Participants:
Series Code: GYC
Program Code: GYC180003A
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00:33 How can people get involved here
00:34 with GYC beyond this upcoming year? 00:37 Yes, in the next year, 00:38 if you look in your app sometime 00:40 or go to GYC Beyond webpage, 00:43 in the app, there's a link to GYC Beyond, 00:45 but if you go to gycweb.org/beyond, 00:48 we have some exciting new things. 00:49 We have the workbook, we have the podcast, 00:51 but we've also developed an ideas database 00:54 where you can see a variety of ideas 00:56 of different mission and service things 00:58 that you can participate in in your own church, 01:01 your own area, at a school, wherever you are, 01:04 and you can submit ideas 01:05 for other ministry opportunities, 01:07 maybe in different careers or trades 01:09 to try and broaden the bank of ideas 01:10 that people can participate in. 01:12 One of the things that you see there 01:14 is different mission trips, 01:15 different opportunities where you can participate in 01:17 as Eric said, 01:19 but as we thought about this year's theme, 01:22 to the end, 01:23 we realized that this is not enough. 01:27 No. 01:28 We have to go to the end. 01:31 And what that is all about, for 2019, 01:33 you will see now in a short video. 01:41 What if we came together as an army of youth? 01:46 What if we went beyond 01:48 what we've ever attempted before? 01:52 What if we prayed for God to work mightily 01:55 and expected Him to actually do it? 02:00 What if God is calling you to the end? 02:18 In 1973, a United States DC plane 02:23 ran out of fuel over Iceland. 02:26 It had to crash land on Solheimasandur beach 02:29 in Iceland. 02:31 The pilots made a mistake 02:33 and switched to the wrong fuel tank, 02:35 and they ran out of fuel and crash landed on that beach. 02:38 You see a picture there on the screen. 02:42 What happened was 02:44 that the focus was in the wrong direction. 02:47 The story of this plane is a great illustration 02:50 of what happens when we run 02:53 on the wrong fuel of self-sufficiency. 02:57 What happens when we do not trust God 03:00 to accomplish what He can do? 03:03 This plane crashed on Iceland. 03:06 It's a great illustration of what can happen 03:09 when we do things without the Holy Spirit. 03:12 But if we want to fly in our ministry, 03:15 if we want to have a flight experience 03:17 in a personal spirituality, 03:20 we need the Holy Spirit to fill us, 03:23 we need a powerful prayer life, 03:26 and we will see mission work like never before. 03:29 This plane crash in Iceland, 03:31 a country that is trapped in secularism, 03:34 darkness, a history of paganism, and occultism 03:39 is waiting for missionaries. 03:41 Only the power of God 03:44 unleashed through surrendered people 03:48 can make a difference. 03:49 And this is why we have decided to take a very radical approach 03:53 in claiming the country of Iceland for God. 03:56 So as we thought about this, we've reached cities before, 03:59 we've reached smaller areas before, 04:01 but we thought what would God have us do 04:04 if we aimed as high as we could possibly imagine. 04:07 And so we thought why not go and reach an entire country 04:10 for Christ. 04:11 But how do you do that? 04:13 You just go in and start giving Bible studies 04:14 and just being invasive and, 04:16 you know, telling people that you want to go in 04:18 and just baptize people for Christ. 04:21 I mean, we want that, don't we? 04:22 Amen. 04:24 But we thought that we would do something else instead, 04:26 something far more radical, far more crazy, 04:28 and far more powerful for God to be able to work. 04:31 And so we thought 04:32 why not go to this first year and just pray, 04:35 why not knock on every single door 04:37 that we can find on the entire country landscape, 04:41 and knock on each door and offer to pray for people, 04:44 to take prayer requests, 04:45 to say, "God, what will You do in the lives of these people 04:49 now that we have prayed for them?" 04:51 And then walk around the cities praying for them, 04:53 walk around the island praying for them. 04:55 What could God do far beyond we could ever imagine 04:58 if we tried to just do it all ourselves? 05:00 We believe that God is at work around us, 05:04 and He's always relevant, He's always powerful, 05:07 but He's always waiting for people 05:08 to collaborate with Him. 05:10 And so that's why we have decided 05:12 to join forces with GYC Europe 05:14 and going to Iceland in the summer of 2019. 05:17 In this first endeavor, we will be, as Eric said, 05:20 trying to knock on every door in Iceland, praying for people, 05:23 praying through the darkness, 05:25 the darkness that hovers over this island. 05:29 In future years, we may come back 05:31 and do more holistic efforts to try, 05:34 take that further to go back and say, 05:36 "What did God do in your home?" 05:38 Our goal is to be able to track and see, 05:39 okay, we prayed for this door, what did God do here 05:43 and to begin to build a relationship with people. 05:45 But as we do that, we're going realizing 05:47 that this is a difficult mission field. 05:49 The church in Iceland 05:51 has 150 actively attending members 05:54 out of about 450, 500 on the books. 05:58 That's not a whole lot, is it? 06:00 For a country with 350,000 people, 06:02 that's about one Adventist for every 2,300 people 06:06 compared to North America, 06:07 which has 1 per 300 or so. 06:10 It's a place that needs light more than ever before. 06:13 And so we are praying that you will join us this summer 06:16 on this trip. 06:17 If you want to be part of this, you can see on the screen here, 06:20 you can go to the website, 06:22 GYCweb.org/Iceland or in your app. 06:25 If you open your Attendify app, and you go to the menu, 06:28 and you click Iceland 2019, 06:30 you will be able to sign up there for more information. 06:33 You're not signing up for a trip yet, 06:34 but you're signing up for more information 06:36 as we will be sending those things out 06:38 very soon. 06:40 And we want you to be part of this, 06:41 but we only want people who are fully committed 06:44 and who really are willing to go to the end. 06:47 We need God to do something, 06:48 and so we are trusting that He will unleash His power, 06:52 unleash His light as we pray for this country of Iceland. 06:56 GYC, let's go beyond, let's go to the end. 06:59 Amen. 07:00 See you in Iceland. 