Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180127A
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00:10 ♪♪ ♪♪ 00:22 [ Congregation sings ] 01:58 >> "Ponder anew." [ Congregation sings ] 02:15 Amen. Praise to God Almighty, who is 02:17 and and who was the Lord that created the universe and 02:22 everything inside of it. Praise His holy name. 02:25 [ Guitar plays ] 02:34 "Lord of all creation." [ Congregation sings ] 03:43 "When I stumble." [ Congregation sings ] 05:57 >> [ Coughs ] Ugh! Oh! 05:59 >> Oh, my goodness! Are you okay? 06:00 >> Please help me! >> Oh, you poor man. 06:02 I know just what you need. 06:04 >> Water? >> Prayer! >> Oh. 06:05 >> Oh, Lord, I want my dear friend... >> Steve. 06:07 >> Steve. >> Steve, yeah. >> ...to my dear friend Steve. 06:10 He has been battered and bruised... >> [ Coughs ] 06:12 >> ...by the storms of life. >> It's actually just robbers, but... 06:14 >> And I pray that you'll bring him comfort and healing for his broken heart. 06:17 Amen! >> It's actually just my ribs are crushed. 06:19 >> Now do you feel better? >> Yeah, sure, you could say something like that. 06:21 >> What was I thinking?! I know just what you need. Stay right here. 06:23 I'll be right back! >> Funny thing -- I can't go anywhere, 'cause my legs are 06:26 broken! >> Hey! >> Hey, what's up? 06:29 >> Someone take me to a hospital. >> Everyone, this is Steve. 06:32 >> Hi, Steve, how are you? >> Now, someone please help me. >> Steve, we heard about your 06:36 troubles, so we brought you some things. >> Yeah. 06:39 >> Bandages? >> No, silly -- pamphlets. >> Pamphlets? 06:42 >> He's going to help you see the error of your ways. >> Wait, my ways? 06:44 >> And get you back on the road to righteousness. >> How 'bout a pathway to a 06:47 hospital? [ Laughter ] >> Wait, guys, everybody get 06:51 behind Steve. I want to get a photo of us helping him. 06:53 Ready? One, two... >> Not even in the picture. >> Smile. 06:56 >> That's very cool. >> One, two, three! >> There we go! 07:00 >> Perfect. >> At least tag me, you know. Just tag me. That'll be cool. 07:04 >> Wow, Steve, look at all the likes you're getting. Look! >> Look at the comments! 07:09 >> You did not tag me. >> Wow. >> Wait, guys, I know. 07:12 Let's sing him a song of encouragement. >> That's a good idea. 07:15 >> I really don't want to hear you guys sing. >> Steve. 07:17 >> Rather go to a hospital. >> What's your favorite praise song? 07:20 >> Is there one about having a mild concussion? >> Oh, Steve! 07:22 [ Laughter ] >> I am not joking. >> Oh, wait, guys. 07:25 >> Definitely not joking. >> Did you notice the time? >> We're going to be late! 07:28 >> Oh, sorry, Steve, but we got to go. >> Where else could you go? 07:32 I'm dying. At least take me with you. >> Oh, oh, Steve, Steve. 07:35 Before we leave, we took up a collection for you just to help you with your troubles. 07:39 >> $6? >> Oh! Uh, that one is actually mine. 07:42 Thanks. >> Oh! $1. >> Keep you in our prayers! 07:47 >> See ya later, Steve! >> Bye! >> Bye, Steve! 07:48 >> Nice meeting you! >> Take me with you! Ugh! 07:51 Ohh! Oh, my heart! [ Coughs ] 07:58 >> You know, it feels nice to give back, doesn't it? >> Yeah, we really did good 08:02 today. 08:07 >> It's a miracle! He's alive again. Alright, very good. 08:10 Okay, now, is it good to pray for people? Absolutely. 08:15 Is it good to give money to help those that are in need? 08:18 Absolutely. Is it good to share books and 08:20 things that will help them? Absolutely. 08:22 But what about the story of "The Good Samaritan"? What if he had done those things 08:26 instead of what he actually did? What if he saw the man on the side of the road and he said, 08:29 "Oh, here's a bag of money, and here's a scroll with some great words of wisdom on it, and let 08:33 me pray with you, and let's sing a quick hymn," and then he went on the way on his journey? 08:38 Well, he wouldn't have been a bad Samaritan, but he wouldn't have been a good Samaritan. 08:42 He would have just kind of been okay. But it would have been a lot 08:46 easier, right? Because it's a lot easier to pray that God that will send 08:49 someone to help than to actually go and help yourself. And sometimes, we need to be 08:54 careful that we don't use that as an excuse to not help people the way that God wants us to, 08:59 because sometimes He puts people in our path that He wants us to reach out. 09:03 And He wants us to not just be okay Samaritans. He wants us to be good 09:07 Samaritans -- not to do what is easy, but what's good. So, thank you for being a great 09:12 audience, and you guys can head back to your seats. 09:23 [ French horn and organ play ] 09:45 ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ ♪ As a seal upon your arm ♪ 10:01 ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ ♪ As a seal upon your arm ♪ 10:19 ♪ For love is strong as death ♪ ♪ Love is strong as death ♪ ♪ For love is strong as death ♪ 10:31 ♪ Strong as death ♪ ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ 10:41 ♪ Seal upon your heart ♪ ♪ For love is strong as death ♪ ♪ For love is strong as death ♪ 11:01 ♪ Is strong as death ♪ [ Organ plays ] 11:32 ♪ Many waters ♪ ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ ♪ Many waters ♪ 11:36 ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ ♪ Many waters ♪ ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ 11:40 ♪ Nor can floods drown it ♪ ♪ Many waters ♪ ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ 11:45 ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ ♪ Floods cannot drown it ♪ ♪ Many waters ♪ 11:57 ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ ♪ Many waters ♪ ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ 12:02 ♪ Many waters ♪ ♪ Cannot quench love ♪ [ French horn and organ play ] 12:42 ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ 12:48 ♪ Seal upon your heart ♪ ♪ As a seal upon your heart ♪ ♪ Set me as a seal ♪ 13:02 ♪ Upon your heart ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ ♪ Upon your heart ♪ 13:08 ♪ For love is strong as death ♪ ♪ For love is strong ♪ ♪ Is strong as death ♪ 13:34 [ French horn and organ play ] 14:02 >> Thank you, Analiz. Beautiful horn playing. 