Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190914A
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00:10 >> Let's bow our heads and pray. Dear Heavenly Father, 00:14 it is Your Holy Sabbath, and we are so glad to be here 00:17 to worship and praise Your name. 00:19 As we sing, as we pray, as we listen, we just ask that the noise 00:23 that we make will reach up to Your Heavenly Kingdom, to Your throne, 00:27 and as we thank You for all that You've done for us this week, in Jesus' name, amen. 00:32 >> Amen. 00:33 >> Happy Sabbath! Has the Lord been good to you 00:37 this week? 00:38 Amen. In fact, there's a saying that I know we're all 00:41 pretty familiar with. It says, "God is good all the time, 00:47 and all the time, God is good." So, God is good... >> All the time. 00:51 >> And all the time, God is good, right? And He deserves all our worship 00:56 and our praise. In fact, David writes -- in Psalm 34, he says, 01:01 "I will bless the Lord at all times, and I'll let His praise 01:04 be continuously on my lips." And he was writing this even in a time of trial for him. 01:10 And then in verse 3, he says, "O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt 01:15 His name together." So, here we are together. I just invite you to stand 01:19 as we sing, as we praise and worship our God. 01:23 [ "I Will Magnify the Lord" begins ] 01:29 [ Congregation sings ] 03:44 Amen. You may be seated. 03:56 [ "Who You Say I Am" begins ] 07:38 >> Amen! [ "I Will Bless the Lord" 07:43 begins ] ♪♪ 07:55 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:13 >> Sing with us "I Will Bless the Lord." 08:16 ♪♪ [ Congregation sings ] 09:06 He has done great things. 11:11 Amen. Hasn't He done great things 11:14 for us? 11:15 So, I just invite you as we sing this last song that you reflect on all that He's done for you, 11:21 and if you're going through a hard time, just remember to claim all 11:24 His promises. And if you would like, I would just invite you to come 11:28 to the front as we sing, and maybe on the other side, you'd just like to praise Him for all 11:33 that He's done for you. So, please stand as we sing. 11:37 [ 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) begins ] 11:43 [ Congregation sings ] 19:15 [ Applause ] 19:21 >> I want to pray with you, and let's dive into these moments together. 19:25 Oh, God, like the Orion Strings just played that invitation, "Come, Christians, 19:33 join and sing, 'Hallelujah, amen.'" We've been much in worship 19:37 already. We're not not through yet, Father. 19:40 You have a word to send to us. We want to have ears to hear. Hide this voice so that 19:44 it's your voice that really is deep in our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 19:52 Charles Swindoll wrote the book, "Strike the Original Match," 19:54 and in the book, he tells a story of a little 19:56 4-year-old girl named Susie. She has just heard 20:01 for the first time in her life the story of "Snow White." 20:06 Everybody knows the story of "Snow White." 20:09 She can hardly wait to get home, and with wide-eyed amazement 20:11 as she burst through that door, she says, "Mommy, you're not 20:14 going to believe this story." 20:15 So she recites the story to her, including the part where Prince Charming comes 20:19 on that white stallion and gets off and plants that kiss on Snow White 20:24 and brings her back to life. "And, Mommy, do you know what happens next?" 20:28 And Mother with a smile, says, "Yes -- and they lived happily ever after." 20:33 "No," Susie frowned. "They got married." Come on, Susie. 20:40 You got a problem with marriage? Girl, give us a break. So, I went to Google. 20:46 I said, "Hey, yo, Google, is Susie right? Do we have a problem with 20:50 marriage?" And Google started kicking up some numbers for me. 20:53 In America -- only America -- every 36 seconds, there is a divorce. 21:01 Whoa. That's almost 2,400 a day. That's 16,800 a week. 21:09 That's 876,000 divorces a year. And get this -- for first marriages, the rate 21:15 of divorce is 41%. "And they lived happily ever after." 21:22 "No. They got married." Maybe that little girl is on to something. 21:27 What's up with this? You know, obviously it's a very complicated business, 21:31 this business of marriage, I mean, given the fact that there are huge differences 21:37 between men and women. I mean, we know them -- huge differences. 21:41 Why wouldn't that be a big challenge? I like the way 21:44 Jennifer Jill Schwirzer describes these differences. I think she kind of nailed it 21:50 on the head. Let me put it on the screen for you. 21:53 Jennifer Schwirzer -- "Women are like the remote control." All right, guys. Listen to this. 21:58 "Women are like the remote control. Men cannot figure out how they 22:01 work, but they keep pushing the buttons." [ Laughter ] 22:04 I mean, is that it or what? They just can't figure it out. Okay, turnaround is fair play. 22:10 So, she says, "Okay, let's talk about men. 22:12 Men are like ziplock bags -- they hold everything in, but you 22:15 can still see straight through them." 22:18 Oh, my. [ Laughter ] The differences between 22:21 men and women. Come on. We were created to be different. 