Thompsonville Worship Hour

Why?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr John Lomacang

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Series Code: TWH

Program Code: TWH000019A


00:30 I would like to begin this morning by having you
00:33 turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Acts...
00:36 Acts 1 and we're going to read verse 11 together...
00:45 Now I'm going to lead into it by reading verse 10,
00:47 and then when I get to verse 11, you'll all join me
00:50 because as you could see, it is on the screen.
00:59 I'm going to read verse 10 first and then
01:02 we'll jump to verse 11.
01:15 And now the Scripture reading...
01:39 May the Lord add a blessing to the reading,
01:42 and impartation of His Holy Word.
01:46 I invite you to bow your heads with me as I ask
01:48 for the Lord to guide...
01:51 Loving Father in Heaven, This is not a human moment,
01:56 but a divine one and it is humbling to know
02:00 you've chosen me to be the conduit.
02:03 And so Lord, come now and speak to Your people.
02:06 Speak through me, to me, and may the question, "why,"
02:13 give us reasons to wrestle, to come to conclusions that
02:20 impact our eternal destiny.
02:24 In Jesus name we pray... Amen
02:31 A few months ago, I was listening to the radio
02:36 and I like to be a person that is up-to-date on
02:39 what's happening - like to know what's going on around me.
02:45 I'm somewhat of an information vacuum...
02:47 I want to know what's happening in the news;
02:50 I want to know what's happening in the world;
02:53 I want to know what's happening in politics and religion.
02:56 I believe that ignorance is bliss to a certain degree,
03:01 but to be completely in the dark, means to
03:03 be completely unready and unprepared,
03:06 so I like to know what's going on.
03:09 And our world, right now, is in serious trouble.
03:14 We have come to the climate where it doesn't take
03:18 very many things to push us into a great crisis,
03:25 politically, economically, religiously.
03:29 With terrorism on one side and uncertainty on the other,
03:33 our world is grappling with a big question...
03:35 "Why are we where we are?"
03:37 And because people are not looking to the Word of God
03:41 for the answer, the "why" continues to remain unnoticed
03:47 in this pool of diverse options.
03:51 But I want you, for a moment, to consider why...
03:54 "Why" is a small word with a big impact
04:00 that all by itself "why" is a question.
04:04 Some of you as parents and grandparents may have been
04:07 caught into the vacuum of your grandchild or your little child
04:11 continuing to challenge you by saying, "Why mommy,"
04:14 and you tell them why.
04:16 "Why grandpa," and you say, "Well this is why."
04:20 "But why?" And they continue in the rhetoric of "why,
04:23 and the repetitiveness of "why" until you come
04:25 to the answer, "Well that's just how it is,"
04:27 and they say, "Why?"
04:29 "Why" is a small word, but it's a big question
04:33 that all by itself demands an answer.
04:37 "Why" has a brother and his name is "How"
04:41 that does not have the same effect on people as "why,"
04:45 but it is a part of the family trinity.
04:49 And last but not least in this family trio is "what?"
04:54 "Why," "how," and "what," and depending on where you
04:57 begin from, you can start with "what," "how," and "why."
05:01 But each one of these words are SO relevant to what
05:06 we do today - HOW we do what we do and WHY
05:11 we do what we do, that this morning I want to take you
05:14 down the road of "why," eventually getting to the
05:18 "what," and then ending on the "how."
05:21 Why, what and how... say that with me.
05:24 "Why, what and how."
05:28 Consider the following...
05:30 Often when we meet people, they ask the questions...
05:34 "What do you do?" They don't begin with "why,"
05:38 they often begin with "what."
05:39 "What do you do?"
05:40 And we now begin to unfold before them what we do.
05:44 But we don't ever tell them why we do it.
05:47 People often say, "What church do you attend,"
05:51 and then we go down the denominational list
05:54 which inevitably is a list of conflict because I'm
05:58 suggesting to you today that if Christians began with question:
06:02 "Why are we a member of THIS particular denomination?"
06:06 ...There would be less division and more unity.
06:10 But we often say, "why?" We often say, "what
06:13 church do you attend?"
06:15 And then, "What do you want to be?" we ask the young people.
06:18 Not "why" do you want to be that, but "what"
06:21 do you want to be?"
06:23 "What school do you attend?"
06:25 "What kind of car do you drive?"
06:28 We always begin with the word "what."
06:31 "What do you eat?" "What do you wear?"
06:34 "What town do you live in?"
06:38 The question "why" has now come to the forefront in
06:45 the minds of "The Fortune 500 Companies,"
06:49 the mega companies of America, mega corporations, schools,
06:55 businesses that after 20 or 30 years of being in business,
06:59 they have now decided - they've got to grapple with the
07:02 question, Why do they manufacture what they
07:06 manufacture - why do they exist?
07:10 And when you lose - hear me carefully this morning...
07:13 When you lose the "why" in your life, in your marriage,
07:19 in your walk as a Christian, in your role as a supervisor,
07:25 in your position as a parent or father or mother...
07:28 When you lose the "why," then the "what" and "how"
07:31 doesn't really matter.
07:33 Consider the following...
07:37 The question "why" used to always come in last
07:39 until people realized that "what" and "how"
07:42 is not as important as "why."
07:49 The year was 1984 and I want you to hear me carefully...
07:53 The Washington Redskins were playing the Los Angeles Raiders.
07:58 The day after the Raiders defeated the Redskins,
08:02 one would think that the talk of the town would be the
08:05 game; however, the question that eclipsed the Super Bowl
08:10 was - "Did you see that commercial?"
08:13 That was the question - not Did you enjoy the game?
