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loving father in heaven by the grace of god by the power that you have vested in us we are determined to serve the lord these are no ordinary times these times call for the soldier to shine those boots and to make sure that the uniform is in place and that they are proficient with the sword of the spirit and we do pray today father as we ask for your heavenly visitation that we will turn our cups up towards you and say fill my cup lord speak through me lord i just want to be your servant i don't need accolade or praise i just want to do what you will have me to do and now take this message that you've given to me and put the life and the power that you intend to reside in it may lives be transformed and hearts be changed i pray in jesus name amen the scripture that is so pertinent to this message is james chapter 2 12. and i'm gonna read that one more time because it is so powerful considering the environment that we are in today you know our world when i say our world in the united states this country that god has raised up for a holy purpose is being racked by satan's determination to keep the mission of god in this country from being accomplished if you are a student of prophecy you know very well that revelation 13 is a picture of america in its developing stages a land of liberty a land of religious freedom freedom of speech freedom from fear freedom of the press freedom to gather and worship without the fear of reprisal even freedom to express our disfellowship or our displeasure with what is happening even in a political setting but freedom of speech i'm going to say this and i'll repeat this again at the end of the sermon god has given us the freedom of speech to proclaim the gospel but god has not given us the freedom of speech to injure his character so james the apostle says it so wonderfully he says so speak and so do notice he says not just what you say but your actions so speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty as we near the end resistance to the gospel is going to take a twist we've been looking at its trajectory and we think that it's almost predictable but if you've been looking on the horizon you know that there's going to be a twist in the gospel while we are focusing on the corruption of the world satan is focusing his attention on preventing the success of the church the devil is not concerned about the sinner he's already got them where he wants them to be he's concerned about the saints and nothing concerns the kingdom of darkness more than the advancement of light you can see that in america is it unusual that in most of our states around the nation you can travel and the malls are open the stores are open many inconveniences are open we were down in florida not too long ago i think around christmas and we drove along in fort lauderdale and we saw restaurants and places jam packed shoulder to shoulder so many people in there it sounded like when you drops when you drop something in hot oil to crackling of voices just a cacophony of voices together packed shoulder to shoulder in a state where the churches are prohibited from opening and we used to think that it had to do with either republican or democrat let me tell you something it's all across the board it doesn't matter what the state is there seems to be an intentional push by satanic forces to prevent the gospel from going forward so you might have freedom of speech but where are you going to speak when the churches are closed how are people going to be added to the church daily when the church is shut down and if you don't think that the devil is behind that then you not you are not awake or not calibrated that's why every sabbath that i walk through these doors i say praise god that in thompsonville we can still gather in church on sabbath i don't take it for granted because satan is not going to use evil to force men to sin he's been doing that for millennia but he's going to distort the gospel to force men to worship that's the aim he is distorting the gospel and as you know the prophetic scenario his intention is to force men to worship as it was on the plane of durham with the three hebrews it's going to be again literal babylon is going to be parallel to spiritual babylon the forced image of worship is going to be established again those that serve the lord are going to be faced with life-or-death decisions but like the hebrews we have to determine that i rather go into the fire and be saved then avoid the fire and be lost these are the days where freedom of speech must be used to proliferate our efforts to disseminate the diluted gospel to the world the undiluted gospel to the world the gospel is being diluted so we must speak and do as those that are allegiant to the giver of liberty the lord gave us liberty while we have it let us use it to advance the kingdom of god amen it was one of the most powerful declarations in support of free speech in the shadows of mount olivet jesus made this statement and we find it in a very familiar passage in matthew 24 and verse 14 and i once again say the single most powerful declaration in support of the freedom of speech listen to what he said and this gospel of the kingdom together will be preached in all the world as a witness to what all the nations and then the end will come jesus said i'm going to say this today i'm so thankful for the scripture because this is the blessed assurance that we have as pastors that when we preach the gospel when we proclaim an undiluted gospel janus we are part of a clarion call that will not fail jesus will not fail what does the shirt say and the gospel will not fail the gospel will succeed but the twist has come because angered by this divine directive the gospel nemesis satan is determined that jesus and his followers should be silenced but satan did not know that following the resurrection jesus would kindle a fire that will never be quenched when resurrection morning came jesus would kindle a fire in his followers jill that will never be quenched not even when jesus comes because when sin is done on this earth we will have the distinct privilege of proclaiming to the unfallen worlds the beauty of salvation through the person of jesus how we have been forgiven how we