Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180609A
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00:09 >> Would you stand with me as we sing, "All Things Bright and 00:13 Beautiful"? 00:15 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 00:45 ♪♪ ♪♪ 01:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 01:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ 01:45 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:24 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:04 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:24 ♪♪ [ Song ends ] 03:34 Amen. Isn't our God wonderful? 03:37 He has given us a reason to praise Him, and that's why -- 03:41 because He's great, because He has made all things. 03:44 We go before Him, and we fall down, and we give our all. 03:47 We surrender all to Him. So sing with me now, sing with 03:50 us now -- "We fall down, we lay our crowns." 03:53 Because who are we before the great God and King? 03:58 Sing with me. ♪♪ 04:09 ♪♪ ♪♪ 04:29 ♪♪ ♪♪ 04:49 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:09 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:29 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:48 And He's amazing for it, is He not? He's given us His grace. 05:53 Sing "Amazing Grace." ♪♪ Here we go. 06:02 "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound." 06:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:45 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:45 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:45 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:40 [ Song ends ] Amen, amen. 09:43 Now, this next song you all may not be familiar with, but it is such a simple song, and it 09:48 speaks so true and so real to what our daily struggle and our daily toil should be about. 09:55 It's all about falling in love with Jesus. At the end of the day, when we 10:00 look around us and we see the birds in the air and we see the animals all around us, they have 10:04 learned to fall in love and trust in God, but we struggle because we have not learned to 10:11 have a relationship with Him that we put above everything else. 10:13 So when you say these words, when you talk about falling in love with Jesus, when you talk 10:17 about having a relationship with Him, understand that that's the beginning and the end. 10:22 That's why we were created, to be loved -- just to be loved. So let's take a moment to fall 10:27 back in love, to think about what it is to be in love with the Savior, with the God who 10:32 gave us everything -- "the very breath that's in our nostrils," Job says. 10:37 That belongs to me. So listen as I sing "Falling in Love With Jesus," 10:42 this first little verse, and then sing it back with me, and just open your hearts up to our 10:47 great God. It goes like this. 10:51 ♪♪ ♪♪ 11:11 ♪♪ Sing it with me. 11:23 ♪♪ ♪♪ 11:43 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:03 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:23 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:42 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:54 This is your chance now to come down and lay your burdens before the throne or just lay a 13:01 praise. "God, You are so good, and it's awesome to be Your child. 13:05 I just want to tell You how much I love You." So come down now. 13:09 Don't let the pews or the people standing next to you or you feeling closed up in the middle 13:15 stop you. Move down towards the throne, and pour your heart out to the 13:18 Father. 13:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:19 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:39 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:19 ♪♪ 15:32 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:52 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 16:22 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 16:52 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 17:22 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 17:52 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 18:21 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 18:51 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 19:21 ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Song ends ] 19:39 >> Amen. 19:43 >> So, I'm walking around today, and I'm picking up -- there's a little theme going on, and so I 19:47 grab a pen, and I start writing it down. I got to share this with you -- 19:50 unbelievable. 19:51 There are people who are having -- no kidding -- they're 19:54 having their wedding anniversary today. 