Michigan Camp Meeting 2017

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Prepared For the Final Crisis

Phil Mills

1. Understanding the Character of God

Father in heaven, how grateful we are that in this camp meeting time we can study your Word and we ask that you make your Word clear in that You give us a heart to love Your Word.

Give us a surrendered spirit to obey Your word.

This song says we are living, we are dwelling in a grand and Awful time.

In an age of ages telling to be living is sublime.

From around the world, the reports are live streaming in.

The Middle East, Europe, China, North Korea.

The nations are awakening and marshalling for war.

In the United Kingdom last year, more people died from antibiotic resistant infections than they did from breast cancer.

I do not have time to compare with you Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation 6, which gives the parallel prophecies of the events leading up to the second coming.

But Luke alone gives the last sign, the very last sign, to precede the second coming of Christ.

And the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.

Satan is the great terrorist, and terrorism has now been unleashed worldwide.

Review and Herald, June 23, 1896, tells us we should study the great way marks that point out the times in which we are living.

We know that we are very near the close of this earth's history.

We should now pray most earnestly that we may be prepared for the struggles of the great day of God's preparation.

Although you each here are well aware of a few of the events that I'm going to tick off here, let me briefly review them to point out the times in which we are living.

I want to start by reviewing a few civil way marks that you all know well.

Jesus likened the period at the end of time to the days of Lot and Sodom.

2015 was a pivotal year in the United States.

It was a transition year, a watershed year, as we'll see in a moment.

Ignoring science, common sense, health and social consequences, a sharply divided Supreme Court shredded the Constitution, bypassed the representative voting process, and declared that perversion between male and, and, male, or female and female, was marriage.

Since that time, the LGBTQ movement has accelerated, and there is pressure on legislature to make unisex bathrooms the standard.

Despite the fact that it meant combat requirements were lowered and the military's own studies showed that it reduced the fighting effectiveness of troops, the Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at that time made the historic announcement that all U.S.

Combat military positions would open up to women.

Military uniforms and hats are now unisex.

Every attempt has been made to obliterate the obvious differences between men and women.

Both major political parties have embraced the LGBTQ agenda.

And in an unprecedented and widely applauded event in 2015, the Pope addressed a joint session of Congress.

In 2015, Pope Francis published an encyclical on climate change, and the world signed a historic agreement with the Pope's prodding.

He sees heads of state and heads of the largest corporations.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, just gave the graduation talk to MIT 10 days ago.

And in this talk at MIT, he said, last year, I had the chance to meet Pope Francis.

It was the most incredible meeting of my life.

He expressed a shared concern in a powerful new way.

All the world marveled is in the process of fulfillment.

2 years ago, a much less publicized event occurred with the Catholic Charismatic Conference in Rome.

For the first time, this was the Catholic charismatic movement officially blessed by a Pope who addressed the group.

The Pope did not encourage them to study their Bible deeply, he encouraged them to carry the New Testament around in their pockets and read a little piece.

A handful of leading and prominent Protestants from the United States were invited as guests to the event to celebrate the Mass, to have an audience with the Pope, and to meet with other Catholic officials.

They were specifically invited to discuss the question, can we find common cause in order to advance the life and ministry of Jesus so more people can experience the joy of Christian faith?

Do you believe that Catholics and Protestants can find a common ground?

Do you think the Catholic Church knows the answer to its own question?

Can you hear in the question that was discussed in Rome by leaders and spokesmen of varying denominations the echoes of prophecy?

Would you like to understand exactly how the image of the beast begins to be formed.

When the leading churches of the United States uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common." This is where the image to the beast begins.

You can never have the union of church and state, which we're looking for, but we're looking for prematurely.

You can't have church and state united before you have church and church united.

We first have the union of church with church.

The year 2015 was a pivotal year as we saw, but the year 2017, our year, is a significant 1.

This is the 500th anniversary of Luther's nailing his 95 thesis to the Wittenberg Castle Church door in October 31.

Lutheran Bishop James Hazelwood and Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal Sheen O'Malley are marking the 500th anniversary by pushing for unity and collaboration between Lutherans and Catholics.

Now, how are they going to encourage collaboration between Lutherans and Catholics?

They're encouraging the Catholics and the Lutherans to commemorate the Reformation by reading the Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change this year.

October 31, 2016, on the 499th anniversary, Archbishop Antje Jekyllen, primate of the Church of Sweden, and Pope Francis held an ecumenical service in Uppsala, Sweden.

In 9 days, 9 days from today, June 28, Anders Arborealis will become the first ever Cardinal of Sweden.

They'll unite on points of doctrine held by them in common, and then they shall influence the state to enforce their decrees.

Now, how do states enforce church decrees?

And to sustain their institutions, That's the third step.

How do states raise money to give to institutions?

So what is the union of church and state?

The state enforcing church laws and the state taxing its citizens to support the church.

This means that compliance with church rules will no longer be voluntary, and support of church functions will no longer be voluntary.

