Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP210313S
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00:18 I'm caught up in Your presence
00:24 I just want to sit here at Your feet 00:31 I'm caught up in this holy moment 00:37 I never wanna leave 00:43 Oh, I'm not here for blessings 00:50 Jesus, You don't owe me anything 00:57 More than anything that You can do 01:03 I just want You 01:11 I'm sorry 01:14 When I've just gone through the motions 01:17 I'm sorry 01:20 When I just sang another song 01:23 Take me back to where we started 01:27 I open up my heart to You 01:36 I'm sorry 01:39 When I've come with my agenda 01:42 I'm sorry 01:45 When I forgot that You're enough 01:48 Take me back to where we started 01:52 I open up my heart to You 01:59 I'm caught up in Your presence 02:06 And I just want to sit here at Your feet 02:12 I'm caught up in this holy moment 02:18 I never wanna leave 02:25 Oh, I'm not here for blessings 02:31 Jesus, You don't owe me anything 02:37 And more than anything that You can do 02:43 I just want You 02:49 I just want You 02:53 Nothing else, nothing else 02:59 Nothing else will do 03:02 I just want You 03:05 Nothing else, nothing else 03:11 Nothing else will do 03:14 I just want You 03:17 Nothing else, nothing else 03:23 Nothing else will do 03:28 And I'll build my life 03:32 Upon Your love 03:35 It is a firm foundation 03:40 And I will put my trust 03:44 In You alone 03:47 And I will not be shaken 03:52 And I will build my life 03:56 Upon Your love 03:59 It is a firm foundation 04:04 And I will put my trust 04:08 In You alone 04:11 And I will not be shaken 04:16 And holy there is no one like You 04:21 There is none besides you 04:24 Open up my eyes in wonder 04:29 Show me who You are 04:32 And fill me with Your heart 04:35 And lead me in love to those around me 04:45 Ephesians 6:13-17 reads like this, 04:49 "Therefore put on the full armor of God 04:52 so that when the day of evil comes, 04:54 you may be able to stand your ground. 04:56 And after you have done everything to stand, 04:59 stand firm then with the belt of truth, 05:01 buckled around your waist 05:03 with the breastplate of righteousness in place 05:05 and with your feet fitted 05:06 with the readiness 05:08 that comes from the gospel of peace. 05:10 In addition to all this, 05:11 take up the shield of faith 05:13 with which you can extinguish 05:15 all the flaming arrows of the evil one, 05:17 take the helmet of salvation 05:19 and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." 05:47 Amazing grace 05:53 How sweet the sound 06:00 That saved a wretch 06:06 Like me 06:13 I once was lost 06:20 But now am found 06:27 Was blind but now 06:33 I see 06:40 'Twas grace that taught 06:46 My heart to fear 06:53 And grace 06:56 My fears relieved 07:06 How precious did 07:13 That grace appear 07:19 The hour 07:22 I first believed 07:29 Please stand in place. 07:32 When we've been there 07:39 Ten thousand years 07:45 Bright shining 07:49 As the sun 07:58 We've no less days 08:04 To sing 08:07 God's praise 08:10 Then when 08:13 We first begun 08:23 Amazing grace, 08:30 How sweet the sound 08:37 That saved a wretch 08:43 Like me 08:50 I once was lost, 08:57 But now am found 09:04 Was blind 09:07 But now I see 09:52 All power 09:59 Is given unto me 10:06 In heaven and in earth 10:15 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 10:21 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 10:28 Baptizing them in the name in the Father 10:34 And of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost 10:40 Teaching them to observe all things 10:47 Whatsoever I have commanded you 10:53 And, lo, 10:54 I am with you always 11:00 Even unto the end of the age 11:09 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 11:15 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 11:22 Baptizing them in the name in the Father 11:29 And of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost 11:36 Teaching them to observe all things 11:43 Whatsoever I have commanded you 11:49 And, lo, 11:50 I am with you always 11:56 Even unto the end of the age 12:22 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 12:28 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations 12:34 Baptizing them in the name in the Father 12:41 And of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost 12:47 Teaching them to observe all things 12:53 Whatsoever I have commanded you 12:58 And lo, 13:00 I am with you always 13:05 Even unto the end of the age 13:11 And, lo, 13:13 I am with you always 13:18 Even unto the end of the age 13:25 And, lo, 13:26 I am with you always 13:32 Even unto the end of the age 13:38 And, lo, 13:40 I am with you always 13:46 Even unto 13:49 The end of the age 14:59 We have to respond to God. 15:00 We can't just plunge into the teaching today. 15:03 And so based on Psalm 103 is a litany 15:06 that's going to appear on the screen. 15:08 I'll have a line, you'll have a line, 15:09 I'll have a line and so on, and we'll work our way 15:11 through this expression of attitude to God 15:15 for keeping us 12 months in His care. 15:19 All right, it's on the screen. 