Jesus' Power Pulls us Through

Last week we had children, every night, reminding us to “Trust Jesus” as Jesus’ Power Pulled Us Through - our theme for VBS this year. It was an incredible week and the power of Jesus was evident in it all. It left me thinking though - what does that mean?

In our Bible Points, we learned that Jesus' power gave hope to the disciples in the early church, saved us at the cross, and helps us be a friend. But, my question for you now is - what do you think when we say that God is Powerful? Or, similarly, when we say God is in control?

For some, we mean that every single thing that happens, happens under the will of God. Others see it more as a general - God could stop this if He wanted to, so it must be okay since God is allowing it to happen. I admit, I find all of this hard. I see so much that is awful and not okay in this world - where does a powerful God come into play?

I don’t want to leave this with pat answers - these are big questions and there are not easy answers. Still, I can’t resist offering a little hope. For me, God’s power comes into play when I open myself up to it. When I stop trying to be the one in control, I am able to see God working in ways I was blind to when I relied on my own power. So, now my question is - what does it mean to you?

~ Pastor Jana Lee

Psalm 27:1-3

"The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident."

As we look at the Psalms 27:1-3, I am drawn back to last week's sermon.

After Abishai defeated the giant Ishbi-Benob, there must have been a ton of questions. 

The reason he gave for standing toe-to-toe with a living death machine is found in II Samuel 21:17 … "Then David’s men swore to him, 'You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the Lamp of Israel.'"

They called David the Light of Israel. Simply put, they saw David as too important to the nation. David was seen as the source of their identity, the source of their strength, and he was their purpose for being a nation.

David however, must have seen things a little differently. As we read Psalms 27, it appears to be a reflection of those events and David's thoughts on being called the Light of Israel. One simple question I have from this Psalm and II Samuel 21 is about the "why’s" in our lives.

Abishai stood up to a giant. Why? Because David was the light of Israel. 

David stood up to a giant. Why? Because God was the Light of his life.

Both men are victorious, but the reasons why they fight are more important than we think.

~ Pastor Jackie James

Sabbath

“On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times.”

Joshua 6:15 ESV

Sometimes the Bible quietly throws a monkey-wrench into our theology. As a Seventh-day Adventist I do not remember anyone in my tribe talking about this aspect of the story. We talk about Rahab and the spies, we talk about the Ark and the water, we talk about the wall coming down, but we do not talk about how this happens on Sabbath.

God has told His people Jericho will fall. All they have to do for the next six days is walk around it once, and on the seventh day walk around it seven times.

The problem in our theology comes here in the story. For many in my tribe they would see something missing here. What did they do on Sabbath? Where is the day of rest?

No matter how you count it, their interaction with Jericho involved either one or two Sabbath days. This causes me to ask - "Is this in contradiction with the Fourth Commandment?"

Or does it expand the Sabbath in a way we have never really considered?

At the beginning of the Exodus experience, God explains to the Israelite's what it means and looks like to be His people. They had to learn that YAWEH, the living God, was an entirely different God in every way, from the Egyptians idols and deities they had observed being worshiped in Egypt.

The Fourth Commandment instructed them that God wants a day where their routine is totally different and their focus isn’t on walking, crops, animals, and work. Sabbath is a day to focus on God and each other.

The Fourth Commandment says that God values relationships as the fuel of life.

How does all this impact the taking of Jericho?

Getting dressed and war ready for seven days was an Act of Worship. It was an Act of Worship to march and not react. It was an Act of Worship to be silent, when you know they are being yelled at and taunted. It was an Act of Worship to just show up and trust God when they didn’t see how all that marching was going to do anything.

Sabbath invites us to just show up and be a part something greater.

~ Pastor Jackie James

Restless

In 2011, the alternative rock band Switchfoot released their album Vice Verses. The theme of the album rested on the idea of the polarity of life such as the good and the bad. The fourth track in the album, written by their lead singer Jon Foreman, titled ‘Restless’ was inspired while he was in the UK listening to rain and thinking to himself how each rain drop was in relentless journey back to the ocean. He began to compare that same journey to his own in his reaching and searching and longing for more. In an interview concerning his inspiration to write the song he said, “And I began to think of my own life and wondering if I had that same drive, that same pursuit for that which is right and true." The song goes:

“I am restless

I run like the ocean to find your shore

Looking for you

I can feel you reaching, Pushing through the ceiling

'Til the final healing, I'm looking for you

Until the sea of glass we meet,

At last completed and complete

The tide of tear and pain subside

Laughter drinks them dry

I'll be waiting, Anticipating

All that I aim for, What I was made for

With every heartbeat, All of my blood bleeds

Running inside me, Looking for you”

I believe this song captures this past Sabbath’s message. “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart.” (Ecc 3:11) Therefore, the heart longs for eternal things. As Saint Augustine wrote “our hearts are restless until it rests in you.” All the pleasures of this life can bring us joy, but they cannot bring us lasting joy. They are water, not living water. They are bread, but not the bread that came from heaven. Ultimately, the only thing that will finally satisfy our restless hearts is God himself. Where have you been trying to find joy and meaning? Come to God and find rest for your soul.

