In this video, Pastor Ted Wilson and his wife, Nancy, talk about the Sabbath, which constitutes the twentieth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists. The Sabbath was given in a perfect world at the beginning of time. It commemorates Creation and honors the Creator. Genesis 1 describes how God created this world and everything that is in it in six days. Then, in Genesis 2:1-3 (NKJV), we read: "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it, He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Now, did God rest after His work of Creation because He was tired? No. "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). He rested to reflect on the work He had finished and blessed and sanctified the Sabbath as a holy, special day of communion with God and fellowship with other people. Sabbath is central to our worship of God. He is the Creator and we are His creatures. Our twentieth fundamental belief states: "The gracious Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts." The Sabbath has existed since Creation but it had become obscured and forgotten by some. As such, the fourth commandment begins with the word "remember." Exodus 20:8-11 says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it, you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." God knew we would need the Sabbath for physical, mental, social, and spiritual restoration. As one of His most precious gifts, it keeps us focused on our connection with Him. For this reason, "the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). It was not only after His work of Creation that God rested on the Sabbath. He also did so after His work of redemption. After His ascension to heaven, Jesus' followers continued to observe the Sabbath. The book of Acts has several examples of Paul and other believers meeting and worshipping together on the Sabbath. The Sabbath will continue to be an important day until the end of time. Just as Adam and Eve's loyalty was tested by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil placed in the Garden of Eden, every human being's loyalty to God will also be tested by the Sabbath placed in the middle of the Ten Commandments. Before Christ's second coming, the world will be divided into two classes: those who "worship the beast and his image" and those who "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:9, 12). During this time, God's truth will be magnified before the world and everyone will be given the opportunity to show where their loyalties lie. By accepting the gift of the Sabbath, we allow Him to work in our lives, changing and bringing us closer to Him. "The power that created all things is the power that recreated the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day, it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience" (Testimonies to the Church, volume 6, page 350). Indeed, God has given us the wonderful gift of the Sabbath and His begotten Son. He created us and gave His life to redeem us. With this, He longs to spend the Sabbath with us every week. Let us experience the joy that awaits us on God's special day. To learn more about our twentieth fundamental belief, the Sabbath, visit www.adventist.org/the-sabbath/. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRa4n3kp7Yg
The Sad Man in the Dead Car
by S.M. Chen | 21 July 2022 | I count it a privilege when I am asked to tend my 11-year-old namesake grandson. His is an inquiring mind, and I await what percolates just below the surface with an admixture of anticipation and delight. When I was last asked to spend time with him, I […] Source: https://atoday.org/the-sad-man-in-the-dead-car/
July 2022 President’s Video: “The Rebels Heard His Voice”
Someone once said that Moses spent the first 40 years in Egypt learning he was “somebody.” He then spent the next 40 years in the desert learning he was a “nobody,” and he spent the last 40 years learning what God can do with a “nobody.” Robert Dulay had excelled in his studies, graduating at the top of his theology class. He hoped and prayed he would be assigned to a good district in the capital city of Manila. But alas, he was sent to one of the islands, where instead of a car or a motorcycle, he was given a horse! For 18 years—and after seven horses—he labored in the jungle mountains, and while some might have thought his talent was wasted there, God was preparing him for one of the most amazing rides of his life! You see, Robert was working in Mindoro, and when we began airing our AWR programs on the island, it was his voice the rebels heard. He was the one the rebels approached to say they were listening to the messages and wanted to follow Jesus. They came to Robert when they wanted someone to negotiate their surrender to the authorities. Watch this video, taped during our General Conference Session last month in St. Louis, where I share Robert’s story and the amazing miracle of Mindoro. And I love that God used Robert—and Adventist World Radio—to do it! Yours in the Blessed Hope, Duane McKey
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MB01DHIOLI6Z3MU Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecZdQ-WxG6c
A master of ministry
Luke Robinson felt God calling him out of comfortable, well-paid work to “focus on life-changing work—the saving of souls.” Study in a new course at Avondale is helping with the transition. Source: https://wp.avondale.edu.au/news/2022/07/22/a-master-of-ministry/
Dio prima di tutto – Il segreto della felicità
Mini devotional n. 4/3 trimestre 2022 – Il segreto della felicità, della serie Dio prima di tutto. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aWFrcASbDM
Patients to Be Dropped if Adventist Health, Anthem Blue Cross Can’t Come to Agreement
Adventist Health said in a statement, “Anthem [Blue Cross] is one of our lowest paying health plans, and we can’t continue to provide quality care for patients at significantly reduced rates.” Adventist Health also said that Anthem Blue Cross has enjoyed record profits for the past two years. Anthem Blue Cross countered that its reimbursement […] Source: https://atoday.org/patients-to-be-dropped-if-adventist-health-anthem-blue-cross-cant-come-to-agreement/
News Briefs for July 21, 2022
News reports from Côte d’Ivoire, Iceland, Israel, Puerto Rico, United States. Leaving School Behind After several years of building churches and schools and drilling water wells across the West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire, Maranatha Volunteers International is wrapping up its work in that country, reported the Adventist Review. One of the highlight projects that […] Source: https://atoday.org/news-briefs-for-july-21-2022/
Inside Story: South American Division ~ Part 4: Plotting With Spirits
Part 4: Plotting With Spirits
Months passed before Mother and Junior learned why Father had abandoned them for two months and lived in the Candomblé temple in Manaus, Brazil. It was because Junior wanted to become a Seventh-day Adventist.
