Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000030
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors of Truth,
00:15 from the 3ABN Worship Center and the Fresno Central Church. 00:19 Truths that Matter with Stephen Bohr. 00:22 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth. 00:24 And this is the third in a series by Pastor Stephen Bohr. 00:29 The series is entitled, Truths That Matter, Danny. 00:32 And last night, he talked about Wiping Out The IOU's, part 1. 00:38 And tonight, Wiping Out The IOU's, part 2. 00:43 And we're excited about this message. 00:45 Pastor Bohr always has something interesting. 00:48 You've known him a long time, haven't you Danny. 00:50 You know, I have. We actually... 00:51 I only went to Academy one year. 00:53 I went in 1967-68, I was a Junior. 00:56 My cousins talked me into going to Wisconsin Academy. 01:00 Though I loved Academy and I loved Academy life, 01:03 I didn't realize how cold it was in Wisconsin. 01:05 And I worked on the farm. 01:07 So I got up at 2 o'clock every morning and went to the farm. 01:10 But I met Stephen Bohr there. 01:11 Stephen, I think, was a Senior. 01:13 May have been a Junior, but I believe he was one year 01:15 ahead of me there. 01:16 And I want to tell you something about Stephen Bohr. 01:18 Even as an Academy kid... 01:20 Like, I got into trouble. 01:21 Now I didn't do mean things, but I was always... 01:23 - Mischievous. - Yea. 01:24 Always doing stuff when I shouldn't be or suppose to 01:26 be in my room, and I'm outside pole vaulting 01:28 or something with my cousin. 01:29 You know we do those things. 01:30 But Steve was very studious, very kind, made really 01:34 good grades, concentrated, knew where he wanted to go in life 01:38 even as a 16 and 17 year old young man. 01:41 And so I always had a great deal of respect. 01:43 And then later, Stephen Bohr actually would preach 01:45 for a little while here in West Frankfort at the 01:47 West Frankfort Seventh-day Adventist Church years later. 01:51 But during that time, that was in the 70's, I was in 01:54 Michigan for four years. 01:55 And so I've known Steve for a long time. 01:57 I have a great amount of respect for him. 01:59 And as you know, as far as viewers from around the world, 02:02 with Steve, we get more comments, positive comments, 02:06 about his preaching and standing for truth 02:09 as many or more than almost anybody we have on 3ABN. 02:12 Very, very true. 02:13 And he has continued to be the kind of person 02:17 that stands for that which is right. 02:19 I understand about that being mischievous 02:21 when you're in Academy. 02:23 I've got a feeling you didn't have any of those. 02:26 Some of my friends actually remember it as worse than I do. 02:30 But usually it's just cranks and pranks and things like that. 02:35 You know, as young guys, you like playing. 02:37 And so sometimes when you're suppose to be in sleeping, 02:39 in bed sleeping, you're outside or you're up in 02:42 somebody else's room. 02:43 Right, or you're short sheeting somebody's bed. 02:45 Or you're doing something like that to have fun in school. 02:51 Well we did, we had a good time. 02:53 And Steve is a great guy, Pastor Stephen Bohr. 02:55 And you know, some people wonder about these speakers. 02:59 Are they in full time ministry? Does he travel? 03:01 He actually has a church, he pastors a church. 03:04 Yet, he's able to do work around the world. 03:07 And he also doesn't just preach in English. 03:09 No, he speaks in Spanish. 03:11 In fact, this series is being presented on 3ABN Latino 03:15 in Spanish without translation because he's able to preach 03:19 in Spanish as well as he does in English. 03:22 - An amazing gift. - It really is. 03:23 One I don't have yet. 03:25 Well, he's the speaker and director of Secrets Unsealed. 03:29 And he is much sought after all around the world. 03:34 Because people are very anxious to find out what he 03:37 understands on a subject. 03:38 He's a great student. 03:40 He really does spend a lot of time in the Word. 03:43 And he knows the Word backwards and forwards. 03:47 And he always has something very interesting to present. 03:52 A new approach to something, a new idea, 03:55 something you haven't thought of before. 03:57 Even when he's dealing with truths that matter, 04:01 or in other words, these are truths that are extremely 04:04 important for these last days. 04:06 They're old familiar truths to us, but they have a special 04:10 emphasis in these last days that it is so important to bring out. 04:15 My Aunt Mildred use to say, "I want to hear somebody 04:19 tell me something I didn't already know." 04:21 She was a great student of the Bible, 04:23 "I want somebody to tell me something 04:24 I didn't already know." 04:26 And I think Pastor Stephen Bohr fits into that because I've 04:29 heard him tell me, teach me several things, 04:31 many things in fact, that I didn't already know. 04:34 Well, he will do that. 04:35 And Danny, right now I'm going to request that you sing a song 04:39 that I love, All My Praise. 04:42 Thank You. 04:58 All my praise, I give You all my praise. 05:10 That's all I have to offer You. 05:21 I now build a sanctuary deep within my heart, 05:32 and all my praise I offer up to You. 05:45 I love You Lord, oh how I love You Lord. 05:56 I bare my heart and soul to You. 06:07 I'm and empty broken vessel filled with hurt 06:15 and pain inside. 06:18 Still I offer up all my praise to You. 06:30 Fill me Lord, oh please fill me Lord 06:43 with Your Holy Spirit. 06:47 Fill me now. 06:53 For I long for Your anointing 06:59 that I may work for You. 07:05 Fill me Lord, touch me Lord just now. 07:16 And all my praise, I give You all my praise. 