22:24 Let's not be too hard on ourselves. But maybe that's the challenge 22:27 with this "And they lived happily ever after" business. "Roommates, Bad Dates, & 22:37 Soulmates." Come on. There's got to be a better way. 22:42 I'm gonna invite you to open up your book. Did you bring the Bible 22:46 with you? Didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you 22:48 because you need to see this. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most 22:53 moving depictions of what it means to be a soul mate. What does it mean 23:00 to be a soul mate? Open your Bible to that ancient book Ecclesiastes. 23:04 It's really hard to find. So, if you have a Bible, you got to go to the middle, 23:08 and that would be Psalms, and then you go to Proverbs, and then you get 23:12 to Ecclesiastes, written by the same wise-at-one-time King Solomon. 23:16 All right? So, let's go to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes -- let's drop down 23:22 to chapter 4. Let's just take a look. Soul mates -- what are they all 23:27 about? Here we go -- Ecclesiastes 4:9 -- I'm in the NIV -- 23:32 "Two are better than one." Hit the pause button right there. 23:36 "Two are better than one," because guess what? Even Solomon knew one is 23:41 the loneliest number that you'll ever do. He says, "Two are 23:47 better than one." Now, remember, this is the same Solomon, 23:51 who we learned about a little earlier in this miniseries. This is the same Solomon 23:55 who had 700 wives. You remember that? 700 wives and 300 concubines. 24:00 A little boy thought they were porcupines. 300 of them. 24:04 This is the same Solomon, only he's much jaded now. When he writes the book 24:08 of Ecclesiastes, he has crested, he has peaked, and he's on the downward slope toward the end. 24:14 And now he's just kind brooding. "Two are better than one. You know what? 24:18 I guess it's true." Two are better than 700. Two are better than 300. 24:23 "Two are better than one, two, two." And then he puts together 24:29 four very practical reasons why two are better than one, and you've got to see these reasons 24:34 for yourself, okay? So grab the study guide. There should be a study guide 24:37 tucked in that worship bulletin somewhere. You didn't get a study guide? 24:40 Where are our friendly ushers? They're ready to go. Hold your hand up. 24:43 You got to get this study guide. You got to get it. Up in the balcony, those of you 24:47 watching on live-streaming right now, you have the study guide right where you're at. 24:51 If you're watching on television right now, go to our website. 24:53 Let's put it on the screen for you -- www.newperceptions.tv. 24:57 You're looking for a little miniseries called "Roommates, 25:00 Bad Dates, & Soulmates." This is Part 3. 25:02 We're wrapping it up. It ends right now. 25:06 You go to Part 3, you click on the study guide, you'll have the 25:10 identical study guide. 25:11 Four very practical reasons why two are better than one. Let's go. 25:15 Let's read verse 9 again -- on the screen, as well. "Two are better than one 25:20 because they have a good return for the their labor." Would you jot this down, please? 25:26 Reason number one -- "Two are better than one" because you have someone 25:30 to share the cost. We can call it financial benefit. 25:35 Come on. This just makes sense. I mean, in the rising cost of living these days, 25:40 from a purely pragmatic, purely economic perspective, two are better than one. 25:46 So, you go to the website Money Under 30. So, you have to be under 30 25:49 to get the money on this website, moneyunder30.com. They write the financial 25:54 benefits of marriage -- on the screen. 25:56 "Research has shown the financial benefits --" there 25:59 really is a lift -- "the financial benefits of marriage. 26:02 Long-term marriage offers a 77% better rate 26:06 of return than staying single, and total wealth 26:10 of married persons increases 16% year over year. 26:14 In other words --" jot this down -- 26:16 "the longer you are married, the more money you make," 26:20 theoretically. All right? 26:23 Theoretically, 'cause some of you are saying, "Man, that ain't 26:26 true, not with our marriage." That's okay. 26:29 There's nothing wrong with you. "In other words, the longer 26:31 you're married, the more money you make." 26:33 Keep reading. "If this was the reported 26:34 returns on a stock growth fund, we'd all be jumping in." 26:38 Right? Man, you got returns like this? Let me in on the ground floor 26:42 of that IPO. But, listen, folks. We're not talking about how to 26:47 be great business partners. No, we're talking about soul mates, and Solomon 26:51 says reason number one is, "Look, you have someone to share the cost." 26:55 Here comes reason number two. Let's read that. That's the next verse. 