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Northern Idaho Regional Campmeeting

Norman McNulty

High Time to Wake Up

Well, a very happy Sabbath to each 1 of you.

And it's been my privilege to be here at the Northern Idaho Regional Camp Meeting this week.

As I said on Thursday when I first spoke, this is my first time to Idaho and I have been greatly impressed.

I very much enjoyed my time here, and I even had a chance to slip over into Montana where I'd never been either.

I saw Kootenai Falls, saw some people from camp meeting here, and the Lord has been good.

And I think I've certainly been blessed by the other presenters as well, and I believe that the Lord has been moving in a powerful way to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus.

Before we get into our message for this morning, I would invite you to bow your heads with me for prayer.

Our Father in heaven, we know that we are living in momentous times.

We believe with all of our hearts that Jesus is coming soon.

And Lord, I pray that as we've gathered today on this high Sabbath of camp meeting, that today would be a day that you would move in a powerful way through the Holy Spirit to touch our hearts with the conviction of our need for Jesus and of our conviction of the nearness of his coming.

And I pray that we would not allow another Sabbath and another camp meeting to go by without making it clear in our minds a firm decision to have given all of our heart to Jesus.

And I pray that you will speak through me this morning to give just the words that are needed.

And so be with us now, this morning I pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.

The title for our message this morning is high time to wake up.

And I want to start in Romans chapter 13 in a very familiar passage of scripture.

Romans chapter 13 verse 11 which says, and that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." Friends, if you are sleeping now, now is the time to wake up because Jesus is coming soon.

It's way too late to be a Seventh-day Adventist sound asleep in a world of sin.

It's way too late in this earth's history to be a Seventh-day Adventist consumed by the cares of this life.

And God is looking for a group of people who will wake up from a Laodicean slumber and go forth to meet the bridegroom.

Continuing on in Romans 13 it says, The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light, let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof." In other words, what this passage is saying is, as we wake up from our sleep, let us put on the righteousness of Christ.

Let us stop making provision for the flesh.

Let us stop having a plan B in our mind where we say, well, if I don't follow the Lord, I have plan B where I'll go off according to the flesh and I have a game plan to fulfill the carnal desires of my heart.

God is not looking for 7th-day Adventists who have a backup plan at this late day of earth's history.

God is looking for 7th-day Adventists who will wake up and rise up like an army to go forth and to meet Jesus who will put on Christ and His righteousness.

And as we talk about a sleeping church, We go to the words of Christ in Matthew chapter 24 and again in Matthew chapter 25, and I'm well aware that Pastor St.

Hilarious spoke about the parable of the bridegroom opening night.

I was not here, but we talked about it, and I'm going to share some thoughts as well.

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is approached by his disciples, asking about the signs of his coming and of the end of the world.

Because in the mind of the disciples, they believe that the destruction of Jerusalem would be the end of the world.

And Jesus gives a variety of signs and gives a number of signs that tell us of what to expect before Jesus comes back.

And all of Matthew chapter 24, basically from verse 5 onward, and all of chapter 25 are letters in red.

So these are the words of And in Matthew chapter 24, verse 44, Jesus begins, he begins to describe the condition of his church just before he comes back.

Let's start in Matthew chapter 24 verse 44.

Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." Verse 45, Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season.

Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing." In other words, Jesus is saying, be ye also ready for an hour that you think not I am coming back.

And there is a blessing for my servants who as they lead out among God's people, as they see that Jesus is coming soon, they give meat in due season.

They give spiritual food that is appropriate for the time that we are living in.

You know God needs more wise servants among the Seventh-day Adventist Church today.

Do you realize that at this time of Earth's history God needs more messengers to rise up and to give me in due season.

Because, friends, let me tell you something.

We are far past the time where we should be hearing pleasant truth and feel-good sermons and itching-ear sermons and sermonettes for Christianettes.

Jesus is coming soon, and there is a message for this time to wake up a sleeping church.

And Jesus says, blessed is that wise servant who gives meat in due season, who gives what we would call present truth.

Truth that is appropriate and relevant for this time.

And friends, listen, I mentioned this 2 days ago in my opening message, but these are no ordinary times to be alive.

