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["In the Hall of the Mountain King"] ["In the Hall of the Mountain King"] Good morning, everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all find our seats. As you find your seat, go ahead and grab a song book. Turn your song books to song number 147 as our first song. Song number 147, let's all stand together for this first song, if you're able. Song number 147, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. All together nice and strong on that first verse. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessedness, what a peace of mind, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms. With my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Amen, wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving us another day, Lord, that we can come to your house and to fellowship with our like-minded brethren here. I thank you for every precious soul that's in the building here this morning, Lord, and I ask that you please just bless our service this morning. I ask that you please bless every aspect of the service. I pray that you would bless the singing, Lord, that it would be pleasing to your ears, but most importantly and most of all, I pray that you would please fill Pastor Mahit with your spirit as he preaches your word unto us and give us also your spirit in the congregation that we may leave here changed. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen, you may be seated. Please turn your song books to song number 205. Song number 205 as our second song, He Keeps Me Singing. Song number 205 all together nice and strong on that first verse. There's within my heart a melody Jesus whispers sweet and low You're not I am with thee, peace be still In all of life's ebb and flow Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Name I know Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go All my life was wrecked by sin and strife Discord filled my heart with pain The broken strings stirred the slumbering cords again Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest name I know Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Feasting on the riches of His grace Resting neath His sheltering wing Always looking on His smiling face That is why I shout and sing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest name I know Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Though sometimes He leads through waters deep Trials fall across the way Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep See His footprints all the way Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest name I know Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Soon He's coming back to welcome me Far beyond the starry sky I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown Him on high Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest name I know Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go Fills my every longing Keeps me singing as I go And the first thing that kind of struck me, and this is a bit from the carnal perspective, is that the country was very clean. For as poor as they are, they really kept what they had very well. There was like very, the streets were really clean. There wasn't garbage on the floors, no bags of chips or like soda cans or anything like that. And I know it's kind of like a carnal statement and a carnal observation, but I think it also kind of lends to where they are spiritually as a country. Because apart from their, let's say like the false prophets that were God, or like the Seventh-day Adventists and the Mormons and stuff like that, corrupting them and kind of forming their little cults and stuff, apart from that, they were a very receptive people and tender-hearted towards the things of God. It was very easy to speak with them. They were all very ready to hear the word of God. And I was really impressed from what I saw. Like for example, if you drive down the street in Los Angeles, you would see graffiti on buildings and stuff like that. Well, over there they had like scripture on buildings. And we drove past the elementary school and they had like Job 14, like a scripture from Job. And I was like, oh man, like I'm sure there's people in our church who have not even read the Book of Job. But here they are like in elementary school and they're like Job. Or for example, like on big bold letters like it says, Children of God, you know. So you can tell they're going to be an easy people to communicate with and they're really ready to hear. And in fact, when you preach to these people, they'll oftentimes finish the scripture for you, you know. And you're kind of amazed, like kind of, you know, makes me think of the Ethiopian eunuch, you know, who's just kind of sitting there reading the Bible but just needs somebody to kind of tie in the points together, explain to them that eternal really means eternal. Because I think that was their biggest hang up, you know, that once you're saved, you cannot lose your salvation. Because they say, yeah, it's believe only, it's by faith only. So really, they just need that little nudge, you know. I think every unsafe person has some sort of stumbling block. But I would say these people, it wasn't really block. It was just like sand you really need to blow out of their way. And they like freely just, you know, walk through that door. Very interesting. And I would recommend, you know, if anyone has not gone, definitely sign up for next year. And I do hope we go next year or multiple times a year. And I certainly hope that we or somebody just plans a church over there. Because I think these people are ready. Yeah, it would definitely be a shame if, you know, more work isn't done over there. I would say Belize is like a treasure field. I'm not saying to abandon everything here and go over there. That's not the plan because we live here, you know. So we do our weekly work here. But definitely pray for Brazil. These people, Brazil too and Brazil. Why not? Pray for them all. But especially Belize because, again, they're ready to hear. I'll tell you something that kind of blew my mind. I was witnessing to a lady. She's about my age. She's like 34 years old. And we were kind of going over the points of the gospel. And I'm telling her, you know, well, you know, according to the scripture, we deserve hell. You know, we're sinners. And she kind of cut me off. She's like, you know what I'm really worried about? And she expressed her worry in the next generation. She's like, I'm worried that the sins of my generation are kind of going to bleed into the next generation to come, you know. And I was really blown away by that statement she made because it's not something most people think about. How their sins are going to affect the next generation, you know. So it seemed to me like she had a concern for her family, for the next generation to come. But I saw just by that statement, again, really blown away by it, it just showed me that they are blessed. It's a blessed country because they consider these things. And it shows me that their parents also considered these things just judging by how receptive this young lady was. And I know this is something she's going to pass on to the next generation. So I don't know for how long this window will be open. But for sure it's open now. And, you know, I just pray, you know, with pastor's leadership. And Ulysse is kind of putting everything in order when we're there. You know, we do a lot of work over there for the years to come. Again, they're ready. They're ready to hear the word of God. They're ready to be saved. So with that, that's pretty much the conclusion of my testimony. Thank you. And now we're going to have Brother Morrie come on up as well. And he has a testimony, too. I did come prepared today, so we don't have to worry. I have some notes here. OK. Ultimately, as we went out, obviously we landed in Belize. But, you know, it kind of was interesting that Belize was the country that was chosen, primarily because my mom is actually from Belize. And so I remember when they talked about it two years ago and we were planning on going. And it just was pretty interesting to me. I was like, man, like, that's cool. My mom's there. I never been there. I never went there. So it was an exciting time for me to go. Last year, last time we went, it was cut short. But this time we were also able to get the work done. This was my first missions trip. And honestly, I really didn't know what to expect. So, you know, obviously I know how our church functions. So we, as we're serving God, we're just making it enjoyable. So the hours were long, but it was very enjoyable because the fellowship that went with it and all of the effort that was put on the background, the fellowship, the food, the soul winning, all of it was just very beneficial. It was very fun. None of it, you know, none of it felt like work. Like at the end of the day, you're just like, man, like we did so much. We got so much accomplished. And it was just a great experience