Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME250419S
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00:09 ♪ 00:21 >> Good morning. 00:21 Happy Sabbath, everyone. 00:24 I want to invite you all to just 00:26 worship and sing with us. 00:28 Worship however you feel. 00:30 If you want to stand, 00:30 you can stand. 00:31 If you want to lift your hands, 00:32 lift your hands. 00:33 But I invite you to worship 00:34 with us this Easter Sabbath. 00:36 ♪ 05:12 >> Because He raised 05:14 from the dead on the third day, 05:16 let us lift this song together. 12:32 >> If you have a Bible, 12:33 let's put it to good use. 12:35 Matthew 24:14, please. 12:38 Matthew 24:14. 12:41 It's on page 667 12:43 in the red pew Bible 12:44 that's somewhere nearby 12:45 where you're at. 12:46 Page 667, Matthew 24:14. 12:51 We have been at this text 12:53 before in this series. 12:54 We're going to do so here 12:55 now again 12:57 and see it with some fresh eyes. 12:58 Matthew 24:14. 13:00 Jesus is talking about the very 13:01 end of time, our day. 13:03 And this is what He says. 13:05 "And this gospel of the kingdom 13:07 will be preached 13:08 in the whole world 13:10 as a testimony to all nations, 13:12 and then the end will come." 13:18 In other words, 13:20 what Jesus is saying here 13:23 is that there will come 13:24 one final revolution, 13:29 not a revolution of blood 13:30 or of bombs, 13:32 but a revolution of the heart 13:33 in Jesus Christ, 13:36 a revival of true godliness 13:37 among the people of God, 13:38 leading to 13:40 deep relationships with Jesus. 13:42 And it won't just stop there 13:43 on a personal level. 13:44 As we've been talking about, 13:45 revival will lead 13:46 to reformation in great ways. 13:49 There will be a massive work 13:50 done by millions 13:52 of church members 13:52 around the world, 13:53 including people right here 13:55 at Pioneer, sharing the Gospel 13:56 of Jesus Christ 13:57 in the context 13:58 of the three angels' messages 13:59 in a last triumphal push, 14:02 one final revolution, 14:05 and then the end shall come, 14:08 and we will go home. 14:15 But... 14:19 Conjunctions are important, 14:20 aren't they? 14:22 But if the global West 14:26 is going to be a part 14:27 of that one final revolution, 14:29 there will have to be 14:30 some changes in 14:31 how we do church. 14:35 Last week, in "ChurchWorks 14:36 Part 3," we looked at this idea 14:38 of ministers rule. 14:40 We looked at God's 14:40 Old Testament philosophy 14:42 of "come here" 14:43 and that God had matched 14:44 that philosophy with a simple 14:46 three-part structure. 14:47 We then looked at God's 14:48 New Testament philosophy of 14:50 not "come here," 14:51 but "go there" and how it was 14:53 also supported by a simple 14:54 three-part structure. 14:55 And to many of our surprise, 14:57 it did not include that 14:58 structure, what are known today 15:00 as settled pastors. 15:02 Now, in case you weren't here 15:03 last week, 15:04 let me define quickly what 15:05 a settled pastor is. 15:05 A settled pastor is essentially 15:07 what we have in the West 15:09 today in the Adventist church. 15:10 And by West I mean places 15:11 like Australia, North America, 15:13 and Europe, 15:13 and so like cultured places. 15:16 That's the West. 15:18 And Adventism in the West 15:19 has essentially settled pastors. 15:22 A settled pastor is one 15:23 that stays over a church 15:24 for fairly long periods of time. 15:25 They're paid to do so. 15:27 They're the chief leader, 15:28 the primary caregiver. 15:30 They preach, they teach, 15:31 they marry, they bury, 15:32 they chair committees, 15:33 they put out fires, 15:34 et cetera, et cetera. 15:35 And we pay them to do this. 15:36 Every three to seven years, 15:37 they move on to the next church, 15:39 where they settle again and do 15:40 the whole thing all over again. 15:42 And we found that role does 15:45 not exist in the Bible. 15:47 It's not there. 15:49 And as surprising as that is, 15:51 what is even more surprising 15:53 is how revolutionary 15:54 the Adventist church 15:55 has historically 15:56 been in this regard. 15:59 In fact, 16:00 did you know so committed 16:02 was the Adventist church 16:03 to God's New Testament 16:05 "go there" kingdom structure 16:07 that by the power 16:08 of the Holy Spirit, 16:09 combined with that kingdom 16:10 structure, the way was paved 16:12 for the early Adventist church 16:14 to become the fastest growing 16:15 Protestant movement 16:16 that the world had ever seen? 16:21 Wow, not a single "amen." 16:22 I thought maybe somebody might 16:23 appreciate that. 16:24 This is a good thing. 16:25 Okay, this is a positive 16:27 development, right, in 16:28 the kingdom of God. 16:29 And this phenomenal growth was 16:31 not something 16:32 that was noted merely 16:33 by historians today. 16:35 It instead thoroughly attracted 16:37 attention while it was happening 16:39 inside the church and outside. 16:43 In fact, let me show you 16:43 something. 16:46 Early Adventist leaders, 16:48 when our work was just 16:49 getting started in the 16:50 mid-1800s, they asked 16:51 an important question. 16:52 They said, 16:53 "How shall we organize 16:54 the ministry of this movement? 16:56 How shall we organize the 16:57 ministry of this church?" 16:59 And someone said, "Hey, 16:59 I've got an idea. 17:00 Let's read the Bible." 17:02 And so they did. 17:03 And they found there, 17:05 as we found last week, 17:06 that God's 17:06 New Testament kingdom structure 17:08 had no settled pastors. 17:10 And consequently, 17:11 the Adventist church 17:12 structure also didn't 17:13 have settled pastors. 17:15 And the results 17:16 were astonishing. 17:19 Let me show you. 17:21 Wabash, Indiana, 17:22 Plain Dealer, that was 17:24 a newspaper back in the day. 17:26 Plain Dealer, October 1, 1886. 17:28 "The Seventh Day Adventists." 17:29 This is the title of the article 17:30 in that newspaper. 17:32 "The Seventh Day Adventists. 17:33 Some Facts and Figures 17:34 Gathered from Elder Starr --" 17:36 he was General Conference 17:37 president at the time -- 17:38 "How They Have Grown in Forty 17:39 Years -- and What They Believe." 17:42 So this is outside 17:43 of the Adventist church. 17:44 People are looking at, 17:45 "How do you guys do this? 17:45 How do you start with 17:46 just three people, 17:47 James and Ellen White 17:48 and Joseph Bates, 17:49 and now you guys are 17:49 all over the world? 17:50 How do you do that?" 17:52 That's the question. 17:54 "By what means have you carried 17:56 forward your work so rapidly?" 17:57 the reporter 17:57 says to Elder Starr. 