AdAgrA 2014 Conference

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Morning Devotional

Alan Seiler

Thursday Morning Devotional

My family and I run a very, very, very, very teensy-weensy, eeny-weeny little farm in South Central Oklahoma.

And I'm just going to share a few things, 4 points that I've learned, and doubtless other people have learned them as well, but some that have been really important to me that when I say learn, I mean I'm still learning.

This is a long-term process here of learning, so I'm not claiming to have these perfectly down pat or anything like that, but God has been good and hopefully you all receive a, we will all receive a blessing, me included, this morning.

Dear Father in heaven, I just want to thank you for this day, for this morning, for this time that we get to spend together.

May we receive a blessing, and may we continue to honor and glorify you in everything we do and say.

So we're going to go over 4 points this morning.

And I'm just going to list them out and then we'll talk about each 1 a little bit.

First point that that I've learned in this agricultural experience is don't bite off more than you can chew, be patient with the process, don't be afraid to fail, And where is my last 1 here?

So I'm sure you can all relate to some of these things, but the first Bible verse that I want to go to as we start out here is John chapter 16, 12 through 13.

And It says, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.

Howbeit he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.

For he shall not speak of himself, but whosoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come." The part here I want to concentrate on this morning is, I have many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.

When we started out more seriously a few years ago, right now we're only growing one-seventh of an acre.

So back then it was even less than 1 seventh of an acre.

And the farmers seem to always have, at least for me, in my experience, seem to always have this desire.

It's like, oh, let's go half an acre, then an acre.

Let's get a tractor, you know, and all this kind of stuff.

And, you know, I can't tell you how a blessing it's been.

Because of our acreage, we only own 2 acres total, and part of that's rock.

So it's been a lot of work to try to get the rocks out so we can actually grow in the soil.

But I can't tell you how much of a blessing that actually has been, because it's forced us to stay small and to do things better in a small way, to be more ingenious with the space we have.

And to overall just not overwhelm ourselves, because when you do make a mistake, you're making it small, right?

So don't bite off more than you can chew.

So right now, we're going to have a little interaction with everyone here.

So this is what I want you to do find someone that you don't know and I want you to share with them for about so introduce yourself 15 seconds then 30 seconds each 30 seconds each and This is a thought that I want you to share with that other individual that you don't know Think of a personal example or of someone you know that learned their lessons or whatever on a small scale that helped them out in the long run.

Now, this doesn't have to be a personal experience, preferably a personal experience, and it doesn't have to be about farming.

Just an experience where someone learned on a small scale, either you or someone else, and that helped them out in the long run in what they were doing.

15 seconds, introduce yourself, and then each 1 share the idea.

People getting to know each other and hopefully, yeah, great, great, great, great.

The audience has grown quite a bit since we started, so I'm just going to reiterate a little bit, real briefly, what we're talking about here.

We're talking about 4 points that I have found valuable in the farming experience that have helped me out a lot as as I've gone along the road here.

And just to go over the 4 points again, and then we're going to talk about each 1.

We're now on the second point, but the first point is don't bite off more than you can chew.

The second point is be patient with the process.

The third point is don't be afraid to fail.

And the fourth point is worry doesn't help anyone.

And this is a quote taken from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 247, paragraph 4.

And it's talking about Moses and his time in the wilderness.

And it says, man would have disposed with the long period of toil and obscurity, deeming it a great loss of time, but infinite wisdom called him who was to become the leader of his people to spend 40 years in the humble work of a shepherd.

The habits of caretaking, of self-forgetfulness, and tender solicitude for his flock, thus developed, would prepare him to become the compassionate, long-suffering shepherd of Israel.

No advantage that human training or culture could bestow could be substituted for this experience." You know, I, And this is a much inferior example, a personal example, to Moses' 40 years, right?

I'm not even like half that age, you know?

And this year, we planted 4 crops of cucumbers to kind of keep it going through the season.

We planted the first crop, it was looking well, and it flopped.

And the second crop, oh, maybe we'll do it this time.

The fourth crop, we started learning a little bit more, but overall, it was at the end of the season, it really didn't count much anyways.