just from the, just the way I looked at it from, as I was thinking like, well, what's going to happen? You know, as we were going out and giving the gospel to people and serving God. And when it comes to like the soul winning, as we were there, what I just kind of learned is just that the culture is just so different there. It's more of a laid back culture. One thing that I kind of, that I was frustrated with was just the fact that as they, you know, whenever they make food, it just takes forever. You know, like you literally can go, like we had people check into their hotels and come back before their food actually came. So they ordered, checked in their hotels and then just came back and ate. And I was just like, I mean, it's just a slower culture, slower pace of life. And the other thing that kind of stood out to me as I was going soul winning is just the poverty level. You know, why are these people receptive? They don't have much. We come from a land of abundance. We have so much from where we are and even the poorest of poor, or poor people that are here, I mean, they're living good in Belize. And so as I was kind of like analyzing this and I was kind of thinking like, well, why is this place succeeding? The other reason also is just because they have not rejected the light that God has given them. And so, you know, we see these people, they just had like this earning for the truth. You know, when we ask people what they think like a big sin is, you know, they'll say like lying sometimes here, you know, but over there they would say, you know, like committing adultery, murdering, you know, doing these different types of things. And that's not to, you know, knock where we live because I love Anaheim. This is where I can envision my family here going to church, going soul winning. And, you know, obviously I love this place, but it's just a different culture there. And a lot of it is they had a lot of the pieces to the puzzle. And so as I'm listening to what they're saying, as I'm getting reports from other people that are telling me what they're saying to them, they have a lot of the pieces. They just need someone to put the puzzle together for them. And so as I'm there, I'm just like, well, let me just help you put the puzzle together, you know. Let me help you put those pieces in the right order. And so as we're given the gospel or as we're leading people to the Lord, showing them how to go to heaven, you know, their eyes were enlightened with the gospel, with the good news. And we were able to get many people saved potentially even more than that over time as well. So kind of like to close is like my soul winning story. Historically, if you went soul winning, you know, in times past or just wherever, you know, sometimes people say, well, I'll get back to you, you know, or I'll come back and find you later. And sometimes they don't come back, you know, when you're here. And there's this crossing guard that helped the kids cross because I've witnessed an accident over there. And so it was actually kind of bad because we were given the gospel. This dude likes looking at us and he just like, bam, right, hits this car on a motorcycle. And what that's showing me is that it was pretty unsafe, kind of like at least driving, you know, just because it's just the rules are just a little different. And there's this crossing guard that I was trying to get to give the gospel to. And as I was giving him the gospel, he had to get cut short because he had to go to work. And he told me he'll come back to me. And to be honest, I was just like, OK, you know, you know. But as after he was all done with the shift, he ended up coming back to me and telling me like, hey, where were we at? And then I just I didn't I don't remember where we were at, so I just picked the point. So I was just like, oh, here. And he was like, no, no, no, we already got past that. The gift is free. You don't have to do anything for it. You know, and I'm just like, OK, I'm like flipping through my Bible. I didn't know what. But ultimately I ended up getting this guy saved. And it was just it was just a huge blessing because that's something that I'm not really used to seeing, you know, seeking, seeking the truth. And so as we're there, as I just think about my experience there and how much of a blessing it was to just be able to go to Belize, a place where my my mom is from and get people saved and get, you know, get other people's family members saved. You know, it was just an awesome experience. And it's one of those things that sometimes when the window is closed, the windows closed and there's nothing sometimes you may never be able to get that that window open. I pray that the window stays open for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, and so that we can continue evangelizing that place so that we can get as many people saved because there was so much work there. There's so much work to do. But the reality is, is that there wasn't enough laborers. And so am I saying just, you know, forsake Anaheim? Absolutely not, because this is a place that I love and I care about Anaheim a lot. I care about Riverside where I live. And obviously I care about where you guys live, too, but only talking about me, you know, and I care about Brazil, too. But it's it's one of those things where you can go and just have your virtue taken out of you because you're just witnessing to people and getting people saved. So that's the kind of the conclusion to my testimony. And it was an awesome experience. And if the door if if the if the the light path kind of opens up for you, I would encourage you to go. And the reason why is just because it was such a great opportunity, a great experience to be in a country that were for me, other than me coming going two years ago, that was the first time I ever went outside the country. And so it was an awesome experience. Thank you guys for listening. All right. And we're going to have Brother Gio come on up as well. His first time going to the mission field. And so come on up, Brother Gio. So I actually prepared a sermon for today. No, but so like like Pastor said, my name is Gio. For those of you guys that don't know, obviously it was my first time in the mission field and actually out of the country. So I don't really know what to expect. You know, I know what the food was like. I know about the drinking water. You know, I heard that you can't drink the actual like sink water. You know, I do that over here sometimes. So I over there. You got to drink water bottles only, which is definitely different, you know. So I thought that was kind of weird, but I was a little bit nervous because I was like, you know, going out of the country, going to different parts of the world. You know, you don't know what it's like at all, especially because I haven't gone out. So I was concerned about being comfortable or what it's going to be like or how I'm going to adapt. You know, but obviously so like that for those reasons, I didn't really want to go at first. No, I did say I was going to come. I got my passport ready. And towards the got closer, I was like, no, I don't want to go anymore, you know. But then obviously I was convinced and I decided to go. And what's crazy is like towards the end of it, I didn't actually want to leave, you know. And there's a few reasons why that I actually wrote down because, you know, I don't want to forget. So one of the main points was obviously, you know, as humans, we like to enjoy food. And because we're in a foreign country, I didn't know what that food was going to be like. But the good news is they also have a lot of American food, you know. If you saw, UBC's had a pound burger, you know. They had fries too, it was pretty good. And yeah, the food was really good. You know, I think I ate like 30 tacos while I was there. But we also experienced some coconut chicken, which was really good also. Yeah, enough with the food though. I'll move on. But anyways, we also had a lot of fellowship, you know, with our church, people that were there, and also just other churches. Like I think Brother Maury said, we had a lot of people from other churches that did come. I think we had all of California there, like Fresno, Sacramento. We had Faithful Word, Steadfast. We have a lot of people there, which is cool because we don't get to see them all the time. Like obviously we have like the Red Hot and other conferences where you can get to meet new people. But even just going to the mission field, we saw a lot of people that I didn't know that I got to meet. And it was a lot of fun in that way. And the main thing that obviously is different about where we live and a foreign country like Belize is obviously like the poverty level. You know, it's obviously a poor area. But you know, just because they're poor in that way doesn't mean that the people are rude or anything like that. And it's actually the exact opposite, that they're a lot more kind to you. You know, and a lot more respectful, a lot more humble. And because