Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190323A
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00:10 >> Would you bow your heads with me? Father God, you are the 00:15 Great I Am. You are the lord of lords and the king of kings. 00:19 So we come here today to worship you, to honor you, and to follow in your footsteps. 00:25 We pray, Father, that as we are here today, communing with one another, that your holy spirit 00:30 be present. We love you. In your son Jesus' name, we 00:34 pray. Amen. 00:37 Would you all stand as we sing? ♪♪ 01:27 Let's try that again. 01:37 Where? Way back. 02:04 Why? Lord reaches. 03:51 One more time. The blood. 06:19 Ask the lord. 07:28 You know this next song. It's a simple song that we've 07:32 known for a long time, but it reflects Revelation 3:20 when 07:36 it says that Jesus stands at the door, and he knocks, and if any 07:41 man hears his voice to open the door and allow him to come in 07:45 and sup with you. The chorus of this song says 07:48 that he's asking, "Let me come in. 07:50 I'm calling you home." Home is where the heart is. 07:53 Home is where the Father belongs, where Jesus belongs. 07:56 And we so often as sinners push him away for another time, for 08:01 another day. But let today, as we commune 08:03 together, be the day that we allow Christ to commune with us. 08:08 So, sing with me now. 08:51 He's saying... 10:50 Let's sing "Come home" one more time. 11:55 >> Good afternoon, church family. 11:58 >> Good afternoon. >> The song we'll be singing 12:01 today is a medley of "Let Us Break Bread Together" in 12:04 English and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" in Chichewa. 12:08 The English version will be in your hymnals, page 154. 12:28 >> ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us break bread together 12:39 on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees with my face to the lord above ♪ 12:50 ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ 13:05 ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees 13:16 with my face to the lord above ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me [ Singing in Chichewa ] 14:49 ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us break bread together 15:00 on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees with my face to the lord above ♪ 15:10 ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ On me ♪ When I fall on my knees 15:21 with my face to the lord above ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me 15:41 >> Oh, thank you, Girls of Mercy. I love that name, and that was 15:45 beautiful music. Just what we needed today. Bless you and thank you. 15:53 And good morning, boys and girls. I should say happy Sabbath, boys 15:56 and girls. Let me just slip right through here. 15:58 There you go. Happy Sabbath, boys and girls. >> Happy Sabbath! 16:03 >> Ah, nice to see you out on this first Sabbath of springtime. 16:08 Can you say hallelujah? >> Hallelujah! >> Yeah. 16:12 Last Sabbath of spring break. Can you say hallelujah? 16:16 >> Hallelujah! >> Yep, not quite as sure, are 16:19 you? But I'm sure that you bring joy 16:23 to heaven to just see you in worship today. 16:26 Now, story today happened just a few weeks ago from my friend, Melchizedek Ponaya who spotted 16:32 it, one of my story scouts. City of Cremona, Italy. Something back in January was 16:40 going on. Everybody knew it was going on because the word on the street 16:45 was, "Shh! Shh!" That's what they were saying in Cremona, Italy. 16:50 "Shh! No noise. No noise. Shh! Something very special is 16:56 happening!" And Florencia was in her little café 'cause she has a café in 17:03 Cremona, Italy, and she was cleaning the counter -- "Shh! Please," she told the customers, 17:10 "Don't talk so loud. Shh!" She was cleaning the counter, and as she moved a glass, she 17:15 didn't watch, and she slid the glass off the counter, and it fell -- it fell to the floor. 17:22 Oh, my. That was broken glass. "Shh!" and all the customers 17:26 jumped up -- "Shh! Shh! Florencia! Shh! Something special is happening 17:33 in Cremona." Well, a guy went to his car that morning, said, "You know what? 17:38 I gotta get in my car. I gotta get moving on it." So he put his key in the 17:41 ignition, and -- vroooom! -- got that old engine runnin'. And a policeman came running 17:46 down the street. [ Whistling ] "Shh! Shh! 17:53 Something special is happening in Cremona. Shh!" 17:58 "Well, I'm gonna go out and eat." So, she went to a restaurant. 