General

Remember the Sabbath Day

This is the message given by Pastor Robert Taylor on the Sabbath Day 5 October 2013 at the Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian church in Santa Barbara, CA.

Are you tired, worn our or stressed out? This message is for you!

Genesis 2:1-4

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Sabbath Day of rest was made for man. God is the Creator. Evolution theory removes the fact that God is the Creator. The reason Evolution is a theory is that there is no proof that all life forms came from a single organism. Evolution is a philosophy. Here is the definition of evolution found on Ask.com:

“Evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations.” Evolution philosophy teaches that life and species on this earth are to get better and better over time. This philosophy is opposite of what the message of creation reveals in the Bible.

The Holy Bible says: Heaven and earth were finished in six days. We are all faced with a choice. Do we accept that Evolution is true or is God’s Word true?

Man is able and may rearrange life on this earth but man can never add to creation. There is evidence of micro evolution when you look at how a species of dogs has bred with other species and created a totally different mixed breed of dog but evolution theory can never create into existence a dog that is not now here.

God created man during creation week. God’s way is perfect. God provides everything in the first six days and then rested on the Seventh Day. So after creating man, God knew that man would need a weekly rest which came first. Then God sanctified and gave His blessing on the 7th Day Sabbath. Here is a beautiful passage from Patriarchs and Prophets page 47:

The Creator gave them still another token of His love, by preparing a garden especially for their home. In this garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit.

There were lovely vines, growing upright, yet presenting a most graceful appearance, with their branches drooping under their load of tempting fruit of the richest and most varied hues. It was the work of Adam and Eve to train the branches of the vine to form bowers, thus making for themselves a dwelling from living trees covered with foliage and fruit.

There were fragrant flowers of every hue in rich profusion. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, surpassing in glory all other trees. Its fruit appeared like apples of gold and silver, and had the power to perpetuate life.

The creation was now complete. “The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Eden bloomed on earth. Adam and Eve had free access to the tree of life. No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.

The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”

God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory.

After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it, or set it apart, as a day of rest for man. Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God’s great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of God’s wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker.

Genesis 1:31

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God looked back and noticed all that He had created and it was all good including mankind. God wants to be part of your life today.

The Pharisees loaded up the Sabbath with all kinds of rules and regulations. Jesus had many confrontations with the Pharisees and Chief Priests over the Sabbath, God’s merciful appointment with man. We all need the Sabbath for remembrance. He is our Creator. He designed us to Seek Him.

God doesn’t want us to burn out. We can do work of mercy and necessity but your daily burdens should be set aside. You will be more productive the other 6 days of the week.

The Sabbath is the pause that refreshes. Celebrate God’s creative power. Spend time in God’s Word and attend church with other Sabbath keeping Christians. Take a nature hike with your family. Visit a shut in or someone that is lonely and be a blessing to them. You will be refreshed and grow from the experience. God Bless You!

There Is a Way

Jesus said it: “I Am the Way” ( John 14:6 ). So simple. So profound. So thrilling! If it is righteousness that we need, we must remember two things. First, our soy-milk-drinking, tofu-eating, TV-rejecting, church-office-holding, literature-distributing, Bible-studies-giving, abstinent righteousness will never cut it with God. The best righteousness we could ever develop on our own would be only ‘filthy rags’ righteousness. Second, Jeremiah 23:6 speaks of “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” ( emphasis added ). This means that He Is the Way.

What about perfect obedience to the law of God? Heaven could never open its gates to sometimes obedience or occasional obedience or quite often obedience or even mostly obedience. Perfect obedience to God’s law is what it takes. The psalmist directs our attention to the way in words prophetic of Jesus: “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” ( Psalms 40:8 ).

Jesus Christ never once disobeyed. He never once broke God’s law. He never once broke His Father’s heart. He never once sinned. An all of His obedience is a gift to me when I accept Him, so this makes Jesus the Way.

All of us, myself included, desperately need acceptance by the Father. Paul wrote: “He has made us accepted in the Beloved” ( Ephesians 1:6 ). Thank God, trembling soul, that Jesus says, “Because I am the Way, you can gain acceptance with the Father. Trust Me.”

And what of our need for maturity, for finishing, for completeness in the Christian life? Colossians 2:20 trumpets, “You are complete in Him.”

The answer is the same for whatever need one might have. Cleansing. Victory. The fruit of the Spirit. Justification. Sanctification.

So, the “I am the Way” of John 14:6 isn’t an oversimplification. And it certainly isn’t ‘cheap grace’. Rather, it’s the most expensive grace imaginable, because we haven’t been purchased with money “but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” ( 1 Peter 1:19 ).

