Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Jim Gilley (Host), Dan Jackson
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000998
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01:13 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name
01:24 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 01:34 With all the cause we lived Jesus name 01:44 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 01:55 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 02:05 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 02:16 With all the cause we lived Jesus name 02:26 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 02:37 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 02:47 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 02:58 With all the cause we lived Jesus name 03:08 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 03:19 With all the cause we lived Jesus name 03:29 Oh, Lord, how marvelous Oh, Lord, how marvelous 03:39 Oh, Lord, how marvelous is your name 03:55 Amen, Amen, wasn't that wonderful Pastor Murray? 04:01 Amen, what a perfect way to begin a worship service, 04:04 that's right, by praising the name of Jesus. 04:07 And this is one of the first times that the 04:09 Thompsonville Adventist Church Choir has sung, 04:13 and oh it was first time on television and one of 04:16 their first times period, they've only sang 04:17 a few times together and they already are sounding 04:20 very good aren't they? Praise the Lord, 04:22 we love them Thompsonville Adventist Church 04:25 meets here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 04:28 This is the place where we have our camp 04:30 meetings where we do a lot of our taping, 04:33 we have studios even in the back where Kids Time 04:37 is done and some of the other programs are 04:40 done there. And so this is the multipurpose building. 04:44 It's a building that was built by your donations 04:48 and by your faithfulness to 3ABN and we thank 04:52 you that we have such a tremendous place, 04:54 to have these camp meetings and other events 04:58 as well as the Sabbath Church service meeting 05:01 here each week. Well, listen we've got some 05:04 tremendous things today and we're looking forward 05:07 to this morning. It is not a common event for the 05:11 division President to spend some time with us, 05:13 but we're fortunate that he took time from his 05:15 schedule to join us today. And this is a man who 05:18 is very experienced. He came immediately he was 05:22 elected at the General Conference Session 05:25 in Atlanta and before that he was the President 05:30 of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Canada 05:34 and now the Canadian Union we call it is also 05:37 apart of the North American Division which 05:40 encompasses all of the 50 states of the 05:43 United States plus Canada and Bermuda. 05:48 And so now this territory is served by Pastor 05:52 Dan Jackson, they've only been four Presidents 05:56 of the actual division. The first President of 06:01 the division was Elder Bradford and the second 06:03 was Elder McClure, Don Schneider was the third 06:09 President and he is the one that serves up 06:11 until this past General Conference, 06:13 and now Elder Dan Jackson, before that the 06:17 North American Division was operated by a 06:21 Vice President of the General Conference, 06:24 the one in the 70's who was looking after this 06:29 assignment was Elder Neal Wilson, 06:32 the father of our current President Elder Ted Wilson. 06:36 He was later elected to be General Conference 06:39 President in 1980s. So in the 80's he served as 06:43 President of the General Conference. 06:44 Just this week he lay down his life on this earth, 06:51 went to sleep in Jesus waiting 06:53 for the resurrection. And so our condolences 06:56 go to the Wilson family. He is survived of course 07:00 by his son Elder Ted Wilson who is the current 07:03 General Conference President. 07:06 There will be a memorial service on the 19th of 07:12 January and if you wanna go online you can get 07:16 more information about the time it will be at the 07:18 General Conference office in Silver Spring, Maryland. 07:23 Well, today we are happy to have the 07:27 Elder Dan Jackson as we mention the man have 07:29 with experience and I want to introduce his wife 07:34 to you at this time, Donna would you stand and 07:37 you've been with Dan Jackson from the very 07:40 beginning. He told me one time that you're 07:43 the one that actually brought him into this 07:45 church and so the Lord, alright, 07:50 but Lord used you and so we're just thank you 07:54 for being with us today. And they have served 07:57 overseas in mission to Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka 08:01 I will pronounce it right here in a minute 08:03 and some other places. In addition he was 08:06 President of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba 08:08 Conference, British Columbian Conference, 08:12 and before he was President of the Canadian 08:15 Union. He's been Pastor, been a teacher, 08:19 he's a man of a lot of varied experience. 08:22 So we're gonna look forward to having him 08:26 be our speaker today. Before he comes 08:30 I'm gonna ask Elder Murray to lead us in a prayer. 08:35 Bow your heads with us if you will. 08:39 Gracious Father again we do thank you 08:40 so very much for the occasion that calls us 08:43 to the house of prayer and praise this day. 08:46 We thank you for the Sabbath day and for 08:50 those blessings that are held in reserve for 08:55 the sacred Sabbath hours. We know there is 08:59 a very special blessing as we follow the command 09:02 to not forsake the assembling of ourselves 09:04 together, but to come together in prayer and 09:08 praise with you as our honored guest. 