Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180203A
|
00:00 ♪♪
00:11 >> Father God, we come humbly bowed at the foot of the throne. We just want to thank you for 00:15 who you are, how you move in our lives. And, Lord, as we step into the 00:19 second month of this year, 2018, Lord, we just ask that you rain down even more of your Holy 00:24 Spirit, Lord, that we may be vessels for you, that we may be an instrument for you, Lord. 00:29 So, as we sing your praises this morning and as we go for the rest of our week, Lord, we just 00:34 ask that you be a part of us, that you guide us, that you go before us, that you stand beside 00:38 us, and that you walk behind us, Lord. We love you and we praise you 00:42 and your Son Jesus' precious, holy, and powerful name. We do pray. Amen. 00:47 Would you stand with me as we sing hymn number 422, 00:50 "Marching to Zion"? 01:01 [ Congregation sings ] 03:01 [ Instrumental music plays ] 03:13 [ Congregation sings ] 03:54 Amen. Praise God. We're going to sing a new song 03:58 for you, and it is -- it's a spiritual medley, so it's really 04:02 not a new song, so you know it. So I want to hear you sing out 04:05 because this is us praising our God, who we know and love. 04:09 So let's act like we know Him and let's act like we love Him. 04:12 [ Chuckles ] One, two. One, two, three... 04:17 [ Instrumental music plays ] You know I'm going to lay down 04:22 my burden, so sing it with me. [ Congregation sings ] 04:32 Amen! [ Congregation sings ] 05:16 So, why? [ Congregation sings ] 05:26 What is it? [ Congregation sings ] 07:23 Sing "by and by." [ Congregation sings ] 08:38 Isn't God good? [ Guitar plays ] 08:41 It's so easy to get discouraged, but when you put a song in your 08:44 heart and you call on the name of the Lord, He will not forget 08:48 you. He will not pass you by. 08:50 He will not forget that you are His child. 08:52 He says not one... not one bird is forgotten, not 09:00 one creature of His. We all belong to Him, so do not 09:05 forget in your weakest hours to call on the Lord and say, "Do no 09:08 pass me by, God. I need you." 09:10 So, sing this song with us, "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior." 09:19 [ Congregation sings ] 10:21 Sing "Savior." [ Congregation sings ] 11:58 It's that time now where you can come forward and cry out to 12:02 your Savior and ask Him, "Lord, these are my burdens. 12:05 This is what I need you to know. I know that you're already 12:08 aware, but I'm putting it to you again, Lord." 12:10 Please, come before the throne of God and let us finish singing 12:18 "Pass Me Not," but come and lay down your burdens before the 12:22 throne. Now is the time. 12:30 [ Congregation sings ] 13:44 [ Organ music plays ] >> ♪ With a voice of singing ♪ 13:52 ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 13:57 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 14:04 ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 14:11 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Utter it even unto the ends ♪ ♪ Of the Earth ♪ 14:27 ♪ The Lord hath delivereth His people ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ 14:39 ♪ The Lord hath delivereth His people ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ 14:47 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ [ Organ plays ] 14:59 ♪ O be joyful in God ♪ ♪ All ye lands ♪ ♪ O sing praises ♪ 15:10 ♪ To the honor of His name ♪ ♪ Make His praise ♪ ♪ To be glorious ♪ 15:25 [ Organ plays ] 15:33 ♪ With a voice of singing ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 15:42 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ 15:51 ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 15:57 ♪ Alleluia ♪ [ Organ plays ] 16:07 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Declare ye this ♪ ♪ And let it be heard ♪ 16:21 ♪ Alleluia ♪ 16:44 >> Thank you, Sanctuary Choir. Marguerite Samuel, that was beautiful. 16:47 Let it be declared. The whole world under His praise. 16:58 On the Sabbath, when this university campus is setting 17:03 aside these 24 hours, beginning last night, as you heard, and in 17:09 every worship community on this campus right now, setting aside 17:15 this Sabbath so that we can collectively come again the wall 17:21 of racial separation. On the Sabbath. 17:26 Consider the words of the great American poet Robert Frost. 