GYC Southwest 2016: One Soul Audience

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GYC Southwest

Plenary

Anil Kanda

The Demoniac

If you have your Bibles, turn to Psalm 27.

When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.

Though an army may a camp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war may rise up against me, in this I will be confident.

1 thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in his temple, And in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion.

In the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me.

He shall set me high upon a rock and now my head shall be lifted above all my enemies around me.

Therefore I will offer the sacrifices of joy at his tabernacle.

I will sing, yes I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear O Lord when I cry unto thee with my voice.

When you said seek my face, My heart said to you, your face, Lord, I will seek.

O God of my salvation, when my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord shall take me up.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies.

Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me and breathe out violence.

I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Father in heaven, thank you for this beautiful opportunity to sit at your feet, to learn from you.

God, thank you that in your presence is fullness of joy.

And God, right now with all the things that may be on our mind, we ask for the present blessing.

God, we pray by the time we leave tonight that we're changed because we have encountered you.

I'm really blessed to be able to be here.

I know God is going to speak to us in so many ways.

The last time I was here was the year 2002, and this is when they actually had the very first GYC.

I never forgot, I was sitting in this room, and there was 1 thought that went through my mind through this entire conference that I was at, and this was it.

This is the most boring conference I have ever been to in my entire life.

But let me tell you something, the problem wasn't the conference, the problem was my own heart.

I decided with my friend we're going to go for a walk.

And we jumped over the fence and we went down this trail.

And something was really strange about the weather.

And so we continued to hike further and further into the hills.

And we probably hiked, I don't know, anywhere from 5 to 7 miles.

And we thought, wow, it's just wonderful being out here.

Then all of a sudden, the snow began to fall.

And we thought, wow, this is wonderful, snow in Southern California, you can't beat that.

And after about an hour just hanging out deep in the woods, We decided to make our way back when we realized the trail that we were trying that we originally came on was completely covered with snow.

Soon it began to snow so bad that you could not even see just even a few feet ahead of you.

You're thinking This is Southern California.

We got lost, and we didn't know what to do.

My friend was getting annoyed at me, and I was getting annoyed right back at him.

And finally, we just said, okay, let's just keep walking.

And we just had this faint idea of where the actual buildings were.

So we just kept walking, and we kept moving, and we just kept going.

And for just many minutes, we thought to ourselves, we're getting more and more lost out here in the woods.

But there was still a still small voice that was saying, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving.

And after about, I don't know, maybe an hour to 2 hours, We finally found some tracks and we were able to get our way back to Pine Springs Ranch This was my first and last experience here at this ranch You know, I'm excited about tonight's message I know God is gonna bless us in tremendous ways The theme of this weekend is called the 1 Soul Audience, and it's based upon this quotation found in Ellen White's writings.

It says this, The Lord desires that His word of grace shall be brought home to every what?

To a great degree, this must be accomplished by personal what?

His work was largely made up of personal what?

He had a faithful regard for the 1 soul audience.

Through that 1 soul the message was often extended to thousands.

There are multitudes who will never be reached by the gospel, Nanosis, unless it is carried to them.

And that's why we're here this weekend is sort of to be recalibrated, to be revived, and to head out and to preach the gospel.

Now, everybody, take your Bible, let's go to Revelation chapter 14.

This is like the Pledge of Allegiance for Seventh-day Adventists.

Revelation chapter 14, we are going to the 3 angels' messages found in Revelation 14, starting with verse 6.

Do you know Jesus gave the gospel commission as the very last sign right before he comes?

John does something very interesting to the same gospel commission The Bible says something remarkable in Revelation chapter 14 verse 6.

John actually adds to what Jesus had said regarding the gospel commission.

Revelation 14 verse 6, notice what the Bible says right here, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven.

Randy Skeete

A Personal God

Father in heaven, I bow in your presence, dear God, to thank you for this stupendous honor of speaking for you.

It is an honor that angels would love to exercise, But it is denied them and given to sinners such as I.

And so, Father, as I stand in the consciousness of that honor, I ask you first of all, dear God, cleanse me from sin.

Remove every spot, every stain, every defilement that I may stand in this pulpit, dear God, as an instrument that You can use.

I pray that your spirit will possess my mind and the self-same spirit will enlighten those who are listening to this message.

