Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' (Matthew 23:37-39).

Today, the final presentation of nine. The series is HAYSTACKS--Seventh-day Adventist identity in nine themes.

Scotsman Eric Liddell traveled to Paris to participate in the Olympic Games in 1924. Liddell was both a runner and a devout Protestant Christian. The 100 meters was his intended event but that contest had been scheduled to take place on a Sunday--a day Liddell was convinced was the Sabbath. Liddell was determined to remain true to conviction. Rather than "break the Sabbath" by competing on Sunday, instead he ran in the 440 meters, won, and set an Olympic record. And yet, his deepest ambition was to be a missionary. He went to China in 1925, in 1932 was ordained a minister, and accomplished fruitful work for Jesus until he died in 1945 in a Japanese internment camp.

Liddell said, "When I run, I feel His [God's] pleasure." He also said, "It has been a wonderful experience to compete in the Olympic Games and to bring home a gold medal. But since I have been a young lad, I have had my eyes on a different prize. You see, each one of us is in a greater race than any I have run in Paris, and this race ends when God gives out the medals."

A particularly decadent popular performer used to begin his concerts with the statement, "Welcome to my nightmare." Fear and darkness bring little peace. In God's design people are intended to experience joy, affection and meaning. A nightmare is about unreasoning fear. In a nightmare you can't control the steering wheel.

Postmodernism is going nowhere fast. It doesn't take long to get to nowhere. In a speech earlier this week, 34 year-old brilliant-guy Ben Shapiro said, "Young Americans--we're sick and tired of postmodern garbage." Postmodernism brought us to nowhere. And here we are.

Let me introduce a new acronym for some of you: SOGI. This stands for Sexual Orientation and Gender Issues. Say it after me--SOGI!

What do SOGI issues have to do with Religious Liberty? More than you might think. When there are different moralities vying for the support of the state and when the state is the de facto arbiter of law and reality, there are going to be problems.

We are using the word "HAYSTACKS" to highlight nine key ideas that make Adventists Adventist. In a time of societal fracture, we must know who and what we are.

So far, we have highlighted "H" for Hope, "A" for Advent, "Y" for Youthful Eternity, "S" for Sabbath, "T" for Temperance, "A" for Alpha and Omega, and "C" for Counter-cultural. "K" today, might not be the first or second thing to come to mind. But "Kingdom" is a primary emphases that is part and parcel of Adventism.

We speak about God to others because we love God. We are citizens of His kingdom. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and renews our life. We love Jesus. Jesus has given us forgiveness of sins, changed our lives forever, and called us to tell others about our King.

Satan, adversary of all humans, works to intercept and confuse. Serious misconceptions stand between us and those with whom we would like to communicate. How can we talk to others so that we open the door wider for them to receive Jesus?