todojoven.org

By Pastor Donald J. Gettys Daniel in a Catch 22 Situation (Daniel 6) Let's go to the best known story of the Old Testament, the story of Daniel in the Lions Den. One day when Daniel was about 85 years old he was working as usual in his office in Babylon. He had worked all through the administration of Nebuchadnezzar. He had worked through the administration of Belshazzar. And then after a terrible invasion the gold gave way to a baser metal, silver, as the Medes and Persians took over. Darius restructured the government. Now Darius the Mede was an innovative man. And this became one of the most democratic republics in the ancient world because he set it up in such a way that it had 120 governors representing various areas of the kingdom. Now, Daniel was one out of 120. That's what you call a "moral minority." Daniel was out-numbered. But are you really out-numbered with God on your side? Darius liked Daniel's excellent spirit and leadership. He was appointed one of just three vice- presidents under himself. During this time Daniel displayed such fine strength, spirit and integrity that Darius was considering making Daniel the number on person under himself. Look at Daniel 6 about this elderly statesman. Look at verse 3: "Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom." Second, only to himself. Now why would that happen? I think it happened because of Daniel's loyalty to God. That promotion stemmed from his special relationship with the heavenly Father. I believe that we need to sense in our own lives that as we do well with God, we're going to do well in this world. Maybe not financially, maybe not in some ways that you're thinking of "well", but we're going to do better with God on our side. Very few great men finish well. Have you ever noticed that? Daniel was an exception. In Psalm 92 there's an excellent statement that applies to Daniel. Verse 12: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon." verse 14: "They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green." Daniel was not your typical 85 year octogenarian. He had a spring in his step, a keen perception and wise judgement. Young-at-heart-Daniel was highly valued to the entire empire. Eighty five years old and here he's at the head. He had lived almost 70 years in a foreign land against his will. Yet he flourished where he was planted. Rather than complain about the misfortunes of being a captive and having to live in a foreign country, he made the best out of his circumstances. He was not a negative person. He looked on the bright side of life. He came out at the top, like cream always does. So should we. If tragedy has struck you, that cannot be changed. A hornet stung me the other day. I couldn't change it. But I want to tell you, I got some extra rest that I needed. There is always something good in what happens to us. Or at least something good can come out of it. But you, like Daniel, can still be a bright shining star for God. You can still taste the sweetness of success, even if you're a hostage. You would think that most of the great tests would happen at the beginning of life. But in both Daniel's and Jesus cases, their greatest test came toward the end of their days. They both faced death. They both had terrible trials at the end. Notice verse 4. The other leaders quickly got jealous. When they opened his closet to find a skeleton the more they dug the more evidence they uncovered that showed Daniel was a man of integrity, a man of quality and great honor. Verse 4 says: "the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find NO corruption in him (That's quite a statement.), because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent." An admirable man, he was hated because he was successful. You know, dogs do not bark at a parked rusted out car. It is the mover and the shaker that gets chased by the dogs. Somebody that's going somewhere and the dogs are behind him in a pack. Daniel's enemies were upset at him because he was God's person of that hour. Daniel's enemies spied on his every move. Like news starved reporters they watched him as a vulture watches a wounded animal. They were ready to pounce on anything they could find. They went through every document with a fine toothed comb. Every memo, every word was scrutinized, every action. They probably tapped his phone, if he had a phone. It seems impossible that any human being could be in an oval office and yet not one little flaw could be found in his work. He had never taken a bribe. He was incorruptible, honest, admirable, punctual, and flawless. I tell you we need leaders like that in our church. We need leaders like that in this nation. Daniel 6:5: "Finally these men said, 'We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." Now, Religious Persecution is the worst breed of revenge. These evil heathen politicians, like the pharisees of Jesus day, homed in on his religion. That's the only way they could pin him down. Probably late one night, after much deliberation, they concocted a terrible idea. You know, Daniel was guilty just about the same way Jesus was guilty. Guilty of disobedience to Caesar. In Daniel 6:6-- "So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: 'O king Darius, live forever!" The original Hebrew indicates the idea that they rushed into the throne room, uninvited, like a noisy excited mob. Came into the throne room and said they had a bright idea just for Darius.. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE GOD FOR A MONTH??!!" And Darius said, "I kind of like that idea. I'd sort of like to be God." You have just won the grand popularity contest sweepstakes. We want you to be the god of the world for 30 days! We have unanimously decided you "should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays (notice how inclusive this is.) to any god or man during the next 30 days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion's den!"-vs 7. Not too many loopholes in that are there? The death decree suspended all religious liberty for one month. Daniel's first obligation was to God. That's ours as well. Your first obligation is not to your employer, not even to your family. Your first obligation is to God, Himself. No ruler has jurisdiction over religious freedom. No government should squelch our right to pray. Daniel knew the law had been signed. He sensed that the purpose of the other two conspirators was to eliminate competition. I believe Daniel also knew these evil men had pulled a good one over on Darius. 