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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP210206S
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00:12 [ "Champion" begins ] 02:03 >> Let's hear those parts. Do it again. 05:15 >> We're gonna sing that one more time. 05:16 You are my champion. 06:14 [ "Authority" begins ] 09:24 This part is powerful. 09:54 Let's hear those voices. 11:26 Amen. You know, I'm gonna read a Scripture to you. 11:34 I promise that I picked this song before I found out what the Scripture was. 11:37 And you know, that's how the Holy Spirit works sometimes -- actually, I think, all the time. 11:41 He is so intentional. So intentional that He puts the right verses in the right places 11:47 at the right time with the right people saying it. I'm reading from the NLT, 11:53 New Living Translation. This is from my Bible. I wanted to bring my Bible this 11:58 morning 'cause I believe there's something powerful when we read it from our Bible that we talk 12:02 to God every morning with. So read with me. Acts 1:6-8. 12:07 "So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you 12:14 to free Israel and restore our kingdom?' He replied, 'The Father alone 12:20 has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 12:25 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.'" 12:30 That power of the Holy Spirit. "'And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me 12:36 everywhere -- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the 12:42 earth.'" My friends, we're pretty far from Judea. 12:45 I'd say we're close to the end of the earth compared to them. Take that to heart as we sing 12:50 this next song -- "Not Yet I But Through Christ In Me." 12:54 [ "Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me" begins ] 16:08 With every breath. 17:48 ♪♪ ♪♪ >> Nice work. Went well. 18:12 Thank you, gentlemen. ♪♪ Let's talk to Him. 18:21 O God, that's quite -- quite the testimony. We were singing it in our 18:27 hearts. "To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus. 18:33 All the glory evermore to Him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, 18:41 'Yet not I, but through Christ in me.'" "Yet not I, but through Christ 18:50 in me." That's our prayer right now. 18:54 In Jesus' name. Amen. 19:00 What if I told you that angels are showing up in the middle of 19:05 the night in dreams, alerting the dreamer that Jesus is soon 19:13 to come? Would you believe it? 19:16 What if I told you that Jesus Himself is showing up in the 19:22 middle of the night in the middle of a dream and warning 19:28 the dreamer, "I'm coming soon"? I have a group of friends who 19:34 have put a website together, and on the home page of the website, 19:38 these words. "Have you had dreams of a Man in 19:43 White? Did He call you to follow Him? 19:46 Contact us about your dream. We will help you." I could not believe my eyes when 19:52 I saw the post after post after post on that website of people who have had that very dream, 20:01 as the they answered the question, "Have you seen a Man in White?" 20:07 I got a handful of them right here. Just three. 20:10 The names have been changed. This goes back to the end of November to the end of January. 20:15 They're coming in by the dozens a day, hundreds over these last three months. 20:22 Here's one from -- we'll call him Hamad. "In my dream I saw an angel 20:29 pointing me to see something behind me. I turned my head. 20:32 I saw a cloud of angels, and in the middle a man in white dress sitting on a throne, His face 20:40 shining like the sun. He told me, 'Be ready. I am coming soon.' 20:47 Then I woke up." Here's one from a dreamer named Emir. 20:54 "I had a dream of a man in white clothing, full of light. He handed me a book with Arabic 21:00 words on the cover. He told me to read it carefully because it is important for my 21:05 life and future. I asked Him why? He said, 'The day of judgment is 21:09 near. I am coming soon. You need to be prepared and help 21:13 others too.' Then I opened it and read, 'Fear Allah and give Him glory. 21:18 The Day of Judgment is near, and worship the Creator of all things.'" 21:23 If you recognize those words, they're straight from the Apocalypse. 21:26 "Then I woke up. I was so happy. I will not forget these words. 21:30 But what does this dream mean?" Here's one more. Abram. 