Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME230415S
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00:01 ♪♪
00:15 >> Good morning and happy Sabbath. 00:19 Spring sprung this week, didn't it? 00:21 Oh, man, it is beautiful. And sometimes, change 00:25 is beautiful. And sometimes, it's not. 00:33 It's going to be rough losing Dwight. 00:35 There's no question about it. But part of saying goodbye 00:41 is a long goodbye, and we're going to start 00:43 that long goodbye next weekend. 00:46 There are three events I would like to invite you to as part of this goodbye process. 00:51 We're going to have Proximity Vespers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, 00:56 both worship services -- 9:00 and 11:00 -- and a tribute service at 01:01 4:00 p.m. Sabbath afternoon. It's okay to mourn. It's okay. 01:11 There's some loss. This is 40 years. For some of us, 01:17 that's almost our whole life. [ Laughter ] So it's okay. 01:27 But, on that note, no better time than for us to seek God's presence here. 01:34 So I invite you to join with me as we together read the call to worship. 02:07 Let's stand as we pray together. 02:15 Creator of all things, thank you, God, for being God who loves and wants each 02:23 and every one of us. And, God, thank you for being God who is also Emmanuel, "God 02:31 with us." We thank you for being in this place this morning. 02:37 But, God, we ask not only that you are in this place, but you are in us. 02:43 Abide in us and help us to abide in you. This is our prayer. 02:50 Because although changes happen all around us -- seasons come, seasons go, leaders come, 02:57 leaders go -- you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. 03:02 And it is that in which we place our faith. In your name, Amen. 03:09 ♪♪ 06:22 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the Earth hear His voice. 06:30 We don't always have weeks that leave us praising the Lord. 06:37 I don't know what your week has been like, 06:39 but the state of this Earth. 06:44 We have trials, we have tribulations, and often at the end of the week, 06:48 it's not praise on our lips, is it? But the beautiful thing is, 06:53 is not once did anyone ever approach Jesus. and He wasn't able to fix 07:00 the problem. And so when we give our burdens to Him, 07:08 that's what gives us the ability to give Him the glory. Great things He hath done. 07:14 So I invite you now, come forward as we pray together. 07:19 Kevin Galiano, one of our seminary students who was with us in Cuba, 07:23 is going to be offering the prayer. And let us lay our burdens down 07:27 at the cross so that we, too, can say, "Great things He hath done." 07:32 ♪♪ 08:25 >> Church family, I invite you to kneel with me if you are able. 08:29 ♪♪ 08:40 Father God, our good Father, we want to thank you so much for today. 08:47 We thank you, God, for bringing us into this place. And we thank you, God, 08:52 for the peace that you offer to us in this moment. We want to invite your presence 08:59 into our hearts first and foremost, Lord. We ask, God, that if we are 09:04 carrying burdens, Lord, may we leave them at your feet today. May we cast our burdens 09:10 on to you, Lord, so that we can accept the peace that you offer to us today. 09:16 God, we thank you so much because we know that spring has sprung, and to be 09:22 able to see the change, to see the beauty in the nature around us, Lord, 09:27 may it be a sign and a reminder, God, of how you come to us. And as we experience the warmth, 09:34 the rays of the sun shining on our face, may it feel the way You give us 09:40 that warm embrace. God, many of us come here burdened. 09:46 Many of us come here with many different issues, God. We come from different 09:51 walks of life with different stories, Lord. But, God, 09:57 we know You by a thousand different names, and You deserve every single one of them. 10:02 You are our faithful father. You are a healer. And you are many, 10:07 many other names, God. And so I just ask, Lord, if there is someone out here 10:13 that needs healing, may You be the healer. If there is someone here 10:17 who needs saving, may You be the savior. God, if there's someone here 10:26 that is going through a difficult time, Lord, may you be the one, 10:31 the comforter. God, we ask that You manifest Yourself in the way that we need 