Life Discovery Series

Are We Almost There? - God's Gift To The Remnant

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jim Reinking

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Series Code: LDS

Program Code: LDS000028


00:34 And I want to begin with the text
00:35 that ought to be well familiar to all of us.
00:38 It's in Revelation 12:17.
00:41 You know this text, don't you?
00:43 "And the dragon was wroth"
00:45 That's an old English word for angry.
00:49 "The dragon was wroth with the woman,
00:51 and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,
00:54 which keep the commandments of God,
00:56 and have the testimony of Jesus."
01:00 In fact that is basically
01:02 the message of Revelation Chapter 12.
01:04 We have conflict, we have war
01:07 and we have an enemy that is angry.
01:12 Actually needs a little bit of angry management,
01:15 if you think about it.
01:16 And by the way, God has committed Himself
01:18 to providing a little bit of angry management.
01:22 He is not gonna let you get totally out of control,
01:25 but nevertheless he is angry
01:27 and he is angry with whom?
01:28 He is angry with the people of God.
01:31 And though we know that God has His people
01:33 scattered throughout Christianity
01:36 we believe that Seventh-day Adventist are unique
01:39 that God's purpose in the reformation,
01:42 now follow me, that God's purpose on the reformation
01:45 will find it's full fulfillment through the advent movement.
01:49 When all things will be restored
01:51 Jesus refers to this the Matthew 17:10.
01:55 And the work of God will be finished on earth.
01:59 Yes indeed Satan is angry,
02:02 he is angry with God's remnant people
02:04 who keep the commandments of the God
02:06 and have the testimony of Jesus which Revelation 19:10
02:11 identifies as the Spirit of Prophecy.
02:14 And by the way, we believe that Ellen White was called
02:17 to that prophetic ministry.
02:20 The evil one, the evil one has declared war against us
02:24 and he is working to undermine our sense of identity
02:27 as God's remnant people to confuse our understanding
02:31 of the message entrusted to us
02:34 and to silence the prophetic voice
02:36 among us thus preventing us
02:38 from fulfilling the worldwide mission
02:40 we've been called to.
02:42 While we are in our Laodicean condition-- you know about
02:47 the Laodicean condition don't you?
02:49 Take Revelation 3 out this afternoon
02:51 if you want to re-familiarize yourself
02:54 with the seventh church it's the last church
02:57 and as we have it in sequence there chapter 1-3.
03:01 Well, we remain in our Laodicean condition,
03:04 my friend, he is working feverishly to derail
03:08 and destroy this movement.
03:11 Though we must never forget that the Lord Jesus will defend
03:15 and preserve His people,
03:17 we cannot afford to be passive.
03:20 We must act our part boldly
03:22 in the love and the Spirit of Jesus
03:24 in defending our message and mission.
03:29 And my friend, there is a defense
03:30 that needs to be put up,
03:32 because remember again, whose ought to get us?
03:36 Who is angry with us?
03:39 Who is determined to take us down?
03:43 Satan, yes. Satanist, yes.
03:49 And so my friend, as we talk about our Laodicean condition
03:52 and all these things that are taking place against us
03:56 it means that one of our greatest needs
03:59 is for revival and reformation
04:03 is one of if not the most important of our needs.
04:07 And I want to remind you of some of the elements
04:10 that are vital in the process of revival and reformation.
04:16 Number one, it is a call
04:18 to a re-committed relationship with Jesus Christ.
04:22 In a committed relationship with Jesus
04:25 and if we're in the committed relationship with Jesus
04:27 it means that we are going to have
04:29 a daily experience in the Word of God.
04:33 The Bible is foundation
04:35 to our relationship with the Jesus Christ.
04:37 And number three, I would add
04:39 the importance of the study of the Sprit of Prophecy.
04:43 The prophetic gift is vital
04:47 if there is gonna be revival among us as the people.
04:51 And number four, we need to be active in prayer.
04:53 And if we're in this relationship
04:55 I mean if you're not, if you are
04:57 in the relationship you know
04:58 that there is this interaction
05:01 that must take place between two individuals
05:04 and suddenly it's true in a relationship
05:06 with God through Jesus Christ
05:08 that is why our prayer life is so vitally important to us.
05:13 And number five, if we are really
05:15 in the committed relationship
05:17 we will be sharing our faith, our faith with others.
05:22 My friend, as we talk about the importance
05:25 of the scriptures, the Bible,
05:27 the Bible is fundamental to our understanding,
05:31 to understanding our message
05:33 and is vital to every genuine revival.
05:37 The Scriptures alone are the foundation of our teachings
05:41 and must continue to be so.
05:44 This we must never lose sight of.
05:48 It is our fidelity to the scriptures
05:51 in our commitment to Jesus
05:52 that will preserve us
05:54 from the dissections of the evil one.
05:57 We must through faith make God's word
06:00 the foundation of our individual experiences
06:03 the focal point of our worship services
06:06 and in the process I believe we need
06:08 to reexamined the vital role
06:11 of our Sabbath school programs within the church,
06:16 uniquely designed
06:19 where we can come together in small groups
06:21 to open the Word of God to discuss the Word of God.
06:25 My friends, Sabbath school is vital in our process
06:29 of continuing the study of the scriptures
06:31 and to make them the focal point of the life of the church.
06:34 Worship is important, but it cannot take the place.
06:38 I believe on bias I'll admit it
06:41 cannot take the place of our Sabbath schools.
06:44 Seem now I don't know if you agree with me or not?
06:47 I guess it doesn't really matter,
06:49 because I'm the one up here preaching.
06:52 And then I take you to this statement
06:54 that Ellen White makes in the book
06:56 Christian Experience and Teaching of Ellen G. White
07:00 where she says "We have nothing to fear for the future,
07:04 except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us,
07:08 and His teaching in our past history."
