by Pastor Donald J. Gettys

Biblical quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.

God is Wasteful

One day I was out hiking on the Appalachian trail. We had gone ten or fifteen miles that day. I've probably walked about a hundred miles of the trip I suppose. Not much of the trail. I was carrying a big back pack and they don't have "Taco Belles" along the trail and their facilities, you know. So occasionally you have to step off the trail. I stepped off the trail and headed back to a remote area, and I spent some time noticing what God had made. On a remote knoll well off the trail, I sat down to rest. I wondered how many people in the history of the world had ever been on that isolated spot. There beside me, my eyes feasted on a clump of tiny but extremely beautiful flowers. Was I the only human to see these intricate masterpieces of God? Then I noticed many more far down the slope until they were too far for my eyes to see. Here were all these flowers growing, thousands of flowers. Maybe millions of flowers on all these mountain slopes. And there was no trail down there. There they would bloom and flourish and eventually die without benefitting anybody. I thought, "You know, God is so wasteful. This is such a waste. Why can't these flowers grow in my yard? Why can't these grow around our church? Why does God allow these flowers to grow here? I can't even get flowers to grow in my yard. Why is this? God is wasteful!" And then I thought more deeply about God. And I thought, "You know, He loves all of us. With His perfect love, is some of His love wasted on some of us? Yes, I suppose it is." Even God's love is wasted sometimes. He lavishes His beautiful love on Sinners, many or maybe most of which will never respond to it or appreciate it. I want you to notice a text in your Bible: 1 John 3. Here he writes about God and God's love. 1 John 3:1, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! God lavishes His love on His people! That's wasteful, isn't it. God's love is EXTRAVAGANT. You could even call God's great love wasteful. Like a mountain flower whose sweet fragrance will never benefit any human being. There it just grows. Wasted. So God's great love is profusely lavished on everyone. Come over here to Romans 5 in your Bible. This is one of my favorite places in the Bible. I want you to notice what God does with His love. Romans 5:5-8 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now, obviously He wasted some of that, didn't He? If He died for every single human being, how many people are going to be saved? Do you think fifty percent of us will be saved? Somebody said, "One in twenty." I don't know. A lot of love is wasted. Or is it wasted? I don't believe it is. Does God love bad people? Does God lavish His love on bad people? Yes He does. When God tells us to love our enemies, that surely means that He Himself loves those who hate Him. We are told in Luke 6:27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you," That's what God does every day. He does good to bad people. 1 John 4:7 Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. In fact, John tells us that God is love. Why does God love us so lavishly? Have you ever thought about that? It's certainly not because we are so valuable. In fact, I would submit to you that we are valuable because He loves us so much, and not vice versa. That's why we have worth. We are valuable precisely because God loves us so greatly. We have a member of our church by the name of George Sheldon Stevens. He's a retired pastor, a member of the McDonald Road Church, and he wrote a poem, called, "God's Extravagance."  

  GOD'S EXTRAVAGANCE  

How lavishly God gives to all
To gratify our varied needs;
Like from the trees He makes to fall
A rich hyperbole of seeds.  

He gives more food than we can eat,
More clothes than we can ever wear,
More oxygen than we can breath
Unseen surrounds us in the air.  

A grace we cannot understand
A depth of love we can never know,
He scatters all across the land,
We feel it everywhere we go.  

These blessings we cannot explain
In any flowery platitude;
God only asks that we maintain
An effervescent gratitude.  

A happy face should be our style,
That everyone we meet may see
The unsaid message of our smile 
"This is what God has done for me."

That's all you can do: be grateful for that grand wonderful love. Just like God pours out His beautiful flowers on both the beautiful lush mountain meadows, He also pours them in the remote places, the rocky places of the world. You see flowers growing everywhere. Just so, He pours our His love on the bad places of the world. He pours them out on unresponsive hearts. Why? To get something to happen, so that His love may grow there. Astonishingly, God pours out His exuberant love upon both saints and sinners. Imagine God wrote you this letter: "Dear Don, Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends; I hoped that soon you'd want me to walk along with you, too. So, I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited -- you never called But I just kept on loving you. As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted to touch you. So I spilled moonlight onto your face. It trickled down your cheeks as so many tears have. But you didn't even think of Me; I wanted so much to comfort you and give you joy. The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into glorious morning, just for you. But you woke up late and rushed off to work -- you didn't even notice. So, My sky became cloudy and My tears were the rain. I love you, oh, if you'd only listen. I really do love you. I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky. The wind whispers My love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vibrant colors of all the flowers. I shout it to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and compose love songs the birds to sing for you. I warm you with the clothing of My sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent. My love for you is deeper than any ocean and greater than any need in your heart. If you'd only realize how much I care. My Dad sends His love. I want you to meet Him -- He cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So, please; call on Me soon. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait -- because I love you. Signed: Your Loving Friend, Jesus I like that. That's what Jesus is like. Look at 2 Corinthians in your Bible. 2 Corinthians 8:20, Paul speaks about God's generous grace: We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. Today Christians sing of God's luxuriant grace by such songs as "Amazing Grace." Paul calls it, "liberal," God's grace is liberal, extravagant! Why is it so amazing? Because it is so rare. Nothing in the human life even faintly resembles the rich superabundant love that God bestows on mankind. About two weeks ago, I went outdoors where we live, and I noticed at my house there in the Little Debbie rain gage that I have, there were almost three inches of rain in there. I thought, "Wow, we had a lot of rain in the last twenty fur hours." I try to empty the rain gage every morning. And got to thinking about all that rain. You know, that much rain for every square foot in my yard would be almost a gallon, wouldn't it? Our yard has over sixty thousand square feet. So in one rain shower I received more water than I would possibly drink in two lifetimes. Just in one day! That is amazing! Is it wasted? Did it all go down the drain? Did I utilize any of it? That is precisely how God showers His love on each of us every day! Is it wasted? Do we appreciate it? In Psalm 23 David tries to describe a little bit of what God does. And here he says, My cup overflows. That's what God does. He did that to David. He does that to every one of His people. You can be absolutely certain that Jesus love you. God loves you. He loves you just like you are. You need to accustom yourself to that wonderful fact that regardless of whatever you have done, he still loves you because that sunrise still comes up over your head. It's there for you. He's telling you something. Every day God lavishes His unlimited love upon you. Give God the benefit of the doubt. He's there for you. He's kind. He's pleasant. He's loving. He has your best interest in His heart. He is living to save you. If you don't resist, you're going to be in heaven. You're going to be there some day. God's generous character will be displayed more fully when we arrive in Heaven. We really don't know God here. Not fully. Imagine when you get to heaven, God is going to welcome you. You would expect that when somebody comes home from Viet Nam and they've served as a soldier over there. The balloons are going to be out in the front in the front yard, aren't they? Maybe there would be fire works. Imagine what God is going to do when we get to heaven. He's going to have a welcome ceremony. In fact, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." God loves you with a wasteful love. And I don't want it to be wasted on me. We can know a little bit about what God's love is like by examining God's attributes. For instance:  