18:02 She opened the door to the restaurant, and, "Oh, everybody is there. 18:06 "Shh! Shh! Shh! Shh!" What is going on in Cremona, 18:18 Italy? Why is everybody having to be quiet? 18:21 I'll show you why. Look at the screen right now. Can you see it? 18:26 That is a beautiful Stradivarius violin. That was made back in the 17th 18:32 or 18th century. Could be worth $9 million right now. 18:36 And they had, in January, "Shh!" They had a special project. They wanted to record the sounds 18:44 of Stradivarius violins so that if time should last forever, and the violins won't last forever, 18:51 they would have the music in a sound bank. So they brought in three sound 18:55 engineers, 32 super-sensitive microphones placed in the museum everywhere, four musicians, two 19:01 on the violin, one on the viola, one on the cello, and they began to play every note they could 19:07 think of as they recorded the sound so that, one day, when somebody asked, "What did the 19:13 Stradivarius violin sound like?" It sounded like this. Ahh. 19:19 Shh! Jesus said, "Let those who hear, shh. 19:27 Let those who hear, hear what the spirit says to the church. Shh!" 19:34 It's so noisy in the world today. It's so noisy sometimes in my 19:38 house today, maybe your house, too. Jesus says, "Shh!" 19:42 Can you hear me now? Little Samuel -- You remember little boy Samuel? 19:46 He said, "Shh! Speak, Lord, I can hear you! Shh!" 19:52 Jesus says, "I want you to hear my voice, because when you hear my voice, I'll say to you, 19:59 'I love you.'" Jesus wants us to hear. He says, "If you have ears, 20:07 listen for me." Today, we're celebrating with mom and dad something so special 20:12 that we're gonna be listening. Oh, we're gonna be listening. Because Jesus' voice wants to 20:18 say, "I love you, too." Who would like to thank Jesus for loving us? 20:23 Come on, big guy. Thank Jesus for loving us, and ask Jesus to give us ears to 20:30 hear his voice. Let me get that microphone. What's your first name? 20:34 >> Sam. >> Sam. Let's bow our heads with Sam and pray as Sam leads us. 20:41 Dear Jesus, thank you for this day that we're here all together and that you're here with us. 20:46 We love you. Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Sam. As you go back to your seats, 20:51 boys and girls, yes, Jesus, we do love you, as Sam prayed, and we want to hear your voice. 20:58 Shh! 21:04 >> Oh, God, we want to hear you. There's so many noises inside of us. 21:10 The world is noisy, but the noises inside of us... Hush the noises inside right 21:14 now, dear Jesus. Let your spirit speak and give us ears to hear what you say. 21:21 We pray in your name. Amen. 21:25 Friend of mine was walking the sidewalks of one of the largest 21:27 cities in the world this summer. His heart was down. 21:33 His head was down. He was feeling discouraged. 21:36 "Oh, God. I mean, can you believe it? 21:38 This massive city and country, and we're supposed to reach this 21:42 city with the gospel of the lord Jesus? 21:44 How are you gonna pull it off, God? 21:48 How are you gonna pull it off?" And his heart was feeling disheartened. 21:53 It is down. When he happened -- Just at that split second, he 21:57 happened to lift his head just as a young adult was hurrying by. 22:02 And as the boy hurried by, he caught the T-shirt the boy was wearing. 22:06 And on the T-shirt, three words. "Don't stop believing." It's a hit song, title. 22:17 "Don't stop believing." And my friend told me this summer, the day after this 22:22 happened, my friend told me, he said, "Dwight, it was as if the God Almighty Himself thundered 22:27 from heaven and said, "Yo! What are you disheartened about? Aren't you believing my promises 22:33 for you? Don't stop believing." And as he told me this story, 22:38 the tears welled up in my own eyes that God would be so synchronicity-minded that, in 22:43 that split second, He sends an answer. "Don't stop believing." 22:47 "Don't stop believing the promises I've left with you." For six years, almost to the 22:52 day now, we have been claiming a promise in scripture, Isaiah 43:19 -- "Behold I will 22:57 do a new thing." What's this new thing, God? "I'll pour water on him who is 23:01 thirsty. I'll pour floods on the dry ground. 