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San Francisco Central SDA Church

Jim Ayer

How Big Is Your God?

You know, we're still here, but God doesn't want us here.

And what we're going to talk about this afternoon is basically about that journey.

How do we go from where we are to where God wants us to be?

It's all about learning to walk with Christ, really getting to know him as our very best friend.

So if they, I see they have that too, if you'd maybe take 1 of those and talk a little bit more about that.

Now, Terry also, you've met Terry, and Terry asked me to get in a little more of a costume today so I've got kind of an interesting outfit put on the glasses so I've got my glasses on today you see the situation is I understand Ellen White actually preached from this very pulpit and James White, Loughborough, these men preached and these ladies from this very pulpit.

But here we are in a few short months really.

It'll be the general conference session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Antonio, Texas in July, beginning of July 2nd to July 11th.

July 11th, interesting date because you see on July 15 in the year 1915 God's people laid the prophet to rest.

She thought she was going to see God's kingdom.

She knew that God's people were going to heaven.

Just as with Moses, she was laid in the grave without seeing the promised land, oh, without physically being there.

She saw it, she'd been there, she'd walked hand in hand with Jesus, and the earth maiden knew.

The Lord had said, this is what I have ready for all of you.

This was written in the 1880s, about the time she preached from this pulpit.

For 40 years, and I'm putting on glasses that I don't use and don't need, but it's kind of character right now.

For 40 years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shout out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan the same sins the same sins what sins the same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan in neither case were the promises of God at fault listen to this now it is the unbelief the worldliness the unconsecration and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years." Wow, that should bother us.

That should bother us because apparently, you see, God was looking to come long before this.

And then in 1897, right around that time, she wrote these words to God's people had the Church of Christ done her appointed work the Lord that the Lord ordained the whole world how much of the world The whole world would before this have been warned and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power in great glory.

About 1897, about the time Ellen White had been preaching from this pulpit, the Lord would have come.

He was looking for a people that were fully and completely surrendered to Him but were told like ancient Israel.

You remember they painted the doorpost with the blood of Jesus Christ.

If it wasn't for the blood of Jesus Christ, we would have how much hope?

They painted the doorpost to their house with the blood of Jesus Christ and then at the deliverance hour at midnight, Jesus delivered them out of Egypt, out of the land of sin and bondage, took them out and got them up to the Red Sea.

At the Red Sea, here comes the Egyptians.

The Egyptians are so mad and so frustrated now.

And some talk about maybe 100, 000 warriors.

They're ready to descend and destroy Israel when a pillar of fire and cloud come down and separate the Egyptians in Israel.

And God says, stand and see, stand and see what?

Stand and see the power of God because already These slaves are whining and whimpering about, you brought us out here to die.

It would have been better if you just left us in the land of Egypt as slaves.

We would have been happier as slaves in the land of sin.

And then God parts the sea, and over a million people go across on dry ground.

And then that sea comes back and swallows all of the pursuing army.

Moses sings a song, Exodus chapter 15, the song of deliverance, the mighty axe and the mighty power of God.

This morning I ask you, how big is your God?

You see, because in Revelation chapter 15, there's also going to be a new song that we sing.

It's kind of interesting because it's a song of deliverance also.

But there was a problem because God delivered the children of Israel in 1 night from captivity but it took him 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel They got up to the promised land, there to the borders.

God said, it is a land flowing with milk and honey.

You see, it's got everything I've prepared for you.

All you need to do is go in and possess it.

Well, as they got in there and 40 days later, the spies come back and, wow, a couple of the kids, I can envision the kids saying, look, look, look, look at that, look at that, look, look, everybody, look.

They've got a big old pole and 1 cluster of grapes hanging on that pole between them.

Now I would suggest that nobody up in Napa has ever had any grapes that big.

God had prepared a land flowing, truly flowing, with milk and honey and all the spies get back and they verify yes Lord everything you said is true and you'll find this in Numbers chapter 13 but then unfortunately there's a word that we should never have nevertheless nevertheless and what was the never let what it go with nevertheless there's giants in the land and in our own sight we're like grasshoppers.

In our own sight we're like grasshoppers well there's a problem who are these people looking at I would submit to you they were looking at the Giants but they're looking at somebody else because they said in our own sight we are like grasshoppers.

So while they'd looked at the Giants they begin comparing themselves with the size of the Giants and you know what it was true.

It was absolutely true because they found King Og I think his bedstead his bedstead was over 13 feet long.

That's a pretty good-sized guy in anybody's estimation and and put most of us up alongside that today and you could say yes indeed grasshoppers, no doubt about it.

But you fast forward to Joshua chapter 3 and now 40 years later because the children of Israel did not believe God did not believe in the promises of God, did not believe in the power of God, and so they all died in the desert.

Now God again, the children of Israel up at the borders of the Canaan land, and they send out spies again.

I've always kind of wondered why didn't God's people go up, you know, spend a little time at the prostitute's house?

Well, if you really think about it, lots of guys going in and out, you know, they're right there on the wall and nobody really pays much attention to a couple more guys, right?

But just before they're ready to go to sleep at night, Rahab runs upstairs, guys, guys, don't go to sleep yet, let me tell you something, let me tell you something, we saw, we saw what your God did to the Egyptians.

We saw what your God did to the Egyptians.

They'd been watching and they said our hearts and did melt our hearts did melt now if you look in the Hebrew that word melt is our hearts became liquid how many of you today if you're a 13-foot giant can fight a good battle if your heart is liquid?

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How Big Is Your God?

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