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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP201010S
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00:29 Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb
00:33 Worthy, worthy is the Lamb 00:38 Worthy, worthy is the Lamb 00:42 That was slain 00:47 Glory, hallelujah! 00:51 Praise Him, hallelujah! 00:55 Glory, hallelujah 01:00 To the Lamb! 01:04 Savior, let Thy kingdom come! 01:08 Now the power of sin consume 01:13 Bring Thy blest millennium 01:17 Holy Lamb 01:21 Glory, hallelujah! 01:26 Praise Him, hallelujah! 01:30 Glory, hallelujah 01:34 To the Lamb! 01:39 Thus may we each moment feel 01:43 Love Him, serve Him Praise Him still 01:47 Till we all on Zion's hill 01:52 See the Lamb 01:56 Glory, hallelujah! 02:00 Praise Him, hallelujah! 02:05 Glory, hallelujah 02:09 To the Lamb! 02:13 Glory, hallelujah! 02:17 Praise Him, hallelujah! 02:22 Glory, hallelujah 02:26 To the Lamb! 02:30 To the Lamb! 02:35 To the Lamb! 02:49 Do you feel The world is broken? 02:52 We do 02:55 Do you feel the shadows deepen? 02:59 We do 03:01 But do you know That all the dark 03:04 Won't stop the light From getting through? 03:08 We do 03:11 Do you wish that you could see 03:14 It all made new? 03:18 We do 03:21 Is all creation groaning? 03:24 It is 03:27 Is a new creation coming? 03:31 It is 03:34 Is the glory of the Lord 03:36 To be the light Within our midst? 03:40 It is 03:44 Is it good that we remind Ourselves of this? 03:50 It is 03:54 Is anyone worthy? 03:57 Is anyone whole? 04:00 Is anyone able to break The seal 04:04 And open the scroll? 04:07 The Lion of Judah 04:10 Who conquered the grave 04:13 He is David's Root And the Lamb who died 04:17 To ransom the slave 04:20 Is He worthy? 04:23 Is He worthy? 04:27 Of all blessing And honor and glory 04:32 Is He worthy of this? 04:39 He is 04:45 Does the Father truly love us? 04:49 He does 04:52 Does the Spirit move among us? 04:55 He does 04:59 And does Jesus, our Messiah 05:01 Hold forever those He loves? 05:05 He does 05:09 Does our God intend To dwell again with us? 05:15 He does 05:19 Is anyone worthy? 05:22 Is anyone whole? 05:26 Is anyone able to break The seal 05:29 And open the scroll? 05:32 The Lion of Judah 05:36 Who conquered the grave 05:39 He is David's root And the Lamb who died 05:42 To ransom the slave 05:45 From every people and tribe 05:49 Every nation and tongue 05:52 He has made us a kingdom And priests to God 05:56 To reign with the Son 05:59 Is He worthy? 06:03 Is He worthy? 06:06 Of all blessing And honor and glory 06:11 Is He worthy? 06:15 Is He worthy? 06:18 Is He worthy of this? 06:25 He is! 06:28 He is! 06:32 Is He worthy? 06:35 Is He worthy? 06:38 He is! 06:42 He is! 06:45 Is He worthy? 06:49 Is He worthy? 06:52 He is! 07:03 Father, we love You 07:09 We worship 07:11 And adore You 07:16 Glorify Thy name 07:21 In all the earth 07:30 Glorify Thy name 07:37 Glorify Thy name 07:44 Glorify Thy name 07:49 In all the earth 07:58 Jesus, we love You 08:04 We worship 08:07 And adore You 08:12 Glorify Thy name 08:17 In all the earth 08:26 Glorify Thy name 08:33 Glorify Thy name 08:39 Glorify Thy name 08:44 In all the earth 08:53 Spirit, we love You 08:59 We worship 09:02 And adore You 09:07 Glorify Thy name 09:12 In all the earth 09:21 Glorify Thy name 09:27 We will glorify 09:31 Thy name 09:35 Glorify Thy name 09:40 In all the earth 09:49 Glorify Thy name 09:54 In all the earth. 10:24 Dear Lord 10:26 And Father of humankind 10:31 Forgive our foolish ways 10:37 Reclothe us In our rightful mind 10:44 In purer lives Thy service find 10:51 In deeper reverence, praise 11:08 O Sabbath rest by Galilee 11:14 O calm of hills above 11:20 Where Jesus knelt 11:24 To share with Thee 11:27 The silence 11:30 Of eternity 11:34 Interpreted 11:38 By love! 11:51 Drop 11:52 Thy still dews of quietness 11:59 Till 12:00 All our strivings cease 12:06 Take from our souls 12:09 The strain and stress 12:13 And let our ordered lives confess 12:20 The beauty 12:24 Of Thy peace 12:30 The beauty 12:33 Of Thy peace 12:50 Breathe through the heats 12:54 Of our desire 12:57 Thy coolness and Thy balm 13:04 Let sense be dumb 13:08 Let flesh retire 13:12 Speak through the earthquake, 13:16 Wind, and fire 13:19 O still, small Voice of calm 13:30 O Sabbath rest 13:38 O Sabbath rest. 13:59 Let's pray. 14:01 Father, that's our prayer. 14:05 In a world ravaged by this pandemic, 14:09 in a nation on edge, 14:12 oh that we might find this rest in Jesus. 14:17 At the moments we now share, 14:20 be clear, we pray in Jesus' name, 14:24 amen. 14:28 This morning we're gonna begin to see a side of America 14:33 we never dreamed possible. 14:39 Consider blue laws. 14:41 Let's cut to the chase. 14:42 Let's put Wikipedia on the screen for us, 14:43 please blue laws. 14:45 "Blue laws also known as Sunday laws 14:47 are laws designed to restrict or ban some 14:51 or all Sunday activities for religious 14:53 or secular reasons 14:55 particularly to promote 14:56 the observance of a day of worship or rest. 15:01 Blue laws may also restrict shopping 15:03 or ban sale of certain items on specific days, 15:06 most often on Sundays in the Western world. 15:09 Blue laws are enforced 15:10 in parts of the United States and Canada, 15:12 as well as some European countries, 15:14 particularly in Austria, 15:15 Germany, Switzerland, and Norway, 15:17 keeping most stores closed on Sundays." 15:21 Speaking of America, 15:22 I realized that we're in the thick 15:26 of a season of political campaigning. 15:28 And I know these three words have been bandied 15:31 about back and forth law and order, 15:33 law and order, law and order, 15:35 well, who wouldn't want law and order? 15:38 I suppose it depends on how you define it. 15:41 Why do I bring it up today? 15:42 Because the day could come in America, 15:45 that in order to establish law and order 15:48 to deal with its ills 15:50 America will choose to resort 15:52 to these old kind of sleepy blue laws, 15:57 Sunday laws on many of the state's books. 