08:16 But, did you see that commercial?
08:18 The commercial remembered long after Super Bowl 18 was over
08:24 was as follows...
08:28 Some marketing team came up with a scheme that
08:31 even 33 years later, for those who saw it,
08:35 they have not forgotten it.
08:38 It showed a long line of people dressed in gray...
08:43 remember that Pastor C.A.?
08:46 Long line of people dressed in gray, dingy outfits marching
08:53 lockstep in a trance into a large dimly lit gray,
09:01 smoky theater.
09:02 They were sitting on wood benches in front of a large
09:07 screen - no one made a sound.
09:10 This commercial lasted all of 1 minute and 4 seconds.
09:13 No one made a sound.
09:15 No one spoke a word.
09:19 The commercial was a portrayal of a totalitarian regime
09:24 holding sway over the population.
09:28 On the screen was a talking head - spewing rhetoric
09:31 that held the audience in a wide-eyed daze,
09:36 but suddenly - I said, SUDDENLY,
09:38 in the distance a running woman appeared.
09:41 In this sea of gray, she stood out with short blond hair,
09:47 a white top and a red runner's shorts.
09:51 She was in full sprint carrying a large sledge hammer in her
09:57 hands, if you've seen it you'd know what I'm talking about.
09:59 She was also being pursued as it were by police
10:03 in heavy riot gear - they were attempting, as best they could,
10:09 to prevent her from accomplishing her mission.
10:11 In this theater, people sitting in a trance, gray outfits,
10:16 gray room, gray atmosphere, she was running as if
10:21 everything in the future depended upon her
10:24 accomplishing her design.
10:26 Before they could catch her, she spun her body around twice
10:30 to give the sledge hammer momentum and then she
10:33 tossed it at the dismay of the police pursuing her,
10:36 at this giant screen with a force that was so powerful
10:41 it caused the screen to explode and the explosion
10:46 broke the crowd from their lethargy... can you see it?
10:51 As the commercial faded, the scrolling caption on the
10:55 screen was... "On January 24th,
11:00 Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh and you will see
11:05 why 1984 won't be like 1984."
11:12 When Macintosh was introduced, they didn't talk about
11:17 the features or the benefits of the product.
11:21 It was not about a differentiating value
11:24 proposition which is called the "DVP" in business meaning.
11:27 They didn't talk about why people would be willing to
11:31 pay more, but they discovered that people are willing to
11:37 pay more - hear me carefully...
11:39 ... if they see that the product is worth the value.
11:44 They said, "People WILL pay more."
11:45 In a world where computers are relatively cheap
11:48 and IBM dominated the market, where Dell held a massive
11:53 share of the market, Macintosh stepped up
11:56 to the plate and allowed their product to do ALL
11:59 the talking for them.
12:02 Advertisers said that it was less of a commercial
12:07 and more of a manifesto.
12:09 A manifesto simply is a declaration, a pronouncement,
12:13 or a statement.
12:15 And from January 1984 to the present, Apple has continued
12:21 to dominate sales by being able to remain relevant
12:25 and fresh to each generation.
12:29 The message of the commercial was simple.
12:31 The message of the Apple commercial was simple.
12:33 This gray room, this woman running in red and white,
12:36 the breaking of the screen, the breaking of individuals
12:39 out of their lethargy - their state of almost comatose...
12:42 The MESSAGE of the commercial was simple...
12:45 Apple said, "It is time to break from the status quo."
12:50 It is time to step out from being just like everybody else.
12:54 It is time to stand up and to be counted.
12:57 It is time to understand WHY we make computers.
13:01 It's time to give the people what they NEED
13:04 rather than just blending in and the sole intent
13:08 behind that commercial was to ignite a revolution around the
13:12 single word "why."
13:15 And if you pause for a moment, you'd say to yourself
13:18 that 33 years is a long time and although products
13:22 have changed and fashion has changed, the one thing that
13:25 never changed for Apple, and I read this just recently,
13:28 the one thing that never changed for Apple is...
13:32 "Why we do what we do."
13:38 Advertisers began to question
13:40 why Apple - even when they appeared to almost
13:43 lose their relevance, how they were able to adjust
13:47 and come back in such a mighty way - even though
13:49 their products was among some of the most
13:51 expensive on the market.
13:52 They still, today, remain relevant.
13:55 They looked at the need and they discovered that if we
13:58 fulfill the need, the DVP would take care of itself.
14:03 People are willing to invest - hear me carefully...
14:07 People are willing to invest in the very thing that they
14:11 see has lasting value.
14:14 Can I transition here... If they saw in us
14:19 that we exemplified and personified and communicated
14:24 that what we believe is important because of
14:29 WHY we believe it.
14:31 If they saw that what we do is important because of
14:34 WHY we do it, I believe they'll be more individuals
14:38 wanting OUR product because our "why" would never change.
14:43 You see "why" never changes.
14:45 Why you do - never changes.
14:47 HOW you do it and WHAT you are going to do next
14:49 may change, but why you do it never changes.
14:53 That's why baseball happens every year.
14:55 Why do they play baseball?
14:57 Because somebody has gotta be the champion.
14:59 Why is basketball never losing it's relevance?
15:01 Why is all the sports that happen from year-to-year,
15:03 moment-to-moment never lose their relevance
15:05 because they always answer the question "WHY?"
15:10 And so I'm suggesting to you today...
15:14 The "why" of Apple needs to become the why of
15:18 everything we do and the "why" in Apple was simply this...
15:22 Here is the "why." They said and it is still
15:25 their slogan today - "We exist, they said, to empower
15:30 individuals."
15:31 "We exist not to empower groups, but to empower individuals."