• God is self-existent. Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God... Where did God come from? If you can answer that question, I want to hear your answer. God has always existed. He is self-existing. That tells me that His love had no beginning;
• God is eternal. That tells me that God's love has no ending. That would be correct, wouldn't it?
• God is infinite. His love has no limit.
• God is holy. God's love is pure. His love is noble.
• God is immense. Because he is immense, his love is an incomprehensibly vast, bottomless, shoreless sea before which we kneel in joyful silence and from which the loftiest eloquence retreats confused and abashed.

All we can do is kneel before His ocean of love and enjoy it and accept it and respond to it and pray that you will have that same kind of love in your heart. At least a little bit of it, a taste of it. God's love is measureless and boundless. It has no bounds because it is not a thing. This pulpit, I can measure this pulpit because it is physical. It has measurements. Anything that is physical I can measure. But God's love has no measure because it is not physical. His love is something that He is, and therefore you can't measure it. It is capable of holding the entire world and ten thousand additional worlds times ten thousand more. God can handle that because His love has no bounds. A few weeks ago, I was out walking at an early morning hour. I suppose you all do that. It's a wonder I don't bump into you in my early morning walks. Maybe it's too dark, I don't know. Anyway, I was out walking up on White Oak Mountain and here the sun came up. And with it came one of the most glorious sunrises I have ever seen. Just fantastic! I thought, "How wonderful it is. God is so faithful every morning; the sun comes up. He's so faithful. Do I disappoint Him every day, or am I faithful?" I'm up there, worshipping the Lord, you know, and thinking all these thoughts, and here's this glorious sunrise, just coming up and I'm just feasting on it, and it was there to benefit every person in my home town in Collegedale. Did it benefit every person in Collegedale? Was some of it wasted? You get up early in the morning. You leave early. You see the sunrises. A lot of those are wasted. People are watching "The Today's Show" or something. I don't know what they're doing. That sunrise was there. It was there for me. Yet that is how God is. Our God is so faithful. Every morning His mercies are fresh and new. God will always be there for you. He will never let you down. You know, there's no need to beg. You don't have to get up in the morning and say, "Please fill me with your love." Okay? Because God's love isn't like that. He is willing to fill you as light is to fill a dark cave. All you have to do is open the door and it's going to come in. That's how it is with God's love. You don't have to beg for it. He's as willing as water is willing to flow into an empty vessel. Love is pressing around us like the air on all sides. If you open up, you're going to be filled with it. That's what it's like. We have to cease to resist and instantly, God's rich love takes possession of us. It's beautiful! It's wonderful!  

• There is nothing you can do to make God love you more!
• There is nothing you can do to make God love you less!
• His love is total, impartial, everlasting, infinite, perfect, pure!
• God is love!

"In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn-cup; God already loved his chosen creatures." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon John 3:16 (KJV) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Let's look at that word, "so." If I were a fisherman and I told you, "You know, I caught a fish and it was so big." The word, "so" is a fantastic word. "God so loved the world." Can you grasp what that is trying to say? He loved us wonderfully, specially.  

God is so wasteful.
• Why did God put so many Stars in place?
• There are billions more than you will ever see!
• There is more air than you can possibly inhale.
• Think about your senses.
• There are more sounds than you will ever hear.
• There is more spectrum than what your eyes can ever see.
• There are more smells than you will ever know.

I will tell you why He did that. I believe that God oversupplies like a heavenly spendthrift, not to be wasteful, but He wants us to know that He is more than able to be our God and our Savior. He is more than able. His grace is more than adequate to supply our spiritual needs. His forgiveness is more than sufficient to blot out our deepest sins. Jesus is more than able to save you if you will just surrender in complete trust in His ability to be your Savior. God is like that. He is a wonderful God. Jesus is able to save you to the uttermost. If you completely surrender to Him and trust Him he will save you. Do you love God Who so lavishly cares for you? I do, and I know you do, too. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." - (John 14:15) Respond to our benevolent Heavenly supplier. Honor your Father and your Savior Jesus Christ by living a life of gratefulness and respect to Him from Whom all blessings so richly flow. Fall in love with Jesus. Be determined that God's lavish love will not be wasted on you. Let's live life to honor God. Your life is God's loving gift to you. What you do with it is your loving gift to God. Give your whole life, today, to Jesus Christ. A beautiful song articulates the quality of God's lavish love:  

   Could we with ink the ocean fill,
   And were the heav'ns of parchment made, 
   Were every stalk on earth a quill, 
   And every man a scribe by trade, 
   To write the love of God above 
   Would drain the ocean dry, 
   Nor could the scroll contain the whole, 
   Though stretch'd from sky to sky.
               -  Chaldee Ode

 

Hymn of Praise: #344, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Scripture: John 3:16
Hymn of Response: The Love of God

McDonald Road Sermons

by Pastor Donald J Gettys

Biblical quotations are from the New International Version NIV unless otherwise noted. KJV - King James Version, NLT - New Living Translation.