07:29 That's all I have to offer You. 07:39 I now build a sanctuary 07:46 deep within my heart, 07:51 oh and all my praise I offer up to You. 08:02 And all my praise I offer up to You. 08:23 Now, Stephen Bohr. 08:26 Shall we pray. 08:29 Loving heavenly Father, once again we approach Your throne 08:32 boldly in the name of Jesus, 08:35 knowing that when we pray in the name of Jesus, 08:39 You hear and You answer. 08:43 Father, as we conclude part two of this very important 08:49 presentation on the seal of God, we ask for the guidance of 08:53 Your Holy Spirit. 08:55 Once again Lord, I ask that You will open minds 08:58 and You will open hearts. 09:00 Help us to see the truth as it is in Jesus. 09:04 Help us, through Your power, to remove all 09:07 preconceived ideas and notions. 09:10 And help us, Lord, to hear only Your voice 09:13 speaking through Your Word. 09:15 And we thank You before hand for hearing our prayer. 09:18 For we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 09:25 In our last study, we were discussing the issue of the 09:29 seal of God in Scripture as compared to what is stated 09:34 by Ellen White in her writings. 09:37 And we noticed in our study that the Bible explains 09:41 that the seal of God is the Holy Spirit. 09:46 But in the writings of Ellen White, we find that she 09:48 states repeatedly that the seal of God is the Sabbath. 09:54 And so how do we resolve this apparent discrepancy? 09:58 Well, we used three models in our last study to try and 10:02 explain that there is no contradiction. 10:05 We used the model of circumcision, 10:07 we used the model of baptism, and we used also the story of 10:13 the phylacteries, if you remember. 10:16 That was the last example that we gave from Scripture. 10:19 And we noticed that simply you have an internal 10:23 and an external. 10:25 In the writings of Ellen White, she is discussing primarily 10:29 the external manifestation of what the Bible refers to 10:34 as the internal work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart. 10:39 Now we're going to apply what we've studied 10:42 in our last lecture, and apply it to the Sabbath 10:46 commandment, today, more specifically. 10:49 And so I invite you to open your Bibles with me to 10:51 Exodus chapter 20, and we are going to read 10:55 verses 8 through 11. 10:57 This is the fourth commandment of God's holy law, 11:00 the law that God wrote with His own finger there on Mount Sinai. 11:06 Now notice it says there, "Remember the Sabbath day, 11:11 to keep it holy. 11:13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 11:16 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 11:21 In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, 11:27 nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, 11:32 nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11:35 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 11:38 the sea, and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. 11:42 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." 11:48 Now, does God command us to keep the Sabbath holy outwardly? 11:56 He most certainly does. 11:58 Does He prescribe what is allowable and what is 12:02 not allowable on the Sabbath, in terms of our outward behavior? 12:07 Absolutely. 12:09 Was He serious when He said that we must keep the 12:12 Sabbath day holy outwardly? 12:15 Absolutely. 12:16 The text says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 12:20 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 12:23 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 12:26 In it you shall do no work." 12:28 That is referring to secular work. 12:31 So God expects His people to keep the Sabbath day 12:36 holy outwardly; to rest on that day and 12:40 abstain from secular work. 12:42 Now was God serious about this external 12:45 observance of the Sabbath? 12:47 Was He serious about it? 12:48 Notice Exodus chapter 31 and we'll read verses 14 and 15. 12:56 This was a serious matter. 12:57 As we noticed last night in our study, when Moses failed to 13:02 circumcise his son, God appeared to him, through an angel, 13:06 on the road and threatened to... What? 13:08 ...to kill him. 13:09 It was a serious matter. 13:12 It's no less serious when it comes to the outward observance 13:15 of the holy Sabbath. 13:17 It says there in Exodus 31 verse 14, 13:19 "You shall keep the Sabbath, 13:22 therefore, for it is holy to you. 13:26 Everyone who profanes it," listen carefully now, 13:31 "shall surely be..." What? 13:33 "...put to death; for whoever does any work on it, 13:36 that person shall be cut off from among his people. 13:40 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the 13:44 Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. 13:48 Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, 13:51 he shall surely be put to death." 13:55 And you know what some people say, 13:57 Christians who don't observe the Sabbath, they say, 14:00 "Well, if you apply that principle then, 14:03 if people today don't keep the Sabbath, then you have to 14:06 kill them, according to what the Bible says. 14:10 But today we don't live in a theocracy. 14:12 Today we live in a democracy. 14:15 And it makes a big difference." 14:16 For those who say that, they're saying it's not really serious 14:19 to break the Sabbath anymore because we don't kill people 14:22 for breaking the Sabbath. 14:23 Well, the law also said that whoever committed adultery 14:28 was suppose to be stoned to death. 14:29 So I suppose that because we don't stone people to death, 14:31 then it's okay to commit adultery. 14:34 It doesn't make any sense. 14:36 These are arguments that appear to be plausible, 14:39 but they're not plausible when you look at them carefully. 