Participants:
Series Code: HCAU
Program Code: HCAU190004A
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00:01 Music...
00:31 Welcome to the Program of 3ABN Australia Homecoming 2019. 00:36 We have got a really great Program for you this afternoon 00:41 and Mike, do you want to say who we're going to be listening to? 00:45 Yes, we have a special item, 00:47 Diane Hope is taking our special item this afternoon, 00:50 it's entitled: Who am I? 00:52 Beautiful... 00:54 and we have our favorite doctor... 00:55 Dr. Allan Lindsay who's going to be our Speaker this afternoon, 00:58 and the title of his presentation is: 01:01 A Certain Voice in Uncertain Times 01:04 and we know Pastor Lindsay... 01:07 Dr. Lindsay as a Spirit-filled man 01:09 and we're looking forward to his message to us today. 01:13 Certainly am, I know it will be very, very powerful 01:17 and he has a key text, it's 2nd Chronicles 20:20. 01:21 "And they rose early in the morning, 01:23 and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: 01:26 and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, 01:30 Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; 01:34 Believe in the LORD your God, and ye shall be established; 01:38 believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper. " 01:42 Let's bow our heads in prayer. 01:45 Okay, let's pray, Folks, 01:47 "Father in heaven, 01:48 we want to dedicate this afternoon's program 01:50 to... we want to ask that You will fill with Your Spirit 01:55 both Diane and Dr. Allan as they minister to us today, 01:59 and touch our hearts and lift our hearts to Jesus, 02:03 we pray in His name, amen. " 02:04 Amen... 02:10 Pause... 02:16 Music... 02:30 Over time You've healed so much in me, 02:33 I am living proof. 02:36 That although my darkest hour had come, 02:39 Your light could still shine through. 02:42 Though at times it's just enough to cast, 02:46 A shadow on the wall. 02:48 When I am grateful that You've shined 02:52 Your light on me at all. 02:55 Who am I, 02:59 That You would love me so gently? 03:02 Who am I, 03:05 That You would recognize my name? 03:08 Lord, who am I, 03:11 That You would speak to me so softly? 03:15 Conversation with the Lord most high. 03:20 Who am I? 03:24 Music... 03:33 Amazing grace how sweet the sound, 03:36 That saved a wretch like me 03:39 I once was lost, but now I'm found, 03:43 Was blind, but now I see, 03:45 And the more I sing that sweet old song, 03:49 The more I understand, 03:51 That I do not comprehend this love 03:55 that's coming from Your hand. 03:58 Who am I, 04:02 That You would love me so gently? 04:05 Who am I, 04:08 That You would recognize my name? 04:11 Lord, who am I? 04:14 That You would speak to me so softly? 04:19 Conversation with the Lord most high. 04:23 Who am I. 04:31 Grace, grace... 04:34 God's grace, 04:36 Grace that will pardon, and cleanse within. 04:42 Grace, grace. 04:46 God's great grace, 04:49 Grace that is greater 04:52 than all my sin. 04:58 Who am I, 05:02 That You would love me so gently? 05:05 Who am I, 05:08 That You would recognize my name? 05:11 Lord, who am I, 05:14 That You would speak to me so softly? 05:18 Conversation with the Lord most high. 05:25 Who am I? 05:31 Lord, who am I? 05:36 Who am I? 05:42 Who am I, 05:45 Who am I? 05:53 Audience: Amen. 05:56 Pause... 06:02 Good Afternoon everybody. 06:04 Audience: Good Afternoon. 06:06 Thank you Diane for that beautiful song, 06:08 it reminds us that God's grace is available to all of us 06:12 and that's a wonderful thing to think about 06:15 and to sing about this afternoon. 06:18 For ten years, it was my privilege 06:20 to serve as the Director for the Ellen White Research Center 06:24 here in this South Pacific Division. 06:26 I remember it was a very challenging period. 06:30 Many Christians were being asked 06:32 about the life and the ministry of Ellen White. 06:35 However, I must say this afternoon 06:38 that when I left the Center, 06:39 I felt very blessed to have had access... 06:43 free access to all of her writings 06:47 and that left me in no doubt at all 06:51 about the genuineness and the relevance 06:54 of the gift that Jesus gave her for the Church. 06:58 For this reason, as you've noticed, 07:00 my title today is: 07:02 A Certain Voice in Uncertain Times. 07:04 But first, we must always make sure 07:07 that our faith is based upon the Word of God 07:10 and I'd invite you to open your Bibles 07:12 if you have them there, 07:13 I hope you do... 07:15 and Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17, 07:17 a well-known verse. 07:19 We should remember the context of this chapter, 07:23 because here it's one of the visions 07:25 that John received in the book of Revelation 07:27 and in this vision he sees, particularly two main figures 07:31 if I could put it that way, 07:32 there was a woman clothed with the sun 07:35 and then, there was a dragon. 07:36 The "woman" is used consistently in Bible prophecy 07:40 throughout Scripture to represent God's church 07:43 and the dragon is identified in verse 9 of the same chapter 07:47 as that old serpent called the devil and Satan. 07:51 With that background, let's look at Revelation 12:17, 07:54 "And the dragon... " Satan... 07:57 "was enraged" that's a strong word... 08:01 "with the woman" the church... 08:03 "and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, 08:06 who keep the commandments of God 08:09 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 08:11 This afternoon, I want to share with you 08:16 the significance and the meaning 08:18 of that last characteristic. 08:20 There are two characteristics 08:21 that identify God's remnant people. 08:24 The second one that is mentioned here 08:26 is that this people will have the testimony of Jesus Christ 08:31 and that's why I want to ask the question with you, 08:35 "Are you sure what is the testimony of Jesus Christ?" 