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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP210911S
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00:02 ♪♪
00:12 >> Good morning, and welcome to Pioneer. 00:16 It is so good to have you with us. 00:18 And I now would like to invite you to join us as we read the 00:22 call to worship together. 00:49 Let's pray. Dearest Heavenly Father, You have given us incredible gifts, 00:54 and as we worship You this morning, as we praise You for the gifts You've given us, as we 01:00 praise You for the journeys You've led us on to bring us to this point, let us also not 01:06 forget the gifts You long to give us, because you promise that what you have begun in us 01:12 You will bring to completion. We look forward to that day. We love You, Jesus. 01:18 Amen. 01:21 [ "Agnus Dei" begins ] 03:10 [ "O God, You Are My God (Step by Step)" begins ] 04:10 [ "How Great Is Our God" begins ] 06:30 [ "I Exalt Thee" begins ] 08:02 [ "Still" begins ] 10:41 >> ♪ The Lord ♪ The Lord is my shepherd 10:58 ♪ The Lord ♪ The Lord is my shepherd ♪♪ 11:22 ♪♪ ♪ The Lord is my shepherd ♪ I shall not want 11:40 ♪ The Lord is my shepherd ♪ I shall not want ♪ He leads me beside 11:56 ♪ Beside still waters He restores my soul ♪♪ 12:21 ♪ He leads me in paths of righteousness ♪ ♪ He leads me in paths 12:36 of righteousness ♪ ♪ For His name's sake ♪ His name's sake 12:51 ♪♪ ♪ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ♪ 13:11 ♪♪ ♪ I will fear no evil ♪ For You are with me 13:34 ♪ Your rod and staff ♪ They comfort me ♪♪ 13:55 ♪ You prepare a table before me ♪ ♪ In the presence 14:08 of my enemies ♪ ♪ You anoint my head ♪ My head with oil 14:28 ♪ My cup overflows ♪♪ ♪ Surely love and goodness 14:50 ♪ Will follow me all the days ♪ ♪ Of my life 15:07 ♪ And I will dwell ♪ In the house ♪ Of the Lord 15:26 ♪ Forever ♪ Forever ♪ Forever 15:53 ♪ Forever ♪ Amen ♪ Amen 16:27 ♪♪ 16:40 >> "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we 16:45 experienced in the province of Asia." 16:49 "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to 16:54 endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 16:59 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. 17:05 But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on 17:09 God, who raises the dead." 17:12 ♪♪ 17:26 >> Let's be honest. It is never comfortable to talk 17:30 about, mental health, your own, or somebody else's. 17:35 Although the truth is, we are now in a generation, of any 17:39 generation in the history of this nation, a generation that 17:43 is very comfortable thanking and talking out loud about their 17:47 own mental health. And what really blew it open 17:52 was this summer. 17:54 Tokyo Olympics. I'm talking about -- You know what I'm talking about. 17:58 I'm talking about Simone Biles, that telegenic gold medalist. I'm talking about that other 18:07 superstar athlete, Naomi Osaka. Tennis star. Who, by the way, in June of this 18:14 summer, refused to meet the press. She was going through 18:18 the darkness. International Tennis Association, some organization, 18:23 fined her. "You got to talk." Well, they stood in front of 18:28 cameras in Tokyo, and talk they did, and they suddenly broke open this whole conversation of 18:33 mental health that's been, for a lot of us, kind of kept -- Ah, let's just pretend like it 18:38 doesn't exist. And then we find out -- and let me quote NBC here -- "Even 18:42 Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer in history and the winner of 23 Olympic gold 18:47 medals, has publicly discussed his own battle with depression, including contemplating 18:52 suicide." Yeah, but you say, "Now, come on, we're dealing with superstar 18:58 athletes here. Of course they're under pressure. 19:00 Who wouldn't be under pressure?" Oh, really? Just superstar athletes? 19:05 Let me read to you an e-mail I received from a teenager on her way to Andrews University this 19:11 school year. This is 10 days ago. "Hey, Pastor, I hope you're 19:16 doing well despite the world being thrown into chaos over the past couple years. 19:20 If you don't mind, I would love to give you a quick update on how my life has gone since 19:24 high school graduation in 2020. I took a gap year, as was my original plan, to work and save 19:30 money. Turns out, the 'stuck' feeling became overwhelming to the point 19:34 where I became depressed and didn't want to get out of bed. On top of all that, my father 19:40 died, which dug me into an even deeper hole. You want to talk about white 19:44 spaces? I was definitely in one, kind of still am, but I digress. 