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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Eric Walsh Weekend

Eric Walsh

Storms of Change

Our scripture reading tonight is taken from Psalm 107, starting at verse 28.

The Bible says, Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

He makes the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still.

Our message tonight is entitled, storms of change.

Father God, we thank you for this opportunity to study your word.

Lord, I ask again that you just make me a nail hammered into the wall by your Holy spirit.

I don't need to be seen or heard tonight, Father.

Right now, Lord, I pause to rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus.

I claim the blood of Jesus over everyone who is here tonight and all who will listen.

The lord, the demons, nor distractions would remove them from the precious truths of your word.

He had given many a parable and been teaching for a long time.

What the Bible shows us in the story we're about to look at is that Jesus truly was 100% God, but he was also 100% man.

It's a difficult thing for a lot of people to figure out, but it took divinity to pay the cost of redemption.

If there was an angel that could have taken Jesus's place, there would have been no reason for Christ to come to earth and die.

God had to come in the flesh of a human and pay the price for our sins.

I think a lot of our problems come because we forget that fact.

If you take an hour a day and truly contemplate what Christ did for us on the cross, we would treat each other differently.

We would see the high price that sin actually costs.

And so Jesus in this story in Mark chapter 4, you can turn there we'll be there for a bit, we'll jump around a bit, but Mark chapter 4, the Bible says in Mark 4 35, and the same day when the even was come, when night came, Jesus said unto them, let us pass over unto the other side.

Jesus was on 1 side of the lake and the side of the lake he wanted to go to was a side that was not inhabited by the people of God.

The side he wanted them to go to was a side where heathens were.

And you can see that when you read verse 36.

Verse 36 says, And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship, and there were also with him other little ships.

Now you got to get this, the Bible says they took Jesus even as he was.

At the end of a week, especially for those of you in school here or in residency, the end of the week probably comes with you wanting to relax and just refresh.

When I was in school, when I was in residency, they did not have some of the restrictions they have today on how many hours you could work.

You could get into the hospital at 4 or 05:00 in the morning and leave the next day at 5, 06:00 in the evening.

You know, just internal medicine, family medicine rotations in the hospital.

At the end of the week, we are often exhausted.

The Bible says that they sent the multitude away.

They took him even as he was in the ship.

And there were also other little ships with him.

He took a deep breath and Jesus was ready to engage again.

Verse 37 says, as they're on the water and Jesus is trying to recover, trying to get over burnout, Dr.

The Bible says, and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now what?

You gotta understand, there's a few key words here that you could just glaze over.

The way that the cold air would come off of the mountains over the warm air rising off of the lake often caused storms over the sea.

Several of the disciples were skilled at managing a boat so they could manage a typical storm.

I want to submit to you that this storm had almost a demonic component to it.

Satan saw Christ in this weakened condition and I and clearly if Satan could have taken Christ out early and his disciples he would have done it and when this storm gets really bad the Bible gives us the warning that the boat is now full of water.

I am not a nautical engineer, but I know enough to know that if the boat fills up with water, you're in trouble.

What happens when a boat fills up with water?

Look at how Matthew says it in Matthew 8 24, speaking of the same thing.

He says, And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves.

The Bible here says it wasn't just the storm.

The word that is translated here is the word tempest.

It actually means if you go to the Greek, it's from the Greek word seismos.

It means a shaking, a commotion, a tempest or an earthquake.

The Bible says the boat just wasn't in a storm, the boat was in a shaking.

Now in all Christian history and when you look at Christian literature, 1 of the things, 1 of the representations for the church is that the church is often looked upon as if it is a ship.

In this is almost like a prophetic parable.

The ship is in the storm, Jesus is asleep, and the ship is being shaken.

I want to submit to you that over the last 6 summers, including this 1, we have watched the ship be shaken.

Now look, look at, just look at how the devil has worked over the last 6 years.

In 2020, there were, I remember seeing arguments online over George Floyd's murder and racial tensions rise up inside the remnant church.

That summer, most of this happens during the summer.

The next year it was the response to COVID.

The vaccines came out and then the church was fighting over that.

