Michigan Camp Meeting 2018: As a Witness, Matthew 24:14

<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>

Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Children's Ministries

Tami Milligan

Come Explore Ways to Make Salvation Real to Children

No One Else Will Do It

Father in heaven, I just thank you so much for the privilege of being here at Camp Meeting this year.

It's so wonderful, Lord, to catch up with our friends, to see each other again, to enjoy the weather and hopefully stay dry, especially for those who are tenting.

It's because we want to meet up with you.

We want to see your face in a deeper and your character in a more profound way.

We want to be within the reach of a very special blessing that you promise at the Tent of Tabernacles, at the meeting where you've instructed us to gather every year to praise you, to bring you gifts and offerings, and then you promise to meet here with us.

And so I thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit.

And now as we take a few moments to consider the topic of surrender, I know Lord that unless you are here by the power of your Holy Spirit, nothing will really be gained.

But we know you are here because you promised.

And so we invite you in a powerful way that each and every heart and every ear that hears this message will hear what the Holy Spirit expressly speaks to them personally, not necessarily the words that I'm speaking.

So now, Father, I pray that you would make me a nail upon the wall fastened securely in its place.

And then from this thing so common and so small, hang a bright picture of your beautiful face, we pray.

When you think about the word surrender, do you have a picture that comes to your mind?

Or maybe an event in your own personal life where you surrendered?

Do you remember the first time you surrendered your heart to Jesus?

Have you ever surrendered your heart to Jesus?

And what did that look like to surrender your heart to Jesus?

I mean, that's probably something some of us have heard a lot, right?

So I'm curious, how did you first surrender?

Were you in the intimate space of your own room or your own place, where you just drop to your knees and surrender.

I think about my husband's experience, how that he always knew he was going to hell.

There was never a question in his mind growing up.

And he stayed as far away from church as he could get.

And he and his buddies used to joke about how that when they went to hell, how many parties they would have.

And how that they would just be a place where they would just all be together and still be having some fun somehow.

And then he recalls how that he was always homecoming king of his football team and captain of his basketball team.

And he was always all that and a bag of chips in his hometown.

In fact, to this day, when he goes back to his hometown, they're like, Patrick's in town.

And he dated this girl that was the homecoming queen, and they were together for like 4 years, and everybody just knew they would get married.

And during that time he was not faithful to her, but that was different.

1 day she was unfaithful to him and it broke his heart.

And he realized at the young and tender age of 20 that he would probably not make a very good husband and As he looked around He thought to himself that probably he would divorce at some point because that's what his parents did and that's what a lot of people did.

And as he looked around at his world, it became very dismal.

And he says in his own words that he was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

And 1 night, he was on his way home from work, and as he was going through his rock and roll stations, he paused at a hellfire and brimstone preacher.

And he doesn't recall that the preacher was talking about going to hell, but he was a fiery speaker.

And he went home and he started his bath.

And he turned off the water and he sank to his knees and he said a prayer like this, Dear God, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Please forgive me of my sins and make me a new man.

He'd never prayed before in his life never been taught to pray but he said it's interesting how in the soul of every human being is the ability to pray and He crawled into bed that night and when he woke up in the morning He was changed He was so excited He woke up and he thought something is new God accepted me and came into my heart.

And he went to work and he shared with everyone that he got saved last night.

And everyone said, did you go to a revival?

And he got off work early, and he went down to the Bible bookstore, and he bought a cross.

Because as he knew somewhere in the Bible it says, take up your cross and follow me.

And he bought a Bible and he only knew 1 scripture in the Bible and that was Jesus wept.

His grandma made him memorize that when he was a kid.

Because it was the shortest verse in the Bible.

And so he had a conversion, a time in his life where he surrendered his life.

And then my great-grandparents used to go listen to James and Ellen.

And so I'm a fifth generation Seventh-day Adventist on my side of the family.

And then I met this guy and married him, and he's so excited about this truth, and how beautiful this truth is, and how awesome all these truths are, and that you don't have to believe that when you die you go somewhere, you're, you know, somewhere hovering around, and that God does not burn people throughout all eternity.

And he just thinks these truths are amazing, and I married him, and I thought, wow, he's really excited.

So for me, surrender has been very different.

I don't have a time in my life where I remember.

The earliest memory that I have is probably around 3 or 4 years old, walking with my mom down the sidewalk and seeing a little yellow dandelion.

I didn't know, I mean my mother tells me now that's what that yellow flower was.

Bending over with my bottom in the air, you know how little kids bend over, looking at that flower and saying, pretty, such a pretty flower, mama, wanting to pick it for her, and having her bend down by me and look me in the face and say, Sissy, Jesus knew you were going to walk this way today, and he grew that flower just for you.

So from the time I was a very little girl, I knew Jesus adored me.

I wasn't sure if he adored you, but I knew he adored me.

And you know, that is a precious thing that parents can instill in their children, that Jesus adores them.

I'm learning anew every day that Jesus still adores me.

And I'm learning to believe it not because of what I see in my life that has ever been deserving.

Choosing to ignore Satan's hissing in my ear that I'm not deserving, that's the truth.

But choosing to believe the Word of God that says that I am bought with a price, that Jesus is thinking of me before I wake up in the morning, and out of all those sperm, He chose me.

And I'm a nurse, so I get to say those things.

But truly, God chose us, He ordained us, He anointed us.

That's the other thing I learned this morning in my devotions.

Every day as we choose Christ and ask for the Holy Spirit to come in, we are anointed.

We need to walk with our heads up because we are anointed by the God of the universe to be little vessels just shining His love through that new anointing of the Holy Spirit every day.

And that's why Paul said he died daily, because Every day you get to make a choice.

And every day God is the same gentleman who does exactly what you wish him to do.

Back to Menu

Series

Children's Ministries

Come Explore Ways to Make Salvation Real to Children

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Encounters With Jesus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler

42m

Running

42m

Seminars

Christ in the Word and Prayer

53m

Drowning In the Will of the Almighty

34m

Families

The One Thing

1h 9m

By the Grace of God I Will

39m

Howling

45m

Beat Diabetes, Prediabetes, & Overweight

Beat Diabetes, Prediabetes, & Overweight - Part 5

1h 16m

7 Attacks Against the Truth

1h 21m

Tablets of Our Hearts

51m

The Cross and the Sanctuary

The Cross and The Sanctuary- Part 1

34m

A God Worth Knowing

03 The Faith of Jesus

1h 1m

Sound Doctrine