Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000011
|
01:00 Good evening, and welcome to each and every one of you.
01:05 It's good to see you again. 01:07 I missed you the last couple of evenings. 01:11 We're going to go on one of my favorite journeys tonight. 01:14 If you'll lean back and fasten your seatbelts and relax, 01:17 we shall be on our way to the Waldensian valleys 01:21 and the Church of the Martyrs. 01:25 We leave from the city of Torino and catch the side rail 01:30 that takes us about 40 miles due west. 01:33 For your interest sake, by the way, Torino is the 01:36 Detroit City of Italy. 01:37 I mean, the Alfa Romeo and nearly every automobile 01:42 that you imagine that's made in Italy is made 01:45 in the city of Torino. 01:48 So it's highly industrialized. 01:50 It's only a very short distance, however, over to where 01:53 it's really quite remote. 01:55 And we're headed to that remoteness tonight. 02:01 In the Piedmont valley, there is a village called Torre Pellice. 02:05 And that is our first stop. 02:07 Torre Pellice was the center of a revival of the study of 02:13 righteousness by faith. 02:15 Long, long before Luther and Calvin 02:17 and other of the reformers. 02:20 The revivalist was a man by the name of Peter Waldo. 02:25 That's the way we would say it. 02:26 And he's unrelated entirely to that little guy that you 02:29 find in the kid's books. 02:31 You know, it's about that big. 02:33 Valdo is the way they say it out here. 02:36 Peter Waldo had been a church leader and he found and loved 02:40 the stories of the righteousness of Jesus, 02:42 salvation by grace. 02:43 And he began to share that and soon a movement was born. 02:48 And the followers of this teaching and this 02:51 wonderful truth would become known, erelong, as Waldensians. 02:56 Some say that the name Waldensian is related to the 03:00 name of the spiritual leader, Peter Waldo. 03:02 Others say, no it is related to the name of the fertile valley, 03:07 the Vaudois, or this part of the country. 03:10 That matters not to us tonight in our study. 03:14 Peter Waldo began to teach and share, and his congregation grew 03:20 and flourished and grew further still. 03:22 And then the persecutions fell. 03:26 Now if you go to the encyclopedia or to the internet 03:29 to study about the Waldensians, there is a likelihood 03:32 that you will find under the same heading certain other 03:38 Christians in the area of Europe sort of under a subtitle. 03:44 But when I talk about the Waldensians tonight, 03:47 I'm talking particularly about the people from these valleys. 03:53 We got off the train at about 11 o'clock one night. 03:57 We'd made no prior reservation. 03:59 This was the last train of the day and it would 04:02 spend the night here in the little town of Torre Pellice 04:07 and then return to Torino in the morning. 04:10 And so we went over to the nearby hotel. 04:14 We could not find anyone in the office. 04:18 We knocked on some doors and couldn't raise anybody. 04:20 By now it was midnight and we were exhausted. 04:24 And so we went inside the parlor and closed the 04:28 parlor doors behind us and then just sort of took charge. 04:32 We removed the cushions from the couches and put some of 04:36 those on the floor. 04:37 And some of us slept on the cushions and some of us 04:41 slept on the springs. 04:42 But we four preachers, and one other man, spent the night 04:47 inside the lobby. 04:49 Early next morning, we opened the doors and there behind 04:53 the desk was the office clerk, the concierge. 05:01 And his faced dropped like this. 05:03 "Who are you and where did you come from?" 05:05 And we told him what we'd done. 05:08 And he said, "Well, it's just as well because you have 05:11 arrived here on the anniversary of the Waldensian church. " 05:15 And I've forgotten how many hundreds of anniversaries. 05:18 But he said, "The Waldensian leadership have come back 05:21 from all over the world and every Bed and Breakfast, 05:24 every Pension, every hotel room is filled. 05:28 And so it's just as well that you spent the night. 05:31 "Had I known you were there," he said however, 05:32 "I sure would have brought you pillows and blankets. " 05:35 And he said, "Be our guests then and go across the street 05:40 and have breakfast with the Waldensian Christian people. " 05:43 We did that. 05:45 And some of the stories that I'm going to share with you tonight, 05:47 I learned while I fellowshipped and ate with the Waldensian 05:51 people who had come back for this worldwide congress. 05:58 We asked eventually, "Does anyone know where we could find 06:02 a local who knows the area and might know someone who has 06:05 a limousine that will hold 5 or 6 adults. 06:10 We want to go to two places. 06:12 We want to go, firstly, to the Hidden School of the Uncles. 06:15 And secondly, we want to go to the Church of Martyrs. " 06:20 Someone suggested that we go to a local pastor who'd 06:22 spent a lifetime there. 06:24 We did that, met himself and his wife. 06:27 There they are. 06:28 We asked them, "Do you know of someone that 06:31 might have a limousine?" 06:32 And he made a phone call and erelong there came a man. 06:36 And we told him of our desire of destination. 06:39 He said, "Get in, you know it's going to be a long day. " 06:42 Yes, we knew that. 06:44 In fact, we knew that if we made both appointments, 06:47 the Hidden School of the Uncles and the Church of the Martyrs, 06:50 it would require at least two days. 06:53 So he began to drive us from the village of Torre Pellice, 06:56 climbing higher and higher and higher still. 07:00 En route, I noticed several things that I want to 07:02 share with you. 07:03 I want you to notice over on the extreme right hand side 07:07 of the screen, there they have terraced the land. 07:10 They have picked up the native stones and made fences 07:14 and elevations out of them and encouraged grasses to grow 07:19 on those elevations. 07:21 Grasses with which they'll feed a cow or a few goats 07:24 during the winter time. 07:26 I want you to notice the ruggedness of the land. 07:28 Here we have a canyon that goes off kind of to the right. 07:32 And then here's one that does the opposite. 07:34 And both of those are running beautiful clear pure 07:38 mountain water. 07:43 Here we see a haystack or two. 07:46 And I noticed that many of the folks making hay 07:49 were of the feminine gender. 07:52 Here's the evidence. 07:54 Here, these two ladies that have just put down 07:57 their scythe's and their hay rakes, and they're having lunch 08:00 out of their wicker basket. 08:04 I've thought about this, ladies. 08:07 They cut the hay, they swing the scythes, 08:10 they stack it in the little hay stacks with pitch forks. 08:13 Well you see, they have had equal opportunity employment 08:16 here for a long while. 08:18 Now you're not sure whether you like that or not, huh. 08:20 Ok, notice the one lady though. 