16:02 And so believing that an ounce of prevention 16:05 is worth a pound of what? 16:06 Of cure. 16:08 In advance of anything 16:09 I want to share with you 16:12 why I don't believe in Sunday blue laws. 16:19 Let's go to the beginning. 16:20 In the beginning, 16:21 December 24, Christmas Eve 1968, 16:25 the three astronauts 16:26 they're inside that tiny little Apollo 8 capsule 16:28 are huddled around that portal, 16:30 and they're looking down 16:31 on our terrestrial blue green ball 16:34 and the three of them takes turns reading 16:36 the first 10 verses of the Book of Genesis, 16:40 Genesis Chapter 1, I want to go to that. 16:42 We're not gonna read the 10 verses, 16:44 I'll just set-up for two. 16:45 Go to the beginning of your Bible, 16:46 the Book of Genesis Chapter 1. 16:49 They read from the King James. 16:51 They read, by the way 16:52 to the largest television audience in history, 16:55 up until that moment. 16:57 So the whole world is tuned in 16:59 as these astronauts read these words. 17:01 We'll read just verses 1 and 2. 17:03 Genesis 1:1, 17:04 I'm in the New International Version. 17:05 "In the beginning..." 17:07 Those are arguably the most well-known words 17:09 of the Bible all over the planet 17:11 you can be an atheist to know about in the beginning. 17:13 "In the beginning 17:14 God created the heavens and the earth." 17:16 Verse 2, "Now the earth was formless and empty, 17:19 darkness was over the surface 17:21 of the deep and the Spirit of God 17:23 was hovering over the waters." 17:26 What follows is the account of earth's creation 17:29 by the Creator in six days, 17:32 evening, morning, evening, morning, 17:33 evening, morning, evening morning, 17:34 six 24-hour days. 17:37 The week culminates 17:39 with the addition of a seventh day. 17:42 I want you to drop-down please to Chapter 2. 17:45 Chapter 2, and here comes that last day of the week. 17:49 Thus, this is verse 1, 17:51 "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed 17:53 in all their vast array. 17:55 By the seventh day God had finished the work 17:57 he had been doing 17:59 so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 18:02 Then God blessed the seventh day 18:05 and made it holy, 18:07 because on it he rested 18:09 from all the work of creating that he had done." 18:13 God says, "I have a gift for you human race. 18:15 I just made you on day number six. 18:17 I have a gift for you. 18:18 I'm gonna give myself to you in the gift of the Sabbath 18:20 every seventh day for the rest of time." 18:22 In perpetuity 18:23 as long as there is life on this planet, 18:25 there will be a seventh day, 18:27 and every seventh day will remind you 18:28 that you are mine and I am yours. 18:30 I give myself to you in the gift of this day. 18:33 Wow. 18:35 That's pretty cool. 18:37 George McCready Price, the philosopher, the scientist, 18:40 and the Bible scholar. 18:42 In that provocative book of his, 18:44 The Time of the End, you got to see this. 18:46 A little twist here I had never thought of before 18:49 and I predict a bunch of you haven't either. 18:51 So this is George McCready Price, 18:53 "From the beginning the Creator planned to have 18:56 a memorial of His method of his..." 18:58 Excuse me, "of his, " 18:59 and the italics are his, "of his method of creating." 19:02 I thought that the Sabbath was to be a memorial 19:05 of the fact that He created. 19:07 No, no, no, McCready Price is saying, 19:09 "No, it's the method too." 19:11 "It would be for the good and lasting happiness 19:14 of mankind for them to remember His creatorship, 19:18 His power, His sovereignty, He could have accomplished, " 19:23 this is true, isn't it? 19:24 "He could have accomplished the making of the earth 19:26 and its plants and animals in one day," 19:28 could He have done it in one day? 19:29 While he goes on, "or even instantaneously." 19:31 Yo, let's have planet earth. 19:33 Fully populated. 19:35 He could have done it. He didn't. 19:36 He chose to do it a certain way. 19:39 "But he did not." 19:41 No, no, no, no, keep reading now. 19:42 "He might have prolonged this creative act for ten days, 19:45 or thirty. 19:46 But He did not, 19:48 He deliberately planned to do it by stages, 19:50 spread out over six days, 19:54 with a special extra day at the close 19:56 as an official memorial of what He had done 19:59 and how He had done it." 20:01 My, my, my, my, my, 20:02 there's something about the method, 20:04 I never thought about that before, 20:05 the fact, okay, the Sabbath is, yo! 20:07 I came from a Creator, 20:09 you have a not just the fact of creation, 20:12 the method of creation. 20:14 I did it in stages 20:16 so that I could have a seven stage 20:18 and that'll be just you and me together. 20:21 Oh, my, can you believe the gift of the Sabbath? 20:24 The brilliant Jewish scholar Abraham Heschel, 20:28 he referred to the Sabbath as a palace in time. 20:32 For the rest of time the Creator 20:34 every seventh day communing with His creation, 20:38 drawing close to these 20:39 who are created in His own image. 20:41 He feels a special affinity to you right now 20:44 because you're in His image. 20:46 You're not a strange creation to Him. 20:49 He feels a closeness to you. 20:51 The Sabbath every seventh day to remind us my, oh my, oh my. 20:55 No wonder the Sabbath 20:57 is both the geometric center of the Ten Commandments. 21:01 In Hebrew, the number of words on either side is the same. 21:05 So it's in the geometric center 21:07 and it's also the thematic and literary center. 21:10 Come on. Let's go to Exodus 20. 21:12 Let's go to the Ten Commandments. 21:14 Everybody loves the Ten Commandments. 21:16 Everybody knows a story about the Ten Commandments. 21:18 Hey, did you grow up watching the Prince of Egypt? 21:20 Come on, tell me the truth. 21:21 Did you grow up watching the Prince of Egypt? 21:23 Yes, you did. 21:25 If you did not grow up watching the Prince of Egypt, 21:27 then you're older and you watch 21:29 see Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, 21:31 but they did a lot better with the animation. 