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NEC Youth

Kameron DeVasher

1. Die

I believe the Lord truly has a message for us this morning, and I'm happy to be with you.

Excited, as was mentioned, first time, at least for me and my mother, especially over the Atlantic Ocean into the great UK.

I appreciate the hospitality, and I was so excited that not only was I going to a distant far land, but they already spoke English.

And then I started to eavesdrop on the dialogue and conversation, and I realized we still might need a translator.

So if you understand me, praise the Lord.

If you do not, pray to the Lord, and perhaps we'll have an Acts 2 experience this morning indeed.

But I'm so happy that the sentiment of amen is universal.

And today I hope that we will have an opportunity to see from the Lord's Word, something that will give us pause, something that will stir our soul, and something that will make us say, Amen for His greatness.

And of course, I bring greetings from the rest of the world field, from the churches in Muskegon and Fremont, Michigan, and the cold USA, over here to sunny, warm England.

But isn't it exciting to be part of God's worldwide end time movement?

And as we look at the world around us, it is no joke at all that Jesus is coming soon.

He wants to have a people ready for that coming who prepare other people for that coming.

This morning's message will be more philosophical and laying a theological framework, an idea planted in the mind that this afternoon and evening we will develop into practical application.

This morning we're gonna be laying a foundation of thought from God's word.

Hopefully it will be clear, but more importantly it will be convicting and through the power of the Holy Spirit perhaps even converting to those who need that grace in their life.

So as we begin any study of the word of God, we need to of course begin with a word of prayer.

To Heavenly Father, Lord again on this Sabbath day, we pause just for a moment to thank you and to ask a special request at this time.

Lord, let us treat these moments carefully.

Lord, as we open your word, we ask that the same Holy Spirit who inspired its writing will now inspire our understanding.

And through your power alone, Lord, write the application on our hearts.

Not only teach us, Lord, but we ask you to change us into the very image of Jesus, for we pray it in Jesus' name, amen.

The premise I would like to develop this morning is very simple, in that it is that Sin is at its most foundation, it is brass tacks, you strip it to its most elemental form, sin is selfishness.

Now as an assembly of good, Bible-believing, Seventh-day Adventist Christians, which, by the way, is there any other type of Seventh-day Adventist Christian?

If there is, they need to be converted, because we all need to be Bible-believing Seventh-day Adventist Christians.

That's a whole other topic for another time, but as Bible-believing Seventh-Davenist Christians, when you hear the phrase, sin is, I know you automatically go to 1 John chapter 3 and verse 4 in your mind, and you finish the sentence, sin is the transgression of the law.

Which sin is the transgression of the law, so how can I stand here and say that sin is selfishness when we already have a biblical definition of sin that says sin is the transgression of the law?

What would help us to understand the law that sin transgresses?

You know where it is in Exodus chapter 20, but you probably have it hidden in your heart, I would assume, I would hope.

But in Exodus chapter 20, the law of God is articulated by the mouth of the Lord himself, and in the first table of the law, the first 4 commandments, they reveal man's duty, your duty to your God.

Have no other gods before me, says the Lord.

You are to make no graven images, no idols, no idolatry.

You remember to keep the Sabbath holy, man's duty to God.

The second table of law continues about man's duty to others, my duty to you, your duty to me.

We're to not kill, not commit adultery, not steal, not be dishonest, not envy, covet.

My role is to, I have a duty to the Lord and I have a duty to my fellow man, to give to the Lord what is His and to respect the things of others, their marriage, their life, their things.

Matthew chapter 22, Jesus was tested upon his understanding of the nature of the law and its foundation principles, the premises upon which it was established.

Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, Jesus was tested on this point.

And in fact, we'll start with verse 34 to give it a little broader context.

Scripture says, But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

Now if you expand this chapter, and I would urge you to do that, anytime you see Scripture, go back and reread it and get the broader context to check the preacher to make sure he's correct, but also to edify yourself to see what's really being said.

But here, the Pharisees and Sadducees had this dispute and Jesus just repeatedly takes 1 down and breaks down their argument and silences them and the next 1 rises up.

And at some point you would assume that they would learn, but no, no.

And here, again verse 34, but when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

Then 1 of them, a law, you're asking him a question, testing him and saying, teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?

And Jesus said to them, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

In verse 40, on these 2 commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Notice that Christ didn't articulate each practical application, but he expanded out to their broader principles.

He says it's a duty to God, and you have a duty to man.

And if you notice here, in God's law, There is no third table of the law.

There is no 11th commandment that says, to thine own self be true.

You caring for you is nowhere in God's law.

You caring for the Lord, you caring for others is the entirety of the law.

These are the 2 tables, there's not a third table.

There is no thou shalt take care of thyself.

God's law is built on others, not on self.

God's government operates not just primarily, but exclusively on a platform of selflessness.

His law, in turn, step by step, point by point, merely articulates practical application of that principle of selflessness.

You know, when I was younger, I used to be, I'd wrestle with certain theological ideas, and I didn't realize I was wrestling with theological ideas at the point.

I only had language to put with it, but I was troubled with, what did Satan actually do wrong in heaven?

And I would hear things like, well, he questioned God.

You get cast out of heaven, which tells me I'm already in trouble, because here I am doing the same.

Today we're gonna take a look at the great controversy and see what was going on in the heart and mind of Satan and how that applies to us today.

Go back to Revelation chapter 12 in the back of your scriptures there.

In the far right of your Bibles, Revelation chapter 12, probably familiar to all of you, but let's review it anyway.

Revelation chapter 12, starting with verse 7.

Scripture reads that, and war broke out in heaven.

Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.

Verse 8, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

So the great dragon was cast out, and just in case we were unclear as to the identity of the symbolic language, it says, who's called that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world.

He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Now when you picture war in heaven, I don't know exactly what that looks like, but I know that our modern idea of war is still evolving even now, but it involves violence, it involves bloodshed, it involves guns and grenades, and even now, like smart bombs and drones and targeted killing, and is this what was going on in heaven?

Were there angelic bodies strewn across the ground?

Were there bomb shelters in the courtroom?

Interesting that the Greek word for war there is not a violent war, but the word is polemos, P-O-L-E-M-O-S, polemos, which is where we get our more modern English word, polemic.

And a polemic, a dictionary definition, is a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.

The war that broke out in heaven was a war of words, a war of ideas, a war of concepts.

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