07:14 We have nothing to fear except if we forget,
07:20 we forget our past history, if we forget who we are,
07:26 that God historically establish this movement
07:30 and that He entrusted us with a message
07:33 and He has commissioned us to take it,
07:35 take it to the whole world.
07:38 My friend, it's a drift that's taking place in the church
07:43 and we're losing impart a sense of again this throaty
07:48 of the place of our message as relates
07:50 to our commitment to Jesus Christ
07:53 and we must not let that happen.
07:57 We must never forget that the things
08:00 that the elements that make up
08:02 the essence of our message
08:06 my friend, have our historically sound.
08:10 God has entrusted us with, with that message.
08:13 This morning I want to focus in on the prophetic gift
08:16 that is been so vital in our experience as a people.
08:20 I invite you to your Bibles
08:21 and turn with me the Daniel Chapter 9,
08:24 Daniel 9 we're gonna be looking at verse 10.
08:27 And as we come to Daniel 9:10 we find that Daniel
08:30 is an interstitial prayer for his people.
08:33 He is been in captivity with many of his people,
08:36 in Babylon some 70 years.
08:40 And he knows that the time of restoration has come
08:43 and so we find that impart
08:45 he is confessing the sins of his people.
08:49 And notice what we find as we look at Daniel 9:10
08:53 he confesses "Nor have we obeyed
08:56 the voice of the Lord our God,
08:58 to walk in His teachings which He set before us
09:02 through His servants the prophets."
09:09 That was one of the great mistakes
09:11 of God's people in the Old Testament.
09:15 Indeed the people of God
09:16 in past ages had paid an awful price
09:20 for neglecting or rejecting
09:23 the prophetic gift in their midst.
09:25 And my friend, we cannot afford to make the same mistake.
09:29 We must reject an emphasis in our time on a spirituality
09:35 that is not clearly linked to God's word.
09:41 It's what I called the Oprah Winfrey
09:44 spirituality, mentality.
09:47 And as in many churches
09:49 and it's seeping into our church as well.
09:52 It's an emphasis on a spirituality
09:54 again that is not embedded in the teachings
09:57 the foundational teachings of the Word of God.
10:00 And my friend, you can always count on it
10:03 in the life of the church
10:04 if somehow the Bible is been undermined,
10:07 is becoming secondary in the life of the church.
10:10 You have to know that something is not right.
10:14 It's not just a fuzzy warm feeling.
10:16 Oh yes, I believe that there is joy in the love
10:18 and the grace of Jesus to be sure.
10:22 But my friend, that love and joy
10:24 that we find in Jesus will always recognize
10:26 how vitally important the Bible
10:29 is to us individually and to us as a people.
10:34 Historically we've been known as the people of the book
10:38 and may that never change.
10:40 When I was in Kenya
10:42 during the series of meeting years ago,
10:45 I was in the conference
10:46 where they had over 180,000 members.
10:50 I have never been in that size of conference
10:52 in my life and they said,
10:53 you know, we're gonna advertise
10:55 that the Adventist are having meetings.
10:57 And when the people hear
10:58 that Adventist are be going to putting on meetings
11:00 they are going to becoming
11:01 by the hundreds and the thousands,
11:04 because they know that when Adventists put on meetings
11:08 that they are going to get
11:10 the true teachings of the Word of God.
11:13 Now that's a great reputation to treasure.
11:17 And my friend, that goes again
11:19 to the heart of our identity too, doesn't it?
11:24 We also must recognize that there is a danger
11:28 that the Spirit of Prophecy is becoming marginalized among us
11:32 as a people and it's been relegated
11:35 to the backwaters of the church.
11:36 And I'm speaking specifically here in North America,
11:39 I'm not gonna speak for other parts of the world,
11:42 but I know something about the church here in America.
11:45 It's as if its inspired messages are irrelevant
11:50 to the life of the church for too many.
11:53 Some are simply neglecting or ignoring
11:56 the messages given us by God through this agency
12:00 and often it's stemming from confusion
12:03 or misunderstanding of the proper role
12:05 of the prophetic gift in the church.
12:08 Others have given themselves over to unbelief
12:12 and have rejected the inspired councils
12:14 that God has given us.
12:17 The pendulum swing, the pendulum swing
12:20 that's taken place among us as a people in recent decades
12:23 particularly as it relates to our understanding
12:26 of righteousness by faith has contributed,
12:30 I believe significantly to the problem.
12:33 Rightfully we reject extremism of legalism,
12:37 but many have gone to the opposite extreme
12:41 where practical godliness as reflected in Christian values
12:45 and lifestyle issues have come to be seen
12:47 as legalistic and irrelevant.
12:52 As a result the practical councils
12:55 that we find in the Spirit of Prophecy
12:58 that call us out of the world
13:01 as a distinctive people are too often looked
13:05 upon with suspicion or outright rejection.
13:10 I remember it was back,
13:11 I believe it was the summer of 1990
13:13 I was in workers meeting, pastors meeting
13:17 that summer and I remember that one of our pastors
13:20 have been appointed to make a presentation.
13:22 And during the course of his presentation
13:24 it's the first time that I've been heard the idea,
13:27 let alone heard it articulated as it was,
13:31 but a pastor publicly declared that he believed
13:37 that it was inappropriate for us ever
13:40 to quote the Spirit of Prophecy publicly.
13:49 And in the intervening years
13:51 it's seems that many others have become confused
13:54 about the role of the Spirit of Prophecy
13:55 in the life of the church as well.
13:58 Knowing the conference president that period of time,
14:02 I know that Jerry do not buy into what was being represented.