09:11 Oh! Father we thank you for Jesus, the author, 09:15 the finisher of our faith, in him we live and move 09:20 and have our being and we would want you 09:23 to know and the world to know that we love 09:27 you dear Jesus. And we are here because we 09:30 want to spend a little time with you. 09:34 We ask that you would bless this service that 09:37 you would bless it so that those who need 09:40 to hear a word from the Lord will indeed hear 09:44 that word this day. And those of us who need 09:48 a little encouragement as we walk this road 09:50 that leads to glory, we will receive information 09:56 and the inspiration and the sacred touch 09:59 of the Holy Spirit to encourage us as we walk 10:03 with you. Bless this service, bless those of us 10:07 who sit here and in the special way the thousands 10:11 ye millions around the world who sit and look 10:15 and listen, may they receive encouragement 10:19 and inspiration, bless the music, 10:22 bless in a special way the speaker of the hour 10:25 we praise you, we love you and we thank you 10:28 dear Father in Jesus name Amen. Amen 10:33 We're so privileged today to be able to bring 10:36 Elder Jackson to you, and this first opportunity 10:40 that he has had to address the entire 10:44 North American Division as well as the World Church 10:47 from this particular position here in 10:52 Thompsonville, Illinois. And before he comes 10:57 to speak to us one of my favorite singers 11:00 John Lomacang is going to sing for us 11:04 "There is a Savior", Amen, Amen. 11:17 There is a Savior what joys express 11:32 His eyes are mercy His word is rest 11:44 For each tomorrow For yesterday 11:59 There is a Savior Who lights our way! 12:14 Are there burdens in your heart, 12:18 Is you past a memory that binds you, 12:26 Is there pain inside that that you've carried 12:32 far too long, Oh there's strengt 12:41 in your heart with His good news, 12:51 There is a Savior and He's forgiven you 13:04 There is a Savior what joys express 13:18 His eyes are mercy His word is rest 13:31 For each tomorrow For yesterday 13:44 There is a Savior Who lights our way! 13:58 There is a Savior what joys express 14:12 His eyes are mercy His word is rest 14:24 For each tomorrow For yesterday 14:39 There is a Savior Who lights our way! 14:53 There is a Savior Who lights our way! 15:31 Well, good morning. Good morning! 15:33 And happy Sabbath and praise God for our 15:38 savior. Who loves us more than he loved 15:43 his own self and his own convenience, 15:47 but who send his son Jesus so that you 15:50 and I could have hope and have quality 15:53 of life here and now and for all eternity. 15:56 We praise his name today. You know as my wife 16:01 and drove out here, it reminded me of the well 16:06 it is the prayer hearings, it reminded me of 16:10 so much where I came from in the province 16:13 of Alberta in Canada and just a lot of 16:17 memories of wheat fields and the beauty 16:19 of those wheat fields came back to my mind. 16:23 I want to invite you to bow your 16:25 head with me as we pray. 16:28 Our Heavenly Father we want to thank you 16:30 today for the gift of Jesus Christ, 16:34 your son our savior and heavenly father 16:38 we want to acknowledge prior to opening up 16:41 your word that we are in need of your 16:44 Holy Spirit, to guide us and to direct us, 16:49 so we don't want to see human beings. 16:52 We want to see Jesus that's only possible 16:56 through the gifting of your Holy Spirit 16:58 and we now want to submit ourselves 17:01 to that same Spirit in Jesus name Amen. 17:06 Magnificent! The word carries an awesome 17:12 quality to it. Now we don't use it to describe 17:16 anything that is common or mundane when 17:19 Webster defines it in the dictionary he uses 17:22 these words splendid, lavish, beautiful, 17:26 etcetera so as to arouse admiration and wonder. 17:31 You know when you walkout on a crisp, 17:35 cool, evening and you look up at the stars, 17:39 the handy work of God, you say that's magnificent. 17:45 When you wander different places across 17:48 North America you see so many sites. 17:52 I used to relish seeing the Northern Light 17:55 that's rippled away across the sky 17:58 and it's magnificent. When you see from the air, 18:03 the canola fields next to flax fields then you see 18:07 that purple and gold patch work. It is magnificent. 18:11 If you see the water smashing against 18:13 the rocks at big stir, you got to say it's 18:16 magnificent. And yet to know I looked back 18:19 to a moment in our time when the very British 18:25 nurse looked at me and holding our first child 18:31 in her hands said, well touch her she's yours. 18:37 I was not very much able because I looked at 18:40 her in the condition wasn't all that good, 18:42 I touched the heel but I do want to tell you 18:44 I praised God that day. And I thank my dear 18:48 wife Donna for what it happened, 18:50 the deep sense of gratitude to God 18:54 over found me it was a magnificent moment. 