Michigan Camp Meeting 2016: The Harvest is Great

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

What Sort of People

C. Raymond Holmes

What Sort of People- Part 1

Heavenly Father, we're going to open and study your word.

We pray that you would send your Holy Spirit to be our teacher and impress the truth upon our hearts and minds and empower us to live to live holy and godly lives.

Well we're going to study the fruit of the Spirit this week.

And I hope I can get through all of the material in 5 days, 5 mornings.

Way back in AD 67-68, the Apostle Peter wrote in his second letter, chapter 3, Verse 10, concerning the return of Jesus, he wrote that, quote, the day of the Lord will come like a thief.

In other words, suddenly and unexpectedly, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

And if what Peter says next was relevant 2, 000 plus years ago, it is most relevant for today.

And the reason I say that should be obvious, because we're closer to the day of the Lord today than Peter was when he wrote that.

He says next, 2 Peter 3, verses 11 and 12, But since the day of the Lord will come, will come, not if it comes, but since the day of the Lord will come, Quote, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

And since we're waiting for that momentous event, Peter then says in verse 14, be diligent, pay attention, be concerned, be determined, Be concerned, be determined, be diligent to be found by Him when He comes without spot or blemish, and at peace.

It goes on in verse 17, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

But, By the way, have you ever noticed that there are a lot of buts in the Bible?

Usually when you read a but, it introduces a contrast.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Because I heard, I haven't seen any news or heard any news since we left home on Thursday, I heard about this horrendous shooting in Orlando.

Yesterday morning, a gunman, 1 gunman and over 50 wounded.

You know, I don't know if you're like I am, but I used to feel safe traveling, going anywhere.

But I have to admit, I don't feel safe anymore in my own country.

That kind of thing reminds me, and it should remind all of us, that the cup We are faced, especially today, with raw evil, Hatred.

You remember what you were doing on that day?

I remember what I was doing on December 7, 1941.

But I remember lying on our living room floor listening to the radio reporting the attack on Pearl Harbor.

My sister called me and I rushed in the house and turned on the TV and I watched the second plane hit the tower and I kept watching and the whole thing collapsed.

And I remember thinking that the 21st century is going to be a century of religious conflict.

In the name of religion, The shooter yesterday was a Muslim.

And he chose to shoot up a bar, lounge, dance hall that is frequented by a lot of gay people because he hated them.

That's the question that faces God's people today.

How do we become holy, Godly, peaceful, peaceful.

I'm 87 years old, and when I look back on my life, I was born 1929, 10 years before the Second World War started, the invasion of Poland.

Just a few years after the end of the First World War.

In my lifetime, there's been the First World War, Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the War on Terror, and a lot of other conflict in between.

No wonder historians and sociologists are referring to the 20th century as the century of warfare.

And now in the 21st century, everybody looked forward to this century with hope, you know.

How do we become holy, godly, peaceful, stable people?

We cannot develop those kind of characteristics by our own efforts.

Because it takes a transformation, a complete change of life, a divine intervention.

Takes a totally new orientation of heart and mind.

And that's something that only God, who alone has the power to create and recreate, can accomplish in us.

And that we human beings desperately need this kind of transformation ought to be obvious to any observant and perceptive person, though he or she may deny or even repress that kind of awareness.

And that's a denial that Paul Tournier, who was a physician, psychiatrist, identified as the repression of conscience, repression of conscience.

Though at the same time, he says it is intuitively sensed by human beings that, quote, the world is racing to its ruin.

That's from his book entitled The whole person in a broken world.

This is a physician and a psychiatrist writing.

So we have to ask, as Tournier does, as he intimates in his book, we have to ask, why all of the efforts of humanity, that humanity makes to save itself, instead bring it to ruin.

Why, we need to ask, Does the efforts that humanity makes to overt war, to avert war, A-V-E-R-T, pitch it into war?

I'm thinking of things like the League of Nations and then the United Nations and so has the United Nations helped the world avoid conflict and war?

All the money that we spend on the United Nations?

Why do the efforts that humanity makes to guarantee its material security disrupt the economy and increase its misery?

Why do the efforts that humanity makes to penetrate the secrets of nature and capture its energy lead us instead to the atomic bomb and the nuclear age, which threatens to destroy everything it has built up in the course of the centuries.

Why do the efforts that humanity makes to free mankind from social slavery plunge it instead into struggles which only increase our burdens?

Tournier talks about that on page 9 of his book.

Now, a lot of people don't even think about these kind of things.

But he understood this conflicting dilemma as he says, quote, a curse, a doom, a rushing into self-destruction, a demonic force.

This is a physician and a psychiatrist, remember, that's writing, not a Christian theologian.

The Bible calls it sin and also lawlessness, which produces, according to Galatians 519, the works of the flesh.

And that, my friends, is the mortal disease, sin, that has afflicted mankind ever since Adam and Eve's disbelief and disobedience.

That little word, that little three-letter word, sin, covers an awful lot.