08:38 I found it interesting that the phrase is found four times 08:42 in the book of Revelation 08:44 and we need to read the first one 08:46 because the first one sets our understanding 08:49 of the meaning of the rest. 08:50 So, if you go over to Revelation chapter 1, the first two verses 08:54 of this wonderful book and we read this, 08:58 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 09:02 which God gave Him to show His servants... 09:06 things that must shortly take place. 09:08 And He... " Jesus... 09:11 sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 09:16 the prophet 09:18 who bore witness to the word of God, 09:20 and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, 09:23 to all things that he saw. " 09:26 So here is the introduction to the book of Revelation 09:30 but I want you to notice the context to this phrase: 09:34 the testimony of Jesus 09:35 because the Bible gives us the insight here 09:39 that God gave this revelation to Jesus. 09:42 Jesus sends it on through His angel 09:45 to the prophet, John 09:47 and then it says about the prophet 09:49 that he bore witness to the testimony of Jesus. 09:52 He'd just seen and received the testimony of Jesus 09:53 he had just seen and received the testimony of Jesus 09:57 through the angel 09:58 and now in the book... for the rest of the book, 10:01 he bears testimony and witness 10:06 to the testimony of Jesus to all things that he sees 10:10 in that wonderful book 10:12 but we need to go to the end of the book 10:15 to see something very significant 10:17 so, if you turn over to Revelation chapter 19, 10:19 and I read in verse 10, 10:22 "And I fell at his feet to worship him. " 10:26 Now, this is an angel that he's speaking to, 10:30 but that angel that is introduced 10:32 in Revelation chapter 1, 10:34 "I fell at his feet to worship him, 10:36 but he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! 10:39 I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren 10:43 who have the testimony of Jesus. 10:45 Worship God! 10:47 For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. '" 10:53 Here's a Biblical definition, 10:56 given in the same book that is introduced that way 10:58 and here John says, "I fell down to worship the angel... 11:01 he said, 'Don't do that, 11:02 I am your fellow servant and of your brethren 11:05 who have the testimony of Jesus. 11:07 Worship God for the testimony of Jesus 11:10 is the spirit of prophecy. '" 11:12 But we need to read... go three chapters over 11:15 to Revelation chapter 22 and let's look at verse 8 and 9, 11:21 Revelation 22:8 and 9. 11:25 Now, we need to see the context here too 11:28 because John has just been shown 11:30 the beauty of the New Jerusalem... the new earth 11:34 and he's almost overcome by what he's seeing 11:36 and there in verse... 11:38 we pick it up, first of all in verse 6, 11:41 "Then he said to me, 11:43 'These words are faithful and true. ' 11:44 And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel... '" 11:48 there it is again... "to show His servants the things 11:51 which must shortly take place... " 11:52 and then, verse 8, 11:54 "Now I, John, saw and heard these things. 11:56 And when I heard and saw, 11:58 I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel 12:02 who showed me these things. 12:03 And he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. 12:06 For I am your fellow servant, 12:08 and of your brethren the prophets, 12:10 and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. '" 12:13 Let me put that on the screen 12:15 because I want you to notice something significant. 12:17 Here in Revelation 22... 12:19 "I fell down to worship the angel... 12:21 he said, 'Don't do that, 12:23 I am your fellow servant and of your brethren 12:26 the prophets. 12:28 Worship God. '" 12:30 When we look at the comparison 12:32 between those two sets of verses, 12:34 it's very clear that the prophets 12:36 are those who have the testimony of Jesus. 12:39 When you look at that diagram and we have the definition 12:43 at the end of verse 10 of Revelation 19, 12:46 "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. " 12:49 So, the prophets are those 12:51 who possess the testimony of Jesus 12:53 and can I say this this afternoon, dear Friends, 12:56 and that is that all prophets have had the testimony of Jesus, 13:00 all prophets have had the spirit of prophecy. 13:02 It's not just a term that is sort of very local 13:05 and very recent. 13:06 The Bible tells us here in Revelation 13:08 that John had the spirit of prophecy 13:11 and spoke the testimony of Jesus 13:13 and that's important for us to remember. 13:16 All prophets have had the testimony of Jesus 13:19 and their role is to pass on Jesus' testimony to the church. 13:23 Since prophets began at the very beginnings of the world, 13:27 they have always passed on Jesus' testimony 13:31 and according to our text, 13:33 in the last days of earth's history 13:36 just before Jesus comes 13:37 to help the church prepare for that glorious event, 13:40 God is going to give the testimony of Jesus... 13:44 the spirit of prophecy to His people. 13:48 How does the Holy Spirit impart 13:51 the testimony of Jesus to prophets? 13:54 I'm sure you may remember that text in chapter 12 13:57 of the book of Numbers verse 6 13:59 where the Lord is speaking and He says, 14:02 "If there is a prophet among you, 14:04 I, the Lord, will make myself noted to him in a vision 14:08 and will speak to him in a dream. " 14:11 So, visions and dreams are an important way 14:15 that the Lord chooses to impart the testimony of Jesus 14:19 to His church 14:20 and you may remember that even in the book of Joel chapter 2, 14:23 Joel distinctly... even though he lived 14:26 100s of years before Jesus came, 14:28 he spoke that in the time of the end, 14:30 just before Jesus comes, 14:31 God is going to pour out His Spirit 14:34 and the results will be visions and dreams 14:36 given to His people. 14:38 I'm sure, dear Friends, I'm going to say this, 14:42 that when a prophet is bearing the testimony of Jesus, 14:46 as the Holy Spirit has inspired him to write, 14:49 that voice will be a certain voice 14:53 amidst the uncertain times 14:55 in which the prophet and you and me live. 14:59 Well, true to these dear tremendous predictions, 15:03 the Lord gave to Ellen White some 2,000 visions 15:08 between December 1844 and July 1915. 