26:57 That would be verse 10. "If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. 27:04 But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." Jot it down. 27:10 Reason number two -- "Two are better than one" because you have someone 27:13 to help you up. That's called emotional benefit. You ever see a turtle and -- 27:18 You're walking in the woods, and you see a turtle on the path, 27:20 and the turtle is on his back, on his shell. And those wrinkly legs 27:24 are just clawing the air because he can't get himself up. You are like that turtle, 27:29 and so am I. We have to somebody help us up. We were created to sit 27:34 by the fire and warm our hearts in the presence of someone. Yeah, this is emotional help. 27:41 We got to have it. All right? But there are four of these. Here comes number three. 27:45 What is this? This is verse 11. "Also --" Oh, Solomon says, 27:48 "I got a third practical reason." "Also, if two lie down together, 27:52 they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?" 27:56 Well, a very fair point. Let's call this a physical -- physical benefit. 28:01 "Two are better than one" because you have someone to keep you warm. 28:05 Hey, you can go to Google and type in -- you type in "marriage and physical 28:12 benefits," there are a thousand studies out there. You'll see. 28:16 I was reading Newsweek magazine, and I read a piece where 28:20 they're discussing marriage and how it affects us physically and actually increases 28:25 our longevity. The next week -- I tell you the truth -- 28:29 someone wrote into the editor. I read the letter, tore it out. It's a man. He's writing. 28:34 And I'm quoting it because I have it. "The University of California, 28:38 San Francisco study you reported on in your article 'For Longer Life, 28:44 Take A Wife' is wrong. Married men don't live longer than unmarried men. 28:49 It just seems that way." Can you believe that? Yes. Solomon is making a case 28:59 for soul mates. He says, "I got one more for you." 29:02 Let's read it here in verse 12. "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves." 29:11 "Two are better than one --" jot it down -- because you have someone to help you fight." 29:14 That would be a security benefit. Most battles are lost when you 29:19 have no one to help you fight. When you're fighting alone, that's when the battle is lost. 29:23 You know as a little kid that when you're on that recess playground, 29:27 if you had your older brother somewhere nearby, I don't care what that bully 29:30 says, your brother can step up and whoop him. When you know you have somebody, 29:36 you do so much better. That's what Solomon says. Four practical reasons why two 29:42 are better than one. Yeah, but, Dwight, time-out. Time-out. Come on, Dwight. 29:47 Is he talking about friendship or marriage? Is there a difference? 29:58 Or maybe that's our problem. Like little Susie, who was disillusioned, like jaded 30:04 Solomon, maybe we're not sure that this "living happily ever after" business 30:08 has to do with friendship, has to do with relationships, really has to do with marriages. 30:15 "I'm gonna tell you something, Dwight, and I hope you're listening to me, boy. 30:20 I watched my parents go through hell with their divorce. It was messy. 30:28 It was painful. We were the walking wounded, and if you're telling me 30:34 that I got to sign up for that all over again, not in a thousand years will I make 30:40 a commitment, not like that." And you know what, my friend? Guess what? 30:47 You just made a hugely fair point. I acknowledge that. 30:54 Some of you here -- And I've heard the stories. Some of you here 30:57 have experienced a painful, dysfunctional marriage, whether as a kid growing up 31:02 in your parents' home or as you surviving a marriage long ago or surviving 31:07 a marriage right now. And that's one of the things a pastor's heart just says, 31:11 "Man, I don't want this to start ganging up and making people feel guilty or feeling bad about 31:16 what they're in right now." Nobody intends that, but I need to say this. 31:21 In all fairness, there are some very beautiful, wonderful marriages 31:29 on this planet. In fact -- don't tell anybody -- but you are surrounded right now 31:35 by some of them. So, we got to find out, what is the difference? 31:41 What is the key between hell on Earth and Heaven on Earth? There's a wonderful love story 31:52 that most people have never heard in their lives, and I'm going to tell it 31:54 to you right now. In the Reader's Digest forum, it's the story of C.S. Lewis, 32:00 a confirmed bachelor who had no plans to ever, ever -- read my lips -- marry. 32:08 Les and Leslie Parrott -- in their wonderful book, they share 32:13 a few of the highlights. I'm going to pass them on to you. 32:16 So, I'm quoting the Parrotts right now. "He was a scruffy old Oxford 32:19 bachelor, university, a Christian apologist, and an author of best-selling 32:23 books for children." Everybody knows "Narnia," right? "Narnia," "Narnia," "Narnia." 