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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP181103A
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00:00 ♪♪ [ "Mighty to Save" begins ]
00:12 ♪♪ ♪♪ 00:28 ♪♪ 03:18 ♪♪ >> I invite everybody to stand 03:23 up for our next song. [ "My Hope is Built 03:26 on Nothing Less" begins ] ♪♪ 03:35 ♪♪ 06:57 ♪♪ [ "In Christ Alone" begins ] 07:09 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:50 ♪♪ 09:40 ♪♪ 09:49 >> Well, good morning, boys and girls. Nice to see you on this -- the 09:51 sun's coming out -- Sabbath. Thank you, Deacon Milan. What a beautiful first -- Is 09:56 this the first Sabbath in November? Whew. Tsk-tsk-tsk. 10:00 Next thing you know, it'll be Christmas. 10:03 [ Chuckles ] Nice to have you. 10:05 Everybody, have a seat. Good, good, good. 10:07 Today's story comes from a young preacher/writer named Nelson Searcy. 10:12 He's over in New York. He's telling a story about going to a baseball game with his 10:17 8-year-old nephew. Anybody here 8 years old? I just have to be able to 10:21 picture this 8-year-old. Okay, your age, your age, your age, your age, your age. 10:26 His name is Timmy. So, Uncle Nelson is taking Timmy to the ballgame -- the baseball 10:32 game. And, oh, they're having a good time, and Timmy's standing up 10:35 and cheering. And about the fourth inning -- all right? -- the fourth 10:38 inning -- Timmy stops and he looks up into Uncle Nelson's face and he says, "Uncle Nelson, 10:44 can I have some Skittles?" Do you know what Skittles are? >> Yes! 10:50 >> Okay. "Can I have some Skittles?" And, oh, Uncle Nelson's heart 10:54 was just moved. How could you say no to a smiling face like that? 10:59 He said, "Of course, Timmy, you may. Lookit, lookit. 11:02 Here are a couple dollars. I want you to take that over to the concession stand over there, 11:05 give this to the man, ask for a Skittles, and you'll get them." And Timmy's eager hands grabbed 11:10 Uncle Nelson's $2, and he said, "I'm going straight over here to get that -- those Skittles." 11:15 And he hands the $2 up to the concession stand, and the man reaches out and he says, "Okay, 11:20 son, here you go." And Timmy had his own Skittles. In fact, before he even gets 11:27 back -- wshooh. [ Inhales raspily ] [ Munching ] 11:32 [ Coughs ] [ Munching ] He had eaten them all the way 11:36 back. He sits right down beside Uncle Nelson. 11:38 [ Inhales raspily ] [ Munching ] Wiping red and green and blue 11:42 all over his sleeve. "Oh! These are good. Oh!" [ Munching ] 11:47 And Uncle Nelson, watching Timmy eat the Skittles, begins to develop a little hunger pain in 11:53 his own stomach. And he says, "Hey, Timmy, may I have a few Skittles?" 12:00 [ Inhales raspily ] [ Munching ] "Uncle Nelson, no." 12:04 [ Laughter ] "There are not many left." "What?!" 12:13 And Uncle Nelson's looking at him, and you can just see the steam rising in his body. 12:19 He wants to say to him, "You brat. Who do you think gave you that 12:25 money to buy those Skittles in the first place, huh?! You want to take this outside 12:30 and figure it out?!" [ Light laughter ] But he didn't say it. 12:34 No, he just sat there, stewing. "Oh, I'm hungry for Skittles. Ohh." 12:41 And then, all of a sudden, it came to Uncle Nelson's mind, "Wait a minute. 12:44 That's exactly what I do to God. God gives me some money, I go out and buy something and I 12:51 bring it back, and God says, 'Yo, Nelson, could I have a little bit, please?' 12:55 And I say, 'No, there aren't many left now.'" [Sighing] Ohh. 13:03 Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. 13:07 Did -- Hey, hey, hey -- Did Jesus die to give us Skittles? >> No. 13:13 >> No? No, Jesus died to give us all of Heaven. 13:20 He gave us all these little moneys -- Where is it? He gave us all these little 13:25 moneys so that when the time comes, He's say, "Could I -- Could I have just a little bit 13:30 of that for My work?" [ Inhaling raspily ] "No, Jesus, I don't have much 13:35 left. Thank you." What?! 13:39 Hey, how does that Bible -- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, you just about got those 13:43 Skittles. [ Laughter ] How did -- How did that Bible 13:48 verse go -- John 3:16? Can anybody here -- I'm looking at a bright bunch -- Can anybody 13:54 here repeat John 3:16? Let me see the hand of somebody who can repeat John 3:16. 13:58 Sissy, can you do that? >> "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, 14:03 Jesus, for whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." 14:09 >> Amen! Sissy, come right here and stand with me. 14:12 Come right here and stand with me. What's your name? 14:13 >> My name is Ava. >> Ava. That was so well done, Ava. 14:17 Stay right here. Okay, "God so loved the world." That's why the Cross. 14:21 That's why He came. Not just to give us Skittles but to give us all of eternity. 14:26 "Can I have a little of that to help Me with My work?" Jesus, you can have it all. 14:32 Oh. Who would like to thank Jesus for being the one who has given 14:39 His all to us? Jonathan, your hand up? Come on up here. 14:48 Come on up here. Ava and Jonathan. Hey, let me get a microphone. 14:52 Here we go. All right, Jonathan. Would you please pray for us? Bless your heart. 14:56 Let's pray. Let's close our eyes and fold our hands. 