Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP200118S
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00:00 ♪♪
00:12 >> ♪ I've found a friend ♪ Oh, such a friend 00:16 ♪ He loved me ♪ Ere I knew Him 00:20 ♪ He drew me with ♪ The cords of love 00:23 ♪ And thus He bound me to Him 00:29 ♪ And round my heart ♪ Still closely twined ♪ Those ties 00:34 ♪ Which naught can sever ♪ For I am His ♪ And He is mine 00:41 ♪ Forever and forever ♪ I've found a friend ♪ Oh, such a friend 00:51 ♪ So kind and true and tender ♪ So wise a counselor ♪ And guide 00:59 ♪ So mighty a defender ♪ From Him who loveth ♪ Me so well 01:08 ♪ What power my soul can sever? ♪ No life or death ♪ Or Earth or Hell 01:19 ♪ No, I am His forever 01:38 >> Thank you so much to the choir for that beautiful song. 01:41 Happy Sabbath, everybody. >> Happy Sabbath. 01:44 >> I'm glad to be here with you. I was wondering how many people 01:47 would be here today because of the snow, 01:50 so you guys are brave. 01:52 And all of those joining us online, we got snow, so glad you can join us, 01:56 as well. Today, I was looking at the bulletin 02:00 thinking about this Sabbath before it happened on this topic of Love on the Move. 02:09 And as you know from your bulletin, today our topic is, "You don't have to be 02:13 a superhero to win." Did I get it? And I love to read. 02:20 I love to listen to audiobooks, and I always listen to stories of my heroes, people like 02:26 Hudson Taylor and George Muller, Amy Carmichael. I could listen to these stories 02:31 over and over. And when I listen to them or read them, I think, 02:37 "Wow, they must have just been born with some extra level of courage or boldness 02:42 or better discipline than me," and I wonder if I can follow God the way that they do 02:51 or see God's power in my life the way that they did. The first time that I read 02:55 1 Corinthians 1:23, I felt like I could also be a hero like them. 03:00 It says, "Remember how you were when God called you. Not many were wise. 03:06 Not many were mighty. Not many were noble, but God uses the weak things of 03:11 this world to shame the mighty," and I thought that's kind of like the loophole 03:17 in the document that lets me squeeze in and have a piece of God's power 03:20 in my life, as well. The Bible even tells us that we can do greater things 03:26 than what Jesus did, that the power that was available to Him and to the 03:29 disciples is also available to us, so praise the Lord for that. And I'm grateful for this series 03:35 about love on the move, learning how we can put God's love into action. 03:39 Bow your heads with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much 03:43 for another beautiful Sabbath. We thank you for the chance to just reflect on you and what 03:49 you've been doing in our lives, and we give you the praise for that. 03:53 Lord, we thank you so much that you can use people who are not mighty or wise or noble, 03:57 people like us, God. We have all kinds of problems that we bring before you, 04:03 things that may be obstacles to our ministry or to serving in your Kingdom, 04:08 but, God, we know that when we bring them to you, you take them away, and you give 04:11 us the power to overcome. We thank you, God, and we claim this in your name. 04:15 Amen. 04:33 Sing this with me. For our final song, 12:58 I want to ask you all to stand up. 13:01 We're going to be singing, "Just As I Am," a hymn 13:03 that's probably familiar to you but has a bit 13:06 of a new twist on it, so I want to teach you 13:10 how that chorus goes so that you can join in on it. 13:13 ♪♪ It goes like this. 16:29 Right now, I want to invite you to come forward for prayer 16:32 just as you are. You can come broken, 16:35 wounded, empty. Come forward for prayer. 16:38 God will fill you up. He will heal your wounds. 18:28 [ Music ends ] 18:37 >> Hello, good morning, boys and girls. Good to see you on this Sabbath 18:41 where the weather is just yucky. I mean, can you believe this? I thought last night 18:45 going to the hospital where it was like a blizzard, "Oh, we're gonna have snow 18:49 at last," and then look. It's raining today. But I'm glad you made it through 18:54 all of that slush. Nice to see you. I want to tell you a story about 18:57 Junior because Daddy said, "Yo, Junior. 19:00 It's time for us to go to town. You want to go with me?" 19:03 "Uh..." "Junior, we got to get some new 19:06 shoes for you. Do you want to go with me now?" 19:08 "Dad, I'll be there," and boom. They're in the car, father 19:11 and Junior going into town. Do you like to shop for shoes? 19:15 >> No. Yeah, no, no, no. Okay, but Junior was excited 19:20 because he needed some new church-going shoes. His daddy was a preacher, 19:25 so he needed some nice church-going shoes, so they parked in front 19:27 of the shoe store with a big glass window. And Junior walked up and said, 19:32 "Oh, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Look at that right there. I see it. 19:36 Those are the shoes I want!" They were black. They were brown. 19:40 Oh, handsome shoes. "Can we get those, Daddy? Can we? Can we? Can we?" 19:46 "Junior, let's go find out." So Daddy and Junior come walking into the store. 19:49 They sit down in that chair waiting for the clerk to come, and the clerk comes. 19:56 They say, "We're here." Daddy said, "We're here to buy some shoes." 