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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP220305S
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00:11 >> God is good? >> All the time. 00:14 >> And all the time? >> God is good. 00:16 >> God is good. Please stand with us as we enter 00:19 into our praise and worship. Just have fun, praise God, and 00:25 sing with us. Amen. 02:49 >> Amen. 02:55 >> Amen. Our Scripture reading this 03:02 morning is taken from Revelation 14:6-7. 03:07 Then I saw another angel flying midair, and he had the eternal 03:13 gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth -- to every 03:20 nation, tribe, language and people. 03:23 He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give Him glory, because 03:28 the hour of His judgment has come. 03:31 Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, 03:35 and the springs of water.'" And with that in mind, let us 03:40 place Jesus at the center of our lives and give Him all the 03:44 glory, for He is worthy to be praised. 03:47 >> Amen. >> Amen. 10:48 >> Amen. >> You may be seated. 10:53 ♪♪ 11:21 >> Oh, I wished you'd keep playing. 11:23 That is a beautiful, beautiful hymn. 11:26 "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." 11:28 >> Hallelujah. >> "Hallelujah" is right. Yep. 11:31 Blood of the lamb. We are under it right now. 11:36 Every doorway that you walk through when you enter this 11:40 sanctuary has been prayed over, that the blood of the lamb would 11:44 be on it, that you would come through the blood of the lamb 11:47 into this worship moment. They're putting the final piece 11:52 in a journey that has taken us through winter, and spring is on 11:57 the way. >> Yes. 11:59 >> Yep. >> Yes. 12:00 >> One last critical piece. 12:03 If we left this out, it wouldn't have been right. We couldn't have told the whole 12:09 truth. This is not a comfortable truth, as you're about to hear, but 12:16 it's part of the whole truth. And, so, the lamb of God and His spirit are here. 12:23 We're gonna watch this video clip one more time, but I want to pray first. 12:31 O God, Jesus, the center of it all. I never heard that one before, 12:36 and I love it. Jesus, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 12:43 Oh, we love that truth. And through the spirit, He's here. 12:48 He's receiving our worship now. Let it be acceptable in Your sight, and may our minds be open 12:53 and hearts receptive to what You're about to say through the Holy Scripture. 12:57 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 13:03 ♪♪ 14:41 I'm still relishing my favorite part of this little clip is when the guy falls into the bed. 14:47 I'm saying, "Bring it on. Get me in that bed. What am I doing up here?" 14:52 [ Laughter ] Ahh! Alright. My friend Glenn Oftehauer, a 14:58 dear friend of mine, years ago, gave me a four-line poem. Never heard it before, but I've 15:07 never forgotten it since. I'm gonna share it with you, line by line, and I'm praying 15:11 you will never forget this poem for the rest of your life, alright? 15:15 We'll take it line by line. "Some men die by shrapnel." My, these real-time images being 15:25 satellited out of Ukraine. Shrapnel -- we know it now. [ Imitates explosion ] 15:32 "Some men die by shrapnel. And some go down in flames." We've seen those flames, those 15:38 high-rises -- the missile hit, crumbling. "Some men die by shrapnel. 15:44 And some go down in flames. But most men --" and most women -- "perish inch by inch. 15:52 Playing silly games." Isn't that something? That's the truth of life. 16:00 Apathy, disconnect, not really living, no real life. Aah. Feels like we ought to have 16:12 an altar call right now. For the young in particular. Hey, listen up, guys. 16:21 You're gonna have to die for something someday. Professor of mine in the 16:26 seminary once said, "You can only be a martyr once, so choose your cause carefully." 16:34 Ooh, that's good. Yep. "Some men die by shrapnel. 16:43 Some go down in flames. But most men perish inch by inch. 16:49 Playing silly games." So, what are you giving your life for? 16:54 Hmm? Here's the altar call. If only we had a young man here 17:01 who was willing to lay down his life for Jesus. An old man, too, would be fine. 17:11 If only we had a young woman here who was willing to lay down her life for her savior. 17:15 Older woman would be fine. I'm telling you what, you're gonna have to die for something, 17:22 sis. Yo, bro, you can only be a martyr once. 17:29 Die for Jesus." That's what I'm thinking -- die for Jesus. 