Participants: John Moyer
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000869
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01:00 Happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath,
01:03 we've had a really good time with your children 01:05 in primary. They've been learning about messengers 01:08 of the prophets and the task that we have to use 01:12 to test those people that say they're prophets. 01:15 And so we learned the three angles messages 01:18 to music and we're gonna try and sing that 01:20 for you tonight. As well as one that 01:23 President Moyer wanted us to sing 01:25 named "I'm a Seventh-Day Adventist". 01:31 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 01:37 having the everlasting gospel to preach unto 01:44 them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, 01:52 and kindred, and tongue, and people, 01:56 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, 02:03 and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment 02:09 is come: and worship him that made heaven, 02:16 and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 02:22 And there followed another angel, saying, 02:29 Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, 02:34 because she made all nations drink of the wine 02:38 of the wrath of her fornication. 02:44 And the third angel followed them, 02:48 saying with a loud voice, If any man worship 02:54 the beast and his image, and receive his mark 03:01 in his forehead, or in his hand, 03:06 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath 03:10 of God, which is poured out without mixture 03:15 into the cup of his indignation; 03:20 and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 03:24 in the presence of the holy angels, 03:28 and in the presence of the Lamb: 03:32 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up 03:37 for ever and ever: and they have no rest day 03:43 nor night, who worship the beast and his image, 03:52 and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 03:59 Here is the patience of the saints: 04:03 here are they that keep the commandments of God, 04:10 and the faith of Jesus. 04:17 Revelation 14:6 through 12, Amen, Amen. 04:45 So that everyone would know so that I believe, 04:49 and you'll do someday. I believe in the 04:55 Seventh-day, get very soon, 04:58 that's why I must rest today. 05:02 I am a Seventh-day Adventist and I want 05:07 the world to know it. My heart is full of Jesus 05:14 love and I want my life to show it. 05:20 I believe in the promises of God above and Jesus 05:25 shows me the way. So I worship on the 05:29 Sabbath day towards end of noon. 05:32 That's why I must rest today. 05:36 I am a Seventh-day Adventist and I want 05:41 the world to know it. My heart is full of Jesus 05:48 love and I want my life to show it. Amen. 06:00 Tonight it's a privilege to be able to introduce 06:02 somebody that I know just a little bit. 06:04 Somebody that I have become good friends 06:07 with over the last three plus years. 06:09 Doesn't seem like it's three years but it's gone 06:12 by quickly, but you know I enjoy being able 06:15 to introduce folk that love the Lord Jesus. 06:19 And the person that we're going hear from 06:20 tonight I know loves the Lord Jesus with 06:23 all his hearts. I like to introduce to you somebody 06:27 tonight that not only loves Jesus but loves to 06:30 tell people about Jesus. And that's what it's 06:34 all about isn't it? All through the week we've 06:37 heard great sermons. Lord has blessed us, 06:40 but sometimes it's good for us to hear from somebody 06:43 that we all know, somebody that we love and that 06:46 we trust and so it's a real privilege to be able 06:48 to introduce to you tonight our speaker, 06:50 our conference president Elder John Moyer 06:52 and John, we know the Lord is laid on you 06:55 a special message and we just asked the 06:57 Holy Spirit to speak to us through you tonight. 07:01 Before John speaks to us Brother Mike Rogers 07:04 is going to share with us, minister to us 07:07 through music. May the Lord bless Mike. 07:47 The Word is living The Word is light 07:54 The Word delights my soul, Preserves my life 08:03 Holy and hidden Forever new 08:12 The perfect sacrifice Our Lord...Jesus Christ 08:24 The Word is wisdom The Word is true 08:31 The Word takes all that's old 08:37 And makes it new When hearts are broken 08:45 It makes them whole The One who paid the price 08:55 Our Lord... Jesus Christ 09:12 The Word is wounded Time and again 09:25 The Word is greeving still 09:26 For those in sin Come now believing 09:34 Thy Word is true. The cross speaks this advice 09:44 Trust me...Jesus Christ. Amen. 10:38 Thank you Mike, thank you. You know just a few 10:44 weeks ago we celebrated the 4th of July. 10:49 And some of you probably went out to see 10:52 the fireworks and you know that it is the custom 10:57 at the 4th of July fireworks demonstrations. 