Shaken But Not Rattled

I am very pleased to present to you a topic this morning about how we, living in the last days, are going to go through a shaking time. But there are some key factors that will enable you not to be shaken out. I believe firmly that we're living in the last days. I preached a sermon on that just a few weeks ago, we have the editor of the Signs of the Times coming next weekend and he's going to preach a whole series on the last-day events beginning Friday night. What a wonderful theme. We had the privilege of living in southwestern Michigan near Berrien Springs, in South Haven. Many of our church members had apple orchards. They raised straw berries, blue berries, about everything. One day Don Piper of Bangor, MI asked me to come and see his apple processing building. So I went there. They had apples that had been picked in the fields, in these large crates and they were dumped in to a hopper and went on a conveyor belt through a washing machine. From there they went onto another conveyor belt where they were shaken. They went through the shaking time. As a preacher, I was thinking about all of this. What happened is all the apples and leaves and everything that came out of the washing machine came on this conveyor belt and were shaken and there were holes in the bottom. As they moved on up, the holes became larger and larger. So the small apples dropped away first and then the larger apples. Finally, at the very end of this machine, only the big large beautiful apples made it to the end. I thought about that. "That's neat! That's exactly what happens in the last days! Yes! A medium sized apple could say, 'Well, I've already been through my testing time.'" No, there's still more ahead. But if you endure to the end, you will be eaten, saved or whatever. No average-sized apples made it. He took me on a tour of his processing building. Apples were dumped into a large washing machine and then conveyed up to a sorting machine. The apples passed over holes. As they move along the small riffraff fell through the little holes. Next small apples fell out. They were drop-outs! Eventually only the nice large apples made it to the very end. Now, what does that mean for us? I think the apples that made it. What determined whether one apple made it and another apple didn't? It's the amount of apple inside of the skin. I would submit to you that it's the amount of Jesus Christ inside of your heart that's going to make you go through to the end. That's the key. What is it that enables a Christian to go through the shaking time and endure to the very end? Well, let's turn to the Bible. Let's read about the shaking time. Come over here to Amos 9:9 (NLT) For I have commanded that Israel be persecuted by the other nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, He could have said, "as apples go through the processing." yet not one true kernel will be lost. Not one true kernel will be lost. They are all going to make it if they are true kernels. I believe that great shaking time has already begun, don't you? We're in the sieve. We're being shaken. My mother used to have a flour sifter. She'd pour some flour in there and crank the handle and it would all come out the bottom. God is allowing His people to experience a great quaking and shaking time. And this time is for our benefit. Come over here to 1 John 2:19 (KJV) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would not doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. The NLT says it this way: These people left our churches because they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left us, it proved that they do not belong with us. So, some people are going to leave us. The ones that aren't going through to the kingdom are going to leave God's people. You stay with God's people. God's people stay with Jesus. God knows many folk that are on the church books are going to leave. They are not going to continue through. They are going to be shaken out, and that's where Babylon is. They're going to be shaken out, these artificial Christians. They are not born again. They do not have a personal, saving relationship with Jesus. That's the key. You must have that relationship with Jesus, otherwise you will go from us, the Bible says. Let's look at Luke 22:31,32(NIV) speaking about Peter. "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Many Christians do not believe that Christian faith can fail. You realize there are some denominations that preach faith can't fail. Once you've got faith, it can't fail. If it is true that faith can't fail, then Christ wasted many prayers didn't He? Because He prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. Jesus did not say that He would pray and Satan would not sift Christians. That's not what He says at all. Jesus does allow His children to be sifted. He allows us to go through troubles and trials that will shake us. It will shake us out if the right things aren't in us. Jesus prayed that His disciples would have a fail-proof faith. Can anything be shake-proof? Yes. Are you shake-proof? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV) Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. It is possible to fall, so don't think, "I am shake-proof" if you aren't. Some of us will fall and others won't. What makes the difference? I believe there are three requirements to be shake proof. I want to go through these with you this morning. Three requirements that make us shake-proof. I hope all three of these are in your life. You can't just have one; you've got to have all three to be shake-proof. 1) - REGULAR PERSONAL DEVOTIONS Do you have regular personal devotions in your home? Do you, I'm not talking about your family, have personal devotions?

Not watching a TV preacher.  That's not personal devotions.
   Not listening to a Radio evangelist, as good as they are.
   Not listening to a preacher on Sabbath each week.  That's not  
   regular personal devotions.