of this reason, I believe that they actually gave us the time of day to actually preach the gospel to them. You know, because over here, you know, you can, obviously not to bash Anaheim at all, we obviously love our area like Maury said. But sometimes, you know, you can try to talk to somebody and they just kind of don't really want to, they don't want to talk or they're like, oh, I'm busy, as they're watching like NFL or something. But over in Belize, you know, they'll just be walking by. And you know, they'll be on their way to work or something. You could just be like, hey, you know, we're here from California. We're just asking people an important question. And they'll literally stop and turn to you and give you their full attention. You know, they're not really looking away. You know, they're just, they want to hear what you have to say, you know. And it's definitely a big culture shock, a big difference than over here in America or even in California, where it's not really like that, you know. So, yeah, the main reason why I didn't really want to leave, like I said, is obviously the soul winning. Now, as we're out there, you know, there's a lot of people and obviously there's some houses. And like Brother Maury said as well, me and Maury, we started at a school and we were supposed to work the whole block. But literally, as we just started talking, there were just people coming out of the school and we actually never left. And we've been there, we were there all three days that we were soul winning. And we saw a lot of people saved. Obviously, you guys know that we got around like 400 people saved, which is a lot. But yeah, it was honestly amazing to see that. And the first thing I thought about was obviously, you kind of quoted it as well, Brother Maury, but the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labors are few. You know, obviously hearing that before, I obviously thought about it as like a world standard. Like obviously we're in California, we're in SoCal, and like we have the whole world to reach. But even just going to Belize, you realize that, you know, just us going there, we had like 20 something soul winners, and I didn't think we were going to this problem. Obviously I knew it was receptive and stuff like that, but you would literally be talking to a group of people and you'll just see their friends coming out, and they'll literally look at you and like listen to what you're saying, but then they keep walking. And then you look down the line and everybody else is talking to people, so that person just keeps walking. And then you just hope that they come back the next day, that you can talk to them again. But there was just so many kids that were coming out that you just couldn't get them all. And it's honestly really sad when you think about it, because they're just so receptive that you can literally get somebody saved, talk to another person, and they'll get saved, and just keep going back and forth. And that's why it's honestly really sad when you think about it, because there's so many people that are just ripe and ready to go to heaven, and they just want to know the truth, and we just don't have enough people. And this reminded me also because I also always heard growing up like, oh, you'll be persecuted for his name's sake or righteousness' sake, you know. And I always knew what that meant, because you don't really understand it until your church gets blown up, you know what I mean? So it's like that really made it a known factor for me when I went to Belize, and obviously when it says there's a lot of people, like, the labor is plenteous and there's not enough labors, you know. But yeah, so my favorite story that I had out there, obviously Belize is one of those countries where it just rains out of nowhere and then it stops. So we were out there, and it was supposed to rain, so we got on, like, I had my rain stuff on, and it wasn't raining yet, it was really hot, because that's the thing about Belize, too, it was really hot over there, and very humid. So I have all my stuff ready, and I'm in this alley, and I see these two kids walking by, and so I just approached them, I'm like, hey, we're out here, like I said earlier, from California or whatever, I asked them the question, they're like, no, we're not sure, and I was like, well, can I show you? They're like, yeah, of course, show us, you know. And they're like, we're on our way to school, but we'll give you the time, you know. I thought that was really cool also because their school was about to start, but they still wanted to hear it, you know. So as I'm talking to them, I see the clouds, they're rolling over us, and they're not just like white clouds, they're like rain clouds, like they're dark, you know. And they're just moving over us, and I knew that at any minute it's going to start raining. And I did have an umbrella, so I told them, hey, if it starts raining, don't worry, I have an umbrella, you guys can use it. So they're like, okay, whatever. So we went through the gospel, and then it starts raining, but it's just like a little rain, like a little drizzle, you know. So now it's not too bad, I'm still just going, you know. And then it just starts pouring, like really bad. And I was like, dang, I was all wet. It felt like to me just from the shower on and you were just standing there, that's what it was. And it was pretty bad, you know. So I put my backpack down, I'm like, hey, I got an umbrella for you guys, give them the umbrella. I was like, do you guys still want to listen? Obviously I know it's really pouring right now, and they're like, no, no, we still want to know. We want to know what it takes to go to heaven, you know. And I just thought that was crazy because it wasn't like these were like, all the people, these were like teenagers, you know. And you kind of compare it to how we are in America where they're just like obsessed with their phone or obsessed with like something else, you know. They don't want to even talk. But they're like, no, we want to know what it takes to go to heaven, you know. And so obviously, long story short, they ended up getting saved. And as I was walking them back to the school, because I let them use an umbrella, I was like, I'm not going to just take it back now, you know, let them go. So we get to the school and I found out they're 17 years old, but then at the end they're like, you know, thank you for coming to Belize, and thank you for showing us what it takes to go to heaven. Which I thought was crazy because, you know, most of the time, like you don't really hear that a lot, you know. But they're very sincere in their heart. They even knew verses like the other guys have mentioned, like they knew that like, you know, obviously that they're sinners and they deserve a punishment. And they quoted me Romans 6, 23, and they quoted John 3, 16, you know. And like how Maury said, the people over there are super receptive and then no verses. All you got to do is connect the whole idea for them. And that's why like, that's the main takeaway I got from Belize. And the other thing is like sometimes when you're out soloing and you don't see a lot of people saved, it can kind of just like burden you or like you feel like sad like dang, like am I doing it wrong or like why am I not getting people saved. But then you go to a place like Belize and it tenderizes your heart towards the people because you realize, you know, there's all these people that are super receptive that may never even hear the gospel if we don't do the work over there, you know. And it really makes you have a soft heart towards soloing because, you know, sometimes it can be like a burden sometimes. I'm going to be honest, you know. But when you're out there, like there's not really a burden because you're like I know these people, like they want to get saved. And it's an awesome feeling when they're thankful and grateful that, you know, you show them what it takes to go to heaven. So that's pretty much all I got for you guys. That's the end of my sermon. So thank you guys. And there's tons more stories, obviously, that we've experienced out there. Obviously, one of the main things that we notice is their sensitivity to sin. When we often ask them, you know, what's a really big sin, you know, I even got someone telling me like worshiping false gods. That's a horrible sin. Or, you know, if I told my parent I'm going somewhere and I didn't go there, I'd lie. And that's a huge sin, you know. I remember, I think the last person I went to Christ, his name was Tristan. He's 12 years old. And I say, are you 100% sure that if you die today you go to heaven? He said, no, because I'm a sinner. I've committed so many sins that I deserve hell. And I'm just like, he's 12 years old. You know what I mean? Like what? Obviously, it's true, right? But like you think to yourself, and he told me it was such a burden. Like I know I'm going to hell because I've committed so many sins. But he ended up getting saved. And one person that I went