15:13 Not just a few... 2000... 15:17 scattered throughout those years 15:20 when she was serving the church. 15:22 In those predictions, she was shown the lives of people 15:28 she didn't know. 15:30 She also spoke about events in the past 15:34 and the present and the future. 15:35 Her visions led to the establishment 15:38 of the largest Protestant school system in the world today. 15:41 Her guidance founded a world-wide system 15:44 of publishing houses and medical institutions 15:47 and health-food companies. 15:48 Several of her visions led to the establishment 15:53 of Loma Linda University in Los Angeles 15:57 that has become world famous for pioneering... 16:00 and heart transplants to children... 16:02 cancer treatment... 16:04 and the training of medical personnel. 16:06 If I can take you back to the 1880s, 16:09 the 1880s were a time when Ellen White was under fire, 16:13 there were people who opposed her 16:15 and I find, sometimes I meet people who are concerned 16:19 that there is so much negative material on the Internet 16:22 about Ellen White 16:24 but they seem to forget 16:26 that every prophet that has ever existed 16:28 has always been opposed and mocked. 16:32 Read 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 verses 15 and 16 16:36 and you'll see that that happened 16:38 way back in the beginning and continues today, of course, 16:41 but when she was being attacked, 16:44 I want you to notice her defense. 16:46 She very rarely defended her gift 16:48 but this time she did 16:51 and I want you to notice what she said, 16:54 "As the Lord has manifested Himself 16:56 through the spirit of prophecy, 16:57 past, present and future have passed before me. 17:01 I have been shown faces that I had never seen 17:04 and years afterward I knew them when I saw them. 17:07 I have been aroused from my sleep 17:09 with a vivid sense of subjects previously presented to my mind; 17:13 and I have written at midnight 17:16 letters that have gone across the continent 17:18 and, arriving at a crisis 17:19 have saved great disaster to the cause of God. 17:23 This has been my work for many years. 17:26 A power has impelled me to reprove and rebuke wrongs 17:31 that I had not thought of. " 17:33 And then she asks the question I want to leave with you today, 17:37 "Is this work of the last thirty-six years... " 17:42 and she wrote this as I said... in 1880, 17:44 "from above or from beneath?" 17:48 How would you answer? 17:51 From those 2,000 visions that Ellen White received 17:55 during her life, dear Friends, 17:56 I've chosen three that I want to share with you 17:59 this afternoon. 18:01 Three of them that have convinced me so much 18:04 of the certainty of the counsel that has come 18:08 from the testimony of Jesus to His church. 18:12 Let me take you back to the mid-1800s. 18:16 It was a time when disease hung very heavily upon the world. 18:21 The average age of death in the United States 18:25 at that time was 39.4 years of age. 18:29 No one in the world knew in the 1850s and '60s 18:33 the cause of disease. 18:35 The Germ Theory was unknown. 18:37 Doctors used Arsenic and Strychnine and Mercury 18:41 to cure disease. 18:43 There were no antibiotics, no Aspirin, no immunization, 18:48 no blood transfusions, no X-rays. 18:51 People saw no connection whatsoever 18:54 between what they ate, 18:55 their diet and lifestyle and disease. 18:58 People seldom bathed 19:00 and doctors prescribed smoking if you had bronchitis 19:06 and any other lung problem. 19:09 Think about that. 19:10 Doctors were still blood-letting... 19:12 taking blood from people when they were sick 19:15 and performing surgery with unwashed hands. 19:17 But in 1863, here in this home in Otsego in Michigan, 19:24 on Friday evening, June the 5th, 19:26 the Lord gave to Ellen White a three-quarter-hour vision 19:31 that began to unfold a system of health preservation 19:36 for His people. 19:37 It came as a very certain voice 19:41 amid the uncertainty of the medical practice of those times. 19:46 But those who have put her principles into action... 19:50 into practice... 19:51 have become a healthier and a stronger people. 19:54 Ellen White says something interesting about this vision 19:58 when she says, and I quote, 19:59 that what she was shown crossed her mind very much 20:06 as not being true, 20:07 she didn't know it or understand it. 20:09 And I want to give you one illustration 20:12 from that 1863 vision, 20:13 out of the many that we could choose. 20:16 When she wrote this, she said... 20:17 she was writing up the account of that vision 20:20 the following year... 20:21 she wrote, "Tobacco is a poison... " 20:23 now, remember doctors were prescribing tobacco 20:26 if you had bronchitis, 20:28 and here she writes so certainly, 20:30 "Tobacco is a poison of the most... " 20:33 and she uses two interesting adjectives... "deceitful. " 20:36 If you are deceived, my Friends, 20:38 if you believe something to be right when it's really wrong... 20:40 and it was a deceitful poison she said. 20:44 She was shown in vision that it was malignant 20:46 and you know the word... 20:47 the meaning of the word "malignant. " 20:49 "It is all the more dangerous 20:50 because its effects upon the system are so slow, 20:53 and scarcely perceivable. " 20:56 Doctors tell us today that it takes 20 years 20:59 to develop a case of Lung Cancer. 21:01 Its effects are so slow and scarcely perceivable 21:06 and it wasn't until 1957... that's nearly a 100 years later 21:10 that the American Heart Association concluded 21:13 that smoking was a causative factor in lung cancer. 21:18 Look at these statistics. 21:21 In 1954, there were 20,000 people 21:25 who died in the United States from Lung Cancer. 21:28 In 1984... 121,000. 21:32 That's worldwide from the effects of smoking. 21:36 In 2005... 