12:43 Thank you, Brother Carlot, 12:45 for that beautiful ministry of music. 12:48 Happy Sabbath, everyone. 12:51 It's a beautiful opportunity to be in the south 12:53 when you live in the north 12:55 and enjoy some of what even though 12:58 it might be a cool day for Texas, 13:00 it's a warm day for Berrien Springs, Michigan. 13:04 Let's pray together. 13:07 Thank you, Lord, 13:08 for the privilege of Christian convocations. 13:14 Thank You for the blessings that You've already poured out, 13:16 and I pray now, Lord, continue to prepare our hearts, 13:20 anoint the presentation, 13:23 we know Your Word is spirit-filled 13:27 and spirit-breathed. 13:28 So now, Lord, I pray may we do nothing 13:30 to short circuit its power. 13:33 Bless us as we worship You through this day. 13:36 Set a watch before my lips 13:38 and a guard before the door of my mouth, 13:39 and give me a holy boldness as well, I pray, 13:43 and readiness of heart myself 13:44 and those who have gathered here 13:47 to search the scriptures. 13:48 In Jesus' name, amen. 13:52 If you have your Bibles, open them if you would 13:53 to the book of Corinthians, 13:56 1 Corinthians. 13:57 I have a challenging topic this morning. 14:01 But we've gathered as Bereans 14:05 seeking to discern truth. 14:09 As Christians, as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 14:13 we have allowed God's Spirit to be the guiding beacon 14:17 of our lives through His Word, 14:20 through the Spirit of Prophecy, 14:22 in communion and community with each other. 14:26 The Book of 1 Corinthians is one 14:28 that I like to call the postmodern gospel. 14:31 It's resplendent with a variety of challenges, 14:34 some that would make your church 14:36 look like the healthiest church on the face of the planet. 14:39 But it's not a stellar beginning, 14:42 even though it's a beautiful ending. 14:45 Paul finds himself dealing with a fractured church, 14:49 a group of people that are celebritizing 14:52 their allegiance to people instead of to Christ. 14:57 He's gotten word back from one of the notable 14:59 and trustworthy women of the church 15:01 that there's a problem, 15:02 and he's confident that it is so. 15:06 Now Paul does not practice 15:07 the modern forms of pastoral esteemism, 15:12 he speaks with love, the truth as it is in Jesus, 15:15 and he speaks directly. 15:17 1 Corinthians 3:1, 15:19 I'm reading from 15:20 the New American Standard Bible. 15:23 It says, "And I, brethren, 15:24 could not speak to you as spiritual men, 15:27 but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 15:32 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food 15:34 for you were not yet able to receive it. 15:36 Indeed even now, you are not yet able, 15:39 for you are still fleshly. 15:42 For since there's jealousy and strife among you, 15:45 are you not fleshly, and are you not walking..." 15:49 I like this supplied phrase in the New American Standard, 15:53 "Are you not walking as mere men?" 15:56 The implied directive is that 15:58 the indwelling presence of Christ, 16:01 the friendship of Jesus, 16:02 the power of the Holy Spirit, 16:04 and the direction of the Father raises us up 16:06 above what regular humanity would allow us to achieve. 16:11 So this morning, 16:12 I want to talk about 16:13 something very challenging to every human being. 16:17 I want to talk to you about authority, 16:19 and I want to talk to you about accountability. 16:22 The first thing I want to ask you is, 16:24 are you subject to the lawful legal God appointed authorities 16:28 in your life? 16:30 Are you accountable to anybody? 16:32 Are you infected with the spirit of this age 16:35 that defies your own opinion and your own experience 16:38 and turns it into reality? 16:41 This morning, we find ourselves in a larger picture 16:45 as a world body of believers 16:47 stressing and struggling over how to conduct our business, 16:52 but I want to come back 16:53 to the individual experience this morning, 16:55 I want to come back to the experience of your home. 16:58 I want to come back to the experience 16:59 of your church, your workplace. 17:02 God has said in this very same 17:04 or apostle that all things be done decently and in order. 17:08 It is impossible to do things decently 17:10 and in order with individuals 17:13 who are nurturing, cherishing, fertilizing 17:16 a spirit of independence or rebellion. 17:20 So my story is just a little bit unique 17:24 because I'm the child of a rebellious woman. 17:27 Now my mother is highly esteemed in my life. 17:32 And if she had the link, perhaps this morning, 17:34 she'd be watching, 17:36 instead she's probably watched the pastor at the church 17:38 where I'm usually at, 17:40 but my mother is the middle of three girls 17:43 whose life was difficult, her father was an alcoholic, 17:48 and the stories that I can recall 17:50 from my own experience 17:52 as well as the one she told like she and her two sisters 17:56 fleeing from their drunken father, 17:58 hiding with their mother, 17:59 my dear grandmother who prayed me into this church, 18:02 locking themselves in the bathroom 18:04 because grandpa was drunk with a butcher knife 18:07 and was chasing them around the house. 18:08 This is not an ideal childhood. 18:11 I can remember as probably a 10 or 12-year-old boy 18:14 sitting in the car, 18:17 looking up onto the porch 18:20 and saying, "Dad, grandpa is hitting Mom." 18:24 He had her by the hair, and he was beating on her. 18:28 Now my father is at least was before he became agent, 18:32 a larger man than myself, 18:34 and to watch my dad go deliver my mother 18:37 from the hands of someone 18:39 that was supposed to create security 18:42 was a strange thing. 18:44 So you could say my mother had excuse or reason. 18:48 She was expelled from her academy 18:50 six weeks before she graduated. 18:54 My mother was a rebel. 18:57 The Spirit of God is moving on her heart, 18:59 and she is submitting step by step to Jesus Christ 19:01 in her older age. 19:03 Can you say amen? 19:04 Now it's a strange thing 19:05 that my mother in her younger years 19:08 should make some of the decisions she made. 19:09 I learned early on in my home what authority was. 19:12 By the way, 19:14 this is one of the first things to be achieved 19:16 by human parents 19:17 is the loving direction 19:19 of proper authority and control. 