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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP221015S
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00:11 >> Welcome to worship today at Pioneer.
00:15 On behalf of the pastors and members 00:17 and all the leaders of Pioneer, I extend a very warm welcome 00:20 to everyone who's worshiping with us today. 00:23 Will you join me now? Will you stand as we read 00:26 together the responsive call to worship? 00:54 Amen. Let us pray. O for a thousand tongues to sing our great 01:01 Redeemer's praise, the glories of our God and King, the wonders of His grace. 01:09 O Lord God, how precious it is that we are able to join You 01:16 in this house of prayer. Thank you for sparing our lives, for protecting us from all kinds 01:24 of harm and bringing us safely to worship today. As we come here, we invite you 01:32 to arrest our thoughts. Imprison our minds. Captivate our entire being. 01:43 And may the Holy Spirit fill us and transform us and teach us how to worship in spirit 01:51 and in truth. Amen. [ "Holy Forever" begins ] 02:01 >> Our scripture reading today is found in Deuteronomy 7:6-8. 02:06 "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. 02:10 The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the 02:12 face of the earth to be his people, his treasured 02:15 possession. 02:17 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous 02:21 than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord 02:27 loved you." 06:15 >> Alright. Hello, boys and girls. There are so many of you. 06:21 How are you? >> Good. >> Good. 06:24 >> You're not that good, are you? >> Yes, I'm good. 06:28 >> How are you, boys and girls? >> Good! >> Yes. 06:31 That is so much better. Nice to hear that. 06:36 So, how many of us like to go on trips? 06:39 >> Me. >> Oh, all of us like 06:41 to go on trips. Is that a -- Is that a road trip 06:45 or an airplane trip or a hiking trip 06:49 or a biking trip? We just like trips, right? 06:54 Oh, there's a bee or something. Okay. Ooh, let's see. Alright. 07:04 That sometimes happens when you go on trips, right? You get bees, right? 07:07 Okay. Well, today I'm going to tell you a story 07:10 about some friends of mine who really like to go on trips. And I met them about 20 years 07:16 ago when I lived in Wales. They live in Norway, and so we've been friends ever since. 07:22 And when I go to Norway, we go on some really fun trips. But they sent me some photos 07:27 and a video of a trip they went on recently that I don't think I would have gone on with them. 07:32 So I'm going to show you some of them, and then we're going to hear what you think. 07:36 So let me show you this one and ask you if you -- Would you go -- 07:39 Would you do that? >> No. >> No. 07:42 >> Yeah. >> What?! >> Yes. 07:46 [ Children speaking indistinctly ] >> Who would do that? 07:53 Oh, some of you would. And for the rest of us, it's scary, right? 07:58 Oh, it's so scary. Now, that's my friend. And if we see the photo next, 08:06 that's him there. His name is Tiit, T-I-I-T. That's his name. 08:12 And he's there with his wife, who is my friend, of course, and her name is Ragnhild. 08:17 And that's her. And if you see Ragnhild there now, 08:21 she's standing on a bridge. But in the next photo, she's actually climbing up 08:25 the mountain. And then she said, although she likes adventure, 08:30 this one was a bit much for her. But she said she didn't look back. 08:35 She just kept looking up and going one step at a time. And she just kept focusing on 08:41 where she was going. She just did not look back because she just wanted to get 08:46 to where she was going. And then in the next photo, we see that she got to the top. 08:53 Now, boys and girls, you and I may never climb a rope like -- walk a rope like that. 08:59 Or we never -- we may never go to that place, which is called the Via Ferrata in Norway. 09:05 You know, we may never walk those mountains, but do you ever get scared? 09:11 >> Yes. >> Yes. >> You get scared. 09:12 Why do you get scared? In a thunderstorm? Why do you get scared? 09:19 >> Because you can die. >> Because? >> You can die. 09:22 >> Because you can die. Yes, what makes you scared sometimes? 