01/May/2021 - Hamilton Sabbath Worship Experience

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] do [Music] [Music] so [Music] god bless you friends good morning god bless you friends good morning good morning good morning and welcome to lagos university ah what a joy what an absolute joy it is it's important for you to recognize this morning this is my penultimate time as the superintendent uh for sabbath school i think i have just one more just one more next week and then we should be able to welcome back our illustrious superintendent in that of sister chanel bean listen it's very dreary on the outside here in bermuda i pray wherever you are you are safe you are sound but we welcome you to logos university to this morning and we pray that you are blessed that you are ultimately blessed by this study today to kick us off of course the very faithful elder joseon smith is going to lead us right now in our song service may you be blessed as you join in with the singing this morning amen hallelujah happy sabbath everyone we're going to begin by singing him number 294 so every one of you at home get your hymns get your phones get your ipads out we're going to sing power in the blood amen would you be free today if you'll be free join with me in singing power in the blood would you be free from your burden of sin there is [Music] there is power power [Music] working [Music] of the for jesus [Music] in the blood [Music] blood of the lamb amen let's turn with me to him two one six and that roll is called up yonder i plan on being there i hope you plan on being there this morning him two 216-216 when the road is called up yonder when the trumpet of the lord shall sound and time shall be blown and the morning breaks eternal bright and [Music] on their near beyond the shore and the rule is caught up yonder i'll be there [Music] [Laughter] is [Music] and the glory of his resurrection when his chosen one shall gather to their home beyond the skies and the roll is [Music] let us [Music] is [Music] praise the lord indeed what a blessing it is absolutely at this time we are reaching a very special uh landmark here at the hamilton church and also here at lagos university uh the truth of the matter is is that we are just a few people away from having 5 000 subscribers and so at this time we're asking if you're watching for the first time if you're uh just joining or you're a person that watches all the time and you haven't subscribed yet uh our superintendent wants you to subscribe right now go ahead and click on the subscribe button and also to help spread and help people to be drawn into today's lesson study please also click the like button at the bottom of your youtube screen so click that like button at the same time click subscribe and maybe today maybe today gentlemen will be the day that we cross over five thousand next week next week uh lagos university will have been in existence for one year can the church say amen for one year and so we also want to have both of those celebrations uh next week so we invite you to come on out be a part of us next week as we thank god for how marvelous he has blessed us this past year this past year hey listen gentlemen we want to go ahead and jump into our study but first we want to go ahead and have an opening prayer we want to have an opening prayer and i believe it is elder uh burgess i think that's going to pray for us this particular morning let's open up with the word of prayer and then we'll jump right in father we thank you so much again for keeping us it is dreary outside loving god but the sun the sun the of your presence is here within us and so we give you thanks and praise today there are others who need to hear a word from your love and god we know that we ourselves have been touched by the fact that we can rely on we can trust god and so today loving god if anything that we speak today we pray that this word might addify you that people might come to trust you and know you even more there are other sabbath school platforms and zoom platforms out there loving god that are studying this world also we pray that this world might circle the earth that your name and your name alone might be magnified and praised in jesus name amen amen amen amen what a blessing what a blessing it is to be here [Music] [Music] my goodness yes yes yes yes yes hey listen everyone we are absolutely delighted that you have joined us here it is so rainy and dreary uh right now outside here in bermuda but we are here to share the light and the sunshine of god's love all across the world listen today we have some amazing panelists the three panelists that have been with us this quarter uh we are thankful that they have joined us again today we are blessed and they want just to send out a special note just these three they want to send out a special note uh to our superintendent chanel beat as to how much they miss they say i do things in different order and all this kind of stuff you know but the truth of the matter is is that uh we indeed uh look forward soon to her return uh in this capacity in any case in any case i want to just tap into the fact that we are blessed and we are blessed again to have our first panelists up today is elder joswan smith uh how are you doing kind sir uh and how has the lord blessed you this past week well i'm doing great um this week has been a little bit challenging but uh always good to sort of settle in and just place your trust in god to get to get you through so i'm doing all right praise the lord praise the lord we thank god for uh your willingness to serve in many capacities uh here at our church and we thankful for the music this morning we thank you for uh your deep study of god's word uh next up we want to welcome again this morning uh elder jamal allboy he uh is back with us again today we are thankful for his presence talk to me how was your week tell us uh something that you are thankful for uh this week as you sit on the panel well good morning uh thankful what i'm thankful for this morning someone came to mind as i was preparing to come up today actually was grateful and so ungrateful by hezekiah walker and with everything that's going on with india with saint vincent i can simply just say that i'm grateful for what god has allowed me to have life he has allowed me to have health and to be in a position where i'm able to be a part of his study so i'm just grateful absolutely absolutely elder burgess i know it's dreary on the outside man but there's always there's always something to be thankful for you know the truth of the matter is for many especially here in bermuda these are nothing but showers of blessing that's right these are nothing but showers of blessing but talk to me talk to me about the goodness of god as you have come through another week well first i i would say i'm thankful just on this day of actually arriving here and being dry you know sometimes that doesn't quite happen with me so uh you know i'm thankful for that but i would say that you know this week like you know we watch those sorts of things go on you know people are still dying from code you know and and yet even with all of this that we're dealing with there's still hope at the end of it and i i know many people are sorry but yeah i i i guess i want to encourage people to look to a brighter day to a better day when this is going to be over we'll we'll move on and and we'll be looking continue to look for the soon return of jesus christ i i give thanks for that the hope that i have in that sense that god has been faithful over and over and over and continues to do so amen very interesting note that you brought that up but for those that watch all over the world that could be wondering well how could elder burgess get wet how could he get wet on his way to church uh why wouldn't he just you know get in his car and come well some of you may or may not know but here in bermuda uh we are only allowed because it's a small country one car per household and because of that many persons are also ride bikes they also ride bikes and elder burgers you know you know he's trying to turn back the clock you know what i'm saying so he likes to ride a bike all around you know all around town back and forth to work and to church uh and so he's thankful that he got here before the rain fell yesterday before the rain fell and we praise god for that today listen gentlemen let's go ahead and get into our study for today let's go ahead and jump right in let us take a look at matthew chapter 28 matthew chapter 28 and verse 20. uh we're gonna go to god's word translation new king james version and the message bible talk to me uh elder oh boy what does it say the bible says teach them to do everything i have commanded you and remember that i am always with you until the end of time yes king new king james version teaching them to observe all things that i have commanded you and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age message bible says then instruct them in the practice of all i have commanded you i'll be with you as you do this day after day after date right up to the end of the age right up to the end of the age god was abraham's shield in our story that we find in our lesson this week we found a young girl and her father who are out swimming and the tide begins to sweep them out dad recognizes that the tide is sweeping them out and realizes he needs to go back and get help because he can't get his daughter back in and himself by his own strength and so he simply tells his daughter i'll be back while you're waiting for me just float just float and i will come back and find you lesson points out how after a huge search goes on they finally find the little girl and she is floating and she is at peace and she's not afraid she's not scared because she trusted in what her father said she waited by faith for the promise that dad would come back and pick her up it's very important as we jump into this uh particular lesson to understand that indeed god is or wars and continues to be not just the shield of abraham but the shield of his seed it's important to realize that when we look at this particular lesson that the messiah came when he came they didn't receive him the descendants of abraham rejected him the descendants of abraham did not acknowledge him they were so blinded by the precon preconceptions that they rejected jesus most of the children of the promise missed out all god's promises are yes in jesus we are to lift up christ before the nations the question must be asked how are you sharing the savior of the world in your life when we look at it from an exegetical standpoint it's important to realize that this i i am this ego a me i i am i am the one that will be with you always not just this word meaning the end of the age but the end of time we understand that time began with this creation of this world and there is coming a time when time will be no more and it's important to realize that the one that was there at the beginning will also be there at the end it's important to realize evangelistic must be holistic we take a look at this particular text matthew chapter 28 and verse 20. it's important to realize that evangelistic must be holistic if non-christians are not hearing the gospel then we are not following christ at the same time if new converts are not faithfully nurtured into all that god reveals then we have also failed and disobeyed with the second part of the command of this text i will be with you until you see me coming in the clouds of glory god has called us to be disciple makers but the final word of the gospel is christ centered for if we fail god remains faithful till the end of time if we will take the promise to ourselves the blessing of heaven the blessings of heaven await us lo i am with you always even unto the end of the world christ took humanity upon himself he clothed his divinity with humanity he stands at the head of humanity not as a human but as a savior because he is sinless he can save us and put us back on the vantage ground with god christ is our sanctification and righteousness faith must allow christ to be your personal savior there is no spot or stain on christ so just believe and trust recognizing your helplessness to save yourself you reach out and grab jesus hand who can save you be of good share i have overcome the world and will be with you to the end thou shalt call his name jesus and he shall save his people from their sins we may overcome as christ overcame he is a rock in a weary land he's our righteousness he is a shelter in the time of storm listen man let's go ahead and jump right into sunday's lesson let's get deep into this lesson today i want us to go to genesis chapter 15 verses 1 to 3 genesis the 15th chapter verses 1 to 3. we're going to go with the new revised standard version the new king james and then the message genesis chapter 15 verses 1 1-3 new revised standard version reads after these things the word of god came to abram in a vision do not be afraid abram i am your shield your reward shall be very great but abram said o lord god what will you give me for i continue childless and the heir of my house is eliezer of damascus and abram said you have given me no offspring and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir new king james virgin after these things the word of the lord came to abram in a vision saying do not be afraid abram i am your shield your exceeding great reward but abram said lord god what will you give me seeing i go childless and the heir of my house is eliezer of damascus then abraham said look you have given me no offspring indeed one born in my house is my ear and the message bible says after all these things this word of god came to abram in a vision don't be afraid abram excuse me i'm your shield your reward will be grand abraham said god master what use are your gifts as long as i'm childless and eliasa of damascus is going to inherit everything abram continued see you've given me no children and now i'm and now a mere host servant is going to get it all ah elder smith i need you to take us into this study because abraham has some concerns and i believe that the concerns that abraham has is the concerns that many have in our community even those that are listening today and that is how long uh how long must we wait how long god must i wait for the promises that you have promised to me how long if you would uh must i wait for my deliverance how long uh must i wait for actually what you promised understand that abraham what he's doing is not just simply prayer but it's actually supplication he's asking for something that god has already promised and he's saying you said i'm gonna get all this stuff you said i'm gonna get all this stuff but it begins with the sun it begins with a child you're telling me all these promises but where is my son help us to understand sunday's lesson elder smith amen well thy shield sunday's lesson i found very interesting it's always been interesting but again from week to week it just gets more and more interesting starting right off with this with this text i noticed it said after these things so i had to go back and ask well after what yeah exactly you know why why is it important that at this point the word of god came to abraham that's indeed after these things well if we go back in in genesis from chapter um chapter 14 and 15 we see that they're going through some some stuff as their left lot gets captured and abraham takes some guys and goods and and and gets his nephew back so they're going through a little struggle at this point and then he uh he he uh pays a tithe to melchizedek but in all of this he's he's discussing uh the king of sodom and the fact that he said he would take nothing from from from right uh if you go back he says that i will take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap and that i will take not take anything that is yours lest you should say i have made abraham rich come on now yeah so abraham is good through this and it's at this point that he's going through these these trials and struggles it's at this point that the word of god comes to abraham now the very fact i like that that statement the word of the lord came unto abraham because we're talking about the same word that formed the world the same word that created everything he now brings this word the same power the same authority to abraham to assure listen i know you're going through a lot of stuff but i will be your shield i am your your shield when it ends he says and thy exceedingly great reward now what greater reward is there that to have god on our side i mean for god himself to come to you and say hey i'm basically like i'm yours and you are mine you know that is an exceedingly great reward in and of itself abraham does good and and talk to him about having children but what i asked the question to myself was why does he say he is his shield and what does that kind of mean so i looked up this word shield and it's the word magen or megan it means buckler armed defense or rulers that became even more interesting to me i understood what it means to to have a shield as a defense but then if if shield means buckler and defense why does god use both words you know what i mean i'm your shield and and and in other areas he says i'm your bachelor in other scriptures why does he use those two terms if they're the same thing well what i decided to do i said well let me go and look in the dictionary let's see what the dictionary says about these two words so