The Christian Journey (Julian Harrington, 08/16/25)

Let's bow our head for prayer. Dear Lord, Father

in heaven, thank you so much for this wonderful

day. Lord, I ask you to please be with us as

we think through these verses. Lord, we love

you. In Jesus' name, amen. Good morning and happy

Sabbath. My name is Julian Harrington. I am a

graduate from Southern. religious studies, and

I go to seminary at Andrews. I'm getting my MDiv.

What drew me to theology was when I was 10 years

old, I moved from Florida to Collegedale. And

my aunt was going to Southern at the time. And

she came to our house one day and She told us

that there was a final about watching a movie.

And in this movie, you get to analyze the philosophy

and see how that philosophy, where it came from,

like the Greeks and Egyptians and the Indians,

and how it's morphed into media. And I thought

that was so interesting For the first time, I

had a connection to my Christian beliefs in the

real world. And as a young person, I was able

to see the Great Controversy more as a Christian

operation rather than it is two different lifestyles.

That professor of that class, his name was Jud

Lake. He's amazing. Amazing. And I began to think

about Christian philosophy. And I started delving

more deeply into the Bible. And so the Christian

journey, the Beatitudes, is less than moral principles.

And it's more like a map for our Christian reality.

And that is my point. the Beatitudes today. So

I would like for us to think through these ideas

together. So, Matthew 5 .3, blessed are the poor

in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 66 .2, states,

he who was humble and contrite in spirit. Psalm

34 .18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed. in spirit. To be contrite

and to be crushed is something that I think we've

all experienced and we have to think about how

that relates to our relationship with Jesus.

We have to start there at being crushed. So Matthew

5, 4 Blessed are those who mourn for they shall

be comforted. And in 2 Corinthians 7, 10, it

says, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads

to salvation. And so when we're mourning, we're

mourning because we have godly sorrow. When my

mom passed away a few months ago from cancer.

She was everything to me. I would spend late

nights talking with her about philosophy. When

I was young, when I started looking at taking

the controversy in the Bible seriously, she was

there to guide me through the different philosophies.

And she would stay up until 2, 3 in the morning

just to wake up at 5 to go to work. I mean, she

was dedicated. When she passed away, I was completely

crushed, completely crushed. And when I mourned

for her, I was comforted. That's good. That's

a good thing. However, this is talking more about

godly sorrow. And I love that the Lord had...

given me and given everybody the ability to mourn

and feel better afterwards. That's true. That's

a truth. We should mourn. However, godly sorrow

is when we're so crushed that we have sinned,

that we're begging, like Mary Magdalene, to be

at his feet and pour incense on his feet. That

is to be crushed, to be devastated. that we have

sinned and have fallen short. I want to know

what that feels like more and more. Now, my mom

was a rare case when it came to cancer. Some

people take chemotherapy very well, and I'm happy

for those people, and I pray for those people.

And also, I would kindly advise to implement

some... alternative therapies alongside the chemotherapy

as fast as possible. It works. It works. Now,

Matthew 5 .5 is, Blessed are the meek, for they

shall inherit the earth. What does inheriting

the earth mean? Did somebody want to answer?

He said what? Yes. Yes. Any other answers? The

new earth. Yes. So we will reign for a thousand

years and we'll also be in the new earth. those

who love and keep his commandments. It says here,

seek righteousness and seek humility. The meek

shall inherit the land. The humble and meek path

inherit the earth. So we also have to recognize

that while we're here, We're to use our talents

and abilities for God's glory and not think about

where it takes us, but think about what we're

doing for God's kingdom. What are we doing to

accomplish God's kingdom, his reign? And with

that will come so many blessings. It's like a

promise. If we obey and keep his commandments,

he will also be faithful to us to multiply what

our heart desires. Now, what our heart desires

will be changed by keeping his commandments.

Sometimes this is difficult because our natural

instinct is to say, well, what I desire is not

aligned with what I think God wants, so we stop

short. I don't want to accomplish anything. You

see what I'm saying? But if we start first with

changing our heart, to match Christ's character,

we will accomplish so many wonders for his kingdom

and enjoy the life we have here and then experience

infinity with Jesus in the new earth in the thousand

years. That will be amazing. That will be so

amazing. And here's a picture of the pearl, the

pearl of great price, that Jesus is that pearl.

We want that pearl. We're going into the field

to search for that pearl because we want it desperately.