have been redeemed how we have been restored amen bob the fire that jesus kindle will burn through doctrinal lies and deception it would consume every endeavor to make the gospel of no effect the fire that jesus kindle will reduce to ashes the adversaries of truth and righteousness and i want to say today i have to pause and ask the question how can you stop someone who has all the power how can you stop jesus when jesus concluded his three-day reservation and vacated joseph's tomb the battle hymn of the republic was born he has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat he is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat oh be swift my soul to answer him be jubilant my feet why our god is marching on amen so the gospel is going forward god is marching on and the truth is marching on and to eliminate any possibility of of doubting that the gospel will not succeed jesus also proclaimed these words in matthew 16 and verse 18 listen to what he said he said to his followers and i say also unto thee that thou art peter and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it i'm not going to ask the gates of hell will not prevail against the church sometimes we look like a little motley crew don't we you know a little bit about right terry you know there's just so few of us but i'm going to tell you god doesn't need a majority the smallest the amount god's gospel will succeed and i want to be on the winning team what about you now why did the lord say that to peter jesus was not making peter the foundation of the church but he was saying this to peter for a specific reason he was saying peter the devil has already sifted you but you're converted now peter you already denied me and i forgave you this time you are not going to fail you're going to succeed and this time i'm commissioning you to feed my sheep and let me tell you something friends when you follow the new testament peter was up to the challenge because when you are forgiven and redeemed no one loves the lord as much as that person that has been forgiven much what do you say the crucifixion was satan's attempt to end the gospel but it backfired when jesus signed his death certificate with the phrase it is finished alan white describes in desire of ages what happened when jesus said it is finished she says to the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry it is finished had a deep significance it was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished they with us share the fruits of christ's victory not until the death of christ was the character of satan clearly revealed to the angels and to unfallen worlds the arch apostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings had not understood his principles they had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion so when jesus said it is finished the nature of satan's rebellion was clearly seen the angel said i got it because he was so clear in hiding his intentions he was so clear in hiding who he really was it was not until jesus said it is finished that the devil knew that he was finished and the very phrase that jesus spoke to his disciples rang again in satan's head because satan nancy thought that he had killed jesus but jesus said in john 10 verse 18 no one takes it from me that is his life but i lay it down of myself i have power to lay it down and i have power to take it again this command i have received from the father you can't take the life of the life-giver so why did jesus take it why did he lay it down he laid it down for you and for me he laid it down to save us but not only that he laid it down to free those who were in bondage to the enemy he laid it down for those whose lives were filled with fear and sadness and suffering and heartache he laid it down for those who carried burdens that they could not bear and he laid it down to take back the earth from a liar and give the authority on earth to his church what does the church say for three days in the tomb the lion of the tribe of judah was waiting to exhale for three days jesus was waiting to come forth and when he did when jesus exhaled the inhabitants of billions of galaxies stood motionless as they lean in the direction of earth when jesus proclaimed these words written by john in the book of revelation he says in revelation 12 and verse 12 and notice these words this grand proclamation therefore rejoice oh heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having what great wrath because he knows that he has a short time when jesus said that satan could not miss the ticking in his ear and the time for him was winding down i'd say amen myself the time for him was coming to an end he can hear the ticking in his ears he can see the sands of time slipping through the hourglass of his probation the unstoppable declaration that satan feared was broadcast by jesus when he came forth from the tomb look at matthew 28 matthew 28 verse 18 to 20 these words that jesus declared and jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority how much authority all authority has been given to me where in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit teaching them to observe all things that i have commanded you and what else did he say and lo i am with you always what friends even to the end of the age terry today jesus is with you today church jesus is with us we may not see him but he's there he said to the remotest regions the gospel will be repeated to the rich and the poor the gospel will be proclaimed to the high and the low the educated and uneducated to the haves and the have-nots to the kings and the peasants they are going to hear the gospel the rulers and the rule it would be heard among them and when it is heard chains will be broken habits will be overcome every race every kindred every tongue and every people are going to hear the gospel and they will find freedom as it is in jesus but jesus told his disciples what to do i believe there's a time of training and there's a time of action there's a time of what training and there's a time of what action jesus trained his disciples for three and a half years he said enough training it's time to go do something he told them not only what to do but he told them where to go he told them what they're going to need so in