19:22 Children who don't learn it become a blight to society, 19:26 to their own homes, to the churches, 19:28 and the institutions they attempt to work for. 19:31 My mother taught me she meant what she said. 19:34 I can remember when I was in the sixth grade, 19:36 attending that little public school 19:38 at Market Heights, Illinois, 19:40 getting a missive from the principal 19:44 who had appeared at the door of my sixth grade classroom 19:47 and had directed the teacher to send me out, 19:50 I was being sent home. 19:52 This was exceptionally unusual. 19:53 It was the middle of the morning. 19:55 You don't leave school to go home 19:57 unless there's an emergency. 19:59 Well, in her point of view, 20:00 there was a problem sizable enough to call me home. 20:04 When I got home, what I found out was 20:06 that the problem was that I had not cleaned my room 20:09 the way she had told me to clean my room. 20:14 Now this wasn't terribly surprising to me 20:17 to be called home to do what she had told me to do, 20:21 but what was more troubling was when my room was cleaned 20:24 and my mother said to me, 20:25 "Now you're going back to school," and I thought, 20:27 "I'm going to face a thousand questions, 20:29 and they're all going to be about why I left school." 20:32 My mother taught me that she meant what she said. 20:34 That was important because a year or two later, 20:37 at the end of a little summer vacation 20:38 at my aunt and uncle's house, 20:40 she called me out on the porch and she said, 20:43 "Ronnie, some things are going to change for you." 20:46 Now you have to remember 20:47 by the time I was 13, 14 years old, 20:49 I was taller than my mother, and I was looking down at her, 20:52 and she said to me, "You are going to church school 20:55 in a few days." 20:57 And I said, "No, I am not." 20:59 Now you have to remember, for me, 21:01 church was a bad association. 21:03 When I was a little boy, 21:06 my grandmother had tried over and over again 21:07 to make this church thing stick. 21:10 And I can remember going into the primary room, 21:13 this is my first memory of church, 21:15 it's still fairly vivid in my 54-year-old mind. 21:19 And I'm sitting in a circle with all these primaries 21:22 in the basement of the Peoria Church, 21:24 and they had handed out books of the Bible. 21:28 Now unfortunately, for me, 21:30 I didn't get Haggai or Zachariah 21:32 or something like that, 21:33 I got the easiest book in the Bible to pronounce, 21:36 except I got it wrong because when they came around to me, 21:39 I said I had the Book of Job. 21:43 And that's exactly what happened. 21:46 And I decided 21:47 I don't ever want to come back to this place again. 21:50 Now it wasn't their fault, 21:52 and yet every parent with a little child 21:54 ought to send their children to Sabbath school 21:56 knowing they're going as a missionary 21:58 because some backslider's kid might be there that day 22:01 because the grandma is praying for them. 22:03 That's what happened to me. 22:04 And I thought when I show up in that church school, 22:06 I'm just going to get perpetual rounds 22:09 of being a misfit, 22:10 only now, I'm a lot older, 22:12 and it bothers me a whole lot more. 22:14 My mother wasn't going to back up an inch. 22:16 She had fought my father for years, 22:18 a good man, 22:20 but a man who didn't understand why you'd pay good money 22:23 to leave a good public school, 22:25 but my mother, in a strange situation, 22:27 a paradox, as it were, 22:29 from her own life of rebellion 22:31 was now exerting an authority over me. 22:33 And pretty soon, standing on that front porch, 22:35 I was weeping, and crying, and praying 22:38 that she would change your mind 22:39 because I saw that steely look in her face. 22:42 There was no going backwards. 22:43 I was going to Peoria Junior Academy because 22:47 she said so. 22:50 And when I walked into that classroom that first day, 22:54 and the Spirit of God was there upon the teacher 22:56 and upon many of the students, 22:58 I began a trajectory that has me standing before you 23:01 here today because in my home, 23:03 there was a proper understanding 23:05 of who was in charge and what authority meant, 23:07 loving, proper, firm, kind authority. 23:13 Now this morning, 23:14 I want to remind you of some stories in the Bible. 23:17 We're living in an age 23:18 in which independence of thought, 23:20 the postmodern mantra for how you're to live 23:23 is that what happens between your experience 23:26 and the synapses in your brain create your own reality 23:30 and nobody has a right to question it. 23:32 But this is not what the Bible teaches, 23:34 this is not how healthy homes work, 23:36 and this is not how healthy churches work. 23:38 We believe in a higher authority, 23:39 that is God's Word. 23:41 Amen. 23:42 That authority directs our path. 23:44 It supersedes culture when it comes to moral living 23:48 and societal directions 23:50 on how to maintain this authority in the home. 23:53 We can go all the way back, take your Bibles, 23:55 go back to 1 Samuel chapter 2. 23:57 We can see that this authority should be practiced first 24:01 in the home. 24:02 1 Samuel chapter 2, 24:04 the sad story of a man who did not properly exercise 24:09 his authority, Eli, his boys, 24:13 they had no sense of the sacred, 24:15 they did not recognize their father's authority. 24:20 1 Samuel chapter 2, 24:22 looking at verses 12 to 17, 24:27 we won't read it all, 24:28 but let's just start with verse 12. 24:30 It says, "Now the sons of Eli were worthless men, 24:33 and they did not know the Lord." 24:36 Skip down to verse 27, 24:40 there was a man of God sent to Eli's house. 24:42 "The man of God came to Eli and he said, 24:44 thus says the Lord, 24:46 'Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father 24:50 when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? 24:53 Did I not choose them from the tribes of Israel 24:56 to be My priests, 24:58 to go up to My altar, to burn incense, 24:59 and to carry an ephod before Me, 25:01 did I not give to the house of your father 25:04 all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?'" 25:08 And then this telling rebuke, 25:10 "Why do you kick at My sacrifice 25:14 and My offering 25:15 which I have commanded in My dwelling, 25:17 and honor your sons above Me, 25:21 making yourselves fat 25:22 with the choicest of every offering 25:25 of My people Israel?" 25:27 And then if you turn over to the next chapter, 25:29 come down to verse 13, 25:31 we know that Samuel has a vision. 25:34 It'd be a heavy vision for a young person 25:36 to relate to an older person. 