New Perceptions

The Last Letter: Wretched (Last Letter for America

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

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Series Code: NP

Program Code: NP190126A


00:00 ♪♪
00:10 [ Organ plays ]
00:15 [ Organ stops ]
00:19 >> ♪ Precious Lord, take my hand ♪
00:27 ♪ Bring thy child home at last ♪
00:34 ♪ Where the strife and the pain all are past ♪ ♪ I have dreamed a great dream ♪
00:59 ♪ That Thy love shall rule our land ♪ ♪ Precious Lord, precious Lord,
01:19 take my hand ♪ ♪ For that day when all flesh ♪ ♪ Joins the glory Thou hast
01:42 planned ♪ ♪ Precious Lord, precious Lord, take my hand ♪
02:02 >> ♪ Take ♪ >> ♪ Take ♪ >> ♪ Take my hand ♪
02:19 >> Let's pray. Dear heavenly Father, You have brought us through another week
02:24 to a beautiful Sabbath, and we just want to praise You for that because it's only possible
02:29 through Your grace and through Your mercy. Now, we may be near at home --
02:34 we may be far at home or near right here in the church, but we just ask that You join our
02:40 hearts together during this worship as we praise Your name. In Jesus' name, amen.
02:45 Good morning, and happy Sabbath. I just invite you to stand and
02:50 join us as we sing hymn 340, "Jesus Saves."
02:55 [ "Jesus Saves" begins ]
03:11 [ Congregation sings ]
04:18 Amen. You may be seated. I don't know about you, but
04:23 sometimes I find myself at a loss of words, especially when it comes to describing how great
04:29 God is or what He's done for me. I sometimes am like, "God is good!"
04:35 And then I'm trying to think, "God is really, really good," and I'm just stuck on that He is
04:40 just so good because it's just so indescribable. There's nothing else that I can
04:45 say about all that He does. So this morning, as we continue in song and praise, I just
04:51 invite you to reflect on how great and good our God is, and will be probably told to you
04:58 through the songs that we're about to sing. So, join us as we sing
05:02 "Indescribable." [ "Indescribable" begins ]
05:15 [ Congregation sings ]
08:56 [ "Total Praise" begins ]
09:17 [ Congregation sings ]
13:34 [ Applause ] Amen.
13:36 Amen.
13:38 What more can you say after that? He is the source of our
13:42 strength. He will carry us through, even when feel like we can't carry
13:48 on because He loves us so much. His love is so deep, so wide. It's amazing, so join us as we
13:56 continue singing "Amazing." [ "Amazed" begins ]
14:14 [ Congregation sings ]
15:59 At this time, I would just invite you to stand.
16:03 Also, if you have a prayer request or a burden on your
16:06 heart, I invite you to come forward to bring them forward
16:09 to the foot of the cross -- to the source of our strength.
16:24 [ Congregation sings ]
19:00 >> ♪ My Lord, what a mornin' ♪
19:10 ♪ My Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ Oh, my Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪
19:41 ♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪ ♪ My Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ My Lord, what a mornin' ♪
20:17 ♪ Oh, my Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪ ♪ Mmm ♪
20:49 ♪ Mmm ♪ ♪ Mmm ♪ ♪ Mmm ♪
21:05 >> ♪ Done quit all my worldly ways ♪ ♪ Gonna join that heavenly
21:15 band ♪ >> ♪ My worldly ways ♪ >> ♪ Done quit all my worldly
21:22 ways ♪ ♪ Gonna join that heavenly band ♪
21:33 ♪ Oh, my Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ Oh, my Lord, what a mornin' ♪ ♪ Oh, my Lord, what a mornin' ♪
22:15 ♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪ ♪ When the stars ♪ ♪ Begin ♪
22:40 ♪ To fall ♪
23:01 >> My Lord, what a morning, when the stars begin to fall. How close are we?
23:08 How do we know? We just know...we are near. We are nearing home.