21:36 "I had a dream. I saw a man sitting on throne. I saw many angels worshiping Him 21:42 and singing, 'You are worthy to have all the glory.'" What we just sang. 21:47 "Then the man looked at me with a smile and said, 'Do you believe in me? 21:52 I am the beginning and the end. I love you so much. I want you to have the best 21:59 life.' Then I knelt down in my dream, and I started worshiping 22:03 Him. He then touched my head with His hand, and I saw a scar. 22:08 Then I woke up. Please, can you help understand my dream? 22:14 Thank you." By the way, every one of these posts, by the hundreds, is 22:20 answered by friends of mine in either English or in Arabic, the two languages with which they 22:26 come in, and a correspondence is thus begun. You surprised that angels would 22:32 be showing up in the middle of the night in the middle of dreams, warning that Jesus is 22:35 coming soon? Jesus Himself, this man in white, showing up? 22:39 Are you surprised? You ought not be. I mean, look at the Gospels. 22:44 Look at Acts. They're showing up all the time. I mean, what do we have? 22:49 We have a pagan wife of the Roman procurator. Pilate's wife. 22:54 "I saw a man in white in my dream. Have nothing to do with him." 22:57 Hmm. We have a pagan centurion named Cornelius. 23:01 An angel in white shows up. "You will look for a man. Ask for Peter. 23:06 He's in the town of Joppa. And here's the address." Paul has a dream. 23:12 An angel shows up dressed like a Macedonian across the water, saying, "Yo, come over to 23:17 Macedonia and help us over here too." Angels. They're everywhere. 23:22 Peter, Paul, the apostles. Prison doors swing open. The earth quakes. 23:29 The jail collapses. Hey, listen, so why would it be surprising, then, if angels are 23:39 showing up in dreams as we come closer and closer to the return of Jesus? 23:47 Why wouldn't they show up? "Yeah. I tell you what, Dwight. 23:54 I know what it is. It's the devil. He's doing this." 23:58 You got to be kidding me? The devil? Do you know what? 24:03 Why would the devil be sending people to find Jesus so that they can get saved? 24:07 That's absolutely ludicrous. Jesus Himself said it -- "A house divided against itself 24:12 cannot stand." No, no, no, no. I believe the Bible. 24:17 Yes, I do. And I look at the book of Hebrews, and here's a line. 24:20 Hebrews 1:14. "Are not all angels ministering spirits?" 24:25 They're not wimpy little wisps plucking at their musical instruments. 24:31 They are a militant army, and this planet is engaged in a life-and-death battle to the 24:39 last boy and girl alive. "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who 24:48 will inherit salvation?" So last night this was all done, we put the PowerPoint together, 24:52 and I'm brooding over this. I'm saying, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute." 24:57 If these angels are showing up by the hundreds and thousands all over this planet, you know 25:04 what that means? That means if God wants to, just like that, He can finish 25:10 everything He started." And then I remembered a verse, and we just stuck this slide in 25:15 between services, and I'm gonna put it on the screen for you. I want you to find it in your 25:19 own Bible if you've got your Bible with you. Romans 9:28. 25:25 Everybody knows Romans 8:28 -- "All things work together for good." 25:28 This is 9:28. Don't you ever forget this verse. 25:31 Paul is making a point here. "For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and 25:36 finality." Like that. The old King James put it this 25:40 way -- "For God will finish the work and it short in righteousness." 25:43 When God is ready to go, it is over. Suddenly people are having 25:49 dreams. The Islamic world -- one billion people to be reached by Christ 25:55 in a hurry, and now they're showing up. God isn't just twiddling his 26:00 thumbs. God has an urgent mission, and I can't believe He's invited you 26:06 and me to share that mission. Can you believe it? Wow! 26:14 [ Snaps fingers ] Just like that. Hey, listen, by the way, my man, 26:18 if you're playing around right now, and you're saying, "I got time. 26:22 I'm just a teen. I'm just a teen. I'm sitting up in the balcony. 26:26 I got time," I'm telling you what. The time you think you have, you 26:30 do not have. You do not have. Just like that [Snaps fingers] 26:37 God could say, "Stop. It's over. I know you waiting for some big sign. 26:41 It's over." We can't wait. If you're playing around, it's 26:46 time to wake up. That's what the dreams are telling me. 26:50 And I didn't have one of those dreams, but there's a website with hundreds of them. 26:54 Amazing, amazing. "Yeah, well, Dwight, lookit, lookit. 