17:30 He wrote the poem "Mending Wall." 17:32 These are just eight lines from this poem. 17:34 "Something there is that doesn't love a wall, that sends the 17:39 frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in 17:42 the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass 17:45 abreast. 17:46 'Before I built a wall I'd ask to know what was I walling in or walling out, and to whom I was 17:56 like to give offence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall that wants it 18:06 down.'" My name is Dwight Nelson, and I am against the wall -- 18:16 of racial separation. Let's pray. O God, the poet is right. 18:24 Something there is that doesn't love a wall that wants it down for so many reasons. 18:31 For so many people. So, what should we do now? Help us, I pray, in Jesus' name. 18:43 Amen. Danny Gokey, that overnight sensation with 18:48 "American Idol" -- you might remember that name, Danny Gokey -- wrote a hit song 18:54 based on the story he heard from a pastor in Ohio. No kidding. True story. 19:00 I shared this story at Hope Trending. It's been a while. 19:03 I've never shared it here, and I want to share it here today." The pastor in Ohio had a heart 19:08 surgeon in his congregation, and one day, he went to the heart surgeon, he said, "Yo, you 19:12 know what? I would love to observe an open-heart surgery. 19:17 Would it be okay?" "Well," the surgeon said, "Let me check with one of my 19:21 patients." He had a woman patient coming up in just a few day whose heart 19:26 needed repairing. He asked her, she says, "Sure. Just keep him out of my 19:30 business, but let him watch." And so, a few days later, sure enough, there it all was in the 19:38 surgical theater. The surgery began. The cardiac surgeon opened wide 19:43 the chest, reached inside and grabbed that defective organ and pulled it out, and began 19:49 this intricate work of repairing this woman's heart. Hours go by, but when he's 19:57 through, he puts it right back, fortunately, where he found it. [ Laughter ] 20:06 And then, he says, "Alright, let's get the heart going." They disconnect from the machine 20:14 that was beating the heart... and it wouldn't start. "Come on, do it again. 20:21 On and off again. Again." The heart doesn't start. Again, it doesn't start. 20:28 And then, in one of those moments, far outside the playbook, the surgeon kneels 20:35 down beside the woman and speaks into her ear, "Mrs. Johnson, this is your doctor speaking. 20:46 We've repaired your heart. There's nothing wrong with it. Mrs. Johnson, if you can hear 20:52 me, I need you to tell your heart to beat again." And in front of this dumbfounded 21:00 pastor, suddenly... [ Imitating heartbeat ] Danny Gokey took that story, 21:09 turned it into his hit song "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again." I just checked it on Thursday -- 21:16 over 23 million people have watched that YouTube. I've watched it a few times. 21:22 In fact, I'd sing it for you right now, but I need you to hear the rest of this sermon and 21:26 not leave, and so I'm just going to leave that song out. Because I happen to believe that 21:30 this story -- no kidding -- that this story is a message from God to His people, to His church. 21:37 "Church!" [ Inhales deeply ] "This is your Savior speaking. 21:42 I have died for your heart. We have repaired your heart. There is nothing wrong with your 21:49 heart now. So, please, church..." [ Inhales deeply ] 21:53 "...tell your heart to beat again. Open your Bible with me, please, 21:59 to the apocalypse, the Bible's last book. Come on. Check it out. 22:01 Revelation. Revelation. You got to see this. You know, a lot of people, when 22:07 we go to these seven red letter letters come from Jesus to seven different churches located there 22:13 in Asia Minor. Most of us living at this time look at the last letter and say, 22:17 "Aha! The letter to the church of "later, see ya, that's for us." 22:20 But I have a feeling we're supposed to give some attention to the first letter, the letter 22:24 to the church of Ephesus. Open your Bible to Revelation, chapter 2. 22:30 You didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you. Check it out. 22:33 Red letters in my Bible and the pew Bible. Jesus speaking here, 22:37 Revelation, chapter 2, I'm in the NIV, page 824 in your pew Bible. 22:46 So, Jesus is dictating this letter to John. 22:56 The stars are the leaders. The lampstands are the churches. I'll hold you in my hand. 22:59 verse 2. 