20:01 And he said, "Ah, good. Well, you need to go to the chairs in the back of the store 20:08 because that's where colored people go for shoes." Father looked up at the clerk. 20:14 "Excuse me? I like these chairs right here. We're gonna stay right here." 20:20 And the clerk looked down at him. "Well then, sir, you're not 20:22 gonna get any shoes." He looked back up, Daddy did. He says, "Alright. 20:29 If we have to go to the back of the store to get the shoes, we won't get our shoes here 20:33 at all." And he grabbed Junior's hand, and they go walking out, 20:37 and Junior, "Daddy, what are you doing? Those were the shoes 20:41 I wanted! Please!" "Junior, I'm sick and tired of people treating this way. 20:48 It's humiliating, and we will not buy the shoes here." 20:52 Now, that little Junior grew up to be a preacher just like his daddy, and that's why they 20:56 called him Junior -- Martin Luther King Jr. He grew up to be 21:01 just like his daddy, and you know what he decided? "I'm not gonna let a black girl, 21:05 not gonna let a black boy ever get humiliated like I was as a boy, 21:09 and I'm gonna help the white boys, and I'm gonna help the white girls 21:12 so that they can play in unity and grow up together. 21:19 And you know what? He did so well that they gave him a huge prize. 21:23 It's called The Nobel Peace Prize. He did so well that somebody 21:28 who was mad and said, "We're not gonna have the whites and the blacks together," 21:32 somebody took him out just because he stood up for all the boys and girls. 21:39 I want to see a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There he is. 21:44 This is the weekend that honors him. You know what? 21:48 Jesus wishes there were more boys and girls just like Dr. King who have courage. 21:53 'Cause sometimes at school, sometimes, they make fun of a girl 21:55 because of the dress she has on. Sometimes at school, they make fun of a boy 21:59 because of the way he talks. Sometimes at school, they just make fun of kids, 22:03 and the kids get left out. Jesus says, "I need a boy, I need a girl like Dr. King 22:08 who can stand up with courage. Doesn't matter what the rest say." 22:12 Oh, I'm thinking Jesus needs you where you are to be that friend, that love on the move 22:22 that Jesus needs in your school. Oh, aren't you glad Jesus moved us? 22:27 He said, "No more of this keeping them apart. No, I want all my boys and girls 22:32 and all the daddies and mommies to be together. That's why I died." 22:37 And he says, "With my help, you can still do it. Yes, you can." 22:42 So who would like to thank Jesus for coming down here, who also gave his life? 22:46 Yes, he did. He gave his life to bring all the boys and girls together. 22:53 Now, I need a boy. I need a boy this time. Oh, man, there's so many boys 23:00 up. Okay. Let's go, and you two boys come. 23:06 Can you come? We'll have two. Come on. We'll have two because it's 23:08 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. We can have two instead of one. Alright, come on down. 23:13 Now, we got a microphone here. Alright, the rest of you, I'm asking you, please, 23:16 to close your eyes and fold your hands with -- What's your first name? 23:22 >> Ian. >> Ian and... >> Aaron. 23:25 >> ...Aaron. Ian and Aaron. Oh, that's a nice match. 23:28 We're gonna pray with Ian and Aaron right now. Aaron, we'll start 23:32 with the youngest. >> Thank you, Our Father. We love you. Amen. 23:37 >> Amen. And, Ian, please. >> Dear Father in Heaven, 23:41 we thank you that you help Martin Luther King Jr. to stand up 23:47 for the boys and girls. That way, they will not be separated. 23:50 Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, boys, and thank you, 23:55 boys and girls, for your praying as you go back to your seat. Jesus, thank you. 24:00 As Ian and Aaron just prayed, thank you, Jesus, for being our Savior 24:03 and bringing us together. 24:10 >> Let's pray. Oh, God, what a beautiful rendition of the Beatitudes. 24:17 And it ends with, "They shall see God." There's not a heart here 24:22 that doesn't... long for that experience. Love on the move -- 24:29 That's what those Beatitudes are all about. Make it clear. 24:33 These few minutes we have left as we engage with you, make it clear, please. 24:40 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The title of our homily today, 24:47 put it on the screen for you, "Love on the Move: You Don't Have to Be a Superhero to Win," 24:55 Although every kid wants to be a superhero. 24:57 You wanted to be one, and so did I. 24:58 We went to my mom. We said, "Listen, can we have 25:00 those beach towels?" So we took the beach towels, 25:02 my brother Greg and I, and we tied them around our 25:05 necks, so we had this pretend cape, and we were just flying 25:07 all over the house, all over the yard, kind of a cross between 25:10 Superman and Zorro. 25:14 Everybody wants to be a hero. CNN knows that, and that's 25:17 why they send their camera all over the world to find -- 25:19 What do they call it? The Hero of the Year Award. 25:24 Love on the move is all about heroes. You know why? 25:30 Because the whole world hungers for love. We were made for it. 25:35 Leo Buscaglia used to be the Associate Professor of Education at USC, 25:41 the University of Southern California. And his book, "Love," 25:45 describes how this experiment became a classic in literature dealing 25:50 with psychology and education, alright. So you may have heard 25:54 about this. It was a long-term study on orphaned children, 25:58 and I'm quoting now, "where the only variable was human love and nurture." 