ASI 2012: It's Time... To Be About Our Father's Business

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Doug Batchelor

ASI 2012 Youth Meetings

ASI 2012 Youth Meeting

Kameron DeVasher

Dwayne Lemon

Ted N.C. Wilson

Lance A. Wilbur


Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your name and thank you for your mercy and grace, and we thank you for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf. We ask that we might not neglect it, that we might take advantage of every opportunity to draw closer to you, to learn more about you, and to let others see you in us. We ask that you forgive us of our sins, Lord, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Bless us as we study your word and give us the ability to understand and apply these things to our daily lives. In Jesus' name we pray.

And for his sake, amen. Amen. All right. Now, I'm going to assume that all of you that are here are Seventh-day Adventists. Is anyone not a Seventh-Day Adventist?

Alright, so I'm going to ask you a simple question that has a very direct answer. I'll give you 30 seconds to answer it. The question is, what Bible verse is the most important Bible verse above all other Bible verses for the Seventh-day Adventist movement? What 1 Bible verse is important than all others? More important than all others?

Yes. It is not. Talking about going into the fourth commandment, the third commandment, going into the fourth commandment, No. What is the most important Bible verse? Yes.

No, Matthew 28 is not. These are all important verses. I'm going to talk about 1. If we only had 1, what 1 would that be? 10 seconds.

What'd you say? It is in Daniel. It is in Daniel. Is it in Daniel 2? It is not Daniel 2.

5 seconds. 3 seconds. It's not Daniel 3. Getting closer. Time is what?

No, no, no, no. Yes, 8, it's in chapter 8. It's not very close. I'm giving you extended time. It's verse what?

No, I heard it over here. Verse 14, Daniel 8, 14. What does that verse say? Somebody read Daniel 8, 14, please. And he said unto me, unto 2, 300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

And they're giving you some Bibles here if you don't have 1. Unto 2, 300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Now, would you think that it'd be the most important verse to the Seventh-day Adventist movement? Doesn't seem like it makes sense right now, does it, for most of you? Now, there's a quotation.

You need to write it down, because we don't... I tried to get a great controversy so you could read it. I could put it up on the screen but it would take more time. So, the great controversy, page 409 in the first paragraph, the very first sentence. Write it down, unless you have a photographic memory.

Great controversy, Page 409, first paragraph, the first sentence. It says, the scripture which above all others has been both the foundation and the central pillar of the Advent faith has been the declaration or is the declaration unto 2, 300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. So the central pillar and the foundation, the 1 scripture above all others, central pillar, foundation, the cleansing of the sanctuary. Now, we don't have time to flesh out every aspect of that, but the bottom line is the cleansing, the theme of the cleansing of the sanctuary is what is to be of the greatest import for us as Seventh-day Adventists, because the cleansing of the sanctuary is describing God's solution for sin, because that is the great question of life, sin and death, and does God have an answer for it? Where is the first time you see God providing a solution or a promise for the problem of sin?

The clue is where does sin first come up in the Bible? Where do we see it? Genesis chapter 3. In Genesis chapter 3, we have the fall of man. What does God do in providing a solution for that problem in Genesis chapter 3?

What verse do we have? Genesis chapter 3, where do we see God's solution for the problem of sin? Let's look at verse 15. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. Somebody read that please.

Read it again, the last part. All right, who is the he that shall bruise the head? Yeah, well, in the verse, who is it? I agree, it is Jesus, but what is it in the context? The woman's seed, and who's the woman?

Eve is the woman, that's what we're dealing with, right? God is talking to the serpent and he's giving the curse against the serpent and he's saying that the seed of the woman will bruise the head, crush the head of the serpent, Right? That means elimination of the serpent and all that he has produced. Sin has come into the world, so God provides a solution for sin, and that solution is the seed of the woman. And we see that seed being promised to God's people all the way throughout, especially Genesis 12 and the promise to Abraham.

And we know that Paul talks about that seed being Jesus Christ, 1 seed, not talking about many people, not just offspring, but the Savior of the world. So God has a solution for sin. If God didn't have a solution for sin, then he's not God. You understand that? So sin is the problem.

In our minds, in our homes, in our societies, in our churches, in our communities, sin is the great problem. So God has provided a solution for sin, And that solution for sin is the cleansing of the sanctuary. Now, God gave man a sanctuary on the earth. Where do we see the first sanctuary on the earth? In other words, a tabernacle, a place where God dwells with humanity.

Where's the first place we see that in the Bible. God dwelling with man. Even before that. God living with man, dwelling with man. Yes.

Adam and Eve, absolutely. So God creates man and he dwells with them. It says, remember in Genesis 3, as the Lord came and visited in the cool of the day to call Adam and he couldn't find Adam. In other words, God was used to coming and spending time with Adam and all of a sudden this time he came at the same time he comes and Adam wasn't there. So he had to call out for him and inquire and conduct an investigation.