to the Lord, she was late to her bus, but after she got, but she told me, she's like, I want to listen. And, you know, I want to hear what you have to say. So she ended up getting saved. And she said, thank you for choosing Belize. And I hope you enjoy the country. And I hope you get a lot of people saved, you know. And so that was a major blessing. So many other stories, obviously, I can't go through them all. But when we're leaving Belize, and we're going to the airport, they have a sign at the airport. And I think that sign really sums up how people in Belize received us in Belize. Because it said this, thank you for choosing Belize. And you think to yourself, like, what a nation of such receptive people. And really, pretty much, I think every person I talked to, thanked me for giving them the gospel. And it wasn't just like, hey, thanks. They were just like, thank you so much for showing me how to get to heaven. Thank you so much for showing me how to have everlasting life. Like, they're very grateful for the message. And so, encourage anybody to go out to Belize when we have a chance to. And pray that we get more work done because the laborers are few. Let's go and sing our next song, song number 248. We'll do this, why don't we sing the first and the last stanza of 248. Because the Geo sermon was too long. 248, all right. Song number 248, Now I Belong to Jesus. All together nice and strong on that first verse. Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever. From him no power of evil can sever. He gave his life to ransom my soul. Now I belong to him. Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone. But for eternity. On the last. Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me. Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me. His precious blood he gave to redeem. Now I belong to him. Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone. But for eternity. Amen, wonderful singing. At this time the ushers will come forward to collect the offering. And you can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter number 18. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Deuteronomy chapter number 18 the Bible reads. Deuteronomy chapter number 18 the Bible reads. Deuteronomy chapter number 18 the Bible reads. Deuteronomy chapter number 18 the Bible reads. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me unto him you shall hearken. According to all that thou desire to the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God. Now let me see this great fire anymore that I die not. The Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I'll raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee and put my words in his mouth. And he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And I shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name. I'll require it of him. But the prophet we shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak. Or they shall speak in the name of other gods even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass. That is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken. But the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously. Thou shalt not be afraid of him. Let's pray dear Lord God. We thank you for this church. Thank you for our pastor. I just ask that you be with him now and please strengthen him. Fill him with your Holy Spirit and please just bless the preaching of your word. And continue to bless our church. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay we're in Deuteronomy chapter 18. And the title of my sermon this morning is Stupid Things Seventh Day Adventist Belief. Stupid things that they believe. We were in Belize and Belize is heavily influenced by many different religions, false religions, Catholicism, Pentecostals. But one of the biggest cults there is the Seventh Day Adventist. And people often will think that well Seventh Day Adventism is just a different sect of Christianity. They somewhat believe the same. But no they're actually a cult that perverts the word of God. And damns a lot of people to hell. And actually teaches a lot of stupid things too. And when you just compare it to what the word of God says. Things that unsaved people just kind of readily already believe. You know the Seventh Day Adventists have a tendency to pervert. And so we're going to talk about some of those things this morning. And I might do a part two tonight because the sermons this morning were very long. I'm just kidding. But where do the Seventh Day Adventists come from? Well the Seventh Day Adventist movement is largely based upon a man by the name of William Miller and his failed prophecies. William Miller was essentially a false prophet who predicted the second coming of Christ in 1843 and 1844. And of course they completely failed and weren't true. And you say well why is that? Well because of the fact that he's a false prophet. And the Bible says in verse 20 of Deuteronomy 18, But the prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. Verse 22 says, When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. So a good way to sift out whether someone is a false prophet is that if a person presumes to speak in the name of the Lord and makes some sort of prediction and that prediction doesn't come to pass. It doesn't mean they just made some sort of little error. It doesn't mean oh you know he's just kind of you know kind of mixed up in his doctrine. The Bible says that person is a false prophet. Okay. Anytime someone tries to make some sort of prediction of the second coming of Christ, that's just the number one indicator that he is a false prophet. And that's exactly what happened to William Miller. Well, one of his disciples was Ellen G. White, who essentially endorsed the false prophecies of William Miller that he would return in 1843 and 1844 and essentially to save face because she endorsed him. She basically said, Well, he did return. It just wasn't a physical return. It was a spiritual return. Okay. And this woman is essentially the one of the greatest influences of the seven day Adventists and began to essentially have these so called visions of God speaking to her about the rapture and the fact that it's imminent and all these things. And so she is largely the person who's largely influenced the 70 Adventist movement and began to make all these I think it's approximately 2000 prophecies of extra biblical revelation things that did not come to pass. And so she kind of took up the reins the torch after William Miller and to save face because obviously she's supporting this guy basically said it was a spiritual rapture wasn't a physical rapture. And in fact, in 1844 marks the moment where Jesus Christ essentially shed his blood on the mercy seat in heaven after his death. Now, Ellen G. White is obviously a false prophet, and she believed and taught a lot of silly things, which is, you know, a synonym to silly is stupid. He said, Well, you kind of being disrespectful there. You know, you should learn to respect other people's religions. Well, not when they're perverting God's word, and they and by the way, here's the thing. This is one of the reasons why I call them stupid is because they think you're stupid. How about that? You know, for them to teach this silly nonsense, they're basically assuming you're a stupid person to believe it. He said, Well, what kind of stupid things that she teach? Well, you know, first and foremost is that she participated in necromancy. Okay, a lot of people don't know this, but she wrote a letter to her son, which he later published in a book called The Retirement Years on page 161 to 163, where she believed her dead husband came back from the grave spiritually and essentially confirmed that she was a prophet of the Lord. And they discussed all types of church issues and ministry that's called necromancy, which, according to the Bible, is a crime punishable by death. And so she was a necromancer. She was a false prophet who predicted many false prophecies of the second coming of Christ. But one of the main ones that they don't like to really talk about is this matter of investigative judgment. Okay, because what happened was when William Miller's prophecy failed in 1844 in order to save face, they basically said, Well, it was a spiritual rapture, and it's actually when the investigative judgment began. Now, what is investigative judgment? Well, this is basically proof that the Seventh-day Adventists do not believe in salvation by grace through faith. Because, you know, a lot of these cults will claim to believe that salvation is by Christ alone. You know, they will pay lip service to that and say, Well, yeah, it is by faith alone in Jesus. But, you know, you have to read the fine print, right? Because, you know, you say, Well, why do they say that if that's not what they believe? Because they're trying to deceive people, and they know they can deceive them if people aren't necessarily investigating what they truly believe. They just take what they say at face