26:03 So they're gonna have two groups, alright. Group number one -- the orphans. 26:08 Group number one, they stay in the orphanage. They just stay 26:11 in the institution. And then they're gonna have a second group also composed 26:16 of 12 -- 12 that stay, 12 that go -- only this second group 26:19 was taken to an adolescent girl mentally retarded in a nearby institution, 26:27 and she just loved on those kids. That's all she did. 26:33 20 years later, Dr. Spears, the lead psychologist for this, found that those in group one -- 26:40 Okay, you remember they're the ones that remained in the institution without 26:42 personal love. At the end of the study, all were either dead 26:46 or in institutions for the mentally retarded or for the mentally ill. 26:50 So that's group number one. And group number two, the orphans in that group 26:55 who received love and attention were all self-supporting with most of them 26:59 graduated from high school and all happily married except for one divorce. 27:05 I'm telling you, we were made for love, and the world is hungry for it. 27:10 Love on the move. Leo Buscaglia, he writes -- Put it on the screen. 27:16 "We need others." Oh, we know. 27:20 "We need others to love. We need to to be loved 27:22 by them. There is no doubt that without 27:24 love, we too, like the infant left alone, would cease to grow, 27:28 cease to develop, choose madness and even death." 27:34 That's why love on the move is absolutely essential to the way we live around here 27:38 at Pioneer and Andrews University. It just has to be, 27:42 even when you don't feel like loving that person that needs to be loved, 27:47 or maybe we ought to say, "especially when you don't feel like loving that person 27:51 that needs to be loved." You say, "Who you talking about, Dwight?" 27:55 Let's talk about the exact opposite of you, okay? So let's run these by. 27:59 Someone who is exactly opposite from you. By that, opposite gender. 28:04 By that, opposite sexual orientation. By that, opposite skin color, 28:09 opposite religion or no religion at all, opposite world view, opposite personality, 28:14 opposite looks, opposite social awkwardness, opposite weirdness, opposite everything. 28:20 That's who we're talking about. [ Hisses teeth ] And that's the way she was 28:27 to that circle of men. Ah. They had absolutely zero, 28:33 nada, no time for her. Psht. Love on the move, are you crazy? 28:39 She's the one on the move toward us, and she's crying. She is sobbing in a very 28:44 loud voice -- talking about embarrassing to everybody else who's watching this thing. 28:47 You know what? I wish somebody would shut that girl's mouth. 28:50 In fact, you know what? I think I'll do it. Ooh, too late. 28:54 She already got to Jesus. You got to take a look at this. Come on. 28:58 Matthew chapter 15, love on the move again, and this is Jesus. Oh, you got to look somewhere 29:03 for an example. Matthew chapter 15. You're finding it. 29:09 I'm in the New International Version. Let's go. 29:12 Matthew chapter 15. Drop down to verse 21. Love on the move, wow. 29:17 21... 29:24 Can you believe it? Jesus has just left the comfortable confines 29:31 of hanging around the chosen people. I mean, what could be better? 29:35 And now, he's with Jezebel. We're talking about the wicked Queen Jezebel's hometown. 29:42 That's where he is. You want to talk about rank, dark Paganism, he has found it. 29:48 [ Exhales sharply ] And for that reason, and I know the guys 29:53 aren't very happy with this, but they are surrounded by heathen. 29:56 Everywhere they turn, they are surrounded by heathen. Ugh. 30:02 Talking about trouble, here she comes. 30:04 Okay. Are you ready for this? 30:05 Here she is, verse 22. "And a Canaanite woman from that 30:10 vicinity came to Jesus, crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, 30:14 have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed 30:17 and suffering terribly." 30:19 Have you ever seen a person demon-possessed and suffering terribly? 30:25 My friend Conrad Vine, who is the director of Adventist Frontier Missions 30:28 here in town, he stopped by the office a week and a half ago. 30:31 He said, "Dwight, I got a video I got to show you." So he shows me this video. 30:35 Oh, it is not pretty. I'm telling you, it's a good thing they have 30:39 the warning at the beginning, "Viewer discretion. 30:44 Viewer discretion." I want to say in your presence that when the devil 30:52 takes over a body, it is not a very pretty picture at all. 31:00 Now, the good news is, she got saved by Jesus. She got saved by Jesus, 31:04 and this dark, pagan, desperate mother is convinced that this Son of David... 31:15 who they say can expel demons is her only hope for her baby. Now, look at that. 31:21 Verse 22 again... 31:33 Isn't that something? "Lord." So she recognizes she's 31:35 in the presence of a spiritually superior being. "Lord, Son of David." 31:40 Now, look it. She is no Jew at all, but she's heard the Jews 31:43 living in the vicinity talk about the possibility that this promised messiah is present, 31:49 and she's heard Jesus' name linked to that. "Lord, Son of David, 31:54 have mercy on me." She is so desperate. Her daughter is so tormented. 