Four Stages Of Sunday Law | Pr. Dennis Page

You know, in Matthew chapter 24, uh, there's four times Jesus talks about deception. And you know, and how does, you know, he talks about the things happening before he comes the second time, uh, earthquake, famine, and war, and persecution, and all of this. Uh, but he doesn't say earthquake, and beware of an earthquake, and beware of an earthquake, and beware of an earthquake. He doesn't say that. But he does say, you know, there's going to be deception. And be mindful there's going to be deception. And again, there's going to be deception. And then he would finally say in Matthew 24:24, "If it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived." Where are the very elect? They're in the church. That means that we can expect that in the church we would find deception.

Now, the greatest deception I've discovered that the world is suffering from is self-deception. And that's thinking, and that's what's happening with the panel of these people that are discussing the fact that there is no religious liberty, there's no separate, I mean, there's no separation between church and state, and that is self-deception. Thinking that they have it right when they have it wrong. Thinking that they're being led by God when in essence, they're being led by the enemy of souls.

And then another self-deception I think that Seventh-day Adventists are in danger of, and perhaps we have bought into, and we don't even realize it, 'cause if you're deceived, you're deceived, you don't realize you're deceived. And that is thinking we're ready when God knows we're not. So, we're going to go on a journey here and look at the four stages of the Sunday laws. Uh, we want to understand how to be ready now, not when it happens. Because friends, reality is, it's unfolding. So, what do we do now? And what are we to do at the different stages? How are we to respond at the different stages of these things happening that we'll be talking about?

So, I want to kneel down and pray and invite you to bow your heads with me as I pray. I ask for the Lord's lead. Gracious Father, Lord, I need your Holy Spirit. We, we need your Holy Spirit to hear what you're going to say to us. And we need your Holy Spirit to give us abundant grace, Lord, that we will arise and shine because you want to pour out your glory upon us. For darkness and gross darkness has covered the earth, Lord, and it's time for your people to be awakened. So, stir our hearts, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

So, what's the big deal about Sunday? You know, there may be people watching online, there may be people here that you're, you're not a Seventh-day Adventist, and you're wondering why, why is this on about Sunday about? You know, across the, the different denominations in Christendom, a lot of people espouse Sunday, but they don't even realize why it came about, how it came about. They go to different Bible texts, and they take it out of context, and it's really not accurate. But, you know, the Catholic Church helps it cleared up for all Protestants. They just flat out tell you. And so, I just want to look at something here. Um, okay, this is the four stages we're going to go over: no work Sunday, Sunday national day of rest, and then forced worship on Sunday, fines and imprisonment, no buy, no sell, death penalty. Those are the four stages. Sorry about that, get a little ahead of myself.

Um, so, here, here I want to look at the first four commandments of the Decalogue. On the left side, you have the four commandments, four, four commandments as written in the Bible. On the right side, you have the four commandments written in the Catholic Catechism. So, what's wrong with that picture? Right? Well, the second commandment's missing. Actually, the biblical fourth commandment is now their third commandment. And it's reduced down to a few words to make sure that the author and creator is not mentioned. Okay? And then you've got the fourth commandment now, honor your father and mother in the Catechism to make sure that you understand that the Pope is your father, and you need to honor him. There could be a lot more said about that, but, you know, there's a lot of loving, caring Catholics out there, and I make sure we all understand something here. In all different denominations, Jesus said, "I have other sheep that will also hear my voice, and they will come. And there will be one fold, one shepherd, okay?" So, just so we understand that I'm not picking on any particular people because they're Catholic, but this is one of the things they teach.

Now, where they get this from, and you can go to the site, and you can understand some of the claims that the Pope makes to be on earth. You know, he claims to be God on earth, and he has the right to, uh, uh, denounce people and change laws and so forth and to interpret the Bible according to his way, and he's, he cannot err, okay? So, in the, in the catechism, uh, convert catechism of the Catholic doctrine, we read, it's a question and answer setup. Says, "Which is the Sabbath day?" "Saturday is the Sabbath day." They go on to say, "Why do you observe Sunday instead of Saturday?" And it says, "We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity of from Saturday to Sunday." Okay? Pretty clear. All Protestants should be able to look at that and say, "Oh, wow, that's where it, that's where it came. It's not biblical. Has nothing in, in the Bible to do to hold up Sunday as the Sabbath." Okay? And of course, they would really make it very clear here. C.F. Thomas, Chancellor of, uh, Cardinal Gibbons says, "Of course, the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act, and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters."

