Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180908A
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00:10 [ "Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow" 00:13 begins ] 01:37 ♪♪ 01:53 [ Congregation singing ] 04:58 ♪♪ 05:08 [ "For the Beauty of the Earth" begins ] 06:22 ♪♪ 06:31 [ Congregation singing ] 07:09 ♪♪ 07:14 [ "None But Jesus" begins ] 07:18 ♪♪ 09:13 >> There's no one else. 09:41 >> Truly in Jesus we see exactly what we need, and doesn't it 09:47 draw you to Him? And today there might be 09:51 something on your heart that you've been struggling with 09:53 that's been weighing you down. Maybe there's something that you 09:56 haven't been wanting to give to Jesus, but I want you 09:58 to respond today. I want to invite you to come 10:00 to the front if you have something on your heart today. 10:04 Maybe it's a difficulty in your family or maybe it's a struggle in your soul, 10:09 and you want to symbolically give that to Jesus. As we sing the bridge and 10:14 the chorus one more time, come to the front and give it to Him. 10:17 ♪♪ 10:24 All my delight. [ Congregation singing ] 10:43 ♪♪ 11:01 ♪♪ 11:19 None but Jesus. ♪♪ 11:51 >> Oh, good morning, boys and girls. Nice to see you on this 11:54 beautiful Sabbath. You're just as beautiful as you've ever been, 12:00 and it's a joy to have you. Did you have a good week? >> Yes. 12:04 >> Yeah? Good. Glad you brought some friends. Oh, good. That's nice. 12:11 Say, I got a story from my friend Melchizedek Ponniah. He found this story for me. 12:16 Over in the Philippines, there's an island called Palawan -- Palawan. 12:24 Beautiful island, long island, and a fisherman lived on the island, just a young 12:27 fisherman, and one day, he took his little fishing boat out -- Anybody here go fishing? 12:31 See the fishermen right here in our St. Joseph River? He went a different kind 12:35 of fishing. He put on his mask so he could hardly talk, and then he went 12:39 down into the water, and he did fishing. One day when he went down 12:42 under the water, he saw something strange at the bottom. What is this? 12:47 Does anybody know what this is? And he went back up to the top, grabbed air -- 12:51 [ Gasps, gurgling ] Down, down, down. Ohh. 12:56 I wonder if I can lift -- I wonder if I can lift this up. [ Grunting ] 13:04 [ Breathing heavily ] He threw it in his boat. Oh, it was heavy. 13:07 How he did it by himself, I do not know. He got it in his boat, 13:11 took it back. He said, "You know, this is really strange. 13:13 I've never seen anything like this in my whole life. What are you supposed to do 13:16 with something like this? I don't know. I hope the neighbors don't see 13:18 me." He waited till the neighbors weren't looking. 13:20 He got to his boat, and he picked it up. Ooh, it's heavy. 13:23 He quickly -- Anybody looking? He hurried to his little house by by the seashore, 13:30 and he slipped it inside, and when you have something that you don't know where it's 13:34 supposed to go, where do you put it? Under the bed. 13:38 That's where he put it, under -- Isn't that were you put stuff? 13:41 He put it under the bed. Now it'll be fine. And he just left it there -- 13:47 just left it there. Never took it out, didn't tell anybody about it. 13:51 Shh! Nobody knows he has it under the bed. 13:57 Ten years go by. Ten years go by. He's moving -- [ Gasps ] 14:02 Oops. Under the bed. "Hello, Auntie. 14:06 Could you come over here, please, Auntie? I need you to tell me 14:09 what is this?" So his auntie hurries over to his little fishing house, 14:14 and she looks under the bed. She said, "How long have you had this?" 14:18 "Oh. I've had it about 10 years. I found it on the bottom 14:22 of the ocean. I don't know what to do with it. I'm moving. 14:24 Would you like it?" She said, "Let's call somebody." They called somebody, 14:29 and the somebody came, and here's what the somebody saw. 14:33 You want to see it on the big screen? Let's take a look. 14:36 That's what the somebody saw. Ahhh. 14:40 Look at that. What is it? 14:42 Seventy-five pounds. Whoo! 14:45 That's as much as some of you -- more than some of you. 14:48 Seventy-five pounds. What's it weigh? 14:50 Thirty-four kilos. 14:51 Yep, that would be kilos. About 24 inches long, wide. They said, "We got to get 14:58 somebody else to look at this." Another somebody came, and he looked at this, 15:02 and he said, "Hmm. Hmm. Do you know what this is? This is a pearl." 