32:27 We all know it. "And she was an American, much younger and divorced 32:34 with two sons." Whoa. Back in 1952, she happened 32:39 to make a trip to England. She bumped into C.S. Lewis. Don't ask me how. 32:45 And a friendship formed. She comes back across the pond, which is what they call the 32:49 Atlantic, back to the States, but they begin to correspond. And as they intellectually, 32:54 iron sharpening iron -- as they correspond, sparks are flying, 32:58 intellectual sparks, and there's something happening in their minds 33:01 as they're drawn to each other. You guessed it. Joy finally moves to England 33:06 with her boys, and that proximity just deepens the friendship. 33:11 But then there's trouble because Joy runs out of funds and she has days left 33:17 on the visitor's visa. So C.S. Lewis makes a decision. He's going to help this woman. 33:25 He says, "Listen, you marry me. I'll give you rights to be living in this country." 33:31 And that's what she did, and she stayed. But as the Parrotts write, 33:36 something is going on in her body that nobody knew. Let me read this to you. 33:43 "Early in the marriage, Joy's body revealed a secret it had kept hidden. 33:47 She had cancer, and it was irreversible. The well-ordered life of 33:53 C.S. Lewis suffered a meltdown, but in the process, the English man of letters 33:57 realized how deep his love for Joy really was." 34:00 C.S. Lewis would later write these words on the screen. 34:04 "We feasted on love." Oh, I love this. 34:06 "We feasted on love, every mode of it, 34:08 solemn and merry, romantic and realistic, sometimes 34:11 as dramatic as a thunderstorm, sometimes comfortable 34:15 and unemphatic as putting on your soft slippers. 34:18 She was my pupil and my teacher, my subject and my sovereign, 34:23 my trusty comrade, friend, shipmate, fellow soldier. 34:28 My mistress but at the same time all that any man friend 34:33 has ever been to me." 34:37 Can you be married and be friends? Are you kidding? 34:46 Of course. Two are very much better than one -- for some. 34:56 So, anyway, they gave Joy the best medical treatment that was offered at that time. 35:02 They brought her home. C.S. Lewis was committed to her care. 35:08 Her remission was short-lived. "Near death --" Now I'm quoting. "Near death -- " the Parrotts. 35:15 "Near death, Joy told him, 'You have made me happy,' and then a little while later, 35:22 'I am at peace with God.'" He led that woman to God and fell in love with her. 35:30 Joy died at 10:15 that evening in 1960. "She smiled," Lewis later 35:34 recalled, "but not at me." God. 35:41 Then Les and Leslie Parrott -- they observe -- On the screen 35:45 now. You have to fill this in. 35:46 "If there is a lesson to be gained from this amazing love 35:50 story, it must be that partners without a spiritual depth 35:54 of oneness can never compete with the fullness of love 35:59 that soul mates --" write that down -- 36:01 "that soul mates enjoy. Marriage," they go on, 36:07 "when it is healthy --" that's a huge caveat. 36:10 "Marriage, when it is healthy, has a mystical way of revealing 36:15 God, a way of bringing a smiling peace to our restless hearts." 36:23 It did it for C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidson. That was her name. 36:27 And you know what? It could do it for you, the soul-mates thing. 36:32 It could do it for me. You don't have to be married to have a soul mate. 36:38 You don't have to be old to develop a soul mate. You could be you right now, 36:47 you and somebody else in which you develop this two-and-better-than-one idea. 36:56 By the way, the research is in. Soul mates that find a bond in God have the strongest 37:02 relationships of all, bar none. The research is in. I want you to hear 37:08 how God puts it. Let's put it on the screen for us, please. 37:11 This is Jeremiah 9, God speaking here in verse 24. God says, "Okay, guys, 37:14 I'm talking to all of you." "Let the one who boasts boast about this -- that they have 37:19 the understanding to know --" and that's the Hebrew word yada. "They have the understanding 37:24 to know me, that I am the Lord." God says, "Yo, yo, yo, yo, my own time-out. 37:30 You want to have something to boast about? You want to have something 37:32 to put at the front of your list of reasons why I'm glad to be alive? 37:36 I am that. I am that. If you would just know me. Yada -- know me." 37:42 God takes the very same word the Bible uses to describe Adam and Eve's sexual relationship, 37:48 but he says, "That's how I want you to know me." I'll show you this. 37:52 This is Genesis 4:1 on the screen. This is the NIV. 37:57 "Adam made love." Now, that word, "made love," is actually -- The literal 38:02 in Hebrew is, "Adam knew." The old King James says, "Adam knew Eve, 38:06 his wife, and she conceived." NIV reads, "Adam made love to his wife Eve, 38:10 and she became pregnant." 