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Post Falls SDA Church

Willard Santee

Give God Glory

It's hard to imagine that it was almost 40 years ago this year that I graduated from Walla Walla with a friend of mine by the name of Lyle Albrecht.

I mentioned his name because we'll be talking about him in just a few moments.

But the years have come and the years have gone, and Jesus has still not come.

Today we want to talk about giving Him glory, even though there are moments in your life and mine when we have deep sorrow.

Sorrow that sometimes cannot be expressed and yet the heart understands.

Today as we Take a look at 2 points, 2 parts, if you please, of our message.

We want to take a look at the past, some history, my history.

And also we want to take a look at the future, Your future.

What does God have in store for this incredible, worldwide, denominated people?

Father, right now, I invite Your Spirit to come into our hearts, open our minds, and touch our lives.

May we sense Your divine presence here today.

And Father, I pray that when we're through with this message today that our hearts like men of old might burn within us with gratitude and with a holy joy knowing in whom we believe.

The first part of our presentation this morning is going to deal with what we are dealing with right now in our lesson quarterly as a worldwide people.

Right now we are talking about the great gift of prophecy.

And of all the people in the world we as Seventh-day Adventists should probably be more excited than any other religious organization because God has given to this people A special messenger through whom He has spoken.

In fact, I'd like to suggest that the nuggets we're going to talk about today are little gems of truth that when we look at them in light of God's Word, it magnifies the Word of God and lets us bring glory to God.

As a Seventh-day Adventist boy growing up in our denomination, I heard a lot about sin.

I heard a lot about what was wrong and what we shouldn't do.

I had an opportunity over the years to take a look at some of the writings that had been given to us as a people And I discovered that the word evil had been written by Ellen White some 12, 000 times.

The word sin was recorded over 16, 000 times.

And by the time I had become a teenager, I think I had heard most of those evil, sinful negatives.

And somehow, Not only in my generation, but perhaps even in this generation, there are those individuals today that are concerned, should we continue to even keep those books on our shelves in light of all of the sin, sin, sin, sin and evil, evil.

When you begin to see those things and hear those things, and that's all you focus on, beloved, eventually it becomes depressing.

And there isn't a whole lot to give glory to God about.

It wasn't long ago, however, that I discovered something else.

It came clear to me, beloved, that Satan has destroyed our passion, our love, our respect, our joy for what God has given to this people.

What I discovered also in my study is that there was something that was missing And that was Jesus Christ.

As I looked at the spirit of prophecy again, anew, afresh if you please, not all that Long ago in my life, I discovered that Sister White, in spite of all of the negatives, in spite of all the sin statements, are you aware that she speaks of Jesus Christ over 57, 000 times throughout her writings.

That's over 3 times as often she speaks of the solution as to our pollution.

Jesus is the center, beloved, on whom our hopes rest.

She understood that, but we haven't understood that.

I've counseled both of my churches where I pastor to avoid reading the compilations, at least for a time, because when we take things out of their original context and start listing them 1 after the other.

And before long, we become depressed so much so we say, I can't read that anymore.

Beloved, I think Satan has done a number on us.

Unwittingly, I'm not suggesting that anyone had a bad plan when they made the compilations, but beloved, Diet and Foods is a compilation.

And we were counseled that everything she wrote should be taken into account in 3 ways.

Under what circumstances was it written and when was it written.

And you don't get that benefit when you read the compilations.

You just read 123456 things I'm out of harmony with.

And you don't often find Jesus as the solution to the problem.

For we were warned years ago in Selected Messages, Book 1, page 48, that the very last deception, what did I say?

The last deception for Seventh-day Adventists would be undermining the spirit of prophecy, making it of none effect.

For Satan knows that that way he can come in and take charge and take control because we've lost our footings, if you please.

We've lost those nuggets of truth that reveal the Word of God and magnify God and give Him glory.

Let's go back and take a look at some ancient history this morning.

There were over a thousand people gathered in this large auditorium to listen to a young man preach on heaven.

What the ladies were singing about this morning.

Climbing up that mountain on the other side when we can be on the other side and Satan isn't there.

And here this particular evening as the Sun was setting it was a hot bustery summer day and this young man 39 years of age was proclaiming a message of heaven.

I understand there were some 1, 300 people standing room only in the auditorium.

There was an individual seated up in the balcony with a little notepad in his hand and a pencil ready to write.

And he was critiquing a man by the name of D.M.

After the meeting was over, tears were flowing and people's hearts were deeply moved and touched.

The sense, the presence of God had been there and DM Kenwright had a hard time even making it out of the auditorium because people wanted to press next to him, they wanted to talk to him, they wanted to praise him.

And he made his way out into a little park not far from the tabernacle and there he sat on a little park bench and D.W.

Revis came and sat next to him and said, D.M.

That was an incredible presentation tonight.

I wrote nothing down because I was so enraptured as God moved upon you." And then D.M.

Canright made this observation, If it were not for this Advent message, I could be a great man.

To which I understand Elder Revis replied, DM, It's the message that has made you a great preacher.

He became our number 1 first major critic of our theology about the second coming of Jesus Christ, about the heavenly sanctuary, about Ellen White being a messenger of God, about the seventh day being the Sabbath.

He challenged almost everything until in 1887 he finally made a break with the Adventist Church and 2 years later he had published a book entitled Seventh Day Adventism Renounced.

413 pages worth, 14 different printings if I'm not mistaken of that book.

It's circulated not only throughout America, but also in many parts of the world.

Most every Baptist in the world, at least our part of the world in North America, has a copy of that if they're a pastor for sure.

Because that book tells the Christian world that basically Seventh-day Adventists are cultic, that they have a false prophet, And on and on the book goes.

Interestingly enough, Sister White wrote to Elder Canright before he joined with the Baptist faith.

And She says to him, and I'm quoting, you have wanted to be too much and make a show and noise in the world and as the result, your son will surely set in obscurity.

In fact, she went on to say that the very atmosphere surrounding a man who dares to make such statements that you have made is a poisonous miasma.

Do not take another step in the darkness.

You must make God first and last and best in every plan and work and thought.

Jesus was where she was bringing Him back to.

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Give God Glory

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