15:00 >> "Dear Jesus, please help us to -- hmm -- give Your -- Your work -- give all our hearts back 15:12 to You... >> Mm-hmm. >> ...so we can follow You. 15:16 >> Mm-hmm. >> And, um... Amen. 15:23 We love you, Jesus. Amen. >> Amen. 15:27 Beautiful prayer, Jonathan. Hey, hey, Ava, Jonathan, stay right here. 15:30 Jonathan, thank you, because anybody that gets up, you deserve a bag of Skittles. 15:34 And, Ava, because you did so well with John 3:16, you get one, too. 15:37 All right, the rest of you, go on back, and thank Jesus. 15:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:58 >> ♪ And can it be ♪ ♪ And can it be ♪ >> ♪ Amazing love, 16:08 how can it be? ♪ >> ♪ And can it be that I should gain ♪ 16:19 ♪ An interest in the Savior's blood? ♪ ♪ Died He for me, 16:28 who caused His pain ♪ ♪ For me, who Him to death pursued? ♪ 16:38 >> ♪ Amazing love ♪ ♪ How can it be ♪ ♪ That Thou, my God ♪ 16:58 >> ♪ Shouldst die for me? ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 17:17 >> ♪ He left His Father's throne above ♪ ♪ So free, so infinite 17:26 His grace ♪ ♪ Emptied Himself of all but love ♪ 17:36 ♪ And bled for Adam's helpless race ♪ ♪ 'Tis mercy all ♪ 17:48 ♪ Immense and free ♪ ♪ For O my God, it found out me ♪ 18:06 >> ♪ And can it be? ♪ >> ♪ And can it be? ♪ ♪ Amazing love ♪ 18:15 ♪ How can it be ♪ ♪ No condemnation now I dread ♪ ♪ Jesus, and all in Him, 18:29 is mine ♪ ♪ Alive in Him, my living Head ♪ ♪ And clothed in righteousness 18:41 divine ♪ ♪ Bold I approach the eternal throne ♪ 18:59 ♪ And claim the crown, through Christ my own ♪ ♪ Amazing love ♪ 19:17 ♪ How can it be ♪ ♪ That Thou, my God ♪ ♪♪ 19:35 ♪ Shouldst die for me? ♪ >> ♪ Amazing love ♪ ♪ How can it be? ♪ 19:53 >> ♪ A-maz-ing ♪ ♪ Lo-o-ve ♪ >> Amen. 20:13 >> Well, God, we're here, in the midst of worship. A few minutes left 20:20 for Holy Scripture. Speak to us. Don't let us be the same, for 20:26 what you say, deep within us. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen. 20:32 Once upon a time, there was a Jew. 20:36 And when his eager parents gazed into that tiny little 20:43 face, they named him "the Lord comforts." 20:50 A rather appropriate name to give to a little Jewish boy 20:58 born in exile -- "God comforts." 21:05 And God surely knows that Jews, young and aged, then and today, 21:12 have needed his comfort again and again and again. [ Clicks tongue ] 21:21 The massacre on Sabbath day, seven days -- who could forget? The whole nation is still 21:27 remembering. At this very time when we were in worship, a week ago, 21:33 on the Sabbath day, a massacre in the Temple of Life -- Tree of Life temple -- 21:44 that was it... The name is such an irony, by the way. 21:48 11 worshipers go to their refuge in the Tree of Life, and it becomes a place of death. 21:53 They're gone. Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, America. 22:01 America. 22:08 That tragedy is a painful reminder that the Jews, as a people, have suffered at the 22:15 hands of dark and cruel hatred for millennia. Comfort? Are you kidding? 22:23 How do you comfort a people who were maligned and murdered simply for their biological, 22:30 spiritual heritage? Go figure. In fact, Pastor Rodlie 22:39 crafted a letter. We sent it to the leaders of that synagogue in St. Joseph, 22:46 in Benton Harbor. And just yesterday, I got a letter back from an attorney 22:50 in St. Joseph. "Dear Pastor Nelson, It was good to receive and read 22:57 your thoughts in the letter sent earlier this week to Temple B'Nai Shalom. 23:01 You're absolutely right when you point out that an attack on one faith is an attack 23:07 on all faiths." And he signs it. [ Chuckles ] 23:14 That we, as Seventh-Day Adventists, are fellow Sabbatarians 23:19 with our Jewish friends and neighbors, has created a most unusual bond between 23:25 two people groups. I mean, here we are, all of us, Adventists and Jew alike, 23:34 knowing that the countercultural contradistinction that we have to live with, in a society that 23:40 values conformity to the majority, which in this case, is worship on Sunday. 23:46 Worship on Saturday? Who would possibly worship on the Bible Sabbath? 23:54 Nobody does that anymore... except the Jews and the Seventh-Day Adventists. 24:03 There is a bond that we must nurture as a faith community. 24:09 And so I hope you'll be able to go a little later in the evening than we had thought. 24:13 It's moved back to 8:00, Monday evening. It's to be a part of that 24:18 interfaith worshiping together. Why not? "By the rivers of Babylon," 24:29 the Psalm laments, "there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we 24:36 remembered Zion." He was born in Babylon as an exile. 24:43 And for -- for a Sabbatarian today, guess what? The truth is, Babylon will rise 24:50 one more time for Sabbatarians. One more time. The bond will deepen. 25:04 So, this Jewish Sabbatarian stands in front of his king, his employer, as the story picks up. 25:11 Open your Bible, please, to the little Book of Nehemiah. You got to go back past the 25:15 Psalms, going back to Genesis. A little past the Psalms. Nehemiah. 25:18 You didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you. It's page 330 in the pew Bible. 25:23 Nehemiah 2. Nehemiah. His name means, "the Lord Yahweh 25:32 comforts." And, oh, my, is comfort the order of the day today 25:37 here in chapter 2. 