30 DAYS WITHOUT PRAYER! Why Not? Could you do it? 30 days without prayer? Imagine 30 days without sight. I could ask you to shut your for 30 days, but you wouldn't do it. I don't even like when a person asks me to shut my eyes during a service like this unless it's for prayer. I'll shut my eyes for God. Imagine 30 days without hearing. Imagine 30 days without your best friend. Daniel couldn't stand it. But why not go without prayer for 30 days? The law would be kept and Darius would not have to kill his loyal friend. What would you do? Don't pray before your non-Christian husband. If he sees you in prayer he might harm you. Hide your religion. Suspend your beliefs just this once. Attend the party. Shop on Sabbath. Compromise this time. Go ahead and try the drugs ... can one time hurt? Daniel was in a Catch 22 situation. If he prayed he would face a terrible death. If he put his religion on hold he would lose eternity. For 2/3rds of a century Daniel had prayed towards Jerusalem and longed for the time when he could go back home. For almost 70 years he had prayed facing Jerusalem. He wanted to go home. That's where his heart was. His study of Jeremiah 25 and 29 told him that time was near. At Daniel's age it would be senseless now to lose his life and not participate in the homecoming he had anticipated all his life. He couldn't go home if he became lion food. WHY NOT SHUT THE SHUTTERS? That would be fair, wouldn't it? Where in the Bible does it say you have to pray with the windows open? In fact, in the New Testament it says we need to go into our closet and pray. Why didn't Daniel do that? He could have done that. No one would have known he was praying. Where did he do his praying? He did it at home. Just shut the door and they'll never know you're praying. Not Daniel! Does prayer have to be public? Do we have to stand up and be counted. Yes, we do! Silent secret prayer would save his life. Have you ever noticed someone at a restaurant try to look like they are not praying? Put your hand over your eyes. Hide behind the menu. Rub your eyes for awhile. We're praying that whole time, you know. Go to the restroom to pray. Let one of the kids do it. Daniel could have stayed at his desk and prayed silently. You can pray with your eyes open. But Daniel knew that it was time to stand up for God! This old world needs modern Daniels! Men and women willing to stand up and be counted. Willing to face ferocious beasts rather than skip prayer. Far too many today try to be Christians in secret, at home the radio or TV is their church. Let's stand up and be counted. Let's get involved. When the nominating committee calls, say, "Yes." Do something for God. What would Daniel do if company came over for the weekend? Non Sabbath keepers. Would he skip church that day? I don't believe that Daniel would temporarily suspend his religion for anybody. Some folks today say: I had company come last Sabbath therefore I could not go to church. Not Daniel! We need modern Daniel's! Look at DANIEL 6:10 "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." No change. I love Daniel, don't you? A great man. There is not record of indecision on Daniel's part. There was no great mental debate. God is first, period. That's the way it is with Daniel. Daniel's big picture window was wide open! He just got right out in front of it and like normal, he prayed toward Jerusalem to his God. No attempt to cover up. Old Daniel KNELT in prayer! If you're 85, did you ever try to get down on your knees. One of our members this morning said that when he got down on his knees, working this week, he couldn't get up. Three times a day, Daniel was on his knees. At 85 years old, he knelt before the Lord. I think we need to kneel before God every chance we get. Psalm 95:6-- "Come.. let us kneel before the Lord..." Let us kneel down before our Maker. It is often difficult to kneel when you get to be 85. Hard to get down and harder still to get up. But prayer will lift you up. Daniel felt it was more dangerous NOT to pray to God as his custom was than to go into a den of hungry lions. It didn't matter, the lions were the least concern to him. God was important. Notice key factors of successful prayer according to Daniel: - FAITH. "toward Jerusalem"-- he expects deliverance. In all true prayer you must have Faith. That's the first item on the agenda if successful prayer. You must have faith. Daniel prayed with expectation. - WORSHIP. Prayed and GAVE THANKS to God. He worshipped God. When you get on your knees instead of just saying, "Give me, give me, ... bless me, bless that, also praise God. Thank God. Express your appreciation for the wonderful things He has done for you. - HUMILITY. He was in a kneeling position. He was a humble man. I believe God answers the humble prayers of His people. - REGULARITY. He prayed three times a day. One version says, "As he did from childhood. Not like he had for the last few days, but all his life. He was not going to change now. Lions or no lions, Daniel was putting God first. Three times a day. Many of God's saints have prayed three times a day. Look at Psalm 55:16,17. This is the experience of David. "I call to God and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice. You can read in Acts 3:1, the apostles, they prayed three times a day. It's been a habit of many holy people to pray three times a day. Now you might say, "I pray three times a day: Breakfast, and lunch, and supper. I'm sure Daniel did that as well. He's not counting that as his three times. He got down on his knees three times a day and poured out his heart to the Lord. We need to do that. If you figure that Daniel prayed that way for 70 years, three times a day, that's seventy five thousand prayers that Daniel prayed, just in those three alone. Let alone his prayer just before going to bed and when he first woke up he gave his heart to God. I do that. Every morning when I get up I give my heart to God because I love Him. The Muslims pray five times a day. They shut down their TV stations and everything. They lock up their businesses and go pray. Surely we can pray more. We aught to be a people of prayer. - PETITION. Asked and kept on asking his God. - THANKSGIVING. Not just asking but praising God. - CONSISTENCY. As he did aforetime, his habit. We need a consistent prayer life. Not just on again, off again, but consistent prayer as he did aforetime. It was his habit to pray. We need more modern Daniels today. Now we don't have time to get Daniel in and out of the lion's den today. I prepared this sermon yesterday, and it ended up to be almost two sermons. We're going to make two sermons out of it. So you will hear about Daniel in the lion's den in October. We'll get Daniel in and out of the lion's den than. I want you to know that Daniel was probably the most Christ-like person in the Old Testament. There's also Joseph. I want to meet those people when I get to heaven. People of prayer, people of sterling quality, people who love God. That's the kind of people each of us can be. God want you to be like a Daniel. Can you dare to be a Daniel? McDonald Road Sermons

