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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180224A
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00:00 ♪♪
00:09 [ "You Are My Vision" plays ] 00:23 [ Performers sing ] 00:52 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 01:24 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 01:57 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 02:31 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 02:56 [ Performers sing ] 03:21 >> Amen. >> 1 John 5:14-15 says 03:28 that we should be confident. That if we ask for things 03:32 according to God's will, that He will hear us, 03:35 and if He hears us, we should know that our prayers 03:38 have been answered. So if we ask God to be our 03:42 wisdom and to be our vision, we should know that He has 03:46 answered this prayer, and He will be with us 03:48 through every moment of our lives and through every storm 03:51 that we may encounter. So I ask that you sing with us 03:55 with this next song as we affirm this truth. 03:59 [ "Healer" plays ] 04:06 [ Performers sing ] 04:28 [ Performers sing ] 04:41 [ Performers sing ] 04:54 ♪ I believe ♪ [ Performers sing ] 05:16 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 05:40 [ Performers sing ] 06:05 ♪ I believe ♪ [ Performers sing ] 06:27 ♪♪ [ Performers sing ] 06:47 [ Performers sing ] 07:15 [ Performers sing ] 07:27 ♪ Oh, yes, you are ♪ ♪ Yes, you are ♪ 07:31 [ Performers sing ] 08:00 Amen. Jesus is all we need. And when these storms come into 08:06 our lives, we don't need to ask God to send the clouds away. We need to ask Him to rain, 08:13 with His Holy Spirit, down into our lives. So if it is your desire 08:18 this morning, and if it's your prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I invite you 08:24 to come to the front as we sing this final song. 08:27 [ "Holy Spirit Rain Down" plays ] 08:34 [ Performer sings ] 09:02 [ Performers sing ] 09:19 [ Performers sing ] 09:45 [ Performers sing ] 10:13 [ Performers sing ] 10:38 [ Performers sing ] 11:01 [ Performers sing ] 11:25 [ Performers sing ] 11:49 [ Performers sing ] 12:07 [ Performers sing ] 12:39 [ Music stops ] 12:43 >> Let's talk to Him. Dear God, it is a battle down here. 12:46 We needed those words, "One day we shall study war no more, and we will walk in the light." 12:54 All the hurting hearts who are gathered here with smiles on their faces 12:58 'cause we don't tell people how we're really feeling. The world just beyond these 13:03 walls, desperately in need. What are we going to do? Teach us. 13:09 Speak to us. We pray in the Holy Scripture. We ask in Jesus' name. 13:14 Amen. 13:15 So I'm going through my library the other day, and I'm pulling 13:18 out books. I said, "Do I have any books --" 13:20 starting a new GROW group called Against the Strongholds: 13:22 Praying East & West. "Do I have any books? 13:25 Do I have any books?" 13:27 A seminary professor friend of mine called me -- got up 3 o'clock in the morning. 13:33 Sunday morning -- woke up. Sunday morning. Yeah. 13:36 He said, "I just felt impressed to pray." "What?" 13:39 "I'm gonna pray for Japan." Oh, you heard that report we shared a few weeks ago 13:44 about Japan, the massive needs in that country. He says, "Dwight, I'm telling 13:49 you what. We don't need namby-pamby praying now. 13:52 We got to pray against the strongholds. Man, this is huge for 13:56 the Kingdom." Well, he's right. I talked to some other 13:59 prayer leaders, they said, "He's absolutely right." 14:05 Some plans are being put into operation to one day 14:08 have a day of fasting and prayer on this campus. 14:11 But, anyway, so I'm looking at all these books, and I'm 14:14 thinking, "What kind of strategic praying do you do? 14:16 What kind of militant praying is it that we're supposed 14:18 to do, radical praying to go against the strongholds?" 14:21 God knows these strongholds are shooting up faster than we can put our fingers 14:25 in the dike. So what are supposed to do? The whole world's a stronghold. 14:31 You got Japan, you got the U.S. Even campuses, even congregations, even our own 14:35 hearts can be strongholds. How do we keep from being overcome, overrun? 14:41 We got this Wednesday night, 7 o'clock, over in the Youth Chapel. 14:45 Come and join us. We had 39 sign up this last week. 14:49 I really believe the more we have praying in this battle against the strongholds... 14:57 the more power is unleashed. 2 Corinthians 10:4. Come and join us if you have 15:03 the time. Anyway, so I'm pulling out these books, and I come across a book. 15:06 You're not going to believe this. How do you have a book in your 15:09 library you've never read written by somebody I've never heard of? 15:11 R.A. Torrey. Ever heard of him? R.A. Torrey. 15:14 I open it up, I spot a line just like that, and I say, "No way. 15:19 I'm sharing the line with you," and that's what I'm gonna do right now. 15:21 I want you to get a little context for the line. Open your Bible with me 15:24 to the Book of Romans, please. Romans Chapter -- Everyone knows 15:26 the Book of Romans. Romans 15. I'll bet you that if you've ever 15:31 read the Book of Romans through -- I know you've read this, but I'll bet just like me, 15:35 you blew through this verse as if nothing were there but a passionate appeal. 15:38 Paul said, "Oh, please pray for me. Pray for me." 15:41 Take a look at this. What did we miss when we didn't read slowly? 15:45 Romans 15. Then I'll share that little R.A. Torrey line. 15:49 So this is Romans 15. You didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front 15:53 of you. You don't want to have a Bible, but you want to use your device, 15:56 fine. Look it up there. It's Romans 15:30. 15:58 This is the N.I.V. -- put it on the screen for you. 16:00 "I urge you" -- Paul writing... 