17:59 Answer, "'Well, in the first 18:01 place,' the elder replied, 18:03 we have no settled pastors.'" 18:05 How many? 18:06 No, not a one. Okay. 18:07 So no settled pastors. 18:08 Now, that's fascinating, 18:09 because this is 18:10 the General Conference 18:11 president, right? 18:11 He's a churchman, right, 18:13 steeped in the Bible 18:14 and ministry, et cetera. 18:15 If you asked him, "What's 18:17 the secret of your success? 18:18 How have you grown so swiftly?" 18:19 I mean, there's all kinds of 18:20 things that he could have said, 18:21 and they would have been true. 18:22 You know, "God has blessed us. 18:23 How about our name? 18:24 You know, Seventh-day Adventist, 18:25 we proclaim the Sabbath 18:27 and His soon return." 18:28 Instead, at the top of his list, 18:30 the reporter asked, 18:31 outside of the church, 18:32 "How did you guys do it?" 18:33 "No settled pastors." Hmm. 18:36 "Our churches are taught 18:37 to take care of themselves, 18:39 while nearly all of 18:40 our ministers work 18:41 as evangelists in new fields. 18:43 In the winter, 18:44 they go out into the churches, 18:45 halls, or school house 18:46 and raise up believers. 18:47 In the summer we use tents, 18:48 pitching them in the cities 18:49 and villages where we teach 18:51 the people these doctrines. 18:52 This year we shall run 18:53 about 100 tents in this way." 18:56 Even as late as 1909, 18:58 notice this -- the Seventh-day 18:59 Baptist Sabbath Recorder -- 19:00 that was their official 19:01 publication. 19:02 December 28, 1909. 19:03 It says... 19:12 Wow. 19:14 No settled pastors. 19:16 And notice carefully what these 19:18 not-settled pastors are doing. 19:20 They are preaching, teaching, 19:22 and organizing churches. 19:24 This points to 19:25 an absolutely pivotal role 19:28 that non-settled pastors took in 19:30 the early Adventist church. 19:31 That was church planting. 19:33 Church planting -- 19:34 starting new churches 19:35 in new places with new people. 19:38 Now, we're going to talk more 19:39 about this at a later date. 19:40 So I'm just going to 19:41 kind of skim the tops 19:42 of the mountains here right now. 19:43 But I want you to understand 19:45 how closely connected this idea 19:48 of not having settled pastors 19:50 so that 19:51 what ministers you did employ 19:53 could be planting churches 19:54 in new places with new people. 19:56 This was absolutely integral. 19:58 The connection between 20:00 not having settled pastors 20:01 and church planting 20:02 cannot be emphasized enough. 20:04 I mean, just think about this 20:05 here. 20:06 This led 20:07 in the Adventist church -- 20:08 This is not speculation. 20:09 This is history, okay? 20:10 It led to more churches 20:12 being started, 20:14 which led to -- going to be 20:15 very practical here -- 20:15 more tithe coming in 20:18 to hire more church planters, 20:20 which led to more new members 20:22 being baptized who 20:23 could now assist in teaching 20:24 others locally for Christ. 20:26 And thus you can begin to see 20:27 how we experienced 20:29 exponential growth. 20:30 Do you understand what I'm 20:30 saying? 20:32 If you have one pastor 20:33 who only has one church, 20:35 then the growth will be limited 20:36 to the reapings 20:37 that take place there 20:37 in that community. 20:38 But if that pastor trains 20:40 that church so that he can go, 20:41 they carry on by themselves 20:43 now, he comes back every now 20:44 and then and visits them, 20:45 just like in the New Testament. 20:46 He now goes out and he plants 20:48 new churches, okay? 20:50 And now there's two churches. 20:51 And if he keeps going, 20:52 then there's going to be three, 20:52 and then there's 20:53 going to be four. 20:54 Can you see how we became, 20:56 in the first 60 to 70 years 20:57 of our existence, 20:58 the fastest growing 20:59 Protestant movement 21:00 that the world had ever seen? 21:03 Church planting is indispensable 21:05 in the New Testament. 21:06 If you take church planting 21:07 out of the New Testament, 21:08 there essentially is 21:08 no New Testament left, 21:10 because there would have been 21:11 no churches 21:11 to write the letters to. 21:13 All of those Christians 21:14 were put into 21:16 bodies of believers -- 21:17 New Testament church planting. 21:18 Every church 21:19 that you've ever set foot 21:20 in at one time 21:21 was a planted church. 21:23 It's that crucial 21:25 to the movement continuing. 21:26 And I'm just going to tell 21:27 you a little secret here. 21:28 Unless we return in the West 21:30 to the seminal practice 21:31 of church planting, 21:32 the work will never be finished. 21:35 We don't plant 21:36 many churches anymore. 21:37 That must change. 21:39 And early Adventism did this 21:41 "no settled pastor" thing 21:42 precisely so that they could 21:43 plant more churches in 21:44 new areas. 21:45 Now, there were other benefits 21:47 of having no settled pastors, 21:49 because it helped them -- 21:50 it helped the church 21:51 to avoid two 21:52 great evils -- spectatorship 21:55 and spiritual immaturity. 21:56 Spectatorship 21:58 and spiritual immaturity. 21:59 Let me share with you 22:00 just a few quotations 22:02 from Adventist history 22:03 in this regard. 22:04 Review and Herald, 22:05 May 7, 1889. 22:07 She says, "Do not depend on the 22:08 ministers to do all the work in 22:10 your church and neighborhood. 22:11 The pastors must seek 22:12 the lost sheep, 22:13 and you must help them, 22:14 and while the ministers 22:15 are called to labor --" where? 22:17 Where does it say? 22:19 "In other parts." 22:20 Okay, "in other parts 22:21 of the vineyard, 22:21 the people of God 22:22 must have light in themselves." 22:24 So let's wrap this up here. 22:27 The church-planting pastor is 22:28 to go to other portions 22:29 of the Lord's vineyard. 22:30 There's still a connection back 22:31 with the church 22:32 that they planted, 22:33 but most of their time 22:34 is spent out in the new places 22:35 trying to reach new people. 22:37 And while he is gone 22:38 planting, in those days, 22:39 sorry, ladies, it was all he. 22:40 We'll get to she 22:40 in just a moment. 22:41 All hes back then. 22:42 While he was out planting, 22:44 back home, 22:45 the members were to have 22:46 "light in themselves." 22:47 Well, we know from the Bible, 22:49 you know, hide it under a 22:49 bushel, no, right? 22:51 This means they had ministry 22:52 inside the church 22:53 and outside of the church 22:55 without a settled pastor. 22:58 Notice this. 23:00 "Testimonies for the Church, 23:01 volume seven, page 18, 23:03 "God has not given 23:04 his ministers the work 23:05 of setting the churches right. 