09:26 Well, what makes you get scared? Sometimes your friend, your best friend may move away, 09:33 and you don't know what -- whether you'll get another good friend like that, 09:37 right? So you're not sure. >> You might fall. 09:42 >> You might fall and hurt yourself, and you get scared. Yeah. 09:46 So, sometimes we get scared because maybe somebody we love dies, you know? 09:52 We don't know what -- We can't see -- You know, you remember 09:54 he was walking on that rope. It was all foggy, and he couldn't see what was coming 09:59 next. Sometimes our life is like that, isn't it? 10:02 Not just for you little boys and girls, but for the big boys and girls as well, right? 10:06 We don't know what's coming next, and we're not sure how we should walk. 10:10 But God wants us to do like Ragnhild did, and he wants us to just keep looking at 10:16 him and take one step at a time. Just one step. Just keep looking at him 10:23 and take one step at a time, and he will move us from the bottom 10:28 all the way up to the top. Who is glad that Jesus will do that for us? 10:33 I am glad that Jesus will move me as I watch him and allow him to guide me. 10:40 Okay, who would like to pray and thank God -- I saw you first. Come on up -- 10:46 that he wants to guide us. There is a verse in the Psalms. Pastor Dwight quoted it earlier 10:52 that God says, "I will instruct you," and in the New King James version, 10:57 he says, "I will guide you with my eye." Isn't it a beauty that God 11:04 is watching us everywhere we go? Whether we fly or we walk or we drive, we can know 11:11 that God will guide us. What's your name? >> Lily. 11:14 >> Lily, would you pray for us and thank God that he will guide us? 11:17 Okay, boys and girls, let's pray. >> Dear Jesus, thank you for 11:21 this day. Thank you that we can all -- can be here. 11:25 Please be with us for the rest of the day. Please guide us. 11:29 Please come soon. In your name we pray, amen. >> Amen. 11:32 Thank you, Lily. You may all go back to your seats. 11:41 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:39 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:58 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:18 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:37 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:56 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:16 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:35 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:54 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:13 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:33 ♪♪ ♪♪ 15:56 [ Applause ] >> You almost hate to break the spell of that plaintive, 16:21 mournful tune that Carla Trynchuk and her violin just brought to us. 16:32 I don't know what there is about that John Williams composition, I suppose because of the images 16:39 that it is associated with, that -- that horrible retching of history, 16:47 6 million Jews exterminated. We remember it as the Holocaust. But I have -- I get tears every 16:57 time I hear that song. I suppose it's a -- It's a feeling of kinship. 17:06 It's a feeling of kinship. You say, "What are you talking about, Dwight?" 17:11 I want to spend a few moments we have together talking about that kinship. 17:16 No song for me does it more powerfully than what we just heard. 17:21 O God, you created us for kinship. 17:28 Show us. Teach us. Send Jesus, we pray. 17:37 Amen. I have stood on a cold April day 17:44 in Auschwitz, the death camp. It was the day after Easter. 17:51 The gas chambers cold, as well, empty, with tens of thousands perished. 18:00 I heard no cries there. I have also stood in Dachau, another nation, 18:07 but also a concentration camp. And that day, I heard somebody cry. 18:14 We were just -- We, my family and I, we were just cornering some rich foliage. 18:22 And there she was, obviously a schoolgirl, obviously in that space 18:27 with her classmates. And they were all Jews. And she was sobbing. 18:36 Standing near the brick crematorium 18:39 that did its dastardly work. A classmate of hers arm 18:45 draped over her heaving shoulders. 18:51 But we don't cry, do we? 18:54 Maybe we should, we who call ourselves Seventh-Day Adventist Christians. 19:01 I'm going to make a statement right now that may be misunderstood somewhere 19:07 on earth. But I'm compelled to make this statement. 