Participants: Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP160109A
|
00:08 Let's praise Jesus this morning.
00:37 Sing with all of your heart and all of your mind. 00:57 He is exalted the King is exalted on high 01:03 I will praise Him 01:06 He is exalted forever exalted 01:10 And I will praise His name 01:18 He is the Lord, 01:22 Forever His truth shall reign 01:27 Heaven and Earth 01:30 Rejoice in His holy name 01:35 He is exalted 01:37 The King is exalted on high 01:43 He is exalted the King is exalted on high 01:49 I will praise Him 01:52 He is exalted forever exalted 01:56 And I will praise His name 02:04 He is the Lord, 02:09 Forever His truth shall reign 02:13 Heaven and Earth rejoice in His holy name 02:21 He is exalted 02:24 The King is exalted on high 02:30 He is the Lord, 02:34 Forever His truth shall reign 02:39 Heaven and Earth rejoice in His holy name 02:47 He is exalted 02:49 The King is exalted on high 02:56 He is exalted the King is exalted on high 03:18 My Jesus, my Savior 03:24 Lord there is none like you 03:29 All of my days I want to praise 03:35 The wonders of Your mighty love 03:44 My comfort, my shelter 03:50 Tower of refuge and strength 03:55 Let every breath, all that I am 04:01 Never cease to worship You 04:09 Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing 04:16 Power and majesty, praise to the King 04:22 Mountains bow down and the seas will roar 04:27 At the sound of Your name 04:35 I sing for joy at the work of your hands 04:41 Forever I'll love you, Forever I'll stand 04:47 Nothing compares to the promise I have in You 05:01 My Jesus, my Savior 05:07 Lord there is none like You 05:11 All of my days, I want to praise 05:18 The wonders of Your mighty love 05:26 My comfort, my shelter 05:32 Tower of refuge and strength 05:37 Let every breath, all that I am 05:44 Never cease to worship You 05:52 Shout to the Lord, all the earth, 05:55 Let us sing 05:58 Power and majesty, praise to the King 06:05 Mountains bow down and the seas will roar 06:10 At the sound of Your name 06:17 I sing for joy at the work of Your hands 06:23 Forever I'll love You, Forever I'll stand 06:29 Nothing compares to the promise I have in You 06:42 Shout to the Lord, All the earth, 06:46 Let us sing Power and majesty, 06:51 Praise to the King 06:55 Mountains bow down And the seas will roar 07:00 At the sound of Your name 07:08 I sing for joy at the work of your hands 07:14 Forever I'll love You, Forever I'll stand 07:21 Nothing compares to the promise I have 07:27 Oh, nothing compares to the promise I have 07:33 Oh, nothing compares to the promise 07:38 I have in You 07:47 Amen, you may be seated. 07:50 I want to invite you during this song, 07:51 at any point of time to come forward for our prayer, 07:55 as we stand in awe 07:57 and in amazement of our God. 08:01 So come forward. 08:19 You dance over me 08:25 While I am unaware 08:31 You sing all around 08:37 But I never hear the sound 08:43 Lord, I'm amazed by you 08:50 Lord, I'm amazed by you 08:56 Lord, I'm amazed by you 09:03 How You love me 09:10 You paint the morning sky 09:16 With miracles in mind 09:22 My hope will always stand 09:29 For You hold me in Your hand 09:34 Lord, I'm amazed by You 09:41 Lord, I'm amazed by You 09:47 Lord, I'm amazed by You 09:53 How You love me 10:00 How wide 10:06 How deep 10:12 How great 10:17 Is Your love for me 10:25 How wide 10:31 How deep 10:37 How great 10:41 Is Your love for me 10:49 Lord, I'm amazed by You 10:55 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:01 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:09 How You love me 11:14 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:22 How You love me 11:29 Oh, Lord, You're beautiful 11:40 Your face is all I seek 11:51 And when your eyes 11:56 Are on this child 12:01 Your grace abounds to me 12:29 Jesus, lover of my soul 12:35 Let me to Thy bosom fly 12:40 While the nearer waters roll 12:45 While the tempest still is high 12:51 Hide me, O my Savior, hide 12:57 Till the storm of life is past 13:03 Safe into the heaven guide 13:09 Oh, receive my soul at last 13:15 Other refuge have I none 13:21 Hangs my helpless soul on Thee 13:26 Leave, oh, leave me not alone 13:32 Still support and comfort me 13:45 All my trust on Thee is stayed 13:51 All my help from Thee I bring 13:57 Cover my defenseless head 14:01 With the shadow of Thy wing 14:08 With the shadow of Thy wing 14:27 Plenteous grace with Thee is found 14:32 Grace to cover all my sin 14:38 Let the healing streams abound 14:44 Make and keep me pure within 14:50 Thou the life of fountain art 14:56 Freely let me take of Thee 15:03 Spring Thou up within my heart 15:08 And rise, rise 15:14 Rise to all eternity 15:40 Jesus, lover of my soul 15:47 Let me to Thy bosom fly 15:53 Jesus, lover of my soul 16:00 Jesus, lover of my soul 16:25 Amen. 16:34 Thank you, Julie. 16:36 We really needed that today. 16:40 Jesus, lover of my soul. 16:47 Begin, beginning in this New Year, 16:49 our series entitled Charmed into Righteousness, 16:51 the second half you never see, 16:54 it's the matchless attractions of Christ. 17:01 That's a little seven prater, 17:02 our creative design engineer 17:06 Jonathan LaPointe has worked those seven parts 17:09 into a very short video. 17:11 I want to roll it, have prayer, and then we're on, Let's go. 18:17 Oh, God, are you really all of that and more? 18:22 All of that, what Julie was just saying, 18:25 lover of our souls. 