Sabbath Service || "Cause and Effect" || Pastor Dane Fletcher || September 18, 2021

[Music] happy sabbath everyone and welcome to worship here at the andrews memorial 7th day adventist church we hope that you've had a great week and even if you haven't one of the best parts of the sabbath is the opportunity we have to just pause to step back and to just refresh ourselves in the presence of god so we're going to do our song service first and we invite you to get your hymnals and to sing with us wherever you are but before we begin we are going to ask kelsey to do our opening prayer let us pray dear god we want to thank you for all you've done for us thank you for carrying us through another week a week that may have been filled with many challenges but as daritha said the sabbath day is a day of rest where we can lay our burdens down and just give them to you we ask that you beat us now send your holy spirit to worship with us in jesus name i pray amen amen we'll start with him 3 8 8 don't forget the sabbath the lord our god has blessed him 388 [Applause] [Music] he brings repose from labor it tells of joy divine it beams of light descending with heavy beauty shine welcome welcome ever [Music] [Music] keep the sabbath holy and worshipping today who said to his disciples i am the living way and if we meekly follow or save your hair below you give us of the fountain who streams eternal flow welcome welcome [Music] this [Music] is of sacred pleasure is gold and ours will span in that close to jesus the children stare as friends oh gentle loving savior how good and kind thou art how precious is thy promise to dwell in every heart [Music] says [Music] amen we hope you've been singing with us because we're going to continue with him 34 wake the song of joy and gladness hymn 34. [Music] pouring forth your highest praise sing to him whose care has brought us once again with friends to be [Applause] of the way to jesus speaks with the song with the song the song of joy and gladness with the song with a song the song of jubilee joyfully with songs and banners we will greet the festival day shout out [Music] glories [Music] with the song the song of joy and gladness with a song with the song the song believe [Music] thanks to the o holy father for the mercies of the year made [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] with a song [Music] at this time we will have our mission story happy sabbath church our mission story this quarter has been coming to us from the north american division and this week's story is entitled two men against one god it speaks about a ten-year-old niang muang who along with her family had moved as refugees to the u.s state of georgia from myanmar nyang started school a year after the move and found going to school very worrying she had to walk to school in the dark she didn't speak english very well and she didn't have very many friends her father could not take her to school because he had to work and the mother had to stay home with baby sister one morning before going to school nyan prayed dear god please help me to survive another day of school helped me not to get in trouble with a teacher keep me safe as i walked to school amen as niang stepped out in the dark to walk to school she decided to take a shortcut which would take her to school in only 10 minutes she had to walk past a few apartment buildings and through the woods maybe she could meet some other children along the way to keep her company however no other children were in sight as niang walked suddenly two big men loomed in front of her one of them was holding what appeared to be a white cloth bag he held it out and asked nyan to hold it for them niang thought that was a very strange question she looked around and still there were no children inside the men were big and tall and nyang was short and small instead of holding the bag nyan turned around and ran as fast as she could she had heard stories about children being kidnapped and she wasn't taking any chances nyang started to pray lord please help me please protect me she wanted everything to be right with god and she continued to pray if i did anything wrong please forgive me nian listened for sounds of the men pursuing her but heard nothing after a while she heard the welcome sounds of other children taking the shortcut and she was relieved when the children reached a spot where the men were the men were nowhere to be seen nyan prayed once more dear god thank you for protecting me two men had been overcome by an even bigger god my brothers and sisters there is power in prayer and i challenge you to be like nyang and to pray to god at all times because prayer changes things today niang is a 21 year old studying at southern adventist university and plans to become a mission dentist 10 years ago a 13th sabbath offering helped refugee children langniang to transfer from public schools to seventh-day adventist church schools part of this 13th sabbath offering which is next sabbath will go will again help refugee children to obtain an adventist education brethren i implore you to give generously this 13th sabbath to support the building of adventist schools where religious education is taught and children can grow to love the lord and have faith so that when trouble comes on them upon them they can pray god bless you let me see a very very warm and cordial good morning to my church family both here and beyond the boundaries of jamaica and they say that today we are looking at a very very interesting lesson and the title of it is the restless prophet the restless prophet let us bow ahead for prayer gracious god loving lord we are children come before you now to give you a thanks again for another sabbath day of rest we thank you for your blessings through the course of the week and for bringing us here again this morning so we can come together to share your word better and to see how your miraculous hand has worked in the past and how you continue to work for us in the future so we can have faith and confidence that you will work for us and bless us and do us good so we can continue to do all that we must do for our fellow man and show them who you truly are because today i will share your word we ask give your receptive hearts in jesus name amen this morning it is my privilege and pleasure to share the space with my wife karen and so we're going to look at like we said lesson number 12 the rest of this prophet what do you think it is in in brief form what is it of all about for this week okay it's pretty easy leroy this week's lesson was an amazing lesson that has to do with the strategy of how god works and how we as christians do things that are outside of what should be your purview as christians that strategy to save humanity god will do anything in his power to save us as a people as an individual and this is shown so clearly with the story of jonah where we only think about the whale but have we thought about 120 000 persons precious souls that were saved that were wicked and evil people originally but did god care about that no he didn't god only cares for you to be saved sounds amazing list leroy awesome awesome by dali that is so true that god cares about us his children and whatever it takes to save us he's going to get it done so we can come to know him we can surrender to him and be saved in his kingdom that's what it's all about that's why god left heaven our christ died on calvary for us so we too can have a chance to find redemption and to be reunited with him once again he started the kind of eden we lost our way he has gone to bring us back to himself and so we see here where john was called to go to nineveh to reach out to those who were lost and assure them god's way by asking them to turn and repent and come to knowing now we see that god called jonah butcher did respond to the call and he started to run away anagoza was a spiral that brought him you know in a very very curious place the gospel says scripture says here that when you got a call you decided to run in the opposite direction nineveh was north northeast of his home in israel he decided to take half angle extreme west as far as the ship would take him and so it said that he went down to jaffa then he went down into the boat later on he said it went down in the size of the board and in the kingdom version in in nfv it says and when he got done interdonated inside the boat he laid down to sleep but i tell you that he was heading in one direction down down down you don't find that there god is calling you up to where he is but jonah decided to run and he wasn't on a downward course and we saw exactly where it took him and so when he was in the side of the boat laying down to sleep then it all unraveled like what do you think god was trying to do when the storm started well leroy i think god knows everything and he clearly saw the struggle in jonah jonah could not accept that he could do this thing now if we look carefully at the history the people in nineveh were they are syrians they the assyrians at that time were considered to be one of the most cruel vicious and wicked set of people on the planet as they knew it so how could jonah therefore happily say oh i'm going to these people who are my enemies who have enslaved us who are so wicked he would have feared not only to take the message because you know we have our doubts and we have our fears internally about how well we can do the job that god wants us to do but physical fear for your physical safety and we have to realize that so it's all well and good that um we say oh jonah don't do what god wanted him to do but let's put ourselves in that perspective the perspective is we must have felt fearful on so many different levels so therefore you want iran and as you said leroy once we run from god we only can go down literally spiritually physically downward spiral and where did you wanna end up in the belly of a fish you know you can relate to johanna's perception of invites their syrians and on cruel and evilly people were later on you remember that sunakarib attacked judah and god had to intervene and you remember the story well they came to judah and said listen we're gonna destroy your city they can jerusalem to destroy jerusalem we're going to try a city and nobody can save you from us but he went further he said you know don't worry about what israel is telling you about he's got a conceivable they can't deliver you to my hand where have you seen anywhere where our god has delivered us look at these people from from my hands never never me nor my father's never happened and we have conquered it with bigger girls than your god and if you think that you're gonna save you you have a different guess coming no that was blessed for me that would last for me because what he was saying that the goddess you serve and then they say no and the thing is they knew what was happening in jerusalem because he went on to say that member is the same hezekiah when i destroyed all the other shrines and only one in jerusalem he went through all judah destroyed all the shrines i left only one in judah in jerusalem why he didn't understand that what is doing with destroying all the pagan shrines and bring it right back to the god of israel you know understood that so he thought that that that what this guy was doing was blaspheming against his god by destroying shrines but hezekiah would prepare the way so when this situation took place it was prepared because now he has from the alliance with his god and that turned himself warmly and sold to the god of god of heaven and so he never understood but he came to destroy them no understand that these are serious were cruel evil people they will impale you with his peers and you will determine skin you're alive no that was also something they did while you're alive they were more like skin for your body while you're still alive no that's barbarism at the highest level that's who they were so do you want to say me when my time evangelize them not going to happen firstly they won't hear me they may impale me or escape me alive too if i go down there and then god seriously you know they don't deserve your blessing they don't restore deserve your forgiveness that's what he was thinking yes and how are we as god people very similar to this we as god people do we not have these sort of feelings for some people around us in our society and that's what these stories that we read in the bible are supposed to let us look on our life do we have this kind of fear for some people the criminal elements in our society people that are of very obvious and different persuasion sexual orientation and therefore we put a block and say no i'm not going down there to evangelize them extrapolate jonah's situation to our present situation early right isn't that what it's about absolutely my darling absolutely and so we must learn a lesson that we are no different from our philanthropy we are all sinners and we all need to be saved by grace we have not earned it any more than the other person no and that's what the jews don't understood because they thought that that god belong to them exclusively you know jehovah is my god not yours god is saying that that's not so i am everybody's god you're all meaning my image and so when they saw the christ going without talking to you know the the the the samaritans and the other other people were not only tribal israel they said why are you wasting time with him i remember this tour where where you know jesus said said send these people on to say you know when you go to one of them what are they one of the villages of the samaritans prepare my way for me to come through there no no everybody should perish you know why you're there they don't deserve it anywhere you're way too good for them destroy the place jesus said no no no no that's not all operate i am here for everybody including them that it was what jonah never got and so eventually he understood that we serve a god who loves everyone in spite of where you're from is part of who you are is by what you have done he is your god and that will not change and so jonah had to learn the hard way and so we see now where he ran away he's not on a ship and the ship is going through a tempest you know and these are experienced sailors their is saying that it's really interesting that jonah is going to tarshish and nineveh was actually nearer than tarshish yes that is very true because the idea was jonah was running away from where god was sending him so in running away from where god was sending him he's going to go the furthest place possible mega fire and that was it and share my i will say to you how many of us are doing the same thing running in the opposite direction from where you know that is speaking to you and telling you to go and he was willing to not want to travel over two thousand miles over the target and yet it was nearly 700 miles from where he was but he preferred to travel a long distance because i want to get as far away as possible so he didn't have to evangelize these people yeah but we can't run away from god and that's what jonah found out the hard way in his spiral because let me just touch on this fact about this whale and everybody loves to make this big drama about this kang also and this can go so the reality is this we believe our god is all-powerful he can do our things if we believe that he could have opened the red sea by the israelites to go through and walk on dry land why is it hard to believe that god brought into being a large fish that koala jonah because god wanted to do what take him out put him in a place for him to start thinking start thinking about what this whole thing is about about trusting about looking to god looking for guidance from god knowing that he