19:13 And that is when the brief history of time is one day written, 19:15 and it will be written, I believe it will show that like two matching bookends 19:24 on the shelf of sacred history, there were and are two faith communities 19:36 that have occupied the beginning and ending of salvation history's story, 19:41 what in German they call the Heilsgeschichte. Two communities of faith 19:46 and truth, inextricably bound together with a shared fate. 19:54 That being their divine calling to become the chosen ones. 20:03 Two communities more than any two in the history of religion and time 20:09 will bear the epitaph, the remnant. And I have a feeling 20:18 both shall know the meaning of Holocaust. Open your Bible with me to 20:25 Deuteronomy chapter 7, please. Deuteronomy 7. You see, ever since Adam and 20:32 Eve's spectacular moral crash and burn in the Garden of Eden, ever since, there have been two 20:41 conflicted communities on earth. Two. Count them. 1, 2. Both communities defined 20:49 by their faithfulness to God or the lack thereof. The majority community 20:54 rejected God, and a minority community embraced him. And that minority community 21:00 over the centuries became known as the remnant. First, it was the two sons 21:07 of Adam, Cain and Abel. And the conflict is established. Cain murders Abel. 21:14 Seth is born. Flowing from the same mother and father, 21:21 two conflicted lines for the rest of earth's history that morph into friend Noah 21:29 and the Tower of Babel. Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, 21:38 the sons of Jacob and Joseph. And one day, when his brothers stand before him, 21:46 and Joseph announces who he is, this Mr. Prime Minister of Egypt, he speaks these words, 21:54 and I want you to see them. Look at them carefully. Genesis 45:6. 22:00 "God sent me," he says to his brothers, "God sent me ahead of you 22:04 to preserve for you a remnant, a remnant on earth and to save your lives 22:13 by a great deliverance." Because, you see, God has always been preserving a remnant 22:19 ever since the fall. This is no newfangled -- This -- This conference on 22:26 Adventist identity, the Remnant, this is not a newfangled notion. It's been around 22:30 since the beginning. And when God snatches the remnant out of the jaws of 22:37 Egypt, he formalizes what we already have sensed is true. He has a chosen people. 22:47 When Moses stands before them, here in Deuteronomy 7, on the borders of the Promised Land, 22:55 Moses must remind them what we must never forget. God does choose. 23:03 Deuteronomy 7:6. 23:15 Wow. "The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you 23:19 because you were more numerous," or you were more wealthy or you were more intelligent 23:24 or you were more spread out -- No, no, no, no. He didn't choose you for that 23:28 over other peoples, "for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because 23:34 the Lord loved you." I say wow again. Whom the Lord loves, He chooses. 23:45 Listen to Henri Nouwen, the late Henri Nouwen, that marvelous little book of his, 23:51 "The Life of the Beloved." It's an extended letter to a young Jewish male 23:56 in New York City, and he's writing him to encourage him 24:00 about his chosen-ness. Don't abandon it. You're going to read Nouwen's 24:06 words to this young Jew, but I wish you would think that he's writing to me, okay? 24:12 Here we go. "I beg you," Nouwen writes... 24:43 Did you get that line? Never apologize for being chosen. 24:51 But guess what? This chosen moniker is not only for that community, 24:59 because Peter comes along in the New Testament, grabs this Deuteronomy 7:6, 25:03 and says, "Yo, that's you." And he's talking about the likes of you and me. 25:08 Look at this. 1 Peter 2:9. "But you are a chosen people," direct quote. 25:25 How did Nouwen put it here? "I beg you, do not surrender the word chosen to the world." 25:31 Never apologize for being chosen. Jesus didn't. 25:36 I'm thinking of that moment once upon a time when the God of the universe 25:41 who created this planet is incarnated. We just talked about Jacob. 25:49 We thought about Jacob. 25:56 Because do you know that when Moses says to Israel before they march into the 26:01 Promised Land, "He loves you." That word is straight out of Genesis 29, where it reads, 26:07 "And Jacob loved Rachel." And then a little later, "And Jacob loved Rachel 26:12 more than he loved Leah." There's some -- some kind of choosing going on here. 26:19 Same word that describes David and Jonathan's friendship. "David loved Jonathan." 