the very same way i'm now picking up the mantle to recover the time that we could have used more wisely and i am determined by god's grace to do all in my power to train you so that when the time of action comes we can be ready and god will pour out his spirit and what he did for the early church he's going to do for the latter church what do you say but there's a time for training and there's a time for what there's a time for action after the training jesus talked about how he was going to equip his people and he was clear about how the gospel was going to go to the world notice what he says in acts chapter 1 and verse 8 he says but you shall receive what friends power the church needs power we need power in our lives every day and the only place to find that power is in studying god's word and praying and putting your life before the lord he said but you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me where in jerusalem and in all judea and samaria and to the end of the earth why did the lord put it in that order jerusalem means you begin right where you are you begin right in your own church you begin among those that you see week to week you train there then you go to judea judea your brethren you go to those who have a like mission but you go to them that may not be in the same location that you're in you go to those that you can see eye to eye on then you go to samaria the people you don't really like when you can get past the people you don't really see everything eye to eye with only then are you qualified to go to people that you've never met so the training start where you are find brethren of like faith but may not be in the same location then go to that nation that you go to the people that you you still have things to iron out when you get past them then you are qualified you see before the day of pentecost the disciples had to get together in the upper room they had to pray about their differences they have to work out their ideologies they have to put their pride you know james and john remember those two guys one want to sit on the left the other one wanted to sit on the right then you had doubting thomas and you had john the youngest of them all who was pretty much in the shadows and then you had impetuous peter who couldn't stop talking his mouth was in fifth gear his mind was in first and god finally synchronized him then you had those who were struggling in and amongst themselves for their own identity they got together and they prayed that's why whenever tuesday night comes i'm going to put a plug-in right here whenever tuesday night comes some of you may or may not know or maybe you've just intentionally ignored it but our prayer ministries led by donald owen uh brian dickens and april wharf every tuesday night from 6 30 to 7 30 they get online waiting for the church to show up to pray you ain't praying the windows of heaven are still shut you don't have to get your bibles you don't have to do any strong preparation you don't even have to go on for the whole hour but if you come on and be a part of the prayer you'll leave a lot more refreshed tuesday night prayer wednesday night bible study sabbath evening vespers sabbath morning these are the times that the disciples use to merge their hearts together to put aside their differences to strengthen their fellowship so that when the day of pentecost came they were in one accord and in one place they were so tightly knit together bob that even if satan drained the oceans he and his minions couldn't find enough water to quench the fire that god started on the day of pentecost can the church say amen look at acts chapter 2 they were lit on the day of pentecost when the day of pentecost acts two verse one and two when the day of pentecost had fully come they were all with what one accord in how many places one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting when it filled the house where they were sitting they were no longer sitting they were standing standing on the promises rather sitting on the premises they were standing on the truth of god's word they were standing for the gospel that they were now about to proclaim and by the way just in case you didn't catch it they were about to enter into something that they had never done before because god was gathering there at jerusalem devout men out of every nation under heaven jews devout men from every nation under heaven and he was going to ignite their lives for them to take the gospel back to their regions to their cities to their countries to their communities but god could not do that unless he did for the disciples something they could not do for themselves you see god can train us he can say to us go and prepare the gospel but god does not want to just train us god wants to empower us look at verses three and four he didn't just train them he wanted to empower them and how did he do it the bible says in verse 3 and 4 then there appeared to them divided tongues or cloven tongues as of fire as of what friends fire and one sat upon each of them and they were what's the next word they were all filled why were they filled filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance now let me pause and explain this briefly this passage has been so falsely interpreted it has been used to make it appear as though god is the author of confusion and people get into this vain babbling running up and down laughing hysterically you've seen it falling on the floor flailing slapping people on the foreheads that was not what happened on the day of pentecost because god does all things decently and in order god said these men who don't have time to learn greek in school or hebrew in school or aramaic in school or or whatever other nation he said i don't have time to send them to halls of learning because i want the gospel to go to the world expeditiously so he gave them the ability to speak in the languages he gave them the gift of international languages and he gave them karen the freedom of speech look at verse 5-8 now that i've given you the ability to speak in all languages now go freely speak what i'm going to give to you verses five to eight in acts chapter two and the bible says and there were dwelling in jerusalem jews devout men from every nation under heaven and when the