19:58 But Bill and Ruth Chobatar -- I'll start with the youngest -- 20:02 and their kids, Todd and Janine Chobatar, down in 20:05 Orlando, they're celebrating their 22nd anniversary. 20:10 Wow. And then I go into Sabbath 20:12 school with Ella because I want to be with Ella and Isabelle in 20:15 Sabbath school, and Bruce Clausse is up front 20:17 leading, and I find out Bruce and Linda Clausse are 20:20 celebrating number 36 today. 20:24 And then I show up in first church and find out that these beautiful flowers are in honor 20:28 of Ben and Sandy Chilson, who are celebrating their number 50 today. 20:34 And then I'm talking in the hallway about this, and I bump into Glen Johnson, who informs 20:39 me that he and Carline are celebrating their number 62 today. 20:42 [ Congregants murmur ] Wow! And as it turns out, Karen and I 20:47 are celebrating our number 44 today, so what's up with that? You know, we got married right 20:51 after they invented electricity, so I know that's been awhile after all but... 20:55 [ Laughter ] Can you believe that? So, I have a little poem I wrote 20:58 for all the men in these couples, and I spent some time in this poem -- a poem I've 21:03 written for all the men in these anniversaries, and there may be others that are celebrating it. 21:09 Here's the poem. It's not real long. But it's still a poem. 21:16 "Roses are red..." [ Laughter ] Have you heard this one before? 21:22 [ Laughter ] Are you serious? I would write something, and 21:25 you've already heard it? "Roses are red, violets are blue -- I'm forever grateful to 21:31 God because I fell in love and married you." Hallelujah. 21:35 All right, put your hands together for all these couples. They're out there. 21:39 God bless them. [ Applause ] You're having an anniversary -- 21:42 and June is a wedding month, so you're gonna have an anniversary this month, please receive our 21:48 very best wishes that God will make the next chapter ahead of you even better than what you've 21:53 had. He is so good. Yeah. 21:58 All right, I want to pray, and then I'm really excited about this teaching. 22:01 Let's get to it right now. Dear Father, a full morning in worship, that's what happens 22:06 when we come to Your house. Thank You for worship today. And we're glad we didn't have to 22:12 come alone, that there are people sitting around us -- strangers, but we're still 22:15 together. And now we come to the moment when we turn to Your Word, and 22:18 we want the Word to speak an intelligible word that we can pick up and take into the busy 22:26 life. So may that be the case today. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 22:32 When I say "the ravens," those who are sports-minded among us immediately think of the NFL 22:39 franchise in -- what city? In Baltimore. Baltimore Ravens, right? 22:43 But when I say "the raven," singular, the literary-minded among us, they immediately think 22:51 of Edgar Allan Poe and his poem, "The Raven." "Once upon a midnight dreary, 22:56 when I pondered weak and weary -- Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'" 23:03 And when I say "raven," singular, to the Bible-minded among us, they immediately think 23:07 of Noah, who opens the windows of the ark and -- pfft! -- there goes that raven, trying to find 23:11 anywhere to land. Nope. Home again. And to these same Bible-minded 23:19 among us, when I say "the ravens," plural... nobody thinks about Jesus. 23:27 Everybody thinks about Elijah, when, in fact, Jesus has very much to do with the ravens, as 23:33 we're about to find out, but, first, the story of Elijah. So I want to go that story. 23:38 Once upon a time, in the sweet incense, the servant fan waving -- throne room of a 23:47 wicked king -- a rogue prophet shows up. Let's go -- 1 Kings 17. 23:52 Open your Bible to 1 Kings 17, and while you're doing that, if we could just get the volume 23:57 down just a tad? We're getting a bit of a ring up here, guys. 24:01 Bless you. 1 Kings 17:1. I'll be in the 24:04 New International Version today. 24:07 Oh, by the way, while you're finding 1 Kings 17 in the 24:09 Old Testament, this is number two in our series "Gone to the 24:12 Birds: Lessons from the Divine Ornithologist --" eagles last 24:15 week, ravens today. I wonder what next Sabbath is 24:18 going to be. Just five Sabbaths in June, but 24:20 a different bird every time. Let's go to 1 Kings 17:1. 24:26 "Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 24:30 'As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve --'" 24:34 "before whom I stand," some of your translations read -- "there 24:38 will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my 24:42 word." It's just like a hand grenade. 