26:28 So that word loved, connected with Jacob, fits this moment perfectly, 26:34 because Jesus isn't thinking about the love of Jacob. He's thinking 26:39 about the well of Jacob and how in fact there is -- he is hopelessly, helplessly 26:43 unable, parched and thirsty as he is, to -- "Just a swallow, please. 26:50 Just -- Too deep! Too deep!" to reach the water. And, oh, how we love the story 26:55 when that -- that woman from Samaria shows up. Oh, we love the story. 26:58 And we get so excited about Jesus offering her water, water that never runs out, and 27:02 you'll never be thirsty again, that we miss the most stunning and provocative statement 27:06 Jesus makes about the remnant. And I want you to hear it right here. 27:10 We're going to skip all of that conversation, and we're going to cut to the chase, the second 27:15 half of their conversation. John 5:15. 27:24 And Jesus told her, "Okay, you go call your husband and come back." 27:28 And you know what happens. "I have no husband," she replied. 27:31 And Jesus said to her, "You are absolutely right when you say you have no husband. 27:36 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. 27:41 What you have said is quite true." Blush. 27:45 [ Hissing ] "How do I change the subject? Oh, you know what? 27:51 You must be a prophet. That's what we're going to talk about. 27:54 Let's talk theology. We love theology. Come on, Jesus. 27:57 Tell me about this, sir, now that I see that you are a prophet. 28:01 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain," Mount Gerizim... 28:29 How absolutely political -- politically incorrect can you get? 28:39 And by the way, the Greek has the article in front of salvation. 28:45 So it really reads "the" salvation. What's that mean? 28:49 Meaning the only salvation there is. "Hey, girl, look at me. 28:53 Look at me. Look at me. 28:57 If you're asking me whether the Samaritans have the truth or the Jews 29:03 have the truth, look at me. Read my lips. The salvation... 29:12 is from the Jews." My, oh, my, oh, my. No flimflam like some 29:19 religiousness that I know today. "All that matters, girl, is that God loves you." 29:23 "Mm-hmm." "And you love God." "Yep." "So don't you worry your pretty 29:26 little heart about such inconsequential particulars like truth and doctrine, revelation 29:31 and ethics and behavior. Nah. It doesn't matter." Doesn't matter. Are you crazy? 29:37 It matters everything. 29:44 Turns out Buddhism is dead wrong, and so is ecumenism. All paths do not lead 29:51 to the top of the mountain. Jesus' point is incontrovertible. 29:54 There is only one path, one truth, one saving grace. 30:04 And the Jews had been entrusted that truth about this pathway where they are the chosen ones. 30:12 They are God's remnant community. Hmm. 30:19 Hey, listen, folks, come on. Cut Jesus some slack. He is not being arrogant. 30:26 He's being honest. 30:30 In fact, when the woman finally speaks again, Jesus is more open with her 30:36 than any other human in all four gospels when he says, "This is who I am." 30:42 Watch this. 30:48 He's just stated this. And I'm happy to let it just linger in front of your eyes. 30:53 I'm not making this up. Jesus claims salvation is from the Jews. 31:01 And the woman said, "Oh, I know that Messiah -- called Christ -- is coming. 31:05 And when he comes, he will explain everything to us." 31:15 >> Hallelujah. >> Only, in the Greek, it reads this way. 31:20 "I, the one speaking to you, I am." 31:27 There is no "he." We throw that in there 31:30 to make the sentence feel right. But, you see, Jesus, who's 31:34 loving on this woman now -- She's Samaritan to the core -- 31:37 He says, "Alright, I'll use your Bible." 31:39 Their Bible is only the first five books, isn't it? 31:42 The Pentateuch. That's the Samaritan Bible. 31:43 The Hebrew -- Hebrew Bible? No, we don't need that. 31:45 We just need the first five books. 31:46 So Jesus says, "Let's take the greatest story 31:48 in the first five books," when God shows up in a 31:51 thundering, fiery bush, and he cries out, 31:56 "I am that I am." 31:59 Jesus says, "Woman, woman, woman, woman, look at me again. 32:06 I am. I am." She pivots on that pretty heel 32:13 of hers and disappears, the first disciple of Christ in Samaria. 32:19 All because Jesus was honest and told her the truth. "Salvation is from the Jews, 32:26 and I am the Messiah, the Savior of that salvation." In fact, the -- the Samaritans 32:33 were actually the first ones in recorded sacred history to call him savior of the world. 