By the way, this isn’t ‘new theology’. It’s the Gospel ( Good News ).

After having seven studies about Jesus, one young Buddhist woman was asked how she felt about what she had heard. Her answer, “It’s too good to be true.” But it is the truth. He is the Way and the Truth.

Seventh-day Adventists who have emphasized behavior, performance, obedience, law, standards, rules, and requirements need to know this truth.

Seventh-day Adventists who don’t have any joy or assurance in their Christian life need to know this truth.

Seventh-day Adventists who are trusting in their level of achievement or sanctification need to know this truth.

Seventh-day Adventists who are guilty, burdened, condemned, and who are worn out from trying need to know this truth.

And Seventh-day Adventists who just don’t see how they can ever measure up need to know the rich, powerful, saving meaning of these four words, “I am the Way”.

I’ll tell you what they mean to me. I can be accepted while He is making me acceptable. I can be perfect while He is perfecting me. I can be justified while He is sanctifying me. I can be ready while He is getting me ready. I can be complete while He is completing His work in me.

I can be saved while He is saving me. Is this not what Martin Luther meant when he said, “When I look at myself, I don’t see how I can be saved. But when I look at Jesus, I don’t see how I can be lost?”

On 21 May 1946, Louis Slotin and seven other men were carrying out a dangerous experiment near Los Alamos, New Mexico. They were working with pieces of plutonium, which produces deadly radioactivity when enough of it is brought together. During the experiment, the pieces were accidentally nudged a little too close together, and a great upsurge of radioactivity filled the room. Slotin moved at once. With his bare hands, he pulled the radioactive pieces apart. But in so doing, he exposed himself to an overwhelming dosage of radiation. Several days later he died. The seven other men recovered.

Jesus came down to this dangerous, deadly earth laboratory where we live. On the cross, He threw Himself on the explosive, destructive force of sin, covering it with His own body so we could escape and live.

There has to be a way to be saved; there just has to be–and, praise God, there is ! Jesus’ life instead of yours. Jesus’ righteousness instead of yours. Jesus’ perfection instead of yours. Jesus’ sinlessness instead of yours. Jesus’ death instead of yours. Offer this to the Father by faith, and see where it gets you.

These are the notes from Linda who gave our Wednesday night Bible Study devotional message recently. The following books by Ellen White were researched to put this message together.

1. Child Guidance
2. Education
3. The Desire of Ages

He Wants to Be Your Friend

How do you feel when you go to your best friends’ house? You are eager to see them. The lights are on, and both of their cars are in the driveway. Expectantly you walk up to the door as you hear sounds of merriment inside. Ringing the doorbell, you wait a while, then ring again. After another wait, you use the knocker on the front door. One of your friends walks by the door, glancing out the side glass. Although you know that he sees you, he still walks back into the house. I think anger would boil up in my heart. Why should I even try to be friends if he doesn’t care about me? I have had it with this friendship. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” Revelation 3:20, NKJV

Simply saving the name Joel is a one-word declarative statement affirming “Jehovah is God.” Throughout history, the Creator-God has been so misrepresented, ignored, and maligned that whenever someone says the name Joel with meaning and understanding, it must bring joy to His heart. Just read a little from Isaiah 53 and think how you would feel if you were Jesus. “He is despised and rejected by men….And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him….He was oppressed and He was afflicted….He was led as a lamb to the slaughter” ( verses 3-7, NJKV ).

God’s greatest desire is to be friends with us. Our first step in developing that friendship is to say with meaning and understanding, “Jehovah is God, and He is knocking on my door”.

Come in, my Lord. I am truly sorry that I ignored You so long. Can we still be friends?

This is from the God of Wonders devotional by David Steen. Meditation from 28 September 2013.

What Does the Bible Say About the Sabbath

Just finished listening to an excellent message from an Australian Pastor. He made a great point that most of the Christian world is following traditions of man and not what is written in the Holy Bible.

All during Jesus ministry on earth, Jesus read the scriptures in the Synagogue on the Sabbath Day that God made in Genesis 2. The seventh-day Sabbath was blessed and sanctified by God and is a weekly 24 hour holy time meant for us to be in close fellowship with our Creator. The Sabbath reminds us that God created us and also provided a path to Salvation for us as Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath day.

Whenever a person dies on this earth, a last will and testament is usually left with instructions for how the property will be divided. Once the person dies, there is NO way for that last will and testament to ever be changed.

The same principle applies to those of us who are saved Christians. Because the Sabbath was made for all man in Genesis before there ever was a nation of Israel, all man is called by God to honor the Holy Time He made for us. God doesn’t need the rest because He does not get tired. He knew then and knows now that man needs to break away from the demands of this world and have a day of rest.

