead us in a path of righteousness. 24:28 Now, Father, we give our lives to You. 24:30 We give our thoughts to You. 24:32 We ask, Father, that You would guide us 24:34 and that You would grace us. 24:36 Thank you, Father, for this ministry 24:38 that You've given us to be a part of. 24:40 Father, we dedicate and consecrate 3ABN 24:44 into Your hands for this upcoming year. 24:46 Father, allow this ministry to accomplish all 24:50 that You've called it to accomplish. 24:52 We ask, Father, that You would 24:54 take each one of us and draw us into deeper 24:57 and a closer relationship with You. 25:00 And, Father, use us to bring glory 25:03 and honor to Your kingdom. 25:05 Now, Father, for everyone in our viewing audience 25:07 and our listening audience, we pray the same prayer, 25:10 Father, that You would touch all of our hearts, 25:13 You would bind us together in unity and harmony 25:16 and in one accord and that You would lead us, 25:18 Father, in that path that is everlasting. 25:21 This is our prayer for this upcoming year in Jesus' name. 25:25 Amen. 25:40 One of the things that I love about the Word of God 25:44 is that you can read the same text over and over 25:49 and get meaning from it 25:52 and then one day you read that text 25:55 and it's like that text has totally changed. 25:59 Your life changes, a light shines in that text 26:02 that gives you a whole new understanding 26:05 of the Word of God, 26:07 who you are and who God is. 26:11 Last night, Erm and I were sitting 26:12 at the dinning room table 26:14 going over bills and moving papers around 26:18 and being generally aggravated because you always aggravated 26:21 when you're going over the bills and moving papers. 26:24 And I pushed that aside and I just went to the Bible. 26:30 And we're sitting there and she said, 26:32 "Are you working on something?" I said, "I got something. 26:34 It's in my heart here" 26:35 and I opened to 1 Corinthians 11 26:39 and a line that we've all read millions of times 26:41 "Do this in remembrance of me." 26:45 And somehow the Lord was pleased 26:48 to shine a little light on that line. 26:52 And I went to Desire of Ages and Ellen White says, 26:59 in the chapter "In Remembrance of Me," 27:01 page 652, she says, 27:04 "The service which Christ established 27:06 was to be observed by His followers 27:08 in all lands and through all ages." 27:12 This was to go on forever. 27:15 "The ordinance of the Lord's Supper 27:16 was given to commemorate the great deliverance 27:19 wrought out as a result of the death of Christ, 27:23 till He shall come the second time 27:25 in power and glory, 27:28 this ordinance is to be celebrated, 27:32 it is the means by which his great work for us 27:38 is to be kept fresh in our minds." 27:42 So I wondered about this memorial service 27:47 and I began to play in my mind and asked myself 27:51 "Is this memorial service or is it a commemoration?" 27:57 And do the words mean anything, is this a memorial service? 28:03 Because Christ said, "Do it in remembrance of me." 28:06 Or is this a commemoration? 28:10 Luckily, nowadays genius is not very far away. 28:14 You go to the internet, you Google it, 28:17 and you're a genius. 28:20 So I went and I Googled memorial service 28:24 and I found that a memorial service 28:29 can only be held for someone who has passed away. 28:34 Memorial is inexorably linked to death. 28:39 So if you're having a memorial service 28:43 someone has to be dead. 28:48 So this can never be a memorial service. 28:52 You can't link a memorial service with Jesus. 28:56 It's got to be a commemoration 29:00 because the one who we're honoring is not dead. 29:05 All right. That's right. 29:07 Now several of us have been to The Garden Tomb, 29:10 Sully, JD, Molly, Hal, Joe, a lot of us, 29:15 yeah, we've been to The Garden Tomb. 29:17 We've all gone in at different times, 29:20 but we've all seen the same thing. 29:24 You were there. 29:26 When you go in there, Jim, the tomb is empty. 