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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP201121S
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00:12 [ "Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart" begins ] 01:49 [ "The Lord Is My Light" begins ] 03:33 ♪♪ 03:41 >> This year we are especially grateful for health of us and 03:45 our families. >> And we are thankful that we 03:48 could spend far more time together, unexpectedly, and also 03:52 that we have a our little daughter in our life. 03:55 >> I am thankful for my family. In a time like this, when your 03:59 family members are the only people that you can really be 04:02 close to, you definitely can get on each others' very last 04:05 nerves, but I am grateful that they are there to keep me sane 04:09 and to keep me going. >> I am thankful for being able 04:12 to feel God's love and see His mercy even through the tiny 04:15 little things, despite everything that's been going on. 04:18 >> I am thankful for time spent in the presence of God. 04:22 I think it's just incredible that, as Christians, we can 04:26 abide and just find strength no matter what the year looks like. 04:29 So I'm thankful for God's presence. 04:32 >> I'm thankful for my friends because I get to hang out with 04:34 them, and it's really fun. >> I'm thankful for school. 04:37 >> I'm thankful for my family. >> I'm thankful for a place to 04:41 go where I can study theology and learn to become a pastor. 04:46 A place where I can grow in Christ in a place -- in a 04:48 community where people accept me and value the same things that I 04:51 do. I'm thankful for the church, 04:54 PMC, that allows me to attend the service and grow in Christ. 04:58 >> I am thankful for my friends, my family, and my -- yeah. 05:02 [ Laughs ] Everything. I'm thankful for everything. 05:04 >> I'm thankful for life because not everyone gets to be alive, 05:08 and not everyone has the opportunity to live today. 05:11 >> I'm very thankful for the many good things that have 05:15 happened in my life. >> We've been married 66 years. 05:19 We hope to the right kind of example for those who are 05:22 watching us day by day so that they could realize that love can 05:25 be wonderful and great, and we hope it lasts until the Lord 05:28 comes. >> I'm thankful for my 05:30 Andrews Academy friends. >> I am for grateful for growth. 05:33 This year has tested my faith, but it has also renewed it, and 05:38 it has made me see how much more I desperately need my Savior, 05:42 Jesus Christ. >> I'm thankful for God, my 05:45 heavenly Father, and for my Savior, Jesus Christ. 05:48 >> I'm thankful for my religion. >> I'm thankful for H2O. 05:52 >> I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who came into our world 05:56 to save us from our sins. I am also thankful for my 06:00 family, who cares and loves me. >> I am thankful for God being 06:06 in my life. He gives me joy, peace. 06:10 He forgives me, and he gives me a roommate as my spiritual 06:15 companion. God is good. 06:17 >> Thankful for my car and thankful for my racetrack. 06:21 Thankful for my sisters. Thankful for my mommy and daddy. 06:27 I'm thankful for my bed. >> I'm thankful for my family 06:33 and my friends and for my school and the church. 06:36 I'm thankful for God and for Him protecting us from this 06:41 pandemic. ♪♪ 06:52 [ "For the Beauty of the Earth" begins ] 08:21 [ "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" begins ] 10:20 [ "To God Be the Glory" begins ] 12:30 >> Before we plunge into this Thanksgiving -- the Sabbath before -- homily, I want to pray 12:37 with you. Father, now thank we all our God. 12:40 What shall we say except thank you? We're alive, we're here. 12:43 We've got our masks on, we're physically distanced. That's okay. 12:47 You're in this space, and we're here because we want to connect with You. 12:52 We have been all morning long, and now these last few moments in the Word of God. 12:56 Don't let that connection miss us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. 13:03 Somewhere in the Bible, there is a line that goes something like 13:08 this -- "He" -- speaking of God -- "He has placed eternity 13:12 in our hearts." In every human heart. 13:16 I don't care how you were born. I don't care who you are now. 13:19 You may say, "Listen, I'm really and atheist. 13:21 I'm just here because I'm with some friends." 13:23 Okay. Glad you're here. You say, "No, I'm really an 13:26 agnostic. I'm not an atheist. 13:27 I'm just not sure." Okay. Still glad you're here. 13:30 Say, "No, I'm a believer." Glad you're here as well. I don't care how you have come 13:34 to this moment in life, the truth of the matter is embedded in our psyches is this eternity 13:41 thing. What is this eternity thing? I found a book. 13:46 Oh, man, I'm glad for a friend of mine who gave me this book. This is a dynamite book. 13:51 It's written by John Eldredge. Title of the book, "The Journey of Desire: Searching for the 13:56 Life We've Only Dreamed Of." Something he writes in a paragraph just unlocks it for 14:01 me, and I have to share it with you. The big debate I had was, okay, 14:05 do I -- come on. Shall we put it on the screen, okay, so that we have the 14:09 quotation right here? But the more I wrestled with this, I said, "No, no, no. 14:13 If it goes into your eyes, it won't get to your heart." We got to do it so that it'll go 14:18 through your ears, and then your heart will hear what your ears are picking up. 14:23 So I'm gonna read it. It's just a short paragraph. I'm not gonna put it on the 14:26 screen. This is John Eldredge. He begins with the -- well, you 14:30 know him well -- the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal. 14:35 You've heard of Blaise Pascal, haven't you? This famous line of his, he 14:39 actually opens this paragraph up with Pascal's line, "The heart has its reasons, which reason 14:45 knows not." So the heart knows what can't be known up here. 14:49 "The heart has its reasons, what reason knows not." He's put eternity in our hearts. 