Chad Kreuzer

Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Faith

I'm going to share with you a story and then I'll pray and then I'll share the rest of the message.

I'm going to be talking about faith this morning.

And I could tell you many stories of where I've been faithless.

You know, especially early in my walk coming into the faith, I would at times, you know, there would be arguments that would cause me to doubt the existence of God.

And then after growing in my walk with God, understanding maybe some things of apologetics that there are solid reasons to believe.

Over time, that issue of faith went away.

That wasn't really an issue anymore, whether there is a God.

Now, it's not even a question to me whether there is a God, but it's more about, am I right with God?

Am I walking with Christ as I ought to be?

Because the issue of is there a God, to me there's just no question.

But I can tell you many experiences of being faithless in different ways, but that issue by God's grace has gone away, but it's am I being faithful to God?

But 1 of the experiences I had with my wife before we were married, we worked together on a team doing ministry for years.

We were out in an area of Mississippi, backwoods Mississippi, just camping.

And while we were camping, we went on a walk, maybe something like, I don't know, 11, 12, 13, 14 miles.

And she helps correct me, But my wife and I were on a walk, actually it wasn't my wife, it was a friend of mine.

And while we were walking through the backwoods of Mississippi, near DeSoto National Forest, in the distance there were these dogs barking and we're out in the middle of nowhere and the dogs are probably barking at us at this point.

And so my thought was, I'll tell you, I'm not the best with dogs.

So if dogs don't have an owner and they're barking I'd rather not go by them.

And, but they were in the direction we were going and my, you know, this young lady that I'm walking with says, well let's just keep going and I said, no let's not.

And so I grabbed a stick because, you know, I've always learned, especially in the world, you've got to take care of yourself.

That's what I, you know, in the world, it was always, I never in the world thought about, even though I believed there was a God, I've always believed there was a God other than the doubting times, but I never, I never, I mean I always believed he was there, but I always took care of myself.

I didn't talk to him, I didn't ask him to take care of me, I didn't, you know, I wasn't in prayer for his help or whatever.

And so in all situations I learned you just got to take care of yourself.

And so I grabbed a stick and as the dogs were coming and they're barking and they're coming at us I'm holding the stick and I'm yelling at the dogs and They would stay just far enough away.

And I thought if they bite me I'll hit him with the stick and obviously that's not Yeah, funny, huh?

Now I wasn't you know, I'm sorry if you're I I do care for animals and I don't think you should smack animals with sticks, but if you're absolutely trying to save your life, it might be a good idea.

Well, we passed that, but the trouble is the way to get back to where we came from, you had to go through the very same area.

And while we're going back, I kept having this, it wasn't like I heard the voice of God, but I kept having this impression, throw down the stick.

Do you believe that I can actually take care of you with these dogs?

Because honestly, I was literally going through this trial and just so you know, I'm not telling you not to carry a stake, this is not, don't defend yourself against animals.

But at that point, I had this impression in my heart, you need to just let go, you need to trust me.

And I was struggling with it because I'm sitting here thinking I'm not even talking to Fadi because I'm going through this almost an anger situation because it's it's easy as a guy to just think I can control things I can handle I can do what I have to do and so I'm not really talking because I'm going through this battle this war inside of my heart And should I let go of the stick?

And finally I'm wrestling back and forth with God and in the end he typically wins unless I cling to self and finally I took the stick and I just threw it off to the side.

And so Fadiya has a stick in her hand at this point, and she's struggling, do I throw my stick away too?

And finally, she just decides, she threw her stick away, and she was really bummed later because it was a beautiful stick and She wanted to use it for carving.

And so she regretted letting go of the stick.

But nevertheless, they were coming closer to the dogs.

And my heart is racing, but I just decide, if they tear me apart, they tear me apart, what do you do?

It seemed that God has told me I got to let go of the stick.

And so we're walking and we're getting closer to the dogs and finally the dogs are coming and finally this drunk man comes out of this house and he says, you know, he just starts coming out.

Well, you know, you could tell the guy's drunk and he just before in this situation he comes out and he stops the dogs from getting us.

And I knew God had brought this drunk man out just at the right time, because he didn't bring him out before.

The dogs barked and barked, but this time God took care of the situation.

And this is 1 of the few times I can't look back on my life and just say, man, yeah, over and over I had all these, you know, I was strong in faith every single time.

Like I said, now there's not a question of does he exist, But am I walking in faith?

But before we begin, let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word.

And Father, I pray that you would increase our faith, that we would not just believe in righteousness by faith, but that we would actually experience it.

Thank you so much for being out here in nature where we can't even hear a car.

I pray that your Holy Spirit would speak to us in a way that it cannot when we're in an area with all kinds of noise.

What is the first verse that typically comes to your mind when you think of the word faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of what?

So faith is believing in something that you what?

It's not what you think of as blind faith because it's evidence for something that you have not seen.

So faith is not just like I believe in the tooth fairy.

Well you have no evidence that there's a tooth fairy.

Well there's evidence that the tooth is gone in the morning when I put it under my pillow.