15:38 They now are their focus to the individual...
15:41 what we do and how we do it is not as important as
15:45 WHY we do it.
15:46 You see, when we are driven by the "why," then drive and
15:50 commitment will never change.
15:51 "Why" will shape "how" and make "what" valuable.
15:55 Now that I've got you confused, let me unconfuse you
15:59 because what, how and why can get you confused
16:03 if you don't understand the importance behind "why."
16:07 You see, on the heels of His farewell speech,
16:11 as Jesus began to ascend to His home and our home,
16:14 Rosemary, He made the sure promise to us that
16:19 He was not leaving to return where He was going.
16:25 When Jesus left, He told His disciples, "I've got a round
16:29 trip ticket." Amen?
16:32 Acts 1:9-10, you're turning in your Bibles with me...
16:36 When Jesus left, He said to His disciples, "I've got a
16:39 round trip ticket, I've been here for 3-1/2 years,
16:42 but when I come back, the best is yet to come."
16:45 And He left them with what I want to leave you with today.
16:48 He drove them with a single word "why."
16:55 In the church today, the Adventist Church, we boast
16:58 now being out since 1863, we boast our history
17:02 we boast our growing institutions,
17:04 we try to do everything we can, we try to do what we do
17:08 to gain membership, but I'd like to suggest to you
17:10 today if why we do what we do was the driving factor,
17:16 the what and the how would take care of itself.
17:20 Why do you do that, rather than WHAT you do?
17:25 Give me some time to unfold it... Acts 1:9-10
17:28 When Jesus left, He assured the disciples that He had a
17:34 round trip ticket. The Bible says...
17:50 While they do what? Watched
18:10 Two men stood by in white apparel.
18:13 I would suggest to you that these were not
18:14 ordinary men - these were angels.
18:16 You see, God always has angels.
18:19 The King always has security detail.
18:22 He always has His secret service with Him.
18:26 He is always escorted.
18:27 His importance demands the attention of holy angels.
18:31 They were there when He rose.
18:32 They followed Him in His life.
18:34 They announced His entrance into the world.
18:38 And they were there to witness His ascension and in this
18:41 context, at the ascension of Jesus, the disciples witnessed
18:46 for the first time - what human eyes had never seen before.
18:49 They saw Jesus leave.
18:52 They didn't see Him come, they saw Him leave,
18:55 and this sight was so captivating that heaven
19:01 had to interrupt the nostalgia in verse 11...
19:05 Go there with me... They were so captivated.
19:08 I mean, wouldn't you be - if you saw somebody ascending
19:11 to heaven? Come on now!
19:12 Wouldn't you be? Come on now... Amen?
19:14 If all of a sudden your friend said, "I'm leaving,"
19:16 and he decided to ascend in front of you,
19:19 and you stood there... "Uh Don, Don?"
19:29 "Don?" And all of a sudden,
19:32 he's just going up and up and up and up,
19:36 and all of a sudden, you can't see him anymore.
19:39 You're kind of waiting because in human reality,
19:42 we say, "What goes up, must come down."
19:46 I want to tell you today, Jesus went up and He will come down.
19:49 Come on, say Amen somebody...
19:51 But in the nostalgia of standing around,
19:54 Heaven had to interrupt this nostalgic memorable moment
19:59 with the question in verse 11.
20:09 Say the next word with me.
20:19 The Jesus that was with you every day...
20:22 this same Jesus, the Jesus that calmed the waters
20:27 in the most frightful moment of your life,
20:29 this same Jesus, the Jesus that took loaves
20:33 and fishes and fed the 5,000, this same Jesus,
20:37 the Jesus that you saw healed the lame,
20:40 raised the dead, give sight to the blind,
20:44 come on somebody, say Amen!
20:45 This same Jesus - Jesus left a resume so long that when
20:51 the book of John ended, He said - "If I would write
20:56 about everything that Jesus ever did...
20:59 Now I'm talking about 3-1/2 years of life...
21:01 because John was not in heaven with Jesus.
21:03 As-a-matter-of-fact, he wasn't called Jesus
21:04 until He came down here, but John still says...
21:07 let me go there with you... come on turn there with me.
21:09 John 21- let's go there, look at it, look at it...
21:13 "This same Jesus... Oh how beautiful it is
21:17 to have a connection with Jesus, can the church say Amen?
21:25 This same Jesus - John 21:25, when John put this there,
21:32 in other words, He says, I'm going to end my book
21:34 at chapter 21, but if I kept going, I wouldn't have enough
21:39 space! He said...
21:58 I mean, I'm in my 50s,
22:01 that's all I'm going to tell you.
22:02 But for someone to live for 3-1/2 years on earth,
22:09 just 3-1/2- how many children that are 3-1/2 years old
22:14 a parent would say, "If I wrote on everything
22:16 they did, I wouldn't have space to write it,
22:18 the world couldn't contain what they did."
22:19 I doubt that, but Jesus... but Jesus was so driven
22:23 by the "why," He came.
22:25 Jesus was so empowered by the "why," He came - that John said,
22:30 "If I took the time to tell you everything that He did,
22:34 and how He did it, and what He did, and how it impacted
22:39 the world, I suppose the world itself could not contain it."
22:42 One writer said, "If every stalk on earth was a quill,
22:47 and every man a scribe by trade, if the ocean was ink,
22:52 and the skies were parchment, there still would not be
22:58 enough room to talk about Jesus.
23:02 This same Jesus and in that very pivotal moment,
23:06 they began to remember... "Is He going to come back?"
23:09 This was the Jesus that went to the cross;
23:12 this was the Jesus that chose normal men.