will provide you with everything you need when you do for him you don't need the qualification because god qualifies you where and when and how he needs to do so quite really immaterial about whether a fish could really swallow a whole man that can create a fish big enough for that which he did for that purpose regardless of the enzymes and the hydrochloric acid that should have digested him all of you science people that know the biology hola the pepsin and the hydrochloric acid how could he have survived for three days but hey god put him in a special place what did you call it lee right the first submarine yes that jonah got the first submarine right in his stream yes and so he was put there so that he could do what look nowhere else except upwards shelian is asking what about collateral damage while running from god the sailors almost died well libra you want to take that one that is true but god works in such a mysterious way that nobody lost their lives but encountered the god of heaven because they saw that having confessed jonah confessed that he was a hebrew and he was he believed in god who made heaven on earth and by then they believe that you know the got a supreme god believe the men deities but i believe the supreme god was one who made the seas and the heavens and the earth and jonah said i worship that god so it's a supreme god i worship and so they met god there i went through jonah over i said listen to save yourself throw me overboard they tried to save him and they wrote it in everything abandoned all the cargo even in the in the anchors everything on board was thrown out they could not save the ship so they eventually threw him out what happened immediately come and the narrative says in scripture here that he they start to worship the god of heaven because i met him then i saw his power but let me go a little further here he says in in chapter 2 verse 1 it says the lord prepared a great fish in that by accident love appeared a great fish and so the great fish came and and and i'm swallowed jonah now the same way god prepared a great fish he prepared a place inside a fire furnace for the three hebrew boys where they were able to to exist comfortably in the fire he prepared a place in the dead of lands for daniel where you could comfortably sleep all night without worrying about the lions i took up the piercings for us before it's needed that's the god we serve it things don't happen and suddenly i said what what i do know no for maternity past god knew i made preparation for these things and so that fish could have been a one-time existence you could have been coming up into season for one occasion only and disappeared after that i don't know i really don't care what i do know is my god can do that and i believe it because he said i go to prepare a place for you and i will come again to receive unto myself that where i am there you'll be also and if i believe in that promise then i must believe in these little things if i can't believe early things how can i believe heavenly things and so it doesn't matter whether people believe it or not it doesn't change god it'll change the saving work it doesn't plan out of redemption for mankind oh yeah that's how it works amen amen and as we progress in the lesson we see jonah finally realizes that he has nowhere to look except up and he calls upon god sees and appeals to god in the sanctuary to save him and god never fails us god saved him and imagined the fish didn't just spit him out in the sea the fish spit him out on dry land melrose stewart wants to know what about the conversion of the sailors well i think leroy touched it there too and realizing and seeing the immediate power of god that when they put jonah over the side of the ship into the sea immediately everything was calm i think this was a big testimony to them that this must be the god this must be the god and so i think they all or most of them must have been converted after that but as we move along jonah finally decides to do what god wants him to do and go out in anything and preach the word now remember before we go to that i want to share something here and i saw shares a little bit more you know after june i told john went down down down it did not end there you know there was further down that he went but i went down into the waves of the sea then it went down into this belly of the fish oh then went down into the ocean and when he got to the bottom now there was no further place to go then he met god and look at what he says here in in verse two of chapter two it says in the nfv it says in my distress i call the lord and he answered me that's what he said you know and by the stretch i call upon the lord and he answered me it says also in the second part of a verse when i use the kingdom's version this time it says out of the belly of hell cried i and thou heard us my voice and so it shows you that god was very aware of everything and jonah recognized it and then he said i went down to the bottom of the mountains the earth with her bars and above me forever yet the has brought me up my life from corruption oh lord my god so he said that god bring me up he was still in the bathroom i think it was right now but he said god brought me up so he saw where god was leading him to and he was no ready to go to an nineveh take from the modeling okay so let us compare now how many of us think we are at the bottom how many of us are seeing with this pandemic with the lockdown with all the things that are happening are we feeling like we're down at the bottom many of us feel that way but as this story reminds us don't worry look up because god our god has the power to lift you and bring you up and then moving along let us know extrapolate now and move to the fact that jonah now goes to nineveh and what happens next jonah preaches and how long did it take leroy to convert the entire city one day in one day one day and we're talking a city of one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants that was in a little hamlet because god jonah thought he couldn't do it but as we said before in god god will empower you god will prepare the hearts to receive our message and so he preached and everyone was converted isn't that an amazing thing everyone was converted and an important point i think we need to point out the king the leader did what took off his robes put on sackcloth and achieved and repented let us focus and touch on the fact that leaders must lead by example an important thing whether in the home whether in the church or in a larger field and so also you know in the political sphere as my friends here will attest to and when you said example of where it's way easier for those below you to follow but it starts exactly because we're naturally built that way when we see the people so called in charge and in power we tend to fall in line the expectations all right but then look at this amazing thing what was jonah's reaction to all the people repenting and falling down to worship god you know you know okay i find it interesting that noah preached for 120 years he did not win one soul 120 years jonah preached for one day and converted 120 000 people probably included animals too and he was upset he was right with god god what are you doing what have you done here how could you let this happen you would have thought that you would have been rejoicing you know i'm gonna pray when i pass baptize 100 person for the year you know it's a good celebration but now he was a man who converted 120 000 in one day even peter and pentecost did only three thousand but he did 120 000 one day i was right with god for it why did why would he say it was let us look at what the scripture tells us and the commentary johanna was upset why because he never thought they should have been saved and he did not want to take on the fact that but god said this thing was going and the city was going to be destroyed but he didn't want to acknowledge or accept the fact that but it's not going to happen so people gonna say i'm lying i'm not true i'm not a good prophet what is the situation but it was also about his personal pride the prophet of god his personal pride leon because we just can't seem to escape from that little monster or that big monster right what we think we can do and our positions and you realize that was what jonah struggled with why he did not rejoice in the saving of these souls because this was going contrary to what he preached instead of saying hallelujah praise the lord these people are now saved and so this is part a big part of jonah's journey big part of his journey where he know has to accept this stain on his heart are we guilty of such a stain for people that have done us wrong people who have heard of people as i said before who are different from us are we guilty of that where we don't think they should be saved oh yes oh yes jonah was more concerned about his reputation than god's reputation his reputation was not because he said in 40 days nineveh will be destroyed but because of people return from their evil ways and repented god said he's going to save the city but if that that happens then it won't be destroyed and i look like a false prophet but he missed the bigger picture which was god's effort from man's salvation and are back to saying we must remember that god can do what man thinks is important it was not meant for us to understand the mysteries of god and so that's how it is god's ways are past finding out his ways are beyond our ways way higher than the heavens is from the earth is god's ways higher than always and he starts with our thoughts and so to work with god's design with his time with his plan not like jonah and it took a a very scary thing rebuke on god's on god's part to jonah from the recognized is his error time is against us now wrapping up but just want to bring that to close my darling what happened after when god saw jonah's evil intent okay so what happened people after this happened jonah sat there waiting seeing that god really not going to destroy these people and he was so angry with god that god had to stop him in his tracks god had to stop him and say who are you who are you where is your mercy as one of my followers and my prophet where is the mercy that i have extended to you should you not extend it to these people that you are questioning my mercy oh yes and so my friends in closing we must recognize that god's ultimate purpose is designed for our salvation regardless of how we see it makes a difference that's what he desires for us everyone to be saved what whether you're an innovate evil good or whatever you think you might be whoever you are whatever you have done god's purpose is for is to save your save your life to save you and just like he did for nineveh and in saving them he ultimately saved jonah because juno realized no the error of his ways and they accepted finally that god was just god was righteous and eventually they needed salvation yes and as damian phillips is saying the lesson makes it plain that the prophet of god was the least repentant isn't that awful people the sailors repented the entire nation have never repented but the prophet of god the person who is claiming to be god's mouthpiece was the one that did not repent in his heart and therefore as leroy wraps up we look at the application because that's what our lessons are about not just to read a nice interesting story but to apply that principle in your life for you to look in your life to see am i doing the same thing and here we go are we although we say we are christians we are being unrepentant in our hearts we are not willing to take the message when god asks us to take the message whether it is to a co-worker to a neighbor to somebody you pass on the street and the spirit speaks to you to say tell this person about salvation and we look and say hey look at the old sinner look at him in there baron club look how much like i'm drinking nasa alien faber no god wants all of us to be saved and so we need to make sure that we have the mercy of god and we are willing to extend it and that we must witness wherever possible and so i say to you all let us continue praying let's make an effort every day to find god to connect with him to surrender to him making the most important thing in our lives he will lead us not like jonah went continuously down on the goddess i had to raise him up but god will keep us on a path and make us exemplary in our lives so we'll impact others so that they too can find him at this time my darling wife so close in prayer and before i close let me say one line that it impacted on me god does not call the qualified god does not call the qualified he qualifies whom he called so let us not look and say we are not qualified because he can qualify us all all right let us close in prayer let us pray dear lord god our heavenly father we come before you on this holy awesome beautiful sabbath day to worship you and praise you and give you thanks we place our hearts and all that we are in your hands and we ask you to forgive us of our sins help us to be truly repentant and turn over a new leaf and live our lives that are pleasing in a pleasing fashion to you father help us to be merciful help us to love the unlovable help us to spread your message though that you may come and come quickly this we ask for the forgiveness of our sins in jesus name we pray amen amen i know that sometimes especially with all the scary things going on now you may feel a bit down here are some tips to help you shake off those bad feelings and look at things the way god wants you to number one count your blessings we often do not realize just how much good things are going on for us take some time to list and count the things in your life that you are grateful to god for those things could include people nice things that have happened that day food or even simple things like i woke up this morning and saw the sun as the list grows you'll see that you do have things to feel good about number two remember god's promises god always delivers on his promises he may not always do what we want when we want it but he knows best and does what he knows we need when we need it the bible is filled with god's promises to us when you are down look at the bible for some of god's promises and be reminded that he is still looking out for you number three help other people when you help people you focus less on what's wrong in your world and more on how you can make things better for others in the world you can make a difference and that is what god wants you to do it feels good to help others and share god's love with the world and remember when you share god's love with the world his love comes back to you in abundance remember these tips whenever you feel down and you will be on your way to feeling better very soon happy sabbath happy sabbath saints it is indeed a pleasure to greet you wherever you are worshiping with us this morning we are very fortunate in that we have some special guests with us today as we welcome in particular the members of the pnp as they celebrate their 83rd anniversary not something to frown on a long long time for an institution to be around so this morning we are particularly happy to have you guys worshiping with us and forgive me if i make some exceptions in welcoming by name the leader of the opposition mr mark goldin uh miss lisa hannah the member of south east centen and mr horace daly the chairman of the party and mr eugene kelly counselor i make those exceptions because these individuals are actually in front of me so to the rest of the family i say a big welcome and i trust that you will receive a blessing as you worship with us this morning i share some important announcement with you i would like you to take note