SDA COUNTRY LIVING: IF NOT NOW, WHEN? (SOP Part 2)

[Music] leo to see her are you hot or cold [Music] hello friends this is ryan in rural hawaii and we're about to enter the new year and i thought there's no better time than now to sit down with you and have another discussion specifically tailored for fellow seventh-day adventists like myself for most of us this past year has been a a difficult one whether you consider matters from a social perspective an economic perspective a political perspective whatever angle you look at this from you see that the times are are troubled socially we've probably never been more divided economically we're witnessing the destruction of the middle class individuals losing their jobs in mass foreclosures on the rise many more to come here in the new year and with that we're witnessing an increase in dependence upon the government no matter which angle you look at it from you can't help but sense that a storm is coming the following statement from ellen white has never been more true the present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living rulers and statesmen men who occupy positions of trust and authority thinking men and women of all classes have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us they are watching the strained restless relations that exist among the nations they observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis as seventh-day adventists we recognize that what we are approaching is the final scenes of the great controversy between christ and satan and yet oddly enough as the world is changing rapidly around us it seems that we're hearing less and less from our own leaders what words of warning are we hearing from the average seventh-day adventist pastor or conference leader well if you live in the pacific union conference like me chances are you're hearing nothing all i hear is compliance comply comply with this comply with that when everybody gets vaccinated then we can open up the churches but what about what's taking place behind the scenes what about what's being set up and what will come in as a result of all of this these changes what about all the freedoms that we're losing the liberties that are gone probably forever initially we heard that our freedoms would come back after we took two weeks to slow the spread and then we were told no it would be uh maybe mid-summer and then we were told oh wait we have to wait for the vaccination and now the vaccines are out and now we're told you know what even after you get vaccinated then you cannot still have the freedom to move about as before we're told about a new normal in fact the powers that be are now telling us that we have to look till probably 2022 before things get back to a new normal the goal posts are rapidly shifting and yet it seems we're told by leaders that there is little cause for alarm personally i've come to the conclusion that many in seventh-day adventist church leadership are at best asleep and at worst some are corrupt and exerting a corrupting influence upon our people i believe that a more appropriate message to spread within our churches is that of repent for the kingdom of heaven is near at hand christ is soon to come i think of this quotation from review and herald where ellen white summarized it this way the lord is coming time is short get ready get ready and get ready so how should we be getting ready the servant of the lord has advised us here in last days events page 66 christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise and this preparation they should make how by diligently studying the word of god and striving to conform their lives to its precepts beyond this spiritual preparation there is a physical preparation to be made and we can read about this in many places including country living page 21. i see the necessity notice the use of the word necessity that's something that is required something that is indispensable unavoidable it is the opposite of something that is optional she writes i see the necessity of the people of god moving out of the cities into retired country places where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce notice the last sentence i see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis adventist home page 141 again and again the lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities into the country where they can raise their own provisions why four in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one what we've seen this past year is not the crisis but it's leading somewhere restrictions and congregating in our own churches restrictions on travel some restrictions on free speech restrictions on the ability to work and earn a living i find it startling that within our own church pulpits you hear very little about the impact of these restrictions or these losses of liberty and where this is headed i am often puzzled by seventh-day adventists who have erroneous and strange views that as we approach and get right up to the mark of the beast crisis that at that point somehow they're either going to just flee from the cities into the mountains and that where god will provide for them or that shortly before this when they see it coming they're going to move and relocate to the country just a short time before the the major crisis hits neither of these are biblical or supported by the spirit of prophecy yes it's true that you may be able to find three quotes out of so many scores of quotations by ellen white that might lead you to believe that that would be true but we as seventh-day adventists know better we're supposed to be the people of the book the people who understand the scriptures we often look at disbelief at these denominations who will make whole doctrines off of fragments of scriptures you know the thief on the cross today you will be with me in paradise therefore i conclude that you go to heaven immediately when you die contrary to the fact that the testimony of scripture throughout from genesis to revelation does not support that conclusion regarding the state of the dead and yet the main body for example of ellen white's writings on preparation for the end times tell us that long ago we were to take our families out of the city and relocate to the country and yet somehow we're waiting we're waiting for the end time crisis to emerge and then we're going to make a last-minute move to the country where are you gonna go at that time how are you going to build or establish a place if you buy a place that's already built how are you going to have the skills necessary to raise your own food how