18:29 What does that mean? 18:32 In the cusp of this New Year, 18:34 what does that mean for us? 18:36 Make it clear, today, right now 18:38 in Your word, we pray in Christ name. 18:41 Amen. 18:42 So I was reading last week the Los Angels Times, 18:45 we were out in L.A for a family reunion 18:47 with my mother, siblings, 18:49 and nephews and nieces. 18:54 And I get to the op-ed page L.A Times. 18:56 Okay, so this is last week. 18:59 And a headline catches my eye. 19:00 Not a Happy New Year. 19:03 I'm saying, I say, what's up with that? 19:06 So who wrote this? 19:07 Michael Mitchler is a father, husband, teacher 19:11 and an author, living in upstate New York. 19:13 So as a guy living in New York writing for the L.A Times, 19:16 then I found out, I want to read it to you. 19:20 My daughter Hanna died last year. 19:25 A tumor slowly ate away at her 17 year old brain, 19:28 'causing it to lose motor functions, 19:30 speech, life, it was March 2014, 19:34 all the treatments and clinical trails, 19:36 and prayers couldn't stop it, 19:37 and I still don't have the words to talk about it. 19:40 I'm supposed to be somewhat dexterous with language, 19:42 I teach high school English 19:44 and I even wrote a book recently. 19:46 I don't have, 19:48 often have a hard time coming up with something 19:51 to say or a way to say it. 19:53 When it comes to talking about Hanna's death, 19:54 however, things have been different. 19:58 This conversations with new acquaintances 20:00 tilt towards family 20:01 and there's no avoiding the matter. 20:02 I give her death a quick and cursory mention, 20:05 I've adopted this technique 20:06 partly out of empathy for the poor person 20:08 who couldn't possibly have seen this turn 20:09 in the conversation coming 20:11 and partly out of self preservation, 20:13 so I can navigate it quickly, 20:14 compartmentalize my emotions 20:16 and then get back to getting through the day. 20:21 But embedded deep within this terse treatment 20:23 of my profound pain is a subtle language mechanism, 20:27 a secret code I've clung to as a means of coping. 20:31 When I say, as I did earlier 20:32 my daughter Hanna died last year. 20:36 I know that those two essential words 20:39 last year keep me in the immediate wake of it all 20:43 and somehow keep my daughter here, 20:45 and close, and present. 20:48 In 2014, it was raw and there was no doubt 20:51 we were in the mist of our tragedy. 20:52 She had just died through our 2015, 20:55 saying last year has certainly 20:57 put the event in the past linguistically, 20:59 but anyone truly listening can sense 21:02 that it is ever present. 21:04 It seems like yesterday, 21:06 and I and my family continue to wear 21:08 our grief like a threadbare garment. 21:10 With 2016 approaching though, 21:12 just what exactly am I supposed to say? 21:14 What language am I supposed to use? 21:16 Come Friday, 'cause this came out 21:18 the day before New Year's Eve, all right? 21:19 So come Friday, that would be New Year's Day. 21:22 Come Friday, I will no longer be able to refer to last year, 21:25 when discussing Hanna's death. 21:27 I'll need to put a date on it, a year on it, 21:29 making it somehow historical and creating distance. 21:33 My daughter's death will become some static event in time, 21:37 and because time passes and the years turn, 21:40 we will be expected to move on. 21:44 Never before has New Year's Eve with its countdown to midnight, 21:47 it's simple turn of a calendar page, 21:49 it's song of old acquaintance being forgot, 21:52 brought on such dread and utter confusion 21:54 about moving forward. 21:56 There is no chance that I'll forget my daughter, of course, 22:00 but the calendar can't possibly jibe with my emotions. 22:03 The years are moving too fast for me now. 22:07 While memories of Hanna remain 22:09 like the comfort of lingering smoke from a favorite candle. 22:13 The year's end will be coaxing us to throw 22:15 open the windows and clear the air 22:17 for rebirth and renewal, 22:18 but I don't want to clear the air. 22:23 I want to remember, I want to slow it all down 22:26 and just sit for a while, 22:28 not moving until I'm ready, not talking about it 22:31 until I can get the words right. 22:34 Instead of a New Year with new numbers, 22:37 I need a new language that allows me to linger 22:40 and wait 22:42 and hold on. 22:45 Wow. 22:51 Only a parent who has lost a child, 22:56 and there are a number of you here. 23:00 Only a parent who has lost a child 23:04 can know the crystal pain that clings like icicles 23:09 to this father's perpetual grief. 23:14 Tomorrow afternoon, 4 o'clock, 23:19 Howard Performing Art Centre, 23:22 this campus says good bye 23:25 to a young co-head, Whitney Watson. 23:29 Her folks are in our midst these hours 23:33 before tomorrow. 23:37 You know, I read this and I must tell you, 23:40 I just bow before the magnitude of this father's grief. 23:44 The pain, 23:49 the love, the loss, 23:54 you can say to me, hey, hey, Dwight, 23:56 God is love and, you know, I think I get it. 24:00 You can say to me, you know the Bible says, 24:02 for God so loved the world, and I think I can grasp it. 24:07 But when a father sobs out His love 24:09 from such brokenness like this. 24:13 Yo, somehow, 24:15 we're faintly able to grasp the stark truth 24:22 about God's love, 24:27 and we dare to wonder, 24:28 is it possible that God loves us 24:32 even more than this? 24:37 Open your Bible with me to Romans 5. 24:41 It's not a strange passage, 24:42 you may have read it before Romans 5, 24:46 our passage for this harmony. 