14:07 Thank you, Jessica, for leading the choir. Let's pray. 14:13 Oh, God, that's our prayer. Set us as a seal upon your heart. 14:16 Love is as strong as death. In you, love is stronger than death. 14:23 So, how, then, shall we live on this World Missions Sabbath as we wrap up a week of prayer on 14:30 this university campus? Open our eyes. How, then, should we live? 14:36 Show us, show us, show us. We pray together in Jesus' name. Amen. 14:42 So, a few days ago in Tokyo, I'm riding from the 9th floor down 14:46 to breakfast on the 2nd floor -- a Denny's. 14:49 And I'm looking at the elevator. I'm saying, "Wow! Ooh!" 14:55 I saw a notice posted by the management of the hotel in 14:59 Japanese and in English. I read the English. 15:01 It was so jarring and startling, I grabbed my camera out of my 15:05 back pocket. "Chk, chk!" I got the picture. 15:07 I'm going to show it to you right now. 15:08 Take a look at this. It's in the elevator of that 15:12 very modern hotel. 15:19 Hmm. 15:40 "There may be a missile going overhead tonight, but sweet dreams. 15:44 Good night." [ Laughter ] Wow. 15:47 You can't believe that. But the truth is, the Japanese people, from the beginning of 15:54 time, have had to live with a war footing. Many times, they have been the 16:00 victims. And yes, they have been the aggressors, as well. 16:05 [ Inhales sharply ] Truth is, it's not just Japan that's living on a war footing. 16:10 Thanks to the uncertainty about North Korea, nobody's sure anymore about anything on this 16:14 Earth. You know that, I know that, and you know what, God knows it. 16:19 God knows that the entire planet is on a war footing for a cosmic conflict the likes of which we 16:25 have never seen before. I want to run them by you as you put the title slide for this 16:31 little World Missions Report on the screen. 16:37 I want to run three texts by you. Boom, boom, boom. 16:40 See if Japan is not in these three promises from the Old Testament. 16:43 Check it out. Let me know if I'm wrong afterwards. 16:46 Okay, let's look at the first text. Open your Bible to 16:49 Psalms -- Psalm 113. Come on, take a look. Didn't bring a Bible? 16:53 Grab a pew Bible in front of you. Scroll down. 16:56 If you have your device with you, Psalm 113, verse 3. Ooh! Here it is! 17:10 I'm pretty jazzed that that one line captures both of my homelands. 17:14 Did you know that? From the rising of the sun, on a circular planet, which this 17:20 one happens to be, in the Northern Hemisphere. Do you understand that the day 17:24 on Earth begins -- because of the time zones, the day on Earth begins, most significant nation, 17:29 it would be Japan first. That's where the world's day begins, with the sunrise in 17:34 Japan. And guess where the sun sets. The last major nation on the 17:37 planet to see the sun set before the next day begins, it would be the U.S. of A. 17:43 You're right. Both of my homelands, 14 years -- born in and then 14 17:47 years in Japan -- and by the way, those pictures were a total surprise. 17:50 I had no idea that was going to be happening today. 14 years there, and then I left. 17:56 But now the sojourn of my life is in this homeland that I share with you, from the rising of the 18:02 sun to its setting. In fact, the Japanese are known, and they call themselves, 18:06 "The Land of the Rising Sun." Their national flag, and you recognize it -- Hi no maru, 18:12 "circle of the sun." Put it on the screen. Ubiquitous. 18:14 You can see -- this is the one flag that's recognized anywhere on Earth. 18:17 Some of them, we kind of struggle with -- how many stripes, how many stars, what's 18:20 up with that? But not this one. The whole world knows that's 18:23 Japan. During the war years, the Imperial Army used this flag. 18:27 Put that one on the screen. You get the sunrise feel there. I have that little flag hanging 18:31 on my desk at home in my study. Land of the Rising Sun. "And God declares that the day 18:38 is coming when the people in the land of the rising sun and the people in the land of the 18:41 setting sun and all the people in between will praise the God of Heaven." 18:46 Isn't that something? Here's the second text. Malachai, chapter 1, last book 18:50 of the Old Testament. Malachai, chapter 1. Take a look at this. 18:54 Malachai 1. You'd be surprised how many places this east/west sun 19:00 metaphor is used throughout the Old Testament. 19:03 Here it is -- Malachai, chapter 1, verse 11. 19:05 God is speaking. "My name will be great among the 19:08 nations, from where the sun rises" -- that would be Japan -- "to where it sets" -- 19:11 that would be the United States -- "in every place" -- even in between... 19:23 "From the rising of the sun to the setting, I will be there." One last text -- Isaiah, 19:29 chapter 59. Isaiah 59. Go back. The east/west metaphor captured 19:34 powerfully here. Only, look what else is disclosed when you talk about 19:39 sunrise and sunset. Look at this. Isaiah, chapter 59, verse 19. 19:45 Isaiah, 59, verse 19. Here we go. 19:57 There it is again. They will revere His glory. 20:00 Now, look at that. I got the New King James on the 20:03 screen. 