*Is it Far to Canaan's Land?

Pastor Laurie DeWitt

	I can remember as a little child going to singspirations in
Little Rock Arkansas. It seemed that every time that I went back
to my grandparents house in Arkansas that there would be a
singspiration. There were two songs that came to mean
singspiration to me. That song was the Glory song. You should
know that one. 

	

	When all my labors and trials are ore, 

	And I am safe on that beautiful shore, 

	Just to be near the dear Lord I adore, 

	Will through the ages be glory for me. 



And the chorus ends with:



	When by his grace I shall look on his face, 

	That will be glory, be glory for me.

	

	The other song was a song that my grandma and grandpa always
(it seemed to my childish mind) seemed to sing. That was a song
which stirred feelings in my heart then, as it does even today.
That song was:



	O the way is long and weary, 

	and my  bleeding feet are sore, 

	Is it far to Canaan's land? 

	Is it far to Canaan's land?



	As I hear these songs in my mind it gets me to thinking: Am I
looking foreward to that as my parents and grandparents did?  In
my mind, is the Second Coming of Jesus something that I am
longing for?

	Seventh-day Adventists we were brought about with the
conviction that we had a message to proclaim to the world. But
what is that message?  

	To attempt to get a grasp on what we should be proclaiming lets
take a look at the development of Christianity through the ages. 

	In some of his last talks before the crucifixion, Christ
outlined the events that were to take place down through
history. He described the persecution which would befall the
church. He revealed the apostasy which would overtake the church
at an early date, He foretold the falling of the city of
Jerusalem, and the great destruction which would follow. Then he
goes on to give the signs which were to introduce the last days
- signs in the sun, moon, and stars. distress of nations and
perplexity. Men's hearts failing them for fear from their
knowledge of what can come upon the earth. The powers of earth
being shaken. 

	Then Christ said, in Luke 21:27,28

	Luke 21:27  ""Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory."  28  ""Now when these things
begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption draws near.""

	In Acts 1 we find the story of the ascension of Christ. After
his last sermon on earth, Christ ascended into the clouds to be
reunited with his father once again. 

	Acts 1:10  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as
He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

	11  who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up
into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into
heaven."

	In the early Christian church, the apostles all pointed towards
that great day as the event for which the church was waiting.
Paul speaks of  "that blessed hope, the glorious return of the
savior". John speaks of his coming. Peter discusses the way that
Jesus is to return. 

	As we read some of the New Testament writers, one can almost
get the feeling that they were expecting an immediate return of
Christ to claim his church. One early Christian writer reports
that James the brother of Jesus declared just before his
execution that Christ was about to return in the clouds of
heaven. 

	In the second century church the expectation of the return of
Jesus continued to burn high. Many of the early Christian
fathers commented upon the expectation of the soon return of
Christ. However, as time went on and the church began to gain
more prestige, and became more influential, gradually rising to
supremacy in its world, the need for a direct intervention God
seemed to lessen. The second advent, as a doctrine, was not
abandoned, but the emphasis was shifted.  No longer was it
Christ in person who was going to bring about the changes needed
in the world.  Now it was taught that the church would
accomplish the gradual transformation of the world. As a result,
the second coming was pushed farther and farther in to the
future.

	The next event which reflected that this view of the Second
Advent was a commentary on Revelation done by Ticonius, a
Donatist, who maintained that the Church, meaning the Donatists,
had established itself in the world with the truth as opposed to
the pagans and the Roman Church. He expected the soon
reappearance of Christ, and believed that the church would
gradually become perfect, and this process would establish the
kingdom of God on the earth. 

	Augustine, of St. Augustine, whom most of us have heard about,
took this even farther and stated that the coming of Christ was
a little at a time in the hearts of the Christians, and since
the church was the body of Christ, when the body was perfect in
Christ, his coming would be complete. 

	This particular view, due to Augustine's overwhelming influence
on theology, virtually eliminated all realistic Second Adventism
from Roman Catholic thinking, and even influenced greatly
Protestant circles. 