when i looked up the word buckler it's a small shield held by a handle and one on the forearm and shield also means in the dictionary a police officer's hence it took me back to the word morgan or megan which means rulers i couldn't understand how rulers fit in with this whole idea of a shield well a police officer's best denotes authority yes yeah so if a shield means rulers and defense and it's a shield that's worn on the eye god is saying i am the authority for everything so what better shield can you have than me and the thing that stood out to me too was that no one needs a shield unless they're in a war there's no requirement for a shield what are you blocking if there's no war right so i went in the dictionary again and looked at the word shield first i looked at buckler and i looked at shield now the word shield means to protect against blows or missiles that changed the game for me as well for god saying i am your shield i am your buckler he's saying i will be the one that will protect you in this war against the blurs against the wiles of the devil against the darts of the enemy i will be the one who will protect you you can trust me i have all authority so i'm the one who is your shield so in looking at all of that i recognize that god was actually also saying to him listen you just had to go fight to get your son your nephew lot back and all these things you're going through these things well that's the reason i'm your shield in other words you don't need a shield unless you're in a war you're in a war and i'm the one who's going to protect you i'm not going to keep you out of the war i'm not going to keep things from you in this life but i'll protect you through it's very beautiful very beautiful uh that you uh uh put it that way it's very interesting as we look and we actually take a look and a glimpse of what ellen white has to say on this particular issue i think it was very interesting because she says when trials arise that seemed inexplainable we should not allow our peace to be spoiled that's right that's right however unjustly we may be treated let not passion arise by indulging a spirit of retaliation for when we do this we injure ourselves we destroy our confidence in god and we grieve the holy spirit there is by our side a holy witness and he will lift up a standard against the enemy it's important when we are in the greatest danger god will work on our behalf the mighty god of israel is our leader and our messenger we must have that faith that allows us to put aside everything that offends christ do you believe he will give you every power to overcome every defect in your character god will send us help every time we need it to overcome every temptation when we need it he will always make a way of escape against temptation the only resistance against evil is christ dwelling within us temptation loses power when christ is illuminated in us christ is not just the shield against the physical enemy christ is the shield against the invisible enemy right right thy word have i hid in my heart that i might not what sin against it's important to realize that he is our defense both physically and spiritually talk to me out of purges you know i find it interesting that you know you spoke about the fact that he's not just our physical shield in the sense of outward but also the shield inward but i i want to i guess i want to settle down on this invisible enemy one of the one of the greatest uh sort of tactics that the enemy uses is having you believe that there is this invisible enemy see the the word the one enemy that's the most difficult to fight is the enemy that you cannot see right well you you can swing you you what do you do against an enemy how do you even prove that an enemy is there if you can't see and so one of those things this is what we're dealing with even when it comes to the clothing issue it's an enemy that we cannot see and this absolutely terrifies people because of the idea that i don't quite know what to do in the circumstance if if i could see him if i knew what he looked like but but we everything seems to keep changing and the information keeps changing which is what bothers us which is why i'm so glad that god says that i am your shield so no matter what the world is saying no matter all the things all the confusion all the information that we find ourselves consistently receiving the truth of it is it doesn't matter god is still our shield and there is no enemy that has risen on this earth that has been able to defeat god wow yeah before you before you move it i don't know if you remember pastor saunders raymond saunders he called him big thunder yes valerie is you saying that what came to mind was he was having this crusade one time at uh frog lane and he was preaching about the spiritual warfare and things like that and he said if you want to know what satan looks like turn to your neighbor oh my goodness oh my goodness because the influence of of people allowing satan to use them and even christ told peter hey get thee behind me satan because of the influence that he was allowing to be used at that time so the spiritual warfare really is real people want to deny it but the great controversy is a real real application right i want to pause it to you it's important that you know the lord or you know your shield before you enter into trouble why do i say that because sometimes when trouble comes trouble can get so bad that you can't tell the trouble from your help yes indeed yeah what am i talking about you remember when the disciples were out there on the water man and they were losing their minds and it's a rough storm and they're losing everything and they are distraught they are in despair they are absolutely loosely out there and and and then and then jesus comes walking lord on the water and they were so afraid of the storm they were in that they didn't see jesus as their help they thought he was a ghost you know what i'm saying so in essence sometimes even in the midst of trouble if you're not relying truly upon god then you can start imagining trouble that doesn't even exist and when christ comes to deliver you're not ready for him because you weren't connected to him before the storm started talking this is one last point too um just imagine having a shield because this shield as it as it is literally is strapped to your arm so you're only protecting protection against what you can actually see coming but imagine having a shield that can see what you can right so while you're walking forward this shield seals can see what's coming from behind while you're looking forward he can see what's coming from the side he's telling abraham i'm that one i am your shield what you can't see that's going on for what you said pastor burgess what you can't see imagine a shield that can think move and protect all by itself and all you've got to do in the battle is keep walking so the shield as we talked about i think before in isaiah the shield is your piece right and and and just saying that pastor it tells me that you have to know your shield yeah in other words your level of trust is only going to be commensurate with how much you trust your shields if you have a shield that you know it's not worth for hillary beans you're not feeling too safe getting into that war but if you have one that you know nothing can penetrate right you go in like an animal you know you're going for a completely different mindset and so the question would be as as you asked whatever how much do we trust god if he is our shield and our exceeding reward how much do we trust god and that's the question we need to ask ourselves every single day do i trust god and ultimately walk in that trust because it's one thing to say i trust him but the truth of it is what's that word that phrase the proof is in the pudding yes yes you don't know how much you trust god until you find yourself at war and then we'll see who runs for the heels and who doesn't those who trust god will continue to walk forward knowing at the end of it that god is their shield yeah just just like um you brought up that point which was just took me back to my profession as a firefighter we walk into fire yeah yeah with a breathing apparatus which is our protection we have a hurst line if we didn't trust in that equipment boy oh boy because you literally can't see what's in front of you you know you have this procedure that you use to guard you step forward and you and your you're checking as you go you're stomping on the ground to check the floor to see what you're standing on you're trusting in the equipment it's trying it's proven it's contested trust the processor just based on what you're saying trust in the shield that you can't see which is jesus christ amen not just trusting that shield but at the same time trusting in the training yes thank you yes what i'm saying that's it you got to trust the training right when you're in the fire you got to trust the words that have been shared with you before you get in the fire you've got to trust the word of god yes and what he has said that when you're in the fire you can claim those promises and rely on the training on the words that he has given you as you passed because i you know even remember that even when i was in a regiment we had to do um crowd control hold on hold on he just he just opened up a little window the elder said he was once in the army yeah and crowd control obviously consists of the fact that you have these shields in front of you and you're going forward and all sorts of missiles are being thrown at you and everything else to gas it's crazy it's crazy and but if you had no trust in that shield the first shield that broke is scatter action you know that right yeah if you can trust the shield it's a problem it's a real problem not just you because again i i want us to understand that our faith doesn't just impact us that's right it impacts others as well when people see us the people of god who lack faith what's left for them i mean if they look into us to be the ones that trust and we don't trust our own god well what example is that today i'm about trusting our god you can't trust him but you're telling me to trust them that makes no sense whatsoever so we have to trust ourselves in the sense of believing wholeheartedly that god is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will do and we can go forward boldly not concerned because we know that he is our shield wow wow if he's if he's our shield then no weapon no no no no no no not at all formed against us shall process exactly man listen man i love it i love it i love it i love it come on let's jump if you would genesis chapter 28 genesis chapter 28 and verse 14. let's take it to the new international version we go new king james and then the message bible genesis chapter 28 and verse 14. what does the bible say your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east to the north and to the south all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring also your descendant shall be as the dust of the earth and you shall spread aboard to the rest into the east to the north and to the south and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your in you and in your seed seed seed thank you yes all right come on let's go amen your master's bible says your descendants will be as the dust of the earth they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south all the families of the earth will will bless themselves in you and your descendants now today we're talking about children of the promise help us out oh boy help us to understand part one of this messianic promise i enjoy i enjoyed this day doing the study um and also touching on the scripture galatians 3 29 it also states and if you be christ then ye then are ye abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise but well quite obviously the world has been blessed because of abraham's seed which is jesus christ and through him you know like i said we have jesus christ and we have also the bible also jesus christ was jesus the christ in the greek the transliteration is christos the anointed one or the christ and embedded in that name is also this word that i found was creole i think i'm saying it right it's greek but so help forgive me if i'm masculine but what it means is to anoint by rubbing or pouring olive oil on someone to represent the flow or the empowering of the holy spirit anointing literally involve rubbing olive oil on the head etc especially to present someone as divinely authorized appointed by god to serve as prophet priest or king etc so an example is we have david 23rd psalm he says thou anoint anointest my head with oil right so here we see jesus coming on the scene his bless because of abraham's uh the promise that was given to abraham christ now is on the scene and think of the bible how the word of god has moved across the face of the earth it has touched every continent jesus has touched every continent known to man in hebrew the name is messiah now interestingly matthew 1 breaks down the genealogy of the cro of christ abraham begat isaac and then jacob of course judah david joseph and mary which was jesus parents he also highlights the fact that there are 42 generations from abraham to jesus the first 14 are broken down from abraham to david and then the next 14 from david to onto when they was carried away into babylon and then from the caring of babylon uh away to christ so we have this package you can actually trace right down the genealogy from abraham the promise that was given to abraham by god that deceit jesus christ will come and surely we can see that happening out now there were several attacks in the old testament that actually pronounced this this uh this promise we have deuteronomy 18 15 the lord thy god will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me this is moses talk unto unto me unto him ye shall hearken ezekiel 37 24 says and david my servants shall be king over them and they all shall have one shepherd they shall also walk in my judgments and observe my statues and do them also hosea 11 verse 1 says when israel was a child then i loved him and called my son out of egypt all these things were speaking of of um to to god uh to jesus who was coming and you can there are several other texts that actually speak to them but due to time we want to have time to go into them one thing that i also liked that i found while doing this study was in patriarchs and kings pages 684 page 684 prophets and king sorry the hope of israel was embodied in the promise made at the time of the call of abraham and afterward repeat it again and again to his prosperity in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed genesis 12 3 as the purpose of god for the redemption of the race was unfilled to abraham the son as u.n of righteousness shone upon his heart and his darkness was scattered and then at last the savior himself walked and talked among the sons of men he bore witness to the jews of the patriarchs bright hope of deliverance to the coming of the redeemer your father abraham rejoiced to see my day declare christ declared and he saw it and was glad john 8 56 so we see that the april in the application that the promise was fulfilled from genesis 3 15. when god promised that he'll put enmity between thy seed and and and her seat and dicey he will bruise his head and you will bruise his heel so we see this being fulfilled when jesus came on the scene and that's what i i really enjoyed that that uh that study in reflection on jesus christ uh he said a lot of things and i'm gonna let you guys jump in one of the things one of the things that jumped up to me towards the end there eldo boy was how he talked about how abraham rejoiced to see his day and i believe there's a lot of unwritten or if you water unspoken visions that scripture doesn't necessarily record you know what i'm saying i mean the text makes it clear as day that abraham saw this day in other words he saw the day god showed him the death when israel would have conquered and would be in the promised land he shows them this day now this this is important to me because we also understand that abraham and many others died holding on to that promise right right they didn't get to experience it but they died holding on to it and i wondered today as i look around even our church many other churches we have many people including adventists that are dying from covet we have all of this stuff around us great patriarchs and matriarchs of this church and many other churches have been laid to rest recently but they have died holding on to the promise and they are looking for that day when christ comes soon talk to me about that wait period elder burgess what should we do while we wait uh you know sometimes you ask god for something and sometimes you hear the little cliches he either says yes he says no he says wait this is no comfort whatsoever absolutely no comfort whatsoever now it's interesting that when we ask things according to god's will he always grants it there's no delay in granting god's will in your life in essence the wait period is not because he is not ready he longs to give good gifts to his children the wait period is not because god isn't ready to bestow but rather because we are not ready to receive so he doesn't give it to you until how can i put it to you once once once you understand this concept ellen white talks about how in essence to pray according to god's will is to align your character with his hence your requests are