14:42 But now I want you to notice that there's a deeper dimension 14:46 to Sabbath observance than just the outward keeping 14:49 of the Sabbath; abstaining from work, abstaining from certain 14:53 endeavors, secular endeavors on the Sabbath. 14:56 In fact, the observance of the seventh day Sabbath 15:01 is an external sign that we have been made holy by God. 15:08 Notice what we find in Exodus 31, we're there, 15:12 and verses 12 and 13. 15:14 Exodus 31 verses 12 and 13. 15:18 "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak also to the 15:22 children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths 15:27 you shall keep, for it is a...'" What? 15:31 See the Sabbath observance is a, "...sign between Me and you 15:36 throughout your generations, that you may know 15:40 that I am the Lord who..." What? 15:42 "...who sanctifies you." 15:44 In other words, "You keep the Sabbath so that you may know 15:47 that I am the Lord who makes you..." What? 15:50 "...holy." 15:51 In other words, the observance of the Sabbath was 15:54 a visible evidence that God had separated Israel for Himself. 15:59 And that Israel was to be... What? 16:01 ...was to be holy. 16:04 Notice also Ezekiel chapter 20 and we'll read verses 12 and 20. 16:09 Ezekiel chapter 20 and verses 12 and 20. 16:13 Here once again, God is speaking and He's says, 16:15 "Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign..." 16:21 See, there it is again. 16:22 "...a sign between them and Me, that they might know that 16:26 I am the Lord who..." What? 16:28 "...who sanctifies them." 16:30 In other words, that makes them holy. 16:32 And then it continues saying in verse 20, 16:35 "Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me 16:40 and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." 16:47 In other words, the observance of the Sabbath was a visible 16:51 sign that Israel belonged to the Lord. 16:55 The observance of the Sabbath was an evidence that God 16:58 had made Israel... What? 17:00 ...that God had made Israel holy. 17:04 In other words, the Sabbath did not make Israel holy. 17:07 The Sabbath revealed that they had been made holy, or separated 17:12 for holiness, by God. 17:14 The external observance of the Sabbath did not make 17:18 Israel holy, but rather was to announce to the world 17:23 that God had made Israel holy. 17:26 In other words, it was a sign of holiness. 17:29 It did not confer holiness. 17:33 Now here is a very important question. 17:36 Who is it that makes our heart holy? 17:42 Because the eternal observance of the Sabbath is a sign that 17:45 God has made us holy. 17:47 Now the question is, who is it that makes our heart 17:50 or our internal being holy, of which the observance 17:54 of the Sabbath is the external sign? 17:57 Actually, it is the Holy Spirit who changes and transforms 18:02 the heart and makes us holy. 18:05 And the observance of the Sabbath is simply the visible 18:08 announcement that the Holy Spirit has made our heart, 18:12 has made our inner being holy. 18:15 Now let me share this with you. 18:18 In Exodus 31 and verse 18, we are told that after God 18:23 wrote the Ten Commandments with His own... What? 18:28 ...with His own finger, He gave the tables of the law to Moses. 18:33 Now, this is the only thing in the Bible that God wrote 18:36 with His own finger. 18:37 Because it was the watchers that wrote on the wall 18:40 in Belshazzar's palace. 18:44 That was not God; it was a watcher, it was an angel. 18:47 The only thing in the Bible that God wrote with His own finger 18:50 was the Ten Commandments. 18:53 Now the question is, what is the finger of God that wrote 18:56 the Ten Commandments? 18:58 Well, I'm just going to mention these verses. 19:00 In Matthew chapter 12 and verse 28, 19:04 we are told that Jesus cast out demons by the Spirit of God. 19:10 In Matthew chapter 12 verse 28, we're told that Jesus 19:13 cast out demons by the Spirit of God. 19:17 But Luke expresses it differently. 19:20 In Luke chapter 11 verse 20, the good doctor, Luke, 19:26 tells us that Jesus cast out demons by the finger of God. 19:33 So what is the conclusion? 19:35 If Matthew says that He cast out demons by the Spirit of God 19:39 and Luke says that He cast out demons by the finger of God, 19:43 what is the finger of God? 19:45 The finger of God is the... What? 19:47 ...is the Holy Spirit. 19:49 So who wrote the Ten Commandments 19:51 on tables of stone? 19:53 It was the Holy Spirit. 19:55 And now I'd like to ask you the question, 19:57 who is it that writes the Ten Commandments 20:01 on the tables of our hearts? 20:04 It is the same Holy Spirit that wrote them on tables of stone. 20:09 Because in Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 33, 20:12 we're told that the Holy Spirit will write God's commandments 20:16 and laws in our hearts and in our... What? 20:19 ...in our minds. 20:20 That is the internal. 20:22 But the external is the observance of the Sabbath 20:25 as a sign that God has sanctified 20:28 or made our heart holy. 20:30 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 20:31 Now notice John chapter 17 and verse 17. 20:35 Let's pursue this issue of who is it that makes us holy, 20:40 of which the Sabbath, the external observance 20:42 of the Sabbath, is a visible sign or a visible announcement. 20:48 Notice John chapter 17 and verse 17. 20:51 Here Jesus is speaking and He says, 20:53 "Sanctify them by Your truth. 20:56 Your..." What? "Your word is truth." 21:01 So here we're told in John 17 and verse 17 that the Word 21:05 of God is truth. 21:07 Now the word of God is whose sword? 21:11 I think you know this. 21:13 Whose sword is the word of God? 21:15 In Ephesians 6:17, it says that the sword 21:19 of the Spirit is... what? 21:20 ...is the word of God. 21:22 Now, so what does the word of God do? 21:25 The word of God... What? 21:27 ...sanctifies us. Right? 