26:58 This is God's mission, right, and these are His messengers? So why doesn't God just use His 27:02 messengers and finish the work Himself?" Great idea. 27:04 We ought to ask Him. You know what He would say? "Yo, yo, yo. 27:07 Thank you for that suggestion. I might do it one day myself." But let me tell you about 27:12 parents. In case you've never been a parent yet, there isn't a father 27:15 alive who, when his child, who is doing a chore with Daddy, grabs that hammer and says, "You 27:20 know what, boy? You know what, girl? You're making a mess of this. 27:23 Look at all these hammer marks. Go play with your own toys. I'll finish the project myself." 27:28 There isn't a dad alive. My mother may not need me, but my mother wants me. 27:32 Do you know why she wants me? Because when we work together, Mother and me, this is how it 27:37 happens. When a parent and child work together, this is the proximity, 27:40 and it goes like this, and it get tighter, and it gets tighter. 27:43 The more they do together, the tighter the bond gets. In that time of sharing, there's 27:49 passage of values. There's sharing of a vision. There's a vital life strategy 27:54 that is being communicated. There is no way on earth and under heaven the Father is ever 27:59 going to stop this mission and say, "I'm just gonna do it myself. 28:02 You guys are wasting my time." He will not do it as long as you're alive and as long as I'm 28:07 alive. We have to be in this mission. It's not for Him. 28:11 It's for you, it's for me. Something is happening to us when we work with Father. 28:19 Once upon a time, that man in white was resurrected and showed up that evening in the circle of 28:25 his closest friends on earth, and He spoke words we have left unquoted. 28:30 He spoke words we have seemingly ignored, but we can ignore them no longer. 28:34 I want you to go back to the Gospel of John, please. The Gospel of John 20, 28:38 where we have been before. John 20. Take a look at this moment 28:43 again. Now you're gonna see the line that we've left out. 28:46 Now it's time. Here we go. John 20:19. 28:52 I'll be in the NIV. "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the 28:56 disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came" -- 29:01 shoom! He's there. "How'd you get in?" 29:04 "Jesus came and stood among them and said" -- "Salaam." That's how you say it in Arabic. 29:09 "Salaam." "Shalom" in Jewish. "Peace be with you" in English. 29:15 And watch this -- "After He said this" -- What does it say there? What does He do? 29:21 He shows them his sides and His hands. Why is He doing it? 29:25 Because scars are an I.D. marker. How many of these posts you will 29:33 notice, the man had scars in his hand. Why is He showing them His hand? 29:38 "He touched my head. I saw the scar." Because it's identifying who the 29:44 man in white is. You say, "Oh, the devil could do that." 29:47 The devil can't do that. Can't do that and then exude this spirit of divine peace. 29:54 "I love you." You can't do that in the devil. Devil hates you. 29:58 He can't even fake it to you. Why does He show his scars? Because, "It's me. 30:05 You remember me?" He shows them his scars, and the disciples, "Now I got it!" 30:11 They're "overjoyed when they saw the Lord." And now Jesus again says, 30:14 "Shalom. Salaam." "'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am 30:19 sending you.'" And we've stopped it here every single time, but today no 30:24 longer. Here comes verse 22. "And with that Jesus breathed on 30:28 them, and he said, 'Receive the'" what? "'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" 30:34 I imagine Jesus going around the room. He's just given them their life 30:38 commission. Myanmar, America, it doesn't matter. 30:42 And Trudi, you're from Myanmar, so this headline that we've been tracking is a big deal, as you 30:48 mentioned, Don, in your prayer. Jesus walks around the room. "Yo, Matthew. 30:53 Hey, Matthew, come here. [ Exhales slowly ] Receive my Spirit. 31:00 James and John. Bros, you're sitting together again. 31:03 [ Exhales slowly ] Receive my Spirit. Peter, where are you? 31:08 Peter. [ Exhales slowly ]" I imagine Him going around the 31:12 room. And what would you do if Jesus suddenly materialized, as he did 31:15 in that upper room, right now in front of you as you are in worship in the 31:18 Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University? Right now He shows up. 31:21 Would you receive it if He said, "Hey, girl, boy. [ Exhales slowly ]"? 