15:21 There it is. 15:23 On this one year anniversary of our pandemic lockdown, 15:27 we have reason to praise God. 15:30 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 15:33 and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 15:38 Though our way has been fraught with danger, 15:40 the angel of the Lord has protected us. 15:44 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 15:47 and forget not all His benefits. 15:50 We are still alive, though we know 15:52 those who have lost loved ones in death. 15:55 We are still healthy, though we know those 15:57 who battled yet for health and life. 16:01 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 16:04 Who forgives all your iniquities, 16:06 Who heals all your diseases. 16:09 We know not what these next 12 months 16:11 may bring to this world 16:13 or our nation or this community. 16:16 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 16:19 Who redeems your life from destruction. 16:23 But because He alone can redeem our lives 16:25 from destruction or in the midst of destruction, 16:28 we know we can trust Him. 16:32 As a Father has compassion on His children, 16:36 so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. 16:41 So then let us commit ourselves to keep on following after Him. 16:46 The Lord has established His throne in heaven 16:50 and His kingdom rules over all. 16:53 To which let all the people of God say amen 16:57 Amen! 16:58 Amen! 16:59 Let's pray. 17:01 Oh, God, what can we say? 17:03 But thank you. 17:05 Thank you for getting us through the past. 17:06 Thank You for leading us to the future. 17:09 And thank You for Your promise. 17:10 I am with you always, 17:12 even to the end of the age right now, 17:14 speak now through Holy Scripture, 17:17 we pray in Jesus name. 17:19 Amen. 17:22 The maker of all things loves and wants me. 17:27 Brennan Manning tells the story 17:29 about a priest friend of his from Detroit, 17:32 who decided to take a two week vacation 17:34 to the Emerald Isle to Ireland. 17:38 He was looking forward to that time 17:40 with the relatives in that great country. 17:43 And he has an 80 year old uncle. 17:44 who's gonna celebrate his 80th birthday 17:46 while he's there 17:47 and he can hardly wait to join him. 17:50 And on that great day, 17:52 early in the morning before dawn, 17:55 he, the priest nephew 17:57 and his uncle get up 18:00 and they go for a walk together. 18:01 They're walking along the shores of Lake Killarney. 18:06 And then the sun begins to rise. 18:08 And the two of them stand there transfixed for 20 minutes 18:14 without speaking, 18:17 When that ball of fire 18:20 is positioned above the horizon, 18:22 they resume their walk. 18:24 And the priest nephew looks down at his uncle 18:28 who has this beaming smile on his face. 18:31 And he says, Uncle Seamus, you look happy? 18:35 I am. How come? 18:41 Because the Father of Jesus 18:45 is very fond of me. 18:48 In fact, Manning goes on, he says, let me tell you. 18:53 And he comments on that line. 18:55 If the question were put to you, 18:56 so he's gonna push it to us. 18:59 Do you honestly believe that God likes you? 19:02 So let's just pretend like 19:04 the question is coming to you right now. 19:05 Do you honestly believe that God likes you? 19:07 Doesn't say love you? 19:08 God likes you not loves you because theologically He must. 19:12 I mean, how would you answer? 19:14 And then he satisfies the theologians by saying, 19:16 well, God loves by necessity of His nature 19:18 without the eternal interior generation of love, 19:21 he would cease to be God. 19:22 Now keep reading, but not, let we lay that aside. 19:26 If you could answer the question, 19:27 do you believe that God likes you? 19:31 If you could answer, 19:32 the Father is very fond of me, 19:34 there would come a relaxedness, 19:36 there would come a serenity 19:37 and a compassionate attitude towards yourself. 19:40 That is a reflection of God's own tenderness. 19:42 Keep reading. 19:43 In Isaiah, there's this wonderful line 19:45 from the Old Testament, Isaiah 49:15 God says, 19:48 "Does a woman forget her baby at the breast 19:51 or fail to cherish, the son of her womb? 19:53 Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you." 19:56 Can you say amen to that? Amen! 19:58 Mercy. That's the truth. 20:00 The maker of all things loves and wants me. 20:04 We've been celebrating that line for weeks now. 20:08 And I thank God for the way you've been pushing the line 20:11 out there through social media. 20:14 Thanks to you, others are picking up on it 20:16 and I'm hearing about it. 20:18 The maker of all things loves and wants me, you, 20:24 but you know what? 20:25 That sentence, if we're just gonna tuck that 20:27 sentence on a wall plaque on a shelf somewhere, 20:31 that sentence has not fulfilled its mission. 20:35 Because this truth, the maker of all things loves 20:37 and wants me has presupposes a follow up question. 