Michigan Campmeeting 2011

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

He Shall Lift You Up

Jim Ayer

Second Chance

Although, I've got to give you kudos for getting up this early in the morning, you know, and getting out here.

Remember, God poured out the manna to his people, and when were they to gather it?

Early morning, because when the sun came up and the sun waxed hot, it melted.

You see, yesterday's experience is no good for today.

If we're going to gather the bread, we've got to gather it fresh each day.

God's bread to nourish us and strengthen our lives.

I didn't always believe that, well, I didn't believe anything.

Matter of fact, some of you probably heard my testimony.

I was a drug dealer, an alcoholic, and a thief.

But I stand here today and saying, God has incredible power.

God wants to speak to hearts and lives everywhere to draw them to Him.

It's the devil's lie that God is not loved.

He doesn't want people to know how wonderful and how loving God is.

But like I said, I didn't believe in a God at all.

Well, I may have thought there was something out there, but you know just I didn't care.

1 day I was in a little tiny room and I was smoking some some grass and all of a sudden that room expanded into this huge auditorium, a great big auditorium.

It was it was something like this and I was sitting up on the top bleachers looking down and there was a table and 2 chairs and 2 people sitting in those chairs and I didn't need any introduction I knew it was God and the devil.

The devil would begin saying something and then God would say something back and I don't know what it was I could never quite understand what God was saying but the devil would shut up and then in a moment the devil would use another argument and it's funny all these arguments.

Well, it really isn't funny, but it was amazing to me that the arguments the devil was using were the same arguments I would always use to tell other people about you should try drugs.

You should try all these great things These were the arguments he was using over me Again, God would speak the devil would have to be silent This went back and forth this interchange for quite some time and then all of a sudden it was over and in an instant I was back down in my little tiny room stone-cold straight and sober and I thought what just happened what what on earth happened anyway what what's going on And just like I'm talking with you right now, a voice, a voice said, Jim, you have a short time to decide.

I've taken all these drugs, I've taken everything, I've taken acid, and I've taken mescaline, and I've taken this, and I've taken that, I've taken all these things.

And every time I would get loaded from that day forward the voice the same voice would say Jim you've got a short time to decide well it got so bad after a while it drove me crazy and finally I decided I just had to quit because it was no fun I just couldn't stand this voice all the time and I well I for months I tried to study my Bible I had a I had a Bible actually I found 1 but it just didn't seem like it made sense and and I didn't know what to do.

8 months passed and finally I found myself crying myself to sleep at night.

I won't do the drugs but the alcohol's just fine.

Went down the local bar and the old saying, it takes 1 to know 1, this guy walked into the bar and I thought, that guy's packing.

He sat down and he said, I need a ride to the next town.

Man, I had that joint out of his hand and in my mouth so fast, he didn't even have time to think.

Well, a little time went by and I was dating a nice young lady and let me tell you she was a nice young lady.

Her whole life she had been so sweet and kind and wonderful until she met me.

And then you see it was just like, it was just like Satan sitting in that tree there whispering to Eve.

It'll take you to a level that you won't Hardly imagine.

You see today all the drugs, young people if you're listening or if you're in the audience today, that's what the devil is doing right now.

You'll understand something greater than you do right now.

It'll give you happiness beyond what you have.

For a moment, there was this excitement, this exhilaration.

I've got to run back, and I've got to give it to Adam to Adam Adam try it.

They were the first drug dealers Try it I Got my I got my girlfriend going and pretty soon we were that's all we were doing all the time Well, we finally actually I took her down to a river 1 day I got her stoned and I asked her to marry me when she was stoned.

Now I want to fast forward for you for just a second because I may forget this otherwise, but in that same river sometime later That's where we were baptized.

God has more power than the devil I've read my Bible from cover to cover and God never loses God is a wonderful God, but right then asked her to marry me.

She said yes, we got married we had a child we we 1 day we're going down to Sacramento California and I meet a bunch of friends there and I get loaded and I'm I'm having a good day with them all day long and by that evening Janine's got to drive home because because I'm too loaded we get home she's changing the baby on the kitchen table.

It's a small house, changing the baby on the kitchen table.

And I go in the other room, and all of a sudden, Jim, tonight is your last night to decide.

Same voice, Jim, Tonight is your last night to decide.

Jim, tonight is your last night to decide.

And it was like there were the crossroads of eternity right there.

I went in and I grabbed everything out of the bureau and I walked out to the room and said, ''Honey, I've got to flush all this stuff down the toilet.'' Well, she was loaded by that time and she smiled and okay.