11:02 That you see outstanding fireworks all through 11:07 the program but when you come to the end, 11:08 you have the grand finale. You know where 11:12 they go off or what seems like a half an hour 11:15 and the sky has laded up and you know what 11:18 I'm talking about. Well, I'm afraid that tonight 11:23 we had the grand finale all week. And 11:28 I hope it's a little bit more than just a dot, 11:31 but it's our time here together most of the 11:35 speakers have gone. We're blessed by them, 11:41 but it's time for the family to be here together 11:43 tonight, we want to ask the Lord his direction, 11:54 for the days and the months that lay ahead. 11:59 I wanna ask you to bow your heads with me 12:00 as we have one addition word of prayer. 12:02 Father in Heaven, we have prayed several times 12:06 this evening, we have been praying all week 12:12 and you have blessed us by answering those 12:14 prayers. We praying tonight Father that you would 12:18 shine a light from your throne that you would cause 12:25 it to shine upon and illuminate those pages 12:27 of scripture that we have chosen to look at tonight 12:33 and that you would reflect that light back 12:35 into the dusty dark recesses of our hearts 12:39 and light them up. So, we can go forth 12:42 from this place challenged, 12:43 because we ask it in Jesus name, Amen. 12:51 I would invite you to turn with me, 12:52 if you wish, to the Psalm 127 and I want to 12:58 read tonight from verse 1 is the basis of my remarks 13:04 to you. Psalm 127 verse 1 the title that's 13:11 placed above there in my Bible. 13:14 I realize it's not there in all Bibles but 13:16 it's says: Laboring and Prospering with the Lord 13:21 and it is a song of Solomon. Verse 1 says: 13:26 Unless the Lord builds the house, 13:29 They labor in vain who build it; 13:32 Unless the Lord guards the city, 13:36 The watchmen stays awake in vain. 13:44 Notice that the Psalm is attributed to Solomon 13:48 and it's I think about the experience of Solomon 13:50 I'm convince that Solomon knew something about 13:53 building. Solomon probably and I don't have scriptural 14:01 evidence for this, but I think that Solomon 14:04 probably spend most of his life even as a young 14:07 man before he was king hearing about building. 14:12 Because First Kings 8:17 gives us a little clue, 14:17 Solomon at the day of the dedication of the temple. 14:21 In First Kings 8:17 says: Now it was in the heart 14:25 of my father David to build a temple for the name 14:28 of the Lord God of Israel. It was in his father's 14:32 heart and have you ever noticed that whatever 14:35 is in somebody's heart is what they talk about. 14:40 And I can imagine conversations perhaps 14:43 around the dinner table or as the family was 14:47 gathered together or as David counseled with his 14:51 young man that he knew that one day would 14:53 be the King. Then David must have told him 14:57 of this burning desire that he had in his heart, 15:00 because you know with David it was a burning 15:02 desire and the only thing that kept David 15:05 from building the temple was the fact that the 15:07 Lord told him he couldn't do it. But 15:10 I can imagine all those years when Solomon 15:12 was growing up. Solomon maybe as a young man 15:15 may have said like some of us have said 15:17 in our experience. I just wish I didn't have to hear 15:20 anymore about that temple, that's all dad talks 15:23 about but as Solomon grew older and Solomon 15:28 saw where the Lord was leading him that he was 15:31 leading him into the kingdom. Solomon began 15:33 to accept the seriousness of it as well, 15:38 Solomon heard about building and he saw all 15:41 of the preparations that David had gone through 15:44 for the building and when Solomon became King one 15:46 of the first things that he did was to set about 15:51 answering or breaking into reality his father's dream. 15:56 He set about to built the temple. When you think 15:59 about it, for the kingdom, for the nation of Israel, 16:04 they had finally arrived. You know what I mean, 16:08 for all those hundreds of years, for the forty years 16:12 that they spend wandering in the desert and 16:15 for up until this time they have had a temporary 16:19 sanctuary. A tent sanctuary and it spoke of, 16:25 of a nomadic people. You remember that the 16:29 sanctuary was built in such away that when 16:31 the pillar of cloud or fire moved that they would 16:35 tear the sanctuary down, it was portable. 16:39 And when the pillar moved, they moved with it 16:43 and all these years since the Exodus they had been, 16:47 been remembering that they were, 16:49 they were not yet established in the 16:51 promised land. See only when they got the, 16:57 the permanent sanctuary, could they really feel 17:01 like they were home. They had been wondering 17:03 all these years, they had been fighting, 17:06 trying to conquer the Promised Land, 17:08 they're had been ups and downs because when 17:10 they were faithful to God it was up. 17:13 When they were unfaithful to God, 17:14 it was down and they're had been lots of ups 17:18 and downs in the Israelite experience. 