14:07 If you've ever heard of the Jerry Potter preached
14:10 and do you know
14:11 it has been a year and a half since we've lost him.
14:17 You know, that he was a sound Biblical preacher Jerry was,
14:23 but had a high regard for the Spirit of Prophecy
14:25 in his councils and actively used it in his preaching
14:30 and we are blessed,
14:32 we are blessed here in this church
14:34 that we have a pastor
14:37 that believes in the scriptures and the message
14:40 and believes in a sound use of the Spirit of Prophecy.
14:46 Because you see, if we shutdown the voice of the messenger,
14:51 if it's inappropriate ever for her voice to ever be heard
14:54 in the life of the church
14:56 whether we're talking about in the worship service,
14:58 it was being preached, or in our Sabbath schools
15:02 then where is that voice gonna be heard for many of us?
15:05 Unfortunately we're not students of the word
15:08 or of the Spirit of Prophecy as we really ought to be,
15:12 you know, that, I'm saying that by observation, but it's a fact.
15:16 It's like, she is not relevant
15:19 and she is my friend, she is relevant.
15:25 Unfortunately there are those knowingly or unknowingly
15:29 who are working as revisionist of the message
15:32 that the Spirit of God has affirmed among us time
15:35 and time again throughout our history.
15:38 Its happening, it's happening.
15:43 Impart as a result we have an upcoming generation
15:49 that understand little of the prophetic gift.
15:53 Often they are unacquainted with the Spirit of Prophecy
15:56 and I've heard little of his councils in the church.
15:59 And again as we talked about that
16:00 pendulum swing a few moments ago,
16:02 I understand the pendulum swing
16:04 it does affect our understanding
16:07 our appreciation of the gift of prophecy.
16:10 But my friend, I understand,
16:12 you know, some decades ago that they were those
16:16 who felt that it was been stuff down their throats.
16:23 And some of you know this. It did happen.
16:26 But let me tell you the same thing
16:28 is done with the Word of God.
16:30 Are we going to cast out the baby with the bathwater
16:33 just simply because somebody has misused the Bible
16:36 or the Spirit of Prophecy?
16:38 And my friend, the answer is no.
16:40 We are not going to as a people.
16:46 We're not, are we?
16:50 See, sometimes it seems like we're bouncing off the walls
16:53 from the trends come and go, but my friend,
16:57 if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus,
17:01 if we keep our eyes focused on the teachings
17:04 and the Revelation of His word
17:06 and if we take council from the Spirit of Prophecy
17:10 we will be blessed,
17:13 and we will be kept in balance.
17:18 Now we won't be tossed to and fro with the latest trend
17:23 that seems to watch over the church from time to time.
17:30 Impart as I said we have a generation
17:34 that knows little about the Spirit of Prophecy.
17:37 What does that say for the Church in 20-30 years
17:42 if the Lord today to have a generation
17:46 that knows almost nothing about this gift.
17:53 It's troubling and that's important
17:56 why I'm preaching on it this morning.
18:00 What does a future hold for the church
18:02 without the benefits of the inspired guidance
18:05 that has been such a blessing
18:07 to this people, to God's people it has.
18:10 I bear witness of it in my own experience.
18:14 My relationship with Jesus has been enriched.
18:19 First of all by the Scriptures,
18:20 but secondarily by the councils
18:22 that we find in the Spirit of Prophecy
18:26 and then if you compare the same witness.
18:29 My understanding of scripture has been deeply enriched
18:33 by the Spirit of Prophecy
18:35 for it bares witness to the truth.
18:42 And so without the benefit of these inspired councils
18:46 too many are going through a drift
18:49 away from the centrality of the message.
18:52 Now you know I'm an evangelist,
18:54 so the message is pretty close at heart to what I do.
18:58 You see, those of us in ministry
19:00 and church leadership have a responsibility
19:04 before God to hold the line
19:06 against the incursions of the enemy.
19:10 We have a responsibility.
19:13 I know I don't share these concerns alone.
19:17 I'm not alone in them.
19:19 Several years ago Max and I had a conversation after church.
19:24 Our former conference president
19:26 and we were talking about this very issue
19:28 and Max was telling me, he said,
19:30 we've been discussions about this at the conference office
19:32 what are we gonna do?
19:34 You look at the ABC sales,
19:36 talk to Herman Schreven our ABC manager
19:39 and he has told me, he said, man,
19:41 in the last 20 years the sales of Ellen G.
19:44 White books has gone down dramatically.
19:49 And Max says we're trying to find a way to,
19:52 to arouse the interest of our people
19:55 in the Spirit of Prophecy.
20:02 So how do we relate to the ministry
20:07 of Ellen White as a prophet?
20:09 Is she a prophet or something less?
20:12 Was she inspired in the sense
20:14 of Biblical prophets were inspired?
20:16 Are there different levels of inspiration
20:20 and what is her relationship to the Bible anyway?
20:23 Take your Bible and turn with me to John 16:12.
20:27 John 16:12, the setting,
20:30 the setting we will find is the upper room,
20:33 Jesus is spending these last quite moments
20:35 with His disciples and over and over again
20:38 He comes to back to the theme of the promise
20:41 of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth.
20:44 And here John 16 beginning with verse 12 He said,
20:48 Jesus said, "I have many more things to say to you,
20:51 but you cannot bear them now."
20:55 Think of it after three and a half years
20:57 as His closest disciples Jesus is saying to them
21:02 there is more and there is much more,
21:06 but you're not ready to here it, you're not ready.
21:11 And my friend, they wouldn't be ready to hear
21:12 what Jesus had to say and tell they went
21:15 through initially it was to them crushing
21:17 when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary
21:21 and then that wondrous joy
21:23 when Jesus was resurrected on the third day.
21:28 I don't know that we can really appreciate
21:30 what those disciples went through.