Pastor Don Gettys God Serves Dessert Life is so short. I like dessert first. There is nothing finer than to pick up a slab of warm homemade apple pie, and fully enjoy that wonderful smell in your nose and the scrumptious taste in your mouth. But most times I am not lucky enough to eat it first. I must wait for my dessert. In Spiritual realms, God likes to serve dessert. Every day we may sample some of it. But it seems that God saves back His very best. At the end of the week comes the finest most delightful extras from God's storehouse of blessings. That end of the week dessert, is the Sabbath. It is the icing on the many layered cake which is what we call the week. ISAIAH 58:13--...If you call the Sabbath a DELIGHT...14--...then you will find your JOY in the LORD. I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth and to FEAST on the inheritance of your father Jacob.---(Eternal life in Heaven) If you really get into true Sabbathkeeping, you will find yourself immersed in such a fullness of Joy and Happiness that is hard to imagine. You will be as happy as a butterfly in a garden full of flowers and sunshine. When you live so that the Sabbath becomes the best day of the week, you will find it as tasty as any dessert you ever remember eating. Think of Chocolate Lush, of Peach Cobbler with real fresh-made whipped cream on top. Think of fresh out-of-the-oven cookies, think of homemade gooseberry or rhubarb pie. Think of any or all and that is what God wants for the Sabbath experience. The first full day of Adam and Eve's honeymoon was a Sabbath! Sabbathkeepers have been honeymooning with God ever since. MARK 2:27-28---"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." This is a special day created for the benefit of human beings. (1)---One ingredient of Sabbath Dessert is REST! Hebrews 4: 2-- We also have had the gospel 3-- We have believed 3-- We enter that REST. 4-- On the 7th day God RESTED. Life today is at an ever increasing fast pace. We live just before the year 2000. We have beepers, cell phones, answering machines, faxes, etc, etc. It seems that there is no time to stop the busy hustle of life. Wherever we are something is beeping for our attention. Human beings need time to rest and draw aside to recharge. The need is critical. In 1969 for instance the average man in America worked 2,955 hours per year in the work place and the home. The 1969 wife and full time homemaker worked 2,465 hours per year at home. The total of both combined was 5,420 hours per year. Today it is 6588 hours! That total has increased alarmingly. That same family is now putting in 6,588 hours! More than 50% of all workers now work more than a 9-5 job Monday through Friday. This is close to 1200 hours extra work per year which is an extra half a worker! But there is no extra half person! The net result is that there is less free time. Families do not have time to spend together. Weekends that used to be spent in worship and family time are now used for busy people to catch up on all the household work they used to be able to do during the week. There is no time to rest or catch up. God saw that need long in advance. God invented one day a week to solve the problem of stress & Strain & hubbub. Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor... Exodus 20:10 The Seventh Day (Saturday) is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work...! One day off every week to relax and rest and enjoy! A Gift of time from God! Now isn't that wonderful? That is great news for overworked people. A day to clear the mind and think. A day to worship God. A day to rest. A day of Joy. It is a well known fact that Seventh Day Adventists live longer. Adventist men here live almost 9 to 10 years longer than the average American man. WHY?? I think one of the main factors is the equation of Rest. Taking one entire 24 hour day off! Spending time with God and with the family. Hebrews 4:11--Let us make every effort to enter that REST. Go to church and Sabbath School every week. After church have a nice "Sunday Dinner" type meal. The family together. In the afternoon get out into God's beautiful nature. If you want to go camping, why not worship God first? THEN- leave from Church and go to the mountains that God created. Spend time with other Christian friends. Take time to Rest. Exodus 23:12 "Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have RELIEF, and your home- born slave and the resident alien may be REFRESHED." NRSV Did you catch those two words??? .......RELIEF ...... REFRESHMENT In Jesus' day the Jews had made the Sabbath a burden. It was wrong for women to look into a mirror on the Sabbath, they might discover a grey hair, pull it out....A SIN! A Radish could be dipped into salt but not left in too long, since this would be to make a pickled radish. It was lawful to spit on a stone but not on the ground. The latter would be making clay on the Sabbath. An egg laid on the Sabbath was forbidden. You could not climb a tree, swim, or clap your hands Jesus came to restore the true beauty of Sabbath Keeping! Let me suggest some practical things you can do to enhance this special time. --Don't confuse rest with leisure activities such as playing sports or watching TV. --Set aside the daily drudgery. The day will not amount to much if you neglect this. Do not do the laundry, or cook huge meals or shop. Plan all through the week for the Sabbath. Get your homework done. Leave your briefcase at the office. Stock up on groceries and gas on Friday. Think of Sabbath as Vacation time from the mundane grind of life. --Rest! Relax. Let the Sabbath refresh you. Get the most you can out of the wonderful Sabbath hours. Cyndie and I were married in the Pioneer Memorial SDA Church in Berrien Springs. At our reception in the Lake Union Conference office we had just cut the cake. I fed her a piece and it was her turn to feed me. Over a 150 people were standing there watching. It was a fair sized piece that my new wife had in her fingers. I opened my mouth to receive it. My wife put it all the way into my mouth. As I closed my mouth to eat the cake I felt that a piece of cardboard had somehow gotten cut when they cut the cake and so as not to embarrass my new wife I decided to bite through it and discard it later. So I bit down. It was not cardboard! It was her finger! She screamed! I opened my mouth quick and she took her finger out. (I guess you could call cake finger food!) From that moment on I knew she would try to add all she possibly could to life. She fills every pan to the brim. She gets all she can out of every day. That is exactly what we should attempt to do with the special Sabbath hours. On Sabbath join the assembly of the people of God who are on their way to heaven. "The Faith of most Christians will WAVER if they constantly neglect to meet together....." 