18:59 It was awesome. Amen! However as greatest 19:04 the experience that I've talked about are there 19:07 is an even greater opportunity and more 19:10 magnificent experience that all of us can share 19:13 in and that is living daily in the presence of 19:17 a magnificent God. Amen! Our understanding 19:20 of God has very often been twisted and perverted 19:25 to such a place that we're not sure at all 19:28 at times whether or not we would want to 19:30 live in the presence of God. That the ponderings 19:34 of theologians, of philosophers, 19:37 and common man have more often to not 19:39 produced faulty portrayals of God and how he is. 19:45 Experience with less than loving fathers has 19:48 produced and unwillingness in many individuals to 19:52 call anyone their father. Yet understanding God 19:58 is key to serving God, a key to living in his 20:02 presence but this subject of reaching up to God 20:08 and embracing him as our personal Lord, 20:10 master, friend and lover is a crucial one for 20:14 a significant reason. If I understand 20:17 things correctly, if I understand the scripture 20:20 correctly, the message of God's people in the 20:26 final days that message which is to encircle 20:30 the globe with a loud cry, is that of the glory 20:34 of God as seen both in the words and in 20:37 the lives of his people. Now there is real 20:41 sense in which this privilege places, a heavy 20:46 responsibility on each one of us to know, 20:49 to understand and to experience God. 20:52 Listen to how God describes himself 20:54 as he talks to Moses at Mount Sinai from 20:58 Exodus chapter 34 verses 6 & 7: "The Lord, 21:01 the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 21:05 longsuffering, and abounding in goodness 21:07 and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 21:09 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, 21:13 by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the 21:16 iniquity of the fathers upon the children and 21:18 the children's children to the third and the 21:21 fourth generation." And then after that, 21:23 after Jesus, the God man lived his life on earth 21:30 and then gave it up on Calvary, when he had 21:32 completed his mission to save fallen humanity 21:37 by demonstrating the true nature of the father, 21:40 the Apostle John wrote: Behold, what manner 21:43 of love the Father has bestowed on us, 21:46 that we should be called the sons and the 21:49 daughters of God. Amen! He is a magnificent God. 21:56 If the self Revelation of God at Sinai as recorded 22:00 in Exodus and the beautiful and descriptive 22:04 words of John are true and accurate 22:07 representations of what God is like and 22:10 I believe that they are, then a question 22:13 is begged and that is if those things are true 22:18 then why don't I live in constant connection 22:20 with God. Where am I lacking, where are we 22:23 lacking as human beings, as Christians. 22:28 From the book Desire of Ages page 668 22:31 I read this "All true obedience comes from 22:34 the heart". It was heart work with Christ. 22:37 And if we consent, He will so identify Himself 22:42 with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts 22:45 and minds into conformity with His will that 22:48 when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out 22:51 our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, 22:56 will find highest delight in doing His service. 23:01 When we know God as it is our privilege to 23:04 know him, our life will be a life of continual 23:07 obedience, through an appreciation of the 23:10 character of God of Christ, through communion 23:14 with God, sin will become hateful to us. 23:21 What it emerges here is that we do not know 23:24 God as we might know him. There is something 23:29 that we can discover about God that will make 23:32 him irresistible to us. As he declares himself, 23:37 you will search for me and you will find me when 23:41 you search for me with all of your heart 23:43 and I will be found of you, declares the Lord. 23:48 I wanna bring this a little closer home now. 23:52 If the issues confronting the church in the world 23:56 and the issues confronting the church in 23:58 North America today are to be resolved in 24:02 a God honoring way, it will be because you 24:07 and I personally have resolved the issues 24:12 of who God is and what he is for us personally. 24:15 You and I need to know God more fully. 24:18 We need to experience him and sense him 24:22 more as a magnificent God in order to be drawn 24:25 by him into a love relationship that 24:28 will never end, drawn into a partnership where 24:32 we will be able to consistently share the 24:34 news of a wonderful father with men and women 24:38 all around us who need hope and peace, 24:42 those things that we often take for granted. 24:45 So how do we seeing God interacting with the 24:49 human family? How does God approach sinful 24:53 and alienated humans in order to redeem them? 24:57 How does God approach his own people or 24:59 those who call on him and whom he calls his own? 25:03 What kind of a God does the Bible portray? 25:08 There are many directions we could take in 25:09 attempting to partially answer those questions 25:12 and you know that no one period of time is 25:16 sufficient to describe everything that there is 25:18 about God. But what can we know about him 25:23 from the scripture, Jesus of course is the greatest 25:27 expression of God. He who came the God man, 25:30 God incarnate, God in human flesh, 25:33 the scripture says in him dwells all the fullness 25:36 of the Godhead bodily form, Jesus came 25:40 to show what the father is like. 25:43 He said himself if you have seen me, 25:46 you've seen the father. It's a wonderful, 25:48 the life of Jesus, is a wonderful expression of 25:52 what God is like. But I want to move in another 25:55 direction today Christ centered but another 25:57 direction. I want to take you to a book and 26:01 scripture that we sell them study, 26:04 I want to take you to the book of Amos, 26:07 and if you've got your Bible I want to 26:09 encourage you to open it up to the Book of Amos, 26:13 Amos the prophet, Amos the herdsmen of Deco 26:18 and he is described in all these ways in scripture, 26:21 the tender of sycamore fig trees, 26:25 in my opinion as I've studied the Old Testament 26:28 Major and Minor Prophets, Amos is the least 26:33 of the Prophets in terms of eloquence. 