24:44 He just tosses that hand grenade into the Oval Office and then 24:47 walks away. Boom, he's gone. 24:49 And before the king can say, "Get it," he's gone, 24:51 disappeared. Verse two. 24:54 "And then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 'Leave here --'" 24:57 "Quick, quick! Go, go, go, go!" 24:59 "'Turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the 25:01 Jordan. You will drink from the brook, 25:03 and I have commanded --'" some of your translations read, "'I 25:07 have commanded the --'" what? Ah, "'The ravens to supply you 25:13 with food there.'" Here they are, featured bird 25:16 number two. And, sure enough, verse five, 25:19 "So Elijah did what the Lord had told him." 25:31 Do you know the difference between a raven and a crow, hmm? 25:35 I didn't either. You know what I thought? And I'm embarrassed to tell you 25:38 this because this is how ignorant I am. I thought raven and crow were 25:41 just synonyms for the same bird. Wrong! [ Chuckles ] I found out this 25:47 week that they'revery different -- oh, my -- very different, the raven and the 25:51 crow -- same family, but very different. In fact, let me share with you 25:55 the differences. I got them scribbled down right here. 25:57 Ravens are bigger than crows. Yeah, they're a little huskier. [ Exhales sharply, grunts ] 26:01 Number two, crows go, "Caw, caw, caw!" [ Hoarsely ] Something like 26:07 that. [ Clears throat ] [ Normal voice ] I ought to quit 26:09 trying -- [Laughs] I ought to quit trying to talk like these birds. 26:12 "What are you, bilingual, Dwight?" [ Laughter ] 26:14 No, I'm not. Crows go -- what you just heard. [ Laughs ] 26:19 And rave-- No, seriously, ravens go, "Crow, crow, crow!" So crows go, "Caw, caw, caw!" 26:27 Yeah, you got the difference. Okay. Number three, ravens travel in 26:31 pairs, and they're mated for life. Happy anniversary. 26:34 They're mated for life. Not crows. Crows fly alone or fly in flocks 26:40 that are called "murders." That's the technical name. They're called murders, old 26:44 flock of crows. And, finally, in flight, ravens have a wedge-shaped tail so 26:50 that, when they put the tail out, it looks very flat because the feather lengths are 26:53 different. Crows have the same length, and so it looks like a fan, and 26:55 that's how you're going to be able to tell the difference. But ravens and crows -- Listen 27:01 to this, choir. Ravens and crows have one stunning similarity, and that 27:05 is, because they are part of the corvid family, their brains -- get this -- their brains are 27:12 among the largest in all the bird kingdom. Largest brains. 27:17 In fact, did you know that the brain/body-weight ratio for ravens is the same as the apes, 27:24 the whales, and the humans? [ Chuckles ] They're very smart. So when I told the kids about 27:30 this little BBC clip, you got to -- not now, please. This little clip, you've got to 27:35 watch it. Watch it after dessert today. It's fascinating. 27:38 You're gonna watch an American crow, a North American crow -- you're gonna watch him go 27:43 through an amazing eight-step, sequential, problem-solving maze, and you're going to say, 27:47 "How did he do that?" There's only one way that you and I as friends of God would 27:53 respond. [ Scoffs ] God gave him a very -- they're the brainiacs of 27:58 the bird kingdom -- a very bright mind. Which explains why God could 28:03 come to the ravens -- I imagine it was just two ravens. If they travel in pairs, it's 28:07 just two ravens. And He comes to the ravens, and He said, "Mr. and Mrs. Raven, I 28:10 need some help with this man named Elijah. I'm going to provide breakfast, 28:13 and I'll provide supper, but I need you to be the room service. I need you to go to where he is, 28:18 and I'll tell you where he is, and you'll find him -- morning, and I want you to give him bread 28:22 and meat and come back in the evening -- bread and meat. Did you get that, ravens?" 28:28 "Crow, crow, crow, crow! Got it." And that's exactly what they 28:34 did. Intelligent. I mean, these birds are -- I 28:37 hate to tell you about this, but these birds are really shysters. They're a bunch of crooks. 28:43 They're stealing each other's food all the time, and that's why the raven has learned, if 28:46 you hide the food, your cache of food, nobody will see. And that's why ravens will fake 28:52 like they're hiding their food and all their buddies are watching. 