15:07 "No." Do you know what a pearl is? Those little round, white balls 15:12 that you see -- those little pearls? This is a giant pearl, 15:16 the largest pearl that's ever been found. Somebody else came in. 15:21 They said, "How much do you think it's worth?" He says, "Ooh. 15:24 Hmm. About $100 million." [ Gasps ] 15:29 $100 million, and he kept it under his bed? You better look under your bed. 15:35 [ Laughter ] What's going on? $100 million, and he's treating 15:39 it like just a little something you put under the bed. Sometimes -- Guess what? 15:43 Shh. Sometimes we do that with Jesus. He's just -- 15:46 Oh, He's just another name. We hear that name in Family Worship. 15:49 We hear that name in Church and Sabbath. It's just another little name." 15:52 I beg your pardon, sir. Just another little name? Huh? 15:58 He's the treasure of the whole universe. More than $100 million? 16:03 Way. Jesus -- The Bible, in fact, calls Him the Pearl 16:08 of Great Price. Oh, what a Jesus He is. He's the best Savior, 16:11 He's the best Creator, He's the best friend you'll ever have. 16:15 How many are thankful that He happens to be our friend, too? 16:19 So when you hear people talking about Him, that's a big deal. Go ahead and share Him 16:26 with others that you know. Who would like to thank Jesus for being our number-one 16:31 Pearl of Great Price -- our greatest and bestest Savior and friend? 16:38 Sissy, I saw your hand first. Come on up. All right. 16:42 What's your name? >> Zawadi. >> Zawadi. 16:44 We're gonna pray with Zawadi. Close your eyes, fold your hands, and, Zawadi, let's thank 16:48 Jesus. >> Dear Jesus. Thank you for this day. 16:53 Thank you for giving us life, and thank you that we have food and a house and clothes so we -- 17:01 And thank you that we're here at church to learn more about You. 17:06 In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. >> Amen. 17:09 Thank you, Zawadi. What a beautiful prayer. And as you go quietly back 17:13 to your seats, you can say Zawadi's prayer. Thank you. 17:17 Thank you, Jesus. 17:24 [ "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light" begins ] 17:39 [ Congregation singing ] 18:04 ♪♪ 18:28 ♪♪ 18:52 ♪♪ 19:08 ♪♪ 19:20 ♪♪ 19:29 ♪♪ 19:50 ♪♪ 20:10 ♪♪ 20:36 ♪♪ 20:51 ♪♪ 21:06 ♪♪ 21:22 ♪♪ 21:39 ♪♪ 22:00 ♪♪ 22:21 ♪♪ 22:36 ♪♪ 22:47 [ Music stops ] 23:02 >> Let's pray. Oh, God, what they just sang is what we pray. 23:10 I want to walk in the light. I want to walk with Jesus. So shine. 23:20 Father, shine into this moment. Shine with all Your glory. May we get it. 23:28 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 23:33 What do you say we go back up the road three or four miles, 23:36 I think it is, to this beautiful, sprawling vineyard -- 23:41 88 acres of grapes? We're calling it God's Vineyard. 23:48 You know why? Because all the produce, 23:51 all the grapes from these 88 acres go to Welch's, 23:54 which is grape juice. 23:57 They pay for it. The money goes to Andrews University 24:00 for student scholarships. So it's a mission vineyard. Let's go back to my friend 24:06 Robin, who's the vineyard master, and my friend José, who's the master gardener. 24:12 Put it on the screen for you right now. ♪♪ 24:28 >> Hi. We're back here in what we're calling God's Vineyard. 24:33 I'm amazed at how many different places within the Old and the New Testament 24:37 God really gets big on vineyards, and my friends Robin and José are here, and, 24:42 gentlemen, I want to move in now to the vine itself. 24:46 So, here we have this massive outcropping from the ground. 24:50 José, that's the vine. >> That is. 24:52 Yeah, that's the vine. 24:54 >> The roots are down. >> They're, like, 3 feet deep. >> Three feet deep of roots? 24:58 >> In the ground. >> Mm-hmm. >> Now, I'm just looking at it 25:01 and trying to guess the age, but, boy, I tell you, when you told me the number, 25:04 I said, "Impossible." How old is that vine? 25:06 >> Sixty years old. >> Sixty years. 25:08 >> Sixty. >> This vine has been here 25:10 for 60 years. >> Sixty years. 25:11 >> Unbelievable. And then -- where is it, over in France? 25:15 Tell me that other vine. >> Oh, over 400 years. >> There's a vine on Earth 25:19 over 400 years old. >> Yeah. >> Still producing fruit? 