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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Peter Chung

When the Door Stops Knocking

It's a privilege and honor to be here today.

For those that don't know me, my name is Peter Chung.

Currently, I'm an English ministry pastor at the Cerritos Korean Seventh Adventist Church.

Don't let the Korean intimidate you because we preach the 3 angels messages and every nation kindergarten people go there, amen?

And we're trying to establish an Advent Hope type congregation in the Los Angeles area and the Lord is blessing.

So whenever you're in the LA area, please come on by, get some good Korean food, amen?

And we have free potluck every Sabbath, but we declare and strive to preach the 3 angels' messages.

Also, I'm also a social studies teacher at St.

Gabriel, the Lord is doing great things at that school, but our Bible teacher has audio verse as his curriculum.

And so the students have to listen to audio verse.

And so they may be listening to me right now, so I better be careful.

There were 2 things that I said that I would never be in my life, a pastor and a teacher, and Lord works mysterious ways.

It's the first time as a guest speaker in more than a year, as a pastor, I'm more relegated to 1 location.

I'm also a part of an evangelistic organization called Revelation Hope Ministries.

My boss, Taj Paklib, will be speaking at the end of this month, or is it next month?

While I was riding on the 10, I was half asleep.

So I ask for prayer as we begin our message, our messages, when the knocking stops.

Our Father in God and heaven, Father, we thank you for another day of life, another day of breath.

Father, we thank you for the holiday of holidays, your Sabbath day, where we could enter into your rest and free from all labors.

And Father, in a special way, I need your Holy Spirit.

So in spite of myself, may I be a blessing, not a curse to your people.

And Father, may the word be preached, uplift Jesus and the cross and the plan of redemption and touch the minds and hearts of your people.

Father, there have been many times that the Holy Spirit visited this pulpit in a mighty way.

So Father, I ask for mercy in spite of myself that this message be a blessing.

Help me Lord lest I perish, this we pray in Jesus name, amen.

The title of my message is When the Knocking Stops.

I know someone very well that was part of a ministry among young people back in the early 2000s.

Now liking a girl within the ministry is very stressful.

He liked the girl in the ministry for 7 long years.

So he was trying to win the girl's heart for 7 long years.

So every year, it'd be, oh, I think this is the year that I win her over.

So he would do all these nice things for her, but to no avail.

So every year, year after year after year, he would try to win her over.

Unfortunately, it was not a Jacob and Rachel ending, nor a Korean drama ending.

The reason why he gave up was that her father would never approve of that young man.

And that she would never approve of him either.

There came a time, even though he loved her for so much, that he had to walk away.

Because Love is not 1 of force, but love is 1 of choice.

So there came a time where he had to walk away.

You know, Jesus had a similar situation in the Old Testament with the children of Israel.

Jesus desired to marry the children of Israel.

In fact, notice what the Bible says in Isaiah 54 verse 4.

The Bible says, for thy maker is thine what?

Husband, the Lord of hosts, in his name, and thy redeemer, the Holy 1 of Israel.

The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth.

When thou was refused, saith the Lord, for a small moment I have forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee." So God represents himself as a husband and the woman represents God's people.

And so God desired to marry the children of Israel.

And Jesus throughout the Old Testament attempted to win the heart of the Hebrew nation.

Notice what the Bible says in Nehemiah chapter 9.

The Bible says, Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testify against them by thy spirit in thy prophets.

Therefore givest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands nevertheless for thy great mercy's sake thou didst not early consume them nor forsake them for thou art a gracious and merciful God." Have you learned the history of the sacred history of the Exodus, how much God provided for the children of Israel.

God provided something better than seized candy.

God provided manna, and it's healthy too, amen?

It won't kill you like Krispy Kreme donuts.

God provided the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

God had to hear the constant nagging of the children of Israel and the constant complaining of the children of Israel, but yet God was gracious and merciful and sent prophets and servants to the people to appeal to them about the love that he had for them.

But there came a time when God had to walk away.

And notice Luke chapter 19 when Jesus himself beheld the city, the city of Jerusalem from a distance.

Luke chapter 19 verse 41, the Bible says, and when he was come near he beheld the city and what over it?

Wept over it, saying if thou hadest known even thou at least in this thy day the thing which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes.

For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee around, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground and the children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee 1 stone upon another, because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation.

He knew that the door would stop knocking.

He respected the choice of the children of Israel.

Israel made their final decision, and he had to walk away.

And sadly, through his prophetic eye, he saw AD 70 of the pagan Roman Empire surrounding Jerusalem, raiding the city, killing the people, where blood was knee deep in the streets of Jerusalem, and Jesus with a broken heart, with such bitter pain, had to walk away.

Even though if we make the wrong choice, God respects our choice.

In fact, notice what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 8, verse 6, of how God respects our choice.

1 Samuel 8, verse 6, the Bible says, but the thing displeased Samuel, here the people approached Samuel in the old sacred history, they sought a king, they want a political king.

When God established a prophet to lead them, When God was the king that was guiding Israel, they rather want a political king.

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When the Door Stops Knocking

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