28:56 [ Chuckles ] [ Chittering ] They didn't hide a thing. 29:00 [ Exhales sharply ] They're gone, and they hide it somewhere else. 29:04 Ravens have been known to summon wolves. "Wolves! Come over here!" 29:07 I don't know how they do it, but they get the wolves there when they find a carcass because the 29:11 ravens can't tear a carcass open. They need the wolves to rip it 29:14 open, and then they'll go and pick supper or breakfast. They're smart. 29:20 The juvenile ravens -- get this. Juvenile ravens have been seen and observed to climb a snowbank 29:25 and then slide down on their rump -- turn around and run right back up, slide down again. 29:31 There is no biological purpose for this. They are just having fun. 29:35 No kidding. They're social creatures. They will take twigs, cut them 29:39 up into little parts, so that they can play social games together. 29:43 Now you know where you got it from. Same Creator. 29:47 And so, in obedience to that Creator's command, the ravens -- we just read it -- bring Elijah 29:53 breakfast and supper every single day. Now, lookit, it's not a menu 29:58 with a whole lot of variety. It's just bread and meat. In the Hebrew, it's "bread and 30:02 meat, bread and meat." It's not a menu for a vegetarian, certainly not for a 30:06 vegan, but, you know, when you're running out of food, that's what you get. 30:13 Which, by the way, in all essence, is really a tribute. It's not a tribute to these 30:17 smart ravens. It's a tribute to the intelligent designer of this 30:20 universe, who equipped His creation to respond to Him. I mean, you think about it. 30:28 I don't suppose the Creator is ever without help. All he has to go is go -- 30:32 [ Snaps fingers ] [ Exhales deeply ] Or come -- 30:35 [ Breathes harshly ] Or somebody purring, some big cat purring up against Him. 30:39 If the Creator needs transportation, He summons a whale. 30:42 "Hey, whale, I need you -- transport." Jesus said, "If you tell these 30:47 people to shut their mouths, I'll tell you what, the rocks will become a choir of praise. 30:52 They will start singing to me." If God needs a spokesman because He's got a recalcitrant prophet, 31:00 the donkey starts talking. That's just the way it is. All of creation loves the 31:05 Creator, except the human race and one third of the angels. Go figure. Go figure. 31:12 But even if you're a friend of God, the truth is, if nature goes berserk, you reap the 31:16 consequences, and that's exactly what happens here. Look at this. 31:19 Look at verse seven. 31:28 Elijah said, "Not until you hear from me again, you wicked king, will you get rain." 31:33 He has to bear the brunt of it. So the Spirit of the Lord comes to Elijah, and He says, "Elijah, 31:39 listen, you got to get out of here. We're going to put you in a 31:42 pagan land. Ahab will never think of looking for you there. 31:45 And when you get to that little village -- it'll be a pagan village -- you will see a little 31:50 lady outside the walls of the village. She will be picking up sticks, 31:53 and then --" [ Whispering indistinctly ] "That's what I need you to do." 31:57 And, sure enough, Elijah does that. He goes into that pagan land of 32:00 Sidon, and there is Zarephath. There is a woman. By this point, would you be 32:05 saying, "You can count on God"? It's all happened exactly as he was told. 32:12 And he says, "My dear woman, I am a stranger." [ Chuckles ] And she looked up. 32:17 She could tell just by looking at him. What are we talking about? 32:20 We're talking about camel hair, leather garment, mantle over his shoulder, bushy beard, thick 32:26 eyebrows. He's also a holy man. The woman can figure it out -- 32:30 he's a holy man. And he speaks like an Israelite. "Dear woman, I'm from out of 32:35 town, and I am so hungry and thirsty. Could you please go back to your 32:40 home and make a little bread for me and some water? Bring it to me, and I'll leave 32:43 you alone." And the woman looks at him. "As the Lord your God is Yahweh, 32:47 your -- I've heard of the name of your God. As Yahweh, your God, lives, let 32:52 me tell you something, buddy. I'm picking up sticks right now for the last little fire. 32:56 I have a little oil, a little fire. My son and I will have our last 33:00 supper together, and then it's finis. We'll die." 33:06 Elijah sees the anguish on that woman's countenance, and he says, "Woman, woman, woman, 33:12 woman. Don't be afraid. My God will take care of you if 33:24 you first do this." Something about the man prompts her. 33:28 She does. Now read the ending. Read the ending to the story 33:30 here, verse 15. 