17:34 Got to sit down right now and let the Holy Spirit kind of massage our minds and hearts 17:40 with that thought. But I'm not gonna sit down, 'cause I have something to say. 17:47 And I'm praying that, through every word you're about to hear, the Holy Spirit will be there 17:52 right beside you, getting you ready to make a decision in this place right now. 17:57 Open your Bible right now, please, to the mighty last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse. 18:02 Come on, find the Book of Revelation. My, oh, my. 18:06 Part 7 of "Banner Unfurled." We're going to the Apocalypse together, you and I. 18:12 And on these pages, I want to show you a depiction of the last generation of friends Jesus has 18:20 on Earth. The last generation of loyalists, the last generation 18:23 of disciples. I'm gonna show you the picture right here. 18:25 You say, "Dwight, how do you know this is the last generation?" 18:28 I'll tell you how I know. Because take a look at this. Follow my finger. 18:31 Just follow my finger right up there. You're looking at the rose 18:35 window, the famous rose window of the Pioneer Memorial Church. Who's that? 18:38 That's Jesus sitting on a cloud. He's coming back, the Second Coming. 18:42 And, by the way, you don't know what an honor it is for me to preach in this space, where I 18:49 stand at the foot of a cross, and it's embedded, in dark wood, in this wooden platform. 18:53 And I stand beneath the highest point of this church, which is a stained-glass depiction of the 18:59 return of our Lord, Jesus Christ. So, I want you to take a look. 19:06 Take a look at the line. We're in Revelation 14. If you open your Bible to 19:10 Revelation 14, let's go to Revelation 14. There's one line. 19:13 See if the line works. See if it fits. The stained glass, I'm talking 19:17 about. Here's the line. Revelation 14:14. 19:20 "I looked, and there before me was white cloud --" Now, wait a minute, wait a minute. 19:24 Is there a white cloud? Yep, check. We got the white cloud. 19:27 "And seated on the cloud was one like a son of man --" Is there -- Yep, seated on the 19:33 cloud, there He is. "With a crown of gold on his head --" check, check -- and a 19:38 what in his hand? A sharp sickle. That's the picture right there. 19:44 Revelation 14:14 is the return of Christ. It's being portrayed. 19:48 It's a word picture. We just saw it. It's a graphic depiction of that 19:56 moment we live for. But just before -- Hey, come on. Just before that picture is a 20:03 graphic depiction of the generation that will be alive, loyalists of the Lord, 20:09 Jesus Christ, Himself. Just before. So Jesus comes in Verse 14. 20:13 We got to go -- Verse 12. Take a look at Verse 12. This is the generation. 20:19 Here we go. Revelation 14:12. "This calls for patient 20:22 endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to 20:28 Jesus." David Bentley Hart, in his critical one-man translation of 20:33 the New Testament -- You know, in this series, we had Robert Alter with the one-man 20:37 three-volume translation of Hebrew -- of the Old Testament in Hebrew. 20:41 This is in Greek. One man translated the whole New Testament. 20:44 Here's how he renders this verse. "Here is the endurance of the 20:48 holy ones --" They've been holyized. "Here is the endurance of the 20:52 holy ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." 20:57 Wow! And with only that single line, if that's all we had, what would 21:02 we know about the last generation? Number one, we would know that 21:05 they are radically obedient, because they keep the commandments of God. 21:10 And, number two, we would know that they are passionately Christocentric, because they 21:14 have -- they keep the faith of Jesus. That's all we needed to know. 21:20 That's it. In fact, the elderly John -- Used to be John Boy when he was 21:27 growing up with Jesus. But the elderly John, earlier in his book, has already described 21:32 them. This is just his second -- "In case you missed it the first 21:36 time" -- that's what he's saying -- "here it is again." But let me show you the first 21:40 time. This is Revelation 12:17 and the dragon. 21:43 Who know who the dragon is? Who's the dragon? You help me out. 21:46 Who's that dragon? >> Satan. >> That is Satan. 21:48 That is that old serpent, that ancient serpent called the devil, who deceives the whole 21:52 world. You got it right. "And the dragon --" Satan -- 21:55 "was enraged over the woman." That's the faith community through all time. 21:59 He's enraged over the faith community, and he goes off to wage a war with the rest -- 22:04 they're coming at the very end -- the rest of her seed, her children. 22:08 Who are these children? "Who keep the commandments of God and hold to the witness of 22:13 Jesus." There they are, the same two identifiers. 22:18 Radical obedience, passionate Christ-centeredness. Jesus lights their fire. 22:26 That's who this last generation is. Jesus lights their fire. 22:30 My. 22:35 Knowing what we know now, we are not gonna be surprised at what we are about to discover. 