21:29 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." 21:33 And who is behind the Word sanctifying the heart? 21:36 It's the Holy Spirit, because the Word is the sword 21:40 of the Holy Spirit. 21:41 Now John 16 and verse 13 amplifies this point. 21:46 It says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth..." 21:52 What is the Holy Spirit called? 21:53 The Spirit of what? Truth. 21:55 And what is God's word? 21:56 God's word is truth. 21:58 So it says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, 22:01 He will guide you into all truth; 22:04 for He will not speak on His own authority, 22:08 but whatever He hears He will speak; 22:11 and He will tell you things to come." 22:13 So who is it that sanctifies the human heart, 22:17 or makes the human heart holy? 22:20 It is the Holy Spirit. 22:21 The Holy Spirit who wrote the Ten Commandments 22:24 on tables of stone is also the agent that writes 22:28 the law of God on our human hearts. 22:32 Now go with me to Ezekiel chapter 36 and verses 26 and 27, 22:37 amplifying this point of the internal experience 22:41 and the external obedience that comes as a result 22:45 of that experience. 22:46 Ezekiel 36 and verses 26 and 27. 22:51 Here, God makes a beautiful promise. 22:52 And notice what He says. 22:58 God says, "I will give you a..." What? 23:02 "...a new heart and put..." What? 23:05 "...a new spirit within you." 23:08 Does God promise to change the inside? 23:11 He most certainly does. 23:13 He continues saying, "I will take the heart of stone 23:17 out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 23:22 I will put My Spirit within you..." 23:25 And now listen to what the consequence is. 23:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to..." What? 23:33 "...to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My 23:38 judgments and do them." 23:39 What is the external evidence that the Holy Spirit 23:42 has worked upon the human heart and sanctified the human heart? 23:46 It is what? Obedience. 23:49 In other words, after saying, "I'll give you a new heart, 23:51 I'll put a new spirit within you," 23:53 and once again He says, "I will put My Spirit within you," 23:57 He says, "and I will cause you to walk in My statutes 24:00 and you will keep My judgments and do them." 24:03 So what is Sabbath observance? 24:05 Sabbath observance is simply the external experience 24:10 of what has taken place in the human heart. 24:13 It kind of reminds me of what Jesus once said. 24:17 He said, "You can't see the Holy Spirit, 24:20 like you can't see the wind. 24:23 But you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit." 24:26 You can see the effects of the wind, because the wind, 24:30 for example, moves the leaves of the trees. 24:32 You can't see the wind but you can see that which 24:34 the wind causes. 24:36 In the same way, the Holy Spirit comes and sanctifies 24:39 the human heart, makes the human heart holy. 24:41 And the visible evidence of that, the seal or sign of that, 24:46 is the observance of... What? 24:48 ...the observance of the seventh day Sabbath. 24:51 Ellen White, in the devotional book, In Heavenly Places, 24:55 page 66, had this to say. 24:58 See, she understood also that the Holy Spirit 25:02 is the sealing agent. 25:04 She understood that, and that the Sabbath is the 25:07 external visible manifestation of that. 25:10 She says: 25:34 Is she talking about the seal? Yes or no? 25:36 Absolutely. 25:37 But now notice her explanation. 25:54 Is she saying here that the seal is the Holy Spirit? 25:58 She most certainly is. 25:59 I thought she said that the Sabbath was the seal. 26:02 Well you see, she understood the same thing 26:05 that the Bible describes. 26:06 And that is, that the internal invisible experience 26:10 is exhibited by the external observance of God's Sabbath. 26:14 The external is the evidence of the internal, in other words. 26:18 In another statement that we find in Selected Messages, 26:21 Volume 1 and page 336, she compares the sealing with wax. 26:28 She says this: 26:43 So once again, she identifies the seal with the Holy Spirit. 26:46 So is Ellen White talking out of both sides of her mouth? 26:49 Is Ellen White just confused on this, and sometimes she says 26:53 that the seal is the Holy Spirit and sometimes she says that 26:56 the seal is the Sabbath? No. 26:57 You see, the Sabbath is the external sign that the 27:01 Holy Spirit has made our heart holy. 27:04 Are you following me or not? 27:06 Now Ellen White constantly, in her writings, 27:10 makes it very clear that the Sabbath is not an end in itself; 27:16 that observance of the Sabbath does not confer holiness. 27:20 Observance of the Sabbath does not make us holy, 27:23 it does not earn us salvation. 27:25 It is an outward sign of an inward experience 27:29 produced in our life by the Holy Spirit. 27:32 I'm going to read now several statements where Ellen White 27:34 makes this clear. 27:36 She, like the Bible, says that the Sabbath is a sign, 27:40 it is a token, it's an evidence, it is a visible manifestation. 27:46 In other words, it's simply the outside announcement 27:50 of inward holiness. 27:52 Now in the book, Patriarchs And Prophets, page 307, 27:56 Ellen White stated this. 27:58 And I'm going to read several statements because they're 28:00 very very meaningful, and they show that Ellen White understood 28:03 that the Sabbath was only a sign, the Sabbath was a token. 28:07 It was not an end in itself. 28:08 It was an exhibition visibly of the fact that Israel had been 28:13 separated as holy to the Lord. 28:16 Patriarchs And Prophets, page 307. 28:28 Why does the Sabbath distinguish the true God 28:30 from all false gods? 28:32 Because the Sabbath points to God as what? 28:34 The Creator. 