29:30 Praise the Lord. 29:32 Amen. Amen. 29:33 There's nobody there, Greg, you were there, it's empty. 29:37 We all saw an empty to-- It's beautiful. 29:41 It's clean. It's swept. 29:45 But it's empty. 29:47 Amen. 29:50 So it would be like saying 29:52 this is the 30th anniversary of 3ABN 29:54 let's have a memorial service for Danny Shelton. 29:59 So some thinking person would say, 30:01 "You can't have that, that's inappropriate" 30:04 because Danny is still here. 30:08 He's still alive, praise the Lord. 30:11 So the word memorial, 30:14 when it comes to Christ is patently inappropriate. 30:19 Because Jesus is still alive. Amen. 30:21 Now I must admit to you 30:22 there was a short window of time 30:25 when it would have been appropriate. 30:27 Shelley, there was a little 3-day window 30:30 between Friday and Sunday 30:33 we could have had a memorial service. 30:36 That would've been the time to have it 30:37 because He was dead and in the tomb, 30:39 but Sunday morning the angel said, 30:42 "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" 30:48 And so from that day to this, memorial is inappropriate. 30:54 This is a solemn celebration. 30:59 It's a time, when we afflict our souls in solemnity 31:04 but we also praise God 31:07 for the work wrought by Jesus Christ. 31:09 It's a solemn celebration. Yes. 31:12 No more memorial. Mm-mmm. 31:15 It's a celebration of the work of Christ 31:18 who died for each of us 31:21 and who sits at the right hand of the Father. 31:24 Amen. 31:25 Brian, ever living to make intercession for us. 31:31 That's what gives this life. 31:33 That's what gives this meaning. 31:35 That's why we know that the same God 31:38 who got us this far is gonna get us all the way home. 31:43 And that next year will be a great year 31:47 because we serve a great God. 31:50 Amen. 31:51 A powerful God, 31:53 who can do anything but fail. 32:02 Father God, we just praise You. 32:06 We praise You, and praise You, 32:08 and praise You, and praise You. 32:11 Because You are worthy to be praised. 32:15 We are here not through any goodness of our own 32:20 but that we serve a keeping God, 32:25 a loving God, a sustaining God, 32:29 who will one day take us home. 32:33 Give meaning to this service 32:37 because of the sacrifice of Him 32:40 who we honor, in Jesus' name. 32:44 Amen. 33:29 I'd like to continue the thought that Pastor CA 33:31 just shared with you. 33:36 And because I haven't been to The Garden Tomb, 33:38 I want to say, "Blessed are those 33:41 who haven't seen and yet believe." 33:44 Amen. 33:47 I don't know geographically that Jesus is not there 33:50 but I know experientially that He's isn't there. 33:54 I haven't walked where He was but He walks where I am 33:59 and so today is very special to me 34:03 because as I was asked to pray for the bread. 34:07 How significant that is as I had bread for lunch today. 34:11 And bread has always been a part of my diet, 34:14 rye bread, pumpernickel, you name it, 34:18 whole-wheat, multigrain bread. 34:21 But the bread we're talking about today 34:23 is quite different than the bread 34:25 that you can buy in a store. 34:27 And as I was sitting thinking about bread 34:29 I came to the conclusion 34:31 that I could be standing in the bread aisle in Walmart 34:35 and die of hunger 34:37 if I don't partake of the bread. 34:40 You know, the children of Israel, 34:41 how amazing it is that when the Lord freed them 34:44 from the land of Egypt. 34:45 He said to Moses "Say to the children of Israel, 34:49 behold I will rain bread from heaven for you." 34:54 It should've rung a bell 34:55 but it didn't because they thought to themselves 34:56 they had bread in Egypt. 34:58 What difference is that? 34:59 I had bread in Egypt, 35:00 what difference is the bread in the wilderness going to be? 35:04 And He said to them don't forget to gather 35:06 a certain quota everyday. 35:08 And I've come to understand 35:10 unless I have a certain quota of Jesus everyday 35:12 I'm going die in the wilderness, 35:14 what do you say? 35:15 Hallelujah. 