22:42 In case you haven't discovered this before, hold on, watch this. 22:46 Okay, so, here it is. Revelation 14:14, Jesus comes. Just before it, Verse 12, okay, 22:52 this is the generation, these radical loyalists, passionate for Jesus. 22:56 Okay, that's Verse 12. Now...verse 6 and 7 is the final message, God's last appeal to 23:01 the human race that He will send through these loyalists to the entire planet. 23:05 They're just a small band. How could a small band reach the whole planet? 23:09 You watch. You'll see it happen in your lifetime, I pray. 23:16 But I want you to catch this message. Fascinating message. 23:19 Wow. Here we go. This is Chapter 14. Now we've gone up to Verse 6. 23:23 "Then I saw another angel flying --" And angelos -- it means "messenger." 23:28 So it's a symbol of messengers. You're one of the messengers. I'm one of the messengers, I 23:33 pray. "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the 23:36 eternal gospel." Gospel means "good news." So this is very good news. 23:40 "He had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth -- to every nation, 23:44 tribe, language, and people. And he said in a loud voice --" And in the Greek, megalófoní -- 23:49 that is the two Greek words, and we get the English word "megaphone." 23:52 So this is not a whimper. This is not a whisper. He is megaphoning this to the 23:56 entire human race. "Then he said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, 24:03 because the hour of his judgment has come. And worship him who made the 24:07 heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.'" I mean, did you catch that? 24:12 "Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water." 24:18 In other words, capital-"C" Creator. Worship the Creator. 24:23 And I find -- I don't know about you, but I find this line absolutely stunning. 24:27 You know why? Because you think about it. God's last appeal to the human 24:34 race will be a call to return to the creator God of the universe. Now, get this, get this, get 24:40 this. A call to a generation, a civilization that has 24:44 intellectually, culturally, academically, socially, and even theologically written off the 24:49 existence of a creator god. "There is no god." That's this generation. 24:54 Just like at social media. Just look at the entertainment. Just look at the big thinkers, 25:00 the big brains in the nation. That's this generation. And here's what's so stunning. 25:05 1,900 years earlier, God says, "Write this down, John Boy. Write this down, because my last 25:11 generation will have to take a message to a world that has no concept or no heart for a 25:20 creator. 1,900 years in advance, He said, "That will be the final message. 25:25 That will be my last word to the human race." Whew! 25:31 And wouldn't you know it? I don't suppose we ought to be surprised about this at all. 25:35 The very last line, the very last line of this global appeal is the very last line of the 25:41 Fourth Commandment. I'm gonna show it to you right now. 25:44 I'll put the Fourth Commandment up. Now, we're talking about the 25:47 Greek, because this is written in the Greek. And we have a Greek 25:50 Old Testament. It's called the Septuagint. So, watch this. 25:54 This will amaze you. Okay, so, let's just put the Fourth Commandment up. 25:57 Everybody knows the Fourth Commandment. Exodus 20:8-11. 26:00 In the Greek, it reads this way. This is the English. "Remember the Sabbath day, to 26:05 keep it holy. For in six days, the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the 26:12 sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day." Watch now. 26:18 The final appeal of God to the human race, in the Greek language. 26:22 Watch this and note the words that are underlined. Revelation 14. 26:26 We just read it. "Worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and 26:34 springs of water." Look at the two lines. They're identical. 26:39 Identical. What's going on here? Well, if you were a reader that knew Greek when this was written 26:49 and you were new in the Christian faith, which had its basis in Judaism, you would have 26:53 recognized immediately. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, 26:56 wait a minute. That's the same line. That's a line." 26:59 It's the Fourth Commandment. And, yes, it is. Isn't that amazing? 27:06 Here are these people. God's last appeal to the human race. 27:13 And what is it? Eight words in the English, eight words in the Greek, which, 27:18 for me -- Okay, for me, being interpreted means God -- For the final generation on this 27:23 planet -- that means everybody on the planet -- God puts a glowing halo around the 27:29 Fourth Commandment. He pulls it out. He isos it. He pulls it out and says, "I 27:34 want you to look at those words very carefully. My final appeal to you is based 27:39 on that Fourth Commandment." Am I making this up? You can't make this up. 27:47 Embedded through the millennia, and now we see it. Whoa. God's final appeal. 