08:23 Let me just point out with my pointer here. 08:25 Here, this lady, has her shoe exposed, the sole of her shoe. 08:30 And it has those hobs on it so she can gain traction 08:33 on the steep and often damp hillsides. 08:37 Keeps her from slipping in the grasses. 08:39 Well, we've literally now come to the end of the road. 08:43 We have told our driver, whom we have hired, 08:47 "From here, we're going to be hiking to the 08:49 Hidden School of the Uncles. 08:51 Please wait for us, it's going to take hours and hours. 08:54 And we will pay you whatever is fair. " 08:58 And so we got out and began to make our way on foot. 09:01 Now, the cream colored building that you see was once 09:05 a hotel at roads end. 09:07 Roads End Inn. 09:09 But today it is inhabited by a local native family. 09:14 It had poured rain the night before. 09:17 I mean, it had just been a down spout. 09:20 And when we got around to the front, here were the two 09:23 little native boys right in the middle of the biggest 09:25 mud puddle they could find. 09:26 Proof that little boys are the same whether they're in Italy 09:30 or the United States or Africa, wherever else. 09:33 Little boys are going to get right in the middle of the mud. 09:35 Ere long their father came and we asked him, 09:39 the gentleman on your left, "How from here shall we find 09:42 the Hidden School of the Uncles?" 09:44 And he began to give us directions. 09:46 Now I want to give you a bit of background regarding the uncles. 09:52 The church leaders had for centuries been 09:55 referred to as "father". 09:57 The pastors were called the fathers. 10:00 But as they continued to study the gospels and the 10:04 New Testament teachings, they discovered 10:07 that in the Bible, that spiritually speaking, 10:11 we have only one father and that is our Father 10:13 which art in heaven. 10:15 And so the pastors asked the laity, 10:18 "Please, no longer refer to us as father. " 10:21 And the church folks asked, "What then shall we call you?" 10:24 And the pastors said, "Well, we're all a part 10:27 of the family of God. 10:28 You may refer to us as the uncles if you choose. " 10:31 And so from that point on, the pastors became known 10:34 fondly with this avuncular term, "the uncles. " 10:40 The pastors would take the young people way up 10:43 into the mountain tops. 10:44 And there they would put them to work making copies 10:48 of the New Testament. 10:50 Hand written copies. 10:52 For during these dark ages, Bibles were literally chained 10:56 to monastery desks. 10:58 They were for the interpretation only of the pastors 11:02 and the priesthood. 11:03 And the Bible headed a list called the index. 11:06 And if you were found with a Bible or any portion thereof, 11:09 you could, and very likely would, pay with your very life. 11:13 And so these young folks would go way up into the tops 11:16 of the mountains to the College of Uncles. 11:19 Simply a little rock shelter made of native stone 11:23 with native vines trained to go around it and to hide it. 11:26 And there they would hand copy the Bible. 11:31 When they had, one of the gospels perhaps, finished 11:34 they would open the linings of their clothing and put that 11:37 copy inside, go back down into the major cities of Europe 11:41 and repair pots and pans and sell yard goods. 11:44 And when they found a family they felt was honest, 11:47 they would open up the linings and at the risk of their lives 11:50 they would share the Bibles. 11:53 Now we're going to begin to make our climb then 11:56 to the Hidden School of the Uncles. 11:58 And as we begin our journey on foot, I want to give you a bit 12:03 more of the background of the Waldensian people 12:06 and their struggles and their persecutions. 12:13 On one occasion, the leadership of the church sent out a letter 12:17 to every university president and it read like this. 12:21 "Destroy the Waldensian students. 12:24 Destroy them totally and completely. " 12:27 And presidents of universities wrote back and asked, 12:30 "How are we to know who is who and what is what? 12:32 I mean, to the large degree they speak the same language and 12:35 they look the same, their skin color is the same. 12:38 How are we to differentiate?" 12:40 And the answer came back, "If they are your finest students, 12:44 if they always make the Dean's List, 12:47 if they are neat and clean in their persons and in 12:52 their language, and if they never cheat on tests 12:56 then destroy them, they're surely Waldensian. " 12:59 Some credential, huh? 13:01 And so on many occasions, the church armies where 13:05 directed to go and hunt down the Waldensian people 13:08 and destroy them. 13:09 And not unlike the jungle drums, word would precede 13:14 the armies approach. 13:17 And the Waldensian Christian people would climb higher 13:20 and higher and higher up into the mountains. 13:24 If they were pushed to the extreme, if the armies 13:27 were relentless then at the peak of the last mountain, 13:31 the summit of the tallest peak, they would cross. 13:35 And then they would be in France. 13:38 And there they would find religious and political asylum. 13:41 They would find safety. 13:42 But, after several unsuccessful attempts to destroy them 13:48 and their slipping over into France, the directive came from 13:52 the headquarter, "We're going to push them over the summit. " 13:56 And this to the King of France and his armies, 14:00 "You be waiting on the other side and we'll have them trapped 14:04 in a pincer movement. " 14:05 And that happened and the Waldensian Christians died 14:10 en masse on that one single occasion. 14:13 The persecutions against the Waldensian Christians 14:16 lasted for many, many, many, many generations. 14:19 Well, we're climbing now. 14:21 We have been told by the man from whom we've gotten 14:25 directions that when we came to the fork with the main path, 14:28 take the main path. 14:29 And he said eventually if you stay on it, you'll come to the 14:33 Church of the Open. 14:34 And so we're staying on that path. 14:36 As we do so, we go by several of these stone buildings 14:40 in which they store hay and grain and other commodities. 14:44 Animals on occasion. 14:46 They told us that in the winter time, the snow fall may be as 14:51 deep as 10 or 12 feet. 14:53 That all on the ground at one time. 14:55 And furthermore, these buildings are made 14:58 out of the native stone, picked off the fields 15:00 so the grass can grow. 15:01 And they've been standing for hundreds of years 15:04 and there's not one drop of mortar between the stones. 15:08 That's good construction, isn't it. 15:10 Pretty good builder that does all of that. 15:12 Well, we climb higher and we come to where 15:14 a local family is living. 15:16 It's a very typical home here in the Torre Pellice countryside. 15:21 Chickens are scratching around the front yard. 15:23 And here's the haymow made out of the same native stone. 