25:38 Nehemiah 2:1 -- and, "In the month of Nisan, in the 20th year 25:43 of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the 25:47 wine --" The last line of chapter 1 says, "I was cupbearer 25:50 to the king" -- about the third highest position in the 25:52 government. It's a sacred position. 25:55 "I took the wine and I gave it to the king. 25:58 I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king 26:01 asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not 26:05 ill? This must be nothing but sadness 26:08 of the heart.' And I was very much afraid, but 26:10 I said to the king, 'May the king live forever! 26:13 Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors 26:16 are buried lies in ruins, and its gate have been destroyed by 26:19 fire?'" 26:20 How could his heart not weep? He's never lived in that city in his life, but he was told, 26:26 from father to son, to father to son, to father to son, that that city is his city. 26:31 And it lies crumbled. 90 years older, a little intrepid band led by Haggai -- 26:37 we were with Haggai last week, weren't we? -- they went to that city. 26:42 They started to erect the temple, as the Jews call their worship places. 26:48 But for some inexplicable reason, nobody has touched the walls, much to the delight of 26:55 the enemies who live around them. Everybody knows that more than 27:03 an army -- more than a strong army -- what a city needs are strong walls. 27:09 You have to have the walls. Why wouldn't his heart break? Ah, verse 3 again. 27:17 "But I said to the king, 'May the king live forever! 27:19 Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors 27:22 are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by 27:24 fire?' 27:25 And the king said to me, 'Yo, what is it you want?' Then I prayed to the God of 27:32 Heaven." Wshooh. Talking about split second. 27:36 That's it. You know, I never realized this before. 27:40 You know, two months ago, one of the fathers of our students here at Andrews University gave me a 27:44 book. He said, "Hey, listen. I wrote this book. 27:46 It's on Nehemiah. It's on the leadership principles of Nehemiah." 27:48 So, he gave the book to me two months ago. I read the book. 27:52 You know what? I never knew this. I never knew that prayer is such 27:56 a book deal in the Book of Nehemiah. It opens with Nehemiah praying, 28:00 the book closes with Nehemiah praying, and in between, he's praying all the time. 28:04 In fact, in chapter 1, you know what's happening in 1? He's fasting and praying. 28:08 The entire chapter long, he's fasting and praying, which reminds me to remind you 28:13 about your Board of Elders and Bryan and Becky von Dorpowski's decision to designate the first 28:18 Tuesday of every month, beginning in three days, as a day of prayer and fasting in the 28:23 Pioneer Memorial Church. [ Chuckles ] You can't believe this, 28:26 but at the same time the Board of Elders was making that decision, unbeknownst to 28:30 her, the president of our university, Andrea Luxton, is thinking to herself, "We need a 28:34 day of fasting and prayer around here." Talking about the synchronicity 28:39 of the Holy Spirit. Boom. And so she just sent a letter 28:43 out, on Thursday, to all faculty, all staff, and all the student body, saying, "Starting 28:48 this Tuesday, for a year, the first Tuesdays will be days of prayer and fasting." 28:55 The Board of Elders has sent out a memo to all the elders, "Hey, guys, don't forget, it's this 28:59 Tuesday." Wow. Nehemiah was a man of prayer. 29:06 By the way, there are 406 verses in his little book. 46 of those verses are dealing 29:10 with him praying. 11% of the history this leader recounts is about him praying. 29:15 He was always praying. I'm quoting Gladwin Matthews now. 29:18 "This is the strongest characteristic of Nehemiah, evident in the book that bears 29:23 his name." And Artaxerxes, whose temper could be volatile, hears this 29:28 sad-faced Jew telling him, "Why shouldn't I be weeping?" And instinctively, apparently, 29:36 when you fast and pray, the seriousness of your intent is taken by Heaven, and Heaven 29:46 responds in the most appropriate way to your passion, revealed in prayer. 29:52 Why would the king -- The first words out of the king's mouth, "So, what do you want me to do 29:57 about it? What do you need?" A shout put in. 30:01 Wshooh-chooh. Open mouth. And he starts speaking. Where is this? 30:06 Let me read verse 4 again. 30:08 "And the king said to me, 'What is it you want?' 30:10 Then I prayed to the God of Heaven, and --" here it comes 30:12 now -- "and I answered the king, 'If it pleases the king and if 30:15 your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to 30:18 the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I 30:21 can rebuild it.'" The rest of the book is the 30:24 supernatural answer to the day of fasting and prayer of a 30:29 little Jew in a faraway kingdom called Medo-Persia at the time. 30:36 And, oh, by the way, [Chuckles] not only -- not only does Nehemiah receive permission to 30:47 leave, he goes on to say, "Okay, but I also need money, I need soldiers, I need access to the 30:52 royal forest for lumber, and of course, your permission to leave your employ here for a while." 