of the fact that next sabbath will be a very special day for us as we will be having our communion service every single one of you is invited to participate in this service how can you participate with the restrictions we will make provisions for you by pre-packaging the emblems these emblems can be collected on thursday between the hours of two to six on thursday on friday between the hours of 10 to 3 p.m and on suburb morning between the hours of 7 30 to 9. if you are desirous of participating and you are unable because of transportation reasons to make your way to the church to collect these emblems you can contact the church office at eight seven six seven five four zero 888 we will make the provisions for you to collect and we will make arrangements for those who are unable so just reach out we would like every single member to participate this evening after vespers we will be having a service where we will invite you to come on to the normal zoom link that we use for weeknight services and vespers to meet our new members those who have been recently baptized and those who are being transferred into membership the right hand of fellowship will be extended at this time to them so we ask that as many of you as have the means to join us this afternoon at approximately 6 30. i also ask you to put in your diary next sabbat evening same time at about 6 30 pastor will love the opportunity for all of you to be on so we can carry out a very important exercise that of selecting the large committee who in turn will select the nominating committee who will select the officers for the upcoming year please participate in these church activities it is with distinct pleasure this morning that i welcome the newest member of the church family i want you wherever you are to just express joy at the fact that sister kaiden duffers and dwayne sister karen dickers and dwayne dickers sir dwayne have welcomed their newborn doc wayne ksi dakas i hope i have not massacred the name please when you get the opportunity send them a congratulatory text of course you know mommy needs a little rest so we don't want to bombard her with all the calls the families of the knights and the rickets express their gratitude for your kind support over the past week as they made provisions and laid their loved ones to rest please continue to remember to bear them up in prayers and to continue to support them in this their moment of grief i would also like you to [Music] take note that the thanksgiving service for sister ambro layla's mother will be this week on the 22nd at 1pm as soon as the link for the service is available it will be shared with you and i must say it has been a season a unrelenting season because this morning i announced again family members of church members who have passed sister karen carnegie has lost her father and sister hopeful reid has lost her aunt so i trust that you will use the opportunity to reach out to these individuals and to express to them your heartfelt condolences and please i would have also announced last week that we lost our dear brother ralph uh focusing i trust that as you do your daily devotions that you will remember these individuals and that you will continue to bear them up in prayers this week we had some celebrants if i am permitted i will just like to share the names of those that we have this week uh colier kevin christa jade sandra keisha johnson paulette dougal carl chisholm dr vinslow grieves sister diana chong brother wilbur dallas and sister angela yee all celebrated their birthdays now friends in these times birthdays become even more significant because every day you hear of someone else who is no longer here let us celebrate each other let us remember to show love and i share with you a verse from john 13 verse 35 it says by this everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another that is my part in word to you this morning friends i encourage you that as you go throughout the week ahead and the weeks and months before us that we will hold that as our mantra at this time i will be inviting the honorable mark golin to come and to share a word of greeting to his colleagues and to us as church members good morning church i'll remove my mask pastor adrian johnson and all of the elders and members of the seventh-day adventist church here at st andrews memorial i greet you well and thank you very much for affording us this opportunity to worship with you this morning it is a very significant morning for us but before i get into that i want to also acknowledge my colleagues who are here with me we have with us lisa hannah member of parliament for southeast saint anne harris dally who is acting chairman of the people's national party we have senator gabriella morris and we have eugene folks vice president elect kelly eugene kelly vice president-elect sorry eugene we've been afforded the opportunity to have a small group here and we thank you very much and we appreciate the fact that the service is being streamed live so our comrades and friends can participate online we are celebrating the 83rd anniversary of the people's national party at an extraordinarily challenging time in the history of the world and indeed jamaica for over a year and a half now the covid pandemic has had mankind in its grip forcing us to social distance avoid gatherings endure lockdowns wear masks and generally have and live a much changed and often more isolated life millions of people across the world have passed including over 1 700 of our fellow countrymen here in jamaica and on top of that there have been millions of so-called excess deaths where persons have passed because health facilities have had to be refocused on treating covid patients leaving many people with other conditions unable to get the medical care they need economies have been ravaged especially those like ours with a high dependence on tourism and travel and associated industries hence we are having this anniversary service with only five of our senior members of the party enabled to be in church and attend in person fortunately technology allows participation via live streaming on the internet so that the only constraints on numbers being able to participate this morning is access to a device and internet connectivity and we thank god for that possibility for us in the people's national party we are worshiping today at a difficult juncture in our 83-year history we have lost two successive general elections in 2016 and 2020. in the house of representatives we only have 14 seats out of 63 which is less than a quarter of the seats we have changed leaders in the party twice in just four years and endured two presidential contests in that period and internal issues have continued to distract us but fortunately the party built by norman washington manly and the other founders is a very resilient institution we have overcome many difficult challenges during our 83 years from the outset the pnp lost the first two general elections that it contested and did not achieve state power and being in government for 17 years after it was formed three years before the party first swept to power in 1955 the party went through a wrenching process having to expel the so-called four ages who were four of its dynamic albeit radical young leaders in 1961 after six years of highly successful government achieving one of the fastest growing economies in the world establishing critical institutions to ready jamaica for independence and implementing tremendous social reforms nw called a referendum out of principle on the issue of whether or not jamaica should join a federation of the west indies and he lost that referendum and closely thereafter we lost the general election going into independence with result that the people's national party which had conceptualized the idea of jamaica as a nation in its own right and led the match for independence had to take a back seat and watch our competitor party assume state power as jamaica transitioned to independence in 1962 it took us 10 years to rebuild from that but by 1972 we were able to offer the jamaican people the promise that better must come and a policy platform that would deliver fundamental changes to the structure of jamaica's colonial society and economy that independence in 1962 had promised but had not yet been achieved then in the 1970s as the government of michael manley boley implemented far-reaching social and economic reforms to make irreversible strides towards decolonizing our country political violence became a tool and the government faced destabilization being on the front line of the cold war era leading to the party's worst ever electoral defeat in 1980 this time it took us eight years to reflect and rebuild we showed our resilience once again by reassessing our ideological posture to address the challenges of globalization and the triumph of neoliberalism across the world so we moved from our principles and objectives of the 1970s to the compass of the 1980s and recognize a role that markets play in economic organization and attracting investment identifying new modalities for continuing to pursue social and economic transformation in the very different world that was emerging at the end of the 1980s the result of that reassessment was a tactical shift in policies which led to 18 years of state power the longest period of continuous government by any party in jamaica's political history the fundamental economic reforms of the first part of that era provided jamaica with the basic architecture of a macroeconomic framework which is fit for purpose in a market-driven economy and of which there has been bipartisan acceptance ever since however that long period in government also brought some amount of complacency when it came to maintaining and upgrading and upgrading the nuts and bolts of our political organization it also allowed or indeed necessitated our main political competitor to reinvent itself more in our image adopting on the surface though we would argue not in reality some populist trappings of so-called free public education and free health care while we allowed our political organization to atrophy thus in the past 14 years we have been out of office for 10 of them despite having saved jamaica from serious economic challenges in our four years of government from 2012 to 12 2016 and having done some heavy lifting to reform and build an economic platform that has opened significant fiscal space and room for policies and policy choices that all go well for jamaica's recovery when we achieve a post-covered future so our party finds itself again at a critical juncture after 83 years of existence we need to settle down now and focus on doing what needs to be done to make ourselves fit and ready to resume the noble mission for which we were formed 83 years ago we must reflect deeply and creatively on who we are and reassert what we stand for in this third decade of the 21st century moving from those fundamental reflections we must identify and articulate what we intend to do for the jamaican people when we next assume the responsibility of government and as we do that intellectual work we must also simultaneously rebuild our organization and revitalize our image among the jamaican people the good news is that it lies entirely within us and with god's grace to perform these essential tasks and the work has begun but there's a lot more work to do we need not depend on anyone but ourselves and almighty god to ensure the success of our future the revitalization of our party to ensure its future relevance and existence as a force of positive transformation in jamaica requires each of us to make a conscious commitment to team pnp it is time to park and let go of squabbles and public tracing based on personality preferences and so on our future depends on us coming together as a team and doing the work that needs to be done united we stand divided we fall it's as simple as that this brief historical survey this morning shows that our party has proved over and over again that it has a resilience and capacity to emerge from the hardest of times the choppiest of waters and deliver for jamaica what the challenges of any particular era require i am confident with every passing day that more and more of us realize that what is required of us at this time in history is simply to come together team pnp is calling each and every one of us to get on board and play our part to take us forward now is the time now is the hour as our party anthem says the trumpet has sounded my countrymen all awake from your slumber and answer the call happy 83rd anniversary comrades and friends brothers and sisters god bless our party and god bless jamaica land we love thank you thank you very much mr golin and as you continue to worship with us we trust that you will be blessed at this time i'm going to invite pastor johnson to pray for the pnp as our special guest worshiping with us as well as for our members who are presently grieving and sick and past i just want you to add a special prayer for brother hugh thompson at this time i now invite the members of the people's national party leadership team just to stand well the deacons will assist them today you have heard that worshiping with us are members of the people's national party leadership team under the leadership of mr mark goldin leader of the opposition they are celebrating their 83rd anniversary and we want to thank god for their contribution that they have given to this country nation building and we are going to ask god to bless them as they continue to work for our country our nation at large shall we just bow heads for prayer the scripture says except the lord build the house those who labor with labor in vain the scripture also says in all all ways we should acknowledge him and he will direct our path and so today in the name of jesus christ of nazareth we present the leadership team of the people's national party being represented here today they have recognized that it is not by might no by power but by your spirit that they will be able to lead your country and your people we place especially in your hands mr mark golden the leader of the opposition i ask lord that you'll give him wisdom i ask that you'll give him understanding i ask that you will teach him the way of righteousness so whatever he does will be well done based on your words father we pray for the other team members that they will work together for the good of this country and so that your light will be seen in everything that they will do and say oh father we are in the pandemic and we recognize that there are so many people who are fearful but oh lord we ask that as a people we can come together and make this thing work so that the country can go back to one and so lord we pray for this group standing right here on the platform we ask lord that you will be with their families give them health and strength so as they lead your people and now oh lord i pray for our church brothers and sisters who are sick and who are not doing well you know them lord wherever they are father we pray that you'll move in the verse homes and we ask lord that you'll bring healing to their minds and body father we pray for brother hugh thompson who's not doing well we ask even now that he will go into the space where he is at this time and we ask that you will work that miracle lord bring him back on his feet so that he will come again to glorify your name and so we thank you for hearing our prayers and bless the leadership of this team that they are standing right here we pray in jesus name amen amen amen if you will permit me 30 seconds i would just like to remind those of you who would have seen the posters and for those who have not seen it that come this afternoon at 