SWYC 2015: Christ Our Righteousness

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GYC Southwest

Breakout Session #2

Doug Batchelor

The Papal Visit to America

Father we thank you for this Sabbath day this opportunity to come together as your children to Study the signs of the times and especially how we can be fully surrendered to thee Lord we pray that we can experience what it means to be made righteous by faith in Jesus And So be with us now this afternoon.

Help us to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

I'll try and stop early and give at least 15 minutes for questions.

If we do have a question, we'd like to encourage you to make your question as a sentence, very short, because I'll have to repeat everything you say to make sure it's all got, that we get it on the recordings.

At the last minute when we were announcing the programs for this afternoon, I just felt strongly impressed in light of everything that seems to be happening in the world and in the country, to change my topic.

I was gonna be talking about the way people think and minds and it turns out dr.

McNutty is talking about the very same thing and so I thought well that's of the Lord I'd like to begin by reading something to you just to let you know where I'm going and you can see if this sounds relevant This is from the book Great Controversy, page, or chapter 35.

Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years.

In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy, the papists are taking a more conciliatory course in order to gain influence.

There's an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the Reformed or Protestant churches from the papal hierarchy.

The opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we don't differ so widely on vital points as has been supposed, and that maybe a little concession on our part will bring us into better understanding with Rome.

The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience that has been so dearly purchased.

They taught their children to arbor potpourri and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God.

But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed?

You know, it's interesting that the number 666 is only mentioned a couple of times in the Bible.

Do you know where the first time is that it's mentioned?

In 1 Kings chapter 10, Israel reached its zenith.

See, when God called the nation of Israel, I'm gonna give you sort of an overview of prophecy that takes you from the times of the Old Testament to today.

If you obey me, you'll be blessed when you go out, you'll be blessed when you come in.

Your nation will be a light to other nations and all nations will flow to Israel to learn about your God.

The closest Israel ever came as a united kingdom to realizing the promises of God was during the time of Solomon after the temple was completed when the Queen of Sheba comes to find out about the God of Israel, that's what God wanted.

He wanted the other nations to come to Israel to see the temple, to see the priest, to understand the plan of salvation, to learn about Jehovah, and God would bless them.

And during the time of Solomon, they had great peace.

And you look at the history of during the time, from the time of David to Solomon, there's only 3 kings where there was a united kingdom, Saul, David, Solomon.

It's interesting, 40 years for the time of Saul, 40 years for the time of David, 40 years for the time of Solomon.

You know, Moses' life is divided up into 3 40s also.

40 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness, 40 years bringing people from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land.

And so at the end of Solomon's time, when the Queen of Sheba came, it wasn't quite the end, they brought all these treasures that were flowing into Israel.

They were blessed, they had peace, they had prosperity, they were dedicated to God.

And it says in 1 Kings 10, 14, Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in 1 year was 600 and sixty-six talents of gold.

That's interesting, and I'm not exactly sure to what to make of that, except to tell you After that verse, you go to the next chapter and it says, And Solomon loved many women.

And all of a sudden what had been going up, up, up for a kingdom, it plateaus and it begins to go down.

And they led his heart away after other gods.

And then the son of Solomon, Ariabom, made some bad decisions and the kingdom was split.

And you probably remember the story where King Jeroboam, he said we're gonna have to kinda create a counterfeit religion and he encouraged the people to worship other gods.

And they turned to idolatry and the kingdom of the north, which was the majority of the people, they gave over to idolatry and he set up a golden calf, you'd think they would have learned about golden calves from their history in Israel, but they made another golden calf, 1 at Dan and 1 at Bethel, Dan was way in the north, Bethel further south, and he reorganized the priesthood and they sort of co-mingled the worship of the true God with the false God.

Well, for years, the Southern Kingdom said, no, we're going to stay loyal to the scriptures, we're going to stay loyal to the priesthood, we're going to do it the way God says we should do it.

And there was war between the 2 kingdoms.

But a good king by the name of Jehoshaphat, he said, you know, we've got a lot in common with Israel.

We ought to try better to get along with them.

And God sent a prophet to Jehoshaphat and said, will you be friends of those who are God's enemies?

And Jehoshaphat through his association with Ahab almost got killed, went into battle with him.

Jehoshaphat's son married Jezebel and Ahab's daughter, her name was Athaliah, who ended up killing all of Jehoshaphat's grandchildren after he was gone except for one, and gradually the kingdom in the south began to follow the example of the kingdom in the north and they gave themselves over to idolatry.