23:14 Yet, but hold. Stop, stop. Listen to me carefully now. 23:35 Your church will be gone. [ Laughing ] Wow! New King James raised, 23:43 "Nevertheless, I have this against you that you have left your first love." 23:49 I love the way Eugene Peterson renders it in his Message translation. 23:52 Put it on the screen, please. That's what you did. 24:00 In fact, I wish you'd jot that line down right now, just the 24:02 way it is in the message. Go to the website you see right 24:04 there. There's a little series we're 24:05 doing. The first part was "Bring Your 24:07 Heart to Life," and now here's part 2, "Tell Your Heart to 24:09 Beat Again." All these are going to have a 24:11 heart in it. Go to the number two one, you'll 24:13 see a study guide there. You're watching on a television 24:16 somewhere, go to our website, www.newperceptions.tv. 24:20 Go to that website and you'll get the same study guide. Let's jot it down. 24:23 Revelation 2:4, from the Message translation, Jesus speaking. 24:33 "You have forsaken the love you had at first." I was visiting with a 24:36 heartbroken man the other day, a husband. His wife has lost her first 24:42 love. Oh, sure, they're still married. They still have a family. 24:48 They still live in the same house. But you know what, when you've 24:52 lost your first love, you know what you are? You are married singles. 24:57 And that's what they've become. Jesus is saying, "Please, please. 25:01 Your love is gone. Your heart has grown cold. Tell your heart -- please, tell 25:05 your heart to beat again." Although, I suppose we ought not to be surprised that a church 25:11 living near the end of time might have a problem with love grown cold when you recall how 25:16 Jesus describes a civilization, society, just before he returns. Take a look at this -- 25:21 Matthew, chapter 24. Just stay in your study guide here for a moment, and we'll put 25:25 Matthew 24:12 on the screen. 25:31 Just before I come. 25:36 Jot that down in your study guide, as well, will you? 25:43 I have this against you. You have left your first love. The passion has died out. 25:47 Like the rest of the world, your love has grown cold. Tell your heart, please, tell 25:52 your heart to beat again. I mean, have you noticed that it's a pretty predictable 25:58 pattern for formalized religion that eventually, you abandon the passion and devotion you have 26:05 for God. Formalized religion, churches that have been around for a long 26:08 time, you abandon the love you originally had for God. You even abandon your passion 26:12 and devotion to each other. You just become just this business of, essentially, 26:18 regressing into a bureaucratic maintenance of the institution itself. 26:21 "We just got to keep this place going. Come on. 26:23 Just keep it going. That ought to be good enough." No, it's not good enough. 26:27 You lost your first love. Tell your heart to beat again. Which is why, by the way, Jesus 26:34 had an ax to grind -- huge ax to grind -- with the leadership of the religious hierarchy and 26:42 bureaucracy of his day. And not just of leadership, but even with the membership. 26:45 In fact, Jesus now knows, He knows, "There's no way I'm going to prevent my execution." 26:53 Fait accompli. And so Jesus utters those scathing seven woes. 26:57 You remember those woes in Matthew 23? Watch woe number 4. 27:01 Take a look at woe number 4. Fill it in on your study guide. Put it on the screen. 27:05 And by the way, Luke 11's there because Luke has a tweak on it that is important for us. 27:11 So, Jesus is speaking. 27:20 Okay, so, what's important about the Ten Commandments? 27:22 What's so important about the law? 27:23 Jesus says, "Let me tell you." You have neglected justice. 27:26 Oh, boy, did we spend time with justice last night against the 27:29 wall of racial separation. Justice. 27:32 You have neglected justice. And in Matthew, he says you've 27:35 neglected mercy, but Luke comes along and said, "'Scuse me! 27:38 'Scuse me! 'Scuse me! The word -- I want the word to 27:40 be 'love,'" and it's "love" in Luke. 27:43 So, that's why in that bracket, would you stick in the word 27:44 "love," please? You've neglected justice, you've 27:48 neglected mercy, you've neglected love, and 27:50 faithfulness." 27:56 Jesus said, "Hey, time out! Time out, scholars. Time out, profs. 28:03 You who are with great exactitude pronouncing grand theological positions. 