25:22 >> Oh, yeah. Yeah, it still produces. >> So God really -- 25:25 He was into something. >> Oh, He was. >> When He takes His metaphor, 25:29 and He says, "Guys, I'm gonna teach you through this," He chose a plant that could 25:33 just go on living and living and living. That's a big deal. 25:36 I mean, when Jesus says, "I'm the vine, my Father is the gardener" -- 25:41 that would be you -- "You are the branches," the vine really is the hero 25:46 of the story. >> It is. >> What's coming out of that 25:49 soil? What's the vine bringing up? >> Well, there's nutrients 25:52 and sugar, essentially, through photosynthesis, through the leaves. 25:56 >> Okay. >> The Sun hits the leaves, it captures sugar. 26:00 It gets down into the roots. The ribosomes kind of feed the nutrients into the vine, 26:06 and it brings it up, and then it actually brings all of that goodness into 26:11 the fruit. >> Robin, refresh our memories. What's the purpose of 26:15 a vineyard? >> Produce fruit. >> Fruit. That's it? 26:18 >> Mm-hmm. >> No fruit, it's a worthless vineyard. 26:20 >> It's a worthless vineyard. It is. >> You got to have the fruit. 26:24 >> Yeah, we do. >> And the only way we get the fruit is through 26:27 the connection. ♪♪ 26:37 >> Once upon a time there was a man who inherited a very beautiful, sprawling 26:42 vineyard -- inherited it from his daddy, who inherited it from his 26:47 father, who inherited it from his father, and all the way back. 26:51 One hot, sunny afternoon, he's strolling those rolling aisles that you just saw... 27:00 tasting the fruit... admiring the foliage... and probably singing 27:09 the doxology in his heart that we sang just a few moments ago. 27:12 "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. This is my vineyard. 27:16 I inherited this. I can't believe it." When, all of a sudden, 27:20 I tell you the truth, standing right in front of him, in all his regal majesty, 27:27 is the capital "K" king -- the king of the country. The king breaks into a smile 27:36 as he sees the owner startled. "Listen, my friend. Don't be startled. 27:41 Don't be. Listen, I have a proposition. That's what I want to make 27:45 to you -- a proposition. My palace is just a stone's throw away. 27:49 I've been looking out the window and thinking, you know what? 27:52 I would love to plant a vegetable garden here. So here's the deal. 27:57 Don't -- D-d-d-d-d-d-don't -- Don't tell me that you're gonna offer it to me for nothing. 28:02 No, no, no. I will pay. I'll pay handsomely. 28:05 And I tell you what. If you'd rather have another vineyard anywhere in this 28:10 country, you get it. Just say the word. Now, question. 28:15 Will you sell me the vineyard?" "Well, long live the king, Your Majesty. 28:21 Uh -- [ Sighs ] That's quite a proposition. But, Your Majesty, you know -- 28:27 you know the laws of our religion. And I'm not allowed to take 28:33 my ancestral heritage and transfer it to another tribe." 28:38 "So -- So, you're not gonna sell me this vineyard?" "Oh, yes, Your Majesty. 28:44 I will not." And the king began to cry... almost, 28:53 spoiled brat that he was. Open your Bible with me, please. 1 Kings 21. 29:00 Tale Number Two from the Vineyard. Last week, Noah the drunk. 29:05 This week, twisted tale I'm sorry to tell you. 1 Kings 21. 29:12 I'll be in the N.I.V. You can read any translation that you brought along -- 29:15 didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you. 30:05 Did somebody say "spoiled brat"? 30:07 [ Scoffs ] Grown-up king -- Can you believe this? -- 30:13 pouting and sulking because someone had the temerity to say "no" to him. 30:18 Obviously, his parents never said "no" to him. [ Scoffs ] 30:23 Finally, when the king doesn't show up for supper... "Where is he?" 30:29 ...the queen, the wicked, wily Queen Jezebel goes in search of her missing husband. 30:38 He's in bed, pouting. And she speaks. What is this -- Verse 5? 31:06 "Grow up!" [ Scoffs ] 31:11 "Cheer up. Get up and eat. 31:14 Because I'm gonna get you that vineyard of Naboth 31:17 the Jezreelite." And so the wily, wicked Queen Jezebel gets ahold 31:22 of Ahab's personal stamp, grabs some parchments, scribbles out a message 31:27 to all the civic leaders in the town where Naboth lives... 31:32 stamps them. "Servant!" Oh, what does she say 31:39 in the letter? Oh, drop down to Verse 9. 32:02 [ Whooshes ] The letter's gone. And guess what? 32:06 It happens exactly as that woman in power dictates... because people are afraid 32:13 to stand up to a bellicose leader who threatens to ruin them if they do not give him 32:21 what he asks -- or her. 32:30 So, the town elders buckle. The scoundrels perjure themselves, and Naboth... 