Seventh day-Adventist Church of Adairsville

Seventh day-Adventist Church of Adairsville

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Seventh day-Adventist Church of Adairsville episodes

  • If Looks Could Kill // Jared Thurmon
    Have you ever had someone look at you and it left a deep impression?
    The last night of Jesus life contains the story of two of his disciples - Judas and Peter. Both would contemplate ending their life. What made the difference? Peter denied him in front of everyone, Judas pled for Jesus deliverance. But what happened in the hours following changed everything.
    31 min
  • Deborah- When Silence is Betrayal // Jared Thurmon
    In a world where men dominated the culture, one woman stood up with boldness when no one else would. Her story may be one of the greatest stories of courage and fearlessness the world has ever known. She was a mother, a warrior and one of only a few woman prophets in history. She reminds us of those powerful words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
    35 min
  • Abigail and a Culture of Candor
    Candor is something that we need more of. In this message, we look at the story of Abigail as she speaks faith into the future king of Israel's life and shows kindness but doesn't shy away from being totally candid in their private conversation. There is a need for more candor in relationships at work, at church and at home.
    37 min
  • Rebekah and the Power of Kindness

    Abraham is looking for a wife for his son Isaac. But he knows the one key to happiness in a home - Kindness. The story of Rebekah has plenty to teach us today about this trait that we all crave to experience.

    Present the truth as it is in Jesus. Let the tones of your voice express the love of God. Lead, but never drive. Approach the most obstinate in a spirit of kindness and affection. Dip your words into the oil of grace, and let them flow forth from your lips in love (Letter 105, 1893).

    Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them.

    Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; … …Though ignorant of the written law of God, the heathen have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God. DA 638

    38 min
  • Rahab and the Fall of Jericho // Jared Thurmon

    A few miles beyond the Jordan river, just opposite the place where the Israelites were encamped, was the large and strongly fortified city of Jericho. This city was the key to the whole country… Joshua sent two young men as spies to visit this city and learn about the population, its resources, and the strength of its fortifications. Years earlier Joshua himself had seen the land where according to Duet 9:1 ‘it had great cities with walls fenced up to heaven’

    Jericho was a city devoted to the most extravagant idolatry and selfishness. They worshipped the demon goddess of the moon - Ashtoreth. She was the goddess of fertility, sexuality and war. But in the city there was a prostitute who as a child had heard of the plagues in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Now it was her turn to exercise faith. But does God bless deception? What really caused the walls of the city to fall down? There is more going on behind the scenes in this story than we may have realized.

    39 min
  • Is Perception Reality? - The Story of David and Goliath // Jared Thurmon

    CHOSEN

    @adairsvillesda

    Feb 23, 2019

    They say you can’t judge a book by its cover - but we do.

    They say names will never hurt you - but they do.

    They say perception is reality - but is it?

    ———

    She had a rocky start in life. As the daughter of a teenaged low-income mother, her start was anything but glamorous. In her early years, her living conditions were rough, and she was sexually abused starting at the age of 9, by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend. At the age of 14 she got pregnant, but her son died shortly after birth.

    Finally the day came to pursue her dream, She was hired on to a local television station for the news, but things didn’t go well. She was fired by the producer because she was “unfit for television,” But - Oprah Winfrey didn’t give up.

    ———

    “I’ve made billions of dollars of failures,” he said at a recent conference, adding that it would be like “a root canal with no anesthesia” if he listed them. “failure and invention are inseparable twins,” - Jeff Bezos, the richest man in America didn’t give up.

    ———

    I missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I was trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan - didn’t give up.

    ———

    When asked by a newspaper reporter if he felt like a failure and if he should give up, after having gone through over 9,000 failed attempts, He simply stated “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric lightbulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” - Thomas Edison didn’t give up.

    Is perception reality? If we looked at each of these people at various stages in life, we would likely call them failures.