33:39 Verse 16. 33:50 I'm telling you what, ladies and gentlemen, it is absolutely 33:52 true. 33:53 God will take care of you. He will take care of you. 34:02 If, like Elijah, if, like the widow, you make God first, He will make it last and last and 34:16 last if you first make God first. That's no quid pro quo. 34:25 That's, "Do you really want me?" That's all it is. "Do you really want me? 34:31 'Cause I run the whole universe." Let's talk about ravens for one 34:39 more moment. There's an interesting little couplet that I found getting 34:42 ready for this message today, two little lines. I'm gonna run them by you, put 34:45 them on the screen. They're in your study guide. It's a take-home study guide, no 34:48 fill in the blanks. Let's put the first one up, Job 38:41. 34:52 God is talking to Job, and He's saying, "Okay, Job, where were you, where were you? 34:54 Who did this, who did this, who did this?" These are all rhetorical 34:57 questions. We know the answer is God. "You did, You did, You did." 35:00 But He's trying to make a point to Job, and he says, "Hey, Job, 35:03 who provides food for the raven when its young cry out --" crow, 35:07 crow, crow -- "when its young cry out to God and wander about 35:10 for lack of food?" Who do you suppose does that? 35:12 And if we don't get it, because it's a rhetorical question and 35:15 we're not aware that the answer is embedded in the question, the 35:18 psalmist comes along in Psalm 147:9, and he answers the 35:21 question for us. 35:23 "He," God, "provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call." 35:31 Can you believe that? The little ravens call to Him, God hears them calling, and He 35:37 says, "Get food to them. Get food to them. Help Mama get that -- Help Papa 35:41 get that food..." leading us to this stunning assumption. 35:47 Apparently, the Creator of the universe -- get this. 35:50 Listen, listen. Apparently, the Creator of the 35:52 universe, 24/7, is monitoring all His creation, including you 36:00 and me -- 24/7. We are so excited to have Kirk 36:05 and Chelsea with us. I mean, are we high-fiving 36:07 our -- And Karen and I get them for seven days. 36:11 Wow. Let me tell you about their 36:13 little girls, precious little girls -- Ella, 4 and 2/3rds, and 36:18 Isabelle is just 3 months old. But, anyway, they've got this 36:23 gizmo. I tell you, high-tech parenting, 36:25 what's up with that? 36:27 They got this gizmo. They can put the gizmo up in one room, put another part of the 36:31 gizmo in the room where little Ella is taking a nap or, in the middle of the night, is 36:36 sleeping, and do you know what? This high-tech piece is a video/audio infrared monitor 36:43 that keeps Mother Chelsea in instantaneous visual, auditory touch with her sleeping girl day 36:50 or night. You can't believe it. And let me tell you, more than 36:54 that -- This is a wonder drug. More than that, Chelsea or Kirk can get right up to that 37:00 device, push a button, and it happens -- they speak, and the little girls, who cannot see 37:07 Mother or Father anywhere, hear the voice of their parent. "[ Whispering ] Get back to 37:13 bed." [ Laughter ] [ Normal voice ] Just like God, 37:20 24/7 monitor. He doesn't even have to show up. He just sends a voice, and He 37:24 plays down this little -- Infrared, in the middle of the night, He's watching you. 37:28 Infrared, in the middle of the night, He says, "I have a word for you," and you hear it. 37:32 You don't see Him, but you hear it. That's the God of the universe, 37:36 day and night, constantly monitoring the plight, the needs, the safety, the wants, 37:40 the cries of His little creatures like you and me. And when the young little 37:43 ravens -- "croak, croak, croak, croak, croak, croak, croak --" when they cry out for food, the 37:47 heart of God is touched. "Help that mother get some food, will you?" 37:53 Which, by the way, is a perfect segue to Jesus and his own comments. 37:59 You didn't know that Jesus actually made some comments about ravens. 38:02 You know why? Because we're so enamored with the Sermon on the Mount in 38:05 Matthew and we don't realize that Luke has cut up that Sermon on the Mount and spread 38:08 it all the way through his Gospel, that when one of the cut-up pieces is rendered in 38:11 Luke, it's not like in Matthew, and I'm going to show this to you, the last chapter that we're 38:15 in. So we leave 1 Kings 17 and we go to Luke 12 because we want some 38:19 red letters before we leave this building. Luke chapter 12. 38:22 Please find Luke 12:22. 