210821 - Hang On - Berrill

The speaker starts by referencing a Bible verse and then transitions into discussing the current state of the world. They mention headlines about positive events that are fictional and contrast them with real headlines about violence and unrest. The speaker expresses concern about the decline in moral values and quotes a biblical prophecy about the end times. They urge the audience to research and verify the information themselves. Finally, they acknowledge that many people are struggling and may be hiding their true feelings. Now, I'm not aware of any special music this morning, unless Doug, you're going to do it. Let's take our Bibles and turn to Titus, the little book just past Hebrews. Excuse me, 2 Timothy, I'm sorry. Just past 2 Timothy. Doug, I don't know what you were waving at. Now, this glass may fall out any time now. Titus, and I've forgotten where I'm supposed to be reading from. Titus 2, verse 13. Titus 2, verse 13. Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the Lord add His blessing as Doug brings us his message this morning. OK. All right. So my microphone's on. We're getting the PowerPoint up. I just remembered. These were really fun when my grandson was three and I had two cats. We could do that for hours. Yeah, it's coming. See it says in focus. So we're going to be in focus today. That's right. OK. Well, while that is coming up in focus, would you pray with me? I'd like to invite the Holy Spirit. OK. Dear Heavenly Father, gracious Lord, Father, thank You for this Sabbath day, Lord. Father, I come before You again as a humble servant. Father, I have nothing of myself to offer these beautiful people today. It is only through You and through Your Word, Lord. I just want to be a servant. I just want to be a tool to be used by You. I'm praying for an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, Lord. We are getting ready to open up Your Holy Word. And I wouldn't dream of doing this without Your Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us, Father. And I pray for a legion of holy angels to stand post around this house and to guard from any evil influences that would try to invade and destroy. And it is our prayer this morning, Lord, that our worship service will bring You honor and glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen is right. So there's our Scripture reading. Well, good morning. Happy Sabbath. So, have you seen the news lately? I have some headlines that I'd like to share with you. The first one says, no one robbed the local convenience store at gunpoint today. The store owner said that he's very happy with everybody who's coming into the store and is not having any problems. The next one says, no one shot innocent people at a local park today. The article goes on to say that witnesses say that families are enjoying the bright sunshine in time together. No one embezzled thousands of dollars from their company today. Everybody's working, being productive, and the company is being profitable. This one caught my eye right here. No politician lied to his or her constituents today. Everybody in Washington, D.C. is being honest. The unemployment rate in our country has dropped to a whopping 0%. Everybody who wants or needs a job is gainfully employed. Home ownership in America has increased to 100%. Everybody in America is living the American dream of owning their own home. There were no riots or civil unrest in our country today. Everybody is living together peacefully. The leaders of all the country are disarming all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons today. A worldwide peace treaty has been signed by every country. Countries are coming together in a joint effort to end world hunger and suffering. Now, for the weather, today, every day is sunny, 75 to 80 degrees, with a mild breeze. Okay, I made that one up. All right? That's just my wish list. All right? But see what you've missed by not watching the news, right? Maybe you missed those headlines. Here are some actual headlines from not too long ago. One hundred people, including children, are shot in Chicago over a holiday weekend. The U.S. is unready for wildfire escalation. Xi issues a warning to the world, China's rise can't be stopped. Officials sound alarm over a possible new COVID-19 wave. U.S. launches airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq. If any other country were to send missiles over their borders, that would be a crisis for us at the Sunday afternoon. A Missouri teen plunges to her death at a state park. That's the world that we live in. That's the world that we live in. And to that I say, hang on. Hang on. Because, you see, we live in a world right now where people are brazenly attacking other people, sometimes elderly women, on the street, hurting or killing them. But hang on. You see, we live in a world right now where people will walk into a store with trash bags, empty trash bags, and fill them up with merchandise from the shelves and just walk straight out the door because nobody is going to stop them. But hang on. You see, we live in a world where police officers are shot and killed merely because of the uniform that they wear. But hang on. You see, we live in a world where law and order has been broken down. Anarchy has already come to many of our major cities, and guess what? It's on its way to a small town near you. Chaos is running wild. People are angry and disrespectful. Most people don't know their neighbors. We don't talk to them anymore. People don't trust people anymore, maybe for good reason. I don't know. People expect you to be dishonest, and they seem to think that that's the norm. Let me give you an example. Years ago, I used to be a member of a health club, and when I joined the health club, I was working for an employer in Portsmouth. Because of the deal that employer had with the health club, I qualified for a 10% discount off my membership, my monthly membership. When I left that job, I approached the people at the health club, and I said, I'm no longer employed with this company. I no longer qualify for your 10%. Would you please