his wishes hence what you want is his desires hence when you ask for it there is no delay because immediately that's why whenever the sinner wherever you are whenever the sinner cries out lord save me that's a request that's always answered right away because in essence in that moment you have a line to your character with his and he can now respond but talk to me you guys what do i do while i wait you wait you know what you know what i got what came to mind was again going back to my job right now every day we don't have fires i'm although there seems to have been they've been ramping up of late however there's many you know what i'm talking about there are what we call daily procedures that we do yes every day you have to check your equipment yeah every day get ready when you come one during the day when you come on at night you're checking the equipment yes indeed you're not expecting or you don't have like i said you don't have a fire every day but in the anticipation yes of course you know exactly what to do you know what this meter means you know what this where this is connects to you know what this dial means you just know so you're you're you're waiting for the the bow to go off to say all right guys it's time to respond to the to the fire now when we apply that in our christian experience we get up we communicate with god in the morning we walk you know by faith we're read we're starting work we're coming together to discuss things and and we're being nice to people when on our job at home so there's there's this this anticipation that one day god is going to burst the sky we don't know when it's going to happen but we're ready but we're ready we're waiting we're ready so that's that's how i see when you say well what do we do we wait that's how we wait it's accurately yeah i liked how he liked how he put there like how he alluded you know you think about uh you think about the night of the past so uh lord help us um how did how were they instructed uh to get ready to leave uh in other words go ahead kill this lamb go ahead prepare the lamb get some bitter herbs you know put it all together don't have none left over you know make sure you stick to the rules but i need you to eat this meal a little different i need to eat this meal with your loins girded yeah i need to eat this meal stand it up i need you to eat this meal ready to go and so in essence that attitude of always being ready i hear him talk about checking the equipment everything and i would posit to you that checking the equipment every single day every single day has a couple of meanings one it could mean it could mean that in essence i am getting into god's word and every time i check god's word i see that he's a strong tower that he will carry me through that he is not just the hose he's also the fire suit he's the hat he's the shield he's everything that i need to enter into the fire but what i also see is that it's also a checking of yourself that in essence as you check yourself you realize that if it's up to you you won't win anything and that in essence like pole you need to die daily that checking your own equipment means it needs to go but i need the equipment in other words i'm not going into the fire to fight with no shield with no hoes with no uh what i use they use on apps don't use access i can't get into this battle without my equipment because the lord is our refuge and strength and if god is forced who can be against us talk to me i'm sorry that's um looking at this issue if we're firefighting like that it just brought something else to mind because what our old boy actually just described are the 10 virgins he just described your ten versions because you can't wait it's like a firefighter you can't wait until a fire happens to start looking in the books what to right and study your your standard operating procedures and how to put on the kit equipment and how to use the breathing apparatus and all that you can't wait until the alarm goes off to start doing all that you have to have oh that is right from jump so that's like the ten virgins those five foolish ones waited until the until the call actually came right now you want to get ready too late so as christians we need to remember hold on now you're messing with some things because in other words i i got to use the equipment so much that using the equipment becomes second nature yes sir yes and when i get into the storm yes it's just what i do yes sir because it's who i am that in essence that now now that i've spent all this time i can handle myself in the storm because i learned you know it reminds me you know i and i preached her a long time ago but but it reminds me of using like your gps in the states now some fuss at me because i use it here bermuda as well but but the truth of the matter is that uh in essence in essence you can find some things man you can find some things but here's the thing it's interesting because in the states you know i remember having to travel so much to visit members of the hospital all this kind of stuff and it reminded me of the fact that you know there are times where you're kind of driving in the countryside you know where i live was more like in the countryside go long stretches before you have to make a turn you know you you make the turn it says travel six miles and then turn left you know what i'm saying and then next time travel five miles and then turn right then it says hey drive 15 and then exit right you know what i said that's that's easy to follow but i had to learn to follow the gps when times were easy i had to learn to listen to that voice when times were easy right because then there were days when i got into the city of boston and the streets were tight and instead of her telling me turn left in three months it was turn left turn right oh come on turn right and turn left in that moment i had to know the voice i had to understand when it was my time to turn up i had to understand that in essence it wasn't my time to turn to in essence the corner of which i was turning on the screen was the color that i was now warned that in essence until i understood that in essence i would continuously make the wrong turn but i had to learn to trust the voice in the good times i had to learn to trust a voice in the easy times and if we learn to do that now when trouble and persecution comes we will know his voice and be able to make the right decisions even in trouble talk to him you know we we're speaking uh about this and there's there's a word in here that it's well for some strange reason it seems to me to have been overlooked as we're going through this study because it says in the end i see shall all the families of the earth be blessed but we've never really taken time out to deal with that word because because because the truth of it is is that many of us when we listen to the word blessed we we think of psalms chapter one blessed is the man that walketh you know not in the counsel of the ungodly we think of those things we think of blessed as something that somebody bestows on us as a gift and we think is blessed as being happy and but but but blessed that word bless has a far deeper meaning than what we're looking at here so that we're at blast again at its very root it actually means to consecrate with blood it means to consecrate with blood in other words he's telling he's telling abraham that through you and through your seed nations will be consecrated with blood blood now consecration we can go to leviticus chapter eight and it speaks about the consecration of aaron and his sons and they had to make a sacrifice in the beginning this is before the service even opened up the priest in other words so let's get let's get the idea of consecration right the idea of consecration is to make holy hmm he's telling abraham that through you and through your seed nations will be made holy now this now speaks to a higher cause as to why it is that we should have faith in jesus and why we do because god's entire aim is to make nations holy right yes sir so as we go through the process we can look and see that the blessing actually gets spoken and that word goes on to accomplish that which god actually said what happened and so you can't help yourself no no because you're hitting something you're hitting something that i think as christians as adventists as christians we should never forget that it's god wants to bless everyone through us right and not just us that's right that god wants the gospel to go to the world that god loves other nations just as much as he loves us and he wants them to be saved hence he doesn't let abraham stay where he is but he sends him to a far country to a heathen country because he wants those nations of the earth to bow before their makers so why is this important because the truth of it is is that again though just like the priests remember we've been called to be priests and kings unto our god and so now if you look in leviticus chapter eight it speaks about how it is that moses he actually tips the blood on the ear and on the thumb the right ear the right thumb and the right toe and of of of aaron and his sons in other words denoting the fact that now you have been anointed with the blood of the of the land that is to come right and you are now holy you cannot you cannot minister in the temple of god unless you are holy and god wants all of his children to be holy so at the end of it all when you get on towards the end of revelation just what you found in the beginning in genesis it is god who is saying you are now holy people you are priests and kings unto your god that's why god says in leviticus 20 you will be my people and i want you to be holy why because i'm holy thank you beautiful man that speaks to this peace create some excitement it's the goodness of i god at this and it's amazing because just just what you're saying it's beautiful it's a beautiful thing because first of all god says to him your descendant shall be as the dust of the earth right from jump but he doesn't say he said it shall be as the dust of canaan well as the dust of the jewish people you know he says as the dust of the earth which this debunks a whole lot of foes false teachers that are out there for when he says in the first part as the dust of the earth right when he includes that word earth that is yep he's including everybody so this whole idea of racism is debunked in god's plan right from the start he never says i'm just going to love the jews that whole idea that's even in christendom where everything's to jews to jesus the jews the jews no he says and if ye be christ then you are abraham's seed and ears according to that promise it's the earth that abraham was to be a blessing to the entire earth so it's debunked this whole notion that there's only these people and only that people and only adventists who are going to be saved you know what i mean that that whole idea is untruth it's us who create racism and every time we do that and we create separations in classes every time we do that we actually are doing the work of satan himself because satan's job is to try to squash that promise and the way to do it is to make people dislike each other even within the body of christ dislike each other because in that then you think it's only you who's going to be saved if you do that you never do the work of god that's right because the work of god says that guy that looks funny that guy that's tall skinny fat white black pink orange whatever those of these people you take this gospel to you remember every nation of the earth have mercy man come on take me that's what we got we got to keep pushing here galatians chapter 3 galatians chapter 3 and verse 29 galatians chapter 3 and verse 29 we want to get into the second part of the messianic promise out of purges let's first read this text from the new international version the new king james and uh the message bob what does it say the bible says if you if you belong to christ then you are abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise galatians chapter 3 verse 29 and if you are christ then you are abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise amen the master's bible says also since you are christ family christ family then you are abraham's famous descendant ears according to the covenant promise have mercy have have mercy now now before you jump in let's remember elder purchase that when he's having that conversation in john 8 that elder old boy talked about earlier that when he's having that conversation with the leaders of israel that in essence he is letting them know that just because they are abraham's blood descent he said if you were like your father abraham you would be celebrating with me right now but you're not like your father abraham ye are of your father the devil now it's very interesting because they're challenging him in this moment but help us to understand the second part of this messianic promise indeed again and and even as you spoke about the differences between the two we're looking at ishmael and we're looking at isaac ishmael was the son of the flesh he was abraham's seed in the flesh but isaac was the son of the promise the promise was not on ishmael and here's the thing about it that some of us need to understand that that which god has promised can never be replaced by that which he hasn't whoa stay right there it can never be replaced it will it will never have the importance it will never carry it will never carry the weight it will never satisfy unless god was the one who ordained it to be so if god did not ordain it to be so it doesn't matter what else whatever substitute you bring in it will never fill the gap it will never satisfy it will never bring you to a place where you are at one with god because anything outside of god's promise is righteousness by works and that will never see that you've never satisfied are you saying that when abraham now now now we talked about this the other night that in essence you know it's sarah lord help us that brings hagar to abraham yes it is lord help us it's eve that brings the fruit to adam now what's interesting is that with abraham there there there is no opposition recorded in scripture right no lord help us when when she brings hagar there's like no i don't want to do it no i don't hear that i don't hear that going on elder burgess now now it's very important to understand that in this moment in this moment abraham and sarah are trying to take into their own hands and handle god's promise for him because they don't think that he can pull it off on his own talk to me he did so in genesis 3 15 god gives the promise of the fact that you know a seed is going to come through through um through eve and but here's the difference between the the difference between the two this seed is going to come but of course he will be the second adam the first adam came with a perfect character perfect conditions and no challenges at all other than that particular one correct the second adam seeks to prove that the first adam had no reason whatsoever to fail in the sense that the second adam comes with a perfect character but he comes in a broken body and a broken society and his job is to prove ultimately that that this adam had no reason the first adam had no reason and so our author goes on to deal with the fact that you know he gives a a really serious description written by augustus about the state of the times in which he was living and it's like 1500 years ago and it sounds just like today i mean to the point where as every vice every every sin every every every negative attitude everything you could think of every sense of rebellion against god is seen in society and the point that he's trying to draw is that if all we did was look at that then we will be most men most miserable hold on hold on you touched on some things right there but i'm reminded of some of the things or at least one thing you said earlier i asked what do we do while we wait yes and you said wait hold on hold on hold on but but i think there's some things if we can just pause just for a second there's some at least one or two things that we shouldn't do while we wait yes and that is we should not try to do god's work for him that we shouldn't try to make sure that what he promised comes through because the promise was never built on us that's right but the promise was built on him that's right we find this not just in abraham uh and and sarah we find it also with uh his son and if you want his son's wife right with rebecca who who feels like there's about to be a mistake you know what i'm saying come here let me put some skins on you come on let's put them on you can you sound like esau come on practice practice can't you sound like listen just go in there because you will smell like him and you'll feel like him and dad will go ahead and bless you as if god would not have made sure that the promise did go to isaac there is a problem with us as the community of faith when things are not going our way that we want to handle it ourselves instead of trusting in the matters and the promises of god you know and again pastor you know i'm glad you said that because the truth of it is whether it comes to the messianic promise or whether it comes to our life in general most of us don't have a problem with doing something the hardest part we have is me oh it drives you oh yeah it drives you insane the idea that you don't have the ants and you don't control it and no matter what you do you will still not get the anticipated end that