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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190601A
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00:10 ♪♪ >> I invite you to stand for our 01:23 prayer this morning. Creator God, we are blessed 01:30 because You invite us to come meet with You. 01:35 So in this space, we gather. We're glad to see one another, 01:40 but we're more excited because we get to have an encounter with 01:45 You. In Jesus' name, we pray. 01:47 Amen. >> Remain standing as we sing 01:50 "What a Friend in Jesus." The author of these words 01:53 entitled his poem "Pray Without Ceasing." 01:58 ♪♪ 03:48 >> Sing with us. 05:50 >> Amen. 11:26 As we sing the next verse, I want you to think, "What do I have to surrender to Jesus? 11:33 For five years, the person who wrote these words struggled with God about something God was 11:40 asking him to do. For five years, he was struggling with that. 11:45 And when he surrendered, this song came out. These words came out of him. 11:50 Think about that and please stand with us as we sing the last verse of this. 14:00 >> Well, happy Sabbath, girls and boys. I am just so glad you're here 14:08 this morning. And I do have a story for you. But, first, a question. 14:13 How many of you have ever been a passenger on a big ocean-going ship? 14:21 You have. Oh, quite a few of you. 14:24 Wasn't that fun? A few weeks ago, some friends 14:28 and I were on a big ocean-going ship named the Norwegian Sun. 14:33 If you look up there on the screen, there's the Norwegian Sun. 14:37 Isn't she beautiful? Oh, 12 decks high. I tell you -- you can see a lot 14:43 of ocean from 12 decks up. And we were on our way hundreds of miles south, into the 14:51 South Pacific Ocean. We were traveling along the coast of South America, close to 14:58 the country called Chile. And, again, if you look up there on the screen, that long, skinny 15:05 country is Chile. In fact, the nickname is "The Shoestring Republic." 15:12 It does look like a string, doesn't it? Very narrow, very long. 15:17 We were traveling along the coast of Chile and we stopped at an island called 15:23 Magdalena Island. One of the unique features of Magdalena Island is that no 15:30 people live on that island. Not a single human being. Instead, the island is full of 15:38 hundreds and hundreds of birds. It's what they call a bird sanctuary. 15:45 And most of the birds are black and white. And they look like this. 15:52 What is this? It is a penguin. You're right! You older boys and girls know 15:59 there's several varieties of penguins. There's the really big ones down 16:04 there in Antarctica. They're called the emperor penguins. 16:08 And then slightly smaller are the king penguins. And then there's this little 16:13 guy. He's called a Magellanic penguin. 16:18 Magellanic penguin, because he's named after Ferdinand Magellan. Yeah, you can see some of his 16:26 friends up there on the screen. Magellanic penguins. They're only about 16 to 16:31 18 inches tall. They would come up only to your waist, okay? 16:36 But they are beautiful, beautiful penguins. There were hundreds of them on 16:42 Magellanic Island. All right. Our ship stopped there. 16:47 We got off. We walked around and we saw all those little baby penguins and 16:52 all those mama and papa penguins. You know what? 16:56 These Magellanic penguins mate for life. That means mama and papa penguin 17:01 stay together their whole life, until they die. Typically, they only have one 17:07 baby. Just one. You know what we call a baby 17:12 penguin? >> A chick. >> A chick. You're right. 17:15 A future biology major there. We call it a chick. You're right. 17:19 'Cause it's a bird, right? Only one baby chick is normal. So they really value that little 17:26 baby chick and they dig a hole in the ground called a burrow, where the mama penguin lays the 17:32 egg, and when that egg hatches... [ Gasps ] 17:34 ...ooh, they watch over that baby chick very carefully, because there are other birds on 17:40 the island, primarily sea gulls, that like to eat baby chicks. So the parents watch very 17:48 closely. But, of course, while one parent is guarding the baby chick, the 17:52 other parent penguin has to go out and catch some fish, 'cause that's what baby penguins, or 17:58 chicks, eat is fish. So, one parent penguin will swim out in the ocean, sometimes for 18:06 3 or 4 days, and try to swallow as many fish, primarily little ones -- you know, sardines -- as 18:14 he can. And then he'll come back to the island and back to the burrow 18:19 and he will regurgitate. All right, what's that word mean, regurgitate? 