But, you know, I was, oh man, I was impatient with these cucumber plants.

It's like, if you can't grow a cucumber plant, you can't grow anything, you know, kind of thing.

And you know, at the end of the season, it's like, you know, this is a process.

And if I continue to be frustrated over the experiences of not being patient through this experience, I'm going to kill myself over it.

I'm going to be so frustrated, it's going to take the joy out of what I'm doing.

And being patient with the process, You know, Moses thought he was a failure, but little did he know that that experience is what was preparing him to be the leader of Israel and to take them into the Promised Land, almost into the Promised Land.

But, you know, as we go along in this farming experience, let us understand that it's a process.

And you can enjoy it every step of the way.

I want you to find someone you don't know.

Take 15 seconds to introduce yourself, 30 seconds for 1 person to share, 30 seconds for the other person to share.

Okay, and this is the thought that I want you to share with them.

Think of an experience that you thought you failed, but it was actually preparing you for something bigger.

This doesn't have to do with agriculture.

It could be anyone, it doesn't have to do with agriculture, and it could be anyone you know or have heard about as well.

So personal, anyone you know, or anyone you've heard about.

And then 30 seconds for you to share that idea of an experience that you thought you failed but it was actually preparing you for something that bigger and better or greater.

We are going to go ahead and move on to the next point.

Hope everyone's been able to get to know a lot of new people here.

For those who have walked in, We've also gotten a little bigger just going on we're talking about 4 points that Make it a lot easier in the farming experience a Lot easier in any experience that you're a part of to tell you the truth This is not just about farming, but since I'm a farmer.

So anyways, so just a brief overview of the points.

First point, don't bite off more than you can chew.

Second point, be patient with the process.

Third point, which we are going to tackle next, is don't be afraid to fail.

The verse for this point is Ecclesiastes 11, verse 6.

Larry Lesher

Friday Morning Devotional

Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for this time that we can come together.

Father, we can meet with you as a corporate group.

We can come together to ask your blessing upon this convocation of people, Lord, that we could learn of you, that your spirit would fill each 1 of us that we would Be mindful of the things that you have for us Father help us not just to be hearers of these words that we're learning and these things that we're taking in, but help us to be doers.

Prepare this ground, Lord, that we'd have fertile ground that we could receive the seeds of the word that you have for us, that it would bear good fruit.

To your name's glory and honor we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

I wanted to ask you guys a question, a couple of questions, and then I'll make a few statements.

How many people here, Well, the first question is how many people here are involved in growing something?

And I wanted to see how many people, last night Bob asked it, and quite a few people raised their hand and so I was curious this morning if it would be a little bit different or the same.

How many people here want to proclaim the third angel's message or are proclaiming the third angel's message?

How many people know how many rules William Miller used?

Can somebody tell me how many rules of interpretation William Miller used?

So William Miller had 14 rules of prophetic interpretation.

And that might not sound important at this day and age because William Miller is, you know, 1830.

He started preaching this, especially in 1833, he started preaching this message.

But it should have a relevance for us today in light of the spirit of prophecy.

Let me read you a quote from Review and Herald, November 25th, 1844.

Those who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel's message are searching the scripture upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted.

In the little book entitled Views of the Prophecies in Prophetic Chronology, Father Miller gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules of Bible study and interpretation.

Now how important do you think these rules are now?

And almost nobody here knows what they are.

And so I read that and I thought, why don't I know what they are?

If I want to be proclaiming the 3 angels' messages, If that's what our call is, and we're to be using the same lines that Miller used, seems logical that we would know what those lines are.

She goes on, she says this, she lists 5 of Miller's rules.

Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible.

All scripture is necessary and may be understood by diligent application and study.

Nothing revealed in the scripture can or will be hid from those who ask in faith, not wavering.

To understand doctrine, bring all the scripture together on the subject you wish to know and let every word have its proper influence.

And if you can form your theory without contradiction, you cannot be an error.

Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is a rule of itself.

