1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,040 Good morning my brothers and sisters, if you allow me to 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:08,320 start the sermon with a pun. We all know that brothers, Lingo 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:15,320 is a man with a joy in his life, isn't it right Mrs. Lingo? 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,880 But today I can claim to be a man with the joy of having my 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:26,080 wife here for the first time. And also my visitors, Brazilian 6 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,840 visitors who are going to start studying the Bible this week. 3 7 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,920 dear people. Among them is my student Gustavo 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:40,680 in Hartford High. So if you knew me better, you 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,480 would know that I am a dreamer, not only in the sense of someone 10 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:50,320 who daydreams, but in the literal sense as well. 11 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:56,520 Someone who dreams while asleep and who is who often has 12 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:02,240 remarkably detailed dreams, sometimes with full narratives. 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,960 Many times I wake up in the middle of the night and I start 14 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:12,520 researching the meanings of my dreams and my wife asks me, you 15 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,040 really believe in this, don't you? 16 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,560 And I answer yes, I do. I believe in what dreams bring 17 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:25,320 for many reasons that my life, my experience has given me 18 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,120 throughout my life. I could tell here one of my 19 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:35,560 favorite dreams, a dream I had in Paris with my maternal 20 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,320 grandmother on the very day she passed away in Brazil. 21 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,120 That happened before I received the news. 22 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:51,720 It was striking and beautiful, but not nearly as striking as a 23 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:59,600 dream I had about Jesus in which Jesus mounted when a White Horse 24 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:05,800 announced himself to me as the desire of ages, and he told me 25 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:12,960 that I was a forgiving man. This dream had such an impact on 26 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,280 my personal life that over the years I have come to close my 27 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,240 prayers, always referring to Jesus as the desire of ages. 28 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,840 By the way, The Desire of Ages by Ellen G White is my favorite 29 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:35,240 book in the English language. It was first published in 1898, 30 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,040 and the book is a sweeping devotional biography of Jesus 31 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:44,640 Christ, written with theological ambition and literary flair. 32 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:52,840 He traces his Jesus life from preexistence and incarnation 33 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:57,880 through ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. 34 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,360 Yet it is not merely A chronological life of Jesus, 35 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,680 because it's organizing principle is the great 36 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:13,920 controversy itself, the cosmic conflict between good and evil 37 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,960 seen through the person and mission of Jesus Christ. 38 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,080 At its core, the book argues several things at once. 39 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,960 Christ is portrayed as the clearest revelation of God's 40 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:35,800 Carter self giving love rather than coercive power. 41 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:42,840 His miracles are read not as as spectacles, but as acts of 42 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:48,000 restoration. His teachings are interpreted as 43 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,800 radically ethical, socially unsettling, and spiritually 44 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,280 demanding. The cross is presented as the 45 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:02,480 decisive answer to the accusations of Satan, revealing 46 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:08,440 both the justice and mercy of God in a single act. 47 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,600 What gives the book its enduring pull, especially among 48 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:18,320 Adventists but far beyond us, is its tone. 49 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,880 It blends the Scripture with reflective commentary, moral 50 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,360 psychology, and pastoral insight. 51 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:31,240 The prose aims not just to inform the mind, but to reshape 52 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:37,160 the affections. Think less academic monograph 53 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,640 more theological meditation with narrative momentum. 54 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:47,840 Historically, The Desire of Ages is the most translated and 55 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:52,560 widely distributed Christian devotional works of the 20th 56 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,400 century. Within Seventh Day Adventism, 57 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,760 The Dissolve Ages is often regarded as Ellen White's 58 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:08,400 literary and theological summit. In short, The Dissolve Ages is 59 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:14,160 about who Jesus is, what his life reveals about God, and why 60 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,480 the revelation matters for the fate, humanity, and the 61 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,480 universe. A book to be read, to be 62 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,800 studied, and to be understood as presenting. 63 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:29,400 Jesus Christ is the absolute center of Christian faith. 64 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,400 The absolute center of Christian faith. 65 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:41,400 Let us reflect on what it means. It means that there is no 66 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:47,200 Christianity without the central figure of Jesus Christ. 67 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:53,360 Nothing that Christians believe, and more specifically what the 68 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,160 7th Day Adventist Church believes, can be sustained 69 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:02,160 without the promise that Jesus Christ is God and that He is God 70 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:07,320 with us. When we truly understand this, 71 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:15,160 our Christian experience tends to change drastically, as 72 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,680 dramatically and eradically as the experience of the apostles 73 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,760 themselves changed after their discipleship with Christ. 74 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:30,520 When Christ went to resurrection and accession into heaven. 