28:08 You who are defending intricate ecclesiastical orthodoxies. And all the while, you are 28:12 abandoning the profound orthopraxes -- the orthopraxes, the right 28:16 practice -- of love and mercy and justice and faithfulness. What's up? 28:22 You need to have the other, but you shouldn't have left this part out. 28:26 [ Exhales deeply ] Tell your heart, "Come on." Tell your heart to beat again. 28:37 The truth is, it was precisely because of that severe neglect and gaping emptiness of love and 28:42 compassion among the religious leaders, that the people flock to Jesus. 28:46 It's like a magnet. Jot this down. This is very interesting. 28:49 Only Luke records these words of Jesus. Luke, chapter 7, it's in your 28:52 study guides, so just keep going. Jesus speaking about Himself. 28:56 Look, look, look. "I"... And you know what you said? 29:08 Now, wouldn't you love to have that as a dis? Just a slap at you. 29:12 You know the problem with that woman? You know the problem with that 29:15 guy? He's a friend of tax collectors and sinners. 29:19 Pfft. In fact, a few days later, keep going in Luke... 29:33 Pfft. I know some churches that welcome sinners and eat them. [ Laughter ] 29:37 And that's not what Jesus is talking about. Friend -- a friend of tax 29:42 collectors who welcome sinners. Hey, listen, come on, come on, come on, time out, time out. 29:47 Could it happen to us? "I'm thinking of applying here. I'm thinking about 29:51 Andrews University." Could it happen to us that we could become the same as Jesus? 29:58 Our staff's reading a book right now -- dy-no-mite. Author of the book -- 30:02 Jerry Cook. Title of the book -- "Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness: 30:04 Equipping the Church to be Truly Christian in a Non-Christian World." 30:07 In that book, Jerry tells a story that I want to read to you. 30:13 Would that be alright? Just read a short little story here. 30:15 "A pastor in our town, whom I knew only slightly, became involved in adultery." 30:20 Adultery is a sad reality for any human being because you break the sacred bonds. 30:25 But when it happens between a spiritual leader and someone else, it's just a double whammy. 30:31 [ Clicks tongue ] "I knew him slightly. He had become involved in 30:36 adultery. As a result, his marriage went on the rocks and his ministry 30:39 was destroyed. And since he was a strong Christian leader in our area, 30:42 this brother's fall came with a resounding crash. His church splintered into a 30:46 dozen fragments, and hurt and confused people were scattered all over that city. 30:50 A year and a half after all that happened, I received a phone call one Sunday morning, 7:30," 30:55 alright? So, he gets this phone call. It was this former pastor. 31:00 "He said, 'Hey, would you mind if my wife and I came to church this morning?' 31:04 I said, 'Why would you even call and ask that question? Of course we wouldn't mind.' 31:09 'Well, well,' he said, 'You know, this is my second wife, don't you? 31:14 You know I'm divorced from the first. Are you aware of this?' 31:17 I said, 'Sure, I'm aware of it.' 'Well,' he said, 'I'll tell you, Jerry, we've been trying for 31:22 eight months now to find a place of worship. The last time we tried was a 31:25 month ago. That morning, we were asked from the pulpit to leave. 31:32 We've been met at the door of other churches by pastors who heard that my wife and I were 31:36 coming. They asked us not to come in -- said we would cause too much 31:38 trouble. Still others have heard that we might show up and called in 31:41 advance to ask us, "Please don't come."' He said, 'Frankly, I don't think 31:46 we could handle it again if we were to come and be an embarrassment to you and be 31:50 asked to leave. I just don't know what would happen. 31:52 My wife is close to a nervous breakdown.' By now, he was weeping on the 31:56 phone. 'I know that you have a video for overflow crowds,' he said. 32:02 'If you want, you can put us in a room where no one will see us and just let us watch the 32:06 service.' I said, 'Listen, listen. You be there, and I will welcome 32:11 you at the door.' And so he came with his wife and their little baby. 32:14 They came late and sat in the back. The compounding thing was that 32:18 many of the people who had been hurt through his fall were now a part of our congregation. 32:22 Nevertheless, we extended fellowship to that man, and the Lord did a cleansing and a 32:25 healing. We shed so many tears together, I never will forget how he 32:29 grabbed me and buried his head on my shoulder, a man 15 to 20 years my senior. 