AdAgrA 2018: Something Better

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Plenary

Bob Gregory

“Good” Can be Enemy to “Best”

Eleida Feliciano

Will We Believe?

John Dysinger

From Best to Worst

Ricky Seiler

Vivian Seiler

The Making of “BetterTogether”

Humbler, Harder (and Better)?

Joy Kauffman

Mission Report

Whitmar McConnell

Seeing What You Look At

Something Better

Darren Greenfield

Partnering for Success

And I just, my heart is full as I look out and see all these people who are desiring something better.

My heart is full as I hear those young people singing, and I realize that there's hope for the future of agriculture and Adventism.

So for those who haven't been here the last few days, and even for those who have, a review is a good thing.

So I wanna just spend a few minutes reviewing what we've talked about.

On Thursday night, we talked about from best to worst.

And we looked at this quote, which said, the more nearly we come into harmony with God's original plan, the more favorable will be our position to secure health of body and mind and soul.

So then we looked at the components of that original plan.

And then we looked at history and showed how that plan was largely followed by God's people until the beginning of the time of the end that's talked about in Daniel 12, around the end of the 1700s, and then we looked at how the industrial revolution shattered this Edenic model and caused a widespread turning away from it.

And I suggested, I'm not going to say with all certainty, but it certainly looks to me like it was actually a counterattack by the devil to the renewed interest in Bible prophecy and Bible study that was taking place then.

I suggested that we needed to view progress through God's eyes and have some healthy skepticism towards it.

You know, it's amazing to me sometimes how we seem to just embrace whatever new technology comes along as if, if it's new, it's got to be better, right?

But maybe, you know, I mean, we seem to look at it as if it's all a gift from God, but maybe we need to analyze whether it's a gift from somebody else.

Last night we looked at the paradox that God's ways are humbler, harder, but yet better.

And I suggested that rather than looking at what great things you can do for God, that maybe we should focus on doing the humble and hard things with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving for the privilege of being a servant, remembering that Jesus set the perfect example of servanthood.

And now for this morning we want to focus on something better, but before we do that I want to pray.

Our dear Heavenly Father, I praise you and thank you for your presence, your spirit that has been here at this conference.

I thank you for the convictions that you have put on their hearts.

I Thank you for the steps that they are taking to To find something better to come back more into harmony with your original perfect plan.

And now Lord today as we share this worship hour together, I plead with you 1 more time to send your spirits to speak through me and to guide and control my mind and my lips.

I pray for those who are listening that they will not be distracted, that they will hear the message that you have for them.

And I pray most of all, Lord, that we will not just be hearers of the Word, but that we will be doers.

Thank you, Lord, for hearing and answering.

Something better is the watchword of education, the law of all true living, whatever Christ asks us to renounce, he offers in its stead something better.

It's the spring of 1994 in Kibidula, Tanzania, East Africa.

My wife and I, those who were here last night, I shared, we spent 6 years in Kenya.

And we were on, this was 94, we were leaving to go permanent return in a few months.

And we were really seeking God's direction.

But on the spring break that the school had, we traveled down to Tanzania from Kenya.

My brother Edwin and his wife Jennifer and family were living at Kibidoola at the time and so it was just a chance to get away.

Those of you who have worked in boarding academies, you know that at times you just have to get away, otherwise you can't carry on.

Now, the life that Edwin and Jennifer, I think things maybe have changed some at Kibidula since we were there.

Beautiful location, a 5000 acre farm up in the highlands of Tanzania But back then they lived a life of stern simplicity We heard that last night about stern simplicity no running water no electricity pit toilets But you know it just felt so real to me.

I felt like I was actually really living life.

I was invigorated by the rigors of this simple life, and I kept saying to my wife, Honey, this is just really living.

We had 2 children in diapers at that point, and washing cloth diapers by hand was not really inspiring her at that point.

But at night we sat in the living room by lantern light and listened to cassette tapes, you all remember cassette tapes?

