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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

David Machado

A Heavier Cross

Father, I believe very soon preaching is going to be very difficult, especially messages like these.

And unfortunately, Father, in our church it's becoming unpopular.

I pray from my heart that you may speak, that you may revive us, Father, to stand up for the cross.

As I'm rereading the great controversy scene with all the reformers that have gone through, Father, I pray that you may give us that same boldness that will be willing to face death itself for you Lord.

I pray for my heart that you may speak right now in Jesus's name, amen.

All right the sermon title is a heavier cross.

I would like to start off with the story.

I'm 1 of the leaders here in the Southeastern California Conference that helps run the programs.

I don't know if you've heard any of those stories, but I renamed that state Barkansaw because there's so many dogs, and I met so many of them, almost got bit by a lot of them.

Well anyways, as I was working with Washington Hills down there, we do a lot of blitzes and we go different places all around the East Coast and I found myself in Chicago.

Do you think it's an easy place to spread the word?

And it was almost as difficult as canvassing Compton in Los Angeles.

Back then we had books like The Desire of Ages, we still have it, but we had Desire of Ages with the face of Jesus.

So as I was going through East LA, that was the book that I was just waving to people so making sure I wouldn't get shot or anything like that.

But here we were in Chicago and there was this guy by the, I'm just going to make up his name just in case so nobody can know, let's say his name is Jeff, and Jeff was canvassing with me.

He was actually from Chicago, so he was very thrilled to be able to canvass his home state and his home city.

And he was just an enthusiastic kind of a person, and he was fearless.

He would go to any door, canvas, any person, didn't matter.

And I had a wonderful time with him about 3 weeks in Chicago.

Soon after that though, I got 1 of the saddest text messages I've ever received in my life.

And it basically indicated that he had fallen away from grace he said that I have fallen away from God and there's no way that God can forgive me there is no way that I've had so much light I've known God all my life I've been serving God in the canvassing work for a while and there's no way that God can forgive me.

And I tell you, back then we didn't have those smart phones that you could just text and you could basically do a paragraph in like a minute or 10 seconds or whatever it takes now.

It took me literally like an hour just to do a paragraph.

Anyways, I sent him all these texts, I sent him all these things, and the brother never responded.

I remember for days on out, for the whole year, every single day, I would pray for him and pray for him that he would see the beauty of the cross again.

I'll get back to Jeff a little bit later.

When you're there to me, hear a hearty, happy, awake, amen.

People say amen and they don't even have the Bible open.

But I'm looking around, hopefully seeing all you guys with Bibles.

If you don't, there's a faithful Adventist right next to you that could share with you.

Okay, Mark chapter 8, we're looking at verse 34.

The Bible says in Mark the 8th chapter, we're looking at verse 34, the following.

He said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever shall save his life will lose it.

But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

This is a very solemn, power-packed verses.

Jesus in essence is saying, the way to heaven is not easy.

You have to deny yourself, pick up the cross, and follow me and as you do it do not be ashamed of how you look.

Do not be ashamed of how the cross transforms you and how you look different from any other person.

If you are ashamed of me and my words, when I come in the clouds of glory, I am going to be ashamed of you.

There's this quotation that I began to memorize yesterday.

I haven't completely memorized it, so I'll give it to you.

It's from Testimonies to the Church, Volume 5, page 466.

Die, but a far more solemn thing to live.

Every thought and word and deed of our lives will meet us again.

What we make of ourselves in probationary time, that must we remain to all eternity.

Death brings desolation to the body, but makes no change in the character.

The coming of Christ does not change our characters, it only fixes them forever beyond all change.

In essence, looking at your life, every word, every deed, every thought is going to come back to you.

And if I haven't confessed my wrong acts, if I haven't been living a serious life for Jesus, not going to make it.

Now, the sermon title is a heavier cross.

All right, the train is the only thing I hear.

And I know with a group this size, it kind of sounds kind of like, I can't really understand what you're saying, but let's try it.

Ah, voluntarily bearing the burden for Jesus.

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A Heavier Cross

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