10:37 to experience You today. And so today, God, as we rejoice on this Sabbath day, 10:43 may the Sabbath be the reminder and the signal of how faithful You have been 10:48 in the past, how faithful You will be in the present, which will remind us 10:53 in the future that You will continue to be faithful still. God, we ask You today 11:00 that You transform us, God. We ask you, God, that You may redeem us, Lord. 11:05 May You give us this hope. And may we be reminded just how good of a God You are. 11:12 So, Lord, we thank You so much for this time. We thank You so much 11:16 for being present. And, once again, Lord, we invite You into our hearts 11:20 and we invite You into this place. May we experience 11:23 Your love today. It is my pleasure to pray these things in the mighty name 11:28 of my best friend, Jesus. Amen. 11:32 ♪♪ 15:00 >> Our Scripture reading today is found in Micah 7:18-19. 15:07 "Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives 15:10 the transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance? 15:14 You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. 15:19 You will again have compassion on us. 15:21 You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl 15:25 all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." 15:33 >> Good morning, Church. And good morning, Pastor Dwight. 15:37 The Sanctuary Choir for Pioneer Memorial Church 15:40 has prepared a very special gift to give to our pastor, 15:44 our dear pastor. And if you would mind coming up 15:46 and receiving it. 15:50 And we all know that the pastoral team is, like, crucial. 15:54 Like, who would make his breakfast and the like? So I've invited Karen 15:59 to help me feel grounded. [ Laughs ] The Sanctuary Choir have a very 16:04 special gift for you. You have been such a champion and supporter 16:09 of our church choir in the last number of years, and we are so grateful to you. 16:15 And the choir gathered their funds and created a commission 16:19 for a very special composition in honor of this very special day. 16:24 Now, our commission, we were pleased to offer it to our own resident 16:28 composer and conductor, Brenton Offenback. And as he was preparing 16:33 his remarks to turn into music, he zeroed in, of course, on the number 40. 16:39 And that makes a lot of sense. The 40 is in the Bible in a lot of places. 16:43 It commemorates your 40 years. Noah, Moses, Jesus -- Moses twice. 16:48 And the number 40 is what Brenton chose to emphasize in this. 16:53 "40 days and 40 nights. 40 years of his delight." And so we are so pleased 17:01 to offer this to you today. And I wanted to mention one thing that Brenton keeps saying 17:05 in the composition that you can listen for. "Oh, yes, my God, 17:10 He can do it again. It wasn't just then, it wasn't just recently. 17:14 It is now." And so to honor you and in appreciation 17:18 for your preparing us for the next -- our hearts, our minds, our souls for 17:24 the new season that is to come, Brenton Offenback would like to present you with this 17:29 very special dedication. [ Applause ] 17:49 There's going to be a lot of hugging and tears in the years to come. 17:52 [ Laughter ] >> Anybody else I can hug while I'm -- 17:55 [ Laughter ] >> And, so, we are so pleased to present this premiere of 18:01 "40 Days and 40 Nights," dedicated to Pastor Dwight Nelson, 18:05 composed by Brenton Offenback. 18:14 ♪♪ >> ♪ 40 years are coming, 18:25 and the 40 years are gone ♪ ♪ 40 years are closer 18:34 to my God ♪ 18:40 >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ Oh, 40 days >> ♪ And nights 18:43 >> ♪ 40 nights >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ 40 years of his delight 18:49 ♪ Jesus did come and save us from sin ♪ ♪ Oh, yes, my God, 18:55 He can do it again ♪ ♪ God said to Noah to get on a ship ♪ 19:01 >> ♪ A ship >> ♪ He would send him on a 40-day trip ♪ 19:07 ♪ After the days were fully spent ♪ ♪ God then remembered and 19:13 delivered them ♪ >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ Oh, 40 days 19:17 >> ♪ And nights >> ♪ 40 nights >> ♪ Oh, yes 19:20 >> ♪ 40 years of his delight ♪ Jesus did come and save us from sin ♪ 19:28 ♪ Oh, yes, my God, He can do it again ♪ >> ♪ Oh, Moses took his hand 19:34 and fled through the sea ♪ ♪ Off to Mount Sinai in safety, they be ♪ 19:41 ♪ God sent them off to the