5,400,000 21:41 and they project that by 2030 at the current rate... 21:46 8,300,000 people would die from Lung Cancer and smoking. 21:51 I just ask you, 21:53 "Did Ellen White know what she was talking about 21:56 when doctors were prescribing smoking to cure Bronchitis?" 22:00 And we look at those statistics and results today. 22:05 She advised the value of eating fruits and grains 22:09 and vegetables... a plant-based diet. 22:11 She said in that first vision 22:13 that flesh food was not the most healthy article of food 22:16 for people 22:18 and she began to... to exhort people to say 22:21 the value of rest is important. 22:24 Exercise, diet, water, temperance, sunshine, fresh air 22:28 and a trust in God. 22:30 These were the hallmarks of what the testimony of Jesus 22:34 was revealing to a very sick and disease-prone people 22:38 of that time. 22:40 Today, dear Friends, there are 100s of pieces of research 22:43 that is being done in the western world 22:45 confirming what Ellen White wrote in that... 22:49 from that vision of 1863. 22:51 Can I just mention two? 22:53 You may have heard of the Adventist Health Study. 22:57 It was a health study on Seventh-day Adventists. 23:00 It was begun in the 1970s nearly a 100 years after 1864. 23:06 There were 34,192 Adventists that were chosen for this study 23:13 and they were compared with the rate of dying 23:16 and the diseases people were dying from 23:18 in the Californian population. 23:22 The results were startling. 23:26 I want you to look at that graph 23:28 because here if compared to the 100% 23:32 of the Californian population 23:34 but I found that Adventists were suffering only 20% 23:37 from Lung Cancer. 23:38 Only 5% from Mouth, Throat and Larynx Cancer, 23:42 32% from Bronchitis and Emphysema, 23:45 28% of Bladder Cancer, 23:48 Esophageal Cancer... 34%, 23:50 Cirrhosis of the Liver... 13%. 23:52 What we are seeing on that graph so dramatically 23:56 brings home to us of the certainty of the counsel 24:01 that she received at that time. 24:03 But then, in 2002 the commenced the second Adventist Study... 24:08 a study of how many Adventists... 24:10 96,469 in the 50 states 24:15 of the United States and in Canada 24:18 and the results from that study reinforced even more strongly 24:22 the benefits of the health message as we call it sometimes 24:27 that the testimony of Jesus brought to this church. 24:31 When we look at those results 24:34 from that Subsequent Californian Adventist Longevity Study, 24:37 how long people were living... 24:39 Adventist men were living 8.9 years longer than the average. 24:44 Adventist women... 7.5 years longer 24:48 than the average in America. 24:50 And Adventist Vegetarian men 24:53 were living 12 and 1/2 years longer... 24:56 3.78 years extra on the 8.9. 25:00 Startling results, dear Friends, startling results. 25:05 The November issue of the National Geographic Magazine 25:09 ran an article in it by Dan Beuttner, 25:13 "The Secrets of Long Life" 25:14 and he writes in that prestigious magazine, 25:18 of the wonderful results of health 25:21 that Seventh-day Adventists received 25:24 and he wrote... and I quote... 25:26 "That makes the Adventists one of the nation's 25:30 most convincing cultures of longevity... " 25:33 and if I have to present anymore evidence in relation to this, 25:38 can I just refer you to the article that came out 25:41 in the US News and World Report back in 2009. 25:45 They wrote an article, 25:47 "10 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100." 25:49 This is a prestigious newspaper 25:52 and they wrote about these 10 health habits. 25:55 What caught my eye was number 8. 25:59 "8. Live like a Seventh-day Adventist. 26:03 Americans who define themselves as Seventh Day Adventists 26:07 have an average life expectancy of 89, 26:09 about a decade longer than the average American. 26:12 One of the basic tenets of the religion 26:15 is that it's important to cherish the body 26:17 that's on loan from God, 26:19 which means no smoking, ... alcohol abuse, 26:22 or overindulging in sweets. 26:24 Followers typically stick to a vegetarian diet based on fruits, 26:28 vegetables, beans and nuts and get plenty of exercise. 26:31 They are very focused on family and community. " 26:34 What a testimony of the "certain voice" 26:38 in these uncertain times in which we live. 26:42 In fact, Ellen White wrote these words in 1909. 26:47 "The work of health reform is the Lord's means... " 26:51 because, she was carrying the testimony of Jesus dear Friends, 26:55 "is the Lord's means of lessening suffering 26:58 in our world... " 27:00 and how wonderfully has that been verified 27:02 "and... " please note... 27:05 "for purifying His church. " 27:08 But then, there's a second vision 27:10 that I want to share with you, 27:13 one of the most remarkable of all the 2,000. 27:15 Late in October in 1890, Ellen White was speaking 27:20 at meetings in the Eastern States, 27:22 of the United States of America, 27:24 and on Wednesday evening, October 29, 27:27 they arrived in Salamanca, 27:29 now, there's a map of the United States, 27:31 I hope you can pick up New York up in the top right-hand corner, 27:35 not right up at the top but there's New York, 27:37 and that part that's enclosed in red 27:40 is the map on the right-hand side. 27:44 You'll notice that Niagara Falls is there in the middle 27:47 connecting Lake Ontario on the top 27:49 and Lake Erie on the bottom, 27:50 but right down the bottom of that map on the right is in... 27:54 whether you can see it, I hope you can, 27:56 there is the little town of Salamanca 27:59 and she was speaking in Salamanca, 28:02 and... because it's cold in October 28:05 with approaching winter, 28:06 she caught a chill... and it began to affect her speech. 