If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, And he should guess at its meaning or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed or to be thought wise Then his guessing desire creed or wisdom is my rule and not the Bible Review and Herald, November 25th, 1884.

And then she says, The above is a portion of these rules.

In our study of the Bible, we shall do well to heed the principles set forth." Now, I haven't been an Adventist that long.

Genuine faith is founded on the scriptures, but Satan uses so many devices to wrest the scripture and bring in air that great care is needed if 1 would know what they really do teach.

It is 1 of the greatest delusions of this time to dwell much upon feeling and to claim honesty while ignoring the plain utterances of the word of God because that word does not coincide with the feeling.

Many have no foundation for their faith but emotion.

Filling may be shaft, but the word of God is the wheat, and what says the prophet is the shaft to the wheat.

None will be condemned for not heeding light and knowledge that they never had and they could not obtain, but many refused to obey the truth that is presented to them by Christ's ambassadors." Who here is Christ's ambassador?

Because they wish to conform to the world's standard and the truth that has reached their understanding.

The light that has shone in the soul will have been shining through all the ages, and we shall be held correspondingly responsible.

The path of holiness is not a level with the world.

If we walk in this way, if we run in the way of the Lord's commandments, we shall find that the path of the just is as a shining light, is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." So if we are studying the Bible in some other manner, Are we that shining light?

I was talking to someone earlier and in my studies as I had done Bible studies with people, and as I was studying with people, 1 of the things that I found was that we have got this idea that we study the scriptures as we would study our history book in class.

You know, it's sort of a history book, because it is a history book.

And so you may be thinking what does this have to do with agriculture right now?

But if we don't understand the foundations, if we have some method of interpretation, some method of study that's out of sorts with the scripture and we haven't been taught how to study the Bible, we're really not going to understand agriculture, we're not going to understand the 3 angels message, and we're not going to be actually giving the message we think we're giving.

Does anyone here know what the problem the Jews had when they crucified their Savior?

We're told he was the Jewish economy embodied, right?

He was the expressed image of the Jewish economy.

They had an expectation of what Messiah was gonna do and what he was gonna be when he showed up and how that was all gonna happen.

They had a preconceived idea and it was the traditions of men that sealed up the word of God to them, we're told, by spirit of prophecy.

And so I would challenge you as you consider what you're taking in from the people that are standing up here presenting to you, that you be a Zebraean and you test all these things.

Take it back to the Word and if it's not according to that, there's no light in it.

We have a tendency to be enamored with people who seem really smart, really intelligent, that speak well and have these things and it's very easy to get smitten by that.

And I would just encourage you that we will all be tested and tried individually and alone.

You're not going to have your pastor, you're not going to have your wife, you're not going to have your husband, your brother, your sister, your mom, your dad, your child.

They're not going to be there when you're hauled in before magistrates and prelates and judges to give an answer for the faith that is in you.

And we're told this, I want to read somewhat of a long passage.

I apologize, I don't particularly feel comfortable with my own thoughts.

And so I find that I'm trying not to trust myself by God's grace.

But in 5T, 706, it says, Peter exhorted his brethren to grow in grace in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Whenever the people of God are growing in grace, they will be constantly obtaining a clear understanding of His Word.

They will discern new light and beauty in its sacred truths.

This has been true in the history of the church in all ages, and thus it will continue to the end.

There's a principle in Bible prophecy in Isaiah.

It says, I tell you the end of a thing from the beginning of a thing.

But as real spiritual life declines, it has ever been the tendency to cease to advance in the knowledge of truth.

Is anybody here familiar with Revelation 3?

There's a message to the church of Laodicea.

You know we come up here and we're on a mountain right now.

We're kind of at a spiritual high when we come together collectively because there is a lot of like-minded people here.

And We don't necessarily find people who think like this on every given day in our walk.

And it's easy to sort of elevate ourselves and think that we are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing.

And I would warn you to be very careful of spiritual pride.

Darren Greenfield

Sabbath Morning Devotional

It's been an exciting time to hear all the different messages and to fellowship.

I'd like to start with a word of prayer if you would bow your heads with me.