value. Oh, yeah, they do believe in Jesus. They believe he's God. They believe salvation is by grace through faith. But then when you read the fine print, you recognize that it's a thinly-based, works-based salvation of what they're teaching, okay? And investigative judgment is proof of that. You say, What is that? Well, investigative judgment is referring to in 1844 when Jesus Christ spread his blood on the mercy seat, began to record the deeds of all men saved and unsaved. And this investigative judgment has started in 1844, continues until this day, and essentially is what Jesus Christ is doing to confirm whether believers in Christ are truly believers in Christ or not. So if someone professed Christ as their Savior, okay, they called upon the name of the Lord, they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's not enough. Because on the judgment seat of Christ, he's basically going to pull up all the deeds whether you repent of your sin, whether you stay faithful to the Bible, whether you actually did works. And if you didn't, then the judgment is you weren't really saved to begin with, which is a false doctrine. Because the Bible tells us, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Listen to this, not of works lest any man should boast. And you know what? Repenting of sin is a work. Because the repenting of sin requires for you to keep God's commandment to not sin. But you know what? There's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. And so when God commands us to keep the laws, it's essentially to show us that we're not perfect, we're fallible men, and we need Jesus Christ to save us because we cannot save ourselves. The Bible says that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. So salvation is by faith, not by the deeds of the law. Romans 3.28 tells us, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. And so this investigative judgment is a works-based salvation because it places Jesus Christ in heaven at some desk or something. With pen and paper, just kind of recording every single thing that you do, whereas the Bible actually teaches us about the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. It talks about David describing the blessedness of the man whose sins are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, implying that when we get saved, God forgives us of sins in the past, the ones in the present, and yea, even the ones in the future as well. You see, a lot of people think, well, no, we have to confess our sins daily to be saved. But no, we actually need the pardon of all sins to be saved, which comes by our faith in Jesus Christ. And not only that, but there's plenty of scriptures that teach that when we get saved, He separated our transgressions as far as East is from West. And East and West never meet, my friends. This is telling us that when we get saved, He doesn't rub our sins in our faces thereafter. The Bible says that He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Ellen G. White stated this in Steps to Christ, page 61, That so-called faith in Christ, which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God, is not faith, but presumption. By grace are you saved through faith, but faith, if it hath not works, is death. Isn't that interesting that what these people say out there, you know, the Calvinists, the Reformed theologians, they're basically quoting Ellen G. White. Because how many times have we said, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, that is the gift of God, not of works. And they'll say, yeah, but faith without works is dead, being alone. Well, they're basically quoting Ellen G. White, and she's mocking the so-called faith in Christ. According to Adventist teaching, the works of all men and women are written down in books of records kept in heaven. During the pre-advent judgment, these books are opened, and the lives of all people, both living and dead, are examined to establish who has responded to Christ's offer of salvation. You say, well, you know, that sounds kind of similar. The books of records in heaven, in which the names and the deeds of men are registered, are to determine the decisions of the judgment. As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our advocates present the cases of each successive generation, enclosed with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. So it doesn't matter if you believe on Christ, because there's really no difference between a person who believes on Christ and someone who doesn't, according to them. Because what about this? What about the unbeliever who actually lives a clean life? Doesn't really matter, right? So apparently this is only based upon the works that they do, the deeds that they do. Jesus Christ is essentially, listen to this, according to them is behaving like Satan. So why is that? Well, because if he's doing an investigative judgment, he's kind of nitpicking at everything that you do. You know, there's someone else that actually does that in the Bible. Satan, who's called the accuser of the brethren, because it's Satan who actually comes and tries to shove your sin in your face. He's the one who accuses the Father, accuses us to the Father of the sins that we've committed. Jesus Christ does not do that because of the fact that he himself bore our own sins on his own body on the tree. He's forgiven us of all sins, past, present and future. Investigative judgment is a false doctrine. The judgment will show those who are authentic believers in God from those who are not. All who have truly repented of sin and by faith claim the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God. Their sins will be blotted out and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Bible actually teaches that he that overcometh shall not be blotted out of the book of life. And according to the Bible, the person who overcomes is those who place their faith in Jesus. And so it doesn't have to do with our works. It has nothing to do with our deeds. It has everything to do with our faith in Christ. Go to John chapter 20 if you would. John chapter 20. So in October 1844 Jesus Christ entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies to begin investigative judgments of the records of those who have professed salvation. The investigative judgment is based upon the law of God, the Ten Commandments. The character of each person will be tested by the standard of this law which by the way is another reason why they keep the Sabbath. This judgment determines the eternal destiny of every professing believer. No one can be sure of eternal life until this judgment is complete. What in the world? The Bible says these things have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. But according to Ellen G. White, you can't be sure of that. You can't be sure of that. Well, she's for sure sure of that now that she doesn't have eternal life. During the heavenly judgment God has raised up the seven-day Adventist church to proclaim the eternal gospel to all the world. This work began in 1844 and will continue until Christ returned to earth. So think about this. It's like what happened to everyone from the first century AD all the way to 1844 if he then spread his blood in the mercy seat until 1844? Like are we just supposed to forget all the millions and millions of people who lived throughout that time? But here's the thing, folks. You know, Jesus Christ obviously did not spread his blood in the mercy seat in 1844. The Bible specifically tells us when that took place in John chapter 20. Look what it says in verse 15. Jesus saith unto her, referring to Mary, this is after his resurrection, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She supposing him to be the gardener said unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary, she turned herself and saith unto them, Rabbanite, which is to say, Master, Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, listen to this, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and your God. Now he's referring to that ascension is actually referring to him going to heaven to spread his blood in the mercy seat. And here he tells Mary, Don't touch me yet, because I've not yet ascended. Well, in the same chapter, look at verse 26. It says, And after eight days again, his disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands, reach hither thy hands and thrust it into my side and be not faithless but believing. So what we see here is that eight days after he presented himself to the disciples and told them not to touch him, we see that he now tells Thomas, Go ahead and reach hither thy finger, essentially showing us that he has already ascended up into the Father. Now the question is, what was he doing there? He was spreading his blood on the mercy seat. Go to Hebrews, if you would, Hebrews chapter number nine. We're going to see what the Bible says about that. Hebrews chapter nine. And you got to ask yourself, So what was he doing during all that time from the first century A.D. to 1844? Why