20:11 Unlike other sunrise/sunset passages -- and there are a bunch more -- this one reveals 20:18 that the Creator, God of the Universe, is going to experience resistance on this 20:22 planet. There will be an enemy. The enemy is not named. 20:25 You just read it. No name, no identification. There will be an enemy that will 20:29 flood the land, will overcome the people, that will take possession of their land, their 20:34 society, their culture, and rule over it. The famous Japanese novelist 20:43 Shusaku Endo wrote this global best-seller that Hollywood has just turned into a 20:51 feature-length movie. Title of his book, put it on the screen for you -- "Silence." 20:57 Both the movie and the book with that title -- "Silence." In the book, he chronicles the 21:02 disturbing historical reality of the failure of the Jesuit missionary infiltration into 21:07 Japan in the 16th century. The book and the movie accurately depict the ruthless 21:13 efforts to annihilate this young Christian faith beginning to spread across Japan during 21:19 the Tokugawa shogunate, which began in 1600 A.D. In fact, one well-known tactic 21:26 that the feudal lords -- the samurai -- one well-known tactic was when they assembled 21:32 suspected Christians, they would place on the ground a plaque. It would have either Jesus on it 21:37 or Mary. That bronze or wooden plaque would be placed on the ground, 21:41 and then the command would be, "Alright, you're not a Christian. 21:44 Step on that." You know, Japanese would not step on anything that would 21:48 bring disgrace to it, whatever it is -- his mother's picture or a picture of Christ. 21:54 And then, the warlords would watch. Does the foot go over it and 21:58 tremble and then come back and then go on? And they called it fumi-e. 22:03 "E" is "picture," "fumi," "step on." Fumi e. 22:07 Here's one captured, archeological -- a bronze one. If the foot went down... 22:14 [ Stomps ] ...they may have been a Christian, but they just decided 22:17 living is better than dying, and that's -- "You may go." But for the one who hesitates, 22:21 the woman who says no, the man who steps back, the young adult who says, "I'll not step on 22:25 that" -- "Shcccck!" And it was bloody, ruthless martyring. 22:34 How's that text go, again? 22:36 Isaiah, 59:19? 22:49 Therein, in those short lines, lies the cosmic, the dark cosmic 22:55 conflict that is pinned down and held in the iron grip of the 23:01 enemy. 23:02 The archipelago, the islands of Japan, for centuries. But the promise we just read 23:11 indicates that this Creator, God, when the enemy comes in like a flood, this Creator, God 23:18 Himself, will raise into the air a war banner that challenges the grip of the enemy holding that 23:26 land somewhere between the sunrise and sunset. Interestingly enough, when the 23:36 apocalypse describes the dragon in Revelation, chapter 12 -- and in Japan, the dragon is a 23:44 mythical, mythical, extremely recognized national symbol -- when the apocalypse reveals the 23:53 dragon in verse 16. The apocalypse reads, "And the dragon spewed water. 24:02 A flood came out of the dragon's mouth to destroy the seat of the women, those who are loyal to 24:08 Christ Himself." When the enemy comes in like a flood... 24:13 [ Whooshes ] ...blood-dipped war banner is held up. 24:19 Wow. You'll pardon me for my very parochial reading of scripture. 24:25 But to me, it is an absolute assurance, a divine promise that one day, God will have the 24:29 last word in Japan. He will have the last word in that land and every pagan 24:34 stronghold on this planet. A year or two ago, the president of the Japan Union Conference, 24:42 Masumi Shimada, but we call him "Shimada Sensei." It's an honorific suffix to any 24:47 name of a pastor, a doctor, a teacher. Sensei, sensei, sensei. 24:53 He wrote me -- we grew up together as boys. He wrote me, said, "Dwight, 24:57 you got to come over here. The pastors of the Japan Union Conference are 25:01 attempting something we have never attempted before." He didn't have to tell me. 25:05 The first time in the history of the church in Japan. Listen very carefully. 25:09 In the month of May, that's four months -- three months away -- in the month of May, 163 25:16 evangelistic events will simultaneously be conducted on the islands of the great nation 25:25 of Japan. 163. >> Amen! 25:29 >> [ Exhales deeply ] "I need you to come over and talk to the pastors." 25:34 I'll tell you what, I love this man. Does he have a passion for 25:38 Japan. He got up at the end of the meetings, at the very end, he 25:43 got up, and he said stuff I have never heard a church leader ever say anywhere on this planet. 25:50 He bared his soul. 25:56 The truth is, the Adventist Church in Japan is, right now, fighting for life, 26:02 meaning its members are passing away, with fewer and fewer new members to take their places. 26:09 It's just -- this is the graph. It's just going like this. They know that one day, they 26:14 will have the last funeral and somebody will turn the lights out for that church, for the 26:21 nation. Do you know that the median age of church members in Japan is 26:26 71? The median age -- half above, half below. 26:34 What's our membership, Dwight? Well, it's somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000. 26:39 Closer to 10,000, I'm telling you. You see, Christianity in 26:43 Japan -- unlike Korea, unlike the Philippines, unlike China -- is barely a single percent of 26:48 the national population of 127 million. 10,000, what proportion would 26:53 10,000 be to 127 million? Don't even bother figuring it. It's just negligible. 