21:32 And in the process their hearts were open,
21:34 their minds were open to receive a greater revelation.
21:39 And I believe in a similar fashion
21:41 that Jesus is saying to us today
21:44 to you and I as a people of God
21:47 that there is much more,
21:49 there are deeper understandings
21:52 to be gained in this precious message
21:54 that we have been entrusted with.
21:57 But my friend, let it not be said of us
21:59 as it was of the disciples of long ago that
22:02 but they could not bare it.
22:05 You see when we're in this loving relationship
22:07 with Jesus Christ there is a thirsty
22:11 and there is a longing to know
22:13 the heart and the mind of the Savior.
22:17 And my friend, again that is not just something
22:20 that's floating out there in space it's concretely founded
22:25 in the teachings of the Word of God.
22:28 It's like falling in love.
22:31 I remember when I fell in love with Donna.
22:34 Yeah I do remember. I do remember.
22:37 Man, I couldn't spend enough time with her.
22:41 You know, I have my studies
22:42 and now we were eating together,
22:44 we were doing everything we possibly could do together.
22:47 I just was fascinated with this then young woman.
22:50 I didn't need to say that way did I,
22:52 but anyway we were both young
22:55 I just was fascinated with her.
22:57 I couldn't get enough of, you know, the conversations,
23:00 the interaction really getting to know her.
23:03 And my friends, so it is in the relationship
23:04 with Jesus with God,
23:07 we can't get enough of, of getting to really know
23:10 who Jesus is, who God the Father is.
23:13 And my friend, that is where
23:14 the Bible is so vitally important.
23:16 How else are we going to learn
23:17 what is in the heart and the mind of God
23:20 through Jesus Christ except through the Word of God.
23:25 And that's when the dangers of the worship movement
23:28 that has overtaken much of the Christian world
23:30 and they are some positive things
23:32 in the worship movement.
23:34 I mean, let's, you know, let's be fair about it.
23:37 But again that tendency,
23:40 you know, it's like, I'd like to put it this way,
23:44 that when we come and worship
23:45 we're in a conversation with God.
23:48 And in the extremes of the worship movement
23:50 we are dominating the conversation.
23:54 It's all about me, all about my praises,
23:57 all about what I have to say.
24:00 Sadly I was in a church were one of the elders told me,
24:04 it was just oh, I probably should identify how long ago,
24:08 but I was in the church one of the elders told me,
24:11 you know, they had a wonderful praise program.
24:14 I love music, I happen to do praise,
24:17 praise music here once in a while on occasion,
24:22 but the elder told me
24:23 the pastor typically is left about 15 minutes to preach.
24:28 And I don't know ]how you feel about that,
24:30 but 15 minutes is not a sermon,
24:32 15 minutes is hardly getting started on the devotion.
24:38 So anything I said again, anything that tends
24:41 to undermine the centrality of Christ
24:44 and the teachings of this book
24:46 we have to be on guard against.
24:52 It's vital, absolutely vital.
24:56 Let me get back to my notes here.
24:58 Let me take you to John 16
25:01 and looking at the first part of verses 13
25:04 where it says "But when he, when he,
25:08 the Spirit of truth, comes,
25:10 he will guide you into all the truth."
25:14 Notice, how vital this whole subject
25:17 was to Jesus on that occasion.
25:19 There is many more things I'd like to say you,
25:21 you're not ready to hear them
25:24 but you just wait I'm gonna send the Spirit,
25:28 I'm gonna be sending the Holy Spirit to you.
25:30 The Spirit of truth which is a phrasing
25:34 that are used I think four or five times
25:38 that night in that setting
25:40 He kept coming back to the Spirit of truth
25:42 that I'm gonna send to you.
25:44 And He says when the Spirit of truth comes
25:46 He will guide you into all the truth.
25:49 My friend, as a people we are the beneficiaries
25:52 of centuries of Christian development
25:58 and as we talk about the reformation
26:01 we are the recipients of the blessings
26:03 that come out of the reformation
26:05 as it was novel it was actually
26:09 revolutionary for it's period of time.
26:12 It had political and religious ramifications
26:16 on Europe itself as you look at it historically,
26:19 but this idea of, you know, the people of God
26:23 having the scriptures in their own language
26:25 and that we really ought to go by what the Bible teaches,
26:28 not what the church teaches, but what the Bible teaches.
26:31 That is a part of our heritage,
26:34 we do see ourselves in like of the reformation,
26:36 we see ourselves as the part of the reformation
26:39 and we believe as the prophecies
26:41 indicate very clearly that in the end times
26:43 and we are in the end times
26:47 that all things would be restored.
26:49 Jesus said it again in Matthew 17:10.
26:53 If you not acquainted with the Elijah message
26:55 get acquainted with it.
26:58 I believe that's a message that God has given to us.
27:02 And so this movement stands for something,
27:04 this church stands for something.
27:08 Again though we recognize
27:09 there are many Christians on the various churches.
27:12 My friend, this church is unique.
27:16 We don't say that with pride or arrogantly,
27:22 but ought to with humility recognizing the responsibility
27:26 that it lays upon each one of us.
27:29 I tell you, what a blessing it is
27:32 that you and I somewhere in our experience
27:35 came to know Jesus, came to know
27:36 something about this message.
27:38 It impacted our lives on some fundamental level
27:42 and so we are here in fellowship.
27:46 I still love the message, amen.
27:51 Anybody else out there? I still love the message.
27:55 I've known it, I've been raised with it,
27:56 I'm not grown weary with it, I'm not grown tired of it.
28:00 You know, in this typically, you know, I'm preaching 140,
28:03 40 times a year that's a lot,
28:06 but doing this I'm into my 28th year.