When Jesus Christ instituted Holy Communion in the Last Supper meal on the night before He was killed on the Cross at Calvary, the institution of Holy Communion was established.

When Jesus gave up His spirit on the Cross, the new covenant was sealed. There is no way the new covenant can ever be changed.

Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath day and then rose on the first day of the week which is Sunday. Look in your dictionary and you will find that Saturday is the seventh-day of the week. It always has been as there has always been a seven day weekly cycle.

Over 200 languages of the world use the word ‘Sabbath’ for Saturday. In Spanish, the day is called Sabado.

So where does going to church on Sunday come from and who changed God’s Law which is unchangeable according to the word of God in the Bible?

In the first couple of centuries after Christ death at Calvary, Pagans were holding festive events on the day of the sun or Sunday. The Roman Empire was still ruling the world. Christians still met in churches on the Seventh-day Sabbath. Some believers wanted to distance themselves from the Jewish traditions and the Emperor Constantine approved Sunday as a day of rest during his years in power around 323 AD.

I have some overwhelming facts that EVERY Protestant needs to read. If the Protestant church of today knew what the Catholic church did in the past regarding the 7th Day Sabbath they would not be worshipping on Sundays today. I guarantee that if you are a TRUE child of God seeking to do exactly as the Creator would have you do, this information on this page will effect you in a major way! Prophecy states plainly that the beast will seek to change “times and laws” and on this page you will see ample evidence that the Roman Catholic church ADMITS to that very act!

The Word of God says:
Daniel 7:25, “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

The word of Rome says:
“The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ.” “The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ.” -Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.) Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary. 

Practice of the Original Apostles

Throughout the book of Acts, we find that the Apostles continued to observe the Sabbath regularly. They did this with Jews as well as with Gentiles, and-guided by the Holy Spirit-the entire early New Testament Church continued to meet on the seventh-day Sabbath for decades after Jesus’ death. Even mainline Protestant historians acknowledge this fact. In his book, The Story of the Christian Church, Jesse Lyman Hurlbut states, “As long as the church was mainly Jewish, the Hebrew Sabbath was kept; but as it became increasingly Gentile the first day gradually took the place of the seventh day” (1970, p. 36).

Notice that Hurlbut says the first day “gradually” replaced the seventh-day Sabbath. Did God gradually do away with His law? Ridiculous! As we shall see later, conniving me “gradually” DECEIVED millions of professing Christians into doing away with not only the Sabbath, but the entire concept of obedience to God’s law!

However, no such change took place during the lifetime of Christ’s original Apostles. Even the Apostle Paul-the Apostle to the Gentiles-kept the Sabbath regularly. And he wasn’t even converted to Christianity until well after Christ’s resurrection. Notice the account of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:14: “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.”

“But,” some might argue, “Paul was just meeting with the Jews on Saturday since that was their Sabbath!” However, the book of Acts tells us that “when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath” (13:42). Here was Paul’s grand opportunity to inform the Gentiles that they would now meet on Sunday! But did he? On the contrary! “The next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God” (v. 44).

The truth of the matter is that neither Paul nor ANY of the Apostles uttered one single word about changing God’s holy Sabbath or any part of the Ten Commandments. Rather, as they had been taught by Christ Himself, they kept, and always assembled on, the seventh day.

What about when Paul traveled through predominately Gentile areas? God’s Word tells us, “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his CUSTOM was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (17:1-2).

It was clearly Paul’s “custom” to meet on the Sabbath. Acts 18:4 tells us that “he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” In example after example in the book of Acts, when Paul or the other Apostles met to worship, there is not a single, solitary hint that they ever regularly met on any other day of the week to worship except Saturday-the seventh-day Sabbath that they had always
observed and that the Jewish community was still observing.

In fact, if they had started teaching some other weekly day of worship, it would have caused a literal RIOT among the Jewish Christians! The only major ministerial conference mentioned in the New Testament is described in Acts 15. It was occasioned by a bitter controversy over whether Gentile Christians should be compelled to be circumcised. The book of Acts notes the incident that sparked this conference: “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the Apostles and elders, about this question” (vv. 1-2).

At the conference in Jerusalem, after there had been “much dispute,” Peter rose up and carefully explained how God had called the Gentile Christians through him apart from any command to be physically circumcised. Afterward, Paul and Barnabas described the fruits of their Work among the Gentiles, without circumcision being involved. Then James, the presiding Apostle at Jerusalem, summarized the matter and stated, “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood”(vv.19-20). Finally, a letter was drafted, outlining this landmark decision and the reasons for it (vv. 22-29). Paul took a copy of this letter with its decrees and read it to all of the Churches under his jurisdiction (16:1-5).