24:51 Romans 5, 24:52 I'll be in the New International Version. 24:54 You didn't bring your Bible, you got to see this. 24:55 Don't read it on the screen. 24:57 Pull the pew Bible out in front of you, 24:58 you'll be page 760 in the pew Bible. 25:02 Romans 5, I want to read verse 8. 25:07 "But God..." 25:09 You see that? 25:10 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 25:15 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 25:20 Won't you go back to verse 6? 25:22 "You see, at just the right time, 25:24 when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." 25:27 Now comes verse 7, 25:29 "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, 25:31 though for a good person 25:32 someone might possibly dare to die." 25:34 But here comes verse 8 again, 25:36 " God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 25:40 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 25:44 Verse 10 "For if, while we were God's enemies, 25:47 we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, 25:50 how much more, having been reconciled, 25:53 shall we be saved through his life!" 25:56 What you and I have just read 25:58 iterated three times is the profound time 26:01 line of the gospel. 26:02 Did you catch it? 26:04 We just read it. 26:05 Want you to go grab your study guide, 26:06 I want you go get this. This is a huge point. 26:08 Absolutely essential to catch. 26:11 The time line of the gospel. 26:12 Your study guide, by the way, is stuck into your 26:13 New Year Bulletin. 26:15 You don't have one? We got some ushers here. 26:16 Thank you ushers, if you would bring 26:17 some study guides up and down these rows, 26:19 just hold your hand up and then usher will come your way. 26:24 I suppose we have to throw the tile slide up 26:25 one more time, put it on the screen. 26:29 There it is, 26:31 those of you watching on a television, 26:33 or a laptop or wherever. 26:36 If it's not live streaming, 26:37 our website is www.pmchurch.tv 26:40 you're looking for little series, 26:42 it takes us into the first Sabbaths of this new season, 26:44 Charmed into Righteousness. 26:47 Last Sabbath, The Only Savior, today, 26:49 The Truest Friend, and you look, 26:50 those of you live streaming 26:52 you've have written and they're saying, 26:53 "Hey, where we find the study guide?" 26:54 Just go down, go down below, 26:56 beneath the image, it's on your screen right now, 26:57 and you'll see the study guide is right there. 26:59 All right, let's go. 27:01 Three iterations of this profound time liners, 27:03 jot it down, verse 6, 27:04 "While we were still powerless." 27:06 write in the word powerless, we read that in verse 6. 27:08 Two verses later, verse 8 "While we were still sinners." 27:12 Paul writes, and then two verses later, verse 10 27:14 "While we were still enemies." 27:18 Three times, three iterations of the single timeline 27:21 with one truth, jot it down, 27:22 "God loved us before," that's a huge point. 27:27 "Before we were loveable," while we were still a rotten, 27:33 unlovely mess, He loved us. 27:37 I'm telling you what. 27:40 This is a big deal when you consider 27:41 our social media postings these days. 27:43 Come on, everybody's on social media now. 27:45 They just released January 1 by the way, 27:46 the top ten social media sites and guess who is number one? 27:50 Of course 1.1 billion human beings, 27:52 Facebook and underneath it Twitter, 27:55 about 250 million and then on down. 27:57 So everybody's into social media now. 28:00 But they're doing research now on our postings 28:02 and guess what they're finding out? 28:03 As I wrote in today's blog, don't read it now, 28:05 they're finding out that in fact, 28:07 we act like we're curators in the museum. 28:09 You know what a curator does? 28:11 What he does is he says... 28:13 she says, "I'm gonna put the pizzazz out front, 28:16 I'll hide the ugly stuff in the back." 28:18 Curators arrange, they put the best up front. 28:21 We are curating our own self images, 28:24 that's what they're finding out. 28:26 This is fascinating, it's in your study guide, 28:28 the quote, put it on the screen for you. 28:29 Walt Mueller describes those of us 28:32 who are third Millennials this identity formation 28:35 that we all practice. 28:37 These are His words on the screen, 28:39 "For digital natives 28:41 living out their lives in an online world, 28:43 the identity options 28:45 from which to choose are virtually limitless. 28:47 Kids, and I add the words and adults are able to perform 28:51 through a growing multitude of social media sites 28:54 by choosing the words they post," 28:56 might be true, might false, 28:57 "by posing and photo-shopping themselves into images 29:00 that don't come close to who they really are." 29:04 As media critic Quentin Schultze observed, 29:06 'The digital world suffocates virtue by allowing us 29:10 unbridled freedom to be all things to all people. 29:15 To give ourselves over to the highest bidder 29:17 or to the most persuasive master." 29:21 ' Hey, guys, why do we do it? 29:22 Young or aged, why do we do it? 29:24 You know why? 29:25 Because we're convinced that little low me, you kidding, 29:27 weird as I am, 29:29 these are the stuff I don't do, the cool I am not, 29:32 nobody would be attracted to me, 29:34 but if I rephotoshop myself, 29:37 now you want to be a friend, now you will follow. 29:41 Yeah, that's the point. 29:42 A friend of me, 29:43 a friend of mine gave me Michael Horton's newest book, 29:48 fascinating title by the way, I'm working my way through it, 29:50 Ordinary, Sustainable Faith in a Radical Restless World. 