20200912 | The Day that Changed the World | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

and a blessed sabbath to you once again if you're just joining us whenever i come to church on sabbath morning not because of me but i always expect good things because the lord is in his holy temple amen someone he is blessed this day and because he has blessed it he promised that when we stand under the canopy of his blessings we will also receive the blessing i'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me as we go before the lord in prayer and as we trust him to guide us through our message today entitled the day that changed the world for ever gracious father in heaven every time i stand here i know that i am a human vessel but you have promised that christ in me is the hope of glory take these words lord and bring them to life add to them the power and presence of your holy spirit and give to us ears to hear what the spirit has to say to the church that we may receive the blessing that you intend and i'll give you the notes my hearts my hands my mind take them and use them for your glory and your honor in jesus name i pray amen earlier this week as i was preparing information for my sermon in the busyness of getting ready for things that are taking place at 3abn we're getting ready for camp meeting and a lot of other things and those of you that are on the staff at 3abn you know that no one wears one hat we're continually doing so i'm working on i said i have about six sermons i need to get ready in the course of this week what am i going to preach on this sabbath lord and i was looking at the calendar and then in the background i heard this is the 19th anniversary of september 11th and i thought i was there i remember i'm a new yorker i was connected to it my wife and i experienced it lord i'm going to ask you to give me wisdom to use that event to encourage to communicate and to learn lessons from the day that changed the world forever my wife and i were in grantham england during that week in september 2001. we were invited there i was invited to be at the speaker at it's like the it's like the pacific press in europe they invited me to be a part of the camp meeting and also to speak at the grantham press and my wife is a native of england she has family she was born in darby england so after the camp meeting we decided to visit with family and my wife being our travel agent that's what i call her i said honey what day should we return home she said let's go back home on september 11th 2001. so we enjoyed piccadilly circus we were downtown london we were enjoying the sights of england and she was reconnecting with her roots as we visited with family members there what a world it was so relaxed when peop when we prepared to leave england that morning we woke at 6 a.m our flight was going to depart at 9 00 a.m the airport was so relaxed we actually had an extra luggage and as we entered the desk to check in the united airlines ticket agents were so kind they said i will check the other one without any charge you know things are really light today what a beautiful environment our flight was set to leave at 9 00 am at that time it was only 1 a.m in the morning in boston and new york and new jersey and pennsylvania and washington and when we got on that plane what we did not know is in eight short hours the world would change forever i have on the screen a picture of my boarding pass you know they tear it off and i kept this i have this to this very day united airlines flight 955 london heathrow to san francisco september 11th there's a stamped on the ticket we were on that plane and 266 passengers as we look back on that fateful day we're flying we're in flight and i'm the kind of guy that i enjoy uh aeronautics i like to dilly dally and read about airplanes and i like to study about flight and on prior flights in the year before that we were having general conference in toronto canada and i remember being on i forgot what airlines it was but i had the opportunity of sitting in the cockpit in the third jump seat for 45 minutes as the pilots flew and they showed i was in angie my wife and the flight attendants were looking around the plane trying to find me and i was in the cockpit with the pilots i know that she was probably saying i know my husband has to be on this plane somewhere so with my enthusiasm to want to know about these planes we were on a boeing 777 a beautiful jumbo jet uh united airlines flight and i had a book at home i was reading about how that cockpit looks i wanted so badly bob to see that cockpit so i asked the flight attendant i said is it okay if i could get a chance to look at the cockpit in the plane she said well let me go check so she went and came back she said well if this were a domestic flight maybe but on international flights of the faa would does not allow anyone in the cockpit it's regulations and she said by the way my husband asked the same question last week and they told him no so i'm sorry i can't let you in the cockpit and i thought to myself well that's okay good attempt two and a half hours outside of california outside of san francisco i was sitting in my seat listening to the in-flight entertainment my wife was also and the pilot interrupted our entertainment with these words what i'm about to tell you may sound like a fairy tale or something that could never happen i don't know why he used the word fairy tale but he said the world trade centers in new york have been attacked and he went on and went on in the description and at that time the news was very sketchy it was talking about chicago and the news was so broad that but what we all knew that something terrible had happened i heard it right away i mean as you can tell i could hear anything but my wife didn't grab it right away and i stood up i i said honey did you hear that she said what and the pilot repeated that well immediately in in hindsight and as many of you know in hindsight things are often one uh 2020. i thought about it in hindsight as i learned of what transpired in new york and and the the the hijackers that were involved i thought to myself well you know what not to be insensitive to nationality but i look like i could be one of those hijackers because i had that look and i thought to myself i wonder what the flight attendant is thinking now that i asked her could i see the cockpit so i went to her right away and i said you know i'm so glad that you have regulations where no one could have gotten into the cockpit because according to the news many planes were hijacked i am so glad the united airlines doesn't allow anyone of the cockpit i want to clear myself right away amen somebody want to be no suspicion that this guy was trying to get out of the cockpit too and we found out the terrible news we were immediately directed to edmonton alberta canada we were one of the first planes to land there they were diverted and we began to hear the stories as we disembark from the plane we notice that people that had a middle eastern look were being pulled aside and being questioned and their luggage was being checked and we found out the terrible story that that morning passengers packed their bags for the last time and you know the stories of the various planes some of you are maybe just 19 years old and didn't know about this event maybe some of you are 17 and never heard about it what a day it was the day that changed the world forever the world was never the same i read the stories and i heard the stories two women drove to the airport together took different flights one on american airlines one on united and they both ended up in the same tragedy both of them were victims of that day another story came as follows a young lady arrived at work in the world trade centers in new york city where i worked i saw that building go up i worked in that building when i was in high school she arrived at work at eight o'clock and as soon as she arrived at work she was fired she cleared her desk left the building and in light of the event i'm sure she was glad that she was fired at 8 am because all of her former colleagues died on that faithful day what a day it was united airlines and american airlines at which time we were frequent fliers on both for the next two days there we were in edmonton alberta canada inconvenienced but one thing was for sure the world would never be the same again in one single event the world was changed forever i had some pictures these this picture that i'm showing you now was a picture that i took of the former world trade centers this was one