	However, Adventism was not dead. As early as 1260 church
leaders began in different areas, to again look for the second
coming. Joaquin of Floris,  John Huss, Wyclif, and Isaac Newton
all looked for the soon return of Christ. 

	Often when the Second Advent was preached it was in times of
destress or diffiulties. I believe that it is significant that
the Millerite movement arose at a time when the world was
experiencing great optimism about the future, and most preachers
were proposing a millennium of peace here on the world. 

	One of the ones to push this was J.N. Darby, a member of the
Plymouth Brethren. It is from this man's thought that the idea
of a secret rapture and the eventual salvation of all men and
the earthly reign of Christ for 1000 years before the Second
coming came. 

	Early in what is known as the Advent or Millerite movement, the
message that Christ was soon to return was not a preaching of
any particular denomination. Instead, here and there ministers
of different faiths proclaiming the day of the Lord. As the
proclamation became more pronounced, many of the Adventists, as
they were now called, were forced out of their own churches. In
order to have places to worship, they began to band together in
loosely organized groups to study the word and pray and praise.
		

	William Miller was not the only one to be preaching the second
coming. Manual de Lacunza, a Chilean RC priest, Henry Drummand,
a British banker, Joseph Wolf, a Christian Jew, who preached
through the Middle East, Hugh M'Neile, Rector of Albury, and
farmer and lay preacher William Miller all began to propose that
the coming of the Lord was very near.  It is reported that in
England alone over 400 preachers were teaching the soon return
of Jesus.  In the Carribean, slaves picked up the refrain and
taught the second coming of Jesus amont themselves. The spirit
of God moved greatly over the world.

	But things turned sour. The expected event did not occur in the
time frame set aside for it. 

	It was then that the Adventists went through a bitter
experience. The question rang out, "In it far to Canaan's land?" 

	"Yes",  answered many, "It is far to Canaan's Land. In fact we
really had our doubts about it all the time. Perhaps it doesn't
exist. Perhaps we were just being taken for fools." 

	So they dropped away, trying to hide any knowledge that they
had ever been associated with the Adventist group. 	

	"No", said others.  "We were not wrong.  Christ did come, but
He set up an invisible kingdom, and the millennium has begun.

	"No", answered others, There has been another mistake in
calculations, Christ will some soon." So this group continued to
set and reset dates for the Second Coming, until they dated
themselves out of existance.. 

	Another group was not so hasty. They were bitterly
disappointed. They knew that they had searched the scriptures
and they knew that there was something important about the
prophecies. As they studied they found that the time was correct
but the event was misinterpreted. 

	This was a spiritual event, an event that happened in the
heavenly kingdom. As they read they felt impressed that the Lord
was indeed coming soon, and that this event was a preparatory
event, one to precede the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
This has been the Seventh-day Adventist outlook ever since:
Christ is soon to come, But we can't set the date.

	Now that the pioneers understood the prophecies better they
renewed in their zeal for the conversion of the world. They now
saw the advent not as an event for the European-American
nations, but one which was to effect the whole world.

	They were impressed with the importance of taking this message
of the second coming to the whole world, so that the return of
their Savior might be soon. This is nowhere more noticeable than
in the hymns which were sung frequently. It is said that when
James White strode up the aisle before he begin a sermon that he
entered singing, "I feel like, I feel like, I'm on my journey
home."  The emphasis that was placed on the health message was
in a large part done that those who were benumbed by their
life-style and habits, might be awakened to the message of the
soon return of the Lord. There were often heated arguments over
the construction of new facilities, and organization because of
the expectation of the eschaton. "Christ is coming soon. Why do
we need these things?" they would say. 

