20201024 | The Great Appointment | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

the great appointment let us bow heads gracious precious father in heaven we thank you for your goodness and your grace this morning we are a people that are not worthy of the great gifts you extend to us and yet we find in your presence a grace that has no end we pray this morning as we open your word that we'll not only gain an intellectual understanding but that our lives will be transformed speak to us lord these times in which we live are challenging at the least but help us not to forget that you have ordained a great appointment and as we absorb that theme may it continue to be the cadence of our walk with you in jesus name amen i know the elder read the scripture but i want to read it one more time because it is so profound it is so familiar but it is so relevant you know in the middle of all the turbulence that we're facing today it is so good to know that above every storm the sun is undisturbed above every atmosphere of turbulence the sun continues emitting the light and the warmth and the consistency of the hand of a divine creator it is good to know that in the midst of the confusion division strife bloodshed war and ever unwinding descriptions of sin on planet earth that the sun just keeps on as jim gilley said keeping on this passage to me is like the sun it says to us that regardless of what comes to impact our lives whether on success or failure whether on life or death because every moment in our world a baby is being born and someone is taking his or her last breath every day there are successes and failures that are passing each other in their rounds of application and participation somebody today is rejoicing at the birth of a new child and somebody's lamenting at the loss of a loved one but the cadence of matthew chapter 24 continues like the sun shining in all of its glory saying to us don't be distracted by those things because the mission still remains that's why that's why matthew after unfolding all the signs of the end he connected the signs of his prior propagation to the statement talking about wars and rumors of wars nation rising against nation he he puts a period and said don't forget and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations and matthew's exclamation and then the end will come and so i thank the lord today that in the midst of all what we all that we see the gospel is being preached and the end is on its way no need to fear no need to be concerned no need to be upset about what is happening around us concerned yes do what we can to alleviate it of course but don't allow the world around us to cancel the great appointment that god has given to us come back with me to a time quite different than ours come back with me to a time before the word digital was ever born a time where lights were faint and halogen lights did not exist where communication was minimal and to get a message from one place to the next you would think of weeks and months before the message that was written would be a message that is delivered 176 is years ago is a long time 176 years is a long time to wait for anything yet that is how long it's been since october 22nd 1844 the day of great expectation when pioneer adventist in north america waited for jesus to return i'll make the point throughout the sermon but the seventh-day adventist church was not yet in existence the word adventist simply means someone looking for the second coming of christ when you think about the birth of this movement in a society where the preaching of the second coming of jesus was unheard of god lit a candle in the life of an individual for you see for a time it may appear that truth has relinquished its freedom to the restraints of darkness and when you study the bible you find this ever increasing hue of the rising sun that declares that truth has always been unshackled can you say amen there are no chains on truth but truth is a continual revelation what is written in god's word 50 years ago or a hundred years ago or 200 years ago it hasn't changed it's just the eyes of man the study of the human heart that brings to the surface gems and diamonds long hidden in the depth of god's word a message delayed does not mean a message denied god's timing is always the right timing the prophet habakkuk says these words in habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 3 we read he said for the vision is yet for an appointed time god has a timing for everything he says but at the end it will speak and it will not lie though it tarries he says wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry in the minds of some people believe that jesus should have come already i've heard people say and even our dear messenger the servant of the lord ellen white she said if we had done our part the lord will come long before this and i hold on to that statement with light hands because when i study the scripture the bible says no man knows the day nor the hour of the coming of the lord each one of us believes as the apostle peter did and as the apostle john believed as joel the prophet said in the last days and on the day of pentecost when the spirit of god was poured out on the day of pentecost peter preaching on that day said this is what the prophet joel said would happen in the last days on the day of pentecost peter used the phrase the last days my brethren that was a good 2000 years ago but to the apostle peter who probably didn't have long to live those were the last days what am i saying in every age the people of god need to be ready for the coming of the lord as though jesus died yesterday rose today and is coming back tomorrow the prophets and the apostles were true to the call on their lives but make no mistake about it habakkuk the prophet is clear the vision is yet for an appointed time god has everything based on a time frame that's why they could not arrest jesus until he said this is that this is my time this is the hour of darkness they could not arrest him until his time had come when jesus came the first time the bible says when the fullness of time had come god sent forth his son heaven works on a time clock god's calendar not our calendar and so the so the pioneers believed that jesus should have come a long time ago but i never forget the statement my my dear pastor that i admire so much who's now resting in jesus elder cd brooks when he was preaching one morning at the general conference to those who are attending worship service he as an african-american preacher said brethren jesus was not coming in 1844 because y'all are not going anywhere without us and they couldn't help but to smile for you see this fledgling movement back in those days was a handful of individuals that god was planting seeds for the development of the advent movement god was lighting candles yet there were millions of candles yet to be lit and god said this appointed time would come so i say today heaven knows no haste and no delay its footsteps are linked to the cadence of prophecy as the songwriter said his truth is marching on but heaven sets the cadence not humanity our understanding cannot increase nor delay the coming of the lord for the lord knows the day and the hour not even the angels know it but only the father but god's messages are always urgent but they are always time stamped the prophet daniel in daniel 12 and verse 4 says these words when god gave daniel a vision of what was coming he said to daniel but you daniel shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase i could say beyond a shadow of a doubt knowledge has increased we can do today what we couldn't do 10 years ago and we can do 10 years ago what we could not do 20 years ago everything is continuing at a pace rapidly in some cases more rapidly than the human mind could even adjust than the human body and the human heart can even adjust to the cadence we can't even out we can't even assimilate as many videos as are added to youtube on a daily basis i was listening to one article one writer said that