month prior to that event in september my wife and i were in new york uh celebrating her brother's wedding anniversary and i took that picture on a clear day in august of 2001 and that day reason why this picture so important and significant is my sister worked for the fire department as an emt when i heard about the tragedy something else transpired she knew that we were in flight on united airlines and she heard about the planes that were involved in the incident she wanted to get in touch with me i wanted to get in touch with her i was concerned about her she was concerned about me so when we landed in canada at the time living in california my wife had a sprint phone and i had a verizon phone we did that so that we can have complete coverage roger and i knew that my wife never got good coverage sprint was just very sketchy at the times but verizon was reliable at least where we lived so i said to my wife i said you know i cannot wait till we land because i always get a good signal and the first thing i'm going to do is call my sister to find out what happened well as soon as we landed in edmonton alberta canada i turned on my phone i got no signal and my wife turned on her phone and she got a signal and she could not resist but to repeat back to me the verizon commercial says can you hear me now that was the only light part of it i had video footage of us they did not allow us to park near the terminal we had to park way out by the runway and they sent buses out and took people off of the plane one by one i had video footage that i i did not include in this and showing all the passengers getting off and we were there for two days and what we didn't realize on a different side note is just a little more than a mile away from our hotel was the largest mall in north america and we didn't even know it not that anybody was thinking about them all in such a tragedy but i learned that day that my sister was safe praise the lord she learned that i was safe and this was one of the first pictures that was sent to me this is one of the first pictures that was released from ground zero because my sister was there on that fateful day she had co-workers that lost their lives when the buildings came down i'm looking back at her journey she finally retired from the fire department and the police department in new york city made it through all of her years right to retirement but she lost so many friends on that day i never forget when she got down to the world trade centers she was supposed to be at work that morning at six o'clock but the night before she stayed out until about four o'clock in the morning at a club there in new york city where firefighters and police and all got together it was kind of like a departmental thing they all met after work and after going and staying out so late she said i'm not going to go to work at six o'clock i'm going to call and i'll go in at 10. that one decision saved my sister's life because when that building came down when the building when that incident occurred she was at home sleeping and then she received the phone call and she saw it on the news and they commandeered a city bus and as people were escaping downtown manhattan she was on her way into the city with other firefighters on a new york city bus she was there for nine months picking up body parts trying to find survivors and as a result of that she lost the use of her kidney a lot of health issues but praise the lord she was able to get another kidney and she's still alive today but i'm praying for my sister because she left the church as a 16 year old and i'm praying that she will come back but i never forget what she said that day when we spoke to each other from canada to new york as i was listening on the phone she said john i'm sleeping on a cot across the street from where the world trade center used to be my blanket is a plastic sheet god has been good to me and i look back on my my sister's journey and i keep saying god i said to her val the lord keeps sparing your life because he has a tremendous plan for your life and i'm still praying now that in her retirement that that plan will come to fruition but i learned something that day the lord allows tragedies he doesn't send them but sometimes the lord allows tragedies and today we're going to draw three lessons from what happened on september 11 2001 and we're going to see how those lessons apply to us today what can we learn from them i'll tell you what they are and then we will go through each one of them individually one there is a reason for everything everything happens for a reason i've learned as i've grown older when difficulty comes when a person loses loved one i've learned to be sensitive not to say well god allow them to die for a reason that's pretty insensitive we have to understand though behind the sovereign curtain of divinity we will never understand until eternity why things happen the way they do and why god and his sovereignty allows those things to occur but one thing is for sure god does not use evil god does not manufacture evil god does not send evil the second thing is man is fragile mankind is fragile do you all agree with that every one of us is fragile in our present society in this present environment back then it was new york city and washington dc and pennsylvania the major cities that were part of the impact uh newark new jersey a plane took off from pennsylvania washington boston all these cities were a part of the scenario in 2001 uh september 11th but right now we're in an environment where the entire world so the fragile nature of humanity is continually being emphasized in one event after the other and the third thing we're going to talk about is god is still sovereign and god is still loving say amen about it in spite of all that happens in our world today god is still sovereign and god is still loving i've learned in a wonderful way one of the days that changed the world forever was when sin entered the world when sin entered the world it was a day that changed the world forever the world has not been the same since adam and eve fell into sin in that terrible garden the one thing that we learn in that story in genesis chapter 3 and verse 5 is the deceptive words of the enemy in genesis chapter 3 and verse 5 satan sought ways to find access to eve's heart to try to indict the character of god and notice what he says in genesis 3 and verse 5 he said to her for god knows that in the day you eat of it that is of the forbidden fruit your eyes will be opened you will be like god knowing good and evil in other words he was saying there are certain things that god doesn't want you to see but if you disobey god you'll get the benefit of the things that god doesn't want you to see think about it let's look back on the world as it has been for the last 6 000 years i am convinced that god never intended for us to know the power of evil some people might say well we've gained this knowledge and that knowledge but had our appearance only been obedient to god it was never god's intention for us to know the evil that has ravaged the world for the last six thousand years we are living in this present disease environment this this this environment of conflagrations uncontrollable fires on the west floods in the east hurricanes in the south and disparaging unemployment numbers increasing by the tick of the clock this is a different environment but if you look at the six thousand years of human history it is amazing to me if we could see the world from god's perspective god could say if they had only listened this could have been avoided it was never god's intention for the world to become the way it has god has always understood the capacity and capability of evil and we saw that for the first time when september 11th hit it changed america's viewpoint of war because for the most part we fought overseas but for the very first time as as president bush at the time says the terrorists found our achilles heel we came to discover then on that fateful day that even in america we are not exempt from the ravages of terrorism and from the possibility of outside interference in our nation god knew that sin would make man his own worst enemy if our parents would have only listened that day that changed the world forever would have never occurred listen to how ellen white describes this in the book great controversy uh 1888 edition beginning with page 510 she says from the days of adam to our own time our great enemy has been exercising his power to oppress and to destroy but listen he is now preparing for his last campaign