The next year there was the war in Ukraine and although it wasn't as bad as some of the other ones, folk were still arguing over its relevance and even taking sides.

The next year, just after the summer, in October, on October 7th, there was an attack on the southern part of Israel and then a war started and here again churches are split.

I know people who have left the Seventh-day Adventist church over this issue.

Last year was really the creme de la creme.

It was a presidential election and this really brought the church almost to her knees.

I saw churches where folk were wearing the t-shirt in the pulpit on Sabbath morning of the candidate they supported.

I Heard soliloquies from pulpits and online About their favorite candidate and let me tell you something it began You could tell it was rubbing in a very dangerous way as people began to pick political sides even though they're supposed to be a part of the remnant.

Demons of Dopamine: The Mind Overstimulated and Undernourished

Wonderful Sabbath morning, it's great weather and I just am praising God for his goodness his mercy and for his grace We are living living in very challenging times I Don't know, you know, I've been Adventist since I was young, I don't know that I've ever seen more of the prophecies being fulfilled so quickly, and at the same time, so few recognizing it.

The tragedy isn't that the prophecies are being fulfilled, it's that there are many who, for whatever reason, are focusing on everything but the fact that the church is about to go through a time of trouble.

And unfortunately this is probably the great threat to the church.

Deception in the last days is what Jesus is great warning is.

We are going to live in an age of deception and we see it.

I don't know if you've seen what people can do with artificial intelligence, but man, it fools me all the time.

I saw 1 clip, a little baby lion cub got picked up by some kind of big bird of prey and was taken off and the mama lion came and jumped up in the air and grabbed a bird.

I'm cheering for the mama lion only to find out afterwards the whole thing is made up.

Imagine what the devil's gonna do with this kind of technology We have got to really be focused on the Word of God, you know I've been just the last I listen to a lot of information and meaning I listen to audiobooks and audio verse and the Bible and the spirit of prophecy.

I've just been so compelled over the last couple of weeks to just listen through the scriptures again while I'm driving around and it's just such a blessing.

I'm finishing up the book of Psalms now and it's just sometimes I go I have to replay the Psalm.

The Psalm just touches you and you have to replay the psalm and just listen to it over again and unless we make the Word of God kind of like the air we breathe, I don't know that we're gonna make it.

Everything is out of order here because last night I spoke on something I didn't plan on speaking on around church unity.

And I'm a strong believer in church unity.

I think the greatest threat to the church now is that the devil has figured out how to divide us up with simple pressure points and then we fight each other and the work that we're supposed to be doing can't go forward.

So last night I was gonna do this talk on demons of dopamine.

So I'm gonna do it now and kind of combine it with this afternoon's program.

Maybe so many of you are here because this was scheduled to be the sex talk, not sure, but I'll do that this afternoon.

The 1 about biblical sex and sexuality and so forth, that we'll do this afternoon.

Our scripture reading comes from Romans chapter 12, starting at verse 2.

And while I remember, I was here when we did the first restoration so I am so I'm so glad to God that they're still doing it we total aside now but we were we were concerned at the time I am the names I remember are men like Norman McNulty and Tim Eric Howe and others, and we were concerned that people would come to school here for 4 years or more and leave, go out the other side of it and still not know what a Seventh-day Adventist was.

So praise God for those of you who are still doing it and please support it and invite others to it.

Romans 12, 2 says, "'And be not conformed to this world, "'but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, "'that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So our talk this morning is entitled Demons of Dopamine.

I thank you lord for your goodness and for your grace.

That lord we would walk out of this place today more committed to being like Jesus.

So we're going to come from Matthew 19, and I'll start at verse 16.

This young man had just seen Jesus receive little children and he was excited so he figured he'd shoot his shot with Jesus and and approach him and ask him a burning question.

He saw the kindness with which Jesus treated little children even when the disciples wanted to run them off.

And so in verse 16, the Bible says, "'And behold, 1 came and said unto him, "'Good master, what good things shall I do "'that I may have eternal life?' And so he comes with a righteousness by works kind of framework.

Look, you know, good master, you're a good guy, what do I need to do?

What tangible transaction must I perform that I will receive at the other side of the transaction eternal life?