31:59 This mother is way, way outside her comfort zone, but who cares? 32:05 "I've got to find help." Man, talking about love on the move. 32:10 Wow. We sure wouldn't guess it at first. 32:13 I mean, look how Jesus responds. 32:15 Look at this. This is unbelievable. 32:17 This is verse 23. "Jesus did not answer a word." 32:21 Not a word. What's going on here? 32:23 "Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him" 32:27 because he's keeping silent. She's going blah, blah. 32:29 She's yelling, yelling, sobbing, sobbing, and he's... 32:33 So his disciples say, "Obviously, 32:35 he shares our heart and mind." They said, "Lord, you got to do 32:36 something. Get this girl out of here. 32:38 She's driving us all crazy, and it's an embarrassment to you." 32:43 Wow. Jesus answered her not a word. You ever feel as if your prayers 32:48 are connected with absolutely nobody? You ever feel that, too? 32:52 Like, who's listening to me right now? Martin Luther, the great 32:57 reformer, when he used to describe this noncommunicative God, 33:01 he came up with this little phrase -- deus absconditus, 33:05 the hidden God. Jesus knows all about the hidden God 33:08 because when He's on the cross, into the funeral darkness, he is screaming, 33:13 "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" So if you've ever felt that way, 33:20 I got good news for you. You are not alone. And by that, I mean you are 33:25 really not alone because He is there in that darkness. 33:33 "My Lord! Can't you say something?" 33:38 Jesus finally speaks. Now, you need to get this. He does not speak to the woman. 33:43 Mnh-mnh. He's talking to the boys around him. 33:46 He speaks to his disciples. Watch this. What's this verse? 33:52 Verse 24. So Jesus answered. We often think 33:55 he answered the woman. No, no, no. He answered his boys. 33:58 He answered the disciples, and he said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 34:07 Now, I got to tell you something. Over the years, I've had this 34:09 back and forth relationship to this one line. I mean, sometimes I'm thinking 34:13 it's saying this, and other times, I'm thinking it's saying that, 34:15 and I'm saying, "This was really a confusing thing for you to have said because 34:19 we can't quite figure it out." You think about it. Does it sound like Jesus 34:24 saying -- I mean, it can feel this way, "Hey, hey, you know what, guys? 34:27 You're right. You are absolutely right. Send the woman away. 34:29 I came only to work with Jews. Huh? I came only to work with your types and my types." 34:36 Doesn't it feel like that? Yeah, it does. But you got to think of it. 34:41 In a sense, it's true. If Jesus had set up his kingdom, headquarters, 34:46 in the dark heart of paganism, he'd had lost all credibility with both the Jewish leadership 34:51 and the Jewish populous. He cannot do that. No, he really did come 34:54 for Israel. He's a son of David and a son if Abraham. 34:58 Matthew is just clear on that in his first chapter. He came for Israel. 35:02 Not for Israel exclusively, but he has to start with somebody. He's gonna start with these 35:06 boys around him and the rest of those who listen to him. 35:12 But neither -- So he can't risk his ministry to be there, 35:16 but neither can he risk his disciples missing the point that he was making with 35:19 a Samaritan woman at that well and the point he is making with this pagan -- desperately 35:24 sobbing woman -- right now. They're not gonna get it now. They're not gonna get it now, 35:32 but years after he ascends to Heaven, one day, it's going to say, 35:35 "Oh, man, guys. That's what he was doing!" What? 35:40 Love on the move means savior of the world, and savior of the world means 35:44 every human being on the planet. He's all our savior. Some of you sitting here right 35:54 now are in need of a savior. I don't know who you are. You know who you are. 35:59 Jesus knows who you are. You just happened to turn on the television right now, 36:03 and here you are listening to this. You are in need of a savior. 36:07 You don't have a friend, a forever friend. I'm telling you what. 36:11 Right now, whatever the circumstances, he's your savior, too. 36:16 He's quietly whispering. Love on the move leaves nobody out. 36:23 Wow. So, on the one hand, it can sound like that, 36:26 but it can also sound like this. Listen. "Okay, guys, listen. 36:28 Listen to me carefully, now. I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, 36:32 and I'm telling you, boys, your pagan neighbors are your lost sheep. 36:38 This woman is your lost sheep." Israel exists for the world, not for itself. 36:45 This little faith community that you and I belong to exists for the world, not for itself. 36:50 This little university that you and I are a part of exists for the world, 36:53 not itself. You exist for me. They're your lost sheep. 36:58 What are you gonna do about it? Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo. 37:05 "In fact, boys, watch me now. I'm gonna prove something to you. 37:08 All eyes. I'm love on the move." Let's go. 37:11 What's the next verse? Verse 25. Okay. 37:14 So he answers the disciples, and then in verse 25, oh, the woman, she can't take it 37:17 anymore. She came, and she knelt before him. 37:20 Now, in the Greek, it's prostrate. She is down on her face. 37:25 She is sobbing at Jesus' feet, and she has one word to pray. Do you see her one-word prayer? 