26:35 He is not like an Isaiah. He's not like Jeremiah. 26:42 But yet in his messages and prophecies addressed 26:46 to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the middle 26:48 part of the 8th century BC, we find a 26:52 demonstration, a deep understanding of the way 26:56 in which God operates as he relates to the 26:59 human family that is as he relates to you and 27:02 to me. Through Amos are the experiences of 27:07 Amos we are brought face to face with a 27:10 God of compassion who through diverse methods 27:13 and circumstances attempts to bring 27:16 his people into relationship with him. 27:19 It is God's constant and consistent attempt. 27:23 I wanna read you this little statement, 27:25 my wife actually shared this with me, 27:27 it reads like this talking about God, 27:31 he watches for some return of gratitude 27:33 from us as the mother watches for the smile 27:37 of recognition from her beloved child. 27:41 He would have us understand how earnestly 27:44 and tenderly his heart yearns over us. 27:49 It's amazing he is a magnificent God. 27:53 Now it is poem. The Hound of Heaven, 27:58 English poet Sir Francis Thompson penned 28:01 the following lines that so aptly describe the 28:04 persistence of God. I fled him the poet says: 28:09 "I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; 28:13 I fled Him, down the arches of the years; 28:15 I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my 28:18 own mind; and in the midst of tears, 28:21 I hid from Him, and under running laughter, 28:25 up visted hopes I sped; And shot, precipitated, 28:29 Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, 28:33 From those strong Feet that followed, 28:35 followed after. But with unhurrying chase, 28:39 and unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, 28:43 majestic instancy, They beat 28:46 and a Voice beat More instant than the Feet 28:50 All things betray thee, who betrayest Me". 28:56 I turned with you to the book of Amos 28:57 chapter 7 from the very beginning of this 29:00 chapter we are drawn into the experience 29:03 of God. As he attempts to bring his people 29:08 to renewed life, to revival and reformation, 29:11 if you will to a life of restored connections 29:14 with him, he has been attempting to bring 29:17 about a change of direction, a reformation 29:21 in the individual, collective experience 29:24 of his people. But nothing seems to have worked 29:28 so far. And so God presents the Prophet with 29:32 three visions and I look at scripture with you 29:36 this morning and I do so hoping that you will 29:39 follow along don't make prejudged conclusions, 29:43 but follow along. Amos chapter 7 verses 1 29:47 through 3. "This is what the Sovereign Lord 29:50 showed me: He was preparing swarms 29:53 of locusts after the king's share had been 29:55 harvested and just as the second crop was 29:59 coming up. When they had stripped the land 30:02 clean, I cried out, 'Sovereign Lord, 30:05 forgive! How can Jacob survive? 30:08 He is so small!" So, the Lord relented this will 30:13 not happen. Second vision, this is what the 30:19 Sovereign Lord showed me. The Sovereign Lord 30:23 was calling for judgment by fire, it dried up 30:26 the great deep and devour the land then 30:29 I cried out Sovereign Lord, I beg you stop. 30:35 How can Jacob survive? He is so small. 30:39 So, the Lord relented this will not happen either 30:43 the Sovereign Lord said. You know there are 30:46 some common elements in those two visions 30:48 and you began to think about them and the 30:50 significance of those two visions, 30:52 what God was talking about here was the 30:55 sustenance of His people. In the first vision, 30:59 the first crop came along and the first crop 31:02 according to ancient custom all was came 31:04 to the king. The second crop came to the common 31:08 people like you and like me. 31:10 And yet as Amos has transported in vision, 31:14 in the words of God he sees the first vision 31:17 or rather the first crop goes to the king, 31:19 but then the locus come and destroy, 31:22 the sustenance of his people, people living in 31:26 an agrarian lifestyle, people living on the land 31:31 and reliant upon the land. You know, 31:35 God was threatening here not only the well 31:37 being of the people, but their very existence. 31:40 You know, I have often said, and I say with 31:45 tongue and cheek you understand that 31:47 I can never understand why the church 31:50 doesn't allow gambling when it allows farmers. 31:56 Because farmers take it, don't they, I mean, 31:59 they take their lives savings, they take their 32:02 money, they invest in the lamb and if something 32:05 happens that is negative they are whipped out, 32:08 they can be whipped out. It's a terrible thing. 32:11 It's a gamble being a farmer, it's risk at least 32:14 you understand I'm only being a little factitious, 32:17 but the fact of the matter is this that these two 32:22 first visions were armadas visions. 32:26 On the one hand you have got the bread 32:28 removed and on the second hand you see 32:31 what happens. God says, under the take away 32:33 the water. You know, you don't survive 32:35 very long without water; we lived in Sri Lanka 32:38 for a while, and there were great power outages 32:40 it just the government finally informed us living 32:43 in the city of Colombo, feel your freezers 32:46 with water because there is going to be a water 32:47 shortage. Water is so vital. It is so important 32:52 and yet this portrayal is horrific in terms 32:57 of what it implies. But in both circumstances 33:02 when the prophet appeals, God says, 33:05 okay this won't happen, I won't do. 33:09 What are these interchanges tell us 33:10 about God? Is God fickle? The scriptures talks 33:16 about Jesus in these words, Jesus Christ the 33:19 same yesterday, today, and forever. 