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South Bay SDA Church

The Long Journey Home

Jeremy Arnall

The Iron Furnace

Come Find Rest

A Pillar and a Prophet

Moses and The Ark

Sealed and Ready

God Will Take Care of You

The Power of Appetite

Present Truth

Failed Border Crossings

Spiritual Sinkholes

Look and Live

The parable is told of 2 men, both seriously ill, both in the hospital, roommates.

1 man was allowed to sit up for an hour each day in an effort to help drain the fluid that was accumulating in his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

They spoke of their wives, their families, their homes, their jobs, you know, their involvement in the military service where they had been on vacation.

You name it, they talked because there wasn't much else to do.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window would sit up, he would pass the time by by describing to his roommate who was again flat on his back, the things that he saw outside his window.

The other man in the bed began to live for those one-hour periods when the world would be broadened, when the world would become alive by the testimony and witness of the man who could sit up.

The window, the man said, overlooked a beautiful park, a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans would play there and children would sail their model boats.

Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every hue.

Grand old trees graced the landscape and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described All this in its exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and he would picture the scene in his mind.

It was on 1 warm afternoon that the man by the window described a parade passing by, And although the other man couldn't hear the sound of the trumpet or the drum, he could see it all in his mind's eyes.

The gentleman by the window portrayed it in vivid detail.

Unexpectedly, though, an alien thought entered the man's mind who was flat on his back.

Why should the man who sits up for an hour each day have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never see anything.

It didn't seem fair and as the thoughts began to ferment the man felt ashamed at first But as the days passed and he missed seeing more and more of these amazing sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour.

He began to brood, you understand, And he found himself unable to sleep at night.

That thought now was what controlled his life in that dark hospital room.

And so it was that late 1 night as he lay staring at the ceiling, troubled as he was, the man by the window began to cough and sputter.

He was choking on the fluid in his own lungs.

The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help.

Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running.

And in less than 5 minutes, the coughing and the choking stopped, as did the breathing.

Now there was only silence, yes, deathly silence.

The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths.

When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and she called the hospital attendant to take him away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, you understand, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.

The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

So it was that slowly and painfully, the man who was usually on his back, propped himself up on 1 elbow so that he could finally enjoy the view with the window.

Finally, he could now enjoy the sights and the sounds and he strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

What we dwell upon the most determines what we will see.

The title of the message this morning is Present Truth.

Forgive us for where we have found ourselves envious or where we have been persuaded for things that were never intended for us.

Lord, this morning in this place, in this holy place that we have dedicated to you and your presence, we pray that you would please come close, wash us, and cleanse us as we saw this morning in the testimony with Joelle.

And I pray that in this sacred Place that you would please speak to our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit She would help us to redirect our gaze towards you That nothing would distract Nothing would upset this beautiful moment.

Last Sabbath, we're in a series, by the way, the long journey home, if you're new with us this morning.

We're going through from the Exodus to the Promised Land and we're seeking to see the parallels between their departure from Egypt and their entrance into the Holy Land and what ours looks like today.

Last week we looked at the topic of health and we noted that it was interesting that indeed that the story of chapter 16 and the manna occurred before the site at Sinai.

In other words, God addressed with his people the issue of diet before he addressed the holy law.

And what is interesting is that when you look at this fundamental issue that if we don't take care of the temple, that how can we expect him to do his appropriate work in there?

And that God can change our taste buds, God can change our heart, and it begins with changing what is found on our plate.

It's interesting, just as a side note, if I can take just a brief aside here.

When you go to Daniel chapter 1, you find the same scenario repeated.

That Daniel chapter 1, of course, starts out with this great test.

And if you just go there, it's not on the screen, just go to Daniel 1.

I was listening to a presentation on this and this is fascinating.

Daniel 1 and I want you to notice a couple of key terms here.

Daniel 1 verse 2, I know this is aside but it really brings home what we studied last week.

And the Lord, and by the way we're studying Daniel and Revelation now specifically Revelation on Tuesday night.

So I want to encourage you to come Tuesday night Deep dive into Revelation 630 each Tuesday.

But it says, And the Lord gave, verse 2, Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his God.

Notice it says he brought the articles into the treasure house of his God.

So 1 of the things that was brought from Jerusalem was brought were the articles of God.

Then notice verse 3, the king instructed Ashpenaz the master of the eunuchs to bring some of the children of Israel, and some of the king's descendants, and some of the nobles.

So notice, not only were the articles brought, but the people were brought as well.

Notice verse 3, The king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring, let's see I just read that, verse 4, young men in whom there was no blemish.

When you look at the language here, and you'll notice that it says that they were to be brought and it says the ability to serve or to stand in the king's palace.

The language here is reminiscent of the language we see with the sanctuary and its worship.

You see there to bring, they're bringing something but it's not to the temple of God.

It's from the temple of God being brought to the palace, or what could also be translated temple of the king.

And what does it say about the people who are brought?

They are to bring those who have no blemish, which reminds us of how the priests were to be chosen as well.

These people, Daniel and his friends, are being established as servants to a new God.

And then you see in verse 5 that the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies.

Meaning that just as God appointed Adam and Eve to have all these seed-bearing plants in the garden, so the king now in the role of God is appointing them the King's delicacies.

He stands up and says, I'm not going to eat from the King's table.

So I know we can't go into a full study on that, but what I want you to notice is that he asked for 10 days.

10 days and he is fatter and in better health than all the rest.

Have you thought about the fact that in Leviticus, we see that it was on the first day of the seventh month that they were to sound the trumpets in anticipation of the day of atonement, which would come how many days later?

10 days later, because the Day of Atonement would occur on the tenth day of the 7 months.

So here we have 10 days being tested, which reminds us of the 10 days that were to precede the day of atonement.

In other words, Daniel is going to be judged after 10 days and he will be determined to be fatter and better than all the rest.

We are living in a time in which we are living in the judgment.

And we are anticipating a day in which Jesus will come down from the clouds of glory.

And this time, he will take us up into the cloud and he will take us to live with him forever.

It is important how we take care of this living temple.

Now today, I want us to look at 3 gifts that God gave the Israelites in anticipation of the promised land.

Back to Menu

Series

The Long Journey Home

Present Truth

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

The Iron Furnace

42m

Come Find Rest

40m

A Pillar and a Prophet

52m

Moses and The Ark

45m

Sealed and Ready

30m

God Will Take Care of You

53m

The Power of Appetite

40m

Present Truth

42m

Failed Border Crossings

44m

Spiritual Sinkholes

43m

Look and Live

32m

Sound Doctrine