15:26 We're going to go around behind and notice 15:29 the shingles upon the roof. 15:31 There they are made of native stone as well. 15:34 A slate, a thin slab of stone. 15:37 Those things are about 24 to 30 inches wide 15:41 and 18 to 20 inches deep. 15:43 I thought to myself, I'm glad I'm not in the 15:45 roofing business here. 15:47 You wouldn't want to be a shingler here. 15:49 But the good news is, once you get them on 15:52 you don't have to replace them every 15 or 20 years. 15:54 They're there to stay. 15:55 We climbed higher and looked back. 15:57 And the buildings took on sort of a reptilian look 16:00 as you can easily see there. 16:03 And then we turned around and there it was. 16:05 The Church of the Open that we had been instructed regarding. 16:08 Our Lord Jesus said, "A light set upon a hill 16:11 cannot be hidden. " 16:13 And so, when these people could come out and worship in the open 16:16 they wanted to be in the most prominent place. 16:18 We're going to see how very prominent it is and why. 16:22 And so, we're again going to walk around to the left 16:25 and come up on a level with the church and look across at it. 16:28 And we see that it sits right out on the face of a cliff. 16:33 There it is, a drop of about 170 feet. 16:40 We were greeted inside by a lady who's summer job it was to 16:46 greet the tourists and instruct the tourists 16:50 And as soon as we spoke to her a sentence or two, 16:53 she said, "You're from the US, aren't you?" 16:55 "Yes," we said. 16:57 We're from the Pacific Northwest. 16:59 "Oh," she said, "I had a dear friend, my best friend, 17:03 was from California. 17:05 And she would come every summer and help me here 17:08 to keep the place up and greet the tourists. " 17:11 "But," she said, "tragically last summer, my friend 17:14 fell off the cliff to her death. " 17:16 And you can see how that could happen. 17:19 We'll slip inside and we see that it's crude. 17:23 Just hand carved benches. 17:25 The stove pipe, it goes all the way from the front 17:28 to the very back. 17:29 Kept inside all of the heat possible. 17:31 I thought this, I'll bet on worship morning you didn't 17:34 have to beg the folks to move up front. 17:36 Because that's where the stove was, you see. 17:39 Well, we asked this lady who greeted us here, 17:42 "How from here can we find the Hidden School of the Uncles?" 17:45 And she said, "Go out behind the church and take the main path 17:49 and then it will divide into three branches and you must... " 17:53 "Oh," she said, "I'm going to get you lost. 17:55 We'll never find you again. I will take you. " 17:58 So she closed down the church and became our guide. 18:01 We stepped outside and here was a lady doing her laundry. 18:06 The big cliff is behind her. 18:07 There's a fence there now thankfully. 18:09 I want you to notice a couple of things. 18:10 Firstly, her scrub board there. 18:13 It's one of those stones just like they put up on the roof. 18:16 And secondly, notice that she's wearing rubber gloves. 18:19 Now that's not to keep her hands pretty. 18:21 But rather, so that she can stand the ice cold water 18:25 in which she's doing her laundry. 18:26 For it's from the snow melt just up above the mountain. 18:30 Our next stop will be at the Waldensian laundry mat. 18:34 Just briefly we'll pause. 18:36 There, my friends doing his handkerchief at the 18:39 Waldensian laundry mat. 18:41 Well, we began to climb. 18:43 Climb higher and higher. 18:45 Stop for a rest and climb some more. 18:48 The lady who met us at the church is our guide. 18:53 I'd wanted a picture of our group coming up the mountain. 18:57 And so from the rear, I ran around the others. 18:59 I passed them, ran up the trail a few yards, turned around, 19:04 knelt on one knee, focused and shot this picture and was 19:07 focusing for another when I heard her speak to my buddy 19:11 right behind her in French. 19:12 He spoke very fluent French. 19:14 And I had the feeling that it involved me. 19:17 And so I asked my friend, "What did the lady say?" 19:20 And he said, "She told me to tell you, 19:23 watch out for the snakes. " 19:26 It's the last picture you're going to see 19:27 of my group coming up the mountain. 19:29 I brought up the rear from that point on. 19:32 And you'll notice, this lady by the way, is wearing 19:35 high top rubber boots for that very purpose of safety. 19:38 Well, we would sit down and look across the canyon 19:42 and we would see little white dots. 19:44 There about center picture is one, right there. 19:47 And then you look up, way up, and over to the left. 19:50 And there is one in a meadow. 19:52 And there's another up to the extreme right. 19:54 Those are the homes of the native folks. 19:56 This is far, far beyond the end of the road and they 19:59 have no helicopters. 20:01 They get here by hiking. 20:03 We walked on to the Hidden School of the Uncles 20:06 before we recognized that it was there. 20:09 Made out of the native stone with the native vines 20:12 to grow over it. 20:13 The sign says, "Collegio d'la Barba. " 20:16 The College of the Uncles. 20:18 We'll go inside and in the very center we see a huge stone. 20:22 And in the center of the stone is a preserved copy 20:25 of one of the original old Bibles. 20:27 Upon, from which rather, they made their copies. 20:31 Here is another view where they've taken it 20:34 out of the case for us. 20:36 You can imagine the young people gathered around that big rock 20:40 and laboriously copying from the Bible the Gospel of Matthew, 20:45 the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Mark. 20:48 These people loved their Lord Jesus and they loved His word. 20:51 And you can never, never separate the word of God 20:55 from the Spirit of God or from Jesus, can you. 20:58 They always go together, don't they. 21:00 I remember so very well as I reflected upon all of this 21:04 before I left, asking myself this question. 21:07 "Lyle, how much do you love Jesus?" 21:10 I mean, lip service is easy. 21:12 Anyone can say it, "Yes, I love You Jesus. " 21:14 But these folks lived their lives for Jesus 21:18 and were willing to die for Jesus. 21:22 We hiked back down. 21:24 It was now dark by the time we arrived at the car. 21:27 We made an appointment for the gentleman to take us 21:30 the next day over to the Church of the Martyrs. 21:34 We come again to the end of the road and here is a 21:37 big stone monument in the parking lot. 21:39 And once again, we must hike a good ways. 21:42 The sign that greets us here says, "Ghieisa d'la Tana," 21:45 The Church of the Cave. 21:48 Now the pathway becomes steep and rocky and precipitous. 21:53 There are places where we go around the faces of cliffs 21:56 where the pathway is no more than 30 inches wide. 22:00 and the drop off more than a 100 feet. 22:02 Yes, perhaps in places nearly 200 feet. 22:06 And it was at this point that many stepped off to the side 22:09 and decided they wouldn't go further. 