17:20 But, they had gone through this experience with 17:22 King David; King David had established the kingdom 17:25 and now his son Solomon was going to come 17:27 in and praise God. He was going to do something 17:30 permanent, so they didn't have to think about being 17:34 a nomadic people anymore. They had arrived, 17:38 they were home and Solomon was building the temple. 17:43 Now, you know about this temple don't you? 17:45 I mean it was a beautiful place, lets just read 17:48 a few verses in chapter 6 of First Kings 17:53 and you can find this in First Kings you can find 17:54 in II Chronicles. But just a few selected verses 17:59 from chapter 6 in First Kings and it says: 18:02 And it came to pass in the four hundred and 18:05 eightieth year, did you get that? It had been four 18:09 hundred and eighty years after children of Israel 18:13 had come out of the land of Egypt. 18:15 Can you see why this was important to them? 18:18 Can you see why on the dedication day they were 18:21 so filled with joy. "And the four hundred and 18:24 eightieth year after the children of Israel 18:25 had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth 18:27 year of Solomon's reign over Israel in the month 18:30 of I guess that's pronounced Zif. 18:33 I'm not sure, which is the second month that 18:36 he began to build the house of the Lord. 18:40 Now, keep that in mind as you look at that, 18:43 that it was in the fourth year of Solomon's reign 18:48 that he began to build the house of the Lord. 18:51 Let's look at the few other verses that give us 18:53 a little idea about how beautiful this house 18:55 was and I'm just picking out a few, 18:59 not covering it in great detail but look what 19:01 it says in verse 18 it says: The inside of the 19:04 temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds 19:08 and open flowers. That must have been beautiful, 19:13 look what it says after that all was cedar; 19:18 there was no stone to be seen. I would think that 19:22 would be a beautiful place then look what 19:24 he says in verse 20 just speaking about 19:26 the inner sanctuary, it says, the inner sanctuary 19:29 was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and 19:33 twenty cubits high. Now, I wasn't sure what 19:37 a cubit was I've heard all kinds of things someone 19:39 told me once they said that a cubid was the 19:42 length of a man's arm from his elbow to the tip 19:45 of his finger depending on who was the 19:47 King of England. You can see that would be kind 19:51 of iffy, but I did check one source and it said 19:56 that this building was about 36 feet. 19:59 It was about 36 feet long, 36 feet wide and 20:05 36 feet high, now that's not very big. 20:09 But look what the next line says: 20:12 He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the 20:16 altar of cedar, in other words he overlaid the 20:20 whole room this inner sanctuary and this would 20:25 just part of the temple. You know what we called 20:28 the holy of holies, he overlaid it with pure gold, 20:33 he overlaid the altar of cedar. Verse 21: 20:35 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple 20:38 with pure gold. He stretched gold chains 20:42 across the front of the inner sanctuary, 20:45 and overlaid it with gold. The whole temple, not 20:49 just the inner sanctuary, but the whole temple 20:53 he overlaid with gold, until he had finished 20:56 all the temple, also he overlaid with gold the 21:01 entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary. 21:05 Wow, that must have been some place you know 21:10 I try to figure out one time how much all this gold 21:16 would have been worth in the places where 21:18 it talks about you know all the measurements 21:20 and the weights and everything and 21:22 I try to figure it all out and when I got it figured 21:24 out I read some place that they don't weigh gold 21:26 the same way they weigh other things so it just 21:28 blew my calculations all out of the window. But 21:30 all I can say is this must have been one fantastic 21:34 place with all of this gold, look what it says 21:36 in verse 28: Talking about the cherubim, 21:40 you know that stood by the mercy seat in the holy 21:44 of holies. Verse 28 says, he overlaid the cherubim 21:46 with gold and verse 30 says: And the floor of the 21:49 temple, the floor of the temple he overlaid 21:52 with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries. 21:58 I heard somebody here when I mention about, 21:59 about the streets of heaven being paved with gold. 22:02 Well, the floor in the temple, in