30:56 Not only does Nehemiah get all he asks for, but the king says, "Guess what? 31:00 You're the new governor of that province. And I'm gonna send a cavalry of 31:04 officers with you to protect you the whole time." Wow. 31:09 God says, "Why don't you ask me? Why don't you ask me for help?" [ Snaps fingers ] 31:15 He gets it. On the heels of a Tuesday, maybe. 31:18 Maybe he was praying on a Tuesday. I don't know. 31:27 Nehemiah arrives Doesn't tell anybody what he's doing. 31:31 The middle of the night, gets a reconnoitering team together, and they begin to 31:35 examine, inspect the collapsed walls. "I can't believe it, I can't 31:39 believe it, I can't believe it." Next morning, he summons the entire band of remnant exiles. 31:45 And I want you to read this. Just turn the page to -- this is chapter 2 -- Drop down to 31:50 verse 17. He gathers the group together. "Then I said to them --" 31:54 verse 17 -- "'You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates 31:58 have been burned with fire. Come, let's rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, that we will 32:03 no longer be in disgrace.' 32:05 And then I also told them --" verse 18 -- "about the gracious 32:08 hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me." 32:13 And I love the way the people respond. 32:15 "They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.'" 32:17 The New King James reads, "'Let's rise up right now and 32:21 do the work.' And so they began this good 32:25 work." 32:27 Isn't that something? [ Chuckles ] "We're with you. 32:30 Come on, come on, let's go." But you know what? Pull off a renovation project 32:38 like that, you're bound to get somebody ticked. Just somebody's gonna be ticked. 32:43 And they were. Watch this. 32:46 The enemy -- verse 19. "But when Sanballat the 32:49 Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab, 32:53 when they heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. 32:56 'What is this you are doing?' they asked. 32:57 'Are you rebelling against the king?' 32:59 And I answered them --" verse 20 -- "I answered them by 33:02 saying, 'The God of Heaven will give us success.'" 33:05 Can I hear an "amen" to that? >> Amen. 33:06 >> The God of Heaven, in this renovation project, "will give 33:10 us success." >> Amen. 33:12 >> "'The God of Heaven will give us success, and we His servants 33:15 will start rebuilding, but as for you, enemies, you have no 33:18 share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.'" 33:21 My, my, my, my, my. "The God of Heaven." Yes, can do because He can do. 33:27 He'll give us success -- all the success we need. And so here's what Nehemiah 33:31 does. He institutes the buddy system -- two by two by two by 33:34 two by two. "Okay, you're holding the sword, you're holding the shovel. 33:37 Let's go! Start digging." Why? Because of the threat of the enemy to attack. 33:41 One guy standing there with a sword, just in case. The other has the shovel. 33:45 Half a day goes by, they switch. Now I have the sword and you have the shovel. 33:49 Night and day. And get this. In 52 days, they rebuilt the entire walls of Jerusalem. 33:57 I mean, can you believe that? Wow. Well, just turn a few pages. 34:07 You got to see this for yourself. This is chapter 6 now. 34:10 Drop down to verse 15. Chapter 6, verse 15 -- "So the wall was completed on the 34:14 25th of Elul, in 52 days." Unheard-of. We're gonna take 12 weeks. 34:21 A little more than 52 days. But they worked night and day. Oh, but keep reading, verse 16. 34:27 "And when all of our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid 34:32 and they lost their self-confidence because they realized that this work had been 34:35 done with the help of our God." 34:37 Would you put those two lines on the screen, please? 34:39 Can you believe that? Here's out takeaway from the 34:41 Book of Nehemiah. "The God of Heaven will give us 34:44 success!" "And they realized that this 34:46 work had been done with the help of our God." 34:50 "God, you got to help us. We cannot do this alone." 34:56 And last week, God, in response to that, through Haggai -- you 34:59 remember? -- he said, "Hey, by the way, yo, the silver is mine 35:01 and the gold is mine." In other words, don't you worry 35:04 about resources. 35:05 I have you covered. I'll make sure this renovate project is completed to my 35:09 glory." 35:10 And then, today, through Nehemiah, what does he say 35:12 to us? "Hey, I'm gonna give you the 35:14 success. You will do it with the help of 35:17 God," which simply means, "Don't worry about the resources. 35:20 I have everything you need to finish this project for My 35:25 house. 35:26 You're not doing this for you. You're doing this for Me." My, so, seize the moment. 35:31 That's what Nehemiah did. Wshooh. Prayer to Heaven. "We're going," and he went. 35:36 And the rest is history. Wow. Now, I realize -- come on -- 35:44 I'm not reading your mind, but there are some people here who are saying this -- "Yeah, 35:49 do I... Cool. $2 million. Do you know what, boy? 35:54 That is an awful lot of money. Jesus is coming soon. We should be spending the money 36:01 to evangelize the world." To which I reply, "Amen and amen." 36:06 I totally agree with you. I'm -- I'm with you. Take a look at this little 36:15 brochure. Did you see this brochure? They gave it -- This is the last 36:17 time you get this at the door again. Take a look at this beautiful 36:20 brochure. This is the architect's vision of the Building Committee's 36:25 planning that will result in a extreme makeover for the house of God on the campus of 36:31 Andrews University. Take a look at this brochure for a moment. 