37:35 What does she say? Put it on the screen for us. Is it on the screen now? 37:38 "The woman came and knelt before him," and what did she say? "Lord," what? 37:44 Help! "Help me." Anne Lamott, 37:49 she's quite a writer. She lives over in San Francisco. Anne Lamott, in her book, 37:53 "The Three Essential Prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow," those are her three prayers. 37:59 I think it's pretty good. She talks about the help prayer. 38:03 She'll say this is the greatest prayer. 38:05 I'll put her words on the screen for you. 38:06 Alright? There it is on the screen. 38:08 Anne Lamott, "There's freedom in hitting bottom, 38:10 in seeing that you won't be able to save or rescue 38:13 your daughter or her spouse or his parents or your career 38:18 or relief in admitting that you have reached the place 38:20 of great unknowing... Please," you pray, 38:24 "help this friend of mine live," or maybe you pray, 38:27 "Please help that friend of mine die gracefully", 38:30 or maybe you pray, "Please help Joe survive 38:33 Evelyn's dementia. Help. 38:37 Help us walk through this. Help us come through. 38:40 It is," Lamott writes, "the first great prayer," 38:45 and it's one-word long. Heeeeeeelp! 38:51 That's it. One word. That's all the woman prayed. 38:55 She's sobbing at his feet. One word. You know what? 38:59 You could do a lot worse than that one word. So the next time you are stuck 39:03 and you do not know what to pray to God, pray that one word, "Help meee!" 39:10 and see what it'll do. I mean, he's love on the move. 39:13 He's showing us right now. You pray that prayer. 39:16 He's about to show us what he does in answer to that prayer. 39:18 He's gonna show us right now. You pray to me, "Help." 39:20 I'm gonna show you what I do, girl. 39:22 You pray to me, "Help." I'm gonna show you, boy, 39:24 what I do. "Watch me." 39:26 That's what he's telling the disciples. 39:27 "Watch me." Love is on the move. 39:31 He's moving into her pagan space. 39:34 He's moving for her pagan heart. He's gonna save her before 39:38 this thing is through. You watch him. 39:45 Verse, what, 26? Now, he's talking to the woman, okay? 39:50 "Okay. You got my attention, girl. You got my attention. 39:53 Now, listen to me." Now, can you believe this? Can you believe he says this? 39:57 He replies to her. So she's at his feet sobbing, and he replies to her. 40:02 He says, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs," 40:09 and it feels like he's calling her a dog. He's not. 40:13 It feels like he's calling her a dog, but he's making a much bigger point. 40:19 And notice her. Just like that, she shoots back. I love this. 40:24 She shoots back. "Yes, it is!" It's okay to argue with God, 40:29 ladies and gentlemen, brother and sisters. It's okay to argue with God. 40:32 You don't have to have this little plight thing that you put on with this mask and, 40:35 "Oh, okay. Oh, okay." You can argue with him. Read the Psalms. 40:38 David is arguing until he's blue in the face. "I don't understand. 40:42 What are you doing? Have you gone to sleep? I need H-E-L-P." 40:50 >> Help. >> You got it. That's it right there. 40:55 "I need help." Now, Jesus says, "Pft. It's not right to take the 41:02 children's bread and toss it to the dogs." "Yes, it is, Lord." 41:04 Now, notice how she replies -- and in the Greek, it reads like this. 41:07 "Even the little dogs eat the little crumbs that fall from their master's table." 41:16 And Jesus is here, and she's sobbing, and he's smiling. He said, "Girl, I never seen 41:20 anybody like you. You are something else. Most women of your caliber 41:27 would've walked away, maybe spit at me and then walked away, 41:30 but you wouldn't let me go. I am so proud of you. I never was gonna ignore you." 41:38 In fact, [indistinct] tells us, he actually intentionally set himself up 41:43 so that this woman would cross his path at this moment. He's known about her, 41:48 and he's moving. Love is on the move. He's moving to save her. 41:54 "[ Exhaling sharply ] My... I'm so proud of you. I want to tell you something. 42:00 You dry -- Come here, come here. You dry these tears. Come here. You dry your tears." 42:04 And what does he say to her next? 42:05 Put it on the screen for us 'cause I'm way far away from my 42:07 Bible right now. Put it on the screen for us. 42:09 "Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have 42:13 great faith, girl! You are something else. 42:16 Your request is granted.'" "You got it. 42:19 I'm on your side, and I will always be 42:22 for the rest of your life. 42:24 I'm not only saving your daughter. I'm saving you. 42:28 You're my girl in the hometown of Jezebel. I got a girl there now. 42:35 She's one of my warriors." Isn't that something about love on the move. 42:38 Doesn't matter who. Doesn't matter where. Total opposites. 42:41 You got people out there that are totally opposite from you, and I mean totally 42:45 opposite from you. Love on the move moves to people like that. 42:49 Jesus moves to people like that. Wow. Oh, and then Jesus said to her, 42:53 "Woman, you have great faith, and your request is granted," and her daughter was... 42:57 At that moment, she's healed, before she even gets home. The end. 43:03 That's it. Wow. You know why I love this story? 