16:10 I mean, this is pretty dramatic. "I'm begging you" -- some of your translations read -- 16:14 "I'm begging you. I'm pleading with you. Pray for me." 16:18 You will never have a full appreciation of what your prayers for other people, 16:24 the impact they have. What happens when just little old you pray? 16:29 You pray for this little old pastor, I'm telling you what -- [ Sighs ] 16:33 Do we need each other's prayer? Paul says, "I'm pleading with you," and yet tucked right in 16:39 this line, he says, "I ask that you pray as I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus, 16:45 and" -- Did you catch that? "I come to you in the love of the Spirit." 16:50 Now, hit the pause button right there. Wait a minute. 16:52 This is not just about praying. There's this little phrase tucked away, but do you know 16:56 what that little phrase dramatically is telling us? Get this. 16:58 The Holy Spirit is a divine person who loves you personally. There are all kinds of people 17:05 around -- maybe even on this campus. There are people who think 17:09 the Holy Spirit is this kind of ethereal cloud from God that hovers over the Earth, 17:13 embracing all people with God's love. Wrong. 17:15 That's not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's not an it. The Holy Spirit is a He. 17:19 Had a woman come up to me after -- a young mother -- met her in the hall as I'm 17:23 walking around, just before walking to this front pew, and she said, "Dwight, my name 17:27 is Carolyn, and I want to tell you something. The Holy Spirit is not a He, 17:30 He's also a She." Well, she's right. We try to use our human pronouns 17:38 to capture God. You can't. The point is, He/She is not 17:45 an it. That's the point -- not an it. Too many people, "Well, 17:50 the Holy Spirit means the Spirit from God, this mind of God, the heart of God." 17:53 Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. And, by the way, what did we 17:56 just read about the Holy Spirit? The love of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves you 18:01 personally. Dwight, who cares? Ethereal spirit or personal 18:08 being -- what's the difference? You want to know what the difference is? 18:12 Here comes the R.A. Torrey line. I want you to look this up right now. 18:14 It's in your Study Guide. Pull it out. Let's go to that R.A. Torrey 18:17 line. Does this tell it like it is? Absolutely. 18:22 Study Guide's in your Worship Bulletin. You didn't get 18:24 a Worship Bulletin when you came in? Come on. 18:27 We got some friendly ushers who are just itching to come your way. 18:30 Ushers, thank you, please, for standing up right now and distributing these 18:34 Study Guides. Hold your hand up. You see, they have to sit in 18:36 other places in the church because we're going to receive our Connect Cards in a moment, 18:39 but don't worry. Give them a little time. And those of you watching 18:42 right now, let me put a website on the screen for you so that you can get this website. 18:46 You can get the Study Guide. You see it on your screen? 18:49 There it is now -- www.newperceptions.tv. 18:52 Go to that website. Some of you who are live 18:54 streaming are already there, but you're watching on 18:56 a television somewhere, you're listening on a radio, 18:59 go to that website -- newperceptions.tv. 19:01 You're looking for this teaching, "King of Hearts: 19:04 Can You Feel the Love?" When you find that teaching, 19:07 click on to it. You'll have the Study Guide. 19:09 You're going to want this R.A. Torrey quote. 19:11 All right. So up in the balcony, 19:12 they're getting to you there. Okay, let's go. 19:14 I'm not going to wait. By the way, jot down 19:16 Romans 15:30 while we're here. Would you please jot it down? 19:19 "I urge you, brothers and sisters" -- It's in your 19:21 Study Guide -- "by our Lord Jesus Christ 19:24 and by the love of the Spirit --" 19:26 Wow, that's unusual. Look at that. 19:29 "By the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle 19:32 by praying to God for me." Now, here it comes -- 19:34 R.A. Torrey. I promised it to you. 19:36 It's on the screen. You'll need to fill it in. 19:38 "It is of the highest importance," Torrey writes, 19:42 "from a practical standpoint that we know the Holy Spirit 19:46 as a" -- Capital "P" -- "Person." 19:48 Don't worry about the pronoun gender. 19:51 He's a Capital "P" -- Person. "To think of the Spirit 19:54 as merely an influence or power," an it, "then your 19:57 thought will constantly be," Yo, "How can I get hold of 20:00 the Holy Spirit and use it? How can I get more of 20:02 the Holy Spirit?'" Oh, write that in. 20:04 Now, watch how he flips the coin. 20:07 Brilliant. "But if you think of 20:08 the Holy Spirit in the biblical way, as a Person of divine 20:12 majesty and glory, your thought will be, 'How can 20:14 the Holy Spirit get hold of me and use me? 20:17 How can the Holy Spirit get more of me?'" 20:21 Did you write that down? 20:23 That just changes radically the way you pray. "Oh, God, give me more of 20:26 the Holy Spirit. Give me more of the Holy Spirit." 20:28 What if you and I are praying, "Oh, God, give more of me to the Holy Spirit? 20:32 Give more of me to the Holy Spirit?" I mean, can you believe this? 20:37 Jot it down. "The majestic, glorious Being and Person we think of 20:41 as the Third Person of the Godhead loves" -- He personally "loves you 20:45 and me." Bible calls Him the Comforter. Bible calls Him the Friend. 20:49 Bible calls Him the Advocate. Bible calls Him the Spirit of Yahweh. 20:56 He's a personal being. He wants to be a friend with you forever and ever. 21:02 [ Scoffs ] You can't deal with Him as an it. 21:06 We don't realize that, in fact, right here in Romans 15:30, Paul is in the midst of laying 21:11 out what I believe is the most stunning portrayal of Trinity love anywhere in Scripture. 