27:00 And by the way, lest we feel rather smug about the church in America -- North America, or 27:05 wherever it is you're from, but I'm thinking of the west right now -- let us be reminded that 27:10 the median age in the Adventist -- this faith community -- right now, the 27:14 median age is either 54 or 57. We're not far behind. That's the point. 27:19 In fact, the church, the indigenous populace of the church in the United States is 27:23 shrinking. We are fast becoming an immigrant church. 27:27 You know that, I know that. It's not just the United States. It's the United Kingdom. 27:32 It's not just the United Kingdom. It's Western Europe, it's 27:34 Eastern Europe. The secular west and the secular east share the same fate, the 27:42 same enemy, the same overwhelming flood that is seeking to kill and crush any 27:50 seed of the king left in that nation. My. 27:57 Let me read this to you. Verse 19 in the NIV because the Hebrew can go either way. 28:02 You have two very variant translations, but they're both right. 28:07 Verse 19, this is the NIV. 28:16 "I've been waiting and waiting and waiting, and now this is my 28:20 day." 28:25 ...or spirit... 28:32 God is not going stand by and let 127 million people perish. 28:36 "I'm so sorry. We just didn't have enough resources to get to you." 28:39 [ Inhales, exhales deeply ] "Wish you were coming home." He's not going to do it. 28:43 He will not do it. I read you three texts that say "From the land of the rising sun 28:47 to the land of the setting sun and everywhere in between, I will have the human race." 28:53 Hmm. The only hope of both the west and the east is, as we just 29:00 read, God'll have to storm this generation, this civilization, this secular, this neo-pagan, 29:06 former-Christian society in the U.S., not to mention Japan. He will have to storm it with 29:12 the supernatural. He will have to do as he did with the pagan Roman Empire in 29:15 the Book of Acts. "There's only one resort. You want to throw me dark 29:19 miracles my way? Let me show you the real thing." And in Acts, the code language 29:23 for God showing up and rolling up his sleeves and saying, "Alright, demons. Top this," 29:30 it's called "signs and wonders." A moment ago, I told you I'd be talking about signs and wonders. 29:37 Signs and wonders. It's no surprise that Jesus' last words in the Book of Acts 29:42 before he's caught up into that cloud, Acts 1:8. Look at this. 29:46 Jesus speaking to his followers. "You're staying. I'm leaving." 30:01 The daily baptism of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is 30:05 promising his followers will provide his catalyst. 30:08 That's been our theme in the Week of Prayer -- catalyst, catalyst, catalyst. 30:12 Jesus is the catalyst. >> Amen! >> He will provide the catalyst, 30:17 through the spirit, for penetration, our penetration, into every level of society, 30:25 every culture on this Earth. The daily baptism of the Holy Spirit. 30:30 So, guess what. That was my theme for the 13 sermons I preached over there to 30:34 the 85 pastors in Japan, to the 12 theology majors that I met with in the college outside 30:41 Tokyo -- Saniku Gakuin, by the way, a college with 201 students, 70% of whom are 30:48 non-Christian -- pagan. 70%. Yeah. 30:53 How to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. You know that my heart has been 30:58 burdened since last August by that reality. I never knew about it before. 31:02 Oh, I'd heard about baptism of the Holy Spirit, of course, but daily? 31:06 And then, I came across that little book, and that book has changed my life. 31:09 It's changed my ministry. It's changed my worldview. It's changed everything. 31:12 And that's why I've been on it with you. Back again, I'm not going to let 31:15 you forget. This isn't going to be just something we pass on. 31:18 "What's the next theme?" No. Because it's only when the Spirit of the Lord raises up a 31:25 war banner against the flooding enemy that the conflict is reversed and God wins. 31:31 >> Amen! >> But it has to start with people who are baptized every 31:34 single day by the Holy Spirit, who every day when they wake up say, "Fill me today, fill me 31:38 today, fill me today, fill me today." >> Amen! 31:41 >> So, that was my theme of the 80 pastors and the 12 theology majors -- "How to be baptized by 31:44 the Holy Spirit." And wouldn't you know it, I got three stories to share with you 31:48 now, and I'll sit down. Wouldn't you know it? My first day, it's a Friday. 31:51 I left Wednesday morning, get there Thursday night. You know how this crazy 31:55 date line works. So, I wake up Friday morning, sun streaming through the 32:03 curtains. And I'm using Robert McCheyne's method of reading through the 32:07 Bible, first time I've ever used this. And so, Genesis 11, that Friday, 32:13 is my chapter. Well, everybody knows that chapter of Genesis, 11, that's 32:17 the Tower of Babel. "Well, good, I know that story," but as I'm reading down, I come 32:20 across words I wrote a year ago when I read my friend Jacques Doukhan's masterful 32:24 commentary on Genesis that just came out last year. So it was his thought, and I 32:29 scribbled it in the margin. And so I stop and read in the margin. 32:32 Now, Jacques makes this profound point. Get this. 32:35 "God confounded human language at Babel" -- true or false? It's true. 32:40 "God confounded human language at Babel but reversed the curse at Pentecost." 32:45 Mm! That's right -- he did. And just like that, a prayer 32:52 welled up in my soul. I mean, this was unplanned. [ Pops lips ] 32:56 And I'm saying, "God, Holy Spirit, isn't that something? 33:01 You reversed the curse at Pentecost. We're living in a time of the 33:04 reversal of the curse. I need you to reverse the curse for me. 33:07 I left this land when I'm 14 years old. I could speak Japanese fluently. 