27:56 The maker of all things loves and wants me. That's right. 28:00 That's the capital-"C" Creator of the universe. "Come back to me. 28:07 I do exist. I am your life. Without me, it's curtains. 28:14 Come now. Come." The angel -- shoo! -- is flying. "Come quick. Come now. 28:20 Come back. I made you. I am yours." Whew! 28:29 That means that God's last friends, God's last loyalists on this planet will be 28:33 Sabbatarians, alright? They will be the keepers of God's seventh-day Sabbath. 28:39 We've spent seven parts reminding ourselves that that is an incontrovertible truth in 28:46 Scripture. Wow. And guess who his ward against Sabbatarians from the 28:51 get-go -- Who do you suppose his ward against them? Oh, you know. 28:55 That old serpent, that ancient serpent called the devil -- 29:00 Satan, who deceives the whole world. 29:03 Yep, that dark and demonic enemy of the Creator God and His 29:06 universe and this planet -- he causes a war in heaven. 29:09 There was war in heaven. And guess what. 29:11 Now we got war on Earth. You know why we have war on 29:13 Earth? Because he's here. That's why. 29:15 We're all fingering a human cause to this war. 29:19 There's a demonic cause behind the human agent, and the demonic 29:24 cause is none other than the dragon. 29:27 You know why? If you read my blog this last 29:29 week, because into Christ-less graves, he can sweep masses of 29:33 humanity. "Too late! You're dead. 29:35 No chance now. No chance for you." 29:38 That's why he can do it at a massive scale. 29:44 Nah. But he's had his eye on Sabbatarians from the get-go. 29:47 "Can you prove that, Dwight?" 29:49 I sure can. I'm gonna run five short stories by you right now, okay? 29:52 Check them out. Count them. Make sure I don't leave one out. Five stories. 29:55 Story number one. Once upon a time, there was a Sabbatarian queen of a pagan 30:01 nation. Go figure. Yep, it's true. And she, being a young Jewess, 30:06 was marked by the dragon for extermination, along with her fellow Jews, her fellow 30:11 Sabbatarians throughout the empire. Yeah. Why? 30:17 Because from the beginning, the dragon has despised -- pshh! -- the Creator God. 30:23 That's why. Any evidence of him, any shred that would direct my mind to 30:32 him, get it, remove it, destroy it, kill them. Just kill them." 30:38 And this Sabbatarian queen was marked -- and all of her people. Yeah. 30:48 "Then Haman said to King Xerxes," the king of the empire, "'There is a certain 30:55 people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves 31:01 separate.'" They weren't separatists. They blended into the culture. 31:07 But this is the sell line. Someday, these words will be repeated -- mark my words. 31:15 Keep reading. "'Their customs are different from those of all the other 31:19 people, and they do not obey the king's laws.'" Mnh-mnh! 31:22 "'It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.'" O King, live forever. 31:26 "'So if that it pleases you, let a decree --'" Let that word remain in your mind, as well. 31:31 "'Let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver 31:36 to the king's administrators for the royal treasury.'" "I'll take care of them, O King. 31:41 It will be adios, because the world never likes something that pricks its conscience. 31:50 Get rid of them." [ Clicks tongue ] But for the intervention of the 31:56 Creator himself, an entire generation of Sabbatarians would have been exterminated just like 32:00 that. All right, I said there are five stories: here comes story -- 32:03 here comes stories number two and three! Once upon another time, four 32:07 Hebrew young Sabbatarians were marked for extermination; three of them end up in a raging fiery 32:14 inferno because they wouldn't bow down to an image. You'll hear that word again: 32:21 they wouldn't bow down to the king's idol. They are thrown into the fire, 32:25 and guess what -- in the fire they are greeted by the Creator God of the Universe as they walk 32:31 and talk together untouched and unfazed. Apparently He can take care of 32:37 His loyalists. Can I get an amen for that? He can take care of you. 32:42 You lose job, He'll take care of you. You get cut off, He'll take care 32:47 of you. They turn on you, He'll take care of you. 32:53 It's been a lot of Sabbatarians from the beginning, don't you apologize for what you are. 33:00 And one of those four boys -- not -- not -- not on that day, with the three -- he