21:15 I'm going to prove it to you right now. Come on. 21:18 We'll just walk through those pages in one split second. Everybody knows Romans 5:5. 21:23 We do here because we began this series two weeks ago with Romans 5:5, and that's 21:27 where he starts talking about the love of God. So just look at Romans 5:5. 21:31 Remember this verse? How's this go? 21:35 "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love 21:38 has been poured out into our hearts" -- 21:41 through whom? -- "through the Holy Spirit, 21:43 who has been given to us." Would you jot that down, please? 21:46 Romans 5:5 -- "the love of God, 21:48 the love of God." Good news, Paul says. 21:51 We are all loved to the max by the God of the Universe. 21:55 But now Paul will carefully begin to differentiate 21:58 the love of God. Watch this. 22:00 Drop down to Verse 8. Verse 8. 22:02 You know Verse 8, perhaps... 22:12 He's obviously talking about the Father, because it's not 22:14 Christ. So the Father. 22:15 Would you jot that down, please? Romans 5:8. 22:17 He's just described the love of God the Father. 22:20 Now, turn a couple pages over to Romans 8. 22:24 Drop down to Verse 35. Same Paul still writing. 22:28 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 22:32 Wow. "Shall trouble or hardship 22:34 or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger 22:37 or sword" or flood? Nothing can separate us 22:40 from the love of Christ. 22:42 There it is. Clearly, "the love of God 22:44 the Son." So we have "the love of God 22:45 the Father," now we have "the love of God the Son." 22:48 Fill that in, please. And then drop down same chapter. Scholars call this 22:52 the rarified air of the summit of the entire Bible. The summit is right here. 23:00 This is the top. This is the Mount Everest right here -- Verse 38... 23:10 Verse 39. ..."neither height nor depth, 23:13 nor anything else in all creation, will be able 23:16 to separate us" -- you and me -- "from the love 23:19 of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 23:23 Jot it down. So now we have -- Paul says 23:25 I'm gonna pull both those loves together. 23:26 Mm-hmm. So we have the love of 23:28 the Father and you have the love of God the Son. 23:30 "God the Father, God the Son." Paul, there's somebody else 23:33 left. Ah, he's moving toward that 23:35 somebody else, and that's the text that we began with 23:37 a moment ago -- Chapter 15. Read it again -- Verse 30. 23:42 "I urge you, brothers and sisters" -- "I'm begging you" 23:44 some translations. "I'm begging you, 23:46 I'm pleading with you, by our Lord Jesus and by 23:49 the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle 23:52 by praying to God for me." Would you jot that down, please? 23:57 There's the final piece, the capstone, "the love of God 24:02 the Holy Spirit." We have the love of God 24:04 the Father, we have the love of God the Son, and now we have 24:06 the love of God the Holy Spirit. 24:08 There they are, the three members of the triune God -- three persons, one God. 24:14 Can I get a little personal with you right now? I'm gonna tell you something 24:18 I do every now and then -- every now and a blue moon when I'm having my own prayer 24:24 beginning of the day. Sometimes I like to imagine... that I'm going to, right now, 24:33 step into the Throne Room of the Universe. Some day I'm planning on it. 24:38 Some day I'm planning that you do the same. I'm just counting on it. 24:42 But I like to imagine what that moment would be like. So I come to this massive door, 24:46 and it says "Throne Room." Oh, wow. So I reach up -- little guy 24:51 that I am -- I reach up so they can hear the knock, and I -- [ Imitating knocking ] 24:55 I knock. The door slowly opens, and there is this tall being 25:00 lit! And he looks down at me, and he says, "Hey, Dwight. 25:05 We've been waiting for you. Come on in." It's Gabriel. 25:10 Gabriel. He says, "Come on. Follow me. I know why you're here," 25:14 he says. And I'm walking in just like -- just with this awe, 25:18 this you can't believe it, the glory, and then I see this white throne high and lifted up, 25:23 and there's this brilliant light, and now the light is not a problem, but it's still 25:28 brilliant, and there's somebody sitting there, and I don't know about you, but you know what 25:34 I would do next? I'm just thinking that probably I'd burst into tears. 25:39 I'm just kind of a crybaby when I'm with God, and I would just start crying, and I'd be 25:44 down on the golden floor with my nose pushed against that gold and just sobbing 25:51 for joy. I can't believe it. I've dreamed of this day. 25:55 Do you know how long I've dreamed of this? And then the being in the high, 25:59 lifted-up white throne speaks to me as if He were reading my heart. 26:02 He said, "Dwight, you dreamed of it. Let me tell you something. 26:05 We've been dreaming of it ever since you were born. Welcome." 26:11 But I'm down there just sobbing away, and another person sitting right beside that -- obviously 26:16 God the Father. This other person comes down to me, and I feel a warm hand 26:20 on my shoulder, and He taps it, and I look up, and I recognize His face. 26:24 It's Jesus. And He just takes me, just pulls me up, and He puts me 26:28 in this strong embrace, and I'm trying to breathe, and He said, "Oh, Dwight -- 26:34 my friend Dwight. Wow. You're here." 26:40 This is what I've lived for. And then -- Here's the point. And then I hear a voice. 