After seeing a man baptized at Alpha Seventh-day Adventist Community Church, Junior told Mother that he also wanted to be baptized. Mother told Father, and Father, at the temple, was ordered by evil spirits to stop the plan.
At home, Father tried to convince Junior to reconsider, but the boy stood firm. The evil spirits stepped up their pressure, telling Father that he would be destroyed if he did not stop Junior. Father didn’t understand how Junior’s baptism could destroy him, but he agreed to plan by the spirits to move out of the house. The spirits said Mother would lose both her husband and her job on the same day, and she would stop taking Junior to church. Father didn’t want to leave home, and he worried about the plan all day. But when Mother arrived home late from a church event that night, he angrily decided to leave.
At first, the plan unfolded as predicted. The next day, Father left the house, and Mother lost her job. But the rest of the plan fell through. The spirits had hoped that Mother would run out of money and stop taking Junior to church. But when Mother couldn’t afford to buy gasoline, church members offered rides in their cars. After two months, the spirits declared that they would create a new plan to prevent Junior from being baptized. They told Father to return home.
Meanwhile, Junior had started Bible studies in preparation for baptism. He joined Pathfinders, participated in the church’s music program, and helped operate the church’s sound system. Although the evil spirits had promised to stop Junior from being baptized, the boy’s desire only grew. To Father’s chagrin, Mother also started talking about getting baptized.
Pastor Ricardo set the date for Junior’s baptism on Oct. 29, a year after the boy had first heard about the Adventist Church at his friend Clifferson’s house. Mother longed to be baptized at the same time. When she told Pastor Ricardo, he gazed at her seriously. “You cannot be baptized because you’re not legally married,” he said. The words hit Mother like a punch. Her common-law marriage was blocking her desire to be baptized with Junior. Pastor Ricardo saw her disappointment. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Ask Eduardo to marry you.”
Tears flowed down Mother’s cheeks as she left the church. She doubted that Father would agree. Nevertheless, she sought him out. “I have a question,” she said. “No matter how you answer, our relationship won’t change. Will you marry me?”
Father pursed his lips into a pouty, puppy-dog expression. Then his face grew serious. “No,” he said. “I’ll never marry you.”
Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open eight churches in the South American Division, including four in Brazil, where Father (Eduardo Ferreira dos Santos) and his family live.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
Amen!
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-south-american-division-part-4-plotting-with-spirits/
Friday: Further Thought ~ Seeing the Goldsmith’s Face
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “God Promises Us a New Heart of Flesh,” p. 100, in Sons and Daughters of God; “To Meet the Bridegroom,” Pages 405-421, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “The Time of Trouble,” Pages 613-634, in The Great Controversy.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“Character building is the most important work ever entrusted to human beings; and never before was its diligent study so important as now. Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momentous; never before were young men and young women confronted by perils so great as confront them today.” — Ellen G. White, Education, p. 225.
“In the parable, the foolish virgins are represented as begging for oil, and failing to receive it at their request. This is symbolic of those who have not prepared themselves by developing a character to stand in a time of crisis. It is as if they should go to their neighbors and say, Give me your character, or I shall be lost. Those that were wise could not impart their oil to the flickering lamps of the foolish virgins. Character is not transferable. It is not to be bought or sold; it is to be acquired. The Lord has given to every individual an opportunity to obtain a righteous character through the hours of probation; but he has not provided a way by which one human agent may impart to another the character which he has developed by going through hard experiences, by learning lessons from the great Teacher, so that he can manifest patience under trial, and exercise faith so that he can remove mountains of impossibility.” — Ellen G. White, The Youth’s Instructor, Jan. 16, 1896.
Discussion Questions:
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Amen!(2)
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-seeing-goldsmiths-face/
Living Free! Finding Freedom from Habits that Hurt #sermon #shorts
Do you know that God wants you to have a free and healthy life? This #short clip from the Global Campmeeting sermon, “Living Free: Effective Principles to Finding Freedom from Harmful Habits” by Vicki Griffin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIrdM58l-tQ&list=PL-k2Gb-DBYo9tb9fHW_AxGxJ1R8MpNnpa&index=16 encourages us to follow God's plans for He knows everything about us. Say yes to God and allow Him to exchange your wishbone for a backbone. Watch the full video to learn more about how we can live free from all the habits that hurt us. ————————————————————————————
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been an established denomination since 1863. It is a global Christian family with over 21 million members who hold the Bible as the ultimate authority. We are believers who promise to help people understand the Bible to find freedom, healing, and hope in Jesus. Want to learn more about the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Visit our website at: https://www.adventist.org/ Click the notification bell so that you never miss a new video! Find us on social media by following the links below:
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