you wanted because it's always in god's time and so based on the time that we're living in again augustus even 1500 years ago spoke about the the degraded nature of our society but still at the end of it all we still have the promise those of us who believe this word we still have the promise that even though all of this is going on we still have the responsibility and we still have to be seen to have the strength to wait we need to wait and see that it happens and and also while we're waiting to be sure that we don't start indulging in the same activities of this world absolutely very careful about that the people of god are his representatives on earth we are god's witnesses to his will and the wonders of his grace trials patiently born are the lights that shine forth in the character to the world as we approach the uplifted cross there is a new creation god himself is one uh who has never fallen the justifier of him that believeth in jesus will be placed in higher ground and receive excellency of power above the angels all of those who overcome will have this special place in heaven there will be no wailing in nature behold god's name written large it will be more glorious than our brightest imagination can portray no finite mind can contemplate the glories of god if we could just see what god has waiting for us then the things and the trials and the tribulations of this world would mean absolutely nothing help us out oh boy a great and mighty nation help us out sure interestingly uh i looked up on the internet and and according to one statistic uh the world population was seven in 2020 that is the world population was 7.79 billion people now the population by religion christianity was 2.382 billion which equates to 31.4 percent muslims 1.9 billion that's 24.9 percent and judaism 14.7 million which is point 18 so when you add that all up you have over half the world population attributing themselves to abraham the father of many nations i will make you a great and mighty nation 56 of the world claims to be descendants of abraham right so i thought that was very interesting and in the lesson there's a i just want to quote from it it says it seems evident from scripture that god purposed to attract the nations of the world to himself through the witness of israel which would be under his blessing a happy healthy and hurly people now these people were supposed to be god's missionaries to the world as we started talking about earlier and they were to rule them back these the nations that had had strayed from god and point them back to to back point the world back to god i found in hebrews 11 chapter 8 to 10 which is the the chapter of faith as we know his faith it says but by a by faith abraham when he was called out into a place which he should after receive from an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went by faith he sir joined in the land of promise as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with eyes against jacob the heirs with him of the same promise for he looked for a city which hath foundations his builder and maker is god patriarchs and prophets page 170 says of the prosperity of abraham it is written these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims of the earth verse 13. we must dwell as pilgrims and strangers here if we will gain a better country that is a heavenly verse 16. those who are children of abraham will be seeking the city which he look for who is builder and maker is god so we see yes there is a mighty nation that came out of abraham however today if we apply this to to us today it parallels to genesis what the the tax uh where god had promised abraham that he'll make him a great nation and and all these wonderful things to john 14 verse one two three let not your heart be troubled he told abraham hey don't be afraid i'm with you and then he told him that you know i'm gonna make you your descendants as as multiples as his stars and their sins well if we believe in christ jesus we too will be looking for this city as you have said he didn't make he didn't see the city uh the uh um the promised land we are looking for the city we don't know what to hey look trust in god if you believe in me i'm going to prepare a place for you and if you believe me i'm going to come back and receive you so we are like abraham in that same sense he trusted in what god said he said to him get up and move by faith so today we are like him by faith we are looking for the city i thought that was very interesting absolutely absolutely i think it's incredible go ahead allen burgess i want to speak to this this this great nation because again we automatically look at it as being something that's far out there but the truth of it is is that when god speaks a blessing he speaks a blessing not to the man but also to his seed and so he's told abraham that he's going to be a great and mighty nation many of us look at that and say abraham's going to be a great in mighty nation but god has also told us through abraham that we are ourselves we have nations within us and so we have nations within us we also we reproduce as well and the question is what type of nation will we produce in other words we as parents we are raising people that can be of nations we don't know how far our children's seed is going to go we don't know how far our families are going to go and so it could be at the end of it that we ourselves will have great and mighty nations that come through us not just abraham and not just ishmael but all of us as well so it's important that we recognize at the end of it all that we make sure that we put in the right the right how do i put it the right governance let me use that with the right governance with those that we now have raised up because they themselves might become great nations will it be to the point where as they will be to the point where the world wants to turn away or will they say about the nations that we have raised what a wise people these people are also um just just to just to go back just a bit remember the the nation of israel they were supposed to be the mouthpiece of god but oftentimes they fell into idolatry and didn't do what they were supposed to do what god had instructed them to do so we today if we're not doing what god has asked us to do are we not like the children of israel have mercy another thing i found very powerful in this whole situation of making him a great and mighty nation one you have to ask what makes what was it that would have made this nation great was it merely the numbers of people or was it something more yes indeed however when we look at it he told um tell abraham that he'll make him a great and mighty nation which was speaking to his his immediate offspring as well so if we look just at israel and him making him a greater mighty nation i thought it was very interesting that god tells jacob at a particular time don't be afraid to go to egypt think about that for a second how vast is god's understanding of how this thing should play out if they knew that eventually which it was prophesied but eventually that they would become slaves and go through that for 400 years in egypt do you think jacob would have went to egypt my goodness he probably wouldn't have been to egypt but god tells him don't be afraid go down there to egypt it's out of egypt i'm gonna make you a great nation i'm not gonna make you a great nation out of ease and pump and circumstance like that's what we would think and be deduced at the same name of christ i'm going to send you messiah oh he's going to come and destroy the romans we never un god says my thoughts are not like your thoughts my ways are not your ways i have a much much bigger purpose for this whole thing than what you can see just play your room that's all i'm asking you to do just play your room and you'll see how it works out that's why i have to be a shield and buckler because what i'm causing you to become a great nation out of egypt that makes no sense to a human mind but look at what god was able to do it was in egypt that they multiplied like never before that's right that's right you said i'm saying to the point where it if it meant you forgot so this is this is how we must trust go up to a to a point where we recognize that what might how he might be fulfilling this thing is not the way that we would want it to be but before you go but before you go because you're speaking about egypt think about what happened when they came out of egypt many came out of egypt with them but many were left in egypt even though the place was destroyed they will never forget yohi they will never forget yahweh so he was able to know to show himself mighty and strong and defeat all of their gods even though they were left behind you can't tell me some of them didn't believe in yahweh when they left when they left hey it's not just that it's not just that it's very important to realize that uh israel becomes a great nation through affliction they become a mighty nation because of the oppression yes yes they come out of egypt they come out of each but before they come out i do like the parallels between then and now elder burgess because before they come out before they got their deliverance uh lord help us before they left they had to do a couple of things number one on that night of the passover they had to shelter in place [Laughter] there was there was no there was no mixing of households and make sure they were covered by the blood of jesus christ deliverance came out of consecration oh come on man come on man come on lord help us man lord help us today come on let's jump come on genesis one more thing okay what what the devil meant for evil yes indeed god turns it around too because remember all the plunder that they left them right so they went in they can't they were slaves but they came out with all you know it's important to realize that they don't go in slaves i'm not i'm sorry they didn't go in and say they couldn't right yeah they were saying i'm hungry yes yes with no food right but they come out with everything so just i thought it was very important that that to think or or to see that what the devil means for bad even to us in today that's right god has a way of turning that thing around yes and you know absolutely lord thought that was very interesting absolutely come on take me to genesis chapter 12 and genesis chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. genesis the 12th chapter verses 1 and 2 we're going to ask out of many to lead us into make your name great what does it say in the new revised standard version new king james and then the message genesis is it genesis 12 verses one and two um now the lord said to abram good that's what i'm reading right right yes yes yes 121 and two go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that i will show you i will make of you a great nation and i will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing now the lord said to abram get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that i will show you i will make you a great nation i will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing and the masses bible reads god told abraham leave your country your family and your father's home for a land that i will show you i'll make you a great nation and bless you i'll make you famous and you'll be a blessing amen great make your name great well excuse me yeah that's going to clear us [Laughter] and i will make of the a great nation the question again that immediately came to my mind was what would make this nation great and what was it that would make his name great so i go back to um the lesson um last week's lesson and i looked up the word name and it mean it's the hebrew word shem which means reputation fame glory yeah so when god says he'll make his name great he's talking about his reputation now his reputation a reputation exists only as it relates to your character yes you don't have a reputation you know unless it involves some some aspect of your character so what god is saying i'm going to make you great and if we are heirs of that promise and where abraham see then we too should be great in the earth how should we be great from the perspective of how well do we reflect the actual character of god himself how are we how are we helping other nations of the earth to know god to trust god to see god because israel everything that they went through a lot of those things were very difficult but it was through those difficulties that god was using them to show the whole world who he is so again we think that and again it debunks this idea of the prosperity gospel so many people have preachers preaching to him every week it's just pure outright lies there's no other way to say it it's just lies this nation would be great even through adversity because it's through adversity that the other nations would see the hand of god working with them and that their response to that adversity would reveal how good it is to trust in almighty god [Music] that would cause the nations to come to them to want to know who is this god and how can i be a part of his his plan the first thing satan wants to do is to get us to feel separated from the rest of the world to get us to feel more special than somebody else not only does he does it in nations amongst tribes and peoples and tongues he does it right in the church right in the church that we can feel i'm better than you i know more than you you know we start to separate ourselves it's at that point that we could never be great because our characters are not humble our response to adversities are not in a way that trusts in god to show who he is we've said before show the world who god really is not who we make him out to be and that's how he said i'm going to make your name great abraham how did he become great because he revealed a faith and a trust in god that was sacked unto none you're talking about a man and this is not a game you're talking about a man who was willing to sacrifice his son because god said so [Music] that is the example that if we are to be heirs of that promise that's the example that we must set to the world of how much faith and trust we have in our god to lead us if we're not showing that if we're not showing that he said the whole earth will be blessed if we're not doing that to each other with each other if we can't do it to the people we sit next to in church how in the world are we going to do to the rest of the planet there's no way in life we're going to do the rest of planet so hence christianity in the world is becoming less and less great the name of christianity is no longer great in the earth why because we have pastors telling people i i watched i watched a little clip the other day famous pastors being asked the question a simple question in my estimation is same-sex marriage wrong right and i watch these famous preachers who have tens of thousands of followers spoke around it skirt all around that issue one preacher even said to the people well find a church that that agrees with your faith of your type of faith find a church that that that believes what you believe are you kidding me so the name of christianity right now is a mockery it's a sam you know it's a sam because you have preachers lying all the time in people's faces so now how can the name how can this name be made great i'm saying that satan is still trying to trying to to to to squash the the enactment of this promise that was made from the beginning enmity between your seed and her seed enmity that means we don't get along like that how can we have preachers getting along with the homosexual and lgbtq um issue getting along with it like like there's no enmity if there's no enmity you're working for satan because satan is the one who doesn't want any enmity but oneness with with god no no we have to stand and say no our name will be great even through adversity just like god intended amen he said a whole lot and we don't i don't have time to i wish i could elaborate on some of the things he just put forward but help us out of burgers summarize this lesson for us today i'd like to use the friday's lesson it says it was no light test this in patriarchs and prophets it was no light test that was brought upon abraham no small sacrifice that was required of him but he did not hesitate to obey the call he had no question to ask concerning the land of promise god has spoken and his servant must obey the happiest place on earth for him was the place where god would have him to be we're talking about the child of promise the child of promise is the one who will follow god no matter where god asks him to go so there's always other things that come with the promise yes we get that but the happiest place is to be where god wants you to be have you never sometimes got to be a job interview a place that you know something happened where you realize at the end of it all that god only because of your grace and your mercy i shouldn't i wasn't there i i wanted it i wanted it but i didn't need to be there because the truth of it is god if i'm there and that's not what you want from me it's never going to be a good place and so the child of promise is always going to come back to the promises that god made through abraham that all nations through him and his seed will be will be made holy so they'll bring them all in they'll all be blessed and so based on that we're looking at it and realizing now that god has kept his word jesus came jesus died and now we are in the very end time right now where