43:07 I'll tell you why. I love this story because embedded in it is an expose 43:12 of our most uncomfortable comfort zones that all of us live with these days. 43:18 "Yeah, Dwight. What kind of uncomfortable comfort zones 43:21 are you talking about?" Well, I'll tell you about a few. There's the racial uncomfortable 43:25 comfort zone. You know that one, don't you? Sure you do. 43:29 There is the religion uncomfortable comfort zone. You know that one. 43:36 There is the political uncomfortable comfortable zone. We all know that one. 43:43 There is the social uncomfortable comfort zone. And, by the way, the only way 43:50 that Jesus' disciples are gonna figure this baby out and know that the need of this woman 43:56 is for compassion and love -- The only way love could be on the move would be 44:00 if they followed Jesus outside of their own uncomfortable comfort zone. 44:05 They are hugely uncomfortable right now. They'll get it eventually. 44:10 They'll get it eventually. My, oh, my, oh, my. Love on the move. 44:19 That's Jesus for you. Can it happen today? Absolutely. 44:24 Now, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna put a website on the screen for you, 44:27 and then I'm gonna tell you what's been happening because when we put this website 44:29 up for the very first time last week, you have been responding, 44:32 and I'm gonna show you by reading two stories to you right now, 44:34 but let's put it on the screen. Because if you go to this screen -- 44:36 pmchurch.org/loveonthemove -- You go to that page, scroll down, it'll say, 44:42 "Share your story." We already have 15 stories. 15. 44:47 I'm gonna share two of them with you right now. 15 stories. 44:50 "Yeah, but, Dwight, you know what? That's the problem 44:52 with sharing stories. It feels like you're bragging." You're crazy. 44:55 That's the devil talking to you there. You think Jesus was bragging 44:59 when he allows the gospels to be all about him? No, he's not bragging. 45:03 Do you think the Book of Acts is all about bragging because the apostles make sure all these 45:06 great stories are told? No. Why? Because they want you to know, 45:10 in case you'd live where stories like this do not happen, that they can start happening 45:13 through you. That's the point. It can start happening to you 45:19 if you will be love on the move for Jesus. 45:23 Two stories. Story number one. Okay, so I printed these 45:26 right off the website. Story number one. 45:31 And, by the way, there's gonna be a beautiful baptism next Sabbath, a rebaptism, 45:34 so don't miss it next Sabbath. And by the way, it's gonna be AUSA Unity Sabbath, 45:38 so this place will be packed because those churches are coming in here 45:41 for a second service, so be sure and be here. But you're gonna see 45:45 a beautiful baptism. Here is the backstory to what you're gonna see next week. 45:49 Okay? This is written by Roger Edington. 45:52 Okay? Permission to share the story? Yes! Okay. 45:55 If you put no on the story you share, we won't share it. Okay, so we got permission. 46:01 "This is the story of a lovely lady." Ooh. 46:04 "No, not the one you may think of when you hear those few words. 46:07 This is the story of a friendship that began over 20 years ago 46:10 and is still going strong. You see, Sandra Peña, as she was known back then, 46:14 she and I met by accident. It was a Sabbath, January afternoon." 46:18 Okay, do the arithmetic. 1992, so this is Sabbath in January, okay. 46:24 "When her part of the story began, she was driving on I-94 getting off at exit 28." 46:28 We all know exit 28 going to Benton Harbor. "She was traveling too fast 46:33 when she hit some black ice. The next thing she knows, she's sitting in a hospital bed 46:36 11 days later." She wakes up. She's in a coma. 46:44 "She suffered traumatic brain injury among other things from the accident. 46:47 Now, almost 5 1/2 years later, my part of the story began. My youngest son from my 46:51 first marriage was involved in a traffic accident." You can see where this is going, 46:55 can't you? "He, too, suffered a traumatic brain injury. 46:58 I started attending a brain-injury support group in South Bend." 47:02 Now, there is a comfort zone you've just stepped out of because you're not comfortable 47:05 sitting around other people that have the same problem that you have. 47:08 Nobody's comfortable with that. We'd rather just suffer alone when you should be suffering 47:12 with somebody around you. So you have to step outside of your uncomfortable comfort zone. 47:18 "And that evening, guess who shows up? You guessed it. 47:20 Sandra shows up." Boy, she's way outside her comfort zone now 47:25 because Roger's already been meeting with this group. Sandra's there as a newbie. 47:29 Everybody introduces themselves to Sandra. When the evening's over, 47:33 she remembers everybody's first name and says goodbye to all of them. 47:36 And Roger is watching all this and saying, "Whoa, this girl is outgoing." 