29:54 You have the quote as well. 29:55 He's quoting a psychiatrist now, okay? 29:58 So some bright minds are looking at these postings, 30:00 a psychiatrist. 30:01 Put the words on the screen. 30:02 The name of the psychiatrist, Keith Ablow, 30:04 he warns based on recent studies. 30:07 He warns of quote, now I'm quoting the psychiatrist, 30:10 "The toxic psychological impact of media and technology 30:14 on children, adolescents, and young adults, 30:17 and not so young adults, I add, 30:18 particularly as it regards 30:20 turning them into faux, or fake celebrities, 30:24 the equivalent of lead actors 30:25 in their own fictionalized life stories. 30:28 On Facebook, young, and not so young people, 30:31 can fool themselves into thinking 30:32 they have hundreds or thousands of friends. 30:34 They can delete unflattering comments. 30:36 They can block anyone who disagrees with them 30:38 or pokes holes in their inflated self-esteem. 30:40 Using Twitter, young, and not so young people, 30:43 can pretend they are worth ''following," 30:45 as though they have real-life fans, 30:47 when all that is really happening is the mutual fanning 30:51 of false love and false fame." 30:53 Ouch! 30:59 Why you all nodding your heads? 31:01 'Cause it's true. 31:04 Which makes Romans 5 timeline 31:07 even more stunning because before we could, 31:10 before we had the time to photoshop ourselves, 31:12 to make ourselves attracted to God, 31:14 while we were still a rotten unlovely mess. 31:17 God saw us and he said, "You, I love." 31:22 While we were still sinners, while we were still enemies, 31:24 while we were still powerless, I loved you. 31:29 And I said I want that girl, 31:31 I want that boy for my friend. 31:36 Romans 5:8, 31:38 "But God demonstrates his own love toward us in this: 31:43 While we were still sinners, 31:45 Christ came down, and died for us." 31:48 And by the way, did you catch that, 31:49 it's not just Jesus who loves us. 31:52 It's almost like Jesus who loves us and the father 31:53 ticked off at us, it's not true. 31:57 "God Himself has demonstrated His love 32:01 for the likes of you and me, 32:03 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 32:05 By the way, in contradistinction to 32:07 when we became good, then Christ died for us. 32:11 Wrong. 32:14 The before, the before is absolutely critical, 32:18 in fact jot it down. 32:19 "The Father loved us and Christ died for us before, 32:22 before we could spiritually photoshop ourselves 32:24 into some sort of attractive state. 32:27 Are you kidding? 32:28 God, God exclaims to Israel, are you kidding? 32:30 You think, I chose you because you're attracted? 32:36 Ezekiel Chapter 16, I'm not gonna read it here. 32:39 I give you the references, the verses there, 32:41 it's just very stunning. 32:43 You keep your finger here in Romans 5. 32:45 I'll just pick up a line, 32:46 'cause I haven't marked it, so I'll get to it quick. 32:48 God says, hey, hey, hey, I want to tell you something, 32:50 Israel, yo, you people think you're the chosen ones? 32:53 Listen up. 32:54 On the day you were born, your cord was not cut, okay. 32:57 So there's a little baby with umbilical cord dragging around. 32:59 That was you. 33:01 Your cord was not cut, 33:03 nor were you washed with water to make you clean, 33:04 nor were you rub with salt or wrapped in cloths. 33:07 So when the boy Jesus is born, like all good Hebrew mothers, 33:11 washed with salt, clean 33:13 and then wrap with swaddling cloths, 33:14 not clothes, it's cloths. 33:16 That was the way Jesus gave. 33:18 "No one looked at you guys said 33:20 he's talking to his chosen ones, 33:21 no one looked on you with pity, or had compassion enough 33:23 to do any of these things for you. 33:26 You were thrown out in the open field, 33:28 from the day you were born, you were despised. 33:30 Nobody wanted you," 33:31 do you understand that? 33:32 Nobody and, "then I pass by," oh, this is yuck. 33:36 "Then I pass by and I saw you kicking about in your blood 33:41 and as you little girl, as you little boy, 33:43 lay there in your blood. 33:45 I said you live, 33:47 in the next verse, 33:49 he says and I took a corner of my garment 33:50 and I put that corner of my garment over you 33:52 and that's a covenant, you and I 33:54 are gonna be married one day." 33:55 Grow up girl, grow up boy, 33:57 we're gonna be married, you and me. 34:00 And you began to grow, puberty set in, 34:02 and that's the actual language in the NIV, 34:03 "puberty set in." 34:06 You became rather attractive 34:09 and then what did you do? 34:12 "But you trusted in your beauty," 34:13 verse 15, "And you used your fame 34:15 to become a prostitute 34:17 and all your detestable practices." 34:19 Verse 22, "You and your prostitution, 34:21 you did not remember the days you were youth. 34:23 You didn't remember what you were 34:24 before you were photoshopped. 34:26 When you were naked and bare, 34:27 and kicking about in your blood." 34:30 Not a very pretty picture of the God who says, 34:32 when you were that, I loved you. 34:36 Boy, that word before is absolutely a big deal. 34:40 The timeline of the gospel before, 34:42 before, you became who you are. 34:46 When you were still rotten, unlovely and a mess, 34:50 I loved you. 34:51 In fact, Paul makes the same point in Romans, 34:54 your fingers are already there in Romans 5. 34:56 But just turn a few pages back to Romans 3. 