31:29 Wouldn't you love it? Boy, I would. Would you drive Him away? 31:33 "No, I don't want You breathing on me. It's a pandemic." 31:36 [ Laughter ] He wouldn't even wear a face mask if He showed up. 31:42 "No, breathe on me. Breathe on me." There's an old gospel hymn that 31:46 goes like this... ♪ Breathe on me, breath of God ♪ Fill me with life anew 31:52 ♪ That I may love what Thou dost love ♪ ♪ And do what Thou wouldst do 32:00 It's a beautiful old prayer. I'm gonna put the prayer on the screen with the prayer that you 32:05 will memorize this prayer. Jesus has just breathed on his disciples, and He's willing to 32:09 breathe on you and me. There's that prayer now. 32:17 "Breathe Your Spirit on me today." What would happen if every day 32:20 you and I prayed it? I'm gonna tell you something. I pray that prayer every day. 32:24 That's not because there's something special about me. No, it's because I need 32:28 something special in me. That's why. I need Jesus in my every single 32:32 day of my life. >> Yes. Amen. >> O Jesus, breathe on me today. 32:40 What would happen if before we left that dormitory room we were praying that prayer, before we 32:44 left the house in the community, we were praying that prayer? "Fill me with the Holy Spirit 32:48 today. I don't know what's coming today. 32:50 I don't know it all, Jesus, but breathe on me. Breathe your Spirit on me." 32:55 Why would he want to breathe on you? Because we have been entrusted 32:58 with a critical message. The message is one line long. Now the message comes in the 33:02 right place. No, it doesn't. There you go. "The Maker of all things" -- 33:08 Read it out loud with me. I don't know what's going on up there, but don't worry about it. 33:10 Let's just do it right here. "The Maker of all things" -- Read it out loud with me. 33:14 "The Maker of all things loves and wants me." Do you know what, ladies and 33:17 gentlemen? That is the truth about this Book, that's the truth about the 33:20 God of this Book, that's the truth about Jesus, that's the truth about the angels. 33:24 Why are the angels showing up all over this planet? Because the Maker of all things 33:28 loves and wants me. That's why they're showing up. They are passionate to save as 33:33 many of the human race. Do you understand? They love you. 33:39 Little ol' me. I got an angel standing beside me right now. 33:44 Don't you laugh at that. I had a lady who was once involved in the occult come 33:48 through line, and she went to the back door right there, and she said, "I saw your angel 33:53 standing beside you as you preached." I said, "No." 33:57 She said, "I saw it. I saw him." She had been so long in the dark 34:02 world that I think the veil -- there's some way that people have a certain proclivity to 34:08 pierce the veil. That's no big deal. You got an angel standing right 34:12 beside you right now. Why are the angels here? Because the Maker of all things 34:17 loves and wants me, that's why. Breathe on me, Jesus. Breathe on me Your Spirit so 34:21 that I won't fuddle-duddle this message up. It's so simple. 34:25 The beauty of this message is, if you'll repeat that message to yourself every day, you'd go out 34:31 exhilarated because you know that the Maker of the universe is in love with you. 34:36 I'm not talking about the kind of love between a boy and a girl. 34:38 I'm talking about the deep kind of love that a father has for his children, that a mother has 34:42 for her child. It's that kind of love. That's the kind of love. 34:46 That's why you were born. He chose you to be born. 34:50 You're no accident. I don't care what your parents 34:52 tell you. You are no accident at all. 34:55 You're here because the Maker of all things loves and wanted you, 34:59 and He got you. All right, so why would we pray 35:02 this prayer? Because we need the Holy Spirit. 35:04 Not only because we have a critical message, but because we 35:08 have a compelling mission. And what was that mission? 35:10 "Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend 35:15 to man." That's what Jesus did. He just went around loving on 35:19 people. That's what He did. He just kept loving on people. 