33:11 I can't get -- I need to -- I need to bond with these spiritual leaders. 33:15 I need to connect. I need words to come that I don't have. 33:18 Would you reverse the curse with me, please? >> Amen! 33:21 >> The next morning, I'm preaching now in the hospital, in the church beside the 33:26 hospital where I was born. Yeah. Great translator. 33:30 He's the president of the hospital. Machino sensei, fluent in 33:35 English and Japanese. 33:37 But I said, "Man, I'm going to just plunge into this," and so 33:39 I started yakking in Japanese. I was surprised to find, 33:42 actually, that they recorded that, and there's a website 33:44 called the Amanuma Seventh-Day Adventist Church website, where 33:46 that is all there. I thought about playing a 33:48 portion now, but I said, "Nah, you'd just be showing off." 33:51 [ Laughter ] "That's all you'd be doing, 33:53 Dwight. We don't need that. 33:55 This isn't about you." And he's right. 33:57 But I saw there, I said, "Wow, you did answer that prayer 34:01 Friday morning, didn't you?" All of a sudden, words were 34:03 coming -- "I've never spoken that word in my lifetime since I 34:05 left this place. Where did that come from?" 34:08 Reverse the curse! 34:10 The daily baptism of the Holy Spirit, what's it about? It's connecting with Him every 34:13 single day. Whatever life is for you, you connect with Him. 34:16 "I got to have you today. I need you to reverse the curse in my life. 34:20 Make me an agent in your hands, o God." In this hospital, in this 34:27 classroom, in this factory, in this marriage, make me an agent for You. 34:33 Wow. God bless the Holy Spirit. God bless our translators, by 34:38 the way. You know, I had two -- two -- Shino Sensei and then I had 34:43 Yamagi Sensei out at the college for a bit. But guess what. 34:47 Do you know that the bulk of the translating -- Now this is gonna blow your head 34:50 out of the pew -- the bulk of my translating was done by three young American 34:55 Anglo boys. Three of them. Fluent in the language. 35:01 Two of them, Ben Nichols and Joe Miller, are over there because they want to pastor a 35:05 Japanese church. And they stood up beside me for every presentation. 35:09 The third one, Chad Christensen, grew up in this church. 35:12 His parents are so proud of him, Brad and Sonia Christensen. That's Chad. 35:16 He got his education over there. He went to college over there. He went to university over 35:20 there. He's fluent in Japanese. Stand up beside me every day. 35:23 We have five 90-minute sessions for those 12 theology majors. Had it. 35:30 God bless our translators. God bless the Holy Spirit. Oh, I got to show you a picture. 35:35 Yeah, I don't want to forget this. There's a picture. I want you to 35:37 see -- Chad is all the way to the left, all right? So, that's the Christensen son, 35:41 and there they are -- 12 theology majors. One of the theology majors is a 35:45 young woman. Praise God. Yeah. 35:48 Yeah. God bless the translators and God bless the Holy Spirit. 35:52 All right, here comes story number two. There are only three of these. 35:55 Story number two -- So, a few early mornings later -- and by the way, when you're jet-lagged, 35:59 you know all about early mornings. It's just life, okay? 36:02 So, a few early mornings later, I'm having worshiped and prayed. And somehow -- I don't remember 36:08 the context -- but I thought I'd remind the Holy Spirit that I left this land when I was 14, 36:12 like he needed to know. Okay? But I came out, I just said, you 36:16 know, "It's been -- Like, I left this place when I was 14." And the moment I said those 36:20 words, the Spirit spoke inside of me. I didn't hear a voice, but he 36:24 spoke it. "I know you left when you were 14, Dwight, but guess what -- 36:28 I have never left this place." >> Whoa. >> I stayed when you left. 36:34 Missionaries come, missionaries go, missionaries die. One of our dear friends, 36:39 Warren Hilliard, fell over one day at the college of a heart attack. 36:41 He's buried in Japan. "But I never left. I never leave anywhere I am, 36:52 and I'm everywhere. You will never be without me. The world will never be without 36:59 me. The enemy has no cubic millimeter of land he can say is 37:06 mine. I claim it all, in the name of King Jesus. 37:09 I'm boots on the ground, boy. I never leave. Instead, Dwight, while, before 37:15 you were ever conceived even in the mind, I've been in this Land of the Rising Sun. 37:22 I was when the first human beings moved into those islands. I was there. 37:25 I have been working. I have been embedding. I have been embedding the God of 37:29 the universe, the Creator, God, in the very DNA of every city, of every village, of every 37:33 Japanese mind, of every Japanese heart. I have embedded myself. 37:39 And I have set up a string of dominoes the likes of which you will never see." 37:43 All week long, we've been enjoying dominoes on this stage as a very clever and effective 37:47 illustration that our chaplains put together. "I have set up a string of 37:51 dominoes, Dwight, you cannot believe. And when the moment is right -- 37:54 and I'll decide when that moment is right, you will not. When the moment is right, I will 37:58 touch the master domino. And when I touch that, it's over." 38:02 [ Imitates static ] "The entire islands, I'll have them. 38:13 Everything I've done for centuries will bear fruit because a 38:18 great-great-great-grandfather once whispered something to a great-great-great-grandson who 38:24 passed it on. I have been at work, and I'm not through. 