23:16 Let me repeat that, ABNORMAL men, sinful men,
23:22 forgave them, empowered them, enlisted them,
23:27 commissioned them and this motley crew of individuals that
23:33 just don't know what's ahead of them are locked into the
23:35 moment looking at this same Jesus.
23:41 The focus of the question was not why are they gazing,
23:43 the focus of the question was "Why do you stand gazing?"
23:51 The angels were not troubled by the fact that they
23:54 were looking, the angels were troubled by the fact that
23:57 there was no activity.
23:59 Now they were standing, waiting for Jesus to come,
24:05 and when I read this text, in the context of the book
24:09 written by Simon Sinek, "Start With the Word Why,"
24:13 he pushed me into a corner that I had not been in before,
24:17 and he said to me, "John, how long you been preaching?"
24:20 "Thirty years"
24:21 "How long you been a pastor?" "Thirty years"
24:23 "How long you been married?" "Thirty-four years"
24:26 "Why?"
24:30 "Well because uh, uhm, because I like to preach."
24:39 "Why?" And he kept pushing me
24:47 to another "why."
24:53 And until the reason became, "I do what I do and the reason
25:01 why I do it - is my connection to Jesus...
25:07 Every other reason made no difference."
25:14 "Why are you a vegetarian?"
25:15 "Because it's a clean way to live."
25:17 Well, I wanna tell you, there are some atheists that
25:19 are better vegetarians than you are."
25:22 In the occult world, there are some people that don't eat
25:28 half of what we eat, so you cannot be a vegetarian
25:31 Just because it's a clean way to live.
25:33 Vegetarianism is not salvation,
25:35 it's a way to live! Amen somebody.
25:39 But "why you are" ought to be connected to Jesus.
25:47 When Jesus went up, he did not want his disciples
25:54 to remain inactive because I would suggest to you today
25:58 the passage in Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom
26:02 shall be preached in all the world for a witness
26:05 unto all nations and then shall the end come."
26:08 Until the gospel gets to the entire world,
26:11 Jesus will not return.
26:14 So we've got to ask ourselves a serious question...
26:19 "Why are we Seventh-day Adventist Christians?"
26:23 For you see, the disciples, long before 1863,
26:28 the disciples were Seventh-day Adventists.
26:32 Isn't that right? They kept the Sabbath,
26:35 and they looked forward to the Second Advent of Jesus.
26:37 So being a Seventh-day Adventist is not something that
26:41 happened in 1863- it happened when Jesus met the disciples,
26:46 and He empowered them with the words that He gave to them
26:49 in Matthew 28:18-20, go there with me...
26:52 Matthew 28:18-20- For you see Jesus was not just going up,
26:57 but He was about to turn up the power;
27:00 He was not just going up, but He was about to
27:02 turn up the power so that these disciples that were standing
27:05 gazing - and I want to say... "Waiting for Jesus to come
27:11 is not a good use of time." Amen!
27:19 Have you ever waited? It's the worst thing to do.
27:25 That's why, when I'm driving and I get to a light
27:28 that I know is long, you know what I do,
27:30 I don't wait, I do something, and have you noticed
27:39 that the moment you decide to do something
27:42 while you're waiting, what happens?
27:44 The light changes.
27:48 But if you just sit there waiting for the light to change,
27:53 it seems as though today, the light is longer
27:57 than it's ever been before.
27:58 I'm going somewhere with this.
28:01 If we just sit around waiting for Jesus to come,
28:04 it's going to seems like He just ain't coming back.
28:09 But if we get out of our seats and go into the streets,
28:14 and reach out to the highways and the hedges,
28:17 and to those who know and those who are still in darkness,
28:20 and those who have never heard the name of Jesus or those
28:23 brothers and sisters in Christ who just have not received
28:27 the truth as it is completely revealed in God's word,
28:30 if we get busy as we wait for the coming of Jesus,
28:34 it will seem as though Jesus is coming tomorrow.
28:43 The angels were not upset that they were looking,
28:45 the angels were upset that they were just standing looking.
28:49 Look at the word there - that word is a sense of inactivity.
28:54 "Why do you stand gazing?"
28:56 The fact of the matter is Jesus is coming again and they were
28:59 concerned, "Will you at this time restore Jerusalem?"
29:02 The Lord said, "It's not up to you to know
29:03 the times and the seasons which the Father put in My own hand."
29:06 It is not up to us and so often we are so determined
29:09 that we want to know when Jesus comes,
29:11 we look at EVERY prophetic sign...
29:13 Okay, all the four beasts of Daniel are fulfilled.
29:17 We're down to the last beast of Daniel.
29:20 Yes, the undescript iron-toothed beast that represents Rome.
29:24 Okay, good - there ain't no more after that.
29:27 We're at the seventh church of the seven churches,
29:29 we're in Laodicea - ain't no more churches after that.
29:32 Praise God for prophecy.
29:39 But I'm going to suggest to you... because we know that,
29:43 because we know that, it ought to motivate us
29:48 to do all we can, all in our power to hasten the coming of
29:53 our Lord. Amen? Amen!
29:58 It's easy to say, "Well... and I think part of the
30:00 challenge we have down here is we have a whole lot of
30:03 satellites over there doing the work for us.
30:08 But thank God for people like John, Don and Janelle and
30:13 before that Joe O'Brien and all our ministry departments
30:16 that are active - thank God for those that ARE active,
30:19 but I have been told by inspiration, Ellen White says,
30:22 "The Holy Spirit will not be poured out corporately until
30:27 the majority of the church is working for the
30:30 coming of Jesus.
30:32 So what does the devil want us to do?
30:33 He wants us to stand here gazing...