did it take so long for him to go to the mercy seat and spread his blood there between that time? Hebrews 9 12 says, But Christ being come as a high priest of good things to come by a greater, more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. Listen to this. Once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Look at verse 24. For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the truth, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with the blood of others. For then must he have often suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. So what we see here is that when he spread the blood on the mercy seat, that took place once. And the importance of knowing that he did that once is or the significance of it, should I say, is that he's essentially saying that now it's fully put away. The sins of many are fully put away. So how is it that in 1844 he's spreading his blood in the mercy seat, yet thereafter he's kind of taking down everything that you've done from here on out. Makes no sense. The spreading of the blood in the mercy seat is synonymous with the forgiveness of sins. Once and for all. And this is the fallacy, this is the error, should I say, of those who believe you can lose your salvation, those who believe that salvation can be taken from you, because of the fact they don't understand that the Bible teaches that he does it once and for all. And you say, well, I believe you paid for my past sins, but not necessarily my future sins. Right? I've heard people say that. But here's the thing, all our sins, in respect to when Jesus was here on this earth, was in the future. So your past sins are still in Jesus' future sin, is still in Jesus, in his past, in the future. So first century AD, no one was here since the first century AD, I don't think. So every single one of our transgressions, iniquities, according to Jesus when he was here on this earth, was in the future. And so investigative judgment is a bunch of nonsense, and all it is is Ellen G. White's attempt to essentially save face so she doesn't look really dumb over the fact that these prophecies did not come to pass. But you know, if that's not stupid enough for you, you know, how about this? Your salvation could be dependent upon eating meat. Because the seven-day Adventists teach vegetarianism. They preach the gospel of health. And you know what? This week would be very horrible for the seven-day Adventists. Folks, you know, because, you know, turkey and ham and, you know, obviously there's a bunch of other stuff that's not me, but turkey and ham. Okay, a lot of turkeys are going to die. Or actually, should I say, are already dead, right? If you plan properly. Okay, a lot of pigs are dead. And so thank God that salvation is not determined upon that, because we would all be gone. The seven-day Adventists encourage people to become vegetarians. Ellen indicated that your salvation could be dependent upon giving up meat. No meat eaters will be translated at Christ's coming, she said. In a book, Councils on Diet and Food, page 380. Now go to Romans chapter 14, if you would, Romans chapter 14. And by the way, you know, who likes Kellogg's cornflakes here? Just be honest, I think they're all right, okay? That's made by seven-day Adventists, my friends. That's why you need to stick with like Honey Bunches of Oats or, you know, Rice Krispies or whatever, Corn Pops. No one likes Corn Pops, I guess I'm the only one. But that was created as an alternative to eating meat for breakfast. You know, so now you kind of understand why people who follow the seven-day Adventists so religiously believe just anything they tell them. Because when you are a vegetarian slash vegan, it makes your mind very weak. You say, well, that's not true. Well, the Bible literally says, he that eateth herbs is weak. That's God's Word who said that. And it's not just weak physically, but it's weak mentally as well, okay? But look at the Bible says in Romans 14 verse 17, it says, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. You know, the kingdom of God is not based upon what you eat. You know, because a lot of people who try to intermingle the two and try to teach that, but the Bible actually says in 1 Timothy chapter 4 that that's a doctrine of devils. When they tell you to abstain from meat, it's a doctrine of devils. Because the Bible says that every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer, the Bible says. And so you're free to eat any type of food, not that you would want to, but I'm just saying, you know, if you want to eat a dog, if you want to eat a cat, I'm not recommending it. I'm just saying, you know, if you pray over that thing, it's sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. And so you say, well, how do you know it doesn't affect your spiritual life? Well, obviously, you know, eating certain types of foods can affect you spiritually in the sense that it can cause you to be weak, which in turn can cause you not to be resistant towards sin because you're weak, your mind is weak, but it doesn't mess with your salvation because salvation is a spiritual aspect, it's a spiritual factor, and the Bible specifically says that the kingdom of God is not in meat and drink. Nothing in your salvation is determined upon whether you eat or drink. In fact, you know, what goes into the mouth doesn't defile the man, but that which cometh out of the man, that which is that defileth him. And here's the thing, you know, this is such a stupid, silly teaching because Jesus Christ literally used the illustration of eating his flesh, right, for salvation. He says in John 6 54, Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day. Now, obviously, this is not referring to transubstantiation as the Catholics like to teach, right? This is obviously figurative because he's essentially saying that he's giving his body for our salvation and if we eat of his body synonymous with believe on Jesus Christ, then he will raise us up at the last day, we'll have salvation. You know, notice he didn't say if you eat my leaves, if you eat my branches, if you eat, you know, he's talking about his flesh, okay? He didn't preach a vegetarian vegan type of a message there. Here's some other silly things that she taught, other assorted nonsense that she taught included angels needing golden cards as gate passes to get in and out of heaven. This is found in page 37 to 39 of the book Early Writings. So she claimed that angels needed gold cards like a fast pass or something, a security card to get into heaven. So just imagine these angels are just working long hours and they just forget their gold card, they come in, they're just like, I mean, what do they do? They're like, you know, they're not allowed in apparently. By the way, she also traveled to other planets in her visions and claimed to have met Enoch and spoken to Enoch, which is another form of what? Necromancy. This is in the book Early Years as well. How about this, folks? She taught that certain races of men are the result of amalgamation between man and beast. So think about that. She would look at other races, and by the way, she's probably referring to black people. 1800s, this is the 1800s here. And her claim is that other races are a result of people committing bestiality. How wicked is that? But this is the lady that everyone follows in the SDA church. They think she has some sort of credibility when she's teaching this nonsense. You know, you could show this to an unsafe person and be like, this is crazy. Because you don't need to be spiritual to reject this, you just need to have common sense. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 3, if you would, Ecclesiastes chapter 3. And that's only scratching the surface of some of the silly nonsense that she believed and taught. But the reason they're called the Seventh-day Adventists is because of the fact that they believe in the imminent return of Christ, which is a false doctrine. But they've also kind of added to their teachings this matter of keeping the Sabbath, which I'll go over in just a bit. So this is why they're referred to as the Seventh-day Adventists. But what's another silly teaching that they believe in? Well, how about this? Soul sleep, which is a major teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and not just them, the Jehovah's Witnesses. Which the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventists, they have very similar teachings, similar beliefs. They've known each other. And in fact, they pretty much agree on the majority of the things that they teach. But they parted ways in the early 1800s because of their failed predictions. Because Taze Russell also predicted the second coming of Christ multiple times and obviously failed as well. But so did the SDA. So the only disagreement is in their failed prophecies. But they teach this matter of soul sleep. Now what does that mean? What does soul sleep mean? Well, according to the SDA, they believe that when a person dies who is saved, that essentially that soul remains in the body which is in the grave and has fallen asleep. Okay? And will not be awakened until the second coming of Christ when Jesus Christ returns. So they don't believe anybody's in heaven today. Anybody who's saved, they say they're not in heaven. They are, you know, in the grave, they're sleeping in their bodies, whatever. Now where do they get that from? Where do I have eternity? Ecclesiastes chapter 3, go to chapter 9 actually. Chapter 9, go to verse number 5. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5 says this, For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything. Neither have they any more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. So this is their key passage to try to prove that when a person dies, they just don't have any consciousness, they're in the grave, they're asleep, they're not in heaven. Now let me just say this is that when you're studying the Bible or when you want to learn some deep theological doctrine, you need to go where it's clearly stated in the Bible. So if we want to know where people go when they die, we should visit the New Testament on that. Because the New Testament brings a lot of clarity to what takes place in the afterlife. A lot of what's in the Old Testament, a lot of it's figurative, a lot of it is poetic, you know, a lot of it has to do with the history of Israel and isn't really teaching systematic doctrine. Whereas in the New Testament, there's a lot of systematic teaching on eternal life, on eternal damnation, etc. So what I'm saying is Ecclesiastes is not the book to go to. And I find it interesting that they go to the book of Ecclesiastes, but just completely ignore the words of Christ, okay? Now obviously, when we look at the New Testament, we see that Jesus Christ often refers to those who are dead as being asleep, right? We've seen that before. Lazarus, for example, talks about how he was asleep when he was actually dead. Now you say, why is that then? Why is it that the dead are referred to those who are asleep? Because when you're dead, you look like you're sleeping. I mean, it's not very hard to understand that, right? When someone is dead, you know, they're laying there and they have their eyes closed, it looks like they're literally sleeping, you know, just there. But it doesn't literally mean that the soul is asleep. Now I'm going to explain to you why this is so nonsensical and why this is so easy to understand. You know, obviously we see examples of people in the Old Testament who are in heaven. You have Enoch who was not, God took him, he was translated, he's in heaven. You have Elijah who was taken up by a whirlwind up into heaven. Many examples in the New Testament, statements that are made to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You know, the Apostle Paul talked about in Philippians chapter 1 verse 23, how he wanted to be with Christ, which is far better, but it was more needful for him to be in the flesh for the sake of the Philippians. But check this out. If you think about this, when you think about the soul, also is referred to in the Bible as the spirit, the New Testament often refers to that aspect of our being as that which is awake. Because I don't know if you know this, souls don't sleep. You say, well, how do you know? Because the physical body needs sleep because of the fact that it's something that's physical that needs energy, it's powered by the blood, it's powered by what we eat, whereas the spirit is something that is quickened by the Spirit of God and is kept essentially, you know, it's quickened, it's no longer dead. Go with me if you would to 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5. You see, the spirit is constantly awake. And any time you read the New Testament in regards to the spirit, it often associates it with us as Christians, associates walking in the spirit with being awake in Christ. And when you're in the flesh, the Bible refers to you as what? Being asleep. Not physically, but spiritually. So when you're walking in the flesh, you're carnal, you're fleshly, the Bible describes you as a person who is asleep in Jesus. You're simply asleep. You know, this is why Jesus said to the Apostle Peter, you know, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And he said it in relation to Peter literally being asleep, but also spiritually because he wasn't watching. OK, look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse number 5. It says this year, all children of light and the children of the day, we are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. Now, let me ask you, is the Apostle Paul saying, hey, never fall asleep, like consume as much caffeine as possible. You know, just don't fall asleep because we're not children of the night. You guys got to stay up and watch and be sober. He's obviously referring to the spiritual aspect. Right. He says, verse number seven, for they that sleep, sleep in the night and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and of love and for a hump for a helmet. The hope of salvation for God had not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that we that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. And so the spirit is constantly awake. And when we choose to walk in the spirit, the Bible refers to us as being awake in Jesus. And in fact, he specifically says this, awake to righteousness and sin. Nah, for some have not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. He says, awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. He's not saying, hey, wake up physically. He's saying you need to wake up spiritually. You're in the flesh, you're carnal. And the point that I'm trying to make here is the fact that the spirit, the soul actually never falls asleep. That's like a carnal way of viewing the spirit. It's to think that somehow it needs rest, it needs sleep. This is a false teaching. Now, go with me if you would to, go to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20. Let's talk about annihilationism. Because the flip side to that, being asleep, is the fact that those who are not saved, they don't go to sleep. When they die, they go to hell, but they just kind of burn up. They just no longer exist. And Seventh-day Adventists take the Bible too literal in the sense that they literally think that the fire that's in hell right now is the type of fire that we can produce even here. Because they think, well, when it says perish in the Bible, when it says that they're destroyed, it essentially means that they're going to cease to exist. And let me read this to you. This is from a pamphlet of the Seventh-day Adventists. It says, seven reasons why hell won't burn eternally. And by the way, this is one of the reasons why I just don't believe the Seventh-day Adventists. None of them are saved. Not a single one. Well, I know one that believes in Jesus, but if they believe this, they're not saved. Reason number one of why hell won't burn eternally. Hell burns on the face of the earth, then this earth is recreated as home of the saved. Number two, God is just and fair. He punishes lost sinners in proportion to their evil deeds. So basically he's saying, how can God burn someone eternally when there's people on this earth who have done good, that don't deserve to be burned for that long? That's basically what they're saying. But what they fail to realize is that the Bible tells us that even liars go to hell. And lying is put on the same scale as murder or sorcery in regards to the punishment of hell. But they're saying, no, God is just and fair. He will never send me to hell just for lying or just for stealing. No, yeah, he would. Because he that keepeth the whole law yet offended at one point is guilty of all. Number three reason, man is not immortal. In other words, you can't live forever. But here's the thing is that people need to understand is that the soul isn't necessarily referred to as being immortal. It's just referred to as eternal. And when someone gets saved, they can have eternal life or they can have eternal death. He said, well, death means you cease to exist. Yeah, for the body, but for the soul, it is eternally damned in a place called hell. That's what the Bible talks about. Number four, God is love. You or I would not torture our children forever. No matter how disobedient they have been, are we more loving than God? Well, yeah, we're not going to be burned forever. You know, we are God's children. We're not going to be burned forever because we can't lose our salvation. But according to their theology, you can lose your salvation. And therefore, you know, if you do stray away from the ways of God, if you, you know, get into sin, you go on into the world, you know, you will lose your salvation. But don't worry, you just burn up real quick and just cease to exist. Number five, God says the wages of sin is death, not eternal torture. Number six. Oh, that was number five. Number six, God plans to eradicate sin, not immortalize it. Number seven, God plans to