32:40 All because he told her the truth, just as he told the truth to John. 32:43 John, who composed the gospel that we just read from, who will also 32:48 compose the apokálupsis, the -- the revelation of Jesus Christ. 32:56 When Jesus inspires revelation to the elderly John, he makes certain that 33:01 in the middle of John's writing, right in the middle, there will be only one line 33:08 about the remnant, but it will be right there where it belongs. 33:11 You know what that line is, don't you? Oh, I'm sure you do. 33:15 Revelation 12:17. "So the dragon --" Who's the dragon? 33:18 Help me out here. Who's the dragon? Satan, of course. 33:21 "So the dragon was enraged with the woman --" Who's the woman? 33:25 Pure woman, pure church. Impure woman, impure church. This is the pure woman. 33:28 "So the dragon was enraged," Satan was enraged, with the church. 33:32 Now, what -- what about the woman? "And went off to make war 33:35 with the rest." The old King James actually puts it there, 33:39 "went off to make war with the remnant of her seed, of her children." 33:43 Whatever -- Whatever group -- community this is, it's at the -- It's at the end. 33:49 It's down here. It's the final battle. 33:56 You remember those two bookends we -- we alluded to at the beginning? 34:01 You always need to keep this in mind, the law of the bookends. Maybe you haven't learned 34:05 this law yet, but I'm going to teach it to you right now. Here's the law of the bookends. 34:08 If you find one bookend, you will immediately know what the other bookend looks like. 34:15 True or false? Of course. It's true. We -- 34:22 So with the remnant bookends, it would seem to follow that the remnant bookend here 34:30 at the beginning of the shelf of salvation history, whatever it looks like, 34:37 we would find a similar revelation in the remnant bookend all the way down here at 34:45 this side of salvation history. Is that illogical? No, come on. 34:55 "What are you talking about, Dwight?" Ah. 34:58 When Jesus declares, "Salvation is from the Jews," what is it that the Jews -- 35:07 I'm talking about this bookend back here -- What is it that Jews stood for? 35:12 And wouldn't it follow that if they stood for it as the remnant, whatever 35:16 the remnant is down here, it would pretty much stand for the same. 35:21 So we need to find out what they stood for. And I'm going to my American Jew 35:25 friend, now Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Cliff Goldstein. 35:28 Wrote a book on the remnant. He does a little task for us, makes it very easy. 35:33 He's going to now just -- 11 of them, 11 truths, 11 tenets that define this 35:40 bookend. Well, at least we'll be clear about this one, 35:43 alright? So here we go. I'll put them on the screen 35:45 for you. Looks like I left off the last of Revelation 12:17. 35:53 But I'm glad that this is happening right now, because when it says the -- when 35:57 it says the remnant here, he's -- he's enraged with her last seed. 36:06 It doesn't stop right there. Thank you for the reminder. It actually defines what that 36:11 remnant will look like. What does it say? These are they who keep the 36:15 commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Well, that's clear enough 36:19 for me. Glad we ran into that. But back to the -- Back to the 36:24 11 now. We're going to look at the bookend here. 36:26 Monotheism. That's it. Goldstein. Here's Goldstein. "Then amid this parade of 36:31 polytheism," many, many gods... 36:42 It's the great Shema. 36:48 Monotheism. Number two, divine fiat creation. 36:53 They had all kinds of mythologies going in the beginning, 36:57 in the pagan communities. But only the Hebrew scriptures begin with this majestic 37:05 declaration, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 37:10 He spoke, and it was done. Number three, the Seventh-day Sabbath. 37:18 Yep. A perpetual palace in time to remind the human race 37:26 every seventh day that our Creator and our Savior are one and the same. 37:31 "Come to me," He says. "Come to me," Jesus invites, "and I will give you rest." 37:36 There are only 11 of these. Here comes number four, the Ten Commandments. 37:40 Oh, there were codes and civil laws abounding in antiquity. But only one community 37:45 has a timeless template for human morality called the Decalogue. 