26:47 I look up to see where the voice is coming from, and it's somewhere over here 26:51 near the throne, but -- And the voice is smiling. Have you noticed what when you 26:54 call people up on the phone, sometimes you can tell they're smiling even though you can't 26:57 see their faces? There's something in a voice that's smiling, and the voice 27:00 is smiling, and the voice says, "Dwight, Dwight, Dwight. It's so nice to see you. 27:07 Do you know what? Ever since you were born, this is why I have hung with you 27:12 day and night the entire journey, just you and Me. Welcome home, boy. 27:20 This is your home now." Now, why do I tell you that -- this little bit of imagination 27:26 which you really can't do? I tell you that to remind you that there's not just two 27:30 persons in the Throne Room of the Universe. There's a third person, 27:34 and there's no law in humanity that says in order for you to be a real sentient being, 27:39 you have to have physical form to be a being. That's just our very puny 27:42 human thinking that says you got to have something to move -- moving lips 27:45 and all that. You don't have to have that. He said, "I'm a being, 27:50 and I have love for you. As if there were nobody else in this universe, I love you, 27:57 and I want to be your friend." That's why I'm telling you. The Third Person of the Godhead 28:02 is just as real as number one and number two -- same love, eternal -- same friendship, 28:09 forever. Why are you telling me all this, Dwight? 28:13 I tell you why I'm telling this to you. Because I want you -- 28:18 I want your heart to long, begin to long for a friendship with the Holy Spirit. 28:23 You and I have been -- We've been having a long, continuing conversation going on 28:27 around here, haven't we? I want you to become acquainted and friends with 28:35 the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you another little secret about my praying. 28:38 I pray out loud. [ Chuckles ] I pray out loud unless 28:41 there's something I don't want the Devil to hear, but, generally, I just pray out loud. 28:44 There's nobody else in the room. You know when I talk to Him, here's what I do. 28:48 I imagine that He's right about there in my prayer closet. I have a certain place 28:53 where I imagine He is. I see nothing. I know nothing. 28:59 But I sense and I talk to Him. Now, get this. He talks back to me. 29:06 No, I'm serious. He talks back to me. It's not an audible voice. 29:10 Karen couldn't be walking right by say, "Hey, there's two people in there. 29:13 It's only Dwight. Who's this other person?" There's nothing anybody can 29:16 hear, but you know what? You hear Him, and you know the very sound of His voice 29:24 right now. You know when He is talking to you. 29:29 You recognize that voice. And one day when you have your private audience 29:34 with the eternal -- because there'll be enough time in heaven for everybody to have 29:38 a very special, alone time with God, and all three of them, the Trinity, they're there. 29:45 The moment the voice speaks, [Scoffs] "That was you?" "That was Me." 29:53 That's why I wish that your heart would just long for this baptism of the Holy Spirit. 29:58 We're not just doing this because there's nothing else to talk about. 30:01 Because this is the piece that's missing. We've got to know Him not as 30:06 an it, but as a real, live personal friend... every morning. 30:16 Every morning? Yeah, why not? Ask Him every morning. 30:20 Is there some sin with that? Hardly. In fact, R.A. Torrey beautifully 30:25 expresses the companionship of the Holy Spirit. This is so choice. 30:30 The whole Study Guide is worth just this right here. It's one very long sentence. 30:34 I'm going to put it on the screen for you. We have to keep changing slides 30:36 to get through this sentence, but you have it in your Study Guide. 30:40 "But" -- Torrey writing -- "But had it not been for 30:42 the love of the Holy Spirit to me" -- 30:44 Okay, so he says, "Look. I know I got the love of 30:46 the Father, I know I have the love of the Son, but had it 30:50 not been for the love of the Holy Spirit to me, 30:53 leading Him to come down to this world in obedience 30:55 to the Father and the Son, to seek me out in my lost 31:00 condition, following me day after day, and week after week, 31:05 and month after month, following me when I would not 31:09 listen to Him, when I deliberately turned 31:15 my back upon Him, when I insulted Him, 31:18 following me into places where it must have been agony 31:21 for that Holy One to go --" Dwight, you're going here? 31:29 You're going here? Okay. 31:38 I'm with you. ..."following me into places 31:45 where it must have been agony for that Holy One to go, 31:48 until at last He succeeded in bringing me to my senses 31:52 and bringing me to realize my utterly lost condition, 31:56 and revealing the Lord Jesus to me as just the Savior 31:59 whom I needed, and He induced me and He enabled me to receive 32:02 the Lord Jesus as my Savior and Lord; 32:04 if it had not been for this patient, long-suffering, 32:07 never-wearying love of the Spirit of God to me, 32:10 I would be a lost man today." 32:14 That's the truth. You and I would not be having this conversation because 32:19 neither one of us would be here had it not been for the Third Person of the Godhead 32:23 who has stayed with you every single day and every single minute and every single second 32:27 of your life. He has never, ever left you. And you're here because of it. 32:33 And we act as if He doesn't exist. What's up with that? 32:42 Wow. Torrey's right. Absolutely right. 32:46 To the Holy Spirit, we owe everything just as we do to the Father and just as we do 32:51 to the Son. I'm telling you the truth, ladies and gentlemen, 32:54 brothers and sisters. The King of Hearts is the King of Love forever 32:58 and ever. Amen. He's the King of Hearts. 33:02 He's the King of Love. All three. It's no wonder that in 33:07 the middle of this stunning portrayal of Trinity love, Paul just slips it in -- 33:12 Very clever, Paul. He just slips it in. He said, "I want to talk 33:16 about your loving now." Watch this. Go to Chapter 13. 