23:03 I'll pour my spirits on your descendants. I'll pour my blessing on your 23:07 offspring. I'm gonna do a new thing. Don't stop believing. 23:15 Because I've never changed my dream to revive -- to revive this campus and, from here, send 23:21 out a generation to wrap up what I need wrapping up right now." Don't stop believing. 23:29 My promises are still sure. Don't stop believing." I've had some people send a 23:37 message to me. "Yo, you know what we need to do after this series? 23:39 After this series, we need to have a message on the -- we need to have a series on the second 23:43 coming. We really do." I beg your -- 23:46 Excuse me? I beg your pardon? What was that you said? 23:49 A series on the second coming? You got to be kidding me. What do you think this series 23:53 has been? The lord of the church speaking to the last church, the endgame 23:58 church, sometimes in our faces, but every time loud and clear. He's giving a personal message 24:06 to a group that is going to live when he comes back. That's about as second coming as 24:11 it gets. A second coming in between every line of this letter. 24:16 It has "second coming" embedded and stamped on every word of this message. 24:23 So we go back to it. The last letter ends right now, by the way. 24:27 Right now. One last time for the last letter in the Bible, the last 24:31 letter in the apocalypse. Let's read it together. Revelation 3, the final letter 24:35 of the seventh of the churches. This is church number seven that lives at the time when Jesus 24:40 returns to the human race. Revelation 3 -- read it one last time together. 24:45 Verse 14. I'm in the NIV. 25:04 "I am about to spit you --" the New King James reads, "I'm about to vomit you out of my mouth." 25:09 Verse 17. 25:39 Verse 20. 25:48 "So, to the one who is victorious," to the one who 25:51 overcomes, "I will give the right to sit with me on my 25:55 throne, just as I was victorious as I overcome and sat down with 25:59 my Father on His throne." 26:09 Because it's true -- Jesus has been sending a message to us loud and clear, but it's taken 26:14 the Holy Spirit, who in our very proximity, has been whispering the words of Christ to you and 26:19 me. Wow. And, by the way, did you catch 26:24 verse 21? We blew right through it. Did you catch it? 26:27 Let me read it again, verse 21. 26:39 You know what? That is one -- That is one phenomenal promise -- "One day, 26:43 girl, boy, one day, you're gonna be sitting with me on my throne. Because thrones -- 26:49 By the way, the Greek word, "throna" -- it's the word from which comes the English -- 26:55 thrones are a huge deal in the apocalypse. Let me run some lines by you. 27:00 Look how big they are. This is Revelation 22:3 -- "The throne of God and the Lamb will 27:05 be in the city..." talking about the New Jerusalem -- "...and His servants," talking about all the 27:09 redeemed. They will serve God with such gladness and joy. 27:13 Thrones are a big deal in the Book of Revelation. Here's another one, 27:18 Revelation 13:3 -- "And the dragon --" that would be the devil -- "gave the beast --" 27:22 that would be the sea beast. He gave the sea beast his power and his what? 27:27 His throne. It's a big deal in the apocalypse. 27:31 Gonna put another one on the screen for you -- Revelation 20:4. 27:42 Thrones for everybody! Didn't we read somewhere -- What was it, 1 Corinthians 6, 27:46 Paul says, "Or don't you remember -- don't you know that the Lord's people will judge the 27:51 world and that we will also judge angels?" I'm telling you, thrones is huge 27:58 in the Book of Revelation. So, when Jesus promises the last church on Earth, the members of 28:04 that church, represented by Laodicea, "If you will overcome as I overcame, you are gonna sit 28:11 with me on my throne one day." It is a very big deal -- little thrones, big thrones, many 28:17 thrones -- who cares? You'll be on a throne. And do you know what the truth 28:22 is about people who sit on thrones? Here's the truth. 28:27 If you occupy a throne... it's because you are one of those who is a conqueror. 28:36 The only people who occupy thrones on the planet today are those who are rulers. 