charge me the full amount? And she looked at me like I had three heads. And she said, what? And I said, I no longer qualify for that discount. I would like to be charged the full amount. And she looked at me, leaned over her desk, and said, just don't say anything and keep the discount. And I said, ma'am, I can't do that. I said, to me, that's lying and stealing. I'm sorry. So reluctantly, she said she would take care of it and filled out the paperwork. Well, the next month came, they took my dues out with the 10% discount. I went back in, had another talk with her. She said she'd take care of it. It took four months before she filed. I'm like, I'm trying to pay more money. But the point of that story is she expected me to be dishonest. Just don't say anything. Just take the discount. Can't do it. Can't do it. But that's the world that we live in. And it sometimes feels like this world is spinning out of control. Maybe like me, you look around and you wonder, what happened to the world I grew up in? Right? This isn't the world I grew up in. But I imagine that every generation has thought that. I mean, I imagine my parents looked at me and my friends when we were growing our hair long, listening to heavy metal music, and my parents probably thought, what is this world coming to? And their parents, my grandparents, probably thought that about them. I mean, my parents grew up in the 50s. They had that crazy rock and roll music. Right? I just imagine that every generation looks at the next generation and says, what is this world coming to? However, I do believe that we are seeing a much steeper decline in moral values today than at any other time in history. And I'm not just picking on the younger generation. This goes for people of all ages. Right? That lady I spoke with was not a teenager at the health club. But the Bible prophesied about this time in world history. Well, actually, I'm going to put it on the screen. But you can go to 2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5, and there's a prophecy about the end times. And the Bible says, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truth breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despises of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away. You know, I remember the first time I read that scripture. And that was probably when I first was becoming a Christian. That was like 18 years ago. And I thought to myself, man, that sounds like it was taken right out of today's headlines. And 18 years later, that sounds like that was taken right out of today's headlines. Maybe you've thought the same thing. I don't know. But I think God really knew what he was talking about when he when he gave that prophecy. Are we, in fact, in the last days? And if so, how do you know that? OK, I mean, did someone tell you that? Right. Was it a pastor, an elder, a spouse, a parent or a child? Did somebody tell you that we're in the last days? If they did, I'm praying that they also told you to look it up for yourself. OK, don't and please don't ever take my word for anything. OK, look it up for yourself. OK, because it is true. We are, in fact, in the last days. But as I said, don't just take my word for it. Please look it up for yourself. I mean, how would you know if I were telling you the truth or not? Right. I mean, this subject is way too important to leave it up to somebody else to explain it to you. OK. You ever see this picture before? But the kitten just kind of hanging on a rope there and it says, hang in there, baby. You ever feel like that kitten some days? Like he's just hanging on. I think most of us can relate to that. Right. I mean, many people are just hanging on. They're just trying to get from one day to the next. Some people are just trying to get from one moment to the next. Right. Some people look like they just have it all together, don't they? That's often a mask. They're often hiding their true feelings. If you were to dig down into their thoughts, you'd probably see that they're relating to that picture, even though they don't want you to know that. Most people don't want to admit it. They don't want to admit that we're struggling. What about your spiritual life? Have you ever felt like you're just hanging on in your spiritual life? I mean, if you do, you're actually in pretty good company. OK, but we don't like to admit it, do we? We don't want to admit it. I mean, what would people say, right? Maybe they'll think I'm not a good Christian. Right. Maybe they'll think I don't belong here. Well, let me tell you right now, you do belong here. This is exactly where you belong. And I don't even know what a good Christian is anyways. To me, it's kind of an oxymoron. It's like military intelligence. Right. Two words that go together but don't really make sense. Good Christian. Military intelligence. Right. You see, we're all on a journey. Every one of us is on a journey. Now, and I've said this before, maybe your journey, maybe you're further down the path than I am. That's OK. Pray for me. Pray for me. I'll get there too. But be patient with me. Don't look down on somebody who might not be at the same level you are, might not be eating all the right vegan food that you are, might not be wearing all the right clothes that you're wearing, might not be doing this. Don't look down on them. If you think that you're in a position where you can look down on somebody because you think you're further down that spiritual road, then maybe you need to take a few steps backwards. You need to take a few steps backwards and re-read the Bible and see what it says about pride, because that's pride. If I'm looking down on somebody, it's because I'm prideful. What does God say about a proud heart? Think about that, right? By God's grace, I pray that we will all stay humble, and instead of looking down on someone, that we'll lift them up. Lift them up by God's grace. I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't want to attempt to stand before God and claim to be a better Christian than this guy. You know? Oh, God, well, I'm the better Christian than him. I mean, that