judgment is taking place and yet for some strange reason many of us are living as though it's business as usual but the truth of it is is that we've been called to cry out and let people know yes we are in the last days yes judgment is taking place and soon jesus will come back and if you will accept the promise then life eternal is yours but if you refuse to i i don't know what we know what the end is it's destruction and so ultimately i just want to encourage everyone or whatever to find what the promise is to live the promise to trust the promise and know that god is faithful to his word praise the lord praise the lord i think we just take just a second i know next week we will celebrate uh for real but i just want to take a second to celebrate the goodness of god and how he has blessed this ministry over this past year uh the truth of the matter is is that when we started out we had no idea but the lord has blessed marvelously uh to the extent that i think is worth uh saying even now that we have we have as of just a few moments ago we have crossed over uh 5 000 subscribers and all we can say to god in the glory the great things he has done i think the actual number right now is five thousand fourteen five thousand fourteen we're already moving to once we're past the five now we're moving towards fifty one hundred uh our minds are set and focused on continuing to share god's love with everyone uh that we come in contact with listen uh as we uh close out this particular lesson uh we talk about waiting on god we talk about waiting on the lord i got this little quote here from stephen fertig and here's what it says the only thing harder than waiting on god is wishing that you had worthless the only thing is that waiting on god is wishing somebody pray for us right now somebody pray for us i believe on that schedule i think just out of hellboy go ahead and lead us in a word of prayer at this time heavenly father we come before you firstly we want to give you all the honor and all the glory of what you are doing in your church lord we thank you for the promise that you gave abram and the fulfillment of jesus christ lord we ask that thirds will look to him and ask what must i do to be saved lord i ask that those who are listening and watching will search their heart and see that the only way is through jesus christ so father until we meet again in our next service i pray that your spirit will continue to abide with us in jesus name we pray amen amen amen in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of [Music] man [Music] [Music] [Music] atlantic union youth ministries office presents 2021 virtual pathfinder camporee may 14th to may 16th pathfinders come and explore the story of ruth under the theme determined no love serve jesus you can't afford to miss it the story of ruth dramatized fun activities team challenges numerous honors including new honors such as the ruth honor atlantic union honor and compassion honor be the first to complete and receive them worship experience with dynamic preaching from pastors david chandler andres peralta elia zavala bill wood and armando miranda registration is free at www.auyouth.com register today to enjoy the benefits of joining the numerous breakout room activities join the thousands who will be viewing this virtual campaign live on the online platforms these are facebook live atlantic union adventist youth ministries or youtube au youth media may 14 7 p.m to may 16th 1pm see you at the camporee good morning hamilton church family let's give attention to our church announcements for today sabbath the 1st of may 2021 it's a new month let's start with our family news condolences are extended to sister june swan and sister kim burgess and their families on the loss of their respective uncles ladies your church family are praying for and with you let's also remember to pray for those who are on the church prayer list in our bulletin keep these persons and their families in our prayers and if able reach out and let them know we care and are here for them so let's look at what's happening in our church next week the monthly elders meeting will be held next monday the 3rd of may at 6 pm via zoom all hamilton church elders are urged to attend via the zoom link that will be sent to you on wednesday we have our community feeding program in the youth center at 4 pm then at 6 p.m we will hold a virtual prayer meeting via the church youtube and live stream sites let's look at the upcoming activities for the month of may next sabbath 8th of may our men's ministry will be holding a mother's day explosion via zoom at 5 pm ladies you are invited to attend this meeting that is going to be honoring you the zoom information is on the screen and it will be sent to you pastor dwayne burgess will be the speaker of the hour next saturday at 8 15 pm we will hold a church business meeting as a follow-up to the meeting last weekend if you are a member of hamilton church this meeting is for you to keep us safe and to not mix households the meeting will be held via zoom the zoom information will be emailed to hamutu members closer to the meeting date we reiterate and ask that you please display your first and last name in order to be led into the meeting last week we had a couple people not display their names and because we did not know who they were the clerks were unable to let them into the meeting zoom asks for your name before you log into the meeting please type your name in at this time if you don't we will ask for your name when you're in the waiting room if you don't respond you will not be led into the meeting this is to ensure that all participants are hamilton church members we thank you for your understanding on monday the 10th of may the church board will meet at 6 pm again via zoom the meeting invitation will be sent to all board members closer to the meeting date well that's our church business for this week let's now move to our celebrations we have one sabbath birthday today let's wish dory bennett a fantastic sabbath birthday happy birthday dory tomorrow kj matthew will celebrate his special day on monday selena matthey has her birthday happy birthday selena on tuesday kyle ingham and maxanne keynes will celebrate next wednesday waleed lightbun has his birthday on thursday kiara simons jericho richardson and our faithful bible worker sister louis simons will celebrate their birthdays and to close out the week sophia lightburn jonah robinson and amaya smith all celebrate their birthdays everyone have a wonderful birthday when it comes we have one anniversary and it's being celebrated tomorrow elder daffod and sister carolyn wallace have their anniversary happy anniversary to the both of them our family life ministry has a special message in today's bulletin as they do each week today's message reads there is no safety for any man young or old unless he feels the necessity of seeking god for counsel at every step those only who maintain close communion with god will learn to place his estimate upon men to reverence the pure the good the humble and the meek the heart must be garrisoned as was that of joseph then temptations to depart from integrity will be met with decision how then can i do this great wickedness and sin against god the strongest temptation is no excuse for sin no matter how severe the pressure brought to bear upon you sin is your own act the seat of the difficulty is the unrenewed heart and that's taken from adventist home 331.1 so family we ask that you please refer to your bulletins throughout this week and let's govern ourselves accordingly now let's prepare our hearts and minds for our divine worship service and have a wonderful sabbath [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] happy sabbath church family and welcome to another sabbath day's worship from wherever you are joining us around the world [Music] it matters not we are happy that you are here we're happy that you are able to join us here at the hamilton 70th adventist church where worship is a joy and the love is indeed real heaven rejoices that you are here and we are indeed happy that you have made hamilton your choice wherever you are let us open with our call to worship and this sabas called worship is taken from the book of psalms chapter 34. the bible says i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul shall make her boast in the lord the humble shall hear and thereof and be glad who magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together the lord bless you as we all worship here him in spirit and in truth blessings to you all bow down [Music] is [Applause] [Music] answering [Music] [Music] oh oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] father in heaven to the many thousands that are watching us even right now whether they're watching us on the radio whether they are watching us on atv whether it's live stream or facebook or even youtube these are simply portals lord that give us an opportunity to share this gospel with the world as the world is watching even now lord it's a very real situation amongst our viewers and our listeners in the midst of this pandemic they have lost somebody perhaps they're very concerned and stressed about their future we've had job losses and people are frightened and they don't see a way forward the truth is we come into this place today to remind them that there is a way forward the truth of the matter is jesus still is the way the truth and the life so god reacts that you would come and make your presence felt not just in this place but in every home and every radio and every car and every house wherever it might be wherever they're watching perhaps somebody's just sitting on the side of the street perhaps somebody's just at the park just trying to listen to the word of god lord speak to their hearts and angels that excel in strength to comfort him lord just come into this place and come into their places come into their virtual spaces even now take the devil and his angels and throw them clean out that they might receive a word from the lord today this is your house we are the we are the guest in your house so as we come into this place lord do not leave us the same but change us from within we pray for us in the matchless name of jesus christ we pray that everyone say amen amen [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] this is [Applause] [Music] amen and hallelujah come and bow down we're going to have our opening hymn at this time him number 528 a shelter in the time of storm the lords are rock and in him we hide a shelter in the time of storm everyone let's get ready let's gather together let's get our hymnals get our phones our ipads get everything out as we sing our opening here amen let's stand in your living rooms stand wherever you are in honor of our almighty god amen let's sing together [Music] a shelter in the time of snow [Music] faithful guide for the [Music] a shade by day defense [Music] oh [Music] for the pilgrim [Music] the raging floods may round us beat a shelter in the time store we find in god a safe retreat a shelter in the time of snow mighty rocks [Music] storm [Music] mighty rock [Music] a shelter in the time [Music] amen elder amen a shelter in the time of storm or mighty rock [Music] at this time in our service we pause to pray to our loving savior and this morning is inviting us to pray a simple invitation to speak to him to commune with him and his invite transcends time it matters not where you are or the time of your viewing of this service god is inviting you to pray it's invite transcends geography it matters not your location he's inviting you to pray so let us assume an attitude of prayer as we speak to the almighty god [Music] [Music] there is a [Music] oh come lay down [Music] [Music] foreign almighty god the everlasting father jesus christ or prince of peace and our savior sweet holy spirit or ever-present help in times of need we come before you mighty god on this your holy day your sabbath day a day created for us to have communion with you and so lord sinful beings under the understanding that they can be saved through the blood of your son jesus christ we come before you on this the sabbath that you have created for us to commune with you we thank you lord that we are able to come here in your presence and we are thankful o lord that you have invited us here in your presence because you have been here even before we got here we thank you lord that we are still here in the land of the living many who have been faithful have passed on but you have seen it fit to keep us here for yet another sabbath day for yet another day and we're truly grateful for this blessing we're grateful for life today oh lord but while we are indeed grateful there are many of us who are without jobs there are many of us who are sick there are many of us were going through emotional turmoils at this time we are destitute and disheartened and many of us oh lord do not know which way to turn for we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel but help us heavenly father to remain faithful help us to remain hopeful and to understand that thou art still the god of heaven and earth help us to understand that thou art still sitting on your throne and thou art still high and lift it up help us to remember that you are still in control of everything that happens on this earth so despite the pain we will serve you despite the suffering we will trust you despite the heartache and death o lord we will remain hopeful in the mind of christ jesus we ask o lord that for those who are sick that you will be their bomb in gilead for those who are going through financial difficulties around the world that you may be their good shepherd that you will lead them in the right direction for you've declared in your words that even the cattle upon a thousand hills are yours and we are grateful heavenly father that you do not count your cattle by heads but by hills bless your people o lord around the world help us to recognize that there is a judgment that is taking place at this very moment at this very hour and that we are to afflict our very souls that when our names are called we can be found worthy help us to keep that in the forefront of our minds and may we never forget as we go through our daily lives that there's a judgment that is taking place and that we ought to live our lives consecrated and holy day by day at this time o lord i lift up before you the speaker pastor steed he presents your word may lead us to the living word with christ jesus him to know is life eternal may you bless us as we listen to these words and may you endow him with the holy spirit from on high may you bless him in his ministry and may you bless his family and may the word that be spoken today may go forth and accomplish that which it will we ask these mercies in the name of jesus christ let the church say amen and amen speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord speak lord [Music] oh come lay down [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] exceeding me all you could ask for [Music] you in you [Music] god is able to do just what he said he would do [Music] don't give up on god cause he won't give up on [Music] god is able to do [Music] don't give up on [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] please [Music] don't give up on god cause he won't give up on you can i get a witness don't give up on god cause he won't give up on you don't give up on god cause he won't give up on you cause he's able [Music] [Music] good morning everyone we welcome you to the hamilton seventh-day adventist church where worship is a joy and the love is real it is good to be here in the house of the living god today we are thankful for uh his many blessings to everyone that's listening and watching us all over the world uh we welcome you to our services today at this time we want to ask of you if you would if you haven't already to go ahead and click subscribe at the bottom of your screen you can also click like click like and also click subscribe as you know as we started today we were hoping to cross that uh threshold of 5 000 subscribers and we have already been blessed uh in that measure uh we i think we started off just today with i think 4980 and we're already at 5030. before we picked up 50 more uh subscribers today and so just go ahead and click subscribe we're just happy that you're a part of our family here today i want to welcome you to the hamilton seventh day of venice church where worship is a joy and the love is real for 120 years god has commanded this church and after all that time his grace is still sufficient his mercy is still in hot pursuit his blood or what can wash away our sins nothing but the blood of jesus if it had not been for the lord on our side then where would we be so may his spirit fill you his faithfulness forgive you and his truth free you on this venerated and beatified sabbath day just have a couple of quick announcements one there is a business meeting coming on this coming saturday evening at 8 15 at 8 15 and then on monday the following monday not this monday but the following monday there will be a board meeting there's a board meeting the following monday on the 10th on the 10th of may so just keep those in mind other than that just want to go ahead and wish you a happy birthday we just have one sabbath birthday today and that of dory bennett dory bennett we want to wish you a very happy sabbath birthday may god bless you may he be with you today on this beautiful