4 pm we have a power pack panel of doctors and specialists in different areas who will be addressing all your concerns we sent out a single question survey and we got in excess of 300 responses we will be trying our best to address all your concerns so we ask that you invite a friend and that you everyone who is listening this morning will make it their duty we are not trying to convince anyone to take vaccine or not to take what we are trying to do is to educate you so that you are equipped to make the very best decision for yourself and your family so come at four o'clock and join us god bless you all we ask you to stand at this time and wherever you are to sing with us or intro it there's a sweet sweet spirit in this place [Music] there's a sweet sweet spirit in this past and i know that is the spirit of the lord [Music] there are sweet expressions on each face and i know they feel the presence of the lord sweet holy spirit sweet heavenly stay right here with us filling us with your thoughts blessings we lift our hearts in grace without a doubt we know that we have been revived when we shall breathe [Music] let us pray almighty god we praise you as our great god our creator the one who gave us life we give you thanks for this holy sabbath day we give you thanks oh god that we live in a land where we can worship you freely according to the dictates of our consciences we say amen we thank you for our government we thank you for our leaders who together form the bond of government in this country we give you thanks for the rich tradition of democracy there is a government there is an opposition and together they work for the benefit of our country we thank you for law enforcement officers we give you thanks for the health workers and these two groups of individuals the law officers and the health workers they are particularly challenged at this time we pray for them give them strength we pray for our country undergoing the ravages of covet 19 lord at a time like this we are praying for health we are praying for strength we are praying for unity and lord we're also praying for an infilling of your holy spirit that our minds will be broadened that will understand how important it is that we pray for our leaders we support them because they are at the forefront and so today we give you thanks for all worshippers present in your house this is a house of prayer and we are praying calling on your name thank you for every worshiper we give you thanks for all those who are viewing online give your thanks for them and those who will watch this youtube video later bless them i pray dear lord and today as we worship you as we acknowledge you as our god remove any evil thought from our hearts and may we come to worship you in sincerity because you are worthy of all praises i present to you your manservant who will bring a message of hope and lord we pray that all our viewers online they will remain and they will share the link that as your word is preached men and women boys and girls will turn the search light into their lives and they will contemplate surrendering to you again thank you for all worshippers thank you for all participants and lord we remember those of our brothers and our sisters many have been named and many are across our nation across the land who are sick we pray for healing and lord we are praying that the pandemic will come to an end soon [Music] so that the suffering the regular news of death will be no more and ultimately lord what a great joy it will be when you come to the end of all things there'll be no more death no more sickness no more separation no more thoughts of evil no more harsh comments will be made but it will be love it will be joy when we heal you as our lord and savior thank you lord for hearing answering your prayers as we give you thanks you are worthy of all praise this i pray through jesus christ our lord amen [Music] is [Music] us with your love [Music] is [Music] when we [Music] we ask you to remain standing with us as we sing our opening hymn number ten come christians join to sing alleluia amen [Music] come christian joy to sing hallelujah [Music] to christ or king [Music] for hallelujah own rejoice praises his gracious choice [Music] [Music] [Music] again [Music] [Music] amen [Music] [Music] forever [Music] good morning everyone i hope you have been enjoying the sabbath blessing so far it's now time for the offer tree in deuteronomy 8 the lord reminds us that he gives us the power to get wealth although he empowers us in this regard he owns it all our wealth or health or strength you name it he owns it it is this right of ownership why he declares in malachi 3 that we should return to him a portion of our wealth through tithes and offerings god is so amazing imagine he asks us to return a portion of what belongs to him as an act of worship a non-discretionary act during times of plenty and times of need with which many of us can identify especially during these unprecedented times then he pours out immeasurable blessings in many ways for our act of obedience what a wonderful god as a result of these times we have more than one option to return our teds and offerings since most of us are not able to worship in the sanctuary on sabbats a dropbox is provided here at church which is accessible during the weekdays there is also an option for online bank transfer for which the details are on screen or should be on screen shortly and i'll also read in the interim it's the bank of nova scotia halfway three savings account zero zero zero nine and do not forget to email the allocation details to andrews sda dot treasury at gmail let us pray dear lord thank you we have because you gave we worship and honor you today with our tithes and offerings which we pray will be used for your work and glory we believe in your promise to bless us abundantly for this sacrifice of honor and good stewardship of your treasure amen let's now tune in to this week's stewardship video enjoy the rest of the sabbath [Music] is [Music] so [Music] the kovin 19 protocols just a few of us are here the vast majority of individuals are on youtube my last check well over 570 welcome to church and please as i sent a message there let us become as we worship god in the beauty of holiness today we will be having our scripture reading to be read by miss lisa anna member of parliament for saint and southeast after which we'll be having that scripture reading is taken from first samuel 17 26 to 37 then we'll have the song of meditation from our praise team and today to present the word of god to us to calm our troubled nerves to point us to god is pastor dane fletcher youth director of the jamaica union pathfinder's day all around so he's properly attired and revealed in his pathfinder uniform and those in the chat you can ask about pathfinders and we'll answer that there he's also the chaplaincy director for the seventh-day adventist church in jamaica and in more recent years he has taken on the responsibility of director of public campus ministries a young man who has committed himself to the work of god be blessed no scripture reading song of meditation and the man of god pastor the inflection happy sabbath church and happy 83rd anniversary to the noble people's national party may i ask you to stand as we hear god's holy word the scripture lesson is taken from first samuel 17 reading verses 26 through to 37 from the new international version david asked the men standing near him what will be done for the man who kills this philistine and removes his disgrace from israel who is this uncircumcised philistine that he should defy the armies of the living god they repeated to him what they had been saying and told him this is what will be done for the man who kills him when ilyab david's oldest brother heard him speaking with the men he burned with anger at him and asked why have you come down here and with what did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness i know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is you came down here only to watch the battle know that i have what have i done said david can't i even speak he then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter and the man answered him as before what david said was overheard and reported to saul and saul sent for him david said to saul let no one lose heart on account of this philistine your servant will go and fight him saul replied you are not able to go out against this philistine and fight him you are only a young man and he has been a warrior from his youth but david said to saul your servant has been keeping his father sheep when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock i went after it struck it and rescued the sheep from his mouth when it turned on me i seized it by its hair struck it killed it so your servant has killed both the lion and the bear this uncircumcised philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living god the lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this philistine saul said to david go and the lord will be with you hearing at the reading of the word of the lord you may be seated as we prepare our hearts for the message we invite you to sing with us him 483 i need thee every hour we'll do the first second and final stanza him four eight three [Music] oh bless me savior i come to thee i thee [Music] [Music] is [Music] bless me now my savior i go to thee [Music] i [Music] is [Music] i come to thee oh blessed [Music] thee [Music] [Music] today oh god we need [Music] even as we acknowledge you as the god of all and the god for all [Music] do what only you can do by the power of your word in jesus name [Music] i know my context and for this reason i begin with daniel 2 verse 21. he says and he changes the times and the seasons he removes kings and raises the raises up kings he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding i journey over to romans 13. we start at verse 1. let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from god and the authorities that exist are appointed by god therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of god and those who resist will bring judgment to themselves for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil do you want to be afraid of the authority do what is good and you will have praise from the same for he is god's minister to you for good but if you do evil be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain for he is god's minister an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath but also for conscience for conscience sake for because of this you also pay taxes for their god's ministers attending continually to this very thing render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due customs to whom customs fear to whom fear honor to whom honor with that said i greet you on this blessed and beautiful sabbath as we celebrate world pathfinder day in jamaica across the world as we celebrate the existence of a movement that stands 71 years with a number our population of some 2 million across some 60 000 clubs i greet you under the theme i will go so that's my first order of business i read daniel 2 verse 21 and romans chapter 13 to make the way clear to recognize in a significant way or leader and i did say or leader of opposition it doesn't matter the color of your shirt be it green or orange leader of opposition for all jamaicans is mp mark golding i welcome you sir and your entourage to our worship service i consider it also a privilege that as the people's national party celebrates 83 years of existence it is 83 years of contribution to national growth and development it did three years of struggles but 83 years of progress that they had deemed necessary to come to the seventh the adventist church as they celebrate i have read romans 3 in part 13 in particular to emphasize the fact that our leader of the opposition is appointed by god that is my biblical understanding of romans chapter 13. and we must note that while there ought to be clear demarcation clear lines of distinction between church and state the church and the state occupy similar space therefore means that we must co-exist together as we foster harmonious relations for the advancement the development of our people so here we are on world pathfinder day thanks to mp lisa hannah for beautiful reading or scripture of meditation in such beautiful manner today we look at the very important message cause and effect cause and effects our message is anchored in the first book of samuel chapters 16 and 17. it is world pathfinder day and for this reason even as we look at the subject cause and effect it is against the backdrop of i will go so here we are my brothers and sisters contemplating cause and effect the scripture clearly articulated that there was a man named david david who lived by a cause for a cause with a cause david who decided to go with a cause in order to realize new effects but as we closely observe david's life looking at first samuel chapter 16 it must be noted that david he had a good heart david was willing and obedient willing and obedient to adhere to the teachings the dictates of his father now while david was an obedient fellow it would appear as though that the odds were against him for when it was time for samuel to anoint the person who would be the next king of israel that he went to jesse's house and to david's dismay he was not a part of the celebration he was not a part of the occasion david was not considered david was forgotten or overlooked in fact david might have been considered as unworthy but even as the firstborn passed before samuel and samuel looks at eliab and said surely this must be the man god's response solomon he is not the one from whereas man looks at the outward appearance god looks at the heart and so i'm charging or pathfinders or pathfinder leaders and i'm charging also mp golding or leader of his opposition and his delegation and other members of the people's national party that wherever you go you should serve with a good heart serve with a good heart not with selfish interest not with selfish ambition serve with a good heart for the advancement of the welfare of all david served with a good heart looking at david's experience observing that he was overlooked he was forgotten and perhaps forsaken as samwell was about to name that person who would be the next king the next national leader who was also a spiritual leader as samuel was about to anoint the next king david was not present looking at this account it must be observed that david was the youngest of jesse's eight sons the youngest of them all and while the seven elder brothers were at home while they were positioning themselves for power the youngest of the lot was busy busy in the field busy nurturing the sheep it therefore suggests to me that even as god rejected those who were desirous for powerful fame even as god rejected the older of the company and was considerate to the youngest of them all we should note closely and carefully that god is interested with in in people who are willing to serve and to serve with a good heart it's not just about doing a job it's not just about doing a good job it is about doing a good job with a good heart david he's served with dedication he served with commitment david was fully consecrated to the cause of serving his family and i suggest then that after david served his family well god saw it fit to promote him can i tell you this that if you serve if you serve well if you serve god and you serve well god will promote you i'm tempted to say some things concerning mp golding and i will yield to the temptation today 13 months ago you might not have considered yourself to be the leader of the people's national party even if you considered