4T106 Come and Participate, pray, give offerings, fellowship and worship. Invite someone over for lunch. Some folk you know and some you do not. Serve some famous delicacy you reserve just for Sabbaths. Spend time with your family. If you don't clear the agenda for the Sabbath, then going to church and Sabbath School will just add two more activities to an already busy schedule. You won't rest; you will fall into bed exhausted on Saturday night just like you do every other night. Try to enter into Gods true rest. Luke 4:16--- It was Jesus custom to go to church on the Sabbath day. There Jesus worshiped His Father and found strength. Sabbathkeeping is good for your health! Did you know that the risk of Fatal heart diseases is almost twice as high for the person who does not attend church? In other words, the man who attends church a minimum of 1X per Week has half the risk of Fatal Heart Diseases. (Dr. George W. Comstock-John Hopkins University-----a study done for the Presbyterian Ministers Life Insurance Company) This same study found that the regular church goer avoids a whole bagful of dire ailments and disasters. Cirrhosis of the liver, TB, cancer of the cervix, chronic bronchitis, and fatal one car accidents and suicides. There is a grand mystery about the Sabbath. Somehow this special time, offers a kind of refreshment and renewal that physical rest alone cannot account for. Enter into God's special Sabbath Rest, You will be refreshed. Enjoy the gift of one whole day off! But the Sabbath is more than just a gift of rest. It is also a (2)----SIGN Ezekiel 20:20 Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a SIGN between us, Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. Our understanding of Bible Prophecy and especially Revelation 13 indicates that soon all the world will be forced to worship the beast. This forced worship will be the mark of the beast. The opposite of the mark of the beast will be the seal and sign of God. Here in Ezekiel God says that Sabbath observance will be the SIGN or Mark of His people. When you observe the Bible Sabbath you wear the sign of God. You are marked by God as one of His own. One day a rancher went out on the range. He found a critter as fat and sleek as any calf he owned. But this nice calf was unbranded! The burning iron had never marked its hide. The rancher thought: You are a lucky calf. You have never known the fright of the Lariat that snatches you from your feet. You have never been held down against your will and suffered from that red hot iron as it burns a permanent mark of ownership into your very flesh. Just then the rancher had another thought.... I wonder if this unbranded calf, feeding alone on a lonesome hillside is as lucky as I first thought. No rancher cares if he should die of thirst. If he is lost no one will search. No one will miss him if he is stranded in the cold howling winter storms. No one will come to his rescue when the pack of starving wolves come to get him. It seems to me that the sheep is blest that knows the shepherd's crook. The truly happy sheep, are each safe in His hand because they wear the Master's brand. -Don I. Smith Sabbath keeping is the Mark of God's people. Praise Him for that mark. Observe His holy time proudly. Enter into God's Sabbath rest faithfully. Experience the feeling of belonging to the great Shepherd. Know that You belong to Him and He ever watches over you to care for you and to save you. -------------------------------------------------------------------- McDonald Road Sermons

by Pastor Don Gettys TWO CHICKENS Peter was scared to death. Jesus had just been kissed by Judas and arrested. Quick Peter had tried to save Jesus with his sword. He swung to kill but only an ear fell off. Jesus reattached the right ear of the assistant pastor of the temple church. Poor Peter, his hands were more ready than his heart. As the small army took Jesus away into the darkness of that awful night, Peter knew he would be next. It was just a matter of time. Disciples were disappearing into the shadows of the dark woods faster than black crows surprised out of a corn patch. Even Peter and John fled for the safety of the darkness. Peter remembered Jesus' last words of warning: "All who draw the sword will die by the sword!"- Matthew 26:52. Jesus was saying that Peter would be killed. "I drew the sword. I am going to be beheaded. I am next!" Peter was scared. Yet Peter loved Jesus. To follow the mob would mean death if he were discovered. To flee now would be desertion at the very time Jesus needed someone the most. After a few moments Peter and John (DA710) decided to follow the mob at a distance to see what was about to happen to Jesus. Peter wanted to be faithful. After all He had promised Jesus he would never desert Him: MARK 14:27- Jesus said: "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" 29- Peter declared, "Even if all fall away I will not." 30- "I tell you the truth, today yes tonight before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times." 31- But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you I will never disown you...." Peter must follow the mob. He had promised Jesus. JOHN 18:15-- Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, the site of the pre-trial. The home of the high priest was built like a hollow square. All rooms opened into the courtyard. The outside door led straight into this court yard. John 18:16- "But Peter had to wait outside at the door...." Waiting! Do you enjoy waiting? Obviously the door was shut. This small detail here in the Bible is very significant! Think about this: Could it be God's will that the door was locked? Peter was safe on the outside. Had God in His mercy put a barrier between Peter and the environment, which if he went into it, would lead him to sin? When you find a solid obstacle in your path, you must pause and ask if the hand of God could have placed it there. The locked door could have been for Peter's benefit. But Peter wanted in. He disregarded the shut door and knocked for entrance. The girl in charge kept it shut. But Peter wanted in. After all, John was inside, I should be inside too. Peter waited and finally, John came back and John persuaded the girl to let Peter in. Then John went back to the assembly but Peter stayed in the courtyard. Let's talk about Peter the Chicken. Afraid. Once inside Peter pretended to be a bystander. He was a Christian in secret. A hypocrite. As he stood there, the Bible says that Peter was cold! The Christian who follows Jesus afar off will soon grow cold spiritually. Peter was a cold chicken. It was the coldest part of the night, just before the dawn. Peter must have left his sword and its scabbard in some remote hidden place. To wear it into the courtyard at this time would be to ask for trouble. As he inched his way over to the fire to get warm, the light of the flames flickered on his face. MARK 14:66- One of the servant girls of the high priest came by. (The one who kept the door?) 67- When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus." she said. Suddenly all eyes came around and focused on Peter. 