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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190928A
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00:12 ♪♪ 00:20 >> ♪ Blessed are the pure in heart ♪ 00:33 ♪ For they shall see God ♪ Blessed are 00:48 the pure in heart ♪ ♪ The pure in heart 01:05 ♪ For they shall see God 01:20 ♪ Blessed are the pure in heart ♪ 01:34 ♪ For they shall see God 01:47 ♪ Blessed are the pure, the pure in heart ♪ 02:12 ♪ For they shall ♪ See God 02:39 ♪ See God ♪ 02:59 >> Good morning. Happy Sabbath. Welcome to church. 03:04 This is a special weekend. It's Alumni Weekend. 03:08 Welcome home, alumni. We're so glad you're here. 03:11 We hope you're having just a full weekend of reminiscing and 03:15 reconnecting and celebrating a wonderful life and the memories 03:21 of the past. There's a verse that I want to 03:24 share with you from Psalm 121, which says, "I rejoiced when I 03:27 heard them say, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" 03:31 Is there rejoicing in your heart today? 03:33 I'm so glad we're here to sing praises together. 03:36 Join us in singing some favorite hymns. 03:40 ♪♪ 08:47 Stand with me as we sing this next hymn together. 10:59 The blood will never lose its power. 11:01 Amen? Sing this with us. 17:23 ♪♪ 17:50 >> Good morning, boys and girls. Oh, it's so nice to see you on this last Sabbath of September. 17:59 You're looking good. Hey, did it rain at your house last night? 18:04 How about a little thunder and lightning? Oh! Was that something? 18:09 Our power was still off when I left this morning. You look like you had 18:13 a lot of power in your house. 18:15 Good for you. Say, listen, oh, man, 18:17 come all the way over here, and I got show-and-tell today. 18:20 Come on. Come on. Come on. 18:23 You have never seen one of these in your life. Oh! Oh! 18:30 This is the world's largest pumpkin. Yeah, it is. 18:37 Come on, guys. Come on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 18:41 Isn't that beautiful? Oh, look at that pumpkin. Oh! I wish I had this growing 18:49 in mine, because this has got to be a record maker right here. But my friend, Sharon Nugent, 18:55 who's manager of the WAUS radio station -- she sent me this story. 18:59 It's about a gentleman, a commercial airplane pilot. He is living in Oregon. 19:06 And on April, he reached into his pocket and he pulled out eight pumpkin 19:10 seeds and he said, "Okay, we're going to plant these pumpkin seeds right here. 19:13 One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." He said, "All right, cover up 19:17 the dirt. Cover, cover, cover. Put a little fertilizer. 19:20 Okay. Okay. Okay. Now, God, will you please send rain?" 19:22 And some rain came and some sunshine. He said later that it was sunny 19:28 in Oregon like it usually never is right, from April all through the summer. 19:34 And he said, "Oh, I can see the pumpkin plant is growing." And then 19:39 there's a little blossom, and there came a little pumpkin. He said, 19:43 "I'll bet you if I leave it" -- Don't pull it out now. "If I leave it in, it's going 19:47 to get bigger and bigger." Probably won't get as big as mine, 19:51 but it's going to get bigger and bigger. And he waited all summer, 19:54 and Jesus put water on it and Jesus put sunshine. And that pumpkin got bigger and 20:00 bigger, and you know what? He said, "Well, I don't know." He heard about something down 20:05 in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. They're having a little 20:08 pumpkin meet. People are bringing their pumpkins. 20:12 So he took his pumpkin, put it in the back of his pickup. He said, "I'm going all the way 20:16 down to Half Moon Bay. I'm going to see how my pumpkin does. 20:19 Yes, I am." He drove down there, and they said, "Hmm. 20:22 That's your pumpkin?" "Yeah." "Well, we have to wait, 20:25 you know." "That's okay with me. Go ahead." 20:28 So they waited. "How'd I do? How did I do?" "Well --" Well, 20:34 let's put a picture. 20:35 Commercial jet pilot Steve... Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, 20:40 ahh! What?! 20:44 2,170 pounds. Oh-ho-ho! 20:49 And he got $7 a pound -- $15,000 -- for bringing that big winner. 