wilderness ♪ ♪ Where they would wanderin꼯 19:48 40-year stress ♪ >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ Oh, 40 days 19:52 >> ♪ And nights >> ♪ 40 nights >> ♪ Oh, yes 19:55 >> ♪ 40 years of his delight ♪ Jesus did come and save us from sin ♪ 20:03 ♪ Oh, yes, my God, He can do it again ♪ >> ♪ Do it again 20:07 >> ♪ Do it again >> ♪ Jesus came down to wash us from our sins ♪ 20:23 >> ♪ 40 days in, He did begin >> ♪ Tempted and tried and crucified ♪ 20:40 >> ♪ Jesus loved us and saved us alive ♪ ♪ Oh, he said, "Some day, 20:51 I'll come again ♪ ♪ Heavens will rejoice with a loud "amen" ♪ 20:57 ♪ Please don't be led by Satan's buffet ♪ ♪ Jesus will come 21:03 and fly us a way ♪ >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ Oh, 40 days 21:07 >> ♪ And nights >> ♪ 40 nights >> ♪ Oh, yes 21:10 >> ♪ 40 years of his delight ♪ Jesus did come and save us from sin ♪ 21:18 ♪ Oh, yes, my God, He can do it again ♪ ♪ Oh, yes 21:23 >> ♪ Oh, 40 days >> ♪ And nights >> ♪ 40 nights 21:26 >> ♪ Oh, yes >> ♪ 40 years of his delight ♪ Jesus did come and save 21:33 us from sin ♪ ♪ Oh, yes, my God >> ♪ Oh, yes, my God 21:39 >> ♪ Oh, yes, my God, He can do it ♪ >> ♪ Oh, yes, my God 21:46 ♪ The Lord, yes, my Lord ♪ My Looooord [ Applause ] 22:08 ♪♪ 22:48 >> Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Wasn't that a great piece? 22:52 "40 Days and 40 Nights." We've been blessed over the years 22:56 to have the Sanctuary Choir. We've got fantastic choirs all over this campus. 23:01 But the time came when we said, "You know what? We can host a choir. 23:05 We can field a choir." And Brenton Offenback was the leader we needed to begin to 23:12 grow it and grow it and grow it. And, so, thank you, choir. Thank you, Pioneer. 23:17 And thank you, Jesus. Let's pray. Oh, God, 40 days, 40 nights, 23:25 instantly, we remember our Lord...Moses. 23:35 We're on a journey where we do not know what lies ahead. All of us. 23:44 But we do know that because of the Jesus the choir just sang about, 23:48 the best is yet to come. So open our minds, open our hearts as we return 23:52 to Calvary. Let it be clear. Ooh, let this one be clear, 23:55 please, for your glory and honor. We pray in Jesus' name. 23:58 Amen. Galatians 6:14. "May I never boast 24:03 except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world 24:09 has been crucified to me, and I to the world." 1 Corinthians 2:2. 24:14 "For I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ 24:21 and Him crucified." What's up with that? Why? Ah, because "The maker of all 24:26 things loves and wants me." 24:30 My, oh, my, oh, my. Some time ago, Mel Gibson, 24:33 the Australian actor and producer -- 24:38 Mel Gibson directed what ended up taking the world by storm, 24:42 a blockbuster movie with the title -- 24:45 you might remember it -- "The Passion of the Christ." 24:48 You remember that? "The Passion of the Christ"? 24:52 It's a feature-length treatment of the last 24 hours of Jesus' 24:56 life. There's one graphic scene. 24:58 I want to go to that scene right now. 25:00 We're going to read it first, then we'll watch it. 25:02 One graphic scene that we got to hone in 25:05 on together in worship. So, open your Bible. 25:08 First, let's read it. Luke 23. So, you got your Bible there. Luke 23. 25:16 And we're going to drop down to Verse 32. So, the action is happening 25:21 now in Luke's rendition of the Calvary story, the Gospel story. 25:26 So, this is Luke 23:32. "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out 25:37 with Jesus to be executed. And when they came to the place called the Skull, 25:46 they crucified him there, along with the criminals -- one on his right, 25:50 the other on his left. Jesus said, 'Father forgive them, for they do not know 25:58 what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." 26:05 Everyone knows this dramatic moment in the Calvary scene, but Mel Gibson 26:10 does something very unusual. In this shot -- Kind of picture this in your mind. 26:17 In this shot, cruel hands throw Jesus down on that cross, and then they yank his arms out 26:22 so that they're -- that He's lying on the cross beam. The camera then swiftly zooms 26:28 in on one of the hands, one of the arms, just zooms in so you have a close-up. 26:32 You just see Jesus' hand. You see the hands of a Roman guard 26:37 or two, who are setting the execution up. Then another pair of hands 26:42 reaches into the scene. You never see the face. Reaches into the scene. 