21:33 Oh, I love the story. 21:35 Was it Moses? Wasn't it? 21:36 The Prince of Egypt, Moses, out in that burning bush. 21:41 What a story. 21:43 And when you get to the Ten Commandments, 21:44 you remember seeing that hand of God. 21:49 As God with His own finger, writes the Ten Commandments, 21:52 carves them into granite. 21:54 Oh, I love the story. 21:56 In fact, the Sabbath 21:57 actually is couched in two stories. 22:00 My friend Sigve Tonstad in his book, 22:04 The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day 22:05 has helped me to see this. 22:06 First, let me quote Tonstad, 22:08 and then we'll take a look at those stories. 22:09 Let's put Tonstad on the screen here. 22:11 He's a physician. 22:12 He's a New Testament scholar and a writer, 22:15 "The seventh day is not willing, " 22:18 if the Sabbath had a mind of its own. 22:19 "The seventh-day is not willing to be estranged 22:23 from its narratival roots." 22:26 That's just theological speak 22:27 for those from the stories that provide its foundation. 22:30 Keep going. 22:32 "The story of God's faithfulness 22:33 that is etched in the seventh-day," 22:35 oh, I love this, 22:37 "envisions a chain reaction of blessing, 22:39 forging the Sabbath into a conduit 22:42 of grace to all creation." 22:45 What he's telling us is you got to know the stories, 22:47 you got to know the stories. 22:49 Once you know the stories, 22:50 then the Sabbath 22:52 embedded in those two stories, it shines with more glory. 22:57 Okay, so we got to find the story. 22:58 So did you get to Exodus 20 here 23:00 I'm talking I haven't even gotten 23:01 to Exodus 20 yet. 23:02 Let's go to the beginning of the commandments. 23:04 Exodus 20. 23:05 Okay, I got it. 23:07 Verse 1, and God spoke all these words, okay, 23:08 so we know God is gonna first speak 23:09 the commandments, 23:11 then He's gonna write them with His finger. 23:14 Verse 2, Oh! 23:15 Before He even begins the Ten Commandments, 23:17 He tells a story. 23:18 Look at this. 23:20 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, 23:23 out of the land of slavery." 23:25 Who doesn't love the Exodus story? 23:27 Is there anybody here 23:28 that doesn't love the Exodus story? 23:30 And even in the Prince of Egypt? 23:31 I love it. Once they get out. 23:33 They get out at midnight, and they run into the Red Sea. 23:34 Do you remember that? Shew! 23:38 That wind and the walls towering, 23:41 I love that part every single time, don't you? 23:44 That's the story of the Exodus. What's the Exodus? 23:46 It's when God saved a nation of slaves. 23:50 He liberated them. He delivered them. 23:51 He redeemed them. 23:53 He saved them before He says a word about... 23:55 Hey, would you do this for happiness? 23:56 And would you do this for happiness? 23:57 Would you do that? 23:59 He says, "I wanna tell you a story. 24:00 Don't you ever forget." 24:01 And by the way, it's the greatest story 24:03 of liberation in human literature, 24:08 except for Calvary. 24:10 And it was intended to be the story of Calvary. 24:12 That's the whole point. 24:14 Deliverance, set free. 24:16 No more evil taskmasters. 24:19 Yep. 24:20 So He tells the story. 24:22 And then He tells the Ten Commandments, 24:24 He speaks the Ten Commandments. 24:26 And then in the fourth commandment, 24:27 He tells one more story. It's the only other story. 24:32 So I got to get back to Exodus 20. 24:34 And drop-down to the fourth commandment 24:35 that will be verse 8. 24:38 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 24:43 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 24:46 but the seventh day is a Sabbath 24:47 of the Lord your God. 24:49 On it you shall not do any work, neither you, 24:51 nor your son or your daughter, 24:52 nor your male or female servant, 24:54 nor your animals, nor any foreigner 24:56 residing in your towns." 24:57 Why? Verse 11. 24:59 "For in six days..." 25:00 Here comes the story. Now I'm gonna tell you a story. 25:02 "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 25:05 the sea, and all that is in them, 25:07 but He rested on the seventh day. 25:10 Therefore the Lord blessed 25:12 the Sabbath day and made it holy." 25:15 Once upon a time, 25:17 before you were born, I made your parents. 25:21 They were the first two on this planet. 25:24 And I've been friends with the human race ever since 25:26 no matter how you treat Me, you are in My image. 25:31 And I longed for a friendship with you too. 25:35 Every seventh day, that's a Ton, 25:36 Tonstad is telling us. 25:38 Every seventh day two stories, Exodus, 25:40 that goes back to the creation two great narratival bookends 25:46 for the entire human race, the seventh day Sabbath. 25:49 I want to get Tonstad one more time. 25:51 Let's put him on the screen here. 25:52 "The person who experiences 25:54 God's faithfulness in the rest, " 25:56 you're resting. 25:57 Come on it's a joy, the Sabbath, you get to rest, 25:59 "in the rest of the Sabbath 26:01 is to extend the privilege to son and daughter, 26:05 to male and female slave, to the resident alien, 26:07 even to the cows, the cattle, triggering," 26:11 I love this, "triggering an avalanche of blessing 26:14 that is to make all Creation 26:16 beneficiaries of the Sabbath." 26:18 Guess what? 26:19 When we celebrate the Sabbath, this is what Tonstad is saying. 26:22 When God gave us the Sabbath and we celebrate it, 26:24 the blessing is not just for me, 26:25 me, me, me, me. 26:27 No, it just kind of 26:28 is this chain reaction of blessing, 26:29 it spreads even to animal life. 26:33 Man. 26:35 This must be a big deal. 26:37 This day must be a big deal to God and His friends. 26:46 It's no wonder Jesus 26:49 one day decided to give Himself a title. 26:52 I want you to see this title. 26:53 Now let's go to the Book of Mark now. 26:55 That little dramatic gospel, Mark Chapter 2. 26:59 Mark Chapter 2. 27:01 Let's drop-down 27:03 to the last two lines of Mark 2. 27:05 So Jesus is talking, talking to His friends, 27:07 He's got His disciples. 