38:27 Luke 12:22. "Then Jesus said to his 38:30 disciples --" that would be you and me -- "'therefore, I tell 38:33 you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or 38:37 about your body, what you will wear. 38:39 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 38:43 Consider the ravens --'" Ooh! It just says "birds" in Matthew. 38:47 "'Consider the ravens," Luke adds. 38:50 "'They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet 38:54 God feeds them. And how much more valuable you 38:58 are than birds!'" 39:00 It's as if Jesus -- who is, by the way, poor as a church mouse, poor as a church mouse. 39:06 It's as if Jesus is saying, "Yo, human beings, fellow human beings, think with me. 39:11 Why do you worry? Why are you fretting? Why do you have this knot in 39:17 your stomach that gets tighter by the day? Why are you anxious? 39:21 Don't you understand that the God of the universe, who is your personal Creator, is able to 39:28 handle every detail of your life? Don't you think you're worth 39:32 more than the ravens that He makes sure get food?" Rhetorical questions, and we 39:39 know the answer. Of course. Aren't you more valuable? 39:44 In fact, Luke puts that little device in there to remind us. He's already -- Jesus has 39:47 already said that in verse six. 39:49 So just go back to the top of chapter 12, verse 6 -- Jesus 39:53 speaking. "'Are not five sparrows sold for 39:56 two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten 39:59 by God.'" Go to the last part of verse 40:01 seven. "'Don't be afraid; you are worth 40:04 more than many sparrows.'" Ken Logan, our minister of 40:10 music -- It's always a pleasure to be a partner with him in 40:13 worship planning. 40:15 Ken Logan has been composing some choral music and came across this delightful but 40:21 poignant quatrain by the English poet John Banister Tabb. You have these four lines in 40:26 your study guide. You'll take them home with you. This was composed back in 1900. 40:31 He titled this quatrain "Holy Ground." 40:34 I'll put it on the screen for you. 40:36 "PAUSE --" and the poet made sure that's in all caps. 40:38 "PAUSE --" he wants us to slow do-- "Come on, slow down. 40:42 Slow down." 40:57 How tender and how true. 24/7. 41:02 Even the sparrows are being monitored. 41:07 And when one falls, God marks the spot. 41:12 Oh, I love this from "Desire of Ages." 41:13 Please put it on the screen. 41:30 Hit the pause button right there. If Satan could get his hands on 41:33 every squirrel, one hand here and one hand here, do you know what he would do? 41:36 [ Clicking tongue ] Just wring the neck, kill 'em. Just kill 'em. 41:41 "We don't need -- I hate this music. Kill it." 41:45 Every creature he would destroy. Guess who's been on your tail from the day you were born, 41:51 every day, waiting for his chance. Ugh. 41:57 Read that last line. 42:07 24/7, the Creator of the universe monitoring His 42:12 creation. 42:14 My, my, my, my, my. Our little girl, Chrissy, she had a pet hamster named Patches. 42:24 Can you picture a hamster? Big fluff of fur. Hamster. Okay, so, we went to Walmart and 42:30 bought this little Hamster cage, and they have these little things in them, so the hamster 42:34 just running around. That's all the hamster does. But Chrissy just loved that 42:38 little Patches. She'd feed it, she'd clean the little cage, and, one night, as 42:42 she was getting ready to go to bed, we noticed that Patches was not behaving -- very lethargic, 42:47 very lethargic, not his energetic self. "What's going on with Patches?" 42:51 We tried to get some water in him. Maybe he needs more water. 42:54 You can't force a hamster to eat. So did the water, we put Chrissy 42:59 to bed, and she prayed for Patches. But before going to bed 43:05 ourselves, we happened to check in on Patches, and you guessed it -- Patches is dead. 43:11 Just a little blob of fur, calico fur. We debate. 43:18 "Shall we tell her now, or shall we wait till the morning? But if we wait till the morning, 43:21 she said, 'When did it happen?' And let's go tell her now." And so we tiptoed into Chrissy's 43:25 darkened bedroom, where Ella is sleeping right now, and I said, "Chrissy, Chrissy." 43:33 And she opened her eyes. You know how your kids open their eyes when they're just 43:36 still asleep? And she sees, "Aww, it's Daddy." And so there's just this little 43:42 angelic smile on her face. "Why is he waking me up?" I said, "Chrissy, we just 43:48 checked on Patches. We have some bad news. Patches died." 43:55 And I tell you what, I'll never forget this moment as long as I live. 44:01 She's still -- her head on the pillow. She's looking straight into my 44:05 face. And you know how that child can just lie there without moving, 44:09 and that reservoir that is behind the eyelids, that dam just begins to fill. 44:14 She doesn't say a word. It just starts overflowing. My heart was broken. 