destroy the wicked and says so many times in the Bible, like, how is that a valid argument against the eternal damnation of the lost? OK, well, look at Revelation 20, verse number 10. This is a thousand years after the false prophet and the antichrist are cast into the lake of fire. So according to them, when people are thrown into hell, they essentially just burn up. They just don't exist. And that's the end of it. But Revelation 20 is a thousand years after that. Says in verse 10, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire in brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day, night, forever and ever. Here's another word for tormented, tortured. God's not going to torture anyone. He says right there that he's going to torment them day and night. How long? Forever. Like forever? Well, he says and ever. But I want you to notice that the beast and the false prophet are there when Satan comes in. And this happens a thousand years later. Now, I mean, you know, like, how long is this going to take? Right? It's just like, oh, man, I thought I was supposed to burn up real quick and just cease to exist. I'm still here a thousand years later. That's basically what they're thinking, according to the SDA's way of doctrine. What this is teaching us is that the souls of the beast and the false prophet are there. They burn forever. And I had someone tell me, well, you know, that's a valid argument. But, you know, you didn't address that. You know, what about for the rest of mankind? We obviously understand that the beast and the false prophet, they'll be there and they'll be tormented day and night. But, you know, that's just them. That punishment is just exclusive for them. This is what someone told me. Go to Revelation 14. So say, yeah, of course the devil, of course the beast and the false prophet, but everyone else will basically just burn up. Look at Revelation 14, verse 11. This is referring to other people who have taken the mark of the beast. It says in verse 11, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. So we see here that this is a punishment for everyone. There's no such thing as a soul being annihilated once you... And this is people using their own reasoning and thinking to themselves, well, you know, how can someone just, something just burn and not be consumed? I don't know. Have you ever heard of the burning bush? How the burning bush was on fire yet was not consumed? You know, I know this is hard for your little mind to understand seven-day advances, but you know, this is why the Bible has to be accepted by faith. And if God says, you know, that it's an eternal damnation, then that's exactly what it is. He said, well, where does it say that it's eternal damnation? Matthew 25, verse 46 says, and thee shall go away into everlasting punishment. Well, if it was a temporal punishment that happened the moment you went into hell, that wouldn't be called everlasting. I mean, even the people in Belize understood what eternal meant. You talk to them and you're like, what does eternal mean? They're like, everlasting. That's the first thing that they would say, everlasting, never ending. He says, but the righteous into life eternal. And by the way, if they believe in everlasting life, then this verse wouldn't make any sense because eternal life or life eternal is the contrast to everlasting punishment. It's the same thing, but the exact opposite, okay? And so annihilation of the soul is completely nonsensical. Go to Matthew chapter 12, if you would. Actually, we'll stop there. Let me give these two other ones, and then I'm going to give this last one tonight. I'm going to talk about the Sabbath tonight. But here's a pretty blasphemous teaching of the Seventh-day Adventists. They claim that Satan is the scapegoat. So what they say is that once Jesus Christ is finished with his investigative judgment, all the sins of man will be placed on Satan as a punishment. And they call him the scapegoat. But hold on a second, Jesus Christ is the scapegoat. And in fact, that's who the Old Testament scapegoat is picturing as Jesus Christ because he himself bore our own sins on his own body on the tree. He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So he took the sins upon the whole world. He said, why does it say that? Because it's Satan's religion. Because he wants to rob God of his glory, and he's willing to even have his minions and his false apostles teach that he's essentially the scapegoat. And lastly, how about this? Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. I mean, these are silly things that they teach, but you know what? There's over 20 million Seventh-day Adventist converts in the world. So obviously this is pretty big. I mean, when there's 20 million, obviously in comparison to the rest of the world, there might not seem a lot, but that's 20 million people that are going to go to hell. And they're constantly evangelizing. They're constantly trying to get people. You say, well, how do they get converts? Here's the difference between a cult and a legitimate church that teaches the right doctrine. We don't hide anything. Like whatever you want to know, you can find out today. Any doctrine. Whereas what these cults do is that on the surface they'll tell you what you want to hear or what other legitimate religions or should I say legitimate churches teach about salvation, but then they'll try to wean you on to false doctrine thereafter. This is what the Mormons do. This is what the Jehovah's Witnesses do. And this is what the Seventh-day Adventists do as well. And through the process they'll start trying to make you become a vegetarian because when you become a vegetarian it weakens your mind. And that's not mockery. I'm just being honest. That's exactly what it does. Being a vegan or a vegetarian, you say, well, what if we don't have food? Folks, that doesn't exist here. It didn't even exist in Belize. There's meat in Belize for sure. And so that's not a legitimate argument. Being a vegan or a vegetarian makes you weak-minded. This is why these people believe this nonsense. And so we should reject the Seventh-day Adventists and continue to expose them. And tonight I'm going to spend more time on the actual keeping of the Sabbath, which they believe to be their strongest point there. Because any time I've knocked on the door of a Seventh-day Adventist, I talk about salvation, they're like, wait, hold on a second. But do you keep the Sabbath? I'm like, what does that matter? Why is that even important? But it's important to them. That's their corner of truth that they are keeping, which they don't legitimately keep anyways. But I'll get into that tonight. Let's pray. Father, we thank You so much for Your Word. And thank You for the clarity that You bring in Your Word to even the new false religions of today, which obviously are not new. They very much find their roots in the false prophets of yesteryear, through Cain and Balaam and all these wicked false prophets. There's nothing new under the sun. I pray that You'd help us, Lord, as Your people, to be able to sift through false doctrine and not be deceived by any of it. We love You. We thank You. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. From God and dead in sin, No light my heart could see, But in God's Word, the light I found, Now Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me. As rays of light, Under sun the flowers of earth set free, So life and light and love came forth From Christ living in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me. As lives the flower within the seed, As in the cone the tree, So praise the God of truth and grace, His Spirit dwelleth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me. With longing all my heart is filled, That like Him I may be, As on the wondrous thought I dwell, That Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me. Oh, what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me. We have a baptism this morning, So we'll sing another song. Please turn your songbooks to song number 41. Song number 41. Sweet by and by. All together on that first verse. There's a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar, For the Father waits over the way, To prepare us a dwelling place there. In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore, In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore. Okay, upon your public profession, I'm going to now baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, going to cross your arms over your chest, bear it in the likeness of His death, to walk in the witness of life. Congratulations. All right, let's pray. We'll be dismissed. Father, we thank you again for this day, Lord. Thank you for the trip, all the salvations this week, Lord. And for everyone that showed up today, thank you for the baptism. Please help us, Lord, as your people to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. And I pray you bless our evening service tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, you are dismissed.