28:10 She continued to speak with difficulty 28:13 until Monday evening, November the 3rd, 28:16 and after the meeting that night, 28:19 she returned to her lodging 28:21 feeling she couldn't continue the meetings 28:23 and that she should return home... home in Michigan 28:28 and she tells us in her diary 28:31 and I've read this diary personally, dear Friends, 28:33 and I'm quoting from it. 28:34 She says that she knelt by her bed that night to pray 28:39 when she became aware that... and I quote, 28:41 "The whole room seemed filled with a soft silvery light, 28:46 and my pain and disappointment and discouragement 28:49 were removed. " 28:51 She added that she was filled with comfort and hope 28:54 and the peace of Christ 28:56 and then, she was given a vision, 28:59 and we know it as the Salamanca Vision. 29:03 Many matters were opened up before her 29:06 concerning the publishing work of the church 29:09 but particularly in Battle Creek which was our headquarters 29:13 in those days for the church. 29:16 The next morning, her son, 29:18 concerned about how his mother was the previous night, 29:20 came to visit with another minister, Pastor Robinson, 29:24 and they were surprised to find her completely healed 29:27 and during the conversation 29:29 twice Ellen White said to her son, 29:31 "I must tell you of the vision I had last night. 29:35 I seem to be in Battle Creek... " 29:37 and if you look, there's Battle Creek right on the left 29:41 in Salamanca where she's having this vision. 29:44 And then she apologized to her son, 29:47 he was surprised and so was Pastor Robinson 29:50 and she said, "I'm sorry, I can't remember 29:52 the vision I had last night. " 29:54 Well, three weeks went by and November the 20th 30:00 she wrote out what she had seen in the Salamanca vision 30:04 and I have the account right here, 30:07 it's written in New York City, November the 20th, 1890, 30:12 and then, she says this, 30:14 "In the night season, I was present in Council... " 30:18 because she's referring to a Committee Meeting 30:21 that she saw in the Salamanca vision, 30:23 "... and there I heard words repeated 30:25 by influential men to the effect, 30:27 that if the American Sentinel 30:29 would drop the words 'Seventh-day Adventist' 30:32 from its columns, 30:34 and would say nothing about the Sabbath, 30:36 the great men of the world would patronize it. 30:39 It would become popular and do a large work. " 30:42 This looked very pleasing and she goes on to describe 30:46 what she saw that night in that Committee Meeting. 30:50 She says that she saw one man hold up a copy 30:54 of the American Sentinel 30:55 which was a magazine we were publishing at that time 30:58 because it dealt with principles of religious liberty... 31:01 high above his head... 31:03 and saying, "Unless we remove the name 'Seventh-day Adventist' 31:06 from the Masthead 31:08 and take out all doctrines from this magazine, 31:10 we'll take the magazine away and give it to another 31:13 non-Adventist Publishing House. " 31:15 She heard what was said in that Committee Meeting. 31:18 She describes what she said... 31:20 this was weeks before... 31:22 in November 20, the event actually takes place 31:26 and it was a subtle thing 31:28 because they were wanting to remove all things 31:31 in reference to what the Adventist church stands for. 31:35 Well, she saw the agitation of this Committee Meeting 31:39 and then, four months later, 31:42 she is invited to attend the General Conference of our Church 31:46 when representatives come from all over the world 31:48 to a General Conference. 31:50 It was held in Battle Creek 31:51 from March the 5th to the 25th of that month. 31:56 Well, she spoke on the first Sabbath afternoon 32:01 of that Conference. 32:02 She spoke in this... the largest Adventist Church 32:06 that we had at that time 32:07 The Dime Tabernacle seating some 3,200 people. 32:11 And she spoke that afternoon and she chooses her text, 32:15 "Let your light so shine before men, 32:18 that they may see your good works, 32:21 and glorify your Father which is in heaven. " 32:24 And at the back of her mind, 32:25 she knew that there was something about the 32:27 Salamanca vision about letting your light shine. 32:31 Don't put it under a bushel 32:32 and so, early in her sermon she said, 32:36 I must tell you of a vision that I had in Salamanca 32:38 four months ago 32:39 and then she stopped... 32:41 and she apologized to the people 32:44 that she couldn't remember the vision. 32:45 Half-way through her sermon, again she came back to it, 32:49 again apologized... 32:50 toward the end of the sermon, 32:52 for the third time she apologized... 32:54 "I can't remember what I saw in the Salamanca vision. " 32:58 At the end of the meeting, 32:59 the General Conference President came to her and asked her, 33:04 "Would you take the meeting tomorrow morning... 33:05 Monday morning?" 33:07 She said, "No, they've heard me this afternoon, 33:09 ask somebody else to take the Sunday morning meeting. " 33:13 That night... that night... 33:19 a group of men met in the committee 33:22 to discuss the Editorial Policy 33:26 of the American Sentinel Magazine. 33:28 They met at 9:00 o'clock... 10:00 o'clock... 33:31 11:00 o'clock... midnight... 33:33 and as the meeting went through, 33:34 two groups of men began to argue strongly. 33:38 One saying, "Let's remove the name 'Seventh-day Adventist' 33:41 from its columns... 33:42 let's remove all the doctrines concerning our unusual beliefs 33:46 so that it can do a larger and more popular work. " 33:51 Another group said, 33:52 "Don't you remember what Ellen White said to us 33:55 this afternoon, 'Let your light shine... 33:57 don't put it under a bushel. '" 33:59 1 o'clock... 2 o'clock... 34:02 and at 3:00 a. m., dear Friends, that Sunday morning, 34:06 they broke up in wildest disagreement and disorder 34:10 but at 3 a. m. that morning, 34:14 an angel was bidden to come from God's throne, 34:18 to waken Ellen White 34:20 telling her that she should present the material 34:23 that she had written about the Salamanca vision 34:27 at the early morning meeting. 34:29 So, she went down to the Dime Tabernacle. 34:32 The General Conference President said, 34:34 "I've already asked somebody else to take your meeting... " 34:36 but she said, "No, I have a message from the Lord... " 34:39 and she stood up and began to read 34:42 from the papers that she had written 34:43 about the Salamanca vision. 