75 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,680 You know, the apostles believed that Jesus Christ was a Messiah 76 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:41,840 promised in the prophecies, but they did not understand what the 77 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:47,000 Messiah truly was. The conception of Christ was far 78 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:53,120 more modest than the reality of an eternal, immutable, 79 00:06:53,840 --> 00:07:01,560 omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient God with pure, pure 80 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,680 love. My dear brothers and sisters, 81 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,080 are you following? Following my line of reasoning 82 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:18,160 here, Jesus Christ is God, so it would make no sense for me to 83 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,920 begin speaking about Jesus Christ from many starting point 84 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:29,680 other than John one one to five. The purpose of the Gospel of 85 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:35,400 John is clear and unambiguous. John wants to convince his 86 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:40,720 reader of Christ's divinity. Theologically speaking, the 87 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:46,280 Gospel According to John is an apologetic text, that is, a text 88 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:52,480 that sets out to explain in a rational way, faith and validity 89 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:57,400 of a belief. Thus, John used the evidence 90 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,960 produced by the life of Jesus Christ to attest to the divinity 91 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:08,680 of Jesus Christ himself. But notice that I'm saying John 92 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,960 used evidence. He did not provide concrete 93 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:17,880 proof of anything because the Bible is an invitation to a 94 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:22,160 rational faith on the part of the one who chooses to believe. 95 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,520 The Bible doesn't give proof. The Bible call us to reflect on 96 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,919 evidence. If God wanted to prove anything, 97 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,440 he won't already have done so because He is God. 98 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:41,760 He has the power to do it. But the purpose of the Bible, 99 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,520 and consequently of the Gospel of John is not to prove, but 100 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,440 rather to say, pay attention to this and then draw your 101 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,520 conclusion about this matter. Does it make sense to you? 102 00:08:54,480 --> 00:09:00,480 So back to John 1125. In the beginning was the Word, 103 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:05,040 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 104 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,440 He was in the beginning with God. 105 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,960 All things came into being through Him, and without Him not 106 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,440 a single thing that exists came into being. 107 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:21,120 And Him was life, and that life was the light of humankind. 108 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,360 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has 109 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:30,320 not overcome it. Later on in verse 14, we read 110 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,360 and the Word became flesh and well among us, full of grace and 111 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,920 truth, and we beheld His glory. Glory is of the only begotten of 112 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,200 the Father. Could it, could it be more 113 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,080 clear, could it be clearer than it is? 114 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,160 In Portuguese we have an expression that if you don't 115 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:53,520 understand from this I would have to draw because it's clear 116 00:09:54,840 --> 00:10:00,000 Jesus is God. The rest of the chapter is 117 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,120 devoted to bringing the divine closer to the human plane by 118 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,080 presenting. The testimony of John the 119 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,840 Baptist was widely known in the context in which John the 120 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:15,560 disciple was writing. So here we lay the foundation of 121 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:20,440 our reflection today. Jesus Christ is God and God with 122 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,200 us. Does Zen One beg to differ? 123 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:31,360 Does Zen One here disagree? It's important for me to ask 124 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:35,280 this because what comes next today depends on this 125 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:39,520 conviction. If you have any doubt about 126 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:45,440 Jesus, about about that Jesus is God, it would be best for you to 127 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,360 resolve that question 1st and then return to engage with our 128 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:51,320 discussion from this point onwards. 129 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:56,160 May we continue. Do you believe that Jesus Christ 130 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,120 is God, good, perfect, because he is? 131 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:07,920 If Jesus Christ is God, and He is being God already sufficient 132 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:13,400 in himself, why did he become flesh and dwell among us? 133 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:22,200 Why in Isaiah 714 was Jesus called Emmanuel, which means God 134 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,560 with us? Why did God come to earth in the 135 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:31,280 form of Jesus Christ to, as the Brazilian advanced him puts it, 136 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,640 let his feet gather dust in the history of this world? 137 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:42,480 Let me explain this to you in a very simple way. 138 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,680 Have you ever seen those television programs in which a 139 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:51,320 boss disguise himself as a worker and goes to do the hard 140 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,560 labor alongside his employees without them knowing who he 141 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,480 really is? The boss becomes familiar with 142 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:04,040 the workers reality, listens to their stories, feels their 143 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,040 struggles up close, observes the working conditions, and in most 144 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:13,480 cases ends up humanizing the company's procedures after the 145 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:18,400 experience. In a very simplified way, this 146 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:22,880 is similar to what Jesus did, with the crucial difference that 147 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,480 Christ's proposed was not to humanize divine methods, but 148 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:33,000 rather on a practical level, that is through the power of his 149 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,080 own example to teach fallen humanity the divine methods in a 150 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,800 way that human beings could actually understand them. 151 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:49,920 Yes, my brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ came to save us 152 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:55,240 from seeing through the shedding of His blood as well, but before 153 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,800 that he came to teach us the way that leads to eternal life 154 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,880 through His own example of obedience, humility and meekness 155 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:13,040 as it's written in Matthew 1129. In addition, Jesus gave us his 156 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,800 example of self emptying and submission as it's written in 157 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,120 Philippians 2 five to 11 that was read here by our brother. 