Podcast 16 - Lord I Believe...Help Thou Mine Unbelief

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. Lord I Believe, Help Thou Mine Unbelief.

Podcast 15 - God Has Done Something For You...Live Like It

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II.

Sabbath Permission to Stop

[caption id="attachment_2679" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo by Vanderven"][/caption]When I was buying my house, I was speaking to our Realtor. It was a Friday and we were not gonna be able to finish our work. She told me that we could finish the next day, I told her we will not be able to finish the business on the next day, because it is the Sabbath.

What is the Sabbath?

She looked puzzled and ask me, what is the Sabbath? It sometimes surprises me how many people have not even heard of this amazing resource that God has given to us. I then explained, that it was a day that we lay aside all of our regular business so that we can become closer to God and each other. Doing this business would detract from that purpose, so we cannot do this on the Sabbath.

I Wish I had a Sabbath

Our Realtor then said, we will do it on Sunday morning. She then said, "I sure wish I had a Sabbath." I then told her that the Sabbath is not owned by any group, and that tomorrow or any Sabbath God has given you permission to stop.

Many of us would be just like that women, working and working, never stopping, if it were not for God giving us permission to just set it all aside. I pray that the Sabbath will be the blessing for you that God intended it to be.

The Most Divisive Book in Adventism - Questions on Doctrine

In 1957 a Book was Published that forever changed the Adventist church. That book is entitled Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine or simply Questions on Doctrine.

Evangelical Leader's Questions

These questions were presented to certain Adventist leaders by leading evangelicals Walter Martin and Donald Grey Barnhouse. As a result of the answers Martin and Barnhouse concluded that Adventists may be deluded and wrong, but they were Christian brothers.

Evangelical Backlash on Martin and Barnhouse

While today that may not seem like a big deal, but at the time Adventists were almost uniformly considered members of a sub-Christian cult. Martin and Barnhouse took much flack from their evangelical brothers and sisters for stating that Adventism was not necessarily cultic.

Backlash inside Adventism

However, the shock-waves were not only felt on the outside, but on the inside of the church as well. M. L. Andreasen took strong exception to some of the views presented in the book. Most notably are the atonement and the human nature of Christ. Andreasen saw the book as a betrayal of fundamental Adventism.

Repercussions still Felt Today

Today, the waves are still felt as various independent ministries push the church to accept Andreasen's position or to go on further down the road inside the evangelical movement. Much of the church does not realize it, but I would argue that this book and these meetings with Barnhouse and Martin have forever changed Seventh-day Adventism.

Conference Materials Online

I would encourage all to read the materials that come out of the Questions on Doctrine conference. Read this post for a link to the original book.

Here is a link to the page that will soon have all the presentations of that meeting. Here is the organizer Dr. Nam's presentation.

In addition, you might be interested in Dr. Herbert Douglass' very helpful summary of what happened in the mid 1950s to give birth to the book. See the very top of the list of documents. I really appreciate and respect Dr. Douglass' work.

In addition, you might be interested in Spectrum's comprehensive treatment of the conference as Richard Rice gave a daily walkthrough. The post are as follows: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

In addition you might be interested in Bill Cork's two summaries of the conference. His first is found here, the second here.

Finally, you might be interested in Larry Kirkpatrick's comments on the conference and his presentation found at GreatControversy.Org

T. A. McNealy's War With The Devil

The Southern Tidings is full of the evangelistic exploits that T. A. McNealy has engaged in over the years. While pastoring in Atlanta he made 300 baptisms as his goal and baptized over 280 in a few meetings. He broke through 300 baptisms on a few occasions.

However one story really caught my eye as I was reading these Southern Tidings online. in the 1978 Southern Tidings vol 71 number 12 of Southern Tidings which you can find at this link (Note: You need to download DeJaVu Browser Plugin to read it.)

On Page 5 it reads in part:

It seems evident that the Devil overheard Tom McNealy discussing his summer evangelism goal of 300 souls with Jesus. He therefore set himself to the task of foiling such an ambitious undertaking in the portion of his domain known as Atlanta. The Devil MISCALCULATED.

McNealy could not get one tent large enough so he joined two tents together. In the process of pitching the Big Tent, one of the large pipes fell on the evangelist and completely severed the upper portion of his right thumb. He picked it up and with his aides drove to the hospital as quickly as possible with the hope of replacing it before it died. The doctors tried, but it was too late.

He opend the meeting on schedule with his right arm in a sling and his left arm swinging for Jesus, and came out six weeks later with 270 precious souls baptized. Satan was defeated.

Today, this great man of God is still baptizing over 100 people a year as he continues his war with the Devil

T. A. McNealy - The Preacher Lightning Could Not Kill

In the February 1983 Southern Tidings which you can find at this link. there is an interesting story about Pastor T. A. McNealy. It is summarized below.

In July 1982,dark clouds broke out at in the city where pastor McNealy was preaching. Lightning knocked out the big transformer and flames flew from the transformer. At the same time the microphone that McNealy held was tuned into a lighted torch. Then he fell to the floor as darkness enveloped the area. The place turned into pandemonium.

The Southern Tidings repors:

Nothing Short of a miracle took place on a memorable night in July, 1982, when the dark nimbus clouds broke loose from their moorings, the thunder and lightning had a dancing party, and the elements spoke with the voice of a raging and angry giant. (Page 9)

There were several big booms that could be heard for miles and fire lept from the transformers. One woman's false teeth were knocked out of her mouth.

Satan caused the the elements to knock this mighty man of God down to the floor, but he stood up and the series of meetings continued.

The Devil lost this battle for every night of the meeting from that day on the tent was filled with those who had come to see the Preacher that lightning couldn't kill. More than 300 were baptized in that meeting.

Sabbath's Attack on Busyness

Wayne Muller's book Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest provides a very helpful theological discussion of the Sabbath.

Muller notes that many of us use the standard greeting: "I am so Busy." Many of us use our busyness as a "trophy." We think that busyness is some sort of prize. Our culture prizes "busyness." I know people who have 2 cell phones, a beeper, and numerous email accounts. All testify that they are busy.

What Are We Seeking In Busyness?

What are we seeking in this busyness? Too often we are seeking significance. We are somebody because we are doing something important. And if it is not important at least it is doing something. What are we seeking? We are seeking "more." Muller describes this as:

In our drive for success we are seduced by the promises of more: More money, more recognition, more satisfaction, more love, more information, more influence, more possessions, more security.

What happens in our search for more? We lose the concept of "enough." We lose the value of just being. We lose the ability to just enjoy and celebrate. We lose the knowledge that we cannot do everything. We lose rest. In short we lose Sabbath.

Sabbath and Last Days

Certainly the Devil knows what the Devil is up to when the principle of rest and the Sabbath is attacked. In the last days, God will have a people who will "keep the commandments of God."(Revelation 14:12) That people will of necessity "Remember the Sabbath."(Exodus 20:8) They will remember to rest. They will remember that this world that judges us totally by what we can "do" or what we can "accomplish" is against God's designs. We must never forget that Adam's was created on the 6th day and therefore his first full day was the Sabbath. Adam first rested before Adam begun to "subdue the earth."(Genesis 1:28) In the last days, God wants us to "Remember" that even God rested. On the Seventh-day we come together to celebrate that we all can just get off the treadmill and rest.