35:16 But they still didn't understand. 35:18 The fact of the matter is when you read the story, 35:20 when you read the story 35:21 in the Bible in the book of Exodus, 35:23 they went out to get some of this bread 35:25 and they were so unfamiliar with God, 35:28 they said, "What is it?" 35:30 They looked at it, they ate it, they tasted it, 35:32 but they said, "What is it?" 35:34 And somebody said, "That's what it is." 35:39 You'll never know who God is. 35:43 You'll never know who Jesus is. 35:46 And the power that's resident in Him 35:49 unless you partake on a day-by-day basis, 35:52 your quota of Jesus in your life. 35:55 Amen. 35:56 You know, the children of Israel 35:57 had continued to eating this bread 35:58 even after they entered Canaan. 36:00 And then one day Jesus shows up 36:02 and in the vernacular of a language 36:05 that seemed to have lost its meaning 36:07 in the course of a thousand or so years. 36:09 He said to them, "Moses didn't give you bread. 36:14 My Father gave you the bread that came down from heaven." 36:18 They still didn't understand that. 36:20 You see, there's bread 36:21 and we know very well that bread can get stale. 36:25 Bread can get old. Bread could mildew. 36:27 Bread could lose its nurturing qualities and propensities. 36:32 But Jesus never gets old. 36:34 Jesus never loses His power. 36:37 And there He stood in their presence, 36:39 those who were so filled with their daily bread. 36:42 And He says to them, 36:45 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. 36:48 If you partake of Me you'll never hunger again. 36:53 And all of a sudden the light went on in the minds 36:56 of one of the disciples and they said to Him, 36:58 "Lord, Lord, give us this bread always." 37:05 And those of you that are watching this broadcast today, 37:08 one of the reasons why we're gonna be able 37:09 to be sustained beyond today 37:11 is not because of the bread that we get 37:13 that's made by our wives or bought in our food stores 37:17 or put together on the tables 37:18 of those that have extra secret ingredients. 37:23 But the only bread that's going to sustain us 37:25 is the daily bread that came down from heaven. 37:29 When we realize how imperative 37:31 our daily bread is we say like the disciples, 37:34 "Lord, give us this bread always." 37:37 And I need to say in my own testimony, 37:39 unless I have my daily quota of Jesus always 37:43 I don't have enough strength to make it through the day. 37:46 And for those of us that have come to the place 37:48 Brian that had that spiritual starvation. 37:51 You know, we've come to be able to narrow that down, Shelley, 37:54 to the fact that we didn't get our quota of Jesus 37:57 and we try to catch up on that 37:59 and have our bread at the end of the day. 38:01 It's just not the same. 38:02 And so let me encourage you when the day comes to you 38:05 as it has been given to you today 38:07 ask the Lord to pour into your life. 38:10 And then all of a sudden now you'll understand 38:12 what the bread is all about not to look at, 38:14 not to handle but to ingest 38:18 and allow it to nurture your spiritual walk with Christ. 38:21 That's what Paul the Apostle meant when he said, 38:24 "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, 38:28 you do proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." 38:31 And Pastor CA, as you said, 38:33 you know, sometimes you read the scriptures. 38:34 Well, today all of a sudden it took on new meaning to me. 38:37 Greg, it didn't mean that I just eat that in preparation 38:40 for the coming of the Lord. 38:42 But what it meant to me 38:43 is unless I eat of Jesus everyday, 38:47 I cannot proclaim that I'm even waiting for His coming. 38:51 And so the imperative nature 38:53 of having the Jesus in our lives 38:54 is not just to get our daily bread. 38:57 But by partaking of Jesus every day 38:59 we're proclaiming to the world 39:02 that we're waiting for Jesus to come. 39:05 So as often as we eat this bread 39:07 and drink this cup, 39:08 we proclaim the living bread, 39:10 who is Christ Jesus. 