goes even 33:07 higher into the politicals, uh, infrastructure of the empire, and now he is marked, because 33:14 he's Sabbatarian. And they go into another -- another king. 33:20 Daniel 6:6, "So these administrators and satraps" -- or political, uh, associates of 33:26 Daniel, they "went as a group to the king and [they] said, 'O, king! 33:32 Darius! Dar-- Darius! Live forever!' The royal administrators, the 33:37 prefects, the satraps, the advisors, the governors, we have all agreed -- yes, we have -- 33:41 that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree" -- oh, there's that decree again -- 33:46 "and enforce it" -- ah, that's becoming familiar language -- "that anyone who prays to any 33:51 god or human being during the next 30 days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown 33:58 into the lion's den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so 34:03 that it cannot be altered -- in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians, which 34:08 cannot be repealed.' So King Darius put the decree in writing." 34:12 There's that word again, it keeps coming up -- a... governmental decree... 34:19 against Sabbatarians. So they throw Daniel into the lion's den. 34:25 He's not gonna pray to a king. He's not gonna pray to a human being. 34:28 "I will only bow my knee to God, I will not bow to a human." Throw 'im in the lion's den! 34:36 King realizes too late he was tricked. Everybody knows the story 34:40 and loves it. Because God sends His angel. [ Grunts ] 34:45 The devil is a lion that's walkin' about, seeking whom he may devour -- yeah, it was the 34:51 devil's den that Daniel got thrown into. Yeah, wow. 34:57 So for the inter-- but for the intervention of the Creator, that -- that high governmental 35:02 official would have been exterminated just like that. It has been the dragon's quest: 35:07 Get rid of 'em all, kill 'em. Oh, here comes, uh, story number two -- once upon another time, 35:13 a faithful band of loyalists high in the Italian Alps quietly went about preserving the long 35:18 line of Sabba -- Sabbatarians through human history. Their refusal to bow their knee 35:23 to the image of a counter-power, an institution that commanded their allegiance, their refusal 35:30 marked them, and the Piedmontese massacre that John Milton ended up composing his famous English 35:37 poem about -- men, women and children slaughtered, bloody! Wave after wave of bloodthirsty 35:45 armies sent into those... northwest Alps of Italy, sent from Rome. 35:52 Yeah. As I say... Even in death, the Creator 36:00 preserves their intrepid witness as Sabbatarians -- these... who would keep the commandments 36:08 of God...and the faith of Jesus. Radically obedient, passionately -- 36:13 Christ. 36:17 And then again, here comes number five. Once upon another time, 36:21 the raging dragon turned a maniacal despot in Germany against the Sabbatarians of 36:28 Europe and six million of them were exterminated while the world watched in horror. 36:34 Gone! Six million Sabbatarians. Call 'em what you will. 36:43 And I think of what we're doing now, the whole world is watching. 36:47 We're not -- we can't do anything. [ Scoffs ] 36:52 Obviously. What we've spent this winter brooding over bears huge and 36:56 eternal consequences. Shall Sabbatarians lay down their lives for the Creator God? 37:02 Question: Would you?! Would you? Let's not make it hypothetical: 37:07 would you? 37:14 Revelations 13... That's the chapter between 14 and 12. 37:19 Revelations 13. And by the way, I spent se-- several chapters of my new book, 37:24 "American Apocalypse," that the publisher's just begun to market... 37:30 I spend several chapters -- and I'm gonna spare you the details here, you can -- you can 37:34 read it later. Detailing how this nation -- "American Apocalypse" -- how 37:42 this nation is drawn into the end game. Let me put on the screen kind of 37:50 a summation from Revelations 13. Revelations 13:11 -- "Then I saw a second beast coming up out of 37:55 the earth and it had two horns like a lamb! But it spoke like a dragon, like 37:59 the devil himself. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its 38:03 behalf, and it made the earth and its inhabitants do something" -- I want you to note 38:08 this word and call it out to me -- what is this word here? The word is "worship." 38:13 The word is "worship." We've already heard that word, haven't we? 38:16 "Worship Him who made Heaven and earth and sea and the springs of water," hmm? 38:20 Now we run into it again. This beast power is going to force the earth not to worship 38:26 the almighty Creator God -- no, no! You'll worship this institution! 38:30 You'll worship this power. 