22:11 I tried to imagine what it was like, perhaps during the 22:15 winter time, when these Waldensian Christian people 22:19 would go together to worship even during the most 22:24 difficult persecutions. 22:27 During the most heinous of times, the most dangerous 22:30 circumstances, these people knew the value, if not necessity, 22:34 of coming to worship together. 22:37 And in Hebrews chapter 10:25 and 26, 22:40 we find a warning there regarding the last days. 22:43 "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, 22:45 as the manner of some is. 22:46 And much more as you see the end coming. " 22:49 And so, these folks would go to church in the winter time 22:53 and in the summer and spring, and during the rains. 22:55 And I wondered how careful they must have been 22:58 when there was ice on the trail and they go along 23:01 this narrow pathway. 23:02 They're going to a cave, the Church of the Cave; 23:07 the Church of Martyrs. 23:09 One family member might leave well before dark and head off 23:12 in that direction and make a circle back around to the cave. 23:15 And several minutes later, another family member 23:17 might leave and start off in that direction and then 23:20 make a circle to the cave. 23:21 But ere long, the families would gather together. 23:25 They would go back inside and there they would sing and 23:29 pray and fellowship and have lunch. 23:32 Spend most of the whole day encouraging one another. 23:35 In front of the cave, there is another stone sign. 23:38 "Ghieisa d'la Tana. 23:39 The ancient temple of the revived faith 23:41 where the spirit of the fathers preached, suffered, and died 23:44 for liberty of conscience. " 23:47 They were back inside on one worship morning 23:52 when they were discovered. 23:55 We don't know if someone was followed or if someone 23:58 gave information, told on someone. 24:01 We don't know. 24:02 What we do know is there were over 260 men, women, children, 24:08 babes in arms back inside, when the leadership of the church 24:12 shouted inside, "Come out with your hands up. " 24:16 And the people knew that if they did that they would die. 24:19 Instantly die or perhaps after some torture 24:23 they would be killed. 24:24 And so they stayed inside and prayed. 24:27 And the command was given again a short time later, 24:29 "Come out, this is your last chance. " 24:31 And they stayed inside. 24:33 And then the officer said, "Bring burning material, 24:36 you soldiers. 24:37 Bring dry wood and bring green leaves and grasses as well. " 24:44 They did that. 24:46 Gave one last chance. 24:48 And when the folks refused to come out, the torch was put 24:53 to the burning material. 24:55 And as it began to burn brightly, the smoke 24:57 was sucked back inside. 25:00 And every single person died. 25:03 Hence the name, the Church of the Martyrs. 25:08 I'm going to tell you tonight that many of those who died, 25:12 many of those Waldensians who loved Jesus to the death, 25:16 were destroyed because they would not stop observing 25:20 the Saturday Sabbath, the seventh day Sabbath. 25:23 We're going to talk about that tonight and about its place 25:26 in the Bible and about what's happening in the world tonight. 25:30 And I want you folks again to ask yourselves the question 25:33 that I asked a bit ago. 25:35 And you ask from inside the cave, 25:38 "How much do I love Jesus?" 25:40 Thank you for traveling with me. 25:44 Now to our subject this evening. 25:48 Rest in Jesus, the meaning and the purpose of the 25:52 seventh day Sabbath. 25:54 Folks are fighting stress. 25:56 And I want to read you a little something that I found 25:59 written by a medical doctor. 26:01 Will you listen very carefully. 26:04 "The lives of some men are so tense that they're soon 26:09 going to become past tense. 26:13 Tension is as deadly as a loaded pistol. 26:17 Only, it takes just a bit longer to kill its victim. " 26:21 Then he goes on to talk about the problems that are associated 26:25 with this hypertension and the stress and all of this. 26:30 And he concludes by saying that what we need to do is 26:34 to return to an age old plan. 26:37 To a plan God gave His children, our parents, 26:41 in the Garden of Eden. 26:42 And that is a much needed day of rest. 26:46 And he's talking about the Sabbath. 26:50 He goes on to talk about something that was 26:53 of interest to me. 26:54 He said that the nation of France, several years ago, 26:58 decided they would go off the seven day cycle, 27:02 work six days and a day off, six days and a day off. 27:05 They would go off that cycle and revert to a ten day cycle. 27:08 Work ten days on and then two days off, 27:10 ten on and two off. 27:12 And they experimented with it for about two years 27:15 and discovered that there were far more problems; 27:18 that the people were more stressful, that there was more 27:21 illness, there were higher doctor bills. 27:23 And so they went back to the plan that God set up 27:26 in the Bible to work for six days and then have a day off. 27:31 Here is God's solution for stress. 27:34 And so I want to talk with you for the next few moments 27:37 about God's Saturday Sabbath day. 27:40 We're going to go back to Eden, you and I together. 27:43 So open your Bibles, if you will please, to Genesis chapter 2. 27:48 The book of Genesis is, of course, the first 27:51 book in the Bible. 27:52 And in that word "Genesis," we find the word "genes". 27:54 And from that same word, we have "genetics". 27:57 And I'm going to begin to read at verse 1. 28:00 Genesis chapter 2 verses 1-3. 28:04 And if you have a Bible, please follow along with me. 28:06 And if you don't, shame on you. 28:08 Look on with your neighbor, alright? 28:10 Genesis chapter 2 and the first 3 verses. 28:13 "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished 28:16 and all of the host of them. 28:17 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He'd made, 28:20 and He rested on the seventh day from all the work 28:23 that He'd made. 28:24 And God blessed that seventh day and sanctified it, 28:27 because in it He rested from all of the work which He had created 28:31 and He had made. " 28:32 I know that it's no bit of new information to you folks 28:36 when I say to you that Jesus Christ is not only our Redeemer, 28:40 He is also our creator. 28:42 And I'm going to give you several verses because 28:45 several folks that I visit with and talk with have never 28:47 heard this idea before. 28:49 I want you to put in your notes John chapter 1 and verse 1. 28:52 We'll not have time to turn to every scripture tonight 28:54 because the clock won't allow it. 28:56 But in John chapter 1 verse 1 and then verse 10 and 13. 29:00 It makes abundantly clear that our Lord Jesus is not only 29:04 Redeemer and Savior, but He is also Creator. 29:07 All things were made by Him and without Him was not 29:10 anything made that was made. 29:12 That's Jesus. 29:13 And then you come to Colossians chapter 1 verse 16. 29:16 And there again it's made abundantly clear. 29:18 Colossians 1:16, Jesus is our Creator. 