yourself you might not have been the first person on your mind to lead the people's national party but while others had different intentions had different ideas different persons in mind i'm suggesting you to you today consider what it is that god had in mind for 13 months ago when you would not have considered yourself god had you in mind even as david was accountable to his father to his family and was accountable to god i'm suggesting to you mp golding or leader of opposition that you're not only accountable to the people's national party you're also accountable to the people of jamaica most importantly you are accountable to god we all in the end will have to give an account to god so david this youngster this pathfinder who was busy at all at home doing the noble and honorable thing of being obedient to his father he was there when he showed up he showed up not because he was wanted he showed up because he was appointed by god and so i want you to know young people that others may not want you to show up but even when they do not want you to show up god has appointed you to show up and now is your time now is your time to be anointed to be anointed for your appointment now is the time i'm talking about cause and effect and while i talk about cause and effects today i suggest to you that david showed up because he was willing and ready and he was obedient and and after he showed up it was then that he was anointed to be the next king of israel you know the truth of the matter is that sometimes when god is about to assign you you do not know what your assignment will be but if god gives you that assignment he will equip you for that assignment he will see you to the fulfillment of your task he will help you to fulfill it to the best of your ability know that as long as your faith your faith is anchored on god you will do well you will excel you will be of great value you will make a substantial contribution to the cause for which you stand so david he stood in his family and he was an obedient fellow and now we see here that the tide is changing his elder brothers the three elder ones here at the battlefield and while they're on the battlefield his daddy that's jesse says to david david would you be kind enough to take some food to your brothers on the battlefield and and when he shows up guess what eliab says to david david you have come on here only to be entertained you have come to observe the battle you have come here just because you have a dirty heart you have a bad heart and i was told from i was a little boy growing up that as a man or as a person thinks in his heart so is he can you imagine then why it is or how is it that elijah was refused elia considered david to have a bad heart when he himself was infected with bad mind and grudgeful behavior he was covetous of his very own brother look at david david the youngest of them all david the person who really should not be on the battlefield as david shows up even as he hears the thunderous uh insults hurled by goliath to the extent that the mountains vibrate david shows up with confidence david shows up with courage and david shows up to live for a cause the bible asks the very poignant question the words of david in verse 29 why sorry sorry in verse 29 the bible says and david said what have i not what have i done now is fear not a cause is there not a reason is there not a purpose i'm suggesting to you that if you are going to do well if you are going to excel and if the people's national party in this instance should fulfill her mandate her god-given mandate her god-given assignment there must be a cause for which you stand a cause not just to win a national election but a cause to lead jamaica land we love to be the place of choice to live and work raise families and do business we must stand and live with a cause david lived for a cause for david's cause was to defend the name of god the cause of our pathfinders is to defend the name of god the cause of our past finest is to demonstrate what it means to be obedient to god the cause of our past finders is to live peacefully one with the other the cause of our past finders is to stem the tide of the river of blood that is flowing from the veins of our brothers and our sisters the cause for our past finders is to foster justice and equity and bodily love and tenderness and long-suffering the cause for our pathfinders is to live godly devoted lives even as we live in anticipation of that day when our troubles will be over and our joy will come at last we must live for a cause what's your cause is it just to go to school and get a good education and yes education is essential whereas the late great nelson mandela said net education is the weapon that can be used to transform any nation yes young people strive for a good education yes young people you should expect that the governing authorities provide a context for your educational development but it doesn't matter what the authorities do it is your responsibility to do your best to live for a cause people may not give you a cause but you should identify a cause a reason for your being to emphasize the need or the reason for you coming to life that you came to life as unique as your fingerprint as unique as your dna to leave an impressionable mark on the canvas of our existence you came for a purpose you came for a reason decide to live for that cause and when we observe david david was not just willing and ready to live for a cause david this youngster david this pathfinder david this person who has never really had much experience in war this untrained person is willing and ready to die for a cause what are you willing and ready to die for i submit that if jamaica should see better times the governing authorities must be willing even to die for causes that is there must be a time when the unpopular decision is made not the decision not so much to give you victory at an election but to do what is right simply because it is right and that is what the lord requires of you do what is right in the name of the lord so david he stands for the cause he moves forward with courage and when saul says to him look at you youngster you are inexperienced you you really don't know what it means to go to war and this giant goliath of god he has been a warrior from the days of his youth how is it that you are going forward to face this giant now david said to saul your royal highness be of good courage for while i attended the sheep of my father that a lion and a beer came upon me i came upon them and the lord the spirit of the lord came upon me to the extent that i was able to wrestle them with my bare hands and this uncircumcised philistine shall be of one shall be like one of them in going with a cause and living for a cause it may be useful for us to reflect on what good the lord has wrought with us i submit to you young people pathfinders the adventist church would not have been as vibrant as it is if the young people never played an integral role in the development of this organization the adventist church would not be as vibrant as it is if you were not or priority because we cater for you from you are a toddler to the extent of when you die we cater for your development because we believe in preparing you not just for the joys of this world but we also believe in preparing you for the joys of the world to come we believe in the preparation of a people the trading of a people to the extent that you will live your dreams you will reach for the stars you will fulfill your life's purpose even as you live for a cause so david he was there he decides to go forward but saul decides to introduce him to something but just before i get to that i believe it is of substantive value that i suggest that even as we live for causes and we reflect on past victories one contribution of the people's national party to the develop the development of our nation is the national housing trust most of us if not all of us or our relatives benefit from the national housing trust now even as we talk about the national housing trust if it were to be closely examined perhaps the national housing trust and its cash rich self that entity upon whom successive governing authorities have gone for refuge if that entity were rightly managed so that god's children irrespective of the shirt that they were if that entity were properly managed the economy would be more vibrant if that entity were properly managed where funds are spent to the extent that the poor and the needy would have shelter above their heads then jamaica indeed would be a better place we must decide to reflect on the good that god has done and use that good which the lord has done for us to advance the welfare of everybody now some may be saying i may be siding with the pnp today but it's not siding with the pnp today i am here upon the authority of god's word to say that just as david sensed his accountability to god that david was willing to live for a cause people leaders of the people in that people's national party leaders in jamaica as an as a whole ought to sense their responsibility that god is requiring of them to do the best that they can to stand for a cause to live for a cause and to be ready to die for a cause that's the word today and i pray that we all will be so inspired to do our best to fight to live to die for cause now david did not just go for a cause he went with a cause now as we observe that saul tries to clothe him in his armor that david attempts to move but david says i'm sorry i'm sorry but i have never tried these he took off saul's armor and then he decides to go forward now when he decides to go forward he goes not in the conventional armor but david decides to do something that was befitting of his training befitting of his development befitting of his skills so david decides to go forward not with sword or spear but david goes forward with five stones and a sling and he decides to go forward he decides to go forward in the name of the lord as we observe this account of david going forward it must be clear that david decided to do something new and different it therefore means that if our church should realize her purpose in this dispensation if our church should fulfill her mission in passing on the keys of identity mission and leadership to our youth if our church should preach the gospel to the extent that jesus will come if our church should do this then our church needs to do things differently there must be the application of creativity and innovation if we really realize to go forward with a cause to accomplish god's purpose we must decide to check out new avenues new untried means or new or untried means of doing or fulfilling the mission of our church likewise it is for the leaders of our nation the leaders of the people's national party the same old may not do it yes it may just not work so david he decides to go forward and as david goes forward he gets himself five small stones now you may you may ask yourself the question why would david get five stones when one can do the job now before we get to the five stones it is useful to observe that the guy the giant was a formidable four the giant stood some nine feet tall this the the head of the the the giant spear was just about as heavy as a shot put ball so goliath was a monstrosity of a man goliath if he would only get david close enough he would rip him or shred him to pieces but it would appear that goliath though he was strong was also weak for in verse 44 the philistine said to david come to me it would appear that this man those strong could not move swiftly i am suggesting to you that even those things that we fear as strong as they appear they very well may be weak all we need to do is to go forward and to go forward in the name of the lord david decided to go forward in the name of the lord david decided to go forward with a cause and when david went forward in the name of the lord he echoed to goliath you come to me with a sword and with a spear but i am come to you in the name of the lord and in the name of the lord you will be defeated i don't know what you want to do but for me i have decided to go in the name of the lord for when i go in the name of the lord i will see tremendous effects for when i go in the name of the lord giants are slain when i go in the name of the lord battles are won when i go in the name of the lord enemies are defeated when i go in the name of the lord tasks are accomplished when i go in the name of the lord corruption can be dismantled when i go in the name of the lord in inequity can be destroyed when i go in the name of the lord i will see great and marvelous things what will happen if ever pathfinder should go in the name of the lord what will happen if every part final leader should go in the name of the lord what will happen if every member of our seventh-day adventist church family would go in the name of the lord what will happen if the people's national party would go in the name of the lord for while the people's national party desires to be a world-class party with the capacity to reach out to all groups and create broad-based national alliances i pray to god that you will see the need not just to create broad-based national alliances but that you will see the need to create a divine alliance even as you seek to lead their party and to be of positive contribution even according to the divine plan because as i said earlier you never came by accident you never came by chance i believe it i believe it mr golding you never came to your spot by chance i made reference to the 13 month ago situation you might not have considered it you were appointed by god and you in the end will not just have to give an account to the people of jamaica or the people's national party you will have to give an account to god the book the holy book says the governing authorities are appointed by god i as minister of religion youth ministries director of the jamaica union conference will have to give an account to god for the stewardship of my leadership i will have to give an account to god as to how i lead and help the young people of jamaica to be committed to jesus christ i will have to give an account to god for my stewardship you pathfinder will have to give an account to god how you lead how it is that you are trained and how willing you are to nurture your talents and your abilities for the advancement of the cause of christ yes all of us our church leaders will have to give an account to god ultimately yes we have to give an account to god for the cause for which we live we have to give an account to god for the risks that we're able to take and the faith that we're able to demonstrate in him because david moved forward david moved forward not because the giant could not kill him but he moved forward with the assurance that god would protect him he moved forward with the assurance that god would help him to prevail and i want to believe that the same god who was with david he's our god i want to believe that the same god who helped david to prepare will help you to prevail the same god who gave the victory to david will give you a victory and look and see how god works so i said before david brought five stones and one stone was able to do the job somebody needs to know that david was willing not to try just once he was willing to try two times three times four times five times and david knew that he never had to do it more than five times because in one of those efforts god would prevail god would give him the victory and god would help him to see the effect of the enemy defeated in jamaica we have many enemies and the sad reality is that we are our very own enemies we are not at war but we kill one another by the hundreds each year we are not at war yet