38:35 "He made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had 38:40 been healed." So whatever's going on here, obviously the key word is 38:45 "worship." Because worship is the heart and soul of God's final appeal to 38:50 the human race, isn't it? Yeah! This beast power is actually 38:55 forcing the worsh-- forcing the world to worship a counterfeit, little-"g" god on earth, 39:01 so that what you have here is a little-"g" god, and a cap-- big-"G" God, through their 39:07 surrogates, are meeting in the end game. And it's not the Colosseum. 39:12 It's real life...war. Ideological. At a price. 39:23 It's a battle for worship and allegiance between the surrogates or loyalists at 39:28 the end of time. The dragon has the people he leads, God has a people who keep 39:33 the commandments of God... and...keep the faith of Jesus. Okay, here's verse 15 -- same 39:40 chapter. This is all I'm gonna share. "The second beast was given 39:43 power to give breath to the image" -- wait a minute, have we had that word "image" before? 39:48 Yes, we have -- "to give breath to the image" -- the whole world is commanded to worship this 39:53 image, bow down to it -- "to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that 39:57 the image could speak and cause all who refused" -- to do what? To do what? 40:01 To worship, to worship. The image. "To be killed." 40:07 You will, or else! That's it. Not -- not rocket science to 40:16 figure that out. It's exactly what's written there. 40:21 My, oh, my, oh, my. 40:25 The universal showdown in the end game. Please mark this down in your -- 40:31 in your heart: the universal showdown in the end game is a showdown over authority. 40:38 That's what it'll be. Who has the authority to command me to do something? 40:45 A human power? A divine being? Whom will you -- whom will 40:54 you obey? Whose authority will be ultimate in your life? 41:00 That's a rather provocative question, and I s'pose I oughta be asking it now. 41:04 Whose authority... 41:09 Reigns in my life? 41:13 Wow, worship plain and simple, the end game, bloody and cruel. That will be the price that once 41:19 again Sabbatarians must pay as loyalists of the Creator on a planet finely ruled by 41:25 the iron fist of the bloody dragon -- "you will." "You will." 41:32 And then shall the end come -- that's it, it's over. [ Imitates explosion ] 41:35 That picture comes true. He's on the cloud. 41:40 So where do you stand? Where do I stand? It's a good question. 41:47 I'm reading a book now by Rod Dreher. Fascinating book, thanks to 41:51 the kindness of two viewers who sent me the book. 41:55 The title of the book, "Live Not By Lies." It's a line straight out of 42:01 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's final essay to the -- to his beloved Russian people before he is 42:07 exiled forever, forbidden to ever return to his homeland. Live not by lies. 42:15 It's a troubling book, though Dreher writes nothing about Sabbatarians, please be clear 42:20 on that. Instead he focuses on the ex-- on -- on -- on an inspire-- 42:24 inspiring examination of the Christian dissenters in Eastern Europe. 42:29 World War II and right after, when Communism is a totalitarian power was just takin' over that 42:34 whole -- that whole region. Ah, it's stories from the -- from, uh, Czechoslovakia, 42:39 the former Czechoslovakia -- stories of clerics who stood up, who gathered small groups of 42:44 the young, and began to nurture them, began to train them. "Hey, listen, here's the real 42:50 story." Because everything is about changing the story. 42:54 So that the young never find out... the real story. 42:59 Anyway. But he -- he -- he -- he -- he makes a point here, and I'm 43:03 gonna put it on the screen, because the moment I read these words, I said, "That has 43:06 Sabbatarian written all over it." He's not talkin' Sabbatarian, 43:09 but you watch. So... Before we get there, just 43:13 a reminder, we're talkin' about the contest between worship, and there it is, as plain as the 43:18 nose on your face, we have, one, God's final appeal to the -- to the earth, "Worship Him who made 43:22 the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water, or -- it's a choice of authority -- 43:27 "Worship the image of the beast and receive the mark of the beast." 43:30 Everybody knows about the mark of the beast. It comes straight outta 43:33 that story. So now Dreher -- look what he says: "To those who want to keep 43:38 cultural memory alive" -- and I'm thinkin' immediately of the culture of Sabbath keeping. 