14:56 Could that be it? Now, Eldredge goes on. "Something in us longs, hopes, 15:02 maybe even at times believes that this is not the way things were supposed to be." 15:08 This pandemic world that we're surviving in. "Our desire fights the assault 15:13 of death upon life." And so he gives these three illustrations. 15:17 "People with terminal illnesses get married." Why get married? 15:22 You're not gonna live that long. There's something in us. "Prisoners in a concentration 15:29 camp plant flowers." Why are you planting those flowers? 15:33 You'll never see them in your life. And here's another one. 15:37 "Lovers long divorced still reach out in the night to embrace one who is no longer 15:44 there." He says, "It's like the phantom pain experienced by those who 15:49 have lost a limb." You've heard about phantom pain? "Feelings still emanate from 15:55 that region where once was a crucial part of them, and they will sometimes find themselves 16:00 being careful not to bang the corner of a table or slam the car door on a leg or an arm long 16:05 since removed. Our hearts know a similar reality. 16:12 At some deep level" -- this is good -- "at some deep level we refuse to accept the fact that 16:17 this is the way things are, or must be, or always will be." He has placed eternity in our 16:24 hearts. There is this subliminal sense that there is something more. 16:35 And I'm not there yet. I really was blessed by reading G.K. Chesterton, one of the 16:42 bright and witty writers, English writers, of the 20th century. 16:46 His book "Orthodoxy." So I read the book through, and then I came across a line that 16:50 just -- whoa! This is G.K. Chesterton. He was an agnostic. 16:54 And then he discovered that Jesus Christ is a real being and personal Savior, and he became a 17:01 believer in Christ. And then he wrote, later, after becoming a Christian, "Now I 17:08 could understand why I could feel homesick at home." Homesick at home. 17:20 Do you ever feel homesick at home? I mean, why am I feeling 17:25 homesick? This is where I live. Something deep inside of you is 17:29 longing for a place you are not there yet. I'm feeling homesick at home. 17:39 Oh, I got to put this line on the screen. I want to tell you something. 17:42 This is the first time I've ever done this. Do you know that the physics 17:48 major that put this PowerPoint program together that you're about to see, got tested the 17:54 other day -- he's positive. He can't leave campus. Some of you are leaving in a few 18:00 hours. He has to stay in that prayer apartment. 18:03 You know that place. So he's watching right now. So he's not up there switching. 18:11 I'm gonna do it right here. Please pray for me. If nothing happens here, we'll 18:18 just have benediction. We'll go. I mean, that's it. 18:21 Alright, here's that line. "He has placed eternity in our hearts." 18:27 I'm homesick at home. Something is in here that has been embedded in me. 18:31 I don't care what you believe or don't believe. "He has placed eternity in our 18:37 hearts." Could it be that we have been made to live somewhere else? 18:42 Somewhere that is COVID-19-free? Somewhere that is racially fractured-free? 18:47 Somewhere that is politics-free and pain-free and perplexity-free? 18:52 Could it be we're not where we're supposed to be? "He has placed eternity in our 19:01 hearts." Turns out it's been that way from the very beginning in this 19:10 "pandemic of sin" planet. For a moment I want to go with you to the ancients. 19:16 Take your Bible out. They are like we are. Watch this. 19:19 Go to the Bible's Hall of Fame, Hall of Faith chapter, Hebrews chapter 11. 19:24 Come on. This is dynamite. Look at these ancients. 19:27 Hebrews chapter 11. That's the New Testament, near the end of the New Testament. 19:31 Hebrews chapter 11. And let's drop down -- let's drop down to verse 13. 19:38 Hebrews chapter 11. I'll be in the New International Version. 19:43 Come on, how did they live back then? You'll see it. 19:46 You'll immediately recognize this. Verse 13. 19:49 "All these people --" these ancients -- "were still living by faith when they died. 19:53 They did not receive the things promised." Unh-unh. 19:56 "They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners..." 20:01 if you have the New King James Version, it reads "pilgrims." 20:05 There's a word for Thanksgiving. "...admitting that they were pilgrims, they were foreigners 20:10 and strangers on earth. People who say such things show they are looking for a country 20:14 of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they 20:19 would have had opportunity to return." Nah-unh. 20:22 "Instead, they are longing for a better country -- a heavenly one. 20:26 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." 