So, what we have is we have a movement to hold up Sunday above the seventh-day Sabbath, to hold up the traditions of man, basically the teachings of the Catholic Church above scripture. And that's why we as Seventh-day Adventists oppose that so much. Now, I want to remind you, friends, that Satan works from deception to coercion. That's how he always works, from deception to coercion.

Now, I seen Jonathan mentioned this on April 13th, this came out. Sunday laws are coming. Are you ready? I say. You know, religious liberty commission holds their final hearings. Jonathan talked about that a little bit, but I want to highlight a couple things here and some things they say. All right. He says, "Today's capstone hearing of President Trump's religious liberty commission, President and Trump's religious liberty commission contains more powerful testimony and discussion about how people of religion are under assault by the secular what?" Left. Are you, I want you to catch something here. Get ready to be labeled. If you believe in separation between church and state, here's where you're at. You are on the secular left side. Are you ready for that? He goes on to say, "It is time to set the record straight. There is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Constitution. Too long the what?" Anti- You're going to be ready for that one? You're going to be labeled anti-God. Anti-God left. You might be anti-God right, you know? But you're going to be labeled anti-God. has used this phrase to suppress people of religion in our country. You'll be known as a person that suppresses people of religion if you stand up and you believe in separation of church and state. During all seven commission hearings, witnesses, witness after witness testified to the so-called separation of church and state. Okay?

And then he tells a Baptist Global News, uh, this is, um, Dan Patrick. He says, "Next month, the commission will deliver our recommendations to President Trump to ensure that Americans' religious liberty is safeguarded from what?" Against. Okay, you ready for that one, too? Anti-left. Right? Secular left. Anti-God. Right? And an evil force. That's what you're going to be labeled as, friends. Are you ready for it? You thought as Seventh-day Adventists being called a cult was bad? Get ready because they're going to add a whole bunch more to it. And how are we going to stand? The Heritage Foundation earlier this year, January 8th, 2026, released the documents stating, "Save America by saving the family." They believe in reinforcing the blue laws, and they want Sunday to be recognized as a family national day of rest. You know, I read through some of that document. Many would agree some of the things they, they say. They have legitimate concerns. But what they don't realize is they're setting the stage for the beginning of the fulfillment of Revelation 13. It's coming. No work Sunday will lead to a recognized national day of rest, which will lead to enforcing that day of rest, which will lead to persecution, and that's how things are going to roll out. How are you going to live? And how are you going to be ready? Revelation 13 tells us that this is coming.

Um, this nation, friends, if you're noticing, this nation is no longer speaking as a lamb, but as a dragon. No separation between the civil authority and the church. They're now preparing to show through various laws that that is to be so. The first stage of Sunday laws is going to be a no work Sunday. We dealt with this as Adventists back in the 1800s, right? So, we have, praise God, we have a prophet. Can you say amen? You know, I don't know how some of you feel about the Spirit of Prophecy and Ellen White's writings, but I'm very grateful because things she wrote about situations that took back, took place before, we can take that counsel and apply it today. So, I'm going to read through several Spirit of Prophecy quotes to get some, some understanding of how they dealt with it then, because that's the same counsel for us today. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Can you say amen? Because he doesn't change, friends.

So, she says this, "The light given me by the Lord at the time, at a time when we were expecting just such a crisis as you see to be approaching, was that when the people were moved by a power from beneath to enforce Sunday observance, Seventh-day Adventists were to show their wisdom by refraining from their ordinary work on that day, devoting it to what?" Missionary effort. So, it is already starting to happen. The blue laws came out. They were starting to enforce them. And she was giving some counsel. She said, "Light given me by who?" The Lord. So, what she's penning out to us is what God told her to write. She would go on to say here, "To defy the Sunday laws will be, will but strengthen in their persecution the religious zealots who are seeking to enforce them, give them no occasion to call you what?" Lawbreakers. "Keep right on with your missionary work with your what? Phone in your hands." I want to encourage everybody, get used to reading your Bible again. Stop reading off a screen. This here, people are going to recognize you're somebody different. But if I'm just carrying my phone around, I look like everybody else. When they see you carrying your Bible, they're going to know that you're different. And they may question, "What do you believe?" Let them see you carrying your Bible around in your hands, and the enemy will see that he has worsened his own cause. "One does not receive the mark of the beast because he shows that he realizes the wisdom of keeping the peace of refraining from work that gives offense, doing at the same time a work of the highest importance. So, dedicating Sunday to missionary work removes opposition by showing that such laws cannot hinder our missions."