20:41 And wouldn't you like to get to know my maker too? 20:45 It just assumes that I wanna share that with you. 20:48 The maker of all things loves and wants me. 20:50 Now, I'm gonna get a little bit schoolmarmish here 20:52 if you don't mind and be a bit particular 20:56 because some of you are, I hear you quoting this line 20:58 and you say the creator of all things 21:01 loves and wants me. 21:03 No, don't use that word creator. 21:04 You know why? 21:05 Because outside these four walls, 21:07 that's a huge debate. 21:09 That's a war going on. 21:11 Creation versus evolution. 21:12 You don't wanna step into that. 21:15 The word maker is sufficient. 21:17 In the beginning was the Word 21:18 and the Word was with God, and the Word was with God. 21:20 And by Him, all things that were made were made. 21:23 He's the maker. 21:25 He's the maker, stick with the maker. 21:28 Of course we love the creator. 21:29 There'll be a time to talk about that. 21:31 The maker of all things loves and wants me. 21:34 Now let me be schoolmarmish one more time 21:37 and reminds you that 21:38 the sentence does not read this. 21:40 The maker of all things loves and wants you. 21:45 The maker of all things loves and wants us. 21:47 No, no, no, the me is intentional. 21:50 You know why? 21:51 Because me is a personal confession. 21:54 You are telling about yourself, that's your testimony. 21:57 And your testimony can never be gainsaid, 22:01 nobody can step up and say, no, not true. 22:03 What do you mean not true. 22:05 The maker of all things loves and wants me. 22:07 Now, if you said the maker of all things 22:08 loves and wants you, 22:09 he said you can't push that on me. 22:11 I don't have to believe that. 22:12 And he's right, she's right. 22:14 But when you say the maker of all things 22:15 loves and wants me, I'm telling you the truth. 22:19 That's what I found. 22:22 Wouldn't you like to know this maker too? 22:25 That was beautiful. Yeah. 22:27 At all, boy, you gotta see this. 22:28 Come on. Let's put it on the screen 22:30 without wasting a single minute. 22:31 Jesus said, as the Father has sent Me, 22:33 this is our theme verse in 2021, 22:35 John 20:21 for a year 2021. 22:40 As the Father has sent me, how does it go? 22:42 Let's read it out loud together. 22:43 "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." 22:48 It's not enough to put this on a piece of ceramic 22:52 and hang it up in the corner. 22:54 No, no, no. 22:55 The maker of all things loves and wants me, 22:58 has to get from you to somebody else. 23:01 And I love this. 23:04 Open your Bible to 2 Corinthians. 23:05 2 Corinthians Chapter 5. 23:08 We're not gonna read it from your Bible 23:09 because here's a translation. 23:11 I bet you've not read in a long time 23:13 but perhaps ever. 23:15 Come on, it's the Good News translation. 23:19 GNT, all right. 23:21 Used to be called Today's English version. 23:23 Good News translation. Come on. Let me put this up. 23:25 This is so refreshing. 2 Corinthians 5:18. 23:30 So drop down to verse 18 and you can follow along here. 23:33 "Christ changed us from enemies into His friends 23:38 and gave us the task of making others His friends also." 23:41 That's all about Calvary, 23:43 but do you like the way it puts it? 23:44 Yeah, Christ turned us from enemies into friends. 23:47 And He's given us the joy of taking other enemies 23:50 and turning them into friends. 23:51 Keep reading. 23:53 "Our message is that God was making all human beings 23:56 His friends through Christ." 23:57 That's the story of the cross. Keep reading. 24:00 "God did not keep an account of their sins. 24:03 And He has given us the message 24:05 which tells how He makes them His friends." 24:08 Man, I love that. 24:11 That is so refreshing. 24:14 He's given us a message. 24:16 That's why you can't just, you can't settle. 24:18 You can't settle for the single sentence, 24:21 the maker of all things loves and wants me. 24:22 That's just not enough. 24:24 He has given us a message 24:26 to help other now come to know, 24:30 and to love that maker of all things 24:32 that loves and wants me and you. 24:39 Let's read it now one more time and just crunch it together. 24:42 So we got the two versus condensed 24:45 under one screen. 24:46 Christ changed us from enemies into His friends. 24:51 And He gave us a task of making 24:53 others His friends also. 24:54 And He has given us the message 24:56 which tells how he makes them His friends. 24:59 What's going on? 25:01 What's critical for you and I to realize here 25:04 is that the source of this message, 25:06 the maker of all things loves and wants me. 25:09 The source of this message is in the book. 25:12 This is the source right here. 25:15 This is, nobody just concocted that line. 25:17 That line comes straight out of here, 25:20 the B-I-B-L-E. 25:24 Yes, that's the book for me. 25:28 I stand alone on the Word of God, 25:32 the B-I-B-L-E. 25:34 It's here. 25:36 We have to know that, 25:37 you cannot separate the love of God 25:40 from the Word of God. 25:42 They are inextricably bound together, 25:48 the love of God that comes shining through 25:52 in the Word of God. 25:53 In fact, do you know what? 25:55 Do you know what this book calls itself? 