20:56 Is that bigger than this one? Let me put it over there. No, it isn't bigger than that. 20:59 Look. It isn't bigger than that. Oh, took some seeds, and look what God got. 21:08 You know what? I'm looking at you and I realize, "Wait a minute. 21:10 It took two seeds for you." Yep. God had to put two of those 21:13 seeds together, and He said, "I'm going to watch these grow." And they grew, 21:16 and you are what God grew. He didn't get a pumpkin when He got you. 21:22 Your mother calls you pumpkin, but He has a little girl, He has a little boy 21:29 just like Himself, in His image. Oh, can you believe that? Are you worth more than 21:37 a prize pumpkin? Oh, Jesus gave His life for you. Are you kidding? 21:42 You're worth a whole universe to Him. Oh, my gosh. 21:46 "Hey, hey, hey, hey, yo, guys, I need you to have strong bodies. Yep. 21:49 I need you to have strong minds. Yep. I need you to have strong hearts 21:53 because I want you to reflect my image. I want you to be well. 21:58 Around here, they're calling it wellness. I want you to be well." 22:03 And I'm looking at you and I'm thinking, "You are well on the way 22:07 to that well-being." Oh, Jesus, thank you so much. Who would like to thank Jesus, 22:12 just thank Him? He didn't grow pumpkins out of those two seeds. 22:16 He grew you and me. Who wants to thank Jesus? Sissy? Come on. 22:21 Come on down. All right. Where's my microphone? 22:23 Here we go. All right. Sissy, what's your name? >> Jeremy. 22:28 >> Jeremy. Jeremy, you come right here. We're going to close our eyes 22:33 with Jeremy. We're going to fold our hands, and let's pray. 22:37 Let's thank Jesus for making us. >> Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. 22:43 Thank you that we got to be here. >> Mm-hmm. 22:46 >> Thank you that you made us in your own special image. Please bless us. 22:51 Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Jeremy. That was a beautiful prayer. 22:55 Thank you, boys and girls, as you go back quietly and reverently -- shh! -- to your 22:58 seats. You thank Jesus for the special creation you are. 23:10 ♪♪ 23:23 >> ♪ O be joyful in the Lord ♪ All ye lands ♪ Serve the lord with gladness 23:35 ♪ And come before His presence with a song ♪ ♪ Be ye sure that the Lord 23:46 ♪ He is God ♪ It is He that hath made us ♪ And not we ourselves 24:03 >> ♪ We are His people ♪ And the sheep of his pasture >> ♪ We are his people 24:13 ♪ And the sheep of his pasture >> ♪ O go your way into His gates ♪ 24:31 ♪ His gates with thanksgiving ♪ And into his courts with praise ♪ 24:45 ♪ Be thankful unto Him ♪ And speak good of His name ♪ For the Lord is gracious 25:00 ♪ His mercy is everlasting ♪ And His truth endureth ♪ From generation to 25:22 generation ♪ ♪ Glory be to the Father ♪ And to the Son 25:38 ♪ And to the Holy Ghost ♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ It is now and ever shall be 25:51 ♪ World without end ♪ Amen, amen ♪ Amen, amen 26:08 >> Father, we're thinking wellness. We're thinking well-being. 26:14 So, what does that mean? We have this crown jewel across the road, 26:21 but what does it mean? Open our minds these few moments we have. 26:28 Engage, engage our thinking, draw our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name. 26:35 Amen. 26:36 Forbes magazine ran a piece the other day. 26:40 Title caught my eye. "What would you pay for 26:43 extra years of perfect health?" It reported on a study by USB. 26:49 That's the Union Bank of Switzerland, 26:51 one of the most well-heeled financial institutions on Earth. 26:55 And it was a survey for the wealthy. 26:59 It had two questions. 27:01 "How long do you expect to live?" All right. Fair enough. 27:05 Question number two -- "What would you be willing to pay for 10 extra years 27:09 of perfect health?" I never got the survey. I was waiting. 27:14 It didn't come. So let me just ask you. How long do you plan to live? 27:18 The moment you heard that question, you wrote a number in your mind. 27:23 And how much would you be willing to pay for 10 years of perfect health? 27:28 Well, the surveys went out, and the wealthy responded. You know how they responded? 