26:47 This hand has a nail and a mallet. And this hand knows what to do, 26:52 and so here is Jesus' tender flesh. And this hand takes that spike 26:55 and just pushes it into that tender flesh. And while we're watching, 26:59 the mallet goes up and the mallet crashes down. And when Jesus 27:04 senses that instantaneous pain, this arm jerks, but, of course, it can't go anywhere. 27:12 Now, did I tell you we never see the face of that burly Roman guard? 27:19 Mel Gibson later testified -- And I happened to be in the audience. 27:23 All senior leaders, spiritual leaders from across Chicago. 27:30 He said, "I've never told anybody this, but I'm going to tell you. 27:34 When we came to that scene where Jesus' hand would be nailed to the cross, 27:40 I'm telling you, I'm the one. I stepped in and said, 'The director 27:44 will take this part.' And I put my spike down and I drove that nail through." 27:51 And the interviewer said, "Well, what's up with that?" He said, "I needed me to 27:57 know it was Mel Gibson's sins that took Jesus to Calvary." Hmm. 28:07 You and I -- we're not left out of the story, are we? Our sins took him, as well. 28:15 And for our sins, 2,000 years in advance, what does Jesus pray? 28:19 "'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" 28:23 Do not know what they are doing? You've got to be kidding me. They can see it as plain as day. 28:28 They know exactly what they're doing. You and I -- we know what we're 28:33 doing too, don't we? Yeah. "Desire of Ages" quietly steps 28:38 into this sacred moment, connects with the prayer with these words. 28:43 "That prayer of Christ for His enemies embraced the world. It took in every sinner 28:48 that had lived or should live from the beginning of the world to the end of time." 28:53 Are you seeing this? My! "Upon --" How many? 28:58 "Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To --" How many? 29:03 "To all, forgiveness is freely offered. 'Whosoever will'" -- The words 29:07 that end the Book of Revelation. "'Whosoever will' may have peace with God 29:10 and inherit eternal life." Did you catch that? This extreme prayer, 29:16 this crimson plea took in every sinner -- we just read it -- 29:21 from the beginning of time -- that would be Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel -- to the end of time. 29:25 That would be you and me and her and him. Every sinner covered in one 29:31 prayer. Every fallen human being. Extreme -- Oh, extreme prayer. 29:42 "'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" 29:47 Of course they knew. Of course we know. Our conscience is going. 29:52 "Beep, beep, beep! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!" 29:56 We know. Don't go. Don't proceed. Stop now. Stop. Of course we know. 30:02 We know what we're doing. Every sinner that ever lived got covered by that prayer. 30:12 I find that stunning. I mean, why would it be? Because the maker of all things 30:18 loves and wants me and loves and wants you. Now, something new as I have 30:24 been -- as I've returned to Calvary in this particular scene. 30:28 I want you to notice the sequence. There's something in the 30:31 sequence that's transpiring atop Golgotha, Calvary, okay? First of all, Jesus 30:38 prays the extreme prayer. We just heard it. Secondly, almost everybody 30:42 on the summit of Mount Calvary is, with ribald ridicule, taunting the man 30:49 on the center cross. In fact, let's just read it. So, right after the prayer, 30:55 here it goes -- Verse 35. "And the people stood watching, and the rulers 30:59 even sneered at him. They said, 'He saved others. Yo, let him save himself 31:05 if he's God's Messiah, the Chosen One.' And the soldiers also came up 31:10 and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, 'Yo, 31:15 if you're the king of the Jews, save yourself.' There was a written notice 31:20 above him, which read, 'This is the King of the Jews.' One of the criminals who hung 31:25 there hurled insults at him. 'Aren't you the Messiah? Come on, save yourself and us!'" 31:34 Three abusive assaults against the Jesus on the center cross. And are we surprised? 