25:59 This is dynamite. You were in. 26:01 We were in 2 Corinthians 5, 26:03 just turn a few pages over to Ephesians Chapter 6, 26:06 come on, it's just a few pages. 26:07 You go 2 Corinthians, 26:08 then Galatians, then it's Ephesians. 26:10 And we'll read this 26:11 in the New International Version. 26:14 And I got something to show you. 26:16 All right, so this is Ephesians Chapter 6. 26:19 There it is. Drop down to verse 10. 26:24 What's that have to do with the maker of all things 26:25 loves and wants me? 26:27 We gotta get the word out 26:29 and here's how we're gonna do it. 26:30 All right. 26:31 Ephesians 6:10, finally Paul's writing. 26:35 And by the way, he is manacled 26:36 to a Roman soldier. 26:39 He can't move. 26:40 He's chained when he writes this. 26:43 "Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 26:47 Put on the full armor of God, 26:48 so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." 26:52 Talking about warfare, 26:53 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 26:55 but against the rulers, against the authorities, 26:57 against the powers of this dark world 26:59 and against the spiritual forces of evil 27:01 in the heavenly realms." 27:03 This is talking about end game stuff. 27:05 This is end game now. 27:06 As I'm working these four weeks, 27:08 going back over American apocalypse, 27:10 this is end game where the confederacy of forces 27:14 is now moving to the last showdown. 27:17 Keep reading. 27:18 Therefore, given the times we're living in, 27:21 put on the full armor of God, 27:23 so that when the day of evil comes, 27:24 you may be able to stand your ground. 27:26 And after you have done everything to stand four times, 27:29 stand, stand stand he says, and here it comes 27:32 and take the helmet of salvation 27:35 and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 27:40 Can you see that? See this word right here. 27:43 It's sword. 27:46 You know, that's how to pronounce it, don't you? 27:48 It's sword. 27:50 No, you can't leave a, 27:51 you can't put a consonant in a word and not use it. 27:53 It's sword. 27:56 Come on Dwight, you're serious? 27:57 Yeah, it's sword, 27:58 you're supposed to pronounce it that way. 28:00 It's sword. Let me show you. 28:01 The sword of the spirit is the Word of God. 28:06 It's a memory device for me. 28:07 I just capitalized that W in sward 28:10 and I get word, 28:12 the sword of the spirit is the Word of God. 28:16 Now, look, I grew up in Japan, right? 28:18 So in Japan, everybody knows 28:20 about those celebrated knights of centuries ago. 28:24 They're called samurai. 28:26 If you come into my office here, 28:27 you'll see a little miniature samurai 28:29 right at the front of my desk. 28:31 And they were the great sword warriors. 28:37 That's Japanese for gotcha. 28:43 So the Japanese actually developed as two hands, 28:46 you know, in Europe, it's just but in Japan. 28:52 So they have two hands on the sword. 28:54 George Lucas comes along, true story. 28:56 George Lucas comes along and he says, 28:57 I'm gonna rewrite the history of the universe. 29:01 And I'm gonna put this, 29:02 put together something called Star Wars. 29:05 And whether you talking about prequel, 29:07 Star Wars or sequel, and Disney's bought it 29:12 so it's gonna be quell, quel, quel forever. 29:16 Whatever you're talking about, the sword is a big deal, 29:19 but they don't call it a sword not George Lucas's. 29:22 I don't like that word sword. 29:23 I'm gonna call it light saber. 29:27 So I got one right here. 29:29 Oh, Debbie, bless your heart. 29:38 Yeah. 29:39 Well, I learned that from my neighbor, 29:41 Jeff Smith, who hand makes these, 29:44 I'm telling you the truth. 29:45 He's one of the announcers at WAUS great voice 29:48 behind the microphone 29:50 and Jeff is an aficionado of anything Star Wars. 29:54 He knows the whole story backwards and forwards. 29:57 And so he actually crafts these by hand. 30:03 Something happens to you 30:04 when you put your two hands on this. 30:07 And the antagonist 30:09 and the protagonist 30:12 in the Star Wars saga 30:16 always end up. 30:21 In fact, I wanna tell you something. 30:25 He had been waiting for this moment 30:27 for 30 some years, 30:31 and I got you now. 30:34 I have you where I need you. 30:37 We meet at last face to face, 30:43 and he comes on the young Messiah 30:46 when the Messiah is depleted. 30:49 He's wasted. He's worn. 30:51 Forty days and 40 nights 30:55 fasting for the salvation 30:57 of you and me. 31:01 When the arch nemesis shew. 31:08 Good to see you again. 31:11 We've met before. 31:13 In fact, I think you were that fallen rebel 31:16 that got kicked out of heaven. 31:18 You look and may shaded like a rebel. 31:22 Hey, see the stone, 31:27 prove it to me 31:31 you are who you say you are. 31:39 The emaciated young man 31:43 licks his cracked lips 31:46 realizes this is the first face to face 31:51 in a long time. 31:55 And do you know what the young man does? 32:05 It is written... 