25:38 And by the way, Spirit of Prophecy, 25:40 speaking of this arrangement between the aged Eli 25:42 and the youthful Samuel says this is as it should be. 25:45 If you want to avoid issues with authority, 25:48 practice the cross generational honor 25:51 that God has put in place, start with your parents, 25:54 go to the Sabbath school teachers, 25:55 the preachers, and all those other individuals 25:58 that are in your life. 25:59 This young man had a telling painful prophecy 26:02 for his mentor. 26:04 Verse 13, 26:07 "For have I not told him, 26:09 I'm about to judge his house 26:12 forever for the iniquity which he knew 26:14 because his sons brought a curse on themselves, " 26:17 and the final telling epitaph 26:20 on the Ministry of Eli's family is, 26:23 "and he did not rebuke them." 26:27 So I want to ask you today, are you under authority? 26:29 Husbands, do you recognize 26:31 that there are people put in your life 26:33 to bring accountability to your manhood? 26:36 Young people, 26:38 does the admonition to obey your parents 26:40 matter to you? 26:42 Or do you believe 26:43 they don't have rights in certain places? 26:45 Ellen White commenting 26:47 on the story of Eli and his sons and challenging 26:50 a dysfunctional family of her day 26:54 reminds them 26:56 that while they are under your roof 26:59 and even beyond, 27:01 your parental authority, 27:03 the parental authority in your life is not over. 27:05 Does it change? 27:07 Does it morph? Does it adapt? 27:08 Yes, but that admonition to honor those 27:11 that are placed in authority over you is imperative. 27:15 Take your Bibles and go to the Book of Matthew. 27:17 Matthew chapter 8, 27:20 leading off in the New Testament gospel 27:23 after the Sermon on the Mount is this powerful story. 27:27 It's the story of a non-Israelite, 27:30 a non-Christian, a non-Adventist, if you would. 27:33 The story of a man who had been watching from a distance. 27:37 Matthew chapter 8, 27:40 he has a sick member of his household, 27:43 and he would like them to be healed, 27:46 a servant. 27:49 Jesus says in verse 7, 27:51 "I will come and heal him." 27:53 But the centurion said, 27:55 "Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. 27:59 Just say the word, 28:01 and my servant will be healed." 28:03 And this phraseology of verse 9 is exceptionally powerful. 28:08 He says, "For I also..." 28:11 what a strange leading to honor Jesus. 28:13 But He says, "For I also," me too, 28:18 I also am a man under authority, 28:21 with soldiers under me, 28:22 and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, 28:24 and to another one, 'Come!' and he comes, 28:26 and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." 28:30 And Jesus is almost stunned by the experience. 28:35 It speaks to Him so powerfully 28:37 that He stops and makes a commentary 28:39 where He says, "I've not seen such great faith 28:42 in all of Israel." 28:43 I think sometimes we forget that Jesus is the lead example 28:47 of how to live under authority. 28:48 Jesus was under His parents' authority 28:50 with a few exceptions 28:52 when the authority of his father 28:54 dictated a different course like at the 12-year appointment 28:57 in the temple. 28:59 Jesus Himself walked under the direction of His father 29:03 with no literal, structural, 29:06 governmental authority in His life, 29:08 He walked in the way that God chose for Him, 29:12 and this was the model for you and me. 29:16 So what does it mean when we start to dialogue 29:19 about dynamics of authority in the church? 29:24 Ellen White will speak, and she says, 29:27 "Men and women, 29:29 who, in their different organizations, 29:31 are brought together in church capacity, 29:34 have peculiarities and faults. 29:37 As these are developed, they will require reproof. 29:41 If those who are placed in positions never reproved, 29:46 never rebuked, 29:48 there would soon be a demoralizing condition 29:50 of things that would greatly dishonor God." 29:54 There's something 29:55 about the dynamic of someone standing in your way 29:57 when you're marching down the wrong road. 30:00 That is absolutely imperative to eternal salvation, 30:02 and health, and happiness in this world. 30:06 Now we all come from a variety of churches. 30:10 Your church may be very healthy at the moment, 30:12 your church may be struggling. 30:14 We also are involved in a larger body. 30:17 Ellen White has 1,000 references. 30:20 Now, of course, many of these are repeats, 30:22 but when you go to the website 30:24 and you study the phrase press together, 30:27 when you go to the website 30:29 and you study the phrase the prayer of Christ, 30:31 all of those can be tied back 30:33 or most of them to the references 30:35 to John chapter 17, 30:36 Christ's prayer for oneness. 30:39 It is impossible to be one with someone 30:41 who is nurturing the route of rebellion 30:44 of independent thought and spirit. 30:46 If you're married to somebody like this, 30:48 I feel sorry for you. 30:49 Keep praying, be wise and patient. 30:52 If you're raising a child 30:54 who has decided that their own way 30:56 is better than anybody else's, this is a challenge, 30:58 God will work in the midst of it 31:00 to do something in you, 31:01 and eventually by God's grace and through your prayers 31:03 and the life of the child. 31:06 If you're in a church 31:07 and there's stress factors all around, don't give up, 31:10 it's a call to prayer. 31:12 Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one 31:15 just as He and the Father and the Spirit were one. 31:18 It is so absolutely important that we are one 31:21 because this oneness is more and more unique 31:24 in an age of polarization and stress fracture. 31:29 Ellen White, writing in 1888, 31:31 when the church was undergoing 31:32 one of its most painful moments, said, 31:34 "Satan is the accuser of the brethren. 31:36 And when he can set the level of dissatisfaction 31:39 to work in the human hearts, he's exalted. 31:41 When he can divide the brethren, 31:44 whether it's at home or church or wherever, 31:46 when he can divide the brethren," 31:48 listen to this phrase, "he has a hellish jubilee." 31:53 This kind of party should not be thrown 31:55 with the encouragement of thinking, 31:58 praying Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 32:01 It's not our job to fertilize 32:03 or nurture the kind of division, 32:05 it takes too much work to stay together. 