I want to make sure my works line up with eternity.

I want to be saved and you seem to be the 1 with the door, with the keys to the door of the kingdom.

Verse 17, And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?

Some people have said, well, Jesus said this because maybe Jesus wasn't so good.

Jesus knew that this guy was looking for favor in approaching him this way.

But if you will enter into life do what keep the commandments was Jesus lying here absolutely not the call is to live according to the commandments of God that's the call he says it keep the commandments verse 18 He says unto him, which Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Jesus lays out really the last 6 of the commandments, the commandments that govern how we relate to 1 another.

These are the commandments for the most part which we would all agree can be legislated by a government.

The challenge is, and I don't know if you've watched Heritage and Hope, I was on their thing last week on a podcast with them, and they did an interview with a Christian nationalist who basically says he does not believe that only the last 6 commandments should be legislated.

He believes the first 4 should also be legislated.

When they're saying this out loud, it is a statement prophetically that you are moving to a place where folk are going to be comfortable pushing a narrative of theocracy.

The problem is their theocracy will not be a God theocracy, not Jehovah theocracy.

It will be 1 of men's mind of what God is supposed to be and do.

How do you treat other people is what he focuses on.

The young man is relieved when he hears that.

He says, all things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet not, you know here's the problem, if he'd have just been smart he'd have shut up, he'd have said, all right good thanks Jesus I'm going home.

Because there was still a hole in him, He knew He had not really reached the last line there.

There was something still burning, a sense of being incomplete.

Jesus said unto him, if you will be perfect, I love that word, go and sell what you have and give to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.

Oh man this guy's smug look just turned sour.

He thought about all of his possessions, everything he has at home, how wealthy he is, how accomplished he is, and all of a sudden Jesus said listen you can have eternal life, The only thing you lack is give away everything you have.

You'll have treasure in heaven and you can come and follow me.

Listen, the man was not happy with any of this.

Not giving up all he had, not worrying about treasure in heaven.

And here's the kicker, he didn't even want to have to follow Jesus.

Now Verse 22 says this, but when the young man heard that saying, he went away what?

He comes, he thinks he's going to be validated in his good works.

He thinks he's been an upright citizen, he's done everything correctly, he's been to Sabbath school, he sang in the choir, he was even even helped out in Pathfinders.

He thought for sure all the boxes were checked and he was good to go.

When he realized there was something more important to him than Jesus.

Too many of our young people are going away sorrowful.

This is the fundamental biggest challenge in my opinion facing Christendom in general, even though the recent events, there's this huge revival, college campuses, and what just happened the last couple weeks is gonna be even bigger.

Let me tell you that what has recently happened is going to move the needle around things like Project 2025.

They are not galvanized to do what they do.

It is not false revival that we are looking for.

Seducing the Remnant: Satan’s Not So Secret Weapon of Sexual Sin

Our scripture reading taken from 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 starting at verse 2 the Bible says for you know what?

Commandments we gave you by the by the Lord Jesus For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication.

That every 1 of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles, which know not God.

A message this afternoon is entitled, Seducing the Remnant.

Father God, we thank you for this opportunity to study your word and I am asking for an extra outpouring of the Holy Ghost that he would lead us into truth, Lord.

This is not an easy topic, Lord, and it's just, it's not easy, Lord.

Give us the advice, the words, the wisdom, Lord, that those who hear it, Lord, would receive meat in due season.

So Numbers chapter 25 is where we're gonna start.

The interesting thing is that this story really starts a few chapters earlier in Numbers chapter 22.

The children of Israel had beaten Pharaoh and his armies.

There were hundreds of thousands of children of Israel marching out of Egypt through the wilderness and towards the promised land.

And 1 of the kings, you go back to Numbers 22, 23, 24, 1 of the kings is a king by the name of Balak.

And so what he does, if you remember, is that he calls the false prophet Balaam.

He's a false prophet, but he actually hears from God.

And then he does what God says, but then he goes behind God and does other things.

It's kind of how you get where we are in the story here.

The interesting thing is that when Balaam told Balaam to curse the children of Israel, he said, he said, God has blessed and I cannot curse.

He says, there is no perversion in Israel.