23:18 And so that hope that ignites us compels us to hear Your word. Let it be clear today, I pray in
23:27 Jesus' name, amen.
23:28 Imagine the letter that you are about to read was actually
23:32 dictated to, addressed to America.
23:37 Mm-hmm. I'm talking about the
23:40 United States of America, its people, its politicians, its
23:45 president. We're gonna read the letter.
23:50 We'll have to make a slight adaptation at the beginning, you
23:52 understand, in order for it to be a letter to America.
23:57 "Will it really fit, Dwight?" Why I think it might.
24:00 You consider it.
24:02 Open your bible to Revelation 3, the bible's last book. And there we find the bible's
24:08 last letter. We're gonna read that letter. We'll change the opening.
24:13 Uh, red letter words -- that means Jesus is dictating this letter.
24:17 He dictated it to a church long ago called Laodicea. Makes you wonder, though, if He
24:22 really had America in mind when He dictated these words. Read it in your bible,
24:27 Revelation 3:14. "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write" --
24:32 Okay. Stop it right there. Here's where we change it. Let's change it on the screen,
24:36 please.
24:37 "And to the angel of the church of the nation of America write,
24:42 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the
24:46 Beginning of the creation of God."
24:47 "I am the beginning, and I am the Amen, I'm the end, and I'm
24:51 everything in between, so I know you, and I'm speaking to you
24:54 right now. Listen to me."
24:56 "I know," verse 18, "your works, that you are neither cold nor
25:00 hot. I could wish you were cold or
25:02 hot. So then, because you are
25:03 lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my
25:06 mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich,
25:09 I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' -- and do not
25:12 know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and
25:15 naked -- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the
25:18 fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be
25:22 clothed, that the shame of your nakedness might not be revealed;
25:25 and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
25:29 "For," verse 19, "as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
25:33 Therefore be zealous and repent.'"
25:36 There they are -- seven stunning parallels between Laodicea and America, and I want you to
25:42 scribble them down. I'm gonna run through them fast. You got a study guide in your
25:46 worship bulletin today. Let's go. Pull it out, please, right now,
25:50 and thank you, ushers, because this would be the moment when we ask are there any here who
25:54 didn't get a bulletin when you came in? You just hurried in 'cause it
25:57 was so cold out there. Put your hand up, and our friendly ushers will get
26:01 those -- get those study guides to you. And while they're doing that --
26:04 I see them in the balcony already at work -- I'm gonna talk to you that are watching on
26:08 our live stream right now, watching on television. You can get that same study
26:11 guide.
26:12 You see the website at the bottom -- www.newperceptions.tv?
26:17 Go to that website. You're looking for a little
26:19 series that's just begun called "The Last Letter."
26:22 Title of this one -- "Wretched (Last Letter for America)."
26:26 And you come to that, click on "study guide," and you'll have
26:29 the same one. This is a keeper.
26:31 You're gonna want the quotations if for nothing else.
26:33 All right. Can't wait for the ushers to
26:36 keep going, so we're gonna plunge in right now.
26:38 Seven stunning parallels between Laodicea and America.
26:41 Parallel number one -- write it down -- wealth.
26:44 Wealth. Laodicea became one of the
26:48 greatest centers of finance in the Roman empire.
26:51 Ranko Stefanovic, in his commentary on Romans -- his
26:54 words on the screen.
27:04 End quote.
27:05 Laodicea boasted a huge bank exchange. Laodicea was known for a large
27:10 cache of gold. Is there another nation on the planet that backs its currency
27:15 or once did with gold? I wonder. Laodicea.
27:19 It was said of Cicero, the famous Roman statesman, that whenever he would travel to
27:23 Asia, he would stop by Laodicea to get letters of credit. He just needed those credit
27:27 cards, 'cause they provided the backing for it. Oh, Laodicea.
27:33 No need to talk about America's wealth. I'd sound like I'm boasting.
27:36 But I went to CNBC just to get another factoid that you probably haven't heard before.