About the testimony of a family that had sold out on the great American dream, sold their business, sold their big fancy home, and moved to Montana to find God and rebuild their family.

I was enthralled and I was also convicted.

I had never really been convinced about the great American dream.

I just always felt like there must be something better.

But you know the reality is when you're kind of in the middle of it, you don't realize there are other options.

And so to hear this testimony, it was so empowering.

It was like, Wow, we could actually do that.

We don't have to just continue life like everybody else we could actually just Jump off this fast-moving train and do our own thing And it was incredibly empowering.

We were just not content with life as usual.

The Lord had put a longing in our heart for something better, and now we were faced with the question, faced with the question, what were we willing to renounce in order to find this something better?

We went outside, sorry you can tell this is a, this is a, this was a turning point in our lives.

Went outside and under the incredible African night sky, only those who've been there know what it's like.

And with God and millions of stars as our witness, We pledged to do whatever it took to see our family in the kingdom.

Have you felt that longing for something better?

You who in heart long for something better than this world can give, recognize this longing as the voice of God to your soul.

You want something better than this world can give?

If we're longing for more of this world, that's not God.

But if we're longing for something better than this world has to offer, that is the voice of God to our souls.

You know, I think too often as conservative Adventist Christians, we have focused on the renounce part of that something better quote Let's just go back to that oops Whatever Christ asked us to renounce, we stopped there.

And, you know, with our kids, we're, no, can't do that.

Does that make them want something better?

If something better is equated with no's.

I remember going to a church once, a little conservative church, and our children were little and we had felt books for them, quiet books, you know, they call them to do during church, just to try to keep them occupied and keep them quiet.

And there was a family sitting in the pew in front of us that had a little girl who kept turning around and looking back longingly at those felt books.

And her mother kept making her turn around and telling her to be quiet and listen.

And they had a little boy who, you know, boys tend to be, it's a little harder for them to sit still.

And the father was just very zealous in trying to get that little boy to sit still.

And you know, I'm not saying we were doing everything the right way, because I'm sure we weren't, but it didn't seem quite right to us that these young children were being made to, forced to kind of fit into this rigid mold.

Anyway, the point of the story is that this church was not too far from where we live and so we, the long and short of this story is those children, as soon as they got of age, left home, left the church, and are living in the world.

What's even more sad is, well, I don't know that it's more sad, but What adds to the sadness is the parents did too?

It's not just about renouncing the world If it's if we're not offering something better You're better off You know the story about, where is it, let's see here, Matthew 12, 43-45, the story of the house that swept and emptied.

Spirits return, the spirit returns with 7 more.

You know, if we are going to just renounce You know if we're gonna just renounce the world But not find something better Your kids are better off just living a mediocre life Parents don't take something away unless you have something better to put in its place.

You know, we learned this years ago as the replacement principle.

If you don't want them playing with their trucks on Sabbath, what are you going to give them to do?

You know, if you don't want them going out when they're teenagers to spend time with their friends, you better make sure that home is an attractive enough place where they want to bring their friends there.

Let me just put in a little plug for farm life.

My kids never wanted to go visit other people because it was never as fun.

They loved for families to come and visit us because then we had the whole farm to explore.

You know, you don't have to tell your kids now You can't go outside and play You kind of sometimes have to push them out.

We need a little space It's wonderful, but I'm not here to convince you all to become farmers.

Laughter Something better often requires sacrifice.

How can it be something better if it hurts?

Well, we kind of talked about that last night.

It can be humbling and hard, but it's all for something better in the long run.

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Series

Plenary

Something Better

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

Other Teachings in Series

“Good” Can be Enemy to “Best”

39m

Will We Believe?

43m

From Best to Worst

1h 1m

The Making of “BetterTogether”

49m

Humbler, Harder (and Better)?

58m

Mission Report

27m

Seeing What You Look At

16m

Something Better

56m

Partnering for Success

35m

Sound Doctrine