35:01 I'll just read a few lines here. 35:02 Paul says, I'm gonna get away the, 35:04 get all the blood and mucous out of the story 35:05 and the umbilical cord is not cut, 35:07 I'll just leave all that out. 35:08 I'll just tell you the truth, morally, here's your picture. 35:10 Verse 10, Romans 3:10, 35:11 "As it is written:" 35:12 These are all quotations from the Old Testament. 35:14 "There is no one righteous, not even one, 35:17 there is no one who understands, 35:18 there is no one who seeks God." 35:19 Nobody on this planet. 35:21 "All, verse 12, have turned away, 35:23 they have together become worthless, 35:24 there is no one who does good, not even one. 35:28 Your throats are open graves, your tongues practice deceit. 35:31 The poison of vipers is on your lips. 35:32 Your mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 35:34 ' And yadda yadda yadda, that's you. 35:38 So the timeline is crucial for us to get. 35:44 Three iterations to drive home the profound truth 35:49 that God loved us and die for us, 35:50 while we were still a rotten, unlovely mess. 35:55 God demonstrates His own love toward us and this, 35:59 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 36:04 You know, when it comes to advertising. 36:05 Don't you just love all these little pop-up ads 36:07 in the internet and billboards? 36:10 When it comes to advertising, marketing, Madison Avenue, 36:13 there's a little adage 36:15 we've all learned as human beings 36:16 and you know it as well. 36:17 If it seems too good to be true it, 36:22 how does it ago? 36:23 Usually is too good to be true. 36:27 But Desmond Ford comes along in his 36:29 short little commentary on Romans entitled, 36:31 Right With God, Right Now. 36:33 Says that's not the way it is with the gospel. 36:35 That may be Madison Avenue in marketing, 36:37 but the gospel, 36:38 here are Ford's words on the screen for you. 36:40 With the gospel it's the opposite, 36:42 as Madison Avenue. 36:43 It must be true, the gospel because it's so good, 36:47 in fact and I'd never seen this before 36:48 the word God is just a contraction of the word good. 36:52 So take the word good, 36:53 drop an o out of it boom, you got God. 36:55 But guess what it works the same way with the devil. 36:57 The word, devil is just an expansion of the word evil. 37:01 So you got evil, 37:02 then you put a d in front of it and you got devil. 37:06 Those are your choices, no man can serve two, 37:09 you can't, there's no third, its just these, this New Year. 37:12 Those are your choices. 37:15 Ford goes on, God is good, 37:18 gooder, I like that, 37:19 gooder than we could ever think, 37:21 just as we are worser than we ever thought. 37:24 You have to keep the two at equipoise. 37:27 God, he writes is better than we ever considered, 37:29 we are worse than we ever suspected. 37:33 That God demonstrated His own love for us 37:36 in this while we were still sinners, 37:38 Christ died for us, while we were still sinners. 37:42 Wow! 37:45 At last we conclude that 37:46 this divine love is some sort of, you know, 37:47 sterile love, it isn't guys, okay, 37:49 look, look, look, look. 37:51 God says look at... 37:52 I am love, that's true. 37:54 I am love, but I'm telling you 37:55 this is not an easy thing for me to love you. 37:56 Take a look at yourself please, I will go ahead, 37:59 no, no, don't worry, I will go ahead, 38:01 because I have to, because I'm love. 38:02 I'm not really into this, I don't have my heart in it. 38:04 Are you kidding? 38:06 Do you think it's that way? 38:07 Exact opposite, according to scripture, 38:10 John Peckham teaches philosophy and theology 38:13 over theological seminary. 38:14 His brand new book, just came out, 38:17 The Love of God: A Canonical Model. 38:19 Quoted from it last week. 38:21 Number one reader's choice, for the IVP Academic Press, 38:25 number one choice of readers. 38:28 John Peckham says, hey guys, 38:31 you got to see what the scripture 38:32 says of God's love, 38:33 I will put it on the screen, this is beautiful, 38:35 scripture presents God as affectionate. 38:39 Ever think that God is affectionate? 38:40 As affectionate and loving, 38:42 devotedly interested 38:44 and intimately concerned about humans, 38:46 affected by the world in feeling joy 38:49 and delight in goodness, yet feeling sorrow, 38:52 passion and intense anger, 38:53 alongside feeling profound compassion 38:56 and the desire to redeem humans. 38:58 Now it's true, while none can overpower God, 39:01 he is affected by worldly events. 39:04 Crisis, tragedies, He's affected by it 39:07 because He's willingly opened Himself up 39:10 to reciprocal love relationship with creatures. 39:13 You know what reciprocal means, don't you? 39:17 One on one, we give. 39:18 We each give, all right. 39:19 One more line, God enjoys 39:21 and is deeply affected by reciprocal 39:25 though asymmetrical, that means there is huge love 39:28 over here on God's part, 39:29 tiny little love on my part and this is not even-steven. 39:31 It's really asymmetrical, 39:33 but God is affected by reciprocal 39:36 relationship with humans, end point. 39:40 Wow, case in point by the way, what we just read, verse 10 39:43 here on Romans Chapter 5, let me read it to you 39:45 in the Today's English Version or the Good News translation, 39:47 put it on the screen for you. 39:49 I love the way they translate, verse 10, here it goes. 39:52 "We were God's enemies, 39:55 but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. 