there is domestic violence on every hand we are not at war yet our children are not at peace they can't move freely we are not at war jamaica needs to intervene you understand therefore my friends why the people's national party would ask for god to lead and direct because this what they're doing and this that is required of them to do is bigger than mp golding it's bigger than all the the candidates or all the caretakers and the members of parliament it's bigger than the the the vice president is bigger than the people's national party and i dare say that what jamaican is now is bigger than both the pnp and the jlp combined what jamaica needs now is a people willing and ready to live for a cause what jamaica needs young men and young women boys and girls older men and older women who will know that irrespective of their circumstance even if they were overlooked forsaken or forgotten they need to serve and to serve with a good heart and i remember the affirmations taught to me by the late miss lucille mclellan she taught me mathematics in high school she taught us the affirmation success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out with god's help i intend to make myself and my school successful it could be said not of school it could also be said of party it could also be said of jamaica it could also be said of church whatever you do success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out if you're going to realize the effects of god at work you must be willing and ready to do small things for god because when we do small things for god living with a cause standing with a cause being ready to die for a cause god will show us great and amazing effects i suggest therefore my brothers my friends that wherever you are whatever you're doing just be willing and ready to go be willing and ready to serve with a good heart and once you serve with a good heart and you go in the name of the lord once you go in the name of the lord victory is guaranteed sealed and delivered in the name of jesus christ serve with a good heart and you will see the effects even as you live with the cause what's your cause young people i know you have a cause you have a cause to be respectful and obedient you can say i want to live for my cause you can type that in the chat if you're watching online you can say i want to live for my calls i want to live for my purpose i want to fulfill my divine assignment i want to honor my god-given appointment you want to live with a cause you're indicating in the chat this world path find a day you're saying i will go david said i will go i will go with the cause i will go in the name of the lord i will go in the name of the lord and i will see what god will do doesn't want to go in the name of the lord remember each of us has a god-given assignment each of us has a god-given responsibility do your best be willing to live for a cause be willing to die for a cause and wait and see the effects of what god will do once you go in the name of the lord god bless you i want to pray for somebody today you just want to live for your cause or live with your cause for a purpose dried pea for prayer online you're writing p for prayer because you believe that god can do so much more for you and it doesn't matter who you are whether you're a person of the church person of the pnp what we need is jesus what jamaica needs right now is a tender and compassionate attitude what jamaica needs now is selfless service what jamaica needs now is not so much to focus on what divides us but what unites us for even when the architects of our independence considered the foundation on which jamaica would be built it was evident that they knew that if this nation should be the place of choice to live and work raise families and do business though it might not have been articulated in that manner they clearly knew that it's not just about putting people first it's about putting god first that's why our national anthem is a prayer eternal father bless our land and the pledge before god and all mankind what we need is to reflect on god and to see what god will do if jamaica will not only be the place on earth with most church buildings per square per capita a per square mile but that jamaica will be the place where people are serving with a good heart that jamaica will be the place where people are living with a cause jamaica will be the place where people dedicated to god confess their sins and ask god to heal the land that people with this cause will see the effects of what god can do what is your cause as you examine your cause today the cause that you have will determine the effect that you receive examine your cause today pause and examine your cause i want to pray for you even as you examine your cause i want to pray with you if you're in the congregation and you want to be included in the prayer you stand with me those online will write p for prayer and you want to pray with a cause i want to live for a cause i want to pray that the spirit of god will overshadow you that you will be empowered to fulfill your god-given assignment [Music] we're getting ready to pray and you online you will write p for prayer [Music] just the sigh just decide to live for a cause and be willing and ready to even die for a cause [Music] [Music] your heads about your eyes are closed as we get ready to pray father before we were born you saw this day of us coming together and we acknowledge that with you there is no limit there's no boundary with you there is no line of separation among people but that you desire that all your sons and daughters in jamaica irrespective of political affiliation irrespective of religious denomination denomination that your sons and your daughters will serve with a good heart we know god that you have appointed us to live with a cause and as long as we go in your name we are assured that the effects will be positive so today great god we are depending on you we are at your mercies lord we are depending on you to inspire the pathfinders of our church to be passionate about being your disciples we are depending on your god for you to touch their hearts with love and tenderness that they will be fully committed to your cause your cause to advance the welfare of all your cause for sinners to be saved in your kingdom we pray that you will help us who lead to provide that nurturing context in which their talents and their abilities will mushroom to the fruition of them making a substantial and positive contribution to our nation to our church and the advancement of your kingdom we pray o god that as the people's national party celebrates 83 years now you through your divine wisdom will order their steps in your word that mp golding and his team will lead with transparency will lead with justice and equity that they will foster the development of all jamaicans we pray o god that as we come aside that in this age of conspiracy theories in this age where there's hardly anything to trust i pray almighty god that you will help us to trust your word and to follow you wheresoever you lead what a day that will be when the greatest of all enemies the devil himself will be defeated keep us fit for that time oh god as we look forward to the grand celebration this is our prayer with thanks in jesus holy name amen [Music] [Music] [Music] him 623 i will follow thee my savior [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes my lord i'll follow thee [Music] [Music] thee by thy grace [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] thy blood for me [Music] [Music] tribulation [Music] and rejoice to follow thee i will fall thee my savior [Music] [Music] [Music] thou has crossed the waves before me and i still will follow thee i will fall only my savior thou to shed thy blood for me and though all men should forsake thee by thy grace [Music] thank you check check it's just me you know happy sabbath everyone and welcome to walking in his words i am kwame thomas one of your local leaders in the angels district now as is customary we you know what we have been talking about we have been looking at the idea of marriage and the family and today we are using again sister shelley that we had last week and we're going to be joined by pastor patrick rotherford but um i'll just pray and then we get into everything else let us pray heavenly father as you come before your presence i just want to first thank you for the opportunity to be here i want to thank you for the provisions that you have made thank you for the support that you have allowed us to get we pray that you'll continue to lead us the church the ministries the respective ministries their father and continue to use us to be a blessing to your people this is my prayer with thanksgiving in jesus name amen amen so today again we're looking at the idea of marriage and the family and we looked at a number of things we have been going for almost a month long we want to we want to get as many questions answered and today is going to be the final look at this for now if you wanted another time then you'll have to ask so for those of you here in the sanctuary those online i'm asking you think about the questions any questions queries comments or concerns that you might have think about those and post them in the chat and then we will see them to answer so right now i'm going to go to sister shelley ask what were your views and the discussion that we have had up to this point are there any questions that you think we might not have answered from last week or the weeks before i think the question that continues to plague the discussion is what does godly submission look like there seems to be a distinction in the minds of many godly submission versus cultural submission i am not sure what that entails so i know that they had asked some specific questions last week wanting examples of godly submission that's where we had paused last week and i was asked to be as practical as possible i realized there's one person in the chat who keeps thinking that godly submission is saying yes dear no they're all hail there i am not sure where he got that from but that is a view for which he needs to be quickly disabused so the the argument continues to rage in the chat so so godly submission is not yes there no there you're so great there it's okay all right so i can appreciate that that statement but um so that's one so godly submission the idea of of what godly submission looks like as opposed to cultural submission that's one and also someone wanted something definitive on divorce and divorce and divorce so the first week that we we started we looked at the idea of of divorce you know that we here in church we so one we we have set the pr the precedence are the premise rather that god does not like support um divorce he doesn't like it but it happens in a reality it does happen so they wanted us to answer definitively the circumstances under which we it's permissible for for a divorce and things of that nature so i'm not going to throw that one over that you yet you know you look like the submission type that's that's what we want you to tackle so i'm going to throw that out too faster so so yes so pasta as soon as you as soon as you're you're you have gathered here your thoughts i want you to tell us definitively so the yeas and nays the dues are thoughts what is divorce how does god see it and how should we see it as as a church and as christians as just regular people okay so when jesus made a statement about divorce he prefaced it by saying that in the beginning that was not the intent okay god intends for a man and woman to live together till death do us part uh the challenge we have is that we are human beings and when two people get together and and those of us who are married know you really get to know the person after you marry them okay and there are things about people that make them not easy to live with and for some people impossible to live with they probably they they they are an imminent danger to your life or your psyche your physical well-being in other forms and you don't see that until after you're married and so um i i gave this answer the first time just asked i think for those listeners who didn't hear the first time i'm gonna repeat it jesus statement about divorce was pre-faced on a controversy in his day between between two schools of thought from deuteronomy 24. that says for any and anything when moses gave permission just came down on the side of the conservative that says it has to be something that breaks through contract something that breaks the contract yes and in this case he specifically mentions adultery because because in his day okay so jesus wasn't going to go into a discourse with people with terminology that they wouldn't understand okay so he gave them a concrete example of what would constitute the reason for divorce what is involved in adultery what is involved is an individual disrespecting their partner enough to go with someone else and so the bible deals with principles and the principle therefore is if if the marriage bed is sacred and that experience to be shared between two people um then jesus said if you have gone to the place where you're going to share that with somebody else then no no um that releases the person however now they are we have grown as a people an understanding of christ and christianity to understand that adultery takes different forms god himself talks about the adulterous people who don't worship him the way they should they run after other gods so individuals commit adultery by going after money in other words they sacrificed their relationship with their wife and their spousal duty and responsibility their wife to that sacred bed in pursuit of money so a violation of the contract that's violation of a contract and that can be in the form of well unfaithfulness whether it's because well in the pursuit of what you perceive to be happiness outside of of this particular sphere now you said something about the marriage bed is undefiled so the question is what does an undefiled bed looks like oh my goodness i have it fun too much fun it's it's okay so so there is no place that people share space more closely than in bed sure yes okay and and when you're gonna share that space with someone it's not just two bodies coming together his hearts and minds coming together there has to be respect there should be care um the man who goes to bed and one bomb slam and he's selfish and his role and gone to sleep he has defiled it because he's not respecting his spouse he's not meeting her needs he's not caring about her okay so so so the whole matter of the union the the coming together of two people in a relationship of of intimacy that intimacy is not just what happens in bed it has to do with the whole life together and it culminates in this rich beautiful experience of sharing the bed together i want you to add something to that it is as pastor rotiford said that's the closest space you share with your husband or your wife your bedroom your bed uh it is an unveiling of self because i unveil he unveils we come together vulnerable it's vulnerability and in a space like that it has to be safe it has to be respected it cannot be degrading it cannot be degrading to either of us things must not happen there that are unsafe that create disrespect and it is also about learning your partner understanding what gives pleasure what must not be done that there are seasons as well and we come together sometimes on the bed just to talk it is not always about fire and excitement there are many different things that happens in your bedroom that's why you have pillow talk and things get shared and said it is an intimate space and not everyone should be in your bedroom we have a living room for for all