23:07 No sooner is this work done, 23:08 apparently, than it has to 23:09 be done over again. 23:10 Church members 23:11 that are thus looked after 23:13 and labored for become --" what 23:14 are those last two words? 23:17 Wow, that's offensive, isn't it? 23:18 Yeah. 23:20 If the prophets are paid 23:20 to step on our toes, 23:22 you know, five stars, right? 23:23 Okay. Why would that be? 23:25 Why would members 23:27 thus labored after become 23:28 religious weaklings? 23:28 How come? 23:34 Because God has given 23:36 every member spiritual muscle. 23:38 If you don't use it, 23:40 you lose it. 23:42 Exactly. 23:43 If the minister is doing for you 23:45 what you ought to be doing 23:46 for yourself with Jesus Christ, 23:48 you become weaker, not stronger. 23:51 Now, here's the thing. 23:52 Do you understand how opposite 23:53 this is from how we do church 23:54 in the West in Adventism? 23:57 When we look at a church, 23:58 if the church doesn't have 24:00 a pastor, 24:00 we think it's going to be weak. 24:01 Oh, if you're going to make 24:02 that church strong, you need to 24:03 send in a good pastor, right? 24:04 That's how we think in the West. 24:05 And she says 24:06 exactly the opposite. 24:07 No, if you send in a settled 24:08 pastor, it will turn them into 24:09 religious weaklings. 24:12 She continues... 24:31 Now, pause here 24:32 for just a moment. 24:35 The greatest blessing of all, 24:36 and the spirit of prophecy 24:37 addresses this many times -- 24:39 The greatest blessing of all 24:40 is the final one, the outpouring 24:41 of the latter rain 24:42 of the Holy Spirit. 24:43 We've talked about 24:43 this many times here. 24:44 The Bible talks about 24:46 this, Revelation chapter 18, 24:47 this blessing that lights up the 24:48 whole planet, right? 24:49 And the reason 24:50 why this blessing is 24:51 so important is 24:52 because if we get this blessing, 24:53 all other blessings 24:54 come in its train. 24:56 You get this one right, 24:57 all the rest are going to fall 24:58 into place, to be filled 24:59 with the Holy Spirit of God 25:00 in the former 25:01 and the latter rains. 25:02 And yet she says here -- 25:03 she says here, 25:05 one of the reasons 25:05 why even this great 25:07 blessing has not come, 25:09 I'm just going to be blunt, 25:09 ladies and gentlemen, 25:10 is because we depend 25:11 in the West on settled pastors. 25:15 We let other people do for us 25:16 what we ought to be doing 25:17 for ourselves with Jesus. 25:19 And she says 25:20 the blessings won't come. 25:21 God withholds them. 25:22 Why would He pour 25:23 out great power 25:24 on a broken machine? 25:27 It has to be in good shape 25:28 to handle that kind of power. 25:31 Now, sometimes today, 25:35 and sometimes even back 25:36 in those days, 25:38 a church plant would not thrive. 25:41 Most of them did. 25:42 Our church planters 25:42 did a good job. 25:43 That's how we grew 25:44 all over the world, right? 25:45 But not every plant survived. 25:47 Some of them got very sick. 25:47 Some of them 25:48 were on the edge of death. 25:50 And some people in the 1800s 25:52 said to Adventist church 25:53 leaders, "Hey, you need to 25:54 settle a pastor in that church, 25:55 'cause it's dying. 25:57 It needs a pastor 25:58 to prop it up." 25:59 Fascinating 26:00 response from Ellen White. 26:01 "Evangelism," page 381. 26:03 She says, "The churches are 26:04 dying," referring to 26:05 this handful that were, 26:07 "and they want a minister 26:08 to preach to them. 26:10 They should be taught," 26:11 and probably should put 26:12 the word "instead" in here, 26:13 'cause that's certainly 26:13 the context. 26:14 "They should be taught instead 26:16 to bring a faithful tithe to God 26:18 that He may strengthen 26:19 and bless them. 26:21 They should be brought 26:22 into working order 26:23 that the breath of God 26:25 may come into them." 26:26 What's the breath of God? 26:28 The Holy Spirit. Exactly. 26:29 Once again, we have this 26:30 connection between settled 26:32 pastors and lay ministry 26:33 and the blessing 26:35 of the Holy Spirit. 26:36 You're going to see this again 26:37 before we finish here today. 26:39 "They should be taught that 26:41 unless they can stand alone, 26:43 without a minister, 26:45 they need to be converted anew 26:46 and baptized anew. 26:47 They need to be born again." 26:53 Now, I'm going to ask 26:53 a question of you, and this is 26:54 not a rhetorical question. 26:55 You don't have to answer 26:56 it out loud here. 26:57 But I'm telling you, 26:57 this is a genuine question, 26:58 and it has a right answer. 27:00 Okay? 27:02 Question is this -- Is she 27:03 saying that if an established 27:06 church with established 27:08 Christians requires a settled 27:11 pastor that that is a salvation 27:13 issue? 27:14 Is that what she's saying here? 27:22 Absolutely, yes. 27:26 That is exactly 27:27 what she is saying. 27:30 Because how else 27:31 do you interpret, 27:31 "Unless they can stand alone 27:32 without a minister, 27:33 they need to be converted anew"? 27:34 Well, that sounds like you're 27:35 lost without. 27:36 "And baptized anew." 27:36 Well, that's lost without. 27:37 "They need to be born again." 27:40 Absolutely, she is saying that. 27:41 Some people have thought wrongly 27:44 that when I talk about 27:45 this topic 27:46 that it's kind of this minor 27:47 bureaucratic point, 27:50 how we staff our churches. 27:51 Ladies and gentlemen, 27:52 this is a matter of salvation. 27:55 If you depend 27:56 upon a human being instead of 27:58 Jesus Christ, you will be lost. 28:01 That's a fact. 28:02 That's kind of the basic 28:03 biblical fact of 28:04 the New Testament, is it not? 28:06 That's what she is saying here. 28:07 She says, "Listen, if a church 28:08 that's been established 28:09 and there's a measure 28:10 of maturity in this group 28:11 and you still have to have 28:12 a settled pastor, 28:13 well, obviously it didn't 28:14 take the first time. 28:15 Fill the baptistery. 28:16 Dunk them again." 28:18 Because Jesus is clearly not the 28:20 head of this particular church 28:21 that she's talking about. 28:22 A human being is. 28:26 People who say Ellen White is 28:27 boring haven't read her 28:27 very much. 28:33 Perhaps one of 28:34 the most striking quotations 28:35 from Adventist history 28:36 in this regard of settled 28:37 pastors does indeed come from 28:39 the pen of Ellen White. 28:39 She wrote an article 28:41 in Signs of the Times 28:42 called "The Most 28:43 Effective Agent for God." 28:44 Signs of the Times, 28:45 January 27, 1890. 