19:49 So keep me in your prayers, Pastor, and I'll see you soon. Fondly..." 19:53 And she signs her name. I've known her since she was a little girl. 19:58 Mental health? Are you kidding? There is nobody that gets a pass 20:03 from this conversation that we're about to launch together. Everybody knows. 20:09 Well, not everybody talks, but we'll talk, you and I, over these next few moments. 20:15 Especially when you add into the mix the fact -- this is so, for me, stunning -- the fact that 20:21 arguably the greatest Christian in the history of Christianity himself -- we're talking about 20:27 Paul, the hero of our series this fall -- Paul suffers a huge mental health meltdown. 20:36 Man, apparently you can be this close to Jesus and still go through mental health crises, 20:44 sometimes one after another. And speaking of Jesus, can you believe it? 20:51 He Himself suffered depression. Open your Bible to 20:55 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Come on, you got your Bible with you? 20:59 2 Corinthians chapter 2. I'm going to give you a backstory before we get to these 21:04 dark thoughts that Paul himself has scribbled in this letter. Here's the backstory. 21:09 Damascus Road. We were there last Sabbath. You remember. 21:12 Damascus Road, when Jesus of Nazareth personally, physically, in a blinding explosion of 21:19 light, appears to the enemy of Christ, the young enemy himself, Saul. 21:26 And shoom! In that dramatic turn, that Saul boy becomes Jesus' most ardent 21:35 follower and friend. And do you know what comes after Damascus Road? 21:40 I'll tell you, it's white space. What that little teen wrote to me about -- white space. 21:45 What's white space? It's the white space in your Bible between the end of one 21:49 chapter and the beginning of the other. This is white. 21:52 Happens all the time. Life goes on and we know nothing about it. 21:56 Paul moves immediately into white space. Get this. 21:59 Three years in Arabia. We do know he went to Arabia, the desert. 22:03 We have no clue what happens in Arabia. Then he comes out for 18 days, 22:07 goes to Jerusalem, meets the brethren, and disappears for another 10 years. 22:11 White space. His hometown of Tarsus. That's a total of 13 years of 22:16 white space. What's going on? God is shaping his young 22:20 champion into how to become an influencer. Some of you are despairing about 22:27 your white space. We talked about it, but you're still despairing about it. 22:30 Forget it. White space is designed to set you up for God's next move. 22:37 Live it to the full. Well, here's what happens. When he comes out, he's primed 22:44 and ready to go now. Young mighty champion of God that God was needing. 22:48 And he and his buddy, Barnabas, they start going around Asia Minor -- that would be 22:52 Turkey -- and they're planting churches here and there, left and right. 22:56 Then he has a friend named Silas, and they go over into Greece, and they plant churches 23:00 left and right, and Paul finally makes his way down to Corinth. We're talking about a licentious 23:06 city, like seaport towns usually are. You name it, it happens in 23:12 Corinth after sunset. Paul moves in, and he begins winning men and women to Christ, 23:18 and suddenly, a little church is planted, and pretty soon, guess what? 23:22 The church grows with influence in that pagan city. Then Paul up and leaves Corinth. 23:26 He goes back to Asia Minor, and he ends up in a place, another Roman colony called Ephesus. 23:31 And, oh, my, if he was successful in Corinth, wait till you see what happens to him in 23:36 Ephesus. The town takes takes him. Seriously. 23:42 And he takes the city by storm, starts talking about this Jesus. To the place -- Listen to this. 23:47 Even some of the leading occultists, magicians, and pagan spiritualists, he's leading them 23:53 to Christ. You're not gonna believe this, but I'll put it on the screen. 23:57 Stay in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, but I want to put Acts 19:17 on the screen for us all. 24:02 "When this became known" -- about the changes happening in Ephesus -- "when it became known 24:07 to the Jews and the Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear." 24:11 What is this thing? "And the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 24:15 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done." 24:20 What have you guys done? You must have been bad. They confessed it. 24:23 "A number who had practiced sorcery" -- we're talking about the occult -- "brought their 24:29 scrolls" -- their books, their their guides -- "together and they burn them publicly." 