39:14 Let us pray, Father, 39:17 help us today to have this living bread. 39:23 Up until this moment, 39:24 we have been at many communion services, 39:27 we have partaking of bread many times, fermented bread. 39:31 We have had wafers. 39:33 Some have had bread without gluten in it. 39:36 We've had all different types and styles, 39:39 but Father that's not the bread we seek today. 39:42 We seek the living bread that has come down from heaven. 39:45 We don't want to hunger anymore, 39:48 we want to be filled. 39:50 And so, Father, today, as we close out this year 39:54 and we sit down and look at our itinerary, 39:56 where we've been and what we've done, 39:58 we look at our program logs. 39:59 We look at the challenges and the blessings. 40:02 The rainy days and the days of tornados, 40:05 the days of hurricanes we look at all of this 40:08 and we say, had it not been for the living bread 40:10 we would not be here. 40:12 So anoint us afresh we pray. 40:15 Fill us anew and sustain us 40:18 as one year closes and another begins. 40:21 In Jesus' name I pray. 40:23 Amen. 40:31 We think of the wine, 40:36 the pure juice from the grape. 40:42 In fact, this whole service is a service of symbolism. 40:46 And the symbolism teaches us lessons 40:50 and I'm just thinking of some of you 40:52 who may be viewing this service with us at this time. 40:57 Maybe this is the first time 40:59 you've ever seen anything like this before. 41:01 And you're wondering about it 41:04 and this is the way Seventh Day Adventists 41:09 stop every once in a while, every quarter normally, 41:14 and we remind ourselves of what the Son of God, 41:17 who came in human flesh, did for us. 41:22 Gave His body, gave His life, life blood 41:27 so that you and I could live. 41:29 The only human being who lived on this earth 41:32 without sin, never once sinned. 41:36 That's not our story 41:38 but that's His story for us, isn't that right? 41:42 We're quite familiar with this service, 41:44 but I was thinking some of our viewers 41:46 as we've-- Elder Lomacang has prayed 41:48 a blessing on the bread 41:50 and I will pray a blessing over the wine. 41:55 This does not magically turn the bread and the wine 42:00 into the actual body or blood of Jesus. 42:05 You see, there was only one sacrifice. 42:08 It was good for all time and for all people. 42:12 So we don't have to repeat it. 42:14 It's good once and for all. 42:16 The book of Hebrews tells us 42:18 that Christ's sacrifice is preeminent. 42:22 Nothing can do better 42:24 and nothing needs to be repeated. 42:26 So this is a symbol 42:29 but it helps us remember and that's its value. 42:33 I used the word wine, 42:36 when I used the word wine in our service, 42:38 I mean pure unfermented juice. 42:44 Jesus had no sin 42:47 and so that we don't use anything that symbolize sin 42:51 and fermentation symbolizes sin. 42:54 So we used the pure, unfermented juice. 43:01 The songwriter and this won't be an exact quote 43:06 but he penned the words 43:08 or she penned the words something like this, 43:12 the blood of Jesus that blood shed for us, for me, 43:19 so long ago on Calvary 43:22 that blood will never, never lose its power. 43:29 Never, never lose its power. 43:32 Bow your heads with me and join me in prayer. 43:34 Father in heaven, thank you so much 43:40 that You are willing to give Your life, 43:45 actually shed Your blood for us. 43:52 And as we partake a least emblems 43:55 both the bread and the wine, 43:59 we are commemorating, we're celebrating, 44:02 and we're giving thanks for what You did for us. 44:07 And one day, Father, one day, Jesus, 44:11 one day, Holy Spirit, one day, angels, 44:14 we look forward to being around a table 44:19 in the kingdom of heaven and celebrate there with You 44:24 and be able to cast our crowns at Your feet 44:28 and thank you personally, right there visibly. 