27:08 They're all around Him. 27:10 And by the way, it's on the Sabbath 27:11 when He's doing this. 27:12 So they're all around Him. 27:14 And He's loving on them. 27:15 And He says, "Hey, guys, and ladies, 27:17 I wanna tell you something." 27:18 This is verse 27 of Mark 2. 27:19 "Then Jesus said to them, 27:21 'The Sabbath was made for," what? 27:23 "For man, not man for the Sabbath.' 27:27 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." 27:33 He just gave Himself a title. 27:35 And by the way, there's some Christians 27:36 and some Christians have done it. 27:37 Okay. 27:39 Can you give that verse up for a minute on the screen 27:40 that last that the verse 27? 27:45 Yeah, thank you. Watch this. 27:46 There are some Christians who read it this way. 27:49 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 27:50 'The Sabbath was made for Jews, and not Jews for the Sabbath." 27:57 Are you serious? 27:59 The Sabbath was made for Jews? 28:00 Oh, man, that's bad news for me. 28:01 You know why? 28:03 Because Genesis 2 says, "Woman was made for man." 28:04 And if woman was made for only Jews, 28:06 I'm in big trouble. 28:08 Right? 28:13 No, this is humanity. 28:15 This is the human race. 28:17 The Sabbath was made for the human race, 28:18 not the human race for the Sabbath. 28:22 In fact, you know what, 28:23 Jesus says, and so the Son of Man... 28:24 Put that next text up, please 28. 28:26 "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." 28:29 This is the same word. 28:30 They say, "Dwight, what does this word mean? 28:32 What is the actual language?" Glad you ask. 28:35 William Skip MacCarty, 28:37 he wrote in a book titled Perspectives 28:39 on the Sabbath Four Views in his opening extended essay, 28:42 I wish you could read it. 28:43 It's just a dynamite essay on the Sabbath. 28:45 Let's put William Skip MacCarty. 28:48 "When Mark recorded Jesus' words, 28:51 'the Sabbath was made for man,' 28:53 he chose Greek terms 28:54 that would communicate the universal 28:56 and permanent character of the Sabbath." 28:58 Keep reading, 29:00 "The Greek term anthropos, okay? 29:02 Anthropos. 29:04 What is that? 29:05 Hey, anthropology. Come on. 29:06 We got 29:08 an anthropology department here. 29:09 What is anthropology? 29:10 The study of humanities, not the study of males, right? 29:13 It's a study of the human race, anthropology, 29:16 "The Greek term anthropos," 29:17 the Sabbath was made for anthropos, 29:19 "is the generic term for humankind. 29:21 Numerous scholars have understood Mark 2:27 29:24 as Jesus' affirmation of the creation origin, 29:27 and universal character of the Sabbath.' 29:30 That's what Jesus is saying. 29:32 He says, "I have a title now, you can call me this. 29:35 I'm Lord of the Sabbath." 29:37 Wow. 29:38 He was Lord of salvation, I knew that, 29:40 but now I can call him Lord of the Sabbath. 29:42 He says, "That's my title. 29:44 I'm Lord of this day." 29:45 Let's read it again one more time. 29:47 "Then Jesus said them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, 29:50 and not man for the Sabbath. 29:52 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.'" 29:55 I tell you what? 29:57 I am against Sunday blue laws as a solution to law and order 30:00 simply because Jesus is Lord of the seventh day Sabbath. 30:05 That's why. 30:07 Let me show you another text, 30:08 go to the very end of the Bible, 30:11 the Book of Revelation. 30:12 That's our theme book here 30:13 for American Apocalypse this series, 30:16 and oh boy, don't miss next time. 30:19 Revelation Chapter 1. 30:21 Go to Revelation Chapter 1. 30:24 Verse 10 'cause we know 30:25 that John is has been incarcerated 30:27 for his faith, is a follower of Christ, 30:29 and they put them on this penal colony. 30:31 There's little rocky outcropping in the agency. 30:33 He can't swim anywhere. He's there. 30:36 Verse 10, Revelation 1:10. 30:39 "And on the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, 30:43 and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet." 30:47 Huh, Dwight, I told you, 30:49 that's all I was waiting for that text 30:51 because there it is. 30:52 That is proof that Sunday is in the Bible. 30:57 There it is. Look at. Dwight, do you have eyes? 30:59 The Lord's Day. 31:02 Are you serious? 31:05 Are you joshing me? 31:08 Are you telling me 31:10 that that one little phrase 31:11 tucked in at the end of the Bible 31:13 somehow erases the Creator's chiseled finger 31:16 scribbling in granite, 31:19 that wipes away 31:20 the Creator's gift of the seventh day Sabbath 31:22 of the human race? 31:23 Are you jump into that conclusion? 31:27 Man, don't try getting your exercise 31:29 by jump into conclusions that will kill you every time. 31:33 Be honest with me. 31:35 What are you saying about this little Lord's Day? 31:37 That everything gets obliterated 31:38 all of God's outpouring, 31:40 Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath is just gone now. 31:45 What do you mean that has referenced to Sunday? 31:49 What's the day Jesus is Lord of? 31:51 You tell me. 31:53 What did we just read in the fourth commandment? 31:55 The Sabbath of the Lord your God. 31:57 Didn't we read that? 31:59 Yeah, that's the Lord's Day. 32:01 You want the Lord's Day? That's it. 32:03 Jesus said, "I'm Lord of that day." 32:05 Look at Isaiah, 32:06 let's put Isaiah Chapter 58 on the screen here, 32:09 if God speaking, "If you call the Sabbath, " 32:11 he's talking about the seventh day Sabbath 32:12 because that's the only Sabbath the Bible knows, 32:15 "If you call the Sabbath a delight 32:16 and the Lord's holy day honorable." 32:20 What's going on here? 32:23 I have a day. 32:25 I've given you six days for you. 32:27 I have a day that I am Lord of. 32:32 The Lord's Day is the seventh day Sabbath. 32:37 Skip again, William McCarty on the screen, 32:40 "Biblical evidence 32:42 that the 'Lord's Day' meant Sunday 32:43 is entirely lacking. 