68- He denied it. "I don't know what you are talking about..." Immediately the cock crowed-(DA711) PETER LIED. He was afraid to stand up for Jesus. He pretended to act like one of the mob of vigilantes. Peter stood "With Them" -John 18:18. Stood among the crowd of Jesus' enemies. He listened to their blasphemous talk about the Master. He did not speak up for Jesus. Peter sought to hide his light under a bushel. We must avoid the company of the ungodly. You youth, be very careful with whom you associate. Pick good company. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. John was not questioned because he did not try to hide his identity. Peter lied the second time, "WOMAN, I DO NOT KNOW HIM." How true It was that Peter did not KNOW Jesus. Peter was chicken. A coward. This is hard to imagine. If any of the other 11 disciples, who really knew Peter, had been surveyed and asked: "If Peter ever fails where do you think his weakness is?" None of them would have said he would fail through cowardice. He is no sissy. None would say Peter would Chicken out. But he did! Do you see the danger here? We do not know our own weakness! The Rooster tried to wake up Peter. Roosters are good at that. But Peter was in deep spiritual sleep. Jesus was on trial in the house and Peter was on trial in the courtyard. Yet Peter's whole trial was over before he even knew he was being tried. Again a third time Peter was standing by the fire. One of the relatives of Malchus whose ear was cut off spotted Peter. "I saw you when we arrested Jesus. You are indeed His disciple." MARK 14:70- ".....After a little while those standing near said to Peter, Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." 71----- "(Peter) began to call down curses on himself, and he SWORE to them, I don't know this man your are talking about." Peter flew into a rage. He let the curse words fly. When his tirade ended all was quiet there in that cold predawn moment. The silence was broken by the Rooster. MARK 14:72- "Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times." DA713- "While the crowing of the cock was still ringing in his ears, the Saviour turned from the frowning judges and looked full upon His poor disciple." It was not a look of anger but of gentle sorrow and pity and love. Jesus did not condemn but Jesus look said, "I still love you. I will forgive you." The Bible says, Vs 72- "He broke down and wept." Friend, if you have failed Jesus, do not feel forsaken or lost. Jesus still loves you. Jesus will still be your Saviour. Confess your sins. Weep. Ask Jesus for a new heart. Remember Jesus loves you even while you are denying Him. He loves you today just like He loved Poor Peter. No man has been so condemned by preachers as Peter in his denial of Jesus. But Peter was not totally evil. Think about it: except for John-- All the other disciples had forsaken Jesus. Peter alone drew his sword against fearful odds. True, he did fail, but Peter failed in a situation which none except John even dared to face. After he was first spotted he did not run, he stayed. Peter's love for Jesus kept him there. Peter was not all bad. But, alas! Peter DID deny Jesus. Peter chickened out. But there was another chicken Jesus could depend on. That faithful Rooster! (Actually not a chicken but a male fowl). Think about that Rooster. The Rooster was more faithful than Peter. Even in Noah's flood more animals were saved than people. They obeyed God. This Rooster performed his task. Right on time. And he probably came from a long distance to be on duty; because NO Roosters were allowed in the Holy City. According to Jewish law it was illegal to have any "Cocks or Hens because they defiled the holy things". Yet here he was! A Rooster: He rises early to do his God-given task: crowing! He does not refuse to crow because he cannot sing like the canary. He awakes sleepers... An Unpopular message! He does that for which he is not praised: no one ever said, "Did you hear the charming voice of that rooster?" He is dependable. Rain, shine, cold, dark. He never complains about a common task or seeks recognition or fame. Compare Peter's faltering failing faith to the dependable faithful rooster! WHY did Peter fail? Only hours before he had partaken of the Lord's Supper and the foot washing. Yet he fell! Why did he fall? Peter fell because of PRAYERLESSNESS! Instead of sleeping when Jesus was praying, back there in Gethsemanie, Peter also should have spent time with God. Had Peter prayed there he would not have fallen. -DA714 Peter fell because of bad COMPANIONS. He placed himself on the enemies ground. The door had been shut. He should not have entered. But Jesus knew he would. Peter fell because he Disguised his faith. In doing so He denied His Lord. Stand for what you believe. God will stand behind you. Don't hide your light under a bushel. He was acting a lie. Peter wept. A tide of memories rushed over him. He rushed heartbroken from the judgment grounds. He ran through the darkness. Finally he found himself back in Gethsemane. He located the very spot where Jesus had poured out His soul in agony to His Father, where Jesus had sweat drops of Blood, and there Peter fell on his face..." DA713. I feel that right there is where Peter began to be a new person. Peter grew and became one of the strongest supporters of Christ this world has ever known. Every time Peter told his conversion story Peter could say: Here is the way Jesus can forgive. He forgave me when I failed Him in His bitterest time of need. This is also what my Jesus can do for you! Friend, if you have been denying Jesus, or following from a great distance or if you have been failing Jesus in the darkness where no one is watching, then you need to Go to Gethsemane and fall on your knees and be transformed into a new creature. No longer was Peter a Chicken. He became brave for Jesus. Peter joined that Rooster in proclaiming the message. Peter fell hard that day. But by God's grace he rose up. That same, kind, hand that saved Peter from drowning out there on the waters of the sea was once more stretched out to raise him when he fell in the darkness of the courtyard. Jesus saves even cold, lost chickens and He transforms them into warm saved Saints. Give your life to Jesus today.