31:40 We really ought not to be, because the Gospel of Luke opens up with three abusive assaults 31:46 against the same Jesus after 40 days and 40 nights, speaking of what the choir 31:50 just sang. 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. 31:54 You didn't think Lucifer was not going to show up at the end of those 40 days 31:58 and 40 nights, did you? You didn't think that Lucifer would not be that snake, 32:03 fallen-angel rebel that he is? You didn't think he would be -- he wouldn't 32:08 be slithering around, spitting his poison, as he did in the beginning? 32:15 Three assaults at the beginning, three assaults at the end. No, we get it, we get it. 32:21 "Prove it. Save yourself." But amidst this raucous abuse -- "Save yourself, save yourself, 32:30 save yourself --" comes one desperate, "Save me, Save me." 32:40 Oh. "One of the criminals who hung there hurled 32:48 insults at him. 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' 32:54 But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God,' 32:58 he said, 'since you're under the same sentence? We are punished justly, 33:05 for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done 33:09 nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come 33:17 into your kingdom.'" Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. On a hill far away, one 33:26 desperate "save me, please." Now watch this. Now, here it comes. 33:34 I want you to watch the sequence carefully. So, the guilty thief cries out, 33:38 "Save me." But Jesus does not reply, "I have forgiven your sins." 33:47 No, not a word. You know why? Because two hours earlier, Jesus has already forgiven 33:54 his sins. Isn't that right? Do I have the sequence correct? 33:58 "Save me." No word about forgiveness. No word of, "Repent 34:02 of all your sins, please." No, no, no, no, no. That prayer that took in 34:06 every sinner from the beginning of time to the end of time has already assured forgiveness 34:10 for this dying thief. He doesn't know it, but Jesus knows it. 34:13 Not a word about, "Tell me you're sorry." Hmm. 34:19 Just "the prayer I prayed two hours ago in your presence." "'Father, forgive them, for they 34:27 do not know what they are doing.'" He's already offered -- 34:29 Here's the point. He's already offered forgiveness to the dying thief 34:33 before the thief ever seeks forgiveness. True or false? 34:38 Absolutely. Absolutely true. Whether it's two hours later or two millennia later, 34:44 that prayer covers. And that's the point. In fact, I believe that 34:50 this exchange with the thief intentionally takes place to validate, to verify 34:57 that this prayer is universal. This is a universal prayer. And it saved -- It prayed for 35:03 the forgiveness of every human being ever to live, period. And to prove it -- to prove it, 35:12 He said, "I hear you. I hear you." What does He say? 35:18 Oh, you know what He says. The prayer again. "'Jesus, please remember me 35:24 when you come into your kingdom.'" Now here it comes. 35:28 And they're both -- They're nailed up and they're gasping for every breath, 35:32 because crucifixion is the asphyxiation of the human organism. 35:38 You eventually can't breathe anymore, okay? Jesus answers him, 35:42 "Truly, I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise." 35:53 Wow. The thief begs to be saved, and Jesus said, "You got it. 35:59 You are forgiven. You didn't even ask me. I forgave you two hours ago." 36:07 Why? Because the maker of all things loves and wants me, that's why. 36:15 And that's the reason the Bible reads the way it does. You go over to Romans 4. 36:20 We'll just iso one line from Verse 5. Romans 4:5. 36:25 Here's the isolated line. I'll put it on the screen for you. 36:27 Paul is speaking about the God who justifies the what? The ungodly. 36:33 He doesn't justify the godly. 36:35 You don't have to become godly, then, to get saved. 36:38 No, no, no, no. He's the God 36:40 who justifies the ungodly. 36:47 You could hardly call that guilty thief godly. 36:52 In fact, Matthew -- Luke doesn't want to sully up 36:55 the picture here too much, but Matthew says, "Let me tell 36:57 you about those boys on either side of Jesus." 36:59 And in Matthew's account of the crucifixion, 37:01 "In the same way the rebels --" plural, 37:04 the rebels, not just one, both rebels in the same way. 37:08 "The rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults 37:12 on him." 37:14 It's not a great track record, even atop Calvary, now. But something's going on 37:21 in that mind. and in His soul. And by the way, He knows 37:27 what He's doing now. "Jesus, you got to save me, please." 