In other words, there was no sexual perversion in Israel.

If you go back to Numbers 22, 23, 24, it stops.

3 times Balaam tries to curse children, it just doesn't work.

But finally, something switches in Numbers chapter 25.

Numbers chapter 25 and verse 1 says, And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

It's just a few verses earlier really, it is said that they're living right, they can't be cursed, and then all of a sudden you run up on this spot in the story, and now they're committing whoredom.

Well if we had time, I talk about it in other sermons, I didn't put it in this 1, but if we had time you could jump around in a Bible and you find out what Balaam actually does is he tells Balak, I can't curse them now, they're living right for God at the moment, but if you seduce them with sexual sin you can bring Israel down.

The protection on Israel will be removed if you can get them to sin specifically, don't miss this, specifically get the men to walk in sin.

If the men are walking in sexual sin, the people will lose their protection.

The Bible says after they committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, verse 2, and they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat and bow down to their gods.

They go from just sexual sin, just sleeping with the temple prostitutes, till eventually they're seduced all the way into idol worship.

Sexual sin, don't miss it, sexual sin is the gateway to idolatry.

If for no other reason sexual sin is self-worship.

When you decide I'm going to please myself rather than please God, you've elevated your own pleasure above the worship of the Almighty God.

Verse 3, the Bible says, and Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

When you begin to get into this type of sin, you disconnect from the God of heaven and you reconnect or connect to the gods of this earth.

Verse 4, and the Lord said unto Moses, take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord against the sun.

These were the leaders who had sinned sexually.

That the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.

So all of a sudden there's death, there's destruction.

So that God would turn his anger away from Israel.

Some of the men actually have to be put to death.

And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every 1 his men that were joined unto Baal Peor.

And in order to stop the plague, a slaughter begins.

This, and this, when you read the Bible, you give me stories.

These aren't easy stories to listen to read, are they?

This is not as nice as Jesus healing a blind man in the New Testament.

You look at this and you say, man, this is an exacting, tough thing.

But you have to understand that this is the physical manifestation of spiritual warfare.

It is spiritual warfare played out fully because of where the stakes were for them at the time.

Verse 6, here's where it gets interesting.

And behold, 1 of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren, a Midianitish woman in the side of Moses.

It seems that according to the SDA commentary, the Midianites and the Moabites were working together for the destruction of Israel.

And while the people are actually worshiping, look at this, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who are weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

So they were at the sanctuary, the people were weeping, the slaughter had begun, a plague had begun upon the people, and most of the people, even those who were in the wrong, some of them, are now at outside the tabernacle and they are pleading with God weeping and confessing their sins.

It was a judgment going on, like the investigative judgment.

But while this is going on, someone who was supposed to know better comes as they are weeping before the congregation with a woman.

Verse 7 says, And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through the man of Israel and a woman through her belly.

So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel, and those that died in the plague were 20 and 4000.

Phinehas takes the javelin, you can also translate a sword, whatever it is, it was very sharp, and while they are in the very act, the javelin is run through.

Now here's what's deep, so if you, that's why you're studying the Bible, you want to study all of it.

It is actually not, it is almost as if this is corrected in a sense when Jesus has to deal with the woman caught in the act of adultery.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees would have wanted to refer back to this story to say to Jesus, look she was caught in an adultery in the very act.

Moses and the law says she should be put to death.

Series

Eric Walsh Weekend

Demons of Dopamine: The Mind Overstimulated and Undernourished

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Morning Devotional

Radical Faith

38m

Morning Devotionals

1. The War for Your Mind

1h 5m

High Places in Heart Spaces

48m

ECYC 2012: Plenary Sessions

Messenger Without a Message

1h

Parenting ~ Heart to Heart

Counting the Cost

58m

Did You Know God Misses You?

41m

Bible Weekend

03 Would You Be Free?

49m

Mystery of God Finished

45m

Seminars

Christ in the Word and Prayer

53m

Evening Plenary

02 The Power of One

1h 7m

Identity Matters

53m

The Three Angels' Message for the Millennial Generation

2. Fear God and Give Glory

1h 23m

Sound Doctrine