28:41 You have to be a conqueror, whether you're a king or queen or a prince or a princess, 28:46 sitting on a throne certifies that you have been accepted by the kingdom and acknowledged 28:52 because of your personal victory, because of your personal conquest. 28:56 You are acknowledged the right to sit on that throne. Oh, trust me -- there are fakes. 29:04 There are wannabes and usurpers who try to sit on the throne. No dice, no deal. 29:09 The real deal is, you have to be a conqueror to sit on a throne. That's why it's such a big deal, 29:17 by the way, in the apocalypse. Which is why, by the way, again, we spent so much time last week, 29:24 as uncomfortable as last week may have been for us to hear, recognizing the profound call of 29:30 Jesus to Laodicea, "You must overcome even as I overcame." And, by the way, that's not 29:38 overcome once. Just at the end of time, fwwsh, "Good. Now you're in." 29:41 No, no, no, no. The Greek is absolutely clear. You must overcome day after day 29:47 after day if you want to sit in my throne one day. So, the critical question is -- 29:54 Because Jesus said, "You must overcome as I overcame." The critical question is, "How 29:59 did Jesus overcome?" I mean, when Jesus, as C.S. Lewis described him, the 30:04 king landing in disguise on this planet." The rightful king. 30:09 When Jesus landed in disguise on this planet and began what the whole universe was holding its 30:16 breath over, collectively, will he be able to regain the throne and cast that usurper out 30:22 forever and ever? When Jesus landed on this planet and wrapped himself in our 30:28 humanity... all bets were off. How does this story end? 30:37 And in that fateful Friday when they lifted him up, and that dark midnight scream of naked 30:43 terror shatters Golgotha's summit. "My God, my God! 30:49 Why have you cut me off?! Why have you forsaken me?" Ah, then the universe knew the 30:58 infinitely high price retaking the throne would cost. And when that battered and 31:08 bloody head threw itself back and that pent-up cry burst from his lips, "It is finished!" 31:20 Though no one could hear them, every bell in the universe began to peel wildly, wildly. 31:32 For it was the death knell. That was the death knell of Satan. 31:40 You want to read the words that were pronounced over Jesus when he achieved that massive, 31:44 massive victory? Just turn a few more pages. Come on, few more pages. 31:48 Revelation 12. These words were proclaimed when that death cry, it is finished, 31:53 rent the heavens. Here we go. Revelation 12:10 -- "Then I 31:56 heard a loud voice --" Megalaphone in the Greek -- "Then I heard a megaphone." 32:00 We're not talking about a whimper here. We're talking about a -- a 32:04 mighty shout of victory. "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say --" at Calvary -- 32:11 "'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of 32:15 his Messiah, the Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters -- and, by the way, 32:20 the accuser of you and me, who accuses us before God day and night. 32:25 He has been hurled down. Now it's over. The war has been decided forever 32:33 and ever, amen. "Great Controversy," on the screen for you. 32:37 Look at these words there. "Great Controversy," on the screen. 32:43 "In the Saviour's expiring cry --" Do you see that? 32:52 "The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided at Calvary, and the 32:57 final eradication of evil was made certain that dark Friday." And, by the way, it's the same 33:06 Jesus who turns to us and Laodicea, and he says to us, "You, too, must now overcome sin 33:15 as I overcame Satan. You must overcome sin for me as I overcame Satan for you." 33:21 And how are we gonna do it? Come on, Jesus! How can we do it? 33:25 Boom! Just like that, the immediately following words in verse 12 give the answer. 33:30 And proclaim, verse 10, over the cross. Now here comes verse 12 for you 33:33 and me. "And they --" the followers of Jesus -- "triumphed over him, 33:38 the dreaded dragon. They triumphed over the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the 33:43 word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." 33:51 Can you believe that? We are to overcome the same enemy he did, with the same 33:58 blood of the same land. As I overcame, you overcome, too. 34:09 Wow. 34:16 Isn't it amazing that those two words in English, "who takes away the sin of the world, look 34:21 at that. That's how you do it. Jesus said, "You overcome the 34:25 same way I did." It's the Lamb of God. That's the overcoming power. 