32:45 As does the rest of the New Testament, 32:47 John in his own Gospel twice refers to Sunday 32:49 as the first day of the week,' not the 'Lord's Day.'" 32:51 He could have said 32:53 'cause it was written 40, 50 years 32:54 after the resurrection, he could have said, 32:56 "Listen, when Jesus rose on the Lord's Day 32:57 because y'all know that's the Lord's Day, right? 32:59 He could have put that in he did it 33:00 because nobody had ever heard of the Lord's Day, 33:03 as the day for Sunday." 33:06 The only way John refers to Sunday 33:08 is it's the first day. 33:10 The only day in the Bible that has a name, 33:13 a proper name, is the Sabbath, 33:16 when they did call the day before the Sabbath 33:18 a preparation day to get ready for the Sabbath. 33:21 That's all the way through the Bible. 33:24 So the Lord's Day is clearly in biblically. 33:28 Let's finish the quotation. 33:30 "The historical records reveal 33:33 that the first unambiguous connection 33:35 between 'Lord's Day' and Sunday 33:38 does not show up in Christian literature 33:39 until the second half of the second century, 33:43 many decades after John used the term. 33:45 Therefore, it is clear 33:46 that those who interpret the 'Lord's Day' 33:48 in Revelation 1:10 33:50 as Sunday do this 33:52 on the basis of extra-biblical," 33:54 it's not in the Bible, 33:55 you have to go outside the Bible, 33:57 "that is much later than the time 33:59 when John wrote Revelation." 34:01 Keep reading. 34:02 "This is an unsound methodology of biblical interpretation." 34:07 And I agree. 34:10 Clearly, the Lord's Day 34:12 is the only holy day, 34:17 the only Sabbath, 34:19 which is the seventh day, it's the Lord's day, 34:22 it's the day that Jesus is Lord of, 34:24 to go to a century and a half later in history 34:27 and grab the way the Lord's Day is used in 34:29 and bring drag it 34:31 all the way back in a New Testament 34:32 times to say, this is what it means. 34:33 You can't do that. 34:35 No scholar would do that. 34:37 You can't do that. 34:39 It's found nowhere but this one place 34:41 where John says on the Sabbath, 34:43 I was in meditation in prayer when Jesus showed up to me. 34:47 The Lord of the Sabbath shows up 34:49 on the Sabbath day to John. 34:51 Take that one. 34:54 What's the deal, Dwight? 34:55 Here's the deal. 34:57 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. 34:58 And by the way, when He dies, watch this, when He dies... 35:01 What's the day He died on? 35:02 Friday, Good Friday. 35:04 What's the day He rose on? Sunday. 35:05 What does He do on this day? 35:07 This is the seventh day. This is the Sabbath. 35:09 What does the Creator of the universe 35:11 and the Creator of the human race 35:13 and the planet called earth, 35:14 what does He do on the day He gave as a day of rest? 35:18 He rests. 35:20 Arrest my case. 35:23 He rest. 35:25 He could have risen on Saturday. 35:27 Why not? 35:28 No, I gave this to you to be our day together. 35:32 He rests. 35:34 He sleeps. 35:37 Wow. 35:39 I repeat if you're wanting law and order as a solution 35:42 to America's ills, 35:43 I'd suggest you go to God's law and a seventh day Sabbath. 35:46 And by the way, let me quickly add, 35:48 I am against any civil law that attempts to define 35:51 and legislate religious practice, 35:53 the religious practice of worship. 35:55 No law should tell us anything about worship. 35:57 It is not the domain of government. 35:59 It is the domain of the Kingdom of God 36:02 and only that domain. 36:05 Yeah, there's only one holy day. 36:08 There's only one Lord's Day 36:09 and it's the seventh day Sabbath day. 36:11 Well, how do we get 36:12 into this confusing mess, Dwight? 36:14 Come on. Tell me. 36:16 Okay, go to the Book of Daniel. Come on. 36:18 There's one line, the Protestant reformers, 36:21 Martin Luther, John Knox among them. 36:24 They went to the Book of Daniel 36:25 and they found this one line and they said aha. 36:29 Go back to the Old Testament. 36:31 I want you to see this in your own Bible. 36:32 Come on, Daniel. 36:33 Daniel is a little bit hard to find. 36:35 You'll run into Ezekiel real fast, 36:36 right after Ezekiel is Daniel. 36:38 So go to Daniel Chapter 7. 36:41 Because Daniel, 36:43 Daniel has just been shown four animal kingdoms, 36:47 their representatives, their symbols, 36:49 like the eagle is a symbol of the United States. 36:50 They are symbols of empires. 36:52 There's a Babylonian Empire. There's a Medo-Persian Empire. 36:55 There's the Greece Empire. 36:58 And then there's the Roman Empire. 37:00 And when we pick it up 37:01 and that Daniel has just seen this nondescript beast 37:05 with 10 horns and iron fangs roaring out of the water. 37:11 And Daniel is so stunned. 37:14 Once you see this. 37:16 Verse 8 Daniel 7. 37:18 Drop-down to verse 8. 37:21 All right, 37:22 "While I was thinking about the horns, " 37:24 there were 10 horns on this beast. 37:26 "While I was there thinking about those horns, 37:28 there before me was another horn." 37:30 Now keep reading, keep reading. 37:32 "A little horn, which came up among them, 37:35 and three of the first horns 37:37 uprooted before this little horn." 37:40 By the way, let me tell you about this little horn. 37:41 "This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being, 37:46 and a mouth that spoke boastfully." 37:49 When the apocalypse describes this same power, 37:51 it records it this way 37:53 with a mouth that spoke blasphemies. 37:57 You can only speak blasphemies to God. 37:59 This is a religious power. 38:02 And because it's symbolized by a horn, 38:03 it's also a political 38:05 because the horn in the Bible 38:06 is a sign of political strength. 38:08 So it's a religiopolitical power. 38:12 The reformers were clear, you know why they're clear? 38:15 Because of verse 25. 38:16 This is what convinced them. 38:17 When they saw this, they said, we know who that horn is. 38:20 Drop-down to verse 25, speaking of this little horn, 38:23 "He will speak against the Most High," 38:25 so he is antigod, antigod, we'll talk about Antichrist. 38:32 Anti means instead of or against. 