Walked into the other room, walked in that bathroom and I dumped everything into the toilet.

This isn't the first time I dumped stuff in the toilet.

You know, there'd been the cops knocking at the door before, you know, and I'm jamming stuff in the toilet.

All of a sudden, it was like this huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, a weight that I was not aware that I even had.

The devil piles things on us just a teeny bit at a time.

Just a little bit here, a little bit there.

Pretty soon we've got this monster weight that we're carrying around that the devil's saying yes I'm gonna bury him.

That's what the devil wants to do with you, you realize.

He wants to bury you just 1 little teeny thing at a time.

But all of a sudden this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and man I was down there grabbing that white porcelain bowl just crying my eyes out.

It was just it was so incredible and I turned around and there was Janine standing in the doorway and she was crying too.

God had touched her heart too and I stood up I said honey would you join me in a prayer.

We walked in the other room arm-in-arm stood there and I said God I'm sorry it took so long.

That was our prayer, sorry it took so long.

Well, and then we thought, well, now what do we do?

Power

You know, I could have worn my pajamas, actually, up here now for the next several days because everything's going to be PowerPoint.

I don't normally do PowerPoint presentations.

I like to just speak, but I've been finding this in all my studies.

I started studying the Bible, marking every place and highlighting every place that talks about the power of God, the mighty power of God to create the world, to transform us, to change us, to mold us, his desire to move us from where we are to a higher level.

And in all of that, I ended up, God impressed me to Search not only the scriptures, but then go to Ellen White and look at what the prophet says and There's a painting hanging in my office.

I've had it there for 4 years painting of Jesus overlooking Jerusalem You remember what what happened as he overlooked Jerusalem Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem How often would I gathered you as a mother hen gathered her chicks and you would not.

If you want to be gathered under God's protection, If you want to be gathered under God's protection, if you want to be gathered under the mighty breast of Al Shaddai, then you need the prophets.

And so I've included a lot of that, I mixed the scriptures and prophets in PowerPoint presentations the rest of the week, in a way I think that will will give you a new look at a lot of not only what's going on on earth and heaven where we are in time but what God wants to do in and through each 1 of us so without without further ado here let's get started.

Revelation 12, 7 and 8 says, and there was what?

Let's have a prayer that they work on it and it gets it okay Lord you know how much we need this right now and I'm just pray father that you'd make it all work out you're the greatest electrician and electronics experts so we pray that you'd make it happen or give them wisdom upstairs and pull it all together thank you in Jesus name man what I do hey alright alright and there was what war in heaven Michael and his angels did what fought against the dragon in the dragon did what Fought and his angels and prevailed not.

Neither was their place found anymore in heaven.

Now, I've had theologians share with me and a good friend shares with me, oh it was it was only a mental war, a war of words, but I don't know.

You know I read this and it sounds pretty strong doesn't it?

There were there was some real real contention going on here.

That old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceives the whole world and was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him now casting out if any of your fly fishermen and you're casting you know you you get that old thing back there and what casting is is some pretty good action.

He was cast out, not just told to go away, he was cast out.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, in powerful places, in strong places, in celestial places.

Now, the devil's gonna try to deceive the very elect.

Thus Satan will try to deceive, if possible, the very elect.

Most seducing influences will be exerted.

We are going to have to pay such close attention to God.

If we divert our eyes off of God, we can be hypnotized.

Just as Eve was standing there in the garden with the serpent she was she was mesmerized we're told she was mesmerized now it's high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed the night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness let us put on the armor of light you ask any good Jew about the day and they will tell you what the day is it is the day of atonement Yom Kippur happens once a year in the economy of the Jewish economy, the sanctuary service.

Began in 1844, Jesus went in the most holy place.

We are in the judgment hour, verse history.

And I will put enmity, you remember Jesus there when Adam and Eve blew it in the garden.

God did not want to leave us where we were in our problems, fighting the devil on our own.

He said, I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.

It's just like putting magnets together that you know, the polar opposites, they shove and repel.

We cannot hope to repel any of the onslaught of the devil.

4000 years the battle continued from the time of the garden.

He healed many that were sick of various diseases and cast out many devils.

Jesus was still in the process of casting out devils casting out demon cast out Satan out of heaven went into humanity and cast out demons more devils and he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out devils my oh my praise God he has the power You know I've read my Bible from cover to cover, God never loses.

Jesus came here on planet earth to demonstrate that he has the power to cast out the devil.

I was down in Madagascar, met this lady as a little girl, she walked in the home and in the family with demons.