	It was soon that a turning point was to come in things, though.
Often in the zeal to promote the advent, there would not be the
idea of a personal savior emphasized as it should be. Some
Adventist preachers were in a category similar to the fire and
brimstone pioneer preacher that we often hear about. The beauty
of Christ was not contemplated as it should have been.  It came
to the point that Ellen White wrote:  "Legal religion will not
answer for this age. We may perform all the outward acts of
service, and yet be as destitute of the quickening influence of
the Holy Spirit as the hills of Gilboa were destitute of dew and
rain. We all need spiritual moisture; and we need also the
bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to soften and subdue
our hearts."  ChS 264.2

	Then the late 1880's the message of the beauty of Christ was
supplied to the church.  Now they had the knowledge to proclaim
a returning Savior. Not only that, they could proclaim a loving,
caring, concerned God. I believe that had these to been
connected that a world wide reformation would have finished the
work in righteousness. However, it was not yet to be. 

	The Adventist church historically has had two things for the
world: a personal advent - personal Savior.  These two must go
hand in hand. Our name implies that. The Sabbath message is the
best way to show the interest of a personal Savior.  The Advent
message is best to show us a realistic hope for the future,
because of that personal Savior. Take either without the other
and you have a gap. If you give people an advent without a
Savior, your are threatening them with hell. If you give people
a Savior without an advent you are giving them a temporary
respite to be ended by a welcome death.

	There are areas in the world where the Advent message is being
proclaimed with power, and the people are responding. It is
being presented simply to people that could not understand some
of the $5 words that we throw around at times. But they can
understand the plan of salvation. They can comprehend the
message of a savior that understands them and who desires to
have his people with Him. 		

	In these areas the church is growing. But it seems that we have
lost our evangelistic zeal, and sometimes would rather dispute
fine points, and even larger points of doctrine, than showing
concern with the spreading of the good news.  Inspiration shows
us that part of preparing ourselves for the return of Christ is
to allow ourselves to be used by the Holy Spirit to take the
same message to others. 

	There have been times in the history of the church when the
second coming has been loudly proclaimed.  During each of the
world wars evangelists convinced many that the end of the world
was upon us, and people flocked to the Church.  But with the end
of each of the wars when things returned to "normal" there was a
definite slump in "conversions." During the time of peril people
were converted to the idea of an end time situation, but they
were not converted to the one who in His concern for humanity
was coming to bring about the end of woes. They were betting on
what appeared to be the winner, and when things didn't go as
they feared that they would, the signed a sigh of relief and
moved on to other things. This is a result of preaching an end
without preaching a friend. 

	Then there are those who want only to talk of the mercy and
love of Jesus. They will go around telling about Jesus. They
will sing Jesus songs. They will sell Jesus buttons and declare
his love. Yet when it comes to anything concrete or solid upon
which to base a foundation, you find them wanting. This is the
result of preaching a friend without a purpose.

	But what about us? Who do we not hear as much about the second
coming of the Lord as we used to.  Why do we hear voices that 
hint that the Lord delayeth his coming--if not in word then in
deed? Why have we allowed the momentum for the proclamation of
the second coming move to those who twist and confuse scriptures?

	 Perhaps God hac blessed us too much. Perhaps we need more
persecution. It is interesting the religious fervor that can be
worked up when our gasoline supplies are threatened, or talk of
some kind of unfavorable legislation circulates. 			

	Wouldn't the better Christian be the one who without the 
stimulation or fear, joyfully told the world about his Lord? Why 
can we not cry aloud as John the Baptist "Prepare ye the way 
of the Lord?"

	Maybe having our surroundings more comfortable is more
important to us than telling others of what all can experience
in the kingdom.  If we truly believe the great commission to go
into all the world, why is each member not more concerned with
that then any other facit of  life? 

	Perhaps we need to review what the scripture has to say on this
matter. Turn with me to I Thess, 4:16-18.

	16  "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."

	1 Th 4:17  "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

	18  "Therefore comfort one another with these words."

	Again in the words of Jesus   Luke 21:25-28.   25  "And there
will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the
waves roaring;"

	26  ""men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation
of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of
heaven will be shaken."

	27  ""Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory."

	28  ""Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift
up your heads, because your redemption draws near.""



	While many people have looked for many signs, as we look around
we can see that some of the signs have been around on occasion
for hundreds of years. But in Matt 24, the parallel chapter to
Luke 21, we are given the only positive sign of the coming of
Christ. You know what it is, Matt 24:14

	"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come."