Some will argue that the four prohibitions mentioned here are the only laws from the Old Testament still binding on Christians. But notice that murder is not listed. Are we, then, free to commit murder? Obviously not! So why are these points specifically mentioned? Because the four things Christians are to abstain from here are practices that were common to pagan religion. In sacrificing to their idols, many pagans would strangle animals rather than slitting their throats and letting the blood drain from them. Then they would eat these offerings and commit gross sexual immorality as religious ritual. The prohibitions in Acts 15 were originally part of God’s statutory law. But they were also listed later with the ceremonies and rituals of the Levitical worship system to keep the Israelites from adopting these wrong practices (cf. Leviticus 17:7, 10; Numbers 25:1-3). The Apostles wanted it understood that, although the ceremonial and ritual parts of the Old Testament law-including physical circumcision-were no longer necessary, these four points that were given in the ceremonial section of the law were still binding. And why were they still binding? Because they were part of God’s original law-which was still in force!

Bear in mind that this great controversy and subsequent apostolic conference took place over the ordinance of physical circumcision. How much MORE of a debate would have raged if the Apostles had tried to change or do away with one of the Ten Commandments-especially the one about God’s weekly Sabbath, the very identifying “sign” of God’s people?! There would have been an absolute UPROAR. But do we find even the slightest hint of a dispute over any such change?

We do NOT!

As the expression goes,” the silence on the subject is DEAFENING.” There was no such change until scores or even hundreds of years after the death of the original Apostles! So neither Jesus nor the apostolic Church EVER attempted to change the Sabbath. They never attempted to do away with obedience to ANY of the Ten Commandments!

Most of the Protestant Christian churches have fallen to the deception that came through the Catholic church which is an apostate church. There are hundreds of millions of wonderful and devout Catholic believers. Most saved Christians will be with Jesus when he comes back. What the Bible is warning us of is that the Apostate church is the Beast Power of Revelation. God has a problem with the Papal system that deceives hundreds of millions of Christians.

Malachi 3:6 states: For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Matthew 5:17-18 states: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

You can also see some excellent videos about the faithful followers of Jesus keeping the Ten Commandments down through the centuries at the website below:


Seek out your local Seventh-day Adventist church and you will find a man or woman more than eager to share some excellent Bible study guides. The Seventh-day Adventist church began in the 1840’s when a group of young Seventh-day Baptist and Seventh-day Presbyterians studied scripture well into the night.

Ever since the Protestant reformation began on the day Martin Luther nailed his Thesis on the doors of the local Catholic church in Wittenberg, Germany, God has guided His followers to continue to restore Biblical truth.

I will write a new article to document all of the different truths that came from these followers of Christ. The Seventh-day Adventist church is a melting pot of believers from many churches including the Baptist church, the Catholic church, the Methodist church and the Presbyterian church.

Give me the Bible, Holy Message Shining !

God’s Love

Real quick article about the 7 aspects of God’s Love for Mankind as spoken by Ty Gibson on the Three Angels Broadcasting Network recently.


God’s Love Is:

1. Universal
2. Personal
3. Pursuing
4. Change Less – Unalterable
5. Non Condemning
6. Self Less
7. Empowering

Holy Communion Service

Here are some excellent scripture readings about preparing our heart and mind for the cleansing that is offered to all Christians in the Holy Communion Service.
 
The Seventh-day Adventist Christian church makes this service open to all believing Christians. The Lord’s Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Savior. In this experience of communion, Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people.
 
As we partake, we joyfully proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Preparation for the Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service of foot washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness to serve one another in Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in love.
 
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
  
I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is.
 
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
 
Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
 
 This is my body, broken for you.
 Do this to remember me.
 After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
 
 This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
 Each time you drink this cup, remember me.

What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.  If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences.
 
Matthew 26:17-30
 
On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”
 
He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.
 
After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”
 
They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”
 
Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
 
Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”
 
Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”
 
The Bread and the Cup
 
During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:
 
 Take, eat.
 This is my body.
 Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
 
 Drink this, all of you.
 This is my blood,
 God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins.
 “I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”
 
They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.

Revelation 3:20

Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father.

John 6:48-63

Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread—living Bread!—who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live—and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”

At this, the Jews started fighting among themselves: “How can this man serve up his flesh for a meal?”

But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By ea
ting my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.”

He said these things while teaching in the meeting place in Capernaum.

Too Tough to Swallow

Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”

Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this throw you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.”

John 13:1-7

Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

Lessons to Learn

Sermon preached by Pastor Robert Taylor on Sabbath, 27 July 2013 at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church.