34:31 It's the blood of the Lamb of God. That's the overcoming agent. 34:35 "You overcome the same way I do, the Lamb of God, who took away and still takes away, the sin of 34:44 the world, who can take away your awful sin right now and my awful sin right now, the same 34:49 way -- by the blood of the Lamb on the cross. So, don't -- 34:52 Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. Don't you let nobody -- 34:56 Don't you let nobody turn you around. Don't you let anybody teach you 34:59 that it is impossible for you to take Jesus seriously and overcome sin now. 35:04 No matter what the sin is, no matter what the habit is, no matter how strong your appetite, 35:08 no matter how weak my resolve might be, either Jesus was deceiving Laodicea when he said, 35:14 "I want you to overcome as I overcame. I want you to do it as I did 35:18 it." Either he is deceiving us, or the people teaching that are 35:22 dead wrong. And apparently, they are, because verse 11 say, "And they 35:29 overcome," past tense. They overcame -- the dragon -- 35:37 by the blood of the land and by the word of their testimony. Read it again. 35:44 Lock it in your mind. Verse 11. 35:48 And they triumphed over the dragon by the blood of the Lamb 35:51 and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love 35:54 their lives so much as to shrink from death." 35:58 Man, let me put "Great Controversy" on the 35:59 screen again. Get a load of this. 36:01 "Therefore, Satan --" we know who he is. 36:06 We live with him 24/7. You can't believe it. 36:10 Therefore, Satan, is constantly seeking to deceive the followers 36:14 of Christ with his fatal -- his deadly -- sophistry -- that's 36:17 his deception -- that it is impossible for us to overcome." 36:22 Of course he wins with that. Because if I believe him, I quit 36:26 trying, and when I quit trying, I quit overcoming, and when I 36:29 quit overcoming... I'll not be sitting on any 36:32 throne in the universe. And that's all Satan cares for. 36:36 By the way, it says he works on the followers of Christ. 36:38 He's not working on the hellions of the planet. 36:40 The wicked? He's got the wicked in his hip 36:42 pocket. It's no big deal to him. 36:43 The only people he's concerned about are those he might yet 36:46 lose, and that's you and that's me. 36:51 "Get her!" You understand? "Kill him!" 36:56 "Get him!" That's all he cares about. He's already lost, and he knows 37:02 he's lost. But he tells us the lie -- "You can't overcome. 37:09 You'll never overcome. I know your habit. Trust me, I know your habit. 37:13 You got it from me. I know your habit. You can't overcome." 37:21 Fatal sophistry, because then you drop the weapon, the only weapon you have, you drop it, 37:26 and you're over it -- curtains, dead meat. 37:30 [ Breathes deeply ] But! 37:32 Oh, I'm glad it doesn't end right there. 37:35 "This fatal sophistry that it is impossible for us to overcome." 37:47 Now here it goes. "Let none, then, regard their 37:49 defects as incurable." I'm not gonna ask for a show of 37:52 hands, but how many here have defects that you know you have? 37:55 Don't put your hand up, because it should be every hand in this 37:58 room. "Let none, then, regard their 38:02 defects as incurable." Why? Listen. 38:05 Keep reading. "God will give --" present 38:08 tense -- "faith and grace --" His gifts -- "to overcome your 38:12 defects." 38:15 Whoever's been spreading this lie that you can't overcome, that it'll happen right at the 38:20 end of time, boom, "Okay." It's telling you. But apparently, he or she 38:27 doesn't know is wrong. You can. You can... 38:35 by the blood of the Lamb... overcome the dragon himself. If it's you and the dragon face 38:41 to face with his hot, smelly -- waaaah! -- breath, you can. He is no dragon. 38:49 He's the most brilliant fallen mind in the universe, and he knows every button that you 38:53 have, and he knows when to push and how hard to push. That's okay. 38:59 He knew Jesus, too. It's okay. Just because he knows you 39:02 doesn't mean you have to run scared. Don't be afraid. 39:05 "I have overcome him, and you will overcome even as I have overcome," Laodicea. 