28:35 Is that the distinguishing mark between the true God 28:37 and all false gods? 28:38 Absolutely. 28:40 So she says, "Pointing to God as the Maker of the heavens 28:43 and the earth, the Sabbath distinguishes the true God 28:46 from all false gods." 28:47 And now listen to this. 28:54 Signify comes from sign. Right? 29:17 What is the Sabbath? 29:18 The Sabbath is a sign. 29:22 Another statement we find in The Great Controversy, 29:25 page 605, she's talking about the Sabbath as the final test, 29:29 the final issue that will separate humanity on earth. 30:04 So what is the observance of Sunday? 30:06 It's an avowal of allegiance to the power that changed the day. 30:10 Are you following me or not? 30:11 In other words, the issue is not the day. 30:14 The issue is; by keeping the wrong day, we're following 30:17 the authority who changed the day. 30:19 She continues saying, once again, going back a little bit, 30:25 "Contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an 30:27 avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God..." 30:32 She says, on the other side... 30:44 What is evidence? 30:46 It's something you can see. Right? 30:48 "...the evidence of loyalty to the Creator. 30:50 While one class, by accepting the sign of 30:54 submission to earthly powers..." 30:55 What is that visible sign of submission 30:57 to the earthly powers? 30:58 The observance of Sunday. 31:00 She says, "...receive the mark of the beast, the other, 31:03 choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, 31:08 receive the seal of God." 31:10 So what is the Sabbath? 31:12 The Sabbath is a token. 31:14 The Sabbath is a sign. 31:16 It's an avowal of allegiance to God. 31:21 Now there's another statement that we find in the 31:23 Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 7, 31:26 and page 970. 31:28 She says: 31:51 Is it visible to the world, the mark of distinction? 31:54 Absolutely. 32:02 It's that simple. 32:04 In another statement, this is a short one, 32:06 The Great Controversy, page 438, she says: 32:14 Let me ask you, when you pledge allegiance to the flag of the 32:17 United States of America, is that an external act? 32:21 What is that manifesting? 32:23 It's manifesting that in your heart, you have patriotism. 32:26 Right? 32:28 Is that a visible manifestation of patriotism when you 32:32 cross your heart and say, "I pledge allegiance to the flag 32:35 of the United States of America." 32:36 It's an external act. 32:38 But really, it's revealing something that's in your heart; 32:41 your patriotism. 32:43 The flag is simply a symbol, an external symbol, 32:48 that you are loyal to the country that you belong to. 32:52 Now she continues saying in Selected Messages, 32:55 Volume 3, page 256: 33:26 In other words, when they kept the Sabbath, they were 33:28 announcing visibly to the world, "We serve the Creator 33:32 of the heavens and the earth." 33:34 Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, page 86. 33:37 See, she constantly says that the Sabbath is just a token, 33:39 it's a sign, it reveals what power we follow. 33:44 It's not an end in itself. 33:46 Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, page 86, she says: 34:04 What does it mean to demonstrate? 34:06 It means to... What?...to show. 34:08 What is it that shows that we are God's people. 34:12 Keeping the sign of God's seventh day Sabbath. 34:16 Manuscript Releases, Volume 11, page 18. 34:19 I could read statements from Ellen White all night 34:21 where she says this. 34:29 One final statement, Spirit Of Prophecy, Volume 2, page 193. 35:01 You know, when we leave our homes real early on 35:04 Sabbath morning dressed up fit to kill, to use the expression, 35:09 the neighbor's look out the window and they say, 35:12 "Where in the world are these people going on a 35:14 Saturday morning all dressed up?" 35:17 It gives us an opportunity to tell them, 35:20 "I serve the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 35:22 And the external visible evidence of that is I keep 35:25 God's holy Sabbath. 35:27 He has separated me as one of His holy followers." 35:32 Is the visible evidence extremely important? 35:34 It most certainly is. 35:36 Ellen White understood that the Sabbath is a deeper experience 35:41 than just keeping an external day holy. 35:44 She did emphasize that keeping the day is a sign or a token, 35:49 a visible outward manifestation, that we have been made holy, 35:53 that we are God's people. 35:54 But she understood that the Sabbath has also 35:57 a deeper dimension. 35:58 Let me read you three statements from the pen of Ellen White 36:01 on the deeper dimension of the Sabbath as the seal of God. 36:06 This statement is found in Signs Of The Times, 36:08 February 13, 1896. 36:31 Notice, she understood that this commandment cannot be fulfilled 36:34 without something happening in the heart. 36:47 So if you keep the Sabbath, what is the motivating 36:50 factor of the Sabbath? 36:51 Love for God and love for our fellow human beings. 36:54 And who plants that in or hearts? 36:57 It is the Holy Spirits that plants the love of God. 37:00 The Bible says that the Holy Spirit has poured the 37:02 love of God into our hearts. 37:05 In another statement that we find in the Review And Herald, 37:08 May 21, 1895, Ellen While says: 37:22 Isn't that interesting. 37:24 Just the mere external observance of the Sabbath 37:26 is not going to get you the seal of God. 37:29 In order to have the seal of God, she says what? 37:32 That we must have likeness to Christ in... What? 37:36 ...in Character. 37:37 And that's something that happens internally 37:39 in our hearts. 37:40 Now I want to give you a statement before we go to 37:43 the times of Jesus to understand this a little bit better. 