Michigan Camp Meeting 2025: He Must Increase

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The Power of Unity: Reflecting Christ in Every Relationship

Tom Hubbard

01 Unity in Diversity, Part 01

You're about to enjoy a presentation recorded at the 2025 Michigan Conference Camp Meeting held at Cedar Lake, Michigan.

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

We certainly need to ask for the Lord to be with us today.

Father in heaven, Lord I'm thankful for each 1 that's here today.

Lord you've brought them to camp meetings.

You have carefully planned out these days before them.

Lord, it's our prayer that we would take advantage of the opportunities that are before us.

Lord, that you would bless our time together here over the next hour, 45 minutes, Lord, but also that you would be with them throughout the remainder of the day.

May we have an enriched time, not because of a speaker, but because of you and the Holy Spirit's power.

Bless us to this end is my prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

As I mentioned, as the father of 5, we would bring our kids into church and we like to sit toward, where do you suppose?

But why might we want to sit up front with our children?

So if kids, and As a pastor, I'd always encourage this.

If you have children, don't sit way in the back, sit up front.

They need to be able to see what's going on, so that they can engage.

Another reason why, that you probably wouldn't guess, maybe some of you would, but when they act up...

This was before I was necessarily in ministry, but when the kids would act up, we're all in a line.

We would put small churches into Shockwood, and we'd come in with all of our kids.

But When they would act up, it was a long walk all the way up the center aisle.

That said something to them, not to mention what was happening once you got out there.

Now, some parents will take them out, and that will be it.

Maybe they'll go to the mother's room and that'll be it.

And so once they gathered themselves, Then they went all the way back up to the front again.

People asked, how is it that your kids sit in church so well?

I would just simply say, I threaten them each and every week.

No, I wouldn't threaten them, but they knew how it went.

Another thing that my wife Amy would do, which was very beneficial for you parents in here, is practice church at home.

They love to do that, so we have little preachers, song leaders and all the rest.

So now when the Lord called me to ministry, I will tell you this.

It only happened once when I'm preaching and my wife plays the piano.

So she'd be at the piano, I'd be preaching, and all of those children are sitting in the pew all by themselves.

That's really when the questions would come.

How is it that your kids can sit there the way that they do?

But it only happened once when Tyler, our oldest, was doing something.

And he never thought I would do this, I guess.

But I'm not afraid to, especially with my children.

All I had to do is I stopped right in the middle of my sermon, and I said, Tyler, you know dads have an ability to give a certain kind of look.

I just said, Tyler, Gave him that look, that was it.

As soon as they understood that dad's okay with calling him out in the middle of the sermon, it works, it works.

You have to be on the same page as parents.

And I can tell you about my own personal experience.

We were not, I grew up in a home that was not on the same page all the time.

If they were on the same page, it wasn't always the best page.

And so, it causes controversy, causes distraction, it causes division, there's some handouts there as you come in right there, Glad you're here.

So you want to be, and we always would strive to be on the same page.

We wanted to be faithful disciples of Christ and raise those children in the way that would bring Him honor and glory.

We understood that in order to make that happen, we needed to be united in purpose.

It was absolutely imperative that we were united front.

Now the kids, there was a time when they, and some of you may have experienced this if you have children of your own, where they would try to take advantage of 1 parent against the other.

So whatever the question might be, there's a thought process and they deduce who would be the best parent to ask, who would be the most likely to give us the answer that we want.

I remember when I was a kid, it went a little bit further than that.

When your parent is in a bad mood, or otherwise?

In a very good mood, so you would do that.

What I mean is they would try to pit us against 1 another.

I don't know if it was conscious, maybe it was, maybe subconsciously, they would try to pit us against 1 another.

That is, if they came to me and I said, no, I don't think so, they would say, well, we still have hope, because I wonder if, let's go, and they would not mention what I had said.

As soon as we got wind of that, that never happened anymore either.

Now Sometimes, sometimes maybe a parent in the presence of the children having a conversation and you as the other parent maybe you're saying something that they don't necessarily agree with.

So once in a while there would be under the table like just that's just to say just a light nudge that says we should probably talk about this a little bit, maybe a little bit more.

Sometimes I was the 1 getting nudged, and sometimes she was the 1 getting nudged.

We needed to be on that same page, headed the same direction, and the Bible terms it as equally what?

02 Unity in Diversity, Part 02

Father in heaven, we are so thankful for a good night's rest.

Lord, it's been a wonderful camp meeting and surely we know that the power of the Holy Spirit is in this place.

Lord, as we spend this time together, it's my prayer that you would bless this time.

Father, as I share these things, Lord, we want to make application to our own lives.

So I pray through the power of the Holy Spirit that you would take what is spoken and apply it into each specific life as only you can.

Thank you for your faithfulness to hear and answer our prayers.