32:34 He wept like a baby and held to me like a drowning man. He said, 'Jerry, can you love 32:38 me? I spent my life loving people, but I need someone to love me 32:41 now.'" "Can you love me? I need someone to love me now." 32:55 I'll finish the story in just a moment. Christ's Object Lessons concurs, 33:00 by the way. Look at this on the screen. You got it in your study guide. 33:03 Fill it in. 33:06 Ellen White writes... 33:10 Would you jot that in? 33:22 When you realize there ain't no difference between you and me, except the grace I've received, 33:31 you will have pitying love for the sinner who says, "Could I come and join you?" 33:46 From whence comes a love like this, only one place, only one place. 33:50 Turn to the theme verse for this little series we'll do together. Go to Romans. Come on. 33:56 You got to see this in your Bible, not on the screen. Pull your Bible out -- Romans, 34:00 chapter 5. Look at this. Unbelievable, but it's here in 34:05 our Bibles -- Romans 5:5. 34:11 You don't have to be ashamed. Hope won't put you to shame. 34:14 Keep reading. 34:23 Isn't that something? 34:24 God's love has been poured out through the Holy Spirit, has been given to us. 34:27 I like it in the New Living Translation. In fact, it's in your study 34:29 guide. Fill it in. 34:38 Hey, listen, folks, when you are baptized daily, with a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, when 34:42 every day, you begin the day and you say, "Lord Jesus, my Father in Heaven, I need the 34:49 Holy Spirit all over again in my life." When you ask for the 34:52 Holy Spirit and ask to be baptized every day of your life, every day you ask, you are 34:59 filled with the love of God just poured out into you. You're filled with the love of 35:05 God. Ask, and you'll receive. Seek, and you'll find. 35:10 Knock and it will be opened to you. 35:12 'Just ask me. Ask me. Every day, ask me." 35:15 >> Amen! >> I mean, how could you help it 35:21 when he pours in the love of God inside of you? 35:24 How could you help it when as soon as you walk out of that 35:26 door and you start interacting with human beings -- I don't 35:28 care who the human beings are -- that love is just going to 35:31 splash out of you over whomever you meet. 35:36 Huh. Put that verse up again. Please. 35:40 Romans 5:5, from the New Living. 35:50 A singular, simple, little line to declare a singular, simple, little truth. 35:57 And here's the truth. Jot it down, will you, please? 36:05 You can't be filled with the Spirit of God and not be filled 36:08 with the love of God. Or that wasn't the Spirit of God 36:11 that filled you. 36:17 And keep going. 36:25 They may be rejected in that church. They may be rejected in that 36:28 church. They may be rejected in that church over there. 36:32 But when you're filled with the love of God, you love people that others reject. 36:37 >> Amen! >> You love people that others reject. 36:43 William Blake, the English poet, put his words on the screen. 36:55 That's why you were borned. You're borned for a reason -- to live out the love of God to 37:05 people that have been rejected by everybody else. Hmm. 37:11 Thus, three convictions. I have three convictions. I'm going to share these three 37:14 with you and sit down. Three convictions. I pray to God that they might 37:18 become your convictions, too. Conviction #1 -- jot it down. 37:27 That's just a no-brainer, but you got to start with that. You have to believe that. 37:38 Pray this little prayer every morning. It's a simple little prayer. 37:41 "Pour your love into me today, O God." "Pour your love into me today, 37:45 O God." Steps to Christ -- I love this. 37:47 Page 94. Look at this -- that classic. 37:49 On the screen, one sentence. 37:59 Every morning, just, Lord, pour your love upon me. Now, you have to have one more 38:03 prayer before you leave your little prayer corner, wherever it is you have your morning 38:06 worships. One more prayer. So, the first prayer is "Pour 38:09 your love into me," and the last prayer is "Pour your love out of me now." 38:12 I'm outta here. "Pour your love out of me now, today, I humbly pray." 38:18 Conviction #1 -- that's it. Here comes conviction #2. 38:33 Now, we spent six wonderful hours this last Tuesday -- wish you could have been there -- we 38:37 were crowded into the Lincoln Room. Who's there? 38:40 A bunch of university students from grad school, undergrad, a bunch of spiritual life leaders 38:46 on the campus, some administrators. We were in that room together. 