33:22 And yet in these two circumstances all of a 33:25 sudden you have God relenting, 33:28 the scripture says. Is God fickle? I don't think so. 33:32 I think not, but what kind of process was God 33:36 taking His people through? I want to go further 33:39 with you into this prophecy, 33:40 into the third vision of Amos chapter 7. 33:44 This is what He showed me picking up with the 33:47 seventh verse. This is what He showed me, 33:49 the Lord was standing by a wall that had been 33:53 built through the plumb with a plumb line 33:56 in His hand. And the Lord asked me, 33:59 what do you see Amos? A plumb line I replied. 34:03 Then the Lord said, I'm setting a plumb line 34:06 among my people Israel, I will spare them no longer, 34:10 "The high places of Isaac will be destroyed 34:12 and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; 34:15 with my sword I will rise against the house 34:20 of Jeroboam." Having introduce the subject 34:23 of Israel's impending calamity with the vision 34:26 of the locust and the fire, God now goes onto 34:30 show Amos the third vision that will indicate 34:33 the fact that the time for judgment has come. 34:36 He will now use a plumb line to evaluate the 34:39 spiritual health of His people. And in His 34:43 evaluation of Israel, He identifies the fact that 34:47 something has gone tragically wrong with the 34:50 life and the experience of the very people that 34:53 He has chosen to represent Him 34:55 on planet earth. So, He is about to check it out 35:00 more thoroughly, so as to identify the problem. 35:04 I hope that you all know what a plumb line is? 35:06 If you don't, let me tell you, the carpenters call 35:09 it up plumb bob or plumb line. 35:12 Today they are using laser beams and blinding 35:14 themselves, but they use to call it up a plumb bob 35:17 and all it was, was a wait on the end of a string, 35:20 if you tie it, nailed it to the top of a wall and 35:23 then hung it, you could see it, 35:24 if the wall was true, if it was square, 35:27 if it was a very square wall. 35:29 I built a house one time, I only built one and 35:34 even that one I didn't frame myself, 35:36 but it was pre-fabricate package. 35:39 And you know, if we had someone wisely enough 35:42 had someone put in the foundation, 35:43 but then we put on the floors, the sub floors 35:45 and with the walls and so on. And one day just 35:48 before the dry wall, or before we started 35:50 to dry wall, I stood back and looked at a wall 35:53 in the entry to the home and I looked at it 35:57 and I put on plumbing barb on it and discovered 36:00 that it's not almost wise to nail a floor down 36:03 before you have plumb it up because what 36:05 I did discover about that wall was that, 36:07 there is about three inches difference, 36:10 it was about three inches out of plumb, and 36:11 I will tell you however that as sledgehammer 36:14 is a very useful tool, and I was able to move it 36:17 over and that was wonderful. The word 36:21 of God is your plumb line and mine spiritually. 36:26 Amen. May we never get to the place where 36:29 we consider ourselves so sophisticated or so 36:32 scientifically astute or intuit that we believe 36:36 we can lay God's word a side. It is the eternal 36:40 word of God designed to guide you and me 36:44 through all of the circumstances that we face 36:48 in life. So, we here we have a picture. 36:52 God says, look "I'm setting a plumb line among 36:56 my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 36:59 The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and 37:01 the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; 37:04 with my sword I will rise against the house 37:06 of Jeroboam." And having said all of this the 37:10 prophet doesn't plead and the Lord doesn't 37:12 change His mind. What has happened in Israel? 37:18 Why is God so persistent in His determination to 37:22 bring judgment on His people? Amos presents 37:26 several reasons. The first of this is found 37:29 in Amos 5 verses 21 through 24, 37:33 Amos 5 verses 21 through 24, 37:36 and I want to encourage you to study this book 37:39 and to study the other prophecies of the 37:41 Old Testament because they are rich in terms 37:45 of understanding who God is and what He is like? 37:48 You know, we need to be named again the people 37:52 of the word. The people of the book, 37:55 but here we are in Amos chapter 5 verses 21 37:58 through 24. And this is what we find there, 38:03 some strong language. "I hate, I despise your 38:10 religious feasts. I cannot stand your assemblies. 38:14 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and 38:16 grain offerings, I will not accept them, 38:19 though you bring choice fellowship offerings, 38:21 I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise 38:23 of your songs! I will not listen to the music 38:26 of your harps. But let justice roll on like river, 38:29 righteousness like a never-failing stream!" 