33:19 He just slips this in, but we catch it. We see it. 33:22 Romans 13. Just turn back a page from 15, and what's this? 33:26 Verse 8. Paul writes... 33:37 Whoa. What law you talking about, 33:38 Paul? Why, Verse 9... 33:44 ..."and whatever other commandment there may be, 33:47 they're all summed up in this one command: 'Love your'" -- 33:49 whom? Love your whom? 33:51 Call it out to me. Love your whom? 33:53 >> Your neighbor. >> "Love your neighbor. 33:55 Love your neighbor as yourself." And finally, Verse 10... 33:59 "Love does no harm to a neighbor." 34:02 No. "Therefore love is 34:05 the fulfillment of the law." 34:07 I'm going to tell you about a book that's taking 34:09 the scholarly world by storm. It's a new translation 34:12 of the New Testament. It's written by David Hartley -- 34:15 David Hart -- No, David Bentley Hart. 34:18 Got it. "A New Testament." 34:20 Critically acclaimed. I wanted to get it 34:23 for Christmas. Sold out, sold out. 34:25 It just came out in November. Sold out, sold out, sold out. 34:29 And the reviews very critically acclaimed. 34:32 I want you to see how David Bentley Hart renders 34:34 this line -- Romans 13:10. In fact, jot it down in your 34:36 Study Guide so you'll always have his rendition. 34:39 I like this. Romans 13:10 from 34:42 "The New Testament" translated by David Bentley Hart. 34:45 Here it goes. "Love does not work evil 34:47 against the neighbor --" Now, here it comes -- "hence 34:50 love is the full totality of the Law." 34:55 Now, that's a new way and that's a fresh way to put it -- 34:57 "the full totality of the Law." That's what love is. Oh, by the way, love is the full 35:02 totality of the Trinity. That's who They are. That's why the Law is just 35:07 like Them, because it's Their Law. "Love is the full totality 35:11 of the Law," the full totality of the Trinity. So here's the question. 35:20 What if we -- I'm talking about you and me now. 35:23 What if we asked the Holy Spirit to pour out Trinity Love into our hearts every day 35:29 before we go out into the world? Every day, just fill me with the love of the Father. 35:34 Fill me with the love of the Spirit -- love of the Son, rather. 35:37 Fill me with Your love, Holy Spirit. What if we asked the Holy Spirit 35:40 specifically, fill me with the full totality of Your love, Your grace. 35:47 Fill me -- before going out every day? Well, I'd be willing to do that, 35:54 Dwight. Well, I'm telling you, that's all the baptism 35:57 of the Holy Spirit is. That's what it is. Just fill me up. 35:59 Empty me through the day so that I have to come back tomorrow morning, fill me up 36:03 again. Fill me with the full totality of Your love, Holy Spirit. 36:09 Wow. What if, as a church, we became known as a people who love 36:14 deeply, who love boldly, who love radically around here? We, who are so vigorously 36:19 defending the Fourth Commandment, what if we decided to defend 36:23 all Ten of the Commandments, and the full totality of the Law gets lived out 36:27 in the way we treat our neighbors? What if that were the case? 36:34 Fill me with the full totality of the Law. Fill me with Your love, Trinity. 36:41 I mean, what if people got to know you and go to know me because we're out there mingling 36:46 with them, and they start to say, "I tell you what. These people there on that 36:50 campus, man, they'll love your socks off"? Wouldn't it be a great -- 36:56 Wouldn't that be a great line? "Come to me, and I'll love your socks off. 37:00 No, I'll come to you and love your socks off. I'll come to where your... 37:09 once was... and I'll help scoop up what has to be thrown away." 37:17 "Are you serious?" "Yeah. No, no kidding. 37:21 No kidding. Let me help you." "Oh, I just want to go to 37:27 church. I just love sitting in these very soft pews. 37:32 That's all I need." No, no, no, no. The full totality of the Law 37:36 is the love of the Trinity. What if -- What if we were just plain a-loving people every day? 37:46 No crisis necessary. We're just plain a-loving people all over this county? 37:52 Loving people in a genuine "I care for you" sort of way? Would it make a difference? 37:56 "Would it make a difference?" Are you asking me that? 37:59 Ellen White 100 years ago -- put the words on the screen. 38:02 You'll have to fill it in. Amazing sentence. 38:04 "If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind 38:07 and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful" -- In other words, 38:10 full of pity -- "there would be 100 conversions to the truth 38:14 where now there is only one." Go figure. 38:17 A hundred to one. 38:18 Some kind of hyperbole? Are you kidding? You know why I know it's not 38:22 hyperbole? Because when people can feel the love... 38:30 then they seek the truth. If they can't feel the love -- I'm telling you what. 38:35 If you show up and say, "I'm loving you right now, sir. Come on. Come here. 38:38 Let me love you. I'm just loving you real hard," but they can't feel it -- 38:43 reminds me of Mark Twain. Mark Twain used to write about people who are good 38:47 in the worst sense of the word. Oh, they're so right. They're always so right. 38:53 Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. I just don't want to live next door to them. 38:59 Good in the worst sense of the word. No, you got to feel the love, 39:03 because if I can't feel the love, I'm not going to believe whatever it is 39:06 you believe, because it obviously has not changed the way you live. 39:10 Can you feel the love? Do they feel the love when I come around? 39:13 It's like the little English girl prayed, "Oh, God, make the bad people good, and make 39:17 the good people nice." Can they feel the love? Can they feel the love? 39:26 A lot of people around here are praying for God to send down the Holy Spirit and give us 39:29 a big, old revival that can make the cover of Adventist Review, and then, boom, we'll go 39:33 to heaven. Wrong. There will be no revival... 