She would go on to say here, in Testimonies to the Church, volume 9, she says, "Sunday can be used for carrying forward various lines of work that will accomplish much for the Lord. On this day, open-air meetings and cottage meetings can be held." What kind of work? House to house work can be done. "Those who can write can devote this day to writing their articles. Whenever it is possible, let religious services be held on what day?" Now, I don't want to get people confused here. She's not saying start church services on Sunday. You hear me? Because now she goes and defines what those religious services are to look like. She says, "Whenever possible, let the religious service be held on Sunday. Make these meetings intensely interesting. Sing genuine revival hymns and speak with power and assurance of the Savior's love. Speak on temperance and on true religious experience. You will thus learn much about how to work and will reach many souls."

So, I want to give you some examples here. She's talking here in that, in that, uh, quote about modeling the early church. Going back to the church of Acts. Think about it here. Temperance, fast and pray, heart searching, reconciliation, that's what they did to receive the Holy Spirit, friends. They were in the upper room. I'll tell you what, if there is a brother that had something against a brother among the disciples and they were always fighting with, with each other, who's going to be the greatest, right? Lot of animosity there. There was reconciliation that had to take place in that upper room. And I would say this to you today, the Bible's very clear that if you have something against your brother or you know your brother has something against you, he says, "Leave your gift at the altar and go and reconcile with your brother." And I'll tell you, friends, today we need to humble ourselves to the counsel and word of God and Spirit of Prophecy and, and we have to, we have to allow God and the Holy Spirit to work to bring some reconciliation among us. Pray, heart searching, reconciliation, that's the early church, Acts 2:1. Pray and submit your plans to continue to continue outreach. Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit your work unto the Lord and he will establish your thoughts." And so, come together in small groups. We need to be doing this now. What I'm telling you right now is what we need to do now and not wait until, "Oh, you know what? They just passed, passed the no work Sunday law." No, don't wait. Start praying and how to do it now and how to, uh, create these, uh, these groups and so forth. Pray and submit your plans before God. How to, how to do your outreach? How are you going to engage your community? How are you going to engage your neighbors? How's your church going to plan for better community interaction? Encourage one another to stay strong in the faith. Acts chapter 2:44. You know, it tells you right here in Acts chapter 2:40, "And they all that believed were together and they had all things in common." And 46, "And they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house and they did eat their meat with singleness of heart." You know, this is where we need to come together, press together, pray together. They encouraged and comforted one another. You read that in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Comfort one another with the comfort that you have received. In Acts chapter, uh, 14 and 15, they shared testimonies of what great things God had done for them. I just want to read here. You know, these guys, they were coming together and they were, they were encouraging one another constantly in how God was opening doors. Um, Acts 14:27 says, "And when they were come, and when they were come, they had gathered the church, church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them and how he opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." 15:4, "And when they were come to Jerusalem, and they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that things that God had done with them." You know, when we encourage each other, when we come together and tell testimonies how we've seen God working to open doors and to make a way out of no way, then we press together, we pray together, and I can tell you from experience, when we get together in groups of two and three and four and we press the petitions home to the throne of God, God moves in powerful ways to do what he would not do if we just prayed alone, friends.

Of course, evangelism. We need to be doing evangelism and I'd encourage you to just crunch down. I know we've got these evangelism series, they're very, very long and they're very in-depth, but, you know, people are suffering from, uh, um, just be able to comprehend it. You've got to packet down and just shorten it up and, and ground them in Christ. Okay? And you think about Jesus when he said, "Go teach them all things that I have taught you." Jesus, did you realize Jesus' five pillars of his faith, what he taught, are the five pillars of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Did you ever think about that? Did he teach Spirit of Prophecy? Did he say, "If you don't believe in Moses and the prophets, you won't believe in me, right?" Then he expounded, telling the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He started in the Psalms and hymns and Moses, writings of Moses, right? He taught Spirit of Prophecy. Did he teach the Sabbath? Yeah, he taught it by example. He lived the Sabbath. Did he teach the state of the dead? Absolutely, he taught about the state of the dead. Did he teach sanctuary? Absolutely, he taught the sanctuary. He lived the sanctuary. He taught about the Holy Spirit. He talked about living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. He talked about the judgment. He talked about prayer. He talked about baptism. He talked about the sacrifice. He revealed it all in the sanctuary. And of course, he taught the second coming. Ground people though in those five, ground them in Christ, ground them in the gospel message of righteousness by faith. We can get the other stuff added on it later, but get them grounded there so they know what Christ himself is doing for them and what they can accomplish through him.

She goes on to say here, "God has given us plain direction regarding our work. We are to proclaim the truth in regard to the Sabbath of the Lord to make up the breach that has been made in the law, in his law. We are to do all that we can to enlighten those in ignorance, but we are, you know, and this is kind of interesting how she threw this in right at the end. "But we are never to confederate with men of the world in order to receive their what?" I tell you what, our church needs to repent, friends. Okay? You know, I pointed out some of these things and they just want to beat me up and counsel me, but, you know, the fact of the matter is this, I'm telling the truth and so are some other people. We don't need to take their money. What we need to do is repent of our unbelief.