	This is the message which the church has been given to share.
The message that in Christ we find salvation and freedom.
Salvation from the power of sin on this earth and freedom from
the physical effects of sin on our bodies.

	When I was at PUC I went with a singing  group to the Adventist
retirement estates in Yountville, Ca. There as we sang the songs
of the advent, I could see that these people were being deeply
moved. Many of these people had devoted most of their lives to
looking for, and telling about, the return of their Savior. It
was somewhat sad to see them there. 

	Perhaps they were asking the question, Is it far to Canaan's
land? Dare we give up the preaching of the advent? Dare we say
that Canaan's land is just a pipe dream? 

	If we dare not discard the blessed hope, how can we hold it so
close and not be compelled to tell others of the event? 

	I am reminded of the tale of the old farmer that had a rope.
Another man needed a rope and asked the farmer if he could use
it for a while. 		

	"No," replied the rope's owner, "I am using the rope right now."

	After the prospective borrower left, someone asked the old man
what he was doing with his rope. 

	"I'm holding a pile of sand together with it" he replied. 

	"But how can you do that with a rope?" came the query. 

	"Well," replied the old farmer "You can do just about anything
you want to with a rope when you don't want to lend it out." 

	Perhaps this reflects the reasons that we are not more
concerned with sharing the good news. Perhaps we have just
married us a wife, or have just purchased some property, or have
just bought a new yoke of oxen. Perhaps there is something more
important in our lives than the sharing of our rope, something
more important than throwing out the life-line.

	I believe that we are living in the end time.  It has nothing
to do with the year 2,000.  

	But you say, "Christians have talked about the end of time for
nearly 2000 years now."

	And this is true.  They have looked at the evil manifested in
the world and held it up as evidence that the Lord must soon
return. Yet in this century, for the first time ever in the
history of the world, man holds in his hand the power to wipe
all life off of the earth. For the first time in recorded
history man capable to manipulate the very building-blocks of
life and create new forms. Theoretically man now has the power
to create a new species of beings through genetic manipulation.
Yet man has not increased in moral responsibility. He has not
gained the wisdom which is from above- As a result, I feel that
if God should delay much longer, he would have nothing to come
to because man would have created his own hell and He would have
nothing to come to but a charred poisoned crust. 

	Do you believe that Jesus is coming again?  Do you believe that
he could come soon?  If not, why not.  Remember how the Holy
Spirit worked in Ninevah and a whole city was converted through
the testimony of one man?  Remember how Babylon was influenced
by the influence of that Beloved of God, Daniel?  Remember how
deliverance for the Jews cane through one faithful man and his
niece, Esther?  God can move the events to cause a very quick
return of Christ without the help of man.  He could yet cause
the stones to cry out.

	The glorious thing is that we are given the privilege of
helping in the hastening of that great event.

	I don't think its far to Canaan's land. 

	"The night almost gone, 

	the day is coming on, 

	Oh it must be the breaking of the day" 

	Don't you want to be part of that? Don't you want to see that
most earth-shattering of events. Don't you want to look up into
the skies and say with the prophet Isaiah 

	Isaiah 25:8  He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD
will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He
will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

9  And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; We
have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We
have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His
salvation."

	Our King is coming back!  As we sing our closing hymn, let us
rejoice together in that event, and consider the words, for they
speak to us today..






	Heir of the kingdom, O why doest  thou slumber? 

	Why art thou sleeping so near thy blest home?

	Wake thee, arouse thee, and gird on thine armour, 

	Speed, for the moments are hurrying on...........

	

	Dear Lord, we admit to slothfulness and a lack of dedication.
This day we pray that you will pour out your holy spirit upon us
that we may come to a better knowledge of Christ, to see him in
a new way, a personal way With that knowledge fill our hearts
and the hearts of those that we work with, play with and live
with, so that they may have a desire to meet you when you
return, so that you might become their personal savior also,
Amen .