there are more videos uploaded to youtube on a daily basis then we can watch if all we did was watch a video for the next 500 years that's in one day that's in one we go to youtube in one day more videos are added then we can watch wrestle in 500 years if all we did was watch a video knowledge has increased when you understand the unfolding of the advent movement you discover something very significant in in 1776 america rose to prominence just about 22 years later the powerful engine of the roman church received a deadly wound and the dark ages came to its end you also find that in 1816 god was lighting a candle as rome was now handcuffed let me say that again the power of rome was crippled so that god could bring to the surface a church as tender as a brand new vine he did not want any of rome's influence to impact the early rise of the advent movement what do you say god knew that he had a message and when you think about the rise it had only been 18 years since rome had received its deadly wound ending the 1260 year of darkness and persecution when god lit a candle in the life of a man named william miller in low hampton new york a deist turned baptist farmer william miller began a careful study of his bible after his conversion in the year 1816. what is a deist adias believed that there is a god but in a simplistic way after god created the world he just left it to itself ideas believe that god exists in the revelations of nature but god is not involved in our lives he just put all this here and walked away and it continues to evolve and take care of itself william miller was raised in that kind of environment in an environment that influenced the way he felt thought but god had a call on william miller's life and in 1816 god lit a candle in his life as we continue the cadence you find that in 1860 1816 william miller's conversion was followed by two years of intense study in the book of daniel in the book of daniel in in the year 1818 william miller discovered something very significant and you'll notice that there were things yet to happen god was going to give him understanding of events that were not too far distant but here's the words of william miller as he began to discover in daniel 8 and verse 14 something that began to tickle his intellect and he said in about 25 years all the affairs of our present state would be wound up william miller believed that in about 25 years from the date that he had been studying and discovering that something magnificent would happen in the year 1843 and william miller made a covenant with god he made a covenant saying as long as god wants me to i'm going to proclaim what god gives me an understanding of he was a shy individual didn't like the spotlight he wanted to remain recluse and he would have done so but the lord said to william miller i've got a call for you and then william ellis said i must go and tell what i find in the bible about the lord's coming i must go and tell what i find in the bible about the lord's coming and so in 1831 william miller began as the lord moved upon his heart to take what he had been discovering in the book of daniel to take what he had been discovering in the unfolding of bible prophecy this young preacher this young bible student wrestling with his newfound understanding of scripture was torn between his convictions and his fears because you see when god gives you something you've got to get beyond the human element to recognize that there's something greater than fear and that is the responsibility of carrying the gospel that jesus christ gives to you amen somebody it could be a fearful thing but god will move you beyond your fears to help you understand that if you put your fears aside he can do more in us than we can ever imagine but william miller understanding these newfound convictions discovered that it was bringing to him such an invigorating move that he knew that he had to tell somebody and that's why the bible says in isaiah 65 and verse 24 these following words it shall come to pass that before they call i will answer and while they are still speaking i will hear william miller said i'm not going to do it unless the lord says that i need to do it so william while he was praying in the midst of his prayer a young man was on his way to invite william miller the bible studying farmer to lead out in a revival and while he's praying a knock came to the door and william miller i believe somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind knew that this was god someone's knocking at the door and god came and took this fragile heart to a place where william miller began proclaiming the gospel you find this is a picture just an artist's rendition of the first sermon that william miller preached in dresden new york august the year 1831. you see when william miller began to do what god had called him to do for the next 13 years something amazing began to happen something amazing began to happen what began in 1831 for the next 13 years william miller would preach more than 4 500 sermons that's an average of six sermons a week but as you follow the cadence of this unfolding evangelistic series that had a beginning but no end in 1831 william miller preached his first sermon in 1832 william miller published eight articles in the vermont newspaper back then they allowed you to publish religious articles in a secular publication and he began to publish people that did not know anything about god began to read about the discoveries that william miller was finding as he studied god's word methodically it began to spread you find also in 1833 william miller the baptist church when he was a deist converted to a baptist they gave him his license in the year 1833 to become a baptist preacher and william miller continued preaching what god had showed him in 1834 william miller devoted all of his time to preaching and writing and what an invigorating change it was in his life people looked at william miller as he was and as he had become and let me say beyond a shadow of a doubt when you focus your life on not who you were but who god wants you to be god will light a candle in your life and you will be amazed to see what god can do with poor human flesh like ours god lit a candle in the life of william miller everything he learned he wrote it down everything he wrote down he preached and the crowds grew people that were alcoholics laid down their alcohol people that were tobacco addicts laid down their tobacco the town halls were being filled they heard about this man named william miller and a fire that was lit in his soul continued to unfold in his life in 1836 william miller released a book with the chronological chart of events indicating how he believed that the prophecies of the end would unfold but god was not done with this young preacher yet because from the year 1834 to 1839 look what happened in william miller's life in those times william miller preached 800 lectures in response to 800 invitations amen somebody they heard this man and you know what it was amazing to me it did not matter what the denomination was people of varying denominations was saying we never heard this before you know what i think i believe the time is not far distant when denominational walls are going to be broken down and those fueled by the light of the everlasting gospel will be invited into circles of baptist and pentecostal and presbyterians and methodists same antibodies that god is going to break down walls and what happened then is going to happen again because god's truth cannot be stopped by walls or denominational differences the millerite movement became a powerful movement william miller spoke in more than 800 more than 500 villages towns and cities from the state of maine to mississippi river during the mid-1800s it was the most populated half of the united states and there was only one man's footprint that was found everywhere his name was william miller and god began to grow this powerful movement god began to take the message of the second heaven of christ and it grew so rapidly