sound occurred the multitude came together and they were confused because everyone heard them speak in his what own language not gibberish not confusion then they were all amazed and marveled saying to one another look are not all these who speak galileans and once again and how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were what born the languages that came from the mouths of these galileans represents the germans and the italians and i'll give you the list let's go to verses 9 to 11 to see all those that were there it was not confusion but it was an international convention and god says galileans i'm sending everybody to you today from every nation under heaven and they're going to understand exactly what you're saying who was there look at verses 9 to 11. visitors from rome both jews and prosthetics that's converts cretes cretans and ira and arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongue what else friends the wonderful works of god we hear them speaking in our own language our own tongue the wonderful works of god so today today the seventh-day adventist church the gospel is being preached in more than 200 different languages not counting the different dialects you go to certain regions of africa you might say they speak swahili but in the same village i remember being down in kenya my wife and i were in nairobi kenya we went to a village where they had the uh the maasai tribe those are the guys that are tall and skinny and they have those beautiful outfits they like really narrow and for the first time they said you're going to preach and we're going to have two translators i said wait a minute who am i speaking to they said to the mass eye but it's so why do you need two translators well because first he's going to translate it into his language and he's going to translate it into their language because see i don't understand their language i understand his language so i you speak to me i'll translate it into his language and he'll translate into their language so try to preach an hour sermon with three translators like three hours the first time i preached a 15-minute sermon it was 45 minutes long because everything i said this translation that translation the gospel went to the world it was not confusion god was removing confusion because everything that god does ramona everything that god does goes beyond the ordinary freedom of speech proclaiming jesus proclaiming salvation proclaiming liberty proclaiming forgiveness opening the prison doors setting the captives free the power of the spirit of god was so strong on peter that they said when he would walk through villages and his shadow would touch people they would be healed the power of god they couldn't stop them they would put him in prison they would beat him they'll come out and keep on preaching the freedom of speech they would rather be whipped and keep on preaching than to avoid the whipping and shut their mouths everything that god does goes beyond the ordinary look at what the lord did look what he did the first sermon that peter preached acts 2 and verse 41 then those who gladly receive his word were what baptized and that day about 3 000 souls were added to them a few years ago we were talking about how the gospel is going forward just before covert hit angie and i had joined with the north american division the general conference elder ted wilson we were on our way it was already planned we were on our way to go to new guinea they had planned it and they were planning on preaching to more they were planning on about a hundred thousand baptism and coveted hit the lord had gone so far in pouring out his holy spirit on my wife that she accepted an assignment to be one of the preachers was she nervous she said should i do it i said i'm not going to tell you anything because guys you know if you if you say to your wife yes and it doesn't go right she blames you right you told me to do it i would not have done it if you didn't tell me so i ain't saying nothing let the holy ghost tell you because you can't blame the holy spirit am i right terry am i right bob okay if you've been married at a certain amount you could you start saying now should i say something like when a guy when a wife says how does this look on me you better say it looks great because you could be blamed and so i've been learning it takes a long time so the lord convinced my wife to preach and when she hung up the phone after saying yes because she kept looking at me saying should i say yes i said i'm not saying anything so the lady said you'll do fine we want you to do and and these are these are these are sermons from revelation and they said we'll send you the script we'll send you the slides and i was remember i was working on one of my sermons and i heard my wife in the kitchen with her slides preaching and i said lord have mercy i can't wait till we get to new guinea and they said when you get to new guinea she's going to be in a village all by herself then she's going to have a team with them because you know security reasons but she's going to be preaching to about she said oh please make it like just no more than 10 people they said oh no you're going to be speaking to about 5 000 people she said oh i'm nervous i said honey the lord would not open the door if he didn't plan on going through it with you and then we got the phone call coveted hit well i won't tell you what she said but they said let's set the date again they set the date again and they had to cancel it again and let me tell you i'm looking at this the devil said wait a minute the last time the lord sent folk to preach he remembered the day of pentecost when the lord fell down on the apostles on the day of pentecost and gave them freedom of speech three thousand souls were taken from my grasp on that day thank you bob praise god take that and when he heard that elder wilson and the team with uh it was so many of us got together as you know a whole conglomerate of different ministries and they said you'll be in this region you'll be in that region you'll be in this reason you'll be in that region and they said we're praying for god to give us a hundred thousand souls and the devil heard that and i believe that kova did not just show up coincidentally but it was a satanic move to