27:40 Here it is. Do you know how many millionaires there are in the
27:43 world today? Right now, how many millionaires on this planet?
27:46 Here's the answer -- 36 million millionaires, people who earn over or are worth over
27:52 $1 million. And the US leads that -- 15.3 million people in this
27:57 country, in America, are worth $1 million or more, followed by Japan, the UK, and China.
28:06 Am I boasting about this? No, but Laodicea was. And so does America, by the way.
28:10 Or maybe not so much by the people as it does by the politicians and presidents, and
28:14 the numbers speak for themselves. Seven stunning parallels.
28:17 Parallel number one is wealth. Jot it down. Parallel number two is health.
28:21 Health. Healthcare was a big deal in ancient Laodicea.
28:26 In fact, Laodicea boasted -- by the way, that's a word you're gonna get used to in Laodicea
28:30 and America. Whenever you talk about them, "boast, boast," because it's
28:33 just they're big on themselves. Laodicea boasted one of the leading health resorts in Europe
28:39 and Asia. Over the Greco-Roman world, they would come to these lukewarm
28:44 baths and mineral springs. Visitors from everywhere. Oh, by the way, they had a
28:49 well-known school of medicine there that was situated in the temple of Carou dedicated to
28:54 the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, who was a messiah kind of healer.
29:01 Adjoining the school of medicine -- very interesting -- there was industry for the
29:06 manufacture of a unique eye medicine called collyrium made from the renown Phrygian stone
29:13 inside the temple. And it's called Phrygian powder. Sounds like the Jesus who sent
29:18 this letter to Laodicea knew everything about them in advance.
29:22 Sounds like maybe He even knows everything about America in advance.
29:27 Health was a big deal in Laodicea, and it certainly increasingly is in the
29:31 United States. I've traveled all over the world and had to be admitted in two
29:34 foreign hospitals. I'm not great evaluator of healthcare, but I can tell you
29:41 this -- I am very grateful for the healthcare and the medical community in my own country
29:45 because of the last 10 weeks. Very grateful. Parallel number three.
29:50 First one was wealth. Second one was health. Parallel number three is self.
29:55 Write it down. Because of their wealth, Laodicean citizens were noted in
30:00 the empire for their isolationist self-dependence or independence from everyone.
30:05 "Oh, we don't need you. We can live on our own." Tacitus, the great historian,
30:11 marveled at the chutzpah of the Laodiceans when, in 61 AD, they were struck by this devastating
30:17 earthquake, and when the imperial treasury offered to fund their rebuilding, they
30:21 said, "Nah, you keep your money. We got enough.
30:24 We have need of nothing." Heard those words before? "I have need of nothing.
30:33 We'll make ourselves great again without your help." Wow.
30:39 Laodicea and America. Here comes parallel number four -- fashion.
30:43 Oh, you're gonna like this one. Fashion. Laodicea was situated and
30:46 surrounded by a lush, rich farming district -- green grass where flocks of sheep produce
30:53 the most valuable and unusual wool. Now, listen to this.
30:56 I'm gonna put it on the screen for you. Roy Allen Anderson, in his book
31:00 "Unfolding the Revelation," he observes -- see it on the screen -- "Valuable wool was
31:05 produced in the valley," surrounding Laodicea, "soft in texture, glossy black in color,
31:10 but tinged as it were with violet. Black garments were worn almost
31:15 exclusively by the Laodiceans as evidence of their wealth." End quote.
31:21 The wealthy in the other nations would wear white, but the Laodiceans say, "Not us.
31:26 We wear black." Fashionistas. That's what they were.
31:32 And in a country on Earth, is there one more preoccupied with its dress and appearance than
31:36 America? Give me a break. Who are the hottest fashion
31:41 numbers in this little town and village? You're looking at them behind
31:45 me. The students at Andrews University.
31:47 You want to talk about being up on fashion, whew, from footgear to headgear -- the latest.