And you'll see that during the time of Ahab, when Jezebel, the queen, what does a woman represent in Bible analogies?

For 3 and a half years, better known as 1260 days, or you could say 42 months, Does that sound like Revelation?

There was a famine and this pagan queen, Jezebel, manipulated Ahab, the government, the king, to persecute the prophets of God, Elijah, and they fled into the wilderness, not just Elijah, Obadiah hid prophets in the wilderness and they were fed there by God for 1260 days.

So with that in mind you go to Revelation, it talks about the woman fleeing into the wilderness, God's people are persecuted, There's a compromise that takes place in the church.

And you got 1, 260 days, and a day is a year in prophecy.

Do you see a pattern here where what's happening in the Old Testament where they got 2 streams of God's people, Southern Kingdom, Northern Kingdom, Judah, Israel.

1 gave over to idolatry gradually instead of the Southern Kingdom inspiring a revival in the Northern Kingdom, the Northern Kingdom won over the Southern Kingdom and they were both carried away captive, 1 to Assyria, 1 to Babylon.

Spirit of prophecy says history will repeat itself.

You look in the New Testament times, look in the prophecies of Revelation 12 and Revelation 17, and it tells us that for 1, 260 years, the church went into a great apostasy, and it would receive a deadly wound, but it would come back.

You know, after the children of Israel were carried off to Assyria, it looked like it was all over, but it seemed like the kingdom was revived for a little while.

And you look at the symbols that it gives in Revelation, it talks about this woman.

Jezebel had a daughter that also persecuted God's prophets.

Did you know that Jesus preached 3 and a half years, 1, 260 days.

John the Baptist, the prophet, preaching in the wilderness because he couldn't go to Jerusalem, so he went into the wilderness.

And it tells us that Herodias and her daughter conspired to kill the prophet of God.

And he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.

You see there's a pattern that's taking place.

We're living in a time where this is now happening again historically.

It tells us this woman would sit on 7 hills.

7 hills represent 7 mountains, and I know about the 7 kings, but even on a very basic level, Rome is known as the city of 7 hills.

And she's adorned with gold and pearls and precious stones.

The Roman Catholic Church is the richest religious institution in the world.

She has a golden cup in her hand, central to the mass, is a golden cup.

The whole Reformation revolved around something called transubstantiation because the priest said he could actually turn that fermented grape juice into the blood of Jesus, and that if you wanted forgiveness you had to go through the priest.

What happened is there was a compromise between Christianity and Paganism.

You see, if the devil cannot destroy the church from the outside, he does it like termites by going on the inside.

Protestants used to be very loyal, very conservative, very pious, very biblical.

The day was where every Protestant child knew the books of the Bible.

If you say recite the books of the Bible, they could tell you that.

Tell me the Beatitudes, they could tell you that.

I think even the microphone needs some personal space.

Keala Thompson

Never Good Enough

The presentation is entitled, Never Good Enough.

So if you have any Bibles, you can turn me to Luke 18, verse 9.

So we were created to be loved and to be valued.

Our heart longs for this and craves for it.

But this love and worth we crave for is meant to be filled by God.

And from our parents to stand in the place of God, to make that conscious choice to choose God.

But the problem happens when we don't receive this love and value from our parents and God, and thus we seek to find this love some other way, such as comparing ourselves with others.

For this is the main reason why we often become judgmental and critical of others a young woman came to me and who was married after my presentation she wanted to talk with me And she's on the edge of a divorce and she looked like a wreck.

And she shared how her husband was very critical of her.

And her in-laws also used to put her down and just make her feel that she wasn't doing a good job.

And so she said that the act is so holy and they're always doing good, and doing good things for the church, and doing good things for the school, and just doing a lot of good things.

But she said that they were living a lie, And that they weren't really being real and honest because, you know, behind the scenes, they're re-drinking and smoking, but they're like doing a lot of good things for the church and for the school.

And they actually put her down and made her feel like she's not good or good at all.

And she said she felt like she was never good enough.

Never good enough because never reach that standard that other people want you to reach.

See, beloved, the solution for this critical and judgmental spirit is found in discovering God's love and value for us.

So as we take a look at the parable at the 2 worshipers today, may we experience through this story a new type of love and let us pray.

Father, as we begin we pray for your presence and your Holy spirit to teach us and may we learn about your love.

May we learn about our value is our prayer in Jesus name.

So Luke chapter 18 verse 9 in your Bibles, Who did Jesus tell this story to?

And the Bible says, and he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, number 1, and number 2, that they despised other people.