37:50 Yep. Okay, What number is that? That's number four. Let's go to number five. 37:53 The Sanctuary. Ooh. Plenty of sanctuaries abounded. Pagans had their holy places, 37:58 temple prostitutes, human sacrifices. But to the remnant of Israel 38:03 alone is entrusted one simple truth. "Behold the Lamb of God who 38:10 takes away the sin of the world." No other religion 38:14 in the history of time not yet to come adequately deals with the human problem of sin 38:20 and God's gift of salvation so profoundly. Alright, what's number six? 38:26 Oh, the Truth about Death. Oh, my. They had everything going. 38:29 Those pagan pharaohs and their priests have concocted this netherworld 38:33 of -- of unspeakable confusion. But here is this little community that believes that the 38:42 Creator God has so much power that even when you quit breathing one day, 38:50 he will restore your breath, and you'll wake up as if you've been asleep the whole time. 38:57 Well, that's what they believe. What number now? Number seven. Optimum Health. 39:01 Oh, that's a good one. In a world ignorant of -- of fat and cholesterol, heart disease 39:05 and cancer, God instills in his remnant a dietary health and preventative health 39:12 practices far beyond medicinal folklore. That's all they had out there. 39:17 Not this community. Keep going. Number eight, 39:19 the Great Controversy Paradigm. Well, you know this as well as I. 39:22 The Book of Job is the first written book in the Old Testament. 39:26 And what's that book about? The Great Controversy, the internecine war between 39:31 the father of the universe and a rebel son who now will destroy 39:36 and nuke this planet and call himself prince of the world. 39:40 Oh, yeah, the Great Controversy motif. We know it well. 39:45 Number nine, Spirit of Prophecy. To the Hebrews, we still turn. Isn't that true? 39:52 For the rich legacy of their prophets and prophetic gift. Over and against false prophets, 39:58 God's spirit of prophecy shines like a beacon in earth's midnight darkness 40:02 and, guess what, still does. What's the next one? 10. The Final Judgment. 40:09 Deep within their sanctuary liturgy, only God's remnant could champion 40:14 the great day of atonement, a prophetic metaphor of the divine judgment 40:19 that will conclude earth's history with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. 40:26 And finally, number 11. There's one that's left out. Do you know what it is? Come on. 40:30 You been keeping track? What would number 11 be? Too late. 40:34 I'm putting it on the screen. The Coming of the Messiah. The Jews champion 40:38 the twin comings of the Messiah but really concentrated on his first coming. 40:44 And their message, "Prepare to meet your God," it was a warning 40:50 to the human race. So there they are, ladies and gentlemen, 40:56 the ancient but timeless truths. God has always needed a remnant community to champion. 41:02 I repeat, if there was a remnant community on this side of salvation history 41:08 that preserved and propagated these 11 timeless truths at the beginning 41:12 of the salvation story, it would seem most logical that the God who raised up 41:16 that remnant would have a remnant at the end of history, human history, that 41:21 would preserve and propagate the same timeless truths at the ending. 41:29 Talking about kinship. There you go. But I'm going to end 41:35 with a warning instead for you in the conference in particular 41:43 and for the rest of us who joined you today here. 41:48 The moment we introduce the notion of the chosen and the remnant, 41:53 as you have so thoroughly done and well done in this conference, 41:58 the moment we introduce those twin concepts, the chosen and the remnant, 42:02 we immediately face a danger of hubris, pride, and self-deception. 42:11 Now, listen to me. Richard John Neuhaus in his marvelous book, 42:15 "Death On A Friday Afternoon" -- Listen to this. 42:36 It is a fearful thing to be chosen. And do -- do -- 42:43 "Why? Why is that, Dwight?" Do you remember the thoroughly un-chosen, un-remnant, pagan 42:51 Roman centurion that met Jesus one day, and Jesus ends up with this 42:54 stunning commendation of him? Do you remember that story about the Roman? 42:58 He says, "Listen, I got a servant that's dead, but -- is going to die. 43:01 But if you -- You don't have to come to my house. No, you just stay right here. 43:04 Jesus, just stay right here. Speak the word, and my servant will be healed." 