31:52 Something wrong with that? No, I'm not complaining. I'm just telling you that
31:57 Laodicea and America are amazingly, stunningly parallel. Wow.
32:06 Parallel number five -- divided. These quit rhyming, didn't they?
32:12 Parallel number five -- divided.
32:14 Listen. Laodicea's very drinking water -- the only source of
32:17 water, poor guys, that they had access to was a nauseating blend of cold and hot that produced
32:25 this half-and-half great for health treatments but horrible for ingestion kind of water, but
32:30 you still have to drink it because that's all we got. Let's talk about the divided
32:36 states of America. The blue states and the red states.
32:41 Uh-huh. The black lives and the white lives.
32:45 The rich people and the poor people. Divided to the core people.
32:48 I could write a little hip-hop right there with that first stanza.
32:51 Come on. Choir was already feeling it. Parallel number five -- divided.
32:59 Oh, are we divided to the core. Parallel number six -- only seven of these.
33:03 Here comes parallel number six -- haughty.
33:05 You know, it's one thing to be self-dependent, independent, but
33:08 it's pushing the envelope when you're proud of it.
33:11 You got a problem with that? The Achilles heel of Laodicea
33:16 was its boastful pride and were proud of it.
33:19 Jacques Doukhan, in his book "Secrets of Revelation,"
33:21 comments -- Doukhan on the screen...
33:34 End quote. Welcome to America.
33:37 Well, pardon me. Was that Laodicea?
33:39 Seven stunning parallels. America to the core, which is
33:44 why, like Laodicea, America can also be called a people
33:51 judged. Write it down.
33:54 Parallel number seven. Jot it down -- judged.
33:56 A people judged. That's what Laodicea means in
33:58 the Greek. But America, why would America
34:01 be judged? Well, I'll tell you why.
34:03 Read verse 17. Jesus speaking.
34:17 That's why.
34:18 Whoa. Laodicea, a people judged. America?
34:26 I came across one of the boldest depictions of this country in relation to God that I have ever
34:32 read from over a century ago. I got to put it on the screen for you.
34:35 You'll take the quotation home, but let me put it on the screen for you.
34:37 "The Lord has done more" -- this is Ellen White.
34:48 Period.
34:52 Now, I know we represent close to 100 nations here at Andrews University.
34:56 That's a pretty un-PC kind of statement to make when we got this many flags flying around
35:04 our courtyard, but your argument's not with me. What's that sentence again?
35:17 But before we dislocate our elbows trying to pat ourselves on the back, let us remember
35:21 that to whom much is given -- how does it go? To whom much is given, much is
35:26 required. The God who has blessed America to the max -- hold onto your
35:35 pew -- is the God who is gonna judge America to the max. To the max.
35:47 If it's blessed to be -- If it's blessed to be honored by God to the max, whew, I'm not sure
35:54 about being judged by God to the max. I know what you're saying.
35:57 "I don't know about that, Dwight. I really don't know about that.
36:00 I don't think America's that bad. I don't even know why you're
36:02 bringing up judgment in connection with America. I saw God bless America."
36:07 You know what I say to what you said? I say, "Amen and amen."
36:11 But guess what? Too late. Oh, I know we sing
36:16 ♪ God bless America ♪ ♪ Land... ♪ We sing it all the time.
36:22 It's practically the second national anthem in the United States.
36:29 But I'm wondering, mnh-mnh... I need to remind you that while we're singing that beautiful
36:34 song "God Bless America," we are the one nation -- we are the one nation that, with impunity,
36:43 is destroying unborn lives by the tens of thousands every single year.
36:49 Gone, throw them in the garbage. We don't need them anymore. Do you think that with that
36:57 wanton destruction of human life we are gonna be given a get out of judgement free card on the
37:02 day when we have this rendezvous with the Judge of the Universe and says, "What were you
37:07 thinking?" ♪ God bless America ♪ Are you serious?