38:50 And do you know what we were doing? We were brainstorming over the 38:53 top two -- the top two needs that the student body at Andrews University has 38:58 identified for itself are its two top needs. And top need #1 -- can you 39:03 imagine what -- the big survey this last fall -- can you imagine what the #1 need of 39:09 Andrews University students is? Do you know what it is? I'm going to tell you. 39:14 It's the need to belong. Just to belong. That's pretty simple. 39:26 That's what they're saying -- "I long to belong." So, when Pastor Sabine says, 39:29 "Hey, let's adopt some students and let's bring them into our homes," that's exactly what 39:33 they're wanting. "I long to belong." Sign me up! 39:39 They're wanting it. It's their numero uno need. And by the way, let's not let 39:46 the students think, "Wow, we got a little niche that we've carved for ourselves." 39:49 Are you kidding? That's the #1 need of the entire human race. 39:52 Take a survey anywhere on this planet today, and the #1 need will be "I want to be loved." 39:57 "I want to belong. Let me belong. This is who I am. 40:03 Love me. Let me be a part of your journey and your life and your heart." 40:10 Tell your heart... Sh! Tell your heart to beat again. 40:14 That's the need. Why was this adulterous pastor weeping in the story a moment 40:19 ago? He's sobbing over his need to belong. 40:22 He has felt that his sin so awful that it has severed him from God. 40:27 "Will anybody love me?" Back to God again. How many, on this campus and in 40:35 this community, all around this campus, are in that very same category, longing to belong, 40:44 "but nobody cares about me"? 40:50 I want to finish this story that Jerry Cook started for us. "In the weeks and months that 40:54 followed, he -- this adulterous pastor -- he met with our elders regularly and wept his way back 40:59 to God through a most intense, sometimes utterly tearing repentance. 41:03 If ever in my entire life I'd seen godly sorrow for sin, I saw it in that man. 41:07 He literally fell on the floor before our elders, grabbed their feet, and implored them, 41:12 'Brothers, can you ever forgive me'? God healed that man and restored 41:16 him to wholeness, and today he's back in the ministry. Now I say to you"... 41:20 And he goes on. And you have this now in the study guide. 41:23 Go to the study guide right now. "I say to you"... I'll put it on the screen for 41:26 you. 41:34 Jot it down. 42:06 And how should we discover and embrace such a love, this kind of acceptance, this kind of 42:12 forgiveness? I'll tell you how we'll not. I can't go to me. 42:16 I can't go to me to find that love, acceptance, and forgiveness. 42:21 I'm telling you what -- I know my heart. I cannot go to me. 42:25 It will have to be external. The source will have to be external. 42:29 If we're gonna have it, it'll have to come from somebody outside of me. 42:33 Simply because -- you know why? I have my own biases. Sh. 42:41 I have my own prejudices. I have my own insecurities, that tend to shut out the very people 42:49 that remind me of my own moral fallenness and weaknesses. So I don't want people like that 42:55 around. Because when they're around, they remind me of that 43:02 insecurity, and then I'd have to admit that I'm just like them, though I never want anybody to 43:07 know that. I'd have to admit my insecurities. 43:14 Instead, I become party to a line of thinking that says, "Just keep them out. 43:20 You'll never feel insecure. In fact, you'll feel superior." 43:31 Here we are this week, against the wall of racial separation. You know what, racial prejudice 43:37 behaves in the very same way. The only reason I need people to feel inferior to me is because I 43:47 have an inferiority complex myself. No kidding. 43:55 Which is why I try to push you down -- so that I can pull myself up. 43:59 Which is why is why I try to push you out -- so that I can pull myself into an inner circle 44:03 I don't even feel I even belong to. And if I admit... 44:09 Listen, listen, listen. If I admit that you have worth identical to mine in the eyes of 44:14 God, that He loves you just as much as He loves me, then my subconscious effort to be 44:18 morally or racially superior to you... And by the way, that's what was 44:22 happening with the Pharisees. They felt morally superior to all sinners and racially 44:25 superior to all gentiles. ...then I begin to scramble, so that I can push down this 44:31 inferiority complex and lift up a sense that I really am somebody. 