38:30 And when I'm done, the whole house of cards comes down. For me." 38:39 Wow. "I never left, boy. I never left." 38:44 Well, let me read that again -- Isaiah 59:19. 38:52 ..."the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a blood-stained banner 38:55 against him." I was praying this morning 38:57 early. It just hit me. 38:58 I said, "God, this banner -- this banner -- what is this 39:01 banner?" Ahh, it came to my mind. 39:03 John 12:32 -- "I, if I be lifted up," Jesus said, "I will draw all people to me." 39:11 That's why in Revelation 12:11, the followers of Christ, the Fumi-ye -- the Fumi-ye martyrs 39:17 who would not do that, but said, "I'll die before stepping on him." 39:22 The Fumi-ye martyrs -- Revelation 12:11 reads, "And they overcame the dragon," the 39:27 dragon of Japan, the dragon of the world, and they overcame the dragon "by the blood of the Lamb 39:32 and by the word of their testimony. For they did not cling to life, 39:36 even in the face of death." By the thousands, they were martyred, brutally. 39:42 Historical fact. And out of it all, the Spirit who has never left has been 39:50 keeping a core. He's been massaging a movement that even the enemy does not 39:57 know of because the enemy is extremely limited in his knowledge. 40:03 And the omniscient and omnipresent God. The dominoes are set up. 40:10 Pssh. When Jesus comes riding into town in Revelation 19, back to 40:14 this earth, he's described as wearing a white robe dipped in blood. 40:19 That's the banner. It is a blood-dipped war banner. When the enemy comes in like a 40:24 flood, the Spirit of God says, "Stop! No farther. 40:29 This is my country. Goodbye. Goodbye." 40:35 Guess what. What's true of Japan is true of the United States of America. 40:39 "This is my country. Goodbye." Paganism is winning now, hands 40:46 down. Paganism has swept this nation. We'll talk about it this 40:50 afternoon on the panel for this religious-liberty gathering. Paganism is now the hottest item 40:56 in America, and it's sweeping the nation up -- the young, especially. 41:01 Just sweeping them up. Why? Because that's how it works. 41:05 "Give me the young, and I'll take the nation." The Spirit says, "Wrong. 41:11 Stop! Not having the young. Not these young, they're mine. 41:15 They're under the blood. They'll die for me if you make them. 41:20 They're mine. Yeah. So when you pray daily for the 41:25 baptism of the Holy Spirit, you make yourself available to Him in a strategic raising up of a 41:30 supernatural divine war banner against the enemy. It's no wonder Paul himself 41:33 exclaimed -- Oh, I love this text. 2 Corinthians 10:4, on the 41:37 screen, please... 41:46 When the enemy comes in like a flood, the weapons have divine power to stop him in his tracks. 41:53 Now, he's gotten ahead of it. He's ahead of the game for you and me. 41:58 But when you and I go into these lands, we go in with the winning edge already on our side. 42:06 A war banner dipped in blood. I have the privilege of being over there with my friends Jerry 42:13 and Janet Page who are the ministerial department director of the general conference, my 42:18 friends and our friends here. They were members here for years, Ron and Lisa Clouzet. 42:22 They are the directors of the ministry department for the Northern Asia division. 42:26 And Taj Pacleb did a week of prayer here a year ago. His wife, Wati, Evangelists, 42:30 young Evangelists from Hawaii. In fact, I'll show a picture of the 85, 89 pastors, whatever. 42:35 You see them on the screen. I want you to see Shimada. The guy's a hero to me. 42:39 He's in the light gray sports jacket right in the middle standing beside Taj, all right? 42:44 But there are all the -- There are all the spiritual leaders. 163 Evangelistic events in one 42:51 month. Unbelievable. And by the way, the president of 42:55 the general conference himself will be there, and I'll be there in May, one week, at the 43:01 college. Anyway, we took turns presenting during the meetings. 43:04 And it was just a privilege to work with these. But if these strongholds that 43:08 the enemy is desperately hanging on to in Japan are to be brought down by supernatural weapons 43:12 that can demolish strongholds, then these pastors -- you're looking at them, keep it on the 43:16 screen for a moment -- these pastors have got to grasp and appropriate the intervention 43:21 that group praying brings à la the book of Acts. The Japanese people are very 43:25 private people. They don't do a lot of group praying. 43:28 But that's gonna have to change. Acts is clear -- Orient, West, East, it doesn't matter. 43:35 The strategy is you come together to pray. You come together. 43:42 And our fear was that after all this preaching -- and it just coincidentally, all 43:46 coincidentally, the Spirit aligned it so that we were all dealing with prayer and the 43:49 baptism of the Holy Spirit and all -- The fear was that there would be so much information 43:56 poured in that the poor pastor goes home and says, "What I do?" The Japanese word is "Shikata ga 44:01 nai" -- "There's nothing I can do. It just can't be helped. 44:03 I'm sorry. I don't know what to do." And so, another early morning, I 44:08 woke up, and God just is right there. 2:55. 44:13 He says, "You know what, Dwight, I'm telling ya. You guys are giving some -- 44:19 It's my material, but it's a lot -- it's a lot for people to 44:23 remember. They'd need a paper. They need something that will be 44:26 one, two, three, here's what you do. They don't have to use it, but 44:31 they need it. You need to put something together right now." 44:35 So I grabbed a yellow pad -- [ Imitates pen scribbling ] I started texting the Couzets 44:40 and the Pages -- Everybody's awake at this time, anyway. And so, "Yeah, we'll help." 44:45 [ Babbles ] So everybody's working. I said, "Send it back to me. 44:48 I'll put it in the document." We got together for prayer first thing in the morning, and then 44:53 we hit send on the e-mail to Shimada Sensei. Shimada Sensei -- 44:56 [ Speaks Japanese ] And here it is in English. And that wasn't English. 