    Whose perception is reality? How often is the majority right? In a world of social media and likes and comments and views, how do we define reality? Is it based on what you see? What they see? Or is it something else?

    I’d like to take you back to the land of promise…

    Israel was tired of being unique, they wanted to blend in, be liked and be like the majority of the nations around them - They wanted a king on the throne.

    That first King, like many leaders today was only a leader by title, not by character.

    People followed him because they had to, not because they wanted to.

    He failed his calling and God called Samuel, the prophet in Israel to go to Jesse’s house, to find the next king

    READ - 1 Samuel 16:6-7+

    Perception is not always Reality

    ———————————————————————

    Explain the life of a shepherd
    ————————————————-—————————————-
    1 Samuel 16:16-23

    David’s talent gets him into the court of the King. Why? To learn what to do? How to become king? NO

    Sometimes God leads us into situations to learn what NOT to do.

    —————————————-

    READ 1 Samuel 17:3-11 - THE VALLEY - THE BATTLE ARRAY

    Goliath - 10 feet tall - 200 lbs worth of armor

    David - - 16 years old, well built, tall

    David knew God had called him to something decisive this day!

    David gets audience with the king. He makes his case. 1 Sam 17:32-

    Don’t get caught here, this is a moment like when Oprah finally had made it through college, finally at a network only to be fired. People thought yep she’s unfit for this type of work” But was that the end of the story? No! She was finding her own armor. Jordan didn’t make the varsity team, too short, small and didn’t have what it takes. That crazy geek in the lab, failing over and over and over with all his silly lightbulb inventions.

    And so with David, he’s scared, he doesn’t want to fight…

    David realizes, I’ve prepared for this, but this isn’t how I prepared.

    Other people’s perceptions of what you should be doing and how you should be doing it, are hurting who you are meant to be! Fight in your own armor. You’ve been preparing for this your whole life. Stop listening to the crowd. They tell you you’re not pretty enough, not strong enough, too bossy, too wreckless….Stop listening to the crowd. The majority is never right! David has figured this out.

    VS. 40 - David begins to walk down to the valley. He hears the whispers.

    Why are the soldiers afraid? They don’t know how to fight with swords and armor…1 Samuel 13:19-21

    Barium Sulfate - density chemical make up twice as dense of normal stone.

    What was his perception? What was Israels? What was Sauls? What is yours?

    VS 41 - 44 - Come to me on my terms

    David Responds: But before I tell you what he says I should tell you about the slingers:

    Share accuracy 400’ and range - 1300’ of slinger ( velocity -stopping power of a 44 magnum handgun

    Who should be afraid in this moment?

    VS 45 - 47 - David Responds

    Success is when preparation meets opportunity !

    VS 48 - Goliath loses his cool - forgets about all his strengths - armor bearer, helmet, slow etc. Faith is not feeling, not reality. Faith is the substance of what we are hoping for, the evidence of what we cannot see….yet

    32 min
  • For Such a Time as This // Jared Thurmon

    For Such a Time as This

    Adairsvillesda.org
    February 9, 2019

    The Bible and Historians like the Greek Historian Herodotus, and the Jewish Midrash give us details to one of the greatest stories ever told. A story about risk. A story about the power of a woman’s influence. A story about the power of one man’s courage. A story that warns of the dangers of restricting religious freedom and mingling church and state.... A story for such a time as this…

    Our story begins on the night of the overthrow of Babylon. King Belshazzar is having a party, everyone is drunk, and in fiery letters written on the wall everyone is terrified to hear from Daniel the prophet that the Kingdom of Babylon has been weighed in the balance…and will be overthrown. It has failed it’s calling, and it is the fault of the king who should have known better and not lowered himself to a drunken festival to the downfall of his empire. At the same time, the Medo-Persian army has diverted the river Euphrates and is marching under the wall to overthrow the metropolis of the greatest empire the world had known. Belshazzar the king is slain. Terror seizes everyone and all are running for their lives. Darius, the future king of this empire, and soon to be a friend of Daniel the prophet, sees something that catches his eye and……………………………………that’s the beginning of our story. Fast forward – where we pick up our story in Esther Chapter 1:1

    Xerxes the Great

    • Ahasueras, also known as Xerxes – the Grandson of King Cyrus the Great – the son of King Darius – Ruled Media and Persia at its apex.
      • -He becomes King. Xerxes began to be known as a ruthless, cruel, arrogant man. The multiple assassination attempts show that those closest to him didn’t respect him.