35:22 That's why He built his house by the side of the road, because that's where human traffic is 35:26 the thickest. He loves being around people. You can be as introverted as you 35:31 are, you can be as introverted as I am. But when you build your house by 35:35 the side of the road, you're with people, and the Spirit that is breathed into your life, that 35:43 Spirit energizes you, and you're able to do what you never would have thought you could do. 35:50 Little ol' you? Introvert you? Yeah. 35:53 It works. The Spirit is the one who does it. 36:00 "Let me live in a house by the side of the road, and let me be a friend to man." 36:04 Because you know what? You're never gonna know if you're meeting somebody who's on 36:08 the verge of dying. I don't know. That person desperately needs a 36:11 friend. That person desperately needs somebody to assure her, to 36:15 assure him the Maker of all things loves and wants me. You will only meet those people 36:19 in the trafficked thoroughfares of life. Stay where the people are. 36:23 There's a tendency among academics to hide in their corners and to just live in 36:27 silence thinking great thoughts. Those great thoughts still need to be thought, but you need to 36:32 think them in the context of a world swirling by, and your students are that trafficked 36:37 world. You hang around those students. You just hang around them. 36:40 You live with them. They're your mission field. And students, guess what. 36:48 The faculty can be your mission field as well. Why? 36:53 Because they are people too. And some days it is only the grace of God that gives them 36:59 enough energy to stand in front of you and do remote and live simultaneously. 37:05 Trust me. it's the grace of God. We all need each other. We need to be loved on. 37:11 That's why Jesus hung around people. That's why he built his house by 37:14 the side of the road. Because He wanted to love her, to love him. 37:18 I mean, lookit. They didn't even know. Lookit, they're climbing the 37:21 stairs together. They have no idea what's gonna happen on these stairs, but 37:26 fortunately for Peter, in the morning he prayed the prayer, "Breathe on me, O Jesus, Your 37:31 Holy Spirit today. Yes, you did it back in the upper room. 37:34 I was there. You breathed on me. But Jesus, I need it today and 37:37 today and today for the rest of my life." Fortunately he prayed that 37:40 prayer, because the Holy Spirit answered it. He said, "Yo, Pete. 37:43 You're going up these stairs. I think today would be a great day for a miracle. 37:47 You see that guy up there? Let's do it. Hmm? You okay with that?" 37:51 And in one [Snaps fingers] strong impression, Peter now knows what the Holy Spirit has 37:57 commanded him to do. And as he and John are climbing the stairs together, he stops. 38:01 "Stop, John. Yo, lame man, born lame by the gate beautiful. 38:10 Look at us. We have no silver and no gold. But what I have to you, I give 38:17 to you now in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Get up and walk!" 38:24 And that big old fisherman's hand goes down and grabs that bony wrist, and the man 38:30 explodes. Legs -- vegetables all his life -- are now strong. 38:37 Hey, that wasn't Peter pulling that off. Don't you go around thinking 38:40 Peter. That was the Holy Spirit. He prayed that prayer at the 38:43 beginning of the day, and the Holy Spirit says, "Today's the day." 38:46 I want to tell you something, my young friend -- or not-so-young friend -- the day is coming. 38:49 Mark my words. The day is coming when you will hear that same mighty third 38:53 person of the Godhead speak, and you will recognize His voice, and I'm telling you, once you 38:58 start listening to the Holy Spirit, you will never forget the sound of His voice 39:02 again. Trust me. You will hear His voice, and He 39:06 will give a command that will startle you out of your sandals. And He'll say, "This is the 39:13 moment. I want you to do it [Snaps fingers] right now. 39:17 Say it." "I'm not gonna say it. Not to Him. 39:21 Please." "Say it." I don't know what it will be. 39:25 It may be one day He'll say, "I think it's time for a miracle. Do you mind asking? 39:33 Let's pray." And you do. And a miracle occurs. 39:38 The day is coming when you'll be that strategic. You're strategic now. 39:42 You just don't need the big guns now. The angels will show up when 39:48 they want in the dream. You need to just show and love. Just show up and love on them. 39:55 Oh. Remember that line, we shared it a few days ago? 40:04 "Jesus, breathe Your Spirit on me today." Boy, that prayer, you just pray 40:08 it every day. But here's the line. Here's with it all restored. 