39:37 unless there's love. And there is no love unless they can feel the love 39:41 when you're around, because if they can't feel the love when you're around, it ain't 39:44 love. Excuse me. I got an e-mail from a viewer 39:46 who said, "Quit using that kind of language. It's bad grammar." 39:48 Okay. It is not love. If they can't feel it, 39:54 trust me, you may think it's love, they're saying, "It's not love." 39:59 That's not love. That's duty. Can they feel the love 40:06 when I walk into a room? Can they feel the love when you stop to gas up 40:10 your car? Can they feel the love... at Walmart? 40:18 If they can't feel the love, why would they want to know the truth? 40:22 You can have your truth. It doesn't mean a hill of beans the way you live. 40:28 I want to end with a story, because this story tells it all. I'm hoping -- I'm putting 40:31 everything in the sermon on this story. You know, preachers ought to be 40:34 very careful about doing that, but I'm putting everything in the sermon now on this story 40:38 I'm going to read in your presence, and I'm praying you're going to get it. 40:41 I'm praying that while you're hearing the story -- and you're going to love the story -- 40:43 that your mind is just going like this -- the Holy Spirit is in your mind saying, 40:46 "Hey, by the way, that's not just a story, that's why I'm talking to you, boy, I'm talking 40:49 to you, girl. I need you to live this way. I need you to live this way, 40:52 okay?" I'm going to read a story. It's from Bob Goff's wonderful 40:56 book -- Do I see my friends there? Bob Goff's wonderful book 41:02 "Love Does." Karen and I have laughed and cried our way as we read 41:10 the book out loud to each other. It's a wonderful book -- Bob Goff. 41:15 Friends Dave and Kim Sherman gave us a copy. [ Scoffs ] 41:21 Oh, you got to get a copy. Anyway, okay, here's the story. Here's the story. 41:26 So this is a first-person account. He's a lawyer, by the way. 41:30 Don't let that prejudice you. "When I was in high school, I met a guy named Randy." 41:35 I love this. "And Randy had three things I didn't have -- 41:38 a Triumph motorcycle, a beard, and a girlfriend. It just didn't seem fair. 41:42 I mean, I wanted all three in ascending order. [ Chuckling ] I asked around 41:46 and found out Randy didn't even go to that high school. He just hung around there. 41:50 I had heard about guys like that and figured I should keep my distance, so I did. 41:53 Later I heard that Randy was a Christian and worked at an outfit called Young Life. 41:57 I didn't know much about any of that stuff, but it helped explain the beard and made it 42:02 okay that he was hanging out at the high school, I guess. Randy never offered me a ride 42:07 on his motorcycle, but he tried to engage me in discussions of Jesus. 42:11 I kept him at arm's length, but that didn't seem to chill his interest in finding out 42:15 who I was and what I was about. I figured out maybe he didn't know anyone his own age, 42:20 so we eventually became friends. I was a lousy student and found out that I could take a test 42:26 to get a certificate that was the equivalent to a high school diploma. 42:31 I couldn't figure out how to sign up for the test, though, which on reflection was a pretty 42:35 good indicator that I should stay in high school. My plan was to move to Yosemite 42:39 and spend my days climbing the massive granite cliffs. At 6'4" and 220 pounds 42:44 as a high schooler, I really didn't have a rock climber's build. 42:49 I wonder what made me think that there was a rock climber in me? 42:52 You know, when you're in high school, you don't give much thought to what you can't do. 42:55 For most people, that gets learned later, and for still fewer, it gets unlearned 42:59 for the rest of life. At the beginning of my junior year, I decided it was 43:03 time to leave high school and make the move. I'm going to go to Yosemite. 43:07 I had a down vest, two red bandanas, a pair of rock-climbing shoes, $75, 43:12 and a VW Bug." I had one of those in college myself. 43:15 "But what else did I need? I'd find work in the valley. I'd spend my time off 43:19 in the mountains. More out of courtesy than anything" -- 43:21 Now, listen up -- "I swung by Randy's house first thing on a Sunday morning 43:25 to say goodbye to let him know I was leaving. I knocked on the door, 43:29 and after a long couple of minutes, Randy answered. He was groggy and bed-headed." 43:35 You ever seen yourself when you get out of bed -- what your head looks like? 43:39 He was looking like that. "I had obviously woken him. I gave him the rundown 43:42 on what I was doing. All the while, Randy stood patiently in the doorway, 43:45 trying his best to suppress a puzzled expression. 'You -- You're leaving soon?,' 43:51 he asked when I had finished. 'Yeah, right now, actually,' I said as I straightened my back 43:55 and barreled my chest to show I meant business. 'Look, Randy. 43:58 It's time for me to get out of here. I just came by to thank you 44:00 for hanging out with me and being a great friend.' Randy kept his earnest and 44:03 concerned face, but he didn't say a word. 'Oh, hey,' I inserted. 44:08 'Will you tell your girlfriend goodbye for me, too -- you know, when you see her next?' 44:13 Again, no words from Randy. He had this weird, faraway look on his face like he was looking 44:18 right through me. He snapped back into our conversation -- 'Hey, Bob. 44:22 Would you wait here for a second while I check something out?' 'No sweat, Randy.' 