36:33 It's okay. You can look at this in church. Just thumb through it. 36:36 Maybe you've already thumbed through it. You know what this brochure 36:38 is all about? This brochure is about Jesus coming soon and our mission to 36:44 reach the world for Him now. That's what this brochure is about. 36:49 In fact, I'm gonna give you right now -- and then I'll sit down -- I'm gonna give you four 36:53 reasons why I agree with you. Four reasons why "Renovate Heart & House" 36:56 is all about reaching our world for Jesus. Reason number 1 -- I'll put them 37:01 on the screen for you. Reason number 1 -- we need a dry home base 37:06 from which to reach this world. >> Amen. >> Huh? I mean, you can't have a 37:10 leaking roof on your home base. The only water we want to see spilling on people in our 37:16 Pioneer Memorial Church is the water of our baptistery. That's it. 37:20 Or maybe the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's like water. 37:24 Somebody came to Dwight L. Moody, the great American evangelist, and they 37:27 said, "Yo, Moody, are you filled with the Holy Spirit?" And he said, "Yep, but I leak." 37:34 [ Light laughter ] That's the only kind of leaking allowed around here. 37:38 We're all agreed. [ Chuckling ] Come on. This is a no-brainer. 37:42 We have to fix this roof to go to the world. That's reason number 1. 37:46 "Come on, give me number 2, Dwight." Okay, reason number 2 -- we need 37:49 a dressed-up home base from which to reach the world. "What are you talking about 37:54 there?" Let me explain. Pioneer -- you didn't know 37:57 this -- many of you don't know this -- but Pioneer was raised up by God, in the 38:02 beginning, to go to the world electronically. It was the first -- It was the 38:08 first church around, through radio, going to the community every single week. 38:12 And then -- can you believe this? -- you're not gonna believe this -- we, of all 38:17 congregations, we get chosen. ABC television says, "Would you take our Christmas Eve service 38:24 to the entire nation?" 24 years ago. And from this very place, with 38:31 the most majestic music, that Andrews University is known to have, we went to the entire 38:38 50 states of America through ABC television. "A New Noel." 38:42 Some of you might be old enough to even remember that. And then, four years later, 38:48 20 years ago, the denomination came and said, "Hey, Pioneer Memorial Church, 38:51 would you mind taking the everlasting Gospel of Jesus to the entire world, to 38:56 100 nations, in 40 languages? Would you be willing to do it?" And we said, "Well, we did this 39:01 with ABC. Maybe God could help us do this." 39:04 And we said yes, and we did it. It was called "NET '98." You go to the North American 39:10 website, and you'll see a story reporting on the 20th anniversary of the 39:14 Pioneer Memorial Church and "NET '98." And since that time, by the 39:18 way -- it's not over -- since that time, "New Perceptions" telecast now has been going and 39:22 now goes weekly from this sanctuary to the nation, to this continent, and to the 39:27 entire world, every single week. Every single week. That's what all... 39:35 We got the greatest media volunteer team in the world. You know, we have 40 volunteers 39:39 here. They're not getting paid to do any of this. 39:41 They're just giving their time. Why? Because God called Pioneer to do it, and we believe it, and 39:46 so we're obeying. That's all. Isn't that something? 39:50 By the way, I didn't pull that off. And by the way, you didn't, 39:53 either. God pulled that off. God had a calling in His heart 39:56 before Pioneer was every built, 60 years ago. He had a calling in His heart. 40:00 "That congregation is going to be My congregation to go the world in live-streaming, to go 40:04 to the world on the Web, to go to the world in television and satellite." 40:08 And because it's His vision, what are we supposed to say, "No, we're not going to go?" 40:14 I meet people all over this globe who tell me, "Yo, do you know what? 40:17 Pioneer is my home church." I said, "You're kidding me. You're living here." 40:21 "Yeah, I know, but different time zones. We go to Pioneer every single 40:24 week." The organ -- the whole world knows the organ. 40:28 The musicians. Why? Because it's the home church 40:34 of our faith community. That's nothing great about you. Certainly nothing great 40:38 about me. It's a great God who says, "I think you kids could do this 40:41 with a little help." 40:47 "So, Dwight, why are you telling us all about this?" Well, I'll tell you why. 40:51 Because we have people coming to our house every single week -- God's house -- and it's really 40:55 embarrassing to have a leaking roof and buckets behind. It's really embarrassing when 41:02 the camera zooms in. "Oh, don't show that shag carpet that was never intended to be 41:06 a shag carpet, but it's now a shag. Don't show that part. 41:10 Don't show these beat-up pews that have been here for 60 years -- hard wooden pews. 41:14 Can't you do something? Can't you put padding on it?" Yeah, we're going to. 41:19 And what about this house -- this sound system? This is a reverb chamber that 41:24 just bounces around. It's one second too long. The audio engineers who we hired 41:28 said, "Man, this is way too much. No wonder your people can't 41:31 hear." Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So, we're gonna put up panels 41:35 that go, "Ehhhn." They'll go up for music. Ehhhn. 41:39 They come down for talking. They go -- ehhhn -- up. And they'll be quiet, 41:42 by the way. [ Laughter ] Not like the Howard. 41:46 Kkkkkkkkkkh. No, it's quiet. Put them up, all these blank 41:52 spots here. Why? Because this is the world's -- 41:56 this is the -- this is their church, out there. And we want God's church to look 42:01 as beautiful as it humanly can for them and for God. Wow. 42:09 So, I totally agree with you. [ Chuckles ] There's too many analogies. 42:12 It's all about reaching the world for Jesus' soon coming. You got that absolutely right. 42:16 Reason number 3. Let's see, reason number 1 was, "We need a dry home base." 42:19 Reason number 2 is, "We need a dressed-up home base." And now reason number 3 -- We 42:24 need a discipled home base through whom to reach the world. Listen, you need to know this. 42:29 Pioneer's discipling strategy is now moving to the next level with special focus on our 42:35 children. Listen. Do you look at the children's 42:38 stories here in second service? Do you look at them? We have more children now with 42:43 us than we've ever had in our history. What's going on? 42:47 I'll tell you what's going on. There are a lot of young moms and dads coming to this campus, 42:50 because the newest growing demographic at Andrews University -- I'll just 42:54 plain tell you -- it's the graduate students. That's the demographic that's 42:57 growing. And they're coming -- young parents with their little kids. 43:01 They want the best Sabbath schools they can find, and I'm telling you, the world over, 43:07 you won't find more dedicated Sabbath school teachers and programs designed, crafted with 43:11 skill, to reach these tiny little minds for Jesus. We got a couple leaders now that 43:14 have come aboard and said, "Listen, we need to be doing something not just for the 43:17 children but for their parents." Laurence Burn, Glynis Bradfield, the two superintendents for the 43:23 entire children's Sabbath schools -- they said, "Listen, what we need is a 43:27 family-targeted discipling ministry that will equip the youngest children and families 43:32 among us with lifelong discipling gifts and skills." So, Laurence and Glynis are 43:37 helping us move toward a vision -- a full-orbed vision. We're changing the pastoral 43:44 staff. I'll give you more information in a few days, but we're 43:47 rearranging the staff to reflect this shift in focus. And I'm gonna be introducing to 43:52 you a new pastoral position to help Pioneer children, Sabbath-school leaders, and 43:56 families in shaping young spiritual champions by the age of 12. 44:00 That's what researchers tell us. That's the last time you're gonna get an easy choice for 44:04 Jesus. After that, you're fighting the whole way. 44:08 We need to get them now. Moms and dads and boys and girls. 44:13 [ Chuckles ] Wow. So, we need to -- We need -- We 44:18 need a discipled home base. That's the point -- we need a discipled home base. 44:25 Renovate's $2 million campaign is all about reaching this world for the soon-coming Christ. 44:33 That's the point. It's not only -- It's not only the roof, it's what happens 44:38 under the roof. Pastor José is in charge of a new series of articles that 44:41 start next week, entitled, "Under the Roof: What's Happening in Pioneer?" 44:45 Do you notice, the motto is "Renovate heart and house." You can get the house looking 44:53 glorious, but if the heart isn't ready for a house that's been prepared, God says, "I need the 44:58 hearts. I need -- I need your hearts." Discipleship. 45:03 All right, put them on the screen. Reason number 1 -- we need a dry 45:06 home base. Reason number 2 -- we need a dressed-up home base. 45:08 Reason number 3 -- we need a discipled home base. 45:11 And reason number 4 -- we need a dedicated home base. 45:14 "What are you talking about?" I'm gonna be really 45:17 honest with you now. 45:21 When I found out what this building committee was -- [Imitating adding machine] -- 45:27 tallying up, I could not believe my ears. "A million dollars to replace 45:33 a roof?" "Yeah, Dwight, there's no venting in it. 45:35 That's why your shingles keep giving up 10 years at a time. That's wrong." 45:39 [ Sighs ] And then another million dollars to do the extreme 45:44 makeover in here so that at least it looks nice, it's a home that you're happy to invite 45:49 people to come to. When I heard the bottom line, you know what I did? 45:53 I went to God and I said, "You must be kidding. You got to be kidding me. 45:59 $2 million? We're living on the cusp of a nation and a globe right now 46:04 that are in tremendous flux and change, potential upheaval. If there ever were an hour we 46:10 need to be getting out there, God, this is it. $2 million in here? 46:14 I cannot figure you out." And I'm being honest with you. And you know what God said to me 46:21 in the dark, in my little study, at home? He said, "Dwight, yo, yeah, 46:27 you got good ears. That's exactly what I'm calling for. 46:30 I'm calling for your people to give $2 million out of their pockets, for my house and my 46:36 mission. Hey, Dwight, Dwight, Dwight, Dwight, come on, it's dark. 46:40 But you know what you taped to the wall? You know that little verse that 46:44 you taped to the wall, and I keep reminding you that's the mission of your life, this is 46:48 what you're supposed to do? Think of what it says." Let me put the little mission 46:52 on the wall of the screen right here. "Luke 1:17 -- Your mission is, 46:57 should you choose to accept it, is 'to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.' 