and happy sabbath day at this time i want to ask if you just stand in your homes wherever you are please stand up please get up out the bed come on get up off the couch come on put the waffles and the pancakes down just for a second uh come on you should be eating in church anyway come on stand up get up on your feet and repeat after me say there's no place come on i can't hear you there's no place when i heard somebody in smith's come on i heard about this there's no place okay i heard somebody in st george's as well come on now what about dockyard there's no place okay i hear you now there's no place like this place of anywhere near this place come on so this must be the place come on to those who are working in devonshire and hamilton pembroke come on turn to your neighbor and say neighbor yeah don't be afraid say neighbor i'm so glad that you made it to the right virtual space those of you that are listening already those of you that perhaps are distraught today those of you that may be suffering from major depression wondering when will this all end be assured that the answer is in the man we call jesus christ the author and finisher of our faith may you be blessed as you worship with us as we sing together and fellowship in this place god bless you and have a wonderful sabbath [Music] [Music] is it true that you are thinking of me how you love me it's amazing i am a friend of i am a friend of god i am a friend of god [Music] [Music] when i call is it true that you are thinking of how you love me it's amazing [Music] [Music] i am a friend of god i am a friend of god he calls he calls me because he plays amen good morning happy sabbath happy sabbath so in the spirit of transparency i have been struggling to eat healthy currently having to balance working from home during an extremely busy season and a toddler who literally wants to play all day being schools are closed what's been happening is i'll resort to the really super quick and easy meals so pastas or frozen vegan chicken nuggets for this one but this week i said i really need to get it together now i recognize that i'm a stress eater so i have been snacking a lot i also recognize that my little one loves granola bars naturally i thought it would be great if we make some that way in the coming days i feel less guilty about the snacks i eat and i can get back into the swing of things preparing wholesome foods to eat this reminded me of how important preparation really is ezekiel 38 verse 7 says be thou prepared and prepare for thyself thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee and be thou o god unto them imagine if god didn't prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies or could you imagine if god didn't go to prepare a place for us that he may take us with him upon his return i'm sure we all can relate that when you prepare yourself for anything there's a feeling of readiness are we preparing ourselves for god's return and are we ready our day-to-day life choices helps us to prepare however when we aren't prepared we tend to resort to last minute decisions that just kind of get us through the bible says choose ye this day whom you will serve so if we choose to be ill prepared that's on us first chronicles 29 18 says oh lord god of abraham isaac and of israel are fathers keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and prepare their heart unto thee i want to reiterate that preparation is crucial and as i mentioned in the beginning nala and i are preparing ourselves to make healthier food choices this week so let's get into these granola bars the main ingredients are oatmeal maple syrup and any nut butter here we're using cashew butter [Music] and at this point you can add whatever extras you like so here we have dried apricots vegan marshmallows raisins cranberries pistachios coconut shreds flax seeds chia seeds dark chocolate [Music] [Music] so as you can see we made a variety and we have lots of options to choose from so remember first chronicles 29 18 o lord god of abraham isaac and of israel our fathers keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and prepare their hearts unto thee our scripture reading is taken from exodus 20 verse 8 to 11. remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days shout thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god in it thou shall not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy manservant nor thy maidservant nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates for in six days the lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the the lord blessed the seventh the sabbath day and [Music] holiday [Music] [Music] oh [Music] good day boys and girls today i have a story for you and this story it comes from a bible text and in the bible there's a book called matthew and there is a chapter chapter 19 and the verse is verse 26 and it says through god all things are possible now you might have seen the word possible before and here is the word possible and if someone asked me what the word possible means i would say the word possible means something that can actually happen it's possible and uh there's so many things as you grow up that you are going to find out that are actually possible to do and then you might have heard of this word the word impossible that there is no way that can happen i work in school and sometimes i hear kids say you know what i don't think it's possible for you to be able to lift your daddy off the ground and some people say yeah that's impossible you can't do that well today i have a little illustration and it's about possible or impossible so i'm gonna take this dollar bill and here is this one dollar bill and it's from america and because it says the united states of america and i'm gonna put it just flat like this and i'm gonna put something on top of this one dollar bill this is a little vial what i call it and i'm gonna just put it on top and what i'm going to try to do is i'm going to try is i'm going to try to get this dollar bill from underwear without that falling down so is it possible or is it impossible let me concentrate and see is it possible because you saw that when i did pull it it did fall down so possible you're voting is it possible to do this or impossible i'm gonna focus and concentrate and i'm going to see if this is actually possible it's shaking a little bit but let me see so as you grow up you're gonna really have to be thinking a lot about whether or not the things that you do are possible you might say to yourself that there is no way that something can be done but the truth is if you really start thinking about things if you really put your trust in god if you really just start focusing a lot in school if you really start just looking at being obedient to your mom and dad you will find that with god all things are possible thanks and we'll talk to you next time so amen all things are possible with god it's time for our tithe and offering this week we learned as we have been during this quarter we learned about the children of the promise the children of the promise i know i won't do the cyber school lesson but there is an interesting there's an interesting theme in this week's cyber school lesson and i lift up before you genesis 28 and verse 14 it says in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed god is speaking to abraham and he told him that all families of the earth will be blessed and then we move over to galatians chapter 3 and verse 29 where it says and if you be christ if he be christ then are ye abraham's seed and hears according to the promise now what that simply means is that wherever you are on the face of this earth you can gain this promise you will be blessed according to the promise of abraham and and here's the interesting thing as it relates to tithe and offering here's a promise that god has made to us malachi chapter 3 and verse 10 says bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse and therefore that there may be meat in mine house and prove me now there with say the lord of hosts if i will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it god has given us this promise and it is according to the promise of abraham that you will be blessed all he asks is that we be faithful as abraham was found faithful faithful in returning or tithe and a free will offering you would have seen the instructions presented on your screen in her in terms of how you should be returning your tithe and offering in this pandemic season for sure for those who are in bermuda there is a dropbox here at the hamilton 70 adventist church and there's also you can also return your tithe and offering to the local conference please bow your heads now as we pray eternal god and our heavenly father you have left abraham a promise and you've declared in your words that the people of bermuda shall be blessed the people of africa shall be blessed the people of the united states and canada and england and jamaica and barbados everyone is watching the service at this time can be blessed and you've asked us to return a faithful tide and a free will offering into the storehouse and then and then you will open up the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing i pray o lord that everyone in the hearing of my voice will claim this promise and they will remain faithful unto you these another mentioned verses we ask in jesus name [Music] amen [Music] [Music] back so you better be believing our god [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] our god is an awesome god our god is an awesome god our god is earth an awesome god today's scripture reading will be taken from the book of psalms chapter four and i'll reading you're hearing verses one through eight psalms chapter 4 verses 1 through verse 8. and this is the psalm of david of course to the chief musician of najinath the bible says hear me when i call oh my god oh god of my righteousness thou as enlarged me when i was in distress have mercy upon me and hear my prayer holy sons of men how long will you turn my glory into shame how long will he love vanity and seek after leasing sila but know that the lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself the lord will hear when i call unto him stand in awe and sin not commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still sila offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the lord there be many that say who will shoe us any good lord live thou up the light of thy countenance upon us thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased verse 8 says i will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou lord only makes me dwell in safety here hence the reading of god's holy word may bless our hearts as we prepare ourselves for the spoken word amen [Music] my god is awesome my god is awesome he can move mountains keep me in the valley hide me from the rain my god is [Music] [Music] [Music] hide me from [Music] [Music] we can is [Music] my god [Music] save your own [Music] [Applause] [Music] my god is awesome [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] he's holding he's only [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] my god is awesome he [Music] [Applause] [Music] my god is [Music] [Music] [Music] water you turned into wine [Music] open the eyes of the blind there's no one like you none like you into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one [Music] our god is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than any other our god is into the darkness you shine out of the ashes you rise there's no one like [Music] our god is greater our god is stronger but you are higher than any [Music] our god is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than any other our blood is and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is with us then what could stand against and if our [Music] and [Music] [Applause] then who could ever stop us [Music] [Applause] [Music] our god is stronger [Music] [Music] if our god is for us and if our god is for us then you could ever solve us and if our god is with us then what the stand again glad if our god is for us then you could ever stop us and if our god is with us then what could stand again and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is stronger our god is greater i've got it stronger god you are higher [Music] is other our god is thank pandemic praise for blessing our hearts this morning the bible lets us know i was glad when they said unto me and let us go into the house of the lord let us pray together as we begin this word spirit of the living god we hours of this morning you and i had a conversation about this moment speak lord for thy servant is listening in jesus name let the redeemed of the lord say amen come on somebody say amen again ah i lift up before you today verse 1 verse 1 of the first chapter verse 1 of the first chapter of the gospel as recorded by saint john for the next several weeks we will be dealing with uh john not just from the gospel uh but we will get into first second third john and we'll get into john the revelator later on as well but but we're going to wear john out for the next several weeks if that's all right with you the bible says in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god the same was in the beginning with god all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made i've entitled this originating this un-deriving this apocalyptic pericappy simply the word of god the word of god it is important for us to realize today that john was if you would the youngest of the disciples john is also referred to by himself throughout the book of john as the one whom god loved he is called the beloved disciple as you know jesus had if you would uh an inner group uh around him uh at all times jesus chose 12 disciples uh they were his special uh committee that he would use to up or overturn the world but amongst those 12 he had an inner three peter james and john for certain missions he couldn't take everybody he only had to take peter or could take peter james uh and john uh they they were his inner group they were this special three uh even when it was time to have somebody pray for him uh when he's in the garden of gethsemane it's peter james and john they that not not all the disciples were allowed to be in that inner circle and then amongst those three there was one and that was john he was the youngest he was the most impressionable uh brother this he was because he was young he didn't come with all of the preconceived notions he didn't come with all the baggage he didn't come with other stuff no when he shows up he's fresh and ready to learn and there's nobody that's learning and understanding the mission of christ like john even though he is the youngest it's very interesting that in this particular book the theme of this book uh is actually belief in the word of god uh for in essence the bird belief is mentioned 93 times in this particular book and central to all of that is the word of god uh this particular verse is a very powerful text found within genesis oh sorry found within john chapter one verse one is if you would a reflection but a further elaboration on genesis 1 verse 1. the bible says in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth it's important to realize that in essence back in that hebrew language we are talking about the better sheet bara elohim that in essence uh it was in the beginning that god created it's important for us not to mistake or forget for one second that in this moment god is actually saying that time began at creation that before there was creation there was no time although there was pre-existence we can't fathom what it's like to be alive and there be no time time is everything for us when we get up and when we go to sleep and when we go to work can you imagine being in a place where there is no time uh it's interesting because in this text the bible lets us know that in the beginning was the word and john actually elaborates further than those or if you would than moses did in genesis the bible lets us know that in essence it's important for us to grasp this simple concept that in essence in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god now i need you to crash this just for a second in the greek this nrk ain't it's important to realize that this is the first allusion to the word that we find in the book of genesis john elevates the phrase from its previous reference to a point of time and the beginning of creation to the time of absolute pre-existence before any creation which is not mentioned until verse 3 the beginning had no beginning i wish i had a witness in this place to understand that that the beginning had no beginning in other words jesus existed before there was time before the beginning began he just was after the ending will have ended he will still be it's important to grasp this concept that in essence jesus or if you would god does not come into the scene this word this logos does not come into the scene if you would when time begins but rather exists before time begins now it's it's interesting because when we look at this we find that this particular text is filled with some very deep points for in the beginning was the words he wasn't just there the bible says and the word was with god now it's important that it's actually being distinguished here we understand that there are three persons of the godhead and here you have it clearly distinguished for later on it says and the word was god you can't sit there