      Verses 3-5

      There was drinking of wine and reveling. It was similar to that last night in Babylon at Belshazzar’s feast with a thousand of his lords.

      Truly Medo-Persia was the daughter of Babylon.

      Esther 1:10, 11 - When the heart of the king was drunk with wine, he commanded ... to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look upon.

      Vashti

      Although the Talmudic rabbis never say explicitly that they read Esther 1:11 as Ahasuerus’ attempt to mock Vashti’s royalty, this may be inferred from the way the rabbinic reading of the command as meaning that Vashti should wear only the diadem (Midrash Abba Gurion 1):
      אמר ר’ אבא שלא יהיה עליה כלום אלא הכתר וערומה. R. Abba said: “That she should appear with nothing on her but the crown, that is, naked.”

      According to the Midrash – The ancient Jewish commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures – Vashti was the daughter of King Belshazzar. Great granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Taken captive by King Darius the night of the overthrow, he took pity on her and eventually had her marry his son – Xerxes/Ahasueras. Vashti’s name means (The Beautiful – The Best)

      She was known as a savvy politician. The idea is proposed that the ladies banquet held at the same time as Ahasueras/Xerxes festivities was a strategic political maneuver. With all of the noble wives of the empire present, she would have control of a key group of hostages in the event of a coup d’etat at the King’s feast. She had learned her lesson from her father Belshazzar’s feast.

      Harriet Beecher Stowe called Vashti's disobedience the "first stand for woman's rights.

      Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote that Vashti "added new glory to [her] day and generation...by her disobedience; for 'Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.'"

      Ellen White states - When this command came from the king, Vashti did not carry out his orders, because she knew that wine had been freely used, and that Ahasuerus was under the influence of the intoxicating liquor. For her husband's sake as well as her own, she decided not to leave her position at the head of the women of the court.

      She acted in harmony with a pure conscience. -CC 243. 37 The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 3:1139. CC 243.2

      Xerxes commanded her to appear before his half-drunken company, wearing only her crown and she refused to be humiliated like that.

      The men around Xerxes argued this would set a terrible precedent. She hadn’t just wronged him but this would alter the state of society. It would be a power given to woman that would be to her injury (Manuscript 29, 1911)

      So Xerxes banished Queen Vashti (Esther 1:3).

      There is no queen in the empire…what now?

      Mordecai and Esther – Chapter 2

      Hadassah was an orphan – of the royal line of Saul. Her parents had both died when she was a baby. She was raised by her cousin Mordecai as his own child. She was simple-hearted and unassuming, requiring little and demanding nothing. SDP 171.2

      Mordecai called her Esther to hide her lineage – and at the age of 16 she went to the palace. Like Vashti, she is also known for her beauty.

      Xerxes marries Esther (Ishtar – goddess of love) (Esther 2:16), when he is 40. She is believed to be around 16.

      Soon after Esther is crowned queen, Mordecai gets intel of a plot to assassinate the king. He tells Esther and she relays this to the king. 13 years later Xerxes would finally be assassinated while on the throne.

      All seemed well in the kingdom…but a few years go by and then everything changes in just a few days.

      Haman and the Jews

      Haman, a wealthy influential politician and businessman becomes second in command in the government. He begins to hate Mordecai because Mordecai won’t bow down to him when he passes by. He finds out Mordecai is a Jew. So he gets a law passed in the government to discriminate and persecute people based on religious beliefs. He wants to rid the land of all of these Sabbath keepers.