20:33 He has imbedded eternity in their hearts. The ancients knew it. 20:38 "I'm homesick, and I'm home. What's wrong with me?" Ah! 20:44 Something deep within your psyche tells you you're not home yet. 20:50 What is up with this? Ted Dekker, in his whimsical book, "The Slumber of 20:55 Christianity: Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth," captures the grip of hope and 21:01 hopelessness we all in this COVID-19 moment are experiencing together -- hope and 21:06 hopelessness. Let's go to Dekker... 21:25 When I talk about this pandemic world, this crisis that doesn't seem to want to let go of us, 21:32 there's not a soul here right now, watching online right n-- I don't care where you live on the 21:37 planet right now, there's not a soul wresting between hope and hopelessness. 21:42 Dekker goes on... 21:55 That's talking about Loma Linda or Worthington Foods. That's what they're talking 21:58 about, I'm telling you. That's what he means. He didn't know how to say it, so 22:00 he put it that way. [ Chuckles ] Here -- Speaking of desire, "A new red Corvette." 22:06 You know what? Hit the pause button right there. 22:09 This last week, about four or five days ago -- remember when it was still warm around here? 22:14 I saw a guy, I'm telling you the truth. I don't know -- I think it might 22:18 have been a yellow 'Vette, a yellow Corvette, T-top, the top is off, and this guy is just 22:23 showing off, driving around with his blond hair blowing in the wind, and I say "Show-off." 22:28 [ Laughter ] "Have you see Toyota Camry?" [ Laughter ] 22:35 Aw, man. You could dream. It's okay to dream. This desire you have, this hope. 22:40 "A new red Corvette, a beautiful home." Mm! 22:43 "A long vacation in Europe. The renewed health of an ill child..." 22:47 There's not a parent here that's experienced that that doesn't know the meaning of that hope. 22:52 "...or the renewed health of an aging mother." I've been through that. 22:56 "These are among the many hopes that motivate our daily lives. Everything we do is driven by 23:02 hope or hopelessness in one form or another." Now, get this last line... 23:14 So, listen, we're talking about Generation Z on this campus right now, the most 23:18 self-identified "I have mental health issues" generation in the history of American education. 23:23 And most of them will identify, "I have depression." I'm not challenging that for one 23:29 second. What's depression about? It's about sadness. 23:33 What's sadness about? It's about hopelessness. "I've lost hope. 23:38 I've lost hope." Some of you know exactly what that feels like. 23:41 Your roommate has lost hope. You're still going strong. Your roommate has lost hope, 23:46 that kid across the hall, that kid across the classroom. You know what she's going 23:51 through. Hopelessness. We live with it. This battle between hope and 23:58 hopelessness. Welcome to our world. Man, no more face-to-face 24:02 teaching. No, we're all going remote. Yep. We got a two-month vacation, 24:07 then you got to come back again. Maybe it'll be remote then, too. Don't know. 24:11 Who knows? Hopelessness. Mortuaries running out of space. [ Clicks tongue ] Yeah. 24:23 What's that's line? What is that line? "He has placed eternity in our 24:30 hearts." Something inside of us knows, I am homesick, and I'm home! 24:34 Why am I homesick at home?" There's something been imbedded in you. 24:38 That's why. You were made to live somewhere else. 24:42 It's amazing that, when God liberates that horde of slaves from Egypt, sets them free in 24:49 the mighty Exodus, do you know that what God immediately starts doing is tapping into this 24:55 eternity imbedded in even a slave's heart? I'll show you how God did it. 25:00 Do you remember that roaring green bush that didn't burn? It stayed green. 25:04 Do you remember that? The bush stayed green. Moses is standing in front of 25:08 it, and the voice says, "On your knees in front of me. You're on holy ground now." 25:12 And God booms from that bush. I want you to notice what he says. 25:16 Look at this. This is Exodus 3:17. "And I have promised to bring 25:20 you and the children of Israel up out of your misery in Egypt --" isn't that good? 25:24 This life of misery is not destined to last forever and ever. 25:28 It will not last forever and ever. God is going to pull us out of 25:32 this land of misery one day. "I have promised to do that for you. 25:36 And I'm going to take you into a land flowing with --" what? Come on, milk and honey?! 25:42 Do you know that, for 40 long, dusty, wilderness years, it's that thought of milk and honey 25:46 that just kept Israel going. I'm telling you what, if I'd had have to live those 40 years, I 25:51 don't think milk and honey would've done it. I mean, would you be real jazzed 25:55 about milk and honey? What are you talking about, graham crackers? 25:58 [ Laughter ] Milk and honey. 20 times in the Old Testament, 26:03 God is keeps talking about, "Milk and honey, milk and honey. Oh, you can hardly wait. 26:07 Milk and honey, milk and honey." What's milk and honey about? I found one commentator who 26:12 said, "Well, what it's really about is that milk and honey were the simplest and choicest 26:16 productions of a land abounding in grass and flowers --" which the land of Canaan was -- "and 26:20 were found in Palestine in great abundance." That's the big deal. 26:24 It's going to be a land just flowing with milk and honey. In fact, 1,000 years after the 26:29 Exodus, 1,000 years later, God is still dangling that "milk and honey" promise. 