39:11 My, my, my, my. Don't stop believing! That's the point. 39:16 Don't stop -- I don't care what they say. Don't stop believing. 39:22 What's the Bible say? You already know. We looked at this last week, but 39:24 I'm running it by you one more time. Jude 24 -- "Now to Him, God, who 39:28 was able to keep you -- you -- from falling -- me from falling." 39:32 He's able to keep us from doing what? From falling. 39:36 He can do it. "I have all power and authority under heaven and Earth." 39:41 He can do it. 1 Corinthians 15:57 -- hadn't looked at this one before. 39:47 Look at this. 39:53 I'm telling you, my friend, don't stop believing. Satan wants nothing more than to 39:58 discourage you and pull you out of the fight. "Got her! 40:04 Got him! Boy, that was a hard one. Whew! 40:08 That was a lot of work." 'Course it's a lot of work. Because everything inside of you 40:12 is saying, "You don't have to buckle. You don't have to surrender. 40:15 You don't hoist that white flag. You don't drop the one sword you have. 40:20 You hang on to that till your hand's frozen to the sword. Don't listen to the lie. 40:30 "You can't do this. You can't do this. You're just a wimp. 40:35 You're a loser." No, devil, you are a loser. And you knew it 2,000 years ago, 40:44 and you've been fighting like a loser ever since." I'll overcome the dragon as the 40:52 lord Jesus taught me to. By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony. 40:58 Oh, by the way, what's your testimony? Do you know what your testimony 41:00 is? "He showed me how to overcome." That's the one testimony that 41:07 Satan would kill for, to eliminate. "Excuse me? 41:12 Excuse me? I once was bound and blind, but now I see. 41:19 I found victory, and it came through Jesus." "Excuse -- Excuse me. 41:23 Pardon me, sir. I appreciate what you're teaching. 41:27 I have, by His grace, been given a victory. It's the victory for today. 41:34 I'll need it tomorrow. I'll need it the next day. But I'm never going back to 41:39 believing, and I can't trust Jesus to overcome." Don't stop believing. 41:50 I won, so you won. Verse 21. Ah. I won, verse 21. 41:58 "As so to the one who is victorious, who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with 42:02 me on my throne, as I have overcome and have sat down with my Father on His throne." 42:07 As I won, so you will win. By the way, not mañana, not mañana. 42:12 Right now, right now. You have come to the right place today. 42:16 Right now. You come to me... and I will enable you to 42:23 overcome even as I have overcome. I have overcome the world. 42:30 "You will face much trouble in this world," John 16:33, but cheer up. 42:35 Be of good cheer. Take heart. I've overcome the world, and 42:39 I'll do it for you. So, we got one more time, we must read verse 20. 42:45 All of this is hinging on verse 20. Look at it -- here I am. 42:50 Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and 42:55 opens the door, I will come in." And do you know what the old King James says? 43:02 "I will come in and sup." If you had the old King James right now, that's what it would 43:06 read -- "I will sup with you." What's the word -- What's up with that "sup" 43:11 business? Nobody says "sup." Do you enjoy supping? 43:15 No, I don't sup, either. Doesn't sound right, does it? Sup is from supper. 43:22 It's from supper. Supper is "sup" expanded. Jesus says, "If you hear my 43:27 voice, open the door, I will come in, and we'll have supper together." 43:32 I want to tell you something, we just got a massive, massive crimson clue to overcoming the 43:40 dragon. We just got it. He says, "I'm knocking at the 43:43 door. If you'll open the door, I will come in, and we will have supper 43:48 together." Supper. Suppose he's talking about the 43:53 Lord's supper? Why not? Isn't that where the blood of 43:58 the Lamb conquered the enemy on our behalf? "I want to have supper with you. 44:04 Open the door, church. I want to have supper with you. I want to come in, and we'll sup 44:10 together." You know, what we learned from the little girl last week, the 44:14 next time Satan comes, open the door, let Jesus in. The next time Satan comes 44:17 knocking, what did the little girl do? She said, "I sent Satan to the 44:20 do--" Excuse me. "I sent Jesus to the door." 44:24 Let's get that