GYC 2013: Before Men and Angels

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Generation. Youth. Christ. (GYC)

GYC 2013 Plenary Sessions

Justin McNeilus

GYC 2013 Keynote

This message was presented at the GYC 2013 conference, Before Man and Angels, in Orlando, Florida.

For other resources like this, visit us online at www.gycweb.org.

It is a very long walk from there to here, they warned me, but it's much longer when you actually do it.

So about 1 third of you are excited to be here.

You know, honestly, Within the executive committee, it has been 1 of the most polarizing images we've had for any theme.

Some people absolutely love it, and other people absolutely just hate it.

I have been involved in planning or at least assisting in planning 10 GYCs.

Of All the GYCs I've been involved in, this 1 has been the most difficult for us to plan.

And someone from the executive committee, I think it was Jeff, he said, you know, as soon as we made the decision to hand out the great controversy in Orlando, Florida, the problems got stronger and more.

God wants to do incredible things through this conference.

Last night we prayed, the executive committee got together and we had a very humble prayer.

You know we have 2 new additions to the executive committee.

I have a six-month-old, Jeff has a six-month-old.

We prayed that our children would never have to come to GYC and comprehend what is being spoken about.

God has incredible blessings in store for you.

This is the Bible of the president of GYC and it is the last time I will preach with it.

I've been involved with GYC and on Sunday I retire.

It's been an interesting and exciting and a blast to serve God through GYC.

I was young, unmarried, no gray hair, and I joined GYC.

And so it seems fitting to me to retire from GYC.

But let me just share with you a couple of things.

You get ready to retire and you begin to survey the landscape of what God has done through GYC.

I've had the privilege to travel to 5 of the 6 continents as president of GYC and something has been come so clear to me.

If we did not have a conference each year, GYC would still exist.

If we didn't have a conference, if we didn't have the nice flowers, if we didn't have the fancy feather like it or not, if we didn't have the screens, if we didn't have the video cameras, if we didn't have the piano, if we didn't have any of these things, GYC would still exist.

At our core, GYC is radical commitment to him.

And so traveling around meeting different young people all around the world, God has a generation that is radically committed to him.

You take away all the stage and everything else and GYC still exists.

And so I am confident in telling you the best days of GYC are ahead of us.

Tonight, I'm going to share with you a devotional thought.

When I get my notes in order, the clock in front of me is racing down and honestly, I don't care.

We're going to go as long as we need to go.

As of Christmas Day I wasn't even thinking that I would preach tonight.

I was gonna have someone else come and someone else was preparing a sermon and and we got talking and started thinking about the philosophic journey we might take tonight and immediately after listening to that I realized I needed to preach the message tonight because it's a message for me.

You can listen in if you'd like, and I will pray in a moment that God also touches your life with it, but it's 1.1 message, and an appeal for me.

Heavenly Father, Lord, here we are, the opening night of GYC.

It is New Year's, and we can think of no better way to spend it with you.

So we come together by the thousands, different countries, different backgrounds, different ages, different experiences, but united under you.

Lord, we ask that you would speak through me tonight.

Despite my glaring deficiencies and weaknesses, we ask that you would shine through.

That as this message is delivered, that is a direct appeal to me that maybe Lord it would touch the heart of 1 other or maybe many others We pray that our minds Wouldn't be distracted tonight that we would be completely focused on you and the message you have for us.

Lord, we pray these things in your precious name.

Right now, at this moment in time, there are about 7 billion people on the planet.

That makes you .000000014 of the earth's population.

In terms of numbers in the earth's population, you are extremely insignificant.

And yet Paul tells us in his letter, he says, you are a spectacle.

And he uses an interesting word in the Greek, he says you're a theatron, where we get the word theater, and he says you are a spectacle not just to men, not just to the world, not just to your parents, your friends, your co-workers, not just to them but to the world and to angels.

We're insignificant and yet we are a spectacle to the world.

So the question we want to ask ourselves tonight is Why?