47:39 She memorized his name. [ Chuckles ] "She started coming to the 47:45 meetings, and we became friends. Back in those days, we only had e-mail, 47:49 no such thing as texting or Facebook, so we began corresponding through e-mail. 47:52 A few months later, she invited me to her church. It was the largest church I've 47:55 ever been to in my entire life. We never did meet that day at Pioneer Memorial Church 47:59 because of the crowd." He shows up. He says, "Where is this girl?" 48:02 He can't find her. She's here, but, you know, we didn't have big screens back 48:06 then, and so he didn't know. 48:11 "A little later, she invited me to Net '99..." That's my friend Doug Batchelor, 48:14 alright? So we did Net '98 here, so this is the next year. 48:17 "...at the Village Church. I traveled each night from South Bend to hear 48:20 the strange teachings that I had never heard before. Previously, I was seeking 48:24 a church that I felt comfortable with and had visited maybe a dozen different denominations, 48:28 so God was working on me." Here comes comfort zone, uncomfortable comfort zone 48:32 maybe number three by now. Maybe it's number four. What is it? 48:34 It's religion. He's stepping outside of his comfort zone because she said, 48:38 "Why don't you come." "After attending most of the Doug Batchelor meetings, 48:43 I started attending church at the Village Church on Saturday and attending my church 48:46 on Sunday. I still wasn't fully convinced on the right day of worship 48:50 for a few weeks, and after a while, I came around and decided to attend church 48:54 on the Sabbath instead of on Saturday and Sunday both, and a little while later, 48:58 I wanted to be baptized, so on Sabbath January 1, 2000," yep, "I went through 49:03 the waters of baptism. After that, Sandra and I began courting, not dating. 49:07 Courtship is the means by with a couple see if they are compatible for marriage, 49:11 so marriage was the aim." At times, you can be right up front about it. 49:16 "I thought there were too many hurdles to jump through in trying to become 49:19 a married couple. Number one -- huge age difference between us." 49:22 Oop. [ Hisses teeth ] Uncomfortable comfort zone -- 49:26 age. "Number two -- She's from Peru, South America. 49:30 [ Hisses teeth ] I'm a white boy from South Bend, Indiana." 49:33 Ooh, ethnic, uncomfortable comfort zone. [ Hisses teeth ] 49:38 "Number three -- She grew up in an Adventist family while I was the only one in my 49:42 family who ever went to church. Number four -- I was previously married with three sons while 49:46 she's never even been married." Ooh, uncomfortable comfort zone -- marriage. 49:51 Ooh. Wow. This story's full of them. 49:56 "She was an extrovert while I'm an introvert." Ooh, personality. 50:00 "There were a lot of differences, but because we were both wanting 50:02 a friendship, we saw past them." Now, listen up as he wraps this up. 50:05 "I left out many details because I don't want to bore you with it all, 50:08 but it's been 18 years now since we were married." Hallelujah. 50:12 "We have been through a lot of struggles together, but the one thing that has held 50:15 us together is that we are and forever will be, first of all, friends." 50:20 Ooh, I like that. "And now you know why we say we met by accident." 50:25 [ Laughter ] Pretty clever, Roger, pretty clever. 50:29 "But in reality, God brought us together by that friendship that was struck up 50:34 way back in 1998." That's what you call love on the move. 50:39 You step out of your uncomfortable comfort zones into even worse uncomfortable 50:48 zones for the sake of Jesus. Now, I'm gonna throw in a little caveat here. 50:54 These love on the move stories are not to all end in getting married, so don't think 50:57 that that's kind of like -- That's where Dwight's going. He just wants everybody getting 51:01 married that's not married. That's very rare that that happens, but it happened, 51:06 so hang around here. Love is beyond the move around here. 51:10 Now, come on. I'm telling you. Can you put that website 51:14 up again please? Yeah, there it is on the screen. pmchurch.org/loveonthemove. 51:18 Stuff has happened to you. You're a student in this university. 51:21 Somebody did love on the move to you. Tell us the story 51:23 about somebody doing it to you. You don't have to be the hero of the story. 51:26 If you want to be the hero of the story, we're happy to have you the hero. 51:29 But love is on the move, folks. It's why Pioneer exists. It's why Andrews exists -- 51:34 to incarnate the love... 51:39 ...of the great God of this universe. Just live it out -- 51:43 love on the move. Oh, wow. 51:48 Okay. So don't miss next Sabbath. You'll know the backstory now. 51:52 There'll be a little video, as well. Love on the move 51:54 story number two. I promised you two. This one's short. 51:56 This is -- This is -- This is a young mother that loves hanging around with young mothers, okay? 52:01 So, it's okay to be that. This is Brianna Martin. Well, I know Brianna. 52:06 So do you. But she writes -- It's a short one -- 52:08 "It's not just my story, but the one way that I'm trying to reflect a life of love 52:13 towards others is through a new ministry called," at least for now, 52:17 "Meals for Moms. Last semester, I led a girl group, and one of 52:22 our members gave birth, so we decided to get some meals together for her and her family 52:25 because we know how hard it is to cook and take care of a newborn 52:28 along with the other responsibilities parents have. So I asked Adrian Green, 52:33 leader of Pioneer's Mommy and Me group, if I could ask her group 52:37 to participate, too, and she and I decided that we should bring meals to 52:41 all of the Mommy and Me members whenever they have new babies. Now, that was the end 52:45 of November. So far, we've run five meal trains..." 