43:08 Jesus pivots on his sacred heel, and he announces to the crowd that's around in Matthew 8:10. 43:19 Truly -- amén -- I tell you... 43:27 He's talking about the chosen. He's talking about the remnant. "I found nobody 43:31 amongst the remnant, amongst the chosen, with faith like this pagan Roman." 43:37 But he goes on. 43:51 ...who are in the first bookend, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, they will. 43:56 They'll sit down beside these heroes. 44:15 He's talking about the chosen, the people who are carrying their -- their membership card. 44:20 "I'm chosen." The people who say, "No, no, no, I'm a part of the remnant. 44:24 You don't throw me out." He says, "Oh, really? Try me." 44:31 There will be great weeping and gnash-- "God, I have the membership 44:33 card. All 11 tenets, I memorized them. I stood for them. 44:37 I taught them in the seminary. I got the card to prove it." But the subjects of the kingdom 44:45 will be thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping 44:48 and gnashing of teeth. My, my, my, my, my. It is a fearful thing 44:55 to be chosen. Neuhaus is right, which leads me 45:01 to this conclusion. The remnant today has to be more movement 45:09 than institution. More movement than institution. Nobody gets a membership card 45:18 in the remnant. You can't join it. You can't sign up. 45:23 It's a movement. 45:28 The remnant today is more movement than institution. As Goldstein, like only Cliff 45:37 can, puts it... 45:47 So you got a membership over here? I got one. I've never used it. 45:50 But I'm healthy. Look at me. 45:54 He makes the point. That's why, by the way, the remnant is more about 46:00 mission than museum. Oh, I'm talking to a community of faith 46:07 that loves to curate its museum. Oh, bring them out. Put them on the shelf. 46:11 Dust them off. Oh [Blowing] Oh, look at these 11. 46:14 Don't they shine with luster? Curating ourselves into an institution 46:22 when this is a mission that has no walls and no membership cards. 46:31 Oh, listen, I don't want to be misunderstood, so I have to insert this right here. 46:37 I believe all the 11. Yes, I do. In fact, I believe 46:43 that you will not find them anywhere else on earth but with the remnant. 46:51 So you don't have -- You have no argument with me. Which is why the remnant's 46:58 raison d'etre is not to keep people out. Our mission 47:03 is to bring people in. Just bring them in. Just bring them in. 47:07 Get them in. The angels will do the sorting, by the way. 47:11 "You just throw the net," Jesus says. You just throw the net. 47:14 I don't care what comes in. Take what comes in, and you love on them." 47:22 That's why the remnant's modus operandi is not exclusion. It's inclusion. 47:30 This choosing business is about inclusion. 47:34 Whom God loves, He chooses, and He loves everybody. 47:36 He has chosen everybody to be saved. 47:39 And the remnant exists to sound that word. 47:43 "I know you have a different lifestyle than me. I know that you have a different 47:46 set of beliefs than I do. But I'm here to tell you the Lord Jesus 47:50 himself is inviting you. Step in." You remember the woman of 47:54 Samaria? The Jews excluded her. Jesus includes her. 47:59 "Come on, girl. You're in. You don't need a card. 48:03 You're in." That pagan Roman centurion, 48:08 the Jews drove him away. But Jesus draws him in. 48:13 Love on the move. That's what Pioneer's mission 48:15 is, love on the move. That was Jesus' mission. 48:18 Love on the move, wherever he went. 48:20 Draw them in with such winsome love, which is why the American writer 48:24 Ellen White was spot-on when she reduces the last appeal to 48:30 this little bookend down here with these words. "Christ's Object Lessons." 48:36 Page 415. 48:44 What's that message? 48:52 ...of God's character of love. So the next time you have a conference, maybe you did it 48:58 in this conference, have somebody goes through the 11 and show how they are 49:03 bedrocked in the love of God. That'll be a contribution for the -- for the wider church, 49:11 and we need it. So keep that bright mind of yours working. 49:16 The last message of mercy is a revelation of His character of love. 49:21 Which is why we call such love -- I don't know where this line came from -- 49:25 the truth as it is in Jesus. 