26:33 He does it to the young prophet Ezekiel. Watch this. 26:37 They're all in Babylon. They're in exile. This is Ezekiel chapter -- Oh, I 26:41 guess I changed it. This is Ezekiel 20:6. God says, "And on that day I 26:47 swore to the children of Israel that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched 26:52 out for them." There's a land that God has picked out for you and me, too, 26:57 by the way. He has searched it out. "A land flowing with milk and 27:02 honey." And now I want you to notice -- only Ezekiel will you read this 27:07 line. "The most beautiful of all lands." 27:10 I'm looking behind your masks, and I'm realizing we have people from Brazil. 27:14 We got people of course from the USA. We've got people from Africa. 27:19 We've got people from Asia right now. When God calls Israel the most 27:23 beautiful of all lands, that was true for a Jew. That's not true for me. 27:29 ♪ America, America ♪ God shed his grace on thee ♪ And crown thy good with 27:35 brotherhood ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea For me, the most beautiful of 27:39 all lands is my homeland. But it's your homeland, too. But the fact of the matter is, 27:44 whether it's your homeland or mine, we can be sitting in the middle of our homeland and be 27:49 homesick for somewhere else. "I have planted eternity in your hearts." 27:56 Wow. He's placed eternity down deep, right now. 28:06 I got to read that again. Come on. Hebrew 11. The ancients. 28:10 This is the deal behind this passage here. "All these people were still 28:14 living by faith when they died." They were homesick, and they were at home, but they were 28:18 homesick for somewhere else. "They did not receive the things promised." 28:21 No, they didn't. "They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting 28:25 that they were foreigners, pilgrims, strangers on earth. People who say such things show 28:29 that they are looking for a country of their own." That's what they're saying. 28:33 "If they had been thinking of the country they had left," they would have gone back. 28:37 But they didn't go back. Why? "They were looking for a better country -- a heavenly one. 28:43 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared --" that's the key word 28:50 right there. "He has prepared a city for them." 28:54 Less than 24 hours from now, He will be dead and buried, but before He dies, He speaks words 29:02 that'll become the favorite words of Christians throughout the generations of two millennia 29:10 who have returned to these words again and again, and I want to return to them with you right 29:15 now. John chapter 14. Let's read it out loud together. 29:18 "Let not your heart be troubled..." Come on, keep reading. 29:22 "In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have 29:26 told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare --" 29:31 There's that word, "Prepare, prepare, prepare." And if I go and prepare a place 29:36 for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself --" come on, out loud -- "that where I 29:42 am, there you may be also." He has placed eternity in our hearts, embedded in our psyches 29:50 even if we never have heard of John 14:1-3 for one second of our lives. 29:57 Something subliminal like phantom pain, a phantom hope that longs for what's not there 30:07 to be there. Wow. There was that old gospel 30:13 song -- Did you ever hear that gospel song, by the way? ♪ I'm homesick for heaven 30:17 Am I the only guy that's heard that? Have you ever heard that? 30:20 ♪ I'm homesick for heaven ♪ Seems I cannot wait ♪ Yearning to enter Zion's 30:27 pearly gate ♪ ♪ There never a heartache, never a care ♪ 30:32 ♪ I long for my home over... there. Homesick. 30:39 Jesus' promise is as good today as the night He made it before 30:43 He died. I guess the question that begs 30:46 to be asked is, listen, if we've got this eternity, this longing 30:50 for another home, subconscious and subliminal, what in the 30:54 world is that home to be? Ohh, I got to share this with 30:59 you. Years ago, I came across this in 31:01 Christianity Today magazine, a piece by Harry Blamires. 31:06 He makes a point I had never seen before, and it just clicked 31:09 with me then, and I got to share it with you. 31:12 I dug it up. Harry Blamires on the screen. "If only we could have the 31:17 positives of earthly life without the negatives." Oh, that's a thought. 31:23 "But that is precisely what heaven has to offer -- the removal of the negatives..." 31:29 Now, watch this... 31:44 "Within the universe ruled by time, the happiest marriage ends in death." 31:51 Bad news. "The loveliest woman becomes a skeleton." 31:56 Bad news. "Fading and aging, losing and failing, being deprived and 32:02 being frustrated -- these are negative aspects of life in time." 32:07 Life in eternity will liberate us from all loss, from all deprivation." 32:14 Man, that clicked with me. The only way that I can picture heaven --" Think about this. 32:20 The only way that I can picture heaven is if I think of the negatives. 32:26 What's not there? What's not there? Eliminate all those negatives, 32:34 I have heaven on earth. My. It's no wonder these words are 32:42 often read at a funeral.] Come on, one last time to the Apocalypse. 32:47 Revelation chapter 20. This is a bonus part to the 10-part series we've already 32:54 finished. Chapter 21, excuse me. Chapter 21. 32:57 This is a bonus part, so now there are 11 parts to it, but we needed this. 33:02 Revelation 21:1. Let's just read this together. I want you to count the 33:10 negatives. I'm gonna tell you that there's seven. 