Michigan Conference Campmeeting 2021: How Much More?

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Jim Micheff

Great is Your Reward

You are about to enjoy a presentation recorded at the 2021 Michigan Conference Camp Meeting held at Cedar Lake, Michigan.

We pray that the Lord will bless you as you listen.

Father in heaven, we are in your presence.

We're in many, many, many ways ignorant and unlearned.

He demonstrated, he told us, but Lord, even then, sometimes we're so slow of heart that we don't understand.

But tonight, Lord, we want to know what that reward is that you've offered and what that work is and the relationship between the 2.

So I pray tonight specifically That your Holy Spirit would open up our understanding that we would be able to see clearly from Scripture what that reward is, what that work is, and then Lord I pray that you would put it in our hearts to do the work that we might receive the reward, for we ask it in Jesus' name.

Now, in order for us to discover what that reward is and what that work is, I have to do a little review.

Review that each 1 of you know more than likely, some more than others perhaps.

But I want to start by going back to the beginning.

Now, it's true that there are a lot of theories and ideas about the beginning of time.

But to a Christian who has embraced the Bible as the source of authority, a Christian doesn't have to wonder.

If they've embraced the Bible as the authority of God's Word and explains the truth of where we came from, where we are, why we're here, and where we're going in the future, then God gives us a clear line of understanding.

So tonight, We're going to be coming from the Scripture as our authority.

And by the way, I'd say this, you know, the Bible was not written to prove that God existed or that He's Creator.

The Bible was written under the premise and understanding that God is God.

In fact, the very first chapter of the Bible, the very first verse says, in the beginning, God.

The Bible goes on to say that without Him, nothing exists that is currently in existence.

So if He created everything from nothing, then he has to be the authority of everything and the owner of everything and the king of the universe.

But God established a foundation by which he would build his kingdom.

And when I mention God's law, it's more than likely that in our minds we think of a moral law, 10 Commandments.

And the moral law is the overarching umbrella of all laws.

There are laws that govern the creation that God is adding to and is creating.

There are laws of physics, laws of mathematics.

1 law that we can play around with is the law of gravity.

And when God's creatures all operate within the confines of that law, everything happens not simultaneously, but in a way in which there's harmony and 1 accord.

God's law and God's love are so intimately connected that they cannot be separated.

You see, it's God's law that defines what love is.

It's God's law that explains and shows and describes what God's love is.

So if you separate out God's law from His love, you don't have God's law or His love.

See, God's love motivates us into action, motivates His creatures into action.

He pours His love out upon all of His creatures.

And as a result, they look back at God and they want to return some kind of affection to God.

And so they look, what can we do to please God?

And so out of this great love for God, they want to obey everything He asked them to do.

Love is something by definition that has got to be shared.

So God created creatures so that he could share an existence with.

But He didn't just make creatures and say, well, I wonder what I would do with this 1.

God has a plan and a purpose for everything He does.

So every creature that He made, He had a role for them to play in His creation, His universe.

And because of their great love for God, their greatest desire was to do exactly what God created them for.

And when they did exactly what God wanted them to do, there was great contentment and satisfaction and joy.

And oh, they so loved to be able to serve.

That was their greatest desire, was to serve others.

And in that desire to serve others there was a spirit of cooperation all because they accepted the love of God which is connected infinitely and cannot be separated from His law.

God created 1 creature that the Bible even tells us what his name is.

He was the highest, he was the creature that had the most talent and power and authority of any creature in the universe and his name was Lucifer.

He had the privilege of standing in the very presence of God.

God revealed more of His love and His purposes to this creature than any other creature, and then that creature had the privilege of being able to go out and share what he knew about God and what God had shared with him to others.

And while he was a recipient of God's love, a willing recipient of God's love, he had perfect contentment, totally satisfied with his position that God had created for him.

But over time, and we don't even know how this happened, but over time the thought came through his mind, you know, I wonder what it would be like to be in a position that God didn't give me.

And then instantly that thought was repelled because the Holy Spirit is there to help all of us.

And the Holy Spirit reminds him that's not a good idea, you need to be satisfied with what God has called you to do.

Thought came back, and this time he wasn't quite as quick to throw it out.

And then the thought came back until finally he started dwelling on this thought of what it would be like to be in a position that God didn't put him in.

You know, we have that same problem with roles that we have.

God gives us a role and we look and think, well, I wonder what it would be like to be in somebody else's role.

And Lucifer was the first 1 to experience that.

And the more he started to leave himself in that position that he wanted, the less satisfied he was in the position he had.

Until finally, he wasn't just less satisfied, he was dissatisfied.

And he didn't realize it, but as he became more dissatisfied, he started to resist the love of God.

And as he resisted the love of God, he started to separate himself from the love.

It's the love of God that draws us to him.

And he started to push back until finally he said, I'm rejecting God as my authority.

And that dissatisfaction, that rejection of God's love led to rebellion.

It wasn't open at first, But I want you to notice something.

Sin was first found in Lucifer, and the very core of sin is a rejection of God and rebellion against Him.

And you think that through for just a minute.

If I'm in love with God and the desire of my heart is to obey Him and His love is so intertwined with His law that They can't be separated and I love God.

Great is Your Reward

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