PASTOR WINTLEY PHIPPS: “THE FAMINE WE FEARED IS HERE”

[Music] to [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] ah [Music] hey [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] ah [Music] uh [Music] uh [Music] [Music] hey [Music] uh [Music] hey [Music] uh [Music] [Music] so the love of god is greater than tongue or pain could ever tell it goes beyond the highest star and reaches two the lowest [Music] the guilty pair bowed down with care god gave his son to win his airing child he reconciled and pardoned from [Music] and strong [Music] itself forevermore endure the saints and [Music] just [Music] could we within the ocean and where the sky of parchment made where every storm on earth [Music] to write the love [Music] would drain though stretched from the sky to the sky [Music] is the saints and names [Music] is [Applause] [Music] thanks oh hello i'm pastor wintley phipps pastor of the palm bay seventh-day adventist church in palm bay florida we're so happy you've joined us for our live stream today our messages are to help you grow to become more like the character of christ if ever you're in the palm bay area please feel free to worship with us we love visitors and if you're looking for a church home we would love to embrace you we pray that this message you're about to hear today will be a true blessing to you thank you for joining us and happy 7. [Music] so so so so [Music] [Music] food [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] hello [Music] oh [Music] do [Music] [Music] hmm [Music] you [Music] oh all to jesus [Music] i surrendered all to him i freely give i will ever love and trust him in his presence [Music] daily eyes surrendered i surrendered all to thee my blessed savior i surrender [Music] all to jesus i surrendered humbly at his feet i bowed worldly pleasures now forsaken take me jesus take me now i surrender i surrendered my blessed [Music] i [Music] all to jesus i surrender all to him i free me i will ever love and trust him all to him free me again and i surrender [Music] i invite you to turn with me to the book of amos chapter 8 verse 11 the word of god says there behold the day's cometh saith the lord god that i will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread no a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the lord king hazel of syria and his army had surrounded god's people in samaria they cut off all supplies of food and water fully expecting that hunger and starvation would bring god's people to their knees the king of syria created a man-made famine and he thought it would not be long before the people of god would surrender and submit to the iron fist of tyranny the scriptures tell us that in this time of famine four lepers standing at the gates of the city began to reason with one another the bible says they said to each other why should we stay here until we die if we say let's go back into the city the famine is there and we will die there if we stay here right where we are we will die here what we need to do is to go over to the camp of the syrians and surrender and turn ourselves in let us go into the camp of the syrians and ask the enemy to feed us church you might say now that is not only innovative and counterintuitive it's just plain crazy let's think this through they said stand still we die go forward we have a chance go backwards we die well the consensus among those four lepers was let's go forward they said to each other there are risks going forward there are hazards and perils going forward no guarantees going forward there are dangers going forward and there are greater dangers going backwards and greater dangers standing still now is the time to go forward friends i found in my life god can bless a poor plan what he cannot bless is no plan and so early the next morning those lepers got up and started marching into the camp of the enemy as they reached the edge of the camp they found it strangely silent no one was guarding the camp and in fact no one was even there their faith walk was rewarded with help from heaven in the camp of the enemy god blessed them with the source and miracle of deliverance you see during the night the syrians heard what they thought was the sound of egyptian horses and chariots they heard what sounded like a noise of a vast overwhelming army coming closer to attack them panic ensued and terror took over and all of the soldiers in the syrian army got up and fled on foot now you know you have to be scared to forget you have a horse and just start running you have to be really scared to forget you have a donkey and just start running even a donkey can run twice as fast as a man the bible says they got up and fled leaving their horses and their donkeys well they also left behind enough food to feed an army those four lepers had a feast all that good cooked food and no one to share it with at first they were going to keep the good news to themselves but they knew what they had to do god had blessed them and so they had to tell it they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them god has delivered us god has made a way one preacher said he saves us by his grace and power he guides us by hope in his word he pities us in our weaknesses he is merciful to us when we fail he shields us from danger hides us in his pavilion he lights our way in the darkness and seeks for us when we stray he props us up when we are leaning picks us up when we fall down he sympathizes when no one else is interested and understands when no one else cares he protects us when satan tries to destroy us and he heals us when we get wounded and knocked down when we get tired he gives us rest he calms our fears in the midst of the storm he sends help when the host of hella sailors and stands with us a present help in trial he guides us with his counsel and holds us in the hollow of his hand he blesses us when we are unworthy clears a path when we are hedged in with nowhere else to go he picks us up when we are discouraged