So in other words, they had a self-righteousness about them, right?

And number 2 is they actually felt that they were, you know, better than others because they actually looked down and despised other people.

Now first of all, these people were self-righteous.

In other words, they felt that they were perfect.

And because they felt that they were perfect, they felt that they didn't need the righteousness of Jesus.

Because if they have their own righteousness, then they're not going to seek to desire Jesus at all because they feel that they don't need any other righteousness.

Therefore, people who are self-righteous feel no need of a savior.

They feel no need of outside righteousness, therefore they're not going to go to Jesus at all.

And that's why self-righteousness can be very dangerous, right?

Now, whenever we think that we can create our own righteousness, which is the righteousness of God, right?

Because there's only 1 righteousness, which is the righteousness of God.

Because if that's our righteousness, which is only God's, then we put ourselves in the place of God.

And the person who puts themselves in the place of God actually becomes the Antichrist, right?

And that's why self-righteousness is actually the spirit of the anti christ of the spirit of the papacy we want to spread a christ not the spirit of the anti christ was I want to have what you would say man in this sort of the bible says that these people also look down upon other people on now who went to church to pray that day in the story that Jesus told?

The Bible says, 2 men went up to the temple to pray, or went to church to pray, 1 a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

Now, a Pharisee was a religious leader, right?

And the Pharisee was actually 1 who actually did a lot of good works, we're going to find out.

So it's actually more of a conservative leader within the church, or conservative religious leader.

And the other person that went to church that day was a publican.

So this publican is another word for publican is a tax collector.

So in this tax collector he actually used to collect money from the Jews for the occupying Roman army.

So do you think he was actually looked good upon by the Jewish people?

So actually the Roman government was his boss and they occupied the Jewish nation and the Jews hated the Romans and because the public had collected money from the Jews to the Romans, right, They were hated by the Jews.

And so, and now that was actually corrupt because he was actually corrupt like Zacharias.

He stole money as a tax collector and he paid everyone back because he actually realized what he did was wrong.

So in the same way, this tax collector probably was corrupt just like Zaccheaus was.

So not only was he a tax collector, but he was corrupt.

So it's kind of like today was a corrupt IRS agent who actually makes you pay more taxes and pockets the money or the corrupt bankers who were bailed out by the government and they pocketed the money and they got away with it and you actually paid your own taxes money for him to get a good paycheck so you have these 2 men coming to church 1 was a religious leader and the other was a sinner.

Both came to church to pray and from the outside, it looks as if the sinner needed the prayers of the religious leader, right, on the outside.

But Jesus is going to tell us soon that he looks not as bad looking for god looks on the way on the hardback for god's looking on the heart so how did this fair c pray looked up the 18 verse you have another by what says here new chapter 18 verse about what says the fair c stood and prayed us with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector, right?

So in other words, he was bragging, right?

He was putting down the other people and said, God, I'm so thankful.

He started praying, like, God, I'm so thankful that I'm not like all these other people, right?

There's all these wicked people out there, that adulterers, you know, these wicked people.

And even this tax collector over here, I'm glad, thank you God, that I'm not like this.

Is it good to be prideful, as was said this morning?

So the quotation here from Proverbs 16, 18, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Christ's object lessons page 154 says inside from Ellen White says there is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency.

Of all sins, pride, it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.

So what is the most hopeless and incurable sin there is out there?

Second Corinthians 10 says for we dare not make ourselves at the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not what Wise.

So is it wise to compare ourselves with other people?

He was comparing himself, right, with the Republican or the tax collector, right?

Now why do you think that this Pharisee put down other people?

Why do people put other people down, you think?

Okay, they don't feel good about themselves, so they're putting down the other person, so what?

That they can actually feel better about themselves right so this arm and that was a bit of his self-worth in other words his self-worth is based upon how well he performs in comparison to others in a in other words the Pharisees religion is totally based upon his performance, right?

Now this Pharisee is judgmental and critical and that's because he's this way he is an abuser too.

In this case, a spiritual abuser in the church.

He's putting down, judging people, being critical, talking bad about them, psychologically abusing people.

Do you think this could happen in our church today?

Do you think this could happen in your own church?

People looking down and putting down other people?

The sad thing that happens when people do this is that their relationship with Christ ends up being destroyed whenever you put down other people.

For if 1 has their own righteousness, then that would mean that they would never turn to Christ in His righteousness, right, like we talked about earlier.