18:26 Yes? >> He'll throw it up. >> He'll throw it up. 18:29 Yuck! Yuck! He'll vomit, or throw up, his tummyful of fish right down the 18:37 baby chick's throat. Whoa! Pre-digested Gerber sardines. 18:46 Aren't you glad your mommy doesn't feed you that way? Oh, yuck! 18:52 Well, as I mentioned a moment ago, sometimes, the papa or mama penguin has to be out there for 18:59 several days -- 3 or 4 days. And when they're out there, they're in great danger, because 19:06 there's something else out in the ocean that eats penguins. Look at the screen. 19:11 What is that? Oh, yes! It's an orca whale. And the orcas travel in groups 19:20 called pods, and they like to eat penguins. So if every mama and daddy 19:26 penguin went fishing at the same time, many of them wouldn't come back, because the orcas would 19:32 kill them. So, here's what happens. One very brave penguin 19:41 volunteers to swim out into the ocean when there are orcas out there and lead those orcas on a 19:51 merry chase. That little penguin will swim as hard as he can, as fast as he 20:00 can, as far as he can to lead the orcas away from the island and his friends back there on 20:09 Magdalena Island. But -- but -- this penguin knows that the orcas are bigger than 20:16 he. They're stronger than he. They can swim farther than he. 20:24 And so, in the end, he knows he's not coming back home. He will die. 20:32 But in giving up his life, he will save hundreds of baby chicks and their penguin parents 20:42 back on Magdalena Island. You know, girls and boys, when our tour guide on the boat told 20:49 us that story, I immediately thought of somebody else who came to this Earth, voluntarily, 20:57 to die for you and me. Who was that? That was Jesus, wasn't it? 21:02 He didn't have to come, but He volunteered to come down here and die on the cross for you and 21:10 me and your parents. And then, unlike the penguin, He didn't stay dead, right? 21:18 He rose again from the tomb on Easter Sunday morning and He went back to heaven. 21:24 And some day, we hope soon, He's going to come back again and take you and your parents to 21:31 heaven with Him. Isn't that a beautiful thought? I wonder if there's a little 21:35 girl or a little boy here this morning that would like to pray and thank Jesus -- Would you? 21:41 Come on up here. Thank Jesus for coming to this Earth and dying for us so that 21:48 we can have everlasting life. Thank you so much. Let's bow our heads. 21:56 >> Dear Jesus, thank You for this day. Please help us to understand why 22:01 You died on the cross and help us to love You more and help people who don't know about You 22:07 to learn about You. In the name of Jesus, amen. >> Amen. 22:10 That was a beautiful prayer. Thank you so much. You may now go back to your 22:15 seats. Thank you. 22:21 ♪♪ 22:34 >> ♪ Sing the wondrous love of Jesus ♪ 22:39 ♪ Sing His mercy and His grace ♪ In the mansions bright and blessed ♪ 22:49 ♪ He'll prepare for us a place ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, will you go to glory with me? ♪ 22:59 ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! >> ♪ While we walk the pilgrim pathway ♪ 23:12 ♪ Clouds will overspread the sky ♪ >> ♪ But when traveling days are 23:20 over ♪ ♪ Not a shadow, not a sigh ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, 23:29 will you go to glory with me? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 23:45 ♪ Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day ♪ 23:54 ♪ Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay ♪ 24:04 ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, will you go to glory with me? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 24:14 ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, will you go to glory with me? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 24:27 ♪ Onward to the prize before us! ♪ ♪ Soon, His beauty we'll 24:34 behold ♪ ♪ Soon, the pearly gates will open ♪ 24:41 ♪ We shall tread the streets of gold ♪ ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, 24:52 will you go to glory with me? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! ♪ I am bound for the kingdom, 25:04 will you go to glory with me? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! ♪ Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 25:23 >> Amen! [ Applause ] 25:31 >> Thank you, choir, Sanctuary Choir. "Hallelujah, praise the Lord. 25:34 I am bound for the promised land." Let's go there together. 25:43 I want to pray first. We'll plunge into our teaching on exiles. 25:49 Father, we want to go there. Hallelujah. We sing with the choir. 25:55 Praise the Lord. We're still basking in the joy of those three beautiful 26:02 testimonies, three new friends of Jesus. And it occurs to me, Father, 26:09 there may be somebody here who watched those three and is thinking, "You know what? 26:12 I could do that. I could be baptized and follow Christ." 26:18 If that's the case, would the Holy Spirit please take these next few moments, and maybe you 26:23 and he, you and she talk this out. Right now, may this story come 26:33 alive for us -- exiles. In Jesus' name. Amen. 26:40 So, how can I possibly tell you a story you already know? 26:44 Maybe we try this. Tonight, midnight, your place -- 26:50 Could be a house, could be an apartment, could be a mobile 26:55 home. Tonight, at midnight, go into a 26:58 closet, shut the door behind you. 27:01 You've got the closet light on, of course. Take a couple, three deep 27:07 breaths and then turn the light out. Pitch-black darkness, right? 27:16 Yeah. And now imagine that, while you're in that position -- dark 27:22 closet -- the walls, the four walls, begin to push in on you. Mm-hmm. 27:26 Suddenly, you feel the walls touching your shoulders, and you realize that your arms are 27:30 pinned to your side. Suddenly, the wall in front of you, which you cannot see, is 27:35 touching your nose. The wall behind you that you cannot see is touching your 27:39 head. And if that weren't claustrophobic enough, let's 27:45 take all fresh air out of that closet -- that be okay? -- and replace it with this pungent, 27:52 like, pins-in-the-nostrils ammonia. And your gut begins to twist in 28:02 advance of a retch. And while you're there in the dark, if that weren't enough, 28:08 something is touching you, and you don't know what it is. Is it alive? I don't know. 28:14 It's probing your orifices. Slimy to the touch. Ugh! 28:23 "What are you talking about?" 28:26 Take a look at these words on the screen, please. 28:43 Who prayed that prayer? Where did he pray it? In the belly of a whale. 28:49 Of course. You know, they have this saying, "You can run, but you can't..." 28:56 You can't hide. I think for Jonah, the converse is just as true. 29:00 You can hide, but you can't run. Where can you run in a whale's belly? 29:07 Nowhere. Open your Bible with me to this world-loved story of Jonah and 29:12 the whale. We're gonna take five minutes while you find the 29:15 Book of Jonah, all right? Five minutes, but that's it. Five minutes up, we're moving 29:20 on. All right, it's the little, tiny book tucked into the 29:24 Minor Prophets, the 12 last prophets in the Old Testament. All right, Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. 29:32 And, by the way, while you're finding it, 'cause you're still 29:34 looking, let me put the title slide on the screen for you. 29:37 We're in this away-from-our-home-church series 29:41 called "In Exile: Cadences of Home." 29:44 Title today, "Here Am I -- Send Them." 29:47 "Yeah, but, Dwight, come on. Time-out. You can't put Jonah in with 29:51 these exile stories." Oh, yes, you can. I learned that scholars, in 29:57 fact, define what they call diasporic -- Oh, big word. But the Diaspora, you know, when 30:02 the Jews were spread out, scattered all over the Roman Empire, diasporic morality 30:09 tales. And scholars believe that these stories were carefully 30:13 preserved. They were passed on to exile to exile to exile to show you how 30:18 you can maintain the faith in the land that is not your own, to show you how your religion 30:24 can survive exile. And scholars believe Jonah's story was a big teaching story. 30:32 So we're including him. All right, Jonah. Let's go. We're gonna start at the end of 30:37 the story. So, you've got Jonah. We'll go to the end of the story 30:40 first -- Jonah 4:1. 