28:48 She says, "The success of a 28:49 church does not depend on the 28:50 efforts and labor 28:51 of the living preacher, 28:52 but it depends upon the piety 28:54 of the individual members." 28:55 Time-out again. 28:57 That's almost insulting 28:58 for settled pastors, isn't it? 29:00 "What do you mean 29:01 it doesn't depend on me? 29:02 This is my ball game, right? 29:04 It's supposed to be my thing. 29:05 I'm leading the charge. 29:06 All the success depends on me." 29:08 she says, no, it doesn't depend 29:08 upon the minister. 29:09 It depends on all of us. 29:11 All of us, our individual piety, 29:12 meaning our individual 29:13 commitment to Christ. 29:15 That's what makes the success 29:16 of a church or its failure. 29:18 She continues on, 29:19 "When the members depend 29:20 upon the minister 29:21 as their source of power and 29:21 efficiency, 29:23 they will be utterly powerless. 29:24 They will imbibe his impulses 29:26 and be stimulated by his ideas, 29:27 but when he leaves them," 29:28 and in the Adventist system, 29:29 he always leaves, 29:31 "but when he leaves them, 29:32 they will find themselves in a 29:33 more hopeless condition than 29:34 before they had his labors." 29:36 And then comes what I think 29:37 is one of the most stunning 29:38 quotations in all of the spirit 29:40 of prophecy in our particular 29:42 context right now today. 29:44 She says, "I hope that none of 29:46 the churches in our land will 29:48 depend upon a minister for 29:49 support in spiritual things, 29:51 for this is dangerous." 29:56 I mean, do you understand 29:59 how opposite this is from 30:00 how we do church in the West? 30:02 Listen, no offense to anyone 30:04 who was my instructor 30:05 in the past, alright? 30:06 I've had some very good 30:07 instructors for ministry, 30:09 et cetera, over the years, 30:10 many years of training. 30:13 This is what they 30:13 trained me to do. 30:15 I was trained, almost 30:16 without exception -- 30:17 there were some exceptions, 30:18 but generally I was trained 30:19 and all of my colleagues 30:20 were trained 30:21 so that people could depend 30:22 upon us for support 30:23 in spiritual things. 30:26 That's what we were called for. 30:27 That's what we thought. 30:28 That's what we were supposed 30:29 to be doing. 30:30 And here she says 30:30 exactly the opposite. 30:32 "I hope that none of the 30:33 churches in our land will depend 30:34 upon a minister for support 30:35 in spiritual things, 30:36 for this is dangerous. 30:38 When God gives you light, 30:39 you should praise Him for it. 30:41 If you extol the messenger, 30:42 you will be left 30:43 to barrenness of soul." 30:45 And just when you thought 30:46 she was going to slack 30:47 off a little bit, 30:48 she kicks it into high gear. 31:07 This is 180 degrees out from 31:09 how we do things in the West. 31:10 I mean, if a pastor is going to 31:11 be placed, 31:12 isn't this what we do? 31:13 I mean, we have interviews. 31:15 "Well, do you like him? 31:15 Do you like her? 31:16 You know, are they going 31:17 to be a good fit? 31:18 Well, I don't know. 31:18 Maybe they might not be. 31:19 Yeah, they're the one." 31:21 And she says, as soon 31:22 as that happens, 31:24 that person needs to be removed. 31:25 Send him back out to plant 31:26 more churches someplace else. 31:27 Because this particular church 31:28 needs to have exercise. 31:32 They need to grow. 31:34 They need to use what 31:35 they already have without 31:37 a settled pastor. 31:41 "Let the people go to work," 31:42 she says. 31:43 "Let them thank God 31:44 for the encouragement they have 31:45 received and then make 31:46 it manifest that it has wrought 31:47 in them a good work. 31:48 Let each member of the church 31:50 be a living, 31:51 active agent for God, 31:53 both in the church 31:53 and out of it. 31:54 We must all be educated 31:56 to be independent, 31:56 not helpless and useless. 31:59 Let it be seen that Christ, 32:00 not the minister, 32:01 is the head of the church. 32:02 The members of the body of 32:04 Christ have a part to act, 32:05 and they will not be accounted 32:06 faithful unless they do 32:07 act their part. 32:09 Let a divine work be wrought 32:10 in every soul until," 32:12 and notice this phrase, 32:13 "until Christ shall behold 32:15 his image reflected 32:16 in his followers." 32:18 I'm going to dive deep here 32:19 for just a moment. 32:20 Those of you that have spent a 32:21 lot of time in the spirit of 32:22 prophecy, that last phrase 32:23 should be familiar to you. 32:24 Christ beholding His image 32:26 reflected in His followers. 32:27 Tell me, 32:28 how is that usually applied? 32:30 What does it usually mean 32:31 when this quotation comes up 32:33 that Christ will see 32:33 His image reflected 32:34 in His followers? 32:35 How will He see that reflected? 32:39 Okay, I heard it -- character, 32:41 in the character of His people. 32:42 That's how this phrase 32:43 is usually used here. 32:44 And that's not a bad -- 32:45 That's not a bad thing at all. 32:47 Christ wants to see us grow and 32:48 become more and more like Him. 32:49 Absolutely. 32:51 But that's not how she uses it 32:52 here. 32:53 She is saying very specifically 32:55 that if Christ is going to see 32:57 His image reflected 32:58 in His people, 32:59 they cannot depend 33:00 upon settled pastors. 33:01 That's what she is saying here. 33:03 Again, this is not a small deal. 33:05 This is a huge deal that goes to 33:08 the very root of our faith. 33:14 "Testimonies for the Church," 33:15 volume 7, page 191... 33:27 A final quote for you, 33:29 and to me, 33:29 it is one of the most 33:30 telling quotations 33:31 from Adventist history. 33:33 And interestingly enough, 33:34 it's not from Ellen White. 33:36 It is instead from a man 33:37 by the name of A.G. Daniells. 33:39 This is from March of 1912 33:41 in Los Angeles. 33:42 There was a ministerial 33:43 institute, and if you don't know 33:44 what those are, ministerial 33:45 institutes in those days 33:46 were basically training seminars 33:48 for church planters. 33:50 Workers would gather 33:51 together in certain areas, 33:52 and they would learn new skills 33:53 or report about how things were 33:54 going out in the field, 33:55 et cetera, et cetera. 33:56 A.G. Daniells is the 33:57 General Conference 33:58 president at this time. 33:59 And so he's addressing 34:00 this institute there, 34:01 training session in Los Angeles. 34:04 To my knowledge, A.G. Daniells 34:06 never claimed to be a prophet, 34:09 but at least for one moment, 34:11 he prophesied very accurately. 