We can become like him and compare ourselves with the Pharisee, like the Pharisee is comparing himself with the sinner, we can be like the Pharisee and then beginning to actually compare ourselves with him and say, look, I would never become even like that Pharisee, right?

Norman McNulty

The High Priest and the Second Advent Movement

We're going to shift gears here from the science of how the brain works to developing in more detail what we talked about this morning in Sabbath School on the sanctuary theme of the book of Revelation.

So this afternoon what we're going to do in this session is the title of the message is The High Priest in the Second Advent Movement.

So we are going to look at Christ's work as High Priest, especially as it relates to the Second Advent Movement.

And I am going to give you some detail that I didn't have time to get into this morning.

So, let's go ahead and bow our heads for prayer and we will get into this session.

Father in heaven, thank you so much that we have this opportunity to be at this meeting and to study your word And I pray that you will guide us through this session, and may we have a clearer understanding of what Jesus is doing for us right now as our great High Priest.

Okay, So, when we look at Jesus in the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And 1 of the things that really jumps out at me when I study the book of Revelation is that Jesus is revealing himself based on his titles in the book of Revelation.

Okay, so that's okay if you weren't there this morning, but basically what I shared this morning is that Jesus has a variety of titles in the book of Revelation.

And in the 7 churches, he's the son of man.

In the 7 seals, he's the lamb who was slain.

In the 7 trumpets, he's the angel with a censer in his hand, he's revealing himself, and those titles describe functions that he has to produce something.

Now what we saw is that as the Son of Man, He came to seek and to save that which was lost, Luke 19, 10, Matthew 18, 11.

And He does that work of salvation because He's the Lamb who was slain.

And He also does the work of salvation as our high priest who's the intercessor whoever lives to make intercession for us and he's in the midst of the church is doing the work of salvation and in the seals there are all the martyrs for the faith but there's the promise that Jesus was slain and He'll be resurrected and He's also interceding on our behalf.

But then there's the next layer that I showed you this morning that not only is Jesus Son of Man, Lamb that was slain and the angel with a censer in his hand.

Revelation chapter 1 verse 5 shows that he is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

And if you study that out carefully, he is especially the faithful witness in the churches, especially to the lay to see in church where he's the faithful and true witness giving testimony in court about the judgment in our church.

And he's the first begotten of the dead and the seals because there's the promise of the resurrection.

And he's the prince of the kings of the earth because when he finishes his work as our great high priest, he's coming back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Now, Jesus especially does his work as faithful witness, first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth from the most holy place.

And remember the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus finishes that work in the most holy place, he has a special group of people known as the 144, 000 who are the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So when Jesus is the Son of Man, and the Lamb who was slain, and the angel with a censer in his hand, who's also the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

All of those are job titles that reveal who Jesus is so that he can produce a group of people who are a revelation of himself.

And he especially produces that production of himself from the most holy place through the second Advent movement.

So that's what we're gonna 0 in on this afternoon.

Sometimes you just look at the book of Revelation and it's like, oh okay, so now I understand the message to Pergamos better.

They hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, oh that's bad.

And yet you still don't see the big picture that Jesus is the faithful witness, and he's especially doing the work of the faithful and true witness to the Second Advent movement, the Laodicean church from the Most Holy Place.

And when Jesus does that work as the faithful witness to the Second Advent movement from the Most Holy Place, he produces a group of people who overcome as he overcame.

And so we're going to develop this a little bit further now.

So the high priest and the second advent movement.

The first half of the book of Revelation is really describing Jesus as our High Priest, so that even though He's the Son of Man and the Lamb He was slain, and yes He's the angel with the censer in His hand, yes He's the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth, it's describing Jesus in the sanctuary in heaven where he is our high priest.

So when we come then to the Laodicean message, and I'm going to take some time now to give more detail to the nature of the work of Christ as our High Priest to the Second Advent Movement.

And now, you know, I just kind of hit it in passing, the message to Laodicea this morning.

Now we're going to look at the Laodicean message a little bit more specifically as it relates to Christ as our High Priest.

Now remember, Jesus is our intercessor, whoever lives to make intercession for us, but in the churches he is the faithful and true witness, the creator, the beginning of the creation of God, and what he says to us, as he says to every other church, I know thy works.

Now it's amazing to me, and this may have been an issue in other prophetic churches down through time, but Jesus actually is interested in our works as our high priest, as the faithful and true witness in court.

And it's interesting to And it's interesting to me that Adventists today consider works to be a four-letter word.

Series

Breakout Session #2

The Papal Visit to America

Transcript

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