44:36 But I need you to be pushed down in order that I can be pulled up in my own mind. 44:47 It's tragic. It is twisted, circular thinking, and you can't break 44:52 out of it. I'm sorry. You can't break out of it. 44:57 Someone external to your mind, and inferiority complex, has to step in. 45:05 And you know what He does? He says, "I need you to know... Try, try, try, try. 45:09 Look at me, look at me. Listen to me. It's okay. 45:15 You're not inferior. No child of mine is inferior. I'm your father. 45:21 You're my child. You're my son. You're my daughter. 45:25 You're not inferior! Get over it! Tear the wall down. 45:32 Tear that wall down. It's time. I need a people without walls. 45:42 If I don't have a people without walls, nobody will come to you. I promise, nobody will come to 45:48 you. Get rid of that wall! You're okay! 45:55 I love you with all my heart! And I need you now to be an agent for that love with every 46:00 human being I bring into your space." 46:09 How do I know I'm loved and accepted by God? [ Chuckles ] 46:12 That's the whole point. 5 is just the introduction to this stunning, stunning 46:18 mountaintop in Romans. Let's read 5 again and get a run onto verse 6. 46:28 "Where does that love come from? I need that love. How am I gonna visualize that 46:31 love?" Oh, just keep reading. 46:44 But finally, verse 8... "God demonstrates His own love" for you, Dwight... 46:51 "God demonstrates His own love for us in this -- While we were still sinners, Christ died for 47:01 us." [ Singing ] At the cross, at the cross, 47:08 where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. 47:15 It was then I knew that He loves me too, and now I am happy all the day. 47:26 [ Normal voice ] It's the cross! You got to go to the cross. You can't get it without going 47:31 to the cross. That's where the love of God is poured out of the Holy Spirit 47:35 when He comes into you, because you asked to be baptized today. It just washes your soul 47:40 with the love of Calvary. Isn't that great? It's the cross! 47:47 Apologies to Isaac Watts and that great hymn. Calvary makes all the difference 47:51 in the world for a church, for a congregation, for a campus, for a soul that longs to live out 47:56 the love of Jesus for all people. Listen, black and white? 47:59 It doesn't matter. Straight and gay? Rich and poor? 48:08 Which one of these halves is right, Dwight? Don't worry about it. 48:14 Rich and poor? Women and men? Democrats and Republicans? 48:20 East and west? Conservative and liberal? Saved and lost? 48:27 Saints and sinners? Atheists and believer? It doesn't matter. 48:34 The love outpoured at Calvary is to bind... bind... 48:41 our hearts to His. All people bound up in the love and heart of God. 48:47 Three convictions. Let me share this final one and 48:50 I'll sit down. #3. Conviction #3. 49:03 Write down that word "loving," please. "To become the most loving, the 49:07 most caring, the most friendly church around." Now Jerry Cook drives it home. 49:11 I'll put his words on the screen. Final quote. 49:17 All right? So here's the bottom line, the minimum guarantee... 49:27 "Well, I can't love him." No, no. You'd never be here if it 49:31 weren't that God loved you. No, the minimal guarantee is that they will be loved, always, 49:36 under every circumstance, with no exceptions. Here comes the second guarantee. 49:46 Accepted. 50:13 And I know what you're thinking right now. I'm reading it. 50:16 It is so plain on your face. You can't even hide the question. 50:19 You're saying, "Hey, Dwight. Yo, yo... That kind of loving, what you're 50:24 talking about? That breeds -- let me tell you something, boy -- that breeds 50:29 license for sin. That's what it does. It just gives people an excuse. 50:34 'I'll go out sinning.' There's no accountability now. That's namby-- 50:37 'Cheat grace!'" Fair point. Touché. 50:45 But that's precisely the point. That's why... Come on, come on. 50:49 That's why Jesus was such a threat to the religious hierarchy of His day, who 50:53 thought the same way as you just did. They hated him because the 50:57 love-starved public couldn't seem to get enough of the Messiah -- 51:05 this friend of sinners, who even ate with them. How else can you explain why 51:08 prostitutes were drawn to this man? Not for a shred of impurity, but 51:14 something holy and pure about him. Offered hope. 51:19 Why was it that pagan outsiders... We're talking about Samaritans, 51:23 we're talking about gentiles, we're talking about the racially inferior -- so-called. 