and say that god was the word because if god is just the word then in essence the word is just simply a part of who god is but rather the word was god meaning simply that you have the son you have the second member of the godhead who is also god that the word the word is god now understand this we have elaborated on this to a just a little extent before as we talk about lagos university the word when we look in this text how long us the word i need to make that clear you know i still have people and people love lagos university they love watching they love being a part of it and it's interesting because i still struggle to find somebody terry who pronounces the name correctly i still hear logos huh i hear lagos i hear logos you know what i'm saying but it's just too short oh so i don't know i don't know i need to go back to kindergarten and break down the fact that two short o's don't make the old sound they don't sing their name but rather they are short vowels it is logos come on say it with me out there on tv it is love us in the beginning log us the bible lets us know was the word and the word was with god hmm what are you talking about preacher what is this word that you are talking about today and i'm glad you asked because you need to understand that this word this word that is translated simply the word does not do it justice to simply say it like that rather in in its original language the word is actually an expression or keynote theme of this entire gospel it's important to realize that logos is from the root leg appearing in lego the primitive meaning of which is to lay stay with me to lay then to pick out to gather or to pick up oh stay with me to pick out together or to pick up hence together or put words together or so to speak hence logos is first of all a collecting or collection both of things in the mind and of words by which they are expressed it therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and the inward thought itself if you would uh is expressed to think and to speak now now what are you talking about that in essence uh that when we say in the beginning what's the word or in the beginning was uh logos that it's important to realize that before the beginning began that in the mind of logos came some things into his mind there was a collection of things there was a collection of ideas of there was a collection of what he would do with creation there was a collection of thoughts in his mind but at the same time that the collection of thoughts was going on he was also collecting words in his mind to express what the things were that were in his mind now i need you to grasp this just for a second because not only is it a collection of thoughts it's not just a collection of thoughts it's a collection of words to express the collection of thoughts that are in his mind now understand this here's what's different is that in essence it's when he speaks the words when he speaks the words that our collection or if you would explaining or if you would speaking forth the actual collection of thoughts in his mind that things happen oh lord help us it's not just a thing where you and i have authoritarians you know what hey listen man you know this this right here will be some nice words for a song we should write this song together this is some great stuff let's write it down but but in essence we then have to go and make some music and come up with a song when jesus went god when the logos speak stuff into existence it just shows up oh come on now when he's there he is there and he has this collection of thoughts and he has this collection of words and then they come together and when he speaks them it actually comes forth now here's what's interesting later on in this text the bible says the word became flesh and dwelt among us that in essence the word decided that he would come and clothe divinity in humanity that he would come and live and dwell among us now what's interesting is is that the text lets us know that everything that ever was created was created by him uh lord help us and so in essence in order to speak this into existence he has to now when he speaks he has to if you would clothe himself in humanity when he speaks he prepares a body for himself when he speaks he prepares a woman to carry an actual virgin to carry this baby it's important to realize that in essence after after mary after mary gets pregnant she is still a virgin oh lord help us i wish i had a witness in other words jesus must be born from a virgin uh that's what the text says not just a virgin in conception every woman is a virgin before her first relations but in this moment even after the baby is inside of her mary is still a virgin it's an amazing thing because at this particular point in this particular journey jesus decides to become flesh and when he does so he must speak into existence his own mother uh he must create his own mother he must create the womb in which he will live in he must create the birth canal that he would come out of and in this momento because he is log us whatever he speaks happens whatever he speaks is not just something that actually happens from a perspective of events but also happens from a perspective of things that simply appear oh come on now this is a direct reference to genesis where in essence jesus says let there be light and the bible says there was light he says let there be a moon some stars let there be a sun and there was a moon stars now understand that these things did not exist before he spoke them they were simply a collection of thoughts in his mind that he then applied a collection of words to express the collection of thoughts but once he spoke them they became something i need somebody here to understand that in your own personal experience in your own walk with jesus christ you may not be able to see out of what you're in right now but you ought to understand this that so long as you are on the lord's side that he's already prepared a way of escape to the extent that there's a collection of thoughts that are in his mind as to how he's going to deliver you and when he decides to put those collection of thoughts with a collection of words and speak them that whatever you're going through must end at that moment uh friends i need you to understand today that it's an incredible god that we serve and in this particular text we actually find a very special greek construct that only john uses and john only uses it twice just twice do we find this construct in scripture the bible says in the beginning was the word and the word was with god that's what it says right the word was with god pros ton beyond where it was with god important to realize that not only does this construct denote with or about but in actuality denotes not just that they are in union but they are in communion that in essence although they are distinct persons they are of the same essence they're two different individuals but they are of the same substance uh uh uh hama you see so it was one of the words that they used in the early church our early church the early christian church wrestled night and day trying to figure out how to describe divinity and how to describe the son and finally they came up with a word that that would simply explain it and this word meant of the same substance that that michael was of the same substance as the father and in this moment it's important for us to realize that in this moment we have this special greek construct that in essence you are actually in or in communion with that you are in one accord there's an intimacy there uh it is it is a union if you would it is an example of marriage uh even for parents in the sense that you have to understand that when your children come to you and they ask a parent can they have some candies and if that parent says no if mommy says no they shouldn't be able to go to daddy and daddy say yes i wish i had a witness in this place that that in essence uh there ought to be no differentiation between the two that what you get from one you ought to get from the other it's this unity it's this union it's this communion it's just one accordness of it is this togetherness that helps to raise children that understand that mommy and daddy are one and just because mommy went to the store don't mean i can go in there and get over on dad it's an amazing thing because this particular construct is not just used here but later on it's used again just one more time the bible picks up there in john chapter 14 and verse one yeah that's the only other time this construct is used gentlemen he said what are you talking about well john chapter one verse one we have the prostant theon huh being it was the word and the word was with god yeah but in john chapter 14 you have a very familiar text it's very important when we look at it because when we take a look at it closely we understand we understand that jesus is just fresh off if you would in the previous chapter fussing uh with peter uh in just chapter 13 peters keep talking about you know i will die for you i'll do anything for you i got your back you know what i'm saying when they come don't worry i'mma fight i got you covered huh and jesus has to let him know uh that before the crows twice you'll deny me three times you know that's that's pretty much how 13 ends off but as you know uh in the greek there are no chapters there are no verbs no no it's just one book it's just one one one written piece and the very next sentence comes with jesus saying let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me in my father's house are many mentions if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you and if i go to prepare a place for you i will come again and receive you unto myself that where i am there he may be also but he doesn't stop there he says whether i go ye know and the way you know huh what he says you already know where i'm going y'all know where i'm going y'all already know how to get there yeah don't worry i already gave you the gps coordinates you gotta cuff just get in the car and drive thomas said until lord first of all we know not whether thou goest this is this is thomas and how can we know the way so thomas says you shouldn't talk about oh we know where you're going no we don't so how in the world can we know how to get there if we don't even know where we're going one of the worst things you can do one of the worst things you can do especially in the states is get in the car and drive to go somewhere with the wrong directions uh lord help us um i don't know you guys you may say i'm gonna go find a you know a nice walmart or i'm gonna go to find a good target or a target as they go i'm gonna find this nice store and you type it in i want the one that's closest to me but you you you type one that's in the wrong state it's not in your state and you end up on a journey to a place that's much further than what you should be going because you don't have the right directions and jesus tells him you already have the right direction thomas says no we don't we don't even know where we're going you ain't giving us no directions because we don't even know where we're going and it's in that moment that we find we find this greek construct one more time where the bible says jesus saith unto him i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me yeah yeah yeah yeah the first one was no if you would in the beginning was the word the word was with god the word was with god the prostitute in this one we have the preston porter no one cometh unto the father in other words this particular text is a reflection on john chapter one verse one where in essence jesus says i am in union i am in communion i am unified i am one with the father yes we are two different separate persons but we are one and in this moment he lets them know that i am the way i am the truth and i am the life and no man cometh unto the father the president for terror no one comes unto the father but by me in other words i am in such tight union i am in such close association that you can't even get in except you come through me it's important to realize that even in parenting when you have children that the children should understand that getting through one parent means you got through both oh lord help us up that if one agreed it's because the other agreed as well they should never feel up that i got over because mommy wasn't home they should never feel like got over because dad wasn't around and you know how kids are kids have a way of knowing which parent to ask for what they want at that particular moment there's one parent that will give them candies there's another parent that might not make them do their chores ah there's one parent you come to and say oh oh you know mom i don't feel good you know i i don't i don't feel good can i not do my chores today you know and the mom may say okay but but but but but that boy knows if he acts dead then get your bottom up and go mow that grass it's important to realize that parents should be so unified that whatever one says the other one should already agree and be unified and one accord in this moment jesus says no man cometh unto the father but by me it's amazing thing because this word of god is so powerful that whatever he speaks happens whatever he says comes to fruition it's important to realize that even as we run through these particular texts and we look at this particular story that we find that it's the word of god that not just creates the world but it's the word of god that calls if you would prophets to ministry it's the word of god that speaks words of life into those who need hope it's the word of god that is actually the foundation of jesus showing up in the first place and when we take a look at this we have to understand that the prime mover of creation is the man we call her logos it is the word of god that begins things at creation and it's amazing because before time exists he just is now i i i could stay here all day and let you know not just the fact that he is but he always is that whether you are in the past the present or the future he just is and it's amazing to see this from the perspective of those who have gone before us it's important to realize that in essence when god speaks a word it just simply is when he says something it just happens it's amazing thing because it points directly to genesis chapter 1 i turn your attention to psalm 33 verse 6. the bible says by the word of the lord where the heavens made and oh the host of them by the breath of his mouth huh just breathe breathe huh and birds show up just simply speak it and lions come it's amazing to me that god creates a mature creation he doesn't create little infants and babies and embryos no no no no no no the theory of evolution is completely contrary to scripture god creates a mature creation that when he speaks for lions to come forth they come forth but they never existed before lord help us is that like he's calling a creature that's already there it's not like he's calling on birds that already exists it's not like he's calling on giraffes and dinosaurs that are just in the forest waiting for him to call but rather he calls them from nothingness and they come forth whoa hold on a minute now because in these last days we understand that many will die before we get to the second coming of our lord and savior jesus christ that in essence their bodies will be reduced to dust and to ashes to absolute nothingness but you ought to understand today that god calls things out of nothing when he speaks nothing becomes something when he just sets something up it just shows up i need you to understand that if you serve a god that can make something show up out of nothing i think that he can pay the mortgage whether you've got a job or not he can make ends meet up whether or not you got the money in your pocket he can make a way out of no way understand he's not limited by anything because he is the luggage he is the word and whatever he conceives in his mind and then utters with his voice happens it doesn't matter where you are doesn't matter what's going on if he thinks it and he says it then it happens it's amazing thing because the bible says thy word have i hid in my heart that i might not sin against thee the bible lets us know all of my steps in your word and let not iniquity have dominion over me the bible says over and over and over again texts like thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path the bible says in isaiah chapter 8 verse 22 the lord and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them that's what the bible says huh but isaiah 40 verse 8 says the grass withereth and the flower fadeth but the word of all god shall stand forever if that's not enough he says sanctify them through thy truth thy word is true why because there is nothing that you can trust more in this day and age than the word of god huh matter of fact matter of fact the psalmist says the psalmist says it's even better than the name of jesus oh lord help us the psalmist said that he has magnified his word above all his name when he speaks it's done but i need you to understand that when jesus shows up you have if you would all three manifestations at the same time for we already had the thoughts of god and and we already had the words of god expressing his thoughts oh we should have a witness in this place but when he shows up the words actually become flesh come on man and they dwell among us now it's important to realize that that that when you pick up your scripture you have a