30:46 What seemed wrong? What seemed wrong is that God has just saved the entire city 30:51 of Nineveh. Pff! 31:01 I'm gonna share with you something now that I have never seen before. 31:03 How many times have I read -- How many times have I preached on the Book of Jonah? 31:07 Pff! Have no idea. But I never saw this till this last week, and that's why I'm 31:12 really jazzed about passing it on to you, because watch the next line. 31:17 I'll read it again. Now, listen to this. 31:31 "That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish." 31:38 At the end of his story -- 'Cause Jonah wrote his own story. 31:41 At the end of his story, he gives us a hint of his mind-set at the beginning of his story. 31:50 Never saw that before. I mean, what do we know about Jonah? 31:54 Well, we all know how the story begins. The story begins -- Let's put 31:58 the first line of the story up on the screen for you. Jonah -- tiny, little book. 32:02 You can see it right there. Jonah 1:3. But Jonah did what? 32:06 Jonah ran away. From whom? He ran away from the Lord. 32:10 Everybody knows that story. God comes to the prophet. He says, "Yo, Jonah. 32:17 I have something I need you to do. I'm sending you to the baddest 32:21 of the bad, the worst of the worst cities on Earth. I'm sending you to Nineveh. 32:25 And I want you to take to them this little message. Watch me, Jonah. Watch me. 32:29 I want you to tell them that I am this close -- See that? I am this close to nuking them. 32:36 Nuking." And Jonah says, "Yes, Lord. I hear You loud and clear. 32:43 Thank You for those instructions. Hasta la vista." 32:46 And he's gone. He runs. [ Chuckles ] 32:49 You know what I used to think? I used to think that the reason Jonah ran was because he's a 32:54 fraidycat, just didn't have the guts to be able to go into that evil city and proclaim God's 33:00 message. But there hasn't been a reader around that hasn't come to that 33:04 same conclusion, because -- let's just admit it -- heard on the street, the Assyrians are 33:10 the -- Pff! You don't want the Assyrians living in your country. 33:17 Infamous, famous, barbaric cruelty. They invented impaling. 33:21 I don't know if they invented it, but they perfected it. You know what impaling is? 33:25 You take a pole, you sharpen the tip, and then you run the pole straight up the torso this way 33:31 until it comes out somewhere, and you hang there, beneath the sun, writhing and dying, until 33:38 you're gone. Readers read the Book of Jonah and say, "Yeah, I know why I 33:43 would be afraid. I would never go to Nineveh." Wrong. Not what you're just 33:49 about to see. Watch this. Fascinating. Let's read Verse 2 again. 34:06 "I was planning on stopping something from happening. 34:09 Keep reading. 34:21 "I know who You are, and You have done a exactly what I was afraid You were gonna do. 34:30 I can't believe this. I know You -- gracious, compassionate, abounding in 34:35 love. But I got to tell You something. I read my contemporary Hosea's 34:44 prediction. And I said, 'That will never happen in Israel.'" 34:49 Jonah was a patriot. He was a loyalist and an isolationist. 34:52 We got people like that all over the planet today. That was Jonah. 34:56 His contemporary put it on. Hosea 9:3. Hosea, the fellow prophet 35:02 wrote, "They --" That's talking about the 10 tribes of Israel. "They will not remain in their 35:08 land." Mnh-mnh. "Ephraim --" That's the code 35:10 name for them. "Ephraim will...eat unclean food," from where? 35:14 Jonah says, "This is a no-brainer. That prediction says, "I'm gonna 35:17 become an exile one day, and I do not want to be -- no, thank you -- an exile." 35:23 So when God comes to him and says, "Come on, Jonah." We got a plan." 35:26 "Nope. Adiós." God says, "Go east." He goes west. 35:32 "You can run, but you can't hide. You can hide, but you can't 35:37 run." Yep. Everybody loves the story of Jonah. 35:44 And the best part is coming up right now. I am grateful for my friend 35:48 Brian Strayer, introducing that word, regurgitate, into our consciousness. 35:54 That's very good, Brian. Yep. Okay, so, we got to get Jonah out of the whale, 'cause 35:59 that's where we've left him. He's in the whale. Go to Verse 10 of Chapter 2. 