24:34 They had this massive bonfire. "And when they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total 24:40 came to 50,000 drachmas." Mercy. "And in this way, the word of 24:45 the Lord spread widely and grew in power." You want to know how much money 24:49 is 50,000 drachmas? I'll tell you. One drachmas is one day's labor. 24:53 One day's labor for a common laborer. So let's just say $15 an hour. 24:57 Let's call it the minimum wage. They worked for 10 hours a day. So we'll say that's a -- what's 25:03 that? -- $150 times 50,000 days. $7.5 million worth of occult library specialties are burned 25:11 up just like that. Man, talking about an influencer. 25:16 We got a real live influencer on our hands in this young Saul turned Paul. 25:23 And by the way, it's very obvious now that Saul has walked up to the gates of Hell and he's 25:32 rattling those gates in the name of Jesus Christ. And Hell is not going to sit by 25:40 and let this go unchallenged. You see, there's a big temple in Ephesus. 25:45 It's to Diana, the Romans would call her. It's to Artemis, the Greeks 25:50 would call her. And Ephesus was the hot spot for worship there. 25:54 In fact, the artisans of Ephesus carved little silver shrines. And, oh, my, they would sell 26:00 those shrines for a very, very good profit, but the problem was economics -- economic hit 26:06 because of this vagabond Jew, that the sales are dropping and dropping and dropping. 26:11 Finally, the big man, the head honcho of the tradesmen says, "Let's throw a riot. 26:17 Let's do it." And the city erupts in a massive riot. 26:22 They're obviously out to lynch this Paul. Paul says, "Listen, let me out 26:25 there. I will go, I will talk to them." And his friend said, "Not on 26:29 your life. You stay here." What's going on? 26:34 Well, it's obvious now. The dark powers are striking back, and Paul, unbeknown to 26:40 him -- hold on, hold on, -- unbeknown to him, is headed to a mental health meltdown. 26:47 And I'll tell you what. The straw that broke the camel's back, that created the devil's 26:51 perfect storm was word from an associate that the church in Corinth that he had planted had 26:56 voted him off the island. "Yeah, we don't need your spiritual leadership anymore. 27:00 Adiós." And now everything Paul has lived for, labored for, wept 27:06 for, nearly died for is suspect. He has failed, and when you fail, to the core of your being, 27:12 you re-examine everything in your life, and it never is pretty. 27:19 That's the way it works with mental health meltdowns, isn't it? 27:24 Some experience, some event, somebody, something inside of you snaps, and suddenly, you are 27:30 drowning in this darkness. Can the devil cause a mental health meltdown? 27:37 Are you kidding? He majors in depression, anxiety, fear, and darkness. 27:45 Of course he uses it. It's his favorite weapons. But listen, listen, hold on, 27:49 hold on. If the devil can trigger a meltdown, that means there is 27:56 somebody with a capital S who can take a meltdown and turn it around. 28:02 And that's the story here. By the way, now we add, however, a new theory that's being 28:08 circulated among New Testament scholars. And now we have a super-duper 28:12 meltdown on our hands. You're ready for this theory? I want to share it with you. 28:16 N.T. Wright, the great -- and brilliant, really -- British New Testament scholar, in his 28:21 book "Paul: A Biography," suggests a new twist to Paul's story. 28:25 He believes the evidence is strong, although he admits this is conjecture. 28:30 But here we go. As a result of the dark powers striking back at Paul's 28:35 influence, after that city-shaking riot, Paul is actually arrested. 28:39 Luke doesn't say a word about it, not a word. But Luke leaves all kinds of 28:44 stuff, including Arabia, out of Paul's life. So we can't say it's not in 28:48 Acts. It's not. Paul is actually arrested after 28:52 that riot, imprisoned in Ephesus, and he's threatened with capital punishment. 28:57 That would be the end of you. And he's thrown in the dark, dank reality of a Roman prison. 29:04 And they were the worst. N.T. Wright. Put it on the screen for you. 29:11 And by the way, when the judge is having to deal with the stories of Paul... 29:19 not did they burn that $7.5 million pile of occult literature. 29:26 There's another story that's been circulating the city, and you need to see this before we 29:31 get into Paul and in the prison. This is just a few verses earlier in Acts 19. 29:38 We're talking Ephesus now, Ephesus. 29:50 We're talking about total hit back by the powers of the 29:56 forces of darkness. That's what's going on. 29:59 So in the dank of that dungeon, Paul's life starts to unravel. 