special privilege lord help us um you're not just holding a written word you're holding the living word oh come on now uh you're not just holding any book when you have devotion in the morning when you have worship when you have some time where the family comes inside you ought to understand that in that moment you're not just holding up if you would words and letters and paper but you are holding up the word of god it's important to realize that you ought not to be like those who have gone before us who did not realize the time of their visitation and didn't know that they were holding up the living god i refer you to the priest that is the one who is dedicating jesus holding the word in his hands he has been taught all about the word he has read all about the word he has memorized everything about the word yet when he's holding the baby in his hands when he's holding the actual word in his hands uh he don't know who he is oh i need to pause it just for a second and let you know that in essence you ought not to come church and know the bible so well and be able to recite scripture and prophecy yet not know who god is the truth of the matter is is that you can know this but not know him oh lord help us up they knew the scriptures but it was simeon on the outside there was hannah on the outside that are out there and in essence in that moment they are actually the ones who know that this is the messiah pray day and night let me see him i want to see him it's an amazing thing because they missed their visitation and even when the priests had the privilege of carrying the ark of the covenant and that shekinah glory was there they had the privilege of carrying god on their shoulders when they take jericho they take jericho because they are carrying up the word of god logos is walking with them and because of that the battle is already won it's an amazing thing because scripture does not leave us there because god's word is also a healer you know some people are struggling with health some people are struggling even in this covet crisis and i love that in psalm 107 verse 20 the bible said he sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their so i i think it's interesting that even uh when one of the rulers came to jesus he didn't want to waste jesus time he didn't want jesus to come all the way to his house and he just said man i know that if you just speak a word i need somebody here to understand somebody out there today needs jesus to speak a word up into their life and he will bring deliverance it's an amazing thing because this word personifies if you would the wisdom of god it personifies what god is all about it's an amazing thing because god is one who loves us and god is the one that created us and when god created us in this particular text in essence in essence what john is giving us is a little bit more than genesis because this text lets us know that it was logos that created everything it's by him that everything is created it's very interesting as we take a look here wind up here in just these next few minutes i want us to understand that this is the power of the living god the bible lets us know that in essence when we look at scripture not only is jesus the beginning but jesus is also the end he says i am the alpha and the omega i am the beginning and the end i am the root and the offspring of david uh i am that i am it reminds me of so much not just when he actually when he actually runs into moses on the backside of the desert and moses asks the question whom shall i say sent me jesus jesus doesn't answer him no that's not an answer that's not his name he doesn't give him a name he don't say jehovah no no say that matter of fact in hebrew the answer that jesus gives moses on the backside of the desert denotes that in essence he is actually saying to the people of israel and to moses it's none of their business what my name is simply tell them i am that i am ain't nobody's name ego and me ain't nobody's name but in essence tell them that i am that i am because as they walk and they time for them to actually leave egypt that in essence somebody is going to have to bring them out with 10 strong plagues and that's me tell them they want to know who i am i'm that you know what i'm saying in essence somebody's got to part the red sea tell them i am will be the one that parts the red sea tell them that in essence i am is the one that will bury pharaoh's army in the red sea tell them i am is the one that's going to give them uh the actual commandments and take them from egypt to the promised land and god is standing here on the brink of eternity while we are sheltered in place of wow we cannot mix households while we are to be afflicting our souls well we are to be covered with the blood of jesus christ wow we are waiting for his soon return to take us to the promised land god is looking at us and god is saying to you that i still am i am the one that will get you from here to the promised land it's an amazing thing because this particular passage reminds me if you would it's a very powerful text in scripture the bible lets us know that only that god sent his word and he healed them but i'm told in revelation that even when we get down there his name is still the word of god his name is still the word of god the promise is still secure that he that was there from the beginning will be there too the very end it's amazing because take a look at this i'm reminded of a god who loves us tremendously of a god who cares about his people this amazing thing because you think about the goodness of jesus it reminds me if you would of stories of a kid even growing up i remember coming up for the first 11 years of my life we had no tv no tv i think kids will crucify their parents today if there was no tv in the house but but but there was no television so you had to use your creativity to make up games uh often times being over at white's island hello you make up games yeah one of my favorite games was actually playing with marbles i love playing with marbles but not outside like shooting and stuff i like that too plays marvels you know you know you play um you know kings whole and all this kind of stuff man and you play uh you know keeps you play for keeps you put your stakes in the ring whoever shoots them out got guys walking around trying to steal marbles got got holes in their shoes walking over marbles trying to steal my guys did all kind of nonsense but you know my marbles game was i like to play marbles in the in the clean bathtub i like to play the marbles in the clean but yeah i did i i would i would i would you know it was a real race i mean you'd have thought it was nascar you thought it was the grand prix i literally take two marbles and i'd start them up at the top of the tub let them go down and race they would cross each other and come back up the other end and to me it was all about who first was to get into the hole whoever got to the hole first was the winner you know what i'm saying and man i could do that for hours racing and racing it never ended i never got tired of it um it never was something where i felt like oh i'm bored with this now i want to go i could do it and do it and do it because every time the race was different every single time they went down it never was the same the race was never the same it never ended up the sin there was no identical race as i think about god and his goodness toward us and how he delivers us he's got a million ways to do it it never it never comes to say it's always he's got a new way of delivering us the truth is is that we rather be something boring the same old way god i need some money welcome to the mailbox here's the money thank you god go back inside no no he says no then i got i got a million ways to bless you i can send a car by i can send a plane i can make money show up in your bank account i can reduce your balco bill i can do this there's nothing that i can't do to bless you because i am the word i am logos as we come here on sabbath mornings to study log us university we come to study this word this word that could just think thoughts and then think of words to express those thoughts and then when he speaks them they happen it's an amazing thing because i like the fact that when we look at this text john chapter 7 and verse 22 the bible says moses therefore gave you circumcision not because it is of moses but of the fathers and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man so the text is saying here man it's very important to understand that even when god is handling us even when god is handling the things of the sabbath even when god is handling everything and every doctrine every belief of everything we ever have held fast if it's not in lagos then it means absolutely nothing absolutely nothing malachi said behold i will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in behold he shall come saith the lord of hosts church family i need you to understand today that the same logos that was here before the beginning of time the same logos yeah that created the heavens and the earth the same logos that is the prime mover for the beginning of time it's the same logos that very soon will end time now we're told that after he comes back that we're going to heaven for a thousand years that the saints shall judge the world but when he comes back it's very it's very it's very significant for he creates a new heavens and a new earth when he created the first heaven and the first earth time began when he creates the second heaven or the new heaven and the new earth time will be no more it's important to realize that from then on throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity time will be no more i don't even know how to describe that i don't even know how to fathom that i understand throughout the seasons of the ages of eternity that we will keep the sabbath but we want to keep the sabbath in a time where time doesn't exist i don't know how the sabbath will be marked i don't know how exactly we play it on but i also know is that when we get to glory there's actually no need for the time regulator um when we get to glory church that that there's no need for the sun um you don't need a sun you don't need a sundial you don't need a watch you don't need a clock um it's hard to it's hard to imagine this but there will be no apple watches in heaven can you believe that can you believe it gone not existing no apple watches huh time will be no more it's amazing because the light of his glory will light the city and the brightness of him is brighter than the morning sun that in essence in essence in essence all of creation will bow before the word all of creation will bottle be for loggers all of creation will recognize who the creator is it's amazing because logos can speak into any situation and calm the stove it's amazing jesus is out there on the boat he doesn't say to the disciples run for shelter see if we were going to protect each other we say let's hide in this in the shelter let's hide in the hallway let's get down low let's cover ourselves let's make sure we're protected when jesus protects his disciples he doesn't tell them to pull in the sails or or the boat or take cover but he stands up and he speaks a word to the winds and the waves and the winds and the waves scripture says completely shut up lord help us because the winds and the waves they may not have a whole lot of brains but they got enough to know the master's voice they got enough to know that in essence stay with me that in essence he created or called them forth from nothing and that same voice that called them forth from nothing can reduce them to nothing whatever you're going through in your life whatever trials and tribulations are before you it cannot exist unless christ permits and if lagos says that's it that's it think about it the winds the waves the thunder and the lightning oh shut up when jesus stood up and used the words we we we you know the king james we get cute with it peace be still the greek is much stronger than that paphamosa perfect tense shut up and stay shut up i don't want to hear another word tonight huh and nature shuts down sea turns into a perfect calm wind stops howling lightning shuts up skills its corner and and because there is no lightning there can be no thunder hear a pendrive i want to posit to you today that we got to go through a whole lot of mess down here before jesus comes but oh there's coming a day but he will tell the devil and his mess shut up and stay shut up and we will experience peace like we've never seen it before the lion will play with the lamb we will sit at the welcome table we will have an internal time of incredible time of just rejoicing in the arms of jesus christ and god has allowed this pandemic to come upon us to prepare us for such a time as this the christ withers the flower fadeth but the word of our god shall stand forever in its context in its context it's humans that are like grass here today and gone tomorrow but god will be here forever so i challenge you today as we are about to take this journey through john to understand that there is nothing sure nothing more foundational nothing more that we can trust than the word of god not just the written word but the living word not just a word in my hands but the god who holds my hand not just a word that i read but the god who talks to me who tells me that i am his own now it's not just this book but it's a man who came born in bethlehem and when he was born in bethlehem he would steal the word when he was inside of mary's stomach he stealed the word oh come on now when he is hunger on calvary's cross he steals the word he's lying inside the grave he steals the word when he gets up on sunday morning he steals the word soon and very soon the word will stand up and say enough is enough he that is filthy let him be filthy still i pray that when that day comes you will have known god's word so much and hidden it in your heart that you have an experiential relationship with the living word because he says my sheep know my voice yeah yeah yeah yeah i got some seniors out there and i'll close with this because i got some singers out there that are not sure if they're gonna make it to the coming of our lord and savior jesus christ you've seen many pillars of this community of faith even here at hamilton that we have laid to rest in just the last few years and you're wondering if you're going to make it i want you to understand you ought to worry about nothing worry about absolutely nothing absolutely nothing worry about nothing for the same god that brought you into existence is the same god that will bring you forth from the dead father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for your sure foundation keep us in your hands we pray in jesus name let everyone say amen amen once you turn to somebody in your house turn to somebody on the couch somebody in your bed let them know that is not just a written word it's also the living word it's not just the bible it's the man we call jesus christ god bless you and enjoy the rest of this yourself amen let's turn with me as we sing our closing hymn hymn number one praise to the lord the almighty the king of creation oh my soul praise him for he is thy health and salvation amen him number one praise to the lord the almighty the king of creation [Music] is [Music] shine [Music] shielded his wings lay so great [Music] sustained hast thou not seen how thy desires [Music] praise to the lord who doth prosper thy work and defend surely his goodness and mercy here daily [Music] if with his love he be foreign amen amen amen let us borrow heads as we close this profitable time righteous god and our heavenly father we thank you for the written word from which we've heard the spoken word that has led us to the living word the man christ jesus the logos we thank you lord for his presence in our lives but even now lord there are some of us there many of us who are going through difficult times and even as we close this service their situations their circumstances will still continue we ask the word at this time to speak peace into their lives we ask the word at this time to speak victory into their lives to speak comfort into their lives and deliverance and may they as they travel and feast upon the word each and every day may they be drawn to the living word and may save their lives bless us now as we leave this place o lord and save us eternally in your kingdom we ask in jesus name let god's people say amen and amen amen let the church say amen god has spoken let the church see amen let the church say amen let the church save amen [Music] be blessed happy seven [Music] [Music] do [Music] i trust in you [Music] i believe you [Music] oh [Music] you are the god of miracles [Music] i believe i believe i believe i believe i believe [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] powerful i believe believe i believe i believe i believe [Music] they will be no more amen amen amen [Music] goodbye to my [Music] so [Music] so [Music] you are [Music] i believe i believe believe [Music] i believe i believe so long my [Music] oh [Music] no more [Music] [Music] sickness [Music] i believe i believe i believe i believe i believe [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] bye

Channel: Hamilton Seventh-day Adventist Church - Bermuda

Views: 5,200

Rating: 4.9473686 out of 5

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Id: FK7KOPGfI7k

Length: 233min 50sec (14030 seconds)

Published: Sat May 01 2021