27:37 According to the survey, a whopping 53% of wealthy investors 27:42 expected to live to 100. Ain't that something? Actually, though, 27:49 the expectation is totally out of sync for the actual numbers of the country 27:54 or the region where they live. 53% to live to 100. Although, I'll tell you what -- 28:01 if you live in Berrien Springs, Michigan, it can happen to you again and again. 28:07 I took a picture about 4 weeks ago. I'll put it on the screen for 28:09 you. Humble little snapshot. You see the man 28:12 in the center of that picture? Yep. Some of you were his students. 28:15 That's Paul Hamel, of course. You recognize the chairman of the music department. 28:19 We were there for his 100th birthday bash about 4 or 5 weeks ago. 28:24 The little lady standing in front of him also a member of the Pioneer Memorial Church. 28:29 That's Ann Bauer. Three weeks ago, she turned 105 years of age. 28:36 Hold that picture up there. I want the alumni to see that. I'm telling you what, folks, 28:39 if you want to live to 100, move back. Come on. 28:42 Move back to this community. We got housing. We have houses here. 28:46 You can move back. You can move in. So, they asked 28:50 the wealthy, "Okay, you want to live to be 100, huh? Okay." 28:54 They said, "How much would you be willing to pay?" That's the second question 28:57 on the survey. "How much would you be willing to pay for 10 29:00 perfect years of health?" UBS discovered, perhaps not so surprising, 29:04 that the wealthier you are, the greater the percentage of your wealth 29:08 you're willing to give up for those 10 extra years. I won't tell you how much. 29:15 I have a feeling all of us, if we were offered that proposition, we'd be willing to 29:19 sacrifice a little, just a little. Although, like the song says... 29:26 ♪ Can't buy me love ♪ Money can't buy me love, no" And money, we know, cannot buy 29:33 longevity, cannot buy health. If it could, Steve Jobs of the Apple fame 29:40 and fortune would be alive today, right? So, let's talk about love. 29:46 Let's talk about longevity. Let's talk about life. They're calling it well-being 29:51 around here. And Dominique Gummelt -- I'll tell you what -- 29:55 she is one -- She was the right choice for the university to put in 29:59 charge of university wellness. Dominique has us doing all kinds of stuff. 30:04 In fact, alums, if you go to andrews.edu/wellness, you get all the same 30:11 mail-outs that we get. You can track this and do it at home. 30:15 So, I understand there are certain vital practices that we have to embrace 30:22 if we want to deepen our lives, if we want to enrich our well-being. 30:30 But what's fascinating is -- longevity, wellness, and life -- the one differential -- 30:38 the one differential that makes the difference is something called love. 30:44 L-O-V-E. Harvard University has run one of the longest 30:50 longitudinal studies ever. They were tracking two groups. 75 years -- For 75 years, two 30:59 groups. The study is called the Grant and Glueck Study. 31:04 One study tracked 456 poor men growing up in Boston. I heard you talk about Boston 31:11 a moment ago. Growing up in Boston between 1939 and 2014. 31:16 The other study -- 268 male graduates from Harvard's business classes 31:20 of 1939 to 1944. Due to the length of this study, 75 years, you can understand 31:26 they kept going through research teams and new heads. I mean, they just... 31:32 They took blood samples and analyzed them. Once bone scanning could 31:35 be done, they did that. They did self-surveys. They had actual personal 31:39 interviews. And you know what they found out? 31:41 Come on. Let's go. 31:42 The 75-year longitudinal study on the screen. 31:45 "The conclusion?" Cut to the chase. 31:48 "According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study 31:51 of Adult Development, one thing surpasses all the rest 31:55 in terms of importance." Quoting him now. 31:57 "The clearest message that we get from this 31:59 75-year study is this -- Good relationships keep us 32:03 happier and healthier, period," end quote. 32:08 In other words, what money can't buy, love can -- 32:13 life, longevity, wellness. What's that line? 32:18 "Good relationships keep us happier and healthier, period." 