that preachers hearing this man preach laid down their denominational identity and they said i want to be a millerite and the millerite movement another term for millerites for adventists simply meaning somebody looking and convicted that jesus christ is coming again in that 1840 movement that continued growing you had names such as people like josiah lynch josiah licht was a methodist minister he was a methodist minister but he became a millerite in the year 1840 and he studied his bible william ellis study their bible and because they had this conviction that jesus was coming beginning around 1843-1844 they began to apply the bible prophecies to their day for you see josiah litch taught that the sixth trumpet of revelation was the fall of the ottoman empire in the year 1840. only to find out later on that the ottoman empire only fell in 1922 but back then there was a blind spot in their theology that led them to believe that with these prophecies being fulfilled back then think about it if there are only seven trumpets and you believe that the sixth trumpet was blown in 1840 that will give impetus to somebody that believes that jesus is coming in 1843. you'll say wait a minute if the sixth one happened in 1840 we only got three more years left and william ellis say that's exactly where my calculations lead me to the year 1843 and the movement began to grow and it continued to grow not only josiah lich but another minister presbyterian by the name of charles fitch he joined the movement in 1840 charles fitch added to the movement the preaching of the message of revelation chapter 18 you see babylon has fallen this fallen this young preacher began to proclaim babylon has fallen has fallen and has become the cage of every fowl spirit and unclean and hated bird and so people from all different denominations he was saying come out of her my people and when they heard the preaching of willie miller about the coming of jesus they left the presbyterian church they left the methodist church they left the churches surrounding them and joined the advent movement amen god was saying the hour of my visitation through these men are not yet too far in the in the future not too far in the distance but still their understanding of prophecy was just partial and not totally complete you found also joining the movement people like henry jones who was a congregationalist and henry dana ward who was an episcopalian they also joined the movement the advent movement and they joined and so was not only william miller preaching but it was these individuals preaching where they were sent they were itinerant preachers getting their message from william miller and packing halls and churches and city halls wherever that message was proclaimed another man to join that message movement was a man by the name of joshua v hymes he was a part of the christian connection spelled correctly spelled correctly his mother and father wanted him to be a member of a different denomination but he chose to be a part of the christian connection later on he joined the millerite movement and in the year 1840 he published and edited the first millerite newspaper entitled the signs of the times and the first publication was released in the city of boston massachusetts what a movement what a movement people fueled by the desire to get the message out that jesus is coming again you know what i like about that i believe the same thing will happen today if we focus less on what's happening around us and more on the coming of the lord i believe there'll be less people sitting on the pews and more people walking the streets i believe that the lord can take these lives of ours and recalibrate our meaning and we will be less distracted by politics and more energized and invigorated by the fact that all the signs around us indicate that jesus is coming again can the church say amen in the 1840s you find in the millerite movement some 200 clergy i'm going to say that again some 200 clergy accepted miller's views at least 500 preachers later the numbers continued to grow joined the millerite movement and began to proclaim the advent message the millerite movement became one of the first ecumenical movements in the post-colonial america the upper northeast was on fire but it did not end there it made its way down into the south and as far west as the united states had been established it began making its way to the parts of the midwest there was not a whole lot happening in california at the time it was far still to be developed but wherever there was a growing population the millerite message was heard but when you find out the reason for such growth the motive behind them bob was the reason for such growth just like today it was like their day when you turn on television today and you look at the popular preachers on television today it is difficult al almost impossible to hear among sunday churches the preaching of the second coming of christ they're talking about your ship coming in right somehow how to have a more successful seven habits of highly effective christians it is almost impossible to hear the preaching of the second coming of jesus when you turn on television during the week on many of these evangelical channels it's hard to hear that jesus is coming again and then on the other side of that there are those that believe that when jesus comes he's going to spend time here down on earth when in fact he made the promise he's coming to take us to our home where he is amen i'll be honest with you why would jesus want to come down here and spend time in this politically divided cancer society when jesus left he said i'm going to prepare a place for you and i'm coming again and when i come back i'm going to receive you to myself so that where i am there you may be also can i be honest with you today i don't want to spend another i don't want to be down here another thousand years i'd rather be in the kingdom they knew what do you say while william miller was preaching another family heard the sermons a methodist family was listening in that methodist family was a young girl just turning 17 years old her father and mother a methodist family was moved by the convictions of william miller her father was a deacon in the local methodist church and the methodist minister heard that well they're going to listen to william miller and one day the methodist minister called this family the harmon family to his office and said i heard that you've been listening to william miller's sermons i'm encouraging you to stop going to william miller's evangelistic series or anybody else connected to him he gave the father and mother an ultimatum with a young daughter standing by their side he said cease listening to these messages and their reply to their minister was what we have heard we are convicted by and we will no longer be attending the methodist church and in 1840 ellen and her family after hearing william miller accepted the belief that jesus would return in the year about 1843. ellen harmon was baptized june 26 1842 and she and her family joined the millerite movement today we don't think about her as ellen gould harmon we think about her as ellen white but that was yet to happen that was yet to occur for you see after joining this movement god had not only a prophecy and a message and a purpose for her life but god had a husband for her waiting in the wing and we find in prophecy and we understand the adventist historic historical application that the millerite adventist not only included ellen white's family and all the names that i just mentioned but a young man by the name of james white met and married his bride in the year 1846 and they later would become two of the co-founders among many others two of the co-founders of the seventh-day adventist church and i'll tell you just a little bit more about them in just a moment but god gave alan white a man who was convicted that god not only has a message but god has a mission let me say something about that in a moment we may be convicted by the message but if the conviction