29:21 You read from Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 the same thing, 29:25 Jesus our Savior is also our Creator. 29:29 The question then comes, "Was Jesus the active agent 29:33 in Creation when we talk about keeping the Sabbath 29:36 and making the Holy Day?" 29:38 And the answer of course is, "yes". 29:41 It was Jesus who on the first day said, 29:43 "Let there be light, and there was light. " 29:44 And on the second day, something else. 29:46 Third day, something else. 29:47 And on the sixth day, He made the largest forms of animal life 29:51 and our parents, Adam and Eve. 29:52 And then, our Lord Jesus, Savior, Redeemer, and Creator, 29:56 rested on the seventh day of the week. 30:00 Was He tired? 30:01 Was He worn out? 30:04 Was He stressed? 30:05 No, God doesn't get tired and God does not become stressful. 30:10 But rather, He did that to give to you and me 30:13 and all of us an example. 30:15 And the Bible is abundantly clear that our Lord Jesus 30:18 is our example in every area of Christian endeavor. 30:21 There was some doubt about how folks ought to 30:24 live before Jesus came. 30:25 And so, the Bible says when the fullness of time was come 30:27 God sent His Son and Jesus taught us how to live 30:31 in this area and what to do in this area. 30:33 And about baptism, this and this, and the Lord's supper. 30:37 And when it came to rest and worship, our Redeemer, 30:40 Creator, our friend Jesus Christ kept the Saturday Sabbath. 30:45 He kept it in creation, He kept it when He was here 30:47 as our example, He kept it as well in Redemption. 30:52 I've heard a lot of folks say, "Well, that Saturday business 30:54 was just for Jews. 30:56 That was the old Jew day. " 30:59 Now look folks, if we reject something because of its 31:02 connection with Jews, 31:05 we're going to have to throw away our Bibles entirely, 31:08 aren't we now. 31:09 Because without exception, this is a book authored entirely 31:13 and completely by Jews. 31:16 And if we're going to turn away from somebody because of its 31:19 connection with Jews, 31:20 we're going to have to turn away from God's new earth 31:25 and His heaven. 31:26 The Bible says, Revelation is replete with information, that 31:30 in that city, that beautiful holy city to which we one day 31:34 plan to go, there are four gates on each side 31:38 and above each of those gates there is a name 31:41 of one of the tribes of Israel. 31:44 Judaism, that's exactly right. 31:46 There are no Gentile gates. 31:48 I don't know how in the world we're ever going to 31:49 get into God's kingdom unless we're willing to go through 31:52 a Jew gate. 31:53 And so, if we're going to reject something because of its 31:54 connection with Jews, we're not only going to reject 31:57 the Bible, we're going to turn away from the New Jerusalem. 32:01 And beyond that, if we reject it because of its 32:04 connection with Jews, then we're going to have to at the same 32:07 time reject Jesus. 32:08 Because through His earthly parentage, He was a Jew. 32:12 The Revelation chapter 5 verse 5 says He is the 32:14 Lion of the tribe of Judah. 32:18 Exactly so. 32:20 Our Lord Himself said in John 14 and verse 6, 32:22 "I am the way and the... " help me know. 32:26 "... the truth and the life. " 32:29 There it is again. 32:30 He gave us example in every area of Christian endeavor. 32:32 "I am the way and I am the truth and I am the life. " 32:36 The disciple Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 21 said, 32:41 speaking of Jesus he said, "He is our example 32:44 that we need to walk and follow in His footsteps. " 32:48 Now, we're going to transition a little bit and I'm going to 32:51 share some with you folks that I have not really been 32:54 acquainted with for a terribly long time and I'm still 32:57 discovering more in this area. 32:59 And the more I discover, the more wonderful I feel 33:01 and the more excited I become. 33:04 Our Lord Jesus is not only our Redeemer, our Savior, 33:08 our Creator, He is also the Lawgiver from Sinai. 33:15 Did you know that? 33:16 Yeah. 33:18 I'm going to make it abundantly clear to you now. 33:21 The background, of course, is Moses and Aaron 33:25 have led the children of Israel out of Egypt. 33:27 And because of their hard hearts, they've had to 33:29 wonder round and round and round on the Sinai Peninsula. 33:33 And then they come to camp at the foot of Mount Sinai. 33:36 And in thundering tones, there comes a voice from the 33:39 mountain top saying, "I am the Lord thy God 33:43 which has taken thee by the hand to bring thee out of Egypt. 33:47 Therefore, thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 33:50 Thou shalt not make unto thee any idols or images. 33:53 The likeness of anything in heaven above, the earth beneath, 33:55 the water on the earth. 33:56 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 33:59 And Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 34:02 Six days to labor, but the seventh day is the Sabbath 34:05 of the Lord thy God. " 34:07 Now, I'm going to give you some verses that I want 34:10 you to go home and look up and study and contemplate. 34:12 First of them is Genesis 49 verse 10. 34:16 Genesis chapter 49 verse 10. 34:18 There it says, "Shiloh... " 34:20 Would you note that word in your notes please. 34:23 "Shiloh is the lawgiver. " 34:25 And Shiloh, throughout all of the Old Testament, 34:27 is one of the names of the Messiah. 34:30 "Shiloh is the lawgiver. " 34:31 Now we're going to transition to the New Testament 34:33 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 4, the apostle Paul 34:38 speaking of the exodus experience said, 34:40 "And all did drink of that spiritual Rock 34:43 that followed them, and that Rock was Jesus Christ. " 34:47 And that's why, my dears, we sing lustily on worship morning, 34:51 "On Christ the solid Rock I stand. 34:54 All other ground is sinking sand. " 34:56 And, "Rock of ages, cleft for me. 34:58 Let me hide myself in Thee. " 35:00 Christ was that Rock. 35:02 Here's one for you from David. 35:04 David was a scholar as well as a hymnist and a poem writer. 35:09 In Psalm 60 verse 7, he says, "Judah, my lawgiver. " 35:14 Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 35:18 "Judah is my lawgiver," said David. 35:22 He's not only our Savior, He is as well our Creator. 35:26 And He is the Lawgiver. 35:29 Psalm 108 verse 8. 35:30 Here's another one that's along this very same line. 35:32 Psalm 108 and verse 8 where it says again, 35:35 "Judah is the lawgiver. " 35:37 In James chapter 4 verse 12, coming to the New Testament 35:40 once again as we put all of this together. 35:42 James chapter 4 verse 12, it says the Lawgiver is our Savior. 35:47 How more clear could it be than that, huh? 35:49 The Lawgiver is our Savior. 35:51 In Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, introducing our Lord Jesus to us 35:56 it says, "He shall save His people from their sins. " 36:02 Our Creator, our Redeemer, the Lawgiver, our Savior. 