Then she talks about a valuable experience that they had because when she was in over in Australia, one of the Avondale schools was established there. Um, some questions came up among the staff, uh, what they were to do with the students to provide amusement. And the faculty was inquiring this and, uh, she gave, they got together, they talked things over and she told them this. She said, "We can occupy our minds and our time profitably without trying to devise methods for amusing ourselves. Instead of spending time in playing the games that so many students play, strive to do something for the Master." Now, she was given this counsel in the light of what was happening in regards to Sunday sacredness and no work Sunday and so forth that was taking place even over there.

She would go on to say this, "The best course for you to pursue." She's, yeah, I got it right. Okay. "The best course for you to pursue is to engage in missionary work for the people of the neighborhood and in the nearby settlements. Whenever you are listening to an interesting discourse, take notes, mark down the passages that the minister uses so that you can review the subject carefully. Then after faithfully study, faithfully after faithful study, you will soon be able to give a synopsis of the discourse in the form of Bible readings to some who do not come to our meetings." She was, she's basically saying to them what it says in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to show yourself approved unto God." A workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Parents, I want to encourage you, when you're in church, don't let your children wander off, sit in the balcony, wander down the halls, walking around the church while you're listening to the sermon. Train them at home the importance of sitting there, listening carefully, taking down notes, and then Sabbath afternoon, instead of going home and doing what maybe we shouldn't be doing as far as just laying around or talking about what the pastor didn't say right or how he looked in his tie today or whatever that may be, we could talk about what was said, study it more carefully, and know how to share that with others. Train our children how to listen with intent. Train them to understand the importance of studying God's word and prepare them to be a missionary for Jesus Christ.

She would go on to say, "When they did this, it had a profound outcome on them. They worked, the students, they worked first of all for one another, and as a result of the Bible studies among themselves, a number of the unconverted were won to the truth." This is amazing. This is what will happen as we're preparing for what is coming if we do this with our children. The counsel, "The very best course for you to pursue is to engage in missionary work for the people and the neighborhood."

She would go on to say this, "Those who went out to work for their neighbors were instructed to report any case of sickness they might find. And those who had training in giving treatment to the sick were encouraged to use their knowledge in a practical way. To work for the Master came to be regarded as a Christ-like what?" Recreation. We all want recreation. Do you realize the joy of serving Christ in a way that will bring others closer to him, and it lifts your soul, it frees your mind, it brings you peace, it gives you courage, and it stirs you up to want to do it more.

Now, she's going to talk a little bit about how the authorities were watching the school. And because they were engaging their community, it had a profound impact on the officers that went to spy them out. "After a time, the Sunday labor question came up for consideration. It seemed as if these lines were too soon be drawn so tightly about us that we should not be able to work on Sunday. Our school was situated in the heart of the woods, far from any village or railway station. No one was living near enough to be disturbed by any way, be disturbed anyway by anything we might do. Nevertheless, we were watched. The officers were urged to observe what we were doing on the school premises, and they did come. But they did not appear to notice those that were at work. Why not? What, what did God cover their eyes? Did he like blind them so they couldn't see them that they were working? No. This is what it was. Their confidence, those officers, their confidence and respect for our people had been so won by the work we had done for the sick in the community that they did not wish to interfere or harm with, interfere with or harm our, interfere with our harmless labor on Sunday."

Friends, when you're out working in your community, you're building friendship, you're building community as far as your family bonds with your neighbors and friends, and those officers and the people get wind of it, and you know what? They're going to turn and look the other way. Just like they did there. So, how important is missionary work and the medical missionary work? In this way, every church should be actively engaged in medical missionary work. With trained teams ready to give care for the sick. We are to understand not only our neighbors' physical needs, but also their spiritual condition so that together we may lift them up in prayer. In this way, we will build trust and earn the respect of the community through genuine acts of service for their good.

She says at another time, "When our brethren were treated, were threatened with persecution and were questioned in regard to what they should do, I gave the same advice that I had given in answer to the questions concerning the use of Sunday for games. I said, 'Employ Sunday in doing missionary work for God.'"

Now, she says, teachers. Do we have any teachers here? Okay. All right, a few. Teachers. Teachers go with who? Your students. Teachers go with your students. It's time that Seventh-day Adventist teachers get grounded in the faith, in the word of God, so they know how to train the students in a way to win people to Christ. Take them to the house, homes of the people near and far, and teach them how to talk in a way to do good. Let the people know that you're interested in their souls' salvation. They did this, and look what had happened. The blessing of God rested upon the students as they diligently searched the scriptures in order to learn how to present the truths of the word in such a way that these truths would be received with favor.