against the church all who seek to follow jesus will be brought into conflict with the relentless foe the more nearly the christian imitates the divine pattern the more surely he will make himself a mark for the attacks of satan all who are actively engaged in the cause of god seeking to unveil the deceptions of the evil one and to present christ before the people will be able to join in the testimony of paul in which he speaks of serving the lord with all humility of mine with many tears and temptations that is the lot of humanity if you ever serve the lord you know that there's a lot of joy but there's also a lot of tears and there's a lot of temptation am i telling the truth but what ellen white is saying under inspiration she's saying the world today if you make up your mind to serve god you will never be on satan's good side but i can say today with assurance i rather be on god's good side than on the devil's good side any day but make no mistake about what happened on september 11th make no mistake about what's happening in our world today god has no hand in this god does not use evil to accomplish his will he never does he may allow it and the reason why he allows it is because god wants man to see and as we are getting closer to the end we can see wars and fires and disease and suffering and the list goes on and on i could just talk about the list for the next hour but we can see unmistakably as emil bruno said evil is that which god does not will i'll repeat that again what is evil evil is that which god does not will whatever is not a part of god's will is evil and since god is not the author of evil the question we might ask ourselves is then why does he allow such evil a lot of people ask that question let's see what the bible says in romans chapter one where does it come from why does evil exist in our world today the apostle paul tells us in romans 1 and verse 21 it doesn't say that they did not know he says because although they what are the next two words although they knew god they did not glorify him as god nor were thankful but became futile the king james version says vain in their thoughts or imaginations and their foolish hearts were darkened when men choose not to follow the light of god if you don't walk in the light you're walking in darkness if you don't walk in truth you're walking in error if you're fighting against god you are an ally with evil if you're not on the side of truth you are a supporter of error there is no third category the bible says the reason why the world is in the condition it is in today is not because god has not revealed itself because paul says although they knew god they did not glorify him as god that's why the three angels message is so vitally important fear god and give glory to him it's not enough to know god we have to want to give glory to god men did not men did not want to give glory to god paul also says in this same passage or the same chapter they chose they chose not to retain god and their knowledge i could tell you something when god is pushed out of the mind of man he is capable of the most unimaginable but when god is there men are capable of the most unimaginable love think about it i'm sure you've seen the hand of god in your life when you give your life to the lord you have seen god working in you in ways that you never thought were possible but on the other side of that as the saying goes and let me see if i get it right sin will take you farther than you want to go and make you pay a price that you never thought you could afford but righteousness takes you farther than you ever thought you could go and creates in you a character that you never thought you could display the character of christ there's no third category there's no third category when jesus came he came to undo what happened on that day the first day that changed the world forever was that day when adam fell and opened the door to sin in the garden of eden and that became the focal point of the journey of christ in the book bible echo november 1 18 19 1892 we find this phrase since christ came to represent the character of his father to win man back to his allegiance to god to reconcile man to who to god he proposed and i love this he proposed to meet the foe and unmask his arts that man might be able to make choice of whom he would serve the lord decided to say is this the one you want to serve is this the one you want to serve so one of the reasons why the lord is allowing evil is men and women today thinking men people that have an intellect god is saying this is the world this is satan's world disease suffering fires floods earthquakes people's property that they have worked for decades to massage to the place where they find satisfaction gone in a flash this is satan's world this is the kind of world that he would have if he had been given total control of the world i praise god that this is not our final destination this is the world that satan would have a world of disease and suffering my heart has always moved just when i think i can't be any more sad i hear stories about people that are dying from this environment from this disease yesterday i saw a picture of a 29 year old young man he was a coach a coach on a football team in the picture of health wife said he was in great health 29 years old in a matter of three weeks the covert not only infected him but took his life in a matter of three weeks 29 years old she said no prior conditions so it's not necessarily true that people have to have a pre-existing condition but we are facing a contagion that changes metamorphosizes itself and affects people different ways jesus came to let us know that the world we see today the kind of world we see today is the kind of world that satan would have if he was given complete control to have the world his way but that takes me to my first point there is a reason and a season for everything the wise man solomon in ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 1. we're going to talk about the seasons he said to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven we're going through a season right now i like the fact that we're going through a season you know why iris seasons change as bad as covert 19 is if the world were to last much longer i'm looking forward to the day when when it can be reported well there are few outbreaks here and there but so far we've been able to get through it but you know what in the back of my mind i'm thinking just like the flu we have just been confronted by something that's going to be around a long time why do i say that i was listening to the cdc reports and it shocked me they said do you know how long aids has been around and as long as aids has been around they still have not yet found a vaccine to to cure aids it'll help you through the symptoms but there's no specific cure if they're trying to find a cure for this i'm going to say i pray that god will guide these individuals to have the intellect to find a cure but to everything there is a season but i thank the lord that the season of evil will one day come to an end but the season of joy and righteousness will never come to an end but we've got to get past this environment we've got to have a mindset that's why it's so important to study your bible daily if you study your bible daily while the bad news is all around you you can be reading the word of god getting the good news in you because if you focus just on what's happening on the news you'll be depressed you'll be discouraged you'll be disheartened am i telling the truth if you watch abc nbc cbs fox whatever the network is you cannot turn that off and say i feel much better than when i turn it on it's not possible but if you open the word of god the bible says the entrance of god's word brings light in his presence his fullness of joy at his right hand our pleasures forevermore if we put our lives in that category we'll begin to see in the presence of god there's fullness of joy at his right hand our pleasures forevermore what kind of season are we living in the apostle paul tells us very clearly what kind of season we're living in notice what he says in second timothy chapter 3 verse 13 speaking of the last days why does such evil occur why is there such atrocity in our world today the apostle says but evil men and imposters the king james version uses the word evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived now isn't that amazing think about that evil men and imposters people that look one way but they live a different way people that have a certain exterior but internal they