38:36 "He will speak against the Most High 38:39 and oppress the Most High's holy people, 38:41 the saints, 38:42 and he will try to change the set times and the laws. 38:46 And the holy people will be delivered 38:48 into his hands for a time, times, and half a time." 38:50 That's three and a half years in Hebrew language, 38:52 three and a half years. 38:54 That's prophetic time. That's 1,260 days. 38:57 That's the long 38:58 the reformers are absolutely clear. 39:00 That is the long, dark, 39:01 bloody Middle Ages of Christian history, 39:07 the dark and Middle Ages, 39:08 which were ruled by one power, also in Rome, 39:15 the Antichrist. 39:18 And did you notice what the power wants to do? 39:21 The power wants to change set times 39:24 and holy laws. 39:29 Did the power do 39:31 what the reformers believed it did? 39:38 Well, let's ask. 39:39 Let's ask the power in all deference, and courtesy. 39:45 Have you changed anything in Christianity 39:47 since you came to power? 39:49 Rome answers now. 39:51 The answers will be on the screen. 39:53 These are her answers. 39:57 I have changed the Ten Commandments. 40:01 And I have changed the Sabbath. 40:05 Woo, set times, holy law. 40:08 Let's see. 40:09 Let's go to Rome, The Convert's Catechism. 40:11 This is a instruction book 40:12 for those who join the Roman Catholic Church. 40:14 It's a little Q&A form. 40:15 Question: Which is the Sabbath day? 40:17 Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day. 40:20 Question: Why do we observe Sunday then 40:22 instead of Saturday? 40:24 Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday 40:26 because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity 40:29 from Saturday to Sunday. 40:34 That's pretty clear. 40:37 But the beloved Cardinal James 40:40 given in his bestseller book, 40:44 Faith of Our Fathers, 40:45 he was an American Cardinal is just as clear, 40:47 but Cardinal given on the screen. 40:49 "You may read the Bible," the Cardinal writes, 40:51 "from Genesis to Revelation 40:53 and you will not find a single line 40:54 authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. 40:57 The scriptures enforce 40:58 the religious observance of Saturday." 41:02 Whoa! What's going on here? 41:03 Let's go to the Catholic Encyclopedia 41:05 and ask it. 41:07 Oh, the Catholic Encyclopedia responds, 41:10 "The church, after changing the day of rest 41:12 from the Jewish Sabbath of the seventh day of the week 41:15 to the first made the Third Commandment 41:18 refer to," 41:19 wait a minute, wait a minute, third commandment, 41:21 we just read the fourth commandment. 41:22 Oh, it's the third commandment for them 41:27 because there was a commandment that was a bit bothersome. 41:32 Commandment number two reads, 41:34 "You shall not make unto you any graven image." 41:40 And this power said, 41:41 "Let's remove that, please." 41:44 So it got removed. Oops! 41:45 We only have nine commandments now. 41:47 Well, that's not a problem. 41:48 Take the 10th commandment and cut it into. 41:51 And that's it now today. 41:53 That's why it's called the third commandment. 41:55 Now we know it's the fourth commandment. 41:57 Oh, but the law just got changed, didn't it? 42:02 Read it again. 42:03 "The church after changing the day of rest 42:05 from the Jewish Sabbath of the seventh day of the week 42:07 to the first made the Third Commandment 42:09 refer to Sunday 42:11 as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day." 42:15 Yeah, but, Dwight, come on, come on, come on. 42:17 If the Catholic Church claims to have changed 42:19 the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, 42:21 then why do most Protestant churches 42:23 were also worship on Sunday when they go by the Bible? 42:26 Well, that's a very good question. 42:28 The Catholic Church in fact asked that same question. 42:31 Why do you? 42:33 Notice this, down here at Notre Dame 42:35 he was a priest and a professor, 42:36 his name, John A. O'Brien. 42:38 He wrote the book The Faith of Millions. 42:40 We'll put it on the screen right now. 42:42 John A. O'Brien, the Late John A. O'Brien, 42:46 "But since Saturday, not Sunday, 42:48 is specified in the Bible, 42:50 isn't it curious that non-Catholics who profess 42:53 to take their religion, " 42:54 he's talking about Protestants, 42:56 "who profess to take their religion 42:58 directly from the Bible and not from the church," 43:00 he's talking about Rome, 43:01 "observed Sunday instead of Saturday?" 43:04 Why does that happen? 43:05 Well, "Yes, of course, 43:07 it isn't consistent," he writes, 43:09 "but this change was made about fifteen centuries 43:11 before Protestantism was born, 43:13 and by that time the custom was universally observed." 43:16 Keep reading. 43:17 "They," the Protestants, "have continued the custom, 43:19 even though it rests upon the authority 43:22 of the Catholic Church 43:24 and not upon an explicit text in the Bible." 43:26 They are not following the Bible. 43:28 Their Catholic Church says they're following us. 43:32 Keep reading one more line. 43:35 "That observance remains," O'Brien writes, 43:40 "a reminder, " to the Protestants, 43:42 "of the Mother Church," Rome, 43:44 "from which the non-Catholic sects 43:46 broke away like a boy running away from home 43:51 but still carrying in his pocket a picture 43:54 of his mother or a lock of her hair." 43:59 Mercy. 44:02 That wasn't for me. 44:04 That was from the Roman Catholic Church 44:05 to every Protestant in America today. 44:08 You have no reason to worship on Sunday 44:12 except as you return to the Mother Church. 44:14 Come on. 44:15 You have your mother's picture 44:17 in your pocket. 44:18 Don't you run away? 44:19 You got your mother's picture in your pocket. 44:21 It's time to come home now. 44:23 We need to do business together. 44:25 Come on home. 44:27 Isn't that amazing? 44:29 He didn't hear that from me. 44:35 So you see. 44:38 That is why I am against Sunday blue laws 44:41 as a law and order solution in America 44:44 because I fear blue laws one day will attempt 44:47 to legislate the wrong day, 44:49 the first day in place of the right day, 44:51 the seventh day, 44:53 and then I'm in a jam 44:54 because now the law says 44:56 I have to do what I know is not in the Bible. 