If you're a retired teacher listening to me right now, I want to encourage you to gather a couple students under your arms and train them, encourage them, take them door to door, show them how to study the scriptures, show them how to share simply, but intelligently and in an effective way so that other people can understand the truth. You know, here's, I'll tell you what. There, if you're a true disciple of Jesus Christ, there's no such thing as retirement for you. I'm going to tell you right now. A lot of us are waiting till we're 65. "I can't wait till I'm 65 and I can just retire." Well, I can tell you what, there's no such thing if you're a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Several years ago, when my wife and I were at school, I was preaching at a church in Oregon and I was out in the foyer and this lady walked up to me with a cane. And she said, "My name is Mrs. Miller." Well, nice to meet you, Mrs. Miller. "I'm 103 years old." I said, "Oh my goodness, you're about as old as Moses." 103. And she said to me, "Pastor, I have a problem." I said, "Well, what is it?" She says, "I'm on my third case of The Great Controversy. I've been giving them out throughout the neighborhood and I have a hard time gaining a decision." And I said, "Really?" I said, "Tell me about it." She said, "Well, just the other day, I was in the parking lot at the grocery store and asked this lady, 'Would you like a book?' And the lady said to me, 'I have my own religion.'" And I said back to her, "Well, okay, that's fine, but do you believe Jesus is coming soon?" And the lady said, "Yes." And Mrs. Miller said, "Well, then this book, this is helping us get ready for Jesus to come soon. Do you want to be ready?" And the lady said, "Yes, I do. Give it to me." And she took the book. And I said, "Well, there you go, Mrs. Miller, you got a decision." I said, "Keep up the good work. Praise the Lord." What Mrs. Miller was teaching me right there in the foyer is, "Dennis, keep in mind, you get into the ministry, you're never going to retire." There's no such thing as a disciple of Jesus Christ, friends, you are never to retire. You always ask, "Lord, use me at the capacity I can be used, where I can be used, how I can be used, and as much as I can be used." Amen?

I want to encourage you, friends. Start small groups now. Start small group prayer groups. Start doing bread making in your home and going out and visiting your neighbors. Start baking some healthy cookies. Go visit your neighbors. Start a garden club. Start doing something that your neighbors know that you are interested in them personally and interested in more than just giving them a loaf of bread, but their salvation.

The second stage. National Day of Rest, Sunday honored, but you can still worship on Sabbath. Great Controversy 605 says, "As the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the events so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching. And the third angel should be, the third angel's message will produce an effect which it could not have had otherwise." People are going to be connecting the dots. They're going to be realizing what Seventh-day Adventists, Adventists have been saying for 170 years is actually happening. It's unfolding right before our eyes.

In every generation, God has sent his servants to rebuke sin both in the world and where? In the church. I could go on a discourse here, but I won't. But the people of God desire smooth things spoken to them, and a pure, unvarnished truth is not accepted. And that's what we have happening today, friends. We have too many pastors standing in the pulpit and afraid to preach the straight testimony because somebody in the church might say, "You know what? I'm not giving." I had a church member tell me one time because we took a stance that people coming up to the platform are not going to be wearing jewelry, are not going to be wearing short dresses and short tops and so forth, and they're going to dress appropriately, or they're just not going to be on the platform. And this one, uh, church member, she, 'cause she gave a lot of money, she says, "You know, I, I can, there's a lot of other churches in, in this state that would like to have my money." I said, "Good. Go. Take it. Take it with you. Go ahead." I said, "God, God doesn't need your money. We don't need your money. What we need is the truth. And when we stand firm on the truth and we are true to God, true to principle, true to the mission, we're going to have all the money we need. And so we don't need your money." She never left. She stayed.

In both the world and in the church, but the people desire smooth things. Many reformers, and it needs to be with us too today. Many reformers entering upon the work determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped by the example of a pure Christian life to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible, not to church policy. Back to the doctrines of the Bible. Thus, the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to his service. The labors will be qualified rather by the unction of his spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal declaring the words which God has given them.