28:10 Don't you try to guess my age now,
28:13 I'm younger than you think I'm.
28:14 But anyway, so I've been preach in a long time,
28:17 I have not grown weary with the message,
28:22 because I don't have a grown weary with the messenger.
28:27 And I believe many of you have that same conviction.
28:32 You see when we become casual
28:35 about our relationship with Jesus
28:38 it always leads to casualness in regards to the teachings
28:42 of the Word of God into the prophetic gift.
28:45 There is that direct cause affect relationship.
28:49 So Jesus promised I gonna send you the Holy Spirit
28:51 when he comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
28:56 And my friend, that means experientially each one of us
28:59 are in this growing experience, growing in Jesus,
29:03 growing in an understanding of Jesus
29:05 in our understanding of the message.
29:08 And it cannot be limited alone to what happens in this place,
29:13 it means that we must have a viable
29:15 and active devotional life right?
29:19 We need to be studying the Word of God,
29:20 we need to learn how the study the Word of God
29:24 and we need to be into the Spirit of Prophecy
29:27 in the process of it.
29:29 Let me take you and yes I'm gonna quote
29:31 from the Spirit of Prophecy this morning,
29:33 beginning with early writings page 78
29:36 where Ellen White one of those beautiful statements
29:39 where she says "I recommend to you dear reader,
29:42 the Word of God as the rule of your faith and practice.
29:46 By that Word we are to be judged.
29:50 God has promised, in that Word,
29:54 to give visions in the last days."
29:58 What's that mean?
29:59 That God in His word has promised
30:00 to give us visions in the last days.
30:03 She seems to be referring to a Biblical passage.
30:06 Anybody having idea
30:07 where we would find this passage?
30:08 I think some of you do.
30:09 It's in the Book of Joel Chapter 2
30:11 what is it verses 27, 28 somewhere in their.
30:14 It talks about in the last days
30:16 before the great and terrible day of the Lord
30:18 that refers to the coming of Jesus,
30:20 that there would be prophetic dreams
30:22 and there would be prophetic visions.
30:24 So the prophetic visions
30:26 that we believe some 2,000 of them
30:29 that were given to Ellen G.White
30:30 we believe is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
30:34 It is biblical,
30:36 it's not actual Biblical, it's Biblical.
30:39 "Not" these visions "were not given
30:43 for a new rule of faith."
30:47 And so one of the things I'd love about being able
30:50 to have this privilege of preaching this message
30:53 and have done so far so long.
30:56 I never want-- I can always stick to the Bible.
30:59 I tell every truth vital truth to us
31:02 as a people is sound biblically,
31:07 have that confidence.
31:12 And how did we come about,
31:14 how did this come about in the Church
31:16 in the Adventist Church?
31:18 Is it because we were just so much smarter
31:20 than anybody else?
31:22 We were just brighter than other Christians?
31:25 No, my friend, I think it bars witness,
31:27 I know what we think, I know that it bares
31:28 witness to the fact that God has been at work
31:31 among us from the very beginning.
31:35 The Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth
31:37 where God is into all the truth
31:39 has borne witness to us of the truth
31:42 and has bidden us to take this message
31:44 to the whole world.
31:48 I believe that and the day
31:49 I start believing it's the day I am lost.
31:52 It's says "not for new rule of faith,
31:55 but for the comfort of His people."
31:58 Notice first of all, it's given to comfort us.
32:02 And my friend, I have found such weak comfort
32:05 through the councils of the Spirit of Prophecy
32:07 that book Steps to Christ is one that
32:09 I always return to time and time again.
32:12 Whenever I feel I need a little bit of
32:16 been reenergized in my spiritual life
32:18 is to the Steps to Christ that I often go to
32:21 and there are other books like Desire of Ages.
32:23 But for the comfort of His people,
32:26 and further more another reason
32:28 why this beautiful gift has been given
32:30 is "to correct those who err from Bible truth."
32:36 Okay, to correct those.
32:39 My friend, we're not in the age
32:40 where some of us really want to go through
32:42 any correction whatsoever.
32:46 But it's a part of our Christian growth.
32:50 And so, my friend, when there are new theories of truth
32:55 then we must always, we always must be sure to
32:59 look carefully what the Bible is teaching.
33:02 But, my friend, secondarily
33:03 we must be looking at what the councils are in regards
33:07 to the matter as we find it in the Spirit of Prophecy.
33:12 And that is one other things that's concerns me
33:14 when the voice of the messenger is often so silent
33:21 and the more we become in time ignorant of the councils
33:25 that we have in the Spirit of Prophecy
33:27 the more we're set in ourselves up for,
33:31 we're setting ourselves up for trouble, we are.
33:36 This gift has kept us on track
33:39 time and time again as you look over the history of this church.
33:45 It is kept us faithful to the mission
33:49 to which we've been called.
33:51 It's kept us faithful to the message
33:54 that we've been entrusted with in the Bible.
33:56 It has over and over again.
34:00 And so the Bible is so vital,
34:02 the Bible must always be our first study
34:05 and the Spirit of Prophecy must be secondary
34:07 in our preaching, in our personal devotional life.
34:10 The Bible is not a substitute for the Bible,
34:12 but it enriches, enriches our experience
34:15 and our understanding of the Bible.
34:18 Earlier this year I was in the Loveland,
34:21 Colorado area holding a series of meetings.
34:23 Doris, Doris was attending my meetings.
34:25 I had the privilege of baptizing her.
34:27 I don't usually baptize,
34:29 I usually look to the pastor to do that,
34:31 but the circumstances
34:36 required my involvement and so I was involved.
34:39 And, you know, about three weeks after her baptism
34:43 I was on the phone, the series was over,
34:45 but I kept in touch and she, she said, you know,
34:49 I've gotten these beautiful books,
34:51 because I introduced people to Ellen G White.