44:23 I knew about this quotation, and I thought to myself, "God, kill him." 44:34 Sorry to admit that. We don't need any more of him on this planet. 44:42 God doesn't need any more of him on this planet. It's the children here that He's 44:46 desperately scrambling -- "Get as many of these kids, and then I'm pulling the plug. 44:50 Just get as many of them as you can." 44:58 This week, Andrews University was stunned with the news, the tragic news, that one of our 45:04 own working at LithoTech, a young mother, Tracy Seitenstich, coming home from a ballgame 45:12 Sunday night -- head-on collision. Gone. 45:20 Do you understand that the Father of this universe is with her parents right now, huddled 45:27 over them, holding them as close as He can? You know who did this. 45:33 We just read it. Jesus said in Matthew 13, "An enemy did this." 45:39 We live where the enemy still reigns. 45:41 In fact, on that same page, in "Desire of Ages" -- I'll put 45:44 this line on the screen for you. 45:53 "Aren't you worth more than five sparrows to Him?" the Creator turned human asks us. 46:00 "Why are you afraid? Why do you fret? Won't He take care of you? 46:09 Even in death, won't He have the last word?" Make God first, and He'll make 46:21 it last... and, one day, last and last and last forever. 46:27 Ah, Jesus again here -- red-letter words, last time. 46:29 Verse 22. 46:45 Now final line, verse 31. "So seek God's kingdom, and all 46:50 these things that you're fretting about will be added to 46:55 you." 46:57 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God," as the King James puts it. Make God first, and He'll make 47:03 it last. He did it for Elijah, He did it for the widow, He's done it for 47:07 millions and millions of human beings, He does it for the little ravens. 47:11 He will take care of you. I promise -- No,Hepromises, "I will take care of you. 47:15 I will take care of you." I don't know what is the knot in your stomach today. 47:19 Some of you are so now bound up in fear and anxiety. You have hardly the courage to 47:27 face a new day. You can face that new day because the Creator who designed 47:33 you is beside you 24/7. He will take care of you. I love this line from 47:41 "Education." 47:55 It's all through the Cross. It's all through the Cross -- every blessing, every blessing. 48:06 So, I get a letter, e-mail, from one of our viewers, all right? 48:14 I'm sure a very dear person. I have no idea who she is. I have no idea where she 48:18 lives -- not in this area. And the e-mail begins this way -- "Okay, Pastor Dwight." 48:24 I'm gonna tell you something. When you get an e-mail and the first words are, "Okay -- Okay, 48:29 Pastor Dwight --" [ Inhales sharply ] Ooh. What's following? 48:34 "I took the tithe challenge." Now, what's she talking about? Well, one of our outlets is 48:38 still playing sermons from two, three, four years ago. And at one time, I said, "Hey, 48:41 listen, you don't believe that God can take care of you? Give Him a 90-day test. 48:45 Give him a 90-day test and say, 'God, I'm going to return everything that's yours. 48:49 First 10%, that's tithed. That's Yours. You can have it all.' 48:52 Just give Him 90 days, and see if He'll not come in." So she writes, "I took the tithe 48:56 challenge. NOW --" all caps -- "this month, the third month, my 49:00 Social Security income --" she's on fixed income -- "went from $868 to $745 per month because 49:06 the state stopped paying my Medicaid healthcare and I have to pay for my own out of my own 49:10 income. Tell me how that is a blessing for returning to God his tithe." 49:14 [ Inhales sharply ] "I'm saying aloud with Job, 'THOUGH HE SLAY ME, I WILL TRUST 49:20 HIM --" all caps. Please pray for my feeble faith, my struggling faith. 49:24 Thank you in advance. I'll let you know how God answers our prayer." 49:29 Ooh. Pressure's on. This came the 1st of April. 22 days later, here comes her 49:35 answer. And it doesn't begin with "okay." 49:39 [ Laughter ] "I recently e-mailed you to tell you that I took your 90-day 49:43 tithe challenge and my Social Security income dropped by over $100. 49:46 I told you I trusted God because I don't believe He lies, and when He said to PROVE --" all 49:51 caps -- "PROVE Him, so I did. I just needed prayer to keep my faith strong. 