Please, dear God, because you love us and for the sake of Christ, Come very close.

Surround this place with angels that excel in strength, that we may worship in safety.

I pray, dear God, not only for us, but wherever your people are worshiping you now, bless them, Draw close to them, dear God, and somehow unite our hearts as 1.

Forth, if it pleases you, answer this prayer.

I'm reading from the King James Version of the Bible.

It's amazing how Adventists have lost the ability to find the books of the Bible because everything is on a phone or a screen or an iPad or tablet and so the need to use the mind to memorize the order of the books no longer exists.

Which of you can recite the books from Genesis to Revelation?

Come my handsome young brother who's not wearing a hat.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Daniel, Hosea, Joe, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Thessalonians, 2nd Thessalonians, 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1st Peter, 2nd Peter, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, Jude, and Revelation.

The Bible says, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said let there be light and there was light and God saw the light that it was good And God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.

And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Verse 6, and God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so.

And God called the firmament heaven and the evening and the morning were the second day.

And we can trace this formula all the way down.

The third day, let the earth bring forth grass, verse 11.

Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, verse 14.

Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, verse 20.

Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind.

But in verse 26, the Bible says, and God said, let us make man in our image.

There's something very personal about Genesis 126, let us, which is not what was explicitly stated on the other days of creation.

Something else that was not stated in the creation of light, the firmament, vegetation, sun, moon and stars, fish, birds or the land animals was the statement in our image.

Let us make man in our image after our likeness.

Now, if this is the case and God calls upon us to reason, we can reason back from humanity and make some safe conclusions about God.

I said that clumsily, let me say differently.

The sanctuary on earth was built based on what?

The heavenly pattern, the heavenly sanctuary.

As a result of that we can examine the earthly sanctuary and draw some reasonable conclusions about the heavenly sanctuary.

So we can assume that the heavenly sanctuary has the most holy place.

We can assume that the heavenly sanctuary has the original decalogue.

We can reason from the image to the original.

Now let's apply the same level of thinking or line of thinking to Genesis 1 26.

And God said let us make man in our image.

Now we can look at mankind and draw some conclusions about God.

They will not be perfect, They will not be exhaustive, but they will have some degree of reliability.

We're happy, we're sad, we're glad, we're afraid, we're anxious.

This personal side of a human being is part of the image of God.

Scott Ritsema

Virna Santos

Q&A Session

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us with the opportunity to come out here and to worship you, Lord.

We ask that you would fill this place with your Holy Spirit and that you would lead, guide, and direct this Q&A segment.

We thank you, we praise you, and we want to walk closer with you, is our desire.

Alright, what's the ideal of clothing in the church?

I guess they're, I'm not sure, you know, I'm trying, I'm reading the question, but I don't know what they were thinking when they were writing the question, so I need you to work with me.

What's the idea, what's the ideal clothing in the church?

The white robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

What is your take on music in the church, drums, etc.?

We want to know what what you're thinking about.

Just briefly, in Exodus 28 verse 2, when God gave Moses instructions to make clothes for Aaron, He said, "...and thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty." In other words, when we dress to come into the presence of God, our first concern should be, do I represent God?

We dress for beauty first, and quite often we forget glory.

And so, in dressing, the question has to be, am I representing God?

Did I dress with the consciousness of God's glory in mind?

First Corinthians 10.31, whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Also in Exodus 28, verse 5, you'll find that the colors of the high priest's garments were blue, purple, scarlet, gold, and linen.

That is the same color of the sanctuary itself, which means when you dress, you should look like the occasion for which you're dressing.

The dress of the colors of the high priest were blue, purple, scarlet, gold, and the material was linen.

So that he looked like the place where he was going.

We must look as if we're going to church.

Not as if we're going to a basketball game.

And if you don't know how to look when you're going to church, imagine how you look when you're going for a job interview.

Some, Some people when they go to job interviews should think about that 1 as well.

Does anybody else want to touch the clothing issue?

What is your take on music in the church as far as drums are concerned and etc.?

Maybe I'll just give a resource out there, because that's a really big question with a whole lot of analysis that can take place.

My good friend Christian Berdahl spends 12 hours in his Distraction Dilemma series.

So if you've not seen that, that would be a very good 101 on music, on sacred music, on what's happening in the secular music industry, which really isn't secular, it's spiritualist music industry, and how the musical styles of the world come into the church.