All these things are wonderful, but none can substitute for your own personal time with Jesus. You've got to have that. If you don't have that, you don't have the faith that will go through the last days. Matthew 4:4 (NIV) "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" That's where it comes from. You, as a Christian, have to chew your own food. No body else can digest your food for you. You, personally must have personal devotions. I have them. But you, personally must have personal devotions as well. One on one. Here comes a very personal question: Do you, yourself, spend meaningful, quality, personal, significant, daily time with Jesus Christ? Do you? If not, you are on your way out! You're not on your way out of this world. You're not on your way to heaven. Unless you have that daily personal time with Jesus you are on your way out of God's family. "By studying and obeying the directions (of the Bible) not one soul would lose its way to heaven." - 1Selected Messages (EG White) p. 16. This is crucial. We must be a people of the Book. Are Seventh-day Adventists people of the Book? We used to be. Are you a person of the Book? You may say, "Well, I'm a teenager. I'm only twelve years old. I can't even read well." You can have a personal life with Jesus whatever age you are. Such a person has a shake proof devotional life. She's on her way up! On her way to heaven. Study your Bible Faithfully. Study your Bible every day. You know, a strange thing happens here at McDonald Road. Almost every week we find a Bible or two that folk have left behind at church. Some of them are expensive Bibles. Some are brand new Bibles. Some have real leather bindings. Many have no name of any kind in them. My secretary asks, "Whose is this?" Well, I don't know. Sometimes people come and get them. Most times they just sit here. Sometimes we have to give them away after they've been here for months. We register our car in our name. We engrave our name on all our valuables as part of anti crime programs. But why do we not simply write our name in our Bible? And a much larger question: Why don't we allow God to write His word in our heart? O, that we would value the Word of God! That only happens when you have daily breakfast on the Word of God. Feast on His word. Make it a part of your daily diet. Speaking of those who study God s word we read that "superficial students also will turn away from Christ." - Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, (EG White) p. 133. Oh, don't be superficial. In fact, this happened in Jesus' day. Look at John 6:66 (NIV). Some of Jesus' disciples were shaken out. From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. What had happened here? From the context here, Jesus had related to them some very specific truths. Plain truths had come to them and they couldn't accept it, so they stopped following Jesus. Some of Jesus' disciples when Jesus presented the plain truth to them, stopped following Jesus. How desperately Christians must be a people of the Book. We must understand the truth or we will be shaken out. How desperately we as Christians need to be a people of the book. We must understand the truth or we will be shaken out. Do you understand the truth? What is the truth? The truth is Jesus. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:16:) And His words are truth. Do you realize you've been hearing Adventist preachers for years. Many of you have. Are you afraid of the shaking time that is coming on the world in the last days? If you are hid in the bosom of the Savior, Jesus Christ, you will be safe. You will not be shaken out. If you lift up a bushel basket of nuts or apples and shake it for all it is worth, which ones will be shaken out? The ones near the EDGE! Friends, are you on the edge of a real experience with Jesus? Are you on the fringes of a dynamic Christian life? Years ago our youngsters to Disney World in Florida. It took 30 minutes just to get in on the freeway that leads to the front door. Finally we got parked. The parking lot seemed like miles and miles across. I wondered if we would ever find our way out after our visit. This was going to be bad. That evening the tram driver said: If you want out, all you have to do is follow the arrows. If you are not following the arrows, you are not going out!" I thought that was pretty good advice. Friends, if you are not regularly, systematically studying Scripture, then you are not on your way out of this sinful world. Heaven is not your destination. You must be a person of the Book. "None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict." - Great Controversy (EG White), p. 593. The second factor in becoming shake proof. First of all, you have to have a personal, daily, meaningful devotion time with Jesus. 2) You must have PERSONAL, REGULAR PRAYER TIME. Communication with Jesus. 1 Peter 4:7 (KJV). This is talking about the end. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. It is dangerous not to pray. If we do not pray, will we receive a solution to our problems? How are you going to find what you need if you don't pray about it? Luke 11:9 (NLT). I want to do something to you that will may cause you to go down to the book store and but some things. You might not want to look this up. I'm reading this from the New Living Translation. "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. You may say, "That's not what the King James says. King James says, 'Ask and you will receive.'" The Greek says, "Ask and keep on asking." The New Living Translation says, I tell you, keep on asking and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened." That's the true Greek New Testament. That's what it says, and this is a wonderful translation of the Bible. It is my firm belief that we must ask God before God is authorized to do something for us. Think about that. I wonder if, maybe, God and Satan have some type of contract going. And God is not authorized to act in your behalf unless He is asked. He has to be invited. He knocks but He does not open the door until you open the door. He's ready, but you must open the door. Maybe God can't put a fresh hedge around His people every day without their daily asking for this protecting encompassing barricade from evil. It will be placed there if I ask for it. I don't think He will intervene unless I do ask Him. God can't bless you without your permission. He respects your free will. God gives you the freedom of choice. Every day God stands there willing and waiting to bless you. But His hands are tied until you ask for help. That's why it's so important for you to pray. You must ask and keep on asking. In fact maybe God can't bless your little children unless you intercede in their behalf and ask God to bless them. That is why Jesus said, "Bring the little children to me." Parents have an awesome responsibility. So what happens if a person is in the hospital, and unconscious? How vital that the church pray for them. They're not able to ask. But the church does. Studies have been made where people who are in the hospital and are prayed for, get well faster. There's something to this. We must ask. "Bring the little children to Me." I think parents have an awesome responsibility to bring those little children before the Lord in prayer. They do. And pray for your adult backslidden kids. Maybe they have gotten cold and aren't praying any more. You need to pray for them. Someone has to ask God to intervene in their behalf. I've heard of evangelistic services where hundreds have been baptized. Why? Because the church was praying. There's power in prayer. You don't have if you don't ask. I am sure the Prodigal Son had a father back at home praying every day for his benefit. He wasn't praying for himself. Spend time in prayer. Don't expect a million dollar answer to a ten-cent prayer. Notice Jesus' life: Luke 6:12 (NIV) One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Jesus prayer life had to be very meaningful. We must have a meaningful communication with God to avoid being shaken out. Philippians 4:6,7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Our hearts will be guarded. Kept secure. We will not be shaken out if you have a meaningful prayer experience. The Third key to being shake proof: Not only should we be having a personal daily study of the Word of God and daily personal communications with God but we should be... 3) WORKING FOR CHRIST. Witnessing for Christ. If you want to know how to witness, just study your Sabbath School lesson. I think America is on the verge of a great crisis, economically. One of the great dangers in America today is the amount of real commodities that are being produced by the working force. We are not manufacturing like we used to. Most jobs are composed of people waiting on people. Service jobs. Most of the durable goods that we buy today are being made in some other land. Even manhole covers are being made in India. Most toys are made in China, and many other things, too. We are not making very many tangible goods any more. And I want to apply this to the church. If in our church ALL we ever do is wait on each other and dust off the pews, then we are likewise in grave danger. We are called to grow in numbers as well as in Christ-likeness. Of course it is very important to minister to those who are already in the church. Why bring them in the front door of the church only to have them go out the back door? Nurture is important. It is vital to care for the sick, the little children, to care for the house of God, nurturing the saints helping them to grow. We need to get involved in that kind of work. The older I get, it seems like the nominating committee is a tool of God. Have you ever thought about that? When the nominating committee calls you some day, be willing to get involved for Jesus in church work! The nominating committee is a tool of God to get His people involved in something. Pew warmers are like lukewarmers. They're on their way out of the church. Don't you jeopardize your salvation by non-involvement. Lackadaisical-itis will stunt your growth toward Christ-likeness. You get involved. But Every member is required to do more than being involved in church work, working on the saints. We must also to be convert makers. We must be in the manufacturing business. Making brand new converts. Matthew 28:19 (NIV) "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"  

Are do you make disciples? How does this happen?
• Study your Sabbath School lesson.
• Witness!
• Pass out truth filled literature.
• Send subscriptions of Christian magazines to people.
• Love your neighbor and share Jesus with him.
• Give a Bible study to some questioning soul.
• Do Internet Evangelism.
• Invite someone into your home to watch a TV special series of evangelistic meetings with you.

Working with muscles keeps people strong. Working for souls keeps Christians dynamic. If you want to be a shake proof Christian in these last days, then  

• Study about Jesus
• Pray to Jesus
• Work for souls for Jesus

This success formula is actually found in the Bible. You might never have thought of it this way. John 10:27 (KJV). "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Who are "My sheep? They're the true Christians. They do three things:

• 1. "They hear my voice." How do they do that? By studying the bible.
• 2. "I know them." How do you know Jesus? You communicate with Him. That includes prayer.
• 3. "They follow Me." They do the things that He does. They serve others. They work for Jesus.

And what is the result of all of this? Verse 28; "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." They are shake proof. Ah, that's the key. No one can shake you out of His hand. His hand is rock steady. It's strong. A pretty good place to be during the great last day shaking time is in the stable rock solid hands of Jesus. You still have the freedom to step out and leave Him (Jesus never violates your freedom of choice)... but no man can come in and remove you from Jesus against your will. To be fail-safe, you've got to get back to the Good Book. To be shake-proof, have meaningful communication with Jesus. To be rock-solid, lead others to the rock.  

Hymn of Praise: #21, Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17
Hymn of Response: #623, I Will Follow Thee

McDonald Road Sermons

Whatever!

Last week, the church secretary called to ask what my sermon title was. I said, "Whatever." To which she replied, "Well, when you come up with one, let me know." "No," I said, "that is my title." Now you know why she quit! One can only handle so much of that. I believe that you will soon understand why I chose the title of today's sermon. A few years ago a submarine, moored in the San Francisco naval shipyard, suddenly sank to the bottom.