38:36 God spoke directly. These people were not unfamiliar 38:41 with God's ideals. They had been instructed 38:44 clearly. They were without defends here. 38:46 You know, several hundreds years before the time 38:48 of Amos God had clearly laded out when 38:51 the folks in Isaiah's day were tripping over 38:54 the same territory. Listen to the statement 38:58 that He makes to Isaiah, "Is this not kind 39:00 of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains 39:03 of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, 39:06 to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. 39:10 Is it not to share your food with the hungry, 39:12 and to provide the poor wanderer over shelter, 39:15 when you see the naked, to clothe him, 39:17 and not to turn away from your own flesh and 39:20 blood"? Then your light will break forth 39:23 like the dawn and you're healing will quickly 39:26 appear; then your righteousness will go 39:29 before you, and the glory of the Lord will be 39:31 your rear guard. Then you will call, 39:33 and the Lord will answer; You will cry, 39:35 and He will say, here am I." Jesus who is our 39:40 model is describe it is the ultimate fulfillment 39:42 of God's words through Isaiah. 39:45 The scriptures record of Jesus in Matthew 14:14, 39:48 "When Jesus landed he went out and saw a 39:52 large crowd. He had compassion on them and 39:55 healed the sick." You see, here was the point 39:57 in the days of Amos that people had forgotten 40:00 what genuine religious faith was all about. 40:06 Genuine faith must be expressed. In other words, 40:13 we need to get real in the way we practice 40:17 our faith when we reflect back on the days 40:20 of Amos. We need to walk the talk. 40:26 As an example I say these over and over again 40:29 to people you know, if we don't intend to be 40:33 gracious then we shouldn't accept grace. 40:38 There is no point in accepting God's grace, 40:42 if it does not transform you and me into gracious, 40:46 gracious people. People burden for those 40:50 around us. The Poet George MacLeod wrote 40:54 these words, he said, "I simply argue that the 40:56 cross be raised again at the center of the 40:59 marketplace as well as on the steeple of the 41:01 church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus 41:06 was not crucified in a cathedral between two 41:08 candles, but on a cross between two thieves; 41:13 on the town garbage heap; at a crossroad 41:16 of politic so cosmopolitan that they had to 41:19 write his title in Hebrew and Latin and in Greek; 41:23 and the kind of place where cynics talk smut 41:26 and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble, 41:29 because that is where he died, and that is what 41:31 he died about. And that is where Christ men 41:34 and women ought to be, and where the church 41:36 ought to be or what the church ought to be about." 41:40 Amen. We think of the cities of our division. 41:44 The great metropolises throughout North America, 41:51 and with the exception of some few attempts, 41:55 the regional conferences are there and number 41:57 of other conferences are there, 41:59 people are working, they are trying 42:00 to do ministries, but you know, 42:01 we need to spend our whole lot more time 42:05 appealing to God on behalf of the cities. 42:08 There are multitudes of people living in the cities 42:12 of North America, who are lambs without any 42:16 guidance. Amen. Who have no hope, 42:20 who have no peace, who have no comfort 42:22 in this life. We have been gifted by God 42:25 with the message to reach out to the cities. 42:28 Amen, amen. These people in the days of Amos, 42:32 amen, had the truth, but they didn't have 42:35 that experimental form of faith which saw them 42:38 apply their faith into everyday circumstances. 42:41 They didn't have the kind of faith that moved 42:44 them into action for God. There was a second 42:50 problem in Amos's day, if you have got Amos 42:52 chapter 6 verses 1 and 4 and 6. 42:57 "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, 43:02 and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, 43:05 you notable men of the foremost nation." 43:08 And then over to verse to 6. "You lie on beds 43:10 adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. 43:14 You dine on choice, on choice Vigilon Mexicali 43:19 and on fatted calves. You strum away on your 43:24 harps like David and improvise on musical 43:27 instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful 43:31 and the use the finest lotions, but you do not 43:35 grieve over the ruin of the house of Israel." 43:41 It is so easy for us when we think about 43:43 the problems that we have in the church today. 43:47 To want to rely upon our training or experience, 43:50 our finances, our great resources, 43:54 the latest technology, the finest programs 43:57 rather than on the empowerment of the 43:59 Holy Spirit and, and on connection with God 44:02 through prayer. It is the tendency of all of us 44:04 to do that. Somehow we feel that if we can just 44:09 get it right, if we can just do the right kind 44:12 of church, if we can just get people in the 44:16 right program that that will do it. 44:20 And yet we understand that when God impressed 44:24 the prophet Joel to say in those days 44:26 I will pour out my spirit and all flesh. 44:30 The young and old, male and female, 44:34 God promised that it's not happening and there 44:39 is a reason we need to plead for the Holy Spirit. 44:44 Rather than dibbing deeply prayerful holy 44:46 man and woman anointed by the spirit of God, 44:50 we depend upon our methods, and our thinking 44:53 and we fail or we establish ourselves within 44:56 the confines of the save complacency, 44:59 but we none the less fail, if you and I will 45:04 become bold for Jesus Christ people will begin 45:08 to follow Christ with us more closely. 