30:04 His mind, his emotions unravel. So N.T. Wright says, "Here's 30:09 what here's what I think happened. 30:11 So what had happened? Some have looked back to a hint 30:15 in the first Corinthian letter." 30:17 Were going to 2 Corinthians. There probably were five letters. 30:21 We only have two of them. The first letter to Corinth, "where Paul describes himself 30:25 facing danger every hour and even 'dying' every day." You remember a line from Paul? 30:28 "I die daily." That's what he's talking about. He's not talking about a 30:31 spiritual death. He's talking about physical death. 30:33 Keep reading. "'If, in human terms,'" -- now we're quoting 30:36 1 Corinthians 15 -- "Paul says, 'I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what use is that 30:41 to me?'" Wild animals at Ephesus? We're not talking about a jungle 30:44 here. What's he describing? Nobody knows. 30:47 Keep reading. 30:56 We're gonna kill you this time. 31:10 The straw that broke the camel's back. Mental health, melts down, 31:15 breaks down, whatever language you wish to use. The fact of the matter is, 31:20 it's rarely a single incident. It's the accumulation of hits. Pom pom pom pom. 31:27 That takes even a big man down. Something snaps, and Paul descends into despair and 31:35 depression. Am I making all this up? I am not. 31:38 Another great British scholar on the New Testament, F.F. Bruce. Let me put him on the screen. 31:43 "The opposition to Paul came to a head." He's talking about Corinth now. 31:46 This is back in Corinth. 32:01 "On his return to the province of Asia" -- that would be Ephesus -- "he was assailed by 32:07 severe depression, and also, it appears, by extreme external danger." 32:11 Two phrases, look at them. "Severe depression." "Extreme external danger." 32:18 Mental health meltdown. How could it be clearer? Can we read hints of that 32:25 meltdown in his second letter, the only other letter we have? I believe we can. 32:29 In fact, I want to show you right now. So you've got 2 Corinthians. 32:32 You've opened it up to chapter 1, all right? Didn't bring a Bible? 32:36 Get it on your device. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Can we pick up the hint? 32:42 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Let's go to verse 8. Paul writing... 32:55 Ephesus. 33:04 Now, N.T. Wright, who is a translator of The Greek New Testament, as well 33:09 as his research, translates this this way. He says, "Let me give you my 33:14 translation." "The load" -- So this is the line, 33:18 2 Corinthians 1:8. 33:32 Now, Wright goes on. He says, "Let me tell you about that translation." 33:35 Or those words. 33:59 Wow. Chapter 2. These are some more hints. 34:05 Now they're going to come in rapid-fire sequence. Chapter 2, verse 4. 34:08 Paul is writing in this second letter. "For I wrote you" -- 34:11 We don't know where that letter is. "For I wrote you out of great 34:14 distress" -- language of mental health -- "and anguish" -- language of mental health -- 34:19 "of heart and with many tears" -- language of mental health -- "not to grieve you, 34:23 but to let you know the depth of my love for you." I'm telling you what -- 34:26 rejection. There isn't a soul here who hasn't experienced rejection. 34:29 Rejection, whether it's by a friend, by a spouse, by a congregation, it doesn't matter. 34:33 Rejection hurts to the core. Depression. Listen to Paul now as he 34:45 describes what's going on inside of him. And he will keep referring to 34:51 himself as "we," "we," "we." But is this really we? N.T. Wright again. 35:14 You know how afraid we are to talk about mental health? Not you, but the rest of us. 35:20 We don't even want to bring it up. Why? Because you'll 35:23 misunderstand it. You'll think I've gone cuckoo. That's what we think 35:29 depression is. It is not. You'll think that that I've lost 35:34 control of my mind? It is not. It's a meltdown deep within the 35:41 core of your being, But Paul doesn't want to -- He just keeps saying "we." 35:46 But you watch this, it's Paul. He's describing himself. You ready for this now? 35:51 So now we're in chapter 4, verse 7. "But we have this treasure" -- 35:55 we -- "in jars of clay." Hey, by the way, jars of clay -- brittle. 35:59 You kick a jar of clay, you break it. Brittle. 36:26 And what is more? Chapter 7, verse 5. 36:36 One translation, the Good News version, it reads, "fightings without and terrors within." 36:43 It's all mental health language. I'm afraid. Outside of me and inside of me. 36:50 And some of you know the meaning of that fear. You know the suffocating 36:56 darkness that produces that fear. Interestingly enough, 37:02 Ellen White, like N.T. Wright and F.F. Bruce, agrees with the diagnosis. 