There are many challenges in the world today. There were many challenges in the world during Jesus time on earth 2,000 years ago.

John 4:6-10

Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Jews saw themselves as special. Racism existed. The Samaritan woman came to draw water from Jacob’s well. She was a reject. There was a strange man sitting at the well. That strange man was Jesus.

Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for some water. The woman recognized that Jesus was a Jew. Jews did not talk to women-especially a Samaritan woman. Let’s look at the rest of the scripture now to learn the lesson Jesus taught all mankind.

John 4:11-42

The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

The Whitened Harvest

27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

The Savior of the World

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.

42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Jesus projected kindness and a gracious spirit to the Samaritan woman. Jesus does not allow Theology to be a barrier to people He loves. What would happen if Christians would quit fighting and just let Jesus explain everything when He comes?

The Samaritan woman replied to Jesus: “I know the Messiah is coming”. Then Jesus proclaimed: “I am the Messiah”.The Theological debate today is that Jesus didn’t teach about His being the Messiah in the temple at Jerusalem. Jesus chose Jacob’s well and a conversation with a Samaritan woman to teach mankind many lessons.

In the book Desire of Ages, page 189, Ellen White reflects that Jesus spoke of no condemnation. Jesus knew that the woman had five husbands in the past and was not currently married. “Jesus had convinced her that He read the secre
ts of her life; yet she felt that He was her friend, pitying and loving her. While the very purity of His presence condemned her sin, He had spoken no word of denunciation, but had told her of His grace, that could renew [190] the soul.”

The Samaritan woman because an instant evangelist after she realized who Jesus was. Read Desire of Ages page 190 to The woman was a practical witness. She explained to her community that Jesus had told her of her past. Many Samaritans were converted to Christianity because of the Samaritan woman at the well.

“The water of life, the spiritual life which Christ gives to every thirsty soul, had begun to spring up in her heart. The Spirit of the Lord was working with her.”

“The plain statement made by Christ to this woman could not have been made to the self-righteous Jews. Christ was far more reserved when He spoke to them. That which had been withheld from the Jews, and which the disciples were afterward enjoined to keep secret, was revealed to her. Jesus saw that she would make use of her knowledge in bringing others to share His grace.” Desire of Ages page 190

2 Corinthians 5:14-20

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Have you accepted Christ’ quench thirsting water in your life? Will you share Christ with thirsty people? Who is the Samaritan woman in your life? Who has Christ put into your life to share and witness to about Jesus and His Love?

We Are All Americans

FINALLY – – Someone in the teaching profession had the courage to set the standards so badly needed NOW.

Here is a recent speech given by the new high school principal to the student body in Colorado. Mr. Prager set the standards for the school.
We watched high school principal Dennis Prager of Colorado , along with Sarah Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago….what a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were also guest speakers they did little but nod and agree with him. This is the guy that should be running for President in 2016!
A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give.
By Dennis Prager
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.
First , this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity — your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.
This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America , one of its three central values — e pluribus Unum, “from many, one.” And this school will be guided by America ‘s values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism — an unhealthy preoccupation with the self — while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.
Second , I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America ‘s citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here — it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English — but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third , because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor , everything in this school will reflect learning’s elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.
Fourth , no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school’s property — whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can’t speak without using the f -word, you can’t speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as “Nigger,” even when used by one black student to address another black, or “bitch,” even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth , we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way — the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago — by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth , and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue.
There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate — to be alive and to be an American.
Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb

This post contains notes from Pastor Robert Taylor’s sermon given on 6 July 2013 at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church.

Have you had time to reflect this week about what it means to be an American? America is so much more than picnics, parades, and fireworks!

In your Bible, look up Revelation 13:11.

The Beast from the Earth

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.”

We as Seventh-day Adventists realize this verse in Revelation is where our nation is.

Our founding fathers include great men like Patrick Henry, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. These men wrote moving messages and were great leaders of our nation after winning Independence from Great Britain. Here is some of the rational thoughts these leaders wrote.

Patrick Henry declared that our nation was founded not upon religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

George Washington wrote in his farewell address that religion and morality are the basis of our nation.

Thomas Jefferson wrote: Believing with you that religion is solely between man and His God. Legislators should never write a law declaring a religion.

John Adams wrote: “Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.”

The year was 1775. There were men and boys ready to defend Massachusetts. They began calling themselves Patriots. They made a bold declaration. They fought for the right of freedom.

One third of the population were ready for change. There were 56 men that signed the Declaration of Independence. How do you and I value the freedom that we have?