Yesterday, we looked at the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, right?

We talked about in order to have true unity, we need to understand what that mission is.

And of course, that mission is founded where?

And this is what brings that unity and brings us together.

In the book of Acts we saw the disciples of Christ being filled with the Holy Spirit proclaiming a most powerful message, 1 that caused the priests and the rulers certainly to be threatened and marvel really at the words that they heard Because they thought these guys were just simple Uneducated and yet they could not deny that they had been with who?

And as a result, and the Holy Spirit's power, many who had gathered, believed and became a unified group and moved this work forward with what I would just call great success.

We looked at Acts chapter 4 and verse 32.

We talked about the multitude, great numbers of people.

There's a lot of implications right there.

Of those who believed were of how many hearts?

Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had how many things in common?

The multitude of believers were of 1 heart, 1 soul, had all things in common.

We see that the mission was clearly set before them to each 1 and of course that mission, as I mentioned, was based on the Word of God moving forward.

But then the question was asked, because they're of 1 heart, 1 soul, and had all things in common, does that mean that they were all the same?

They came from different places, different backgrounds, had some different ideas, different opinions, just as each and every 1 of us in this room in 1 area or another.

We're not going to agree on every last thing.

That's why it's so important in God's church and as we've discussed I'm not just talking about God's church, I'm talking about, well what was the other thing, those of you who are here?

That home unit because whatever takes place in the home really affects everything outside of that.

And we established that while they had very many similarities, They were anything but the same.

They possessed different strengths, different weaknesses, and so on and so forth.

The list could go on and on, and yet despite all of this, they were able, amongst all their differences, to accomplish great things for the cause of Christ.

Incredible things for God because they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they finally realized that there was great strength in their diversity of gifts.

Instead of fighting against 1 another because we're not all the same, we don't always think the same, understanding that this brings balance, this brings harmony, this brings strength when it's handled correctly and when it's all based on the Word of God.

Over 2, 000 years ago, construction began on 1 of the greatest wonders of the world.

It was constructed of dirt, rocks, bricks, and mortar.

I don't know what this room is, but it's gotta be pretty close, right?

30 feet wide, and it stretches over a distance of 13, 000 miles.

I think the resounding was the Great Wall of what?

That means, just to give an idea, I don't know how you are, I like to be able to visualize some things, 13, 000 miles seems like a really long ways because it is.

You could go from coast to coast 4 and a half times and you'd come to right about the length of the Great Wall of China.

1 can even begin to imagine how much it cost to build.

How much it cost to build, not to mention the man hours.

All of this time, all of this effort to keep the enemy out, that they could be ultimately, what do you suppose?

This is somewhat of a tender topic, I know, to ask here.

You're going to build a wall to try to keep something in or keep something out.

We built a wall of sorts around our garden.

She sent me a picture with her stacking boulders up at the base of it where he tunneled under.

And just the way you're laughing, I think he's laughing this morning probably as well.

But they built this so that they could be safe.

Unless it was exceptionally important to you, exceptionally important to be safe.

It's a feat of an incredible engineering.

You know what's amazing to me and this is my point, I'm bringing this up.

It's amazing to me that when the mission is clearly set before and everybody can see its value, in this case it was safety, we are so willing to come together to lock arms, join arms, and move forward, and really sacrifice for the cause.

It happens when the mission becomes paramount.

03 Unity in Diversity, Part 03

You're about to enjoy a presentation recorded at the 2025 Michigan Conference Camp, held at Cedar Lake, Michigan.

Father in heaven, Lord, we're thankful for the opportunity today to serve you.

Lord, it's a day that's full of opportunities, full of opportunities.

Lord, I pray that you would even now condition our hearts, place them in just the right position that you would need them to be in that we can receive these things.

Father, we don't want to understand these things just for a mere sake of knowledge.

As good as knowledge is, but what is it apart from application?

So I pray that you would help us to be able to apply these things, these principles to our lives.

We know that you so desperately want to shower our lives with blessings and yet it takes some cooperation on our part.

So Father I pray even now that you would fill us with the Holy Spirit, Lord, as the words that are spoken today, that they would be in tune with your will, and that you would apply them to each life as only you can.

Perform this miracle once again today is my prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

And my last district, 1 of my churches was about twice this size, and it was a school.

The first Sabbath I preached there, after the service, and here's maybe 1 of those challenging type comments that somebody might make to you.

They said, Pastor, please don't use the mic anymore.

And I thought, what is that trying to say?

And they said, you're loud enough without it.

And so I hope I've not been too loud at times here for you, but they did ask to shut that door.

Who ever, I don't know who that was, but he was loud.

You know, there was a time in my life, and it was longer ago than probably what I would like to admit.

How old do you think I was if I can barely remember it?

If you talk to my wife she would probably say I'm 51.