44:30 I had nothing but time now. What did I care? Randy disappeared for a few 44:33 minutes into the house while I stood awkwardly on his porch with my hands 44:37 shoved in my pockets. When he came back to the door, he had a tattered backpack 44:42 hanging over his shoulder by one frayed strap and a sleeping bag under his 44:45 other arm. He was focused and direct, and all he said was this, 44:48 'Bob, I'm with you.'" Hmm. "Something in his words 44:55 rang right through me. He didn't lecture me about how I was blowing it and throwing 44:59 opportunities away by leaving high school. He didn't tell me I was a fool 45:02 and that my idea would fall off the tracks on the way to the launch pad. 45:06 He didn't tell me that I would surely crater even if I did briefly lift off. 45:10 He was resolute, unequivocal, and had no agenda. He was with me. 45:17 Despite the kind gesture, it was pretty odd to think he wanted to come along. 45:22 'Uh, um, s-sure. I guess,' I said, half-heartedly. 45:25 'You sure?' 'Yeah, Bob. I'm in. If you wouldn't mind, 45:30 what if I caught a ride with you?' Randy stood with a determined 45:34 look. 'So, let me get this straight. You want to drive to Yosemite 45:39 with me right now?' 'Yep, that's right. I can find my way back 45:43 after we've got there and you have got settled in.' I'm not sure why I accepted 45:47 Randy's genuine self-invitation. I guess it's because it caught me totally off guard. 45:52 No one had ever expressed an interest in me like that before. 45:59 'Sure,' I stammered as we both stood awkwardly on his stoop. 'I guess we should get going 46:04 then.' And with that, Randy closed the door to his little house, 46:07 and we walked side by side to my VW Bug. He plopped into the passenger 46:10 seat and threw his stuff on the top of mine on the back seat. 46:13 We got up to Yosemite before nightfall, and it occurred to me for the first time we had 46:17 no place to stay. We had a couple of sleeping bags, no tent, and very little 46:23 money, so we bedded down in an empty campground. The next morning, we woke up 46:28 to a chilly, but glorious morning in Yosemite Valley. To the north of us, 46:31 El Capitan soared 3,000 feet straight up like a granite soldier. 46:35 Half Dome dominated the landscape to the east. These were my companions now. 46:39 This was my cathedral. I was in the valley living room of my new home. 46:43 Now it was time to get a job and settle in. I rolled over in my sleeping 46:48 bag, thinking about how great it was to have Randy with me. I was a little nervous, 46:52 but also excited about my newfound freedom. I was a man now. 46:54 I felt my chin for any signs of whiskers. Nothing yet, but I shaved anyway 46:57 just in case. Randy and I dusted off the stiffness that comes 47:03 from tent camping, and we went to Camp Curry Company Cafeteria. I thought I could get a job 47:08 flipping pancakes in the morning, which would then leave the rest of the day 47:10 to climb. I finished the job application in front of the manager, 47:14 handed it to him. He gave it right back, sternly shaking his head 'no.' 47:20 He didn't even pretend to be interested, but I was secretly thankful he at least humored me 47:24 enough to let me apply. No matter. Undaunted, I went to one of 47:28 the rock-climbing outfitters with a storefront in the valley. I told them I'd do whatever 47:32 they needed. I was sure that what I lacked in experience, I could make up 47:37 for by what I lacked in maturity or raw intelligence. They said they didn't have any 47:42 work for me, either -- that the jobs were tight and almost impossible to get in the valley. 47:45 I walked out of the store discouraged, and I looked at Randy, who was leaning against 47:51 the VW. Rather than feeding my discouragement or saying, 47:55 'I told you so,' Randy fed my soul with words of truth and perspective. 47:59 'Bob, you can do this thing if you want. You have the stuff it takes 48:02 to pull it off. These guys don't know what they're missing. 48:08 Let's try a few more places.' And then just like he had said the day before on his porch, 48:12 Randy reiterated his statement. 'Either way, Bob, I'm with you.' His words gave me tremendous 48:20 comfort. I applied at nearly every business in the valley 48:23 and struck out every time. There certainly were no jobs available and no hope 48:27 of one opening up soon. Randy and I headed back to the campsite. 48:32 We sat on the front bumper of my VW Bug and leaned back against its flimsy 48:35 and slightly rusted hood that buckled slightly under our weight. 48:39 The sun was getting low in the valley again, and the granite cliffs 48:42 I had hopped to count as neighbors were casting long, dark shadows on the ground, 48:46 each of the evening shadows pointing toward the road exiting the valley. 48:51 I had only a few bucks left after buying gas, and Randy offered to spring for dinner, 48:54 and as we walked back out to the car after eating, I turned to Randy, and I said, 48:58 'You know, Randy, you've been great coming with me and everything, but it looks 49:01 like I'm striking out. I think what I'll do is head back and finish up high school.' 49:06 After a short pause, Randy said again what had become a comfort to me throughout 49:10 the trip -- 'Man, whatever you decide, just know that either way, I'm with you, Bob.' 49:16 Randy had been with me, and I could tell that he was with me in spirit as much 49:19 as with me in his presence. He was committed to me. He believed in me. 49:22 I wasn't a project. I was his friend. I wondered if maybe all 49:25 Christians operated this way. I didn't think so, because most of them I had met until 49:29 that time were kind of wimpy and seemed to have more opinions about what or who they were 49:33 against than who they were for. 49:37 Without much more discussion, Randy and I exchanged 49:40 a silent look and a nod, which meant we were done. 49:43 Without a word, I hopped in the driver's seat of the car, 49:45 Randy hopped in the passenger's seat, and we followed the path 49:48 cast by the long shadows the day before. 