30:36 Do you think He's coming before the next presidency?
30:43 He should have come before this one.
30:47 No Amen is necessary.
30:51 That was not a political statement.
30:56 Do you think global warming is a sign
30:58 that Jesus is coming soon?
31:01 You know what the sign of the coming of Jesus is?
31:03 His church getting busy, that's what the sign is.
31:08 "Blessed is the man when the Lord comes, so find him doing."
31:12 The Lord is looking for an active church,
31:14 not a church that just has a belief because I would
31:16 suggest to you that if while we are looking for Jesus
31:19 does not affect how we use our time,
31:21 then what we believe doesn't matter.
31:24 If WHY we are looking for the return of Jesus does not
31:29 affect how we use the time He has given us,
31:31 then WHAT we believe doesn't matter.
31:37 Because Apple said, "People don't buy what you make,
31:40 they buy WHY you make it," and it's true to this very day.
31:48 Matthew 28:18-20, that's where you are and I'm reading
31:53 this in the King James Version for there's a particular
31:55 reason I want to make that's included in this translation...
32:02 And He said to them, "All power is given Me in... where?
32:06 Heaven and in... earth.
32:09 Go ye therefore and do... what?
32:11 "Teach all nations."
32:13 You know, when Donald said "Benton,"
32:16 in my mind I said, "Why not Thompsonville? Come on...
32:20 Why not West Frankfort? Why not Galatia?
32:25 Why not Metropolis?"
32:27 We've got a responsibility to plant in every field
32:31 around us, but I can understand...
32:34 You know, sometimes we think "Well, I would do more,
32:37 if more people would respond, but I don't know how many
32:40 people I'm going to get, so I'm going to narrow it
32:41 down to Benton - if we could start there."
32:44 But I would like to suggest to you, the more feet on the
32:46 ground, the more preparation for the coming of Jesus.
32:49 The more people will know that Jesus is soon to come.
32:52 And He has called us to take our time and use it in preparation
32:58 for His soon return.
33:00 Jesus said to them, "All power is given unto Me."
33:04 How much power church? All power...
33:06 In heaven and in earth and here's the commission...
33:24 And I like this part... "And lo, I am with you how often?
33:27 ALWAYS, even unto the end of the world."
33:31 Why we are looking for Jesus to return does not affect
33:34 how we use our time than what we believe
33:37 does not matter.
33:38 We have often tried to convince people to follow Jesus
33:43 by what we believe... follow me carefully.
33:47 What do you believe?
33:48 I believe in the Sabbath.
33:50 I believe that when you die, you rest in the grave.
33:53 I believe that we're living in the hour of judgment.
33:56 I believe in the literal, visible, physical
33:59 second coming of Christ.
34:00 And they say, "Oh that's well, that's supported by Scripture,"
34:03 and oftentimes people become Seventh-day Adventist
34:07 Christians based on the fact that when you walk
34:10 through our 28-Fundamentals, the reality is
34:13 you cannot argue with them because they are
34:14 Scripturally based.
34:17 But, if you become a Christian intellectually and not become
34:20 one in your heart, then you don't have any
34:23 motive to do anything to get anybody else where you
34:25 already are.
34:37 And I suggest if that was the only "why" that Jesus used,
34:41 then they wouldn't be as motivated as they were,
34:44 but there was another "why" that Jesus had introduced to them.
34:47 Let's go to Luke 24:1... There was another "why"
34:50 that preceded this second "why."
34:55 Luke 24:1-6... "Now on the first day of the week, Luke 24:1,
35:02 The first "why" - "Very early in the morning
35:08 THEY and certain other women with them came to the
35:12 tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
35:16 But they found the stone - what?
35:19 Rolled away from the tomb.
35:30 That behold - there they are again.
35:34 Two men, I would suggest the same two men that was
35:37 at the ascension of Jesus, Angels...
35:41 Two men stood by them in shining garments.
35:49 They said to them - what did they say?
35:52 "Why?" Why do you seek the living among the dead?
35:56 He is not here, but is risen."
35:58 Can the church say Amen?
36:00 We don't serve a dead Lord, we serve a risen Lord.
36:03 There is no... let me make it clear - there is NO
36:05 religion or philosophy on the planet that can claim
36:10 that their Lord or their leader is still alive today.
36:21 They go to honor Him at this tomb and that tomb
36:24 in this shrine and that shrine, but we don't have a
36:27 hole in the ground where our Lord is - He is risen.
36:30 Come on church, say Amen. Amen!
36:32 But here's the question... You see the "why" of the
36:36 risen Savior REVIVED the disciples.
36:39 The "why" of the ascended Savior empowered the disciples.
36:42 You see because He has risen, and because He ascended,
36:47 the reviving of their hopes became the
36:50 empowerment of their mission.
36:51 They said, "Wait a minute, we thought that when
36:54 He went to the cross, that was it!"
36:56 That wasn't it - Jesus went to the cross to bring us with Him.
37:00 But when He comes back again, He's gonna take us with Him,
37:03 but between the going to the cross and going to heaven,
37:06 there's a work that God has called every one of us to do,
37:09 and the good news of the risen Savior was what they preached...
37:13 But the promise of the returning Savior was WHY they preached.
37:18 The risen Savior, what they preached,
37:21 the promise of His return was "why" they preached,
37:25 and I say to you today, Christianity is greatly
37:27 divided because of what we believe.
37:30 Baptists argue with Adventists.
37:32 Catholic argue with Pentecostals.
37:35 Presbyterians argue with Jehovah Witnesses.
37:38 But I'd like to suggest to you today - if we examine why
37:41 our beliefs are what they are and measured it by the
37:44 Bible, I would say today, the walls of separation
37:48 would come down.