What is it about you and I that have the ability, the capacity to hold captive even the attention of angels?

And for us to answer that question I would submit to you we have to understand who we are.

In the beginning, Genesis 1 and verse 1, you can turn there if you'd like, in the beginning God created, God did what?

Now, right away from this passage we notice something.

This is the same Elohim that Moses later asks in the book of Exodus.

James Black

Natasha Dysinger

Mark Finley

Bill Knott

Israel Ramos

Paul Ratsara Sr.

Ted N.C. Wilson

Sabbath School Church Leaders Panel

Thank you so much for that beautiful special music.

We are here for our Sattler School panel discussion and we are excited about the next hour that is ahead of us.

My name is Israel Ramos and I'm working with GYC as the previous president.

Actually, the previous president is now Justin because he is on his way out, but we have Natasha, the future president.

So we have here on this panel, a panel of GYC presidents that have the opportunity to interact with the General Conference and North American Division Church officers.

We want to say thank you for the time that you've dedicated to spend this with us.

It's something that GYC looks forward to whenever we have the opportunity.

You remember in Kentucky, we had this opportunity and it was 1 of the greatest blessings of that conference and a highlight, I think, of many young people's experience.

So we are excited about this opportunity again, and we're happy that we have this privilege to interact with you in this question and answer panel.

On my far, on the far length of the table there, we have Pastor Paul Ratsara representing the Southern African Indian Ocean Division, The longest name for sure, 1 of the largest divisions, fastest growing at least 1 of them.

So we're thankful Elder Rotara that you're here all the way from South Africa.

Next to him we have Pastor Bill Knott in charge of the Review and Herald.

We're thankful that you are here with us as well.

Pastor Ted Wilson, the President of the General Conference, and next to him we have Elder James Black, who has been in youth ministry for quite a bit, quite a long time, in charge of North America.

And Elder Wilson, not Wilson, Elder Finley, who is no stranger here at GYC, thank you for being with us.

Just so that the audience knows, we do have a process that we followed in our discussion here this morning, and we want to make that open to you so that you know where we're going.

First of all, we opened the email accounts for people to submit questions.

Some of these questions, we had many of similar sounding questions, so we put them together into 1 general topic.

And so we're gonna ask these questions in a general format.

Some of the questions that were asked had a specific point and we will ask the point, but not directly quote the question, just because we try to make it as concise as possible.

And some of them will be directly asked as they come to us from the emails that were sent.

The topics that we are addressing ultimately fall under 3 categories.

How is it that the church can experience unity even amidst diversity?

And so, that's 1 of the topics that we will be addressing, several questions that go along those lines.

Another big issue that is on the minds of the young people is the issue of sexuality.

How does the church, the Seventh-day Adventist church, deal with this topic of sexuality, not just sexual temptation but sexual abuse and so forth?

And then finally, Adventist church identity.

It kind of goes along with unity, but what makes a Seventh-day Adventist and how is it that we can represent the Seventh-day Adventist church together even amidst many different people, many different backgrounds, many different cultures?

We were able to have a discussion with the panelists yesterday to prepare for this time, and we came up with the understanding at the end that there is definitely a different way of thinking.

As we have more experience, we believe that we'll finally reach the way of thinking of our great panelists here.

But at this point, we're hoping that this discussion will help bridge the gap and understand the mind of church leaders and help the church leaders understand the minds of young people.

And so our aim here is to be honest and respectful and at the same time to be very open.

And we understand and we want our young people to understand that some of the questions that we ask, we know are short-sighted.

And so we're very open for the church to give us a broader understanding.

Just please, let's make sure that we answer the questions that are asked.

So, with that in mind, we do have the privilege of asking the question.

The first question to our GYC president, Justin McNeilis.

Thank you Israel for the nice introduction you gave us.

So the first question I would ask is 1 sort of a personal nature, first a note of appreciation.

The church leaders got together and they looked at what was happening at GYC and you said to yourselves at GYC they need a representative at the General Council in session and so you sent me to represent the young people here by GYC and so that is undoubtedly 1 of the highest privileges I have had as GYC.