straight. "I sent Je--" When Satan comes to the door -- 44:28 I'm gonna repeat it till you get it. When Satan comes to the door, I 44:32 send Jesus to the door. Yeah. The Lord's supper sends Jesus to 44:39 the door, 'cause he's already inside. And, by the way, you can have 44:42 sup on every day of the week. You can sup with Jesus in the morning when you're alone with 44:45 him and the word of God. You can sup with Jesus in the evening when you open up your 44:48 heart to him, with tears, you're pouring out your soul to him. You can sup with Jesus every 44:53 single day, but do you have supper with Jesus on high days just to bring that soul food -- 45:00 This is the highest act of Christian worship on the planet, bar none. 45:05 And most people say, "I'm outta here, I'm outta here. I don't go to these high acts. 45:09 I'd just as soon do it on my own." Do it on your own? 45:12 You're gonna have supper with yourself? You have been fighting the devil 45:16 on your own all your life, and look where it's gotten you. You need this supper, 45:22 and so do I. We need this supper. That breaks my heart when I see 45:28 somebody say, "I don't need it. I don't want it." It breaks my heart. 45:36 Do you know what you're saying no to? Supper. 45:42 With the winner. It doesn't get any better than that. 45:47 You overcome as I overcame. Let's have supper together. Let me give you a few tips 45:50 today. Now listen. Don't stop believing. 45:58 Don't stop believing. But I want to make one thing really clear right here. 46:05 The Bible is not calling us to a state of sinlessness. Listen to me very carefully now. 46:12 The Bible is not calling us to a state of sinlessness. The Bible is calling us to a 46:18 life of overcoming, and there is a world of difference between the two. 46:25 Let me read it to you, "Steps for Christ." Oh, my. 46:31 The frailty of humanity, "Steps to Christ." 46:36 Put it on the screen, please. 46:54 Even if we are overcome, ladies and gentlemen, do you understand there's some days when the enemy 46:58 overcomes me? I lose, and I know I've just lost. 47:04 Good news for when you have been overcome by the enemy. What does it say? 47:11 "We are not to be discouraged even if we are overcome by the enemy. 47:15 We are not cast off. We are not forsaken. We are not rejected of God." 47:20 Don't stop believing. 47:24 One last inspired line, then I'll sit down. 47:26 On the screen -- "Dear brother --" actual quote. 47:29 On the screen -- "Dear sister --" also actual 47:32 quote. "When Satan would fill your mind 47:34 with the despondency, gloom, and doubt, resist his suggestions. 47:39 Tell him of the blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin. 47:43 You cannot save yourself from the tempter's power." 47:48 Oh, that's absolutely true, but -- hallelujah! -- "he 47:52 trembles and flees when the merits of that precious blood 47:57 are urged." What do you say to that? 48:01 Come on. What do you say to that? >> Amen! 48:04 >> And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. 48:09 We got to quit wimping around this place. Laodicea's being called to arms. 48:13 We're running out of time. He's coming soon. Come on! 48:17 Overcome as I overcame. Don't you keep giving me these pitiful, pitiable excuses. 48:24 Take my power. Day after day after day, you overcome as I overcame, with my 48:34 blood, supping with me. You'll be just fine. Hallelujah and amen. 48:42 >> Amen. >> Amen, yeah. 48:46 The entire universe is on your side. 48:48 Do you understand that? The entire universe is on your 48:52 side. Don't stop believing. 48:59 Don't stop believing, please. Amen. 49:07 Oh, God, we've tried everything else. We've tried to assuage our 49:14 consciences. We've tried to comfort our souls. 49:17 Well, you just can't do it, so don't worry about it. Get over it. 49:22 But we can't. There's something inside of us that says, "Something's wrong 49:25 with this picture. How do you win a war and keep losing? 