37:07 Watch this. From that little classic -- oh, if you could ever get a hold of 37:11 it -- "Sketches From the Life of Paul." Here we go. 37:19 Ooh, there's mental health language. "In weariness and painfulness 37:23 from unceasing toil and constant danger, enfeebled by disease." She's the only one to add that 37:30 line into the formula. "Enfeebled by disease and, at times, depressed in spirits, he 37:36 steadfastly pursued his work." She goes on. "A deep sadness" -- 37:40 Oh, there's mental health language. 37:53 That rejection. 38:04 I get any physician who's listening right now, who's in this space, any mental health 38:08 specialist, a psychologist, I say, come on up here. Could you affirm to us, please, 38:13 that mental health meltdown, depression can be linked to physical causes and bodily 38:19 disease? "But of course." Mental health breakdown or 38:23 meltdown is not a sign that you're losing it all. Something else is going on. 38:31 So intimate is the relationship, by the way, the Creator created us. 38:34 The relationship between mind, body, and spirit, it's so intimate that what you do to one 38:39 affects all three. And in the same breath, please, hear me out. 38:46 Let it be clear that mental health meltdown is not a sign of spiritual collapse or failure. 38:53 Paul's personal suffering or depression is proof enough that just because you know Jesus -- 38:58 and I'm glad you do -- and just because you are following Jesus -- and I'm glad you are -- 39:02 does not mean depression or despair are going to be kept out of your life and you will never 39:07 have a mental health meltdown. It doesn't mean that at all. Depression is not a sin. 39:25 Depression is not a matter of human faith. It is evidence of human frailty. 39:36 That's it. Why, even Jesus Himself experienced depression. 39:42 Can you believe that? You want to talk about the meltdown we call Gethsemane? 39:46 Oh, my. What do you think is going on in the darkness of Hell, 39:51 in Gethsemane? "Desire of Ages" draws the veil aside. 39:54 Watch this, this classic on the life of Jesus. 40:06 The forces of darkness are going to hit. They'll hit at you. 40:10 They hit at him. "His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread." 40:16 Mental health language. "There was silence in Heaven. Christ's agony did not cease, 40:22 but his depression and discouragement left Him." If depression and discouragement 40:27 leave you, it means that they were in you at one point. True or false? 40:32 But of course. 40:45 End quote. You are not alone, my friend. Some of you don't even have the 40:52 emotional health right now -- you tell yourself -- to even show up in church. 40:56 So you're watching on livestreaming right now. I'm telling you something. 41:00 You are not alone. It's not about whether Jesus has disappeared from your life. 41:07 It's not about your faith proving to be weak in a time of need. 41:11 Nonsense. The forces of darkness, the straw that breaks the camel's 41:18 back, for too many humans, is mental health meltdown. But you have good company. 41:26 Never apologize for what you're going through. Depression. 41:32 Jesus comes to us and He said, "Hey, been there and done that for you and you." 41:39 So, is there any cure for my depression? Hmm? 41:43 How did Paul find eventual release from his own depressed spirits? 41:48 My response is twofold. And then I'll sit down. 41:59 There's no need for you to suffer alone. Make an appointment to see a 42:03 mental health specialist. It can be your family physician. It can be the school 42:07 psychologist. It can be a community counselor. It doesn't matter. 42:11 Someone who is trained and gifted to treat your mental health. 42:14 Don't be a Lone Ranger and say, "I'll do this on my own." Don't. You don't have to 42:20 go through this that long. 42:34 What are you talking about, Dwight? I'll tell you. 42:37 There is beaucoup research out there, academic studies, that show a significant -- listen, 42:42 listen -- a significant connection between mental health -- now, hold on -- mental 42:47 health and meditation. Listen carefully now. In fact, if you would just 42:54 Google the two words, "depression" and "meditation," you'll spend the Sabbath 43:00 afternoon reading the studies. Okay? Beaucoup evidence. 43:05 But let me offer a Christian summary of meditation. Because in the midst of his 43:10 suffering, Paul turns to Jesus. You didn't think he'd forget about turning to Jesus, did you? 43:15 No, he turns to Jesus in the midst of his suffering. You may read it here. 43:20 2 Corinthians, turn over to chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 43:24 This is incredible. Paul realizes that the enemy of 43:27 his soul has pierced a sword deep into his flesh. 