What about the choice of being a believer in Jesus Christ? Do you remember the day when you publicly declared you wanted Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? You made a bold statement that day. Knowing Jesus and proclaiming Him as Lord of your life is a bold commitment.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
 
Jesus comes first in your life when you are born again! If you are living as a committed follower of Christ, you made a bold statement!

Joshua 24:14-15

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

We are in a war. The devil is going to do everything he can to cut us off and pull us down. The devil knows our weak spots. Turn back to your Bible and remember that Christ says: “I will be with you always.” You do not have to be in this war alone.

Rewards are great. Victory is assured. Victory is available to all even in our greatest loss.

Many will say that they Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb but they have not let go to Jesus. Jesus asks us to Abide In His Word.

John 8:36

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

One day we will reap what we have sown.

Revelation 7:9-17

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The reward is beyond our imagination. Why would we want anything else?

I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb of God!

Fatherhood

The following notes are from the sermon given by Pastor Robert Taylor at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian church on 15 June 2013 which was Father’s Day weekend!

Fatherhood

Names that we call Father include: Dad, Daddy, Pop. Jesus called God: Father.

Romans 8:15
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:6
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

Luke 24:46
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

The first two books of the Bible, Genesis 1 and 2, introduce man to our Father as the Creator of the world.

The Great Controversy between Good and Evil is all about the Character of God.

Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

1. Do you know our Heavenly Father’s true character?

Jeremiah 9:24
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

1 Peter 1:18
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers.

Be careful when you say that you will not ever be like your parent.

2. Knowing God Reveals Truth

Isaiah 6:3
One cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Daniel 4:35
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

When Nebuchadnezzar saw God’s goodness, he was changed and transformed. Daniel was a devout follower of the Lord and his actions led to King Nebuchadnezzar’s change of heart.

John 17:3
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Daniel 11:32
Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

The transformed person displays Christ like character. In Christ Object Lessons, page 30, Ellen White wrote about all the righteous attributes.

Matthew 5:48
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus reveals the true character of the Father-God of Love.

Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Our heavenly Father is glorified when we worship Him. Ellen White wrote in Christ Object Lessons, page 331 about how the Father changes our heart and minds by His Grace!

3. Loving Our Heavenly Father

Are you reflecting His Character Today? Have you allowed His Character to Transform You?

Instant Grace Received by the Thief on the Cross

These are notes from Pastor Robert Taylor’s sermon at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Church on 8 June 2013.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.

What does its mean to be in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Grace is offered even to those that don’t deserve grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

There are only 2 principles that God uses to deal with human beings: Law or Grace. Sinners deserve death. We cannot be delivered from this penalty. Only grace saves us.

All other religions teach that humans are saved by their works. Let us look at what Jesus has done for the sinner.

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.

Jesus bridges the Gap between God and Man. Jesus has purchased my Salvation by His Blood.

1 Peter 1:18-19
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

1 John 2:2
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

We can have forgiveness as Jesus covers us.

Romans 3:23-24
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

When Christ is received as our Personal Savior, we are saved through Grace. Most of the world is familiar with the following Bible verse:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Ellen White wrote in Testimony to Ministers page 370 that the message of Grace must be preached. Let us now look at what it takes and how quickly we can have Grace.

Terms of Salvation

Luke 23:42-43
Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

In these two short verses, The Thief ( sinner ) was saved in just 2 sentences. The thief saw himself. He saw Jesus. The thief realized his sinful life compared to the sinless life of Jesus and appealed to Jesus in a humble faith. The thief went from raunchy to redeemed instantly. The thief went from a Law Breaker to a Law Keeper, from the Son of the Devil to the Son of God, from Sinner to Saint, from eternal damnation to eternal salvation.

Matthew 5:48
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Did the thief become perfect that fast?

Steps to Christ page 43.
God’s promise is, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.

The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness. By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: “Dead in trespasses and sins;” “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;” “no soundness in it.” We are held fast in the snare of Satan, “taken captive by him at his will.” Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 1:5, 6; 2 Timothy 2:26. God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.

The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.

The government of God is not, as Satan would make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. “Come now, and let us reason together” is the Creator’s invitation to the beings He has made.

The bottom line is Beginner’s Salvation is so important. It is all a Gift: Grace, Forgiveness, Salvation, Righteousness, Eternal Life, Sanctification, Mercy, Redemption.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

1 John 5:11-12
This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

If I ask Jesus to be my Savior, He will respond. Don’t make it complicated. The thief found it all immediately. When God looks at you, all God sees is His Son Jesus! The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, rejoice in your redemption!

