Michigan Camp Meeting 2017

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

A Thoughtful Hour

Justin Ringstaff

A Thoughtful Hour- Part 1

Father in heaven, we're so grateful for your love and your care for us and the call of heaven in each of our lives.

As we spend this hour together, Lord, we want it to be an hour together with you especially.

Our ears learning to be in tune with the voice of heaven and then praying Father for your will to be done in our lives.

Thank you Lord that you have brought them and I especially pray Lord that you may minister to them.

Minister to me Father and may we go away from this hour knowing that you have been in our midst.

Were any of you in that seminar last year?

And I had so many requests coming in from that just to help establish the devotional life.

We talked a lot about prayer, a lot about the need for prayer, how to pray and those things, but not as much time just modeling the example of the devotional life.

If you saw in the program it said it's not a seminar, this is a real-life example.

And so I haven't yet really prepared for this.

I wanted it to be as natural as it could be.

Just like if I were to wake up in the morning and go to my time in prayer and devotion that we could just do that together.

Now I want to be quick to say that This is not the way to do it, it's 1 way to do it.

So I hope you'll understand that and you can glean from it.

You know, it's like not everybody enjoys the same kinds of food.

And not all Foods work the same way with some people as they do others.

But 1 thing we do know is that we all need food.

And Scripture says, and you can tell me where it's found, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

I just want to tell you the power of God's Word and having a consistent daily walk with the Lord.

You'll see things that you never saw before.

I don't think I even noticed that until a couple years ago.

It's the same in Matthew 4 and, someone else tell me, in Luke 4.

But Jesus answered him saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And it just shows you the little treasures we find in God's Word.

And yesterday someone handed me a card that had a verse on it, and I had not noticed that before, how it jumped out, and I'm trying to find it here again.

And I thought about that after I saw that on the card that He gave me.

I thought, Lord, what a blessing that was to me, because that's what I find morning by morning in Your Word.

I rejoice at Your Word as 1 who finds great treasure.

Oh, each day we want to find a treasure from God's Word.

We want to be like Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15.

Your words were found and I ate them, And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

For I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts.'" So that's what we want.

Each morning when we come to the Word of God, when we come to that time in the early morning to spend with God, we want to come to it as searching for a treasure.

We want to come expecting to meet God in that time.

This is an incredible quote here from Steps to Christ.

But page 90, she says, there is nothing more calculated to strengthen the intellect than a study of the Bible.

There is so much in there just ready to spring out of the Word of God.

You ever find your thoughts are down here?

What does the Bible say about the Lord's thoughts?

When we come to Scripture, whose thoughts are we meditating on?

And as we meditate on God's thoughts, where are our thoughts?

That's why she says, so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, the mind and the body, as the broad and nobling truths of the Bible.

It is so wonderful to know that God has a plan to strengthen us day by day as we spend it with Him.

And this comes from the Desire of Ages and page 390, talking about the Word of God and the promises of the Word of God.

This is what she says, In His promises and warnings, Jesus means me.

When you open the Scriptures and you're reading, when you open the Spirit of Prophecy and you're reading, you're reading the promises and warnings, who is God talking to?

He's talking to you and he's talking to me.

And that's what I want to show you in as we go through a devotional together.

Now some of you may say, you know, 1 time and I got it.

Others may say, you know, I need a couple times, but I'm going to be here all week.

Each day, we're going to do a devotional together.

And you're going to find that God will have a treasure hidden for you every single day.

There's some times where I wake up and you know I don't feel so much like getting up and going to my knees and opening the Bible.

Sometimes I open the Word of God and my mind is just so foggy.

I just think, Lord, you have to help me today.

And yet, I don't know that there's ever been a time where I've left not having a rich blessing from God.

The Lord never turns us away without His heavenly blessing.

No 1 ever sought Christ where He didn't touch them and give them a blessing.

She says, in His promises and warnings, Jesus means me.

Then talking about relating God's Word to my experience, she says, as faith thus receives and assimilates the principles of truth, they become a part of the being and the motive power of the life.

The Word of God received into the soul molds the thoughts and enters into the development of character.

So how is it that God changes us to be like Him?

A Thoughtful Hour- Part 2

Oh Father in heaven, we're so grateful for your love for us.

Thank you for calling each 1 of us here this morning.

We pray that you would be here with us, that you would guide us, that you'd bless us with your near presence.

Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see you, that we may know that you're here with us.

I ask Lord that you may minister to them, that you may speak to them.

We've just been so thankful, Lord, for the rich outpouring of your Spirit that you've given us.

Yes, there's been rain, but Lord, there's also been the sweetness and the joy of your salvation amongst us.

A joy that is not built on circumstance, but that's built on your enduring Word, your promise to us.

Thank you for the rainbow of promise that spanned the campground yesterday.

It's another reminder that your promise is here with us.

How many of you were not able to be here yesterday?

We have, I asked yesterday about the Scripture Handbook.

There's a little, I just want to clarify that, someone has some questions.

I said if you came every session, I have a copy for you.

You may already have a copy, and you can take it and give it to a friend.

If you have a friend here that wasn't able to be here every time, you could give it to them.

But I talked about the reason why I especially think this is so valuable is the whole content of it, and I encourage everybody to read through it.

There's a mentor's guide that goes with it.

This is built especially for new members that come into the church, and yet I encourage all of our members to go through it.

It helps to ground in the just basic essentials of being a Seventh-day Adventist.

But in the back, there's also a Bible Spirit Prophecy correlated reading plan, which is worth more than gold, more than fine gold.

Younger members, not younger age-wise, but younger as in coming into the church.

Because it's a reminder of all of these special truths, and we're able to share with them.

Amen, when you see someone's eyes twinkle with the light of heaven, it just does something to you and it's wonderful.

Well, within that is just a also reminder of accountability.

So we're going to talk just a few moments about some principles.

I'm going to talk about scheduling, and then we're going to get into our devotion this morning.

So I'm thinking here, I was going to wait, my dear wife was copying something for us and I'm going to talk about that here in a moment.

But when you are beginning devotional life, some of the hardest things are to be consistent.

I talked a little bit about that yesterday.

You know we jump into it and then it's you get going and then you fall away and then you you hear a rousing message at church and you think, oh, I need to get back to it.

And then you get back to it and you start going and then you slide back down.

So I want to talk today about scheduling, accountability, and those things that can help to protect us, as it were, from sliding back into a life of inconsistent prayer and devotion.

So part of the morning devotional life, before I talk about timing and all of that, is it is so important to have the other parts of your life preparing for that morning.

If we were wanting to honor the Sabbath and all of that, when do we need to think about the Sabbath?

Or do we need to have time to prepare before the Sabbath?

So, each week we're looking always toward that high day of the Sabbath.

And it's the same with our devotional life.

And so the greatest preparation, of course, is preparing the night before.

I talked about having your reading plan, you got your Bible, you have your notepad, You have your reading, you have your card or your book or something that you're going to write your message in.

So you want to have those things prepared the night before.

And then you want to prepare your thoughts and mind for that.

And the way I believe is best is to make sure we not just begin the day with the Lord, but we finish the day with the Lord.

And I find that when I take time before I go to rest in the Word of God and in prayer, he prepares me to meet him in a much more wonderful way in the morning.

So how many of you have heard of something called the circadian rhythm?

It can even deal with, you know, when you get hungry and those things.

So I'm not a nutritionist, I'm not a doctor or anything like that.

I'm just telling you things that have worked for me.

Yesterday, I told you that, for those of you who are new, I shared how the method I'm sharing is just what has worked for me.

It's not the only way, it's a way, and there are ways that people have done, devotionals that have been such a blessing to them.

So I'm not saying this is the way to do it.

I find that if I am consistent in the time that I get up, each day, it makes a huge difference.

So if I plan to wake up at a certain time and meet the Lord in that time.

I actually schedule that time with the Lord.

It is maybe tough at first, but after the second day, the third day, the fourth day, after a week later, you don't even need an alarm clock or anything like that.

So how many hours of sleep should we get per night?

A Thoughtful Hour- Part 3

Father in heaven, thank you for your love for us this morning.

We want time to dwell upon your goodness toward us.

We thank you, Father, for your holy word.

And Lord, we pray that as we deal with spiritual things this day, that you'll give us your Holy Spirit that we may be able to discern them.

That we may discern your voice and hear you speaking to us.

Father, we thank You for Your promise to be here with us.

For those who still may be coming, the Lord has for each 1 here, we ask that You would have a blessing just for them.

Came in this morning, I had this letter here.

It says, Dear God, please be with Pastor Justin as he leads out in prayer.