37:36 Wow. When Jesus prays that extreme prayer, both of the 37:43 thieves pile on the abuse. Neither asked for forgiveness at the time. 37:53 Neither did I at the time. Neither did you at the time. But hallelujah. 37:59 The evidence atop Golgotha -- and here's the point -- is clear that that prayer 38:04 has universal coverage for all human time. All humanity, all human time. 38:11 "Desire of Ages," yeah, one more time. I need to read this with you. 38:15 "That prayer of Christ for his enemies embraced the world. It took in every sinner 38:19 that had lived or should live from the beginning of the world to the end of time. 38:23 Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, 38:27 forgiveness is freely offered." How many in human history get it? 38:30 All. Offered freely. "'Whosoever will' 38:36 may have peace with God and inherit eternal life." Why? Because He's the God 38:41 who justifies the ungodly. You know what it means when God justifies the ungodly? 38:45 He acquits them. He pardons them. He forgives them. 38:48 He says, "I'm throwing the book out. Your record is gone. 38:54 You don't have to clean your life up first, get your act together, 38:57 then come to me. No, you come as you are with your last breath. 39:03 Beg me. You got it. You got it." 39:10 He's the God who justifies the ungodly from the center cross, no less. 39:15 Wow. Tender is the scene "Desire of Ages" -- captures on the IMAX screen the 39:20 "Desire of Ages." Oh, I wish I -- This is where I wish I had a YouTube clip. 39:25 "In Jesus --" Look at this. "In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, 39:32 the thief sees the Lamb of God." His mind is just going like this. 39:38 He's hanging, but his mind is going like this. "He sees the Lamb of God 39:43 that taketh away the sin of the world." He's putting two 39:46 and two together. "Hope is mingled with anguish in his voice as the helpless --" 39:51 Oh, I love this -- "As the helpless, dying soul casts himself upon a dying savior." 39:57 They're dying together. But before he goes, "Jesus, save me." 40:07 "'Lord, remember me, he cries, 'when thou comest into Thy kingdom.'" 40:12 And what is Calvary's wide-open-embrace response from Jesus? 40:16 It's this. "I'm telling you today. Right now, I'm telling you. 40:22 You will be with me in paradise. I'm promising you." 40:28 No, no, no, no. Jesus and the thief were not in heaven Friday night 40:33 having supper together. No, they both slept the sleep of death 40:39 over the Sabbath, both of them. You say, "Ah, you can't prove that, Dwight." 40:46 I sure can. I was hoping you'd ask me. Because if you go 40:50 to the resurrection scene, it's a beautiful scene in John 20, and Mary Magdalene 40:55 is sobbing her eyes out. They've taken Christ's body. And it's early in the morning, 40:59 and she's weeping when the gardener stands behind her and says, "Yo, woman, 41:03 what are you crying about?" And she says, "You got my Lord's body." 41:09 And he says, "Mary..." And she recognizes the voice and she whirls around 41:15 and she grabs him at his ankles and she says, "Rabboni, my teacher." 41:22 And you know what Jesus says to her? "Hey, Mary, let go, let go. 41:26 Don't hang on to me. I haven't even been to the Father yet. 41:30 I was hanging around till you came. Now I'm going. 41:34 Tell my brothers." Hey, if he hadn't been to the Father yet Sunday morning, 41:39 there's no way he went to the Father Friday afternoon. [ Laughter ] 41:44 That's the point. That's the point. Sometimes, the Bible truth is so 41:49 clear, you don't see it. 41:54 Yeah. Oh, by the way, there will be a glorious meeting of the thief 41:59 with Jesus one day. And if you weren't in this church late Sabbath afternoon 42:04 and you weren't watching on live stream -- We had 4,000 to 6,000 people 42:09 watching it live. This place was packed. I'm going to give a shout-out to 42:13 my young friend Marian Gonzalez and her team of writers and cast of actors 42:18 and band of composers. I mean, wow! And when 42:22 the last scene is in heaven, when the thief and Jesus meet for the first time again 42:27 after Golgotha, and when he falls at Jesus' feet sobbing, there wasn't 42:32 a dry eye in this building. Oh, it will be emotional. Fulfilled with the name 42:38 of that beautiful Easter musical and so powerfully rendered by our own students 42:43 here. My friends, here's the deal. Jesus is not looking 42:48 for an excuse to lose you. He's looking for an excuse to save you. 42:54 "Well, what can I find? Give me one more reason. Come on. Give me another." 