Yeah you heard me correctly just like we're looking at 1 another today they held fellowship with demons in the household they talked with demons they walk with demons did all these things with demons and said 1 day as she got old enough the demon said we want you to become a witch for us will give you great powers well she said that sounded good and the demons told her go down to the river where she went down to the river and under the water for a day and a half I said what did you say she said I went underwater for a day and a half where the demons fed me underwater let me tell you if you think that you as a human being, or I as a human being, can do battle with the devil on our own, you are absolutely mistaken.

1 day the armies came to take over her village.

She created potions to keep the whole army away, and it did.

Kept the entire army away from her village.

Then 1 day, and 1 day, oh, she said, the demons were mad at me, and I was sick, the devils couldn't heal me, and there was a knock at my door.

I came to the door, 2 young ladies, nicely dressed in white outfits, said, we represent the king of the universe.

We've come to pray for you, he can heal you.

She thought, well, the demons haven't done anything for me lately, go ahead.

And they prayed for her and she was healed immediately.

And then they said, you should listen to Adventist World Radio, it'll be a blessing to you.

She began listening to the radio program, she accepted Jesus, and while I was there, she says, oh please, can you help me?

She says, please, we need to build a church.

Well, she says, there's 100 people that I've been bringing to the Lord on a regular basis.

But you cannot defeat or deal with the devil on your own believe me and he called his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over how many demons all demons and to cure disease and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God now this power in authority dunamis where we get our word dynamite is the Greek that's translated power that Kosia is translated authority God is ruler of you the universe he has the authority And he's got the strength and power to back it up.

His vision, our mission, to wage war against the devil and destroy his kingdom.

To be a physician to souls and of souls and to preach the gospel that will eternally set men and women free.

From Danger to Safety

From danger to safety, that's the message today, from danger to safety.

You see there was a problem in heaven, you'll remember that problem, but then it moved down to planet Earth and there were 2 voices, there were 2 voices that that, well and I'm looking this morning, is it on the monitor yet?

Now, unfortunately, they've got an equipment problem.

They've got to shift back and forth a little bit.

And the other 1 said, you shall not surely die.

Right in the very beginning, there was a situation here, and of course you know the story, Adam and Eve believed the second voice.

They believed the second voice, and right then began all of our problems.

His, Adam's thoughts were pure, his aims holy, but through disobedience his powers were perverted and selfishness took the place of love.

His nature became so weakened through transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own strength, to resist the power of evil." Notice how he said, in his own strength to resist the power of evil?

He was made captive by Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed.

Now some of you came up to me the other day and said, you know, you go through these so fast that I don't have a chance to write down the references.

Well that's true, I've got a lot of these to go through, so basically though if you get the DVD later on and then you can go through and pause it you can write down the write them down right so in Genesis 3 8 and 9 and they heard the voice of Jehovah walking in the garden in the cool of the day And Jehovah God called to Adam and said, where are you?

You see, they had a problem right in the beginning.

At that moment, by the way, it was like a huge butcher knife carved a gaping hole out of man and ever since that time man has been searching to fill that void and you see that void is God that void is God the only thing that fits that hole is God we try and fill it with alcohol and drugs and sex and and you name it to make us feel better but the only thing for anybody in here in the rest of the world is God that's the only thing that will make us feel better that's the only thing that really fits that whole but God came calling out he wanted to protect them he wanted to draw them back from the danger that they had placed themselves in Adam Eve where are you oh he knew exactly where they were but he wanted to call them and have them respond where are you where are you this morning where are you is God calling out for you You can be sitting in the church, you can look nice and be lost.

Church is not a place that is just totally safety because you're sitting in church.

No, church is a place you're safe because you have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

But above all, remember that no prophecy in Scripture will be found to have come from prophets own prompting, for it never did any prophecy come by human will but men sent by God spoke as they were impelled by the Holy Spirit." So God is still calling, God is still calling.

After the garden he developed a plan whereby he would use prophets, He would use men and women called by him, impelled by the Holy Spirit to speak for him to continue to call and draw people from danger.

God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is before me, I will destroy them with the earth I will destroy them he spoke through Noah he spoke through Noah Noah for 120 years called people please get into the ark God is going to God is going to create a great storm rain what's rain the scientists of the day you know scientists of the days that it's never rained.

I was listening to television here just a short time ago when they were saying, Well, all the animals you know that died recently.

You heard about all these animals here died in this country, and all these died, and all these millions died, or whatever here, and here, and here, and here, and here.

The scientist got on, he said, oh, He said, there is nothing about this.

We just have more news now that reports it more rapidly.

I know they probably, maybe, didn't have television in Noah's day.