are quite different than what they appear to be evil men and imposters but it says they'll grow worse and worse meaning here we are in 2020. could we have imagined this kind of world today joe we couldn't imagine it we could not imagine this kind of society today in light of all of this we must do everything we possibly can to make it through this time but the bible says that's not going to be the case people are not going to participate in the solution because evil men will grow worse and worse they'll not only like to deceive but bob it says in the deceiving of others they themselves will be deceived why does that why does the bible say that because people that are deceiving you somehow think that they're coming out on top well god is saying no you can't lie and not lie to yourself you can't teach error and not be deceived and destroyed by the very era as jesus said if the blind lead the blind which one falls into the pit they both fall into the pit this is the day and age of deception people are deceiving from pulpits deceiving from political podiums deceiving from financial institutions deceiving and entertainment deceiving and they themselves are being deceived we are living in the days that are just like the days of noah and what does the bible say about that kind of environment what kind of day is that here's what the bible says in matthew 24 37 but as the days of noah were read the last part with me so also will the coming of the son of man be as the days of noah were my mistake so also will the coming of the son of man be as the days of noah were so also will the coming of the son of man be according to the record we have caught up with the days of noah we have caught up with the days of noah people were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage buying and selling trading denying the very message of salvation until the day that noah entered the ark i like the fact that noah not only entered the ark but noah's family entered the ark i've said to myself and my wife and i know this the most successful evangelist ever is noah why because when the flood came his family was inside i love the fact that god has given us as evangelists and pastors the blessing of preaching and letting others be saved but there will be no greater joy for me than when the lord comes a second time that my family my brother my sister my wife all family members there's no greater joy than to know that when destruction comes your family will be saved out of it amen as the days of noah were it was so terrible but ellen white gives us a glimpse of what those days were we know but inspiration takes us behind the curtain testimonies volume 8 page 49 and paragraph 3. the lord's shoulder says as it was in the days of noah so shall it be when the son of man shall be revealed listen to what she says the lord is removing his restrictions from the earth that's sobering the lord is removing his restrictions from the earth and soon there will be what death and destruction now look at this this is showing you that he's removing the restrictions when he does it there'll be death and destruction increasing crime and cruel evil working against the rich who have exalted themselves against the poor those who are without god's protection will find no safety in any place or position human agents are being trained and are using their inventive power to put an operation the most powerful machinery to wound and to kill what a what a commentary what a commentary what she's in essence saying is if you think it's bad now you ain't seen nothing yet only by the grace of god that day that changed the world forever in the garden of eden unleashed these signs we're seeing today the day that changed the world forever it was our september 11th but it was adam and eve's day in the garden it changed the world forever everything that has transpired since the day that adam and eve fell is a result of the evil that was unleashed i heard a phrase once that really threw me and i thought to myself it's the most ridiculous phrase i've ever heard you want to hear it limited nuclear exchange of moses can you imagine limited nuclear exchange one nuclear weapon today is like 200 times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb or the nagasaki bomb limited nuclear exchange will shoot five at you you shoot three at us and we'll call it a day there is no such thing as a limited nuclear exchange man if god were to restrain if god were to to cause man to lose his mind we could we could annihilate ourselves but praise god you know why it hasn't happened ramona because the angels are holding back the four winds the reason why we can still walk around and experience the safety and the peace in our own homes is because god's angels are holding back the four winds but on the converse of that oh what what are we going to see when he bids his angels to release the winds the bible tells us what kind of world it was in noah's day genesis 6 and verse 5 the bible says the lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his hearts were only evil how often continually i'm not going to ask this question for an answer but i'm going to ask this for contemplation or maybe let me make a statement i don't know of anybody in my family that's evil continually thank you jesus can you imagine a relative coming over for thanksgiving and you say don't invite them they are evil continually that's a thought but this is not about a single individual this statement is about a society gone mad a world gone mad when you look at the world from the perspective of god evil the day that changed the world forever the most unimaginable crime unimaginable crimes sins of descriptions that will cause the most evil man to blush are being perpetrated in our society today what makes it even worse is when it gets endorsed legally what makes it worse is when it gets legislated marijuana legislated homosexuality legislated but the bible makes it clear what is highly esteemed among men is still a reproach to god what kind of world are we in today the bible tells us the apostle paul says to his protege timothy second timothy 3 verse 1 but know this that in the last days together perilous times will come why are the times perilous let me tell you why the evil thoughts in men's hearts are shaping the evil that is being developed in society when we were in uh nairobi kenya a good friend of ours who's at andrews university now very nice young man he was driving us around and he said let me tell you about nairobi kenya i said he said let me tell you the other side of nairobi kenya he said do you know in america where they have those checks that are now made where you can't duplicate those checks so you can't forge those checks he says you know why that exists because every day in kenya somebody wakes up thinking of another scam now i'm not indicting the whole country but this young man was saying he said we think of inventive ways every day and have you ever gotten an email saying you know my relative just died and left 50 million dollars but i need your help that's why when people want to friend me on facebook and i can't even pronounce their names and say never mind i don't want to be insensitive but we are living in a world today where the thoughts of the world are being shaped to reveal the evil that exists in the men's hearts and that evil that exists brings about the thing called perilous times perilous times are the processes and the result of the human heart well what kind of human heart in existence today does god show us what kind of heart does man have he tells us in jeremiah 17 verse 9 i always like this passage because i meet people that say you know i have good friends they have a good heart when i hear that i say read this and you might change your mind jeremiah 17 9 says about the heart the heart is deceitful above what all things and desperately wicked and it goes on to say who can know it meaning you don't even know your own heart we don't even know our own heart we don't even know the capability of our heart the day that changed the world forever not only affected society but it affected the human heart the human heart one of the reasons why we preach salvation through christ is the only hope for the human heart is a life that is transformed and saved by the grace of christ and you know it how dark would your life still be bob if you didn't accept jesus you know it how lost would your life be if you did not meet jesus some of you sitting here today know how dark your life would have been how far down the road you would have been as one good friend of mine