32:16 man shall not live by bread alone, 32:17 but by every word that proceeds 32:19 out of the mouth of God, yes. 32:23 Lucifer jumps back. 32:29 You have one too. 32:32 Well, I can do what you do. 32:35 It says in the Bible, 32:37 he will give his angels charge over you 32:39 and they will keep you from falling. 32:41 So I ask you as we stand on this temple top, 32:45 throw yourself over. 32:50 But when he does 32:53 what he just did, 32:56 the saber is still dark. 32:58 He cheated in the quotation. 33:02 The young man withdraws his saber again. 33:07 It is written. 33:10 You shall not tempt the Lord your God. 33:16 Gone. 33:17 He's not gone. 33:20 All right, this is it. 33:23 This is moving for the kill. 33:27 Watch this. 33:30 The whole world in a panorama. 33:32 I'm gonna give you the entire planet. 33:34 You don't have to do Calvary. 33:36 What a waste. 33:38 None of that. 33:40 You can have the whole planet. 33:41 I am the prince of this world. 33:43 You may have the whole planet. 33:44 I ask only one thing, 33:45 you bow down right here and you worship me. 33:53 One last time, 33:55 the young prince 33:58 pulls out his light saber. 34:01 It is written, you shall worship 34:06 the Lord, your God, and Him only shall you serve 34:11 and with a mighty, 34:15 and Lucifer's gone. 34:20 Tell him more opportune time. 34:24 Hey guys, if Paul were writing to this generation, 34:29 you know what he would say? 34:33 The light saber of the spirit 34:38 is the Word of God. 34:40 The light saber of the spirit 34:43 is the Word of God. 34:46 Wow, amazing. 34:50 So when's the last time you did anything 34:52 with a light saber yourself. 34:53 Come on, are you running through life? 34:57 Are you running through life 34:58 with this thing on a shelf somewhere? 35:03 And you got this. 35:07 Because this is what Lucifer has, 35:11 without the power that emanates from this. 35:16 And if you're not consulting this, 35:19 your light saber looks like this. 35:21 And there is no button to turn it on. 35:24 This is all you have. 35:26 And when it's Lucifer without the light 35:28 and you without the light, he wins every single time. 35:34 You know why? 35:36 No light, no power, 35:42 no life saver. 35:44 This was made to be used. 35:47 And if it sits on that dormitory shelf, or it sits 35:51 beside your 35:57 latest inkjet print off 36:03 and it just sits there, you're dead. 36:08 And Lucifer knows it. 36:10 He can't turn the light saber on, 36:14 only one being can. 36:16 And it's the being who wrote this book. 36:20 The Word of God is a sword of the spirit. 36:26 Amen. 36:27 Amen. Yeah. 36:29 So what's the deal with the Word? 36:31 When's the last time you read it? 36:33 No, come on. 36:34 You may have brought one to church. 36:36 Most of you didn't. You didn't bring it. 36:39 You didn't even pull your phone out 36:40 when we started looking at the Word. 36:42 I don't need this. 36:43 He's gonna put all the words on the screen anyway. 36:45 When's the last time you took this Word of God 36:48 and it became a sword 36:50 in your hand against the enemy. 36:54 It's the only way you can win. 36:56 It's offensive, it's defensive. 37:00 It's all we have is this book. 37:06 Dietrich Bonheoffer. 37:07 Everybody loves Dietrich Bonheoffer 37:08 always gonna be the hero celeb 37:13 from World War II, Dietrich Bonheoffer. 37:15 And when he was only 30 years old, 37:16 by the way, 37:17 not much older than you Dietrich Bonheoffer 37:19 wrote a letter to his brother-in-law. 37:22 Brother-in-law's name, Rudiger Schleicher. 37:25 On April 8, 1936, Bonhoeffer is 30 years old, 37:29 he will be executed at the age of 39 37:32 by direct order of Hitler himself. 37:36 A lot of people dismissed Dietrich Bonhoeffer 37:38 as left to center 37:40 and therefore not somebody reliable. 37:44 I beg to differ. In this letter... 37:49 Let me put it on the screen for you, 37:50 in this letter Dietrich Bonhoeffer 37:53 is writing to his brother-in-law. 37:55 I believe he writes by hand. 37:58 "I believe that the Bible alone 38:00 is the answer to all our questions 38:02 and that to receive an answer from it 38:04 we need only to ask 38:06 with persistence and a little courage. 38:09 One cannot read, he underlines it in the letter. 38:12 One cannot read the Bible as we read other books 38:16 only as we wait expectantly before it 38:19 for the ultimate answer does it give it to us. 38:22 The reason for this is simply that in the Bible, 38:25 it is God who speaks to us." 38:28 That's the gospel truth. 38:30 That's why this light saber is the only weapon 38:34 that works against Lucifer 38:36 because when you say it is written 38:38 and you're under attack 38:39 and you will be under attack tomorrow, 38:41 just count on it. 38:43 But when you say it is written and you follow up, 38:46 it is written with what is written. 38:48 Even if you don't get it right, 38:50 and you don't have to do it in the King James to use it. 38:53 Any language that comes out of your lips works. 38:57 A garbled remembrance works 39:01 because you're tapping into eternal light. 39:07 It is written. 