37:16 For that? And we're the nation that, with impunity, is experimenting with
37:24 and exporting to the world our advocacy of unbridled sex? Well, through our entertainment
37:33 empire here in this country, we sell to the nations our debased and fallen culture.
37:38 Do you think this nation will not have a rendezvous with a day of judgement and stand before
37:43 the Judge Almighty and answer, "Why did you live this way?" America does naked well.
37:52 Well, Laodicea did naked well. "You're naked," Jesus said. Well, America does naked well.
37:57 We're getting more naked by the day. Sex is the number-one import in
38:03 the United States. Facebook, the American megabillion icon, now offers --
38:09 jot it down -- 58 -- some say 63 -- gender options that you can choose from.
38:15 What are you? Well, give me a list. Facebook now offers 58 choices,
38:20 and this is from Facebook's... headquarters what you're gonna see on the screen right now.
38:29 Facebook says we've got even more. "Last year" -- This is directly
38:33 quoting from their website.
39:13 Is this our contribution to the human race?
39:19 ♪ God bless America ♪ we sing. And we're the nation that, with
39:26 impunity, turns our backs on the poor, the powerless, the stranger that is within our
39:31 gates, and you think this nation won't have to answer before the creator of the universe on
39:36 judgement day? Think again. Just think again.
39:39 You can call them immigrants. You can call them whatever you will, but Jesus identifies with
39:44 the very people we are rejecting. Jesus said, "I was naked and you
39:47 didn't clothe me. I was hungry and you didn't feed me.
39:50 I was thirsty and you didn't give me a drink. I was even in prison and you
39:53 didn't visit me. You just kept reminding me of my prison record."
40:00 ♪ God bless America ♪ Yeah, right.
40:11 The only answer we will hear will be the words the drunken
40:15 King Belshazzar heard on the night of his destruction --
40:18 "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." You have been weighed in the
40:22 balances's nation, and you have been found wanting, and it's
40:26 curtains tonight. Adios.
40:30 Oh, my. I hear the tread, America, of an approaching God, and what shall
40:38 we say when He arrives? Hmm. The night is soon to come, when
40:47 over America the beautiful will be pronounced those bitter words of doom -- "You have been
40:53 weighed in the balances, and you have been found wanting, and it's over.
41:00 Goodbye. Unless -- Unless America repents.
41:09 I'm serious. And that's not such a preposterous notion, by the way,
41:13 America repenting. After all, there was a wicked city with a wicked people in it
41:18 named Nineveh with a wicked king who ruled the city. One day, a man sent by God had a
41:24 message to those Ninevites -- 40 days, and this city will be destroyed by Almighty God, and
41:29 you are dust, do you understand that? And in 40 days less, from the
41:34 king on the thrown to the slave in the marketplace, the entire city repents of its rebellion
41:41 and the God of heaven, of mercy, forgives them their rebellion, writes a new chapter, gives them
41:48 hope again. It's not impossible for America. It's not too late for America to
41:52 repent. Babylon did. When that mighty king
41:57 Nebuchadnezzar, brooding in his insanity after seven years repented to the God of heaven
42:03 and confessed that the God of heaven is the great God of the universe, when Babylon repented,
42:08 God spared Babylon of its demise for awhile, until the grandson Belshazzar mocked God
42:19 to His face. Probation was up. "You're dead tonight, buddy.
42:25 See ya."
42:30 Babylon repented. Why can't America repent? Sodom and Gomorrah...repented
42:36 not, and their tragic history is a morality tale for the likes of this nation of which we sing,
42:43 "God bless America." But you know what, folks? That is a song to late to sing.
42:50 For 2 1/2 centuries, He's been blessing America, and look what He's got.
42:56 There's only one song to sing now, and I wish somebody would write it -- "God Save America."
43:05 Don't bless us anymore. It'll only drive us further into our frenzied insanity.
43:11 Save us.