says and i could smile when i say this he says one of the reasons i want to be saved is i don't want anybody to know what i've ever done because the human heart is deceitful praise god that god is still a saving god what do you say because in the annals of the records being opened during the thousand years when if i hold on to jesus they're going to open my record and somebody's going to say what happened to his record you're going to see one big stamp expunged clean blotted out that's what i'm looking for i know my heart is deceitful but by the grace of god god has taken this deceitful heart and transforming it that it might be a heart like the heart of god that's why i love the prayer of david the only hope for the world that was changed forever is the prayer of david this must be our prayer every day because the devil tests us every day psalm 51 10 created me a what clean heart oh god and renew a steadfast spirit within me or as the king james says a right spirit when you think you're right all somebody has to do is cross your path in the wrong way and that right spirit you had when you had your devotions all of a sudden you figure out how right am i right karen i don't believe they just took that key and purposefully scratched my car and i saw them do it i remember a story a good friend of mine my wife tells me the story so my sister tells me the story about a friend of hers in new york guy that she was dating they were in the village downtown manhattan showing you the evil of men's hearts and the complacency they deceive and are being deceived he said when he came out of a restaurant he saw a guy breaking into his car no i'm sorry pastor ca told the story guy breaking into his car ripping out his radio from the dashboard and the guy said hey yo that's my car he said wait a minute i'm almost done in other words i'll be done in just a few minutes don't worry about it i'll be gone you get your car but i'm taking the radio can you imagine the evil nature of a human's heart instead of saying i'm sorry wait a minute i'm almost done that's the deception of man's hearts that's why we must pray the prayer create in me a clean heart oh god and renew a steadfast alright spirit within me not only has the heart been affected and society has been affected but people's minds have been affected i have a saying don't just listen to what they say listen to what they don't say because the mind is a terrible thing the prayer of isaiah the direction of isaiah is the hope because i believe that a heart is renewed a heart that is renewed [Music] will result in a mind that finds peace a heart that is renewed results in a mind that will find peace and i have to tell you today what this present society needs is a mind at peace do we need a mind at peace there's some church members that can't function we talk to people who's in different cities we have a friend of ours who said this environment has so affected her mother that she just can't come out of the house elderly people my family in the virgin islands my aunt and uncle they say oh no no no no no we don't come out of the house we haven't been out of the house since march can you imagine what happens to a person's mind if they can't even come out of their house and they've been sequestered they have become a prisoner in the luxury of their own accoutrements for since march what does that do with the mind that's like solitary confinement by choice and they're concerned i remember going to visit our aunt my wife was with us in the virgin islands a few months ago and i said auntie we're here on the island she said oh no i don't know i don't want you to come visit me i haven't had anybody in my house since march i said we're clear but i don't know that she said but believe me we took the test we're fine we're clear we have no covert symptoms okay come over and we we were able to come over and visit my aunt and uncle they were sitting over there with their mask i was sitting over here with my mask or communicating how are you doing i'm doing fine all over you i'm doing fine something's wrong with that my sister tried to come over they said oh no no no no people are terrified people's minds are affected by what's happening that's why i love this passage i love this passage in isaiah 26 and verse 3 some of you know it by heart what is the promise we have you will keep him in what perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you because he trusts in you that's a promise that's why i am not going to talk about politics today because that passage if you want your mind to be challenged you start talking about politics that perfect peace will be attacked like a like a german shepherd dog attacking a baby in her cradle what a world what a world we are in today what we need more than anything else is perfect peace amen somebody satan has been trying to instill in us fear instead of faith in god he's been setting the stage so that we can think more of what he can do to us than what god has done for us that's why the world is the way it is today people looking at this side and this event and that person and that candidate and that situation and that coalition they're looking at this campaign management at that situation that disease that fire that flood their minds are so tossed they are focusing on what the devil is trying to do to us rather than what god has done for us and the servant of the lord saw this and the sda commentary on isaiah 26 verse 3 i i love the way that inspiration brings us to us she says trouble and turmoil may surround us that's a fact yet we enjoy calmness and peace of mind of which the world knows nothing this inward peace is reflected in what here's the antidote for this environment and what kind of countenance a cheerful countenance an unruffled temper lord give me an unruffled temper and a vigorous glowing experience that stimulates all with whom we come in contact the peace of the christian depends this is beautiful not upon peaceful conditions in the world about him but upon the indwelling of the spirit of god where in his heart that wonderful if i got piece of my heart that's why when i try to explain ricky what the what john and paul and silas are doing in prison here they are in prison at midnight having song service they're saying these walls can't stop me from singing these conditions can't stop me from trusting god in the world today the devil is intensifying his attacks and the lord is allowing it so that we can find clearly that the only place we're going to find peace in a world that has changed forever is in the person of christ only in him there's a time for everything secondly man is fragile are we fragile oh the bible says it psalm 103 verse 14. the psalmist david knew it he had some fragile moments in his life that's an understatement i believe he said looking at his frailty for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust when i think about that when i think about that don you know i like i died periodically don and i would talk and don would say one of two things he would say on one side if i didn't have the trust in god there would be no reason to be alive if i didn't have grace there would be no reason to save tomorrow to face tomorrow am i right i got my wife who i love on one side and the lord who i love on the other he said if i lost him both there would be no reason to even be alive because the lord knows that we are dust he sends these promises to us that in spite of what's happening in the world today we can find our faith anchored in a god who doesn't change he doesn't change he is still a saving god he is still a loving god and he is still a soon coming king amen to that he said hold on it's going to be a rough ride but every rough ride has an end to it every rough ride has an end to it when billy graham looked back at before he passed away he was commenting on what happened in the world trade center down in new york and i love what he said which brings us to the point of how frail we are but how trusting we can be in god he said when the world trade centers fell it was not because the foundation failed the foundation was still there you'll only understand it in light of this passage isaiah 26 16. he said the world trade centers fell not because the foundation failed the foundation was still there and the bible says in isaiah 28 and verse 16 therefore thus says the lord god behold i lay in zion a stone for a what foundation praise god that stone is still there why is it still there is a what kind of stone a tried stone a precious stone a what else sure foundation whoever believes will