44:32 Thank you for what You did for us. 44:34 Please bless this service and particularly 44:37 bless the emblem of the wine. 44:40 We pray in Jesus' name. 44:43 Amen. 49:06 Be seated. 49:13 What a wonderful time. 49:17 What a wonderful a moment to reflect 49:24 a new and again on the sacrifice of Jesus 49:28 and to reconsecrate ourselves to Him. 49:31 What a wonderful day that we live in. 49:38 What an incredible time to be alive. 49:41 To be serving the Lord. 49:46 Ellen White in the book "Desire of Ages" 49:47 talks about how things were set in place 49:51 for Christ's first Advent. 49:54 World was speaking one language generally, 49:57 there was a general peace in the world 50:00 and the message could get out. 50:03 We live in a parallel time now. 50:07 They're speaking English almost everywhere. 50:10 In Philippines, Africa, New Guinea 50:16 with their own language 50:17 there's English across the world. 50:21 And there is enough peace for the gospel to get out. 50:28 And then Christ has been pleased 50:31 to look down into Southern Illinois, 50:35 a cornfield, cornfield. 50:39 He didn't do it in New York, didn't go to Dallas. 50:44 Didn't go to Los Angeles, Boston, Florida. 50:50 A cornfield in Illinois and said, 50:56 "I'm going to erect for myself a monument 51:02 that will shine the light of my love 51:06 to everyone who wants to see it." 51:11 And then He was pleased... 51:18 to call us all. 51:23 He said, Jim, go to Southern Illinois. 51:26 Brian, Southern Illinois. 51:30 Lomacang, get out of California. 51:34 Southern Illinois. 51:36 Mol and Hally. 51:38 Mol and Hally-- Molly and Hal. 51:41 Leave Alabama, leave the cotton fields, 51:45 go to the cornfield. 51:49 And He called us all. 51:51 Pulled you out of Texas, 51:53 took JD out of those big trucks. 51:57 Brought Moses in from Boston, and here we are. 52:05 Little part to play, in the greatest work ever 52:10 given to the frail hands of men and women. 52:13 Amen. 52:15 How could we, how could we, 52:16 how could we hope to do this without Jesus? 52:23 Who here is sufficient for these things? 52:27 Who's smart enough? Who's got the brains? 52:31 Who's got the intelligence? 52:32 Who's got the money? 52:35 Without God. 52:38 Then we add radio and we go around the world. 52:45 Who here is sufficient? 52:49 The truth is, it always has been, 52:54 it is now, will always be all about Jesus. 53:01 Amen. 53:07 And so the letter to the Corinthians reckons 53:09 that faithful and wonderful evening 53:16 "For I received from the Lord 53:18 that which I also delivered to you. 53:22 That the Lord Jesus on the same night 53:24 in which He was betrayed took bread 53:27 and when He had given thanks, 53:30 He broke it and said, 'Take ye, this is my body, 53:35 which is broken for you. 53:36 This do in remembrance of Me in the same manner.' 53:41 He also took the cup after supper saying, 53:44 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, 53:49 this do as often as you drink it 53:53 in remembrance of me 53:56 for as often as you eat this bread 54:01 and drink this cup, 54:04 you proclaim... 54:07 the Lord's death till ye comes.'" 54:13 Shall we commune together. 55:08 You have given life to me 55:23 Heartaches, broken pieces 55:36 Ruined lives are why 55:42 You died on Calvary 55:51 Your touch is what I long for 56:04 You have given life to me 56:18 Amen. 57:30 Shall we pray, gracious and glorious Father, 57:36 we praise You and thank You for this time together. 57:42 We thank You for the presence and power of Your Holy Spirit 57:46 and for the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus in our behalf. 57:54 We know that we have nothing to fear for the future 57:58 except we shall forget Your blessings 58:00 and Your leading in our past history. 58:04 But we will not forget, Lord. 58:06 We pledge to take hold of Your unchanging hand 58:11 and never to let it go until you walk us 58:16 through the gates and into that eternal city. 58:20 And we thank you in Jesus' name. 58:23 Amen and amen. |
Revised 2015-04-30