gives us hope in the midst of despair he gives us peace when we are upset and comforts us when we are all alone he hears us when we pray watches us with his eye oh friends those four lepers took a chance that day and they came up with a plan and implemented it now this prophecy the scripture i read from today amos 8 11 is i believe uniquely applicable to the times in which we live let's read it again behold the days come saith the lord god that i will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the lord my brothers and sisters i believe we are in that famine prophesied by the prophet amos a famine not for bread or water but a famine for the words and word of god and i'm sad to have to tell you that this famine for the word of god is a man-made famine it is a self-inflicted famine you know hebrews tells us that god spoke his word through his prophets and the scribes would write down the words of the prophets on papyrus parchment and leather skins and the words of god were stored on parchment and then communicated through teaching and sharing of the printed word so the words of god that had been spoken by the prophets were vetted and tested and then written on parchments they were coalesced into 66 inspired books we call that collection of books the bible oh my friends the bible is a miracle book and for centuries when we talk about the word of god we're speaking about the bible the holy scriptures we're talking about a book that we hold in reverence a book we have chosen to surrender to its authority for centuries we have leafed through those printed pages and that book has been our guide that book has been our companion you remember everyone had their own copy and it was a book we held in reverence it was a book that we made a decision to surrender to its authority and there were the early technologies that helped us to store and communicate the words of god technological breakthroughs on different continents that helped advance the word of god the egyptians wrote on papyrus but it was the chinese who invented paper and the movable type the first real book production industry and the libraries the first libraries that were created were created in rome in the 1400s there came another technological breakthrough it was called the gutenberg press and with the gutenberg press the book publishing industry was born and for 600 years the words of god have been stored on and shared from a printed page the challenge and mission of the church has always been what i call the last mile challenge how do you get the words of god from the printed page and carry it that last mile into the hearts and minds of men and women well over the last decade my brothers and sisters we have lived through more technological breakthroughs and the printed page hear me today is no longer the primary method of storing and communicating information the printed page is no longer the primary method of storing and communicating information that method is going away please hear me today and with it is going the physical bible you know the one we carry about on a printed page for you see the world as we know it has shifted and so has the methods and means of communicating i want you to know today my friends this sacred book that we all owned a private copy of with our names and grave with the genealogy of our families written there that book as we once knew it is going away it breaks my heart to tell you you you know the underlying marked up printed pages chronicling our spiritual epiphanies and our aha moments they're going away with the demise of the printed page that physical book is going away friends we are living in a post-paper era and the older folks are the ones who still carry that book oh but in church today when you say turn to the scripture or turn to that scripture for young people and for modern minds it is swiping and clicking and launching reading the scriptures from a mobile device my friends no longer is the book the primary method of storing and communicating information and in case this revolution has passed you by i want you to know reading from printed books is fast becoming a lost art the crisis today is not only illiteracy you know that so many people don't know how to read there is even a bigger problem than that today and that problem is that the majority of young people and modern minds who know how to read are choosing not to read from a printed and especially from a printed page did you know that in the united states of america almost half of college students never read another book after graduation here in america today more children are likely to own a phone than to own a book the reasoning is what sense does it make to walk around with several heavy books in your bag when you can carry tens of thousands of books on a mobile device in the palm of your hands so not only are printed books becoming an outdated communication technology they are also taking a back seat to the new communication technologies in america 80 percent of families did not buy one book last year and children by the age of 10 no longer read for pleasure oh this is shocking but it's true children between the ages of 12 and 24 spend five to ten minutes a day reading from a printed page but they spend almost three to six hours a day watching images and video on a smartphone tablet or computer screen as a result modern minds and the minds of our youth have become completely rewired before they can eat speak or even walk on their own images and video have become their first language and their core language and so in this post paper era we have come to a point when images and video are a more powerful communication tool to the modern mind than the spoken word or the written word storytelling will always have its place but the stories that are told with images and video those are the stories that will be around the longest and if you are one of those people wondering about the validity of what i am saying to you today consider this take