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Pico Rivera SDA Church

Peter Chung

What Makes America Great

Holy Father, our Father God in heaven, Father we thank you for the trials And we thank you for the triumphs because it is your glory that we get victory.

And so Father today, I'm a man of dust and flesh.

So Father, in spite of myself, I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit.

May I be a blessing, not a curse to your people.

And so Father, this is a sensitive topic.

And so Father, give me wisdom up on high to use your words and not my words, that your people will be blessed by the preaching of the word.

On April 29, 2019, the President of the United States asked the Department of Homeland Security to develop proposals requiring those that are seeking asylum to pay a processing fee for their applications and to severely limit their access to work permits.

Now what's interesting is that Asylum is a legal status granted to refugees.

Most likely refugees do not have money to pay for these processing fees.

Now a refugee is a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

This is from the Department of Homeland Security.

And this issue of asylum and immigration has gripped our nation in a profound way.

This topic is a very sensitive topic of mine because my parents were once refugees.

When the Korean War broke out 69 years ago, my father's family was displaced from their homes, escaping from the communists, for the communists were there to murder all the Christians that they could come across.

And so we praise God for the United States allowing opportunities for those in different countries that are oppressed to come here for a new opportunity.

But what's sad is regardless of the political divide, some of the sentiments within Seventh Day Adventists as I scour social media.

And it's sad that partisan politics, either from the left or the right, have penetrated even our church.

And so in our afternoon study, if you want to remain, we'll be dealing with how some of the avenues should react to partisan politics as we approach an election.

Now it's very interesting that asylum is given to those that are escaping persecution.

In fact, there was a group that was unable and unwilling to return because of persecution.

Notice what the Bible says in Revelation chapter 12 verse 13 and 14.

Revelation chapter 12 verse 13 and 14 shows us a prophetic situation where there were a group of refugees that were seeking asylum for a prophetic event that happened, a persecution.

The Bible says this, and when the dragon saw that he was cast onto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man-child, and to the woman were given 2 wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time from the face of the serpent." And so we see here that a woman is being persecuted by the serpent and she is in the wilderness for a time and times and half a time.

Now We know the woman represents the church in Bible prophecy.

In fact, it gets more specific in the Bible.

In Revelation chapter 12, verse 14, we identify that the woman is in the wilderness for a time, times, and half a time.

And us students of Bible prophecy, we know that this is 1, 260 years from 538 to 1798 of papal supremacy where church and state, where government and politics merged and that led to persecution and intolerance.

And we see here that the woman was nourished for times, times, and half a time.

Now in Daniel chapter 7 verse 25 the Bible says this, And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and to think to change times and laws, and they shall be given to his hand, until what time, times, and dividing a time." Notice, same time period, time, times, and half a time, time, times, and dividing a time.

Here it says the woman, here it says the saints of the Most High.

So we could conclude that this woman or the saints of the Most High, represents the church.

So The church is being persecuted and is in the wilderness for 1, 260 years.

Now, when you look at the Bible, and you look at sacred history, wilderness represents 1 of great trial.

The children of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years.

Look at Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days.

So wilderness represents trial and temptation and so the woman was in trial and temptation for 1260 years or the church was in trial or temptation for 1, 260 years.

And so, God's church was being persecuted.

Now, what was the method of the church being persecuted?

Because there was a method of this persecution.

Notice what the Bible says in Revelation 12 15.

The Bible says this, and the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

So the persecution of the serpent or the dragon was water as a flood.

Now this water as a flood represents something very significant.

Notice what the Bible says in Revelation 17, 15.

The Bible says this, The water which thou sawest, where the horse in it are, peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

The sorrow of death compels me and the floods of ungodly men.

So ungodly men of people's multitude and tongues sought to destroy God's church by the method of persecution from the dragon.

So the serpent attempted to destroy God's people with water.

Water represents people from many nations.

Now, 1 of the most diverse continents on earth is Europe.

Now, in the United States and North America, we have very few language diversity.

We have English, and we have Spanish, and we have Portuguese in Brazil.

But in Europe, you had different nations, many nations.

And you had different tongues and different peoples.

In fact, the languages of Europe include German, Italian, English, French, Russian, Romanian, Slavic, Serbian, Greek, various languages, various nationalities.

So we have to conclude that this is happening in Europe.

And so we see here that for 1, 260 years, that God's church was being persecuted by different nations, peoples, and tongues, a flood of ungodly men and women that demonstrate intolerance.

With every persecution, God has a deliverance plan.

For every trial, God has a way of escape.

You know, as humans, we want things instantaneously.

And God's timings happens at the point where we're at apparent defeat, there's ultimate victory.

And so if you're in a trial right now and you feel that everything is going down in your life, that you feel like you're about to give up and you're an apparent failure, know this.

Ultimate victory is coming in the horizon.

The church may appear about to fall, but it will not fall You see look at Jesus on the cross It was apparent failure for Jesus all his disciples for succum and left his ministry was gone He had no supporters He was dying as a criminal but that apparent failure was ultimate victory because after his death he was resurrected and the apparent failed movement became the greatest movement ever in human history.

So If you're going through a trial right now, know this.

God is seeking to develop patience through this trial so that we can develop trust in Him.

If things happen instantaneously, we take it for granted.

That's human nature and so God prolongs trials so that we can develop patience because the quality that we need to be prepared for Jesus to come is patience Here are the patients of the Saints Here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.

And love endureth all things, hopeth all things.

And so when someone is irritating you, God has ordained that person or that individual to prepare you for Jesus to come.

Is there a husband and wife that you get fights with?

Your husband and wife is your greatest instrument for your salvation that God uses to prepare you.

That develops patience because patience come from not good situations but unfavorable situations.

You don't develop patience when things are good because you enjoy it.

Patience is a response to unfavorable situations.

And so the church was enduring great trial because God was developing patience in his people.

But God will also deliver his people when it looks like it was apparent defeat, ultimate victory.

And so God did something special when the waters of persecution came and it looked like The church was about to be destroyed.

It felt like God's truth will be destroyed.

It felt like the disposers of truth from the Waldensians on down to the Protestants, there was great persecution.

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What Makes America Great

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