Solomon's temple 22:04 was paved with gold. Verse 35 that says: 22:08 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, 22:11 and open flowers on them, and overlaid them 22:13 with gold applied evenly on the carved wood. 22:18 As a matter of fact if you I don't turn there 22:20 but in Second Chronicles 3 where it talks about 22:23 this same thing. It says: The weight of the nails 22:28 was fifty shekels of gold, just the nails that were 22:32 used to hold the place together each one weighed 22:36 fifty shekels and each one was gold. 22:41 Wow, the last verse of chapter 6 it says: So, 22:51 he spent, so he was seven years in building it. 22:58 When you think about the magnificence of this temple, 23:03 when you think of, of what went into it and all of 23:06 the intricate details, to me it was incredible 23:09 that Solomon could finish it in seven years. 23:14 But right here is where we began to see a problem. 23:19 Now, see if you read too quickly sometimes, 23:23 you don't catch these things, you can read on 23:25 past this and not even stop to think about it. 23:30 The last part of verse 38 in chapter 6 says: 23:35 So he was seven years in building it, what was that? 23:40 The temple, the house of God, he was seven years 23:45 in building the house of God. but then look what 23:48 it says in chapter 7 in verse 1: But Solomon took 23:53 thirteen years to build his own house; 24:04 have you ever noticed that before. 24:07 He took seven years to build the house of God 24:09 and it was a beautiful and magnificent place, 24:12 but he took thirteen years to build his own house. 24:20 I said, I thought Solomon knew something about 24:23 building of course he built the temple but you know 24:30 Solomon was busy building something else. 24:36 He was building a kingdom and if you turn to Second 24:40 Chronicles 9 let's read a few verses about 24:43 Solomon's kingdom building activities. 24:49 Keep that problem in mind, seven as compared 24:53 to thirteen keep that in mind we're gonna 24:55 comeback to that. Chapter 9 of Second Chronicles 25:01 verse 13: The weight of the gold that came 25:06 to Solomon yearly was 666 talents of gold; 25:16 imagine that 666. There's probably a lesson 25:22 in there somewhere. Don't want to go there 25:25 right now, it was 666 talents of gold, besides 25:31 what the traveling merchants and traders 25:34 brought. And all the Kings of Arabia and governors 25:39 of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 25:42 See we're not talking about the temple anymore, 25:44 we're talking about the kingdom; 25:47 we're talking about the government. 25:50 My treasure would be thrilled with this kind 25:52 of an income. King Solomon made 200 large shields 26:00 of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of 26:03 hammered gold went into each shield. 26:05 He also made three hundred shields of 26:06 hammered gold, three hundred shekels of gold 26:09 went into each shield. The king put them in the 26:11 house of the forest of Lebanon. 26:12 These were things that were just ornaments, 26:17 they were trinkets. Verse 17: Moreover the King 26:23 made a great throne of ivory, listen to this. 26:28 Moreover, the King made a great throne of ivory 26:32 and overlaid it with pure gold. Now ivory wasn't 26:36 enough, he took the ivory and overlaid the ivory 26:42 with pure gold, the throne had six steps, 26:49 can you get a picture, can you get a concept 26:52 to the size of this thing. It had six steps with a 26:58 footstool of gold which were fastened to the 27:02 throne there were armrests on either side 27:06 of the place of the seat, and two lions stood 27:09 beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there, 27:14 one on each side of the six steps; 27:18 nothing like this had ever been made for 27:20 any other kingdom. Wow, I guess not, 27:26 it continue ins verse 20: All of King Solomon's 27:29 drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels 27:31 of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. 27:34 Not one was silver, and notices this phrase. 27:38 Not one was silver, for this was accounted as 27:40 nothing in the days of Solomon. 27:45 There were so much gold that silver was worthless, 27:48 mark I wish we could go back there and just picked 27:51 up some of that worthless silver. 