Click to read more ...

by Pastor Donald J Gettys

Biblical quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.

Jesus in Six Cities

I remember one day as a kid in Indiana, I was hiding one day in the furnace room of grandmother Carson's house in Hartford City. I had done something naughty. I was in big trouble. I had accidentally broken one of my grandmother's glass dishes. That was a bad thing. My security was jeopardized because I knew that adults tend to spank first and then think about it later. I didn't want to be swatted, and so I went and hid. I stayed there in that sequestered spot for a long time because adults tend to swat first and ask questions later. Was it wrong for me to hide? I don't think so. And I think God agrees with me, because back in the Old Testament days, there were no jails, no police. Each family was sort of on their own. If someone came into your yard and killed your son, you had the right to kill them: you would be legally authorized to take blood vengeance. It was quick and easy. No messy appeals. Probably when Cain killed his brother, Abel, he ran away so fast because maybe he was worried that vengeance would be taken. And this is practiced today in many third world countries to take vengeance. In one area of Italy, there were 600,000 retaliation type murders over a 400 year span of time. It's still going on today. We turn into Hatfields and McCoys real fast. It's the law of the jungle. God is aware of human nature and so He has provided a way, at least in the days of the children of Israel, an ethical method to deal with this: to check hot vengeance. God meticulously explains this in Exodus 21, Numbers 35, and Deuteronomy 19 about the cities of refuge. Yes, I am going to preach on the cities of refuge today. God realizes that unpremeditated homicide is not the same as manslaughter. Our kind God demands justice of course, but He also provides for mercy. He provided a hiding place for unintentional killers. So, listen to this as we go through this. During the forty years that the nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness, because the tabernacle was physically present, all the accidental killer had to do was run in and hold onto the horns of the altar, and he was safe. But when the 12 tribes scattered out on either side of the Jordan river in the land of Palestine, it was no longer within easy running distance. You might be as much as one hundred miles from the tabernacle. Therefore God ordained six strategically located cities of refuge, three on either side of the river Jordan, for unintentional killers to escape. Not one of them was so far away that you could not get there quickly. Now come with me to Deuteronomy 19 where the Bible speaks of these Cities of Refuge. This explains a typical scenario of what might happen and how this would handle that problem. Deuteronomy 19:5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. Because pretty soon you accidentally killed your neighbor. His relatives are going to be after you. You need to run fast. Now, was this man guilty or not? Yes, he was guilty. He did kill his neighbor. Did he do it intentionally? No. So, it's not quite the same. Such a man was guilty - but because the crime was unintentional, God provided the killer with a hiding place, like the furnace room. Such a person should quickly run for his life to one of the designated Secure zones . You remember on the news not long ago a woman was a tourist down in South America. Did you hear about this? She picked up a small local child to just hold the child. People thought, "Aha! She is going to take this little child and take it to a place and harvest its organs for profit. And so they beat her unmercifully. It practically killed her. She didn't have any protection. She had no place to hide. Had those cities been there she could have run. In these last days when terrorism is so rampant and some governments offer so little protection, maybe these cities of refuge need to be built everywhere. God provided a place of safety in Bible times to eliminate mob vengeance. Our God believes that we are innocent until proven guilty. Our western legal system finds its foundations in this Biblical base. Accidents happen! Axe heads fly off just like people, fly off the handle. The Israelite family could not sue the axe company for making a shoddy product because there were no attorneys in those days. But they could take out personal revenge on the man who was cutting the tree down, but only if they could out-run him. He must flee quickly to the nearest city of refuge. Probably today we would sue the axe company. We are good suers here in America But they didn't have any attorneys, bless their hearts. And so they had to take personal vengeance. You could do that if you could outrun him. But if he outran you he could get to a city of refuge before you did and you would have a chance to do it. These six cities were spread out evenly, three on each side of the Jordan River. I suspect each was built on an elevated spot so they could be spotted from a distance. Maybe with a huge flag flying there. Numbers 35 describes more of this, how they spread these cities out, how they named these cities. Numbers 35:11 "... select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee." Inside those walls the fugitive was safe. However the Refugee had to stay in that city. He can't just go running out. He was fair game outside the walls. The death of the high priest secures final deliverance. His death marks the end of the statute of limitations, - Numbers 35:25. Like the Year of Jubilee canceled all debts, just so the death of high priest canceled inadvertent blood guilt. I believe churches are like cities of refuge.

The McDonald Road Church should be a place we can run to for refuge. A haven where you can come
1. Regardless of our saintliness or our sinfulness.
2. Regardless of our past or our neighborhood.
3. Regardless of your color
4. Regardless of our poverty or our wealth.