This is problematic because, well, for various reasons that take 12 hours for him to get into.

So I think I'll just leave it at that, and a non-answer answer, but will really give you a much greater and broader and deeper and more thorough understanding of the why, and that this is not some arbitrary thing that people came up with, but there's some very good reasons why we might question using worldly sounds in the church.

My observation is that we place too much emphasis on music.

I have found no 1 in the Bible who came to Christ because of music.

No 1 I have found yet was converted to Christ because of special music.

They were all brought to conversion by the Word.

Music has its place, don't misunderstand me, but sometimes we put too much stress on music and not enough on that which changes the life of a person, and that is the life-giving, life-changing Word of God.

Laughter Alright, now this question, Elder Skeet, This is for you.

And as you heard from the sermon today, he realizes that God made 1 woman for 1 man.

Why is it not good to live together before marriage?

There is a law of Bible study called the law of first mention, which simply means when studying any subject, begin where that subject is first introduced in the Bible, and that has to do with marriage.

Just look at the events surrounding the first marriage.

When God made Eve, Adam was not around, effectively.

Then he brought them together, married them, and then they lived together.

In Matthew 19, when the scribes and Pharisees came to Christ and said, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

Jesus says, have you not read that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

Christ took them back to the beginning the way it was.

And so it is contrary to God's arrangement for a man and a woman unmarried to live together.

When God said, let us make man in our image, the image was not just a character, the image also involved all the social structures of humanity.

The marriage relation is an expression of the image of God.

The subjection of children to their parents is an expression of the image of God.

The way male and female come together to get married is an expression of the image of God.

To Know Him

Holy Father in heaven, as I attempt to do a spiritual work, I ask you, dear God, to grant me the aid and the support of your spirit.

He is the spirit of truth, dear God, and that's what I want to speak.

Help me to do so with no interest in self-exaltation, but keep me mindful, dear God, of Isaiah 42, verse 8.

And so, Father, take every iota of glory, but give us every available blessing, I pray in Jesus name, amen.

In 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, the Bible says, moreover brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant.

In 1st Corinthians 12 verse 1, the Bible says, Now as concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant.

In 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13, but as concerning those that are asleep, I would not have you ignorant.

Paul repeatedly either condemns ignorance or promotes the pursuit of knowledge.

Knowing not that your bodies are the members of Christ.

Knowing not that you're the temple of the Holy Ghost.

He's always stressing the importance of knowing.

Now, our theme is the 1 soul audience and this morning, I spoke about a personal God.

And many of us made decisions to have that relationship with the personal God.

Having made that decision, what do I need to do to preserve that relationship?

You know, marriage counselors always tell couples, communicate, forgive each other, do this, do that, to preserve the relationship.

How does 1 preserve the relationship on a one-to-one basis with Jesus Christ?

In Jeremiah chapter 9, verse 23 and 24, the Bible says, Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might.

Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me.

Which means, that which is should be of highest value to us is a knowledge of God.

Not simply an intellectual agreement that God exists but a knowledge that is the foundation of a vital ongoing relationship with an intelligent personal being.

Let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth me that he knoweth me.

Without that knowledge, no 1 can have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am saying that the priority of a child of god is an ongoing pursuit of an ever deeper knowledge of Christ.

In John 17 verse 3, Jesus in praying to the father, he said, this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

In Philippians chapter 3, from verse 7, Paul says, but what things were gained to me?

Yeah, doubtless, I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.

Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness in the law, blameless.

Now these things meant the whole world to any self-respecting Jewish man.

Circumcised the Eif there like Jesus was.

Of the stock of Israel, God's chosen people.

Of the tribe of Benjamin, that was the tribe that went ahead whenever Israel fought.

Many Hebrews could no longer speak Hebrew.

Paul is saying, I am a Hebrew not just by ethnic origin, I can speak the language.

Most of them spoke Greek and something else.

As touching the law, a Pharisee, known for the meticulousness with which they kept the law of God, not impressive to God, but impressive to man.

As touching the righteousness in the law, blameless and Paul looks at this scintillating resume of spiritual achievement in the eyes of man and he says what things were gained to me those I counted loss for Christ yeah doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my lord for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them but done that I may know him.

My brothers and sisters, what is it that keeps you from knowing Christ?

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The Demoniac

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