43:16 Not the blessing of God we need. It's His salvation, for unless He saves us, we're as doomed as
43:20 Babel, we're as doomed as Babylon, we're as doomed as Sodom and Gomorrah.
43:24 I mean, what have we done to an entire generation? And it was done by adults.
43:27 The children didn't come up with this. The adults have done it, and
43:30 they've told them, "This is how you think now, and we're gonna give you 58 options of how you
43:34 can behave." The kids didn't come up with that.
43:40 Some special-interest adult said, "This is what we need." We got it now.
43:50 You don't think we're gonna stand with our rendezvous with destiny before the Judge of the
43:56 Universe? I tell you what, if you're an adult listening to me right now
44:02 and you're purveying what is gonna take down our children, Jesus said it well, "it would
44:10 be better for a millstone to be tied around your neck and to be thrown into the ocean than for
44:16 you to live with that." The words of Christ. The red letter words of Christ,
44:24 verse 17.
44:39 Laodicea, a people judged. America, a people judged. So, what hope is there for this
44:46 nation? The truth is -- I'll just tell you what the truth is right now.
44:49 The truth for America, whether you're an American Jew or an American Muslim or an American
44:53 Hindu or an American Christian or an American Adventist or an American atheist, the only hope
44:59 we have, the last great hope for America is Jesus Christ. It's the only hope we have.
45:08 Jesus, called the Christ. Act 4:12. Does this get it or what?
45:27 There is no other hope left for America. There's no other savior that's
45:33 gonna come riding on a white stallion and deliver us politically, economically,
45:38 morally, socially, or spiritually. We have only one hope left, and
45:43 His name is Jesus. And if we spit in His face as they did 2,000 years ago on the
45:49 day of judgment, you'll see the video when you spit in the face of the King of Kings and Lord of
45:57 Lords. "I blessed you for 2 1/2 centuries, and is this what I
46:03 get?" "America, America, God shed His grace on thee."
46:17 Jesus once spent two days -- you might remember this story -- two days with half-pagan
46:22 Samaritans. I mean, they were kind of a mongrel religious faith -- half
46:25 pagan, half believer. He spent two days with them, and when the two days were up, the
46:29 Samaritans came to the woman at the well, because that's how He got invited to that village.
46:33 He first met with her. They came to that woman at the well.
46:36 John 4:42 on the screen.
46:38 Look what they said to that woman.
46:39 "They said to the woman at the well, 'We no longer believe just
46:43 because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we
46:46 know that this Man really is the Savior of the world.'"
46:50 I find that confession absolutely remarkable. You know why?
46:54 They've had only two days with Jesus, and in two days, they believe Him to be the savior of
46:59 the human race. Apparently, it doesn't take a lot of time for God to turn a
47:04 village around, and not even a nation. "How much time will we need for
47:10 America," God asks? No, the question to ask is how much time does America have?
47:21 We're running out of time. When I see events like this, I'm saying, "Oh, boy.
47:27 This is calvary all over again, and you know how calvary ends. It ends with the death."
47:34 But it's happening all over again. I'm talking about when the
47:38 Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of Israel were currying the favor of the
47:44 despised Roman governor Pilate. They hated him.
47:50 But they were currying his favor in order to secure power and influence for their own
47:54 political ambitions, even so, I fear, that there are religious leaders in America who are
47:59 attempting to parley with the president in order to secure for themselves power to change times
48:04 and laws for their own misguided and terribly mistaken agenda. I'm seeing it coming all over
48:15 again. Swallow your morals, hide your spiritual convictions, and
48:22 pretend you're just like him.
48:30 The good news is they can be stopped. That's the point.
48:36 They can be held in check a little longer.
48:44 The very liberties that this nation was founded upon are the liberties that desperately need
48:50 to be championed today. Listen, the word can get out. The word can get out.
48:56 Jon Meacham -- Karen gave me this book last year. I think it was for Valentine's.