by Pastor Don Gettys of McDonald Road SDA Church Whale of a Tale Deep in the Heartland of the pages of the Bible is one of the most interesting books you will ever read. It is the story of a preacher. Now what is the most wicked city in the world? NYC? Hong Kong? San Francisco? Miami? Let us suppose that God sent you to Miami. You are to warn them that in a little over a month their sinful city will slip into the ocean in a massive earthquake if they do not repent of their sinful lifestyle and accept Christ as their Saviour. Would you go? Open your Bible to this GEM. It is between Obadiah and Micah. You can miss it easily because it only has 48 verses. But it is packed with rich lessons for these last days. JONAH 1:1-2 --THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO JONAH SON OF A-MIT-TAI: --GO TO THE GREAT CITY OF NINEVEH AND PREACH AGAINST IT, BECAUSE ITS WICKEDNESS HAS COME UP BEFORE ME. Jonah lived almost 2800 years ago near the sea of Galilee. When God called him, even though his name means Dove, he acted more like a scared dog with its tail tucked between its legs, running off to hide. But you can't hide from God. When God calls us He always has a specific purpose. When God called Isaiah he said Here am I send me! When God called Jonah he said Here am I send somebody else! People have not changed much since Jonahs time. Too many of us are in a similar boat today. We are sailing for Tarshish when all the time God wants us to go to NINEVEH. ------GOD'S CALL WAS VERY PERSONAL Jonah was a real person who lived in a real city just like us. He knew God and realized it was really God who was calling him to a wider ministry. Has it ever occurred to you that Jonah's God is still alive and still calls His people today? Has God attempted to direct your life recently? I will never forget the time God called me into the ministry. I had been a business major at Andrews University. But even though this was going well, it seemed that God wanted more of me. But who was I. There was no way I could be a minister. I was voted as the shiest person in my Academy Senior class. I was ill equipped for the ministry. But since that time I have learned that God doesn't call the equipped, God equips the called! It happened in my dorm room. I had been in prayer for what seemed to be a fair part of the night. Finally it was just as if the sun had come out in its full strength. I knew I was to be a minister for Jesus. And I have never once doubted that divine call. God knows you. He knows your name, your address, and your capabilities. And it is a wonderful day in your life when you come to realize just what God has in mind for you personally. And it is an even better day when you decide to accept His will for your life. -----GOD'S CALL IS ALWAYS SPECIFIC! Jonah was called to NINEVEH. According to Genesis 10:11 NINEVEH was founded by the notorious NIMROD. It was the wickedest city in the world, being located on the Tigris river in what is our modern day IRAQ. NAHUM 3:1-4 describes the depth to which they had fallen into sin. CITY OF BLOOD. PILES OF CORPSES. BODIES WITHOUT NUMBER. PEOPLE STUMBLING OVER THE CORPSES. HARLOTS, SORCERIES, PROSTITUTION, PLUNDER, FIERCE, CRUEL. You name it. In NINEVEH they burned their children alive. They tortured adults by skinning them alive and leaving them to die in the burning sun. The more Jonah thought about it, NINEVEH was a good place to stay away from. Yet God was calling Jonah to NINEVEH! But, Nineveh was not on Jonah's preaching schedule! Jonah couldn't believe God wanted to save those wicked sinners. The ancient JEWS just knew that God loved them and them alone. To be called to go to Nineveh was a shock. ------GOD'S CALL HAS A GREAT PURPOSE! Jonah 1:2 Go and Preach AGAINST it... God is never VAGUE. When you do God's will you know it. You have all seen the Wheel of Fortune. After the clear winner has emerged, she or he is taken over to a Bonus board and allowed to choose one of the FIVE options on a board. One could be a new car. Another could be a vacation to Europe. But, When God calls you, it is for one specific purpose. Jonah was not given any options. Go to NINEVEH and preach against it. He was not to go the city of his choice. Not to preach philosophy or pious platitudes. Not to set up a Van ministry or colporter work. Jonah was to go to the very seat of sin and preach for all he was worth against their wicked ways and to uphold the true God. But he did not want to go. God is still calling His people but unfortunately the modern vacation cruise line called the "Princess Tarshish" is doing big business in the church today. Because it is hard to go and cry out against the sins of our times. You know why? You have a hard time speaking out against pornography if you yourself subscribe to lustful magazines. You can't bad mouth the wicked theaters or the X-rated movies if you regularly feed on the afternoon soap operas. You can't uphold the standard against Alcoholism if you drink a little wine. So does it surprise you that so many Christians are enroute to Tarshish today? JONAH RAN FROM GOD Jonah 1:3-----"BUT JONAH headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. The first two words of this verse are the saddest words in the whole book. Jonah did just the opposite of what God wanted. Jonah stuffed his bag with some clothes and took all the money he had and hurried 60 miles Down to Joppa where there was a seaport. Way down there no one knew him and no one could stop him. At the dock Jonah got out his Rand McNally Atlas. The map showed Ninevah 700 miles to the East. He looks the opposite direction and the most distant city in the known world is 2200 miles to the West clear on the edge of SPAIN. When people leave Jesus, they go as far away as they can. The Prodigal son went to a "Far Country". Jeremiah 10:9 says Tarshish was a smelting town. Silver, Iron, Tin, Lead were refined. Maybe the people there were also refined. That is a perfect place! I will get lost in all that smoke. Tarshish was his will. Nineveh was God's will. Now you have the freedom to go to Tarshish when God has called you to go to NINEVEH. But you go without God's blessing! Verse 3-- HE "FOUND" A SHIP BOUND FOR TARSHISH. What a coincidence! This is a good sign! Luck is with me! Do you ever justify your choices by the way things seem to fall into place. Friend, you also may find a ship ready and waiting. It's a marvel that the Devil always has a ship waiting That it is so easy to disobey. But if you are enroute to Tarshish when God has called you to NINEVEH, you can be sure a great storm is brewing and that sooner or later you will go overboard. Your life is in Jeopardy. Here is how this works today. A wife is having marriage troubles. Just when things are not looking too good, suddenly along comes another man who seems to be so kind. He is so understanding. He becomes the ship for Tarshish. If she leaves her husband just because she