the many other things that you just you can convert it you can do you can do what you need to do all over the house let's let's be frank on that i want to share something with you about the the challenge of intimacy and what people have to work with to get to that place because because we can spend a lot of time talking about what constitutes divorce what constitutes a successful marriage a good intimate relationship and and part of what affects intimate relationship is the emotional baggage you bring to the relationship okay i'll give you a simple example a person who has been sexually abused and has not resolved the matter has not forgiven the abuser have not put in perspective they come some come to the their marriage with shame because they feel just because something's wrong with them why what happened they found some pleasure in it and and therefore they're not righteous in their heads to to have had that aspect of it they feel a lot of innocence and they feel unsafe to share the deep inner feelings with a man because a man took their innocence from them so so so when when she gets the marriage bad she's now being asked to share with her husband what she's not in a position to share and the relationship is in trouble because she gets close they can be intimate at times and when she feels she's getting too close this bed is too close she withdraws and he can't understand why so so there are issues between people that need to be resolved people just sit there and talk and be honest with each other about what their feelings are what's affecting them and if they need professionals happening to get that help so they can get that marriage working properly so they themselves can read the benefit and the blessing out of it so the undefiled bed is a safe space yes it is a safe yes it is so and and that's where that's where all the magic happens whichever way you want to put it that's where all the magic happens it's it's a safe space where where both of us can come together naked um um where where we are bearing each other and and there's nothing holding us back there's no prohibition naked in body and soul hallelujah yes so we just said something that first i wanted to hear so harold gordon is saying that if the pastor whether or not pastor can show us in the scriptures where jesus said one can divorce because of adultery then i don't believe in the scriptures no more he oh no more he stealing lies on god so i'm not sure i understand and understand the statement completely but while pastor gathers his thoughts so he who made it so from the beginning ordained one man one woman yes and because if we look at the context that it was asked in the earth made new so jesus was asked about this woman who has had so far between five and seven different partners our husbands and he was asked lord in the earth made knew whose will she be and jesus respond responded by by saying that you know you air because in the earth made you you'll be either married nor given marriage and so on and so forth and then he says that if you divorce or put away your partner for anything else besides adultery then you would have forced her to commit adultery and when moses allowed that well you can say no when moses gave the bill of divorcement he stated conditions under which that was given so pastor it's your it's your turn matthew 19 9 19 verse nine yeah and i said to you oh come on now i hit the wrong button here back okay here we go and i say to you whoever divorces life except for sexual immorality and marriage another commits adultery and i say to you that he who puts away his wife for anything except sexual immorality say again it says here marriage another commits adultery commits adultery so harold i implore you to look to look in look in the scripture and look at the text look at the pretext and look at the context so that we can have a full appreciation of what what is being said here so jesus is talking against the backdrop that we're real people we have real problems and we're really broken and then he decided to give us a concrete example of how we exist in our state of brokenness that's that's what i am i'm i'm looking at now so i i await harold's response um from from that one but amos amos 3 verse 3 we have quoted that that verse of scripture in in church a myriad of times and when you go right through a christendom you know we hear that how can two walk unless they agree how does that well first of all does that have anything or should it have anything to do with marriage and the family if yes what how can two go together unless they agree we quote it for uh for marriage and for many other things some people use it for business deals as well who can to work together except they be agreed if you look at the context in which amos was speaking he was relating to what was happening between god and the adulterous israelites at the time as well so it and but it does have some application to marriage can we really walk together in harmony unless we agree on some what i call basic fundamental principles to walk together because working together implies companionship implies that we are heading in the same direction and we know where we're going we're heading hopefully to the same destination not that we're walking aimlessly but we're walking with our purpose let me come down to earth on this year there are people who quote this text and say if you're an adventist you must marry an adventist get into that and i've seen adventist maria adventists and walk into hell because to be an adventist and to be a christian do different things best is to be an adventist christian all right i understand that okay so yeah so so um the parallel text in new testament says do not be unequal europe without believers it's a simple principle if you in any corporation if you have the same mission and you share the same vision you're gonna you're gonna most likely succeed at what you do if in the company each vice president has a different mission and vision from the president and and presents a different mission and vision from the board chaos so the closer that those things and and all these things are values driven the closer the things between two people come in terms of values the more it is possible for them to have a successful relationship whether it is business or its marriage and it comes back to headship who is leading and what is the level of maturity spiritual and otherwise of the person who is leading this walk so if your husband who is to be the head is not mature and humble enough to understand the great capacity that is on him as head then he's gonna have a problem with submission because he's to be taking the initiative with us the wife can take the initiative too but he is the one who is out there as the lord dictates doing his thing giving us a plan let's go let's go come on let's go i don't need to be out there hustling let's put up a tank let's do this let's do that the husband is head so who is the head of this partnership who is the head of this cooperation if we don't have mature humble god-connected leadership you're going to have issues with submission so faster as a man am i'm right ahead because i'm a man or on my head because god said one i'm a man so because i'm a man i should be the head so what i'm trying to understand is that many times um the expectation is trusted or it's it's just placed on the mail and many times the mail is not prepared because the woman might be strong-willed or the male might be weak-willed and and or he just doesn't have that sense of leadership whether it's a case whereby it's not mature it is not developed or whatnot but right now he's just not displaying it is he head by birth for the fact that he has the muscle the most ladies funds that that was the statement that was used earlier you remember you're remembering at the blade now somebody has to lead and i can guarantee you this any family any cooperation any partnership any business if the person who has the official role does not carry out that role somebody else is going to do it sometimes in some homes a child is a leader because the parents are so dysfunctional the child takes upon themselves to try to keep them in line and to keep the house saying it has happened it is happening today okay because there are fundamental principles to leadership leadership in the christian context is servant leadership if anybody with among you would be great let him be your servant that's christianity that's a quote directly from jesus and then the submission comes in now as support to leadership so i am going to affirm i'm going to ensure that you succeed and even when you make a decision that we may have discussed i don't agree with it i will work with you i will not quietly be behind the scenes sabotaging you so i can say i told you so slow down and i want you to repeat that can i then so i work with you it is about support affirmation ensuring that it is a success that you can practice headship and be a man so even when you make the decision and i don't agree with it and i've told you i don't agree with it i've tried to persuade you otherwise and you're still going in this direction i will work with you i'm not going to willfully settle to sabotage you're pretending i'm with you but i'm not so that is how the submission comes in it is a part of the successful whole and when we don't fulfill that role now our manner of issues results it's just like a corporation as pastor rotter ford said if the head is going that way and the body is going in another direction we are in trouble either having a stroke or something so all right so so i understand that part no so i grew up in a household where my father would say up you take a woman unto yourself you make her your wife you know so you met the daughter your wife and and that's it someone asked a question online earlier is it necessary to come before a pastor or a priest why why the ceremony why can't i just take a female and so you do i do we do they do let's do and and that's it is there is there any necessity behind coming with all the formalities the bells and whistles you know is that necessary so we um back to the first point that was brought up about culture we live and function in a cultural context and without that cultural cultural context our sense of safety would be last able to predict what's going to happen next which is important to our sanity would be lost so so for example courtship in india is the boy's parents negotiated the girl's parents and there are other countries residing at practice too they arrange a marriage in some more progressive situations they arrange for them to meet and see if they like each other in others they decide okay and and the marriage begins upon instruction when when root and boss got together she was the initiator okay and within within that cultural context naomi taught her how within that culture to say to a man respectfully i'm interested okay so so cultural context has a lot to do with things let's bring tomorrow to the question you asked um within our cultural context the way a man expresses his respect for his for the woman within our cultural context is to ask for her hand in marriage respectfully ask her parents even if you don't like them even if she and them are not getting along together there respectfully asked her parents for her hand in marriage why because part of his ministry to her if there's a rift between her and them is to mend that rift that's part of his ministry is to help with that so so so the christian value says my to be that i love has grown up in a cultural context and in this cultural context the way i show respect to her is to engage your parents first and ask permission then to do within the religious system of that culture what is respectful for this woman says amount of respect is respect and and i can tell you this that there are there are many individuals out there who went the quick route even with the pastor and years after when they go to their friend's wedding there's a lung in their hearts oh my i wish i had had something as nice as this when i started this journey yes so two questions just came up um online one was about your situation where you you stated that you might not be in you might not be comfortable with the decision that that the head has made but you have decided to to support the question is isn't that compromise as opposed to submission carly what you will i'm not going to split tears and argue about semantics uh it is if you want to call it compromise sure it is submit it is submitting for me because women don't leave their brains at the altar when they get married you come to the marriage with your brain and your skill sets now we sit down and talk and dissect things what i'm seeing on the table i don't like it i don't agree i can quote data i can quote facts but if you decide that this is how you feel you want to go you think it is a good deal come on as sometimes my husband tell me you're too negative i'm an accountant okay fair enough you're too negative always see the risk always seeing that factor you know the stats at a restaurant so many restaurants fail in a year but you come to me and tell me somebody wants to you to fund a kitchen and a food shop no but if you think this is the way you're going to go we're probably going to take a loss because the stats are against most of these businesses functioning but if you win more power to us but i am not going to willfully sabotage the plan oh okay so that situation where the husband wants to invest in the restaurant and the wife says cool if he says though i hear about a horse that is running at commander's park and he's sure to win i'm going to put ten thousand us dollars on it ten thousand okay no no that's a point where i suppose can say i can't support you in that absolutely not that risk is far too great yes that's a pipe dream and if you're gonna walk on that road i'm gonna have to have serious concern about your commitment to this family it's resources and the relationship exactly sounds like an ultimatum and there are times you have to do that it's time you have to because you are we have both worked to get this family here this is not one-sided you know we have both worked and sacrificed don't forget sacrifice to get this family here so if 10 000 u.s is not a big hit and that is your pocket money for the month no problem go and do it if you feel so inclined that this horse is a must win god help us all but if 10 000 u.s will hit this family where we are going to really take a huge hit in our investments no if it will impact your pocket money and you won your ten thousand dollar water house go but once it's going to impact this family in here we're gonna have a different discussion and as women sometimes and men because sometimes we get some crazy ideas too you have to put on your foot and say no you're carrying the family over a hole i ain't going with you over that cliff i'm not sure what to say so it fundamentally comes to are you committed to the safety and well-being of this family and a spouse can understand they made saying i want to invest something in the future for all of us and they're supposed to not understanding or or is not that high a risk taker and saying i'm not willing to take that risk but if you want to go ahead with it i support you sometimes it succeeds and you have a whopping sweet restaurant business that you can franchise and have three former over the island okay sometimes it fails but what she's saying i love you whether the business feels or not exactly okay however now feels like a collusion yeah i love it [Laughter] however now with with it is it is a known fact that horse racing is a high-risk venture extremely high-risk venture and and if you're going to saying for our future