~ Pastor Alex Portillo

As we finished our sermon series on the Great Controversy, one of the points I wanted for us all to wrestle with was in Matthew 25 - the sheep and the goats. Jesus declares that these two groups are identified and divided by their deeds. These passages stand in harmony with what we read in Revelation 20 about the books being opened.

As Seventh-day Adventist's, our tradition has leaned heavily on our theological uniqueness: Three Angels Message, The Sanctuary, State of the Dead, and The Sabbath. These are our pillars and a potential crutch.

I love these pillars of our faith and how they push and pull me each day. Theology is meant to give us deep roots so that we grow into true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Paul pleads with believers to allow scripture to do its work within us. 2 Timothy chapter 3 reminds us that all scripture is God breathed. That helps me remember that just as God put life into Adam and Eve, so scripture does within us.

In these final days of earths history, or just another Monday or Thursday, I urge you to not let a day go by without God's word giving you breath.

~ Pastor Jackie James

Justice for the Hurt I Give

During my sermon last Sabbath, I shared a passage from Ellen White where she discusses how the saved, upon seeing Jesus returning, ask, “Who can stand?” (Great Controversy, 641) Remember, these are the saved, not the unsaved. Every time we hurt someone we have stolen joy, health, hope… from a child of God, and these debts are ones we can’t repay. At Jesus’ return, our brokenness is brought into contrast with His glorious wholeness, and we ask, “Who can stand?”

This event carries a difficult message for us.

We need to come to terms with the fact that we have hurt people, will continue to hurt people, and will feel the weight of this hurt. We’re going to ask that question, “Who can stand?” knowing the answer is, “Not me.” I have more examples than I can count of ways I have hurt people, and I will collect more. Then we have the hurt we can’t even begin to count. We support people, policies, and institutions that hurt people. We buy goods and services that exist because the powerful take advantage of the weak. No matter how much we educate ourselves or work to do otherwise, we hurt people. By our action and inaction, we will end the day with debts we can’t pay.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Ellen White reports the question gets a response from Jesus; “My grace is sufficient for you.” Then, for a thousand years, Revelation 20:4 says, the saved are able to look through the records, see Jesus’ work on behalf of humanity, and judge–discern for themselves–that Jesus’ grace is indeed sufficient. They will be convinced that God has done everything to make justice actually happen.

What shall we do, then, given these events?

Should we give up and live lives of selfishness? “Jesus will take care of everything, so I’ll just care for myself.” How could we? The love of Jesus is in us.

Should we expect flawlessness from ourselves, and ignore the marred parts of our actions, heroes, and institutions because we need them to be flawless, too? How could we? We know our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and we know the question the saved will ask.

What shall we do? Love, repent, and improve when we can. Trust God to fill where we could not instead of beating ourselves up for falling short.

Go with grace!

–Pastor Jonny Moor

The Great Tribulation

The Great Tribulation

For generations Adventists have asked themselves, “will we be the generation who will live through the time of trouble?” When I first became Adventist, I asked myself this question often. But slowly this question escaped my mind, replaced with questions concerning today rather than tomorrow. Frankly, being more concerned about the present is not a bad thing; in fact, Jesus encouraged it (Matt 6:34). But it is one thing to “worry” about the future and another to “prepare” for it. Jesus teaches us not to worry, but he also teaches us to prepare (Matt 25:1-13). The ant does not prepare for winter because it fears winter, but because it is necessary (Prov 6:6). It is the same for us. We prepare for the time of trouble not because we fear it, but because it is the wise thing to do.

Confusing “worry” with “preparation” can lead people down a path of fear as they seek an impossible perfection, which is why I believe so many Adventist view prophecy disparagingly. But if we can learn the difference now, then we can grab hold of wisdom and grow in our discipleship. So, what does preparation for the time of trouble look like? Sister White tells us:

“Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger... because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected, they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement…Our precious Saviour invites us to join ourselves to him, to unite our weakness to his strength, our ignorance to his wisdom, our unworthiness to his merits. God's providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus.” (GC pg.621& 623)

Preparation is developing a habit to trust God. How do we trust God?

1.    By giving our weakness to his strength

2.    By giving our ignorance to his wisdom

3.    By giving our unworthiness to his merits.

Trusting God is our preparation. It is the school where God teaches us how to remain faithful under immense pressure. It is the school where God teaches us what is true, what is virtuous and of true value. It is where we develop character and true integrity. Trusting God is how, during the Time of Trouble, we will be able to say with Jacob, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”

–Pastor Alex Portillo