32:21 Now, Waldinger goes on -- on the screen for you. 32:24 "It's not just the number of friends you have 32:27 and it's not whether or not you're in a committed 32:29 relationship. It's the quality of your close 32:32 relationships that matters." Do you have close friends? 32:38 You don't have to have a lot of them. Do you have someone? 32:43 Hmm. According to George Vaillant -- He's the Harvard psychiatrist 32:48 who, from '72 to 2004 -- that's 32 years -- he actually managed this study. 32:52 Here is the psychiatrist on the screen. He says, "What are 32:55 the essential elements?" He identified two of them. "One is love. 33:00 The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away." 33:06 Wow. ♪ Money can't buy me love, no But look what love can do. 33:13 Maybe it's all a gift. Consider the words of the "Last of the Mohicans." 33:19 He's the last surviving Disciple. We call him, around here, 33:23 John Boy, but when he gets old, he self-designates as the elder John. 33:30 Open your Bible to the little, tiny epistle of 3 John. You got Revelation, 33:36 you go back, you got Jude, and then you're in 3 John. It's only half a page 33:39 in my Bible. But I want you to catch this. This is beautiful. 33:42 This is 3 John. So, there are no chapters. It's just verses. 33:45 We'll read the first verse and then the second verse. All right? 33:48 3 John, beginning in Verse 1. "To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth, 33:58 dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health 34:03 and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." 34:10 "My dear friend Gaius, I feel like such a kindred spirit with you. 34:16 I have three prayers for you. I want you to get this. Number one, I pray that 34:21 you may enjoy good health. I'm talking about your body, boy. 34:25 I'm talking about corpus. That's how we say it in Latin. I'm talking about corpus. 34:30 I pray that you will have physical well-being that's so stunning that 34:35 everybody around you notices. I got three prayers for you. Prayer number two -- 34:40 Gaius, I also pray that all may go well with you." Now, I'm talking about your 34:45 mind. We call it 'mens' in Latin. Your ambitions, your plans, 34:50 your dreams, I want you to demonstrate a mental 34:54 and intellectual well-being that is second to none. That's what I'm praying for you. 35:00 I have three prayers for you. Here is prayer number three -- That your soul may be 35:04 getting along well. Now I'm talking about your 'spiritus,' that soul 35:09 inside of you that you are. I'm praying that the well-being will so permeate your very soul 35:18 that everyone will know your connection to Jesus." Isn't that amazing? 35:23 One three-line prayer, the beginning of a tiny, little epistle, 35:27 and look what we end up with. Put it on the screen, please. We end up with Andrews 35:31 University's Latin motto -- "Mens, corpus, spiritus." We sing it in the song 35:36 every convocation. It's the only time of year we ever sing that song. 35:40 And probably for a reason. But the words that we sing -- "Mens, corpus, spiritus" -- 35:48 John wraps those three words together and he says, "Oh, my dear friend Gaius, 35:53 I am praying. I am praying for your soul." I want to take that 35:58 spiritus line, speaking of soul. They did this study over 36:02 in England of 233 residents in retirement housing. Now, some of our alumni 36:09 are retired by the time they come back to this place. But this study of retirees -- 36:14 you'd be interested in this. Let me put it on the screen for you. 36:16 Fascinating. "Spirituality and religion appear to bring, one, 36:20 a sense of personal meaning, two, control beyond one's own resources, 36:26 three, comfort, and, four, intimacy with a higher power. And these four are 36:33 life-transforming leading people to replace old values with new. 36:38 The findings suggest that older adults who derive a sense 36:42 of meaning in life from religion tend to have higher levels 36:44 of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism." 36:48 If you're into spirituality and religion, guess what -- that's you. 36:52 You reap those four categories. And John the Elder said, "Hey, I'm at the end of my life, 37:01 but you know what? That's when I'm praying for you. I'm praying that your corpus 37:06 will experience well-being. I'm praying that your mens will experience 37:10 well-being. I'm praying that your spiritus will experience wellness, 37:16 that you'll flourish, that you'll thrive in your well-being." 