not act hastily you know what that means when you look at that word there hastily it means when you recognize that god is tried and precise precious and sure he says you won't have a life of anxiety what do i do next what am i going to do about my bills what about my job what about the stimulus package what about my income tax what about my car what about my kids he says when you trust in god the sure foundation the tried stone the precious cornerstone the shore foundation the stone that the builders may reject but you accept when you have all of that in the person of christ there will be no need for anxiety so i say the house may not have sold yet but god is still god whatever the case may be god still he's not lost control and when you try to find foundation in the in the institutions i was recently looking my wife and i made some changes in our lives and we were we were excited about our credit rating going up you know just praise god when you get into those high numbers those elite numbers all of a sudden people start liking you and we get mail after mail this bank wants to give us this platinum card and that company wants to give us this card and i'm saying wait a minute we just got out of slavery we're not going back in somebody help me out no you didn't get those credit cards in your wallet you feel good until the 28 interest shows up and the bible is true they try to make you feel oh welcome to this elite club i'm in the elite club of no bills amen honey that's the freedom the borrower is a slave to the lender but today the foundation we stand upon is a foundation that is sure the foundations is tried and precious that's the foundation and paul says to us in first corinthians chapter 3 and verse 11 talking about the reality of christ for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid which is what christ jesus we like the house channel we like to look at the house channel we don't own a house yet but we like to look at hd you know where the houses you know what i'm talking about ramona home and garden we like to see those houses that people buy for three thousand dollars and they fix it up and it looks like a mansion later on we said wow why would anybody want to buy that but then we look at the finished product wow how could anybody do that and then we say to each other that's what the lord did to us he found us on a on a on an auction block somewhere brought us back and turned our lives around amen someone that's what the lord does so when you try to build your house and so one of the shows that came to my mind in light of this passage i just read the people had said well here's our budget here's what we want to do and as they went and you know the whole they began to dig under the house he said oh we found some issues your foundation is bad well my brothers and sisters they said they said well it's going to cost you 15 000 more to fix the foundation before we could go any further and the people said does that mean we can't get the bathroom we always wanted they said you got to pick between the bathroom and the foundation i'm always finding spiritual application in something and i said it's so good to know that today when the devil goes digging into my foundation he finds jesus there don't have to worry about anything built on top of that when jesus is your foundation even in this shaky world today we can have a sure foundation no other foundation can anyone lay why is that foundation important here's why our high calling page 354 paragraph five why is it important here's why the end of all things is at hand do you believe that the day of god is hastening on a pace the world is full of crime and anguish and sorrow there are calamities by land and by sea storm and tempest make it unsafe for us to be separated from god for one single moment only those only those who live by faith in this probationary life will be able to stand in the day of test when everything that can be shaken will be shaken but they shall dwell in safety and be unmoved that's a hallelujah right there the world is messed up and it's messed up because it's all going down the hill from here it's all going down whatever you build on is temporary that's why i like the attitude my good friend pastor doug bashley had you know when i called him and he we were on the phone uh it was late there in in california but it was later here for us he said you still up i said yeah i heard about the fires i'm calling to see how you're doing and the signal was going in and out from kovalev up there in the mountains he said you know i i don't know i think i mean it's 10 miles away i said doug if the fire is just 10 miles away when you go to bed tonight you need a smoke alarm he said if i had a smoke alarm i would never sleep because there's so much smoke already and when he took a picture there and we karen sent it to us i saw him there standing in the meadow and he had that look like this is it he had that look on his face like i'm resolved if it's gonna all be gone it's gonna all be gone and i contacted him after he came back down he said i said how bad is it and in texting back he said it's really bad and he sent me a flame in the text it's really bad but i want to tell you that's what the lord said through a servant that's the world that we live in nothing is sure that's why in this time of in this probationary life if we could stand the test the day is coming that we will dwell in safety and be unmoved in the world to come that's why i like this in proverbs we're now in the book of proverbs my wife and i proverbs 18 verse 10 i love this passage when you don't know who to call here's who you call the bible says the name of the lord is a what strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe i studied that once and i came to the conclusion that when i didn't really understand it i just thought well you call on the name of the lord but when i studied the background in that text it gave me a deep appreciation what it said was when a crime was committed or a person was accused of a crime and his life was being sought by the villagers the strong tower was not far away and according to the law they had to make the path clear the roadway to the strong tower to the secret place of the most high where the high priest waited they had to make the road clear they couldn't be rocks in the road there couldn't be stubble there could be nothing to allow the suppliant to trip on the way to finding safety when people were seeking his life that person that was accused would run with all diligence to the strong tower and run inside and then the bible said teaching me as long as the high priest was alive he was safe i want you to grab this because earthly high priest died periodically if the priest died while he was in there he was no longer safe why is that good news to us today we could run in and the high priest is never going to die today we could run into it and are safe because as long as the high priest is alive we can turn to him in times like these and know that we are safe why do we need to be safe bible makes it clear we need to be safe because the lord is the one that's in charge the name of the lord is that strong tower we can run into him and be safe we can find safety in the presence and the power of christ something we desperately need today why do we need that why do we need that here's why we are about to enter a final stage of a war we're about to enter the final stage of the battle of armageddon we're about to enter the closing scenes of this battle and we must have assurance that god is still in charge revelation 17 4 tells us this they will make war with the lamb and the lamb will overcome them why for he is lord of lords and what else friends king of kings and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful called chosen and faithful revelation 17 and verse 14 which now brings me to my final point this part i think is the most important to me the final point is not only everything has a season god is in charge but the third point is god wrote the end of the story whenever danny and i talk he says you've heard him said you know we read the back of the book and as cliches as that sound when you read the back of the book oh i'm i'm i'm i'm i'm being tempted to tell you the story and i can't resist so i must tell you right now young boy was sitting in his bed late at night he should have been in bed his dad put him to bed prayed with him and but he kept noticing a light moving around in his son's room and he said son are you asleep i'm almost asleep dad but he kept seeing this light move around and