So Eden was a sanctuary. Do you understand that? It was a place where God dwelt with man, a tabernacle, okay, God with us. You got that? Now, sin came up and interrupted that relationship.

It broke that relationship. Remember, God didn't change, but when man sinned, man changed. And remember, man hid himself. Adam and Eve hid themselves. And that's a whole study in and of itself.

They discovered they were naked and they hid themselves. They were afraid now. So sin had separated them from God. We know that sin is the only thing that can separate us from God. We know that from Isaiah chapter 59.

Somebody read that because it seems like you weren't with me there. Isaiah chapter 59 and we're looking at verse 2 or 1 and 2. Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. Sin is the only thing that can separate man from God. All right, right there.

Verse 1 says, God does not have tiny arms that he can't help people, and he is not deaf that he doesn't know how to hear people. What's the only problem in verse 2? But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sin has given you space to live. Alright, so, sorry, so iniquity and sin has caused a separation between man and God. God hasn't changed, He doesn't change.

So sin came in and broke that relationship. So then what does God do to, because God wants to dwell with man, that's why He made us, That's part of the process. God made man to be a part of the family. So now the family structure was broken by sin, so God wanted to reestablish and bring that family structure back together. So He promised His Son.

We saw that in Genesis 3.15. But in the interim, we know that his son was not coming for another couple of thousand years and we're still here many thousand years later, still waiting for the fulfillment of that ultimate promise of God solving the problem of sin. So what was God going to do in between that space of time to continue fellowshipping with his people? So, a sanctuary also had to be present, a place where God could dwell with his people. And we see in Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8, God making another transition to reestablish that relationship that was broken.

Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8, what does it say? He says, and let them, the Israelites, make me, God, a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. So we know, we have a picture in our mind of how the sanctuary structure would look like. Over 2000000 people in tents in a perfect square formation around the sanctuary in the middle, the Israelites in the wilderness, the sanctuary that Moses and the Israelites built in the wilderness. So God made another attempt to reestablish that relationship that was broken and he said, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them because that's what God's desire is, to dwell in the midst, in the middle of his people.

And he gave them a process by which they could understand, number 1, how much sin costs, and number 2, how God had a solution for the problem of sin. Even in a sinful world, God had a solution for the problem of sin for the individual and for the nation. So God wanted to go beyond that. And we're going to focus in on Exodus 25, 8 and that earthly model that God provided. But did God want to go beyond that?

In other words, did God want to be closer to His people than simply in a tent in the wilderness? The answer is yes. So what was the next step that God was willing to take to bring Himself closer to humanity? He sent Jesus. Exactly correct.

He sent Jesus. Remember, Jesus' name was to be called Emmanuel, God with us. And we know in John chapter 2, John chapter 2, Go ahead and turn there. John chapter 2. And let's see if we can look.

Somebody look in verse 32. What does John 2, 32 say? If it's there. Yeah, it's not there. Let's look at, here, pass me your Bible.

I need to remember this. It's not verse 10. John chapter 2 and verse 19, 18, 19, and 20. Go ahead. Okay.

When the Jews were upset, they asked, what credentials can you present to justify this? Is this what you want? Yeah, keep going. Okay. Jesus answered, tear down the temple, and in 3 days I'll put it back together.

They were indignant. It took 46 years to build this temple and you're going to rebuild it in 3 days? Next 1, yep. Okay, but Jesus was talking about his body as the temple. All right, he was talking about his body as the what?

And the King James says, but he spoke of his what? Body. So Jesus is saying that his body was the temple of God and God's, Jesus' name was to be called Emmanuel, God with us. You have God now coming down in human flesh and actually dwelling with His people, walking and talking with His people. We know that they rejected Him.

Remember, Adam and Eve rejected God in the sanctuary of Eden. Then the Israelites rejected God in the sanctuary in the wilderness. Then the Jews rejected God in the tabernacle or the sanctuary of Jesus Christ. And did God want to go even further beyond that? What do you think?

Did God want to be closer than simply inside human flesh walking amongst his people. Did he want to be closer than that? Where? How close did he want to be? He wanted to be in the heart.

Absolutely correct. So we are promised that God wants to dwell in our hearts. For example, if we look at 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6. In 2 Corinthians 6, and let's start with verse 16.

What does verse 16 say? So God said what? I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they shall be my people." And remember, he's echoing the new covenant, which is described in Jeremiah chapter 31. And it's talking about God placing His character, His law, inside the hearts and minds of His people.

A new covenant that He'll place His character inside theirs. Alright, so God wants to dwell in our hearts. So essentially, as we read in 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20, and 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. You ever heard that before? What?

No you not, that your body is the temple of? So God wants to actually dwell inside our mind and inhabit our literal bodies. But does God want to be closer than that? What do you think? Does God want to be closer than that?