37:20 By the way, college students are not to be left out. In Canada, they did a study 37:24 of Canadian college students. Put that on the screen for you. This is just as interesting. 37:27 "Canadian college students who are involved in campus ministries" -- And you say, 37:32 "Oh, that must be little Bible colleges in Canada." No, no, nope. 37:35 Come on, secular universities. Christians are everywhere, so even secular universities 37:39 obviously have a campus ministries department. You have to. 37:43 You got a lot of Christians there. Kids who go to the campus 37:46 ministries and say, "Yo, can I be involved? Help me -- Integrate me 37:51 into the life of this campus or the city around us." Here is what they found 37:54 in Canada. "Canadian college students who are involved in campus 37:57 ministries," number one, "Visited the doctor less." All right. 38:02 Number two, "They also scored higher on tests of psychological well-being," 38:06 what the psychologists call PWB. And number three, "They coped with stress 38:11 more effectively." 38:13 You know, I pray -- John the Elder writes to us, 38:18 "Dear friends, I pray that your soul 38:22 is getting along well." In fact, 38:25 I want to share with you -- I went to the website of 38:26 the University of Northern Iowa. Not a Christian school at all, 38:30 but on their website, they're very big on well-being, 38:32 too, just like we are. They included this little D.I.Y. 38:38 Gen-Zers, who are the customers right now at 38:40 Andrews University -- Gen-Zers -- they're the ones 38:43 born between 1995 and 2006. 38:46 That means they are between 13 and 24 years of age. These Gen-Zers 38:52 are big on these D.I.Y.s. Do you know what it stands for, D.I.Y.? 38:56 Do it yourself. So, here is a D.I.Y. guide for spiritual 39:01 well-being and health. All right? Jot these down. Oh, by the way, you have to pull 39:04 out your study guide. This is the only time you're going to need the study guide. 39:07 All the quotations we've looked at you'll have, but pull out your study guide 39:10 from your worship bulletin and drop down to that D.I.Y. guide. 39:16 Starting a new little series focusing on some of these 39:19 D.I.Y.s. Drop down at the bottom there. 39:22 Those of you that are watching right now on a screen somewhere, 39:26 you see there, at the bottom of the picture on your screen 39:30 right now, www.newperceptions.tv. 39:33 You go there, you'll have this. You're looking for this -- 39:36 "A DIY Guide to Becoming the Healthiest University 39:39 in the World (When Well-Being Means More Than Being Well)." 39:42 Okay. We got that. Now, let's go. 39:44 Jot it down -- just these five. Five strategies 39:48 to grow spiritually. Number one, "Be quiet." 39:51 Oh, I like that. "One -- be quiet. 39:54 Spiritual truths often come in the form of a still, small voice 39:58 that is difficult to hear above the chaos and confusion 40:02 of a frantic lifestyle. Set aside time for solitude 40:06 and meditation." 40:08 Just some quiet. You give the earbuds a rest, but in that silence, 40:14 what do you hear? Number two -- "Be open to the spiritual." 40:17 Oh, I like that. "Spiritual experiences often come in unexpected forms 40:21 and packages." You never know what's waiting around the corner, 40:23 but be open to it. Maybe that will be God's way of engaging your mind, 40:30 your spiritus. Number three -- "Be inquisitive and curious. 40:34 An attitude of active searching increases your options and your potential 40:38 for spiritual centering. Meditation may very well allow you to experience 40:42 tranquility and peace." Be inquisitive. Check it out. 40:46 Follow those questions. Number four -- only five of these -- "Be receptive 40:50 to pain and grief." Now, this is a surprise. "Be receptive to pain and grief. 40:56 Pain helps us focus on the widest questions of our being. 41:00 It's a deepener. A life without pain leads to a sparse, shallow existence. 