45:07 "Would you please, we need this by noon -- by noon." [ Speaks Japanese ] 45:12 God bless him. He found a translator -- Himaji Se-- another young boy, 45:15 the kid brother of the other -- found him and he sat down for three hours, translated that 45:19 into a four-page paper in Japanese. I got a copy. I'll keep it. 45:23 I can never read it. But just keep that paper. They handed it out. 45:27 The paper, good to go, but I wasn't, because Jerry turned to me and said, "You know what, 45:33 Dwight? I'm supposed to have the last presentation." 45:36 I knew I had one in the morning. But before I'd even had my one, he said, "I think you need to 45:40 have it. You need to have the last one. You need to do the appeal. 45:42 You're the guy that speaks Japanese. Come on. 45:44 Make -- You've got the connect. You make the appeal." I said, "Jerry, what would I 45:48 have to appeal?" Ron's got an idea, Jerry's got another idea. 45:51 [ Exhales sharply ] I said, "Man, this is gonna get me through my own presentation 45:55 first." And then it came to the lunch hour, and I said, "You guys go 45:58 eat." And I went up to the -- They have a big four-platform, 46:02 four-story parking garage beside the hospital and this church. I went up on the roof of the 46:07 parking garage and just started walking around saying, "God, what am I supposed to do? 46:10 I mean, please. What kind of appeal? Everybody's got different 46:12 suggestions. You can't -- The Japanese ministers are very reserved. 46:16 They're not gonna come forward just because an American gets out front and says, 'Come to the 46:20 front.' So what are you gonna do?" And I wish I could tell you that 46:23 suddenly something emerged in my mind, said, "Oh! That's it!" And then a feeling of peace 46:29 stole over me. 10 minutes to go, I walked back. But that's not true. 46:33 I just had no idea. 10 minutes later, I'm walking up onto the platform with my young 46:37 American translator right at my heels, and I open my mouth. And God starts working. 46:44 He says, "Hey, do this. Do that." I said, "But what about the 46:48 appeal?" "Don't worry about it. Just keep going." 46:51 And the appeal came from out of where? And it turned out to be 46:55 appeal -- If anyone here would deny you -- would -- would take -- would 46:59 follow me, let him deny himself. Take up the cross and then follow me. 47:04 Fumi-ye. I will not follow. No foot I follow. 47:12 And I said, "Is there any -- Is there a pastor here who'd be willing to say"... 47:16 [ Stomps foot ] as I step on that, I will follow and take up the cross. 47:22 It just -- Pbht. It was a moving moment for me. The president got up right after 47:28 and bared his soul. You know what? It's 'cause you were praying. 47:31 Lot of you didn't know I was there, but those who did were praying. 47:36 You were praying. The daily baptism of the Holy Spirit is not some little 47:40 option that you throw in just in case you might need it someday. It's your life, 24/7. 47:45 It's every day. Luke 12:11-12, "Don't worry about what you're gonna say. 47:51 When you stand there, the spirit of my father will give it to you on the spot," and that's what 47:55 happened. That's what He does. He does it for a living. 47:58 It's not a big deal to Him. It's to you -- It's a big deal to us. 48:03 We got to ask Him every day, "I don't know what's gonna happen. The next patient that walks into 48:07 that door. I don't know what's gonna happen when the professor walks 48:10 into this room. I don't know what's gonna happen when my roommate comes back. 48:13 I don't know what's gonna happen, but you got to give me something." 48:15 "I'll give it to you, just relax. Trust me." 48:19 Every day, you begin the day, "Fill me today with the fullness of the Spirit of 48:22 Christ Jesus." I learned how to pray that prayer in Japanese, and the 48:25 reason I learned how to pray it is because a friend of mine who's sitting here right now, 48:29 Toru Hasegawa, here working on his Ph.D. at the seminary. He was one of my preaching 48:34 students years ago when he and Grace were here. They have two beautiful little 48:37 daughters now. Toru sent me a New Year's -- 'Cause New Year's -- Christmas 48:40 is not the big day, it's New Year's in Japan. He sent me a New Year's card. 48:43 He sent us a New Year's card -- Karen and me -- and he wrote on the back this 48:47 prayer for the Holy Spirit. I saw it. I said, "That's how you say it." 48:52 And I've been praying this prayer in Japanese ever since, and I'm gonna sit down right 48:56 now, but not before making sure you will pray it in Japanese with me for the rest of the 49:00 journey. I'm gonna put the prayer on the screen. 49:02 Use all the muscle you have in that brain right now and memorize this, please. 49:06 Now, there is a study guide in your worship bulletin, and this prayer is written there, so 49:10 don't panic. Here's the Japanese... 49:14 Seirei means "Spirit." No is the possessive, and kamisama is "God." 49:17 "Spirit of God." 49:21 Kite means "Come." Kite, kite, kite, kite. That's what you say to boys. 49:25 Kite koi, "Come on over here." 49:29 It's the very polite -- "Would you please?" 49:31 So what are we saying in English? 49:33 Put it up, please. 49:36 Seirei no kamisama, kite kudasai. 