38:13 Jot this down, will you, so that you never forget it. 38:16 "God takes the same word for making love, yada, and declares 38:20 'That's what I want in a relationship with you. 38:23 'The intimacy --'" there we go. "'The intimacy 38:27 of a husband and a wife. I want you to know me like 38:30 Adam knew Eve.'" Wow. 38:33 Marriage is really a very big deal to God, 38:37 which is why, by the way, He is so intense in His effort 38:41 to defend marriage in a world that is turning it upside down. 38:47 "Marriage, guys -- that's about you and me. 38:49 You don't have to be married. That's about you and me, 38:52 you and me." Whew. 38:57 So would you like to be a bonded soul mate with somebody? 39:01 I repeat -- you don't have to marry them to become soul mates. Although if you are married, 39:05 that's the right person to start with right there. Okay? 39:10 Now, look, you got to remember this caveat. "Becoming soul mates 39:14 is not about sex." I know we think it is, but it's not. 39:19 Alan McGinnis, in that powerful book of his, "The Friendship Factor," 39:23 on the screen -- "There can be no intimacy without --" 39:27 and the italics are his. "There can be no intimacy without conversation." 39:33 Listen, guys, you can have sex without conversation, piece of cake. 39:38 But you can't have intimacy without conversation, for how else will you get 39:43 to deeply know the person? You have to have communion of mind to mind 39:51 and soul to soul. Now, William -- And by the way, did William do a great job 39:56 on that children's story? I say we ought to have him every Sabbath. 40:00 Yeah, he did a great job. William did the research this summer on sex, 40:03 and so he sent it to me. And I got this from his research. 40:06 A woman named Alice Fryling -- 40:09 Put it on the screen, please, a powerful point about intimacy. 40:13 Get this. You got to write it down. 40:14 "Sex is an expression of intimacy, 40:17 not the means to intimacy." You don't do sex in order 40:22 to become intimate. It may be expression of intimacy 40:26 with a husband and wife, but you don't do it to get it. 40:29 Keep reading. "True intimacy springs from 40:31 verbal and emotional communion. True intimacy is built on 40:34 a commitment to honesty, love and freedom. 40:37 True intimacy is not primarily a sexual encounter. 40:40 Intimacy, in fact, has almost nothing to do with our sex --" 40:45 write that in -- "organs. A prostitute 40:48 may expose her body, but her relationships 40:50 are hardly intimate." 40:52 True or false? True. So, how then can you and I 40:59 become soul mates with another human being, married or not? And what is it that binds 41:05 these mates, these soul mates together forever? Great question. 41:10 We left off the very last line of Solomon here in his Ecclesiastes 4. 41:16 I'm going to return to that line. He's already given us 41:19 the four practical reasons. Yeah, you got financial benefit. Yeah, you got emotional benefit. 41:23 Yeah, you got physical benefit. Yeah, you got security benefit. But here it comes now, 41:29 the stinger at the end. Let's read the last line of Ecclesiastes 4:12. 41:36 Put it on the screen. Here it comes -- "A cord of three strands is not --" what? 41:44 "quickly broken." In other words, two are better than one, but -- hold on -- 41:50 three are better than two. Three are better than two. Or, as Solomon just wrote, 42:00 "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." What's this aging king 42:05 at the end of his life now trying to tell us? Let me show you. 42:09 Let me show you. I got it right here. This is 42:11 one of the beautiful crimson "save that pew" chords at Pioneer. 42:17 Mm-hmm. This will drape over for a wedding. 42:19 We'll just say, "Oh, I got to save that one and that one and that one," or a funeral, 42:22 for special people. All right? This is one of those. 42:25 I want to show you something very interesting about this. So, this has a cord. 42:28 This has a cord right here. All right? This is a cord. Now, I'm going to twist 42:33 this backwards so that I expose -- I expose the cord to you so we know its composition. 42:41 So I'm going to twist it backwards. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there it goes, 42:44 and, oh, my, what do I have here? I have two strands, 42:49 two little strands, but they are bound together by the third strand. 42:54 Do you see that? Can you see that where you're sitting? 42:57 They are bound together by the third strand, and when you have a third strand, 43:01 you cannot break this cord. What's going on here? Two are better than one, 43:11 soul mate. But if you will weave into your relationship the third strand, 43:21 you've got what will last forever and ever. Wow, isn't that something? 43:31 Hey, big guy, what are you doing? [ Laughter ] 43:34 Are you looking for me, or you want this cord? No, you're looking 43:37 for your folks. I hope they find you. Oh, Mother, bless you. 43:42 It was nice to meet your son. Anyway, kids are precious. That's what Pioneer is all 43:48 about. I tell you, none of this one-generation stuff. 