of the message does not give us a mission we are of no use you could believe a message but if you have no mission you are just a person taking up space god did not call these early adventist believers to just say i believe the advent message god says i want you to proclaim the advent message and william miller started a publication called the sabbatarian publication and later on william miller played a major role in developing the seventh-day adventist educational structure in 1874 in the formation of the battle creek college here's an artist's sketch of how the battle creek college looked at its earliest stages god moved upon that man's heart god moved upon his life what god did in william miller's life he began to do in james and ellen white's life and the psalmist david describes it this way he says in psalms 96 and verse 2 notice what he says sing to the lord what else did he say bless his name but look at this you can sing and bless his name but notice what else the proclamation is proclaim the good news of his salvation how often from day to day from day to day and william miller woke up every morning no longer shoveling hay and feeding cattle he gave that task to somebody else an artist said that william miller began proclaiming the message and according to william miller in the time that he preached he by god's grace harvested more than 6 000 converts they joined and listened to him alone among those were 700 former infidels they didn't believe in the existence of god at all until the day they heard the convictions of william miller you the apostle paul says when you are convicted and preach when god moves upon your heart and you proclaim the message it is going to produce in the lives of those listening a harvest that only god can accomplish but you have to preach you have to tell others what god has told you the apostle paul says in romans chapter 10 and verse 14 notice what he says how then shall they call on him and whom they have not what believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and i like this part and how shall they hear without a preacher how shall they hear without a preacher you know friends you don't have to stand in a pulpit to preach you can preach by your life you can preach with a track you can preach with a a glow track you can take your facebook page and link sermons rather than propaganda come on somebody help me out you can preach god has given us this modern generation countless ways of proclaiming the everlasting gospel you can find sermons you can go to my website johnlomaking.com and pick a sermon and link it to your friends and your friends can be hearing the everlasting gospel 24 hours a day seven days a week you can go to our church website tvsdac.org and click that to your friends pages give them some links that will take them not to the darkness of this world but to the glory of the gospel of jesus christ how shall thy hear without a preacher god has called this generation to be creative preach in any way that you can you don't need to have the skill of an orator if your fingers can move you can be a preacher and william miller took advantage of what god had given to them william miller understood those joining the movement understood that there was something that was happening that god was doing that their hearts pulsed for and longed for in the book the great controversy ellen white describes the setting of that early fledgling congregation page 373 in the great controversy we read with unspeakable desire those who had received the message watched for the coming of their savior the time when they expected to meet him was at hand they approached this hour with a calm what solemnity which when i read that i couldn't help but to think to myself how are we approaching the hour of the coming of jesus think about it is there a calm solemnity in our lives or are we still distracted by the garbage of this world are we more convicted about what's going to happen in the next election or are we more concerned about the election of grace with a calm solemnity what does that mean what does that translate to there were those that walked away from their businesses they were they were so convicted that jesus was coming that it made a difference in the way they lived some people sold their businesses some people retired from their secular jobs they had a deep searching conviction of their soul and they examined themselves with a singular question am i ready for the coming of the lord would that grab us as a people in the last days there would be a conviction and a difference in our lives we would not have time for needless garbage i'll say amen to myself we won't have time to be going down the rabbit hole of the left and the right we'll stay center on the gospel of jesus christ we won't have time to be arguing about what this prophet said what this politician said in that politician let me make it very clear there have been 45 prisoners so far and when the 46th one come he still cannot replace the power of jesus christ in a life stop being distracted the devil has taken us away from our call down a path of garbage that was not in my sermon it just happened i need a drink of tea praise god make it clear they were so convicted that jesus was coming again that they saw people and they stopped them and they'd said did you hear the good news they ran the people in walmart help me out somebody and in in target they saw people in sam club did you hear the good news what news jesus is coming again and the crowd grew by the thousands they may have been wrong but their lives were right you see it's one thing to be wrong on your theology but it's something altogether different to be right in the way you live your life god can clear up your wrong theology but only you have the responsibility to affect the way you live only you have the responsibility to take your life to a place that can say if my eyes closed and rest today i will be ready for the coming of jesus that's why when i hear about those who are passing away we are saddened by the passing of jim pitts but i can tell you i i spent time with that man i saw his determination to be ready to lay all his affairs in proper order to make sure that when he took his last breath that his funds were going to the continued proclamation of the gospel i saw molly steenson's life i understood how she breathed her convictions as humans we all make decisions that are not always in harmony with what god would have us to do however that's not the case it's the life that you live and the life she lived is a life that says i can have the assurance that we're gonna see molly stinson the new version of molly stinson in the second in the first resurrection in the second coming of jesus william miller began to be convicted william miller continued proclaiming the gospel and you find that as he continued there were more than 50 000 believers that were looking to the summer of 1843 for the return of jesus william miller taught that the world would end sometimes in 1843 and by the summer of that year he expressed disappointment when the time expected had come and passed he expressed disappointment that jesus had not come but he urged believers to continue watching he said that was not the right date let's keep on watching let's keep on studying let's keep on looking let's keep on searching and in 1844 in february of that year a group of adventist preachers that did not include william miller came to the understanding of the prophecy found in daniel 8 and verse 14. look at how daniel describes this prophecy in daniel 8 and verse 14. notice what the bible says the bible says and unto 2 and 300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed they believe that with conviction but the problem was they had a belief as was common in christendom then that the sanctuary was the earth they believed that god was coming to cleanse the earth so instead of changing the location they change the date they said we were wrong about the date something's going to happen october 22 1844 but it's not going to happen