But faith is something much deeper than this blind faith that you would typically think of.

Faith is having evidence to base your belief upon.

So faith is believing in something that you have not seen, but also having a good reason for it.

If you believe in the message that we have, I believe that it is as sure that we have the truth as that God lives.

It is sure that we have the truth as that God lives.

I went through in the beginning of my faith experience, doubts, questions.

If I went to somebody and I was sharing with them about, you know, hellfire, state of the earth or whatever, and somebody had a verse, they had an objection that I didn't have an answer to, immediately I would begin to think, maybe we're wrong about everything.

You might think that's a little bit overboard.

But the reality was, is that I didn't have enough evidence.

But as you begin to grow in your understanding, you learn for yourself and your faith increases.

So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

So you can actually increase your faith by the Word of God.

Weston Fargo

Tablets of Our Hearts

The message this morning is titled, The Tablet of Our Hearts.

We're going to start by highlighting the importance of the law and grace, and then we're going to get into a few illustrations where God actually communicates to individuals in Scripture.

We're going to see how intentional God is when He does so.

1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 4 says it's God's desire that all would be saved.

That all would come to the knowledge of truth.

Let's go ahead and bow our heads for just 1 more brief word of prayer.

Father in heaven, we have no need to invite you into this place, Father.

We know you are already here, already present.

But we ask and pray that as we talk about this ever important topic, dear Lord, that you would come into our hearts, that you would come into our minds, that your spirit may be present working on each and every individual in this place, dear Lord.

May we leave changed indeed, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Romans 3.20 says this, Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight.

So Romans chapter 3 verse 20, it's a very important verse.

Romans 3 verse 20 says this, Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight.

Reid, what are you talking about, brother?

I mean, I think I would know if I if I had something on my face read Do I have something on my face I don't know oh 0 Thanks so much brother.

If it wasn't for this mirror, would I have known that I had something on my face?

Because this mirror reveals what's on my face that should not be there.

Likewise, God's law reveals what's in our lives that should not be there.

And so the Bible says, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Now I will make this point, the mirror can only reveal to me what's on my face outwardly, is that right?

The law of God reveals what's in our lives but inwardly, in our hearts.

And so, symbolically, of course, I have my red napkin, symbolic of Christ's blood, amen?

And I'll go ahead and I'll properly take off that tape.

Actually, as a matter of fact, let me ask you this question before I take off that tape.

Can I take this mirror and can I use the mirror, you saw me using this napkin, can I use the mirror to remove the tape from my forehead?

My mirror is a little bit oily now, but if anything, my, the tape is actually further down in my forehead, right?

The law of God cannot cleanse us from sin, but it does let us know that it's there.

And so now, symbolically, I have my napkin, which is symbolic of Christ's blood, and I'll go ahead and remove the tape from my forehead representative of sin.

Saved solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

In His righteousness, in His merits, in His gift of salvation.

Now that's a very important point that we are indeed under grace.

Paul says this in Romans 6.15, what then, shall we sin?

Because we are not under the law but under grace.

In other words, okay, so we're under grace now, no longer under the law.

He uses 1 of the strongest negative connotations in the Greek language.

A while back I used to drive a fast sports car.

It was a six-speed manual, a really fast car.

And so 1 day, Lord forgive me, I'm driving to school and I'm running late.

And so I'm racing to get to class on time.

I don't know if maybe you've had the same experience, maybe not, maybe it's only me.

And I'm racing to get to class on time, trying to get there, driving a fast car so as it is it stands out on the road.

And the last thing that I wanted to see in my rearview mirror, what do you think it was?

And so I pull over to the side of the road.

The police officer comes up to my driver's side window.

And the 2 infamous words that you never want to hear, let me get your license and your registration.

Let me get your license and your registration.

Here, sir, here's my license and my registration.

Police officer goes back to his car, comes back.

And by the way, it doesn't always happen this way, so don't try this on your own.

Insurance, I'm thinking insurance, how much is this gonna cost?

He gave me something that I did not deserve.

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.

Are You Sure You Are Lost?

Father in heaven, we're grateful for the Sabbath day.

We're thankful for the time we can spend together in study of your word.

And now as we pause, I pray, Lord, you might clear our mind of the clutter that has accumulated in the week.

Anything in our hearts that separates us from hearing your voice, may you forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

And may your Holy Spirit be here to be our teacher, our guide, and to lead us into all truth.

And may the speaker today be upheld by your strength, and may Jesus Christ be lifted up.

We pray and ask these things now in Jesus' name.

Recently, I read this story online, Which means it must be true, right?

Back to Menu

All Teachings

Faith

42m

Tablets of Our Hearts

51m

Why Am I A Seventh-day Adventist?

54m

Are You Sure You Are Lost?

43m

One Thing is Needful

44m

AMEN Luncheon Session- Part 2

31m

AMEN Luncheon Session- Part 1

34m

What’s the Best Thing I Can Do For My Family

1h

Keep the Heart

56m

Back to Eden

1h 13m

Bible Mothers

29m

A Great Awakening

50m

Sound Doctrine