27:56 The King's ships went to Tarshish with the servants 27:59 of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant 28:02 ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, 28:04 apes and monkeys. Now, I don't know what he 28:06 wanted with monkeys. But whatever so King, 28:09 now notice with this in verse 22: 28:12 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth 28:15 in riches and in wisdom. He was building a 28:19 kingdom and he was doing a pretty good job, 28:24 he had built a temple and he did a pretty good job. 28:30 All the kings of the earth sort the presence 28:32 of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had 28:34 put in his heart. Each man brought his present: 28:37 articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, 28:39 horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 28:43 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and 28:46 chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; 28:48 whom he stationed in the chariot cities and 28:50 with the King at Jerusalem. So he reigned over 28:54 all the kings from the river to the land of the 28:57 Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 29:04 The King made silver as common in Jerusalem as 29:07 stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant 29:12 as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 29:16 What do you say, sounds like Solomon were 29:18 doing a pretty good job of building a kingdom 29:22 if you measure prosperity, the way we most often 29:27 measure prosperity. Solomon was 29:31 doing a good job, remember when we talked about 29:35 him building the kingdom we said there was a 29:37 problem or when he talked about he building 29:39 the temple we said there was the problem. 29:44 I want you to go back to First Kings again, 29:48 chapter 10 and verse 1. Because I think I see 29:53 another problem. First King chapter 10 and verse 1, 29:59 now I was told that I had to preach till Sabbath 30:03 was over, but as soon as Sabbath was 30:05 over everybody is going with the ABC, 30:06 so I better stop. We'll see, chapter 10: 30:13 Now when the queen of Sheba, you know this 30:18 story right? How well do you know listen. 30:23 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the 30:25 fame of Solomon concerning the name 30:27 of the Lord, she came to test him with hard 30:30 questions. See, what had she heard about? 30:34 She heard about the fame of Solomon concerning 30:38 the name of the Lord. Keep that in mind. 30:42 She came to Jerusalem with a very great 30:45 retinue, with camels that bore spices, 30:48 very much gold, just what he needed right 30:51 some more gold. What's the little saying says 30:54 them that have gets, he kept just getting and 30:57 getting, she brought him some more gold, 30:59 and precious stones: and when she came to 31:02 Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was 31:04 in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; 31:08 there was nothing so difficult for the King that 31:11 he could not explain it to her. What a guy? 31:14 And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all wisdom 31:17 of Solomon, the house that he had built, 31:21 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, 31:24 the service of his waiters and their apparel, 31:26 his cupbearers and his entryway by which he went 31:30 up to the house of the Lord, 31:31 there was no more spirit in her. 31:35 Then she said to the king, "It was a true report 31:38 that I heard, a true report which I heard in my 31:42 own land about your words and your wisdom. 31:46 However I did not believe the words until 31:49 I came and saw with my own eyes; 31:51 and indeed the half was not told. 31:53 Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the 31:55 fame of which I heard. Happy are your men, 32:00 happy are your servants, who stand continually 32:03 before you, and hear your wisdom. 32:08 Here comes the problem. Blessed be the Lord your 32:14 God who delighted in you, setting you on the 32:18 throne of. Israel. Because the Lord has loved 32:20 Israel forever, therefore He made you king, 32:25 to do justice and to do righteousness." 32:30 You say what's the problem? Do you hear 32:32 what she's saying? And you can't blame her 32:36 for saying it, she's a heathen queen, 32:38 she doesn't know. But do you hear what 32:41 is she saying, she saying Oh! Solomon you are 32:44 so wonderful the Lord sure is lucky to have you. 32:52 Now, as I said you can't blame her, it's not 32:55 her fault but notice Solomon doesn't set 32:58 the record straight. See she said the Lord 33:02 loved Israel so much that he put you here, it's 33:05 almost like Solomon if it wasn't for you all this 33:10 wouldn't exist. Come on you know better then that, 33:19 the Lord wasn't lucky to have him. 33:22 He was blessed to be chosen by the Lord, 33:26 to fill the position that the Lord had for him. 33:30 Well, sad to say Solomon build something else, 33:40 Second or First Kings chapter 11 and verse 7: 33:48 Then Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the 33:54 abomination of Moab, on a hill that is east of 33:57 Jerusalem and for Molech, the abomination of the 34:02 people of Ammon. Do you know who Molech was? 34:10 Molech was the God of the Ammonites to whom 34:14 people sacrifice their babies. 