158 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:26,440 But it doesn't hurt to repeat, have the same mind among 159 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:31,560 yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought who, 160 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:36,200 though He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality 161 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,680 with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, 162 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,880 taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of 163 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:50,680 men, and being found in humor form, he humbled himself and 164 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:55,280 became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 165 00:13:56,560 --> 00:14:01,200 Therefore God also highly exalted him and bestowed on him, 166 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,360 on Him the name that is above every name. 167 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:10,280 So, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in 168 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:15,000 heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue 169 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:20,040 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 170 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,800 Father. Beautiful, isn't it? 171 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,000 But there's even more. In the example of Jesus that we 172 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:36,600 need to hid in the Bible, we see Jesus instructing Peter and the 173 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:42,160 people to pay taxes to an illegitimate foreign government. 174 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,400 But more specifically, in The Desire of Age in the chapter, 175 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,800 The Kingdom of God is at Hand, Ellen White, inspired by the 176 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:58,440 Spirit of Prophecy, states clearly that Jesus refused to 177 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:04,800 become involved in the political disputes, national aspirations, 178 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,720 and revolutionary expectations of his time. 179 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:17,160 I think that it's good for me to repeat that Ellen White, 180 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:24,400 inspired by the Spirit of Prophecy, states clearly that 181 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:32,280 Jesus refused to become involved in the political disputes, 182 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:39,040 national aspirations, and revolutionary expectations of 183 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,960 his time. This because, as he himself 184 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:50,360 plainly declared in John 1836, His Kingdom is not of this 185 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,480 world. Do you think that these 186 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,360 statements were unpretentiously made for no good? 187 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,120 Do you really think that? Honestly, I don't believe so. 188 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,200 Actually, when I read and we read that, my obvious conclusion 189 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:15,880 is that the point here is to mark Jesus as someone detached 190 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,520 from the political issues and controversies of his time. 191 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,160 I mean, of course he knew everything that was going on 192 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,920 around Israel. He knew that Israel had been 193 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,200 taken over for years, the Romans were oppressing the Jewish, 194 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:36,800 there were unfair laws and exploitation all over the place. 195 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,080 But Jesus did not wish to involve himself in such matters 196 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:46,200 because he understood that all those bad things were mere 197 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,040 symptoms. And his mission was to deal was 198 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,680 not to deal with symptoms, but rather to heal the great and 199 00:16:54,680 --> 00:17:05,640 deadly epidemic that is sin. My brothers and sisters, there's 200 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:12,440 a false gospel out there. There's a false gospel out 201 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,640 there. Identified by scholar as 202 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:19,839 scholars as dominion theology, which cause believers to become 203 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,960 politically active in blocks of influence with the aim of 204 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:29,200 exercising power in order to fix this world. 205 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:36,320 Fix this wicked and broken and fallen world. 206 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,560 Fix this world by patching up the terrible and shameful 207 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,560 symptoms of human decay through politics coordinated by human 208 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,920 genius. What could possibly go wrong? 209 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:57,640 What a great plan these naive and arrogant creatures have, 210 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,760 clinging to human hopes, to political messiahs, to agendas 211 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:08,280 that flirt with coercion, with the disproportionate use of 212 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,160 force, and with the suppression of individual liberties. 213 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,320 All of these went by word and by example. 214 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:23,280 Jesus Christ, our model, pointed to and walked on a very 215 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,840 different path. No, my brothers and sisters, 216 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:36,120 this is not the way. He is the way, and the only 217 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:40,120 acceptable way for a Christian mind is His. 218 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:47,400 What we do know is that the four Gospels about not in the 219 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,120 examples of Christ's political engagement or even patriotism, 220 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:58,720 but in his examples of love and in his words on that subject. 