40:13 "As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you -- receive the Holy Spirit." 40:20 So pray the prayer. This classic on Jesus's parables, "Christ's Object 40:26 Lessons." You remember the line. "The last rays of merciful 40:29 light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of 40:33 love." The last message, the last message. 40:36 You know how the message will be delivered? It's you loving on people. 40:39 It's you loving on people, the message will be communicated. 40:42 But I promise you, just sentences away from this, a little further in that same 40:47 closing chapter, just a little further, here comes this line. "It is the love of God 40:52 continually transferred to [you and me] that enables [us] to impart light." 40:56 When the love of God is poured into you, you suddenly have light. 40:59 I don't know how it works. But people know when they see you, "That guy knows what he's 41:05 talking about. Look at him." People know when they hear you, 41:09 "That girl knows what she's talking about. Look at her." 41:12 You can't see a bloomin' thing. It just likes little old you. But when the love of God is 41:19 poured out into your heart, suddenly you now transfer light to those around you. 41:25 Now keep reading. Here's the next line. "In the great and measureless 41:30 gift of the Holy Spirit are contained all of heaven's resources." 41:36 You know what that's telling you? You know what that's telling me? 41:39 "Hey, you got it all right here. Everything you need to be on my mission, I got it for you." 41:48 So, what do you need? You say, "Well, listen, I could use a little courage." 41:52 Oh, good, just ask Him. Boom! You'll get it. He has the courage you need. 41:56 What do you need? "I need money." "Are you serious? 41:58 Is this money that you're gonna spend on yourself?" "No. 42:01 I need this to help somebody else." He'll give you that money. 42:06 You're standing in front of somebody, and you're saying, "I could never -- I could never -- 42:10 not to this person. I could never even bring this up." 42:12 In that moment, you ask for wisdom. Luke 12:11-12. 42:19 William, from the NLT. It's really powerful in the NLT. Jesus says, "While you are 42:24 standing there, the Spirit of my Father will give you what to say." 42:28 "While you are standing there." There's nothing He doesn't have for you. 42:33 Do you know He wants you to succeed? Do you understand every gift He 42:36 has is for you? Who's He supposed to give it to? The rest of the universe? 42:40 No, these are gifts for His Earth's children. He has a gift. 42:45 Every day, just keep asking Him. Keep asking Him. "I need that gift. 42:48 Today I need another gift." Go ahead and ask Him. "Keep asking me," Jesus says. 42:51 "Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened unto you. 42:55 Just keep asking me." O Jesus, breathe on me. Breathe Your Holy Spirit on me 43:02 today. That one gift brings every other gift with it. 43:06 That's not a bad prayer to pray. And when you need the other gift? 43:09 I was doing it just a moment ago. I said, "I really need this 43:12 gift." [ Snaps fingers ] He said, "Dwight, glad you 43:15 asked. I thought you were gonna get up and preach this whole thing and 43:18 not ask." And just like that, I'm telling you, I said, "Wow. 43:25 This stuff is true." And it is. Ahh. 43:37 I'm gonna tell you a story. Every gift that you need is offered you in the gift of the 43:48 Holy Spirit, but I need you to know that the news is even better than that. 43:55 When you offer God your life to be in service, to be "on mission" for Him, there's a 44:01 bonus gift, I promise you, there is a bonus gift, and I'm gonna tell you about that gift right 44:07 now. Because you've probably heard the story about the cowboy out 44:10 West. He's stuck in one of those sudden winter blizzards. 44:17 He's riding his mount. He's clinging to that thick neck for his life. 44:23 And it feels like he's dying. That cutting wind slices like a knife. 44:29 Pieces of his ear, it feels like piece by piece they're being torn off. 44:34 His appendages, even covered in leather as they are, seem like knuckle by knuckle they are 44:39 disappearing. He knows that he is about to die. 44:43 He is about to freeze to death. And the shriek of that blizzard. And he hugs that faithful 44:54 stallion's neck, and blindly they proceed into this whiteout, when suddenly in the pale light 45:02 of a whiteout, he sees something dark just ahead of him, lying across the trail. 