33:13 See if this number bears up, corroborates with your own counting here. 33:18 "Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth --'" quotation marks. This is straight from 33:22 Isaiah 65. This has been a promise from the beginning, the Old Testament 33:27 promise. "Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth --'" This is John. 33:30 This is John boy now, the elderly John. He's incarcerated on this penal 33:35 outcropping in the middle of the azure waters of the Aegean Sea. There's water, water, water 33:40 everywhere. He's writing now. He says, "And then I was shown. 33:43 Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth,' for the first heaven and the first earth had passed 33:49 away, and there was no longer any --" what? Isn't that amazing. 33:54 Negative number one. Write it down in your mind. There's that first negative. 33:57 There is no longer any sea, because water stands between John and those he loves. 34:01 The closest people on earth to him are beyond the horizon, water as far as you can see. 34:08 No more separation in heaven. No more anything coming between you and me. 34:13 There will be no more. There's negative number one. There will be no longer any sea. 34:17 Keep reading. "And I saw the Holy City --" Remember Hebrews 11 said they're 34:20 looking for a city? Here it is. "I saw the Holy City, the new 34:24 Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for 34:29 her husband." Aw, that's just a beautiful picture. 34:32 Wow. "And I heard a megale phone -- I heard a megaphone loud voice 34:36 from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will 34:41 dwell with them. They will be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be 34:46 their God." How would you like to wake up one morning and realize God is 34:50 living next door? I mean, would that be something or what? 34:54 Living next door to the Almighty. That's what it's gonna be. 34:59 Keep reading. Now here they come. Okay, how many negatives do we 35:03 have so far? We got one, okay. "He will wipe every tear from 35:07 their eyes." Pause button. There's negative number two. 35:11 "No more tears." Okay, we got two now. "He will wipe away every 35:14 tear --" hallelujah -- "from our eyes. There will be no more death." 35:17 That's number three. "There will be no more mourning." 35:20 That's number four. "There will be no more crying." That's number five. 35:24 "There will be no more pain." That's number six. "For the old order of things has 35:28 passed away." The old order, number seven, is gone. 35:32 Seven negatives! "He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything 35:37 new.'" "I've got good news for you earthlings. 35:40 Everything's gonna be new." "And then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are 35:45 trustworthy and true.'" Can I get an amen to that? These words are trustworthy and 35:51 true. This COVID-19 hell that some of us are moving through right now 35:57 will come to an end. You can count on it. "Take this to the bank in my 36:02 name," God says. Wow. He had to do it by negatives. 36:10 Isn't that amazing? Hey, I want you to see if I missed any negatives, okay? 36:13 So I put a little list together. That okay? I'm gonna read my list to you, 36:17 the "no, no, no, no more of this, no more of that." Here's my list. 36:22 There'll be no more hospitals in heaven -- true or false? Come on. 36:25 In between services, I got a text from a friend of mine saying, "Dwight, I'm in 36:29 excruciating pain. They're gonna have to go in. I've got crushed disks." 36:37 No more hospitals. No more divorce courts. No more prisons, jails, 36:45 penitentiaries. No more food stamps. No more sleeping bags or garbage 36:51 bags for the homeless. No more homeless, no more friendless. 36:56 No more chemo, no more COVID. No more abuse. No more bankruptcies. 37:02 No more anger, no more arguments, no more fighting, no more killing, no more robbing, 37:06 no more crime, no more hatred, lying, cheating, losing, and sinning. 37:10 No more. None of that will be in heaven. Did I leave anything out? 37:16 There'll be none of it, whatever you think of. There'll be none of that either. 37:19 It won't be there. How did Blamires put it? Let me look back here. 37:24 How did he describe it? He said it's the removal of the negatives. 37:28 That's what heaven will be, the removal of the negatives. Aw, but come on, let's not end 37:34 with the negatives, what will not be there. I say let's end -- Before I sit 37:38 down, let's end with the positives, alright? We'll end with the positives. 37:42 What will be in heaven? And let's go to our friend Ellen White. 37:47 Hey, Ellen, would you mind helping us out please? We want to know what are the 37:50 positives, okay? So I got these from her. Here are seven of them. 37:53 I'll run them by you. Those of you that are list takers, you Pinterest people, if 37:58 you want lists, here's a list now -- seven positives. We know what the seven negatives 38:02 are. Let's do the positives. Let's go. Alright. 38:05 Positive number one. Jesus Himself will be in heaven. Can I get an amen to that? 38:10 I mean, come on, folks. Here she's writing... 38:18 If Jesus is not gonna be in heaven, do I want to go? No, I don't want to go. 38:23 Jesus bought me. He bought my life by dying for me forever. 38:29 He thought He was dying forever. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" 38:36 If Jesus isn't there, I'm not going. But of course He's there. 38:44 Wow. In fact, you know what? Speaking of negatives, the only 38:48 negatives that will never be banished from the universe -- watch this -- the only negatives 38:53 will be when you take Jesus' hand and right here you will see an ugly purple scar, and you'll 38:58 see another one that matches it here, and right here, you will see a large scar where a Roman 39:04 lance went through. And right here, you'll see little tiny scars all over his 39:10 forehead, and you ought to see his back, and you ought to see his ankles. 39:14 Those will be the only evidence of the negatives left in the universe, and one day, you and I 39:19 are gonna sit beside Jesus. We'll take turns, and we'll draw numbers. 39:22 And we're gonna have that moment, and we're gonna hold His hand, and you know what you're 39:26 gonna do? You're gonna burst into tears. You'll start crying. 39:30 You say, "I'm a tough man. I don't cry." Oh, yes, you will. 39:34 When you hold the hand of your Savior, when you hold the hand of Jesus, you don't think you're 39:39 gonna be crying? You'll be crying. And I'll be there, saying, "See, 39:43 I told you." [ Laughter ] Nah, Jesus will be there, folks. 39:50 Of course. Positive number one, Jesus Himself will be there, but watch 39:54 this -- positive number two. The Father Himself will be there. 39:58 Ohh, same teenage girl who grew up to write, as she did... 40:19 There are some of you here, listen to me, who have never deeply loved by a father in your 40:24 life, and you know it, and God knows it, and nobody else does. You have never been deeply loved 40:30 by a father in your life. I have some very good news for you. 40:34 One day, you're gonna be in the presence of your Father who has always been your Father, whose 40:40 love is so strong it will nearly suffocate you as He reaches out to embrace you and you know at 40:46 last the meaning of a father's love. I promise you. 40:54 Positive. Positive number one, Jesus is there. 40:59 Positive number two, the Father is there. And, oh, I love this one. 41:03 Positive number three, our guardian angel. This place is filled with angels 41:08 right now. They're kind of smiling. They're enjoying this moment 41:12 with you. Your guardian angel will be there. 41:15 Listen to this, same little teenager growing up to become the most published American 41:19 female author in the history of America. Here are her words. 41:23 "Every redeemed one will understand the ministry of angels in --" I'm just gonna 41:29 turn these all to "you." "Every redeemed one will understand the ministry of 41:33 angels in your own life, the angel who was your guardian from your earliest moment, the angel 41:39 who watched your steps, who covered your head in the day of peril; the angel who was with 41:44 you in the valley of the shadow of death, who marked your resting place, who was the first 41:50 to greet you in the resurrection morning --" that angel -- "what will it be to hold conversation 41:56 with that angel and to learn the history of divine interposition in the individual life, of 42:02 heavenly cooperation in every work for humanity." That angel is gonna say, "Hey, 42:06 girl, do you remember that day, there was -- something just went [Exhales sharply] and you said, 42:15 'What was that?' You remember that day? I was there. 42:20 That was a cement truck one split second off, and you'd have died a lot younger than you did. 42:31 That was me." "Are you serious?" Yeah. 42:37 Can you imagine having a conversation with your angel? "You remember that day, girl, 42:43 boy, when you were crying your eyes out? You didn't want any boy to see 42:47 you crying, but you were crying your eyes out. You were trying to connect with 42:51 the Father in heaven that you simply could not connect with. You were crying so hard, I was 42:56 crying with you, and I kept you from hurting yourself. That was me." 43:04 When we hear the story through another set of eyes and ears and a friend, oh, man. 43:13 Positive -- What is this, positive number three? Come on, is there another one? 43:18 Yep, positive number four. God's friends through all history are gonna be there. 43:23 Oh, this is good. This is the same writer... 43:33 "...the harmonious social life in heaven with the blessed angels and --" now, keep 43:38 reading -- "and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made 43:43 them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together the whole family in 43:49 heaven and earth." What will it be? These help to constitute the 43:53 happiness --" We're not gonna be in heaven all alone. We're gonna be together. 43:59 And with every friend God has ever had in the history of the human race, we're gonna be 44:02 together. So, who do you want to talk to when you get to heaven? 44:05 Come on, tell me. Who do you want to talk to when you get to heaven? 44:09 Ah, you want to see your mother because you didn't get a chance to say goodbye to your mother. 44:13 Of course, of course. Who else? Outside of your immediate family, who else? 44:19 Some of you had to write a term paper on the Book of Romans for that religion class you had to 44:25 take. You have a big question for Paul -- "Why were you so 44:28 confused when you wrote the book?" Please be polite to him. 44:32 He is the author, and he'll explain it. Can you imagine sitting down 44:36 with Paul? Maybe it's Moses. You were always fascinated with 44:40 law, and so you wanted to sit down with a real lawgiver and find out how that mind, that 44:45 brilliant mind worked. Maybe you want to sit down with Martin Luther? 