43:30 It's deep into his heart. It's deep into his mind. 43:34 And he calls it "a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to 43:39 torment me." You and I face that same enemy. 43:44 The same darkness, the same spiritual warfare. 43:47 Three times, by the way, Paul begs Jesus, he pleads with him, 43:51 "Take this away. Just take this away." 43:55 But every time he does, Jesus gives the same answer, and I'm 43:58 gonna share the answer with you right now. 44:01 2 Corinthians 12:8. 44:34 When you are at your weakest, you're at your strongest. Never forget that. 44:41 When it feels it's the weakest, Heaven knows that, because of Jesus, you're at your strongest 44:49 right now. Never forget that. What's the word? 44:55 "My grace." "My grace is sufficient for you." 45:01 Okay, here it is. Secret number three. We're building these secrets. 45:05 How to become an influencer. Here's secret number three. Choose to turn your darkness 45:09 over to Jesus. Plain and simple. You can't heal yourself. 45:14 Jesus may not choose to heal you in the way that you're asking to be healed. 45:19 Case closed -- Paul. That's okay. You get the best treatment that 45:25 you need right now from the same Jesus. You can't heal yourself. 45:30 Go to Him. You have His word. "My grace" -- Oh, I love that. 45:36 "My grace is sufficient for you." N.T. Wright believes that it was 45:40 through prayer and meditation that Paul found enough healing to live beyond the darkness. 45:46 Watch this. Last quote. "I do think that Paul's long-held practice of 45:51 Jesus-focused prayer, taking the ancient scriptural poems" -- That would be the Psalms. 45:57 And by the way, there's no New Testament. You understand that? 46:01 The only Bible Paul has is the Old Testament, so he's meeting Jesus in 46:05 the Old Testament. 46:22 And then, I love this sentence. "Christology" -- that's the study of Jesus, okay? 46:26 "Christology and therapy -- that's healing of the soul -- go well together." 46:31 I love that, Christology and therapy go well together. Keep reading. 46:47 You are never alone in that darkness. There's an angel in that 46:51 darkness with you. It's the angel that has been placed beside you from the 46:54 beginning. You will wrestle with an angel beside you. 46:59 But what was it that Paul did? Choose to turn your darkness over to Jesus. 47:07 And, so, Paul goes to the Psalms. I tell you what. 47:10 It's not a bad idea to read a Psalm a day. I heard that once from 47:14 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I read it. I said, you know what? If he could do it, 47:17 I could do it. So, I've been reading a Psalm a day every day of my life. 47:21 You can do the same. Look at, in the Psalms. Think about it. 47:24 This is the great -- These are the great prayers, the songs of faith. 47:28 In a psalm, you'll meet Jesus as the good shepherd, right? "The Lord is my shepherd." 47:32 We just had it a moment ago. You'll meet Jesus as the young king. 47:36 You'll meet Jesus as the victor over darkness. You'll meet Jesus as the 47:41 companion through your meltdown. Take a psalm a day. Come on, you can do it. 47:46 You know, where the Psalms are. They're in the middle of your Bible. 47:49 Just read one of those a day. Start tomorrow with one, and the next day will be two. 47:53 It'll take you 150 days to get through. But look for Jesus. 47:57 Look for Jesus. We're not just reading the Psalms through, we're looking 48:02 for Jesus. I'm telling you, if you set aside enough time -- you're a 48:05 teen in the balcony, one Psalm a day. You got the time. 48:09 One Psalm a day. Just look for Jesus. "How would you do that, Dwight?" 48:13 Well, I'll show you right here. Don't rush. Okay, so there's no rush. 48:16 Nobody's keeping a clock on this thing. Just take your time. 48:20 Don't rush. Read slowly. Meditate. 48:23 What's that mean? Just repeat it in your mind. Just let it go over. 48:26 "Hey, Lord, I'm looking for Jesus, Holy Spirit, show me Jesus here." 48:29 Meditate. Just keep reading the prayer. "Show me Jesus." 48:33 And by the way, a good way to see Jesus is, every time you come across "Lord" in the 48:38 Psalms -- L-O-R-D, that's the name Yahweh -- every time you come across "Lord," add Jesus 48:44 to it, Lord Jesus. "The Lord Jesus is my shepherd. I shall not want." 48:50 Just add Jesus. Show me Jesus. And finally, turn your darkness 48:54 over to him for the day. Lord, I'm going out into the day. 48:58 That darkness, that's yours. Your grace is sufficient for me. That's all I need to know. 49:03 That's all I need to know. And that's how Jesus got Paul through. 