34:46 There she is, speaking in the Dime Tabernacle, 34:52 and what a shock it was to the people who attended! 34:56 And at the end of the meeting, 34:58 and I have an eye-witness report here 35:00 of what had happened that morning. 35:01 Various people began to stand up and speak 35:05 and I'm going to read what was said by two of them. 35:08 "I was in that meeting last night... " 35:11 and Ellen White now sitting on the platform interrupted 35:15 and said, "Last night? 35:17 Did the meeting only occur last night? 35:20 I saw this in vision four months ago. " 35:23 He went on to say, 35:25 "I was in that meeting last night, 35:27 and I am the man who made the remarks 35:29 about the articles in the paper holding it high over my head, 35:32 I'm sorry to say that I was in the wrong side... " 35:36 Notice what's happening. 35:37 "But I take this opportunity to place myself 35:41 on the right side. " 35:42 Another man stood up and said, 35:44 "I was in that meeting last night. 35:46 After the close of the Conference, 35:48 some of us met in my room in the Review Office 35:50 where we locked ourselves in 35:52 and took up and discussed the questions in the matter 35:54 that has been presented to us this morning. 35:57 We remained in that room until 3 o'clock. " 36:01 And Ellen White remembered it was 3 o'clock 36:04 when the angel woke her up and told her to prepare the material 36:07 from the Salamanca vision. 36:10 And then, he went on to say, 36:12 "If I should begin to give a description of what took place 36:16 and the personal attitude of those in the room, 36:20 I could not give it as exactly and as correctly 36:23 as it has been given by Sister White. 36:26 I now see I was in error, 36:29 and of the position I took, was not correct. " 36:33 And you may remember in Ephesians where Paul discusses 36:37 why God sent prophets in the church. 36:40 One of them was to bring a unity 36:42 and that's what happened that morning dear Friends. 36:45 A remarkable experience... 36:48 one of the most remarkable visions 36:50 that Ellen White ever had. 36:51 She never knew about the meeting the night before, 36:53 and yet she had described it so accurately four months before. 37:01 Dear Friends, I have a question. 37:03 Why did she try to recall that vision five times? 37:08 Twice the morning after... 37:10 three times that Sabbath afternoon... 37:13 the answer simply of course is, the meeting hadn't occurred. 37:18 If she'd remembered it that Sabbath afternoon, 37:21 people would not have known what she was talking about 37:23 but God knew... Jesus knew 37:27 and passed on that testimony to His Church 37:31 and the people who were there stood up... many of them... 37:34 and testified when they heard her say, 37:36 what they had said the night before... 37:39 even though it was given to her four months before. 37:43 How remarkable... never did they say if we'd seen 37:47 the operation of this testimony of Jesus 37:50 so clearly seen in the church. 37:53 But the third vision that I want to just share with you 37:56 very, very quickly is this one. 38:00 It was given to her in 1890 38:03 and she wrote about it in November... rather in March... 38:07 April the 21st, 1890 in the Signs of the Times. 38:11 But what's so remarkable for this... from this... 38:14 is that in the 1890s, 38:16 the world leaders were looking forward 38:19 to the change of the century, 1900... 38:21 and it was going to be a time when there would be 38:24 no more war in the world... 38:25 it was going to be a century of peace 38:28 but Ellen White knew something very, very different 38:31 and look at what she wrote in the Signs of the Times, 38:35 "The tempest is coming and we must get ready for its fury 38:38 by having repentance towards God... 38:41 The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. 38:45 We shall see troubles on all sides. 38:47 Thousands of ships will be hurled 38:49 into the depths of the sea. 38:51 Navies will go down, 38:52 and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. " 38:56 Dear Friends, I don't need to remind you this afternoon 38:59 that 24 years after she wrote that for the world to read, 39:03 the world was involved in World War number 1 39:07 when 17 million people died 39:10 and she spoke about seeing millions of people perishing. 39:13 She spoke about 1,000s of ships being hurled 39:16 into the depths of the sea. 39:17 I noticed when I looked at the Encyclopedia during the week, 39:22 that Germany alone lost 5,000 ships in that first world war 39:27 but then she went on to say, 39:30 "Fires will break out unexpectedly 39:32 and no human effort will be able to quench them... 39:36 Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; 39:39 confusion, collision and death without a moment's warning 39:43 will occur on the great lines of travel. " 39:45 And dear friends, between 1899... 39:50 that's nine years after she wrote that in the Signs... 39:53 and 2013... 39:56 3 million 613 thousand 732 people 40:01 have been killed in car accidents alone 40:04 and yet, can I remind you dear Friends, 40:07 that only four years before she had that vision, 40:10 the first car went on the roads, that's a photo of it. 40:14 Would you like to ride in it? 40:16 The Benz Motorwagen of 1886 40:19 and a few years after it was invented, 40:22 it traveled on the road shortly afterwards 40:25 at 16 kilometers an hour. 40:27 Yet she wrote about collision and death 40:31 on the great lines of travel. 40:32 It was many years... some years... 13 years 40:37 after she had the vision that the first airplane flew. 40:40 You may have seen that picture before. 40:42 Collision and death on the great lines of travel. 40:47 Well, dear Friends, when Ellen White died in 1915, 40:53 her written legacy was 100,000 pages 40:58 of manuscript, 40:59 4 and 1/2 thousand articles that appeared weekly 41:04 in our church papers, 41:05 as well as more than 200 tracts and pamphlets. 41:09 Is that why she had written in 1876... 