44:48 What's wrong with sitting down with Martin Luther? Will Martin Luther be in heaven? 44:51 Are you kidding? How about William Miller? "Hey, William, what was it like 44:55 preaching the end of the world, 'Jesus is coming soon,' and then have the whole community laugh 45:00 you to shame? What do that feel like? Tell me a story. 45:05 We had to go through something down here after you that I'll tell you about after you're 45:10 through telling me." You'll sit down and talk with somebody. 45:16 Can you imagine? Is that a positive? Are you k-- Of course it is. 45:20 What is this? Number five. Positive number five. Heaven will be there. 45:23 "Come on, Dwight. You're playing games now." No, no, seriously. 45:27 Have you thought about what heaven is? Read this... 45:38 She writes... 45:55 Now, this gets even better. Watch this. One more line. 45:59 "If we could have but one view of the celestial city --" So let's say that I said, "Hey, 46:03 listen. I'm gonna give you five minutes in heaven. 46:06 Five minutes. Just look at everything you can, and then you have to leave." 46:09 Listen, "If we could have but one view of the celestial city, we would never wish to dwell on 46:15 earth again." I might as well tell you that the author of those words, on 46:23 occasion, would say, "I don't want to go back. Let me stay. 46:28 Please, just let me stay." To us, this is a glorious Sabbath. 46:34 The stained glass windows are bright with the light of heaven. Do you know how dim this is in 46:42 the real place? Wow. [ Chuckles ] Positive number 46:47 six. Advanced learning -- Oh, you didn't think a university 46:50 community could get by without this one? Positive number six, advanced 46:54 learning will be in heaven. Is that good news or what? 'Course it is. 46:58 Don't shake your head. It's good news. [ Laughter ] 47:02 "There --" Hey, this is really cool. This is cool. 47:05 "There --" speaking of heaven -- "when the veil that darkens our vision shall be removed, and our 47:12 eyes shall behold the world of beauty of which we now catch glimpses through the 47:16 microscope." Do you know what's gonna happen in heaven? 47:18 You're gonna pick a flower, and you're gonna go like this. [ Exhaling sharply, hissing ] 47:25 You go straight into the heart of that flower. What took a microscope before, 47:30 you'll do it with your own eyes. Do you understand what heaven's gonna be like? 47:35 And let's flip it around, because she does. Here's the next line. 47:38 "When we look on the glories of the heavens --" I went out walking early yesterday morning. 47:43 I mean, Orion, the whole heavens were just ablaze with glory. When we look on the glories of 47:50 the heavens, the stars, now scanned afar through a telescope..." 47:54 Can you imagine that? [ Exhaling sharply, hissing ] I mean, they do it on sci-fi. 48:00 Can't God do it? Probably doesn't have the sound effects. 48:04 [ Laughter ] You say, "I want to see Pleiades." 48:07 [ Exhaling sharply ] "Wow. The Seven Sisters. Come on, guys. 48:15 You know what we've been thinking about heaven? "I'm sitting on this little 48:19 cloud and playing a 10-string harp. I'm so sick and tired of sitting 48:22 on that cloud, playing that harp. I'm ready for anything." 48:26 Heaven is not that. Heaven is a real place. God has imbedded a longing for 48:30 heaven in your heart so that, one day, you're gonna walk through that door and say, "This 48:36 was the home. This was the home I was looking for." 48:41 Oh, my. But there's one more. There were seven negatives. Here's the seventh positive. 48:48 Positive number seven -- Ooh, there's more on six. "When the blight of sin is 48:54 removed, the whole earth shall appear in the beauty of the Lord our God. 48:57 What a field will be open to our study!" Do you understand that, when the 49:02 effects of sin are erased from the biology lab, you have even more wonder? 49:07 Sin has done a number on all of us. One more. 49:14 All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed." 49:18 This is this advanced learning business. "Unfettered by mortality --" 49:22 listen, we can live forever -- we will wing our tireless flights to worlds afar." 49:28 You're gonna explore the whole universe! Don't you tell me, "Oh, what a 49:34 drag. I got to go to heaven now." Never. 49:37 Alright, positive number seven. The people we witness to will be there, as well. 49:43 The way you've been living across the hall from that kid, he's been watching you like a 49:49 hawk. He's picking up a lot about Jesus just by watching you. 49:53 The way you've been working with that girl at the reception desk every time you come into your 49:59 office. 50:00 You're there, you drop a little word of grace into her 50:06 consciousness. One day, God is gonna reap what 50:11 you sowed. Can you imagine what heaven's 50:14 going to be like when you begin to meet these people? 50:18 Watch this, "Great Controversy," the last quote from the 50:21 apocalyptic classic. "The redeemed will be sharers in 50:24 His joy --" Jesus' joy -- "as they behold, among the blessed, 50:28 those who had been won to Christ through their prayers, through 50:31 their labors, and their loving sacrifice..." 50:33 Are you praying for some lost person today? 