34:15 Here's what he said... 35:05 That was 1912. 35:07 My words now. 35:09 In 1915, Ellen White died. 35:11 In 1920, A.G. Daniells was voted 35:13 out of office, 35:15 and the two loudest opponents 35:17 of settled pastors 35:18 were now silenced. 36:07 What do we do with this? 36:11 I mean, that's the question, 36:12 isn't it, right? 36:15 It's not a small question 36:17 at all. 36:18 What should we, Adventists 36:20 in the West, 36:21 do with this information? 36:24 I mean, think about it. 36:25 The dominant way of doing 36:26 church, the great portion of 36:27 how we spend our tithes and 36:29 offerings are steeped in a 36:30 structure that Scripture 36:32 implicitly condemns and that 36:33 the spirit of prophecy 36:35 explicitly and emphatically 36:36 and repeatedly condemns. 36:39 So what are we supposed to do? 36:44 Well, after wrestling 36:47 with this very question 36:48 for the last 25 years or so, 36:51 I believe the answer 36:52 to that question is very clear. 36:53 What should we do 36:54 about all of this? 36:57 The best we can. 37:01 The best we can. 37:05 Now, some of you 37:06 are disappointed 37:06 You expected a little 37:07 more thunder to that response. 37:08 Okay. 37:09 I'm not trying 37:11 to be coy or clever here. 37:12 I'm going to give you 37:13 some more details here 37:14 in just a moment. 37:14 The reason why I say this, 37:16 we need to do the best we can, 37:17 is because, you know, this is 37:18 not my first rodeo. 37:19 Having done this type 37:21 of presentation before 37:22 in many places, many times, 37:24 oftentimes when people see this 37:27 and they see the weight of 37:29 how far we have gotten from 37:30 where we need to be, 37:32 they look at it and say, 37:33 "Oh, it's impossible. 37:34 There's no way. 37:35 We're too far gone." 37:36 And they sit back and relax 37:37 and want to coast all the way to 37:38 the Second Coming, okay? 37:41 I want to suggest to you that's 37:42 not a God-honoring response. 37:45 If it's the right thing to do, 37:46 we ought to do it and do it 37:48 to the best of our ability. 37:49 We may not know how to 37:51 accomplish all of these things. 37:52 We may not know how exactly 37:53 everything is going to end up. 37:54 But we know what God has called 37:56 us to, and we need to do 37:58 the best that we can. 38:00 We may not always be 38:01 able to return to the ideal 38:02 in every single portion 38:03 of the world, but that we try, 38:05 that, to me, 38:06 seems non-negotiable. 38:08 And furthermore, 38:09 just because something is 38:10 difficult or seemingly 38:11 impossible doesn't mean 38:12 that Christians don't do it. 38:13 In fact, 38:14 Jesus put it something like this 38:15 in Matthew 19:26. 38:23 Absolutely. 38:24 If it's the right thing to do, 38:26 we are to do it to the best 38:27 of our ability, 38:28 and God will provide. 38:31 And just in case 38:32 you're missing the intensity 38:33 here, the facts are 38:34 that we in the West 38:36 must do something 38:39 before something is done to us. 38:41 Let me tell you 38:42 what I mean by that. 38:43 We in the West 38:44 must do something 38:45 because of the sheer fact 38:46 that the number of those 38:47 that are being physically born 38:49 are far more than those that are 38:50 being born again through 38:51 the Adventist church's ministry. 38:53 We are not keeping up 38:54 with the population by far. 38:57 We are losing precious ground 38:58 and precious time 38:59 every single day. 39:01 The devil is eating our lunch 39:02 on a daily basis. 39:04 If someone says to you, 39:05 "Hey, did you hear about 39:05 the 100,000 people 39:07 that were baptized last week?" 39:08 You tell me, 39:08 do you think it happened 39:09 in Los Angeles or Africa? 39:12 Yeah, you don't even have to 39:13 read the article, do you? 39:14 You know where that happened. 39:14 It wasn't L.A. 39:16 If someone says to you, "Hey, 39:17 did you hear about the 300,000 39:18 people baptized last year?" 39:20 which, by the way, did happen, 39:21 do you think it happened 39:22 in Chicago 39:23 or in Papua New Guinea? 39:25 Yeah, PNG for sure. 39:26 We didn't even question about 39:27 it, right? 39:28 And one of the major reasons 39:30 they get those kinds of numbers 39:31 and we in the West don't is 39:33 because we don't do 39:34 what they do, including 39:36 regarding how we structure 39:38 ministry in our churches. 39:39 So I believe the days 39:42 of the settled-pastor paradigm 39:44 are numbered in the West. 39:46 The money is 39:47 not going to last forever. 39:50 Settled pastors 39:51 are very expensive. 39:53 If you have one pastor 39:54 over 10 churches 39:55 versus one pastor over one 39:58 and then nine more over every 39:59 of those other nine churches, 40:00 I mean, you tell me. 40:00 I'm not a math whiz, 40:02 but my lack of math 40:04 wizardry still tells 40:05 me it's a better deal 40:06 to have the one pastor 40:07 over the 10, by far. 40:10 We cannot afford this habit 40:13 any longer, 40:15 and we can either choose now 40:17 to return to substantial 40:19 local lay ministry and pastors 40:20 as church planters 40:21 or we can be forced to later on 40:23 by financial reality. 40:25 And I suspect that it's 40:26 far easier to choose 40:27 such a transition than it is 40:28 to be forced to do it. 40:30 So why not be ahead of the game? 40:33 And without further ado, 40:35 let me suggest to you two paths 40:36 forward to reinstating God's 40:38 New Testament kingdom structure 40:39 in the Adventist West. 40:41 There's much more 40:42 could be said about this. 40:42 We're going to talk more 40:43 about this in future Sabbaths. 40:44 But just two things today. 40:46 Path number one, 40:48 1 Peter 2:4, please. 40:51 1 Peter 2:4. 40:54 And we're going to read 40:54 through verse 6. 40:55 It's page 815 in your red Bible. 40:57 Page 815. 40:59 1 Peter 2:4-6. 41:02 Peter here is speaking 41:03 about the foundation 41:04 for every Christian 41:05 and therefore 41:06 the only foundation 41:07 for every Christian church. 41:10 1 Peter 2:4. 41:11 It says, "As you come to him," 41:12 and the him there is Jesus. 41:13 "As you come to Jesus, 41:14 the living Stone -- 41:15 rejected by men 41:16 but chosen by God 41:17 and precious to him -- 41:19 you also, like living stones, 41:20 are being built into 41:21 a spiritual house 41:23 to be a holy priesthood, 41:24 offering spiritual sacrifices 41:26 acceptable to God 41:27 through Jesus Christ. 41:28 For in Scripture it says: 41:30 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, 41:32 a chosen and precious 41:33 cornerstone, and the one 41:34 who trusts in him 41:36 will never be put to shame.'" 