39:12 It's here. 39:18 "And so I will ask with all my powers 39:20 what God is trying to say to us through the Bible, 39:23 every other place outside the Bible has become 39:26 too uncertain for me." 39:29 Now I'm gonna, I wanna talk to this academic community 39:32 because we live with a lot of books. 39:34 Oh my, do we live with books? 39:36 People even read them, some write them. 39:40 I wanna tell you something. 39:41 You've been given a lot of books here, 39:44 professionally, academically, 39:48 but all the books you have been given cannot do, 39:53 impossible to do 39:56 what this long book can achieve. 40:00 Impossible, no possibly. 40:03 Impossible. 40:05 What are you talking about Dwight? 40:07 I'll show you what I'm talking about. 40:08 The apocalyptic classic Great Controversy. 40:10 And they put the words on the screen, 40:11 "The effort to grasp the great truths of revelation, 40:14 read the Bible, impacts freshness to you. 40:17 So when you take this book up and you endeavor to grasp it, 40:20 it imparts freshness, 40:23 and vigor to all your faculties. 40:25 It expands the mind." 40:27 You wanna expand your mind. 40:28 You're feeling under assault. 40:29 And sometimes the mental health realities being what they are. 40:35 You feel that you feel utterly depleted. 40:37 I cannot go on, my life is shut. 40:42 When you come to those moments 40:44 and the pandemic has brought us to those moments 40:46 again and again and again. 40:48 And the pandemic is not over. 40:50 When you come to those moments and you want a shot of light, 40:54 like electricity to go through you, 40:56 you won't feel it. 40:57 You won't sense it. You won't even see it. 40:59 But when you pick this book up 41:01 and begin to read the author of the book 41:03 steps into your space and breathes himself 41:07 into your mind. 41:09 It's called mental health 41:16 at its best. 41:18 And it comes here. 41:22 Wow. 41:24 Figures all your faculties, expands your mind, 41:27 sharpens your perceptions, ripens your judgment. 41:29 "The study of the Bible 41:30 will ennoble every thought 41:32 feeling an aspiration as no other study can. 41:34 Keep going. 41:36 "An earnest reverent study of this book, 41:38 bringing the mind of the student 41:40 in direct contact with the infinite mind 41:43 would give to the world, man and women, 41:45 young men and young women of stronger 41:48 and active intellect 41:52 as well as of nobler principle than has ever resulted 41:55 from the ablest training that human philosophy affords." 42:00 Philosophy cannot save you. 42:03 Philosophy cannot transform you. 42:06 It can excite you. It can tickle your mind. 42:09 It can trope your depths, but the only way your life 42:13 and mind can be changed right here. 42:17 Amen. Right here, the B-I-B-L-E. 42:20 Yes, that's the book for me. 42:22 Man, they taught this to me in nursery school. 42:25 I stand alone on the Word of God, 42:28 the B-I-B-L-E. 42:31 Those kids are right. 42:32 Never lose the mind of a child. 42:34 Never lose the sweet spirit of innocence that says, 42:38 I will take God's word for what it is, 42:40 a word directly to me. 42:46 That's the only way the light saber works, 42:50 right there. 42:52 Otherwise like Lucifer, 42:54 you go through your day 42:55 with a dead pod on your hands. 43:00 God is not dead. 43:03 And He has all the light you need. 43:06 You just have to connect with Him. 43:09 How many weeks has it been since you've really taken time 43:10 to study the Word? 43:11 I'm talking to the adults here right now? 43:13 How many weeks has it been 43:15 since you really read the Word of God? 43:17 I'm not talking about five minute devotional. 43:19 I love those. They're inadequate. 43:23 Inadequate. 43:25 How much time do you spend in the Word of God, 43:26 the W-O-R-D, S-W-O-R-D? 43:30 How much time do you spend in the Word? 43:32 You're a faculty member here. You teach in this university. 43:34 Good for you. 43:36 How much time do you spend in the Word of God 43:37 before you stand up in front of our kids? 43:41 You're preacher in this university, 43:42 a chaplain in this university. 43:44 Good for you. 43:45 How much time do you spend every day in the W-O-R-D 43:48 with an S in front of it 43:50 before you go and minister across this campus? 43:54 It cuts both ways. 43:56 And I am just as much on the line as you are. 44:00 Our only power 44:02 in the light saber is if it's on. 44:12 You've gone weeks. 44:14 Don't raise your hand. 44:16 It's okay. 44:18 That's what life has become. 44:19 The pandemic has driven us down to basics 44:23 and the devil has worked hard to make sure 44:24 this basic is not a part of it. 44:28 It's not too late. 44:29 I got great news for you. 44:30 It is not too late. 44:32 You can pick this book up 44:33 when you go home this afternoon, 44:35 and you say, Lord, Jesus, forgive me. 44:39 I go back to the book. 44:41 I don't know what to do, but I go back to the book. 44:43 I'm gonna give you something to do 44:44 and then sit out. 44:46 Come on, let's do it right now. 44:47 I'm gonna give you, how to get back into the book. 44:50 Number one, mark your Bible up. Okay? 44:53 Some of you might need to buy a little paperback 44:55 so you can mark it up, Mark it up, color it up. 44:58 These two incidents happen and both individuals 45:02 are sitting right here 45:03 right now in the second service. 