43:51 We are all generations. Why? Because this is the future. You saw that little boy. 43:55 He's probably gonna be a preacher someday. [ Laughter ] 43:59 So, two are better than one. Yeah, but three are better than two. 44:04 Do you have the third strand in your relationship, in your marriage? 44:11 Hey, mother and child, do you have it? Hey, hey, child with parents, 44:14 do you have that third strand? Hey, teacher with students, do you have that third strand? 44:20 Next-door neighbors, do you have that third strand? Yo, golfing buddies, 44:23 do you have that third strand? Spouses, do you have that third strand? 44:29 Because a cord of three strands cannot be quickly broken. I know who that strand is. 44:35 You say, "Dwight, you can't tell it from the context." No, but I do one 44:38 plus one equals two, and I got it figured out. Same Solomon who wrote 44:42 these words back in Proverbs 8:24 -- We looked at this with a panel 44:48 just a couple weekends ago. Put it on the screen. "A man who has friends 44:52 must himself be friendly." A woman must be friendly. We stopped it right there, 44:56 but there's another line. Notice this -- "But there is a friend who sticks 45:00 closer than a brother." I wonder who that friend is that sticks closer 45:05 than a brother for you and me. Oh, I remember somebody who, once upon a time, on the eve of 45:09 His death, He turned to His closest friends, and He said, "Greater love has no one than 45:13 this." Put it on the screen, John 15:13. 45:16 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." 45:20 And guess what? I'm talking about you. "You are my friends if you do 45:25 what I command you." I'm just thinking if there's a friend who sticks closer than 45:29 a brother, if there's a friend who lays down his life for you, there's a friend who call you 45:33 his friend, wow, that has to be the soul-mate Jesus Christ Himself. 45:40 He, God, must be the third strand in that cord of three strands. 45:46 Don't you think? Oh, he's got to be. You got to have 45:51 the third strand. All right. So the big question is -- 45:53 Come on. Come on. Help me out now. How do I get that third strand 45:57 in my life right now? I want it for my relationships that matter to me. 46:00 Great question. I'm gonna invite the panel to come on up. 46:02 They're gonna answer this for you. Good question. 46:05 How do I get the third strand? Panel, for the last time, come on up. 46:09 You guys have just been super, and it's been an honor for me to work with you. 46:13 Let's just think about this. So, we're the Collegiate Council, right? 46:15 And there are four of our members who are not standing here right now. 46:18 But while we were seven this last spring, you put a survey together. 46:25 True? Yeah. You said, "We got to find out the felt needs 46:28 because are we scratching where people are itching?" And then we went to 46:32 Steve Yeagley at Student Life, and we said, "Hey, can we run this?" 46:35 He said, "Let me see the survey. Yeah. Oh, that's good. You can do it." 46:37 I went to Duane McBride afterwards. I said, "We got 317 responses 46:41 of an e-mail to every student," and Duane said, "Man, that's rock-solid. 46:45 That's rock-solid representation." Good. 46:50 The numero-uno -- Anybody here speak Spanish? The numero-uno 46:55 felt need of Andrews University students on this campus -- Rebecca, what was it? 47:01 >> How to grow a relationship with God. >> I could not believe it. 47:04 I was just blown out of the water. When I looked at the 47:05 computerized tabulations, the number-one -- They talked about finances. 47:09 That's a big one. They talked about families, relationships, 47:12 but the number-one, how to grow a relationship with God, what Jill Schwirzer calls -- 47:21 I like this. We'll put this on the screen. She calls this going vertical, 47:24 going vertical. How do you do that? The number-one need of 47:28 Andrews University students -- Come on. Somebody, tell me. How do you go about this? 47:32 Guys -- William? >> Hmm? 47:38 >> Just thinking about going vertical, just talk us -- All three of you, just talk 47:43 as students on this campus. So, come on, you guys are as busy as I know anybody 47:47 to be busy on this campus. How do you keep going vertical? What do you do? 47:52 Come on. >> I mean, I love using the symbol of the cross. 