50:35 Good for you. Don't stop. 50:38 One day, when that lost person says, "Hey, my guardian angel tells me you're the one that you 50:43 prayed me into this place -- I want to tell you how thankful I am that you didn't quit," do 50:49 you know what kind of payoff that will be? You can't buy it. 50:56 Wow. "Gladness unspeakable will fill your heart when you behold those 51:03 whom you have won for Christ and you see that that one has gained others and these still others, 51:10 all brought into the haven of rest, there to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet and to praise Him 51:17 through the endless cycles of eternity." One became two became four. 51:21 You didn't know this. You just did that one. That's all God asked of you, but 51:26 He knew [Exhales deeply] all of them will be there because of you. 51:32 Don't quit praying. Don't quit living out Jesus' love. 51:36 You're getting on a plane to go home? Live it to the people on that 51:41 plane. Don't take for granted that everybody in that dormitory is 51:45 destined for heaven. You keep living Jesus to the neighbors you have. 51:52 Wow. "He has placed eternity in our hearts." 51:56 That's it, ladies and gentlemen. And on the eve of another Thanksgiving, this one darkened 52:05 and gloomier than the Thanksgivings past, we need to still live with hope, hope that 52:13 this, too, shall pass, hope that Christ shall come soon, hope that our destiny and our 52:19 destination one day soon will be heaven. Hope, hope, hope. 52:24 And then the homecoming? Oh, my. Oh, my. I want to end with this. 52:32 Henry Gariepy in his book, "100 Portraits of Christ," tells about Theodore Roosevelt. 52:38 You remember Theodore Roosevelt the former president? He was a big hunter. 52:43 He goes on a safari to the continent of Africa -- big hunting safari. 52:47 It's a great success. When he comes back to his ship, mission accomplished. 52:53 The crowds are there in that African port to cheer him on as he ascends the gangplank, 52:59 cheering on the former president of the United States of America. He steps onto that boat. 53:04 Every preparation has been made for him. There is a suite above all 53:08 suites that he will occupy. He has stewards serving him hand and foot, night and day. 53:15 He is the center of life on that transoceanic voyage. Also boarding that ship much 53:23 later was another passenger. He is an old missionary going home from Africa. 53:35 His wife is dead. His children are gone. There's nobody to welcome him on 53:44 board. He makes that voyage all alone until that sailing vessel lands 53:49 in San Francisco, where the story is repeated again because the former president will now 53:56 descend the gangplank, basking glory as the bells ring and the whistles sound and the crowds 54:04 gather to cheer the former president who has returned. And when all the commotion is 54:12 over, there's a little old man with a duffel bag that descends the now-empty gangplank. 54:21 He finds a hotel in that city, and in that little room that night, he kneels down beside his 54:29 bed, and he prays. "Lord, I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining, but I 54:40 just -- I just don't understand it at all. I gave my life for You in 54:48 Africa. And I just -- I don't understand it." 54:54 And then in the darkness, it was as if God reached down from heaven with His warm hand upon 55:03 the wrinkled shoulder of that missionary, and God whispered, "Missionary, you're not home 55:12 yet. You're not home yet." When you gather with your 55:20 whomever -- maybe it's just you at a little table this Thanksgiving or you will be with 55:27 a few others. Would you remind them for us we are not home yet? 55:37 And, oh, my, there is a homecoming being planned -- I tell you what, there ain't ever 55:42 gonna be a welcome-home party like the one they're gonna throw when you walk through that gate. 55:50 We are not home yet! Pass the word, and pray the prayer, even so, "Come, 56:01 Lord Jesus. Amen." Let's pray. 56:06 Oh, God, You have placed eternity in our hearts, but we're not home yet. 56:14 We get it. So, please, don't let hope be snuffed out. 56:19 Keep eternity flickering brightly in our hearts. And may Jesus, who promised to 56:28 return, come soon, so that where He is, we may be also -- all of us, all of us right here right 56:38 now, all of us going home together with Jesus. Amen. 56:52 >> Thank you for taking the time to join us in worship today, 56:56 I'd like to spend another moment with you here 56:57 at the end of our program to share a word of hope. 56:59 In fact, that's what this little book is all about. 57:02 In these uncertain times -- and let's face it, they're uncertain 57:04 all over this planet -- this book entitled "The Great Hope" 57:08 will help you understand not just what God has planned 57:10 for your future but for the future of the entire 57:12 human race. Light keeps shining 57:15 on this dark old world, and new truths long forgotten 57:17 are being constantly rediscovered. 57:20 If you need a fresh dose of hope for your life these days 57:22 or you know somebody else who could sure use 57:25 that gift of hope, then I'd like to invite you 57:27 to grab your phone. Dial our toll-free number, 57:29 877, the two words "His will" -- 877-HIS-WILL -- 57:33 And at no charge to you, We'll get a copy in the mail 57:36 to you right away. Till the next time we meet, 57:39 may the peace and hope of the Lord Jesus 57:42 be with you 24/7. 57:47 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:06 ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-12-02