41:39 Let me add to that the words 41:40 of Paul here on the screen. 41:41 1 Corinthians 3:11... 41:52 The first path forward 41:53 to return to Christ's 41:55 New Testament kingdom 41:56 structure in the Adventist 41:57 West is very simple. 41:59 It's this... 42:15 Now, the words here 42:16 are chosen carefully. 42:16 Let me unpack them. 42:18 First of all, becoming 42:19 as Christ-dependent as possible. 42:21 Jesus Christ is 42:22 the chief shepherd. 42:24 He, not the local pastor, 42:25 is the rock in whom we trust. 42:27 Jesus is the foundation. 42:28 He is the source of 42:29 our power and strength. 42:30 Any good thing 42:31 that the Christian experiences, 42:32 it's from Jesus. 42:34 He is the only foundation on 42:36 which we are to build our lives. 42:39 So become as dependent 42:40 on Jesus Christ as possible, 42:42 and at the same time 42:43 become as non-dependent 42:46 as possible on the local pastor. 42:48 Notice carefully what 42:49 I didn't just say. 42:51 I didn't say become as 42:53 pastor-independent as possible. 42:57 I said become as pastor 42:58 non-dependent as possible. 43:01 And this is a key distinction. 43:04 You see, many people. 43:05 when they hear about God's 43:07 New Testament structure 43:08 not including settled pastors, 43:10 they immediately conclude 43:11 that no pastor is ever 43:13 to have any authority 43:14 in the local church. 43:16 But this is patently false 43:18 and for at least two reasons. 43:20 First, most settled pastors 43:23 that I know, 43:23 and there are hundreds of them, 43:25 and mostly we have settled 43:26 pastors in the West. 43:27 so if I know pastors, 43:28 most of them are settled, 43:29 they are very dedicated to 43:30 the Lord. 43:32 I have seen the Lord 43:33 at work in their personal lives 43:35 and in their public ministry. 43:37 Now, they may be mistaken as 43:40 to what their biblical role is. 43:41 They may not understand 43:42 the necessity of equipping 43:44 members or of church planting. 43:45 Perhaps they've never had 43:46 the opportunity to learn 43:47 these things that 43:47 we've talked about here 43:48 just this morning. 43:49 But they are dedicated to God, 43:50 and they want to do His will, 43:52 and Christian decency demands 43:54 that we treat them with respect. 43:57 Do not depend on them 43:59 for support in spiritual things 44:02 unless you're a baby believer. 44:03 Baby believers 44:04 need their parents. 44:05 But if you're an established 44:05 believer, do not depend on them 44:07 for support in spiritual things, 44:08 as we just saw the prophet say. 44:09 But do respect 44:11 them and their leadership 44:12 as workers for the Lord. 44:14 Anarchy will 44:15 not solve the problems 44:16 we have in the West. 44:19 Respect your local pastor, 44:20 settled or not. 44:24 And secondly, 44:25 the healthy reality is that 44:27 outside of the global West, 44:29 where settled pastors are few 44:30 and far between -- they're 44:30 mostly church planters -- 44:32 the church-planting pastor is 44:34 to have genuine authority 44:35 in the local churches. 44:37 And the reason for this 44:38 is very clear -- It's biblical. 44:40 This is because the role 44:41 of the church-planting pastor 44:42 in Adventism, 44:43 at least historically, 44:44 is modeled 44:45 after the New Testament 44:46 ministry of the apostles. 44:50 Let that sink in. 44:51 Go back to part three 44:52 and watch it over again. 44:52 Then you'll understand. 44:53 Some lights are going to 44:53 come on. 44:55 In that New Testament structure 44:56 with apostles, 44:57 it was fully expected, 44:58 and indeed the norm, 44:59 that apostles had authority 45:00 in the local churches. 45:03 And I'll tell you what, 45:04 this is yet another piece 45:05 of astonishing reality 45:07 of the Adventist church. 45:10 Hear it and hear it well. 45:11 The Adventist church is 45:13 not a congregational church. 45:17 Do you know what 45:17 a congregational church is? 45:19 A congregational church is 45:20 where the congregation 45:21 is sovereign. 45:22 There is no outer connection. 45:23 If there is a connection 45:23 to any sort of other church 45:25 or organization, 45:26 it's very peripheral, 45:27 very kind of just suggestive 45:28 and tangential. 45:29 It's not direct, okay? 45:30 We are not 45:31 congregational churches. 45:32 We are not 45:33 a congregational church at all. 45:35 We were never intended 45:36 to be a congregational church, 45:37 and we never will be 45:39 a congregational church 45:40 unless it's over my dead body. 45:43 Instead, Adventism was built 45:46 on churches that -- Get this. 45:48 I mean, this boggles the mind. 45:49 Adventism was built on churches 45:51 that did not have settled 45:52 pastors locally, 45:53 yet those churches were fully 45:55 accountable to the wider church 45:56 through the planting. 45:57 Pastor, the apostle, 45:59 the local conference, 46:00 and the sisterhood of churches. 46:01 The result was 46:02 undoubtedly astonishing 46:04 to the rest of the world. 46:05 How, they must have wondered, 46:07 could we Adventists have 46:08 essentially no settled pastors 46:10 and yet have such unity 46:11 of message and mission among 46:13 our many thousands of churches? 46:14 Well, part of the answer was 46:15 because we're not 46:16 congregational. 46:17 We are a movement, 46:18 a global movement, 46:19 a denomination working together. 46:22 And we are clearly accountable 46:23 to one another in tangible ways. 46:25 And thus we were enabled 46:26 to be a worldwide movement 46:28 with a worldwide message, 46:30 the three angels' messages, 46:31 that could move as one body 46:33 united in Christ 46:34 to prepare the world 46:35 for His soon return. 46:37 I mean, it must have just 46:38 boggled people's mind 46:39 that they could do that, 46:39 because their organizations were 46:41 kind of, you know, 46:41 very independent, you know, 46:43 whole American spirit. 46:44 "We can do it ourselves. 46:45 Don't bother us" kind of thing. 46:46 And yet the Adventists had 46:47 this measure of independence, 46:48 and they were also all one 46:49 together, biblically 46:51 accountable to one another. 46:52 I mean, powerful stuff. 46:54 And most of the Adventist world 46:56 outside of the West 46:57 is still structured this way. 46:59 It is high time 47:01 that the West rejoined them. 47:04 And to that end, 47:04 each of us must become 47:05 as dependent on Christ 47:06 as possible, 47:08 while also becoming as pastor 47:09 non-dependent as possible. 47:12 Now, to be clear, 47:15 remember what I said 47:16 at the beginning. 