37:46 I want to give you one final statement where Ellen White 37:48 relates the two ideas together; the internal and the external. 37:53 This statement is found in Testimonies For The Church, 37:55 Volume 8, page 117. 38:12 The seal is... What?...revealed. 38:16 So where is the seal placed? 38:19 Before we observe the Sabbath as the seal of God, 38:22 where is the seal of God placed? 38:24 It is placed in the heart. 38:26 By whom? 38:27 By the Holy Spirit. 38:28 So she says, "The sign or seal," that's the external, 38:31 "of God is revealed in the observance of the 38:35 seventh day Sabbath, the Lord's memorial of creation." 38:38 Now in order to understand this better, this idea of 38:41 the internal work of the Holy Spirit and the Sabbath as 38:44 the external sign of that work of the Holy Spirit, 38:47 we need to go back to the times of Jesus Christ. 38:50 The greatest controversies that Jesus had in His day 38:54 with the Pharisees was over Sabbath observance. 38:58 And unfortunately, many Christians look at the 39:02 controversies of Jesus with the Pharisees 39:04 and they believe that Jesus was attacking the Sabbath, 39:07 or Jesus was doing away with the Sabbath. 39:11 That is a misconception because Jesus was not doing away with 39:14 the Bible Sabbath which He made, because He was the Creator 39:16 according to John chapter 1. 39:18 He wasn't doing away with His own commandment. 39:20 What Jesus was doing was, He was trying to restore the Sabbath 39:24 to its original meaning that had been ruined by the scribes 39:28 and by the Pharisees. 39:31 You know what the problem of the Pharisees was? 39:33 They had everything outside right, but it did not 39:37 come from a good inside. 39:40 They kept the Sabbath holy, but their hearts were not holy. 39:44 Let me read you a passage that expresses the problem. 39:47 Matthew 23 verses 25 to 28. 39:50 Here, Jesus is pronouncing the woes on the 39:53 scribes and Pharisees. 39:58 Here Jesus says, "Woe to you, scribes and 40:01 Pharisees, hypocrites! 40:02 For you cleanse the..." What? 40:05 Ah, notice, "...the outside of the cup and dish, but..." What? 40:11 "...inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 40:15 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, 40:21 that the outside of them may be clean also. 40:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 40:27 For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed 40:31 appear beautiful..." What? 40:33 "...outwardly, but..." Where? 40:35 "...inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 40:41 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, 40:46 but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." 40:51 What was the problem that the Pharisees had? 40:53 Were they Sabbath keepers? 40:56 They kept the Sabbath much more strictly than any of us, 40:58 I can assure you that. 41:00 They only walked a certain distance. 41:03 They didn't look into a mirror on Sabbath. 41:05 Especially a woman because she might find a 41:07 gray hair and pluck it. 41:08 That was the sin of plucking. 41:09 I kid you not. 41:12 If there was a fire in their household, they could only 41:15 save enough food for the meals that remained that very day. 41:19 You couldn't jump over a brook on the Sabbath 41:22 because if you fell in the brook you might 41:24 fall into the sin of wringing your robe. 41:27 I mean, they had all kinds of rules and regulations. 41:30 If you had a prosthetic leg, you had to remove it on the Sabbath 41:33 because you couldn't bear a burden on the Sabbath. 41:36 You couldn't even have a pin on your shirt, or on your robe, 41:41 on Sabbath because that was bearing a burden on the Sabbath. 41:44 Now where does the Bible say those things? 41:46 Nowhere. 41:47 These were traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. 41:50 The Pharisees were strict Sabbath keepers. 41:53 But their observance of the Sabbath was worthless 41:55 because their hearts were not sanctified, 41:58 their hearts were not holy. 42:00 You see, the inside has to be in harmony with what? 42:03 With the outside, and vice versa. 42:06 Let me give you an illustration. 42:09 Mark chapter 3 and verses 1 through 7, 42:11 so you see what's going on here. 42:13 Mark chapter 3 verses 1 through 7. 42:17 This is one of the Sabbath miracles of Jesus. 42:20 It says there, "And He entered the synagogue again, 42:24 and a man was there who had a withered hand. 42:28 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him 42:32 on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him." 42:35 No sin in accusing on the Sabbath, 42:38 but it is a sin to heal. 42:42 Notice verse 3. 42:43 "And He said to the man who had the 42:46 withered hand, 'Step forward.'" 42:47 In other words, "I'm going to show everyone 42:49 what I'm going to do." 42:50 "Then He said to them, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath 42:54 to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?' 43:00 But they kept silent." 43:01 They were smart. 43:03 "And when He had looked around at them with anger..." 43:06 This is the only reference in the gospels where it says 43:08 that Jesus got angry. 43:10 This is not anger like we have. 43:12 This is called righteous indignation. 43:16 So it says, "And when He had looked around at them 43:18 with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts..." 43:22 Where was their problem? 43:24 Their problem was with the heart. 43:27 "...He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' 43:30 And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored 43:33 as whole as the other." 43:34 And now notice the irony. 43:37 "Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted 43:40 with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him." 43:46 It was a sin on Sabbath to heal someone, 43:49 but it's okay to plan to destroy someone and kill them. 43:54 You see, they had the external right, 43:57 but the internal was wrong. 