32:40 stoned and dead. Then the elders send a message back. 32:43 What is this? Verse 14. 32:49 And, by the way, if you read 2 Kings 9, you find out that they not only stone Naboth 32:54 to death, they stoned all his sons, as well. Nobody is gonna now come up 32:59 and say, "By the way, I'm next of kin." Nope. 33:01 There's nobody to lay claim. Wow. 33:11 Verse 15. 33:22 "Guess what?" 33:31 I want to tell you something about Jezebel. She's an apocalyptic symbol 33:36 in the New Testament. She's so bad that she makes it into the Bible... 33:42 at the end in the Book of Revelation when there will be another 33:46 Jezebel who will rise up. She, like the wicked Queen Jezebel the First, 33:50 brings her rank and immoral paganism, and through her alliance and marriage 33:57 with a believing king of Israel, she infects, she poisons the entire nation until 34:06 the pure religion of the nation is subsumed, contaminated, corrupted by a dangerous 34:16 syncretism, where immorality... can become an offense against innocent young. 34:31 Syncretism. Bring it all together and make it look hunky-dory 34:37 when it's sick to the core. That's Jezebel. And Elijah -- Oh, yeah. 34:45 There's an Elijah in this story. Verse 17. 34:51 We're talking about the man from Mount Carmel. You remember that? 34:54 All 400 -- What was it -- 400 plus 450? 850 priests of Baal arrayed 35:00 against him. Kneels down. Fire descends from Heaven. 35:05 Nukes the summit of Mount Carmel, proving the God of Israel is still 35:09 the Living God and Creator. That's the same Elijah -- bushy-bearded, camel-haired 35:16 prophet, who, himself, becomes a symbol of a generation at the end of time who will be 35:22 called the Elijah Generation. You know why they're called the Elijah Generation? 35:26 Because this generation will have the guts to stand up to a Jezebel also at the end 35:32 of time, and this generation will say, "Here we stand, so help us God." 35:39 Oh, there'll be -- There'll be the showdown. One day even in America, 35:45 there will be a showdown. Ahab. Corrupted religion. 35:51 Jezebel. Corruption. And a nation at the crossroads. 35:59 So God shows up to Elijah. He says, "Elijah, you're not gonna believe this." 36:02 Yep. Here comes the message now. Verse 18. 36:04 "I want you to go down to meet Ahab, the king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. 36:08 He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 36:11 And I want you to say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and 36:15 seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: In the place 36:18 where the dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood -- yes, yours!'" 36:22 And, oh, by the way, did I tell you? This tale is not a bedtime story 36:26 for your children. [ Light laughter ] Why? 36:30 Because what's happening in this tale. Now, listen carefully. 36:32 What's happening in this tale is divine judgment is about to be meted out. 36:36 Every story doesn't end, "And they lived happily ever after." 36:42 Why would God send this message? I mean, this is -- this is -- this is tough stuff. 36:51 You know why? Because God is risking a message that tough to illicit 37:00 a response this desperate. You watch. So there's Ahab strolling 37:05 the same rolling vineyard aisles. 37:09 And Verse 20 on the screen. And... 37:17 Oops. Guilty conscience. "You're my enemy." 37:22 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Ahab. He's not your enemy. 37:25 Elijah is your friend. The woman, your consort, is your enemy. 37:32 Elijah is here through the desperation as a final judgment message in hope 37:37 and prayer that somehow your heart might be arrested. He is your friend to lead you 37:42 back to God. And Elijah issues the call. You read it there for 37:57 yourselves -- Verse 21, Verse 22, Verse 23, Verse 24. "Dogs -- Dogs will consume your 38:05 blood, will consume Jezebel's blood, will consume the blood of your corrupted family, 38:11 and if you miss the city, and you're out in the country, the birds will eat you." 38:17 Now, this is so stiff -- I want you to notice this in Verse 25 -- that 38:21 the chronicler, whoever he is, says, "Hey, reader. I know you're really upset 38:25 right now with God. I need you to know something." Verse 25. 