in heaven it's going to happen on earth and i'll give you just a very quick glimpse this is the prophecy that they look to the 2300 day prophecy i'll take time in the future to break that down in greater detail but they believe that in the year 457 bc the proclamation of this time the rebuilding of jerusalem started in the year 457 bc and the first 70 weeks or the 490 years applied to the work of christ the gospel going to the jews and then finally to the gentiles they believed in the rebuilding of the wall and the city of jerusalem the ministry of christ his crucifixion when the gospel go into the gentiles in the year 34 a.d and then they calculated that after the gospel went to the gentiles in the year 34 a.d there was 1810 years left in the long 2300 year span and they simply did the math 34 plus 1810 takes you to the year 1844 and they said ha daniel was right the sanctuary is going to be cleansed in 1844 and then they began to preach jesus is coming october 22nd they linked it to a date 1816 william ellis conversion 1818 studying daniel 8 14 1831 beginning the covenant with god to preach believing jesus came in 1843 but he did not and then these ministers brought their findings to william miller and they said william you are right about the coming of jesus but my brethren you're disappointed because your date is wrong and they all together settle on the date of october 22nd 1844. now we look back on that as a great disappointment but i want to pause for a moment and tell you what that did to them you got to think for for a moment of 75 000 people convicted that they know the date of the coming of jesus even though they were wrong because you know there was a blind spot there was a blind spot and now after coming to this conviction in february they began a movement called the seven month movement what month is october the 10th so in march after they share their convictions in february they began counting for march april may every month brought a deeper conviction that they were now all on the same page that jesus was going to come on october 22nd 1844. but god knew that something had to be done for you see there was a dark spot in their calculations here's what they missed matthew chapter 24 and verse 36 there was a blind spot in their thinking because the bible says but of that day and hour together no one knows not even the angels of heaven but my father only nobody knows you see friends one of the challenges we have as seventh day adventist is that sometimes we can be become so converted to the signs of the coming of jesus that we forget the most important sign of the coming of jesus is the life we live because as is the case with the gym pets and molly steenson and joyce bradley and the list goes on and on the names change but the point is made many will be laid to rest before the coming of jesus we have no guarantee that we're going to be alive now my wife and i have been praying that jesus would come before we both turn 100 like pastor turner i have some great convictions and i'm praying lord i don't want to go to rest i don't want to lay my wife to rest and she said i don't want to lay you to rest i'd like us both to be alive when jesus comes can i get any husbands and wives to say amen to that i want my wife and i to meet the lord together i don't want to be conducting her funeral or her conducting mind we have so much we have lived for together i want to live to see jesus come is that is there something wrong with that no i don't believe so that's my deep conviction but there was such a solemn great expectation that the millerites met in homes and churches on the morning of the great expectation they met they met and the stories vary some said they met on ascension rock others said they didn't some people said they put on robes others said they didn't the details are not important but the date they met believing the night before when you read the stories it said there was singing the candles were burning some hugging and saying our hopes will be met in the coming of jesus tomorrow i don't know if you understand what that means because here's the reality there were at least two people that knew and i'm using the word people very loosely because jesus is not a people he's the divine son of god the devil knew and god knew that tomorrow was going to be a paradigm shift in this early advent movement that morning they woke up they laid all their fears of life down some people they said in the historical they left their keys in their homes they locked up their houses they walked away with the ridicul with the ridicule of relatives in the jeering of those in the neighborhood they laughed them to scorn saying yes sure of course he's coming today and with great expectation in their hearts they waited for jesus to come the sun rose on the morning of october 22 1844 the sun hit high noon on october 22nd 1844 the sun began to set three o'clock four o'clock and because of the time of year it began to get dark as the evening began to come on there they were looking with each other's hearts the joy began to diminish and the disappointment began to set in and when the sun bowed its head for the evening when the sun bowed its head for the evening they knew that something was wrong the early pioneers going back i can't even express what the historians wrote about that day they said people did not cry they weeped because they had to turn around and go back to their neighborhoods to the jeering and the mocking of neighbors who had no god in them at all it is estimated that 75 of those that had joined the advent movement walked away some said we didn't believe it anyhow we just joined it just in case and i thought about that and i said how many adventists how many seventh day adventists are in the same place today they don't really believe it but they're in it just in case you can see it you can tell by the life of individuals when you when you're in the church for the wrong reason when you don't come because of this or that when you're expecting this and your conditions for serving god are one two three and four you're in it for the wrong reason but you're but your seventh-day adventist just in case let me make a point here that it's going to be very clear there's going to be another disappointment there's going to be another shaking among all christians in the last days because i believe as the bible is going to reveal just a moment here i believe just before jesus comes there is going to be a shaking and a sifting among those who are a part of the movement looking for the coming of christ because the lord has to reveal to them that although they may have the correct theological background their lives are not ready for the coming of jesus so they may sing and preach and teach they may be even a part of the working preparing people for the coming of christ but they won't make it you know why because their convictions are not deep enough to say i'm going to trust god and worship god i'm going to come to church not because i want to but because i need to i need to come and serve the lord and i know we have an environment where people are fearful i'm not making that application or they're going to live their lives in a way that says regardless of what happens in the world i want to make sure that i'm ready for the coming of christ and when they began to search the scriptures they found that something occurred you see it was not the bible that was wrong notice how the early pioneers made this application and a young man by the name of harim edson found this passage in scripture we'll find out about him in just a moment but i never forgot what he said and i'll share that with you in just a moment here revelation chapter 10 verse 9 and 10 is the passage that they found that became a part of this advent disappointment there are those that said alas our hopes are dashed and to add to that was the ridicule and scoffing and out of fear some claimed that they never believed it anyhow revelation 10 verse 9 and 10 was applied to this great disappointment as john the revelator said so