You know, there are a lot of people out there that scoff and laugh and ridicule when you talk about this, even mention sin.

The solution is that we, you and I, and all mankind, every single person, needs to be enabled, emboldened, energized from within.

God's plan of restoration, you see, goes beyond saving people to changing people.

And you know, this is why I have problems with our evangelical friends.

I used to be 1, while I am still an evangelical, which means I believe in the gospel, the evangel.

But this is 1 of the reasons, the fundamental reasons, why I eventually made the transition from the Lutheran church and ministry to the Seventh-day Adventist.

But I hear, you know, a lot of our evangelical friends say, just tell me about Jesus.

Tell me how much God loves me that he gave Jesus, his son, to die on the cross for me.

Don't talk to me about authority or discipline or obedience or God's law.

I just want to know that I'm going to go to heaven when I die.

Don't talk to me about changing myself, about myself being changed.

What Sort of People- Part 2

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this new day.

Thank you for your grace and mercy and love that is new every day.

Thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit, who will be our teacher today.

I pray that you would use me as your mouthpiece in Jesus' name.

We're going to be referring to that again.

I want to begin by mentioning that The handbook of Seventh-day Adventist theology, published by the Review and Herald in the year 2000, defines legalism as, quote, pretending to be accepted by God or to be able to remain in him simply because of obedience.

It, quote, leads people to think they can be saved by keeping the law of God, And by so doing, it turns away from grace, does away with faith, and perverts the gospel.

A perversion of the gospel is no gospel at all." That's from the handbook of Seventh-day Adventist theology.

Legalism was the major doctrinal theological problem in the Christian Church that sparked the Reformation.

And by the way, next year, 2017, we will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

And believe it or not, if you know what's happening, a lot of people don't, but what's happening today, the Lutherans and the Catholics are getting closer and closer and closer together.

The The Reformation is being scuttled, but the Adventist Church is going to celebrate The anniversary of the Reformation.

2 years ago when I was at a meeting in Baltimore, I had a lunch with Elder Wilson and I mentioned that to him.

That was 1 of my concerns that this denomination needs to do something to celebrate the Reformation, because in my opinion, it's the only Protestant church left that is seeking to be true to the Reformation, and especially the principle of sola scriptura, the Bible and the Bible alone.

I mean, there's a lot more I could tell you, but I don't have time.

Anyway, that legalism was the major issue that sparked the Reformation.

But the gospel had been perverted long before the Reformation.

The Apostle Paul dealt with the problem of legalism, especially in Romans and Galatians.

And that, those 2 books made a profound impression on Martin Luther.

On his theological thinking, made an impact, and consequently on his personal faith experience.

And many Protestant theologians and preachers today speak as though legalism was still the problem in the Christian church.

And because of that point of view, based on the assumption that they have understood the gospel correctly, they are suspicious of Seventh-day Adventists.

Because we keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they say, oh, you believe in salvation by works.

And I have told many of my Lutheran friends, that's not true.

I'm not saved because I keep the law, I'm saved because I believe in Jesus, but he empowers me to keep the law.

They have that point of view because we insist that the person who has been saved by grace through faith, which is a Reformation principle, will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey the moral law of God.

But by the mid-60s, I saw that being eroded.

That point of view that Adventists are legalists is a very effective smokescreen, hiding the fact that the major problem in the church today is not legalism and when I say the church I'm speaking of the Christian Church in general now the problem is not legalism.

I have 3 theological dictionaries in my library, and none of them include a definition of licentiousness.

You know where I had to go to find a definition?

And it defines licentiousness this way, quote, it is, quote, freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility.

In other words, licentiousness is the misuse of the freedom that we have been given by Jesus.

It means, according to Webster, quote, disregard for rules of personal conduct, deviation from fact, form, or rule for the sake of the effect that is gained.

Now the message of the gospel, as I understand it, and as I have always understood it, and found it to be affirmed within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the message of the Gospel is that because of what Jesus did on the cross, together with what he's doing as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, faith in him sets us free, yes, from what?

The power of the flesh and the power of the devil.

Yes, He sets us free, but from the power of sin, the power of the flesh, and the power of the devil.

You know, when you're set free from something, you're also set free for something.

We're set free to walk by the Spirit with no hindrances.

Paul says in Galatians 5 verse 16, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you, listen, will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

And then chapter 5, verse 25, if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

The good news of the gospel is first that our sin has been forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.

That's where it starts, But that's not where it ends.

And second, 1 John 3, 9, no 1 born of God, that is to say, no 1 that has experienced the new birth, no 1 born of God makes a practice of sinning.

And he cannot, cannot keep cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

So if you're a believer in Jesus, You not only have received the blessing of your sins being forgiven, you have been given freedom from the power of sin.

Believe it or not, I have found, I have met some Adventists who don't believe that.

There are some out there that don't believe that, but that's what the Bible says.

Free from the power of sin to control our lives.

And licentiousness is the misuse of that freedom.

It's a disregard of God's law and God's will.