Yes, the answer is yes. What does He really want? What is God really trying to reestablish? He's trying to reestablish that which was lost in Eden. So, when we look in Revelation chapter 21, for example, and verse 3 and 4, what does 21 verse 3 and 4 say?

Alright, hold on. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with who? Keep going. And they shall be a people, not of the self, but of the image of their spirit, and of their God. And God will bless them with the tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.

There shall be no more pain, for the former things are passed away. All right, do you want to be there? You want to be in a place where there's no more death or dying or sorrow or crying? The former things are passed away. God is going to be dwelling with man as he did in Eden without sin.

No sin is gone. It's destroyed. So this is ultimately what God has been trying to reestablish, but he's been doing it in stages because we're rebellious. So God has been gracious and merciful to establish many lessons and object lessons and means by which he can instruct us and teach us how his solution for sin works so that when we decide and make an intelligent decision to follow it, there can be no accusation or no further discussion when sin is eliminated that God was being arbitrary, that God was being unfair, that he treated this person this way and another person this way. He kicked Lucifer out, but this person he brought in, That can't be an issue.

And what also cannot be an issue is that sin is not, there's not going to be another Lucifer. Sin is not going to come up again. So there's not going to be anybody in heaven who's kind of not sure or they, you know, they want to go back to the way they used to live. It's not going to be. So there has to be a process and a model and an experience that's associated with us aligning ourselves with God's solution for sin.

Because he's now in the next, what is the next stage? We are already in the stage where God wants to dwell inside of us. Jesus, The time of Jesus walking on the earth has passed. So the next stage is what we just read in Revelation 21. The question is, what are we going to do in preparation for that?

So Daniel 8, 14, the cleansing of the sanctuary. There was a cleansing, a restoration, a complete removal of sin from the sanctuary. And now if the sanctuary is our minds and our bodies, then can God also clean that sanctuary? Does God have a solution for the sanctuary of my body and my mind? I would have to believe so based on what I understand from God's Word.

So I want to direct your attention now going back, because we're talking about Daniel 8.14 being the central pillar and the foundation of the Advent faith, the Scripture which above all others. So I want to direct your attention to a verse in the Old Testament, Psalm 77 and verse 13. Psalm 77 and verse 13. Somebody read that, Please. Psalm 77 and verse 13.

What does it say? All right. Thy way, O God, is where? Where is it? What did the verse say?

It's in the sanctuary. And the question, the rhetorical question that is asked is who is so great a God as our God? What's the answer? None. There's no such thing.

Because there's no God on the earth that has a solution for sin. Do you understand that? All the nations have, there's many gods out there, quote unquote, gods out there, but none of them have the solution for sin. There's only 1. So the only God that has a solution for sin is the only God that is to be worshipped.

That only makes sense. So thy way O God is in the sanctuary. So that means even the earthly sanctuary that God made, that God commanded Moses and the Israelites to build, there are lessons inside that actual construction, that actual building and the services that surrounded it that help us understand God's solution for sin. In other words, it wasn't just about animals and sacrifices and this and that. There were actually lessons designed to help young and old understand how God works, what His plan is, what's on His mind, what is His solution for sin.

Do you understand that? Okay, we're going to look at some verses here and we're going to start with, we're not going to start with that 1. Let's look at Psalm 67. Psalm 67. Psalm 67 and we're looking at verses 1 and 2.

Yeah, somebody read that please. That's all right, you can skip that part. Go ahead. Okay, a song or a song, God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon, that thy way may be known upon the earth, thy saving health among all nations." God's, where is God's way again? God's way is in the sanctuary.

And now we're showing that God's way is to be made known upon the earth, and it's also called his saving health or his salvation. So I want you to think about these things. We're going to continue to talk about them later on today because we have to look at the sanctuary and I want you to understand a little more about the very simple model that God has given us to make our lives easier. Do you want your life to be easier? I don't know how many of you have a hard life or to what degree your life is difficult, but I believe that everybody would enjoy their lives to be a little easier.

And God has intended that our lives become easier, not harder. Not to say that you won't go through things because we saw Jesus go through a lot of things and he didn't do anything wrong. What I'm saying is it will be easier mentally. There will be a peace of mind that despite the challenges that you might experience and the adversity that you might face, you will be able to pass through them successfully and still hold on to God's solution for sin. Do you want that?

Are you sure? All right, so I want you to think about these things, consider them. I hope you took notes. We're going to continue talking about these in a little while, but I want you to know that God has a solution for sin. He has a way.

All we have to do is access it. All right, let's bow our heads for prayer and then we'll invite our missionary guests to share with us as well. Alright, let's bow our heads. Dear Heavenly Father, again we thank you for your word and we thank you for the ability that you have given us to even gather together in peace and study it. We ask that you please forgive us of our sins, Lord, and help us to understand these things and help us, Lord, to follow them according to your will.

Give us the strength and the desire to follow you all the days of our life. And we ask these things in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. Amen. This media was brought to you by AudioVerse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more.

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