45:13 Then there is a third problem that 45:15 we find in Amos. And if you turn to 45:17 Amos chapter 8 verses 4 through 6, 45:20 you find these words. This is the third problem, 45:25 problem was funny religion, second problem was 45:29 complacency, now here is the third problem, 45:34 "Hear this, you who trample the needy and 45:36 do away with the poor of the land." 45:38 Because he is talking to God's people. 45:41 He is not talking to the people on Wall Street. 45:45 He is talking about His chosen people, 45:47 trampling on the needy. When will the New Moon, 45:51 this is pardon me, this is verse 5. "Saying, 45:54 when will the New Moon be over that we 45:56 may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended 45:57 that we may market wheat, skimping the measure, 46:00 boosting the price and cheating with dishonest 46:03 scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy 46:05 for a pair of sandals, selling the sweepings 46:07 with the wheat." The Sabbath had become 46:13 a bother to them. They looked upon it as an 46:18 obstruction as an impedance to their own 46:21 ability to entrench them, their own fortunate 46:25 and their own well being. They are worship of god 46:28 and their ethical behavior was whopped by their 46:32 materialistic urge for success, but this was not 46:37 God's regional, original vision for the Sabbath. 46:40 Sometime ago I spoke with an individual, 46:43 a younger person and by the way it's not 46:45 just the young that have this attitude, but 46:48 I asked him what do you actually think about 46:49 the Sabbath. And the person looked at me 46:51 and this was the Seventh-day Adventist 46:53 young person. The person actually said, 46:55 well I think the Sabbath is basically a useless day. 46:59 The older people sleep and the rest of us 47:01 can't do what we really want to do. 47:05 I suspect that if we're having difficulty today 47:07 appreciating the Sabbath, then it is probable 47:11 that the root cause runs in the same direction 47:15 as it did in the days of Amos. 47:18 I also suspect that many of the problems that 47:21 we're confronted with today theologically 47:24 and otherwise are related to the fact that somehow 47:29 we have fail to appreciate an experience the joy 47:32 and the blessing that fully comes when we 47:35 acknowledge God's creative and redemptive nature. 47:41 We have come to a time where we need to 47:43 understand the Sabbath in a greater light from 47:47 the greater perspective and perhaps we have 47:50 come to a time where we are in need of a Sabbath 47:53 reform in the Seventh-day Adventist 47:55 Church. In His eternal statement of Exodus 48:00 chapter 31:12 through 18, specifically verses 12 48:03 and 17, God gave the reasons for institution 48:07 of the Sabbath. Verse 12 reads, 48:09 "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my 48:12 Sabbaths, they will be a sign between me 48:14 and you for the generations to come, 48:16 so that you may know that I am the Lord 48:19 who makes you holy." And then secondly verse 17, 48:23 "It will be a sign between me and the Israelites 48:26 forever, for in six days the Lord made the 48:28 heavens and the earth, and on the 48:30 seventh day he abstained from work and rested." 48:34 Now, the reality is that correctly understood 48:40 the Sabbath doesn't make legalists; 48:43 the Sabbath brings people to an acknowledgment 48:46 that they are not responsible or in charge 48:49 of their own salvation. For God said, 48:53 I am giving it to you as the sign, 48:55 so that you will always know that I am the Lord 48:57 who sanctifies you that word simply means to 49:01 set aside for our holy purpose. Amen. 49:05 God calls you and me to correctly understand 49:07 the Sabbath, so that every single week 49:10 He waves a flag and says, remember I am 49:13 the one in charge of your salvation, 49:15 you can't do it yourself. Amen. 49:19 Secondly and of great importance in verse 17, 49:24 God gives us the experience of the 49:25 Sabbath not only, so that we can know something 49:27 about His creative and redemptive abilities, 49:31 but so that we will always worship Him 49:33 as the one who created the heavens and 49:35 the earth. I need to say it quickly, 49:37 but the reality is this, the question of creation 49:41 is not a question in scripture. 49:45 And it will never become questionable to the Church. 49:52 Amen. He was the Deputy Minister of Culture 49:55 Youth and Recreation, he called me to in the 49:57 providence of Albert, and he called me to his 50:00 office one day, so that I would give what he 50:03 called a special dispensation to one 50:05 of our members, so that they could work 50:07 on the Sabbath. Amen. And I remember saying 50:10 to him this lady worships God on the seventh day 50:14 because she loves him and because he has 50:16 called her into that relationship and 50:18 she kept her job and there was no problem there. 50:22 God's people in the days of Amos had a problem; 50:28 they had forgotten all of their relationship 50:33 or much of their relationship with God, 50:34 when it was based upon. They had developed a 50:37 superficial religion, they were complacent, 50:43 they really didn't care and thirdly they forgotten 50:48 what the true meanin of the Sabbath was. 50:52 I want to turn you now to the most dramatic part 50:55 of this scripture back to Amos chapter 4 50:58 and I will read this quickly, but this is a very 51:02 hard wrenching part of the scriptures. 51:05 To me it is one of the most dramatic 51:07 statements that God ever made to the 51:08 human family. If you go to Amos chapter 4, 51:17 beginning with verse 5 you read these words. 