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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

Will you Stand

Well, how many of you are interested in revival?

You know, when I was younger and less aware maybe of things, I wanted to be around people constantly.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be around people that were under revival and that were excited to study and excited to talk about God and live for God and commit themselves to God.

And as I got older, I began to realize that, you know, revival should not depend upon other people.

Not that we don't want to encourage and support other people, but revival begins and starts where?

And so if I want to see revival, rather than complaining and looking for revival in other people and why aren't they excited about the message and why aren't they out doing things, then really it begins with me.

And as I in my own experience and my own connection with God am revived, it will lead to, I think, a revival in those around us.

Our connection with God is very personal, even though it affects everyone that is around us.

I want revival and I believe you do as well.

Well, today the Lord has put a strong message on my heart and I hope that you'll still love me after the service is over today.

You don't know what I'm gonna preach about yet, but I hope so.

I appreciate this church family so much because we want to see Jesus.

In all of his fullness and clearness, we want to follow him all the way to Calvary, all the way to the mansions of glory.

But we learned last week that it involves a double crucifixion.

And in talking with some of you afterwards, I'm not sure I made that as clear as I wanted it to be based on Galatians 6, 14, which says, but God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me.

The world is crucified, that's crucifixion number 1, and I am crucified to the world, that's crucifixion number 2, hence a double crucifixion, as it's described in the spirit of prophecy.

So that the world and the worldly attractions have no interest to me.

And my selfish interest and self-centered, self-seeking attitude is crucified so that it does not respond to anything that would be of that nature.

So today our subject is entitled, Will You Stand?

And this is really between you and God today.

I know we have hundreds of people here today, but the message is very personal and I hope and pray very practical.

You are just here in the sight of our holy God, and it's you and Him that are gaining and growing in an understanding of who he is.

If you have your Bibles, I hope you do, Revelation chapter 6, verses 12 through 17, and as you're looking up those verses, I wanna read a statement to you from the spirit of prophecy found in volume 2, Selected Messages, page 13, paragraph 1.

It says, there is a time of trouble coming to the people of God.

But we are not to keep that constantly before the people.

I always read that statement and it almost diverted me from what I in my own experience was convicted that I needed.

But it says constantly before the people and reign them up to have a time of trouble beforehand.

It doesn't say ever, it just says constantly.

This is not something that we should constantly dwell upon, but because it's in the word of God and it's clearly, there's a whole chapter in the book, The Great Controversy, of which I was scared to read for many years.

1 chapter that I would hop over and read on at the end of the story because it was so intense and so serious that I just didn't want to wrestle with it, but I don't want to be a person who says, I don't want to hear that because I don't like it.

I want to be willing to know what God has revealed to me and be willing to follow it.

Anyway, the statement is, we are not to keep constantly before the people, but there is a time of trouble coming and there is to be a shaking among God's people, and it will be the result of refusing the truth presented.

Well, I'm thankful that this church and those of you that come here are interested in truth and want to know what the truth is because you want to follow and practice what God says.

Well, let's go to Revelation chapter 6 and just look at the sixth seal as it will give us a platform for what we're studying today as we understand preparing for the time of trouble and the great crisis that is before all of God's people.

Revelation 6, beginning in verse 12, it says, and I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great what?

We know that this took place in Lisbon, Portugal, off the coast of Lisbon in 1755 and was such a tremendous impetus in helping people focus on the Word of God and prophecy.

1755 is near another year that we as Adventists know very fondly, 1798, which is the time of the end.

All of these events are not just happening at a random time, they're happening at a time to spur people to look at what God has prophesied and to see the fulfillment of prophecy and the events that were happening as it leads into the time of the end and the hour of his judgment that would be following shortly after that.

Continuing verse 12, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood.

Several years later in 1780, this took place largely in the region of what is today New England.

This is during the American Revolution as the United States is rising into prominence in Bible prophecy as we can read about in Revelation 13 as a nation that initially would speak or have a lamb-like quality but would later on speak as a dragon.

And then verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell into the earth.

That's going to be in 1833, shortly before the time of 1844, which again draws people's attention to the Word of God.

These are not just random events in the heavens that just happen that you check off that, hey, these events took place.

They are happening at a time to direct people's minds to a closer, deeper study of the Word of God.

I've read primary source accounts of this event from 1833, and people said that it was like rain, stars were like rain, it was so thick, it was like snow outside, it was so bright, it was like broad daylight.

And those who saw and experienced the falling of the stars were deeply impacted and remembered that ever on through the rest of their life.

It says, as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

You can actually see we're living between verses 13 and 14 in the sixth seal.

The stars have fallen, verse 14, the heaven departed as a scroll.

That has not yet happened when it is rolled together and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men, are these important people?

I'm more of a teacher sometimes and I like to have some feedback or dialogue.

So I want you to be along and follow along.

I want to talk with you and discuss together what we're studying.

It says, these are important people, the mighty men, and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains.

And then notice their declaration here in verse 16.

And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

For the great day of his wrath is come, and the question comes down to us as it was written here, and who shall be able to stand?

Will I stand as these events that unfold just before us happen and take place?

Well, there's a significant verse in the Bible, Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1.

Daniel chapter 12 verse 1 tells us the timing for when this will occur, this great time of tribulation.

The Bible says, and at that time shall Michael stand up.

And we understand by the standing up of Michael that it represents the finishing of his work in the heavenly sanctuary as our high priest and an announcement that probation has closed.

So when Michael stands up, there's announcement.

Every case is decided for eternal destiny, for eternal life or eternal death.

The great prince, Michael, shall stand up, which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be what?

A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.

I used to teach world history, and we studied about all kinds of wars, all kinds of horrible atrocities from the beginning of time all the way up to the present, and the Bible is telling us there will not be anything that you can compare it with the time of trouble that is coming, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.

But here's good news, and at that time, what does it say?

Thy people, Daniel's people, the Israel of God, shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book, the Lamb's book of life, as that is being investigated even now during the investigative judgment.

Names are being accepted, names are being rejected.

Sins are being blotted out, names are being blotted out.

This is the work that we should be intelligent about that's happening even now in the sanctuary in heaven.

Well, the Bible also speaks in Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 7 of this time.

This is not just something that we gather from the spirit of prophecy.

The scriptures are very plain on this event that is just before God's people.

Jeremiah 30 verse 7, the Bible says, alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it.

It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but here is the promise that we all hang on to, but he shall be saved out of it.

You know, we serve a God who is mighty to save.

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Will you Stand

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