finds another ship waiting she is doomed. --If a young Christian girl marries an unsaved man just because he happened to be there waiting, she is like Jonah. She thinks he will go to church with her after the wedding. But a storm is coming. Her happiness goes overboard. Satan always sees that transportation is provided for those who are running away from God's will. And the devil will make sure that ship sails right on time. RUNNING FROM GOD TAKES YOU DOWN FAST! Notice his downward fall. First he went DOWN to Joppa. Then he went down into the SHIP. Then down into the SEA, then down into the whale's belly, then down into the DEEP. He was in the very bottom of the barrel. When you choose to leave the sure path of God's will you begin a long downward trail that leads to disaster. DAVID started on that trail when he watched Bathsheba bathing. He went farther down when he called for her. He went deeper yet when he went into adultery. He went farther down when he had her husband Uriah killed. Down, Down, Down into sin. If we could just learn this simple lesson: No one ever goes UP when they leave God's will and go their own way. RUNNING FROM GOD IS EXPENSIVE! Jonah 1:3B Jonah paid the fare. Sin is costly. Jonah paid the ticket. The voyage often took 6 months or even longer. It probably took all the money he had. Sin is like that. We pay our own way when we flee from God. GALATIANS 6:7 We reap what we sow. And paying for that ticket was the cheapest part of Jonah's folly. The trip was far more expensive than he ever dreamed. In fact have you ever thought about it--- Sin is the most expensive thing in the whole world. It cost Jesus his blood. Romans 6:23-- The Wages of sin is death. The cost of leaving God is very steep. Stay close to Jesus. You can see how expensive it is almost every day. Ask the prostitute at the corner who is 20 years old and looks 40. Ask the prodigal son standing there in the hog mud handing out the husks about the cost of leaving God. You get some idea of how expensive it is when you see the haggard face of men on the street who are paying the fare. Many are hooked on the bottle. Others are hooked on crime. The way of the transgressor is tough. Each one is some mother's son. Some are someone's daddy. They are shadows of the men they might have been. Yet there they stand on the street Ask the man who marries a woman who does not believe like he does. You sense the expense of sin when you see the guilt-ridden face of a young single person who thinks that everybody else is doing it. The most expensive thing a person can ever do is run away from God. They lose their family, their job, their reputation, their happiness and peace. How different Jonah's life could have been. How many troubles he could have avoided by surrendering to God. How hard it was for him to pay the price for leaving God. How wonderful it is for us today to know that our wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ pays it all. Salvation is completely free of cost to those who accept Jesus as their Saviour. If you have been running away from God, I appeal to you right now to return to Him today. Give your heart to Jesus. Accept His gift of Eternal life. He will take your life of sin and give you His pure robe of righteousness. He died our death that we might have His life. Don't be a Jonah and pay for your sin. Sin will cost you eternal life. Let Jesus pay the full cost. Is God calling you today? When He calls, answer Here am I Send me. Jonah answered: Here am I send someone else! Let God's will be your will. Our destiny is determined by choice and not chance. God had a problem with Jonah and so have I. My plan was to preach a series of two sermons on Jonah. But even though Jonah only has 48 verses, it is a whale of a book. Now we are into a series of at least 4 sermons on Jonah. Next Week we will try to get into the "Whale". In the mean time, be sure to get on the path of God's will and stay there. McDonald Road

by Pastor Don Gettys THE MAN WITH 190 NAMES The world of old had 7 wonders. Pyramids- 13 acres, 481' tall, 2M 2« ton blocks. Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Arches 300' tall. Statue of Zeus of pure solid Gold and Ivory. Temple of Diana at Ephesus of marble. Tomb of Mausolus, died 353BC (Mausoleums) Colossus of Rhodes, Bronze statue over the harbor entrance at Rhodes, ships between its legs! Great Lighthouse of Alexandria 400' tall, 100' sq base. (All of these are now gone except the pyramids.) I suppose today one of these would be the Computer. But in the old times they missed a "VIP" wonder of the world. Far greater than any or all is the wonder of JESUS! And His empty tomb! Jesus is the greatest wonder of the whole universe! ISAIAH 9:6 His name shall be WONDERFUL. What makes it wonderful? Because Jesus is our Hero! Jesus is our rescue! Jesus is our Saviour! We need a Saviour! In December 5, 1986 Walter Wyatt, Jr. was flying his Beechcraft from Nassau to Miami, a 1 hour trip. His navigational equipment was gone. The only thing he had was his compass and it began to gyrate. Walter was soon lost over the vast ocean. He called MAYDAY over his radio. Soon a coast guard Falcon search plane came for him to follow. Only 6 miles from the airport he ran out of gas. At 8 PM he crashed into the water. The plane soon sank leaving him floating on the water in his leaky life vest. His forehead was bleeding. Suddenly he felt a hard bump. A shark had found him. He kicked the beast and it went away. In the morning at one point he saw a dorsal fin heading for him. Again he kicked. Two more bull sharks came next, again he kicked and they veered off. He was near exhaustion. Suddenly an aircraft came over and finally the cutter Cape York pulled alongside Walter. A Jacob's ladder was dropped over the side. Somehow he managed to climb up and onto the ship. He fell to his knees and kissed the deck. He had been saved. When he was in the ocean, targeted by hungry sharks, his great need was not for advice or better techniques. Nothing less than outside intervention could have rescued him from sure death. We are like that doomed man. We must have rescue from above. LUKE 2:11 Unto us is born a Saviour. He is a prefect Saviour, an expert at search and rescue. The biggest question is: Is Jesus your Saviour? Has He saved you? Jesus is just one name that we use to identify our Saviour. Actually Jesus Christ has some other names. Over 190 different names! It would be very informative and fun to preach on each of these names. It would probably take 10 or even 25 sermons or even 100 to do it justice. Allow me to share a few thoughts about the Man with 190 names. For instance, for just about every FEAR that enters the human heart there is a name of Jesus to meet that fear. Fear of the Dark-------------I am the LIGHT of the world. John 1:9 Fear of Failure--------------I am ALMIGHTY God! Revelation 19:15 Fear of Death----------------I am the LIFE! John 14:6 