32:07 Look around, everything's falling apart, 32:10 families, institutions, even the government. 32:15 It appears that people can't talk anymore, 32:18 and it must be about time for those prophetic strokes 32:21 described in the Book of Revelation to take place 32:23 when we see a great overreach of authority, 32:26 a dominion over conscience. 32:29 She goes on and she says, 32:30 "I think if our brethren could see 32:32 as I've seen how much wrong is done 32:34 in speaking evil of our brethren, 32:36 there would be an entire change 32:38 in the way we treat one another. 32:40 You do not understand yourselves," 32:42 very interesting phrase, 32:43 "you misinterpret words and deeds, 32:45 and you measure them 32:47 from your own finite standpoint. 32:49 Your imagination leads you astray, 32:52 your feelings, your tongues, which are not sanctified, 32:55 are employed in service and work 32:57 that is anything but holy and Christ-like." 33:01 I had a member send me an email just a few weeks ago. 33:07 And he told me of a painful story 33:09 there happening in Southwest Michigan. 33:12 Very respectable member, 33:15 sound solid man, older gentleman, 33:17 respected in the community, 33:19 he said he went to do some work. 33:21 He was probably consulting somebody 33:23 on a project for he's an expert in his field. 33:26 And in the process, somebody who had worked, 33:29 if you'd like to say it in such a way 33:31 farther up in the organization, 33:32 the church went into their house, 33:33 and they came out with a cartoon. 33:36 The cartoon had a picture of one of our leaders 33:39 wearing a Nazi SS Gestapo uniform, 33:42 and the person holding the piece of paper 33:44 thought it was exceptionally funny, 33:47 the member who related the story 33:50 to me did not, 33:52 and he fulfilled a proper role in challenging in love 33:57 the perspective of the individual 33:59 who thought that the caricature of one of our leaders 34:02 was humorous. 34:04 I don't know that he changed anybody's mind, 34:06 but he did the right thing in challenging a wrong mindset. 34:14 We're reaping the bitter fruits of at least one generation, 34:16 maybe two in America and beyond America 34:21 that, largely speaking, has not been held accountable 34:23 by its parents, its teachers, or its ministers. 34:27 When Paul says, we're to walk worthy, 34:29 and he writes a book 34:30 that he thinks may break his relationship 34:32 with the Corinthian church, 34:33 what he's doing is being a faithful father 34:36 of that flock. 34:38 Doctrine is important, 34:39 and it matters that we have right doctrine. 34:43 I want to assure you today that parental authority, 34:47 pastoral authority, even positional authority 34:50 is all part of saving us 34:53 from driving our spiritual conveyances 34:56 to heaven off a cliff. 34:59 And it's absolutely important, that in my heart, 35:01 as Edwin Friedman says in his book, 35:03 "A failure of nerve 35:05 that I am responsible and honest 35:07 with myself about myself 35:08 because I might not see myself the way God sees me." 35:14 I was dealing with a number of pastors, 35:18 many of them exceptionally wonderful people, 35:22 and I shared with them a summary 35:24 of one of my presentations of a recent message 35:28 on authority and power. 35:31 The pastor lingered around for a little bit, 35:33 and he said to me, "You know, I agree 35:36 with what you're saying mainly, 35:40 but I'm not so sure 35:42 about the maneuvering at the top, 35:44 some of the maneuvering behind the administrational choices." 35:49 Now I need you to understand a word. 35:50 There's a word in our English language, 35:52 it is the word pejorative, the word pejorative is a phrase 35:57 that means the words you're using 36:00 are dripping with some form of negativity 36:04 or detrimental speech, 36:06 something that casts a negative light. 36:09 If one of your church members were to come to me and say 36:12 that you and your position were maneuvering something, 36:15 it's got the sound in the field of manipulation, 36:19 it's not a proper way 36:20 to describe somebody else's actions. 36:24 But in my reflecting on the scriptures, 36:27 I think there were some others 36:28 in the scriptures who thought that maybe there was some 36:31 maneuvering going on. 36:33 Take your Bibles and turn to the Book of Numbers 36:34 chapter 12. 36:37 They were at the very top almost. 36:40 Their younger brother was the leader, 36:42 his name was Moses. 36:46 And it appeared that he had chosen 36:47 to take advice from someone else than them. 36:52 It created a bit of jealousy, 36:53 the spirit of prophecy will write, 36:54 it created a bit of suspicion. 36:57 But what's worse is it in their journey to reconciling 37:01 that somebody else 37:02 was in the circle of administration, 37:06 they became blind. 37:08 It was a blindness they could not see. 37:12 Writing in Patriarchs and Prophets, 37:14 the author states that 37:16 Jethro would come into the camp, 37:18 father-in-law of Moses, 37:20 and that Miriam and Aaron feared 37:22 that his influence with the great leader 37:25 exceeded theirs. 37:27 "Miriam, Aaron," she writes on page 83, 37:30 "were blinded by jealousy and ambition." 37:34 Now to me, that's a very important phrase 37:38 because when you're blinded, you can't see. 37:42 She goes on to state, "Had Aaron stood up firmly 37:44 for the right, he might have checked the evil, 37:48 but instead of showing Miriam the sinfulness of her conduct, 37:50 he sympathized with her 37:52 listening to her words of complaint 37:54 and thus came to share in her jealousy." 37:57 Now I need you to understand something. 37:59 I have a very, very expensive education. 38:03 I'm not talking about the one I got in Andrews 38:05 which was worth every penny, 38:08 I'm not talking about the one I got at the seminary, 38:11 which was exceptionally beneficial to me, 38:14 I'm talking about the one that I got after that, 38:17 the 30 years of parenting and pastoring 38:19 where I have lost sleep, lost friends, lost favor. 38:25 I'm talking to you about the rejection 38:27 and the resistance to a ministry 38:31 that I believe most of the time 38:32 has been motivated by a genuine love 38:34 for my people. 38:36 Some of you have more expensive educations than I 38:39 because you've sought to be faithful 38:41 through the years and you're older than I am. 38:44 This life that we're living when we live it with Christ 38:46 is the ultimate teacher for Jesus Himself 38:48 is the shepherd and the architect. 