52:48 I like that. "...two of which are still in progress as I'm writing, 52:51 and I'm praying to be able to expand this ministry to involve more than just 52:55 the members of Mommy and Me. We have so many expecting mothers at Pioneer 52:59 and in Berrien Springs, and I'm dreaming and planning out ways to reach the members of 53:03 our entire community for Christ through bringing mothers their first meals when they come 53:07 back from the hospital." Knock, knock. "Who are you?" 53:09 "We're Mommy and Me from the Pioneer Church. We're love on the move." 53:13 You won't say, "We're love on the move," of course. [ Laughter ] 53:19 But you got the point. I share this story with you because you may not be a mommy, 53:24 but that's okay. Here's a little mommy and a few other mommies 53:27 that got a bright idea, and they did something about it. A lot of people get good ideas, 53:31 and then it just sits on a shelf for the rest of their lives. You have a good idea. 53:35 There's some ministry in your mind that you're thinking of right now 53:37 because the Spirit's saying, "What about that one? You've been talking about 53:39 doing that. Why don't you do that?" You're a student 53:41 in the university. You can do it. You're a teenager. 53:45 You can do it. Love on the move, that's the deal. 53:49 Wow. Listen -- By the way, she's wanting help. 53:55 Did I leave that out? I sure did. "If anyone is interested in 53:57 showing love on the move through providing meals to new moms or even just by helping me 54:01 identify moms here in Pioneer or in Berrien Springs who would like to receive meals 54:05 once their babies are born, I'd love to hear from you." Okay, so I'm putting another 54:08 website up. Here's how you get a hold of Brianna. 54:09 You let her know, "I'm interested in this ministry." pmchurch.org/volunteer. 54:15 Boom, it'll take you to a list of ministries, and Mommy and Me 54:18 and the Funeral Dinner Ministry we just heard about a moment about ago, 54:21 they're the top two, so you can respond just like that. "Yeah, I want to bring a meal. 54:25 I want to bring food for mommies and food for people who are grieving." 54:29 You can do that. Wow. Love on the move. 54:34 Love...on...the...move. 54:37 It's what we do. It's why we exist -- 54:38 to be like Jesus. Last week, we were with Jesus 54:41 and Zacchaeus, this corrupt sinner-turned-saved man. 54:47 This week, we're with Jesus and this pagan mother desperate, 54:52 now saved. 54:56 Love on the move, just like Jesus. 54:58 You want to be a superhero? Come on. 55:00 You want to be a superhero? Then become love on the move 55:03 with Jesus. You become one of the great 55:04 superheroes on this planet today. 55:07 You can be a superhero. You don't even a cape. 55:11 Just be love on the move. So I get a text from a friend of mine for New Years Day. 55:15 Okay, so it's New Years Day. He obviously has lots of friends because he's individually 55:19 sending all these texts. So the text I get -- I'll tell you the truth. 55:22 I have it right here. The text I get wishing me happy New Year, it reads like this. 55:26 "Happy New Near." 55:29 "Near." You missed the "Y," buddy. You put an "N" in there. 55:34 "Happy New Near." Well, it's a terrible mistake to make. 55:39 [ Chuckles ] But I got to brooding over it. I said, "You know what? 55:42 That guy's right." What a wonderful greeting to send in the new year. 55:47 Send the greeting, "Hey, happy new near for you." Near what? 55:51 Near Jesus, of course. You want to be love on the move? Happy new near to you. 55:57 Just get close to Jesus. That's why we're reading the little book "Steps to Christ" -- 56:02 through all of us. Chapter a week. In 13 weeks, we're done. 56:07 End of March, it's over, but every day, we're going to Jesus and looking at 56:10 a little line from his life because there's just a few paragraphs in each chapter. 56:14 We're not talking, like, books. Put the -- This is from "Steps to Christ." 56:20 So just a few days ago, I read these words. This is "Steps to Christ." 56:23 Oh, speaking of love on the move... 56:41 Love on the move -- getting near to Jesus. I can't think of a more 56:45 perfectly effective way to be love on the move each new day than to begin 56:50 the day near to Jesus. So I say to all of us, happy new near. 56:55 What do you say? >> Amen. >> Come on. 56:57 We can do it. We can do it together. 57:03 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:05 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:09 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:12 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:15 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:18 So if God has blessed you and you'd like to further the work 57:21 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:23 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. 57:26 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission of blessing your 57:29 community and our world. You can donate on our website, 57:33 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:36 You know the number -- 877-HIS-WILL. 57:38 Again, that number is 877 -- the two words "HIS-WILL." 57:42 And may the God who has blessed you continue to pour into your 57:45 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:48 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:50 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 57:58 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-01-30