42:57 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The maker of all things loves 43:02 and wants me. Extreme prayer. "'Father, forgive them, 43:09 for they do not know what they are doing.'" Now, before I sit down, 43:16 I got to ask a question. Could it be -- Help me out here, now. 43:20 Could it be Jesus expects you and me to pray the same prayer of forgiveness? 43:31 Hmm. Now the place is quiet. Yeah. How about in your story? Huh? So, somebody that you're 43:41 withholding forgiveness -- the hurt, the pain is too raw. There's no way, Jose, 43:46 I'm going to forgive him for what he did to me. I'm going to forgive her -- 43:49 I'm going to forgive them for what they did to me. Oh, Jesus, Father, 43:54 forgive them. You got -- You can't be asking me to do that. 43:57 I mean, they knew what they were doing. Of course they knew. 43:59 And they did it anyway. Wow. The most painful experience in 44:06 my life, professionally, took place while pastoring this wonderful 44:12 congregation on this campus. After that time of pain had passed -- I don't know, a 44:22 year, two, three -- I don't know what the number was, but a group 44:25 of seminarians came over to have a visit with me. Obviously, a class assignment 44:29 where, "We've been asked to interview you." "Okay." So they sat down 44:32 in my office right there and they plunged into the interview. 44:37 And somewhere along the way, they asked me about suffering as a pastor. 44:41 You know, "Do you face adversity as a pastor? Have you ever had something 44:44 just really raw?" And, "Well, I'll tell them. Without disclosing 44:50 a single detail, not a word. You couldn't guess it. I'll just tell them about that." 44:57 And as I started to tell them, I started crying. I didn't know what was 45:04 going on. And I said to them, "Man, the pain is really close 45:12 to the surface still." 45:19 Forgive. I have. Doesn't take the pain away. 45:27 Somewhere, Jesus said, "Freely, you have received -- Finish the sentence for me. 45:32 "Freely, you have received. Freely give." "Come on, boy. 45:37 I'm talking to you, Dwight. How many times have I forgiven you? 45:43 For what have I forgiven you? You have received very freely from me. 45:50 Now give for me." "Father, forgive them. They didn't know what they were 45:58 doing." Oh, I have a feeling that prayer is a prayer we pray, 46:04 as well. Lewis Smedes, the ethicist, in his marvelous book 46:09 "The Art of Forgiving," puts it so well. Just a little sentence here. 46:13 "God invented forgiving as a remedy for a past that not even he could change 46:20 and not even he could forget." I find a small measure of comfort in that, 46:27 because God can't change the story behind Him. He cannot, even if you're God. 46:34 And He can't forget the story behind Him. Oh, but it says, I will remember 46:40 your sins no more." Mm-hmm. You go through hurt and then 46:46 you tell me how you forgot it. You never forgot it. You can't. 46:52 God can't. Why would He ask of you what He Himself doesn't do? 46:56 "I remember." Calvary will remind us for eternity. 47:01 That purple scar we'll never forget. Wow. 47:09 So, my only recourse -- I can't change the past. I can't forget it. 47:17 My only recourse is to forgive. Let it go. 47:21 Forgive. Easier said than done, I understand. 47:26 And so I have, though I suppose the pain will remain for a longer while. 47:33 "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." 47:37 Hmm. Smedes one last time. "God is the original master forgiver. 47:42 Each time we grope our reluctant way through the minor miracle of forgiving, we are imitating 47:49 his style. I am not at all sure that any of us would have had 47:53 imagination enough to see the possibilities in this way to heal the wrongs of this life 47:58 had he not done it first." "Father, forgive them. They don't know 48:08 what they're doing." Because you know why? 48:14 There really is no other way but forgiveness. 