51:27 Why were they drawn to Jesus? Because He loved them, He accepted them, and He forgave 51:32 them. That's why. Jerry Cook didn't invent this. 51:39 Jesus Christ did -- in our midst, while we watched. It eventually killed him. 51:46 He was such a thorn in our collective conscience. So shouldn't the church that 51:54 follows Jesus love the way that Jesus loved? But of course. 52:01 Gregory Boyle, in his inspiring book "Tattoos on the Heart," remembers the time when he and 52:06 his five sisters and two brothers... That's right, eight children. 52:10 When they were growing up, they were told by their mother never to go into the attic. 52:15 "Do you hear me, children?" As Boyle writes, "Which was all we needed to hear. 52:22 Before long, we were selling tickets to the attic." Mom says no? Let's go. 52:30 "Up in all that dark and dust, the children stumbled"... Listen to this. 52:34 They stumbled upon and old, worn record album with their mother's face and name upon it. 52:40 Apparently, before she had eight children, she could sing. If you have eight, your singing 52:46 career is over. They found it. I'll put Boyle on the screen for 52:52 you here. 53:03 You'll recognize it. [ Singing ] Long lay the world in sin and error pining -- 53:10 till He appeared. [ Normal voice ] Now notice this next line. 53:13 Till He appeared, and what? And what? And the soul felt its worth. 53:20 Isn't that something? He came here for the soul to 53:23 feel its worth, not its condemnation, not its absolute 53:26 rubbish and worthlessness. He came for it to feel its 53:30 worth. 53:32 Until He appeared and the soul felt its worth. Boyle goes on. 53:52 That's the mission of the Church. 53:55 That's what Jesus came to tell you. 54:00 You are not a reject. You are not a failure. 54:07 You are not scum. 54:11 "There is no wall between my heart and yours. You are a child of my father -- 54:18 which makes us brothers and sisters. What was that Christ 54:27 Object Lessons line again? 54:38 Just like Jesus. 55:14 "Church, church, church... This is your savior speaking. I have died for your heart. 55:25 I have repaired your heart. There's noting wrong with it now. 55:32 So please, for me, and for you, tell your heart to beat again. Please, tell your heart to beat 55:45 again." Amen. Oh, God... 55:51 what a world. The #1 need in the world? Don't you know it, it showed up 55:57 on the survey of this university -- the #1 need on campus. 56:02 "I just need to belong. I need to be loved. I need some sort of human 56:08 network that lets me come to You." So Father, I pray -- love, 56:16 acceptance, and forgiveness -- that this might become new humble DNA in a pioneer's 56:24 journey to the Second Coming. Because how can we talk about being baptized by the Spirit 56:30 then not talk about being filled with the love of God? And how can we be filled with 56:33 the love of God and not let that love splash over everybody? But we have to be intentional. 56:38 It doesn't just... We have to offer our lives to You. 56:41 Pour it in, dear God, and then pour it out. So take our humble, quiet 56:48 decisions. Seal them, make us a people where love, acceptance, and 56:53 forgiveness, just like Jesus, becomes our way, too. We pray in Jesus name. 57:02 Amen. 57:06 We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:08 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:12 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:15 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:18 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:21 So if God has blessed you and you'd like to further the work 57:23 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:26 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. 57:29 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission, blessing your 57:32 community and our world. You can donate on our website -- 57:35 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:38 You know the number. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:41 Again, that number is 877...the two words...HIS-WILL. 57:45 And may the God who has blessed you continue to pour into your 57:48 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:51 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:53 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 57:59 ♪♪ 58:08 ♪♪ 58:14 ♪♪ 58:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-02-08