36:03 "And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited --" This is the N.I.V. 36:08 "It vomited Jonah onto dry land." Man, that has got to be one loud 36:13 sound when that took place, 'cause we've had pet dogs, you know, and you just know 36:19 immediately when it's about to happen. Can't imagine what a whale would 36:23 sound like. Okay, go on. Come on. Don't stop there. 36:26 Verse 1, Chapter 3. Boy, is God merciful or what? Has He come to you a second 36:33 time? Has He ever come to you a third time? 36:36 Has He come to you a fourth time, a fifth time, a sixth time? 36:40 Look at him. The word of the Lord came to him a second time, because He's 36:44 still a God of mercy. He says, "All right, Jonah. I want you to go to that great 36:49 city and repeat my commission." 36:57 And this time -- yep, you got it -- Jonah obeys. And he proclaims a very short 37:04 message. In Hebrew... [ Clears throat ] 37:06 Excuse me. In Hebrew, it's only five words long. 37:10 So, he goes to that first city block, because he tells us, in this chapter, that it takes 37:14 three days to walk across -- Three days to cross the city. So it must be a big, big city. 37:19 He goes to the first block and he utters the five words. I tried to get the message down 37:23 to five words in English, and here is how it goes. I need to look at it to make 37:31 sure I know. [ Laughter ] "40 days, you are nuked." 37:41 That's it. Five words long. He goes to the next block, stands on the next street corner 37:46 and says, "Yo! 40 days, you are nuked." He walks to the next block. 37:55 "40 days, you are nuked." Day after day after day. And guess what. 37:59 Finally, the king gets the message. You've got to read this. 38:05 This is something else. Look at Verse 5. "The Ninevites believed God," 38:10 thanks to Jonah. 38:17 Keep reading. So, here comes the royal 38:32 proclamation. 38:53 Sounds like a preacher, doesn't he? 39:03 That came from the highest political office in the land. Wow. 39:12 As it was with the exile Esther, as it was with the exile Daniel, as it was with the exiles 39:18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, so it is in the story of Jonah. Have you noticed there's a 39:22 little -- there's a familiar thread running through? The king gets saved. 39:29 All three of these morality tales from exiles -- God saves the highest office, occupier in 39:39 the land. Whoa. "40 days and you are nuked," and Nineveh repents 39:44 before God. By the way, some day not far from now, that very message -- 39:49 Slight alteration in the wording. That very message will be 39:52 proclaimed to the ends of the Earth. In fact, let's put it on the 39:56 screen. Revelation 14:7. 39:58 And I say let's read this out loud together. 40:13 Jesus -- when He was here, how did He preach? He says, "Repent, for the 40:17 kingdom is at hand. Repent. Curtain's coming." We're about this far." 40:27 Wow. So, here's the question for you. Would you be upset if this 40:36 message goes to all the kings and politicians, all the presidents and prime ministers, 40:43 all the cities and all the countries of Earth? Would you be upset if they chose 40:49 to respond positively to that appeal? Would you be upset if they 40:57 respond positively, just like the kings in these exilic tales, and God says, "Okay. 41:06 I'm calling it off. No destruction, no judgment." Now, would you be upset? 41:17 One thing we know about Jonah -- he was ticked off, right? 41:22 And I think of this little faith community that I have had the 41:25 privilege of belonging to all my life, since the day they sang, 41:28 "All to Jesus, I surrender," and my father baptized me and I came 41:31 up looking straight into my dad's face. 41:33 That's what I was thinking about, with tears in my eyes, as 41:37 we sang that hymn a moment ago. So I've hung around, but I know 41:44 this faith community. I know people that call 41:47 themselves Adventists. Ooh! Adventists. 41:50 What's that old word mean? Oh, people that have the 41:53 expectation of the soon coming of Christ. 41:56 I know that, in this Adventist community, there are people who say, "You know what, God? 42:02 What are You thinking of? Do You know what time it is? Hubba-hubba-hubba. Let's go. 42:09 We've been at this thing for decades. I've been at it." 42:12 And the closer you get to your demise or ending, the more urgent becomes that desire. 