What was the motivation behind the 10 Commandments?

What motivated God to write with his own finger the 10 Commandments.

He said, now I'm going to give you the best possible directions as to how to live your life.

Licentiousness deviates from God's revealed will for living the Christian life.

I had an Adventist tell me, you know, I'm a preacher, he said, don't tell me about behavior, just tell me about Jesus.

The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Galatians 5.17 when he says, For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, And the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to 1 another." They're in conflict to keep you from doing what you want to do.

Now, if you're a born-again believer, you know what you want to do.

But that conflict keeps you from doing what you want to do.

That conflict between the flesh and the spirit.

Now, who was Paul writing to when he wrote that?

Because they alone understand the conflict between the flesh and the spirit.

The conflict that takes place within the heart.

The gospel and the good news is that this conflict between flesh and the Holy Spirit, It's not an equal or an indecisive conflict.

Paul writes to people who have received Christ by faith and who have, as I said yesterday, also received the Holy Spirit, because when you receive Christ, you receive the Spirit.

In other words, they have already received the power for victory.

When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, God gave you the Spirit, and with the Spirit comes the power to achieve, to experience victory over sin.

And that alone is the guarantee That the believer can, by the Spirit's power, subdue the flesh.

What Sort of People- Part 3

Thank you for your grace and mercy that are new every day.

We thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit, who is our teacher.

We pray that your spirit would speak to our hearts this morning, build our faith, and our surrender to your truth.

Well, when time was up yesterday, we were thanking God that when we surrender to Christ, he comes to dwell in our hearts.

And we're praising God that when that happens, the Holy Spirit has access to the inner being and begins to work his transforming grace to remold and recreate us and to restore the image of God that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned.

The day before yesterday, we focused on the Spirit's fruit of peace and patience.

Then we started talking about kindness and goodness.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 4, that love, the first of the Spirit's which is foundational to all the rest, is patient and kind, not arrogant or rude.

I looked in Webster's dictionary for a definition of kindness and goodness, but I wasn't satisfied with what I found in Webster's.

And then as I thought about it, I realized that what we really need is not a definition of goodness and kindness.

We need a description, something that's more vivid, like a picture, and that would make an indelible impression on our minds, not just on our minds, but on our hearts.

Of course, you find it in the Word of God.

So In Matthew chapter 20, the first 16 verses, we find a perfect description of kindness and goodness.

It's the story about a man who was kind and good.

It's always fascinated me by the way it starts.

It says, For the kingdom of heaven is like A master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

And to them he said, you go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will pay you, I will give you." So they went.

Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same thing.

And about the 11th hour, he went out and found others standing and he said to them, why do you stand here idle all day?

They said to him, because no 1 has hired us.

He said to them, you go into the vineyard too.

And When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first.

And when those hired about the 11th hour, the last ones hired, came, each of them received a denarius.

Now when those hired first came, they thought, because they had seen that the last received a denarius.

They thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.

And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, these last worked only 1 hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

But he replied to 1 of them, friend, I am doing you no wrong.

I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.

Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

So the last will be first and the first last.

Now a lot of people would say that that's not the way to run a business.

But that's not the point Jesus was making in telling this story.

And if they had had a labor union back then, they would have made a lot of trouble.

Jesus was talking about the nature of the kingdom of heaven.

And what better way than to describe it by drawing a picture of it that would not be forgotten?

The rest, of course, grumbled and complained.

You see, to them, the issue not generosity or kindness or goodness.

Verse 2 says, after agreeing with the labors for a denarius a day." He sent them into his vineyard.

In other words, they said, we'll work for that amount of money.

He wasn't being unfair, But he was being kind and generous to those who worked only 1 hour.

Now, you know, some You know, some people might think that he was foolish, stupid.

Is it stupid to be kind and generous and good?

You accept the Lord when you're 11 or when You accept the Lord when you're 11, or when you accept the Lord when you're 71.

And so, I mean, that's the only way to do this, salvation.

He said when you accept the Lord at 71, you get the same gift as a person who accepts the Lord when they're 10 years old.

Anyway, today, these people would organize to put a stop to such unfairness, foolishness, and stupidity from their point of view.

But he was not being unfair because he had negotiated with them, as verse 2 says.

And later on, he reminds them in verse 13, I'm doing you no wrong because you agreed with me for a denarius.

Take what belongs to you that you have a right to." In other words, they really had no complaint.

To Jesus, kindness and goodness was the issue.

He had a lesson that he wanted to teach his followers who were citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and so he tells this story.

Ellen White has a very interesting comment on this.

She said, those who came into the vineyard at the eleventh hour were thankful for an opportunity to work.

They would have been satisfied with the 1 denarius, or even less, because they were thankful for the opportunity.

She goes on, their hearts were full of gratitude to the 1 who had accepted them and when at the close of the day the householder paid them for a full day's work, they were greatly surprised.

They knew they had not earned such wages, she said.

Series

What Sort of People

What Sort of People- Part 1

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

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