39:58 Now that we are God's friends, 40:01 how much more will we be saved by Christ's life!" 40:05 And then I like verse 11 but that's not all, 40:07 we rejoice because of what has God done 40:08 through our Lord Jesus Christ 40:10 who has now made us God's friends. 40:14 I love that language, jot it down, 40:15 will you in your study guides, 40:17 so that you have this translation with you. 40:18 "We were God's enemies, but he made us his friends, 40:22 through the death of his son. 40:24 Now that we're God's friends, 40:27 how much more we will be saved by Christ's life!" 40:30 Peckham is absolutely right. 40:31 God enjoys, 40:33 He's deeply affected by this reciprocal. 40:36 One on one, relationship, friendship with you, 40:40 I mean come on, wasn't that Jesus' 40:41 point in the upper room less than 24 hours 40:43 before He was executed, 40:44 what did Jesus say? Put it on the screen for you. 40:46 Fill it in your study guide. 40:47 John 15, upper room, verse 13, 40:49 "Greater love has no one than this: 40:51 to lay down one's life for one's," 40:53 what's the next word? 40:55 "Friends," keep writing. 40:57 "You are my," 40:58 what's the next word? 41:00 "Friends, if you do what I command." 41:03 And oh, by the way, 41:04 everybody in the upper room has already pledged to do 41:05 whatever their master commands, you count on me, 41:07 Peter says, "Yes, sir, I'm with you till death." 41:10 And what does Peter do in a few hours? 41:11 Cursing the name of his friend, he denies Him. 41:16 By the way, the gospel says, all the disciples fled. 41:19 All of them fled. 41:23 And just hours after resurrection, 41:24 what does Thomas say? 41:26 I don't believe it, I don't believe it, doubtsome. 41:29 You are my friends. 41:31 Yo, Lord did you say that to those guys, 41:34 you got to be kidding me? 41:35 You're not saying that about us, are you? 41:36 We're the same. 41:38 I mean please, friends, 41:40 you call us friends? 41:45 God, You have this exclusive 41:47 one on one reciprocal, reciprocal. 41:52 Romans 5:10, 41:53 I'm gonna read it again one more time, 41:54 "We were God's enemies, 41:56 but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. 41:58 Now we are God's friends, 42:00 now that we are how much more 42:01 will we be saved by Christ's life!" 42:04 Clark Rowland was absolutely right, 42:06 "God is a Being questing for friends." 42:09 Used to say that to me, 42:10 God is a Being questing for friends. 42:13 It's over the holiday break. 42:16 I took my little, my dad to Argentina for a week 42:18 and then LA for a week. 42:19 I took along my little Steps to Christ. 42:23 And I say, you know, 42:24 I'm gonna read a chapter at a time, 42:26 I'm looking for all the words, 42:27 Love or derivatives of love 42:29 and just putting a little mark on the margin. 42:31 You know what, it occurs to me, guys, 42:33 that if you wanted to, 42:35 you could do a lot worse at the beginning of the new year 42:38 than reading a chapter whenever you have the time, 42:40 just a chapter at a time for this little classic. 42:44 And on page 100, 42:46 how that's an easy reference to remember, page 100. 42:49 Let me read this for you. 42:51 It's in your study guide, I put it on the screen as well. 42:53 Isn't this something, 42:55 "The relations between God and each soul are as distinct 43:00 and full as though there were not another soul 43:02 upon the earth to share his watchcare, 43:04 not another soul for whom he gave his beloved Son." 43:11 The truth about Jesus' love for you, 43:12 the truth about the Father's love for you, is either, 43:14 I don't know how God does this, 43:15 but He is able to zone out, zone out everybody else 43:18 in the universe and he says if you're the only human being. 43:21 You're the only one, you and I, that's it. 43:24 Reciprocal, you ever call these 800 numbers and need help, huh? 43:27 800 numbers, toll-free, you call the number, 43:30 operator gets on and you can hear a hundred other voices. 43:32 Everybody, yak, yak, yak, yak, yak. 43:34 You get some young man in India 43:35 or some woman in the United States 43:37 and you're trying to explain 43:38 and you know this is what I need. 43:40 God says I'm not that way, 43:42 I'm not an 800 number 43:43 where I got a bunch of operators taking these calls. 43:45 I take every call myself and I can take them simultaneously, 43:48 and it feels to you as if there's 43:50 nobody else in the world. 43:52 I'm only talking to you. 43:54 Wow, wow. 43:57 As if there were no other soul on earth, 44:00 that's the truth. 44:02 No wonder, you can call him your friend, 44:06 F.R.I.E.N.D - friend. 44:10 In fact, jot these down. 44:12 Jot them down as fast I can read them. 44:13 These are just from Steps to Christ, Boom! 44:15 Boom! Boom! 44:16 Talking about the friendship with God, here we go, 44:17 I'm not even gonna read the page number. 44:19 Steps to Christ, here's the line. 44:20 "Jesus is our Friend," 44:21 capital F, "friend and Savior still." 44:24 Here's another one. 44:26 "What a precious friend, we have found in Jesus." 44:30 Here's another one. 44:31 "Prayer is the opening of the heart to God 44:32 as to a what? 44:34 As to a friend." 44:36 Here's another one. 44:37 "He, God the Father is our best friend." 44:40 Write in the word best. 44:42 And one more from Steps to Christ. 44:43 "Jesus is our friend." 44:48 Same author by the way. 44:49 In a letter she wrote on May 24, 1905, Ellen White, 44:52 personal letter to a woman. 44:53 "My dearest child Mabel," 44:55 you need to fill this in. 44:57 "O that we all realized that 44:59 true happiness is found in taking Christ 45:01 as our nearest and dearest friend." 