47:17 We need to do the best 47:18 that we can with this. 47:20 That means 47:21 that some places are 47:22 going to have results 47:22 that look different 47:23 than other places. 47:24 Some places 47:25 are going to implement this 47:26 New Testament structure 47:27 a little bit differently. 47:28 For instance, here at Pioneer, 47:30 a return to God's 47:31 New Testament kingdom structure 47:33 will not include 47:34 the pastors leaving. 47:41 Some of you are disappointed, 47:42 aren't you? 47:42 Yes. 47:45 After second service last week 47:47 at the door, 47:47 someone came over and greeted me 47:48 and said, "It's been wonderful 47:49 having you as our pastor. 47:50 We're going to miss you." 47:51 Okay. 47:55 Now, we chuckle, and I 47:57 understand. 47:58 It's actually a quite important 48:00 point, because, again, 48:02 having presented on this topic 48:03 in a number of places, 48:04 a number of people and times, 48:05 often what comes up 48:06 immediately is, "Oh, 48:07 Pastor Shane, 48:08 you're a settled pastor. 48:10 Here you're telling us 48:11 all this stuff from history, 48:12 settled pastors are bad, 48:12 but you're one. 48:14 How do you deal with that?" 48:16 They always 48:17 think they've got me, okay? 48:18 And probably for the first two 48:19 or three years, they did. 48:20 I didn't have a good answer, 48:21 but that was 20 years ago. 48:22 So let me tell you 48:23 what I tell them now. 48:25 The truth is that 48:26 early Adventism 48:27 in the late 19th century 48:28 did make some provision 48:30 for settled pastors in 48:31 a handful of very specific 48:32 contexts, namely large 48:35 institutional churches. 48:37 A.G. Daniells, did you catch 48:38 that in his quotation? 48:39 He says, you know, "As a general 48:40 rule, we've held ourselves 48:41 ready for field service, 48:42 but we have appointed pastors. 48:43 We have elected pastors 48:45 in certain places." 48:46 Those certain places were 48:47 large institutional churches. 48:48 This is places 48:49 like San Francisco. 48:50 This is places 48:51 like Battle Creek. 48:52 Eventually the Los Angeles 48:53 area had a couple of them. 48:55 This was a conscious, 48:56 calculated decision, 48:57 an exception based on, 48:59 to the best of my research, 49:01 on two needs needing to be met. 49:03 Number one, 49:04 in this unique environment 49:05 of large institutions, 49:07 there is a need for continuity. 49:09 Turnover is high, right, 49:11 by definition. 49:11 We have students, you know, come 49:12 for a semester 49:13 or come for six years. 49:14 You know, graduation's 49:15 happening regularly. 49:16 There's all kinds of turnover, 49:16 right? 49:17 We have staff and faculty 49:19 and workers that are here. 49:19 There's turnover 49:20 amongst them, too. 49:21 If there's going to be 49:22 continuity in the church of 49:23 mission and worship, 49:25 they decided, we need to settle 49:26 pastors over those places. 49:28 A second need 49:29 that these large institutional 49:30 settings brought that 49:32 had to be met was complexity. 49:34 There was a need to deal with 49:35 complexity. 49:36 Our large institutional settings 49:38 had literally thousands 49:39 of people at them -- 49:39 they still do today -- 49:41 leading to organizational 49:42 challenges far more complex than 49:44 the average non-institutional 49:46 church would ever face. 49:47 And so we made an exception. 49:49 We said, okay, 49:50 we're going to take the risk 49:51 and we're going to settle 49:52 pastors over these churches. 49:55 But notice this carefully. 49:57 Which churches 49:59 received the most heat 50:01 from Ellen White's pen? 50:05 What's at the top of the list? 50:07 Battle Creek. Exactly. 50:09 The locus of the work for 50:10 many, many years. 50:11 Coincidence? I think not. 50:15 In fact, this calculated risk -- 50:19 Let me just address my 50:20 fellow institutional pastors 50:21 as one of your own, if you 50:23 happen to be watching right now. 50:24 To my fellow 50:25 institutional pastors, 50:26 every day we play with fire. 50:29 Every day we run the risk 50:31 of making our members 50:32 more dependent on us 50:33 and less dependent 50:34 on Jesus Christ by the simple 50:36 fact that we are there day 50:37 after day after day. 50:39 And in the final judgment, 50:40 God will ask we 50:42 institutional pastors this -- 50:43 "Did you equip your people 50:45 to depend on Jesus 50:46 as much as possible 50:47 and to do the ministry 50:48 I called them to do? 50:50 Or did you just entertain 50:51 them week after week 50:52 and then sent them home 50:53 as if they had nothing further 50:54 to do for the kingdom?" 50:57 That's what He's going to ask 50:57 us. 50:59 So be careful. 51:00 You're playing with fire. 51:03 So, no, we Pioneer 51:04 pastors are not leaving. 51:06 And I'm very grateful 51:06 for the pastoral staff 51:07 that we have here and many, 51:09 many good things that they do, 51:10 often under 51:11 very difficult circumstances. 51:13 And you should know 51:15 that every one of our 51:15 pastoral staff 51:16 is fully committed to doing all 51:17 that we can 51:18 to help you know Christ 51:19 as deeply as possible 51:21 and to depend on Him 51:22 while doing all the ministry 51:24 that He has called you to do. 51:28 What about churches that 51:29 aren't institutional churches? 51:31 What about those 51:32 that are smaller than this? 51:34 Well, in some places, 51:35 the settled pastor might have 51:36 the skills to go church 51:37 planting. 51:38 He or she might at least have 51:39 some of the gifts of an apostle. 51:41 Such churches 51:42 should meet together. 51:43 They should pray together 51:43 with one another, 51:44 seeking the guidance of God 51:46 to see if God would have 51:47 them send their pastor 51:48 as a missionary 51:49 to plant a new church 51:50 somewhere else 51:51 in their conference. 51:52 Now, the church 51:53 will probably need training 51:54 to be sufficiently healthy 51:56 for this, to do ministry 51:57 in the pastor's absence. 51:58 Remember, we've had settled 51:59 pastors for a long time now 52:00 in the Adventist church 52:01 in the West. 52:02 There's going to be some 52:02 training, some changes 52:03 that have to take place 52:04 so that ministry depends 52:05 upon the laity rather than 52:07 on the settled pastor. 52:08 Local programming and committees 52:09 will probably have to be revised 52:11 some to accommodate this change. 52:13 As you're praying and talking 52:15 and planning and doing these 52:16 things, meet with your 52:17 conference leadership 52:18 and see what plans can be made. 52:19 Work together with 52:20 your local conference. 