shut down the proclamation of the gospel but praise god thompsonville is still open so because we are still open it is our responsibility to get ourselves ready so that when god send the ladder rain this bunch us fishermen tax collectors fast talking divided mind people will be united together amen amen we will be united together and god will send us forth to turn on a light that will never go out by the power of the holy spirit the bible said the church grew peter could not stop preaching because god had given him the freedom of speech look at acts 2 and verse 47 praising god the church was doing what praising god and having favor with all the people and the lord added to the church daily those who are being what saved peter's first sermon three thousand you see the friends this is the fact satanic opposition cannot prevent divine commission satanic opposition cannot prevent a divine commission look at acts 4 and verse 4 it gets even better let me go back to that it gets even better it gets even better he continued preaching and now his second sermon however many of those who heard the word believed and the number of the main men came to about what five thousand this now let me tell you what this is all about peter the one who had not long before this denied jesus he said he i don't even know him but now he's saying i know him amen can god turn it around not only do i know him but i'm going to proclaim liberty in his name i'm going to proclaim freedom in his name i'm going to proclaim that god this lord jesus that i now know as my personal savior can use me to lead somebody to him praise god for that and they didn't even count the women bob said that's that's a fact more than five thousand help me preach the sermon bob there was more than five thousand if you count the women could have been ten thousand or even more than that god don't mess around and by the way bob they heard you so that's why in acts chapter five in verse 14 they wrote the scripture with you in mind and believers were increasingly added to the lord multitudes both men and women somebody said what about the women let's start counting them too but i love this quotation from testimonies for the church the servant of the lord said volume 8 page 21 the outpouring of the spirit in the days of the apostles was the former rain and glorious was the result i'm not going to stop but the latter rain will be more abundant the lord is saying you think you saw something then that just happened in jerusalem oh but right now as you see today there's an adventist church in egypt there's one in africa there's one in australia one no we are all over the world we are in spanish countries and french countries and filipino countries and italian countries and european countries we are all over we among those who are black and white in every color in between amen somebody god is saying i'm gonna wrap the world with my sons and daughters like on christmas day when you plug in the tree we're gonna notice when jesus plugs in the power the world is gonna be lighted with the glory of god but we got to get ready there's a time of preparation and there's a time of what action god already gave freedom of speech but under this covet environment the devil is trying to do everything he can to prevent the gospel from going forward but tracy jesus will have the last word he will have the last word i love it in the haggai chapter two and verse nine you could say haggai or haggai however you want to say it the bible says the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former says the lord of hosts and in this place i will give peace says the lord of hosts the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former when the fall when the falling of the latter rain comes god is going to light up his church all over the world god is going to get everybody out of their seats but there's a time for preparation and a time for what action this is the time for preparation because the time of action is on the way let's pause and divert for a moment do you think that satan learned anything from the early reign he said wait a minute i've got to prolong my time as long as i could if i could prevent the gospel from going forward then i can slow down the return of jesus now that's what the devil thinks but there's a day set no man knows the day nor the hour no not the angels of heaven but my father only the day is set let me tell you why i know that how would the devil knows he has a short time if he did not believe that there's a day set for the return of the lord he doesn't know what it is but being in the presence of divinity walking back and forth in in the presence of god one of those the covering cherub being privy to the things of divinity that we will never hear he understands that god is not haphazard that god works according to time jesus came when the fullness of time had come god sent forth his son when they tried to arrest jesus he said this is not my time this is not my hour but when they arrested him he said this is the hour of darkness he made it very clear we are proclaiming what are we proclaiming the third angels messages fear god and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come god works on a timetable why am i saying that because if we believe that we have all the time in the world we fall into satan's trap as it was in the days of noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the son of man what do they do they ate they drank they married they gave in marriage they bought they sold until the day that noah entered the ark and they did not know until the flood came and did what took them all away so there's a time of preparation and a time of action the people of god must be a people of preparation so that when the time of action comes noah we got to be the noah we got to keep building the ark in spite of the fact that they say that there was never a flood we got to keep building the ark we're saying there's going to be fire this time the only safety from fire is under the almighty wings of the lord it's urgent paul says to us but concerning the times and seasons brethren you have no need that i should write to you we see a world falling apart around us god is saying listen satan hears the ticking of the clock are the people of god also