34:54 I preached openly in the meetings.
34:57 And she got the hold of Desired of Ages
34:59 and several other of her books and immediately she is a reader
35:03 and she told me in just about three weeks
35:05 she had read 2,000 pages into the Spirit of Prophecy.
35:12 And she was glowing as she was sharing with me.
35:14 You know, on page such and such of Desired of Ages.
35:17 I mean this woman was inspired she was telling me.
35:21 And my friend, she was inspired of the Holy Spirit.
35:28 What we think she just was a genius
35:30 and she just kind of came up with this stuff.
35:34 And my friend, if she is not a genius
35:36 and most of us would probably agree,
35:37 she was Godly woman,
35:39 but it didn't come out of anything inherently
35:42 within her then on some level
35:44 it bares witness to the Spirit of God
35:48 that was at work in her life and ministry.
35:56 I don't know how long it's been
35:57 since she you been into the books,
36:00 that's important.
36:03 Again as I move on and I must move on.
36:10 Well, that's the life of an evangelist
36:12 you're she always moving on.
36:14 So the question comes, since the Bible
36:16 is our only rule of faith and practice
36:19 does that mean that the prophetic gift
36:21 has no authority.
36:24 And my friend, my response would be
36:26 you're not gonna back it up.
36:27 Does she have any authority whatsoever her writings that is,
36:30 the revelations given to her?
36:33 And my answer is that she authoritatively
36:36 her councils authoritatively affirms Bible truth.
36:44 Some feel we should go by the Bible
36:46 and the Spirit of Prophecy
36:47 is only good for devotional reading.
36:50 My friend, the difference is found only in the function,
36:54 inspiration is inspiration, the difference is in function.
36:58 It's like the Godhead.
37:00 Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all divine,
37:02 but they have each one unique functions
37:05 as it relates particularly to our salvation, we see that.
37:09 And so her ministry
37:12 impart was given to keep us on track Biblically
37:16 and to keep us from following away from the truth,
37:20 affirming Biblical truth.
37:22 And I'll give you an example of this in own history,
37:24 going back to the General Conference
37:25 of 1888 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
37:30 these two young men A.T. Jones and Dr. Waggoner were,
37:34 they were doing the devotional program.
37:37 This was not really part of the agenda
37:39 of the General Conference in 1888,
37:42 but the Spirit of God was moving in a markedly manner,
37:46 you know, God has this way
37:48 of giving us midcourse corrections.
37:50 I think that's what was going on
37:52 and I think historically God keeps bringing us back
37:57 to the importance of righteousness by faith,
38:00 a proper understanding of righteousness by faith.
38:03 The imputed that's where we are accounted
38:05 righteous through Jesus by accepting Him,
38:08 we accept the righteousness that is His.
38:11 And the beautiful power process by which His life,
38:16 His righteousness is being imparted to us
38:20 something that I don't often I hear it being preached
38:24 that's no refection on anybody specifically,
38:27 but, you know, it's the imputed
38:29 and imparted righteousness, is that process by which
38:31 we become like Jesus.
38:33 And for some that we're in attendance
38:35 and some that got word of what
38:37 was being shared in the devotions
38:39 this became quite controversial.
38:40 What do you mean?
38:42 You know the truth as we've been teaching and preaching it,
38:47 it really wasn't all that relevant.
38:50 It did, it breed controversy.
38:54 And my friend, Ellen White
38:56 through her prophetic gift affirmed that
39:00 what A.T. Jones and Dr. Waggoner
39:03 were preaching was straight from God.
39:08 And that is often how her gift has function within the Church
39:13 is to affirm, to a firm Bible truth.
39:17 So was she a prophet?
39:21 Is it wrong to refer to her as a prophet?
39:26 Let me take you to 1 Selected Messages
39:30 and page 34,
39:31 you gonna find the whole section there
39:32 that deals with some of these primary issues
39:35 in which she said "To claim to be a prophetess
39:37 is something that I have never done.
39:41 If others call me by that name,
39:43 I have no controversy with them.
39:45 But my work has covered so many lines
39:48 that I cannot call myself other than a messenger,
39:51 sent to bear a message from" whom
39:55 "from the Lord" to whom?
39:58 "To his people."
39:59 My friend, this we must never forget
40:03 we must get beyond the instrumentality.
40:05 She was a woman, she was a godly woman,
40:09 a dedicated woman.
40:11 I mean, think of stuff to you're ministering
40:12 the responsibility that was placed on her shoulders.
40:18 We must get beyond the human instrumentality
40:21 and recognize that it is the voice of God Himself,
40:25 it is the Lord Himself that is speaking to us.
40:31 "To His people, and to a work in any line that He points out."
40:36 When in evangelism I am talking about
40:38 this matter of the gift of prophecy
40:40 as it relates to the Bible.
40:41 I use the illustration, by the way
40:43 I am in to see my optometrist on Tuesday, I am over do.
40:48 I think I'm gonna have to upgrade my prescription.
40:53 And anyway I use this example,
40:55 you know, without my glasses I can look at the page
40:58 I could see that there is letters there,
41:01 but I really can't read it.
41:04 But when I put these glasses on
41:08 every thing comes into sharp focus.
41:11 I ask you, did to this instrument
41:15 did this put the words there in the book?
41:19 No.
41:21 It didn't really add, it just brought into focus
41:25 that which I couldn't otherwise have perceived
41:28 and comprehended and that is one of the fundamental reasons
41:33 why the Spirit of Prophecy is so very vital to us.
41:37 And then I take you on Selected Messages,
41:40 book 1 still page 32.
41:41 "Why have I not claimed to be a prophet?