      Esther 3:9 - If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury."

      Xerxes loved money and it’s that love of money that is the root of all evil…

      A death decree to destroy those who keep Sabbath and rid the land of them. Why? Because…haven’t you heard? They are troublers of the people!

      This is story about the danger of mingling of religion and state affairs.

      The remnant of Israel remained in a foreign land. But John on Patmos saw another moment of the remnant of Israel under attack and declared, in Revelation 12:17 - “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

      For about forty years mercy had been extended to Israel, and that people had turned a deaf ear to all pleas to return home. Forty years has often been called the allotted time for a generation to settle its destiny either for or against the truth. Moses was forty years in the wilderness, unlearning the things of Egypt, and being taught in the things of God; Israel wandered forty years in the wilderness, when only eleven days were necessary to make the journey from the Red Sea to the border of Canaan; forty days Christ endured severe temptation as a figure of the time before the destruction of Jerusalem; forty years sealed the fate of the Reformation in Germany; and it was forty years from the preaching of the sealing message until the time of the loud cry. SDP 172.2

      So Israel was given forty years in Babylon while angels held the winds of strife. At the end of that time Xerxes yielded to the suggestion of Haman, and issued a decree against that “certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces.” If appeals would no longer attract the attention of the Jews, God would in his mercy let persecution come, that they might be compelled to flee to his side for protection. But when persecution and hardship are approaching, the love of God is so great that he prepares the deliverer ahead of time. SDP 173.1
      Esther. The intercessor
      Esther 3:13-15 says - Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
      15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa…. The city of Shushan/Susa was the first to hear the decree, and anxiety filled the hearts of the Jews. There was distress in every home. “The city of Shushan was perplexed.”
      On a set day every Jew in the kingdom was to be put to death by the sword; old, young, men, women, and little children, none were excluded. Lucifer was celebrating the thought that at last Israel was in his hand, and the cause of God should fall. “The king and Haman,” two of Satan’s servants, “sat down to drink.” SDP 173.3
      Scarcely one year from the date of the decree and death would be their lot. There was seemingly no way of escape. Years before they might have gone up to Jerusalem, but now it was forever too late. SDP 174.1
      For many years, all were free to go home but instead stayed in Babylon and in the cities of the empire. They failed to heed the warning of the prophets to “Come out of her my people.”

      Esther, in the king’s palace, was ignorant of the decree. She hears that Mordecai is in sackcloth mourning at the King’s gate.

      Chapter 4 Verse 4 - 14
      The crucial moment had come to her. Should she, could she, be true to her God? 21 years old!
      "If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God." – Ellen White (3T 280)

      "There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

      "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
      "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
      – Martin Luther King
      Verse 15 - 17
      Commenting on this moment – Ellen White writes “The angel of God had guarded Hadassah, and directed in her education. He had brought her to the kingdom “for such a time as this.” When there was no man to represent his cause, Jehovah used a woman, and she, a young woman –. Her very beauty was consecrated to the Lord, and he made use of that. God loves the young people, as the history of the Jews certifies.” SDP 173.2
      Chapter 5
      Esther goes in to the king. Finds Favor. Invites him to a feast with Haman.
      Haman goes home but sees Mordecai. Verse 11 – I have everything – but I’m miserable and filled with hate.
      That Night – Chapter 6
      King can’t sleep. Haman can’t sleep.
      Chapter 6:5-10
      God had prepared from afar for deliverance. The very act of kindness done years before by Mordecai wrought in the deliverance of his people. Who says there is no record kept of man’s acts, or that man performs any deed of kindness unprompted by heavenly beings? God not only used Esther to save his people; but he also used Mordecai. SDP 175.1

      Banquet - Chapter 7

      Verse 3 – 10

      Chapter 8 - Onward

      And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.” Esther 8:14, 17. PK 602.1

      Angels that excel in strength had been commissioned by God to protect His people while they “stood for their lives.” Esther 9:2, 16. PK 602.2

      Mordecai is us. Haman is Lucifer. Was next to the throne and will be replaced by you and I.