49:31 That's it. That's it. Because Jesus said to the woman. "I am." 49:41 I am what? Oh, just before they killed him, he said, "I am the way 49:49 and the truth and the life." And that's the truth 49:56 about the remnant. One word. It's a name. 50:04 Jesus. Amen. 50:13 Our Connect Card today, electronic, you can use it by taking your phone out, 50:19 and just text the word remnant to 269-281-2345. 50:25 Here are the three options today. 50:27 See if one of these might work for you. 50:28 "I want to follow Jesus and embrace His remnant truths." 50:31 I suppose everybody here would say, "Well, count me in on that 50:33 one." Maybe you're listening 50:35 right now. Maybe you're watching right now, 50:37 and you're saying, "No, no, this is new stuff from me." 50:39 Put a checkmark there. Let me send something to you. 50:43 Alright, box number two. 50:48 Be happy to do that. Put a checkmark there. 50:50 I'll make sure they get to you electronically. 50:53 No mailing address. In a split second, 50:55 you'll have them. Box number three. 51:01 Oh, boy. That's next weekend, isn't it? 51:03 My, my, my, my, my. This campus has been talking 51:08 about this Pure Desire Conference for a bunch of weeks 51:10 now. And we here in Pioneer 51:11 are doing it, as well. I hope you'll be there. 51:16 This is not a conference for every-- for everybody who is 51:18 known to have sexual addiction problems. 51:23 We'll all be there together. We're inviting 51:25 students across the board. I was in the seminary 51:27 lecturing this week. "Come on, guys. Sign up. 51:30 Ladies, come on." It's going to be in the seminary 51:33 chapel, Friday night and all day Sabbath. 51:37 I'm going to be there. We're asking the elders here 51:39 to be there. We're asking parents to be 51:41 there. We're asking children to be 51:42 there. We're asking you to come. 51:45 If you will check that, I'll send you a website. 51:48 You can make the decision in the quiet of your own space. 51:51 Put a checkmark there, I'll send you a website. 51:52 All the details will be there. If you're a student, 51:54 college student, we're going to cut the price 51:57 for you down to 25 bucks. And you'll see how to do that, 52:01 the code you'll put in in order to get that. 52:04 "I want to sign up for the Pure Desire Conference." 52:09 I want to pray with you right now. 52:12 Please. O God... 52:21 Please. Let us follow Jesus. 11 tenets, He embraced them. 52:30 Why wouldn't I? To keep people out? No, we just watched him 52:37 twice draw someone in who had never been in before. So use us to be like Jesus 52:45 and do just that. We love you, Father. We love you, Jesus. 52:50 We love you, Holy Spirit. Send us out now. Love through us. 52:57 Let us be love on the move for you. 53:02 In Jesus' name, amen. There's a great, great hymn. 53:09 We're going to sing this as we go marching out of this space. 53:11 The church has one foundation. It is all about Jesus. 53:14 Just think of the words as we sing them together now. 53:18 [ "The Church Has One Foundation" begins ] 56:26 >> Amen. Thank you so much for worshiping at Pioneer today. 56:30 We pray that you have been blessed and encouraged and reminded 56:35 of who you are in Christ Jesus. 56:39 Now for the benediction. Please bow your heads with me. 56:45 Be of good courage. 56:47 Be strong. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. 56:54 For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Amen. 57:02 Go with God. 57:07 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:09 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:12 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:15 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:18 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:21 So if God has blessed you 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 will go to me. 57:29 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission of blessing your 57:32 community and our world. You can donate on our website, 57:35 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:39 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 continue to pour into your 57:48 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:51 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:53 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 58:00 ♪♪ 58:09 ♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-10-25