listening so he said i'm going to slow it down i'm going to shut the churches down but i want to say something today you can shut down the building but you cannot shut the mouth of a saint amen that's why last week i believe it was we met on sunday morning and we had a symposium a little seminar part one on how we can take multimedia social media and proliferate the gospel through means that never got slowed down during the pandemic and praise the lord with janelle owens assistance she said pastor let me give you a hand and she broke it down into four categories so in our next seminar we're going to have it for the beginner for the persons who are in different categories and we'll let you know about that later on but we want to make sure that whatever category whether you are a beginner on the internet or whether you are an advanced person a content creator whether you have a youtube account or just a facebook account we've broken it down thank you janelle and the categories where everybody can be a part of something and we can all participate in planting seeds getting the world ready for the coming of jesus can you say amen because right now freedom of speech is the hot conversation in america it's the hot issue in america but if you take a closer look at the issues the issues behind the accusations of limiting free speech are not related to preaching jesus do you see people preaching jesus in these riots no you don't hear anybody sing and the word of the lord said and i believe that if there was a movement of a million people and they went into communities like we do during general conference like we do during asi when all the young folk hit the streets five thousand seven thousand nine thousand young folk they go throughout st louis or san antonio texas or whatever the city may be and they go knocking on doors giving bible studies giving lessons signing people up no police officers are pulling over arresting folk why because they're going in the spirit of the lord they're going in the fruit of the spirit they're going peacefully proclaiming the good news it is the character of the person connected with the activity that they participate in to say whether or not they are connected to christ jesus the issues that's taking place in america with the accusation that freedom is being limited and you can't say what you want to say you got to study that thing a little deeper you got to be not a constitutionalist but read the bill of rights while we have freedom of speech we have not been given the freedom to say whatever we want to say read it let me give you an example you go on the next flight and yell hijack and see how free your speech is they'll caught you off in a yeah yeah right you go on a crowded building and yell fire see how free your speech is whether you don't what you don't know is the government in the bill of rights they prohibit the use of freedom of speech for obscene purposes you cannot use your speech to abuse children you cannot use your speech to abuse seniors you cannot use your speech to to to to create an insurrection or riot or fight against the laws of the land but we just say we have the freedom of speech you'll notice peter and john were not arrested for violating the conditions of their freedom of speech why were they arrested here's what the bible says it makes it clear why were they detained look at acts 4 and verse 18 they didn't violate the conditions of the freedom of speech what were they accused of acts 4 and verse 18 and by the way the people that arrested them were not were not secularists but religionists he says so they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of jesus let me make my point there's no law in the land right now in america where you cannot teach in the name of jesus maybe in some other countries where there's buddhism in the ascendancy or hinduism or islam or some other religion but in america we have the freedom to preach in the name of jesus but the devil says if i can shut the church down and get people complacent on sabbath or on sunday or whatever day they go to church they'll lose that passion and instead of instead of them being the ones that are proclaiming jesus they simply let the television do it they sit on the couch and they watch the hour program and then cut it back off and go do whatever they want to do my question is and let me suggest this to those of you that are shut in instead of being shut in say wait a minute i'm not shut in i'm free when this sermon is done i could get me a whole box of pamphlets and if the mall is open go stand by the entrance of the mall make sure that you're not prohibiting make sure that you're not violating any kind of their laws go to walmart go someplace where they allow you and begin to plant those seeds they may stop you from going to the church but they can't stop you from preaching in the name of jesus fine creative ways alan white says i believe is in testimony is volume 9 she says in the last days god is going to take the reins into his own hands and work completely contrary to any human planning for those of us that are used to the normal things these are not normal days we've got to get out of that when they were told not to preach at all in the name of jesus consider their response look at verses 19 and 20. but peter and john answered and said to them whether it is right in the sight of god to listen to you more than god you judge and look at what they said for we cannot sit with me but speak the things which we have seen and what else heard the church is not being judged by the preaching of the gospel let me say this slowly what is happening in our nation the church is not being judged by the proclamation of the gospel the church is being judged by the behavior of those claiming to be connected with jesus come on karen actions speak louder what than words and people are i read the articles i like to stay informed i read the different news threads and you know various news networks and i'm hearing people that are saying if this is what christi i'm paraphrasing if this is what christianity is i don't want to have any parts with it if that's what those who claim to be following jesus are all about why do i need to join any movement for christ that's why i told you the devil is taking now