221 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:05,320 And here, my brothers and sisters, the Spirit of God moves 222 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,640 me to appeal straight to your hearts, to your Christian 223 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:15,600 hearts, to to your Adventist hearts, for the love of God 224 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:21,880 reared. Study and understand the book 225 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:27,800 The Desire of Ages, because it will greatly increase your 226 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,120 appreciation of Jesus Christ. The Jesus Christ that you can 227 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:37,320 see in the Gospels, in the Bible, is explained here in the 228 00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:40,320 most beautiful and powerful possible way. 229 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,480 It is said that most people of all times reject Christ as a 230 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:52,080 model under the excuse that they cannot do things the way Jesus 231 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:56,880 did them, simply because perhaps they cannot walk on water or 232 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,800 multiply bread or turn water into wine. 233 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,960 But they forget that before those extraordinary acts, most 234 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,200 of Jesus Christ's actions revolt. 235 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:15,000 Around things that any one of us can do, like for example, to be 236 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:21,200 humble, to be kind, to be a friend of peace, to be 237 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:28,160 charitable, to be forgiving. We can be just like Jesus if we 238 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,440 follow him from clothes. Is that not so? 239 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,040 Don't these things accord with the example left by Jesus 240 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,400 Christ? Don't. 241 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,240 Don't these things show the way we should go? 242 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,520 Jesus was our model. Jesus was our example. 243 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,760 When Jesus speaks about forgiveness, when he forgives, 244 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,960 he's giving us the lines to act just like it did. 245 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,880 However, in these strange days we are living in, when I think 246 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,760 about the things Jesus did, I also find myself compelled to 247 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:12,360 think about the things he never did and that he certainly would 248 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:18,000 not support in any way. For example, based on the 249 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:23,760 example of Jesus Christ left in the Scriptures to us, Can you 250 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:28,880 imagine Jesus Christ enriching himself and his friends at the 251 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,280 expense of exploiting the poorest? 252 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:39,560 Jesus Christ perhaps preferring the company of and the 253 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:45,520 cultivation of the tastes and interests of the rich rather 254 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:51,000 than identifying himself with and attending to the needs of 255 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,920 the poor? Can you imagine that? 256 00:21:55,200 --> 00:22:01,240 Would Jesus be like preoccupied in having the best clothes? 257 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:07,840 The best job in making millions of dollars a year to impress 258 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:12,560 people that that don't matter in the end of the day. 259 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,840 Can you imagine Jesus Christ, he who commanded his disciples? 260 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:24,680 You give them something to eat like four or five times in the 261 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,880 Gospels. Advocating cuts to fooding for 262 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:34,240 social programs that ensure food security for vulnerable children 263 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,960 under the pretext or protecting taxpayer taxpayers while at the 264 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,800 same time relocating those same resources to the sponsorship of 265 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,360 weapons of war. Can you imagine Jesus involved 266 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,480 with that? I don't. 267 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,040 I don't. Can you imagine Jesus Christ 268 00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:01,280 being racist or persecuting foreigners where in his country 269 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:10,400 either they are documented or not, or even merely endorsing 270 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:15,040 any person, authority or power that proposed to do such things? 271 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,720 Can you imagine Jesus involved with these things? 272 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:27,840 I not. Can you imagine Jesus Christ 273 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:33,000 neglecting the study of the scriptures in order to ace time 274 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,280 consuming, biased news produced by dubious sources that 275 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:42,200 specialize in telling half truths so that to mislead the 276 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:47,160 audience? I don't. 277 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,280 Can you imagine the one who presented himself in Isaiah 53 278 00:23:53,640 --> 00:24:00,080 as a silent sheep before its shearers, spewing indignation 279 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,880 day and night on social media, attacking people's honor in the 280 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:08,400 most disrespectful manner possible, utterly absorbed in 281 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,880 the affairs of this world instead of taking everything in 282 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,520 prayer to the Almighty God? I don't. 283 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:22,160 This is not my Jesus. This is not the Jesus I can see 284 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,280 in the scriptures. This is not the Jesus the desire 285 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,520 of ages describes. Can you imagine Jesus? 286 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,840 Can you imagine Jesus? The one who said in Zechariah 4 287 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:41,320 or 6 not by might, nor by power, but my by my Spirit? 288 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,920 Can you imagine this? Jesus using force and 289 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,280 intimidation to get what he wants? 290 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:57,120 Let us reason this out. If that were God's method, what 291 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:00,600 sense would that be? In the great controversy theory, 292 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:08,960 having dragged on so for so long up to this point, if God's 293 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,400 method was to force people to do what he wants, why are we here? 294 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,080 What's the point of being here? What's he doing? 