48:59 It's a wonderful book. Finished it last year. Jon Meacham, historian, in his
49:03 inspiring book "The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels" quotes -- you're
49:08 gonna like this -- quotes the English writer, jurist, and member of Parliament in England
49:13 James Bryce. He wrote a book called "The American Commonwealth" in 1888.
49:18 Jon Meacham now is quoting James Bryce.
49:23 The words are on the screen for you.
49:24 "'A bold President'" -- Now, this is James Bryce, the
49:27 Britisher who's looking at the political system in the
49:29 United States and says, "Hey, this could happen."
49:32 Watch this. "'A bold President who knew
49:34 himself to be supported by a majority in the country'" --
49:38 that's the key. "I got the support.
49:41 I got the support." "'A bold President who knew
49:44 himself to be supported by a majority in the country, might
49:46 be tempted to override the law, and deprive the minority of the
49:50 protection which the law affords it.'"
49:53 America jurisprudence protects the minority. You cannot be destroyed because
49:58 the majority doesn't want you. Not in this land. The minorities are free to
50:03 follow their consciences. You're safe in America. In another country, you're gone.
50:10 James Bryce came over here turn of the 19th century, and he says, "You know what?
50:15 You let somebody in power who has the majority, stuff could happen."
50:22 He goes on.
50:23 "James Bryce wrote, 'He,'" the president, "'might be a tyrant."
50:27 Now, this is preaching. "'He might be a tyrant, not
50:31 against the masses, but with the masses.'"
50:35 In other words, he sees with his support by the majority a
50:39 permission to enact that which is beyond the constitution and
50:43 the law.
50:44 But he has the majority.
50:49 And I don't know about you, but the masses in America can be as irrational and fickle and
50:56 utterly susceptible to groupthink as any nation on Earth.
51:00 Social media.
51:05 I wrote on my blog this week, the 4th Watch, these words on
51:07 the screen. "The warp speed with which the
51:10 faceless social media crowd" -- I said mob maybe, huh?
51:15 "The warp speed with which the faceless social media crowd can
51:19 serve as judge, jury, and executioner is breathtaking!
51:23 'Don't confuse me with the facts -- my mind is made up'
51:27 seems to be the prevailing 'cry de jour'" -- the cry of the
51:29 day -- " among these anonymous commentators.
51:31 And even when the press" -- as it did last week -- "sheepishly
51:35 withdraws yesterday's hue and cry 24 hours later, there is no
51:39 abatement, no disavowal that appears among the purveyors of
51:42 social media pronouncements. In other words, the 'people'" --
51:45 this is what they think -- "the 'people' have spoken -- so be
51:48 it. But the people (like the press)
51:50 can be wrong, dreadfully wrong. And therein lies my concern."
51:54 End quote.
51:57 Just because social media purveys it does not anoint it as correct.
52:09 So, you get the right president with the right majority, James Bryce is saying, "Look
52:15 out." [ Inhales sharply ] But the good news is social
52:20 media cuts both ways. It's now time for a generation within the Seventh-Day Adventist
52:24 Church to rise up, a generation that can see the range of social media and begin to communicate
52:30 through social media, championing the very religious liberties and eternal principles
52:35 through which America might yet be saved. We're not asking God to bless
52:39 America. We need God to save America. That's all the time we got left.
52:43 Save America. We got to reach the thought leaders.
52:47 We got to reach the though leaders of our little communities, our counties, our
52:50 states, our nation. And I know of no more influential and attractive and
52:59 compelling magazine to do just that...than this one right here. It's been around for decades.
53:06 It's called Liberty magazine. Ever see this magazine? From the county commission to
53:13 the Supreme Court, thought leaders in America are turning to this magazine.
53:18 You say, "You can't prove it." Just read what's inside of it. You can prove it.