49:29 Father, we know about being losers. But the good news is... 49:36 the Lamb of God, we behold him. He's the one who takes away the baddest sin we have, the 49:46 strongest habit we have succumbed to. He takes it away. 49:52 Oh, God, that's why we're coming here to your table. Sup time, supper time. 49:59 The one who overcame even as we must overcome. By the sight of Jesus now, let 50:06 this be joy sublime and peace and rest as we, beside our savior, share this supper that 50:16 will leave none of us ever the same again. Amen. 50:27 >> "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he 50:30 had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, 50:34 saying, 'Take it. This is my body.' 50:37 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from 50:42 it. 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out 50:46 for many,' he said to them. 'Truly, I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of 50:51 the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of heaven.' 50:55 Excuse me -- kingdom of God. When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 51:00 Please kneel as my husband Bryan prays. 51:16 >> Dear Father in heaven, we come before you this morning 51:19 ready to partake in the symbols of your broken body and of your 51:23 spilled blood. You endured this suffering for 51:26 us. But he was wounded for our 51:30 transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities. 51:33 The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes, we are healed. 51:39 The Bible also says, "Speaking of you, therefore, he is also able to save, to the uttermost, 51:44 those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. 51:51 Thank you for your continual intercession in our lives. As the hymn writers shared in 51:57 the beauty of the lilies, Christ was borne across the sea with a glory in his bosom that 52:03 transfigures you and me. As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free while 52:11 God is marching on. You are marching on through this church and on our campus, in our 52:18 homes and in the community, and throughout the world. Set us free today. 52:23 And in response, give us your eyes and your heart so that we, too, will live to make men free. 52:30 In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. >> My Jesus, I love thee. 52:38 I know thou art mine. That's quite a prayer... 52:45 that we sing every now and then. 52:48 In moments like this, how can our hearts not be... overflowing with grateful love 52:54 to this one who has delivered us, won the war on our behalf? So that we would never forget 53:04 that I am the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. 53:09 Jesus said to us, "Do this. Do this in remembrance of me." And so we do -- we remember. 53:23 ♪♪ 53:33 ♪♪ And even as you have remembered my body broken for you on the 53:43 cross, do this, too, my blood, my life blood, I spilled to win you, to save you. 53:53 We remember. ♪♪ ♪♪ 54:16 And as we stand and sing, the ushers will come, and they'll receive our cups, and then we'll 54:20 have the benediction, and we're out into the world that awaits us. 54:24 But let's sing 350, "Blessed Be the Tie that Binds." 56:38 And now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant, brought back 56:42 from the dead our lord Jesus, a great shepherd of the sheep. May he equip you with everything 56:49 good for doing his will. And may he work in us what is pleasing to him. 56:54 Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, let all the people say amen. 57:06 >> Thank you for taking the time to join us in worship today. 57:08 I'd like to spend another moment with you here at the end of our 57:11 program to share a word of hope. In fact, that's what this little 57:13 book is all about. In these uncertain times, and 57:16 let's face it, they're uncertain all over this planet, this book, 57:19 entitled "The Great Hope," will help you understand not just 57:22 what God has planned for your future but for the future of 57:25 the entire human race. Light keeps shining on this dark 57:28 old world, and new truths long forgotten are being constantly 57:31 rediscovered. If you need a fresh dose of hope 57:34 for your life these days, or you know somebody else who could 57:37 sure use that gift of hope, then I'd like to invite you to grab 57:40 your phone, dial our toll-free number, 877 -- the two words -- 57:43 HIS-WILL. 877-HIS-WILL, and at no charge 57:47 to you, we'll get a copy in the mail to you right away. 57:50 Till the next time we meet, may the peace and hope of the 57:54 Lord Jesus be with you 24/7. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:20 ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-04-01