45:01 Now come on, Dwight, 45:03 it's not gonna happen in America. 45:04 We're free to worship on any day we want. 45:08 My friend, my friend, my friend, 45:10 have you seen what's coming down the track straight at us? 45:11 Anybody looking up? 45:13 Anybody looking ahead? 45:14 What's coming down the track straight at us? 45:17 You can't be listening. You can't be watching. 45:19 You can't be thinking if you don't see it. 45:22 When I saw the President of the United States, 45:26 cross the road filled with protesters 45:28 outside the White House the other day, 45:30 carrying of all things in his hands a Bible 45:34 and posing for pictures in front of a church 45:36 across the street. 45:37 It was a somber reminder to me of Revelation 13 prediction 45:41 of what sadly will come true in this nation. 45:44 And I saw it in the in the flash 45:47 of that's camera snap. 45:51 A politician taking over and saying, 45:56 "Hey, I can do this too." 46:00 Wow, a prophecy about America 46:03 we're gonna examine 46:04 very carefully next time together, 46:05 please don't miss it. 46:07 The title American Apocalypse is the religious right, wrong. 46:13 Come on. 46:15 Straight down the track. 46:16 Straight down the track. 46:19 It's no wonder God's last law and order 46:22 appeared to the human race. 46:25 I mean, how can you talk about law and order 46:27 and reject the law of God? 46:28 Give me a break. 46:30 How can you talk about law and order 46:33 and reject the law of God 46:36 if you're a spiritual leader, 46:40 God's last passionate appeal to the human race. 46:43 He shouts out 46:44 the truth about the Creator and His Sabbath, 46:47 blend with this. 46:49 Go to Revelation, back to our theme book, 46:51 Revelation Chapter 14. 46:52 Now while you're finding Chapter 14, 46:54 I want the cameras to zoom in on this beautiful, 46:56 we call this the rose window. 46:59 This is a picture of the Second Coming, 47:02 it towers high above every act of worship 47:06 in this space. 47:07 And I'm glad the ancient pioneers made sure 47:09 that this was the picture, 47:11 a reminder of what it means to be an Adventist, 47:15 a Seventh-day Adventist. 47:17 Do you know where that picture comes from? 47:18 Leave that picture up, please. 47:19 I'm gonna read the words to you. 47:21 We're not gonna put them on the screen. 47:22 Drop-down to verse 14 in Revelation 14. 47:23 And I wanna show you that the artist is taking 47:25 Revelation 14 and designing the picture. 47:27 "I looked," John writes, 47:29 "and there before me was a white cloud," let's see. 47:31 Oh, we got the white cloud. Don't we? 47:32 "There before me was a white cloud, 47:36 and on the seated on the cloud was one like a Son of man, " 47:39 that's Jesus favorite title for Himself 47:40 so there we see Him? 47:42 Yes, we do. 47:44 "With a crown of gold on his head," 47:46 we got that, 47:48 "and a sharp sickle in his hand." 47:50 We got that. 47:52 Now, Dwight, why are you doing this? 47:53 Because I need you to know that Revelation 14:14 47:55 is describing the Second Coming of Jesus. 47:58 And immediately preceding these words 48:00 is God's passionate last appeal to the human race 48:03 in the form of three angels who have messages for humanity. 48:06 I want to go to the first angel for our last reading. 48:10 Go up to verse 6. 48:11 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, 48:14 and he had the eternal gospel." 48:16 Let's put that on the screen please? 48:18 "And he had the eternal gospel 48:20 to proclaim to those who live on the earth 48:23 to every nation, tribe, language and people. 48:25 And he said in a loud voice," 48:27 megalaphone with a megaphone, he cried out, 48:30 "'Fear God and give him glory, 48:32 because the hour of his judgment has come. 48:34 Worship him who made the heavens, 48:36 the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.'" 48:39 I want you to, I wanna, I saw a couple lines here. 48:41 First of all, the angel announces 48:43 the hour of God's judgment is coming. 48:45 You know what the angel is saying? 48:46 The angel is saying, "Listen, boy, listen, girl, 48:49 you got a conscience, 48:50 you have a voice that speaks in between your ears, 48:53 and you hear that voice 48:54 and you recognize it immediately." 48:55 It's the same voice I hear, by the way, 48:57 my conscience hears the same voice. 48:59 That voice has been telling you, 49:00 we are running out of time, we're running out of time, 49:02 we're running out of time, judgment is here. 49:04 Listen to that voice. 49:06 That's what the angel is saying. 49:07 Listen to my voice, 49:09 the voice of the Holy Spirit Himself. 49:11 I don't know 49:13 what he's been telling you lately, 49:14 but if you've been laughing it off, 49:15 if you've been saying, "Hey, another time, 49:17 I'll get to that. 49:18 I don't have time to deal with this now." 49:19 If you've been saying manana, you can't say manana anymore. 49:22 Today is the day. 49:24 Whatever you've been playing with, 49:27 whatever you're chained to, 49:29 today is the day that you get set free. 49:32 Dwight, it's not that easy. It is that easy. 49:34 Of course, there's a battle. 49:35 There's an enemy, 49:37 it will fight to the last drop of blood 49:40 for you. 49:41 Not on your behalf, but to hold on to you. 49:46 Behold, the hour of his judgment has come, 49:49 we're in it. 49:50 That's what the conscience is saying to me 49:52 and it's saying to you, 49:53 I wanna eye to that last line now. 49:55 "Worship him who made the heavens, 49:58 the earth, the sea, and the springs of water." 49:59 Do you know that this is a direct quotation 50:03 from the Septuagint, 50:04 which is the Greek Old Testament, 50:06 same words in the New Testament 50:08 and in the Greek Old Testament from the fourth commandment, 50:12 straight out of the fourth commandment. 