41:08 Allow yourself to feel your pain fully, then ask, 'What is my pain 41:13 trying to teach me now?'" I tell you one thing that's clear -- God isn't 41:16 the one who causes pain. Jesus said, in Matthew 13, "An enemy has done this," 41:20 so we know where it comes from. We know where tragedy and crises -- where they come from. 41:25 But, somehow, in the midst of that, what is pain trying to tell me? 41:32 It's a simple little D.I.Y. Why? Because, as it turns out, for the young and aged, 41:36 it's the spiritus that actually is the critical determinant in physical 41:45 and mental well-being. We need, first of all, that spiritual well-being. 41:54 Now, I don't know if you caught this at the heart of this prayer, that John prays. 41:57 There's a word that appears three times. Do you see it? 42:01 It jumps out more if you -- Well, we'll read it again, but in the Greek, let me read 42:05 it as literally reads. "To my dear friend, to my loved friend Gaius, whom I love" -- 42:12 there it is twice now -- "Whom I love in the truth, dear loved friend, 42:17 I pray that you may enjoy good health," and on and on. Three times, the word "love" 42:22 tucked away into those opening two lines, and of course, John is the apostle of love. 42:27 And if you just turn a page back to 1 John 4, we know why. Look at 1 John 4:19. 42:36 "We love because He first loved us." I mean, you can be an atheist, 42:44 but if you love someone with a self-sacrificing manner, you are the conduit for a love 42:53 that comes from the single source in the universe. It is a self-sacrificing God. 42:57 "We love because He first loved us." You can consider yourself 43:01 an agnostic. You can call yourself a believer. 43:03 But if you love somebody in a self-sacrificing manner, that holy fire is ignited 43:11 from one flaming source. John says, "Hey, it's not we love him or her. 43:15 It's just we love, period, because He first loved us." How did He first love us? 43:20 Drop backwards in the chapter to verse 10, and, "This is love -- not that we loved God, 43:27 but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 43:36 We had David Asscherick with us this last week, an incredible experience 43:40 on this campus. If you go on the website -- I think it'd be 43:43 the Andrews website -- you'll get all 10 or 11 of his teachings. 43:49 But we went again and again to the pinnacle, to the summit of 43:54 self-sacrificing love, to the summit of the cross, to Calvary. 44:01 It's the only place. If you have an inkling to love someone 44:09 in that self-sacrificing manner, there's only one source. Chemicals can't do it. 44:15 Ideologies cannot create it. There's only one source, and it is the almighty God, 44:21 who gave up His life on Calvary. "Steps to Christ" -- that little classic. 44:24 Oh, these profound words. "Such love is without parallel. 44:29 The matchless love of God for a world that did not love him! 44:34 The more we study the divine character 44:36 in the light of the cross, the more we see tenderness. 44:40 We see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness 44:43 blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly we discern 44:47 innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite 44:50 and a tender pity surpassing a mother's yearning sympathy 44:54 for a wayward child." Maybe we could read that. 44:57 "A tender pity surpassing a husband's undying love 45:01 for his wife with Alzheimer's." 45:04 Because the fact of the matter is -- it's really hard for you and me to grasp 45:07 this self-sacrificing business. It just doesn't -- You know, I get it. 45:12 We go to the cross, but sometimes an earthy story -- we hear in it the faint echoes 45:23 that help us to discern "What is this self-sacrificing love about?" 45:26 I want to read that story to you in closing. It's a love story of Robertson 45:31 and Muriel McQuilkin. Karen and I have just finished reading a book on marriage 45:38 written by Gary Thomas. The title of the book, "A Lifelong Love: 45:42 What If Marriage Is About More Than Just Staying Together?" So, we just finished it 45:46 a few Sundays. We just read on Sundays. And this story... 45:52 And it speaks for itself. Let me read it to you. So, Thomas is writing first. 