abraham lincoln's gettysburg address and dr king's i have a dream speech dr king's speech will resonate for generations precisely because it was caught on video if you had to go to a book every time you wanted to experience dr king's i have a dream speech it would not have the impact it continues to have today and if you're still not sure of what i'm saying to you try to imagine facebook instagram tick tock snapchat without images or video just long reams of boring uninteresting texts those platforms would never have the appeal they have today were it not for images and video and if you're still not sure you understand what i'm saying find the most eloquent speaker alive or the most prolific writer alive to write an article or read a speech or deliver a speech on what happened to george floyd on that corner in minneapolis it would have never had the revolutionary impact of those eight minutes and 48 seconds of video oh my friends to the modern mind and to young minds images and video are a more powerful communication tool than the spoken word or the written word a man in a tie speaking into a camera yes like me or speaking from a pulpit or a plexiglas desk those methods of communication will not attract the modern mind so that means brothers and sisters the bible as we know it the written word of god on printed pages it is slowly but surely going away i find no joy in breaking this sad news the bible as we know it in the written word of god on printed pages is slowly but surely going away now the word of god is not going away just the medium of the written page is going away what is going away is the concept of that holy book that you know we carried with us as a sacred companion a book that we humbly in reverence submitted to its authority remember when we had to memorize the order of the book so we could know where to find god's word of inspiration in it you don't have to do that with the technologies today remember we didn't know where the book was in the bible we would look at the beginning of the book for the list of the books or you remember how we always knew that if we opened the bible and stuck our finger in the middle of the bible we probably would find the psalms some of you remember how we held that book with such reverence that you dared not put a cup of water on that book but with the arrival of digital media tablets and smartphones for young people and modern minds there is no more book in church if i said to most people today turn to john 2 verse 9. most people would google it on their phones many today would say siri alexa find me john 2 verse 9. and in days gone by this book the bible was held not only sacred but exclusive it set apart from other books with a reverent exclusivity today everybody who has a phone has a bible but that bible is sitting as one of thousands of apps in the app store and it is sitting on the same device as candy crush and tick tock and a thousand other apps and even though the word of god is on every device it is everywhere but where it is needed most in the hearts and minds of people that's why i'm convicted there is a famine in the land for the word of god and like those four lepers at the city gate we as god's people have some decisions to make if we stand still we die if we go backwards we die if we go forward we have a chance but going forward means we have to assess our situation correctly we have to diagnose our condition precisely and we have to prescribe and implement corrective methods and measures my friends we have to explore creative ways to share the word of god in a world without books on printed paper going forward means we have to explore creative ways to share the word of god in a world where the reading of books for information and entertainment continues to diminish so how do we go forward how do we inspire and persuade others to have reverence for the authority of god's word when god's word is being stored on their devices flowing forth from digital sources how do we persuade people that when they say hey google read me the 23rd psalm or siri tell me the story of david and goliath how do we persuade people that that word they are hearing is from the mouth of god and it ought to become the standard and guide for their lives and conda oh friends the famine today is not that the food is not available it is that the food is available but we don't know how to get it into the mouths and minds of modern minds you know i've been recording gospel music on tape or video for almost 50 years and have you noticed we still listen to the music we like but it's not from cassettes it's not from eight tracks and some people are still holding on to their records my record company called me the other day and said you know we have a hundred of your recordings on cds here where would you like us to send them we are not making cds anymore friends the pandemic has accelerated the digital learning curve of even older people people who were scared to touch a computer are watching me today on youtube without the help of their children or grandchildren yes if we stand still we die if we go backwards we die and to go forward we have to embrace the new methods of communication we have to figure out a new way to move the word of god into new methods of transmission this is the challenge before us and i believe that perhaps that also means like never before we who are christians will have to become what paul called living epistles known and read by all men now because young minds are not reading the bible on printed pages and because the word of god is being buried in a deluge of digital media we have today a man-made self-inflicted famine for the words of god yes we are in a famine because the words of god are being buried under an avalanche of digital media and for generations reading from the printed page has been the method of harvesting the bread of life from the soil of god's word where it has been stored and that means without reading this sacred book we have no method