When this happens, then Protestant America will have done what?

The image is doctrinal unity in Sunday worship, civil laws enforcing uniformity in Sunday worship, and taxation sustaining conformity to Sunday worship.

The unholy trinity of church union with compulsory church rules and compulsory church taxes are the essence of the Beast of Rome.

And when these are adopted by the United States, a mirror image of the Beast will emerge in Washington.

And the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.

So let's review this three-step process to the mark of the beast.

Doctrinal unity, laws enforcing church doctrine, taxation for religious institutions resulting in a loss of religious freedom, and civil persecution.

The 3 principles that are the essence of the Beast of Rome are Sunday keeping, Sunday laws, and access to tax money.

The adoption of these 3 principles leads to papal persecution.

As these same principles are adopted by the United States, a mirror image of the beast will emerge in Washington, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.

But permit me to fill out a few more details before we move on.

To secure such a union, page 444, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed, however important they might be from a Bible standpoint, must necessarily be what?

2. Understanding the Government of God

There's an interesting prophecy in the book of Amos, for surely I will command and will sift the house of Israel among all nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.

After a wheat harvest, the worthless chaff is mixed in with the wheat.

We're familiar with how the farmers rid the precious grain of chaff in Bible times.

They throw the grain and chaff into the air and expose them both to wind, and the lighter chaff would blow away, the heavier wheat would remain.

But God used that as an illustration of his method of separating his people from those who are not his people.

What are the winds that God uses to sift his people?

Just as a farmer exposes the wheat and chaff to wind, God exposes the church members to cunningly devised and promoted false doctrine to heresy.

This separates his true people from false professors.

Our core beliefs unite us with those who share the same core beliefs.

But doctrine not only unites, it also separates.

The Bible doctrine of the Sabbath unites Sabbath keepers, but it also separates them from those who do not keep the Sabbath.

From the days of the early church, God has used the winds of heresy to sift the chaff out of the wheat, and he will do this to the close of probation.

God will arouse his people if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat.

But God has some protections and we want to study these protections today But before we delve into this topic and understand it, I always like to have us bow our heads.

I'm going to kneel down and we are going to ask the Lord to help us as we study His Word.

Father in heaven, I pray that you'll be right with us as we study this morning.

From our own efforts, we can understand nothing.

We need you, and we are grateful that every need we have, you have provided to fill with your power and your spirit.

We ask that your Holy Spirit be with us in an unusual way today.

Give my mind clarity, my tongue clarity, and our minds, keep them clear.

That we can understand a very, very important topic.

God has provided His people with 2 very powerful protections from the winds of false doctrine.

The first protection from the winds of false doctrine is the Word of God properly studied for all scriptures given for true doctrine.

Wallain's presentation yesterday in the series on how to study the Bible.

The source of heresy is twisting the Word of God.

Instead of going to the Bible to find what God says, People go to the Bible to find support for what they believe or want to do.

We take all the Scripture with the desire to know God's will and surrender to do whatever He says, we prayerfully and diligently study, carefully comparing Scripture with Scripture.

This is rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

But there is a second protection from the sifting winds.

Isaiah tells us, Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind." Isaiah 32, 1 and 2.

Because God's Word and God's government are such excellent protections, Satan has launched a full-scale attack against both.

This morning we want to study God's government.

The government or kingdom of God was of prime concern to Jesus.

It was a focus of his prayers and he taught his disciples to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

And when God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, God's kingdom has come.

For God's kingdom is doing God's will as expressed in His word as it is written.

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven." The government of God is a topic that plays a prominent part in the great controversy theme, for there was 1 who rebelled against the government of heaven.

We must know the underlying principles of God's government to build a solid foundation for understanding God's plan in matters that are part of God's end-time test, and even now are wracking the church in controversy.

God is not only the creator of animate and inanimate universe, He is also the creator of government.

The Bible is very explicit in this Colossians 1 16, for by him all things were created whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

He is not only the creator of government, he is the sovereign of all government.

Romans 13.1, 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." Satan himself is forced to grudgingly acknowledge this.

The principles of God's government, Ellen White says in manuscript release, volume 20, page 154, the principles of God's government, the only principles that will endure from everlasting to everlasting, are to be followed by those who are seeking for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Respect for the eternal principles of God's government differentiates the servants of God from the servants of the world.

The line of demarcation between those who serve God and those who serve Him not is to be kept clear and distinct.

The principles of God's government are codified in the 10 Commandments.

God begins the second table of the 10 Commandments detailing how we are to relate to our first human authority, our parents.

In God's eyes, is a child of equal value to the parent?

I remember a story that occurred with Dwight Moody.

He had gone into an evangelistic series, a revival series in Iowa, but the fruit from that had been not very great.

And so when he came back, somebody told him, he says, well, I heard that you didn't do very well in Iowa.

And he told the person that had mentioned this to him, he said, well, he said, actually, it was a great success.