47:57 The cross has vertical, and it has horizontal, right? >> Yeah. 47:59 >> And as we commune with people horizontally, we make time for them. 48:02 It's the same way with going vertical. You just have to make time for 48:05 our Savior. >> Mm-hmm. So you got to make time. 48:09 Alex, what about you? >> For me, it's all about my prayer life, in the sense of, 48:13 how do I commune with God? But then also how do I commune with Him throughout my day? 48:18 >> Mm-hmm. >> Really wanting to have true connection with Him 48:24 all the time so that I know that I'm always walking in His wood, that 48:27 He's always there with me, that my thoughts are always His thoughts, and His thoughts 48:31 are always mine. >> I like that as well. That's good. 48:34 Now, Rebecca, you're the one that actually did the study this summer on romantic relationships 48:39 because I know it couldn't -- And it needed to be you. So, Rebecca, I'm looking 48:46 at this research paper. So I have it in my hand here. You did very well. 48:50 This idea of pursuing. Come on. Unpack this for us. This pursuing -- 48:54 so, a guy on this campus pursues a girl, or a girl can pursue a guy. 49:01 What's all this saying? >> I think let's take steps back and just think about Jesus 49:07 first, right? So, when Jesus came, He didn't pursue power 49:11 or authority or riches. He pursued people, and He didn't want anything in return. 49:16 He'd pursue them with compassion. And I think about just pursuing 49:20 in our relationships, too, whether we're pursuing someone, or someone's pursuing us, and to 49:24 remember how Jesus pursued us, too. And there are some indicators 49:27 that the research talked about -- >> Yeah, you should share those. 49:29 I thought those were dynamite. So, these are people that are trying to build a soul-mate 49:33 relationship. They're kind of in this dating relationship now. 49:36 Those indicators -- share them, please. >> It says, "They are present 49:39 when they are with you." >> The person is present, focused in on you. 49:43 "They ask about your needs and preferences." >> Okay. 49:47 >> And this third one -- "They pray for you daily or with you. 49:50 They listen and remember what you said." >> Let's go back to that one you 49:54 just read -- "They pray for you daily." In other words, 49:56 the third strand is a big deal. It's a big deal to you, but it's a big deal 50:01 to the one who's pursuing you. >> Exactly, there is someone else in the picture, 50:04 and that is God. And the last one -- it says, "They share you with others and 50:08 are excited to bring you along." And I think about bringing you along the journey. 50:12 And so Jesus -- before He pursued people, the first thing that He did -- and Ellen White 50:16 talks about this so many times -- He pursued the Father first. 50:19 Early morning, He goes away by himself, or whenever He found the time, 50:22 as William mentioned, He pursued God first, and now He then is able 50:26 to overflow in His other relationships with people. >> Hmm. 50:30 >> Being, I guess, mindful of ourselves and thinking, "Is the person that's pursuing 50:36 me or the person that I'm pursuing putting God first in their life as well?" 50:39 Are they pursuing Jesus first? Only then can they truly pursue the way God 50:43 intended relationships to be. And I want to say one thing really quick, is -- 50:46 >> Sure. >> One last thing that the research was talking about 50:50 is to be mindful of our words. And it says, "Date someone," but I want to say, 50:56 "Be with people." >> Okay. >> Whatever relationship 50:58 you're in, be with people that will remind you of your worth 51:02 in the eyes of Jesus. >> Oh, that's a huge one because that brings that 51:06 third strand right into that dating relationship. It's not about what you and me 51:10 can get out of each other. It is this third-strand person who is our soul mate. 51:16 Oh, I like that. Rebecca, thanks for thinking of that. 51:19 So, guys, we did a little bit of talking this last winter about our own journeys. 51:25 We came up with these three R's. Let's just do the three R's, and then we'll put a wrap 51:28 on this moment. Okay, so, William, let's start with you, first R. 51:36 >> "Read." >> "Read." Okay. So, they're putting it up. 51:38 I threw you a curve, didn't I? You thought you were gonna be last. 51:40 >> Yeah, I did. No. I had to think about it for a sec. 51:43 "Read," okay. I mean, it works. >> So, you talked about 51:47 your prayer life. So, what is your prayer life? Reading is a part of it? 51:51 >> Of course, reading, and, you know, there's that I encourage myself 51:56 to do every day, and I actually pray for the desire to read 51:59 because it's so easy to lose that desire. So I actually pray for Jesus 52:05 to give me the desire every morning. >> Mm-hmm. 52:07 >> But in those places where -- those times where the desire feels like it's not there, 52:12 I have -- I guess what I say is, find something that makes that relationship personal, 52:18 more personal, something unique between you and God. And for me, it's praise. 52:23 So when I need to encourage myself to read more, I praise spontaneously, 52:28 just whatever comes to the heart just comes out, and it re-energizes me. 52:31 >> It fits you, you and your soul mate. >> Yes. 52:33 >> Alex, second R. > The second R is "reflect," and that's really as we read 52:39 and as we look into the Bible, of how can we be connected with the people 52:43 that we are reading about, and how can that be applied to our lives? 