49:07 And that's how he's going to get you through. "For my grace is sufficient 49:14 for you." Let me know. Is this good news or bad news? 49:21 Come on, tell me. You say, "Dwight, I'm not suffering from any darkness 49:25 right now." Well, good for you. But you know somebody who is. 49:29 Of course, you do. Take that little one, two, three, four with one Psalm a day 49:35 recommendation. Take it to them. Take it. 49:39 Do a friend of favor. And if it's you with the darkness, read a Psalm a day and 49:45 see if Jesus' grace will not be sufficient for you. In fact, I want to send you 49:48 something, if you give me your e-mail address. I want to send you something for 49:52 reading through the Psalms. So here's how I'm going to do it. 49:56 If you would please texts "PAUL2," all right, just "PAUL2" 50:00 to the number 269-281-2345. It's an easy number. 50:03 Put it on speed -- Put in your contacts. 50:05 You immediately get it. I call it "Pioneer Text" in my 50:08 phone. Just text "PAUL2" 50:10 to this number, and you'll get this next screen. 50:18 I don't care who you are or how young or old you are. 50:21 It doesn't matter. If you'll put your name where 50:23 you -- if you check that box -- we will pray for you by name. 50:28 You put your name. We'll pray for you by name. 50:30 Box number two... 50:38 If you put a checkmark there, I have to have your e-mail 50:40 address. If there's no e-mail address, 50:45 I can't reach you. If you put a checkmark there, 50:48 send me that little organizing the Psalms paper, I'll send it 50:52 to you. And box number three... 50:58 Some of you have been going through darkness for a while. 51:01 And some of you that are going through darkness have never been 51:04 baptized. You just -- 51:05 "Well, it's not necessary." Well, I beg to differ with you. 51:11 When Saul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, the first thing 51:15 he did was -- baptized. And, so, when the darkness came, 51:18 he had a way to face the darkness, and it was with Jesus. 51:21 If you haven't been baptized, put a checkmark there. 51:24 Make sure I have your e-mail address. 51:26 You'll get a note from me, and then we'll be in touch with you. 51:29 There's no sense putting it off. There's no sense in putting it off. 51:38 I'm gonna invite the choir to come on out. This is a beautiful hymn. 51:41 Talking about mental health meltdown. This composition "Kyrie," 51:45 which means "Lord have mercy" in Latin, is dedicated to the victims of 9/11. 51:52 20 years ago this very moment, the nation was mourning. We were weeping. 51:57 We had no idea what was next. Still don't know. But we know who will go with us. 52:03 The son of David, who will have mercy on us. Come on out, choir, and sing for 52:08 us, please. 52:10 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 52:36 ♪♪ ♪♪ 52:54 [ "Kyrie" begins ] ♪♪ 53:05 >> ♪ Kyrie eleison 53:11 ♪ Christe eleison ♪ Christe eleison ♪ Christe eleison 53:22 ♪ Christe eleison ♪ Kyrie eleison ♪ Christe eleison 53:39 ♪ Kyrie eleison ♪ Christe eleison ♪ Kyrie eleison 53:59 ♪ Kyrie eleison ♪ Kyrie eleison ♪ Kyrie eleison 54:26 ♪ God of mercy ♪ Grant us peace ♪♪ 54:51 ♪♪ ♪ Kyrie eleison ♪ Kyrie eleison 55:13 [ Singing indistinctly ] ♪♪ ♪♪ 55:37 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Kyrie eleison 56:05 ♪ Amen ♪ Ah ah ah ah ♪ Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah 56:19 ♪ Amen ♪ Amen ♪♪ 56:38 ♪ Amen ♪♪ ♪♪ 57:08 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying 57:11 for you." Didn't it give you a sense of 57:14 peace and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:16 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers 57:19 saying, "Yo, Dwight. I've been praying for you 57:21 lately." There's nothing like knowing 57:22 someone is praying for you. So I want to offer you an 57:24 opportunity to partner -- let me, let us partner with you in 57:28 prayer. If you have a special prayer 57:30 request or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share 57:32 with us, I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly 57:35 chaplains. It's simple to do. 57:37 You can call our toll-free number -- 877 -- the two words, 57:40 HIS WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voice that answers, you tell him, you tell 57:46 her what your prayer need is, we'll join with you in that 57:49 petition. May the God who answers prayer 57:52 journey with you these next few days until we're right back 57:54 here together again next time. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-09-21