those whose hearts are not grounded on the spirit on the spirit of god those whose lives are not in harmony with the principles of scripture because the bible makes it very very clear how the servant of the lord must be notice second timothy chapter 2 verse 24 and 26 through 26 and the servant of the lord must not what friends quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient verse 25 in humility in what humility correcting those who are in opposition if god perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the what truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will do you think what we're seeing in america is indicative of that the devil has taken christians captive to do his will and the church is being judged by people claiming to be christians but it is is it unusual jesus said in matthew 7 verse 21 to many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in thy name cast out demons in thy name do many wonderful works in thy name and he will say to them i never knew you so it's one thing to say but of something altogether different to exemplify in life and word the character of christ god has not given us free voices to injure the people that disagree with us he has not conveyed upon christians the directive to be harsh hateful and divisive christians that riot brandish weapons threaten bodily harm plot kidnappings and assassinations are not led by the spirit of god you can call it moral all you want but god has no part in that so why are we seeing that great controversy 1888 edition page 464 paragraph one ellen weiss says under a religious guise satan will seek to extend his influence over what over the christian world because if he can get christians all messed up distorted turned out of the way and unlike christ he'll say i'm not just controlling the profligate the prostitute the harlot the adult or the sinner the thief the liar the drug abuser i'm controlling the church too emotional excitement false doctrines satanic miracles and an on christ-like spirit have become the extension of satan's arsenal against the church in the last days but let me tell you how it's going to work out when attempts were made to prevent peter and john from preaching a wise man of the member of the jewish council gamaliel was his name he made a suggestion and this is powerful acts chapter 5 listen to what he said verse 36 to 39. he talked about all the movements that came and went all the movements that came and went and he made an observation because they were planning on taking peter and john and persecuting them but listen to what he said he said for some time ago theaters rose up claiming to be somebody a number of men about 400 joined him he was slain and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing then he says in verse seven after this after this man judas of galilee he rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him what do they say he also perished and all who obeyed him were what dispersed and he went on to make it clear and now i say to you keep away keep away from these men and let them alone for if this plan or work is of men it will come to nothing but listen to these wise words but if it is of god you cannot overthrow it come on somebody say amen lest you even be found to fight against god what is pastor john saying today if we go in the name of jesus and proclaim the truth as it is in christ no body could prevent the advancement of those who stand with christ because if it is of christ those who try to prevent the spread of the gospel will be fighting against god himself and paul the apostle says if god before us come on now who can be against us i'm not worried what i see in the world is a misrepresentation of christ the reason why i'm so passionate about who we are is god has given us the responsibility to proclaim the truth and we got to cleanse our guts of politics we got to take a laxative because it so permeated us over the last four five six seven years america has become a the church has become nothing more than a shame in the eyes of the world purge your life of of of the paraphernalia of destruction and embrace the arm of righteousness these religious men were so upset that gamaliel prevented them from beating up peter and john that they said okay well we're not going to arrest them we're not going to put them in jail we're just going to whip them a little bit and they whipped them and sent them along their way and you know what peter and john said peter and john said i am so glad i'm glad to take whippings for jesus but could they stop them here's what the bible says in acts 5 and verse 42 and daily in the temple and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching preaching who jesus as the christ my brothers and sisters we are called to preach jesus as the christ can i say that again the sabbath has its place revelation has its place doctrines have their place but first and foremost we've got to get people to fall in love with jesus first but if they don't see him in our lives they don't care about beasts with seven heads and ten horns they don't care about the falling out of the stars the great earthquake they don't care about wars and rumors of wars they're looking to see who are these people first by character before i listen to what they have to say that's why when they arrested jesus it was amazing what they said about jesus when jesus got arrested for preaching the gospel for proclaiming the gospel the officers answered and they said about jesus no man ever spoke like this man what do they mean by that you know what they meant it was not just what jesus said but it was who jesus is they said look at him that's why pilate was forced to declare in luke 23 and verse 4 pilate was forced to declare so pilate said to the chief priests and to the crowd together say with me i find no fault in this man freedom of speech is to be connected to the fruit of the spirit because people will believe what we say when they are convinced by what they see can i say that again the preaching of the gospel is to be connected to the fruit of the spirit because people will only believe what we say if they are convinced by what they see am i telling the truth galatians 5 verse 22 and 23 this is the spirit that this nation needs to see and i'm calling on