44:00 You see, you have to have both; the work of the Holy Spirit 44:03 in the heart that leads you to love God and your 44:06 fellow human being, and then your Sabbath observance 44:09 will be acceptable in the sight of God. 44:11 You have to have both. 44:13 Ellen White, in the Desire Of Ages, page 286, 44:17 speaks about the manner of the observance of the Sabbath 44:20 by the Pharisees. 44:21 She says: 44:31 In Desire Of Ages, pages 283 and 284, 44:35 and I'm going to read extensively now, 44:36 Ellen White is discussing how the Pharisees kept the Sabbath 44:40 and how it was not acceptable to God. 44:42 She says this: 45:07 Because it's the sign of Christ as Creator and Redeemer. 45:11 She continues saying: 46:05 So was Jesus doing away with the Sabbath by healing on Sabbath? 46:09 No, He was restoring the Sabbath to its original... 46:12 ...meaning. 46:14 Now she continues saying on page 284 of Desire of Ages. 46:37 What does that mean, "designate them as His worshipers"? 46:40 That people could... What?...could see it. 46:43 That's right. 46:45 She continues saying: 47:03 That's profound. 47:05 So what comes first; keeping the Sabbath holy, 47:08 or the Holy Spirit making your heart holy? 47:10 The Holy Spirit making your heart holy. 47:13 Or else your Sabbath observance is worthless. 47:15 She says: 47:44 You see, the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's righteousness, 47:46 to glorify Him, had become a sign of their own righteousness 47:51 to glorify them. 47:52 Their Sabbath made them mean, intolerant, 47:55 spirited, judgmental, and arrogant. 48:00 As if they were holier than everybody else. 48:03 You know I find it interesting today, that there are 48:06 enemies of the Sabbath within the Christian world, 48:09 and more particularly, people who have left the 48:11 Seventh-day Adventist church. 48:13 There's one I'm thinking of in particular who's name 48:15 I'm not going to mention. 48:16 And basically, he says, "You know, I don't have to keep 48:19 the Sabbath holy. 48:20 I don't have to go to church on Sabbath 48:22 and keep the Sabbath holy." 48:23 He says, "Because Jesus is my Sabbath. 48:27 You see, Jesus said, 'Come unto Me all you who labor 48:31 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' 48:34 So Jesus gives me His rest in my heart." 48:38 Would you agree with that? 48:40 So only the internal is important, not the external? 48:43 Have we found that the external visible manifestation 48:46 is just as important as the internal? 48:49 You know, I'd like to ask this particular individual; 48:51 Do you believe people really need to get baptized in water? 48:56 Or is it enough just to say, "Oh, I believe in Jesus 48:59 and Jesus has cleansed my heart." 49:02 I know that he would say, "Oh no, God expects your heart 49:05 to be clean, but He expects you to be baptized in the water." 49:10 I'll bet if you asked this individual today, 49:12 "Do you really think that it's necessary to gather together 49:15 for communion and to eat a little piece of bread 49:18 and to drink a little cup of grape juice? 49:20 Do you really think that's necessary 49:22 when you really understand in your heart what the 49:24 bread represents and what the grape juice represents? 49:28 Why go through the external form 49:30 if we understand in our hearts what Jesus did?" 49:33 And if you went a step further and said, 49:35 "Do you really think that somebody has to get married 49:37 in an official visible ceremony? 49:40 Isn't it enough to love each other in their heart?" 49:43 I'm sure that he would say, "No way, you have to have 49:45 the external ceremony." 49:47 But when it comes to the Sabbath, they say, 49:49 "Oh now, Jesus is my Sabbath. Jesus is my rest. 49:52 He has come into my heart to give me my rest." 49:56 Does that exonerate us from keeping the external day 49:59 of the Sabbath to announce to the world that Jesus 50:02 has given us His rest? 50:04 Absolutely not. 50:07 Do you know that Ellen White says that some people 50:09 who externally keep the Sabbath are going to be lost? 50:13 Because some people say, "Oh Ellen White, she was a legalist. 50:16 You know, she believed that by keeping the Sabbath, 50:18 you would be saved." 50:19 That's what the Christian world accuses Ellen White 50:22 and Adventists of believing. 50:23 We've never believed that by keeping the Sabbath 50:25 we become holy, or God is going to save us because 50:27 we keep the Sabbath. 50:28 We believe that God has made us holy, 50:30 He separated us for Him, and therefore we keep the Sabbath. 50:34 The Sabbath is the fruit, it's not the root of salvation. 50:38 In other words, faith that does not work is not true... What? 50:42 ...is not true faith. 50:44 Ellen White said this about the mere external 50:48 observance of the Sabbath. 50:50 Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4, page 95. 51:16 Was she right? 51:17 Absolutely. 51:19 She relates the internal with the external. 51:22 In another place, Letter 191, 1899, she says: 51:50 Did she understand the internal and the external? 51:52 Did she understand that it's not having the rest of Christ 51:54 in the heart and not keeping the Sabbath, 51:56 or keeping the Sabbath and not having the rest in the heart? 52:00 Did she understand the proper relationship between 52:02 the internal and the external? 52:04 Absolutely. 52:05 You see, external observance without the internal 52:08 experience is unacceptable. 52:10 And the internal experience, so called, and saying, 52:14 "I don't have to keep the Sabbath," 52:16 is also unacceptable to God. 52:19 The observance of the Sabbath is the visible evidence 52:21 that God has made my heart holy through the internal 52:25 work of the Holy Spirit. 