i went to the angel and said to him give me the little book that is the prophecy of daniel that had been locked up until the time of the end and he said to me take and eat it it will make your stomach bitter but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth let me not go to verse 10 yet when they began to study the coming of jesus it was sweet you know when i think about the coming of jesus it is sweet but there are some bitter things that are going to happen before the coming of jesus the question today is are you so connected to christ that you can endure the bitter and wait for the sweet because the bitter came before the sweet and there's going to be a bitter experience again before the sweet but are you so grounded in christ is your life the place where it ought to be that the bitter no matter how bitter it is you can endure the bitterness because the sweet is your only focus it was bitter but they knew that there was a sweet day coming and john the revelator said then i took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it it was as sweet as honey in my mouth the preaching of the coming of jesus it was the sweetest honey in my mouth seeing lives converted and change it was as sweet as honey in my mouth but when i had eaten it when i digested and understood my stomach became bitter what did i miss what did i miss i could imagine those followers turning to the leaders and saying you deceived us you lied to us you were wrong but you sounded so right let me give you the testimony of one of those that were part of the millerite movement a young man by the name of haram edson he said these words he says our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted and such a spirit of weeping came over us as i never experienced before he said it seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison we wept and wept till the day dawned but harrah medicine wouldn't stop he said i'm not just going to weep i'm going to find out what's wrong so he went back to the study of daniel 8 14 but this time he said wait a minute daniel 8 14 is connected to the sanctuary message the 2300 days but where are those 2 300 days seen again and he went to daniel 9 verse 24 to 27 he began to say wait a minute this is much larger than we thought and it was higher medicine and studying again what they thought they knew he came up with the understanding that he shared with all the other ministers of that time including william miller he introduced to the advent movement the introduction and understanding of the sanctuary doctrine the investigative judgment and he said brethren here is what happened it was not the coming of christ on on october 22nd 1844 but it was the beginning of the investigative judgment that is what that date was all about you see he went back and studied the the jewish literature he went back and studied the old testament and he realized that once every year sins were blotted out as a people got ready for the day of atonement and every year in the jewish economy they gathered together the trumpets were blown people confessed their sins a sacrifice was made and once a year the sins that had been forgiven were blotted out it was called the hour of his judgment a judgment hour where they examined their lives getting ready for the day that their sins would be blotted out let me make a point very clear here because i want to tell you right now even this belief is being attacked in the last days i would never have believed but there are adventist ministers today there are people in our church today that no longer believe in the blotting out of sin but you cannot but you can't miss it when you study the doctrine of the investigative judgment you cannot miss it when you study daniel 9 verse 24 to 27 which is why the lord just recently showed me that there's something deeper than forgiveness there's something deeper than forgiveness i talked about that last sabbath it's called reconciliation you see in daniel 9 verse 24 to 27 one of the things that the lord told the jews to do he says bring in reconciliation for righteousness make sure that how you live and what you say is the same reconcile your life one to the other reconcile brother to sister and sister to brother and family to family don't say you're getting ready for the coming of the lord but you're at odds with each other and god knew that in that movement there were those that were not united together there were those that were in the crowd but not in the lord and the lord had to weed them out to get the real movement started and when they under when they discovered that the investigative judgment was what began in 1844 they left that day with a renewed vigor they left that day with the reality that it was not god that was wrong but we got another responsibility because in in revelation chapter 10 after the great disappointment after the bittersweet experience there was a little passage that says you must prophesy again you must prophesy again amen joe you must prophesy again they said prophesy what and they dare to go beyond revelation chapter 10 to revelation 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and they found what they were supposed to proclaim they were called to proclaim a message that to this very day we are still proclaiming they were called to proclaim the three angels messages of revelation chapter 14 can the church say amen they said because wait a minute we were expecting jesus to come for those of us in the upper northeast but what about every nation every kindred every tongue every people what about every nationality what about every racial and ethnic border broken down a united people we've got to carry this gospel to the world what an amazing thing it was the ridicule was terrible but the mission was not defeated what happened that day was an amazing thing but the mission was not defeated let me give you a nutshell of it before i give you some more screen facts you see the millerite movement halted in 176 years ago for two reasons for two reasons how many reasons did i say two reasons since jesus had not come they thought they no longer had a message but they were wrong there was a message yet to be proclaimed amen donald there was a message to be proclaimed amen ryan there was a message to be proclaimed these young men are proclaiming that message the coming of the lord the three angels messages the second reason is they lost their audience they lost their audience who wants to listen to william miller now and the results were terrible the believers were scattered into four groups the largest group confused confounded and embarrassed just walked away there was a much smaller group they continued to proclaim the imminent return of jesus they continued to set dates and they fell into a maze of fanaticism at each failed date can i make sure can i tell you who that group is they were known as the russellites later to become the jehovah's witnesses and they even went to setting dates that peter was supposed to come in the 1900s and the apostles were supposed to come in and set up a house in san jose california they continued setting dates the russolites became the jehovah's witnesses they continued setting days the next group continued to preach the imminent return of jesus but they but they failed to accept the sabbath message when the sabbath message came to them even william miller did not accept the sabbath message but he continued in his faith but there was a smaller group a smaller group not more than 50 in number they continued to look for the return of jesus but they stopped setting dates and they accepted the long neglected seventh-day sabbath that according to the bible it was the seventh day of the week saturday amen somebody the early evidence believers learn many valuable lessons here's what they learned they learned the word of god is more valuable and more accurate than the ideologies of mankind let me tell you something friends it is the word of god that never changes if you read something in god's word that has to change you let the bible change you