45:10 He jumps from his mount. He wades through the drifts. And he looks down. 45:18 It's the corpse of another traveler. Couldn't make it to shelter. 45:27 Dead. But instinctively the cowboy drops to his knees, throwing off 45:32 his leathers, he reaches down. Is there any flesh here? The cold neck he feels. 45:37 Is there any pulse? Is there any pulse? And finally, faintly, a weak, 45:43 slow [Imitates heartbeat] And now, moving into adrenaline emergency mode, he throws 45:50 everything off, and he goes to work on this corpse, every appendage -- the arms, the 45:57 chest, the neck, the face. Slapping the face. "Wake up! Wake up! 46:01 You're gonna make it! You're gonna make it!" But the man is dead. 46:07 If only there were a stand of trees. He just needs a shelter to cut 46:12 out this killer wind and sandblasting snow. So he picks up that body. 46:19 He hoists it. He hoists the body, throws it over his shoulder, stumbles 46:24 back to his mount, to the horse, and he rolls the traveler over on that horse. 46:30 He gets up beside the traveler. He's trying to keep him -- he's slapping him. 46:34 He's talking to him. He's doing everything. He needs some shelter, some 46:38 stand, and through the snow they plod. And there's a stand. 46:45 Reverses everything, jumps off the horse, grabs that body, hoists it over his strong 46:50 shoulders, and the cowboy, now wading through drifts, heads to the lifesaving stand of trees. 46:58 Drops the body to the ground. Back to the saddle. 47:02 Unties his buffalo-skin cover. And he wraps that body, keeping 47:08 open where he can keep massaging, massaging the chest, 47:12 slapping the cheeks, moving the hands. 47:16 "Breathe! Breathe! You can make it! 47:19 I have to have a fire." His fingers numb, he goes into 47:22 his leather bag. He's looking for kindling, some 47:26 flint, something so that he might start -- Sure enough, 47:29 underneath the snow dropped dead pine needles. 47:31 He ignites the pine needles, finding everything nearby that 47:34 he can. He tends the fire, and he 47:36 returns to the man. The cowboy now is sweating, the adrenaline is so high. 47:46 He grabs his little tin pan, puts it now on the fire. He melts the snow. 47:50 the snow turns to cold water, then it turns to warm water. And he takes a cup of that warm 47:55 water, and he goes up to the dead traveler with the cracked, frozen lips, and he said, "Drink 48:01 this, drink this, drink this." And you guessed it. Both of them survived that awful 48:09 night in that terrible storm. You know why? Because one traveler came across 48:21 another traveler who was dying and dropped everything he did to save this traveler. 48:31 And in the energy he expended to save this traveler, he ended up saving himself. 48:39 I'm telling you, that's the bonus gift. You didn't know this, but 48:46 John 20:21 was placed in order to save you and me. It's not to save the world, it's 48:53 to save you and me. Because when you and I are involved in mission and suddenly 48:58 now we love on people that we never loved on before, we care for people we never cared for 49:04 before, in that moment when we begin to focus our energies on saving this life, we get saved 49:09 in the process. In the words of Flannery O'Connor, the American 49:17 short-story writer, as she put it, "The life you save may be your own." 49:27 I'm telling you the truth. That's the bonus, when you do this. 49:34 It's your life. O God. Man. 49:44 Show us. When we pray this prayer, dear Father, dear Jesus, breathe the 49:53 Holy Spirit on us. We were never meant to do this alone. 49:58 We don't have to do it alone. We have the God of the universe, our closest friend, who'll do it 50:06 through us. Send us to those travelers. They're down, but they're not 50:12 out. They're Yours, and we claim them for ourselves. 50:18 Use us any way You wish. We pray in the name of the Maker of all things, who loves and 50:28 wants us, loves and wants the whole world. Amen. 50:35 I want you to go to the Connect Card, please. If you guys up there would 50:40 change it for me, that would be great. All right, pmchurch.org/connect. 50:45 "My Next Step Today." It's a beautiful next step, so let's put those up. 50:48 Number one, "I choose to pray it each day -- "O Jesus, breathe Your Spirit on me today." 