he opened the door and his son had a flashlight and he was on the bed reading this book he said son you should have been sleeping a while ago why are you still up he said oh dad oh dad this story is a great story this is an amazing story what is it oh i've been reading this story about this robber that's been going from town to town in the midwest pillaging and breaking into the banks and stealing money and he locked up the sheriff and he he's frightened the people in the town and i kept reading dad and i got so discouraged it was just so hard to read i went to the back of the book and he met his match dad yes he did dad he met his match he went to a town where the sheriff arrested him and locked him up and so dad is so much easier to read the book now so i'm reading the rest of it because i know i read the back of the book and he kept listening he said but what i kept hearing you say something i kept hearing you say something what was that you kept repeating you what are you you kept saying something i was listening you kept saying something like if you only oh oh dad oh what i was saying to the robber is if you only knew what i knew i if you only knew what i knew he kept saying to the robber in the story because he read about if you only knew what i know when the devil comes at you you could say to him if you only knew what i knew amen brethren we find our hope and courage in christ this is why we find our hope and courage we know what the devil is trying to deny revelation 12 and verse 11 the bible says and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death therefore what rejoice oh heavens and you who dwell in them but there's a caution woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea for the devil has come down to you having what great rat because he knows he has a what short time if you only knew what i knew yes today we know something that the devil wants to deny he doesn't want to admit his time is short but we can see by what's happening around us that he knows his time is short in the sh in the closing scenes of earth the final movements are going to polarize everyone into one of two groups listen to acts of the apostles ask the apostles page 535 wonderful quotation she says let me go back i'm faster than i think i am acts of the apostles page 535 as the end of all things earthly should approach there would be faithful ones what kind of ones faithful ones who discern the signs of the times while a large number of professing believers would deny their faith by their works there would be a remnant who endure to the end you want to be in that remnant i want to be in that remnant enduring to the end and i tell you it's worse it's going to get worse it's going to get worse and then worse but i'm going to keep holding on i'm going to keep i have to keep holding on it's going to get bad but the lord says just buckle your seatbelts we're going to land we're going to go through some turbulence but when this is all done there'll only be two groups and i'm going to end by talking about these two groups the one group that i don't want to be in is those that are just content to work for god i don't want to be contentious to work for god i don't want to be content until i know that i'm not just working for christ but christ is working in me because in that day the day that's going to change the world forever in that day look at the first group here we are matthew 7 verse 22 and 23 many will say to me in that day the day that will change the world forever many will say to me in that day matthew 7 verse 22 and 23 lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name and then i will declare to them words that i never want to hear i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness why is that passage there because we are not saved by the work that we do for christ we are saved by the work that christ does for us christ in you the hope of glory i don't want to be in that group i want to be in this group i want to be in this group i want to when the world is falling apart when the angels release the winds when the evil that we've only heard about is buzzing all around us i want to be in this group when the world is dark and thunder is clashing and people think it's just thunder but it's the voice of god telling us the day and hour of our deliverance i want to be in that group come on somebody when there's no hope in the banks and the financial institutions when no pre-leader president or prime minister can give me hope i want to be in the group that knows where his hope and her hope lies when the world is shattered irreversibly i want to be in the group that says these words isaiah 25 verse 9 and it will be said together in that day what will be said behold looking above the smoke-filled clouds and the cities of the world looking above the dinner noise of crime at its height looking and listening above the sounds of evil spirits buzzing through the cities perpetrating their final acts before annihilation looking in an environment where there is no hope in any direction i'm going to look up and say behold this is our god we have waited for him and he will do what save us this is the lord we have waited for him and i love this we will be what glad and rejoice in his salvation amen that's why i'm telling you today i can talk about prophecy but i want to pause today and say to you there's a day coming that's going to change the world forever don't let the covet and the politics and the religion and the crime and the violence and the unstable financial markets and the rising unemployment cause your eyes to grow dim there is a day that's coming that will change the world forever look beyond the smoke fell clouds in the cities of the west look beyond the flooded cities in the cities of the east look beyond the towns that are torn apart by the hurricanes in the south and don't take these peaceful settings that we have for granted because one day we will know peace peace wonderful peace coming down from the father above the day that will change the world forever is coming the day that will bring you everlasting joy as only god knows it is on the way i remember that day when we were leaving canada and i'm closing now after two days being in edmontil edmonton alberta canada the first night we had to sleep in the clothing we had because they were searching everyone's luggage no one had luggage we received luggage the second day we slept in the very clothing that we had on two days earlier the airport was like a ghost town we rented as it were the very last car available and there we were in our hotel room sequestered and then we got a knock on the door yes we didn't have any room service they said i notice from the airport your plane is leaving today get ready we're leaving yeah get ready your plane is leaving today get ready there'll be a bus outside of the hotel waiting for you they'll transport you no actually take your car back and go to the airport and what should we do then you'll receive instructions when you get to the airport all of a sudden the world that was peaceful before 9 11 was completely different everything was done by proxy and particular procedures and legal functions and processes you couldn't just walk into the airport you had to get clearance to go in they follow that line and follow this line and get in that line and get into that line and we looked as far as we possibly could in the airport as far as we could to the left and to the right people waiting to some people there for hours some people there nine hours waiting for their plane and we were standing there hour after hour after hour after hour waiting until we met people in line we met a flight attendant from united and she was somber young lady we said to her she still had on her flight attendance uniform and she looked so somber and struck up a conversation i said i noticed your united airlines flight attendant you know she said yes i said and what's your story she said i'm on my way to the midwest and she looked sad i said why she said i'm waiting till i go home and i'm going to break down in my mom and dad's arms i said why she said i lost my friend that day i took a vacation day and my friend said i fill in for you and she died when that plane hit that building it could have been me and i knew that she didn't want to talk any longer and i said pray for you and she stood there waiting for her name to be called and as we were standing in the airport an announcement came over the loudspeaker the hour that the planes hit the world trade center can we all pause for a moment of silence and thousands