don't try to change it they learn that the word of god is more reliable than the perceptions of humanity they also learned that truth is a continual revelation not a static one for you see was amazing how these truths came to the forefront in the year 1837 before the great disappointment a baptist lady by the name of rachel oakes understood the sabbath and she shared that sabbath with a man by the name of joseph bates she led frederick wheeler a former methodist not joseph she left frederick wheeler a former methodist to accept the sabbath truth and she showed him in god's word the clarity and the strength of the sabbath message she said the fourth commandment hasn't changed we are honoring a day man set up not a day that god blessed and he accepted the message frederick wheeler in 1844 tm pebble a former baptist accepted the sabbath message in 1845 joseph bates accepted the bible sabbath joseph bates are you listening joseph bates shared the sabbath truth with james and ellen white in the winter of 1846 and you know what they said brother you're wrong ah you're shocked said brother you're wrong that can't be in the bible until god led them back to their bibles to study it for themselves and they said wait a minute the sabbath that we rejected is the sabbath of god's word and james and ellen white accepted the seventh-day sabbath in god's word what do you say they also discovered other things you see what amazes me is these people came from different denominations and they said denominationalism has caused us to be blind let us allow god's word to be our light and guide us and they began to discover other truths that had not been a part of the evident movement they discovered that man is mortal jane loughborough and j.h wagner verified the bible teaching of the resurrection they've discovered that jesus is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary they discover that jesus is our judge and mediator they discover that we are living in the judgment hour and let me tell you something no other church at that time and even still today no other church is proclaiming that message other than the seventh-day adventist church they became the only movement that proclaimed the three angels messages of revelation chapter 14 and this is the only place you can find it today they also discovered that the lord still had a gift of prophecy and that god would now give that gift of understanding to his messenger this young tenderhearted girl who endured a terrible injury with only a third grade education god gave for an understanding to point people back to the bible and the bible only can i get somebody to say amen some people think that we worship alan white absolutely not we only worship god but as the prophets of old god gave prophets to lead the people of god back to god's word and she made it clear that god's word is our only foundation the commandments of god is our only foundation of practice i am simply the lesser light thank you honey leading you to the greater light the person of jesus christ and in 1860 the first steps toward the final organization to establish the church started in 1863 the seventh-day adventist church was named a movement of destiny why that name some people said well let's call ourselves the christian movement he said that's not good enough let's call ourselves this well that doesn't mean anything it's so vague and somebody spoke and said what about seventh day adventist for no one else honors the sabbath and no one else is looking for the coming of jesus and they linked the names together and they said yes yes and the movement of destiny was born but listen to this in 1863 when the seventh avenue church was established the seventh day of venice had only 7 500 members almost entirely in the northeastern united states but are you ready let's blow the cap off of this thing are you ready in 2011 usa today wrote an article entitled the fastest growing denomination in america and i quote the article newly released data show seventh day adventism growing by 2.5 percent in north america a rapid clip for this part of the world where southern baptists and mainline denominations as well as other church groups are declining adventists are even growing 75 faster than mormons that's which is only a 1.4 percent who prioritize numeric growth when you read the rest of the article you find some amazing things some amazing things they said what is catapulting the growth because they said no other denomination is pointing to the validity of the commandments of god no other denomination is pointing to the sanctity of the sabbath that god established at the end of creation week and they said look at the way they live look how long they live the green zones they are the longest living christian denomination on the planet somebody ought to say amen why do they eat that way look at their institutions why do they keep proclaiming that message and it cannot be stopped and other church leaders began to look at this church and began to notice how the church was growing you see in 1874 there were only 7 500 members but as of 2015 the general conference we had 19 million members somebody ought to say amen not that numbers matter but there was no place on earth where there was not a seventh adventist presence i was there in san antonio texas in 2000 2015 every dot you see is a representation of a different nationality a different nation we got together more than 70 000 people and flooded the superdome in san antonio texas and as the mayor once said in in toronto canada we move up in toronto in 2000 he said the mayor of toronto said i wish the toronto blue jays were here to see what a full stadium looks like god began a movement my brethren this map shows that every color you see on that screen represents a seventh-day adventist presence in some part of the world including muslim countries and countries where atheism is prominent and we get emails at 3abn from people right joe from people that are in countries that they say please don't mention my name because in my country jesus is outlawed the gospel is all over the world today in the world field we have more than 16 divisions world divisions from east central asia euro asia middle east and north africa into america into european israel field north america north asia pacific southern africa indian ocean south american south pacific southern asia southern asia pacific trans-european and west central africa and the church is still growing today can somebody say amen this fledgling church is now representing 81 000 churches 69 000 plus company more than 20 000 active ministers more than 270 000 employees this mission that has a message to proclaim more than 215 countries with publishing houses and and published languages we have the advent message in more than 974 languages i wish somebody was listening today god has got this church fired up we've got a movement not just churches but but stephanie this is something to give you an amen more than 7 700 schools amen stephanie one of our teachers are here today we got teachers that are part of that movement a more than a million point eight enrollment hospitals nursing homes retirement centers clinics dispensaries orphanages children's homes food industries god's got this church on the move because we are not just saying jesus is coming but it should affect every aspect of our lives what a movement what a movement i wish we had come up with the saying that motel 6 had we'll leave the light on for you amen ron we will leave the light on for you so you might be here in thompsonville but i want to let you know you are part of a worldwide family the sun never sets on the seventh-day adventist church in russia in china in india in asia in south america go all the way down to the southernmost tips of america and the northernmost parts you'll find a seventh-day adventist church on the hills and peru if you only see two churches one is an adventist church god's got the message everywhere i love what ellen white said in great controversy 1888 edition page 595 paragraph one she says