43:43 We have spent seven Sabbaths together -- why? Because we've lost the culture, 43:48 we've lost the memory, it has no longer become a way now, it's just a day, it's no longer the 43:53 way, we have to go back to the way of the Sabbath. And that's why we spend this 43:58 valuable time. What's he sayin'? "To those who wanna keep the 44:01 cultural memory alive" -- you do and I do -- "it is not enough to pass on 44:06 historical information to the young." This parish is so blessed -- 44:11 I'm gonna tell ya how. With hundreds of men and women who do nothing but spend their 44:15 time standing in front of the young. You can start with elementary 44:18 school, you can move up to secondary education, you can m-- move up to, uh, undergraduate, 44:23 you can move up to graduate; these are professional men and women who stand in front of 44:28 the young... Casting a vision, shaping a generation, and his point to 44:35 them and to me is this: "It is not enough," Dwight, "just -- just to pass on 44:40 historical information to the young." They don't need more history. 44:43 Watch this, keep reading. "The truths carried by tradition must be lived out subjectively." 44:49 It has to be happenin' in my life; I can't make it as a lecture and expect you to go 44:53 out and believe it. Until you can see it in me, you won't believe it. 44:56 These kids are not gonna believe. No, I'm watchin' you! 45:01 I'm watchin' you. Fair enough. "That is, they" -- these men and 45:07 women called to stand before the young -- "they must be not only studied" -- these truths -- 45:13 "but also embodied in shared social practices -- words, certainly, but more important, 45:18 deeds." Keep reading: "Communities must have living models" -- and I 45:22 praise God for who you are -- I praise God -- there's no parish with as many teachers in 45:26 it as this one, I don't think. Anywhere. I praise God. 45:31 For the "living models of men and women who enact these truths" -- and I'm talkin' 45:36 Sabbath now -- "enact these truths in their daily lives. Nothing else works." 45:41 Unless I see it in you, I don't believe it. You can keep talkin' till you're 45:44 blue in the face; Dwight, you can keep preachin' till you're blue in the face, I'm not gonna 45:47 believe it. I wanna see it in you. Prove it to me. 45:51 They have a right to...ask. 45:57 Why -- because it is when you live out the truth of the Sabbath... 46:01 By the way you keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, that others 46:05 realize the high calling of being a Sabbath-keeping loyalist of Christ himself. 46:09 They see it -- "I got it, I got it." The young have to -- the -- 46:13 the young have to see it in you, and in me. And not just hear it from you 46:19 and from me. I gotta see it in you. So now we come to the altar 46:25 call. I promised you we would. We need a new generation of 46:30 Sabbatarians, I'm tellin' you. We need a new generation. We can be the new generation. 46:36 We need a new generation of Sabbatarians unapologetic about 46:39 their loyalty to the Creator, uncompromising in their practice 46:43 of the Sabbath, 46:44 unafraid to unfurl the banner of God's seventh-day Sabbath. Unafraid and unashamed. 46:51 Who will take up their cross and lay down their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. 46:58 How's that little rhyme go? "Some men die by shrapnel, 47:02 and some go down in flames, but most men perish inch by inch 47:08 playing silly games." Not you! 47:11 Not you, not me, no, no, no. 47:13 So, what are you -- what are you gonna give your life for? May I ask that? 47:18 What are you gonna give your life for? If only we had a young man here. 47:23 Or maybe not so young. Who was willing to put it all on the line for Jesus and the 47:28 Sabbath. If only we had a young woman here in the back of the balcony, 47:32 in the front of the sanctuary, who was willing to put it all on the line for her savior... 47:38 as lord of the Sabbath. Hey, listen, sis, you're gonna have to die for somethin'. 47:44 Yo, bro, you can only be a martyr once. So what will you die for? 47:51 It's even harder to ask the question, what will you live for? 47:55 That's the hardest of all -- it's easy to die, it's harder to live. 48:00 Anybody here willing to do -- to do just that? Lay down your life for Jesus? 48:05 And His Sabbath? Are you willin'? I'm gonna give you an imitation 48:10 right now. If you're willin' to be one of those loyalists... 48:16 I'm gonna ask you to get outta that pew and come straight here to the front, right now. 48:19 Just come -- there's no music playin'. This is not an emotional moment. 48:23 It is an intellectual decision. If there's somebody here to be that young man... 48:31 If there's somebody here to be that young woman -- or not-so-young... 48:35 I want ya to come here. Don't s-- don't just stand up, just come -- come here. 48:38 Come to the front. 48:43 You willing to put your life on the line? In front of your students? 48:50 Willing to stand for the Lord of the Sabbath? In front of your friends? 