But when I couldn't hardly remember something.

I was young enough that many common things were still very new to me.

I remember asking my father for something.

It's So fuzzy, I can remember him being in his chair, and then I was seated on the floor next to it, as I remember it, on the right-hand side, and at 3 years old, I wanted something.

I think it was, It might have been candy or something like that.

And I asked him for it and he said, what do you suppose?

And there wasn't, I don't recall any kind of explanation for that, he just said, no, no.

And I thought that if he loved me, he would do what?

And So, with that processing that took place in my 3-year-old brain, I said something that I thought might motivate him to give me what I wanted.

I said, with that tone in my voice, you know, there's a way that you can say something that can change everything.

A voice inflection, it can change everything.

That's why I mentioned the other day, when texting, especially when we first started texting so much, that it was dangerous business.

And I think it caused a lot of problems because you don't hear the voice inflection, you don't see the facial expression, and you lose a lot in communication.

And so it in a sense has somewhat, and this is just my opinion, desensitized us in the form of communication as well.

But I said this, and some of you might know where I'm driving with it already, I said, you don't love me.

If I want it then if you love me, you will give it to me.

Yeah, I'm a master manipulator at 3 years old.

And my dad recognized that and he made sure that he did everything he could to extinguish that thought.

And very thoroughly, because as I said, I'm a little bit over 50 years old.

And I can tell you in the home that I was raised 47 years ago, there were multi, it was like multifaceted forms of communication.

And it was effective, and I never said that again.

Love is so much more than giving or getting everything that 1 wants or, let me say this as well, or just being cordial or nice.

Now, you don't have to answer me out loud, but sometimes you can be in the presence of another person, and I don't know if the vibe thing is real or not, but you can kind of feel like maybe that person, something's not quite right there.

I talked the other day about not shaking your hand, right?

And with something like that can happen, she can be wondering, ah, man, I don't know what's up with, you know, whatever.

But maybe the next time we're around 1 another, I can kind of feel like something's not quite right.

Like, yeah, did I do something or whatever?

And it's worth the time to have a conversation about it.

But, there's sometimes that vibe that's there, or that can be there.

I'm not saying that everybody's going to rub you the right way, or be somebody that you just best friends with, or love to be around.

And yet, at the end of the day, what we need to walk away with is, do you love that person?

It can be a challenging thought because it's easy to make kind of a blanket statement or ask a blanket question, but it becomes very multifaceted and very complex very quickly.

And I can see your heads shaking, you know what I'm talking about.

And a lot of the things that, I would say some of the things that I've talked about here already, you have to take the principles of what's being said and see how that might apply to your situation.

Because I'm not speaking to specifics or specific situations or incidences.

I think our time is much better spent talking about foundational principles than the Holy Spirit can speak to each and every 1 of you about your own situations and make that application based on those principles.

04 Conflict Resolution

Lord, we're thankful for what we've been reminded of and perhaps learned thus far.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would be here with us once again.

And I'm praying for that miracle to take place that what is shared here today, that you can take that information and apply it into each life.

We pray and ask it all in Jesus' name, amen.

We've spent some time talking about a conflict.

I remember back in the day, it's back there a little ways, my experience in kindergarten was very revealing to maybe a character trait that was there, and definitely present for myself, and is present for most young people in that I remember that day going to kindergarten and fighting over a dump truck.

1 kid had the truck and I thought I needed the truck.

I think I probably had the truck and he decided he wanted the truck.

So that I could this is not the actual picture.

My picture would have been from, we didn't have plastic dump trucks.

But yeah, my picture would have been probably from the late 70s or yeah, right about there.

And I can tell you, raising 5 children with my wife, of course, that it comes absolutely natural.

I didn't have to teach, and maybe you've noticed this, I didn't have to teach my boys how to do this.

Like they're, I said, where did they come up with that?

And oftentimes the answer comes, well, they're friends.

But When you're around them all the time and you're careful about that, you still wonder sometimes, how did that, where did that come from?

But, well yeah, and if it's not that, then they know how to, they just, it just, I have 3 grandchildren now, already 3.

I have twin granddaughters and a grandson.

The granddaughters automatically knew how to throw their weight around, especially when he came into the picture.

It didn't take him long to realize that he's real, you know, he's a toddler, he's not real sure on his feet, they can just run and bump into him and knock him over, get him out of their way.

And he discovered that when these things started coming in, that it was a weapon that he could employ for his defense.

He was like this little beaver with those things, and he would latch onto those girls, and they took notice of that he was there and that he had an opinion as well.

He didn't have to be taught how to do that.

Nobody said, oh, when your sisters do that, try that, try this.

It just comes, unfortunately, natural to us.

Series

The Power of Unity: Reflecting Christ in Every Relationship

01 Unity in Diversity, Part 01

Transcript

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