34:20 And Solomon built an altar, he built a temple 34:26 of the Lord, but he built a place of worship for 34:28 these two heathen deities. And the 34:34 problem is in verse 4: For it was so when Solomon 34:38 was old, that his wives turned his heart after 34:46 other Gods, and his heart was not loyal to the 34:51 Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 34:59 Now, folks as I've look at this is, I've thought 35:01 about this, I've prayed about this for this last 35:04 couple of weeks. You know usually we look at 35:08 this last part, and we say yeah that was Solomon's 35:11 downfall. Those heathen wives, I was 35:18 in the Sabbath school class once and somebody 35:22 said something about Solomon being just the 35:24 smartest man who ever lived. 35:26 And the Sabbath school teacher and elderly 35:28 gentlemen shake his head and he said no he 35:30 wasn't the smartest man ever lived and this person 35:32 said what do you mean? He said anybody that 35:34 had that many wives didn't have lick of sense. 35:39 And usually we blame the wives for 35:42 Solomon's downfall, but what we've seen tonight 35:45 is we've looked at this that it happened gradually. 35:53 I heard Elder Oatfield say this week that we 35:55 excepted the Lord to come in like roaring lion. 35:58 But he's come in like a swarm of termites. 36:02 That's what he did in Solomon's life, it started 36:06 with a little thing. Solomon knew something 36:10 about building, but he also knew something 36:12 about decay. He knew something about decay 36:16 in the temple, because even his lifetime with all 36:19 of this beautiful temple that he had built. 36:21 That was sitting there shining in the sun; 36:23 the decay had already started to set it. 36:26 Because it had already started to set 36:28 in the worship, you know what Solomon was 36:35 experiencing was not escaping his people and 36:39 people don't usually come up any higher than 36:42 their leaders. And there was decay in the temple, 36:47 the priesthood had already started to be 36:51 corrupted and it was a gradual thing, 36:55 it didn't happen all at once. Solomon knew 36:57 something about decay in the kingdom, 37:01 because even while Solomon was King during 37:03 this forty years of this marvelous reign. 37:05 There were people who were plotting to take his 37:07 life and overthrow him, there were all kinds 37:10 of political schemes there were going on behind 37:12 the scenes. And yes, Solomon knew something 37:17 about decay in his own life, he must have known. 37:23 How could somebody who was called by God? 37:28 How could somebody who was established by God 37:32 as one of the greatest kings that ever ruled 37:34 in Israel, built a high place, an altar to a 37:39 heathen God to whom they sacrifice babies. 37:48 You know what they think the problem was, 37:54 he got to thinking that he had built the temple. 37:59 He got to thinking that he had built the kingdom, 38:03 and he got to thinking that he had built the life. 38:12 But Solomon couldn't have built anything without God, 38:17 it's like the bird house that I built once, 38:19 bird feeder I built and a sparrow came in land out 38:23 and it fell down. That's how effective Solomon 38:30 would have been, it hadn't been for the blessings 38:34 of God, but he wised up at the end of his life. 38:40 You know that's the incredible thing about 38:42 Solomon, and you maybe that's a good place 38:46 to stop the sermon I don't know to say. 38:48 Solomon wised up at the end of his life, 38:50 he listened to the voice of the Lord and in his 38:52 old age I believe I believe he wrote Psalm 127 38:55 verse 1 in his old age. Because as a young man 38:59 he wouldn't realize that and all through those 39:01 forty years, he didn't realize that, 39:03 but when he came down to the end of his life 39:05 he said unless the Lord builds the house. 39:10 They labor in vain who build it; 39:17 well you know its kind of fun to sit here and make 39:19 criticisms to old Solomon. After all he's been gone 39:25 along time, but how much as human nature 39:30 changed in those hundreds and thousands 39:34 of years. Folks, we had a wonderful week here, 39:39 Amen. Last Sabbath we celebrated victory over 39:49 something that has been like a milestone around 39:52 our neck for the last twenty years. Amen, 39:59 the servant, the Lord says you should avoid death 40:02 like it was the plague. Amen, we have been 40:05 plagued by death for I don't know how long. 40:12 And last week we celebrated victory, amen, 40:20 amen. I think this week; we've been touched by 40:25 God's hand, amen. We have listened to powerful 40:28 sermons; we have sat in Holy Spirit filled seminars. 