A modern church should be like that. Modern churches should be shelters from the evil of the world. But we church members don't like to admit into our perfect little clique anyone that smells differently than we do. Do we enjoy that? Or anybody that has a radically different style of music than we have. They're not welcome here are they? Or even if they have a different theology or different mannerism. Have you ever thought how nice your church would be without the presence of so and so? Those are all bad thoughts. They're not good. Even Failures should be welcome here and in every Christian church, welcome to come in just as they are. They are urged to depart as Jesus wants them to be. In these six cities of refuge we find one of the richest Old Testament pictures of Christ. They speak to us about Jesus. Let me read from Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 516 - (EG White). "These cities of refuge...were a symbol of the refuge provided in Christ." These six cities, I would submit to you, are symbols of Jesus Christ. You're going to have to be tuned in and awake to get the message out of this. I want you to notice twelve similarities between Jesus (Any time I get a chance to preach Jesus, even in the Old Testament, this old preacher is going to preach Jesus.). Notice the rich Type-ology here. Jesus is the ultimate city of refuge. 1. Each city, like Jesus, was appointed in the wilderness long before it actually came into use. Appointed long before Israel ever reached the promised land. Our Heavenly Father appointed Jesus as the Savior long before the entrance of sin (1 Pet.1:20; Rev.13:8). Then, at the proper time, Christ our refuge came to this earth. 2. Each city, like Jesus, provided a shelter from certain death by the person entering into the city. The guilty man could only be saved by coming INTO the city. Now, I want to talk about that before we go on to point number three. We have too many of these "periphery" Christians. Have you noticed people like that? They actually come to the city of refuge. They pitch their tent not in the city, but along the outside walls of the city. Out there! They never enter in. They are on the perimeter of the church. They are what you call "borderline Christians." They never really enter into Jesus. Hanging around with saints doesn't make you a Christian. You must hang around with Jesus. Unless you have personally entered into a saving relationship with Jesus, you are still a fugitive. The devil is still your fair game. You're going to succumb. No power can remove you from the designated place of safety, Jesus. Of course you could always choose to walk out any time you wanted to. 3. Each city, like Jesus, was easily found. Each was on a road with clear legible signs marked "REFUGE." Now, we have a nuclear power plant here in our area. There are well marked signs at every intersection showing the escape route if there were to be a bad accident. Israel did the same by putting up clear signs directing the way to safety. Who maintained these signs? God's people. The Gospel should be plainly preached by the church. By YOU!! 4. Each city, like Jesus, was always attainable. The gates of the cities of refuge were never to be locked. If you had run for thirty miles to get to the city, and you arrived in the middle of the night only to find the gates shut and locked, your life was in jeopardy. Even if you show up at midnight, you don't have to beat on the door and wake Jesus up, because he is watching and waiting for you. In fact instead of you knocking on His door He knocks on your door. Revelation 3:20 "I stand at the door and knock." 5. Each City, like Jesus, was lifted up. Each was built on high ground to be visible. Maybe you could see a flag flying. You could see it; you knew where it was. Just like Jesus was lifted up on cross to draw men to himself. John 12:32 "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 6. Each City, like Jesus, was easily accessible. Each city was located so that it could be reached within a half a day or less. Each was strategically located for easy access. Palestine is about the size of Maryland, so nobody had to run very far. In Deuteronomy 19:3 God says, "Build roads to them These were not narrow foot trails. Each highway was well maintained for easy access. Scholars believe that bridges were built over every creek so the way was smooth and easy travel on. The gates were thrown wide open to freely admit the fleeing guilty man. The refuge was easily approachable. Just as our churches ought to be. Just as Jesus is. 7. Each City, like Jesus, provided Protection only for those who were willing to leave everything behind and enter fully into the secure shelter. Luke 18:28 Peter said to (Jesus), "We have left all we had to follow you!" You don't have a refugee running to a city of refuge with armloads of suitcases under his arms. You've got to shed everything and run for your life. 8. Each City, like Jesus, was the only place of safety. There was no other place you could go. If the killer didn't flee to the tabernacle or to the city of refuge, there was no other place of security. Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Jesus Christ, He's the only Savior there is. 9. Each City, like Jesus, could only protect those who were willing remain there. You must remain, you must abide in that city. Jesus said we must abide in Him. (John 15:4,7.) We must daily trust in Jesus, not just at conversion. Stay in the presence of Jesus. It is not enough for the sinner to believe in Christ. He must abide in Him. In Patriarchs and Prophets p. 517 - EG White.) it says, "It is not enough for the sinner to just believe in Jesus, he must abide in Him." 1 John 2:28 (KJV) "And now, little children, ABIDE IN HIM; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." 10. Each City, like Jesus, was open to everybody. The Bible says, "Whosoever will." (See Mark 8:34) That's exactly what Jesus did. Available to Gentiles as well as Jews. Joshua 20:9 of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to the designated cities... These cities were built not only for the Jew but for the aliens: for the children of Israel and strangers. Those cities are there for everybody. Anybody can come. That's what Jesus provides: salvation to everybody. Jesus says anyone who is weary and broken can come to him. Prostitutes, tax collectors, notorious sinners either Jew or Gentile, can be saved. Whosoever will may come and find asylum. The same protection and provision is for everybody. God's same amazing grace is free to all. 11. Each City, like Jesus, was more than ample. In other words, they were required to be stocked with provisions. They had food stuff there. They had extra clothing because they knew people were going to be arriving with very little. And they even had extra rooms, like a motel. They were expecting people and they were more than adequate to care for the people that came there. That's exactly like Jesus Christ is. Jesus is more than able to take care of us when we come to Him. When you come to Him. His grace os more than adequate to cover your sins. His forgiveness is more than adequate, more than adequate. 2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV) Paul said: ...I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that HE IS ABLE to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. Just like that strong city of refuge. Our God is more than able. He not only saves us, by His death but he also provides us continuing daily spiritual resources for as long as we remain in Him. 12. Each City, like Jesus, because it had a high priest in it. And who is our High Priest? Jesus. Only the death of the high priest was capable of actually liberating that person that had accidentally killed someone. His death would set the fugitive free. Only the death of Jesus gives us complete redemption. What kind of place would a city of refuge be? Each was a Levite city with its own priest or minister. I can Visualize myself as the pastor of this place. Maybe one day I am standing on top of the city wall and I see in the far distance a man running fast. He is zooming along zeroing in on my front gate. I know there is another accidental killer. He's gotten into trouble. He didn't intend to. Here he comes. Then I notice, hot on his heels is a group of yelling angry men running close behind the first man. They are all headed for my city gate. This may be a close one. Maybe I'll have to slam the gate. We're going to have to do something. And many times I may have seen when the runner did not make it to my city. I know the story so well. Some of the fugitives can't outrun their predators and are brutally killed just outside my city gates. If only they could have gotten here faster. Of course, you know that the good news is that the Bible promises that whoever looks to Jesus in faith, will immediately find refuge. Isaiah 45:22 (KJV) "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth..." So if you look to Jesus you have protection, you've got instant protection right there. Romans 6:23 warns us that the consequences of our sin is death. We are being pursued by the avenger of blood. "Satan, the great adversary, is on the track of every transgressor of God's holy law" God's appointed refuge is Jesus Christ. Because we are sinners on the run, we must quickly come to Jesus in order to be saved. If I were the pastor in a city of refuge I would have to close or at least quickly post guards at the gate to shut out the pursuers lest there be a fight inside my church. I don't like church fighting. If the Fugitive was found guilty of premeditated murder by a group of Elders from his neighborhood, then he would be extradited from my city of refuge and stoned to death. The family who had suffered loss would then be appeased. But if it was found that the person had accidentally killed another he would he would be given the right of asylum. But because he was guilty of manslaughter he was required to stay in my town until I, the minister of the church there kicked the bucket and died. That could be an extremely long time. I can imagine that some folks kept a mental note of the age of different high priests in the near by cities of refuge thinking that if they ever need to run for their life, they will run to the one with the oldest parson. I want to mention something else to you. I want you to look at the names of these cities. Come over to here to Joshua 20, and I want you to notice the names of these cities. Every city, the name of that city is something that Jesus provides for Christians. I didn't know this when I studied this. Joshua 20:7-9 Notice each City:

Each City Exemplifies something Jesus provides:
1. Kadesh (sanctuary or righteousness or holiness); Jesus is able to sanctify the unholy because Jesus is the source of holiness and righteousness. I Timothy 2:5 says that Jesus is the only Mediator between a holy God and unholy man.
2. Shechem (shoulder); Jesus carries the Unsure. The Government is on His shoulders. Jesus finds the lost sheep in Luke 15:5. "And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home." I have this picture that hangs on my wall in my office of Jesus carrying the one lost sheep on His shoulders. Jesus carries the unsure on His shoulders. That shows a very wonderful picture of Jesus because the word Shechem means "shoulder." The government is on His shoulders, isn't it (Isaiah 9:6). You and I are on the shoulders of Jesus. He carries us.
3. Hebron (fellowship); Jesus invites the unwanted into an intimate relationship with Himself. I John 1:3.
4. Bezer (fortress); Jesus, our stronghold become the stronghold to those who are unable, to those who don't have a fortress, to those who have no strength. Romans 5:6 (KJV) For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Wow! What a picture of Jesus!
5. Ramoth (high/elevated); Jesus lifts the unworthy. John 12:32 (KJV) "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
6. Golan (joy); Jesus is the fountain of Joy to the unhappy. So, to the unwanted, to the unable, to the unworthy, the unhappy, all of these people, Jesus is the answer. Isn't this a beautiful picture of Jesus. Luke 1:14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,

When I found this I just had to tell you about it. This is a beautiful window on the life of my Savior. Isn't this awesome! Isn't Christ Jesus awesome! Jesus is the modern City of Refuge! In Jesus we have all of the things these cities could provide, and more. Christ is more than adequate to meet all our needs. Let's get this message of Jesus out to our friends and neighbors. Tell them there is a place of safety in a scary wicked world. Tell them about Jesus the Rock of Ages. Give them the true knowledge of Jesus. Tell them they can hide in Him. You need to be letting Him live out His strength, His life in you so that you can come out of the furnace room and stop hiding because you know Jesus will shelter you.  

Hymn of Praise:  #2, All Creatures of our God and King
Scripture: Joshua 20: 7-9
Hymn of Response: #5252, Hiding in Thee 

McDonald Road Sermons

 by Pastor Donald J. Gettys

Biblical quotations are from the New International Version NIV unless otherwise noted.