41:13 "There was never a time... " 41:16 I want to remind you of this, 41:18 "There was never a time when God instructed His people 41:21 more earnestly than He instructs them now 41:25 concerning His will 41:28 and the course that He would have them pursue. " 41:31 Today, from those 2,000 visions, we have more than 130 books. 41:37 The testimony of Jesus for this church... 41:40 are we a privileged people dear Friends? 41:43 Are we a privileged people? 41:45 Why should it be true that there was never a time 41:48 that the Lord has instructed His people more earnestly? 41:51 Can I suggest quickly three reasons? 41:53 The gift was given to a church with a divine mandate 41:57 to take God's last appeal to the whole world 42:01 and the challenge of crossing culture 42:04 and crossing language 42:06 in order to carry out this mandate, 42:08 wouldn't we need guidance 42:10 from a loving and compassionate heavenly Father? 42:13 And then too, I would remind you 42:15 that the gift was provided at a time 42:18 when Satan's power to deceive the world is at its greatest. 42:23 Even back early in 1860, God had revealed to Ellen White 42:27 that Satan's power now to tempt and deceive the world 42:32 is ten times greater than in the days of the apostles. 42:36 And we can see the lies that we have to confront 42:40 in the world today and the deceptions... 42:42 a loving God would not leave His last-day people 42:47 without giving warning. 42:49 And then thirdly, with the soon coming of Jesus, 42:52 we need to pass to help prepare a people. 42:56 God needs to prepare a people. 42:59 One day, we're going to live with angels and Jesus 43:03 for eternity 43:04 and think of the counsel that we all need 43:07 for that to happen. 43:09 When John was given the testimony of Jesus 43:12 to pass on to the church, 43:13 he was also instructed in Revelation 1:11, 43:16 "What you see in these visions, write out in a book 43:20 and send it to the churches. " 43:22 And the same instruction was given to young Ellen Harmon... 43:26 2,000 visions... 43:28 "What you see, write in books for the benefit of the church. " 43:33 And this is what she writes, 43:36 "In these letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, 43:42 I am presenting to you... " 43:44 notice these words... 43:46 "that which the Lord has presented to me... 43:48 the testimony of Jesus... 43:50 I do not write one article in the paper 43:52 expressing merely my own ideas. 43:54 They are what God has opened before me in vision... 43:58 the precious rays of light shining from the throne. 44:02 It is true concerning the articles in our books... 44:05 in our papers... 44:07 and in the many volumes of my books. " 44:10 What the Lord had showed her in those 2,000 visions 44:15 that she was given. 44:16 But, of course, in recent years, 44:18 some have questioned Ellen White's books. 44:21 Some years ago, some of you may remember 44:24 that they started to charge Ellen White 44:27 with copying material from other authors 44:30 and incorporating those other authors into her books, 44:33 and that has caused a lot of people to lose confidence 44:37 in this very certain gift that I am discussing this afternoon. 44:40 Oh, how much I wish, dear Friends, 44:44 that those people had first gone to the Scriptures 44:47 and said, "Did any people who are Bible writers... 44:51 inspired men... 44:52 did any of them ever quote from books 44:54 whose authors were not inspired? 44:56 And if they had asked that question, my Friends, 45:00 first, they would not have lost confidence 45:02 because they would have found 45:04 that Solomon who wrote the book of Proverbs, 45:06 tells us that he didn't write all the proverbs, 45:09 that he went and researched the wise men of his day 45:12 and if they had written something that was true, 45:15 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit 45:18 and I emphasize that... 45:19 he incorporated that into Proverbs 45:23 and he tells us he did that in the book of Ecclesiastes. 45:26 The authors of Kings and Chronicles 45:28 freely used a number of other historical records of their day. 45:32 Even the Apostle Paul quotes in some of his writings, 45:36 books that you and I don't know today 45:38 but they were books written and circulated way back there 45:42 like First Enoch... The Wisdom of Solomon... 45:45 The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs... 45:48 and Paul quotes them, sometimes, word for word. 45:52 Originality my Friends has never been a test 45:57 of a true prophet. 45:58 However, they used their sources very critically and selectively 46:04 because as the New Testament tells us in 2nd Peter 1 46:07 that holy men of God spoke 46:09 as they were moved by the Holy Spirit 46:14 and that's always has been there 46:16 but it's not always known early in Ellen White's experience 46:19 when she was directed by the Lord, 46:21 to write out in books what she'd been shown in vision... 46:25 she was overcome with the task... why? 46:27 She was so conscious that she'd only gone to school 46:30 till 3rd grade... 46:31 she found it difficult to write 46:33 and she begged that she be relieved of this task 46:37 but then the angel in vision told her 46:41 that the Lord would lead her 46:44 to books that had been written by other authors 46:47 containing, I quote, "Precious gems of truth 46:51 expressed in acceptable language... " 46:53 and that the Holy Spirit would help her to separate 46:56 the rubbish of error from the gems of truth 47:00 that were embedded in those books. 47:02 Dear Friends, as I think about what I'm sharing with you 47:07 this afternoon... 47:08 some have said, "How could a lady who lived here in Sydney, 47:14 a 100 years ago or more... 47:16 ever speak with any degree of relevance to the world of 2019?" 47:22 The world today in Australia is very different 47:25 from what it was in 1890s. 47:27 Could she be relevant? 47:29 Does age make inspired writings irrelevant, my Friends? 47:33 If what we do with this book 2,000 years of age 47:38 not irrelevant 47:40 because the Holy Spirit is involved. 