52:47 I think often about how I want to try to have my life be like Enoch's, so much so that 52:53 it says in the Bible that, "He walked with God, and then he was no more on this Earth." 52:58 >> Mm-hmm. >> I want to, in my reflection of what God is showing me, 53:02 have that same type of mentality and that same type of thought. >> That's good, good. 53:06 There's one more R, Rebecca. >> And the last and third R is "respond." 53:11 I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but there are -- 53:14 As we said, there's so many ways that you can respond to what God has blessed you with 53:17 and your relationship with Him. It could be through music. It could be through worship, 53:21 and sometimes it could even be just be writing it down somewhere just for you to read, 53:25 or it could be responding in a way of sharing what God has told you that very day 53:30 and, you know, maybe He wants you to share that with somebody else, and that's 53:33 another way of responding. >> Mm-hmm, beautiful. You know what, guys? 53:35 I'm really proud of the three of you and the others, as well, for the way you go vertical. 53:41 Just keep going vertical. That's where influence happens on this campus. 53:45 Thank you very much for being a part of the team. Put your hands together. 53:47 These guys have just done dynamite, dynamite for us. [ Applause ] 54:00 Let me read a story to you in conclusion. Title of the headline, 54:04 "Death Could Not Part Them." "Joseph H. Berghaus, 74, had cared for his disabled wife 54:11 for years, some say as long as 40 years, bathing her, dressing her. 54:16 Each evening, he had provided her with her only contact with the world. 54:21 He paid a neighbor to watch over her during the eight hours he had to work 54:24 at the maintenance job in San Gabriel, California, but each evening, 54:28 he would lift her into their car for an evening out. They liked to watch people 54:32 doing things they could not do, like bowling. Upon retirement 10 years ago, 54:37 Joseph devoted full time to meeting the needs of his paralyzed wife, Mary." 54:41 They really were named Joseph and Mary. "They had lived in the same 54:44 modest apartment for 20 years. The neighbors said she was afflicted right 54:49 after their marriage." 40 years paralyzed. Wow. 54:59 "So Joseph and Mary were a familiar sight at recreation centers. 55:02 They sat quietly, just watching. Mary could not make a sound because of her paralysis, 55:07 but the beauty in her smile revealed her contentment in spite of a major handicap. 55:12 Yesterday, a neighbor noticed their house was quiet, too quiet now for a whole week 55:19 with no response at the door. The police are called. Soon there were police cars, 55:22 ambulances and many curious onlookers. It was apparent that 55:25 Joseph Berghaus had been stricken in the bathroom with a heart attack, 55:30 then crawled toward his paralyzed wife in the bedroom. 10 feet from her bed, he died. 55:38 She had struggled from bed and, with superhuman efforts, reached her husband's side. 55:47 Paralyzed, unable to speak or move, she lay beside her husband for 55:52 four long days, perhaps reviewing in her mind the 40 years of love 55:59 he had given to her. The doctor reported her heart had stopped four days later 56:03 than her husband's. Death could not part them." 56:09 Two are better than one. And a cord of three strands 56:15 cannot be quickly broken. When He stretched out His arms 56:21 on that little mountaintop called Calvary, 56:24 the Lord of the crimson cord, and He died for every sinner 56:28 on this planet, like you and me, when He sealed 56:32 that soul-mate friendship with His life and death, 56:37 Jesus made a promise. 56:39 And here's the promise. It's a guarantee to you. "If you will include me 56:44 as the third strand in your relationship, any relationship, if you will 56:51 include me as the third strand, I guarantee you, you will be soul mates forever. 57:01 I guarantee you." 57:06 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:08 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:11 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:14 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're needing to make constant 57:18 upgrades to our technology. So, if God has blessed you and you'd like to further 57:22 the work of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:25 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. Every bit of your gift 57:29 goes to the mission of blessing your community and our world. 57:32 You can donate on our website, newperceptions.tv, 57:36 or call the number. You know the number -- 57:38 877-HIS-WILL. Again, that number is 877, 57:42 the two words, HIS WILL, and may the God who has blessed 57:46 you continue to pour into your life the gifts of 57:48 His joy and His hope. Thank you, and I'm looking 57:52 forward to seeing you right here again next time. 57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-09-25