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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Keala Thompson

There Can Only Be One!

It's good to see you here this afternoon as we get into the Word of God.

And I'm sure you have your Bibles here with you as we study together.

This afternoon we're going to go in a different direction, a series that I'm currently doing entitled The Mystery of Babylon Revealed.

And The first sermon I'm presenting is entitled, There Can Only Be 1.

I invite you to turn with me to opening text, Matthew chapter 20, in your Bible, so Matthew chapter 20, verse 25.

If you're not, they're handing them out at the door because we're gonna refer to this as a lot of history and going back to the Reformation and so forth.

So Revelation chapter, I mean Matthew chapter 20, verse 25.

In fact, we're gonna start off with reading a quote here.

And Wiley has the history of the Reformation describing the definition of Protestantism.

Now the protest was against 2 different things.

It says, this protest opposes 2 abuses of man in matters of faith.

The first is the intrusion of the civil magistrate or the civil government.

And the second, the arbitrary authority of the church.

Instead of these abuses, Protestantism sets the power of conscience above the magistrate and the authority of the Word of God above the visible church.

In other words, the 2 abuses of the papacy in the Dark Ages that was protested against from Protestantism is this, the abuse of the government and abuse of the church.

Now, every denomination is quick to preach and to point out the abuse of the civil government, right?

But when it comes to the abuse of the authority of the abuse of the church, all denominations are quiet on this subject.

And the reason why denomination of Nassau is because each and every church is ready and willing to exercise and enjoy that very abuse.

Throughout all of history, you're gonna be seeing this, and we're gonna look a little bit at this from the Word of God and throughout history.

You see, every new Protestant church that began through the Dark Ages, they broke off from the Mother Church because they themselves felt they're oppressed by the Mother Church and the freedom of conscience, they did not have the freedom of conscience that they knew God had given them, that God had given them right.

But every single church that broke off from the mother church to get away from that abuse developed the same attributes as their mother.

Because how we see, I'm talking in Seventh-day Adventist here, how we see God's church treat God's people will affect our picture of who we see God to be.

If we see a church authority abusing the authority, I mean how many of you ever been, don't raise your hand, but think about, how many have you ever heard by authority within a church, a leader in a church, or an elder, or a pastor, or any type of leader within a church, have been heard, or know of someone who's been heard by someone in the church?

But because that is true, our picture, many people say I don't want to go to that church because my picture of God has been altered by what they have done.

So our movement as a church began because we were to continue and finish the reformation that began in the dark ages and get away from the 2 abuses.

Not only that we preach, yes we preach, the National Sunday Law and what's gonna happen to the United States of America, but to get away from the abuse and the authority, abuse of power that even happens within the churches of today.

So as we study the authority of the church from the Word of God, may the Holy Spirit help us to see our great need as a church.

Father we humbly ask for your Holy Spirit that you may help us to see what you want us to see this afternoon.

And may Jesus be lifted up and glorified.

How did Jesus say the world was to run their businesses and government?

Notice the Bible says in 25, it says, but Jesus called them unto him and said, you know that the princes, now princes is referring to the leaders of the world the leaders of the Gentiles Gentiles represent those in The world the leaders of the world they exercise dominion over them So according to the world the way they run their businesses the way they run the government's is that they exercise their dominion over them and they that are great, those who are in leadership positions, they exercise authority over, upon them.

Now the definition of authority is the right to command and enforce obedience because of one's office, station, or relation.

In other words, they can enforce obedience because of their position.

But notice what Jesus says in the next verse.

I'm going to read again, verse 25, and then I'm going to read 26.

But Jesus called them unto him and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercised dominion over them, and they that are great exercised authority upon them.

But, verse 26, but it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your, what is that word?

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your what?

In other words, God's, the only position of God's church, the only position of God's people within the church is the position of a servant this morning, beloved.

Not to usurp and exercise the power and authority over 1 person's conscience and their mind.

That was a primary principle of the great reformation.

In other words, Jesus forbids all Christians the right to command and enforce obedience upon any other person.

And you see below, the papacy is the ultimate creation of 1 person controlling the mind of another person.

In the last days, there's gonna be a point where they're gonna be causing, they're gonna be forcing, controlling, the whole point in government, the 2 governments of God.

The governments up there is the government of God and the government of Satan.

And Satan's government is based upon force.

And there's a spirit prophecy quote talks about there are 3 things we need to learn.

I'm referring to the righteousness by faith message of 1888.

She says we need to understand God's character, his government, and his purposes.

And I realized, I came to this realization that when I was doing evangelism within our churches, and God blessed the churches, and people came in, and great revivals would happen, And we do a lot of week of prayers and great revivals, but every single time that we reach that spiritual high, it always comes down.

And then we have to go to our next spiritual fix to go to another high.

And I came to the conclusion that as I studied back what was the righteousness by faith message and I studied the spirit of prophecy and the word of God and then what the pioneers were saying, I realized that the message was threefold and it was focused also upon the church structure and the church organization.

For the structure and organization can either let, allow the Holy Spirit to come in, or it can hinder the Holy Spirit upon God's people.

And if we're just going through a cycle of going to a spiritual fix to The next 1, we're just spinning our wheels.

And so as a minister, I realized that the way the church is, and it doesn't matter whether you're preaching present truth or you're doing a great evangelistic work, it still comes down to the point, is the structure and environment that is conducive to spiritual growth, that people will grow spiritually, and man will not get in the way of hindering and stopping the Holy Ghost, beloved, amen?

So God wants his people to be an environment that people will grow spiritually, Amen?

I know, raise your hand, but has anyone ever gotten in the way of hindering your spiritual growth maybe?

Some decision made on a church board or elders decision or other people around you who have control or even your parents or your friends.

There's a question I like to ask ourselves as we go through our study here.

Turning me to Matthew 23, a few chapters later, Matthew chapter 23, verse 8 to 12.

Now what did Jesus say concerning his church and his leadership?

But be not called rabbi for, how many does the Bible say?

In other words, there can only be 1 master and his name is Jesus Christ here this afternoon, amen?

And what does the Bible say about us the Bible says and all of you are what what's the Bible say brethren brothers and sisters in other words all of us are equal in the eyes of God amen We're all on the same level and that's what the Bible is saying here.

Now turning me to Proverbs chapter 30, Proverbs chapter 30 verse 21.

Going on this subject, what is the first thing in which the earth is disquieted with and which it cannot bear?

What is it the earth cannot handle, it cannot take to see done?

The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 30, verse 21 and 22.

The Bible says, for 3 things, the earth is disquieted, it cannot bear.

There Can Only Be One!

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