I want to point out three things here. Humble instruments. In other words, we have to submit ourselves to the word of God. Humble ourselves before God. Consecrated to his service. What's taking precedence in your life right now? How many people will say, "I don't have time. I'm tied up. I can't do this. I can't do that." You know, the enemy is binding up his people by giving us so many other things to do. We don't have time to serve God. But God's going to be looking for those that are humble, those that are consecrated to his service, and men of faith and prayer. Is your faith increasing? Do you have an experimental knowledge of God? Are you allowing God to stretch you and take you out of your comfort zone? You know, on this last mission trip we were on, there was a couple that went on the trip with us, and I believe this was their first mission trip ever. And I had asked the wife if she wanted to go into the prison with us when we went to deliver the packages. Now, we went into a women's prison where there's 14,000 women, and we put together packages for 2,000. They brought out one group of a thousand, and we shared with them and gave them their packages. Then they brought out another group of a thousand and sat them down in front of us, and we shared with them and gave them their packages. And the young lady, she had to go to the bathroom, and she said, "Please don't go anywhere. Don't leave that door." She wanted to make sure that we weren't going to walk away and she'd get left locked inside without us, you know. And she was out of her comfort zone. But I praise God that she allowed God to put her in that position to grow her faith. And that's what we need to be ready to do, friends. We've got to ask God, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" Our theme song was, "I'll go wherever you want me to go. I'll do what you want me to do. I'll say what you want me to say, Lord." How many of us are really willing to say, "You know, we sing that." The reality is we sing it, but when the call comes, we always have something else to do. There's no more time for just singing, friends. I'm going to be frank with you. There's no more time for just singing. It's time for action. My wife's pointing at her clock. I'm looking at that. I'm doing good, honey. Don't worry. All right. >> [snorts] >> All right. Moving on here.

As the controversy extends, as the controver, as the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the people are called to God's downtrodden law, Satan is astirred. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. I can relate to that today. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman effort to shut away the light, lest it should shine upon their flocks. But every means at their command will, I mean, but by every means at their command, they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power. And in this work, papists and Protestants unite.

Now, friends, the reason why I think we're really, really close is because God allowed COVID to run its course to awaken his people. We've seen how fast things happened. We've seen the fact that if you took a position against the mainstream narrative, you were canceled, you were labeled, you're deplatformed, and your character was assassinated. It will be no different in what's about to come. That's why I said, count the cost. When you're ready, you go about to stand for truth, count the cost. It's going to cost you something to walk with Jesus. It's going to cost you something to stay on biblical foundation of righteousness. It's going to cost you something, friends. Are you ready? Have you counted the cost? I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to get you to think and realize the importance of being surrendered, committed, and trusting God.

Third stage. We cannot worship on Sabbath, only Sunday. Now, fines and imprisonment are imposed. As the movement for, as the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and others rewards and advantages as inducements, inducements to renounce their faith. But their steadfast answer is, and may it be our steadfast answer as well, "Show us from the word of God our error." And I can tell you, even though you stand on the word of God, you will still be falsely accused. So, just be ready, 'cause it's going to happen. The same plea that was made by Luther under similar circumstances, those who are arraigned before the courts make a strong vindication for truth, and some who hear them are led to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. It pays to stand for Jesus. Thus, light will be, thus, light will be brought before thousands of others, thousands who otherwise, I'm sorry, thousands who otherwise would know, know nothing of these truths. Do you know what you believe? Do you know how to, do you know how to give a Bible study, a short Bible study, but profound and yet impactful on the Sabbath day? Do you know how to talk according to scripture in regards to the state of the dead? Do you know how to give a discourse on righteousness by faith, how you're saved by Christ and Christ alone? If you don't, you know, I'm going to rate a post, 78 Bible studies. You can access 78 Bible studies on our website. Um, they're, he's working on getting them loaded up. It's in one document, 78 of them. They're probably 10 or 12 main verses for different studies. Get it. Study it. Share it with your children. Get grounded in the truth. Fix it in your mind.

In Great Controversy 608, conscientious obedience to the word of God will be treated as what? Rebellion. Remember, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday Sabbath, some of them will be thrust into what? Prison. And some will be exiled, and some will be treated as slaves. This is why I do prison ministry. I'm making friends for you. Support prison ministry. If you plan on being true to God, plan on going to prison. It was interesting. The first person that donated to us last year was a doctor in Canada. And he wrote me a note. And he said, 'cause he had seen a prison ministry video we did. He said, "I appreciate what you're doing because you're making friends for me because I plan on being there because I plan on being faithful." Yes, friends. God is opening up doors in prisons in different countries, in this country, over and over again for the message to go forth. You'll have friends when you get there. You'll meet your new family. Amen. It wasn't a lot of amens. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> Do not fear. God will be with you.