42:17 "I don't care if -- Listen, nuke the world. Just get me home. 42:23 We are no better than Jonah. Nuke Nineveh. I'll be fine." Same. Same way. 42:33 We fall into that trap and say, "Wrap it up. I'm ready." 42:38 Did it ever occur to you that you are not the only one on this planet right now? 42:43 [ Laughs, sighs ] Carly Simon used to sing that song, "You're so vain. 42:51 You probably think this song is about you." And I know people in my faith 42:57 community that think, "That's what this ending is all about. It's us." 43:02 Are you serious? You can't be serious. There's a world out there. 43:10 So, would it bother you if all the politicians that are in high office that you can think of 43:17 right now converted to Jesus Christ, became true believers, and God says, "I'm 43:22 calling off. I can wait." The only reason He would call it 43:25 off, by the way, is so "I can reach more people. You've given me some time now. 43:28 Perfect." Would that bother you? Hmm. 43:33 Okay, well, that's exactly what God does. 43:36 He calls it off. Verse 10. 43:43 He pulled back. 43:50 Mm-mm. "I told You so. I told You You were gonna do 43:53 that back when You gave me the invitation. You did it." 43:58 Pff! "But to Jonah, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry." 44:06 What's going on here? Lee Beach, in his inspiring little book, "The Church in 44:11 Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom," makes the point well. 44:14 Put the words on the screen for you. "A key theological perspective 44:19 reflected in the call for Jonah to preach in Nineveh is the potential transformation of 44:24 one's" what? Come on. One's what? The story is talking about your 44:29 enemies. "The potential transformation of your enemies." 44:32 You think of the person at the office that you just can't stand. 44:35 You think of the person in your school that you just cannot stand. 44:39 You think of the person in -- the neighbor in your neighborhood. 44:42 You can't stand him. Those enemies of yours are the target of God. 44:51 Yeah, Beach is right. Keep reading. I'll start at the top. 45:07 He knows exactly what God is doing. 45:24 Now, lookit. Here's how Jonah was thinking. God says, "I need you to go to 45:27 Nineveh," and Jonah was thinking to himself, "Man, I got that Hosea prophecy. 45:30 That means we're gonna end up in Assyria in exiles. We're not gonna do it." 45:34 What is Jonah hoping? By not going to Nineveh, God will be forced to nuke Nineveh. 45:40 And if God nukes Nineveh, good riddance to bad rubbish. Gone. One less enemy for Israel 45:47 to have to worry about. That's what Jonah's thinking. He thinks he will thwart the 45:54 divine purpose and plan. Oh! He's ticked. Because Nineveh, to him, is the 46:07 enemy. You know what the irony of this story is? 46:09 Listen. The irony of this story is that Jonah is absolutely right about God and His 46:17 character. We always treat this story as, "Well, Jonah's not -- He doesn't 46:20 have a good picture of God, not a clear theological understanding of God." 46:23 Are you kidding? It is as clear as they come. When Jonah speaks those words -- 46:27 "I know that You're gracious and You're compassionate and I know You're abounding in 46:30 love --" when Jonah speaks those words, he's quoting Exodus 34, God's self-revelation to Moses. 46:36 "Moses, this is who I am." Jonah is quoting that. "I know who You are." 46:42 Jonah knows. He knows that God is gracious. And, by the way, He still is. 46:47 Some of you are not sure about the character of God. You're not sure that this God -- 46:51 you have to let Him get too close to you, 'cause look at the stuff that happens to people who 46:54 get close to Him. That is defective thinking, because He still is gracious. 47:02 He still is compassionate. He still is slow to anger. He still does abound in love. 47:07 In fact, saving Nineveh proves Jonah's picture of God. He's fighting his own stance. 47:16 Ugh. 47:24 Lee Beach one more time on the screen. 47:35 Isaiah 45:22 -- God stretches out His hands and He says, "Come to me, all you ends of the 47:40 Earth. You come to me, and I will save you. 47:45 Just come to me." He says it to the whole planet. 