We'll give up anything we have for him. That's

desperate. And when the new Jerusalem comes,

there'll be 12 pearls, even more pearls. Blessed

are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be filled. Matthew 5 and 6. And

here it says, seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness. And the rest says, and all these

things will be added unto you. These are new

things. Jesus is doing a new thing. And so the

wonder is exciting of what he has in store when

we follow his will. Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy. I think that Jesus

is the king of mercy. The king of mercy. It's

amazing. Does anybody know what this artifact

is? I'm sorry? Exactly. Thank you. Yes. And so

what do we know of the contents of the Ark of

the Covenant? Ten Commandments. Rod of Aaron.

Manna. Yes. And you mentioned this. What is the

lid, the golden lid, that the high priest would

sprinkle the offering, the blood of the offering

on? Every year. The mercy seat. So Jesus has

already established his position. And he makes

this sacrifice so that we can obtain mercy and

go to him in our time of need. And we will get

mercy. It's true. Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God. Psalm 24, 3 -4. Who may

ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who has clean

hands and a pure heart? Now, there's a guy, I

won't mention his name, that wants to ascend

the mountain of the Lord. We don't like him very

much, right? But this is the only way. He who

has clean hands and a pure heart, this is the

only way. And it's a process, day by day. It's

a process. And we can't take this mercy for granted.

It's not as if, well, I'm just going to go sin

again just to go back to the throne of grace

and obtain mercy. We can dine with him, commune

with him. Every day. And keep his commandments.

That's a promise. Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called the children of God.

And so, we're about to transition into a heavier

subject, but this is kind of an introduction.

To be a peacemaker is, in a way, to be a firefighter,

a law enforcement officer. They have a civic

duty to uphold peace and justice, and that's

good. And we expect that from these people. But

the peacemaker is the one who can remain patient

and remain peaceful. in times of strife, when

times are good and someone crashes the party,

that is not being a peacemaker. But when your

family is in trouble, that person needs your

help. Man, my family member that's really going

through it, how do I keep them connected? That's

so important. It's going to help a lot more than

just psychology. That can help the healing process

of anything. Blessed are those who are persecuted

for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven. Psalm 73, 26. My flesh and my heart

may fail, but God is my strength of my heart

and my portion forever. 2 Timothy. In fact, everyone

who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted. Blessed are you when they

revile and persecute you and say all kinds of

evil against you falsely for my sake. But rejoice

and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward

in heaven. for they persecuted the prophets who

were before you. Are we going to get persecuted?

Yes. But is Jesus still active? Yes, most definitely.

He has an amazing team. At the close of probation,

the 24 elders, the four living creatures, and

God the Father are active. I would encourage

you to look into this because this will give

you a little bit of peace of mind and confidence

that what we will go through will be less painful

and more rewarding than what the wicked will

have to endure. Jeremiah 20, 11, but the Lord

is with me like a mighty warrior. Romans 12 .12,

be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and

faithful in prayer. And it says here, this is

in John chapter 15, before Jesus gives his final

John 15 · chapter mention

prayers to God and for the disciples, and before

he gets turned in, in John 18. He says, I no

longer call you servants because a servant does

not know his master's business. Instead, I have

called you friends. For everything that I learned

from my father, I have made known to you. The

whole thing is in the Old Testament. The great

controversy, the plan of salvation, it's embedded

within scripture. It's been made plain for us

to see. And then when Jesus lives his life, We

see he's just following the plan. It's amazing.

It's amazing. Who can do this? Who can do this?

No one can do this except Jesus. It's fascinating.

It's incredible. And lo, I am with you always,

even until the end of the age. What a friend.

He would do that for me? And so, We are to be

that in times of crisis for others, knowing that

we're reflecting Jesus that has the power to

save, to heal, but we have to act quickly and

stay steady. We can do it. If you haven't given

your life to Jesus, please do so today. Let's

bow our head in prayer. Dear Lord, Father in

heaven, thank you so much. Thank you so much

for our friends. Thank you for being our friend.

Lord, we want to get closer to you and know more

about your character, Lord. We want to be involved

in the Christian journey. We love you. And we

pray for those who are in turmoil. And we ask

that your mightiest angels be with their families

to protect them. Give them the Holy Spirit of

peace and comfort and give them the wisdom to

know what to do. We love you, Lord. In Jesus'

holy name, amen.