We are a church that is becoming divided over how to interpret Scripture.

We are a church that in many ways show a division in our understanding of how to follow what Jesus says and it's showing up in how we live our lives and our lifestyle and practice.

And it makes you wonder how could 1 church house 2 companies of people that view inspiration so differently?

We are a church in crisis, and as we come up to this general conference session, which I believe to be the most momentous general conference in my lifetime, and probably since 1901 or 1888.

Friends, we need to be praying earnestly that the Holy Spirit is going to move in a powerful way at that session.

God promises that there will be wise servants who give me in due season.

But not only that, we continue reading, it says, Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Verse 48, But bet and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming.

Notice there are wise servants and evil servants.

The wise servant is giving a message appropriate for the time, identifying that Jesus is coming soon and that if we're not watching we won't be ready when he comes.

But the evil servant, he's not saying openly, but he's saying in his heart, my Lord delays his coming.

Now I want to submit to you today that in this section of scripture there are 3 classes of Adventists.

There are wise servants, there are evil servants, and there are foolish virgins.

Because when you read the section on the lies and the evil servants, you may come away saying, well hey, I believe Jesus is coming soon so I'm wise, but we're going to see that a theoretical knowledge of truth is not enough.

But the evil servant says in his heart, my Lord delays his coming.

Now, most Adventists that I have met are not openly out there saying, oh, Jesus isn't going to come for another thousand years.

There's a few that are a little bit bold like that.

I've met them, but most aren't saying that.

When you say in your heart, my Lord delays his coming, how are you going to live your life?

Are you going to be living your life with a watchful expectation, looking at the signs around you, looking for the coming of Jesus, or are you going to become taken over by the ways of this world?

Notice what the next verse says in verse 49, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunk." And now notice this.

You have wise servants giving a message that is appropriate for the time, saying, Jesus is coming soon, it is time for us as Seventh-day Adventists to be prepared for the coming of Jesus, but the evil servant, he's not saying it openly, but in his heart he's saying, my Lord delays his coming.

But what is his response to the messengers that give the message of the nearness of the coming of Jesus?

1 way to know by their fruits you shall know them.

1 way to know who the evil servants are in the church are people in the church who resist the preaching and the proclamation and the teaching of the 3 angels messages.

If you have people in the church who resist the proclamation of the 3 angels messages, that tells me according to Scripture, according to the words of Jesus, that in their heart they are saying, Jesus isn't coming anytime soon.

Please don't talk from Scripture about the coming of Jesus.

And it says that they smite the fellow servant and they eat and drink with the drunken.

Now in a prophetic sense, they are eating and drinking with those who are drunk, those who are drunk with the wine of Babylon.

And let me tell you something, the evil servants who are resisting the proclamation of the 3 angels' messages, they're drinking the wine of Babylon, meaning they have come under the influence of the theology of Babylon.

And Jesus tells us very clearly, before he comes back in his church he will have wise messengers who will be proclaiming the soon coming of Jesus, yet at the same time, there are going to be servants or messengers who start to imbibe the wine of Babylon.

They become inebriated or intoxicated with the wine of Babylon, and so they don't want to hear about the coming of Jesus.

And friends, now is the time for us as God's people to rise up and in the Spirit of Christ proclaim the meat-induced season that Christ has given to this church to proclaim.

Because listen, if we as Seventh-day Adventists put down the banner of the 3 angels' messages, we've lost our purpose for existence.

If your church is not proclaiming the 3 angels' messages, it does not have a purpose for its existence.

God has raised us up to give meat in due season.

He has raised us up to be wise servants, not to be evil servants." And then we see in verses 50 and 51 that the evil servants will be cut off and thrown out with the hypocrites.

So you may be saying, boy I'm so thankful that I'm not an evil servant.

I believe that Jesus is coming again, and I believe that I'll be ready when he comes.

But I'm going to show you here shortly that there is more to our message and to being ready than having a theoretical understanding.

Let me read you a couple of interesting statements.

The first 1 comes from Last Day Events, page 172.

You can also find it in Selected Messages, volume 2, page 114, and this is basically covering the same concept of the wise and the evil servant.

Ellen White says, divisions will come in the church.

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High Time to Wake Up

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