51:19 "Burn leavened bread and a thank offering 51:21 and brag about your freewill offerings boast 51:23 about them, you Israelites, for this is what you 51:26 love to do." And then God entrance, 51:30 "I gave you empty stomachs in every city 51:34 and lack of bread in every town, 51:35 yet you have not returned to me, 51:38 declares the Lord. I also withheld the rain from 51:42 you when the harvest was still three months away, 51:44 I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from 51:47 another on one, one field had rain and another 51:50 had none and dried up. People staggered from 51:52 town to town for water but did not get enough 51:55 to drink, yet you have not returned to me," 51:58 declares the Lord. Many times I struck your 52:01 gardens and vineyards; I struck them with 52:03 blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig 52:06 and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," 52:09 declares the Lord." I sent plagues among you 52:12 as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men 52:14 with the sword, along with your captured horses. 52:17 I filled your nostrils with the stench 52:18 of your camps, yet you have not returned to me," 52:22 declares the Lord. I overthrew some of you 52:26 as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 52:28 You were like a burning stick snatched 52:30 from the fire, yet you have not returned to me," 52:35 declares the Lord." I am heartbroken when I read 52:40 that passage, I am heartbroken for the God 52:43 because how many times has He intervened 52:47 in my life and in your life. And then the formula 52:50 didn't work, and at the end He says, I did this, 52:56 but you still didn't return to me. 52:59 What was God attempting to accomplish? 53:04 Whatever it was, it wasn't reaching it's full impact 53:06 in the Amos's time. Did he sings all acerb because 53:10 God was angry and a little slap now and then, 53:14 what a major calamity now and then would 53:15 whipped the crew into shape. Is that the picture 53:19 God is attempting to portray himself with? 53:23 A few dead Generals makes the Mural Great. 53:27 Think again about Thompson Pump; 53:29 think about the God who, the seeker who 53:31 reaches down to find us, think about the God 53:34 who has not content to remain aloof from the 53:37 human predicament. That is from your predicament 53:40 and mine. Think about the tender Father heart 53:43 of God that sent him to reach out in search 53:46 of you personally, you individually and think 53:50 about the Father who sees us coming and runs 53:54 to embrace us. So, what was God's grand scheme? 53:58 What motive becomes clear in Amos's writing? 54:01 I turn to Amos chapter 9 verses 11 and 12, 54:05 "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. 54:10 I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins 54:13 and build it up as it used to be, 54:15 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom 54:19 and the nations that bear my name, 54:20 declares the Lord who will do these things." 54:23 And the prophecy we know finds partial fulfillment 54:26 in the day of Pentecost because when the spirit 54:29 was poured out, the Apostle said, 54:31 this was what the prophet was talking about. 54:33 When he said in those days, 54:35 I will restore David's fallen tents. 54:38 What was God trying to accomplish? 54:42 What does he attempt to accomplish with you 54:44 personally and with me over and over and 54:47 over again. You know, when we look at the church? 54:52 Are some of the failures that we're experiencing 54:55 the result of God speaking to the church? 54:59 We lose an academy and our hearts are breaking 55:02 and we said, man that was poor management. 55:05 Well, maybe it was something more than poor 55:06 management. A generation of young people 55:10 is walking out of the doors of the church. 55:15 Why is that happening? I can't identify these 55:18 things. I don't have direct connection with what 55:21 God is doing today, but when I look at the 55:24 scripture and when I look at the church today. 55:29 I say, we're in need of revival and reformation. 55:31 Amen. We're in need of a change that only God 55:36 can bring through His spirit. 55:39 Amos brings us into contact with that God. 55:44 I'm gonna conclude with the story. 55:47 A story that took place in my ministry many 55:49 years ago, we went to a place to Minister 55:53 for the brethren who had a big idea for land 55:56 and a big idea to use that land, but because 56:00 it was located in, an agriculture where you the 56:02 government would never permitted to be used. 56:05 When I went there probably the first several 56:07 Sabbaths we discovered that two of the officers 56:10 of the church were living together common law, 56:13 and the rest of the church had accepted it. 56:17 It's not because I was anybody's judge, 56:19 but I felt convicted that this wasn't right, 56:22 talk to the brethren and at the conference office, 56:23 they said, be very careful and then proceeded 56:25 to call a meeting of the elders of that church 56:29 and we sat in a very lovely home and ate, 56:31 and as they ate I said to them I want you to know 56:34 you are all guilty or fornication. 56:39 And after we study that and prayed about 56:40 that they were convinced and I went to the 56:42 home of the family, and told them that the man 56:47 out to move out and that I would give them 56:50 three weeks to be married and they did that 56:55 they were so happy, they were good people, 56:59 but they were living contrary to the word 57:01 of God. One month after, one month after, 57:08 out of the blue came a letter from the government 57:09 that allows that church to use 57:11 that land for a church. Amen! |
Revised 2014-12-17