50:13 God says, "I have one passionate appeal 50:15 to the human race, 50:16 and it's going to consist of the fourth commandment." 50:18 And what's the fourth commandment about? 50:19 I have a day, 50:20 I have a day you forgotten about. 50:22 I have a day most of the world has ignored. 50:24 I have a day it's the gift of myself to you, 50:27 you can no longer ignore it. 50:28 Come to me now. 50:30 Come now we're running out of time. 50:32 That's the day that Jesus is Lord of. 50:36 It's the seventh day Sabbath day. 50:39 There's only one Sabbath in the Bible. 50:41 The Lord's Day is the seventh day. 50:45 That's the day 50:46 that Jesus is calling the human race to, 50:49 I am your Creator, I know what academia has done. 50:52 The American Academy has no time 50:54 for Creator anywhere, 50:56 never mind the academy now. 50:57 We don't have time. 50:59 I am your Creator. 51:01 I made you. 51:03 And I'm coming back. 51:05 And I wish I were coming for you. 51:07 Come to me now. 51:09 Come to me now. 51:11 That's it. 51:14 That's it. 51:15 You know what it all comes down to? 51:17 It all comes down to authority, whose authority will I accept? 51:22 Whose authority has a right to command my allegiance? 51:26 Whose authority calls for my obedience? 51:29 Shall I obey my Creator who died for me? 51:33 Or shall I obey the Antichrist power 51:35 who could care less for me? 51:37 Whom will I obey? 51:40 And Peter and the boys, 51:43 the disciples were hauled in 51:44 before the authorities in Jerusalem, 51:46 and asked them to recant, 51:48 Peter cried out to the judges, we ought to obey God, 51:53 rather than man. 51:56 We ought to obey God rather than man. 51:58 As we'll find out next time, blue laws, 52:01 Sunday laws on steroids are headed this way. 52:05 I'll tell you about a meeting that's taking place 52:08 as we speak right now in Colorado. 52:10 I'll tell you about it next time. 52:13 They're pulling together. 52:15 The coalition is building. 52:19 Choose you this day whom you will serve. 52:24 If God is God, follow Him. 52:26 If Baal is god, follow him, but as for me and my house, 52:30 we will serve the Lord. 52:34 Amen and amen. 52:37 Take out your Connect Card. 52:38 It's on the screen here, pmchurch.org/connect. 52:43 And you go drop-down. 52:44 When you get to that page, 52:46 you drop-down to Connect 52:47 and you'll see this Connect Card. 52:48 We'll put it on the screen right now. 52:50 Our next steps. 52:51 My next step today is box number one, 52:54 I accept Jesus is Lord of the seventh day Sabbath. 52:57 Many of you are gonna put a checkmark right there 52:59 because it's easy too, you grown up with it. 53:01 There are people watching across this nation 53:03 and around the world right now 53:05 live stream and on the web and television, 53:09 for whom this has been a new teaching. 53:12 And I'm speaking to you right now. 53:14 If you're wrestling with this for the first time, 53:18 I want you to see that second box. 53:20 I need something, I need something to study, 53:22 send me something electronically. 53:25 You put your email address on that form 53:27 you see the spot for it. 53:29 I'll send you something electronically. 53:31 It's time 53:32 that you study this out for yourself. 53:34 Don't take my word for it. 53:36 Who am I? 53:37 I'm just a believer like you in that book. 53:39 Take the word of the Word of God 53:42 as the choice for why you do 53:44 what you do. 53:46 And it'll be clear to you, I promise you. 53:47 Box number three, 53:49 I'd like to be baptized into Christ. 53:51 For some reason, you put it off. 53:54 You're young, you got time, 53:55 you keep telling yourself you don't have time. 53:57 I keep telling you, you don't have time. 54:01 If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus, 54:03 and you are not baptized into Christ, 54:05 you just put a checkmark there and give me an email address. 54:08 We'll be back in touch with you. 54:11 Please. 54:12 It's time. 54:16 I'm gonna pray with you in a moment, 54:17 but you got to listen to our closing hymn. 54:21 Just three short stances, but just listen to this. 54:24 Don't move. Don't go anywhere. 54:25 Stay right here. We'll end with prayer. 54:55 We love Thy Sabbath, Lord 55:01 And worship at Thy will 55:07 Oh may these hours 55:10 Sweet peace afford 55:14 And deeper faith instill 55:23 Praise for Thy wondrous love 55:29 That sealed this sacred day 55:35 A sign 55:36 That all may understand 55:42 We own Thy sovereign sway 55:51 O great Creator King 55:57 Through Thy redeeming grace 56:03 Renew 56:04 And sanctify our hearts 56:11 That we may see 56:15 Thy face. 56:22 Oh great. 56:25 Oh, great creator King, 56:27 through Your redeeming grace, 56:30 renew our hearts, renew our lives. 56:36 We know where we are in the journey of time, 56:41 we see what's coming, 56:44 but you've called us 56:47 as children of the Creator and Savior 56:52 to stand tall for you. 56:54 And so, Lord, 56:56 enable every person listening now, 56:57 anywhere on this planet, 56:59 that same courage, that same trust. 57:05 The best is yet to come through our Lord Jesus, 57:10 in His name we pray. 57:12 Amen. 57:15 I wanna take an extra moment to thank you for joining us 57:17 in worship today. 57:19 It's by the continued support from viewers like you 57:21 that were able to bring you this program. 57:23 Today, I wanna invite you though, 57:24 to share with us 57:25 how this ministry has blessed you. 57:27 I get inspiring notes, emails from viewers, 57:29 literally all over the world telling me, look, Dwight, 57:31 God has been blessing me this way. 57:33 He's been doing this. 57:34 I would love to hear from you as well. 57:36 Just visit our website, 57:37 you know it newperceptions.tv 57:40 and click on the Contact link at the top of the page. 57:42 Send me a note. 57:43 Let me know what God has been doing 57:45 right now in your life. 57:47 Once again, thank you for being with us today. 57:50 I hope you'll join us right here next time. 57:52 And until then, 57:53 may the God of grace journey with you 57:55 every step of the way. |
Revised 2020-11-02