38:28 In parentheses, "(There was never --)" By the way, remember, reader. 38:32 "(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, 38:37 urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, 38:42 like the Amorites --)," which were the height of vice immorality in its worse form. 38:50 He went after them and said, "I'll embrace that into my religion." 38:59 God sends a message. And, oh, my. Look at Verse 27. 39:05 You can't believe it. Verse 27. Come on. 39:15 That's why God uses judgment messages. That's why He warns people. 39:19 That's why He says, "If you keep this up, you're gonna end in a rotten story." 39:25 He did it to Nineveh, and it worked. He did it to Ahab, 39:30 and it worked. Some people are always trying to defend God's reputation 39:34 by saying, "Oh, skip the judgment part. Skip the judgment part." 39:37 Never skip the judgment part. That's the part that works. And it worked. 39:43 And Ahab now is dust, sackcloth, and ashes, and he's bowing, weeping before -- 39:49 "God have mercy on me." God comes back to Elijah, and He says, "Time-out. 39:55 Change of plan." Verse 28. 40:12 God's soft heart -- Can you believe that? -- 40:15 is actually touched by the tears of a repentant, evil monarch. 40:22 And God calls off the dogs, literally, and delays 40:25 the judgment... Wow. 40:28 ...because of Ahab's genuine tears of repentance. 40:32 Amazing story of amazing, amazing grace. 40:37 What do you say? Amazing grace. No man, no woman -- 40:41 We now know the truth. No one can sink so low that she, that he is beyond the reach 40:48 of God's saving grace and redeeming love to which I say, Amen. 40:54 Amen. The truth. Because it's the truth 40:58 of the vineyard. 41:00 Interestingly enough, the vineyard Ahab stole 41:05 offers the very hope Ahab needs. Jesus talked about the vineyard 41:12 just before they executed Him. 41:14 Turn to the New Testament now. We got the tale, but is there any point to this? 41:18 Turn to the New Testament. John Chapter 15. Less than 24 hours before Jesus 41:23 will be dead and buried at this time tomorrow night. This is Passover night. 41:28 This is Thursday. This is full Moon, silver shadows. 41:32 Jesus is making His way to Gethsemane. He stops by a trellis, 41:34 and He says, "Hey, guys. Come here, come here, come here, come here. 41:37 I want to show you something. I want to to teach you something." 41:41 And He points to the trellis, and He speaks. John Chapter 15. 41:47 Bright-red letters in mine. John 15:1. 42:16 "Nothing." 42:21 Wow. One of the great devotional writers of the 19th Century, 42:28 his name Andrew Murray, wrote a book. If I could give the book 42:32 to everybody, I'd give the book to you. It's called 42:35 "Abide in Christ." He makes such a profound point that I still can't -- 42:40 I still can't comprehend its depth, but I want to share the profound point with you, 42:45 and then I'll sit down. Andrew Murray. You got a Study Guide? 42:49 Yes, you do. There's a Study Guide in your Worship Bulletin. 42:52 Pull it out right now. Study Guide in your Worship Bulletin. 42:54 We're gonna go -- Those of you watching on live-stream, watching 42:58 on television somewhere, we're glad to have you. 43:02 I'll put the website on the screen for you. 43:04 You see it there right now -- www.newperceptions.tv. 43:08 You're looking for a new series called "Tales From A Vineyard." 43:11 The title of this particular segment -- "Cry Baby, Cry." 43:18 When you go there, click onto that, [Snaps fingers] 43:20 you'll have the Study Guide, the identical one we have. 43:23 Now, here's a sentence to kind of set up Murray's four arguments that he will use 43:30 to bolster this provocative point that comes only at the end. 43:32 All right, jot this down. 43:34 In your Study Guide -- Andrew Murray. 43:35 "So close is the union between the vine and the branch --" 43:38 Speaking of Jesus' teaching -- "that each is nothing --" 43:41 write in "nothing," please -- "that each is nothing 43:44 without the other, that each is wholly 43:46 and only for the other." Okay, [Claps hands] good. 43:50 Four bolstering arguments now. Here they come. 43:52 Jot them down. One, two, three, four. 43:54 Number one. 43:59 That's a no-brainer. That's -- Come on. 44:02 We just saw it. If there's no vine there, 44:05 what are the branches? Zero, nada, nothing. 44:07 You can't exist. That's the first point. 44:12 "Without the vine, the branch can do nothing." 