37:53 Praise the Lord.
37:57 Thank you Bob.
38:00 If Christians today... we don't bring down the walls
38:05 to follow the pope, we bring down the walls
38:08 to follow Jesus.
38:09 We don't bring down the walls just to agree,
38:12 when you study God's word, it will bring the walls down.
38:18 I cannot forget Harmon and Helen...
38:22 Harmon is now resting in Jesus...
38:24 You see the "why" is powerful...
38:26 The "why" will rip you from your lackadaisical position
38:29 as a Christian and FORCE you to determine
38:33 where your future is going to be.
38:34 Harmon showed up - you may remember,
38:36 for this has been a number of years ago.
38:37 "Harmon," I never forgot, we were ending prayer meeting...
38:40 One Wednesday night in the sanctuary, right here...
38:44 and Harmon and his wife stood over there and after the
38:47 meeting was done, I walked over to them...
38:49 I said, "He looked like a stately gentleman,
38:51 he looked like an elder... I said, "Are you an
38:52 elder in the Adventist Church?"
38:55 He said, "Naow," you know Harmon.
38:57 I said, "Are you a deacon?" "Naow."
39:01 I said, "Are you a member?" "Naow."
39:04 I said, "Are you visiting through ABN?" "Naow."
39:07 I said, "Then what brings you here?" "You."
39:09 I said, "Explain."
39:12 He said, "About 6 months ago
39:16 when you were doing "House Calls,"
39:18 you challenged me - you said, "Why do you go...
39:22 WHY do you go to church on Sunday?"
39:25 And I said, "Look up these five words and whatever
39:27 you follow, whatever your discover, take it to your
39:30 pastor and ask him to explain it."
39:33 Look up - Saturday, Sunday, 7th day, first day and Sabbath.
39:36 And he said, "I did that and that's why I'm here."
39:45 In his 70s, his wife in her 70s, he was an elder
39:49 in his church 39 years, his wife - treasurer 37 years.
39:52 They were where they were because of WHAT they believed,
39:57 and it defined HOW they worshipped,
40:00 but when they asked the question, "WHY we are
40:03 where we are and WHY we believe what we believe,"
40:07 it ripped them from 39 and 37 years of being
40:11 in an "almost" place to where God wanted them to be.
40:18 I said, "Tell me the story."
40:19 He said, "Well I went to my pastor and I asked him
40:21 "why, why?"
40:22 He said, "Why?" What did he say, "Why,
40:24 pastor, WHY don't we keep the Sabbath, WHY?"
40:28 The pastor said, "Look, I'm the pastor, you're the member...
40:31 I preach, you listen."
40:33 That was his testimony
40:35 He said, "That ain't good enough."
40:36 So he got upset and went away for 2 weeks
40:38 down to Alabama in his fifth wheel.
40:39 Came back and said, "Pastor, "I'm going to ask you again,"
40:41 "Why don't we talk about the Sabbath?"
40:43 He said, "Well, in this church you will no longer
40:45 be teaching Sunday School, you are no longer an elder,
40:47 you'll be sitting down from this point on."
40:50 He said, "That's not good enough."
40:52 He took him to the office and he stood there talking
40:54 to the pastor and he looked at the bible and he said,
40:56 "Pastor, I notice your Bible is highlighted so much,
40:59 so WHY don't we keep the Sabbath?"
41:01 He said, "Well the things that are highlighted in my Bible
41:04 ... I never forgot this... he said, "The things that are
41:07 highlighted are the things they told me
41:08 NEVER to talk about."
41:14 And then the next Sunday, he asked him one more time...
41:17 "Pastor, WHY don't you talk about the Sabbath."
41:20 He said, "Look, you got the problem, you solve it."
41:23 He said, "I am, I'm going to the Adventist Church."
41:26 Laughter... And he came here and they got baptized,
41:29 well in their 70s... his son, Mike and Mary,
41:33 they said, when I met them, "Our dad has lost his mind!"
41:38 Four months later, they got baptized, come on say Amen!
41:41 You see, when you ask the question "WHY?"
41:43 it may look like your mind is SHOT,
41:45 but the Bible will clear up any mind that seems to be wandering.
41:49 The Word of God is a Book of light,
41:51 and I would suggest to you, the turning point in every
41:54 Christian will come when we examine what we believe
41:57 and measure it by the word of God...
41:59 But what's happening in the world today is Christians
42:02 Fare not like the Bereans.
42:03 Look at Acts 17:11- They're not like the Bereans,
42:06 they are not like the New Testament Church.
42:08 When somebody says, "I'm a New Testament Christian,
42:11 I'd say, "Well if you are, then you must be examining
42:14 the Scriptures!" Look at the Bible...
42:16 The Bereans... The Bible says...
42:27 And they searched the Scriptures how often?
42:34 You know, you might be listening on the radio
42:37 right now to this sermon or maybe watching it on television,
42:39 I don't know where you are, but I want to ask you,
42:41 I want to challenge you... Why are you a Baptist?
42:43 Why are you a Presbyterian?
42:44 Why are you a Catholic?
42:46 Why are you a Lutheran?
42:47 And I want you to challenge everything you believe by
42:50 God's word!
42:55 But there's no third category...
42:57 God's not coming back for denominations,
42:59 He's coming back for those who serve Him and worship Him
43:01 in Spirit AND in truth.
43:05 And I would suggest to you today that Scriptural
43:07 integrity has been weakened by WHAT we believe
43:10 rather than why we believe it.
43:12 You cannot read the Bible and end up in the dark.