      Ellen White comments saying “Mordecai was promoted to the position of chief counselor of Xerxes; and a decree issued that on the day appointed for the slaughter of the Jews, every Jew should bear arms and defend himself against the Persians. …. Again God had defeated the schemes, not of men only, but of the archenemy. Truth triumphed in spite of the waywardness of his people. This decree of Ahasuerus, or Xerxes, is the counterpart of the decree which will soon be issued by the beast of Revelation thirteen against the followers of God. It will find a people situated as were the Jews in Babylon; it will find others who have withdrawn from Babylon, and as the enemy rushes upon this latter class to slay them, the swords will fall like broken straws, for the angels of God will fight for his people. SDP 175.2
      This record, given in the book of Esther, is preserved in Bible history that men may know the future. God’s dealings with the Jews reveal the principles of his government, and in this history is a graphic description of the sins and deliverance of spiritual Israel. SDP 175.3
      From this story we may learn - Time waits for neither man nor nation.

      APPENDIX

      Xerxes was a cruel, arrogant man, and his character is shown not only in his dealing with the Hebrew race, but with other peoples as well. Not content with the extent of territory under his control, he mustered an immense army-over five million, historians like Herodotus state-in attempts to subdue Greece. Defeat and disaster accompanied the effort, however, and he returned unto his own kingdom. SDP 176.1

      The Spirit of God was not yet withdrawn from the Medo-Persian court, and although Xerxes is the last king mentioned in the vision which Daniel saw, yet God was still holding out mercy to the Israelites; and it was during the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the successor of Xerxes that the final decree for the return of the Jews was issued. In like manner the grand jubilee will immediately follow Satan’s last effort to destroy the people of God. SDP 176.2
      Daniel 6:14. Eighty years had passed since the decree of Cyrus-eighty years of forbearance; but even after the experience of the days of Esther and Xerxes there was little interest manifested in the rebuilding of Zion, and the company who went with Ezra was small compared with what it should have been. The condition in Jerusalem was discouraging, for there the Jews had intermarried with the Canaanites, bringing in iniquity and confusion. The Sabbath was desecrated, and the services of the Lord’s house were neglected. It was not until the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, after Ezra had labored for Israel thirteen years, that Nehemiah came from Babylon and stirred the people into activity. Then, and not till then, were the walls rebuilt. Even then it was fighting with one hand and building with the other, because of a multitude of enemies. It was only then that they began to pay tithe, and to cease from ordinary traffic on the Sabbath; it was then that they put away their heathen wives; but they did it only because threatened by God’s wrath. SDP 176.3
      Truly Israel was stiffnecked and rebellious. A remnant was saved from Babylon, but it was only a remnant; and that remnant, after years of struggling and much halting, was as a brand snatched from the burning. SDP 177.1
      Jerusalem, which might have been the glory of the earth, fell a prey to each succeeding kingdom. Daniel’s mind turned to the rising power of the kingdom of Grecia, and Gabriel next spoke of the mighty one who should rule with great dominion. Medo-Persia sank into a state of weakness, and the angel withdrew his sheltering wings; probation was passed for another nation.
      Ezekiel 21:25-27. It, too, had been numbered and found wanting; and its name is dropped by the inspired penman. SDP 177.2
      The history of the Persian empire, until it passed its zenith, is the history of the decrees; and when that nation ceased to help forward the people upon whom God was still bestowing light, it is lost sight of by the divine historian. SDP 178.1

      48 min

    About Seventh day-Adventist Church of Adairsville

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    Seventh-day Adventists believe all of Scripture is inspired and equipped to help us live an abundant life today and in expectation of the life to come. Our church is located in Adairsville, Georgia.…