Then he thought, oh, he says, you must have had 3 adults and 1 child.

No, he said it was 3 children and 1 adult.

But being under authority, does it diminish our value?

Though a child is under the authority of his parents, is the value of that child decreased?

Whether we are children or parents, we are to honor those in authority by deference, respect, and obedience in the Lord.

He was the parent particularly of Adam, and Adam was to honor him as head.

Eve came out of Adam, so in a limited sense, Adam was Eve's father, perhaps Eve's mother, and Eve was to honor Adam.

This commandment gives us directions for how we are to relate to all human authority in the home, church, school, work, or state.

As Ephesians, Paul applies this commandment.

No Satan cannot create, he can corrupt and pervert, and he attempts to defile all of God's creation including government.

His success in leading people to reject authority in government is 1 of the defining sins in the last days.

Understanding God's government is not optional for those living at the end of time, for we are told in order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His Word.

And they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character.

We looked at this yesterday in our first view of this quotation, his government, his purposes, and act in accordance with them.

This statement exposes Satan's end time game plan.

He is attempting, as we said yesterday, to keep us from understanding the will of God by spreading misinformation about God in 3 critical areas, His character, His government, and His purposes.

God is love and genuine love is central to His character, government, and purposes.

The character of God answers the question of who God is.

The government of God answers the question of how God works.

And understanding His purposes answers the question of why He does what He does.

In this sinful world, civil heads of state do not provide a good model for God's plan of government.

For example, earthly rulers deprive their power, their honor, and their wealth from the citizens.

The bigger the country, the more the citizens, the greater the honor of the ruler.

But in the heavenly model, the opposite is true.

The citizens derive their power, their honor, and their wealth from their ruler.

In sinful civil governments, the citizens protect the head.

In God's government, the head protects the citizens.

3. Understanding the Purposes of God

Normally, flying from Nassau to Miami took Walter Wyatt, Jr.

Only 65 minutes, but not December 5, 1986.

Walter attempted this flight after thieves had looted his navigational equipment in his own twin-engine beachcraft, and foolishly, with only a compass and a handheld radio, Walter took off climbing into the skies blackened by storm clouds.

When his compass began to gyrate, Walter concluded he was headed in the wrong direction.

He flew his plane below the clouds, hoping to spot something familiar, But soon he knew he was lost.

He put out a Mayday call which brought a Coast Guard Falcon search plane to lead him to an emergency landing strip only 6 miles away.

But by this time, Walter had run out of fuel, and around 8 p.m., Walter could do nothing more than glide his plane into the water.

Walter survived the crash but his plane disappeared quickly leaving him bobbing in the Atlantic.

Before the plane crashed, he grabbed some flares, but they did not work.

He was left in a malfunctioning, leaky life vest with his shorts on, t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

With blood on his forehead and legs from the injuries sustained in the crash, Walter floated on his back.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp bump against his body.

Walter kicked the intruder and wondered if he would survive the night.

He managed to stay afloat for the next 10 hours in the midst of a rainstorm.

Search crews were not mobilized because the National Guard knew that he had died in the crash.

As the sun came up, Walter noted a dorsal fin coming toward him.

Twisting, he felt the hide of a shark brush against him, and in a moment, 2 more bull sharks sliced through the water toward him.

Again, he kicked the sharks, and they veered away, but he was nearing exhaustion.

Although he was praying to be saved, he finally gave up all hope of being rescued and prayed that he would die before sharks ate him.

Then he heard the hum of a distant aircraft.

When it was within half a mile, he waved his orange vest.

The pilot dropped a smoke canister and radioed the cutter Cape York, which was 12 minutes away.

As the Cape York pulled alongside Walter, a Jacob's ladder was dropped over the side.

Walter climbed wearily out of the water and onto the ship where he fell to his knees and kissed the deck.

Nothing less than outside intervention could have rescued him from sure death.

All around us are lost people like Walter Wyatt.

Lost people drifting in the tide of life surrounded by sharks.

They cannot escape without outside intervention.

Lost people who could be saved, but like Walter no 1 is even looking for them.

The haunting lyrics of the Maxwell Anderson song say, before the Lord God made the sea or the land, he held all the stars in the palm of his hand.

And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand, and 1 little star fell alone.

Then the Lord God hunted through the wide night air for the little dark star in the wind down there.

And he stated and promised he'd take special care so it wouldn't get lost no more.

Now man don't mind if the stars get dim and the clouds blow over and darken him, so long as the Lord God's watching over him, keeping track how it all goes on.

But I've been walking through the night and the day till my eyes get weary and my head turns gray.

And sometimes it seems maybe God's gone away, forgetting his promise and the word he'd say.

And we're lost out here in the stars, little stars, big stars, blowing through the night.

Please turn to Luke 11, Luke chapter 11, but before we read the Bible, I'm going to kneel and pray.

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Prepared For the Final Crisis

2. Understanding the Government of God

Transcript

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