She says, "As the storm approaches, a small class who have professed faith." What's that? Isn't that sad? That is extremely heartbreaking. Are you sure you're not going to be a part of the large class? "As the storm approaches, a large, large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but they have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth." If you're not going to be part of that class, you've got to be sanctified through obedience to the truth. They abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light. And when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. We've seen this take place during COVID. People that were not sanctified by obedience to the truth, they had united with the world, they had partaken of its spirit, they viewed matters in the same, nearly the same light, and they said, "You do not have a religious liberty right to say no to a mandated vaccine." It'll be the same thing when it comes to the Sabbath.

Men of talent and a pleasing address who once rejoiced in the truth employed their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They became the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbath keepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most effective agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. So, how do you get ready for that one? Well, let's look at the Bible. First, respond with love. Blessings and prayer. That's the counsel we've been given. Jesus says, "But I say unto you, love your who?" Enemies. Do what to them? Bless them that curse you. Do what? Good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute. That's the first thing we've got to get in our heart and get used to doing. And it starts with how we treat one another in church. Amen. All right. Trust God. Do not fear. But if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. "Fear thou not, for I am what?" With you. God will not forsake you when you're standing on the right platform of truth. The third thing, follow Christ's example. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. And when he suffered, he threatened not, but he committed himself to him that what? Judges righteously. God's going to be able to figure it out. Yes, God has watchmen on the wall, and we're to call it out as it is, but in a Christ-like way. But, you know what? The bottom line is God's going to get it worked out. He knows how to judge righteously. Now, let us not find ourselves threatening other people because we don't like how they're treating us or saying something we shouldn't be saying. Remember what Jesus said on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

You know, I want to remind everybody, Satan's position in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 36, it says, "His mind, next to Christ, was first among the host of heaven." This is our enemy. You have the mind of the Godhead, and then the next greatest mind in the universe is that of Lucifer, Satan. Now, okay? This is our enemy. Outside of this, we have absolutely no hope whatsoever. So, many people have been deceived. Learn how to forgive. Don't let bitterness rise up. Learn how to forgive and give it to God. Fourth, commit yourself to God. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator." And of course, Timothy would say, "For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep me, keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Commit yourself to God. Five, count your blessings. Right? Isn't that what Jesus says? What? "Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake." Did you know you're blessed? God says you're blessed. So, rejoice in your blessing when you're being persecuted for righteousness' sake. For there, for there's, for there's is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they prophets, the prophets which were before you." So, that's the fifth thing. The sixth thing is stand firm in your faith. "Wherefore take unto the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand withstanding in the evil day, and having done all to stand." And we said, "All that will live godly expect to be persecuted." And the last thing here, friends, rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice, my brethren. "Count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptation, diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith works what?" Patience. That's our favorite word at home, patience. >> [laughter] >> Uh, but let you, let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and, and, and entire, wanting nothing. In 1 Peter 1:6 and 7, "wherein ye greatly rejoice." Not just rejoice now, but greatly rejoice. "Though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Yes.

Closing up here. I'm almost done. She goes on to say, "Persecution in its various varied forms is the development of a principle which will exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power. No man can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of the host of darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his influence is taking the prey from their hands. Evil men, rebuked by his example, will unite with them in seeking to separate him from God in her alluring temptations. When these do not succeed, then a compelling power is employed to force the conscience." And that's when they will implement no buy, no sell. They can't get you to comply to temptation, through bribery, through influence, through trying to just convince you that you're, you're wrong to just go along with the crowd. Well, they're going to crank it up with economic sanctions. We know what it says in Revelation 13, no man can buy or sell, right? Save he have the mark or name or the number of the beast. But remember, friends, God will provide. Memorize Psalms 91. Memorize Psalms 91. And know as it says there in, I think it's verse 14, it's he that knows him, that has set his, he says, "Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will be with him." Have you set your love on, on God? Have you set your affections on God? Have you given him your whole heart and you've held nothing back? God will provide. In Psalms 33:14 through 17, it says this, "The sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell."

with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"

A good question because in Hebrews 13:29, it says God is a consuming fire. God is holy. God is righteous. God is pure. Who's going to be able to stand with him? The prophet prophet goes on to answer, "He that walks righteously. He that speaks uprightly. He that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing the blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil."

In other words, turn yourself away from the things on Facebook and social media platforms and gaming that promotes the attributes of Satan that will bind you to his heart and not to God. Shut these things out. He says, "He shall dwell on high. His place of defense shall be the munition of rocks. Bread shall be given him. Water shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off."

Friends, God knows how to provide for us. He knows how to care for us. When this time comes, God's people will be in great perplexity, but remember he fed the Israelites in the desert for 40 years. We're not to try to figure out. Yeah, millions. We're not try to figure out how's he going to do it. Just rejoice and believe he's going to do it. That's up to him to figure out how and when to do it. We have to just be persevering in our faith, surrendered to him.