45:56 "I've looked" -- And he's a counselor. "I've looked into the faces 46:00 of more women than I can bear as they told me of how they were diagnosed 46:04 with multiple sclerosis or cancer or Parkinson's, and the husband decided to take 46:09 the medical diagnosis as an escape clause to find a women who wasn't broken. 46:15 One medical doctor said that the number is actually around 70%, that 7 out of 10 men, upon 46:22 hearing of a wife's cataclysmic medical diagnosis, leave the marriage." 46:28 Whew! Yeah. "One man who challenges me to this day with his entirely 46:35 different response is Dr. Robertson McQuilkin, past president of Columbia 46:40 International University from 1968 to 1990. There was a time 46:47 when Dr. McQuilkin and his wife, Muriel, were a power couple in Christian circles, 46:51 often headlining conferences. That all changed when a doctor at Duke confirmed 46:57 that Muriel had Alzheimer's. Because the McQuilkins were a popular couple, 47:02 Robertson received every kind of legitimate and illegitimate advice you can imagine 47:07 as to what would cure his wife, so he finally told everyone to please 47:11 just stop with the suggestions. In his words, 'We would trust the Lord to work 47:17 a miracle in Muriel if He so desired or work a miracle in me if He didn't.'" 47:25 Now, Gary Thomas responds, "This is such a stellar statement from a husband. 47:29 I mean, Lord, I pray that you would do a physical miracle to my wife, 47:31 but if you choose not to, then work a spiritual miracle in me so that I can 47:35 love her well until the end." Wow again. And that's what he did. 47:44 "Muriel loved art, so Robertson took her to the Tate galleries in London" -- 47:49 you've been there, perhaps -- "where some of Muriel's favorite works were kept. 47:54 Unfortunately, the disease had advanced to such a state that Muriel already had 47:58 good days and bad days, and this was not a good day. Robertson recounted, 48:03 'A great sadness swept over me as I watched her rush through the gallery with never 48:07 a glance at the masterworks she had loved so long.' Robertson grieved that, in one 48:14 sense, part of his wife was already gone. At the airport on their way home 48:20 while waiting for their flight to leave, Muriel got restless. Robertson had learned that 48:24 in such circumstances, it was best to just let her roam, so he would trail behind her, 48:27 carrying their bags, and sat when Muriel wanted to sit and then got up and followed her 48:31 again when she wanted to walk. Sometimes, he practically had to jog, still toting 48:34 those bags, trying to keep up. Muriel eventually sat down across from a businesswoman 48:41 whose dress and demeanor screamed power, influence, and success, 48:47 a woman working diligently at her laptop. Muriel kept up with her 48:52 A.D.D.-like fidgeting, but she always returned to this same seat 48:55 across from the businesswoman. Every time, Robertson followed Muriel 48:59 to make sure she was okay. Before long, they had returned from yet another short jaunt 49:05 to that same seat, and one time when they returned, the businesswoman quietly spoke. 49:13 Now, nobody else was around, so Robertson assumed she was talking to him. 49:17 'Pardon?' 'Oh,' she said, slightly embarrassed. 49:22 'I was just asking myself, will I ever find a man to love me like that?'" 49:30 Yeah. There's our third wow. "For her part, Muriel kept on loving Robertson 49:36 as well as best she could. That's what led to his resignation. 49:40 During the latter days of Robertson's college presidency, Muriel would chase after him, 49:45 sometimes as many as 10 times a day, speed-walking on her way to his office. 49:50 Sometimes she lost her way, but she just kept walking anyway, desperate to find the one person 49:55 with whom she felt at home. One night as Robertson helped Muriel undress, 50:02 he recoiled at the sight of her bloody feet. Earlier in the day, 50:08 she had so panicked to get out of the house to find him that she had 50:10 neglected to put on her shoes and had ripped much of the skin off the bottom of her feet. 50:18 That was it for Robertson. He decided to lay aside the power of his position, 50:22 the prestige of his employment, the intellectual stimulation of the college environment 50:26 to which he had dedicated his life to stay at home with his wife. 50:32 In a farewell address, he explained that it wasn't, in the end, all that hard." 50:37 I quote now, "The decision to come to Columbia was the most difficult I have had to make. 50:42 The decision to leave 22 years later, though painful, was one of the easiest. 