47:02 That's it. Dwight, how am I gonna get through to your selfish heart? 47:08 You got a selfish heart. Your wife is the unselfish one. How am I gonna get through to 47:13 your unselfish heart if I don't get you to reach into what you have begun to collect, and take 47:19 from it and return it to Me?" 47:24 "This isn't about repairing a roof. This is about repairing a heart. 47:33 Your heart, boy. Your heart." And, oh, by the way, everybody's 47:38 nodding their head, saying, "Yeah, Dwight, you are a selfish one. 47:41 We've noticed that before. Don't you just be nodding your head at me. 47:44 You're just as selfish as I am. You know what? Somewhere I read that the 47:51 apostle Paul battled self until his last breath. That's the last frontier, folks. 47:57 It's where the ultimate battle will be fought -- selfishness. "Don't you talk about repairing 48:04 My house, Dwight, until you get your heart repaired." 48:08 Ellen White, a century ago, on the screen -- take a look 48:11 at this. "Constant, self-denying 48:13 benevolence is God's remedy for the cankering cancerous sins of 48:16 selfishness and covetousness." That's the only thing we can do. 48:20 We're going to give it out of you. 48:21 Read that last line. "Continual giving starves 48:25 covetousness to death." 48:29 "I need to break your heart, Dwight. 48:31 I need you to let go. You don't need the security. 48:38 Oh, you need some. I'm not asking you to give 48:41 everything you have. I understand," God says, "about 48:44 not equal giving but equal sacrifice. 48:46 That's all I'm asking of you, Dwight. 48:48 Doesn't mean everybody's gifts are the same amount. 48:51 That's impossible. It's everybody's sacrifice is 48:54 the same amount." You say, "Dwight, how do you 48:56 define 'sacrifice'?" Sacrifice is what you have left 49:00 over after you've given. The little widow had nothing 49:03 left over, and Jesus says, "Guys, she was the biggest give 49:06 today," because everybody had all kinds of stuff left over, 49:10 and it was no big deal what they dropped, with great fanfare, 49:14 into that offering container. Sacrifice means you have less 49:19 left over, and you know it. And it may push and pinch, 49:26 but you make it anyway. That's sacrifice. 49:33 ♪ All to Jesus I surrender ♪ ♪ All to him I freely give ♪ 49:38 Man, how many times have I -- They sang that in Japan, in 49:41 Tokyo, when I was baptized. That was the song they sang. 49:43 ♪ All to Jesus I surrender ♪ We sing it all the time. 49:49 "Yo, boy, you got any of those Skittles left? 49:52 I'd sure like some." [ Munching ] 49:56 "No, I don't have much left. Sorry." 50:04 "I got to work on your heart, Dwight. 50:05 That's the point." Four reasons. 50:09 Because He needs a dedicated people, 'cause somebody's gonna 50:12 have to go to this Earth, and it'll be you and it'll be me. 50:16 It's why Jesus came, by the way -- to renovate the heart 50:22 so that we could renovate the house. 50:25 Calvary. What is Calvary? 50:27 "And Can It Be?" -- ah, that was a song 50:31 to sing today. "That Thou, my God, 50:34 shouldst die for me?" 50:37 Wow. You couldn't have picked one. "And Can It Be?" 50:43 "Amazing love." You know, I was sitting here watching the camera pan that 50:49 little choir, the silhouettes as they were singing. 50:52 I'll tell you, tears just sprang into my eyes. 50:54 I saw that camera pull in on these young faces, and I said to 50:57 myself, "God, I pray you will save every boy and girl and 51:04 teen on that screen. Don't lose one of them. 51:08 That's what this church is for. Don't lose one of them." 51:18 John 3:16 -- let's repeat it out loud together. Come on. 51:21 The little girl -- she nailed it. 51:23 Is it on the screen for us? Yeah. 51:26 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten 51:30 Son, that whosoever... >> "...believeth in Him..." 51:34 >> "...should not perish, but have everlasting life." 51:38 Amen. "All to Jesus I surrender. 51:43 All to him." 51:44 Boy, Lord, I can't believe You let us do this. "All to Him I freely give." 51:51 God will bless you to the max for your unselfishness with Him. He will bless you. 51:59 Trust me, He will take care of you. Thank you in advance 52:05 for this little pledge card. Where is it? Is it at the back of my Bible? 52:08 Here it is. Thank you for this little pledge card that... 52:10 A bunch of you have come today because we talked about this last week, and you're ready to 52:14 put this in the offering plate today, God bless you. Pull it out. 52:17 Some of you said, "Dwight, I wasn't even here last Sabbath, so I'm just kind of catching up 52:19 on all this." That's okay. Pull out... It's in the worship bulletin. 52:23 Just pull it out. It's a little pledge card. It's simple. 52:27 In fact, we'll put it on the screen. 52:29 We'll put it on the screen. "By the grace of God, I/we want 52:33 to participate in making a sacrificial offering to 52:36 Pioneer's 'Renovate: Heart and House' campaign." 