43:15 You cannot study the Scriptures and end up
43:17 in the wrong place and I would also like to add that when you
43:22 study the Bible, whatever didn't make sense
43:24 will make sense when you let the Bible supersede
43:27 what you precede - let the Bible be the guide.
43:31 2 Timothy 3:16- Here's why God has given us His word...
43:35 He says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
43:39 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
43:44 for instruction in righteousness."
43:46 When you read the word of God, and you follow the word of God,
43:50 the word of God is a light, it will always lead us
43:52 out of darkness into this marvelous light.
43:55 The Psalmist David said...
43:59 But I had to ask the question... Then why are so many
44:04 Christians in the dark and I bumped into the
44:07 "Protestant Reformation," and during the "Dark Ages,"
44:13 just before the Protestant Reformation was born,
44:17 Roman Catholicism had come up with a method
44:23 that has become today one of the single most
44:26 prominent reasons why there is so much darkness
44:29 in other churches.
44:33 Listen to the record... According to Roman Catholic
44:37 theology, there are two sources of revelation which constitutes
44:42 a single, what they call, "deposit of faith,"
44:45 meaning the entirety of divine revelation and the belief
44:50 for the deposit of faith, they say is transmitted
44:53 to successive generations in two methods...
44:56 in "sacred Scripture" and what they call "sacred tradition."
45:01 "Sacred Scripture" and they decide what
45:05 "sacred tradition" is.
45:08 And then they said, "These interpretations are
45:10 communicated through what they call, The Magisterium."
45:14 In other words, the magisterium of the Catholic Church is a
45:18 board of authority, a clergy made up of the pope and
45:21 the bishops and THEY decide, as they look at the Bible,
45:26 they decide - hear me carefully, they decide what in the Bible
45:31 matches their tradition.
45:34 If the Bible doesn't match their tradition,
45:38 they leave it out.
45:40 In 1565, Pope Reggio elevated tradition above the Bible...
45:46 How else can people keep Sunday with no Scriptural authority,
45:50 and find that Sunday satisfies because they have not
45:53 stood on God's word...
45:55 They haven't asked "Why do I observe Sunday?"
46:01 Let the Bible be the final authority. Amen somebody!
46:04 And the main reason why we should not take man's word
46:07 above God's word is that Paul the Apostle warned
46:11 his protégé Timothy.
46:12 In 1 Timothy 4:1, he says, "Now the Spirit expressly says,
46:17 that in latter times... Are we living in latter times?
46:31 That's the hour in which we're living today.
46:33 "Doctrines of demons."
46:35 The unfortunate thing and the beautiful thing...
46:37 the unfortunate thing is some people are in darkness;
46:40 the beautiful thing is Jesus is not content to leave those
46:45 that love Him in darkness.
46:49 He doesn't like Babylon, but He says, "My people
46:52 are there."
46:53 An as a church, if there's ever a time that we need to
46:56 preach with fervency and dedication,
46:58 the "Three Angels Messages," I want to pause and say this...
47:02 Thank the Lord, I'm not exulting an individual,
47:06 but I don't believe that Three ABN would have had a
47:09 32-year-history if Danny forgot that the reason WHY
47:14 it exists is to preach an undiluted Three Angels Messages,
47:21 one that will counteract the counterfeit.
47:24 The single most important reason WHY it still exists today
47:28 in spite of all the bombs that have been shot at it;
47:31 in spite of all the innuendos and the false reports,
47:35 and the stories and the books written to try to sink
47:37 this wafting ship - it still stands today because we have
47:42 not forgotten why we are here.
47:44 ANY institution would lose its relevance when they forget
47:49 why they're there.
47:51 You don't sell ice cream because people want ice cream.
47:54 And then they give you surveys, 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed
47:58 recommend "Trident," you remember that commercial?
48:00 Trident! Who told you that they speak for us?
48:04 Why you do what you do must be the motivation
48:08 when you grip the call of God when you proclaim
48:12 unashamedly but lovingly a message designed to bring
48:17 people out of darkness, it will accomplish
48:19 what God has ordained for it to accomplish...
48:22 And I say today, that God has called us to be an unashamed
48:27 people, but a people filled with the love of those that
48:31 do not yet know what God's word says.
48:36 But there is something that's equally debilitating...
48:40 What can be worse than being in darkness is knowing
48:43 the truth and not allowing it to impact the way we live.
48:48 It's one thing to be in darkness,
48:49 it's one thing to be deceived, but it's something all together
48:52 different to say, "I know, but what I know has no
48:55 impact on how I live.
48:57 That's why the "what" is your belief;
48:59 the "why" is your authority and your inspiration.
49:02 WHY do I believe the Bible's Sabbath is from
49:07 sunset Friday to sunset Sabbath?
49:10 You see I'm not just talking to you, there are people
49:12 that are listening; there are people that will be driving
49:16 in their cars; sitting at home on their televisions
49:19 that need to know the message, I don't just want to
49:22 talk to the choir.
49:23 God has given us the responsibility to plant seeds
49:26 in those lives of this community and the hearts
49:30 and minds of those around the world.
49:35 So what I believe will never be the driving force,
49:38 but WHY I believe it will always maintain
49:41 the driving force.
49:43 Fashions will change, time will change,
49:45 but WHY I do what I do will never change.
49:50 That's why ever year, somebody is
49:52 fighting for the championship.
49:54 The WHOLE purpose of 106 games season in baseball,
49:58 in 80 games in the NBA, and however many games
50:01 in football and however many games in hockey,
50:04 the only thing that motivates, the only reason WHY they
50:07 do it is because somebody needs to win.
50:11 Isn't that ridiculous?