49:50 I was going back. We did not --" 49:52 Now, listen to this. Here it comes. 49:53 "We did not talk much as we left Yosemite Valley, or for much 49:56 of the way home for that matter. A dream of mine had just checked 50:00 into hospice. Randy was sensitive enough 50:05 to know I needed some margin to think. 50:07 We drove for five or six quiet hours. 50:10 Every once in a while, Randy would check in on me 50:11 in his confident, upbeat voice -- 50:13 'Hey, how you doing, Bob?' We pulled down some familiar 50:17 streets and into Randy's driveway. 50:19 There was another car in the drive next to Randy's that looked like his 50:24 girlfriend's. She visited often. We walked up to the front door, 50:27 and he opened it, and I walked in behind Randy uninvited, but somehow I still felt 50:31 welcome. On the floor, I noticed a stack of plates and some wrapping 50:34 paper, a coffee maker, some glasses. On the couch, there was 50:38 a microwave half in a box. I didn't understand at first. I mean, had Randy just had 50:42 a birthday, or was it his girlfriend's? I mean, a microwave seemed 50:45 like a weird way to celebrate someone's arrival into the world. 50:50 I knew Randy wasn't moving because there wouldn't be wrapping paper. 50:54 Then from around the corner, the other half of this couple bounded out and threw her arms 50:58 around Randy. 'Welcome home, honey!' Then the nickel dropped. 51:05 I felt both sick and choked up in an instant. I realized that these are 51:08 wedding presents on the floor. Randy and his girlfriend had just gotten married 51:13 when I knocked on Randy's door that Sunday morning. But Randy didn't see just 51:19 a high school kid who had disrupted the beginning of his marriage. 51:22 He saw a kid who was about to jump the tracks. Instead of spending the early 51:26 days of his marriage with his bride, he spent it with me, sneaking into 51:29 the back of a tent. Why? It was because Randy loved me. 51:36 That's why. He saw the need, and he did something about it. 51:40 He didn't just say he was for me or with me, he was actually present 51:44 with me. What I learned from Randy changed my view permanently 51:49 about what it meant to have a friendship with Jesus. I learned that faith isn't 51:54 about knowing all the right stuff or all about obeying a list of rules. 51:58 It's something more -- something more costly because it involves being 52:02 present and making a sacrifice. Perhaps that's why Jesus is sometimes called Emmanuel, 52:06 God with us. I think that's what God had in mind -- for Jesus to be 52:09 present, to be just with us. It's also what He had in mind for us when it comes to other 52:14 people." 52:15 Now, his last sentence I need you to get. 52:17 It's in your Study Guide, and it will be on the screen, 52:19 and I'm going to read it to you. This is his last... 52:34 "It's a love that operates more like a sign language 52:37 than being spoken outright." Oh, I like that. 52:39 "It operates like a sign language. 52:41 What I learned from Randy about the brand of love 52:44 Jesus offers is that it's more about presence" -- 52:47 Write that in, will you? "It's more about presence 52:49 than undertaking a project"... 52:55 "What I learned from Randy reinforced the simple truth 52:58 that continues to weave itself into the tapestry of every 53:01 great story" -- Write it down -- "Love does." 53:08 Isn't that good? It's precisely what Calvary did when God poured out His Trinity 53:16 love on a race of runaway rebels like you and me. Love does. 53:23 It's what we do. When every morning we ask the Holy Spirit, fill me with 53:29 Trinity love today, and then we go out and do. We don't just go out, 53:35 we go out and do because love does. Love does. 53:44 The question is, can you feel the love? No, no, no, no, no. 53:50 That's not the right question. Can they feel the love? Can they? 54:01 Can you? 54:06 [ "'Tis Love That Makes Us Happy" plays ] 54:19 [ Congregation sings ] 54:33 [ Congregation sings ] 55:00 [ Congregation sings ] 55:14 [ Congregation sings ] 55:44 [ Congregation sings ] 56:12 [ Congregation sings ] 56:30 Oh, God, You are love -- Trinity love -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 56:35 Pour out that love into our hearts as we stand before You. And not just now, but today 56:43 and today and today. Wherever You send us, spill Your love out of us 56:50 to a world desperate for somebody to just show up and love me. 56:56 And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Father 57:05 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 57:14 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying 57:17 for you." Didn't it give you a sense 57:20 of peace and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:23 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our 57:25 viewers saying, "Yo, Dwight. I've been praying for you 57:27 lately." There's nothing like knowing 57:28 someone is praying for you. So I want to offer you 57:31 an opportunity to partner -- let me, let us partner 57:33 with you in prayer. If you have a special prayer 57:36 request or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share 57:38 with us, I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly 57:41 chaplains. It's simple to do. 57:43 You can call our toll-free number -- 877 -- the two words, 57:46 HIS WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:49 That friendly voice that answers, you tell him, 57:52 you tell her what your prayer need is, we'll join with you 57:55 in that petition. May the God who answers prayer 57:58 journey with you these next few days until we're right back 58:01 here together again next time. 58:06 ♪♪ 58:25 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-03-06