295 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,720 Why so much suffering still happens around us? 296 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,000 Why doesn't he end with everything right now? 297 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,640 Because he could force his good views on us. 298 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:33,600 He could do that if you wanted. Unless this is not God's 299 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:38,040 methods. This is not God's way, Jesus 300 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,120 shows us. What are God's ways if Jesus set 301 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:47,400 no example of vain? Of these things I question, 302 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:53,960 should a Christian take as a model, defend or imitate those 303 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:58,280 who practice them? My brothers and sisters, these 304 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,680 are very honest questions and they are deeply pertinent to the 305 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:07,040 practical life of every one of the of us in the days we are 306 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,880 living. If Jesus Christ is God, and He 307 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:17,560 is God as we have established here that we believe that He is, 308 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:22,400 why and how should we as Christians allow ourselves to be 309 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:30,840 shaped by examples so radically at odds with His own as those we 310 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:37,600 encounter in our times? Why do Christians, why do 7th 311 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,880 Adventists, copy the model of people who have nothing to do 312 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:50,320 with Jesus, who in no way resemble him in the meek? 313 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:54,800 If the meek and humble one is our example, are we free to 314 00:26:54,800 --> 00:27:00,440 admire, validate or even imitate the example of those who preach 315 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,040 the use of force as a path forward? 316 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,160 Of those who resort to viable aggression and the lowest 317 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:11,040 vocabulary of accusation in an attempt to humiliate others? 318 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:17,560 To score likes, as people say? And if I were to say yes, could 319 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:22,440 I hold my head high and say I am a follower of Jesus Christ? 320 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:29,320 If I say yes, what am I to do with the uncomfortable passage 321 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,040 of Mass? Matthews 51 to 12:00 That speaks 322 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:40,000 about to beatitudes. Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up 323 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,040 to the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came on, 324 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:47,280 came to him, and he opened his mouth and told them, saying, 325 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,400 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of 326 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:57,080 heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for 327 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:01,560 they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they 328 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,520 shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and 329 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,760 tears for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 330 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,040 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 331 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,360 Blessed are the pure of our in in heart, for they shall see 332 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:21,520 God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for 333 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,400 they shall be called sons of God. 334 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,440 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness 335 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,640 sake, for theirs is united is the Kingdom of heaven. 336 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:40,880 Blessed are you when others reveal you and persecute you, 337 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:46,400 and utter all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My 338 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,520 account. Rejoice and be glad, for your 339 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,200 reward is great in heaven, for so they persecute. 340 00:28:54,200 --> 00:29:01,480 The prophets were before you in If that Christ that has been 341 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:05,600 preached by many nowadays. That's so different from the 342 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,640 Christ that we can see in the scriptures. 343 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,960 If that man is real. What am I to do with all the 344 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:17,240 other classic and uncomfortable texts of Christianity, such as 345 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,040 those that command us to turn the other cheek? 346 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:25,000 Matthew 539. To pray for those who persecute 347 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:31,760 us and to love our enemies. Matthew 544 Do you understand 348 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,800 that these things are commands from Jesus Christ? 349 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:43,200 God with us? That it was precisely to teach 350 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:48,080 these things that Jesus came to live among us? 351 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:55,120 My brothers and sisters, we need to return to truly admiring 352 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:59,600 Jesus. We need to study seriously what 353 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:05,120 he tells to each of us and to obey his commands. 354 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:10,080 We need to speak more about Jesus, more about what he said, 355 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:16,080 more about what he did than about anything else, as we need 356 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:21,360 to do this with even greater passion than that we with which 357 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:27,000 we defend our secular interests, our basketball teams, our 358 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:31,440 favorite artists, and of course the pet politicians that some 359 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:37,560 people have. We have already heard much about 360 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:43,440 the passion of Christ, but now it's time for us to rekindle our 361 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:46,720 patient for Christ within the Judge. 362 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:53,600 When we do this, a heart filled with Christ will overflow in our 363 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:58,280 conversation and more importantly, in our attitudes in 364 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:03,080 in our relationships, because it's a fact of human nature that 365 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,960 we are transformed by what we contemplate. 366 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,280 As it's written in Two Corinthians 318, we end up 367 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:17,360 resembling that we and Him who we chose to gaze upon with 368 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:23,520 admiration. Where do we want to look? 369 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:32,040 Who is our Master? Who is the one we call Lord? 370 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,480 May these questions remain with us. 371 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:42,600 May we reflect on them with great seriousness, and may the 372 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:48,520 good God grant that our conclusion, our answer be today 373 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,800 and all, is this. Jesus Christ is God, Jesus 374 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:58,440 Christ is the Lord. Personally speaking, Jesus 375 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:06,720 Christ is my Lord, my motto for life and forever endeavor, the 376 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:11,480 desire of ages. May God bless us.