Romans 10:13
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Jesus wants to be the center of your Life. When your friends-family see you, who do they see? Are you extending Grace-Kindness-Love? This reflection of Jesus to the world is Christianity’s greatest gift. Even during strife and trials and difficulties, we can still share that Grace and Mercy to other people!

Where Are We Going as a Society?

Where are we going as a Society ?

Society

SantaBarbaraChurchThe following notes are from the sermon given by Pastor Robert Taylor at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian church on Sabbath, 1 June 2013.

Day of Abuse

Disasters

Earthquakes

Floods

Hurricanes

Tornados

What are we to make of all of the natural disasters that are in the headlines just about every single day now?

Humanity itself is strikingly different than it was just 30 years ago. Abuse of God’s creation has resulted in:

Break Down of Human Relationships

Domestic Violence

Wars

Did you know that right now there are over one million refugees from the crisis in Syria? Where are we going as human beings?

There is also Biblical Abuse among Christian People. Many are not properly using Scripture as it is written or twist the meaning of what is actually stated in print. Am I guilty of Biblical Abuse?

We seldom hear of victims of Biblical Abuse. Look at all the different Christian denominations. It is impossible for them all to be right. These denominations may be sincere but are they mishandling Scripture?

There are gifted pastors, teachers and personalities that mishandle Scripture. We as Seventh-day Adventist Christians can also be guilty of Biblical Abuse.

The problem of Biblical Abuse is not from a lack of Bibles. It is how we handle the Word of God. We must look at our Interpretation and Understanding of Scripture.

societyDuring the time of Jesus Christ earthly ministry, it was often the Scribes and Pharisees that mishandled the Word of God. These were some of the most knowledgeable people in that time. They memorized Scripture but mishandled God’s Word.

Matthew 9:10-13
Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Matthew 12:3-8
But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 15:1-14
Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

Jesus8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,

And honor Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

9 And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

Pharisees had let traditions get in the way of the Truth. Just because someone has a big following doesn’t mean they preach the Word with Truth.

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Acts 17:11
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Five W’s are What-Who-Why-Where-When

What – Never Forget What You Are Handling – Holy Bible

Who – Who Has the Authority ?

Why – Ask Yourself the Same Kind of Questions as the Disciples Asked Jesus to Fully Understand What Jesus Preached and Meant for Us to Understand.

Where – Think About Where You Are In Your Walk with Jesus.

When – Focus On The Word When You Study. Designate a Special Time to Study and Grow with Jesus and His Saving Grace.

Search the Scriptures as the Holy Bible is God’s Word to You and to Me. Look for the Truth that is in Jesus. Dwell on the same things that Jesus did. Our very being will be affected. You will have an incredible experience you must not miss!

Farewell Sermon from Pastor Pete Geli

Pastor Pete Geli served the Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian church for many years. He recently retired and preached a farewell sermon on the 25th of May 2013. I wrote down some notes to share his main points.

In the Book of Revelation 22:6-8, John writes:
The Time Is Near

6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

In verse 7, Jesus is declaring: Certainty-Urgency-Importance.

The Urgency is repeated in Revelation 22:20 where John wrote:

I Am Coming Quickly

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church gathered and was formed in Michigan. The founders of the church were Christians that came from several different Christian denominations:

Baptists
Catholics
Methodists
Presbyterians

The name that was chosen includes the ‘Seventh-day’ to signify Jesus and His Holy Sabbath Day. The Seventh-day also signifies the work He has done as our Creator and Redeemer.

The term ‘Adventist’ was chosen to stress how important the second coming of Jesus is for the Christian faith.

Three times in the Holy Bible you will find the statement: “Behold, I come quickly”. Jesus is making a Request, a Challenge, and a Blessing and you find this in the last prayer in the Holy Bible found in Revelation 22:20.

Deuteronomy 33 is Moses’ Farewell Sermon. God gave to Moses a panoramic vision of Canaan and redemption. In Deuteronomy 34, the people wept for Moses for 30 days.

Elijah represents those who are translated.

In Acts 20, Paul gave a Farewell Sermon. Paul cared for the early Christians deeply and gave powerful messages to them in Greece and his last sermon was given to the Ephesians.

Jesus farewell sermon is found in John 14. In the words Come Lord Jesus are 3 actions for us as people.

Come is a Request. 

Lord is a Challenge.

Jesus is the Blessing.

Many people accept Jesus as Savior but have a hard time accepting Jesus as their Lord and serve Him. 1 John 2:4 says: He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Do we have idols in our life? Is self or material things in our way? We come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing. Have you ever seen a moving van at a funeral?

What is it to be a Seventh-day Adventist Christian? Have a Loving Relationship with Jesus as our Savior. God has raised an end time church to share the Gospel message to the world.