because we need a mass amount of money i'm going to put this this investment in there you're saying that i'm willing to risk my family future in some cases this mountain's rent on this high stake thing that's gross disrespect and as a friend of mine who is watching janet told me her husband told her you can't afford to bet more than you can lose if it's going to take you down ten thousand dollars gonna destroy you you have to have someone who is willing to say dear i don't think this is a wise idea let's rethink this we've worked so hard to get here how are you going to take ten thousand dollars sacrifice ourselves or children's future on a horse you have a horse why not even going at the gate don't ask me how i know that right so you have to be careful all right so so let's paint it another way then let's see that um you're you're newlywed um [Music] you are not yet able to articulate to your partner that this is a good venture and so so here's the thing you want to you want a house you want all these things you see a house being sold in this community it's it's it's probably in the middle of nowhere but development is coming so and that's your thing development is coming you say to her honey or she says to him honey there's a house here it's cheap i think we can we can survive but it's going to be difficult for a couple of years she says no you say but we can and then you decide not to and that happens three different times so at the end of the day your door of a host still still feeding the landlord and she looks at you and say he looks at you and say but honey we've been together for so long and we're not moving cause we're still in this whole spain rent and no the husband or the wife decided to turn to the husband and say oh but you remember i showed you one two three decisions like those and opportunities like those might might come often where one partner is able to see the long run and see what will happen but is not in a position to effectively or efficiently um communicate what he or she sees and the other partner is not willing to to submit and say all right i trust you but i am uncertain i am unsure but i will still follow you even if you fail how do we deal with that um you're talking about a soul in conflict in many instances uh with this kind of situation uh risk-taking has to do with a sense of personal security and a sense of what is happening in the world around so so people who are within themselves not secure every risk is a major risk even if it's a if even if there's a 60 probability of success or 80 probability of success that should be 100 that movie okay um however now because we are human beings in the scenery of the house um 10 years down the road all their friends have bought houses or most of them an officer and this person has but we don't have a house and forget everything about the the opportunities that they're turning on and said and say to the husband or the wife honey when are we going to own a house and and they forget okay because now that is the social pressure that is driving and that driving of the social pressure is overriding the risk taking the lack of risk-taking propensity from before okay so to solve that problem negotiation one two wise counsel sometimes when you can't convince the person that this is a right road to walk down get a mutual friend that he or she respects and have a conversation because sometimes the dynamics of the the family relationship with the relationship between man and husband yes not all conversations are equal because certain fears and insecurities come up and block the way people see things but when there's a third party sitting there doesn't have to be a personal counselor but somebody with a level head that can sit with them and say okay your husband want this you want that um how can how can you meet why do you want this why do you not want it have them talk and listen to themselves hear their views and and as they taught them to come to realize you know something i'm really too fearful about this thing and what this person is saying to us makes sense in terms of we're going to be financially 10 20 years down the road so kwame good good question excellent answer from pastor rutherford fear controls a lot of us i discovered how fearful i am since becoming married and just getting older you realize what is the true underlying factor why am i behaving like this sometimes it is fear no there is no shame in having an intervention oh dear we're out of time there's no fear adventist non-adventist in having an intervention having a professional or a third party come in quickly you can talk to a realtor they have projections about an area where kingston 6 is going 13 20 what are the projections you can speak to them what is the value like for your house within a year within six months how much equity you would have built up whole strain may mean god forbid we have a court cable we may have uh have a lower supermarket bill which is like impossible especially if you have young children but what does whole strain look like how long will we be holding strain two years three years no vacation no trips no clothes those are things we have to sit down and talk about what whole strain looks like it's just not an abstract right and finally with time you begin to trust your partner you understand who you're married to whether the ventures are likely to succeed and if you are married to a big thinker like i am who fly in the clothes and think big and look far and silent always looking the 10 years the 15 years strange talking already about retirement mrs mars what we have to do what we are going to do so you have to know who you're married to i'm on the ground plotting along hopefully having him tethered to me while i'm up there doing things so you have to know who you're married to so so i want the audience to pray for a little bit more time because because i'm having fun but so let me flip it a little now so so your husband comes to you and say honey i think we should do this because xyz and whatnot and then you look at your husband and say what but honey i spoke to you about this five six seven eight years down the road when no one was doing it um and the market was right for us because we would have been in the front now if you go everybody is doing it so nothing is going to happen you know so so essentially what you are saying to your partner is that when we tell when i tell you about these things i'm telling you from our perspective that i know i have a hunch and i've presented some of the data to you you don't understand the data that i presented to you but it's there but because you didn't have the social pressure yet know that the social pressure is there because everybody is doing it you want he wants you know to log on how do you manage that kind of uh of an interplay first step is don't bring up the past exactly because that brings up the i told you so moment and as women we have to be careful with bite with our mouths say hallelujah i have gotten you finally to the place i finally got you to the place where you're seeing what i was seeing 10 years ago in your head you're saying that you say okay sweetheart give me the pricing and stuff and things around let's look and see how we can get into a house now positivity positivity or else you will destroy your marriage and unjust being being or supportive and just human and even if you're in your head you say what yeah what's your god look here your face ain't saying that though you know your face is saying all right honey make we hear we have to say oh it look no [Music] i don't i won't say what that looks like but so so because we're out of time um just just to just leave our audience with something that they can hold on to does my relationship status affect my relationship with my god that's the question that i want us to look at um so that that persons can have something a school desk is saying that a question about divorce and unequal relationships have not yet been answered so so we know that i'm not sure if we need to beg for another week maybe i can tie the two of them together ask the first ask your question again so so does my relationship status affect my my relationship with god it ties into the unequally yoked tightly there's nobody that has the potential to influence you more than the person you share a bed with and that person is not a godly person you're in trouble so put it this way no pasta so let us see that brother town is nice upstanding christian sister joan oh yeah you actually said yes it's fair enough so so sister joan is not not even a churchgoer but sister joel is the one that is praying for tom over there and doing all these things and for whatever reason they end up together but as far as i am concerned i'm looking they are unequally you because this is a quote unquote leader in church and this is a quote unquote non-leader in the world but but she's supporting him or he's supporting her um photomax and then eventually this person's thinking but you won't see it i won't see it because i'm outside that unequally your kind of situation that situation ship there how do how how can we if if i'm the one in that situation or you're the one in that situation how can you manage something like that okay so so first thing is jesus said in matthew 6 verse 1 judge not that he be not judged there is too much judgment going on in church especially about who people caught and who people marry and we don't spend enough time with people talking about principles love respect and care and showing kindness and and giving people a sense of safety that allow them to have a base for making good galley decisions okay who people marry are their business i okay so if you're a christian you're you're going to take seriously and find somebody who loves the lord and who you can get along with but but you never know where god is leading somebody's life because we may see somebody in church that would be a good match for this person will become matchmaker i want to pull it to them together and the guy probably or the girl probably have no manners have issues beyond and he and and the other person is seeing it but it's true but the elders are they are the match make any churches push into another because you must marry somebody in the church and they go marry somebody outside the church and um and they have lost their faith and we condemn them it's their decision we must support them in the decision all right so in light of all the questions that that we still have um i'm going to have to ask see what we can do if we can have an uncut version of this where it will be both of you and and myself and i'm not sure who else we can we can incorporate in the mix but i'm going to encourage persons to send your questions because it's not yet finished send your questions your queries your comments and your concerns and we will address them so just send them in as soon as they can to any one of the social media platforms and we will look at them we'll curate them and look at them and address them for you in another session and i prefer if you do it sooner rather than later so that's my promise to you thank you very much you have both been an excellent bunch um i like the fire that you that you brought to it so so that's it but um these are real problems that we have and and so i don't know we will have more questions coming in because it's a touchy topic so at some point in time we'll need to look at it again so we're going to pray i think i'm going to ask pastor rutherford to pray i want him to pray specifically though outside of just praying for for the pandemic that's against us we're looking at the fact that families are now forced to spend time together and as a result of that many families are torn apart because of the time together i want you to pray so that we can have that that sense of belonging where we can feel as though the house is on the fire not just the bed but the hose is no undefiled it's a safe space where we can be where we can grow where we can achieve and succeed together so pray for the family and pray for the world of the pandemic let us pray almighty god our father we are praying grateful to you for all the mercies and grace you give to us it is lord a tough time for our world our church the losses are mounting up hearts are grieving and you are the great comforter so we ask for your comfort and your blessing and your mercy and those who mourn at this time even nor those who are in the hospital and those who are taking care of them in a hospital in a time of pandemic we ask for your divine protection on them and for healing and mercy and that for the scientists who are looking for ways to treat this illness that would speed them along the way that they will come up with a cure a more effective vaccine whatever it takes to to save lives lord help us to to to to get over this thing we recognize in families that this pandemic is is creating uh economic toll uh problems relational problems uh some families have gotten together closer others are pulling apart have mercy dear god and and uh just just hold us in your arms and and bind us together we pray father that you would let the spirit of jesus christ be in each listener this morning to embed within our hearts the principles of your kingdom as we will learn to love and respect each other i will care enough about each other just like you care about us that we care enough to allow people to make decisions for themselves and not try to make decisions for them as we respect their decisions and work with them to come closer to the kingdom of god and not drive them away with our harsh comments and our uncaring attitudes we ask lord that for young people who are looking to start a family but even now your spirit will guide them if there's somebody going down a road that's going to spell disaster for them lord help them to see open their eyes in their hearts and their understanding and they may see the signals and back away before misery comes and for those who are tentative lord but there's joy down the road just just touch them with the sweetness or the forties that they may that they may move forward under your guidance and your blessing and create a family that will bring happiness uh to you and a blessing to society bless us no lord guide this church his leadership and our lord fill us with grace need us on for christ's sake amen amen so thank you very much pastor rutherford sister shelley thank you a bunch and you viewers we just want to thank you for having sat with us thank you for praying for the ministry and thank you for the support that you've been given you in the sanctuary and you online and we hope to have this interaction again so remember next week i will not be on air because next week we have a communion service and for the month of october we go into the lavendes evangelists activity for that entire period but you will see the announcements online so we encourage you to look at those and i will be with you soon but i also want to tell you about the health ministries department they will prevent be presented something kobe and you and that is saturday 18th at four four pm sharp so i want you to pay attention to that tune in for that and remember to send your queries your comments your concerns like subscribe comment and share for this and whatever queries you put we will curate them and we will answer these these two persons will answer these questions at some later point in time so pray for that pray for us and god bless and we will see each other again [Music] you

Channel: Andrews Memorial S.D.A. Church

Views: 5,384

Rating: 4.7623763 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 6XAJBlYqJws

Length: 205min 38sec (12338 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021