45:05 Boy I love that, nearest and dearest friend. 45:11 "He loves you and will be your sympathizing," 45:14 write it in, 45:15 "your sympathizing friend." 45:18 And then here comes Adventist home, 45:20 this is great, are there any mothers here today? 45:22 Any mothers? 45:24 Look at this, 45:26 "Jesus knows the burdens of every mother's heart 45:28 and is her best friend." 45:33 Let's expand this circle. 45:35 Are there any women here today? 45:37 Any women here? 45:39 Because the next line same page is for you. 45:41 Here it goes, 45:44 "He, Jesus, is woman's best friend today 45:48 and is ready to aid her in all the relations of life.' 45:50 ' And even in the sophisticated west, 45:52 where we proud ourselves, oh man, 45:53 we're all gender, gender equal around here, 45:55 even here, when women are maligned 45:59 and shoved to the side, we just don't talk about it. 46:03 There's somebody who will always be your friend. 46:08 One more I got to share this with you, 46:10 same author, in a letter to an aged. 46:11 Anybody aged here? 46:13 I guess they were all in the first service. 46:16 Let me share this with you. 46:18 So in a letter to an aged Christian, same author. 46:21 "Just rest in Jesus' arms," and this is the best, 46:24 "just rest in Jesus' arms and know that 46:26 He is your Savior and your," 46:27 write it down, 46:29 "very best Friend," 46:31 he is your BFF forever and ever. 46:37 Your very best friend, in the whole wide world, 46:43 in the entire universe, He is your very best friend. 46:49 I'm telling you what, guys, 46:50 it doesn't get any better than this. 46:52 Talking about Charmed into Righteousness, 46:53 who wouldn't want to be friends with the God 46:55 that thinks this of me? 46:56 I mean, can you imagine that? 46:59 Before I photoshopped myself up, 47:02 He wanted to be friends? 47:04 What's up with that? 47:07 I don't know this LA Times Father 47:10 who lost his daughter. 47:14 I don't know father Watson either, 47:21 but I tell you what? 47:22 Having heard their stories and I read this testimony, 47:28 my heart aches with him. 47:31 My heart aches for that dad. 47:35 And I imagined in my simple way of thinking that, 47:38 if there were anybody on this planet 47:41 now that I could turn to in my own, 47:43 in my own herd, in my own dysfunction, 47:48 I could turn to this father, 47:51 and He have a heart and He somehow know. 47:59 There is a father in this universe who also lost 48:02 an only child, 48:05 a son, 48:08 he's the Father that says, 48:10 hey, I want to be your BFF. 48:14 I want to be your best friend forever. 48:17 Could we walk together this New Year?" 48:23 And I don't know about you, but I tell you what, 48:25 if you give me his phone number, 48:26 I promise you, 48:27 I'll be glad to call him 48:29 every single day of this New Year, 48:31 you give me his phone number, I'll call him. 48:34 Now look, I understand, He's busy, 48:35 He's got a whole universe to run, 48:37 but you can't tell me, 48:38 that somebody who has made that infinite a sacrifice 48:41 and investment in my life wouldn't love for the moments, 48:45 when he and I were alone and we just talk reciprocally, 48:49 you understand, one on one and heart to heart. 48:52 Give me His phone number. 48:53 You don't want to call Him, you give me His phone number. 48:55 I'll call him everyday. 48:57 And by the way, I understand 48:58 that I can't stay on the phone for forever, 48:59 you know, I have a life to live. 49:01 So you know what, 49:04 I'll get up earlier, 49:05 I'll get up when it's quiet and there's nobody in... 49:08 My roommate is still asleep and the family is still in bed. 49:12 I'll get up early, so that I can be alone, 49:14 be alone with my BFF 49:18 and just the two of us will talk, 49:19 He'll talk to me through the book and I'll talk back, 49:22 and reciprocally we'll grow closer and closer, 49:28 until I'm charmed into His righteousness. 49:31 That's what I would do. 49:33 Give me His number, come on. 49:35 You don't want to call Him? 49:36 Give me His number, I'll call Him everyday. 49:40 By the way you give me your email address, 49:42 give me your email address right now 49:44 and I will send to you a way to meet with God 49:47 everyday that you choose. 49:48 I'm not saying you have to do it everyday, 49:50 you want to do it one in seven, that's your choice. 49:52 Kind of a weird friendship, one in seven, but hey. 49:57 I'll send you a message. 49:58 You give me your email address. 50:00 I will send you a message so that you can be with God 50:02 every single day that you want to be alone with Him, 50:06 with your best friend forever and ever. 50:09 In fact, take your connect card right now 50:10 and scribble that email address down. 50:12 If you scribble your email address 50:13 down on the front of this card, 50:15 not gonna go through the whole card right now, 50:16 I want to end with the story, 50:17 then we'll go to the card, 50:19 but you put your email address on the front of this card, 50:23 put your email address, 50:25 and then go to box number two, 50:26 turn it over, my next step today, 50:28 I'll talk about the others later. 50:29 I would like to grow my friendship with Jesus 50:30 through prayer this New Year, 50:32 please send me a new way to pray. 50:34 You just check box number two. 50:36 I'll send you something in the mail. 50:38 Nobody's coming to knock on your door. 50:39 I'll send you something, email. 