36:08 The Lawgiver, then, gave to us those 10 happy rules 36:12 for living that we find in Exodus chapter 20. 36:15 With that for a background, we're ready to turn there 36:17 and take up the reading at verse 8. 36:20 Exodus chapter 20 and verse 8. 36:24 And by the way, let me give you just a little bit of word play 36:27 on that word Exodus because I think some of you 36:30 are going to find it interesting at least. 36:32 The word "ex", you know, means something from the past. 36:37 Yeah. 36:39 And ex-relationship maybe. 36:41 An ex-whatever else... job. 36:44 "Ex", something from the past. 36:46 "Hadas" means "the road". 36:50 Road in the Hebrew language. 36:52 Ex-hadas 36:55 The road out. 36:56 The old road. 36:59 You see, the leaving of Egypt to go to the promised land. 37:03 Ex-hadas 37:05 Now, we've talked about the commandments 37:08 our Lord Jesus spoke from the top of Mount Sinai, 37:12 the first three of them. 37:13 And now we're going to begin to amplify the fourth. 37:16 Let's take up the reading at verse 8, Exodus chapter 20. 37:19 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 37:22 Six days you may work and do all of it, 37:25 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 37:28 In it, thou shalt not work; thou, nor thy son or daughter, 37:31 man servant or maid servant, nor the cattle or the stranger 37:34 that's within thy gates. 37:35 For in six days God made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and 37:38 all that in them is, and then He rested on the seventh day. 37:41 Wherefore, the Lord then blessed the Sabbath day 37:44 and hallowed it. " 37:45 Now there are two phrases from those verses that I want to 37:48 underscore in our minds tonight. 37:50 One refers to sanctification, the other says hallowed. 37:53 They mean exactly the same thing. 37:55 They mean setting aside for holy use. 37:58 Sanctifying, making holy. 38:01 Now folks, I could work from now on to the rest of my life, 38:04 I could never make anything holy. 38:07 Holy God, righteous God is the only One who can 38:10 make something holy. 38:12 And it's abundantly clear here that this day, this one day 38:16 out of seven, He made holy. 38:18 He made it in the beginning. 38:20 He kept it when He was here as our example. 38:22 He made it to be very special. 38:26 The Saturday Sabbath, the fourth commandment 38:29 is right in the heart of the ten, isn't it. 38:32 If you're going to do away with one, you can't just 38:35 easily drop off one at the first or one at the end. 38:39 But rather, you have to go right into the center. 38:42 Right into the heart of the ten commandment law. 38:44 And that's really where it belongs because it is 38:46 a big part of the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ as well. 38:51 Sabbath is in the very center, in the middle of the law. 38:55 A day of rest and worship. 38:57 A day to leave our stresses behind. 38:59 A day to build relationships between ourselves and our God. 39:03 Relationships that are vertical. 39:06 And at the same time, during the same 24 hours, 39:09 to build relationships that are horizontal. 39:13 Relationships between a man and his wife, 39:15 between husband and wife and their kids. 39:18 Strong relationships between families and friends. 39:22 And that is the reason for the sanctifying of this day. 39:26 Anything, therefore then, that we do that enables us 39:30 to further strengthen the relationship between ourselves 39:33 and our Creator Jesus, and ourselves and our kids 39:36 and our wives and our families, I believe is proper 39:39 Sabbath observance. 39:40 That's what it's all about. 39:42 Get better acquainted with our families, 39:44 get better acquainted with our Creator, with our Lord Jesus. 39:48 Not so very long ago and not so very far away, 39:51 I was sharing in a home some ideas regarding the Sabbath. 39:54 And the man of the house said, "Well, look. 39:57 That Saturday business is just only for Jews. 40:01 That was just for Jews. " 40:06 I said to him, "Sir, I have a question for you. " 40:11 "Do you believe that only Jews ought not to tell lies? 40:20 God said, 'Thou shalt not bear false witness. ' 40:22 That's one of the ten commandments. 40:24 Is that only for Jews?" 40:25 "Well, no. " 40:28 "One of God's ten commandments says, 40:30 'Thou shalt not commit adultery. ' 40:31 Is that only just for Jews?" 40:34 "No. " 40:37 "One of the commandments says, 'Thou shalt not commit murder. ' 40:40 Is that just for Jews?" 40:41 "Well, of course not. " 40:43 You go through the whole of the ten and you discover 40:46 there is only one of the ten that many folks want to do 40:49 away with and say it's only just for Jews. 40:51 And that is commandment number four that says the 40:54 Lord's Day is Saturday and that this is the day, 40:56 it begins at sundown on Friday night and ends at sundown 40:59 on Saturday night, that we need to come together to worship 41:03 and that we need to spend time thinking about Him 41:06 and relating to Him in this vertical relationship and 41:09 relating to one another in the horizontal relationship as well. 41:13 I want us now, if you will with me together, go to 41:16 Matthew chapter 5. 41:18 We'll allude to a lot of verses for want of time, but others 41:21 we must of necessity read. 41:22 And Matthew chapter 5 is one of them. 41:24 Here we find our Lord Jesus speaking from the 41:26 sermon on the mount. 41:29 You remember the context is that He, with His disciples, 41:32 are up north on the shores of Galilee. 41:34 And the word gets out that He is there, that He has something 41:37 special to share. 41:38 And the people begin to come. 41:40 And the pressure is so great that eventually Jesus has to get 41:43 into a little boat and push off out into the water always. 41:47 And then He begins to give to them what we now refer to 41:50 as the sermon on the mount. 41:52 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18, I want to read right now. 41:57 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18. 42:00 These are the words of Jesus from the mount. 42:03 He says, "Don't think that I have come to destroy 42:06 the law or the prophets. 42:07 I haven't come to destroy them, but rather to fulfill them. 42:11 For I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, 42:14 not the dotting of an "i" or the crossing of a "t" 42:17 shall be changed until all is over. " 42:21 Our Lord Jesus; Creator, Redeemer, Lawgiver, Savior, 42:27 said, "Don't think that I have come to change the law. 42:33 Don't suggest for a minute that when I came to amplify 42:36 grace and mercy, that the commandments were done away 42:39 or any part of them. " 42:40 "No," He said, "I have come to live them to the full 42:43 and to help you to understand their broader meaning. 