48:57 Radical obedience, who keep the commandments of God? Passionate, Christ-centeredness, 49:05 and keep the faith of Jesus? How 'bout from the balcony? How 'bout the teens up there? 49:12 You come on down. Go 'head and come on down from the balcony. 49:16 We won't go anywhere. Gonna be good -- be good to have you here. 49:21 We need to see the young. We need to see the young. I'm not askin' ya to get up 49:27 because everybody -- "Yeah, but, Dwight, you're puttin' a lotta pressure on me" -- I'm not 49:30 puttin' any pressure on you. I've -- we've spent seven Sabbaths together. 49:34 Don't talk to me about pressure. It's the word of God: we have to make a decision about. 49:39 We can just say, "Oh, that's wonderful, what -- next!" We can't do that. 49:44 We have to stop now, and say, "Okay, what am I doin' with what I've heard? 49:49 What am I doing with what he teaches? What the spirit of God 49:53 teaches me?" 49:56 Come on, I see you from the -- from the balcony comin' on in, come on, good for you. 50:00 God bless our teens. 50:05 You don't come because somebody else is comin', you just come. 50:10 There's nothin' -- You're not comin' to me, you're not comin' to a church, you're 50:15 comin' to the capital-"C" Creator of the Universe, who says, "I -- I gave it all. 50:21 I laid it all on the line in a place called Calvary. I was willing to die forever so 50:26 that you might live forever. Give me your life." The bible says remember now your 50:32 Creator in the days of your youth -- Ecclesiastes 12:1. This is the time, while you're 50:39 young, to stand for Him. I'm so proud of you. Nobody can take this away 50:45 from you. And one day -- one day -- this moment will come back to 50:50 your memory... for your blessing... for your encouragement. 50:57 One day you remember. 51:05 So, God bless you all. God be with you. 51:10 I wanna put, uh, the words of James... Russell Lowell, an American 51:18 poet, "Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide in the strife of truth 51:24 with falsehood for the good or evil side, by the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy 51:31 bleeding feet we track, toiling up new Calvaries ever with the cross that turns 51:37 not back." It's a big deal. Your decision. 51:43 And I'm proud of ya. 51:46 I'm -- I'm gonna join ya right now, I'm gonna stand right here at the front, want the singers 51:51 to come out, this makes -- this is -- is a powerful hymn. It's an ancient hymn. 51:57 But we will sing it with 'em... as our expression, of our commitment. 52:03 And by the way, let me just say to those who are watchin' live stream, we're really glad to 52:07 have you -- obviously, you can't walk forward. If you'll go to -- if you just, 52:12 uh, text "banner6" -- just text "banner6" to our number -- 269-281-2345, just text 52:20 "banner6," you can make the same decision we're makin' right now. Just go, and y-you'll see it. 52:25 And, singers, come on. Sing this with all your hearts. 55:33 Oh, God, who stands in the shadow... keeping watch over his own... 55:40 We stand before You in humility... but sincerity... 55:46 It isn't about us. It's all about our Creator... who became our redeemer... 55:56 and will one day, sitting on that white cloud, become our deliverer. 56:02 We have a world to reach. We have a generation to inspire. Thank you for these thought 56:11 leaders, who've come forward today -- men and women, young and ancient... 56:17 Parents... And teachers. Use them, almighty Creator God, 56:25 use them. Cast your vision through them. Ignite this fire of which 56:32 we sang. And if it means, with a cross, we climb that last hill, we 56:41 shall do so with honor and gratitude... to the Lord Jesus Christ... 56:48 in whose name we commit ourselves to you now. Amen. 56:54 >> Amen. >> Amen. 56:57 ♪♪ 57:08 Think of the last time someone said, "I'm prayin' for you." 57:12 Didn't it give you a sense of peace and reassurance that 57:15 somebody cares for me? 57:16 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers saying, "Yo, Dwight, I been 57:20 prayin' for ya lately." There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you. 57:23 So I wanna offer you an opportunity to partner -- let me -- let us partner with 57:27 you in prayer -- if you have a special prayer request or a praise of thanks-giving you'd 57:31 like to share with us, 57:33 I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:36 Simple to do, you can call our toll-free number: 57:38 877, the two words, "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 57:49 that petition. 57:50 May the God who answers prayer journey with you these next few days until we're right back here 57:55 together again next time. 57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-03-21