41:44 Because in these days many who boldly claim
41:47 that they are prophets are a reproach
41:50 to the cause of Christ and because my work includes
41:52 much more than the word prophet signifies."
41:57 There is some really key statements in here
41:59 about this whole issue, was she a prophet or not.
42:03 And one other statement on this matter from page 36
42:06 she says "My commission embraces the work of a prophet,
42:11 but it does not end there."
42:15 So it includes the work of a prophet.
42:18 She did not choose to use that terminology.
42:21 I don't believe it's improper to refer to her
42:24 as a prophetess or as a messenger
42:27 which is the terminology I think that she would prefer to use.
42:32 You know this is a part of the 28 fundamental believes
42:34 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
42:37 I wondered at that time did we really need,
42:39 they were 27 and then we've added 28,
42:43 do we really need to put this down?
42:45 Yeah we do.
42:48 We needed to put it down that this is what
42:50 this church stands for, this is what we believe biblically.
42:53 And number seven, in the fundamental believes
42:56 just give you the actual official position
42:59 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
43:01 I'm sharing this because there is so much confusion
43:03 over this matter.
43:05 It says "One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy.
43:08 This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant Church
43:11 I was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White.
43:15 As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing
43:19 and authoritative source of truth which provide
43:24 for the Church comfort, guidance,
43:26 instruction and correction."
43:29 And then it goes on to say "They also make clear
43:33 that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching
43:36 and experience must be tested."
43:41 It's a good clear statement on the whole matter.
43:44 And then in 2 Chronicles 20:20.
43:49 I add, and the words of Scripture says
43:53 "Believe in the Lord your God, so you shall be established,
43:58 believe His prophets, so shall you prosper."
44:03 Again I refer you to what happen in ancient Israel,
44:06 we were there in Daniel 9:10.
44:09 Look at the awful consequence that came to them
44:11 as a people as they were turning themselves off
44:14 to the messages that God in love and mercy
44:17 was sending to them through the prophetic gift.
44:21 I said again this must not happen to us as a people.
44:27 We must not go down that same road.
44:31 We will not prosper, God cannot bless us
44:37 if we do not recognize how vitally important
44:41 the prophetic gift is beginning with the Word of God
44:45 and inclusive of the ministry of Ellen G. White.
44:50 We can afford to be wishy-washy about this whole thing.
44:55 We must be absolutely clear in our thinking.
44:58 Revelation-- John 16:13
45:03 as we continue just a little bit more in the Word of God.
45:06 The first part that we've read.
45:07 " But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
45:10 He will guide you into all the truth
45:12 for He will not speak on His own initiative,
45:15 " the spirit will not speak on its own initiative
45:18 "but whatever He hears, He will speak
45:22 and He will disclose to you what is to come."
45:25 Now, that tie that into verse 12
45:27 where we were just a little bit ago.
45:29 Where Jesus said, "I have many more things to say to you,
45:31 but you are not ready to hear them."
45:35 So when it says that the spirit is not speaking on
45:37 His own initiative, but whatever He hears,
45:40 He speaking, who is He hearing from?
45:47 What is the Spirit hearing?
45:49 That He then He's communicating to us.
45:53 Who is that send us a Holy Spirit anyway?
45:56 Jesus did.
45:59 And my friend, what He is hearing
46:01 is what Jesus wants to be revealed to us as a people.
46:06 What He hears, but whatever hears
46:09 He will speak and He will disclose it to you,
46:13 He will reveal it you, is what the scriptures tell us,
46:19 reveal it to us.
46:20 Let me take you on the volume 5
46:22 the Testimonies page 667.
46:27 But because of the nature of this presentation
46:29 I am using the Spirit of Prophecy
46:31 more than I normally would
46:33 in a typical sermon on the Sabbath morning.
46:35 But you know why, I think you can handle it.
46:38 It's all right isn't it?
46:40 It's all right.
46:42 In which he said "One stood by my side and said
46:45 'God has raised you up and has given you words to speak
46:48 to the people and to reach hearts
46:51 as He has given to no other one.
46:55 He will make you a means through which to communicate
46:58 His light to the people.
47:00 It is Satan's special object to prevent this light
47:04 from coming to the people of God,
47:06 who so greatly needed it amid the perils of these last days."
47:12 And my friend, some by attitude
47:14 and some actually will state it.
47:16 Oh we don't really need this,
47:18 apparently we out grown this yet this 19th centuries stuff,
47:21 let's get on with it.
47:27 Let's get on with it.
47:30 Some act as if what she has to say
47:33 what God has revealed through her is irrelevant to us.
47:37 My friend, as the end approaches as we advance,
47:42 I hope we're advancing
47:45 we need the gift even more so
47:49 than back there at the beginning.
47:51 Well, we need to the get all along,
47:53 but we needed even more so today,
47:57 even more so today.
48:00 And then what else I'm gonna take you on to, oh yeah,
48:04 1 Selected Messages page 48.
48:07 Notice she says "The very last deception of Satan
48:10 will be to make of none effect the testimony
48:13 of the Spirit of God."
48:14 Remember we have an evil one that is angry with us,
48:18 who is determine to take us down,
48:20 who is gonna oppose us at every step.
48:25 And so this is-- and she said
48:26 "The very last deception of Satan
48:29 will be to make of none effect
48:31 the testimony of the Spirit of God.
48:34 Satan will work ingeniously to unsettle
48:39 the confidence of God's remnant people."
48:43 His people the Church "in the true testimony."
48:49 My friend, we know the design,
48:51 we know this because we have this insight biblically
48:53 and we have the insights from the councils
48:55 of the Spirit of Prophecy.
48:57 His working ingeniously to undermine and to undercut
49:03 the benefit of this gift to us as a people.
49:07 Are we gonna let him get away with it?