44:13 "Apart from Me," Jesus says -- Come on. Come on, guys. 44:16 "Apart from Me, zero. You can't do it apart from Me, 44:20 without Me." 44:22 I mean, you think about Jesus -- this Pearl of Great Price. What's up with that? 44:27 There would be no conviction of sin if it weren't for Jesus. You and I would just keep 44:31 drinking the poison until we died. [ Slurping ] 44:33 We wouldn't know the difference. And if there were no conviction of sin, then there could be 44:37 no repentance, and if there could be no repentance, then there's no forgiveness. 44:40 We'll just go on self-medicating ourselves with our favorite drug and just goodbye. 44:46 And if there's no forgiveness, there's no cleansing. We live with this feeling 44:50 of filthiness night and day. But Jesus said, "I could wash all that away." 44:54 There'll be no peace. There'll be no fruit. There'll be no hope, no love, 44:59 no grace, no nothing. "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." 45:03 There are four of these. That's the first one. 45:08 Here comes Number 2. Jot it down. 45:14 "Nothing." Now, this is gonna catch you 45:17 by surprise. This keeps going deeper. 45:18 This will catch you by surprise 'cause you're always thinking 45:21 about the vine, but do you know what? 45:22 The vine can do nothing without the branch, and you're 45:24 the branch. Go figure. 45:25 Put it on the screen, please. Andrew Murray. 45:37 Come on. "Such is the wonderful 45:38 condescension of the grace of Jesus that, just as His 45:41 people --" you and I -- "are dependent on Him, 45:43 He has made Himself --" jot it down -- 45:45 "dependent on us." Figure that one. 45:49 He depended on us? Please. 45:52 "Without His disciples, He cannot dispense --" 45:54 Oh, "He cannot dispense His blessing to the world; 45:56 He cannot offer sinners the grapes of the heavenly 45:58 Canaan." 46:00 Every good gift that God longs to give to every man, woman, and child on this planet -- 46:04 Guess what? If He has nobody there to grow the fruit, they'll never get it. 46:09 You want to reach a secular? You want to reach an atheist? You just live your relationship 46:15 with Jesus, because that's how atheists are reached. They're not reached by somebody 46:18 proving something from the Bible. They're reached because they 46:20 say, "That man has something that I want. That woman, there's something -- 46:24 There's a calm inside of her soul, and I want that." That's what leads them to -- 46:29 The fruit is what draws them to the vine. You're not the big deal, 46:32 the vine's the big deal. Wow. Okay, Number 3. 46:35 There are only four of these. Number 3. 46:37 "All the vine possesses --" Oh, this is something. 46:41 "All the vine possesses belongs to the branches." 46:45 Everything the vine possesses, it's yours. 46:48 Come on. On the screen -- Andrew Murray. 46:50 "All the vine has is at the disposal of the branches. 46:54 As the vine is the parent, so the vine is the servant 46:57 of the branches. 47:10 Isn't that amazing? Are you getting that? 47:14 Amazing. Everything the vine has, I give it to you. 47:18 Come on. We looked at the pearl under the bed. 47:20 $100 million -- I give it to you. Everything I am, I give to you. 47:25 Come on. What is it that you want from Jesus? 47:28 "I wish Jesus would give me His courage." [ Chuckles ] 47:30 You got it. Just ask Him. He has all the courage you need. 47:33 "I wish He would give me His faith and trust." The faith of Jesus, 47:36 you can have it. It's yours for the asking. "I wish He would give me peace 47:40 and calm in the midst of this, this raging storm I'm going through right now." 47:45 Just ask for it. He'll get up and He'll say, "Peace. Be still. 47:48 Please, please, storm, stop." All that He has, you may have it. 47:53 Look at this as I read it on the screen. 48:02 Keep reading. 48:09 Here it comes. 48:13 Last line. "The whole treasury --" 48:15 write that in. "The whole treasury of heaven 48:20 is open to those He seeks to save." And, by the way, do you know 48:24 what His greatest gift is? No kidding. Do you know what His greatest 48:27 gift is? If you wanted one gift that would give you every other 48:29 gift that He has, here's the one gift. It's the gift of 48:32 the Holy Spirit. If you get the Holy Spirit, you got everything. 48:36 Put it up, please, the next quotation on the screen. 