52:27 So was Ellen Write right when she said that the Sabbath 52:30 is the seal of God or the sign of God? 52:32 Was she also right when she said that the Holy Spirit 52:35 is the seal or the sign that impresses God's 52:38 character in our hearts? 52:39 Yes, it's not either or. It's both and. 52:43 Allow me to end by telling you a story. 52:46 A few years ago, there was this individual that was driving home 52:50 and it was raining torrents of water. 52:54 And when he was right near home, he ran out of gas. 52:59 And it was just raining so hard and he had to get home. 53:03 And so he got out of the car, you know, and kind of 53:05 covered himself with a newspaper and pushed his car, 53:07 there was a gas station nearby, and pushed his car. 53:09 Somebody else helped him push his car to the gas station. 53:13 And when he got to the gas station and parked there 53:15 in front of the place where you pump the gas, 53:18 he saw a sign that said, "Closed on Saturdays." 53:22 "Oh have mercy," he says. "Oh no, after getting wet." 53:26 But then he noticed that there was a house 53:27 next to the gas station. 53:28 So he said, "Oh, maybe the owner of the gas station 53:31 lives in that house." 53:33 So he goes, it's about 9 o'clock in the morning, 53:35 and he knocks on the door. 53:37 And this individual comes to the door nicely dressed 53:41 in a suit with a tie, white shirt, nice shiny shoes. 53:45 And he says, "Can I help you, sir?" 53:47 He says, "Yes, you know, I ran out of gas 53:50 and I'm wondering if this gas station belongs to you." 53:53 He says, "Yes, yes I'm the owner of the gas station." 53:56 "Do you suppose that it would be possible for you 53:58 to sell me a little bit of gas so that I can get home?" 54:05 Where do you think that individual was going 54:08 all dressed up? 54:09 To Sabbath school. That's right. 54:13 And this individual, he straightened himself out, 54:18 and he looked at this man and he said, "Sell you gas 54:21 on the holy Sabbath? 54:24 Don't you know the Bible says that we're not suppose to 54:27 buy or sell on the Sabbath? 54:31 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist, I keep the Sabbath." 54:34 And he shut the door in his face. 54:39 The only way that we found out about this story 54:42 is because several years later, two Seventh-day Adventist 54:45 literature evangelists... 54:48 Literature evangelists are people who sell books. 54:51 ...visited his home. 54:54 And they introduced themselves as Seventh-day Adventists. 54:57 And he looked at them and he said, 54:59 "You're Seventh-day Adventists? 55:01 Well I want you to know that I wouldn't buy 55:03 a book from you whether it was the last book in existence 55:06 in the whole wide world." 55:07 And then he told them the story of how this gas station owner 55:12 who was a Seventh-day Adventist had said, "I will not sell you 55:15 any gas because it's the holy Sabbath." 55:19 You know, if I had been that gas station owner, 55:21 I would have said, "Hey, I'll give you the gas 55:25 on the Sabbath day." 55:26 Would that have revealed the character of Christ 55:29 much more clearly to this individual? 55:31 Absolutely. 55:32 It would have shown that the love of God 55:34 and the love for your fellow human beings 55:36 was in the heart. 55:38 But this man was a legalist. 55:40 He kept the law to a T, externally. 55:44 But he had no love; no true love for God 55:47 and no true love for his neighbor. 55:50 So folks, the bottom line is that if the Holy Spirit 55:55 has come into our hearts and has changed our hearts, 55:58 transformed our hearts, and made us holy, 56:02 made our character like the character of Jesus, 56:05 it will be our delight to keep the Sabbath. 56:09 To keep the Sabbath as God has indicated we should keep it. 56:13 Keep it like Jesus did. 56:14 Let me ask you, what did Jesus use the Sabbath for? 56:17 It was the special day that Jesus used to bless humanity; 56:22 to bring healing and to teach the word of God 56:26 and to reveal the beautiful wonderful character of God. 56:29 Because Jesus had the internal work of the Holy Spirit 56:33 in His heart, and His Sabbath observance exhibited that. 56:36 And the reason why the devil hates the Sabbath 56:39 is because the Sabbath brings honor and glory to Jesus. 56:44 And that's the reason why the devil twisted the 56:46 meaning of the Sabbath. 56:47 He ruined the Sabbath through the work of the Pharisees 56:51 because he knew that the Sabbath, correctly kept, 56:55 is a revelation of what God's character is really like. 57:01 So I pray to God that God will give us, first of all, 57:05 the internal experience of the work of the Holy Spirit 57:09 upon our hearts. 57:10 And that when that takes place, that we will keep the 57:14 Sabbath day according to the commandment. 57:17 Not because we have to, but because we love Jesus. 57:21 And love flows in Sabbath observance from our hearts. 57:26 Let's pray. 57:27 Father, we thank You for Your holy Sabbath. 57:33 And we thank You for the work of the Holy Spirit 57:35 who seals our hearts and makes us holy, 57:39 separates us as Your people. 57:43 I ask, Father, that You will come into our hearts, 57:46 that You will pour, through Your Spirit, the love 57:49 of God into our hearts. 57:51 That when we go out on Sabbath, that people will not only say, 57:55 "Oh, these are those people who go to church on Saturday." 57:58 But they'll say, "These are the most loving and kind people, 58:01 and they bless humanity on the Sabbath." 58:04 I thank You, Lord, for having been with us during this series. 58:07 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, 58:09 for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17