reminds me of the story that Jesus told us about the Pharisee and the publican. You know the story. The two men are coming to worship. The Pharisee's full of pride. Look at me. Look at all the things I do. I'm this. I'm so wonderful. I'm awesome. I'm great. I'm not like that lowly publican over there. And the lowly publican is so humble, he can't even look up, but just beats on his chest and says, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. Jesus said that he went down to his house justified over the other one. So, which one do you want to be in that story? I would rather be humble. Because, you see, friends, we're all in the same boat. And as far as I know, the only sinless person was Jesus, which means I'm looking at a church full of sinners, and you're looking at the chief of all sinners. We need to stay humble, and we need to hang on because better days are coming. They are coming. But why do we need to hang on, Doug? Great question. I'm so glad you asked. The disciples asked Jesus to tell them about the last days. And the very first thing that Jesus told them is make sure no one deceives you. He said that many will come in my name and will deceive many. You'll hear rumors of wars, nation against nation, famines, pestilence, earthquakes. And he said all of this is just the beginning. It's just the beginning. People will deliver you up for tribulations. They'll kill you. He said they will be hated for his name. People will be offended and will betray one another. And he went on to tell about false prophets and lawless people. And it looks like it came right out of today's headlines. But hang on. It sounds like it came from that scripture in 1 Timothy. But hang on. I mean, if you've ever had any doubt that we're in the last days, I pray that this message today will enlighten you, will encourage you to study it out for yourselves. Read your Bible and study it out. Because, you see, this is going on all around us. Right? But what should we do? Great question. I'm so glad you asked. The answer is hang on. Hang on. Hang on with all you have. Because the good news is that this isn't the end of the story. And like me, I know you've read the end of the story. And you know that Jesus wins. Let me say that again. Jesus wins. Amen is right. Matthew 24, verse 13, But he who endures to the end shall be saved. In other words, Jesus is saying right there, hang on. Hang on by God's grace. Hang on. He's saying, I've got you. I've got you. Hang on. You know, I can't possibly just leave it at verse 13. I've got to go to verse 14. Right? And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world by the paid pastors and Bible workers as a witness to all nations. And then the end will come. Is that how it's written in your Bible? No. What part's not right? Pastors and Bible workers. Hmm. You know what? That's right. That's the way it's not. It's not written that way in my Bible either. But if it's not written that way, why do so many of us, why are we willing to leave it up to just our pastors and paid Bible workers? I'm just pointing fingers at me. Matthew 28 says go. It doesn't say go unless you're too shy. It doesn't say go unless you're too scared. It doesn't say go unless you're too uncomfortable. If you're scared, do it scared. If you're shy, do it shy. If you're uncomfortable, do it uncomfortable. But do it. If you've watched 3ABN for more than five minutes, you've heard Danny Shelton tell you the blessing is in the word go. Just go. But remember to hang on. Remember, by God's grace, hang on. Jesus told us in verse 13 of Matthew 24, hang on, I've got you. It's okay. I win in the end. I want to look at some scriptures that I pray will give us all some hope about hanging on. This is Isaiah 4110. Perhaps you're familiar with it. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. This is Jeremiah 2911. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. Romans 828. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Joshua 1.9. Have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage? Do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Do you see that? God is saying, I'm with you wherever you go. Don't be afraid. You have nothing to be afraid of. Amen. Mark 1027. But Jesus looked at them and said, with men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible. Hang on. Do you look at your circumstances? Maybe you look at your circumstances and you're thinking, I can't handle this. It's too much for me. I can't handle this. Guess what? You're probably right. You're probably right. We can't handle it. But Jesus doesn't want us to handle it. He wants us to give it to him and accept the victory through him. Right there, God is saying, hang on. But what proof do I have that God will not give up on you and me? Again, great question. I'm so glad you asked. Perhaps you're thinking, oh, Doug, but you don't know what I've done. Right? You don't know the evil thoughts that come in my brain from time to time. You know, friends, failure is a part of life. We're not all successful all the time, every day. We do fail from time to time. And yes, sometimes we fail in our spiritual walk. Okay? That's not Jesus' fault. Jesus never leaves us, but sometimes we wander away from him. But praise God, we serve a merciful, gracious, long-suffering God, and he's not willing that any of us should perish. But that all should come to salvation. I want to take a quick look at some Bible characters who failed in their spiritual walk. And one of the first ones that comes to mind is King David. Right? Look at King David. I know you know the story, right? He should have been out to the battle with his troops, but instead he stayed back. And he's up on the rooftop, and he sees this beautiful woman showering. And he lusts after her. And he has her come to him, and they have an affair. Even though she's married to Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. And because of the affair, she gets pregnant. And then he tries to cover it up and goes so far as committing murder. Whatever you've done in the past, I'm sure it's not at that level. But David repented. Hang