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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Alistair Huong

Why Am I A Seventh-day Adventist?

Father in heaven, as we begin this afternoon to contemplate this question, I pray that you might speak to our hearts and that you might make it clear to us.

Perhaps through this time, we each will have that clearer sense of why we are a part of this church.

And so may you speak to us through your spirit now in Jesus' name.

My father-in-law is a first-generation Adventist.

He grew up, he's a Japanese American, grew up on the island of Maui, on Hawaii.

And he was born into a family whose family business was pig farming.

And so my father-in-law grew up not having much of a faith in their home, and he was the youngest.

And he, while he was in high school there, in public school, he came to learn about this Adventist message.

I believe it was through the radio, It might have been through a friend.

Some of those details I would need to clear up with him.

And a pastor would come, and during lunch break, they were sitting in his car, and he would have Bible studies, and he began to learn about the doctrines held by the Seventh-day Adventist church.

And he became convicted, and he wanted to join the church.

So he went home 1 day, and he was talking with his father about this, saying he is thinking he would like to keep the Sabbath and be an Adventist.

You got to understand that being a pig farmer is not easy work.

He and his brothers, they all go to school, and so they wake up early, early, early in the morning, go out, and they slop the pigs, they call it.

So they feed the pigs, they get the stuff done on the farm, and then they go to school.

And when they get home, it's back out to work.

And so to say I'm going to not work on Saturday, on the weekend, which happens to be the day that most of the work gets done, you can imagine that it's not favorably looked upon in the family, in a family of very hard workers.

And so his father looked at him and said, if you choose to follow this path, be prepared to no longer be called my son.

And so my father-in-law, he wrestled with this for months.

He was convicted, but he didn't know what to do.

But in the end, he chose to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

And through a long other series of events, eventually things were worked out with his family.

So there are people like my father-in-law, and there are other people, who choose to be Adventists at great cost to themselves.

People living today, even in this modern age, you hear about our Christian brothers and sisters who get persecuted over in the Middle East and in other countries and it forces me to ask myself, would I do the same, right?

And I think it's helpful for us every so often to reflect back on the reason why we have chosen to walk this path.

Because not only is it necessary to have this reflective, you know, this grounding and the reason, when we choose to join the church, I understand in my study of the Bible and last day events that there are going to be circumstances that arise that will test our resolution to stay.

We've got to know why we are what we are in order for us to know why we ought to stay when things get rough.

And so out of this, I reflected and I thought, why?

You know, what is it that makes me an Adventist?

And so this afternoon I'd just like to share with you some of my thoughts.

But 3 reasons why I am an Adventist and 3 non-reasons why I am an Adventist.

I think you'll understand what I mean when I get there.

But maybe just a little bit of disclaimer in terms of how I'm approaching this.

This is really not a message that's intended to be an evangelistic message to convince someone who thinks differently.

This is not an apologetic for someone who is uninitiated and unwilling to accept.

So it's very much looking in myself and I think it may apply more for an audience like this.

It's not intended to be like, This is why you ought to be an Adventist.

Even though I think there's application in that way as well.

And so having said that, I know it's sometimes, you know, we need to state our presuppositions ahead of time so you know where I'm coming from.

So I'm starting from the perspective that I already believe that there's a God, I already believe that He's the Sovereign, I believe he's given us his word, which is the Bible, and it is the infallible revelation of his will.

And I also believe that the spirit of prophecy is something that the Bible tells us to expect at the end of time.

And I believe it is just as inspired as the holy scriptures that I hold in my hands.

And so, 3 reasons why I'm an Adventist and 3 non-reasons that of why I'm an Adventist.

I'm a Seventh-day Adventist today because of its prophetic identity.

Let's look together in Revelation chapter 10.

Revelation chapter 10, and we'll begin reading in verse 1.

We'll read verses 1 and 2 of Revelation chapter 10.

And John writes, And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.

And he had in his hand a little book open.

And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth.

And verse 3, and cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth.

And when he had cried, 7 thunders uttered their voices.

And if you, let me just throw this out there, because this might be relevant later.

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hands to heaven, verse 6, and swear by him who liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.

So I want to look at the visual imagery of Revelation chapter 10.

There's all these descriptions about him, right?

A mighty angel, clothed with a cloud, rainbow on his head, sun, face shining like the sun, feet like pillars of fire.

But More than that, it says he has, in verse 5, he had, he lifted up his hands to heaven and he sware by him who liveth forever and ever.

And then in his hand, outstretched hand, there's a little book that's open.

Now as good Adventists we've studied this before.

Daniel chapter 12, And we will read verse 4.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end.

Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, there stood other 2, the 1 on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on the other side of the bank of the river.

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Why Am I A Seventh-day Adventist?

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