48:06 Sometimes, faith communities get a little parochial, and they draw themselves in and they put 48:11 fences around where they are and they only go out to shop, they only go out to fill their car 48:15 with gas, but then they're back inside again. Hmm. 48:22 Wow. 48:28 God cares for our enemies. And, by the way, that's why He invented exiles. 48:31 You know He's the one who invented the exiles? Yeah, He invented them. 48:36 You know why He did invent exiles? Because God is a missionary God. 48:40 And He has His heart on more than just His chosen people, whether you want to call them 48:43 Israel or whether you want to call them Christians or you want to call them the Remnant. 48:48 He has a much bigger vision of rescuing the human race. Yep. "You probably think this 48:59 song is about you." And that's why God gives a line to the exiles -- Oh, I wish 49:06 Jonah had seen this line. If Jonah had seen this line, we wouldn't have Jonah's kind of 49:10 melting down the way we have it in this story. But this didn't get released 49:14 till the other prophet with a "J," named Jeremiah, quotes God. And, so, I need you to go back 49:18 in your Bible. Just go back to Jeremiah 29. You got to see this in your own 49:22 Bible. I know we're gonna put it on the screen, but do you have it there 49:25 in your Bible? And then mark this verse up in your Bible so that you don't 49:28 forget it really is in our Bibles. Jeremiah 29:7. 49:33 God's speaking. 49:41 Pause button right there. Who carried them into exile? Who carried them into exile? 49:47 God did. He had a plan. That's why you lost a job, by the way. 49:50 You were so happy with that job, you were making it on that job and God says, "You know what? 49:55 You're way too comfortable. I need to move you out. I'm gonna find another job for 49:59 you, but this one's just gone." That's why you lost that friendship, by the way. 50:03 You were so focused on that friend, who was distracting you from God's divine will for your 50:08 life, that God says, "That friendship's over. Adiós. Let's talk." 50:14 That's why you no longer live in the neighborhood, that comfort zone you once lived in. 50:17 God said, "You're out of here. I don't want you in that neighborhood. 50:20 I need you, as an exile, to be where the world interfaces with you." 50:28 Wow. But it gets even better. Oh, I'll read it again. 50:35 "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile 50:39 and pray to the Lord for it, because --" now, here it comes -- "if it --" What? 50:45 "If it prospers, you too will" what? You will prosper. 50:50 Can you believe that? It's almost -- We have a little reciprocal return going on here. 50:56 It's almost as if in seeking to save others, we end up saving ourselves, because if they 51:05 prosper, you too will prosper. It's almost as if in seeking to save the Church -- And 51:09 everybody's so preoccupied these days with saving the Church. Get off. 51:13 God will save the Church. Jesus is the savior and Lord of the Church anyway. 51:18 But it's almost as if in seeking to save the world, we save the Church. 51:26 Because as they prosper, you too will prosper. That's it. 51:35 Reciprocal return. Testifying of your faith in Jesus, when You set out to save 51:40 someone's life -- And I'm talking about someone on the job. 51:43 I'm talking about someone in the neighborhood. I'm talking about somebody you 51:47 play with, somebody you study with, somebody you work with. Somebody. I don't care who, 51:53 where, when. It doesn't matter. If you set out to save someone 51:58 else's life -- guess what -- your life gets saved. It's the reciprocal return. 52:06 These three testimonies, beautiful testimonies, that we just witnessed, I'm so proud of 52:11 you. They already are penetrating hearts. 52:18 And these three have become missionaries now -- exiles -- to communicate the good news of the 52:24 Gospel. Yep. The reciprocal return of 52:29 witnessing. Jonah thinks, by the way, that if Nineveh repents, Israel is 52:34 doomed. It could very well be, in fact, that had Nineveh not repented, 52:38 the annihilation of Israel would have been much earlier than it was. 52:43 You don't know the mind of God. Don't you try to second-guess. You're in exile. 52:47 You're not home yet, but you're going home. But God says, "I have put you 52:52 where nobody else is. There's nobody but you there. And I'm needing you. 52:59 I'm counting on you. Don't be intimidated, don't be afraid. 