50:42 Ushers are moving to the doors 50:43 now, they're gonna pick this card up in just a second. 50:44 So please do it right now, 50:46 just scribble your email address 50:47 and then check box number two. 50:48 Now let me tell you that story, I promised a story, 50:51 I want to end with a story. 50:54 A Brazilian, little Brazilian couple, 50:57 we got a lot a Brazilians here, in this congregation. 51:01 A little Brazilian couple named Italvino and Diva Posa. 51:08 Did I say that right in Portuguese? 51:10 Portuguese, 51:12 yeah, little Brazilian couple fell in love, 51:14 got married in 1949. Tada! 51:17 Take a look at their wedding photo. 51:18 There they are, handsome couple. 51:20 Got married 1949. 51:22 Began to raise a family, eventually 10 children. 51:26 Whoo, Mamma Mia, 10 children. 51:29 Husband worked hard, 51:30 you can take the picture down now. 51:32 Husband worked hard, 51:35 so did mother, 51:36 and somewhere along the way, mother Diva, 51:40 met a friend who introduced her to Jesus 51:43 at The Seventh-day Adventist Church, 51:45 and mother Diva is baptized, as we saw just a moment ago, 51:49 baptized into Christ. 51:51 She asks Italvino, and he says, "No." 51:56 He's a businessman, 51:57 so every time he goes on a business, 51:58 she sticks into his suitcase, 52:00 literature, little book, something to read, 52:02 and so when he gets there to his destination, 52:04 pulls a book out and guess what? 52:06 Eventually, he too was baptized 52:10 and the two of them became active 52:11 in their witnessing and serving Jesus, 52:13 in their home church in Porto Alegre 52:15 in Southern Brazil. 52:17 I want you to see the picture of the couple now? 52:19 Handsome, aha, handsome, beautiful. 52:25 Ten children by the way, 52:26 14 grandchildren, 52:28 six great grandchildren 52:31 but then it happened. 52:33 Italvino contracted leukemia 52:37 and then Diva developed bladder cancer, 52:41 and so it was that the two of them 52:42 ended up in the same hospital room 52:44 this past autumn in the Adventist Review 52:46 is the one that where I found the story, 52:49 it's just this last fall, 52:50 they ended up in the same hospital room 52:51 and they would push their beds together 52:55 and so on October 3, 52:58 40 minutes apart, 53:01 these two lifelong friends died. 53:07 65 years of marriage, 53:09 slowly coming to an end, they died. 53:13 Get this, they died holding hands, 53:17 best friends forever. 53:23 There's a God in this universe who says, 53:25 if you let me take your hand, I'll walk with you. 53:28 I'll stay with you girl, I'll stay with you boy, 53:31 I'll stay with you till life is over, 53:33 just give me your hand 53:35 and I'll be your BFF forever and ever, 53:40 amen. 53:42 Let's pray. 53:43 Oh, God, is it really, 53:45 is the good news really this good? 53:49 Are you gooder than we thought? 53:51 Is Your love more infinite than we have realized? 53:57 Please, know our hearts. 54:00 We want to be best friends forever and ever. 54:03 Who better than you, 54:05 does it get any better than this? 54:08 It does not. 54:09 So hear our hearts, know our minds. 54:12 Take our hands we will walk with you this year 54:18 through Jesus, 54:19 our Savior and Friend, 54:22 we pray, amen. 54:24 I want to sing that, 54:26 I want to sing this great gospel song, 54:30 Jesus what a friend for sinners, 54:31 but I need to get the ushers go on. 54:33 Let's go ushers. 54:34 God bless you, as we receive our morning tithes 54:35 and offerings and the connect card. 54:37 Turn your connect card over, put it in and let's do it. 54:39 This is a short introduction, we're ready to sing. 54:58 Jesus! What a Friend for sinners! 55:03 Jesus! Lover of my soul 55:08 Friends may fail me, foes assail me 55:10 He, my Savior, makes me whole 55:16 Hallelujah! What a Savior! 55:21 Hallelujah! What a friend! 55:25 Saving, helping, keeping, loving 55:30 He is with me to the end 55:36 Jesus! What a Strength for weakness! 55:41 Let me hide myself in Him 55:45 Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, 55:50 He, my Strength, my vict'ry wins. 55:55 Hallelujah! What a Savior! 55:59 Hallelujah! What a friend! 56:03 Saving, helping, keeping, loving 56:08 He is with me to the end 56:15 Jesus! 56:17 I do now receive Him 56:20 More than all in Him I find 56:25 He hath granted me forgiveness 56:29 I am His, and He is mine 56:34 Hallelujah! What a Savior! 56:39 Hallelujah! What a Friend! 56:44 Saving, helping, keeping, loving 56:49 He is with me to the end. 56:58 And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 57:02 and the love of God, 57:04 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:05 be with you all. 57:08 Amen. 57:18 I wanted to take an extra moment 57:19 to let you know how grateful I am you joined us today. 57:22 I hear from viewers and listeners like 57:24 you all across this nation and literally around the world 57:27 and I'm thankful, 57:28 because it's through the generosity of the members 57:30 of this congregation and people like you 57:32 that we're able to bring you this program. 57:34 So what we shared today has touched your heart, 57:36 I'd like you to invite you 57:37 to become a financial partner with us. 57:39 Just give us a call, toll free number 877 57:42 the two words, HIS-WILL, 877-HIS-WILL, 57:45 or if you'd rather go to our website 57:47 www.pmchurch.tv. 57:50 Either way, 57:52 your generosity will bless a new generation 57:53 in cyberspace all over this planet, 57:56 so thank you. 57:57 Thank you very much for your partnership. |
Revised 2024-04-25