48:38 "Desire of Ages," page 672. "This promised blessing --" 48:41 speaking of the Holy Spirit -- "brings all other blessings 48:43 in its train," in its wake, "according to the riches 48:46 of the grace of Christ." One gift gives you everything. "Man, if I knew that were true, 48:52 I'd be asking for that gift every morning." Me too. 48:57 Why wouldn't you ask? Okay, there are only four of these. 49:00 Here comes Number 4. 49:02 Just as all the vine possesses belongs to the branches -- 49:06 turnaround's fair play. Finally, Number 4. 49:08 "And all the branch possesses belongs to the vine." 49:12 Now, keep reading. Andrew Murray again... 49:21 That vine in France -- Isn't that something? That's a very special vine, 49:24 and they've kept it going 400 years it's so excellent. Huh. 49:30 "It has not reason --" the branch -- "has not reason 49:34 for existence except to be of service to the vine. 49:37 As Jesus gives Himself so wholly over to the believer, 49:39 the believer feels himself urged to be wholly his Lord's." 49:51 "Eh, Dwight. I don't like that. I just don't like that. 49:53 You know why? Because it makes me dependent all the way through. 49:56 Listen, I worked hard this summer to earn that car that I brought back 49:59 to university. I worked hard all summer long to buy that old heap of junk. 50:06 Tell me that I don't possess anything." Oh, excuse me. 50:10 Just one moment. [ Imitates heart beating ] "What's that?" 50:14 Oh, that's my heart. "You keeping it going?" No. Don't know how. 50:17 "Oh." Everything you possess. $1.5-million retirement 50:25 portfolio. Good for you. You've really been working hard. 50:27 You have that money saved up -- $1.5 million. "That's mine, by the way, 50:31 Dwight. I have worked hard for that." Excuse me again, please. 50:35 [ Imitates heart beating ] "What's that?" Oh, that's just my heart. 50:39 "You keeping it going?" No. All your material possessions -- 50:44 Come on. Who gave you the power to earn them? 50:47 Oh, forget it. Listen. This is a poor university. We can't talk about 50:50 material possessions. Let's talk about intellectual possessions. 50:53 Boy, we got some bright minds on this campus. Oh, my, do we ever. 50:57 All your intellectual abilities, all your intellectual skills, all the intellect, 51:01 all the knowledge that you've accumulated, all your giftedness, your talent... 51:10 you got it from Him. You got it from Him. That means any talent 51:14 that you have, He says, "I'm gonna give it to that boy. I'm gonna give it to that girl. 51:17 You know why? Because I know where she's going, and in her life, 51:21 she will need this to be what I need her to be." Every intellectual gift you have 51:26 came from Him. He's dreamed about you for centuries. 51:30 You believe that? He has dreamed about you for centuries. 51:35 He has set generations in motion so that one day it would create the DNA 51:39 that is you. Your mommy and daddy -- He's been working on that line 51:43 for generations. He had to get your mommy and daddy -- 51:45 I don't care how accidental it was. He had to get your mommy 51:48 and daddy together to get you because you're a combination, through eternity, He has 51:54 dreamed of possessing. I'm gonna show you that in one second. 51:59 So you belong to Him. He has invested everything for you to live and to use 52:08 the gifts that you have, and is there a more gifted campus in the world than 52:14 the Andrews University campus? All those gifts for Him. Okay, there they are -- 52:21 four bolstering arguments. Now comes the profound point. I'll share this with you, 52:27 then I'll sit down. Here's the profound point. I'm gonna let Andrew Murray 52:31 make the point himself. Final fill-in-the-blank. There it is at the bottom. 52:35 There they are. And these are now his words, these four. 52:40 He summarizes them. "Now let your answer be --" 52:43 in the light of this -- "let your answer be, 52:45 'Amen, Lord! So be it.'" Now here comes the line 52:49 that I still can't -- I can't fathom this. 52:52 "'From eternity Christ and I were meant -- 52:55 we were ordained -- were were meant 52:57 for each other; inseparably we belong 53:01 to each other. It is God's will; 53:04 I shall abide in Christ.'" Can you believe that? No, seriously. 53:12 Maybe it's not centuries ago God began planning you. Maybe it is from eternity, 53:16 and He knew the configurations that would finally produce you. Everything you have belongs 53:25 to Him because He's equipping you to be the most successful you -- beyond your 53:29 wildest dreams to be that kind of success on this planet. It's all for Me. 53:34 All I have is yours, and all you have is Mine. We'll get along famously. 