49:38 I got to hear th-- I got to hear you say it at 49:39 least twice before I sit down. Okay, one time. 49:41 Just gonna look at the screen, not at me, and say what you hear 49:45 me saying. Seirei no kamisama, kite 49:49 kudasai. You got it. 49:50 Let's do it one more time. Seirei no kamisama, kite 49:55 kudasai. You have it on a study guide 49:57 now. You can put it where you pray 49:58 every day and say, "Okay, to humor Dwight, I'm gonna pray 50:01 this prayer in Japanese. "Lord, I hope you understand 50:03 Japanese." And He'll say, "I do." 50:06 Seirei no kamisama, kite kudasai. 50:08 Let's say it in English -- "Spirit of God -- 50:11 Spirit of God, please come." "Spirit of God, please come. 50:15 Today, fill me today." What's the promise? 50:18 If you and I are filled with the Holy Spirit and we ask -- we 50:22 ask for that daily baptism, that prayer means that every morning 50:26 when you pray, "Come into my life today," the day will come. 50:29 I promise you, when Japan and the United States and 50:31 Andrews University and the Pioneer Memorial Church and the 50:34 nations that are represented here, the day will come when 50:38 you -- You got to see this. This is the promise Jesus makes. 50:41 You're not gonna believe this. Jesus spoke these words, 50:44 Matthew 8:11... 50:48 That would be Japan. "Many will come from the 50:51 West" -- He's talking to the Jews -- "and will take their 50:54 places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the 50:57 Kingdom of Heaven." There will be thousands, tens of 51:00 thousands from this planet who will sit at the banqueting 51:04 table. 51:08 Because somebody was praying and the Spirit of God raised a war banner in the face of an 51:14 enemy coming in like a flood, and He says, "That's as far as you go." 51:19 Somebody is asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. Somebody in America is begging 51:26 for their baptism and a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit every morning. 51:32 Pray that prayer. And many -- Did you catch that word? 51:35 Many -- Many will come from the East and the West. On that day, when you and I will 51:44 join them -- oh, my. Pray that prayer, and the Holy Spirit says, "You become my 51:50 agent with the uplifted blood-stained banner. You go, and I go through you." 51:57 This has been Student Missionary Week. I know some of you wrestling 52:00 with an invitation, "Do I -- Should I take a year off?" Oh, yes, you should. 52:06 Now, it might be economically, or it might just, you know, in terms of the family and all, 52:10 just impossible, I don't know. And I'm not being glib with, "Oh, yes, you should," but I 52:14 tell you what -- If the Spirit of God has been speaking to you this week, and 52:18 this place has been like a pin. You could hear a pin drop as these young students picked at 52:22 the last minute because our speaker, Elizabeth Talbot, could not come. 52:26 You -- You would've heard a church that says, "I hear you. I hear you. 52:32 I want to be a domino in Jesus, catalyst." Just takes one domino to fill 52:38 the gap. If you're not there, there's a gap and the movement stops. 52:43 You are the domino the Spirit of God has placed on this planet, and He needs you now. 52:50 You got to. I want to pray with you, but first, I want to receive these 52:55 cards. So, ushers, if you don't mind just standing right now without 52:58 any further fanfare, would you please just turn the card upside, drop it in the plate. 53:02 You have prayer requests. You have that beautiful prayer with Pastor José this morning. 53:07 There are people here who are struggling. You've got a prayer request, you 53:10 put it on that little blank portion there. We will pray for you. 53:14 All right, ushers, let's go. We're gonna sing a song as they're going. 53:17 "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go," dear Lord. That's the missionary's prayer. 53:20 I'll go, I'll go. "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" -- We'll sing that, and then 53:24 we'll stand for the benediction. [ "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" plays ] 53:32 [ Instrumental music plays ] 53:35 ♪♪ ♪♪ 53:53 [ Congregation singing ] 56:26 Spirit of the living God, you are the great Lord who calls His children. 56:38 For the hearts right now that are considering that call, stay on and stay with her. 56:45 As we just sang, we can't all go overseas. There's something right here 56:50 that we can do. Spirit of the living God, open our eyes, show us where through 56:59 us you might lift that war banner high. We go with You. 57:06 We will never be alone. Hallelujah. And now may the grace of the 57:12 Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 57:18 Amen. 57:21 >> I want to take an extra moment to thank you for joining 57:24 us in worship today. It's by the continued support 57:26 from viewers like you that we're able to bring this program. 57:28 Today I want to invite you, though, to share with us how 57:31 this ministry has blessed you. I get inspiring notes, e-mails 57:34 from viewers literally all over the world telling me, "Look, 57:37 Dwight, God has been blessing me this way. 57:39 He's been doing this." I would love to hear from you, 57:41 as well. Just visit our website, 57:43 you know it, newperceptions.tv, and click on the contact 57:47 link at the top of the page. 57:49 Send me a note. Let me what God has been doing 57:51 right now in your life. Once again, thank you for being 57:54 with us today. I hope you'll join us right here 57:57 next time. And until then, may the God of 57:59 grace journey with you every step of the way. 58:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:20 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-02-02