I say maybe because you realize that they were a whole lot more intelligent than we've been trained to believe nowadays.

You know, they were actually far more intelligent than we are.

They may have had many developments far greater than we have.

I don't know if you've ever read Rene Nürburgring's book, Secrets of the Lost Races.

He called it out-of-place artifacts, OOPARTS.

Lady shoveling coal in the 1800s into her stove in England and all of a sudden a big piece of coal drops out, breaks on the floor and there inside the coal is a gorgeously carved silver necklace.

Well, scientists say, you know, it's some fluke, it couldn't have gotten there, you know.

Find human footprints in dinosaur tracks of the same era.

Find batteries in the pyramids of Egypt that they use citric acid perhaps to light the insides of the pyramids.

Out-of-place artifacts because it doesn't fit with modern scientists saying we have evolved.

We're going down with time because of sin.

The devil is dragging us down and down and down and God is calling us back.

By their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of conscience and the warnings of God's prophets, that generation filled up the measure their iniquity and became ripe for destruction.

Speaking of those in Noah's day, God sent his prophets to call them.

You remember Methuselah, when I die, the coming.

They didn't know the coming of what until Noah came on the scene and said it means coming, the floods of waters coming.

And when he dies, when he dies, the floods are going to come.

Can you imagine what a great evangelistic tool that was?

Put up Methuselah on the stage, look this man is 968 years old, nobody's ever lived this long And when he dies, the coming of the waters.

When he dies, the flood is going to come.

You better get into the ark of safety now.

God is calling you from danger to safety.

And of course, we know the sad, sad story.

Very few accepted God's call and got into the ark.

Brothers and sisters, there's always a remnant of a remnant that are saved.

God calls everyone, he desires that everyone come from danger to safety, but it's our own personal choice and very few choose to follow God all the way.

By their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of conscience and the warnings of God's prophets, it was God's prophets that he used to call.

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee and thy brethren like unto me and unto him shall ye hearken.

Turn at my warning behold I will pour out my spirit to you.

I will make my words known to you because I called and you did what?

I stretched out my hand and what happened?

No 1 paid attention, but you have despised all my advice and would have none of my warning." God continually sent his prophets to speak to his people to call and they would have nothing to do with it.

You called and you refused, I called and you refused, " he said.

We always look back at those times and say, oh if I had been in those days, if God's prophet had called I certainly would have responded.

Look at the times they were involved in, look at all the situations, and had the Prophet called me I would have responded.

First Samuel 8, turn with me this morning if you have your Bibles.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel and said unto him, Behold thou art old and the sons walk not in your ways.

Now make us a king to judge us like the other nations.

But the thing displeased Samuel that they said, Give us a king and judge us.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people and all that they say to you, for they have not rejected thee, but have rejected me." Samuel, it's okay, they're not rejecting you as God's prophet, they are rejecting me.

When you reject God's prophet, you reject God.

And they wanted to be like what what did they want to be like?

The Spirit of Fire

Well, it is a good morning, but I'd ask you to keep me in prayer today because I played a little racquetball yesterday afternoon with Elder Jim Mitchiff, and he about killed me.

I've got stiff places that I didn't know could actually hurt today.

Been a while since I've played and a matter of fact I think the last time I played was when I was here last time.

So you know when the body doesn't use those muscles it just, that's the way it is with the Bible isn't it?

You know you you just need 1, it takes you a little bit to get into it, man it feels so good once you really get going after you start exercising those muscles a little more, after you keep on going a while.

Well this morning hopefully we're going to exercise some other places.

Our opening slide, if we can get that up.

I know we've been, apparently there's been a little trouble.

Did they, I don't know if they got the new switcher or whatever, but oh yeah, here we go.

I see I forgot I was told to hurry up and move that thing around.

Just too much in the early morning it looks so dark out this morning I kept looking at my watch and thinking did I get up at the right time you know is it really it's really the right time I had to have on the lights in the room and everything but anyway the God who answers by fire he is God up on Mount Carmel you remember all the prophets of Baal everything that's going on and they said the God who answers by fire he is God now let's look at this God of fire God cleansed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire God appeared to Moses as fire in the burning bush.

He guided Israel as a pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night.

God descended upon Sinai and devouring fire, remember the fire, the smoke that arose off the top of the mountain scorching the mountain, they delivered the 10 Commandments.

The fire of God destroyed Nadab and Abihu because they offered false fire, they offered their own fire, their own devising.

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Series

He Shall Lift You Up

Abiding

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Parent Conference

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Part 5 - Crossing the Jordan

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