She said, "During this time, servants of God with their faces lighted up, shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place proclaiming the message from heaven. By thousands of voices all over the earth, the warning will be given. While we're moving because we see persecution is intensifying, we're going to be knocking on people's doors and bringing the truth to them. And God's Holy Spirit is going to be enlightening their minds and many will join God's ranks."

She says here, "The message will be carried out so much by argument as by deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by the missionary workers have exerted their influence. Yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now, the rays of light penetrate everywhere. The truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, and are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord's side."

Remember, a large class leave, but God replaces them with a large number of people. Can you say amen? The truth will triumph. No matter how intense things get.

She says this, "The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weakness, delay, and hunger. A faith will a faith that will not faint though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time."

It's now, friends. We're to prepare now. Today is the day. If you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts. In this It is in this life that we are to separate from sin, separate sin from us through faith in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Savior invites us to join ourselves to him, to unite our weakness to his strength, our ignorance ignorance to his wisdom, our unworthiness to his merits. God's providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Christ. The Lord is ever setting before us not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the true aims of life. It rests with us to cooperate with the agencies heaven has employed in the working of conforming our characters to the divine mold, model. None can neglect this neglect or defer this work but at the most fearful peril peril to their soul.

And then, you know, Satan's going to appear as an angel of light, friends. How grounded are you in the Bible that you can deny your own senses? An angel of light, he will appear and sound like Jesus. He will do miracles like Jesus. He will speak in a very melodious language. You would think it was God speaking to you. How will you stand? Only those who have been diligent students of scripture and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusions that take the world captive. By the Bible test by the Bible testimony, these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all, the testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation, the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon his word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they in such a crisis cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry heavy burdens or carry heavy and wearisome burden that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life, and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.

And then the fourth stage, finally, the death penalty. To those that keep the seventh day as Sabbath and refuse to honor Sunday. As the death decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against commandment so withdraw the protection of government and abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in companies, dwelling dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places. Many will find a refuge in the strongholds of the mountains.

Probation closes, friends. When God withdraws his Holy Spirit from the people that persist on resisting him, the world will be tossed into a chaos that far exceeds the fall of Jerusalem. I want to encourage you, go and read that chapter in Great Controversy about the fall of Jerusalem. And you think that is bad? She says it's going to be worse than that. The whole world will be like that. We need to know God. We need to have a confidence in God so strongly so we need to be grounded so deeply in his word, friends, we will not be shaken out of our faith. I want to encourage you listen to the audio book Great Controversy while you're reading it. Go back and study the word and get close to the Lord.

Will the Lord forget his people in this trying hour? Did he forget Noah when the judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world? Did he forget Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume the cities of the plain? Did he forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt? Did he forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did he forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of the prison house? Did he forget the worthies in the fiery furnace? Did he forget Daniel in the lions' den?

Friends, you know why Jesus can't forget you? Because he tells us in Isaiah 49, "I can't forget you." You know, a mother may forget her sucking child and cast them off. He said, "But I can't forget you because you've been gravened on the palms of my hands." Jesus Christ will not forget you in any crisis you find yourself in. Do not fear what man can do unto you, but fear losing your soul because you do not trust God. The time is now. God's looking for a humble people, a consecrated people, and people of prayer and faith. Do you want to answer that call? Do you want to stand with the faithful? Do you want to start playing or planning to be ready now?

How many of you want to start praying and asking God, "Bring me a small group together. Bring me a small group together to my house so we can start praying for our neighbors. Lord, bring me a small group together so we can start planning on how to reach my neighborhood." Put your hands up. Let me see your hands. Praise the Lord. Let's pray.

Gracious Father, we thank you for this time. Lord, we know you're seeking to arouse your people and stir them up and awaken them to the time in which we stand. Father, we need to repent of our our our just delay in our preparation. We've lived in our neighborhood Some of us have lived in our neighborhood for years, and we still don't know our neighbor's name. We have never visited with them. We've never prayed with them. We've never went over and talked with them and to find out what their spiritual condition is or even if anybody in the house was sick. Lord, forgive us, Lord. You've given us the greatest message. You've called us and honored us with an honor above what any earthly king could bestow upon us. Our work second to that of Christ alone. What privilege we have, Lord. Father, please forgive us, Lord, and continue to work in our lives. You've seen our hands going up, Father. We want to be true and faithful. We want to start planning, and we want to engage now. So help us, Lord. We said You said to us, "If we commit our work unto, you will establish our thoughts." May it be so according to your word for your glory and honor, for the furtherance of the gospel, for the lifting up of our Christ, and for the glory of your name. I ask in Jesus's name. Amen.