But second as a banker I would follow up that question with this.

I think It's safe to say that the General Conference spends about $5 million on that.

That's $50 million of production from the church.

And so my question would be, as a banker, is it worth it?

And if I could ask you, Elder Wilson, as our president.

Well, thank you, Justin, and it's good to be with you and Natasha and Israel.

I want to preface my remarks and any of our remarks by stating that we give our answers humbly, and we may not get everything exactly right, but we do it in the Spirit of Jesus.

I love that song that the quartet sang, someone is praying for you.

In fact, everywhere I travel, people are saying, I'm praying for you, I'm praying for you, and it just is so reassuring.

I hope while we give our answers this morning that you'll be praying for us.

The General Conference session is a large gathering every 5 years.

At that particular meeting, things are done in a business setting.

It is a time in which officers and department directors are elected.

It is a time when the church manual is looked at as to whether some changes need to be made.

Any changes to the fundamental beliefs that we have are only done at a general conference session.

And some people might say, but you know, we have about 2, 700 delegates or so that will be coming.

Why can't you just rent a small little place, have a meeting for 4 days, and take care of things and lot less expense.

Many of us have actually thought about the possibility of trying to do that and shorten General Conference session.

On the other hand, there is something very unique.

And 1 has to say the $5 million that the General Conference spends, in addition to that, divisions spend money for hotels and all of that kind of thing, airfares.

So there is considerable amount of money.

Our treasurer, Bob Lemon, I think has been very transparent and open about these things.

I suppose I could simply indicate an illustration using my precious wife.

My wife grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and probably knew the president of her conference and the pastor, and that was about it.

She didn't know anything much about the world field because her world was very focused.

She never attended a General Conference session until she married me.

And when she attended, she was absolutely amazed at the international fabric of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

And I think probably 1 of the most beautiful benefits from the money that is invested, and it is God's money, is the sense of belonging to a world family at a setting like that that you will never get in any other venue.

And when you see how God moves in so many dramatic ways, then I think we can at least help to justify some of the money that is spent on a general conference session.

And at this coming general conference session in San Antonio, and Mark may allude to this sometime, we're hoping to create a very, very mission-oriented setting with an emphasis on evangelism, on our mission, and the coming of the Lord.

And so, general conference session, I think, in the long run is well worth the money.

You know, I may just pick up on some of the things that Elder Wilson has said.

The question is, is it too expensive to hold a general conference session when you consider this $5 million spent on it?

I guess you could ask the question a different way.

Would it be more expensive not to hold a general conference session?

Would it be more expensive not to hold it?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is in over 200 countries in the world.

There are 3, 000 people baptized every day into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

What if we didn't hold a General Conference session?

What if the Adventist Church became fragmented as many other Protestant denominations?

What if This fragmentation led to wide theological diversity much greater than we did today.

What does a General Conference session do?

Among other things, it brings the church together in a unified focus to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

It brings us together as a church family.

GYC 2013 Sabbath Divine Service

What a privilege it is to be here with you, and what a wonderful choir and orchestra.

Thank you so much for what you've done to bring us to the throne room of heaven through music.

This is a wonderful conference and I know that God has blessed the seminar speakers, the plenary speakers, and he's blessed you.

And what a privilege it was yesterday to go out on the GYC outreach.

Justin mentioned that and let me tell you it was a great privilege And I think our experience was the same as just about everybody's experience.

I'm going to be anxious to hear the numbers that are going to be coming back in as to how many contacts, how many great controversies were, They weren't sold, they were kind of donated sold.

And how much money was raised for the SALT, the Service and Love Together Project.

Praise God that people in the Seventh-day Adventist Church are helping homeless people get back onto their feet, helping young children and young people in low-income areas learn how to navigate in life, and bringing people the precious Word of God.

It was a great privilege for me to go door to door with Surani.

And let me tell you, she is a great call porter, I could tell.

