Find out what role God’s law plays in the Great Controversy.

Hartland Fall Conference 2017: The Divine Right to Rule

<p>Find out what role God’s law plays in the Great Controversy.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hartland Institute of Health and Education

Charles Cleveland

The Law of God in the Great Controversy

It was a real blessing to hear those testimonies about going out and doing door-to-door work to hear from Sabrina and David and Samuel, each 1 having a unique experience.

God is such a specialist in doing something just individual for each of us.

We go out to bless someone and we get to be blessed.

I even enjoyed tonight's offering appeal and hearing about the boys' dormitory.

We can have more sympathy and empathy with you, and I'm sure God's going to lead in that area.

It's nice to share our needs with each other.

A couple of months ago, I had to go up, I had to go to district court.

When I got to the courthouse, it's been many years since I've been to 1, it looked like they were having a sale.

It really puzzled me how many people could be needing to go to court in 1 day.

They told us to get in line in a hallway, and when the courtroom would open, we'd need to be ready to go in.

So I got in line, and there was a girl in front of me, probably 25 or so.

Now some of you are wondering why I was in line.

Actually I was there to be a witness for an Adventist brother that I believed had been falsely accused, and he had talked to his lawyer about the idea of bringing some witnesses, a character witness.

I went to call his name Andrew, and 1 of the witnesses that was to come to join him, besides some friends and former customers, was an associate, he's this other, Andrew's a construction person, He'd gotten to know the leader of the Mennonite community in the area that I live in near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

And this man had also volunteered to come as a character witness.

In fact, there were 6 of us all together.

He needed a ride because he just didn't want to go 45 miles in a horse and buggy.

So I was asked if I'd pick him up and another person who had been a customer of my friend Andrew.

Well, at the last minute, the Mennonite man found a more convenient ride, and I ended up coming with a friend of Andrew, whose name I'm going to call Anthony.

When I picked up Anthony at those famous pickup places like Walmart parking lot in Dunlap, Tennessee, where I live, we had about 45 minutes of drive together to get to the courthouse.

And he turned to me very seriously and he said, would you mind telling me why you became a Seventh-day Adventist?

I like to share my story, especially in a situation like this.

And as I looked at him, I saw sincerity and he said so.

He said I'm I just want you to know I'm serious not just curious.

I've been looking for a Bible-based church for years and I'd really like to understand why you made that choice.

Well, we had a very nice time during that 45 minutes, and I shared with him, kind of bubbled over, I'm sure, why it was the Summit Day Adventist.

And By the time we got to Cookville and the courthouse, I was wondering to myself, how do I take this to the next level?

The judge took first the speeding tickets and the driver's license offenses.

He was firm, but I'd say he was fair in most cases.

He was very kind to some and very rough to others, but it's usually because they kind of deserved it.

Well, finally, the courtroom emptied, except for Andrew, our friend, and his accuser, and their lawyers, and the witnesses.

And The judge turned to the accuser's lawyer and asked them if they had witnesses, and they replied they had none.

He turned to my friend's lawyer, and he indicated that there were witnesses and he pointed to us now in the empty courtroom 123456 and the judge pulled down his glasses You can wait out in the hallway.

I'll call you if I need you." And he dismissed us.

The case was a little bit sensitive, And so I thought, okay, we'll see how it goes.

So the 6 of us went outside and in the hallway we were praying.

They weren't all Adventists, the friends of Andrew, but they were all praying people.

15 or 20 minutes later, Andrew walked out of the courtroom with his attorney, and he looked happy.

Sure enough, the court had ruled in his favor.

When the judge had asked for the accuser for witnesses, and they produced none except accusations, and my friend had all these witnesses and explained his side of the story, the judge decided clearly that he was being honest.

Well the trip home with Anthony was kind of rejoicing and talking about the case, first of all, and I kept looking for that opportunity.

Lord, he said he was really searching, how can I get back to that subject?

And I was just praying every mile of the way as we were talking.

He was a very successful businessman, and he's retired at 40 to enjoy life.

And he lives walking distance from the Dunlap Seventh-day Adventist Church where I am head elder.

So I thought, I really want to be able to carry this on to the next level.

And so as we were driving along and talking, finally I, you know, I suggested to him, why don't we get together and maybe I could answer more of your questions?

Once he had agreed, and we set a time a few days in advance from then, I began praying, Lord, where would you have me begin with him?

Typically, when I give a Bible study, We don't always start the same way.

It kind of depends on their interests too, but he hadn't suggested any specific area.

So I thought, he has a Roman Catholic background but not practicing for many years, and he seems so open.

I thought, I want to be sure that he really is, has confidence in the inspiration of the Bible.

And so I suggested to him, or no, I thought to myself about maybe starting with the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

But somehow I just wasn't at peace with that.

You know, you have a good idea sometimes, but God doesn't always say it's the right 1.

And my wife and I, Phoebe, we were out walking.

We have about a, on our road out in the country, is about a three-mile loop that we can walk.

We often get out early in the morning before breakfast.

And sometimes I bring an audio-verse sermon and enjoy listening to a topic.

And the speaker that day was speaking at GYC, a former GYC meeting, and he was emphasizing the importance of sharing a big picture with people in such a way that you can really get their attention and build on that.

And it reminded me of a preacher that I'd heard years ago when I first became an Adventist that used to preach a message he liked to call from Eden to Eden.

And I thought, you know, I'd like to try to do that.

Because it always is a blessing for me when I had heard him share that kind of a story.

So I began to look into that and study it and prepared to share that with him.

So when Anthony and I got together about a week later, I began with this story.

By the way, since then we've met 4 times, and our average Bible study is 2 and a half hours long.

So it's been a really thrilling experience.

Sabrina, where are you that you shared a few minutes ago?

You remember how you said it's really great to get those, I don't know how you said it, those hot Bible studies that when people are ready, it's a blessing.

The Law of God in the Great Controversy

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