42:47 He said, "Not the slightest dotting of an "i" or the 42:49 crossing of a "t" in the ten commandment law 42:52 is to be changed until the whole of the universe is finished. " 42:56 Therefore, then my dears, as long as we stand upon 42:59 God's green earth with His blue sky over head, 43:01 all ten of His commandments, including the fourth, 43:04 is for all of His children and for all time. 43:08 In Mark chapter 2 verse 27, there our Lord is referred to as 43:13 Lord of the Sabbath. 43:16 Lord of the Sabbath day. 43:18 Mark chapter 2, verses 27 and 28. 43:21 I remember a lady said to me one time, 43:24 "Well, because we live in New Testament times, seems to me 43:27 we ought to keep the Lord's Day 43:29 according to the New Testament. " 43:30 I said, "Ma'am, I couldn't agree with you more. 43:35 But which day is the Lord's Day in the New Testament?" 43:39 "Well," she said, "I've always been taught 43:40 that it was Sunday. " 43:43 "So let me ask you a couple of questions ma'am. 43:45 What is your Christian background, 43:47 Catholic or Protestant?" 43:49 "Oh," she said, "I'm Protestant. " 43:50 "Well," I said, "That's been my background as well. 43:53 Then we will agree on this. 43:55 We take the Bible and the Bible only as our rule of faith 43:57 and practice as Protestants, don't we. " 43:59 "Oh yes," she said. "Of course. " 44:00 The Bible and the Bible only. Nothing else. 44:02 Nothing more, nothing less. 44:06 Yeah. 44:09 "Now," I said, "let's look in our Bibles for the Lord's Day. 44:16 The Lord's Day in the New Testament. 44:19 Do you have any idea where it's mentioned?" 44:21 "Well," she said, "I guess I've forgotten. " 44:25 "Well," I said, "let's go back to Revelation chapter 1." 44:29 And we did that. 44:31 And there at verse 10, John describes the day 44:35 that this vision, that becomes our book of Revelation 44:37 comes to him, and he says, "I was in the Spirit 44:41 on the Lord's Day. 44:43 And I heard behind me a great voice like that of a trumpet. " 44:46 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. " 44:49 Now that's the only place in all of the Bible 44:51 the Lord's Day is mentioned. 44:54 And it doesn't tell us which day of the week it was, 44:56 does it really. 44:57 All we can know from that passage is this for certain. 45:00 That there some 40+ years after the ascension of our Lord Jesus, 45:04 he still had a special day, and John was given this vision 45:08 that's our book of Revelation, on that special day. 45:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. " 45:13 But it didn't say which day of the week it was. 45:16 Now whom could we better ask, "Which day is Your day, Jesus, 45:20 in the New Testament? 45:22 Which is the Lord's Day in the New Testament 45:23 according to Your word?" 45:25 And now I want you, if you will please, to go with me to 45:30 Mark chapter 2 verses 27 and 28. 45:33 We alluded to it a little bit ago and we must of necessity 45:36 read them just now. 45:38 Mark chapter 2 verses 27 and 28. 45:45 Mark 2:27 45:47 "Jesus said unto them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, 45:51 and not man for the Sabbath. 45:53 Therefore then the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath Day. '" 45:59 "Which day is Your day according to the New Testament, Jesus?" 46:02 Jesus said, "I am Lord of the Sabbath day. " 46:06 Ladies and Gentlemen, I'll make this statement now and then 46:09 we'll give lots of further information regarding it 46:12 in a moment. 46:13 You can search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation 46:15 or do it in reverse, and you'll find that the word Sabbath day 46:19 is always, without exception, in reference to the day 46:24 that we call Saturday. 46:26 Well I've heard folks say, "Look, I just keep 46:29 every day holy. " 46:31 I had that idea once. 46:32 When I was first looking seriously at Christianity, 46:35 I said, "I'll just keep every day holy. " 46:39 And the Holy Spirit reminded me, I had a wife and two kids. 46:42 I was going to have to work some days. 46:46 I was going to have to do some work. 46:48 "Alright," I said, "I'll have a holy weekend. 46:51 I'll keep Saturday and Sunday both holy. " 46:53 And the Holy Spirit gently pointed out to me, 46:56 that was going to work either. 46:58 For the only day that I could keep holy was the day 47:01 that God had made holy. 47:03 On Wednesday, I discovered I could be ever so pious and 47:06 read my Bible all day long and play my guitar with the 47:11 hymns in the church, but I couldn't keep Wednesday holy. 47:14 Because it was never sanctified, never set apart for holy use. 47:18 The only day ever set apart was Saturday. 47:21 You know, this thought came to me awhile back. 47:25 I noticed, by the way, as I came into your city 47:28 that there had been some big name entertainers here 47:31 this summer, huh. 47:32 The Beach Boys and Joe Cocker. 47:39 Now I know who the kids are, what I mean, I know who the 47:41 young adults are when I mention Joe Cocker, 47:43 and the old gray headed folk. 47:45 By the way, I've really grown to love old people, lately. 47:52 Lately, yeah that's right dear. 47:54 I've really grown to love old people. 47:56 Well, at any event, if there was a great concert going to happen 47:59 out at the George Gorge, I mean one of the all stars 48:04 of all time, he's going to come and play there beginning 48:08 6 o'clock next Wednesday evening and I said, 48:12 "Well, it doesn't matter what day, this day or that. 48:15 It doesn't matter. 48:16 I'm going to go on Tuesday at six. " 48:19 Would it matter? 48:20 Yeah, I'd miss the performance, wouldn't I. 48:23 Nothing happening there. 48:24 I'd have to go at the time of appointment. 48:27 And the time for keeping the Sabbath is the day 48:31 that we call Saturday. 48:33 Sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. 48:36 Is it important, Huh? 48:39 It's one of the ten commandments. 48:40 Another one said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery. " 48:43 If I were to bring up onto this stage seven women 48:47 and among the seven is my dear Peggy, 48:50 would it make any difference which one I took home, huh? 48:53 Oh you ladies say, "yeah. " 48:56 Yes indeed, it makes a difference. 48:58 Well, folk have said to me, "That whole Saturday business 49:03 is legalistic. 49:04 It just seems so legalistic. 49:06 That over Sunday or something else, or Friday. " 49:10 If I say that it's legalistic, really I'm saying that 49:14 to have a wonderful relationship with my Jesus is legalistic. 49:17 Isn't that what I'm saying? 49:19 That's what I'm saying. 49:20 The Saturday Sabbath is mentioned 60 times 49:23 in the New Testament. 49:24 It's mentioned more than any other single commandment. 49:27 And there's not the slightest hint that it was ever changed. 49:30 Not the slightest hint. 49:31 Now, the Sabbath teaching is so clear, ladies and gentlemen, 49:35 that if there was to be a change brought by the apostle Paul 49:39 or Peter or someone else, the change, the information 49:44 regarding the change ought to be as clear 49:46 as the original teaching. 