We had a great time visiting in so many places.

We probably visited at least 20 to 25 homes.

We got an additional 2 great controversies because we ran out.

I want to thank Justin for his leadership in GYC.

I want to thank the Lord for the leadership team and for the opportunity of having GYC so closely aligned with the World church.

And I want to wish Natasha and her team God's very special blessing as we continue to work closely together.

You know, it's important for youth ministries, for GYC, for all organizations to work together for the finishing of God's work.

You know, the GYC administrative group has taken very good care of me, and I want to thank them personally for that.

There is a special group of people who have helped me while I've been here.

Iko and Anko, so many others, Kurt and James and Joel and others.

You know, it's a privilege to be surrounded by young people.

I was very amazed at the title that Justin gave me, President of Young People.

I want to tell you that's a better title than even President of the General Conference and I just praise the Lord for the opportunity of serving in any way possible.

You know, it was just a great privilege to be with you and to see the humble, zealous, enthusiastic fervor for Christ and His Word.

We're going to be doing quite a bit of that this morning as we progress through this sermon.

First Corinthians chapter 4, verses 7 through 10.

I invite you to take your Bibles, iPads, iPhones, whatever it is.

And what do you have that you did not receive?

Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

You are already full, you are already rich, you have reigned as kings without us, and indeed I could wish you did reign that we also might reign with you.

For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death.

For we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ.

You are distinguished, but we are dishonored." Now Paul was concerned with the Corinthians' many internal church challenges that were influenced by pagan society.

Let's review those as we look at the beginning of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and I invite you to look at it.

Verse 10, as we begin this journey as to why it was that they were witnessing before men and angels.

In verse 10 of chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians, Paul pled with them to speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Now skipping to verse 18, he rallied them to the cross by saying, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

In verse 27 of the same chapter, He reminded them that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise.

Verse 31 of the same chapter, he tried to bring them back to Christ Jesus by repeating the words of Jeremiah chapter 9 verses 23 and 24.

He who glories let him glory in the Lord.

Now moving to chapter 2 verse 2, he powerfully declares in these wonderful words the following, "'For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.'" As you move to verse 5 of chapter 2, he admonished them not to put their faith in the wisdom of men, but rather in the power of God.

You see, Paul yearned in his heart for the internal fighting and the self-centeredness to stop in Corinth.

In chapter 3, he shared that although he planted the seed and Apollos watered it, it was God who gave the growth.

I want to tell you young people here at GYC and others who are watching, everything is dependent upon God.

In verse 18, Paul says of chapter 3, let no man deceive himself.

If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise." Now this leads to Paul's pleading in chapter 4 that we began just a few moments ago.

To be fools for Christ's sake, understanding that we are a spectacle before angels and men, before the world, to be understood by all, that we stand for Christ and for his truth regardless of the circumstances.

You know what powerful instruction from heaven for the Corinthians and for us today.

Series

GYC 2013 Plenary Sessions

Sabbath School Church Leaders Panel

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

GYC 2011 totalChurch

Total Church: Leadership

2h 16m

Total Member Involvement

2. Ask the President! (Q & A with Elder Ted Wilson)

1h

GYC 2009 Plenary Sessions

Panel Discussion with Church Leadership: Current Issues in the Church

1h

The Great Controversies: Relativism's Beauty and Fundamentalism's Beast

On What Basis: The Beginning of Controversy

1h

Plenary

Counting the Cost

1h 56m

Ignite Your Local Church for Mission

Mission to the Community

46m

Interview with the Wilsons

48m

GYC 2012 Morning Devotional

Resurrecting the Church

52m

Living Dangerously: God’s Call to Mission Service and How to Get Involved!

5. Starting Missionary Small Groups

1h 9m

ASI 2009 Youth Meetings

Testimony of Ernestine Finley

1h

GYC 2009 Plenary Sessions

When God’s Passion is My Passion

1h

GYC 2007 Plenary Sessions

A Journey of Faith

1h

Sound Doctrine