38:51 He is the engineer of every day 38:53 to teach us the things we need to learn 38:55 in the journey we're on. 38:56 Yes, this education is expensive. 38:59 And I want to make sure you know something. 39:01 You need to be very careful how you listen to people. 39:05 You listen to somebody the wrong way, 39:08 you have reinforced wrong thinking. 39:11 I said on the airplane last night 39:13 between Karen and Sunshine Ray, that's her real name. 39:19 Sunshine Ray was younger than me, 39:21 Karen was older than me. 39:23 Sunshine's on her way to take care of a relative 39:27 who's struggling mentally, 39:28 she's concerned about her mental well-being. 39:31 Listen, if you don't show 39:34 the right kind of discretion and listening, 39:36 you should always listen long enough to understand, 39:38 but you better be careful you don't listen 39:40 in the wrong way to the wrong sentiments 39:42 because you can reinforce them and set the person on a journey 39:45 that they will pay a high price to make a U-turn on. 39:50 Aaron should have stood up to her. 39:52 Aaron should have said, "Miriam, 39:53 you're going the wrong way. 39:55 God is clearly marked out our younger brother 39:57 as the leader." 39:58 But instead of showing Miriam her sinfulness of her conduct, 40:01 he sympathized, and pretty soon, 40:02 she knew she was right, and he thought she was right. 40:07 Numbers chapter 12, 40:09 the Bible has a very interesting 40:12 and painful confrontation recorded in this chapter. 40:16 And probably most of you have missed the power 40:19 of its painfulness. 40:21 It says in verse one, "Then Miriam and Aaron 40:23 spoke against Moses 40:25 because of the Cushite woman he had married, 40:28 *for he had married a Cushite woman, and they said, 40:31 "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? 40:35 Has He not spoken through us as well?" 40:38 And then this short phrase, "The Lord heard it." 40:43 Now all of us should be reminded 40:45 of what Timothy is told by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:3, 4, and 5. 40:51 "The purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, 40:55 a good conscience, and faith unfeigned." 40:59 If you're a younger leader, if you're a parent, 41:02 if you're a pastor, if you're a teacher, 41:04 if you're just a Christian, remember this. 41:06 Paul will summarize his book by saying, 41:08 "Look the purpose of the commandment." 41:10 If you forget everything else, Timothy, remember this, 41:12 "The purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, 41:17 a good conscience, and faith unfeigned." 41:19 When you say something you shouldn't say, 41:22 when you think something you shouldn't think, 41:24 and God plucks the cords of your conscience, 41:27 don't turn that into something religious 41:29 that you need to kick to the curb. 41:31 There is a living God. He's unseen, but He's alive. 41:34 He wants to dwell in your heart and mind, 41:35 and He will talk to you if you've educated your heart, 41:39 mind, and journey in this book. 41:42 When Miriam and Aaron began thinking wrong 41:45 and speaking wrong, 41:46 you can be sure the Spirit of God 41:47 was ahead of time contending with them. 41:49 They chose to reject it, 41:51 but there is this commentary that God Himself heard it. 41:56 Verse 3, now the man Moses was very humble 41:58 more than any other man 41:59 who was on the face of the earth. 42:02 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses, and Aaron, 42:04 and to Miriam, "You three, 42:06 come out to the tent of meeting," 42:08 so the three of them came out. 42:11 You know, when my mother called me by my entire name 42:14 with all my siblings and I was told to appear, 42:18 it was a troublesome moment, which this will be. 42:23 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud 42:25 and stood at the doorway of the tent, 42:27 and he called Aaron and Miriam. 42:28 And when they both confirmed, He said, "Here now My words," 42:33 this is a very direct encounter, 42:35 there's not a lot of warm up, 42:36 there won't be a lot of post lewd. 42:39 "If there's a prophet among you, I, the Lord, 42:42 shall make myself known to him in a vision. 42:45 I shall speak with him in a dream, 42:48 not so with My servant Moses." 42:50 In other words, God's taking him up a notch, 42:52 "He is faithful in all my household. 42:56 With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, 42:59 not in dark sayings, 43:00 and he beholds the form of the Lord. 43:03 Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant 43:08 against Moses?" 43:09 "So the anger of the Lord burned against them, 43:13 and He departed." 43:15 What you need to understand 43:16 is that in the book of Exodus chapter 22, 43:21 Moses directed the congregation of evil of Israel 43:26 not to speak evil against the ruler. 43:28 This is what Paul was referencing to 43:30 when in Acts chapter 22 or 23, 43:33 he's standing before the Sanhedrin, 43:35 and he starts his speech out by saying, 43:37 "I'm standing before You here in all good conscience." 43:41 And the high priest doesn't like it, 43:43 and he says to his attendant, "Hit him in the mouth." 43:45 He just gives a little hand moment. 43:47 And he hits Paul in the mouth, 43:48 and Paul says under inspiration, 43:51 not as irritated response, he says, 43:55 "May God strike you, you whitewash wall 43:57 for striking me against the law." 44:01 And the person standing next to Paul 44:02 says something very interesting. 44:04 He says, "Are you going to talk that way 44:06 about the high priest?" 44:09 and Paul says, "I didn't know it was the high priest." 44:14 And then there is his statement 44:16 which is a reference to Exodus chapter 22, 44:19 "Don't speak evil against the ruler." 44:23 This dynamic has been communicated 44:25 to Israel and yet it is something 44:27 that Miriam and Aaron seemed quite casual 44:31 and going against. 44:32 You should not be speaking evil against dignitaries 44:35 for even the angels, Peter or I, 44:37 don't bring riling accusations gainst them. 44:39 When you lose proper structure in society, 44:43 you can lose civility. 44:44 And when you lose these dynamics, 44:46 you've lost more than you can get back 44:48 in a generation. 44:49 A home that has not properly under authority, 44:51 a church, an administrative structure, 44:54 there is to be a humility about the servants of Christ 44:57 with an appropriate submission to each other 45:00 that allows God to speak through the ones he appoints. 