40:38 I've been told by some that this was the best 40:41 camp meeting ever, of course some of the 40:45 same people told me that last year so I'm 40:47 assuming that each one just keeps getting better 40:48 and better. Amen, and that's good, 40:55 well I want you to know something it's not 40:59 because of us, amen. It's not because of the officers 41:04 of the Oklahoma conference, it's not because of the 41:09 unique talents and abilities that presenters 41:12 and preachers have brought to our camp meeting 41:14 this year. It is because of the blessing of God, 41:22 Amen, there is a poem that I learned years ago 41:27 and I was thinking about it, I can't remember at all. 41:31 So, can I do just what I can remember, 41:33 because I think it gets the point. 41:35 It says: Sometime when you're feeling important, 41:40 Sometime when your ego's in bloom, 41:43 Sometimes when you're get the feeling you're the 41:45 best qualified in the room, take a bucket and fill 41:49 it with water, plunge your arm in it up to wrist 41:54 and pull it out and the hole that's remaining 41:57 is the symbol of how you'll be missed. 42:03 And the last line says: Be proud of yourself, 42:06 but remember: There is no indispensable man. 42:11 I've often said you know in our office going 42:14 down the hall way to the ABC in our office. 42:16 We have picture, picture frames that are up 42:21 there each frame has four pictures in it. 42:24 And there are the pictures of the past presidents 42:27 of the Oklahoma Conference. And I've often 42:31 said you know my picture is the last one there 42:35 right now. But I've often said two weeks after 42:39 I walk out of this office someone will be 42:41 walking down this hall and look at that picture 42:44 and say who is that old guy? Because isn't that 42:49 the way life is? Yeah, it's not because of us, 42:58 we haven't build anything God has worked with, 43:05 worked with weak and sinful people. 43:09 After all in the book of Numbers he could even 43:11 speak through a donkey. So, he could work with 43:15 any of us, but we have to keep in mind the real 43:20 wisdom of Solomon, which in later life said unless 43:24 the Lord builds the house, unless the Lord builds 43:27 the church, unless the Lord builds the conference, 43:30 unless the Lord builds the school, unless the 43:32 Lord builds the work. Now, there is one other 43:38 thing that you need to remember. 43:42 It was at the height of Solomon's prosperity that 43:48 things began to fall apart, and it was so with his, 43:53 with his father David. You remember the story of David 43:56 and Bathsheba and it says just before that incident 43:59 came about with Bathsheba it said and at the times 44:01 when the kings go forth to battle, 44:04 David stayed home. See things were going so well, 44:08 he could send the generals out. 44:11 He could stay at home, it was at the height of his 44:14 success, at the height of his prosperity and 44:17 with Solomon when all of this gold was flowing 44:19 all around like water. And whatever things were 44:21 just going so well and when every King in the earth 44:24 was coming to him, when everyone was praising 44:27 his name. It's when things began to fall apart, 44:36 beware, beware lest we make God second. 44:46 See that's what Solomon did, he spend seven years 44:49 building his house or the Lord's house. 44:52 But he spend thirteen years building his, 44:54 whose house was more important with Solomon? 44:57 Beware unless we make God second, 45:00 beware unless we take credit for what 45:02 God has done. Don't ever let anybody say God sure 45:09 is lucky to have you in this Church, 45:10 don't ever say yourself. Beware lest our hearts 45:16 be turned to other Gods. We ask Pastor Dye 45:22 to sing a favorite song of mine and I think a 45:26 favorite of his too. Listen to the first stanza. 45:34 There is singing up in Heaven 45:36 such as we have never known, 45:41 Where the angels sing the praises 45:44 of the Lamb upon the throne, 45:49 Their sweet harps are ever tuneful, 45:53 and their voices always clear, 45:57 O that we might be more like them 46:00 while we serve the Master here! 46:06 Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, 46:17 And I expect to help them make 46:20 the courts of heaven ring; 46:23 But when I sing redemption's story, 46:28 they will fold their wings, 46:31 For angels never felt the joys 46:36 that our salvation brings. 46:42 For that last book in the Bible, 46:47 the Book that we as Adventists turn to so much, 46:51 we hear the beings in heaven, 46:58 praising Jesus Christ. "You are worthy to take 47:02 the scroll, and to open its seals; 47:05 For You were slain, And have redeemed us 47:08 to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and 47:11 tongue and people and nation and have made us 47:15 kings and priests to our God and we shall reign 47:17 on the earth." But it's because of him nothing 47:23 that we've done, the only thing that we can 47:27 do is consents to allow him to use us. 47:34 I've said this before and I believe it with all 47:37 my heart. The best days for the 47:40 Oklahoma Conference are just ahead and I would 47:45 not suggest this evening that we are at the 47:48 point of prosperity. We're kind of like this story, 47:52 I like to tell about the accountant who came 47:55 to his boss and said I've good news we are finally 47:59 in the black. And he said I would like to make 48:03 an entree in the ledger. But I don't have any black 48:07 ink and the boss said well why don't you buy 48:10 a bottle and he said because if I did 48:12 we be in the red. I'm certainly not comparing 48:18 our prosperity with Solomon's prosperity, 48:21 but I'm saying things are going well. 48:25 The Lord is blessing us with tithe increase; 48:29 the Lord is blessing us with baptisms. 