53:22 Read the letters. You can prove it. This little magazine, six times
53:29 a year -- $6 a subscription. For 100 bucks, you could send 16 thought leaders in America --
53:35 You say, "Dwight, I don't know a single name. I wouldn't know who to recommend
53:38 to get this." We -- There are data banks filled with men and women who,
53:42 in sincerity, are reaching out. "Is there another view to all of this?
53:46 Is there another voice that we might hear?" It's called Liberty magazine.
53:50 If you value your freedom and honoring your conscience and dedicating your day of worship
54:00 to God, and you want to be honored by the authorities in America for that freedom and
54:06 that liberty, just send this.
54:09 You can give it to your neighbors.
54:10 Give it to anybody you want. But we need to send it to the
54:13 top leaders, the thought leaders of Berrien County, Michigan,
54:16 America.
54:21 Inside your little worship bulletin today is something that
54:24 looks like this. This is for Liberty magazine.
54:28 If you open it up and just turn it out like this, it makes a
54:31 little -- you see a little tear-off here.
54:33 It's an envelope.
54:35 Listen, folks. We can sit here and say, "Well, not my problem."
54:39 Are you serious? It's not your problem? Well, whose is it, then?
54:44 It's America's problem, and you're an American.
54:50 Put $100 in a tithe envelope, just mark it "religious liberty" the next Sabbath, the next, the
54:53 next, the next. It's fine. You can put it in.
54:55 You have $100 bill in your wallet today. Just slip it in.
54:58 16 thought leaders automatically will receive this impressive advocate for religious freedom.
55:09 You don't have to know their names. You just know the times.
55:13 That's all you have to know. Just know the times. There's one more way to respond
55:18 to America's deep spiritual need, and that is we must pray for America.
55:22 I wonder what the heart of Jesus is for America. You don't have to wonder at all.
55:25 Do you remember that moment when Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and began to cry?
55:31 I want to put the words of Jesus on the screen for you. You want to know the heart of
55:35 Jesus for America? It says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem" -- Why don't we read
55:38 it, "America, America, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
55:41 her!" Keep reading. "How often I've wanted to gather
55:44 your children together, America, as a hen gathers her chicks, as a mother gathers her children
55:48 under her wings, you were not willing! How often I have longed.
55:53 Now look. Your nation is left to you desolate..."
55:58 Keep going. "...for I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say,
56:04 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.' That's the next time you're
56:11 gonna see me, America. I'll be here." Oh, by the way, He said that to
56:17 Laodicea. "Oh, He did not, Dwight." Yes, He did.
56:20 I'll end with this. Look at verse 19. Look at verse 19.
56:23 To Laodicea and America. "As many as I love" -- There are only two letters that have Him
56:27 describing His love. It'd be Philadelphia and Laodicea."
56:30 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
56:35 repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
56:38 We'll unpack that another time, but do you know what it means to stand at the door?
56:41 [ Knocking ] "I'm here. I'm already here.
56:46 I'm at the door now."
56:53 If He loves this country this deeply, then we must pray not God bless America.
56:56 Here's the prayer to pray -- God save America, and let me help You.
57:00 Amen. God save America, and let me help You.
57:05 Amen. God save America, and let me help You.
57:11 Amen.
57:15 >> I want to take an extra moment to thank you for joining
57:17 us in worship today. It's by the continued support
57:19 from viewers like you that we're able to bring this program.
57:22 Today I want to invite you, though, to share with us how
57:25 this ministry has blessed you. I get inspiring notes, e-mails,
57:29 from viewers literally all over the world telling me, "Look,
57:31 Dwight, God has been blessing me this way, He's been doing this."
57:34 I would love to hear from you, as well.
57:35 Just visit our website. You know it --
57:37 newperceptions.tv -- and click on the "contact" link at the top
57:41 of the page. Send me a note.
57:43 Let me know what God has been doing right now in your life.
57:47 Once again, thank you for being with us today.
57:49 I hope you join us right here next time, and until then,
57:52 may the God of grace journey with you every step of the way.
57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪
58:18 ♪♪


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Revised 2019-02-07