seventh adventist christians and if you want to be a christian i'm calling you whatever your denomination allow the fruit of the spirit to be seen in your life then god can lead you and guide you into the truth that he has in his word what does he want us to demonstrate galatians 5 verse 22 and 23 let's read this together but the fruit of the spirit is what love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control and i love the latter part against such there is what no law west frankfort doesn't have a law that says if you find people that are kind and gentle and loving and patient throw them in jail can you imagine that there's no law yannick if they are long-suffering and joyful and peaceful and good and gentle throw them in jail no that's why the bible says against such there is no law there there is no law that says dan that you are too nice a person can you imagine dan getting a citation why is he getting a ticket because he's too joyful jorge is going to prison why because he has too much self-control they're going to surround jeff dore's house we're going to arrest him for being kind and good in the community there is no such law amen for that somebody these are the fruits that god is looking for his church to exemplify him to the world in my last quotation here it is christ object lessons page 415 in paragraph four we read in god's word the last rays of merciful light the last message of mercy to be given to the world is a revelation of his character of love but this is the powerful part the children of god whose children the children of god are to manifest his glory how in their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of god has done for them speech was given to proclaim the gospel not to injure the character of jesus so my appeal to you today is very simple do i have freedom of speech praise god amen church praise the lord somebody we can preach about jesus we can talk about jesus we can reflect jesus we can live for christ there is no law against that not yet so my appeal to you today and i'm going to ask you i'm going to invite ryan to come i don't know if tim is still here i don't know but in the event that he is i want to have them sing that song again and while they're singing that song while they're singing that song those of you that are watching while they're singing that song i want you to seriously inventory your life who are you as a christian [Music] are you cantankerous and evil are you hard to get along with do your children run from you when you walk into the house [Music] is your wife on lockdown because you fear your temper is your husband nervous because happy wife happy life is your philosophy who are we as christians begin in your home to exemplify christ beginning your church to reflect jesus beginning your life to be the person that says i i'm gonna serve the lord first in my life before anybody wants to hear anything i have to say we have a community service people are walking in there all week long karen has seen them people are walking we are making touch points in this community impacting the city council and giving donations to various organizations in this community [Music] and as we rub elbows with people that don't know this gospel they're going to first say who are these folk before i want to hear what they have to say so as ryan sings this song and as tim plays my appeal is simple are you determined by god's grace that you will be a living example of jesus show what he has done in you and as james says so speak and so do as those that will be judged by the law of liberty [Music] i believe there is a right and wrong a time to live and die and the bible is the blueprint that all men should live by i believe i'm not alone with my faith in jesus christ that is why [Music] all the more we will serve him [Music] we have made our decision we have stayed our claim we've drawn the line down in the sand and we'll not be ashamed with the world behind me and the cross before by the grace of god we will serve the [Music] i lord made my decision i have stayed my claim i've drawn the line down in the sand and will not be ashamed with the world behind me and the cross before by the grace of god i will serve the lord by the grace of god i will serve the lord by the grace of god i will serve the lord [Music] has tim plays softly are we going to serve the lord by the grace of god the world is starving for a witness for jesus the name of christ has been trampled on the steps of politics and it's time for christians to rise above the dust [Music] and say jesus will be seen in my life in my voice in my home in my church i've got freedom of speech but i'm going to talk about the love of christ his forgiveness i'm not going to take my gospel doctrines and beat somebody on the head into submission to believe until the spirit of god convicts that heart but i'm determined to serve the lord your heads about your eyes are closed gracious father in heaven sometimes the gospel can get on the wrong elevator the elevator of personal gain the elevator of selfishness looking for a heart in which it can abide but it finds a wall people shut in by the ideologies of society by the rhetoric of our world by by the politics and the the corruption and the crime and the protest and the violence that is gripping this nation that you raised up to be a beacon of light to the world but today i've made up my mind that i'm going to be part of those who use their free speech to bring light and hope and glory and freedom somebody needs forgiveness today can they find it in my words can they find it in my compassion can they find it in my eyes in my life that's who i want to be and when this church has risen to a fever pitch as the world is lighted by your glory may the multitudes come from the east and the west and the north and the south and every nation every tribe every tongue every people they come because they find a people whose lives are a reflection of the christ who alone can free them may we be a part of that may we be in that movement so that one day we can walk into the city of peace and hear well done thou good and faithful servant transform us and change us and may your glory alone be seen in us in jesus name we pray and all of god's people said amen and amen you may be seated you