and i read but god will have a people upon the earth to maintain the bible and the bible only as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms the opinions of learned men the deductions of science the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical counsels as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent the voice of the majority not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith before accepting any doctrine or precept we should demand a plane together thus saith the lord in its support can you say amen today god's got a movement today let me say this and i can't even say it i must say it humbly but i say it with a great joy and responsibility praise god for the adventist church praise god for the seventh day adventist church as bob would always say every now and then i fall into it and i say i'm in adventist bob says no you're not you're a seventh-day adventist because christians of every walk of life looking for the coming of jesus are adventists so who are we and why are we still here why are we still here because god has a message for us god still has a mission for this church today the seventh-day adventist church has a presence in more than 215 countries a worldwide attendance of tens of millions with more than one million members joining every year every day they say every three seconds these are not my statistics these are statistics outside of our denominator every three seconds somebody's baptized the seventh-day adventist to god be the glory the numbers don't make a difference if the life is not being transformed i need to say that also but i want to make it very clear as i close i want to make it very clear as i'm closing what happened to william miller what happened to that preacher that god called he was the martin luther king jr of his day he had only a certain purpose he was the martin luther during the protestant reformation he had only a certain purpose to get it started throughout the ages of the church god called men to get it started but it was not to end with them amen donald it was not to be their last and final voice god said you get it started and i'll take it from here in the adventist in the handbook of seventh-day adventist theology page four we read about the closing words in the closing context of what happened to william miller they recorded william miller continued to expect the return of jesus he did not accept the new understanding of the heavenly sanctuary death asleep or the sabbath observance along with the pioneers of the seventh adventist church in 1849 william miller died in the hope of a soon-coming savior and we as a denomination believe that william miller will come forth in the first resurrection my brother in 176 years is a long time to wait for anything the sun rose on thousands who are disappointed when they look for the coming of jesus william and he did not come but the next time it's going to be different the next time it's going to be different millions will stand to welcome jesus as the apostle said it and as the prophet isaiah says it will be said on that day lo this is our god we have waited for him and he will save us this is our lord we shall rejoice and be glad in his salvation how do i know that the great disappointment is behind us the great appointment is ahead of us and what can we do to hasten that coming here's what the bible says let's read this together and i want to hear your voice this morning as i close matthew 24 14. you can join us if you see it on television god will hear you in your house together church and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations and then the end will come we've got a date 1844 behind us the great appointment ahead of us jesus will come again jesus is coming again jesus is on his way i can hear the flapping of the angels wings as they return to heaven and saying my work is finished i can hear the cadence i can hear the hammering and the song of the kingdoms being built my mansion being prepared i can see the robes of the righteous being steamed come on help me out god is saying there's a dinner menu what is john like what does bob like let's put it on the menu it's going to be sanctified i can tell you that the young and the old together going to sit down at the welcome table and we're going to discover that as long as we have waited we have not waited in vain so don't be ashamed of being called a seventh adventist christian don't apologize for this message don't give it up for something that's flimsy and doesn't even have any content to it don't trade it for music alone come on help me out somebody don't look for this music to take away the method and the in the power of the of the written and the proclaimed word don't trade this for emotion because i want to tell you there was a lot of emotion on that day of disappointment but if you if you like emotion you wait till jesus comes i can tell you some of you quiet adventists are going to be jumping and shouting some of you folks that never said praise the lord are going to find it in your dictionary some of you that don't believe you can raise your hand are going to be raising your hand so high it's going to lift you off the earth what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all see jesus we will sing and shout the victory the earth will thunder as the graves of the sleeping saints will come forth to see the three angels message triumph helen white and james william miller and the names go on and on your loved one and my loved one that stood for the undiluted three angels messages will come forth from that grave so i'm not ashamed but i'm humbled because the responsibility is great and i want to challenge you as i close if you're watching don't apologize for this message there's none like it the devil will try to break it down dilute it delay it and make you trade it don't even change your name from seventh day adventist to community fellowship that's not who you are your your name is a message don't apologize it's too late to go back go forward trusting god the great appointment has been set and when i hear my savior's voice all i want to hear is well done thou good and faithful servant can you stand today and join me in that conviction if you're at home watching us you could stand in your living room you could stand in your church you could stand wherever you are and say today we're not standing because of pride we're standing because we love the fact that god has called us to be a light that will never grow dim a message that will never be defeated a people that are standing on the sure word of god and the people that are waiting to exalt jesus not only in word but in life and indeed let us pray a great father and our god we know the work is finishing we know that you've called us to proclaim this everlasting gospel we know that babylon this fall and this fall in rome is involved in its final push evangelicals are selling out for politics money is motivating many ministers and compromises seeping into even our denomination but father we pray that when jesus comes again that we won't be in the crowd walking away in disappointment but that we will be in the number that ascends to meet you in glory that we will be in the number joined with our loved ones who are resting in the grave and molly will come forth and we'll say the three abn keep going do they keep proclaiming it did they keep preaching it tell me they did what happened in thompsonville what happened to my brothers and sisters that i no longer heard of when my eyes closed did they remain faithful tell me they did and then we will see jesus whose blood was shed to save us and he will look at our souls redeemed by the blood of the lamb and he will say my soul is satisfied behold the travail of my soul father keep us humble but keep us faithful that we will be in that great appointment on that glorious day in jesus name i pray and all of god's saints said amen

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Length: 82min 47sec (4967 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 07 2020