49:47 Shouldn't it really, now? 49:49 But there's not the slightest hint 49:51 let alone a change being made clear. 49:55 I was watching a televangelist not so very long ago 49:58 and he was really coming down on this whole abortion issue. 50:02 And I'm not here to preach politics tonight. 50:05 But I, too, believe that life is sacred. 50:10 And this televangelist was making a case that 50:13 this business of abortion is taking of human life. 50:17 It's killing. 50:19 It's breaking one of God's ten commandments. 50:25 Someone who had listened to him and watched him regularly 50:29 came to some of my meetings and wrote him a letter 50:31 and asked him, "What about commandment number 4 that says, 50:34 the Lord's day is Saturday?" 50:37 And the televangelist wrote back and gave some 50:39 real flimsy verses. 50:40 And he said, "Well, that was all nailed to the cross 50:43 when Jesus came. " 50:44 Huh? 50:45 And that Saturday business is legalistic 50:47 Abortion, that's one of the ten commandments. 50:49 No, that's not legalistic. That's God's law. 50:51 Let's be consistent, what do you say? 50:55 Let's be consistent in our love for Jesus and in our 50:58 obedience to Jesus. 50:59 We must do it. 51:00 It is a memorial of His creative power. 51:03 Our Lord Jesus established the Sabbath so that there would not 51:07 be any atheism. 51:09 So that there would never be any communism or racism 51:12 So that there would never be this theory of evolution. 51:15 By the way, this thought has come to my mind 51:17 with beauty of late. 51:19 Charles Darwin is one of my indoor sports. 51:23 And I can tell you this much from my Idaho background. 51:26 He was wrong. 51:28 I'm smart enough to know that he was wrong. 51:31 Charles Darwin lived between 1809 and 1882. 51:36 And he was an English naturalist and the father 51:39 of the theory of evolution. 51:40 And he taught, you know, that we're the result of an accident, 51:43 the primeval pool, and then there came this snake 51:45 that crawled around, and then the monkey that swung, 51:47 and then finally man. 51:48 And in 1863, now I want you to see the connection here. 51:52 He died in 1882, and about 1863 he was writing his 51:56 evolutionistic theories. 51:58 And at that same time, 1863, God raised up a movement 52:02 to combat the theory of evolution. 52:05 And called people from the Catholic church 52:09 and the Baptist church and the Pentecostal churches 52:12 and the Episcopalian churches and the Methodist churches 52:16 and the Presbyterian churches to teach the Saturday Sabbath. 52:24 And the Seventh-Day Adventist church was born... 52:32 ...in 1863. 52:36 And tonight it's growing like wildfire. 52:45 The fastest growing Protestant church in this world 52:52 is the Seventh-Day Adventist. 52:55 Am I bragging? 52:56 You bet. 53:04 When a year ago 53:11 our boy died, 53:15 his widow, my daughter-in-law, 53:21 along with Peggy and me, 53:27 decided a memorial in his memory 53:33 ought to be used to spread the gospel. 53:39 And so, out of her bit of insurance 53:44 our daughter-in-law, really our daughter, 53:48 Brenda sent to India $12,000 53:53 to build a church that would seat between 350 and 500 people. 53:58 And they promised her they would send back pictures. 54:01 And they did. 54:03 And I just got copies of them myself. 54:05 And there's a plaque beside the door of entry that says, 54:09 "Dedicated to the honor of God our Creator 54:13 and in the memory of Terry Albrecht. " 54:19 Then they told her that this church is open seven days a week 54:23 and they cannot accommodate the crowds. 54:25 And so, many folks are wanting to become a part of the 54:28 Seventh-Day Adventist family out there that they can hardly 54:30 build churches fast enough. 54:32 And in the same town they're building a school from 54:36 kindergarten through the highest level of the university. 54:39 And that's just a little bit of what's happening out in India. 54:42 And behind the former Soviet block and all the rest. 54:45 It's growing like fire in dry brush. 54:48 The Sabbath is not just a principle. 54:50 If it were a principle, I could choose one day out of seven. 54:52 But, it is a Day. 54:54 A Day, the seventh day of the week. 55:03 I have come to believe, ladies and gentlemen, 55:08 that the most difficult attitude for God to deal with 55:14 is indifference. 55:19 I meet a lot of folks these days in increasing number 55:22 with open minds. 55:23 They're searching as they look at the events of the world. 55:25 They have open minds. 55:27 And when a truth becomes clear to them, they embrace it 55:30 and accept it. 55:33 And then there is a second group and these folks are 55:36 more set in their ways. 55:39 I was that way. 55:42 Yeah. 55:43 The old Missourian attitude. 55:44 "You'll have to prove it to me. " 55:47 "Show me. " Exactly dear, that's right. 55:49 "Show me. " 55:51 These folks, once they are shown, accept. 55:58 But in the middle of these two extremes, there is 56:00 a large segment that says, "So what. " 56:04 "So what. " 56:09 "This day, that day, any day. it makes no difference to me. 56:13 I'm completely indifferent to the whole thing. " 56:20 It's not a new attitude. 56:23 When Jesus came to Calvary, 56:27 they hanged Him on a tree. 56:31 Drove great nails through His hands and feet 56:33 and made a Calvary. 56:34 Crowned Him with a crown of thorns. 56:36 Red were His wounds, and deep. 56:38 For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap. 56:44 But when Jesus came to our town, they simply passed Him by. 56:50 They wouldn't hurt a hair of Him, they'd only let Him die 56:52 for men had grown more tender. 56:54 They wouldn't give Him pain, they only just walked down 56:59 the street and left Him in the rain. 57:02 And still He prayed, "Forgive them. 57:08 They don't know what they do. " 57:12 And still it rained those winter rains 57:17 that drenched Him through and through. 57:21 The crowds have now gone and left the streets 57:24 without a soul to see. 57:28 And Jesus crouched against a wall and cried for Calvary. 57:34 Let's pray. 57:36 Lord, Your word is clear. 57:39 You're our Creator, You're our Redeemer. 57:41 You're our Savior, You're our Lawgiver. 57:44 You spoke the Ten Commandments from the mountain top. 57:47 You kept them when You were here as our example. 57:49 We're going to keep the Saturday Sabbath with You in heaven. 57:53 Thank You for the many folks around the world who are 57:56 now turning their hearts to all of Your truths, 57:58 recognizing that it is important to keep 58:02 all of Your commandments. 58:03 We're going to do it in heaven, we're practicing here. 58:07 I pray tonight that You'll not let any home or heart 58:11 represented here be indifferent. 58:15 Continue to plead with our children, our spouses, 58:17 who aren't ready. 58:19 But, please Lord, don't put off Your coming. 58:21 We need You so. 58:23 And so hasten back, Jesus dear, we beg You. 58:26 In Your name, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17