of harvesting the bread of life the information and inspiration from the word of god that we need to live on and not starve as victims to this famine of the words of god we have to figure out brothers and sisters is how to get the food of god's word onto digital spoons so we could get it into the mouths of men and women and children and our young people and modern minds because if we don't figure out how to do that they will starve i learned from my work with the dream academy ministry you can give bibles to prisoners but what does it matter if they don't know how to read you give a bible to someone who does not know how to read they will spiritually starve so pastor what do we do we are in this famine for the word of god what do we do i say to you my brothers and sisters like those lepers caught in that famine if we stand still we die if we go backwards we die we can't go back to printing on the guttenberg press it was a revolutionary technology in its day but not today as god's people we need to embrace the advances in technology so we can use them for the advancement of god's kingdom and today we need to build new transmission tools to carry the word of god from where it is being stored on devices into the hearts and minds of men and women we can't go backwards to slides in carousels we can't go backwards to film and vhs tapes i believe the time has come for us to follow the example of elijah you remember when elijah went to ahab and jezebel and said because you have encouraged the people of israel to worship the god of baal as the lord the god of israel lives whom i serve there will be neither do nor rain in the next few years except at my word and then the bible tells us for three years it did not rain in samaria and samaria was in the midst of a drought and famine and in the third year the bible says the word of the lord came again to elijah and said go and present yourself to ahab and tell him i will send rain on the land elijah went to ahab and said god told me to tell you that rain is coming and then elijah climbed to the top of mount carmel bent down to the ground the bible says put his face between his knees and elijah prayed and he prayed he told his servant go and look to what the sea and tell me if you see a sign of rain the servant went and looked and he came back to elijah said there's nothing there church elijah said to his servant go back and look again six times elijah said go back look again tell me if you see any rain coming you notice that even though god told elijah that it was going to rain elijah did not stop praying for rain so so when god makes you a promise and that promise is on its way don't stop praying as a matter of fact it won't hurt if you change your prayer to a prayer of gratitude for the answered prayer that you know is on its way like elijah don't you stop praying just pray lord i want to thank you that my blessing is coming lord i want to thank you that my miracle is on its way in this famine for the word of god i believe we need to start praying for rain yes my prayer is lord there's a famine for the word of god make it rain lord among modern minds and our young people the bible as a book to read from printed pages is going the way of old technologies technologies that have run their course lord i'm praying that you would make it rain lord i'm not a prophet but sometimes i feel like a lone voice in the wilderness and i'm praying lord for the glory of your kingdom make it rain lord for the glory of your kingdom make it rain make it rain creativity make it rain a new vision lord for the souls who need to hear your words in this digital age and for the salvation of our young people make it rain innovation your church lord seems unable to win souls in north america we won one less than one member not even one member per church per year last year lord there's a famine in the land for the word of god but we need you to make it rain friends i believe one of the reasons we have a hard time winning souls is that we are presenting god's word from books and printed pages to minds that speak another communication language and to add another layer to our difficulty our success in the past has been based on the premise that we are presenting new truth to people who already have a reverence for the printed pages of god's holy book and now when for the young and for modern minds there is no more book with which to hold in reverence we don't know how to reach a generation that does not have reverence for scripture as people once did in the past we thought that people joined the church because we convinced them from the scriptures that we were right we we thought people joined the church because we convinced them that we had the truth but the real truth is this they would never have joined the church if they did not have given to them by the holy spirit an abiding reverence for the authority of the word of god it was the holy spirit convicting them of the truth and it was their reverence for the word of god and their submission to the authority of words of god on that printed page that persuaded them to be baptized that same reverence you know that caused you to put your hand on that holy book in a court of law and swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth it was that abiding reverence for the authority of the word of god that persuaded people to accept the sabbath or any other truth for that matter and if they had no reverence for that bible that printed page as the word of god do you think they would join and accept what we presented just because we were persuasive and on point church and this famine for the word of god my prayer is lord make it rain. lord show us how to reach the young modern minds in a way that fosters a reverence for your word even if it is coming from an ipad or a cell phone lord through your holy spirit help us to inspire this new generation to submit to the reverence and authority of your word no matter the digital media it's coming from lord