48:32 You know last year we had four hundred baptisms, 48:34 which was the largest baptism we've had 48:37 in recorded history, amen. We set a new goal 48:40 next year for five hundred and right now 48:43 at the end of the year with the official report 48:46 and the ones that I know that are floating out 48:48 there that didn't get reported. 48:49 We are at two hundred and fifty. 48:51 Now, at the end of June two hundred fifty 48:53 we're on target for five hundred. 48:57 But it's not because of what we've done 49:00 it's because of what the Lord is doing for the 49:03 Oklahoma Conference and don't you ever forget it. 49:06 Amen. Nobody's indispensable and when 49:11 we get to heaven, we're going to be praising God 49:17 for what Jesus did. So, we better keep praising 49:21 him what he's doing right now, 49:24 pastor. Mark, Trevor. 49:31 Then the angels stand and listen, 49:34 for they cannot join that song, 49:38 Like the sound of many waters, 49:41 by that happy, blood washed throng, 49:45 For they sing about great trials, 49:49 battles fought and victories won, 49:53 And they praise their great Redeemer, 49:56 who hath said to them, "Well done." 50:01 Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, 50:12 And I expect to help them make 50:15 the courts of heaven ring; 50:18 But when I sing redemption's story, 50:23 they will fold their wings, 50:27 For angels never felt the joys 50:32 that our salvation brings. 50:36 So, although I'm not an angel, 50:40 yet I know that over there 50:44 I will join a blessed chorus that 50:48 the angels cannot share; 50:52 I will sing about my Savior, 50:55 who upon dark Calvary 50:59 Freely pardoned my transgressions, 51:03 died to set a sinner free. 51:08 Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, 51:19 And I expect to help them make 51:22 the courts of heaven ring; 51:26 But when I sing redemption's story, 51:31 they will fold their wings, 51:35 For angels never felt the joys 51:41 that our salvation brings. 51:48 We wanna stand before you tonight as your three 51:50 elected officers of the Oklahoma Conference. 51:55 Saying that by God's grace and through his 51:59 blessing Oklahoma Conference will continue 52:02 to grow. It's not easy sometimes I've often though 52:09 in Mark's position of treasurer that he's had 52:12 to made bricks without straw. 52:17 And you know Trevor has worked tirelessly 52:21 to put this camp meeting together, 52:23 so many of you have come to me and thanked me 52:24 for this camp meeting. This is man you're really 52:27 need to thank, but you're really need to be thanking 52:29 the Lord for it. Amen. We appreciate your prayers 52:35 and your support and we appreciate the 52:39 opportunity to serve you. But we appreciate more 52:43 the opportunity to serve Christ. Amen, 52:46 it's not about me, it's not about Trevor, 52:51 it's not about Mark and it's not about you. 52:56 It's about Jesus Christ, Amen. Would you stand 53:01 with me tonight as we determine that by 53:05 God's grace we are going to keep him at the center? 53:10 Reach out and touch somebody, 53:15 you got to hold of somebody's hand, 53:17 everybody touching somebody else. 53:23 O Father, Our Father, the one who really holds 53:28 this family together, the one who is responsible 53:33 for everyone sitting here tonight. 53:36 For every chair that we sit on,, for every inch 53:39 of ground that we walk on, for every victory 53:41 we have gained. We praise your name tonight. 53:47 When the angels up in heaven sing that glory song. 53:52 We will forget about the day we paid the debt 53:55 at Wewoka Woods, we'll forget about the buildings 53:59 we were to built and we will say praise Jesus 54:04 that we're here Amen. We praise you for 54:07 this and we praise you for what is yet to come 54:11 and I pray Lord that at this last moment 54:14 of camp meeting. That if it is your desire, 54:19 if it is in your plan that Jesus not come before 54:23 next year. That you would bless your 54:26 people abundantly and help us not to let 54:33 prosperity make us lay our decision. 54:37 We have to have you Lord in Jesus name 54:40 we pray amen. Good night and God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17