53:39 We will be inseparable, and that's the word that made me stop. 53:43 Man, oh, man, oh, man. "We will be inseparable. We belong to each other, Dwight. 53:50 Do you understand that? You and me, we belong to each other. 53:55 I knew you were coming. I've been working on this for generations. 53:58 You're here. We belong. You put your name in it. 54:03 We belong to each other." I can't figure it out. I have no way to explain this. 54:12 I just know that on the way to His execution, Jesus stopped at a midnight vineyard, 54:17 and He said, "Hey, guys. Look at this. You and Me... 54:23 forever. 54:25 Do you understand that? Forever. 54:28 You connected to Me, Me connected to you." 54:31 I don't understand that. And I don't know that you 54:35 realize how profound this teaching is, and I must tell 54:38 you, I absolutely realize I am unable to communicate 54:41 how utterly essential this discovery today is for you. 54:45 I just can't do it. I just can't. 54:48 Somebody will have to do it to you. Somebody will have to do it 54:50 in your mind. It's His business. But here's what I know. 54:54 I know that the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit is the only way Jesus can abide in me 55:03 and I can abide in Him -- only through the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit. 55:08 There's no other way. No other way. And if that's the case, 55:14 and He's planned for you for eternity, and now you're here, girl, boy, now you're 55:20 here. If that's the case, and this is the only way, 55:23 then ask for it. Pray this little prayer every day, and you'll be asking 55:28 for the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit. We had it on the screen 55:31 last week. May I return it before I sit down? 55:32 Put it on the screen, please. Here's the prayer. 55:34 "Lord, please abide in me, and please let me abide in You." 55:38 That's it. Just ask. Simple? Of course. 55:43 You know my problem? I'll tell you. When somebody comes and tells 55:47 me, "Hey, Dwight. I got this plan," if the plan is simple -- 55:50 if the plan is simple -- I'm just telling you about me -- I immediately dismiss it. 55:56 You can't make life -- You cannot simplify life that way because our complicated 56:02 world has taught us to believe that it's only in complication that progress is made. 56:08 It's not true. It's simple. Let me abide in You, 56:13 and you abide in me... and we will be inseparable for eternity, I promise you. 56:23 Can you put that prayer back on the screen one more time, please? 56:26 "Lord, please abide in me, and please let me abide in You." Pray that prayer morning, noon, 56:37 night -- whatever. Pray that prayer every day, and you will never be the same 56:43 again. I promise you. That's the little I have found 56:50 out -- you'll never be the same. 56:58 >> Before you go, let me take an extra moment to share 57:00 with you an opportunity to get into the Bible in a fresh, 57:02 new way. All across the world, more and 57:05 more people are hearing the call to examine Scriptures 57:07 for themselves. If you felt drawn to learn more 57:10 about God's Word, but you don't know where to start or you're 57:12 just looking for a more in-depth examination of Bible truths, 57:16 then I have something right here that I believe you're going to 57:18 enjoy. I want to send a series of 57:20 guides to get you started. This one's entitled, 57:23 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" Each guide begins with a story, 57:26 an introduction of the subject. Then through a series 57:28 of focus questions, you'll be learning portions 57:30 of the Bible you may never have known before, and when 57:32 you're through, you'll be able to share with others some of 57:35 these inspiring Bible truths. So just call our toll-free 57:38 number. It's on the screen -- 57:39 877 -- the two words -- HIS-WILL. 57:42 Our friendly operators are standing by to send these 57:44 study guides to you. Once again, 57:46 that's 877-HIS-WILL. Call that number, and then, 57:50 again, join me next week right here at the same time. 57:55 "New Perceptions." 57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:16 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-09-26