on. David's sins is not the end of the story. Read Psalm 51. That's a record of his repentance. You know, Steve spoke about this one in Sabbath school. I thought he was looking at my notes for a minute there. It's about Elijah and the breakdown that he had. I mean, we can look at Elijah's life, and we think of the things he's seen, the things he's participated in. The rain stopped for three years. He was fed by ravens. He saw a little of his jar of flour and a jug of oil. He witnessed the widow's son resurrected. You might think he had it all together. But then the king and the queen vowed to see him dead. And he fled. And he fled into the wilderness. How did God respond to Elijah? He met him in the wilderness. He met him right where he was at. He allowed him to rest. He fed him. And when he felt better, God answered him in that still, small voice. Are we listening today for that still, small voice? Because it's there. It's still there. And we know about Paul's horrible history. As Saul, he was killing Christians. He thought he was serving God. He thought he was doing right. And, of course, we know about Peter's failures. He denied his Lord three times. I don't know what you've gone through in your life or what you're going through. But I pray that you draw some comfort from the stories of these people who failed in their spiritual lives because there's hope. By God's grace, hang on. Don't give up. Want some good news? You ready for some good news? These are some headlines from the New Jerusalem Gazette. The New Jerusalem Gazette is the newspaper in heaven. And be nice to me because I plan to be your paper boy. Here's some headlines from the New Jerusalem Gazette. See if you recognize any of these. God reveals that it was his grace that saved us, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Citizens of heaven are thrilled to have been delivered from the domain of darkness, Colossians 1, 13. Witnesses say that they've seen a wolf lie down with a lamb. A leopard has also been seen lying down with a young goat, Isaiah 11, 6. A thousand bears are grazing together. The young lie down together and a lion was eating straw, Isaiah 11, 7. Eyewitnesses say that a little child is leading them, Isaiah 11, 6. Reports are coming in from a nursing child putting his hand in a snake's den. God declares that they will not be hurt on his holy mountain, Isaiah 11, 8 and 9. Hunger and thirst have been abolished in God's kingdom. A reliable source says that the sun shall not strike anyone nor any scorching heat, Revelation 7, 16. The Lamb of God is in the midst of the throne. Let me repeat that. The Lamb of God is in the midst of the throne. We should get a big amen. And he will wipe every tear from their eyes, Revelation 7, 17. God declares that his dwelling place will be with man. God goes on to say that they will be his people and he will be their God, Revelation 21, 3. Amen is right. You know, as I close this message today, I do have a couple of appeals for you, and I realize that this is being broadcast on the internet as well, so I'm appealing to anybody watching this as well. If you've never fully surrendered to Christ, make that decision today. Make that decision today. Talk to somebody, pray with them, study your Bible, and make that decision. Because Jesus wins in the end. What you're seeing going on in this world is only temporary. It's not going to last. Jesus wins in the end. But maybe you said, but Doug, I've surrendered to God. Okay, did you hold anything back? Was there anything you held back for yourself? Because Jesus didn't hold anything back when he died on that cross for you and me. He gave it all, and that's what he wants from us. All. My next appeal is if anybody has ever walked away from Christ. Remember, Christ will never leave you, but we have the freedom to walk away. If you have, come home. Come home. Come back to Christ. One step at a time. Did you know that you can be sitting in church and have walked away from Christ? It's not about church attendance. It's about your heart. And I promise you. Oh, my third appeal is don't lose faith. Don't lose faith and hang on. By God's grace, hang on. And I promise you it's going to get worse before it gets better. And all we're going to have is our faith. And as I close, I know earlier I said how it sometimes seems like this world is spinning out of control. Has anybody ever thought that before? This world is just spinning out of control? Let me just tell you right now, this world is not spinning out of control. As long as the Lamb of God is on the throne, God is in control of everything. Now, that doesn't mean he's causing all this. But you know the story of the great controversy. And he has to allow it to happen. It breaks God's heart more than it breaks ours. But he has to allow it to happen. But as long as God is on the throne, nothing is out of control. So please hang on. Happy Sabbath. I don't remember what our closing hymn was. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. 626. And I'm not a good singer, so I'm going to get away from that microphone. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. Because I don't want you to have a bad image of me as a bad singer. And as much as we want to see you, we know that you want to see us. And as much as we want to see you, we know that you want to see us. And Father, I just pray that each one of us, each one of us, Lord, by your grace, will hang on. And Father, I just pray that each one of us, each one of us, Lord, by your grace, will hang on. Hang on to you and hang on to your word. Because we have read the end of the story and we know that you win. Because we have read the end of the story and we know that you win. Father, please be with each and every one of these beautiful people here today. Father, please be with each and every one of these beautiful people here today. We ask for continuous Sabbath day blessings wherever everybody is going. We ask for continuous Sabbath day blessings wherever everybody is going. Please be with those folks who couldn't be here today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.