48:23 You're waiting for another way to open up, 48:25 it will never open up. Forgive her. Forgive him. 48:30 I'm not saying that you endorse what happened to you. 48:34 Forgive her. Forgive him. Forgive them for what -- 48:41 You just forgive. 48:47 And you will make it, and so will I, because the maker 48:51 of all things really does -- He really does love 48:55 and want you and me. 48:57 Let's pray. Oh, God -- phew! -- such an extreme prayer with such radical 49:05 forgiveness, because there really is no other way. It's just logically clear. 49:12 No other way is there. So, two prayers, Father. First, let us embrace 49:17 the forgiveness of Jesus for us. Some of us are hanging on to the pain of what 49:22 we did to you long ago. Let us let go. Let us receive 49:27 that forgiveness. We were already forgiven before. And then the other prayer, 49:34 Father. Let us live out the forgiveness of Jesus 49:37 for them, whoever the "them" turns out to be. Maker of all things, 49:42 who loves and wants us, please. And thank you, thank you, thank you. 49:51 Amen. Before we sing, I want to go to the Connect Card with you. 50:01 You know the drill. 269-281-2345. There are some next steps you 50:07 and I can take. We need to take. We've got to. 50:10 Just text "CALVARY3." Just one word -- "CALVARY3." 50:13 And, immediately, you'll have what I have here on the screen. 50:15 "My next step today is" -- and box number 1 -- 50:17 "I accept Jesus' prayer on the cross for my forgiveness 50:21 and surrender my life to Him." Yeah, me too. I will join you. 50:24 Put a check mark right there. Box number 2 -- "I have freely received 50:28 Jesus' forgiveness over and over again. Now I want to pray. 50:33 Help me, Jesus, to forgive others as you have forgiven me, please." 50:40 And, finally, box number 3. "I want to be baptized. I want to follow Jesus, 50:43 my Savior." Yeah, you haven't been baptized, school year's 50:47 running out of time, but there's no reason why you couldn't be baptized. 50:52 Nobody's going to set a date for you. But if you haven't been 50:54 baptized, put a check mark there, and I'll be in touch with you electronically. 50:58 There's a way. Timetable is yours, but the need is also yours. 51:03 Don't wait. Don't put off following Jesus through baptism. 51:07 It's the greatest step you will ever take in this life. He's already forgiven you. 51:13 Why wouldn't you love on Him? There's a great song. We're going to sing it to 51:17 the "Amazing Grace" tune. But read the words of this beautiful prayer 51:22 about forgiveness on the screen. 51:24 ♪♪ 54:10 >> Thank you again for worshiping with us. 54:12 And remember, as you are leaving, 54:14 there are places where you can leave your tithes and offerings. 54:18 Let us pray. Father, forgive us, for 54:24 we don't know what we're doing. 54:27 Forgive our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us, 54:32 for we are confident in this -- that the one who began a good work among us 54:37 will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ, for you are the same yesterday, 54:42 today, and forever. And the one who testifies of these things says, 54:46 "Surely, I am coming soon." Amen. 54:53 ♪♪ 57:08 >> Think of the last time someone said, 57:10 "I'm praying for you." Didn't it give you a sense of 57:13 peace and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:16 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail 57:18 from one of our viewers saying, "Yo, Dwight, I've been praying 57:20 for you lately." There's nothing like knowing 57:22 someone is praying for you. So I want to offer you 57:24 an opportunity to partner -- Let me, let us partner 57:27 with you in prayer. If you have 57:29 a special prayer request or a praise of thanksgiving 57:31 you'd like to share with us, I'm inviting you to contact 57:34 one of our friendly chaplains. It's simple to do. 57:36 You can call our toll-free number, 877-- The two words 57:39 HIS-WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voice that answers, you tell him, 57:45 you tell her what your prayer need is. 57:47 We'll join with you in that petition. 57:50 May the God who answers prayer journey with you 57:52 these next few days until we're right back here 57:54 together again next time. 58:00 ♪♪ |
Revised 2023-04-27