49:10 I hope not.
49:11 "The workings of Satan will be to unsettle
49:14 the faith of the Churches in them."
49:17 And my friend, that's what he is about,
49:19 he is trying to unsettle our faith
49:21 in regard to the testimonies that have been given to us.
49:25 To question the validity of the testimonies
49:28 that had been given to us.
49:29 To model on and to confuse the whole matter.
49:32 My friend, this gift has been given to prepare us
49:34 for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
49:37 In volume 5 of the Testimonies page 654
49:42 she says "As the end draws near
49:44 and the work of giving the last warning to the world extends,
49:48 it becomes more important for those who accept present truth
49:52 to have a clear understanding of the nature
49:56 and influence of the Testimonies,
49:58 which God in His providence has linked."
50:01 What has God in His providence has done?
50:04 He's linked the Testimonies.
50:07 Talking about the prophetic gift the ministry of Ellen White
50:10 "Has linked the Testimonies with the work
50:13 of the third angle's message from its very rise."
50:19 My friend, without the ministry of Ellen G. White
50:21 we would not be the people that we are,
50:23 we will not be the church that we are,
50:25 we will not be the seventh largest world church as we are
50:32 if it wasn't for the influence of Ellen White
50:36 and again recognize indeed she was a challenge,
50:39 she was the means by which God was speaking to us
50:44 as the people directing us giving us a vision.
50:48 You know, that Bible says the people perish without a vision.
50:53 And we must have it.
50:56 John 16:14, 15 and then one other text and we'll wrap it up.
51:03 In John 16:14 Jesus continues
51:06 when He is talking about the Holy Spirit,
51:09 "He will glorify me."
51:13 That's fundamental to the ministry of the Spirit.
51:15 He will glorify me, He will bear witness to me.
51:17 "For He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you."
51:22 So when we talk about the ministry the Holy Spirit
51:26 and, my friend, the Spirit of Prophecy
51:28 is the ministry of the Holy Spirit
51:31 in a very unique and powerful way in the end times
51:34 in which Jesus is disclosing and revealing things to us.
51:42 "He will glorify me,
51:44 for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
51:46 All things that the Father has are Mine therefore I said
51:49 that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you."
51:54 And so, my friend, one of the vital parts
51:58 of the ministry of the Holy Spirit
52:00 is that is going to point us to Jesus.
52:03 It's going to lead us into a
52:05 deeper relationship with the Savior,
52:08 its points to Jesus as our intercessor
52:11 in the heavenly sanctuary.
52:13 It points to Jesus as our coming King,
52:17 our deliver and our victor.
52:23 I take you back to Revelation 12:17,
52:27 you know, usually we make this connection.
52:29 Revelation 12:17 they will keep the commandments of God
52:31 and they will have the testimony of Jesus
52:34 and then of course we want to define this biblically,
52:36 so we go to Revelation 19:10 where it says
52:39 the "Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy."
52:41 That's where we get the terminology
52:43 the Spirit of Prophecy.
52:45 But as I've been thinking through this in recent years
52:48 I have come to appreciate with renewed meaning
52:55 the term of Revelation 12:17
52:58 as it relates to the prophetic gift.
53:01 What we have in the ministry and in the councils of--
53:07 they are given to us through Ellen White
53:08 what we have is the testimony of Jesus.
53:15 In those books, those revelations
53:19 Jesus is speaking to us as a people,
53:22 Jesus is addressing us as His people.
53:27 He is giving us instruction
53:29 and again He is giving us council.
53:32 So we must not forget that we are a prophetic movement
53:37 that God has been at work among us
53:39 and has called us to take His message through the world.
53:42 Oh my friend, let's seek Jesus through His Word,
53:44 let's seek Jesus through the councils
53:46 He has given us through the testimony of His spirit.
53:49 And my friend, if you haven't been spending time
53:52 in the prophetic gift
53:53 I encourage you to begin systematically
53:57 to study the testimonies that we have been given.
54:01 Dust off the books
54:03 if there is somewhere there in your house unused.
54:07 I'm not saying let's put our Bibles aside.
54:10 I'm not saying that whatsoever,
54:11 the Bible must always be the focal point.
54:14 But my friend, we need benefit
54:17 of spending time with Jesus
54:20 through these precious revelations and affirmations
54:24 that have been given to us in the Spirit of Prophecy.
54:28 Let's pray shall we?
54:31 Father, again it's a privilege
54:34 that we've been able to be here this Sabbath morning.
54:38 That worship has been sweet.
54:42 Not only the fellowship that we've enjoyed
54:44 together as believers,
54:47 but fellowship that comes by means of Your spirit
54:50 and knowing that You're present among us.
54:55 And Lord, we acknowledge this morning,
54:58 we acknowledge that, Lord,
55:01 we have fallen short of Your glory.
55:05 We acknowledge this morning
55:06 we are sinners in need of the saving grace of Jesus.
55:10 But we further knowledge that You have called us
55:14 and we have answered
55:18 and we pray that You will bless us as Your people.
55:21 Be with us in this coming week
55:23 is our prayer in Jesus name, amen.
55:31 If My people
55:37 which are called by My name
55:41 Shall humble themselves
55:45 Shall humble themselves and pray
55:57 If My people
56:02 which are called by My name
56:07 Shall seek My face
56:11 and turn from their wicked ways
56:21 Then will I hear from heaven
56:28 Then will I hear from heaven
56:34 And will forgive
56:42 their sin
56:49 If my people
56:54 which are called by My name
56:59 Shall humble themselves
57:03 Shall humble themselves and pray
57:10 I will forgive their sins
57:17 I will forgive their sins
57:23 I will forgive their sins
57:36 And heal their land


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Revised 2014-12-17