Disneyland and Disney World pale in comparison to the Second Coming of Jesus!

The third word ‘Jesus’ is best depicted in Matthew 11. Study that chapter.

What Is Holding Back the Second Coming of Jesus?

1. Strife
2. Unbelief
3. Unconsecrated 
4. Worldliness

What can we do? Our bulletin statement says it all:

It is our Mission-
To Know Jesus Fully
To Reflect His Character Clearly
To Share His Message Joyfully

Revelation 12:11 reads: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Ask Jesus to Take Over Your Life Today! Let Us Hasten His Coming! God Be with You!

Baptism and Christian Life

Here is the message Pastor Taylor preached to us on the Sabbath Day, 18 May 2013 at Santa Barbara, California Seventh-day Adventist Christian church.


Baptism
Jesus was very mature for His age. Jesus communicated with God the Father daily. In today’s world, Jesus would probably have been labeled as a failure. In reality, Jesus was anything but a failure.
John 13:12
So when Jesus had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you?
Jesus showed mankind that walking humbly is what we should strive for in our relations with others.
1 Corinthians 11:27-34
For this reason, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A person should examine himself first, and in this way let him eat the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks without careful regard for the body eats and drinks judgment against himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead. 31 But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you assemble it does not lead to judgment. I will give directions about other matters when I come.
Paul is telling us that Jesus expects man to examine ourselves.
When we have repented and ask to be baptized, we are declaring our relationship with Jesus.
In Matthew 28:18-20, God the Father gave Jesus authority to go out and baptize. To be a Christian often meant being ostracized, persecuted and despised by people.
Ellen G. White wrote in Testimonies Volume 1 Page 140: “There must be a sacrificing for God, a denying of self for the truth’s sake.”
Romans 6:3
Do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Paul says that Baptism buries our old sinful self. Sin will still tempt us, however we are now following Jesus! Baptism is a Divine Picture! We have nothing to fear with Christ’s Eternal Nature on our side!
Future after Baptism is found in Romans 6:11: So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Sin is no longer the ruler of our lives. Live our lives as offerings to God. Stay away from activities that used to tempt us. Make ourselves instruments of Christ’s righteousness!
In the early church, Christians renounced sin – were baptized – then they went and shared the saving grace offered through Christ with many more people. In Acts 2, three thousand souls were baptized on one Sabbath day!

How to Deal with Tragedy

Boston Bombings & Explosion in Texas

There were 8 tragedies that occurred during the week of 15 – 21 April 2013. Anyone of the following events would make headline news on days where there were no major tragic events happening in the world.
 
1. Boston bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon athletic event kills three people and causes many injuries.
2. Gun Control Laws fail to move through the United States Senate after the tragedy of the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings that happened in December of 2012.
3. Tainted beef was found in Nebraska. Nebraska is well known for having prime cuts of beef for people that still eat animal products.
4. Major earthquake in Iran measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale causes many deaths and injuries.
5. Major flooding in the Midwest after severe drought the year before.
6. Price of gold drops dramatically causing a large loss for many people that depend on investments in precious metals to have a retirement income.
7. A tragic fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas causes many deaths and injuries.
8. Major earthquake in China measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale causes many deaths and injuries.
 
I saw people posting messages on Facebook about several of these tragedies last week. My business suffered the rest of the week as I was overwhelmed with sadness.
 
Just hearing about these events can cause a person to feel sad, worried and depressed. I no longer listen to the news programs or news channels except for the 30 minute Nightly Business Report and the one hour NewsHour program on PBS each evening. I prefer to listen to more hopeful and positive messages while working from my home office!
 
Friends, The Bible has a message for His People. God wants us to be Happy and not Sad. I am not saying that it is not right to be sad. As a person that has suffered from too much sadness and depression in the past, I can share what is helpful to me to break free from the over exposure to sadness and negative messages people are bombarded with on a daily basis.
 
I am glad Pastor Sam Geli gave a message straight from the Bible during his sermon on Sabbath, 20 April 2013 at Santa Barbara Seventh-day Adventist Christian church. Here are the highlights of Sam’s message:
 
God wants us to be Happy. The word ‘happy’ is mentioned 42 times in the Bible.
 
In the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, the word Blessed comes from the Hebrew word meaning happy.
 
Matthew 5
 

 

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
 
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 
When we live the Beatitudes, we are painting a picture of Jesus Christ to the people around us!
When King David was sad, he sang songs of Praise. Read Psalms 100 and Psalms 144 in your Bible. David repented and lived out a joyful life serving God and singing praises to God.
Contact me if you want to know some more resources about how to live a joyful Christian life!
Daniel Parsons

 

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