50:53 You're not promising me anything, but you can say, "Jesus, by Your grace, wake me 50:57 up" with that prayer. Every day, please. Box number two -- "If the 51:02 Holy Spirit offers 'all of of heaven's resources,' then I want to begin asking for gifts that 51:07 will strengthen my mission for Jesus." And by the way, if you want to 51:10 know what those gifts are, there are dozens of them. Just read the book of Acts 51:14 through, and you'll see gifts, and one of those gifts may jump off the page to you, and that's 51:19 the Holy Spirit saying, "Why don't you ask for this one? I see you and this one being a 51:23 good fit." Why not? Ask for the gifts. 51:26 There's a storehouse in heaven, and there's a box on it with your name. 51:30 But until you ask, nobody's gonna crash your party. You have to ask for the gift. 51:36 You'll get it. And ask for another one tomorrow. 51:39 And just keep asking until Jesus comes. And let's go to the next box. 51:44 "I want to know more about being sent by Jesus and becoming a student missionary." 51:48 I heard from Teela over in the Center for Faith Engagement, and she said, "Hey, Dwight, if 51:54 you're gonna make an appeal, would you ask students to consider becoming a student 51:58 missionary next year?" She says, "People think that because of the pandemic, this 52:02 whole thing is off." No, it's not off. You can build your house by the 52:06 side of the road in any country on this planet right now. They'll let you in. 52:09 You may have to be masked, but who cares? They still need love. 52:14 You can go where Jesus sends you. "As the Father sent me, I'm 52:17 sending you." You want to know about what to do, call CFE. 52:21 Get ahold of Teela and say, "Hey, listen." But if you put a check mark 52:26 here, here's the deal. If you put a check mark right here, add your e-mail address. 52:30 Please include your e-mail address. We'll send all of the names over 52:32 to Teela, and she'll be in touch with you, and she'll let you know -- you're not committing to 52:36 anything. You're just saying, "I'm curious about this. 52:39 Send me more information," and they'll send you more information. 52:41 And finally, box number four -- "I'd like to follow Jesus in baptism by water and the 52:45 Spirit." Jesus said you want to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, you 52:49 got to be baptized by water and the Spirit. You need both. 52:53 You say, "I've already been baptized by water." Good. 52:55 Well, then, you're praying the prayer every day. "O Jesus, breathe on me Your 52:59 Holy Spirit today." But if you haven't been baptized by water yet -- and we're 53:03 getting requests every single week. God bless you. 53:05 You can be baptized during a pandemic. Trust me. 53:08 You can be baptized during a pandemic. It'll be a beautiful experience. 53:12 If you'd like to be baptized, just put a check mark there, and we'll be in touch with you. 53:16 Singers, I love the song that you've chosen to end our teaching this morning. 53:22 "Rescue the Perishing." Thanks for doing it. 53:26 [ "Rescue the Perishing" begins ] 56:55 >> Before you go, let me take an extra moment to share with you 56:58 an opportunity to get into the Bible in a fresh, new way. 57:01 All across the world, more and more people are hearing the call 57:04 to examine Scriptures for themselves. 57:06 If you've felt drawn to learn more about God's Word, but you 57:09 don't know where to start or you're just looking for a more 57:12 in-depth examination of Bible truths, then I have something 57:14 right here that I believe you're gonna enjoy. 57:17 I want to send a series of guides to get you started. 57:19 This one's entitled "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" 57:22 Each guide begins with a story, an introduction of the subject. 57:25 Then, through a series of focus questions, you'll be learning 57:28 portions of the Bible you may never have known before. 57:30 And when you're through, you'll be able to share with others 57:33 some of these inspiring Bible truths. 57:35 Just call our toll-free number. It's on the screen. 57:37 877, the two words "His will." Friendly operators are standing 57:41 by to send these study guides to you. 57:43 Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL. Call that number, and then 57:48 again join me next week right here at this same time. 57:53 "New Perceptions." 57:58 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-02-11