49:55 Well, I checked my balance today, and instead of the $100, there was $285 in my account." 50:04 Wow! And I know what you're thinking. [ Chuckles ] 50:08 You are thinking, "You know what? That's chump change. 50:13 Big deal, going from $100 to $285." But, my friend, that's precisely 50:19 my point. This little widow, who had very little, got more, and you, with 50:23 all that you have, are you trusting the same Creator God? Or are you holding it all for 50:31 yourself? "This is mine. I earned it. Nobodygets this." 50:38 Is that what you're doing? Ah. What could lead a little widow 50:45 with an e-mail to take on this challenge? Oh, she found a promise and a 50:49 command. I want to share with you what she found. 50:51 It's Malachi 3:10. You've probably read this before, but may I read it in 50:54 your hearing? 50:56 God speaking -- "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, 50:59 that there may be food in my house. 51:01 And test me --'" "'PROVE --'" all caps, she puts it -- 51:03 King James -- "'Prove me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 51:06 "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven 51:09 and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room 51:12 enough to store it.'" "I want you to test me," God 51:14 says, "because I know that what I've just commanded you is 51:17 counterintuitive. I know it doesn't make sense to 51:20 give a 10th away and then expect to have more when the month is 51:24 over. I understand that, but I rule 51:27 the universe, and I need your permission. 51:29 If you will return what is mine -- because it's not yours 51:33 anyway. If you will return what is mine, 51:36 you're telling me, 'I need You to run the whole shebang for 51:40 me.' I will run the entire outfit for 51:42 you is you tell me... I'm first. 51:48 You make me first, and I will make it last and last and last. 51:56 Make me first. That's because I'm not going to break your free choice. 52:02 I have to know, am I first? Show me. You show me. 52:09 I'll step right in. Make me first, and I will make it last not just for 90 days, 52:16 not just for 90 years, but do you know what? I'll make it last forever and 52:21 ever. Even to Tracy's family, I'll make that promise. 52:25 Forever and ever, I will restore her one day soon, and forever and ever, you have her." 52:38 Just ask Elijah. Just ask that little widow. Just ask the widow with the 52:45 e-mail. Just ask the ravens. Make Him first, and He will make 52:53 it last and last and last. I don't know about you, but I want to say amen to that 53:00 promise. How about it? ♪♪ 53:13 ♪♪ [ Congregation sings ] ♪♪ 53:34 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 54:04 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 54:34 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 55:04 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 55:34 ♪♪ Quieter -- now we're gonna do it a little quieter. 55:44 [ Congregation sings ] ♪♪ ♪♪ 56:06 ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Song ends ] 56:19 Oh, Father, we thank You. Jesus is right. You'll take care of us no matter 56:28 what -- no matter what. If we'll make You first, You'll make it last and last and last. 56:41 And for that, we praise You. "And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love 56:49 of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." Amen. 56:57 >> Amen. ♪♪ 57:11 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying for 57:14 you." Didn't it give you a sense of 57:16 peace and reassurance that, "Somebody cares for me"? 57:20 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers saying, "Yo, Dwight, I've been 57:24 praying for you lately." There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you, so I 57:27 want to offer you an opportunity to partner -- let me, let us, partner with you in prayer. 57:32 If you have a special prayer request or a praise of 57:34 thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, I'm inviting you to 57:37 contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:39 It's simple to do. You can call our toll-free 57:41 number -- 877-- the two words -- HIS-WILL. 57:44 877-HIS-WILL. That friendly voice that 57:47 answers, you tell him, you tell her what your prayer need is, 57:51 and we'll join with you in that petition. 57:53 And may the God who answers prayer journey with you these 57:56 next few days until we're right back here together again next 57:59 time. 58:03 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-06-14