Send your angels to the girls dorm chapel and help him answer questions about prayer and give him the answers that help teach people how to pray.

Let him lead the listeners of his prayer to the Lord.

We pray many will be impressed to come and pray with Elder Ringstaff.

Sincerely, J2." That's the J2 department.

I'm going to have to go and personally thank them.

There's a little sticker on the back, he loves me, John 3, 16.

The junior department has kind of teamed up with us this year.

Has anyone been prayed for in the campground by the J2 team?

They've had prayer stations and around the camp this year.

So if you want, I'm going to pass these around.

If you want to take 1 or If you wanted an extra 1, feel free.

And then if I have extras, I'll just leave them up here, and if you want to grab 1, you can.

But Just before we get into our devotional this morning, a couple of points that I want to speak about.

I had intended to just do the devotional time each day, but then they put this microphone on me and the camera so I thought I better give some instruction too.

My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Does your soul thirst for the living God this morning?

So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory.

Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you." Isn't that beautiful?

When you go through the Word of God you see over and over again just the heart going out after God.

And if you come down here to verse 6, See, when I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches.

You ever just sometimes a little restless and can't sleep?

Well, we can remember the Lord and meditate on Him in the night watches.

I'll tell you some of the most precious times I've ever had with the Lord.

It's where He's woken me up in the night with the burden that He's placed on me and just to have that time in those night watches.

Because you have been my help, therefore, in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice.

I love, I think it's the King James Version that says that my soul follows hard after you.

And I just love that language, just that there is gonna be nothing between me and my Savior.

There are a couple other verses that are just incredible.

They just show about the constant blessing the Lord will give as we meditate on His Word.

Joshua 1 8, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it, then the promise, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Just the call for us to meditate on the Word of God.

So as we have that morning time, that morning devotional, we want to be training our minds to keep that with us through the day, to keep Jesus at our side.

Do you want to know why I picked these ones out this morning?

Because these were my memory verses that I had to go over this morning.

I thought man those are fantastic I'm gonna share them.

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat.

Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread?

I think, Lord, how many times have I spent my time, my energy, my thoughts for that which did not satisfy.

And your wages for what does not satisfy, listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and let your soul do what?

It says in verse 6, Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.

No, it's so, this I thought was pretty neat last night.

So, you know, I was in Isaiah last night and, you know, I have my reading thing.

My, this right here that I, you know, marked.

So it was a special blessing to me The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." That's what we read yesterday in our devotional together.

Wow, that was neat, just looking at what blessing it is when Christ comes and lets his light shine upon this earth.

I'll tell you, when we let our minds dwell upon Jesus, there'll be the light and the glory of his presence.

Let all those clouds of darkness and despair just be swept away.

There's so many more but those just ones I had this morning.

A Thoughtful Hour- Part 4

Oh Father in Heaven, how precious it is for us to know that our Savior longs to walk with us.

Just as we have heard in our devotional time the call by the sea, the invitation, we hear that tender voice of Christ calling us even this day.

Oh Lord, how we want to do that this morning.

Please give us the presence of heavenly angels, your Holy Spirit, to be our teacher.

We want new insight of your great love for us and of our Savior.

We want to come from this time encouraged and strengthened with joy upon our hearts and written upon our countenance.

We want to be those that will go to bring light to this campground, to speak words of encouragement and hope, and in time of trial or in time of need, Lord, that may even be before us this day, that our faith as it is rooted in you will not fail.

So Lord I pray for this and ask Lord that you would just use me today I pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Before we get into just a couple thoughts, How many of you have your treasure for the day?

Mine that I wrote down is actually a memory verse from the Scripture that I read this morning.

It's 1 I've already memorized, but it was such a blessing to me that I wanted it on my mind again today.

The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him oh Lord let that be my life today that I know that you're with me as you sent me that you haven't left me alone and Lord how I want to do those things that please you.

So that was my prayer this morning and that treasure that I'm keeping with me this day.

I just want to emphasize how important it is to pull a treasure out each day.

You'll find that if you don't, oh, you'll still gain a blessing.

I'm not saying any time you spend time with the Lord and the Word and the prayer, you ain't gain a blessing.

You're going to lose probably 1 of the greatest blessings, and that is having a treasure to share with someone else.

Series

A Thoughtful Hour

A Thoughtful Hour- Part 1

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

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