45:04 These two incidents happened within the last four weeks. 45:06 So I saw my teenager friend of mine 45:09 and she said, "Hey pastor, look at my Bible." 45:11 So I took a look at her Bible. 45:12 She has it all these colors, they're all underlined. 45:14 I said, "What is this?" 45:16 She says, "I'm studying my Bible." 45:17 I said, "You go, girl, good for you." 45:20 A few, two weeks later, 45:22 a middle-aged man came and said, 45:23 "Hey, pastor I gotta show you my Bible." 45:25 And then I look and they're all color-coded 45:27 and he has gone through, 45:28 and he is noted the words that speak to his soul. 45:32 Guys, this is not rocket science. 45:34 You don't have to take a class for it. 45:35 If you have a bag of markers and an old paper bag Bible, 45:39 go ahead road and just color it and put circles around it. 45:43 That book is worthless with leather covers on it 45:46 and nothing written in between. 45:47 It is worthless 45:50 because it doesn't have your fingerprints on it. 45:54 Get a Bible, Go to the bookstore. 45:58 Amazon's got them paperbacks eight bucks. 46:01 Don't get an E letter, an E-book. 46:05 You can't mark them. 46:07 I'm just telling you just buy a cheap $8. 46:09 Go to Walmart. 46:11 They're sitting on the shelf right now, 46:13 waiting for you. 46:14 Grab a paper Bible and begin to mark it up. 46:17 Dwight what do I mark? 46:18 You just mark whatever brings to your mind, 46:20 the maker of all things loves and wants me 46:22 because we can't have 46:23 this little diddy that just sing, 46:24 hangs up in the air. 46:26 We gotta know that. In fact, it's right here. 46:27 And the next time somebody asks me, prove it to me. 46:30 I'll say, well, I'm so glad you asked. 46:32 Why? 46:33 Because I've been reading my Bible. 46:35 That's why. So mark it up. 46:37 Number two, simple, collect the passages, 46:39 collect the stories, I love that story of Jesus 46:41 that really drives home 46:43 the maker of all things loves and wants me, write it down. 46:45 Scribble the story down. 46:47 Nobody's gonna be checking this book. 46:48 It's just you and Jesus 46:49 with your light saber in your hands. 46:54 And by the way, it's on when you 46:55 and Jesus are alone, this thing is pulsating. 46:58 It is emanating, divine, supernatural power 47:02 into your mind. 47:06 And then number three, this is it. 47:08 Jot down ideas that you can share 47:10 why you believe the maker 47:11 of all things loves and wants me? 47:13 That's all you have to do. 47:14 That's it. 47:18 Come on. We can't go weeks anymore. 47:20 I have no idea what's happening next. 47:23 But as I've poured 47:24 over this apocalyptic scenarios, 47:27 it is just, it has kept occurring to me. 47:30 And that's the only thing that has kept me going is I said, 47:33 man, there's nobody going to read this? 47:35 No, the spirit says, no. 47:38 I'll determine who reads it. 47:40 You just write it, just write it for me. 47:44 We'll get it out. 47:48 You got to come back here. 47:50 You'll never survive without this. 47:53 We once were known as 47:54 a people of the book a long ago. 47:59 Sweet memories. 48:01 It's time to go back. 48:03 What do you say? Amen! 48:04 Now come on. What do you say? 48:06 It's time to go back. 48:08 Let's go back to the light saber 48:12 along with Jesus empowered 48:15 for the end game just ahead. 48:20 All right. Let's go to the connect card. 48:23 pmchurch.org/connect. 48:24 If you'll do that on your device right now, 48:26 you will get this connect card. 48:28 I'm gonna give you an opportunity 48:29 to get something. 48:30 And so we'll need your email address for it. 48:32 Here are the next steps, you go to on our tickets 48:34 to our website pmchurch.org/connect. 48:37 Box number one, I would like to read 48:39 my sword of the spirit, 48:41 looking for meaningful evidences 48:42 of the maker of all things 48:44 loves and wants me keeping record of them 48:46 in a little journal, a notebook., 48:48 my laptop file. 48:49 I just wanna go through it. 48:51 I wanna experience this word again 48:54 and look at if you're in some really, 48:55 it just doesn't make sense. 48:58 It's okay to move on. 49:02 You're not the guy translating the Bible 49:04 for the human race now. 49:05 You can skip stuff. 49:09 You can move to the next page. 49:12 Sometimes we kill ourselves saying, 49:13 I gotta read everything. 49:14 No, you don't have to. 49:16 Just read it. 49:18 Keep a record of it. 49:19 Put a check mark there. 49:21 The singers are coming out. 49:22 They're gonna point us to the Word 49:23 in a beautiful song. 49:25 Okay. Here's box number. What is this? 49:26 Box number two, please send me a Bible reading plan 49:29 that will guide me through God's Word 49:30 in 12 months. 49:32 They're all over the internet. 