are you going to improve the soil my point is is that moving from the city to the country and making that transition mentally not just physically but learning those skills which are entirely foreign to people living in the city learning how to raise your own provisions and to have your own independent water or power or food sources all of this takes a lot of training and education and it's learned over years of experience it's not learned in a moment's time and for the others they plan to bypass this whole experience entirely and just leave from the city right into the mountains that's not supported from the testimonies sure you can find those those couple quotations that may lead you to believe that while you're ignoring the other 30 or 40 quotations which say something quite the contrary yes there will indeed be a time to flee to the mountains because of religious persecution but that time comes later in the time of jacob's trouble the best time to move your family to the country was years ago unfortunately some are unaware of god's plan for his people to protect his people from the troubleless times that are to come largely because they haven't read the spirit of prophecy possibly because they've chosen to disregard the writings that they have read or thirdly because our pastors refused to communicate with their flocks on the subject the following quotation just came to mind the present truth the special message given to our world even the third angel's message comprehends a vast field containing heavenly treasures no one can be excusable who says i will no longer have anything to do with these special messages i will preach christ and that is what many of our ministers are doing these days they're going to say i'm not going to teach bible prophecy i'm not going to teach last days events i'm just going to teach christ i'm going to preach about the love of god and what does ellen white say about these sda ministers no one can preach christ and present the truth as it is in jesus unless he presents the truths that are to come before the people at the present time when such important developments are taking place we are seeing the unfolding of last day's events around us and yet we have unfaithful ministers who are just going to preach about the love of god a message you could hear in any church in this land any sunday church a message devoid of anything uniquely seventh adventist so we spoke about one of the important purposes of moving our families out of the cities was so that we could grow our own provisions for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one ellen white warns us in the book prophets and kings she says here that human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day sabbath we're talking about the mark of the beast crisis that's coming in the future that laws will be made very stringent so that people will not dare to keep the seventh-day sabbath holy what is it that will deter them especially for fear of wanting food and clothing they will join with the world in transgressing god's law god has foreseen the trouble to come and he has tried to prepare his people so that they would not be in a position where in the last days they would be sorely tempted because of a fear of lacking food and clothing and so he's warned his people to move ahead of time out of the cities away from dependence and to the independence of the country where we can grow our own provisions make our own power have our own water but some won't listen and in the future they will be placed in a difficult place they'll be placed in a position where they will fear wanting food and clothing for their families imagine being in the dead of winter in the snow is falling around and you don't have clothes for your children and you don't have food to feed them imagine the temptation that those souls will have they know what is right in the mark of the beast crisis they know which side is truth and which side is error but it says here that many will cross over and go with the world solely so that they can have food and clothing well what kind of a concern would that be if you lived on 10 acres and you produced your own food and you were independent and you were out of debt and you had what you needed you would be much stronger to withstand that kind of temptation you know this past year it's gotten much harder to relocate to the country as the lockdowns have hit the major cities of the world there have been massive migrations of people out of the cities and into suburban and rural areas and with that exodus has come a major increase in the demand for country property here in rural hawaii i watch closely the real estate market and i see properties being priced outrageously and yet i see them sold in very short periods of time people are moving out and away and trying to escape the craziness of the cities the rioting the violence the unemployment it's interesting to me that these large populations of people many of them see this and are making the move and yet they don't have the light that we have what about us what about seventh-day adventists who know better who should know better in the book testimonies for the church volume 5 ellen white writes the work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity she will have to do in a terrible crisis under the most discouraging and forbidding circumstances this is true of all phases of the work that we do as seventh-day adventists it's only going to get harder with time and if it's hard for you then do it hard but by god's grace get it done the servant of the lord tells us serious times are before us and there is a great need for families to get out of the cities into the country that the truth may be carried into the byways as well as the highways of the earth much depends upon laying our plans according to the word of the lord and with persevering energy carrying them out more depends upon consecrated activity and perseverance than upon genius and book learning all the talents and ability given to human agents if unused are of little value a much greater factor in your success in anything including moving your family out into the country is a persevering energy and a determination you know 12 years ago i was studying on the campus of southern adventist university and my wife and i were sort of blindsided by this message it came out of nowhere and god convicted us strongly that he wanted us to heed the council and move to the country and we prayed for god to show us where he wanted us to go it meant giving up educational pursuits that were very important to me but we made the