47:42 And so, she wrote, 47:44 "Abundant light has been given to our people 47:46 in these last days. 47:48 Whether or not my life is spared... " 47:51 notice this... 47:52 my writings will constantly speak, 47:54 and the work will go forward as long as time shall last. 47:58 My writings are kept on file in the office, 48:01 and even though I should not live, 48:03 these words that have been given to me by the Lord 48:07 will still have life and will speak to the people. " 48:10 So long as time shall last 48:15 and they will still speak to God's people. 48:18 "Little heed is given to the Bible, 48:21 and the Lord has given a lesser light... " 48:24 referring to her own writings... 48:25 "to lead us to the greater light. " 48:28 She always knew that throughout her life, 48:31 she was to uphold the Bible as the Word of God. 48:34 She never said, "Read my writings 48:36 more than you read the Bible... " 48:38 it was always... the Bible must come first 48:41 and she stuck to that consistently. 48:43 At the very beginning of her ministry, 48:45 she wrote those words, 48:46 at the very end of her ministry, she spoke very differently. 48:50 Where did she get that "Lesser... Greater Light" from? 48:54 "God made two great lights... " in Genesis 1, 48:57 "the greater light to rule the day, 48:59 and the lesser light to rule the night. " 49:02 The sun and the moon... 49:04 the greater light to rule the day... 49:06 the lesser light to rule the night. 49:08 The sun and the moon... are they different? 49:11 The sun is the source of light, 49:14 the moon merely reflects the light of the sun. 49:18 That was such an apt illustration 49:21 that she gave to refer that her writings 49:24 were a lesser light... 49:25 still a light... 49:27 but they've had value only as they reflected the light 49:32 from this Book. 49:34 Dear Friends, as I think of the wonderful benefits 49:38 that this... these writings have been to us, 49:40 given in a very uncertain time as it was then 49:45 and becoming more uncertain 49:48 as we approach the second coming of Jesus. 49:50 I'm so thankful... so thankful 49:54 that she has been given as a gift 49:57 to bear the testimony of Jesus to this church. 50:00 As I think, dear Friends of that last event 50:04 when she said to the church... 50:08 it was the General Conference in 1909, 50:11 and as she spoke to the church that day 50:14 and the people knew that they would never hear Ellen White 50:17 speaking to the General Conference of the Church again, 50:20 that she preached a wonderfully heart-warming sermon 50:23 encouraging God's people to be faithful for Jesus was coming 50:27 and then when she closed her sermon, 50:30 she moved back to go towards her seat, 50:32 and half-way across, she turned back 50:35 and spoke the last words she was ever heard to speak 50:39 to our church in session 50:40 when she lifted in her 82-year-old hands 50:44 high above the people, 50:45 and said, "Brethren and Sisters, I recommend to you this Book. " 50:51 That was the goal of her life, 50:55 the Book... the Bible was to be the center, 50:58 and she remained true to that task right throughout her life. 51:03 When Ellen White died, he said this... Pastor Starr... 51:09 a man who had worked with her in Australia, 51:10 "I have never heard any other person speak of love for Jesus, 51:14 as I've heard her speak. 51:16 Many times and in large congregations 51:19 have I heard her exclaim, 'I love Him, I love Him, 51:22 I LOVE Him!' 51:24 Her entire life was devoted to winning others 51:26 to love Him and serve Him with all the heart. " 51:29 And looking at the people in that funeral service that day, 51:32 he said, "We have felt 51:35 the influence of that love for Jesus. " 51:38 She was a lover of Jesus... 51:42 she bore the testimony of Jesus to this church, 51:45 and after she died, the vineyard workers around her home... 51:51 surrounding her home there in Northern California... 51:54 she visited them every Sabbath afternoon 51:57 in her carriage with her secretary, 51:59 speaking kind words to them 52:02 as she saw them working on their vineyards on Sabbath afternoon 52:05 and they said, after she had died, 52:08 "We will always remember the little old lady 52:11 who spoke so lovingly of Jesus. " 52:16 My dear Friends, so long as you and I 52:20 need to get to know Jesus better... 52:23 so long as we need to trust Him more fully 52:26 with every aspect of our lives... 52:28 so long as we need to receive help 52:30 in applying Bible principles to our own lives... 52:33 dear Friends, we need this gift 52:36 never to replace the Bible, 52:39 it was a lesser light but it's light 52:42 and it's been light that has been given to us as a people 52:46 that we might be ready for the coming of the Lord. 52:49 Dear Friends, the words that were given 52:52 at the very beginning today, I would leave with you again. 52:56 They were spoken at a time of great uncertainty and crisis. 53:00 When King Jehoshaphat's city of Jerusalem was being surrounded 53:04 by armies who were prepared to break down into the city 53:08 and destroy every one of its inhabitants, 53:10 and the kings stood up and said, 53:12 "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established, 53:16 believe His prophets, so shall you prosper. " 53:21 Audience: Amen. 53:22 And prosperity and establishment in the truth 53:26 is still available to you and to me today. 53:29 Let's bow our heads, "Dear loving Father, 53:32 we thank You so much for this gift that You have given 53:36 for the guidance and encouragement of Your people 53:39 in these challenging and uncertain days, 53:41 may we not only appreciate the blessing that has been to us 53:45 in our past history, 53:46 but may we also receive the blessing, 53:49 that it can be to each of us individually 53:52 as we read its counsel, 53:54 because it comes as a gift from Jesus 53:57 to help us to be ready to meet Him 54:00 when He comes in the clouds of heaven. 54:03 Keep us faithful to that day we pray, 54:06 in Jesus' precious name, amen. " |
Revised 2020-01-16