i'm praying i'm praying make it rain we're in a famine make it rain ingenuity make it rain originality make it rain revival and renewal make it rain new methods and strategies lord make it rain new techniques and approaches there's a famine in the land and all around us people are starving for the word of god when it is right there in the palm of their hands lord i'm praying make it rain new plans and modern approaches make it rain new structures and systems and like elijah lord i believe the rain is coming like elijah who sent his servants servant back to the outlook six times and each time he came back he said i don't see any rain elijah oh but i want you to know the seventh time the servant came back he said elijah i saw something this time what did you see my son i saw a cloud the size of a man's hand elijah rain is coming i i saw a little drizzle elijah i saw a little sprinkle rain is coming and just like the lord said it would it will come to pass you know first kings 18 verse 45 the bible says it came to pass that the heaven was black it turned black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain that fell brothers and sisters in this famine for the word of god i'm praying and i invite you to pray with me lord make it rain make it rain fresh ideas make it rain revolutionary concepts of communication lord bless us with new creative ways to lift up the word of god and show us how to anchor god's word in the hearts of people a man once said that this world isn't a mess today because even though man is a wonderful machine he did not come with instructions oh but brothers and sisters today we need to hold up in new ways god's word and tell the world that god did leave man with instructions on how to live and those instructions can be found in the words of god and i believe if we pray for rain god will show us how to lift the words that reveal his loving character out of this flood of information and he will show us how through new creative technologies to implant his words into the hearts and minds of our young people friends the words of god are an explosive revelation of the will and character of god many years ago a minister once said he sent a number of books which were in bad condition to have them rebound and among them was his favorite copy of the new testament it was really beaten up he said when the books came back he was surprised to see on the spine of his new testament one that had been rebound and repaired on the spine it only had three letters the letter stood for the new testament but he could not help but notice that the letters also spelt tnt dynamite brothers and sisters the word of god even though it is in digital form it is full of dynamite spiritual dynamite the words of god they've liberated nations changed the course of history the words of god have torn down strongholds of assailed gates the words of god are spiritual dynamite they have a mysterious power to blow up unholy alliances hallelujah god they have the power to break any chain god's words no matter the medium it is introduced by they have the power to penetrate the heart and liberate the will it has the power to recreate our character into the likeness of the character of christ the word of god is dynamite and when god gives us new methods and strategies i believe god's word like lightning will leap across barriers of race and language it will leap across barriers of age and culture and i believe it will scale hurdles of politics and political beliefs and the word of god even though it's coming out of an avalanche of digital media it still has dynamite jesus said heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall never pass away i believe god will show us in our time yes in this age of digital media god will show us the power of his word and that his word is indestructible many years ago a little seminary had no gymnasium and the young ministers in training at that seminary would play basketball in a nearby public school there was an old black janitor over there who would open up the gym for them and close it down after they left but all the while as they played their games that old janitor would sit there reading his bible one day one of the young seminarians said to him what are you reading the old man said i'm reading the book of revelation the seminary and the young seminarian smile he said the book of revelation and then he said with a surprise look on his face do you understand that book oh yes said the old janitor i understand it well oh really said the young seminarian you understand that book of with all its complications and it's theological nuances oh i do said the janitor where else said the seminarian tell me what it means and very quietly that old janitor answered that young seminarian and said it that book simply says that jesus loves me and he's coming for me that book tells me that jesus is gonna win brothers and sisters god is going to send rain he is going to send us rain and today i ask you to join me join with me pray with me and pray this prayer lord in this famine for your word send your people reign amen amen amen [Music] [Applause] praise him praise him jesus [Music] [Music] give to his holy name like a shepherd jesus will guard his children in his arms he carries them all day long praise him praise him tell of his excellent greatness praise him praise him every joyful song [Music] praise him praise him jesus our blessing redeemer for our sins he suffered and bled and died he our rock our hope of eternal salvation [Music] wonderful deep and strong praise him praise him tell of his excellent greatness praise him [Music] the praise praise him praise him jesus jesus save your reign forever [Music] is [Applause] [Music] praise him [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Palm Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church

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Length: 69min 20sec (4160 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 16 2021