Loving Father in heaven, thank you so much for this wonderful Sabbath day.

Thank you for encouraging our hearts through everything that we've heard here at this conference.

Thank you, Lord, that you have a plan to not only fit us for heaven, but you have a plan to enable us to finish the work you've given us.

And I pray that as we contemplate that this morning, that you will inspire us to do everything in our power to work with you in this plan.

I titled the talk this morning, Agriculture and Education as it relates to the mission of the church.

I was listening to the message last night and I see there's a little bit of overlap in what Brother Bob shared last night.

So please, if you hear it and it's a little bit of repetition, repetition is 1 of the keys to learning.

So there's a few slides here that will be quoting some of the quotes that he gave.

And what I want to focus on is that not only has God given us a message of agriculture to develop our characters and that of our young people and children, but he's given it to us as a means of accomplishing the mission of the church.

And it has actually, in our day and age, it opens doors that are little dreamed of that we haven't even begun to tap into.

I don't have time this morning to basically unravel all of those different possibilities, But I would say that agriculture is the key that God has given us to reach the rich.

The rich people in this world do not like you coming and knocking on their doors.

They don't like you talking to them about God.

They have other things that are capturing their attention, but if you can supply them with healthy food that is being grown in a responsible way, their door is open, they want to hear.

And you can build relationships with them and reach the wealthy in a way that not even the health message, unless they're suffering from health, will reach them.

And so I believe that as the Health message is the right arm of the gospel message.

Agriculture is the foundation of the right arm.

And I won't talk more about that because that's another topic.

I want to talk this morning about the training of our young people and how that agriculture plays a part in fitting our young people to do the work that God has given them.

You know, if we just focus on agriculture and having our nice little lifestyle, growing our own food and staying to ourselves, we'll be no different than seventh-day Amish people.

Not accomplishing the mission that God has given us.

And so we want to keep in mind that God has given us a mission to reach the world, and agriculture is a means to do that.

Jesus said, do you not say there are still 4 months and then comes the harvest?

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields for they are all ready white for harvest.

There are souls out there that are just longing to hear the message, but they need a way of reaching them, and agriculture, I believe, is 1 of the ways.

Jesus also said that the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few.

Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." And so the Lord has said to do what?

We need to be praying that the Lord will send out workers into his harvest field.

Not only can we participate in that, but he said, pray that there'll be more.

There needs to be an army of workers that go out and reach people for his kingdom.

We are told in the spirit of prophecy we can speak to him of our real wants and if we want Jesus to come soon we can hasten that day by doing everything in our power.

And so if that's our real want, we can speak to him of our real want and our earnest petitions will show that we realize our needs and will do what we can to answer what?

We are told that with such an army of workers as our youth rightly trained might furnish how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon coming savior might be carried to the whole world.

How soon might the end come, the end of suffering and sorrow and sin.

How soon in the place of a possession here, with its blight of sin and pain, our children might receive their inheritance where the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever, where the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick, and the voice of weeping shall be no more." Don't be satisfied with your piece of ground here where you grow your own food.

This ground that has been cursed 3 times, from the fall, from the murder of Abel, and from the flood, this ground is cursed.

We need to be looking for the heavenly kingdom and longing for that day and praying for it because when we inherit that land, we'll grow stuff like, it's just going to be unbelievable.

So what is missing in our education that prevents this army of youth being rightly trained from this being accomplished so that the end will come quickly.

Well, we are told that it's the development of character and Brother Bob brought that out beautifully last night.

I love hearing Adventist history because our early pioneers were so zealous to do the Lord's work and they were willing to be radical and to do things that were unheard of and that were crazy in their day.

But they wanted the Lord to come and so they were willing to do what he had said.

And we are told that we have nothing to fear for the future except what?

So We are being reminded through this conference of the Lord's teachings and our past history, and as we look forward to the future, we need to remember, we need to return to that counsel.

So it is character, we are told, which decides man's destiny.

That is very important, and we've forgotten that.

In fact, we are told in the Spirit of Prophecy that all this book learning and just information that is not used in the practical life actually does harm to the brain.

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