to the left or to the right it was as though sound had been sucked out of the airport you could hear a pin drop one minute they said we'll be silent i can't help but to think of that passage in scripture there was more there was silence in heaven about the space of a half an hour and that pause will be followed by the announcement it's time to depart we got in line we got in line they went through our luggage they went through our luggage the the guy at the airport they were specific they took all everything out everybody's private clothing everything was shown everywhere they were taking everything out and i have video of that it just looked horrible that was when we knew the world will never be the same again it has never been the same again the guy found four cans of hairspray of mine he said you're only allowed to take two these are very combustible i said to him hey only you and i need to know about this he said okay okay okay and he let me go when we were waiting on the plane they said flight 955 is ready for departure go to this gate they gave us a bag with snacks in it they said there will be no any online all the cabinets have been sealed all the overhead compartments are sealed everything all your carry-ons will be will be put under the plane just carry your pocketbook and your laptop and that's it nothing will be overhead no bathroom service you will have no service for the remainder of this flight hold it and i learned something that gave me an indelible spiritual lesson we were the first plane to arrive there were american citizens on air france air canada air lingus these other airlines and ice they said your airline is the only one being allowed to now go to the united states so why what about all the american citizens and the flight attendant the the people at the desk said they were on the wrong flight they may be citizens but that airline is from that country only american carriers are allowed to go into america and i thought to myself to make it to heaven past the density we got to be in the right church only those that are on the remnant in the remnant church are going to make it in god is going to call us people together they're going to make it in we have to get permission to come on board so we're on the plane now we're all seated we're excited we're going home quiet no service no nothing and i looked out the window and i saw smoke i said to the fighter 10 i thought you said to us we're the only plane flying right now she said well let me check that she went and came back she said oh we're be we are being escorted from canada to san francisco by two f-18 fighter jets for our safety and i thought on that day we're going to be escorted into the kingdom by angels we're going to be escorted by angels i felt so good i said we are being escorted she said yeah they are protecting everyone on this flight from any possible incursion of any kind so their f-18s the flight the pilot said they're following us for safety reasons finally they said prepare for landing and you can feel the plane engine slow down we feel the plane descending we're thinking we are narrowing home like i see in the distance buildings that look familiar to me i could see the landscape of san francisco i could see california starting to come through the fog and everything started becoming clear we're descending jano is what i'm talking about if you've been in california you understand the bay area i can see the plane is turning preparing for its final descent and it's final uh approach and they said trade tables up seat in the upright and locked position put away all your stowed luggage and we're planning there and the plane finally lands and we disembark from the airport but as we are turning it to the terminal we can look to the left and to the right and there on the right side of the plane and on the left side of the plane a scene that we have never seen before all the baggage carts all of security vehicles fire trucks police cars baggage handlers security vehicles lined up on the left and the right and they're standing on top of their vehicles with signs welcome home welcome home i felt like i had just come from a war i felt like i just survived something that was so special to them that they wanted us to know they were glad that we were home welcome home on that great day we're going to hear the words of jesus then the king will say to those on his right hand come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world welcome home and outside of that gate united airlines had staff lined up and as we exited they said welcome home sir glad to have you back in america i felt like i just came from vietnam or from from the middle east somewhere i was looking for my uniform and i'm thinking wait a minute i'm just a citizen and they're saying welcome home the day that will change the world forever is just before us today is the day my friends to prepare for that day it's rough but oh how beautiful it's going to be to hear those words welcome home and the angels that are preparing now for that great celebration are going to be waving their flags welcome home come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world i'm going to ask you first if you're going to say to jesus today i want to have the faith to hold on it's going to get worse but i want the faith to hold on until i can see those signs the banner over the gate as we walk into the new jerusalem we walked into that airport like royalty we walked out of that airport like for the first time they know we live in california we're going to walk into that new jerusalem feeling like we are home your house is the first one on golden boulevard and elijah avenue that's my imagination but i gotta mention somewhere with my name on it and the lord knows that hgtv is gonna be full color 4k 8k we're going to see heaven in all of his glory and we're going to meet jesus so my brothers and sisters it's bad but if you want that faith to keep holding on why don't you stand with me it's going to get rough but if you want the faith to keep holding and trusting god you may have had relatives that have died of covet or people that are sad because they cannot pay their bills hold on hold on god will bring you through if you want that peace that passes all understanding turn your life over to christ today is the day to prepare for the day that will change the world forever god says behold i make all things new i want to be there when everything is new again i just want to hold on and i'm thankful that jesus is the one in charge of getting everything ready loving father in heaven what a world we're living in what an environment what can we do what would we be able to do if you are not our surety our peace our insurance if you were not our savior what would we do but today lord jesus we stand here with that blessed assurance as the songwriter says i can see the gleams of the golden morning piercing through this night of gloom i'm going to keep looking above the smoke-filled cities i'm going to keep looking above the houses devastated by hurricane-force winds and the homes swept away by by relentless floods and crime filled cities and hope that people are not able to find father today send into that home into that sequestered apartment to that home that seems to be a place of incarceration send faith to your dear children to let them know there's no need to fear look at me the author and finisher and i will carry you through so father thank you for the assurance of your word but more than all that you've done for us thank you for jesus the foundation that will never be broken the promise that will never be unfulfilled and the person that we can always turn to and find peace and joy forevermore thank you lord that we can look forward to the day but may we be faithful by not just the work we do for you but the work that you do in us and lord may it be our joy to hear those words well done welcome home come come on in everything is ready we've been waiting for you we've been waiting for you we look forward to that day that will change our hearts change our lives change our perspective and that will change the world forever may we be faithful to that end in jesus name i pray and all of god's people said amen and amen god bless you you may be seated you

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

Views: 25,151

Rating: 4.8125 out of 5

Keywords: Adventist, 3ABN, Sermon, Church, Last Day Events, Sabbath, Saturday, End Times, Prophecy, SDA, Religion

Id: UgwblXSFMSY

Length: 85min 13sec (5113 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 12 2020