50:47 The decision was made, in a way, 42 years ago, when I promised to care for Muriel 50:52 in sickness and in health till death do us part." Wow. 51:00 Oh, love that will not let me go. Sometimes, in another story, 51:12 we see it more clearly. It's the love of God for you. It's the love of God for me. 51:21 It may be that when you graduated from this place, you rather unintentionally, 51:28 perhaps, graduated from God. You got out into the busy world that was beckoning you, and, 51:37 of course, first, it was the demands of your career, and then it was the growing family 51:44 and, of course, throwing in the long stress, hours of simply surviving. 51:52 And then you woke up one day empty. No well-being here. 52:06 And you thought to yourself, "If only it were simple for me to go back." 52:15 I got some great news for you. 52:18 It is simple for you to come back to Jesus. 52:27 All you have to do is say something to Him in your mind 52:29 that goes something like this. "Christ Jesus, 52:37 I need to come home. I don't want to go back 52:41 to where I came from. 52:46 I need you to heal me. I need you to heal me physically. 52:50 I need you to heal me mentally. I need you to heal me spiritually. 52:53 I come back just as I am. I can't change myself, but you can change me, 53:03 and if you're willing to take me back, I'm back." 53:12 That's all you have to say. And do you know what? The God who has loved you 53:18 forever and has dogged you every step of the way is standing right 53:25 there. And with your intellectual ascent..."I'll take you. 53:34 I've been counting the days." My friend, you're not here by accident. 53:41 You're not here just to say hi to a few people you've missed seeing. 53:47 Somebody has been gunning for you, and right now, you're where He can have you. 53:55 You just have to say to Him, "Is this homecoming weekend? Dear Christ, by your grace, 54:05 through your love, I'm coming home." That's it. 54:13 ♪♪ 55:20 >> Oh, love, we are talking to you. That was a prayer. 55:28 And we're humbly asking that, out of your expansive embrace and your flowing heart, 55:40 you might heal us. Heal us to the core physically, mentally, 55:48 intellectually, and spiritually. Some of us have been away for a while, 55:58 but you've been speaking while we've been singing, and we hear you calling. 56:04 Grant every man and woman and young adult here, teenager, the quiet strength to say, 56:18 "Yes, I'm coming home, Jesus. I'm coming home." And now may the grace 56:28 of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the 56:34 Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. ♪♪ 56:56 Before you go, let me take an extra moment 56:58 to share with you an opportunity to get into the Bible 57:00 in a fresh, new way. All across the world, 57:03 more and more people are hearing the call to examine scriptures 57:05 for themselves. If you've felt drawn to learn 57:08 more about God's Word, but you don't know where 57:10 to start or you're just looking for a more in-depth examination 57:13 of Bible truths, then I have something right here 57:16 that I believe you're going to enjoy. 57:18 I want to send a series of guides to get you started. 57:20 This one is entitled "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" 57:23 Each guide begins with a story, an introduction of the subject. 57:26 Then, through a series of focus questions, you'll be 57:28 learning portions of the Bible you may never have known before, 57:31 and when you're through, you'll be able to share with 57:33 others some of these inspiring Bible truths. 57:35 So, just call our toll-free number. 57:37 It's on the screen, 877-the two words "HIS WILL." 57:41 Our friendly operators are standing by to send 57:43 these study guides to you. Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL. 57:47 Call that number and, then again, join me next week 57:51 right here at the same time, "New Perceptions." 57:57 ♪♪ |
Revised 2024-01-21