52:38 And by the way, the key words on that pledge statement 52:42 are the first five words, "By the grace of God." 52:48 This is not a vow. Somebody e-mailed me and said, 52:50 "Hey, Dwight, I don't believe in vows." 52:51 This is not a vow. This is a covenant. 52:54 This is, "Look, God, if you keep blessing me the way you're 52:57 blessing me right now, there is no problem. 52:59 I will be able to be generous with you." 53:01 That's what it's saying. If you should be in a terrible 53:04 car accident and your income is gone, you think he's gonna say, 53:07 "Well, I'm holding you -- Lookit, you put it down here"? 53:08 This is not a vow. This is a pledge -- "By the 53:11 grace of God, I'll do my best. And here's the amount I want to 53:16 put down." And you write that amount down. 53:17 It's over three years. Did you notice that? 53:19 It's over three years. So nobody's having to write a 53:21 check tomorrow. "By the grace of God." 53:28 Equal giving? No. Equal sacrifice? But of course. 53:32 Before I sit down, let me just remind you that we have the 53:35 brand-new -- it just came out -- the Adventist Giving online app. 53:38 If you'll download that from your app store, that baby 53:41 is on your phone. You go to it and click 53:43 "Pioneer," because it'll know where you are, and it will 53:46 give you Pioneer as a choice. 53:48 You click "Pioneer," and "Renovate" is the third line down. 53:51 If you want to do recurring giving -- you say, "Dwight, I don't have much, but I can give 53:54 $10 a month" -- if you gave $10 a month, that would be $480 -- that would be... 53:58 No, no, $10 a month would be -- I meant $10 a week -- sorry. [ Laughter ] 54:04 I did not major in math. If you give $10 a week, that's $40 a month, $480. 54:08 In the end of three years, $1,440. "Wow. How'd you do that?" 54:13 $10 recurring gift. You can sign up. You got a little debit card 54:17 that your parents gave you? 54:22 That's -- There's a website. Can you go to the website, please? 54:26 Yeah, pmchurch.org/renovate. You just go to the website. You want to do it online? 54:30 Okay, on your laptop, there it is. Those of you who are 54:32 live-streaming right now, everything you need, including this brochure, is all there. 54:35 You get it all. All right, let's go to the website. 54:38 As of today -- on the screen, please -- there it is. 54:42 We got a $2 million goal. And look at this. 54:45 Cash on hand -- $342,111. Plus, last week, the last seven 54:50 days, $206,616 have been pledged. I mean, I thought I'd get a loud 54:59 amen to that... >> Amen! >> Amen! 55:01 >> ...because we were -- a bunch of you stuck your card in last week, and we're waiting for this 55:04 week. But praise God. $206,616. 55:13 Oh, the God of Heaven will give us success. Just shut out that naysayer 55:19 named the Enemy, who's saying, "You don't want to do this, buddy. 55:22 You don't want to do... Make them all think you're doing it." 55:25 That's like Ananias and Sapphira. "Make them all think you're 55:28 doing it." No, do it... for the glory of God. 55:34 "All to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give." You want to use a tithe 55:39 envelope? Of course, you pull the tithe envelope now, you'll see at the 55:41 bottom in red "Renovate." I want to pray with you. Here's what I want to do. 55:48 I want to pray. Enough talking. Let's just pray. Let's talk to God. 55:53 Oh, Father, thank you for the example of Nehemiah. We want to be men and women 56:02 of prayer. We want to believe, just as Nehemiah declared, 56:07 "Yes, can do because he can do. God will give us success." We want to believe the words 56:14 last week that all the silver and all the gold is yours, including what's in our pockets. 56:22 Father, you have all the money you need. $2 million? 56:24 This is nothing to you. But it's a big deal to us. So I humbly pray 56:30 that you will take the pledges that are turned in today and that were turned in last week 56:34 and that will come along the way -- take the pledges, o God. We put or hands on them, 56:40 as it were, and we give them to you. Seed money... 56:46 blessed for Your glory so that not only Your house gets repaired, our hearts 56:55 get repaired. And that would be the greatest gift of all. 57:00 In Jesus' name, let all the people say "Amen and amen." 57:07 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:09 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:12 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:15 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:19 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:21 So if God has blessed you and you'd like to further the work 57:24 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:26 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. 57:29 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission of blessing your 57:33 community and our world. You can donate on our website, 57:36 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:39 You know the number -- 877-HIS-WILL. 57:41 Again, that number is 877 -- the two words "HIS-WILL." 57:46 And may the God who has blessed you continue to pour into your 57:48 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:51 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:54 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-11-13