50:13 Billions of dollars every year, so at the very end
50:16 somebody could say... "I won."
50:21 But I want to tell you if people can be motivated
50:27 to go and watch a leather ball being thrown
50:29 through a metal hoop.
50:31 I love the game but I love Jesus more than I love the game.
50:36 And this thing that the Lord has given to us
50:39 should always motivate us to go beyond just what we do
50:44 and how we do it.
50:46 You see we argue about what we do and how we do it,
50:50 but if why we do it is the motivating force,
50:56 then it will impact the hearts and lives of everyone
51:02 who firmly believes that Jesus is coming again.
51:08 Today, I want to challenge you, today I want to ask you to
51:15 ask yourself the question why,
51:17 why am I a Seventh-day Adventist,
51:20 why do I come to church, WHY?
51:25 Why do I believe what I believe?
51:32 Why have I given my life or have I given my life,
51:37 or why have I not given my life to what I believe.
51:42 The ultimate authority behind WHY and WHAT and HOW
51:49 we do it should always be Jesus.
51:53 We don't have to know Jesus to desire
51:54 to keep the commandments, but if we know WHY
51:56 the commandments should be kept, then how we keep them
52:01 will be a blessing.
52:02 We don't have to be kind, but if we know Jesus
52:08 WHY we are kind will affect how we live.
52:12 We don't have to know Jesus to be vegan and vegetarians,
52:17 but if why we eat that way and live that way is
52:20 because we know WHY Jesus, it will affect how we live.
52:29 The answer to the question why will affect everything we do.
52:35 Why would David try to fight a giant?
52:39 Why would Daniel risk the lion's den?
52:42 Why would the Hebrews even want the chance going into the
52:50 furnace of fire?
52:51 Why? Because they had a connection with God.
52:59 They had a connection with not just their Jewish beliefs,
53:03 nor traditions that they learned before they were exiles
53:07 in Babylon - they had a connection with God.
53:11 Today, if you don't have a connection with God,
53:19 I want you to ask the question why?
53:23 And I would suggest to you that if you ask the question why,
53:29 and turn to God's word, you'll discover that the
53:34 answer to the question why will always be Jesus.
53:40 And when the answer comes clear, and we can stand firm on
53:43 our what, we can firm on our how, but we've got to begin
53:52 with our why.
53:53 And then finally, when the why, what and how are all together,
53:58 we could answer the question of the angels...
54:02 "Why do you stand gazing?"
54:03 I don't want to just look for Jesus to come,
54:06 I want to work for the coming of our Lord, what do you say?
54:09 I want to invite Pastor Joe Arner to come, come on Brother Joe,
54:12 Pastor Joe.
54:14 I love this man, we've had so many conversations,
54:18 we've had a lot of prayer together.
54:21 We're praying for the Arner family.
54:22 When God calls a man, He does not revoke that call.
54:26 Can the church say Amen?
54:29 We're praying for God to... I'm going to ask
54:30 just before our closing song, but first I'm going to
54:36 ask Pastor Joe to pray.
54:40 He used to drive so far every day just to bring his daughters
54:46 to our school years ago, Rachel and Joella,
54:51 and one of them is going to be getting married soon.
54:54 Very soon... Very soon.
54:56 You get close to the microphone, but I'm going to ask you
54:59 this morning, Pastor Joe, to pray that the people of God,
55:03 your family, all of us, will ask ourselves why are we
55:10 Christians, why are we Adventists, why do we do what
55:12 we do and I hope that the answer to that will cause us not
55:17 to just stand gazing but to get busy about the coming of Jesus.
55:22 Why don't you pray for us this morning?
55:26 Father in Heaven, We're here with our hearts
55:30 having been prodded by Your word.
55:34 We felt the warmth from being close to You
55:37 in the presence of Jesus, but we know also that the
55:40 closer we come to You, the more deeply You are a
55:45 part of our lives - the hotter the flame becomes and the
55:50 warmth becomes burning embers within us.
55:55 Lord, some of us have been warm for a long time.
55:59 Some have been just longing to be warm.
56:05 Lord, You know the heart of every individual,
56:07 we're all part of Your family, we're all Your children,
56:10 and we're all wanting You to come soon.
56:14 We live in a world that reminds us daily that it is not
56:19 what You intended it to be.
56:20 From our own personal lives to the experiences that we see
56:25 around us, the music that we hear sharing those same stories,
56:33 and Lord, we're thankful that we have not followed
56:37 cunningly devised fables, that You have made a promise
56:42 that You're going to follow through with
56:44 and we don't want to be among those individuals who have
56:47 said, "My Lord has delayed His coming," and begin
56:50 to smite one another.
56:52 Lord, we want to be among those individuals who have said
56:55 "My Lord has delayed His coming" so that we can
56:59 SHARE, we can tell MORE, we can increase the harvest,
57:05 and we would ask You, Lord, humbly on our knees,
57:09 You would, Father, forgive us for our sins
57:12 that You would fill us deeply, fully with the power
57:16 of the Holy Spirit and that, Lord, we might
57:19 rise to the feet to the calling that You have given
57:22 to each of us to go out into the field of labor
57:25 that You have set before us and that Your name would be
57:28 glorified and that when You do come,
57:32 we would all rise up together arm-in-arm with great
57:36 smiles on our faces with joy unexpressible
57:40 of what You have done for us.
57:43 Thank You Jesus for Pastor John, for Angela, for their ministry
57:48 here in this church and for every individual here,
57:51 You're touching hearts today.
57:53 May each one of us come closer to You as we look forward
57:57 to Your coming soon.
57:59 In Your Holy Name we ask... Amen


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Revised 2018-01-23