45:04 When David is being chased around the wilderness by Saul, 45:08 he's in the cave. 45:10 David sneaks up to him. 45:12 His men are all saying, "This is what God said, 45:14 'I'll turn your enemies over to you.'" 45:16 David goes up on his hands and knees, 45:18 pulls his sword out of its sheath, 45:21 the light coming from the entrance of the cave 45:23 is glistening off the blade, 45:25 but all the while love from a pure heart, 45:28 a good conscience, and faith unfeigned 45:30 are wrestling with the would be king's 45:33 and the will be king's heart. 45:35 And David is close to taking the life 45:37 of his persecutor, but then he slides the knife 45:40 back into its sheath, and he goes back and he says, 45:43 "I'm not going to be the one who raises my hand 45:45 against the Lord's anointed." 45:48 David later finds another opportunity. 45:50 This time, he's with one of his mighty men, 45:52 Abishai, his nephew. 45:55 This is the man who will save David 45:57 from one of Goliath's relatives later on, 45:59 and they'll tell David, 46:01 no more coming onto the battlefield with us. 46:04 They go all the way into the center of camp, 46:06 which is a gutsy move. 46:09 And as they are there with a divine slumber 46:11 on all of David's enemies, Abishai says, 46:15 "Let me take the spear and I can take care of him. 46:18 In one thrust, it'll be over, 46:19 and life will be better and different." 46:22 And David says, "There's no way. 46:25 God can take him out, God can deal with him, 46:29 I'm not going to be the one 46:30 who strikes the Lord's anointed." 46:31 I want you to know something. 46:33 If you are a child barring some unusual circumstance, 46:36 God has anointed your parents 46:38 to be a proper authority in your life, 46:40 and it didn't end when you got old enough 46:41 to come to GYC. 46:44 It changed and it'll keep changing. 46:49 If God has called your pastor to your church, 46:51 I hope that before he came, 46:53 you got down on your knees and did a lot of praying 46:55 because personal decisions are great big deals. 46:58 But once he brings him, 47:00 it's important for you to make sure 47:02 that you understand 47:04 that there were prayerful administrative moments, 47:07 and there was a laying on of hands, 47:09 and he is or she is to be the one 47:11 that is guiding you on this journey. 47:15 God is in the midst 47:17 of His administrative componentry 47:19 if we will bring Him in. 47:22 Verse 10, "But when the cloud had withdrawn 47:25 from over the tent, behold, 47:26 Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. 47:30 As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 47:33 Then Aaron said to Moses, 'Oh, my lord, I beg you, 47:37 do not account this sin to us, which we have acted foolishly 47:42 and in which we have sinned. 47:44 And don't let her be like one dead, 47:46 whose flesh is half eaten away 47:49 when he comes from his mother's womb!' 47:52 Moses cried out to the Lord, 47:53 saying, 'O God, heal her, I pray!'" 47:57 And listen to God's response. 48:00 "But the Lord said to Moses..." 48:04 Now this is going to strike many 48:05 as offensive to the sensibilities 48:08 of our modern society and our culture, 48:11 this is going to strike many as out of character 48:15 with the very nature of God, 48:16 but I'd like to challenge you this morning 48:19 that when you become blind and when you become jealous, 48:22 and God's got to come down and smite you with leprosy, 48:25 there's a pretty serious spiritual disease 48:28 that's farther advanced than you might know, 48:30 and it might require a severe rebuke, 48:33 which is what this whole chapter is. 48:36 But this is what God says, 48:39 "If her father had but spit in her face, 48:44 she would bear her shame for seven days. 48:48 Let her be shut outside the camp 48:52 for seven days. 48:54 And she can be received again." 48:57 This manifestation, 48:59 Ellen White will write of the Lord's displeasure 49:00 was designed to be a warning to all Israel, 49:03 to check the growing spirit 49:05 of discontent and insubordination. 49:08 If Miriam's envy and dissatisfaction 49:11 had not been signally rebuked, 49:12 it would have resulted in great evil. 49:15 The judgment visited upon Miriam 49:17 should be a rebuke to all who yield jealousy 49:19 and murmur against those 49:20 whom God lays the burden of His work. 49:23 You know, we have a responsibility 49:25 and a right to our leaders, 49:27 whether it's a parent or a teacher or a pastor 49:30 or a governmental leader, 49:31 we have the obligation to pray, 49:34 Paul says, for those that are in authority. 49:36 We have God divinely directed, counsel of Matthew 18, 49:40 to go and talk to people. 49:42 If I had $1 for every time somebody said to me, 49:45 "Pastor, it won't do any good." 49:48 How do you know it's not going to do any good? 49:51 You don't know until you go. 49:53 And besides the good it will do will be in you 49:56 by giving you the proper humility 49:58 and courage and love 49:59 that will only make you a more effective leader 50:02 the rest of your life. 50:04 And whether or not does any good in the moment, 50:06 it has the power to do good somewhere down the road. 50:10 If you haven't read the rest of the Book of Numbers, 50:13 you need to understand that 50:16 this problem with insubordination 50:18 was an Israelite problem. 50:20 Stephen will be stoned in the Book of Acts 50:22 because he says that Israel was a stubborn, rebellious, 50:26 stiff-necked people. 50:28 It's true the people in the camp of Israel 50:30 needed no encouragement 50:32 from the second and third in command 50:34 to stand up to the leader 50:36 and act like they're leaders too. 50:38 And if you read the next chapters 50:39 of the Book of Numbers, 50:40 you see rebellion after rebellion. 50:42 You may think something that if you say 50:47 will sow the seeds of doubt in resentment, 50:51 and insubordination, and rebellion 50:53 in the heart of somebody else 50:54 and Satan's right there 50:55 behind you to water and fertilize it, 50:57 and it may cost them their eternal life. 51:01 This is why God shows up so powerfully in this story 51:05 and says, "There just isn't going to be any of this." 51:11 You know, there's a lot of references 51:12 in the scriptures to military metaphors. 51:17 Paul will talk about a soldier 51:19 not going to war at his own expense. 51:22 We sing about onward Christian soldiers 51:24 and stand like the brave. 