53:04 Lo, I'm with you always." Oh, what a God. "Because if they prosper, you 53:10 too will prosper." This last Wednesday evening, I wish you could have been at 53:13 House of Prayer last Wednesday evening. Kathy Iwasa led our reflection 53:19 time. Pastor John has set up a series of narratives showing heart 53:23 transformation. And, so, she was assigned this, and she did such a beautiful 53:28 job. It was so tender. I mean, tears sprang into my 53:31 eyes. And she, with great transparency, applies this 53:35 story. It's the story about the early-morning demoniacs. 53:38 You remember the two demoniacs? Jesus and the Disciples land, and they come running out of the 53:42 cemetery? You remember that? She's taking us through that 53:45 story, and as she unpacks it layer by layer, I'm thinking, "Wow." 53:50 She gets to the end. And you know what the story is at the end? 53:54 Those two healed demoniacs, who are now in their right mind -- do you know what they do? 53:57 They come to Jesus and they say, "Hey, guess what. We're Your two newest disciples 54:01 and we're joining the team. That boat has room for two more, and we're gonna be on it. 54:06 We're going with You. We got nothing else to do but be Your disciples." 54:11 And Jesus, without missing a beat, categorical, "No, no, no. You're not going with me. 54:19 You go back home to your family and to your friends and you tell them what the Lord has done for 54:25 you. You're in exile. God has put you in that 54:29 neighborhood. Now talk. Talk." And when Jesus returns -- It's 54:37 unbelievable, but the Gospels are clear. When He returns, thousands greet 54:41 Him. "You're in exile. You're in exile from me. 54:49 Talk. I know you read the word. I know you pray. 54:55 Just talk. Talk for me. Pff! And then Kathy shared this line from "Desire of Ages." 55:03 I'll put it on the screen for you. This is choice. 55:13 Isn't that good? "It is in working to spread the good news of salvation that we 55:20 are brought near to the Savior." Lookit, is there anybody here that doesn't want to be close to 55:25 Christ? You wouldn't be here today. So, what's gonna take us closer? 55:31 More books? Nope. More time in prayer? Mm, not really. 55:37 That's two-thirds, but we need the third third. Work on somebody. 55:43 And as you're working on that life, something mysterious happens to you. 55:47 It's the reciprocal return. As they prosper, you prosper. 55:53 "It is in working to spread the good news of salvation that we 55:55 are brought near to the Savior." That's it. 55:57 That's the teaching from Jonah. And, by the way, did Jonah get 56:00 near Jesus? Are you kidding? 56:02 Did he get near Jesus? Listen to this. 56:06 Jonah and Jesus track together. Can I run these five by you? 56:09 And then I'll sit down. Five. Count them. 56:14 Like Jesus, Jonah proclaims repentance, right? 56:20 Number two, like Jesus, Jonah finds a way to win pagan hearts. 56:25 Number three, like Jesus, Jonah is willing to sacrifice himself to save others. 56:30 "Throw me over the board. It will save you." Number four, like Jesus, Jonah 56:35 spends three days and three nights in the darkness of death. And, finally, number five, like 56:42 Jesus, Jonah is also delivered from that death. I'm telling you what, ladies and 56:47 gentlemen... in saving others, you save yourself. 56:53 Oh, Jesus is the savior. I know. In saving others, you save 56:57 yourself and you grow closer and closer to the Jesus who decided to take Jonah's track for his 57:06 life. Isn't that great? Just like Jonah, who's just like 57:12 Jesus. 57:16 I want to take an extra moment to thank you for joining us in 57:18 worship today. It's by the continued support 57:20 from viewers like you that we're able to bring you this program. 57:23 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. 57:33 He's been doing this." I would love to hear from you, 57:35 as well. Just visit our website -- you 57:37 know it -- newperceptions.tv, and click on the contact link at 57:42 the top of the page. Send me a note, let me know what 57:44 God has been doing right now in your life. 57:47 Once again, thank you for being with us today. 57:50 I hope you'll join us right here next time, and until then, may 57:53 the God of grace journey with you every step of the way. 57:59 ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-06-11