Fear of losing health--------I am great PHYSICIAN, Luke 4:23 Fear of Hunger---------------I am the BREAD of life. John 6:35 Fear of LOSS-----------------I am KING over all the earth. Zech 14:9 Fear of the FUTURE-----------I am your COUNSELOR. Isaiah 9:6 Fear of FALSEHOOD------------I am the TRUTH. John 14:6 Fear of ENEMIES--------------I am your DELIVERER. Romans 11:26 Fear of false ACCUSATIONS----I am your JUDGE, Acts 10:42 Fear of being LOST-----------I am the WAY, John 14:6 Fear of THEFT or ROBBERY-----I am the DOOR, John 10:7 Jesus is the answer to every fear that we could ever have. It would make a nice study to sit down a little each day and study the various names of Jesus and find out just what they will do to give you hope and peace. There is tremendous POWER in the very name of Jesus! The name that I like the best is the one that means SAVIOUR. HEBREWS 7:25 He is able to save to the uttermost, those who come to Him! Jesus is a pro at saving sinners. Our part is to come to Him. Let Jesus save you. We can no more save ourselves by trying hard than a blind man can be cured by increasing the brightness of the lights. Jesus occupation was not always to be a Saviour. Once, He lived in a perfect land called heaven. There the rivers never freeze, the wind always behaves, frost does not kill, and doctors are unheard of. Pain was unknown. Death was not in the dictionary. Sin was known only as a possibility in the mind of the Trinity. But sin did erupt. And God was ready to deal with the crisis. Jesus was sent like a heavenly EMT to operate the great rescue. He came as a baby. Grew up as a boy. Jesus never traveled over 200 miles from His birth place. He was humble and a hard worker. Our Saviour never watched TV. Never swam in a pool. He grew up on a dirt floor. The only thing He ever owned was His clothes. Yet... As a boy He startled a King, and puzzled learned doctors. In manhood He ruled the course of nature. He healed the multitudes without medicine. Jesus never made a charge for His services. Every act was a gift. Jesus never wrote a book but all the books that have been written about Him, could not be held in all the libraries of this state. Our Master never wrote a song, yet there are thousands about Him. More than all other songs combined! Our Great I Am is the STAR of Astronomy, CHIP of the computer, ROCK of Geology, LAMB and LION of Zoology, LOVE of Psychology, Medicine of Pharmacology GOLD of the Economy. Herod could not kill Him. Satan could not overcome Him. Death could not destroy Him. The Grave could not hold Him. One of my favorite things about Jesus is His Great Love. When we meet Jesus face to face we are going to look into the soft eyes of an exceedingly kind face overflowing with compassion and mercy. We see mere glimpses of this today. When Dan Clark was a boy his father took him to the circus. Dan says: The line was long but finally we got up near the ticket counter. The family ahead of us was large and poor. Eight children under the age of 12! They did not have much money, their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well behaved, standing in line behind their parents, two-by-two, holding hands. Jabbering about the clowns, elephants, and the things they were about to see. It was easy to see they had never been to a circus before. The mother was holding her husbands hand looking up at him with pride. Just then the ticket lady asked how many tickets the man wanted. He proudly said: 8 Children's tickets and two adult tickets. The ticket lady quoted the price. The man's wife let go of his hand and dropped her head. The man's lips began to quiver. He leaned a little closer to the ticket counter and said: How much did you say? Again she quoted the price. It was obvious he did not have enough money. How could he turn and tell his 8 kids he could not take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, and pullet out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground beside the poor broken father. "Excuse me sir, this must have fallen out of your pocket!" The poor father knew what was going on. He was in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation. He looked my dad straight in the eyes and took dad's hand in both of his work calloused hands and squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek he replied, Thank you, thank you sir. This really means a lot to me and my family. They got their tickets and went to the entrance. The faces of the children were glowing with anticipation. The man and his wife were close. After they went inside, my father and I went back to the car and drove home. We did not go to the circus that night. We had given our money so another family could enter in. Jesus gave his life that we can enter in to the Joy that the heavenly Father has prepared for his children. I love the words of that old hymn: For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son to die on calvarys tree, from sin to set me free, Some day he is coming back, What glory that will be, Wonderful His love to me. REVELATION 3:20 Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in and eat with him and he with me. He stands outside our personal door, Waiting, Camping on our door step. Longing to be with us. He Knocks on our door. He knocks by sending events that wake us up and make us think about Him. He Calls. If we listen, we will hear His voice out there calling for us. Our greatest need is for the strength of Jesus and His free salvation. When you come to the McDonald Road Restaurant to be fed, you want the best food in the world. You look at our menu and it is one thing: JESUS, the BREAD of life. And the price for you is absolutely free. Jesus paid it all! Without Jesus what is a sermon worth? Like it said in the Ministry Magazine: An X-ray picture of Miss America may be ever so accurate and scientific but is not going to hold the attention like looking at her face and her smile. The bare bones of every sermon should be wrapped in the living flesh of Jesus. He is the life of the sermon and He is the life of the Christian. Jesus ever lives to increase the possibility of our salvation. One day I was at a bookstore and decided I needed to purchase an Almanac, a big thick book of over 600 pages. It is chuck full of facts. In 1988, 4.8 marriages out of every 1000 ended in divorce. 13 out of every 100 Families were headed by women. Each American generates almost 4 pounds of waste per day. 1 in 5 teenagers is armed with a gun, knife or club. Students who listen to loud music cannot hear as well. Facts, facts, facts..... Do they really matter? Some facts are a matter of life or death. For example: The number of people who have sinned and fall short=100% -The number of people who will face the Judgement=100% The number of people who will live with Jesus forever because they accept His saving grace is 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------McDonald Road Sermons