49:33 But if you will put an email address, 49:35 you say, "No, Dwight you choose for me." 49:37 Okay. You put your email address. 49:39 We will send you a 12 month. 49:41 How to read your Bible through in 12 months, it'll bless you. 49:44 And you'll keep that journal. 49:46 And you'll be looking for where is this, 49:48 the maker of all things loves and wants me, 49:49 and it's gonna be popping up everywhere. 49:53 So just make sure we have email address. 49:55 And finally, I would like to follow Jesus in baptism. 49:57 Look at this, if after his baptism, 50:01 he himself has the light saber, 50:06 the it is written. 50:08 Then I wanna be baptized just like Jesus. 50:11 And then I'll take up that light saber as He did. 50:16 And He will teach me what is written. 50:20 Put a check mark there. You never been baptized before? 50:21 Put a check mark there. 50:23 We'll be in touch with you electronically. 50:25 We just have to have your email address. 50:27 We'll be in touch with you. 50:28 This is a great year. 50:31 Don't worry about COVID-19 50:33 however long it lasts 50:36 you got Jesus every step of the way. 50:39 Oh, Father, thank You. 50:41 Thank You for the gift of the light saber. 50:46 We couldn't make it. 50:47 Forgive us, dear God, have mercy on us. 50:51 We've gone a long time 50:54 without reading Your Word. 50:57 We start over right now. 51:01 Start us any way you wish. 51:04 Make some young warriors 51:06 in this room Father in this sanctuary. 51:10 Shape some, not so young warriors 51:13 who at their age become champions 51:18 of the sword of the spirit and the Word of God. 51:22 Raise them up, Father, for the end game, please, 51:26 for the end game, 51:30 raise them up in Jesus' name. 51:34 Amen 51:58 Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet 52:04 And a light 52:07 Unto my path 52:12 Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet 52:18 And a light 52:21 Unto my path 52:41 We see what you can do 52:44 Oh God of wonders 52:48 Your power has no end 52:54 The things You've done before 52:57 In greater measure 53:01 You will do again 53:05 Cause there's no prison wall 53:08 You can't break through 53:10 No mountain You can't move 53:14 All things are possible 53:18 There's no broken body You can't raise 53:23 No soul that You can't save 53:26 All things are possible 53:31 In darkest night 53:33 You can light it up 53:37 You can light it up 53:39 Oh God of revival 53:43 Let hope arise 53:46 Death is overcome 53:49 You've already won 53:52 Oh God of revival 53:59 He rose in victory 54:02 And now You're seated 54:05 Forever on Your throne 54:12 So why should my heart 54:15 Once You've defeated 54:18 I will trust in You alone 54:22 Cause there's no prison wall 54:25 You can't break through 54:27 No mountain you can't move 54:30 All things are possible 54:35 There's no broken body 54:38 You can't raise 54:40 No soul that You can't save 54:43 All things are possible 54:47 The darkest night 54:50 You can light it up 54:53 You can light it up 54:56 Oh God of revival 55:00 Let hope arise 55:02 Death is overcome 55:05 You've have already won 55:08 Oh God of revival 55:14 Come awaken Your people 55:17 Come awaken Your city 55:21 Oh God of revival 55:23 Pour it out, pour it out 55:27 Every stronghold will crumble 55:30 Hear the chains hit the ground 55:33 Oh God of revival 55:35 Pour it out, pour it out 55:39 Come awaken Your people 55:43 Come awaken Your city 55:46 Oh God of revival 55:48 Pour it out, pour it out 55:52 Every stronghold will crumble 55:55 Hear the chains hit the ground 55:58 Oh God of revival 56:00 Pour it out, pour it out 56:05 You can light it up 56:08 You can light it up 56:11 Oh God of revival 56:15 Let hope arise 56:18 Death is overcome 56:21 You've have already won 56:24 Oh God of revival 56:28 There's no prison wall 56:31 You can't break through 56:33 No mountain You can't move 56:36 All things are possible 56:41 There's no broken body 56:44 You can't raise 56:46 No soul that You can't save 56:49 All things are possible 57:06 We've been really blessed by the financial support 57:08 that comes from our viewers. 57:10 And we've made a conscious decision 57:11 not to continually appeal to you 57:14 for that support. 57:15 Fact is, as everyone in the industry 57:17 will tell you we're needing to make 57:18 constant upgrades to our technology. 57:21 So if God has blessed you, 57:23 and you'd like to further the work 57:24 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:26 Not a single penny of your donation 57:28 will go to me. 57:29 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission 57:32 of blessing your community and our world. 57:34 You can donate on our website, new perceptions.tv, 57:37 or call the number. 57:38 You know, the number 877- HIS-WILL. 57:41 Again that number is 877-the two words HIS-WILL. 57:45 And may the God who has blessed you 57:47 continue to pour into your life 57:49 the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:51 Thank you. 57:53 And I'm looking forward to seeing you right here 57:55 again next time. |
Revised 2021-04-12