determination that it was the right thing to do that god was calling us god had a plan for us in the months that followed while we sought god's will as to where to go this place versus that we did everything within our power to prepare ourselves we began to study got books from the library purchased books on amazon began to watch youtube videos began to learn a new way of life a way of life of independence of self-reliance really of god reliance we didn't wait for the whole plan to come into clear view you work with what you have we began to get out of debt we began to save money we began to do everything within our power eleven years ago this week we landed on this island with not much more luggage than the average tourist we were free of debt and we had six months of living expenses and a place that god had providentially opened up for us to stay rent-free for a short time by faith we accomplished the impossible we found and purchased a piece of country property with virtually no money of our own we carved out a homestead out of the jungle we built a home we planted orchards gardens we installed solar and rainwater harvesting systems and we worked aggressively nearly every day to establish and to pay off that home within six years of coming to the island we owned that home and property free and clear while everybody else was out surfing and snorkeling and having a good time we had our mission before us and we worked to establish a place as god has outlined god led us step by step even though we were without resources on our own we never had a traditional loan everything we did step by step by faith and with small loans here and there paying them off as quickly as we could and god blessed us and he enabled us to accomplish miracles in a short period of time approximately eight and a half years into our journey here on the island god allowed our home to be destroyed as part of a natural disaster everything that we had earthly speaking was bound up in that property and that was our place for the future and rather than everything being taken away at once our place was nibbled away at by lava day after day week after week for months until it was eventually all lost for us we lost not just a house or just eight years of labor but we lost our entire way of life it was the tragedy of our lives but after the initial grief our resolve renewed and determination to do it again the same god who enabled us to do the impossible could do it again sure by this time i was 40 years old and broke looking to help my family re-establish a home in the country in a place where a modest home on acreage is a million dollars and yet my wife and i determined to do it again to build and to buy and to plant to keep our family out of the city to prepare our family for tough times to come to again become debt free it's been two and a half years since that time and i've been working 80 hour weeks since then doing whatever it takes to get my family back to the country to do whatever it takes to get my family prepared for the future and god has worked miracles every step of the way my question to you is what about you what's standing in your way in the book country living we find the promise god will help his people to find such homes outside of the cities do you believe where is your faith i claim this promise and god is working miracles for me and my family in prophets and kings we read the following when god opens the way for the accomplishment of a certain work and gives assurance of success the chosen instrumentality must do all in his power to bring about the promised result we must cooperate with god there is hard work to be done in establishing a country home and for those of you who are fortunate to have heeded the council and you have a country home i remind you that country living is not country location you also need to work tirelessly to create independence for your family to seek freedom from debt to grow your own provisions there are so many seventh-day adventists that i see that have a nice place in the country and they're growing a few tomatoes friends it's time to get serious it's time to be serious about growing your own provisions thinking about that quotation that the chosen instrumentality must do all in his power to bring about the promised result reminds me of this story of joshua and the quotation from patriarchs and prophets page 509 it tells us that joshua had received the promise that god would surely overthrow the enemies of israel yet he put forth as earnest effort as though success depended upon the armies of israel alone he did all that human energy could do and he cried in faith for divine aid the secret of success is the union of divine power with human effort our efforts at best are feeble and yet we must do the maximum that we can possibly do and that little combined with all of god's strength is enough that's why i don't work 40 hours that's why i don't quit working on my gardens when the sun goes down you get out the headlamp if it's raining you get out the umbrella and you continue because work doesn't stop when you're tired the work stops when you're done the move to the country begins with hearing the counsel of god studying it for yourself and making a decision to obey the same voice that warned lot to leave sodom bids us come out from among them and be ye separate and touch not the unclean those who obey this warning will find a refuge let every man be wide awake for himself and try to save his family let him gird himself for the work god will reveal from point to point what to do next god will guide his people and when we make a decision to follow his counsel he will reveal to us from point to point what to do next in closing i'd like to remind us that the work of the people of god is not merely to observe the signs of the times but it is to prepare for the events of the future which will soon come upon them with blinding force may god grant us grace and determination to break down every obstacle in the relocation of our families outside of the cities [Music] what's keeping you there [Music]

Channel: Aloha, Country Living

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Keywords: sda, country living, city exodus, country living sda, city to country living, leaving the city for the country, out of the city, out of the cities, into the country, adventist, seventh-day adventist, seventh day adventist, spirt of prophecy, country living sda testimony, country living sda sermons, ellen g. white, Move into the country

Id: p4HGPeao-fA

Length: 26min 41sec (1601 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 03 2021