52:22 I followed this plan myself 52:23 in my second district, 52:24 and I still deeply admire 52:26 the good people there 52:27 who took leadership 52:28 to new levels and in new ways 52:30 so that I could take a group 52:31 of people from that mother 52:32 church and plant my first 52:33 new church elsewhere. 52:35 In other words, 52:36 I've done this before. 52:37 It's not rocket science, 52:38 ladies and gentlemen. 52:40 Most of the Adventist world 52:41 already does this, 52:42 just a secret. 52:43 You know, sometimes -- 52:45 Nobody else is listening. 52:46 It's just us, alright? 52:48 Sometimes I think in the West 52:50 that we have a nasty habit 52:51 of looking down our noses 52:53 at other portions of the world 52:55 because we think they're 52:55 more primitive than we are. 52:58 Ladies and gentlemen, 52:59 they are outstripping us by far 53:00 when it comes to kingdom growth. 53:02 They are way ahead of us. 53:04 Don't brag. 53:06 Let's roll up our sleeves 53:07 and get to work 53:08 and do the things 53:08 that God has asked us to do. 53:12 On the other hand, 53:13 if the pastor of a local church 53:15 is not gifted as an apostle 53:16 or church planter, 53:17 nonetheless do the best that you 53:19 can. 53:20 Meet together as a church. 53:21 See how you can free 53:22 up your pastor as much 53:23 as possible 53:24 to do local evangelistic work, 53:26 while training church 53:26 members to do the same. 53:27 Remember, do 53:28 the best that we can. 53:30 Whatever the case, 53:32 every church should seek 53:33 to become as Christ-dependent as 53:35 possible and as pastor 53:36 non-dependent as possible. 53:38 This is a first 53:39 and very fruitful 53:41 path forward to reinstating 53:43 God's New Testament kingdom 53:44 structure in the West. 53:49 There is a second path. 53:52 But as I look at my enemy on the 53:53 wall -- that's the clock, by the 53:56 way, right there -- this next 54:00 path deserves an entire 54:01 installment on its own. 54:02 So I'm not going to tell you 54:03 what it is until next week. 54:05 So you need to come back, okay? 54:06 But I will say 54:08 at least this much, though. 54:09 This second path is 54:10 crucial to seeing a return 54:13 to God's New Testament structure 54:14 become effective. 54:15 If you were to take outside 54:17 today all the settled pastors in 54:19 the West and just fire them all, 54:21 right, it would not lead 54:24 immediately to health amongst 54:25 our churches. 54:26 Why? Because we have bad habits. 54:29 You know, if someone has been 54:29 using cocaine consistently 54:31 and you take all the cocaine 54:32 away, they might die, okay? 54:36 We have an addiction 54:37 in the Adventist church. 54:38 It's the settled pastors, right? 54:40 The structure of 54:41 the local church in 54:42 most Adventist churches 54:42 in the West 54:43 more closely resembles 54:44 Catholicism than it does 54:45 the New Testament, 54:48 because Catholicism, 54:49 our friends the Catholics, 54:50 never left the Old Testament 54:51 priesthood. 54:52 They still have it. 54:54 That transition to the 54:55 New Testament has not been made. 54:56 We had the New Testament, 54:57 but we regressed. 55:00 If we're going to make the 55:02 transition, there's a couple of 55:03 key things that have to be in 55:04 place in order for pastor 55:05 non-dependency to come to pass. 55:07 One of those 55:08 is absolutely crucial. 55:09 I hope by now you're asking 55:10 yourself some questions. 55:12 How is it 55:14 that the early Adventist church, 55:16 in the absence 55:17 of settled pastors, 55:19 still managed to become 55:21 the most prolific, 55:22 the fastest growing 55:23 Protestant movement 55:24 that the world had ever seen? 55:26 How did they do that 55:28 without settled pastors, 55:29 you know, urging them on 55:30 or keeping them corralled 55:30 or whatever? 55:32 I'll tell you next week. 55:33 I hope you can be here, 55:34 'cause it's good stuff. 55:37 I leave you 55:38 with the words of Jesus. 55:40 Jesus said, Matthew 24:14... 55:48 Ladies and gentlemen, 55:49 that's not just a prophecy. 55:50 It's a promise. 55:52 It is going to happen. 55:55 It doesn't matter if you or I 55:56 can sit down and imagine, well, 55:57 how can the Laodicean 55:58 nature of the church in the West 55:59 possibly be resurrected? 56:01 That's not our concern. 56:02 We are to do the best 56:03 that we can with what we know 56:05 of God's will for us. 56:06 He will provide. 56:07 Our God is the God of truth. 56:09 And if He has said 56:11 there's going to be a revival, 56:12 there's going to be 56:13 reformation, 56:14 the Gospel is going to go 56:15 to all the world, 56:16 then I want to be there, 56:17 'cause it's going to happen. 56:19 I don't want to have to die 56:20 first and watch the video 56:21 during the millennium. 56:21 I want to be a part of it 56:22 right now, okay? 56:24 And I want you to join me. 56:25 Let's go together 56:26 into this final revolution. 56:30 May the final revolution 56:32 soon become our reality 56:34 by the grace and 56:35 power of Jesus Christ. 56:43 >> Have you ever wondered what 56:44 Jesus was like when He walked 56:45 on this planet 2,000 years ago? 56:48 Have you ever wondered 56:49 where He traveled, 56:50 who He talked to, 56:51 who His friends were, 56:52 what His family was like? 56:54 Or have you heard about the 56:55 astonishing miracles that 56:56 Jesus did, like feeding 5,000 56:59 people with just five loaves of 57:00 bread and a couple of fish 57:02 or giving sight back 57:03 to a man born blind? 57:05 What would it have been like 57:07 to be there with Jesus 57:08 in those unprecedented days? 57:11 I hold in my hands a free book 57:13 that I'd like to give to you. 57:14 It's called "The Desire of 57:16 Ages," and it's one 57:17 of the finest biographies 57:18 of Christ ever produced. 57:20 It goes into incredible detail 57:21 of who Jesus was, 57:23 what His life was like, 57:24 who His enemies were, and what 57:26 His followers were like, 57:27 and, of course, ultimately 57:29 how He died on the cross 57:30 and rose from the grave 57:32 to give freedom to people 57:33 just like you and me. 57:35 "The Desire of Ages" can be 57:36 yours for free by calling 57:38 877-HIS-WILL. 57:40 That's 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 Jesus is the most influential 57:45 person in all of human history. 57:48 You owe it to yourself 57:49 and those you love 57:50 to find out who He really was. 57:59 ♪ 58:09 ♪ 58:19 ♪ |
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