51:26 The Spirit of Prophecy will talk about 51:28 not everyone being able to be generals, 51:30 and captains, and sergeants, or even corporals, 51:32 and I'm quoting from her now out of Christian stewardship, 51:36 "There's a hard work of other kinds to be done. 51:38 Some must dig trenches and build fortifications, 51:41 some must stand at sentinels, some are to carry messages." 51:43 You know why? 51:45 God has a specific special place for your life, 51:47 but He may not be calling you to lead, 51:48 He may be calling you to follow 51:50 and hold up to the hands of the ones 51:51 He's called you to support, 51:53 the ones that He has called to lead. 51:56 There's all kinds of metaphors 51:57 of military might and military order 52:01 in the Scriptures, but right now, 52:02 the devil has one goal. 52:04 And this is the point he wants to make sure 52:07 that Seventh-day Adventism 52:08 is at war with nobody except itself. 52:13 And I want you to think about it. 52:15 It's not your job to go home from this message or another 52:17 and flavor your Christian life by chewing on the preacher 52:20 or the teacher or the Sabbath school leader. 52:23 That's not how you're to flavor your Christian experience. 52:25 There has to be a beautiful submissive humility. 52:28 It's enough humility to stand up in love 52:30 when you should, and it's enough humility 52:31 to get down on your knees and pray often, 52:35 until we recognize that we need accountability, 52:38 we will probably resent and resist accountability. 52:42 And I can assure you for anyone 52:44 that's dealing with dynamics of resistance right now, 52:49 that if someone will not submit to authority, 52:52 eventually they will have to convince themselves 52:54 that that authority is abusive 52:56 and not legitimately do the support 52:59 of those that find themselves 53:01 in the structures of governance underneath them 53:03 if you should say it in such a way. 53:06 I'm holding in my hands an amazing device. 53:10 I want to illustrate this because in a crowd this big, 53:12 there's bound to be somebody for whom this is salient. 53:18 If I could smash every smartphone in the world 53:20 that was held by an adolescent hand, 53:22 I'd do it. 53:24 Not because it's inherently evil, 53:28 just because I'm the father of four, 53:30 and I've gone through so many chapters 53:32 where the world is trying to get between me 53:34 and the rightful discipleship of my child 53:37 by the unaccountable access to their mind 53:40 with a moving of the thumb. 53:44 They can be sitting at my table, I can walk in, 53:46 and with one sweep of the thumb, 53:48 they can be in a different world. 53:50 If you think I don't have experience, 53:51 I pastored for almost 20 years next to an academy. 53:55 But my real experiences in raising four children, 53:58 you know, my mother actually bought one of these 54:00 for one of my children whom I will remain nameless, 54:03 so you only get a 25% chance in figuring out who it is 54:06 if you know my kids. 54:09 And before it was put into their hands, I said, 54:11 "Now you know that as a dad, 54:13 I have a right to look at this phone whenever I want, 54:16 and look at anything I want." 54:17 And you know what they did? 54:19 They couldn't turn their head up and down fast enough 54:22 to agree with what I was saying. 54:25 But I want to assure you when the day came 54:27 that I wanted to look at it, that was none of my business. 54:32 Now I want you to think about this. 54:36 Are you a woman? 54:38 Are you a man? 54:39 Are you a boy? Are you a girl under authority? 54:42 Are you your own authority? 54:43 If so, the work of rebellion 54:45 which is how God characterized Moses' inability 54:49 to go into the Promised Land, 54:51 read the Book of Numbers, 54:52 he is told that he acted in rebellion. 54:56 We must conduct ourselves on the high plane of a noble, 55:00 dignified, submissive spirit. 55:03 Timothy tells us to test the spirits. 55:06 John tells us to test the spirits, 55:08 the spirit of independence of thought, 55:10 and pride, of opinion. 55:12 We don't worship idols anymore. 55:14 We worship our own thinking. 55:15 And that is perhaps the most dangerous way to live. 55:20 We're to reject the factious man 55:21 the scripture say. 55:25 Now I'm about out of time, 55:29 and I want to appeal to you. 55:33 I'm not God, neither are your parents, 55:36 neither is your boss, 55:37 neither is your conference president 55:39 or anywhere up the line. 55:42 But there's something about you that lends itself 55:46 to this fantastic vitality of spirit, 55:49 which sometimes doesn't want the reins pulled in on it. 55:54 There's not a person listening to me today 55:56 who doesn't have to wrestle with their own cardinality 55:59 and the idea of wanting to be right 56:01 and not be told that they're wrong, 56:05 but it's dangerous. 56:08 We are living at the end of time, 56:12 we cannot afford 56:14 to practice the mentalities of independence 56:17 of thought and the rejection of proper authority. 56:21 We must model proper governance and structure 56:26 for the sake of the world to see that the Holy Spirit 56:29 reigns in our midst individually 56:30 and collectively. 56:31 And this morning, God has appointed me 56:34 to ask each of you, 56:36 are you too a man or a woman under authority. 56:40 Can God speak to you through someone else 56:43 and it's not abuse of power, 56:46 it's legitimate love and concern, 56:48 it could even severely rebuke you, 56:52 and would you accept it like David did 56:54 when Abigail came to him and later on wrote, 56:57 "Let the righteous smite me, 56:58 and it shall be an ointment to me, 57:00 and shall be balm for my soul"? 57:02 I'm appealing to you, whatever role, 57:04 position, or place you hold to let the Lord Jesus Christ 57:08 who submitted Himself to terrible abuse of authority, 57:12 and I'm not suggesting there's not a proper way 57:14 to stand up and speak truth to power 57:17 with the Spirit of Christ, I'm simply saying, 57:21 let the truth speak to your own soul first 57:25 so that you wouldn't be blinded 57:27 and miss the elemental Lordship of Jesus Christ, 57:31 which would allow us to dwell together in unity, 57:33 and it could be like oil 57:34 running down on the beard of Aaron. 57:38 Let's pray. 57:41 Lord, touch the hearts of my brothers and sisters. 57:45 Do what only You can do to make us one. 57:48 May we individually... |
Revised 2019-03-28