Sabbath: A Day of Blessing

When I was a boy Lincoln Logs were a Sabbath toy but my Gilbert Erector set was not. And neither was my Chemistry set. When our kids were growing up Lego Blocks were okay as long as we built a Sabbath project with our Lego. We consider walking as a proper Sabbath activity but people raise their eyebrows at jogging? Many people consider jogging wrong. Why? I don't know... Maybe because jogging makes us sweat?!? Maybe it's too much like work. Today I want to broaden our possibilities of Sabbath-keeping. I want you to think of some positive things, immense blessings that God has given to you in the twenty-four hours of storehouse of what we call the Sabbath, amazing things that we can do on the Sabbath day. True Sabbath keeping is an opportunity, not a millstone. I want you to view it that way. Let me clarify, first, why we keep the Sabbath. Do you know why I keep the Sabbath? Because I love Jesus. Is there any better reason than that? I want to tell you that Sabbath keeping is not and has never been the basis salvation for anybody from Adam and Eve until today. We are not saved by keeping the Sabbath. Nobody ever has been. We have all been saved by Grace. Romans 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Everybody who makes it to heaven will be there courtesy of Jesus. One hundred percent saved by His grace. Would you agree with that? He is our Savior. Even Adam and Eve were saved by Jesus. Now, you may say: "How could that be, Jesus had not even died yet." Are you sure? Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. When was He slain? He was slain way back before the creation. Adam was saved looking ahead to Calvary and we are saved by looking back to the cross. Everybody is saved by Jesus Amazing Grace. The Gospel is the good news that somebody else lived the life that I cannot live and died the death that I deserve, that I would have had to die, and gave me eternal life. That's why we keep the Sabbath. Not that we might be saved but because we are saved by grace. Hebrews 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Clearly if we are still being made holy, then we are not perfect in our deeds and actions yet, are we. In Indiana there used to be a Holy Place Movement. Nobody is holy yet but we will be some day. So, we are saved by grace. Not by works. Therefore, why do we keep the Sabbath if we're not saved by works? If works has nothing to do with it then why should I keep the Sabbath? Sabbath keeping is my response, it is the fruit, the relationship with Jesus. Sabbath-keeping is the result of our Deliverance. It is our response to the gift of grace. Let us go back now to where the seventh day is first mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Now, was God Exhausted from His work of creation? Was He physically tired? Does God get tired? No, God never gets tired, - Isaiah 40:28. The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He ceased from His work. God stopped laboring. I suppose He could have kept on creating another whole week. Just imagine what else we would have had. It's a good thing He stopped when he did. We can't even see it all in one lifetime. But He stopped creating, not because He was tired, but so He could stand back like sculptor and admire His work. If you make something nice, like the wood shop you're going to make when you get to heaven, if you make some nice piece of furniture you want to stand back and admire it and that's just what God did on the first Sabbath day. He took pleasure and joy, and that's just what you want to emulate in your Sabbath-keeping. You want to take pleasure and joy in admiring what God has made. That's a true key of Sabbath-keeping. Come over here to Exodus 31. I want to read this in the King James Version because it brings out one word that really is meaningful in this context. Exodus 31:17 (KJV). It is a sign between the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. Don't you like that? After you drink a glass of lemonade you are refreshed. That's exactly what the Sabbath should do. It should leave you refreshed. You shouldn't be asking when is sundown. The Sabbath refreshes, it revives, it restores, it rejuvenates, it re-invigorates. That's the whole purpose of the Sabbath. True Sabbath keeping is one day delighting in what the Creator has made. What did Adam and Eve do on the first Sabbath? Do you suppose they crashed. Do you suppose they spent Sabbath in bed? No! They had just been made of Friday. They weren't even tired. They hadn't even done anything much yet. They spent their first Sabbath, not in bed, but in getting tune in with God. You can be sure that's what they did. They wanted to learn more about God. They wanted to fellowship with God. They wanted to establish a relationship with God. That's what they did. And that is still the correct agenda for Sabbath-keeping. That's what you want to do. You want to utilize those special Sabbath hours to discover more about Jesus. Working to the point of exhaustion during the week and crashing on Sabbath is not exactly true Sabbath keeping. Genesis 2 says God blessed the Seventh day and made it holy. Think about that. Was Thursday unholy? Did God make only one day good? No. Were the other days good? Yes. In fact He pronounced them "good." So, what did He do different about the Sabbath day? He made it holy. Were the other days holy? Was the Sabbath more perfect that the other six days? No, because the Creator called them "good." He calls the Sabbath, "holy." We humans are good at dedicating babies and buildings. This church was dedicated once we paid for it. The family center was dedicated. We're good at dedicating monuments and parks and things like that. But how do you dedicate time? Isn't that hard to do? Human beings can't do that, and yet I would submit to you that buildings and belongings and monuments and lands can be taken away from us but time can never be removed. If you think about that, the very first building that was dedicated and made holy was the tabernacle. Do we have the tabernacle with us today? It's gone, isn't it. The temple was made holy. Do we have the temple today? No, it's gone. All those things are gone, but there's one thing that stems clear back to creation that we still have that was made holy and that is the twenty- four hour period of time called the Sabbath. That can't be taken away from you. That's eternal. It's equally available to all. It cannot be quantified. It cannot be bought. It cannot be sold. Praise God for the Sabbath. I'm glad He did that. The seventh day is the very first thing in History to be hallowed. The Sabbath, a common ordinary day of the week acquired standing that correctly belongs to God alone. We don't call our ministers "Reverend" do we? Are we holy? Nothing is holy except God and the Sabbath. He made it holy. So there are two things at least that are holy. Because God is holy he created holy time. He blessed this day. He rested on this day. He Sanctified this day. He set this day aside, not for Himself, but for you benefit. I praise Him for that. How many words are there in the Ten Commandments? I counted them in my King James Bible, and there are two hundred ninety seven words in the Ten Commandments. Do you know what the middle word is? A hundred forty eight words on each side. I'll point it out to you as we read the fourth commandment. Let's look at the precise wording of the Sabbath commandment: Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day (24 hours) by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Is is the middle word of the Ten Commandments. The seventh day IS the Sabbath. I like that. This day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. Why was the Sabbath made? For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Now I want to switch gears. That happened back at creation when God made the Sabbath. I think the fourth commandment is a record of what happened back at creation. Then when Jesus arrived in this world and was born of Mary, He did something else. He again added additional rich significance to the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus, our Co-Creator, rested again after He finished His work of re- creation. Now, you think about this. Stick with me on this. Four thousand years after creation Jesus again rested after His finished work of re-creation. I hadn't thought about this. In fact, in Genesis 2:1 it says that when the heavens and earth were "finished" immediately God rested. Four thousand years later in John 19:30 we read of a great parallel. When He hung on the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and died. He had finished His great work. And again He rested on the Sabbath day. Can you see the parallel? It happened at creation and it happened when Jesus was on the cross. He bowed His head. He had finished His great work. So again Jesus rested after His work of recreation. He rested during the entire twenty-four hour period of Sabbath time. He rested in the tomb during the holy Sabbath hours. With that act Jesus widened the meaning of the Sabbath. From that point on the Sabbath would not only remind us of our creation, as it had been for four thousand years but also of our redemption through Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus added significance to the Sabbath by pointing to salvation. When I celebrate the Sabbath, I don't think only of creations, but also of salvation and my Savior who saved me. And He wants to re-create me. It is interesting that we had no part in either our creation or our re-creation. All we can do is accept them both. Jesus is both our Creator and our Re-Creator. In the future, at the third creation I suppose, when God creates the NEW heavens and the NEW earth. So I guess there are really three creations. The first one is in Genesis 1 and 2. The second one is when Jesus creates a new heart in us. Let me read this to you in Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, p. 359. "Christ put His hand a second time to the work. He would recreate man." You see, He did it four thousand years ago and now He recreates man. "And when the fullness of time came God sent forth His Son to recreate man." So that the second creation. The third creation is when He recreates the new heavens and a new earth. You can read that in Isaiah sixty six in your Bible. Jesus recreates the entire world again after it has been cleansed by the fire called Hell. So once again, after the millennium, the significance of the Sabbath will again widen to include remembering the day when Eden was restored. The Creation of this present Earth Genesis 1:1 - Jesus made it possible to re- create His image in us. "The Lord Jesus came to earth that he might recreate the image of God in man. He says to the repenting sinner, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." - Signs of the Times, 8-21-1893. The 3rd Creation: the New Heavens and New Earth. Isaiah 66:22,23 "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. Notice in Isaiah that immediately after the creation of the new heaven and the New Earth that the Bible goes right into Sabbath keeping. The same as the creation. The same as when Jesus died. And the same will again happen the third time. True Sabbath keeping will have three very unique symbols to them. It seems that right after all three creations, the Sabbath, a day of holy rest, is mentioned and kept and its significance is broadened. There are more similarities: Notice that just like the first Adam at the first creation was tested at a tree, Jesus at the second creation was tested at a tree (The Cross). Both trees were located in gardens. Where was Adam's tree? In the Garden of Eden. In Jesus' time when He died on a cross, where was the cross located? John 19:41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. And Jesus was laid in that tomb. Both Adam's, Adam and Jesus, had their sides opened on the sixth day. The first Adam had his side opened that he might obtain his bride, Eve. Jesus, the second Adam had His side opened that He might obtain His Bride, His Church. There is quite a bit of similarity here. Both Adams on the sixth day just prior to the day of rest were naked at the tree. The very next day both Adams rested on the holy Sabbath day. There is a lot of depth to think about here. But at least you can see that the Blessed Sabbath commemorates some of God's greatest gifts to us: 1-Creation, 2- Salvation, and 3- Restoration, eternity with Jesus on the Earth made new at the third creation. For Christians, the Modern Sabbath is therefore a triple sign of God's creation, redemption, and final restoration in the earth made new. Today the Blessed Sabbath is a time for full fellowship with Jesus our Creator and Re-Creator. Contemporary Sabbath-keeping Christians rest FROM their regular work and they rest IN the finished work of Jesus on the cross. These two gifts are two of the greatest treasures that God ever gave to the human race. Mark 2:27,28 Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." That's not Sunday, is it. Bless your hearts, that's Sabbath, that's Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Isn't the Sabbath a wonderful gift to Christians? Luke 4:16 - Jesus also personally demonstrated that regular church attendance enhances the Sabbath blessing. It's a great day for you to remember His creation, His redemption, and His coming kingdom. True Sabbath Keeping is devoting twenty-four hours a week, totally to God, in love, within the context of His creation your family and God's church and coming away uplifted, refreshed and renewed! Are you taking advantage the potential blessings that God has stockpiled within its sacred hours? I hope you are. I hope you're not just into erector set and Lego blocks. Use this holy time to deepen your relationship with Jesus our Creator, Savior, and coming King.  

Hymn of Praise: #10, Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11
Hymn of Response: #383,  O Day of Rest and Gladness
McDonald Road Sermons